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44 TilE PRACTICAL · CHRISTIAN.


F Dr ! lUI P rac/ u: al Chris/ ian ,


\ Vh'ilst reading a few days since, in a little


book written' particularly for children, I me'.


with the following extract, which I should like


to have inserted in the Practical Gh ristian: ­It


should be read not only by every c hild in


Christendom, but by ; every plll'ent and teaclt­er


j for th ere we see the. spirit that animates


the gilded soldi er or'this world contrasted with


that ' Of the meek and humble follower of


Christ. And we have plac ed before us, too,


the consequences ofgiving way to false am ·


bition, compared with those of yi elding a


re ~ dy obedience to the wishes ofa Heav enly


Le~ del" All those who have aught to do wi th


the educ~ tion of the young, should read th is


piece; and deeply consider the responsibilities


resting u pon them . Books ' are put into your


pupils' hands in whi ch the false glory of the


youthful warrior is held up to dazzle th e im ag­ination,


and lead a stray fro~ the paih s ofhu-


• mility and forgiv en ess. They are tau ght in


such books to cODsiller it beneath the dignity


of mnn to forgive his enemies, and to stay the


uplifteil weapon of revenge. He who has


murdered the greatest number of his fellow


men ; and waded thl'ough seas of blood to a


throne, is plnced before their mind's eye, as


one to be reverence, idolized, and imitated. ­In


rea ding such descriptions, they naturally


im~ i1Je a like spirit, and unl ess it is checked by


the strong arm of Ghristian love, and turned


into a bettet' channel, they will go out into the


world with an almost irrept" essible desire to be


great- to reign oyer th eir fellow men, to curse


rather than bless, to destroy I'lither than save.


Hast thou sounded . the depths of yonder sea,


And counted the sands that under it be?


Hast thou measured the' height of heaven abow?


TH~ N mayst thou mete out the mother's love,


Ha st thou talked with the blessed, of leading on


To the throne of God soms wandering son?


Hast thou witnessed the angel' s bright employ!


T in;; N mlyst t~ ou speak of a mother's joy.


• Ev~ ningllnd morn, hast thou watched the bee


Go forth on her errands of iud~ stry?


' I'he bee , for himself, hathgaiher'd and toil'd,


Hut the mother's cares ' are all for her child. '


Hast thou gone with t he traveller. Th~ ught afar,


From pole to pole, and from s tar to star?


l'~ ou hast-; but on ocean, earth, or sea, .


Theheartof a mother has gone with thee.


. There is not a grand, inspiring thought,


There is not a truth by wisdom taught,


There is not a feeling, pllre and high,


Th at may not be read in a mother's eye.


Th ere . are. teachihgs on earth; aud sky ' and air;


The heavens tbe glory of God declare j


But louder than voice beneath, above,


He is heard to iipeak, through a - mother's love.


( BY s . E , ROSCOE.) ,


Say, is the fragrance of the rose


So dear because it breathes d eligh~


Love w'e the flower because it glows


" In all its ' blushing splendor bright!


Is not more dear the lowliest bud,


Which friendship's hand has touched or g: iven;


Though it may grow in solitude,'


Nor swee. tly scent the winds of heaven?


The woodbine sear .. ihe careless thorn,


Oh are they not as dear to thee,


If for some cherished memory worn,


As all the pride of May ' can be? .


And , is there then a flower that blooms,


Whieh does not speak of LOVE DnINE ;


And as it shed~ its soft perfumes


Tell thee Eternity isthine?


O ! happy who with'throbbing heart,


Can see the light, the beauty there;


Behold in nattlre every part '


Supremely good or heavenly fair.


~ o them shall every scene unfold


, Some nobler hope or loftier aim;


What others view with aspect cold,


Shall kindle in their breasts a flame.


Q: 7" We unde rs tand that " the believers in


th e ::: lecond Coming and Kingdom of the Mes~


8iuh at hand," from all parts of tb e I United


States und elsewbere, are to · hold a Gen eral


Co nference in B05ton, cOlllmencing Oct. 13th,


1840. . ,


all sorrow will be for ever past- it will enter at


once into peace. These parents will wee"


and mourn, it is tru e, ' but tl; e sadness of their


countenances will mak e their hearts better. ­In


th eir. affl iction . tbey will seek my face, and


I win co rufort them- c- and what th ey know uot


now. tl. ey s h~ lI know hereafter." I ' followed


th e spirit of my durling, in irsupward flight.


I imagin ed its cordial welc ome at the gate of


the etern al city. I saw it e nte r iu, and listen­ed


to, its first sweet hymn of praise. Heaven


during that hour seemed bu r - n little way off,


and th e tim e seemed Sh0l1, er e the mother


would see her child again. ,


During the sad scenes that followed, I ' was


s till ena bled to feel.. that, . ben enth me nnd


around me, Hisstrong right arm was thrown i


' I couk l not si nk with such a prop, I' saw in­deed


th e dear body of my G! lild laid away in


the gra ve, and felt too truly that it would re­turn


no more- s- but th e sw eet con sciousness


th ut angels wat ch even th e s lee ping dust,


ch eered my heart ; and I felt, too, that it


would rise uguin. , I returned from the funer­al


so lera nities . No laughing voic e was heard,


nor light footst eps on the flo or as I entered the


deserted ' nurse r y. All th er e . wns loneliness


lind sadness,.: The vacant chair , . t he untouch- •


ell toy, the . empty crib, were all hefore me. ­But


I remembered the Savior had beenthere. ­Methought


he was there slill- I felt that he


could sustuiu, I leaned on his Almighty nrm, •


a nd was not disappointed,


l\ Ionths have passsed awny since my sweet


babe became it peaceful sleep er in the grave. ­Time


hns l, ot heal ed ' my wounded heart, nor


blunted th e kueenness of my sorrow. More


deeplythan everdo I feci that my child is not.


But th e gospel is. The Savior is, and he is


th e same- II sure refuge in th e day of trouble.


Her e, aucl onl y here, and firmly aud forever


her e, lllll! th e bereaved heartreposa,'


" Earth hath no sorrows whi ch heu ven can­not


heal ."


A SEC" f ARI AN'S PRATER.


" Onr Furher which art in heav en," espec­iaily,


th e Futher of our den ominurlon . ' '' Ha l-


I~ ed he thy U!! lle j':' _ ~ n ! F~ lllllo_\ Ve''- be_ the


name <; i f the fOllnder of our sect. " Thy king­dom


c~ me," hy bringing all other d enomina­tions


' to embrac e our cr eed ; for we beli eve


th at we are right and th g, y are wrong. Yes '


Lord , we do earnes tly desire thut the whole


world \ lillY h, c conl'er'! ed and made good me'm­bel'S


of our . Ienom ination. "' I'hy will be done


in earth as it is in--,-." For , we beli eve


that it is thy , viii tI~ at all thy people shoiiid be ,


ONEj and as we . have the truth, and hnve


flouri sh ed gr eatly . so " that a littl e one has be­come


thousands," we do believe that it is thy


willthnt all ' should beli <: ve as we do. Hence,


it is ~ v i d e n t that it is thy will thllt all the other


denominati ons shoull! ahand OIi their sec lar ian­ism


j th er efilre, 0, Lord , God, do break down


anll , destroy all ; other , Jenominntions, and. hu ild


lip ~ II I' ' dcnominatio, i on the ruins .! hereof.: ­For,


if th e othe r denominations were con­sumed


, a nd o urs . shoulrl I) rosper, . then we


co uld soo ri convert the ' world. And, espee­iully


, frn strllle the de signs ofthese " Unionist","


for, if they slIcceed, we shall be hroken up, our


l\ Iin i sl~ s ca nnot succeed in th eir plans; they


will , some of them, he under the ne r- essity of


work ing for a living. And we sha ll enffer a


g rent loss in ( lrop erty, ill th e I\ Ieeting Honses


we h a'~~ ~ rected , and in the . T heologica l Sem­inaries


we have established; and we shall suf­fel'


much by a disorrangement of the numer­ou


s, I~ ~~ I conce rted planli whicn we have ma­tured


for building up our'denomination, and


ex tending its influ ence over , the world. ­Ther


efor e, 0, Lord, do frustrate their design.


Let tbem not succeed in spreading their inteD­diarY,


d octr ines through the chur~ h. . K eep


tim ( leople from making liberal donations to


susta in th ei r operntions, and thus discourage


th, em from per sisting in their cOllrse.


F ina lly, 0, Lord, fill the earth with right­eous


nes s and , peace, thnt .; peaee ~ vhich iSlhe


res ult of th e existence of , o ne denomination


only. on e on th e earth, and that denomination


onrs.- Ullioll Herald.


r · -;-


\ .


Southboro', j~ ly 15, 1840.


Dear Brother Ballou : -


Enrnestly desiring


that all Mothers may be possessed of the one


true fhith, and be enabled to hilaI' nil the ' sor ­rows


of life with submission to the di vine


will, I send you th e foll; l\ vin g ex tra ct from th e


Moth er's l\ Iagazine, to be inserted in the Prac­tical


Christian, if you think pro'; er. May th e


perusal of i t induce others to pray for 11. like


faith. R . s. G.


way to the soul, through avenues untrodden


as Alpine passes. Hnt a change comes over


him. H ili sun goes down, " not behind the


darkened ' Vest," but melts away into the light


of Heaven. His body was emha lrned with


the tears of friends, and his fun eral dirge was


the moaning of thos e he had re~ lev e, d.


Reader, which, think you , God looks lIJ10n


with the most pleasure j Hannibal , th e co n­queror


ofarmies, or th is Christian Philanthro­pi


st, the conqueror of sin?


T HE MOURNr NG MOT HER COMJ'ORTED.


Who can d esc rib e a lI; oth er' s ag ony , as she


gnzes on thecountenn nc e of her dying' child ?


To her, though ch anged , it seems still beauti­ful.


She beholds its ge ntly beaming eyes ull-


. rai sed a nd fixed, and closing fas t in death, ­Upon


its little mouth hal f ope n- with suft lip


quivering, s he ge nt ly lays her cheek- s- bur no


warm br eath is felt; she receives no an swer- .


ing k iss. S he tak es its little h a ~ d in her's­but


it is cold and damp with th e dews ofdeath.


She gazes 011 still, in silenc e almost breathless.


She beholds it at length expire. " i ts littl e life


goes out Iik$ lnn expiring lamp, 01' fad es away


like the evening twilight. There may, ind eed,


have been no pang in its death- not a s igh


even may ha ve disturbed the s ilen ce of the


scene; hut it has gone !- it \ vill re tur n no


more !- and that fond maternal - henrt is re­lieved.


01l! th ese are sce nes which try tlie


souls of mothers, which sh ak e them to rhei r


centre; and th e recollections thereof cling


around the heart, long aft er th e beloved ob­jects


t~ selves hav e moulder ed into du sl. ­And


yet th ere are consolations even for suc h


an IWUor. That mother cannot ' be miserable,


who, in the mids~ of ' her grief, can look up


with confidence to On e ahove, and feel that a


F ather's h and hath smitten; who can look


upon heT d ep8l; ting . child, and feeling that the


" Lord hath need of ii," can resign it ch eerful.


ly to his rore; may more- she may be happy.


Ber eaved moth er, it is your privilege to re­pose


your wou nd ed heart on the bosom of J e­sus;


to . find relief from your sorrows ill the


fullness of h is love. The God of all consola­tion


knows how to administe r comfort in the"


darkest hour of grief. lIe can touch the se­cret


springs ofsorl'Ow. lIe ca n cause th e he­reaved


heart to say- " It is good fO f me that I


have ' been afH i c t~ d i" and " T houg h he


slay lIIe, yet will I trn st in him ."


Bear with me, wh ile I offe r yo u th e testimo­'


ny ofone, \' I" ho has herself drank deep of th e


bitter cup · ofsorrow . Sa id a moth er once, " I ,


did not weep wheu I suw th e ~ p iJ'i t of my


chill\. dep arting ; nor was my sonl over ­whelmed,


e ven when told it was gOlle: I hud


often shudder ed at th e co n te m r~ l a tio! l of s nc h


Ii scen e ; and whe n witnessin g the so rro ws of


oth ers, h~ ve felt that I could not ' be sustain ed ·


myself, under similat, circ ums ta, nces. ., Hut


how did I lim it th ~ Holy One ofJ. Srae l ! True


it was a sce ne 01 nainful and aff.< iictiJ. lg interest,


F ~ ~ .


and unassisted nature might i n ae~ d hav e sunk.


But there was one supre me ly lovely and glori.


ous, whose kindness c hee red the sorrows of


that trying hoUl'. I could not , douht the pr es ·


ence of the Savior, as I stood~ y th at sw eet


infillit'!! dying pillow. I thought att ending an ­gels


wer e th ere , too . And it was so. To


one I seemed to hear him say-" T a ke the


spirit of that su ffering, ~ y i ng . c h i l c.!~ fold it ge n­tly


to th y Lreas!, th en plume thy wings; bri ght


sernrih, an< 1 hefore th e morning dawn, land it


safely on th at peilcefill sh ol'e, where tempest


never beat, nor hillows roar- it is not meet th at


' it should remain her e longer, .! J. s frame is fee-ble,


its spirit too tender, I can tak e bett er care


of it than th ese par ents, with all their tender­ness


and assill uity. They cannot shield ' it


from harm and sorrow. If spared, it will only


be to suffer much and long, alHl to di e at last a


painful death. It wer e bett er to sna p th e sle n:


del' cord of life, to lUke it gently' no\\', and then


THE YOUTHFUL WARRIOIl S.


I'II nnci eat . times, a warrior stood prepating


himself for bailie. The first dawning of day


s hed a faint light on his gild ed armor, and hut


feebly illumined a spac ious upurtrn eut, Few


of th e CaL, tbage nians had awoke fm~ n their


slumhers ; but tllere was one, a youth, scarce


nine years of age, who h~ d , passed a sleepless


night . Bright visions offutUl'e glory filled his


brain, and mortling's earl iest dawn fouud him


pl'ostrate at the feet of the warriOl', heseeching


that he might ac company him to a filr- distant


field @ t baili e! It was th e warrior's son, and


Iris favorit e. He ga zed up on him earn estly,


and he saw bravery; de cision and revenge de.


picted on his coutllenan ce~ and ever and anon


he heard the eamest, ' thrilling requ est- UMy


father, may I go ?;' The fath er yield ed, , after


he had tak en him to the " altar of lUoloch" ­and


heard him sw ear th at he wonld be the


etern a l enemy of the Romans.


This yomh was victorious. Hi s name be­came


a terrorlA the whole R oman arll1Y, and


his deeds of valor filled a ll Car thage with re :


joicing. Thousands of voices cha nted his


praises) and he seemed great as th eir gods. ­But


· changes will come. The warrior who


carr ied his army over the untroddeen Alps,


saw that the sun of. his glory was about se tting


in'darkness. Dejectecl, · he reIired to his horne


- hnt how' ch anged were his couritryme'n! ­flo


) v fickl e is man! Coldness and distl'tlst


had suc cee de d idolatry and confill en ce; and


neal'ly tw enty years aft er, Hannibal, th at great


gene ra l, was poisoned, far aw ay fi'otll the


COUlltry he had fought to redeem!


In mod ~ m tim es, I s aw a .. youth in conver­sation


Iyith , his fath er. He, too, had passed a


sleepless night ; bnt his , counteuance seemed


ca lm, though decided. Visions of future glo.


ry had filled his though ts j b'ut it was glory of


a cel estial kind• ." My fath er, shall I , go ?" ­His


fathe r yi eld ed, and he bowed him self at


the altar of the great I am, and vowed to he


the friend of man; and the eternal enemy of


' sin . , He joined hin'lselfto an army of war ·


riors, wh ose leadel' ' was ~ esu s of Nazareth."'-".


!\ Iany were the I. Jaules they fonght, and many


the victories they gained over th e r! dic ule of


sco ffers, . and the en eUlies within th eir own


hearts . Angel vo i c~ s , chanted praises of his


d eeds of benevolence and love. The widow's


heart sang for joy, and ' the fami sh ed I orphan


\ Vas fed by his bounty. His kindness soften­ed


heal'ts which had been harder than Alpine .


ro cks, and his offers of salvation found their


But ought th ese things to be? Can ~' ou , fa­th


er or mother, wh en you hav e read the fol­lowing


lin es, lay your hand up on your heart,


and sincerely say, that you would have that


little' immortal committed ' to you r charge,


trained IIp'inthe blood- stain ed ' Paths of Ha n.


' i1 ilJaI? Would you 118\' e th ~ t favorite son


walk in th e steps of the warrlor- s- be g uilty of


th e foul est murder- cause- th e widow's he art


to mourn, and the orphan's tears' to flow- and


send to th e judgment bar of a'n- all . se'~~! lhing


God, th e souls of those, who, vou kn ew, were


i{ nprepared , to give an : acco; ltIl? Or would


you not rather have him yi eld his heart to his


Heav enly Father inl ove and filial rev~;~~ ce ;


become th e friend of the friendless, the guide


of the blind, the teacher o f the ignorant, the'


benefa ct or of the poor and oppressed , ii'. mee k


child of God, a joint heir with J esus Christ?


Ifso, guard th en, I beseech you, the first dawn­i


ngs of the in fant mind. When you see y our


chi ld giving , way to feelin gs of h ~ tre< f and ­thirsting


for rev enge, lab or with a ll your might ,


' to quell tho se feelings, to show him his gui lt,


to humbl e his soul and fill his heart wiih love,


mercy a nd peace. R em ember that th e irn-


: 1 pressions made i n childhood go a ' great ways '


in forming the character ofthe man- and that


for the future course ofthut idol of your atfe~ ­tion


s, * it be one of ~ nger; revenge and blood,


you may be held, in a measure, responsible at


the day of acco unt.


And you , my young friends, conside r well


th e story of " The Youthful ' Vllrri01' s"- str ive


to cuhivate the spirit Ii; at aniniat es th e Chris ­tian


ph ilanthropist'. Let all feelin gs ofhaugh­tin


ess lind pride and malic e, be laid I ~ w in the


dust~ forget not th ~ ' Commands of Ghrist, to


bless those who persecute you -' bless, and re ­vile


not. Let your oourse be lik e th e Palm


tree, upward and onward, pointing to th e ski es.


; Providence, Aug. 17th, 1840. AGNES.


. ' . , . - '


•


POllTRY.


A MOTHER'S LOVE.


BY MISS EMILY TAYLOR.


ORIGIN'A: L MISCE:: L: LANY.


Devotion' 8 holy fire 811all rise,


By hallow'd lips pour'd fourth above; ,


And then shall that pure sacrifioe ,


, Ascend to HIX whose'name is LOVE'!

Page 44 of Volume 1 from The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840