The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1871-10-10

months, report of the Superintendent Of
the condition and work of the schoo
during the year adieu by the retiring
Superintendent in very interesting and
affecting, though brief address address.
by the pastor, singing by the school and
a chant by quartette of voices. The
whole number now belonging to the
school is 33S. Average attendance dur
ing the last nine months, 179. Seven
members of the school have united with
the church on profession of faith during
the year. There has been one death,
that of j. j. Round of the college.
Amount Of contributions for benevolent
objects, largely penny contributions,
s13l so and about 500 for the new
library. Rev. Joseph Steele has been
Superintendent for seven years, and he
has labored hard, and by the blessing of
God, successfully in building it up in
numbers and interest. The first year OF
his service, the average attendance was
only 70.
A WOUNDED BIRD. = Last week we in.
serted news item, which stated that
Frank II. Bascom, of the peoples Tenn
perance Drug Store" was brought before
Justice Knapp upon the disclosure of one
John Stone, who swore that he obtained
of said Bascom bottle of "Bitters" from
which he became boisterously drunk and
was thrown into Jail. The witness stated
that he drank the bitters, and nothing else.
Whereupon Bascom was fined $40 and
costs. AT this simple announcement,
Bascom was thrown into terrible
paraxyms of fear or anger which culmin-
ated in a printed statement which might
seem to be plausible to some that knew
nothing Of the facts,-the statement only
lacks truth.
Pleased with the appearance of the
proprietor and his apparent endeavors to
make the Drug Store respectable place,
it was with real pain that his true friends
heard the complaints which have so fire.
quently obtained currency of late, to the
effect, that liquor was sold there more
freely than under the former administra.
ton. In fact, the first intimaton of this
came from the mouth of Mr.. Bascom's
venerable predecessor. Then came wife,
pleading with tears in her eyes, that &C.
ton might be taken to abate the nuisance
which was keeping the cup of her misery
running over full, by the sale of whiskey
to her husband. In the face aud eyes Of
all these circumstances, it was hoped tina,
this public scandal might be averted. Mr.
Bascom was privately reasoned with, and
advised by real friends. But when these
complaints come into the courts, without
any agency of theirs, (for this was the
fourth case of Imprisonment in the county
Jail for drunken disturbances, in which il
was alleged that the victim obtained his
liquor Of Bascom, and two Of them swore
to it under solmn oath land in one instance
affirming that Mr.. Bascom especially
recommended Aliens Congress Bitters as
being pure whiskey with only little
snake-root or cammomile which did not
injure it for drinking). Then, and not
till then, did they yield to the conviction
long since felt that the public good, as
well the requirements of the law ,deman md.
ed action more effective than argument
His true friends have seen with pain this
crises approaching and continued to hope
that he would desist from his evil way
but alas the love Of gain overcamo his
better judgment and he has fallen into
the suare Satan has set for him. Verify
the wise man must have had just such q
case in his mind when he said, ale that
being often reprovcd and hardeneth his
neck, shall suddenly be desiroyed,a and that
without remedy"
| METHODS CnURCH.-Rcv. Mr.. Bailey
preached in the morning on David's
charge to Solomon, Chron. % 3: 9, com.
menting on the different clauses of the
text and presenting brief history Of
Solomon, his career and its sad termina.
ton, as striking Illustration of Gods
truthtulness and justice.
In the evening, a large audience Assem-.
bled to listen to his sermon on lnfdelity
and Spiritualism. His text was in Deut.
ID l-3. If there arise among you proph.
ct, or dreamer of dreams and giveth
thee sign or wonder and the sign OIL
wonder come to pass whereof he spake
unto thee, saying, Let us 60 after other
gods, which thou hast not known, and let
US serve them; thou shalt not harken I'M
to the words of that prophet, or dreamer
Of dreams; for the Lord your God prov.
eth you, to know whether ye love the
Lord your God with all your heart and
all your soul.
The preacher began by reference to
the Neurological sea-god Proteus, to i'll.
ustrate by his varying phases the shifts
of Infdclity. He next briefly presented
the nature of the leading systems of In.
fidelity and Superstition, beginning with
Atheism and closing with Spiritualism
which he characterized as veritablt
moral Cess-pool, with its vapid commune
cations, its raving soothsayers, its heath.
enish divinations, absorbing into itself
any foul and filthy bird, which car
screech out its blasphemies against the
true God and Jesus Christ, whom he had
sent and as pushing its repulsive pres.
ence into our midst, exhibiting its de-
PRAYED curiosity and wanton credulous.
ness, before our immediate vision.
He next proceeded to give and discus.
the causes of lnfdelity in general. First
The permanent and deeper cause was
found in the disorder of mans moral ma,
ture-"in the evil heart of unbelief il
departing from the living God,' and il
the words of Jesus-"men loved dark
ness rather than light because their deed,
f are evil. For every one thar doeth evil
hateth the light, neither cometh to the
light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Second. Ignorance of the Bible was the
next cause mentioned. Third. A de-
PRAYED curiosity and vagrant sympathy
were given, as affordiug the Spiritualisti'
phase Of Atheism. Various pretexts OF