the harvest when we were to start together upon our travels through that lovely foreign land.

Now I dreamed that the laws of this foreign land required that every guidesman, before he could conduct others to view the beauties of his native country, must first take certain solemn oaths. My guidesman had not yet been thus initiated; therefore, before he could be allowed to start, he had to enter a large house; I followed, to be near him. In that large house sat many grave and wise old men; upon a table lay open the Holy Bible; and I dreamed that my guidesman stood up, and placing his hand upon the Bible, swore faithfully to obey the laws and to uphold the Republican government of his own country, as founded on the word of God; and then as solemnly he swore to EXTIRPATE by every means in his power, as being contrary to the word of God, the laws and government of England, to dethrone England's king, and change the whole of England's constitution.

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As if a deadly plague had seized my body on hearing these awful words, the blood froze in every vein, and motionless I stood; but, in a moment, all the patriotic feelings of my soul rushed with a burning fury through my frame; and I exclaimed, "Oh, heavens! can I in silence hear my king, the laws, and government, those bulwarks of my native country's peace and happiness, thus shamefully abused?" Then I dreamed the kind strangers with eagerness pressed forward, and with looks of tenderness endeavoured, in vain, to sooth my wounded feelings. They told me it was Now scarcely more than a mere form, the words were Now almost without a meaning; they wished I had never heard them; they told me, notwithstanding the solemn oath I had just heard him take, that my guidesman loved my king, and even venerated the wise government of my dear native land. Impossible!" I cried, "words must have a meaning, if not on earth, they are registered in heaven; that oath was taken at a solemn moment, in a solemn place, before the King of kings, and I shall believe the guidesman far too good, thus to mock the God of heaven. And oh, how bad and villanous must that be esteemed which pious men thus solemnly vow to extirpate! and oh, what fellowship can I have with those who hold thus vile what I esteem most precious! I do believe the guidesman was sincere; and never, never shall I allow myself to be guided by him. If I cannot otherwise see the beauties of this land, then I shall never behold them. Seen at such a cost, I should discover no beauty in the fairest of your prospects; already to me your land appears quite changed, your verdant valleys and your wooded hills, that looked at first so bright and smiling, are now to me but as a waste and howling wilderness. Not all the kindness of the strangers, not all the goodness of the guidesman, can tempt me to remain. I long to be away. Oh, England! England! would that I had never left thee!

And then I dreamed as if I bounded back to England. And whence once again its hallowed shores opened before my loving sight, it seemed as if too had all been changed-its sky was bright, its sun was glorious, its pastures green, and living waters flowed on every side. And when again I partook of those bounties which, through the long course of many ages, an all-bountiful Creator had made England's kings and governors instrumental in dispensing to her favoured people; and when again I stood in the ancient hall of my ancestors, and heard once more the loved voice of my father, upon my bended knees I fell, and thanked the "Giver of every good and perfect gift" that his restraining grace had thus prevented me from being a traitor to my king and country!

And now I dreamed as if my dream were ended, and I MYSELF were musing over IT; when, lo! I dreamed that Conscience took a form, and stood in white before me; and with a grave, reproachful air, she thus addressed me :

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Episcopalian! in admitting the patriotic conduct of that young Englishman, thou hast condemned thyself. Dost thou believe Episcopacy to be of origin divine? Dost thou believe the Episcopal Church in Scotland, of which thou art a member, to be a branch, both true and pure, of Christ's one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church? Dost thou believe that, therefore, within her pale are the means of grace, the hopes of glory-that with her ministry the Lord himself has promised to be present, even to the end of time? Episcopalian! I know that this is thy belief. How, then, couldst thou sit without emotion-nay, with the semblance of approval, to hear that Church denounced as worthy of extirpation? How couldst thou with thy silver and thy gold strengthen the hands and further the cause of those who are thy Church's sworn foes? How couldst thou give them the right hand of fellowship? If all the money, and all the influence, her own children have given unto her enemies had been bestowed upon the Church herself how much more glorious, how much more efficacious, would she now have been! Has thy Church, Episcopalian, no missionary schemes for thee to aid ?-no sick for thee to visit?-no poor for thee to clothe and feed?-no poor man's child for thee to educate? Has thy Church no more temples for thee to build, that thou must aid in the erection of her extirpator's camp? Think not her temples are sufficient, until not one Episcopalian in all Scotland has, as it were, to worship in a foreign land, because his Church is distant many miles. Blush, oh, Episcopalian, at thy past remissness, and learn a lesson from the visions of the night; be zealous for the honour, and maintain the glory of thy Redeemer's Church.

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But, oh, Episcopalian, never forget that it is not enough for thee manfully to defend the Church from open enemies and secret foes; it is not enough for thee to know that she is the blood-bought bride of the Lamb of God—that her bishops, priests, and deacons, are of apostolic succession-that in her flow regenerating streams and sanctifying grace-that, undiminished from, unadded to, she gives to all her children the holy word of God-that from the cradle to the grave she never leaves them-that sublime and heavenly are her solemn public services, her Prayer-book, second only to the Bible-that not one day in seven, but each day of the seven, her gates are open, and her children called to come and sing unto the Lord, and heartily to rejoice in the strength of their salvation." Oh! it is not enough for thee to know and to admire all this if thy knowledge and thine admiration go no farther, they will but sink thee deeper down in hell. Thou must not only know, but thou must act and feel. It is not enough to know that grace divine was given to thee in holy baptism; that at the sacred font thou didst become in Christ a regenerate child of God, and heir of glory: for, oh, remember that the Lord himself has said, Every branch in me that beareth not fruit shall be taken away; if a man abide not in me, he shall be cast into the fire and burned." Thy Church, Episcopalian, holds up to thee the Lord Jesus Christ as thine example in all things. He went about continually doing good. Go thou, Episcopalian, and do likewise. Thy Church tells thee the Lord Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life that he has loved thee with an everlasting love-that he died and rose again to purchase thy redemption that he now gives thee his holy Spirit, his finished work, his spotless robe of righteousness. And then thy Church, Episcopalian, demands of thee faithfully to use the freely given grace; and for all these unbounded mercies thou art to love the Lord Jesus Christ with so intense a love as shall make painful to thee whatever is dishonouring to Christ, and in opposition to his holy will and righteous laws. Therefore, if the ball, the midnight revel, and the public show do not honour Christ, what doest thou there, Episcopalian? Canst thou be happy there? If the gambling

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table, race-course, and the stage, do not honour Christ, what doest thou there, Episcopalian? Canst thou be happy there? But if the daily public service of the Church be honouring to Christ, why, then, art thou absent, Episcopalian? Canst thou be weary there? If the remembering thy Saviour's dying love, in breaking bread and drinking wine at the holy eucharist, be honouring to Christ, why art thou absent, Episcopalian? Thy Church invites thee to her altar each Lord's-day, canst thou be weary there? If it be honouring to Christ to bring the body under subjection, why, then, dost thou neglect the fasts and festivals the Church appoints? Do they profit thee nothing? If it be honouring to Christ to receive with a cheerful, happy spirit the many, many blessings and enjoyments bestowed upon thee, and to be at all times meekly resigned to the will of thy heavenly Father, knowing that

"Tis he appoints thy daily lot

And he does all things well"

Why then, Episcopalian, art thou ever gloomy, unthankful, discontented? And if it be honouring to Christ that in his consecrated house of prayer, the rich and poor should meet together, why dost thou, Episcopalian, sit in thine own comfortable, well-lined pew, within thy fashionable Church, and leave the poor man comfortless, to worship God midst dirt and ruins? And if Almighty God has given to the sons of men many and various talents, the cultivation of which is so conducive to man's pleasure, and adds so much to man's enjoyment— talents for music, painting, sculpture, architecture-why then, Episcopalian, not use these talents to thy Saviour's honour? Why not consecrate them to the glory of thy Redeemer? Why not make the temples of thy God the noblest edifices in all thy land? Why wilt thou dwell in thine own ceiled house, and ornament thy pleasure-grounds, build lovely structures to commemorate the illustrious among mankind, and let the house of God remain a common or unsightly pile, as if thy God would spurn offerings brought him, fruits of those very talents he himself bestowed?

Consider thy ways, oh, Episcopalian! Redeem the time, because the days are evil. Fear thou not: let Rome excommunicate; and let Geneva extirpate; but God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are with, and so no weapon formed against her of Satanic or human workmanship shall ever prosper. Remember, that the presumptuous Church of Rome looks at thy Church with eagles' eyes, and pants for her destruction, knowing full well that the Church's pure Catholic doctrine and discipline is the most insurmountable barrier to her usurping power; for the Church is the most formidable among Rome's adversaries, the surest to unmask the anti-Scriptural and blood-stained visage of Popery. Remember, oh, Episcopalian, that in the land, in Scotland, where it is thy lot to dwell, the Established Church, and all the various sects, her most unruly offspring, are joined in "solemn league and covenant to EXTIRPATE the Church. Nor are the Papists and Presbyterians thy Church's only foes, for from within her own pale, and from among her office-bearers, have gone forth ungrateful children and traitor pastors, who brand her as false and superstitious, and proclaim it sin to remain in her communion; sooner than be subject to her bishops and obedient to her canons, they pronounce it better to be without a bishops' government altogether, and to stand isolated from every other Church. They glory and rejoice in having separated from her; they call her formal, cold, a lifeless image. Oh, then, Episcopalian, remember the eyes of enemies are upon thee; they will charge the follies, sins, and errors of the

Church's erring, lukewarm, faithless children to the Church herself. Oh, then, beware; cause not her enemies to blaspheme her; but show thou, in principle and practice, what it is thy Church would have thee be and do. Oh! be thou ever "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith," laying aside every weight, and the sin that does most easily beset thee. Oh! be thou free "from pride, vain glory and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness;" as well as from "rebellion, false doctrine, heresy, and schism." Pray thou for thine "enemies, persecutors, and slanderers." Live in peace; do good to all. Walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit-walk faithfully and humbly with thy God. And thus thou shalt constrain thy Church's bitterest enemy to say, in the words of the patriarch, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not, this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!"

A bright light seemed to shine around me; a peaceful, joyful feeling filled my heart; strains of sweetest music sounded in my ears; and I awoke to find it all a dream! But I was grateful for that dream!

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.

Extract from "Bulletin de la Commission Centrale de Statistique de Belgique."

Comptes de l'Administration de la Justice Criminelle en Belgique (1826 à 1839). Analyse par M. Ed. Dupétiaux, Membre de la Commission Centrale.

Page 23 (Translation).

DURING the period of five years, from 1830 to 1834, there was no capital execution in Belgium. A criminal condemned for murder was guillotined at Courtrai on the 9th of February, 1835; some time after, a second execution took place at Audenarde. During the period from 1836 to 1839, of 58 capital condemnations pronounced, two only were executed.

It will be remembered, that when the question of reconstructing the scaffold was under consideration, to justify that extreme measure the increasing number of great crimes was alleged, and the imperative necessity of making what was called an example. We have wished to ascertain whether, in effect, the number of capital crimes had increased within the period of the suspension of the punishment of death, and whether, since its practical restoration, there had been a reduction in the number of great criminals.