bud, and the flower-garden is almost dug through. The sound of the church bell at Ware pleased me with the reflection that multitudes, even of the humblest classes of men, were at the same moment aspiring to the contemplation of objects the most elevated above their low thoughts and common occupations.'-From his Journal, vol. ii, p. 409, 'He talked of St. John's Gospel, and doubted as to what was the exact meaning of what the Baptist said of Christ-" He shall baptise with the Holy Ghost and with fire;" whether it meant more than the purifying influence of the spirit and doctrines of Christ, as in the manner of Isaiah's vision, when his lips were touched by a live coal from the altar -in other words, fire.'-vol. ii, p. 470. He would from time to time preside, as he had been accustomed whilst at Wheedon, at the meetings round about, of the Bible Society; an association, whose catholic character much interested his religious sentiments.'-vol. ii, p. 408. On his journey to Îndia-' On Sundays, whenever the weather permitted, a church was rigged out upon the quarter-deck, and he read the service from the Book of Common Prayer, to the whole ship's company, in a simple and impressive style.'-vol. i, p. 205. In these extracts, which extend to the whole period of his life, there is evidence enough that Mackintosh thought, felt, and acted as a Christian. I have met with one, and but one, passage, which may be thought to require a different interpretation : 18th, Sunday. I went to the funeral sermon (for Governor Duncan.) The principal part consisted of some arguments of the immortality of the soul. In the eloquence of Cicero, or Fénélon, and Addison, the reasons in behalf of this venerable and consolatory opinion had appeared strong and sound; but in the preacher's statement, they shrunk into a mortifying state of meagreness. Contemplations passed in my mind which I should be almost afraid to communicate to any creature.'— vol. ii, p. 119. Let it be observed, however, that he expresses his satisfaction with the arguments in favour of the immortality of the soul, as adduced by Cicero, Fénélon, and Addison; and it was only the inefficiency of the preacher which produced misgivings-misgivings which were certainly involuntary, and probably transient. For the contemplations which ensued, it is sufficient to remark that we have no evidence that they were any thing more than such airy speculations as may pass through any mind acquainted with the several anti-religious theories that have been broached. • Evil into the mind of God or man May come and go, so unreproved, and leave No spot or blame behind: which gives me hope We certainly know, from his own lips, that his doubts did not issue in positive disbelief of a future state; for setting aside what has been already cited, we find him, in the following interesting incident, pouring the balm of consolation into the bosom of a dying friend. Found poor old C. in bed-joyless, hopeless, and almost lifeless. · He says that his thoughts are fixed on the great veil about to be rent between him and futurity. I endeavoured to give him hopes of a moral government and a future state, which he received with pleasure. Both of us agreed in the innocence of involuntary doubt.'-vol. ii, p. 338. And he has left on record a distinct condemnation of such infidelity as may appear to be implied in the passage on which we are remarking. 'A system of universal scepticism (if that be not a contradiction in terms), can never be entitled to rank higher than as an exercise of ingenuity, aod an amusement of contemplative leisure.' The habits and tendencies of his mind were all of such a character, as to cause him to neglect the external, in his anxiety to get to the essential. It was not forms, but realities, not the partial, but the universal, that attracted his attention and won his heart. We must not, therefore, expect to ascertain, with any force of evidence, the exact view which he took of the several questions which are disputed in the religious world. That he was not a Trinitarian Christian might be inferred from the entire want of any word from his lips in favour of any form of the Trinity, but some positive evidence to the same effect appears in what ensues. 'On returning home, he fell on religious subjects. He said it was remarkable that we make a point of faith respecting the Trinity, not one word of which was mentioned or hinted at in the New Testament.' -vol. ii, p. 468. To the same effect, probably, are some words which occur in a passage already cited, relating to difficulties expressed in his last illness: a passage which, if understood, as I think it likely it should be, as proceeding from the pen of one of the Evangelical school, seems to show that he no more received the vulgar notions respecting the atonement, than those which relate to the metaphysical question of God's essence. There is certainly no want of evidence in proof of his having but few sympathies with Calvinism in any of its forms, and I can well imagine the dignified pity which would cover his features, when he witnessed incidents which authorised him to pen what follows: They have introduced a new language, in which they never say that A. B. is good, or virtuous, or even religious: but that he is an "advanced Christian." "Dear Mr. Wilberforce is the most advanced Christian." "" Mrs. C. has lost three children without a pang, and is so advanced a Christian, that she could see the remaining twenty, with poor dear Mr. C., removed with perfect tranquillity."'-vol. ii, p. 353. + Vol. i, p. 257. It is, then, sufficiently evident that Sir James Mackintosh was a Christian of that school which disowns all religious authority, save that of Christ as exhibited in the New Testament. Of the character and teachings of Jesus, he was a diligent student, and a grateful admirer. From the petty strifes of tongues, he escaped to the pure, tranquil and bright atmosphere of the religion whose essence consists in the love of God, of Christ, and man: -Semper sine nubibus ther Integer, et large diffuso lumine ridet. d. ON FEMALE EDUCATION. THE first important years, full of maternal solicitude and maternal felicity, glide imperceptibly away. The nursery is more and more frequently deserted for the school-room and the parlour. The infant passes into the child, and the child passes forward towards the morn of womanhood. It is now that the father begins to look to his daughters for a part of his happiness. He traces in their maturing forms, and beaming faces, a resemblance to what their mother was when he first knew her, and delights to receive at their hands those little attentions which it is the peculiar province of woman to bestow, and which the cares of a family have perhaps prevented his wife from paying quite so often as she would have wished. The change from one period of existence to another is so gradual, that it cannot be said of any that it has a last day. It is very desirable, therefore, that there should never be a time when it is necessary to supply entirely new and stronger motives of action. The requirements of maturer years should rather be met by the more and more perfect developement of those which have originally been suggested. The elements of those influences which are to direct the conduct of the adult, should be contained in the very first lessons which are given to a child, simplified, indeed, and adapted to its capacity, but retaining the essential essence of that which constitutes the strength and beauty they will one day be felt to possess. To perceive all that is comprehended in this principle, it will be necessary to scrutinize very strictly the motives we are accustomed to present to children, and to analyze their effect upon the young mind. We need not, it is to be feared, go back to the past generation, to find examples of persons who contend that the young should be made to yield to authority an implicit and passive obedience, for its own sake; or of others, who insist that the spirit of a child ought to be broken. The meaning of a broken spirit, in this sense, those who most admire it perhaps hardly comprehend. In Scripture language, the term is applied to a mind bowed down by remorse, in which sense it cannot refer to that of a child. Those who use the phrase to describe the ne plus ultra of a good subject, probably mean by it a spirit that dares not rebel; which never dreams of criticizing established authority, and which is prepared to receive, without an audible murmur, any kind of treatment from the hands of those in power. That upon the foundation such a disposition affords, it is easy to rear any superstructure, is a delusion too flattering, and bears too much the appearance of a reality to be easily controverted. It is not till we examine the building very carefully, that we perceive it to have within itself the constituents of instability. It is a very plausible idea, that as a child emerges from the trammels of parental authority, it will be easy to substitute the fear of God for the fear of man, and that a mind accustomed to bend its will at the command of an earthly ruler, will be a well-prepared subject for the government of the King of kings. If, with every symptom of resistance, the desire to resist vanished, such might be the result, but it will generally be found that the desire increases in proportion as opportunities for its gratification decrease. Let us not be understood to underrate the value of obedience. We only desire that the feelings of the governed, should be brought into accordance with, rather than into subjection to, the will of the governor. The difference between the two is important in every point of view. The parent who pursues the former system, regrets that there are occasions upon which it is impossible to give a child any other reason for an action than that it is his will it should be performed. The one who prefers the latter, rejoices in such occasions, as so many opportunities for establishing the conviction that his will is law. Self-denial is the very soul of virtue, but self is never denied in submission to external compulsion, without receiving a promise of large indemnification at some future period. It is but the temporary triumph of physical power over mind. Self-denial, practised in conformity to a recognised principle, is the victory of the better feelings of the mind over the worse, and brings with it its own reward. Obedience, which is produced by fear, has a tendency to lessen as the ability to resist power, and therefore to dismiss the dread of it, increases with increasing years. Obedience, which is, in other words, acquiescence in the trusted guidance of another, has a tendency to become more perfect, as the understanding opens, to comprehend the principles of which that guidance is the result. The principle of all good government is the same, the design is one-the benefit of the governed. It pre-supposes that the directing mind is superior in intelligence and discernment to the one directed. Whether it be the gentle rule of the mother over her cherished little one, the authority of the teacher over his multifarious scholars, or the coercive power of the prison ordinary over the degraded convict, it is a rectifying of miscalculation-an unmasking of covert evil-a presenting the means of happiness under a surer, though less inviting aspect. In a word, it is love, empowered and determined to seek the happiness of its object, through evil as well as through good report; and the sooner the child, the pupil, or the criminal knows that it is, the better. It is not possible, always, to give a child a reason for an injunction. If it have a distinct and deepening impression that our conduct towards it is designed to promote its welfare, and not to extend our own power, the desired end is gained. To produce this impression, we must be careful of our phraseology, employing expressions which denote that it is our duty to im pose certain restrictions, and enforce the performance of certain actions, rather than those which declare that it is our will to do so. The love of power seems to be inherent in the human breast; and though we can scarcely suppose that young children suspect their superiors of such a feeling, there is often that in their conduct which appears very like a premeditated resistance of it. Every one who has had extended experience in education, knows that children of an obstinate disposition often refuse to do that which they would have performed with pleasure, if it had not been commanded, and that there are instances of very young persons, during a fit of ill-humour, being obviously disappointed if a teacher was not chagrined by their contempt of his authority. All insubordination from such a motive is spared to him who has never given a child to understand that he cares about authority for its own sake. The extreme reluctance which many children evince to ask pardon for their faults, or, in the language of strict disciplinarians, make a submission,' proves that they believe themselves to be under power rather than under care, and that their minds are galled and irritated by the conviction. A very little reflection will show the impropriety of requiring such submissions. If a delinquent do not desire a reconciliation with him he has offended, we put the language of hypocrisy upon his lips, by insisting upon his asking it; if he do desire it, he will ask it without our command. Mr. Abbott, an author already referred to, justly observes that, with regard to moral offences, it is not ours to forgive.' When we profess to do so we delude children into a belief very contrary to the truth, that our sins are not done with when we committed and forgot them.' With |