photo-sphere, a black spot in the sun, diminishing its brightness, its heat, and its glory. This is the luminous atmosphere around the holy people which must fill with its beams the world of mankind. It is our God shining within and around us who is our glory. The church, like that form of womanly beauty in the Apocalypse, must be clothed with the Sun. "I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one." J

A combination of churches such as this is equal to any work which God may set before them. Such an association of Christians will pray with a power before which "doors will be opened" by the hand of the Almighty, which "no man can shut." Such a brother hood will speak with a voice which no opposition can strike dumb Such a priesthood will compass about Jericho with blasts of the trumpet, before which the loftiest fortifications will fall down flat And this is the point to which our attention ought to be chiefly directed. How can he evangelize the spreading streets of Londo and its environs, who neglects the souls of his own household? How can he convert strangers to goodness or the love of God who is him self the slave of self-indulgence, the bond-servant of worldly cus toms, the formal and once-a-week worshipper of a God, who is stranger to his soul. If we desire to be successful abroad, we mus first "show piety at home."

It needs then that we should become " labourers" in the work of th Lord. Out of this spirit will grow all needful ministries and ever evangelical agency. There must be special evangelists, but muc of the work of such in our day is needed chiefly because the disci ples generally forget their own vocation to be ministers of the word Let us not look only to public and special agencies; let us attent to our private opportunities. The water of life runs not only in the river-beds of a public ministry, but in the channels cut for it by the affairs of our common daily existence. Let us find out in every new city "who in it is worthy," who are the sons of peace tha have already taken up their abode therein. Let the new life grow out of the life already existing. Let us give the aid of our sym pathy to those of God's children who already are working in the wide-spread field of labour. And let us labour in whatever manner our consultation shall determine, so as to believe that good springs out of good; that he who utters a truthful word, or performs a right action, never can tell "whereunto this shall grow," for it is a living seed, and will spring and increase, and the "handful of corn shall shake like Lebanon." There is nothing in the world that has so much life in it as the word of God, and he who can speak that word, even in the simplest form, with loving lips that are inspired by an earnest and loving heart, wields a power which is "mighty through God," and may become the instrument of fulfilling the prophecy, "I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the olive

tree: instead of the thorn there shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the briar the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign, that shall not be cut off."

External glory in heaven is an outward and visible adornment for those alone whose souls were glorious here. Life is an experiment in shining. None but those whose spirits are lights on earth, will "shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" But he inward light in the soul of a true and truth-spreading Christian s destined to inhabit congenial light hereafter, "to walk in white," to be clothed in glory "to shine as the stars for ever and ever.” The outward will be an expression of God's estimate of the inward 'They shall be mine, saith the Lord, in the day when I make up ny jewels." He sets his finest diamonds in the purest gold; He ixes His "burning and shining lights" in a firmament of the most translucent sapphire; He illuminates His roses of Sharon," and His "plants of renown," with the rays of the uncreated glory; He clothes the child of clay in a "coat of many colours," in the rainbow dyes of heaven, and covers the natural dishonours of humanity with the immortality of God. "Let your light" then so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven;" so shine, that the Father Himself may open to you an escape from amidst the shades of death into the splendours of eternity.

6.

W.

THE DISMEMBERMENTS OF POLAND.⚫

THE way in which the Government, and, to a certain extent, the inhabitants of England, deal with the claims of any oppressed suffering people, has been fairly illustrated in the treatment accorded to Poland. As long as the demands of the sufferers are only presented in words, we sympathize with them. We never go beyond an almost contemptuous pity. The invariable answer under such circumstances to all direct appeals for aid is that the question is not a practical one. The anomalous condition of India was urged upon the attention of the English people and executive times without number, but to no purpose. But when the mutiny broke out, everybody took a deep interest in the affairs of India, and the question was earnestly canvassed on every hand, "What is the

We beg to acknowledge our obligations to two or three articles in the Edinburgh Review, for 1822-1832.

cause of the outbreak; is there not something wrong in our mode of governing India?" So it was with the case of Italy. The tale of her woes was told again and again in our hearing. We heard of her noble sons cast into dungeons, there to perish without a trial, or a charge preferred against them, even when the facile and commanding pen of Mr. Gladstone, as it told of the barbarities practised by King Bomba, only excited momentary sorrow and indignation. Italy all this time was not a practical question. Gari baldi came forth, and, in spite of the attempts of foreign govern ments to put him down, asserted with the sword the rightful de mands of the down-trodden Neapolitans; we would all then heartily and practically enter into the cause, which had up to the moment of its success, owed nothing to our co-operation. Thus, too, have our statesmen dealt with Poland. Lord Palmerston pretty wel understands the weaknesses of the English people, and as one these weaknesses is never, under any circumstances, to stick by principle, or to fight for an idea, unless the practical and successfu issue be certain, he has always managed to give the claims of Polan the cold shoulder. Mr. Hennessy, in his speech on 27th Feb ruary, in the House of Commons, on the Polish question, said, “I 1831 the French Government-the Government of Louis Phillipp -asked the English Government to co-operate with France in en deavouring to secure for Poland, then in a state of bloodshed, first peace; secondly, the institutions guaranteed by the treaty of Vienna." To this the noble Viscount (Lord Palmerston) replied "Can it be expedient to make a proposal which there is no groun to hope would be accepted? The effects and bearing of the contes now going on in Poland upon the security of other states have no been such as to warrant measures of such a description; nor ha the conduct of Russia towards England been calculated to excite any unfriendly feeling; on the contrary, she has performed all the duties of a good and faithful ally. Under these circumstances, his Majesty deeply lamenting the calamities of the disastrous and desolating conflict now raging in Poland, does not think the time has arrived when he would be justified in adopting a course, which, however conciliatory in form, could not fail to alarm an independent power naturally jealous of its rights." This was the amount of sympathy of the noble lord for Poland in 1831. He was the same in 1861 and 1862, and even in 1863, as he was thirty years ago. In 1861, Mr. Hennessy was denied by the Government a fair hearing for a motion of Poland. In 1862 he was met with the same stereotyped reply that "Poland was not a practical question," or, in other words, that it was not decidedly popular and likely to issue in success; so of course it was not the sort of question for Lord Palmerston. His action at the present time entirely depends upon the state of things in Poland, and the feeling of the public at home. If these indicate

in an unmistakable manner in favour of the Polish cause, it is quite certain that Lord Palmerston and the & Too in England who follow him, will go in on the side of the Poles.

In order to counteract to some extent this tendency to judge of the claims of Poland merely by the present circumstances of the case, and in order to our meting out to Russia, Prussia, and Austria, the proper amount of blame due to each in connection with the Polish question, and in order to understand the difficulties which are in the way of re-establishing the kingdom of Poland, we purpose giving a brief but fair narrative of the partitions of Poland. The matters involved in a right understanding of the Polish queson are so many and intricate as not to allow of our presenting more than a bare outline of them. There is lying before us Wyld's arge map of the ancient kingdom of Poland, describing the dismemberments and the present boundary, as settled by Act of Congress at Vienna.*

1. As to the dismemberments of Poland. Following the guidance of this map, we find that before the year 1772, a kingdom of Poland reaching from the Baltic to the Carpathian Mountains, and from the Dneiper to the Oder. The area of this kingdom could not have been less than 280,000 English square miles, or more than ive times the extent of England and Wales, or, to put it in another orm, more than 20,000 square miles larger than the present vast empire of Austria. Though the kingdom of Poland was thus large, t was internally weak, through the disputes of the inhabitants. The rapacious bordering powers took advantage of these dissensions o interfere in its affairs, and to take to themselves whatever of the Polish territory they might covet. Maria Theresa, in the year 1770, performed an act of appropriation, which, whether she intended it or not, had the effect of hastening the first dismemberment of Poland. She ordered her troops to take possession of the county of Zips, a piece of territory originally belonging to Hungary, but which had, by mutual arrangement, been annexed to Poland. The greedy eyes of Russia and Prussia had long been fixed on Poland. There had been at several times before threats of partitioning; now an occasion seemed to offer for carrying out these evil intentions. The matter was discussed by Catherine and Prince Henry of Prussia, at St. Petersburg, in December, 1770. It is reported on reliable authority that Catherine said to Henry, referring to the entrance of Austrian troops into Poland, "It seems that in Poland you have only to stoop and take;" that Henry laid hold on her words, and that Catherine then resuming an air of indifference, turned the conversation to other subjects. "The Empress,'

We most strongly recommend to every one interested in Poland the study of this very carefully got up map.

says Frederic, "indignant that any other troops than her own should give law to Poland, said to Prince Henry, That if the Court of Vienna wished to dismember Poland, the other neighbour had a right to do as much.' Henry said that there was no other means of preventing a general war." Catherine, speaking of the subsidy which Frederic had engaged to pay her, said, “I fear h will be weary of the burden, and will leave me; I wish I coul secure him by some equivalent advantage." "Nothing," said Henry 'will be more easy. You have only to give him some territory which he has pretensions, and which will facilitate the communica tion between his dominions." Catherine, without appearing to un derstand a remark, of which the meaning could not be mistaker adroitly replied, "That she would willingly consent if the balan of Europe were not disturbed; and that she wished for nothing' Poland of which both wary diplomatists were thinking, witho either mentioning it by name. She at last became so eager in th course of conversation, as to dip her finger in ink, and draw with the lines of partition on a map of Poland, which was lying befol her. After a good deal of negotiating, the treaty of partition wi signed at St. Petersburg in August, 1772. The partitioning w not completed before 1776, in consequence of quarrelling amon the three powers as to each one's share of the booty. By the a rangements then entered into, Russia appropriated 32,000 squa miles of territory, including Livonia, Polock, Witepsk, Mohile Prussia stole Polish territory of about 10,800 square miles. Austr took 27,900 square miles, consisting of the whole of Gallicia, at other districts contiguous to her north-east territory. Adding t gether the figures respresenting the territories lost on this occasio by Poland, we find it be no less than 71,000 square miles. The Poland was reduced at once by about one fourth of its dimension and no less than 5,000,000 of her population. The Poles did every thing in their power to save themselves from being despoiled i this iniquitous and cruel manner; but they were comparativel helpless, left by all the European powers, to contend alone agains the combined forces of Russia, Austria, and Prussia. Neither Englaud nor France took any part even in remonstrating agains this wholesale robbery. If they had interfered, the wrong would never have been committed; Poland would be existing at this day, a large and powerful kingdom, contributing to the peace and wellbeing of Europe. But this stealing of territory was not the only or perhaps the worst act of the three powers. The Poles, seeing that they were surrounded by banditti, might have prepared to develope the national resources in order to defend themselves from future depredations. Catherine of Russia and her fellow-robbers saw plainly enough that this might be a result of their spoliations, and as it was in their opinion by no means a desirable issue,