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affection of the mind, whatever that may be, attracts to our aid by the laws of sympathy and affinity, those spiritual beings whose affections are in correspondence with our own, or whose mission it is to succour and defend us on earth, and by whose occult and timely aid prayer is often answered in ways that we know not of; not, however, we may be sure, involving any breach of the Divine laws, but only that larger and better understanding of those laws which enables them when needed to produce effects in Nature which transcend our power, as the man of science produces effects which those who know not Nature's secrets cannot accomplish and can scarcely understand.

Not that prayer is, or is intended ever to be a lazy substitute for the regular labours which Providence has wisely ordained as the ordinary means to supply our natural wants. Laborare est

orare was a grand motto of the old monks: the habit of cheerful industry is a constant prayer which never fails to bring down a blessing. "But there are cases, and always have been, which, by a complication of human misfortunes, lay out of the reach of the ordinary methods, and where the Divine Providence is especially manifest in the play of spiritual laws, by prayers and answers from the ever present all-merciful heavens answers sent in the form of the most material aid."*

As an illustration of this remark by Mr. Fernald, I here relate a story of the last century :

In a sequestered part of Scotland, an honest hard-working couple were struggling through life, and frequently found it difficult to gain a bare subsistence, and provide even necessaries for their young family. They lived in a thinly-peopled neighbourhood, remote from town or village, and, indeed, at a considerable distance from any habitation whatever.

The poor man could generally contrive to earn a scanty subsistence, barely sufficient to maintain his wife and four children. At times, indeed, his means of support were cut off; for though industrious when he could procure work, his employment at best was precarious. Sometimes this worthy couple were reduced to great necessity for want of food, when they experienced unexpected interpositions of Providence, by which help was sent to them in the most unlookedfor manner. On one occasion they were reduced to the greatest extremity of want: all their resources had failed. Their little store of provisions was exhausted. The children had received the last morsel their mother could furnish, yet she was not cast down; for Ann Young had learned to trust in the loving-kindness of her God, when apparently cut off from human aid. The day however passed over, and no prospect of succour appeared. Night came, and still no relief. The children were crying for their supper; and, because there was none to give them, their mother undressed them and put them to bed, where they soon cried themselves to sleep.

Their father was much dejected, and likewise went to bed, leaving Ann in solitary possession of the room. And yet she felt not alone.: many sweet hours had she spent in that little cottage, apart from the world, with her Bible and her God. Precious had these opportunities ever been to her, of pouring out her soul to God; of spreading her sorrows, her trials all before Him; and giving vent to a full, and now, alas! a heavy heart.

But ere she begun, that she might not afterwards be disturbed, she made up the peat fire on the hearth. She trimmed and lit the cruisy, (a small iron

All life, indeed, is prayer, though it may not be consciously so; and it is one which ever tends to its own fulfilment. The supreme wish of the heart manifested in the chief aim we set before ourselves in life, by a law as inevitable as that which attracts the falling apple to the earth, or affinitive particles to each other, attracts to us those invisible beings who are in the same ruling love, whether it be good or evil, and who influence and aid us in its realization. The miser, those who are in the ruling love of avarice; the sensualist, those whose supreme delight was in bodily pleasures; while those who seek the true

vessel which served as a lamp,) and hung it upon its accustomed place on the wall. She moved the clean oaken table near it, and having taken the large family Bible from among the six or eight well-read, well-worn volumes on the book-shelf, deposited it upon it. She paused however, before opening the sacred volume to implore a blessing on its contents. when the following text involuntarily came into her mind: For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.'

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That text, thought Ann, is not very applicable to me; and opening her Bible, she proceeded to look out for some of her favourite passages of Scripture. Yet, for every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills,' was uppermost in her thoughts. She knelt down, and committed her case to the Hearer and Answerer of prayer. The text seemed fastened to her memory, and, despite of every effort, she could not banish it from her mind. Yet, thought Ann, it is God's word; and she read the Psalm in which the text is contained. It was, she thought, a beautiful Psalm; but many verses in it appeared to her more suited to her condition than this. Again she prayed; hoping that, while presenting her supplications she might forget it, but with no better success. Still she endeavoured to encourage her drooping heart with the belief of the efficacy of earnest, persevering prayer, and continued her occupation, alternately wrestling in prayer and reading her Bible, until midnight.

Indeed, early dawn found her engaged at the same employment, as at length daylight appeared through the little casement, when a loud impatient rap was heard at the door.

"Who's there?" said Ann.

A voice from without answered, “A friend."

"But who is a friend?' replied she, "What are you?"

"I'm a drover; and quick, mistress, and open the door, and come out and help me. And if there's a man in the house, tell him also to come out with all speed, for one of my cattle has fallen down a precipice, and broken its leg, and it is lying at your door."

On opening the door, what was the first object that met the astonished gaze of Ann? A large drove of cattle, from the Highlands of Scotland. As far as the eye could reach in either direction the road was black with the moving mass which the man was driving on to a market in the south. And there lay the disabled beast, its leg broken-the poor drover standing by, looking ruefully over it-his faithful colley dog by his side, gazing up, as if in sympathy with his master, and as if he understood his dilemma, and knew also that his services could now be of no avail.

The worthy couple were concerned for the poor drover, and evinced every willingness to assist him in his misfortune, had it been in their power. He, in his turn, felt at a loss to know how he should dispose of the animal, and paused to consider what course he ought to pursue. But the more he thought over the catastrophe, the more his perplexity increased.

To drive on the maimed beast was obviously impossible. To sell it there seemed equally so. At a distance from a market, it would not be easy to find a purchaser; and, by remaining in that place long enough to do so, he must likeN.S.-III.

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riches and the joys of the spirit, are, even on earth united to the glorious company of wise and faithful souls, and enter ever more and more into the heavenly treasures and the joys which it has not entered into the heart of the worldling or the sensualist to conceive.

In brief, then, we find that the criticism supposed to be hostile to the belief in Special Providence and Prayer, is only so to a certain mode of statement of that belief,-to the terms in which it is sometimes set forth, and which by different persons are employed in different senses;-that, at most, it is but the correction of an erroneous conception some may entertain of the wise detain the whole herd of cattle, which would incur more expense than the animal was worth.

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What was to be done? The drover drew his Highland plaid tighter round him. He shifted and replaced his bonnet from one side of his head to the other. "I never," he at length exclaimed, was more completely brought to my wit's end in my life;" and then turning to Ann, he added, "Deed, mistress, I must just make you a present of it; for in truth I don't know what else I can do with it; so kill it, and take care of it, for it is a principal beast. I'll answer for it a mart -(see NOTE)-like that has never come within your door." And, without waiting for thanks, he whistled on his dog and joined the herd, which was soon seen moving slowly on its weary journey.

The poor cottagers were lost in wonder at this unexpected deliverance from famine, by so signal an interposition of Providence. They had meat sufficient to serve them for many months to come, and in their first joy they totally forgot that they had no bread. But He who commanded the ravens to bring to the prophet "bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening." did not forget it. God does not work by halves. About six o'clock in the morning, another knock was heard at the door, which this time flew quickly open, when who should present himself but the "grieve," or bailiff, of Lady Kilmarnock (who lived at some miles distance), with a load on his back. Of course, the astonishment of Ann was great, as she asked him what could bring him thus at that early hour. "Allow me," said he, "to enter and to relieve my shoulders of my burden, and my conscience too."

He then proceeded to relate how Lady Kilmarnock sent for him the previous morning, to inquire "if anything had happened to Ann Young." To which he replied, that he was not aware that she had met with any calamity, and that when he last heard of her and her family, they were all well. "" "Then," said her ladyship," she must be in want; for these few days she has been incessantly in my thoughts. I cannot get her out of my head; and I am sure she is in distress. So take a sack of meal to her, a large one, too, and take it directly. You had better convey it yourself, that it may be safely delivered to her, and bring me word how she is; for I know she would almost starve before she applied for relief." "I fully intended," added the bailiff, "to have brought it yesterday, as Lady Kilmarnock desired; but being more than usually busy throughout that day, I could not find leisure to come, but determined that my first employment this morning would be to fetch it to you."

I have given what I think is even a more striking instance of Special Providence than the above in the article on " Special Providences" to which I have already referred-Spiritual Magazine, Vol. IV., page 548.

NOTE. At that time the labourers in Scotland seldom ate butcher-meat during summer, but at the beginning of winter it was customary to kill a cow. Generally two families joined in the purchase of it, or two or three sheep, for the winter's provender, which was carefully salted for that purpose. This was called "the mart," an abbreviation for Martinmas, being the time of year when the purchase was made.

Divine mode of operation in Providence and in answer to prayer,perhaps only of a loose and faulty definition ;--by no means a slight service, for a faulty definition where it does not originate in, tends toward a faulty conception. But this error (if such it be) is far less serious than that which rejects not only the definition, but the thing intended to be defined, and which in this case is a truth of gravest import.

In a future paper we hope to recur to this line of thought in its bearing on the question of Miracles.

T. S.

OCCASIONAL NOTES.

THE LATE SIR DAVID BREWSTER.

In a biographical notice of the late Sir David Brewster, the Morning Post remarks, "His Natural Magic was a companion volume to Sir W. Scott's Demonology and Witchcraft, and, despite Sir David's skill, by no means explains the legends recounted in Sir Walter's book. It is to be regretted that Sir David, when he had the opportunity, should have refused to investigate phenomena the first sight of which greatly astonished him, and concerning which he unfortunately was led to make contradictory statements." Not only did Sir David "unfortunately make contradictory statements" in reference to these phenomena, but some of his statements were contradicted at the time in the public press by Mr. William Cox, of Jermyn Street, at whose hotel, and in whose presence the phenomena occurred, by Mrs. Trollope, the well-known authoress, and by Mr. Benjamin Coleman, who were also present. Brougham, who accompanied Sir David, took notes of what More than this, Lord occurred, and these differed so widely from the account published by Sir David, that the latter was in great fear Brougham should publish his notes, and earnestly in to withhold their publication, asking him what the w think when it found that two sensible men could their accounts of what they saw. It is to Lord Brougham had the weakness to compl request, but as his lordship is now preparing for publication, it is to be hoped that these the work as his lordship wrote them. A David Brewster's conduct in relation to found in the Appendix to Home's Inciden

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ROME.

According to the obvious teachings of Christianity, both in the letter and spirit, it is idle to talk of a corrupt city like Rome, swarming with filthy beggars, groaning with political prisoners, and ruled by priestly tyranny and superstition, backed by an armed force, as the capital of Christendom. It is folly to speak of a good-natured but weak old man who, figuratively speaking, has no head upon his shoulders, being altogether behind the intelligence of the age, as the head of the Christian world and the head of the spiritual world. It is preposterous to say that Christian nations and Christian governments, which in truth are not to be found upon earth, are bound by the obligations of duty even to go to war if necessary, to keep the Pope in his position as sovereign of Rome. It is manifestly untrue that a temporal kingdom is indispensably necessary for the free and efficient discharge of spiritual duties. It is monstrous and outrageous to assert that the power of a weak old priest, who durst not for the life of him, after Count Rossi had been shot, proceed with his reform projects, is the power of God; and it is a perversion of truth, to apply to a timid old man, who once ran away from Rome from fear of his life, and who is only kept in his place by military force, the text of Scripture: "Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall it will grind him to powder" (Matt. xxi., 44). Yet, I do not wonder that a great number of benevolent English people are Roman Catholics. Orthodox religious tenets are professedly incomprehensible in the ranks of Protestantism, where the Protestant principle of the right of private judgment is practically denied, and the Romish principle of speaking and arguing only in favour of pre-established tenets is practically insisted upon, anxious and timid minds unable to understand the doctrines that are set forth, blindly throw themselves into the arms of the Church that professes to be infallible.-The Rev. W. Hume Rothery.

SHAKING OF THE DRY BONES.

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The Anthropological mind is being "exercised," as the Methodists would say, on the subject of Spiritualism. lowing in the wake of the Society in London, the Anthropological Society of Manchester have held a numerously attended meeting, at which a paper was read by its president, Mr. G. Harris, F.S.A., on "The tests applicable to the truth of supernatural visitations." This paper, and the discussion which followed, were extremely interesting; we hope to give a Report of both in our next number.

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