184

THE PHILOSOPHER'S SCALES.

The first thing he tried was the head of Voltaire, Which retain'd all the wit that had ever been there As a weight, he threw in a torn scrap of a leaf, Containing the prayer of the penitent thief; When the skull rose aloft with so sudden a spell, As to bound like a ball, on the roof of the cell.

Next time he put in Alcxander the Great, With a garment that Dorcas had made-for a weigh And tho' clad in armour from sandals to crown, The hero rose up, and the garment went down.

A long row of alms houses, amply endow'd By a well-esteem'd pharisee busy and proud, Now loaded one scale, while the other was prest By those mites the poor widow dropp'd into the chest Up flew the endowment not weighing an ounce, And down, down, the farthing's worth came with a bou

Again, he performed an experiment rare : A monk, with austerities bleeding and bare, Climbed into his scale; in the other was laid The heart of our Howard, now partly decayed; When he found, with surprise, that the whole of brother

Weigh'd less, by some pounds, than this bit of the ot

By farther experiments, (no matter how,) He found that ten chariots weigh'd less than one plo A sword, with gilt trappings, rose up in the scale, Though balanced by only a ten-penny nail : A shield and a helmet, a buckler and spear, Weighed less than a widow's uncrystallized tear. A lord and a lady went up at full sail,

When a bee chanced to light on the opposite scale.

Ten doctors, ten lawyers, two courtiers, one earl,
Ten counsellor's wigs, full of powder and curl,
All heaped in one balance, and swinging from thence,
Weigh'd less than some atoms of candour and sense ;-
A first-water diamond, with brilliants begirt,

Than one good potatoe just washed from the dirt;
Yet, not mountains of silver and gold would suffice,
One pearl to outweigh,-'twas the "pearl of great price.'

At last the whole world was bowl'd in at the grate ;
With the soul of a beggar to serve for a weight;
When the former sprang up with so strong a rebuff,
That it made a vast rent, and escaped at the roof;
Whence, balanced in air, it ascended on high,
And sail'd up aloft-
t—a balloon in the sky:
While the scale with the soul in, so mightily fell,
That it jerk'd the philosopher out of his cell.

MORAL.

DEAR reader, if e'er self-deception prevails,
We pray you to try The Philosopher's Scales:
But if they are lost in the ruins around,

Perhaps a good substitute thus may be found :-
Let judgment and conscience in circles be cut,
To which strings of thought may be carefully put :
Let these be made even with caution extreme,
And impartiality use for a beam :

Then bring those good actions which pride overrates,
And tear up your motives to serve for the weights.

XXXII.

JOHN XI. 21.

66 Lord if thou hadst been here."

SOME time ago, it happened, in a certain city, that the tranquillity of the inhabitants was disturbed by the sudden collection of a great concourse of people. Nothing excites more curiosity than such a circumstance : and so it was now. Persons of all descriptions ran out of their houses, or stood at their doors, to inquire the cause, and to see the approaching multitude. We may imagine, in one of the principal streets, the eager spectators awaiting the gradual advancing of the crowd. At first they heard only the distant murmur; but now the sound of a multitude of steps, and of innumerable voices, are distinctly heard. It comes nearer and nearer; now it has entered their street; and the foremost in the con;. course are visible. The gazers look on with a mixed feeling of curiosity and alarm; multitudes appear; the street fills from side to side; and now they distinguish something like standards, waving above the heads of the people. These, which appear to be green branches, are borne in triumph by the exulting throng. For they soon perceive that this is no tumultuous assembly; it is a peaceable procession. The shouting of many voices is heard; but they seem to be singing a triumphal chorus. At length the spectators distinguish a part where the crowd is thickest, and where the green boughs seem to concentrate; to this part every eye is directed; and each spectator waits anxiously till it arrives opposite his own dwelling: it is then that they discern, among the moving branches, the form of one raised a little above the crowd all are eager to catch a glimpse of Him; His aspect is dignified and serene: His attire is simple: He

looks mildly on the surrounding multitude: every one inquires, saying, "Who is this?"-and the multitude say,- "This is Jesus."

Reader, if you had been there, what would you have felt? would you not earnestly have desired that the procession might stop, if but for one moment, before your door, that you might have had a more distinct view? and what if Jesus had turned and looked upon you ? could you have borne that look? There were many young ones, like yourself, who saw that sight: many of the young daughters of Jerusalem who joined in that chorus. It was, you recollect, children who strewed branches in the way, and cried, "Hosanna in the highest:" suppose you had been one of those children! But this, you say, was impossible; these events happened many hundred years ago, and in a place far distant from England. And yet may it not be useful to endeavour to realize the scene for a moment; and to inquire what would have been your sensations, or what they would now be, if Jesus himself were to pass by. Especially as in this case, the circumstances of time and place make little essential alteration; because, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever ;" and it is He who says, "I am with you always."

"Jesus is gone above the skies,

Where our weak senses reach him not ;"

And because we cannot now behold him with our mortal eyes, how apt we are to forget his presence with us. Ask yourself, reader, how you would wish to have been employed: what you would have chosen as the subject of your thoughts, on such an occasion :-Would you have shrunk from his view, had they been occupied as they frequently now are? Which of all the vanities that engross your heart and your time would you have chosen to expose to the eye of Jesus? Do you reply, "Lord,

if thou hadst been there, I should have taken care to be suitably engaged?" Remember then, that He is passing by; His eye is upon you; "there is not a word in your tongue, nor a thought in your heart, but lo, he knoweth it altogether."

During the Saviour's visible abode on earth, there were many private companies which he honoured with his presence. When he was bidden to a feast, he condescended to go; not for his own entertainment, but that he might "be about his Father's business." might it not have a good effect, sometimes, when we are in company, to say to ourselves, "suppose we had lived in those days, and that the Lord Jesus was one of this party;

Now,

-what difference would it make in my feelings, in my behaviour, in my conversation? what difference should I have made in my dress, if He had been invited to day? should I not then have remembered some of the apostle's hints about 'gold and pearls and costly array ?' should I not at least, have been careful to be clothed in modest apparel? Say not in your heart, "Lord, if thou hadst been here, I should have acted, spoken and dressed differently," for does he not still know "our down sitting and our up rising;" does he not "compass our path;" is he not acquainted with all our ways?" yes, wherever we are, his holy eye beholds every impropriety of dress and of demeanour; should not this be some check?

It is recorded by the evangelist, that once, 66 as Jesus entered into the city he hungered:" and this was no solitary instance. O reader! if you had lived then, and if he had passed your door, and if he would but have accepted such refreshments as you could have offered him, how happy, how highly honoured would you have thought yourself! There are few indeed, however lightly they may, in fact, esteem the Saviour, but would gladly offer him such hospitality, if the opportunity were now presented. Well, the opportunity is presented. There