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him ridicule the very thought of it; this only shows, in a startling manner, that Farmer Williams is now very far out of the right way, and that a great change indeed must take place in his heart and life, before he can have any hope whatever of entering the kingdom of God.

And you, too, Mrs. Williams, desire, you say, to give pleasure to your daughters; but remember that you are acting in the surest way to rob them of the favour of God, which is the only true pleasure. How much better would it be, if you taught them to fear and love God and our Saviour, and to take delight in his ways and service? If they follow on in the way in which you, by your example, are leading them, your children will die with worldly and carnal hearts; they will curse you at the judgment-day; and they will lose the fulness of joy which is in God's presence, and the pleasures which are at his right hand for evermore.

If this paper meet the eye of Farmer Williams, or his wife, let them take kindly and seriously the warning which it is intended to give them, and let every reader see how wicked, and foolish, and dangerous, is the very common habit of Sunday Visiting.

E. D.

EXTRACTS FROM DIFFERENT AUTHORS. THE GOODNESS OF GOD.-This is matter of comfort and encouragement to us, that, though the works which we are to do are difficult, and we have withdrawing hearts, and weak hands, and fainting spirits, and potent enemies, and strong temptations; and having conflicted with all these, we may haply lose our thanks with men, and possibly may be rewarded with hatred and ill-will; yet we work for a Master who remembers all, who keeps an account of but a cup of cold water which is given to Him in any of his poor servants. Oh, what a good Lord do we serve, who keeps a book for our sighs, a bottle for our tears, a register for but two mites cast into his treasury! who keeps a record of gleaning of barley, dipping in vinegar, of a cake of meal, of a table, a stool, and a candlestick; and esteemeth Himself a debtor for such poor things as men scarce value for ordinary cour

tesies! Who would not put forth all his strength in the service of such a Lord, who takes notice of the least that can be done; who rendered robes for rags, crowns for crumbs; who turns our water into wine, gives a weight of glory for light afflictions, and eternal wages for a little momentary service?-Bishop Reynolds.

A well-spent LIFE.-People talk about looking back on a well-spent life: I look up to Him who spent his life gloriously to redeem the life of my precious soul; and there alone I dare to look. I thank God who has kept me from the grosser sins of the world; but there is not a prayer more suitable to my dying lips than that of the publican, "God be merciful to me a sinner!"— Rowland Hill.

SALVATION A FREE GIFT.-The excuse which awakened sinners are accustomed to allege in their own defence, is, that they wish to love God, and to have new hearts, but cannot. They do indeed wish to be saved, but they are not willing to be saved in God's way; that is, they are not willing to accept salvation as a free gift. They would do anything to bring it, but will not take it without money and without price. Suppose that you were very sick, and were told by the physician that there was but one medicine in the world which could save your life, and this was exceedingly precious. You were also told, that there was but one person in the world who had any of this in his possession; and that although he was willing to give it to those who asked, he would, on no account, sell any. Suppose this person to be one whom you had treated with great neglect and contempt, injured in every possible way. How exceedingly unwilling would you be to send to him for the medicine, as a gift! you would rather purchase it at the expense of your whole fortune. You would defer sending as long as possible, and when you found that you were daily growing worse, and nothing else could save you, you would be obliged, however reluctantly, to send and ask for some. Just so unwilling are sinners to apply to God for salvation, as a free gift; and they will not do it, until they find themselves perishing, and that there is no other hope for them.-Payson.

THE BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE.-Suppose there was a book, in which the whole of your life was recorded, each page of which contained the events of a day. At the beginning was written, "This is the life of a rational, immortal, accountable creature, placed in this world to prepare for eternity." Then commences a long catalogue of sins; every page is successively covered with blots. Besides all these, there are the sins of omission, or duties neglected, which swell to a still greater amount. There are more than fifty commands binding upon you every moment; such as, to repent, to believe, to love Christ, to watch, pray, &c., none of which you perform. Thus you commit, to say the least, fifty sins in a moment. Add to these, the first-mentioned class of transgressions, and, oh, what an amount of guilt does the record of each day present! At the bottom of every page it is written, "Did this person love God to-day?-No. Did he feel any gratitude for mercies ?-No. Did he obey any of God's commands?-No. Did he perform any part of the work for which he was created? No."-Payson.

CHRISTIAN LIBERALITY.-It has been frequently wished by Christians, that there were some rule laid down in the Bible, fixing the proportion of their property which they ought to contribute to religious uses. This is as if a child should go to his father, and say, "Father, how many times in the day must I come to you with some testimonial of my love? How often will it be necessary to show my affection for you?" The father would, of course, reply, "Just as often as your feelings prompt you, my child, and no oftener." Just so Christ says to his people: "Look at me, and see what I have done and suffered for you, and then give me just what you think I deserve. I do not wish any thing forced."-Payson.

THE PEOPLE'S CHARTER.

Tom. Well, John, so you hear the People's Charter is likely before long to become the law of the land!

John. No, I haven't heard so; I don't rightly know the meaning of this Charter.

Tom. Then it's time you did know. Our creed is,

universal suffrage! vote by ballot! paid members! and the rights of the working classes!

John. How do you know all that would do the people any good if they got it?

Tom. Know? why, man, common sense tells me so! John. Then why does not common sense tell me so too?

Tom. Because you don't take the trouble to learn. Come along with me to-night, and you shall hear something about it.

John. I have heard something about it. Four years ago this spring I listened to a clever gentleman, who was trying very hard to explain all about it to a crowd of people on Blackheath.

Tom. Well, what did he say?

He asked a

John. Oh, I can't remember it all now. poor ragged woman who stood there, "whether it would make her sleep worse of a night if she had five hundred a year?" He said he "was ready to live and die for the holy cause;" but, "after all, the people must be their own regenerators," and a deal more of the same

sort.

Tom. And I say, John, that you, as a working man yourself, ought to have joined our ranks from that moment. Why didn't you?

John. Because we have got a much better charter than that already. The New Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ is the true People's Charter, given (as a charter ought to be) by their King, signed, sealed, and delivered, ready to hand. I look upon this other as no better than a lie dressed up by the devil and his servants, to look as like the real one as they can make it, as the jackdaw borrowed the peacock's feathers. "Creed," regeneration," and so forth, when they teach faith and newness of life, are words that have sense and a meaning; but as your leaders use them, they are stark, staring nonsense, a bait to catch the unwary, likely to drag all who swallow it into ruin and misery, both here and hereafter.

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Tom. That may be your opinion; but who are you? Do you know the people's interests better than such

gentlemen as are with us: men of enlightened minds, liberal principles, and the first talent in the country? Let religion keep in its place! I for one am not against religion for them that like it; but religion is not going to blind our eyes, and tie us hand and foot for the rich and the great to trample upon! Religion is a matter between God and a man's conscience, but it has got nothing to do with politics, I say.

John. I say it has. I have learned all my politics for the last dozen years from the people's true charter, which teaches us to "submit to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors as to them that are sent by him;" and especially, to be very shy of men who go about enticing people with "great swelling words," and who "promise you liberty, while they themselves are the servants of corruption." These few words have helped me, and thousands more, I hope, to keep ourselves steady, while many round us have been running wild after they know not what. By taking heed to my charter it is that I have, through God Almighty's goodness, a peaceful heart and (as you know) a comfortable home; and that is not all, but it is more than what you call the charter has ever done for any body yet, or is likely to do.

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Tom. Yes, religion is a very good thing, I dare say; I don't pretend to know much about it myself.

"You

John. No, because as you told me just now, don't take the trouble to learn:" but do you suppose, Tom, we are sent into the world only to work hard, and eat bread and cheese? I would rather be a horse or a dog if I thought so. We all want religion. The poor want a Provider, the afflicted want a Comforter, the simple want a Teacher, the sinful want a Saviour, the dying want eternal life. All these are contained in our charter. The tree is growing (if not cut down) that will make our coffin, the spade is very likely ready made that will dig our graves, and when we get there, what good will this foolish charter do for us?

Tom. Not much, I'm afraid: but there are so many sects and opinions in religion, how is a man to find out the truth amongst them all?

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