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cannot see an individual expire, though a
stranger or an enemy, without being sensibly
moved, and prompted by compassion to
lend him every assistance in our power. Every
trace of resentment vanishes in a moment;
every other emotion gives way to pity
and terror. What a scene then must a field
of battle present, where thousands are left
without assistance and without pity, with
their wounds exposed to the piercing air,
while the blood, freezing as it flows, binds
them to the earth, amid the trampling of
horses and the insults of an enraged foe!
If they are spared by the humanity of the
enemy and carried from the field, it is but a
prolongation of torment. Conveyed in uneasy
vehicles, often to a remote distance,
through roads almost impassable, they are
lodged in ill-prepared receptacles for the
wounded and the sick, where the variety of
distress baffles all the efforts of humanity
and skill, and renders it impossible to give
to each the attention he demands. Far from
their native home, no tender assiduities of
friendship, no well known voice, no wife, or
mother, or sister, is near to soothe their sorrows,
relieve their thirst, or close their eyes
in death. Unhappy man! and must you be
swept into the grave unnoticed and unnumbered,
and no friendly tear be shed for your
sufferings or mingled with your dust!
Conceive but for a moment the consternation
which the approach of an invading army
would impress on the peaceful villages in
this neighborhood. When you have placed
yourselves for an instant in that situation,
you will learn to sympathize with those unhappy
countries which have sustained the
ravages of arms. But how is it possible to
give you an idea of these horrors You behold
rich harvests, the bounty of heaven and
the reward of industry, consumed in a mom.ent
or trampled under foot, while famine
and pestilence follow the steps of desolation.
The contemplation of such scenes as these
forces on us this awful reflection, that neither
the fury of wild beasts, the concussions
of the earth, nor the violence of tempests
are to be compared to the ravages of arms;
and that nature in her utmost extent, or,
more properly, divine justice in its utmost
severity, has supplied no enemy to man so
terrible as man.
Still, however, it would be happy for mankind
if the effects of national hostility terminated
here; but the fact is, that they who
are farthest removed from its immediate
desolations share largely in the calamity.
They are drained of the most precious part
of their population, their youth, to repair the
waste made by the sword. They are drained
of their wealth by the prodigious expense incurred
in the equipment of fleets and the
subsistence of armies in remote parts. The
accumulation of debt and taxes diminishes
THE CHRISTIAN NATION. Vol. 61.
the public strength and depresses private industry.
An augmentation in the price of the
necessaries of life, inconvenient to all
classes, falls with peculiar weight on the laboring
poor, who must carry their industry
to market every day, and therefore cannot
wait for that advance of price which gradually
attaches to every other article. Of all
people the poor are on this account the
greatest sufferers by war and have the most
reason to rejoice in the restoration of peace.
The contests of nations are both the offspring
and the parent of injustice. The word
of God ascribes the existence of war to the
disorderly passions of men. Whence come
wars and fightings among you Come they
not from your lusts that war in your members
It is certain two nations cannot
engage in hostilities but one party must be
guilty of injustice; and if the magnitude of
crimes is to be estimated by a regard to their
consequences, it is difficult to conceive an
action of equal guilt with the wanton violation
of peace.
THE CALL TO PRAYER
We give elsewhere the call of the President
of the people of the United States—
"all God-fearing persons," to assemble in
their places of worship on Sabbath, October
4, and pray for peace in Europe, in the spirit
of humility, and to seek of Almighty God
the forgiveness of our sins. This is a most
commendable act on his part, for vain is the
help of man in this crisis.
This Christian President might well have
named the Name that is above every name,
who is the Way. The Senate of the United
States did so in 1863, when asking Mr. Lincoln
to call a Fast in the crisis of the Civil
War. Mr. Cleveland did not hesitate to call
to Thanksgiving in this Name. Any who do
not believe in Him, and yet fear God, are
not hindered by such a call, made in what
the Christian knows is the only Way for
the forgiveness of sins, whether personal or
national. "The Father judgeth no man; but
hath committed all judgment unto the Son;
that all men should honor the Son, even as
they honor the Father. He that honoreth
not the Son, honoreth not the Father which
hath sent Him."
Here is a remarkable instance of a neutral
nation called on by its Chief Magistrate to
plead with God to bring peace to the nations
at war. May the Lord hear and answer
in His grace!
The American Tract Society, which has been
located at 150 Nassau street for eighty-nine
years, since it was founded in 1825, is moving
in its ninetieth year to large and commodious
quarters in the new Architect's Building at
101 Park avenue, corner of Fortieth street.
The ofScers of the society are: William Phillips
Hall, President; Rev. J. H. Jowett, D. D.,
Vice President; Rev. Judson Swift, D. D., General
Secretary, and Louis Tag, Treasurer.
IN MEMORY OF WALTER T. MILLER.
THE LATE WALTER T. MILLER.
By Professor D. B. Willson.
The Christian Nation has announced
the death of this servant of Christ.
He had been laid aside for some years
from active service, so that he was unknown
personally to some of our ministry. But the
most of our ministry and many in the eldership
of our Church knew him well. He was
a man of great activity, and was full of energy.
Mr. Miller was an elder in the Third
Church, N. Y. City, as far back as the pastorate
of Rev. Dr. J. R. W. Sloane. Of late years
he had been connected with the Second
Church. He succeeded Elder William Brown
of Philadelphia as Treasurer of the Board
of Foreign Missions, and. gave time and
strength to this part of the work of the
Church. He was on the Seminary Board of
Superintendents and as his lately deceased
colleague, Elder David Boyd, ever manifest- •
ed the deepest interest in the Theological
class. When he appeared at the Closing Exercises
each year, he sought a list for himself
of the young men, that he might soon
become acquainted with them, and ever after
recognize them.
Mr. Miller was deeply interested in all the
work of the Church. He was a cotton broker,
and after the Civil War he often had
occasion to travel South on this business.
He planned to see the missionaries, and was
thus a frequent visitor at the Southern JVlission.
He was long Secretary of the Cotton
Exchange of this city. His business qualifications
not only brought him prosperity,
but also the confidence of his associates. He
was a man of integrity as well as of ability.
When a reverse in business came, and a settlement
was made, many years did not pass
till every creditor received in full the whole
of his account, the occurrence being noted in
the daily press.
Mr. Miller's wife was the eldest daughter
of Rev. Dr. Samuel 0. WyHe. She had
gone before him to the better land. The
Covenanter Church will live, be strong and
do her work, if the Lord blesses her with
members with the intelligence, devotion, public
spirit, and Christian character of Mr. Miller.
WALTER T. MILLER'S INTENSE DEVO­
TION.
By Dr. F. M. Foster.
Those who had the privilege of being associated
with Mr. Walter T. Miller in the work
of the Foreign Mission Board, know full well
the obligation they owe to him as Treasurer
of the Board. The writer has been in his
office after "closing hours" on Saturday, and
there he was—writing, writing, writing, to
the various mission fields. Excepting the
Corresponding Secretary, Dr. R. M. Sommer-