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this part of its direction? Did Christ make any mistake when he chose poverty? What says the practice of many of his professed followers at the present day?— the cant words, respectability, numbers, wealth, popularity, influence?

3. Its steady course. From its advent to its ascent, where was it ever diverted for a moment from its steady, onward progress?

Is there not something in all this to awaken admiration? Would it not be well for some of the professing servants to follow a little more closely in the track of their Master, if they would expect to carry out the objects of his flight through the earth?

0.

A VILLAGE CONVERTED. FROM the "Life of a Spanish Monk" we make the following extract, illustrative of the quickening power of the Sacred Scriptures:

"On my way I passed through Thiers. I did not meet any of my countrymen there; yet I think it will not be uninteresting to give a short account of the manner in which that place was reformed, and the zeal of those who forsook the yoke of Rome to enlist under the standard of the gospel.

"Two years before the state of the people was extremely discouraging. There was not then a Protestant to be found; and the people seemed devoted to their superstitious faith, and subject to the control of the priests. However, a Scotch gentleman of fortune, Mr. L-—, who annually visits different parts of France, for the purpose of disseminating the Scriptures, went there, and, with the aid of a few devoted colporteurs, furnished many a family with the word of God. The year after he paid another visit to the town, and an agent was employed to visit the families where the Scriptures had been placed, with urgent appeals to them to engage in its study.

"I had the happiness of forming an acquaintance with this excellent man, and of accompanying him in many of his labours of love. Sometimes he brought me into the large street which leads in from the country, before the dawn of day, laden with copies of the Scriptures; and when one of the large wagons which transport the produce of the farms to the markets of Thiers passed by, he addressed each wagoner, 'My friend, can you read?' 'Yes, sir,' was usually the answer. 'Let us hear you,' handing him a Testament.

When he had spoken a few words of exhortation to the man, he gave him the book, and passed on. Often we would go through the streets, entering each shop and selling or giving away copies of the Word. The character of the people was deeply affected by the distribution of the books; new ideas were entertained of religion, old superstitions were renounced, and a new form of worship was soon longed for. A large congregation was formed, who proceeded to the erection of a church, and sought a pastor of their own principles. In short, a large number of the inhabitants of Thiers became not only Protestants, but devoted and evangelical Christians. I have never seen, in any place, such Christian love and such lively zeal for religion as in Thiers. Their very enemies are struck by their conduct, and give honourable testimony respecting them.

"Every storekeeper among these converts keeps a supply of Bibles, Testaments, and tracts; and every customer is sure to hear religious exhortations and to have the Scriptures offered him, or some religious book given him before he leaves. And above every door are inscribed striking texts from the Scriptures in large letters; so that no one can pass through the streets without casting his eye on some of them.

"At Thiers I addressed several meetings of these new Christians; and before my departure I had the pleasure of hearing them pray for those who belonged to my nation. Thus, seeing that every man was a missionary, labouring with zeal in the field around him, I proceeded with renewed courage to my companions in arms at Dole, where I visited eighty of my countrymen, but could sell only six Testaments."

LUTHER'S SERMON BEFORE THE
COURT.

In the month of July, 1517, Duke George requested Staupitz to send him a learned and eloquent preacher. Staupitz sent Luther, recommending him as a man of great learning and irreproachable conduct. The prince invited him to preach at Dresden, in the chapel of the castle, on St. James the Elder's day.

The day came. The duke and his court repaired to the chapel to hear the preacher from Wittemberg. Luther seized with joy the opportunity of giving his testimony to the truth before such an assembly. He chose as his text the gospel of the

day, "Then the mother of Zebedee's children came to him with her sons," &c. Matt. xx. 20. He preached on the desires and unreasonable prayers of men, and then proceeded to speak with energy on the assurance of salvation. He rested on this foundation-that they who hear the word of God and believe it are the true disciples of Christ, elect unto eternal life. Then he spoke of free election; he showed that this doctrine, viewed in connection with Christ's work, has power to dispel the terrors of conscience, so that men, instead of fleeing far from the holy God, in the consciousness of their unworthiness, are brought by grace to seek refuge in him. In conclusion, he related a story of three virgins, from which he deduced edifying instructions.

The word of truth made a profound impression on the hearers. Two of them especially seemed to pay particular attention to the sermon of the monk of Wittemberg. The first was a lady of respectable appearance, seated on the benches of the court, and on whose features might be traced a deep emotion. This was Madame de la Sale, lady of the bedchamber to the duchess. The other was Jerome Emser, licentiate of canon law, and secretary and counsellor to the duke. Emser was gifted with talents and extensive acquirements. A courtier, a skilful politician, he would have wished at once to satisfy two opposite parties,-to pass at Rome as a defender of the Papacy, and at the same time shine among the learned men of Germany. But beneath this dexterous policy lay hid much violence of character. It was the chapel of the castle of Dresden that was the scene of the first meeting of Luther and Emser, who were destined afterwards to break more than one lance together.

The dinner hour sounded in the castle, and soon the ducal family and the different persons of the court were assembled round the table. The conversation naturally turned on the morning preacher. "How did you like the sermon?" said the duke to Madame de la Sale. "If I could but hear one other such sermon,' answered she, "I would die in peace.' "And I," replied Duke George angrily, "would give something not to have heard it; for such sermons are good for nothing, and serve only to encourage men in sin."

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The master having thus made known his opinion, the courtiers gave vent to their dissatisfaction. Each was ready with his remark. Some asserted that in Luther's story of the three virgins he had in his eye three ladies of the court; hereupon much talk and whispering ensued. The three ladies were rallied on the circumstance of the monk of Wittemberg having, as they said, publicly pointed them out. "He is an ignorant fellow," said some. "A proud monk," said others. Each one criticised the sermon in his own manner, and made the preacher say what he pleased. The truth had fallen in the midst of a court little prepared to receive it. Every one mangled it at his will. But whilst the word of God was thus to some an occasion of falling, it was to the lady of the bed-chamber a corner-stone of edification. One month afterwards she fell sick, embraced with confidence the grace of the Saviour, and died with joy.

As to the duke, it was not perhaps in vain that he heard this testimony to the truth. Whatever had been his opposition to the Reformation during his life, he is known to have declared on his death-bed that he had no other hope than in the merits of Christ.

Lessons by the Way; or, Things to Think On.

A HINT TO MINISTERIAL CANDIDATES. DR. EMMONS once said to a candidate for settlement, "You have struck twelve first; fools will complain of you if you do not strike thirteen next." This is true, and more than this is true. Not only fools but reasonable men will complain of the minister who, having struck twelve the first time, never strikes thirteen. He promises too much, and it ends in disappointment. candidate who makes an effort to strike twelve is also a fool. He puts himself off for more than he is worth, and the fraud is sure to be found out. Many young preachers "do their best" to

The

begin with, through a foolish desire to be popular. Such a beginning is apt to have a bad ending; as the sagacious Dr. Emmons said on another occasion, "Everything that captivates will at length disgust; therefore popularity cannot live." So it is a short-sighted policy in a people who must have a popular minister, i. e. a man who can captivate. If people would seek after substantial, sterling qualities in a minister, and candidates would make a show of nothing else, there would be less of disgust, disappointment, and change.

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Of spirits of my order to be racked

In life; to wear their hearts out, and consume
Their days in endless strife, and die alone;
Then future thousands crowd around their tomb,
And pilgrims come from climes where they have
known

The name of him who now is but a name;
And wasting homage o'er the sullen stone,
Spread his, by him unheard, unheeded fame.'

"Byron wrote these with a bottle of gin under his vest." I asked him whether he had not ever looked into the translation of Dante, by the Rev. Mr. Cary. He answered with scorn, "Cary was a good-for-nothing, beef-devouring parson, who could not appreciate Dante. I would rather break stones than read his horrible halting verses. For a man who cares for poetry, Dante is worth learning Italian; better worth the toil of acquiring a new language than that most lugubrious and dull jester, Cervantes, to read

whom in the original poor old Lord Camden devoted his dotage. I have not read a book these twenty years, nor had the heart to read it." I asked him, did he not think there was a resemblance between Byron and Dante, and might not that account for the superior spirit of the former's song, whenever the illustrious minstrel of Florence was mentioned? He answered, "There was a slight resemblance; a very, very slight resemblance. Dante was in heart and soul a gentleman; Byron was in heart and soul a blackguard, immensely vain, vulgar, bullying, ignorant, and mendacious.

ON PUNCTUALITY.

How very much do they err who consider the absence of order and method as supplying the greatest liberty, or removing a sense of restraint! Such freedom is galling to me, and in my eyes the want of punctuality is a want of honest principle; for however people may think themselves authorized to rob God and themselves of their own time, they can plead no right to lay violent hands on the time and duties of their neighbour. I say it deliberately, that I have been defrauded of hundreds of pounds, and cruelly deprived of my necessary refreshment in exercise, in sleep, and even in seasonable food, through this disgraceful want of punctuality in others, more than through any cause whatsoever besides. It is also irritating; for a person who would cheerfully bestow a piece of gold does not like to be swindled out of a piece of copper; and many an hour have I been ungenerously wronged of, to the excitement of feelings in themselves far from right, when I would gladly have so arranged my work as to bestow upon the robbers thrice the time they made me so wantonly sacrifice. Such persons may one day find they have a more serious account to render on the score of their contempt of punctuality than they seem willing to believe.-Charlotte Elizabeth.

THE FOUR QUARTERS OF LIFE. THE seven ages of man have been proverbial, but in respect to the mind there are granted to us but four periods of life. The first fifteen years are childhood; we know nothing-we hope. The next fifteen years are passion and romance-we dream. During the third period of fifteen years, from thirty to forty-five, we are what nature intended us to be. Character has formed; we pursue a course of life, we reason, we meditate. This is the period in which we may be said to live. The fourth period is that of commencing decay. We may grow wiser; but it is a wisdom that speaks in a shake of the head. Pain and penitence begin-we sorrow. Nevertheless, if the third period has passed in providing against the fourth, nature has changed, our declining years are lighted with happiness and love, and as they approach their destined end, instead of the gloom naturally accompanying decay, they are tinged with a ray from before them, and shadows rest behind us on our path, feelings spring up unfelt, even as in the magic periods first traversed by us-we rejoice.

SELFISHNESS.

GOD has written upon the flower that sweetens the air-upon the breeze that rocks that flower on its stem-upon the raindrop that refreshes the smallest sprig of moss that lifts its head in

the desert-upon the ocean that rocks every swimmer in its deep chambers-upon every pencilled shell that sleeps in the caverns of the deep, no less than upon the mighty sun which warms and cheers millions of creatures that live in his light,-upon all his works he has written, "None of us liveth to himself." And probably, were we wise enough to understand these works, we should find that there is nothing, from the cold stone in the earth, or the minutest creature that breathes, which may not in some way or other minister to the happiness of some living creature. We admire and praise that flower that best answers the end for which it was created, and bestows the most pleasure. We value and praise that horse which best answers the end for which he was created, and the tree that bears fruits the most rich and abundant. The star that is the most useful in the heavens is the star which we admire the most.

Now is it not reasonable that man,-to whom the whole creation, from the flower up to the spangled heavens, all minister,-man, who has the power of conferring deeper misery or higher happiness than any other being on earth,-man, who can act like God if he will,-is it not reasonable that he should live for the noble end of living not to himself, but for others?-John Todd. THE HUMILITY OF TRUE GREATNESS. DR. EDWARD JENNER, the great benefactor of the world by the discovery of vaccination, was in the most intense excitement while he was watching the result of his first experiments in applying the vaccine virus; and when complete success attended his trials upon different patients, his joy knew no bounds. It was his custom at this time, 1796, to meditate much as he rambled in the meadows under the castle of Berkely, near which he resided. He has left us a picture of his feelings at this period, full of interest:

"While the vaccine discovery was progressive, the joy I felt at the prospect before me of being the instrument destined to take away from the world one of its greatest calamities, blended with the fond hope of enjoying independence and domestic peace and happiness, was so excessive, that in pursuing my favourite subject among the meadows, I have sometimes found myself in a kind of reverie. It is pleasant to me to recollect that these reflections always ended in devout acknowledgments to that Being from whom this and all other mercies flow."

DEATH OF PITT.

PITT died at a solitary house on Wimbledon Common. Not far off, by the road-side, stood, and still stands, a small country inn, where the various parties interested in the great statesman's life were accustomed to apply for information, and to leave their horses and carriages. On the morning of the 23rd of January, 1806, an individual having called at this inn, and not being able to obtain a satisfactory reply to his inquiries, proceeded to the house of Pitt. He knocked, but no servant appeared; he opened the door and entered, but found no one in attendance. He proceeded from room to room, and at length entered the sick chamber, where, on a bed, in silence and perfect solitude, he found, to his unspeakable surprise, the dead body of that great statesman who had so lately wielded the power of England, and influenced, if he did not control,

the destinies of the world. We doubt whether any much more awful example of the lot of mortality has ever been witnessed.-Edinburgh Review.

JESUITS IN INDIA.

THE activity of the Jesuits in almost every part of India is great; their energy is unfailing, and their influence is rapidly extending throughout the country. Their rise has been extraordinarily rapid; and as there are among them men of high ability and good character, it is impossible for a member of the Protestant community to look on with unconcern. Their emissaries are engaged everywhere, to an extent suspected by few, often disguised, always subtle, and in every position most dangerous.

THE CARE OF OUR THOUGHTS. A CARE of our thoughts is the greatest preservative against actual sins. It is a most certain truth, that the greatest sin that ever was committed was at first but a thought. The foulest wickedness and most monstrous impiety arose from so small a speck as a first thought may be resembled to. The most horrid thing that ever was done, as well as the most noble and virtuous action that ever was accomplished, had no greater a beginning. Of such a quick growth and spreading nature is sin, that it rivals even the kingdom of heaven, which our Lord telleth us "is like to a grain of mustard-seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown up, (in those countries,) it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches of it," Matt. xiii. 31. But the apostle St. James, chap. i. 13-15, represents it by a simile of another nature, comparing the origin and growth of it to the formation of an embryo in the womb: "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: but every man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Then when his lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." It is conceived, bred, lives, and grows in a man, till at last it domineers in him, and " reigns in his mortal body," Rom. vi. 12. And therefore it is absolutely necessary that we govern and manage our thoughts, without which it will be impossible that we should avoid falling into actual sins, even the greatest; that we resist the beginnings, the very first emergencies of evil, if we hope to avoid the last degrees of it.Chilcot.

AMERICAN STATISTICS.

DR. BAIRD, in a recent sermon, estimated the number of communicants of evangelical churches in the United States at 2,800,000; the number of evangelical churches at 45,000; and of evangelical preachers of all denominations at 26,000. The number of preachers not evangelical he estimated at 4000.

The standing army of the United States, he said, was 8000 or 9000 men, while that of France is 400,000; besides which 3,000,000 national guards are required to do military duty once a fortnight, usually on the sabbath. Yet notwithstanding the pittance of military force in the service of the United States, all the riots which

ever occurred here, including that at Philadelphia last year, have not cost as many lives as have been frequently caused by similar disorders in England or France in a single year. Everybody knew that our little army would be nothing before the united power of the people, yet in no country was the public tranquillity so uniformly preserved. The great secret of this phenomenon, he conceived, was to be found in the general prevalence of the moral sentiment-the pervading influence of religious truth. The Bible here accomplished in respect to public order what millions of bayonets could not so well accomplish elsewhere.

THE SLAVE-TRADE.

"A VERY large number of vessels have been sent lately, it is reported, from Cuba on this trade, and are so armed as to show a determination to fight and die rather than to be taken. The

Carolias, taken by Captain Earl, was all ready for resistance, but she was boarded as she lay at anchor at midnight. One man was shot by the captain of the slaver: he wished to run below to blow up the vessel, but was secured. This vessel had a crew of about forty-two, and was to carry about 600 slaves. I found only thirtythree sailors on board: the others had left at Calabar, or died in the Bunbram Creek. The height of the space for slaves was three feet; about twenty or more females had places provided for them in the cabin ! The iron bars for securing the hatchways, and for torturing refractory slaves, affected me deeply. The great gun in midships had taken out of it five balls, one grape-shot, and one canister. It was half full, and certainly must have burst, or done fearful execution among the man-of-war's men.”— Extract of a Letter from the Rev. J. Clark, dated Fernando Po.

Essays, Extracts, and Correspondence.

WEST INDIAN MISSIONS.

To the Editor of the Christian Witness. MY DEAR SIR,-I cannot allow a too long deferred purpose to be delayed any longer, and in sitting down to address, through you, the readers of the CHRISTIAN WITNESS on the state and prospects of our West Indian Missions, more especially in this colony, I am sure no apology is necessary. And yet how difficult is it to write without conveying false impressions! A few cheering facts may be stated, and friends anxious for the prosperity of our missions rush at once to the fond conclusion that these isolated cases fairly represent the whole mission; or, on the other hand, if discouragements are fairly stated, and deteriorating processes set forth, other friends again suppose that all is dark and gloomy, without bright light at all. But every one who writes for publication must expect occasionally to be misunderstood; and although scarcely hoping to escape this very general misfortune, I venture to offer my opinion.

You are well aware that the London Missionary Society have placed their stations in the West Indies upon the selfsupporting system, under the impression that the resources of each station would be found adequate to its expenses. To this step the Society was urged, not merely by its own pecuniary exigencies, but also by the actual condition of our stations at the time this resolution was adopted. But since then circumstances have arisen, some of them unforeseen, and others that

as missionaries we ought to have calculated upon, that have made this noble experiment almost a total failure. For my own part I frankly confess that all my previous views on this subject-views long ago expressed in print and on the platform-have undergone an entire change; and my present firm conviction is, that in consequence of the facts about to be detailed, the missions in the West Indies will have to be abandoned in great measure, or again to be vigorously supported by the various missionary societies. May I beg the attention of your readers to perhaps a tedious detail?

1. The character of our congregations must not be forgotten. Almost without exception they are composed of agricultural labourers. A few of these had formerly the savings of many years, which have since been expended in the purchase of land and the erection of cottages: now all are dependent upon their monthly wages for labour in the field, &c., so that if, as lately, a long drought sets in, or as continually a large influx of foreign labourers is introduced upon the estates, either there is no work at all or wages are materially reduced, and the people having no resources to fall back upon are then compelled to spend all in supplying themselves with the necessaries of life. This of course is a serious embarrassment, to say the least, to the missionary depending upon his average monthly contributions for the purposes of the station.

2. It must be borne in mind that there is no longer the same bond of attachment

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