Extracts from the Public Newspapers.

47

tile, used to plant a thousand trees, on the birth of every daughter, upon his waste grounds; and these trees were worth one pound each, on an average, at the time the daughter came of age, which enabled him to give her a fortune of a thousand pounds on her coming of age. The regular thinning of the trees, &c. at proper seasons, paid off all the current expenses, besides yielding a small rent for the land. In the year 1758, ninety-two fir trees were planted upon a piece of ground about three quarters of an acre. The land was waste and poor: no extra expense was incurred, and no further attention was paid to the trees. In 1813, they were cut down, and yielded ninety tons of timber, then worth 47. per ton, giving a round sum of 3607. An easy way for a man to provide a fortune for his grandchildren.

Bath Paper.

A meeting of the Clergy and other gentry was lately held at Westbury, Staffordshire, for the purpose of forming a society for the suppresion of the inhuman practice of bullbaiting. The same.

A Correspondent tells us, that if a small quantity of spirits were poured into the palm of the hand, and a few drops of tallow from a candle afterwards mixed with them, and well rubbed on the part affected, this will invariably afford relief to blisters on the feet.

An instance has just occurred of the sad effects of leaving children alone: The wife of a labouring man in the Commercial-road, having gone out, leaving three children (the eldest not above six years old) alone, the dress of one of them, a fine boy, two years old, caught fire. The shrieks of the children brought some persons to their assistance, who put the flames out; but not before the poor infant was most dreadfully burned.-St. James's Chronicle.

Cause of Liver Complaints in India.-Most people suppose that it is the heat of the climate in the East Indies, that produces so many complaints. This is not alone the cause; the climate in the Brazils is much hotter, yet these diseases are not, by any means, so frequent. It is sometimes said, that free living is the cause; but yet this is answered by the fact, that water drinkers will often be affected, and that dogs, which go from Europe to India, will be frequently affected with diseases of the liver. The opinion of the natives is, that this formidable complaint is occasioned by the quality of the water; and with this opinion we agree. People going to India should look to this point; they should boil the water which is for drink, and then filter it.-Medical Adviser.

The above hint may be useful to some of our friends in

How a Tradesman is to keep out of the Gazette*.—Before you take a house and shop, consider well all the circumstances, and do not rest entirely on your own judgment. The best persons to ask advice of are those who live in the neighbourhood, and have no motive for or against the undertaking. Bargain with a good working carpenter, and other tradesmen, to make the alterations absolutely necessary. Pay ready money for all materials. In laying in your goods, go to a respectable wholesale house, and by no means propose a lengthened credit; but be punctual in your payment within the time agreed on. This will open the door of every warehouse at your approach, and place the very best goods, in your line, at your service, and you will ever have the choice of the market. Spend your evenings at home, and make every body about you as comfortable as possible. If, by accident, you are unable to satisfy a creditor's demand, do not absent yourself, but tell him the plain truth: he is now but your creditor; by avoiding or deceiving him, he becomes your enemy. If f you wish to serve a needy friend, it is better to lend him your money than your acceptance; for in the one case, you can only lose your money; but in the other you may lose your reputation also.-Economist.

Rattles. A watchman in a large town suggests the following advice--"Every housekeeper should be provided with a watchman's rattle; and, in case of robbery, instead of attacking the thief, he should open his bed-room window, and a tune of a minute or two's brisk play upon the rattle will bring several watchmen to the spot.” In villages, where there are no watchmen, if families, at certain distances from each other, were provided with rattles, a whole village might presently be roused, in case of robberies, fires, or other accidents.

*The Gazette is a newspaper, which comes out every Tuesday and Saturday, and contains a list of all the Bankrupts,

ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO CORRESPONDENTS.

We have received G. H. twice; U. Y. twice; M. B.; M. J. D.; R. B.; F. S. E.; E. W. B.; J.W.B.; A Practical Gardener; P. P.S.; and an Anecdote, without a

name.

The beautiful verses on Prayer, sent by M. J. D. have already been inserted, Page 85, Vol. IV.

The story of Abraham is good, but we are not fond of accounts of scriptural characters, which have not scriptural authority..

THE

Cottager's Monthly Visitor.

FEBRUARY, 1825.

SCRIPTURAL DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE CONNECTED TOGETHER.

THE holy Scriptures contain that real knowledge which makes men wise unto salvation. The doctrines which are there taught are such as the great Author of our salvation knew to be needful for us : and, where these are studied with humility, and with a sincere desire to be benefited by them, they will not lie in the mind as barren truths, but will soon prove to be, what our Divine Teacher in tended them to be, the springs and the motives to holiness of heart, and obedience to the will of God. We know, from the word of God, that Christ died to atone for our sins, and thus to deliver us from the punishment of them. Now to believe this is a needful part of a Christian's faith. But it is practical too, for it leads us to repentance. If such a sacrifice for sin was required, this plainly teaches us the dreadful nature of sin, and shews us the need of repenting of our past offences. But repentance has, in itself, no power to take away the guilt of sin. Here then we see the need of looking to our doctrine, and connecting it with our practice. To please God we must repent of our sins. And Christ's atonement then blots them out. Repentence then is needful before we can be forgiven; this is a practical consideration; we must however

always remember that the sacrifice of Christ is the cause of our forgiveness.

The repenting sinner, derives his comfort from believing that his sins are forgiven in consequence of his Saviour having suffered for him. And then the thought that such great things have been done for him, urges him to gratitude, and leads him to desire to do the will of Him who hath suffered in his stead. This again is practical: here is a desire and an endeavour to obey God's commandments; and this from the very motive which the New Testament so constantly holds out-gratitude"We love him, because he first loved us.'

But a Christian, who desires to do the will of God, constantly feels the power of temptation, and his own weakness in resisting it. Here then again he looks to the holy Scriptures, and he finds the promise of just that help which he stands in need of. He sees the promise of God's Holy Spirit to lead him in the right path, and to give him strength to resist the temptations which he meets with in his way. He finds that his God has promised to be ever with him, to uphold him, a God whose strength will be made perfect in his weakness,

When therefore we find that the holy Scriptures say so much on doctrines, we must not suppose that these are doctrines only, they lead to duties and are intended to produce the effect of holiness and godly living; and of such holiness and such godly living they are, if rightly received, the very origin and spring.

Let us then search the Scriptures," and study their doctrines, and let us seek that through divine grace they may be "so grafted inwardly in our hearts that they may bring forth in us the fruit of good living, to the honour and praise of God's Dame, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

5

V.

St. Clement.

SAINT CLEMENT.

51

If we search the holy Scriptures, we find the words of everlasting life;—and, in studying the works of others, the nearer they come to the doctrine and the precepts and the spirit of the Gospel, the more we see of that persuasive argument which leads us to know the blessedness of thinking and of living like Christians. How to think and how to live like Christians, our Lord has himself taught us; and his instructions are recorded in the Gospels of the four Evangelists. After our Lord's ascension, the Holy Spirit enabled other teachers to continue to preach his Gospel; and, in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles, we read of their exertions, and receive their instructions. The doctrines are alike in all these writings; but, if the Epistles should seem to dwell more upon some doctrines than the Gospels do, it is because those Christian truths which depended on the death and resurrection of Christ could not be recorded in those writings of the Evangelists which were intended to describe the life and actions of our Lord whilst on earth. The whole, indeed, is one grand scheme, which the wisdom of God chose to make known to man, by such degrees, in such intervals, and in such a manner, as He knew to be best. After the death of the scriptural writers, other holy persons who had accompanied them, and who had embraced the religion of Christ, were then the appointed teachers of the Gospel: and, though we do not presume to say that these writers were inspired in the same sense that the Apostles were, yet, from having lived, some at the same time, and others shortly afterwards, their writings are truly interesting, as declaring the true sentiments of the Church in those days, and shewing us how the early Christians lived, and what sort of instruction they gave to their followers. Clement* was one

Of Rome.