tion cannot be better illustrated than by reference to the litany, that comprehensive service, in which as children we were taught to bear a part by joining in the responses, so short and oft repeated, that they soon take root in a child's memory, and in which, as our understandings are enlightened, we discover fresh attractions that will bear the scrutiny of analysis, and the test of Scripture. Knowing that without a right faith it is impossible to worship God acceptably, our Church embodies her belief, in the very commencement of the litany, while we address the triune God, and as miserable sinners implore the mercy of God the Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier; and knowing also that Jehovah is a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation," we plead the atonement of Christ as our only safeguard from the deserved wrath of God: and as the blood of sprinkling preserved the Israelites from the evil impending over the Egyptians, so we pray that it may "deliver us from all evil and mischief; from sin; from the crafts and assaults of the devil; from God's wrath, and everlasting damnation." Convinced that God searcheth all hearts, we next entreat him to deliver us from those sins which no eye but his detects, "from all blindness of heart; from pride, vain glory, and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitableness;" and then from those more flagrant vices which, like deadly waters, flow from a corrupted source. As the elements are subject to God, the "stormy wind and tempest" fulfilling his will, we entreat that we may not be cut off by unprepared or sudden death; and while we pray to be delivered from temporal calamities, and errors of the understanding, we also ask that our hearts may be opened, and subjected to the restraining influence of his commandments.

That beautiful passage in Hebrews, iv. 15, "We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are," seems here embodied, while we plead with the Redeemer, by all the circumstances of his mysterious and painful course, to deliver us in every" time of need:" for what danger can await us, what peril can we encounter, not included in that solemn prayer, "In all time of our tribulation, in all time of our wealth, in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment,-good Lord, deliver us."

Encouraged by the assurance of the mediation of Christ, yet not unmindful that we are sinners, we now extend our petitions to the wants of others; first in order as in importance praying that God may be pleased to rule and govern his "universal Church in the right way;" we assign no limits — we assume no pre-eminence-but in all humility we entreat that all of every name, of every nation, who compose God's Church upon earth, may be ruled and governed "in the right way"— the way to peace on earth, to happiness in heaven.

The precept of St. Paul, "I exhort, therefore, that supplications, prayers, intercession, and giving of thanks, be made for all men, for kings, and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty," has been most fully complied with by the framers of our litany.

are taught to implore for our sovereign were never so clearly perceived as on the commencement of the present reign, when the change of the pronoun drew especial attention to every separate petition, and displayed the prayer in its full light. Many eyes moistened and many voices faltered while we most sincerely implored that the young female so early called to fill the first place in a mighty empire might be strengthened in the true worshipping of her Creator" in righteousness and holiness of life;" and surely, too, her young heart must have swelled to reflect, as these words first fell upon her ear coupled with her own name, that thousands of her subjects were at the same time uniting their supplications at the throne of heavenly grace, that it might please God" to rule her heart in his faith, fear, and love;" in all the difficulties of her station to grant her "affiance" in a power that can never fail; and enable her, amidst the cares and allurements of a throne, ever to seek God's "honour and glory."

For the ministers of God we pray that they may be endued with wisdom to understand his word, and with grace to perform it; and for the ministers of justice, that while its laws are enforced, truth and innocence may be maintained; and we extend our intercessions for "all people" and "all nations," beseeching that they may live " in unity, peace, and concord." Again we are reminded of our own wants and weakness, and implore Him, who can alone change the heart of man, "to give us an heart to love and dread him, and diligently live according to his commandments." The next three petitions have the same tendency, entreating that by the preaching of God's word, the hearts of all may be opened to receive it with pure affection; that the erring may be brought into the way of truth, the fallen raised, the weak strengthened, and the strong supported, till the last enemy be conquered, and the crown of victory be laid at the feet of the Captain of our salvation.

From the eternal interests of our fellow-creatures we turn our attention to their temporal necessities, and pray that He who is the " Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation," would succour, help, and comfort all that are in danger, necessity, and tribulation;" and though none who are rightly imbued with the spirit of religion will ever desecrate the Sabbath by needless travelling, yet for those far off upon the mighty ocean, and for those whom necessity compels to infringe upon the hallowed day of rest, our Church teaches us to implore the protection of God; "for the sick and the prisoner, the widow and the orphan, for all who are desolate and oppressed,-O thou who art the God of the widow, the Father of the fatherless, and who helpest them to right that suffer wrong,-we beseech thee to hear us, good Lord."

If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses," was a precept enjoined by our Saviour; "that it may please thee to forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers, and to turn their hearts," is the petition breathed by our Church; who, in accordance with that model of prayer left us by her Head, adds a petition, that the God who giveth his sun to shine on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust, would crown our earthly labours with his blessing, and "give and

preserve to our use the kindly fruits of the earth, so that in due time we may enjoy them."

And now, when we have not only listened to, but joined in, an office of devotion, comprising belief in the Trinity; faith in the Redeemer; supplication for mercies spiritual and temporal; intercession for all, from the sovereign on the throne to the captive in the dungeon; forgiveness of injuries; and dependence upon God for the supply of our earthly wants-our Church combines the substance of faith and practice in one short sentence; and, having filled the censer of her children with pure incense, she teaches them to implore the mediation of the " Son of God," and to seek, through the "Lamb that taketh away the sins of the world," that peace which the world can neither give nor take away. And may all who utter the words feel the full value of that comprehensive petition of the litany, "That it may please thee to give us true repentance; to forgive us all our sins, negligences, and ignorances; and to endue us with the grace of thy Holy Spirit to amend our lives according to thy word. We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord."

SLAVE-MARKET IN THE BRAZILS.* THE place where the great slave-mart is held (in Rio de Janeiro) is a long winding street, called Vallongo, which runs from the sea at the northern extremity of the city. Almost every house in this place is a large wareroom, where the slaves are deposited, and customers go to purchase. These warerooms stand at each side of the street; and the poor creatures are exposed for sale like any other commodity. When a customer comes in, they are turned up before him: such as he wishes are handled by the purchaser in different parts, exactly as I have seen butchers feeling a calf; and the whole examination is the mere animal capability, without the remotest inquiry as to the moral quality, which a man no more thinks of than if he was buying a dog or a mule. I have frequently seen Brazilian ladies at these sales. They go dressed, sit down, handle and examine their purchases, and bring them away with the most perfect indifference. I sometimes saw groups of well-dressed females here, shopping for slaves, exactly as I have seen English ladies amusing themselves at our bazaars.

There was no circumstance which struck me with more melancholy reflections than this market, which I felt a kind of morbid curiosity in seeing, as a man looks at objects which excite his strongest interests while they shock his best feelings. The warerooms are spacious apartments, where sometimes three or four hundred slaves, of all ages and both sexes, are exhibited together. Round the room are benches, on which the elder generally sit, and the middle is occupied by the younger, particularly females, who squat on the ground, stowed close together, with their hands and chins resting on their knees. Their only covering is a small girdle of cross-barred cotton tied round the waist. The first time I passed through the street, I stood at the bars of the window looking through, when a cigano came and pressed me to enter. I was particularly attracted by a group of children, one of whom, a young girl, had something very pensive and engaging in her countenance. The cigano, observing me look at her, whipped her up with a long rod, and bade her with a rough voice come forward. It was quite affecting to see the poor timid shrinking child standing before me, in a state the most helpless and forlorn that ever a being endued, like myself, with a reasonable mind and an immortal soul, could be reduced to.

• From Travels in the Brazils, &c.

Some of these girls have remarkably sweet and engaging countenances. Notwithstanding their dusky hue, they look so modest, gentle, and sensible, that you could not for a moment hesitate to acknowledge that they are endued with a like feeling and a common nature with your own daughters. The seller was about to put the child into all the attitudes, and display her person in the same way as he would a man; but I declined the exhibition, and she shrunk timidly back to her place, seeming glad to hide herself in the group that surrounded her.

The men were generally less interesting objects than the women; their countenances and hues were very varied, according to the part of the African coast from which they came; some were soot-black, having a certain ferocity of aspect that indicated strong and fierce passions, like men who were darkly brooding over some deep-felt wrongs, and meditating revenge. When any one was ordered, he came forward with a sullen indifference, threw his arms over his head, stamped with his feet, shouted to shew the soundness of his lungs, ran up and down the room, and was treated

exactly like a horse put through his paces at a reposi

tory; and when done, he was whipped to his stall.

The heads of the slaves, both male and female, were generally half-shaved, the hair being left only on the fore part. A few of the females had cotton handkerchiefs tied round their heads, which, with some little ornaments of native seeds and shells, gave them a very engaging appearance. A number, particularly the males, were affected with eruptions of a white scurf, which had a loathsome appearance, like a leprosy. It was considered, however, a wholesome effort of nature to throw off the effects of the salt provisions used during the voyage; and, in fact, it resembled exactly a saline concretion.

Among the objects that attracted my attention in this place were some young boys, who seemed to have formed a society together. I observed several times, in passing by, that the same little group was collected near a barred window; they seemed very fond of each other, and their kindly feelings were never interrupted by peevishness; indeed, the temperament of a negro child is generally so sound, that he is not affected by those little morbid sensations which are the frequent cause of crossness and ill temper in our children. I do not remember that I ever saw a young black fretful or out of humour; certainly never displaying those ferocious fits of petty passion in which the superior nature of white infants indulges. I sometimes brought cakes and fruit in my pocket, and handed them in to the group. It was quite delightful to observe the generous and disinterested manner in which they distributed them. There was no scrambling with one another; no selfish reservation to themselves. The child to whom I happened to give them took them so gently, looked so thankfully, and distributed them so generously, that I could not help thinking that God had compensated their dusky hue by a more than usual human portion of amiable qualities.

A great number of those who arrive at Rio are sent up the country; and we every day met cofilas, such as Mungo Park describes in Africa, winding through the woods, as they travelled from place to place in the interior. They formed long processions, following one another in a file; the slave-merchant, distinguished by his large felt hat and puncho, bringing up the rear on subject of pity to see groups of these poor creatures a mule, with a long lash in his hand. It was another cowering together at night in the open ranchos, drenched with cold rain, in a climate so much more frigid than their own.

The Cabinet.

GOD'S SPECIAL PROVIDENCE.-Special and minute as is the providence of our God, though it watcheth

every tenderness for acknowledged sinners, he looked in grief, mingled with anger, on more decorous rebellion. Yes; let a man live in the coarsest profligacy, in the most enormous sin, in the farthest remove from Christian purity of conduct; yet, if he be not cased in self-satisfaction-if fear, and horror, and hope, have any chink through which to reach and touch his soul-we have less reason to fear for that man than for many who justly regard his character with horror and distress. For, represent to such a man the rigour and duration of the punishment prepared for the damned-speak to him of death, and of the eternity beyond it,-to what rocky nook shall such a profligate flee, in order to hide from himself this revelation of God and of Divine judgment? He may palliate his sins and his ruin, but he cannot annihilate them from his consciousness and his sometimes awakening memory. Then speak to such a man of the exceeding great love wherewith Christ hath loved him; tell him of the injustice and the ungrateful return of which he is guilty, in desperately supposing that such love was intended only for those whose virtues he admires, and despairs to imitate; tell him that Christ died for sinners, for the worst of sinners; that He came to call to repentance, not those who need no such change, but those who do need it; to seek and to save," not those who need no salvation, but those who are lost," and do need it;-such a man, we say, has only one retreat from the reasoning of his preacher; and that is, downright unbelief. Far be it from the Christian moralist to appear as in any respect the apologist of sin; to appear as upholding a doctrine which some have dared seriously to promulge, that the greater sinner is likely to become the greater saint; a doctrine at once contrary to all experience, and subversive of the best interests of morality, Christianity, and human happiness but it is important to lead men to reflect what is sin, what is obedience, what are the obligations of the Divine law, and what that state of mind is which is most dangerous or most hopeful; it is important to make this examination, not on the ground of what the every-day world says and does, but on the revealed data of Scripture. Now, Scripture tells us that a man may make a fair shew in the flesh-that is, in the eye of man-and yet be unaccepted in the eye of God. According to that revelation, no man is an heir of heaven who does not choose God as his portion, and as the Being for whose glory he exists. Now, will this description apply either to the profligate or to the simply worldly? It applies to neither. Either of them may believe, but only believe

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in what you tell him; he may, I mean, acknowledge the justice of the reasoning, without being moved by it to obedience; for he may still remain without "faith," and therefore without holiness, unendued with those other Christian graces which the Holy Ghost implants where he has implanted a life-giving trust. While, then, no one can deny his guilt, unless, as has been said, he denies the law which forms his obligations, what due impression can the terrors of the law possess for them who, in their ignorance both of the law and of themselves, believe that they accurately fulfil the law? And what awakening of love, and joy, and peace, unfelt before, can the accents of inviting and imploring mercy have for them who deem they scarcely, if at all, have need of mercy? And therefore, which of these two conditions shall we pronounce as the most hopeless, the most impervious to new emotions, the most likely subject of Divine conversion, — the publican, who knows himself to be a sinner? or the formalist, who is secure in his own righteousness? Yea, though the worldly man may wish himself other than he is, may have exclaimed with Agrippa, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian," yet he is not a penitent; his heart is no more than the other renewed and sanctified; and therefore we pronounce that it needs conversion and renovation as much as the other: and until he can estimate his own defects, his mind is actually more blind to danger than that of the profligate; for, while the worldly is equally with the prodigal beyond the pale of real Christendom, there is this additional drawback upon his progress towards heaven, that he is far more likely to be, and to continue, the dupe of self-delusion.

The sins of the lukewarm are not, we repeat, of that startling profligacy which strikes surprise, horror, and disgust; but being omissions rather than commissions, being defects of soul rather than infractions of external decorum, and being mixed with some good actions, they escape unobserved in the tumult and dissipation of life; and the sufferer, unconscious of his disease, is not aroused to exhibit caution, or to apply a remedy. Hence, of what immediate and personal utility are the offices of religion to such a conscience? Public prayer, exhortations, expositions, sacraments, are things a reverence for which may probably be useful, and therefore worthy of some measure of respect; "but for us," he indolently says, "these things do not suit our taste, and we can do without them." The tremendous realities of death, judgment, and eternity, are matters to the mention of which such a man has been accustomed. A thousand times

he has heard of hell and heaven; and therefore to the impression which such prospects are likely to make, he is a thousand times more steeled than he would have been had he never heard of them. So, those whose occupation it is to watch the last hours of departing humanity, cease in time to shudder

at a corpse.

Biography.

REGINALD HEber, d.d., LoRD BISHOP OF CALCUTTA.*

Early Years-Residence at Oxford.

"It was the peculiar felicity of the Church in India," remarks the Lord Bishop of London,-" rather, I should say, it was of God's providential appointment,-that its first rulers and nursing fathers were two men singularly gifted and qualified for the work which it fell to their lot to perform. To the enlarged wisdom, the sagacious discernment, the sound discretion, the steady perseverance through evil report and good report,' the uncompromising firmness, the calm and steady piety of him who laid its foundations, and planned its outworks, and delineated, with the eye and the hand of a master, the provinces of its officers, a just and well-remembered tribute has been rendered from this place. How little did we think, while listening with mournful interest to that eloquent expression of deep regret and cheering anticipation, that within four short years the melancholy theme was to be resumed, and the second Indian bishop spoken of as one called to his account! Yet it is doubtless within the recollection of some who now hear me, that when that lamented servant of God addressed his parting words of promise and encouragement to the venerable society which had long watched over and fostered the Protestant missions in India, a sentiment of foreboding mingled itself in the minds of many with that of rejoicing and hope, 'lest they should see his face no more.' They beheld in him an ardent zeal for God's glory and the salvation of men; a spirit of unqualified self-devotion; an unreserved dedication of himself to the holy cause which he had taken in hand; a willing and deliberate sacrifice of personal ease and comfort, both in possession and in prospect; a singleness and fixedness of determination' to spend and be spent' for the Gospel; the concentration upon that single object of all the powers and resources of a mind unusually gifted by nature, and perfected by education; an apostolical simplicity of heart and manner, and an almost apostolical eloquence: all this they saw, and rejoiced in the abundance of those graces, which bespoke the man of God thoroughly furnished unto all good works.'

"But when they considered that this treasure was in earthen vessels, and that the full and satisfactory discharge of the duties which he had undertaken was beyond and above the scope of individual strength and opportunity, yet not above the enterprise of a spirit

• See Life of Reginald Heber, D.D., by his Widow; Taylor's Life; Reports of Societies, &c. &c. Many circumstances, however, here recorded have not been published before.

like his; and when they remembered how fatal a proof had just been given of the utter disproportion between the labours of the Indian episcopate and the provision made for their discharge; they felt an irresistible presage of evil. And how have both their hopes and their apprehensions been realised!

"How has the Christian Church in India rejoiced, and put forth its infant strength under his fostering care! How have the great designs of its founder been developed and executed, as far as time and means permitted, by his successor! How was the beauty and simplicity of the Gospel enforced by his eloquence, and exemplified in his life! How have the sanctity and the usefulness of his sacred office been demonstrated by many proofs and marks of an apostolical ministry; in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left!' How lively an interest did he excite amongst those who were before indifferent in the success of that great object which was his own heart's desire, the conversion of the heathen! How did he bend the eyes and hearts of men towards himself as the chief missionary of the East; a high and venerable designation, which he deserved and in which he delighted! But as he counted not his life dear unto himself, so that he might finish his course with joy, and the ministry which he had received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God;' so, under the labours of that ministry did he sink, and in the discharge of its most solemn and affecting duties was suddenly called to his Lord. Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing.'"*

Reginald Heber, the second of those eminent prelates, who, for a brief period, have been permitted to preside over the once-overwhelming see of Calcutta, and whose early removal from a scene of important ministerial usefulness the Church of England has had cause to deplore, was descended of a highly respectable and ancient family. His father, Reginald, born in 1728, was for many years co-rector of Malpas in Cheshire, and married, first, Mary, co-heiress of the Rev. Martin Baylie, rector of Wrentham, Suffolk, by whom he had Richard, of Brasennose College, Oxford, and who represented that university in parliament from 1821 to 1826; and secondly, Mary, daughter of Cuthbert Alanson, D.D., by whom he had the subject of this memoir, Thomas Cuthbert, and Mary. Reginald was born at Malpas, April 21st, 1783; and was early distinguished for remarkable mildness of character, as well as firmness, combined with an implicit trust in the goodness and power of God. Many anecdotes of his earlier years fully testify this. This trust was strikingly exemplified when little more than three years old. Travelling with his parents on a very stormy day across the wild district between Ripon and Craven, his mother, greatly alarmed, proposed that they should leave the carriage and walk. Reginald, sitting on her knee, said, "Do not be afraid, mamma; God will take care of us." Such a gentle reproof from a mere child was a source of consola

• Sermon preached before the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, 1827. By Charles James, then Bishop of Chester.

tion to Mrs. Heber. It testified that the heart even of this infant was under the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Happy that Christian parent whose privilege it is to behold the dawnings of spiritual light in the mind of a beloved child, and who is warranted to believe that it shall shine more and more unto the perfect day; who can trace many amiable traits of character to a higher source than mere natural sweetness of disposition; and can humbly trust that those seeds of holiness have taken deep root in the infant bosom, which will grow up and bear fruit even an hundred fold!

At the age of five Reginald could read the Bible not only with fluency, but seemed to enter not a little into its spirit. The Bible itself, and not an abridgment of it, was put into his hands by his father :-a judicious act. There is always danger in tampering with or mutilating the word of God. Attempts have been made to render the Bible, as has been conceived, better adapted for the young, by condensing its historical facts, and omitting large portions deemed not suitable for their perusal : such a mode of imparting religious instruction is extremely questionable as to its tendency.

Even at this early period Reginald was in the habit of engaging in private prayer. He was frequently overheard praying in his own room, when he little thought himself within reach of observation. To this circumstance his future eminence may in no small degree be traced. His sense of entire dependence upon God, and of thankfulness for the mercies which he received, was deep and almost an instinct implanted in his nature to his latest hour, in joy as in sorrow, his heart was ever lifted up in thankfulness for the goodness of his Maker, or bowed in resignation under his chastisements; and his first impulse, when afflicted or rejoicing, was to fall on his knees in thanksgiving or in intercession for himself and for those he loved, through the mediation of the Saviour. When only fourteen he expressed a strong desire to partake of the holy communion, a desire joyfully complied with by his parents.

After studying at the grammar-school of Whitchurch, Reginald was placed with Mr. Bristow, at Neasdon, where an intimacy, founded on religious principles, commenced between him and Mr. John Thornton, which was maintained, as far as circumstances would permit, until his early death. Those who attended the general meeting of the Church Missionary Society at the anniversary after the account of the bishop's death reached England, will not readily forget the deep feeling displayed by Mr. Thornton when he alluded to the removal of his early friend, and the loss thereby sustained by the Church. Several of the letters addressed to his companion are published in the life edited by his widow. From one of them the following extract is taken, as indicative of the state of his mind on ecclesiastical subjects at this early period. The letter is dated June 24, 1800. "I am rather apt to regard the interference of temporal authority in these (ecclesiastical) matters with a jealous eye. The rulers of this world have very seldom

The Life of Bishop Heber, by his widow, was dedicated to Mr. Thornton, as "his dearest friend, the beloved companion of his boyhood and of his youth."

shewn themselves friendly to the real interests of the Church. If we consider the conduct of the government in the times of the reformation, and indeed ever since, we shall always find it has been more friendly to its own avaricious and ambitious projects, than to consult what is just and pious. Even the piety of an Edward could not prevent his ministers from increasing instead of rectifying those evils of which we complain. Besides, I really do in some measure doubt whether temporal governors may, without sacrilege, meddle, by their own single authority, with the revenues of the Church. This appears to have been the opinion of Whitgift, as we may infer from his wellknown address to Queen Elizabeth. Let, then, the representatives of the bishops, priests, and deacons of the empire be convened, and by their advice, and with their consent, let the king as head of the Church, and the parliament as guardians of the laws, take order concerning this matter. But this the present temper of the times renders, I fear, improbable. I am not one of those who cry 'The Church is in danger!' on the contrary, I think it is in some measure better off than it was thirty years ago, and we have very great reason to be thankful to God for what we enjoy; but, really, when we have seen a bishop refused to Virginia, not as yet dismembered, at a time when popery had been established in Canada - if we compare the magnificent temples, nay, even convents of the papists in England, with the miserable condition of the episcopalians in Scotland, and many other things of the same kind, it will scarcely appear that our government is over-zealous in this cause." How much of the above remarks apply to the state of the Church at the present day as fully as forty years ago, the reader will judge for himself. Assuredly there does not appear to be an over-zeal, in many quarters, for the prosperity of our Zion. Popery is still rampant in many of the colonies; and there seems no anxiety that it should not be so. In almost every newspaper we read of splendid chapels erected for the mummery of the mass, and convents founded in a style of the utmost magnificence, in various parts of the land; while the condition of many of the northern congregations of episcopalians in Scotland is indeed miserable; pastors subsisting on a scanty pittance, scarcely able to procure the necessaries of life, and in a country too where it is asserted that the greater portion of the landed property is in the hands of members of the episcopal Church. Blessed be God there is an increased vitality in the Churchan energy and zeal hitherto almost unknown; but the very evils referred to by Mr. Heber now exist, some in a more portentous

form.

Reginald was entered at Brasennose in 1800. In his first year he gained the university prize for Latin verse for his "Carmen Seculare," a poem on the commencement of the century. In 1803 he composed "Palestine," which gained the prize. In the course of its composition Mr. Walter Scott, with some others, breakfasted with him. "Palestine" was read: Mr. Scott said, "You have omitted one striking circumstance in your account of the building of the Temple, -that no tools were used in its erection." Heber retired into a corner of the room, and, before the party separated, produced and introduced into the poem the