On the 9th he continued to appear uneasy, and loathed his food, shewing an especial dislike to any thing liquid. The doctor was again sent for, and administered some trifling medicines, but still thought it was only a. slight bilious complaint. At breakfast the next morning, which happened to be the sabbath, I sat next him, and offered him a saucer full of tea, when a sudden convulsive shuddering seized him, and tears started into his eyes; but with a strong gulp he swallowed down the tea, as he saw his mother looking anxiously and sadly towards him. The nature of his disease, the dreadful hydrophobia, was become too evident for concealment. John was put to bed, and his mother remained with him, while I accompanied Mr. S. to church. The congregation knew not what had happened, and were astonished at seeing this excellent man's eyes filled with tears, when, in the course of the sermon, the subject turned on the dreadful sacrifice by which Abraham, in the strength of Divine faith, offered up, at the command of God," his son, his only son, Isaac, whom he loved." Our pastor's voice became at last almost inarticulate; but a strong sense of his sacred duty, and the never-failing support of Him in whom he trusted, enabled him to complete the divine service of the day and we returned from it together, in melancholy foreboding of the dreadful spectacle that would present itself to us on our arrival.

Slight convulsions had seized John, before our return, and we found with him,-besides his mother,three physicians, and a kind-hearted indefatigable lady, the wife of one of them, who was a native of India. At about two o'clock in the afternoon the convulsions became stronger, and all power of swallowing medicine was lost a cure was clearly hopeless; but, with a view to diminish the violence of the paroxysms, the patient was bled, and a warm bath prepared, into which he was plunged; though, the instant he saw it, he screamed most violently, struggled, and shook with extreme terror. After having been immersed for a

Early piety of a child in India.

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short time, he was taken out, laid upon his bed, and not again removed from it, as it was thought useless to attempt any further remedy. Nothing was done from this time, but the occasionally wiping from his mouth the foam which collected there during the violence of the paroxysms. To these were now added a sense of oppression on the chest, and a painful difficulty of breathing, which denoted the further progress of the disorder. All this time, during sufferings which I have rarely seen equalled in a man, and never before in a child, John only once permitted a word of complaint to escape from him. He said, "It is very sore to die." In moments of intermission from acute pain, he sometimes begged his mother to read to him out of a little book containing stories from the Bible; at other times he wished her to sing some of his favourite hymns. His poor mother, being, as may be supposed in such circumstances, quite incapable of singing, now and then repeated to him the words of a hymn, to which he listened with evident pleasure. When sorrow overcame her, and tears flowed down her cheeks, he would say, "Don't cry, dear mamma, I am quite happy;" but when the sacred spirit of a Christian silenced in her for a time the anguish of a mother, and she once asked him, "whether he did not know that he had often been a great sinner, in the pure eyes of Almighty God?""Oh, yes, mamma," said the little sufferer, "but Jesus Christ died on the cross for me."-" But, Johnny," she added, "do you feel a firm hope of going to heaven ?". "Yes, mamma; and when I am a little angel, I will attend on you, and take care of you."

The mother could bear no more, and few who were present were able to restrain their tears. At the time when his paroxysms were most violent, he would never suffer his mother to come near him; lest, as in his momentary madness he snapped at every thing within his reach, he might by chance do it to even her. He never would confess to her that he was in pain, but

always maintained that he was quite willing to go to heaven." By degrees nature, exhausted by suffering. and agony, began to grow feebler and feebler, and the spasms were proportionably less violent; but his ideas wandered; and, after two hours' unquiet slumber, his soul, without any apparent pain or struggle, left its earthly prison, and flew to join the ransomed thousands of those innocents whom Jesus loved, and to chant with them the "New Song" of the Redeemed of the Lamb. It was about ten o'clock at night, when he ceased to breathe; and, to my astonishment, no mark of the agonies he had endured was visible on his lovely and placid countenance,-it was beautiful even in death. The corpse, having been washed, and dressed in a long white robe, was laid out on the bed in which he usually slept; and the attachment of the poor Hindoos covered it, on the following morning, with sweet fresh flowers. Scarcely a word was spoken, which had not some reference to the virtues of this pious and amiable child. His little sister told us a thing, of which his father even was as ignorant as we were, of no common nature. For a long time past, every Sunday, on returning from church, he was accustomed to seek out a retired corner of the house, where no eye could see him, but that of his heavenly Father, and there. pour out his little soul in earnest prayer. We learned from his father, that, whenever he had any pocketmoney, he used to visit the huts of the poorer natives, and relieve their wants, as far as his means would extend.

Such was John S. at the age of six years and a half, for he was no more when he died! His funeral was attended by the general, and most of the officers of the garrison, who knew and loved him, young as he was; but that which stamped on the melancholy procession a more peculiar interest, was the number of poor natives, who accompanied it with tears, and who, at the moment of committing the corpse to its last earthly home, pressed forward to throw each his little handful

A few Remarks on 1 Cor. VII.

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of earth on the coffin, which held all that now remained of him, who once enjoyed amongst them the blessed title of "The poor man's friend.'

A small monument has since been erected to his memory, on which are simply recorded his name, age, and death; together with the words of Jesus when he took up a little child in his arms- "Of such is the kingdom of heaven."

(From the "Diary of a Tour through Southern India."y

A FEW SHORT REMARKS ON 1 CORINTHIANS VII.

MR. EDITOR,

As it is of importance to explain the seeming unreasonableness of St. Paul's commands in this chapter relating to marriage, and to reconcile their apparent inconsistency with the dictates of nature and Revelation; I trust the discussion of this subject will be neither unsuitable to your publication, nor unprofitable to your readers.

It appears that the Corinthians had judged it necessary to consult their Apostle about the expediency of marriage at that time, whether it were advisable in that afflicted state of the Church, when it was exposed to great and frequent persecutions.

The sentiments, therefore, which St. Paul delivers in this part of his Epistle, are to be understood in the way of replies to those questions :-a circumstance which itis of great importance to bear in mind whilst we are reading this chapter; for inattentive readers may be led into serious error, by supposing from this chapter that St. Paul wished marriages entirely to cease; whereas the meaning of the Apostle is, that a single life was more convenient in regard to the then persecuted state of the Church, as being a condition less distracted with cares, and less troubled with business.

In the first ages of Christianity, the great duty of men, next to believing in Christ, was publicly to con

fess their faith in Him; how grievous soever the evils might be which threatened them on that account. For, by openly confessing their faith, especially if they sealed that confession with their blood, the knowledge of the Gospel and of the power of God's grace were spread more widely in the world. This was an object of such importance, that our Lord solemnly declared, "Whosoever shall confess me before men," (in times of persecution) "him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny," &c. This duty being as difficult as it was necessary, that persons of both sexes might perform it with greater readiness, the Apostle recommended to both a single life, if they could live therein continently; because, being attached to the world by fewer ties, they would leave it with less regret,, when called to die for the Gospel.

Under those peculiar circumstances of difficulty and distress; when the terrible persecutions, to which the Church was daily subject, made it a time to think of the trials of martyrdom, rather than the endearments of matrimony, surely it was not for men to enter upon any new relation of life, or to attach themselves by any new ties to the world, which could only add to the weight of their sorrows, and be productive of accumulated misery. Wisely, therefore, did St. Paul conclude, that, at that time, an unmarried state was preferable to a married one. But this judgment of the Apostle cannot relate to the present peaceable state of the Church. No-marriage was ordained by God to complete the happiness of man in his original innocence, and the blessing of heaven will ever descend upon it, when undertaken in the fear of the Lord.

Marriage is honourable in all," saith the same Apostle," so is not a single life; for to some it is a trouble in the flesh. Single life is never commanded, but marriage is. The first miracle which is recorded of our Saviour, was done at a wedding. Marriage was in the world before sin, and is, in all ages of the world,