ground, though its ranks are thinned, and though the fire is fierce, and trusted allies come not to aid. Here and there, there is a rush to the charge; but the main body advance as one man, to occupy the conquered space; turning the cannon of the foe against himself; pressing Volney and Gibbon; the Shaster of the Brahmin; the traditions of the red Indian; the koran of the Mussulman; and the Targum of the Jew, into the service of truth; and forcing them to bear unwilling testimony to the inspiration of the Word of God; while, in each passing year, the appointed ecclesiastical services interweave the spiritual with the temporal life of each individual in the ranks; constituting prophet, evangelist, and apostle, by turns the Captain's messengers, bringing to his soldiers words of precept, of promise, and of warning; and leaving them neither ignorant of the history and nature of their glorious but arduous warfare, nor uncertain of its issue.

Need I more pointedly define the nature of each denominational influence? Composure, activity, independence, each is good, and each may do good service. For myself, I prefer a steady and well-regulated march; and a wide front; but ever would I welcome a true brother in arms, of any corps. So long as the church shall be militant, her members may well be content to serve under different banners. Yet a little while, and the warfare shall cease, and the one banner over all shall be Love.

AN OBSERVER.

LINES TO MY CHILD

ON ATTAINING HIS FIRST BIRTHDAY.

BY H. G. ADAMS.

TWELVE moons have wax'd and waned, my child,
Since thou to us wast given,

A token of the Almighty's love,
A gift sent down from Heaven;
A gift? Nay, but a loan art thou,
A talent to improve ;

A

gem

A soul to guide, direct, instruct,

And fit for realms above;

entrusted to our care; a rare and priceless gem,

To shape and fashion for the Lord's effulgent diadem.

To sow the good seed in the soil, and pray for help Divine,
That growth and produce be not check'd by influence malign.

Twelve moons have wax'd and waned, my son,

Since first thy feeble voice

I hail'd, with gushing tears, although

It bade my heart rejoice;

And she who bare thee, 'mid her pangs

Confess'd a joyous thrill;

Thus grief and gladness, here on earth

The measure mingling fill;

Thou enter'd'st life mid smiles and tears; alternate light and gloom Must chequer o'er thy pathway, from the cradle to the tomb.

Thy mother's breast is made for thee

A world of anxious fears;

In both a change is wrought like that
Of many added years;

New hopes, new feelings, new desires,
With thee, my son, have birth,
And each to each are closer knit,

And closer bound to earth;

Oh, may we not forget that here we cannot long remain,

Lest God, to chasten us, should snap this new-made link in twain.

Twelve moons have wax'd and waned, my son,

Since first I gazed on thee,

Like one that, speechless, rapture-fraught,

Doth some bright vision see;

Since then I've held thee to my heart

Have watch'd thee hour by hour,

Have mark'd thine eyes become more bright,

Thy limbs still gather power;

And every day some new delight awoke within my breast;

And every night some anxious thought for thee, disturb'd my rest.

But what was all my tenderness,

What all my anxious thought,

To her's, who suffer'd, long and sore,
Ere thou to light wast brought?

And often, in her bed of pain,

Though rack'd by agony,

Could fold thee in her loving arms,

And fondly smile on thee?

She tends thee, watches thee, and breathes for thee full many a prayer And scarcely ever has a thought in which thou dost not share.

Twelve moons have wax'd and waned, my son,

And thou art with us still;

We little know how many more

Their silver orbs will fill,

And shine upon thy path of life,

And smile upon thy head;

The future is a closed book,

By mortal eyes unread;

We walk with dubious steps, and hearts of terror and dismay,
If we have not the lamp of faith to guide us in our way.

Faith in the all-embracing arm,
The ever-watchful eye,

The boundless wisdom and the love,
Of Him who dwells on high;
Faith to believe, whate'er befals,

That all is for the best,

And when bereft of earthly joys

To look to Him for rest;

But we have hope as well, my child, that thou wilt spared be,

To cheer those hearts, and glad those eyes, now fondly turn'd on thee.

THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE LADIES' ESSAY-ASSOCIATION.

SECOND PRIZE ESSAY.*

HOW, AND TO WHAT EXTENT, SHOULD THE FEMALE
MIND BE CULTIVATED?

HE question which is here proposed for discussion supposes, that the female mind should be cultivated. Indeed, in this enlightened age, there will probably be no doubt entertained among the wise and good, that the possession of faculties infers the duty to improve them. Since, however, there are many who may not (practically) take this view of the subject, it may be well to examine the reasons which can be adduced to prove the obligation; moreover, as there may, perhaps, be a large number of persons who would confine within narrow limits the cultivation of a woman's mind, the next point will be to consider the extent to which it ought to be cultivated.

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In the beginning, the Creator pronounced the work of his hands to be "good." From that state, however, of pristine perfection, we are now, alas, far, very far removed; and so altered has our condition been by the fall of Adam from his original righteousness, that, to our finite understanding, much that was once plain is now obscure. No such dubiousness, however, envelopes our "being's end and aim." To become heirs of everlasting glory, is the object of our existence; for that purpose we are, and were created. The mind must, in some state, exist for ever; and if, as one star differeth from another star in glory," so shall be the different degrees of happiness in the eternal state, it were well to consider whether any exertions here can conduce to the obtaining of the greatest perfection of felicity hereafter. In the parable of the talents we find all accountable in proportion to the value of their trust, and expected to make a proportionate use and improvement of it. He who, having possessed the largest share, had increased it to the largest amount, received the greatest reward: to him, too, was allotted that gift which had been negligently and wilfully misused by his fellow.

For some account of the character and design of the GLOUCESTERSHIRE LADIES' ESSAY ASSOCIATION, see the "Englishwoman's Magazine" for March, 1851.-ED.

It would seem, then, that in proportion as we employ the talents committed to our charge, in our Master's service, so shall be our participation in the joy of our Lord. To all, some faculties, some mental qualities, are granted; and it is for the due improvement of these that we shall be responsible; we are as accountable for intellect as for money, and equally so for the misapplication of it.

The highest knowledge to which a creature can attain, is the knowledge of God; and so far as study in its various branches leads us to a nearer contemplation of the Author of all, it must increase our appreciation of the arrangements of all those multifarious parts which comprise the grandeur of a perfect whole; it must tend to enlighten us on the subject of the infinite wisdom of the Creator of all things, and therefore prepare us for that time when we shall understand those mysteries of wisdom and godliness which are at present incomprehensible by our finite understanding.

Our arguments respecting the future must be gathered from the present and the past. From the gradual development of the faculties of man, as seen from childhood to maturity; from the insatiable desire for knowledge; from the impossibility of the mind resting content with anything here attainable; we may gather that the life to come will not be, as some imagine, a mere state of holy rest; but that it will be a continuation and perfection of the mental existence now begun, a state to which death is but a night of sleep, to be followed by the dawning of an eternal day.

Man's capacity extends to numerous objects quite unnecessary to mere existence here; consequently we may infer, that these capacities are to be employed in another state; for progression in knowledge is the true enjoyment of the mind. A French writer well represents the true source of the pleasure as consisting in the acquiring of information," ce n'est pas la victoire," he says, "cest le combat qui fait le bonheur des nobles cœurs." So, in that state in which there is "the fulness of joy," in which are "the things that God has prepared for them that love him," we may well imagine the perpetual increase of knowledge to be one of the highest of intellectual pleasures; to be one source of the bliss of the redeemed in eternity. From this consideration, then, we may derive a powerful argument for the cultivation of the powers of enjoyment as it respects the intellectual faculties.

Those persons whose hearts feel the goodness of a beneficent Maker, in endowing them with such capacities for happiness, will desire to make the glory of God the first object of their lives; they will be