civilization down to barbarism; the civilization being coeval with the first and earliest revelations, or with Adam himself. A thorough attention to these early chapters of Genesis confirms our belief in this tenet; supported as it is by this very strong negative argument, that a nation was never known to emerge simultaneously and unaided from the savage state, the civilization thereof having always, as far as is known, originated in, or been aided by, a movement or influence from without.-Ibid.

IDENTITY OF HUMAN NATURE. IT may appear a trifling and puerile remark; but I must confess myself much interested by the identity of human nature in its more familiar working at very distant periods of the world. Thus when Jacob saw Rachel at the well of Haran, Rachel ran to tell her father; Laban ran to meet Jacob; Rebekah ran to tell her mother. It is a minute, some would say, a ridiculously trifling thing to single out; but I like to contemplate human nature in the stability even of its lesser evolutions-the same as now thousands of years back. When a child is filled with any strong emotion by a surprising event or intelligence, it runs to discharge it on others, impatient of their sympathy; and it marks, I can fancy, the simplicity and greater naturalness of that period, that the grown-up men and women gave unreserved way to their first impulses, even as children did. One cannot help thinking that this family at Haran must have been a wily, politic, deceitful set. Laban was characterized by it all over; Rebekah had her full share; and we can detect no small spice of it in their descendants, as in Jacob on the one hand, and Rachel on the other. There seems to have been a very unformed morale among them; and besides this, there was great avarice in Laban, who was altogether of a very harsh and repulsive character.-Ibid.

THE STORY OF MOSES. THIS is one of the most picturesque of our Scripture narratives. What a horrid system must have obtained in Egypt, when every Hebrew male child, if detected by any of the people, behoved to be destroyed by them. How cruel to the Hebrews; how barbarizing to the Egyptians. No romance could have been more skilfully framed for the purpose of setting all the affections in play, than this simple and beautiful story: the placing of the babe by the river side -the watching of him by his sister-the approach of Pharaoh's daughter to the spot-the crying of the child, and its influence on the sensibilities of a woman's heart-the offer of the sister to call a nurse; and thus the restoration of the babe to its own mother again. In the Epistle to the Hebrews this act of Moses' parents is said to have been by faith; and we cannot doubt that all was overruled by the providence of God, even to the very suggestion which prompted the measure they took with their child. Whether they had in any degree the light of a revelation for what they did, they must at least have felt a certain confidence in the protection of Him who is invisible, else they would not have been remarked by the Apostle among the Old Testament worthies who through faith obtained a good report.-Ibid.

THE PHYSIQUE OF THE PRIESTHOOD. WE ought not to lose the spirit of the Levitical

regulations now. The external dignity of the priesthood is not a subject beneath our concern, even under this more spiritual and enlightened dispensation. There is a contempt for externals which I hold to be both unscriptural and unphilosophical. Materialism is instinct with sentiment; and there is a power of expression even in dress and drapery which makes the question of priestly vestments to be not insignificant. And certain it is, that deformity of person is still more revolting than homeliness or shabbiness of attire. I am far from advocating the establishment of any church canon on the subject; but certainly it should be regretted that the cripple and the decrepit should be designed for the ministry; or those labouring under any such infirmity as might, from the unavoidable influence of things visible on the sentiments of men, detract from the weight and authority of the sacred office.-Ibid.

FURNITURE OF THE TEMPLE.

ONE should like moulds constructed of all the different things in the exact forms, and of the exact proportions, along with the very materials and decorations prescribed in Exodus, and then submit them to artists or men of taste, that they might pronounce on the beauty or fitness of the respective products. One can perceive at once the beauty of the candlestick; and to me it is truly interesting to remark the condescension, if I may so express it, of the celestial directory in thus specifying the minuter ornaments, as of knops, and flowers, and bowls like almonds. The sentiment is all the more enhanced when one connects all these workmanships with their pattern in the heavens, the pattern shown to Moses in the Mount. It may be remarked, that the specifications of measurement and form are not here given for every article; but all may have been provided for by a general reference to this pattern. In one passage it is not only the pattern of the tabernacle which is spoken of, but "the pattern of all the instruments thereof." -Ibid.

THE DELUGE.

GEOLOGISTS are now converging to the opinion that there are no sensible vestiges of the deluge upon the earth; and Dr. Fleming, who is of this opinion, contends also for its consistency with the truth of the Scripture deluge, in that it may have been brought upon the world without the alteration of any of its sensible features. And certain it is, that, if the water from beneath came by openings in the bottom of the sea, or by the fountains of the great deep being broken up, one can imagine an elevation of level from this cause without any such disturbance on the surface of the earth, as might affect aught that is visible either in its islands or continents. The stop

ping of the fountains of the deep through which there was an efflux of water from beneath. would restrain the further increase of the flood from that quarter; but unless there were other openings made by which a reflux could be effected, one does not see how the decrease of the flood can be accounted for. The wind might take up all that had been deposited from above, but this alone would not effect a subsidency of the waters to their former level.

The sending forth of the dove, her finding no rest for the sole of her foot, her return to the ark, the projection of the hand through the win

dow to pull her in, her second mission and return with the olive leaf, altogether make up a very graphical representation. I may here record the strong interest I feel in these Scripture histories, enhanced, I have no doubt, by the recollections of my boyhood, convincing me that it is a most useful education for the juvenile mind to be seasoned and made familiar therewith. Wilkie the painter told me that the ark experiment of a bird was tried with a dove from a balloon, and that it returned after that it had been let out; and that an experiment was intended with a raven, but I have not heard if the latter trial has actually been made.-Ibid.

WORLDLY THOUGHTS IN PRAYER. THERE is a story that one offered to give his horse to his fellow on condition that he would but say the Lord's Prayer, and think upon nothing but God. The proffer was accepted, and he began: "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name." "But I must have the bridle too," said he. "No, nor the horse neither," said the other; "for thou hast lost both already."

And thus it is that too, too many men and women, both in their private and public addresses unto God by prayer, are, by the suggestion of Satan, walking with St. Hierom in the galleries of Rome; having their hearts roving after pleasures of sin, their thoughts taken up with the things of this world, and their whole man set upon vanity; whereas they should rather mind that which they are about, keep close to God, and be so watchful and intentive over their souls, that their hearts and tongues may go comfortably together. For the outward work only is but like the loathsome smoke of Sodom; whereas the inward devotion of the heart is not unfitly compared to the pleasant perfume of the sweetest frankincense.

EARLY EDUCATION. Remarks of J. Wilson, Esq., on it, in the Memoir of the late T. Wilson, Esq.

I AM firmly persuaded that a religious reformation among us must commence in the nursery; and that, if the next generation is to be seasoned and imbued with evangelical knowledge and genuine piety, the tincture must be imbibed almost with their mother's milk. Alas! that in the higher walks of society the great object in the education of young females-imparting to them such solid and useful, above all such religious and scriptural instruction as may qualify them to become teachers of their own future offspring-should be so generally lost sight of amid the dazzling glare of those showy and superficial accomplishments which have hitherto been too much the bane, not only of "the world of the ungodly" without, but also of what is too significantly called the religious world within the pale of the professing church! To view woman in the true light of her high destiny-to see what constitutes her true glory and distinction, and invests her with an almost sacred character, when raised to her proper elevation as the first teacher, and therefore the real trainer of the future race-has been hitherto the rare and extraordinary attainment of a few enlightened and highly-gifted minds. Could effectual measures be adopted to elevate the general standard of female education, and to render its character solid and substantial, rather than merely external and ornamental, a most important service

would be rendered both to society and to the church of Christ.

PREACHING.

As a preacher Augustine doubtless excelled, but his excellency lay in exhibiting that which was useful to the vulgar, not that which was entertaining to the learned. Perhaps in no age was the pastoral taste more depraved than it is at the present. A highly-finished elaborate style is looked upon as the perfection of a Christian speaker; and the manner, rather than the matter, is the chief object. It is not considered that an artificial and polished arrangement of sentences is lost on a vulgar audience; and those who affect it are, it is to be feared, little moved themselves with the importance of divine things, and are far more solicitous for their own character as speakers than for the spiritual profit of their hearers. Plain, artless addresses to the populace by men fearing God, and speaking of divine things with fervour and charity, have been attended with the demonstration of the Spirit and of power; and souls have been rescued by these means from sin and Satan. The difference between a good and bad preacher is, that the one seeks the glory of Jesus Christ by explaining doctrines in familiar discourse; the other uses the utmost strength of his eloquence to gain reputation. The latter handles trifles with elaborate language: the former elevates a plain discourse by the weight of his thoughts.Milner's Church History.

THE GOOD STEWARD.

I DID not esteem myself the richer at all for my multitude of riches. I esteemed no more given me than what was in a reasonable manner proportionable to my necessities, to my charge and dependance, and to the station I had in the world. All the rest I looked upon as none of mine, but my Master's. It was rather my burden than my possession; the more I had, the more was my care, and the greater the charge that I had under my hands, and the more was my solicitude to be a faithful steward of it, to the honour and use of my Master; but my part was the least that was in it. Indeed I rejoiced in this, that my Master esteemed me wise and faithful, committing the dispensation thereof to my trust; but I thought it no more mine than the merchant's cash-keeper thinks his master's money his. And therefore I thought it would be a breach of my trust to consume or embezzle that wealth in excessive superfluities of meat, drink, or apparel, or in advancing myself or my posterity.-Sir Matthew Hale.

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PHRASEOLOGY OF PRAYER. THERE is a great difference between addressing men and addressing God. The least artificial mode of uttering our thoughts in prayer is the best. Prayer admits of no brilliancies; every studied ornament it rejects with disdain. who feels interested in prayer will forget all critical and elaborate phraseology. And it is an infelicity to be deplored, rather than excellency to be admired, when ingenuity of thought or surprisingness of expression catches and keeps off the attention from devotion. There are young divines who not only err in preaching by substituting finery for elegance, and the affectation of art for the eloquence of feeling; but in their devotional exercises too, showing off their

tawdrinesses even in the presence of God, and praying in a strained, inflated style, unintelligible to the ignorant, lamented by the pious, contemned by the wise. The greatest men have always been distinguished by the plainness and the simplicity of their devotional language. What a difference is there between the compositions of Johnson and his prayers! No hard word, no elaborate sentence, no classical, no metaphorical allusion is to be found in any of the few forms of devotion which he has left us. And it is worthy of remark, that in no prayer recorded in the Bible is any figure employed, unless as familiar as the literal expression.

NECESSITY OF TRIBULATION.

2 Chron. xx. 1—5.

UNINTERRUPTED peace must not be expected in this world, even when we are most devotedly serving God. The enemies of true religion are the more exasperated by our zeal to promote it; our own miscarriages require rebukes; trials are needful to repress pride, and difficulties form the proper exercise and discovery of our faith, love, patience, and hope in God. Thus his honour, the edification of others, the good of our own souls, and our situation in the midst of ungodly men, all require that "in the world we should have tribulation."

IMPORTANCE OF UNITED PRAYER.

IN calamities or dangers, public or personal, our first business should be to seek help from the Lord. When two or three agree in doing this, that concurrence adds energy to their supplications; how much more, then, when multitudes of one accord pour out their fervent supplications for the same common blessing.

TESTS OF MINISTERIAL CHARACTER. IN seasons of prevailing ungodliness and public disturbances, the ministers of religion will be exposed to peculiar trials; as they must either act contrary to their consciences, or expose themselves to great loss and peril. This is the time when God puts the sincerity of their faith and love to the proof; on these great occasions

he peculiarly calls upon them to bear testimony to his truth, and to protest, at all events, against enormous evils, by whomsoever patronised. As connivance and silence in such a case are every way criminal, so it is peculiarly honourable to God, and convincing to the consciences of men, when they readily renounce their secular interests, and stand up boldly for the cause of God without regarding consequences; nor will such behaviour ever lose its reward.

GROUNDS OF CHRISTIAN SAFETY. NOTHING can injure us while we keep close to the worship and service of God; but without true faith and grace, all apparent zeal and external profession will at length wither. Yet many deem themselves good and righteous, because they are not so faulty in the best part of their character, as some eminently godly persons were in the greatest blemishes of their lives!

THE HEART PREPARED AND KEPT. UNLESS "the heart be prepared to seek the Lord," we must perish; and if convinced that we are unable of ourselves to effect this preparation, let us pray fervently, according to the language of Scripture: "Turn thou me, and so shall I be turned;" "Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me." If we do this in sincerity, using the other means of grace, and watching against sin and temptation, our endeavours will not be in vain. Where these things are wanting, formality and hypocrisy form a man's highest attainments; his chief advantages prove an aggravation of his crimes; and a life of vanity and vexation will be closed by a miserable death. May we then look to our hearts, and keep them with all diligence, for the Lord especially regards them; and may he prepare our hearts unto himself, that we may serve him with perseverance and delight while we live; possess a strong consolation and joyful hope when we are called to walk through the valley of the shadow of death; and so have an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

MRS. MARY WAUGH.
By James Waugh, Settle, Yorkshire.

MRS. MARY WAUGH, of Settle, the subject of the present notice, and daughter of Mr. John Harrison, who, during a long life, has been connected with the Independent congregation at Skipton, was born April 14, 1807. She received a favourable impression of religion in her earliest years from what she saw and heard of it at home, and thought its ministers must be very good men, because she saw her father always so much pleased when in their company, or when it was in his power to promote their

comfort. Yet she has been often heard to declare, that though favoured with the means of grace so abundantly from her childhood, it was grace itself that opened her eyes. It was as she was rising to womanhood that it pleased God to show her, somewhat gradually, yet effectually, herself a sinner, and Jesus the Saviour. Thus she became a witness at once for the necessity and the efficacy of free grace in the sinner's salvation. Having joined herself to the Lord, she next joined his people in church fellowship at the Independent chapel of her native town. This was in February, 1827, in her twentieth year. She set her hand also

In

to the work of her Divine Master, both in the Sunday-school and wherever else she thought she could serve him. 1834 she removed to Settle, on occasion of her marriage to one who now survives to mourn his heavy loss, and to pen this feeble memorial of departed excellence. He ever found in her helpmeet for both worlds. She had an enlarged acquaintance with the word of God and with the human heart; and as she possessed a considerable tact in making her communications intelligible to others, there are many survivors who will long remember her edifying conversation. The following extract from her notebook, sustained, as its sentiments were, most consistently by her daily life, will open somewhat of her feelings:

"The first sabbath of 1840 has dawned upon me in the enjoyment of ten thousand blessings. My husband comparatively recovered from a threatening illness; my children both in good health; and the blessings of a kind Providence surrounding us all. These are mercies that would melt any heart but mine into grateful acknowledgments to that Friend from whom comes all our good. Oh! Lord, to thee I come for the quickening, purifying influences of thy Spirit, to enable me to watch and strive against the corruptions of my heart, that I may not be led captive by it. Oh! that I may this year be enabled to lay aside the fear of man, and seek only those blessings which will fit me for unfading joys, and a place at thy right hand through all eternity! Enable me to train my little ones in the fear of the Lord. Let my husband and myself be more conformed to thine image in heart, conduct, and conversation, that others may be constrained by our example to seek and know Jesus. May those who serve with us this year experience the power of Divine grace, and may our poor prayers for them be heard and answered in the conversion of their souls to God! May we be enabled this year to plead much with thee on behalf of thy cause with which we are connected; and, Oh! may every hinderance to its prosperity be removed, and converts flock to thy church as doves to their windows! Oh! Lord, hear us in this thing for thy own name's sake. Prepare us by thy grace for all that thy wisdom may appoint us to pass through, so that in all circumstances we may sit lowly at the feet of Jesus, for Christ's sake. Amen."

The spiritual welfare of her children

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was dear to her heart, and it is hoped that this will never be forgotten by them. Her eldest boy, eight years old, relates that the evening before the baby was born his mother prayed with them, that the Lord would give them new hearts, and that they might grow up to bless him. The Lord be graciously pleased to answer the prayer which has thus been recorded on their behalf! Nor did she forget her servants, that they had souls. She led them to read regularly the sacred volume, and to attend the public means of grace. She felt her responsibility before God, and endeavoured to fulfil it. Her attachment to the word of God was very great, and in approaching any subject of controversy, the question, What saith the Scripture?" was habitual. By the dictates of revelation it was her constant desire to be guided; to them she made her appeal; and by daily search and study her mind became richly stored with their sacred truths. Prayer, both secret and social, was the delight of her heart. The female prayermeetings and the family altar bore their testimony to this. Though her husband was in business, and they had a young family, it was an extremely rare case that family devotions were omitted either morning or evening. Even the absence of her husband was never pleaded as an excuse for omission; for when he was not present to officiate, she would herself lead the prayers of the family. Even her little children regarded family prayer as so much of a Medo-Persian law in their house, that surprise and inquiries were elicited from them if ever it was omitted. She would frequently say, "Let us praise the Lord for his mercies. Though he smite us with trouble let us still trust in him, for he has said, 'I will never leave you, nor forsake you.'

She loved the gospel dearly. It was a joyful sound to her. This she showed by her cheerful entertainment of its ministers, and by the copious notes of sermons which she took and preserved during a period of more than twenty years. She was easily pleased with the preaching of the truth. Let it be but a plain and faithful exhibition of man as a sinner, Christ as a Saviour, the Holy Ghost as the Sanctifier; let it set forth, in however homely language, man's responsibility and the sovereignty of God, and the preaching was sure to feed her soul. One of her remarks after hearing a sermon was, "It is hearing what Christ has done for us that inclines us to work

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for him." Her love to him was great, and was shown by her love to his people and his house, whether belonging to her own denomination or not. There was a heavy debt on the Independent Chapel at Settle when she first went to that town to reside. This she exerted herself to the utmost, along with other friends, to remove, by her advice, by personal application, by writing letters, by efforts in connection with a bazaar for the object; and before her death had the pleasure of seeing a considerable part of the incumbrance removed. Indeed, any labours by which she could promote the prosperity of the Redeemer's cause among sinners, she ever most cheerfully undertook. She was never afraid to introduce religious conversation, nor ever backward to enter upon it when introduced by others. She endeavoured to enlighten her conscience from the word of God, and then scrupulously to obey the inward monitor. She was a Dissenter on principle, and had Scripture reasons for it ready, whenever she saw it needful to give them. She loved the truth, and spoke it as "an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.' She was a warm admirer of the clear, decided tone of the CHRISTIAN WITNESS and the CHRISTIAN'S PENNY MAGAZINE, and regularly read those publications. Her faith in God was strong and equable. The doctrine of a particular Providence was a favourite with her, and she showed this by her contributions according to her ability to every good work. She used to say, "Whatever we give to the Lord from a good motive, he will never remain in our debt;" nor did any business losses ever deter her from making pecuniary sacrifices for her Lord. She would still say, "Do not let us give less to God's cause.' The afflicted were frequently visited, and often experienced her Christian skill in impressing truth upon them. Her industry in these labours of love was more than once excited in the most solemn manner. She was the mother of seven children, three of whom it pleased God to remove before her. Feeling deeply these successive bereavements, she was led to renewed excitement to work for the Lord. Especially was this the case towards the dear children that God had yet spared to her. Nor dare we suppose that her labours will be in vain. The faithfulness of our God is pledged that work performed for him shall not be lost. Since her death a friend writes, "I thank the Lord I ever knew Mrs. W. I feel I have lost a coun

sellor." Another says, "I bless the Lord for making Mrs. W. an instrument for leading me to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, and for helping me on towards the kingdom of heaven." It may be mentioned, too, to the praise of our gracious God, that two that have served in the family are now members of Christian churches.

But the time was fast approaching when her labours on earth were to be exchanged for her heavenly rest. It was on the 15th of March that, after some months of delicate health, she gave birth to a daughter, who is one of the four children that now survive their departed mother. Unfavourable symptoms soon presented themselves, and at the end of six weeks the medical man recommended, as the only means likely to do her good, a removal to her father's house for change of air. Soon after her arrival at Skipton, which took place April 29, there appeared some little encouragement to hope for her recovery; but her time and work were done, and the favourable appearances soon gave place to others of a more painful character.

On the 8th of May her husband went to see her, when she immediately told him that no decided change for the better had taken place. He told her the causes which had prevented him from coming sooner, and she replied, "You have come just at the right time." She told him how comfortable she had been, and how blessed with her father's prayers and the reading of the word of God, especially Psa. ciii. and 2 Cor. v., which exactly expressed her feelings. Next morning a little alteration for the worse was perceptible. This was the sabbath morning. Seeing her husband weep, she said, "James, you have come to see me die; but I have not the least doubt of my interest in Jesus and the love of God." The morning was spent in prayer, reading, and conversation. Being asked how she was, she said, "I am going home." At noon she looked with a heavenly countenance at her afflicted husband, and begged he would not leave her till she died, adding, "It will not be long." When asked how she knew this, she replied, "Not only from the state of my body, but my mind also. Oh! if I had Christ to seek now, with this frail tabernacle, what could I do? But, thank the Lord, I am now enjoying the benefit of the Saviour's work.' After one of our prayers, she said, "You should not pray that the Lord would spare me, but rather