stantly employed, to make into garments, or shoes, the cloth or leather which the bishop's corn had purchased; and the aged and infirm were supplied according to their several wants. The bishop took great pains in order to find out the most deserving objects of charity; and when he was told of its having been bestowed amiss, "It may be so," he said, "but I would rather give to ten unworthy, than that one deserving object should go away without relief."

During the fifty-eight years of his pastoral life, except on occasion of sickness, Bishop Wilson never failed on a Sunday to expound the Scripture, preach the Gospel, or administer the sacrament, at some one or other of the churches of his diocese; and if absent from

the island, he always preached at the church of the parish where he resided for the day. When in London, he was generally solicited to preach for some one or other of the public charities, being much followed and admired: and many who heard him have remarked the great beauty of his prayer before the sermon, particularly when he offered up prayer for those who never pray for themselves.

His family prayers were as regular as his public duties: every summer morning at six, and every winter morning at seven, the family attended him to their devotions in his chapel; and in the evening they did the same. He kept a diary, in which he recorded special favours enjoyed in extraordinary deliverances, and merciful visitations, and chastisements which he experienced. In the year 1703, Bishop Wilson obtained an Act of Settlement, which was the means of some essential benefits to his diocese; and in the same year he published a set of Ecclesiastical Constitutions, so well adapted to maintain a primitive and wholesome discipline in the Church, that Lord Chancellor King was led to declare, "If the ancient discipline of the Church were lost, it might be found in all its purity in the Isle of Man."

On the 5th of September, 1704, the bishop accompanied Mrs. Wilson, who had been for some time in a declining state of health, to Warrington, for the benefit of her native air; where he continued with her until, in the spring of the following year, she resigned her soul into the hands of her Creator and Redeemer, with a hope full of immortality. His prayers during this period of severe trial abound with religious sentiment, and Christian resignation. He felt as a man, but he did not sorrow as one without hope; and, while he consoled himself with the thoughts of future happiness, which his beloved partner had been summoned to enjoy, he felt that serenity of mind which none but a Christian can experience in the hour of affliction.

On the 3rd of March, 1707, the bishop was made Doctor in Divinity, in full convocation, at Oxford; and on the 11th of June following, the same honour was decreed him by the university of Cambridge. About the same time, he was admitted a member of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

may hope that our people will not be corrupted with novel opinions. Now the most effectual way to prevent this will be, for all of us that are appointed to watch over the flock of Christ to employ our thoughts, our zeal, and our time, in promoting true piety; in labouring to make men good; and in converting sinners from the error of their ways, that we may preserve the power, as well as the form, of godliness. In a word, there never was more need than now, of hearkening to the apostle's advice and exhortation to the elders of Ephesus, to take heed unto ourselves, and to the flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made us overseers; to ourselves, lest we give any just occasion of offence; and to our flock, lest they be infected with novel opinions, contrary to faith and godliness.

We come now to a circumstance which displays the bishop discharged the duties of his sacred office, while laudable zeal and exemplary fidelity with which the it exhibits his fortitude under persecution for righteousness' sake. Mrs. Horne, the wife of the governor of the island, having wantonly traduced the character of whom the affair had been formally brought, to ask parcertain parties, was sentenced by the bishop, before don of those whom she had injured. This she refused to do, and treated the bishop and his authority, as well as the ecclesiastical constitution of the island, with conChurch, ecclesiastical censure was pronounced, which tempt. For this indecent disrespect to the laws of the banished the offender from the Sacrament, until satisfaction should be made. The archdeacon, however, who was chaplain to the governor, received her at the communion, contrary to the custom of the Church. The bishop, who would have forgiven an insult to himself, could not tolerate this disobedience to the Church and its laws. He, at length, suspended the archdeacon, metropolitan, threw himself on the civil power; and the who, instead of appealing to the Archbishop of York, as gally, fined him fifty pounds, and his two vicars-general, governor, under pretence that the bishop had acted illewho had been officially concerned in the suspension, twenty pounds each. This fine they all refused to pay, as an arbitrary and unjust imposition; upon which the governor sent a party of soldiers to seize their persons, and, on the 29th of June, 1722, committed them to close confinement in the castle of Rushen.

The people, hearing of the insult thus offered to their beloved instructor, pastor, and friend, assembled in crowds, and were with difficulty restrained from pulling down the governor's house; but they were diverted from their purpose by the mild behaviour and persuasion of the bishop, who was permitted to speak to them through a grated window, or to address them from the walls of the prison, whence he blessed and exhorted hundreds of them daily, telling them that he meant to appeal unto Cæsar, meaning the king. The bishop and his vicars-general remained in prison for the space of two months, and were treated during that time with the utmost indignity and harshness.

The king in council afterwards reversed all the pro

In a Convocation Charge, delivered June 9, 1720, the bishop directed his censures against some books, which, if they were not designed to destroy the Christian religion itself, were certainly meant to set aside all form, ceremony, and even practice of devotion; and more especially to debase the office of the clergy.

We have power and authority, (said he,) both from God and the laws, to rebuke gainsayers; and while we are unanimous and faithful in the discharge of our duty, we

oppressive, arbitrary, and unjust; but as no costs could be granted, the expenses of the trial fell very heavy on the bishop, although he was assisted by a subscription to the amount of nearly four hundred pounds. The bishop was advised by his solicitor to prosecute the governor and others in the English courts of law, to recover damages, as a compensation for his great expenses; but to this he could not be persuaded. He had established the discipline of the Church, and he sincerely and charitably forgave his persecutors. Nay, one of the most inveterate of them being afterwards confined for debt, the bishop visited and administered comfort to him. The king offered him the bishopric of Exeter, to reimburse him; but he could not be prevailed on to quit his diocese. His majesty, therefore, promised to defray his expenses out of the privy purse; but, as he went soon afterwards to Hanover, and died before his return, this promise never was fulfilled.

After this, the bishop persevered in the faithful dis- | charge of his episcopal duties, and in devising and carrying into effect various plans for the benefit of his clergy, and of the people. In 1740 there was a great scarcity of corn in the Isle of Man. When the supply was almost exhausted, the bishop, together with the Duke of Athol, contracted for two ship-loads: this provision arrived just in time to save the people of the island from absolute famine; yet the poor could not even then obtain it, in consequence of the highness of the price. Our good and charitable prelate, however, assisted them. In a letter to his son, he says, "What I give at home to poor people, I give gratis; having, through God's blessing, about one hundred and fifty Winchester bushels to spare. But my method in the four towns has been, to buy it at the market price, which is high enough indeed, and to order it to be sold at half prime cost, but only to poor people, and not above two pecks to any one body.'

Some time about the year 1744, the bishop formed a plan for translating the New Testament into the Manx language. He did not live to see further progress made in this great work, than the translation of the Gospels and the printing of St. Matthew. This, however, was afterwards completed by his successor, Bishop Hildesley, and the clergy, assisted by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

It has been already mentioned, that Queen Anne would have given him an English bishopric. King George the First made him the same offer; and, in 1735, Queen Caroline was very desirous of keeping him in England; but he was so fond of his flock, and so attached to his diocese, that no offer could remove him.

In the exercise of Christian virtues, and the practice of pastoral duties, this venerable prelate attained the ninety-third year of his age, and the fifty-eighth of his consecration. He gently expired on the 7th of March, 1755. The tenants about his demesnes were the persons appointed to bear the bishop to his grave; but from the palace to the church, a distance of two miles, the funeral was attended by all the inhabitants of the island as mourners, except those whom necessity, age, or sickness confined at home. At every resting-place, there was a contest among the crowd to bear the coffin on their shoulders; and happy were they who could pay this last sad office to the deceased bishop, their beloved friend and sincere benefactor.

The writings of Bishop Wilson, relating chiefly to practical religion, are numerous and valuable. Some of his Sermons, his Sacra Privata, and Preparation for the Lord's Supper, are, at present, most generally known and used.

His character cannot be reviewed without profit, as well as delight, by any one who has a taste for the beauties of real godliness, and a wish to be adorned by them. Having the precepts of his Divine Master constantly before him, with the lives and writings of the Apostles, and primitive Christian Fathers, he from them laid down his plan of life, and steadily copied their example. He was an excellent classical scholar, and understood Hebrew well. In the younger part of his life he had a poetical turn, but afterwards he laid aside such amusements, thinking them inconsistent with his episcopal character. He had studied and practised physic with success. For some time after he settled in the Isle of Man, he was the only physician in it, keeping a shop of drugs for general use, which he distributed, as well as his advice, gratis; but when some gentlemen of the faculty came, he gave up to them that part of the practice which alone could conduce to their emolument, and reserving the poor to himself. He instructed young candidates for orders, and maintained them at home under his own immediate care; nor did he ordain them, until he found, on a strict and careful examination, that they were perfectly well qualified. He was an able

mathematician, an excellent botanist, and, if we view him as a farmer, we find that by a judicious and successful cultivation of the ecclesiastical demesnes, which before his coming to the island produced little or nothing, he in a few years fed and clothed the poor of his diocese. He was so charitable and "ready to distribute," that it was not unaptly observed by a gentleman of the island who knew him well, that "he kept beggars from everybody's door but his own." He always kept an open hospitable table, furnished in a plentiful, but not extravagant manner. As the friendly host or master or that table he was entertaining and agreeable, as well as instructive; his manners, though always consistently adorned with Christian gravity, were ever gentle and polite. He was the divine, the scholar, and the gentleman. He often on a Sunday visited the different parishes of his diocese, without having given any previous notice; and after doing the duty of the day returned to Bishop's Court to dinner; and this he did, after he was eighty years of age, on horseback. Four times in every year he made a general visitation, inquiring into the behaviour and conduct of all the parishioners, and exhorting them to the practice of religion and virtue. And at his annual convocation, he delivered his charges with all the grace and dignity which suit the solemnity of such addresses. We may, perhaps, most suitably sum up his character by saying that he was a bishop "blameless as the steward of God, not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, tenperate, holding fast the faithful word as he had been taught, and able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convince the gainsayers."

By the repeated attempts of a man to convince others, he convinces us that he is convinced himself.

SINCE the generality of persons act from impulse, and not from reason, men are neither so good, nor so bad, as we are apt to imagine them.-Guesses at Truth.

TRUST IN GOD.

THOU art, O Lord, my only trust,

When friends are mingled with the dust,
And all my loves are gone.
When earth has nothing to bestow,
And every flower is dead below,
I look to Thee alone.

Thou wilt not leave, in doubt and fear,
The humble soul who loves to hear
The lessons of Thy word.
When foes around us thickly press,
And all is danger and distress,

There's safety in the Lord.

The bosom friend may sleep below
The churchyard turf, and we may go
To close a loved one's eyes:
They will not always slumber there;
We
We see a world more bright and fair,
A home beyond the skies.
And we may feel the bitter dart,
Most keenly rankling in the heart,

By some dark ingrate driven:
For us revenge can never burn;
We pity, pardon, then we turn

And rest our souls in heaven. 'Tis Thou, O Lord, who shield'st my head And draw'st Thy curtains round my bed; I sleep secure in Thee. And, O, may soon that time arrive, When we before Thy face shall live Through all eternity. PERCIVAL.

JOHN W. PARKER, PUBLISHER, WEST STRAND, LONDON.

THE important sea-port town of Sunderland is situated on the right side of the river Wear, in the county of Durham, and is distant from London upwards of two hundred and sixty miles.

A harbour for shipping at the mouth of the river Wear, appears to have been well known to our Saxon ancestors. According to Bede, they called the place Wiranmuthe or Ostium Vedra, and it was here that, soon after the Norman conquest, Malcolm, king of Scotland, found Edgar Atheling, the heir of England, his sister Margaret, the future Queen of Scotland, and a train of Saxon exiles, lying in the haven, waiting wind and tide to escape from their conquerors, into Scotland. At the latter end of the twelfth century an important charter was granted to Sunderland by Bishop Pudsey, releasing the burgesses from several of the more oppressive parts of the feudal law, facilitating the transfer of property, providing for a more speedy administration of justice, and in every way tending to foster the infant commerce of the borough. Equal privileges with those conferred on the citizens of Newcastle, were by this charter secured to the inhabitants of Sunderland, and from that time it began to rise into commercial import

ance.

Various conjectures have been formed as to the origin of the name of this town; but the most probable is that which supposes it to imply land sundered, or divided, in allusion to the former situation of the place, which seems to have been on a point of land nearly insulated by the river Wear and the sea. The sea appears VOL. XXIV.

originally to have flowed much higher up into some of the deep gullies on the coast, than it does at present; indeed, there is evidence that in one of these gullies, in 1350, there was water sufficient for vessels to ride at anchor in the bay.

Sunderland is a parliamentary borough, comprenending, on the north side of the river, the townships of Monk Wearmouth, Monk Wearmouth Shore, and Southwick; and on the south side of the river, the parish of Sunderland, the townships of Bishop Wearmouth and Bishop Wearmouth Pans. A monastery was founded at Monk Wearmouth in 674, but was destroyed by the Danes in the ninth century. It was not restored until after the Norman conquest, and then it was soon reduced to be a cell of the monastery of St. Cuthbert, at Durham. Bishop Wearmouth is first noticed in the charter of Bishop Pudsey, where the borough of Wearmouth is recognised; but it appears to have been likewise called Sunderland from its very origin. The portion of this borough which is now known as the parish of Sunderland was detached from Bishop Wearmouth in 1719, but though the towns were once distinct, the progress of building has united them, so that the principal street runs through both.

The more ancient portion of the town of Sunderland presents one dense mass of small houses, intersected by narrow streets and lanes. The crowded state of the population, and the want of cleanliness by which this district is characterized, were doubtless the cause of the ravages of cholera in 1832, which first broke out at this

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port. The principal street in the town is High Street, which is broad and handsome, and nearly a mile in length. It contains many good buildings, and respectable shops, and is well paved and lighted. Parallel with it is Low Street, a much narrower and more ancient line of buildings.

During the last fifty years the increase of commerce and of population in Sunderland has been so rapid, that the town and neighbourhood has naturally grown more extensive. In the course of this extension very considerable improvements have been introduced. Good streets have been constructed on the outskirts of the old town, and many excellent institutions have been founded, which receive liberal support. A subscription library was established in 1801, and in 1814 there was erected in the High Street, at a cost of 8,000l., subscribed by individuals in 50%. shares, a noble exchange, including an auction mart, committee room, post office, news room, and merchants' walk. Numerous charitable institutions likewise confer honour on the town.

The church of Sunderland is built of brick, with a square tower; the nave has two regular aisles formed by pillars with Corinthian capitals; the chancel is circular, covered by a dome, and opening into the nave under two fluted columns with Corinthian capitals. A spacious gallery occupies the west end. By a regulation which we would gladly hail as universal, no burials are permitted within the walls of the church.

To the south of the town is a moor, anciently called the coney-warren, which includes about seventy acres of ground, and on which are built extensive barracks, capable of accommodating two thousand men. At the east end of this moor a handsome chapel was erected in 1769, chiefly at the expense of John Thornhill, of Thornhill, Esq. Within the last few years, a new church has been erected, with the aid of the parliamentary commissioners. Monk Wearmouth has an ancient church, and an episcopal chapel; and Bishop Wearmouth has also an ancient church, which was much altered in the early part of the present century.

The great object of interest to a stranger in visiting Sunderland is, perhaps, the magnificent iron bridge which crosses the Wear, and connects Sunderland with Monk Wearmouth. This bridge is indeed a good example of the spirit and enterprise of the inhabitants. It was projected by a gentleman of the neighbourhood, Rowland Burdon, Esq., who subscribed 23,000l. towards the cost of the undertaking. It consists of a single arch of two hundred and thirty-six feet in span, formed by small segments of iron, having a height of upwards of one hundred feet from the centre of the arch to the surface of the river at low water, so that vessels of above three hundred tons burden can pass under it by merely lowering their top gallants.

This leads us to notice the trade of Sunderland, which, as most of our readers are probably aware, consists chiefly in the building of vessels and shipment of coals. Early records prove that Sunderland was "let to farm for a hundred marks" at the time when Bishop Pudsey granted the charter above named, and in 1358 we find further mention of the fisheries in the Wear, and right of drawing a net in the harbour, &c., as rented by one Thomas Menvil. Successive leases of the borough were granted by the Bishops of Durham. In 1507 the lease was held by Sir Ralph Bowes, of Dalden, knight, under 67. rent. In 1606 a separate lease was granted for anchorage and beaconage; and Surtees, the historian of Durham, says, "It was probably about this period, the latter end of the reign of Elizabeth, or in that of James, that the coal trade began to find its way into the port of Sunderland, which, in consequence, gradually rose into importance; while Hartlepool, the ancient port of the Palatinate, was dwindling in inverse proportion into a fishing town. A considerable influx of population appears to have taken place betwixt the years 1600 and

1630, including several families of Scotch settlers, and a few foreign merchants." A new charter granted to the burgesses in 1634 particularly mentions sea-coal, grind-stones, rub-stones, and whet-stones, as articles of exportation, and authorizes a weekly market, two fairs, and other privileges.

During the civil wars, the importance of Sunderland was much increased by the fact that Newcastle was stoutly and loyally defended for the king, and the export of coal from thence was long closed against the rebellious city of London. Thus the collieries on the Wear, and the port of Sunderland, became of the utmost importance, and one of the parliamentary commissioners constantly resided there, until the surrender of Newcastle took place.

The harbour of Sunderland is formed of two piers, of more than two hundred yards in length, on the north and south shores of the river, forming a beautiful promenade. A strong battery defends the harbour. A railway has been formed through the eastern portion of the town, running in the direction of the low quay; and by this means coals, and other products of the interior, are better and more quickly shipped than higher up the river. Previous to the erection of the piers, the haven and river had suffered much injury by sand-banks cast up by the sea, by the improper throwing out of ballast in the harbour, and by the irregular and low building and want of repairing of "wharf-staiths and ballastkeys," so that loaded keels could only pass at high tide. In consideration of the influence which the free navigation of this port would have in lowering the price of coals in London and its neighbourhood, an act was passed in 1669 for cleansing the harbour, and building a pier and lighthouse. Commissions were appointed for twenty-one years, with power to survey the port and river, in order to the several improvements which were to be carried into effect. At this period, the only night signal at this port was a lantern hoisted on a flag-staff. It was not until 1802 that the building of a lighthouse was commenced, from a design of Mr. Pickernell, engineer. It is an elegant octagonal structure, having a stationary light, with nine reflectors. In 1841 an alarming breach took place in the north pier, at the extremity of which the lighthouse stood, so that it became necessary either to take down the building, or to repair the pier in an expensive manner. A bold suggestion was then made by the engineer (Mr. Murray,) i. e., that the lighthouse should be removed in an entire state to the end of the south pier, a distance of a hundred and fifty yards. This novel undertaking was commenced in June, 1841, and successfully completed in October of the same year, without the slightest damage to the building, which nightly exhibited its light during the time of removal. The gross weight moved was 338 tons.

Since the loss of a very valuable vessel in 1799, lifeboats of a peculiar construction have been employed at this harbour. Indeed, the rocky nature of the coast at this point makes it necessary to employ every means that can be devised for the safety of vessels. The inside of the Sunderland life-boat is described as consisting of compartments all of which are air-tight, so that if a boat should be staved by striking on a rock or any other hard substance, it can admit no more water than the size of the division, which will occasion little or no injury. A boat has from fifty to sixty compartments, according to its size; all the water the boat can contain is confined to the centre, where the rowers are also placed. Thus the boat is less liable to upset. There are also four apertures which go through the bottom to disperse the water when the sea breaks in, so that when full of water the whole will be discharged again in less than a minute. There are seats in the centre for rowers, and at each end for shipwrecked men; and with any number of men the boat can contain, it is still buoyant enough to preclude danger. A rope, or brass wire, goes round the

gunwale to prevent the people from being washed out, and there is a rope on each side of the seats for the same purpose to the rowers. The boat has an iron keel, which adds to its strength as well as ballast; the only cork used is on the outside, which answers for a fender, and adds a little to the buoyancy.

The coal trade is the staple trade of Sunderland, and the chief vend is to the metropolis and the south-west of England. Large quantities are also exported to the Baltic, France, Holland, and Flanders. Ship-building is carried on to a greater extent than in any other of our sea-ports. More than three hundred ships, of various burthens, were launched during the year 1839. About a hundred and thirty firms are engaged in business connected with the ship-building. There are also at Sunderland brass foundries, potteries, lime-works, hat manufactories, copperas-works, tan-yards, breweries, &c.

ON THE LOSS OF A PIOUS FRIEND.
WHO shall weep when the righteous die?

Who shall mourn when the good depart?
When the soul of the godly away shall fly,
Who shall lay the loss to the heart?

He has gone into peace; he has laid him down
To sleep till the dawn of a brighter day;
And he shall wake on that holy morn,

When sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
But ye who worship, in sin and shame,
Your idol gods, whate'er they be,
Who scoff in your pride at your Maker's name,
By the pebbly stream, and the shady tree:
Hope in your mountains, and hope in your streams,
Bow down in their worship, and loudly pray;
Trust in your strength, and believe in your dreams,
But the wind shall carry them all away.

There's one who drank at a purer fountain,
One who has washed in a purer flood;
He shall inherit a holier mountain,

He shall worship a holier Lord.

But the sinner shall utterly fail and die,
Whelmed in the waves of a troubled sea;
And God from his throne of light on high,
Shall say,
"There is no peace for thee."

BRAINARD.

THERE is probably no one who, in some moments of idle thought, has not amused himself with wild conjectures, as to what may be the real position and actual home feelings of many of the stray acquaintance, and chance friends, with whom he associates. There is a broad groundwork of general principles which are universal in human nature, and which gives to every man a sort of clue, more or less certain, to the hearts of his fellow-beings. For though we meet together upon an infinite variety of relationships, and every individual comes into the world wearing his own peculiar stamp of manner and appearance, which is the result of many combined influences in his character and circumstances, yet, in point of fact, we all know, and we all feel, that we alike carry about with us, in different degrees of depth and intensity, the same affections, the same hopes, and the same fears. When in the excitement of society and the whirl of business, underneath that outward demeanour imposed upon us by the presence of others, every man is conscious of a silent depth in his own soul, which no human eye has ever pierced. And it is this recollection, of how different we ourselves are in solitude from what we generally appear to others, which leads us to speculate with a feeling of interest upon what may be the heart secrets of those around us. History and biography derive their power over us from this principle, and even the daily talk of common life, and the universal love for private anecdotes of those we know, or have heard of, arise from the desire to compare ourselves with others, and to seek some interpretation of our own mind and feelings, by learning what others have experienced.-Truth without Prejudice.

SCHOOL FRIENDSHIP. SOME years ago, a boy was sent from the United States of America to a boarding-school in Yorkshire under somewhat mysterious circumstances. He was well supplied with clothes; the expense of his board and education was paid for two years in advance, and an allowance of pocket-money An intimation was placed at the discretion of the master. also given, that before the expiration of the two years, a second remittance of money should be made, but there was no reference whatever to any person in England, neither were any means afforded for tracing the family or American connexions of the boy. He was then about twelve years of age, and by his sweet and agreeable disposition he soon endeared himself to everybody in the school. Two years elapsed, during which he rapidly improved an education that appeared to have been much neglected. No accounts promised remittance, but in vain. A third year elapsed. arrived from his friends. The tutor anxiously awaited the He knew not to whom to apply, and the boy could not afford him any assistance. The master, though at the head of a respectable school, had a large family of his own, and was poor. He could not bear the idea of turning the boy out of his school, and yet he could not afford to keep him. He then delicately intimated to him that he should remain another half-year, and if at the end of that period no intelligence should arrive from his friends, it would then be necessary for him to think of some means of employment, assuring him of his best endeavours to serve him. The six months passed away, no tidings came, and poor Henry now seemed to be doomed to labour for his living. No sooner were his schoolfellows made acquainted with the circumstance, than they sent a deputation to the master, entreating him to suffer their much-loved companion to remain at the school, and offering to give up the whole of their pocketmoney towards reimbursing him. The master was affected by so generous an offer, and declared that, could he but receive half of the usual charge, he would be satisfied. Then commenced a contest among the boys who should be first in the subscription. They collected their little all, and many, who had no money, sold their toys and instruments of amusement, that they might contribute to this praiseworthy object. At the ensuing vacation, they described poor Henry's unfortunate situation to their friends, who furnished them with additional means of serving him. He was thus kept at school for two years; when his father, who had long been in India and had entrusted his son to an agent, arrived in England, discharged the demands of the master, and being a man of considerable wealth and influence, had it in his power to repay many of the boys for their kindness, by providing them with mercantile situations in London.

EVERY one must plainly perceive, that in this world we are exposed to numberless evils and dangers, from which no prudence, or courage, or strength of our own, can possibly secure us; accidents come, diseases come, in ways which we cannot foresee, and in a moment we find ourselves plunged into trouble, of which we could not have the least expectation. But God knoweth and foreseeth all things, and He "ordereth all things both in heaven and in earth." What are called the gifts of fortune, what seems to be the work of chance, what is produced by the skill or exertion of man,- all is subject to the control and government of the great Almighty God. Every good we enjoy comes forth from Him, and every evil that befalls us arises from His permission, for some wise purpose. Man may be an instrument, but God is the author and mover of all; every being, and every thing in the world, is to be regarded as an instrument in His hand; and He makes "all things work together for the good" of His servants, and the punishment of those who rebel against Him. Surely, then, we are strongly called upon, even on the ground of self-interest, to place ourselves under His providence and protection, to pray for the mighty aid of His Holy Spirit, to help and defend us, and for the ministry of His holy angels "to keep us in all our ways." Let us put our whole trust in that blessed Saviour, who assures His disciples, "that the very hairs of their head are all numbered." Thus we shall live with Him in this world as long as it is good for us, and He will take us at last to reign with Him for ever.SLAde.