war. which shall be the first to abo- | themselves, it may be, to the lish the barbarous practice of power who will pay them the best; and though they have no immediate interest in the contest, are filled with all the hatred and fury of their employers. N.-Though there is something plausible in your statement, yet, after all, circumstances will arise which require a nation to go to war, or it must give up its independence, and submit to the will of an invading tyrant. P.-It may be so: but let the trial be fairly made; let every possible means be tried which a righteous, temperate, conciliating policy shall dictate, in order to prevent an appeal to arms. It must be allowed, that this has not heretofore been the case; nations, on the slightest provocation, have fled to the sword; yea, when a government has determined first to humble a rival power, or to extend its territory, a pretext has been sought for open hostilities: and any reason but the right one assigned for renewing the conflict, so that the words of St. James are strictly true; "Whence came wars and fightings among you? came they not of your lusts that are in your members ?" Supposing the very worst case: an unreasonable enemy wishes to wage war; if rulers were determined to avoid it, how much might be done by mildness and forbearance. "A soft answer turneth away wrath," whereas, a rough, proud, insolent defiance, tends to increase and confirm it. It is so in individual cases, and why not in the affairs of nations? Indeed when it is considered,that the decisions of nations are nothing but the wills of a few individuals, or the will of even one person, the argument is conclu sive. But where are the instances in which every effort is made to avoid going to war? The principals generally rush into it with eagerness, and the auxiliaries hire But supposing that disputes should arise between neighbouring nations respecting territory, or other matters, which they cannot settle by mutual explanation, is it not possible to establish a court in Europe to which all ultimate appeals should be made, and whose decisions should be final? Let this court be composed of representatives from the different nations of Europe; let them be men of established reputation for wisdom, integrity, and a pacific disposition; and let the governments whom they represent solemnly engage to abide by their decision, even though in some instances it may have the appearance of partiality. I see no reason why a court of this kind should not be superior to party considerations; and, like the Areopagus of the Greeks, be renowned to the ends of the world. At all events, should the judgment of this court not give full satisfaction to all parties, the aggrieved will do well to abide by it, rather than plunge their country into all the losses, miseries, and hazards of war. will require much wisdom to form such a court; but, if it be once thought desirable, means will be found to effect it. It N.-It is too much to expect, that nations who have the power to maintain their rights, should submit to the judgment of this court, when, perhaps, it may rob them of some very valuable portions of their territory, without making them any compensation. Why should a nation suffer itself to be thus wronged? (To be continued.), Juvenile Department. THOUGHTS ON THE DEATH tions of our nature, where alone is OF THE BELOVED PRINCESS CHARLOTTE. Addressed to our Youthful Readers. Nor youth, nor age, nor rank, nor virtue's charms, WE omit the usual Essay, to call the attention of our young friends to the melancholy death of this amiable Princess, which happened on the 6th of November last, for to them it seems peculiarly adapted to convey instruction. found a faithful record of our origin and fall, of our present condition and future destiny. Pleasure is the pursuit which the youthful traveller proposes to himself; and although he occasionally meets with one and another whose dejection proclaims their disappointment, and witnesses the premature exit of others who perished in the pursuit, he is not to be deterred, for seldom will he learn in any other than the dear school of experience. Solomon, the wisest of men, informs us of his want of success, although his powerful station placed every sensual gratification within his reach; many of which he was, for a time, lamentably disposed to try; and vanity is the caution he has fixed at the avenue of every earthly pursuit for the benefit of the future enquirer.* But if you have not yet gained wisdom from observation and experience, Few circumstances so strikingly and if the admonitions of Solomon show the real nature of this transitory are too ancient for your taste, O! state.-It is of the greatest conse- reflect on the unexpected occurquence that we entertain just views rence that now invites and comof the present life: yet how seldom mands your regard, and say, Is not is this the case in youth! We com- man, at his best estate, altogether mence this state of existence igno- vanity? The exalted Princess, whose rant of its nature, and though we are loss we deplore, regarded the royal soon compelled to learn that pain caution above mentioned, and proand disappointment attend it, yet posed to herself happiness in the so playful is the youthful disposition, opposite course. You may, while that pain no sooner subsides, than she lived, have piticd the dulness it is forgotten in the novelty of the of her life; but even the profligate succeeding scene; and even present cannot now wish it had been othersorrows are lightened by bright ex- wise. She correctly considered this pectations, as soon as the mind can life as a preparation for the next; indulge prospects of the future. The and, doubtless, rejoiced that deeager grasp, and "fond attentive praved man was allowed an earth in gaze of young astonishment," at which to prepare for heaven. In present alluring objects, with extra- the inspired volume she doubtless vagant calculations on joys to come, found, that divine mercy was reshow they have much to learn of the vealed and proposed to every renature of human life. Their reluc- penting sinner, and therefore emtance to be undeceived, as mani-ployed the means of grace to profested in impatience of control, disregard of advice, inattention to instruction, and spurning of reproof, remind us of scriptural representa To the attentive reading of the Book of Ecclesiastes we anxiously invite the youthful reader. mote contrition of heart and holiness of life. Few instances so proclaim the seriousness and certainty of death. Young well observes: dread, All men think all men mortal but themselves : Themselves, when some alarming shock of fate Strikes through their wounded hearts the sudden But their hearts wounded, like the wounded air, Soon close, where, past the shaft, no trace is found, As from the wing no scar the sky retains. Yet among rich or poor, wise or ignorant, good or bad, the whole history of the world furnishes but two examples of reprieve from its sentence; examples as unwelcome to the unrenewed mind as death itself: for it is not merely death that is serious, but its consequences. Wing your imagination to the scenes of immortal bliss, and ask, Could the irreligious heart endure to be caught up, as Enoch or Elijah, to the perfect holiness of heaven? The blaze of the divine glory would confound it, the eye of every holy inhabitant would penetrate it, the sound of the hallelujahs would overwhelm it; as soon might you change the element of your nature, and soar with the winged tenants of the air, or dwell in the bosom of the ocean, for even now, in this state of imperfection, the irreligious heart cannot endure an hour's pious conversation. These, indeed, are examples confessedly not expected to occur. But sudden deaths are awfully common; and to be absent from the body is to be present in heaven or in hell. It may be, it must be, that we have already had a thousand admonitions, yet how distant do we suppose the day of our departure! Every pain we feel is a warning. Monitors are thick in every department of creation, and we ourselves increase them. We deal in death in order to live; and not only are we supported, but too early and too often amused with animal destruction. Many an expiring insect was the sport, and might have been the teacher, of our early days; and many a tortured animal with anguish might well instruct increasing years. The beauty of the lily fades before us, and the fragrant rose withers in our bosom. We wisely seek the retirement of the grove, and as we read, the falling leaf rests on the page we open; the very season of the year, and an endless variety of circumstances, which memory cannot fail to supply, admonish of the uncertainty of life, but the certainty of decay and death ; but admonitions so frequent and so faint seldom awaken a reflection. But how few are the domestic circles in which even the youth has not been called to witness the interruption of death! and, perhaps, a lovely sister, an affectionate brother, or a tender parent, has already been torn away. Ordinary deaths, however, though solemn, are soon forgotten, and accruing advantages soon reconciles, and sometimes gladdens, a depraved heart. But the warning is now public, and cannot be overlooked-rare, and cannot be familiar-eventful, and cannot be forgotten-sudden, and must be felt. Few dispensations of divine Providence call for more deep humility.The blasted hopes of private life often sink deep into the heart, but national troubles are more affecting, they involve so many interests. Individual prosperity is often forgotten in national trouble, and even the beggar rejoices in national success. Long continuance had familiarized the affliction of our venerable Sovereign, and a tide of naval and military glory, and late commercial prosperity, had tempted us to overlook it. A Princess, young, beautiful, well informed, virtuous, and of independent spirit, had raised our expectations of a future, long and prosperous, reign, more glorious than the days of Elizabeth, a happy matrimonial alliance, and the prospect of an heir, nurtured by such a mother, to perpetuate the House of Brunswick and the Protestant succession, extended our hopes to our children's children; when at the very moment of expectation, when public rejoicings were waiting to begin, when even those who had not left the seats of education, in the first dawn of loyalty, were asking for an interval from study to join in the celebrations, on a sudden "the joy of our heart is ceased, our dance is turned into mourning." This visitation in its connection is "Godliness is profitable for all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.' "Wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." You may have regretted that you had not some of her opportunities for treading the round of pleasure. That you have not, may be a merciful arrangement in your favour. But, is your judg ment so perverted, and your conscience so defiled, as to prefer a fashionable existence to her exem singular in our history, though, we trust, not the most serious in its consequences. It must have been deeply afflictive, in those days of valour, when the Black Prince so untimely died. Much more so, when the lovely young Edward terminated his reign of contemplated usefulness. Direful consequences followed the loss of the son of James I, Henry Prince of Wales, and of Queen Anne's last son, the Duke of Gloucester: but, in this case, we lose at once the parent and the child. It is a public stroke. It addresses it-plary life? Contrast the mischievself to every heart, and it becomes the youth to enquire, whether he has not contributed to national guilt, and consequent national calamity. Few, it is to be feared, are altogether innocent of prevailing youthful sins. Self importance, and disrespect of seniority, contempt of parental authority, pedantic display of premature acquirements, shameful boast of infidel principles, and consequent profligacy, and contempt of divine institutions: display, ra-mestic pleasure; the superior gratither than duty, the aim of the female world, for which, alas! too many of our seminaries prepare them, O how appropriate the prayer of David, "Remember not the sins of my youth!" ous system of romantic reading, with her ardent attachment to the scriptures of truth; the awful prostitution of the sabbath, with her reverence of its sacred hours; the customary contempt of the means of grace, with her diligent improvement of them; the habitual attendance at the resorts of fashion, with her regular visits to the parish church; the burden of the scenes of home, with her enjoyment of do all, contrast the sweet tranquillity of her dying scene, with the dread and horror of many a modern departure; her probable indescribable bliss, with the increasing misery of thousands of the departed, and say, is not personal religion important? for, "without holiness, no one shall see the Lord." fications of the company of the pretended friend, with her unabated conjugal affection; her seriousness of mind and resignation to the will of God, with modern mental dissi pation and petulance at every unBut happily few cases so remark-welcome occurrence; and, last of ably recommend the importance of personal religion. If life is so precarious, and death so certain, let us encourage the feelings of the moment, look into our own hearts, and endeavour to ascertain our fitness for eternity. You blame the man, who, before he leaves his country, does not prepare for the different clime he is about to visit: but how inexpressibly more thoughtless, wild, and mad is the conduct of him who postpones the considerations of heaven or hell till a dying hour, when, if he were willing, he knows not if he shall be able to entertain them. What will prepare us for the serious change, is a question this illustrious female delighted to entertain. Her short life affords an admirable exemplification of these solid maxims, It is hardly possible you can have again such a warning. The year upon which you have just entered, may be your last on earth. O read the scriptures. Hear the gospel. Listen to advice. Pray for mercy through the merits of Jesus Christ, that those who surround your dying pillow, and watch the last breath, may say, "Mark the perfect, and behold the upright, their end is peace." 22 Obituary. MRS. ELIZ. PETTIPHER. DIED, May 6, 1817, Mrs. Elizabeth Pettipher, wife of Mr. Michael Pettipher, of Sibford, Oxfordshire. A typhus fever terminated the mortal existence of this valuable woman -a woman whose usefulness, endearing manners, and devotedness to the cause of the Redeemer, rendered her highly respected in the circle of her acquaintance, many of whom dropped the tear of genuine sorrow over her grave, and all of whom will cherish her memory with sincere and lasting affection. Her zeal for the prosperity of religion, and for the promotion of the dear Redeemer's glory, was glowing and steady. Her attendance on the means of grace was exemplary: affliction was with her the only excuse for non-attendance. The nature of her affliction prevented her from saying much; as, after a few days, delirium came on. However, as long as she could converse, that great subject religion was her almost unceasing theme: Jesus Christ, and him crucified, was her all in all. It was truly solemn and impressive to hear with what affection and pious earnestness this good woman pressed attention to the word of God and to the cause of religion on the persons of her relatives." It is," said she, "the one thing needful; therefore attend to it not as though it were a thing of secondary importance, but as to an affair of the first concern." This she herself did, as those can testify who knew her. She was much impressed with a sense of the goodness of God to her in providence and grace. Not unfrequently has she been heard to say, she wanted words to praise the Lord for his rich and manifold goodness. Indeed, pious gratitude, deep humility, unshaken firmness, and active kindness, were evident characteristics in her habitual deportment. She died in the 37th year of her age, leaving a bereaved husband and four children, the youngest only a few weeks old. From her example while living, as well as from her sudden and comparatively unexpected removal from time to eternity, may surviving relatives and acquaintance be stirred up, to give all diligence in following after the things which belong to their present and everlasting welfare. Whatsoever their hands find to do, may they do it while it is day; for the night of death cometh when no man can work.-Reader, remember “ now is the accepted time-now is the day of salvation." T. C. MR. R. MILLHOUSE, ON Thursday evening, Oct. 23, 1817, died, in the 61st year of his age, Mr. Richard Millhouse, of Kirton End, near Boston, in the county of Lincoln. He was born in 1756 little distance east from the great at Pickworth, near Folkingham, a trious parents. He was called to north road, of honest and industhe knowledge of the gospel when he was about 27 or 28 years of age, about which time. Providence haying placed him partly under an Aristic ministry, between the two docminian and partly under a Calvin trines his mind was much tossed, harrassed, and unsettled, and about thirty-three years ago he was baptist church at Boston. The Caltized, and joined the General Bapmade so strong an impression on vinistic doctrine, however, had attended it; and, at length, conhis mind, that he still occasionally, vinced of its consistency, in about two years he withdrew, and was received into the Particular Baptist society, of which he has continued He was an exemplary pattern of an honourable and useful member. genuine piety in the church, in his |