to the wicked an eternity of misery. Those are not Christians who do not believe in the promises made by Jesus Christ.

Let it be the rule of thy life to make up thy accounts every night. Consider, my daughter, what thou hast said and done; nor let thy thoughts go unchastised. Thus wilt thou be able to state thy reckoning fairly; and "if thy sins die before thee, thou wilt have nothing to do, when death comes, but to die."

When Mr Abraham inquired of the minister how he should proceed to make his peace with God, he gave this advice: “ Read the New Testament, there you will find the words of eternal life. This book hath God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter." Thrice happy are those who read that book with care, and learn that divine charity which covereth the multitude of human infirmities.

We hear of each others' bodily complaints, 'till we grow sick of the subject; but when did'st thou hear any one talk properly of the joys he hoped for after death? How might we animate each other in this glorious pursuit, if our practice kept pace with our Christian profession!

Endeavour, Mary, to conquer the world, and the vanities thereof, or these will conquer thee: It is necessary to contend for victory, in humble confidence, that, when thou hast done thy endeavour, though thine own merit cannot save thee, yet wilt thou be accepted. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."

Remember the counsel and admonition of our great Lord and Master, when he bid his disciples, and consequently all his followers through all generations, to be of good cheer, for that he had overcome the world. And we have the express promise of Christ, (if we are really his disciples), that where he is, there we shall be also.

The Progress of Genius

FROM OBSCURE AND LOW SITUATIONS, TO EMINENCE AND CELEBRITY.

"Genius is that gift of God which learning cannot confer, which no disadvantages of birth or education can wholly obscure."

C

CLAUDE OF LORRAINE,

THE famous landscape painter, was the son of poor par ents, and served an apprenticeship to a pastry-cook. Having gone to Rome in quest of employment in the way of his profession, and being unsuccessful, he was under the necessity of hiring himself to AUGUSTINO TRAPO, as a kind of servant of all work, or, in other words, to pound his colours, clean his pallet and pencils, dress his meat, and do all his household drudgery.

But in this humble station, his genius was taught to rise, for here he first learned the rudiments of perspective, and gradually acquired the elements of design, which at length he understood so far, as to be able to copy from nature, in the diligent imitation of which excellent mistress he climbed to such a degree of perfection, as to have immortalized his name, by the many admirable specimens of his art he has left behind him.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS,

Famous in history for being the discoverer of America, is said to have been bred to his father's business, which was that of a weaver, which he afterwards quitted and went to

sea.

This appears to have been his element; for here he rose from the low occupation of a common sailor to the command of a squadron, and afterwards signalized himself, not only in the discovery of the New World, but in the many opportunities he had of ovincing, on the most trying occasions, that extraordinary sagacity and prudence, by which he was so well fitted for the most hazardous enterprises.

Benevolent Institutions.

WE have now the pleasure to record two of these, which

have taken their rise in the town of HADDINGTON since the commencement of our labours.

THE FEMALE PENNY SOCIETY

For the Relief of the Poor,

was instituted, at a meeting of ladies, on the 16th February last; when taking into consideration the evils arising from a want of personal knowledge of the real situation of the poor, the occasions which it affords to indiscriminate liberality on the one hand, and to the neglect of the proper objects of charity on the other, it was unanimously resolved, to form themselves into a Society, under the above appellation, the object of which should be “to relieve occasional distress, and to promote the influence of Christian principle in those who partake of its bounty:"-thus promoting at once the tem-poral and eternal interests of their fellow-creatures.

THE

HADDINGTON SOCIETY

FOR GRANTING ANNUITIES TO WIDOWS,

was instituted 15th March 1813; the Regulations of which are now in a state of circulation, and from the advantages they hold out, together with the accommodation they offer to so many classes of the community, it is hoped the benevolent intentions of the founders will meet with every encour agement, and that many will he found disposed to put in practice an act, which the Apostle denominates, " pure religion and undefiled before God," the visiting, in this manner, the widows and fatherless in their affliction.

* James i.-27.

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ECONOMICAL RECEIPTS.

ONE

To prevent Shoes and Boots from taking in Water.

NE pint of drying oil, two ounces of yellow wax, two ounces of turpentine, and half an ounce of Burgundy pitch, melted carefully over a slow fire. If new boots or shoes are rubbed with this mixture, either in the sun shine, or at some distance from the fire, with a sponge or soft brush, and the operation is repeated as often as they become dry, till the leather is fully saturated, they will be impervious to wet, and will wear much longer.

Note. Shoes or boots prepared as above ought not to be worn till perfectly dry and elastic. otherwise their durability would rather be prevented than increased.

How to make Great Coats, &c. water-proof.

Great Coats, and other articles much exposed to the weather, are rendered both sun and rain proof, by the following excellent varnish : Boil well together two pounds of turpentine, one pound of litharge in powder, and two or three pounds of linseed oil. When the article is brushed over with this varnish, it must be dried in the sun; after which, the greatest heat will not affect it.

USEFUL INFORMATION.

Fire Escapes.

MACHINE FOR PRESERVING FROM FIRE, WHICH IS MORE FULLY DESCRIBED IN THE ENCYCLOPÆDIA PERTHENSIS AND DR. GREGORY'S CYCLOPÆDIA.

THIS machine consists of a pole, a rope, and a basket. The pole is of fir, or a common scaffold pole, of any convenient length from 36 to 46 feet; the diameter at bottom, or greatest end about 5 inches; and at the top, or smallest end, about 3 inches. At 3 feet from the top is a mortise through the pole, and a pulley fixed to it of nearly the same diameter with the pole in that part. The rope is about three quarters of an inch diameter, and twice the length of the pole, with a spring hook at one end, to pass through the ring in the handle of the basket when used; It is put through the mortise over

the

the pulley, and then drawn tight on each side to near the bot→ tom of the pole, and made fast there till wanted. The basket should be of strong wicker-work, 34 feet long, 2 wide, rounded off at the corners, and 4 feet deep, rounding every way at the bottom. To the top of the basket is fixed a strong iron curve or handle, with an eye or ring in the middle; and to one side of the basket, near the top, is fixed a small cord, or guide rope, about the length of the pole. When the pole is raised, and set against a house over the window from which any persons are to escape, the manner of using it is so plain and obvious, that it needs not be described. The most convenient distance from the house for the foot of the pole to stand, where practicable, is about 12 or 14 feet. If two strong iron straps, about 3 feet long, rivetted to a bar cross, and spreading about 14 inches at the foot, were fixed to the bottom of the pole, this would prevent its turning round or slipping on the pavement. And it' a strong iron hoop or ferrule, rivetted, or welded, to a semicircular piece of iron spreading about 12 inches, and pointed at the ends, were fixed on at the top of the pole, it would prevent its sliding against the wall. Sick and infirm persons, women, children, and many others, who cannot make use of a ladder, may be safely and easily brought down from the windows of a house on fire by this machine, and by putting a short pole through the handles of the basket may be removed to any distance without being taken out of the basket.

SIMPLE CONTRIVANCE FOR PRESERVING PER SONS AND EFFECTS FROM FIRE.

COMMUNICATED BY AN EYE-WITNESS, WHO SAW IT USED WITH COMPLETE SUCCESS, IN A NEIGHBOURING COUNTRY, TO THE EDITOR OF THE EUROPEAN MAGAZINE.

a

HIS was nothing more than a strong canvas cylinder, of TH length sufficient (after being attached to any window of a house) to be extended to the earth, in an oblique direction. The upper orifice, or mouth, was expanded by a hoop; a thick soft rope was fixed so as to pass through the centre: this, by being held in the hands, effectually regulates the velocity of persons descending, which they do without the least danger or difficulty (indeed, in the instance to which I alludé, the rope was, after the first trial, dispensed with): the mouth of the cylinder may be fixed to the upper part of the sashframe by a hook, or other means, that would require but a