1838.] 187 HYMN FOR INFANT SCHOOLS. MR. EDITOR, About this time last year you published in your excellent little work a few verses entitled "Morning Hymn for a Child:" I was much pleased with these lines, and, in order to adapt them for an Infant School, I made a few alterations and additions, and then taught the children to sing them to the well-known and easy tune of the Portuguese Hymn. When hearing the little infant voices united in this simple strain, it has appeared to me that this is a hymn in which all classes and all ages might with one heart and one accord join. The simple faith, the desire in thought, word, and deed to please Him who in His mercy and, goodness condescends to be called our Father, the entire resignation to His heavenly will, and the hope of eternal life, are the sentiments which it expresses in simple though earnest terms; and surely, whether we may be wise or unlearned, rich or poor, old or young, all of us should be ready to enter into these feelings, considering it a privilege thus to humble ourselves as the children of our Father who is in heaven, and remembering the words of our blessed Saviour-" Verily, I say unto you, except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven." I am doubtful whether you may think it worth while to republish this little hymn with the alterations I have made, but I send it you in case you should do so. You will perceive that it is written first for persons in general, and that it is underlined so as to make it suitable for an Infant School. I beg to remain Your faithful servant, HYMN. GREAT God, and wilt Thou condescend of us {poor shiners}; though so high, Thou art the Lord of earth and sky. TO THE EDITOR OF THE COTTAGER'S MONTHLY VISITOR. (Letter from THOMAS BUSH, a Parish Clerk.) HONOURED SIR, I hope you will be pleased to accept my humble thanks for publishing in your book the tune I made for the Sunday School Hymn. I never thought to see that, or my name, in print; but, as you have thought so well of it, I should be very glad if you will be pleased to accept of another tune of mine, with the words too, which I made and put together just after our last good King, William the Fourth, died. I hear that our young Queen has fixed the day for her coronation; and I think, that if you will be kind enough to put it in your book, when some of your readers see it, they will do, as we are doing here, teach the Hymn to the School Children. I meant it as a sort of prayer for God's blessing, and I am sure she need have God's help and blessing, for it seems to me that she has a weighty concern upon her to govern this great nation. It is my hearty prayer that God may bless her, and grant 1838.] LETTER FROM A PARISH CLERK. 189 her as long and happy a reign as he did to her good old grandfather George the Third. It is true enough, Sir, that I am nothing but a blacksmith; but I was brought up by pious parents to fear God and honour the king; and though I have to work hard for my family, I am contented with my humble station, and endeavour to do my duty in it; and I am very thankful that I was early taught to avoid drinking and all bad company;-for, instead of spending my time and my money, as too many thoughtless people do, I am all the happier man, and much better off for it in this world, to say nothing about the next; and I consider it a blessed thing that God has given me such a gift for music. It is my great delight to be spending my time in that heavenly amusement-for it is sacred music that I love the best, and none of the random sort, a good deal of which seems to me to come from our enemy the devil; for I am sure that the fiddle and bad words are the ruin of hundreds. I do not think that I ever saw your book before this month, and now I like it so much that I mean to take it in, and have the numbers bound up at the end of the year; for so much good advice, that it contains, I hope will improve me, and do good to my children. I ask your pardon for writing this long letter-but I wished to tell you my mind, and thank you, and I am, honoured Sir, Bitton, April 9, 1838. Your very respectful Servant, [The above letter is written in so natural a style, and contains so much good advice, and holds forth so good an example, that we have great pleasure in printing it. It was written in consequence of our having inserted in our April number a tune sent to us by the Rev. H. T. Ellicombe of Bitton, composed, as Mr. E. states, by his worthy clerk." We are sorry not to be able to give the song and the music which accompanied the letter, but we find that there is much more difficulty and expense than we were aware of in printing music in our pages.-ED.] THE RIVER OF DEATH. FROM a calculation made of the quantity of spirituous liquors consumed in Great Britain and Ireland, it appears it would form a river sixty feet broad, three feet deep, and eighty miles long. Add to this calculation the number it drives to the madhouse, the jail, the workhouse, Botany Bay, and the gallows; the number of children who go hungry and bare, the number of wives who "sob away the night," the number who lose both soul and body in this river of death.-Birmingham Journal. LETTER FROM WILLIAM SIR, JAIL. A CONVICT IN BURY I ENCLOSE the letter of one of the labourers mentioned in your last number (page 150). William wrote to his wife a few days after his conviction, and not long before his removal to the convict-ship, which is now on its way to New South Wales;-I have not altered the spelling of the letter, but send a faithful copy. On reading it one naturally feels surprised that so kind a husband and affectionate a father (which character he always bore) should have committed so heinous a crime as that of sheep-stealing; but, could it have been wondered at, if he had fallen to a more degraded state, if possible, when it is considered that he had entirely neglected to hallow the Lord's Day, and preferred the company of depraved and wicked associates to the service of his Divine Lord and Master. If his heart had been touched with a sense of his guilt like that of the publican's, and if he had ever uttered his prayer, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" he would not have called that an "error," which God calls "sin," and which the laws of his country, a short time ago, punished with death. But the Father of Mercies, who does not "despise the day of small things," will, we must hope, hear the desire of this poor man to lead a new and better life, and teach him, by His grace, that, if left to his own unassisted strength to withstand temptation, he will always find it in the end to have been perfect weakness. 1838.] LETTER FROM A CONVICT. 191 MY DEAR WIFE, I take my pen to address you with a few lines charged with my kind and sincere love to you and the dear children, hopeing those lines will meet you all in good health, as they leave me considering my situation; only I suffer so much pain in my feet, but I am in hopes they will soon get better. Dear wife, I was very glad to hear you was so bravely after your confinement, and I hope with the help of God, you will continue mending. I shall be glad to hear you are perfectly well again. I shall caution you, my dear wife, to be sure to make yourself as happy and comfortable as you possibly can. I am sorry and vexed to my heart to think you and I have to part on this occasion; but, if it please God to spare you and me to live together again, it shall never be the case for the future time. I was led into this error foolishly, and that you know right well: no man tried to shun it more than I did; but being tempted and persuaded by them that did not wish me any good, a man is led into disgrace and sorrow before he can turn himself about. If I had but taken my thoughts, I should not have been in my present misery and trouble; but, being over-persuaded, I did as I was bid, to my sorrow that I did so; but I can see my faults now. Dear wife, you know as well as I do myself that I was led into this error very foolishly indeed; no man more so: but, let them put me in what situation they may, I will never do the like for the future time; and I hope and trust my poor children will not follow my example; but pray tell them to take warning by me, and never do the like that I have done. I am very sorry that I have set them such bad examples, but tell them from me to be good children and do all they can to help you, and always get with them that wish them well, and not to resort with the wicked doers as I did. I shall be very sorry and vexed at my heart if I was to hear any harm was happened to them tell them from me not to swear, lie, nor steal, nor brake the sabbath; for all those are an abomination to the Lord. And if the Lord see them do well, He will help them. Dear wife, I know you have had kind friends; and I heartily thank them for the goodness and kindness |