happened unto them for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come." A fairer inheritance than Canaan lies before us; the passage to it is through the wilderness of this world of sin and of trial.-Ever. since our entrance on it the Lord our God hath led us all the way, and He makes use of various means to humble us, and to prove us. We have indeed, in our journey to a better country, a strong ground of hope, whether we look to the promises of the Lord, or to the mercies which we have already received at his hands. May my soul ever feel its continual dependance on the redeeming and sustaining grace of its Saviour for strength under every trial, and deliverance from every danger.-Remembering how "in the day of my trial the Lord did uphold me, how he led me by paths that I knew not, making darkness light before me, and crooked things straight; how prosperity and adversity, health and sickness, friends and foes, every advancement in grace, and even my very sins and declensions, overruled by his superintending Providence, have been made by Him to work together for my eternal good; remembering all these things, my soul is filled with a firm confidence that He who hath led me hitherto, will continue still to lead me; thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever; forsake not the work of thine own hands. Continue to guide me with thy counsel, and when thou hast proved me, as thou seest needful, when thy law is established in my heart, so that my footsteps shall not shrink from following wheresoever it may lead me, then receive me into those mansions where Thou thyself our blessed Saviour art gone before, to prepare a place for all thy faithful people, and where at thy right hand shall be pleasures for evermore.

K. B.

Dialogue.

A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE SOUL, RICHES, FAME, AND PLEASURE.

Riches.

DELUDED mortal, turn and view my store,
While all my glitt'ring treasures I explore.
The gold of both the Indian worlds is mine,
And gems that in the eastern quarries shine.
For me advent'rous men attempt the main,
And all the fury of its waves sustain,

For me all toils and hazards they disdain. S
For me their country's sold, their faith betray'd;
The voice of interest ne'er was disobey'd.

Soul.

Yet I thy tempting offers can despise,
Nor lose a wish on such a worthless prize.
When yonder sparkling stars attract my sight,
Thy gold, thy boasted gems, lose all their light.
My daring thoughts above these trifles rise,
And aim at glorious kingdoms in the skies.
I there expect celestial diadems,

Out-shining all thy counterfeited gems.

Fame.

'Tis nothing strange, that thy ambitious mind,
In sordid wealth should no temptation find:
But I have terms which thy acceptance claim,
Heroic glory, and a mighty name !

To these the greatest souls on earth aspire,
Souls most endow'd with the celestial fire.
Whom neither wealth, nor beauty can inflame,
These hazard all for an illustrious name.

Soul.

And yet thou art a mere fantastic thing,
Which can no solid satisfaction bring,
Should I in costly monuments survive,
And, after death, in men's applauses live;
What profit were their vain applause to me,
If doom❜d below to endless infamy?

Sunk in reproach, and everlasting shame

With God and angels, where's my promis'd fame ?
But if their approbation I obtain,

And deathless wreaths, and heavenly glories gain,

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Pleasure.

But where the baits of wealth and honour fail,
Th' enchanting voice of Pleasure may prevail :
The seeming virtuous oft my followers prove,
No breast so guarded but my charms can move.
All that delights mankind, attends on me,
Beauty, and youth, and love, and harmony.
I wing the smiling hours, and gild the day,
My paths are smooth and flow'ry is my way.
Soul.

But ah! these paths to black perdition tend,
There soon thy soft, deluding visions end.

Those smooth, those flow'ry ways, lead down to hell,
Where all thy slaves in endless night must dwell,
The road of virtue far more rugged is,

But yet it leads to everlasting bliss.
And all beyond the thorny passage lies

The realm of light, discover'd to mine eyes:

Gay bow'rs, and streams of joy, and lightsome fields,
With happy shades, the beauteous prospect yields;
Those blissful regions I shall shortly gain,

Where peace and love and endless pleasures reign.

TRUST IN THE LORD ALWAYS.

HEAVILY tolled the mournful bell, as I passed through our little village; announcing that another immortal spirit had reached its final destination, and that sorrowing friends were about to perform the last offices to the remains of a beloved relative. With a mind deeply imbued with the solemnity which such a scene occasioned, I mused on the sad cause which had produced so much suffering, and felt grateful to the kind Father who had devised even this sorrowful way of drawing our hearts back to himself and of recalling home the children of earth after their temporary pilgrimage.

The next morning I again traversed the same road, and the joyous peal which greeted my ears told me that another couple had been joined in the holiest and happiest union which the bene

Reflections on Birds.

65

ficent Author of our being has granted us here below.

How quickly varied, I cried, is the scene! Take here thy lesson, my heart, and reckon not on the continuance of earthly happiness: but draw hence also thy comfort; and, though thou mayest be passing through deep afflictions, yet believe that a bright dawn will hereafter arise; and feel with the pious Psalmist "Heaviness may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Not long are we allowed to remain in the same state here below; but we are in the hands of an all-kind Father, who sees the exact measure in which joy or sorrow will best lead us home to Himself. Bow then, my soul, with perfect submission to thy Maker's will, and receive all his visitations with thankfulness and cheerful hope; and, whether gladness or mourning be thy lot, "so run that thou mayest obtain."

B. Rectory, Nov. 7, 1824.

M.C. L.

REFLECTIONS ON BIRDS.

We have frequently endeavoured to call the attention of our readers to the wonderful contriv ance that is to be seen in all the animals which inhabit this earth. And this must indeed convince every thinking person that these creatures were made by a great Being who is wonderful in all his works. And, when we observe how all these contrivances are exactly suited to the habits of every particular creature, we cannot help seeing not only that the Maker of them is all-powerful, but that he is full of goodness and loving kindness, and that his tender mercy is over all his works. Think, for example, of the structure of a

air: to float, that is, in a fluid. But to float, an animal must be light; and to enable it to beat the air so as to push itself forward, there must also be strength. Strength and lightness were the two things required. Look then at the hollow bones of birds. They differ from those of animals, which walk upon the ground, in three respects; first, their cavities, (their hollow parts) are much larger, in proportion to the weight of the bone, than in quadrupeds; secondly, those cavities are empty; thirdly, the shell is of a firmer texture than is the substance of other bones. A bone of the same weight would not have been so strong in any other form; and to have made it heavier, would have bindered the animal's flight.

The lungs also of birds are curiously formed, to enable the animal to float in the air. There is a communication between the air vessels of the lungs, and the cavities of the body, so that the animal is able to throw air from its lungs into the other parts of its body, and thus make itself very light. Thus it puffs out its body, and so becomes lighter, in proportion to the air that it floats in. Another beautiful contrivance is, that all birds are oviparous that is, lay eggs, instead of bringing forth their young alive. Thus the bird is less oppressed with weight than it could have been by the other method. The whole brood is thus hatched together, but the eggs are laid singly. Ten, fifteen, or twenty young birds may be produced in one covey, and yet the parent bird has never been incumbered with more than one full grown egg at one time.

The wing of a bird, too, fitted up with its furniture of feathers and quills, is a wonderful instrument. The use which a bird makes of its wings in flying is truly curious. The wings strike the air with their flat side, thus pushing against a great

Four-footed ereatures.