house not made with hands," &c.? The apostle who wrote that epistle, and the rest of the believers; for no unconverted sinner can have this blessed assurance: therefore, we must not take all these beautiful texts, and apply them indiscriminately to ourselves, but consider whether they belong to us or not.

In many cases I have really been astonished at the propriety of the answers given by some of the scholars; and could not but believe that the Holy Spirit was indeed taking of the things of Christ, and showing them to these young disciples.

In prosecuting this vigorous system of questioning, however, my desire to make things plain and intelligible sometimes led me out of my depth; and, after some salutary lessons on my own ignorance and insufficiency, I found it best to prescribe to myself this rule, which, simple as it may appear, has proved a very useful one; viz., not to attempt to explain obscure passages, but to keep to those which appear to admit of a perfectly satisfactory explanation: not that I would keep obscure or mysterious passages out of sight; for it is well to teach the children the reverence which is due to every part of the Divinely inspired writings.

But there were, also, some things that now appear clear enough, which for a time I could not understand, yet saw them plainly declared in Scripture. Earnest, indeed, were my desires that I might teach nothing but the truth; and frequent were the breathings of my soul, as I walked to the school-room, that I might receive wisdom from above rightly to fulfil the solemn task I had undertaken.

It was, I trust, a useful lesson to me thus to discover how little I knew; and, in the course of time, those texts which had puzzled, and almost stumbled me, were reconciled one to another, so as to discover a connected system, and to furnish me with one of the most convincing proofs of the Divine origin of the doctrine.

It was in early childhood that I had begun to feel this difficulty: for instance, this declaration, "He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him," I could not receive; because it seemed to me to convey the idea that by living in love we could attain to union with God; but this was owing to my not perceiving that the living in love was the effect, not the cause of this union. Another thing, too, combined to reconcile my mind more fully to this declaration,—it was this, -a growing conviction of the impossibility of living in love unless the Spirit abide in us: "The fruit of the Spirit is love," &c.; this explains the whole. But, at the time of my entertaining doubts on this text I knew not my own heart. Now, recurring to these exercises of my

mind, I feel the less anxiety to ascertain whether such plain declarations find immediate reception into the hearts of the scholars or not: they may have entrance into the mind, and there furnish food for meditation in the fear of the Lord, and, in due time, be comprehended and embraced.

Yet, at times, I hesitated: thus, in the early part of my school engagement, not understanding how a man "is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law," I seemed to shrink from presenting to the children such declarations as these,-" He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." The hesitation arose from some idea that I must guard such passages by saying something about works or obedience; but I soon found that I never mended sacred truth by adding to the words of inspiration; and, on considering that passage, Rom. vi. 1, "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ," I saw that there was little danger of unregenerate persons fancying they believed, provided they took the whole testimony of Scripture on this most important subject; for the unregenerate have never known what it was to have genuine peace with God, consequently have never believed. And further, I found, in another place, that it is said that the Spirit of truth should convince the world "of sin, because they believe not on " Jesus. So these and similar texts settled the question, and assured me that faith would work by love, to the purifying of the heart; and that if the tree were made good, the fruit would be good also; and I now feel no hesitation in teaching the plain doctrines of the New Testament on the authority of Scripture, not doubting but they will be opened to the understandings of the young people as they advance in age, if not at the present time.

In attempting to say any thing on the effects of scriptural instruction, as exhibited in my pupils, I desire to be cautious of overrating the good on the one hand, or of depising it on the other; yet that, in general, it has been highly beneficial in forming correct principles, there has been ample proof: their standard of duty has been raised above that which prevails amongst those by whom they are surrounded.

Of the influence of the truths of Revelation on their conduct some very encouraging instances have also come before me. From employers of several of the young people decided testimony has been borne as to their superiority, in point of intelligence and trust-worthiness, over those who had not enjoyed the same privilege. Many of the parents

appear very sensible of the same fact; and evince their value for instruction by continuing to apply for the admission of their younger children into the school, even at a very early age.

Whosoever has been much accustomed to scriptural instruction, pursued on the principles described above, will probably be prepared to unite in the acknowledgment, that without the Spirit it is out of the power of man savingly to enlighten the understanding, or to convert the heart; but that, on the other hand, while we are endeavouring to sow the seed of Divine truth, we have every encouragement, both from the promises of God and from our own experience, to expect that the showers of grace will descend, at the appointed time, to fertilise the ground, and hence will be incited to obey the scriptural injunction, “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand, for thou knowest not which shall prosper," &c. He will, doubtless, also confess that the reward of this kind of labour in the vineyard will be found to be an abundant compensation for his toil, not only in the present enjoyment of peace, and the gratitude and affection of many of those he has instructed, but in the anticipation of meeting, at the right hand of his Saviour, at the last day, those whom he has been made instrumental, through Divine grace, in turning from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God,

HINDUISM.

THE religious sects of India, though varying in their tenets, and hating and persecuting each other with much bitterness, all acknowledge the same system of deities, differing only in the degree of honour they pay to each individual respectively.

There can be little doubt that the mythology of this vast peninsula was originally derived from a personification of the principles of nature, if we may so speak; though the number of the powers thus personified has been amazingly increased by the poetical invention of a most imaginative race.

Thus, Brahma is the creating, Vishnu the preserving, and Siva the destructive power. Each of these has his consort, in other words, a personification of his active energy; and each of the six passes under various names, according to the variety of his or her operations. To these abstract and simple ideas the poets have added so many embelishments as have made this system of gods one of the most complex

we are acquainted with. The heavens of these various deities have their attendants, their musicians, and dancers, all of whom have appropriate names. Each has his Vahan, or vehicle, a living being, of supernatural force and intelligence; and they are in continual hostility with the demons, giants, and serpents, that complete this strange list of supernatural powers.

There would be little excuse for detailing the puerilities, and certainly none for dwelling upon the worse features of such a system, in a journal like the present, but for the single reason that a brief sketch of it will afford the best superstructure on which to ground an explanation of the peculiar rites and ceremonies of the Hindus. To many of these, public attention in England been long and painfully directed: they are, indeed, of a character to excite the most appalling interest. We need only cursorily instance, what we purpose in the sequel more fully to enlarge upon, the burning of widows, female infanticide, and self-immolation in honour of certain idols.

It may not be out of place here to premise, that our information on the mythology and theology of the Hindus is derived from works of their own, chiefly written in the Sanscrit, or sacred language of the whole Indian peninsula. This language bears indisputable marks of having been originally used by a people of amazing acuteness of perception, depth of research, and highly poetical imagination. As polished as the Greek, which it very strikingly resembles, it is far more copious in its vocabulary, and more regular in its formation. It abounds, especially, in terms denoting the most beautiful classes of created things, the trees, flowers, and birds of the East; and all this copious vocabulary is exhausted in the praise of their imaginary deities. Till within a few years the knowledge of this language was confined to the Brahmins, the priest-tribe of India; but the indefatigable zeal of European linguists has at last put it in the power of the stranger to penetrate its mysteries.

We have mentioned above, that the three chief gods of the Hindus are Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva. The worship of the first-named, as the chief deity, is among the things that have been: his votaries appear to have been silenced, or converted by persecution and the sword. The Vaishnavas and Saivas now make up the body of Brahminical worshippers; the former attributing to Vishnu, and the latter to Siva, the supreme power, and considering the other two as subordinate.

One of the most prominent points in the Vaishnavas' creed is the ten avataras or incarnations of Vishnu. It is not necessary to notice all these in detail; but the accounts of two of them, the first and the

eighth, are remarkable from their apparent allusion to two of the greatest events recorded in our sacred writings.

The first is the Matsya, or fish incarnation. Hayagriva, a wicked king, had grievously oppressed the whole world, which had sunk into great depravity. Vishnu, in the shape of a minute fish, appeared to the good king Satyavrata, as he was performing his ablutions, and entreated of him protection against the ravenous creatures of the waters. This was readily granted by the monarch devotee; but the object of his compassion grew so rapidly in size, as he removed it from one receptacle to another, that at length it filled a lake several miles in length. Satyavrata then recognised Vishnu, and was warned by him to provide against the deluge, which should overwhelm the whole world. In obedience to the mandate of the god, he built an ark; and, fastening his vessel to one of the horns of Vishnu by an enormous serpent, he was drawn over the destroying waters in safety till they abated. It is a striking fact, that almost every known nation has some tradition of the universal deluge, though obscured, as in this instance, by the most monstrous fables.

In the Kurmavatara the god took the form of a tortoise. The Amrita, or water of immortality, had been thrown into the ocean, and its waters were churned, by the agitation of a huge mountain, to recover it. The mountain was moved by an immense serpent coiled round it, and held at one end by the demons, and at the other by the gods; and the part of Vishnu, in his transformation, was to afford a stable support for the enormous mass.

In the Varahavatara, or boar Avatar, the god took the form of that animal, to bring up on his tusks the world, which had been rolled into the abyss by the power of a malignant demon.

The Narasinhavatara was an appearance of Vishnu in the form of a man-lion, for the punishment and destruction of a demon giant, who had blasphemed and defied him.

The Vamuna, or dwarf Avatara, deserves a more particular explanation, as it involves one or two curious points of Hindu belief. Maha Bali, a sovereign of giant race, had, by his austerities, acquired so great power, that Heaven, Earth, and Patala, or hell, were subject to him. The gods were in despair, and applied to Vishnu, who descended in the form of a dwarf, and entreated Maha Bali to give him, from his vast dominions, so much as he could compass in three steps. To this modest request the monarch assented, when the disguised god assumed a form so enormous that in one step he passed over heaven, and in another over the earth. His third would have been over Patala; but