The door opens, and Mike's wife enters; red in face, and reeling. She places a jug on the table, and from a heap of crockery, and old shoes, pulls out a bowl and washes it in the water bucket. Drinking begins. Mike has a job on hand, and wants his wife out of the way, for even such women as she, have hearts, and pity the victims in whose midst they walk. The woman is drenched, and thrown into the heap of straw, bed-clothes, and children in the corner; the children cry out, and wriggle from under their mother; one squirms out of bed, and is kicked back by the father.

Family matters settled, Mike goes on with his game; John Scott is kept on the verge of entire drunkenness by the whiskey, and prevented from going over by well-told tales of theft, robbery, and bloodshed-exciting enough to rouse him from complete lethargy. About ten, a third man enters, after a mysterious tap at the window. The three draw together, and speak under their breath. The results of that consultation are not yet evident, but at such moments bold deeds of evil are planned. By some such deed, John Scott may yet prove that when drunk in the street, his case was not that of "only drunk," but that of one hanging between a return to right, and destruction. Even now, breathing this tainted atmosphere of whiskey and onions, in which the very candle burns dim, John thinks of his mother! Oh! were some friend by, to help the poor struggling wretch! There is none: Satan smiles at his elbow, and opposite, Mike smiles in answer; little dreaming that this dear friend and gossip, the Tempter, is exchanging grins with the Death which is even now looking from his own sunken and swimming eyes. J. H. P.

THE IDIOT CHILD.-KRUMMACHER.

Abraham sat one day in the grove of Mamre, and leaned. his head upon his hand and wept. Then his son Isaac came to him, and said: My Father, why mournest thou? What dost thou want?

Abraham answered and said: My soul is troubled for the people of Canaan, that they know not the Lord, and wander on their own ways, in darkness and foolish frenzy.

O, answered the son, is that all! How can such a thing distress thy heart? It is only their way. Then the Patriarch

arose from his seat, and said: Come and follow me. And he led the youth into a hut, and said to him, behold!

And there was a child that was an Idiot, and the mother sat near the child and wept. But Abraham asked: Why weepest thou? Then answered the mother, and said: Ah, this my little son eats and drinks, and we take care of him, but he knows neither his father's nor his mother's face. Thus his life is lost, and the fountain of joy for him dried up. Thus spake the woman, and wept; but Abraham went and preached the name of the Lord, who has made Heaven and Earth.

C. T. B.

ON SIN.

What is sin? and whence has it its origin? These are important questions, to the consideration of which I purpose to devote the present essay.

It may appear strange that, after all that has been said and written on this subject, the question should still be asked: What sin is, and whence it proceeds; but when I consider the various opinions which are held in regard to these points, it appears to me that there does still exist a want of clear and definite ideas with respect to them.

Some there are, who speak of sin as something which is contrary to man's nature, and which necessarily renders him unhappy, and exposes him to suffering. If this definition were just, it would be difficult to account for the universality of sin; for men act constantly from the wish to increase their happiness, and to avoid suffering.

Others, on the contrary, have attributed man's sinfulness to an inherent depravity of his nature, in consequence of Adam's transgression. I have lately endeavoured to shew the fallacy of the doctrine of original sin,* and shall not repeat what I then said on this subject.

In the September number of the Messenger, a writer expresses his belief, that man is born with a diseased and depraved nature, which leads him to seek wrong ends, and to devise things evil for him. Highly as I esteem that writer, on account of his personal worth, and his services in the cause of religion, I cannot, in this, coincide with him in sentiment. It

*In the numbers of the Messenger for June, July and August.

appears to me, that the moment we admit the doctrine, that man is born with a diseased and depraved nature, we shift the cause of his sinfulness from him to his Maker; for, at his birth, he is evidently what God makes him, and intends him to be. Second causes may tend to hide the agency of the Almighty from our view, but these are clearly only passive instruments through whom He acts. The moment we penetrate beyond them, we find ourselves surrounded by the constant exercise of creative energy, such as the first morning of the universe witnessed. The waving grass-the flowret of the meadow, and the shady tree, which cover our fields, are now as much the direct workmanship of the Almighty, as were those which adorned the primeval world; and the soul of the infant just born is as fresh from the hand of its Maker as was the soul of Adam. Now it appears to me to be impossible, that the soul of man should be either diseased or depraved, as it comes from the hand of its Creator.

But what then is sin? and whence has it its origin? To the first query I answer, that the best definition of sin which I am acquainted with, is that given by the Apostle John,* who says that it is "transgression of the law." But in order that we may have correct ideas of the nature of that law which is thus transgressed, and of the source from which this transgression springs, it will be necessary to inquire, in the first instance, what man is by nature.

If I mistake not, man is, by nature, an animal being, distinguished from the rest of the animal creation by a superior degree of intelligence. It is true that, in addition to this animal nature, he brings with him into the world the germ of a moral or spiritual existence, which, if developed and cultivated, will convert him into a spiritual being, and render him the meet associate of celestial spirits, and an heir of immortality; but it does not necessarily follow, that this germ must in every case become developed, so as to convert its possessor into a spiritual being.

In proof of man's being, by nature, such as I have represented him to be, I would appeal to the tests of experience and observation.

Let us first examine the child. That evidently is an animal being, guided exclusively by animal instinct, passions and propensities, and possessing no ideas of good or evil but such as are of a physical nature.

If from the child we pass to savage nations, we shall find whole tribes who lead a purely animal life, without any ideas

VOL. VIII.-3

*1 John iii. 4.

of a higher good than that which belongs to animal well-be ing. That state of nature, which poets have painted to us in such glowing colours, travellers have every where found to be, not scenes of innocence and bliss, but mere scenes of animal life, in which man gave free scope to the gratification of his animal appetites and passions, and in which, whatever of enjoyment and of happiness was found, was of a purely animal kind.*

If we want to know what man is by nature, we must study him, not only in civilized, but also in savage life—not only in Paris, London and Dresden, but also at the extremity of Africa, in New Holland, and in our own Western Wilds.

But we need not travel to savage regions to find men who lead a purely animal life. In the midst of society there are many who, either through the unfavourable situations in which they have been placed, or from choice, live without God in the world, and without any higher aim than present enjoyment and well-being.

These instances of men who lead a purely animal life, might be greatly multiplied; but those already adduced will be sufficient to shew, that, notwithstanding the moral germ originally implanted in man, he would never have risen to the rank of a spiritual being, unless God had specially interposed for his relief.

But it was not the will of our Heavenly Father, that man should thus fail of attaining to that rank in creation for which he was destined. Already in the earlier ages of the world, God revealed to the patriarchs of the human race the knowledge of Himself,—that knowledge which lies at the root of all true religion and morality;—and in the fulness of time, when the progressive civilization of mankind had prepared them for the reception of the truth, He sent his Son into the world, 'that whosoever should believe on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'t Jesus came, and not only revealed to

*While writing this essay, I met with the number of the London Quarterly Review for June, 1839, containing a review of a Narrative of an expedition into Southern Africa, by Capt. W. C. Harris, in which there is an extract from the Narrative, which appears to me to have a strong bearing on the subject now under consideration.

Speaking of the Bushmen, Capt. Harris says of them: "Unblessed among the nations of the earth, the hand of these wandering outcasts is against every man, and every man's hand is against them. Without either laws, arts or religion-only a faint glimmering ray of instinct guides their benighted path. Depending for subsistence upon the produce of the chase, or the spontaneous gifts of nature, they share the wilderness with beasts of prey, and are but one grade higher in the scale of existence."-p. 40.

†John iii. 16.

us the will of the Father, and the great doctrine, that a life of eternal duration and of never-ending felicity is prepared for the righteous; but also instructed us, both by his precepts and his example, how we must live to participate in this boon, and to qualify ourselves for its enjoyment.

The moment a man ceases to act from the mere impulse of the senses, and commences acting under a sense of duty, and with reference to the will of God and a future responsibility, he enters on a new state of being, and becomes a new creature. This is that new birth, of which we are told in the scriptures, that without it no one can ever enter the kingdom of God. The man, who has thus been born again, has ceased to be a mere animal being, and has entered on a spiritual life.— Whether in that life he shall grow up to spiritual manhood, so as to qualify himself for the enjoyments of a spiritual existence in a future state of being, must, under God's assistance, depend on his own efforts, watchfulness and perseverance.

As soon as a man begins to act from a sense of duty, an internal warfare commences in him between his old and his new principles of action. His animal nature invites him to indolence;-duty calls on him to be laboriously active in working out his own salvation, and in the performance of all that is required of him by the station in which Providence has placed him. His animal nature invites him to self-indulgence; duty calls him to self-denial, even of lawful gratifications, when these would prove injurious either to his physical or moral wellbeing. His animal nature invites him to a free indulgence of his animal appetites and passions;-duty tells him that this indulgence must be regulated and circumscribed within proper bounds, and that otherwise it becomes injurious. His animal nature invites him to consult only his own interests;-duty commands him to consider the well-being of others as his own. His animal nature prompts him to act only with reference to the present moment;-duty bids him act constantly with reference to the future. And finally, while the natural man acts simply with regard to his physical well-being, the spiritual man acts constantly with a regard to his spiritual progress and improvement.

Such is that internal state of warfare going on in man, when he has been taught to act under a sense of duty. It is this internal warfare which the Apostle Paul so vividly describes in his epistle to the Romans. He tells us, Rom. vii. 18-25, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing, for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would, I