Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1857-08-13

My Idea IS, mother, that there is great
deal more charity in giving their just dues
to the suffering poor at home, than in leav-
ing them to suffer for want of their daily
hire, while we reap praise from the world
by gaining name for liberality in giving
to the Sandwich Island Mission"
''Stop, my son, be not too hasty. Those
poor benighted creatures should have the
Gospel, and it requires money to give it
them; you should not complain"
ssWell, mother, I will say no more for
your sake; but really such christianity as
that is something cannot fathom." -
True, my son, but you know
God moves in mysterious way,
His wonders to perform.
"But, mother, it seems to me as though
we, the poor, are giving for the support of
these missions, while such men as deacon
Ashby are reaping all the credit"
.'Good morrow, Deacon Ashby. I have
called to ask you to be so good as to let me
have some money to procure some wood and
other necessaries for mother and myself;
our wood is out, and the weather is getting
very cold. The grocer has stopped our Gre
dit, and the baker says he must be paid be-
fore we can get any more bread"
Really, sonny, this is bad indeed re-
|plied deacon Ashby; Il am sorry, heartily
sorry for you, but have not dollar in the
house at this time I wish you had called
day before yesterday, could have given
you the whole amount, but [ gave every
cent had at command to the agent for the
purpose of aiding in building new church
IL place of our old one. We shall have
fne church now, all the pews cushioned -
Bye the bye, why doyou not come to church?
i have otseen you oryour mother at church
fIr several months. This, you know, is
very wrong; you should attend to your
Church duties, even if your mother is too
careless" F."
Thislast remark, direct reflection upon
the piety of his mother, and that by such a
nls = as deacon Ashby appeared in the youths
mild to be, fired up his young bosom, and
his indignation may be better imagined than
expressed, yet he curbed his passion and left
the worthy deacon-fully impressed in his
own mind that religion of the present day,
unlike that of old, was more matter Of out
side show than Of heartfelt love and charity
none Of that principle set forth by the
apostles and church doctrines Of olden times
now remaining.
And who shall say but that this youth
was correct in the main. Although. his
conclusion was drawn from single instance
the conduct of deacon Ashby towards
himself-yet how many of the same stamp
do we find in our intercourse with the world.
For the purpose of having their names pub
lished in all the charitable reports Of the
day as large and cheerful givers, there are
many, very many, who grind the face of the
poor-withhold from the widow and orphan
their just due-get the labor and service of
him who needs his every hour to obtain bread
for his family, and refuses Or neglects to
pay for it though they starve, while he is
lauded to the very skies as a cheerful giver
and supporter of the Gospel. What care
he, if, through his negligence in paying the
just demand for labor of some poor man or
boy, this man or boy, his dependents, are
shut out from church for want of decent raj
ment, to say nothing of the suffering at home
from cold and hunger, so he gets the name
of being a large and cheerful giver?
Excuse me, dear reader, if [ touch you in
tender spot. [ do not mean it for you, I
mean it for deacon Ashby, who is now dead
and buried-peace to his ashes,-but s.if
the cap fits you" in the name of all good
you must wear it.
When my mind turns upon the case of
this poor boy, and consequently upon the
subject at large-of those servants =
n-fearers--outside-sho christians shall
[ say hypocrites, I become warmed up and
my pen often gets the start of my Judgment
Gets the start of my judgment? No, no.
[ feel like speaking out my mind though all
the world rise up in one mighty array against
me. When [ 60 into that holy sanctuary,
the house of God, and see men 60 there and
Iapproach that altar, and put on their long
faces and cry out in holy horror against sin
and crime, and lavish money upon benevo-
lent societies and the like, for praise; and
when l know that these very men are in
debted to some poor boy, which Indebtedness
prevents this poor boy from procuring de-
cent raiment that he may attend church and
hear expounded that Gospel which Christ
commanded his disciples to preach to all the
world-the Jew-the Gentile-the rich, and
the poor,-when [ see all this, my heart
sinks within me and [ am led to exclaim,
"Oh charity-oh christianity reli-
gion, whittier hast thou fled" Out upon
such religion. Out upon such charity
Out upon such church members, who can
fllch from the poor their labor and leave
them to starvation, both body and soul,
while you are striving for place in the list
of cheerful girers-are making for yourself