At the end of the valley, as John Bunyan mentions, is a cavern, where, in his days, dwelt two cruel giants, Pope and Pagan, who had strewn the ground about their residence with the bones of slaughtered pilgrims. These vile old troglodytes are no longer there; but into their deserted cave another terrible giant has thrust himself, and makes it his business to seize upon honest travelers, and fat them for his table with plentiful meals of smoke, mist, moonshine, raw potatoes, and saw dust. He is a German by birth, and is called Giant Transcendentalist; but as to his form, his features, his substance, and his nature generally, it is the chief peculiarity of this huge miscreant, that neither he for himself, nor anybody for him, has ever been able to describe them. As we rushed by the cavern's mouth, we caught a hasty glimpse of him, looking somewhat like an ill-proportioned figure, but considerably more like a heap of fog and duskiness. He shouted after us, but in so strange a phraseology, that we knew not what he meant, nor whether to be encouraged or affrighted.
It was late in the day, when the train thundered into the ancient city of Vanity, where Vanity Fair is still at the height of prosperity, and exhibits an epitome of whatever is brilliant, gay, fascinating beneath the sun. As I purposed to make a considerable stay here, it gratified me to learn that there is no longer the want of harmony between the townspeople and pilgrims, which impelled the former to such lamentable mistaken measures as the persecution of Christian, and the fiery martyrdom of Faithful. On the contrary, as the new railroad brings with it great trade and a constant influx of strangers, the lord of Vanity Fair is its chief patron, and the capitalists of the city are among the largest stockholders. Many passengers stop to take their pleasure or make their profit in the Fair, instead of going onward to the Celestial City. Indeed, such are the charms of the place, that people often affirm it to be the true and only heaven; stoutly contending that there is no other, that those who seek further are mere dreamers, and that, if the fabled brightness of the Celestial City lay but a bare mile beyond the gates of Vanity, they would not be fools enough to go thither. Without subscribing to these, perhaps exaggerated encomiums, I can truly say, that my abode in the city was mainly agreeable, and my intercourse with the inhabitants productive of much amusement and instruction.
Being naturally of a serious turn, my attention was directed to the solid advantages derivable from a residence here, rather than to the effervescent pleasures, which are the grand objects with too many visitants. The Christian reader, if he have had no accounts of the city later than Bunyan's time, will be surprised to hear that almost every street has its church, and that the reverend clergy are nowhere held in higher respect than at Vanity Fair. And well do they deserve such honorable estimation; for the maxims of wisdom and virtue which fall from their lips, come from as deep a spiritual source, and tend to as lofty a religious aim, as those of the sagest philosophers of old. In justification of this high praise, I need only mention the names of the Rev. Mr. Shallow-deep; the Rev. Mr. Stumble-at-Truth; that fine old clerical character, the Rev. Mr. This-to-day, who expects shortly to resign his pulpit to the Rev. Mr. That-to-morrow; together with the Rev. Mr. Bewilderment; the Rev. Mr. Clog-the-spirit; and, last and greatest, the Rev. Dr. Wind-of-doctrine. The labors of these eminent divines are aided by those of innumerable lecturers, who diffuse such a various profundity, in all subjects of human or celestial science, that any man may acquire an omnigenous erudition, without the trouble of even learning to read. Thus literature is etherealized by assuming for its medium the human voice; and knowledge, depositing all its heavier particles—except, doubtless, its gold—becomes exhaled into a sound, which forthwith steals into the ever-open ear of the community.
These ingenious methods constitute a sort of machinery, by which thought and study are done to every person's hand, without his putting himself to the slightest inconvenience in the matter. There is another species of machine for the wholesale manufacture of individual morality. This excellent result is effected by societies for all manner of virtuous purposes; with which a man has merely to connect himself, throwing, as it were, his quota of virtue into the common stock; and the president and directors will take care that the aggregate amount be well applied. All these, and other wonderful improvements in ethics, religion, and literature, being made plain to my comprehension by the ingenious Mr. Smooth-it-away, inspired me with a vast admiration of Vanity Fair.
It would fill a volume, in an age of pamphlets, were I to record all my observations in this great capital of human business and pleasure. There was an unlimited range of society—the powerful, the wise, the witty, and the famous in every walk of life—princes, presidents, poets, generals, artists, actors, and philanthropists, all making their own market at the Fair, and deeming no price too exorbitant for such commodities as hit their fancy. It is well worth one's while, even if he had no idea of buying or selling, to loiter through the bazaars, and observe the various sorts of traffic that were going forward.14
Some of the purchasers, I thought, made very foolish bargains. For instance, a young man, having inherited a splendid fortune, laid out a considerable portion of it in the purchase of diseases, and finally spent all the rest for a heavy lot of repentance and a suit of rags. There was a sort of stock or scrip, called Conscience, which seemed to be in great demand, and would purchase almost anything. Indeed, few rich commodities were to be obtained without paying a heavy sum in this particular stock, as a man's business was seldom very lucrative unless he knew precisely when and how to throw his hoard of Conscience into the market. Yet as this stock was the only thing of permanent value, whoever parted with it was sure to find himself a loser, in the long run. Thousands sold their happiness for a whim. Gilded chains were in great demand, and purchased with almost any sacrifice. In truth, those who desired, according to the old adage, to sell anything valuable for a song, might find customers all over the Fair; and there were innumerable messes of potage, piping hot, for such as chose to buy them with their birth-rights. A few articles, however, could not be found genuine at Vanity Fair. If a customer wished to renew his stock of youth, the dealers offered him a set of false teeth and an auburn wig; if he demanded peace of mind, they recommended opium or a brandy bottle.
Tracts of land and golden mansions, situate in the Celestial City, were often exchanged, at very disadvantageous rates, for a few years' lease of small, dismal, inconvenient tenements in Vanity Fair.
Day after day, as I walked the streets of Vanity, my manners and deportment became more and more like those of the inhabitants. The place began to seem like home; the idea of pursuing my travels to the Celestial City was almost obliterated from my mind. I was reminded of it, however, by the sight of the same pair of simple pilgrims at whom we had laughed so heartily, when Apollyon puffed smoke and steam into their faces, at the commencement of our journey. There they stood amid the densest bustle of Vanity—the dealers offering them their purple, and fine linen, and jewels; the men of wit and humor gibing at them; a pair of buxom ladies ogling them askance; while the benevolent Mr. Smooth-it-away whispered some of his wisdom at their elbows, and pointed to a newly-erected temple—but there were these worthy simpletons, making the scene look wild and monstrous, merely by their sturdy repudiation of all part in its business or pleasures.
One of them—his name was Stick-to-the-right—perceived in my face, I suppose, a species of sympathy and almost admiration, which to my own great surprise, I could not help feeling for this pragmatic couple. It prompted him to address me.
'Sir,' inquired he, with a sad, yet mild and kindly voice, 'do you call yourself a pilgrim?'
'Yes,' I replied, 'my right to that appellation is indubitable. I am merely a sojourner here in Vanity Fair, being bound to the Celestial City by the new railroad.'
'Alas, friend,' rejoined Mr. Stick-to-the-right, 'I do assure you, and beseech you to receive the truth of my words, that that whole concern is a bubble. You may travel on it all your life time, were you to live thousands of years, and yet never get beyond the limits of Vanity Fair! Yes; though you should deem yourself entering the gates of the Blessed City, it will be nothing but a miserable delusion.'
'The Lord of the Celestial City,' began the other pilgrim, whose name was Mr. Go-the-old-way, 'has refused, and will ever refuse, to grant an act of incorporation for this railroad; and unless that be obtained, no passenger can ever hope to enter his dominions. Wherefore, every man who buys a ticket, must lay his account with losing the purchase money—which is the value of his own soul.'
'Poh, nonsense!' said Mr. Smooth-it-away, taking my arm and leading me off, 'these fellows ought to be indicted for a libel. If the law stood as it once did in Vanity Fair, we should see them grinning through the iron bars of the prison window.'
This incident made a considerable impression on my mind, and contributed with other circumstances to indispose me to a permanent residence in the city of Vanity; although, of course, I was not simple enough to give up my original plan of gliding along easily and commodiously by railroad. Still I grew anxious to be gone. There was one strange thing that troubled me; amid the occupations or amusements of the Fair, nothing was more common than for a person—whether at a feast, theatre, or church, or trafficking for wealth and honors, or whatever he might be doing, and however unseasonable the interruption—suddenly to vanish like a soap-bubble, and to never more be seen of his fellows; and so accustomed were the latter to such little accidents, that they went on with their business, as quietly as if nothing had happened. But it was otherwise with me.
Finally, after a pretty long residence at the Fair, I resumed my journey towards the Celestial City, still with Mr. Smooth-it-away at my side. At a short distance beyond the suburbs of Vanity, we passed the ancient silver-mine, of which Demas was the first discoverer, and which is now wrought to great advantage, supplying nearly all the coined currency of the world. A little farther on was the spot where Lot's wife had stood for ages, under the semblance of a pillar of salt. Curious travelers have carried it away piecemeal. Had all regrets been punished as rigorously as this poor dame's were, my yearning for the relinquished delights of Vanity Fair might have produced a similar change in my own corporeal substance, and left me a warning to future pilgrims.
The next remarkable object was a large edifice, constructed of moss grown stone, but in a modern and airy style of architecture. The engine came to a pause in its vicinity with the usual tremendous shriek.
'This was formerly the castle of the redoubted giant Despair,' observed Mr. Smooth-it-away; 'but, since his death, Mr. Flimsy-faith has repaired it, and now keeps an excellent house of entertainment here. It is one of our stopping places.'
'It seems but slightly put together,' remarked I, looking at the frail, yet ponderous walls. 'I do not envy Mr. Flimsy-Faith his habitation. Some day it will thunder down upon the heads of the occupants.'
'We shall escape, at all events,' said Mr. Smooth-it-away; 'for Apollyon is putting on the steam again.'
The road now plunged into a gorge of the Delectable Mountains, and traversed the field where, in former ages, the blind men wandered and stumbled among the tombs. One of these ancient tomb-stones had been thrust across the track, by some malicious person, and gave the train of cars a terrible jolt. Far up the rugged side of a mountain, I perceived a rusty iron door, half overgrown with bushes and creeping plants, but with smoke issuing from its crevices.
'Is that,' inquired I, 'the very door in the hillside, which the shepherds assured Christian was a by-way to Hell?'
'That was a joke on the part of the shepherds,' said Mr. Smooth-it-away, with a smile. 'It is neither more or less than the door of a cavern, which they use as a smoke-house for the preparation of mutton hams.'
My recollections of the journey are now, for a little space, dim and confused, inasmuch as a singular drowsiness here overcame me, owing to the fact that we were passing over the enchanted ground, the air of which encourages a disposition to sleep. I awoke, however, as soon as we crossed the borders of the pleasant land of Beulah. All the passengers were rubbing their eyes, comparing watches, and congratulating one another on the prospect of arriving so seasonally at the journey's end. The sweet breezes of this happy clime came refreshingly to our nostrils; we beheld the glimmering gush of silver fountains, overhung by trees of beautiful foliage and delicious fruit, which were propagated by grafts from the celestial gardens. Once, as we dashed on like a hurricane, there was a flutter of wings, and the bright appearance of an angel in the air, speeding forth on some heavenly mission. The engine now announced the close vicinity of the final Station House, by one last and horrible scream, in which there seemed to be distinguishable every kind of wailing and wo, and bitter fierceness and wrath, all mixed up with the wild laughter of a devil or a mad-man. Throughout our journey, at every stopping-place, Apollyon had exercised his ingenuity in screwing the most abominable sounds out of the whistle of the steam-engine; but, in this closing effort he outdid himself, and created an infernal uproar, which, besides disturbing the peaceful inhabitants of Beulah, must have sent its discord even through the celestial gates.
While the horrid clamor was still ringing in our ears, we heard an exulting strain, as if a thousand instruments of music, with height, and depth, and sweetness, in their tones, at once tender and triumphant, were struck in unison, to greet the approach of some illustrious hero, who had fought the good fight and won a glorious victory, and was come to lay aside his battered arms forever. Looking to ascertain what might be the occasion of this glad harmony, I perceived, on alighting from the cars, that a multitude of shining ones had assembled on the other side of the river, to welcome two poor pilgrims, who were just emerging from its depths. They were the same whom Apollyon and ourselves had persecuted with taunts and gibes, and scalding steam, at the commencement of our journey—the same whose unworldly aspect and impressive words had stirred my conscience, amid the wild revellers of Vanity Fair.
'How amazingly well those men have got on!' cried I to Mr. Smooth-it-away. 'I wish we were secure of as good a reception.'
'Never fear—never fear!' answered my friend. 'Come—make haste; the ferry-boat will be off directly; and in three minutes you will be on the other side of the river. No doubt you will find coaches to carry you up to the city gates.'
A steam ferry-boat, the last improvement on this important route, lay at the river side, puffing, snorting, and emitting all those other disagreeable utterances, which betoken the departure to be immediate. I hurried on board with the rest of the passengers, most of whom were in great perturbation; some bawling out for their baggage; some tearing their hair and exclaiming that the boat would explode or sink; some already pale with the heaving of the stream; some gazing affrighted at the ugly aspect of the steersman; and some still dizzy with the slumberous influences of the Enchanted Ground. Looking back to the shore, I was amazed to discern Mr. Smooth-it-away waving his hand in token of farewell!
'Don't you go over to the Celestial City?' exclaimed I.
'Oh, no!' answered he, with a queer smile, and that same disagreeable contortion of visage which I had remarked in the inhabitants of the Dark Valley. 'Oh, no! I have come thus far only for the sake of your pleasant company. Good bye! We shall meet again.'
And then did my excellent friend, Mr. Smooth-it-away, laugh outright; in the midst of which cachinnation, a smoke wreath issued from his mouth and nostrils, while a twinkle of livid flame darted out of either eye, proving indubitably, that his heart was all of a red blaze. The impudent fiend! to deny the existence of Tophet, when he felt its fiery tortures raging within his breast! I rushed to the side of the boat, intending to fling myself on shore. But the wheels, as they began their revolutions, threw a dash of spray over me, so cold—so deadly cold, with the chill that will never leave those waters, until Death be drowned in his own river; that, with a shiver and a heartquake, I awoke. Thank Heaven, it was a Dream!
COMMUNICATIONS.
By Thomas H. Dunn
From Bro. Dunn.
DEAR BRO. WHITE:—I thought you would probably be glad to hear how the cause of truth is prospering in Pennsylvania. I have been laboring most of my time in Erie Co., at Edinboro since Bro. Holt left; the rest of the time at Wellsburgh and vicinity. At Edinboro there are quite a number of brethren who seem to be very honest. I think that some will embrace the message. I have lectured upon the Sanctuary, Two-horned beast, three Angels of Rev. xiv, and touched upon the law and Sabbath incidentally. They listened with interest, and requested me15to present our views of the Law of God and Sabbath in full, which I am going to do. They say they have no light at present, and if we have the truth they will embrace it. Some have already fallen in with our views of cleansing the Sanctuary. I feel encouraged in this part of the field. It is opening all around for labor, and I am alone; but I have faith to believe that God will raise up laborers here to work in his vineyard. The Lord hasten it in his time.
I intend to devote my whole time to the work. Pray for me, dear Bro., that I may be a humble instrument in the hands of God in bringing honest souls to the knowledge of the truth. The church at Hayfield is in a good condition, and feel their responsibilities to some extent. T. H. DUNN.
Hayfield, July, 5th, 1855.
One Year Keeping the Sabbath
By Allen J. Rawlins
From Bro. Rawlins.
DEAR BRETHREN IN THE LORD:—It is now more than one year since I commenced keeping the Sabbath of the Lord our God. I had been for some time convinced of the truth of the Sabbath, but as I had no regard for any day I did not commence keeping it until Bro. Bates came out here one year ago last Spring, when I made up my mind that let others do as they would, I would serve the Lord. Since that time I have been striving to keep all the commandments of God.
I have many trials and temptations to encounter with, but I hope through Christ to overcome that I may with my little family stand in the last day.
Yours striving to overcome.
ALLEN J. RAWLINS.
Rush, June, 26th, 1855.
A Whole-Hearted Bible Christian
By A. E. Dartt
From Sister Dartt.
DEAR BRETHREN AND SISTERS:—I have often been comforted and strengthened by reading your letters in the Review, and I have felt that I ought not to be like the miser, who much receives and nothing gives; but for several reasons have neglected writing through the Review. I have been endeavoring by God's assisting grace to serve him with all my heart for many years, and have firmly believed that he would guide me into all truth, or at least all that is necessary for me to know. When I entered his service, I resolved to be a whole-hearted, Bible Christian, to make religion the business of my life, renouncing the world, bearing every cross, performing every duty pointed out by the word and Spirit of God.
I knew but little of the Advent movement in '43-4, but I firmly believed that if it was of God I should understand it sooner or later. After the time appointed passed I supposed that all who had been looking for the Lord felt that they had been deceived and gave up their expectations. I did not know that there was one in the world who had any faith in the Lord's speedy coming. But to my great surprise I was led unexpectedly by the Spirit of God and the application of his word to my soul to believe that his coming was near; and O! the joy and peace that filled my soul! How I longed for that blessed hour to arrive when I should behold the lovely face of Jesus and be like him. If in the least I gave way to doubts or fears with regard to his coming, my joy would vanish at once, and darkness fill my mind, and my religious enjoyment, my fortitude under temptations and trials from that day to this have been in proportion to my faith in his soon coming. Many are ready to say, if we live so as to be ready for death at any time, why need we care particularly about his soon coming? This had been my manner of life for more than twenty years; but since I have tasted the joys of those who "look" for him and are waiting his appearing, nothing else can satisfy me but to see him as he is. I have been endeavoring to keep the Bible Sabbath for about three years and a half. I have not a doubt about the seventh day's being the Sabbath of the Lord.
Dear brethren and sisters, let us each remember it is only those who endure to the end that are to be saved. I desire an interest in all of your prayers.
A. E. DARTT.
Baraboo, June 28th, 1855.
The Days of Noah.
"AWFUL as the contemplation of the deluge is, yet there is another revolution in prospect still more momentous and awful. There shall not, indeed, be an overwhelming flood of water upon the earth, but a stream of devouring fire, which will burn up all the works of nature and of art. A sudden destruction shall come upon the workers of iniquity, and as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be then: 'They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and knew not until the flood came and took them all away: so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.' Matt. xxiv, 38, 39. Infidelity and immorality will prevail to an extraordinary height in the latter days; and though the prophetic signs will be clear and striking to considerate and religious minds, yet upon the generality of men they will have no effect. 'Blessed are those servants, therefore, whom when the Lord cometh he shall find watching.' When destruction shall come as a whirlwind, and vengeance shall be poured down from on high, they shall be safe, being sheltered in the ark of divine mercy. Then cometh the judgment, when all the mysterious ways of Providence shall be cleared up, and every dispensation thereof fully vindicated, to the confusion of the wicked and the glory and happiness of the righteous.
"The solemn scene ended, and old things being done away, 'all things shall become new.' There shall be 'new heavens and a new earth,' in which righteousness only shall dwell. 'Peace shall flourish in that happy state; mercy shall descend thereon as the dew, and righteousness spring out of the ground.' No evil, either natural or moral, shall disfigure it, for 'all shall know and obey the Lord, from the least to the greatest.' The inhabitants of that world shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth in trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD (or of the Messiah) and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, saith the Lord, 'that before they call I will answer; and while they are yet speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together; and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock; and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.'" Isa. lxv, 17, &c.
What a glorious prospect is here expanded to the view of the Christian! Is he apt to look back with a kind of regret upon a paradise lost, through the weakness of our first parents? He turns with rapture to contemplate a paradise before him infinitely more glorious, in which is the pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, there is the tree of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, and yielding16her fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him; and they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever." Rev. xxii, 2-5.
If the Christian looks back upon a world destroyed by water, and sees the ark preserving Noah and his family, with the various living creatures necessary to stock the new world, he admires the wonderful goodness of God blending itself with his judgments; and on viewing in prospect the last dreadful destruction of the earth, he rejoices that there is a salvation appointed for all who shall flee from the wrath to come, and also an inheritance reserved for them, which is incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away.
The covenant with Noah is typical of that made with Christ for the preservation of his church: "For this is as the waters of Noah unto me, saith the Lord; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would no more be wroth with thee nor rebuke thee. For THE MOUNTAINS SHALL DEPART, AND THE HILLS BE REMOVED, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." Isa. liv, 9, 10.
It is an unspeakable blessing to be interested in this divine and precious promise—to be included in that covenant of grace to which it is given. Many, however, are professedly baptized into communion with Christ's spiritual body, who have never been renewed in the disposition of their minds. A mere outward profession of Christianity, and attaching ourselves to some branch of the Christian church, gives no man a claim to the promise, but will rather serve to add to his condemnation in the world to come. There was an unrighteous, idolatrous Ham in the ark, who inherited a curse instead of a blessing; and the same will be the case with respect to many now in the visible church of Jesus Christ. In her communion, it is to be feared, there are numbers who are not united to the Head by a true and living faith, who marvel much at the declaration of Truth itself, "Ye must be born again," [John iii, 7.]—who know nothing of real religion, are destitute of all pious feeling, and who, when tried in the balances of the sanctuary, will be found wanting. Nothing short of "being born of the Spirit," can make us heirs of the promise, children of God, and consequently inheritors of the kingdom of heaven.
Let it be, therefore, our serious care and concern not to have the form of godliness merely, but the power of it also, [2 Tim. iii, 5.] in our hearts, and manifested in our lives and conversations. Noah walked with God in this manner, and had that rest, both here and hereafter, which his name implied; and hereby we also must live in all holy obedience, in the midst of a dark and corrupt generation, as lights of the world, [Phil. ii, 15.] if we would enter into that rest "which remaineth for the people of God." Heb. iv, 9.
Church Growth and Baptisms at Delhi
By Manning Curry
From Bro. Curry.
DEAR BRO. WHITE:—For the last three months I have spent my time here at Delhi. It has not been a lost season. I have had some large assemblies on funeral occasions. I have preached to my old friends on First-day, and to the church on the Sabbath.
The little church here are moving on in the line of duty. There has been some respectable additions to their number recently. It has been a source of unspeakable joy to me to see two more of my old Harbinger friends come out and take passage under the banner of the Sabbath of the Lord our God; those, too, who embraced religion under my labors, and stood with me on the no-Sabbath theory. The confliction of views on the Sabbath question, as published in that paper, has done much toward opening their eyes. They are now planted upon the rock, to God be all the praise.
We have lately baptized two happy converts; also one of our number who at the first did not see the demand for re-baptism. Others are ready to put on Christ by baptism. Our little flock is gradually increasing in number, and we hope in holiness, too. We number about 15. I expect soon to be able to devote my entire time to the work of the ministry. My prayer is that God will direct me into all truth, and guide me in the line of duty.
Yours in hope of the crown soon.
MANNING CURRY.
Delhi, July 4th, 1855.
Hope in Christ’s Soon Coming
By L. Lathrop
From Bro. Lathrop.
DEAR BRO. WHITE :—I am still trying to keep all the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus. The Review is a welcome messenger to me. Each number comes laden with good news of the onward progress of the cause, and of the bright hopes of the remnant. My heart is cheered when I hear through it from all parts of the field, of the many that are brought to see the truth of the third angel's message. I am glad that the eyes of my understanding have been opened to see the truths of God's word. I feel to rejoice in the blessed hope of the soon coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and of being made like him, and of reigning with him evermore.
I can see the signs fast fulfilling that precede the Second Advent; the people are waxing worse and worse, men's hearts are failing them for fear of those things that are coming on the earth. I believe that the number of God's people will soon be complete, and sealed with the seal of the living God. By the grace of God I mean to be one of the number. My daily prayer to God is that I may be purified and made white, and that I may through the merits of Jesus finally overcome all things, and have right to the tree of life and enter in through the gates into the City. My love to all the brethren and sisters in the present truth.
Yours in the hope of a blessed immortality.
L. LATHROP.
Oswego, July 8th, 1855.
Request for Lectures in Pittsfield
By Lemuel Chester
From Bro. Chester.
Dear Bro. White:—I wish to make a request through the Review to some one of the preaching Brn. to come to Pittsfield, Mass., and hold a course of lectures. This is a large, settled place, and I think there may be some honest souls found here who would embrace the third angel's message. I want some one that I can engage in the work with, for as my health is poor I cannot do much alone.
Enquire for,
Pittsfield, Mass.
Lemuel Chester.
The Cause of Truth in Benton
By S. Street
From Bro. Street.
DEAR BRO. WHITE:—I drop you a few lines to let you know how the cause of truth is prospering in this vicinity. There are four families besides myself in this place keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. We have to fight against much opposition, but God's grace has been sufficient for our day as yet. There have been three preachers here to fight against the truth, but it is mighty and will prevail. Their arguments will not stand the test of God's word. As for my part I feel that I am daily growing in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. I embraced the truth in Feb. last, under Bro. Frisbie's labors, since which I have enjoyed more real religion than in the whole seven years that I belonged to the M. E. Church. This truly is an evidence that we have the truth, in that God's own and blesses us. I have been traveling among the brethren, and find the most of them firm in the truth; but there is a great call for help from the messengers. Truly the harvest is great but the laborers are few.
Yours in hope of immortality through Christ.
S. STREET.
Benton, July 8th, 1855.
STEPHEN N. & MARY E. HASKELL
By Stephen N.; Mary E. Haskell
From Bro. & Sr. Haskell.
UPON our removal to this place, we most sincerely hoped to have found some who would ere this have united with us in remembering the Sabbath day to keep it holy; but, with the exception of some three or four who are investigating its claims, there is a very strong opposition to this glorious truth. The dragon is indeed wroth, and the people apparently united in 'turning away their ear from hearing the law,' yet all the while unconscious that its penalty is of no less startling a nature than that, 'even his prayer shall be abomination.'
In the good providence of God we were permitted to meet with the dear little band of like precious faith, in Hubbardston, last Sabbath; and while none have deserted this glorious standard, we are happy to say that many of them do indeed feel that 'the Sabbath is a delight.' Two have been added to their number since Bro. Bates was with them last winter, and some two or three others are weighing the evidences for and against; yet all the while the dragon is loudly roaring, and with his threats of vengeance trying to intimidate the flock. But their trust is such in the good Shepherd that they would sooner march to the stake than retrace their steps.
Glory to God, the time is at hand when the test will come, and O may he in his infinite love and mercy grant that we may not any of us be then found wanting.
STEPHEN N. & MARY E. HASKELL
Princeton, July 3d, 1855.
A Call for Preaching Help
By Lucetta Sturdevant
From Sister Sturdevant.
DEAR BRO. WHITE:—For more than a year I have been trying to keep the commandments of God, and I praise the Lord for the light that is constantly shining around my pathway. I have no wish to trample on any part of God's holy law, but I do wish to obtain a triumphant victory over every wrong and sinful thought, word and action.
We have never been favored with hearing the present truth preached in this place, and we wish to learn the P. O. address of Bro. D. P. Hall, as we understand that he is a speaker and a citizen of this State. We think that good might be done here if some of the preaching brethren could come this way and present the truth. It has been with interest that we have perused and carefully compared with the Scriptures of divine truth the many communications found in the Review. It is a welcome messenger to us, it being all the preaching we have. I did rejoice when I was informed through the Review that there was a Tent for Wisconsin. I feel as though I could not wait to hear the truth preached in this place.
Yours in hope of immortality at the appearing of Jesus.
Lucetta Sturdevant.
Bluemounds, Dane Co., Wis., June 24th, 1855.