the sick young man evidently soothed and comforted by his visit. For some days he purposely abstained from any special conversation with Thomas, thinking that it might excite him too much; but he tried to give a right direction to his reflections, by means of the penitential prayers and Psalms which he offered by his bedside. He hoped that in this way he should prepare his mind to receive his further advice and instructions.

In the meanwhile Thomas was gaining strength, and was able to sit up for some hours every day. His recovery was now so far advanced, that Mr. Pearson thought that the time was come for endeavouring, as far as he could, to direct and deepen the work which he hoped had been commenced in him. He began by reading the Exhortation in the Service for the Visitation of the Sick, laying particular stress on the latter part. "The Church, you see," he said, "bids you look back to your Baptism, and to the promise and vow which you then made, and which you have since renewed in Confirmation, and then she bids you look forward to the Day of Judgment, when God Himself will enquire how you have kept that promise and she urges you to anticipate that enquiry by examining yourself now, and finding out, as well as you can, what breaches of your baptismal vow are set down in God's book against you, in order that you may confess them to Him, and repent with all your heart."

"Then you do not think, sir," said Thomas, "that it is too late for me to repent?"

"No, certainly: I would not have you entertain such a thought for a moment."

"I was afraid it might be so, sir, because I remember some time ago hearing you say in church, that the

sins of Christians were like the sins of the evil angels, or like the sin of Judas Iscariot: and when I thought of that, it seemed to me as if it meant that they were out of the reach of pardon."

"Perhaps, Thomas, you did not attend exactly to what you heard. If you had, you would have understood that the particular reason why I spoke in that way of the sins of Christians was, because of the very great and especial blessedness of their condition. They are brought so very near to God; so much nearer than the heathen, or than the Jews were. I dare say you remember how the Bible speaks of them. I will just read you one or two passages from St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians: 'Know ye not,' he says (you see St. Paul speaks as if all the Corinthians knew very well what a great and wonderful thing it was to be a Christian)"Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the Temple of God, him will God destroy.' And in another passage, What? know ye not that your body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?' The Holy Ghost dwelt in them; and therefore their bodies were Temples of the Holy Ghost. This is the Apostle's account of all Christians. It is as much worse, therefore, for them to sin than it is for a heathen or a Jew, as it is worse for a person to swear, or to be guilty of some indecency in a church than it would be anywhere else. Every one feels that any such act of wickedness would be more shocking in a church than it would be in a common house, because a church is especially God's house. And St. Paul's words lead us to think in the same way of the sins of Christians. It is not merely that

Christians know better, but they are really and truly nearer to God: they defile and dishonour His Temple: they bring their sins into the very presence of God, just as the Evil Angels, who rebelled against God Almighty, or as Judas, who indulged his thoughts of covetousness and envy, although he was in the continual presence of Christ Himself. This it is which makes the sins of Christians so very bad, and provokes God's anger. God forbid that I should ever say that they may not be forgiven; but it is very plain that they are more guilty."

"I think I quite understand you, sir, but I never considered it as I ought, and yet I knew all along what the Catechism said, that in my Baptism I was made a member of Christ; which, of course, must mean that He drew me very close to Him. And there is a passage in the Bible, which has often come into my mind lately, which speaks of a person taking the members of Christ, and sinning with them. This seems to agree altogether with what you have been saying, and it gives a very awful notion of what sin must be. It makes me shudder to think of the guilt and misery I have been running into, almost without thinking of it. And the worst is," he added, looking very sad, "that I cannot say that it was altogether without knowing it; for, wilful and perverse as I was, I had very often better thoughts. Often and often a feeling of wretchedness came over me, without any particular reason for it, and I wished that I had never gone wrong. I longed to turn from my evil ways. I tried to make good resolutions. I thought how happy I should be, if I could really repent, and begin a different sort of life. But then, very soon, the old temptations returned, and my wicked heart led me astray again; and, perhaps, I was

worse than before. I can now see, or at least I fancy, that these good thoughts and wishes were a proof that God was very near to me and when I think of this, I begin to be afraid that, perhaps, because I would not listen to Him then, He will not strive with me any longer, but leave me to myself. And this makes me very miserable."

"I tell you again, Thomas, you must not listen to such thoughts. You are quite right, no doubt, in supposing that those misgivings which you felt, while you were living in sin, and those desires after something better, were the Voice of God's good Spirit within you. He was knocking at the door of your heart, and entreating you, as it were, to listen to Him. And I dare not conceal from you, that it is an aggravation of a man's guilt, when he will not attend to such loud and continual appeals to him. But, believe me, there is no kind of reason why you should suppose that God has cast you off. On the contrary, I have the strongest hope and belief, as I have said to you before, that this severe sickness, which it has pleased God to send upon you, and even your present fears and sorrows, are a sign that He is still looking on you in love and pity.

"The Good Shepherd," added Mr. Pearson, with tears in his eyes, "is seeking His lost sheep; and would it not be most unthankful in us to doubt His love? There is this great and essential difference between the condition of fallen Christians and of the Evil Angels, that to them God has never given the opportunity of repentance: they were immediately cast forth without hope, and without chance of recovery. But it is not so with us. We may repent, if we will. who made us members of Christ, and took us to be His Own children,

He

when we were infants, still yearns over us, notwithstanding our sins, and desires that we should return to Him, and be embraced once more in the arms of His mercy. Think of Him, therefore, as your true and loving Father, although you feel that you have been a disobedient son. Think how good and merciful He must be, Who loved us at first, although He knew how we should affront Him, and Who still offers to receive and pardon us, if we will return to Him. You cannot think too much of His love, if only you take care that the thought encourages you not to continue in or make light of your sin, but to repent of it more and more. This is the great thing for you to seek after, Thomas, that you may be truly and thoroughly penitent. And to help you to this, I would recommend you, according to the directions of the Church, to go carefully through your past life, and try yourself by the rule of God's commandments-that rule by which you will be judged hereafter. Think of the Book of God: think of the account which is set down

in that Book against you. You know what it contains, all your actions, words, and thoughts. Try and remember what those actions, words, and thoughts have been, in order that you may know what you have to confess and repent of. You will not find this an easy or a pleasant work, but it is a very necessary one: it may be the way to lay the foundation of a deep and lasting repentance. I will leave with you this little book, in which you will find questions for self-examination on each of the Commandments. It will show what are the faults which those several Commandments are directed against, and so it will help you in your endeavours to know yourself. May God bless you, Thomas, and give you as much comfort as He sees to be good for

you. Do not allow yourself to be too much cast down; but think what a blessed thing it will be in the end, if, whatever you may suffer in the way of shame and sorrow now, you are mercifully accepted and welcomed by God at last."

THE EMIGRANTS TO BRAZIL. A Copy by an English Artist.

AMERICA, as our readers perhaps, know, is divided into two vast Continents, North and South America, and these are again divided into many large states, the greater number of which are but scantily peopled. Such, for example, was the case with the empire of Brazil, in South America, where, in consequence, the soil, though most fertile, has been but partially cultivated. On this account, therefore, the Government seeks to induce Europeans to settle there, and cultivate it. Many, especially Germans, are misled to take this step, by the tempting but fallacious promises held out to them. Some quit their country from real distress, thinking to benefit by the change; others, of a humble station, who might live comfortably by their labour in Europe, are ambitious to become great proprietors in America. They sell their little property to pay the expences of the voyage, they transport to Brazil their wives, and their children; and all, or almost all, instead of the brilliant fortune they had expected, and had come so far to seek, find in these distant regions, only disappointment, misery, and despair. Some on the long run succeed, but these are the comparatively few.

The hero of our tale, the good Herman, an honest and industrious farmer, who lived in a hamlet of the kingdom of Wurtembourg, was reduced by misfortune to the necessity of emigrating. A succession of

bad harvests had completely ruined him. He saw himself on the brink of utter destitution, and knew not whither to turn for help. Yet, his confidence in the Divine Goodness never failed him. "No," " said this pious man, "No, He who clothes the grass of the field, and feeds the young ravens that call upon Him, will never abandon me and my poor children."

As he was returning home one day, repeating to himself this consoling maxim, he heard joyful songs resounding in the distance. They proceeded from a number of men, women, and children, who were shouting in chorus a ditty very popular in Germany, beginning with the words, "Brazil is not far off from here;" and who were thus beguiling the tediousness of their long and toilsome journey. There were about seventy or eighty of them; some carried their baggage on their backs, some under their arms. Mothers were dragging their young children by the hand, and calling to their companions to slacken their pace, and not to leave them behind. Sturdy boys were drawing wheelbarrows or little carriages on which were heaped together household utensils and implements of agriculture. All were barefoot, in order that they might walk with more freedom, and at the same time save their shoes and stockings. Some of the grown up men were smoking; the children were gnawing some crusts of bread, which the charity of the inhabitants of the villages they had passed had furnished to them. A boy who marched before the procession was playing on the flageolet the accompaniment of the popular song which his fellow travellers were singing. The caravan filed off close to Herman, and each as he passed gave him a friendly salutation.

'Where are you all going?" said

he to a stout man carrying a baby and followed by a merry boy of six years old, with fat and rosy cheeks. "Does not our song tell you?” replied the traveller.

"How! you are going to Brazil?" "Yes, indeed; since our country cannot feed us, we must leave it. We are going to seek our fortune in a country where they tell us that gold and silver abound; where extensive tracts of uncultivated land are only waiting for laborious hands to till them. We are certain we shall not die there of misery and hunger.'

"Where are you to embark?” asked Herman.

"From one of the seaports of Holland, where vessels are always in readiness to transport emigrants to Brazil; but, good bye, I must rejoin my companions."

I

Herman gazed after the emigrants until a ridge of hills hid the grotesque party from his sight. He was absorbed in profound thought. "Their country cannot feed them, and they are going elsewhere to seek bread for their children. also have children, and soon I shall have no bread to give them.-Who knows if God has not caused me to meet these people, in order to point out to me the path I ought to follow.-Yes! my determination is made; I too will emigrate to Brazil."

We pass over the heart-rending scene which took place between Herman and his family, when he told them his sudden resolution. Reluctantly, and with many tears, they acquiesced; sad is it to leave one's country for ever, and to tear oneself away from all the dear spots which one has loved from infancy. Herman sold his cottage, his furniture, his two acres of land, and his little garden. He paid all his debts, took leave of his friends and neighbours, and gave the signal for departure.

Herman was a widower, having lost his wife many years before; his family consisted of two sons, Conrad, who was twenty-one years old, and William, who was seventeen, and two daughters, Margaret and Annette. Margaret was the eldest of the family, and had been married, but having lost her husband, had been taken home again by her father, with her infant child. Annette was a sprightly lass of fifteen, with flaxen locks and light blue eyes, and a countenance as bright as a sunbeam. Herman found he had just 1000 francs left to pay the expences of the whole journey for five persons besides the infant. It is little enough, thought the old man, and sighed; nevertheless he did not lose his courage, but cast all his confidence on God. He gave 100 francs to Conrad, and sent him on before them to engage a passage for them in the first vessel

sailing from Amsterdam to Brazil. Conrad was quite determined not to spend all the money his father had entrusted him with; and taking his sister Margaret's bundle of things as well as his own, he started off at a quick pace. The rest of the family followed at a slower rate; Margaret with her baby in her arms. When they had climbed to the top of the hill which rose above their village, they turned to cast a lingering look at the beloved home they were leaving for ever. Herman sighed, and Margaret wiped away with the back of her hand, a burning tear which was stealing down her cheek. "Courage my children," said Herman, "from this evil may spring much good, and I have a firm trust that God will not abandon us." And then to raise their drooping spirits, he struck up a joyous hymn on the confidence the Christian ought to place in his God.

THE EMPEROR JOSEPH.

(From the German.) The good Emperor Joseph was one day driving slowly through the streets of Vienna, when a halfstarved little boy came up to his carriage, and not knowing who he was, begged very earnestly for a Gulden (about half-a-crown). The poor little fellow was so eager, and the sum was so large for a beggar to ask, that the Emperor became interested in the child, and asked him many questions. "Mother lies ill at home," said the boy, "and I have been to the doctors to ask them to come to her; but I have no money, for mother is very poor, and cannot work now; and the doctors will not any of them come to her

unless I can give them a Gulden; and pray-pray have pity on us, and give it me, for mother will die, she is so ill." The Emperor made the boy tell him his mother's name and where she lived, and gave him the money. The child, full of hope, ran to the nearest doctor, and the Emperor drove to the poor mother's little dwelling. He found it very poor and wretched; but the woman trusted in God, and prayed to Him to be with her in her poverty and sickness, and hoped that her child would be able to find some good doctor, who would come to give her something to ease her pain and make her strong enough to work for her child again, for she was a lone widow. When she saw a gen