places, excellent in the abstract;-but bad management, pandering to vulgar tastes, has allowed to gather around them an unwholesome atmosphere, which careless, heedless youth unconsciously draws in, and time, moving quickly along, sees him grow from youth to manhood, and still he breathes this poisonous air,—still fills his cup of life with spirits impure,-till, as old age creeps on, he finds that that which he had hoped would have been his happiness, his joy, has, through a want of knowledge as to the proper way of seeking it, proved his misery,his curse.

Now to whom or what should we look for a remedy of this evil? To society or to parents? Surely not to the latter, for the parents of such youths are, generally speaking, as ignorant as the youths themselves, and therefore as little qualified for the work, although the duty should be theirs; and society, or to say the least, the society such youths are likely to mix with, with its pothouse politics, its lewd songs, its unchristian mottos of "Treat every man as a rogue,' Every man for himself, and God for us all,"—such society is less qualified than even the ignorant parent. Seeing, then, that neither parent nor society is qualified for the work, on whom should it fall but the church? Some will say, the duty of the church is not with the body, but with the spirit. Its duty is to make clear to us the divine revelations as to the nature of the spirit-how it exists, for what it exists—and to warn the flesh against doing aught which may retard the spirit's progress. But how many thousands are there who hear its teaching and understand it not; and how many thousands more (of such we have already described) who never even heard it? And why? The reason is, that their want of education, and the predominating spirit consequent upon non-education, leads them in another direction.

I think but few will disagree with me as to the fact that youth requires pleasures, and will have them, and that therein lies the danger of his falling off. It will also be admitted that society, or the parents of such youths, are both alike unqualified to lead them through those pleasures in a proper spirit; and further, as neither of the above are qualified for the duty, it therefore falls upon the church. This being admitted, the only question is, what are the means to be used to effect the desired object? And the question, it appears to me, is not a very difficult one. The elements of the means exist in society. The song, the dance, the poet's page and the painter's art, perverted and abused, are (together with the evils arising therefrom) the primary causes of the dissipation of youth. The church has long seen this, and raised her voice against such things-but to little or no purpose. Seeing, then, as the church N. S. No. 162.-VOL. XIV. 2 F

must see, that youth ever has and probably ever will indulge in such things, why should she not take upon herself the responsibility of providing them, instead of leaving it to a set of money-getting men, who would sell their souls and their audience too for a yellow piece of earth? Would it be aught unchristian-like in the church to wash away the lewd song, and in its place establish songs of praise; and to bring the dance simply to what it should be, a pleasant healthy exercise? And again, for those who love the poet's page, teach them to select; show them the difference between low, coarse comicalities and true wit, between vulgar sentimentality and the true embodiment of passion. But above all, lead them to an appreciation of nature; where and how to look for its wondrous beauties, and their correspondences in man. Let them learn from the flower, which, when brushed by the rough hand of carelessness, makes answer only by sending forth its perfumed honey dew with still increasing power. Teach them to see, that as the heavy, boisterous hailstorms of winter only astonish and destroy, whilst the warm genial showers of summer beautify the verdure of the earth; so violent passiononly ruffles and disturbs the mind, whilst gentleness and kindness make it happy and at ease.. And from the stagnant pond that sends forth its poisonous vapours to blast aught they may reach, till at last it sinks into the earth and leaveth nought behind but corruption and pestilence, teach them the evils of a life of idleness and sin. Whilst from the fresh and ever-running brook, rippling o'er its pebbly bed, gently washing its flowery banks and giving new life to every thing it blesses with its touch, teach them the beauty of a life of usefulness and love.

1

If you wish a man to learn something of a great man, you shew him his works as an inducement. Speak to an unlettered man of Shakespere and his greatness, and tell him to learn who and what he was, and he will ask what good it will do him; but teach him to understand his works, and he will then wish to know who was the great genius that gave birth to such mighty and beauteous creations. So with creation and the Creator: lead youth by a truly Christian spirit to an appreciation of the wondrous beauties of nature, and the desire to know and understand the Author of those beauties must and will follow. Birmingham.

EXTRACTS FROM DR. BYROM'S POEMS."

To the Editor.

J. W.

SIR, I believe most of our friends feel a considerable interest in the late Dr. Byrom, not only for his high character, but also from the cir

cumstance of his having built St. John's Church, Manchester, and presented the living to our late venerated friend, Mr. Clowes. Probably this feeling led me recently to look through the doctor's poems, and to preserve the enclosed extracts, which I think will give pleasure to your readers, both by their remarkable epigrammatic point, and their practical wisdom, if you were to find a place for them. They would make

useful sentences for schools.

Reproof.

However great a fault, of this be sure,
Angry reproof is not the way to cure;
Would any wise physician, do you think,
Present a potion scalding hot to drink?

Zeal and Meekness.

Zeal without meekness runs its reckless way;
To rising storms soon to become a prey;
And meekness without zeal, standing stock still,
Like a dead calm, nor tends to good or ill:
But zeal and meekness happily combined,
Are like a gallant ship with favouring wind!
No Anger in God.

God has but one immutable good will-
To bless his creatures, and to save from ill.

Vengeance.

"Vengeance belongs to God," and so it should,
For Love Divine can turn it all to good.

Returning Evil for Evil is using oneself ill.
Men use thee ill-that fault is theirs alone;
But if thou use thyself ill,-that's thy own.

Learning and Religion.

He who can make a Grammar for High Dutch,
Or Welsh, or Greek, can you suppose, as such,
In faith, and hope, and goodness will excel
A man that scarce his mother tongue can spell?
True and False Views of Religion.

Explain Religion by a thousand schemes,
Still God and Self will be the two extremes.

W. M.

Goodness, Wisdom, and Power must be found in Union.
Power, from Wisdom suffering a divorce,
Would be a foolish, mad, and frantic force;
If both were joined, and wanted Goodness still,
Both would concur to more pernicious ill.

Salvation by Love, Faith, and Good Works.
The Solifidian, on a text from Paul,

Cries "Works are good for nothing!-faith is all !”
This view, as wrong, the Moralist disclaims,
And shews how works must justify, from James;
The loving mind, in both can find a place,
Where love is plainly the superior grace.

The Protestant Reformation.

Rome has been guilty; this, no doubt, is true;
But have not some of the Reformers too?-
While in their zeal the pontiff to unseat,
In plucking tares, they plucked up also wheat!
Morally worse is their Predestination,

Ten thousand times, than Transubstantiation!

Trust in Providence.

With cheerful mind thy course of duty run:
God nothing does, or suffers to be done,

But what thou would'st thyself, if thou could'st see
Through all events of things as well as He.

Timely Repentance.

Let thy Repentance be without delay,-
If thou defer it to another day,

Thou must repent for one day more of sin,
While a day less remains to do it in.

Discontent.

When discontent the foolish mind doth fill,
It hath what's worse than every earthly ill.

Charity and Faith never found Asunder.
No faith towards God with hate to man is found;
Where faith is not, no charity is sound;
From the same root hath each of them its growth,
You have not either, if you have not both.

A Denial of Revelation is virtually Idolatry.

To own a God who does not speak to men,
Is first to own and then disown again;

Of all idolatry the total sum

Is having Gods that are both deaf and dumb.

Evil Speaking.

Set not the faults of other folks in view,

But rather mind what thou thyself should'st do;

Since twenty errors of thy neighbour known

Will tend but little to reform thy own.

229

BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

THIS is the Jubilee year of this king of institutions, established for the spread of the Word of God in all languages, and consequently for the greatest good of our common humanity, in all the kingdoms and nations of the earth. Every New Churchman not only feels the deepest interest in this institution, but he beholds in its wonderful operations and success the greatest proof that now, indeed, is the time of the Lord's second coming in the "clouds of heaven,"-in the Word as to its literal sense, to people of every tribe, tongue, and nation. The cause which originated this mighty movement is the new and powerful influence of God's Spirit as a consequence of the performance of the last judgment in the World of Spirits in the year 1757. The operation of this new outpouring of God's Spirit was certain in due time to produce great changes upon earth. These changes have occurred, one after another, in rapid succession. At first there were dreadful wars and revolutions, which have changed the face of Europe, especially in a civil point of view, and have prepared the way for new principles to operate for the general good of mankind. Blessings follow judgments and sufferings; and the greatest blessing which followed the great shocks which Christendom experienced during the first French revolution, was the establishment of the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1804. This institution was like a new sun arising with healing on its wings, to pour light and love upon the minds of men so benighted with false doctrines and materialistic ideas, as to every thing good and true,— as to the great objects of all genuine religion, and as to the nature, genius, and sanctifying power of Christianity.

We may readily suppose, if we rationally reflect upon the nature of the Lord's second coming, that in due time after the general judgment in the World of Spirits, the first institution for light and love upon earth would be for the more ample spread of the Divine Word. For the Lord can only come to mankind in and by his Word. He first came as the Word made flesh, and now He is coming "in the clouds of heaven," that is, in the letter of His Word, in which is the power and glory of its " spirit and its life." Those who know the nature of the Word as the medium of conjoining man with the Lord, and of associating him with the angels of heaven, can much more fully appreciate the wonderful operations of the Bible Society than those who, although in the belief that the Word is divine, yet have no true knowledge of its divine nature and efficacy as a means of consociating man with heaven,