"BETHEL FLAGS."

From "Sacred Songs for British Seamen," by the Lady Jane Wilhelmina St. Maur.

LADY JANE WILHELMINA ST. MAUR is a daughter of his Grace the Duke of Somerset; but while the friends of seamen reflect with delight upon the fact of a young lady of so elevated rank contemplating the spiritual condition of our hardy mariners, they will read the poem itself with a high degree of pleasure, on account of its devotional spirit and poetic beauty. The elegant volume from which it is taken, contains twenty-three pieces, of which this is the first. The volume itself is "not published;" it was printed only for circulation among friends, but a copy of it was kindly presented to the writer. Perhaps it is only justice to offer our opinion of the work itself that while all of the "sacred songs" will be read with unspeakable delight by pious seamen, and thus ought, therefore, to be widely circulated; some of them are too long, however excellent, to be adapted for common use as hymns. We beg also to suggest most respectfully to the pious author, that in publishing another edition for circulation among her noble friends, it would be most desirable, and the means of infinite service to the cause of evangelizing our 250,000 merchant seamen of Great Britain, to prefix or append a few paragraphs of information as to the condition and claims of British mariners. While we tender our best thanks to the truly noble lady, for thus manifesting her generous and pious sympathy for our seamen, we know enough of her amiable spirit to be assured, that she will receive our hints, for the enriching of another edition of her work, with all Christian candour.

What sounds are those that greet mine ear,
Like murm'ring rills fast falling near,

And with sweet music fill the air?
My soul! it is the voice of prayer!
And now the notes in flowing strain,
Swell on the breeze athwart the main,
And in soft tones melodious rise:
The voice of praise ascends the skies!

Seamen! what colours do you bear?
What signal have you hoisted there?
The blue flag we descry afar,
And hail with joy the crimson star.

And Bethel, sweet reviving sound,
In all our sea-ports echoes round,
With swifter speed than lightning's glare,
Proclaims the Lord Jehovah there.

And see the olive branch and dove,
Shadow the God of Peace and Love,
Who steer'd the ark o'er swelling waves,
And your frail bark from sinking saves.
Blest heralds of the rising morn,
Oh! long may Bethel Flags be borne,
From sea to sea, from shore to shore,
"Till Time's swift tide shall roll no more!

AMERICAN CHRONICLE.

AMERICAN Christians are acting nobly in the sailors' cause, enlarging their agency and extending their operations to promote the spiritual welfare of their own mariners and those of Great Britain. We owe them the most generous and fraternal sympathy; and as the correspondence between the "American Seamen's Friend Society," and the "British and Foreign Sailors' Society," is becoming more interesting every month, we purpose giving a space this year in our PILOT to the AMERICAN CHRONICLE.

The Rev. J. Greenleaf, Secretary to the American Seamen's Friend Society, in a letter received within the last month, writes,-"You will be pleased to hear that we have engaged a chaplain for Cronstadt. The Rev. John C. Webster is appointed to that station, and will leave here in the course of this winter, to be on the ground by the opening of the spring. Please inform Mr. Knill of this fact, and if the Rev. Mr. Brown of St. Petersburgh is now in England, I wish he also might know it.

We have also appointed a Chaplain for New Orleans, who will leave here within a week. Mr. Ely has commenced operations at Marseilles, under very favourable appearances. Mr. Sawtell, at Havre, is doing well; a better place of worship must be provided there.

Mr.

Johnston of Rio Janeiro, is now here; he came home for

his wife, and will soon return; a Floating Chapel must be provided there; so you see we are 'lengthening our cords and strengthening our stakes.'

Correspondence and Proceedings of the British and Foreign Sailors' Society.

WEST LONDON AUXILIARY TO BRITISH AND FOREIGN SAILORS' SOCIETY.

WEST LONDON, with its population of 500,000 inhabitants, is deeply indebted to the seafaring population of our country. Little, however, has been done by the Christians of that part of the metropolis to aid in the religious instruction of that vast body of the community. Several friends to seamen in that division of our chief seat of wealth and luxury have manifested a commendable solicitude to contribute to the British and Foreign Sailors' Society; and hence a public meeting was called on Wednesday, November 4, at the Friends Meeting-house, Drury-lane, to form a West London Auxiliary.

Captain Allen, R. N., took the chair on the occasion, and the meeting was addressed by the Rev. C. Gilbert, Rev. Mr. Woollacott, Rev. T. Timpson, Rev. Mr. Archer, Captain Cowie, Rev. C. Hyatt, Rev. J. Upton, Captain Houghton, and Parker, Esq., from China.

Although, the weather being wet, the attendance was but small, yet an impression was produced favourable to the sailors' cause, and it is hoped that an Auxiliary will soon be in operation, worthy of the Christians of Westminster.

BENEFITS OF THE COAST GUARD LIBRARIES.

ETERNITY alone will reveal the important benefits, both temporal and spiritual, which have already arisen, and which will result, from the supply of six hundred and twenty libraries to the Coast Guard round England, Scotland, and Ireland. We are constantly receiving encouraging accounts from the various stations; and the following extract of a letter, dated Nov. 3, from a lady, a near relative of one of the officers, will confirm this statement, and

illustrate the value of such a provision for the mental and religious welfare of that great body of men and their families:

66

It has been a wish of mine from a very distant period to address you, chiefly to express our sentiments with regard to the ineffable pleasure, benefit, and amusement we derive from the perusal of the books belonging to the Coast Guard library, in the establishment of which you have taken so lively an interest. We have all a taste

for that most agreeable pursuit, I assure you. When thus engaged, you are often the subject of our thoughts. My two sisters who were abroad, returned last year, so we form a large party, and we spend the hours very pleasantly in imparting knowledge to the younger branches of the family.

“At this station there are eight men, a few of whom appear well disposed. There are several Irish Catholics; the wife of one instructs the children, thirteen in number, all very young."

EMBARKATION FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

EMIGRATION from our native land to settle in remote regions of the globe, is a solemn and eventful procedure; and those who are immediately connected with such events ought to endeavour to improve them, for the spiritual welfare of those concerned in the enterprize. The new colony of South Australia has been an object of peculiar interest with the British and Foreign Sailors' Society; and most of the ships, about fourteen, we believe, that have sailed thither from London, Liverpool, and Hull, during the past year, have been supplied with the Loan Libraries for the crews and passengers, besides books and tracts.

G. F. Angas, Esq., one of the Treasurers of the Society, has taken a deep personal interest in the welfare of the crews and emigrants proceeding to the new colony; and the following will be read with peculiar pleasure, as illustrating the solicitude and liberality of our excellent friend, and of the designs of the conductors of Agents, in the founding of that important appendage to Great Britain.

Plymouth - A very interesting meeting was held on Wednesday, the 23d ult. (November), in the Baptist DIVI, Howe Street, for the purpose of commending to the

ne protection and blessing, the emigrants about to

sail from this port in the South Australian Company's barque, the South Australian. It may be necessary to inform our readers, that this Company intend to prosecute various mercantile pursuits in that colony, such as whalefishing, cultivation of wool, &c., and have paid, and are resolved to pay, most particular attention to the moral and religious interests of the emigrants, many of whom of both sexes were present. The Chairman of the Board of Directors, George F. Angas, Esq., had kindly invited the steerage passengers to dinner at the King's Arms Hotel, and after dinner the whole proceeded to the meeting at the chapel, which was very numerously and respectably attended. After the singing of a hymn, and the reading a portion of Holy Scripture, prayer was offered by the Rev. G. Smith, of Morley Street chapel. Mr. Mac Claren, the Company's commercial manager in the colony, bound for South Australia, then briefly stated the object of the meeting, showed the propriety of commending the undertaking to the guidance and blessing of God, and stated in a few words the nature and objects of the South Australian Company. Brief addresses to the emigrants were then delivered by the Rev. G. Smith, relative to the feelings appropriate to the circumstances of their departure from their native land; by the Rev. W. Rooker, on the importance of their cultivating habits of morality and religion in the land of their destination and future abode; and by the Rev. S. Nicholson, minister of the chapel, on the unity and brotherly love which those among them who professed the name of Christ should exemplify in their religious intercourse with each other. A concluding prayer was then offered, in which the emigrants were most affectionately commended to God, by the Rev. T. Horton, of Devonport. -Plymouth Journal.

South Australian School Society.-We have great satisfaction in announcing in this place the formation of a Society for the establishment of "Infant, British, and Labour Schools" in the new colony. This must be regarded as a wise arrangement for the benefit of the children of the new colonists, many of whom are seamen. Scarcely any object can be more worthy of the patronage of the Christian public in this country, especially those who are interested in the prosperity of the British colonies. We shall refer again to this in our next PILOT; but, in the meantime, it will be proper to state, that subscriptions and donations in aid of this object will be received by the