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uneasy, he did not seem to suffer acute pain. His mind was evidently in constant expectation of the great change. From the nature of his complaints he did not, and perhaps could not, speak much; but such of his death-bed sayings as referred to religion were quite characteristic. He was never in his life a presumptuous or even confident man; and if he erred at all, it was on the side of caution in expressing religious experiences or hopes-hence his words on a death-bed were few indeed, but these were "well ordered and sure.' He was told that many friends were calling and inquiring for him; and he replied, "It is very kind; I hope they pray for me. What a mysterious thing is the influence which the intercession of others has it certainly has power.' "You are, no doubt," it was said, "resting on Christ's atonement and intercession for your pardon and acceptance?" much more easily tell you," he replied, "on what I am not resting-not on myself." "But surely Christ is all your salvation?" "All," he answered, with feeble emphasis. "And He, too, is all your desire ?" "Yes." He was told that an aged member of his congregation was dying, and wished him to know it. He seemed much interested, saying, "Then we shall soon meet in heaven." The propriety of dying saints speaking in praise of Christ, was mentioned, and I told him that when I visited Dr Mitchell in his last days, I was much struck with the beautiful simplicity of one of his remarks to me, viz., that "he could do little now for his divine Master, but he could at least speak a word in his praise." He seemed pleased with the idea, and said in the words of the Psalmist, "O Lord, open Thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise."

He had very lowly views of his own character, and was frequently found with the words of the 51st Psalm on his lips. On these occasions he used to say, “I just go to Him as a chief sinner, and cast myself on his mercy. What a wonderful love was that which gave the only-begotten Son of the Father to suffer and to die for such as we are! What a hard heart I must have when it does not melt under such love!" On the Thursday evening before his death he was overheard saying, "O it will be a grand thing to take a journey to that better land." "Yes," it was rejoined, "an entrance into heaven will make up for all our pains and sorrows here; and there, it is to be hoped, we will all meet at last." "Yes," he replied, "I hope so," and after a pause" ALL that are in Christ Jesus." On Friday evening, about ten o'clock, he became suddenly worse, and evidently suffered a great deal, but not one word of murmuring or impatience escaped his mouth. His last religious service was about one o'clock in the morning, when he was asked if he would engage in prayer. He signified his assent, and after I had finished, he bowed his head, saying, "Amen." Thus closed our Christian fellowship, and after being somewhat more easy, though still distressed, he gently breathed his last at half-past five o'clock on Saturday morning, the 23d of October, in the 85th year of his age, and the 63d of his ministry.

PREVAILING FAULTS IN CONGREGATIONAL MUSIC.

BY THE REV. MATTHEW M'GAVIN, A.M.*

It is much to be feared that our churches little understand the practical advantages of music. Music is a means to an end. It awakens feeling. It is the language of the heart. Emotions are expressed by it, and emotions are cherished by it. It is the medium of nature through which, in the matter of devotional feelings, Christians act and re-act on one another. It is not merely sensuous. By human degeneracy it may, indeed, be prostituted as an aid to voluptuousness. But it is spiritual in its nature and tendency; and as a means to devotion, as a quickener of love, and gratitude, and joy, it is given to man, and urged upon the church as a duty and enjoyment. How have we appreciated the blessing? Have we received it in thankfulness, and applied it with fidelity? Have we used it as a stimulant to the soul, and, under its spiritualising power, have we been raised to

*From "The Precentor's Guide."

holier aspirations, acclaiming the excellences of heaven with higher energy, and uttering our praises to God in purer and loftier transports? Alas! music has been comparatively neglected. Its proper character has been practically denied. And our Christian Psalmody, instead of firing our souls, and enriching our spirits, often tends to damp our energies, and fill our churches with a freezing indifference.

The character or style of our congregational music is very low. In a multitude of cases it can hardly be said to be music at all. There is little in it of the sweetness and elevation of genuine music. And in the case of those churches, whose proficiency in the art it might be thought presumptuous to deny, the matter is not greatly different. There may be, indeed, a measure of knowledge, and that knowledge may be zealously applied but, by how many? Six, twelve, or twenty of the whole congregation may be all who have acquired the first elements of the science; and these, taking a prominence in the church, may have somewhat raised the character of its psalmody. Passing the character of the tunes, which are generally selected more for their novelty than their beauty, how often have our feelings been offended by the tasteless and meaningless distribution of the harmony! Male voices are exerted on a part where treble only should be heard ; females sing the notes which are intended only for the tenors; and a rude bass carries down to the lowest depths of the scale, a strain which is adapted only to soprano. Such a style of music may please where there is no taste to be shocked, and no knowledge to be violated-where the demand is for the amount of sound, without regard to its quality.

One obvious defect in all our congregational music is the neglect of musical expression. Little regard is paid to the character of music as the language of feeling. The same note, not only in its loudness or strength, but also in its tone, or what musicians call timbre, is made the expression of very different sentiments. Love, anger, gratitude, admiration, grief, are all uttered in the same unvarying accents. The natural distinction which a mother is careful to preserve in her intercourse with her babe, is overlooked as unnecessary in our communion with God. We think it enough to drawl forth our songs of praise in long familiar sounds, without a regard to the sentiments. Are we guilty of this in our intercourse with one another? Who of us, in relating our tale of woe, would express our feelings in accents of mirth, or, in recounting our joys, would employ the tones of sadness? And yet, we have often wondered at the innocent unconsciousness of a people, chaunting the grandeurs of redemption and bewailing the miseries of judgment in the same unvaried strain. The evil is not ascribable exclusively to the precentor. When different subjects of feeling are comprised in the verses to be sung, the skilful precentor will select a tune which admits of easy adaptation; and the congregation, if properly trained, will give, in the singing of the verses, that varied expression of tone which the different sentiments of the psalm may require. Feelings excited will express themselves in their own appropriate tones, and the absence of these tones is a doubtful indication of the presence of the feelings.

We have marked another evil in the music of our congregations, and one of the greatest magnitude. It is that which arises from the tasteless selection of the tunes. We refer not to the use of new tunes, though to many this is a serious offence; for while the style of modern compositions-we refer to them generally— may not be altogether suited to our taste, they may please and gratify the taste of others; and while we would prefer other tunes-tunes more grave, solemn, and devotional-we overlook the taste of the selection, in the hope that cultivation will improve it. But the evil we complain of is not a mere error of taste; it is an error of judgment and feeling. It consists in the selection of inappropriate tunes. Every tune has its own character. It is bold, or solemn, or tender, or cheerful; and while, perhaps, it may require a little more than ordinary knowledge of music to mark and decide this distinctiveness, yet the possession of that knowledge is of the greatest practical importance. Who of us, in our intercourse with our friends, would express our joy in sighs, or our sorrows in laughter? Can the mother, whose feelings to her child are communicated only by tones, give utterance to her fondness by shrieks, or to her happiness by sobs; and is it less a violation of propriety, that the Christian, in his intercourse with God, should be wholly regardless

of the first principles of nature? We have heard, and that in a congregation not far removed from the civilisation of the city, the bold, elevating, commanding sentiments of the 48th paraphrase,—

"Let Christian faith and hope dispel

The fears of guilt and woe;

The Lord Almighty is our friend,
And who can prove a foe?" etc.-

chaunted in the weeping strains of Shields. And what was the effect? We were denied the feelings of the hymn; and, while indignant at the stupidity of the leader, we wondered at the calm unconsciousness of the people proclaiming the grandeurs of redemption as a theme of lamentation. Such an instance of barbarism in music is to be imputed to the ignorance of precentors, and the people may be satisfied that in this they have no personal concernment; but we ascribe it greatly to the ignorance and culpable indifference of the people. If they themselves were improved as they should be, could precentors be guilty of such a gross impropriety? Would their improvement not lead to the improvement of the leader, and, in the improved state of their psalmody, would not their devotional feelings be aided and strengthened? Sometimes the evil may be traced to the vanity and ostentation of individuals. When a choir is formed, and a little familiarity with the practice of music is acquired, the attainments of the band must, of course, be exhibited to the people. Some tunes are selected which are thought to give scope for display, and these, however inappropriate to the psalm, must be inflicted on the church. We remember an instance of this kind: at the conclusion of a solemn and impressive sermon, these awful words were prescribed to be sung :—

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Amid the silence of a seemingly impressed congregation, the strains of Transport broke forth from an exulting band, and, as they were taken up by the people, the feelings of the sermon were forgotten, and a roaring triumph was proclaimed over the miseries of the lost. How insulting this to common sense! Oh! when will our people awake to a sense of their interest and duty? When will they be aroused to the claims and obligations of life, and, under a sense of their dignity and privilege, cease to desecrate the house of prayer by such fantastic performances?

66

Correspondence.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN MAGAZINE.

UNITED PRESBYTERIAN EMIGRATION.

SIR,-Allow me, through the medium of your Magazine, to direct the attention of the Ministers and Members of the United Presbyterian Church to the subject of emigration," and to point out certain reasons why that church should follow in the course of other religious bodies in the formation of an association for sending out emigrants. The Free Church have their Otago Association, and the Church of England their Canterbury Association, and why should the United Presbyterian Chuch be behind in conferring a similar benefit on the intending emigrants of their church? Let a lesson be taken from the examples quoted.

The formation of such an association would confer a benefit on many who, although having resolved to emigrate, are still at a loss to decide to which country to go. Australia, Port Natal, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States alike press their claims; and when this question is settled, the still more difficult one of locality is altogether overlooked, and the emigrant lands on a foreign shore without any fixed object or place of settlement in view, and is robbed with impunity

by a class of scoundrels who are always in watch for such persons. The formation of an association would do away with this difficulty, and, along with location in a body in a locality suited for them, the emigrants would have the benefit of a minister of their own denomination provided by the association. With their own countrymen as their neighbours to assist and cheer them, they would have a Scotland in the land of their adoption, and the house of God in their midst.

Granting that such an association were to be formed, the various considerations which fall to be noticed are, 1st, Where is land to be purchased by the association -in the choice of which the emigrants' advantage, both as regards salubrity of climate and fertility of soil, ought to be considered. 2d, The mode of sending out emigrants; and, 3d, The means of repayment by the emigrant. It is impossible here to enter into details regarding these, but I make a remark on them generally, leaving it to wiser heads to consider the matter, should my suggestions be thought worthy of notice.

The tide of emigration, until the Australian gold mania commenced, seemed to be towards the United States of America, which would, in my opinion, decide the matter of where land ought to be purchased. The State of Wisconsin I should recommend, (first) as being healthy: (secondly) as being fertile; (and, thirdly) as having properly organised laws; various other states are as fertile, but some of these "Iowa," for example, are peopled by persons of a wild and disorderly character, and consist principally of such as, to use an American significant expression, "have taken Iowa short." The purchase of land could be negotiated with the American Government, from which large tracts of the finest land can be had for about 5s. 3d. per acre, which is cheaper than in any of the British colonies where any extent of white population exists. Of course the charges for clearing amount to a large additional sum, unless sufficient prairie land were found (with clumps of trees for firewood) by the association. In New Zealand, where the Free Church and the Church of England have their associations, the natives are occasionally troublesome, and an occasional shock of an earthquake destroys the labour of years.

Port Natal is remarkably healthy, and the soil fertile, and probably might be considered a good field for such an association; the white population, however, is not numerous, and its vicinity to the Cape of Good Hope might be unfavourable; the price of land is 20s. per acre. Some parts of Australia are devastated by sudden droughts. It is not well watered, and, taking it generally, is not an agricultural country. It would not, however, in my opinion, be advisable for the association to send emigrants to Australia, for no sooner would the vessel arrive in port, than numbers of them would set off for the diggings. Neither would it be advisable to have such an association mixed up with the offscouring of the British empire and the dregs of the Californian miners, men not at all fit neighbours for any body where order and personal security are desired. The extent of the country is no guarantee that their poisonous influence would not tell upon the morals of the emigrants. Australian newspapers tell too truly the state of society in these colonies. The Canadas are very healthy, but are excessively cold in winter and hot in summer; and although Wisconsin is also liable to the same objection, the extremes are not so great as in the Canadas-the change of government is an object of small account in an emigrant's deliberation.

The emigrants would be required to make each a deposit of L.10 or L.20, and have his respectability and good character certified by his minister before being accepted by the association, and they could be sent out in large bodies, arrangements being made for their conveyance to their destination on the ship's arrival at the destined port. They should be allowed to select their land, and have a few years to pay for it from the profits of their farms. The association could come to no loss in this matter, even although the emigrant should leave his farm without making payment. The deposit would defray the expense of transit, his log house would remain, and every tree he had felled would add to the value of his lot, which would readily be taken by a new comer at an advanced price. This method of emigration, as it would admit of a minister being placed amongst them, would confer a great boon on the emigrant, and extend the bounds of our church. This is, in fact, a part of our missionary work; for why send missionaries to

preach the Gospel to the heathen, if we refuse the like privileges to our own countrymen, who, you are well aware, have no religious privileges such as we enjoy, and whose nearest church may be thirty or forty miles off? It would surely be better to adopt this method than have so many half paid and half employed probationers at home.

With the knowledge of these things, ought not the United Presbyterian Church to follow the example already set her, and vigorously attempt the formation of an emigration society? Let her take an interest in the emigrant, such as I have pointed out, and she will thus improve both their temporal and spiritual welfare.-I am, Sir, etc.,

Falkirk, December 1852.

BOTHWELL BRIDGE.

The Gleaner.

"WHICH is the way to Bothwell Bridge?" was my question, as, alighting from one of the Glasgow railroads, near the village of Uddingstone, I sought my course onwards. "There is a regular road to it, sir; turn to your left, and you'll be there!" No course could be more agreeable than that to which my informant just pointed. It was what it became a road to be which passed through the estates of the Douglases and Hamiltons,-broad, trim, well-sheltered by trees, and affording plentiful accommodation for the foot-passenger. The country around was bold and charming; smiling, luxuriant, open scenery, never rugged and precipitous, made up of recurrent "lines of beauty." I know of no sensations more agreeable than those which attend a fine day in a rich country; especially if, with an unexhausted body, one treads over ground which has been the seat of ancient story, expecting at each turn or ascent, some characteristic view, or some object of historical interest. It was in this mood that, under the shadow of the park-wall of Lord Douglas, I drew near to the pleasant, but very modern, village of Bothwell, or Both'll, as it is called by the natives, encountering in my way, however, very little of that which I sought, though the graceful Free Church, and the imposing tower of the Established one, might have claimed, at another time, some passing admiration. But I knew that I was within reach of scenes which, slowly as they might develop themselves, are attractive to the tourist, and full of interest to the eager antiquary. Somewhere to my right, though I could not yet see it, was the ruin of the ancient castle of Bothwell, associated with the memories of Wallace, Edward I., Bruce, and the dark and desperate husband of Mary Queen of Scots. I knew that I was not far distant from the ruins of Blantyre Priory, founded by Alexander II., and from "Bothwell banks that bloom so fair," situated upon its

M. M.

opposite side. Each eminence I climbed might, for aught I knew, bring into view the palace and park of the Duke of Hamilton; might open a prospect which would comprehend the estate whence the injured and revengeful assassin of the Regent Murray derived his title; or introduce me to the remnants of the ancient Caledonian forest, once famous for its breed of wild cattle, now almost extinct; or to the ruins of the fortress of Craignethan, better known under the name of Tullietudlem. Such, at least, are the localities which solicit, in this neighbourhood, the regards of the passing traveller. I was not far, moreover, from the historical town of Hamilton, which I afterwards visited, and found to resemble, in its better parts, a slip-shod damsel caught in her slovenliest déshabille upon a washing day; and in its worst, nothing to which an Englishman's notion of a country town could, for filth and wretchedness, furnish a comparison; and this, too, though lying in the immediate vicinity of the duke's "peelace" itself. Some one has said that, were he a monarch, the first thing he would do would be to run away with his crown. Methinks, were I the Duke of Hamilton, my first measure would be to annihilate, if I could not reform, the town which gave me my title. But this is an anticipation.

Passing through the village of Bothwell, one descends, by a gentle slope, to the banks of the Clyde. But it is not till you have just reached the spot, that you obtain a sight of the trans-fluvial erection which bears the name of Bothwell-bridge. It is well to cavil at antiquarian tastes, and to complain that they would willingly reduce the world to a heap of ruins; but it is impossible to repress a feeling of disappointment, when modern improvement has erased so many vestiges of ancient association. The history of the Covenanters represents this celebrated bridge as about twelve feet in breadth; it is now thirty-two. A main feature of the romantic story is connected with an embattled gateway,

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