Earthquakes beneath, the thunder's rolling o'er him;
Age and infirmity on either hand;

And Death, who shakes the certain dart behind him!
These, surely, one might deem were ills sufficient.
Man thinks not so; on his own race he turns
The force of all his talents, exquisite,

To shorten the short interval, by art,
Which nature left us. Fire and sword are in
His hand, and in his heart are machinations,
For speeding of perdition. Half the world,
Down the steep gulph of dark futurity,
Push off their fellows, pause upon the brink,
And then drop after."

MAYOR'S CHARGE.....MAY SESSIONS.

Gentlemen of the Grand Jury,

It is certainly not necessary to detain you from your important duties by describing their nature and inculcating their obligation. They must be familiar to you all, and can never be executed with propriety, unless impartiality is united with vigilance, and a high sense of justice is tempered by lively feelings of benevolence.

As present evils make a deeper impression than remote ones, we are too apt to give in to the common complaint of the growing and alarming violation of law and morality. That these do exist in this city, to an extent that demands the animadversions of the magistracy, and coercion of the laws, cannot be doubted without believing in a miraculous change in the human character. But it may be said, without any exaggeration, and in the strictness of truth, that considering the temptations to vice, and the many powerful causes which combine to produce crimes, there can be no doubt, but that there are as few offences committed here, as in any place of equal population in the world, and that the habits of our fellow citizens are peaceable, and their sentiments favorable to the supremacy of law and good order. On the day consecrated by religion to the worship of God, we observe exemplary good conduct, and an almost entire abstraction from business or amusement. These observations are made not to relax your vigilance nor arrest the arm of punishment, but to render a just tribute of praise, and to protect the character of this great community from unmerited reproach.

The predominant vices of the day are those which receive their origin and derive their aliment from disorderly houses; and these it is almost impracticable to subdue: when one set of disorderly persons are put down, another rises up in their place; and when one quarter of the city is cleared of these incumbrances, they are immediately transferred to another. In the dispensation of Tavern licenses, no vigilance nor caution has been as yet able to guard against the introduction of bad characters; when refused, they soon return armed with the most respectable recommendations, which are too often yielded to importunity, or given without investigation, and if the denial is persisted in, then substitutes are

provided, who cannot be repulsed without apparent injustice, because their past conduct is not known to be improper, and their characters are represented in a favorable light. After considerable reflection, there appears but one remedy under our existing laws, which is however of doubtful tendency, and that is, to mark the house as well as the individual, and not to give the new applicant permission to act, until it is made evident that a new and a better set of individuals possess it. At all events, whatever preventive measures may be adopted to put down an evil, which is more pernicious in all its effects than any other calamity with which society is afflicted, it is your duty, gentlemen, to apply the remedy which the law has committed to your hands. And in so acting, the benedictions of parents, of wives and of children, will attend you -the cause of morality and religion be greatly indebted to you, and the blessings of Heaven will smile on your virtuous exertions.

The calendar of the City Prison will show you the state of our criminal proceedings since the last court of Sessions. Nothing particular has occurred to demand your pointed attention, except the setting fire to some buildings in Broadway, which in all probability was done with design.

We are required by three different statutes to request your particular notice of all violations of the acts for the prevention of Lotteries, of Fires, and of Duelling.

When we consider that this is the first tribunal of justice which has assembled in this magnificent edifice, that will, in all human probability, adorn and accommodate this great and growing city for centuries-and when we reflect that after our mortal remains have mouldered into dust, and perhaps the very memory of our existence has passed away, our remotest posterity will occupy these seats that are now filled by you and those assembled in this place, we cannot but feel the most solemn emotions of a mingled character: If, in the wise dispensations of the almighty, it is decreed that our government and our laws shall flourish in their primeval purity, unsullied by corruption, and uncoerced by tyranny, then indeed we may cherish those exalted feelings which ever accompany the contemplation of virtue and national prosperity; but if a scene of a different description shall be exhibited-if justice shall be measured out by favoritism, and governed by turpitude-and if courts and legislatures shall be overawed by the bayonet, then we might perhaps devoutly wish that those who are to succeed us had never been called into being. But whatever futurity may have in store for our posterity, and our country, it is our duty to submit, with humble resignation, to the will of the` Almighty dispenser of all good, and to act well the parts allotted to us. And remember, gentlemen, that without a pure, a wise, and impartial administration of justice, government is an enemy instead of a protector, and society a curse instead of a blessing. And as you are the first Grand Jury ever convened in this building, (which reflects so much honor upon the taste, the liberality, and the public spirit of this city) let your conduct be worthy of yourselves, worthy of the imitation of your successors, worthy of the station you occupy, and worthy of the approbation of your own

consciences.

CORRESPONDENCES.

[In continuation from page 243.]

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all things shall be added unto you. Matt. vi. 33.

But it may possibly be objected to such a spiritual method of apprehending and interpreting the wORD of God, that it has a tendency to disparage and lessen the authority of the letter, if not totally to annihilate and destroy it. This objection, if well grounded, is indeed of great importance, since the letter of the woRD, like the Lord's coat without seam, woven by a divine hand from the top throughout, has ever been, and will ever be, esteemed sacred and inviolable by the wise and good of all ages. But surely due consideration will teach, that this objection is so far from being well grounded, that a spiritual apprehension and interpretation of the sacred scriptures, will produce effects directly opposite to what the objection implies. For who will say that the dignity or the reality of the human body are at all lessened, by supposing it to be the habitation and repository of the soul within? Or who will say that the visible things of creation lose any part of their glory, or their substance, by being considered as the material forms, images, and clothing of invisible and spiritual things? VOL. I.

No. 8.

Nay, who doth not see that in both these cases, the dignity, value, and reality of that which is material, are infinitely heightened by connecting it with that which is spiritual? Just so it is with the holy WORD of God. A right apprehension of its celestial and spiritual contents is so far from robbing the letter of its just authority, or tending to destroy it, that it will be found of all other considerations most effectual to exalt, dignify, and preserve it entire, in every candid and well disposed mind. We would, therefore, be particularly cautious to guard our readers against any violation or disparagement of the sacred letter, but assure them that the Holy wORD is therein in all its power and fulness, and that the letter ought carefully to be read and attended to, as being the rich repository of so many holy and inestimable treasures, which are thereby preserved and secured from violation, yet ready to be revealed unto all such teachable minds, as by a diligent observance of the letter are rendered meet to receive and improve by them.

Another objection to this spiritual method of interpreting the holy scriptures may arise from the uncertainty of it. It may be said, that all such interpretations must needs be vague and indeterminate, without any solid foundation of truth to rest upon, and that consequently they may lead men into various fanciful and whimsical conceits respecting the true sense of the holy woRD, whereby they may pervert its genuine meaning, and thus fall into grievous error and delusion. In reply to this objection, it must be confessed, that great is the danger of a mistaken, ill grounded construction of the sacred witings, and that men cannot be too cautious how they suffer themselves to be led away by the false light of their own imaginations in searching into the deep mysterics of God's wisdom. But still it should be remembered, that the danger is equal on the other side, and that men may be alike sufferers by not searching at all into the spiritualities of the sacred scriptures, as by searching into them with a wrong spirit. This is particularly observable in the case of the Jews at the time of the Lord's coming amongst them; they rested so much in the letter of the holy WORD, which seemed to promise them a mighty temporal prince, to deliver them from their temporal enemies, and establish their dominion over all nations of the earth, that they were blinded thereby to the knowledge of that spiritual Prince who came to deliver them from the tyranny of their spiritual foes, and to establish his spiritual kingdom in their hearts. We may

be led astray by false lights, and we may be led astray too in consequence of having no light. What then is to be done in this case, or by what rule should a wise man be directed herein? Are we to reject all spiritual interpretation of God's Holy WORD, merely from a supposition that it may be false? And are we to disclaim all acquaintance with the mysteries of sacred wisdom, only from a supposal that they may be fanciful? Surely this is but a poor expedient, to think of securing ourselves from the darkness of error by discarding the light of truth along with it. The holy oracles whereof we are speaking suggest to us a very different rule of conduct, where it is written, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may see the WONDROUS things of thy law;"* and in another place, "The SECRET of the Lord is among them that fear him ;Ӡ and again, "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God." Here we have an infallible rule for our safe interpretation of the holy scriptures, and also for our examination of the pretensions of such as would expound them unto us : It is to pray unto the Lord for divine illumination, and at the same time to prepare for such illumination by setting our hearts to fear him, and to do his will. Humility and sincerity in these duties will assuredly preserve us both from being deceived by false and fanciful explications of heavenly mysteries, and from being betrayed into the no less fatal delusion arising from an indolent supineness in our spiritual conduct, which would make us content with our spiritual darkness, and dispose us to reject every messenger of heavenly light without examining his credentials.

[To be continued.]

P. A. C.

DICTIONARY OF CORRESPONDENCES.

[Continued from page 245.]

ADAMI, a city of the children of Naphtali, (Josh. xix. 33.) a doctrinal having respect to temptation, and deliverance therefrom. ADD, in a spiritual sense, to add signifies to unite faith with charity; also to multiply and make fruitful.

ADDER, or serpent, denotes the sensual principle in man. In the spiritual world the interior of man are represented visibly under the forms of animals of various kinds; and hence the WORD,

*Psalm cxix. 18.

† Psa. xxv. 13.

John vii. 17.