the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law into their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord; for they all shall know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." * There's a good time coming. Little children shall not toil, In the good time coming. But shall play in healthful fields, Till limbs and mind grow stronger; King Solomon tells us, that one of the most praiseworthy occupations, for a virtuous married woman, is to employ her hands usefully, in order that she may be able to save money to purchase a vineyard. "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil, all the days of her life. She seeketh wool and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ships, she bringeth her food from afar. She riseth also while it is yet night, and * Jeremiah, xxxi 27—34. giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens, she considereth a field, and buyeth it; with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.” * Thus we see how King Solomon teaches women the manner in which they may become possessed of vineyards in Australia, if they will exercise their organs of constructiveness in converting the beautiful wool, silk, and cotton it produces, into saleable articles of clothing; and thus prevent their husbands being obliged, from disappointment in their several trades and professions, from "spoiling" their neighbours by becoming insolvent, as they have, alas! hitherto done here too frequently. We may also observe that King Solomon does not appear to consider that taking vows of celibacy is the way for a woman to set a virtuous example. On the contrary, he lets us see in some of the following verses, how extended the sphere of a woman's usefulness becomes, when she has children, and a household, to exercise her organs of time and order in regulating : "She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good; her candle goeth not out by night. She layeth her hands to the spindle, her hands hold the distaff. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh fine linen and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. Strength and honour are her clothing, and she shall rejoice in the time to come. She openeth her mouth * Proverbs, xxxi. 10-16. with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands: and let her own works praise her in the gates." I am now in the 44th year of my pilgrimage, through this "wicked world," and I have seen much of its "pomps and vanities," aye, and entered into them too; although my venerable God-mother, the late Mrs. Hannah Villiers, (who founded an alms-house in Limerick for widows,) promised and vowed I should not. However I did, and in doing so, I had opportunities of forming friendships with some very delightful women, who were called "old maids; " I have also had the privilege of being acquainted with some very amiable and useful individuals, calling themselves, "Sisters of Charity," who had taken vows of celibacy, and spent their lives in doing good to their fellow-beings. But I have invariably regretted, when I have met with such a "Tree of Righteousness," amongst my own sex, that the race of such an ornament to society was to become extinct, because of bad taste, on the side of men, or mistaken piety on the side of women. If Phrenology were better understood, men with well-formed heads themselves, would select mothers for their children, with equally well developed brains; where they would see so much to admire in the "Crown," of the "Tree of Righteousness," that the face which accompanied it, being pretty or ugly, would be quite immaterial. THE LORD'S MESSENGER. "What dost thou here, Elijah?" Like the tide Lord God of Hosts! For men make void thy laws. Montgomery. THERE is a promise in the last chapter of the Old Testament, which may lead some persons to expect that Elijah will appear on earth, to give warning of the second coming of the Saviour. "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.' "" * Let us inquire whether Elijah has not already appeared again on earth, and given warnings which have not been regarded. One of the most zealous labourers in the Lord's vineyard in Germany, Dr. William Frederick Krummacher, has written some very beautiful works, which have been translated into English by the Religious Tract Society. One of them is a most edifying and instructive commentary on the life of Elijah the Tishbite. I read it about twelve years since, and as I was not rich enough to purchase it, I made the following extract from it, thinking at the time, that it was a very remarkable fulfilment of the promise that the name of Elijah should be an instrument in the hands of another of the Lord's servants, to warn parents against continuing the unns. tural system of separating so much from their children, as the schools and colleges with which Europe is * Malachi iv. 5, 6. crowded are an evidence of. "When Moses, looking Behold how wise upon Israel, exclaimed with delight, and understanding they are, and a glorious people,' none will be disposed to question the truth of these words, but those who are acquainted with no other education than what was taught in the schools of Athens, and who know not any higher standard of judgment, than that which is afforded by the show of heathen wisdom and genius. God had reserved to himself the education and instruction of the people of Israel. In their divinely appointed institutions we see the groundplans and models, according to which, the Almighty in the Jubilee, or Millennial age of his kingdon, will call into being that grand renovation which awaits the earth, and all that is upon it, whether animate or inanimate. And as, in the history of this great people, all the institutions of human society find their best models, so do those of instruction in particular. Scholastic institutions, according to the modern system, do not appear to have been known in Israel, at least until the Babylonish captivity. But instead of these, home and school were one, and in the place of paid teachers, instruction was poured forth from the tender hearts of father and mother. The child learned to lisp the name of Jehovah, under the vine and the fig-tree, before the door of the peaceful dwelling. There the sacred histories of antiquity, recounted with the eloquence of affection, passed before its admiring soul. There the ideas of God, and of the great ends of human life, were gradually impressed upon the tender mind-there it early learned that which is eternally true and beautiful, and good for the human mind to know; and this was learned, in the animated imagery of sacred historic record, by many an Israelitish child, almost before it had become conscious |