he continued from time to time, as he found new objects to describe. From this period the examination of the heavens became the sole object of Galileo's thoughts, and the occupation of his life. He wrote, he talked of nothing else.

From "the Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties."

PRAYER FOR THE GIFTS OF GOD'S HOLY SPIRIT.

O LORD my God, who by Thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ hast promised Thy Holy Spirit to them who ask Him of Thee: I beseech Thee, to give Him to me in all the graces and assistances of which I stand in need. I ask Him in all humility and earnestness, as the greatest blessing I can receive; I ask Him in the sense of my own weakness and infirmities, as knowing, without His continual inspirations, I can desire nothing that is good nor do any thing that is acceptable to Thee; O, therefore, let Him be with me, and remain with me, and most powerfully assist and support me in all trials and temptations when I most need His help.

Let Him be unto me a Spirit of sanctification to purify my corrupt nature, a Spirit of counsel in all difficulties, of direction in all doubts, of courage in all dangers, of constancy in all persecutions, of comfort in all troubles, especially in times of sickness, and at the hour of death, and of submission and resignation to Thy holy will and pleasure in all afflictions that are most grievous to flesh and blood.

Leave me not a moment to my own human frailty without His assistance, but let Him constantly inspire me with fear, love, and devotion towards Thee; with truth, justice, and charity towards my neighbour; and with abstinence and sobriety towards myself. And because I live in evil times, and am in danger of being deceived by the wiles and false pretensions of men, let Him be also unto me a Spirit of wisdom, and conduct, and discretion, that in all

my conversations, I may be able to discern truth from hypocrisy, and sincere, undesigning, and faithful, from false, designing, and flattering, friends.

Furthermore, I beseech Thee, let Him be unto me a Spirit of patience under all crosses and in all provocations; a Spirit of trust and stedfast repose of mind in Thy care and providence: a Spirit of forgiveness to my enemies; a Spirit of humility to make me quiet and easy in myself, meek and gentle to others, and to free me from all the sins and torment of pride, envy, and ambition; and finally, so let Him guide me and govern me through the whole course of my short life here, that I cannot fail to obtain everlasting life though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.-Dr. Hickes.

The Church of CHRIST is represented as a kingdom with JESUS for its King; and all who are of this kingdom, have the like expectation and hope, have the same blessing and life, are under the same discipline of the HOLY GHOST, enjoy the like comfort flowing from Him, and are guided alike by His counsel. If we profess, then, to honour and love our King, we are not, by disunion, to impede the progress of His government, and to hinder the flow of His mercy, the descent of His blessings: we are not, by our vanity, and folly, and pride, to throw a shade over His efforts, who is fighting our battles against the world, the flesh, and the devil: we are not thus to weaken His strength, and lessen the lustre of His victory.-Ramsden's Sermons.

Small service is true service while it lasts;

Of friends, however humble, scorn not one:
The Daisy, by the shadow that it casts,
Protects the lingering dew-drop from the sun.
Wordsworth.

HOW BISHOP FISHER TOOK THE NEWS THAT

HE WAS TO DIE THAT DAY.

AFTER the lieutenant of the Tower had received the writ for his execution, because it was then very late, and the prisoners asleep, he was loth to disturb him from his rest; but in the morning, before five of the clock, he came to him in his chamber in the belltower; finding him yet asleep in his bed, and waking him, he told him he was come to him on a message from the king, to signify unto him that his pleasure was he should suffer death that forenoon.'Well,' quoth the bishop, if this be your errand, you bring me no great news; for I have looked a long time for this message, and I most humbly thank his majesty that it pleaseth him to rid me from all this worldly business. Yet let me, by your patience, sleep an hour or two, for I have slept very ill this night; not for any fear of death, I thank God, but by reason of my great infirmity and weakness.' 'The king's pleasure is further,' said the lieutenant, that you shall use as little speech as may be, especially of any thing touching his majesty, whereby the people should have any cause to think of him or his proceedings otherwise than well.' 'For that,' said he, you shall see me order myself, as, by God's grace, neither the king, nor any man else, shall have occasion to mislike of my words.' With which answer the lieutenant departed from him; and so the prisoner, falling again to rest, slept soundly two hours and more.-Fuller's Church History of Britain.

Would you touch a nettle without being stung by it? take hold of it stoutly. Do the same to other annoyances, and hardly will any thing annoy you.— Guesses at Truth.

Instruction vouchsafed in vain is (I suppose) a debt to be accounted for hereafter.- Cowper.

When I attend a funeral procession (says a pious writer) on the death of some one of my relations, the first feeling which nature and self-love inspire in me is, the fear of being one day as they are; because I fully feel that death, which has not spared them, will not spare me: but as soon as I think of the risen JESUS, grace destroys or corrects this my first feeling: I cheer myself with the sure hope of a certain resurrection :-and (if I reason as a Christian ought) I say: I shall die: I deserve to die, O my God! because I am a sinner: but I shall rise again, because Thou art risen: and in my flesh, and with mine eyes, I shall see my Saviour! -Such is the hope which, reposing in my heart will cause me also a true repose. It is only needful to labour by my good works and by my faithfulness, to preserve the life of grace, and to procure for me a joyful resurrection.-Avrillon.

The following EXTRACTS are copied chiefly from APPLICATIONS recently made to the NATIONAL SOCIETY, for aid in building, enlarging, fitting up, or maintaining schools. The applications proceed from clergymen of parishes situated in all quarters of the kingdom, and containing a population of every description, dense and scattered, manufacturing and agricultural, mining and seafaring. What a sad picture do they give, of the want of Christian education in this country!

(1) "It would be difficult to find a parish, even in this uneducated county, more standing in need of aid for building schools. Our population, which is entirely agricultural, amounts to nearly 600. Till my residence here, there was no school, either Sunday or daily. For two years I have assembled about sixty children, as day scholars, in a hired room. I expect the most beneficial results from the schools

not only as regards my own desolate parish, but as setting an example to the surrounding rural districts, where such buildings are much required."

(2) "A spirit of disaffection prevails almost universally amongst the working classes. Authority of every kind is despised. Magistrates, masters, pastors, and all superiors are regarded as enemies and oppressors. Chartism and socialism lurk in many a bosom. The pictures of Frost and his co-traitors, found in many of the cottages, display too closely their sympathy with rebellion; and a day scarcely passes in which I have not to rebuke and reason against the most dreadful sentiments on the subject of government, and order, and property, as well as of religion."

"Now, for educating the children of this vast and daily increasing population, which will soon amount to 40,000 souls, there is no provision whatsoever in the district; there is no school of any kind under the management of the ministers of the Church; the only school within a reasonable distance being one situated in an adjoining district.'

(3) "The population of this parish was, in 1825, nearly 24,000, but has increased to above 37,000. Children are born, grow up, and die without being ever even baptized into a Christian church. This is the case now more than ever. Should population increase for the next fifteen or twenty years at the same rate as it does at present, and should the people be left to grow up destitute of the knowledge of their duty towards God and man, as thousands of them do at present, it will require an immense army to preserve any thing like peace in the country."

(4) "In such a district as this there ought to be at least half a dozen good schools. It is heart-rending to think of such a state of things in a Christian country like ours. I have had sufficient experience of the difficulty of raising private subscriptions; and yet, in these most destitute places, the clergyman is generally the only person who can or will undertake