Jehovah! Then would be experienced a more unruffled peace and richer joys of Christian communion; the Church possess a greater concentration of power; broader schemes of philanthropy and mercy be projected; and the complete downfall of Satan's kingdom be reckoned upon as surely at the door. plexed at all? No. His lips move; I catch the dying whisper, "Trust in God and ye need not fear;" and now the wheels of life stand still. Farewell, great and good man; thy memory is embalmed in the minds of all future generations! Yet And I love the memory of John Wesley. Never having walked where he walked, slept where he slept, nor passed under the shadows of a church where he preached, II have consequently never experienced emotions parallel with those incident to my rambles about Northampton. having learned to pronounce his name in the nursery, the incidents of his life being among the most familiar tales of my childhood, catechized and drilled from the first dawn of my intellectual being in the doctrines he promulgated, and always familiarized to the forms of worship he instituted or sanctioned, why should I not love the memory of John Wesley? How humbly did he walk; how sincere was his piety; what harmony existed between his judgment and passions; how clear were his preceptions of truth and duty; what faith, love, decision, and persevering energy did he manifest in the work of God; what strength of intellect, what magnanimity of soul, what unbounded philan "Fly swiftly round, ye wheels of time, And bring the welcome day." But to return, and yet not enlarge. love the memory of Jonathan Edwards. I never listen to the chimes of that same old bell which used to summon him to the pulpit, without being thrilled with emotions that labor in vain for birth. Methinks I see him as he then appeared, in full ministerial dress, stately, serene, earnest, expeditious, fearless, going reverently into the desk, placidly eyeing his immense congregation, looking the very pattern of a "teacher sent from God." And then the deep intonations of his prayers, followed by sermons composed for the occasion, and designed expressly to probe and lay open the innate and malignant depravity of the hearers' hearts. For a while stillness reigns; then deep sighs. Anon a shriek of despair, or a shout of joy. Finally, the power of God sweeps through the house, and the "slain of the Lord are many!"thropy and catholicity were manifested at I follow him into the bosom of his numerous family, and am charmed by his evenness of temper, the sanctified familiarity of his caresses, the symmetry and efficiency of his domestic government, (in the establishment and execution of which, however, he was assisted by a wife of seraphic disposition and qualifications,) and the undisturbed happiness which continually prevails. I peep into his study. In his broad and well-balanced head I see the gradual development of the profoundest system of philosophy ever announced to the theological world by one uninspired; and in his heart I hear the throes of a philanthropy boundless as the society of man. Years pass on. I find myself in the chamber where this good man meets his fate : ""Tis privileged above the common walks Of virtuous life, quite on the verge of heaven." He is far from home, under the power of an acute malady, and it has just been announced to him that he must die! The soft hand of the companion of his youth is not there to wipe the cold sweat from his brow. Is he agitated, alarmed, per all times, under all circumstances, and everywhere; yea, with what cheerful and rapid movement did he fly through all the land, seizing and molding with a powerful and plastic hand the depraved and unpropitious facts of human condition, turning the ways and fields of rugged wickedness into paths of peace and gardens of the Lord! Furthermore, and finally, what a long life was his, and how triumphantly did he die! I love to think of Edwards and Wesley together. True, one was a Calvinist and the other an Arminian; but both were evangelical. The first gathering up facts of physical life and mental philosophy, arranging and generalizing them on the basis of a philosophical necessity, which latter work perhaps was chiefly projected by the power of early prejudice, was thereby led so to interpret the language of inspiration as, on the whole, to be driven to the conclusion of "eternal decrees;" while the second, by a course somewhat parallel, but issuing from a different original source, heartily embraced and vehemently propagated the doctrines of human of darkness. May Heaven speed the day when the convergent enterprizes of evangelical denominations shall all reach that given point, when the watchmen shall see eye to eye; the wolf dwell with the lamb; the leopard lie down with the kid; the calf, young lion, and fatling, mingle together in docility; the cow and the bear feed in unison; the lion eat straw like the ox; the sucking child play safely on the hole of the asp; the weaned child put his none in all the holy mountain be found with a disposition to hurt or destroy; and the EARTH be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God, as the waters cover the sea. THAT ONLY A TRIFLE. THAT'S right," said I to my friend Simpkins, the baker, as the sicklylooking widow of Harry Watkins went out of his shop-door with a loaf of bread which he had given her—“ that's right, Simpkins; I am glad you are helping the poor creature, for she has had a hard time of it since Harry died, and her own health failed her." freedom and conditional election; yet both were men of prayer, men of God, as was demonstrated by the peculiar signs and wonders which followed their labors. Perhaps the same wisdom which originated the different tastes and organizations of the human mind purposely directed that Edwards should be preeminent in philosophical power, and Wesley in practical power, thereby fitting them for equally important though quite distinct fields of moral enterprize. And there are, doubt-hand unharmed upon the cockatrice's den; less, thousands to-day engaged in swelling the harmonies of heaven through the primary or secondary influence of each, respectfully, whom neither the secondary nor primary influence of either alone could have reached and converted. We would not be understood to deny either that Wesley was philosophical or that Edwards was practical; but simply to affirm that the latter possessed the former qualification in a degree so preeminent as to becloud his practical powers; while the former possessed the latter qualification in a degree so equally preeminent as to eclipse most of his abstract and philosophic abilities. Hence, while the one is renowned for his researches amid the foundations and fitnesses of things, and his emergencies therefrom into solid generalizations, and keenly logical conclusions, the other is famed for his power of simplifying truth to the common mind; the projection and execution of the most enlarged schemes for the elevation and salvation of the human race. Nor should we wonder that the one occasionally accused the other of fanaticism and enthusiasm, while the other, in turn, retorted the charge of a slavish submission to questionable technicalities and fallacious postulations. The fruits of their labors needed the bleaching suns, the pelting storms, and the unavoidable collisions of time, as also to be seen by the disciples of each, in turn, from a distance of years, to render them mutually apprehensible. Thanks be unto God, while Edwards and Wesley, though on earth the propogaters of systems of theology in some respects antagonistic, have long since struck the friendly hand in glory, their followers, forgetting the things which are behind, and casting aside their nonessential differences of opinion, are assimilating and combining more and more, thereby becoming increasingly efficient year by year for the ultimate destruction of the kingdom "Hard enough, sir, hard enough; and 1 am glad to help her, though what I give her do 'nt cost much-only a trifle, sir!" "How often does she come ?" 66 Only three times a week. I told her to come oftener, but she said that, with what I give her, and the little she earns at sewing, she has no necessity." "And have you any more such customers, Simpkins?" 66 Only two or three, sir." "Only two or three; why, it must be quite a tax upon your profits!" "O no, not so much as you suppose: altogether it amounts to only a trifle.” I could not but smile as my friend repeated these words; but after I left him, I fell to thinking how much good he is doing with "only a trifle." He supplies three or four families with the bread they eat from day to day; and though the actual cost for a year shows but a small sum in dollars and cents, the benefit conferred is by no means a small one. A sixpence, to a man who has plenty to "eat and drink, and wherewithal to be clothed," is nothing; but it is something to one on the verge of starvation. And we know not how much good we are doing when we give "only a trifle" to a good object. OT the least among the eminent men of the South is Dr. Lovick Pierce, the oldest effective Southern Methodist preacher. Born in 1784, on Roanoke River, when three years old he was carried by his father to the frontier of South Carolina, where he grew up much like an Indian, except that he was taught to work. He never heard a prayer until twelve years of age; but the rifle was familiar as a household word from the time he was large enough to handle it. In the early part of 1799 James Jenkins, the first Methodist preacher who visited that region, came into the neighborhood to organize a circuit, and secured a preaching place at the house of Lovick's uncle. But the father held "this people" in sovereign contempt; nor did he deign, for months, to attend Mr. Jenkins's appointment. At length, in August, Lovick and his brother begged and obtained permission to go and hear the new preacher. On their return they diffidently replied to the question, "How did you like him ?" in praise of Mr. Jenkins. This excited the interest of the old people, and decided them to attend at the preacher's "next round." What should fall out but that his father and mother joined the society that very day; and in the evening the old gentleman called the family in for prayers, notifying them every one that they would have to take it in turns, from oldest to youngest, to lead the devotions. For the first time sweet singing and fervent prayers were heard in that pioneer's cabin. Lovick and his brother also joined society at the first opportunity; and, before long, the former, although so young, was made leader of a class, about eleven miles from home. Reaching his appointment, on the first occasion, what was his surprise to see the surrounding thickets filled with "the beasts" which had brought their backwoods owners to the spot, and to learn that a man named Pierce was expected to preach! Shy as a deer, what was he to do? He drew off to the bushes, got down behind an old log-a place where many great sermons have been wrought out in days of yore—and, with many tears, prayed for help. Light and comfort came, and he was able to go through his duties. continued a class-leader for several years, and thus learned the art of public speaking preparatory to his higher calling. He could accomplish. Hardships were to be undergone; a saddle was sometimes their only pillow, the earth was their bed, and heaven's arch a covering; the panther's scream was their lullaby, and the blazing light-wood knots their only defense against the savage cat of the forest and swamp. The woodman's eye and skill were needed to keep "the bee line" and follow the trail. Physical courage was in requisition, for mobs must be met and ruffians frowned down. But as their day, so was their In 1804, at Christmas, when the conference met, Lovick Pierce was admitted into the traveling connection, and appointed to the Big Pedee circuit, having about thirty appointments and being three hundred miles around, with swamps to be threaded, and creeks and rivers in abundance to be swam. A preacher's pay at this time was eighty dollars per annum, having recently been raised from sixty-four; and as a wife was too cumbrous a piece of furniture for this nomadic life, if a man married he of course located. A broad-strength. brimmed hat and straight-breasted coat, always homespun-the color a matter of indifference, but generally of a hue like unto copperas-constituted the uniform of this cavalry brigade. Their accouterments were saddle-bags, containing, as a sheath, the well-worn pocket Bible, Hymn-book, and Discipline, besides a change or two of linen. One of the superfluities proscribed, as belonging in effect to the pomps and vanities of the world, was suspenders. It would have been as much as a man's itinerant caput was worth to put on a pair of "gallowses." The threshold of a house once crossed, prayers were not omitted, if the consent of the family could be obtained; and wherever a crowd was assembled, at funeral, wedding, or muster, a sermon was to be preached. Only get listeners, then give them the gospel in all its warmth and power, and look at once for the fruit-a revival "right there and then." "Up and at them," was virtually the command of the iron-framed Asbury to his men, and at them they went, pellmell; hurly-burly and down came the foe; for "one chased a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight." The bounds of the South Carolina Conference, at that time, were from the Atlantic and North Carolina on the north and east, to the Gulf and sunset on the south and west. Associated with a body of men in whose breasts the love of duty had become a master-passion, but whose early life had offered few or no opportunities for mental education; whose hands had been hardened by the plow-handles, and their bodies toughened by the use of the ax and the chase, young Lovick started in his career of calling sinners to repentance. Men of thews and sinews they had to be, for work was to be done which no puny intellectualist, however gifted and tutored, VOL. III, No. 4.-Y Stout of build and strong of limb, a finer looking body of men was seldom seen than an annual conference of the olden time. In such a body, even, Mr. Pierce would always be remarked for his person. He was tall, lithe, and muscular; easy and graceful in motion, calm and dignified in rest. His face, in that early time, was notably handsome, from which shone a pair of eyes that might well be called beautiful. A voice of great compass, volume, and flexibility, gave him the orator's second indispensable shaft. Simple in heart, with one lofty purpose-to do good-subjugating every other wish, and hope, forth went the stripling of the woods, "strong in the Lord and in the power of his might." His first sermon was delivered, after his admission to conference, in the schoolhouse of the old neighborhood where he had been reared. He took his text, but that was the last of it; for such was his embarrassment that he never caught sight of it again. 66 It would be agreeable, did our space permit, to follow our youthful itinerant through the toils of his early career into the rice fields of Carolina, or the newly opened cotton lands of Georgia, as he shook the horny hand of the pioneer, and sat down with the poor man and his children in the log-cabin, with only one room, or pursued by a drunken rowdy, wishing to get satisfaction" for the preacher's declining to take grog with him. But these we pass, to introduce you, though uninvited, to a wedding, a scene worthy to be noted. In his first year's travel he reached the house of an old sister, to spend a few days, of rest. He observed that there was a great stir in the kitchen department-boiling, roasting, baking, and such like seemed in full blast, but still he never dreamed its significance. At length the day arrived, and he was informed that one of the damsels of the household was to be given away in matrimony. At about ten o'clock A. M., the guests came thronging in, each horse heavily laden with its human freight. In most cases, one man and one woman sufficed for the back of a single beast; but now and then the mother rode with her baby in her lap, while before rode the father, holding on his hopeful son astride the horse's mane. The company had gathered, the hour had arrived-for, be it remembered, in those days the fashionable hour for marrying was noon, the ceremony to be followed by a bountiful dinner-but there was no parson, for our friend was not authorized to solemnize the rite, and the one engaged for the occasion had not arrived. Some said the waters were up, and the parson could not get across. Pierce was then besieged to do the service, but he was firm in his refusal. "If you won't marry, then," said the uncle of the bride expectant, "you must preach." Preach he did; and after sermon came dinner. Still the parson was expected, for messengers had been dispatched to jog his laggard steps; but he came not. Again Mr. Pierce was besought to tie the knot, for, very naturally, the guests were not willing to go away disappointed, and bride and groom began to feel that "hope deferred maketh the heart sick." The young man, however, declined, and another sermon was the result. Supper came and went-no parson yet. A third sermon was just over, when a nearing shout relieved the anxiety of all, and "the boys" brought in a "tipsy black coat," not an uncommon thing in those days. About ten o'clock at night, by the light of pine knots, the service was performed, and the twain were made one flesh. In 1807 he was stationed in Augusta, and came near falling a victim to an illdirected zeal for study. Feeling keenly his mental wants, he surrounded himself with such books as were to be had, and dedicated his days and nights to their mastery; but the change from the free life of the saddle and the woods, to the eramped one of the garret and the lamp, was too great for endurance. Not many months had passed ere both body and mind began to sink. But for a timely interposition his career might have closed in an untimely grave, or prolonged itself awhile in the more horrible confines of a mad-house. A little experience of this sort is, doubt less, one of the reasons why so many of the fathers have been students of men rather than books. The next year Bishop Asbury sent him to Columbia, S. C. A Dr. Hall, from Virginia, a man of some note, had filled this appointment the preceding year, and the people were loth to part with him. On representing the case to the bishop he replied to them in a poor pun, for which he was rather famous: "Last year I Hall-ed (hauled) you, and you did little or nothing; this year I shall pierce you, to see if you will not improve." Mr. Pierce found, in his new charge, between twenty and thirty members; but in two or three months a revival of religion broke out which swept through the population of the place, leaving scarcely any of the young women unconverted. This enraged the young students of the University, who found it impossible to get up a dance without going away down the Pedee for girls. To show their chivalrous disapprobation of the "Methodist meeting," sometimes they would build fences, ten or twelve rails high, across the street, near the church, that the pious, at the close of the meeting, might have a trial of their patience; then, again, as a pleasant little freak, they would throw live geese through the windows, that their hissing might testify against the exercises. Opposition to the contrary, however, the preacher reported at the next conference an increase of over one hundred in the membership; and since then there has always been a flourishing society in the capital of the Palmetto State. In 1809 the doctor was made presiding elder in what were then the western settlements of Georgia. Here he met with two persons, both interesting to him and others. The first was the lady who afterward became his wife; the other was Hope Hull. Better wife man never had. Through forty-one years of married life-thirty-five of which her husband was a traveling preacher or chaplain in the army, and thirty of which he was away from homethis admirable woman conducted the affairs of her house, regulating her expenditures by their income, often scanty enough; superintending the education of her children, and supporting and befriending her husband in his arduous toils. Her children were her jewels; they tell what manner of woman she was. |