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sight. In seven years from the date of Kristno's haptism, one hundred and nine intelligent converts submitted to that ceremony.

In 1801, Marquis Wellesley, the Governor General of India, appointed Carey teacher of Bengalee and Shanscrit, in his new college of Fort William, a station which he filled with ability.

In 1806, there were ten English missionaries at Serampore, who issued proposals for printing the Scriptures in fourteen of the Oriental languages: but to detail the labours of these devoted inen, and the successes with which God graciously favoured them, requires more space than our limits allow. They had all things in common; and laboured for the common cause of the mission. Dr. Carey, by his learned labours at Calcutta, Dr. Marshman, by the school at Serampore, and Mr. Ward in the printing office, have each contributed more than one thousand pounds per annum to the inission object in the East.

The Baptists have many stations in different parts of India, the West Indies, the Burman Empire, Ceylon, and some in Honduras, and in South Africa; in all which places their labours in the conversion of souls to Christ have been honoured of God, especially in Jamaica and in the East Indies. But the inost astonishing work of any body of Christians, in any age, is that of their translating the Holy Scriptures into the languages of the East. In 1806, the Baptist missionaries were printing the Scriptures at Serampore in sia languages, and translating them into six more. In 1819, they were printing or translating the word of God into twentyseven languages, at Serampore or Calcutta!!

Slanders the most base, and attacks the most virulent, were from time to time made, by party, prejudiced, or unprincipled writers, upon these noble benefactors of mankind. They were loaded with every vulgar or senseless epithet, even by educated Englishmen, who called them dissenters, schismatics, Calvinists, fools, madmen, tinkers, low-born and low-bred mechanics: but their heaven-born benevolence is manifest in their works, upon which the God of glory has placed the seal of his approving blessing; while their oriental learning has been proved to surpass that of any university in Europe. Dr. Carey, especially, is admitted to be the first oriental scholar of our age. The calumnies of their enemies have been deservedly exposed by Mr. Fuller, secretary to the Baptist Missionary Society, by Dr. Buchanan, a zealous chaplain, Mr. Wilberforce, Lord Teignmouth, and the late learned Mr. Greenfield.

The Baptist with the Wesleyan and Church missionaries, have recently endured persecutions in Jamaica of a most shameful character; and enmity to the Gospel of Christ has been manifested by the demolition of ten of their chapels, and the serious damage of others, by the white inhabitants of that island. We forbear entering upon this subject particularly; but refer to the published accounts of these disgraceful transactions, which are universally reprobated in England.

The expenditure of the Baptist Missionary Society, for the past year, ending May 31, 1832, was 15,7947. 198. 7d.

DR. CAREY'S ADDRESS

TO MARQUIS WELLESLEY, GovernoR GENERAL OF

INDIA.

Delivered in Shanscrit.

DR. CLAUDIUS BUCHANAN, in his "Memoir of the Expediency of an Ecclesiastical Establishment for British India," published in 1805, mentions the foundation of the College of Fort William, by Marquis Wellesley, as an important institution, “the fountain of

civilization to Asia." He also speaks of Dr. Carey as "Shanscrit Teacher" in that College, and calls him "the venerable Mr. Carey; for many years past the Protestant missionary in the North of India; following the steps of the late Mr. Swartz in the South; in oriental and classical learning his superior, and not inferior in laborious study and Christian zeal. Mr. Carey is author of a grammar of the Shanscrit language in 900 pages 4to.; of a grammar of the Bengal language; of a grammar in the Mahratta language; of a translation of the Scriptures into the Bengal language; and of various other useful publications in oriental litera

ture."

Dr. Buchanan inserts in his work the translation of Carey's Shanscrit address to Marquis Wellesley, after Clotworthy Gowan, Esq., the first student, had publicly pronounced his oration in that language; and which we here present to our readers, as worthy of their perusal, and admirably illustrative of the means by which Christianity has been introduced into that populous heathen portion of the earth.

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My Lord,

"It is just, that the language which has been first cultivated under your auspices, should primarily be employed in gratefully acknowledging the benefit, and in speaking your praise.

"This ancient language, which refused to disclose it elf to former governors of India, unlocks its treasures at your command, and enriches the world with the history, learning, and science of a distant age.

"The rising importance of our collegiate institutions has never been more clearly demonstrated than on the present occasion; and thousands of the learned in distant nations will exult in this triumph of litera

ture.

"What a singular exhibition has this day been presented to us! In presence of the supreme governor of India, and of its most learned and illustrious characters, Asiatic and European, an assembly is convened, in which no word of our native tongue is spoken, but public discourse is maintained on interesting subjects, in the languages of Asia. The colloquial Hindoostanee, the classic Persian, the commercial Bengalee, the learned Arabic, and the primeval Shanscrit, are spoken fluently, after having been studied grammatically, by English youth. Did ever any university in Europe, or any literary institution in any other age or country, exhibit a scene so interesting as this? And what are the circumstances of these youth? They are not students who prosecute a dead language with uncertain purpose, impelled only by natural genius or love of fame. But having been appointed to the important offices of administering the government of the coun try in which these languages are spoken, they apply their acquisitions immediately to useful purposes; in distributing justice to the inhabitants, in transacting the business of the state, revenual and commercial; and in maintaining official intercourse with the people in their own tongue, and not, as hitherto, by means of an interpreter.

"The acquisitions of our students may be appreciated by their affording to the suppliant native immediate access to his principal; and by their elucidating the spirit of the regulations of our government by oral communication, and by written explanations, varied according to the circumstances and capacities of the people.

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The acquisitions of our students are appreciated at this moment by those learned Asiatics, now present in this assembly, some of them strangers from distant provinces; who wonder every man to hear in his own tongue important subjects discussed, and new and

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"The literary proceedings of this day amply repay all the solicitude, labour, and expense that have been bestowed on this institution. If the expense had been a thousand times greater, it would not have equalled the immensity of the advantage, moral and political, that will ensue.

"I, now an old man, have lived for a long series of years among the Hindoos; I have been in the habit of preaching to multitudes daily, of discoursing with the Brahmins on every subject, and of superintending schools for the instruction of the Hindoo youth. Their language is nearly as familiar to me as my own. This close intercourse with the natives for so long a period, and in different parts of our empire, has afforded me opportunities of information not inferior to those which have hitherto been presented to any person. I may say indeed that their manners, customs, habits, and sentiments, are as obvious to me as if I was myself a native. And knowing them as I do, and hearing as I do their daily observations on our goverment, character, and principles, I am warranted to say (and I deem it my duty to embrace the public opportunity now afforded me of saying it), that the institution of this college was wanting to complete the happiness of the natives under our dominion; for this institution will break down that barrier (our ignorance of their language) which has ever opposed the influence of our laws and principles, and has despoiled our administration of its energy and effect.

"Were, however, the institution to cease from this moment, its salutary effects would yet remain. Good has been done, which cannot be undone. Sources of useful knowledge, moral instruction, and political utility, have been opened to the natives of India, which can never be closed; and their civil improvement, like the gradual civilization of our own country, will advance in progression for ages to come.

"One hundred original volumes in the oriental languages and literature, will preserve for ever in Asia the name of the founder of this institution. Nor are the examples frequent of a renown, possessing such utility for its basis, or pervading such a vast portion of the habitable globe. My Lord, you have raised a monument to fame, which no length of time or reverse of fortune is able to destroy; not chiefly because it is inscribed with Mahratta and Mysore, with the trophies of war and the emblems of victory; but because there are inscribed on it the names of those learned youth, who have obtained degrees of honour for high proficiency in the oriental tongues.

"These youth will rise in regular succession to the government of this country. They wil extend the domain of British civilization, security, and happiness, by enlarging the bounds of oriental literature, and thereby diffusing the spirit of Christian principles throughout the nations of Asia. These youth, who have lived so long amongst us, whose unwearied application to their studies we have all witnessed, whose moral and exemplary conduct has, in so solemn a manner, been publicly declared before this august assembly on this day; and who, at the moment of entering on the public service, enjoy the fame of possessing qualities (rarely combined) constituting a reputation of threefold strength for public men-genius, industry, and virtue; these illustrious scholars, my Lord, the pride of their country, and the pillars of this empire, will record your name in many a language, and secure your fame for ever. Your fame is already recorded in their hearts. The whole body of youth of this service hail you as their father and their friend. Your honour will ever be safe in their hands.

No re

volution of opinion, or change of circumstances, can rob you of the solid glory derived from the humane, just, liberal, and magnanimous principles, which have been embodied by your administration.

"To whatever situation the course of future events may call you, the youth of this service will ever remain the pledges of the wisdom and purity of your government. Your evening of life will be constantly cheered with new testimonies of their reverence and affection; with new proofs of the advantages of the education you have afforded them; and with a demonstration of the numerous benefits, moral, religious, and political, resulting from this institution;-benefits which will consolidate the happiness of millions in Asia, with the glory and welfare of our country."

THE REV. GEORGE WHITFIELD, M. A.

THE REV. JOHN WESLEY'S CHARACTER OF WHIT

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FIELD.

HAVING quoted the high testimonies of the public newspapers, he says of his departed friend and fellowlabourer- These accounts are just and impartial; but they go little farther than the outside of his character: they show you the preacher, but not the man, -the Christian,the saint of God. May I be permitted to add a little on this head, from a personal knowledge of forty years? Mention has already been made of his unparalleled zeal, his indefatigable activity, his tender-heartedness towards the poor. But should we not likewise mention his deep gratitude to all whom God had used as instruments of good by him, of whom he did not cease to speak in the most respectful manner, even to his dying day? Should we not mention, that he had a heart susceptible of the most generous and the most tender friendship? I have frequently thought that this, of all others, was the distinguishing part of his character. How few have we known of so kind a temper, of such large and overflowing affections! Was it not principally by this that the hearts of others were so strangely drawn and knit to him? Can any thing but love beget love? This shone in his very countenance, and continually breathed in all his words, whether in public or private. Was it not this, which, quick and penetrating as lightning, flew from heart to heart-which gave life to his sermons, his conversation, his letters? Ye are witnesses. If it be inquired, what was the foundation of his integrity, or of his sincerity, courage, patience, and every other valuable and amiable quality, it is easy to give the answer. It was not the excellence of his natural temper, nor the strength of his understanding; it was not the force of education; no, nor the advice of his friends. It was no other than faith in a bleeding Lord; faith of the operation of God. It was a lively hope of an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. It was the love of God shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost, which was given unto him, filling his soul with tender, disinterested love to every child of man. From this source arose that torrent of eloquence which frequently bore down all before it; from this that astonishing force of persuasion, which the most ardent sinners could not resist. This it was which often made his head as waters, and his eyes a fountain of tears. I may close this head with observing, what an honour it pleased God to put upon his faithful servant, by allowing him to declare his everlasting Gospel in so many various countries, to such numbers of people, and with so great an effect on so many of their precious souls!"

THE REV. MR. TOPLADY'S CHARACTER OF WHITField. MR. TOPLADY, in his funeral sermon for Mr. Whitfield, says, "I deem myself happy in having an opportunity of thus publicly avowing the inexpressible esteem in which I held this wonderful man; and the affectionate veneration which I must ever retain for the memory of one, whose acquaintance and ministry were attended with the most important spiritual benefit to me, and to tens of thousands beside.

"It will not be saying too much, if I term him the Apostle of the English empire; in point of zeal for God, a long course of indefatigable and incessant labours, unparalleled disinterestedness, and astonishingly extensive usefulness. England has had the honour of producing the greatest men in almost every walk of useful knowledge. At the head of these are, first, Archbishop Bradwardine, the prince of divines; second, Milton, the prince of poets; third, Sir Isaac Newton, the prince of philosophers; fourth, Whitfield, the prince of preachers."

THE INFIDEL HUME'S CHARACTER OF WHITFIELD AS A PREACHER.

HUME the historian, having heard Mr. Whitfield preach at Edinburgh, was asked by an intimate friend, what he thought of his preaching. Hume replied, "He is, Sir, the most ingenious preacher 1 ever heard. It is worth while to go twenty miles to hear him." He then repeated the following passage which he heard, towards the close of the discourse. "After a solemn pause, Mr. Whitfield thus addressed his numerous audience: The attendant angel is just about to leave the threshold, and ascend to heaven. And shall he ascend, and not bear with him the news of one sinner, among all this multitude, reclaimed from the error of his ways? To give the greater effect to this exclamation, he stamped with his foot, lifted up his hands and eyes to heaven, and with gushing tears cried aloud — Stop, Gabriel! Stop, Gabriel! Stop, ere you enter the sacred portals, and yet carry with you the news of one converted sinner to God! He then, in the most simple, but energetic language, described what he called a Saviour's dying love to sinful man; so that almost the whole assembly melted into tears. This address was accompanied with such animated, yet natural action, that it surpassed any thing I ever saw or heard in any other preacher."

Happy for that proud infidel philosopher, had he been melted to penitential tears at the description and appeal of the apostolic preacher, so as to have been led truly to believe what Whitfield correctly called "a Saviour's dying love to sinful man !”

BRITISH CHRONOLOGY.

BRITISH CHRONOLOGY embraces several remarkable epochs, a few of which require to be familiar to us, and therefore they deserve the special attention of our young readers.

1. THE ROMAN CONQUEST CF BRITAIN, A. D. 84. This was partially effected by Julius Cæsar, in the year before the Christian era 54, or, as some reckon it, 52; but the complete subjugation of the country was not made till after the defeat of the magnanimous queen Boadicea, in A. D. 80, with the destruction of 80,000 of her soldiers.

II. THE ROMAN RELINQUISHMENT OF BRITAIN, A. D. 446. The Roman frontier being invaded at every point, the troops were withdrawn from Britain, and

its inhabitants absolved from their allegiance to the Emperor of Rome.

III. THE SAXON HEPTARCHY, A. D. 585. The Bri tons having invited the Saxons Hengist and Horsa in 449, to aid them against the Scots, successive bodies of Germans came over and settled in Britain, until they conquered the country, which seven chiefs divided among themselves, forming what is called by historians the Heptarchy, or sevenfold government.

IV. AUSTIN'S MISSION, A. D. 596. Pope Gregory the Great, sent Austin, and forty monks to assist him, into Britain, to convert the Saxons to Popish Christianity. They were received by Ethelbert, the king of Kent, whose wife was a French princess, who had embraced Christianity. Austin was the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

V. THE DANISH CONQUEST, A. D. 1017. This was completed by Canute, after the Danes had struggled in their attempts during 200 years, in fifty-four battles by land, and thirty-eight by sea, with grievous sacrifices of human life.

VI. THE NORMAN CONQUEST, A. D. 1066. Edward III, had made William Duke of Normandy his heir: but Harold II was chosen by the people. William overcame his rival, who fell on the field of battle near Hastings, with about 60,000 of his soldiers.

Luther had

VII. THE REFORMATION, A. D. 1545. begun the Protestant Reformation in Germany, A.D. 1517; and his example, in making the sole appeal in religion to the Holy Scriptures, was beginning to be followed in many nations. William Tindal retired to the continent to translate the scriptures into English, and the Bible was ordered by Henry VIII to be set up in Churches for the people to read in 1539: but the pope's supremacy was not abolished in England till 1545, and the Reformation was not completed till the reign of Edward VI.

VIII. THE COMMONWEALTH, A. D. 1649. Charles I and his parliament had been contending about eight years, when he was condemned, and afterwards beheaded, January 30, 1649. Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector of England.

IX. THE RESTORATION, A. D. 1660. Charles II, son of the late king, was an exile in Holland: but he was invited back after the death of Oliver Cromwell, and the resignation of the Protectorship by his son Richard, and was proclaimed, May 8, 1660, and entered London May 29.

X. THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION, 1688. This event is deservedly called glorious; as by it the constitutional liberties of the English were settled, and an end was put to the long series of grievous persecutions which had been endured by the Dissenters from the Church of England.

EPITAPH ON ZANCHIUS, AN EMINENT CHAM-
PION FOR THE TRUTH.

Here Zanchius rests, whom love of truth constrain'd
To quit his own and seek a foreign land.
How good and great he was, how form'd to shine,
How fraught with science human and divine,-
Sufficient proof his numerous writings give,
And those who heard him teach and saw him live.
Earth still enjoys him, tho' his soul is fled:
His name is deathless, tho' his dust is dead.

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HINDOO SUPERSTITIONS AND SELF-TORTURE. THE cut which, in the first page of this number, we present to our readers, illustrative of Hindoo superstition, is from a collection of drawings taken by a native. It represents the self-tortures of the deluded devotees at a great religious festival, in honour of SHIVU, one of the principal divinities worshipped in British India. The man to the left in the picture has a ramrod run through his tongue-he in the centre is dancing with an enormous snake round his neck, but which has been deprived of its fangs:-the third is holding burning coals in a pan, the wire handles of which are stuck into his sides. It makes us blush for human nature, to think that multitudes of our fellowsubjects in India should take such absurd methods to honour their imaginary gods, and which, with all their accompanying impurities, should be sanctioned by the Brahmins, their priests.

Mr. Ward, one of the Baptist missionaries, in his larger work on the Hindoo mythology, gives us much information concerning the debasing superstitions in India; many of which are still practised, and even in the city of Calcutta. At the abominable Cherook Poojah," a religious festival, among other modes of self-torture, that is common which is represented in the cut on this page. Devotees, called sunyasses, or perfect ones, throw themselves from a considerable height upon iron spikes fixed in the ground beneath. They erect a stage of bamboos, having three resting places, the highest about twenty feet from the ground. From these heights, these people cast themselves on spikes stuck in bags of straw. As the spikes are laid nearly flat, the deluded wretches are seldom wounded mortally, but sometimes they are killed by the fall. In some villages, several of these stages are erected, and as many as two or three hundred persons cast themselves down on these spikes in one day, in the

presence of great crowds assembled for the being spectators of this devotion.

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In the cut we have given, a ladder is seen behind, by which the stage is ascended, and at the foot are the bags of straw planted with spikes. One person is seen just removed, in a wounded state, -another in the act of descending, and a third, at the top of the stage, is preparing to follow! This is a part of the Hindoo religion! "Alas!" says a friend to Christian missions, after witnessing the scenes we have described, and others of a similar character, "what a week has this been for every abomination! The quantity of human blood shed in various ways in this country, from the earliest ages to the present period, has perhaps always been greater than in any nation upon the face of the earth, in ancient or modern times."

Who, that enjoys the inestimable blessings of Christianity, does not pray, "Have respect, O God! unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty," Psal. lxxiv, 20; remembering that his gracious promise assures us-"They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." Isaiah xi, 9.

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PERSEVERANCE IN DIFFICULTIES.

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WE select the following from the delightful pages of "the Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties," published by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, as a most extraordinary instance of literary industry and perseverance;" and to urge upon our young friends the importance of never giving way to trifles, either in their literary pursuits, or in the acquisition of any branch of science or art, to which their taste might lead them. They should take the line of Terence as their motto

"Nil tam difficile est, quin quærendo investigari possit."

"There is nothing so difficult, but may be overcome by endeavouring."

The Reverend William Davy, A. B. was born in 1743, near Chudleigh in Devonshire, where his father resided on a small farm, his own freehold. From a very early age he gave proofs of a mechanical genius, and when only eight years old, he cut out with a knife and put together the parts of a small mill, after the model of one that was then building in the neighbourhood, the progress made in constructing which he used to observe narrowly every day, while he proceeded with equal regularity in the completion of his own little work. When the large mill was finished, it was found not to work exactly as it ought to have done, and the defect at first eluded the detection even of the builder. It is said, that while they were endeavouring to ascertain what was wrong, the young self-taught architect made his appearance, and, observing that his mill went perfectly well, pointed out, after an examination of a few minutes, both the defect and the remedy.

Being intended for the Church, he was placed at the Exeter Grammar School; and here he distinguished himself by his proficiency in classical learning, while he still retained his early attachment to mechanical pursuits, and exercised his talents in the construction of several curious and ingenious articles. At the age of eighteen he entered at Oxford, where he took the degree of A. B. at the usual time. It was during his residence at the University that he conceived the idea of compiling a system of divinity, to consist of selections from the best writers, and began to collect, in a common place book, such passages as he thought would suit his purpose. On leaving college, he was ordained to the curacy of Moreton, in the diocese of Exeter, and not long after he removed to the adjoining curacy of Lustleigh, with a salary of 40. a year. In the year 1786, be published, by subscription, six volumes of sermons by way of introduction to his intended work; but this proved an unfortunate speculation, many of the subscribers forgetting to pay for their copies, and he remained in consequence indebted to his printer above a hundred pounds. This bad success, however, did not discourage him he pursued his literary researches and completed the work. But when his manuscript was finished, he found that from its extent, it would cost two thousand pounds to get it printed. In these circumstances, he again contemplated publication by subscription, and issued his proposals accordingly; but the names he collected were too few to induce any bookseller to risk the expense of an impression of the work. Determined not to be defrauded of the honours of authorship, Mr. Davy now resolved to become a printer himself. So, having constructed his own press, and purchased from a printer, at Exeter, a quantity of worn and cast-off types, he commenced operations, having no one to assist him except his female servant, and having of course to perform alternately the offices of compositor and pressYet in this manner did the ingenious and per

man.

severing man, sustained by the anticipation of the literary fame awaiting him, proceed until he had printed off forty copies of the first three hundred pages, his press only permitting him to do a single page at a time. Confident that he had now produced so ample a specimen of the work as would be certain to secure for it the general patronage of the learned, he here suspended his labours for a while; and having forwarded copies to the Royal Society, the universities, certain of the bishops, and the editors of the principal reviews, waited with eager expectation for the notice and assistance which he conceived himself sure of receiving from some of these quarters. He waited, however, in vain; the looked-for encouragement came not. Still, although thus a second time disappointed, he was not to be driven from his purpose, but returned with unabated courage to his neglected labours. He no doubt thought that posterity would repair the injustice of his contemporaries. In one respect, however, he determined to alter his plan. His presents to the bishops, critics, and learned bodies, had cost him twenty-six of his forty copies; and for the completion of these, so thanklessly received, he naturally enough resolved that he would give himself no farther trouble, but limit the impression of the remainder of the work, so as merely to complete the fourteen copies which he had reserved, in this way saving both his labour and his paper. And he had at last, after thirteen years of unremitting toil, the gratification of bringing his extraordinary undertaking to a conclusion. The book, when finished, the reader will be astonished to learn, extended to no fewer than twenty-six volumes 8vo., of nearly fivehundred pages each! In a like spirit of independence he next bound all the fourteen copies with his own hands; after which he proceeded in person to London, and deposited one in each of the principal public libraries there. We may smile at so preposterous a dedication of the labours of a life-time as this; but, at least, the power of extraordinary perseverance was not wanting here, nor the capability of being excited to arduous exertion, and long sustained under it, by those motives that act most strongly upon the noblest nathe consciousness of honourable pursuit, and a trust in the verdict of posterity. It is true this temper of mind might have been more wisely exercised; and the patience, ingenuity, and toil, which were expended upon a performance of no great use in itself, bestowed upon something better fitted to benefit both the zealous labourer and his fellow-men. Yet this consideration does not entitle us to refuse our admiration to so rare an example of the unwearied and inflexible prosecution of an object, in the absence of all those vulgar encouragements which are generally believed and felt to be so indispensable.

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THE SABBATH.

It is the day of rest! Let earth retire
And leave my thoughts, eternal God, to thee.
Let my dull heart, this sacred morning, be
Warm'd by thy grace and touch'd with heavenly fire.
Softly the sabbath-bell is heard afar,

Like mercy's summons to a feast of love;-
On to the house of prayer the suppliants move
To tell their wants to Him whose sons they are.
Vain is the sculptur'd roof-the long-drawn aisle-
Vain music's tone and vain the silken vest:
That worshipper, and he alone, is blest,
On whose rapt soul the Spirit deigns to smile.
Yet do the sabbath's joys but dimly show
The bliss of that bright world to which we hope to go.
M. N.

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