Look up to Him, who ever hears, With penitence sincere, And prayer for sins forgiven, THE HEAVENLY REST. "Rest! how sweet the sound! It is melody to my ears! It lies as a reviving cordial at my heart, and from thence sends forth lively spirits, which beat through all the pulses of my soul! Rest-not as the stone that rests upon the earth, nor as this flesh shall rest in the grave, nor such a rest as the carnal world desires. O blessed rest! when we rest not day and night, saying, 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!' When we shall rest from sin, but not from worship; from suffering and sorrow, but not from joy! O blessed day! When I shall rest in the bosom of my Lord! When I shall rest in knowing, loving, rejoicing, and praising! When my perfect soul and body shall together perfectly enjoy the most perfect God! When God, who is love itself, shall perfectly love me, and rest in his love to me, as I shall rest in my love to Him; and rejoice over me with joy, and joy over me with singing, as I shall rejoice in him!” THE AFFLICTED CHRISTIAN. Though poor and afflicted, I'm content with Then why should I murmur when troubles assail ? I'm an heir to a kingdom, a crown, and a throne ! Although thorny the path along which I must tread ; THE QUIET AND MELANCHOLIC, BUT NOBLE-MINDED JOHN FOSTER. George Gilfillan, speaking of this extraordinary man, says-Foster was a keen, stern, and sarcastic observer of men and manners-of society and political progress. In politics, he was "a radical, and something more”—an independent thinker, despising all ties of party, and standing on every question like a fourth estate-one who could sit upon the ground and tell strange stories, of the death of kings, and who never, in one instance, sacrificed an atom of the right to an acre of the expedient. It is worth while reading his musings, as of a separate spirit on the transactions of the day. In society, too, he sat an insulated being, whose silence was often more formidable than his words. His face, even when he spoke not, shone a quiet mirror "to the intents and thoughts of the hearts" of those around him, and he came away with their past as well as present history silently inscribed upon his mind. His conversational sarcasm was tremendous. "Was not the Emperor Alexander a very pious man?" "Very pious," he answered; “I believe he said grace ere he swallowed Poland." We could quote, if we durst, unpublished specimens still racier. Hall himself is said to have felt somewhat nervous in his presence, when in this mood; and there is a floating rumour of a meeting between him and Lord Brougham, on some educational question, in which his lordship came off, and shabbily, second best. Foster has well described both Burke and himself in the following striking testimony to the great merit, of the former "Burke's sentences are pointed at the end instinct with pungent sense to the last syllable; they are like a charioteer's whip, which, not only has a long and effective lash, but cracks and inflicts a still smarter sensation at the end. They are like serpents, whose life is said to be fiercest in the tail." EPITAPH IN NEW CROSS CHAPEL YARD. THE following Epitaph is from the tablet in the Chapel yard of New Cross Chapel, Deptford, lately in connection with the Independents, but now in connection with the Wesleyan Methodist Association; and it has been thought by one of the brethren there, that it might be read with interest by the readers of the "Juvenile Companion." Cropt in the bud, this fragrant flower, No more on earth is seen; Faded its leaf, its beauty gone, As if it ne'er had been. Gone, but not lost, this opening flower, Placed by the side of Sharon's Rose, Transplanted to the realms above, And e'en along earth's thorny path, However young the Christian dies, There Mary now, securely lodged, permanently to record her wonders, nor art her improvements, and the darkness of the dark ages might still brood over the minds of men. It is true that man might be taught by the agency of the voice, and we acknowledge that this mode of communicating truth has its peculiar advantages-the varying tone and emphasis, the kindling eye, the animated gesture, are highly adapted to impress the lesson of truth upon the imagination, the memory, and the heart. But this method must necessarily be very limited in its influence, and brief in its effects. The orator speaks only to a few thousands in a given time, and addresses to them a small amount of information in a given place. But the printer can speak at the same time to myriads under every sky, and to almost any extent. The voice of the speaker is soon silent and often the imparted instruction is forgotten and cannot be recalled. But the press is ever vocal, it is never silent, its voice is always uttering its messages to millions, and, can be referred to at convenience. It is this that has broken up the monopoly of knowledge. It is this that destroys the patent of education, and makes it available for all. It is this that banishes the shadows of ignorance from the world. It is this (baptized with the Spirit of Christianity) that will hasten the arrival of a day of universal knowledge and happiness, when (as Robert Hall eloquently expresses it) "Learning shall amass her stores, and genius emit her splendours, but the former shall be displayed without ostentation, and the latter shall shine with the softened effulgence of humility and love." Another important advantage of printing has relation to liberty-civil and religious. THE PRESS IS THE FOE OF DESPOTISM. Despotism can only exist in an atmosphere of darkness, it withers before the light. The press by dragging the deeds of despotism into the light of day, has rung the death-knell of tyranny in all its hideous forms, creating and at the same time expressing public opinion: a power is thus called into being, which defies the dungeon, and the |