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which thousands of wise and good men have received as the revelation from God; there stands this old, this wonderful, this indestructible book, bearing upon its pages the image and superscription of the Eternal, and declaring itself to have been written by holy men of old who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. "It has not been given to any other book of religion, thus to triumph over national prejudices, and lodge itself securely in the heart of great communities,—varying by every conceivable diversity of language, race, manners, customs, and indeed agreeing in nothing but a veneration for the book itself. In his last illness, a few days before his death, Sir Walter Scott asked Mr. Lockhart to read to him. Mr. Lockhart inquired what book he would like. 'Can you ask,' said Sir Walter, 'there is but One:' and requested him to read the seventeenth chapter of the gospel of John." Yes, there is no book like the Bible. Pottenger.

CURIOUS DISCOVERY OF AN ANCIENT BIBLE.-A copy of the first complete edition of the English Bible, printed by Myles Coverdale, bearing the date 1535, was, not long ago, accidentally discovered in the false bottom of an old oak chest, at Holkham Hall, Norfolk, the seat of the Earl of Leicester. There are numerous imperfect copies of this edition of the holy scriptures in existence, two being deposited in the library of the British Museum, one in the Bodleian library at Oxford, one in the Cambridge University library; and, in fact, most of our great libraries and public institutions, as well as many private individuals, possess the volume. The above book is the most valuable specimen of Myles Coverdale's labours hitherto brought to light, being in every respect perfect, whereas all the other volumes enumerated are deficient of many leaves, both at the beginning and the end. During the religious persecutions in the reign of Queen Mary, the proof of the possession of the Bible subjected the parties to the consequences of an accusation of heresy, most of the impression were buried, which accounts for the deficiency, the humidity of the soil having destroyed a considerable portion of the leaves. Some idea may be formed of the estimation in which this bibliographical treasure is held, from the circumstance of a London bookseller having offered to purchase it for the sum of £500.

WORSHIP OF THE VIRGIN MARY.-Wooden images of the Virgin Mary, dressed up, are common in popish countries. Our Lady of Loretto is known to fame on account of the great homage and the rich presents made to her. Gold, pearls, diamonds, and other costly ornaments adorned her ladyship when she was visited by the revolutionists, in 1848; she used to have changes of clothes for working days, holidays, and Sundays; and about fifty superb dresses. Part of the useful occupation of the priests was to perform the office of ladies' maids, by dressing and undressing her. These figures are worshipped by the poor deluded people, who cry, "Help me! Mother

ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

of God, hear me." There are also litanies addressed to "the Queen of Angels,""the Mother of Divine grace,' ‚""the Refuge of sinners," &c. In a work entitled, "The Glories of Mary," by St. Alphonsus Lignori, printed in Dublin as late as 1845, we are told that "While St. Gertrude was one day fervently saying the words, 'Turn thy eyes of mercy towards us,' she saw the holy Virgin pointing to the eyes of the Son, whom she held in her arms; the Virgin then said, 'These are my most merciful eyes, which I can incline in favour of all who invoke me.' A certain sinner, who wept before an image of Mary, beseeching her to obtain from God the pardon of his sins, was given to understand that the blessed Virgin turned to the infant whom she held in her arms and said to him, Son, shall these tears be lost?' Jesus answered that he pardoned the sinner." Only think of the blessed Virgin Mary-for all generations shall call her blessed-one of the most humble and pious of women, being made use of by these men to thrust the Son of God from his seat as the only Mediator between God and man!

SALVATION IS MY GREAT CONCERN; I am the creature of a day; my body is of the dust, and returning to the dust again; I am in jeopardy every hour. Here I have no abiding city; as a tenant at will, I may be dismissed at a minute's warning; but I have an immortal soul, a soul that must be happy or miserable to eternity, —a soul that must join angels in glory or fiends in darkness! How weighty then is the concern of salvation! and how important every moment that shortens the span allotted me below! When I look within myself, how far from salvation doth my state appear! A sinner I, vile and abominable: in nature, at enmity with God; in practice, a transgressor-times beyond number; under guilt which I cannot remove; under corruption I cannot subdue; under wrath I cannot avert,-and such wrath as is for ever wrath to come. When I look to God, what can I expect? Holy in his nature, and therefore infinitely removed from sin; just, and therefore bound to punish it; unchangeable, and therefore punishing eternally; omnipo tent, there can be no resistance; omniscient, and therefore no escape from his notice,-who shall deliver me? "Behold me," saith the Saviour, I am he that bringeth salvation,-salvation to the uttermost, mighty to save: atoning blood shall sprinkle the throne of justice my Spirit shall guide thy steps, and almighty power strengthen thee. My salvation is sure,-I bring it to thee in my word,-I seal it to thee with my blood, and will accomplish it in thee by my Spirit for ever." Do so, O my Lord! If thou wilt save, none can destroy. Haweis.

NEGLECT OF SALVATION.-It is not merely if we commit great sins, not if we are murderers, adulterers, thieves, infidels, atheists, scoffers. It is if we merely neglect this salvation-if we do not embrace it—if we suffer it to pass unimproved. Neglect is enough

ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

to ruin a man. A man who is in business need not commit forgery or robbery to ruin himself; he has only to neglect the means of restoration, and he will be ruined. A man floating in a skiff above Niagara, need not move an oar, or make an effort to destroy himself; he has only to neglect using the oar at the proper time, and he will certainly be carried over the cataract. Most of the calamities of life are caused by simple neglect. By neglect of education, children grow up in ignorance; by neglect, a farm grows up to weeds and briars; by neglect, a house goes to decay; by neglect of sowing, a man will have no harvest; by neglect of reaping, the harvest would rot in the fields. No worldly interest can prosper where there is neglect; and why may it not be so in religion? There is nothing in earthly affairs that is valuable, that will not be ruined if it is not attended to; and why may it not be so with the concerns of the soul? Let no one infer, therefore, that because he is not a drunkard, or an adulterer, or a murderer, that, therefore, he will be saved. Such an inference would be as irrational, as it would be for a man to infer, that, because he is not a murderer, his farm will produce a harvest; or that, because he is not an adulterer, therefore his merchandize will take care of itself. Salvation would be worth nothing if it cost no effort; and there will be no salvation where no effort is put forth.-Albert Barnes.

THE PRESUMPTUOUS.-Such were those who durst make God and his promise a leaning-stock for their foul elbows to rest upon: "They call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel." (Isa. xlviii. 2.) But they were more bold than welcome. God rejected their confidence, and loathed their sauciness. Though a prince would not disdain to let a poor wounded man, faint with bleeding, and unable to go alone, upon his humble request, make use of his arm, rather than he should perish in the streets; yet he would with indignation reject the same motion from a filthy drunkard, if he should desire leave to lean on him, because he could not go alone. I am sure, how welcome soever the poor humble soul, that lies bleeding for his sins at the very mouth of hell in his own thoughts, is to God, when he comes upon the encouragement of the promise to lean on Christ, yet the profane wretch that emboldens himself to come shall be driven away with infinite disdain and abhorrence. Bunyan.

IT WILL COME!-You may delay the work of repentance, and think the future far off-but it will come; your last call from heaven far off-but it will come; your last unavailing effort to repent far off-but it will come; the death struggle, the shroud, the funeral far off-but it will come; the day of judgment, the day of reckoning far off-but it will come; the sentence, Depart from me," ye cursed, into everlasting fire!" far off-but it will come; eternal banishment from the presence of the Lord, weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth far off-but it will come! Chalmers.

THE FIRESIDE.

The Fireside.

ON THE WORSHIP OF CLEANLINESS.

WHAT strange creatures we are, and into what opposite extremes we sometimes run! Now it is admitted by all sensible people that this said cleanliness is a beautiful, lovely, and excellent virtue; and that dirtiness is an ugly, foul, and nasty vice. Nay, some have gone so far as to say that cleanliness is next to godliness; and it may be for aught I know. But there are some of our over-nice women-friends who make it more than godliness; for they make a god of it, and bow down and worship it! "Do they," you say. Why dont they? Let us try it by a good sound rule" where thy treasure is there will thy heart be also." And are not the folks of whom we complain everlastingly fixing all their attention, and bestowing all their labour and anxiety, upon their dwellings and furniture? These seem to have all their thoughts-morning, noon, and night. Go to the house of such a body as this, just when she happens to be at her favourite scrubbing, and scouring, and polishing, and depend upon it you will soon see that she dont want you nor any one else just then. Come when she has done, and when she has got all in prim order, and she will meet you with a smiling invitation to walk in and sit down; but then you must mind that you do not bring in the smallest particle of dirt, or you will see the cloud gathering again on her brow. And then you must mind where you sit, and where you put your feet, and where you lean your head, and what you touch! Why all this is downright tiresome, and what is worse, it is neither more nor less than worship of cleanliness. Our houses and our furniture are made for our use and our convenience, and not for exhibition, like a jeweler's or milliner's shop. We love cleanliness and tidiness too, in all persons and all things, and we hate filth with a perfect hatred, but we dont like to be pestered by a fidgetty concern about the matter, and would not willingly pay such a high price as that for it. We hope that in what we have said we shall not be misunderstood. Let no sloven or slut think for one moment that we would give any encouragement to their idle slovenliness by these observations, for we dont mean that.

A CURIOUS OLD RECIPE.

How to Cook a Husband.-As Mrs. Glass said of the hare, you must first catch him. Having done so, the mode of cooking him, so as to make a good dish of him, is as follows:-Many good husbands are spoiled in the cooking; some women go about as if their husbands were bladders, and blow them up; others keep them constantly in hot water; whilst others freeze them by conjugal coldness;

THE PENNY POST BOX.

some smother them in hatred, contention, and variance; and some keep them in pickle all their lives. These women always serve them up with tongue sauce. Now, it cannot be supposed that husbands will be tender and good if managed in this way. But they are, on the contrary, very delicious when managed as follows:Get a large jar, called the jar of carefulness (which all good wives have on hand), place your husband in it, and set him near the fire of conjugal love; let the fire be pretty hot, but especially let it be clear; above all, let the heat be constant: cover him over with affection, kindness, and subjection; garnish. with modest becoming familiarity and a spice of pleasantry; and if you add kisses and other confectionaries, let them be accompanied with a sufficient portion of kindness, mixed with prudence and good sense. . We should advise all good wives to try this recipe, and realize how admirable a dish a husband is when properly cooked.

The Penny Post Box.

A BUNDLE OF EXTRACTS.

WE now and then receive short epistles with just a few words in them. We have made up a little bundle of these. J. D. I. tells us that he was walking home one afternoon, and made the company of a farmer's lad of about sixteen, who had been taught at a church school. On asking him a question respecting his soul, he replied, "I'm beggared if I know." And such is the rough ignorance of many of the pupils of our accomplished and well-paid clergy. Who wonders that vice and infidelity abound?- -J. B. T. tells us of a church lady in the village who keeps two female servants. One had been a scholar in the dissenting school for several years, and wished to attend the annual sermons, but this lady, who would have readily allowed her to go to a place of amusement, would not permit. The girl sent her shilling to the collection. What petty and shabby conduct, and by one who would be thought a lady too! -M. H. S. wishes to state that the articles exposed for sale (see page 105) were not on "stalls," but in baskets, and consisted of nuts, shrimps, and oysters.- -B. L. tells us of a brickmaker who is a good hand, and can earn full wages, who on the last sabbath 'day, spent three shillings in guzzling ale. He has a wife and six children. What brutish beings some men are! And these poor dear children are dependent for food, and clothing, and education, on such a selfish wretch as this. We must support our sabbath schools if only to teach such neglected, and we might almost say, fatherless children. We are told too that his brother, well to do, would willingly advance this man, but he dare not trust him. We pity his wife-she must have a sad time of it!