Billeder på siden
PDF
ePub

from the summary of his wanderings in the appendix to the volume, track out the general direction of his tour. Here, at its southern extremity, stands the venerated city of Upsala; and almost directly north lies Gefle, where we find him on the day following his departure. We have now, so to speak, struck the key-note; or, to drop the figure, have found out the course of his route, and may follow him along the western shore of the Gulf of Bothnia, taking for the present little notice of his occasional diversions inland, till he has reached Lulea on the 21st June. And now he ascends the river toward the mountainous ridge which forms so prominent a feature in the map; crosses these "Lapland Alps;" gazes from their snow-clad sides upon the fertile plains of Norway, and descends to the sea-coast, nearly opposite the far-famed Maelström. Unable to persuade the boatmen of the country to visit it, he recrosses the mountains, and in about a fortnight arrives back at Lulea on the 30th July. Again he shapes his course northward; turns the gulf at Tornea; ventures into East Bothland, but not understanding the language of the people, hesitates to return that way; wanders about the neighbourhood of Kimi, but, overruling his scruples, turns again southward, and passing through Wasa, Christiana, and Bjorneborg, arrives at Abo on the 5th October; crosses to the isle of Aland, and thence to his own city, which he reaches, with a grateful heart, on the 10th, after an absence of about five months, in which time he has traversed nearly four thousand miles of country.

Such is the grand outline of his tour; and now we are prepared to see how the author was equipped for his expedition. Here then he appears drawn to the life by his own pen.

"My clothes consisted of a light coat of West Gothland linseywoolsey cloth without folds, lined with red shalloon, having small cuffs and collar of shag; leather breeches, a round wig, a green leather cap, and a pair of half boots. I carried a small leather bag, half-an-ell in length, but somewhat less in breadth, furnished on one side with hooks and eyes, so that it could be opened and shut at pleasure. This bag contained one shirt, two pair of false sleeves, two half shirts, an inkstand, pencase, microscope, and spying glass; a gauze cap to protect me occasionally from the gnats; a comb, my journal, and parcel of paper stitched together for drying plants, both in folio; my manuscript ornithology, Flora

Uplandica, and Characteres generici. I wore a hanger at my side, and carried a small fowling piece, as well as an octangular stick, graduated for the purpose of measuring. My pocket book contained a passport from the governor of Upsal, and a recommendation from the academy."

With such an equipment, who can doubt that our traveller went forth for the very purpose of gaining knowledge. He was in fact, entering a new school, nobly resolved on turning his advantages to the best account; prepared for the severest discipline, and full of eagerness to grapple with the toils and inconveniences to which the pursuit of this knowledge might introduce him. "Truly the light is sweet;" and a well-trained mind loves to hasten to the brightness of its rising, turning towards it intuitively, and revelling in its earliest and faintest beams, with a joy of which the uninformed are ignorant. Pity it is that any should think they have attained it, when they are only walking in the morning twilight! Our sight is at best "dim, distant, and low," while our eyes remain unanointed by the Holy Spirit himself. GOD IS LIGHT, AND IN HIM IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL! Why should we rest satisfied with those feeble reflections of his brightness, which are sent back from the outworks of his glorious temple, when we may contemplate the perfection of his beauty, shining out of Zion? We remember to have heard from the pulpit a very striking remark, which appears pertinent to the present subject. The preacher was commenting on the psalmist's prayer-“ So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom," when he took occasion to observe that the early days of many were as ciphers, while the only figures of any use came in at the end, and could therefore impart no value to the others. Had the integer preceded the ciphers, those days which were otherwise of no account would have derived importance from it, and the mere units would be multiplied a thousand fold. This is a good rule to bear in mind in all our studies. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness;" for it is only the renewed heart that grows really wiser by the pursuit of science. To the worldly mind it is a lure that leads away from God, while to the christian it is one of many means, by which a loftier sense of his perfections is let in to the adoring mind.

(To be continued.)

DISSOLVING VIEWS.

"Or all the things, Emily, you saw in London," asked little Edward, "what did you like the best?"

"Why I am sure, dear, I scarcely know. I liked the Zoological Gardens very much. There, as aunt reminded us, all the wonders we see, are the work of God's own hand, and—

"O tell me, Emily, all about the animals," exclaimed Edward, drawing his stool close to her. "How big was the elephant? Did you see a camel? Was it an old lion, with a shaggy mane? O Emily, was there a giraffe ?"

"One question at a time," said Emily, laughing, "and I will endeavour to answer you." Then, while the needle flew as swiftly as if she had given it her whole attention—for nearly an hour, she entertained her little brother. With many a pleasant smile she met his eager curiosity, and tried to blend with the amusement, useful knowledge, and religious improvement. When he seemed pretty well satisfied with the gardens, she mentioned some other exhibitions. The Panorama of Jerusalem was among them: in mentioning it, Emily pointed out the fulfilment of prophecy; told him that nothing remained in that dense mass of buildings, of the original city; the threatening having been awfully fulfilled, "not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down."

"Was not Jerusalem destroyed, Emily," enquired Edward, "because the Jews rejected the Lord Jesus Christ ?"

"Yes, dear."

"Will the Lord be as angry with us, if we reject Jesus Christ?" "Certainly he will. So that when we look at any representation of Jerusalem or think of a Jew, we should pray, 'from all unbelief and hardness of heart, O Lord, deliver us.' But should we think

only of ourselves at such times?"

"No, I suppose we should be very sorry for the Jews."

"O yes, for we owe a great deal to them. Do you know what we have received from them ?"

"The Holy Scriptures."

"Yes, all the books of the Old Testament have been preserved by them, and handed down to us. And the New Testament also, was written by men of their nation, under the inspiration of the

Holy Spirit. Our Saviour himself, in his human nature, sprang from Jewish parents; so that we may truly say, salvation is of the Jews. The apostles, too, who travelled, and laboured, and suffered, to make known the gospel to the Gentiles, were of the seed of Abraham. The least we can do, therefore, is to mourn over the fallen state of the Jews; to pray for their conversion, and to help those societies which are raised for their benefit. And in so doing, we shall find a blessing to ourselves, for God is pleased with those who pity his people. Glorious times are promised, too, when the Jews shall be restored to the divine favour; for we are told, the dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ shall then be established upon earth; for the receiving of Israel shall be to the world, as life from the dead.'"

"May I give a penny a week to your box, sister?"

"Can you spare it from what mamma gives you now?" "O yes, by denying myself a little."

"Well, that will be far better, than that the Jews should be denied the gospel, will it not? But we must not give in a careless manner, or think we have done a fine thing, and then be proud of it. We must examine our motives, to see whether we are influenced by love to God our Saviour, and a desire to do good to our fellow-creatures. And then we must ask our heavenly Father to pardon all the sin which is mixed with our best duties, and to accept the offering, for his dear Son's sake."

"I will try to remember what you say, sister. And now tell me what else you saw?"

"Well, only one thing more: by that time, papa will be ready for me; I was much pleased with some 'dissolving pictures' which I saw at the Polytechnic."

[ocr errors]

'Dissolving pictures! what are they?”

"Pictures which you see beautifully bright and distinct, and all at once, before you are aware, they fade away, and another comes instead. There was a fine cathedral, the perspective so good, that it seemed as if you might walk down the solemn aisles, in solitary reflection; suddenly it filled with a congregation who were singing a sacred tune. Never did people come and go so quietly. The beautiful castle of Chillon was another picture, which changed into the dungeon, where three brothers were chained to three separate pillars."

"O sister, how shocking, what were they chained for?" "They had been taken prisoners after a battle, and the tyrant conqueror confined them there. How thankful should we be, Edward, for the peace and liberty in which we live; and how we should long and pray for the time, when wars shall cease through all the earth. There was another picture, which must have been got up very quickly, the Tower of London. There it stood in all its gloomy grandeur-and presently, behold it was in flames. We heard the reports of the cannon, and saw a good representation of that sad and awful fire."

"O shall I ever go to London? Sister, were you not very loath to come away?"

"No, indeed, I was not; I have far sweeter pleasures in my own dear home, than all which London can afford. Now good-bye: little Ellen will be awake by this time, and you may have a nice run in the garden with her."

Edward threw his arms round Emily's neck, and imprinted a hearty kiss on her cheek, in return for all his pleasure. Having done this, he proceeded to search for fresh enjoyment in Ellen, the garden, and his hoop.

Mr. Melville was already in the parlour, though he had motioned with his hand that he would not disturb them. It was his custom to devote an hour every day to Emily's instruction; for though she had left the school-room, she was still young; her mind was not sufficiently cultivated, nor her character formed. She had learned enough, however, to make her humble, while seeing how much remained of which she was ignorant; and enough also, to give her abundant sources of enjoyment, and fit her for usefulness to others. Very greatly did she prize the seasons spent with her kind, and talented, and pious parent. And sweet was the joy with which he and her beloved mother beheld their first-born child, growing in knowledge, grace, loveliness, and usefulness.

When the hour's occupation was completed, Mr. Melville turning to his daughter with a smile which well repaid her morning kindness, observed,

“Well, Emily, you seem to have filled Edward this morning, with wonder and delight."

"O yes, his whole mind is full of admiration of London, and

« ForrigeFortsæt »