davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1862-10-16
Charity.

tits frequent feeling, if not utterance,
80, if | had wealth, how much pleasure it
would afford me to contribute largely to all
benevolent and religious objects !" &c am
not quite so sure of that" was the response
of an aged Christian to one thus expressing
himself; land that for several reasons. First,
YOU do not seem to realize that God de-
mands charity commensurate with what
we have, and not with that which we have
not; and hence, if we do not come Up to this
real standard, it is not probable that we
would comply with an imaginary one. Sec
ond, it is the willing heurt which is most
commendable in the sight of God; and if
the heart refuses when our means are small,
it is in vain to excuse our delinquency by
promise of generosity in circumstances which
may occur. Third, this prospective benevo-
lence seems entirely to forget that, by Gods
blessing; the mite of the poor may 60 much
further than the affiuent gifts of the rich;
and if We have no just sense of this, how can
we suppose that we understand, or can ever
understand the nature of true charity .
Fourth, if the love of Christ does not impel
us to show our attachment to him under one
arrangement of circumstances, what war
rant have we to believe that it will become
influential in a different position. And fifth,
charity is like plant, which must be Guilt
waited before it will grow. If we do not then
begin early to give it our attention, it will
die out To postpone giving until we can
give largely, is equivalent to an indefinite
pOstponemenf The lust of accumulation is
most unfriendly to the growth-of charityy;;- If
our charity be reluctant when we are poor,
it will not likely be very prompt when we
grow rich. Many cases might be adduced
to show that the rich, with all their imagi-
nary wants to crafty, have usually less to
give away than might have been convent
ent to them in their poorer days, when their
wants we're few and simple. If we are not
willing now to castin our gifts to the Lords
treasury, let US not practise deceit on our
selves, by supposng and promising what we
would do if we were rich"
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1862-10-16

when impressions once made are iaeffacea-
Bile, to teach children facts concerning the
worlds knowledge, even when they eannOt
fully comprehend the meaning of what they
learn9 Shall we be wise in instructing .heir
minds, and overlook their immortal souls
Oh if we Christians were as ready toPro-
fit by experience and advice; as eager to
seize every opportunity to forward the king
dom of Christ, as we are to forward our tenn
poral interests, where would be the coldness
we so much lament in .churches-in our
familiess Is there not reason in this, even
if it were true, that children cannot compre-
bend this doctrinel l am sure that is not
fact. only ask you to try ito explain
to them the simple, sublime truth, that
Christ died to save sinners, and that only
through him can salvation be found; and
YOU will fad, think, that there is no heart
SO ready to receive it as that of little child.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1862-10-16
Death in the Household.

Has the dread visitor made one call-or
already more than one-at your dwelling
He is to come yet again. Sorrowful thought!
How the heart recoils from it Is there
no relief from the dark foreboding Of that
certain and awful factl Yes, there is,
thanks to Him who "hath brought life and
Immortality to light" Look to home, a
meeting, a glorious, beatifc reunion of
yourself, and your loved ones, in the "mar-
sions prepared" on high. Strive to get
yourself and yours-children, domestics,
and all-prepared, in the use of means aud
through grace divine for residence there.
Prepare-prepare myself for deaths COM
ing. Look to your own soul and to the
souls of those whom God has given you
Do you instruct them in their duties to Him
who made them7 Do you point them to
Him who died for them2 Do you show
them the way to heaven, walking before
them in it Do you pray for and with
them Do they see and feel it to be your
chief, your ever present concern, that they
should follow Jesus, serve God, do good in
their generations, and finally inherit life
eternal7
Happy, thrice happy the family bound
together in the bonds offaith and hope and
love to Christ-all looking forward up
ward-to the city celestial, to which they are
travelling in each others company, while
they oft times refresh themselves together
on the way by bouring out their hearts in
prayer, and in sweet songs of the land
whittier they are going
Reader is yours such household Then
the messenger, when he comes, will be one
of Gods brightest, loveliest seraphs; death
will only gather You and your loved ones
together on 1.-THE shining Shore" to be
more lovely, loving and happy than ever
you could be in the sweetest of earthly
homes.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1862-10-16
Harmony of Scripture.

1t is stated in the book of Numbers, that
the Israeltes slain at Baal Poor were
twenty four thousand; but Paul, in his First
Epistle to the Corinthians, says that the
slain were three-and- twenty thousand. Some
have hereupon based q charge of contradic-
ton. But DR.. Hodge justly claims that both
statements are equally correct, for nothing
depended on the precise number. "Any
number between the two amounts may, ac-
cording to common usage, be stated roundly
az either the one or the other. The infalll-
bility of the sacred writer's consists in their
saying precisely what the Spirit of God de-
signed they should say; and the Spirit de-
signed that they should speak after the
manner of men, should call the heaven
solid, and the earth fat, and use round num-
bers without intending to be mathematically
exact in common speech. Moses and Paul
we're accustomed, like most other men, to
use round numbers, and they used them
when under the influence of inspiration, just
as they used other familiar forms of state
ment. Neither intended to speak with
numerical exactness, which the occasion did
not require. What wonderful book Is the
Bible, written at intervals during period
Of fifteen hundred years, when such apart
tons of inaccuracy as this must be seized
upon to impeach its infallibility !"
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1862-10-16
CHILDRENS' COLUMN.
A Missionary Lesson for Children.

PART I.
A grain of corn an infants hand
May plant upon an inch of land,
Whence twenty stalks may spring, and yield
Enough to stock a little field.
The harvest of that field might then
Be multiplied to ten times ten,
Which sovn thrice more, would furnish bread
Wherewith an army might be fed.
PART II.
A penny is little thing,
Which cen the poor mans child may fling
1Cto the treesurv nf heaven,
and make it worth as much as seven.
As seven nay, worth its weight in gold,
and that increased a million fold.
For 10 penny tract, if we'll
Applied, may save soul from he'll.
That soul can scarce be saved alone:
1t must, it will, its bliss make known,
"Come," it will cry, land you shall see
What great things God hath done for me"
Hundreds that joyful sound may hear
Hear with their heart as well as ear;
And these to thousands more proclaim
Salvation in the 'OLly Name"
That ''Only Name" above, below,
Let Jews, and Turks, and Pagans know;
Til every tongue and tribe shall call
On "Jesus" as the Lord of all
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1862-10-16
Close Up E!

In DR.. Armstrong; sermon on the fear
flu pestilence at Norfolk, preached in that
city, is an impressive thought, which we all
would do well to act upon, in view of the
oft repeated breaches made in our church
es. Many have fallen during the last year
ARE we, who remain, ready to "close upW
81 recollect once to have read an ac-
count Of the battle of Waterloo, written by
one who was soldier in the British army
on that OCCASION. A large portion OF the
British infantry were formed into hollow
squares, and the fortunes of the day turned
upon the preservation of those squares in
their integrity. From time to time, one
and another Of them would be broken for
moment, by the French artillery or some
furious cavalry charges; and then the order
would be heard, CLOSE mp and at once
living men stepped forward to take the
place of the fallen. And but for this, said
he, we had lost the day. Christian breth-
rem, we have in this incident a representa-
ton, at once, of our condition as church,
and of our duty. In our encounter With
the pestilence, our ranks have been broken;
many of those whose place was in the fore
front of the battle, have fallen; and now the
order comes, Close up'-the living must
take the place of the dead-their places in
the sanctuary, in the prayer meeting, in the
SabbatL-scLool, in tao closet IN the family,
in the world, if Christ's cause is to win the
day. o for Gods spirit to teach us, and
enable US, each one to meet fully aud fair
ly the responsibilities of the day !"
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1862-10-16
Memories Revived.

DR.. Rush, of Philadelphia, mentions two
or three very pleasing anecdotes of the
freshness with which the memory preserves
the rural scenery of early life, where the
physician visited a sick woman whom he had
known in childhood; she was lying in typhuS
fever, and all hope Of her recovery was
nearly over.
Two little words, like fabulous talisman,
seemed 70 bring back her wandering
thoughts. "The eagles nest" was the brief
exclamation of DR.. Rush. The tree had
grown upon her fathers farm, and all the
scenery of her youth grew up again at the
merton of it. From that moment she be-
gan to recover.
Another fact of different description is
mentioned BY the same author. An Italian
gentleman died in New York of the yellow
fever. In the beginning of his illness he
spoke English; in the middle, French; at
the close, Italian. Il was once told," says
the English Opium Eater, 'by near rela-
tive of mine, that having in her childhood
fallen into a river, and being on the very
verge of death but for the critical assistance
which reached her, she saw in q moment her
whole life, in its minutest incidents, arrayed
before her simultaneously, as in mirror;
and she had faculty developed as sud
denly for omprehending the whole and
every part. These anecdotes correspond
in illustrating the mysterious revival of
memory amid the gloom of life, and when
the sun had almost set. The vivid distinct
ness of the recollection at the last hour OF
existence is not more remarkable than SOL
emn. The handwriting on the wall is then
read by a supernatural light; all the gorge
Gus chambers Of yOuthta! imagery shine
with blaze.
80 Reason, who shall say what spells renew,
When least we look for it, thy broken cew;
Through what small vstss, o. the darkened oraln'
Thy Intellectual DAY b cam bursts again;
And how, like forts to which beeaguers win
UnhOped for entrance through some friend within,
One clear idea Weakened ia the breast.
BY MEMORY MAGIC LET'S IN ALL THE REST,'
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1862-10-16
What Meanest Thou, Oh Sleeper?


We have seldom passed through GER
tain town, without seeing certain well
dressed man lettering listlessly at the rail-
way station; or if we go by on the steamer,
he is commonly leaning against post of
the wharf and looking cut of his idle,
dreamy countenance, as if he 10ished that
some boat would come along, and carry him
away from himself Occasionally, we see
him doing over newspaper, on his shady
piazza and we have often felt like arouS-
ing him with the trumpet-call of the alright
ed sea,captain to the slumbering Jonah,
"What meanest thou, Oh sleeper2"
But the sight of such purpoSeless ;dler
reminds us too closely Of certain class of
listless oiterers among the ranks of Chrst's
protested followers. They are the drOnes
of the Christian hive.
What is more provoking and "trying :"
to pastor of open-eye and active spirit,
than to have the avenues Of duty in his
church blocked up by such masses of spir-
itual inertia 7-to go to nominal Christian
with plan of charity, and find his eyes SO
drowSy that he cannot scan it over, his ears
so heavy that one might as well exhort
mummy into activity? And within this
slumbering form of protested goodness is
voice that might speak out for God and
truth; and heart that might break forth
in prayer; and to it belongs purse that
might yield up its " shekels of silver" for
the Lords service. In looking at the idle,
listless piety which, in times of need, and
of peril, "goes down into the sides IF the
ship" JOnah-like, to slumber, we often
wish for voice, like the trump of Gabriel,
TO sound in such heavy ears, &" What mean
est thou, Oh sleeper" Want is on every
side; woes are on every hand. More than
half the world is spiritually famished. Five
hundred millions of men have never seen a
Bible, or heard of Saviour. Intemper-
ance is dragging its tens of thousands to
death. Oppression is lettering hands and
hearts in almost every cline. HeatheniSm
Is found IN the very alleys Of our cities, and
under the shadows of marble churches
and every hour sees hundreds of souls burst
lug into eternity, to meet their doom
How can Christian sleep in such an age
as Ourel When life grows grander every
year, by the increased knowledge and ex-
tended facilities for achieving great results
for God and humanity When SO many
harvest fields of labor invite the sturdy
arm and glowing heart? When the walls
of worlds sorrow rise on every gale p
To sleep through such period of the worlds
history, is a fearful cril1e. Truly is it g
sin against heayen, to have no pulse that
beats in the palptoions Of an age chat |
,rembles 18th the footstepsoI IN adgaUcing |
2ol - Erchaags
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1862-10-16
Christian Mothers.

Christian mothers, will you listen, for one
moment, to something wish to ask you
On what does your hope of salvation rest
BY what do you hope to be sayed2 know
you will not hesitate to say: mot BY works
of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and renewing OF
the Holy Ghost. How is it, then, that SO
many of us, though recognizing this as the
only sure foundation, as the one great truth
necessary for salvation, should seem so ut
terly to ignore it in the instruction of those
immortal, precious souls, which God has en-
trusted to US, and which we have made SOL
emn vows to bring up in the knowledge of
this truth. Is it not the almost universal
practice of parents and mothers to say to
little children, after speaking of heaven, ''lf
you will be good child, and love God and
Try to please him, you will 60 there when
you diel" Where is Jesus of Nazareth 7
Where is the sacrifice of Calvary? OF what
avail is the agony in the GARDEN to these
little ones, whom he still takes in the arms
of his love and blesses9 He gtill says: "Suf-
fer little children to come unto me, and for
bid them not" Are we fulfilling this COM
mand when we teach them to trust to them
selves, and their own efforts, and then to
expect the reward2 Is it because we think
they cannot understand the plan of saliva
ton? He who knew better than we ever
can, "who knoweth all things" said: eek
eept ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye shall not enter the kingdom of
heaven" Jesus thought they could under
stand it. Yes, far better than the prOudest
philosopher. In child's mind, faith, in
great extent, takes the place of reason
Why should we wait until faith has changed
to incredibly, until reason strives proudly
to subject ell things to her control, to offer
salvation through Christ, which requires
faish alone ITO bring home to the heart
that gracious invitation; "Believe the
Lord Jesas Christ and thou sbslt be s.yedf r.
Do we not choose TIE ssire d c1iidhood,
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1862-10-16
Milton and Napoleon.

Summons, in his Life of Milton, says that
Napoleon BOnaparte declared to Sir John
Colin Campbell, who had charge of his per-
son on the Isle of Eba, that he was a
great admirer of Millions Paradise Lost"
and that he had read it to some purpose,
for that the plan of the battle of Auster-
litz he borrowed from the sixth book Of
that work, where Satan brings his artillery
to bear upon Michael and his angelic host
with such direful effect
.eTraining his devish enginery, unpaid
On every side wi h shsdowing 'quadrons deep,
To hide the fraud"
This new mode of warfare appeared to
Bonaparte so likely to succeed, if applied
in actual use, that he determined upon its
adoption, and succeeded beyond expecta-
ton. A reference to the details of that
battle Will be found to ASST nilate SO com
pletely with Millions imaginary fight, as to
leave no doubt of the assertion.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1862-10-16
Cracking a Commandment.

wonder if you all have read or heard
that capital story of the little Sunday school
girl. 1t is so good, that shall tell it at a
venture. She was a very poor little girl,
and hardly ever had tasted any niceties.-
But she had mad one or two oranges in her
life, and knew how very delicious they were.
So one day, when she happened to 60 with
her mother into market, and saw q large
basket full of this fine fruit, it tempted her
very much. Her mother was away at the
other end of the room with the shopman,
and they were both too busy to notice her.
So she put out her hand, and took the first
orange it touched, and hid it under her lit
tie thin shawl. But as told you, she was
a Sunday school child, and had not only
been taught the commandments, but she
understood them, and knew that they meant
something to her. So just as she hid the
orange, something within her whispered,
Thou shalt not steal !" at which she drop
ped the orange back into the basket, as if
it had been a little ball Of fire, instead Of a
refreshing fruit. You must know that no.
BODY saw her do this but the great God.
This little girl left the store with her
mother, who noticed, as they were walking
down the street, that she was unusually ST.
lent, and ON pushing back her bonnet to see
what was the matter, behold, she was cry
ing! At last her mother coaxed her to tell
her trouble, and she said, 30 mother!
have cracked a commandment I didn't
break it, for l put the orange back; but l
cracked it 20 There are ten commandments,
Ibelieve, and I wonder if all the children
who viii read my experiences, are careful
not only not to break, but not to crack, in
the least, any one of the ten
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1862-10-16

No, no. This little hand was so carved ou'
of the marble, that it stood out beyond the
slab as much as yours will if you lay the
back o it against the wall or any plain sur
face; and as we stood there, little Saldle
without seeming at all to think she was 40
ing any thing to be noticed, and not MIND
ing whether we saw her or not, picked o
luxuriant spray of the beautiful myrtle and
twined it about that little marble hand
$50 like Wallie's hand, Mamma says :
That was sweet thing for a little sister
hand to do; and the eyes that saw 1t done
filed very full. 1 am sure there had never
been any striking between those two ilttle
hands-ike that tender little story you nave
all read, of the little girl who begged to
kiss her dead brothers. hand, saying, This
little hand never struck mel" You will al
take very good care of your little hands
won't you-remembering that some OF them
will change to marble by and by having
finished all their loving work and caressing
on earth?
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1862-10-16
Providence and this War.

You launch loose plank on the swollen
river, and from the bank watch patiently Its
course, as it drifts along-but you cannot
guide it. 1t is not so that God casts us
forth upon the stream of time. That stream
flows, or falls, as He impels it. He has
power, at will, to check its current; or stir
its stagnation; and our course is as lie or
dersit
The misleading appearances of the pres
ent life may hide this Divine superinten'
dence from us. But amid all the fuctua-
tons of earthly things, the eye of faith
discerns, the heart of love adores the pre-
dominance Of plan over accdent-the march
of providence at harmony with itself-the
slow but certain development of the coun-
sci that shall stand forever. SIN the CEN
ire of the world whirlwinds, verify now, as
in the oldest days, dwells and speaks a
God"
1t is not true, therefore, las one OF our
poets phrases it, that we "wander after
painless destiny" Providence rules and
overrules in all things; and our seeming
wanderings are but the paths which de has
marked out for US.
This holds good, no less in the case OF ma
tions, than ofindividuals. Whatsoever hap
pens to people was written afOretime on
high. Truer words were never spoken, than
when Hawley, patriot of the American
Revolution, in reference to the hazards OF
war for independence, said, owe must
put to sea-Providenc will bring us into
port" Our fathers would never have reach,
ed the haven, but for Divine guidance. And
with that guidance. what have we to fear
The sky may be black with cloud, the all
rent with storm, the ocean set with rock
and night, falling over tae terrors of the
scene, may render them only the more ter
rible by shrouding them from our view anc
putting Imagination upon its fantastic work
Yet, with Providence at the helm, no ship
wreck can befall us; and it is weakness
that should shame womanhood to appre'
bend it.
There is nothing in these sentiments a.
war with real military or political science
To speak only of the former: Wellington
who stands among the foremost of generals
whether of ancient or modern times, in on
of the three letters written by him from
Waterloo, said: 81 have escaped unhurt
the finger of Providence was on me !" Annie
the reeking carnage of that field, where, al
most beyond parallel, "red battle stamped
his foot and nations felt the shock" ne re
allied that the life on which hung the issu'
Of the dreadful conflict, hung on the shell
tering care of Providence. And what wa
true there, for him, is true everywhere, ant
for all
May our people be animated by the spir
it which induced Richard Boyle, general.
called the great Earl OF Cork" to adopt a
his motto in life and his epitaph in death
the sentenoe-"The providence of God
my inheritance T' If, as with the heart o
one man, we make this our motto, the ma
ton will never have an epitaph. We shall
abide free Confederacy forever.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1862-10-16
The Little Marble Hand.

I had been staying some time with a
family, where there were two very pleasant
children, aud they told me they had little
brother Wallie, but he as in another home.
One day they took me to this home, and
there we gathered about little mound upon
which the grass of only one summer had
grown; but the thick, glossy myrtle vines
left little space for any thing beside to grow.
At the head of this little mound was pure
white stone, on which there was no inscrip-
tion-nOthing but beautifully carved hand
"a little cbild's hand-plump and round.
with all the dimPled fingers shut inward
upon the palm, except the first, and that
pointed upward-away beyond the blue SKY,
which hung above US 50 lovingly that day,
to the new heavens and earth, where there
viii be no such thing as tbeselittIe graves.
% make sad tears come into happy eyes