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down my house-lay me on a sick bed, and smite me with his own dear hand, and still Moses will love him, and say, it is all for good." As he said this, a tear stole down his cheek, but it was an unostentatious tear. What would I give for such tears, and for such heavenly love and gratitude, as seemed at once to mingle in the heart of this pious old Negro. You have preaching here, I suppose," said I. After telling how far the preaching place was, he proceeded: "Sometimes Moses go to preaching his heart feel like lead on it, and then Mr. B. (the minister) preaches so good, Moses' soul get happy-and then Bible preach-woods preach, and every thing preach; and then when his hand has the plough, Moses' soul is in heaven.' You have a Bible then?" "Yes" was his reply; me learn to read thirty years ago, and now when it rain all day Sunday, me read and sing and pray, and find that Jesus Christ can come to the ugly old cabin of poor Moses."

The day, in the mean time, wearing away, and other engagements pressing on me, I bid the old man farewell, with the confident hope of meeting him in heaven. I afterwards learnt that he was remarkably punctual in attending preaching; and through all the congregation to which he belonged, he was considered as a standard for piety-his conversation was in heaven. On the next Sabbath I attended preaching in the neighbourhood, and I soon recognized old Moses. In the animated and impressive part of the minister's discourse, and it was one that would have done credit to any head and any heart, Moses' whole soul beamed in his countenance: he seemed to be silently meditating on the promises of God. In the afternoon, at a prayer meeting, I prevailed on the minister, although somewhat against custom, to ask him to pray; and such a torrent of eloquent feeling as he poured forth, I scarcely ever heard. His language was so simple, yet he seemed to be so much in earnest, that I was intensely interested. It was what might be truly called humble importunity. His prayer seemed to make all feel that the Almighty was present. His voice was soft and mellow, but not more so than his heart; and when he had finished, I thought I could give up all my learning and worldly prospects, to have the humility, the devotional spirit, and the nearness to heaven, of pious old Moses.'

I add another short memorial. A young lady, a visitor of a Bible Association in New York, found her way to an obscure cellar, where she discovered a Coloured woman far gone in a consumption, with her aged husband sitting by her bed-side, and another Coloured woman, about the age of forty, acting in the capacity of nurse and servant. The young lady told them her business. When the sick woman heard that she came on an errand of mercy, her withered and sickly countenance assumed an unwonted glow and brightness. After expressing a stedfast hope of salvation through the merits of the Saviour, she gave the following epitome of her life :-But a few years ago, she was a slave in New Orleans; by industry and economy, she and her husband were enabled to purchase their freedom; and in the course of two or three years to lay up about 400 dollars. Sitting at the door of her cottage one morning, she heard that a number of slaves were to be sold by auction that day. She determined to go and see the sale, and if possible to buy one of the female captives, and restore her to liberty. "I have so much money," said she; "and if I can make it the instrument of redeeming one of my fellow-beings from slavery, then I can say to my soul' depart in peace. She went and purchased one for two hundred and fifty dollars. 'But now," said she, "I must place her under the ministry of the Gospel." She took passage, for herself, her husband, and her liberated friend for New York. When they came ashore, "Now," said she, “you are in a free state, where the privileges of the Gospel are enjoyed: all that

I ask for my kindness to you, is, that you endeavour to obtain peace with God. If you live with me, and with me work for your support, I shall be rejoiced: you are at liberty to do as you please." The liberated woman accepted her invitation, and was found by the young lady acting as her nurse; and enjoying with her the privileges of that heavenly citizenship in which there is neither bond nor free, but all are one family in Christ Jesus. She lives with her liberator, and is now rejoicing in the mercy of God. Let us cease eulogising those who have contributed of their abundance, for the emancipation of the wretched here is an aged, illiterate, degraded daughter of Africa, who gave her all to redeem one soul.

SACRED POETRY.

CONFIDENCE IN GOD.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

'Tis easy when the sea's at rest,

And sunshine gilds the liquid plains;
To say, "How could I be distrest

In storms, since God, my Father, reigns?"

But when the sky puts terror on,

And tempests howl and billows rise,

That confidence-how quickly gone!

Which seem'd so strong in tranquil skies.

Prosperity can never try

The strength and value of our trust :
But sorrow and adversity

When man lies humbled to the dust.

Oh for that faith which firm will stand
When grief my earthly sky deforms,

And sees a heavenly Pilot's hand,

Midst threatening gulphs and dangerous storms.

JAMES.

JAMES EDMESTON.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

Having taken in the Christian Observer for nearly twenty years, and having been, I trust, through the blessing of God benefited by it, I am desirous of filling a niche in its columns, however small. I inclose two or three short compositions in verse, the insertion of which will gratify me, if you should not think it a tax upon your readers. I reside in a remote village, and have read little poetry; and though I have lived half a century in the world, I never once attempted to join two lines together in the form of verse until a few months ago. Excuse me, therefore, if, in the newness of ignorance, I am guilty of presumption. M.

ISAIAH XXXV. 1, 2.

No longer the wilds shall be gloomy or sad,

But gladness and song on the breeze shall be borne ;
No longer the mountain in thorns shall be clad,

But the rose and the myrtle its brow shall adorn.

No more shall the desert be lonely and still,

For the voice of rejoicing and song shall be there;

No longer its valleys the bramble shall fill,

But the rose there shall bloom and the lily be fair.

But why shall the mountains in verdure be drest;
And the valleys the fragrance of Eden afford?
Why blossom the wilds as the land of the blest?
'Tis for them-the redeem'd-the belov'd of the Lord.
For them shall the wilderness bloom as the rose,
Re-echo with gladness-with music resound,
All the beauties of Carmel and Sharon disclose,
And richly with Lebanon's glory be crown'd.

To them shall the ways of the Lord be reveal'd,
Jehovah's perfections and glories be shown;
No longer his footsteps with clouds be concealed,
Nor his paths, in deep waters, be longer unknown.

NAHUM i. 3-8.

Though rich in love, to anger slow,
The great and mighty Lord on high
Will not let sin unpunish'd go,
Nor sinners pass unheeded by.
Jehovah's path is in the storm,

His way amid the whirlwind lies:
The Lord comes forth in awful form,
And treads as dust the clouded skies.
The sea, rebuked, retires with dread,
And leaves its rocky channel dry;
The rivers from their sandy bed,
Before his awful presence fly.

The hills dissolve, the mountains quake,
The trembling earth the fire consumes;
The worlds before his presence shake
When He his scepter'd wrath assumes.
His foes shall soon be swept away;

A 'whelming flood shall o'er them swell:
Their name shall fade, their place decay;
With darkness they shall ever dwell.
Yet is he good-a shield and tower,
A rock and never-failing stay,

To those who trust his saving power;
Those whom he guards in trouble's day.

MORNING.

See! morn, arrayed in streaks of light,
Is breaking into day,

And nature, with her sable robe,

Has thrown her gloom away.

Soon shall the feathered choristers
Their tuneful notes prepare,
To hail with joy the rising sun,
And fill with songs the air.

Then rise, my soul, thy strength arouse;
Attune thy voice to praise;

Hymn forth the Sun of Righteousness,
And joyful anthems raise.

For though thy morn of life be gone,
And mid-day strength decays;

Although the lengthening shadows tell
The evening of thy days:

Yea, though the night of death be nigh,
A morn in prospect shines;

A morn whose sun shall ne'er go down,
Whose brightness ne'er declines.

O then, to Him who open threw
The portals of the tomb,

To Him who burst the bands of death,

To glory chang'd its gloom;

To Him, my soul lift up thy voice
In heartfelt notes of praise;

To Him who gave his life for thine,
Thy grateful accents raise.

By thee-by all who love his name,
To Him be glory given,

Who came on earth the lost to save,
Though rightful Lord of heaven.

"HE THAT LOVETH FATHER OR MOTHER MORE THAN ME IS NOT WORTHY OF ME."

My saving Lord, my only stay,

In life or death, in weal or woe;

I would be thine through life's dim way,

And when through death's dark vale I go.
From worldly bondage wean my heart,
From earthly thraldom set me free;
Make me to choose that better part,

That bright behest of serving thee.
And let not nature's ties, though dear,
Around my heart too closely twine,
However lov'd-however near,

Earth's claims can never equal thine.
And ah! when death's dark vale I tread,
Around me let thy presence shine,
And when its shadows o'er me spread,
Let then thy light and peace be mine.

REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

THE BISHOP OF CHESTER'S CHARGE.

A Charge delivered to the Clergy of the Diocese of Chester. By the Right Rev. J. B. SUMNER, Lord Bishop of Chester.

THIS is a Charge of very peculiar interest. It combines in a remarkable degree the practical business of the ministerial office, even to the local details of a diocese, with those spiritual topics and scriptural sentiments without which a visible church is but a lifeless image. We know not where a clergyman who wishes for instruction respecting his pastoral duties, with particular reference to the difficulties and the encouragements of the present eventful. era, and the best aids to meet the peculiar exigencies of our modern parishes, could find a greater number of valuable suggestions in a shorter space, and presented in a more striking and convincing manner. It could not be but that, by the blessing of God, many of the clergy to whom this Charge was delivered must have been encouraged by it to renewed efforts for the spiritual welfare of their flocks; and we trust that the passages which we are about to quote will extend the benefit to many other parts of the kingdom. His lordship opens his discourse in the very spirit of St. Paul, when he said to Barnabas," Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do."

"Let us see how the trust committed to the elders has been discharged, and how the people have received the grace of God:' how those who teach have acted as faithful stewards of God's mysteries,' how those who hear have obeyed and submitted themselves.' Let us see, in short, how the great work of salvation has been proceeding; what obstacles oppose it, what measures may advance it, in every sphere of action. Let us communicate together: let us advise, exhort, encourage, and cheer each other. This, I say, is reasonable and natural [and above all scriptural]. You will join with me, I am assured, in a fervent prayer that the blessing of our God and Saviour, whose we are and whom we serve, may attend and follow us in this and all our undertakings." pp. 1, 2.

We have a favour to request of our readers, that they will peruse this passage again, and weigh it clause by clause, and see if there be not more in some of the Right Reverend author's statements than is popularly included in the notion of a visitation charge. We have for thirty years been trying to express in our notices of these solemn records what is so much better ex

pressed by his lordship, that the object of a visitation is not the perfunctory ceremonial to which in many cases it has, or had, degenerated; but really to inquire how the elders have discharged their sacred trust, how "the people have received the grace of God," and how "the great work of salvation has been proceeding, what obstacles oppose it, and what measures may advance it." With these great objects full in view, the bishop forgets for a time the mere technical machinery of ecclesiastical reform, to press upon his clergy the importance of personal and pastoral reform, only touching upon the legislative branch of such questions in an Appendix, and even then chiefly to remind the reader (for the passage was not delivered with the Charge) that, "after all, the real efficiency of the church depends much less upon the perfection of its system than upon the character of its ministers." This truth is peculiarly important to be remembered at this moment, when we hear so much of expected benefit attributed to mere external reforms, which are chiefly valuable as they may lead to spiritual amendment, though in this respect they are certainly of great moment. His lordship justly points out the importance of not sinking the higher object in the lower, when he says:

"The commutation of tithes, the improvement of small livings, the abolition of pluralities, and other changes as loudly called for, however desirable in themselves, would not in so great a degree advance the interests of religion, as those interests would be injured by the admission of some very few individuals into the ministry, who might be either unfaithful to their trust, or incompetent to discharge it. To the usefulness of the faithful minister of the Gospel, little could be added by any legislative measures. No legislative measures can confer usefulness upon a different character, or make instrumental to the conversion or edification of the people, one who is indolent in his habits, impracticable in his temper, unscriptural in his doctrine, or whose life and conversation contradict the principles of his religion." pp. xlv. xlvi.

This is perfectly true; and it is of great importance to be remembered in reply to those who expect, if such there be, that good machinery is a substitute for vital power. It is, however, right to add, on the other hand, that external reform is an important auxiliary to internal improvement; since it is obvious that defects and abuses of administration have been one of the chief means of introducing into the church men who had no predilection for its spiritual duties. The clergy of the Church of England would have been for the last hundred years a much more religious and useful body of men, if there had been little or no temptation to any person to undertake the sacred office who was not at least desirous of being such a pastor as our excellent prelate describes. There are many candidates for holy orders, who, if they seriously believed that upon entering the church they must live and work in the manner recommended in this admirable Charge, and that they could neither repose in indolence nor hope for more than a respectable competence suited to their station and duties, would choose out any other profession rather than one so ill suited to their tastes and habits. Their place would be filled by men of a different spirit, who could say with an Apostle, We seek not yours, but you." In this, and in many other ways, external reform would ultimately minister to internal efficiency; and this his lordship evidently does not mean to deny. He, however, most wisely turns the thoughts of his Reverend auditors to objects more directly personal, and which, whatever may be the general external face of the church, they may and ought primarily to attend to in their respective capacities. How arduous are those objects, when rightly un-. derstood, is well depicted by our Right Reverend author. The following sentiments are not the common-places of a visitation charge; they enter deeply into the spiritual concerns of the Christian and ministerial life.

"The Christian ministry is sometimes treated as a smooth and easy course of life; and may appear so on the superficial view of those who understand little of its real nature, especially when the profession of Christianity is incorporated with the laws