The North Against the South

The Christian Intelligencer, (of Georgetown Kentucky,) a Methodist paper, and edited by a clergyman, contains a call for a convention of the laity of the Methodist Episcopal church, to consider the action of the ministers at the Louisville convention, in relation to the separation of the body into northern and southern divisions.

This movement is an extraordinary one for that body of people, but is one of the characteristics of the times:

Whereas, conventions are the order of the day, and the late Louisville convention has undertaken an extensive reformation in the church of our choice, which is to end no one knows where; and, whereas, it is meet and right that the members of said church should have a voice in all matters vitally affecting their spiritual and eternal interests, it is hereby respectfully suggested and proposed that the laity of said church hold a convention at some point in Kentucky, to be hereafter designated, some time about the first of October next, then and there to determine for themselves what shall be their action, in the face of a new organization, termed the Methodist Episcopal Church, south.

(->) It must needs be that offences [offenses] come but wo unto him by whom the offence [offense] cometh!-"Then and there to determine what shall be the rule of action!"-All that need be said,(while the blood of the prophets and saints remains unatoned for,) is division. No sectarian church or body or worldly minded men need to hope to do any thing that can augment union, harmony, or peace: God will not let them. These are the great days of trouble and commotion-Who is on the Lord's side? And by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small. (See Amos 7th.)

NAPOLEON'S ATTEMPT TO PASS THE RED SEA.-The author of Eothen, or Traces of Travel, after mentioning several speculations as to the point at which the Israelites passed the Red Sea, one of the suppositions being that they had traversed only a small creek at the northern extremity, near Suez, proceeds as follows:-"Napoleon, when at Suez, made an attempt to follow the supposed steps of Moses, by passing the creek at this point, but it seems, according to the testimony of the people at Suez, that he and his horsemen managed the matter in a manner more resembling the failure of the Egyptians, than the success of the Israelites. According to the French account, Napoleon got out of the difficulty by that warrior-like presence of mind which served him so well when the fate of nations depended on the decision of a moment. He ordered his horsemen to disperse themselves in all directions, in order to multiply the chances of finding shallow water, and was thus enabled to discover a line by which he and his people were extricated. The story told by the people at Suez is very different. They declare that Napoleon parted from his horse, got thoroughly submerged, and was only fished out by the people on shore. I bathed twice at the point assigned to the Israelites, and the second time that I did so, I chose the time of low water, and tried to walk across, but I soon found myself out of my depth, or at least in water so deep that I could only advance by swimming."

(->) More men than Napoleon have tried to penetrate into the mysterious works of the Lord and failed also. We always have to record these specimens of great littleness for the benefit of posterity.

In old times, when David was in trouble, he sent his young men to a person by the name of Nabal for provisions.

"And Nabal answered David's servants, and

said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jessee? there be many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master."

David, being one of the Lord's anointed, purposed to chastise such an insult, but Nabal's wife, possessing a noble soul, stepped into the rescue, and said,

"Let not my lord, I pray thee, regard this man of Belial, even Nabal: for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him: but I, thy handmaid, saw not the young men of my lord, whom thou didst send."

So, the "folly" of all men who mock God, manifests itself, and continues from age to age as a beacon, to warn others.

There sometimes follows a curse as well as the shame. So it appears in the case above quoted.

"And Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.

But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone.

And it came to pass about ten days after, that the Lord smote Nabal, that he died."