Tranquebar hymn-book, to which, as the title page was lost, the Hindoo had given the name of "Heart-melter," indicating thereby the heart-subduing influence it had exerted upon himself. Evang. Luth. Missionsblatt.

CHILDHOOD'S HAPPY DAYS.

Он, how I love to think

On childhood's happy days,
When I, a little merry thing,
Was full of gleeful ways.

Round and round our country house,
My footsteps often stray'd;
And in a bubbling spring,

My little fingers play'd.

I splashed the water to and fro,
As o'er the surface bright
Was bent my tiny form, to see
The pretty dripping sight.

I well remember, too,

The pathway through the wood,
How here and there, in clusters bright,
The loveliest flowers stood.

Near these flowers wild,

There ran a murmuring rill-
To listen to the water's voice,
I'd stand an hour still.

Sweeter far the blended notes

Of Nature, 'mongst the trees-
As o'er their flowering branches
Flitted the birds and bees.

With eyes of love I look'd
Upon the glorious hue,
At sunset, of the mountain,

All clothed in gold and blue.
When in a mist was veil'd
The mountain's sunny side,
I thought it strange that Nature
Her greatest charms should hide.

How precious, too, my early joys,
In winter cold and keen,
When Nature wanted soul without,
Within all soul the scene.

Gone-gone-those joyous days—
Too bright-they could not last:
I count those childhood hours
The happiest of the past.

MOHAMMED'S TOMB AT MEDINA.

MOHAMMED, or Mahomet, as he is frequently, though incorrectly called, was born in the year of our Lord 569. He was the grandson of the prince of a tribe of Arabs, but in early life was left fatherless, with no property except five camels and an Egyptian slave. An uncle adopted the young orphan, intending to train him as a travelling merchant; but, marrying a rich widow, Mohammed lived in retirement till he was forty years old. It was, during this seclusion, he contrived a plan of imposing a new religion on the world. At Mecca, his native city, his pretended revelations were received with contempt and opposition; and, to save his life, he fled to the city of Medina.* In this place he was received with much favour, became its governor, and from thence went forth, at the head of his armies, till he had laid the *Towns in Arabia.

AUGUST, 1847.

I

foundation of a system, which has since been extended by force or fraud over a large portion of the world.

Medina is described as a poor and small town now famous only for its mosque, in which Mohammed was buried. This building is adorned with high minarets, and various small cupolas. A ridiculous story was long prevalent that the coffin of the prophet was suspended, by the power of two large loadstones, between the roof of the building and the ground. It, however, rests on a kind of bed, with curtains drawn around it: the tomb is lighted up at night with about one hundred lamps. Thousands of pilgrims resort to this place, but the only privilege allowed them is to thrust their hands between the gratings of the window, and there offer their prayers to Mohammed as their intercessor. This they do with the appearance of much reverence and affection.

A question has been raised, Was Mohammed a selfdeluded enthusiast, or a designing impostor? If we consider the time of life at which he entered on his project, and the crafty and cautious steps by which he proceeded, together with his falsehoods and affected revelations to justify his own departures from morality, we must come to the latter supposition. His book of doctrines and revelations, the Korân, while it contains just views of the evil of idolatry, the unity of God, and some virtuous principles, is full of gross superstitions and absurdities. It has been described as a clumsy revelation, little in harmony with the Scriptures, to which it pretends to be a supplement, deficient in all the characters of a Divine record, and ill-adapted to universal circulation: so that to bring the Bible and the Korân into comparison would be to insult the majesty of inspired truth. The sceptic Gibbon expresses himself to the same effect: "The incoherent rhapsody of fable, and precept, and declamation, seldom excites a sentiment or an idea :-his loftiest strains must yield to the sublime simplicity of the book of Job, composed in a remote age, in the same country, and in the same language." Let us, then, be thankful for that " more sure word of prophecy," which, while it is adapted, is also destined to enlighten every age and every land.

WHY DO WE SIT STILL?-JER. VIII. 14.

THIS significant and stirring inquiry was addressed by the prophet Jeremiah to his countrymen, when threatened with war, famine, and pestilence, as the punishment of their great sins. He seems to see the sorest calamities just ready to

overwhelm them; he drops the thread of prophecy and cries out, "Why do we sit still?" that is, till destruction overtake Let us 66 enter into the defenced cities," and there seek a refuge from threatening evils.

us.

Fellow-being! fellow-sinner! reader! whoever you may be, allow this inquiry to be put to you. A case so urgent, and so deeply involving your dearest interests, admits of no delay. You may be said to be threatened with war, famine, and pestilence; a disastrous war with God, a famine of the bread of life, and a pestilence that kills the soul. Why then do you sit still?

Do you say, I have nothing to do? A sinner nothing to do, who has a life of sin to repent of, a world of sin within him to subdue, and another world of sin about him to reclaim, and a hell of endless sin and misery yawning before him to escape! who has not yet entered upon the work of securing the pardon of his sins and the salvation of his soul! who has yet to decide between death and life, between heaven and hell! Surely you have enough to do: you have a work assigned you as the business of life. Life was given you for the very purpose that you might do it.

And it is a great and difficult work. For a sinner to become a believer, a child of hell an heir of heaven, is a work of such unequalled magnitude and such extreme difficulty, that you are exhorted in the Scriptures to strive and agonize for its accomplishment, to take the kingdom of heaven by violence. And you are told, that, so far from being able to do it at any moment without much effort, it is impossible for you to do it by your unaided exertions. So that if by sitting still you weary out the patience of God, so to speak, and forfeit his help, you will never be able to accomplish it, and will lose your soul. Why then will you sit still?

Not because God interposes any obstacles to your salvation. Look at what God the Father has given in his Son, and what the Son has suffered, and what the Holy Spirit has done for man's salvation. Look at all the declarations of his word, and the arrangements of his providence, and the provisions of his grace, and say what more this righteous and gracious God could have done for you. And have you the hardihood, have you the injustice and ingratitude, in the face of all this, to charge him with unwillingness that you should be saved! Why then sit still?

Not because others will do this great work for you. God

is ready with a willingness to save you, which words cannot express, which can be set forth only by such signs of infinite significance as the incarnation of his Son, the agonies of the garden, the atoning sacrifice on the cross, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. But it is you who must repent and believe, who must trust in the merits of Christ and seek the influences of the Spirit. Pious parents, and Christian friends can pray for you, and labour with you, and weep over you, but they cannot shed the tear of penitence nor offer the prayer of the publican in your stead, nor in your stead become reconciled to God; no, nor in your stead suffer the wrath of God and the pains of hell for ever. Your own

eye must see, and your own ear hear, and your own heart feel. You yourself must repent and believe, and love and act, in the most vigorous exercise of your best powers and affections. You must give an account of yourself before God. And your own soul must be saved or lost, be happy or miserable for ever. Why then sit still?

Not because it is a matter of so small importance whether the work be done or not, that it may safely be left to take care of itself. Sit still, and so far from doing the work, or its being done for you, you are doing the opposite with your might. Sit still, and you are lifting your arm in rebellion against God. Sit still, and your feet are swift in the road to hell. Do this work, and you have done all that chiefly concerns you. Neglect it, and you have done nothing that is of any value to you. You have wasted your time, perverted your talents, thrown away yourself at one fearful cast for ever. And "what is a man advantaged if he gain the whole world, and lose himself?" Why then sit still?

Not because you have too much time for doing this work. God gives us time for this purpose, and for this chiefly. Every man feels, when he lies upon his dying bed, that the whole of life wisely devoted, was not a moment too much to make his calling and election sure. Yet you have spent, it may be, ten, twenty, thirty, forty years, without entering upon the great business of life. Have you any more time to throw away?-you who never had too much, and yet have wasted one half, two-thirds, perhaps nearly all of it, perhaps all but the very last day or hour? Do you still linger?

Think not that other beings and other things will stand still and wait for your action. Everything else will move on, whether you do or not. Life will flee apace and death will hurry on. Death never stands still: he has already begun