dregs of my fever, during which it was written." This fever appears, according to his statement, to have followed those excesses in which this unhappy being indulged at Venice in 1817. The following passage exhibits how strongly those conditions of mind, which led him even to doubt whether he had a soul, and gave so unhappy a current to his writings, were connected with habits of intemperance. Well has Fresnoy said, "To temperance all our liveliest powers we owe, Had Lord Byron lived naturally, and not stultified and deadened his mental powers by a life of debauchery and excess, his intellect, otherwise capable of so great things, would never have inquired, "and is this the soul?" Again he says: Feb. 25th, 1831.-"Came home-my head aches-plenty of news, but too tiresome to set down. I have neither read, nor written, nor thought, but led a purely animal life all day. I mean to try and write a page or two before I go to bed. But as Squire Fuller says, 'My head aches consumedly: Scrub, bring me a dram!' Drank some Imola wine, and some punch. .. I got and mixing some soda powders, drank them off. Returned to bed, but grew sick and sore once again. Woke, and was ill all day. out, ... ... I remarked in my illness the complete inertion, inaction, and destruction of my chief mental faculties. I tried to rouse them, and yet could not—AND IS THIS THE SOUL?" He says in another place,- "Wrote more of the tragedy. Took a glass of grog and scribbled and scribbled again; the spirits (at least mine) need a little exhilaration, and I do not take laudanum now as I used to do, so I have mixed a glass of strong waters and single waters, which I shall now proceed to employ. ... The effect of ale, wines, and spirits upon me is, however, strange. It SETTLES, but IT MAKES ME GLOOMY." * To those gloomy misanthropic hours, the result of licentiousness and intemperance, when dissatis *The following is the Medical Certificate referred to in a previous page: "We, the undersigned, are of opinion "1. That a very large portion of human misery, including poverty, disease, and crime, is induced by the use of alcoholic or fermented liquors as beverages. "2. That the most perfect health is compatible with total abstinence from all such intoxicating beverages, whether in the form of ardent spirits, or as wine, beer, ale, porter, cider, etc., etc. "3. That persons accustomed to such drinks may with perfect safety discontinue them entirely, either at once, or gradually after a short time. "4. That total and universal abstinence from alcoholic liquors and intoxicating beverages of all sorts, would greatly conduce to the health, the prosperity, the morality, and the happiness of the human race." Among the names appended to this testimony will be found those of Sir J. Clark, Bart., Physician to the Queen, Richard Bright, M.D. F.R.S., Physician to the Queen; John Forbes, M.D. F.R.S., Physician to the Queen's Household, etc.; Sir B. C. Brodie, Bart., Sergeant-Surgeon to the Queen, etc. It is most pleasing to see the very eminent names of those who have meritedly reached these distinguished posts, fied with himself and all around, and viewing all things through a distorted medium, are we to a large extent to ascribe the infidel folly and licentious rhyming of this unhappy man. How far removed this state of mind from that blessed serenity religion gives! "Contentment makes e'en little more, And sweetens good possest; Whilst faith points out the bliss in store, And makes us doubly blest." The next case is a truly hopeful one : The first occasion on which I remember to have seen Mr. C., a costermonger who resides upon my late district, is rather more than five years, since he was on that occasion extremely intoxicated, and could scarcely stand. He said, "I understand, sir, you are our new missionary, what has come to instruct us poor creatures, and I'm werry happy to see you, sir, for we wants to be instructed bad enough." I thanked Mr. C. for his kind expressions, and said I wished to have a little private conversation with him; but he kept falling upon me, and his breath was also so exceedingly offensive, that it was impossible to proceed with my endeavours to benefit him. I said, "If you will allow me, Mr. C., to rest your back against a wall, I appended to this most important document, and the avowal they have made does them great honour. We do not, however, observe a single name appended to this document, that we should esteem not equally in a position to judge in the matter. think you will be more at ease, and we can converse more pleasantly." I led Mr. C. to the wall of a house, and placed his back against it.* Under the discouraging circumstances in which I encountered Mr. C., it might have appeared to some minds almost useless to endeavour to communicate instruction. Of course it would have been far preferable to have reproved Mr. C. for his drunkenness when sober, but I could not feel certain he might live to be sober, and we hold our own lives, too, for no definite terminable period, but are tenants at will. I therefore deemed it proper to attempt to convey to him some Christian instruction on that occasion, respecting the physi cal, moral, and spiritual evils connected with the sin of intoxication. Considering his case worthy of especial notice, attention was directed to his instruction in a particular manner, and I ultimately was enabled to induce him to become a total abstainer. His case has hopefully progressed, and he remains a stanch temperance man yet. He attends the public worship of God with exemplary regularity. In his years of drunkenness he was altogether a stranger within a place of worship: he has totally abandoned Sabbath trading, and commenced family prayer. Mr. C., unfortunately, *The Spartans of old, we are informed, were in the habit of making their slaves drunk, in order to exhibit to their children the degraded and contemptible aspect induced by intemperance; and yet so rooted and grounded have the nations of the earth become in such habits, that instead of exciting horror with the multitude, the hapless sight of a fellow-creature, shorn of strength to stand, and reason to converse, by intemperance, is ridiculed and laughed at, and even gives a theme to the gambols of little children, and a character to plays and pantomimes. can neither read nor write, but his eldest son, educated at our Ragged School, reads the chapter. It may be truly said of himself and family, "now has salvation come to this house." Mr. C. has, for a considerable period of time, been of great assistance to me; forward in every good word and work. He has induced various drunken persons in these courts and alleys to join the Total Abstinence Society. This man was formerly a great drunkard, spending by his own admission occasionally as much as £2 per week in intoxicating liquors, and even a larger sum. Mrs. C., who was formerly far from a sober woman, has also become a stanch total abstainer, and appears also in a very hopeful state of mind. It is ascertained from official documents that not less than forty-five millions of bushels of malt, (about one-seventh of the grain produced in Britain,) are annually consumed in the manufacture of intoxicating liquors. For the produce of this quantity of grain, more than one million of acres of land are required. The judicious Paley pertinently observes :— "From reason or revelation, or from both together, it appears to be God Almighty's intention, that the produce of |