The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-04-01
SUNDAY READING.


The Central Presbyterian, published IN
this city, is a large and handsome weekly,
devoted to religious intelligence, literary,
scientific and agricultural reading. 10
stinpy church members we commend the
admirable letter of William Witness TO
Colonel Cosefist, of Leanvile, treasurer of
the church of that place. 1t is too true
to be a caricature Of so many churches in
the country:
LEANvrLLE MANsE, March, 1871.
Col. Ciosefst-Dear Sir-As you have
long been a member of the Presbyterian
church, and have, in a certain way, been a
great benefactor of its ministers, it is meet
that YOU. and others like you, should be
informed of the great advantages daily ac-
cruine to the reverend clergy from the
course pursued, with so much consistency,
by that large body of Christians of which
you are faithful representative.
l learn from your pastor, at whose house
l am now sojourning, that he will soon be
compelled to leave the church in which
you are an elder, and of which you are,
believe. the treasurer--the church in which
you have done so much to teach him les
sons of faith, economy, and contentment
in hard lot, in short the endurance of
hardness as a good soldier of Christ. I
knew him when be came to this field,
about ten years ago, and can assure you
that think he is much more of man
l. al Iic N 10 ,,ot.
improved by the religious exercise he
has been compelled to take in the
corn-feld and the woods; his back is
several times stronger from such frequent
use in taking his bag of grain to and from
the mill and he can handle the hoe, the
axe, and the curry comb, with dexterity
that / hardly supposed he could ever ac-
uuire, unused as he had been to this sort
of manual labor up to the time when he
left the seminary. He tells me that he
has frequently subsisted, for weeks, upon
bread and milk, and, to his surprise, has
found that he and his family could live
upon that diet; though the old hen which
your wife so generously gave him during
the early days Of his settlement here,
has proved the progenitress of SO
large stock of fowls as to enable
him sometimes to indulge the luxury of
fresh egg and fried chicken; but find
ing it necessary to keep little sugar and
coffee, for appearance sake, when company
came, he has been compelled to forego
these luxuries, most Of the time, in order
to effect an exchange OF them with the
storekeeper for these and some other ne
cessary groceries. His wife mas become a
wonderful seamtress. Her skill in patch
/. ing, and making new clothes out of old
zones, and out of scant patterns, bought
with chickens and eggs,) quite surprises
me. Her husbands old coat, which has
renewed its life many times, is memorial
'.of her ingenious industry. By binding
the edges with alpaca braid, re.work-
ing the button-hoes, wiping off the
spots, and by careful brushing, she has
maintained for it an aspect of clerical dig
nifty and responsibility that seems almost
incredible. can hardly believe il is the
same garment which he wore at his mar
rage, when I had the pleasure of uniting
him with this excellent lady IN the fall
1885,. And yet he tells me he has worn
it all the time for his second best, as well
as his first best, having no other, but
ragged old affair which he never uses ex-
cept when about the stable, or wood pile,
ar working in his field and garden at
hcme. His wife has not had new dress
for long time, but she manages,
/ hardly know how, to look well.
/ discover that she makes very little noise
when she walks about the house, and te-
Y ing somewhat curious about such matters,
/ have found out that she wears cloth
shoes which she has made herself, and is
thus enabled to keep her leather shoes in
tolerable order for Sabbath. The things
worn on her children's feet are, am sure,
the work of her hands, They are not
shoes; hardly know what they are but
[ have learned that, with the money paid
her by your daughter for some needle
work at the time of the young lady's mar
riage, she was enabled to purchase shoes
for each of these little ones to appear in
en- public occasions, and that they are
likely to last long time.
Your pastor seems very thankful for the
load Of wood you sent him winter before
last, and think one of the advantages of
the severe ordeal through which he has
passed is the thankful spirit he has, He
seems SO truly grateful for any little help
he gets in this way If you, and othe s
like y on, were all the time sending him
things and paying up his salary punctually,
he might, like Jeshurun, wax fat and kick.
He would perhaps spend the time in his
study which he now has to spend in open
air. He might visit too much, and be-
come mere gadabout and gossip, or he
might eat too much and become dysper-
IL II oh Inh oe L,
candles, in the house. The family is COM
PEELED to eat supper before dark and retire
early. How much better this is than eat
ing late heavy suppers aud sitting up, as
he was wont to do at college aud seminary,
running his eye sight over his books.
Co-OPERATIoN.--A successful applica-
L Al. Al. L