The present sight by faith cases the poor pilgrim of his heavy burden; he enters into rest; the delightful view dissipates his distressing doubts and fears as to his soul's salvation; and in the place thereof, fills him with joy and peace. How can he but rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, while he beholds the Father's grace beaming in the Saviour's face! while he sees the perfect agreement of every divine attribute in his salvation! In this view, what are the glories of the world! they vanish as though we saw them not. It is here we see that our sufferings are not worth a thought: here we find the strongest motives to gratitude, love, and obedience. In looking to Jesus we shall become like him more and more, till we be changed into the same image. Blessed effects of seeing Jesus! Who can but wish that all the world beheld his glory! In that case what a happy world it would be!

--

But while we have to rejoice that a few live by faith on the Son of God, we have sadly to lament that the generality reject the Lord of glory, — and that upon the same principle that the Jews crucified him. Let the reader as well as the writer be aware that this be not his condition.

Scarborough.

S. B.

Sir,

RURAL OBJECTS IMPROVED.

To the Editor.

You were indulgently kind in permitting an account of my domestic pleasures to appear in print. When my children have worked diligently, I generally reward them by letting them read the Evangelical Magazine aloud; and you cannot imagine how surprized and pleased they were, when they found their poor father's name at the bottom of a letter, nor how much more importance they now attach to those days of recreation, which owe all their felicity to the arrangement made for enquiry out of that blessed storehouse, the Bible.

Dear Sir, how little they know of real felicity, who suppose it consists in riches and vain competition! I verily think I know the best receipt for real happiness: my Bible and my family yield all the joys I want or wish; instructed and guided by the first, and softened and careful for the latter, my pleasing and my painful feelings lead me to dependence and prayer, or gratitude and praise and, inconsiderable as I feel in the scale of humanity, I possess the consolations of that religion, which only gives importance to hope, and immortality to existence. I wish, Sir, I had the gift of writing, and could describe what a man feels who believes the promises of God, and pursues all his labours and pleasures with them in view; my heart glows with gratitude when I reflect upon the sweet influence of a divine life, even in

RURAL OBJECTS IMPROVED.

How it softens every hardship, and adds the bumblest station. sweetness to every mercy! Alas! the wicked do not distinguish mercies, because they do not know the grandeur and the goodness of the Being who bestows them. One of my excursions, Sir, upon the plan I have already mentioned, was by water; my children read in Isaiah of" peace flowing like a river, and righteous ness like the waves of the sea;" and to indulge them and endear the word of God to their young minds, I hired a boat and pur sued our short voyage down the Thames, that they might, by a slight knowledge of the metaphor, understand the preciousness of the promise; but you do not know how much contrivance it cost us to be able to leave our shop so long; nor can I readily convey the value of those pleasures which are purchased by pri vation, and gained by rigid frugality. We rose very early, and were out of the hurry and bustle of the river before the sun was risen. Dear Sir, as the glory of that matchless light appeared and streaked the east, what splendor overspread the face of Heaven, and sketched the glorious colours upon the surface of the water! how the shores rose from misty obscurity, and nature waked into beauty and variety! We live in a very close and narrow street; and I had never seen the peculiar glories of such a scene: I ordered all my children to look towards the east, and, in my poor humble way, took my Bible, and explained the darkness of the soul by nature, and how the "Sun of Righteousness arises with healing under his wings," and dispels the night of sin from the human soul, and brings light and immortality into the mind, by the gospel. The thought was none of my own; for many years ago, I heard our dear minister upon those very words: but the metaphor was a comment upon the text, which warmed our hearts and melted us into tears.

After breakfast, my eldest boy read the 107th Psalm; and each of them repeated the portion of Scripture they were to bear in their minds that day, and which were previously marked in their Bibles. It would be trespassing too much to notice the selection; but most of all, my oldest girl pleased me, who, as we were near landing, saw a lovely tree, green and verdant; and clasping Yes, my dearest my hand and looking in my face, with irresistible sweetness she said, "The trees of the Lord are full of sap. child, said I, and those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of the house of our God.-We landed about noon at a sweet village, I think they called it Purfleet, on the Essex side the Thames, and saw a very neat chapel, on a pretty hill, lately erected; and as I had never joined in divine worship out of London, I gladly entered the open door: the minister had almost done his sermon, preached to a poor congre gation, on occasion of an annual club.-Dear Sir, how it rejoiced my heart to hear of the love of God in Christ Jesus, at this distance from home. When the minister ended his last prayer, my heart seemed drawn out in brotherly love to these dear people;

and I could not help conversing with some of them at the door, and praising God that he was still fulfilling his gracious designs of mercy, in sending preachers into the villages. Yes, said an old man to whom I spoke, "The mercy of the Lord is over all his works: 'tis he sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run amongst the hills." I should willingly have remained a few hours amongst these good people, but the design of my day's recreation being answered, we hired a farmer's cart and proceeded gently towards town. Before we had passed the sweet lanes and fields, the moon rose in cloudless majesty. My eldest girl repeated that sweet psalm of David's, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handy-work;" and I did my best to remember and repeat all the sweet allusions which our minister had made concerning the sun and moou: - how the moon gets her borrowed light from the sun, and so shews us the nature of the true church, which receives all her light from Jesus Christ · the Sun of Righteousness.

Dear Sir, I shall now take my leave, not meaning again to intrude upon you the detail of my peculiar pleasures; but let me say how I rejoice in the enlargement my mind feels upon a review of what I have seen! how I love my Saviour with new and mingled wonder, when I recall him to my remembrance lying in the stern of an obscure and probably inconvenient fishing vessel, and rising with all the dignity of God to command the winds and waves! How I see him, as it were, upon the hills breaking the five barley-loaves and the two small fishes amongst the multitude! even so methinks, he is still dividing his word amongst the hun gry, and satisfying the needy soul. Oh that men would, therefore, praise the Lord for his goodness, and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of men."-Surely, we Christians are too apt to be gloomy and melancholy; and that brings an evil report upon our profession. For my part, God has given me a cheerful heart; which, as Solomon observes, is a continual feast; and I see so much to admire in the provisions of his grace; and when I clasp my Bible to my breast, I feel such a repository of choice promises garnishing all the works of creation, that I am constrained to remember the apostle's admonition," Rejoice evermore." Sir, my mind fills with pleasing images when I think of" Wells of salvation," "Righteousness flowing like a stream," That his are the cattle upon a thousand hills," and such like; and then when my children lisp such divine things, and seem to look into the fields with any traces of spiritual enjoyment, and relish, then I catch some faint resemblance of holy David's fervour, when he cried, "Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all; yea, out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength,"

I am, Sir,

Your constant reader and affectionate servant,
THOMAS LOVEGOOD.

SCHOOLS FOR POOR CHILDREN.

Extract from Mr. LANCASTER's Plan for educating 10,000 Poor Children in Country Towns and Villages.

Ir is calculated that 20001. per annum * will educate 10,000 poor children: if to this be added the reasonable expectation that he shall be able to teach youth to earn their own living, he desires no personal remuneration for this service. It is indeed an arduous work; but it is a work in which he delights: the happy effect of his endeavour to rescue a number of youth from misery and vice, stimulates him to hope and exert himself in future. Boys, who owe all the knowledge they have obtained to the school first established in Southwark, who have left it several years, and conducted themselves highly to their own credit, have now arrived nearly to manhood, and are engaged as the first instruments of training youth to employments, or of setting up schools for boys; and some females, who have also been educated by the same means, are likely to establish schools for girls. This is like planting an oak, and raising others from its acorns.

The situation chosen for the first essay in the country, is Maiden Bradley, near Froome, Somersetshire: a village belonging, as well as the lands contiguous, to the Duke of Somerset, who feels greatly for the wretchedness of its poor inhabitants. Some waste Hand is now let to Mr. L. en very moderate terms, and will be speedily brought into cultivation by lads. It is designed for the purpose of sowing grain, in order to reap the straw, in case the land, poor as it is, should not afford a crop of any thing better. It will want little or no ploughing, and no manure. There are no day-schools of any kind near the place. The bulk of the inhabitants are very poor, and extremely ignorant, and few have constant employment. The allowance from the parish in no case is more than two shillings per week for each person: if they can earn two shillings, they have no allowance. Few can read their Bible; few have any Bible to read; and too many are devoid of reverential awe for Him who has said "Thou shalt not steal." The parishworkhouse is a thatched building; the floors are torn up; the windows broken: one room has no chimney but the window. Almost every person in the parish, except the farmers and one or two tradesmen, are on the poor books. The poor in it have neither guide, overseer, nor ruler; and when they have no work to do, they sleep by day and steal by night! The children look like a little swarm of bees. This wretchedness produces another bad effect: :- a great part of the women are unchaste. - There is a silk-house, in which some of the girls are employed; they work

all day, and many of them walk the streets in the evening. could be wished, for the honour of our county, that no such facts were in existence: if any good is done, the contrast will be of the most striking kind, and thus show to the nation what good educa tion, united with industry, is capable of producing.

A number of lads are now actually employed in hand-culture. They are classed according to their strength, a monitor being appointed to each class. When they go to work they uniformly take their spades, &c. and make the movements at the word of command, which secures co-operation in all they do. The land is stony; and half the stones they dig out are to be their own. The success experienced has been greatly increased by the use of the Portuguese hoe, which being short as well as light, the hoe, by its own weight and conical form, cuts deep without much exertion. The breaking up of waste land is connected with the growth of ryc-straw, and the consequent employment of young females in platting it: thus our own consumption will be supplied by our own manufacture, without importing from Leghorn Endeavours have been of 50,000l. per annum. expence used to introduce shoe-making, basket-making, tailoring, &c. into schools of industry, by way of experiment.

at the

Mr. Lancaster laments that there should be in this highly favoured nation above 400,000 poor children who have never learnt to read their Bibles! He approves the use of Sunday. Schools, but wishes something done much more extensive and

effectual.

CONJECTURE ON 2 TIMOTHY IV. 13.

Mr. Editor,

Every attempt to illustrate the meaning of the Sacred Scriptures, when modestly offered, deserves the attention of those who wish to be accurately acquainted with the word of God. Having met with an ingenious illustration of a passage, which has sometimes been cavilled at by those who were disposed to treat the subject of the divine inspiration of Scripture with disrespect, I send you an abridgment of it. Some of your readers may have met with it in that celebrated Work, the "Pursuits of Literature;" to others it may be new.

J. J.

THERE IS no particular conjecture as to the peculiar meaning or force of the following passage of St. Paul in the S cond Epistle to Timothy, iv. 13, "The cloak that I left at Trees bring with thee, and the books; but especially the parchments.” -I would hint, that this epistle was written from Rome, when Paul was brought before Nero the second time. In the 221