other James Wyatt's, where I stay all night. Also visit
the widow Sister Hardman.

THURSDAY, May 19. Come to Hagerstown and dine at Brother Brown's. I
then take cars to Andersontown, and come to Brother Peter Fesler's,
six miles away. After supper have night meeting in Columbus, where I
speak from Acts 4:13. Stay all night with Jeremiah Clemmens.

Having been more than usually impressed at our meeting with the
importance of Christian brethren making their conversations and lives
give testimony to the sincerity and intelligence of their professions
of faith in Christ, I resolved to turn my discourse to that bearing,
as much so as I could. With that view I took these words: TEXT.--_"And
they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus."_

A very plain and self-evident truth comes to mind at the opening of my
discourse to-night. It is this truth, that no one can converse
intelligently upon any subject he does not understand, nor accomplish
any work of art without some previously acquired skill to do it. To
comply with the demands imposed upon every human being by these
fundamental and stubborn realities, all the means of education for the
mind and training for the body are provided. Man stands alone and
singular in this regard. Birds can sing and build their nests without
instruction; and bees can form their delicate cells of wax without a
guide.

It is also a well-recognized fact that the pupil gives evidence of the
character and ability of his teacher, in all the lines of science and
art. In the knowledge and practice of the things pertaining to man's
spiritual life on earth it is just the same. All that man does from
conscience, from what he believes to be his duty to God and to man,
this he calls religious. If his faith and life are firmly based and
established upon the Rock of God's eternal Truth, it can be known at
once who has been his teacher, and knowledge can be taken of him that
he has been with Jesus.

I do not wish to reflect particularly here upon the lack of evidences
of this kind among professing Christians generally, nor do I wish to
reflect censure upon the teachers under whose auspices these
professions have been made; but I do say, and am sorry, that from the
conduct and life of many professors of religion it would be hard to
tell certainly that they were not Mohammedans or disciples of
Confucius. But banishing all fancy and superstition, and ignoring all
religious forms and ceremonies,