surely you do not wish to be 'at ease in Zion' after this fashion. You do not wish that Wesley and Whitefield had never awakened the nation to a zealous regard for religious concerns. Then, what you are asked to give is not, after all, your own. You are not proprietors, but stewards of your possessions; and you will soon hear a voice saying, 'Give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.' Then, your ability may be increased if you would only exercise a little self-denial, avoid needless hoarding and improper expenditure, and be satisfied with a decent distinction from the vulgar, without being carried away by 'the pride of life.' Then, if you give often, so much the more do you benefit yourselves; for 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' 'God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye always having all-sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.' 'To do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.' Then, although the heathen man cannot recompense you, the Saviour says, 'Take care of him; and when I come again I will repay thee. He has done much for you already; but in that day He will do much more. Therefore let each one say: All that I have, and all I am, Shall be for ever Thine; My cheerful hands resign.' OUR BAPTIZED CHILDREN : BY THE REV. GEORGE OSBORN D.D. II. 6 LET it be further supposed that the child now owning his obligations is brought, with others like-minded, at a suitable time, to the Superintendent of the Circuit, or his deputy, that he may put his hands on them and pray,' and bless them in the name of the Lord; is there any reason to think that the Master would be displeased? It seems more reasonable to expect that since 'He was much displeased' with those who attempted to hinder a similar proceeding when He was on earth, He would regard it with favour now. To the Minister it would doubtless be a profitable service; reminding him of the simplicity of true religion, of the freeness of Divine grace, and of the unutterable condescension of the Saviour. He would thus, even by the course which his own thoughts would take, apart from any special visitation from above, be led to increased tenderness of feeling, to renewed consecration and holy joy, and in other ways would prove that, in receiving the little ones, he had also received their Friend and Redeemer. The little ones, too, thus taking a step forward in the school of Christ, would be sure to be met and encouraged by the Great Teacher. Parents would be instructed to persevere in careful training, and to hope for its best and fullest fruit. And surely our wise poet never said a wiser thing than this: 'No man too largely from Heaven's love can hope, If what he hopes he labours to secure.' Let it be further supposed that the names and addresses of all who have received this 'laying on of hands' (Hebrews vi. 2) are preserved in a book. What a precious record would this be ! As a help to Ministers in their pastoral duty, and a register of holy engagements, it would, in course of time, acquire a value not easy to compute. The discretion of parents and Ministers may be trusted as to any further dealing with these neophytes. Some, perhaps most, would naturally find their way to the Class-meeting; others might be relegated to the further care of parents or other suitable instructors. But it will be said, 'What then have you done? If you have not given a fixed ecclesiastical position to them, you have done nothing.' I reply, You have provided for the supply of a felt want, and taken measures to secure indefinite progress in the future. That being so, I am not very solicitous to lay down a groove in which alone the machinery must work. 'Would you admit the "confirmed" to the Lord's Table?—The officiating Minister has unlimited discretion in regard to Notes of Admission now.' This plan would not take it away, but it might supply valuable aid in the exercise of it. 'What! children at the Lord's Table?' If they have repentance, faith and love, why not? What can they have more at seventy? Can they not discern the Lord's body by faith until they come to some stated age? 'But they want knowledge.' And so do many adults who come. But not to insist on this, how much knowledge do you think you have a right to require? A child who can intelligently and feelingly say either of those admirable hymns for infants: 'Lo! at noon 'tis sudden night, etc.,' or 'Jesus, Who lived above the sky, etc.,' has knowledge enough to prevent any unworthy receiving on the score of ignorance; and there is nothing in their having been confirmed to prevent them from continuing to learn, but much to encourage it. 'But Confirmation is Popish.' So is singing, so is prayer, so is baptism itself; but you do not decline these observances because Romanists also use them. If you are to refuse what is good and profitable because Romanists have corrupted it, there will be but little left of our religious observances. Confirmation in the Church of Rome is regarded a Sacrament, which is administered by Bishops only, not by imposition of hands, but by anointing the forehead, and brings those who receive it rightly to the perfection of Christian solidity.' But here is no pretence to a Sacrament of any kind, nor any unscriptural ceremony. Only gross ignorance or prejudice will identify things that have nothing in common but the name. H Why, then, give it the name of the Romish Sacrament ? ' Because I cannot find a better; and there is no reason why we should part with a good word for our purpose in this case, any more than in the case of the word Communion, which we constantly employ with reference to the Lord's Supper, as they also do. Between the simple rite now advocated, and that which is called Confirmation in the Church of England, there are the following notable differences : (a). That requires a Minister of a higher order than the parish Clergyman; this does not. (b). That makes ability to say the Church Catechism a condition foregoing; this does not. (c). That presupposes the existence of Godfathers and Godmothers in Baptism, as witnesses of their Confirmation; this does not. (d). That prescribes a form of words to be used by the Bishop, in which the confirmed are declared to have previously received the forgiveness of all their sins, and regeneration by the Holy Ghost. This prescribes no form whatever; and if the Conference should hereafter appoint any, we may be quite certain that it will differ widely from the above. The one point of agreement is, that the obligations of Baptism are in both personally assumed by the recipient. It is freely admitted that in many cases the rite of Confirmation in the Established Church has been an occasion of great scandal. But this was entirely owing to the negligence of those who ought to have known better, and to the requirement of a merely intellectual preparation for it. Where the Clergy have been serious and earnest in preparing candidates, their labours have often been greatly blessed in bringing young persons to religious decision. Not a few date their conversion from their Confirmation, and even where no special pains have been taken, the solemnity of the promise, or the exhortation of the Bishop (not prescribed indeed, but often given), has awakened serious thought, and led to blessed results. It is recorded of Mr. Robinson, of Leicester, that 'his Confirmation season was one he particularly valued, and had reason to esteem as his choicest seed-time.' (Vaughan's Life, p. 335.) And from Mr. Crosse, the Vicar of Bradford, we learn that, to his certain knowledge, the effects accompanying the solemn rite, when rightly received, have been a fulness of spiritual strength and vigour, so that Christ has been boldly confessed, and the world trampled under foot.' (Morgan's Life, p. 135.) This testimony is the more remarkable because Mr. Crosse's wellknown sympathy with Methodism makes it impossible to classify him among high, or even strict Churchmen. 99 DR. WILSON, OF BOMBAY : JOHN WILSON was born, December 11th, 1804, at Lauder, a Berwickshire burgh, which stands in a district alike remarkable for the picturesque scenery of its green slopes and babbling waters, and the rich variety of its historical and poetical associations. The father of the future Missionary was a fine representative of the stalwart farmers of the Border, and was for forty years a Councillor of the burgh, and for a shorter time a respected Elder in the parish church. His mother had a strong character, but a kindly heart, and was a wise adviser and generous helper of her neighbours. Even in infancy John Wilson gave signs of an intellect of unusual power and vividness, astonishing and almost alarming his mother by speaking in clearly articulated and sensible words before he was able to walk. He also manifested an early predilection for the Pulpit, being found one Sabbath evening, when a boy, preaching, from a hollow tree at the back of Thirlestane Castle, to the people who were returning from a Sacramental service. This, to his parents, seemed too much like trifling with sacred themes, and the open-air sermon was followed by an indoor chastisement. His grandfather was the first person who communicated to him any knowledge of God and spiritual life. When three years old he was put to sleep in the same bed with him, and never forgot the fervour of his private devotions, nor the feeling with which he used to repeat the twenty-third Psalm, particularly the last verse : 'Goodness and mercy all my life succeeded by experience of the saving power of Christ. When he reached his fourth year he was sent to a private school in Lauder, and afterwards to afterwards to the parish school, taught by an able master named Alexander Paterson. In school he was modest, devout and affectionate; always ready to take part with the weak, yet never showing a quarrelsome or mischievous spirit. Anything like deception was abhorrent to his soul, and he had the reputation of being a boy who never told a lie. One bright day in summer he and other scholars went along the track of a burn for fishing and other diversions. Amusing themselves by the side of the pleasant waters, they forgot the flight of time, until they were too late for school. They had difficulty in deciding what excuse they should offer for their absence, and proposals more diplomatic than truthful were made by some of their number. John Wilson ended the discussion by saying, with what for him was unusual energy of manner, 'I tell you what we will tell the truth.' He was looked upon as the most diligent and persevering student in the school, and while there laid deep and broad the foundations of the scholarship for which he is so famous. When he was little more than ten years old, the ordinary quietude of life in Lauder was disturbed by the excitement attending the last struggle with Bonaparte. As the people were going to church in the lovely light of a calm summer Sabbath, the question in every mouth was, 'Will they be fechtin' on sic a day as this?' After the sermon there was a fellowship meeting in the Burgher Session-house, to which John Wilson and a school There was promise of saintly life in friend obtained admission; and again John's childhood; he was very early the question was asked, 'Will they under conviction of sin, which was be fechtin'?' An Elder, venerable • The Life of John Wilson, D.D., F.R.S. For Fifty Years Philanthropist and Scholar in the East. By George Smith, LL.D, London: John Murray, Albemarle Street. 1878. for his white hair and godly simpli quently visited the Stow Clergy city, said, Surely they'll let the man. The General had been politblessed Sabbath ower afore they fecht.' It is a strange comment on the words of the good man, that through the hours which shone so brightly on Lauder and its neighbouring hamlets, Wellington was forming his serried squares on the terrible field of Waterloo. But there were higher matters to engage the boy's mind. It was a time when evangelical activities were beginning to split the icy crust which Moderatism had spread over so many parishes. In his fourteenth year, the Border youth left the romantic scenes of Lauderdale to begin a course of study, extending through eight years, at the Edinburgh University. He availed himself of all that was to be acquired in the classes for Greek and Latin; worked at Natural Philosophy under Sir John Leslie, and listened to the magnificent, if not profound or systematic, prelections of Professor Wilson. In the interval between his first and second sessions at College, he officiated as master of the school of Horndean, on the Tweed. After the second session, Dr. Cormack, Minister of Stow, secured his services as tutor to his son and nephews. The latter had been sent by their father, a military officer in India, to be educated in the Stow Manse. It was from them that the young tutor heard for the first time the accents of the Hindostanee, in which he was to become so proficient. But in addition to the language, bringing India before his eyes while he sat in the library with his pupils, there were letters by every mail describing the onslaughts and raids of Marathee and Pindaree, and proudly recounting the achievements of such bold, hard-headed Scotchmen as Malcolm and Munro. A still more lively interest in India was excite in Mr. Wilson by conversations with General Walker, who fre ical agent in charge of a wide territory, including Baroda, Kathiawar and Kutch, and had zealously forwarded the plans of a previous Governor for preventing female infanticide among the Rajpoots. Revisiting Kathiawar, after having been employed in some other part of India, he had the satisfaction of seeing a number of children he had rescued from death, and of hearing one sweet voice say, in the Goojaratee tongue, 'Walker Sahib saved me.' Thus, in the dawn of manhood, Mr. Wilson was placed in an atmosphere charged with Indian influences, and impelled unconsciously to the work prepared for him in the then far-off and shadowy East.' In going to college it was his intention to prepare for the Ministry, and having solemnly dedicated himself to God, he decided to offer himself for service in the Mission field. It would mar the following beautiful and pathetic scene to give it in any but his own words, extracted from his Journal: 'February 6th, 1825.-This day visited my dear parents and friends at Lauder. Mentioned to them my intention of soon offering myself as a Missionary Candidate to the Scottish Missionary Society, and O! what a burst of affection did I witness from my dear mother. Never will I forget what occurred this evening. She told me that at present she thought that the trial of parting with me, if I should leave her, would be more hard to bear than my death. When I saw her in her tears, I cried unto God that He would send comfort to her mind, and that He would make this affair issue in His glory and our good. I entreated my mother to leave the matter to the Lord's disposal; and I told her that I would not think of leaving her if the Lord should not make my way plain for me, but that at present I thought it my duty to offer my services to the Society. She then embraced me and seemed more calm. My father said little to me on the subject, but seemed to be in deep thought. In the course of the evening the words, "He that loveth his life shall lose it," and "He that loveth father or mother more |