ing the excise? Do we not frequently see them frequenting debauched houses, looking after wealth, and plaguing and reviling their neighbours? do we not see them, rioting in all the works of the flesh? do they not buy livings with money, and then "claim them by divine right do they not chop and jockey away poor parishes for such as are richer, and yet pretend to have upon their hands the cure of souls? do they not pretend to teach, and to reveal God's will, which is already revealed, and yet live as though there were no God? and do they not set up to command men? do they not seek honour from their cloth? do they not pretend to mend others without being better than others, but in truth more idle and proud than all others; two qualities never suited to the welfare of religion or human society? do they not flatter and support the worst of tyrants, plague and distress and often destroy the best of men? and, lastly, do they not pretend to be appointed for the good of mankind, and yet always make mankind, wherever they have power, thoroughly miserable, hase, poor, ignorant, and wicked ?--Gordon.

POETRY..

A PARAPHRASE ON AGUR'S WISH.

"Give me neither riches nor poverty."-PROV. xxx, 8.

O thou, whose dictates rule this pensile ball!
Who didst privation into being call!

With bounteous grace thy servant's prayer allow ;
Attend, propitious, to my humble vow.

Some comfort give, that, in the bounded space
Of human life, may cheer its fleeting race.
Permit, great God! my happy mean to lie
Far from indecent want and penury;
Restrain my open hands and ready tongue,
From impious murmurs and injurious wrong.
Keep me remote from riches and their train
Of empty pleasures, insolent and vain :
Lest my full soul amid her flowing store,
Forget, at once, her master and the
poor;
Or lest the fire of youth, when i rejoice
In wealth and grandeur, silence Virtue's voice;
Impose on Reason by a poor pretence,
Make vice for wit, and folly pass for sense:
Unthinking whence that wit and reason flow'd,
Can man reflect, and then forget his God?
As thy wise bounty has dispos'd my fate,
Above the vulgar and below the great,
To future years proportion'd blessings grant,
Remov'd alike from luxury and want;
That peaceful wishes, and desires suppress'd,
By thy eternal laws, may rule my breast.
So shall the series of my future days

Attend thy service, and proclaim thy praise.

A. Z.

Maidstone.

FEMALE VIRTUES..

List, O ye Daughters! Wisdom still demands
Th' attentive ear; nor ended yet my lay.
She asks your conduct as an answer true-
To that demand, which claims a true reply-
"A virtuous woman, who can find her now?"
"Many, my daughters," he exclaims, who trod
In virtue's paths, and pluck'd her fragrant flowers!
Their footsteps ye pursue, and may ye them excel,
E'en like delicious fruit, whose worth exceeds

The fragrant blossoms, which the branches bear!
"Your works shall praise you," while your hearts rejoice
In the rich harvest of your virtuous care.

Know, know, my daughters, who my race begins,

Must persevere,--and persevering gains

The glorious prize, which at my goal is found;
A prize more precious than the ruby's worth,
Or topaz fam'd from Ethiopia's mine.
Now lend the candid and attentive ear,
While the soft graces which your sex adorn
My tongue displays, and bids your hearts receive.
Have ye beheld the blust'ring morn suffuse
Its varied tints o'er Nature's glorious scenes?
Have ye beheld the brilliant diamond's glare,
Or seen the valued ruby's roseate hue,
In the gay vesture of the rich and great?
There is a virtue of the youthful breast,

Which glows with beauty, and outvies their charms;
Which spreads a lustre o'er fair Virtue's cheeks,
And adds a grace, where graces bloom'd before;
An ornament divine, and Modesty its name!
O, have ye listened to the sage advice

Of him, who wrote to fair Eunice's son?

My precepts he transcrib'd for your regard.
Though her long hair in circling ringlets flow,
A woman's "glory" for her covering given;
Though the soft pearl amid its plaits appear,
And Art unite her boon with Nature's gift;
Yet vain the glare of ornamental vest,
If sacred Modesty no charm inspire,
Nor virtue reign within the female heart.
My daughters, cherish in your youthful breasts
This plant divine, whose heavenly sacred form
Checks the advance of dire licentiousness;
Whose fragrance proves to sacred Innocence
One best defence from all its venom'd breath.
The silent eloquence of Modesty

Shall stop its baneful tongue, and rend its heart.
Grasp then the prize, ye fair--ye know its worth.

a

Рикви

ERRATUM.

In note to p. 372, insert " p. 232 of this volume."

MAGAZINE.

No. 33.] SEPTEMBER, 1813. [VOL. 3.

REFLECTIONS ON PIETY.

"To be resign'd when ills betide,
Patient when favors are denied,

And pleas'd with favours given ;
Dear Chloe, this is Wisdom's part-
This is that incense of the heart

Whose fragrance smells to heaven."

ALTHOUGH talent and learning usually receive the bomage of mankind, yet there are qualities of the human character much more deserving of respect, and virtues that are much more amiable. The respect of society however is not always given to the most meritorious, but to those who best please the fancy of their patron; and hence the reason why the man who possesses wit, eloquence, and erudition, sufficient to please the jocular, persuade the simple, and confound the vulgar, receives the universal suffrage of the multitude in preference to him who, by his silent but exalted virtue, merits the esteem and admiration of mankind, but flatters not their vanity by seeking it. Of this description is the man of true piety, or he who places an entire confidence in his God; let the deserts of such a man be what they may, all he seeks is the approbation of his Maker; and possessed of that, the world, with all its titles, badges, and acclamations, is too poor to merit his attention; he finds that the virtue which he possesses is the most valuable of all, and is, therefore, by no means disposed to sacrifice his real jewel for that which has only the appearance of one; for the condition of man is such, that the happiness of to-day depends on the prospects of to-morrow; and the proportion of certainty with which we can calculate on future bliss regulates the degree of present enjoyment. Who then can be so happy as the pious man? Not he who is a slave to passion or habit; for his prospects at best are hut gloomy, and he makes it his most especial care to drown them in gaiety and intemperance. Not he who is an enthusiast, and who looks upon his Creator as a God of wrath and vengeance, pouring out his acrimonious spirit on the devoted head of creation, and taking pleasure in beholding

VOL. III.

3 D

his creatures writhe in torment-what rational piety can sch a man have? How much love can he feel for the Being, who has thus called him into existence to be the subject of such savage sport? If he have any affections.common to human nature, he must detest the very name and idea of his Creator, and secretly curse the hand that could give him so unprofitable an existence :-and shall the character of our great and best friend be thus calumniated ?→ Shall he, whose wisdom hath designed this admirable piece of workmanship-whose power hath executed it-whose beneficence hath supported it-and whose kind and compassionate disposition hath declared that it shall exist to eternity in a state of progressive felicity-shall such a being as this be represented as an astounding Master, a tyrannical Lord, a revengeful God? O gratitude, modesty, decency, forbid it; or, if you cannot, then do thou, Great Parent, who happily are not affected by the praise or blame of man, forgive these deluded beings the sin which they commit, for they know not what they do!

There is another class of men, who, although the kindness of Providence hath prevented them from falling into the labyrinth of the wild enthusiast, yet, in the pride of their own greatness, they have forgotten the author of their being, and the source from whence all their blessings flow. What they possess they conceive to be their own, and imagine themselves to have an indisputable right of using it in whatever way their inclinations may direct, without being accountable for its product to any but themselves; the time, however, will come, when they also, to their sorrow, will discover the delusion-when the agis of human power, under which they have securely moved, shall be taken from them-when all borrowed merit shall be destroyed, all false pretensions exposed, and their claim to honour and advancement be alone determined by their intrinsic worth. How will ye stand this test, ye who have no power but that of affluence, nor any respect but that of wealth; or ye who pride yourself on your own excellence, and presume to stand in judgment over the works of God?

True piety is the only virtue that will keep a man clear from the trammels of the world-that will point out to him the road to truth, and fit him for the enjoyment of that happiness which is ultimately destined for the good. But it

is not sufficient that he acknowledge the existence of a God, or attend to the common principles of morality; he who would be a truly pious man must be a religious man, for religion is morality refined. He must remember the Author of his being, and consider his bounty and benevolence-he must reverence and love his heavenly Father-he must regard him as his dearest and best friend, and place in him a full and entire confidence-he must raise his mind in gratitude for every favour which he daily and hourly receives; in short, he must be so completely the child of God, that his whole mind must be encircled with affection for this best of fathers, even as a child for a fond parent. Happy the man who has attained to this exalted degree of excellence; his life will be a life of peace and happiness, because it will be a life of virtue and piety. Is he young? No evils that are attendant on bad society will ever visit him, for he will associate with none but the good; and if he cannot find the good to unite with, he will be fully content with the friendship of his divine Father, with whom he can hold converse every hour in the day. Is hean business? His confidence in the Sovereign of all busirss will make those cares and anxieties sit light and easy pon his mind, which to him, who is a stranger to God, are the source of perpetual pain; and though troubles of a transitory nature will sometimes be permitted to wait on him, yet prosperity will ultimately be added to his train of felicity; and when the thread of life has run out, and nature can no longer sustain itself-surrounded by a family, perhaps more virtuous than himself-cheered by the retrospect of a life well spent-supported by the extended hand of heavenly friendship-and warmed by the hope of a glorious immortality, he gives up his life without a murmur or complaint, and sinks calmly and quietly to his grave.

Such are the effects of piety, and of placing a full confidence in our Creator; and here let not the idea of cultivating friendship with God, and of regarding him as the dearest and best of parents, be considered as speculative or impos sible. They who never contemplate the character or attributes of Deity may, indeed, regard it as idle and romantic; but what more rational than that a child should love and respect the parent that gave it birth, and that nursed it to years of maturity? And if we owe this to our mortal parents, how much more do we owe it to him who is the parent of all, and whose bounty is the source of all that we enjoy? The scriptures also declare, that to those who study to do his will, he will be a father and a friend; and