ing the month of December, 1838; when the present master, Samuel Venables, from increasing years and declining health, had signified his wish to resign the situation. "The Board cannot receive the resignation of Mr. Venables without wishing to record, on their minutes, the deep sense they retain of the faithful, and efficient manner in which he has discharged the duties of his office, during the forty-four years that he has been connected with the school. They have invariably found him diligent and conscientious in his endeavours to promote the welfare of the school; kind and attentive to the children committed to his care; and anxious, in every sense, to fulfil the important duties of his post. His efforts in these respects have been ably seconded by his wife, with whose behaviour and good management the Board have equal reason to be satisfied. The Board deeply regret the failure of strength which renders the retirement of Mr. Venables necessary, and wish to make known as widely as possible their gratitude for his long and efficient services." The sum of thirty pounds was then voted as a yearly retiring pension to Mr. Venables. F. N. Y. THE INSIDE OF A DRUNKARD. AN eminent professor of medicine, when delivering a lecture to his pupils, told them, that the most useful lesson which could be laid before a drunkard would be the sight of the inside of the body of a man who was a regular tippler. He would show them the heart, and the lungs, and the liver of a man, who in his life-time had been accustomed to drinking; and he would compare these diseased and rotten members, with those of a person who had lived in habits of temperance and sobriety. He thought that such an exhibition would do more good than any advice which could be given to the drunkard by the gravest moralist; and that it would "probably produce a greater effect on the mind of a drunkard, than all the sermons that had ever been published on the subject." Drunkards, alas! do not read sermons. The spirit of Christ's religion, in the heart, is a cure for drunkenness, 1839.] KEEPING CHRISTMAS. 63 and other sins: but the drunkard puts himself out of the way of all the means of religious good; and it would be well, if any consideration could frighten him out of his horrible habit, by which he is ruining his body as well as his soul. V. KEEPING CHRISTMAS. WHEN we have, at times, talked to our poor neighbours of the sad effects of drinking, and have lamented the awful amount of sin and misery, arising from what profligate people call "pleasure-taking:" and when we have expressed our feelings still more strongly, on seeing the increased amount of wickedness at those seasons which are called holydays, and which were set apart for the purpose of being holy days in the true sense,-days for the particular consideration of the great mercies connected with our religion, the birth of our blessed Saviour,-His Resurrection, the day when He sent the gracious gift of "His Spirit" on His disciples, so that they and we might be led to increased holiness: when we have said that Christmas time, and Easter, and Whitsuntide should be kept with a spirit of peculiar holiness, and Christian thankfulness, and have therefore spoken of " sin," if possible, being still “more exceedingly sinful," at such seasons when the most urgent call is put forth by the Church to awaken men to holiness and religious watchfulness:- when we have thus expressed ourselves, we have been spoken to, as if we were enemies to the pleasures and enjoyments of the poor. We know that we are not so; and we know that those careless persons, who follow their own ungodly ways, and pursue what they call pleasure, are pursuing the path which leads to their own misery and destruction. It is a well known fact, that the young surgeons at the hospitals, who want practice, actually count upon Christmas, and Easter, and Whitsuntide, and such holidays, as sure to find plenty of work for them. The following statement was printed after last Christmas-day. Effects of drunkenness in London.-During the Christmas-box-day, and the next day, the following number of cases of accident (some of them of a serious nature) was brought into the different hospitals of the metropolis, viz. -Charing-cross Hospital, 11; St. George's Hospital, 9; LETTER FROM THOMAS SPEEDwell on FLOWERS. HONOURED SIR, As you are sometimes so kind as to receive the letters of other cottagers, I hope you will excuse the liberty I take in writing to you. The truth is, Sir, my neighbours and I are often wishing you would be so good as to tell us a little more about flowers. You have given us a good many directions about vegetables, which have been very useful to us; but, as some of us have a little time to attend to flowers, which we should like to know the best way of managing, we thought, as you seem a very good natured gentleman, you would not object to help us with a little of your knowledge. We want to know what sort of roses you would advise us to have, how to prune them, &c.; what plants may be raised from seed, what from cuttings, &c.; and any thing else you may think useful. Many gentlefolks are now so good as to encourage us to raise flowers, by giving us prizes for the best nosegay; and we think a few hints from you might help us very much. Begging your honor's pardon for this liberty, I am, your humble Servant, THOMAS SPEedwell. We rather think that our correspondent knows a little more about these matters than he is ready to acknowledge, and probably much more than we do ourselves. We shall be glad, however, in some of our succeeding numbers to profit by his hint. As to the best sorts of roses, there have been so many new ones, of late years, introduced, that we cannot profess to say which is the best. For our own parts, we could have enjoyed all the luxury of this delightful flower, if we had known of nothing more than the old cabbage rose, the moss rose, 1839.] DECORATIONS IN CHURCHES. 65 and the maiden blush: but these are now thought little of by modern rose-fanciers. The modern roses are finer in form. The old ones do not blow out so well; they do not open in a good, round, and regular form. The new sorts have more petals, and, when full blown, form a fine and correct circle. The point aimed at is to get this form, and to keep all the sweet perfume of the old sorts. The old damask rose has a fine colour and perfume; but the modern damasks are fuller of petals, and more velvety, and of darker hues. As to cutting rose bushes, there are so many different opinions, that we should recommend our cottage gardeners to try different methods, and let experience decide. Some persons cut them down every year near to the ground; and, by thus getting more shoots, procure more flowers: and, having made their beds neat for the winter, they lay on some covering of warm manure for protection. If the object be to make the garden gay, the more flowers the better. If to get a fine large flower, we should think it desirable to have the tree thinner. Some persons will not cut their trees till after winter, considering that the wood, when cut, is more exposed to injury from frost;-which appears reasonable enough.- We shall feel obliged to Thomas Speedwell, if he will, at any time, give us the benefit of his experience.-ED. ON THE MEANING OF DECORATIONS IN CHURCHES. THE number of new churches which, in the course of the last ten years, have been built in this country, has turned the attention of many persons to the study of Gothic architecture; and the more they have studied, the more they have been led to admire the wonderful skill of the architects of our beautiful cathedrals. Many elegant decorations might be pointed out, which at first appear to be added only as ornaments, but which, on closer inspection, are found to add to the strength, or security, or convenience of the building. It is needless to particularize, as this is only mentioned here to introduce the observation, that, in these days, when we are apt to think ourselves so much wiser than our fathers, we should, before we decide to ridicule their institutions, or laugh at their practices, pause to reflect whether there may not be some hidden meaning which is at least worth seeking for. The custom of dressing our churches with evergreens seems to have a meaning which we are, perhaps, not aware of. In a Sermon of Jones, of Nayland, we find a beautiful explanation of this custom. The Christian, like the cedar, is an evergreen: and the prophecies represent the Church of Christ as abounding with such plants. The glory of Lebanon shall come to thee, the fir tree, and the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary;' and, you see here, we have a way of expressing our faith in this doctrine, by the outward sign of putting evergreens in the Church at Christmas, to show that Christ has brought a perpetual spring with Him into the world, which is retained even in the midst of winter. Yea, even in death itself, the Christian carries the same hope, and the same assurance of immortality with him out of the world; which those who survive express for him, by an ancient custom still retained in some places, of casting some evergreens into his grave, or of planting one near it upon the ground; and this I suppose is the reason why we see so many ancient yew trees in the church-yards of our country. F. M. Y. THE BENEFITS OF "RECEIVING" CHRIST. 66 ST. JOHN says (i. 12.) " To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name." This then is the happy state of all true believers: they are the sons of God." It is He that gives them the power to become such: "to them gave he power." Yes, from Him this blessing must come; it is His own Spirit, acting on the heart, which alone can produce this blessed effect. And this influence is seen, in its renewing power on the heart producing a happy devotedness to His service, and a love for that service. The Apostle says, 66 sons of God,"—not slaves,-sons; dutiful, affectionate, obedient sons, rejoicing in doing the will of an all-merciful Father. If we are in this happy state, reckoned among the |