IN MEMORY OF THE REV. ROWLAND HILL.

Lo! where the pompous column rears its head
In solemn mockery o'er the mighty dead;
The bending statue mournfully appears,
Weeping its flood of adamantine tears.
Haply for them no genuine tear could start,
Pregnant with sorrow from a bursting heart.
Haply by them no good was e'er achiev'd;
The marble only tells that once they lived.
But thou, O HILL! whom Infidels admir'd,
By no false zeal, but genuine virtue fir'd,
Hast left a name endear'd to every heart,
Nor sculptur'd tomb nor lay could e'er impart.
"Twas thine, O HILL! the diffident to speed,
And, champion-like, to point the way, and lead.
'Twas thine the Sceptics many doubts to sooth,
To shun the fiction, and reveal the truth.
What though no letter'd monument we raise,
To tell thy virtues and to speak thy praise,
Are there not hearts wherein we e'er shall trace
Impressions made that time can ne'er efface?
For me, O HILL! in childhood's early day,
Or e'er I knew a madd'ning passion's sway,
When listening anecdotes a parent told,
I've heard thy gedlike charities extoll'd;
For these alone, while burns the vital flame,
I'll love thy memory and revere thy name.

TO A MOURNER.

"Sorrow not, as one without hope."

J. J. W.

THE Creeping worm, that weak and weary
Was slumbering in its narrow cell,
Enraptur'd bursts that prison dreary,
And fluttering leaves its wither'd shell:
Gently moving, gaily roving,

Far away from earthly care;
Soaring brightly, wafted lightly,

Through the boundless fields of air. Then, mourner, dry that thoughtless tear, And gaze no more upon the dead.

'Tis but a solitary bier,

No earthly spirit lingers there,
On wings of light to heaven 'tis fled!

"HE HATH SAID, I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE."

THOU wilt never leave me, never;
God of truth, and God of love,
Hast thou promis'd? Thou wilt ever
Faithful to that promise prove.
Not to one alone thou speakest,

O most condescending Lord!
But to all in Christ, the weakest,
Thou proclaim'st the wondrous word.
"I will never leave thee, never;
I, thine all-sufficient Lord;
1, thy shield and buckler ever,
Thy exceeding great reward.
I can well preserve thee ever,
All thy foes and dangers see;
And will suffer nought to sever
Thy confiding soul from me."
Lord thy goodness thrills my spirit;
'Tis enough, the word is past;

I thy presence shall inherit,
While eternity shall last.
Thou wilt never leave me, never,

God of love, on whom I call; God, my God, and mine for ever, And for ever ALL IN ALL!

N. B.

A MEMOIR OF MISS MARY JANE GRAHAM, Late of Stoke Fleming, Devon. By the Rev. Charles Bridges, M. A. Vicar of Old Newton, Suffolk. Second Edition, 12mo. boards, pp. 448. Seely and Burnside, London.

MR. BRIDGES states in his Preface, that he "did not enjoy the privilege of personal acquaintance with the subject of this Memoir. But when the materials, both of incident and manuscripts, were placed in his hands, he could not but feel that many subjects of valuable interest and importance might be brought out with advantage to the church."

Every one acquainted with Mr. Bridges' excellent Commentary on the Hundred and Nineteenth Psalm," will be prepared to confide in his judgment respecting Miss Graham; and we concur in opinion with that estimable clergyman, that she was a "highly.gifted and consecrated character," and that her example, as exhi bited in this Memoir, may, under "the blessing of the Great Head of the church," "reflect the glories of His adorable name, and quicken the energies of those who bear that name upon their profession, to aspire to a more elevated standard of Christian devotedness and privilege."

EXTRACTS FROM A CHRISTIAN'S DIARY.

CHRISTIAN TESTIMONY.

"It is a blessed thing to be able to leave a dying tes timony to the glory of God: but it is a blessing highly to be sought, to show by our whole lives, by a living testimony, that Christ has been formed in us the hope of glory! O may this be the case with me and mine! May 1, O blessed Father and God! be enabled by thy Holy Spirit to show forth thy praise by my whole life and conversation; and grant that as thy boundless love and mercy have shown to me what I am as a sinner before thee, and what Christ is as a Saviour for me, that thy image may be deeply wrought on my soul. As I see more and more of the inexpressible glories of Christ, may my whole heart be absorbed with him, that he may be wrapt up in the very principle of my being, and deeply seated in the very essence of my soul; hecome the centre of my affections, and the ultimate end and object of all my hopes, all my efforts, all my desires!

To love God in Christ, may it be all my happiness here! To see him in glory above will be heaven hereafter!" P. N.

Death of the Rev. Joseph Hughes, M. A. WE regret to announce the decease of the Rev. Joseph Hughes, M. A., the founder of the Religious Tract Society and of the British and Foreign Bible Society. We hope to give our readers a Memoir of this most useful minister of Christ.

London: Printed and Published by C. WOOD AND SON, Poppin's Court, Fleet Street; to whom all Communications for the Editor (post paid should be addressed; and sold by all Booksellers and Newsmen in the United Kingdom.

Hawkers and Dealers Supplied on Wholesale Terms, by STEILL, Paternoster Row; BERGER, Holywell Street, Strand; F. BAISLER, 124, Oxford Street; and W. N. BAKER, 16, City Road, Finsbury.

The new

PEKING, THE CAPITAL OF CHINA. CHINA, at the present moment, is worthily engaging the attention of all classes in Great Britain. measure of the Government for the opening of the trade to that immense empire, has forced this subject upon the public consideration; and we participate in the general sympathy. Commerce, we trust, will be vastly extended among that almost innumerable people; and, with the cargoes of British manufactures, the treasures of Christian knowledge, and missionaries to preach the everlasting gospel, for the honour of the Redeemer and the salvation of the degraded idola

ters.

In illustration of our engraving we shall give an account of the metropolis of the Chinese empire, and a statement of the agency now employed in diffusing Christianity among its deluded inhabitants.

China, being the most populous country upon earth, has many cities swarming with people. Pekin, or Peking, signifying The Northern Court; Nanking, The Southern Court; and Canton, are the principal.

"Pekin, at present the seat of the court, is situated in the northern part of the empire, at the distance of about 60 miles from the great wall, on a fertile plain, VOL. II.

where the air is favourable to the health of the inhabitants, and where every necessary of life is abundantly produced. It consists of two parts, one called the Tartar city, the other the Chinese city. The former, which is the principal division, is in the form of a parallelogram, and its walls include about 14 square iniles. The latter contains about 9 square miles, so that the space included within the walls of both parts, is 23 square miles. The suburbs are very extensive, and the population of the whole extremely great, no writer making it less than 2,000,000; and Staunton, from the most authentic information which he could procure, making it 3,000,000.

By

"If we may believe Grosier, the Tartar city is surrounded by walls of great strength; twelve inen, he assures us, might ride abreast upon the top. Staunton, their height is said to be forty feet, the thickness at the base, twenty feet; and upon the platform, where the parapet is erected, twelve feet. At the distance of sixty yards from each other are erected square towers. The wall has nine gates, on each of which is erected a watch-tower for its protection.

"The principal streets are upwards of one hundred feet in breadth, and in length, three or four miles. The houses seldom consist of more than one floor.

2U

The shops, which everywhere abound, display a neatness, elegance, and wealth, which can nowhere be surpassed. Every tradesman places over his door his name, and a catalogue of the articles in which he deals. The great streets, which lie in the direction of the gates, are always crowded, to a degree which seems to surpass the effects of its population. No woman is ever publicly seen; notwithstanding which, the crowds of people are described as being, to an European, altogether inconceivable Several causes concur in making the streets to be more crowded than the population renders necessary. The provisions for the inhabitants are brought by land-carriage, which daily brings into the city many persons who do not reside there. Artifi cers are continually in the streets in search of employment, and offering their services where they may think them necessary. The magistrates and mandarins never go abroad without being numerously attended; and jugglers, auctioneers, and quacks of every description, attract crowds of such as may be accidentally passing.

"The palace of the emperor, which occupies, it is asserted, no less than a square mile, is built in the most elegant style of Chinese architecture, exhibiting to the eyes of an European, an appearance said to have some resemblance to the effects of enchantment. The palaces of the mandarins are numerous, and as they consist invariably of one floor, they occupy much room in the city. Though they equal not the elegance of the imperial palace, they display a very splendid appearance. In Pekin, the missionaries have four monasteries, and four churches. The Jesuits have a cloister, and a church of elegant architecture in the European style."

MISSIONARIES TO THE CHINESE.

Accurate information relating to the great theatre of missionary operations is peculiarly desirable. This, so far as relates to the Chinese, we can offer to our readers in the following most interesting document, which, although it has been published in England, is but very imperfectly known. "Twenty-five years have been devoted to China by Dr. Morrison: his labours have been most extraordinary; and God has graciously honoured that excellent man, more than almost any individual of this generation! May the Holy Spirit, in all his new covenant gifts and graces, be abundantly poured forth upon that eminent labourer and on his devoted colleagues!

Canton, China, Sept. 4, 1832. "To the Churches of Christ in Europe, America, and elsewhere, the following statement is respectfully presented.

Twenty-five years have this day elapsed, since the first Protestant Missionary arrived in China, alone and in the midst of perfect strangers, with but few friends, and with many foes. Divine Providence, however, prepared a quiet residence for him; and by the help of God he has continued to the present time, and can now rejoice in what God has wrought. The Chinese language was at first thought an almost insurmountable difficulty. That difficulty has been overcome. The language has been acquired, and various facilities provided for its further acquisition. Dictionaries, grammars, vocabularies, and translations have been penned and printed. Chinese scholars have increased, both at home and abroad, both for secular and religious purposes. It is not likely that the Chinese will ever again be abandoned. The Holy Scriptures in Chinese, by Morrison and Milne, together with religious tracts, prayer books, &c., have been published; and now, thanks be to God, missionaries from other nations have come to aid in

their distribution and explanation. The London Missionary Society's Chinese press, at the Anglo-Chinese College, Malacca, and Mr. Medhurst's in Java, have sent forth millions of pages, containing the truths of the everlasting gospel; and that institution has given a Christian education to scores of native youths. There are also native Chinese, who preach Christ's gospel, and teach from house to house. Such is a general outline of the progress of the mission. We boast not of great doings; yet are devoutly thankful to God that the work has not ceased, but, amidst many deaths and disasters, has still gathered strength from year to year.

"The establishment of English presses in China, both for the diffusion of general knowledge, and for religious purposes, arose out of the Protestant mission. The Honourable East India Company's press, to print Dr. Morrison's Dictionary, was the first; and now, both English and Americans endeavour, by the press, to draw attention to China, and give information concerning it and the surrounding nations. The InduChinese Gleaner, at Malacca; the Canton Newspapers; and the Chinese Repository, have all risen up since our mission commenced. Missionary voyages have been performed, and the Chinese sought out, at various places, under European control, in the Archipelago; as well as in Siam, at the Loochoo islands, at Corea, and along the coast of China itself, up to the very walls of Pekin. Some tracts, written by Protestant missionaries, have reached, and been read by the Emperor himself. Still this is but the day of small things. The harvest is indeed great, but the labourers are few. Preachers, and teachers, and writers, and printers, in much larger numbers, are wanted, to spread the knowledge of God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ, among the Chinese-language nations. O Lord, send forth labourers whom thou wilt own and bless; and let thy hand work with them, till China shall be completely turned from dumb idols, vain superstitions, wicked works, and false hopes,- -'from Satan to God!'

"The persons at present connected with the Chinese mission are

1. Robert Morrison, D. D., of the London Missionary Society in China.

2. William Henry Medhurst, of the London Missionary Society-in Java.

3. Samuel Kidd, of the London Missionary Societysick in England.

4. Jacob Tomlin, of the London Missionary Society -at the Anglo-Chinese College, Malacca.

5. Samuel Dyer, of the London Missionary Society -at Penang.

6. Charles Gutzlaff, of the Netherlands Missionary Society on a voyage.

7. E. C. Bridgman, of the Americ. Board-at Canton. 8. David Abeel, of the American Board-in Siam. 9. Leang-Afa, native Teacher, of the London Missionary Society-in China.

10. Keuh Agang, assistant to ditto, and lithographic printer in China.

11. Le-Asin, assistant to Leang-Afa-in China. "Only ten persons have been baptized, of whom the three above-named are part. The two first owed their religious impressions to the late Dr. Milne, at the Anglo-Chinese college, where they were printers. Another was a student, and still retained in the college.

"About ten years after the Protestant mission was established in China, a chaplain for the British factory was sent out from the episcopal church in England; and about twenty years from the commencement of the mission, a seamen's chaplain was sent out from the American Seamen's Friend Society. Dr. Morrison hoisted the first Bethel flag on the Chinese waters, in 1822. Mr. Abeel officiated in 1830, and the present occupant

of this cure is the Rev. Edwin Stevens, from New York. Mr. Abeel is a minister of the Dutch reformed church. Messrs. Bridgman and Stevens are from Congregational churches. Their patron in China, a merchant of great devotedness to the blessed Saviour, is of the Presbyterian church in America.

"In 1831, the Scripture Lessons of the British and Foreign School Society were printed in China, and are found a very acceptable epitome of Sacred Writ. The Rev. E. C. Bridgman, with the assistance of his native scholars, and Mr. John R. Morrison, made the extracts from Morrison and Milne's Chinese version of the Bible. Leang-Afa, with his first assistant named above, carried them through the press; and Christian merchants in China subscribed the necessary funds.

"During the current year Leang-Afa has printed nine tracts, of about fifty pages each, composed by himself, and interspersed with passages of Sacred Scripture. They were revised by Dr. Morrison, when in manuscript; and printed at the expense of the London Religious Tract Society. Keuh-Agang has printed Scripture sheet tracts, &c., with the lithographic press, and Mr. Gutzlaff has taken them to the north of China for distribution. Mr. Bridgman has instructed several native lads in the English language, and first principles of Christian truth. He has also performed divine service in English, once every Sabbath-day, at Canton.

"The servants of our Lord, engaged in this mission, although from different nations, and connected with different churches, have cherished reciprocal affection, and united in the most cordial co-operation. By this brief exposition, they wish to call the attention of the churches, throughout the whole of Christendom, to the evangelization of at least four hundred millions of their fellow-creatures and fellow-sinners, in eastern Asia, comprehending China and the surrounding nations. Ye Christian churches, hear your Saviour's last command-Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature!'

"ROBERT MORRISON.

"ELIJAH COLEMAN BRIDGMAN."

CHINESE ANTIQUITY DISPROVED. Ir is well known that the Chinese pretend to an excessive antiquity. Their chronology exceeds all bounds of probability: and, could their pretensions be verified, the Mosaic account of the creation must necessarily be discredited. But we have a singular fact to state, which will prove that their boasted antiquity really falls within the limits of the Mosaic chronology. For the evidence we are about to produce, we are indebted to the discoveries of modern astronomy. The Chinese have ever made a point of inserting in their calendars remarkable eclipses, or conjunctions of the planets, together with the name of that emperor in whose reign they were observed. To these events they have also fixed their own dates. There is a very singular conjunction of the sun, moon, and several planets, recorded in their annals, as having taken place almost at the very commencement of their remote history. The far-famed Cassini, to ascertain the fact, calculated back and decisively proved, that such an extraordinary conjunction actually did take place at China, on Feb. 26, 1012 years before Christ. This falls 400 years after the flood, and a little after the birth of Abraham. Here are two important facts ascertained: the one is, that the Chinese are a very ancient nation; and the other, that their pretensions to antiquity beyond that of Moses are unfounded; because this event, which they themselves represent as happening near the beginning of their immense calculations, falls far within the history and chronology of the Scriptures.- Collyer's Scripture Facts.

SCRIPTURE BIOGRAPHY.

ABRAHAM.

BORN A. M. 2009. DIED A. M. 2184, AGED 175 YEARS.

The Parentage of Abraham.

BABEL being erected, the family of Noah became extensively scattered in the confusion. Mankind were soon exceedingly multiplied: but they were distinguished by a still further departure from God; and although a copious genealogy of the fathers has been preserved for our instruction, no person of remarkable eminence is mentioned between the patriarchs Noah and Abraham.

The few notices recorded of those days, exhibited the natural and uniform "operations of pride, ambition, and avarice; plans of empires formed; imperial cities founded; new discoveries made; and new settlements established." The details of that period might have been amusing or instructive to us as citizens of the world, but they would not be deeply interesting to us as Christians, having no special relation to the economy of redemption, nor to the chief design of the sacred volume: that design being not so much to impart information, natural or political, as to convey the knowledge of salvation by Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal. The inspired historian, therefore, hastens to the times of Abraham, to whom the revelation of the Messiah was made more clear and explicit, as the Mediator between God and man, and in whom all the families of the earth should be blessed.

Leaving Nimrod and his vain-glorious companions to finish the monument of their own folly, and to feel the consequences of their impiety, let us attend the sacred historian in tracing, not the rise and progress of empires, but the formation, the unfolding, and the execution of the plan of redemption." The oblivion into which Providence has plunged the mighty founders of Babylon and Nineveh will not be regretted by us, while we contemplate the origin, vocation, and destination of Abraham, whom the pen of inspiration has denominated, "The father of the faithful," and "The friend of God" (Rom. iv, 11; James ii, 23), distinctions far more noble than any which are worn, or even coveted by kings and emperors.

Our edification cannot fail to be promoted by considering, that Abraham is connected with Adam, almost immediately by the single life of Noah: for Noah was born only one hundred and twenty-six years after the decease of Adam, and lived till within two years of the birth of Abraham. The father and founder of the Jewish nation, in this view, is very little more than the third in succession from the first man! The knowledge of important facts, therefore, and the doctrines and promises of salvation, might be readily, immediately, and without interruption, communicated through so long a course of time. By computation we find, that the original revelation to Adam might be conveyed down to Abraham, at the distance of two thousand years, through only two intermediate persons. Adam lived till Methuselah was two hundred and fiftythree years old, and Shem was nearly one hundred years old when Methuselah died. When Shem died, Abraham had attained the age of nearly a hundred and fifty years: Methuselah and Shem would, therefore, be the direct channel of conveyance to Abraham, of the most important and instructive facts, and the doctrines of pardon and salvation.

From Adam to Noah there were ten generations, occupying a period of one thousand six hundred and fifty-six years. From Noah to Abraham there were also ten generations, the period of which embraced

only three hundred and fifty-two years! While extreme longevity was necessary to carry on the wise designs of Providence, men lived to the age of nearly a thousand years: but when God purposed to substitute a written revelation of his holy will, instead of oral tradition handed down from father to son, the days of man were reduced to less than a hundred years!

Abram was the youngest son of Terah, born when his father was a hundred and thirty years of age; Nahor and Haran were his elder brothers. Ur in Chaldea was his native place, a city lying near to Nineveh, between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, in the country of Mesopotamia. His eldest brother Haran, born when his father was seventy years of age, and sixty years before Abram, "died before his father Terah, in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees" (Gen. xi, 28), at the age of about one hundred and thirty-five years. Haran leaving three children, Lot his son and two daughters, Milcah and Sarah, the latter of whom, as the Jews say, appears to have been called also Iscah (ver. 29), Abram chose Sarai, one of his nieces, ten years younger than himself, to be his wife, his brother Nahor having married her sister Milcah. Such appears to have been the custom in families in those ages, and these arrangements seem to have been formed with the entire approbation of their father Terah, and probably, at this time, with the view to preserve the fear of God in their families.

Sunday School Lectures.
LECTURE XI.

AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER
US FROM EVIL.

We here pray to God that he would not lead us into temptation. It is of importance that we should understand the meaning of the word "temptation," as here used: we must remember that it does not mean that God tempts a man to sin, to break his commandments, for God's part is to deliver us from sin, not to lead us into sin; God leads us into the paths of righteousness; and moreover St. James says, "When a man is tempted, let him not say that he is tempted of God," because, he adds, "God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any inan; but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed." In what sense then are we to understand this expression, addressed to "our Father who is in heaven, "" and lead us not into temptation?" It means, "suffer us not to be tempted, above that we are able to bear:" God allows Satan to tempt man, to try him: and this God often does in mercy, that man may know himself, that he is but weakness, and that he may also be known of others, that inen may see whom in reality he serves and loves, whether God or Mammon, that men may see by his conduct while under trial, that he is indeed no hypocrite.

I have shown you what this passage does not mean, and what it does mean; and who is the author of evil, and who permits evil; and I also have given you two reasons why God allows Satan to tempt man.

What does this passage not mean?-It does not mean that God tempts man to sin.

What does it mean?-It means, that God allows Satan to tempt man.

Who is the author of evil? - Satan.

Who permits evil? - God:

What were the two reasons I gave why God permits evil?-God permits Satan to tempt us, that we may know ourselves, and that we may be known of others.

Teacher. The other part of this clause is, "but deliver us from evil." We must ask of God to deliver us from evil, because he alone can; man cannot deliver himself from Satan, or govern his own evil heart in his own strength; he must be strengthened by the Spirit, who is able, and also willing to deliver us.

Why do we pray to God to deliver us from evil?Because he alone is able to deliver us.

Teacher. God is to deliver us from evil; now mark what we are to understand by evil. It refers, first, to Satan, our greatest enemy both spiritual and bodily, the cause of all sin and misery, a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, from whom, unless God protect us and deliver us, we cannot escape. Secondly, It refers to our own evil hearts, naturally so treacherous, so deceitful; we have not only a roaring and open enemy without, but a secret and deadly enemy within, on Satan's side, with him confederate against our immortal souls. Thirdly, It will refer to "wicked men," those who are Satan's messengers, those who have sold themselves to him to work the works of darkness, who, at enmity with the Captain of our salvation, and fighting under the devil's banner, shall finally by the Lamb be conquered, and be for ever shut up in the pit of horrors. Fourthly, It may refer to the pomps and vanities of this wicked world, which lulling the soul into a kind of stupor as it regards God and heaven, too often draw the unwary soul from the way of life to the gate of eternal death. Fifthly, and lastly, It refers to every thing that is not of God; for whatsoever is not of God is evil, and whatsoever is of sin is of Satan, and whatsoever pertains to Satan must be hurtful and dangerous to the soul.

What five things are included under the term "evil," here used? It refers, First, To Satan; Secondly, To our own hearts; Thirdly, To wicked men; Fourthly, To the pomps and vanities of this wicked world; Fifthly, To every thing that is not of God.

Teacher. If we pray to God to deliver us from evil, and not to lead us into temptation, lest we should fall; we must indeed be very careful that we do not willingly or heedlessly run into the way of temptation: if we do thus wickedly act, and yet utter these words of our Lord, we must be arrant hypocrites. O that men would seriously consider this petition, which they so often repeat! If this were the case, our theatres and playhouses would be thinly attended; the races, and balls, and card-tables would lack attendance; the eye and heart would be closely watched, for we are surrounded by legions of enemies. Now remember, that if you trust to human arm for strength to conquer the powers of darkness, as surely will you be overcome, as surely will you be lost for ever. Seek ye the Lord, then, while he may be found, draw nigh unto him, while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the ungodly man his thoughts, and turn to the Lord his God, and he will have mercy, and he will plenteously forgive. Delay not, tarry not, but fly to Christ, for each day your hearts are growing harder. The moment is arrived. O, now is the day of salvation, and not to-morrow; fly then now from the wrath to come, unto the arms of Him who died for you and rose again, who will wash you, and sanctify you, and justify you, and give you a place among the heirs of his glory.

The sluggard saith, There is a lion in the way. Tell Sampson and David so, and they will the rather go to meet him.-Ward.