Gospel Herald, 1861-04-20

              GOSPEL HERALD.
^^1°^*"^^° ^^^^^^^^^*y' Morality, the Interests of Sat>hath Schools. Social Improvement, Tenaperaxxce, Education, and General Ne
"BEHOLD,   I   BEING   TOU   GOOD   TIDINGS   fl?   GREAT   JOT  ....   ON   EARTH   PEACE,   GOOD   WILL   TOWARD   MEN,"
VOL. 17.
DAYTON, 0., SATURDAY, APRIL 20,1861.
NO. 49
SELECT POETRY.
Selaoted by Mrs. M. E. Hawthorn. To A Bereaved One.
Unto thy guarded.and sheltered fold,
Death came with a stealthy atread. And bore away, through the valley dark,
Thy lamb to the silent dead; Amid the sircle in thy dear home.
Thou dost gaze on a vacant chair, Aud mourn for the little merry face.
That shall never more brighten there.
Thou hast looked thy   last on   the precious form, Thine idol, thy pride and oare. And wept as thou  gave it to the cold, damp earth, A being so beauteous and fair; Thou hast   folded  the eyelids in dreamless sleep. Heard the childish heart grow still, Aud turned from tho grave—love's last fond shrine. To thy home, grown strange and chill.
By the memory of the radiant light.
That lit up the lips and brow, By the rustling felt of the angel wing,
When thou in grief dost bow. There shall come to thy soul a gentle voioe.
Breathing such dreams of Heayea, That thy soul will be glad that such perfect bliss.
To thy cherished child is given.
No tears, no tears, for the happy one.
Whose young and untried feet Have early turned from the weary path,
Which all life's wanderers greet; A loosened bird in its upward flight.
Ye gaze on its glowing wing. But seek not to woo it back again.
O'er its soul a fetter to fling.
No tears, no tears, though tho earth and sky,
May wear a less glorious hue,' And the murmuring sound ofthe streamlet's tlow.
Is bereft of its music too; No tears, though miseries cling to thy soul,
Of fair childhood's parted smile, Though the rosy lips and the merry eye.
Shall no more thy heart beguile.
For up in you radiant, deathless world, i 'Neath a heavenly Father's eye, Undimmedby sorrow,  untouched by oare,
His hours glide sweetly by; Never to sorrow and never to mourn.
In a mantle of glory arrayed; Oh, say, 'mid thy fondest hope for thy child,
Could'st thou of auch bliss have prayed.
And never again may the little feet
Gome pattering unto thee; Ttough never around thy darkened home,
eihalleoho that voice of glee.   ,. Though oft, as the eve steals gently on, . Thou ahalt,bend o'er the little bed. Straining to see through thy blinding tears,
Some trace of that sunny head.
Look up, look up, to the world of love.
And list to tho seraph strain;    . And  hark I how the tones so missed  from earth.
Come echoing back again! Thy child awaits thee, in robes of light.
By the fair celestial shore. Thou shalt find him  there,'midst the pure
and bright,    ,, : .   And be parted never more.
ORIGINALITIES.
A Time to Dance-
WnUen for the Oonpet Herald. BT L. PUaVIBNOE.
Dancing appears to be the. opposite of mourning; it is one manner of re¬ joicing or worshipping. The ancients praised tho Lord in tlie dance. When Moses led the Israelites across the Red Sea, Miriam, the Prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand,
and all the women went oat after her, 1 with timbrels and dances, and Miriam answered them; sing ye to the Lord,' for he hath triuiriphed gloriously^—the horse and his rider he hath'thrown in¬ to the sea; Ex. 15. 20; 21: Here the women joined in one general choir, and praised the Lord by singing,'play- ing on timbrels, and dancing. David, when he saw the Ark of God coming up from Obededom, praised the L6rd and danced with all his might; Sam. 2: 6: 14: The Prophet in the 149th Ps. 2. 3 verses, directs the people to praise the Lord, he says: Let Israel rejoice in the Lord that made him—let the chil¬ dren of Zion be joyful in their king— let them praise his name in the dance —let them sing praises to Him, with the timbrel and harp. Ps. 150 is wholy takeh:U-pin direotior^s to praise the Lord; in .the 4th verse, he says: Praise Him with tembrels and dance—praise Him with stringed instruments and organs. Thus we see, the ancient Saints praised the Lord in every way possible, with all their instruments of music, with their voice and in the dance. Jeremiah, in speaking of tbe time when Jia,cob shall be ransomed, says: "Then shall the Virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men arid old together; Jer. 31: 33. The wicked and idolatrous worshippers praised their Gods in the same forms. When MOses was in the mount, and received the moral law, written by the finger of God on the tablets of stone, he stayed so long that the'Israelites began to think he was gon6 forever, and conclu¬ ded to have Gods of their own; so Aaron (to please them) made thom a God to their own liking, which Was in the form of a calf, but it was made of Gold and pleased thom well. (Such a god would ploa.so the most of people in this day.) Moses was much dis¬ pleased, and took it from them and destroyed it, notwithstanding they were taking a real dancing frolic around it. (Their God coiild not pro¬ tect itself and they dare not.) John the Baptist (poor fellow) had his head danced off because ho was faithful in warning and reproving the Governor of his wretched wickedness. Herod's step-daughter was a graceful dancer, and he was so well pleased with her, that he promised to give her anything she would ask for, and her wicked mother told hor to aSk for John the Baptist's head. Job, in speaking of the wicked, says: "They send forth their little ones like a flock, and_ their children dance; they take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ; they spend their days in wealth, and in a moment, go down to the grave; therefore, they say unto God, depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways." Job, 21:11:14.
Thus we discover, that the wicked dance as well as tho righteous. The difference is, the righteous dance at the proper time, and the wicked at an improper time. I shall now notice dancing-parties. These appear to be but pleasant amusements, and w^ could find no great objection to them, if it was not for the consequences at¬ tending them. We judge of all actions from the consequences attending them.
Drinking whiskey would be inno¬ cent, if it were not for the evils attend¬
ing it. But when we look at tho tremendous phalanx of miseries that follow in its train, we tremble to see any man put the bottle to his mouth. Also, card-playing 'seems to be a very simple and innoc;ent amusement; but there is something bewitching in it, that leads on step by step, until thous¬ ands gradually become confirmed gam¬ blers, and frequently end their lives in wretchedness and ruin.
Thus it is with social dancing-par¬ ties. They appear at first view, to be nothing more than innocect amuse¬ ments; but by indulging in them, the minds of youth become so infatuated, that they will break over all reasona¬ ble restraints, regarding not the feel¬ ings and entreaties of par.ents and friends, and expose their health, by dancing till their blood is heated, and afterwards riding miles through the chilling winds and piercing blasts of winter. Whole nights are spent in ball-rooms; health is exposed; the mind is disqualified for any useful study, and the physical power ener¬ vated, and frequently sickness and death is the consequence. But this is not the worst feature belonging to it. Where youth indulge in these frolics, they are, as a natural consequence, thrown into corrupt and unprincipled society, and are very liable to be led into ruinous associations. The "time to dance" is, when we can dance to the glory of God. "Do all with an eye single to the glory of God." Hun¬ dreds who were once in the enjoyment of'the christian religion, are now groping in darkness, and writhing under a guilty conscience, miserably unhappy, who can look back to the first ball or dancing-party they in¬ dulged in, for their apostacy, and"they will have reason to lament, as long as they live, and very prObably in eter¬ nity, that they ever mot with a dancing party.
Finally, I have never seen any good resulting from these parties. I can¬ not see that those youth that attend such places, become any more accom¬ plished and useful, than those who iivoid them. On tho other hand, those youth who aviod all such places, (as a general thing,) are more useful and respectable, at home and abroad, and pass full as well in society, and make better wives and husbands, more to be depended on, than those who delight in balls and dances. Some will say, Uncle Levi forgets he was once young, I answer no; I have not forgotten youth. Keither have I got so far in my "old age," yet, as not to be able to discover the evil consequences ofthe course, I see many of our youth (and some more ripe in years) pursuing. I close by a quotation from the Preacher in Bccl. 11. 9. "Eejoico, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in tho ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things, God will bring thee into judgment." TJnole Levi.
Monistown, Rl, Feb. 8th, 1861,
WriUm for
Union.
Oie Gotpe! Uerati.
BT JOHN B. HANN.
Beo.   Elus.—I  thought I   would write a few words on this all impor¬
tant subject; yesl this all important subject. One of deep and thrilling im¬ portance ? One which my mind is engaged in. This paramount ques¬ tion of Union ! Should not the minds of all the intelligence of earth be en¬ gaged in the same? I answer in the afflrtoative—they should. All bias minded, as well as good men should pay particular heed to this most im¬ portant question of Union. Yes, Un¬ ion, not only in the States of this American Confederacy of ours, but un¬ ion of hearts and Union of loves, and Union of Hands; while we are permit- ied to live on this, our native land. Tes, a land of Bible privileges, where no one dares to hinder, molest, or make ug afraid; where we can, in an unbrok¬ en phalanx, worship the God of heaven and of earth. There is not enough Union among ourselves; (that is in onr own denomination) we stand apart too much—at too great u distance; that brotherly love does not exist among us (as Christians) that should exist among true'followers of Jesus Christ. Can we expect to see the unconverted flecking home to Jesus for refuge, while we who pretend to be meek and holy followers of our heavenly Master, stand at so great a distance from each other? I answer this question in tho negative—we cannot. Lot us send our prayers to our heavenly Benofac- torand interrogate Him to unite us in one band of love and Union. For this we need, and have long needed. This wo must have and this wo can have, if we live for it. Oh 1 that the Lord may deeply plant this in each and every one of our hearts, and in all thy believing children. This Union we all should labor for—labor sincere¬ ly—labor with patience and in faith, believing, (not wavering) and this desired object will be accomplished. Tes, ere long we would hear the cries of the wicked one, crying: "What shall I do to be saved !" And many, yes, scores, flocking home to a para¬ dise of rest. And not only , a Union among ourselves, but among all Chris¬ tians (that is, believers in Jesus Christ) not mentioning party names, (for there should be none) for every child that is born of God and have a forgiveness of sins, are Christians. The name Chris¬ tian, is a name good enough for any one. We should throw away all party names, and wear the name our Master lovea for ua to wear, and unite in one common brotherhood, and fight on to¬ gether in one unbroken chain of love and Union—fight with the sword of the Spirit against all opposition, tho' strong it may be, wo can conquer if Christians; I mean all God's people would unite together and be one; yes, onelilto Christ says, "me and my Fath¬ er are one." And speak the same, think tho same, do the same things, aa far as possible. The Lord our "God, the ruler, the Creator and preserver of all things in heaven and in earth, on the land or in the sea; yes, tho all- seeing eye that sees us and knows our inward thoughts, and protects us daily and hourly, would aid us in this great theme of Union; yes this word has a great bearing with me; it isone of deep and thrilling importance tome, and one of great moment and much desir¬ able, to every believer in Christ, thait believes   in   experimental religion.—