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SIR J. FRANKLIN.

SIR John Franklin was born at Spilsby, in Lincolnshire, and was educated at the Grammar School of Louth. During his school days the fame of Nelson rang through the land-his daring and victories were the theme of conversation in every town, city, or village in the kingdom. Franklin, fired with the glorious reports, determined to be a sailor-and, perhaps, he also might do some deed whereof his country had need to be proud. His parents, not liking the profession which their son had chosen, sent him a voyage in the hope that it would disgust him with seafaring life. It did no such thing. It confirmed his love for it; and no hardships or terrors could set it aside. The manof-war, the stout "Polyphemus," commanded by Captain Lawford, in the year 1800, received upon its quarter-deck, amongst its petty officers, John Franklin, in his fourteenth year. He was privileged to take part in the glorious battle of Copenhagen.

His next voyage was with Captain Flinders, in the very leaky and unsound ship, the "Investigator." For two years the ship was beating

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about that country to which Captain Flinders gave the name of Australia. Franklin, meanwhile, was enduring all the hardships of a long and perilous voyage. In the January of 1804, he found himself on board the "Earl Camden," commanded by Captain Nathaniel Dance, sailing from Canton river, in charge of fifteen merchantmen laden with valuable Chinese produce.

When the convoy reached England, our hero entered as signal midshipman on board the "Bellerophon," in which vessel he took part in the ever memorable battle of Trafalgar. When the muchdesired Peace came, his thoughts were again directed to maritime discovery. At that time the ever-recurring question of a North-West Passage was once more uppermost. On the 25th of April, 1818, we find the discovery brigs, "Dorothea " and "Trent," sailing down the Thames. The first vessel was commanded by Captain Buchan, the latter by Lieutenant John Frankliu.

Six months after the "Dorothea" and "Trent" again entered the Thames, sadly battered and weather beaten. Their crews had a tale full of peril and wondrous escapes. A twelvemonth had not

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passed, however, before Franklin was once more in the cold regions. This time it was to be a boating expedition on the coasts of Arctic America. The expedition left England in 1819, and returned in 1822.

On the return of Franklin there was much rejoicing at his safety, and at the daring manifested during the expedition. It was evident to all that Franklin was no common man. In his absence he had been made a commander; and now, on his return, he was promoted to the rank of captain.

In 1823, Eleanor Porden became his wife-and a true, noble wife she was, worthy of such a husband. They had been married only two short years, however, when Franklin received a commission to proceed upon another arctic expedition. He was much distressed at the thought of leaving his wife, and yet he could not reject the call of duty. Eleanor knew that the hand of death was upon her; she might never see her husband more. But, forgetting self, and subduing her own wishes and inclinations, she conjured her husband to go forth at the call of his country; and, in the true spirit of a noble woman, of whom England has need to be proud, she worked, with her own hands, a flag for her husband to spread to the winds when he gained the Frozen seas! In the absence of the expedition the spirit of this excellent woman went to its reward.

On the return of the expedition their countrymen vied with each other in paying its members that honour which their endurance so well merited. Three years after the death of Franklin's first wife, Jane Griffin committed herself to his keeping. Truer, nobler, more heroic woman, surely never plighted her faith with man.

The summer of 1844 had come. The scientific world was once again agitated with the news of another arctic expedition. Officers and seamen were using all the influence at their command to have their names enrolled in the band of gallant men who were to open up the North-West Passage. Sir John Franklin put in his claim for the command, as being the oldest arctic explorer. It was clear Franklin bad made up his mind to go. The command of the two vessels, the "Erebus" and "Terror," was therefore given to him; the "Terror" being under the command of Captain Crozier. the 18th of May, 1845, the two vessels started on their long voyage. After encountering appaling dangers, the vessels were secured at Beechy Island for winter quarters, where Franklin is laid on a death bed. But not before the object for which he had toiled was secured. Franklin, in his last hour, knew that, though his body was interred within the Frozen regions, his country would not forget to honour his memory.

HUNG-SEN-TSUEN.

LEADER OF THE CHINESE PATRIOTS.

On

OR very many ages the Chinese have been the victims of superstition. In later times they have also suffered grievously from the oppression of their Tartar rulers. Within the last twenty years however a happy change for the better commenced. In 1834, a native named LEANG AFAH was converted to Christianity by the labours of DR. MILNE. Very desirous of spreading the Gospel among his countrymen, this zealous disciple prepared a Christian Treatise, entitled "Counsels for the Age, and at the hazard of liberty and life, circulated many thousand copies of it in Canton. One of these little Treatises was received by a young student, named HUNG-SEN-TSUEN. The youth read it with great attention. He was convinced by it of the folly and wickedness of idol worship, and of the necessity of acknowledging the one true and only God. It is supposed that this same HUNG-SENTSUEN now heads the Patriots in their opposition to idolatry and misrule.

A CHINESE ALMANAC.

Ir is not surprising that the followers of HUNG-SEN-TSUEN from their scanty knowledge of the Christian religion should be chargeable with some very serious errors and excesses; but that

they are in general strongly, opposed to superstition as well as tyranny, and seeking freedom from religious as well as civil bondage, may be inferred from a remarkable Almanac issued by their ministers of State, and from which the following is an extract:

'Other Almanacs are prepared with deceptive regulations, all having beguiling devices of the devil, deceiving and misleading the people of the world. We your ministers have entirely excluded such matter from this Almanac, because the months, years, and days are all appointed by our Heavenly Father, who has fixed and made every year good and excellent, every month good and excellent, and every day and hour, good and excellent. Whence then are these good and bad days, and why should fortunate days and lucky days be sought after? Truly whosoever shall with a true breast, reverence the heavenly Father, the high Lord God, will be looked upon by Him with complacency; and whatsoever time such please to devote to their business will be lucky and fortunate to them.'

The above quotation cannot be read by real Christians without wonder and delight; nor, it might be supposed, without shame by some nominal Christians, who, whilst professedly renouncing heathenism, retain many heathenish views and practices-as for instance, if salt is spilled they throw some over their shoulder- if tallow curls in the candle, they call it a windingsheet, and deem it an omen of death-they account it dangerous to be married on a Friday, or to sit down to dinner if the precise number of thirteen surround the table.

The calendar also points out Sundays, and Sundays alone, as the days which God has set apart for religious worship.

A MILLION CHINESE NEW TESTAMENTS. THE British and Foreign Bible Society, in a manner worthy the occasion, have resolved to make a vigorous effort to print and circulate in China, ONE MILLION COPIES OF THE NEW TESTA

MENT.

By the indefatigable exertions of Dr. Morrison, the arduous task of preparing a Chinese Dictionary was accomplished, at a cost to the East India Company of £10,000. Drs. Morrison, Milne, and Medhurst, and other learned and diligent labourers, have completed a translation into Chinese of the entire Bible. The Rev. Samuel Dyer performed the exceedingly difficult work, by some at first thought to be impossible, of preparing a font of Chinese moveable types at an expense to the London Missionary Society of £4000. In consequence of these preparatory toils and grants, and by the gratuitous use both of the translation and of the type, a New Testament can now be printed in China, at the very small cost of fourpence per copy.

Who, that has the means, can refuse to assist the Bible Society in carrying into effect their benevolent and important design?

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THE BOUNDLESS LOVE OF GOD.

'COULD oceans, rivers, springs and lakes,
All that the name of water takes,
Beneath th' expanded skies,

Be turn'd to ink of blackest hue,
Add too the drops of morning dew,
To make the wonder rise;

A book so large could we suppose,
Which thinnest paper could compose,
As the whole earthly ball;
Were shrub and every tree,
every
And every blade of grass we see,

A pen to write withal;

Were all who ever lived on earth,
Since nature first received her birth,
Most skilful scribes to place

In clearest light that wondrous love,
Found in the heart of God above,
Toward Adam's sinful race;

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PICTORIAL PAGES.

CONVERSATION WITH A BARONET.

Many years ago, on a Saturday, I was in a stage coach with Sir journeying to where I was to preach the following day. The playful Baronet said to me,

'So, my young friend, I hear you have given up the law and taken to the Gospel. I suppose that now your heart is in a capital state-nice and tender, isn't it? I suppose you are now a saint, are you not?'

'Dear Sir let me ask you, are you a saint, or are you not? what sayest thou of thyself?' He paused-found himself in a dilemma; had he said yesthen why laugh at me? if no- -then by his own confession he was an unholy man. I proceeded

'I tell you what, Sir, before I left the law, I used occasionally to put notices into the papers to the following effect, 'if the next of kin of so and so, will call at such a place, at such a time, they shall hear of something to their advantage.' I now beg leave to give you notice, that if you will come to-morrow place of worship, at halfpast ten o'clock in the morning, by divine help, you shall hear something to your advantage.' 'I'll come,'-in great good humour, he replied,

to

He did come at the exact time, took his seat in a pew, joined in the worship which was carried on, and attentively listened to the discourse. Whether he derived any material advantage or not from the service, is best known in the unseen world into which he not long after entered. We need not however go into the world of spirits to know that we ought promptly to embrace every opportunity of doing good to our fellow-men. 'Blessed are they that sow beside all waters'-' In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand.'

HONESTY OF A SLAVE.

H. T.

THE 'Anti-slavery Reporter,' for October, says that, a very large diamond has been discovered in Bagagem, in the province of the Mines, South America. The finder, an old black slave woman, immediately carried it to her master, a Brazilian, who was in very needy circumstances. He sent his brother to Rio with the diamond. The Commercial Bank advanced him about £10,000 on the gem, which is to be sent to England. It is said to be a stone of extraordinary beauty.

Honesty is the best policy. Had the poor slave attempted o dispose of the diamond, she would doubtless have been se verely punished; but acting as she did, she was not only commended but gained her freedom: which her master, gratified by her good conduct immediately bestowed.

PETER THE GREAT.

PETER I., czar, or tsar, afterwards emperor of Russia, was the founder of the Russian empire. He was born in 1672, proclaimed czar when ten years of age, ruled jointly with his

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brother John till 1696, when, at John's death, he became sole master of all Russia.

He was a man of great energy of mind and of a very enter. prising spirit, by ineans of which he rose superior to the great disadvantages under which he laboured from a defective and bad education. It is not practicable within the limits of this periodical to give even a brief outline of the wars in which he engaged, the dangers from which he escaped, the works which he accomplished (of which building St. Petersburgh was one), and the various benefits he conferred upon his country; in consequence of which he was styled, Peter the Great. Interesting and instructive instances may however be furnished of his humility and ardour, which are among the peculiarities and excellences of his character.

In his youthful days he formed a company of fifty soldiers. He placed officers over them, and himself entered into the lowest post, that of drummer, afterwards rising in rank according to his desert. He did this to teach his nobility that merit, not birth, formed the only solid title to distinction.

In 1697, he was very desirous of learning the art of building ships, and to acquire it went to Holland. To accomplish his object thoroughly, he there engaged himself to a Dutch builder as a journeyman ship's carpenter. He wore a dress suited to his occupation, and served his master zealously, lending a helping hand at rope-making, sail-making, smith's work, and every thing belonging to the art he wished to learn. One day, sitting near the spot where some men were carrying a large beam of wood, his employer called out to him 'Peter, why don't you assist these men.' The czar immediately placed his shoulder under the heavy log, and helped to carry it to its proper place.

His first lodging consisted of two little rooms, in a small house occupied by a poor widow, in which he lived contentedly, often lighting his own fire and cooking his own food.

He was an early riser, and a hard working man throughout the day. On one occasion, having received his wages, This wil! serve,' said he, to buy me a pair of shoes, of which I stand in great need,' at the same time showing those he wore, which had been already soled. He then went and bought the shoes, saying, 'I have earned these well, by the sweat of my brow, with hammer and anvil.' A bar of iron forged with his own hands is still in the cabinet of the Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburgh.

He went on board some fishing-ships, which had just returned from Greenland, inquired into the manner of catching whales, how the blubber was cut off, the oil boiled, the whalebone cut out, and considered nothing too troublesome-nothing about the fishing ships too offensive-whilst acquiring that knowledge after which he thirsted.

Peter at this period was in the twenty-sixth year of his age and has been described by those who saw him as a robust strong-built man; having bold and regular features, dark-brown hair, that fell in natural curls about his neck; and a dark keen eye, which glanced from one object to another with great speed. During this season of his voluntary humiliation, and whilst at his work in the docks, he was visited by the celebrated duke of Marlborough. The stately general looked with amazement at the czar of Muscovy, dressed in a red woollen shirt, duck trowsers, and a sailor's hat; and seated on a rough log of timber, with an adze in his hand, as he was conversing with some strangers. The duke approached, and opened a slight conversation by some remarks about the art of ship-building. Suddenly a messenger in a foreign costume appeared, bearing an enormous letter in his hand. The journeyman carpenter started up, tore off the seals; and whilst eagerly engaged in perusing it, the great Marlborough walked away unregarded.

The emperor died in 1725, at the age of 53. A magnificent equestrian statue, by Falconet, (see page 37,) has been erected to his memory, and is one of the most celebrated sculptures of modern times. A large block of granite, weighing fifteen hundred tons, was dragged a distance of four miles to St. Petersburgh, to form the pedestal. On this was placed a metallic figure of Peter, who is represented as on horseback, with his hand extended, and springing up a rock at full speed. The form of a serpent is skilfully introduced by the sculptor, at once to support the massy horse, and to suggest its rider's victories. The statue is about seventeen feet in height, and contains about forty thousand pounds weight of bronze.

VIEWS OF WAR.

BY A CLERGYMAN.

THE following account of scenes after the battle of Soldin (Prussia) is taken from the pen of a clergyman. At one o'clock the cannonading ceased; and I went out on foot as far as Soldin, to learn to whose advantage the battle had turned. Toward evening, seven hundred Russian fugitives came to Soldin, a most pitiful sight! some holding up their hands, cursing and swearing; others praying, and praising the king of Prussia; without hats, without clothes! some on foot, others, two on a horse, with their heads and arms tied up; some dragging along by the stirrups, and others by the tails of the horses. When the battle was decided in favour of the Prussians, I ventured to the place where the cannonading had been. After walking some way, a Cossack's horse came running at full speed towards me. I mounted him; and on my way, for seven miles and a half on this side the field of battle, I found the dead and wounded lying on the ground, sadly cut in pieces. The further I advanced, the more these poor creatures lay heaped one upon another. That scene I shall never forget. The Cossacks, as soon as they saw me, cried out, • Dear sir, water, water, WATER!' Righteous God! what a sight! Men, women and children, Russians and Prussians, carriages and horses, oxen, chests and baggage, all lying one upon another to the height of a man; and seven villages around me in flames, and the inhabitants either massacred, or thrown into the fire! Nor were the embers of mutual rage yet extinguished in the hearts of the combatants; for the poor wounded were still firing at each other in the greatest exasperation! The field of battle was a plain two miles and a half long, and so entirely covered with dead and wounded, that there was not even room to set my foot without treading on some of them! Several brooks were so filled up with Russians, that they lay heaped one upon another as high as two men, and appeared like hills to the even ground! I could hardly recover myself from the horror occasioned by the miserable outcries of the wounded. A noble Prussian officer, who had lost both his legs, cried out to me, "Sir, you are a priest, and preach mercy; pray show me some compassion, and despatch me at once."

BY ROBERT HALL.

distance, through roads almost impassable, they are lodged in ill-prepared receptacles for the wounded and the sick, where the variety of distress baffles all the efforts of humanity and skill, and renders it impossible to give to each the attention he demands. Far from their native home, no tender assiduities of friendship, no well-known voice, no wife, or mother, or sister is near to soothe their sorrows, relieve their thirst, or close their eyes in death. Unhappy man! and must you be swept into the grave unnoticed and unnumbered, and no friendly tear be shed for your sufferings, or mingled with your dust!

If statesmen, if Christian statesmen at least, had a proper feeling on this subject, and would open their hearts to the reflections which such scenes must inspire, instead of rushing eagerly to arms, would they not hesitate long, would they not try every expedient, every lenient art consistent with national honour, before they ventured on this desperate remedy, or rather, before they plunged into this gulf of horror? While the philanthropist is devising means to mitigate the

ORIGIN OF WARS. (Page 37.)

Real war is a very different thing from that painted image of which you see it on parade, or at a review. It is the most awful scourge that Providence employs for the chastisement of man. It is the garment of vengeance with which the Divinity arrays himself, when he comes forth to punish the inhabitants of the earth.

It is impossible for a humane mind to contemplate the rapid extinction of innumerable lives without concern. To perish in a moment, to be hurried instantaneously, without preparation and without warning, into the presence of the Supreme Judge, has something in it inexpressibly awful and affecting.

What a scene must a field of battle present, where thousands are left without assistance and without pity, with their wounds exposed to the piercing air, while the blood, freezing as it flows, binds them to the earth, amid the trampling of horses, and the insults of an enraged foe! If they are spared by the humanity of the enemy, and carried from the field, it is but a prolongation of torment. Conveyed in uneasy vehicles, often to a remote

evils and augment the happiness of the world, a fellow-worker together with God in exploring and giving effect to the benevolent tendencies of nature, the warrior is revolving, in the gloomy recesses of his capacious mind, plans of future devastation and ruin. Prisons crowded with captives, cities emptied of their inhabitants, fields desolate and waste, are among his proudest trophies. The fabric of his fame is cemented with tears and blood; and if his name is wafted to the ends of the earth, it is in the shrill cry of sufering humanity; in the curses and imprecations of those whom his sword has reduced to despair.

BY LORD BROUGHAM.

My principles-I know not whether they agree with yours: they may be derided, they may be unfashionable; but I hope they are spreading far and wide-my principles are contained in the words which that great man, Lord Falkland, used to express in secret, and which I now express in public-peace, PEACE, PEACE! I abominate war as unchristian. I hold it the greatest of human crimes. I deem it to include all others-violence, blood, rapine, fraud, every thing which can deform the character, alter the nature, and debase the name of man.

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BY AN AMERICAN WRITER.

What a boundless spendthrift is war! It is estimated that every gun of our navy costs on an average fifteen thousand do.lars a-year; enough to support twenty or thirty missionaries! Forty millions of dollars wasted in our war with a handful of Indians in Florida! fifty millions a year in our last war with England! hundreds of millions in our old revolutionary war

Still worse do we find it in the old world. England, as stated by one of her ablest and best men, has lavished upon the duke of Wellington alone, eleven millions of dollars! As much upon a single warrior; as all Christendom has ever given in five years for the support of missionaries among the heathen! The war operations of England, near the time of the battle of Waterloo, are said to have consumed one million sterling a day; about twice as much every day as the whole church of Christ is even now contributing annually for the spread of his Gospel! It has been estimated, that the late wars of Europe, in little more than twenty years, wasted in one way and another some 40,000,000,000 dollars, the bare interest of which would be, at six per cent, 3,400,000,000 dol

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