He beholds me. I cannot flee from his presence, and if I would, how ungrateful, how sinful would be the attempt! That presence has been my solace in affliction, my support in difficulty, my defence in danger. Why should I wish to escape from it now? I am a stranger and unknown, but my 'light is to shine before men.' Let me choose for my companions the righteous, who are the excellent of the earth. Let me inquire what benevolent and religious institutions already exist, that I may forward them to the best of my ability. Can I not suggest others that may easily be established, and thus live to the glory of God and the good of my fellow-creatures? Let me countenance the ministers of Christ, and assist them by my prayers and example to stem the torrent of abounding iniquity, and as far as I can, to check the subtle operation of a worldly temper in a situation so full of danger. Oh! if our professedly religious visitors, and our residents of the same description, were influenced by such a spirit, what an awful glory would beam from the sanctuary! What a stream of holy light would shed its influence around, carrying irresistible evidence of the truth of religion, illustrating its unrivalled excellence, and proclaiming its infinite importance! A strong line of distinction would thus be drawn between the world and the church. The inconsistencies of Christians would no longer be the jest of the libertine, the scoff of the vain, and the text of the infidel. Ministers, surrounded with a numerous audience, would not have to mourn the inefficiency of their labours, nor to weep in secret that all their efforts are frustrated by the captivations and the follies of a world that passeth away. That all this may be prevented, let those who 'name the name of Christ,' both visitors and stated inhabitants, ponder well the peculiar temptations and snares which it is their duty and will be their happiness to avoid. If they are disposed to think of them lightly, to imagine that they offer only innocent gratifications, and that to view them as dangerous, and to condemn them as sinful, is neither justified by reason, nor required by Scripture such persons have yet to imbibe the spirit of Christianity, have yet to learn the nature of holiness. It is evident, that however they may be versed in the doctrines and precepts of the Sacred Volume, there is one important passage which describes the essence and pronounces the eulogy of vital religion, to which they are utter strangers, and which they have not, at present, the moral capacity to understand, namely, 'Blessed is the man that feareth always.'"

THE SCHOOL-BOY AND HIS FATHER.

A FRAGMENT.

MR. EDITOR,

While spending a few days with a pious and respectable friend, a school-master called with his half-yearly account for the education of my friend's son George. Having received the amount and withdrawn, the contents of the bill gave rise to a conversation between the father and son, which if you think worthy of notice is at your service.

CLARA.

(The father looks for some time over the various items of the bill, then turns to his son.)

FATHER. Mr. George, you ought to be a very good boy, and make great progress in your learning. Here (showing him the bill) I have

paid all this for your board and education the last half-year. How long have you been at school?

GEORGE. Three years and a half, father.

F. Then I have already paid six times as much as this. What

a sum!

G.-Why, Sir, you must be very rich.

F.-I think I ought to be rich to support such an expensive boy. Then this is but a part of the business. What did you cost before you went to school? and now there is your clothing besides. What a deal more you will cost before you are settled in life! I can't apprentice you without a considerable premium, and then set you up in business.

G.-But, father, I don't cost you so much as Maria. I don't learn music nor drawing What a sum you paid for her piano forte and books. No: nor do my clothes cost so much in the winter. She has a muff, tippet, and umbrella; and in the summer a parasol: but I have none. Nor do you pay so much for me as for James. He learned Latin and Greek, because he was to be a doctor; he has boots and shoes, and I have only shoes; and you know, Sir, you paid twelve shillings this morning to the shoe-black for cleaning his boots and shoes the last quarter, because while he walks the hospital you wished him to appear genteel; and besides all this

F.-Prythee, boy, stop; you will quite frighten me. I don't know what to do with you all!

G.-I am sure you must be very rich! and all this is to take care of our bodies-bodies only; but the chapter Adeline read at family prayer this morning, said, "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"--and as that soul is worth so much what for our souls?

must you pay

F.-Ah! my dear boy, your souls cost a vast price indeed! Jesus Christ purchased your souls with his own most precious blood: and that is an incalculable price. You have learned arithmetic, George; but if you practise it all your life you will not be able to calculate the value of that price which he paid for our souls.

G.-And did not Christ purchase our bodies too?

F.-Yes, certainly. Our minister spoke upon that subject some time ago, from this text, "Ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are his." "Our bodies," he said, were bought as well as our souls, and that is the reason why we should glorify God with them."

G.-I remember; it was at Midsummer vacation. But will my schoolmaster make any abatement in his charge, because Jesus Christ paid to redeem our bodies?

F.-Silly boy! How can you suppose that?

G.-And why should not the minister be paid for taking care of our souls? I think he is a very good man.

you

F.-My dear child, I do pay him very handsomely. I am glad that respect him, for he is a deserving gentleman. You know I have the best seat at chapel, and pay five guineas a year, which is as much as any family gives. You know the seat will only hold your mother, myself, and you four children.

G.-Why, Sir, that is only seventeen and sixpence a year for each of our souls, which is not so much as you pay the shoe-black for cleaning brother James's boots; and yet he takes a great deal of pains to preach

to us; and I shall never forget when my poor sister Lucy was ill, how often he came and talked to her, and prayed; and when she died, how he wept, and spoke so kindly to us all!

F.-He did so, George; but he had a hat-band and gloves.

still more.

G.-Yes, Sir; and you gave both the servants mourning, which was And do you give no more yearly than this for us all ? F.-Yes, child, there are collections; I never pass the plate without giving.

G.-Yes, I remember, mamma told me never to go by without giving, because if others observed we did not give they would not; and besides she said, it was very good to be charitable, and to get a habit of doing good; for then we should feel as uneasy if we did not give, as before if we did give.

F-I hope our dear minister is comfortable; he never complains. G.-I think I should if I were he. I hope, father, you will not make me a minister-except I am to be paid better than he is; for you do not give him so much as Maria's music master, who has a guinea a quarter to teach her how to move her fingers, or even James's shoe-black. I fear that people don't think their souls are worth much, seeing they pay so very much for the care of their bodies, and so very little for the care of their souls!

SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATED.

“I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house-top.”—Psalm cii. 7. I HAVE often wondered (says Mr. Warterton) what bird this could be; knowing by daily experience that it could not actually be the housesparrow, for the house-sparrow is not solitary in its habits; I despaired of being able to trace its character satisfactorily, and I should probably have long remained in ignorance of it, had I not visited the southern parts of Europe. My arrival in Rome let me at once into the secret. The bird to which the repentant King of Israel compared himself in the seven penitential Psalms is a real thrush, in size, in shape, in habits, and in song; with this difference from the rest of the tribe, that it is remarkable, throughout all the East, for sitting solitary on the habitations of man. The first time I ever saw this lonely plaintive songster, was in going to hear mass in the magnificent church of the Jesuits at Rome. The dawn was just appearing, and the bird passed over my head, in its transit from the roof of the Palace Odescalchi to the belfry of the church of the Twelve Apostles, singing as it flew. I thought it had been the Italian blackbird, with notes somewhat different from those of our own. I found out my mistake in due time; and, on seeing that the bird was the true solitary thrush, I paid particular attention to its habits. It is, indeed, a solitary bird; for it never associates with any other, and only with its own mate in breeding time, and even then it is often seen quite alone upon the house-top, where it warbles in sweet and plaintive strains, and continues its song as it moves in easy flight from roof to roof, and may be seen at one time or other of the day on the tops of most of the churches, monasteries, or convents within or without the city. It makes its nest

in holes of the walls; it lays five eggs of a very pale blue; they much resemble those of our starling. The bird itself is blue, with black wings and tail; the blue of the body becoming lighter when placed in different attitudes.

This bird is solitary to the fullest extent of the word, and may be seen in all the countries of the East, up to Syria and Egypt, and probably much further on. It being an assiduous frequenter of the habitations of man, I cannot have a doubt but that it was the same bird which King David saw on the house-top before him, and to which he listened as it poured forth its sweet and plaintive song. Moved by its melody, and comparing its lonely habits with its own, he exclaims in the fulness of an afflicted heart, "I watch, and am as a sparrow (thrush) alone upon the house-top."

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

ON THE UNION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHURCH IN THE CONVERSION OF THE WORLD. By the Rev. T. W. JENKYN, D.D., Author of "The Extent of the Atonement," &c. Second Edition, carefully revised. London: J. Snow. 12mo. cloth boards, pp. 447.

In our present number we can only bear our willing testimony to the transcendant ability displayed in the work before us. It is profound in thought, close in argumentation, and rich in its illustrations. We purpose giving it a more lengthened review in our next number; the importance of the work demands it; whilst certain propositions contained in it require a more protracted consideration to justify us in decidedly expressing our opinion on their nature and tendency.

THE DISSENTER'S PLEA FOR HIS NONCONFORMITY; exhibited in a course of Lectures on the Rise, Reign, Religion, and Ruin of Antichrist, or MYSTICAL BABYLON. By WILLIAM JONES, M.A., Author of "The History of the Waldenses," "Bible Cyclopædia," &c., &c., &c. London: J. Snow. 8vo. cloth boards, pp. 536.

Most cordially do we welcome this elaborate and most valuable work. It is the production of one in whom talents of the highest order are combined with a diligence of research, and a clearness and fidelity of statement, which entitle him to the entire confidence of his readers. The venerable Author is now in his eighty-fourth year. He has, therefore, had time to ponder well the principles he has so long and so ably advocated; and his work bears the characteristics of undiminished mental energy, and of a sound and matured judgment. At the present time this volume is peculiarly seasonable. It is well calculated to show up Popery in its real though hidden deformity, and to undeceive those who seem to view with indifference, if not with complacency, the rapid strides with which the man of sin is stalking through the length and breadth of our land. Here Popery is proved to be the essence of tyranny, as well as of corruption, and Protestantism is held forth as subsisting only in its purity and power, when associated in all its movements with the great principles of civil and religious freedom. To all classes of Christian readers we do most earnestly recommend the work before

us.

SEASONS OF SORROW. Original Poems. By JOHN PRING. London: Hamilton, Adams, and Co. Cloth boards, pp. 207.

PUSEYISM. Addressed to all who either promote or proscribe Tractarianism. London: Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper. Stitched, 18mo. pp. 207.

The design of the respected author is to expose the persecuting spirit and superstitious character of Popery. The facts which he adduces fully establish his point. Popery is shown to be as puerile as it is corrupt to be as worthy of contempt and ridicule as it is of fixed and indignant hatred. Every effort which tends to weaken the influence and retard the progress of Popery is an effort adapted to the times, and well deserves the sanction of every sound Protestant.

GREEN'S SECOND BOOK. London: Darton and Clark. 12mo. cloth bds. pp. 108. The design of this book is most admirable, and the execution is in every respect equal to the design. It is full of attraction, and full of utility; for it is embellished with very many excellent wood engravings, and communicates in clear and simple language a large amount of that kind of elementary knowledge which is just sufficient to create a thirst for larger supplies, and at the same time lays the foundation of a solid and useful education.

THE YOUNG WOMEN OF THE FACTORY; or, Friendly Hints on their Duties and Dangers. London: Religious Tract Society. 18mo. stiff covers, pp. 176.

In the publication of such a work as this, the Tract Society is not only occupying its legitimate sphere of action, but is conferring unspeakable benefits on a very numerous and important class of the community. In our estimation, ponderous folios and thick quartos are useless and worthless compared with such a book as the one before us. It is within the reach, both as to purchase and reading, of those for whom it is designed. Sound, judicious, and impressive admonitions are given on every topic that relates to the health, character, and comfort of young females employed in factories. Dress, temper, economy, marriage, cleanliness, truth, industry, social duties, needlework, general knowledge, and in short everything connected with the welfare of the parties is brought before the attention of the reader; and so strong is our conviction of the valuable tendency of this little book, that we feel unable to express ourselves with sufficient earnestness in its favour. It is a work which we hope will indirectly benefit thousands yet unborn. If young factory women would but read it, and follow its counsels, both they and others would have reason to bless God in time and in eternity. We trust it will not be considered out of place if we suggest to the owners of factories, that they could not render a more valuable service to themselves, as well as to those whom they employ, than by the gratuitous distribution of this excellent manual. We think we know of those who, if they were aware of its value, would order it by hundreds to give away; and nothing would afford us greater pleasure than to execute a goodly number of such orders.

THE SPRING. Tract Society.

A pretty interesting book, which ought to have had for its title "Springs, or Fountains of Water."

THE MIRROR OF THE GOSPEL. By J. R. BALME, Third Thousand. London: Hamilton, Adams, and Co. 18mo. stiff covers, pp. 135.

A most eloquent and heart-stirring delineation of the essential characteristics of the gospel.

THIRTY LECTURES ON POPERY. BY SAMUEL DUNN. London: J. Snow. 18mo. stiff covers, pp. 70.

Thirty Lectures in seventy pages! A synopsis of each lecture is given, not the lecture in full. We like the work none the worse on this account. It will be the more extensively circulated, and we trust the more extensively read. Here we have a great deal in a small compass. He who reads this book will probably find his information much enlarged, and will wonder how so small a book could contain and communicate so much. We cordially thank Mr. Dunn for his publication, and sincerely hope that it will pass through many editions.

COBBIN'S CHILD'S COMMENTATOR ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. and Co.

London: Ward

CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY. By J. BURNS. London: Houlston and Stoneman. This work consists of short essays on a variety of moral and religious topics. The style is somewhat peculiar. It is concise, sententious, and at times rather quaint, but never inelegant, and always clear, lively, and vigorous. The sentiments are full of truth and wisdom. The volume, therefore, abounds with most valuable instructioninstruction that will be found applicable to every stage of human existence, but especially so to the young and inexperienced. When the mind is jaded with the toil and cares of business, this volume may be taken up and a few of its sections read with interest and advantage. Its maxims and lessons are all-important in the business of life.

THE PEOPLE'S GALLERY OF ENGRAVINGS. Edited by the Rev. G. N. WRIGHT, M.A. Fisher, Son, and Co.