[No. 10.

"On perceiving the stump of an old elm tree shaded by the wide-spreading branches of a neighbouring oak, I sat myself down; and, taking out my little pocket Bible, the expressive language of the Psalmist caught my eye: 'O Lord, how manifold are thy works; in wisdom hast thou made them all!"

LONDON:

SATURDAY EVENING

AT

THE VILLA.

"A truce to thought: and, let us o'er the fields,
Across the down, or through the shelving wood,
Wind our uncertain way. Let Devotion lead;
And, be it our's, to follow and admire,

As well we may, the graces infinite
Of Nature."

HURDIS.

As I had been accustomed, for many years, to take a ride or a walk into the country on a Saturday evening, I retired at an early hour from the domestic circle, to indulge my musings in the calm retreat of solitude. I passed through the shrubbery, at the back of the villa, and, crossing over a corn-field, I entered a lane, which screened me from the observing eye of others. At every step I was charmed with the melodious singing of the birds, who were responsing to each other; and, on reaching the end of it, I was not less astonished than delighted with the enchanting scenery which burst suddenly and unexpectedly on my view. On perceiving the stump of an old elm tree shaded by the wide-spreading branches of a neighbouring oak, I sat myself down; and, taking out my little pocket Bible, the expressive language of the Psalmist caught my eye: "O Lord, how manifold are thy works; in wisdom hast thou made them all !"

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While gazing on the beautiful scenery of the visible creation, I unconsciously fell into the following train of reflections. Here I am, But how came I here? Am I the child of chance, or the offspring of a wise and beneficent Creator? What is chance? sual occurrence; something that comes into exist ence without contrivance or design. When I see a machine, I feel conscious that it was constructed by an artist; and, can I suppose that the more curious mechanism of my body was formed by chance? Was it chance that placed my eye in the only proper position in the body to guide the motion of the hands and the feet;that stationed around so many guards to keep it from injury;-that has given it a mysterious power to travel over a wide and extended surface, without fatigue, and to receive the exact form and colour of external objects on the dark canvas

PRINTED BY W. SEARS, 45, GUTTER-LANE.

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spread out behind the lens, without intermixture or confusion ? Was it chance that constructed my ear for the nice discrimination of sounds? Was it chance that let fall the ray of intelligence on my understanding;-that enkindled the glow of passion in my breast; that gave to my fancy all its capabili ties to adorn the conceptions of my mind, with the drapery of a fascinating imagery? Was it chance that gave to my tongue the power of taste, and the gift of speech? Impossible. I trace in all these astonishing endowments, contrivance which demonstrates the existence of a God who made me. it chance that placed the sun in the centre of the planetary system; that impressed laws on those unconscious bodies that revolve around it, and which keep them from deviating from their mysterious path; that set bounds to the sea, which it dare not pass; that gave to the air I breathe a salubrious and elastic quality; and enriched the earth I cultivate with a prolific power? Impossible. In all these mighty works I trace the operations of intelligence and design. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmanent sheweth his handy-work." Psalm xix. 1. All nature is full of God. He shines in the brightness of the sun,

"refreshes in the breeze,

Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees."

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And does not the visible creation display the goodness of God? In no case is pain the object of contrivance, which would have been, if the Creator had been a malevolent Being. The eye is formed for the purpose of vision, not to be injured by the atom floating in the air, the ear for hearing, not for aching, the hand and the foot to be active and useful, and not to be tortured by wounds,

The sun was now creeping gently down the western hills; the sky, was clear, and bright, as on the eve of the first day of the creation; no sounds broke in upon my calm serenity except the lowing of the cattle, and the bleating of the sheep, which were, penned in a neighbouring fold; but, just as I was rising to a more glorious theme of contemplation, my attention was arrested by the appearence of a gentleman, who was walking beside the bank of the river, which was gliding through the vale beneath me.

His manner was singular. Now he advanced, with hurried step, the distance of fifty yards, then suddenly stopped, looked round him, advanced again, again stopped, stood motionless, threw his eyes round him in all directions, approached the brink of the river, receded, walked up to the edge again, paused, looked intent, appeared wrapped in deep and solemn thought, retraced his steps, abruptly stopped, fixed his cane in the ground, threw down his gloves, took off his hat, advanced, and fell. During the whole of this apparently mysterious conduct, my tenderest sympathies were excited, and I was making every necessary preparation to save a soul from death. My feelings were too violently agitated to allow of cool reflection, but I could not refrain from paying the tributary tear to that unknown cause of woe, which appeared to be hurrying an intelligent and conscious being out of a world on which I had been gazing with so much delight, and sending him, stained with the blood of his own life, to take his station before the judgment seat of Christ.

As soon as I saw him fall, I rushed forward; and, as the river was not more than a hundred yards distant from me, I felt conscious that I should be able to reach him in time to save his life; but, just as I was going to leap over the stile that stood midway between us, I saw him raising himself up on his knees. I drew back; and, looking through the hedge, I perceived that he had not fallen into the river, but among the high rushes that grew on its bank, and that he was not meditating the destruction of his own life, but the preservation of the life of a little lamb, that had strayed from the fold, and accidentally slipt into the river. The transition of my mind from one of the most awful subjects of human contemplation, to one of the most beautiful visions of human benevolence, was not less overpowering to my feelings, than the sudden hushing of the midnight tempest to the mariner, who, having lost his compass, can steer his vessel only by the light of the polar star.

Curiosity impelled me to watch the movements of this interesting stranger, towards whom I felt the kindlings of attachment; and I beheld him with pleasure cautiously removing the weeds which were entwined around the exhausted lamb; then, wiping off the water from its face, and then carrying it to the

dam, who, if I could judge from her bleating, instinctively knew the danger to which her offspring had been exposed. This sight brought to my recol lection the language of the Prophet, who represents the Redeemer as gathering the lambs with his arms, and carrying them in his bosom.

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On perceiving the stranger advancing towards the stile which I had intended to cross, I cautiously retired to my former post of observation; and there again seated myself; when I soon had the gratification of seeing him saunter up the lane. When he first beheld me he started back, as though over powered with confusion; but, recovering himself, I stepped forward and relieved him from all embarrassment, by making a reference to the tranquillity which reigned in this romantic solitude. He was a young man, on whom the God of Nature had bestowed a fine exterior form; whose mind soon disclosed its hidden beauties; elegant in his manners; possessed of a native charm in his style of speech; and who, by an action, which he was not conscious I had witnessed, had already won my affection.

"I have left, Sir," he said, "the bustling city, in which I have spent the greater part of my life, to survey those rural beauties and employments with the naked eye, which I have been accustomed to view through the medium of the press. "No fancy," I observed, "can paint the beauties of Nature, in all their varied forms, and lines, and rich combinations. The landscape pleases, but there is no life, no motion, no sound, which are necessary to make the representation correct." "True, Sir," he replied, "but we are much indebted to the pencil for introducing rural scenes, and rural scenery into our crowded cities, by which the mind is taught, through the medium of the eye, that there are living beauties in Nature which we may see. This, Sir, is the first visit I ever paid to the country. I have been wandering about for several weeks, travelling from village to village, from hill to dale, from fields to lanes; penetrating into woods and forests; and rendering myself familiar with the manners and habits, the sentiments and feelings, of the various orders of rural life. I have conversed with the opulent and indigent farmer; with the man who holds the plough, and who drives the team; with the shepherd and the