And listing, bow their sacred heads with fear,
And heave a sigh for those who will not hear
For some who wist not that for them no more
The clock shall strike to say the year is o'er.
Celestial spirits, joyful e'en in heaven,
O’er one on earth repenting and forgiven-
Yes--even they in heaven methinks will heed
To see those few and fleeting years recede,
Whose little space is all that lies between
The sinner and the forfeit of his sin-
Is all the space forbearing love concedes,
To seek the pardon and the grace he needs :
While they whose days are number'd, note it not
The earth their idol and their God forgot.
Mortals alone, the ruined and the lost,
Madly rejoicing o'er their moments pass'd,
In fearless gaiety their revels keep,
Shouting for joy, while angels almost weep.
Nay, pause a moment--True, the year is gone
Is there no thought of duties left undone ?
Does conscience whisper no unwelcome tale ?
Unclose the record-Hast thou spent it well?
Has He whose mercy lengthens out thy days,
Received his meed of gratitude and praise ?
Has he who lent you all, been still preferr'd
To all on earth his bounty has conferr'd ?
The world relinquish'd, sin and self denied,
His love your object, and his law your guide,
Ilave the past moments left no stain within ?
No blot of willing, unresisted sin?
No truth dissembled, no unballowed thought-
No voice of warning mercy heeded not?
No cold forgetfulness of Him who died ?
Nor claim refused, nor services denied ?
O, if there be, or ere the leaf be clos'd,
The fatal record of thy year misus'd,
Rather let penitence thy soul engage,
And ask of heaven to blot it from the page.
Thou hast another. Yes, but it will go-
Thy folly soon will sing its death-dirge too.
Another and another, and the voice
Of careless mirth will bid thee still rejoice,
And the false world persuade thee to forget
Thy duty's still açcyinulating debt. ,

O wouldst thou learn, indeed, with chasten'd joy, To see the sin-embitter'd years go by— To list their going as they onward move, And bear thee nearer to thy home aboveEach coming year more welcome than the past, And better, because nearer to the lastPut off the folly that so long has stood Between thy erring spirit and its God. With thoughts of seriousness and holy awe, Near to his throne in meek devotion draw, And while the parting season sounds farewell, Alone with him in pensive accents tell Thy deep contrition for each wasted hourTrace back the moments that are thine no more-Each sipful word, each sinful thought retrace, And ask for all his pardon and his grace: That as the fleeting years receding move, Thy soul may drink more deeply of his loveMore grateful in the sense of sins forgiven, Of earth less mindful and more meet for heaven. So the far-sounding of that midnight bell, E'en though the last, shall whisper thee no ill; And they who wait for thee in heaven, will share Thy joyful welcome of each new-born year.

HYMN.

LORD, give me grace to do thy will,

In thought, in word, in deed,
Thy precepts in my heart instil,

And sow thy holy seed.

Give me, O Lord, indifference

To all things here below;
Ah! raise my mind to heaven, from whence

My greatest comforts flow.

The soul is yet confined on earth,

Within a house of clay,
Subject to sorrow, pain, and death,

Ah! who would wish to stay?

A Christian! he whose heart and word

Are filled with grateful praise, And resignation to his Lord, · Thus pours his rapt'rous lays.

“ I have no will but thine, O God,

“ My hope is fix'd on thee, “ That when the path of life I've trod,

“ My soul to heaven will flee.

“ Content to stay, resign'd to go

“ To seek my kindred skies, “Or, happy I'll remain below

« Till thou shalt bid me rise.

“ And then, O God, through Christ the Lord,

“ My soul thou wilt receive, “ To sing and praise thy name ador'd,

“ And ne'er thy presence leave.”

That thought sublime, too great for man,

To be for ever blest!
To dwell with Christ, his works to scan-

The Godhead manifest!

M. R.

SONNET.

BY LORENZO DE MEDICIS.

Lo spirito talora a se ridutto,
Ed al mar tempestoso e travgliato
Fuggito in porto tranquillo e pacato,
Pensando ha dubbio e vuolne trar costrutto,
S'egli è ver, che da Dio proceda tutto,
E senza lui nulla è, civé il peccato
Per sua grazia se ci è concesso e dato
Seminar qui per corne eterno frutto
Tal grazia in quel sel fa operazione
Ch'a riceverla è volto e ben disposto
Dunque che cosa è quella ne dispone ?
Qual prima sia, vorrei mi fosse esposto,
O tal grazia, o la buona inclinazione?
Rispondi or tu al dubbio ch'è proposto.

TRANSLATION The refug'd spirit, worn and tempest tost, Serenely pausing o'er its dangers past, Looks inward, as the troubled waters cease, And, doubtirg, questions why it is at peace. If all that is, must come of power divineIf all is God's, except the creature's sin— If by his grace it has indeed been given To sow on earth, that we may reap in heavenAnd if that grace be wont to do its part Upon the soften'd and the willing heartWhat is it makes it willing ? Would I knew Which first upon the alter'd bosom grew, The inclination or the grace it soughtSay, if thou knowest-and answer to the doubt.

ANSWER. The morning's icy bosom does not melt Till the first sun-beam kindles in the east Yon orb opaque, that lights the midnight sky, 'Gan not to shine ere it received the beam. Opaque, and cold, and lifeless more than they, Ill could the bosom in itself enkindle A spark of holiness where all was sin. Springs the fresh grain, or e'er it has been sown ? God is the husbandman-he brake the ground, He gave the culture, and he sow'd the seedAnd if it bear us e'en but one poor thought, But one faint wish of goodness, one desire For grace and holiness, it is trom him. Since it is good, of us it could not come, For we are evil ---Goodness does not come Of evil-God alone is good. To him Be all the glory, for the gift is his.

BAKER AND SON, PRINTERS, SOUTHAMPTON.

THE

ASSISTANT OF EDUCATION.

- FEBRUARY, 1824.

A SKETCH OF GENERAL HISTORY. "

HISTORY OF THE HEATHEN WORLD TO THE DEATH OF MOSES, B.c. 1751.

• (Continued from page 12.) ..

We have observed that the Israelites on arriving in the neighbourhood of Canaan, B.C. 1451, found the country already possessed and fully inhabited. Several nations are mentioned by their historian, and the whole tract of country being small, the possessions of each separate state must of course be very inconsiderable. We shall name them slightly for some time forward, as they come in continual contact with the people whose history we have been writing, and shall have hereafter to pursue.

The kingdom of Moab is supposed to have extended not more than forty miles in either direction. The Moabites were governed by kings, and employed themselves chiefly in pasturage and the rearing of cattle, in which their wealth consisted. More of their customs is not known; neither is it known what language they spoke. Some remembrance of the religion of Lot, their progenitor, they probably retained, as they used circumcision; but had corrupted it with the grossest idolatry, and the Israelites were forbidden to intermarry with them. As the Moabites were not, like some of the nations, subdued and exterminated, to make room for the wanderers, they continued to be their neighbours, and were frequently, at

VOL. II.