success of the most active exertions.

I did not intend to have said so much upon the subject. My only design was to remind your readers to carry with them into the country their sense of moral responsibility; and if they cannot achieve all the great exploits of benevolence which they may desire, at least to give, as far as possible, some small proof that they have not lived a whole summer in vain.

residents of respectability, a cónscientious feeling of religious charity, and a personal interest in the spiritual welfare of the poor. If the metropolis and other large towns can spread fashionable contagion, as I fear they do, by their intercourse with the country, why should they not also furnish an antidote to their own poison? If the sons and daughters of folly do not seruple to corrupt, by their example, the village to which they retire, Christian families ought surely to exert their utmost to counteract the baneful influence, and to leave To the Editor of the Christian Observer. behind them the salutary impression that Religion is the one thing needful, as well for the busy inhabitant of cities as the remote villager in the country.

ON FAITH.

S. K.

On! could the muse to Heav'n aspiring,

borne

On the swift pinions of the rising morn,
Through fields of argent wing her buoy-
ant way,

View the bright regions of eternal day,
And, upward gazing, with ecstatic eye,
Catch the pure strain of Heav'n's high
minstrelsy;

Then might she dare to weave her earth

And

born lays,

the bold lyre, and chaunt her Maker's praise.

What, tho' mortality forbid the flight, clouds impervious shroud the Throne of Light, Norseraph music,wafted on the spheres, Sound through this dreary vale of woe and tears,

Yet FAITH divine, with mystic influence, pours

Her tranquil sunshine on our darkest hours;

In thus recommending Christian zeal, I need scarcely observe that in all cases, and more especially in that of casual visitants among strangers, prudence, humility, and disinterestedness should direct and moderate its efforts. A neighbour-Strike hood is not to be goaded into philanthropy or religion by a threemonths' settler; though from what I have had the pleasure to witness on various occasions, much may be often accomplished by a gentle, a frank, and an upright demeanour in cases apparently the most hopeless. More than one instance occurs to my recollection of neighbourhoods which for years to come will have reason to bless God for the enlightened and well-judged charity of perhaps a single individual, who, during a temporary visit, has done more for its real advantage than half its native inhabitants for twenty years in succession. There are few places in which benevolent and useful residents may not be found to promote schemes of utility, as soon as attention is judiciously excited and deliberate examination secured; while, on the contrary, an ostentatious, a coutro versial, or an overbearing spirit will almost inevitably prevent the

Opes Heav'n's blest regions to the raptur'd view,

Then

whispers" God who promised is

true."

A CONSTANT READER,

To the Editor of the Christian Observer. THE following lines on Waterloo Bridge were written some time before its opening. No person can think more highly than myself of the battle of Waterloo, in its immediate glories and still more glorious results; and certainly no event will be more likely to live to future ages. I trust, therefore, that in the

REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

Memoirs of the Life and Writtngs of the Rev. Claudius Buchanan, D.D. late Vice-Provost of the College of Fort William in Bengal. By the Rev. HUGH PEARSON, M.A. of St. John's College, Oxford. Oxford; Parker: Cadell & Davies, and Hatchard, London. 1817. 2 Vols. pp. xvi, 389, and vi. 394.

If there be any one characteristic which more than another discrimi, nates that class of persons, whom the world calls heroes, it is, that of firm devotedness to some single object, to which all others, are sacrificed. That object indeed must not be one of mere selfish gratification, such as the accumu lation of money or a taste for works of art; but must have something of magnificence connected with it, and be calculated to arrest attention, by, its dignity or importance. With this condition, however, it may be wholly selfish without materially derogating from its effect upon the beholder; and with the world's heroes it has, in point of fact, been commonly a selfish object; the pursuit of empire, for example, or in some other shape the pursuit of personal aggrandisement: and yet in all these cases the confinement of the desire to one pursuit, and the consequent abandonment of others, has imparted even to selfishness itself an air of generosity. Such a preference is generally accompanied with an elevation of feeling and sentiment which sets a man above the fascinations of ordinary pleasure and allurement, and, by keeping his affections undivided and his heart steadily fixed to one object of pursuit, adds strength and dignity as well as decision to his character. Even when exerted in bearing up against insurmountable difficulties, these

qualities are thought great and
But if also they are
splendid.
attended with success, and a suc-
cess greatly disproportionate to
that ordinary fortune which waits
on human endeavour, nothing then
seems wanting to ensure to their
possessor the name and reputation
of a hero.

Now, if we have correctly stated,
in these preliminary remarks, the
elements of the heroic character,
we conceive that we have done
much towards establishing for the
subject of these Memoirs a claim
The
to that much-envied title.
world at large, indeed, may pro-
bably hesitate to admit the claim.
But that reluctance need not sur-
prise us, when we consider that
Dr. Buchanan was not a worldly,
but a Christian hero; and that
the single object to which his life
was devoted was the extension
of Christianity in the East-an
object as far above the reach of
mere human heroism as the love
of Christ is superior to the love
of the world. To the accomplish-
ment of this end he made a cheer-
ful sacrifice of his time and health,
his ease and fortune, and even his
reputation and character. All the
energies of his mind and heart were
turned in this direction; and the
result was a quickness in discern-
ing the readiest means for advanc-
ing that object, and a promptitude
in seizing them, which could not,
under other circumstances, have
been attained. Nor was his suc-
cess inferior to his exertion.
efforts commenced in the year 1800,
and were closed by death in 1815;
and in the course of that short
time a moral revolution of senti-
ment took place respecting the
great duty of propagating Chris-
tianity in India, which, setting aside
the apostolic age, could not be
paralleled in the same number of

His

years, taken from any other period of ecclesiastical history: and though it would be unjust and ungrateful not to acknowledge, that other causes and other persons had also their share in promoting that momentous result, yet so highly do we appreciate the effect of his services that we are persuaded, that reasoning from the ordinary blessing of Providence on ministerial simplicity and zeal, had every million of Christians from the day of Pentecost to the present time, contained but one such man as Dr. Buchanan, there would scarcely now remain a heathen nation in the world. While, however, we look up with wonder and gratitude to a Buchanan, we would not be understood to advocate the propriety of any individual stepping out of his appointed sphere, in order that he may aspire to the character of a Christian hero. It is by a right use of such means as are given him, and not by usurping the place and office of others that a Christian, in whatever station, may hope to glorify God.

The individual whose Memoirs have given occasion to these remarks, furnishes no example of ambitious meddling with duties which did not belong to him. For nearly three years after his first settlement in India he had no office of extensive usefulness assigned him; and during that time, therefore, he remained quiet, trimming the secret lamp, which was one day to shed its light far and wide over the benighted regions of the East. After his return to Europe he sought the shade and courted obscurity, though it was soon found that he could not be concealed. But, whatever was his station, whether public or private, his conduct was still such as became the Gospel of Christ. He was ever labouring, in dependence on the graces of the Holy Spirit, to extend the knowledge and the power of Christianity; not stretching himself beyond his measure, but,

to use the Apostle's remark, "according to the measure of the rule which God had distributed to him," and "having also hope to be enlarged" by fresh accessions of believers through his preaching "according to his rule abundantly." Hence it resulted that he exhibited an illustration to the world of a remark which has been somewhere made, that "were a minister to walk altogether worthy of his high vocation, it would be impossible to mistake his character." Though he himself, were he still alive, or were it possible for him to speak to us from his place of holy rest, would be the first to disown the resemblance between his life and this description; though we cannot consistently with Christian truth hold up either his deportment or that of any other earthly minister as altogether "worthy of his high vocation;" though misconstruction and misrepresentation have not been wanting to tarnish the brightness of his example, and depreciate the value of his labours, it has been impossible to mistake his character. He was, by the acknowledgment of all who knew him, whether by the report of others or by personal intercourse, a burning and a shining light; and he has kindled a holy flame both in Europe and Asia, which will not, we trust, be easily extinguished.

It is further worthy of remark, that he never took an extravagant step, or adopted irregular methods to promote the cause which he had at heart. He believed the work in which he was engaged to be a work of God; and therefore he would not go to it but through the vestibule of sincerity and truth. Neither was any thing done by him either secretly on the one hand or ostentatiously on the other. His preaching was plain, undisguised testimony to the truth and power of the Gospel. His remonstrances, whenever they were called for, were open, unequivocal, and addressed directly to those

more than one quarter of the world, appeared in the early years of his life, the most unlikely of all men to be selected for that distinction, were it not that the ways of God are far above our ways, and his thoughts above our thoughts.

who were best able to understand and best fitted to obviate the causes of complaint. His munificence, though splendid, did not entrench upon the claims of private justice. His Christian travels were undertaken under the sanction of authority, and at times when he was To illustrate this position, we unfitted for other employment. extract the following passage from His zeal, though ardent, never the work before us, and shall follow hurried him into measures unbe- it up by a few others, which we coming his place and character, or think will fully convince our readoverstepped those decorous boun-ers of the truth of the preceding daries which Christian exertion remarks. ought ever to respect.

"Being naturally of an ardent and excursive turn of mind, he, at the age of seventeen, during his first residence in the University of Glasgow, con

Europe on foot; that being the only method of travelling upon which his slender finances would allow him to mantic project was, doubtless, to see the world; yet not, as he afterwards declared, without some vague and undefined intention of applying the information, which he might collect during his tour, to some useful purpose. It was not, however, till nearly four years afterwards, during which, as we have seen, he was diligently employed in acquiring and imparting knowledge, that

calculate. His chief view in this ro

Although, it must be admitted, the circumstances in which he was placed, during a few years of his life, were extraordinary in them-ceived the design of making the tour of selves, and well-adapted for the development of a character, the humility of which would otherwise bave veiled it from observation, it must be remembered, that other persons also, and others of similar piety and principle, were placed in the same circumstances without turning them to the same advantage. Nor was there anything in his previous history, in his connexions, recommendations, or character, which fitted him exclusively to take a lead in these measures, or to fill the space which his name covers in the religious annals of the late extraordinary era. Individuals sometimes bring with them into public life certain auxiliaries, derived from rank, or sta tion, or ancestry, or acknowledged eminence, which give them an ascendency at once, and dispose others to follow easily and voluntarily in their train. "Si quis ab ineunte ætate habet causam celebritatis et nominis, aut a patre acceptam, aut aliquo casu atque fortuna, in hunc oculi omnium conjiciuntur, atque in eum, quid agat, quemadmodum vivat, inquiritur; et, tanquam in clarissima luce versetur, ita nullum obscurum potest nec dictum ejus esse, nec factum." But Buchanan, though designed by Providence to act a great part in the promotion of Christianity in

it did not originally suggest this design, a circumstance occurred, which, though certainly tended to hasten his departure from Scotland. This was an imprudent attachment to a young lady, who happened to be on a visit to the family in which he was then residing, and who was superior to himself in birth and fortune. The affection was mutual, but the disparity of their rank able barrier to their union. Mr. Bu and station seemed to form an insuperchanan became in consequence very sion recurred to his favourite and longunhappy, and in the height of his pascherished plan of a foreign tour; in the course of which, with all the sanguine expectation and the experience incident to his feelings and his age, he hoped to advance his fortune, and, returning to his native country, to obtain unpromising as this project undoubtedly the object of his wishes. Strange and But though his thoughtless ardour rewas, he was eager to accomplish it, conciled him to the culpable expedient of deceiving his parents, he was unwill