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thoughts freely, but in drawing out by encouragement the thoughts of others. You will never be liked for long talking by anybody; but you are sure to be liked if, by your talking, you encourage and stimulate others to think and talk in response to your thoughts. The art is a natural gift in the main. It is not only a gift of mind, but also of temper. It requires condescension, indulgence, patience, and many other accomplishments, refinement as well as power.

SHALL I BE ONE OF THEM?

How divinely full of glory and pleasure shall that hour be, when all the millions of mankind that have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God shall meet together and stand around Him, with every tongue and every heart full of joy and praise! How astonishing will be the glory and the joy of that day, when all the saints shall join together in one common song of gratitude and love, and of everlasting thankfulness to their Redeemer ! With what unknown delight and inexpressible satisfaction shall all that are saved from the ruins of sin and hell address the Lamb that was slain, and rejoice in His presence!-Dr. Watts.

OUTSIDE AND INSIDE.

"Two things a master commits to his servant's care," saith one-" the child and the child's clothes." It will be a poor excuse for the servant to say at his master's return:

"Sir, here are all the child's clothes, neat and clean, but the child is lost!"

Much so with the account that many will give to God of their souls and bodies at the great day.

Lord, here is my body; I was very grateful for it. I neglected nothing that belonged to its content and welfare; but for my soul, that is lost and cast away for ever. I took little care and thought about it.--Flavel.

THE NEW BIRTH.

The Rev. Dr. Tyng, in a recent sermon in Philadelphia, illustrated the subject of the new birth by the following anecdote:

Shortly after the celebrated Summerfield came to that country, the young and beautiful preacher on some public occasion met a distinguished doctor of theology, who said to him,

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Mr. Summerfield, where were you born, Sir?"

"I was born," said he, "in Dublin and in Liverpool."

"Ah! how can that be?" inquired the doctor.

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The boy-preacher paused a moment, and answered, Art thou a master in Israel, and understandest not those things?"

IMPROVEMENT OF TIME.

Pliny, in one of his letters, where he gives an account of the various methods he used to fill up every vacancy of time, after several employments which he enumerates, "Sometimes," says he, "I hunt; but even then, I carry with me a pocket-book, that whilst my servants are busied in disposing the nets and other matters, I may be employed in some

thing that may be useful to me in my studies; and that if I miss of my game, I may at least bring home some of my thoughts with me, and not have the mortification of having caught nothing."

EFFECTUAL CALLING.

Effectual calling is the middle link in the undividable chain of salvation; he that hath it is sure of both the ends (i.e., of his past predestination to life, and of his future glorification.) Our calling is the manifestation of our secret election, and a sure forerunner of glory; being, in effect, the voice of God telling us beforehand that He will glorify us.Cowper.

LEADING MEN.

It is customary to speak of sundry men in the church of Christ, as "leading men;" i.e., they go before others, and make and second the motions which others vote for. It should not be forgotten, however, that a man in a Christian church who really deserves the name of a "leading man," serves the church. He moves and goes the right direction, and determines others in that direction. As Baxter well remarks-" Church greatness consists in being greatly serviceable."

KIND WORDS.

Kind words are looked upon like jewels on the breast, never to be forgotten, and perhaps to cheer by their memory, a long, sad life; while words of cruelty or of carelessness, are like swords in the bosom, wounding and leaving scars which will be borne to the grave by their victim. Do you think there is any bruised heart which bears the mark of such a wound from you? If there is a living one which you have wounded, hasten to heal it; for life is short-to-morrow may be too late.

GREATNESS.

A great, a good, and a right mind is a kind of divinity lodged in flesh, and may be the blessing of a slave as well as of a prince; it came from heaven, and to heaven it must return; and it is a kind of heavenly felicity, which a pure and virtuous mind enjoys in some degree, even upon earth.-Seneca.

REASON OF INFIDELITY.

In the course of my experience in society, I have never met with an instance where a man took up the argument as an unbeliever in the truth of Christianity, but it might be traced to an irregularity in his moral conduct; thus confirming a frequent remark of mine"When a man is opposed to Christianity, it is because Christianity is opposed to him."Green's Reminiscences of Rev. Robert Hall.

RE-UNION IN HEAVEN.

"I am fully persuaded," says Baxter, "that I shall love my friends in heaven, and therefore know them; and this principally binds me to them on earth. If I thought I should never know them more, nor love them after death, I should love them comparatively little now, as I do all other transitory things."

DEBTS IN CHINA.

Every man in China must pay his debts at the beginning of the year, and also at the time of a religious festival about the middle of the year. If unable to settle at these times, his business stops until his debts are paid.

REFINING FIRE.

Christ is a refiner's fire. We would like well enough to come and warm ourselves at this fire; but the business depends upon being thrown into it.-Adam.

THE KEY TO HEAVEN. Sometimes, perhaps, thou hearest another Christian pray with much freedom and fluency, whilst thou canst hardly get out a few broken words. Hence, thou art ready to accuse thy

self and to admire him; as if the gilding of the key made it open the door the better.Gurnall.

THE FOREST TREES.

Build your nest on no tree here; for you see God hath sold the forest to death, and every tree upon which we would rest is ready to be cut down, to the end that we may flee and mount up and build upon the rock.Rutherford.

HERE AND HEREAFTER.

It is strange that the experience of so many ages should not make us judge more solidly of the present and of the future, so as to take proper measures in the one for the other. We dote upon this world as if it were never to have an end, and we neglect the next as if it were never to have a beginning.-Fénélon.

Household Hints.

LIFE INSURANCE.

LAST month we called the attention of the readers of the Penny Magazine to the subject of Life Insurance as one of great practical importance, and urged it as a duty upon men who live by their daily labour, and with families wholly dependent upon their constant exertions for support, and who may at any moment be cut off, and leave them in utter destitution. Again we return to the subject in the Christian Witness, from an overpowering sense of its importance, and would urge it upon every reader, but more especially upon ministers of the Gospel, who are almost always dependent upon a small salary, which renders it impossible for them to lay anything by in store. We would press on these, therefore, the sacred duty of providing in time against so dreadful a contingency as that of leaving a wife and children entirely destitute.

Many ministers have thus provided for their households, and there are today hundreds of poor widows, with a group of little children around them, who are living on the little thus prudently secured against the day of calamity. Many others, who have neg lected this provision, have left behind them objects of their tenderest affection plunged in the deepest distress.

We have seen, from time to time, cases which struck us to the heart, and never without feeling solemnly bound to urge anew our brethren, who are still in life and health, not to be guilty of the same fatal neglect. At this moment

appeals are being made on behalf of cases of a most heart-rending cha

racter.

To these views we have rarely heard any objection other than the want of money; doubtless a very strong one, and one which gathers strength with every new day. The only general method of meeting this is to commence at the earliest possible period. Occasionally, pious men have seemed to think that it was almost doubting the care of Providence; while others, with a feeling half superstitious, have feared that if once their lives were insured, they would immediately die.

Life Insurance is not only perfectly justifiable on moral grounds, but is one of the readiest, safest, easiest, and most legitimate methods of making provision for a wife and family, who may be at any moment deprived by death of their natural provider. It is, perhaps, unnecessary to say a word as to the moral propriety of such an investment. Yet it has been questioned by men who would not hesitate to lay aside a portion of their earnings in a Savings' Bank, or invest them in a dividendpaying stock, for the same purpose. There is no difference between the investments, except in favour of Life Insurance, which is preferable, if judiciously made, because it is better security. Another advantage is, the payments are so gradual, that they are made with less difficulty. Suppose a policy of £1,000 taken for life, beginning when the assured party is twenty-one years of

age. The annual premium would be but a trifle, less than is often spent on a questionable indulgence. Almost any mechanic could spare it without inconvenience, to insure the payment of £1,000 to his wife, when he dies. But he would probably never see the time when he could command £1,000 to invest for her in the bank. How many families are now in poverty, which would have been in circumstances of comfort, if not of affluence, if the deceased father had possessed the foresight to insure his life for any sum, the premium of which he could have spared!

There have been many cases of wives, who, from their own property, or from the allowance made them by their husbands, have kept policies running, which have been the only means, at length, of the support and education of their families. But this implies a degree of calculation which is not to be expected of an affectionate wife; and every husband should anticipate it, by himself making the provision.

An additional motive is furnished to a considerate and honourable man, by the apprehension that his family may, after his death, become a burden to their friends, or to the community-a probability as repugnant to self-respect as it is distressing to affection.

Many instances, illustrative of the benefits of Life Insurance, are known to us. We have especially in mind the case of the widow of a gentleman, formerly well known and highly respected. He was a broker, and a man of wealth, -such a man as rarely insures his life, because he feels that his family will receive ample provision from his property. But this gentleman took out a policy of £2,500, and in the course of events losing his wealth, he died, and it became the only means of support for his widow and family.

As to the principle of insurance being the lottery principle, as it has been weakly urged, it seems to us, on the contrary, that it is exactly the opposite. The principle of a lottery is that of chance, whereas the design of Life Insurance is, so far as possible, to exclude chance. The whole object is to render certain what otherwise must be dependent on many contingencies. Thus, by saving money and lending it on interest, a man may lay up a given

sum, if he lives long enough. But a life insurance secures the same amount to his family, whether he lives or dies. What a relief to a father, toiling for his children, to know that in any event, he has a provision for them. Our friend objects that what is thus received by a few is lost by many more. Not so: such is the case with a lottery, where the prizes are few and the blanks a multitude. But here all are prizes; there are no blanks; and the magnitude of the prize is regulated by the premium. It is simply, in effect, a union of a given number of individuals, for the compassionate purpose of aiding in turn each other's widows and orphans.

As to reliance upon Providence, we do not understand trust in God to exclude a proper regard to the ordinary rules of prudence and safety. That is not faith, but presumption. It is no want of trust for a man to prepare himself against the day of calamity. The same reasoning which would forbid life insurance, would forbid the insurance of houses against fire, or vessels against shipwreck. It would even hold back a man from putting a lightningrod upon his house. No, let a man do all that lies in his power to support and provide for his wife and children; and then, if he is taken away, he may commit them in faith to the care of Him who is the God of the widow and the fatherless.

Well, seeing that such is the principle, and such the importance of the device, is it not exceedingly desirable that it should, to the utmost extent of practicability, be acted on? May we, then, be permitted to offer a suggestion? The great point is to get a beginning: once started, it will go on. Now, what if one or more benevolent gentlemen in every congregation were to set it a-going, and continue to pay it during the whole period of the pastor's incumbency, that is, till death, or removal? The deed would be generous and noble, and exercise a most salutary influence on the minister's own mind, and consequently on his labours. With such treatment, removals would be far less frequent, for they mainly result from straitened circumstances.

We invite Correspondence upon the subject, which, to be successful, must be kept before the public mind.

Popery.

M. ABOUT'S EXPOSITION OF THE POPEDOM.

THE ways of the Lord are a great deep. It is instructive to observe, in the course of an all-wise and wonder-working Providence, how events, great and small, are made to harmonize in the accomplishment of the Divine purposes. At the very moment that the armies of France are engaged in uprooting the despotism of Austria in Italy, and preparing for a new order of things, a Frenchman, a man of learning and of spirit, publishes a book which furnishes a more withering exposure of the Popedom, and the destructive influence of Popery than has been made by any Protestant writer for generations. When the author visited Rome, for the purpose of collecting materials with his own hands, and examining everything with his own eyes, he had no conception of the ends it was so quickly and so powerfully to serve.

M. About's work contains an account of the Roman Court and institutions. It is written freely, and pictures the pageant of regal Catholicism in colours the most barbaric. "The Roman Catholic Church, which I sincerely respect," begins M. About, "is composed of a hundred and thirty-nine millions of individuals, without counting the little Mortara." This swarming aggregate is governed by seventy cardinals, or sacerdotal princes, of whom the Cardinal Bishop of Rome is supreme, autocratic, and infallible. The first thing that strikes him is the Siamese union of a temporal with a spiritual power-the Crown and Mitre in conjunction-the kingly sceptre and pastoral crook. The land thus ruled is among the richest on the globe, the most favoured, the best defended by nature, the most superbly adorned by art, the very nucleus of history. All this M. About dwells upon with luxuriant emphasis-for is it not his object to show what the heart of Italy might be in comparison with what it is? And then the Roman people are still splendid, high-spirited, strong, brave, intelligent, and industrious-they stab, but they do not steal-there are more assassins than thieves amongst them. Some occult reason must be brought to light to explain why the Papal dominions are blighted. M. About descends into the darkness, and seizes

upon the vulture of this national Prometheus. It is brought to light-it flaps its wings before us-it is the Papacy. So impartial a judgment, pronounced by so good a Catholic and servant of the Empire, must be eminently admired:

THE PEOPLE OF ROME.

If some day, seeking for the Convent of Neophytes, or the house of Lucrezia Borgia, you wander by accident among the strait streets paved with filth, around the Quartier des Monts, you will elbow thousands of vagabonds, thieves, sharpers, guitar players, models, beggars, cicerones, and ruffianos, with their wives and daughters. Have you any business with them? They will salute "your Excellency," and steal your handkerchief. I know of no other place in Europe, even in London, where one may meet with a more atrocious brood. Then follow the middle classes. I brought away from Rome a somewhat mean idea of its middle class. A few distinguished artists, a few courageous and clever advocates, a few learned medical men, a few wealthy and competent farmers hardly suffice, in my opinion, to constitute a real citizen class. Next, however, he deals with the nobility. Some Italian flatterer, or satirist, of transmitted dignities, predicts, that at a future day distinguishing particles will be recognised, through the microscope, in the blood of the noble. Thirty-one princes or dukes: a vast number of marquises, counts, barons, and chevaliers; a multitude of untitled noble families, among whom Benedict the Fourteenth enrolled sixty at the Capitol; an immense extent of seignorial domains; a thousand palaces; a hundred galleries, small and great; a sufficing revenue; an incredible prodigality of horses, carriages, liveries, and cabinets; regal fêtes every winter; a remnant of small privileges and popular veneration. Such are the aspects distinguishing the Roman nobility, and holding up to the admiration of every booby in the universe. Ignorance, laziness, vanity, servility, and, above all, nullity, are the least contemptible characteristics that degrade them below all the other aristocracies of Europe.

THE ROMAN NOBLE AT TWENTY-FIVE.

At that age an American has practised ten trades, made four fortunes, one failure, and two campaigns-has conducted a lawsuit, preached a religion, killed six men with a revolver, emancipated a negress and annexed an island. An Englishman has written two themes, followed an embassy, founded a bank, converted a Catholic, travelled round the world, and read the collected works of Walter Scott. A Frenchman has written a tragedy, contributed to two newspapers, received three sword-cuts, made two attempts at suicide, persecuted four husbands, and undergone nineteen changes of political opinion. A German has wounded fourteen of his intimate friends,

has swallowed sixty casksfull of beer (beside the philosophy of Hegel), has sung eleven thousand songs, compromised one young lady, smoked a million of pipes, and dipped himself in two revolutions. But the Roman prince has done nothing, seen nothing, learned nothing, loved nothing, suffered nothing. Open the grated door of a cloister, and a young girl appears quite as experienced as he.

The lords are moths, the ladies butterflies. These pretty princesses of Rome rise, bathe, dress, breakfast, toy, promenade, entertain their friends (without music or conversation), and go to bed! From society to politics. The Pope is Master. He is the White Despot. But he may have a Red Despot at his side, as Pius the Ninth has Cardinal Antonelli. These two figures, indeed-Pius and his Familiarfill half the scene. The one, who wears a crown venerated by a hundred and thirtynine millions of people, has led an irreproachable private life, is sixty-seven years old, and is altogether a person of respectable antecedents. Small, fat, valetudinarian, and palevisaged, he never had a chance of being a Wolsey in the purple. But he is a wellmeaning ruler, and this is more than M. About has to say of Cardinal Antonelli.

NOMINATION.

The Cardinals are nominated by the Pope, the Pope is nominated by the Cardinals. From the day of his election he becomes infallible, at least in the opinion of M. de Maistre, and of other good Catholics of our time. Bossuet was not of this opinion, but the Popes have been so invariably. When the Sovereign Pontiff declares that the Virgin Mary was born without any taint of original sin, the one hundred and thirty-nine millions of Catholics are bound to take his word for it, and so they very recently have done.

Such a remarkable discipline of the intelligence of the nineteenth century does it infinite honour, and posterity will no doubt be grateful for it.

THE PLEBEIANS.

The subjects of the Pope are divided by birth and fortune into three very distinct classes-nobility, bourgeoisie, and plebeian. The Gospel forgot to sanction the inequality of men, but the law of the State-that is, the will of the Pope-maintains it very carefully. Benoit XIV. declared it honourable and salutary in his Bull of the 4th of January, 1746; and Pius IX. has expressed himself in the same terms in the commencement of his Chirografo of the 2nd of May, 1853. If I omit to count the clergy among the classes of society, it is because they are strangers to the nation by their interests, by their privileges, and often by their origin. The cardinals and the prelates are not, properly speaking, subjects of the Pope, but rather his [co-fathers] compères in God, and the associates of his supreme power. The value of each of these sections differs according to their relative distance from the seat of power. You may be quite sure that a Roman nobleman is less instructed, less affable, and less free than a gentleman of the Marshes, or Romagna. The middle-class, with some exceptions, of which I will speak presently, is infinitely more

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numerous, richer, and more enlightened, east of the Appenines, than in the capital or its neighbourhood. The plebeians themselves are better behaved, far honester, and more moral, when they live at a respectful distance from the Vatican.

TEMPORAL POWER OF THE POPES.

But is it true that, since 1846, this Government has ceased to be the worst in Europe? If any body can show me a worse, I will go and inform the Romans of it, and they will be not a little astonished!

Is the absolute authority of the Pope limited now by anything but the private virtues of the holy father? No. The constitution of 1848 that has been destroyed; the motu proprio of 1849, eluded in every one of its provisions are these any limits? Not at all. Has the Pope renounced his title to the sole administration and irresponsible control of the whole patrimony of Catholicism? Never. Are public affairs still entirely reserved for the prelates? Always. Are public employments denied by law to the laity? By law, no; in fact, yes. Are the different powers of the State still confounded in practice? More than ever; the governors of the towns still continue to judge, the bishops to administer. Has the Pope abandoned any part of his infallibility in public affairs? Nothing. Has he relinquished his right of reversing the decisions of the Courts of Appeal? Not in the least. The Cardinal Secretary of State-has he ceased to be the reigning minister? He reigns, and the other ministers are more like servants than even clerks; you will find them every morning waiting in his antechamber. Is there ever a council of ministers? Yes, when the ministers go to take the orders of the Cardinal. The administration of affairsis that public? Certainly not. Does the nation vote its own taxes, or allow itself to be mulcted without its consent? As in past days so it is now. Are the municipal liberties extended? They are less than they were in 1816.

To-day, as in the golden days of the Pontifical despotism, the Pope is everything; he possesses everything, and can do everything; he exercises without control, and without a check, a perpetual dictatorship.

PIUS IX.

I will not lose sight of the fact that he is sixty-seven years old-that he bears a crown venerated officially by 139,000,000 of Catholics-that his private life is exemplary, &c.

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But those who were killed by cannon shots fired by his command, and in order to replace him upon the throne, those whom the Austrians shot to fix him there more securely, and even those who work in unhealthy marshes to feed his budget, are much more unfortunate than he is. He believes in God. He is not only a true Christian, but a devotee. In his enthusiasm for the Virgin Mary, he has invented a useless dogma, and erected a monument in very bad taste, which now disgraces the Place d'Espagne. morals are pure, and have always been so, even from his youth; a merit not uncommon among us, but rare, nay, even miraculous, on the other side of the Alps.

His

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