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into the image of the Lord from glory to glory." The | holy laws that regulate the concerns of accountable and following attempt at versification will tend to illustrate intelligent creatures. this remark:

THE LAKE.

I saw the lake, in child-like sleep,
Reflect the orb of day:

I looked again, its billows tossed
Were white with foam and spray.
I saw the wave once more subside,
All trace of tempest gone,
And seeming far beneath my feet
The sun's bright image shone.

I saw the new created world

In pristine beauty shine;

I heard the sentence, "All is good,"
Pronounced by skill divine.

And man I saw like mirror lake

His Maker's image shew,

Another "Sun of Righteousness,"
Reflecting from below.

But sin, like whirlwind, crossed the scene,
And all its beauty marred,
While o'er the dark chaotic mass,

The stormy passions warred.
Until the promised Saviour came,
And bade the tempest cease,
Diffused a holy calm, and gave

His thought-surpassing peace.

I looked once more, and man was raised
To share Immanuel's throne,
And brighter far than at the first,
In god-like glory shone.

The effects resulting from these properties are very varied and exceedingly beneficial. By means of Light we receive instantaneous information with respect to the form, size, colour, and position of surrounding objects, whether they be close at hand or placed at a distance. And while it conveys to us, in a moment, that knowledge of earthly objects, which, by other means, we slowly and imperfectly acquire, Light alone enables us to carry our enquiries beyond the boundaries of earth, supplies us with all the information which we possess with regard to the heavenly bodies, makes known the constitution of the material universe, and points out the laws by which it is governed.

When the various qualities of this wonderful substance are taken into view, how glorious does He appear at whose command it first shone forth! and when we consider the benefits it confers on man, how great is the obligation under which we are laid to love and to adore Him!

There is another reason that makes the investigation of this subject peculiarly interesting to the Christian. Light is so frequently employed in Scripture to denote the knowledge of divine truth, that we almost forget that the word is metaphorically used. A few observations will be sufficient to shew the aptness and beauty of this similitude. Revelation, like the rays of Light, is designed for universal diffusion, and accordingly, the commandment says, "Go teach all nations," and the invitation is "Come unto me all ye that labour;" like them it pursues a straight and onward course, refusing to follow the crooked paths of deceit; like them it conveys, at a glance, much information which other means slowly and imperfectly communicate, and not only enables us more fully to understand the interests and concerns of earth, but extends our view to heaven. That knowledge of God and of our own spiritual condition, which natural reason dimly unfolds, the Gospel exhibits in the brightness of noon, while, by it alone, we are taught the existence and nature of angels and of devils, the future destiny of man, the place which we hold in the rational creation, the moral perfections of the Deity, and the wise and

Shall we not, therefore, prize that precious Volume which brings "life and immortality to light," and bless the name of the great Redeemer, by whom that gift bas been bestowed, and strive to live as "the children of the light and of the day?"

CAMELS.

BY THE REV. ROBERT JAMIESON,
Minister of Westruther.

AMONG the animals peculiar to the quarter of the world where the scene of the Sacred History is laid, the camel must rank first in order, whether we consider the antiquity of its domestic character, the singular properties with which it is endowed, the feats of labour and strength of which it is capable, or the purposes of general utility to which it has long been subservient. In the remotest periods, we find it associated with the rising industry and commerce of mankind, constituting the staple source on which they depended for food and clothing, cherished with the greatest care as the surest indication of wealth and honour, and occupying the chief place in the list of articles which princes conferred as presents on their favourites, or fathers as dowry on their children. From the frequent notice taken of this invaluable creature in the Sacred Records, it is evident that its characteristic qualities, and the great variety of purposes to which it is applicable, were as well known to the patriarchs and their contemporaries, as to the modern inhabitants of the East, and it may tend to give the student of the Scriptures a better idea of some interest. ing passages in them that relate to the camel, if we compare its state and habits as it is now found to exist, with its condition as described in the earlier annals of the people of God.

In appearance the camel is of unwieldy bulk, and though destitute of all claims either to elegance of form or beauty of proportion, it is admirably adapted, in point both of constitution and shape, to the regions which it traverses, and the laborious life it is destined to lead. Most readers of this article may have enjoyed an opportunity of witnessing a living specimen of this species of animal, and therefore it would be superfluous to enter at large into its natural history; but for the sake of those who are totally unacquainted with it, it may suffice for our present purpose to bid them figure to themselves a quadruped of a large size, covered with a soft kind of hair, considerably shorter than that of the ox, without horns, its lip divided in the centre, and six broad projecting foreteeth in the lower jaw, short ears, a long waving upright neck, long and slender limbs, very broad and divided feet, two large protuberances on the back, seemingly intended by the Creator for the reception of burdens; and by the grouping of these circumstances, they may be able to form some idea of the general features of a domesticated beast, which has ever been esteemed by the people of the East as the favourite, most useful, and important of all the animal productions of Asia.

In most parts of the Oriental world it is to be found, and every where it is highly prized; but to the pastoral people who frequent the desert, of which it is a native, and where it is to be found in the greatest perfection, its value cannot be estimated; for besides its utility as a beast of burden, it supplies them almost wholly with the means of their scanty subsistence, its flesh and milk furnishing them with food and drink, its hair affording materials for their garments, carpets for their tents, and sacks for their grain; its skin being made into bottles of various sizes, in which they treasure up their water, and transport their butter and other articles of a similar nature, its sinews serving them as ropes, and its dung

as fuel. In short, it is turned to use in so many dif. ferent respects, and forms so essential a part in the economy of Arab life, that the pastoral people are accustomed to estimate the fortunes of their chiefs and the power of their tribes, not by the money, but by the number of camels they possess. In ancient times, the same importance was evidently attached to the possession of a numerous flock of camels, as we find them enumerated in a particular manner among the cattle that formed the pastoral establishments of the patriarchs; that they were given by Abimelech to Abram among the princely tokens of his favour, and by Jacob to his inceused brother, as the most costly presents by which the haughty spirit of Esau might be propitiated; and that when the flourishing fortunes of Job are described, the measure of his great wealth is estimated chiefly by the circumstance, that he was the proprietor at first of 3000, and latterly of 6000 camels.

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In removing from one place to another, as their pastoral necessities frequently require them to do, the Arabs have seldom any other beast of burden than the camel, on whose spacious and convenient back the various furniture of their tents is easily stowed. The chiefs, at the head of their tribes, and while marching at the slow pace of their flocks, generally prefer riding on the camel to any other animal, for, in addition to the advantages it possesses, from the peculiarity of its construction, and its capacity to endure privation and fatigue, it places the riders so high above the ground, that the reflection of the sun's rays, nearly intolerable on foot, is scarcely at all felt, while an agreeable coolness is kept up in the air by the rapidity of its movements. On these occasions, as the stateliest and handsomest are selected as the bearers of the chiefs, they are richly caparisoned, their housings consisting of the finest crimson cloth, or carpetting, of Persia, and their breasts adorned with a long string of beads and bells. Camels equipped in this gorgeous manner, are described by Pococke, who saw, when in Egypt, seven Agas of that country riding on camels, which had chains hanging from their necks to their breastplates; by Clarke, who saw on the great road to Smyrna several caravans of camels, with each a bell and strings of beads around their necks; and by Seely, in his Wonders of Elora, who saw the public authorities of Poonah riding in a triumphal procession, on camels sumptuously decorated with golden bells. These are evidently meant as marks of distinction and grandeur; and, accordingly, as the customs of the East never change, we find them used by the grandees of antiquity, for the kings of Midian, whom Gideon captured, "had chains about their camels' necks," the golden trappings of which formed part of the materials of the Ephod, which that Judge made and put in his own city, Ophrah.

The uneasy pace with which the camel proceeds being unsuitable to the younger and tenderer part of the tribe, the wealthier chiefs have their wives and families accommodated in a sort of conveyance, which possesses all the recommendations of ease and shelter from the heat. This is what is called a houda or pannier, consisting of a large frame of wood, fixed on the back of the camel, with a seat on each side, and a covering to secure it from the rain or the sun. It is a very easy and indolent mode of travelling, though common only among the wives and families of the highest people in the East. In this way Captain Burnes tells, in his journey to Bokhara, that he and his companions travelled, and had their writing materials for noting observations, along with them, besides the rest of their baggage; and it seems to have been in one of the same carriages that Rachel was sitting, when she concealed her father's household gods, as we are informed she did, "in the camel's furniture." -Gen. xxxi. 34.

ing them in their pastoral migrations, for, subsisting as they do, by plunder, and depending for their success and their safety on the rapidity of their movements to and from the place of attack, they train up their camels to assist them in their marauding expeditions against the towns that border on the desert, by making them expert not only at kneeling when they are loaded and unloaded, but at entering upon their knees into the houses selected for pillage. By means of camels, which their assiduity has made adept in such nefarious arts, these robbers often make a sudden descent upon a defenceless village, enter, without dismounting, the houses of the unsuspecting inhabitants, and after loading themselves with every thing valuable they can lay their hands on, effect their retreat in the same strange manner as they entered, the well-tutored beast accommodating itself to all the wishes and motions of its lawless rider. Similar acts of violence seem to have been committed by the tenants of the desert, in ancient times, and hence the origin of the general maxim of Solomon, Prov. xvii. 19. "He that exalteth his gate seeketh destruction," the meaning of which is not, as some interpreters have erroneously supposed, that all who reared large splendid edifices, did, in those Eastern countries, where the suspicion of wealth is dangerous to the possessors, expose themselves to the rapacity of their superiors; but that every one who built his house with a tree and spacious entrance, would thereby incur the risk of being frequently harassed by banditti, who unscrupulously rode into the houses they designed to plunder. As a necessary precaution against the intrusion of such unwelcome visitors, the people of the parts, particularly those who inhabit the less populous parts, that lie near the desert, have an outer wall around their houses, the gate of which is extremely small, generally not more than three feet high. A recent traveller who visited the convent of Mount Sinai, the walls of which are of an immense height, describes the gate, by which he entered, as so low, as not to admit a horse; and another states that his lodging at Gaza, in Palestine, was in a little court, "the passage to which was exceedingly low and narrow, to prevent the incursions and insolent attacks of the Turks." It is quite evident, then, that in such a state of society, “ he that exalteth his gate, seeketh destruction;" and that a prudent man who wishes to provide for the security of his family and goods, must make the gate of his house as "strait" as convenience will admit of. The straiter and the smaller he makes it, he will, of course, increase the difficulty of an enemy entering it; and this affords an easy and a natural explanation of another passage of Scripture, which has been often misunderstood, and which is obviously founded on the Eastern custom to which we are alluding. Speaking of the great temptations that beset the rich, our Lord (Mat. xix. 24.) says:" It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God," i. e., it would be as easy to drive a camel through a gate or door, as small as the eye of a needle, as for a rich man to enter the king. dom of God.

The grand purpose, however, for which the camel is employed, the scene on which the peculiar qualities with which the Creator has endowed it, are chiefly brought into exercise, is in journeying over the desert The only mode of traffic and commerce in a great pai. of the East, is by land carriage; and as the tracts over which the merchandize has to be transported, are in many places wide, dreary, and destitute of almost every production of nature-perfect wildernesses of rock or sand, few animals could endure the fatigue and priva tions of such expeditions, but the camel, in the adaptation of which to the climate and region of its birth, the wisdom of providence is admirably displayed. Though Some of the roving Arabs, however, employ their possessing naturally a strong appetite, which, when sticamels in services less legitimate than that of transport-mulated by the sight of rich and plentiful verdure, often

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Elisha, and which consisted of every good thing of Damascus,-forty camels' burden, (2 Kings, viii. 9.) From all these useful qualities of the camel, its capacity of undergoing labour, enduring privations, guiding to watering-places, which it smells often an hour before it reaches them, and from other circumstances, numerous to be mentioned, this animal is most appropriately termed by Job (ix. 26,) a swift ship,' -a term which is still current in the language and poetry of the Arabs. A fleet of these ships of the desert, or in other words, a numerous caravan passing through the desert, is one of the most beautiful scenes which The the eye can witness or imagination conceive, merchants collected together from every region, their rich and varied costumes, their elevated position on the back of their sumptuously accoutred camels, the costly merchandise they transport, comprising all the means of life and the arts of luxury, give rise to ideas of smiling abundance and joy; and, accordingly, such a picture has been selected by the Evangelical Prophet to afford a representation of the spiritual riches and blessings which the advent of Messiah would give to the Church, "The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shail come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the Lord."—(Isaiah lx. 6.)

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makes it so impatient of restraint as to throw its rider, | roll on its back to free itself of its load, and thus enjoy unencumbered the repast that is before it; yet it is capable of bearing the greatest want; and the general docility of its character is displayed in submitting with the greatest patience to the scanty and precarious fare with which the desert supplies it. Nature," says Bruce," has furnished the camel with parts and qualities adapted to the office he is employed to discharge. The driest thistle and the barest thorn* is all the food this useful quadruped requires; and even these, to save time, he eats while advancing on his journey, without stopping, or occasioning a moment of delay. As it is his lot to cross immense deserts, where no water is found, and countries not even moistened with the dew of heaven, he is endued with the power at one watering-place, to lay in a store, with which he supplies himself for thirty days to come. To contain this enormous quantity of fluid, nature has formed large cisterns within him, from which, once filled, he draws at pleasure the quantity he wants, and pours it into his stomach, with the same effect as if he then drew it from a spring; and with this he travels patiently and vigorously all day long, carrying a prodigious load upon him, through countries infected with poisonous winds, and glowing with parching and never cooling sands." To this extract from Bruce we subjoin one or two circumstances, by way of explanation. The wells in the desert are sometimes very deep, and not easily approached. One mentioned by Burnes was thirty feet under ground, to which there was a winding difficult access, and the long elastic necks of the camels were seen to be particularly fitted to help them to the precious fluid on that occasion. The quantity which a single camel is capable of containing is almost incredible; since, according to the calculation of an intelligent traveller, he takes a quarter of an hour to quench his enormous thirst, and to water a caravan of 1000 camels, at a small well, where one only can drink at a time, as sometimes unfortunately happens, would therefore require several days and nights, a delay that must occasion the greatest vexation and danger to the unfortunate traveller in these inhospitable climes. Nor is the immense quantity it is capable of imbibing at once, more wonderful than its capability of subsisting without it altogether for a considerable length of time. A camel has been known to travel four or five days without a drop of water; and when it is considered that this endurance was displayed during a fatiguing journey, and in a climate, the intense heats of which speedily absorb every particle of moisture, the power of sustaining such privation will appear not a little astonishing. It is, however, a mistake which some naturalists have fallen into, to suppose that these beasts are exposed to such extremities of thirst with impunity, as many travellers of great experience assure us that, under a protracted want of water, the camels soon languish and die. Burnes relates a story of three soldiers, who, in travelling over part of the desert, lost their way, and their supply of water failed. Two of their horses sunk amid the parching thirst. All their camels died but one; and the unfortunate men, fearing that the other would die also, opened a vein of the surviving camel, and obtained a little water from its stomach, on which they subsisted till they reached a place of safety. The same traveller relates that the Khan of Orunje, in marching over the desert, lost upwards of 2000 camelsciously undertook the redemption of sinners from both through the failure of water. The burden which a camel will carry amounts to 500 pounds weight, which it will bear for ten, and sometimes fifteen hours in succession; and the knowledge of this circumstance may enable us to form some idea of the rich and splendid present which Hazael brought from the King of Syria to ✦ The plant called "the camel's thorn" is not, as may be readily supposed, to be found in the desert, but rather in the more fertile parts that surround it,

It remains only to take notice of the rate at which the camel travels, which, according to Burnes, is about 3740 yards, and according to Volney 3600 yards or about two miles and an eighth per hour. Though this seems to be the ordinary pace of the camel, when pushed through fear of danger, it can run with great rapidity, as many examples from modern travels might be quoted to shew. And we find, that of the Amalekite warriors who burnt Ziklag, and on whom David took signal vengeance, not one escaped the attack of the Israelitish monarch, save four hundred young men who rode upon camels and fled."-(1 Sam. xxx. 17.) There is a species of camel, called the dromedary, which is light and slenderly made, and which, on that account, has always been used in the East in preference to all other animals when swiftness and despatch were required. Dr Shaw mentions a Sheik who rode upon creature of this kind, and who diverted him and his fellow-travellers, by riding on to various parts of the caravan, and passing them and repassing them every now and then; and Morgan, in his history of Algiers, describes one which outran the fleetest horses that were brought to match it, and which was kept for purposes of state. The knowledge of this circumstance will satisfactorily account for the employment of dromedaries to carry the messengers of Esther to the most remote provinces of Persia, on an emergency which demanded the greatest expedition, being a matter of life and death to thousands.

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CHRISTIAN TREASURY.

The Gospel Scheme.-Now, the Bible, as containing many gracious communications from the divine government to the children of men, is addressed to them as guilty, condemned, and helpless by nature. It comes to us as a message of mercy from the God we have insulted, assuring us, upon divine authority, that the Lord Jesus Christ," the only begotten Son of God,” gra

the punishment and the enslaving power of sin. Thar, as "the Lord our righteousness and strength," he has made an adequate provision for recovering us from our fallen condition, and securing our deliverance from the wrath to come. That, as Surety and Redeemer of man he has fulfilled the violated law, in our nature an stead,-made atonement with his blood for the guilt 1 human offences, and " poured out his soul as an offering for sin"-declaring on the cross, that he had "finish

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Highest, and sustaining every load, however burdensome, because we recognise and trust on the wise hand that lays it on; to have in exercise, the faith which carries us beyond the most fascinating scenes of the world's pleasures as offering no allurement to us, and the hope that transports us over the most humiliating scenes of the world's distresses, as "an affliction which is but for a moment; whatever be the bitter stream of cares and anxieties which the events of life send into the soul, to have yet an under-current, which, springing from religion, sets out to the ocean of eternal good, and as it flows onwards, is purifying and sweetening the whole tide of human ills and sorrows; whatever be the eminences of the present possessions and enjoyments, to have still before us those heights of glory and blessedness on which the light of the celestial sun is shining, and which, extending in immeasurable distance, cherish the ardour of the aspiring soul, even for eternity; O! to be thus spiritually minded, “is life, is peace," is the honour and happiness of our nature, and both solves and dignifies the design of human life, by rendering it the entrance and training for immortality.-MUIR.

Communion with God.-Why are we not more intimately acquainted with the benevolent duty of intercession for others? and why are we not more sweetly familiar with a throne of grace? Communion with God, how ineffably delightful, how unspeakably honourable? It is one of the most precious drops of heaven that bedews this dry and distant land, the lenient soother of care, the mighty solace of immense distress. It gives a rich zest to all the numerous blessings and enJoyments of life. O, what an import do these words convey, "Our fellowship is with the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ."-FANNY WOODBURY.

ed" the work of reconciliation-while, by his resurrection from the tomb, and his ascension into glory, he has afforded the surest evidence of his victory over death and sin, and given us ample warrant for entrusting to him the eternal interests of our souls. "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly; for scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet, peradventure, for a good man some would even dare to die; but God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." With such discoveries and Issurances of the divine regard and compassion towards our fallen race, we are warranted to approach the offended Lord, as a reconciled and gracious Creator, through the all-prevailing mediation and atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. "A robe of righteousness" has been thus prepared, sufficient to conceal for ever the deformities of the vilest sinner-even the merits arising from the voluntary and perfect obedience of the divine Surety and Redeemer. Clad with this, as "with the garments of salvation," the sinner, without alarm, may appear at the bar of judgment, and, relying on the divine faithfulness, plead for an inheritance with "the saints in light." This gracious provision of divine mercy is in the sovereign gift of the Redeemer. Sinners, even the chief, are affectionately invited in the Gospel to avail themselves of the gracious boon, free of any price or recompense. "If we then believe in God, who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead, and gave him glory," and if, renouncing all dependence on any thing we ourselves can either suffer or perform, as constituting a warrantable ground of recommendation to the divine regard, we confide exclusively and implicitly in what Christ, as Redeemer, hath done for sinners,-the righteousness which, as surety, he wrought out in our nature, They who "killed the Lord Jesus.”—They cried with shall be imputed to us. The meritorious efficacy of clamorous voices and unrelenting hearts," crucify him, his vicarious suffering shall be considered as ours. We crucify him!" and "with wicked hands," they crucifishall be freed from the charge of guilt, relieved from the ed the Prince of Life and Lord of Glory, who was both yoke of legal bondage, and warranted, as by divine au"Lord and Christ." They caused his head to be cirthority, to cherish hope and confidence towards God. cled with thorns, his hands and feet to be pierced with For the Scriptures assure us, that the Lord Jesus sub- nails, and his side with a spear. To the pain and igmitted to a course of human suffering unto death, as the nominy of the cross they added the sting of ingratitude, surety of his people; that he endured the curse of the which entered more deeply than "the iron into his broken law for them, and cancelled its claims against soul." If the Roman Caesar, who had waded to the them, as a covenant. And we further learn, as from heights of his ambition through the tears and blood of the Redeemer's own lips, that, as Moses lifted up the thousands, was moved with generous grief when he saw serpent in the wilderness," and the Israelites, who, in among his murderers the friend (Brutus) whom he had compliance with the divine command, looked at it in loved and honoured, and when he felt at his heart the all the various stages of their disease, were immediately point of a sharper weapon than even that of the deadly cured, even so was the Son of Man lifted up upon the steel;-Oh! What must He have felt who came not to cross, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, destroy men's lives, but to save them, when he beheld but have everlasting life." "He that believeth shall" his own," whom he came to redeem, conspiring be saved; he that believeth not shall be condemned." against a life which had been devoted to their best in"He that believeth on the Son hath life; and he that terests? What must the King of Zion have felt when, believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath from the cross on Calvary, he saw Jerusalem, over of God abideth on him." The provided benefit is thus whose doom he had lately shed tears of generous symconnected with the belief of the atonement by which it pathy and sorrow, pouring forth her idle crowds of cruel has been secured. While believing sinners, by the pro- scoffers to gaze on his agonizing frame, and, by fresh mise and oath of God, are encouraged, as "the heirs of insults, to wound his ingenuous mind? What must he promise, to have strong consolation, having fled for rehave felt when he saw those who had heard his grafuge, to lay hold upon the hope set before us in the cious words, and seen his mighty works, who had Gospel; which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, mingled their glad voices with the hosannas of applaudboth sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that ing thousands, now swelling the raging floods of the within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us enter- ungodly, and joining in the bitter invectives which, like ed, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever, after the so many sharp arrows, were showered upon him from order of Melchizedec."-SIME. every side?-WIGHTMAN.

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On fellowship with Christ.-To be one with the Son of God in our predominant thoughts and affections and features of character and sources of happiness, to have the heart elevated above the rounds of earthly drudgery by the feeling of connection with the realities of the heavenly state, to be performing every duty from reverential and grateful regard for the authority of the

Hypocrisy. When Christ is in court, and Religion in fashion, then the hypocrite will put on some fits of diligence. O what will not a hypocritical Jehu do, when there is a crown to be had for following Christ and Religion: "O come, then, and see my Religion, and zeal for the Lord of Hosts." But bring Christ to the Hall of Caiaphas then will he soon quit him, and scatter Religion.—GRAY,

SACRED POETRY.

PARAPHRASE OF CANTICLES II. 1-5.

BY THE REV. ARCHIBALD M'CONECHY,
Minister of Bunkle.

SWEETER is Jesus' love to me
Than Sharon's fragrant rose,
He lovelier than the lily is

That in the valley grows.
Fair as amid the forest wide

The citron tree is seen,

So fairer than the sons of men
He in my sight has been.

I sat in his refreshing shade,
My weary soul to rest;
His fruit revived my soul again,
And sweet was to my taste.

He brought me to his banquet house,
A costly feast he made;

And lo! the banner of his love

He over me did spread.

Cheer me with wine, with odours sweet,
My fainting soul restore;
For I am vanquish'd by his love,
The love to me he bore.

VERSES

TO THE MEMORY OF A YOUNG LADY, WHO WAS CONFINED TO A SICKBED FOR MANY YEARS.

BY MISS ANNA L. GILLESPIE. FAREWELL, Sweet maiden; fare thee well: Relieved from ling'ring years of pain, Forgive the sighs of grief that swell

Our earthly loss, thy heavenly gain.

But let thy priz'd example ne'er

From memory fade; thy fervent faith;
Thy ardent hope; thy love sincere

To God, in sickness and in death.

Oh! thou wert good, and fair and young,
And life appear'd so clear and bright,
And fancy's fairy visions flung

Around thee prospects of delight.

An untried world was sweet to view;
The beam of morn; the falling eve;
The starry hosts in ether blue;

The moonbeams on the welt'ring wave.
All nature's glowing imagery

Of hills and vales, and woods and streams,
Were greeted by thy raptur'd eye,

And woke devotion's holy themes.
'Twas not to last. The Lord, in love,
Allur'd thee to the "wild'red way,"
Thy faith and constancy to prove,
"In sorrow's dark and cloudy day."
He took from thee all things below,

Save kindred love, attach'd and dear:
He made thy pensive soul to know

The peace that cannot centre here.

He bore thee up with strength'ning hand,
Thro' Jordan's dark appalling tide:
He shew'd thee Zion's glorious land,
And bade thee lay thy fears aside.
He sooth'd afflictions tedious days;
In all thy sickness made thy bed:
He taught thy mouth to speak his praise,
When pain and sickness bow'd thy head.

The term is past,-the trial o'er,

The ransom paid,-the prisoner free,The prize is given, and everinore,

My Christian friend, 'tis joy with thee.

MISCELLANEOUS.

An Infidel's Servant.-The Abbé Barruel, in the account he gives of the closing scenes of Diderot's life, tells us that he had a Christian servant, to whom he had been kind, and who waited upon him in his last illness. This servant took a tender interest in the melancholy situation of his master, who was just about to leave this world, without preparation for another. Though a young man, he ventured one day, when he was engaged about his master's person, to remind him that he had a soul, and to admonish him in a respectful manner not to lose the last opportunity of attending to its welfare. Diderot heard him with attention, melted into tears, and thanked him. He even consented to allow the young man to introduce a clergyman, whom he would probably have continued to admit to his chamber, if his infidel friends would have suffered the minister to repeat his visits. Let us be encouraged to attempt good under the most unpromising circumstances, and, in our different stations, to remember we are commanded to labour for the welfare of those with whom we are connected.

Have you a Mother?-Mr Abbott relates, in his "Mother at Home," that, some time ago, a gentleman in one of the most populous cities of America, was going to attend a seaman's meeting in the Mariner's Chapel. Directly opposite that place there was a Sailor's Boarding-house. In the door-way sat a hardy weatherbeaten sailor, with arms folded, and puffing a cigar, watching the people as they gradually assembled for worship. The gentleman walked up to him, and said,

Well, my friend, won't you go with us to Meeting?" "No," said the sailor bluntly. The gentleman, who, from the appearance of the man, was prepared for a repulse, mildly replied, "You look, my friend, as though you had seen hard days: have you a mother?" The sailor raised his head, looked earnestly in the gentleman's face, and made no reply. The gentleman, however, continued: "Suppose your mother were here now, what advice would she give you?" The tears rushed into the eyes of the poor sailor; he tried for a moment to conceal them, but could not; and hastily brushing them away with the back of his rough hand, rose and said, with a voice almost inarticulate through emotion, I'll go to the meeting." He crossed the street, entered the door of the chapel, and took his seat with the assembled congregation.

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Lord Bacon. When the French ambassador visited the illustrious Bacon, in his illness, and found him in bed, with the curtains drawn, he addressed this fulsome compliment to him:-" You are like the angels, of whom we hear and read much, but have not the pleasure of seeing them." The reply was the sentiment of a philosopher, and language not unworthy of a Christian: "If the complaisance of others compares me to an angel, my infirmities tell me I am a man.”

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