recovery;" and when he was restored, they sung' Te Deum,' and mingled in the general rejoicing. In a petition to Marshal Count de Saxe, to implore his intercession with their Sovereign in their behalf, they declare themselves "firmly resolved to sacrifice their lives and fortunes for his Majesty's service." Nay, they proceed still farther, and counsel their teachers to abstain from points of controversy with the Romanists, and to speak with the utmost circumspection of the sufferings of the Protestant Churches; to avoid working on saints' days, lest they should give offence; and in fine, to bear patiently all the ill usage they might be exposed to on account of their religion. What noble sentiments are these! What an admirable spirit, and mode of proceeding! How unlike the suggestions of natural feeling! Surely this compliance with the Scripture call, "to love their enemies; to bless those who cursed them; to pray for those who despitefully used and persecuted them," indicated the presence of no doubtful Christian discipleship. An eminent Protestant minister, in 1746, thus expressed himself:

"This I can affirm for truth, that if his Majesty allow the Protestants the liberty of being pastors, to celebrate their marriages, baptize their children, and perform the other ministerial offices of their religion, only in the desert, they would be ready to do all that men can do to demonstrate their gratitude and their attachment to his person. Nay, I dare say, that were they to be employed in repelling the enemies of the State, they would fill the world with the fame of their exploits; and Louis XV. would be no less charmed with their bravery than Henry the Great was with that of their forefathers."

Reviewing these manifestations of Christian feeling and conduct, I cannot but think the labours of those faithful men must have been eminently blessed, who acted as their teachers. When all Protestant schools and colleges were overthrown, and when it was death to assemble the people and preach the Gospel, and dispense ordinances, in 1731 a seminary was erected at Lausanne, in Switzerland, for the education of Protestant ministers for France, drawing its chief support from Holland and England. Doubtless it was of such men a Missionary in France lately made the interesting statement, speaking of Mirabel, and of a person whom he met there. "He told me," says he, "that formerly in the days of persecution, the pastors were received and concealed by his family. He showed me a large tumbler, on which were written these words; I LOVE GOD, and the date of the year 1738; and which he informed me had been used by the pastors in the days of persecution, when administering the Lord's Supper in desert places. He also showed me a white embroidered linen cloth, more than a century old, which he said had been used to carry infants into the same desert places to be baptized by the pastors." It would not have been wonderful, if men provoked and oppressed as the Protestants were, had been driven to resistance. One or two slight cases of this kind there may have been; but the Protestants were remarkable throughout for patient endurance, and the most unsullied loyalty: and what so likely to form to such a character as the diffusion of Christian instruc

tion, even amid trials and difficulties?

While the character of the Protestant Church was *Twentieth Report of European Society, p. 5,

The

thus so praiseworthy, what was the character of the
Church of Rome, her great enemy, during the same
period? Not to speak of the persecution of the Pro-
testants, which she instigated and upheld, and which
proved her a tyrant, she, in other respects, presented a
miserable aspect to the eye of Christendom.
Church of boasted unity, appeared rent and torn in her
own members. The Jansenists and Jesuits carried on
a most furious warfare, which ended in the persecution,
even to imprisonment and death, of the Jansenists. The
Work of Quesnel upon the Gospels, who was an eminent
member of this body, was condemned by the Pope, and
he himself driven into exile, where he died. The con-
troversy connected with his book gave rise to the
celebrated bull of Unigenitus, issued by the Pope in
1713: a bull which denounces, as heretical and repro-
bate, such precious and important truths as "That it
is useful and necessary for all persons to know the
Scriptures that the reading of the Scriptures is for
every body-that the Lord's day ought to be sancti-
fied by Christians, in reading pious books, and above
all the Scriptures that to deprive the unlearned people
of the comfort of joining their voices with the voice of
the whole Church, is a custom contrary to apostolical
practice, and to the design of God;" and many others.
Indeed, the great leading truths of the Gospel salva-
tion were all pronounced heretical, and their preachers
accursed, while the Jesuits, the successful party, were
ere long found to be so formidable to the peace of the
Church and of the nation, that they were first deprived
of their power, and ultimately suppressed. What a con-
trast is here between the Protestant Church and the
Church of Rome, and how honourable to the former !
To be continued.

THE DUTIES OF THE CHRISTIAN AS A FATHER:
A DISCOURSE.

BY THE REV. JOHN SMYTH, D. D., Minister of St. George's Parish, Glasgow (Concluded from p. 92.)

"And ye, fathers, provoke not your children to wrath : but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." EPHES. vi. 4.

IV. THE next class of parental duties to which we request attention, relate to the education of children.

1. Of these the first we mention is useful, but above all Christian instruction.

Children, as soon as they are capable of intellectual and moral perceptions, ought to be made acquainted with their relations to Jehovah-their Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Every exertion should be made for impressing their minds with reverence of the Divine presence and authority; with a sense of His universal providence, as embracing the concerns of every living thing; with the knowledge of their fallen and debased condition by nature and practice; and with the way of salvation through the obedience unto death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The examples of holy living and holy dying recorded in the sacred Word, especially the example of the blessed Redeemer ;-the sources of strength, and of victory over every evil habit, and of fitness for

past sins, and purposes of godly living in the time to come, nothing is effectively gained. It is important to observe, farther, that chastisement ought to be distinguished by Christian discretion, and tender solicitude for the improvement of the child, whilst it is marked by unbending decision of character. A parent ought never to punish his child, if he be himself under the influence of passion. The coolness of deliberative wisdom, and the steady determination of resolute principle, ought to characterize all his corrective discipline. To recede from a fixed, but more especially from a declared purpose, in such circumstances, is to surrender parental authority and consistent character for the indulgence of ill-timed and pernicious lenity. Restraint and correction should be administered with all Christian seriousness; and the heart of the parent should beam forth from the cloud that has interposed its gloom for a season betwixt himself and his child. It ought to be seen, that a

to human nature, who imagines that the dictates of stern authority will command the homage of the conscience and the heart. Children may bow to it in fear and trembling; but, in such submission there is no genuine obedience. All is cold, constrained, and often debased by hypocrisy. "Fathers provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Let paternal love preside over your instructions, and be manifested in all your conduct towards your children. With the same view, let exhortation be made as agreeable as possible, consistently with the necessary discipline of the intellect and the heart. We are quite aware of the natural enmity which even young children feel towards divine things; and we could not transgress the words of truth and soberness by describing it as always "a delightful task to teach the young idea how to shoot" in a heavenward direction. Still, brethren, nothing in your deportment or manners should augment difficulties, which are in them-father's hand is uplifted for the stroke, whilst a selves confessedly vast, of conveying to your off-father's heart bleeds because of the necessity of spring the knowledge, and along with it, the love of religion. It is to the last degree indefensible to associate gloom, and austerity, and bondage of spirit, with the work of Christian education. Parents ought, by all practicable means, to render the acquisition of Christian knowledge especially a privilege, to allure their children to it by every lawful attraction. Nor need you be speedily discouraged. Patience and constancy are virtues of first consequence in this good work. Relax not your exertions, because of difficulties and obstacles which present themselves. These were to be reckoned on. They are intended to be trials of your faith, and ought to be regarded as salutary discipline. Recollect the inconsideration and the waywardness of youth; and be ye very lenient and pitiful: "For precept must be upon precept; line upon line; here a little and there a little. Be stedfast and immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord: forasmuch as ye know that your labour shall not be in vain, in the Lord." You cannot command the blessing; but you can commit all results to Him who hath said, "Train up a child in the way that he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Whilst we urge a conciliatory and an affectionate mode of imparting instruction, we should keep back a part of the whole counsel of God, if we were to omit mentioning, in the next place,

2. Christian restraint and correction. By this we do not understand corporeal punishment merely, (which ought to be resorted to in cases of extreme necessity alone) but other kinds of discipline suited to the age, temper, and habits of the young. "He that spareth his rod hateth his child: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes." "Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying."

Corporeal discipline may be administered whilst the heart remains unaffected by any holy or virtuous considerations. Unless the soul be deeply impressed with the obligations of repentance for

inflicting it. Had Eli thus corrected his sons, instead of yielding with indulgent weakness to their sinful wishes, those words of inspired wisdom would never have been recorded, “Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end. For I have told him, that I will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever." 1 Samuel iii. 11-15. Had David acted towards Adonijah differently from what is narrated, "His father did not displease him at any time,"- -we should, in all likelihood never have read of Adonijah's conspiracy against the government and throne of Israel.

Correction ought to correspond to the measure of the offence committed. When it exceeds in severity, dissatisfaction is felt on account of the injustice done, and the beneficial effects, which might otherwise have accrued, are to a great extent frustrated. Study, likewise, the natural tempers and dispositions of your children. The kind of discipline which is necessary and proper for one is not suitable in the case of all. Labour to have a clear and discriminative knowledge of their prevailing habits of thought and feeling; and strive, betimes, to rectify whatever is evil or amiss in these, by wise and merciful treatment.

Lastly, Let parental instruction be accompanied and followed by Christian example and many fervent prayers.

The consistent life of a Christian parent is immeasurably superior to the most conclusive reasonings on this subject. When a parent is not only a counsellor, but " a living epistle of Christ;" when the graces and attainments of the divine life are engraven on his whole conduct, children receive

what growing solicitude would you repeat your applications to an earthly physician if your child were labouring under a severe malady; and shall not the mental distemper of sin, which, unless checked, will assuredly destroy the children whom you love as your own souls, furnish the strongest reason for your going again and again on their behalf, unto Him who alone healeth our spiritual diseases? Yes, parents; you must wrestle, like Israel of old, who had power with God, and prevailed. You must say, with that revered patriarch, "I will not let thee go unless thou bless us." Then, may you cherish a good hope through grace, that when your prayers, like those of David the son of Jesse, are ended, and when, on the great day of account, you stand before Him that sitteth on the throne, it shall be your sublime privilege to say, "Behold, here are we, and the children whom thou hast given us." Amen.

the most convincing of all proofs that he has not only the form, but also the power of godliness. With what tenfold augmented effect will a parent enjoin attendance upon the sanctuary, who is himself statedly in observance of its hallowed duties; or inculcate the obligations and the privilege of prayer, who unites both for and with his children, at the throne of his Father and their Father, of his God and their God! How impressive are the lessons of truth, integrity, temperance, purity, and spiritual mindedness, when they proceed from lips which a live coal from the altar of God has touched, framing them to utter habitually the language of chastised thought and elevated feeling! The example of a godly parent transcends the power of human computation. It is often recalled to mind in scenes remote from the domestic circle, and has been often sanctified for rescuing a soul from death, and covering the multitude of its sins. The reminiscences of the paternal home in which "prayer was wont to be made;" in which the book of God was read as a part of family devotion; and the sweets of affectionate intercourse were rendered still more sacred by the communion HAIL! Sovereign of the world of floods! whose majesty and might of Christian love-these, when vividly remembered, have been blessed for arresting the purposes of wickedness, and inspiring the high resolves of piety. Even when a father's or a mother's example is no longer to be found in the living world; when beloved parents have gone the way of all the earth-the reflection of the sun which has set, may be seen, gilding with its radiance, the horizon which separates time from eternity; and proclaiming as in beams of parting glory, "Be followers of them who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises."

TO NIAGARA.

WRITTEN AT THE FIRST SIGHT OF ITS FALLS,
August 13, 1837.

First dazzles, then enraptures, then o'erawes the aching sight:
The pomp of kings and emperors, in every clime and zone,
Grows dim beneath the splendour of thy glorious watery throne.
No fleets can stop thy progress, no armies bid thee stay,

But onward,-onward,-onward, thy march still holds its way ;
The rising mists that veil thee as thy heralds go before,
And the music that proclaims thee is the thund'ring cataract's roar.
Thy diadem's an emerald, of the clearest, purest hue,
Set round with waves of snow-white foam, and spray of feathery dew;
While tresses of the brightest pearls float o'er thine ample sheet,
And the rainbow lays its gorgeous gems in tribute at thy feet.

Thy reign is from the ancient days, thy sceptre from on high;
The sun, the moon, and all the orbs that shine upon thee now,

Thy birth was when the distant stars first lit the glowing sky;

Beheld the wreath of glory which first bound thine infant brow.

And from that hour to this, in which I gaze upon thy stream,
From age to age, in Winter's frost or Summer's sultry beam,

By day, by night, without a pause, thy waves, with loud acclaim,
In ceaseless sounds have still proclaim'd the Great Eternal's name.
For whether, on thy forest banks, the Indian of the wood,
Or, since his day, the red man's foe on his fatherland has stood;
Whoe'er has seen thine incense rise, or heard thy torrents roar,
Must have knelt before the God of all, to worship and adore.
Accept, then, O, Supremely Great! O, Infinite! O, God!
From this primeval altar, the green and virgin-sod,
The humble homage that my soul in gratitude would pay

For, if the ocean be as nought in the hollow of thine hand,
And the stars of the bright firmament, in thy balance grains of sand;

Parents, do your hearts respond to these things? Do you desire that your children should be followers of you, even as ye seek to be followers of Christ? Accompany your instructions, your corrective discipline, your good example, with many earnest and persevering supplications. With God is the residue of the Spirit. He has employed an argument which cannot fail to come directly home to the strongest workings of natural affection, when he addresses you by his own beloved Son: "If To Thee whose shield has guarded me through all my wandering way. ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, much more shall your heavenly If Niagara's rolling flood seems great to us who humbly bow, Father give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him." Pray, then, for yourselves, that ye may receive grace to be faithful to the spiritual welfare of yourselves and your children. Pray for them, as Abraham did when he said, "O that Ishmael might live before thee!" or as Job did, when "he rose early in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings according to the number of his sons and his daughters." Thus shall Jehovah's promise be fulfilled, "I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: and they shall spring up as among the grass, as waters by the willow courses." Be instant in be imporprayer; tunate; be strong in faith, giving glory to God. Desist not, because of seeming discouragements; but learn to pray always, and not to faint. With

O! Great Creator of the Whole, how passing great art Thou!
But though thy power is far more vast than finite mind can scan,
Thy mercy is still greater shown to weak, dependent man :
For him thou cloth'st the fertile globe with herbs, and fruit, and seed,
For him the seas, the lakes, the streams, supply his hourly need.
Around, on high, or far, or near, the universal whole
Proclaims thy glory, as the orbs in their fixed courses roll;
And, from creation's grateful voice, the hymn ascends above,
While heaven re-echoes back to carth the chorus-" God is love,"
J. S. BUCKINGHAM.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

JOHN MASON GOOD, M.D,
PART II.

BY THE EDITOR.

In early life, Mr Good, as we have seen, was educated under the immediate care of his father, who appears to have been an eminently pious worthy man. In conse