believeth in him should not perish, but should have eternal life;" and again, "What greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." Let us prayerfully guard against and endeavour to eradicate every germ of dislike and unkind feeling towards each other, whether this feeling may have had its origin from causes of a pecuniary character, or been engendered by jealousy and prejudice, that jaundice of the mind which is so likely to discolour every object of dislike. The divine command to love even enemies, is a beautiful portrait of the peaceable nature and loveliness of the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if we love not our brother whom we have seen, how shall we love God whom we have not seen? or how shall we obtain the character of peace makers, and enjoy the blessings resting upon such? The sublime language of the Psalmist is very descriptive of the blessedness of that Christian harmony which is the legitimate effect of practical conformity to vital Christianity. "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity; it is like the dew of Hermon, the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded the blessing even life for evermore." While Israel abode in their tents according to their tribes, they were represented as being in safety; it was said of them in figurative language, as the valleys are they spread forth, as trees of lign aloes, which the Lord hath planted; as cedar trees beside the water courses, and that no divination should prevail against them. dination followed in the train. But in process of time, by the untiring energy of faithful Friends, sustained as they were by the power of truth, the infant Society was restored to order; and such has always been the effect when the subordinate branches of the body have failed to yield a conformity to the requirements of it. Our Christian discipline, founded in the wisdom of truth, to be as a hedge of preservation around us, must be sustained by every branch of the body, or confusion, perhaps anarchy, will ensue; and as the discipline is believed to be sufficient for every exigency that may occur, if it is administered in the spirit of wisdom and sound discretion, it will be highly dangerous to strike out into a new path, to obtain the object of our wishes. If any of us should suppose, though we trust it will scarcely be assumed, that we are set for the defence of the Gospel, let us deeply reflect, that a solemn responsibility will rest upon us, and that our claim must be sustained by the constant manifestation of a Christian spirit, and of that "charity that thinketh no evil and that never faileth." Our dear absent Friends have been remembered with Christian affection and with solicitude, that we may all reverently and abidingly trust in the Lord Jehovah, in whom is everlasting strength. It was said of the Holy Scriptures, that what was written aforetime was written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of them might have hope. It is believed that it would be productive of comfort and the increase of spiritual strength, if it were the daily Let us, dear Friends, reverently seek to dwell practice in Friends' families to devote a little in the tent of safety; however varied our situa- time with their children in silent retirement, tion in life, and however diversified our trials waiting on the Lord, and reading suitable por and temptations may be, the truth as it is in tións of the Scriptures. Such a course, if pursuJesus, is the safe tent, and as we seek to abide ed in the fear of the Lord and from a sense of there, it will afford shelter from the heat, and a our constant dependence on Him, must have an covert from the storm and we shall be blessed humbling and encouraging effect on the minds with an experimental knowledge of the prophetic of parents, and would teach a lesson of quiet declaration" Behold I lay in Zion for a founda- submission calculated to prepare children for the tion, a stone, a tried stone, a sure foundation, attendance of religious meetings; and we would upon this foundation the church and its members indulge the cheering hope that their minds would must stand in order to be safe." Composed, as be enlightened to understand the nature of Divine all religious associations are, of finite and frail worship, and that secret communion with our beings, who hold their treasure in earthern ves- Father in Heaven that constitutes it. A reverent sels, weakness and imperfection have sometimes sense of our dependence on that Holy Being, been manifested in the church. It was, to some who has been emphatically styled the Father of extent, in the morning of our society when the lights, the omnipotent and omniscient God, from light of truth shone forth with peculiar lustre, whom we receive all our blessings, is well calcu and when by the instrumentality of that faithful' lated to wean from the spirit of this world and servant of Christ, George Fox, and his fellow the grovelling pursuits thereof, and enlist our labourers in the Gospel, many were gathered, as hearts and affections in that cause which is dignifi we believe, to this sure foundation laid in Zion.ed with immortality and crowned with eternal life But strange as it may seem, even then a restless The present is a day of great commotion in spirit manifested itself, showing that it was im- the world. Nations and kingdoms are shaken patient of control, and assuming a very high to the base. It would almost seem as if the lanstandard of refined spirituality. Some were un- guage were about to be fulfilled-“I will overwilling to submit to the wholesome restraints of turn, overturn, overturn, until He come whose that order and discipline which the founder of right it is to rule." Christian communities are the Society saw to be necessary-and insubor- also shaken by dissensions-a sanguinary and desolating war has been prosecuted by the rulers | siderable weight through the growth of plants. of our beloved country-great numbers of our The following experiment is conclusive :citizens, as well as those of Mexico, have fallen "Two hundred pounds of earth were dried in victims to this cruel scourge. Dear Friends, the an oven, and afterwards put into a large earthenview is solemn and affecting. May we seek so ware vessel; the earth was then moistened with to live under the influence of the Gospel spirit, rain-water, and a willow tree, weighing five that we may be preserved from any of these pounds, was planted therein. During the space things. While the pot-sherds of the earth are of five years, the earth was carefully watered dashing against each other, be it our happy case with rain-water, or pure water; the willow grew to know Jerusalem to be a quiet habitation, a and flourished; and to prevent the earth from tabernacle that shall not be taken down, none of being mixed with fresh earth, or dust blown whose stakes shall ever be removed, nor her upon it by the winds, it was covered with a cords broken. metal plate, perforated with a great number of small holes, suitable for the free admission of air only. After growing in the earth for five years, the willow tree was removed, and found to weigh one hundred and sixty-nine pounds, and about three ounces; the leaves which fell from the tree every autumn were not included in this weight. The earth was then removed from the vessel, again dried in the oven, and afterwards weighed; it was discovered to have lost only about two ounces of its original weight; thus one hundred and sixty-four pounds of lignin or woody fibre, bark, roots, &c., were certainly produced-but from what source?" And may our beloved young Friends, by faithfulness to the inshining of Divine light in their hearts, become so established in the truths of the Gospel, as in their lives and conversation nobly to uphold our Christian testimony against wars and fightings and contention of every kind, saying, in the expressive language of conduct, we cannot contribute to that warfare, where garments are rolled in blood, because the kingdom of our Divine Master is not of this world. Finally, dear Friends, farewell. May the God of peace be with us, sanctify all his dispensations to our benefit, and cause us, through the obedience of faith, to realize the excellency of the unity of the spirit in the bond of Peace. Signed on behalf of the Meeting, RICHARD MOTT, Clerk this year. CHEMISTRY OF SUMMER. The seed, weighing only a few grains, which we threw into the earth in spring, has now become a plant of several ounces weight. Whence comes the additional bulk, and of what does it consist? The pale vernal flowers of a month or two ago have now given place to others of rich and glowing hue. What causes the change? Has the flushed petal some mystic sympathy with the ruddy cheek? And if so, on what principle do men and plants alike draw health and beauty from the influences of summer? Such questions cannot fail to suggest themselves at the present season; and they are answered in a very agreeable manner in a volume to which we wish to draw our readers' attention, treating of those natural phenomena of the year which admit of interpretation by chemical science. A vegetable, and the generality of vegetable products, such as lignin or woody fibre, sugar, and starch, are found, on analysis, to be composed, one-half of carbon, and one-half of the constituents of water-oxygen and hydrogen. An average-sized oak, therefore, weighing about six tons, contains three tons of carbon; and the half million tons of sugar consumed annually by the population of Europe, contain a quarter of a million tons of carbon. One's first idea is, that this enormous quantity of a solid element must be derived from the solid earth; but chemistry demonstrates that the earth loses no con Aye, from what source? The chemist who made this remarkable experiment concluded, almost as a matter of course, that the tree derived the increase in its contents from water, the only obvious source; and it was left to succeeding inquirers to ascertain that it is from the thin air we breathe that the solid element is obtained which enters into the structure of the vegetable kingdom. That this element exists in the atmosphere, the chemist knows, because he is able to decompose its carbonic acid, and produce the solid carbon; but he likewise knows that the same process is performed by the leaves of the trees, in so admirably perfect a manner, as to shame his highest skill. 66 The enormous supply of carbon existing in the air is constantly kept up by the respiration of men and animals, and various other processes. The volume or bulk of carbonic acid produced by a healthy adult individual in twenty-four hours, amounts to about 15,000 cubic inches, containing about 2600 grains of carbon, or about six ounces, or to between 37 and 38 pounds, from every hundred persons; so that assuming 37 pounds as the average, one million of human beings would thus exhale into the surrounding air a compound containing no less than 370,000 pounds, or upwards of 165 tons of carbon!" The carbonic acid so exhaled is in itself poisonous, but its bad effects are neutralised to a certain extent by its diffusion through the atmosphere (constituting not more than 1-2000th part of any given amount of atmospheric air,) while it is continually decomposed by the plants, which absorb it into their system as food, retaining the carbon, and emitting again the oxygen, so as to purify the atmosphere while sustaining them selves. This was demonstrated long ago by experiment. Insert a lighted wax taper in a bottle, and keep it there till the flame dies for want of nourishment; withdraw the extinguished taper, introducing instantly in its stead a sprig or two of growing mint, and putting the stopper in the bottle, place in the sunshine. "The combustion of the taper in the confined portion of the air has withdrawn the greater portion of its oxygen, and formed carbonic acid, and liberated nitrogen; the rays of the sun will excite the leaves of the mint to decompose the carbonic acid, to secrete its carbon, and to liberate oxygen, which, blending with the unaltered nitrogen, will restore the contents of the bottle to their original condition: this fact is proved by removing the stopper after a few days, and again introducing the lighted taper; it will then burn, as it did at the outset of the experiment." Thus it appears to be the task of the vegetable kingdom to sustain the uniform balance of the constituents of the atmosphere. "From these discoveries, we are assured that no vegetable grows in vain; but that, from the oak of the forest to the grass of the field, every individual plant is serviceable to mankind; if not always distinguished by some private virtue, yet making a part of the whole which cleanses and purifies the atmosphere. In this the fragrant rose and deadly nightshade cooperate; nor is the herbage nor the woods that flourish in the most remote and unpeopled regions unprofitable to us, nor we to them, considering how constantly the winds convey to them our vitiated air for our relief and their nourishment." We have said that the bottle must be placed in the sunshine; and without this, the mint could not receive the necessary stimulus for the performance of its functions. Shut up a plant in darkness for a few days, and although enjoying its usual share of heat, air, and water, it becomes languid and pale; restore it to the sunshine, and in a few hours it will regain health and verdancy. But the nature of the agency of solar light is not understood. "Thus some leaves are acid in the morning, tasteless, at noon, and bitter at night; some flowers are white or blue, according to the intensity of the light; many fruits are more acid in the morning than in the evening; some flowers expand their petals to meet the sunshine, others close them against its power." The portion of a peach which is fully exposed to the light is of a crimson hue, while the rest is pale-green and yellow. The taste of the former is the more luscious, because light has there stimulated the elaboration of most sugar; and on this principle we can account for the extreme sweetness of the fruits of a southern climate. Some plants, however, are rendered less fit for food by having too much light when growing. The stem of celery, for instance, must be covered with earth, in order to become blanched and aromatic; and lettuces must be tied, to insure a white and wholesome heart. The portion of the celery that remains above ground, and the exterior leaves of the lettuce, are green, bitter, and unwholesome. A striking analogy, as regards the influence of light, may be traced between the animal and vegetable kingdoms. A ruddy mountaineer, if immured in a dungeon, becomes pale and sickly even with a proper supply of food; while the usual pallor of the miner is partially removed by occasional excursions into the light of day. Neither men nor plants flourish in murky situa tions or impure air: in the immediate neighbourhood of large cities, we find more commonly than otherwise, pale faces and withered leaves. The analogy between animal and vegetable life goes still farther; for the poisons that destroy a man, will destroy a plant. If we take white arsenic, corrosive sublimate, blue vitriol, prussic acid, or opium, and dissolve them in water, the solution applied to the roots of a plant will cause it to droop and die. Beans so treated with white arsenic faded in a few hours, then became yellow, and were dead in three days. A lilac was killed by the introduction of some of the solid poison into a cut made in one of its branches. Prussic acid was fatal to a succulent plant in a single day, and spirits of wine in a few hours. That these substances really act as poisons, by entering into the circulation of the plant, is demonstrable in the case of blue vitriol. Cut through the stem of the plant that has been killed by this sulphate of copper with a clean steel knife, and you will see bright metallic copper revived on the blade.-Griffiths' Chemistry of the Four Seasons. (To be Continued.) PROTESTANT SISTERHOODS. (Abridged from the Edinburg Review.) At the eastern extremity of Paris, close to the Barrière de Charenton, which leads to the French Bethlehem,'-on the outskirts of the Faubourg St. Antoine, one of the great workshops of Parisian industry,-in a quarter which, though poorly peopled, is elevated, wide, and airy, and in one of the widest and airiest streets of that quarter, the Rue de Reuilly,—is situate a remarkable institution. It is one which has attracted no small share of attention among the more earnest and philanthropic portion of French society, together with not a little envy and calumny, and which, as a necessary conse quence, has awakened enthusiastic sympathy and support:-it is called the Institute of Deaconesses, or Protestant Sisters of Charity. Institute of Deaconesses' (says the first article of its Statutes) is a free association, having for its object the instructing and directing, in the prac tice of active charity, such Protestant women as shall devote themselves within its bosom to the relief of bodily and spiritual misery, and particularly to the care of the sick, the young, and the poor.' The Its existence dates from the year 1841. It owes its foundation to one of the most distinguished ministers of the Reformed (Calvinistic) French Church, a child of the quick-minded, warm-hearted south, Antoine Vermeil: who, after fulfilling for many years the arduous and conspicuous functions of the Protestant ministry at Bordeaux, accepted, some years back, a still more arduous and conspicuous post at Paris. Here it was, that he was enabled to realize a long-cherished idea, and to do so in conjunction with a worthy minister of the Lutheran Church (one borrowed, indeed, as it were, by her from her Calvinist sister,) M. Vallette. The institution has since grown up, under the joint and harmonious patronage of the two established Protestant churches of France (represented in its Council, the one by a President, M. Vermeil; the other by a Vice President, M. Vallette) swelling from a mere house to a vast establishment, and from a Refuge for Female Penitents to a complete Normal School of Female Charity, which embraces at once the three great works of Education, Physical Relief, and Moral Reformation. The present buildings, we have said, are extensive; a good frontage on the street, two long wings, and a very large garden behind. To the façade and wings correspond respectively, more or less exactly, the three great divisions of the Institute-the Hospital, the School, and the Penitentiary. To the left stands the School, which, together with the Crèche,' its adjunct, provides for the early care and education of infants of both sexes, and for the complete education and training of girls until the age of eighteen. The Crèche is small; the Infant School, on the other hand, numbers 200 children of both sexes on its lists, of whom from 90 to 120 are daily present singularly plain-looking generally to an English eye, but for the most part fat and happy. Next comes the Upper School, for girls only, on the monitorial system, comprising about 90 pupils, of whom about 60 are day scholars, and the remaining 30 belong to the different branches of the establishment. Here education is carried on, as far as is practicable; and not only the general principles of religion, but its distinctive dogmas, begin to be taught. Nevertheless, many Roman Catholic mothers have been so struck with the advantages which their children have derived from the Infant School, that they have solicited their admission to the Upper School; which implies as many conversions from Romanism, not made by any proselytising spirit, but through the mere influence of a good and holy example. No child, it may be added, is admitted to either of these schools, the Infant or the Upper, without the written consent of its parents; if Roman Catholics, testifying that they are aware of the Protestant character of the Institute. And yet, of the infant pupils, upwards of three-fourths belong to Roman Catholic families. Beyond the Upper School is the Atelier d'Apprentissage,' or Training Establishment, for girls only, who are trained up in it, from the age of thirteen to that of eighteen, either as servants or as workwomen; their intellectual and religious education keeping pace with their apprenticeship to labour.. Speaking of female apprentices under ordinary circumstances, Mr. Vermeil observes, that one of the greatest moral dangers for young work women in Paris, is to be found in apprenticeship establishments, where so many evil examples attend them, so many temptations, so many pernicious influences; and this particularly at the period when religious education is usually imparted. The same evils are deeply felt in London. A link between the School and the Hospital is afforded by the Infirmary for Scrofulous children. The effects produced in this department by pure air, wholesome and abundant food, and kind attention, are perfectly marvellous. Next comes a small Hospital, occupying the street-frontage. It contains separate wards for men, women and children,-115 patients were admitted to it in 1846-7, besides the dispensing of gratuitous advice to out-door patients, and the vaccination of children, all, of course, by competent medical officers. So long as Protestant Sisters are excluded from hospitals which Protestant money contributes to support, so long will this branch of the establishment (which is not, however, proposed to be much extended) be absolutely necessary for the training of the Deaconesses, as hospital and family nurses, to those duties, by which the Roman Catholic "Sœurs de Charité" have been rendered famous. The hospital is not entirely gratuitous: but the poor are admitted at reduced prices, descending as low as 1 fr. a day, or a third of the average cost of each patient. An ingenious system has, however, been established, that of the patronage of beds; by which fifteen or twenty subscribers agree to contribute, if called upon, 2 fr. each a month; this, with the slight acknowledgment almost invariably made by the patient himself or by his special protector, is sufficient to make up the total ́expenditure. Passing through a pleasant little chapel, where divine service is performed every Sunday and a school is held, you enter the Penitentiary, if we may so call it, which is divided into three entirely distinct parts, the Refuge, the Retreat (Retenue,) and the School of Discipline (Disciplinaire.) The former, containing twentyfive cells, is destined to penitent females of the Protestant persuasion on their dismissal from prison, or who, desirous of themselves to abandon the path of vice, are admitted on payment of a yearly sum of 300 fr. (127.) The second branch is that of the "Retenue," | vested in a Directing Council, composed of two destined originally for girls under age, con-ministers of either church, of the Directing victed by a judicial sentence, or (according to Sister, and of from four to six ladies: and it is a peculiar provision of the French law) confined itself superintended by a "Comité de surveiljudicially on their parents' demand. But an lance," composed of from three to five lay memasylum for the former class of minors having bers. Subordinate to this central government, been opened at Ste. Foye (a reformatory insti- the three great branches of the Institution form, tution for Protestants, on the model of that of as it were, so many federate states, each diMettray,) it is intended from henceforth to con- rected by a separate committee of ladies. fine the efforts of the Deaconesses to the latter class of girls, who were hitherto sent to the Roman Catholic establishment of St. Michel. The "Disciplinaire," again, is intended to of age, receive 25 girls of from 7 to 15 years of vicious or stubborn dispositions. This is found to be the most toilsome and unattractive department in the Institute. The poor children, who are admitted into it, are mostly narrowminded as well as evil-hearted; and the Sisters observe that the " germs of sin are marvellously fostered by a certain want of intellectual development." There can be no question at any period of life of the truth of the observation, though especially true of youth-" Narrowmindedness tends to wickedness." It is the nature of rational and systematic charity, not only to be always making for itself more work, indoors or out, but to form and encourage others to similar exertions. Already other Protestant establishments, charitable or otherwise, are springing up around them: as, a higher Protestant girls' school, a primary school for Protestant boys, a cheap lodging-house for the poor, a home for Protestant servants out of place. All these are unconnected, except by sympathy, with the Institute; but within its bosom there have already risen up both a class of pupils, who, without seeking to become Deaconesses, come to study in the different fields of charitable activity which it opens to them, and also a class of nurses for the sick, of a lower order than the actual Deaconesses. [To be continued.] SLAVERY. Albert Barnes, in his work on Slavery, after descanting upon the history of emancipation among the Quakers, says "Now here, I am persuaded, is a wise model for all other denomi nations of Christian men, and the true idea of all successful efforts for the removal of this great evil from the land. Let all the evangelical denominations but follow the simple example of the Quakers in this country, and slavery would soon come to an end. There is not vital energy enough; there is not power of numbers and influ ence enough out of the church to sustain it. Let every religious denomination in the land detach itself from all connection with slavery, without saying a word against others; let the time come, when, in all the mighty denominations of Christians, it can be announced that the evil has ceased with them forever, and let the voice from each denomination be lifted up in kind, but firm and solemn testimony against the system-with no mealy words; with no attempt at apology; with no wish to blink it; with no effort to throw the sacred shield of religion over so great an evil-aud the work is done, There is no public sentiment in this land-there could be none created, that would resist the power of such tes timony. There is no power out of the church that could sustain slavery an hour if it were not sustained in it. Not a blow need be struck, not an unkind word need be uttered, no man's motives need be impunged; no man's proper rights invaded. All that is needful is, for each Christian man, and for every Christian church, to stand up in the sacred majesty of such a solemn testimony; to free themselves from all connec tion with the evil, and utter a calm and deliberate voice to the world, and the work will be done!" It is almost incredible;-but the whole of these various functions are performed by a personnel of eighteen Sisters, of whom six are only candidates, or "aspirantes." And, what with a staff so limited, seems still more wonderful, the Institute has already sent forth Deaconesses from time to time, to superintend charitable institutions in the provinces; for example to a Hospital at Montpellier. Though, of course, with a central development so great, there can be scarcely ever any Sisters to spare to the distant applications which are constantly coming in. The Sisters belong to all ranks of society; there are farm-servants and teachers, shepherd girls and ladies. They come from various parts They who truly fear God have a secret of France, though mostly from the South. guidance from a higher wisdom than what Provence furnishes the admirable Directing barely human, namely, the Spirit of truth and Sister, one of the two master-minds of the esta-goodness; which does really, though secretly, blishment. One Sister is an Englishwoman. prevent and direct them. Any man that sinThe general administration of the Institute is ely fears Almighty God, and calls and relies JUDGE HALE'S TESTIMONY, TO THE INDWELLING POWER OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD. "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."--Roм. viii. 26. |