do you live?" "With widow just in the edge of the wood in that little log house, can't you see it?" "I see it; but is widow your mother?" said she gently. "James." "Where to attend. It was the second summer after the establishment of this school, and after little James had been well acquainted with his Testament and his catechism, that his health began to fail. The good young Lady beheld his gradual decay with anxiety, visited him often, and always wept at parting with a pupil so dear. She used often to walk out with him, and to cheer him with her conversation. One pleasant afternoon she led him out by the hand, and at his request visited the spot where lay his mother and little brother. Their graves were both covered with grass, and on the smaller grave some beautiful flowerets. It was in the cool of a serene summer's day, as they sat by the graves in silence. Neither of them able to speak.-The Lady gazed at the pale countenance of the lovely boy, upon whose system a lingering disease was preying, while he looked at her with an eye that seemed to say, "I have not long to enjoy your society." Without saying a word he cut a small stick, and measured the exact length of his little brother's grave, and again seated himself by the Lady. She appeared sad, while he calmly addressed her. "You see my dear Miss S, that this little grave is shorter than mine will be." She pressed his little white hand within her own, and he continued..." you know not how much I love you---how much I am obliged to you. Before you taught me, I knew nothing of death---nothing about heaven, or God, or angels. I was a very wicked little boy till you met me. I love you much, very much, but I would say something else." "And what would you say," inquired the Lady, trying to compose her feelings. "Do you think I shall ever get well?" "Indeed I hope you will--but why ask that question? "Because I feel I shall not live long---I believe I shall soon die---I shall then be laid beside my poor mother---she will then have her two twins, one on each side of her---But do not cry Miss S―, I am not afraid to die. You told me, and the Testament tells me, that Christ will suffer little children to come unto him, and though I know I am a very sinful little boy, yet I think I shall be happy, for I love this Saviour who can save such a wicked boy as I am. And I sometimes think I shall soon meet mother and little brother in happiness. I know you will come too, wont you? "No. I had a mother and she loved me. She used to take care of me and my brother John. She gave us clothes, taught us our little prayers and catechism.-Oh! she was a good mother." "But where is your mother? said the lady soothingly. "O! madam she is dead, do you see the grave-yard yonder?" "Yes"..-"and the great maple tree which stands in the corner of it?"" "Yes I see it." "Well, my poor mother was buried under that tree, and my brother John lies there too. They were both buried up in the ground, though my mother's grave was the deepest. I shall never see them again, never, never, as long as I live. Will you go with me and see the graves?" continued he looking at the lady with earnestness and simplicity. The short account which the little boy gave of himself, awakened the best feelings of the young lady, and she had been devising some plan to do him good. For the present she declined visiting the grave, but continued to converse with him and gain his confidence. She found him very ignorant, having never been to school; and the instructions of a pious mother, having never been repeated or enforced by example, were nearly forgotten. A Sabbath School had never been established in the place, and whether it was practicable to establish one was doubtful---but she was determined to make the experiment. Accordingly, she visited every little cottage in the village, and urged that the children might, the next Lord's day be assembled, and a school formed. A proposal of this kind was new and unpopular. All the old women in the place entered their protest against such innovations. For the first three Sabbaths the young Lady had no scholars but her little James. But she knew that however faint may be our prospects of doing good at the commencement, we should not be discouraged. The first blow we strike may produce but little effect. The Lady was sorry she had so few scholars, but she bent all her efforts to the instruction of the little boy. But in a few weeks, the prejudices of the people began to wear away, and before the summer closed, this school embraced every child whose age would allow it When I am dead I wish you to tell the Sabbath scholars how much I loved them all---tell them they must all die, and may die young, and tell them to come and measure the grave of little James. And then prepare to die." The young Lady wept, aud could not answer him at that time. But she was enabled to converse with him several times afterwards, on the grounds of his hope, and was satisfied that this little lamb was indeed of the fold of Jesus. She was sitting at his bedside, and with her own trembling hand, closed his lovely eyes as they shut in everlasting slumbers. He fell asleep with a smile---without a struggle. The Lady was the only sincere mourner who followed the remains of the child to the grave, and while she shed many tears on the sods which covered his lovely form, she could not but rejoice in the belief, that God had permitted her to be the feeble instrument of preparing an immortal spirit, for a mansion in the skies.---(From an American Publication.) paper cation. It will not be expected that I should enter into detail of the various sorts of printing, or the forms of character in use among the Chinese, it may be sufficient to remark, that the almost universal mode of printing, is what they call "muh-pan," or wooden-plates. It is a species of stereotype, and answers all the ends thereof, as the letters do not require to be distributed or recomposed: but being once cut, they remain, till either the block is destroyed, or till the characters are so worn down by the ink-brush as to be illegible. It is evident that each character must be separately cut, and that the blocks from which any work is printed, all previously pass under the hand of the graver. The Chinese New Testament, contains about 227,300 characters; the charge for cutting these for the 8vo. edition of Dr. Morrison's translation was 500 Spanish dollars, exclusive of 50 dollars for transcribing, &c. making in all 550 dollars, before the blocks were ready for printing; which is about 11d. English for each 100 characters. SUPPOSING matrices were already made, metal types might be obtained for 2s. per lb. containing 40, or 58. per 100 characters. The VARIETY of characters in the Chinese New Testament is about 2600, now the weight of metal required for the New Testament, may be thus estimated : 3 characters of very frequent occurrence, 5 lb. weight of each.. 50 Do. less, 2 lb. weight of each 109 Do. still loss, 1 lb. weight of each 1500 Do. do. 1 lb. weight of each 947 Do. seldom occur, lb. do. of each.... 2238 lb. of metal at 2s. per lb. £223 168. 15 lb. 100 150 1500 473 2238 for com Which is the additional expense metal for the Old Testament: consequently the expense of metal for the whole Bible is 3147. 6s.; so that 400!. would put the Bible in a state for print. ing. Now, by the other method, each one of these 760,000 characters must be separately cut; and having pleted the New Testament, we are not one step nearer the completion of the old. Cutting 760,000 characters at 11d. per 100, £348 6s., which sum added to the sum for preparing the New Testament, £453 6s. Therefore, if matrices were already cut for Chinese characters, the expense for providing and pre paring for printing would be about £400, whereas the expense of the other method would be £453 6s, TAE-W**-U** (To be continued.) ILLUSTRATIONS OF SCRIP TURE. Micah iv. 4. "They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid." The foliage of the fig-tree and the vine, especially in warm climates, is very abundant, and no trees are better suited for shade and shelter from the heat, particularly the former. My favourite walk at Stellenbosh, near Capetown, while waiting for the termination of the sultry season, before travelling into the interior, was under the shade, between two rows of fig-trees, where ran a streamlet of pure water. All times in the day I found it agreeably cool in that favourite retreat. Should a country be disturbed by the din of war, the ravages of cruel armies, the minds of the peaceful inhabitants would be too much agitated to enjoy the beauties and comforts of their gardens; but when the rage of contending nations is assuaged by the powerful dissemination of gospel truth, and they become convinced of the sin of disturbing each others' tranquillity, they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; then the husbandman will retire with pleasure to enjoy the cooling shade of his vine or his fig-tree. As old men walking, and children playing, in the streets of a city, are a sign of its peace and prosperity, so men sitting under their vines and fig. trees is a pleasing sign of the peaceful state of the country. Zechariah ii. 5. "For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be a glory in the midst of her." Here the Lord promises to be a wall of fire round about Jerusalem, which seems to be in allusion to the manner in which travellers in desert countries defend themselves in the nighttime from the wild beasts, viz. by placing fires in different directions around them. This was our constant practice in the wilds of Africa, when firewood could be obtained. While the fires continued to burn we were in perfect safety, as no undomesticated animal, however ferocious, will venture near to fire. Luke x. 19. Jesus said unto his disciples,-" Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Serpents generally are timid, and run from men. The chief danger in the day-time arises from treading on them among the grass, or in the nighttime in paths or roads, in which case they bite instantly. A scorpion is but a small animal, only a few inches long, but extremely venomous. Little danger can arise from treading on them, to a person wearing leather shoes; but, in oriental countries, where sandals are worn, which only cover the soles of the feet, it must have been frequently mortal to tread on the scorpion, especially among grass. From being exposed to these dangers, distant journies must have appeared very hazardous. Acts xxviii. 3. "And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand." Paul's employment on this occasion was often mine on my journey in Africa, viz. gathering sticks, or branches of bushes, to make a fire on halting, either for cooking or to warm ourselves. If we were hungry or cold, all who could be spared from other things, naturally assisted in collecting fuel. Some hazard was attached to this necessary employment, especially in the dark; for the person on laying hold of a bush to tear it up, or break it off, was in danger of grasping a serpent, scorpion, or some other venomous animal. Should any of these animals happen to be in the bushes when laid upon the fire, as the fire approached them, they would naturally retire from it; and should the fire happen to surround them, they would make a spring to escape from their perilous situation. Probably this was the case when the viper from the fire lighted on Paul's hand, or while in the very act of laying the branch or bush upon the fire the animal might do so. A viper is of the serpent kind. JOHN CAMPBELL. LINES POETRY, Supposed to be written by a Son, when returning from the funeral of a pious and aged father. WE'VE left our father in the grave, Deep, deep, I saw the coffin lie, Where heavily 'twas lower'd down All bush'd-but the fitful rain-und the And then was heard the hollow rattle 'Twas a long-a lingering look we cast, But o'erwhelmed in the flood, and the blackness of night, Their prayers and their shrieks were mingled; The roar of the ocean, as if in affright, The waves smile again on each otherNone remains to exclaim, O, how I'm bereft! Save a widow!-and she too a mother! Compassion, now weep, with tears unfeign'd, O, how can the eye refuse sorrow! 'Tis pleasure to weep when the heart is pain'd, And we too may claim it to-morrow. Glide smoothly over the sacred spot, From whence their blest spirits ascended; They are gone!-but their names shall ne'er be forgot, For the cause with which they were blended. No epitaphs praise-no monuments stand, But the winds, in boarse voices speaking, In sepulchral sounds, convey to the land, The sad tidings-the cause of our weeping. In His mighty hands, whose servants they were, Are the issues of life and of death: 'Tis enough!--He's all-wise, and sees from afar, We know not beyond the last breath. Kepler House, Staines. ABBA FATHER. G. B. And will the Lord, in very deed, What Friend accosts us? dry your tears: REVIEW OF RELIGIOUS PUBLICATIONS. History of the Crusades against the Albigenses, in the Thirteenth Century, from the French of J. C. L. SIMONDE DE SISMONDI. With an Introductory Essay, by the TRANSLATOR. Wightman and Cramp. 8s. pp. xl. 266. EVERY thing relating to the character and sufferings of the Albigensian Christians must be, in a high degree, interesting to those who hallow the blood of the martyrs, and who remember that "the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, are crying with a loud voice from beneath the altar, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" A people who maintained, in primitive purity, the doctrines and ordinances of Christ, while, during a long and dismal night of superstition, the whole world was wondering after the mystic beast, deserve to be held in everlasting remembrance." And while the page of ecclesiastical history possesses aught of truth, there shall not be wanting a faithful monument to perpetuate the remembrance of the noble virtues of a race of men, who struggled, with a heroism never surpassed, to stem the torrent of papal usurpation, to preserve inviolate the testimony of Jesus Christ, and to shelter, as in a sanctuary, the spiritual liberties of Europe and of the world. This translation of part of Sismondi's history of the French people will be received with no ordinary feelings of delight by those who are at all acquainted with the numerous crusades of the Romish church against the Albigenses. Although but a small portion of the eloquent author's elaborate work is included in the volume before us, yet enough has been given to furnish a distinct narrative of those interesting events, which, though transacted chiefly in the thirteenth century, exerted a lasting influence upon the subsequent destinies of mankind. The interesting detail extends, from the commencement of the thirteenth century, over a period of about forty years, and embraces a comprehensive sketch of the progress of civilization, liberty, and religion, in the south of France, while the rage of papal tyranny was restrained; and of the fatal results which flowed from the detestable cruelty of that Anti-Christian Power. In this volume the horrors of the Inquisition are drawn in their true colours; while the essential worthlessness of that church which could have sanctioned such an unparalleled iniquity, is distinctly and convincingly de monstrated. The work at large is, indeed a sad bill of indictment against the church of Rome; but its truth and justice are its best apology. Those who dream of any substantial alteration in the system of popery, which admits not the private interpretations and apologies even of its devoted advocates, are mere babes in knowledge, both as to the past and the present. A few English Catholics may tell us, that the aspect of things is now completely altered, and that heretics are neither to be treated as unworthy of confidence, nor to be any longer conducted to the stake; but the great question is-are they the true interpreters of the principles of their church, or is the church herself, in her own recorded acts and authentic documents? Mr. Butler, and others, may be willing and able apologists, but they are not the church. believe that the papacy continues essentially what it was, and that the opinions of Bellarmine, who thought it highly charitable to put heretics to death, to prevent them accumulating fresh sins of heresy and schism, are only restrained within tolerant limits by the force of law, and the prevalence of Protestant belief. If this opinion be incorrect, let the Romish church prove it, by renouncing those claims which rendered her, in days past, the terror and scourge of unoffending thousands, We which led her to intoxicate herself with the blood of the saints,—and which are still preserved in the decrees of her councils, not as memorials of what is obsolete, but as the decisions of a church whose professed infallibility is her most arrogant and dangerous pretension. From this volume it will be seen, that the popish representations of the opinions of the Albigenses are fearfully exaggerated; and that, in fact, they were a noble army of martyrs and confessors, who steadfastly resisted the spiritual tyranny of the bishop of Rome, from the second century downwards, until, by the loss of liberty and life itself, they proved to posterity that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. The translator's Introductory Essay will *"Finally," says Bellarmine," it is good for obstinate heretics that they be put to death; for the longer they live, the more errors they invent, the more people they seduce, and the greater damnation they lay up in store for themselves." Indeed, from the days of Augustine to the council of Trent, the language of the church was decidedly in favour of punishing heretics-by fine, imprisonment, and death, |