and yet, who can leave the widow to weep alone? The Lord hath need of him-the joy of thy youth, and the prop of thine age -oh, thou afflicted, "but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed." What place or service has been assigned him in the world of spirits, thy Lord has not told thee, "but thou shalt know hereafter," and shalt be perfectly satisfied that he "hath done all things well." The need be of this affliction is that which most concerns thee now, and has it not already begun to yield to thee "the peaceable fruit of righteousness ?" True, it has covered the prospects of earth as with frost and mildew, but has it not at the same time loosened thy moorings, and prepared thee more readily to weigh anchor? This sorrow is but a link in that hidden but unbroken chain that binds thy heart to the eternal throne. It is one of the "all things" which the unchanging word declares "work together for good." The clouds look very dark, but there is a bright side, and when thou shalt get above, then shalt thou see and rejoice in its light. Paul was not dreaming when he uttered the language recorded in 2 Cor. iv. 17, and which has been beautifully paraphrased-" Our very light affliction, which is but just for the present moment, worketh out a far more exceeding, and incomparably great and eternal weight of glory." The widowed mother of President Davies, when standing by his coffined remains could say, "There is the son of my prayers and my hopes; my only son; my only earthly support. But there is the will of God, and I am satisfied."

The Lord hath need of thee, aged pilgrim, "just on the verge of heaven," and soon thou wilt hear him say, "Come up hither." Thy warfare is almost accomplished, thy work nearly done, thy song of praise will soon commence, never to end. Soon will thy feet stand on Mount Zion above, for the Lord hath need of thee, that the prayer of thy Saviour,-"Father, I will that they also be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory"-may be accomplished. He needs thee, that he may introduce thee to the company of thine elder brethren, to many who have been thy helpers on the heavenly way, to the loved companions who have been taken from thy side, and to Jesus, thy Saviour and thy king. Soon he will bid thee put off thy pilgrim-garb, that he may clothe thee with a purer robe. He will permit thee to unbuckle thine armour, and will confer upon thee a victor's crown. He

needs thee, that thou mayst stand for ever in that upper temple, as a monument of what the power and love of thy redeeming God can accomplish. Fain would we detain thee, for a season longer, on this side Jordan, for we need thy sympathy, thy counsel, and thy prayers. But no, our love rebukes the wish.

"Go, true and faithful, when thy Master calls,

Go-and forget our tears."

Enter the heavenly gates at what time they shall open for thine admittance; but leave, oh, leave thy mantle behind thee !American Mother's Magazine.

THE DELAYING SABBATH
SCHOOL TEACHER.

One Sabbath evening, on looking over the roll of my class, I found that, among others, the name of Ann- had to be marked as among the absentees. I took a note of it on my visiting list, intending to call during the week according to custom; but afterwards, as the girl's house was a very little out of my way, and not being in a visiting mood, I thought there could be no great harm in delaying a week; besides it occurred to me that good reasons could frequently be given for non-attendance, and it was likely she would be there on the succeeding Sabbath, as she was so regular in her attendance. With these, and like excuses, I lulled my Sabbath teacher's conscience asleep.

The Sabbath returned again, and being prepared for its evening duties, I found myself once more in the school with my children around me; and, though feeling a little, a very little, uneasiness on seeing that Ann —was still absent, it soon wore off, and was forgotten in the excitement of teaching.

The lessons were concluded, and we were just about to engage in praise before dismission, when a neighbouring teacher stepped across the floor to me, and said very seriously,

"Have you a girl in your class of the name of Ann- ?"

"Yes; what of that ?"

"I have something to tell you about her," said he, hesitating.

"What is it? what is the matter ?" said I, with a presentiment of there being something wrong.

"She is dead!" "Dead!"

"Yes; she died four days ago. She was

buried yesterday. Her brother is in my class, and brought word last Sabbath that she was ill and wished to see you, but I forgot to tell."

"Oh, if you had only told me !-I wish you had told me."

"I am sorry, very sorry, I did not."

My heart sank within me,-I could not speak. Dead! gone from this world for ever; gone from any power or means I could use. Is she saved or lost ?-a sinner in hell, or a saint in glory? Dead! and I not at her death bed. Have I done my duty to her? have I done all I could? Alas, alas, my conscience, now fully aroused, told me I had not! There was no want of time on my part,-it was inclination. I felt I ought to have called at once, and then some opportunity would have been afforded me of smoothing the pillow, and speaking peace and comfort to my dying scholar. But now it was too late! The thought was bitter anguish. I knew my duty, but I did it not. I could not call on the mourning parents that evening, but next day took the first opportunity of doing so. I knocked gently at the door,-it was opened, and I went in, but found only the mother and two or three of the younger children present. For a few minutes, nothing was said. At last I spoke. "So Ann has gone to her rest."

"Yes, sir; she is gone."

"How did she die ?"

"We don't know, sir; we hope she is in heaven."

"Had she much pain ?"

"Vera little; she just sleept it awa." "Was she happy in her mind ?” "We hope sae. She could speak but

little, and was vera dull o'hearing for three days before her death; and when we had anything to say, we had to cry vera loud, and could hardly make her understand."

"I am very sorry I was not here to see her."

"Ay, we thought you might have come," said the woman reproachingly, "we sent you word, but you didna come. Pair thing! Annie was fond o' the Sabbath class, and would not stay away, wet or dry," and she burst into tears.

I explained, as well as I could, why I had not come when sent for; but could not excuse myself. Time,-means,-opportunity, -I had neglected them all.

After some further conversation of the state of mind, and death, of my scholar, and after trying to turn the mind of the mother to the rich consolations of the gospel, I ended my sad visit.

And, now, why do I write this? It is to urge on my fellow-teachers earnestly, most earnestly, to call on absentees the very first spare time they have,-if possible, the next day, and never to let light excuses induce them to defer doing so. It is well to visit all scholars; but the absentees should hold the first place. Visiting is a check to the wandering and careless; and where illness is the cause of absence, the sick or death-bed affords opportunities of pressing home the truths of the everlasting gospel that are not lightly to be neglected; and by proper and prompt visiting of these absentees, not only will the attendance of a class be better kept up, but Sabbath teachers would never have in this respect, cause to lament, as I do, a neglected opportunity.

INFANT REGENERATION. The Editor who wrote the notice in November, thinks it would be scarcely respectful to such valued correspondents as Mr. W. B. Gurney, and A Friend of "The Church," not to make a few remarks upon their comments on his notice. Their objections are identical to the extent to which they both express them. They agree, I think, that the atonement of Christ is sufficient without regeneration. I question, however, whether the pleasing lines of

Robinson necessarily convey that idea. The gift of the Holy Spirit, through faith, to adults, is, according to Gal. iii. 13, 14, a fruit of Christ's doing away the curse of the law by his death on the tree, "that so we might receive the Spirit through faith." If now, in the case of adults, both blessings, namely, exemption from the penalties of sin, and the "renewing of the Holy Ghost," equally come through Christ's atonement, then infants (if they need both) may equally receive both through the same atonement.

If in virtue of it they are delivered from the death which they suffered because Adam sinned, then they may also be delivered from any corruption of their yet undeveloped moral nature, supposing such corruption to exist. But does it exist? It is on this point that all the disputed questions before us really turn. If, from the earliest period, human nature receives, in virtue of its descent from sinful parents, a sinful bias, then it will be conceded that that bias must be changed, and probably the Holy Spirit would be thought to be the appropriate agent for doing it, and the change might properly be called regeneration. Also, as parts of a sinful race, it would be conceded by every 'thorough predestinarian" that it was a pure election of grace which took them away at an age when the redemption of Christ is completely and universally operative, instead of sparing them to an age when it is so in but very few instances. The immense majority of children dying in infancy belong to ungodly, and even heathen, parents; we could not imagine, without an express miracle in the strongest sense of the word, that such children would generally be saved by regeneration wrought by "the truth," if they lived to years of maturity; for instance, the myriads of girls destroyed by Chinese parents-how, but by a voice from heaven, or some equally miraculous terrestrial alteration of circumstances in their favour, could they, when arrived at womanhood, have heard "the joyful sound," and how could they call on Him whom they had not heard ?" &c. Now, as the number of dying and murdered infants must immensely surpass the number of those who hitherto have been saved by "belief of the truth," as their death in infancy brought them, according to all our theories, under the saving power of Christ's work, as in most of these instances there appears to be no other way by which they would have been brought under its power, what objection can lie against receiving death in infancy as a very "effectual calling" into the kingdom of God, and as the purpose of Him, in each case, who worketh all things according to the counsel of his will?" My beloved babe dies before, or soon after, its smiles or first prattling have laid hold of my affections, why may I not regard this as God's predestinating it to reap unhindered the full benefits of a Saviour's death? What is there kindred in such a view with "believing infants a span

long to be in hell?" Hence the writer of these lines has found in these views the consolation which Mr. Gurney has found five times in his views.

Is, then, an infant a depraved being, although not having committed actual sin? The Editor wrote unhesitatingly, supposing that this was acknowledged by all, or nearly all, evangelical sects. If it be, what is stated above seems the unavoidable consequence, and nothing can be more justly consolatory. All of us agree, however, on quite general grounds that infants will be saved,-we differ only as to how God affects it. But even here again we agree that whatever injury they have received by descent from Adam (whether simple liability to death, or also a corruption of their yet undeveloped spiritual nature), that injury is, in their case, wholly done away through the atonement of Christ, or that spirit which is bestowed on our race through his atonement, or by both.

In answer to the last question of A Friend of "The Church," what I mean by being literally born in sin," I reply, what the scriptures mean by it. And if asked what I understand them to mean, expressed in my own language, I should certainly reply, that they mean that the moral nature of the infant receives its character from its parent, and is born after "his image," just as they speak materially of "the fruit-tree yielding seed after his kind:" "who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" seems to be a principle taken for granted in the simplicity of scripture writers. We fully allow that in the case of adults the scripture knows of no regeneration but through the truth; but, as we observed, we think scripture is wholly silent about the application of redemption to infants, and that “analogy is our only guide." According to the analogy of adult salvation, infants would need both a reversal of the penal effects of the curse, and a renovation of a radically perverted nature. While as the adult is an intelligent, conscious agent, he is required to receive both by belief of the truth, the infant can receive either or both only in some way appropriate to an unconscious being. I have been rather full in my statement from respect to the parties whose letters I notice; but hope that nothing has been said which may necessitate prolonging the controversy, as it would probably be uninteresting now to other parties.

THE EDITOR WHO WROTE THE

NOVEMBER NOTICE.

THE MEMOIR OF SARAH B. JUDSON. BY FANNY FORRESTER, WITH INTRODUCTORY NOTICE BY E. B. UNDERHILL. Fcp. 8vo. pp. 180. London: Aylott & Jones.

The memoirs of the second Mrs. Judson written by the third, and that third the interesting writer who formerly bore the name of Fanny Forrester. Wilberforce's sons or Mrs. Fry's daughters would have given five times as much with a tithe of the interest. With the vast difference of Fuller's mind and Miss Forrester's in regard to power, it resembles, in condensation, selection, and instructive connecting brief remarks, that great man's life of Pearce. Mr. Fuller could not, however, have given us a female's picture as Miss Forrester has done. To parents and young persons equally, it will be an instructive volume; as to interest, we several times uttered the exclamation while reading it, "how often reality surpasses fiction!"

POLITICAL MONOPOLY HOSTILE TO THE SPIRIT AND PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY. BY ▲ NORWICH OPERATIVE. pp. 12. London; Houlston & Stoneman.

We are able with sincerity to renew our commendation of the "Norwich Operative's" Tracts. The present tract is suitable for all religious electors-ministers, deacons, and those who occupy the best pews in our places of worship. We would seriously suggest to our working men who feel the temporally noble and just desire for political equality, to give this tract to the classes above-mentioned. We hold that few ministers of religion have, or ought to have, much time to devote to political objects; but what the working classes look for from them is not their time, not the study of the details of the business, but the countenance of their openly expressed approbation. The minister is continually preaching to them, "do right and leave results to God." Operatives want them only to say as much to all electors within their reach. It is right, it is just, it is doing as we would be done by, it is renouncing political tyranny, and emancipating our political slaves, to give to all men an equal share in making the laws all are to obey. The recent working men's letters in the Nonconformist nearly all speak strongly on this point. We do feel that if

godly men, ministers especially, are not openly found on the side of political justice, religion itself will unjustly bear the blame of their apathy. If they be unjust to working men aspiring to their rights, working men will be tempted to be unjust to the religion they profess.

BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL DICTIONARY, FOR BIBLE CLASSES, SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS, AND YOUNG CHRISTIANS GENERALLY. BY THE REV. S. GREEN. London: Benj. L. Green.

The fourth edition of this very useful little work, revised, and coming out in Sixpenny Numbers. Young people of every class, and Sunday school teachers, will find it exceedingly suitable; so, indeed, will all of riper years who cannot afford those more expensive volumes, which, moreover, often perplex persons unused to study.

JOYS AND SORROWS, &c. BY THE AUTHORESS OF "AMY OF THE PEAK." London: C. Gilpin.

A series of delightful poetic sketches make up this neat little volume. They are pervaded with the deepest sympathy for the social condition of society; and in a spirit of the purest and most elevating kind, the writer seeks the moral and social elevation of the masses. We have read them with great pleasure, and accord them our hearty commendation.

DOMESTIC PIETY; OR, THE CHURCH MEMBER AT HOME. BY THE REV. J. HOBSON. (The Circular Letter of the Bucks Association.) pp. 36. London: Arthur

Hall & Co.

We have too long delayed noticing this excellent pamphlet. Whoever values what it treats of, will thank us for introducing it to his notice.

THE PARAGRAPH BIBLE. Tract Society.

We have noticed the Old Testament parts of this beautiful pocket bible as they appeared, it is now complete. Its distinguishing feature is the division of the text into paragraphs, like those of any other book. In addition to this, its maps, notes, references, introductions to the books, and useful tables, with its beautiful typography, render it the most perfect pocket bible with which we are acquainted.

W. HENRY BOND.

Early decision, in matters of religion, is of so much importance, that the following sketch is prayerfully offered to the young for perusal, with a view of promoting it.

To a christian parent, the development of the mind, as youth advances into life, ought always to be a subject of the closest study, and should awaken the liveliest interest. If there be exhibited a tendency to religious enquiry or practice, it demands the promptest aid and amplest encouragement to secure its continuance. Parents, immersed in other matters, are too apt to let favourable opportunities pass, until associations are formed, or pursuits are entered upon, that fasten themselves upon the expanding minds and affections of their children; and thus early blossoms wither and fall,-hope dies away,-the child or the parent passes into the presence of Christ, before whose judgment-seat all must appear, without that step being taken which would give assurance of a blessed re-union in the kingdom of heaven.

W. Henry Bond, the subject of this sketch, was born at Falmouth, on the 3rd May, 1831, and died, after a short illness, at Truro, on the 6th August, 1848, an exemplary member of the Baptist church at that place, under the pastoral care of the Rev. E. H. Tuckett.

At an early age he was placed under the care of his maternal uncle, the Rev. F. Trestrail, at Newport, Isle of Wight, and continued to reside with him until the Baptist Irish Society induced Mr. T. to remove to Cork. Subsequently he became a pupil under the Rev. J. Neave, Baptist minister at Portsea, and remained with him until he was removed to the London University College School, where he completed his studies.

At Christmas, 1846, he returned to his parental roof, that he might enter upon the duties of life. Employment was evidently a pleasure to him, for he fulfilled his engagements with obvious satisfaction, and as the cast of his mind had always been sober and thoughtful, by which he had won the esteem and approbation of his teachers, these qualities seemed to adapt him to a successful prosecution of his earthly career.

He soon manifested the results of early

religious training sanctified by the Divine Spirit, by becoming a diligent student of the Holy Scriptures, and by evincing a strong attachment to the house of God and to social meetings for prayer.

Every night his parents, who slept in an adjoining chamber, heard his voice in the earnest perusal of the word of God, and in the fervent exercise of closet duties. The effect was visible from the reverential attitude in, and the marked attention he paid to, the engagements of the sanctuary, as well as in the deep interest he took in the work of conversion, which was at this time wrought by the Holy Spirit in the congregation under the ministration of Mr. Tuckett, to whom he became affectionately attached.

On a fine summer's Sabbath evening of last year, after an attendance upon the ordinance of believers' baptism, his father's mind was more than usually drawn out in converse with his dear children; Henry wept much, and felt the appeals that were made powerfully affecting his mind. The next afternoon, to the great delight of his parents, Mr. Tuckett called upon his father, to communicate the important tidings, that Henry had unbosomed himself to him, and expressed to him his desire to cast in his lot with the people of God.

There is joy in the presence of the angels of God when sinners are brought to repentance; akin to that joy, is the rapturous pleasure experienced by believing parents when their ears listen to the interesting tale of penitence and faith from the lips of their beloved offspring.

At a time when, owing to the approximation of the church to the world, indifference so painfully shews itself in the families of Dissenters to the interests of the churches in which their parents may have been blessed, it is a source of thankfulness if children manifest an attachment and promote the well-being of Christ's cause in the section in which providence has placed them. Much, however, depends on the spirit displayed by the parents themselves how far their children follow in their steps.

The usual scrutiny into the character, practice, and faith of the candidate was made by the messengers of the church, and he was baptized on the 22nd August, 1847,