The subject is in relation to Prayer. When we set ourselves about the performance of this duty, what are the just and intelligent views which we should entertain of the Dei

ty? Are we to address God merely as intelligence, or a thinking spirit, filling all space, so that we may view him as if he were confined to the

particular room where we are engaged in the service, or should we extend our spiritual vision to Him, as seated upon a throne, of whatever nature,— whatever materials and extent; at a very great, or even infinite elevation above the clouds? Must we think of Christ only as God? are our minds to be divided between two separate persons when we think of God the Father

and of Jesus the Saviour? Sometimes men are directed to look to Calvary, -to the cross of Christ; but as he is not upon Mount Calvary near Jerusalem now, but exalted to a throne in heaven, must we look to the former place and imagine him extended on the cross, and address him, expecting him to look upon us and smile forgiveness; or, is it more rational and scriptural that our views should invariably tend upward, to an exceeding great distance, and fix our eye on him, or imagine that we see him as our mediator at the right hand of God. This last expression, though very common, perplexes me exceedingly; it appearing as if we should address our petitions to the Father, mainly, as occupying the cen

tre of this throne, and occasionally, or as often as we allude to the propitiation which has been made, or plead the merits of Christ, turn aside to view another object on the right of this. Must we regard the Saviour only in our prayers, and merge the Godhead in him? think of him as all spirit, and intelligence, or having a body,- spiritual, yet somewhat similar to our own? how, then, can we avoid limiting the sphere of his existence? at the same time, does it not serve to help us in our feeble efforts to fix and maintain fervency, earnestness,and sincerity in prayer, by bounding (for the time at least) or ascribing in some sense, locality,- form &c. much the same as in our intercourse with one another upon the earth?

These inquiries are respectfully proposed for your consideration (if they are worthy of it) by an humble and sincere lover and seeker after truth. I shall look for replies early, and with the greatest eagerness. Respectfully yours,

Augusta, Feb. 10.

DALETH.

REMARKS BY THE EDITORS.

At the time of receiving the foregoing letter, one of the editors had recently been writing on the subject brought to view in it, for a work since published, "The CornerStone." The views of the editors on the point in question, are expressed in the first chapter of that work. We have delayed the publication of the letter that we might refer to it. We should be glad, however, to hear from any of our correspondents on the subject; the difficulty is one which is experienced, undoubtedly, by very many Christians; and any correspondent interested in the subject cannot render a more acceptable service to our readers, than by doing something to lighten or to remove it.

This interesting Allegory, first published in a preceding number of the Magazine, has been issued in a neat form, as a tract, by Wm. Peirce, 9 Cornhill. It has already attracted considerable interest, and is calculated to be highly useful for general circulation. The price is $1 per doz. THE ART OF RAPID WRITING. FOSTER'S ESSAY ON PENMANSHIP; being the Essay to which the prize was awarded, by the American Institute of instruction. A clergyman who has two sermons to write, must feel a deep interest in any plan which promises to accelerate the mechanical labor of writing. In fact, the subject is of the highest importance to every man, whatever may be his profession, who has much to do with

the pen.

Foster's Essay is based on the system of Carstairs, which is founded on the idea that the muscles of the arm

are susceptible of much more rapid motion than the mucles of the fingers; and that, therefore, it is better to write with the arm: i. e. moving the whole arm in the operation, and not with the fingers, as is the usual mode. A vast majority of writers rest the weight of the hand upon the little finger, in writing, and in forming the letters, they can, accordingly, only work with the fingers and thumb. After making a few letters in this way, they slip the little finger along upon the paper, to get a new point of support, from which they can shape with a stiff cramped motion of the first and second joints of the finger and thumb, as many letters as will cover the portion of the paper which is within reach. Now, the main virtue of the plan which Carstairs adopts, is to liberate the hand and arm, making the little finger no long

the letters, not by means merely of two or three inches of forefinger and thumb, but by the free motion of the wrist, and fore arm, and even shoulder. A series of exercises is devised, by which the muscles of the arin are brought into action: and we can assure our reader, that by a little attention to the subject, in this point of view, they can add at least one third to the rapidity with which they can write, if they have heretofore been accustomed to write with the fingers only. The soundness of the principle on which the whole plan is based, i. e. the superior flexibility of the muscles of the arm over those of the fingers, may be be seen at once, by vastly greater rapidity with which a man may shake the end of his finger by moving his whole hand, than when he moves only the finger itself.

Information in regard to details, may be found in the Essay alluded to above, or what is better, in "Foster's Development of the Carstarian

System."

CHRIST'S SERMON ON THE MOUNT. In Chinese. Stereoptyped and printed in Boston; May 1834.

A real Chinese printing office is a very portable establishment. In fact the whole apparatus, corresponding with what, in Europe or America, would, in the shape of type and stereotype foundries, printing-offices, pressrooms, and binderies, occupy perhaps two or three four-story brick buildings, a Chinese printer would pack up, after he had printed his book, and carry off under his arm to the next village. It consists of, 1, a thin block sawn off of the end of a piece of suitable timber, half an inch thick, on the opposite sides of which he cuts his page, in the manner in which our wood cuts are executed; 2, his tools for cutting, a few simple gouges and chisels;

3, his bundle of thin silk paper, such as comes to us in tea chests; 4, his brushes with one of which he applies his ink to his blocks, and with the other rubs the paper on to take the impression. When he prepares his blocks, he lays down his "copy as printers call it, i. e. the author's manuscript, and transfers it, as ladies do the pictures on their scrap boxes, and then cuts away all the superfluous wood. One block answers the purpose of a page

In English writing, there is a separate character for every letter, but in Chinese one for every word. In English printing, each letter is cast upon the end of its own slender piece of metal, called a type, and these are put together, and then distributed, again and again, so as to be used successively for a great variety of books. But if movable types were to be used for the Chinese language, since there is a separate character for every word, there must be a separate type for every one, which would require a great many thousand varieties, the case containing a single font would occupy a very large room, and the labor of composition, that is, arranging them for printing a particular book would be immense. The practice has been, therefore, almost universal in China, to make use of wooden blocks with the pages carved upon them as above described. Moveable types have, however, been cast, and used at missionary stations, to some extent, especially for grammars, dictionaries, &c. where the Chinese character was to be combined with English letter press.

The specimen of printing which has occasioned these remarks, is the result of a new experiment, made at the suggestion of Mr. Anderson, one of the Secretaries of the American Board. China has attracted for a

few years past the special attention of the Board, and it is remarkable that that country, though one of the most inaccessible to the living preacher, is one of the most accessible to the writer, of all the countries on the globe. Mr. Anderson's plan consists in casting stereotype plates from the wooden blocks above mentioned; the blocks are imported to this country, and the plates cast by our founders. Two objects are gained. First, the plates are vastly more durable than the blocks, and secondly, they can be worked in our presses. Chinese books can now be manufactured to any extent in England or America.

We propose to call the attention of our readers more fully to this subject in the next number; we will only add here that these tracts are manufactured at the expense of the American Tract Society, for distribution by the American Board, -the case furnishing a beautiful example of the good understanding and co-operation between the benevolent institutions of the day,the Tract Society employing the American Board to do its distributing in China, or, if you please, the Board employing the Society to manufacture its tracts. Some highly interesting information on this subject is found in the last report of the American Tract Society, just issued.

THE FIRST FOREIGN MISSION, or the Journey of Paul and Barnabas to Asia Minor. By WILLIAM A. ALCOTT. Boston: Mass. S. S. Society.

"The purpose," says Mr. Alcott in the Preface, "which the author of the following work hopes to accomplish, is the promotion, in some humble degree, of the great cause of evangelical religion among the rising generation of our country.

1. By rendering them more familiar with Sacred History, Geography and Biography.

2. By giving them (so far as it goes) a correct account of that eminent servant of God, the great Apostle of the Gentiles.

miscellaneous, many of them of a moral and religious character, clothing excellent and elevated sentiments in smooth and harmonious verse. Mr.

The poetry is much better than that of most works of similar pretensions; but it is poetry for youth rather than for childhood. The subjects, some of them at least, relate to childhood and infancy, but even in those cases, the thoughts and language are those of the age of fifteen or twenty. The moral and religious tendency is decided, and good.

SKETCHES OF THE PROPHETS AND PROPHECY; for the Young Hartford: D. F. Robinson & Co. Price 31 cts. The plan embraces sketches of the most celebrated prophets of the Old Testament, and an illustration of one or two of the most striking prophecies of each. Of course it contains much

interesting description and narrative, and is well calculated to throw light for the young, over an important and difficult portion of the Sacred Volume.

POEMS. By REV. S. G. BULFINCH; Charleston, Š. C. 18mo. pp. 103.

The author is the Pastor of the Unitarian church in Augusta, Georgia, and is very favorably known in Boston and vicinity. The poems are

plations of the Saviour," and of a work on Palestine, published as one volume of Mr. Ware's Sunday Library.

Since the above was in type, we have received from a correspondent, in whose judgment we have great confidence, the following notice of the above named work which we gladly subjoin to our own.

"It is rare that we have met with a collection of poems, whether great or small, which has given us more pleasure in its perusal, than the little volume now before us. We would not be understood as expressing our per fect approbation of every sentiment incidentally advanced by the author, though in this respect there seems to us to be very little which is exceptionable. It is with the poetical beauties that we have been delighted, and with the pure and generous and elevated feeling, which shines forth on every page of this small volume. In both these respects, we think it may challenge a comparison with any similar production, which has for a long time issued from the American or British press. The poems are all highly finished, and bear very pleas ing evidence of having been corrected and polished with that care and attention, which a just respect for his readers must ever be considered as demanding from those who labor in the various departments of elegant literature.

The pieces are partly devotional, and partly miscellaneous. Those of the former kind often remind us of Bishop Heber's Hymns; not because our author has imitated those hymns, but because devotional feeling is in both expressed in simple and elevated phraseology, with a remarkable freedom from those cant phrases, which are often appropriated to this class of poetical compositions."

Our correspondent marked an extract, which, however, our limits require us to omit.