Gems. FACTS, HINTS, AND GEMS. "LET HIM ALONE."- It is an awful thing for any man to be given up of God -a sad thing to be tried no more. "Ephraim is joined to idols let him alone." THIS MOMENT some soul is passing away to heaven or hell. Reader, are you in readiness for such a remove? Only by Christ's help can you be. THE CONDEMNED MALEFACTOR esteems a pardou sent from his offended sovereign as most precious. So, nothing can be matter of greater comfort in this world than to know that we have redemption through the blood of Jesus, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of his grace. THE BLOOD OF JESUS is emphatically called precious blood. It procures our pardon, our peace with God, and our everlasting salvation. Being justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." CHRISTIANITY is a religion suitable for sinners, revealing a method of salvation for the guilty, the help less, and the miserable. "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners." THE DYING LAMB.-In the death of that Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, we perceive at once, the Almighty's eternal abhorrence of that which is evil, and his infinite love to his offending creatures. PREPARATION.-As the Son is gone to prepare a place for me, I must pray the Father to make me meet for the place. DREAMS OF RICHES. No man begins to slumber in religion but he falls into some golden dreams. How TERRIBLE are the pangs of an accusing conscience: behold Felix, a judge, tremble before Paul, his prisoner. GOOD COUNSEL. Thou may'st gather every day. Fill thy little ones with joy. INDEPENDENCE. Ye speak of independence: THE CHILDREN'S CORNER. The Children's Corner. ALFRED JOHN. By his Father. I KNEW quite well a little boy, His pretty ways, that pleas'd them so, Will long be borne in mind, Though death so soon called him to go And leave this world behind. Sometimes in play, "Sister," he'd say, "We mourning will put on, A funeral now shall be our play"Oft thus play'd Alfred John If father's hatband he had got, How pleas'd and glad was he; He then would say, "I tell you what, I will chief mourner be." Sometimes from school he would return, And shew his parents plain, That as he went to school to learn, He did not go in vain. His talk did much the sweep surprise, The tale it pleased him too; "Though young," said he, "he still is wise, For much he seems to know." Sometimes he'd sing as well as pray, The last verse that he sung. 'Twas this," My soul another year Not many days before he died That solemn verse he sung; The words in him were verified, Although he was so young. Before three days were past and gone His soul this world had left, His parents lost their little son, They were of him bereft. Six years on earth he had not lived When he was called to die; Once he came home and did them But yet we hope Christ has received His soul to dwell on high. 'Tis now our hope his voice will ring Dear children! all you too must die, And soon this world must leave; Do you then wish to live on high, And bliss above receive? If this you wish to Christ now live, BUTCHERIES OF BATTLE. ONE more scene of war in India we would now present; and an awful scene it is! enough to make any man blush to think himself a man of the same species with such savage monsters. And let us be faithful; these deeds of horrid butchery were perpetrated by Englishmen! Englishmen, who would be called christians too. Call satan and his host of devils christians as soon as these men, who seem to have been filled with the spirit of the wicked one, and whose conduct was as contrary to the spirit of the meek and holy Jesus as darkness is to light, Worse than even devils are such men, for "Devils with devils damned strict concord hold; Blessed be God such tragic scenes will not be always acted. The days are coming when men will not hurt or destroy each other. There are now signs of their approach. Every year the Friends of Peace are meeting in increasing numbers to promote peace. They have met at Brussels, in Belgium; at Paris, in France; at Frankfort, in Germany; and this year they have met in London, 5000 of them at least; the best men of England, France, America, and other nations, to root out war and its curses, and bring in peace and its blessings. It is only that our readers may be disgusted by such scenes of human butchery that we give one more specimen, and we hope they will rise from the perusal of it determined to discourage in their own children, and all around them, every thing that savours of war and its inconceivable and untold crimes and miseries. Let us look next at the war in the Punjaub. And how was that conducted? Take the following specimen from a description of the battle on the Sutlej, the 28th of January, 1846:"The artillery in the van scattered destruction around; the cavalry charged right into the midst of the Sikh squares, and everywhere the bayonets of the infantry were pressing on, with terrible effect, against the dense masses of the enemy. The victory was soon complete. The Sikh battalions, driven back at all points, were soon hemmed in by our closing battalions, and driven pell-mell into the river. The carnage was most dreadful. The Sutlej ran crimson with human blood. The bubbling cry of many a strong swimmer was heard rising from the gory stream, as fast and thick from the British guns on the BUTCHERIES OF BATTLE. river-bank poured the deadly showers of grape and canister upon the routed and helpless hosts of invaders." 66 Or let our countrymen reflect upon the following description, from the pen of a subaltern engaged in " the brilliant victory of Goojerab, and the subsequent operations on the Jhelum," of what took place on that occasion under the auspices of Lord Gough,-"I looked at the village; it seemed alive, and our men, catching sight of the heads above the walls, poured in a volley and rushed on. The left wing of our regiment came on the village, but found there was a deep ditch in front full of water. Before you could say Jack Robinson, Rifles, Light, and No. 7, came round to our side and were over the walls in a second. There were upwards of 3,000 men in this village, and as soon as they saw our men on the walls they turned to run, but their numbers stopped them, for the streets were very narrow and there were horse and foot mixed up together; so our men had nothing to do but get upon the walls and shoot them like dogs. Just then Boyd was struck by a round shot in the inside of his leg, which made him sick for a moment. however, was assisted on to the top of a house by Sergeant Long and he tells me he never could have imagined such a sight as he then saw. The enemy were in thousands trying to escape, and our men knocking them over like dogs. Their own guns, as soon as they saw our men in the village, opened upon it, not seeming to care much about their own troops. Boyd tells me there was one yard which was full of men, horse and foot, and there was only a small door for them to get out of, which was blocked up by one of their men falling down in it. Our men got round the walls and killed almost every soul in it, : He, Again,-"A round shot took off a man's head close to me, and spattered his brains in my face-the bullets whizzing about like hail; and as we came nearer, grape was poured into us, but not a man wavered for a second. Officers to the frontlead on your men!' shouted the major; and we sprang forward amidst a shower of balls, dashed across a deep nullah, gave one rattling volley, and poured into the village at every point. Many of the Sikhs stood and fought like men, but the greater portion (there must have been at least 1,000) left the village at one end as we entered at the other. Those that remained were shot or bayoneted on the spot. There was no quarter given. A number of them shut themselves up in the houses, but our men beat down the doors, and poured in volley after volley, and sullenly and savagely the brutes died fighting to BUTCHERIES OF BATTLE. the last. The whole line of infantry was seen advancing; our guns poured in a withering fire; the enemy left theirs and fled. The cavalry charged in amongst them, and the horse artillery, rattled on at a gallop, mowing them down in heaps, while we took possession of their guns and camp, leaving the cavalry to deal with the fugitives; and awful execution they did amongst them, as we afterwards heard, pursuing them with the horse artillery for ten miles. Not a rein was drawn till the horses could go no further; their sabres drank deep of blood that day, and they returned wearied and jaded, and glutted with slaughter. No attempt was made at rallying the rout was complete; and long will the Sikhs have cause to remember the battle of Goojerat. The whole line of their flight was strewed with dead. We advanced into their camp over heaps of dead and dying. It wanted nothing more to show the gallant stand they had made. Everything was in confusion-tumbrils overturned, guns dismounted, wagons with their wheels off, oxen and camels rushing wildly about, wounded horses plunging in their agony, beds, blankets, boxes, ammunition strewed about the ground in a perfect chaos; the wounded lying there groaning, some begging to be dispatched, others praying for mercy, and some with scowling looks of impotent rage, striving to cut down those who came near them, and thereby insuring their own destruction; for but little quarter, I am ashamed to say, was given, and even those we managed to save from the vengeance of our men were, I fear, killed afterwards. But after all, it is a war of extermination. The most heart-rending sight of the day was one I' witnessed in a tent I entered. There, on the ground, bleeding to death, lay a young mother; her leg had been carried off by a round shot, and the jagged stump protruded in a ghastly manner through the mangled flesh. She held a baby to her breast, and as she bent over it with maternal anxiety, all her thoughts seemed to be of her child. She appeared totally regardless of the agony she must have been suffering, and to think of nothing but the poor infant, which was drawing its nourishment from her failing breast. I gave her some water, and she drank it greedily, raising her large imploring eyes to my face, with an expression that was heart-rending to witness. I was obliged to leave the poor creature, and go on with the regiment: but the remembrance of that sight will live with me till my dying day.” Let our countrymen remember before they join in the enthusiastic acclamations, with which Indian heroes are greeted |