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ANNUAL SERMON, 
 
 DELIVKKED BY 
 
 Rev'd ADAM OILCHRI8T, 
 
 IN THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, BEFORE THE STUDENTS OF THE 
 
 FEMALE HIGH SCHOOL, 
 
 OIC TUESDAY EVENING.. JULY 15. 1856. 
 
 faye'iteville: 
 PRINTED BY EDWARD J. HALE & SON. 
 1856. 
 
DELITEEED BY 
 
 Rev'd ADAM GILCHRIST, 
 
 IN THE PKESBYTERIAN CHURCH, BEFORE THE STUDENTS OF THE 
 
 F^YETTEVILXiE * 
 
 PEIALE HIGH SCHOOL, 
 
 ON TUESDAY EVENING, JULY 15, 1856. 
 
 fatetteyille: 
 PRINTED BY EDWARD J. HALE & SON. 
 1856. 
 
f AYETTEviLLE, N. C, July 17, 1856. 
 Hev'd Sir: — In compliance with the wishes of the Faculty and 
 Students of the "Fayetteville Female High School," and the gene- 
 ral desire expressed by the community, we ask a copy of the very 
 appropriate and able Discourse delivered by yourself before the 
 Students, in the Presbyterian Church on Tuesday evening last. 
 Hoping nothing will prevent your compliance with the request, 
 We remain yours, &c. 
 
 J. H. COOK, 
 A. W. STEEL, 
 J. G. SHEPHERD, 
 S. J. HINSDALE, 
 E. J. LILLY, 
 
 Ex. Committee. 
 
 Ctentlemen: — In eonsenting to grant your request, so kindly and * 
 politely conveyed, I am well aware that Addresses which appear 
 well at the time of delivery, seem flat upon an after perusal: but 
 having yielded myself to your entire service on this occasion, I 
 conquer the repugnance I have always entertained to appearing in 
 print, and surrender my manuscript, with but faint hope that 
 the public on the outside, who were not present at its delivery, 
 will echo youb very flattei-iug commendation. 
 
 With respect, gentlemen, 
 
 I am yours, &c. 
 
 A. GILCHRIST. 
 Messrs. J. H. Cook, J. G. Shepherd, Auo. W. Steel, S. J. 
 Hinsdale, E. J. Lilly. 
 
SERMON. 
 
 Favor is deceitful^ and 'beauty is vain: hut a woman thai 
 feareth the Lord^ she sliall le praised. — Proverbs xxxi, 30. 
 
 Women were made neither to be flattered nor despised. 
 The sex are not angels, but specimens of fallen humanity: 
 nevertheless, the man who underrates them shows plainly 
 that his associations have been with the worst of the sex, or 
 that he is too dull, or too degraded, to perceive and acknow- 
 ledge the qualities which belong to the best. Facts prove 
 that men have always been benefitted when they have had 
 right notions of the worth of woman; but when the sex has 
 been depreciated, man himself has been the sufferer: for he 
 has sunk proportionally low with the object of his contempt. 
 
 Where will you find woman in her right j^osition but in 
 lands where the gospel has had its sway? Woman owes 
 everything to the power of true religion, and it is only in 
 christian lands that she endeavors conscientiously to pay her 
 debt. That man is raised to a high standard of character, 
 that he is filled with pure sentiments, that he aims at holy 
 objects, that he is nerved with energy to the pursuit of what 
 is right, that he is urged to the cultivation of humane dispo- 
 sitions, and exhibits the courtesy which throws its charm 
 around social life, is very much if not entirely owing to 
 Christianity having placed wom.an in a sphere where she can 
 oj^erate to advantage. For example, consider the influence 
 of a christian mother, as contrasted with the training that a 
 man receives who comes forth from female hands in countries 
 which are semi-civilized or barbarous. We are far from un- 
 derrating other influenceSj which are concerned more direct- 
 
6 
 
 ]y in the full development of character, nor could we denj 
 but tliat after discipline may correct the defects or errors of 
 a bad early training. It seems necessary to form a man in 
 the noblest sense, that there should be an office faithfully 
 performed by tutors and governors, that there should be the 
 wear and tear of trial, that he should learn something by 
 experience, tliat his faculties should be called into vigoroTss 
 exercise, that a broad field of honest rivalry should be spread 
 before him, where success shall be commensurate with talent, 
 industry, and moral force; and that these should all be sancti- 
 fied by the blessings of heaven. But who is it that first 
 draws the outline of that character, which after influence 
 brought to bear upon it, is to complete? "VYe answer, the 
 christian mother. Gentleness and skill are united in her 
 hands, lest a rude stroke at the beginning may so mar the 
 work, as thereafter to be irreparable. It is her hands that 
 endeavor to mould what is before her after a divine pattern, 
 and those hands are guided by a heart, which hopes and 
 prays that that on which she operates may become a specit- 
 men of man at his test estate. A sense of fitness seems to 
 resign to woman the training of the infant mind. Her great 
 tenderness adapts her for the work, and she endures patiently 
 its trials. She possesses a greater degree of that yearning- 
 instinct over off'spring, for which our language has no appro- 
 priate term, but which the Greeks thought worthy of a 
 special name. These qualities are conceded to the sex, and 
 therefore the formation of habits, and the earliest lessons- 
 imparted to budding intellect, are regarded as the province 
 of woman. But Christianity, which views all matters in the 
 light of responsibility, asks the question, how shall this in- 
 fluence be exerted so as to accomplish the best results? Shall 
 it suffer the seeds of depravity to shoot unchecked: that after- 
 wards the bitter fruit may curse the world? Or must the 
 attempt be made to nip the evil as soon as seen? Shall that 
 tender heart, inviting suitable occupation^ not be planted 
 
7 
 
 with heavenly truth, which, watered from on high, may ripen 
 into holiness of purpose, beneficence of act, and a glorious 
 reward? Is the tender child a mere nursling to be cast on 
 destiny to encounter its fate, or is it an immortal being, 
 whom heaven commits to a mother's hands with a similar 
 instruction to that given to Moses' mother by Pharaoah's 
 daughter; "take this child away, and nurse it for me^ and I 
 will give thee thy wages." The simple question submitted 
 is, whether man under woman's training is to be shaped so as 
 to become the dunce, the monster, or the saint? 
 
 There are three conditions which meet in Christian woman, 
 which are to be found in none other; these are mental culti- 
 vation, self discipline, and the power to command the respect 
 of the other sex. If you look to lands not Christian, for your 
 example of the training of man by woman, you will rarely 
 find such a combination. 
 
 In the days of ancient Paganism woman was often a hero- 
 ine, and whilst the names of Portia and Cornelia remain, we 
 cannot say that instances of true wives, or true mothers, are 
 wanting. Yet the habits of the times prove, that then, wo- 
 man was either not allowed her true position, or else fell her- 
 self beneath it. The Greeks were at no pains to educate the 
 female portion of their families. The educated woman was 
 one who assumed the qualities of the male sex to disgrace 
 her own, and the young man, who was to be formed and po- 
 lished by female society, shaped his manners, and acquired 
 his ideas, not from an illiterate mother, but from an accom- 
 plished woman, whom social propriety deemed an unfit com- 
 panion for his sisters. During the purest days of the Roman 
 Republic woman had honor paid her, and she ennobled her- 
 self. Then it was that mothers could point to their sons as 
 their brightest ornaments. But in the declining days of the 
 ^empire, the most astounding instances of moral corruption 
 which blot the historian's page, and present biting themes 
 for satirists, are drawn from woman. And what was the con- 
 
8 
 
 sequence? The race of noble men became extinct. A might- 
 ier ruin, than that presented by the fallen pillar and over- 
 turned temple, showed itself in the unnerving, and debase- 
 ment of a nation, which had once conquered the world. In 
 all savage nations woman is degraded — man is the master, 
 woman the slave. At the birth of one of her own sex, the 
 mother laments that her misery is to descend by inheritance 
 to her daughter; but can she rejoice at the birth of a son? In 
 him she sees another tyrant arrived, who, when his strength 
 is equal to the task, will beat her; who will revile her, as soon 
 as his organs of speech are fashioned to articulate sounds; and 
 by his exactions of service will add to the burdens, which are 
 already crushing out her life. 
 
 "What can such an abject thing do towards mitigating ano- 
 ther's ferocity, or how inspire with noble sentiments, when 
 they are unknown to herself! 
 
 In the half-civilized portion of Asia, we find woman im- 
 proved above the brutality of savage life, but here again the 
 consequences of underrating the sex are visited on man. The 
 wife of an Oriental is an uneducated child, with nothing to 
 call forth the powers of her mind; her existence a listless se- 
 clusion, her only stimulation amusement; she can never rise 
 to the dignity of woman. The pampered favorite, not the 
 trusted companion of her husband, with limited ideas, bound 
 to good conduct by the restraint of her surroundings, but a 
 stranger to self discipline, we cannot regard her as likely* ta 
 form the character of a son, who, in distinguishing himself, 
 shall point to his mother, as owing to her guidance the start 
 or direction of his path to eminence. We repeat: it is only 
 in lands where the religion of the Bible prevails, that we find 
 woman disposed to improve the understanding God has giv- 
 en her. There only it is, that the graces of the heart are 
 brought out in their adaptation, and fitted in such symmetri- 
 cal proportion, as at once to proclaim the usefulness of her 
 station, and to elicit praise for the delicacy and efficiency of 
 
9 
 
 her performance. There alone it is, that the dignified respect, 
 which is paid her, is not paid back in the return of trashy 
 compliment, but in the solid coin of lasting advantage. There 
 it is, that some of those stern attributes of manliness, which 
 raise the individual to the height of fame, are to be traced to 
 gentle teachings, and to the generous ardor excited by noble 
 examples, discoursed of by one who hopes that there is before 
 her a copy, who, if possible, shall surpass the original she 
 presents. 
 
 It is a mistake often made, that of supposing that female 
 influence,' exerted on^he other sex, will give to character a 
 softness incompatible with the daring of manly enterprises. 
 Whether it be, that the weakness of woman would seek for 
 support from a strong arm, or whether that female ambi- 
 tion is limited to shining through the distinction acquired by 
 her male relations, every sensible mother will seek, in train- 
 ing her son, to cultivate those habits, and those alone, which 
 are consistent with manliness. She will endeavor to bring 
 him to reason on consequences, to make up his mind to a 
 just determination, and when made up, to conquer difficulties, 
 by never acknowledging defeat; but if an obstacle is in the 
 way, and his foot trips, he shall fall forward, not backward; 
 he shall rise to advance, not retrograde. She knows the vo- 
 cation of her boy is to be different from his sister's, who is 
 smiling at his side, and with energy, her own good sense 
 leads her often to repeat the lesson. My son, "show thyself to 
 be a man." But in teaching this lesson of manliness, has 
 woman ever permitted herself to escape from the responsi- 
 bility of her mission? She can never forget that her office is 
 to minister to the kindlier feelings of humanity. The steel 
 which she would temper, and not soften, she would polish; 
 the young man whom she wishes to be strong, she exhorts to 
 be forbearing to weakness; while contending for right, she 
 would have him generous to the conquered. She charges 
 him to be not arrogant in his deportment to the lowly, not 
 
10 
 
 assuming to the lofty, nor encroaching on those.who stand on 
 the same platform with him. In short, while she desires her 
 son to be a man in point of strength, she adds another wish, 
 to-wit: that he may be, not in the sense of bows, and scrapes, 
 and conventional graces, but in her own instructive appre- 
 hension of the word, a gentleman. 
 
 A sensible christian mother has still a higher mark in the 
 moulding of her son. She wants to see him reach the highest 
 style of man: amid the grades of an excellence stamped by 
 heaven on human character, her conception of the front rank, 
 "which she prays her son may attain^ is made up of the en- 
 durance of the martyr, the enterprise of the hero, and the 
 benevolence of the philanthropist. It is not merely a piety 
 "which shall be without reproach in the church, and which 
 shall fit for Heaven, but it is a manly piety, which is the ob- 
 ject of her aspirings. She prays that in her son a cherub's 
 light may shine, with the glowing warmth of a seraph's love; 
 that like John a Saviour's bosom may be his familiar resting 
 place; like Peter he may never tire in his work, but be earnest 
 till he put off his tabernacle; that he may feel like Paul that 
 he owes the world a debt which he must be constantly pay- 
 ing in his Master's name. With prayer she reads the annals 
 of the Church, and says if her son must fall in youth, may he 
 fall like McCheyne and Summerfield, with his armor on; if he 
 die in his maturity, may he be found fully ripe for the 
 heavenly garner, and the fruits which fell from him by the 
 way, may they remain upon the earth long to be gathered — 
 if he sink into the grave after a long and useful life, may the 
 last memento of him be, that he still brought forth fruit in 
 .old age. Thus prayed the mothers of a Wesley, a President 
 Davis, and a Judson. Thus holy women in every age of the 
 Church have stamped upon the character of their sons an 
 immortality — known to earthly fame, but "shining brighter 
 in the skies." 
 
 Gentlemen, Guardians and Supporters of the Fayetteville 
 
11 
 
 Female Iligli Scliool, you have done a gfeat work in com- 
 mencing an institution, for which we sincerely hope that after 
 generations will bless your names. Alreac^ have you been, 
 in part, recompensed by the benefit receif^ed, for the pains 
 you have taken, and it cannot biit be, that^a proper training 
 bestowed upon your daughters will be felt by your and their 
 descendants. * 
 
 But whilst I shall endeavor not to trans-cend modesty, in 
 taking advantage of my position to address you too plainly, 
 the station I occupy enjoins me to remind ^'ou, that it is not 
 the amount of intellectual culture, not the^poli^h imparted to 
 the manners, nor the waking up of the perceptions of taste, 
 valuable as all these are, that constitute/he glory of woman. 
 You have shown that you did not despise^the female under- 
 standing. You have adopted a scheme df study* calculated 
 to furnish and strengthen the mind. As tiie institution grows 
 older, you will doubtless afford every means and facility for 
 raising the standard of education in this cojnmunity; but it 
 ouglit never to be forgotten how essential if- is to the perform- 
 ance of woman's mission, that the heart should be cultivated 
 as well as the intellect. Should a Seminary for the education 
 of females ignore this fact, though it may 'turnout from time 
 to time such as are fitted to adorn a drawing room — such as 
 by the grace of their deportment, and the^brilliancy of their 
 accomplishments, will awaken admiration — such as will at- 
 tract the other sex to their^company by the sprightliness of 
 their conversation— even though to these be added a know- 
 ledge of the details of practical life, it will fftil in making the 
 training imparted subserve the highest end of education. For 
 remember, ''Favor is deceitful, beauty is vain, but a womau 
 that feareth the Lord, she shall be praise(f." 
 
 You have set out with the determination to avoid sectari- 
 anism in tiie pursuit of your scheme. This is right and pro- 
 per for an institution designed for inviting tiie patronage of 
 every Christian denomination. I know not a source of great- 
 
12 
 
 er bitterness than*' a sectarian spirit; mingling with social 
 charities, it poisons all that is pleasant in intercourse. The 
 man who is capable of abusing his position while training 
 another's child, and employs his office for the purpose of in- 
 stilling contempt for a parent's creed, and of cutting the cord 
 which binds to the parent's holiest associations, is one of the 
 greatest enemies known to domestic peace. He is the most 
 artful plotter against the harmonies that liken earth to heaven, 
 and it is worst of all when this is done under the pretence of 
 enlarged Christian charity. I know there are some who af- 
 fect to think, "that the end of ail evangelical sects being the 
 same, provided a ^jhild becomes truly pious, the matter of 
 joining a particular church is of little consequence. But is 
 it so? Is there not a pathos in the language of a j^outhful fe- 
 male to her mothjr: "Entreat me not to leave thee, nor to re- 
 turn from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will 
 go; where thou lQ(^gest, I will lodge; thy jpeo])le shall be my 
 people, and thy {xod shall he my God.^^ We need but appeal 
 to the distressing^eelings which have often been engendered, 
 when a child, on returning home from school, is seen going 
 to a different chu^'ch, mingling with different religious soci- 
 ety; and perhaps is led to think it to be a duty to oppose, re- 
 sist, and destroy, what the parentis attempting to build up. 
 What is thus unpleasant, is rendered Mtter by the fact, that 
 in the doings of that child there is illustrated, not the strength 
 of a reasoning conviction, but th^ evidence of a dupery prac- 
 tised b}' a heartless proselytism. 
 
 But if a school should be founded, not with a view of be- 
 coming a manufactory of Methodists, Baptists, Episcopalians, 
 or Presbyterians, it is nevertheless bound to bring to bear on 
 the conscience, those principles which are common to every 
 church worthy of being considered Christian. Shall the plan 
 of study meet the wants of every faculty, but that of con- 
 science? Shall the beauties of human authors be enlarged on, 
 and the "book of books" receive no attention? Shall the sci- 
 
13 
 
 ence of numbers be taught, but the mind never be turned to 
 calculate the worth of the soul? Shall the lips, which would 
 check impropriety of conduct by admonition, and direct the 
 erriug to the consideration of grieving parents, and to the 
 self reproach to be encountered when society will condemn — 
 never suggest that duty is based on still higher motives than 
 these? Shall the praise of man, and not the fear of God, be 
 urged as the chief thing to be regarded in the conduct to be 
 pursued? Shall a child, who leaves a religious home, find in 
 school what will lead her to forget the lesson which a pious 
 Father or Mother has taught; and on her return to the pa- 
 rental dwelling, show that though her mind is stored and her 
 manners formed, but that she has forgotten God, and that his 
 fear is not before her eyes? 
 
 Gentlemen, in speaking thus, I believe you have had your 
 eyes set on these two things. You would not willingly wound 
 the conscientious preferences of any of your patrons with re- 
 gard to religion, and you would not have your school taught 
 on any other than religious principles. I congratulate you in 
 having placed the institution in hands, which have hitherto 
 carefully avoided the occasion for denominational jealousy, 
 and which have not been unmindful of a responsibility due to 
 one higher than yourselves, in setting before the minds of 
 these children the fear of God, as the great incentive of human 
 action. 
 
 A large patronage, promising to increase, has been at once 
 your reward, and a testimonial of public confidence in the 
 fidelity of your Principal to the trust committed. 
 
 And now, my dear young ladies, I turn to you. Although 
 you have not been directly addressed, if you have been at- 
 tentive, much has been suggested, which you have applied 
 to your present situation, and your future prospects: but more 
 particularly would I now use the words of my text, for the 
 purpose of setting before you the preeminence of personal pi- 
 ety beyond every other qualification. "Favor is deceitful, 
 
14: 
 
 l)eauty is vain, but a woman tliat fcareth the Lord, she shall 
 be praised." 
 
 By favor is here meant those characteristics, wliich win the 
 esteem of otliers; be it ingratiating address, a gentle demean- 
 or, or the attractions whicli a well stored mind and a ready 
 utterance will supply. The wise man, had he been his own 
 *commentator on the text, would not have underrated any of 
 these things abstractly considered, for they are indeed valu^ 
 able, wlien properly accompanied, and directed to right ob- 
 jects. We are all so constituted as to desire to please, and 
 60 long as there are some things in themselves more pleasing 
 than others, you should, according to the declaration of an 
 inspired Apostle, "Covet earnestlj^ the best gifts." Your op- 
 portunities in the High School will give 3'ou advantages in 
 society beyond the less favored; but build not too much on 
 them; unsanctified learning has often proved a curse, in the 
 case of both man and woman. The best endowed, if without 
 religious principle, will be the most injurious, because pos- 
 sessed of means for doing the greatest amount of mischief. 
 And there are doubtless many, who, not having your present 
 advantages, will be of more use in the world than you, if you 
 do not employ your talents for the advancement of your Ma- 
 ker"'s glorv. But a reward is before you for doin^: riirht in 
 this matter; a woman that feareth the Lord, sJie shall be 
 praised. The favor, with which an intelligent, refined, and 
 Christian circle regards a woman, who is at once pious and 
 accomplished, cannot be deceitful. For wherein society ap- 
 preciates worth it compliments itself for its discernment, and 
 in the bestowment of countenance on merit, tends to render 
 its object more worth3^ But what is the praise, even of the 
 best of mortals, when compared with the approbation of your 
 God? This you surely will have, if you lay yourselves and 
 your acquirements at the Saviour's feet, and whether you do 
 much or little in his cause, you will be rewarded for doing 
 what you could. You will have the testimony of a good con- 
 
15 
 
 science now, and hereafter a plaudit which will be to you a 
 source of blessedness forever. Let, then, the fear of God be 
 before jour ejes, and the love of Christ rule within your 
 heart. You will then acquire a knowledge v/hich your teach- 
 ers cannot give you, to any extent, — the knowledge of your- 
 selves; the daily incidents of the school-room will tend to 
 increase that knowledge, and prepare you for action in a 
 more important field, where your works shall praise you. 
 The girl on whom the beauty of the Lord doth rest, will de- 
 velope into the lovely woman; she will become the creator of 
 a pleasant home, the centre of a circle which she will both 
 adorn and refine; a star in the constellation of worthies, each 
 of which, absorbing beams from the eternal fountain of light, 
 shall shine when every earthly glory sliall fade away. Then, 
 my young friends, be diligent in your studies, watchful over 
 your temper and conduct, both towards your teachers and 
 companions. Read much and meditate carefully on the 
 Scriptures of everlasting truth. Pray frequently and earn- 
 estly for the divine blessing in the pardon of your sins, and 
 for the bestowment of the Spirit's aid in your endeavors to 
 honor the Lord in your present pursuits. May He grant all 
 that you need, and more than I fear some of you now desire; 
 and may he crown you at last in his kingdom with his richest 
 favor: Amen. 
 
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