Page images
PDF
EPUB

ANECDOTES, SELECTIONS, AND GEMS.

us, at the beginning; and a horrid break it is. But, after that, comes a gradual development;—of our wretchedness, of our baseness, of our treachery, of our filthiness, of our audacity, of our atrocity, of our meanness, of our moral turpitude-in all their shocking particulars and details: so that the farther a man is advanced in the way of salvation, the worse he comes to think, because the more he comes to know, of himself; till he arrives at the hour of his death, when he thinks the worst of all. We may receive this revelation, however, in two ways:-we may receive it in time, or we may receive it in eternity. We must receive it in one or the otherIn eternity! terrible thought; to have ever moving before our eyes, like a revolving picture full of all that is most hateful, unclean, and hideous, the endless image of our own infinite depravity-the endless succession and record of our own mad follies and sins! What a perpetual-what a dreadful addition, to the unutterable torments and piercing anguish of damnation! Happy they, to whom the discovery, however painful, is made by the Holy Spirit in the present life. Thrice happy, when another discovery attends it; the discovery of the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world,

TEMPERANCE.

Poetic Gems.

THROUGH luxury the Romans fell,
And many now their houses sell;
They spend what others strove to save,
And haste to an untimely grave!
But temperance will promote thy health,
And can't be deem'd a foe to wealth:
The heart when pure, the head when cool,
May profit much in wisdom's school;
And thou shalt prosper in thy day,
If virtue mark thy steady way.

HUMAN DEPRAVITY.

THE mind is found by nature base,
In each of Adam's fallen race;
It thinks on nothing as it should,
Until by grace 'tis render'd good.
Pray, then, that God may grace impart,
To fix the purpose of thy heart,
To guide the counsels of thy breast,
That thou mayst think on what is best.
For evil thoughts but go before,
To tell that satan's at the door,

NONE BUT JESUS.

By falth in the Gospel your refuge obtain,
Lay hold on the promise, free pardon to gain;
No Saviour but Jesus can rescue a slave
From sin, his old master; he's mighty to

save.

No name besides his can be found under heaven

Through which saving help to mankind can be given.

Then trust not to nature, nor evermore cease, In Christ to believe, both for pardon and peace.

TRUE FAITH.

TRUE faith, though it be as the smallest of grains,

At once for its owner, salvation obtains. The rich need this faith just as much as the poor;

No birth nor good fortune the grace can

secure ;

And each must believe with a faith of his own,

Since no public creed for its want can atone,

NO CROSS, NO CROWN.

MENTION a saint, who had to sojourn here,
Without his share of suffering, grief, and
fear;

All are the heirs of trial and of pain,
And none, without their cross, the crown
obtain.

Be then content to follow in the way
That saints have gone to everlasting day:
Sweet pleasure soon shall spring from this
thy pain,

And present loss shall bring eternal gain.

LIFE, HOW SHORT!

REFLECT, that life is like a dream,
Or like a bubble on the stream,
Or glass, or china-by one stroke,
How soon it is to pieces broke!
Just like a shade, it passes by;
Or ships, that through the billows fly;
Alas! how soon the time is gone,
Before our work be well begun!
But long they live, nor die too soon,
Who live till life's great work is done.

ANECDOTES, SELECTIONS, AND GEMS.

Facts.

A NEW SILVER COIN has been issued called a Florin, the value of which is two shillings.

GLASS BRICKS have recently been manufactured, which may be worked into a wall along with common bricks; but whether by so doing the window tax may be evaded does not appear.

THE IRISH BOGs, it has been stated, may be worked up very profitably into candles, a sample of which was lately exhibited in the House of Commons and yet many doubt the correctness of the statement.

LITTLE FREEHOLDERS.-At Winlaton, eighteen labourers joined and bought a piece of freehold land of the value of £400. The largest portion allotted was half an acre; but each had enough on which to build a house with a small garden. We wish there could be more of this.

ICE. The trade in ice, chiefly for cooling wines, is now a great source of profit to the Americans, who employ many ships in conveying blocks of it to Europe.

CHOLERA has again visited our land, and the doctors can no more discover the nature of the disease than the chemists could find out the cause of the potato rot. The fact is, both are rods in the hands of God. Happy they who submit, repent, reform, and seek his forgiving mercy by Jesus Christ.

LIQUOR DRINKING.-It is calculated that in one town in Scotland, Dundee, the people spend as much as £200,000 every year in drink; while less than £10,000 will cover all expences for religious, educational, and benevolent purposes. What a sin and shame!-[Since writing the above we notice, in the public papers, that more persons died of cholera in this town alone, from Sept. 1 to Sept. 8, 1849, than in all Scotlandand no wonder.]

Hints.

TO THE POMPOUs-Never insult your inferior, for you live in such a world of change that he may one day change places with you and become your superior.

WANTS. The greatest of all wants is the want of right intention. THE BEST PILOT.-He who sends the storm but steers the vessel. SOUL INSURANCE. You have heard much of "Life Insurance" - Did you ever hear of an office for Soul Insurance ? Its rules are in the book which perhaps lies there on that table of your's. Your soul's value is there estimated by a careful Actuary who never errs.

BAD PASSIONS are usurpers that would dethrone thy reason. Never suffer any rude, or saucy, or malapert passions to disturb thy reason or thrust it from its throne.

RESPECT YOURSELF.-Pythagoras, the great philosopher, used to say, "Let a man use great reverence and good manners to himself." And the sage was right, for if he does not no one else will.

THE BEST PREVENTATIVE AGAINST CHOLERA is to keep away from the beer-shop and the gin-shop, and to keep the body and the house clean; remove all filth that lies near the house, and get as much fresh air as you can. After all, the disease may come, for many sober and cleanly persons have been attacked by it, and yet its chief victims have been, and always will be, the drunken and the dirty.

THE REALLY RICH are those who, though poor, are contented. The disconter.ted, though rich, are always poor.

THE FIRESIDE.

The Fireside.

A CHRISTIAN MOTHER.-In the vicinity of Philadelphia, there was a pious mother, who had the happiness of seeing her children, in very early life, brought to the knowledge of the truth-all walking in the fear of the Lord, and ornaments to the christian church. A minister, who was travelling, having heard of this circumstance, wished very much to see her, thinking that there might be something peculiar in her mode of giving religious instruction which rendered it so effectual. He accordingly visited her, and inquired concerning the manner in which she discharged the duties of a mother in educating her children. The woman replied, that she did not know that she had been more faithful than any other christian mother would be in the instruction of her children. After & little conversation, she said, "While my children were infants on my lap, as I washed them, I raised my heart to God, that he would wash them in that blood which cleanseth us from all sin; as I clothed them in the morning, I asked my heavenly Father to clothe them in Christ's righteousness; as I provided them food, I prayed that God would feed their souls with the bread of heaven, and give them to drink of the water of life; when I have prepared them for the house of God, I have hoped that their bodies might be fit temples for the Holy Spirit to dwell in; when they left me for the week-day school, I followed their infant footsteps with a wish, that their path through life might be like that of the just, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day; and as I committed them to rest at night, the silent breathing of my soul has been that their heavenly Father would take them to his embrace, and fold them in his paternal I have committed their way, and taught them to commit their way, to the Lord, and the Lord has cared for them. It is his doing, not mine; and what he has done for me and my children he is willing, and has promised to do, for all who seek to do his will." Oh, for many such mothers! What a vast increase of piety and peace, of hope and joy, should we see in the world if such mothers were found all over the land -if only one in a village, or one in every street of a town or city were found. For none teacheth like mother-neither master nor mistress in the day-school, nor teacher in the sabbath-school-no, nor even father himself can teach like mother. "My mother," the child thinks," is my best friend. She dresses, and feeds, and nurses me; and when I am ill she watches me-none is like mother!" Christian mother, your child will listen to you when it will listen to none else. Take care and use the vast influence you possess over your child to lead its tender mind to love the blessed Jesus in early life, and may He bless your efforts! He has blessed many a mother's efforts, and will again.

arms.

"Delightful work! important charge!

To teach for God the rising race;
Their minds to train, their soul t' enlarge,
And lead them to a Saviour's face.

Inspire our hearts with fervent zeal,
O God of love, immortal King!
Thy great Salvation, O! reveal,
And youthful minds to Jesus bring."

THE PENNY POST.

The Penny Post.

ERRORS AT HOME, IN ENGLAND.-Many of our great talented writers are striving to show us the dangerous darkness of those who dwell in foreign lands. This is very well, but I think we should also strive with all our powers to expose those soul-destroying doctrines, which are almost forced upon the people around us, I mean regeneration by infant sprinkling, and confirmation by the bishop. We now see many of our neighbours suddenly taken off the stage of life, some of whom die, I fear, with these lies in their right hand. Now, sir, I am not a scholar, but I am anxious for the truth as it is in Jesus, and I hope the words of a poor man will not be disregarded. Let us all, whether we be rich or poor, do what we can to lead our neighbours around us in the only way to heaven, which is by Jesus Christ; and what we do let us do quickly, for we know not how soon our neighbours may be called away by death.

W. N. S.

CLERICAL INTOLERANCE.-Another instance came under my notice this week. They are so numerous it appears almost superfluous to particularize them. But perhaps it is desirable that the conductors of that powerful engine, the public press, should be acquainted with the state of affairs in different localities. The persecuted individual, in this case, is a hard-working man, in a village not many miles from this town, who, by honest industry, has been enabled to support comfortably and respectably his wife and family; and things would, doubtless, have gone on smoothly enough, had he continued to go occasionally to his parish church, and kept his foot outside the conventicle. But, having been repeatedly urged by a zealous village missionary to attend the house of God, rather than desecrate his holy day as he had been long accustomed to do, he was induced to attend the means of grace, and has ever since felt an interest in listening to a preached gospel; and this has given offence to him who claims to be his spiritual instructor, and who has in consequence threatened him with loss of work, which threat has now been carried fully into execution. Our friend is, however, determined to maintain his principles, notwithstanding further measures are contemplated on the part of his clerical oppressor. G. R. G.

A MOCKER PUNISHED.-When I was about two years of age, I had an attack of small pox, which left my features very strongly marked, as they are at this day. There is working with me, under the same employer, an ignorant mischievous fellow who has taken delight in making sport of my infirmity. A few days ago, he was making his usual unkind remarks, wishing he had just such a face as I had, and such like. The next day he was thrown from a cart, and his face was much bruised and disfigured. I have not taunted him about it, nor do I intend to say that it was a judgment on him, but I thought I would tell you the fact if you thought proper to record it.

Buckinghamshire.

R. P.

THE CHILDREN'S CORNER.

The Children's Corner.

SARAH CLEMERSON, aged eleven |
years, has been called, we trust, from
a state of suffering to the world of
glory. The subject of this memoir
was a scholar in a sabbath-school at
Loughborough; and took great plea-
sure in attending, till prevented by
severe affliction, under which she
laboured about nine months. In
health, she (like many of her age)
thought but little of dying; but from
the commencement of her affliction
she believed she should not recover.
This brought her to think of her
sins, and how she must appear before
the Judge of quick and dead. Upon
this subject she was very unhappy,
till directed by her pious and anxious
mother to trust in Jesus, who came
to seek and to save that which was
lost. About a month after she was
taken ill, she appeared more than
usually uneasy; this was succeeded
by a sweet calm. Her mother
observing a cheerfulness upon her
countenance, inquired the cause;
she replied, "I have found comfort
from the words 'Be of good cheer,
thy sins are forgiven thee; I can
now die happy:" and whenever that
portion was read, it appeared to re-
new her comfort; and through her
long affliction, she often spoke of
her interest and hope in the Re.
deemer. She never cast away her
confidence, but seemed to look for-
ward to the end of her sufferings with
great pleasure; and would frequently
read or sing the 302nd hymn in the
Baptist Children's Hymn-book-

"Since I soon must part for ever,
From the joys of time and sense,
Let it be my first endeavour,

To prepare for going hence."
Her affliction was of a peculiar kind,
viz. fits, which were supposed to be
occasioned by water in the brain,
and which when they came on, would
throw her into such strong convul-

sions, as to require two or three persons to hold her. These were generally succeeded by a death-like stillness; and a stranger would have supposed she had been really dead. At intervals she was free from fits for several days together, when she would employ herself in reading or conversation, (as she was remarkably cheerful,) or in making different curious things, which she gave as presents and keepsakes to her friends, and which will frequently bring her to rememberance, while she moulders in the grave. She had a great desire to work a sampler, that she might leave with her friends, and requested the writer to compose a few lines suitable to work upon it: she flowered it neatly, and nearly worked the following lines but could not complete them:

Thro' twenty long weeks,

By affliction confin'd,
The ways of the Lord

Are mysterious yet kind;
By this he has brought me

To trust in his word,
And now I find comfort

In Jesus my Lord.
Farewell my dear friends,

For soon I must go,
To dwell with my Saviour,

And leave all below:
As a mark of respect,

This sampler is given,
That you may oft read it,

When I'm gone to heav'n. There we trust she has safely arrived! Dear children, dont think yourselves too young to die; nor yet too young to seek the Saviour, who hath said, "Suffer little children to come unto

me, and forbid them not; for of such
is the kingdom of heaven."

Then early seek the Saviour's love,
That you may rest in heav'n above.
J. B.

« PreviousContinue »