THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND MAGAZINE.

SANCTIFICATION OF THE SABBATH*.

"Hail sabbath! thee I hail, the poor man's day.
The pale mechanic now has time to breathe
The morning air, pure from the city's smoke,
While wandering slowly up the river's side,
He meditates on him, whose power he marks
In each green tree that proudly spreads the bough,
As in the tiny dew-bent flowers that bloom
Around its roots; and, while he thus surveys,
With elevated joy, his rural charm,
He hopes, yet fears presumption in the hope,
That heaven may be one sabbath without end."
GRAHAME.

very soon over too, leaving no satisfaction behind. Then seek the Lord in earnest, that he will grant you true repentance, the new heart which he has promised, the great reconciliation which he invites you to seck through the blood of his Son. For remember that, if God is mighty to save, he is also mighty to destroy; and he must destroy all those who die in their carnal state. Have you, then, any wish to be saved? If you have, examine your hearts well and closely. Are they yet carnal, natural, unconverted? You, A RELIGIOUS observance of the sabbath must who live without prayer, begin to pray: you, be considered a primary duty; for, while it will who live in the habits of open sin, give them preserve you from many temptations, it will also up at once: you, who are not in the habit of impart a thousand blessings to your souls. Let reading the word of God, make it a habit at me admonish you, therefore, my young friends, to once: you, who have gone on quietly, travel-devote the whole of this day to those beneficial ling on the easy road of indifference, and feel- tuted. Let nothing keep you from the house of and delightful purposes for which it was instiing quite contented with yourselves, learn the God: embrace every opportunity of attending dievil of your own hearts, and that sin is still vine worship: engage in the holy service with dwelling within you: you have never repented: reverence and devotion: hear the gospel preached your heart is still the same: your prayers are with seriousness and attention; and let it be your dead forms, your duties the common habits earnest desire that you may be instructed by it, and that you practise what you hear. Let the of every properly-educated mind: I warn hours that are not devoted to public worship be you not to continue in such a course, yes, filled up either with prayer, meditation, selfeven as St. Paul did the Corinthians, in those examination, the perusal of the bible, or some earnest words: "Now, then, we are ambas- pious book, or in conversation with those whose sadors for Christ, as though God did beseech discourse, savouring of grace, may profit your you by us; we pray you in Christ's stead, souls; or in visiting the sick and afflicted, with a be ye reconciled to God." view to their spiritual good.

"In the observance of the sabbath," says a worthy pious divine+, “Christians are encouraged to hope for the divine blessing. This expectation is warranted by the express words of the fourth commandment: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath-day, and hallowed it."" The Almighty has then blessed this day; and it shall be blessed. This blessing is not merely a nominal thing: it is To powerful and efficacious, it maketh rich. many millions of the human race has the sabbath already afforded cause of praise; and for it generations yet unborn will arise to magnify the Lord.

What more can I say to you, my brethren? what more need I say, speaking to reasonable men? May the Lord give the blessing on what I have spoken, and so impress the truths of the gospel upon your hearts, that you may learn not only the folly, but the terror of living in enmity against God. It is foolish; for it must end in destruction: it is terrible; for "our God will be a consuming fire," "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in The sabbath does good to men in a temporal flaming fire taking vengeance on them that point of view. To those who minister to the Lord know not God, and that obey not the gospel in spiritual things on the first day of the week, of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be will he through the week minister in temporal punished with everlasting destruction from things. Around the dwellings of the devout observers of the sabbath will the hedge of a special the presence of the Lord." On the other providence be planted; and of them will the rehand, it is wise and profitable to seek friend- mark of Abimelech, and Phicol, the captain of his ship with your God wise, for he is love to host, to Abraham, be made by their neighbours, the penitent, and willeth not that any should "that God is with them in all they do." Pious perish, but that all should come to repent-judge Hale owned that he found it fared well or ance; profitable, for no less than the glories of heaven are promised to all those who hear the call of mercy, and repent of their sins. As the apostle says, in the verse just before our text: "To be carnally-minded is death; but to be spiritually-minded is life and peace." May God grant unto us these inestimable blessings, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

ill with him through the week, according as he kept the Lord's day. And this is what the Lord promises his people-that, if they honoured his sabbath, he would "cause them to ride on the high places of the earth, and feed them with the heritage of Jacob their father." And surely, if a God of infinite goodness brings temporal judgments upon those who profane, he must be much more disposed to confer temporal mercies on those who sanctify his day.

* From "Advices to the Young."

† Essay on the Christian Sabbath; by the rev. James Mitchell, of Wooler, Northumberland.

wicker-work used in brewing), was hanging upon | a peg against a cottage wall, in Leamington, at a height of not more than six feet from the ground. In this betwell the bird built its nest; but unfortunately the fact was not discovered until after a brewing, when the old woman who owned the implement, on cleaning out her betwell, was astonished to find in it a birds' nest full of eggs. About the same time in the following year, having occasion to brew again, she recollected the circum-stances" it greatly pleases me," says Mr. Dostance, and examined the betwell previous to using it. There again she found a tomtit's nest, which she unceremoniously removed, and the brewing proceeded as usual. The third year the bird renewed the attempt; and, moved perhaps by its perseverance, the old woman allowed the nest to remain until the birds were hatched. "It was upon this occasion," says Mr. Bree, "that I was witness of the fact, "just as the eggs were on the very point of being hatched. On my going to the house to see this curiosity, the betwell with its contents was immediately taken down from its peg, and placed in my hand for inspection, the bird all the while sitting within it upon its nest, which it made no attempt to quit, but merely gave signs of anger by frequently bristling up its wings and feathers, and by hissing." This bird, it appears, had suffered itself to be carried in its wicker habitation about the village (as Leamington then was), and exhibited to the visitors.

The natural timidity of birds is greatly lessened, and in some cases almost entirely removed, during incubation. The blue titmouse has on many occasions furnished proof of this. A remarkable instance occurred a few years ago, at Newland, in Gloucestershire. A pair of blue titmice built their nest in the upper part of an old pump, fixing it to the pin on which the handle worked. It happened that, during the time of building and laying the eggs, the pump had been out of use; but at the time when the female was sitting it was again set going, and it was naturally expected that the motion of the pump-handle would drive her away. But so determined was she in her work, that she remained sitting for the appointed period; and the young birds were safely hatched, with no other misfortune than the loss of a part of the tail of the sitting bird, which was rubbed off by the friction of the pump-handle.

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The greater titmouse and the tomtit have been observed to choose a similar situation; indeed, it would appear that the groove in which the pumphandle works has some particular charm for these birds. Mr. Dovaston, of Westfalton, near Shrewsbury, gave in 1832 an account of one of the greater titmice, who annually, or nearly so, built in this pump, " he says, where," "there is a nest of eggs at this moment. It is placed just under the top of the handle, where that lever bends, and is joined to the piston by a swivel. The only entrance the bird has is close over the handle, where the slit runs a little higher, to allow it to rise above its fulcrum. This pump is used every hour, and is always accompanied with much noise and agitation, and frequently, for negligent want of oil, will on its hinges grate like thunder;' yet the bird sits on, quiet and unmolested. If the handle be lifted up, and she be peeped at longer than she like, she merely puffs, blows, and snorts at the

curious intruder." A great quantity of moss was used in the construction of this; and, to prevent any of it falling into the tube or bucket, the sagacious bird placed small sticks as props, a material which she never employs under ordinary circumstances. When the young are hatched, one or more of them will sometimes crawl to the edge of the nest, and fall over into the water, and so get ejected through the spout. Under these circumvaston, "to see my servants replace them gently in the nest, with kind soothings or facetious chidings, showing that natural humanity is innate in very many of the labouring classes, till effete for lack of nurture, or corrupted by evil communications." At Springfield House, Warwickshire, a pair of red starts once built their nest under an inverted garden-pot, accidentally left on a gravel walk, entering their habitation from above, at the drainhole. The nest attracted much attention, and was watched daily, as it became an object of interest in the family to ascertain when, and by what means, the young birds would emerge from under the pot, and make their début. How long they might have continued in confinement, if left to themselves, it is impossible to say, as they were eventually indebted to female curiosity for their emancipation. A lady lifted up the pot to see whether the birds were there, when the whole brood, taking advantage of so favourable an opportunity, made their escape, darting forth in all directions, like rays from a centre.

A similar instance was given in the "Preston Chronicle" some years ago. In a garden belonging to E. Clayton, esq., Bamberbridge, near Preston, a flower-pot was turned down over a tender plant. in the early part of the spring, and shortly afterwards was removed, and placed in the same inverted position on a vacant part of the flower-bed, near the verge of a gravel walk. Two small birds of the tomtit species, having found their way into the pot through the opening at the bottom, made it their habitation. A carpet was laid in an inclined direction over the whole area, of fine fibrous moss, on which was constructed a little nest in contact with the internal side of the pot, and lined with a mixture of hair and feathers. When first discovered there were six eggs in it, which were soon augmented to ten, all of which were in due time hatched, and the birds on the wing.

Mr. Bree gives an account of the nesting-place chosen by a pair of robins. In the parish church of Hampden-in-Arden, Warwickshire, these birds for two years in succession affixed their nest to the church bible as it lay upon the reading-desk. The worthy vicar would on no account have the birds disturbed, and accordingly introduced into the church another bible from which to read the lessons. As if encouraged by this tolerance to commit further audacious acts, the birds actually plundered the rope-ends from the belfry to assist in the construction of their nest. The old women of the village, however, did not fully share the benevolent feelings of the vicar on the occasion; on the contrary, they took it into their heads that the circumstance of the robins building on the bible was highly ominous, and boded no good to their minister. Now, it so happened that the worthy vicar fell ill and died in the month of June

of the second year of the birds building in the church, an event which confirmed their superstitions, and "will be remembered," says Mr. Bree," and handed down to posterity for the benefit of any future vicar, should the robins again make a similar selection."

At Knowle Hall, Warwickshire, as we learn from the same authority, a wren built its nest in the skeleton body of a heron, which had been nailed up against a wall. A still more remarkable choice was that of a tomtit, which built its nest, some years ago, in the skull of a murderer who had been gibbeted at Drinsey Nook, in Lincolnshire.

The following is an instance of the friendly confidence of a pair of swallows: In the summer of 1830 a pair of swallows commenced their nest upon the crank of a bell-wire in the passage of a farm-house at Crux Easton, the one end of which opened into a little garden, the other into the kitchen, the door of which, towards the garden, was usually left open. The passage was fifteen or eighteen feat in length, and the bellwire nearly at the extremity, towards the kitchen. The farmer and his wife were so much pleased with the sociability and confidence of their new inmates, that they not only allowed their muddy domicile to remain unmolested, but took care that free ingress and egress should be always afforded through the garden door. The nest was completed, and a brood of young swallows reared, which took wing. In the autumn of the same year the farmer, returning from shooting, with his gun loaded, thoughtlessly discharged it at a swallow, which he killed. The circumstance passed unnoticed until the next summer, when, from the absence of his old favourites, it occurred to him that the poor bird so wantonly killed must have been one of them.

could not secure.

night. At the beginning of the evening they perched on the edge of the nest; and, as the night advanced, as if for additional warmth they sank down into the interior. As the season advanced, and they became full-feathered, they deserted the nest altogether, and perched on the bell-wire. Here they perched during the conviviality of the harvest-supper, perfectly regardless of the uproar; and here they were seen perched, for their night's repose, by the narrator of their history, when visiting Crux Easton, on an evening in the middle of September, 1832.

PORTSMOUTH, OHIO, IN DAYS PAST;

OR, A BISHOP IN A FIVE DOLLAR SKIFF, FLOATING
DOWN THE SCIOTO.

PORTSMOUTH, at the mouth of the Scioto river, was passed in the night. In doing so, the writer called to mind days that were long since passed, and mused on scenes recorded in tears of painful suffering, while seeking the wandering sheep in the wild wilderness of woods in Ohio, before canals or steamboats, and scarcely good bridges

were to be seen.

The parish of All Saints, Portsmouth, where good Mr. Burr now officiates, was organized by the writer, and cherished by the lay reading of that pious man, now in heaven, Mr. Samuel Gunn. This is the place (O, how vivid the memory thereof!) that the writer, when bishop of Ohio, visited, being wafted down the Scioto in a skiff, purchased in Chilicothe for five dollars, as the sole means, during the overflowing of the waters, of

With only one man to row this frail bark, it was in passing by a farm near the village, that good Mr. Kinney hailed him from his cornfield, as the skiff passed swiftly by on the flowing tide, near the shore. And it is here the descendants of that good man now gather round their aged parent, while oft reciting the story of this singular event: how he led the bishop to his peaceful farm-house, and warmed his chilled limbs by his cheerful fireside; how Mrs. K. flew round her new brick house, then a rarity, evincing her deep feelings of hospitality and maternal affection, while she spread a table, large and long, with plates for her numerous family, reserving one where the great chair stood, for a person so unexpectedly thrown by Providence among them, to minister to their spiritual wants, more urgent than the behests of nature.

The year following, a pair of birds-the off-fulfilling an appointment to hold confirmation. spring, perhaps, of the former occupants--were observed at the old haunt. They first attempted to fix their nest to a cupboard door, immediately over the door leading into the kitchen; and the farmer's wife, fearing it might be shaken down from the closing and opening of the door, drove a nail beneath, to secure it in its position. However, the swallows did not approve of this interference; they forsook their nest, and commenced a second over the kitchen door; but this they The thought now struck the farmer that if the nest of 1830, which still remained on the bell-wire, were removed, the birds would adopt the old situation. This was accordingly done. The pair immediately profited by the farmer's suggestion; a nest was completed, and an egg deposited, in the short space of four days from the commencement of the new work. While the business of incubation was going on, the farmer's sheep-shearing was accomplished, and the usual supper given to the labourers in the kitchen; but, notwithstanding the confusion and smoke, and the constant opening and shutting of the door, the parent bird never moved off her nest. The haymaking feast arrived, when the young birds were hatched; and again, amid the noise and confusion, the old swallows unremittingly waited upon their offsprings. The nestlings took flight; but, until the period arrived for migration, they constantly returned to the passage for the

"O, merciful parent of the human family!" said the writer to himself, as he passed, in the dark night, in a steamer, this interesting place of Portsmouth, on the Scioto river, on the 17th day of November, 1847. "For what end dost thou bring these scenes of bygone days to the remem brance of one stricken with age and bowed down with infirmities! Are these poor labours to promote thy glory indeed written in thy book? of sin, mingled as it is with all things human.” Wash the page, O Lord; and blot out every taint

* From the "Motto;" by bishop Chase, of Illinois.