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to suppose that God will help those who do not themselves endeavour to do his will. In any sudden temptation, send up a secret prayer to God to keep you from giving way to it; and be always firm and steady in doing what you know to be right. Re member that the eye of God is always upon you, by night as well as by day. He knows every thought of your mind. He sees every secret struggle that you make against temptation, and he sees it with pleasure: think of this whenever you feel tempted to do wrong; think that His eye is on you at that moment, and that if you resist the temptation and continue to do what is right, you will be in his favor. And, if you are so unhappy as to have done wrong, do not try to excuse yourself by saying "it is of no consequence," but be really and sincerely sorry for it, pray to God to forgive you for Jesus Christ's sake, and try to keep away from doing so again. Above all, be earnest as well as regular, in offering up your prayers; take every opportunity of going to Church; and, when you are there, do not think of any thing but what you are about, and attend to the sermon, as if you really hoped to be better for it. Do not spend any of your time in idleness. If you have any spare time, spend it in improving yourself in reading, writing, or any other useful study; but be very careful what books you read; for there are some, that will corrupt your mind and lead you into all kinds of wickedness. N. L. H.

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The writer proceeds to give a rule, and a very good one, to guide the unwary in their choice of books; namely to look at the name of the publisher. We have not however given it at length, lest we should be suspected of introducing an advertisement in favour of our friends Mr. Rivington, and Mr. Hatchard. There are, however, many most respectable booksellers in London who would dread to sell any book which had a bad tendency. And there are some, we

grieve to say it, who sell nothing but what is dangerous and bad. We know not of a more truly awful state than that of a man who writes or sells blasphemous and filthy books. It is a fearful thing indeed for any man to commit a known sin; but to send forth into the world these torrents of sin, which spread such misery, and produce such ruin, is a thing too dreadful to think of. Good laws, and christian societies are, however, at work to put a stop to these horrible publications. May it please God to touch the hearts of the writers and publishers of them, with a sense of the misery they are spreading around them, and lead them to turn from their ruinous errors, and be the friends of religion and the teachers of the truth.

ED.

QUESTION RESPECTING A FEMALE BENEFIT SOCIETY.

To the Editor of the Cottager's Monthly Visitor.

SIR,

BEING very desirous of obtaining farther particulars respecting a Society for Females, some account of which appeared in your Number for December, 1822, signed S. M., I take the liberty of requesting your interest to obtain, through the medium of your excellent publication, a copy of the "Rules;" and any other information requisite for the establishment of a similar useful institution; by which means you may contribute to the formation and welfare of a future Society, and very much oblige your

CONSTANT READER.

We are sorry not to be able to give the writer any further information on the subject, than that which is contained in S, M,'s letter, in our December Number,

Perhaps S. M. would favour us with a copy of the Rules, or some further particulars, if there be any, in addition to what he has already been so good as to send us.-ED.

HINTS TO LABOURERS IN HOT WEATHER. IT has often been said, that there are no persons who drink such a quantity of strong drink, as English labourers. There are, indeed, many who will drink just as much as they can get. To persons who have not given themselves up to such habits, this appears perfectly surprising. But, if we consider the great fatigue that labourers go through, especially in hot weather, we shall not be surprised that they feel the want of that relief which drinking affords. The worst part of the business is, that after all, this drinking does not answer the purpose for which it was intended;-it was intended to take away the unpleasant feeling of thirst;-it does this, to be sure, for a few minutes, but this thirst soon returns again; and the heating quality of the drink having heated the stomach, the thirst has become worse than it was before; so that some experienced labourers will say- "the more you drink, the more you need;" and this is plainly the truth, for we always see that habits of drinking keep constantly growing stronger and stronger.

But a labourer who works much out of doors, in hot weather, frequently feels such distress from thirst, that he is glad to drink of the first thing that comes in his way; and some persons have, when very hot, been tempted to drink large quantities of cod water. We must here, however, give them a caution. A quantity of cold water suddenly taken into the stomach, when a man is hot, may do a great deal of harm. Wash the mouth, therefore, well with it, two or three times, before you swallow any :

you will find this to quench the thirst wonderfully: then, if you like, you can swallow a little with less danger. The thirst, you may observe, is generally in the mouth, and is therefore more relieved by moistening the mouth well, than by drenching the stomach. You often see a sensible labourer, who has his beer in his wooden bottle, drinking it out of the bottle itself, instead of putting it into a glass or a mug; because the liquid, as it comes out of the narrow neck of the bottle, washes the mouth well before it goes down the throat, and by that means, quenches the thirst more effectually. Another man would take a great mug of beer and swallow it all at a draught without its hardly touching his palate; and then his thirst is hardly quenched at all by it, and he presently wants beer again just as much as if he had had none,-and indeed more; for the heat of the beer in his stomach soon makes his mouth hot and dry, and nothing will do for him but drinking again.

But some people think that there is a great deal of what they call strength and heart in beer. It is very true that, if the beer be made of good malt and hops, there is something in it both strengthening and. cheering, if taken in moderation. For a man to work well, he should not only be strong enough for his work, but should feel so; and often a little beer cheers a man's spirits, and makes him feel bold at his work; and besides, barley, of which beer is made, is, itself, a nourishing and strengthening grain. But any thing, beyond a moderate quantity, of fermented liquor, gives a false excitement to the spirits; and, instead of doing good, does a great deal of harm, and heats the stomach, when it most requires to be cooled. There is not a more ruinous mistake to the mind and body, and pocket, than that which some English labourers have got into, when they think that "the more they drink, the stronger they shall be." It is quite a

mistake. Some of the great doctors in London will hardly allow of their patients drinking any thing. Almost all diseases they say, arise from an overloaded stomach; and a quantity of liquid poured into the stomach, lies like a great load pressing upon it, (for a quart weighs about two pounds,) and also weakens the power of that fluid, (called the gastric juice,) which Providence has placed in our stomachs for the purpose of digesting our food.

These doctors tell us, that good nourishing things in the shape of solid food, are the real and proper things to strengthen the body; and I believe, that a dish made of Scotch barley, or rice, or wheat has more real wholesome strength in it, than all that can be found in beer or wine, or any sort of liquors. We are not, however, against a hard-working man having a moderate quantity of beer for his refreshment; but we would caution him against too much : and we would caution him against that foolish mistake of believing that "the more he drinks, the more strength he gets." We often, indeed, see a man strong, who drinks a great deal; but it was not the drink that made him strong. He was natu. rally a strong man, and exercise and exertion have added to his strength, and have enabled him, not only to bear hard labour, but, what is a greater trial to the constitution, hard drinking. We do not, we say, wish to prevent a man from a moderate quantity of refreshment; but nobody in his senses, can help seeing the misery with which this country abounds, from that ruinous vice of immoderate. drinking, which does nobody any good-which starves thousands,-which fills families with wretchedness and rags-destroys all happiness at homemakes a man not fit to be seen abroad;—and ruins him for ever.

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