ciety at large, is incalculable. This is the plague spot, the gangrene, which pollutes and corrodes the character and energies of large numbers of our working men. It preys, with insatiable greediness, upon their happiness, prosperity, and moral respectability, both as individuals and as a class; and our solemn conviction is, that they suffer more from this evil, than from all their social ills united and combined. Emphatically may the language of inspiration be employed to describe the misery it entails upon its victims. "Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath bab. ling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine."

Walking through the streets of our larger cities and towns, such as London, Manchester, Liverpool, or through towns of less note, even down to those of third-rate size and importance, we are struck with the maguitude and splendour of what have been significantly styled ginpalaces. One cannot but see, in their very aspect and extent, sufficient proofs of the triumphs of intemperance among the class of society to whom the present reinarks are addressed. And strange to tell, however depressed the state of trade may be, and however general the complaints of reduction in wages, these and humbler establishments, down to the lowest ale house, are still seen to flourish. Stranger still, as we are credibly informed, they are often most prosperous when reverses occur in the financial condition of the operative classes as if, permitting themselves to be urged on by a feeling of desperation, they were determined, because they have little, to spend all; because they are on the brink of poverty, to plunge at once into its depths, and, like the gambler, to fling their last penny into the vortex, that it may swallow and engulf all. Or, which is still more common, they fly to those scenes, in order to forget their cares amidst revelry and intoxication; hereby in reality only multiplying

but

their sorrows an hundred-fold. So powerful, too, is this infatuation, that, when other resources fail, articles of furniture and dress are pledged, to obtain the funds necessary to gratify the fell'and disastrous passion. The house, and even the person, is stripped; and men will endure hunger, nakedness, and every species of domestic destitution, rather than be deprived of the indulgence.

The statistics of this subject are such as to produce an appalling effect upon every mind of even ordinary sensibility. The Report of the National Temperance Society for 1847, supplies the following information: It appears that from the fifth January, 1801, to fifth January 1846, there were consumed in the United Kingdom, 1,025,628, 668 imperial gallous of spirit, in the purchase of which £666,651,600 were expended. The number of gallons of alcohol contained therein, was 552,030,743. For the same period, the number of gallons of wine for home consumption was, 275,130,993: containing 58,237, 118 gallons of spirits-the amount of duty for which was £92,296,917. This return takes no cognizance of wine introduced into the country by smuggling, or of the extensive adulterations which are known to prevail. From the beginning of the present century there have been, in the United Kingdom, about fif teen hundred millions of bushels of malt charged duty. The duty alone amounted to more than two hund red and twenty-three millions of pounds sterling and the estimated cost of which was little less than six hundred millions of pounds; or nearly five-sixths of the present amount of the National Debt."

From the same Report, we learn that in an inquiry instituted in Shadwell, a part of London, the fol lowing facts were obtained:-" 885 persons entered one large gin-shop in the space of an hour and a quarter, on a Saturday evening; 339 were women, 28 of whom had chil dren at their breasts; and 49 were children apparently uuder twelve years of age." And, to show the proportion existing in the Metrop

olis (which, in this respect, may be regarded as a fair sample of the nation at large) between the worshippers of God and those who prostrate themselves before the Moloch of strong drink, the same document reveals the fact, that in the parish of St. Luke-the popu lation of which is 54,000-" there are 23 places of worship, and 234 houses for the sale of intoxicating liquors." Scotland, too, though often lauded as a land of Christian morality, and certainly possessing many advantages that have not been wholly lost on the character of her people, is nevertheless steeped in the crime of drunkenness, Glasgow and its suburbs contain 2274 shops for the sale of spirituous liquors, an 1 the expenditure of the city for that kind of indulgence is estimated at £800,000,-and all this amidst complaints of general poverty and destitution. Finally, from authority which cannot be disputed, it is ascertained that about £65,000,000 are annually expended in the United Kingdom, in the use of intoxicating liquors—an amount equal to ten times the English poor rates-five millions more than the declared value of our exports, and about one hundred and twenty times as much as British Christians expend annually for the world's evangelization.

Truly, this all-devouring vice is the darkest spot in our national character; and as such, we need not wonder that it has excited the scorn of surrounding kingdonis. We mourn when we behold the physical misery which it brings upon millions of our working men, who otherwise might enjoy no small share of the comforts of life. We especially mourn because of the moral desolation which it spreads through the households of the land. It is not only itself a deadly and destructive evil, but also the parent and cause of many other evils -a poisonous fountain sending forth numerous streams, and all carrying with them the elements of death. Were we to go into the history of the various calamities and crimes which prey upon society, and fill it with lamentation and

woe, we doubt not that the greatest proportion of them would be found to flow from this prolific source. It is this which so often disturbs the peace of families, and by demoralizing both parents and children, poisons all the wellsprings of social life. It is this chiefly which fills our workhouses and gaols. It is this which sends forth annually so many to our penal colonies, and supplies the scaffold with the numbers who terminate a life of crime by a death of ignominy. Our police reports and courts of law all bear witness, as with one voice, that the deeds which disgrace our criminal character, and the detection and punishment of which entail so great an expense upon the nation, are mainly attributable, either immediately or remotely, to the use of intoxicating liquors. In this respect the testimony of Sir Matthew Hale, given nearly two centuries ago, is at least as applicable to the present times as to those in which he adorned the judicial seat :-"The places of judicature which I have long held in this kingdom have given me an opportunity to observe the original cause of most of the enormities that have been committed, for the space of nearly twenty years; and by due observation, I have found, that if the murders and manslaughters, the burglaries and robberies, the riots and tumults, the adulteries, fornications, rapes, and other enormities, that have happened in that time, were divided into five parts, four of them have been the issues and product of excessive drinking-of tavern or alchouse meeting.' The conclusion, then, seems to be fully warrented-and it is our earnest wish that the working classes would lay it to heart-that if the wretchedness, physical and moral, produced directly and indirectly by this vice, were withdrawn from the general sum of misery in the empire, society at large would experience a state of things which might be described as a paradise, in comparison with that now existing.

When the extent and virulence of this evil are considered, and the

The

fearful consequences which ensue from it, we are naturally anxious, on many accounts, to inquire into its causes. These are numerous, and often so linked together, that it is not easy to distinguish their relative weight and influence in the production of this malady. An opinion has prevailed, and does still prevail, in many quarters, that the habitual use of such liquors tends to promote bodily health and vigour-that it fits for prolonged and arduous labour; and this opinion has been so often repeated and acted upon, that it passes current without examination, and has struck its root so deeply in the prejudices of society as to render it almost impossible to overturn it. Yet, there is no doubt that this ranks among those popular fallacies by which the world is so powerfully governed, without having a shadow of foundation in right reason. temporary excitement which is the result of the use of intoxicating liquors is mistaken for an accession of bodily strength; whereas, in reality, it is only a draft upon the bank of physical energy in the constitution, to be followed by proportionate exhaustion when the reaction comes-and come it must, according to a fixed and invariable law of nature. Nor must it be forgotten, that every recurrence of this sense of exhaustion creates a necessity for further recourse to the same imaginary source of strength, until a habit is thus generated which cannot fail, in the end, to sap and undermine the bodily constitution; and still worse, to enfeeble the intellect, and deprave the heart. But, apart altogether from the fallacy now adverted to, a morbid craving for excitement and stimulus forms a prevalent cause of the evil under consideration. Our Creator has provided certain natural and healthy stimu lants, food, air, light, water, and other elements, as well as social intercourse. The proper use of these is not only allowable, but necessary and right. They are useful and salutary to the extent in which they invigorate, without afterwards en feebling, and animate, without sub

sequent depression. But to place alcoholic liquors among those wholesome stimulants, is a perversion of a Divine and benevolent law. The mischief which their common use entails, upon individuals and society, is such as no pen can adequately describe. Here, the appetite growing by what it feeds on, and the love of excitement increasing in an ever accele rating proportion, no limit is set to the baleful indulgence, until health, reputation, character, are all sacrificed; and the debased victim of his own foul passions, becomes a miserable outcast, and at length of ten closes his guilty career by a premature death.

While on this subject it is not unimportant to notice-and the fact shows how closely our physical and moral ills are connected-that the sanatory condition of immense numbers of the working classes tends very powerfully to that love of excitement, out of which these habits of drinking spring and grow. We have already referred to this point-the accommodation and abodes of the poor-in connexion with their social state. At present, the subject is adverted to in a specific aspect; but that, one of the most important, as bearing directly upon their moral condition. The medical testimonies which have been supplied on this subject, fully confirm the impressions which every reflecting mind must have previously formed. Dr. Grindrod observes," Languid circulation of the blood, accompanied with imperfect operation of its functions, are the consequences of confinement in a stagnant and polluted atmosphere. The corporeal depression which necessarily ensues, is too often sought to be removed by the use of intoxicating liquors." Dr. Southwood Smith, in the same strain, remarks, "The poison generated in these neglected districts, and to which these poor creatures are habitually exposed, is a sedative poison, among the most distinctive characters of which are the depressing effects produced by it, both on body and mind. This is one of the main causes, not only of the mental apa

thy of which I have already spoken, but also of that physical listlessness which makes them incapable of any great exertion. I am satisfied that this feeling of depres sion is one of their chief inducements to the use of stimulants, which the same feeling naturally leads them to take in excess, whenever, a sufficient quantity can be procured. I quite believe, from what I have observed of them, that the inducement to take the most pernicious amount of stimulants arises from a sensation of languor -the direct result of the debilitating causes that are incessantly acting upon the.n, and that renders them so incapable of physical or mental exertion."

It were easy to multiply such testimonies; but these are sufficient to establish the fact-a fact which ought to produce a powerful impression upon the public mind, exciting it to measures, whether legislative or otherwise, necessary to the removal of this source of intemperance; and upon the minds of the more thoughtful of the working classes themselves, for upon their influence and example depends, to a very considerable extent, the sanatory condition of their own and their neighbours' dwellings. Ventilation, cleanliness, comfort, and domestic order, will powerfully contribute to check this fearful evil. whole question of the causes of intemperance must be investigated, and that with a promptitude and energy proportioned to its dread importance; and the remedies must be applied with a bold and fearless hand; until the plague is stayed, and moral health diffused among the living, teeming masses of our working population.

The

WE MUST ANSWER FOR INJURING OUR NEIGHBOUR.*

"WE may not gain by hurting our neighbour in the body,-therefore we may not sell anything which tends to impair health. Such is eminently all that liquid fire commonly called drams, or spirituous *Communicated by TIMOTHY BURT. VOL. XX. THIRD SERIES.

liquors. All who sell them in the common way are poisoners general; they murder her Majesty's subjects by wholesale; they drive them to hell like sheep, and what is their gain? is it not the blood of these men? Who then would envy their large estates and sumptuous palaces? A curse is in the midst of them, the curse of God cleaves to the stones, the timber, the furniture of them! The curse of God is in their gardens, their walks, their groves; a fire that burns to the nethermost hell. Blood! blood is there: the foundation, the floor, the walls. the roof is stained with blood. And canst thou hope, O thou man of blood, to deliver down thy fields of blood to the third generation? Not so! for there is a God in heaven: therefore thy name shall be rooted out, like as those thou hast destroyed, body and soul-thy memorial shall perish with thee."--WESLEY.

A

young

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peace

THE POWER OF A WORD. "I NEVER can forget that word which was once whispered to me in an inquiry meeting," said a pious man once to What a friend. word was it ?" "It was the word ETERNITY. Christian friend, who was yearning for my salvation, came up to me as I sat in my pew, and simply whispered Eternity' in my ear, with great solemnity and tenderness, and then left me. That word made me think, and I found no till I believed in the Saviour.' The holy M'Cheyne was once riding by a quarry, and stopped to The look in at the engine-house. fireman had just opened the door to feed the furnace with fresh fuel; when M'Cheyne, pointing to the bright hot flame, said mildly to the "Does that fire remind you of anything?" The man could not get rid of the solemn question. To him it was an effectual arrow of conviction. It led him to the house of God, and will lead him, we trust, to heaven.

man,

A single remark of the Rev. Charles Simeon, on the blessings which had resulted from 2 N

labours of Dr. Carey, in India, first arrested the attention of Henry Martyn to the cause of missions. His mind began to stir under the new thought, and a perusal of the life of Brainerd fixed him in his resolution to give himself to the dying heathen.

It is said that Harlan Page once went through his Sabbath-school to get the spiritual census of the school. Coming to one of the teachers, he said, "Shall I put you down as having a hope in Christ ?" The teacher replied, "No." "Then," said he very tenderly, "I will put you down as having no hope." He closed his little book and left him.

That was enough. God gave that young man's soul no rest till he found a hope beneath the

cross.

A member of a church, not long since, overtook a lady, on her way to a prayer-meeting. She asked the young woman if she never thought of her own salvation? The young lady thus addressed, replied that during all her life she had never had one word spoken to her before about the salvation of her soul! Within a month from that time she became a devoted member of the flock of Christ.

Fellow-disciples! have you never yet spoken one word to an impenitent friend about the most momentous of all questions? Then I fear you will find no one in heaven that you were the means, under God, of sending there. Though you may reach the "many mansions," I fear your crown will glitter with no splendour. It will be starless crown.-Leisure Hour.

THE WRITTEN ROCKS OF

MOUNT SINAI.

a

WITH the exception of Jerusalem, there is perhaps no spot upon earth consecrated by more sacred and sublime associations than Sinai. What "the holy city" was to the new dispensation, that was "the mount of God" to the old. Here the voice from the burning bush summoned Moses to the glorious task of delivering his nation; here

the law was given amid "blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words;" here the prophet, whom neither the tempest, nor the earthquake, nor the fire could terrify, wrapped his face in his mantle and worshipped, as the still small voice fell mysteriously upon his ear. Upon the savage glens and ravines which cleave the mountain side a supernatural darkness has rested, their gloom has been lit up by fire from heaven, their silence broken by celestial voices. cannot wonder that with associa tions such as these, travellers should have been willing to brave the perils and endure the privations which a visit to Sinai involves.

We

The conjecture that contemporary records of these events are to be found among the desert solitudes of Sinai and Horeb, has of late years excited afresh the attention of scholars, and we propose in this paper to give a brief statement of the facts under investigation. It has long been known that the val leys and rocks for miles round Sinai, and especially those along which the Israelites must have passed during their exodus, are covered with inscriptions, in an unknown character and language. Interspersed among these are figures and images, executed in the rudest possible style, representing camels, horses, asses, goats, serpents, birds, and men in various attitudes, very often that of devotion. Along the Wady Mokateb, or the Written Valley, they cover the rocks for ten or twelve miles, and are to be numbered by thousands. They are sometimes of very large size, and thirty or forty feet high. Some are in Greek or Latin, and appear to be so recent as the fifth or sixth century; a few others were obviously inscribed about the commencement of our era! but the immense majority are referred to a date coeval with that of the most ancient Egyptian remains in the neighbourhood, that is to say, they have been ascribed to the Israelites during their long sojourn at the foot of the mountain.

The first notice we have of these