that cause which will soon absorb every otherthe cause of Jesus Christ.

YOUNG FEMALES, the church of God calls on you. Give it your lives, and your all. Sympathize, like the "daughters of Jerusalem," with the Redeemer, in his efforts to save a dying world. Imitate the unwavering devotedness to Him, which was so characteristic of woman, during the trying scenes of the crucifixion :

"Not she with trait'rous kiss the Saviour stung;
Not she denied him with unholy tongue :
But when Apostles shrunk, did dangers brave,
Last at the cross, and earliest at the grave."

LECTURE II.

INTELLECTUAL CULTIVATION.`

Ps. CXLIV. 12.-That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace.

GRAY, in his "Distant Prospect of Eton College," has drawn an exquisite picture of the simplicity, gayety and unconcern of early youth.

Such is the description, which the poet gives of a class of youth, who were sent to the groves of Academus to make those intellectual acquisitions,

which should fit them to fill with honor the learned professions of Great Britain. Many youth, with all the advantages for education offered by an university, have thoughtlessly squandered their privileges, and have never woke up to the "realities" of life, till it was too late. But there is occasionally a person, like Paley, who, after being prodigal of his scholastic advantages, "comes to himself," redeems his time, and wins unfading laurels on the fields of literature.

Most of you have already passed the blithesome period of very early youth, and are beginning to look at life in a graver aspect. Whatever may have been the degree of success, with which you prosecuted study while at the schools, you have now reached that time of life, when you probably realize, more deeply than ever, the importance of a good education.

I shall avail myself of the spirit of the text, to recommend to your increasing regard the subject of INTELLECTUAL CULTIVATION.

My remarks will be confined to the three following topics;

I. Its importance.

II. The obstacles to mental improvement in such a community as this; and

III. The means of overcoming them.

Its importance is apparent,

1. As it is a prominent means of personal enjoyment and influence. It is altogether a mistake to suppose, that, when we have entered upon active life, further mental culture is unnecessary, or incompatible with the successful prosecution of business. The standard of education is now elevated, and is continually rising. The amount of intellectual wealth, which, twenty-five years ago, conferred great enjoyment and influence, is now quite inadequate to produce the same result. During that period, the mind of civilized man has received an impulse, greater perhaps than any preceding century had communicated. Now, a taste for reading very generally prevails. The mind, which does not keep up, in this particular, with the times, feels a degrading sense of inferiority. The respect of others being lost, it soon loses respect for itself. Its enjoyment and influence are now seriously impaired, if not utterly destroyed. This calamitous result cannot be avoided, in this improving age, except by persevering efforts at mental cultivation. The professional man, who should abandon study, will soon find his mind debilitated-his memory weakened -his power of close and long-continued thought

destroyed-and those who were his equals in standing, already become his superiors. Such is the thirst for knowledge-such the "rush of mind," that the man who stands still but a short time, will find himself outstripped by others; his compeers become his masters. This will hold as true of persons engaged in manual-labor occupations, as of professional men. The importance of constant attention to the culture of your minds, is therefore urged upon you by every motive of personal enjoyment and usefulness. Never feel that you are too old to learn. Waller, by incessant cultivation of his taste and imagination, lost none of his poetical power at eighty-two; and the great Newton, in his eighty-fifth year, and only a few days before his death, was found improving his Chronology."

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2. As a matter of pecuniary benefit to yourselves and your employers. My object here is not to urge the sordid motive of money-making as a reason for intellectual improvement, but to illustrate the fact, that superior intelligence always contributes to increase prosperity in business. Time has been, when the converse of this maxim was held to be sound ;-that the more ignorant a person was, the better at least for his employer. Such a principle befitted the feudal institutions of