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POETRY.

[In Original Poetry, the Name, real or assumed, of the Author, is printed in small Capitals under the title; in Selections it is printed in Italics at the end.]

THE PANGS OF MEMORY.

She leaned upon her harp and sighed,— Deep thought had shadow'd o'er her brow;

In vain some lovely air she tried,

Each chord, alas! was sorrow now. There was a time when ev'ry string

Would vibrate with her touch of joy : Then Hope was young and blossoming, Then pleasure's dream had no alloy. But Hope and Pleasure quickly fled, And left her but the wreck you see, Those early blossoms withered,

And what remains is misery.
The trembling strings too truly tell,
That memory is busy there.

And each soft note's melodious swell
Seems but the breathing of despair.
Soham.

HARVEST,

BY ONE OF THE THANKFUL.
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow."
Thank God for harvest! many a sigh
Has travell'd onward for to day;
Thank God for harvest! many an eye
Will wipe its sorrow all away,
For soaring lark, and glowing sun.
Tell happy harvest is begun.

How many days has it been said,
Sometimes in hope, yet oft in fear,
"Give us this day our daily bread,"
"Lord, let Thy goodness crown the
year,

And whilst Thy priests and people pray,
These threatened judgments turn away."

What is it makes the world so fair, And earth and heaven with music ring,

What gives this freshness to each air, That moves on Zephyr's noiseless wing; And why with such spontaneous voice, Does all the universe rejoice?

Each beast and bird no longer mute, In varied tones attune His praise; Is man the most insensate brute,

Shall he no song of triumph raise? Shout Britain shout, with loud acclaim, The honours of God's blessed name.

A thousand glittering blades are lift,

With rustling music in their sound, And nature's wooed and bounteous gift Falls a rich harvest on the ground. Dejection, grief, and fear are fled, And peace and plenty reign instead. Soham Town's End.

THE THREE MANSIONS.

"O homeless and unsheltered head!" Desponding pilgrim, weep not so: Three mansions are before you spreadTo one you must, to all may go!

Each offers freely, and has room

For all earth's travellers, rich and

poor

The House of God, His Heaven, the Tomb, Have each, for all, an open door.

Go lowly to the House of Prayer, With steadfast faith and contrite breast;

Then shall the Narrow House prepare For weary limbs, a welcome rest.

Cherish the three in daily thought

The House of God, the Grave, and

Heaven, And all by sin and sorrow wrought Shall pass away and be forgiven. Mrs. C. E. Richardson

CONSCIENCE.

Conscience distasteful truths may tell,
But mark her sacred lessons well;
With her whoever lives at strife
Loses his better friend for life.

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MISCELLANY AND EXTRACTS.

TIMOUR the Tartar exclaimed to the prostrate citizans of Damascus ; "You behold me here, a poor, lame decrepid mortal. I am not a man of blood, and in all my wars I have never been the aggressor," Notwithstandnig this boast, millions of miserable victims were sacrificed at his command, and every great city of the east felt for years the loss of population. Human bodies, curiously piled to an immense height, marked the progress of his conquests; and two several pyramids on the road to Delhi, of one hundred thousand, and on the ruins of the venerable city of Bagdad, of ninety thousand heads, gratified his unnatural ferocity. The indignation of the Persians against the invaders, occasioned the murder of a few Moguls in the streets of Ispahan. But the conquered people repented their imperfect submission, and the skulls of seventy thousand Persians were piled in the forms of towers in the principal squares of the city.

THE rainbow is formed by the refraction of the sun's rays in their passsge through a shower of rain, every drop of which acts as a prism, in separating the coloured rays as they pass through it. The union of these coloured rays produce white. This may be proved by painting a card in compartments with the seven prismatic colours, and whirling it rapidly on a pin. The card will appear white.

WATER is composed of minute particles which are not in contact, for spirits of wine may be poured into a glass quite full of water without increasing its bulk or making it overflow. A considerable quantity of salt may likewise be dissolved in water, with the same result, because the particles of salt will lodge themselves in the pores of the liquid, so that the salt and water together will not occupy more space than the water did alone.

SENSUALITY contaminates the body, depresses the understanding, deadens the moral feelings of the heart, and degrades man from his rank in the creation.

1T is pleasant to be virtuous and good, because that is to excel many others: it pleasant to grow better; because that is to excel ourselves: it is pleasant even to mortify and subdue our lusts; because that is victory: it is pleasant to command our appetites and passions, and to keep them in due order, within the bounds of reason and religion; because this is empire.

Modern discoveries have taught us that the sea, the earth, the air the clouds, are replete with a subtile and penetrating matter, which, while at rest, gives us no disturbance; but when excited to action, turns into a consuming fire, which no substance can exclude, no force can resist so that the "elements," which are to "melt with fervent heat," want no accidental matter to inflame them: Since all things may be burnt up by that matter which now resides within them, and is only waiting for the word from its Creator.

HE that witholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. Proverbs xi, 26.

WHAT an anchor is to a ship in a dark night, on an unknown coast, and amidst a boisterous ocean, that is the hope of future happiness to the soul, when distracted by the confusions of the world. In danger it gives security; amidst general fluctuation, it affords one fixed point of rest.

CAN the stream continue to flow when cut off from the fountain? Can the branch flourish when torn away from the stock which gave it nourishment? No more can dependent spirits be happy when deprived of all union with the Father of spirits, and the fountain of happiness.

IF we delay till tomorrow what ought to be done to day, we overcharge the morrow with a burden which belongs not to it.

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Churchwardens and Overseers are to make out before the first day of September, a list of all persons qualified to serve on juries, and affix a copy of such list on the three first Sundays in September on the Church and Chapel doors.

1. On this day, until two Sundays have elapsed, Lists of objections to County Electors to be affixed to Church and Chapel doors.

Between Fifteenth of September and the last day of October, Revising Barristers to hold their Courts.

15. County Court held at Soham. All Plaints for this Court must entered by the 4th.

SOHAM

PLAYFORD'S

MAGAZINE,

AND

Friendly Monitor.

A

OCTOBER, 1847.

MONG the many irresistible proofs of the truth of the Christian Religion, the literal fulfilment of prophecy, has ever claimed peculiar regard. To the pretended philosopher who affects to treat Revelation as a fable, it offers a species

of evidence which cannot be met by a sneer, for it is a plain matter of fact, open to the observation of the world. It has been said by Mr. Hume, “that the Christian Religion, even at this day, cannot be believed by any reasonable person, without a miracle." Every prophecy is a miracle, and is even admitted to be such by this inconsistant writer; and yet, so great was his hatred towards the truth, that he steeled his heart against its reception to the last. Let it be remembered by all those who may be disposed to admire the vain reasonings of this unhappy man, that he was the apologist, if not the advocate for one of the grossest crimes that can be committed against society. Such is almost universally the history of unbelief: "professing themselves to be wise, they become fools: "not liking to retain God in their knowledge, he gives them over to a reprobate mind:" they abhor the purity of the gospel, and therefore pour forth all the venom of their malignity against it.

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The doctrine of chances (says Dr. Keith) or calculation of pro-, babilities, has been reduced into a science, and is now in various ways of great practical use, and securely acted upon in the affairs of life. But it is altogether impossible that short sighted man could select, from the infinite multitude of the possible contingencies of distant ages, any one of such particular facts as abound in the prophecies; and it is manifest that, upon the principle of No. 10. Vol. I.

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