Vol. IV.

 

Rfl@NTEflLY.

PUBLISHED BY THE UNITED SOCIETY.

No. 8.

F. W. EVANS, FIFTY Cnrrrs
EDITOR Mt. Lebanon, Col. Co. N. Y. August, 1874;. PER ANm,M_
GO])S_ Those Spirits were drawing him inward and the constituted authorities—-media— of the
.._0.._ upward, through all the spheres in the Spirit Gods of other nations—the powers that be.

“I said, Ye are Gods," John x., 34.
WHO said‘?

In Bible times, if not now, all the nations,
and most of the peoples, had their Gods.
They were “ called Gods,” because those, unto
whom these Gods ministered, took them so to
be ; each believing his God was the very De-
ity—- so did John the Revelator.

The lower down, in the scale of soul travel,
men and women were, the more fully were they
confirmed in the idea, that every thing spirit-
ual — supernatural — was direct from Deity.
Physical phenomena, as thunder and light-
ning, earthquakes and epidemics, were often
believed to be the voice of God-, or arbitrary
visitations of his displeasure, independent of
human agency, or natural causation.

When the Gentile Roman Centurion saw
Jesus exercising authority over disembodied
spirits, and likened him unto himself, who,as
a military oflicer, had soldiers under him, to
whom he issued commands, and was obeyed,
Jesus declared, “ I have not found so great
faith, no, not in Israel.”

A Gentile was discovered, who was more
learned —better educated, in the knowledge
of the Spirit world, and the Laws which there
obtain, than any Jew; Jesus alone excepted.

Jesus was an extraordinary man. His love
of truth and goodness was so simple and in-
tense. that it resurrected him up, into the
Heaven of all Heavens. He loved righteous-
ness, and hated iniquity, to that degree, that
it exalted him above the sectarian prejudices
and national pride of his people and day.

He could detect evil, even among the Phar-
isees—— the highest professors —and discover
good in the Infidel Saducees, Samaritans and
Gentiles.

This religious condition of soul, necessarily
made him an enlightened spiritualist. He
communed, socially, with Moses and Elias,
and, no doubt, with thousands of others of the
saints and prophets of earth, long ago departed.
He spoke of having “bread to eat,” beyond
the comprehension of his disciples — Talked of
“ ten legions of Angels," and what help they
could be to him. The Spirit World was open
to his vision, from the hells into which the
antediluvians had immersed themselves; up
to the universal Christ Heavens.

He was born Jesus ; just as Napoleon was
born Napoleon.

When a boy, at school in Corsica, Napoleon
played war, with forts of snow, and cannon
of frozen water. He was Napoleon.

As a boy, Jesus learned to obey his earthly
parents. As a Jew, he was obedient to John
the Baptist. And then, as a spiritual man -
a prophet —— he learned obedience to the
Christ Spirits, and became the Messiah.

world, causing him to say. “ If I be lifted up —
resurrected —I will draw all men unto me,”
as fast as I can.

The Devils, in the Hells, and the Cherubim
and Seraphim, in the Holy of Holies, were be-
fore him. He opened the everlasting gates of
Truth, to all nations, kindreds, tongues and
people ——to all souls, in all worlds. He was
a King — a Priest—a Prophet. He was just
what every other soul becomes, who comes
into the same soul-condition--“ Kings and
priests unto God,” over others who have not
yet attained unto that high religious estate —
a simple love of truth and goodness—of
God.

Moses was God to Pharaoh, as the Israelites
were Gods to the Egyptians—“I said ye
are Gods, but ye shall die like men.”

The God of Abram, Isaac and Jacob was the
God of Moses ; and the God of Moses belonged
to an Order in the Spirit World, who acted as
“ Angels of the Lord, and unto whom the word
of God came,” from the spheres above, even
from the Lord their God.

The prophetic order existed in Israel and in
all nations. It was universal.

Melchisidec was a prophet, and was Abram’s
superior —his elder. Yet Melchisidec was
not even a Hebrew, but a Gentile. He was
what “ anti-christians ” call a Heathen.

Jethro was a prophet, who instructed Moses
and the whole Jewish Priesthood, in the art
of civil government. He was their religious
superior. Yet Jethro was a Gentile — an Ethi-
opian Heathen, who would not be allowed the
rights of American citizenship, until the Civil
Rights Bill, of Sumner, becomes American
Law.

Jesus said, to the spiritually ignorant Jews,
“ If he, called them Gods, unto whom the word
of God came,” from spheres still above them ,'
why call ye me a blasphemer, who claim to
be only a son of God, and just what, even
your own selves, by obedience, might be-
come ‘I

The Prophetic Order of human souls, to
which Enoch, Melchisidec, Jethro, Baalam,
Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, John Baptist, Jesus,
and “ the Two Witnesses,” down to George
Fox, and James and Jane Wardley belonged,
were Spiritual Media. When in their highest
spiritual, religious condition, they were Me-
diums of Christ Spirits. At other times, they
were capable, like Baalam, of being mediums
for Spirits of lower Orders.

Prophets were expected to love truth, better
than they loved life itself. They were often
sent to reprove Priests and Kings, who had
the power of life and death over them. They
instructed and reproved Levites, who were
mediums of the God of Israel; as they did

These often put them to death, as Herod did
John, striving to drown the truth, in the blood
of Prophets and Martyrs—so that Jesus in-
quired of the Jews, “ Which of the Prophets
have your fathers not stoned, or killed, when
they were sent unto them? ” sent by the rock-
Christ—-who thus “followed them,” in all
their deviations and wandering, in the wilder-
ness of sin?

And it was thus that the word of God came
to them that were called Gods—even to the
God of the Hebrews, and the Gods many and
the Lords many, of the so-called Heathen na-
tions of Earth.

__.__..4_m..

UNIVERSAL LOVE.

J UNE 16th, 1841, I felt impressed with awon-
derful sense of universal love. I had a clear
manifestation that all good, all love comes
from God, and is God; for the reason that
“ there is none good but One God ;” and that
“ God is Love.” This love is infinite, extend-
ing itself, at least potentially, everywhere;
and can only be excluded from the experience
and enjoyment of any soul, by the repulsive
force of the selfish principle. Who ever is go-
verned by this intense selfishness, has cir-
cumscribed feelings and ends of his own to
pursue, which are out of harmony with uni-
versal love; and he therefore rejects and
shuts it out as an enemy. Yea, though it
may be offered to, and approved by his better
judgment, if he is determined to pursue his
own selfish ends, he only hates and resists it
most where it is most manifested. This may
be plainly seen in the conduct of the Jews
against the highest manifestation of love that
has ever been presented to the contemplation
and acceptance of man, in the person of Jesus.
This love then is the universal medium of
harmony to all intelligences who will truly
renounce all selfishness, self—seeking schemes
and devote themselves Wholly to do and suffer
the will of God, and minister to the equal
good of all his creatures. All such are brought
into a holy union and harmony, and what-
ever may be the distance, as to space, which
separates them, their state is one, and they are,
by this universal medium, brought into con-
tact, to dwell in one Center. This union—
this holy sympathy—-this sublime and en-
dearing relation to all the good and the pure in
the universe, is plainly seen and felt by those
who are let into its sphere; and truly every
perception of goodness and glory that ever
entered the mind of man before, sinks into
nothing when once this is enjoyed. As this
love is infinite, it surrounds, and really does,
in some degree, permeate every intelligent be-
ing. But those who are in the selfish prin-
ciple, are thereby prevented from perceiv-
ing its presence, or enjoying its happifying
influence, in a greater or less degree, as their
selfishness is more or less intense. While
my soul was wrapt in this sphere of love, my
affections seemed not only in union and sym-
pathy with all the good and the pure in the

 

58

 

universe, but to have a compassion and
benevolence which ardently desired the re-
demption and happiness of every intelligent
being, however debased by selfishness. Nor
could I conceive of one single being so totally
wrapped up in self as entirely to exclude
all influence of the universal Love ,' and this
little spark was so much of God, and made
the possessor appear lovely. Yea, that little
spark appeared sufiicient, if cherished, to light
up a fire in the soul that would consume the
most intense spheres of the selfish principle,
and ultimately unite the soul to the sphere of
universal harmony. This made all souls ap-
pear lovely, as they evidently appeared the
objects of God’s love, belonging to Him ;
living in His universe; supported in exist-
ence by His power; constantly upheld by His
love from sinking still lower into the black
abyss of selfishness; and rendered as happy as
they would permit themselves to be made.
Another consideration which made all these
appear more or less lovely was, that they
were all equally under the care and providen-
tial government of God, and there appeared
no discrete degrees in the gradation from the
most dense sphere of self love, up to the con-
fines of the sphere of universal harmony;
though there was a vast difference between
the two extremes. Indeed, the evil seemed
so inconsiderable in the whole universe, when
compared with the Infinite Goodness, that it
was swallowed up in universal beauty and
brightness, and seemed as nothing. This was
undoubtedly viewing the bright side of the
picture ; yet, of this I am certain from ex-
perience, that however much real or supposed
evil there may be in the universe, God may
so fully inform and possess the soul with his
Goodness and Love, and thus so completely
happify and deliver it from all sense of evil,
that it could not be more so if evil were
really banished from the universe. And I
apprehend that so far as I, as an individual, am
concerned, with the evil that exists, I have
only to see more specially to the destruction
of that portion which exists in myself. When-
ever this work is effected, and my soul shall
be brought into complete submission to, and
union with, the Divine nature, and filled with
impartial love to all souls, then, if there be evil
existing in the universe, it will not be evil to
me. There is no good but in God, no evil but
selfishness and that which flows from it. As
far and as fast as we recede from the selfish
sphere, we enter into God and come into har-
mony with all the good in the universe. Our
souls are enlarged; our love is expanded, and
partaking of the divine nature, we possess as it
were a kind of ubiquity. Our love is co—exten-
sive with the dominions of God; because,
loving God supremely, we love whatsoever
He loves and owns as his. Thus, as the
apostle John says, “ God is love, and he that
dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God
in him." Oh, my soul, what has selfishness
ever done for thee, but make thee wretched,
shut out of thee the Universal Good and led
thee to forsake thy Father’s house and suffer
famine in a far country ? Then, at last, arise
and go to thy Father — hate and deny selfish-
ness in all its instances. When thou art
emptied of sin and self thou wilt be filled
with the infinite good and be enabled to love
God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor ——
every creature of Grod——as thy self. Thus,
thou wilt enter into the sphere of Universal
Harmony and Eternal Peace.
R. W. Pelham, Union Village, Ohio.
__..—.._+____—..

A MAN diseased in body can have little joy of his
wealth, be it ever so much. A golden crown can-
not cure the headache nor a velvet slipper give

ease to the gout, nor a purple robe fray away a.
burning fever. A sick man is alike sick, Whereso-
ever you la him—on a bed of gold or on a pad of
straw; wit a silk quilt or a sorry rag on him. So
no more can riches, gold and silver, land and liv-
ing. had a man much more than ever any man
had, minister unto him much joy; yea, or any
true or sound joy at all, where the mind is distract
and discontent.

SHAKER AND

-‘.7\a\r\.'\'-

NATl0N.§£ sms.

THE constant use of superfine flour bread
by the American people, is a prolific source
of trouble in the flesh, and also in the bones,
ofthe American nation. Its immediate eifect
is clogging the system with effete matter,
through the constipation of the bowels.

Its remote effects are legion. Children
raised upon it exclusively can never come to
much, as doers of good works, though they
may expend inherited energy; for it takes a
few generations to waste the physical powers
of a healthy ancestry. This, the real genuine
Yankees are rapidly doing, and becoming ex-
tinct. They have ignored hygiene and physi-
ology, to make paper money, and themselves
are liable to perish with that money. Dys-
pepsia is their father,idebility their mother,
and their brethren and sisters are colds, fevers
and unmentionable maladies calling for in-
comprehensible doctors and mysterious rem-
edies.

Give" children and youth bone-making
material———brau-bread, milk and cat meal,
with plenty of good vegetables and abundance
of fruits. They will prefer to play with the
lambs rather than to eat them.

Digestion is necessary to individual exist-
ence, yet it wears out the stomach and ends
in death. Progress is equally necessary to
the existence of an organization, but it is
also destructive of old things. Better is a
dinner of herbs with love and peace, than a
stalled ox, and contention therewith; because
love helps digestion, while cold indifi"erence
benumbs the whole digestive machinery.

Our forefathers and mothers fought the
lusts of generation, while laboring under the
disadvantage of physiological lusts, from
which we are, in good part, released. If they
traveled twenty miles an hour, it was by an
expenditure of skill and labor we may not
equal. We can go sixty miles an hour—
three times as fast. Are we their superiors
in either case?

Our spiritual ancestors used food and drinks
that stimulated the reproductive powers. Un-
less we avoid such food and drinks, we shall
not take up our crosses as successfully as they
did. No one calls in question the fact that
certain drinks affect the mental and spiritual
status of those who use them. Why should
it then be thought incredible that certain
kinds of food do also affect the mental and
spiritual status of men and women ?

Dr. Whitlaw declares that all the prohib_ited
articles of diet, under Moses, produced in
those who used them, unphysiological con-
ditions, tending to immorality, and to an un-
spiritual frame of mind, unhealthy to the
soul, no less than to the body, and that this is
the scientific law upon which “the law”
rested. The Jews received the command.
We are beginning to discover the science —

the reason of the command.
__.__.._._.¢_j.._.j

. . . AN examination of the flesh of one of the
Indiana victims of trichinaa disclosed millions of
the creatures coiling and uncoiling in the tissues.
Such reports are calculated to give us all a truly
Mosaic horror of pork and pork eaters.

TRUE greatness consists in doing what deserves to
be written, or Writing that deserves to be read, and
in making mankind happier and better for your life.

No manners are so line as the most awkward
manifestations of good will toward men.

PEACE AND WAR.
.102-
" PEACE on earth, and good will to men,”
was proclaimed by the Angels, who came to
the Shepherds, bringing the glad tidings, that
a Saviour was born.

The lowly Nazarene preached the Gospel
of Peace and good will, eighteen hundred
years ago, and has been worshiped as a
God. But, how few have followed him in
deed and in truth—— like him, denying all un-
godliness and every worldly lust ?

Many pretend to believe in the teaching
of Jesus, but in their Works deny him.
These draw nigh unto him, with their lips,
but their hearts are far from the truth. They
will stand up and declare their belief in Jesus
Christ, and, in the next breath, excite the
members of their churches to go and kill their
brethren on the other side of some range of
mountains, or waste of waters —— thus preach-
ing in direct opposition to the teaching of one
they so highly extol.

“ From whence came wars and fighting ?
Come they not of the lusts that war in your
members? ” So long as the lustful passions
have pre-eminence over the more God-like
part, so long will the day of universal peace
be deferred. In time of war, the armies, of
each side, pray to the same God —— the God of
war——to assist them in conquering the oppo-
site party. If their God answered their prayers
it would result in the destruction of both
armies. Their prayers would exterminate
them.

0, wicked and adulterous generation! Ye
ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss,
that ye may consume it upon your lusts, and
consume each other.

In prosperity, man is never content,

On some kind of trouble, he ever is bent.
Peace brings him riches, these beget pride,

A vain, haughty spirit, o’er others to ride;
Pride begets war, with its horror and waste,
This, down to povert , brings man, in haste ;
Poverty humbles, an lowers his pride,
Humility leads him to work and provide;

To mind his own business, from wrangling cease,
Which brings him again, to plenty and peace,
He seldom rests here. the same round he‘ll go,
The cause never learning of comfort nor woe.

“ He that ruleth his own Spirit is greater
than he that taketh a city ”—and finds a.
much better reward.

Williis De Graw, Graceland, N. Y.

_—j—¢—._.:...__-

UNION.
-—.0—__

"‘ But one thing is needful." Luke 10, 42.
HAPPY, most happy the soul, who can sim-
ply bring all things into union. To center
in one point, more than one object, perplexes
the mind. Double minded we stand and
pause where we shall first begin, and neglect
both. VVhat is the one thin needful? It is
plain our Saviour means t e soul keeping
close company with himself. This Mary did.
She sat at his feet and heard his word. Every
thing else is but cumbering work compared
with this. This one thing comprises all the
holiness, happiness and heavenly mindedness
of the soul. If We have the presence of
Christ’s spirit, guilty fears vanish, dejecting
doubts are scattered, legal terrors silenced,
anxious cares subside, strong temptations lose
their force. Satan is resisted, afliictions
sweetened, turbulent passions calmed, raging
corruptions subdued, pride is brought down,
humility excited, peace with God enjoyed,
holiness promoted, fear of death conquered,
hell chased away, the prospect of glory in
the full fruition of truth is aspired unto.
Earth loses its charms. Heaven is in the
heart—to be free from sin becomes the one
desire of the soul. Say, 0 Christian, what
one thing else can produce so many blessed
effects as close communion with God? Is not
this the one thing, above all others, needful?
Needful at all times and in all seasons.
Needful in the hour of prosperity and in the
day of adversity. Needful in the solemn
hour of death, and in the tremendous day of
judgment. 0, if this one thing is maintained
in the soul, Believer, you may live as you
list, and do what you please ; for sweet com-
munion with holy souls in Christ ever sub-
jects the will, attracts the affections, and be-

SHAKERESS.

59

 

gets holy conformity to rules and orders need-
ful for the protection of the “household of
faith.” You will not list, you cannot like,
you dare not follow any thing contrary to
your Gospel Brethren and Sisters. while you
live near to and dwell in holy fellowship with
them.

Thus, religion is brought to a single point.
Holiness and happiness are resolved into one
thing. Love thy neighbor as thyself, each
one seeking anotlier’s wealth-— goods — and
not his own. Here is but one faith to make
you holy and happy But there are a thousand
things to prevent this.

0 may this one thing —- needful — Gospel
Union —rise superior to all! Think, 0 my
soul, of Jlfarg/'3 choice. Remember the Sav-
iour’s approbation of it. Choose thou also this
good part, which shall never be taken away.
Sit thou at the feet of the Saviours of today,
as did Mary in her day.

Walter Vann, Pleasa/nt Hill, Ky.

.m_¢_j—.

Y
ANCIENT IRELAND.
:0:

IRISH law threw a shield around the woman's
weakness. It never robbed her of her property
and self-respect under pretense of making her
more completely one with her husband. Such
was the Celtic sense of equality. The property
she brought to her husband in marriage remained
her own, and could not be disposed of without her
permission. How different the spirit of this pro-
vision from that of the law which makes a woman
little less than a chattel, and niagnanimously
makes her husband her lord and master, and, it
might be added, her proprietor.

The luxury of poor law unions was unknown in
ancient Ireland. Apart from the authority of
the old poem, in which a. tourist of the day (the
seventh century), givinga description, social and
topographical, of Ireland, says:

“ I traveled its fruitful provinces round,
And in every one of the live I found
Alike in church and in alace hall,
Abundant apparel and ood for all.”

The orphan was not victimized like another
“Grinx’s_ baby.” by being thrown mercilessly on
the parish. _The law provided for his adoption
and support in some family in the neighborhood
to which his parents had belonged. It is soine-
what singular that the most recent suggestion in
behalf of destitute children tend in the direction
of a system similar to that which prevailed in
Ireland more than a thousand years ago. Yet
this is the country which English writers, in their
ignorance and self—conceit, have been pleased to
call “barbarous,” and on which they pretend a
benefit was conferred when it was brought under
the tyraiiny of the feudal law.— Ch1'i'.stiaii'£ze-d.

A prominent feature in the legal system was the
law of fosterage. By this law the children of
nobles and gentry were placed in families of re-
spectable persons of inferior rank to be brought
up as their own. The different ranks of society
were thus cemented and bound together by ties
which in our colder and less emotional age can
hardly be understood. Class distinctions, if not
abolished, were made the means of uniting the
members of the community in bonds of mutual
loyalty and brotherhood more secure than the
most stringent laws could ever have created.
Among no other people that we know of was the
sentiment of aifection made so subservient to the
stability of society. It is interesting at the pres-
ent time, when the possession of land has become
one of the great questions of the day, to know
how it stood in the times of our Celtic ancestors.
Absolute possession of land among them was a
thing unknown. Even the chief, or king, was re-
garded as holding the portion he enjoyed merely
by virtue of his office, and for the term of his
otiice. Throughout all the grades of proprietor-
ship the idea that the occu iers of land held it by
a. sort of trusteeship for t e benefit of the tribe
of which he was a member, prevailed. It may
seem somewhat singular, within hearing of the
arrogant assumptions of landlords in Ireland, to
say, that a document exactly similar lies at the
root of the English law of real property. “The
first thing," says an eminent writer on the subject,
“ for the student of English law to do is to get rid
of the idea that there is such a thing known to
it as absolute ownership of land.” English law
regards the sovereign, in other words, the repre-
sentative of the nation, as the only absolute owner,
and _the ordinary landlord as merely a trustee,
holding it for the nation's benefit. How imper-
fectly this doctrine is understood or carried out,
it is not necessary to describe. In ancient Ireland,
however, the theory was not only acknowledged,
but put in practice. —-Ex.

?.m._.a._:-—-

SU'r'r0N—a subordinate on a railway train. “ The
conductor, ” “ sent him to the rear to flag another
train coming up behind. On his way he fell on the
track, and was run over by five cars and the ca-
boose. His legs were_completely cut off above the
knee, but, remembering his orders, he cleared the
track of_the dismembered portions of his own body,
and taking a flag out of his ocket. waved it until
he_ riad stopped the ap roac ing train. Without
this, a collision would ave been inevitable.”

TELLING EXPERIENCE.
—-o-—
BELOVED Enrroas:

In perusing your precious little paper, I
came to the piece——“ All these things shall
be added unto you.” I read it with astonish-
ment and deep interest. It led me to reflec-
tion.

Upon reviewing my life, for the last fifty
years, I can, with humble gratitude to God,
truly say, that, notwithstanding my many
short—coinings, it has been a practical demon-
stration of the truth of that scripture.

I was born in England, of poor, but God-
fearing parents. Was put to work at seven
years of age. No education, except what a
Sabbath-scliool afforded. There I learned to
love, read and study the sacred scriptures.
I had faith in God. That led me to face a
frowning world, by a religious profession,
when only fifteen years of age. My motto
was, “ Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven
and its Righteousness, and all these things
shall be added unto you.” I was encouraged by
the glorious example of many spiritual heroes,
in scripture records. I passed through many
trials and persecutions. I followed on to
know the Lord, whom I was seeking, early in
life. I had the means of saving a little
money, to give me a start in life. In my
twelfth year, my natural mother died. Life
has passed roughly with me since that
event. Now, I am thankful that I have found
a Heavenly Mother who loves me as her son.
When, in a far country I received indefinite
tidings, that in America, there was a second,
and brighter manifestation of Christ, than
that which occurred in Jewry 1800 years ago,
I felt that it was the call of God, to my soul.
Then came a test of my faith, of a practical
character. I had not the means of transporta-
tion thither. Here was a problem to be
solved. Having lived in two excellent fami-
lies, some eight years previous to my marriage,
I went and laid the matter before them. They
had religious union with my desired search
for the Kingdom of Heaven upon Earth, and
freely gave me eleven sovereigns, over $50 —,
and sent me more, after my arrival in Amer-
ica. It came just when I was sick in body,
and grieved in spirit, at the loss of a little
boy, two and a half years old.

Then I visited the Shakers at Watervliet,
Montgomery county, Ohio. This visit, after
coming so far to make it, I had dreaded and de-
ferred, fearing I might be deluded, as I had
no definite reliable knowledge of their faith,
nor of the lives it produced.

My Vt'sz't.— In a few days I began to receive
internal evidence that I had, in fact, found
the “ Kingdom come,” for which I had been
so long praying. I had also occular demon-
stration— not “in deep sleep and in the vis-
ions of the night,” but when wide awake. I
was powerfully shaken, while in bed, and
heard a voice, saying-—-“ This is what you
asked in prayer. If you can accept it, upon
my terms, well. If not, that is the end of all
your praying.”

I arose, and on my knees, promised God,
and covenanted with myself, to be “ strictly
obedient to the Heavenly vision.”

Next morning, I went to the Elders and con-
fessed to God, my sins. I was blest— never
before did the Sun shine so brightly, as on
that, to me, joyful morning. The whole
creation looked beautiful. Nor was my re-
joicing evanescent. To this day, “ my cup of
sal vation—of blessing—runneth over. Blessed
be the Lord; for he hath heard the voice of
my supplication. I have been helped. Save,
0 Lord, thine inheritance. Rule and Exalt
it forever.”

My conclusion is, that simple obedience to
God’s requirements insures the actual fulfill-
ment of his engagements, and we have the
happy experience, that by this Second Gospel
testimony, the ax is laid at the root of the
tree of evil, which causes all of human Woe.

Nothing short of a deep sense of duty to
God, and obligation to my fellow creatures,
could induce me to make this public confes-
sion of faith. I am thankful for a resting
place.

“ Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a peo-
ple of a deeper speech than thou cans’t per-

ceive ; of stammering tongue, that thou cans’t
not understand.” “ Look upon Zion, the city
of our solemnities -, thine eyes shall see Jeru-
salem, a quiet habitation.”—- Isa. 33.18.

But I congratulate you on the mountain.
“ In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s
house shall be established on the top of the
mountain -—exalted above the hills. Many
people shall say, Let us go up to the moun-
tain of the Lord—to the House of the God
of Jacob, and He will teach us of His ways,
and we will walk in His paths; for out of
Zion shall go forth the Law, and the word of
the Lord, from Jerusalem.” Isa. 22.

I have sent the SHAKER AND SHAKERESS to
the families I lived with, in England, and
hope they will be as noble as the ancient
Bereans who “daily searched the scriptures,
to see whether these things were so,or not so.”
But, if in this life they reject my testimony,
when they enter the Spirit world, and “ their
souls walk in dry places,” I hope it may
prove to be a seed; and that then they will
lay hold of eternal life --that they may under-
stand the scriptures, when they say (Ezek-
iel, 22, 24):

“ Thus saith the Lord God; I myself will
take of the marrow of the high cedar, and
will set it ; I will crop off a tender twig from
the top of the branches thereof, and I will
plant it on a mountain, high and eminent.
On the high mountains of Israel will I plant
it, and it shall shoot forth into branches, and
shall bear fruit ; and it shall become a great
cedar, and all birds shall dwell under it ; and
every fowl shall make its nest under the
shadow of the branches thereof. And all the
trees of the country shall know, that I,
the Lord, have brought down the high tree, and
exalted ‘the low tree; and have dried up the
green tree, and have caused the dry tree to
flourish. I the Lord have spoken and done
it.

And more are the children of the barren —-
Shaker celibate Ann Lee —— than of the mar-
ried, wife, saith the Lord.”

One of those children,
F. Vann, Watervliet, 0.
._...._._._¢___....

WRITE.
.——0j

The Spirit says, “ Write " ——What shalllwrite ? —
“Write what coineth unto thee."
Now, more than ever before, is soul atmos-
phere permeated with elements of progress —-
of human elevation —— more than ever before,
are the old heavens — old religious organiza-
tions, creeds and forms, on which men did
rely — being dissolved——tlie elements, thereof,
melting with fervent heat. Hencefortli, will
men and women work out their salvation, in-
stead of having it rubbed in from the out-
side.

New Heavens are being formed in the Souls
of the People. In the souls of such as
aspire to the purity of Angels. N o darkness
in the New Heavens — neither act, word, feel-
ing nor thought, that will not bear the search-
ing light.

Who will ascend the hill of the Lord ?
Who will be living stones, builded into the
Living Temple of the Living God ? Splendid
opportunity now, to draw the highest prize.

What of the old Earth-— the generative
order? That, too, has become affected. The
fact is —-the old Heavens, and Earth—'relt'g-
ion and generation —have been so mixed up,
compounded and confounded, that both are
sick,past recovery. No D. D.’s nor M. D.’s
can resuscitate them.

We must have new earth, as well as new
heavens. In the New Earth —iiew order of
generation, USE is the motto --tlie cardinal-—
the organic law —— no abuse —no prostitution
of generative organs. Those, whose aspira-
tions reached not to the highest prize—— the
new Heavens —may find a field, lower down —-
in the new Earth. We do not say they will
get lower—priced article. We only say they
will get an article not worth so much.

What per cent, of what is called humanity,
will aspire to the new Heaven —- what per cent
to the new Earth remains to be seen.

The remainder, through delicacy, we’ll call
debm'3——of no account.

Oliver Pi-entis, Mt. Lebanon, N. Y.

60

SHAKER AND

 

THE SHAKERS IN LYNN.
1.0:.
HAVING seen, by the papers, the Shakers
were to speak in Lynn, I took the cars, Sun-
day P. M. May 31, and there found Elder Vance,
from Maine, and Elders John Whitely and
William Leonard, of Harvard, Mass.; Cath-
arine B. Walker and other Sisters gathered
at Oxford Hall, occupied by the Supervisors.

Elder Wm. Leonard spoke at some length
on the confession of sins, to Elders and Elder-
esses, and was listened to with marked atten-
tion.

The meeting was addressed by Elder Vance,
and by J. M. Peebles, the champion of Spirit-
ualism, setting forth the doctrine of practical
religion, by good works, and of doing to others,
as we would others should do to us, taking the
Bible and Inspiration as our only rule of faith
and practice.

The singing was truly delightful and en-
chanting ; the faces of the audience seemed to
shine with admiration.

In the evening, Elder Vance spoke, at some
length, on the true marriage question, as
taught in the Scriptures —- and as practiced at
the present day, showing the absurdities and
misery growing out of the latter.

Sister C. B. Walker gave a deeply interest-
ing account of her experience-——why she be-
came a Shakeress. She spoke in a clear tone
of voice, that seemed to carry conviction to
the hearts of all present. Every word seemed
to be clothed with inspiration and love.

She said it would be impossible. to convey to
the human soul the joy and peace of mind
that thrilled her heart, in self-consecration to
Shaker faith. I never saw an audience so
completely spell-bound and delighted as on
that occasion.

The time has fully come, I think, for the
Shakers to go out into the World, and let their
light shine. The world is in darkness and
needs the light.

I have visited, and been conversant, with
the Shakers, more than a score of years, and
have ever found them truthful, kind and
honest.

Daniel Sargant, Boston.

WE REAP WHAT WE SOW-

:0:
BY H. CLAY Pannss.
For pleasure or pain, for weal or for woe,

’ Tis the law of our being —we reap what we sow,
We ma try to evade them—may do what we

 

wi
But our acts, like our shadows, will follow us still.

The world is a wonderful chemist. be sure,

And detects in a moment the base or the pure;
We may boast of our claims to genius or birth,
But the world takes a man for just what he’s worth.

We start in the race for fortune or fame.

And then when we fail the World bears the blame

But nine times in ten, ’ tis plain to be seen,

There's a “ screw somewhere loose ” in the human
machine.

Are y(€u_tw¢?earied and worn in this hard earthly
s n e

Do you yearn for affection to sweeten your life?

Rememberd this great truth has often been
prove —

We nlaustdmake ourselves lovable would we be

ove .

Though life may appear as a desolate track,
Yet tlge Bread that we cast on the waters comes
ac ;
This law was enacted by Heaven above,
That like attracts like and love begets love.

We arp proud of our mansions of mortar and
s one
In our gardens are flowers from every zone;
But the beautiful graces that blossom within,
Grow shriveled an die in the Upas of sin.

We make ourselves heroes and martyrs for gold
Till hepclth becomes broken and youth becomes
0 .
Ah 1 did we the same for beautiful love,
Our lives might be music for angels above.

We reap what we sow—— oh! wonderful truth ;

A truth hard to learn in the days of our youth ;
But at last it shines out as “ the hand on the wall,”
For the world has its debit and credit for all.

p — The Industrial Age.
___._+_...___

THERE is a terrible epidemic of trichina among
the swine of Kaskas la Bottom, Illinois. It is
estimated that not less than from 10,000 to 15,000
hogs have died of this disease in that neighbor-
hood within the past nine months.

COUNSEL FOR YOUTHS.
————0-——
THOUGHTS.

BELOVED Youth in Zion. If you keep your
thoughts pure, and bring them into com-
plete subjection to the obedience of Christ,
then your life will be blameless. The in-
dulgence of sinful thoughts and desires pro-
duces sinful actions. “ When lust hath
conceived it bringeth forth sin.” James 1st.
15th. The pleasurable contemplation of a
sinful deed is often followed by its commis-
sion. Never permit yourselves to pause and
consider the pleasure or profit you might de-
rive from this or that sin, but close your minds
against the evil suggestion at once, as you
would lock and bolt your doors against rob-
bers. If our parents had not stood parley-
ing with temptation and admiring the forbid-
den fruit, this earth might be a paradise.
No one becomes a depraved and abandoned
character all at once. The mind first becomes
corrupted. The wicked suggestion is in-
dulged and revolved in the thoughts, until it
loses its hideous appearance, and the antici-
pated gain, or pleasure, seems to outweigh the
evils of the transgression. Your vain im-
aginations are apt to paint sensual pleasures
in gay and dazzling colors. Beware! It is the
serpent’s charm! Look not upon the picture,
neither allow the tempter to gain a lodgment
in your hearts. Meet the enemy at the
threshold and expel evil from your minds.
Destroy it, or it will destroy you ! As a rule,
the more familiar you become with sin, the
less hateful it appears. Therefore the more
completely you preserve your minds from sin-
ful thoug its, the better. Never permit your-
selves to read any thing unchaste, or immoral ;
nor allow your minds to become familiar with
the details of crime ; but direct your thoughts
toward pure and holy subjects. Contemplate
the spotless characters of our Saviours — Jesus
and Mother — and their successors; who have
bequeathed to you a rich inheritance of holy
precepts and examples ; and walk in their
footsteps; so shall your lives be virtuous and
happy. Take care of your thoughts, and your
actions will take care of themselves.
Daniel Urcutt, Enfield, Ct.
..—.._.__¢.._—.._._.

TEMPERANCE.
._.o__
Enrrons on THE SHAKER AND SHAKERESS :
Knowing that you take an interest in every
degree of moral and spiritual reform going on
in the world, which has for its object the
elevation of our race, we thought we would
let you know how the temperance cause is
progressing in Cleveland.
This institution seems to be conducted

‘ almost exclusively by women, and has, ever

since its inauguration,except being backed by
some clergy of all denominations, and these
two elements combined are giving the tem-
perance cause an impetus hitherto unknown,
and these again backed by the invisible, are
very fast becoming a power in the land against
the demon intemperance.

That the Temperance cause in Cleveland is
gradually gaining strength every day, is evi-
dent from the following resolutions passed at
amass meetin held recently, published in
the Oleveland erald of the 16th inst., from
which we make the following extracts.

“ Resolved, That this movement be con-
tinued as it was begun, animated only by the
spirit of kindness, and guided only by the
law of love, toward those who sell intoxicat-
ing liquors.

Resolved, That we manifest warm interest
in those who habitually drink, and we will
not cease to labor for their reformation, by
prayer, by personal kindness, and by proper
attention.

Resolved, That through grace, the success
attending the women of Cleveland, in their
work of the last eight weeks, is most gratify-
ing, and is without a parallel in any previous
history of moral reform.

Resolved, That we favor the establishing of
drinking fountains (water of course) in our
streets, at suitable intervals, throughout every
section of our city.”

When a praying band of women visited a

saloon on the road leading from the city to
our settlement, we felt to say in our heart,
“ God bless the women.’ ” This is their pecu-
liar mission — because they are chosen for
this purpose, and they have our union, sym-
pathy and prayers.
Elder James S. Prescott, North Union, 0.
.___._,.______
NOVELS.
—o—-
WHAT is the secret of the fascination of novels
and novel reading?

There is, in human souls, a germinal con-
ception of a latent power of enjoyment —
happiness —not yet attained unto.

As one said, of an evil experience —— “ That,
which I greatly feared, has come upon me ”—
thus showing that he had formed an imagin-
ation of it.

So it is with a good experience. That,
which I conceived, in mind, and desired, is ac-
tualized in my life.

We are saved by hope. We live, by antici-
pating something, which will, in the future,
be fruition .

Novels are the world’s prophecies. The
spirit of prophecy is the life of the Christian.
The just shall live by faith. Hence, the
Christian needs no novels. As truth is stranger
than fiction, so is prophecy superior to novels.

Religious meetings, abounding in the Gifts
of the Spirit, are far more wonderful, fascin-
ating and absorbing, than any theatrical exhi-
bition — even as spiritualistic phenomena are
superior to the acts of the necromancers, the
substance, to the shadows, or the true science
of government, which will result in the Mil-
lennium, to the arts of the time-serving politi-
cian.

The love of stimulation—- of excitement of
the senses, is only the measure of capacity,
for enjoying spiritual things, objective to the
spiritual senses. Each vice is as the shadow
of the corresponding virtue. Vice, like steal-
ing, shows the desire to possess, and the abil-
ity to enjoy, that which cannot be rightfully
possessed except by honest acquisition. To be
enjoyed, it must be earned.

Novel reading, alcoholic drinks, and im-
properly stimulating food, are like unto a
man drawing upon a bank, wherein he has no

funds. He is simply borrowing — contracting
a debt, which may leave him a prisoner in
some jail, out of which he may not come till
he has paid the uttermost farthing.

Be real. Be true. Draw not upon fancy,
for the good you may gain, by honest toil and
unremitting industry.

Be sober——be vigilant——a.n unregulated
imagination will waste the powers of enjoy-
ment ere life has fairly commenced.

 

NOTICE. —To me, the Temperance move-
ment appears so important as to almost include
every other.

I feel a deep interest in every thing that
tends to diminish the great and growing evil
of intoxicating drinks.

Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is
a reproach to any people.

I would that every bar-room and drinking
saloon was banished from the face of the earth,
or turned into something useful.

For half a century I have advocated the
cause of temperance in all things, and in that
time, have experienced but a few days of sick-
ness.

I am thankful for our little Monthly. It
bears a true testimony, sifted, screened and
purified — a little here and a little there.
Every contribution is like a sparkling gem,or
a diamond, bright, sharp and flinty.

The Editors have my blessing and love.

Clark Hayden, Mt. Lebanon, N. Y.

 

SHAKERESS.

A. DOOLITTLE, EDITRESS.

MINISTERIAL AGENCY-
_0_
ALL natural children in their infant and child-
hood state need guides and guardians. Witli-
out such guardians, they could not long exist ;
being not only dependent upon them for food
and raiment, but they lean upon them——tell
their trlals—and look to them for counsel.

And where can we find a man, or woman,
who, when in trouble, or pain, either mental or
physical, does not seek relief from some sym-
pathizing friend in visible form? If physic-
ally diseased, do they not ask to find a
physician that will understand their condition
and point out a remedy? It would not satisfy
them to believe that skillful physicians, or
healing media lived on earth centuries ago;
they want some person, tangible to their exter-
nal senses, that they can see, and feel ; to
whom they can speak and from whom they
can receive a response.

The natural is a figure of the spiritual.
Jesus said, “ Except ye receive the Kingdom
as little children, ye shall in no case enter
therein." Spiritual children are as dependent
for aid and counsel as the natural ; and have
need of teachers and guides who are higher
in the scale of virtue and intelligence than
themselves.

Jesus was a healing medium; he cured
physical diseases, and cast devils, or evils, out
of souls. God works through Agents, and the
lesser is dependent upon the greater. There
is a connecting chain of intelligences from the
lower to the higher, until by progressive de-
grees, human souls rise into the divine spheres
of light and love, where inharmony cannot
enter.

It is claimed that God is Omnipresent—is
in all places,—- and in all things. If we admit
that He is everywhere in his own creation, yet
he is not seen and felt for the same purpose.
We see Him in the stars, in the different
strata of soils, in clouds, or in the song of
birds ; we hear Him in loud peals of thunder,
and feel Him as a Power, riding the whirl-
wind and directing the storm ; in all this, there
is method —— Order.

But in dealing with human beings, we see
that God has reasoned with man and woman,
through intelligent agencies, all down through
the ages. He has appointed ministers and
elders who have been as gods to the people,
for the time being. Moses was a god unto
Aaron — a law-giver to the Israelites. He was
a medium for spiritual communication to those
who were less progressed than himself—a
link in the chain. And the laws which he
received from disembodied spirits, or angels,
for the people, although imperfect, were the
best that they were prepared to receive ; and
sufficient unto that day, was the good thereof.

The Levitical Priesthood were appointed
media, through whom the higher intelligences
could reach the lower ; and vice verse. It was
God’s altar of sacrifice for the people. To the
order of priesthood, they brought their sacri-
fices for sins committed, and thus showed
their deeds, and through the priests sought re-
mission. Here We see that the principle of
oral confession, to anointed witnesses. was ac-
knowledged; a mercy seat was established in
a certain place; and there God promised to

 

SI-IAKERESS.

meet and commune with the people, through
the order of the priesthood. The same law
held good through the order of the Prophets,
who were mediators between the more and
less progressed intelligences, in both worlds,
the mundane and the celestial.

Jesus of Nazareth, who was baptized with
the Christ-Spirit, was a teacher of a still
higher law and became the High Priest of a
New Dispensation. He did not condemn the
law, nor did he abolish the ordinance of oral
confession ; but when he went with the mul-
titude to the river Jordan, where John, his
forerunner, had pitched his tent, for the pur-
pose of attending to those who came to him
confessing and repenting of their si1is,—— seek-
ing to be immersed in the cleansing Waters of
that river,—did he not give unmistakable
proof of his faith in the confession of sin to
God’s witnesses‘?

VVhat were the keys that he gave to Peter
when he appointed him to be the first Leader of
his little flock, that he was about to leave, when
he said to him, “ What ye bind on earth shall
be bound in heaven; and what ye loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven; and whose-
soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto
them.” Did he not appoint a succession of
the confessional through his apostles at that
time ‘B

It‘ is written, that under the preaching of
Paul, " Fear (or conviction) fell upon the
people and many came and showed their
deeds.”

Jesus said of himself, “ I am the light of
the world.” He also said to his disciples, “ Y e
are the light of the world.” They who live
in sin, and choose to continue therein will not
“bring their deeds to the light, lest they be
reproved.” Such persons give evidence that
they love darkness, rather than light.

They who desire to accept Christ as a whole
Saviour, in the dual order of male and female,
are thankful to approach the mercy-seat that
was prefigured under the Law ; but is now a
living reality in the Gospel dispensation. It is
the ‘ ‘ door of hope,” through which many have
entered, and found salvation and strength,
through the power of the Christ-Spirit, in
both male and female. Now the wings of the
cherubim and seraphim touch each other.

Appointed ministers of the New Covenant,
watch over and guard the mercy seat, where
perpetual communion is held, between saints
on earth and saints in heaven; and a holy
bond of union is formed, which cannot be

broken.
:-?—m 

CHRISTIANITY-
:0:

JESUS of Nazareth, the founder or exponent
of Christianity, came from the exclusive
Order of Essenes, and became the corner
stone of a more perfect system than had yet
obtained among that sect. He opened a new
fountain of inspiration to priests and people ;
and advanced the great work of progress to-
ward the millennium of humanity. In practi-
cal life he was a pattern of holiness; and all
orders of people have admired him in his vir-
gin character, even if they were not willing-to
follow his example in that respect.

Although, at the time of the first advent of
the Christ-Spirit on eartli— embodied in the
baptized Jesus —the civil governments were
not sufliciently progressed, nor the people
prepared for the permanent establishing of a
Christian Pentecostal Church upon a basis
that could stand; yet, from that time unto the
present, effective forces have been at work to
prepare the way for a new heavens and earth
that would be based upon the Rock— Sexual

61

 

purity——Non-resistance—Love to God and to
neighbor, which would be manifest by an
equal distribution of all things that pertain to
physical life. Those principles-, when re-
ceived and reduced to practice, will give
freedom from many vexing troubles which
attend those who live in the generative order.

Strange as it may appear, to the more
spiritually progressed, whenever the higher
Christian order and work is perceived and
accepted by Truth seekers, there is mourning
in the land ; especially in the nominal
churches; and indeed, all who love the world
and the things thereof, mourn, because the
Gospel testimony is like a sharp sword, pro-
ceeding from the mouth of those who bear it,
to slay the carnal mind. Those who rise
above the generative plane of life receive
divine inspiration and power from the inner,
or Seventh heaven, where souls, aggregated
as Clirist’s ministers, pass through the spheres
of God’s creation, whenever and wherever
sent.

J. D. Knight, Mt. Lebanon, N. Y.

—I 

ZION MUST BE PURE.

._0_....

IF the Church of Christ’s Second Appearing
is to be as a “ city upon a hill,” giving light
to the world, then, how great is the necessity
of maintaining a swift testimony against
every form of evil within her own borders.
How can the higher “ Law go forth from
Zion,” that shall be a teacher of truth and
purity to others, unless those individuals who
form the collective body within her gates,
make a practical application of that law to
their own lives ‘? Zion must be pure. God
will surely purge His floor; the wheat He
will garner, and the chafi will be blown away
by the winds of truth.

Those who are willing that the Gospel fire
shall burn in their hearts, to consume the
false and give room for the true, will make
themselves worthy to eat at the Lord’s table,
and to drink of the pure crystal waters which
flow from His eternal fountain. But they who
live in carnal pleasure ——serve the tabernacle
——have no right to partake at the Lord’s
table.”

The Holy Spirit is waiting and calling upon
all to make ready for an increase of spiritual
truth, by greater sacrifices of that which is
selfish and worldly. The good shepherd and
shepherdess of souls stand ready to enfold the
innocent lambs in the arms of love, and they
will lead them into living pastures which are
evergreen and growing, being warmed and
vivified by the sun of righteousness.

Oh, glorious, happy day!
God speed the rising sun;
Haste to the fields in bright array,
Ye laborers, every one.
There’s work for each to do;
No soul should idle stand;
God’s numbered ones are few,
And each should lend a hand.
Flinch not, nor doubtful feel —-
The Angels cheer you on,
To tread with strength and zeal,
The path the Saints have gone.
For armies from above
Have reinforced our bands;
The banners, Truth and Love,
They bear with fearless hands.

Let hypocrites beware!
The battle will not cease,
Till Zion’s borders fair,
Proclaim for love and peace.
Till every soul is sealed
To God and to His truth;
Till justice is revealed,
From aged down to youth.
Till, written on each face
Is Father’s holy name;
And, Mother’s love hath place _
Throughout the heart’s domain.

The harvest fields are white;
Then, let us all awake;
From off our raiment bright,
The dust of slumber shake.
The blessed morn is here,
Dull night hath died away;
Brave hearts, with purpose clear,
Shall toil in this new day.
J. Jolmson, West Pittsfield. Mass.
—-—-——+——-———
THE gentlest spirits. when provoked, are the most
determined. The reason may be that, not taking
up resolutions lightly, their very deliberation
makes them the more immovable; and then, when
a point is clear and self-evident, how can one
with patience think of entering into an argument
of contention upon it ? Beware the fury of a.
patient man l—E1=.

62

 

THE NEW CREATION.

-101.

“ In thee and in thy seed shall all the nations of

the earth be blessed.”
THIS sublime oath and sacred promise was
made by the God of Israel to Abraham the
father of the faith of the New Creation. It
embodies a law that has been gradually un-
folding in each of the four Dispensations of
God's love and grace to man. These had to
succeed each other until the mystery of God
was fully revealed —— finished.

In the ministration, by Angels, of the Law
of types and shadows, the ten commandments
were written by the finger of God, in Hebrew
characters, on two tables of stone, because
they could not be contained by one table only.

It prophesied the two Christian Dispensa-
tions——- Jewish and Gentile ——male and fe-
male. And the sacrifice of beasts-—- male and
female—— pointed in the same direction. The
male beast was slain first to make an atone-
ment for animal physical sin,and then the fe-
male beast was slain as a peace offering.

Saviours came forth from Judah and Edom
with garments died in blood ——the generative
life—see Zach. (vi. 13), “ He shall build the
temple of the Lord, and He shall bear the
glory ;” —— the woman is the glory of the man
—— and “ He shall sit and rule upon his throne,
and the counsel of peace shall be between them
botl1.”

Jesus of Bethlehem, and Ann of Manches-
ter, were heirs of the faith of Abraham ap-
pointed to accomplish the purposes of God, in-
cluded in the oath,-that all the nations of the
earth should be blessed in his seed. The seed
of the spiritual woman would bruise the head
of the sensual nature of fallen man ——the
lust of generation ——by resurrection out of the
generative Order, thus creating a spiritual
woman.

They became the parents of the New Crea-
tion which is based upon death to the work of
physical, animal propagation. Life is sacri-
ficed and hated -—the carnal life and all it pro-
duces is forsaken, and a new life, even “ eter-
nal life ” is revealed. In place of the natural
there is the spiritual Parentage with its Broth-
ers and Sisters, and a household of faith
where all property is “in common,” thus con-
stituting the true Church of the Christ-Spirit,
the Temple of God.

The soul that receives this word of faith
has the beginning of the New Creation in it-
self,just as it began in the first son, Jesus,
and in the first daughter, Ann. They were
the first born of the Christ Parentage, first of
many brethren and sisters ; for to as many as
receive the Christ-Spirit, they give power to
become the sons and daughters of God.

Obedience brings the soul under God’s ever-
lasting covenant. To enter the kingdom of
heaven upon earth, we must become like the
first elder brother and sister in all things.
Let the word of life have free course in our
souls, and let every thing go that would bind
us down to the earthly order of generation,
and its concomitants.

As the natural child in its infancy knows
little of its earthly parentage, and increases in
understanding as it grows in years, so is it
with spiritual children ; they attain to the
measure of the stature of men and women in
Christ Jesus, and in Christ Ann, by slow de-
grees.

The natural elements in man and woman
must be burned up by the baptism of the
Christ-Spirit—melted with the fervent heat
of spiritual love, which is as fire to earthly,
carnal loves and affections, cares and interests.
Then the Bridegroom and bride are revealed
to their true sons and daughters.

Thus the souls of all true believers find in
the hour of tribulation, that they have an
anchor sure and steadfast,” and they know in
whom and in what they have believed. Even
their bodies become pure, fit temples for souls
to dwell in, through the chastening virtue of
self-denial.

As sin entered into the world by the agency
and co-operation of 111ale and female, why
should it not also be removed by their union
in the Truth, as co-workers together with
God ?

Eldress Anna Ervin, Enfield, Ct.

SHAKER AND

KNOWLEDGE.
.._0_._
THAT “ knowledge is power," to a certain ex-
tent, we cannot deny. According to bible his-
tory, a thirst for knowledge was the prime
cause of the fall of our first parents, who
were placed to dress and keep the beautiful
garden called “ Eden.”

All that was heedful for man’s sustenance —
all that he could use and not profane, was
freely offered to him without constraint; but
there was a prohibition placed upon one tree
called the tree of knowledge, and he seemed to
desire to eat of the fruit of that tree more
than of all the other trees ; although a heavy
penalty hung over him, if by disobedience he
violated the injunction given him.

As we trace the ancestral line of history
back to the original progenitors of our race,
can we not (J-.2;-‘ltrct the same disposition in all
their lineal descendants, to crave knowledge
of things that will afford present gratification
to the senses, irrespective of law and order,
notwithstanding the voice of God speaks to
them through the conscience, saying “ eat not
lest ye die?” Obedience to truth is a life pre
server. Disobedience gives pain and is a
life destroyer.

The desire for knowledge in the human
heart, when sought within the limit of law,
and guided by wisdom that applies knowledge
to use, is God-given, and is in conformity to
his designs for the elevation and progress of
humanity; and is laudable in the highest de-
gree.

VVe Wonder when we contemplate what the
united intellect of men and women, in the
mundane and super-mundane spheres, have
accomplished, in revealing the hidden mys-
teries of science. To effect this work, lofty
mountains have been scaled, deep caverns
have been penetrated, great oceans have been
fathomed, by which a knowledge of animate
and inanimate things on the land and in the
seas has been attained.

The wild lands of America and the jungles
of Africa have been explored, and the religious
manners and customs of all civilized and so-
called savage nations have been investigated.
The mausoleums of past ages have been
entered, the remains of ancient sculpture and
art have been examined, and the fossil remains
of men and animals have been dug from the
earth. The encyclopedias and halls of science
of to-day tell, in part, of the success of the
searches and researches that have been made
in quest of knowledge. And as the facilities
for accumulating knowledge are increased,
the desires are enhanced for more ; and at the
present time great efforts are made to pen-
etrate the ice-bound regions of the North, at
the peril of life and property, in search of an
Open sea at the poles, if such sea exist.

While men and women by searching have
found out God, to a marked degree,as mani-
fested in the outward visible creation, so that
they can describe the course of the stars, send
messages from country to country with light-
ning speed, under the waves of the mighty
ocean as well as over hill and dale; and the
iron horse has found its way through the hith-
erto trackless regions of the far West, carry-
ing untold treasures of wealth, the products
of industry, from the Atlantic to the Pacific
coasts ; still there is much sorrow and mourn-
ing in the land ; for the rich are increasing in
wealth and luxurious habits of life, and the
poorer classes are depressed in proportion.

War, intemperanee, sensuality; and crime are
filling the land and destroying the vital ener-
gies of the people. Corruption and fraud are
found in the churches, in the legislative halls
of the nation, and all down through society
from the highest to the lowest ranks.

The wisdom that cometh from above, that
will cause men and women to fear God and
work righteousness, has been ignored or lost
sight of to a great extent. It seems to have
b_een forgotten, or never understood, that
sooner or later God will require a strict ac-
count of every thought, word and deed; and
that in the light of his judgment all will
stand approved or condemned before him.

Rhoda R. Hollsister, Mt. Lebanon, N. Y.
_.___._____..

GREAT effort from great motives is the best defl-
nition of a happy life.

CORRESPONDENCE.
__0—.—
BELOVED ELDRESS ANTOINETTE:

In perusing a late number of the Shaker
and Shakeress, I was deeply interested and
edified with the article headed “ Courage Toil-
ers.”

As I view the present condition of society,
the aspect presents cause for great courage
and patient toiling, on the part of those who
possess wisdom. and have the ability to work
for the elevation and redemption of the human
race. There is need that every effort be di-
rected to aid the Gospel work; that Truth may
triumph, and the voice of Reason and Con-
science may be heard.

We should not be discouraged, if we feel
that the work progresses slowly ; rather let us
enter into the sublime patience of the Lord,
and trust Him to weave our little threads (one
at a time) into the great web, though the whole
pattern is not shown us.

God’s people must be willing to labor and
wait for the fruit; remembering that one day
with the Lord is as a thousand years, and that
the grand harvest of the ages shall come to its
reaping in good time, and the day shall broaden
into a thousand years, and the thousand shall
show one perfect and finished day.

I realize that I am but as a grain of sand,
possessing neither large_ talent, nor power.
But my sympathy and prayers are enlisted in
the glorious cause of advancing truth: and I
will strive to “let Patience have her perfect
work,” and bring forth her celestial fruits.
Angels bless the patient in spirit, and let us
all be co-laborers with them : and while We
toil to sow the good seed, and look around us
for duties to perform, let us look up to a higher
source for strength to discharge those duties,
and for our reward.

Our Captain and Pattern said, “ Lo, I am
with you always!” With such a promise to
cheer us onward, why should we not willingly
toil and pray —-trusting in humble ‘confi-
dence—giving our hearts to God in grateful
adoration ‘Z

Maria Witham, Enfield. Ct.
_.—?..—‘___j.
SELF-DENIAL.
.—_.0._—
IF We make progress God—ward, it will be
through self—denial, the opposite of self-indul-
gence.

The all-wise God has given laws to regulate
and govern our actions. If we study and
obey those laws we shall find protection, and
be saved from the sorrows and troubles that
all feel who violate them.

We, as dependent beings, are ‘but small
particles in God’s universe of intelligence, and
can do nothing without the aid of his Spirit to
quicken and animate our souls. We may be
endowed with intellect and natural talent,
but unless we cultivate the moral and spiritual
part of our being, we do not answer the de-
sign for which we were created, and shall be
accountable for the non—in1provement of our
highest faculties.

If we realize our dependence, and in child-
like simplicity ask assistance, believing that
He who hears the cry of the raven, and clothes
the lily of the vale, will also hear and reward
us if we diligently seek, then we shall realize the
truth of the promise,“Ask and ye shall receive.”

By denying the cravings of the carnal mind
we triumph over the lower passions which
yield no abiding pleasure, and make room in
our hearts for God’s Spirit to dwell, which, by
degrees, will educate and lead us into all truth
and teach that we were created for a noble
purpose-——to find and occupy a sphere above
the animal plane.

Laying aside worldly wisdom and seeking
through child-like innocence and trust, for
the wisdom of God, the understanding becomes
enlightened, and doubts and fears are dispelled
from the mind.

VVe find that it requires strong faith and as
great self-denial in us (as it did in Abraham of
old) to make a full sacrifice and give the whole
heart to God. But those who thus dedicate all
will receive a great reward. Their souls will
be as a watered garden, they will be neither
barren nor unfruitful, but will eat and drink
of living bread and waters and thirst no more.

Mary Middleton, Union Village, Ohio.

 

BEAUTY.
——0——
IN what does real beauty consist?

There is a beauty in personal form and
feature; and there are many beauties in Na-
ture and Art, but the highest, crowning beauty
of all is, that of souls, made pure by obedience
to truth, and love to holiness. Untarnished
by sin — faithful in every duty —they shine
with a brightness that nought but purity of
life can give.

The soul that has subdued, in itself, all that
is evil, and is moved and governed by high
and holy motives, looking beyond natural
things, to the Divine Spirit, for light, life and
strength; who freely coiisecrates time, talents
and strength of body and mind, to the service
of God, attains to a high degree of holiness
and forms a type of soul beauty.

It is not enough for us to perceive, admire,
and love such beauty in others; we should
labor to follow their example and unfold the
true and beautiful in our own characters; and
manifest our love to God, by cheerfully sacri-
ficing that which is self-pleasing, for the good
of others. To soothe and comfort the weary
—- bind up the broken spirit and gently lead
the erring into the path of truth and right
should be our highest aim. This will make
the soul beautiful!

Florence Martin, Union Village, 0.

.__..¢.¢___.j

PEACE AT LAST-
__o_

I sought in vain for comfort, in pleasures of
the world;

I saw its brightest visions turn to mis’ries
untold;

I wa1k’d through scenes of sorrow, trusting
earthly pow’r,

To sustain my fainting spirit in the trying
hour.

I've made (Oh! God forgive me) idols on the
earth,

And worship’d them, forsaking things of
greater worth ;

But all those things have vanish’d, and in sor-

row deep

Left nie alone—forsaken—to wander and to
weep.

Now, rays of light are shining; in the distance
I can see »

Hope, Religz'on,— many treasures indeed are
left to me ;
Forsaking earthly pleasures, I turn to thee
O God l

And humbly walk before thee in the path
that Jesus trod.

Now, joy and consolation, my wearied soul has
found,

In seeking full salvation on Zion’s holy
ground;

Devoting all my efforts to serve and worship
God,

I’ll bow in true submission, and bless his
chast’ning rod.

He has led me out of bondage—sooth’d me
with his love —

And taught me to prepare for a heav’nly home

above.
TO THE TEMPERANCE BAND.

We unto you in kindly greeting,
Waft our blessing and our love ;
Praying that each temperance meeting,
Will to souls a blessing prove.
Ask for aid, it will be given;
Guardian friends are hovering near:
Look to God for strength and comfort,
He the cause will guide and cheer.

Seraphims of love and mercy,
Go before and chant the song,
Beaming light, truth and conviction;
his will make your army strong.
Hear ye not the voice of Angels,
Hovering o’er each valiant band,
Speaking love and inspiration,
Giving strength to heart and hand ?

Persevere, perform your mission,
God reserv'd this work for you,
Many souls in deep contrition,
Will your path with blessings strew.
Fear ye not; fulfill your duty,
Angels chant the song of life!
Female messengers of mercy,
Will subdue t e stormy strife.

Nancy P. Riley, W. Pittsfield, Mass.

SHAKERESS.

 

PURE LOVE.

PURE Love is a celestial gem; nothing earth-
born can compare with it. Love contains
within itself the germs of all other gifts and
‘-graces. Purity of heart, Charity which suf-
fers long, mercy and forgiveness are all found
in love’s embraces, and are the legitimate
fruits which flow therefrom.

May I be clothed with the beautiful spirit
of love ; may it constitute my chief adorning
while I dwell in an earthly form, and fit me
for the companionship of pure spirits in the
land of light and love! Then with the wise
virgins of our own time, I shall be prepared
to go forth bearing the lamp of truth in my
hand that will shed light upon the pathway
of the pilgrim traveler, and shall be ready
to make efforts to raise the fallen, and point
them to the path of virtue ——- the straight and
narrow way that leads to happiness—— to the
Fountain of all good.

Mary A. Whitely, Shirley, Mass.

 

THY WORK.

..—-oj.

A constant dropping of the good
Will wear away the stony heart,

Where flame of lire, and deluge flood,
Could not vitality impart.

Continue then thy little deeds
Of kindness, love, and sweet control;

For greatest gifts are to the needs,
And highest love is to the soul.

Pray on, work on; the_light is near,
A perfect light and life in God;
Thou hast no earthly ill to fear,
When with the truth thy feet are shod.

The dawn of day that bursts in light,
Is hid behind one lonely hill;
The sun ascends and flees the night,
That we may work with God's pure will.

And where is God ? by things well seen
We trace the order of his place;

In male and female to redeem,
And lead the chosen heirs of grace.

Endued with wisdom and with love,
Whose attributes they jointly share;
Uplifting souls to realms above,
Two powers as one for Zion care.

Mary Whitcher, Canterbury, N. H.
.?_+___._.

LAWS OF HEALTH.

_.0_.

DR. EVERETT, a graduate of the University of Penn-
sylvaiiia. has been lecturing to the citizens of New-
burg on the laws of health. He claims that health,
moral character, and the temperance question de-
pend upon physiology ; that diseased conditions
of the nervous system render people peevish and
profane,and establish the demand for alcoholic
stimulants. The doctor argues that so long as
mothers and children are fed upon pickles, pepper
and other irritants, there Will e an after demand
for strong coffee and tea, tobacco and alcohol ;
that our temperance a itation is a practical _fail—
ure, because we do not ave it on scientific princi-
ples —- that is, that the food question is at the base
of the temperance question. The appetite grows
by what it is fed on, and highly seasoned and stim-
ulating food indulged in for a series of years nat-
urally begets an appetite for something still more
stimulating.

WOMEN'S PHYSIOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
——0__.
THE movement of the ladies to organize and sus-
tain a Physiological Society in this city is certainly
deserving of praise. That such a society should
be talked about here is a good sign, and that it is
progressing and gives promise of long life is a mat-
ter of congratulation. How to dress healthfully,
to eat hygienically, and to live in all things tem-
perately is what the society proposes to teach, and
that the ladies are determined to accomplish their
purpose is evidenced by their zeal and enthusiasm
in the undertaking. How much wiser such an
effort is than the at present useless plans of the
women is to be found in this fact, that these ladies
have started out to reform themselves. _ They pro-
pose to begin at their own tables, at their own flr_e-
sides. and with their own toilettes. They will
simplify their costumes, and being strong as a so-
ciety they will grow strong as individuals. This
they tell us, in the reports of their meetings, they
intend to do, and seeing how much is to be done
in the line they have chosen we prefer to believe
that they are in earnest. They have made a great
move forward when they acknowledge that the
dress of women requires social legislation, and
with this acknowledgment volunteered, and the
as voluntary promise of a. change for the better,
%iere is certainly reason for public gratification.-
.12.
._._.?¢_:_.._._

IF some men died and others did not, death would
indeed be a most mortifying evil.—[Bruyere.]

63

 

THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE.
——0:.
MAY God bless the woman’s righteous war
between rum and reform, and bring forth vic-
tory by laying low earth’s deadliest enemies-—
intoxicating liquor and lust l Like fiery demons
— red dragons—— they enter many peaceful
liome-circles to despoil and lay waste ; breed-
ing therein a writhing, wretched mass of wild
scorpions, to corrode, poison and bring to the
very death, all hope of peace and prosperity.
Thereby many noble forms are leveled to the
dust, no more to rise, but are shrouded in
shame—covered with a pall of black despair.

Again, God bless the women crusaders who
have engaged in the temperance cause. That
work is committed to their trust. Love and
Prayer are the means —the spiritual weap-
ons -——- by which they must work and win. May
they produce mighty results in the glorious
reform so much needed.

Ah! woman, worthy worker! Every one
who is struggling against intemperaiice, and
for emancipation from the slavery of sin, is
worthy. God is your Leader, and we have
faith that He will give you the victory.

The Shaker Sisterhood are with you in
spirit, and reach forth the hand of fellowship
to all who are conscientiously engaged in the
work, regardless of station, wealth, color, or
sect; and with you we uplift our voices in
prayer, that God will speed the good time com-
ing when truth and righteousness shall reign
tlirou lioiit the whole earth ; when peace
shall 11 the land with joy and gladness, and
mortals dwell together in unity as sons and
daughters of the New Creation of God-—blest
by Angels of light and love— children of one
heavenly Parentage.

Once more we say, God bless the workers
in the Temperance cause, and speed the glo-

rious end.
mm

SIGNAL LIGHT.
_o__

Is my bark launch’d on an unknown sea

Divi ing time from eternity?

Without chart, or compass, by which to steer,
Must I toss on these waves of hope and fear?
In vain I look ahead for a light;

The foam crested billows alone meet my sight!
0! where shall I turn for a skillful hand,

To pilot me safe to the better land?

0 that a dove from some isle of the sea-

Would bring as to Noah — a message to me!

But no dove appears —no mast can I spy-

To awaken the hope, that a haven is nigh.

And, While I am looking in vain for a sail-

I tremble with fear, my bark is so frail;

So I lift up my voice, and supplicate aid

From that Power, whose mandate the sea hath

obeyed.

Thou Almighty Power, thy help I implore!

Guide safely my bark ’tlll my voyage is o’er!

And whatever course thy hand shall direct,

I'll trustingly steer, if thou wilt protect.

But what is that glory which bursts on my sight ?
Tl]()l1l£{1l’1l far in the distance, ’tis heaven’s pure

is t;
A signal on high is hung out for me,
It is the bright beacon of purity.

Can that be a mirage, I see through the haze.

The beautiful landscape that now meets my gaze.
With soft—tinted flowers, and fruit-laden trees,
And groves with green foliage sway’d by the

breeze ?

Ah, soon shall my soul its reality test l

Devotion secures me the haven of rest ;

That soul-cheering thought has inspir’d my mind
To buffet these billows, that haven to flnd.

A. E. Persons, Harvard, Mass.

 

NEVER DESPAIR.
-:0?
THESE are the hopeful words of the Christian.
Yet there are times, when even hopeful, trust-
ing Christians have felt sinkings, akin to
despair. Jesus, on the cross, cried “ My God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Yet
God is ever nigh to aid suffering, humble
spirits, though he permits their trials to prove
them and show them their dependence on
Him. It is often, when the cloud is darkest,
that the sun suddenly shines forth. Aid does
not always come as we look for it, in our own
natural wisdom ; but in ways that convince us
of the watchfulness of our good Heavenly
Parents over us. It is through severe trials
and tribulations that the saints are tried as
gold.
Anna Ervtn, Enfield, Ct.

64:

SHAKER AND SI-IAKERESS.

 

type of life

the en- light - ened

The

pure and shin-ing

2.

They come, 0 earth! to bless thee,
Their loving mission haill

They sow beside all waters

The seed that cannot fail,

TruLh’s precious germs upspringing
Shall fruit immortal bear,

Rich prophecy of blessing

Which many souls will share.

    

vis -

W3-ya

KEYS OF REVELATION.

pro gress - ive, Viewed by

‘ *0’

ion In mean - ing

The mes - sen - gers

3.

The ministry of angels

Shall light the darkened land,
’Till earth’s benighted children
God's power will understand;
’Till Babel towers of error

To their foundations reel,

And gilded temple glories

A mighty shock will feel.

heav - en

As - cend - ing and de - scend-ing

I
vis- it earth to -

—.Q_

4.

The keys of Revelation,

Which long were doomed to rust,

Now ope the golden portals .
Of saving faith and trust;

The soul unfolds her pinions

To rise from nature's gloom,

For strength of resurrection

Lies not within her tomb.

AN ITEM. —— The day has overtaken us
wherein we have the happy privilege to be
participants in the increase of Christ’s King-
doin. In what line of action will that increase
manifest itself? Will it be in forms of belief,
about which graceless bigots fight? or in a
right life, which all can commend, and about
which all can agree. If in a right life, what
ma.y be the laws which govern that life? The
laws of that life are threefold. First. Divine
law_, manifested by benevolence, mercy and
aspirations God-ward. Second. Moral law—-
love your neighbor as yourself. Third. Hy-
gienic law—— do nothing against your own
body. The increase of Christ's Kingdom will
apply these laws to all the ramifications of
liiiinaneiiiotioii, thought and action, till there
is nothing in us that is not of God.
D. F.

THE BEST PA:rnr1NDEiis.—Do my young Ameri-
cans know who are the best pathflnders on the
American continent, the great original pathflnders
of the West ? I'll tell you. They are the buffaloes.
Yes, sir, it’s true. Hear what a correspondent of
St. Nicholas writes with the quill of a dear gray-
goose friend of mine:

As the frosts of winter destroy their pastures in
the north, so the heats of summer parch those in
the south, and the buffaloes must, each spring and
autumn, take long journeys in search of fresh
feeding grounds. The large size and weight of
these somewhat clumsy ex" lorers make it rather
difficult for them to cross t e mountains, so they
seek out for themselves the most practicable
routes; and hunters and emigrants have found
that a “ buffalo-track ” offers the surest and safest
path for men and horses. The best passes in the
Cumberland and Rocky mountains, and the re ions
of the Yellowstone, and the Colorado, have icon
discovered by following the trail of these sagacious
animals.

I know this is so, for the great traveler, Hum-
boldt, once wrote : “ In this way the humble buf-
falo has filled a most important part in facilitating
geographical discovery in mountainous regions,
otherwise as trackless as the Arctic Wastes, as the
sands of Sahara.” —— J ack-in-the—Pulpit. —St. Niche
olas for December.

._.j._._..__.

RULE.-—Eat that which is the best until
you love it the best.

How To HAVE SOUND TEETH.—-The Science of
Health says : " Muslies, gruels, puddings and soups
may be made hygienically. But they should also
be eaten hygienically. They must be chewed, not
bolted. The nursing infant masticates its niother’s
milk, for which purpose it takes it slowly, drop by
drop. Mastication is for the purpose of insaliva-
tion. Unless food is properly insalivated, it can-
not be well digested. The teeth are the finest,
densest structure of the body, and this means they
are intended for hard Work. Eat solid food at
every meal; and when you take semi-liquid, or
very soft food of any kind, eat very slowly and
take a bit of hard bread, crackers, a green apple,
or something similar, with it. hen will your
stomach please and be pleased, and your teeth,
like your eyes and nose, and fingers and toes, will
remain to bless and comfort you to the last. If all
persons, after being weaned, would onl chew
their food enough, we would hear very ittle of
aching and rotten teeth, and dentists would be

nowhere.”
: 

A NEW SAIN'r.—Among the deceased men and
women, good, bad and indifferent, canonized by
the present “ venerable prisoner " of the Vatican,
' and set forth for the prayers of the faithful as
intercessors with God, is Peter Arbaes. ,

Being Inquisitor General of the Spanish Inquisi-

tion, he won golden opinions b the zeal, self-
denial and faithfulness with w ich he burned
heretical men. women and babies.
THE Ninth Pius seems as unlucky in his saints
as in his dogmas. But tastes alwa s have differed,
and Peter Arbaesis not the flrst re -handed wretch
who has been canonized.

“ ‘In the prosecution of the examinations,’ we
are told in the Acta Sanctoruimi, ‘no groans nor
cries could move him; in the execution of the
dreadful sentence he was turned aside neither by
prayers nor tears.’ It was in the age when Colum-
bus was preparing to reveal anew world, and when
knowledge was already teaching humanity to kings
and nobles, that our modern saint was sentencing
women and feeble children to the flames, and was
filling happy households with intolerable dread;
was searching for his victims with barbarous
assiduity, and stood among his fellow-citizens
dripping with gore. Hated no doubt like Torque-
inada, who never went unarmed — feared with more
than mortal dread— the Chief In uisitor pursued
his career of bloodshed unchec ed for several
years, and deserved the highest approval of his
ruthless church. At last came his martyrdom, or
rather the inadequate punishment for his enor-
mous crimes. He was assassinated in the church
of Saragossa by two young men, the father of one
of whom had been imprisoned, and the sister of
the other burned at the stake.

am

“Such is a Roman Catholic saint and mart rl
The murderer of the innocent is held up to is
clergy by Pius IX as an example worthy of imi-
tation, and the most horrible form of blind fanati-
cism receives the sanction of the infallible Pope.”

C. I. C.

..:_—j—§-A-$-

MY GUARDIANS.

.__-.0?-

Unseen hands are daily sowing
Precious seed of love and care;

In my soul I feel them growing,-
Germs of truth develop there.

And I know the source is heaven-
Whence these treasures come to me;

Though by impress they be given,
Or through mortal agency.

Let me hold a claim upon you,-
Spirit friends released from time;

Deal to me of wisdom. prudence,
Strength and love, from purer clime.

I, so weak and erring, daily
Need a watchful Savior near;

Such be thou to guide my footsteps,
Keep my spirit free and pure.

Teach me lessons true and holy,-
Rudinients of higher life;

Fit my soul to dwell with angels
When I cease the mortal strife.
Teach me, while on earth I journey,
How to live with saints below ; -
How to keep my union sacred,

And in heavenly graces grow.

Elizabeth Martin. Canterbury, N. H.
m— —m

@‘ Sometime ago petitions were addressed to
Congress, asking for an amendment to the Con-
stitution of the United States, so that that instru-
ment should contain "‘ an acknowledgment of
Almighty God and the Christian religion.” These
petitions were referred to the Judiciary Commit-
tee of the House, and last week that body pre-
sented an adverse report thereon. The Commit-
tee say that the matter was the subject of grave
deliberation on the part of the framers of the Con-
stitution, who flnally quite unanimously 21 reed
that, inasmuch as this country was to be the ome
of the people of all nations, pagan as well as
Christian, it was inexpedient to put any thing in
the Constitution which might be construed as a
reference to»any religious creed or doctrine. The
Committee are 0 posed to any change at the pres-
ent time, and as to be discharged from further
consideration of the subject. This, we suppose,
ends the matter for the present.