pathisers from the other denominations. I can assure you, brother Earnest, I never spent a more enjoyable evening. E. Did you have a report presented to the meeting? W. Oh, yes; Mr, Richardson, of Nottingham, you know, is the secretary of the movement, and he read the report, which had some very interesting points in it. A Sunday school has been formed, which numbers now nearly forty children. There is one candidate for baptism. They have done well financially, notwithstanding that the founders of the movement were somewhat tremulous on that score. £26 5s. have been raised, which leaves a balance in hand of 5s. E. I think I understand that they are worshipping in the British Schools; am I right in that, and, if so, do you know what rent they pay? W. They are worshipping in the school, and this is a great drawback to them, as they can have no week evening services, which, of course is a serious matter, and especially for a young church. The rent which they pay is, I believe, £20 per year. E. But I suppose they have not raised the £26 5s., of which you spoke, amongst themselves, as I understand they are neither wealthy nor numerous ? W. No, the greater part has been raised in various ways. Many of the little churches in the neighbourhood have helped by collections, and in some cases Mr. Almy has lectured in aid of the funds. E. How is the pulpit usually supplied? W. Oh, the local preachers from Nottingham and neighbourhood nobly supply that, free of cost, and in some cases at a loss to themselves, for they regard the movement as their own child. E. Ah; that is the right thing. Local preachers should engage in that sort of work all over the land. But is not the £20 rent for a room which they can only use on the Sabbath a serious matter. W. It is, and would go a long way towards paying the interest on a little chapel. The people are not wealthy as we have said, and it would be a grand thing if they had a little place of their own; and if any of your friends are anxious to do something for Christ, I hope they will suggest Kimberley. J. T. ALMY. “Enough!' I AM SO weak, dear Lord! I cannot stand But, oh, the tenderness of Thine enfolding, And, oh, the strength of Thy right hand! I am so needy, Lord! and yet I know Supplies and fills in overflowing measure, It is so sweet to trust Thy Word alone. The unveiling of Thy purpose, or the Of future light on mysteries untwining; Thy promise-roll is all my own— The human heart asks love. But now I That my heart hath from Thee Thy Love is enough for me. There were strange soul-depths, restless, vast and broad, Unfathomed as the sea, An infinite craving for some infinite But now Thy perfect love is perfect filling! Thou, Thou art enough for me! -Frances Ridley Havergal. ONCE the widely-known and deservedly esteemed friend of the slave, has passed away in a ripe old age, full of honours and of years. To the younger members of this generation his name will be little known; so rapidly do the world's best workers pass out of sight. Vividly can we recall the one occasion on which it was our good fortune to listen to his powerful eloquence. His impassioned earnestness, fervid appeals, scathing denunciations, indomitable will, exhaustless energy, and generous and noble spirit we can never forget. He was a leader when to lead required moral intrepidity. The cause he advocated was unpopular, misrepresented, and hated. "Vested interests" were its formidable antagonists. Antiquity was against him. The strength of conservative feeling and tradition was against him. He had only truth, humanity, and God on his side and he won. Slavery has been abolished in the British colonies and in the United States. He knew his duty: he did it, and he won. Such men must win. He cannot be a loser who has such allies as truth, humanity, and God. To us his name and memory are specially interesting. He was of General Baptist descent. We had something to do with the making and moulding of him, and he was eager to recognize his ancestry, and grateful for the good stored up in him through the virtues of his predecessors. DONISTHORPE is a memorable name in our annals. The Normanton blacksmith, Joseph Donisthorpe, was a leader in the early days of our denominational life. He did a good work, and his memory is still precious. George Thompson was a descendent of Joseph Donisthorpe on his mother's side; and the last time the Ex-M.P. was in Leicester he called at our publisher's to make enquiries concerning the memorials of his humble and yet glorious ancestor. Goodness is imperishable. A divinely-inspired life is fruitful forever. It cannot die, but with the recurring generations renews its force, and in finer and nobler forms repeats its earlier glories. Let us believe in the perpetuity of goodness, and in the wisdom of doing the work that is right and just, that tends to the happiness of humanity, and enlarges the areas of freedom and of righteousness. Don't crave to be on the winning side unless it is the right side. Get into fellowship with the brave and the true, even though they be the few; and though you may be forgotten your work shall live for ever and ever. JOHN CLIFFORD. Scraps from the Editor's Waste-Basket. I. THE GENERAL BAPTIST ALMANACK AND DIRECTORY for 1879 will be ready Nov. 16th, price one penny. Its predecessors have been declared by the press to be unexcelled for cheapness, good editing, "liveliness," and usefulness. We mean to make the next better than any which have gone before. One new feature will be the appearance of a capital stock of General Baptist memoranda: incidents of signal importance in our history. "The nation that never looks backward will soon cease to go forward." It is so with a denomination. Forward is our motto; and we shall look backward so that we may hasten our onward speed. One church secretary in the North says, "I shall want ten dozen;" a southern minister says, "Put me down for a thousand." That looks well. brethren! Send in the orders! your Almanack to do its good work. II. DOING OUR OWN EVANGELISING. Have you read the Report of the last Go on, Help Midland Conference? Have you taken note of the fact that the pastors and churches are arranging to do their own evangelising, i.e., they are going to have (to use the "cant" phrase) a mission, and to do the work of it themselves! They will not wait for the descent of a stranger; but will rejoice in the aid of pastors, and teachers, and evangelists amongst ourselves. This is a right and good thing. Many of our pastors are real evangelists. Every one ought to be able to bring himself to do real evangelising work. But let the churches take care. God will not suffer us each to miss the privilege of saving souls. It is the supremest luxury of the new nature; and He who loves us will neither allow us to work His gospel as though it were a dead machine, nor yet suffer us to gain all the results we desire when we are guilty of shunting our work on to others. Churches must prepare the ground by united, intense, and believing prayer. SCRAPS FROM THE EDITOR'S WASTE BASKET. 435 A The pentecostal blessing follows the prayer of the upper room. Individual effort must be bestowed upon men. word spoken in tender and loving sympathy and with true courage must open the preacher's message. Pray first; seek the lost; get them to feel that YOU care for them; YOU, their neighbours and friends. Dont leave them to learn that from the preacher, make it felt yourselves. And then the seed will be sown into prepared hearts; and as sure as God is the Saviour of men, will it bring forth in some thirty, in some sixty, and in some a hundred fold. III. STOP THAT SLANDER. It is going about doing enormous mischief. You know it is an unmitigated falsehood. Say so. The man would not, could not, have done such a thing. He would not be so insane; he would not be so wicked. Stop it. Do not suffer it to be repeated again. Go to him; yes, Go to the maligned man, and ask him whether it is true or not. His character is worth more than gold to him. Go at once. Do to him as you would DESIRE that any one and every one should do to you. Get the thing stopped somehow. It is about a minister of the gospel. The minister who has lost his character had better give up. His power is gone. Rob him of his spotless fame-you had better forge his name to a cheque; better meet him in the street and attack him; better garotte him. His purity is his power. Stop that slander! It concerns a deacon, an elder, a Sunday school teacher! Then, for the sake of the church, arrest the fell destroyer. Let it not go another inch. Satan set it going, and will keep it going if Christ's brave men do not stop it! IV. HOW TO SECURE GOOD MANNERS. Get a gun and shoot the ill-mannered barbarians that do not know how to receive an English commissioner. Take accurate aim, and the offence will not be repeated. That is the last lesson in civility given by some of the intelligent members of the English press. The Ameer is uncivil, then shoot him. Behold the result of the good breeding and civilization of England! We are going back to the enlightened days when, if a man called another names, it was thought to be a duty to settle the matter by fighting a duel. Poor England! V. WALKING CIRCUMSPECTLY was once, so it is said, elaborately described as proceeding with the same delicacy and considerateness of movement that would characterize a well-known member of the feline tribe in the act of passing along wellheated cubes of argillaceous material; or, in the briefer Saxon of Matthew Wilks, "as walking like a cat on hot bricks." The figure is apt, if not elegant; and it suggests a depth of care-taking not too common amongst Christian men. We ought to do all we can to prevent our good from being evil spoken of. The dead fly should be kept outside the ointment. A useful Christian man is bound to protect his usefulness from being marred by slight faults. No wise father says all he thinks before his children. A church officer will keep in mind the fact that the eyes of the "Church" and of the "world" are upon him, and that a higher standard of excellence is expected in him than in others. He should be brighter and braver; more devoted and more self-denying than others; always eager to put the reputation and the progress of the church before all other things. Why is he placed in a leader's position if not by these very attributes to lead? It is a just and well-grounded expectation which looks for most of the Spirit of Jesus, for a close approximation to perfectness of behaviour, for more forgiveness, and kindness, and grace, in those who hold the foremost places. We must walk circumspectly; but surely without being like him who said, "I have been all my life so afraid of going wrong that I have stood still and have not gone at all." Walking circumspectly. is at least walking. VI. WHAT DOES IT MEAN? Another letter is to hand speaking of the mischief RUMOUR, with her hundred tongues, is working in some churches. "The tongue," says a correspondent, "is such a wild member; rumours do the church a deal of injury. Can't you stop it, Mr. Editor ?" Good heavens! what does the man mean? It were easier to stop the Thames at London Bridge with a straw, or to divert the Niagara with a hair; or to arrest the shot of an "81-ton gun within an inch of the cannon's mouth, than to stop rumour. Slander you may stop with a little daring; but idle, airy, lightfooted rumour, swift as Ariel, intangible as a sprite, you cannot catch it, do as you will. Some tongues are born to rumour as the sparks fly upward. The head is empty. It has nothing else to talk about. The life is vacuous. It has no work. The spirit is mean and beggarly, and has no great loves, no noble generosities. Poor souls! They are only fit to be the slaves of King Rumour, and to do his bidding. They need to be NEW men, to be remade, to set them free from their vicious and misery-spreading habit. Only Christ's NEW men obey His great NEW LAW as to the formation and expression of opinion. 66 "Judge not; judge no one hastily or unkindly. Ever think in love, and speak in it. See the best in the worst. Turn the crack of the vase out of sight; don't hold it in full view." Let us meet the subjects of the Rumour King with the questions, "Are you quite sure ?" "If you are quite sure, are you quite kind?" Would not love to Christ and to His church, and to the happiness of men and women dictate a wise silence ? It is for each of us to do our best to live in love, and we shall do a little to check the disastrous career of rumour. Reviews. I. THE GATE AND THE GLORY BEYOND IT. By Onyx. II. THE LITTLE PRINTER'S BOY. By III. THE WHITE ROSE OF DEERHAM. By Hodder & Stoughton. Price 1s. each. THESE are four of the most charmingly told stories we have read; "gems of purest ray serene;" and worthy to find a place in every home and school library. The truths taught are as attractive as their setting is winning. The tone of them all is thoroughly Christian; and though the style and literary qualities vary, they all deserve the warmest commendation. Get them all, and get them at once. The children will thank you for them heartily; and you will read them yourselves with unfeigned pleasure. BIBLICAL THINGS NOT GENERALLY KNOWN. Stock. 4s. 6d. THIS is the first series of what promises to be a curious and interesting and useful collection of facts upon biblical subjects. It is composed without any order whatever, and is, indeed, an olla podrida. Obscure, strange, and interesting facts illustrative of texts of scripture are set down. Criticism is rarely offered upon the facts. No attempt made to estimate their value. Authorities are not always given. The raw material is there, and the reader must work it up as he needs it. But the material is good, and much of it seems to us to really be out-of-the way information; and, what is better, it can be used easily by means of a good index of texts, and another of subjects. S. S. teachers and others will find a mine of helpful information in this volume. THE ART OF THE SILVER TONGUE: OR, A KEY TO ORATORY. By Rev. T. W. Brown. Stock. It is by no means necessary that the key to a house should itself be a house; nor is it impossible that a most indifferent key may open the gate to a magnificent palace: but we are justified in looking for accuracy of statement, and clearness of style, in a "Key to the Art of the Silver Tongue." This, however, Mr. Brown does not give us. Nor is his book free from errors in punctuation, and carelessness in printing. The figures are tame and jejune, the definitions are maimed, and some sentences are hopelessly chaotic. Any one wishing to master the art of oratory will do well to avoid this key. A GUILTY CONSCIENCE: AND OTHER STORIES. By Emily Searchfield. F. E. Longley. THIS is one of the "fireside series" of stories for old and young published by Mr. Longley at sixpence each. Judging by this sample, the tales are brief and fairly well told, type is clear, and teaching healthy. THE HOMILETICAL QUARTERLY. R. D. Dickinson. Oct. Price 2s. THE clerical symposium on effective preaching is continued in this issue by the Rev. R. Young and W. L. Randall, and a capital reply is given on the whole discussion by Dr. Blackie. The features of this Preacher's Quarterly noticed before are continued with increased interest and ability. THE LIBERATION SOCIETY is publishing some admirable little tracts for distribution just now, on the question of churchyard disestablishment, the income of the Church of England, and so forth. They are pithy and pungent, well packed with useful and reliable information. Let our readers get them and circulate them far and near. MR. JOHN B. GOUGH has made an arrangement with Messrs. Morgan & Scott for the publication of his ORATIONS, revised by himself. As Mr. Gough will be beneficially interested in these publications, as in all fairness he ought to be, we hope that purchasers will ask for the edition revised by the author and published by Morgan and Scott. In due course will be issued, by the same publishers, Mr. GOUGH'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY (copyright edition), continued to the present time. Church Register. Information should be sent by the 16th of the month to 51, Porchester Road, Westbourne Park, London, W. A step in the right direction. THE following circular has been issued by the Midland Conference:: DEAR BRETHREN,At the General Baptist Midland Conference, held at Stoney Street, Nottingham, October 15th, the attention of the representatives was directed to the importance of immediately commencing and carrying out special evangelistic work for promoting the revival of religion in the churches connected with the Conference. After much thoughtful and earnest discussion the following resolution was unanimously adopted : "That the Leicester ministers, in connexion with the Secretary of the Conference, be a Committee to make arrangements for holding a series of evangelistic services in the Midland Counties during the winter." You will at once perceive that it will be impossible to accomplish the object of the Committee without the hearty cooperation of the churches. If, therefore, the church with which you are connected desires to participate in such services, you are requested to apply, as soon as convenient, to the Rev. J. H. ATKINSON, Sparkenhoe Street, Leicester, the Secretary of the Committee, that the necessary preliminary arrangements, may be made with brethren who are willing to do the "work of an evangelist." The Committee deem it of primary importance that the visit of such brethren should be preceded by a systematic house to house visitation and a week of special prayer, in order that all the members of your church may be brought into full sympathy with the work, and that, through the abundant bestowment of the Spirit of God, a rich blessing may attend and follow the proposed services. Whether your church is desirous of arranging for special services or not, we trust your prayers for the success of this important nndertaking will not be withheld. Wishing you much prosperity in the name of the Lord. I am, dear brethren, Yours faithfully, J. SALISBURY. Secretary of the Midland Conference. Hugglescote, Oct. 23rd, 1878. GENERAL BAPTIST BUILDING FUND. TO THE EDITOR,— Dear Sir,-Permit me to inform your readers that henceforth all communications intended for the Secretary of this Fund should be addressed to the REV. WILLIAM BISHOP, Leicester, he having acceded to the wish of the Committee that he should become the Secretary, instead of Yours respectfully, N. HERBERT SHAW. CONFERENCES. THE MIDLAND COFERENCE met at Stoney Street, Nottingham, October 15th, 1878. The Rev. W. Evans opened the morning service, and the Rev. J. W. Williams preached from John iv. 24. The afternoon session was opened with prayer by the Rev. J. J. Irving. I. The Rev. S. H. Booth, Secretary of the Baptist Union, was introduced to the Conference to advocate the claims of the Baptist ANNUITY FUND for the assistance of aged and infirm ministers and ministers' widows. Having explained the plan which has been adopted to carry out the object of the Fund, referred to the efforts which had been already made to guarantee the proposed annuities; and urged the necessity of a further appeal to the churches in the Baptist denomination that the ends contemplated may be satisfactorily accomplished. The Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A., after an appropriate address, proposed the following resolution, which was unanimously passed: "That the Conference warmly commends the Annuity Fund to the liberal support of the General Baptist Churches; that the secretary of the fund correspond with the Secretary of the Conference with a view to obtain subscriptions; and, at the same time, urges the churches, in arranging their collections for the next three years, to fix upon a Lord's-day in each year as a time for a congregational collection on behalf of the Annuity Fund." II. A paper was read by the Rev. R. F. Griffiths on "The means of securing the co-operation of acquainted churches," which led to a protracted discussion on the urgent importance of carrying out evangelistic work for the purpose of |