Ir was with much pleasure I heard that you, who are indeed as a bush in the fire of manifold dangers, difficulties, and temptations every day, are yet unconsumed; yea, preserved by that godly jealousy you feel of dishonouring God or his cause by any word, work, or thought of yours. Blessed be the name of our evergracious God, who has wrought this feeling in you. O that it may increase and abound every day, hour, and moment of your life! So shall you be kept back from the presumptuous sin; nor shall it, while this guards your tender breast, get the dominion over you. This will also aid to your cleansing from your secret faults; as in it you will perfect holiness. III. THE POWER OF FAITH. conquer all. By this you will ever find a throne of grace open, and your access to it easy and free. There you can unboɛom your minutest wants, and pour out your complaints of self and every foe, in full confidence of being redressed and supplied for his sake who died for you, and who ever lives as your Advocate with God. He is everprevalent; and you may "trust and not be afraid." In his all-sufficient hands your cause cannot fail; nor shall the gates of hell prevail against you. IV.-SUGGESTIONS FOR THE DISCOU RAGED. August 3d, 1783. I DESIRE to bless God that my last, in any degree, answered its intention in your consolation: the real good of your soul being the end of our correspondence. It is not always unprofitable to have a clear view of ourselves, especially when attended with a secret grief on account of past unfruitfulness under the many privileges we enjoy. "A broken and a contrite heart" is a sacrifice acceptable to God our Father; especially when laid on the altar of God our Saviour, through the aid of God our Comforter. My dear friend only loses by it, when, poring on his own unworthiness, he You have cause to praise God forgets his "Advocate above," his that he has so manifested himself to you, and you to yourself, as to enable you to feel that you are the chief of sinners. And what can be more consolatory than to feel that you can confide in this," Jesus died for me?" This is the foundation of all our hope for time and eternity. In this faith, we have a right to all the promises of God, and all the privileges of his children. O do not think meanly of it. Do not by any means cast it away. It assuredly hath great recompence of reward. This is the shield that will "quench every fiery dart of the wicked one." Faith will overcome the world in every form, and purify the heart from all its uncleanness. Ilold it fast, and you more than "Friend before the throne of love;" who appears there as his only access to God, and through whom all his guilt is cancelled. O do not be driven from him; but by faith hide you in his wounds, as your refuge from every storm of accusation and condemnation. So shall you, "Who in Jesus confide, Be bold to outride Your resolution of cleaving to God is truly commendable. May you find his grace (which alone could enable you to form it) sufficient for the fullest execution of it; and, being joined by yours, may you together go on, depending upon him, through every stage of life, and even in death, till he land you safe in glory!-Ever remember that a small measure of faith (when put into proper exercise) will easily overcome the world in every form: and our greatest want is commonly found in the expectation of the degree we are favoured with of "like precious faith" working of itself. And this it rarely does. We are called to "fight the good fight of faith." Lord, enable my dear friend so to do! V. THE CHRISTIAN'S MEANS OF November 31st, 1783. We glorify Him when we repose, like Abraham, an unshaken confidence in his truth and faithfulness; and depend upon his wisdom and power to devise and accomplish such means as must answer the ends of his unbounded goodness toward us, however for the present they may be concealed from our view. It is true, reason, (which only dwells upon what appears, or is probable, from the common operations of natural causes and their effects,) if consulted, often makes us stagger in our dependence upon Him who has all power; and who, when it shall be for his own glory and our good, can and will exert it, so as to counteract the common course of natural causes, and make them produce contrary effects. Thus, confounding the pride of man, he confirms the faith of them who dare rely upon him when "the fig.tree" does not "blossom." Hereby they are enabled to glory in the Lord, while, by offering praise for his mighty acts, they glorify him not only by their lips but by all the fruits of righteousness manifested in their whole lives. And these, flowing from Jesus Christ, their ever-living Head, issue in the glory of God the Father; who so freely gave us his Son, that with him he might also give us all things. Nor can this fail of being produc. tive of our good, because of the comfort that naturally results therefrom; it being, in its own nature, a very pleasant and delightful thing indeed. It is a second, or rather tenfold, enjoyment of our mercies which we ever feel in being thankful: over and above the alleviation it affords from the pressure of any present trial, by the continual increase of confidence in Him who has delivered, does deliver, and "in whom we trust that he will yet deliver." Yea, in his own time (which we are then willing to wait) and manner (in which we now acquiesce as far the best) he will deliver. And who can conceive the good they feel who bring forth, by grace, fruit to the glory of God? to say nothing of that satisfaction which one supposed to be enjoyed when he said, 66 Virtue is its own reward,"-which the Christian proves far beyond what the Heathen could imagine, especially from the testimony of the Spirit of God with his own conscience, confirmed by the continual communion he has with God; while he has this evidence that he pleases him, finely expressed by our poet, in these lines: "And while we do thy blessed will, We bear our heaven about us still." Methinks my very much esteemed friends are ready to say, "Nothing can be more certain than that so it is: but how may we attain thereto?" Of this, upon reflection, you are not wholly ignorant. No: He has not, in this respect, left himself without witness. You know Jesus is the way to the Father. O, then, do draw nigh, and you shall find acceptance in the Beloved with him. So shall you both love him, and overcome the world's frowns and smiles, its cares and pleasures. You shall be enabled to trample on them all; yea, and from conquering to conquer go, through Jesu's name. May you now venture on Him in whom is everlasting life! It is true all nature cries out, "This is the worst of all difficulties to surmount, and of all duties to perform! Any thing sooner than believe! I could conquer all before this." Yet, in the strength of the Lord, my friends can leap over even this wall; and thus you get over all, as this arms you with the panoply of God. To him I commend you. (To be continued occasionally.) MODERN EGYPT. To the Editor of the Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine. Ir is not my wish to enter into any controversy with the young Egyptian who has thought fit to animadvert upon my strictures on the present condition of his country. There are no common grounds for such a discussion; since my remarks were founded upon a personal investigation of the state of the people, whilst he merely quotes the observations of those authors whom I had already condemned. Yet we seem to be nearly agreed upon the facts of the case; and I have no wish to dispossess him of that fervent gratitude and loyalty which he breathes to his present benefactor, or of that ardour of patriotic feeling which he bears to his ill-fated country. But there are certain principles involved in this matter which ought not to be lightly neglected, especially since your Magazine has so wide a circulation amongst the rising generation of England. You will therefore permit me to read a lesson to your Egyptian friend, and to the youth of our own country, which may be of some small benefit in directing their attention to the useful, rather than to the dazzling or showy, arts of life. My first remarks will refer to the principles of real national prosperity. I am one of those sober Scotchmen, who look at "naked truth," divested of the trappings of ornament and fancy. For instance: if I visit a strange city, with the design of forming a correct view of the condition of its inhabitants, I pass rapidly by its halls and palaces, cast a glance at its gaudy shops and ornamented windows, and take a walk through the humbler streets, lanes, alleys, and outskirts of the place; and thus endeavour to estimate the circumstances of the bulk of the population. I am aware that I am rather singular in this respect; since most travellers occupy their time in viewing the curiosities and palaces See the Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine for November, 1837, page 830. of a city; yet I am better satisfied with such elucidations than with those of more superficial observers. Should I perceive an increase in the substantial comforts of a populace, a general improvement in their domestic and social habits, the prevalence of the arts of peace and industry, a decrease of crime, a rising attachment to virtue and abhorrence of vice, a stronger regard to their laws and governors, a spread of useful knowledge and learning, and a consequent increase of the population itself; I must pronounce such a nation to be improving in civilization and moral worth. But where an opposite condition is observed, a different conclusion will necessarily be formed; notwithstanding the splendour of a few brilliant exploits, or the show of a powerful military force. Now there are two sorts of travellers who would fill the world with wonders. One class is that of young gentlemen, who have just left the nursery or boarding-school in order to "see the world;" and the other is that of interested persons, who have some object to attain by the effect of their publications upon the public mind. Neither of these can be expected to give a very correct report of the condition of a country; for "the truth," when the "whole truth" is not told, frequently proves exceedingly misleading. My sources of information concerning Egypt were of a very different description from those which I have just specified. In fulfilling the duties of my station, I twice visited the upper country, stopped at various towns and villages, perambulated their streets, when this was compatible with my moral feelings, entered many of their habitations, and conversed freely with different classes of the community. I thus saw many ruined towns, deserted villages, and desolate streets ; fields lying waste, and turning into desert for want of hands to culti vate them; and the remnants of a fearfully diminishing population, oppressed with want and woe. I saw the gnashing teeth, and heard the muttered curse, when the deeds of the Bashaw were mentioned; whilst every species of duplicity was adopted in order to elude or deceive the glance of his officers and police. And I knew, by a pretty extensive medical practice, (carried on gratuitously,) that the diseased inhabitants were suffering from a lack of wholesome food; whilst the fields were flourishing with their Sovereign's cotton and sugar plantations. So I turned away from the splendour of his eastern palaces and foreign factories, to sigh over the sufferings of oppressed humanity, and more heartily to detest that gilded despotism which raises itself upon the ruins of an unhappy country. Could we imagine the fallen daughter of Egypt to be contemplating her condition, consequent upon the far-famed achievements of Mehemet Ali, reflecting upon the present state of her resources, and pondering how the can bear the brunt of future evils, and grapple with the difficulties which beset her path,-I should describe her as weeping disconsolately over the gorgeous pall which decks the mouldering remains of her substance, and exclaiming, with magnanimous Pyrrhus, when he viewed his shattered forces after their glorious defeat of the Romans, "Another such victory, and I am undone !" I am aware that Europeans are safe in Egypt, and that their property is even more secure than in their own countries; but is it so with the native Egyptians? Do not most travellers know that if they send a small present, with their compliments, to a Cashief, requesting him to bastinadoe a whole boat's crew, and even stating the number of strokes which they wish them to receive, the obsequious Judge will instantly comply with such a request, and inflict the penalty even without interrogating the accused? Though I have heard Englishmen laud this summary method of obtaining redress, I confess that I was simple enough to endure much personal inconvenience and danger, rather than obtain justice by a bribe, or see the accused punished without a hearing; for my mind roved to a distant land, to think of the equal laws and honest juries of my native country. It is also well known, that if the British flag be hoisted on your bark, it is generally safe from the aggressions of the Turks and their Janissaries. But is not a native liable to have his boat seized, or the passengers turned out, whenever any of these minions of despotism wish to travel? and are not provisions demanded, or forcibly taken, without any intention of refunding the owners? Are these the marks of a nation's prosperity? Now I should wish to make every Englishman satisfied with the lot of his inheritance; and instead of sending our discontented citizens to the treadmill, (which they richly deserve,) I would only request them to pay a visit to Egypt, and they would speedily return home, blessing God that they had such a happy land as old England for the place of their abode. The second point to which I wish to draw the attention of your readers, is that of national education. This is a subject of no ordinary importance in the present day. Now some of us plain Christians are disposed to think that no infidel system of education can benefit a people; and we refer our opponents to the bloody tragedies of the French Revolution for the effects of such principles as those of Hume, Paine, and Voltaire. I think that it may be clearly shown from the pages of history, that any form of false religion which enforces morality is better than Atheism. Could Numa Pompilius, or any of the sages of yore, have attained his object without clothing his sanctions with the awful garb of religious veneration? Was not our illustrious Alfred, the "renovator" of England, a stanch promoter of Christianity? "Knowledge is power;" and if that power promote licentiousness, we unhesitatingly say that it were better wanting. Now none can deny that Egypt is passing rapidly from the Mahomedan religion to a state of gross infidelity; and that the Bashaws and principal Turks set the example. I could tell strange tales respecting those celebrated schools, but I forbear. However, none of my countrymen are to suppose that they at all resemble the hardy and virtuous village education of Scotland. An application was made to Mehemet Ali to permit the introduction of schools upon the Lancasterian system, at the expense of benevolent foreigners; but he declined the offer. This is a fact. And without calling in question the correctness of the number that the Bashaw's institutions are "capable of accommodating," I believe that several thousand youths do receive instruction in his schools on shore and on board his fleet. But in Egypt, we were never so simple as to imagine that this instruction was intended for any thing else than to supply the army and navy, and fill the public offices; because we did not know of any one that went back again to the fields, to spread his acquired knowledge amongst the villagers, who form a vast bulk of the population. And as so many thousand Egyptians perished every year in foreign wars, we thought that these schools could scarcely furnish the necessary officers and clerks. The nature, also, of their education was such as that we did not see how it could apply to the arts of peace, and to improvements in agriculture. But, allowing that we were all mistaken in our views, and that the schemes of the Sovereign were of the most philanthropic character, we at once deny that these youths are "Egypt's regenerators;" and could almost prophesy that they will be Egypt's bane. The entire country is at present in an organized system of slavery; and should light break in upon the understanding, whilst the heart is darkened by vice, and the life obscured by immorality, that light will only kindle the fires of anarchy and confusion; and the convulsive throes of an awakening nation to cast off the galling fetters of oppression, will rend its own bowels to the centre, like the fearful explosions of a desolating volcano. Civilization is not to be introduced by the lash and the bayonet, but by the mild arts of peace and virtue. A clever despot may occasionally arise in a degenerate dynasty, and cause the brilliancy of his genius to sparkle amongst the sombre gloom which has enshrouded the land; but such fitful flashes are transient and wasting; and the blazing flame only serves more speedily to consume the crackling thorns, and afterwards bury the neighbourhood in a darkness more visible." 66 With reference to the Mahometan creed of "the souls of women," of course I spoke of the popular belief. Being possessed of certain Arabic narratives of female saints, I could not be ignorant of the existence of such tenets amongst a certain class. We speak in the same general way of the vices of a nation; and whilst we must allow, that much immorality does exist among our own people, we rejoice that it is reprobated by law and by public feeling. This fact speaks volumes, and places such a country immeasurably above those which publicly license or countenance the arts of wickedness. I conclude with observing that, whilst all things are under the control of the Almighty Ruler of the universe, "the wrath of man" shall be made to praise him; and even the desolating scourge shall hasten the glory of the latter day whilst the present breaking up of Mahometan power presages the approach of a kingdom that shall reign over all, under whose powerful though invisible force, the enemies of truth are now melting away; and whose glorious empire of righteousness, peace, and joy shall bring in its train all the signs of true greatness, and the sanctified blessings of civilization. It was from no misanthropic feelings that I penned the article upon Egypt; but from a strong conviction of the inefficiency of the present system to restore happiness to a country in which we all feel deeply interested. And if a foreigner could not be influenced by |