our confidence of the efficacy of Vaccination in exterminating Small-pox, from a sense of duty to the community, hereby renew the engagement entered into by us, in the year 1813, not to inoculate Smallpox, but to pursue, and to the utmost of our power, promote the practice of Vaccination. And we earnestly recommend to all members of the College, similar engagements; convinced that the entire extinction of Small-pox would be the happy result of the suppression of inoculation of that disease, and the universal adoption of Vaccination."

All subseqent reports, made by medical bodies, strongly confirm the foregoing favourable opinions of Vaccination.

We conclude with recommending that all persons who are vaccinated, should be submitted for examination to the operator on the seventh or eighth day; that it may be ascertained whether the inoculation has taken effect. Some constitutions withstand the inoculation two or three times; and, generally speaking, medical men are the only safe judges of its being complete.

From defective inoculation, much mischief has resulted to individuals, and much prejudice against the

practice. Negligence on this point has often led to the supposition that Small-pox had succeeded Cowpox, when, in fact, there had been no Cow-pox; the vaccine inoculation having not taken effect.

No law exists for preventing inoculation for this loathsome disease; but it should be known that a law does exist for preventing the spreading of the disease, by exposing patients affected with it.

Every such exposure, whether in the streets or public roads, or at the door or window of the patient, is an indictable offence, and punishable by imprison

ment.

Two cases were lately brought before the Court of King's Bench; in the one, a mother was imprisoned three months for carrying her child about the streets; and, in the other, a surgeon was imprisoned six months, for ordering a child, affected with Small-pox, to be brought to his shop from time to time for examination. Parish authorities would do a public service by prosecuting in every case of this kind. The safety of the great body of the people ought not to be hazarded by the ignorance of a few.

Any person may apply for lymph for inoculation by letter, addressed

"To Dr. HUE, Registrar of the N. V. E.,

Russell Place, Fitzroy Square."

And inclosed in an outside cover, directed thus:

To the Right Honble

The Secretary of State,
Home Department,

National Vaccine

Establishment.

Whitehall.

SIR,

A VILLAGE CONVERSATION.

THE inclosed is written by a friend of mine, for circulation in his own parish, and from circumstances which arose in it.

If you think it deserving of a place in your little work, The Cottager's Visitor, it is very much at your service. Very truly your's, C. H. K. L.

June 10, 1831.

Vicar. Don't let me disturb you, John.

John. You don't disturb me at all, Sir; pray walk in. Vicar. You are reading your Bible to Jane, and I should be sorry to interrupt so good an employment.

John. Pray, Sir, be seated. I am always glad to see you, more especially when I am reading the Bible to my wife; for I often want to ask a question, and even when I don't meet with a difficulty, a little discourse upon a chapter, with you, brings truths to my notice, which Jane and I should otherwise overlook. We sometimes say (excuse my boldness, Sir), that you are our Philip; and that, when we have been reading Holy Scripture (in our dark way, like the Ethiopian eunuch), you open your mouth, and begin at the SAME Scripture (where we saw nothing particular), and preach unto us Jesus."

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Vicar. God grant I may do so now! Where are you reading?

John. The xiith chapter of Exodus, Sir.

Vicar. 'Tis a beautiful chapter, John: whoever "opens his mouth," to read that chapter, must indeed "begin at the same Scripture," and preach unto his hearers," Jesus." And this indeed is evident, from the references in the margins of your Bible. I am glad you use that large Bible, with marginal references, which I gave you last year, when you married; for if you carefully turn to the places noted there, they will enable you to explain one passage by another. And

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A Village Conversation.

357

as all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and also for INSTRUCTION in righteousness," it is but reasonable to consult the written evidences of the same Spirit, wherever they occur in other parts of our Bible, bearing upon the subject immediately before you.

John. True, Sir, it is like listening to what the same person says, about the same matter, at different times. Vicar. Or perhaps it may be compared, with still greater propriety, to what the same person writes at different times, to the same individual-to a father's correspondence with his son (for instance), from his childhood till his final settlement in life. In the perusal of such letters, you would not expect to find all alike, but still all throwing light upon each other, all written in the same spirit indeed, and with the same uniform purpose of instructing the child in his duty; but varying in expression and in the subjects treated of, accommodating themselves to the young man's gradual advancement in knowledge and experience. I would compare the Old Testament to the earlier stage of such a correspondence; the New Testament to the latter part of it.

John. My wife, Sir, has stumbled upon a text here, which seems applicable to your view of this subject: "The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ." Our new Bible has a noble print, and while I read the notes, Jane looks out the places in this old Bible, and thus we find employment for both of us. We commonly read one chapter a-day in this way.

Vicar. But why confine yourself to one chapter, as if you had set yourself a TASK? You know, I suppose, the Bible was not originally divided, as it is now, into verses and chapters. This was not the work of the authors themselves, but was done for the sake of convenience, long after even the New Testament was written and those who read a chapter as a task, often leave off in the very middle of a subject. The epistles or letters of the Apostles, were written to different

churches or societies of believers; and some of them, to individual Christians: and you must be aware, from your own experience, that to divide a letter into bits, and to read one bit now, and another bit a week hence, is not the way to obtain a correct view of the writer's sentiments.

John. Thank you, Sir, I am very glad of this hint; and I will, in future, confine myself rather to the subjects than to the chapters.

Vicar. You said you usually read a portion of Scripture attentively, with your wife, every day. I am very glad to hear this, John; you cannot be better employed, and let me tell you, every time you read a chapter over, with attention, you will observe. something in it which you had overlooked before. It was a diligent study of the Word of God, conducted in a similar spirit, but with fewer advantages than either you or I now possess, that recommended the beloved Timothy to the especial favour of St. Paul. "Continue thou, (says the Apostle), in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them, and that from a child thou hast KNOWN THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus." Perhaps it would be difficult to find any one single chapter where the notes in the margin of your Bible are more useful than in the chapter immediately before us, and where they tend more to unfold the true meaning of the original text, which unquestionably was "to preach unto us Jesus."

"Your lamb," (says the 5th verse), "shall be without blemish, a male of the first year." St. Paul says, referring to this passage (Heb. ix. 14), "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who (through the Eternal Spirit) offered HIMSELF without spot to GOD, purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the living God!" And St. Peter (1 Ep. i. 19), referring too to the same passage, says, "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and