cold winter day? It has perished utterly long ago. Its happiness passed away like a dream. Dear children, do you recollect of seeing the bee--the little busy bee-in the warm weather of summer? A plain, humble, little creature it seemed. Did you observe it, like the butterfly, passing from flower to flower? Did you ever think of the difference between them-how the one was visiting the flowers chiefly for amusement-the other as an industrious labourer ? And where is the industrious little bee on this cold winter day? Safe and warm in its cell, feeding on the honey which its summer's industry did lay up in store, and waiting for the return of the bright sunny days of summer.

Now, dear children, tell me whether would you wish to be like the butterfly or the bee? Would you wish to flutter about in gaiety and play, thoughtless of the future, till the cold embrace of the grave separate you for ever from the things in which you delight-thus resembling the once gay, and once beautiful, but now perished butterfly? Or, would you not rather like to be fitted for usefulness, and to be actively and usefully employed, that you may lay up stores of enjoyment for that season when the present state of things hath passed away; thus resembling the little bee, in sunimer busy and industrious, and now in winter enjoying the fruits of her industry? May the Lord be with you, dear children, to enable you to choose that good part which shall never be taken from you! May Jesus, the good shepherd, gather you, the lambs, with his arm, and carry you in his bosom !

THE CHRISTIAN'S CREED.
I own no GOD Most High but One,
The TRIUNE Majesty,
The co-eternal Father, Son,
And Spirit, One in Three.

I own no Advocate with GOD

But Christ, from GOD who came;
Close by His Cross apostles trod,
And publicans the same.

I own no Guide to Christ but Him,
Who from the Son proceeds;

Our strength how frail, our sight how dim,
Till GOD the Spirit leads!

I own no good in guilty man,
Nought in my flesh but ill;

I serve not, choose not, Christ, nor can,
Till Christ convert my will.

I own salvation all of Grace,
Remission but by Blood,
And faith's sole power my heart to place
Beneath the cleansing Flood.

I own one Body-Christ the Head;
One Spirit-through the whole,
By GOD, who raised Him from the dead,
Breathed as a quickening soul:
One Gospel-Hope; one Lord; one Trust;
One Sign of death to sin;
One GOD and Father of the just,
Above, amongst, within.

I count each Church-its SYMBOLS, songs,
Communion, Elders-mine;
To all, in my charm'd sight, belongs
Th' identity Divine.

A hundred banners, once unfurl'd,
Show the same Crown inwove;
Now hail! ye conquerors of the world,
Omnipotent in love!

I own, that light is shrined in heaven,
-That, Lord, our heaven art Thoa,
-That heaven is open'd, Thou art given,
In gleams and glimpses, now.

I own, that heaven-lit joy and love
Through holy works must shine;
But still our right to palms above
Is from above-'tis THINE.

Yes, this my first and final faith,
The Gospel I profess;

This hope in death the righteous hath-
THY Death-wrought Righteousness!

My thoughts may range o'er truth, or roam
Where doubts and conflicts toss,--
But ever, as the dove flies home,
Light last upon the Cross.

Naked as now of human boast,

When I have reach'd my grave, Then, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Me, chief of sinners, save!

Highgate-Rise, near London.

531

W. M. BUNTING.

THE APPROACH TO JERUSALEM. (From Warburton's "Crescent and the Cross.") OUR path necessitated one perpetual climb, scramble, or slide; slippery rocks, yawning into deep fissures, or so round and smooth as to render firm footing impossible, constituted the only road. this has been, for four thousand years, the highway between Jerusalem and the western plains that border on the sea. Chariots never could have been used here; and it would be impossible for cavalry to act, or even to advance against a hostile force.

Yet

The scenery resembled that of the wildest glens of Scotland, only that here the grey crags were thickly tufted with aromatic shrubs, and, instead of the pine, the sycamore, the olive, and the palm, shaded the mountain's side.

We passed by the village of Jeremiah and "the Terebinthine Vale." In the last we recognise the scene of David's combat with Goliath, and its little brook still sparkles here as freshly as when he picked pebbles thence to fight the Philistine. Generally speaking, the river beds were as dry as the path we trod; and this was the only stream but one that I saw between Jaffa and the Jordan. A large caravan was assembled on its banks, with all its picturesque variety of laden camels, mules with gay trappings, mountain cavaliers with turban and embroidered vest, veiled women on donkeys, half-naked Arabs with long spears, dwellers in cities with dark kaftan, or furred pelisse. All, however various their nation, profession, or appearance, were eagerly quaffing the precious stream, or waiting under "the shadow of a high rock" for the caravan to proceed.

The hills became more and more precipitous as

we approached Jerusalem; most of them were of a conical form, and terraced to their summit. Yet on these steep acciivities the strenuous labour of the Israelite had formerly grown corn, and wine, and oil; and on the terraces that remained uninjured the few present inhabitants still plant wheat, and vineyards, and olive groves. There was no appearance of water, except the inference that might be drawn of wells within the few villages that hung upon the mountains' side.

The pathway continued as rough as ever, while we wound through the rocky defiles leading to the upper plains; but it was much more frequented, and I had joined a large and various company, for the sake of listening to their talk about the city that now absorbed every other interest. At each acclivity we surmounted, we were told that the next would reveal to us the object of our destination; and at length, as we emerged upon a wide and sterile plain, the leading pilgrims sank upon their knees-a contagious shout of enthusiasm burst from the excited wanderers; and every man of that large company-Arab, Italian, Greek, and Englishman-exclaimed, each in his own tongue: "El Khuds!" "Gerusalemma!" "Hagiopolis!" "The Holy City!"

It was indeed Jerusalem; and had the Holy City risen before us in its palmiest days of magnificence and glory, it could not have created deeper emotion, or been gazed at more earnestly and with intenser interest.

So long the object of eager hope and busy imagination, it stood before me at length in actual realitythe city of David, the chosen seat of God, the deathplace of his Son, the object of the world's pilgrimage for two thousand years! All its history, so strangely blended with holiness and crime, with prosperity and desolation, with triumph and despair, and a thousand associations, came thronging into recollection, peopling its towers and surrounding plains with the scenes and actors of eventful years.

The whole cavalcade paused simultaneously when Jerusalem appeared in view; the greater number fell upon their knees and laid their foreheads in the dust, whilst a profound silence, more impressive than the loudest exclamations, prevailed over all; even the Moslems gazed reverently on what was to them also a holy city, and recalled to mind the pathetic appeal of their forefather: "Hast thou not a blessing for me also, O my father?"

When the Crusading army, thinned by pestilence, privation, and many a battle-field, gazed upon the view before us, that warrior-host knelt down as a single man; sobs burst from their mailed bosoms, and tears streamed down their rugged cheeks. Those tears, and not the blood so profusely shed upon the plains of Palestine, were the true evidences of the Crusading spirit.

Apart from all associations, the first view of Jerusalem is a most striking one. A brilliant and unchequered sunshine has something mournful in it, when all that it shines upon is utterly desolate and drear. Not a tree or green spot is visible; no sign of life breaks the solemn silence; no smile of Nature's gladness ever varies the stern scenery around. The flaming, monotonous sunshine above, and the pale, distorted, rocky wastes beneath, realize but too faithfully the prophetic picture: "Thy sky shall be brass, and thy land shall be iron." To the right and left, as far as the eye can reach, vague undulations of colourless rocks extend to the horizon. A broken and desolate plain in front is bounded by a wavy, battlemented wall, over which towers frown, and minarets peer, and mosque-domes swell, intermingled with church-turret, and an indistinguishable mass of terraced roofs. High over the city, to the left, rises the Mount of Olives; and the distant hills of Moab,

almost mingling with the sky, afford a background to the striking picture.

There was something startlingly new and strange in that wild, shadowless landscape. The clear outlines of the hills, and the city walls-80 colourless, yet so well defined against the naked sky-gave to the whole a most unreal appearance; it resembled rather an immense mezzotinto engraving, than anything which Nature and Nature's complexion had to do with. I am not sure that this stern scenery did not present the only appearance that would not disappoint expec tation. It is unlike anything else on earth-so blank to the eye, yet so full of meaning to the heart. Every mountain round is familiar to the memory-even yon blasted fig tree has its voice; and the desolation that surrounds us bears silent testimony to fearful expe riences. The plain upon which we stand looks like the arena of deadly struggles in times gone bystruggles in which all the mighty nations of the earth took part, and in which Nature herself seems to have shared.

Each of our party had waited for the other to finish his devotions, and seemed to respect each pilgrim's feelings with a Christian courtesy, perhaps inspired by the spot. At length all had risen from their genuflections and prostrations, and we moved slowly for ward over the rugged yet slippery path which human feet had worn in the solid rock. Countless had been the makers of that path-Jebusites, Hebrews, Chaldeans, Assyrians, Egyptians, Romans, Saracens, Crusaders, and pilgrims from every country under heaven. As we advanced, some olive trees appeared, and deep valleys on the left, slightly marked with pale green gardens. An enclosure concealed the prospect for awhile, and then again the City of Zion appeared, shadowing with its battlemented walls the barren rocks around. As we approached, nothing but these walls were visible, presenting probably, with their massive gates and lofty towers, the same appearance as they wore to the Crusaders' view. Here and there a turbaned head was visible, and the crescent banner was waving from David's Tower; a few tents-green, white, and blue-were scattered round, as if forsaken in a hurry; and all else looked as if it had been laid waste in order to afford no shelter to an

enemy.

I had always pictured to myself Jerusalem as standing upon lofty hills, and visible from afar. It is, on the contrary, on the edge of the wide platform by which we approach from Jaffa, and is commanded by the Mount of Olives, the Hill of Scopas, and other eminences, from which it is divided by the deep and narrow ravines called the Valley of Jehoshaphat, and the Vale of Hinnom. These ravines meet in the form of a Y, the lower part of which describes the preci pitous glen through which the brook Kedron flows in winter to the Dead Sea.

The site of the city is in itself unique. Selected' originally from the strength of its position only, it offers none of the features usually to be found sur rounding the metropolis of a powerful people. No river nor any stream flows by-no fertility surrounds it-no commerce seems able to approach its walls-ro thoroughfare of nations finds it in the way. It seems to stand apart from the world, exempt from its pas sions, its ambitions, and even its prosperity. Like the high priest who once ministered in its temple, it stands solitary and removed from all secular influences, and receives only those who come to wor ship at its mysteries. All the other cities of the earth are frequented by votaries of gain, science, luxury, or glory. Zion offers only privations to the pilgrim's body, solemn reflection for his thoughts. awe for his soul; her palaces are ruins, her hotels are dreary convents, her chief boast and triumph is a tomb.

THE ASS.

(From Parton's "Illustrations of Scripture.") As a beast of burden, the ass is of considerable value, particularly in the Oriental regions. Of all animals, Buffon observes, the ass is perhaps the one which, in proportion to its size, can carry the greatest weight. To this important circumstance one of its names in Hebrew refers. The great muscular strength of this animal was strikingly displayed in the reign of David, on a very memorable occasion. When that renowned monarch was driven from his capital by the rebellion of an unnatural son, Ziba, the treacherous servant of Mephibosheth, sent him "a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine;" and yet this load, so disproportionate to their size, did not seem to have fatigued them greatly, for immediately on their arrival they were employed to carry the king's

household.

The ancient Israelites, and other Eastern nations, very often availed themselves of the services of this athletic and submissive animal in the carriage of goods. When the sons of Jacob went down into Egypt to purchase corn for the use of their families, they took with them no other beast of burden, although their father was the proprietor of many camels. That country was already in possession of an excellent breed of horses, yet when Joseph sent a present of its "good things" to his venerable parent, he made choice of the ass to carry them. In the course of ages, when affairs of state, or mercantile transactions, required greater despatch, and more attention to economy, the prodigious strength, of the camel gradually superseded the inferior power and patient industry of the ass; yet, in the days of Isaiah, we find him still keeping his place among beasts of burden, and even joined with the camel in carrying to Egypt the costly presents with which the King of Judah endeavoured to conciliate the mind of Pharaoh, and procure his powerful aid against the hostile armies of Assyria. "They will Carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them"-"that shall not be able to prevent the ravaging of their country, the capture of their fortified places, and the siege of their capital."

The ass is not more remarkable for his power to sustain, than for his patience and tranquillity when oppressed by an unequal load. Like the camel, he quietly submits to the heaviest burden; he bears it peaceably till he can proceed no farther; and when his strength fails him, instead of resisting or endeavouring to throw off the oppressive weight, he contentedly lies down, and rests himself under it, recruits his vigour with the provender that may be offered him, and then, at the call of his master, proceeds on his journey. To this trait in the character of that useful animal the dying patriarch evidently refers, when, under the afflatus of inspiration, he predicts the future lot and conduct of Issachar and his descendants: "Issachar is a strong ass, couching down between two burdens. And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant mto tribute." This tribe, naturally dull and stupid, should, like the creature by which they were characterized, readily submit to the vilest master and the meanest service. Although, like the ass, possessed of ability, if properly exerted and rightly directed, to shake off the inglorious yoke of servitude, they would basely submit to the insults of the Phoenicians

533

on the one hand, and the Samaritans on the other. Issachar was a strong ass, "able," says a sprightly writer, "to refuse a load as well as bear it; but like the passive drudge which symbolized him, he preferred inglorious ease to the resolute vindication of his liberty; a burden of tribute, to the gains of a just and well regulated freedom; and a yoke of bondage, to the doubtful issues of war."

The Oriental husbandman was not less indebted to this creature for his services than the statesman and the merchant. The ox and the ass laboured together in the cultivation of the same field, and submitted their necks to the same yoke. To these facts the Prophet Isaiah evidently refers, in the following prediction: "The oxen likewise, and the young asses, that ear (or till) the ground, shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan." In these words he foretells a season of great plenty, when the cattle shall be fed with corn better in quality, separated from the chaff, and (as the term rendered clean in our version properly signifies) acidulated, in order to render it more grateful to their taste. The evangelist clearly refers to the practice, which was common in every part of Syria, of ploughing with the ass, when he calls him upozugion-a creature subject to the yoke. In rice grounds, which require to be flooded, the ass was employed to prepare them for the seed, by treading thein with his feet. It is to this method of preparing the ground that Chardin supposes the prophet to allude when he says: "Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass." They shall be blessed under the future reign of the promised Messiah. In times anterior to his appearing, their country was to be made a desolation; briers and thorns were to encumber their fields; their sumptuous dwellings were to be cast down; their cities and strongholds levelled with the dust. But when Messiah commences his reign, times of unequalled prosperity shall begin their career. The goodness of Jehovah shall descend in fertilizing showers, to irrigate their fields and to swell the streams which the skill and industry of the husbandman conducts among his plantations, or with which he covers his rice grounds. Secure from the ruinous incursions of aliens, and in the sure hope of an abundant harvest, he shall scatter his rice on the face of the superincumbent water, and tread it into the miry soil with "the feet of the ox and the ass." Prosperous and happy himself, he will consider it his duty, and feel it his delight, "to do good and to con municate"-to succour the widow and the fatherless -to open his doors to the stranger-to diffuse around him the light of truth, and to swell, by the diligent and prudent use of all the means that Providence has brought within his reach, the sum of human enjoyment.

In the sandy fields of Syria and Egypt, where deep ploughing, by draining off the moisture necessary to vegetation, would be hurtful, a single ass is occasionally seen drawing the plough. The implement employed is made to correspond with the strength of the animal; it is so light "that a man of moderate strength," says Dr Russel, "may easily carry it with one hand. A little cow, or at most two, and sometimes only an ass, is sufficient to draw it." But this is only done in very light soils; where the ground is stiffer, and a deeper furrow required, two beasts are yoked together in one plough. In Syria, where the distinction been clean and unclean beasts did not exist, and where unnatural associations were disregarded, they very often joined an ox and an ass in the same yoke. But the law of Moses prohibited, by an express statute, such incongruous mixtures: "Thou shalt not plough with an ox and ass together." The chosen people might employ them both in tilling