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J. F. DAGS, mg.
ill fcifi sEKIM—! -'?. “111.
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From a Correspondent of ihcWatehnvtn & Reflector.
A VISIT TO THE SCENES OF LU
THER’S CHILDHOOD.
I have just arrived here with a friend
after a four weeks’ ramble on foot through
the famous Hurtz mountains, and the scenes
of Martin Lulher’s early life;, which will
account for my long silence. We- have
been as completely cut off from all die lead
ing journals and trom the means ol follow
ing the con iso of events, though never two
days’journey from Cologne, Berlin or Ham
burg. as if our journals v. ere in the wild
woods of our great West. Doing thus de
prived of usual top.es, I hope some account
of my visit to the scenes of the great Refor
mer’s birth and early life may prove accept
able. For my own part, the lew days
speut iu Mansfeld, Elsebcn, Erlurt and
Eisemach, proved the must interesting which
I have spent in Europe.
From the days ot inv childhood, when
I used to pore over the pages ol Robert
son’s “Charles V.,” hard'y able to under
stand his full, flowing diction, Luther has
been to me the most inierestit.g character
in Modern History; not more I rom his ex
traordinary learning, <t that lie was the in
strument under Providence of the greatest
revolution in the affairs <>f mankind,.than
from the personal traits which distinguished
him. As the poor student, begging bread
iu God’s name, u 6 the unhappy monk al
most dying in the agony ol liisconflict-* with
sin and” the powers of darkness, as the leaf
less preacher of righteousness regardless ol
all human power and authority, as the
champion iu the mighty conflict with the
Pope, the Emperor and the Cutholicchuicli,
-|>nd ni 11-L- ’• lid -Lusfcfend and father seek
ing his happiness iu the bosom ol his fam
ily, or as the son and friend, forgetting at
times that he is the great apostle and reloi -
mer, and journeying humbly to the home
of h s childhood to visit old fnen is and ac
quaintances, and pay his duly to Ins old
father and mother; in every station n wh ch
he was placed, his lile lias always bad a
peculiar charm for mo. 1 hat lie atta ned
to that fulness ol light which his labors
have enabled others since to reaco, is not
to be asserted; but how few since the woo id
began have, from such depths oi darkness,
attained to such marvellous light.
We have finished <>ur contemplated tour
in the Hurtz, with a day in the old mining
town of Clausthal, and had intended to
proceed on ward to Gottingen, and so on to,
Frankfort. Hut we wore within sixty miles
of Luther’s h rth-place, and could not resist
our desire to visit it. A walk ol two days
brought us to a little village within a few
hours of Mansleld, where, when the future
Boanerges was but six months old, his
parents look up thetr abode, and where the
child passed his early years. We leli this
village, and hardly had deposited our things
in the “S;adlJ£eilar:” inn at Mansfeld, be
lore we began our liiijuirTEy --
mentoes ot Luther still remaining* ilie
house in which his father lived lias long
been gone, but an open space between two
houses marks the place. The school-house,
where lie icceived “fifteen blows of a cane
iu one forenoon,” —not“H gged fifteen limes
in one day,” as the translator ol Meric
D’Aubigne has given it—was but a door or
t W o off. Taking us to the door, the host
pointed out the latter still standing, and in
its hover story, excepting that a bas-relief
and a inscription over the door was added
Mine two centuries smee, precisely as when
Luther was a pupil nearly 3GO years ago.
Jt was along nits very street that John Lu
ther, the father, and Nicholas Oernler, af
terwards the brother-in-law, used to carry
the little boy of five years, iu their arms, to
and from the school.
Tiie school-ho se is of two stor cs, and
built of stone. You enter through a large
arched door into a broad passage, flagged
with stone, fiom which a flight of stairs
leads up into the apartments ot the family,
and two doors, one oil each side, lead into
the two school-rooms. A school, called the
“Luther School,” is still taught there, sup
ported in part by the public, and in part
from the proceeds of a fund left by a Dr.
Iken, of Bremen,in 18-tl. Our host kindly
made us acquainted with the teacher, Dr.
Otto, who received us with much kindness.
People from all pans of Europe visit Mans
field, but we were the first Americans, who
had even troubled him with a call. We
found him almost an enthusiast in relation
10 the great reformer. He asked us in to
see his school of boys. Wc found ilie room
furnished with benches of the rudest con
struction, apparently as old as the building
itself, from which some twenty boys, from
eight to twelve or fourteen years of age,
rose to receive us, as curious no doubt to
look upon two born Americans as we were
10 look upon a school in the room where
Luther learned “the heads of the Cate
chism, the Ten Commandments, the. Apos-
and ~ | a,
‘y /M M J k 9 fIH \ I B 1 dL 4 V / Jm § A
m l a. j a \ , aAW a / H
j ||g fm 9 ga g§ I ‘ ||r |g jgi ra
I 1 v w v + l-v® .vX#
HT® j ‘**'% .j* .. ‘ \_.; * f* 1 \ * ‘
v —- •
ties’Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, some hymns,
some forms of prayer,” &o.
The school-room is small and can scarce
ly accommodate move than 25 or 30 schol
ars. A poor picture of Luther and a por
trait of the last King of Prussia adorn the
wtills. ‘l'iic other school-room we did not
see. Tile rooms above have been made
more modern in their appearanre; but the.
house as a whole, with its solid walls, can
easily be believed, even though we had no
good proof of the fart, to be a relic <>f thee
times preceding the Reformation, and seems
likely to stai das much longer—a sort of
Mecca for the admirers of Luther.
Not far from the hotel, in a small open
place on the main street, stands the church
vhere the family of Luther attended the
Catholic service until the labors of Martin
caused the introduction of a purer worship.
It is not now precisely as in those days, for
it has been repaired—as the inscription over
the door has it, “Renovation, 1020,” —a
modest, plain building of stone, with a solid
stone tower. Within also plain—the choir
ornamented with an altar, surmounted vviili
carved work and ancient paintings, and
with the monuments ol various Counts of
of Mansfeld. The front of the gallery is
divided into pnnnels, each containing a
picture illustrating some portion of Biblical
history.
Saturday afternoon we went tip to the
ruined castle of the old Counts of Mansfeld,
•once an almost impregnable stronghold
It stands upon the brow of the bill, and
looks down upon the town. In the rear it
was defended by a double wall of immense
strength, and with two deep fosses or ditch
es. A portion of one of these ditches, ex
cavated in the solid sandstone, is now the
prison of a family of noble deer. Some idea
of the extent may thus be formed, to which
t ! is portion of the defences was carried.—
We went down into the vaulted apartment
beneath the wall, where once the silver,
produced by. the mines of Mansfeld, was
coined. We .looked into the court where
once the knights practised feats iti arms,
and passed over the bridge and through the
thick, arched gateway into the inner court.
Here, on the left, was the golden hall, now
rhofiess, and that elegant balcony now in
ruins, upon the corner of which was once
the seat ol (he dame who distributed the
| iizes to successful knights, in the tourna
ment- Here is the chapel still carefully
preserved from the ravages of time, by the
owner who has repaired and rendered hab
itable a portion ol the edifice. What gave
it the greatest interest in our eyes was the
pulpit constructed of small iron liars? and
rods, from which Luther, on Ids visits home,
used to preach to the Count and Ins family.
Crossing the court, and passing by the
chapel and inhabited part, we came through
a gateway, out upon a broad platform,
supported by a huge wall at least CO feet
high, from’ whence we could look down
directly into the town, and far away over
bill and plain—the scenes of the Reformer’s
early life. Seen from above, the town ap
pears ina triangular form. Though con
taining some 1500 inhabitants, its greatest
extent cannot be much more than half a
mile. Ti e bills which rise beyond and
around ate now c vered only with fields,
and while we looked, groups of peasantry
were engaged getting in the harvest. Men
ami women worked together in the field,
and occasionally a woman with a basket
on her back, and benrlii g beneath the load
within, reminded me of the words ol Lu
ther, “My mother often carried the wood
tipnfi Lniolit eujn. where
withal to bring its children up.”
On one of tlie staircase towers of the
castle, which js no longer of use. for the
apartments to which it led have long been
desolate.still remains the figure of a knight,
cut in stone, with an inscription in German,
‘iCount Albert VII., born 14^0,died 15G0.”
I hardly know on what principle of associ
ation ties should have called up the last
sermon of Luther preached at Eilslebcn, on
the Monday before lie died. It was on the
passage in Matthew, where the Saviour
gives utterance to his thanks that “these
tilings arc hid from the wise and prudent.”
A stranger in Mansfeld, in 1 IS4, tirght
naturally have imagined that for the young
Count Albert VII.. surrounded by all the
magnificence of the castle, being reared in
the court of one of the most powerful and
important of the knightly houses, instructed
in all the learning of the ago, and looking
forward, as the heir of all around him, to
the time when lie should mingle with the
great and powerful in war or in the halls of
the Emperor,—that for this child Albert, a
career might be open which should change
the current of human affairs. Such a thing
would have seemed possible. But point
down to the low house then standing yon
der in the poorest part of the town, and tell
him that a few months since a poor miner,
with bis wife and one little infant, not yet a
year old, came from the neighboring town
ol Eisleben, and took up their abode in thai
mean and lowly dwelling. The father
works in the forest or in the mine as he has
opportunity, and so poor are they that the
mother, like other peasants works in the
woods, and brings fuel into the town upon
her back, to obtain the bare necessities of
life. That poor infant, born iii want and
nursed in poverty, is to change the face of
the world, and the heir of this stately castle
is to be known to future geueiations, not
from his deeds m war, not from wisdom in
pence, but as a friend arid protector of that
rafim, lecrgla,” fton-sM? Slfeafeer 7. 18-50.
,- § *
poor miner’s son ! How impossible would
such a prophecy have appeared! lhu it
was so. God hid his wisdom from the
wise and prudent, and revealed it unto
babes. It was one of the noble traits in
Luther, that when, in after years, the poor
child of the cottager became the acquaint
ance and friend of the soiUof the lord of the
castle, lie never forgot or learned to despise
the poor class from which he rose. His
letters and his tabletalk alike show how
•uperior to all pride ar.d vanity was his
noble mind.
It was delightful to see with what affec
tionate regard the memory of Luther is still
cherished in Mansfeld. While Eisleben is
overrun with visitors to see Luther’s birth
place, lew in comparison visit the place
where be was reared. We found, there
fore, here no professed guides, but were
entertained and instructed by those who
could do it from their love and veneration
for the Reformer. A. W. T.
Gottingen, Sept. 10, ISSO.
REV. DR. COTE GF~t7]E GRANDE
LIGNE MISSION.
A enrresdondent of the Christian Chroni
cle furnishes the following account of the
late l)r. Cote, gathered from a funeral dis
course preached by Dr. Cramp.
Montreal, Oct. 14, ISSO.
Messrs Editors. — l had the pleasure,
last evening, of listening to an interesting
discourse from Rev. Dr. Cramp, occasion
ed by the . recent decease, at llinesburg,
Vt., on the 4th inst , of that excellent man,
Rev. Dr. Cote, of the Grand Ligue. Mis
sion. Dr. Cramp chose for Ids text the
words of St. Paul, recorded iu Galatians i.
23: 21, “But they had heard only, that lie
which persecuted us in times past, now
preacheth the faith which once he destroy
ed; they glorified God in me.” After ex
plaining the circumstances under which
these words were wr tten, and refering to
the facts in the life and character of Paul,
which rendered his conversion one of such
interest to the Chr.slums, and (he effect
which the conversion produced, Dr. Cramp
entered upon tiic more direct considera
tion ofthe subject which had brought the
congregation together.
C. II 0. Cote was born in the city of
Montreal, in 1->OS, received his education
here, studied medicine, and settled iu Aca
die. From early youth, Romanism disgust
ed 1 1 is mind. lie was told by the priests
that this was Christianity, If so he felt
that lie must renounce it. Accordingly, lie
became a Deist, after having procured
and carefully stuffed de'stical writings.—
Si.il, like thousands ol others in tins coun
try and Europe, he retained his outward
connection with the Romish church.—
Among other circumstances which served
lo open his eyes, and weaken his hold upon
Catln I eism, was the following: For some
offense he had been ordered by his priest,
to say so many prayers. In order to save
time lie underto k to discharge his penance
while ridmgon horse buck. Suddenly the
horse started and jumped one side. The
movement caused Dr. Cote to drop his
heads. Naturally ol a quick and irritable
temperament, befell to swearing,and cursed
lior e, beads, priest and all. On returning
to the village, he went to the priest, and
confessed his sin, tell ng him, among other
things, that he hud cursed his bends. The
holy man, as if horror stricken, refused him
absolution. Full of terror, for he was yet
held last by the chains of superstition, lie
returned to liis home and consulted liis
wile as to what was hert to be done. Af
ter talking the matter over, by her advice
he concluded to go to another priest iu a
neighboring village, saying at the sumo
time if the “old fool,” as he called his own
confessor, would not absolve him, his neigh
bor, lie thought, would. He. hastened away
to lire ghostly father, told him all liis sin,
and even went so far us to confess that he
had called his own priest an “old fool.”
Whether the good man was most affected
by the sorrow of the penitent, or the abgi
lution fee, we are not informed. lie ab
solved him, however thus showing that all
the priests of Rome are not agreed what
arc- and what ar.e not venial offenses.
Iu 183 G he became a member ofthe pro
vincial Parliament. On account of the part
lie took in the troubles which broke out in
1837-33, lie was exiled. Jn the hour of
liis afflict.on he sought for comfort iu 1 1 is
Deistical principles, but ho found it not- In
the place of his banishment he became ac
quainted with certain individuals who were
in the habit of meeting together for prayer.
He perceiv tid that they had sources of con
solation in tho trials of life, of which lie
knew nothing, ilc took up Ills hible and
read it. Whole nights were passed in tiffs
way. On one occas.on, lie went with a sick
friend, who like’ him was a Deist, to a wu
tei'iDg place. While there, this friend died
in despair. The effect on him was to shake
his confidence in Deism. About this time
lie heard a sermon from these words, “Be
lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou
slialt be saved.” He saw intellectually,
the falsity ofthe Romish plan of salvation,
and that through Christ alone could he he
saved. The sermon made a deep impres
sion on liis mind. Still lie had no Chris
tian peace. In his anxiety he sent for Mr.
Uoussy,uud by God’s blessing on liis pray
ers he was enabled lo submit his heart to
Christ. Not long after, within the space of
two years, forty or fifty Canadians, through
his labors, were hopefully converted. At
THE -TRUTH IN LOVf.
St Pie. l)r. Cote preached aiifid great op- ‘
position front the Catholics, two hundred
persons beeat o Christians. His labors in
connectioti with the Grand L gne Mission
are well known. He traveled extensively
through Canada and the States, soliciting
in itsbehalt. lie had gone to the Lamoille I
Association, iu llinesburg, for the purpose I
ol awakening a sympathy iu behalf of the !
Mission. Wt have two accounts of his
death, one iioni an enemy and the other
from u-fifirtwr The one l)r. Cramp read
from the Melanges Religienx, a Catholic
paper, the substance of wliitth was, that Dr
(.'ote was preaching in a chapel which be
longed to his sect, while at the same time a |
Catholic priest was preaching ina neighbor
ing church. All at once he felt a sense of
suffocation, ajncl fell down in great agoi y.—
Some expressions of remorse, in view of
his life, fell iVom his lips, but he died with
out manifesting any signs of true repen
tance. Nay, he went so far as to try to
pervert a young man who stood at his side. I
but thanks hr- to God, he was oil his guard,
and could lif t be shaken from the faith.—
The other account from Mr. Normtuidcan,
ofthe Grand Ligue Mission, was, that the
Dr. on the 15lh ult., went to Vermont.—
While at Hineslmrg, attending the Lam
oille Association, lie was seized with a vio
lent pain in hi> arm. Immediately he went
to the house ofthe family wiiosc hospitali
ties lie was enjoying, and took his bed. At
first lie supposed liis pain was rheumatism,
hut soon discovered it lo be neuralgia. On
the 21st lie gave tip all hopes of recovery.—
On the 25th, however, he felt better, and
on the 28th thought himself so much better
that he CiitiLLbe left alone. Soon, howev- :
cr, a great change came over him. 11c lin
gered along > until the morning ofthe 3d
inst , when he became unconscious. In
the alternoon, however, lie revive]. Being
asked how lie fell in liis mind, ho replied,
“Quite well. Iu Jesus is all my confidence.
lamn it troubled in view of death.” At
one o’clock Friday morning lie breathed
his last. His remains were carried to Grand
Ligue, where they were buried. Dr. Cote
died in the very strength of years, being
but 42 years of age. Yours truly.
N.’ N. E.
“OUR WILLS ARE OURS.”
We • ■ met with a more beau
tiful, striking, and comprehensive thought, j
either in poetry or prose, than one which is
to he found in the invocation or prelude of j
Tennyson’s new poem, In Memoriam :— ;
“.)ur wills are oars, we know not Itow,
Our wills ire ours to make tlium Thine.”
It is not often that a thought so far-reach- !
ingaud suggestive is expressed in words so
few and simple. In the first line the poet
recognizes the great fact of the freedom of !
the human’ will, as revealed to conscious- :
ness, tit the same time that he recognizes
also the mystery which encircles this fact.
But the second line contains a thought in
add.lion, which we wish could he lodged
in every mind, so that it would come con
tinually to the notice of men, and he pon
dered inai y times a day, and amid all the
various lusincss of life. Our wills are j
made free, hat wc in our own freedom, and
by our ow i choice, might subject them in
willing obedience to the Supreme V-ill.
This is tlifi great end for which the will is
made free, that God’s intelligent creatures
may liavellhc consciousness, and the joy
which springs therefrom, of making a free
of their utils back to Him; ready at the
same time lo say, asdic] the servant of God I
of old, “For all things are of Thee, and of
thine owniliave we given thee.” In the ;
whole range of our earthly activity, there ;
is no act sclgreat, as when we lay down
our will humbly tit the feet of Him who has
a right to rejgu in, and rule over us.—Con
gregationalist.
TIIE WORK OF SAVING SOULS.
The work of saving men is a great work,
requiring study, patience, and the wisdom
i hat is from above. There is no part of his ]
work for which n pastor ordinarily feels so
much Ills own iucompetency as that of ap
plying the tf-utli to individual minds in per
sonal conversation. There comes to him
a soul burdened with its guilt, and seeking
instruction mid light,-—or a mind but par
tially awakened, and needing to he more
thoroughly convicted of sin and then direct
e J to the Saviour, or a mind bewildered by
error, or besotted with ignorance and vice, j
It is easy to declaim in general terms about
the plan of salvation and the requirements
ofthe Gospel, to insist upon repentance, i
faith and godly living—but to say just the j
right tiling at the right time, to inspire hope j
where hope, is needed, and to awaken fear
where there is a tendency to a dangerous
self-confidence—logivesuch instructions as
under God shall result in the conversion of
a soul—this is a responsibility at which
even ail angel might tremble. The respon- j
sibihty ol'a physician in a critical case of j
acute disease, where the life,of the patient
is iu liis hands, and anxious friends await
the is-ue, is nothing in comparison with the
responsibility of him who is called to guide
an immortal mind.
How much then do we need the influ- ;
cnee of the Holy Spirit to attend and suc
ceed our efforts to save sinners! After all
our study howto approach different classes !
of min v, after the most careful discrimina
tion which wc can employ; we shall yet of
tentimes fail of reaching the state of per
rons for whom wc are interested, so as to
he of saving benefit to.them. But there is
one who reads the hearts, who knows the
inmost thoughts, who can touch every
spring of action in the sou!, and can make
the truth effectual. Ah, this is a work that
call# for prayer, that makes us feel ? itr
nothingness and our dependence upon God.
— lndependent.
HOW TO FILL A CHURCH.
Few men arc saved who stay away from
the sanctuary. Few sanctuaries are full.
Few Christians do what they might and
ought to fill them. Sometimes the fault is
with the preacher, but mere commonly
with the people. Some families are in their
pews in the morning but rarely at a second
service. Some work so hard during the
week that they are indisposed to go.—
Sonic live remote from the sanctuary, and
have no means of conveyance. Owing to
distance, fnt'guc, indolence, and neglect,
scarcely a community can be found where
one half the population regularly make their
way to the house of God on the Sabbath;
and many do not furnish one-fuurth oi’
constant church goers. What is the rem
edy ?
Effective arrangements forsnpplying fam
ilies with good reading will induce a love
for hearing the Word; or, if men will stay
at home, they will have some instruction.
The steadiest attendants at church are those
who study the Bible and read good books
at home. Filling the shelves with good
books will help to fill the sanctuary; while
starvation at home will not induce a relish
for,or a resort to, the spiritual repast at the
house of prayer.
Systematic visits should be made by the
members of the church among the families
who neglect (lie ordinances of God’s house,
in cities and compact communities; and
commodious scats should be reserved for
strangers, and those who tire not regular
attendants. Or, where this is not done,
pew occupants ought ever to be ready to
relinquish a comfortable corner to allow
some perishing sinner the opportunity ol
hearing the Gospel.
In farming districts, where there arc
more or less families or neighborhoods re
siding at a considerabledistancefrom church
who seldom if ever go to the sanctuary for
want ofa vehicle, let those who own horses
and wagons furnish accommodations for
those who do not, and especially fur the
poor. A gentleman in purchasing and im
proving a little farm in the country, furnish
ed a team with which the many neglecters
of the chinch in that neighborhood might
lie carried within the sound ofthe Gospel.
Many others could do tiie same. Here is
missionary work for pious or patriotic far
mers. If they will fit up roughly made
omnibuses, with plenty of seats, and let
young and old occupy them every Sabbath,
(he doer ofthe deed will be tho happier for
Ins disinterestedness; the churches may be
filled; the hearts of ministers be gladdened;
light penetrate darkened minds, and ne
glected neighborhoods; and the Gospel be
honored by the illustration of its benevolent
tendencies in practical relations.
EXCEPT IT DIE.
In a village grave yard, on a chaste and
beautiful tombstone, I read an inscription
that has dwelt in my mind since reading it,
as peculiarly striking and appropriate.—
The record of virtues bright and lovely,
was first made, and then followed these
words,
“Thai which thou s owe si is not quickened
except it die,”
It. was u precious, precious thought, and
I bent my head upon the marble and stu
died the blessed truth. It was pure revela
tion; reason would have never reached it,
yet i believed it with till my heart, and saw
that immortality is only through the tomb.
J'Jxcejtt it (lie! 1 have sown some seed
in the ground The lamb of my affections
has been laid in the tomb. lie was sown
in corruption, hut lie will bo raised again.—
liis dust w.l! he quickened, and l.ke the
grain that lias been sown, lie will start into
life and beauty, and bloom in tlicp aradise o!
God forever. In this thought there is com
fort most comforting: nay, it excites me,
and stirs me, and half persuades mo that it
was belter far to bury seed than keep it, —
It will yield a harvest of joy hereafter,
Tins tombstone has spoken to inv soul.—
It has given me hope and strength iti the
midst ol weakness and grief. Reader, be
reaved reader, that whie.ii thou sowesl is
not quickened, except it die. — Presbyterian.
A CHILD'S VICTORY OVER DEATH.
What a blessing to any hind tire Sabbath
schools! Who can calculate the vast amount
of happiness conferred upon Die human
family by this simple though powerful agen
cy? Eternity alone will disclose the bless
ed results that have flowed, that are flowing
and shall continue to flow from the com
bined exertions of those honored individu
als who consecrate their time and talents to
this high and holy work.
It was my privilege to he thus engaged
for many years, and I can therefore sym
pathize with those who tuc thus employed;
there will he much to grieve and disheart
en a pious mind, hut yet the encourage
ments to preserve are great and numerous.
Allow me to give a brief sketch ofa young
and interesting disciple ol the Lord Jesus. —
When on a visit to a friend in a neighbor
, mg county the request was made for me to
j visit a little girl who appeared to me in dy-
J. TANARUS, BLAIN, Printer.
. ing circumstances; it was delujlitful to seS
her placid countenance, though apparently
quite sensible of the the near approach of
the last enemy. When the inquiry was
put to her, “Would you not like to recover?’’
she meekly answered, “No;” and vvheu
pressed to give her reasons why she pro- 1
i'ered death to life, the reply was strikingly
impressive when given in all sincerity by
one so young—‘l tear I might sin against
my Savior.” This dear child had attended
a Sabbath school in connection with a
Weslevnn chapel in the town; and so at
tached was.she to her teacher and her class,
that when so weak ns to he unable to walk
the distance, she would he carried to her
accustomed place, that she might listen to
those glorious truths which proved such a
solace to her spirit whilst laboring under
protracted suffering, and which could con
fer true and substantial peace in the pros l
pent of death itself.
How remarkably was the power nndeffU
caey of divine truth exemplified in the ex
perience of this youthful disciple. She lin
gered a few weeks niter the interview to
which reference has been made, and died
very happy. A short time'before her deatll
pointing upwards, she exclaimed: “Angels
wait for me;” and the last words she utter
ed were, “Victory! Victory! Victory!”—*
Multitudes besides the suhjectolthis imper
fect sketch have had occasion to bless God
for the establishment of Sabbath schools.—■
Let teachers persevere.— Children s Mag.
IF THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY;
A glover’s apprentice in Edinburg re
solved to qualify himself for a higher pro
fession. The relation with whom he lived
j was very poor, and could not afford a can
: die and scarcely a lire at night, and as it
was only after shop hours that this yonng
man had leisure, he had no alternative hut
to go into the streets at night, and plant
himself with his book near a shop-window*
the lights of which enabled him to read it;
and when they were put out, he usetf to
climb a lamp-post, and hold on with ond
hand, while he read with the other. That
person lived to ho one of the greatest orien
tal scholars in the world, and the first book
in Arabic printed in Scotland was his pro
duction.
TIIE CO MET ARY” WORLDS.
The wonderful characteristics which mark
| the flight of comets through space; the
: suddenness with which they Maze forth;
their exceeding velocity, and their terrific
appearance; their eccentric motions, sweep
ing towards the sun, from all regions and in
all directions, have rendered these bodies
objects ol terror in all ages of the world*
While the planets pursue an undeviating
course round the sun, in orbits nearly cir
cular, and almost coincident with the plane
of the earth’s orbit, all revolving harmoni
ously in the smne direction, the comets per
form their revolutions with every possible
eccentricity,confined to no particular plaHe,
and moving indifferently in accordance with,
or opposed to, the general motion of the
planets. They c une up from below the
plane of the ecliptic, or plunge downwards
towards the sun from above; sweep swiftly
round this their great centre, and with in
credible velocity wing their flight far into
the fathomless regions of space, in some
cases never again to reappear to human
vision.
lii the early ages of the world, superstl
t on regarded these wandering fiery worlds
with awe, and looked upon them as omens
of pestilence and war: and indeed, evsri
in modern times, no eye can look upon the
fiery train spread out fur millions of miles
athwart the sky, and watch the eccentric
motions of these anomalous objects without
a feeling of dread. The movements of the
planets inspire confidence. They are ever
visible, and true to their- appointed times;
while the comet, erratic in its course, bursts
suddenly and unannounced upon the sight,
and no science can predict in the outset its
certain track—whether it may plunge into
the sun, or dash against one ol the planetary
systems, cr even come into collision with
onr own earth, is equally uncertain, until
after a snfiicient number of observation*
shall have been made to render the coinnu-v
tuioii of the elements of its orbit possible.
Previously to the discovery of the law
of universal gravitation, comets were look
ed tiponasati omalotts bodies, of whose mo
tions it was quite impossible to take any
account. My some philosophers they were
regarded as meteors kindled into a blaze in l
the earth’s atmosphere, and when once ex
tinguished they were lost forever. Others
looked upon them as permanent bodies, re
volving in orbits fur above the moon, and!
reappearing at the end of long, but certain
intervals. When, however, it was discov
ered that under the influence of gravhafi'on,
any revolving worlds might describe eitheT
of the four curves, the circle, elipse, para
bola, or hyperbola, it at once became* man
ifest that tiie eccentric movements &( the
comets might bo perfectly represented by
giving to them orbits of the parabolic or
hyperbolic form, the sun being located in
the focus of the curve. According to this
theory, the comet would become visible iu
its approach to its perihelion, or nearest
distance from the sun—would here blaze
with uncommon splendor, and iu its recess
to the remote parts of the orbit, would
gradually fade from the sight, relaxing its
speed, and performing a vast portion of its
vast curve far beyond the reach of humm*
vision.— l’rq/. Mitchell .,
.'Number’ 4s,