received them with a mournful expression on his countenance. When they had informed him of the occasion and design of their call, he replied to this effect Your visit is kind, but too late. Had you come sooner, while I had a struggle with myself, you might have aided my better resolutions. But now all is over. My character is lost, my self-command is gone, and I am a ruined man for ever and ever.' Shortly after, he expired in a fit of drinking. Other cases of the same kind might be given, and the conclusion from them is, that if you would do what is laid to your hand by God, you must do it now. 'To-morrow is the fool's calendar.'

The language in which the manner of this 'doing' is announced, includes also energy or earnestness: with thy might.' The word of God requires this earnestness. 'Strive-agonize-to enter in at the strait gate.' 'Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.' The importance of the work warrants such earnestness. The king's business requires haste.' In the works of God around us we find this element. The laws of nature move on. The sun, moon, and stars perform their revolutions without intermission. The seasons of the year succeed each other. The angels of God are earnest; Satan, the leader of the fallen host, does his evil work with all his might; and men around us are in earnest in prosecuting their worldly calling. The mechanic and the merchant, the politician and the scholar, are doing what their hand finds to do, with their might. And there is no sin in this. It is right and lawful to provide for the wants of the body; but the duty of providing for the soul is still more urgent. It is right to look on your own things; but Christianity requires that you should look also on the 'things of others.' To all this we must add the pattern of the Lord Jesus Christ. He came from heaven to undertake the work of man's redemption, and He did it with his might. At the age of twelve years we find Him in the temple, and explaining his apparent neglect of his earthly parents by this declaration: Wist ye not that I should be about my Father's business?' The language of the prophet is applied to Him: 'The zeal of thy house did eat me up.' Even in contemplating his decease, there was a divine earnestness about Him. 'I have a baptism,' He says, 'to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!' Were we to bring before you the roll of mighty men who have stamped the impress of their character on society and the church, you would find that, without one exception, they did their work with their might. Such were Paul and Augustine, and Luther and Calvin, and Knox and Whitfield, and Wesley and the Erskines, and many others. Of each of these, though in a measure infinitely inferior to that in which it was said of Jesus himself, it might be affirmed, 'The zeal of God's house did eat him up.' If we complain in our times of the little effect that is produced by the machinery in operation for extending the gospel, is there not reason to fear, that this want of success may be traced to the absence of scriptural earnestness? Men make money in these times, scholars become learned, progress is made in the arts and sciences, and there is also encouragement to the faithful and energetic sower of the good seed: 'He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.' 'If we have not, it is because we ask not, or because we ask amiss.'

Consider, in the third place, the motive by which earnestness in doing this work is urged on you: For there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest.' This passage does not imply that there is no existence beyond the grave. It does not countenance the

opinion held by some, that the Old Testament is silent regarding the immortality of the soul, or the conscious existence of the spirit during the interval between death and the resurrection. In opposition to such teaching, we find it asserted in this book of Ecclesiastes: Then shall the dust return to the earth, and the spirit to God who gave it.' God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. But while this passage does not imply any doubt as to the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, it proclaims this truth: That the present life is the season for working; and that we can do during our lifetime what we cannot accomplish after death. If our own souls are not saved now, they cannot be saved after death. If the souls of our relatives and friends are not saved during their lifetime, they cannot be saved after we have committed their remains to the grave. If the poor are to be fed, and the ignorant instructed by us, it must be done before we go to the grave. The language of the text implies that all are drawing near to the grave-whither thou goest. This is true not only of the old and the feeble, but of the youngest and the strongest amongst us. The progress to the grave may be insensible, but it is sure. Like the movements of the heavenly bodies, this progress may be silent, but it is irresistible. Every year brings us nearer to the end of our journey. We are all nearer death than we were at the commencement of 1867. You may not feel that. Your friends may congratulate you on your good looks; but it is nevertheless true that you have less time to prepare for eternity than you had at the beginning of last year-less time by three hundred and sixty-five days. That is a large proportion of your working term here; and if it has not been improved by you, it is so much of your capital lost.

The language here employed suggests the importance of our present life. There are some very pious persons who profess to undervalue the present life, and desire to be removed to another and a purer world. Now, there is no religion in this sentimental state of mind. There is as much Christian principle in being willing to remain in the field of conflict, as in desiring to leave it. God's time of departure should be our time. The special importance of the present life arises from its relation to the future. The life that now is, bears to the life to come the relation that the spring bears to the autumn. No sowing in spring, no reaping in autumn. And so it is

in spiritual things: 'What a man soweth, that shall he also reap. If he sow unto the flesh, of the flesh shall he reap corruption; and if he sow unto the Spirit, of the Spirit shall he reap life everlasting.' Time here is the season during which you are to trade with the Master's talents; and if you trade faithfully, you shall enter into the joy of your Lord; but if you are found among the slothful and wicked servants, then 'you shall be cast into outer darkness, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. J. R.

NOTES ON THE ISLAND OF LEWIS.

LEWIS is the most northerly of the islands which form the Outer Hebrides, and is commonly called the Long Island. Tradition has it that this group was originally one island, and that when the Scandinavians, having fastened

numerous cables to the Butt of Lewis, endeavoured to drag the whole after their ships to their northern shores, first Barra gave way, then South Uist, then Benbecula, then North Uist; and that Harris was just about parting from Lewis when the enterprise was relinquished! Till within recent times, Lewis was comparatively a terra incognita. Before it was connected with Glasgow by regular steamers, its communication with the south was very limited and infrequent. To start southwards in those days was a serious undertaking, for it involved sometimes a month's unpleasant tossing to and fro on the western sea. Although now as accessible as Skye and Mull, yet it does not attract the tourist; it has not the same interesting features of natural scenery as these islands, and it is, therefore, to a considerable extent a terra incognita still.

Upwards of twenty years ago, by circumstances which it is unnecessary to mention here, we were led to locate ourselves in this island, and it was our fortune to enjoy, for more than a year, a residence on its bleak though hospitable shores. The memories of that happy time are still green, and the interest then awakened has been revived and deepened by recent and repeated visits.

To a stranger, the first impressions of Lewis are somewhat unfavourable. We remember well how bleak and desolate its shores seemed on that cold, drizzly morning when we first landed upon them! We had come through the Caledonian Glen, where the wild and the beautiful mingle; we had sailed through the Sound of Mull, and seen the wild hills of Morven; we had skirted Ardnamurchan, with its terraces of rocky mountains stretching far back into the distance; we had looked on the Cuchullins as we passed through the Sound of Skye, and admired their majesty ; and were woefully disappointed to find that around Stornoway we had no scenery of a similar character; that while the shores were bold and rocky, there were no mountains save far to the south, and that there stretched out before us an interminable extent of moorland. But it was not long until we found there a hospitable home, and in the wildness and bleakness of the island a charm. A year or two previous to this, the island had passed from the hands of the Seaforth family into those of Mr. (now Sir) James Matheson, the present M.P. for Ross-shire. The change was an important one. With ample means at his command, which the Seaforth family had not, and anxious to develop the resources of the island, and to promote in every way in his power the interests of the people, Sir James began and carried on for years most extensive improvements. Immense sums of money were spent in endeavouring to reclaim the apparently barren soil, with, in many cases, very indifferent success; while not a little was done for the social and educational interests of the whole community.

Lewis generally, with the exception of the southern part, is exceedingly bleak. The land under culture is almost exclusively on the sea-board. The island rises gently inland; but, to the north of Stornoway, not to any great height. Southwards, in Uig, the scenery is mountainous. Nothing can be drearier than the tract of moorland which you traverse when you cross from Stornoway to Barvas, and then turn northwards to the Butt. Although there are tracts in some respects equally dreary as you travel south to Lochs or cross over to Callernish on the south-west, yet they are broken up by innumerable lakelets, which relieve the monotony of moss and heath. With the exception of the caves at Gress, the wild rocky headland, the Butt

'Where beats the long billow that at the pole began,'

and the hills of Uig, there is little natural scenery that is attractive. But there are some objects of antiquarian interest. At Ness and Galston, in the north, there are remains of ecclesiastical edifices which belong to popish times; at Carloway, on the south-west, is an old dun or Danish fort, with its hollow wall, in which its defenders hid themselves, and from which they showered arrows upon their enemies; and at Callernish, almost in the same neighbourhood, is a Druidical circle, the largest and most perfect in Scotland. It is to be regretted that no Lewisman has addressed himself to the task of producing a history of his island. The materials are rich; the events which he should have to record are stirring; the traditions which he might gather up are full of interest; and the antiquarian objects on which he might be expected to throw light are numerous.

The population of the island is upwards of 20,000, and is located almost wholly along the shores. The only town is Stornoway, which contains a population of about 3000. It is situated at the head of a magnificent bay, and in its general appearance will stand comparison with any town of a similar size in the south, whether on the coast or inland. But this cannot be said of the villages throughout the island. The huts of which they are composed are of the very rudest kind. The following from Mr. Nicolson's Report of Education in the Hebrides, is a pretty accurate description of them: 'The uncouthness of the outside' (of the hut), says he, 'is generally in faithful correspondence with the interior. Windows in the wall are a rare extravagance. Usually there is just a single pane in the lower part of the roof, dimly revealing the otherwise conspicuous absence of furniture. The entrance is generally through a rude porch, of aspect like a small cave in a hillside of trap, the walls being of dry stone, sometimes mixed with turf. Beyond this one descends-supposing the season to be summer or autumn; in spring, before the contents are emptied, it is an ascent-into the apartment of the cows. Cautiously picking his way, the explorer turns to the right, and through the gloom advances to where the peat fire, burning in the centre of the floor, reveals the residence of the human inhabitants, and sends the circling eddies of blue smoke up to the straw roof, through which it makes its 66 way, at its own sweet will," without the aid of a chimney. For, strange to say, the chief end of a house in Lewis is not to keep out the elements, but to produce manure for the potatoes, from the floor beneath the cattle, and the sooty thatch aloft, which is regularly lifted off once a year.'

In general, the people are poor. At Ness, where the ling fishing is pursued, their circumstances are very different, although in outward appearance there is no indication of superiority. But, as a rule, their means of subsistence are scanty. In addition to what is obtained from the herring fishing at Stornoway and Wick, in which large numbers of them engage, miserable crops are wrung from small patches of poorly cultivated land; perhaps by some a cow or two are kept, and one or two sheep, and from these sources their livelihood is drawn. They are thus constantly depressed by a pinching poverty. But they are an uncomplaining people; and whatever may be their faults, and however far inferior socially to the labouring population in the south, it must be said to their credit that they are kind, courteous, and hospitable.

Of the 20,000 inhabitants, the vast majority are Gaelic-speaking, and this has been a sore hindrance to their social progress. We cannot discuss the capabilities of the Gaelic as a language; but it is easy for any man to see the difficulties under which they labour who have no other tongue. It

is not the language of the country generally; it is not the language either of law or commerce; it has no scientific, philosophical, or historical literature; it has no serial publications; so that all who speak it exclusively are cut off from most potent civilising agencies, and are prevented from prosecuting almost every enterprise which promises worldly advancement.

The educational condition of the island is also far from satisfactory. In Stornoway, there is an excellent seminary in connection with the Free Church, and another connected with the General Assembly's Scheme, which is also well conducted. Besides, there is an Industrial School supported by Sir James and Lady Matheson, and attended by about 200 girls, who are taught, for a nominal fee, not only the ordinary branches of an English education, but needle-work, knitting, etc. But beyond Stornoway the state of things is not so cheering.

The following statistics, which are taken from Mr. Nicolson's Report, and which refer to districts with most of which we are personally acquainted, will show how educational matters stand:·-

In Knock, which is part of the parish of Stornoway, the population is 2159; of that number, 403 males, and 463 females, read Gaelic; 208 males and 46 females read English; and only 170 men and 26 women can write. In Back, which lies to the north of Stornoway, and which has a population of about 2017, the great majority, it is said, can read Gaelic; but only 111 men and 13 women can read English; while 75 men and 4 women can write. In Borve, on the west coast, with a population of 304, one woman can read and write English, while 22 men can read with difficulty, and 17 can sign their names. In Shadir, which adjoins, there is a population of 507; of these, 11 males above sixteen years of age can read English, and sign their names, but not one woman can do either, while 74 men and 88 women can read Gaelic. In Carloway, there is a population of 2204; of these, 170 men and 34 women can read English; 380 men and 450 women can read Gaelic; and 174 men and 18 women can write.

These figures show that there is a very considerable proportion of the population that can read neither Gaelic nor English, and that there is a still larger proportion unable to write.

The number of schools in Lewis is 47, of which 36 are supported either by congregations or associations connected with the Free Church; of the remaining 11, 3 are supported wholly and 1 partly by Sir James and Lady Matheson, 2 are adventure schools, and the others are parochial or parliamentary..

In 1865, the number of scholars on the roll was 3332; this was the highest number; at the lowest point of fluctuation it was 2697, while the attendance was only 1606. Now, in 1861, the number of children between 5 and 15 was 4865, which shows that there are 1533 not in school who ought to be attending; or, comparing that with the actual attendance, that there are 2169 children not receiving any regular education.

6

We can We saw

Mr. Nicolson remarks that, apart altogether from numbers, both in Stornoway and the villages throughout the island, one sees plenty of children doing nothing in particular, who ought to be at school.' confirm this. It was so twenty years ago, and it is so now. lately, both at Ness and around Stornoway, numerous groups of children idling, who should have been hard at their books. The value of education is little understood by the vast majority of the parents, and the children, especially the girls, are sent to tend cattle on the moors when they ought to be at school.