Pass five thousand pagan years,
Of Creation's groans and tears;
To oppression's climax come,
In the crimes of Christendom.

What were these? Let Afric's sands,
Ocean's depths, West Indian strands,
In the day of wrath declare :

Oh! the mercy that THEY WERE.

For they ARE not,-CANNOT be,
Life again is liberty;

And the Negroes' only bands,
Love-knit hearts, and love-link'd hands.

So, the curse of Slavery cease!
So return primeval peace!
While the ransom'd tribes record
All the goodness of the Lord.

HYMN III.

BY THE REV. R. H. SHEPHERD.

Captives, sunk in deepest woe,
Now your tears may cease to flow;
Freemen, now your better name,
"Free," your country does proclaim !

Joyous is this blessed day,

Bright its dawn,-its latest ray;
Lasting annals shall record
Freedom, as its sweetest word.

Peace and kindness shall efface

Ills inflicted on your race;
Let oblivion seal the past,
Praise for freedom ever last.

Free as men, our prayer shall be,
May you joy as Christians free ;
Truth shall liberate the mind,
Never more in sin confined.

HYMN IV.

BY THE REV. R. H. SHEPHERD.

Sons of Africa released,
From your galling chains set free;
Every foe and claim appeased,
Now the sacred banner see!
Calvary's standard now reveal'd,
Free from sin through Christ our Lord;
Thraldom's woes by grace now heal'd,
Oh! what joy shall this afford !

Long this cloud portentous rested
On our much-beloved isle ;
Now the direful scourge is wrested,
Terror's reign and cruel toil:

Prayer,-incessant prayer prevailing,
Mercy's heavenly form appears,
Hush'd the horrors once assailing,
Wiped the captive's flowing tears.
Thanks to God shall now be given !
All the praise to him ascribe!
He the galling chains hath riven,
He hath freed the captive tribe :
Human efforts he hath crowned,
Then his servant call'd to rest ;*
Name, by this one deed renowned,
By this act 'mong mortals blest!

SABBATH EVENING. To the Editor of the Family Magazine.

Sir, It was a good old custom, which it would be well to revive, for Christian families to sing an hymn on Lord's-day evenings, before or after family worship. I well remember for many years in my family singing Dr. Doddridge's beautiful hymn, commencing,

"When, O dear Jesus! when shall I Behold thee all serene ?" &c. Will you allow me to present you with a composition never yet printed? Westminster.

S.

Saviour! from thy heavenly throne,
Sabbaths with thy blessing crowa;
And the day about to end,
With thy joy and peace attend!

Sabbaths holy and serene,
Sweet through life shall intervene ;
Truths forgotten shall restore,
Bid the mourner weep no more.
Sabbath morn,-delightful sound!
Sabbath eve,-what joys abound!
Let each Sabbath day prepare
For the "rest" I long to share!

MY MOTHER.

I saw my mother breathe her last, and they

Who watch'd beside her, told me she was dead;

And I was in my seventh year. My heart

Did almost bleed, as on that once-loved form

I looked, and saw it pale and motionless.

* William Wilberforce, Esq., late M.P. for York.

A PERSIAN FABLE.
Imitated from the Latin of
SIR W. JONES.

Whoe'er his merit under-rates,
The worth which he disclaims, creates.
It chanced a single drop of rain
Fell from a cloud into the main :
Abash'd, dispirited, amazed,

At last her modest voice she raised :
"Where, and what am I? Woe is me!
What a mere drop in such a sea!"
An oyster yawning, where she fell,
Entrapp'd the vagrant in his shell;
In that alembic wrought-for he
Was deeply versed in alchemy—
This drop became a pearl; and now
Adorns the crown on WILLIAM's brow.

PASSING THOUGHTS.
BY E. DERMER.

PRIVATE SLANDER.

Woe to the wretch who blast another's

name,

And spread's contumely o'er well-earned

fame;

For while the serpent's hues he would display,

Like him he stings,-and then he glides

away.

HYPOCRISY.

I hate the man of specious mien,
Whose words like milk and honey flow;
But still whose heart, could it be seen,
Is darker than the shades below.

FLATTERY.

There is a coin by knaves employ'd,
And oftentimes by fools enjoy'd,
But which, if weigh'd by Truth and Grace,
Will turn out counterfeit and base.

ZEAL.

Zeal, like a diamond in the rough, Maintains its qualities apart; But seldom is admired enough Without the lapidary's art.

FIDELITY.

Kisses are generally thought
With fond affection to be fraught;
While wounds are never found to please,
Or thought consistent with our ease;
Yet better is the faithful blow
Than all the kisses of a foe.

PERSEVERANCE.

To him who to the end shall persevere, And with his life, shall lay his weapons down,

To him alone, from Scripture it is clear, Belongs the promise of a future crown.

INABILITY.

'Tis always a pleasure when we can obey The call of friendship,-be it what it may :

But sometimes when we feel the most inclined,

We can't control the body or the mind: O'er both there seems a lethargy to creep, The body's lazy, and the mind's asleep.

THE AFFECTING INQUIRY.

"Dear mother, where's my father gone,
Who often call'd me his dear son,
And on me kindly smiled;
Who taught my lips in prayer to speak,
And often kiss'd my infant cheek,

And call'd me his dear child?"
"Where is he gone? Dear mother tell,
Where is my father gone to dwell?
Will he stay long away?"

"Thy father, my dear child, is dead,
And the cold grave must be his bed,
Until the Judgment day!"

"And when that awful day is come,
Will my dear father come back home,
And soothe his weeping boy?"
"No, my dear child, but if in youth
You humbly seek the path of truth,
You'll meet him in the sky!

"There you will see him clothed in white, And on his head a crown of light,

By the Redeemer given ! Then, O my boy, while you are young, The broad and wicked pathway shun, And tread the way to heaven."

ANON.

On hearing part of the Oratorio of the Messiah, beneath the Walls of Westminster Abbey, July 1st, 1834.

Hark! what a sweetly solemn strain Echoes within these abbey walls! 'Tis silent now, and now again

It gently rises, swells, and falls.

"Worthy the Lamb!" the sacred lay;

And such a theme, from such a choir, Might chase the bitterest thoughts away, And love, and joy, and hope inspire. If such the effect of mortal tongues, What will the heavenly chorus be, Of angel harps, and seraph songs, In that eternal jubilee !

When Christ his ransom'd church shall bring

To join with saints and holy men, "Worthy the Lamb!" they then will sing,

And angels' tongues respond-Amen.
M. F. S.

THE BURMAN'S QUESTION.

Do the Disciples in America drink spirits?

Men, crossing the blue wave, have told To Burmah of the God that first Spake out this starry world of old,

To whom the stars and worlds are dust. His voice is to us-we obey,

Nor fear contempt or shame, or loss; Once proudly vile, we joy to lay

Glory and pride beneath the cross.

We'll bear reproaches for His sake,

Who for poor Burmans died; and we Will freely persecution take,

For Him, whose blood hath stain'd the tree.

Yet the reproach how we may meet,
That spots religion's lovely robe,
And lifts an idol to the seat

Of Him that grasps and guides the
globe.

For far beyond the Indian sea,

Where heaven lets down unwonted light,

His purchased followers give the knee Unto the spirit-fiend of night.

Our hearts for God !-yet while we doubt And fear, like those, to yield him up, Around us rings the scornful shout,

"Do you disciples kiss the cup?"

"Yea, do you Christians fondly reach
The goblet to a sealed lip;
What powerful Boodh durst never teach,
What paganism may not sip?"

Men of the clime where truth has trod, Earth's glittering falsehood to condemn

Tell us!-seek they another God,

Is not Jehovah help to them?

PARENTAL FIRMNESS.

Some fe

males had met at the house of a friend in the city of St. Louis for an evening visit, when the following scene and conversation occurred:

The child of one of the females, about five years old, was guilty of rude, noisy conduct, very improper on all occasions, and particularly so at a stranger's house. The mother kindly reproved her.

"Sarah, you must not do so."

The child soon forgot the reproof, and became as noisy as ever. The mother firmly said,

"Sarah, if you do so again I will punish you."

But not long after Sarah "did so again." When the company were about to separate, the mother stepped into a neighbour's house, intending to return for the child. During her absence, the thought of going home re-called to the mind of Sarah the punishment which her mother told her she might expect. The recollection turned her rudeness and thoughtlessness to sorrow. A young lady present observing it, and learning the cause, in order to pacify her, said,

"Never mind, I will ask your mother not to whip you."

"Oh," said Sarah, "that will do no good. My mother never tells lies."

The writer who communicated the above for the St. Louis Observer, adds, "I learned a lesson from the reply of that child, which I shall never forget. It is worth every thing in the training of a child, to make it feel that its mother never tells lies."

CHRISTIAN CONSISTENCY.-Consistency presents Christianity in her fairest attitude, in all her lovely proportion of figure and correct symmetry of feature. Consistency is the beautiful result of all the qualities and graces of a truly religious mind united and brought into action, each individually right; all relatively associated. Where the character is consistent, prejudice cannot ridicule, nor infidelity sneer. It may, indeed, be censured, as holding up a standard above the attainment of the careless. The world dislikes, but it cannot despise it. -H. More.

A BAD MEMORY.-I am persuaded, says a living preacher of the first emi

nence, the complaint is too general, and helps much to produce the effect it bewails. The memory, like a friend, loves to be trusted, and rewards confidence. No man will be satisfied who measures his power of retention by his wishes; and the memory should not be censured because it does not lodge every thing it meets with, which would produce superfluity and confusion. The goodness of it very much consists in an instinctive property, by which it throws off what is needless and unsuitable, and applies only what is pertinent and necessary.

CURIOUS MODE OF MEASURING ANGER.The Chinese, at one time, measured the irritable feelings of the English nation by the quantity of china broken in a year. A Chinese historian observes, "The merchants of Canton make the sale of their brittle ware the barometer of European passions, and as often as the sale augments they say, 'The last year has been a passionate one in England.'" China is not now imported to the extent it was some years ago; our own manufactured articles have superseded the use of the brittle ware of Asia, and the wise men of the Celestial empire now say, that the English have subdued all their anger, that they have no matrimonial strife, and therefore seldom break cups and saucers.

It

THE JOYS OF REPENTANCE. "Which is the most delightful emotion?" said an instructor of the deaf and dumb to his pupils, after teaching them the names of our various feelings. The pupils turned instinctively to their slates to write an answer; and one with a smiling countenance wrote Joy. would seem as if none could write any thing else; but another with a look of more thoughtfulness put down Hope. A third, with a beaming countenance, wrote Gratitude. A fourth wrote Love, and other feelings still claimed the superiority on other minds. One turned back with a countenance full of peace and yet a tearful eye, and the teacher was surprised to find upon her slate-" Repentance is the most delightful emotion." He turned to her with marks of wonder, in which her companions doubtless participated, and asked "Why?" "Oh," said she, in the expressive language of

looks and gestures which marks these mutes" it is so delightful to be humbled before God."

She had been one of Nature's lofty spirits, whose very aspect seemed to demand the deference of those around her, and who had strong claims to it. She had recently become "as a little child" under the influence of the Gospel, and pride had not only yielded with sweet submission to the will of God, but had bowed without a murmur to the reproaches and almost persecutions of companions who hated the light when thus reflected from the countenance, and conduct, and conversation of one like themselves. She had been utterly ignorant of moral obligation. She had learned the evil of sin, and, at the same moment, the ample provision for its forgiveness-and the humbling melting of the soul, in penitential love, and gratitude, and joy, in her view all that the whole circle of emotions could furnish. Reader do you know this joy?—Abbotts' Magazine.

GARDENS.-In the earliest history of the Hebrews, we find indications of attention to horticulture, although we may readily suppose that their gardens were rude and simple. The recollection of Eden, no doubt, prompted the sons of Adam to this pursuit. Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba; this is what we should call a fruit garden or an orchard. (Gen. xxi. 33.) In the book of Job we likewise read of gardens. (viii. 16.) Balaam, when speaking of the beauty and prosperity of Israel says, "As the valleys are spread forth, as gardens by the river's side." (Num. xxiv. 6.) When Pliny celebrates the horticultural skill of his countrymen, he acknowledges that it was far inferior to that of the Syrians; and even if he did not, under this general appellation, include the Israelites, the nations were so nearly al

lied that their habits were probably the

same.

The orientals, in general, set a high value upon gardens, and the ancient Hebrews regarded them with the same esteem, with principal reference, however, to the fruits and the shade of the trees with which they were planted. "Give me the vineyard," said Ahab to Naboth," that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house." (1 Kings xxi. 2.) And we read of "the king's garden." (xxv. 4.) In modern times, the gardens of those countries which are subject to the Turks are round and disorderly, containing aromatic and useful herbs or fruit trees. Care is usually taken to have a stream or fountain, which may invigorate the earth and refresh the air. So in Solomon' s Song, A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon." (iv. 15.) "Thou shall be like a spring of waters whose waters fail not." (Isa. lviii. 11.) The gardens of Persia are well arranged, and well cultivated; the trees are planted in rows, and the plants are divided with a regularity much in contrast with the Turkish confusion. And so it is probable that the Hebrews, in ancient times of prosperity, attended to this pursuit. The images presented in Solomon's Song are very striking: "Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all the chief spices." (ch.iv.)

66

THE BALL AND THE MINISTER.-A pastor was in the frequent habit, during the tours he made in his extensive parish, of stopping for a night in a village inn, and of continuing his journey the next day. On one occasion he found the principal apartment converted into a ball-room. The host apologized for his not being able to accommodate him as comfortably as usual; but the pastor, without being disconcerted, asked to have his supper served to him in a corner of the room. When it was ready, he begged the assembly to grant him a few moments' silence, that he might, according to his practice, make an audible prayer before partaking of the meal. He accordingly commenced praying, but before he had finished, the dancers had disappeared.

WEST, THE PAINTER.-The first six years of Benjamin West's life passed