THE ARSENAL.

This is the Arsenal. From floor to ceiling, Like a huge organ, rise the burnished

arms; But from their silent pipes no anthem pealing, Startles the villages with strange alarms.

Ah! what a sound will rise; how wild and dreary, When the Death angel touches those swift keys' What loud lament and dreary miserere Willmingle with their awful symphonies!

I hear even now the infinite fierce chorus,
The cries of agony, the endless groan,
Which, through the ages that have gone
before us,
In long reverberations reach our own.

On helm and harness rings the Saxon ham

mer; Through Cimbric forest roars the Norseman's song; And loud amid the universal clamour, O'er distant deserts, sounds the Tartar

gong.

I hear the Florentine, who from his palace Wheels out his battle-bell with dreadful din, And Aztec priests, upon the teocallis, Beat the wild war-drums, made of serpent’s skin.

The tumult of each sacked and burning village, The shout that every prayer for mercy drowns, The soldier's revels in the midst of pillage, The wail of famine in beleaguered towns.

The bursting shell, the gateway wrenched
asunder,
The rattling musketry, the clashing blade,
And ever and anon, in tones of thunder,
The diapason of the cannonade.

It is, O man, with such discordant noises— With such accursed instruments as these— Thou drownest Nature's sweet and kindly voices, And jarrest the celestial harmonies?

Were half the power that fills the worldwith terror— Were half the wealth bestowed on camps and courts— Given to redeem the human mind from Error, There were no need of arsenals nor forts.

The warrior's name would be a name ab-
horred,
And every nation that should lift again
Its hand against a brother—on its forehead
Would wear for evermore the curse of
Cain'

Down the dark future, through long generations, The echoing sounds grow fainter, and then cease ; And like a bell, with solemn, sweet vibrations, I hear once more the voice of Christ say, “Peace . "

Peace, and no longer from its brazen portals
The blast of war's great organ shakes the
skies; -
But beautiful, as songs of the immortals,
The holy melodies of love arise.

LONGFELLOW.

WORDS OF THE WISE.

As the rose-tree is composed of the sweetest flowers, and sharpest thorns; as the heavens are sometimes fair and sometimes overcast, alternately tempestuous and serene; so is the life of man intermingled with hopes and fears, with joys and sorrows, with pleasures and with pains.— BURTON.

Let grace and goodness be the principal loadstones of thy affections, for love, which hath ends, will have an end; whereas that which is founded on true virtue will always continue.—DRYDEN.

David loved the lamb before he rescued it from danger, but he loved it more afterwards; so Christ loves all his creatures, but he loves them more after he has taken them into his fold, and owned them as the purchase of his precious blood.—PAYsoN.

Christians might avoid much trouble and inconvenience if they would only believe what they profess—that God is able to make them happy without anything else. They imagine if such a dear friend were to die, or such and such blessings to be removed, they would be miserable; whereas God can make them a thousand times happier without them. To mention my own case. God has been depriving me of one blessing after another, but as every one | was removed, he has come in and filled up | its place; and now, when I am a cripple, and not able to move, I am happier than ever I was in my life before, or ever ex

pected to be; and if I had believed thus

twenty years ago, I might have been spared much anxiety.—PAYson.

If God had told me some time ago, that he was about to make me as happy as I could be in this world, and then had told is that he should begin by crippling me in all my limbs, and removing me from all my usual sources of enjoyment, I should have thought it a very strange mode of aceomplishing his purpose. And yet how is his wisdom manifest even in this! for if you were to see a man shut up in a close room, idolizing a set of lamps, and rejoicing in their light, and you wished to make him truly happy, you would begin by blowing out all his lamps, and then throw open the shutters to let in the light of heaven.— Paysox.

The young convert, in judging of the | reality of his conversion, generally lays much stress upon having a great deal of

joy; and regards that as a very decisive proof that he is a disciple of Christ. But this is one of the most fallacious proofs, and no dependence ought to be placed on it. It may not be desirable, at first, to have

full assurance of our salvation, for our love is then weak, and some degree of fear is necessary to keep us near to Christ.

INDIAN SUMMER of LIFE.-In the life of the good man there is an Indian summer more beautiful than that of the season; richer, sunnier, and more sublime than the most glorious Indian summer the world ever knew—it is the Indian summer of the soul. When the glow of youth has departed, when the warmth of middle age is gone, and the buds and blossoms of spring are changing to the sear and yellow leaf, then the mind of the good man, still ri and vigorous, relaxes his labours, and the memories of a well-spent life gush forth from their secret fountains, enriching, rejoicing, and fertilising; then the trustful resignation of the Christian sheds around a sweet and holy warmth, and the soul assuming a heavenly lustre, is no longer restricted to the narrow confines of business, but soars beyond the winter of a hoary age, and dwells peacefully and happily upon that bright spring and summer which await him within the gates of paradise evermore. Let us strive for and look trustingly forward to an Indian summer like this.

By letters received from Mr. Douglas, of date December 10, the gratifying intelligence was conveyed that Mr. Sandeman had reached Amoy in safety. The following extract from a letter of Mr. Sandeman himself, relates the goodness and mercy which had followed him as far as Hong| Keng, the pleasant intercourse which he had enjoyed with Christian brethren of many communions, and the opportunities of preaching that gospel which he so loves to proclaim. It is exactly half a century since, after his ordination in the Scotch Church, Swallow Street, the proto-evangelist of China, Dr. Morison, set forth on his forlorn-looking pilgrimage. It would be an interesting topic on which to expatiate, and it is one of which thoughtful readers will not grudge to be reminded— the change which fifty years have brought

over the scene; the speed of the transit, the evangelistic stations which stud the route, the Christian welcome which awaits the missionary, and the facility which he carries with him, one of the most notable being the great Dictionary of that indefatigable pioneer.

The letters from Mr. Burns and Mr. Douglas will also be read with the deepest interest, and the Church will be pleased to learn that the Association in Scotland which gave to our Mission Mr. Douglas, has determined on sending another Missionary to join our staff, having recently appointed Mr. George Smith of Aberdeen, who is intended to sail for Amoy in the early part of the summer. We believe that the Foreign Mission Committee is not without hopes of being able to secure yet another to accompany him. “The harvest truly is great but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.”

“Hong-Kong, Dec. 4, 1856.

“My dear Dr. Hamilton, In the good providence of God I arrived here in safety a few days ago. This place, as you will be aware, is full of missionaries and merchants driven from Canton and the districts in its neighbourhood, by the state of matters now prevailing. At present, things are quiet enough here, and, as far as can be known, at the other ports open to foreigners. I proceed therefore (D.v.) on my way to Amoy, by steamer, to-morrow morning. “During the passage from Suez to Ceylon there were two Episcopalian clergymen on board, and I divided the service on Sabbath with them. And we were Evangelical Alliance enough for Archdeacon Pratt, of Calcutta, to read prayers, and I preached. Service at sea is always interesting; the capstan, covered by the union jack—the ensign of England—forms the pulpit ; the promiscuous crowd of passengers, interspersed by officers in uniform, are in the foreground of the congregation; behind are those of the crew, who attend, mixed with stewards, &c., and behind these men there appear the black faces of Hindoos and Lascars, while, as it happened, five or six Chinese sailors had the charge of arranging the deck church. It was good to preach among all these the full and free forgiveness of sins through the blood of the Lamb. “At Point de Galle, in Ceylon, I was very hospitably received by Mr. Kessen, a Wesleyan Missionary, and on the Sabbath had an opportunity of preaching in the Dutch Reformed Chapel to a congregation composed of Portuguese and Cingalese, both of whom understood English. At Penang, in the entrance to the Straits of Malacca, there is a small Presbyterian Congregation, and there also an occasion offered for preaching the gospel. “There are a number of Chinese colomists, or rather temporary emigrants, both at Penang and Sincapore; and it was interesting to find that the ministers and congregations of these places are bent each in

employing a Chinese catechist to labour among their countrymen.

“Mr. Burns left this place about a fortnight ago to return to Swatow ; as you will know he was thrown into prison along with two native Christians. He was subsequently liberated, but the others were kept in prison, and probably are so still. Mr. Burns thought it his duty to return to Swatow to try and get the native brethren set free, though there was danger in his going back to a province where he had shortly before been seized. By the last accounts he is well, however, and as the steamer by which I go to Amoy touches at Swatow, I take charge of his letters, and may possibly meet with him.

“My present kind host is Dr. Legge, of the London Missionary Society, whose name is so well known in connection with Chinese Missions. A specimen of his labours I witnessed to-day in accompanying him on board a ship starting for the Australian gold diggings with upwards of 300 Chinese emigrants. These soon gathered round Dr. Legge, and he explained the gospel to them, then distributed a tract adapted to their circumstances, and left a number of New Testaments to be afterwards distributed among them. Most of them, doubtless, heard the gospel then for the first time, as they came from some distance.

“Yours very truly,
“DAVID SANDEMAN.”

FROM THE REW. CARSTAIRS DOUGLAS.

MY DEAR MR. MATHEson, I have to-day drawn bills (Nos. 652,653,654) through Tait and Co., for 800 dollars, that is £1886s. 8d. as exchange is now 4s. 8%d. This sum is on account of the Building Fund. One half (400 dollars), has been already given to the Pechuia Church, and applied by them to the purchase of a piece of ground. Probably, something about 300 dollars will be required for the necessary alterations to make fitting accommodation for the present state of the mission. Even should the whole 800 dollars be thus expended on Pechuia, it will be a pecuniary relief to the mission, as we pay 60 dollars a year for

in Amoy, two women and one man; and Mr. Stronach received four women and seven men. Of the latter, one case is peculiarly interesting, namely, the teacher employed by Mr. J. Stronach, in making the Shanghae translation of the Bible: his attainments in Chinese literature are very great, and it was after no small struggle with the pride of learning, that he made profession of his faith. Thus while the din of war is heard in the distance, in this place the word of the Lord grows and prevails, and we trust that the little flock in this province may be spared that trial. At present we enjoy most complete quiet and peace, the people are as friendly as ever: in going about preaching I meet with the same kindness as before, and no one has ever cast up the Canton proceedings for an objection, while everything that can be laid hold of has always been so used; such as the Coolie trade, the opium traffic, and the drunkenness and immorality of our poor sailors. In fact, the people here have no sympathy at all with the Cantonese; and the mandarins are especially anxious to keep on good terms with our authorities. The British and American consuls consider that there is no danger here at all. I earnestly trust that no such groundless fear will prevent the London and Edinburgh Committees sending out very speedily two or three more men; for though I am daily looking for Mr. Sandeman he can be considered only as the advanced guard. Even in the improbable case of a general war, Amoy would very easily be kept in tranquillity. Never were the Chinese less ready for a struggle, never was Britain more, I do not say ready, but almost looking out for some little war. In any case the struggle, local or general, must be brief, and in a very few months at the farthest, China will be much more open than it has ever been before. But a sad question comes up—are the Churches of Britain and America ready to send out the men to occupy the field that will cer.

mentions the safe arrival of Mr.Sandeman at Amoy, and records his titude to God for so great a mercy. Mr. Sandeman had spent a Sabbath with Mr. Burns, at Swatow, the steamer by which he was a passenger having called at that port.

THE REW. W. C. BURNS.

OUR readers will rejoice to learn from the following that Mr. Burns is not only again at liberty, but has been enabled to return to his former sphere of labour and trial at Swatow :My dear Sir, I pen these few lines to let you know of my safe arrival here. I left Hong-Kong in a lorcha a few days after writing to you, and after a pleasant coasting passage of nine days, I reached this place a fortnight ago, finding in disappointment of my fears all our things safe, and receiving a hearty welcome from our friends here. I am in hopes that all that has happened in connection with our arrest, may tend to improve our position and prospects of useful labour in this quarter. All our efforts previously to obtain such accommodation here as was needful for preaching, &c., proved fruitless; but since my return, the people, a part of whose house we occupied as a lodging, have almost volunteered to remove to another house, and leave us in the exclusive possession of this. They are this day nearly completing their removal, and I am expecting soon, if the Lord will, to be able to raise here a more audible testimony for his truth than it was permitted us formerly to give. Mr. Taylor has not yet returned to join us in this work, but should he delay, I hope once or twice a week to obtain the aid of a Wesleyan brother, who practises as a doctor at Double Island (the foreign shipping station), and thus besides conferring a temporal benefit on the sick, to gather the people about us to hear the truth, which may save their souls. Orders have come down we hear, from the Governor-General at Canton, for the release of the native brethren arrested with me, and we hope that soon these orders may be carried into effect; but the Chinese officials are very tardy in their movements, and try to keep hold as long as they can of all who fall into their hands, that they may, by threats and hard usage, extort as much

money from them as possible. These