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M. DE CHAMFORT

SAYS well in his maxims, "The obligations respecting a secret, and a sum of money entrusted to you, rests upon the same footing of confidence. A man without a character is a thing, not a man. A man without fixed principles must be a man devoid of character. Had he been born with any character of mind at all, he must soon have found the necessity of laying down to himself some principles of action. It is but too often vanity that brings out the complete energy of a man's mind. Put a piece of wood only to a pointed piece of steel, it is a dart; add to it a few feathers, and it becomes an arrow."

HOOKER.

THE power and sanction of law, which appear to be much doubted by the present race of mortals, was never more beautifully nor more justly described than by this great divine, in his "Ecclesiastical Polity." "Of law there can be no less acknowledged, than that her seat is the bosom of God; her voice the harmony of the world. All things in heaven and earth do her homage, the very least as feeling her care, and the greatest as not exempted from her power."

MR. ROSCOE, OF LIVERPOOL,

SAYS finely in his "Life of Lorenzo de Medicis," " No end can justify the sacrifice of a principle; nor was a crime ever necessary in the course of human affairs."

ANECDOTE OF SIGISMUND, EMPEROR OF GERMANY.

A MILITARY man spoke very disrespectfully one day, in the presence of the Emperor, of the characters and offices of Magistrates; expatiating at the same time on the merit and utility of men of the sword, like himself. "Hold your tongue, blockhead," replied the Emperor, "if all Magistrates behaved as they should do, the world would have no occasion for men of the sword."

OBITUARY.

DIED, at New-York, on Saturday the 12th instant, in the 41st year of his age, the Rev. Pierre Antoine Albert, Rector of the French Protestant Episcopal Church Du St. Esprit. His remains, (attended by his faithful and affectionate flock, and by some of the principal Clergy, of different denominations,) were interred, on Sunday evening, in his own Church, at the foot of that pulpit, from which he had so frequently edified and charmed his hearers by his persuasive eloquence. The pall was supported by his reverend brethren of the Episcopal Clergy, and the funeral rites were performed, with impressive solemnity, by the Right Rev. Bishop Moore. A pathetic and appropri ate discourse had been previously delivered after morning service, to his congregation, by the Rev. Edmund D. Barry, his assistant minister, from Heb.

xiii. 7.

Mr. Albert was a descendant of a highly respectable family in Lausanne,

in Switzerland. He received about ten years ago, a pastoral call, to take charge of the French Protestant Church, founded in New-York, by the persecuted Hugonots, after the revocation of the edict of Nantes. He was an accomplished gentle man, an erudite scholar, a profound theologian, and a most elegant and exemplary preacher. A stranger in a strange land, of unobtrusive manners, insuperable modesty, he led a very retired life. His merits however, which could not be concealed, were justly appreciated by his congregation, by whom, and by all who had the pleasure of being acquainted with him, he was eminently esteemed, and sincerely beloved. His extreme sufferings, during four weeks illness, were mitigated by the kind attentions of affectionate friends, who never intermitted their duties, nor forsook his couch, and whose tender solicitude, which he gratefully acknowledged, soothed his last agonies.

In this City, on the 15th of inst. July, Mrs. Theodosia Walter, wife of Mr. William Walter, Et. 48. During a most painful illness of several months continuance, she exhibited a remarkable example of patience and resignation to the will of God. Never was she heard to complain: Often did she express to her friends a readiness to depart; having a firm hope that for her it would be better than to remain in the body. Knowing in whom she had believed, even in Jesus, mighty to save all who come unto him, she was not afraid of the king of terrors; but so long as her reason lasted, she viewed her approaching dissolution with calmness and composure of mind.

Though long prepared, and willing to depart this world, she was as willing to remain, (if it should be God's will) to contribute to the happiness of her family and friends. Impressed with this sentiment, she had the resolution, in the month of June past, to set out for Balltown, in order to make trial of the waters, though she was then so weak as to be incapable of standing alone. But finding no benefit, it pleased God to spare her life until her return, that she might die surrounded by her family and connections.

Benevolent and charitable in her disposition, she was an affectionate wife, a fond mother, and a kind neighbour. By the poor and needy her loss will be sensibly felt and regretted; for her deeds of beneficence, according to her means, were many, and performed in sincerity. Her solicitude and maternal tenderness for her children was unfeigned and most ardent; and long will they have cause to lament their being deprived of so great a blessing. But considering her christian life and conversation, the liveliness of her faith, and the calm serenity of her mind in contemplating approaching death; they should not mourn as those who have no hope, but prepare themselves to meet her in that blessed world, where the weary be at rest, and all the children of God rejoice together.

AS an apology to the readers of the Magazine for the discontinuance of the Exposition of the Articles, we have to regret that the Correspondent who furnished that head, has ceased to favor us with any further communications. We hope he will be induced again to resume his pen.

L. S. is received. However we may wish for pieces of original poetry, yet the style and composition of this is too incorrect for insertion.

THE reader is desired to correct the following errors in the Magazine for June-Page 226, line 6, from bottom, for coveters read covetous. Page 230, line 14, from bottom, erase to another. Page 233, line 16, from top, for reference read preference. Page 235, line 3, from top, 1st col. for world read worlds. Page 238, line 10, from top, for præmunise read præmunire.

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AT high noon, or with the setting sun, the mustering clouds now often gather all their forces, and skirt the west with a portending gloom-Deep toned thunder rolls solemn on the listening earDriven by fierce winds, nearer and near comes the tempest, till it gains the whole horizon, and darkness closes around. The approaching night with tenfold shade obscures all the landscape; save when the vivid flash streaks down the air, and the heavens are rent with bursting peals of thunder, re-echoed in solemn roar from the distant hills. Again the lightning darts its piercing shafts, and in a moment comes the dread volley from the loaded clouds: Fraught with destruction, comes the sulphury bolt-The lofty oak feels its mighty power; riven to its center, and strewed in splinters across the plain; its singed leafy branches hanging inverted around its shattered trunk. But see, another and another comes: Yon stately edifice, the abode of man, is rent in pieces, or soon involved in smoke and flame; and where is that frail mortal who stood exposed to the etherial shaft? Instantly dismissed from the body, and sent to the eternal world.

This dread war of elements, this exhibition of his power who sitteth on the circuit of the heavens, is a scene, which, at the passing season, is frequently witnessed by every one. And few indeed there are who can witness it as careless and unconcerned spectators. Stupidity itself is roused to attention: The most thoughtless and vain cannot but be awakened to serious reflection. The impious and irreligious stand aghast and tremble, when they thus hear the voice of God rending the clouds, and with his right hand sending his fiery arrows abroad. Their vain imaginations and their lofty looks are curbed into reverential awe, and they dare not trifte with God, and a present sense of his power. Guilt hears appalled; it trembles with fear, and resolves on immediate repentance: And well it may; for who knoweth whether soon it may not be too late? Nor can he, in whose bosom dwells the sincerest piety, remain altogether unmoved with fear. Knowing that he who directeth the storm by his mighty power, has taken one and left another, he feels that instantly his turn may come, and the winged messenger of LL

death, quicker than thought, may summon his departure; the resistless shaft of heaven may fall upon his defenceless head, and lay him a lifeless corpse. Though not fearless, yet he will strive to collect his scattered thoughts, retire into himself, and examine the state of his soul. He will enquire with rigid impartiality, whether he is prepared to appear disembodied before his Creator and sovereign Judge. He will banish trifling thoughts far away, and dwell in musing solemnity on the wondrous ways of God, who rideth in the whirlwind, and bids it where to blow and where to cease its rage; where to discharge its fiery weapons, and when to withhold them from th earth. He will trace his footsteps in the clouds, and lightning down of his arm. He will mark how the waters behold him and flee; how the torrents pour down, and run among the hills; how at his bidding the "the air thunders, and his arrows fly abroad." When the clouds dispart, when the heavens seem on fire, and the air resounds with peal on peal repeated, he will call to mind that he hears the voice of God, speaking in terrible majesty, to rouse the stupid sinner from his lethargy, and awaken the pious to a more quickening sense of his power. He will not suffer an occasion so apt to inspire sentiments of reverence for God's presence, to go by unimproved; but will strive to impress on his mind who it is that reigns in the heavens above, and on earth beneath, even God in his holy habitation.

Let philosophy teach that thunder and lightning are only powerful agents of nature. Be it so yet who gave being to these agents? Who appointed the manner of their operation? Who still controls their power, directs them where to let fall the deadly stroke, and where to glance harmless through the air? Piety and reason unitedly proclaim that it must be that God who made and rules the universe. A blind and unintelligent cause could not have produced so much order as we observe. A power less than Almighty could not wield so vast a machine; nor wisdom less than infinite, produce such a connected chain of harmonizing events, depending on so many and such subtile movements. All nature then is but an instrument in God's hand; its operations are the operations of his power, contrived by his wisdom, and subservient to his purposes. In the language of inspiration; it is the glorious God that maketh the thunder: The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness; the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadish. When clouds are mustering in the sky, and the thunder begins to roll, remember this-be still and know that there is a God in heaven, who shall one day arise to shake more terribly the earth.

Let philosophy teach how to ward off impending fate, from the overcharged clouds: It is her office so to do. This she hath done; yet hath not thereby attempted to counteract the will of heaven, any more than by shewing how to build houses to guard us from common storms; or how to weave garments to protect our bodies from cold and heat. All the elements are God's instruments; and we

should thank him for giving man wisdom and knowledge to contrive the means of guarding against the violence of their operations. Such was the intention of his high will; that our faculties and powers, both of body and mind, might find exercise. They were none of them given us in vain, but to be employed for our good and the glory of the giver; and therefore we are placed in a situation which requires their constant exercise; we are obliged to guard against extremes, on one hand, and the other from all the elements: against too much heat, and too much cold; against violence, and inaction; and yet, in spite of our utmost skill, as experience daily shews, our bodies must fall a sacrifice, if not to the instantaneous power of the etherial touch, yet to the slower, but not less certain, effect of some other element.

That terror and dismay which seizes the minds of some, and almost deprives them of reason, when the cloud arises, fraught with thunder and lightning, is altogether unbecoming the Christian. Nothing that has been said is intended to inspire this terror, but the reverse. Seriously bear it in mind that all the elements are in God's hand; that he is a God of wisdom as well as of power; that blind chance has nothing to do in directing the rending bolt of heaven; but that it is aimed by unerring wisdom; and considerate you ought to be, but not distracted with terror; collected and resigned, but not stupid and thoughtless. Can you not trust infinite wisdom to rule the storm, and guide its course? Are you not willing that he should do what is most certainly right, as he always does; for he is no less just than wise? Are you not willing to commit yourself to his keeping, and rely upon his mercy? If you cannot do this, and be calm while the lightning blazes around you, you have not that settled piety of soul which becomes a professed believer in the being and government of God. Strive then with all the force of your reason and consideration, to acquire this undisturbed reliance on that power by whom you are surrounded. Neglect no opportunity that presents to take an instructive lesson from the overcharged clouds that darken the air, and send out their arrows. They surely speak in a voice loud enough to be heard; in a language plain to be understood: They exhort you, every time they rise and cover the sky, to look anto God for safety, in whom you are conscious you live and move and have your being.

There are perhaps few persons in the world of so stupid or hardened a temper, as not to have their feelings in some measure solemnized, when first they hear the distant thunder, and perceive the gloom rising up the sky. As nearer and nearer the storm approaches, and louder and louder its explosions on the stricken ear, these feelings are wrought up to the sublime and awful: The cheering light of the sun foreclosed, or the tenfold pitchy darkness of evening adding to the solemnity, how opportune the occasion to excite reverential awe and devout homage to the author of nature! Sublime sensations, from whatever cause awakened, are congenial with reflections upon the power of Almighty God, in whom centers all majesty and grandeur. The considerate and pious, admonished by the passing scene, naturally fall into the train of reflections expres

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