portrayed upon the walls thereof!' What but the blood of Jesus can cleanse us, and what but the Spirit can sanctify us? He is our all, our beginning, and He must be our end, if we would win heaven. May He be more precious to you and to me here, and may He be our everlasting portion hereafter!-Yours, in the best and happiest bonds, M. M. HAMMOND." In speaking of one of these sick persons, the testimony of a mind stayed upon Jesus, and kept in peace by Him, is thus related by Captain Hammond: "Before you come out again," he writes, "it is more than probable that two dear friends of ours will have entered into their rest-Mr C*** and H. M ***. C*** has been growing weaker and weaker, but though the outward man is perishing, the inward man is being renewed day by day. In a conversation that I * * * had with him, he asked him if he could read now. 'No,' he replied, but I am feeding on what is stored up in my mind.' I * * * then said, 'What a great mercy it is that you have this store of truth in your mind.' 'True,' he said, 'and one truth is ever present with me, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.' The next letter is dated, Montreal, December 12, 1846, and is written on the approaching new year, to his brother: "On these occasions," he says, "it is good to look back on the past, and to call to mind the mercies and blessings that we have received at the Lord's hands. . . . The new year is also a time for humiliation, when we call to mind our own doings during the twelve months gone by; when we ask ourselves what we have been doing; how we have employed our time and talents; whether, upon the whole, there has been any improvement in our hearts and lives; whether we have 'grown in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ;' whether we have been faithful to our Lord and Master; and whether we have done our duty towards our fellow-men. Who could say in his heart, I have done all this? Rather, we have reason to humble ourselves before God, at how little we have done that we might have done, and seek to be washed in that blood which alone can take away sin. The new year, too, is a time to look forward, as well as back-to commit the unknown future to Him who is our Friend and Keeper, and to resolve, in the strength of Divine grace, that the close of the new year shall find us more watchful, more prayerful, more humble, and more holy than at the commencement of it. We must resolve to be more devoted to the service of God than we have been, more earnest about the salvation of others, more zealous in doing good, more decided in bearing witness to Jesus in the world. In saying so much on this subject, I do so merely because I think it is right, at such seasons, that we should stir each other up, and put one another in mind of the great object of our lives, viz., preparation for eternity. Your affectionate brother, "M. M. H." LETTERS. 93 CHAPTER VIL Letters. "O soothe us, haunt us, night and day, With whom we shared the cup of grace- IN no profession are the members of one community so liable to sudden separation as in the army. Here to-day, five or six officers may be dispersed to-morrow to the four quarters of the globe-scattered at every change of wind, like driftwood or autumn leaves. "Out of sight out of mind" is a reproach which has grown into a standing proverb; a sad reflection on the shallow depth of summer friendship. Yet even that friendship which is not of the world, but based upon the love of the Saviour, needs the interchange of thought, or the expression of common interests, to keep it from declining. So, when the little group of officers, who began together their Christian life at Halifax, was broken up and scattered abroad, Maxy Hammond suffered no want of care or dili gence on his part to weaken the chain which bound them together. And what link so strong, so fitted to resist the pressure of outward circumstances, as the adoption of a common season of prayer? A proposal to this effect, with some suggestions for subjects, is contained in the next letter: "November 23, 1846. 'MY DEAR W ** -I miss you all very much, and feel the want of a Christian companion in the regiment. How precious in my memory are those bright days of Christian fellowship which we enjoyed together! But I trust the Lord is teaching me (alas! how slow I am to learn) to walk by faith, and to be more independent of creature-comforts. Nevertheless, I do esteem the privilege of Christian intercourse very highly. I think it has done me much good, in helping to stir me up to more watchfulness and earnestness in my walk, and I always find it cheering and comforting to my soul. "You will be interested in hearing of regimental matters.-Would to God I could give you a good report! Satan, I fear, has been busy in rooting out from many whatever good desires and resolutions may have been produced from the means of grace at Halifax; * * *, and * * *, and * * * have been kept in the faith, I rejoice and bless God to say, while of the rest I can hear but little; and I fear no fruit has followed to give evidence of any change of heart. On the contrary, many have gone back to the ways of death. Of *** I had some good hopes, but I fear his heart is yet in the world; he has been anxious, but I think merely from natural conviction and the voice of conscience; utterly ignorant of sin, and, therefore, of his SUBJECTS FOR MUTUAL PRAYER. 95 need of a Saviour; with some vague notions of turning religious, without knowing what it means, or any apparent desire to do so. Mrs H * * * is going on well; of her it may be said, as of old to the Church of Pergamos-'I know where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is:' but the Lord has prevented her from being infected by the evil around her, and I really believe she is leaning on Him. She is living in a room with five other families, and a hundred men cursing and swearing from morning till night. What a trial it must be ! I have just written to J*** F*** and have proposed to him, that we should meet around the throne of grace for mutual prayer on the 1st of January 1847. That our requests may be uniform, I have hinted at the heads of our prayers, which, of course, you can alter as you see fit: "Thanksgiving and praise "For the mercies of the year past; that we have been enabled, by God's goodness, mutually to help one another forward on the way to Zion. That hitherto the Lord hath kept and preserved us in the faith amidst so many dangers, trials, and temptations from without and from within. That the Lord has called to rest one of our number. That she fell asleep in Jesus, and by her peaceful death, bore testimony to the truth and faithfulness of God. "Confession "The sins of the past year, both of commission and omission; our sloth, indolence, unfaithfulness, and unfruitfulness; our neglect of duty and improving opportunities of usefulness; our sinful compliances with the ways of the world and worldly men; our inconsistencies, and the |