God. By nothing else has the seed of piety been preserved upon earth. The godly are the salt of the earth.

2. Throughout all periods the church has confessed the same doctrine, redemption by the death of the Son of God. Abel sacrificed in faith upon him; Enoch foretold his coming; Abraham saw his day afar off; Job rejoiced in his Redeemer; of him Moses in the law and the prophets wrote; and what have been the whole company of evan, gelists, and apostles, and pastors, and teachers, but nar, rators of his history, and expounders of his doctrine. All from the beginning have sustained the same character of 'confessors of Jesus Christ. They were saved by the faith of his name.

3. In every period the church has borne the persecution of the world. "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed," said God to the serpent, and the language has at all times been verified. Righteous Abel was slain by his unnatural brother; Esau hated Jacob; the Jews were attacked by the neighbouring nations; Christ and his apostles suffered from their ungodly countrymen; the Papacy has been drunk with the blood of the saints; and the mere nominal Protestant has maligned the spiritual believer. In every age he that was born after the flesh has persecuted him that was born after the spirit. Persecution has never been able to extinguish the church; her God has ever found her a place in the wilderness, when furious atorms raged around her; she has been as the bush seen by Moses, ever burning, but not consumed.

Nor have we been left in ignorance of the future history of the church. It will never cease to exist. Isa. liii. 1012; Ps. lxxxix. 3, 4. It has yet to endure bitter persecution. Rev. xi. 8. Its most glorious day is yet to come, when the Gospel shall be universally known, loved, and obeyed. Ps. xxii. 16-19. This blessed day shall be of long continuance. Rev. xx. 1–6. It will be produced and maintained by the preaching of the Gospel. Mat. xxviii. 19, 20. It will be succeeded by a time of grievous apostacy. Rev. xx. 7, 8. God will pour out his judg ments on the wicked. Rev. xx. 9, 10. The general judgment will succeed. Rev. xx. 11-13. The wicked shall go into everlasting misery. Rev. xx. 14, 15. The new heavens and the new earth shall be created for the habitation of the righteous. Rev. xxi. 1. The whole church.

will be presented to Christ as a bride adorned for her husband, to enjoy him, and be with him for ever. Rev. xxi. 2.

An irrevocable sentence shall be passed on the righteous and the wicked, "he that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still." "He which testifieth these things saith, surely I come quickly; Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

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SUNDAY SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND, AND FOR THE DEAF AND DUMB.

ONE of the most interesting Sunday schools in Belfast, is one in which the blind, and the deaf and dumb, are taught from Scripture. Astonishing as it may appear, it is nevertheless a fact, that not only the deaf and dumb, but even the blind, are reading the Scriptures. On the evening on which we were present, we found the deaf and dumb on one side of the room, taught by young ladies; on the other side sat seven or eight blind boys and young men. Most of them appeared very early to have lost their sight by the small-pox; others among them had been born blind. Nothing, however, could be more remarkable than the strong contrast between the deep melancholy gravity of the features of the blind, and the gay and lively appearance of those to whom Providence had denied the blessings and the pleasures of hearing. There was something exceedingly interesting in the two classes meeting under the same roof; and although the most kindly feeling existed between both, it was very amusing to observe the feeling of superiority which each appropriated to himself, when considering the privation with which his other companions were afflicted. On some occasions the deaf might be observed leading a blind boy to a seat, and would at the same time exchange with some of his deaf companions a look, expressive of both pity and amusement, at the helpless, and apparently stupid and awkward situation and manner of the blind; while, on other occasions, the blind might be heard condoling with the helpless, and unintellectual and unsociable situation of the deaf, whose unmeaning groanings, and grunting, seemed to them the only indications of reason or conversation.

On the desks before the blind were laid books of different kinds, all printed in relief, the letters having much the same appearance as the common Roman characters, only having

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sharp angles instead of being rounded at the corners. The O, for example, was a square standing on one of its corners, so that the letters were more easily distinguished from each other than if they had been formed in the common way.

The school had been only a short time in existence, but all were able to read. They had been reading the "First Step to Old Testament History," and the "Scripture Statements,' printed in this manner; and they were able to do so with considerable fluency, although they were printed on the smallest type that has been used for the blind. The Gospel by St. John had also been newly procured for them; and although it is printed in a larger type than those which they had been using, so much were they accustomed to the small type, that they felt no increased facility from the largeness of the other.

There was observable a great variety in the ease with which different boys could read the books. One or two, who had been about two weeks under instruction, had to rub their fingers up, and then down again, upon the letter before they could name it; and some letters required even this to be repeated two, three, and sometimes four times, before they could satisfy themselves with their names; others again only required to pass their fingers gently over it, in order to know it at once; so that in reading on the book, all that they did was to glide three of their fingers gently over the lines, keeping the fingers of the left hand on the beginning of the line which they were reading, and when it was finished bringing their right hand to the beginning of the line below. The quickness with which they read was nearly the same as that with which a child reads when he has commenced the Spelling-Book; or we may perhaps be better understood, when we say, that the ticking of a clock might represent the average time of reading each word; but it was very evident that this was by no means the limit of their proficiency, as they were daily acquiring greater ease and expertness in reading.

A little consideration would show us, that we must experience considerable difficulty in assigning any limit to the expertness which may be acquired by the blind in reading. Have we not, every day before us, examples of an apparently much more difficult process gone through with the greatest ease We refer to the reading of manuscripts, many of which no man could read, if the words or letters were presented to him singly, or out of their order; yet the eye, by habit, is enabled to perceive the general appearance,-one letter suggesting another, one word suggesting the next,-and one sentence enabling the mind to anticipate some idea of the one succeed

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ing. The consequence is, that the reader goes on without difficulty; and unhesitatingly will attach an idea to a small waved line, which, were it examined alone, might be construed into any one of twenty or thirty words with as much propriety as the one for which it was intended. So may the blind, when they have acquired the habit of reading, be able to glide the finger over a dozen of words, and receive as decided an impression of the meaning of the sentence as any man could receive from glancing over an ill-written manuscript.

One boy was admitted the same evening on which we were present; and although he never had any of the books in his hands before, he was able to read all the alphabet before he left the room. Another young man, (a Roman Catholic,) whom the teacher had invited to attend, was also present, but resolutely declined to become a pupil. His excuse was, that it was impossible for him ever to learn; one blind lad assured him that it was very simple, and began to read a chapter of St. John's Gospel as a proof of the possibility of such a thing. Still, however, he declared his unbelief; and suggested, that one who had committed a passage to memory might easily make a pretence of reading. This was a matter which might easily be detected; and therefore his friend, after assuring him that bis suspicion was unfounded, expressed his readiness to read any portion of St. John's Gospel which he might choose to name. "Perhaps," said the stranger, "you may be able to do so, but I know that it would be needless for me to try." The teacher then assured him, that he would undertake to teach him if he would only consent to give it a trial; still, however, he expressed his belief that it would be quite peedless, and that he could never succeed. Another blind lad then attempted to encourage him, by saying, that at first he too thought it impossible, but again considered that it would be at least harmless to try;-he did try, and he succeeded. All this had no effect, however, on our young unbeliever, further than to produce a little irritation at being so strongly urged; and he then remarked to the teacher, that he did not come on the supposition that he was to be a scholar, but merely invited to see the school. The teacher then very prudently forbore to press the matter, and kindly acquiesced in the statement of the young man, and made him a welcome visitor. It was not so, however, with one of the blind pupils who frankly and earnestly began to warn him of the evil he was doing to himself in neglecting the opportunity of becoming able to read God's word; and he then, most feelingly,

shewed him the comfort which he might receive when sitting alone, without a friend to converse with him, and when he was shut out from all objects which could afford him any instruction, or even any amusement, if he was able to take up the Bible and read it himself, to beguile such solitary hours. This admonition was received in good part, and even elicited thanks for the advice; but as he was evidently guided by conscientious scruples, he offered no further reply, and thus the matter dropped.

Not only do the pupils read,-the teacher also catechises them, and gets them to draw practical lessons from what they read. The advantages of the Lesson System to blind readers are more than equal to those enjoyed by common children. The slowness which must, for a long time, characterize their reading, enables them, and even forces them, to draw lessons from the passage as they go along, provided the habit has been acquired while they were under instruction. We do expect great things from this infant institution, more especially when we consider the enterprizing, active, and zealous character of the gentleman who originated, and who superintends it.

The deaf and dumb, we have already said, are taught by young ladies; they have drilled themselves most successfully in the art of speaking with the fingers. The method of teaching is as follows: The Key of the cate chism from which they are taught is laid before them; and having been provided with a slate and slate pencil, they are required to write the answers to the catechetical exercise in the Key. In this manner they gain a most intimate knowledge of the doctrines, and any statement not properly comprehended, is at once detected, and then explained. The explanations of words are, of course, required; and the answers are generally ingenious, and almost always remarkable. One boy was asked what was the meaning of “proud ;” he said it was "Tom Connely with a new coat." Direct catechising was also adopted; sometimes by writing questions on the slate, but generally spoken on the fingers, and answered in the same manner. A smart conversation was generally kept up in this manner between the teachers and the scholars.

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We examined some of them, to know what knowledge they had acquired, and we were well satisfied with their answers; and we were informed, that when they entered the school, a short time previously, their ignorance was