miserable eternity is still in prospect. Verily, what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and in the end lose his own soul?

Do Christians feel these things to be living realities? Do they burn with intense anxiety for the immediate salvation of all over whom they exert an influence? Do they realize that the influence of their examples may instrumentally seal the eternal happiness or misery of some whom they hold most dear?

When the Church, both ministry and people, shall feel the full weight of the responsibilities which rest upon them, and put forth corresponding action-then will revival follow revival in quick succession throughout the length and breadth of the land. Efforts will be put forth for the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom such as have not been since the days of primitive Christianity. The wealth of the Church will be consecrated to the great work of glorifying God in the salvation of souls; and the angel having the everlasting Gospel to preach to the nations of the earth shall be heard flying through the midst of heaven, while close behind him shall be heard the sound of another crying with a loud voice," It is finished-the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever." And the grand chorus of the celestial choirs shall burst forth in louder and sweeter sounds than ever before, "Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." And earth, redeemed and sanctified, shall re-echo the sound, "Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth."

THOUGHT.

BOUNDLESS, illimitable! who can trace

Thy varied journeyings through the realms of air?
Thou mock'st each barrier of time or space,
And fliest on swiftest pinion everywhere!
By thee we track the past, long ages gone,
Lost in the dark abyss of buried time,
Or strive to pierce the future, dim unknown,
Or soaring upward, seek the eternal clime:
We revel 'mid the stars, in the high dome

Of God's own glorious temple, richly spread;
Make, 'mid their shining hosts the spirit's home-
Among their living lights, where seraphs tread!

But thou hast earthly rovings, boundless Thought!
O'er the wide world thine eager wing is flying;
To vine-clad realms, where fragrant winds are sighing,
To fairy-haunted grove or storied grot,

Thither thou lead'st us; hoary mountains, piled
High in the clouds, broad lakes, and rivers fair,
And green savannahs, stretching vast and wild,

We know them all, by thee borne swiftly there!
The lava-buried cities, ancient Rome;

Judea's queen, so honored, so debased,
Where HE, the man of grief, vouchsafed to come,
And through her streets his path of sorrow traced;
To these we speed us: what can stay thy flight,
Ethereal essence ?-swift as flash of light!

And yet a power more dear is thine, O Thought!
By thee, long-parted friends together meet;
Though seas divide them, by thy magic brought
In close companionship again; how sweet
To speak kind words of sympathy; once more
To linger, spell-bound, on some long-loved face,
Again each faded lineament retrace,)

Till faithful memory all their charms restore?
The lonely mother, at her cottage hearth,

Shudders to hear the storm go rushing past,

And, as in fitful and demoniac mirth,

Shrieks forth, in trumpet-tones, the maddened blast,
While roars the tempest, roll the blackened clouds,

She seeks her sea-boy's form, rocked in the spray-wreathed shrouds.

M. N. M.

SOCIETY.

It is an interesting and useful exercise, to observe the peculiar features of any age, or the character of any people. Its value is chiefly to be estimated, not by the mere gratification it affords to a curious and inquiring mind, but by the lesson it teaches, for the improvement of the character, and the proper selection of the means of attaining immediate happiness, and ultimate good. This is the great end of History,-which has well been called "Philosophy teaching by Example." We shall read History to but little advantage, if we do not gather philosophy from these examples. Of how little moment is it to the purposes of knowledge, to be acquainted with the exploits or the statistics of a nation! We are most interested in learning the character of the people; and as retributive justice is often administered in this world, to the clear perception of mankind, in ascertaining how far the fate of the nation may have been determined by its char

acter.

But it is of much greater importance to gain a correct idea of the character of our own age, and particularly of the condition of

our own country. And without being too philosophical, we propose to survey the world around us, glancing at the most prominent features of the age and of the society in which we live and move; pointing out defects, not for the purpose of finding fault, but to show what we are, that each may judge for himself what we should be.

It is very common to boast of the superiority of our own age; and veneration for antiquity is fast giving place to a complacent regard for that which we see, and part of which we are. This is very excusable, if it be well grounded. Human nature has, certainly, made great progress towards its destined perfection, and the times demand the utmost vigilance, lest the spirit that is now awake be suffered to languish, or to lead in a wrong direction. We may be permitted to rejoice in the assurance, that our lot has been cast in times of peculiar prosperity, and " that our lines have fallen in pleasant places." If we look around us, we shall find much that is good, though blended, perhaps, with much that is evil.

Among the principal features of the present age, there is one which distinguishes it as the age of Books and of Reading-a feature which indicates the increased employment of the intellectual faculties, even if they be not directed to the most useful objects of attention. Intellectual education has, comparatively, become an object of general and intense interest, and intellectual pursuits are fast taking precedence of all others. The gladiatorial shows of the ancients, and the tournaments of a later period, were not conducted with more spirit and interest, than are the more human and exalting contests in the arena of mental strife, which occupy the attention of our own times. This is the era of the triumph of mind. The political errors of the old world, which debased the character and enslaved the minds of the people, are yielding to the steady and irresistible influence of the spirit of intelligence, which is the life of freedom and happiness. And he who is not too poor to give a penny for the thoughts of the wise men of this and every past age, can readily apply himself to wisdom and knowledge. The popular character is fast being incorporated into the governments of Europe, and exercises a reciprocal influence upon the intellectual condition of the mass of the people. The spirit of our own government, especially, comes powerfully in aid of the prevailing tendency of the age. We are distinguished for our legislative, as well as rational freedom. The bold and prominent feature of our system of civil polity, and which is essential to its preservation, is the free and equal exercise of individual rights; and all the intellectual resources of our people are called into action, by the privilege and the necessity of actual co-operation in the great work of self

government. The democracies of olden time owed their preservation to their narrow limits, and the rudeness of ancient simplicity. With us the case is far different. Wisdom and morality are the stability of our institutions, and we hope the period of our grand climacteric is yet far distant. Our civil liberty must depend upon the education of our citizens,—and so long as morality is the basis of our education, we shall have little reason to fear for its permanance. Either from a conviction of this truth, or from the gradual advancement of human nature under the fostering care of salutary institutions, a great and increasing improvement in the education and refinement of our people is clearly apparent.

We have said that the present age may be considered as the Age of Books-and the distinction will be obvious to every one. Indeed, the great multiplication of books is a stumbling-block of offence to some; and it would really seem that the facilities of acquiring information are sufficient to excite a reasonable apprehension of danger to the minds of the rising generation. The various, easy, and entertaining forms, in which ideas are presented to the mind, may create a habit of mere reception, without any exercise of the reasoning powers. Reading may become a mere pastime; and ready acquiescence be substituted for searching thought and discriminating judgment. We are in danger of becoming superficial readers, grasping at more than we can manage. We may catch a sprinkling of literature, in lieu of knowledge. Human nature is prone to indolence and ease; and we have a strong temptation to allow others to do all the work for us, and sit down quietly and carelessly, to drink in the mingled and copious draughts which have been so profusely prepared for the mind.

It is not intended, by these remarks, to discourage any one from availing himself of the means of intellectual improvement which the times afford; but by throwing out a few suggestions, to awaken a careful vigilance, lest by a too eager desire to possess all, we fail of attaining the advantages of any.

But the most prominent feature in the character of the age, is the absorbing principle of utility, which is the favorite philosophy, and seems to direct all the energies of the people. Ours is the age of physical science, of practical philosophy, of calculation and gain. It is emphatically the age of railroads and steam-engines. Ingenuity and talent, of every description, are exerted too much in the cause of bodily comforts and luxuries,—in the promotion of commercial interests, and of easy and rapid locomotion. The attention is almost entirely engrossed with the common-place subjects of thought-the dry details of profit and loss. Notwithstanding the vast improvement of society in its intellectual character,

too much value is still attached to wealth. It has been suffered to have so great an influence in fixing the estimation of individuals in society, that it has become the principal object of ambition to the enterprising spirits of our day. Hence those pursuits only are encouraged, which tend to promote its acquisition. The fine arts and works of taste are very much neglected-and genius receives too little encouragement, if it chance not to be employed in some money-making or labor-saving invention. People of fortune, instead of fostering the growth of native talent, by a liberal patronage and the cultivation of their own taste, after they have exhausted all the sources of pleasure which their habits and feelings render them capable of enjoying, sigh for some mental gratification, and complain of the dulness of the age that cannot afford anything to interest them. While those who are ploughing earth, sea, and air, to reap a harvest of wealth, refuse to add their mite for the support of literature or the fine arts, lest when they count their heap, they should find it one grain the less. It is a very common excuse with such, that they cannot afford to sustain any but works of usefulness. Now, besides that it is not true that they cannot afford it, for the same persons will spend double the amount solicited, upon the shadow of a chance of remote gain, or to gratify a whim in the way of business,-they wholly mistake the character of the objects which claim their favorable notice, and have a very narrow notion of the subject of usefulness. Every encouragement afforded to the fine arts and works of taste, adds so much to the refinement of society; and he who favors their growth, does no more than cast his bread upon the waters, which, after not many days, will return to him again. Every dollar devoted to this object takes so much from the mass which goes to swell the amount of vice and misery, encouraged by the gratification of animal pleasures. And it is as clear as a mathematical demonstration, that the more you foster a taste for literature and the fine arts, the more, in an equal ratio, you destroy the love of sensual gratifications-the more you chasten and elevate the charAnd it becomes those who deny their utility, to consider that the time may come when all their treasure will not suffice to purchase food for the mind; and when, all their capacity for the grosser pleasures being gone, and their eyes weary with gazing on their glittering stores, they will either suffer the horrors of ennui, or, like an unused blade, will rust ingloriously.

acter.

These considerations need enforcing upon our community, for there is a sad want of taste and public spirit in relation to these objects. People are too much in the habit of asking themselves what good such a thing will do them? "Will it feed or clothe me or advance the interests of my business? If not-l'll not trouble myself with it!" Now, this forcibly brings to mind