you it has puzzled us all very much. In so doing, you will much oblige your constant reader and humble servant, DANIEL PICKEARTH. P.S.-I forgot to mention, that not only the field in which our pit is, but all those round it, are entirely of a gravelly soil, and there is only one little bit of a clay pit within a mile of the spot. April, 1825. A correspondent sends us the following letter, which has been sent to the Treasurer of the "Refuge for the Destitute." SIR, I HAVE the pleasure of handing over the enclosed donation of one guinea for the "Refuge." My sister and I are in the habit of lending small religious publications among the poor; the "Cottager's Monthly Visitor" thus falling into the hands of a woman, who sells fruit, and whose husband is a bargeman, on returning No. 6 for 1821, she expressed a most lively interest in the "Refuge," a notice respecting which Society, inserted in it, having particularly attracted her attention. After expatiating at length on the advantages arising, as she conceived, from such an institution, she begged permission to afford a proof of sincere good-will, by depositing in our hands contributions of one penny per week from herself and daughter. They have subscribed to nearly the amount inclosed; and I have thought it worth my while to make a state. ment of this little fact, as illustrative, if of nothing else, of the utility of such occasional hints, relative to Societies, in periodical publications, and of the expediency of furnishing our neighbours with these and other suitable books. Look from Nature up to Nature's God. 231 Apologizing for troubling you thus far, I will only add my best wishes for the success of your excellent institution, and subscribe myself, Reading, January 23. Your's, J. H. LOOK FROM NATURE UP TO NATURE'S GOD. THERE is nothing in the works of nature, which, if properly considered, will not teach us to look up to the great Author and God of nature. The formation of man, and of every other animal, is exactly suited to his situation and condition; every limb, every joint, the shape, the size,-all are exactlysuited to the creature's convenience and necessities. Whether the animal be to walk, to fly, or to swim,to traverse the air, the sea, or the land,-whether to inhabit the woods, or the heaths, or the fertile fields, or the burning sands,-its whole form is suited to its condition. Beasts of prey have their sharp teeth and claws; birds of prey have their crooked beaks and talons; water fowls have their webbed feet to swim with, and fish their fins ;-all exactly according to their particular wants. And so it is with every thing which we take the pains to examine. Well might the Psalmist say, "Lord, how wonderful are thy works, in wisdom hast thou made them all." But it is not only the animals of the earth which shew forth the divine power. The wonders of the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars, are all the work of the same Almighty hand;-and so is every plant and flower on the face of our earth. Nothing is too great to be beyond the power of God; and nothing is too small to be beneath his care. The mighty orbs which illuminate the heavens, as well as the smallest plant which grows upon the earth, if their great Creator.-Now man is made for reflection; he has a mind given him capable of contemplating these things and his contemplation ought to lead him to the praise of the Great Maker of all. But how careless are we often about the consideration of those things which might be turned to so much profit!-Or, if we study them, we are apt to do it from a pride of knowledge instead of a desire of having our hearts raised in gratitude to Him who made them all, How vain, how useless is all knowledge, which is not turned to its right purpose! How chilling is the coldness of that heart which can be constantly engaged in examining the works and the gifts of God, without once thinking of the MAKER, and the GIVER. We thank the correspondent who brought to our recollection the following lines from an Oratorio of Handel, What though I trace each herb and flower, Did I not own Jehovah's power, How vain were all I knew. We must venture, too, to quote the following beautiful lines of Cowper, with a trifling alteration. The Gift should raise us to the Giver's praise, V. THE SAILOR. To the Editor of the Cottager's Monthly Visitor. SIR, SHOULD you think the following humble imitation of a classic author worthy of insertion, it is much at your service. On putting Money into a Saving Bank. Thus, kind, indulgent FATHER, give to me, E. W.B. 233 Birmingham. ADVANTAGE OF PUTTING MONEY INTO A SAVING BANK. To the Editor of the Cottager's Monthly Visitor. SIR, THE following extract from a newspaper, probably in the infancy of the useful establishment of Saving Banks, appears to me still so much in season, that I send it for your valuable " Cottager's Monthly Visitor," if you think it deserves a place, when you have a vacant corner. "The Poor sometimes talk as if they could do nothing to better themselves. This is very true, if they will work hard one day, only to get money to spend at the alehouse the next day-or if they will be as thoughtless about helping themselves as if they had neither sense nor conscience to guide them: or if they will look to the parish, instead of looking to their own hands and head: or if they will complain and be idle, instead of doing their best. But if there is no necessity for all this, then it is not true, that they can do nothing to mend their condition. They can do much they can do more than others can do for them: because working and saving will always hold out longer, and make more, than Charity can do; because Charity spends, but does not make money. Let them begin a new way for once; namely, let them save what hitherto they have been used to spend in drinking or other waste; and let them work fairly to lay the first stone of their own comfort. If they will make up by shillings at a time only a few pounds, those few pounds will of themselves grow into more; and if other savings be added to the stock, the old and new will go on together, and swell into a heap, into which the owner may put his hand, to help himself, in his old age; in a time of sickness; in hard times; in a loss of work; in putting his children out to an honest trade; in buying a cottage; in making himself easy and respectable too. A man, by saving his odd money, instead of wasting it, takes the way to avoid not only beggary, but to avoid many sins too. The sin of drunkenness, with the brutish blasphemy that attends it; the sin of wastefulness: the sin of mis-spending time the sin of neglecting children and family: the sin of bad example, and bad company, are all to be seen in a careless sottish life.- Who would not wish to avoid the temptations to all these things? He who wishes to do it, let him begin by thinking, whether money carried to a public house, or to a |