of our countrymen have found happy homes. But these noble spirits bore their trials with fortitude and patience, and by Divine strength were nerved for every difficulty. The purest patriotism, an ardent desire to promote the Redeemer's kingdom in the world, and the love of a pure gospel, induced them to leave their continental asylum, again to encounter the perils of the deep, the hardships of uncivilised life, the fangs of savage beasts, and the tomahawks of still more savage men, amid the primeval forests and dreary swamps of Virginia.

The voyage of the "Mayflower" was far from prosperous. She encountered terrific equinoxial gales, and the mountainous billows of the Atlantic often threatened to engulf her and her precious freight. Under the pressure of successive storms her decks and sides were strained, one of her main beams gave way, and ultimately she leaked so heavily as almost to banish hope from the hearts of all on board of ever reaching their destination. For sixty-four days the little bark was tossed by the winds and waves of the western ocean, which seemed

in league for her destruction. Shattered as she was, the " Mayflower" held on her way, as if in sympathy with the valiant souls on board. The God of Providence was piloting her course, and under His gracious protection she weathered the storm, and at last reached the desired haven.

The sufferings of those on board during this protracted battle with the elements were greatly aggravated by the state of the vessel. The little cabin was more than crowded with women and children, the men had to find shelter as they best could, and so limited was the accommodation, that even the boats had to be converted into beds. One death only occurred during the voyage, which was made up by a birth; but the sufferings they endured undermined the constitutions of not a few, and paved the way for that terrible mortality which soon afterwards swept so many of them into an early grave.

On the morning of 9th November, in the year 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers obtained their first sight of America-" a sight which caused them to rejoice together, and unite in praising God who had guided them across the mighty waters, and permitted them once more to behold the dry land." Space prevents us from tracing their future wanderings at present, and we take leave of them with deep emotion as we listen to their joyous anthem, for

"Amidst the storm they sang, and the stars heard and the sea!

And the sounding aisles of the dim wood rang to the anthems of the free!
The ocean eagle soared from his nest by the white waves' foam,

And the rocking pines of the forest roared!-this was their welcome home!

"Aye, call it holy ground, the soil where first they trod !

They have left unstained what there they found-freedom to worship God."

“THE BETTER SUPPORT OF THE GOSPEL MINISTRY.”

To the Editor of the Original Secession Magazine.

SIR-The address by the Committee of Synod, which appeared in last number of the Magazine, on the "Better Support of the Gospel Ministry," could not fail to send a pang of remorse through the mind of every reflecting Original Seceder who read it. It cannot have been to the prosperity of the body, and certainly is not to its credit, that it has become liable to the charge of starving its ministers. This may seem a strong remark, but it is true. The inadequate support of ordinances has been a standing evil in the Secession-a source of its weakness and there is reason to believe that it has oftener than once assisted in thinning its ranks. At one period the stipends now paid might have been nearly enough, but within the last quarter of a century, and especially in recent years, our whole system-social, domestic, and personal has been so changed as to render them altogether insufficient. Everything, in fact, may be said to have changed excepting the amount of stipends we have paid to our ministers. I am unwilling to go into particulars, and if our members would only spare a few minutes to consider the matter for themselves, argument on the subject would be wholly unnecessary.

The root of this evil, I am persuaded, has arisen in a large measure from stereotyped habit, and a want of due consideration of what a minister should receive, and of our individual duty in connection with it. Permit me, then, with all seriousness to entreat the office-bearers and members of each congregation just to look at the position of their own minister, and take into account the following particulars: the extent of house he is compelled to occupy, his family expenses on the most economical principles, the calls he is exposed to escaped by private individuals, and, in a word, the fact that he must appear in public like a gentleman, and say whether he is provided with the means of meeting these expenses?

If it is the case, then, that the honour of religion requires ministers of the Gospel to occupy a certain position in society, and that we expect our ministers to occupy that position, and if it is a fact that we don't afford them the means of doing it, are we not chargeable with cruelty to them, and verily guilty before God? That this is the case in nearly all our congregations, if not in all of them, I hesitate not to affirm. It is needless to repeat what has been so often said, that, if ministers with the education they possess had pursued other professions their positions would have been widely different. Everybody knows that. By a long course of study and classical training they have qualified

themselves for the Gospel ministry, and left their temporal interests in the hands of the Church, and therefore in place of making them martyrs on that account, their interests ought to have our most sacred respect. There is no duty more clearly laid down in the Word of God, whether we refer to the Old Testament or the New, than the proper support of religious ordinances, but I shall not insult your readers by quoting passages with which they must be familiar. The thing wanted is their practical application.

The ready answer to all this, I am aware, is, the want of ability. The plea is inadmissible. It is an ascertained fact that the great majority of Church members do not do their duty according to their ability in contributing to ordinances, and leave the burden to a great extent on a few. Some give as little as they can; others give from habit without reference either to their ability or to what is required of them. This not only tells against the minister but is manifestly unfair towards brethren. Instances of this kind could be named, but I shall only observe, that where they exist the congregation sooner or later, and it may be suddenly, will come to ruin.

The Edinburgh congregation is an instance of an opposite kind. That congregation is small and certainly not wealthy. Not long ago they called a minister and promised him an amount of support which seemed beyond their power to give, and their circumstances were aggravated by not having a meeting house of their own The stipend promised, however, has not only been punctually paid but considerably increased. Nor is this all. They set about building a new church, and in the course of one year contributed to this object among themselves upwards of £700. The secret of this extraordinary result is easily told. Each member did his and her utmost, unitedly and individually, and the object was attained. The writer of these remarks, who works hard for his daily bread, is not urging a duty on others without including himself. For nearly thirty years he has not put copper in the plate on any occasion, and for many years he has made conscience of giving a fifteenth part of his income to the support of ordinances in the congregation with which he is connected. He would rather not have stated the fact, but the circumstances of the body are such as to compel plainness of speech, and it has just come to this that we must either increase our ministers' incomes or shortly cease to exist. In conclusion, I would with deep carnestness solicit our sessions, deacons, managers, and members generally seriously to consider this subject. The Covenanters thought our principles worth dying for, shall we not think them worth paying for. We have the means of making our ministers comfortable, and shall we withhold temporal things from them who minister to us in spiritual things. The Committee has shown

clearly what is our duty in the matter, and the certain consequences of its non-performance. The Lord will be no man's debtor, and assuredly if the object of the present movement is carried out in a right spirit and without delay, it will turn to our mutual advantage manifold.

5th December, 1866.

I am,

&c.

AN O. S.

Literature.

Physiology in Harmony with the Bible respecting the Value and Right Observance of the Sabbath. By James Miller, F.R.S E. Surgeon in Ordinary to the Queen for Scotland; Surgeon in Ordinary to H. R. H. Prince Albert for Scotland; Professor of Surgery in the University of Edinburgh, &c. &c. &c. A New Edition. Price 6d. Edinburgh: Johnstone, Hunter, & Co. 1866.

IN formerly noticing this invaluable little treatise, want of space compelled us to do so in a single sentence. It is now intended to add a few further words of commendation.

While the author of this book was at the top of his profession, he was also distinguished for his high attainments in general science. Moreover, he was a philanthropist of the first rank, and his Christianity shone forth with great brilliancy throughout a life of eminent usefulness. The treatise before us is a precious memorial of his excellence, and no mean bequest to posterity. It is comprehensive, yet concise. It is a very readable book. Its general counsels as to health are very valuable and such that all may profit by them. But its great commendation is the ability with which the author shows, on the principles of science as well as religion, that it is by keeping the Sabbath spiritually that the health of the body as well as of the soul is best promoted; and that Sabbath walking and excursions tend to counteract the beneficent designs of the Sabbatic institution as an eminent means appointed by God for promoting the health of the body as well as that of the soul.

As written by a layman who had a more than ordinary knowledge of the human constitution, mental as well as bodily, and of high Christian principle, it will be read with less prejudice than were it the production of a clergyman. We give the following extracts as specimens.

As a proof of the worldly benefit of keeping the Sabbath holy, the following quotation is given from Wilberforce :

"During the war, it was proposed to work all Sunday in one of the royal manufac tories, for continuance, not for occasional service; and it was found that the workmen who obtained Government's consent to abstain from working on Sundays executed more work than the others."

As to the evil effects of forbidden work on the Sabbath, Mr. Miller asserts:

"From not working, nay, labouring, on the six lawful days of the week, there result debility, effeminacy, decay, disease. From overworking, on these days, there come fatigue and exhaustion; and decay and disease are not far distant. From weekly, mundane, forbidden working on the Sabbath, the body sustains injury and exhaustion; and, as will be seen immediately, a sadder loss accrues to the better part -the soul. But, by abstaining from weekly, mundane, forbidden working on the Sabbath, the body is invigorated and refreshed, and made a fit associate to the soul in its spiritual and enjoined work of God-service.

"Working-men! rest your muscles on the day of rest. That is their true 'recrea

tion.'

"Students, of every age and kind! beware of secular study on the Lord's-day. He is a fool, physiologically, who studies all night. He is a greater fool still, physiologically, who studies secularly on the Sabbath-day. He puts his brain to a work for which, at such time, and for such a continuance, it was never designed; the work cannot 'prosper,' neither can the organ of work 'be in health;' blessing is withheld and the curse must come down."

Again his words are:

"The muscles fatigued by work, or walks-the brain exhausted by mundane reading, or thoughts, or disputings, how can the soul enter upon its active communing with God?"

"It has been said, 'Why not go forth, and send specially the working-people forth, to meet the Deity (where He may more surely be found) face to face in the thousand natural objects of beauty with which He has surrounded us?' and the hackneyed phrase still passes from mouth to mouth, 'Let us look from nature up to nature's God.' They forget that man's heart by nature turns not to, but from, the Creator; and that it is not by or from nature, but by and from a wholly different source, that the knowledge and love of Him can ever come. They fail to observe that the natureworshipping they speak of-the Sunday strolling, and sauntering, and sight-seeing-is the worshipping of the god of this world, the prince and the power of it, instead of the worshipping of the God of heaven."

"To labour mundanely on the Sabbath, except in the works of necessity and mercy, and to abstain from spiritual exercise on that day, each is alike a deviation from the rule, and, as such, detrimental. The man that so errs outrages God's holy law, and incurs His righteous displeasure both here and hereafter; despising, as he does, that which is not only the law of God's holy Word, but also and equally the constitutional law of man's being, or rather well-being, physiologically considered." Again, the insinuation that strict Sabbath observance is injurious to man is met as follows:

"To assert that God's enjoined way of Sabbath observance is hard-oppressive to man, and opposed to his pleasure and happiness-is to assert what is not true. 'God's law is perfect.' It is a reflection of Himself, who is infinitely perfect; and it has been condensed by His own Word into two great principles-honour to God, and love to man. The fulfilment of both of these is enjoined on His intelligent creatures. And to say that in the keeping of the Fourth, or of any of the Ten Commandments, He indicates what is consisteut only with the first principle, and opposed to the second, is virtually to make God a liar, declaring that He has given as law to man what is not a reflection of Himself, and that the first 'great commandment' is inconsistent with, and opposed to, the second, which is like unto it.'

"Away with such blasphemy! God is truth.' 'Let God be true, and every man a liar.' 'The Sabbath was made for man; not man for the Sabbath.' It was constructed on very purpose for man's well-being. And in the righteous observance