duct are perpetually seen in matters the most trifling and the most important.

"That kitchen chimney ought to be swept." The remark had been made day after day, and still the execu tion of it put off till to-morrow; when at length the soot caught fire, and communicating to a beam in the chimney, the house was presently on fire. Happily no lives were lost; but one of the family broke his leg in jumping from a window, and the loss of property was considerable. A child was observed to be very languid and feverish. The parents agreed that he ought to have a dose of medicine, but the child was averse to take it; a neigh bour called in, and the mother was diverted at the moment that she ought to have given it him. She consoled herself with thinking that she would give it him the first thing in the morning, and that would make very little difference. It was given him, but it produced no effect; another morning came, and the child was much Then it was agreed to send for the doctor, and the servant was told to go directly, as the doctor was in the habit of leaving home at ten o'clock, and not returning for several hours. She received the order, but, thinking a few minutes could not make any difference, she delayed till the time was past, it was only a few minutes; but the doctor was as remarkable for punctuality as the family to which he was summoned was for procrastination; he had left home, and was gone several miles to visit his patients.

worse.

Some hours elapsed before his return; he then hastened to the bedside of the sick child, but his efforts were too late; a fatal disease had laid hold on the frame, which in all probability might have been checked by timely application. And oh! how often is this fatal habit allowed to act upon the concerns of the soul and of eternity, and how awful are its consequences! youth, when urged to attend to the salvation of his soul, says, "It is too soon to become religious: there is time enough yet." Perhaps he lives to old age, and when the matter is again urged upon him, he says, "Now it is too late."

The

The following facts, as related by a minister of the

gospel, will serve to illustrate this melancholy subject. Calling at the house of one of his friends, the minister found them in the deepest distress, having suddenly lost their only child. He attempted to console them; but the mother replied, "Ah, sir, these consolations might assuage my grief for the loss of my child, but they cannot blunt the stings of my conscience, which are as daggers in my heart. It was but last week I was thinking, my child is now twelve years of age, his mind is rapidly expanding; I know he thinks and feels beyond the measure of his years, and a foolish backwardness has hitherto kept me from entering so closely into conversation with him as to discover the real state of his mind, and to make a vigorous effort to lead his heart to God.' I then resolved to seize the first opportunity to discharge a duty so weighty on the conscience of a Christian parent; but day after day, my foolish. deceitful heart said, 'I will do it to-morrow.' On the very day that he was taken ill, I had resolved to talk to him that evening; and when he at first complained of his head, I was half pleased with the thought that this might incline him to listen more seriously to what I should say. But, O sir, his pain and fever increased so rapidly that I was obliged to put him immediately to bed; and as he seemed inclined to doze, I was glad to leave him to rest. From that time he was never sufficiently sensible for conversation; and now he is gone into eternity, and has left me distracted with anxiety concerning the salvation of his precious soul! Dilatory wretch! had it not been for my own sin, I might now have been consoling myself with the satisfactory conviction of having discharged the duty of a Christian parent, and enjoying the delightful assurance of meeting my child before the throne of God and the Lamb.""

Every word of the distracted mother was like a dagger in the minister's heart, for he too was agitated by feelings similar to her own. "I have just returned," said he, "from a house, which to me, as well as to the family, was the house of mourning. I was sent for yesterday to visit a sick man, and as I fancied I was then engaged, I promised to call and see him to-morrow; but when I

went there to-day, I was shocked to find he was dead, especially as I had reason to fear for his eternal state, and his wife said, he was very anxious to see me. It is an awful saying, yet true, "The way to hell is paved with good resolutions." The very intention of doing good lulls the conscience to sleep in the neglect of doing it, and thus leads on to condemnation for leaving it undone. In the matter of individual salvation, this should be the motto, "Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation;" but in no part of the Bible is this written of to-morrow. In our endeavours to do good to others, especially spiritual good, in which we are most apt to be neglectful, this should be ever before our eyes, Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor wisdom, nor knowledge in the grave, whither thou goest."

If we defer till to-morrow what ought to be done today, without one shadow of reason to expect a more advantageous opportunity, or greater ability than at present, we add seriously to the difficulty, and awfully to the uncertainty of its being ever done at all.

When once life is past, it will be vain to think of repenting; you will then have no more sermons, no more offers of Christ and grace. Then it will be too late. And if God should take away your life to-morrow, you would perish inexcusably for refusing his grace to-day. One offer of grace refused, renders a sinner inexcusable, though God should never offer His mercy more. Then trifle not away this moment upon which depends eternity.

He who defers his work from day to day,
Does on a river's bank expecting stay,

Till the whole stream that stops him shall be gone,
Which, as it runs, for ever will run on.

-From the Family Book.

SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS.

F. A.

THE following account is given by Sir Robert Schomburgh, in his history of his travels in South America. The place of which he speaks is in British Guiana, a country on the north-eastern part of the continent of South America...

"Three years had elapsed since my first visit, when, in the pursuit of discovery, I again approached Pinara, and remarked, with surprise and pleasure, the appearance and number of the dwellings which composed the village. I counted upwards of thirty Indian huts, the highest place being occupied by a building somewhat European in construction, the walls of which, plastered with red clay, and the roof with gable ends neatly thatched with palm leaves, formed a strong contrast to the surrounding dome-shaped huts of the Indians. Another building, a little to the east of the former, and of large dimensions, but of similar construction, was in the course of erection, and men, women, and children, appeared equally eager to lend an assisting hand for its completion. This house was intended to be dedicated to the service of the only true God, the former for the dwelling of the missionary, to whose arrival and residence among them they appeared to look forward with great delight. It was pleasing to observe their zeal in such a good cause, and the more so, when I considered that the light of Christianity had not yet been diffused among them. Their wish to be come Christians had been awakened by the temporary visit of a missionary from the mission at Bartica Point, who, as they expressed themselves, only opened the sacred book, which the white man possessed, without telling them of its contents. In anticipation that their request for a missionary to come and settle among them would be ultimately granted, they had begun to erect these houses, according to their idea of the mode of building among the white people, and twenty-nine men of their tribe had been selected to proceed to the coast region, in order to assist in conveying the missionary to his station.

"While residing in this place, I was present at the arrival of the first Protestant missionary among the Indians in the interior of British Guiana; and the joy which it caused to those who were to be confided to his spiritual care, although they were as yet walking in perfect darkness, was a proof of their wish to become Christians. The efforts of the missionary were crowned with success, and I have seen from four to five hundred

Indians assembled in the chapel; and although, in the commencement, they attended in their native and savage state, young and old appeared equally zealous for conversion, and to receive instruction."

Thus far the relation of Sir R. Schomburgh; we will now hear the missionary's own account of his arrival. Mr. Youd, having obtained holy orders from the Bishop of Barbadoes, and completed his preparations, proceeded on his missionary tour in the beginning of the year 1838. In his way to Pinara he had to encounter many dangers, but, after a sail of five weeks, he safely reached the place. We have heard of his welcome from the natives, and may suppose that his heart was greatly cheered by it. He describes his first Sabbath among them thus:Early on the Sabbath morning the whole village was alive to see what would be done. My dwelling, in which, since my arrival, I had made two windows, was thronged; and through every crevice in the wall, as well as through the door and window, the eyes of the natives were gazing at me. When I had put on my robes, there was a general rush to the chapel, and the people stood in groups around the posts, until entreated to be seated on the trunks of trees which were laid for their convenience. Hymns were sung in their own native language, and these, with a prayer offered by the interpreter, in the same language, pleased them much."

Mr. Youd then explained to them his intentions; told them of the Christian people in England and the concern they felt for the Indians and the heathen in general. “I am come," he continued, "to take up my abode among you, and from time to time to pay visits to all the different tribes around you. I shall remain at Pinara for the present, and hold daily service and school for your benefit. I also thank you most cordially for the pains you have taken in building a house of God and a dwelling for myself." To this address the chief replied, "We have done it; and now you have come among us all is good: yes, all is good: you will sit well." The appearance of the congregation was most extraordinary. All, except the chief, were well painted on the forehead, face, arms, and legs. Some had cutlasses, others bows and