I have difference between this nation and others. lately been spending some months in France, Germany, and Poland; and have often wished that my own poor neighbours could see these countries; for it must make them more content with the state of life into which it has pleased God to call them.— In the first place, there is no country in which the poor man has so much the power of improving his condition, if he has abilities and industry; for there is no place where he has the means of education and improvement so within his reach. This is a remark often made by sensible foreigners who come to England. The comforts even of the very poorest among us are very much greater than in any other place which I have visited ;-wheaten bread is not used by the poor elsewhere; their bread is made of rye, and is coarser and browner than any to be seen here; neither have they the beer which working men have here; and meat they get very little of. The women are to be seen doing the very hardest work in the fields; they are not able to take nearly so much care of their children, who consequently do not look so clean, and rosy, and strong, as with us. The clothing is, in no part of the world, so good. In some of the very finest parts of those countries, where the best wines are raised, I have been pained to see the people looking pale, sickly, and ragged. In France and Germany, the cottages are not to be compared to ours; and, in Poland, they are miserable, all badly built of wood, with such large holes in the sides and roofs, that one can often see the light through them; so that our cowhouses are much better. I have thought of them often during this winter, and of what they must have been suffering, for it is much colder there than with us. There are few things which foreign ladies and gentlemen admire so much in England, as the neatness of the cottages and the little gardens, in which they are often placed. Many of our advantages are derived from our good Government and Laws, wh protect the poor as well as the rich; and it i great cause of thankfulness, that we have seen little of the miseries of war, compared with ot lands. These, like every other blessing, received from the hand of God; let them make us high minded, but let us look hum to the bountiful Giver, and feel the blessings o thankful heart. And, while we remember w others have suffered from being on the seat of w let us join fervently, with heart and mind, as w as with our lips, in beseeching the Lord" that will give to all nations unity, peace, and co cord. February, 1826. M. M CLEANLINESS. To the Editor of the Cottager's Monthly Visitor. SIR, ALTHOUGH much good advice to servants has a ready been given in your pages, I shall be glad t say a few words to them myself; for it is no enough to be told, once or twice, what is right; w must be often reminded of it, that good advice ma fasten on the attention, and be continually presen to the thoughts. My remarks, at this time, will be confined to fe male servants. The duty which stands next in order to those o honesty, sobriety, modesty and respect, is cleanli ness. Nothing so much offends the eye of a master or mistress, and creates so much disgust, as dirty caps and gowns and dirty linen. A master and mistress, who are neat in their own persons, expect their servants also to be neat, but above all clean, in theirs. I make a distinction here between neatness and cleanliness,-both are desirable, but cleanliness is absolutely necessary. The eye of a master or mistress may be offended before they make known their feelings; they may silently condemn before they have recourse to reproof; but the sight of a dirty gown or cap presented before their eyes, day after day, will cause an impression, in spite of themselves, unfavourable to the wearer. Their eyes turn from her; they are glad to look another way, that their sight may not be offended by a dirty object. A servant may have many good qualities, and these may be readily acknowledged, but still the sight of a dirty person about you cannot help being disagreeable. It is true, that servants have often dirty work to do; and, while they are about such work, they must wear, of course, clothes that bear on them the marks of their work; but no cook or housemaid can find it necessary to be dirty all day long, and day after day. No one who thinks properly can wish servants to be fond of dress, or to spend their time in preparations to make a shewy appearance; but neatness and cleanliness are expected of all; and it would be much better for a servant to think of this herself, than to wait for a reproof from her master or mistress. I remain, Mr. Editor, Your obedient servant, HYMN. WHEN ON SINAI's top I see Z. When in extasy sublime TABOR'S glorious heights I climb, When on CALVARY I rest, Full of mercy, truth and grace. MONTGOMERY. THE WORLD. (Continued from page 73. Vol. 6.) IN our last view of the World, we gave some account of the manner in which it was peopled by Noah's descendants. From the time of the flood to the days of our Saviour, rather more than than 2000 years, there existed, one after another, four great monarchies which are spoken of by the prophet Daniel and the other prophets. The first of these was the Assyrian, founded by Nimrod; which increased in size and power till it spread over a great part of the known world. Nebuchadnezzar was one of its monarchs: it was he who carried away the Jews into captivity, and cast the three pious Israelites, Shadrac, Meshac, and Abednego, into the fiery furnace, for refusing to worship the golden image which he had set up (Daniel, chap. iii.) He conquered also many other nations, and, in the pride of his heart, ascribing all the glory of his success to himself, and not to God, was driven by the power of that God whom he despised, to dwell with the beasts of the field. What an awful lesson was this to human vanity, and what a convincing proof that the power of God was supreme! The whole nation beheld their king prostrate beneath that power which he had dared to defy. We find the tremendous visitation was not lost upon him: at the end of seven years his understanding was restored, and he now applied it to its proper use, in praising and glorifying God, and acknowledging the justness of his late dreadful punishment. It is grievous to find that the example of Nebuchadnezzar had not taught his successor Belshazzar to profit by it for we find him, at a great feast with his courtiers, profaning the holy vessels which had been dedicated to the service of the true God, by making them drinking cups in this scene of debauchery. But in that same night were his kingdom and his life demanded. The hand-writing appeared on the wall (Dan. chap. 5). The decree went forth from God; and Belshazzar, and his glory, were no more. How must these things have smote upon the hearts of men, and if they had not been blinded in sin, how must such proofs of God's power have convinced them whom they ought to worship, to fear, and to obey! Thus ended this first great monarchy: for the conqueror of the idolatrous Belshazza, Cyrus by name, whose mighty deeds had been foretold by the prophet Isaiah long before they came to pass, founded the second great monarchy, the empire of Persia. The Assyrian empire was founded little more than a hundred years after the Flood, and ended about 500 years before Christ, having lasted about 1700 years. Cyrus placed Darius in the government of Babylon; and it was his decree that shut Daniel in the lions' den, for worshipping the true God; and, in his miraculous deliverance, the power and majesty of heaven were again displayed. How can we account for the world continuing in idolatry amidst such wonderful proofs of divine power? wonders too that were made known in every dominion: for both Nebuchadnezzar and Darius wrote unto all NO. 4. VOL. VI. I |