father's rigid discipline; that alone restrained him from rushing into excess of wickedness and riot. But the father died, and the poor widow had to combat with the waywardness of her boy alone. No, not alone; she sought the help of her heavenly Father.

Her son, however, soon grew worse, and resolved to leave her, and go to sea. A ship was obtained for him. The bustle of preparation began, and was over. Unknown to the youth, the good mother placed a Bible in his chest, with a secret hope and fervent prayer that its light might lead him to his heavenly Father, when he should be far off on the deep blue sea. Many were the prayers that the mother offered for the son, many the counsels that she gave him from the fulness of her heart.

The day of separation came. Oh! it was a day of trial to all but him, who was the cause of the family's sadness. Warm were the tears the mother shed, as, pressing him to her bosom, she bade him farewell, and commended his wayward heart to God. Many years had passed, and the wanderer had not returned. The ship had perished at sea, and the widow mourned for her son, as though he had been dead; and, what was worse, she trembled for the safety of his undying soul. Could she have been assured of his happiness in a better world, her pained heart would have been at rest; but she wept as if he had been doubly lost.

It was a stormy night in midwinter; the wind howled, the rain poured down in torrents, and deep darkness obscured the sky. The widow and her children sat beside the winter fireside, and a chastened cheerfulness overspread the circle; though now and then a cloud of melancholy gathered over the mother's brow, as the driving storm reminded her of her lost son; when a slight tap came to the door. It was opened. A sailor stood there, wayworn and weather-beaten. He begged a shelter from the storm. It was not in the mother's heart to refuse a sailor on such a night, and she offered him her fireside and her food. When he had refreshed himself, she questioned him as to his history. His tale was soon told. He had been shipwrecked, and was going home, poor and penniless, to his mother. He had been shipwrecked once before.

The widow asked him to give her the account of his sufferings. He said that in a violent storm the ship ran ashore, and went to pieces. The crew were either drowned or dashed to death against the rocks. Himself and another were the only persons who reached the shore. They were thrown high upon the beach by a powerful wave. His companion was senseless at first, but at length revived, alas! but to die. "He was a sweet youth," the sailor observed. “Once he had been the terror of the ship, for his excessive devotion to vice, but suddenly he changed. He became a serious, praying man, as remarkable for piety as he had been for vice.

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When he had revived a little on the beach," said the sailor," he pulled a Bible from his bosom, and pressed it to his lips. It was this blessed book, he told me, that led him to change his way of life. Rummaging his chest one day, he found a Bible; his first impression was to throw it away, but chancing to see his mother's writing, he paused to examine it. It was his name. It made him think of his mother, of her instructions, and of his teacher at school; and then he saw his sins, and felt he was a sinner. Overwhelmed, he sunk upon his knees beside his chest, and wept, and prayed, and vowed to change his way of life. And he did change it, for he became a decided Christian. After telling me about his change," continued the sailor, "he gave me his Bible, and bade me keep it for his sake; and then, falling back upon the sand, he expired, with a half-offered prayer upon his lips."

As the sailor concluded, the widow, who had listened with a deep interest and feeling, inquired, "Have you that Bible, my friend?"

"Yes, madam," said he, and he took from his bosom what appeared to be a bunch of old canvass. He at last produced a small pocket Bible, and gave it into her hands. Tremblingly and hastily she seized it; and turning to the blank page, lo! her child's name, in her own hand-writing, was there. A death-like paleness overspread her usually pale check, as she made the discovery, and she exclaimed, ""Tis his! 'tis his!-my son! my son!" Nature could bear no more, and she fainted. Her prayers were heard, and answered; for her son was dead, but behold! he is alive for evermore. It is true she saw him no more on earth, but she could look, by faith, into the land afar off, and see his glorified spirit near the King in his beauty. Like the prodigal son, he had wandered far from God, and far from peace; but the eye of his mother's God was over him in all his wanderings, and her prayers were answered, in leading her wandering boy to the chart of salvation and heaven.

LYING WONDERS. (From Turnbull's Travels in Italy, quoted in Dowling's History of Romanism.)

I was much struck, both in France and Italy, but particularly in Italy, with the extreme superstition of the Catholic Church. Accounts of miracles the most grotesque and absurd are retailed by the priests and circulated among the people. The most of these are performed by the Virgin Mary, who is the presiding genius, and, one may say, the goddess of the Catholics. Her image is to be seen everywhere, in churches and in private houses. It is worn as an amulet by priests and people, and the most extravagant things are said of her glory and power, and the most marvellous accounts given of the miracles performed by her agency. I read several of these stories in Italian pamphlets or tracts, and heard many of them from

the lips of apparently intelligent priests. Relics of dead saints, known only to the Catholic Church, and even of Christ and his apostles, are to be seen in many of the Catholic churches, and many wonderful stories are told of their miraculous powers.

In the Church of San Gennaro, or St. Januarius, in Naples, the blood of the patron saint is kept in a vial, and liquefied once or twice a year, to the great edification and delight of the faithful. A picture in Liniature of the Virgin Mary is shown in the church of the Augustines (I think that is the name) in Bologna, painted by St. Luke! It is said that the brazen serpent, or a piece of it, is shown in the church of St. Ambrose at Milan; and a gentleman informed me, that even in the church of St. John Lateran, in Rome, they show the table on which our Lord partook of the Last Supper.

The holy stairs, visited by so many pilgrims, and which they ascend on their knees, are composed, according to the Catholics, of the steps up which our Saviour walked to Pilate's judgment-hall; and the pilgrims are often seen kissing the spots said to be blessed" with the sweat of his sacred feet. The water which flows from the rock in the dungeon of the Carcere Mamertina, in which Paul and Peter are said to have been confined, is sold to pilgrims, as possessing most marvellous properties. Mr. Neale and I drank of the water, having paid the requisite sum. Tradition says it was miraculously brought from the rock, before dry, by the Apostle Peter: hence its great value. Large sums of money are made annually by the sale of such holy water, and in other ways which appeal directly to the grossest superstition of the people.

You frequently see persons prostrate before images, and in a state of the greatest apparent devotion, even if those images are formed out of materials taken from heathen temples. At Pisa I saw several females prostrate before the statues of Adam and Eve. The celebrated statue of St. Peter, in the Church of St.

Peter at Rome, the toe of which is almost literally kissed away, was originally a statue of Jupiter, taken from the Capitol. Many of the altars, ornaments, and so forth, in the churches, are entirely heathen in their origin and appearance. Naked forms in marble abound in all the churches. Many of the vases used for baptismal purposes, and those containing the holy water, were anciently used for similar purposes in the days of heathenism. Nothing struck me with more force than incidental circumstances like these, as indicating the gross ignorance, credulity, superstition, and dishonesty abounding in the

Catholic Church.

St. Januarius is the protector of Naples in Italy; his blood is preserved in a small bottle at the altar of the church of the same name. It is believed by every Neapolitan, that the liquefaction of that blood is an indication of grace and mercy to the inhabitants of the city, as well as to private individuals who approach in faith to the saint. At the time when Napoleon invaded Italy, suppressing the convents and nunneries, carrying the priests and their riches

to France, the few who remained were, as a matter of course, not very loyal to the emperor. They agitated in secret; whispered in the confessionals into. the ears of the Lazzaroni, that "St. Januarius is dis pleased with the conduct of the invaders—that his blood did not boil during the whole time the ungodly French soldiers occupied the kingdom of Naples." On the day of the celebration of high mass, the blood of Januarius was exposed to the adoration of the people; but it would not boil, not even liquefy. The spies of the French immediately informed the commander of the troops of the imminent danger of the rising of the populace, who, without delay, gave orders that the whole army should occupy the prin cipal streets of the city. Two cannons were planted

before the door of the Church of St. Januarius, and at the different corners of the streets, with lighted matches, and a special order to the vicar of the bishops, who celebrated the mass, "That if in ten minutes St. Januarius should not perform his usual miracle, the whole city would be reduced to ruins;" and in five minutes the saint was pacified-his blood was liquefied and boiled. The "gloria in excelsis" was sung, the shouts of joy re-echoed in the air, and the French rejoiced with them, but not the disappointed priests.

RULES FOR READING.

As many fish and catch nothing, so many read good books and get nothing, because they read them over cursorily, slightly, superficially. But he that would read to profit, must then,

First, Read, and look up for a blessing. (1 Cor. iii. 6, 7.) Paul may plant, and Apollos may water; but all will be to no purpose, except the Lord give the increase. God must do the deed, when all is done, or else all that is done will do you no good. If you would have this work successful and effectual, you must look off from man, and look up to God, who alone can make it a blessing to you. As without a blessing from heaven thy clothes cannot warm thee, nor thy food nourish thee, nor physic cure thee, nor friends comfort thee; so without a blessing from heaven, without the precious breathings and influences of the Spirit, what here is done will do you no good, it will not turn to your account in the day of Christ, and therefore cast an eye heavenwards. It is Seneca's observation, that the husbandmen in Egypt never look up to heaven for rain in the time of drought, but look after the overflowing of the banks of the Nile as the only cause of their plenty. Ah! how many are there in these days, who, when they go to read a book, never look after the rain of God's blessings, but only look to the River Nile. They only look to the wit, the learning, the arts, the parts, the eloquence, &c., of the author--they never look so high as heaven; and hence it comes to pass, that though these read much, yet they profit little. and meditate. Meditation is the food of your souls: Secondly, He that would read to profit, must read it is the very stomach and natural heat whereby spiritual truths are digested. A man shall as soon live without his heart, as he shall be able to get good by what he reads without meditation. "Prayer," saith Bernard, "without meditation, is dry and formal; and reading without meditation is useless and unprofitable." He that would be a wise, a prudent, and able experienced statesman, must not easily ramble and run over many cities, countries, customs,

laws, and manners of people, without serious musing and pondering upon such things as may make him an expert statesman; so he that would get good by reading, that would complete his knowledge, and perfect his experience in spiritual things, must not slightly and hastily ramble and run over this book or that, but ponder upon what he reads, as Mary pondered the saying of the angel in her heart. "Lord," saith Austine, "the more I meditate on thee, the sweeter thou art to me." So the more you shall meditate on the following matter, the sweeter it will be to you. They usually thrive best who meditate most. Meditation is a soul-fattening duty, it is a grace-strengthening duty, it is a duty-crowning duty. Gerson calls meditation the nurse of prayer; Hierom calls it his paradise: Basil calls it the treasury where all the graces are locked up; Theophylact calls it the very gate and portal by which we enter into glory; and Aristotle, though a Heathen, placeth felicity in the contemplation of the mind. You may read much, and hear much, yet without meditation you will never be excellent you will never be an eminent Christian.

Thirdly, Read, and try what thou readest. Take nothing upon trust, but all upon trial, as those noble Bereans did. (1 John iv. 10; Acts xvii. 10, 11.) You will try, and tell, and weigh gold, though it be handed to you by your fathers; and so should you all those heavenly truths that are handed to you by your spiritual fathers. I hope, upon trial, you will find nothing but what will hold weight in the balance of the sanctuary; and though all be not gold that glisters, yet I judge that you will find nothing here to glister that will not be found, upon trial, to be true gold.

Fourthly, Read and do, read and practise what you read, or else all your reading will do you no good. He that hath a good book in his hand, but not a lesson of it in his heart or life, is like an ass that carrieth a rich burden, and feeds upon thistles. In divine account, a man knows no more than he doth. Profession without practice will but make a man twice told a child of darkness. To speak well is to sound like a cymbal, but to do well is to act like an angel. He that practiseth what he reads and understands, God will help him to understand what he understands not. (John vii. 16; Ps. cxix. 98-100. There is no fear of knowing too much, though there is much fear in practising too little. The most doing man shall be the most knowing man; the mightiest man in practice, will, in the end, prove the mightiest man in Scripture. Theory is the guide of practice, and practice is the life of theory. Salvian relates how the Heathen did reproach some Christians, who by their lewd lives made the Gospel of Christ to be a reproach: "Where," said they, "is that good law which they do believe? Where are those rules of godliness which they do learn? They read the holy Gospel, and yet are unclean! They hear the apostles' writings, and yet live in drunkenness! They follow Christ, and yet disobey Christ! They profess a holy law, and yet lead impure lives!" Ah! how many preachers may take up sad complaints against many readers in these days? They read our works, and yet in their lives they deny our works! they praise our works, and yet in their conversations they reproach our works! They cry up our labours in their discourses, and yet they cry them down in their practices. Yet I hope better things of you, into whose hands this treatise shall fall. The Samaritan woman (John iv. 7) did not fill her pitcher with water, that she might talk of it, but that she might use it; and Rachel did not desire the mandrakes to hold in her hand (Gen. xxx. 15), but that she might thereby be the more apt to bring forth. The application is easy. But,

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Fifthly, Read and apply. Reading is but the drawing of the bow, application is the hitting of the white. The choicest truths will no farther profit you than they are applied by you; you were as good not to read, as not to apply what you read. No man attains to health by reading of Gallen, or knowing Hippocrates' aphorisms, but by the practical application of them. All the reading in the world will never make for the health of your souls, except you apply what you read. The true reason why many read so much, and profit so little, is, because they do not apply and bring home what they read to their own souls. But,

Sixthly and lastly, Read and pray. He that makes no conscience of praying over what he reads, will find little sweetness or profit in his reading. No man makes such earnings of his reading, as he that prays over what he reads. Luther professeth that he profited more in the knowledge of the Scriptures by prayer, in a short space, than by study in a longer. As John by weeping got the sealed book open, so certainly men would gain much more than they do by reading good men's works, if they would but pray more over what they read. Ah! Christian, pray before you read, and pray after you read, that all may be blest and sanctified to you. When you have done reading, usually close thus:

A DRINK FROM THE SPRING.

I LIT the other day on the bank of Bunyan's "River of Life," bubbling up with the sweetest and best of water, which he himself drank of all his days, from the very beginning of his pilgrimage. It is better than any mineral spring I ever found. Hear Bunyan tell about it, and let your mouth water to drink of it:

"This is water of life. Probatum est. It is the right holy water! It never fails. It will cure the most desperate melancholy. It will dissolve doubts, though they have grown as hard as a stone in the heart. It will make you a white soul, which is better than a white skin. It gently purgeth, yet more effectually than any other waters. It provokes appetite, and makes us long for what is wholesome.

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"I have read of some seas so pure and clear that a man may see the bottom, though it be forty feet deep. So then we shall look down through these crystal streams, and see what be at the bottom of all. The bottom of all is, that we might be saved! These things, I say,' saith Christ, 'that ye might be saved!' What a good sound bottom is here! These are the waters that the doves like to sit by (Cant. v. 12), because in their clearness they can see themselves as in a glass. These be the streams in which they wash their eyes, and by which they solace and content themselves. As in fair waters, a man may see the body of the sun, moon, and stars, and the very body of heaven, so he that stands upon the brink of this river, and washeth his eyes with its water, may see the Son of God, the stars of God, the glory of God, the city of God."

What a blessed water is that which can show all this! If such a mineral spring were struck upon, what multitudes would flock to it! Well, there we have it in the Word of God. Drink ye all of it.

Let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. "He that believeth on me," saith the Saviour," shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water, springing up unto everlasting life." Reader, may you and I be always drinking there!

UNHOLY HOUSEHOLDS.

Ан how many families are there whose houses are not the "church of God," but the "synagogue of Satan" rather! "God is not in all their thoughts;" God is not in all their mouths, except it be in swearing, and cursing, and blaspheming. Their "bellies are their god," and their lusts are their lord. It is said of Noah's ark, that it "was pitched within and without." (Gen. vi. 14.) "Such," says one, "is the condition of many a man's house: it is a Noah's ark; it is pitched within and without; nothing but the pollutions and defilements of sin in every room, and passage, and corner. Idleness stands at the door; unconscionableness walks in the shop; covetousness lurks in the counting-house; luxury sits at the table; pride looks out at the window;-all pitchy both within and without."

And therefore, Christians, for the Lord's sake, out with all this rubbish, if it should be found in your families. How do you in London here delight to have your houses clean; and hereupon sweep them, and wash them, and rub them! O that you would be as careful to cleanse your families from sin as you are to cleanse your houses from dirt! How soon would this great city become "a habitation of righteousness," and "a mountain of holiness!" How would this family reformation prevent the guilt of family sins, and keep out family distractions, and secure from family desolation! Therefore, sirs, set up family watchfulness, and family correction. Let every house be an house of correction of itself: and set about family reading, and family conference, and family repetition, and especially family prayer; that all your houses may be like God's house: you know his is called an house of prayer:" "Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people." (Isa. lvi. 7.) So should yours; they should be houses of prayer all of them: if they be not, let me tell you they are no better than dens of thieves. Saith Christ, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves." (Matt. xxi. 13.) There is no medium betwixt these two; if your houses be not "houses of prayer," they are certainly "dens of thieves;" if you do not pray to God for your mercies before you receive them, and praise God for your mercies when you enjoy them, you do but rob God of his mercies. They are not given, but thrown; and snatched, indeed, rather than received.-Kitchen.

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THE POISONED WAFER.

THE absurdity of the monstrous doctrine of transubstantiation is well illustrated by the following wellknown anecdote. If literally true, it shows also what we are well persuaded of, that the priests do not themselves believe the dogma which, to increase their own authority and dignity, they impose upon the silly multitude. Whether true in all its particulars or not, it may serve as an illustration of the glaring absurdity of transubstantiation. There is not a priest in the land who would have faith enough to submit to such a test of his sincerity

:

A Protestant lady entered the matrimonial state with a Roman Catholic gentleman, on condition that

he would never use any attempts, in his intercourse with her, to induce her to embrace his religion. Accordingly, after their marriage, he abstained from conversing with her on those religious topics which he knew would be disagreeable to her. He employed the Romish priest, however, to instil his Popish notions into her mind. But she remained unmoved, particularly on the doctrine of transubstantiation. At length the husband fell ill, and, during his afflic tion, was recommended by the priest to receive the holy sacrament. The wife was requested to prepare the wafer for the solemnity by the next day. She did so, and on presenting it to the priest, said: "This, sir, you wish me to understand, will be changed into the real body and blood of Christ, after you have consecrated it?"

"Most certainly, my dear madam; there can be no doubt of it."

"Then, sir, it will not be possible, after the consecration, for it to do any harm to the worthy par takers? for, says our Lord, My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed,' and He that eateth me shall live by me.'"

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Assuredly, the holy sacrament can do no harm to the worthy receivers, but, so far from it, must communicate great good."

The ceremony was proceeded in, and the wafer was duly consecrated; the priest was about to take and eat the host, but the lady begged pardon for interrupting him, adding, "I mixed a little arsenic with the wafer; sir, but, as it is now changed into the real body of Christ, it cannot, of course, do you any harm." The principles of the priest, however, were not sufficiently firm to enable him to eat it. Confused, ashamed, and irritated, he left the house, and never more ventured to enforce on the lady the doctrine of transubstantiation.-Dowling.

RELIGIOUS GUARDIANSHIP. As to the schools, when young and tender, choose out such guides and masters as may edify them, and imprint something more of God upon their hearts. It is a great fault in many that take up any neighbour school where are profane and wicked children, such as have learnt of their parents to swear, and gather a great deal of filth, and soil, and pollution in take God's name in vain. Many times little youths such places, that sticks by them many years after. It is a good work "to prohibit and keep them off from all illiberal and sordid speeches and spectacles." There was, it seems, a great crew of naughty children at Bethel, in the days of Elijah, that mocked the prophet-a place that was a seminary and nursery for young ones in knowledge. (2 Kings ii. 3, 23) O how sad is it for children that have been diligently taught at home in the fear of God to unlearn all in wicked schools! Have a great eye to this, and especially if they be such as are designed for seademical learning, that they be placed under godly tutors at the university: or if for trades, or other mechanical mysteries, that you choose out the blessed shadow of a godly master and mistress, that may rivet and clinch the nail that thou hast knocked in. Great will be thy comfort in this, if thou soughtest family wherein ships go to heaven, and a trade is more a pious family than a great and rich trade; a driven to Canaan: but especially in the grand concernment of marriage, that they match into a godly family, in whose veins the blood of the covenant doth An heiress of the divine promises is a greater match than an empress of the whole world. He that hath but one foot of land in Mount Zion is richer than he that holds a sceptre over the round globe. -Lee.

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FRANCISCO PIRES SOARES was the holder of a fazenda or piece of vine and sugar-cane ground in the immediate neighbourhood of Funchal. He was about forty years of age, and was married, but had no family. He was an intelligent, superior man for his rank in life; he could read very well, and he could also write and cast accounts.

A deep interest was taken by the Madeirenses in the contest between the brothers Don Pedro and Don Miguel for the crown of Portugal. The islanders were divided into two parties, and many atrocities were mutually perpetrated. The priesthood, almost to a man, sided with Don Miguel, and succeeded in persuading a large body of the people, especially in the country districts, to espouse his cause, telling them that it was the cause of their holy religion. But that was a weak argument with many of the Madeirenses, who were avowed infidels, and who, besides, were too well acquainted with the lives led by the priesthood, and the opinions which most of them really held, to be much influenced by anything they said on the subject of religion. Francisco, however, was at this time an obedient and devoted son of the Church. He entered keenly into the politics of the day; and none in his station in society was a more ardent supporter of mother Church and Don Miguel than he. But the party whose interest he supported was worsted. Don Miguel was driven forth a fugitive -his partisans were put down-Donna Maria, the daughter of Don Pedro, ascended the throne -the Church was curtailed of her fair proportions the priesthood was humbled. During the contest the zeal of Francisco involved him in not a little danger, and before everything was settled he suffered considerable loss in his property.

Some time after Dr. Kalley came to Madeira, Francisco was seized with inflammation, and applied to him for medical aid. The means employed were successful, and he was soon restored to health. When he offered Dr. Kalley the usual remuneration, it was declined; and this at once struck Francisco as something singular. Soon after Dr. Kalley called upon him. On the Doctor's entrance Francisco said No. 39.*

to his wife, "Here comes our father"-a mode of expression implying a deep feeling of gratitude to the Doctor, and a strong sense of the benefit received from him. Dr. Kalley, who overheard the words, desired him to look up to God, as the Father to whom he was indebted, and whom he ought to thank for all the mercies which he had received. "Strange man this," thought Francisco, "who will accept neither fee nor thanks for the benefits which he confers;" and it struck him that there must be something peculiar in his religion, since it led to so much disinterestedness and humility.

He now began occasionally to attend the worship in Dr. Kalley's house, which was conducted in the Portuguese language. He also began to read the Bible. Still there was evidently no real saving change. He seemed willing to use the means of grace, and was actually to be found in the pretty frequent use of them. But he made no profession of Bible Christianity; and his conduct about this time bore open testimony that sin had yet dominion over him. He formed a criminal connection with a young woman who lived in his house. But a merciful God gave him grace to repent. He was convinced of sin; he began to give more diligent heed to divine things; and by a gradual but steady progress he now passed out of darkness into light, and from the bondage of sin and Satan into the liberty of the children of God. His temper (a change in which we would almost regard as the touchstone of conversion) became meek and gentle, from having been passionate and fierce; and his life was under the manifest influence of the law of God.

In the spring of 1843, Francisco, after having had distinctly set before him the probable consequences of such a step, and having deliberately counted the cost, communicated at the Scotch Presbyterian Church. As already stated in our sketch of the life of Nicolau Tolentino Vieyra, a warrant was immediately issued for the apprehension of Francisco and Nicolau, on a

This form of speech is common among the Portuguese.

We recollect occasionally seeing an old priest, who, by Dr. Kalley's instrumentality, had been restored to comparative health when in a very hopeless state, and who always called himself the Doctor's son.