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ANECDOTES, SELECTIONS, AND GEMS.

Facts and Hints.

GOOD NATURE.-One cannot imagine any quality of the human mind, whence greater advantages can arise to society, than good nature; seeing that man is a sociable being, not made for solitude, but conversation. Good nature not only lessens the sorrows of life, but increases its comforts. It is more agreeable than beauty, or even wit. It gives a pleasing expression to the countenance, and produces a multitude of amiable observations. It is, indeed, the origin of all society. Were it not for good nature, men could not exist together, nor hold intercourse with one another. Good nature discovers itself in universal benevolence to the whole creation. In it lies the foundation of all generous feeling to our neighbours, and of sympathy with every member of the human family. It possesses a power, the progression of which will gradually banish slavery, tyranny, war, disease, and vice, from the world, and unite mankind in one great brotherhood.

FOUR RULES for promoting the peace and prosperity of the church. David prays for the church, "Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces." The former perhaps invariably produces the latter. Let me recommend the four following maxims to all professors of the gospel, especially to members of christian churches; they will promote the happiness of the person who adopts them, as well as the happiness of the persons and societies with which he is connected. 1st. Let the judgment you form of yourself be dictated by humility. 2nd. Let the judgement you form of others be dictated by charity. 3rd. Let your desire to please yourself be moderated by self-denial. 4th. Let your desire to please others be stimulated by benevolenee.

BAD BOOKS.-Bad books are like ardent spirits; they furnish neither aliment nor medicine; they are poison. Both intoxicateone the mind, the other the body; the thirst for each increases by being fed, and is never satisfied; both ruin-one the intellect, and the other the health-and together, the soul.

WATER.-The Spaniards have a proverb, that " Drinking water neither makes a man sick, nor in debt, nor his wife a widow."

VAIN GLORIOUS MEN are the scorn of the wise, the admiration of fools, the idols of flatterers, and the slaves of their own vanity. Eems.

A BROKEN HEART.-Nothing that is broken bears any value except the heart, which becomes the more valuable the more it is broken.

Jors.-The joys of the world end in sorrow;-but the sorrows of religion terminate in joy.

BLOOD usually stains and discolours, but "the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin."

EVERY TEAR shed by the penitent, and chrystalized by faith in Christ, will form a gem to adorn his brow for ever.

THE FIRESIDE.

The Fireside.

COOKERY.

THE Cookery of the poorer classes in England is generally of the most wretched kind, and much of the suffering and many of the diseases which afflict the poor arise, in a great measure, from this cause. Few things would contribute more to the health and com. fort of the labouring classes than the diffusion of useful knowledge on the art of cookery.

Some of our readers may perhaps smile at the idea that the poor require much instruction in this art. The first and greatest difficulty with them, they say, is that they can get very little food to cook. This is too true; but it is equally true that the little food a poor family obtains is often not made the best of; and that a greater variety of wholesome, better flavoured, and more nourishing food may be procured by an improved system of cookery, and without any additional expense. In many cases, indeed, the cost would be less than by the present defective method.

It is a curious fact, that during the war in Spain, some forty years since, when the French and English armies were alike suffering from the scantiness of provisions, the French soldiers kept up their strength much better than the English, solely because they put such food as they could get to much better account. The English soldier would take the lump of meat, and broil it on the coals till a good part of it was burned almost to a cinder, though even then part of the remainder was probably raw. The French soldiers, on the contrary, would club two or three together, and stew their bits of meat with bread and such herbs and vegetables as they could collect, into a savoury and wholesome dish. So great was the difference between these two ways, in their effect on the strength and health of the soldiers, that it was remarked that a French army would live in a country in which an English army would starve.

We close these remarks on cookery, by a recipe for vegetable soup. Our readers who make trial of it will thank us for such a cheap, relishing, and excellent dish.

Vegetable Soup.-Soak a pint of peas all night; put them in six quarts of water, with three turnips, four carrots, four or five onions, and a stick of celery, all chopped small, and two or three tablespoonsful of sago; let the whole boil gently for nearly three hours, then add a thickening of oatmeal in about a pint of water, a little parsley, thyme, and mint; season with pepper and salt to the taste: when boiled the soup will be thick.

Family Economist.

THE FIRESIDE.

The Penny Post.

CLERICAL INTERFERENCE WITH DISSENTERS.-It is no agreeable task to select from letters which we are frequently receiving, instances of unkind interference and petty tyranny on the part of certain state-paid clergymen, with tradesmen and poor persons who are decided dissenters. Such conduct is as ungentlemanly as it is unchristian. Neither dare we hope that these are exceptions to the rule. We fear they are the rule, especially in villages. At all events, "such fantastic tricks" as these deserve exposure, for it may be only by exposure that they will be at length suppressedthey are too ugly for the light.

"A poor afflicted member of the baptist church at - was visited by a Puseyite clergyman, and offered one shilling and meal per week if she would change her sentiments. The reply was, 'I would not be a turncoat for the world.' Then I will not relieve your wants,' rejoined this state-paid priest." J. P.

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"The vicar of this parish, professedly an Evangelical, (I give you his name,) went to a lady who I supply with bread, and who is one of his people, and, I believe, a decided christian. He inquired who she was taking her bread from. She told him that she had it from me, at which he expressed surprise, and gave two reasons why she ought not. First, Mr. S, the baker, is a dissenter. Second, he persuades the people to leave the church. This needs no comment. But I am not yet quite under the power of clerical tyranny."

S.

Here is a Puseyite and an Evangelical, one as bitter as the other against his dissenting neighbour. Should such things be? We might expect this and more of the Puseyite; but this Evangelical-he must be getting into years now, and sorry are we to find that he has lost none of his antipathy to dissenters. In a kind of religious novel, with a velvet title, many years ago, he tried his best to put them down, but only received a merited chastisement for his pains. He has dabbled in politics too, in his day; and for so doing-that is, for taking part against an injured woman, the late Queen Caroline, he received a merciless drubbing from the rough saxon cudgel of William Cobbet. We hoped that these things had taught him to be quiet, for we had not heard of him lately, and regret that he again appears before us in this questionable shape.

Why cannot these men be content with the emoluments and influence which they possess? If they cannot afford, as one of them confessed, to keep a conscience, why should those who try to have one void of offence before God and man be disturbed by them? Church and State-Church and State is the cause of all this. The sooner they are separated the better!

THE CHILDREN'S CORNER.

The Children's Corner.

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"Yes, indeed, I am

sorry!". returned the child, with much solemnity; "and I pray to God for you." "Do you, indeed? and what do you say?" "I say, Oh, God, teach this man what thou art!" A striking illustration of the words of sacred writ-" Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast ordained strength, because of thine enemies, that thou nightest still the enemy and the avenger."

THE WORD OF LIFE.
HOLY BIBLE art thou mine?
Do thy truths, with beams divine,
Shining on my 'nighted heart,
Life, and light, and joy impart ?
Do I love the "written word"
Which bears record of my Lord,
Which alone can peace afford.
Felt to be the "Living Word ?"

THE INFIDEL AND THE LITTLE | philosopher. GIRL-Hume the historian, was once dining at the house of an inti. mate friend. After dinner the ladies withdrew, and in the course of conversation, Hume made an assertion which caused a gentleman present to observe to him, "If you can advance such sentiments as those, you are certainly what the world gives you the credit of being-an infidel" A little girl, whom the philosopher had often noticed, and with whom he had become a favourite, by bringing her little presents of toys and sweetmeats, happened to be playing about the room unnoticed; she, however, listened to the conversation, and on hearing the above expression, left the room, went to her mother, and asked, "What is an infidel ?" "An infidel, my dear," replied the mother, why should you ask such a question? An infidel is so awful a character, that I scarcely feel disposed to answer you." "Oh, do tell me, mother," replied the child; "I must know what an infidel is." Struck with her eagerness, her mother at length replied, "An infidel is one who believes that there is no God, no heaven, no hell, no hereafter." Some days afterwards, Hume again visited the house of his friend. On being introduced to the parlour, he found no one there but his favourite little girl; he went to her, as he had been used to do; but the child shrunk with horror from his touch. My dear," said he, "what is the matter? do I hurt you?"No," she replied, "you do not, but I cannot kiss you, I cannot play with you." Why not, my dear ?" "Because you are an infidel." "An infidel! what is that?" "One who believes there is no God, no heaven, no hell, no hereafter." "And are you not sorry for me my dear?" asked the astonished

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HOLY SPIRIT! on me shine
When I read the book divine;
When its pages I unfold,
Wondrous things may I behold;
When I read the holy law,
Consolation may I draw

From the fact that Jesus' love,
Does the awful curse remove !

JESUS, thy commands I view,
Help me each command to do;
Joyfully may I go on,

In the way thou hast made known.
When thy promises I see,
May they all belong to me;
May I prize them more and more,
"Till earth's sorrows all are o'er.

HOLY FATHER! let me ne'er
This world's vanity prefer
To the riches that abound
In this mine of wealth profound;
May the sacred word of truth
Guide the erring steps of outh;
Be thro' every stage my stay;
Gild with hope my parting day!
Essex.

X. D.

THE BLIND PREACHER OF THE WILDERNESS.

THE following description of a blind preacher in the county of Orange, United States, is given by an eye witness, who states that he was guided to the place of worship, situated in the wilderness, by a cluster of horses, tied near a ruinous old wooden house, on which the worshippers had ridden to attend the service. He confesses, that curiosity to hear the preacher of such a wilderness was not the least of his motives.

On entering, he says, I was struck with his preternatural appearance. He was a tall and very spare old man; his head, which was covered with a white linen cap, his shrivelled hands, and his voice, were all shaking under the influence of a palsy; and a few moments ascertained to me that he was perfectly blind.

The first emotions which touched my breast were those of mingled pity and veneration. But ah! how soon were all my feelings changed. The lips of Plato were never more worthy of a prognostic swarm of bees than were the lips of this holy man! It was the day of the administration of the Lord's Supper; and his subject, of course, was the passion of our Saviour. I had heard the subject handled a thousand times: I had thought it exhausted long ago. Little did I suppose, that in the wild woods of America I was to meet with a man whose eloquence would give to this topic a new and more sublime pathos than I had ever before witnessed. As he descended from the pulpit to distribute the mystic symbols, there was a peculiar, a more than human solemnity in his air and manner, which made my blood run cold, and my whole frame shiver. He then drew a picture of the sufferings of our Saviour; his trial before Pilate; his ascent up Calvary; his crucifixion; and his death. I knew the whole history; but never, until then, had I heard the circumstances so selected, so arranged, so coloured. It was all new; and I seemed to have heard it for the first time in my life. His enunciation was so deliberate that his voice trembled on every syllable, and every heart in the assembly trembled in unison. His peculiar phrases had that force of description, that the original scene appeared to be, at that moment, acting before our eyes. We saw the very faces of the Jews: the staring frightful distortions of malice and rage. We saw the buffet: my soul kindled with a flame of indignation; and my

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