duct of the subalterns. It is perhaps not so well known, that he sometimes manifested a real respect for religious people; for few men could more clearly discern the excellence of the conduct produced by holy principles. While therefore he sneered at Christianity, he sometimes promoted to offices of trust those who consistently maintained it. A sergeant, of the name of Thomas, who was very successful in training his men, and whose whole deportment pleased the king, was often noticed by him. He inquired respecting the place of the sergeant's birth, his parents, his religious creed, and the place of worship which he frequented. On being informed that he was united with the Moravians, and attended their chapel in William-street, he exclaimed, "Oh! oh! you are a fanatic, are you? Well, well; only take care to do your duty, and improve your men." The king's common salutation after this was, "Well, how do you do? how are you going on in William-street?" His majesty at length, in conversation with Thomas's colonel, mentioned his intention of promoting the sergeant to an office in the commissariat department, upon the death of an aged man who then filled it. The colonel, in order to encourage Thomas, told him of the king's design. Unhappily this had an injurious effect upon the mind of the sergeant; for, alas! such is the depravity of the human heart, that few can endure the temptation of prosperity without sustaining spiritual loss. Thomas began to forsake the assemblies of his Christian brethren; and when reproved by his minister, he said, "his heart was with him, but he was afraid of offending the king." The minister told him to take good heed that his heart did not deceive him. Soon after the sergeant's religious declension, he was again accosted by the king with "Well, how do you do? how are your friends in Williamstreet?" 'I do not know, please your majesty," was the reply. "Not know! not know!" answered the king; have you been ill?" "No, please your majesty," rejoined the sergeant; "but I do not see it necessary to attend there 80 often as I used to do." 66 Then you 66 are not so great a fanatic as I thought you," was the royal answer. In a short time the aged officer died, and the colonel waited upon his majesty to inform him of the vacancy, and to remind him of his intention to raise Sergeant Thomas to the situation. "No, no!" said the king, "he shall not have it; he does not go so often to Williamstreet as he used to do." Surprised with this peremptory refusal, the colonel withdrew, and on his return found his sergeant waiting for the confirmation of his appointment. "I do not know what is the matter with the king today," said the colonel, "but he will not give you the situation. He says you do not go so often to William-street as you used to do. I do not know what he means; but I suppose you do." Struck in a moment with the awful impropriety of his conduct, he bowed to the colonel, and departed to humble himself before God. He ever afterwards adored the Divine mercy, which did not leave him fully to realize the Scriptural threatening, "The prosperity of fools shall destroy them." (h) A BACKSLIDER'S WRETCHEDNESS. Dr. Doddridge was once preaching on the calling and the glorious hopes of the Christian. One of his hearers, after the sermon, addressed him in the following terms: "You have made an excellent and encouraging discourse; but these privileges do not belong to me, nor shall I ever have the least interest in them." "What reason have you for so saying?" asked the doctor; "Jesus is able to save to the uttermost." "I will tell you my circumstances," the man replied," and then you will not be surprised. I once made a profession of religion, which I supported with great regularity and decorum for several years. I was very strict in the performance of the duties required by the Christian system; none could charge me with immorality of conduct, or the neglect of positive commands; but in the course of time my zeal departed from me, and I became careless and remiss in my walk and conversation. I felt no satisfaction arising from the performance of spiritual duties, and gradually declined my customary observance of them. Instead of praying twice or thrice a day, I only prayed once; the same with respect to family religion; and at last these sacred engagements were entirely omitted, which soon discovered itself by my outward conduct. Ungodly company, and the gratification of sense became my only enjoyments, in which I could indulge free from those strong convictions of guilt and dreadful apprehension of future misery, which retirement and calm reflection impose upon the mind. Soon after this change took place, I was left guardian to a young lady, whose fortune was committed to my care; but I expended her money, and ruined her reputation. Still I was sensible how far preferable a virtuous life was to a wicked one, and I was careful to instruct my children in the principles of religion. When I returned, one evening, from my sinful pursuits, I asked them, as usual, if they could repeat their lesson. 'Yes,' said the youngest, and I have a lesson for you, too, papa;' she then read Ezek. xxiv. 13:- Because I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest upon thee.' This I considered was to seal my doom, and I now have nothing but a fearful looking for of judgment." (i) SECURITY AGAINST APOS- | TACY. "I well remember," says an eminent minister in North Wales, "that when the Spirit of God first convinced me of my sin, guilt, and danger, and of the many difficulties and enemies I must encounter, if ever I intended setting out for heaven, I was often to the last degree frightened; the prospect of those many strong temptations and vain allurements to which my youthful years would unavoidably expose me, greatly discouraged me. I often used to tell an aged soldier of Christ, the first and only Christian friend I had any acquaintance with for several years, that I wished I had borne the burden and heat of the day like him. His usual reply was-That so long as I feared, and was humbly dependent upon God, I should never fall, but certainly prevail.' I have found it so. O, blessed be the Lord, that I can now raise up my Ebenezer, and say, 'Hitherto hath the Lord upheld me.' (j) FIVE YEARS OF MISERY.— It is said of a Mr. G., that he lay languishing in distress of mind for five years, during which he took no comfort in meat or drink, nor any pleasure in life; being under a sense of backsliding, he was distressed as if he had been in the pit of hell. If he ate his food, it was not from any appetite, but with a view to defer his damnation, thinking within himself that he must needs be lost so soon as his breath was out of his body. Yet, after all this, he was set at liberty, received great consolation, and afterwards lived altogether a heavenly life. Let not the tempted believer then despond, nor the returning backslider fear lest he should be rejected. 27. APPLAUSE. (a) A CLERGYMAN'S DREAM. The "Imperial Magazine" contains an account of a remarkable dream related by Rev. R. Bowden, of Darwen, in England, who committed it to writing from the lips of the clergyman to whom it happened. The dream suggests a most solemn and affecting admonition. A minister of evangelical principles, whose name, from the circumstances that occurred, it will be necessary to conceal, being much fatigued at the conclusion of the afternoon's service, retired to his apartment in order to take a little rest. He had not long reclined upon his couch before he fell asleep, and began to dream. He dreamed that on walking into his garden, he entered a bower that had been erected in it, where he sat down to read and meditate. While thus employed he thought he heard some one enter the garden; and leaving his bower, he immediately bastened towards the spot hastily disappeared, and was seen no more. The minister awakening shortly afterwards, with the dream deeply graven on his memory, proceeded, overwhelmed with serious reflections, towards his chapel, in order to conduct his evening service. On his way thither he was accosted by a friend, who inquired whether he had heard of the severe loss the church had sustained in the death of their able minister. He replied, "No," but being much affected at this singular intelligence, he inquired of him the day, and the time of the day, when his departure took place. To this his friend replied, This afternoon, at twenty-five minutes after three o'clock." whence the sound seemed to come, in 66 (b) PARMENIDES' AUDIENCE. a really wise man, the well weighed approbation of a single judicious character gives more heartfelt satisfaction than all the noisy applauses of ten thousand ignorant though enthusiastic admirers. Parmenides, upon reading a philosophical discourse before a public assembly at Athens, and observing that, except Plato, the whole company had left him, continued, notwithstanding, to read on, and said that Plato alone was audience sufficient for him. 28. ATONEMENT. (a) ATONEMENT FUNDAMENTAL-The late Thomas, Earl of Kinnoul, a short time before his death, in a long and serious conversation with the Rev. Dr. Kemp, of Edinburgh, thus expressed himself:-" I have always considered the atonement the characteristic of the gospel; as a system of religion, strip it of that doctrine, and you reduce it to a scheme of morality, excellent, indeed, and such as the world never saw; but, to man, in the present I state of his faculties, absolutely impracticable. "The atonement of Christ, and the truths immediately connected with that fundamental principle, provide a remedy for all the wants and weaknesses of our nature. Those who strive to remove those precious doctrines from the word of God, do an irreparable injury to the grand and beautiful system of religion which it contains, as well as to the comforts and hopes of man. For my own part, I am now an old man, and have experienced the infirmities of advanced years. Of late, in the course of a severe and dangerous illness, I have been repeatedly brought to the gates of death. My time in this world cannot now be long, but with truth I can declare that in the midst of all my past afflictions, my heart was supported and comforted by a firm reliance upon the merits and atonement of my Saviour; and now, in the prospect of entering upon an eternal world, this is the only foundation of my confidence and hope." (b) "THIS IS WHAT I WANT." -A certain man, on the Malabar coast had inquired of various devotees and priests, how he might make atonement for his sins; and he was directed to drive iron spikes, sufficiently blunted, through his sandals; and on these spikes, he was directed to place his naked feet, and to walk about four hundred and eighty miles. If through loss of blood, or weakness of body, he was obliged to halt, he might wait for healing and strength. He undertook the journey, and while he halted under a large shady tree, where the gospel was sometimes preached, one of the missionaries came and preached in his hearing these words, "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." While he was preaching, the man rose up, threw off his torturing sandals, and cried out aloud, "This is what I want;" and he became a lively witness, that the blood of Jesus Christ does cleanse from all sin indeed. (c) DOCTRINE FIT FOR OLD WOMEN.-The first sermon preached by the late Rev. Robert Hall at Cambridge, after he had become the pastor of the congregation there, was on the doctrine of the atonement, and its pracical tendencies. One of the congregation, who had embraced very erroneous views of the gospel, said to him, "Mr. Hall, this preaching won't do for us, it will only suit a congregation of old women. Do you mean my sermon, sir, or the doctrine?" " Your doctrine." "Why is it that the doctrine is fit only for old women?" "Because it may suit the musings of people tottering upon the brink of the grave, and who are eagerly seeking comfort." Thank you, sir, for your concession. The doctrine will not suit people of any age, unless it be true; and, if it be true, it is not fitted for old women alone, but is equally important at every age." may add, sublimely, replied, "Massa, (e) THE SCHOLAR'S COMFORT. "I have taken much pains," says the learned Selden, "to know everything that was esteemed worth knowing amongst men; but with all my disquisitions and reading, nothing now remains with me to comfort me, at the close of life, but this passage of St. Paul, It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners:' to this I cleave, and herein I find rest." (ƒ) COMMITTING A MILLION SOULS TO CHRIST.-Rev. Mr. H. was for many years co-pastor with the Rev. Matthew Wilks, of the congregations at the Tabernacle and Tottenhamcourt Chapel, London. His venerable colleague, who called upon him a few hours before his death, in a characteristic conversation, said, "Is all right for another world?" 66 I am very happy," said Mr. H. Have you made your will?" Mistaking the question-"The will of the Lord be done," said the dying Christian. "Shall I pray with you?" "Yes, if you can;" alluding to Mr. Wilks's feelings, at that moment considerably excited. After prayer, "Well, my brother, if you had a hundred souls, could you commit them all to Christ now ?" alluding to an expression Mr. H. frequently used in the pulpit. With a mighty and convulsive effort he replied, “A million!" (g) COWPER'S EXPERIENCE.Cowper, the poet, speaking of his religious experience, says, "The happy period which was to shake off my fetters, and afford me a clear opening of the free mercy of God in Christ Jesus, was now arrived. I flung myself into a chair near the window, and seeing a Bible there, ventured once more to apply (d) GOD'S LOVE WONDERFUL. to it for comfort and instruction. The -A missionary, addressing a pious first verse I saw was the 25th of the negro woman, said, "Mary, is not the third of Romans: Whom God hath set love of God wonderful?" and then en- forth to be a propitiation through faith larging on its manifestation in the atone-in his blood, to declare his righteousness ment of Christ, he made the appeal, "Is for the remission of sins that are past, it not wonderful?" Mary simply, but we through the forbearance of God.' Im mediately I received strength to believe, and the full beams of the Sun of righteousness shone upon me. I saw the sufficiency of the atonement he had made, my pardon sealed in his blood, and all the fulness and completeness of his justification. In a moment I believed, and received the gospel." (h) DES BARREAUX'S POEM.Des Barreaux, a foreigner of eminent station, had been a great profligate, and afterwards became a great penitent. He composed a piece of poetry after his conversion, the leading sentiment of which was to the following effect:"Great God, thy judgments are full of righteousness; thou takest pleasure in the exercise of mercy: but I have sinned to such a height that justice demands my destruction, and mercy itself seems to solicit my perdition. Disdain my tears, strike the blow, and execute thy judgments. I am willing, even in perishing, to submit and adore the equity of thy procedure. But on what place will the stroke fall that is not covered with the blood of Christ?" (REV. MR. INNES AND THE INFIDEL-In a conversation which the Rev. Mr. Innes had with an infidel on his sick bed, he told him that when he was taken ill he thought he would rely on the general mercy of God; that as he had never done anything very bad, he hoped all would be well. "But as my weakness increased," he added, "I began to think, is not God a just being, as well as merciful? Now what reason have I to think he will treat me with mercy and not with justice? and if I am treated with justice," he said, with much emotion, WHERE AM I?" "I showed him," says Mr. Innes, "that this was the very difficulty the gospel was sent to remove, as it showed how mercy could be exercised in perfect consistency with the strictest demands of justice, while it was bestowed through the atonement made by Jesus Christ. After explaining this doctrine and pressing it on his attention and acceptance, one of the last things he said to me before leaving him, was, "Well, I believe it must come to this. I confess I see here a solid footing to rest on, which, on my former principles, I could never find." 29. AVARICE. (a) A MOTHER MURDERING | rob him. He took out his purse and HER SON.-Two young men of Virginia, who served in the American army during the war, having regularly got their discharge, went home to their friends. One had only a mother living when he left home; when they had got near home, they fell into a conversation on the length of time they had been away, and concluded to try whether their parents would know them; with this impression, each took the nearest path home. The one who had only a mother, came in; and, finding his mother did not know him, he asked for lodging; to which she replied, she could not lodge him; that there was a tavern not far from the place, where he might get lodging, etc. He importuned, but she refused, till at last he told her he had a little money, and he was afraid to lodge in a tavern, lest some person should offered it to her keeping. She, struck with the mammon, consented immediately to his staying; accordingly he did, had supper, and still never discovered himself to his mother or any of the family. He was directed to a bed once more in the chamber of her who conceived him. How safe he must have thought himself then, compared to the field of battle. But she summoned a negro man, told him the scheme she had planned, hired him to aid her to the stranger's apartment, where they murdered him in his bed. Next day his fellow-soldier came to see his friend; but, on asking for the stranger, could hear nothing of him. He thought it was a trick to plague him, that the old woman denied it, till hearing her affirm that no stranger had come thither the last evening, nor any man, he asked her E |