supported from his bed-side by two men, and it was with great difficulty that he could sit on a chair.

He was very anxious to meet once more with the session of his church, to leave them his dying charge, and bid them a last farewell. In compliance with this wish, his colleague, the elders, and deacons, with David Lindsay, one of the ministers of Leith, assembled in his room on Monday, the 17th, when he addressed them in the following words, which made a deep and lasting impression on the minds of all:"The day approaches, and is now before the door, for which I have frequently and vehemently thirsted, when I shall be released from my great labours and innumerable sorrows, and shall be with Christ. And now, God is my witness, whom I have served in the spirit in the Gospel of his Son, that I have taught nothing but the true and solid doctrine of the Gospel of the Son of God, and have had it for my only object to instruct the ignorant, to confirm the faithful, to comfort the weak, the fearful, and the distressed, by the promises of grace, and to fight against the proud and rebellious by the divine threatenings. I know that many have frequently complained, and do still loudly complain, of my too great severity; but God knows that my mind was always void of hatred to the persons of those against whom I thundered the severest judgments. I cannot deny that I felt the greatest abhorrence at the sins in which they indulged; but still I kept this one thing in view, that, if possible, I might gain them to the Lord. What influenced me to utter whatever the Lord put into my mouth so boldly, and without respect of persons, was a reverential fear of my God, who called, and of his grace appointed, me to be a steward of divine mysteries; and a belief that he will demand an account of the manner in which I have discharged the trust committed to me, when I shall stand at last before his tribunal. I profess, therefore, before God, and be fore his holy angels, that I never made merchandise of the sacred Word of God, never studied to please men, never indulged my own private passions or those of others; but faithfully distributed the talents intrusted to me for the edification of the Church over which I watched. Whatever obloquy wicked men may cast on me respecting this point, I rejoice in the testimony of a good conscience. In the meantime, my dear brethren, do you persevere in the eternal truth of the Gospel: wait diligently on the flock over which the Lord hath set you, and which he redeemed with the blood of his only begotten Son. And thou, my dearest brother Lawson, fight the good fight, and do the work of the Lord joyfully and resolutely. The Lord from on high bless you, and the whole Church of Edinburgh, against whom, as long as they persevere in the word of truth which they have heard of me, the gates of hell shall not prevail." Those who were present were filled both with joy and grief by this affecting address. After reminding him of the warfare which he had endured, and the triumph which awaited him, and joining in prayer, they took their leave of him drowned in tears.

After his interview with the session he became much worse; his difficulty of breathing increased, and he could not speak without great and obvious pain. Yet he continued still to receive persons of every rank, who came in great numbers to visit him, and suffered none to go away without advices; which he uttered with such variety and suitableness as astonished those who waited upon him.

A religious lady of his acquaintance desired him to praise God for what good he had done, and was beginning to speak in his commendation, when he interrupted her: "Tongue! tongue! lady; flesh of itself is over-proud, and needs no means to esteem itself." He put her in mind of what had been said to her long ago: "Lady, lady, the black one has never

trampit on your fute;" and exhorted her to lay aside pride, and be clothed with humility. He then protested as to himself, as he had often done before, that he relied wholly on the free mercy of God, manifested to mankind through his dear Son Jesus Christ, whom alone he embraced for wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.

On Friday the 21st, he desired Richard Bannatyne to order his coffin to be made. During that day he was much engaged in meditation and prayer. These words dropped from his lips at intervals: "Come, Lord Jesus.-Sweet Jesus, into thy hand I commend my spirit.-Be merciful, Lord, to thy Church, which thou hast redeemed.-Give peace to this afflicted commonwealth.-Raise up faithful pastors who will take the charge of thy Church.-Grant us, Lord, the perfact hatred of sin, both by the evidences of thy wrath and mercy." In the midst of his meditations, he often addressed those who stood by, in such sentences as these: "O serve the Lord in fear, and death shall not be terrible to you. Nay, blessed shall death be to those who have felt the power of the death of the only begotten Son of God."

On Sabbath the 23d (which was the first day of the national fast), during the afternoon sermon, after lying a considerable time quiet, he suddenly exclaimed: "If any be present, let them come and see the work of God." Thinking that his death was at hand, Bannatyne sent to the Church for Johnston of Elphingston. When he came to the bed-side, Knox burst out in these rapturous expressions: "I have been these two last nights in meditation on the troubled state of the Church of God, the spouse of Jesus Christ-despised of the world, but precious in the sight of God. I have called to God for her, and have committed her to her head, Jesus Christ. I have fought against spiritual wickedness in heavenly things, and have prevailed. I have been in heaven, and have possession. I have tasted of the heavenly joys where presently I am." He then repeated the Lord's Prayer and the Creed, interjecting devout aspirations between the articles of the latter.

Live!

After sermon, many came to visit him. Perceiv ing that he breathed with great difficulty, some of them asked if he felt much pain. He answered, that he was willing to lie there for years, if God so pleased, and if he continued to shine upon his soul through Jesus Christ. He slept very little; but was employed almost incessantly either in meditation, in prayer, or in exhortation: "Live in Christ. in Christ, and then flesh need not fear death.-Lord, grant true pastors to thy Church, that purity of doctrine may be retained.-Restore peace again to this commonwealth, with godly rulers and magistrates.— Once, Lord, make an end of my trouble." Then, stretching his hands towards heaven, he said: "Lord, I commend my spirit, soul, and body, and all, into thy hands. Thou knowest, O Lord, my troubles: I do not murmur against thee." His pious ejaculations were so numerous, that those who waited on him could recollect only a small portion of what he uttered; for seldom was he silent, when they were not employed in reading or in prayer.

Monday, the 24th of November, was the last day that he spent on earth. That morning he could not be persuaded to lie in bed, but, though unable to stand alone, rose between nine and ten o'clock, and put on his stockings and doublet. Being conducted to a chair, he sat about half-an-hour; and then was put to bed again. In the progress of the day, it ap peared evident that his end drew near. Besides his wife and Bannatyne, Campbell of Kinyeancleugh, Johnston of Elphingston, and Dr Preston, three of his most intimate acquaintance, sat by turns at his bed-side. Kinyeancleuch asked him if he had any pain: "It is no painful pain, but such a pain as shall

soon, I trust, put end to the battle. I must leave the care of my wife and children to you," continued he," to whom you must be a husband in my room." About three o'clock in the afternoon, one of his eyes failed, and his speech was considerably affected. He desired his wife to read the 15th chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. "Is not that a comfortable chapter?" said he, when it was finished; "O what sweet and salutary consolation the Lord has afforded me from that chapter!" A little after he said: "Now, for the last time, I commend my soul, spirit, and body (touching three of his fingers) into thy hand, O Lord." About five o'clock, he said to his wife: "Go, read where I cast my first anchor;" upon which she read the 17th chapter of John's Gospel, and afterwards a part of Calvin's sermons on the Ephesians.

After this he appeared to fall into a slumber, interrupted by heavy moans, during which the attendants looked every moment for his dissolution. But at length he awaked, as if from sleep, and being asked the cause of his sighing so deeply, replied: "I have formerly, during my frail life, sustained many contests, and many assaults of Satan; but at present he hath assailed me most fearfully, and put forth all his strength to devour and make an end of me at once. Often before has he placed my sins before my eyes-often tempted me to despair-often endeavoured to ensnare me by the allurements of the world; but these weapons were broken by the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and the enemy failed. Now he has attacked me in another way: the cunning serpent has laboured to persuade me that I have merited heaven and eternal blessedness by the faithful discharge of my ministry. But blessed be God, who has enabled me to beat down and quench this fiery dart, by suggesting to me such passages of Scripture as these: What hast thou that thou hast not received?-By the grace of God I am what I am: -Not I, but the grace of God in me.' Upon this, as one vanquished, he left me. Wherefore I give thanks to my God through Jesus Christ, who has been pleased to give me the victory; and I am persuaded that the tempter shall not again attack me, but, within a short time, I shall, without any great pain of body or anguish of mind, exchange this mortal and miserable life for a blessed immortality, through Jesus Christ."

He then lay quiet for some hours, except that now and then he desired them to wet his mouth with a little weak ale. At ten o'clock they read the even

ing prayer, which they had delayed beyond the usual hour, from an apprehension that he was asleep. After this exercise was concluded, Dr Preston asked him if he had heard the prayers. "Would to God," said he," that you and all men had heard them as I have heard them; I praise God for that heavenly sound." The doctor rose up, and Kinyeancleugh sat down before his bed. About eleven o'clock, he gave a deep sigh, and said: "Now it is come." Bannatyne immediately drew near, and desired him to think upon those comfortable promises of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which he had so often declared to others; and, perceiving that he was speechless, requested him to give them a sign that he heard them, and die in peace. Upon this he lifted up one of his hands, and, sighing twice, expired without a struggle.

THE CHRISTIAN'S GRAVE.
WHEN by a good man's grave I muse alone,
Methinks an angel sits upon the stone,
Like those of old, on that thrice hallowed night,

Who sate and watched in raiment heavenly bright;
And, with a voice inspiring joy, not fear,
Says, pointing upward, that ne is not here,
That he is risen.

ROGERS.

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EXTRACTS FROM A TRAVELLER'S NOTE-BOOK.

BY THE REV. W. K. TWEEDIE, EDINBURGH.

THE PASSES OF THE ALPS..

The Splugen Trap-The Great St Bernard-Mont BlancThe Semplon-Mont Cenis.

Como, at the lower extremity of the lake which bears its name, is the starting point for the ascent of the Splugen Alp; and that city, not often visited, but exquisitely lovely in its site, seemed, as a first impression, to realize all our anticipations from Italy. In its neighbourhood we found the fig tree, the almond, the peach, the citron, the orange, all uniting to pour their abundance into the lap of man; and, for the first time, the vine appeared in the anticipated luxuriance, clustering round every cottage, or trained to every tree, insomuch that one ceased to wonder that, in a land like this, sensual men should have made Bacchus a god.-The marble cathedral of Como is at least vast enough to be imposing; and while we walked within its gloomy precincts, and beheld the worshippers come and go, we felt more assured than ever that these children of much ignorance, and of as strong emotion, were incapable of drawing the subtle distinction by which Romanists seek to defend the worship of creatures-their dova and λargua-their inferior and superior adoration. No one that knows the heart of man, as dissected in the Bible, can doubt that vast multitudes stop short at the image-the thing that is seen-instead of rising, as is pretended, through it, to the Being that is spiritual and divine. Nothing but conversion can save men from that delusion; and when a man is converted, he will need no such auxiliaries to worship as a painting or a statue. His communion will be his adoration will be what God desires—“in spirit with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ; and and in truth."

The sail along the Lake of Como-the Larian Lake of the Romans-is another of those enjoyments which bring out, in strong relief, the transient nature of all the antiquity of half a thousand years. There is the earthly things. Here are ruined castles, grey with Villa Pliniana, the very spot where a learned Roman had his home, and perhaps recorded the thoughts on which we still love to dwell; but now-stat nominis umbra. On the slope of a neighbouring eminence is the Villa D'Este, the abode of one who claims close kindred with the Royal Family of Britain, now said to be poor and in decay, and dependant on the bounty of others. On every side, in short, all is rich or magnificent, but man. As we approach the upper end of the lake, the mountains become more decidedly Alpine; and after passing the entrance to valleys once the scenes of perfidious massacres, and likely to be so again, did any openly dare to avouch the Christian's God and the Christian's Book as theirs, we landed at the base of a mountain, shooting upwards to a height of nine thousand feet above the level of the lake. the gulfs, and bays, and islands of the lake, all made Looking back from the Riva on the scene traversed, distinct and apparently near, by the transparency of the Italian atmosphere, the thought arises in the

mind without effort-If such beauty still belong to a world where sin has wrought such havoc, how surpassing had its loveliness been had it never become polluted!

But enough is forthwith seen to check such thoughts. From the Riva where we landed, we hastened to Chiavenna, at the base of the Alp which we intended to climb; and as we traversed the valley, often devastated by torrents from the neighbouring mountains, we saw that, along the borders of the streams, chapels had been reared by superstition, in the hope that the Virgin, or the saint thus honoured, would prevent the floods from spreading their devastations over the fields. Though these structures were wisely reared just by the extreme edge of the more ordinary inundations, the wide-spread debris made it all too plain that the temples were not respected by the waters-such talismans had no more power than the word of Canute over the flowing tide. If superstition were devotion, this valley were an Eden; but its people are poor and goitrous; so that the decrepitude of man contrasts strangely here with the luxuriance of nature. Even the richness that fringes the Lake of Como cannot in reality counteract, to the extent of a sandgrain, the misery of which man, as a sinner, is the heir. The remedy for that is thus prescribed: "In ME is thy help found."

The repose of the Sabbath was refreshing both to the body and the soul, after the constant excitements of the week. We found, however, that Popery was the sole religion known to exist in the commune of Chiavenna. The versatile Paul Verger, and others, at the time of the Reformation, became the pastors of that town and district; and for a season the truth found a welcome there. But schisms, wars, and persecutions again drove it thence; and it must return, ere the town rise from its present state of mental bondage and civil vassalage, under the rule of Austria and the spiritual despotism of the Pope. It is true now, as of old" I beheld, and there was no man; . . . . there was no counsellor that, when I asked, could answer a word. Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing; their molten images wind and confusion."

The ascent of the Splugen Trap is now an easy task, in consequence of the route constructed over the mountain in 1818-1822. The highest level of the pass is six thousand five hundred and thirteen feet above that of the sea; but from Chiavenna to the village of Splugen, in the Grisons, the distance is about twenty-four miles, so numerous are the windings of the path. The highest peak of the mountain is nine thousand eight hundred and forty-five feet, and there winter is perpetual; but only on a small portion of the road is the traveller impeded by snow. At certain seasons of the year avalanches and landslips occasion danger; but at others, all the grandeur of that sterile region may be explored without even inconvenience. From the southern ascent, we saw, as at our feet, the scene of one of those catastrophes not uncommon in this wild land. The village of Piuri, containing two thousand four hundred and thirty people, stood on the southern declivity, or rather on one of the spurs of the mountain. A landslip, that is, an avalanche of rock and earth, detached from the overhanging mountain of Conto by the

percolation of water rending the rock, descended, and in an instant literally buried Piuri out of sight. On the 4th of September 1618, between two and three thousand people dwelt securely there; on the night between that and the 5th, they were overwhelmed in the twinkling of an eye-only three of the inhabitants escaped! A forest of chestnut trees now grows where that fated village stood; and the masses of rock, themselves a little mountain, forbade every attempt at excavation. At Rossberg, between Zug and Schweitz, we had seen a similar scene; but there the crackling on the mountain gave warning for weeks before of what was to come. Men flocked, however, to witness the descent when it should take place; among others, a wedding party were there when the land-slip occurred. Four hundred and fifty-seven souls, in spite of all their warnings, were crowded to their last account; and of the married couple, one was taken and the other left.

The water-fall of Pianazzo, in the Valley of S. Jiacomo, near the summit of this pass, is estimated at eight hundred feet, and is therefore next to the Staubach-among the loftiest in Europe; but it is one of the scenes which description has exaggerated. At no great distance, a portion of the French army of reserve, which passed the Splugen when Bonaparte crossed the St Bernard, suffered much from avalanches and whirlwinds, and found only a grave among the glaciers, while they were seeking glory in the butchery of their fellow-men. One man pants for military fame, and ten thousand die to purchase it; and mad as all this is, the great of earth will have it so.

The descent of the mountain on the north offers nothing peculiar, except the wild grandeur of the district; and, before the sun went down, we were again in Switzerland. We had been at this time only about one hundred and seventy hours in the LombardoVenetian territory of the Emperor of Austria; yet in that brief period our passports were thrice examined-our names, ages, professions, and designs in travelling twice reported to the police--our baggage searched again and again, and our books regarded with an eye of special suspicion. We had to wait thrice on the custom-house officers, to explain our objects and answer questions; and were once threatened to be sent out of the territory by the route by which we entered it, because some functionary had neglected to attach his name to our passports. This lynx-eyed surveillance is rigidly kept up at station after station; and more than once those with whom we conversed declined communication with us, lest their conduct should be watched and reported. In a civil point of view, this is abundantly harassing; but a Christian does not deplore it merely on that account. The countries which are thus, in effect, under military government, and all but martial law, are hermetically sealed against the entrance of the truthany voice lifted up to proclaim the believer's liberty without compromise would be instantly silenced; and though the Over-ruler will work, and none can hinder, | yet, looking at the continental, and especially the Italian states, the period seems indefinitely distant when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ. And yet the very route which we have traversed is helping

on that result, by facilitating intercourse; and the feeling of dissatisfaction will increase the force of the reaction when the set time has come. There are men there, even now, to whom the Bible is precious; while multitudes are hungering and thirsting for they know not what. We have no doubt that the introduction of the Scriptures among them would ignite the dry materials and perhaps cause a tremendous explosion. But when will the Scriptures, in any adequate quantity, be introduced? Shall we hazard prediction in reply? In the train of the next war. We see no other human means equal to the task of unlocking Italy.

Arrived in Switzerland again, the Rheinwald became the scene of our wanderings for a little. The "Epic River" takes its rise in that region, and a pilgrimage to its fountains is an adventure which none should visit those mountains without making. It is not fed from springs like the Nile, so that no ecstasy could be ours, like that of Bruce when he stood by the source of the riches of Egypt. Glaciers, and snows that never wholly melt, give rise to the Rhine; and far up, towards its source, there are many places where we could leap across the stream. The region is one of perfect sterility and "thick-ribbed ice;" for the sides of the mountains are covered with glaciers which stretch from the summit well-nigh to the base. No more appropriate fountain-head could be found for so majestic a stream, and no solitude more deep or unbroken-the bleat of the timid chamois, or the cry of the scared marmot, is the only sound that disturbs the silence, when the tempest is at

rest.

We followed the course downward, and gradually descended to the country where legend blends its fictions with the truths of history, to give interest to the canton. The dismantled towers of brigand chiefs, perched on the summit of every eminence along the river, tell that in other lands besides the East, every man's hand may be against his brother; and carry back one's thoughts to the times when this whole country was under the control of men scarcely less wild than the chamois, the lynxes, and the wolves, which are stil the tenants of those mountains and forests. In the canton of the Grisons alone, which we were now traversing, one hundred and eighty castles in ruins have been counted. The language of the district is multiform; for German, Italian, and Romansch are spoken. The last-mentioned is a dialect peculiar, it is said, to this province, and has been preserved, we are told, for twenty-four centuries, for the most part unprinted, yet unaltered, among the primitive people who inhabit the uplands. Their religion is not more simple than their speech; for the Popish and the Protestant are strangely blent; and while the churches of the one are daubed or consecrated by the figure of the Virgin, or some other household god, those of the other are rudely inscribed with Scriptural devices. At Coire, where the Reformation secured, and still maintains, a footing, though checked by the anomalous dialects of the country, it has rectified in some degree the grossness of Popery; for we noticed near it the following inscription, monkish at once in its religion and Latinity, though more orthodox than many in higher quarters:

55

Effigiem Christi, quum transis, semper honora; } Non effigiem, sed quem signat, semper adora. Were it our object to trace the course of the river, the baths of Pfeffers, Ragatz, Sargans, the Lake of Wallenstadt (an inexpressibly magnificent scene), Glarus, and other places, might all detain us long. We must, however, hasten on only stopping to comment on the strange aspect which religion wears in the cantons of St Gall and Glarus, where Popery and Protestantism are equally the religion of the State. Much has been said regarding the harmony with which the two systems are there found to coalesce. But the truth is, as far as our observations and inquiries reached, the adherents of neither system appear seriously to regard their nominal tenets. Popery and Protestantism are so completely opposed, that it is not possible for the two to combine, except at the sacrifice of all that is vital in the latter. At Glarus, in particular, were these convictions forced upon our mind. A compromise has here been struck between the systems; the acid and the alkali have met, and all that is pure and spiritual seems to have been thoroughly neutralized. In the principal church of that little capital, we saw the most preposterous efforts made to harmonize the worship of Jehovah with that of images. The Protestants and Romanists use the same temple at different hours. The crucifix, which is unusually large, employed by the latter, is raised to the ceiling, and thus placed nearly out of sight, while the former are assembled for worship; but its appearance, thus suspended in the air, is grotesquely ludicrous. The whole aspect of religion here reminds one of the men in the East who are said to attend mosque on Friday and church on Sunday, expecting to be acknowledged by the true prophet at the last, as they cannot, in the meantime, determine between the claims of God our Saviour and the impostor of Mecca. But death makes men decided and earnest, and however the Protestants and Romanists may unite in life, they are carefully separated when they die. Their dust does not commingle, for they bury in separate compartments of the cemetery around the common church. The "bland amalgamation of the grave" is not known at Glarus-an emblem this of the eternal separation of truth from error.

REASONS FOR BELIEF.

WHAT am I? and from whence? I nothing know
But that I am; and since I am, conclude
Something eternal. Had there e'er been nought,
Nought still had been: eternal there must be.
But what eternal? Why not human race,
And Adam's ancestors without an end?
That's hard to be conceived; since every link
Of that long chained succession is so frail;
Can every part depend and not the whole?
Yet grant it true; new difficulties rise;
Whence earth and these bright orbs?-Eternal too?
Grant matter was eternal; still these orbs
Would want some other father: much design
Is seen in all their motions, all their makes;
Design implies intelligence and art;
That can't be from themselves, or man: that art
Man scarce can comprehend, could man bestow?
And nothing greater yet allowed than man.
Who motion, foreign to the smallest grain,