davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-06
a Newspaper for the Family.
By REV. DIR. JOHN HALL.

ADVISE and good man who was obliged to
admit stranger to daily conversation with
his family would look to his character and
try to estimate his probable influence. But
no common daily visitor can exert the same
amount of influence that is exercised by the
daily newspaper, which gives all current
events its own color, and presents all living
questions in its own light. 1t is admitted
to an intimacy denied to ordinary visitors,
and can present facts, make illusions, and
suggest thoughts that would not be uttered,
or if spoken, would be rebuked by the bushes
or the protests of an average household.
A newspaper for family should as nearly
as possible resemble the conversation of
pure and thoroughly informed man. No
considerate parent wishes his friends to re-
tail in his family the information which it is
the painful duty of lawyers to elicit in police
or divorce courts. No wise mother wishes
to familarize her children with the plans Of
the vicious or the schemes of the degraded
In fact, the instinct of their gentleness for
bids allusion to them in the family by those
who must know them; and why should a
newspaper spread out in detail before the
eye what dare not be addressed to the ear !?
On the same principle of common sense,
we presume, wise Christian man would not
willingly introduce to familiar daily inter
course with his children scoffer who never
missed chance to make religion ridiculous
or hateful. "Bigotry," you say. Be candid
now and enquire who puts into his family
the print that habitually ridicules even his
politics or abuses his party? Do not be
angry with men for valuing their religion, as
much as you do your politics. One should
desire for family friend man who, when
he has occasion to touch religion, will touch
it in a religious spirit. Can any one assign
good reason for selecting daily newspaper
on an opposite principle?
But even where scofing is shut out, and
impurity is rigidly excluded, there is Ger.
tain Objectionable tone adopted in many
newspapers, we presume from natural
anxiety to satisfy the demand for liveliness
Fatal accidents are made amusing; felony
becomes funny" tragedies are done into
comedies, and even murder loses its horrors
in the facetious narrative. Widows may
weep, or the virtuous may be shocked, bu
the readers get a good laugh out of the
transaction. This is bad in taste, and de
moralizing in influence. 1t takes all seri
business out of life; but crime and cruelty
are serious. They are matter for horror o.
for tears, not for laughter. 1t habituate
the mind to see, aud eventually to see only
the triaing side of things; it deadens sym
pathy and makes vice and cruelty danger
ously familiar. 1t destroys earnestness AM
that horror of evil which is the safeguard o
the youths, till they are actuated by fxeo
principle.
The newspaper for the family should avOiC
all this. Being newspaper it must Civ
the history of the day, but it will give it il
the tone and spirit of pure and refne'
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-06
For TIE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN.
THE PRAYING CHRISTIAN.

|, Christian, pray; we do not mean to go
through form of prayer, but prey. If
each individual in The Church militant could
be brought to feel the power of earnest, fer
vent, importunate prayer and engage in it
accordingly, soon would the windows Of
Heaven open and showers of blessings de-
scend.
Individual effort is not enough felt among
US. True, we cannot pray without first ask
ing God to teach us how, and this He will
do. Do we wrestle day after day with the
God of Jacob in behalf of our dropping
Zion? Behold the thoughteSs and the gay
among US, children of the Church; do We
bear them up in our petitions to that Cove
nant Shepherd who careth not only for the
sheep but for the lambs of the fold? They
see not, poor blinded ones, the dangers of
delay. and laugh at our concern. Who shall
pray, if not the Christian friend or relative
that their eyes may be opened! Let us
present them, individually, before the Mercy.
Seat, in the arms of our faith, pleading i'm
Fortunately that our God may be their God,
and expecting an answer, he who has heard
us in the past will not turn deaf ear to
our entreaties.
And who of US can say we lift daily,
heartfelt prayer for him, our shepherd,
who breaks to us, Sabbath after Sabbath, the
bread of Life? We may get in the habit
of daily form, such as, "Oh! Lord, bless
our pastor aud strengthen him in his work, "
and we think that will do. All no We
must have our stated periods of prayer for
him, and wreste with God in his behalf;
who so needs our intercessions? We can
have but faint idea, at best, of the extent
of his care and labors for the salvation of
DYING souls. How much better would it be
if, instead Of being so quick to observe de-
fects in his character and sermons, we should
pray that God would give him the needed
grace, wisdom and efficiency, to perform,
properly, the great work? Then Christian,
pray for your pastor; you cannot better aid
him in his pastoral labors. If we have never
prayed before, let US wake up and begin
ao0. and soon will the "day dawn and the
shadows fee
Pray always; nothing will be considered
too triAing for His ear that hears the raven s
cry. Prayer is the incessant whispering of
the soul, the unceasing communion with the
Father. God is not far from every one Of
US. 'Tis but a thin, misty veil that hides
from view His heavenly messengers, the
white-robed, the miuistering spirits that
guard the Christians path way, and wait to
bear our petitions to the skies. Let US talk
with our Friend above as freely and conf
IDENTIFY as We approach an earthly parent; an
answer will come sometime, in Gods way,
not ours.
Christian, pray Pray without ceas-
ing" An answer awaits US somewhere
along the stormy Hfe-road.
PRAYER is the Christians vital BREATH
The ChIstian's native air,
His watch word at the gates of death
He enters heaven with prayer
NJ. L. A.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-06
No Condemnation.

As traveller, unaccustomed to sea life,
was crossing the wide waste of the Atlantic,
one day his eye rested with concern amount
ing to alarm, upon, as he thought, the storm.
cloud gathering to burst upon them. Itwas
no little relief to him to be assured by the
sailor, to whom such phenomena were famil-
lar, that, instead of its being before them or
over them, it was behind them. "Sir," said
the skillfpl mariner, "that cloud has burst
behind as.
Such is the good news conveyed in The
words that head this-"No condemnation"
Let us examine it little together.
Perhaps you have been one of those who
have long been destitute of peace; and that,
too, because you have been misled as to the
grand foundation upon which peace rests
Many poor soul is cheated and deluded by
a very common deceit, namely, that God had
certain claims and demands upon man; that
man, being unable to meet these demands,
in mercy, and love, allows the claims to
stand in allegiance, as it were.
Now, hesitate not to say this is the sure
way to keep the soul in darkness and doubt.
You know very well that in temporal things,
if man has heavy liabilities which he is
unable to meet, it matters not how kind or
considerate his creditor may be, it is the eT-
istenee of the unmet liability that produces
many sleepless night: the kindness and
consideration of his creditor, moreover, have
limits; he is not pushing his claim now, but
he is sure to do SO some day. Oh, can
well understand how restless and uncomfort-
able the soul must be that fancies such is its
position before God.
But now listen, reader. The gospel or
good news announces the blessed fact that
for the believer, judgment has been executed
by God upon the old existence that lay un-
der the debt, so that both the debt aud debtor
are gone, and now it is no longer the old
condition improved or bettered, but new
man (new creation, in new order of things,
in life, in liberty, and in peace-the con-
demnation, the wrath, the death, are all be.
hind him.
The Son of God, Jesus Christ, came down
here, and in flesh (holy, harmless, .undefled,
and separate from sinncrs,) He bore the en-
tire judgment, the entire Eability-He was
under it on the cross. He died: the soul
that simply believes can say, 81 died in
Him." He was raised from the dead: the
soul that simply believes can say, 81 was
raised in Him." Therefore, self or flesh
and its sins are for ever gone-buried in
the grave of Christ, never to have resurrec.
tion.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-06
Waiting for a Revival!

Is this the attitude of the Church? We
have been very much struck with the fact,
that in numerous ministerial gatherings and
ecclesiastical assemblies in which the condi-
ton of the Church was discussed, during the
past autumn, there was confident anticipa.
ton expressed that great blessings were
about to come upon the Church. If these
utterances represent the feeling of the en-
tire Church, then are we in the first stage of
the revival; for that waiting, in assured hope
and trust, is the precious sign that the good
Spirit of God has come upon the people, In
citing them to look for, and hasten unto,
times of quickening and ingathering.-
When we see confident anticipation, coupled
with earnest, longing prayer, we may be
sure that "Jesus of Nazareth passeth by,"
and that his disciples will soon be joined by
great multitude who will seek his mercy
and grace.
There are reasons why the Church should
look for the coming of her King in great
and manifest power. The love of many has
waxen cold. Wordliness has encrusted
many Christian hearts. In the ministry
and eldership there have been grievous falls,
and deep di8honor has been done to the
cause of Christ. Great judgments of God,
desolatng fertile lands and populous cities,
have taught men how frail is the hold they
have upon earthly good. Errors iu doctrine
and practice are rife, and the men who war
against the Word of God and the Church of
Christ grow bolder and more defiant. 1t is
time for God to work-time for the resist
less power of the Spirit to bear down on all
the forms of opposition, and subdue or de-
stroy them. And not in vain will the
Churchs earnest prayer be breathed into
the ear of her great Head and Ruler. He
does not set her upon watchful expecta-
ton of his coming, to disappoint her. He
does not prompt her prayers for blessings,
and neglect those prayers. There will sure
ly be "the sound of an abundance of rain
if the Church does not sink down again into
indifference, and restrain her prayers before
God. Let us confidently look for the bless.
ing, and, as we look, let us labor and pray.
PRESBYTERIAN.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-06

young persons in a merica, who, from wan
of interest or simp,e solicitations, give no
one dollar a year t. the cause Of churches
or Christian ENTERPRISES, yet should they
contribute but ten cents a week, woulc
produce the yearly income of over twenty
millions. Why, thea, will not Christians
awake to the consids ration of this subject,
to proper cognizape of this immense dor
mant power, and move at once in the use OF
means to reach it, 50 as to ensure the glorl-
Gus dawning of that promised day when "to
the poor shall the gopel be preached" and
"the whole earth sail be filled with the
knowledge of the Loii?"
If fifty persons gise ten cents each, the
amount will be SIS Pr week, or $3.50 per
year.
If fifty persons gh twenty cents each
the amount will be q . per week. or $500
per year
If forty persoi.s si7ss.sshirty cents each, the
amount will be $t2 pe. 1goeK, or 1924 per
year.
If thirty persons give forty cents EACH
the amount will be S12 per week, or 1924
per year.
If twenty persons give fifty cents each,
the amount will be $40 per week, or $500
per year.
If ten persons give 81 each, the amount
will be $40 per week, or $500 per year,
Total, $3068 per year.-MethOdiSt.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-06

SHALLOW WATERS ARE EASILY MUDDIED.
After night of storm, the waters of the
bay along the beach, stirred by the winds,
are foul and black with the mire and dirt.
But look beyond, out into the deep water
how blue and clear it is The white caps
on the surface show the violence of the wind,
but the water is too deep for the storms that
sweep it's surface to stir up the earth at the
bottom.
So in Christian experience. A shallow
experience is easily disturbed; the merest
trifes becloud and darken the soul whose
piety is superficial; while the most furious
storm of life fails to darken or perturb the
soul which has attained deep experience OF
the things of God. The agitation may pro
duce sparkle on the surface, but in the
calm depths of such spirit reigns eternal
tranquility, the peace of God that passett
all understanding.-NewpOrt Journal.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-06
FOR 4HE CEsraAr PRESBYTERIAN.
THE SURE REFUGE.

@, kn6w.the hand that is guiding me
Thro' the shadow to the light;
And know that all betiding me
Is meted cut arighti
know thst;the. thorpy path tread
Is ruled with 60 denhne;
And know that the darker lies tangled thread
The brighter the rich design.
When faints and fades each wilderness-hope,
And the lamp Of faith burus dim
o, know where 10 find the honey drop
On the bitter chalice brim
For see tho veiled from my mortal sight,
Gods plan is all completed,
Tho the darkness at present be not light,
And the bitter be not sweet
can wait til the day-spring shall overflow
TIE night OF pain and care,
For know there's a blessing for every one,
A promise for every prayer;
Yes; feel that the hand that is holding me,
VIII ever hold me fast;
And the strength of the arms that are folding me,
VIII keep me to the last.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-06

man at family table. All the intelligence,
wit, poetry, and anecdote that such man
may carry into domestic circle, the family
newspaper may introduce, and we venture
to think nothing more. There are people
enough in any great city to sustain paper
of this kind when it is provided, and with
the advance of pure sentiment the number
will increase.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-06
Vol. 7.---NO. 20.

self or the succor of his brethren's prayers,
not ONLY for the success of his labors but for
the very life of his own soul. "The wilder
ness and the solitary place" were indeed
often made glad for him, and the parched
ground became as "a pool, and the thirsty
land springs of water;' but he felt that it
was SO, and could only be so, by a special
miracle of grace"
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-06

The UNION of Christians to Christ their
common head, and by means of the influence
they derive from him, their union one to
another, may be illustrated by the load-stOne
1t not molly attends the particles of iron to
itself, by their magnetic virtue; but by thi;
virtue it unites them among each other.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-06

HAVE THE COURAGE to drop the most
agreeable acquaintance you have when you
are convinced he lacks principle. GA friend,
should bear friends infrmities," but not
his vices.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-06

No FLOWERS or garlands plucked from
the most beautiful and fragrant garden of
earth, must be be hung on the cross of our
Lord.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-06

The JOY OF THE SPIRIT is delicate, sa-
cred deposit, and must be kept in pure
casket. An unholy breath will dim its lus.
tire and fade its freshness.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-06

THE FAULT-Be faithful, and say if the
fault is not more in the WiH than in the tai
ents God has given you.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-06

No MAN can be prOvident of his time who
is not prudent in the choice of his company.
The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-12-06
Temptations of Missionaries.

Rev. VIM. G. Burns, the Chinese mission
ary, in writing to his mother, and referring
to text on which he had been preaching in
Annoy on the words, because iniquity shall
abound, the love of many shall wax cold, I"
The Placer herald., 1871-10-28

New MODE OF RECORDING SPEECH If
the following paragraph, clipped from an
exchange, gives an accurate statement Of
facts, we may soon expect to see the last Of
the ubiquitous reporter. He will be trans
formed into an amanuensis, to write out ma
chne-made hieroglyphics:
GA mechanic living on the shores of Lake
Zurich, NJ. Theodor Zuppnger, has just in
vented a mechanism as marvellous as the
daguereotype was at first considered to be,
the applications of which have since become
so popular and universal. The machine Of
NJ. Zuppinger is no larger than the human
hand, and performs the work of an accom-
plished stenographer. Placed in contact
with the vocal organ, it treproduces the slight
est sounds enuncated by the tongue, throat
or lips. While one is in the act of speaking
ribbon of paper is detached from the ma
chine, similar to that thrown off by the tele-
graphic apparatus, on which the words
pronounced are traced in black and white.
The mechanism is in all respects most inge-
nously constructed, and worthy of being
compared with the inventions of Niepce,
Daguerre and Morse"
The Placer herald., 1871-10-28

WHAT but suppressed sense of humor,
in both speaker and auditors, could possibly
have carried off such a speech as this, which
is attributed to Webster: Men of Roches-
ter, am glad to see you, and am glad to
see your noble city. Gentlemen, saw your
falls, which am told are $50 feet high
That is very interesting fact. Gentlemen.
Rome had her CAESAR, her Scipio, her Brutus;
but Rome, in her proudcst days, had nerer
a waterfall $50 feet highl Gentlemen,
Greece had her Pericles, her Demosthenes,
and her Socrates; but Greece, in her palm
lest days, nere,' had a waterfall $50 feet
high! Men of Rochester, go on. No peo-
pie ever lost their liberties who had water
fall $50 feet hgh!"
The Placer herald., 1871-10-28

WASHINGTON PASTRY. - A sojourner in
Washington sends the following:
| am particularly fond of lemon pie and
icc-cream for dessert AT t-- hotel went
on peaceably for couple of weeks, but al
ways eating my lemon pie under protest, for
was a stranger, and did not like objections.
Finally called waiter and said
John, ! have nothing to say about the
ice cream, but what kind Of pie is this q
"W hat kind of pie did YOU order, sab %
81 ordered lemon pie, but this appears to
be dried apple
"Dat's lemon pie, sab. You know dey
has way Of mixin' dried apples in the lemon
pies here, sab, to dat extent it requires a
man of 'bility for to distinguish EN- apart,
sab. Lemons is scarce, you know, and dey
has to conomizc 'em SO as TO make one
lemon do for sixteen pies, sah."
The Placer herald., 1871-10-28
GRANTS CHANCES.

We prefer that Grant should be the Re-
publican candidate for President, because
that would test the question whether capi-
tai and thieves or the people will govern this
country in the future; whether we are TO
have State rights or a centralized despotism /;
whether we are to be ruled by brainless
Xerxes or by enlightened patriotism. George
w. Julian, late leading Republican Con
gresham from Indiana, gives some reasons
why Grant should not be nominated, and
why Republicans should not support him.
Here they are:
Multitudes of Republicans are outraged by
Grants shameful official favoritism for his own
kindred, which has been publicly defended, and
even lauded, by Senator Morton, who paraded
his disgusting sycophancy in his late Louisville
speech
Not less offensive to all honorobs instincts has
been his open acceptance of rich presents from
men of wealth, who have been paid back in lu-
crative and honorable positions. Nothing could
90 farther to debauch our politics utterly than
such an example from the chief of the nation.
His lawless and unconstitutional acts in the
San Domingo affair, and his organized conspiracy
to degrade Charles Sumner and put Simon Cam
eron in his official place, is very far from the
least of the reasons for not re-nominating him.
if success is desired; to which might be added
his exploits in the late Gatling-gun Conven-
ton - in the State of Louisiana.
And, finally, if a man is to be known by the
company he keeps, Grant would have TO be con-
demned under this rule, if no other objection
could be urged. His intimate friends compan-
ions and advisers are such men as Pomeroy,
whose conscience has long since ceased to per-
form its Office, and whose public life has been a
calamity to Kansas; Simon Cameron, whose
political career has illustrated every phase of
audacity, knavery and corruption, and whose
national reputation in these particulars is per-
fecty established and unchallenged; and 0. p.
Morton, whose private character has been a con-
tinued defiance of decency, while in public life
he has been on nearly all sides of every question
from the beginning of his career to this time
mounting the greenback theory fewyears since,
would not pay; swinging around the circle with
Andy Johnson in 1865, and swinging back again
when he found the swing went the wrong way
denouncing Charles Sumner and the Radicals in
his famous Richmond speech, and the next year
eating his own words and impudently taking the
highest seat in the highest synagogue, while
evincing in his whole public career total lack
of any honest intuition, or any heartfelt sympa-
thy for the truth as a thing to be priced and
maintained for its own sake These men are
enough to damn better man than Grant; and
thoroughly true man, fit to be President of the
United States, would not select them as his most
intimate confidential friends and advisers, and
surrender to them the chief control of public af-
fairs committed to him under the solempties of
an oath.
The Placer herald., 1871-10-28
NUMBER 10.
IMMENsiTY OF CREATION.

Somo astronomers have computed that
there are no less than rs ,000, Geo Of suns in
that universe The fixed stars are all suns,
having like our sun numerous planets revolv-
ing round them. The solar system or that
to which wo belong has about thirty planets,
primary and secondary, belonging TO It. ! he
circular field of space which it occupies is in
diameter 3,G00 coo 600 of miles; and that
which it controls much greater, That sun
which is nearest neighbor to ours is called
Sirius, distance from or sun about % co.,
eco, 600 Of milcs. Now if all the fixed stars
are as distant from each other as Sirius is
from our sun; il the solar system be the
average magnitude Of all the systems of the
10, 600, Geo Of suns, what imagination can
grasp the immeasity Of creation? Every
sun of the rs, ,O00,000 controls field Of
space of about 10, ,000 600 coo of miles il
diameter. Who can survey a plantation
containing IS ,000, eco of circular fields, each
10, GOO GOO, ,0OO Of miles Such, however,
is one Of the plantations Of Him who has
measured the waters in the hollow of his
hand, and meted out Heaven with span,
and comprehcnded the dust of the earth in
measure, weighed the mountains in scales
and the Hills III a balance; Him WHO, sitting
upon the orbit of the earth, stretches out to.
the heavens as a curtain, ald spyeadeth
them out as a tent to dwell in.
What a wonderful universe we live int
How small we seem when we think Of its.
vastncss.
The Placer herald., 1871-10-28

How TO QUARREL WITH WTE.-Wat
until she is at her toilet preparatory to going
out. She will be sure to ask you if her bon
net is straight. Remark that the lives of
nine-tenths of the women are passed in think
ING whether their bonncts are straight, and
wind up the remark by saying that you
know but one woman that had common
sense about her. Wife will ask YOU who
that was. lou, with sigh, reply: "Ah.
never mind" Wife will ask YOU why YOU
did not marry her. "Ah! why, indeed?"
Tie climax is reached by this time, and
regular row is sure TO follow.