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To destroy Bugs.-There are many different methods recommended, but few that completely answer.-The following method is said, by our informant, to be completely successful, having perfectly destroyed a vast horde of them in a bed room where they had long been a most serious cause of distress. The method, however, is only to be attempted by a very careful person; otherwise the consequence may produce very fatal effects.-"Take a plank, or any piece of wood, long enough to extend from one end of the room to the other. On this lay a train of gunpowder. Shut the door, and then set fire to the gunpowder; the smoke will fill every part of the room. This should be done as much as three days together, and the door must be kept shut, and the room not used for a week;" we may well suppose that the vapour from the gunpowder will be destructive to the animals in the room.

Shoeing Horses.-It is common for some blacksmiths to apply the shoe nearly red hot to the hoof of a horse, thus burning the hoof till it fits the shoe, instead of making the shoe to fit the hoof. This is the way to dry up the proper moisture, and to make the hoof brittle, and inclined to crack.

There is also another practice, which appears of little consequence, but from which the horse often experiences considerable suffering. Although the shoe after it is finished may be quenched in the water, yet it is often nailed on to the hoof before it is perfectly cooled; whereas it ought not to be put on till it is completely cold. The neglect of this often causes that tenderness which is perceived in a newly shod horse, when it is said that the shoe pinches. And the reason is this A piece of iron contracts by cold, and expands by heat; in other words, it is larger when it is warm than when it is cold. Thus the cooper puts the hoop round a cask whilst it is hot, and, when it is cool, it holds the sides together with a firmer grasp. For the same reason a tire is heated before it is put on a wheel. In these cases all is right.-But, when a shoe is properly fitted on a horse's foot, and afterwards shrinks, it is clear that the foot must be pinched, and the hoof be contracted.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. We have received G. B.;·- P. E.;- E.;- George Bloom field;-Leghorn ;—Forcible Reasons ;—().D.;—L.;—C.H.N. ;' and Z.

W. D. has just arrived.

P. E. might probably find some London bookseller ready to meet his wishes.-We intend to insert his article in our next.

8

THE

Cottager's MonthlyVisitor.

JULY, 1826.

SCRIPTURE CHARACTERS.

# ABIJAH.-No. 4.

MUCH attention to the sacred volume is requisite in order to derive from it all the instruction in righteousness which it was designed to furnish. Sometimes, indeed, the history of an individual recorded in it is given so fully, that, in the language of the prophet," the way-faring men, though fools, shall not err" respecting it; and sometimes so few particulars are mentioned in reference to one eminent for piety, that, without close observation, the excellence of the character may be overlooked. The latter is the case of Abijah, whose history we are now to consider.

Abijaht, as we find from the 14th chapter of the 1st book of Kings, was the son of Jeroboam, king of Israel. The sacred historian gives a very short account only of his sickness and death, and yet he records enough to render him a pattern for general imitation,-for "in him there was found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel."

In order properly to estimate the character of this young prince, we must refer to the history of Jeroboam, who, after the death of Solomon, was

NO. 7.

• A-bi-jah.

VOL. VI.

+ Isaiah xxxv. 8.

appointed to exercise dominion over ten of the tribes of Israel. The Lord, it appears, had resolved to rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, because the tribes over which he reigned, had been induced, by his example, and to obtain his favour, to forsake the worship of the only true God, and to become idolaters *.

The prophet was commissioned to declare to Jeroboam the purpose of God to raise him to the throne of Israel; and, an express promise was made to him, that, "if he would hearken unto the commandments of the Lord, and walk in his ways, and do that which was right in his sight, and keep his statutes, He would be with him, and build him a sure house, and give Israel unto him t." Jeroboam, however, distrusted the promise of the Lord, and, leaning to his own understanding, thinking to establish his authority, and secure his kingdom through the devices of his own imagination, he violated the commands of God; and, as if to blot out the remembrance of him, he made two calves of gold, and said unto the people, "Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt +." Jeroboam, thus insulting the God of heaven, soon began to find the punishment of his sin; a punishment that ultimately overwhelmed him §;-so true is it that "the light of the wicked is soon put out."

With such a pattern before his eyes, and brought up in all the temptations of a court, the religion of which was idolatry, we find Abijah not such as we might have expected, a worshipper of the golden calves, a slave to his passions, an abomination in the sight of the Lord;" but a worshipper of Jehovah; a prince celebrated for his piety; "in him there was found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel :" the sin of his father he condemned,

* 1 Kings xi. 5. 31–33.
Ibid. xii. 28.

+ Ibid. ii. 38.
§ Ibid. xiv. 7, &c.

! he shunned, and purposed, doubtless, if he ever came to the throne to suppress it; in a word, he served God.

Reader! to serve God in sincerity, to be truly religious, to walk in the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, is the duty, and will be found to be the happiness of man, whatever be his rank or circumstances, whether he dwell in the palace of a king, or in the cottage of a peasant. The service of God is a good thing. Yes, true religion not only tends to advance, but it absolutely establishes, the happiness of "the life that now is," as well as secures the happiness of " that which is to come." True, as it respects the present life, the most faithful servant of God may suffer many trials, and endure much affliction; still the promises, the supports, the consolations, that flow from the Word and Spirit of Him, who is a shield to them that trust in him, are so numerous, so precious, and so effectual, that the pious Christian does even here inherit the promise; and, in the world to come, his happiness is complete.-Religion, is, in truth, happiness; vice is misery.

Reader! Enquire. Is not this true? Consult thine own heart! advise with the great teacher, Death! Think beforehand of that boundless eternity into which shortly thou must launch, and then say, is happiness to be found in the haunts of vice and dissipation? Nay, is it to be found even in the distinctions of worldly honour, or in the advantages of worldly wealth? No. If thou wilt impartially enquire, if thou wilt honestly consult thine heart, thou must own that the happiness of every intelligent being must be derived from the favour and love of God, without which man's present existence will prove a curse, and his future destiny be enduring

sorrow.

* 1 Tim. iv. 8.

We, in these enlightened days, are in no danger of being exposed to the particular trials that affected Abijah. The Lord God of Israel is acknowledged in this favoured land as the proper object of worship; and yet, such is the corruption and weakness of our nature, that we are ever prone to set up idols in our hearts. Let all, then, be on their guard, lest in the season of trial they stumble or fall. Let all make their supplications to Him, who has promised to give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him, that a good thing," a holy principle, may be implanted within them, and that it may abundantly flourish to the glory of his name, and the benefit of their immortal souls.

"

How well adapted is the history of Abijah to impress forcibly upon the mind, how unsearchable are the counsels of the divine government. According to the apprehensions of human sagacity, Abijah would have been long preserved; he would have succeeded Jeroboam with honour, and been an instrument in the hands of God for advancing the progress of virtue and happiness in the world. But God's thoughts are not as our thoughts. And so Abijah, though distinguished for his piety, and apparently the last stay of religion in Israel, is brought down to the grave. Hence may we learn that the removal of the pious young, or of those in maturer life, who are placed in situations of extensive usefulness, is perfectly consistent with the providential dealings of God to his Church. "Clouds and darkness are round about the throne of the Almighty; yet true and just are all his ways.'

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Reader! duty and interest unite in urging thee to secure, without delay, the favour of Him, who can make all things, death itself, work together for thy good. And how shalt thou secure this inestimable blessing, the favour of God? We answer, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteous

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