The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-07-14

had pitched his tent In the province of CECILIA
was surprised, the other day, by poor, gno-
rant Turkish woman coming up to his tent door
and asking him if it was really true that the
Day of Judgment was near. L" On questioning
her, he writes, " as TO her reasons for making
such an inquiry l found that she had heard the
villagers, especially the leading men, express the
opinion that the last days Of Islamism had
come, and that the whole world is about to be
Judged for its wickedness To-day had a LONG
conversation with Turkish cadI or Judge. the
DRIFT OF whose conversation took the same dlrec-
ton These two persons represent the extremes
OF society among the Turks yet they are agreed
as to the decadence, and probable collapse of
the Turkish power. A large majority of the
Turks are respondent. Their dependency is
rather increased, than otherwise, by seeing their
christian nelghbors hopeful, and increasing in
prosperity The Christians are looking in all
directions to see what they can do to prepare
themselves and their children for the new era that
seems to be dawning upon them. London Sun
day at Home.
decline OF IDoLATRY-A visitor
to Trichinopoly writes to the Indian Church
Gazette:
"! visited the splendid vaishnivite. Temple
at Serlngum, reported to be the finest of its
KIND IN South India. 1t possesses great reve-
nues, but 1T is evident that the trustees. nova
days, care little about the shrine, which is tumb-
ling into decay, while they spend the money
on their relations. l noticed a similar indiffer-
ence on the part of the custodans of the Shivite
Temple at Tanjore | heard that Government
were going to appoint Commission to INQUIRE
into every Temple Trust in the Presidency, and
call upon the custodians to show cause why the
funds should not be taken out of their hands.
and the bulk expended in native dispensaries
and vernacular schools"
Among the billsin the English Parlia-
ment now occupying much public attention. is
one brought forward by the Lord Chancellor
with respect to the burial of dissenters. AS the
law now stands no one can be buried in the
graveyards of the Episcopal churches unless the
Episcopal service is used at the funeral and
this service cannot be employed at the burial
of any who have died without having received
baptism or by their own hands. The subject
has been repeatedly agltated in recent wears
put without overcoming the OPPOSITION to
change In the existing law One of the COM
promises that have been proposed is silent
burial But what right it has been asked. has the
Established Church to say that all persons who
do not accept Its burial service shall be inferred
without any religious ceremony The bill of
Tered by the Lord Chancellor provides that on
giving twenty-four hours notice to the Rector
or persons In charge of the Parish church. the
relatives or friends of any deceased person
may have the body buried in the parochial
graveyard without the service required by the
Church OF England. The friends of the de-
ceased are allowed to have either no exercises.
or services of their own choice, provided thew
are orderly and Christian. Presbyterian Ban
| ner.
"A SHATTERED IDoI..-"A sbatterad
! idol" says Rev. M. D. Conway, "is George
Eliot" :" A cruel disenchantment' it is. SEEING
that " score of pathetic myths had invested her
ever since Mr.. Lewess death" And then Mr..
Conway goes on in the stilted rhetoric affected
by his class. Had she been aware of the niche
she has long occupied in the holy of holes, the
heart OF the young, the heroic the dreamers
had she known what it had cost these to raise
her and to defend her; and how, having lived
down all the sneers of society she had become a
person unique, ideal dwelling apart in the finest
imaginatlons as one who, for love- gave all, de-
ned the world, and saved the sanctuary of her
heart; had she known all this she could hardly
nave subjected the wNl1 to this cruel Olsen
chantment without Come motive powerful
enough to be stated by her personal friends I"
But her offence had another exasperating feature.
She was married in church-in the most fash
lonable church in London" Here saws Mr..
Conway, here was the reputed High priestess of
Posltvlsm kneeling before clergyman, and pro-
nouncing after him that she will live after the
Lords holy ordinance. She who has not he.
lleved In any deity but humanity for over
twenty years. Moreover she signed her name
Marian Evans, spinster," ignoring Mr. Lewes.
and confessing that her relations to him were
not after the Lords holy ordinance" Alto
together, we judge that the idol is pretty thor.
oughly " shattered. : Presbyterian.
SITE OF THE TEMPLE.-At recent
meeting of the Society of Biblical Archaeology
IN London, Lieutenant Colonel Warren. r. f.
read paper on " The Site of the Temple of the
Jews at Jerusalem" in which he expressed the
opinion that the explorations at Jerusalem tend
to confirm the authenticity of the traditional
sites OF the Holy Sepulchre and Temple of the
Jews, and have completely overthrown the the
DRY advanced by Ferguson that the dome of
the rock covers the Holy Sepulchre.
He first showed that the Zion to which the
ark of the Lord was brought bv King David
was totally distinct hill from Moriab on which
the Temple of Solomon was built and nointeJ
out that the confusion existing in the minds of
many on the subject arises from the fact that of
the principal poetical works, the Psalms. refer
ing specially to Zion were composed bv David
during the period that Zion was the HOLY Hin
while the Psalms written after the building of
the Temple, only refer to Zion in parallelisms
lie then pointed out that of the three hills ON
winch Jerusalem Is built, there is general con-
cuTrence between the Bible Joseph1s and Mac
cabees that Moriah the Temple mount Is that IN
the east, that TO the southwest is the MINER citv
OF JosePhus, and that to the northwest is the
Akra, formerly the city of David (Zion) which
was cut down by the Maccabees to prevent Il
dominating the Temple He then smoke of the
nnrro lie -. Il Il