your view. The exercise will interfere with none of your earthly duties, but will help you in the performance of them all; will smooth whatever there be of ruggedness in your way; will strengthen you in the hour of temptation, and comfort you in perplexity and trouble. Many an encouraging promise, and many an enlivening assurance will recur to your memory, and " a word in season, how good is it;" examples of suffering and patience, of striving and perseverance, of warfare and triumph, will kindle in your breast an emulous ardour, and you will say,-by the help of the Lord, I will "go and do likewise." Thus will the Bible be a never-failing source of strength and consolation all the day long: as the waters which flowed from the flinty rock accompanied and refreshed the Israelites in their journey through the wilderness, so will your spiritual musings, suggested by the very hardships or troubles of life, be a perpetual stream of refreshment to your souls, even "in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is."

And, by this means, your souls will be prepared and trained for a happier communion with the Saviour in another world, where all the dealings of His Providence, and all the wonders of His Grace, will be more fully and gloriously seen. And if the heart of the Christian now burn within him, at the contemplation of heavenly truth, and redeeming love,-now in his frail tenement of clay,-how unspeakable will be his delight when these things are revealed to his pure spirit, in the realms of perfection and bliss. Then shall he know more of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge;" then will he see more of "the length, and breadth, and depth, and height" of the mystery of mercy; he will see God "face to face," and "know even as he is known."

(Plain Parochial Sermons.)

A Baptismal Hymn.^,

ON CONTENTMENT.

405

Y

LET us not weakly torment ourselves with anxiety about our lives; for our heavenly Father knows what we require; and he takes care in our behalf. When we cheerfully and faithfully practise the duties of our calling, and shun no difficulty, no effort, no hardship, or toil, then does he protect us from overmuch care for our daily bread. God has kindly and wisely provided, that, with true and constant industry, the necessaries of life shall not be wanting to his creatures. We ought contentedly and humbly to receive from his hands the smaller gifts, and not demand that he should heap abundance upon us. He who distributes gifts with perfect discernment, knows how much is profitable for us; and, if he appoints to us only a scanty portion of the goods of this world, let us honour his wisdom and not repine. The greatest of all gain is to possess a devout and contented spirit: let us endeavour more and more to moderate our longings and our ambition, and often to consider that a cheerful and temperate heart alone, and not superfluity and riches, is the foundation of a happy life. (Sent by C. H. N.)

A BAPTISMAL HYMN.

(TO BE SUNG BY CHILDREN.)

1.

MOTHERS in his love confiding
Brought their babes to Jesus' hand:
Some would stay their zeal with chiding,
But were check'd by his command.

2.

Christ the children took, caress'd them
In his arms with fond embrace.

Laid his hands on them, and bless'd them,
Bless'd them with a father's grace.

1

THE following case was sent to us by a friend who resides in the village (in Suffolk) where the circumstance occurred.

"One of a family of children caught the small-pox. After it had appeared two days, a brother was vaccinated. Five days afterwards, the small-pox appeared in the latter, which disease must have been taken before vaccination:—but the vaccination seemed to have such a power over the small-pox, that two days after its appearance, the vaccination seemed to be at work so as not to allow the small-pox to go on: for the matter disappeared, the scars became dry, and the child recovered before the child which was first taken." Those who object to vaccination are very forward to bring forth instances of failure; and there are certainly some few cases which would lead us to doubt its efficacy. But still it cannot be doubted, that, though there may be some failures, yet in general it does succeed. There is no other way of ac

On sending Children to School in time.

407

counting for the fact that small-pox does not now make its appearance at all in places where the children are regularly vaccinated,-and where, before this discovery, the small-pox was making continual ravages. And how is it that when a person infected with the small-pox is brought into a village, the children who have been vaccined do generally escape. A country paper, not long ago, asserted that the small-pox was raging violently among the higher circles:-now, we do not believe that to be the fact, for it is the custom in high families to have the children vaccinated at an early age,--and we do very seldom hear of small-pox being in such families, and it very rarely happens that we see any person of condition marked with the small-pox. Some persons say that the effect of vaccination continues only for about seven years:-this, we believe to be contrary to the opinion of the most experienced medical men. Dr. Jenner says that he inoculated persons who had been vaccinated one, two seven, twenty, and some, thirty years, and that there was no difference whatever. But supposing it really to be true, that the effect of vaccination continued seven years; it would then be right that every person should be vaccinated, for seven years would be sufficient to drive the small-pox out of the kingdom. If during seven years there was no person who had the small-pox, there would be nobody to carry infection, and thus this dreadful malady would be destroyed.

V.

ON SENDING CHILDREN TO SCHOOL IN TIME.

MR. EDITOR,

Ir being continually a subject of complaint in the Sunday-school which I attend, that the children are so often sent too late-and believing this to be frequently the case in other places also, allow me, through the medium of your widely extended pub

lication, to address myself to my cottage friends on the subject. Now I do not mean to say the fault always is with the parents, for I believe the children are sometimes sent in proper time, but come too late from the habit of playing on their way to school. But this I believe would seldom be the case, if their parents, both by precept and example, taught them to pay a greater respect to the Lord's day, -and also shewed their children what a deep sense they had of the value of the privilege afforded them, in being permitted to send their children to a Sunday-school, instead of, as some I fear do, speaking and acting as if they conferred a favour upon the teachers by letting them come!

Now, my friends, although it is indeed a delight to a pious mind, to teach the young to "remember their Creator in the days of their youth," when they are diligent and attentive, you cannot suppose it can be any pleasure to teach those scholars who come unwillingly, and are obstinate and perverse. Surely, if their instructors consulted only their own ease and benefit, without considering the good of others, they must prefer spending the time now devoted to the school, in reading their Bible, or some good book at home. But they feel the inconceivable value of religious instruction to you; and if you all knew and valued it as you ought, you would surely then find that you could not rate it too highly. Some among you cannot read, there having been no Sunday-schools in former days. Do not you then joyfully reckon upon the time when your own dear children will be able to read the Bible to you? When six days in the week are necessarily occupied both by yourselves and your children, in following those various employments, by which you may procure food for your perishing bodies-will you not gladly and thankfully embrace the opportunity afforded you, of one day, on which all worldly business is to be laid aside, that you may seek the welfare of your never dying souls?