Christianized version of them; and David said not, "Lord, what a wretched world is this," but, "Let the floods clap their hands, and the hills be joyful together, before the Lord." And that is as true now as it was then; so, instead of despairing, and doubting God's love when we think of our brothers who do not love Him, let us, too. be joyful in God, who shall "judge the nations righteously, and the people with His truth."

The best joy is the joy that comes after sorrow, and we mus learn wisdom with many tears. But tears are not the end. "Blesse are they that weep now, for they shall laugh." "Weeping ma endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning "—that mornin for which all the ages groan.

One means for promoting a wholesome tone of religious feelin is, to reform our amusements, to make them simpler, and heartie and more natural, more child-like-not more childish. We a need more of the child's heart; we want to "be converted, and b come as little children."

I think that the mental effect of bodily exercise is too mu overlooked. Bodily exercise taken for the sake of amusement h a wonderful effect on the mind; it does away with the ice of cer mony, and puts everyone in the best of tempers; and I believe it do more than almost any other thing to abate the wretched and u healthy self-consciousness always found in a highly intellectual ar refined age.

And (to come to the point at last) of all active indoor amus ments, the easiest of preparation, the least annoying to those wh may not wish to join, the most natural, and incomparably the mo graceful, is dancing.

There is a strong objection to dancing among religious peopl and especially among religious Dissenters, but the prejudice is ol enough to be re-considered. We are too ready, after taking, pe haps, some pains to form an opinion, to settle comfortably dow therein, and forget that as we grow older we ought to grow wise and that, with our older eyes, we may see some things other tha formerly. A man whose opinions have undergone no modificatio in twenty years can hardly have been living to purpose at all. W ought sometimes to look over our mental wardrobes, and see whethe we have outgrown any of these garments which once fitted us.

The objections of religious people to dancing are the genera one, that dancing is a worldly amusement; that is, that "worldl people" dance; and that it promotes trifling; and the particula one, that waltzes, and polkas, and "round dances" generally, ar often very unseemly, and ought to offend the good taste, at leas of everyone.

1. Are we sure that everything worldly people do is wrong? an is it not the old Judaizing spirit, which would make a difference in

That law of

non-essentials between the Church and the world? commandments contained in ordinances is done away. Let us be nore righteous, not less cheerful, than worldly people. We are Christians and Protestants; let us not return to the Heathenish loctrine (which is too much held also in the very Church we are 'Protestants" against), that God is pleased to see His creatures orment themselves. He desires the sacrifice of our sins, not of our awful enjoyments. Good weights and measures, and truth and onesty in business and pleasure, are better than solomn faces and ull religious conventionalisms.

And whereas it is said that dancing promotes levity, I think it reatly hinders foolish talk, and a trifler will trifle anywhere.

Is it less religious to move peacefully in a dance, than to make Bedlam of peaceful drawing-rooms in blind man's buff? Is dancing Forse than silly songs-neither common sense nor poetry-set to bolish, tuneless tunes; and the empty flourishes and "brilliant" onsense, which a request for music generally calls forth? Is there nore room for vanity in good dancing than in bad music and singg? And, above all, is dancing worse than scandal, and that iluted folly, "small-talk," which religious people so plentifully inulge in? We may be wise; we are certainly very dull when we ave" company," and the "company" is generally very dull too. 2. The second objection is against an abuse of dancing rather an against the thing itself. Because some ways of dancing are bjectionable, we will not dance at all. But if we reject things holly because they are liable to abuse, where are we to stop? his is the very same principle which leads men and women to ave their proper place where God put them, because it is very ard to be good in a wicked world, and to go into monasteries and unneries, wherein they expect to find it easier. It is the glory of Christianity not to destroy, but to reform; not to pull down, but to uild up. It is much nobler to make an old thing better than to ivent some new thing. But as it is very hard to use the world as ot abusing it, cowardly souls and lovers of ease extol abstinence bove moderation, and gain thereby credit more than others, being een by men to fast. It is better to try to win back the world from he devil than to leave it to him, and take care of our own souls. Perhaps we were not born into this world only to save our own ouls, and perhaps peace is neither the best nor the happiest thing n a world where there is such a battle to be fought for God and man. We may be sure of one thing-that everything unnatural is wrong. No one can deny who believes in a Righteous Creator of Man, that the evil nature, miscalled human, which we feel and see every day, is not that wherein we were created, but something else. Whatever is really natural must be good in itself; that is, it must be intended by God, who made Nature. The best things, when abused, are the very worst. Religion is the first of good.

things; but more and more atrocious crimes have been done in the name of God than for any other cause whatever.

Any one who will watch for five minutes by one of those per formers on hand-organs, who make melody in London streets, may see for himself whether dancing be natural or not. What do the children who dance round the organ-man know about the five posi tions? And if people would not look piously shocked when they ask little girls whether they dance; and if they danced themselves as a matter of course (as, at present, we criticise our neighbours and begin to dissect the sermons on Sunday before we are well ou of the church door), our dancing would be far more unselfconscious and free from vanity and display than most of our singing an music, and other amusements, are now, considering here music a a mere amusement.

3. The next objection is not confined to religious people Many parents, who "make no profession," will not allow the daughters to waltz, and many young ladies feel the bad taste of th usual way of dancing "round dances." There are many more in teresting dances than waltzes and polkas, to which the objectio does not apply; and even these, polkas at least, may be reformed. We shall never make religion beautiful in the world's eye b formality, or by standing aloof from those with whom we cann fully sympathize. We are not at all too good to live in this world some of us are not so much better as we imagine than some wh profess less; and the better we are, that is, the more we love th God and Father of us all, the more we shall love man, and the le we shall think ourselves better than others.

We shall never get any good by trying to be better than huma nature. So the world was lost; and the same adversary wh tempted Eve in Eden tempts every one of us with some form of th same lying promise, "Ye shall be as gods." That lie is at th root of asceticism, and all fanatical gloom and harshness. God woul have us human. The Son of God was made man for us, and lives fo us as man for ever; and we best follow Him by being human: and if we will "be as gods," let us believe that we shall be then mos Godlike, being most like men."

I am, Sir, your constant reader,

SALTEMUS.

[There seems to be considerable difficulty in answering this correspondent off-hand. No doubt there is a great deal of superstition among those who try to be "good people." We are the victims of previous ages of con tradiction and extravagances. Because folks have been this, therefore the reforming party have been that-and both have been wrong. The English are all to glocmy, partly through the climate, partly through odd temper, and partiy through unwholesome living. They want a natural gaiety to harmonize with the flowers and bright skies of spring and summer. The religious public carry the English peculiarity to excess; their worship, their work, and their play are all too triste. There is also this bad quality in the English-that

vhen they do break up this solemn reserve and become gay, they generally o a little mad. There is a tendency to extravagance in all expression of entiment, in order to make up for the previous compression and rigour. his occurs in amusements, among none more than in religious families. ou give the young people an inch and they take an ell. This, however, is ally an argument not against amusements, but against the previous unholesome constraint and sadness, which tempts to frequent excess.

As to dancing, there is no doubt that the Bible is full of it; and Nature self teaches humanity both music and dancing. Even a doctor of Divinity els the effect of well-marked music. But dancing is of two sorts-the incing of good young people, and the dancing of bad-and these are very fferent things, just like the eating and drinking of the righteous, and of the icked; which differ so much as to create two wholly diverse manifestations the same function. The dancing which respects God, the everpresent giver joy and gladness-which respects duty and labour, so as to avoid late urs, which turn night into day, and consequently day into night-which spects womanly dignity and maidenly delicacy-both in the manner in hich ladies join hands with gentlemen, as usedto be done twenty years ago, stead of gentlemen placing their arms around the waists of young ladies, is generally done in all companies now-which avoids waltzing, and is ostile to all expensive and immodest fashions in dress, that remind you of the ose beauties of the detestable court of Charles II;-this kind of dancing is ry different from that which sets at defiance every one of these conditions d requirements. And it is, we lament to say, the extreme rarity of the tht conditions of dancing which renders it almost impossible for religious rents to send a girl into company where dancing is going forward with quite mfortable feelings; and therefore almost impossible to advocate dancing thout first accomplishing a thorough social revolution. While dancing and ncing parties are what they are, we wish all stability to the old prejudices ainst them. But if people can become cheerful enough to wish to dance, d can manage it "decently and in order," we wish all possible success to nily dancing, which is one of the prettiest, one of the healthiest, and one of > most innocent of human amusements, especially when in the open air. re as elsewhere, the first requisite for getting things rightly done, is to get ht or righteous people to do them. So long as the people are not innocent, eir play will be wicked. But by all means let the good combine and resist, d reform, and enjoy. Religion does not consist in doing nothing, but in ing lawful things in a lawful way. Until they can be done in a lawful way, is undoubtedly best not to do them at all. There are things which are wful which are nevertheless in some circumstances inexpedient. Let us hear iat others of our readers may have to say on this matter. We should be ry happy to inaugurate a regular battle on dancing, and have this matter rly and satisfactorily fought out. It might assist many families out of their ficulties.]

SHORT NOTICES OF BOOKS.

xtra Work of a London Pastor. By SAMUEL MARTIN. The Book Society, Paternoster-row.

Mr. Martin has here re-published is Exeter Hall Lectures, together ith some extracts from volumes now

out of print. They form a volume which may be added to the list of school prizes with great advantage. We sometimes hope that our frequent iteration of this recommendation in a book may be the means of introducing