bodies, speaking things that they ought not." It may perhaps be affirmed that the young are in very little danger of this vice; it is however, well for them to be on their guard against it, and one of the best preservatives will be found in the constant employment of their leisure hours in some valuable pursuit. And how numerous are those which offer themselves. Observations on passages of Scripture, which are to be found in the valuable books of instruction which you are directed to peruse, would, if collected and arranged, form a treasury of useful and most important knowledge. The leading particulars in the sermons you hear, would also, if noted down, furnish you with many important facts to help you in your inquiries after religious truth, and in preserving you from the foolish and dangerous errors and extravagancies of the day. As infidelity also is still making a few expiring efforts to redeem a lost cause from utter neglect and contempt, it would serve to preserve you from any fear, either of the keenness or force of its objections, to examine those objections carefully, and to read those answers to them which have proceeded from the pens of Doddridge, of Watson, of Horne, and of Dr. J. P. Smith. The writings of these learned men will satisfy your own mind as to the truth and divine authority of the Holy Scriptures; and the careful study of them will enable you to remove doubts from the minds of others, and to prove to them that infidelity is the offspring of corrupt affections, not of mental conviction. On the supposition that this, and other important branches of divine knowledge, were as familiar to you as the daily transactions of life, there yet remains one science with which

« The proper study of mankind is man.”

To these testimonies we may add the precepts of revelation, “Examine yourself whether you be in the faith; prove your own selves.” Who are they who are the most chargeable with pride, with vanity, with follies the most egregious, and with conduct the least suitable to their station in life! The reply must necessarily be, that those who are deserving of accusation on these points, are those who are the least acquainted with themselves. And if we were, on the other hand, asked who are they who are the most teachable and excellent in youth; the most wise and prudent in the meridian of life; and the most esteemed and revered in age?The reply, if according to truth, would be, those who have most carefully examined their general character, their peculiar dispositions, their errors and their defects; in one word, those who are most intimately acquainted with themselves. But, alas! there is but little of this self-knowledge. Hence we have so much foolish pride, insufferable vanity, and absurd errors, in the manners, the spirit and the conduct of our young people. Hence many who are unwilling, and perhaps unable to learn, presume to teach; and not a few who are eagle-eyed at discovering what is incorrect in others, have hardly ever as yet, even in

one single instance, acted in a becoming manner themselves.

Let me then, my youthful reader, most strenuously commend to you the examination of your own heart. Do not be a stranger at home. If we justly condemn the conduct of that man who is perfectly well acquainted with the affairs of those around him, but who never looks into his own accounts, or makes

wise domestic arrangements for the comfort and safety of his household, he is much more worthy of severe reprehension, who stores his mind with all kinds of knowledge, but neglects that which to him personally is more important than every other, the knowledge of himself. (To be continued.)

"To the poor the Gospel is preached." Such was the declaration of our Lord and Saviour, when on earth; descriptive alike of his own conduct, and of the obligations which would rest, through all succeeding ages, on the ministers and members of Christian churches. These memorable words were surely designed, not only to intimate the special adaptation of the Gospel to the condition of the most necessitous and wretched of mankind, but also to declare his will, that suitable and adequate provision should be made by his disciples for the fulfilment of this his gracious design, His personal ministry was chiefly addressed to the poor. Never do we find him in the mansions of the great-in the palaces of Caiaphas, or Herod, or Pilate, -except when dragged thither by his malicious foes, and arraigned as a malefactor. Seldom did he enter, in the character of a public instructor, the habitations of the wealthy and the powerful; but whenever he went, he was surrounded by multitudes of the "common people," many of whom "heard him gladly;" and by those who languished under all the varieties of human malady and suffering, to whom he ad

ministered prompt and effectual relief.

The apostles closely imitated this part of the conduct of their divine Master. Though they occasionally reasoned with the Jewish rulers, or the philosophers of Greece, on the great doctrines of Christianity, though they were instrumental in converting a few persons of rank, and some honourable women, they chiefly proclaimed the glad tidings of mercy and salvation to the poor, whether of Jewish or Gentile race, and this was the class which, there is reason to believe, composed the far greater portion of the primitive christian churches. The apostle Paul, in writing to the believers at Corinth, fully confirms this statement. "Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called, but God hath chosen the foolish, &c. that no flesh should glory in his presence." 1 Cor. i. 26-29.

The subsequent history of Christianity, wherever it has been preserved in any degree of its primitive purity, furnishes additional proof that such is the will of our divine Master. The mass of those in every age, who have been disposed to attend upon the ordinances of the Gospel, when faith

fully administered, and to whom they have been rendered, by a special divine influence, effectual to salvation, have been, the poor of the land. All who are conversant with the history of Christian missions, must know, that the congregations and churches gathered in heathen countries have chiefly consisted of the inferior grades of society. Here and there a proud Brahmin or a pagan chief may have been converted to the faith of Jesus, but the chief reward of the devoted missionary has been reaped from the lower castes, and even from uncivilized tribes. Nor can we look at the progress of the gospel, in professedly Christian lands, without arriving at the same conclusion, that to the poor the gospel is preached, and by them it is most readily received. It is not the intention of the writer of this paper to institute an inquiry into the reasons of this fact, if it be such, though it would perhaps not be difficult, apart from the doctrine of divine sovereignty, to furnish a satisfactory solution. At present, it will suffice to state his full conviction, that, in all ages and countries, wherever the gospel has been faithfully proclaimed, and its ordinances scripturally administered, the great mass of attendants have been poor, in the ordinary acceptation of that term, and that among persons of this class, the gospel has ever achieved its noblest triumphs.

But it appears to the present writer, after a residence of about two years in the metropolis of this empire, and an attentive observation of the churches and congregations gathered there, and (especially those connected with the several denominations of evangelical Dissenters,) that LONDON furnishes almost a solitary exception to the universal fact stated above. At

least it is his object to invite the attention of philanthropic Christians. (many of whom are to be found among the inhabitants of this great city,) to a consideration of the following practical ques

tions:

1. Is it, or is it not, a fact, that the aspect of London congregations is widely different, nay, almost the reverse of that exhibited in all other parts of the kingdom, (a few fashionable watering-places, perhaps, excepted?)

2. If it be a fact, how is it to be accounted for? Why is it that the poor of the metropolis do not attend on the worship of God, in an equal proportion to that which generally prevails?

3. Can any thing be devised by Christian zeal and benevolence beyond what has been already attempted, to remedy this great, and I fear growing evil, so that in London, as in all other places, the known will of the Saviour may carried into full effect-" to the poor the gospel is preached?"

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The first of these inquiries, relating, as it does, to a matter of fact, may surely be determined by observation. I would not speak with confidence, but merely state my own impressions and convictions, and shall be happy if any correspondent, who may think proper to advert to the subject, can prove me mistaken. A tolerably extensive acquaintance with country congregations, as well in the more scattered as in populous districts, has led me to conclude, that generally much more than half, say two-thirds or three-fourths of each congregation consists of the poor, by which is not meant merely, those who are destitute of affluence, and yet who make a respectable appearance in society, but the peasantry, whether labourers in agriculture or

mechanics. In the metropolis, on the contrary, those who are, bond fide, poor, in some places may constitute one-fourth of the assembly, but in not a few, scarcely any such individuals are to be found.

I speak not now of episcopal churches and chapels, in some of which, though the gospel is not preached, and there is little to attract the poor, save the parochial charities which are periodically distributed, it will be seen, that the broad aisles, fitted up for their express accommodation, are filled with persons of this class;-nor do I now refer to the spacious chapels belonging to the Calvinistic or Wesleyan Methodists, to which some of the poor of the metropolis are attracted;-nor do I advert to the places in which Unitarianism is preached, where the absence of the poor is neither a matter of surprise nor of regret ;but I speak of the meeting-houses, or (as it is the modern fashion to call them) chapels occupied by the several denominations of evangelical Dissenters. There are unquestionably many persons frequenting these Christian sanctuaries, in comparatively humble life, in straitened circumstances, though of decent appearance and manners; but where shall we look for the great mass, or any considerable portion of the wretched and degraded and demoralized poor that crowd the lanes and alleys and courts of this populous city? Is it not a fact, that Christian visitors, who explore these haunts of misery and vice on the Lord's-day, not from uuhallowed curiosity, but for purposes of benevolence and mercy, too commonly find that their inhabitants, if not in the neighbouring gin-shop, or some other place of resort for the profligate and abandoned, are sitting at home in squalid wretchedness, without the

N. S. No. 133.

least disposition to attend on the public ordinances of religion, or the least sense of shame on account of their awful profanation of the Sabbath. In the country, the villagers will travel in groups, several miles, and often in inclement weather, rather thau be absent from their usual place of worship, during one part, at least, of the services of the Sabbath. Nor is this alone the practice of the truly pious, of whom it might be justly expected, that they should willingly suffer privations and endure hardships for the gospel's sake; but it will apply to many who, it is feared, attend only from habit, or education, or example, or a regard to their reputation, or the desire of promoting their own worldly interests. these things seem to operate to any extent upon the poor of the metropolis. You may enter one place after another, reared in the very midst of thousands and myriads of these children of penury and wretchedness, and glance your eye over the assemblies convened there, and scarcely observe one among them, belonging to this class of character.

But none of

Assuming this to be the true state of the case, (a few exceptions there may be, but the writer is persuaded that it is not far from the truth as applied to the average of dissenting congregations,) the question occurs, How is this fact to be accounted for? What are the causes which operate to produce such a result; a result which cannot fail to be prejudicial to so ciety, and most distressing to the Christian philanthropist? How is it, why is it, that the poor of the metropolis are less inclined than others of the same class to attend upon the ministry of the gospel; that whilst, in almost all other places, the wealthier and middle

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classes constitute a minority, in London they compose the great majority, if not the whole of the congregation.

The absence of the poor from our Christian congregations is certainly not to be attributed to the paucity of their numbers, for whatever show of opulence there may be in all parts of the metropolis, and its vicinity, it is but too certain, that hundreds of thousands of its vast and ever-increasing population, are in circumstances of abject poverty and extreme wretchedness. Nor can it be explained by the distance of their residence from places of public worship; for many of these are reared in the very midst of the wretched haunts of poverty and vice: nor can it now be accounted for, as in former years, by the dread of reproach, or the fear of persecution: for the loss of reputation and much temporal suffering are incurred, rather than avoided, by their habits of irreligion and impiety. Nor does it arise from the want of information and exhortation; for there are few districts in which the poor reside, which are not statedly visited by the members of the " Christian Instruction" and "District Visiting Societies," who urge the objects of their charity, both through the medium of tracts and by verbal exhortations on the subject, not to "forsake the assembling of themselves together." It has, however, appeared to the writer of this paper, that there are reasons, which it will not be difficult to discover, that may serve to explain, in some degree, the fact alluded to; some of which may be

traced to the moral character and condition of the poor themselves, and others to circumstances connected with the usages of our churches and congregations.

First, as it respects the poor them

selves, the following have occurred to the mind of the writer, as some out of many reasons, which may account for the almost total absence of that class of persons from our places of worship.

1. They are isolated and almost unknown to each other, and consequently not acted upon by example. Though they live in the same court, or are crowded into different apartments of the same dwelling, they are frequently as unacquainted with each other's characters and habits as if they inhabited distant countries. They scarcely recognize each other's countenances, and have little or no knowledge of each other's private conduct. In rural districts the pea santry are known to one another; they associate together; and the example of a few is followed by the rest, whether it be for good or evil.

2. Again, the poor of the metropolis are hidden and unobserved. They live frequently in the midst of the wealthier classes, but so shut out from view, by the seclusion and wretchedness of their dwellings, that they are scarcely known to exist. A few, prompted by compassion, may penetrate the dark recesses which shelter them, but with respect to the mass of their more favoured neighbours, they live and die wholly unknown to and neglected by them. The consequence of this is, that the salutary restraint is not felt by them which operates on the humbler classes of society in more scattered districts, who feel that they have a character to sustain, and that the eyes of many whose good opinion they are anxious to secure, are upon them.

3. To these must, I fear, be added, as a principal cause of the neglect of public worship by the poor of the metropolis, their dreadful depravity, and especially their invete