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he contemplates celestial objects only, and knows not of the present state of things during the period of his prayer; provided that prayer be breathed with fervency. Could we but pray with fervency; could we but pray with a soul resuscitated, a mind awakened, an understanding quickened, then were Satan to appear he would instantaneously fly; were the gates of hell to yawn upon us, they would close again.

Prayer is a haven to a shipwrecked mariner; an anchor unto them that are sinking in the waves; a staff to the limbs that totter; a mine of jewels to the poor, a security to the rich, a healer of disease, and a guardian of health. Prayer at once secures the continuance of our blessings, and dissipates the cloud of our calamities. O prayer! O blessed prayer! Thou art the unwearied conqueror of human woes; the firm foundation of human happiness; the source of ever-during joy. The man who can pray truly, though languishing in extremest indigence, is richer than all beside; whilst the wretch who never bowed the knee, though proudly seated as monarch of the nations, is of all men most destitute.

Let us then direct our thoughts to him that was poor, yet rich; rich because he was poor. Let us overlook the enjoyments of the present, and desire the blessings of the future; for so shall we obtain the blessings both of the present and the future. Oh! may we all obtain them, through the grace and beneficence of Christ our Lord; to whom with the Father and Holy Spirit, be ascribed all glory, now and for evermore! Amen.

PICTURE OF A GAMBLER.

The concluding part of Dr. Nott's address on Card-Playing.

The finished gambler has no heart. The club with which he herds would meet, though the place of rendezvous were the chamber of the dying; they would meet, though it were an apartment in the charnel house. Not even the death of kindred can affect the gambler. He would play upon his brother's coffin; he would play upon his father's sepulchre.

Yonder see that wretch, prematurely old in infirmity, as well as sin. He is the father of a family. The mother of his children, lovely in her tears, strives with the tenderest assiduities, to restore his health, and with it, to restore his temperance, his love of home, and the long lost charms of domestic life. She pursues him with her kindness and her entreaties, to his haunts of vice; she reminds him of his children; she tells him of their virtues; of their sorrows; of their wants; and she adjures him, by the love of them, and by the love of God, to repent and return. Vain attempt! She might as well adjure the whirlwind; she might as well entreat the tiger.

The brute has no feeling left. He turns upon her in the spirit of the demons with which he is possessed. He curses his children, and her who bare them; and as he prosecutes his game, he fills the

intervals with imprecations on himself, with imprecations on his Maker imprecations borrowed from the dialect of devils, and uttered with a tone that befits only the organs of the damned! and yet in this monster there once dwelt the spirit of a man. He had talents, he had honor, he had even faith. He might have adorned the senate, the bar, the altar. But alas! his was a faith that saveth not. The gaming table has robbed him of it, and of all things else that is worth possessing. What a frightful change of character! What a tremendous wreck is the soul of man in ruins! Return, disconsolate mother, to thy dwelling, and be submissive; thou shalt become a widow, and thy children fatherless. Further efforts will be useless-the reformation of thy partner is impossible

forsaken him—nor will good angels weep or watch over him any longer.

A CATECHETICAL LECTURE.

QUESTION. In what is the whole duty of mankind comprised? Answer. In two things,-being good, and doing good. Q. What is it to be good? A. It is to have a good heart, a good understanding, and good habits. Q. Is nothing more implied in being good? A. Nothing more. Q. What is a good heart? A. A heart which is pure, just, and benevolent, in all its exercises. Q. What is a good understanding? A. One which has correct, clear, and extensive views of the character, works, and word of God; and of the dispositions, actions, and conditions of men. Q. What are good habits? A. Such as prepare men for usefulness, happiness, and virtuous commendation. They are the reverse of bad habits, and consist much in established self-denial, or the uniform mortification of sel⚫ fish, contracted, and injurious dispositions. Q, Is the person who possesses this good heart, good understanding, and good habits in the highest degree possible, as good and valuable a character, as we can conceive of? A. Certainly; imagination cannot paint a better. Q. Then all who would be persons of real worth, should aim at possessing and increasing these particulars? A. Yes, to the utmost of their power. Q. And are men of the worst hearts, the meanest and most sophisticated understandings, and the worst habits, as bad men as exist? A. Certainly; there can be no worse. Q. What is it to do good? A. It is to glorify God, and to seek to promote the happiness of mankind. Q. What is comprised in glorifying God? A.. It comprises love to his character, delight in his felicity, obedience to his commands, desire for his favor, confidence in his promises, gratitude for his beneficence, submission to his will, and joy in his government of the world. Q. What is it to seek to promote the happiness of mankind? A. It is to seek the advancement of their earthly comfort, usefulness, and respectability, as far as we consistently can; and to use means for their instruction, conviction, conversion, sanctification, consolation, and everlasting salvation. Q. Does this being good and doing good, comprise all

that is required of mankind, in all stages of their earthly existence? A. Yes, the whole; nothing more is or can be required, by either scripture or reason. Q. What would be the effect of perfect compliance with these two particulars of duty? A. It would clothe mankind with the beauty of holiness, constitute them a most humble, amiable, and affectionate band of brothers and sisters, and afford them the highest happiness, both here and hereafter. Q. Do the best of men fall far short of the full performance of these duties? A. Very far indeed. Q. Were they ever completely exemplified in human nature? A. Yes, in the man Christ Jesus, when he sojourned on earth, to prepare and make an atonement for the sins of men; for he ever did his Father's will, and in no instance failed of being holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. Thus he became a perfect model for all, who would be and do what their duty and happiness requires. Q. Can the defects of human obedience be cancelled, so as not to procure the final condemnation of the delinquents? A. They can; by being forgiven, through faith in Christ, who is the end of the law for righteousness to all, who truly and cordially believe in him. Q. Is not the effect of this faith then most happy? A. It is, for by it men are raised from death in sin, to a life of righteousness and true holiness. Q. What must be the consequence of not exercising this faith ?.A. Most alarming; for he that believeth not shall be damned, or suffer the punishment due to all his sins, which is nothing short of the endless displeasure of Almighty God. R. W.

POETRY.

MR. EDITOR,

The following lines are not sent you as possessing high poetic merit; they were the experimental effusion of a dear saint, with whom I was intimately acquainted about six years ago. She wrote them while under a mortal disease, and but a few weeks before she was enabled by divine grace to bid a triumphant adieu to this world, and to a number of very dear relations and friends. Attended with this history, you can judge whether they may not be edifying to some of your pious readers, and possibly to some one waiting for the king of terrors. R. W.

My spirit and faculties fail,

O, finish what love has begun;
Destroy what is sinful and frail,

And dwell in the soul thou hast won.

Dear theme of my wonder and praise,

I cry, who is worthy as thou?

I can only be silent and gaze,
It is all, that is left to me now.

O, glory! in which I am lost,
Too deep for the plummet of thought,

On an ocean of Deity vast,

I'm swallowed and sink into nought.

But lost and absorbed as I am,

I chaunt to the praise of my King,

And though I'm o'erwhelm'd with the thought,
Am happy, whenever I sing,

MISSION AMONG THE CHOCTAWS.

Letter from Mr. Kingsbury to the C. S. of the A. B. F. M.

OUR readers will deeply sympathize with the writer of the following letter, in the melancholy event, which calls him and the mission family to mourning. In the removal of Mrs. Kingsbury, beside the separation of those tender ties, which bind a mother to her infant children, and a wife to her affectionate husband, the cause of missions experiences a great bereavement. Possessed of a vigorous mind, good sense, great resolution, perseverance, cheerfulness, patience, faith, and enlightened zeal, the deceased was peculiarly qualified to be useful in the sphere, where Providence had placed her. Yet, in an unexpected moment, she is mysteriously removed from her labours. Nothing remains but submission to the will of God; knowing, that though clouds and darkness are round about Him, righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.

MY DEAR SIR,

Mayhew, Sept. 27, 1822.

Since I last wrote, it hath pleased our blessed Lord and Master to visit us with affliction. Mr. and Mrs. Jewell arrived here in feeble health on the 17th of August. On the 25th of the same month, Mr. Jewell was taken down with a bilious fever, and his wife with the same fever on the day following. The attack was more severe than any they had before experienced, since their arrival in the country. For several days it was doubtful whether they would recover. But the Lord was pleased again to visit us with mercy, na to make our afflictions lighter than our fears. On the 3d of September they began to amend; but, for a considerable time, continued in a very low state.

During the summer we have also had a number of sick persons in our family-some of them hired men; others strangers, who were taken sick on the road and could proceed no further. It is always inconvenient for us, with our large family, and many cares and labors, to have the additional care of sick persons; especially those, who do not belong to our family, and for whose accommoda-. tion we have made no provision. But, in the above cases, we considered that we were called, by the Providence of God, to exhibit the benevolence of the gospel, and to imitate him, who, while here on earth, went about healing the diseases, and relieving the distresses of mankind.

With the exception of one or two chronic cases, the health of our own family continued good, until Mr. and Mrs. Jewell, and the other sick persons, were on the recovery. On the 6th of September, Mr. Wright, who, from the time he arrived here, had been constantly employed in taking care of the sick, was himself attacked with a chill and fever. By the timely use of medicine, it pleased the Lord to raise him again, in a few days, to comfortable health. These light afflictions were designed by our heavenly Father to prepare us for one more severe, and which we were soon to experience.

Yes, my dear Sir, the Lord has laid his hand heavily upon us all, and upon me in particular. My dear wife is no longer a partner in our labours, our sorrows, and our joys. In an unexpected hour, I have been bereaved of a most kind and affectionate companion; my little children of a tender mother; and the mission of a devoted and useful member.

Mrs. Kingsbury from her first arrival on mission ground till within five days of her death, enjoyed uncommonly good health. During the past summer, in addition to the ordinary labours of the mission, she was much occupied in attending the sick. The Monday preceding her death, she was more than usually occupied in domestic labours, until late in the evening. On Tuesday and Wednesday she was slightly indisposed, which she considered the effect of a cold taken on Monday evening. On Thursday she was better; spent part of the afternoon in sewing; and observed she was almost well.

The disease at first assumed many of the appearances of the common fever of the country; but at last proved to be an inflammation of the bowels, and was very rapid in its progress, terminating life on the ensuing Sabbath morning.

She was in the perfect possession of her reason to the last moment; and, for the last six or eight hours, was sensible she had not long to live. On account of great distress and difficulty of respiration, she could converse but little. In view of the solemn and unexpected event of death, which appeared to be rapidly approaching, her mind was tranquil and resigned. She lamented her unfaithfulness: but expressed a humble hope of her acceptance with God, through the merits of the Saviour. I asked her if she regretted the sacrifices she had made, in leaving her father's house and the circle of her dear friends, that she might labour for Christ among the heathen. "O no;" she replied with emphasis, “I only regret that I have done no more." When able to converse, she exhorted us to be faithful to the cause, in which we were engaged, and to prepare to follow her. A short time before her death, she took an affectionate leave of all the family, as they in succession came to her bed side. Her children were peculiarly dear to her; and the idea of leaving them, at their tender age, in this land of strangers, was extremely painful. But she remembered, that God had promised to be their father and their friend. Though she had been in great distress for near forty hours before her death, yet her last moments were without a struggle or a groan. On the 15th

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