pose of four Testaments, of which three went into the house of the rector. The first time that I presented myself to him, he repulsed me; but the next time he conversed freely with me at the door of his house. At length I got the three copies introduced, and when I left him, he said to me, pressing my hand, 'Do not forget, the next time you pass this way, to come and see me." In another department, the colporteur says, "I have had the pleasure of finding a priest who devotes himself to the serious study of the word of God. Not only has he purchased twelve New Testaments, but he said to me that he hoped, from the beginning of the year, to set a-going a subscription of one sous per week for the work of colportage." With such anecdotes this interesting report is full; those I have cited will suffice to give the reader a view of the nature of the work in which the agents of the society are engaged, the need there is for their labours, and the difficulties and encouragements which they meet with in their work. Another department of this society's efforts comes under the head of " Evangelisation Extérieure," and consists of the exertions of ministers supported or aided by the society for the preaching of the gospel in the south of France. According to the report from which I have above quoted, the statistics of this part of their work stood thus at the time that report was tendered:-" One ordained minister in the department of Gard; two ministers and one evangelist in that of Drôme; one minister in Isere; three ministers, two evangelists, and one teacher in Saône et Loire; one minister in the Vosges, and one evangelist in Belgium; in all, ten ordained ministers, four evangelists, and one teacher." This body of functionaries they were preparing largely to increase. For a society so catholic in its basis, so energetic in its operations, and so beneficent in its influence, it were superfluous to ask the approbation_and_the prayers of the pious reader.-Dr. Alexander. ORIGIN OF A SUNDAY-SCHOOL. SIR John Barrow, when referring to the incidents of his early life, says: Just after leaving school, in a conversation with a young friend, we lamented that there was no such thing as a Sunday school, for the benefit of poor children, and I suggested that we should propose one-but how? There was no newspaper -not even a printing press. We, however, drew up a plan, and I undertook to stick it up on the market cross, the night before market-day. We saw that it excited great attention; it was talked of; a person offered himself to undertake it; and it succeeded so well, that to the Ulverstone Sunday-school I and some of my family are at this time annual subscribers. THE WOUNDED MONKEY. THE following affecting story, related in "A Month at Malvern," is enough to affect even the heart of a sportsman: "The sports of the east are upon a larger scale than ours, more daring, and consequently more exciting; they seem exalted to the very height of butchery, and yet demand our admiration at the display of courage in man and beast. "A relation of mine, always better satisfied at succeeding in his aim, than in the result of his shot, brought down a monkey from a high tree. The poor creature, mortally wounded, was able to catch at the branches as it fell; and having so reached the ground, was shocked to see it as large as a child of three years. He put away his gun, and hastened to it. The monkey, placing its hand on the wound, looked up into his face with an expression that seemed to imply, 'What have I ever done to you that you should kill me?' He took it in his arms, and tried to stop the bleeding; while the creature, growing weaker, yielded itself to the comfort that he gave: 'And the big round tears Chased one another down his innocent nose, In piteous course.' "Still there was the expression of reproach, heightened by the misery of poor who at that moment would have given much for the recovery of his victim. He then took it gently to a pool, to put a period to the protracted sufferings of nearly an hour, and exerted his resolution by immersing it in the water. Holding it during the brief struggle, he turned from the sight; but when all was still, and he ventured to look, there were the monkey's eyes wide open under the water, with the same sad, reproachful expression, and fixed upon his. From that day he never used his gun, and that hour's experience embittered his life." LADYE-PLACE. Ladye-Place, A.D. 1688. THE old mansion of Hurley House, or Ladye-Place, (of which we give an engraving,) was situated about five miles from Maidenhead, on one of the most picturesque windings of the Thames, being four miles from Henley-on-Thames, and not far from the Oxford road. The view from the hills, above the village of Hurley, is very fine, and the houses are pleasantly situated in a valley, sheltered on both sides of the river by gently descending and well-wooded hills. As it is enjoyed, we are reminded of the words of Pope : "My eye, descending from the hill, surveys Where Thames among the wanton valleys strays, Here hills and vales, the woodland and the plain, And where, though all things differ, all agree: Where waving groves and chequer'd scenes display, And part admit, and part exclude the day: The village of Hurley has an ancient and retired look; the houses are old, and partly constructed of timber, with deep porches and seats covered with mosses and vines, which contrast somewhat singularly with the small toll-house at the end of the village. On the dissolution of the monasteries, it became the property of a family named Chamberlain, of whom it was purchased in the reign of queen Elizabeth, by Richard Lovelace, "a soldier of fortune," who went on an expedition against the Spaniards, under sir Francis Drake, and erected his mansion on the ruins of the ancient building, with the property he acquired in that enterprise. The remains of the monastery might be traced in the numerous apartments, which, till a recent period, occupied the west end of the house. The vaults under the hall formed the burial-place, which formerly occupied the site; and an inscription on the floor records that "three bodies, in Benedictine habits, were found under the pavement." The ceiling of the vaults is about six feet and a half high; there is also a recess connected with the rooms. At the period of the Revolution in 1688, these vaults became of great importance to the Orange party, as, from their perfect seclusion, they afforded a and, among others, one of the most im- An The plan went on till ripe for execution, under a variety of favourable circumstances which occurred on the continent, while at home there was almost an unanimous feeling of impatience at the tyranny of the government. army and a fleet were collected under appearances which deceived both the French and English kings; while the attempts made to apprize James of his danger were unsuccessful; and it is said that Sunderland, who had command of the foreign correspondence, purposely prevented any information being communicated to the king. Every recourse was had to a deception which cannot be too greatly deprecated; and it has been well observed, that in this glorious revolution nothing was glorious but the result." suitable spot for the secret meetings of Fletcher of Saltoun, who had been serving as a volunteer in Hungary, hastened to Holland, to be ready with his sword and his counsels; and, generally, the Protestant lords, who had been obliged to fly to the continent, joined the prince with reviving hopes that, through his means, they might recover their property and their homes, and restore liberty and Protestantism to their country. A regular correspondence was maintained between London, Edinburgh, Dublin, and the Hague, under the superintendence of many of the nobility; but to few was William indebted more than to the lord and lady Churchill, who had tasted, to an unusual degree, of James' favour and bounty. Henry Sidney, brother of Algernon, Hampden, and others, who had felt the weight of the perverted laws, determined to run one more risk, and were active and eager, like men who knew this must be their last effort. Secret meetings were held in various places, With this all are acquainted. The nobility who had assisted William received rewards proportioned to the advantages they had rendered, and lord Lovelace had the post of captain of the band of gentlemen. The circumstances are stated in an inscription on the walls of the vaults of Hurley House. It runs thus: "Dust and ashes, Mortality and vicissitude to all. "Be it remember'd, that the Monastery of Lady-Place, (of which this vault was the burial cavern,) was founded at the time of the great Norman Revolution; by which revolution the whole state of England was changed: Hi motus animorum, atque hæc certamina tanta, Pulveris exigui jactu compressa quiescunt? "Be it also remember'd, that in this place, six hundred years afterwards, the Revolution of 1688 was begun. This house was then in the possession of the family of lord Lovelace; by whom private meetings of the nobility were assembled in the vault; and it is said that several consultations for calling in the prince of Orange were held in this recess; on which account this vault was visited by that powerful prince after he had ascended the throne." Other facts are then stated: "Be it also remember'd, that on the 29th of May, 1780, this vault was visited by general Paoli, commander of the Corsicans in the revolution of that island. "Be it also remember'd, that this Place was visited by their Majesties KING GEORGE the third, and QUEEN CHARLOTTE, on Monday, the 14th of November, 1785." The prodigality of lord Lovelace was so great, that he was ultimately obliged to sell a great part of his estates, under a decree of Chancery, to pay his debts, and Hurley House is said then to have passed into the hands of an attorney, on behalf of himself and his clients. The manor was purchased for the family of Greeve; it then became the property of the duke of Marlborough, and subsequently of lord viscount Ashbrook, in right of his lady. Meanwhile part of the old chapel, or refectory, was converted into stables, the windows of which were of chalk, and though made in the Conqueror's time, they appeared very recently as fresh as if they were of modern workmanship. The hall was extremely spacious, occupying nearly half the extent of the house. The grand saloon was decorated in a singular style, the panels being painted with upright landscapes, the leafings of which were executed with a kind of silver lacker. The views appeared to be Italian, and were reported as the work of Salvator Rosa, purposely executed to embellish this apartment. The receipt of the painter is said to have been in the possession of a late resident. THE AURORA BOREALIS. F. BUT few that saw it will ever forget the Aurora (or Northern Light) which occurred in the winter of 1836-7. It was pronounced at the time the most brilliant and general that had been seen by any living man. It was not confined, as it usually is, to the northern section of the heavens. The whole horizon was illumined by arches of fiery hue, from which columns and sheaves of light, of the most variegated and beautiful colours, shot up towards the zenith, forming there a fiery coronet of the most transcendent beauty. The agitation of these columns and sheaves was sometimes very great. On a sudden these agitations would cease, and the light would die away, and the heavens would resume their wonted appearance; but in a moment these columns would shoot up again in increased size, and with greater splendour, giving an appearance of brilliancy and grandeur to the heavens which called forth the loud acclamations of the admiring beholders. For some weeks previous the earth had been covered with a deep snow, which a cold frost had made to sparkle with a peculiar brilof the aurora, that streets, fields, and liancy; and such was the effect upon it with blood. This remarkable phenomenon houses looked as if they were covered only disappeared from the sky as the morning light began to dawn. Sabbath evening, and on the evening of Not long afterwards I observed, on the weekly service, in a corner of my lecture-room, a female who was a stranger to me, and, obviously, to the place. Her attention was marked; her attendance became regular. Weeks passed away without my knowing who she was. where was a woman anxious about her I received a request to visit a family soul. As I entered the door, I was met by the stranger I had seen in the lecture room. her subdued and respectful manner, her I was favourably impressed by great frankness and candour, and her deep solicitude to know the way to be saved. Taking my seat by her side, and after hearing her account of her feelings, I asked her if she understood the plan of Her salvation through Jesus Christ. reply was, "I am afraid I do not." 66 "Then, madam," said I, "will you permit me to explain it to you in a brief and simple manner?” 66 That," said she, "is the very thing I want you to do." “Well, then,” said I, addressing her personally, and applying every word to herself, "you are a sinner in heart and in life. God is angry with you every day. Every sin you have ever committed deserves eternal banishment from God. So that you deserve to die as often as you have sinned. From the guilt and punishment of sin you cannot relieve yourself; nor can man or angel relieve you; nor can baptism or the Lord's supper, or any other rite, relieve you. And such is the nature of your sin, and of the justice and government of God, that you cannot be saved unless law and justice are satisfied for the many sins you have committed." I stopped a moment to see the effect of all this upon her mind. Looking at me with a tearful eye, she replied in a sub my dued tone, "I feel all this in soul. My fear of the anger of God, which my sins have kindled, is so great, that I cannot sleep or eat. My tears flow day and night." "But," said I, "there is a way of escape from the guilt and the punishment of sin. You are a sinner; and Jesus Christ has died for sinners. He bore the sins of all who ever have, or ever will believe upon him, in his own body on the tree. The law requires us to be righteous, in order to enter heaven; and Christ Jesus is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes upon him. If you feel yourself to be a sinner, you have nothing to do but to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved. If you repent of sin, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ-if you believe what Jesus teaches, if you do as he commands-if now, without a moment's delay, you can trust your soul and its concerns in the hands of Jesus Christ, without waiting until you are either better or worse, he will certainly save you; for he says, 'Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' With her bright and beaming eye fixed upon me, she drank in every word that I uttered; and when I concluded, she promptly replied, "This is just the way that suits my case." "Are you willing now," said I, "to believe in Christ, to cast yourself upon the merits of his atonement, to take him to be your Saviour from all sin?" "Yes," said she, with the eagerness of a drowning man catching hold of the boat sent out to his rescue, yes, I take him now to be my Saviour; I cast myself now upon the merits of his atonement." I prayed with her. When we arose from our knees her whole expression was changed, and a new song was put into her mouth. I felt there was a new trophy to redeeming grace and love before me. I now felt greatly desirous to know something about her history, the leading incidents of which she gave me with great frankness. She was born and educated a Roman Catholic. Though well educated, she was on the subject of religion extremely ignorant. Although now in mid-life, and the mother of children, all the attention she ever gave to her soul was to go to mass and to confession; and even that she had given up for years, convinced of their utter worthlessness. And up to the evening of the aurora borealis she never had With a conviction of her sinfulness. thousands of others she gazed upon the brilliant heavens, and the apparently crimsoned earth. The thought of the final conflagration, and of her utter unfitness to meet that dread scene, seized her mind, and she retired to her room deeply impressed with the greatness of God, and her own sinfulness and ingratitude. Then was made the first of those impressions which resulted in her conversion. Her husband was a Frenchman, of Protestant parentage, but utterly regardless of religion. When he returned home, on the evening of the day of my visit, she told him of my conversation with her, and its effects upon her mind and heart. She read to him from the Bible, and prayed with him. With his consent she erected the family altar. Her fidelity to him, and her deep anxiety for his salvation, created some restiveness, and he refused to hear her. In the deepest distress she sought my advice. I told her to increase her supplications for him in private, but to do nothing that would fret his mind, as that would be to defeat her great object. She retired, resolved to follow my advice. Some weeks had passed away without my knowing anything of what was going on in this little family. On a sabbathevening, after a day of peculiar solemnity in the house of the Lord, and when with a dejected spirit I was thinking that I had spent my strength for nought, she appeared in my study with her husband. She narrated her conversation and prayers with him, and he frankly confessed his opposition of heart to her change of mind, and especially to her conduct towards him in pressing religion upon him on all occasions. " But," ," said he, "her prayers and tears have broken my heart.' " "I told John," said she, "that if you would tell him what you told me, he would love God too, and that he would feel better in his mind and heart. I have strove to tell him all, but he does not understand me well enough, and I wish you to tell him about Jesus Christ." After hearing with intense interest their narratives as to each other's conduct, I spread out before John the plan of salvation, essentially as I had done a few weeks previous before his wife. When I got through, I asked him, "How does this plan appear to you?" His reply was, "It is the very one for me-I can now most cordially embrace it." I prayed with them, and when we rose from our |