regions of scientific research, in the heavens above or in the earth be neath, among animate or inanimate beings,—or whether, with the philosopher of mind, we trace the laws which still more directly respect our spiritual and social welfare,-whether we contemplate the scenes of nature around, in their beauty and their loveliness, or are engaged in the daily toils and cares of life, and have little rest of spirit, but on the blessed day of rest for all,-whether we are called to the arduous labors and struggles of duty, or to the more difficult efforts of watchfulness and control within,-whether we are called to do, to bear, or to suffer, we shall find that, by following Christ, we shall approach the Father; that we shall spend our days in the Father's presence as His children; that, resorting faithfully to His throne, we shall find mercy for the past, and grace for the future; and that, having passed through this dark valley, we shall have an entrance into the Father's house, eternal in the heavens.'-pp. 17, 18.

On the sin of Pernicious Example, Dr Carpenter remarks

'The evil practices and opinions of others will furnish no excuse for you at that awful day, when God will judge the world in righteousness, and will render unto every man according to his works. That day will in effect be present to each of us, when life leaves us; and then every one must bear his own burden. You have a clear rule of duty, the words of Jesus, and of those who were sent by him to teach his religion. The words of Jesus are the words of God; they claim your attentive regard and obedience. If you make the rules of duty, as they are contained in the Scriptures, your guide, they will conduct you safely through the journey of life; they will prevent no innocent pleasure; they will increase every joy which has a title to the heart; they will support you under its difficulties and trials; they will cheer you in the near prospect of dissolution; and through the ages of eternity (gracious God, what infinite rewards hast Thou promised to our poor services !), through the countless ages of eternity, you will enjoy happiness beyond the utmost grasp of human imagination. But let me remind you, too, of the alternative. If you neglect the various warnings which are afforded you, of your duty and destination,-if you begin with the presumptuous hope that you will but begin, and continue, as there is then too much reason to fear that you will, in the way which the wicked, and which you too, may call pleasure, but which in reality leadeth to destruction;-I have nothing to present to you but the terrors of the Lord; for indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, will be upon the soul of every one who doeth evil. May God of his great mercy preserve us all from this dreadful state.'-pp. 163, 164.

The Value of Christianity.

What cause have we then to prize the gospel!!-What cause to rest on Jesus, as the sole foundation of our faith and hope!-The way of holiness pointed out,-the means of purification from guilt presented, -pardon and eternal life offered to the penitent and obedient! It is indeed an inestimable gift: it calls for our warmest gratitude to Him 2 z

VOL. IX.

who sent, and to him who brought, the joyous message of forgiveness and everlasting life. Fellow-Christians! while we rejoice in those glorious privileges. which our Christian belief has given us:—while we cultivate the warmest thankfulness to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who sent him to impart to us the blessings of the gospel, and, by the mighty power which He manifested in and by him, assured us of his Divine authority:-while we cultivate, too, a lively and grateful sense of that obedience to God and love to man, which led our Saviour to lay down his life, under circumstances of peculiar shame and suffering, to accomplish the gracious purposes for which he came from God,-let us also bear in mind that, to partake of the blessings of the Christian covenant, we must comply with its terms; and that if we would finally be preserved from the dreadful punishments which await the impenitent and disobedient, and obtain an inheritance among the saints in light, we must regulate our conduct and affections, our heart and life, by the rules of the gospel; we must live as citizens of heaven.'-pp. 197, 198.

Education.

Religious knowledge, really and faithfully imparted, and cultivated and cherished by the individual's own exertion, has an enlarging and expanding influence on the understanding, which mere science seldom possesses. It gives great views, and opens an horizon ever extending. It fills the soul with sublime objects of contemplation. And he who has no other knowledge, than what may be derived from the diligent and faithful study of his Bible, if he have that, has that which is most elevating, most purifying, most salutary to himself, and most beneficial to others. This is true wisdom. But this knowledge is what is only to be acquired by the personal efforts of the individual himself. All our instruction can only prepare him and dispose him to gain it. And in this department of education, especially, which respects most the welfare of the child, we cannot but see that moral and religious instruction is but a small part of moral and religious education. Knowledge is essentially important; but the training of the dispositions, the habits, the principles,-this is the paramount concern-the one thing needful. We may easily teach our children prayers; but to teach them to pray is the difficulty. We may instruct them wisely and well in the duties of truth and justice; but the habit, the principle, of truth, of justice-the careful avoidance of all deceit, falsehood, and fraud, is what is to be produced if we would make our children upright.'-pp. 210, 211.

The close of a sermon on the Ascension of Christ. After citing and a little enlarging upon Daniel vii. 13, 14; and Rev. i. 10-18; and v. 12, 13; the preacher proceeds,

But our thoughts have been sufficiently exercised on what seems beyond the condition of humanity to keep them fixed upon, without destroying the frail tabernacle of flesh. It is good to be here, but we must also be in the world.

6

My object in thus endeavoring to lead your minds to contemplate our ascending and exalted Lord, will not have been answered, if I have merely excited the emotions of joy, or aided the soaring flights of imagination. If we have felt our hearts glow within us, let us remember that the ends of the milder and of the grander displays of Divine power and love, in and by Christ Jesus, can be answered only by their strengthening our faith in him as the Son of God, our desire to imitate and obey him, our appreciation of the importance of his gospel and its inestimable privileges, and our earnest stedfast aim to share in its blessings, and to lead others to share in them, by the obedience of heart and life, by thus glorifying our Father who is in heaven.'

-pp. 351, 352. On the duty of cultivating a Desire to know the Will of God.

We cherish it still more effectually-such, at least, is the general fact by those express acts of duty and religion in which we engage individually; such as the search after Divine knowledge in the Scriptures, meditation on the ways and requirements of God, and direct communion with Him in prayer. We may speculate as we will on the causes of this; and, pursued with sobriety and dutiful desires, investigations as to the way in which God aids and cherishes the purposes and dispositions which He approves in the hearts of His servants, may be, and commonly are, beneficial. But that simple faith in God as a Being that heareth prayer, which may be possessed as effectually by those who have the least mental culture, and the least intellectual power, as by those whom He hath gifted with high endowments of the understanding, and who have carried them to a high perfection by the usual means of cultivation, will lead, abundantly and increasingly, to the wisdom that is profitable to direct-the wisdom of the heart. External aids can never be neglected by him who hath this faith, and who knows even but little of the way in which God guideth His servants in the path in which they go; but the internal aids which He mercifully affordeth to those who seek them perseveringly and faithfully, are of the utmost moment for the dutiful discharge of the work He gives us to perform.'-pp. 416, 417.

The Christian in Death.

'It is the Christian's prayer, as well as his duty, to walk by faith. Under its influence, he can resign himself and all his concerns into the hands of God, and lay his heart to rest in His will. He knows not whether his life here will be prolonged to old age; or whether, while engaged in the active duties of life, he should be one of the innumerable proofs, that in the midst of life we are in death. But he knows

that all must be well with him that feareth the Lord, and that all things work together for good to those who love Him. He knows that nothing is without God; and that joy or sorrow, health or sickness, life or death, are all subservient to His will, that all are his messengers, and that His hand should be acknowledged and adored in all. And where life passes as in His presence, there is room to hope that His

presence will be experienced by the servant of God, when called to pass through the valley of the shadow of death. But if the clouds and darkness of nature should hide, from him and from others, the beamings of the Sun of Divine love, when setting to him as to this life, it still shines with undiminished lustre; and he will see its effulgence in the regions of perfect light, and holiness, and blessedness.

But there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked: and deeply should it be fixed on the heart, that to die the death of the righteous (with solid ground to hope for the mercy of God unto life everlasting through Christ), we must live the life of the righteous. God grant that, by true repentance towards Him, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, we may become heirs of eternal glory!'-pp. 486, 487.

We must forbear, or we could quote many passages of truth and beauty like these. But we will only add our heart's de'sire and prayer' that all who knew and loved the lamented author may feel the full force of these sentiments, and may combine them with what are their just association, the infinitely exalted views which the Scriptures give concerning the Person of our Divine Redeemer, his atonement and righteousness, the unsearchable riches of his grace, his universal empire, and his ability to save to the uttermost those that come unto God through him. The full reception and unchecked influence of these truths will enable us, with a firm faith, to 'look unto 'Jesus,-whom, not having seen, we love; and in whom, though now we see him not, yet believing, we rejoice with joy ' unspeakable and full of glory.'

Art. V. The Art of Needlework, from the Earliest Ages; including some Notices of the Ancient Historical Tapestries. By the Right Hon. the COUNTESS OF WILTON. London: Colburn.

1840.

THERE is something very graceful and appropriate in the

production of such a work as this by a lady, especially by a lady of rank. True, it is the fashion for ladies of rank to write; but the author could scarcely have been influenced by fashion in the choice of such a subject. Whether she was or not, as the effect of her work is likely to be good, we are willing to suppose that her motive was a good one also. We wonder that the subject has never been taken up before; such a work may aspire in some degree to the dignity of history; and blends to a great extent the utile with the dulce.

The art of needlework is of the very highest antiquity; and, if the first rude handiwork of Eve may be entitled to the name,

was the very first that was ever practised in this world, and might possibly have been the result of inspiration.

In whatever manner, however, it found its way amongst us, it must very soon have become of paramount importance; and as it was an art which never could be lost, and which must have been practised constantly, it must in very early times have arrived at great perfection. As soon as those divisions of mankind took place which exempted some of them from common bodily labor, and established a difference between classes, the mode of dress in all probability became a distinction in society. Those who had most leisure would quickly acquire the greatest skill in art, and having the richest materials at command, would exercise their talents to the best effect; and thus would be enabled to provide themselves with raiment of too elaborate and superb a kind to be achieved by any of meaner rank or fortune. Accordingly we find that ornamental needlework was the employment of the fair and noble in the earliest stages of society of which we have any authentic record; and such it continued to be till the increasing wants and ingenuity of mankind enabled them to multiply by some kind of machinery, those productions which were formerly the work of unassisted human hands.

The earliest authentic record of needlework is that with which Lady Wilton begins her work, viz., that of the Tabernacle. There can be no doubt that the Hebrew women derived their knowledge of needlework from the Egyptians; and they in their turn might very probably have gained it from India.

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The realms where arts and empire first were born,

The glorious kingdoms of the rising morn.'

Thus also, many of the stories which in one version or another are known to most of the modern European nations, may be traced to the same origin. They appear in England or Germany, by and bye they are found perhaps in Boccacio or some Italian writer; then they are traced to the Greeks; they took them with much more of their knowledge from the Egyptians; and they again from the ancient Indians: and in this way many of our naturalized stories-if we may use the termmay be traced to the remote origin of eastern antiquity.

Lady Wilton has found of course but little to say on the needlework of the Tabernacle. We suppose, however, that it was necessary to write a chapter' on it; and accordingly we have a chapter-but it is composed of a scene entirely imaginary, and possessing this only claim to our notice, that no one can undertake to prove that it did not happen. Some parts of it are well imagined, and by no means badly executed; and, therefore, though it happens to have nothing whatever to do