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Bethlehem is said now to contain about three hundred Inhabitants, the greater part of whom gain their livelihood by making beads, carving mother-of-pearl shells with sacred subjects, and manufacturing small tables and crucifixes, all which are eagerly purchased by the pilgrims.

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Travellers who visit this celebrated spot, are shown several sacred places, rendered famous by fabulous tradition. Legendary story makes "the stable," in which our Lord was born, a grotto, I cut out of the rock," as Dr. Pococke states, "according to the eastern custom." But the Gospel narrative affords no countenance to the notion that the Virgin Mary took refuge in any cave of this description. On the contrary, it was evidently a manger belonging to the "inn," or caravanserai; the upper rooms being wholly occupied, the holy family were compelled to take up their abode in the court allotted to the mules, and horses, and camels. Superstition, rather than the New Testament, was the guide which Helena followed, in erecting the "Church of the Nativity." The present edifice is represented by Chateaubriand as of undoubtedly high antiquity; yet Doubdan, an old traveller, says that the monastery was destroyed in the year 1263 by the Moslems; and in its present state, at all events, it cannot lay claim to a higher date.

Greek, Roman, and Armenian Christians, divide the convent among them, to each of whom separate parts are assigned as places of worship and habitations for the monks; but on certain days, all may perform their devotions at the altars erected over the consecrated spots. The church is built in the form of a cross; the nave being adorned with forty-eight Corinthian columns in four rows, cach column being two feet six inches in diameter, and eighteen feet high, including the base and the capital. The nave, which is in possession of the Armenians, is separated from the three other branches of the cross by a wall, so that the unity of the edifice is destroyed. The top of the cross is occupied by the choir, which belongs to the Greeks. Here is an altar dedicated to "the wise men of the east," at the foot of which is a marble star, corresponding, as the monks declare, to the point of the heavens where the miraculous meteor became stationary, and directly over the spot where the Saviour was born in the subterranean church! A flight of fifteen steps, and a long narrow passage, conduct to the sacred crypt or grotto of the nativity, which is thirty-seven feet six inches in length, by eleven feet three inches in breadth, and nine feet in height. It is lined and floored with marble, and provided on each side with five oratories, "answering," as the monks say, "precisely to the ten cribs or stalls for horses that the stable in which our Saviour was born contained!" The identical spot of the birthplace is marked by a glory in the floor, composed of marble and jasper encircled with silver, around which are inscribed these words, "Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est." Over it is a marble table or altar, which rests against the side of the rock, here cut into an arcade. The manger is at the distance of seven paces from the altar; it is in a low recess hewn out of the rock, to which you descend by two steps, and consists of a block of marble, raised about a foot and a half above the floor, and hollowed out in the form of a manger. Before it is the altar of the Magi. The chapel is illuminated by thirty-two lamps, presented by different princes of Christendom.

Chateaubriand has described the scene in his usual florid and imaginative style :-"Nothing can be more pleasing, or better calculated to excite devotional sentiments, than this subterraneous church. It is adorned with pictures of the Italian and Spanish schools, which represent the mysteries of the place. The usual orna

ments of the manger are of blue satin, embroidered with silver. Incense is continually burning before the cradle of our Saviour. I have heard an organ, touched by no ordinary hand, play during mass, the sweetest and most tender tunes of the best Italian composers. These concerts charm the Christian Arab, who, leaving his camels to feed, repairs, like the shepherds of old, to Bethlehem, to adore the King of kings in the manger. I have seen this inhabitant of the desert communicate at the altar of the Magi, with a fervour, a piety, a devotion, unknown among the Christians of the West. The continual arrivals of caravans from all nations of Christendom, the public prayers, the prostrations, nay, even the richness of the presents sent here by the Christian princes, all together produce feelings in the soul, which it is much easier to conceive than to describe."

Such are the illusions which Roman superstition spreads over this extraordinary scene! But where, in the Holy Scriptures, shall we find these things commanded? Altars-incense-prostrations-lampspictures-with royal visitors and their rich presents, must naturally have great influence upon beholders: but while these shows and ceremonies affect the senses, and impose upon the imagination, they communicate but little light to the understanding; and the whole history of the Holy Land, since the glorious events commemorated, shows how little "Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, and good-will towards men," have been promoted, by all this sumptuous willworship.

THE CHARACTER OF ELI.

THE history of many of those patriarchs, who in the first ages of the world were celebrated for their piety and devotedness to God, cannot fail to be deeply interesting to every Christian who loves to trace the providence and dispensations of the Almighty, from the commencement of the world down to the present time. There is nothing in the accounts recorded in the Scriptures, to lead us to suppose that they are fabulous and imaginary. No veil is drawn over the vices of the best and wisest among them; and every thing that we read confirms the fact, that they were weak and fallible men, as likely to fall into sin as we of the present generation; and the hand of God was always outstretched, when their iniquity rendered it necessary to visit them with fatherly correction.

These remarks are calculated to recal to our recollection the affecting account which is furnished us in the Bible of a man named Eli. He is introduced to our notice in the important character of high-priest, to which situation he had been called by the special appointment of God. We are also told that he had two sons, who did not walk in the steps of their pious father, but indulged in all those criminal excesses, which are but too apt to be eagerly followed by unthinking and unprincipled youth. They held the responsible offices of priests ministering in the Lord's house: but instead of that devotion and piety which should ever mark the character of such distinguished persons, their mode of conduct, with reference to the sacrifices, was so disgraceful and disgusting, that many of the Hebrews withheld their offerings. Now the grand fault of Eli's conduct, that which casts a shade over his brightest virtues, and sinks him in the estimation of all future generations, had reference to these ungodly young men. There were many reasons to induce him to restrain their licentiousness, and sufficient power lodged in his hands to check and punish their open and flagrant wickedness. As high-priest, it became him to

keep all the other priests in strict obedience to the laws of God, that their conduct might furnish an example for the imitation of the tribes of Israel; as judge of Israel, it was his duty to defend the poor and fatherless, and save his people from the cruel and inhuman spoliation of those who had forgotten all duty and obedience; and as a father, it behoved him to check every appearance of vice in those children, those immortal beings, whom the Almighty had been pleased to commit to his keeping. Yet, notwithstanding all these unanswerable considerations, to his eternal disgrace it is recorded, that his sons 66 made themselves vile, and he restrained them not." He, whose deep penetrating gaze is over all his works, saw the sad and mournful spectacle, and his indignation was kindled at so much impiety and folly; and he sent a messenger to Eli to reprove him for his misconduct, and to tell him that the Creator could never sanction the creature to be preferred to him; and therefore that ruin and desolation should overwhelm his house, because he lacked that energy which duty and interest prompted him to put forth: that it should be his portion to behold his country invaded by foreign foes, the ark of the Lord taken, and his two sons slain in one day. These just and terrible threatenings speedily met their accomplishment. The Philistines invaded the country, defeated the Hebrews, and slew 4,000 of them. Supposing that the presence of the ark of God would ensure victory, they had the audacity to send for it, and made the very earth resound with shoutings when the sacred pile was brought into the camp. But how vain are the most distinguished outward means, when real and fervent piety to God is wanting. The ark came-but not to triumph. Israel was discomfited-Eli's sons slain-and the ark of the Lord carried away by the conquerors.

Now Eli was himself a pious man, and his affections were devotedly fixed on all that had reference to the service of God. He had so long ministered about the ark, and been connected with it, that his heart was quite twined around it. Knowing, therefore, that it had been taken to the battle, the old man groped his way (for he was blind) to the road side; and the sacred historian informs us of his condition, by saying, that when the messenger from the army passed by on his road to the city, "Lo, Eli sat by the way-side watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God."

A voice of lamentation followed the announcement of the tidings, and the city resounded with the howl of its inhabitants. The heart of Eli beat yet more quickly, he thought of the denounced vengeance of the Almighty, and tremblingly inquired the cause of the tumult. The answer he received was this: "Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been a great slaughter among the people, and thy two sons are slain, and the ark of God is taken. And it came to pass, that when he made mention of the ark of God, he fell from off the seat backward, and his neck brake, and he died." How affecting is this incident! As a patriot, he could hear, with resignation to the Divine will, that his countrymen had disgracefully fled before the Philistines. As a citizen, though he grieved at the death of so many of his fellow-countrymen, he was not overwhelmed. As a father, he could submit to the stroke which robbed him of two sons in one day. But when he made mention of the ark of God, all the tender and most devoted feelings of his mind received a paralyzing shock, a dim and confused picture of Israel's ruin floated in his brain, "and he fell backward, and died!"

A narrative of this description cannot fail to have much instruction conveyed by it, and I think it will be well to ground on it an address to Children and to

Parents.

To Children it utters a warning voice: Too many of the youth of our country are apt to forget the duty which they owe to their parents, and seem to imagine that submission to the will of those whom God has been graciously pleased to place over them as guardiaus, savours too much of weakness and childish simplicity. If such a child should cast his eyes upon this, I would bid him to remember, that, unhappily for him, his opinions are not founded on the word of God. That sacred volume contains many an awful warning, and many a solemn injunction, requiring obedience to parents; and the examples which it furnishes are among the most appalling of the sad effects of slighting a parent's wishes and commands. Surrounded by the head men in Israel, backed by power, urged on by interest, and sanctioned by fools and scoffers, the wicked Absalom expected to wrest the crown from his father, and break the heart of the pious David with his monstrous ingratitude; but the hand of the Lord was against him, and in the midst of his youth, his power, and his wickedness, he was summoned to the bar of God, to render an account of all his actions. Nor is the example before us less striking: the good old Eli had often besought his sons to abandon their wickedness, to become virtuous and holy, and to act the part of rational and consistent men. But they rebelled, they would not hear reason, and in one day both of them were struck down in their disobedience. Where are they now? Oh! does not the disobedient child hear the solemn and sepulchral voices of Hophni and Phinehas calling to him from the gloomy caverns of the lost, and exclaiming, in accents of wild and withering despair, Repent, while there is time! Obey, while it is yet within your power to do so; lest that same hand, which justly sent us hither, should be uplifted against you, and hurl you down into these dreadful regions, where the disobedient children dwell, where the voice of unavailing penitence seeks but in vain to find another mother to obey, another father to honour !

To Parents I would with all becoming humility observe, that the character and death of Eli speak most powerfully of the immense obligations parents are under, to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. When I look upon an assemblage of children, the solemn conviction strikes upon my mind, that these are to be the men and the women of the next generation, that to their hands are to be entrusted all the important and soul-stirring matters of life, and that they in their turns are to be guardians of another generation. I cannot, therefore, feel indifferent as to how their education is conducted, and what the principles are which are instilled into their minds. Do parents think of this? Do they seriously feel the solemn, the momentous duty which is entrusted to their charge? Do they know that eternal beings. hang upon their instruction?-immortal souls are concerned in the education they are giving? Let the thoughtless parent pause; let him think of the numberless motives which on every side are to be found to induce and enforce immediate attention to the pressing wants of the rising generation. I plead for the helpless, the poor, the hapless children, who are not able to plead for themselves; and I urge you to be cautious how you trifle with souls, for whom the Saviour of the world was content to suffer.

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Let these remarks suffice to arcnse your attention let there be a stir among the readers of the Christian's Penny Magazine; let a bold effort be made to reclaim lost and abandoned children from the grasp of the evil one, and cause the praises of the Saviour to resound from the mouths of babes and sucklings.

B. Z

Letters to a Mother, upon Education.

LETTER XXXIV.

On the question of Public or Private Education, continued.

Secondly. Some persons would be surprised to hear that I recommend your son being sent to school, even for the sake of the moral influence connected with pubfic education.

This at first sight, I am aware, would alarm those persons, whose chief reason for preferring a private education is to avoid the moral contagion they believe inseparable from a public education.

Before, however, I explain my meaning, permit me just to say, that I believe the immorality of schools, and even of the public schools, even of the largest, is often vastly overstated. It is the interest of some persons to exaggerate it, others are induced by party motives, and others join in the hue and ery without being able, or even desirous, to form a competent opinion as to the cause of it. That immorality exists in schools, is undeniable; but in what company of human beings is it not to be found? Still the vice of public schools can only be proportioned to the age and opportunities of the pupils. Then again I believe most observers of human nature will agree with me, that the question whether a boy will become depraved is not so much a question of circumstances as of the natural dispositions of the boy himself. Such persons will allow that there is a greater natural tendency in some boys, and in some men, towards dissipation than in others. With the same dispositions, I fear the same depravity will show itself under any circumstances. Then again, it is a serious question in my own mind, whether, as boys must unavoidably see depravity when they come to mingle with the world, which must be while they are comparatively young, whether its temptations have not less force, when a boy grows up habituated comparatively to their presence, so far as they do exist, than when, were it possible it should ever be the case, he is translated suddenly into the world, and every allurement tempting him with a fascination proportioned to its novelty.

Every person has heard of instances of such a nature;' when the individual suddenly became depraved, and made up for the delay by the enormity of the excess. While, on the other hand, it cannot be denied, but that many boys exposed to all the temptations of a public school from their earliest years, hare endured the trial comparatively unhurt. Sensuality is of course the object dreaded; but I fear that sensuality is the result of "disposition rather than of circumstances. It is of course the business of education to discover and to regulate the native propensities. The masters of schools will allow that the degree of vice seldom rises above or sinks below a certain discount, if I may so speak, upon the number of the boys. The same may be said of order, virtue, and regularity.

But now I come to explain my meaning, when I recommend that your son should receive a public education, owing to the moral advantages connected with the system.

It is this. That your son, under such circumstances, will pass most of his time in the presence of his equals in all respects. Being of the same age, they will understand his real character better than his elders. They will see if he has a tendency to be dishonest, mean, cruel, idle, slanderous, injurious. He will find himself then under the all-dreaded inspection of society, and amenable to its laws, which Mr. Locke has justly asserted, exert a more powerful influence over our actions than even the dictates of conscience itself. He will find, that if he transgresses in any of these

great departments of morality, there will be as many witnesses and avengers of his fault as there are boys in the school. Should he have any such tendency, it will be counterbalanced by fear, and the love of the good opinion of others native to the human heart; and then it will be prevented becoming a habit, till the time when reason and conscience and religion operate to make him relinquish the propensity as the decision of his own will. Compare the opportunities which a boy has, educated in private, for indulging in the violation of these departments of morality, in his conduct towards his brothers and sisters and servants, or even in the unfulfilled imaginations of his heart, and you will, if I mistake not, understand what I mean by the superior moral effects of a public education.

I may add, that the virtues opposite to these, as well as many others, will on the same principles be recognized whenever they exist in a boy. They will draw towards him boys of a kindred disposition. He will feel that they give him an influence with the others; and influence, in the absence of a higher motive, is a valuable and delightful reward of virtue. A school is a little world. What is condemned or applauded there, is viewed with the same feelings by mankind at large.

Is it not, then, most valuable that your child should become acquainted very early with the species of conduct approved by society, and the habit of performing it established in the beginning of his life? If he should be privately educated, he will upon coming into the world have to learn this lesson, for he cannot learn it in private in the same way as the habits of society will teach them. Hence, at the time he ought to be practising his principles, he will have, in a certain measure, yet to acquire them.

Further, the habits of social intercourse, which are essential to our mingling in society with ease and advantage to ourselves and others, can only be acquired by actual collision with that society. To be without the habits and manners of society, is for a man to feel like a foreigner amid his fellow-countrymen. Upon these little habits depends a great deal of the freedom, without which society cannot be enjoyed, nor its advan tages shared. This freedom is equally essential to our doing good to mankind. Men in general are more disgusted and repelled by perceiving an ignorance of the forms of society and modes of intercourse, than they are by far greater blemishes of character. These habits indeed facilitate the intercourse of the world. These rules are like the rules for driving and walking in the streets of London, they secure safety and ease in passing from place to place. A man, however, who is ignorant of the forms of society, who knows nothing of the world, occasions a similar result wherever he comes, as a man would do who knows nothing of the rules of thoroughfare before alluded to; he impedes others, and gets well jostled himself. Yet how is your child to learn these modes of society, except by mingling with it? If, then, he passes the first fifteen, eighteen, or twenty years of his life a stranger to society, to the society of his equals, to varied society, in which there are no rules but the rules observed among equals, how can he learn those rules? He will, on the contrary, find himself unapt and bewildered when he comes into society of any kind. He will be bashful, discouraged, diffident, retiring, unhappy, useless. Or should his mind take a contrary direction, he will perhaps make a plunge and become impudent, setting all the forms of society at nought, and will remain for life one of those blunt and disagreeable people called a bore.

All these evils would be prevented, were your son to be gradually introduced into all the shifting scenes of society, and to all the actors of the many-coloured drama, as they naturally succeed one another. The

manners and habits of each preceding stage of society, share considerably in those of that to follow; and thus, without difficulty to himself, and without impediment to others, he moves on in the procession of society, or takes his part in its various evolutions. The habits, behaviour, opinions, and sentiments of your son under this career, may not indeed resemble the habits of the hero of a romance, but they will resemble, what is indeed far more desirable to himself and others, those of (you know in what sense I use the term) a man of the world. After all, we must live and act in the world, and must, if we would discharge our duties, be brought into actual interchange of conduct with mankind. It is of the greatest importance that we should know how to deal with them. This can only be learnt by actual intercourse.

(To be continued.)

SCRIPTURE BIOGRAPHY.

NOAH.

God's Covenant with Noah.

"THE first day of the first month, in the six hundred and first year of Noah's life," must have been one of the most memorable of that venerable patriarch. Then, with sentiments of awe profound, he removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry." Gen. viii, 13.

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What must have been the feelings of that holy man, when he beheld the uninhabited globe, purged from the corruptions of the infidel millions of his fellowcreatures, of those whom he had vainly endeavoured to bring to repentance, and who had been swept into eternity by the avenging hand of God! Whether the carth appeared newly created, to delight the venerable patriarch, in all its natural richness, beauty, and loveliness, we cannot tell whether the widely-scattered fragments of ancient buildings, and the wretched remains of its ungodly inhabitants were visible, we are not able to know but an immensely extended surface, noiseless and void, presented itself to his astonished view, leading him to reflect upon the awful vengeance of a righteous God, and to anticipate scenes and events. of which we can form no conception.

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The earth must be repeopled; generations, through successive ages, must spring from him but what would be their principles, character, and final destiny, the new beginnings of time could not make manifest; nor could his privileged intercourse with God enable him to conjecture, without the special revelation of the inspiring Spirit. But the sensations of Noah, after so long a confinement, and his experience of a deliverance and preservation so wonderful, must have been peculiarly affecting and delightful.

Having entered the ark by the Divine appointment, he waited for special direction before he would venture to leave it; and at length he received the merciful command. Adoring the awful majesty of Jehovah, and contemplating him as "glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders," Noah joyfully obeyed the order of God to quit his marvellous asylum, which he no longer needed. "And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him." Gen. viii, 18.

Penetrated with reverence, filled with gratitude, and strong in faith, the first care of this servant of God, on his deliverance from confinement, was to provide the means of renewing the appointed ordinances of divine worship, 'And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD," He well knew the only means of access to God, by sacrifice for sin, as all believers had observed before the flood; and he "took of every clean beast, and of

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every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar." Ver. 20. The obedience of faith is peculiarly pleasing to God; and like the sacrifice of Abel, the offerings of Noah were accepted of him. "And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every living thing, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." Ver. 21, 22.

With this gracious purpose in mind, the same day, God renewed the benediction bestowed upon Adam, and "blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." Various instructions accompanied the blessing of God upon Noah, to whom animal food was now granted, with the limitation of not eating the blood with the flesh. In the case of Cain, God had interposed to prohibit any person from killing him but now he gives permission to make inquisition for blood, and to avenge that crime by putting the murderer to death.

Still the dreadful deluge was present to the memory. But to prevent any fearful forebodings of such another overwhelming calamity upon mankind, a new manifestation of the Divine favour was granted to Noah, in the establishment of a covenant of safety with him, and in him with all mankind. "And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between ine and the earth. I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh." Gen. ix, 9, 12, 13, 15.

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Without this merciful token, every time that the skies became obscured with clouds, the heart of Noah and his children would be ready to sink within them: but the recollection of God's covenant of safety, and the resplendent beauty of the rainbow, would inspire their anxious bosoms with unspeakable joy.

It deserves to be remarked, that the ancient heathens entertained a high degree of veneration for the rainbow. The Greeks and Romans considered it as a divine token. They even regarded it as a deity ; - -as the messenger of their imaginary gods!

The benefits of the covenant of safety, which was made with Noah, are enjoyed still by us; and while we behold the lovely grandeur of the rainbow, we should look upon it as a token of the Divine faithfulness, and be reminded of the covenant of eternal salvation made with Christ, through whom we are expecting new heavens and a new earth, and the possession of immortal glory!

CONSCIENCE.

Poor wretched sinner, travel where thou wilt,
Thy travel shall be burden'd with thy guilt.
Climb tops of hills, that prospects may delight thee,
There will thy sins like wolves and bears affright thee:
Fly to the valleys, that those frights may shun thee,
And there like mountains they will fall upon thee:
Or to the raging seas with Jonah go,
There will thy sins like stormy billows flow.
Poor shiftless man! what shall become of thee,
Where'er thou fliest, thy griping sins will flee.

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QUARLES.

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On this an able writer in the Eclectic Review remarks, "Thus it would seem, that while the annual produce of the East Indies is fourteen times that of the West Indies, this country imports only two-thirds as much in value from her Indian possessions, that she does from her sugar colonies in the Western hemisphere. If this circumstance may be thought, on the one hand, to prove the importance of the West India trade, it shows at the same time, how much the prosperity of India has been sacrificed to it." What interests, therefore, have been sacrificed in upholding Negro Slavery! Justice, reason, and religion, however, thanks to the gracious providence of God, are beginning to prevail.

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The population of the allied or subject states in India, amounts to above 40,000,000: so that the population of the British empire may be stated as exceeding 150,000,000! See Christian's Penny Magazine, No. 4, vol. i, p. 27; and No. 44, vol. ii, p. 114.

"Such are the astonishing effects of the wealth, talent, industry, and intelligence concentrated in this extraordinary country: such is the immense capital, and such are the amazing productive powers of this little isle-this precious stone set in the silver sea,' as the poet calls it. But even his portentous imagination was far from conceiving the power which that little world,' -that fortress built by nature' would one day reach he could not even have fancied, that thousands of tons of goods would be conveyed with a speed greater than that of the messenger pigeons of Aleppo and Antwerp: he could not have imagined, that, by the combined aid of steam and capital, the productive powers of each of that happy breed of men' would be rendered equal to the simple exertions of several hundred individuals!

"From all this may be easily concluded, how imperfect have been the statements of those who have calculated the productive powers of Great Britain, and compared them with those of France and other countries: this important inquiry and comparison is reserved for another opportunity; while sufficient facts and data are here stated to give the mind of the reader more just and

correct ideas of the real productive powers and capital of this country; a country, however, only to be consi dered as the mighty heart, which diffuses strength and vigour throughout all the limbs of that gigantic body, the British Empire; while they, by a strong and reciprocal motion, return and increase its vitality, action, and power.

"In the parts more immediately connected with England, and in all her dependencies in Europe, there is and the prosupposed to exist a capital of 27,115,0947.; duce annually raised is valued at 2,146,1981.

"The seven important North American possessions, as may be seen by the Table, have a capital of 62, 100,466!. and raise annually produce and property worth 17,620,6291.

"The West India Colonies, with a capital of 131,052,424/., raise every year produce valued at 22,496,6721.

"The whole British capital in Africa amounts to only 6,444,398.; and these settlements, unproductive like the country itself, yield an annual produce of only 1,066,0657.

"To compensate for this, there is in the two fertile islands in the Indian Ocean a capital of 27,509,781.; and the value of the produce annually raised is 4,291,3321.

"While the new, but rapidly improving settlements in Australia, already possess a capital of 2,685,000/.; and raise a produce amounting to 520,000/.

"It is almost impossible to obtain sufficient data and facts, on which to make a sound calculation of the im mense and diversified productions raised in the vast territories of British India; peopled by such numerous races, all differing from ourselves in habits, religion, customs, and manner of living. However, by the help of a multitude of official documents, and such statistical information as could be collected from the numerous works relating to that region, the total capital of the British empire in India has been estimated at 1,611,077,3541. and the produce and property annually raised at the sum of 313,200,000/.!

"Thus, the total aggregate capital existing in all the extent of the British empire in Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Australia, will amount to 5,547,484,517!; and the aggregate value of all produce and property annually raised and created by the combination of that capital, with all animate and inanimate power, to 876,175,755.; the total population to 116,969,978; and the total extent of territory to 4,457,598 square miles; with a superior navy of 27,000 men, and a regular standing army of 96,419 men in Europe, and 223,461 men in India."

Sunday School Lectures.
LECTURE V.

"GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD." What is the meaning of the word "bread" here?Every thing that is necessary for our bodies.

Our parents give us our daily food, they give us clothes; but who gives these things to our parents?— God: he makes the corn to grow, by sending the rain and making the sun to shine; God gives us life and strength and health; without God we could not live; "in God we live, and move, and have our being."

What is the meaning of "daily?"—Every day. Teacher. God gives us day by day bread, or daily those things of which we have need; this shows us that we are entirely dependent upon God for every thing, that we could not live a moment without God; to-day we may be all very happy people, walking about and very cheerful; but to-night God might send his angel and destroy us all, as he did the first-born of the Egyp

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