preserved at Athens, were inscribed on billets of wood, called axones. The custom has also existed in various applications in our own and other northern countries. The ancient Britons used to cut their alphabet with a knife upon a stick; which, thus inscribed, was called Cockbren Y. Beirrd, The Billet of Signs of the Bards, or the Bardic Alphabet; and not only were the alphabets such, but composition and memorials were written in the same manner. These sticks were commonly squared, but sometimes were three-sided, and consequently a single stick would contain three or four lines. The squares were used for general subjects, and for stanzas of four lines for poetry. The trilateral ones, being adapted to triads, and for a peculiar kind of ancient metre called triban, or triplet, and Englyn Milwyr, or the Warrior's Verse, several sticks were united together, as the cut represents. This was called Peithynen, or Elu ei dator, and was so constructed that each stick might be turned for the facility of reading, the end of each running out alternately on both sides. Dr. Plat, in his history of Staffordshire in 1686, says that Almanacks sull in use in that country, were written upon sticks, some of them of large size, being usually hung up at one side of the mantletree of the chimney; while others were smaller and carried in the pocket. Our engraving is copied from a representation of one of the family clogs given in his works, says the Editor. Properly the Almanack was a single four-sided stick, inscribed on each side; but for the convenience of representation it is shown in plans, each angle of the square stick with the moity of each of the flat sides being expressed apart. The edges have notches an⚫ swering to the days of the year, the Sundays being distinguished by a larger notch. Connected with these, on one of the flat sides, are crosses, the form and size of which are varied for the sake of distinction, or to mark the rank which the saint of that day is supposed to occupy. The dots are considered to denote the number of paternosters, aves, &c. appropriate to the day. The opposite side of the notched edge is occupied by arbitrary or significant signs to denote the greater festivals or other commemorative occasions as a star for Epiphany; a branch for May day; a sword for St. John; a key for Peter, &c. The use of sticks and pieces of wood for keeping accounts, says the author, has been retained much longer than the rest, and has indeed remained until our own day. We have seen alphabets, records, books, poems, and calenders of sticks. The most perfect and interesting of those which have remained in modern use, appears to be the Saxon Rieve Pole, which was used down to a very recent date in the island of Portland for collecting the yearly rent paid to the sovereign as lord of the manor. The lands of this island are denominated ancient customary demesne, and lands of inheritance, paying a yearly rent of L14, 14s. and 3d., and collected by the rieve or steward every Michaelmas, the sum which each person pays being scored on a square pole. The tallies" or notched sticks, so long and so recently used in the accounts of the public exchequer, and which gives names to the office of certain public functionaries. The Talliers of the Exchequer of the present day are the remains of this ancient and singular method of writing."

With these facts before us in reference to the immense labor of writing, and of course expense tn reading books anciently, our aston

ishment must be excited not so much at the gross ignorance of the ancients in many of the most valuable improvements now in use both in agriculture and mechanics, but that they had acquired so much wisdom. It is not singular that Solomon should say, "Of making many books there is no end." Had the knowledge of the art of printing been known to the Greeks or Romans, none could probably imagine the vast amount of valuable and inportant information which might now be in the possession of the present age, which is forever veiled from us. But the discoveries of the last three centuries in the useful arts are overwhelming-yes, the last years' history amply illustrates the importance of steam in carrying on the intercourse of nations. "The mariner's stone, or needle, the art of printing, with the application of steam power, have been overwhelming in their effects and influence in giving a change to, and revolutionizing the inhabitants of three-fourths of our globe, in many and important respects. Luther, with his coadjutors, has given an impetus to the discovery and practice of Bible truth which the winding up of time only can stop: not only Europe, Asia, Africa, and America have felt its all-powerful arm, but the numerous islands and their inhabitants in the South Sea have bowed to the triumphs of moral, intellectual, and agricultural improvements. How unspeakable are the blessings conferred upon those who have lived during this era, compared to days of yore! And who can tell the mighty deeds and discoveries yet to be performed and made during 160 years of the 6000 years of man's continuance in this now existing dispensation! We are already becoming almost as familiar with the sayings and doings of the streets and halls of London and Paris, as we are with the remote corners of our own union. In the history of the past we might say with Paul, "What man knoweth the things of a man, but the spirit of man that is within?" But now the hearts, with all their treasure, good or bad, are daily revealed, and with the rapidity almost of thought, scattered to the four winds of heaven. I noticed some days since a statement from a New York paper, saying, that by the time Mr. Webster had finished one of his long speeches, some weeks since, it was in press and nearly ready for the mails. Beloved brethren, let us use the means which God has given us to send forth the knowledge of salvation over our happy land, and then to distant climes. O praise the Lord for all his blessings! G. W. ELLY.

Philadelphia, October 16, 1840.

ON LIVING ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT-No. IL. I AM one of those who believe in the personal existence, office, and operation of the Holy Spirit, without the presence and power of whom there is no spiritual life, health, or salvation in any man. The sacred scriptures teach me not to grieve the Holy Spirit, not to quench its fire, but to pray in the Holy Spirit and for abundant measures of his influence and grace in my heart and life.. Gifts and powers superna. tural-wisdom and revelation superhuman-new light or new ideas

new tongues or their interpretation through communications of that Divine and Holy One who condescends to dwell in the humble temple of a pure heart, are not now necessary nor eligible to the building up the body of Christ. But to the sanctification, fruitfulness, beauty, and loveliness of the church, his presence, and his power, are just as needful as they ever were in any age or dispensation of salvation. Human nature has not been changed since man's apostacy from Goa. The laws of nature will as soon cease as man cease to be by nature what Cain and Abel were-what Shem, Ham, and Japhet were-what Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Esau were. And if any one of our race ever rose from the dead, or became holy in heart and life, the power of the Highest that quickened him is necessary in every other case. Whatever accumulation of caloric makes water boil, or whatever absence of it makes water freeze in any place, is necessary in every place, from Nova Zembla to the Cape of Good Hope.

Now that the Spirit of the Lord may be received and enjoyed, certain means are foreordained of God-such as reading or hearing the scriptures, fasting, praying, singing, and keeping the commandments of God. And it is with pleasure I express the conviction that the ratio of our enjoyment of his presence and favor in our hearts is divinely and immutably fixed according to the ratio of our devotion to the means ordained for that purpose. Water does not more necessarily freeze at 32 degrees, than do the cares of the world and the pursuit of its honors and pleasures, the gratifications of its lusts and passions, freeze the soul into ice, and harden the heart into adamant. Nor does water boil with more facility in 212 degrees, than does the soul burn with love divine, and the heart dilate with spiritual and holy affections, when we walk in the Spirit and abide in the conditions of spiritual health, vigor, and beauty, as they are taught and explained in the Holy Scriptures. To raise this fervor of affection, holy, spiritual, and divine, is the burthen of this series. To use the beautiful and bold imagery of one of the wisest and most eloquent of men upon this holy and divine agency upon our hearts, we will say, "Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; cypress, with spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh, and aloes, with all the chief spices: a fountain of gar dens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon. Awake, O North wind! and come thou, South! blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out! Let my beloved come iuto his garden and eat his pleasant fruits." "I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in and sup with him and he with me;" and "the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of living water springing up into eternal life." A.C.

ATONEMENT-No. VI.

REVIEW OF LETTERS, FIRST AND SECOND.

Dear brother Campbell-I HAVE finished the four numbers on the Atonement which I at first designed to publish. I now proceed to notice your objections and arguments against my views, in the order in which they are written. I shall commence with our first and second letters, and shall always quote from the Messenger in order to avoid confusion.

1st. In the very commencement of your first letter to me I was startled indeed. You say, "I most cordially concur in opinion with those brethren who have persuaded you that your fears were groundless, or would never be realized, concerning the discussion of those points which you called for, under date of your letter of November 11, 1839, published page 21 of the current volume." Did I, brother Campbell, ever call upon you for a discussion of those points? I never seriously thought of such a thing till yourself suggested, and publicly invited me to it. You have certainly mistaken me; for such an idea cannot be found in the letter alluded to above, as you will see by re-examining it. I wish to remove from the minds of our readers the idea of vanity and fondness for debate, as attaching to my character, now when I am on the verge of the grave. Those things, commonly attach to youth, and doatage.

2d. On page 9 you have made a number of assertions respecting the death of Christ, which would require volumes to attempt to prove, and as many to defend. 1st. "That the death of Christ is interwoven with all the designs of the universe. 2d. That Christ crucified is the most transcendent mystery in the moral dominions of God. 3d. That its power is the mainspring of all heavenly impulses. 4th. That it is itself the consummation of all wisdom and prudence. 5th. That the deep and high counsels of God issue in this mysterious fact, and emanate from it, as all earthly waters arise from the ocean and descend to it."

Whence my brother got all this information, I cannot conceive; certainly not from the divine revelations we have received. They are too high for my limited intellect to grasp, and too deep to fathom. How do we know "all the designs of the universe"? Countless millions of them may exist in the Infinite Mind never yet developed, and may not be for endless ages to come. How, then, can we know that the death of Christ is interwoven with them all? How little do we know with certainty of his revealed designs in our little speck of creation! How can my brother say that Christ crucified is the most transcendent mystery in the moral dominions of God? Can we measure the full extent of those dominions, and know all the mysteries in them, to enable us to make the comparison? How can we know that the power of the death of Christ is the mainspring of all heavenly impulses? Is it the mainspring to move God to be propitious to men? Is it the mainspring that moved God to create angels and worlds? Is it the mainspring to move angels to worship their Maker? Can we safely say, "that it is the consummation of all wisdom and prudence?”

The ultimatum-the very end of wisdom, that can rise no higher, and progress no farther? My dear brother, humility becomes us, poor, little, ignorant things. Often in your answers to my essays, you kindly apologize for me. I am bound to reciprocate the kindness. Your mind has been called to so many subjects of importance, that you have neglected to examine this old relict of your faith received by tradition of your fathers, and therefore have unguardedly expressed it. I cannot for a moment think that you, by this speculation, designed to forestall the sentiments of our readers.

3d. On page 13 you apologize for my misapprehension and misquotation of an expression in your "Christian System," pages 48 and 49, which I quoted in my first number. I cannot see that I have either misapprehended or misquoted you; but am glad to hear you disavow the sentiment I apprehended from the expression. The words in your Christian System" are, "In bringing many souls to glory, it sooths and delights the wounded love of our kind and benignant heavenly Father." My quotation is, "The death of Christ sooths and delights the wounded love of our kind and benignant heavenly Father" Your quotation of it is. "The death of Christ in bringing many sons to glory, sooths and delights," &c. If there be a inisquotation of your Christian System," which of us is guilty? It may be you quoted from the first edition; mine is from the second. Yours cannot be from the second edition. Yet I cannot conceive how you could be so startled at my quotation, that every sin wounds the affection of our heavenly Feather, and that the death of Christ sooths and delights the wounded love of our kind and benignant heavenly Father, when you so strenuously contend that his death propitiates him. I can see no difference of ideas in the expressions. Your language is strange, and might lead your less informed readers to conclude that the Father's wounds were soothed and healed by blood. Many such yet devoutly sing

"Rich were the drops of Jesus' blood,

That calm'd his frowning face,

That sprinkled o'er the burning throne,
And turn'd his wrath to grace.'

I know you spurn the ideas stated in this language, yet I cannot see how you can avow expressions conveying the same idea, as that the blood of Christ propitiates.

4th. The burden of my second letter is, to prove that the verb kapkur, translated to make an atonement, signifies to purge or cleanse, and that this was the design of sin-offering. This sentiment you do not deny nor oppose directly; for truly our translators, and Paul, the commentator of Moses, have set this matter beyond dispute, or fair debate, as I have shown in Letter II.

5th. I will also state another idea which may have escaped the penetrating mind of my brother. It is this, that the Hebrew word kaphar is an active transitive verb, and, according to all grammatical rules, must have an object upon which the action passes. Now, this object cannot be God; for kaphar, the active verb, signifies to cleanse.