If then, indeed, in every age and clime, to men of every grade of civilization, have recurred continually the glimpses of paradise; if, indeed, the love of cultivated nature be innate in man, the half-formed vision of a long-lost Eden home; shall we not encourage and gratify this love, this desire, by adding the beauty of nature to our homes, the pleasures of horti sively, shall we not find the praises of clime toward the setting sun, "his faiththe garden and of rural life? One of the ful dog shall bear him company" in the most complete and polished poems of an-hunting-ground of his spirit-home. tiquity-the Georgics of Virgil-takes this as its subject, and by its success has demonstrated the exalted genius of its author, and the natural love of man for "the field and the garden." In the works of other ancient poets, in their dreams of a primeval, or their prophecies of a future, golden age, their song is embellished with descriptions of the garden and the field, of the beauteous scenery of culti-culture to our every-day life? Home!-vated nature, of bird and tree, of fruit and flower. And how important a feature is this in the pastoral poetry of modern as well as ancient days! Is there any other place on earth, where so well the joys of paradise can cluster? Where is the man whose heart will not be warmed and his eyes sparkle with glimpses of paradise, as, from field or shop, store, office, study, or recitation-room, returning to his home, adorned with trees his own hands have planted, flowers cultivated by one dearer than himself, he meets at the door a little child with dan and infant accents, welcoming him home? Say not, there is no Eden there. Another vernal season with balmy breath is warming into life the torpid tribes of animal and vegetable nature, and cheering History too, sacred and profane, has something to say on this theme. It testifies that glimpses of primeval paradise have cheered and influenced man in every clime and period. Though he may not have always developed this idea, yet the inspiration has kindled his earnest long-cing eyes and feet, with clapping hands ings for communion with nature. In civilized nations the idea has received development. We read of gardens and cultivated pleasure grounds in different ancient as well as modern nations. The Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, the Baby-man again with thoughts of Eden. Soon lonians, and others, bore unmistakable evidence of the continued recurrence of these glimpses of paradise. The gardens of the Hesperides, of Lucullus, of Alcinous, the hanging gardens of Babylon, the garden of King Solomon in the Canticles-whether or not you may consider some of them merely mythological-were marked examples of ancient horticulture, and the innate love of cultivated natural beauty. But our limits will not allow us to enlarge in presenting instances, as found in modern history, where whole kingdoms, as in the case of England, through this passion and its development, became but wide-extended gardens. Mythology, savage as well as classic, is varied with the expressions of this desire the throbbing of this passion in the great heart of humanity. Glimpses of primeval paradise are seen in the Elysian Fields, the happy groves of the spiritland, as described in classic song, in the islands of the blessed, in the dreams of the golden age, in the gorgeous descriptions of a Mohammedan heaven, in the spiritual fairy-land of oriental fable, in the western Indian's hope that, in a beauteous VOL. VI.-33 again may all sing, "The winter is past, the rain is over and gone, the flowers appear on the earth, the time of the singing of birds is come." With the breezes of the south shall there not come to every one a renewed desire and resolve to labor more than ever to make his home within and without a happy Eden, and prepare for, and anticipate, the paradise above? FIVE CONSCIENCES.-There are five kinds of consciences on foot in the world: first, an ignorant conscience, which neither sees nor says anything-neither beholds the sins in the soul, nor reproves them; secondly, the flattering conscience, whose speech is worse than silence itself, which, though seeing sin, soothes men in the committing thereof; thirdly, the seared conscience, which has neither sight, speech, nor sense, in men that are "past feeling ;" fourthly, the wounded conscience, frightened with sin; the fifth is a quiet and clear conscience, purified in Christ. A wounded conscience is rather painful than sinful,—an affliction, no offense,-and is the ready way, at the next remove, to be turned into a quiet conscience.-Kitto. PASS [For the National Magazine.] ROCK FORT. ASS along down the Illinois River, or seven miles below Ottawa, Ill., and you come to a rock which stands out boldly into the river, and bears the name of "Rock Fort," or, in the provincial, "Starved Rock." It looms up some seventy feet perpendicularly from the water. Its summit is a level circle, about three | hundred feet in circumference. There is but one way of approach to the top; that is, through a narrow gap which the waters have gullied out on the land side. This rock, notable in itself, is the scene of a far more notable incident. Many years ago the Illini Indians inhabited the vast prairies and woodlands of northern Illinois; but the Potawatomies came and took possession of the country, driving the Illini from the land. Little by little these last had receded and dwindled away until they were reduced to a band of about three hundred warriors and their families. Upon this remnant, the Potawatomies and Iroquois commenced a war of extermination. At last, heavily pressed, they fled, leaving their families behind them. These were all massacred by the foe. The warriors sought a last retreat upon the top of Rock Fort. Up the defile of which we have spoken, the remnant of the once powerful tribe clambered, and taking post upon the summit of the rock, prepared for a siege. The narrow passage up was closed with rocks, and there, on their impregnable fortress, they bid defiance to the pursuing enemy. But their triumph was short. They became thirsty, and let down their kettles into the river below for water; but as fast as they could let them down, the Indians below, who watched in canoes, would cut their ropes. They could get no water, and there was no escape from their place of refuge. The passage and river were guarded with the vigilance of a panther. There was nothing left them but a prospect of a fearful death. Their food gave out, and, hungry and thirsty, one by one they closed their eyes to die, until on the tenth day the last survivor joined his companions that had perished before him. The old "Rock Fort" of the French became by Indian legend the "Starved Rock:" and this was the last of the Illini. A new race of Illini (which means men) are here now! AN OLLA-PODRIDA. HUMOR DUTCH GOST'S STRUGGLE WITH SATAN-AN EARNEST EXHORTATION-THE BARREL OF TEARS-A MARINE ILLUSTRATION-APOSTOLIC HIGHWAYMEN— STICKING TO THE TEXT-SUCKERS-SHARP RETORT -BLACK PEPPER-OLD JIMMY REPROVING A GOVERNOR-LEAVE THE BONES-A WELL-DIRECTED ARROW-A DUTCH SIMEON AND ANNA. THE HERE is "a time to laugh," says Solomon, and all good men should believe this part of their Bible as well as that other part which says there is "a time to mourn." ✓ Every Christian should try hard to preserve a good aspect, a good stomach, and a good conscience. The last has much to do with the other two. We doubt whether there is any genuine laughter among demons; the old painters always represented them lean and hardlooking; but these same old masters, by the intuitions of genius, we suppose, delighted to paint their cherubs with cheeks puffed out with fat happiness. It is very creditable to the old Catholic friars that the artists have usually represented them as round and well-humored; the fact bespeaks good nature, if not a good conscience for them. The passions are consuming-men of severe or even voluptuous passions are apt to be lank. The painters have, therefore, blundered respecting the friars; monks are usually a dreadfully lean race. Rabelais, who lived among them, knew them better than the artists. He gives them very shabby portraits. His worst monk is long-faced, "lean, lank, and lantern-jawed." The theology of a people has a great deal to do with their temper; but it is a fact that some sects, the most rigid, or the most laborious and most suffering, have been characterized by, we were about to say, a denominational cheerfulnessperhaps the phrase denominational humor would not be amiss. The Quakers are capital appreciators of good things and good sayings. They know how to enjoy life as well as any other class of men. Their domestic interiors are scenes, not only of good morals and comfortable competence, but often of buoyant cheerfulness; and some of the shrewdest and wittiest heads wear broad brims. The old Methodist preachers were the greatest wits of their day. Their theology made them cheerful under their desperate trials and incredible labors and travels. Their odd rencounters with AN OLLA-PODRIDA. human nature in many of its extreme conditions, gave them a bonhomie, a "mother wit," an aptitude at repartee, which made them welcome to the multitudes, but a terror to gainsayers. Methodist history is full of amazing adventures and humorous incidents. They should be gathered up and put on record: many of them, to be sure, would appear not only queer, but, to grave minds, somewhat exceptionable; yet as characteristic illustrations, they have an historical and a literary value. They sometimes point important moral truths, and often give such truths access to a class of minds which could hardly otherwise be reached. We have given you, good reader, plenty of grave articles on important subjects; allow us then to sit down with you at present, for a little table talk, or a little after-dinner gossip and story-telling if you please. It will do your digestion good, and perhaps your heart no harm.* Methodism has shown itself adapted to seize, by some special aptitude, on the rough souls of the lowest classes of men, in whatever condition or of whatever race. → But let us, estimable reader, have a good mutual understanding in the outset, for we may continue these anecdotal articles hereafter. not There is much extravagance produced, doubtless, at times, by its powerful sway over peculiar minds; but with all such eccentricities, its moral result is usually found to be powerful and permanent. A Methodist preacher writes:-"I was traveling the Cross Creek Circuit, in 1815, in a region of country which was mostly settled by German Lutherans, and not much regard paid to the Sabbath, or any kind of religion. There lived on the circuit a German by the name of Gost. He was one of the principal men of the neighborhood, and had great influence among his German friends. At one of our love feasts I heard him relate his experience, and though it was in very broken English, yet it was told with an unction and a power which melted all hearts, and which thrilled and interested me so much that I have not forgotten it to this day. "There is something peculiar in the German mind and character which shows itself, perhaps, more strikingly in regard to the subject of religion than anything else. It seems that in whatever enterprise a German embarks, it engrosses his entire energy; and when once fully committed on any subject, he adheres to it with an energy, zeal, and perseverance, worthy of all praise. Staid and sober as Please understand, then, that as we do not pro- he may appear, he nevertheless has the pose to invent, but to collect our facts, some of them may not be new to you. When you find excitability of a Frenchman, without his mercurial nature. Luther was a noble anything in our gossip which you may have met with years ago, bear in mind: 1. That type of the Teutonic mind, and exhibited there are many younger readers who may have met it. 2. That if a story has any worth the different characteristics of which we at all, it is worth repeating once in a while. have spoken, when he said he would go to the Diet of Worms if there were as many 3. That not merely the incident, but the manner of telling it, has to do with its interest. devils in his way as there were tiles on the 4. That these adventures and anecdotes, having, roofs of the houses; and when, in his exas we say above, an historical and literary value, as illustrative of times and men, should be put cited imagination, he saw the devil before We him in his study, and threw his inkstand into some shape and placed upon record. have met them floating about orally or in various at him; and when, on another occasion, publications. Some years ago we "took the being arraigned before an ecclesiastical notion" of gathering them as they came in our way; they have accumulated on our hands, and council for heresy, and threatened with We punishment if he did not retract, he said, have been no small entertainment to us. offer to share with you, good reader, the amuse- Here I stand-God help me!' One has ment, but with the clear and well-understood said, 'Get a German once converted, and stipulation, that you will not quarrel with us because they are facts, and therefore necessarily there is little danger of his refusing to take more or less known already, in some instances up his cross, or turning back to the begat least. Do we agree to this now? If not, garly elements of the world.' They seem we request you to pass by these articles whento carry out more fully Mr. Wesley's idea ever they may appear, or at least such portions of Methodism than even the English of them as, on reading the heading, you perbrethren themselves. When they sing, ceive to be already known to you. they sing lustily;' when they pray, they pray with all their might; when they speak in class-meeting or love-feast, they come right to the point of Christian We don't wish to repeat this qualification whenever we may take the whim of telling a good tempting old story, and therefore you will excuse this ceremonious explanation in the outset. experience without any circumlocution. Such was the case with our good German brother whose experience I am going to relate. "Shortly after the speaking exercises commenced, he arose and said: Mine dear bruders, ven I comes to dis blace dare vas nobody here. Den after, mine freins dey comes too, and ve did comes along very goot, as ve dot. Ve did drink viskey, and frolic, and dance, and all dot it vas wery nice; but binebys der comes along into de neighborhoot a Metodis breacher by de name of Jo Shakelford, and he breaches and breaches, and brays and brays, as you never see de like in all your lives. He says: "You beeples all goes to hell unless you git conwerted, and be saved from your zins." 666 shust as I vas going in, smack down 1 "After a vile I goes to ped, but I not sleeps. I says, "O, mine Got, vat vill become of me?" Shust at daylight I gits up and goes down to my parn, and gits under de hoss-trough, and smack I comes on mine pack again. Den I cries mit all my might, " O, mine Got, mine Got, have mercy upon me!" I dot I vas going to de hells. Shust den someting say to me, "Di sins pe all forgifen." Den someting comes down all over me at my head, shust like honey, and I opens mine mout shust so vide ash I can; but it filled so full it run over, and den O, I vas so happy as never I vas before in all my life! I did shump like a deer, and I hollered, "Glory, glory to mine Got!" mit all my might. Mine hosses dey did veel round and shnorted, and I did veel round too, and hollered glory, and I did not know dem, and dey did not know me. Presently I saw my gray hoss, Pob, and I snatched him round de neck, and he did veel round, and I hollered, "Glory, glory, and bless de Lort!" I love dis hoss unto dis day so petter than any. I now am on my way to de himmels, and dare I vill bless Got for his pringing me down on my pack, and for mine vife and mine gals; for dey now goes mit me to glory; so, mine bruders, ve vill all bineby meet in dat goot vorld, to braise de Lort forever and ever.'" "Now, vell den, de beeples begins to dink zeriously on dis matter, and dey say ve must do better, or, sure enough, de devil vill get us shust as he says. Den dey gits Christen, and begins to bray; and dey valls down and brays, and croans, and hollers, and I says to my beeples, Dis is de devil; and it goes on till it comes to my neighbor Honnes. Vell, I does not go, and my vife and gals does not go, because I said it vas de devil. Vell, however, it gomes so near by mine house, I says I vill go and see vat is dis ting vat makes de beeples so crazy. So von night I goes to Honnes's to see de brayer meeting, and I sets down and sees de beeples come in, and dey all looks shust like dey used to do, and I dot it vas all vell; but dey soon begins to zing and bray, and I dot dis is all right. Den some pegins to croan, and valls down; and I says, "Dis is de devil, and I vill shust go home;" but ven I vent to rise up, I could not, vor I vas fast to de bench. Den I vas skeered, and I said, "Dis is de devil, sure enough." I looked round, and I dot de door vas growed up, and I vas fast enough. Vell, den I say, "Mine Got, de devil vill git me now, by sure!" I looked more for de Poor Gost had a hard "tussle" of it door, and bresently I sees him, and I makes certainly, but he won the victory bravely, von spring and out I goes headforemost. | albeit there was much weakness, some Den I gits up, and runs mit all my might till I comes to mine fence; and ven I goes to git over, I comes down smack on my pack, and now I says, "De devil vill git me, py sure!" I lays dare for some time; den I gits up, and climes de fence, and goes to mine house, and dot I would shust go to bed mitout making any noise; but | fanaticism, "and a little foolishness,” add you, thoughtful reader?—in the struggle. Yes, there was; but it was characteristic, and that is the point we have to do with now. It is a grateful fact that truth, saving truth, can work its way into the soul, and renovate, permanently, the moral man, notwithstanding our deplorable im becilities. This is the characteristic, especially, of Christian truth. Poor Gost was amazingly crude in his ideas, but the genuine doctrines of Christianity were shining all through the vapors of his brain, and he came out of his struggles a saved and good man. We will not undervalue the pearl though we find it within the rude incrustation of the oyster, which is dug out of the mud at the bottom of the sea. The diamonds that sparkle in the crowns of kings, were found in gravel beds. Gost may shine brighter in the crown of his Redeemer, in "de himmels," than will many a great intellect that has dazzled this lower land. 66 METHODISM has taken mighty hold upon thousands of bold, desperate men, and turned lions into lambs; but sometimes the "old Adam" shows himself in them again. It would be a wonder if he didn't. | Methodism teaches the possibility of falling from grace. We have known some of the worst cases of fallen humanity crowned by its influence with the very beauty of holiness; and we have known some of high pretensions to make a gain of godliness," and to behave like very shabby pilgrims heavenward. Brother could exhort tremendously sometimes: he wound up once very ardently in an argument for the existence of a Supreme Being. Brethren," he said, "I am just as confident that there is a Supreme Being, as I am that there is flour in Alexandria, and that I yesterday received from there a lot of three hundred barrels, fresh superfine, which I will sell as low as any person in town." THE LATE BISHOP HEDDING used to tell an incident in his episcopal career, strikingly illustrating the despotic power of long-indulged habit. At one of the conferences where he presided, a young preacher was charged with indulging to great excess in the use of exaggeration. He was not said to be guilty of positive falsehood; but superlatives flowed so freely from his tongue, that truth had all the semblance, and frequently did all the mischief, of a lie. The young man was sentenced to be publicly admonished by the chair. He stood up in the presence of his brethren, and the bishop, with great kindness, pointed out the evils resulting from the habit. After hearing him through, the accused, bathed in tears, requested permission to say a few words. He commenced by a candid acknowledgment of his fault, and thanked the bishop for his admonition. Turning to his brethren in the ministry, he assured them of his determination to conquer his besetting propensity. "I regret it," said he, as much as any of you. I have struggled against it. I have wept over it. Yes, brethren, by night and by day I have wept on account of it, and I can truly say it has already caused me to shed barrels of tears.” 66 His BROTHER was given to marine illustrations, having been a seaman. eloquence in "that line" has given rise to some side-splitting anecdotes, real or fictitious, and secured him access to almost any pulpit in his routes. An oldfashioned sounding-board, of huge dimensions, was suspended over the pulpit of a church in which he one day "officiated," by means of a rope that passed over a pulley, and which was belayed under a seat in the gallery. This seat was occupied by a sailor. It was one of those sultry Sabbaths in August, when Morpheus is so apt to come unbidden, and spread the mantle of sleep over careless worshippers. The preacher was illustrating some doctrinal point by a nautical anecdote, while Jack, lulled into a state of semi-consciousness by the heat, was imagining himself to be again afloat on his favorite element. The minister's story was approaching its climax, his increasing earnestness had already awakened a large part of his audience and the more exciting part of his narrative was being told with great dramatic power. Suddenly Jack in his dream was startled by what appeared to be the sharp, quick command of his superior, "Stand by to let go! let go there!" he sprang to his feet confused and half awakened, and seeing nothing else to "let go," cast off the line by which the sounding-board was suspended. "Ay, ay, sir; all gone!" Down whizzed the heavy sounding-board, and the minister ducked his head under the pulpit, just in season to save himself from being extinguished. THE English Methodist Magazine for 1797 contains the following most remarkable narrative:-Four gentlemen and an old |