guilt to that merciful God who never turns a deaf ear to the cry of grief, or the groans of a broken heart. The scriptures were read to him, and the glorious plan of salvation was explained to him in all its riches and all its fulness. The glad tidings were received; the message of mercy was laid hold of; the sinner was saved; God was glorified; and the angels in heaven rejoiced.

I am almost afraid that you will think me too confident in the hopes which I cherished, but with such clear demonstrations of a radical change of the mind and heart as those with which it pleased God to favor me, I cannot be faithless, but believing. Is the Lord's arm shortened that he cannot save? cannot He, if it be his good pleasure, "cut the work short in righteousness?" Is he not able to sanctify the character, and to make it meet for an inheritance amongst the saints in light, rapidly, as well as by a more gradual process? Is he not able to fulfil his own declaration,-"The last shall be first, and the first last?" Are we not culpable in prescribing to God the measure and degree of satisfaction necessary before we are convinced that the incorruptible seed is sown in the heart?

I shall never forget how humbled and reproved I once felt myself by a remark made by my son a week or two previous to his death. Being unduly anxious for a larger measure of satisfactory evidence of his justified state than the Almighty was pleased at that period I should be gratified with, I unkindly reproached him, when, through the weakness and languor of the body, the spirit sunk at a time when I conceived it ought to have risen. He meekly replied,-" The Lord knows how weak my frame is, and He will not require from me that which I am unable to perform; the infant cannot accomplish the duties of the full-grown and just so is it with the infant in grace; I have but just had my eyes opened to behold the wonders of redeeming grace, and I cannot yet comprehend all that I am desirous of finding out; God will teach me by little and little, as I am able to bear it, and I hope you will not grow impatient at my dulness and slowness!"

man,

This rebuke, presented with so much humility and tenderness, entered my inmost soul; I felt its justness and force, and I trust it taught me a salutary lesson. Although the poor sufferer became daily weaker and weaker, and his medical attendant had plainly intimated that nothing remained in his power but to smooth his passage to the tomb, yet he tenaciously clung to life until he actually entered into combat with the king of terrors; and when that most solemn hour arrived, he was enabled to bare his bosom, and to invite the dart; knowing that the sting was extracted.

The last night of his life was one of severe conflict,-not to the

mind, for that was kept in peace, but to the poor body, which was torn and harrassed most distressingly. After the doctor had paid his morning visit, my son anxiously enquired what his opinion was respecting him. On being informed that he could do no more for him, he immediately prepared for his journey with the utmost calmness and composure. Having taken some drink, he said,-" Now I have done with bodily nourishment; I will take no more. Now, dear Saviour, come and release me from this dying body, I am quite ready; come, O! come and take me to thine arms; I long to be with thee; I have been a vile sinner, but thy precious blood cleanseth from all sin! thou hast washed me in that fountain, and thou wilt show me the path of life. O! why dost thou tarry; come, Lord Jesus! come quickly!

After these fervent and devout breathings, his parched lips and dried tongue required moistening; "I hoped," he said, "that I should have wanted no more of these earthly things, but my Lord is not yet ready, -or rather, I should have said, I am not yet ready for my Lord. Well! not my will but thine be done! Lord, give me patience to wait thy pleasure! finish thy work! complete thy grace, and take me to thine arms!"

O! what a scene of sacred joy and hallowed sorrow was that chamber, at once the habitation of the king of terrors and the Prince of Life! Never, surely, did death appear more impotent; never did the power and presence of Christ appear more glorious and triumphant. death where is thy sting? O! grave where is thy victory?”

"O!

The dear sufferer was indulged with the full possession of his mental powers until he breathed his last, which was about three o'clock in the afternoon. About a quarter of an hour before his release, a dear Christian friend was admitted to his bedside, who, perceiving that his warfare was just accomplished, whispered to him some sweet and encouraging words of holy writ, such as, "Fear not, for I will be with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God." "I hope, James," she added, "you have experienced that God is a very present help in time of need!” To which he replied,-"His mercy is everlasting, his truth endureth for ever." Being thus enabled to fill the mind of his friend with joy unspeakable, he expired without a sigh or a groan in the thirtieth year of his age.

Thus, my dear friend, another breach is made in my family, and I am called to mourn the loss of my first-born; but O! what an infinite mercy it is that I do not sorrow as those who have no hope. Far more delightful, indeed, would it have been, had my dear departed son never walked in the way of transgressors, but in early life devoted his powers and faculties to God. Then, instead of being brought to a premature

grave, he might, for many years to come, have proved an ornament to the church, a blessing to society, and a comfort to his family; therefore, let not the offspring of godly parents be encouraged to forsake the God of their fathers, under a vain supposition that they will, after running a round of sinful gratification, turn unto God; that their parents' prayers will supersede their errors; and that all will be well with them at last. Rather let them be admonished, and take warning, lest they should be cut off in the flower of their days without repentance and without mercy. "He that often being reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy!" Remember, therefore, thy Creator in the days of thy youth; so shall thy path be that of the just, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day, C. P.

ORIGIN OF EVIL.

"Every uninspired writer on the origin of evil, generally has the satisfaction of knowing, that after immense toil and labor, he has left the subject just in the same state in which he found it."

The Enquirer.

QUESTION XIV. Worldly conformity.

To the Editor of the Youths' Magazine.

DEAR SIR,-If you, or any of your respected correspondents, will kindly reply to the following query, you will confer a favor on one who has for some time been much perplexed by the subject.

When an individual has painful scruples as to the propriety of certain customs in dress, &c., to which those whom he has every reason to believe are sincere Christians conform, considering them quite lawful, and as matters of course; is it his duty to render himself singular by conduct which may appear to advanced believers like "straining at a gnat!"

Since "he that doubteth is condemned if he eat,"—is the individual, considering his doubts as foolish and unfounded, to follow the opinions of judicious and pious friends, in cases where the Bible is not explicit, or ought he to carry out his own views of the text, "Be not conformed to the world," however legal or ridiculous those views may appear to others? I am, SIR,

Your's respectfully,

DUBITANS.

102

POETRY.

THE AVENGER STILLED.

(Founded on a real incident.)

THERE, with the happy multitude who keep
God's holy-day, we saw him stand and weep;
We marked his anxious mien, and lustrous eye,
Bright with the hope of immortality.

Ofttimes he joined us, and we seemed to trace,
Through the strange stillness of that youthful face,
The "marv'llous light" reflected from above,
Which softened all its harsher lines to love;
Whilst he, who to that Light his witness bare,
Spake of the Cross, and Him who suffered there.

Shoeless and abject, many a weary mile

That wanderer came, to seek the much-loved aisle ;
To join the praises of his Saviour's worth,

To the high-sounding organ thundered forth,

To bow the knee to Him whom all confess

Their hope, their stay, their peace, their righteousness;
And hear the steward of his truth, proclaim

A full and free salvation through his name.

And he who brake the bread of life had seen
That stranger's ardent eye, and earnest mien,
-Had seen and felt that God was working there;
Had striv'n to seal the work by fervent prayer;
And oft, with zeal which those can know alone,
Who seek for souls as they would save their own,
He left the desk, that hundredth sheep to find-
But failing, turned aside with aching mind.

Days passed; and as each Sabbath came and went,
With thoughts of holiest love, and looks intent,
The preacher sought him sorrowing; but in vain,
-The tried and way-worn never came again.

At length, an elder form, as unsubdued
As the most wild of Erin's sons, and rude,
Sought the good pastor's house, and, half in fear,
Asked his kind aid, a dying bed to cheer.

Long was the road; but over marsh, and moor,
And barren steep, they sought the stranger's door:
Nor cold, nor danger, nor fatigue, could keep
That tenderest shepherd from his weakest sheep;
And though the night was wild, and dark, and dread,
He walked through Goshen to the suppliant's shed.
There, in his only room, the sufferer lay,

Straw for his softest bed-his couch was clay-
Again, he saw that radiant eye whose gaze,

In God's own house, had filled his heart with praise,
And kindled all his zeal, and bowed his knee,

To ask that grace would set the bondsman free.

The child looked up, and as his face grew bright,
Like dying Stephen's, with unearthly light,
He raised his hand, for by the Father's side,
Like him, he saw the Son-the Crucified!

And, with unwonted might, as if in love,

"The Strong," Himself, inspired him from above! -"His own right arm" — that affluent poor one cried, "Hath gotten Him the victory!"-and died.

THE HISTORY OF A DROP OF WATER. (From "The Endless Story, in Rhyme,”)

"LONG, long ago," the drop began,

"Down in the deep, wide sea,

I lived with my countless sisters bright,
In peace and unity.

"All kinds of pastime there we had,
More sport than I can show;

We mounted up high, to look at the sky,
Then down we sank below.

"We watch'd the coral-builders' work ;