They told their father what the Lord had done for their souls; that they were pilgrims here; that they were keeping in view the bright fields of promise as they traversed this desert of sin, and were looking for that city which hath foundations.

Soon after their return home, they were anxious to establish family worship They affectionately requested their father to commence that duty. He replied, that he saw no use in it. He had lived very well more thau fifty years without prayer, and he could not be burdened with it now. They then asked permission to pray with the family themselves. Not thinking they would have confidence to do it, he assented to the proposition.

The duties of the day being ended, and the hour for retiring to rest having arrived, the sisters drew forward the stand, placed on it the Bible; one read a chapter-they both kneeled-the other engaged in prayer. The father stood; and while the humble fervent prayer of his daughter was ascending to heaven, his knees began to tremble; he also kneeled, and then became prostrate on the floor. God heard their prayer, and directed their father's weeping eyes, which had never shed tears of penitence before, to the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world.

Happy family! a believing father, and believing children! whose God is the Lord!

A PROVIDENTIAL STATION.

THE following interesting anecdote, as related by Lieutenant (afterwards Major General) Burns, of the Royal Marines, while it tends to establish the doctrine of Divine Providence, demonstrates also that God is not unmindful of his people who serve him, but that he chooses their inheritance for them.

"In the year 1772, when I was a subaltern in the Royal Marine Corps, two other officers and myself were ordered to embark, one in each of the three guard-ships then stationed in the Medway. Two of them lay close to the dock-yard, affording at all times easy access to the shore, but the other (the Resolution, 74) was moored half way down the river towards Sheerness, from whence in winter and bad weather it was troublesome to land, and sometimes impracticable.

"For this reason it was natural for each of us to wish for one of the Chatham ships, and strong interest was accordingly made by us respectively with the commanding officer for this purpose. Finding that he must necessarily disoblige one of the three, he ordered us to attend the parade next morning, and draw lots for our ships. This, of course, drove me to my stronghold; and if ever I prayed with fervency in my life, it was now. I pleaded hard with the Searcher of hearts, that he knew my chief motive for desiring one of the Chatham ships was that I might constantly attend the means of grace, and the ordinances of his house, and I felt confidant that, if I really were a child of God, he would grant my request; since the 'lot thus cast into the lap' was wholly at his disposal.

"The important morning came, and I drew the dreadful ship down the river. Had I drawn my death warrant, I hardly think that it would have affected me more. My prayer was now apparently rejected, and the enemy of souls, taking advantage of the agitated state of my depraved heart, easily made me draw the conclusion, that either I was no Christian, or that God paid no attention to those who professed to be such. In this gloomy desponding state, much like a criminal going to execution, I embarked the same afternoon in His Majesty's Ship Resolution, lying in a dreary part of the Medway, about two or three miles from Sheerness. I had just time to be introduced to the officers in the ward-room when dinner came in. The third lieutenant, happening to be caterer that week, of course stood up at the head of the table, and asked a blessing, with so much seriousness that it quite astonished me; for being well acquainted with the customs of the ward-room in a king's ship, I had never heard anything of the kind so solemnly pronounced there before. I determined to mark every word which should proceed from the gentleman's lips, in hope of hearing something that might enable me to ascertain his character. Nothing decisive occurred during the dinner, but no sooner was the wine placed on the table, than he was attacked by several of his messmates on his religious sentiments, and I soon discovered that he bore the genuine marks of a true Christian by his judicious reproofs, and the very able manner in which he confuted all their infidel arguments. Wishing, as I supposed, to know what spirit I was of, they frequently appealed to me for the truth of what they advanced; but having always decided against them, I was imperceptibly drawn into the disputation on the side of the caterer.

6

"When the allowance of wine was drunk, (for it was a sober, wellregulated mess,) the purser rose and broke up the company, exclaiming, with an oath, Our new mess-mate is as great a Methodist as Tomlinson.' I smiled, being well-pleased to be associated with such a man. As two needles touched by the loadstone, when they fall near to each other among chaff will soon come together, so this Methodist lieutenant and I speedily came into contact. After having exchanged a few questions, we went down to his cabin in the gun-room, had an hour's comfortable conversation, and concluded with prayer, although an hour before we had never seen one another's faces. This singular circumstance could not fail to bring to my recollection that prayer I had so culpably forgotten, now completely granted, and I began to be reconciled to the ship which Providence had assigned me. But that God who abounds in goodness, and delights in mercy, never confers his favours by halves. A few days hardly had elapsed, when an order came from the Admiralty to send the Resolution up to Chatham, and one of the ships there to take her place. This was such welcome news to all on board, that lest the order should be countermanded, we obeyed it the same day; for, the wind and tide favouring, we weighed, and came to an anchor off the dock-yard before two o'clock.

"Thus my prayer was answered most completely, which at first appeared rejected; but it was in the Lord's own way. Had mine been attended to, and I had drawn the ship which afterwards went down the river, I should have been miserable: so true it is that we know not what to pray for as we ought.'"

CURIOSITY IMPROVED.

THE Methodists at Wexford met in a long barn, and were in the habit of fastening the door, because they were annoyed by the Catholic mob. Being thus excluded from the meeting, several of them became curious to know what was done there, and taking counsel together, they agreed that a fellow should get in, and secrete himself before the congregation assembled, so that he might notice whatever might take place, and, at a proper time, let in his companions. The adventurer could find no better means of concealment than by getting into a sack, which he found there, and lying down in a situation near the entrance. The people collected, secured the door as usual, and as usual began their service by singing. The mob collected also, and growing impatient, called repeatedly upon their friend Patrick to open the door; but Pat happened to have a taste for music, and he liked the singing so well, that he thought, as he afterwards said, it would be a thousand pities to disturb it. And when the hymn was done, and the minister began to pray, in spite of all the vociferations of his comrades, he thought that, as he had been so well pleased with the singing, he would see how he liked the prayer; but when the prayer proceeded, the "power of God," said the relater, did so confound him, that he roared out with might and main; and not having power to get out of the sack, lay bawling and screaming, to the astonishment and dismay of the congregation. Somebody at length ventured to see what was in the sack; and helping him out, brought him up, confessing his sins, and crying for mercy. This is the most singular case of instantaneous conversion that was perhaps ever recorded; and yet every evidence was afforded that the man was really converted.

A WORD IN SEASON.

A CHRISTIAN, near death, greatly complained of the Lord's withdrawing from him in the season of his greatest need; and said, he did not think that ever the Lord did so with any of his children. The minister, to whom he made this complaint, answered, "Know you not that thus it was with the Son of God himself: when on the cross, a little before his death, he cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" This answer was so blessed that the storm subsided, tranquillity was restored, and the good man died in peace.

Thus frequently is the Lord pleased very graciously to crown the means employed with his "reviving grace," and cause his people to sing— "What though the hosts of death and hell

All arm'd against me stand;

I shall through grace a conqueror prove,
And reach the happy land."

DEVOTIONAL FRAME.-We should cultivate a spirit of devotion because we are always prone to evil, always surrounded with dangers, always exposed to enemies, always in need of Divine assistance.

To the Editor of the Methodist New Connexion Magazine.

MR. EDITOR,

Will some of your numerous readers have the kindness to answer the following Query,

"How far is DANCING in families professedly religious, and in parties of professing Christians, in accordance with the example of Christ, and the practice of the primitive Christians?"

An early answer to the above will much oblige,

A. B. C.

[An answer to the above shall be inserted in our next Number.-ED.]

REVIEW.

ESSAYS ON CHRISTIAN UNION

London: Hamilton and Co.-" Christian Union!" the very words are harmonious and delightful to our ears, for they indicate to us the banishment of conflict, jealousy and bigotry from the church of God, and the exercise of that forbearance, kindly affection, and mutual confidence, which ought to be the invariable, as they are the legitimate fruits of vital Christianity; they indicate, too, all that is lovely, excellent, and great in the Christian character, for they breathe the spirit of a combined and vigorous co-operation in contending, not with Christians, but with the common foes of Christianity, in labouring for the extinction of the superstition, licentiousness, and injustice which are the curse of this beautiful world, and in striving to establish upon it the reign of truth, of righteousness, and peace. "Christian Union," then, is not a mere sentiment, but a living principle-a principle of great practical power, involving a high moral obligation. The cultivation of it, therefore, becomes not a question of simple expediency, but a matter of imperative duty.

Christianity has too long been bleeding from the wounds and injuries she has received in the house of her friends. The Redeemer has too long been dishonoured by the quarrels and divisions of his followers. Were we at liberty to infer the precepts and wishes of the Teacher from the conduct of his pupils, we should be more than tempted to believe that Christ had commanded his disciples not to love, but to hate one another—and that he had prayed not that they all might be one, but that they might be divided into an endless number of sects and parties. This is a most humbling confession, but it is the truth; and when trying to uproot an evil, we must both ascertain its extent, and acknowledge its reality.

From the preceding remarks it will, of course, not be deemed strange that we give a most cordial welcome to the work, the title of which we have placed at the head of this article. If it be not in every respect all that we could have wished it to be, it nevertheless contains so much that is truly excellent, that it cannot but secure, as a whole, the sincere commendation of every lover of Christian Union.

The first essay, which is merely introductory, is by Dr. Chalmers. And when we say it is well worthy of the talents and piety of the Author, we are, we conceive, giving it the highest praise which language can bestow. There is certainly not that fervid eloquence which we perhaps too confidently expected, and which characterize the earlier productions of the author. But there is eloquence, and if it be sober, it is manly and powerful-embodying criticisms and arguments that are as clear and impressive as they are enlightening and conclusive. The following quotation though not the best in point of composition, is probably as much to the purpose as any that we can select:

"It were well if Christians could be made more alive to the serious evil, either of multiplying differences, or of magnifying these differences beyond the real dimensions of the worth and inportance which belong to them. By so doing they put themselves into conflict with the object of our Saviour's prayer, which implies that the world's regeneration hinges on the palpable unanimity of His disciples. It is true that we are bidden to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints; and that whatever is not of faith is sin. Such is the deference to the

right of private judgment, that each man should be left to believe in the light of his own understanding; and if he act not according to his belief, he acts sinfully. It is very possible, however, that there might be a particular matter of faith in his mind which forms no part of the faith once delivered to the saints-neither opposed to it, nor yet belonging to it, just because the Bible, or record of this faith, says nothing distinct or authoritative on the subject. The apostle Paul enjoined the very opposite of this earnest contending in the question of meats and days, for his was an earnest persuasion to mutual forbearance, and this, that the men who differed in these matters might continue members of the same church, and recognize each other as disciples of one and the same faith. It is truly unfortunate, then, when an undue stress is laid on certain distinctive peculiarities, by such as tell us they must stand up for every pin of the tabernacle. If Scripture made it clear that their peculiarity was indeed a pin, there could be but one choice in regard to it on the part of all enlightened Christians But if not, it were truly desirable that each man who had a faith in such peculiarity, should be satisfied with having it to himself before God. We have known several instances of those who could not conscientiously eat blood, but never once thought of erecting this peculiarity of theirs into a term of communion, or of erecting a separate church on account of it. Now, are there no other points and peculiarities which have most unnecessarily and most perniciously been made points of sectarianism, and so as to have given, in the eyes of the world, the aspect of a motley and parti-coloured thing to our common Christianity?-though destined to be the religion of the species, because truly a religion not of points but of principles. To persist in keeping up these as points of distinction, and so to postpone the condition on which we are told that the world shall be converted, is truly to strain at so many gnats, and swallow a most enormous camel."

The Second Essay, on "The Scripture principles of Unity," is by Dr. Balmer. The style is elegant; the sentiments are admirable: and the whole is a most delightful specimen of genuine Christian feeling and enlarged liberality. The frequent and affectionate intercourse of Christians with each other in devotional exercises, in the observance of the Lord's Supper, and in promoting the great objects of Christian benevolence, is earnestly inculcated; and those terms of fellowship are strenuously advocated which, if universally adopted, would do much towards exterminating the spirit of sectarianism, and giving consolidation and power to the church of Christ. The Doctor maintains that every Christian society is bound to receive into its communion every candidate whom Christ has received, and that enquiries relative to fitness for membership, should be restricted to a firm belief in the great doctrines of the Gospel, and to the evidences of sound Christian experience. This is what we gather from the statements laid down, and they are propositions in which we cordially concur, with the proviso, that no church is bound to receive those who are likely to prove the disturbers of its peace, nor to retain such in its fellowship, however orthodox the creed, and however sound the experience of such disturbers may be. This portion of the volume is well worthy of the most serious attention of professing Christians, especially of those of our Baptist friends who are "strict" in their terms of communion.

The third Essay, by Dr. Candlish, is prefaced with the title of "Christian Union in Connection with the Propagation of the Gospel." We promised ourselves a rich treat when we commenced the perusal of this essay; the subject seeming to present so favourable a field for the development of those noble and hallowed principles which prompt us to the lofty enterprises of Christian zeal. Truth however compels us, though reluctantly, to state, that we have in this essay suffered a painful disappointment. The style is inelegant, involved, and to us unintelligible—we cannot understand the learned Doctor. The fault may be ours, but we think it is his. He attempts to produce a metaphysical dissertation on a subject which is infinitely beyond the subtleties of metaphysics, which tramples upon its theories, and scorns its speculations.

To the fourth Essay we looked with still greater interest,-by Mr. James, of Birmingham, on "Christian Union viewed in relation to the religious parties of England." We should think it impossible for Mr. James to apply himself vigorously to a work of this kind without developing his well known superiority as an author. If not the best, he is one of the best practical writers of the day; and in all his literary efforts seems to be aiming at one object-usefulness. The present movement in favour of Christian Union in England originated with Mr. James; we need not wonder, therefore, that he should put forth his usual eloquence and energy, on what we may suppose to be a favourite topic. The style is eloquent, but not faultless-there are some words, and some modes of expression, which require simplifying; but our chief business is with the sentiments, and generally they are such as do unspeakable honour to the head and heart of the writer. Our limits prevent us from giving an analysis of this most inter esting and valuable production; but notwithstanding all its excellence-notwithstand. ing its pathos and its power-and notwithstanding the thrilling and delightful emotions which the perusal of it excited, we feel that we must complain-for we feel that we have a right to complain. Mr. James, in specifying the various evangelical sections of Protestant Nonconformists, mentions the Wesleyan Connexion in terms of high respect