Letters to a Mother, upon Education.

LETTER IV.

Dear Madain, Although education has been divided into four departments, and my remarks will be restricted to one at a time as they succeed each other, yet you are aware that they all must be united in pructice, as far as possible. The physical, moral, mental, and religious culture of a child, are all intimately connected, and should all, as far as possible, be begun and continued together. Very early therefore begin that part of his education which comes under the denomination of the moral, or the direction of his conduct as a member of society, as a responsible creature of God, whose present and future happiness will be dependent upon his own behaviour.

It is almost superfluous to remind you, that your attention must be directed for this purpose to his understanding and his affections. You must, as soon as possible, make him understand what is his duty, and teach him also to approve and prefer it upon principle. The only method of regulating the conduct of any human being, is to convince his judginent and affect his heart. Still, as this cannot be done at present, owing to the infantine state of his faculties, it will be needful for you to begin the moral part of his education in a manner partly mechanical. This will consist in carefully, and by system, avoiding every thing which may disturb his complacency, and tend to produce fretfulness or irritability. Yet as he will soon begin to understand your assiduities, and to rely upon them, it will be needful to avoid communicating the idea to him that he is of great consequence, and especially every thing that has the appearance of indulgence. I have seen a child under contrary treatment, fully conscious of the extraordinary attention paid to him, and resenting the absence of it by tears and passion, even before being able to speak plainly. I have feared, in such instances, that a foundation was being laid for tyranny, impatience, and self-preference. These evils would be excluded by a system of intelligent watchfulness over him, which equally provides against neglect and the admission of extraordinary instances of attention.

At a very early age the future disposition and characteristic tendencies of a child, both of body and of mind, become apparent. It is the opinion of eminent physicians, that all the diseases of the body which it may suffer, and by which death will be ultimately produced, are born with us. I believe that the same observation holds with regard to the disposition. The whole man is inclosed in the infant, just as the future flower is contained in the bud, and even in the seed itself; and just as the future process of blossoming and bearing fruit are but the expansion of the seed, so manhood is but the development of infancy.

"The boy shows the man, as morning shows the day." You will soon perceive the disposition of your child beginning to develop itself. You will indeed have abundant reason to acknowledge, that man is of his own nature inclined to evil; but the self-same disposition which is thus inclined, and which may become the instrument of the evil the individual may produce and suffer, may also by the benefit of education, and the aid of the Holy Spirit, become the instrument of good. It is the province of education, not to eradicate, but to direct and regulate the natural disposition. Suppose a child, for instance, early to exhibit what is called determination of character, an unwillingness to renounce a purpose. If neglected, he may become tyrannical, violent, self-opinionated, and regard

less of the opinions and welfare of others. If well directed, he may become persevering, energetic, steady, and successful. Another child, even in the same family, may develop a more patient, gentle, and yielding disposition. If well directed, it may be the basis of a genuine sensibility of heart with all its excellencies; if ill treated, he may become timid, and even cunning and deceitful. One child may early develop strength of mental and bodily organization: if well directed, they may expand into greatness of character; if ill directed, his strength may only render him dangerous and abandoned. The disposition then should be studied, and as it developes itself should be directed towards excellence.

There is indeed a critical period, which too often passes unobserved, but which is intimately connected with the welfare both of the child and of the parent. I mean the subjugation of his will to that of his parent. Since the parent, of course, will know what is best for the child for many years of its life, the will of the child must submit to that of the parent. This habit ought to be established at a very early period, as every day after he has tasted the fatal pleasure of self-will, would only render the task more difficult and hopeless. From the first, resolve, as well as you can, upon what will be best, adopt your resolution, persevere in it, and your child will never oppose your judgment. But should you ever be induced to alter your determination because it may be less pleasing to him, should you ever allow him to learn that tears and entreaty induce you to change your proceedings, you have laid the foundation for his unhappiness and your own. The work of education often requires that a child be restrained, and required to persevere in a particular line of conduct. Human nature is however averse to these things: yet they are essential to the happiness of a child. When therefore you feel inclined to forego the dictate of your judgment, out of regard to the transitory ease and gratification of your child, you lay the foundation for everlasting trouble in the process of education. Your commands, your wishes will be perpetually challenged and opposed. On the other hand, never from the first acquaint him with the fatal secret, that it could be possible for you to change your mind, or that it could be possible for him to resist you. Whenever I have seen a child repeating a request, which had at first been denied him, and winning the compliance of a parent by entreaty, I have thought, There is the spectacle of the superior knowledge and wisdom of a father or mother all rendered useless, by the false tenderness which allows an ignorant infant to overcome him by entreaty. I have felt certain that the child never would have thought of such a proceeding, had his education been properly conducted. I have grieved to anticipate the ever-widening evils which attend such mistaken conduct. Especially should parents avoid disagreeing upon any point of conduct in the presence of their children. Soon will they learn who is most inclined to their cause, and thither will the little petitioners carry their request; and if successful, the benefit of the united influence of both parents upon the education of their children is lost for ever. The way to avoid this evil is, for the general education of children to be resigned chiefly to the mother, and for the father to interfere in those cases only which require his advice and authority. Should there be any difference of opinion upon such topics, the parents will do well to converse and resolve upon it privately. In endeavouring to practise these directions, it is needless to say that the object intended is a uniform system. When this has been adopted from the beginning, and steadily maintained, it will proceed in so silent and effectual a manner as scarcely to be

observed by a stranger, except by its lovely effects, and save infinite trouble and anxiety to the parent.

Above all things, he who teaches or educates another, must himself be what he would have his scholar become. All the lessons about good temper and self-control, like all other good advice, will be best administered by the silent yet forcible eloquence of the parent's own proper conduct. A child never learns so much by what a parent says as by what he does. What self-education, what prayer for Divine assistance, what watchfulness does your task require!

Believe me, Madam, your, &c.

CLERICUS.

ECCLESIASTICAL BIOGRAPHY.

SECOND CENTURY.

26. QUADRATUs, styled by the Greeks, a man of great learning and knowledge, was believed to have been a native of Athens, where he was educated in all the studies and philosophy cultivated in that celebrated city. Of the precise period of his birth, or of his conversion to Christ, we have no particular account. Eusebius and Jerome say that he was an auditor of the apostles. Some suppose that he was bishop of the church at Philadelphia, to whom the apostle John wrote his Epistle. Rev. iii, 7.

In the reign of Trajan, Publius, bishop of the Christians at Athens, terminated his course by martyrdom, and Quadratus was chosen to succeed him. Many of the believers had been scattered from Athens, and the church was in a deplorable state of declension, sunk almost to apostacy. This apostolic man applied himself vigorously to recover the ancient spirit of religion: he restored church discipline, and induced the exiles to return to the ordinances of public worship. Reformation merely did not satisfy Quadratus: but he laboured successfully to win souls to Christ, and to enlarge the boundaries of the church; so that through his ministry, many of the Grecian sages embraced the gospel of salvation, and acknowledged Jesus as Lord of all, the Creator of the world, and the Redeemer of sinners.

Tranquillity was enjoyed by the Christians during the latter part of Trajan's reign, his cruel edicts being suspended but under Adrian, his successor, they were enforced; and those who fell a sacrifice to the fury of the idolatrous pagans appear to have been numerous, as long lists of martyrs for Christ are given by ancient writers. Even at Rome, Eustachius, a person of some note, and his wife Theopistis, with their two sons, are said to have been thrown to the lions, by the emperor's command; but being spared by the savage beasts, they were ordered to be burnt to death in the hollow of a brazen bull, which they used for worship.

About the sixth year of his reign, Adrian visited Athens, took upon himself the honour of Archon, celebrated their solemn sports, and entered into the venerable Eleusinian mysteries. Adrian staying the winter at Athens, persecution raged against the Christians. Aristides wrote an apology for the Christians, addressed to the emperor: Quadratus presented another to Adrian, by which means his fierceness was a little moderated: it is even said, by a Roman historian, that Adrian purposed to build a temple to Christ, and to receive him into the number of his gods!

Quadratus was brutally treated after Adrian's departure from Athens, and driven into exile, where he suffered martyrdom, as is reported, at Magnesia, a city in Asia Minor.

In the Apology of Quadratus, a fragment of which remains, he notices the miracles of Christ, his curing diseases and raising the dead; some instances of which, he says, still existed in his time.

Adrian died A. D. 137: but we know not the precise year of the birth or martyrdom of Quadratus.

HINT TO CHRISTIANS AND MINISTERS, Suggested by reading Captain Parry's Voyage in quest of a North-West Passage.

"The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light." Luke x, 8.

Shall Parry brave the horrors of that tide,
Where never ship before was seen to glide;
Tempt legion-danger, under Polar skies,
Where torpid Nature one vast ruin lies;
And life-if life can such a clime illume-
Is mere existence, breathing through the gloom?
Shall he explore that mart of ice and sleet,
Where Nature's pulse is hardly felt to beat;
Where everlasting desolation reigns

O'er earth and ocean, bound in frozen chains?
Shall he tempt regions hideous and dark,
That never smil'd since Noah left the ark?
To crown his temples with his country's wreath,
Invade these frigid avenues of death;

The barriers of the Arctic Circle force,
With not a magnet to direct his course,
With not a sun to gild that arch divine*,
That shows his distance from the Pole and Line?
Shall he, when science, honour, fame, invite,
Brave the long gloom of Hyperborean night?
Shall he, shall Parry, for a paltry lure,
These and ten thousand nameless ills endure?-
And shall not I, when God and duty call,
Fly to the utmost limits of the ball?
Cross the wide sea, along the desert toil,
Or circumnavigate each Indian isle :
To torrid regions fly to save the lost,
Or brave the rigour of eternal frost?
I may, like Brainerd, perish in my bloom,
A group of Indians weeping round my tomb :
I may, like Martyn, lay my burning head
In some lone Persian hut, or Turkish shed:
I may, like Coke, be buried in the wave:

I may, like Howard, find a Tartar grave:
Or perish like a Xavier on the beach,
In some poor cottage out of friendship's reach:
I may-but never let my soul repine;
"Lo! I am with you :"- Heaven is in that line!
Tropic or Pole, or mild or burning Zone,
Is but a step from my celestial throne !

* The graduated arch of the quadrant.

E. M.

"THEREFORE WE ARE ALWAYS CONFIDENT.”—Not hesitating, as he that cried out on his death-bed, “I have lived carefully, I die doubtfully, I go I know not whither?" Socrates, with all his skill, could not resolve his friends whether it were better for a man to die or to live longer. And Cicero, having comforted himself as well as possible against the fear of death by the help of philosophy, acknowledged at last, that the inedicine was too weak for the disease. It is the Christian only who can be confident that his end shall be happy, though his beginning and middle perhaps may be trou blesome. Knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord." "For we walk by faith, not by sight."- Trapp.

REV. WILLIAM PERKINS.

BORN 1558-DIED 1602.

Ar Marston, in Warwickshire, was born the celebrated William Perkins, a great scholar, a profound divine, and a successful preacher in the University of Cambridge. He received his academical education in Christ's College, in that University, where for some time he was very wild, and ran great lengths in prodigality; probably permitted, that when he should become a preacher, he might more fully detect and lay open the workings of sin and vanity in others, sympathize with them in their sad condition, and be the better qualified to counsel and comfort them in their repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." At the same time, and while yet a graduate, he gave proofs of the great genius with which Providence had endowed him, by his deep researches into nature, and the secret operations of natural powers. But when the Lord was pleased to convert him from the error of his ways, he applied himself with uncommon diligence to the study of divinity, and, in a short time, made an almost incredible proficiency.

About the age of twenty-four, he was chosen fellow of Christ's College, and entered into holy orders; when, according to the precepts of the gospel, having "freely received, he freely gave;" and after the pattern of his great exemplar, went and "preached deliverance to the captives." The gaoler being prevailed upon to bring the prisoners into the county house, near to the gaol, he preached the gospel to them every Sunday, with great power and success. As soon as this pious labour was known, many from the neighbouring parishes resorted thither to hear him; and it pleased God to make him the happy instrument in bringing to the knowledge of salvation, and into the "liberty of the children of God," not only those whose bodies were in prison, but those whose souls, like theirs, were in captivity and bondage to sin and Satan. His fame, which was afterwards in all the churches, soon spread through Cambridge; and he was chosen to St. Andrew's parish in that town, where he remained an industrious, faithful labourer, till he finally "entered into the joy of his Lord."

Being settled thus in a university, his hearers consisted of the collegians, town's people, and people from the country, which required such a peculiar gift as Providence had bestowed on Mr. Perkins; for, in all his discourses, he was able to acommodate his style and phrases to the capacities of the common people; and at the same time the pious scholar could not but admire them. Luther used to say, "that as thunder without rain did more harm than good; so ministers that preach the terrors of the law, but do not at the same time drop in the dew of gospel instruction and consolation, are not wise master builders; for they pull down, but build nothing up again." But Mr. Perkins's sermons were said to be all law, and all gospel! He was a rare instance of those opposite gifts meeting in so eminent a degree in one and the same preacher; the vehemence and thunder of a Boanerges, to awaken sinners to a sense of their danger, and to drive them from destruction; and the gentle persuasives and comforts of a Barnabas, to pour in the wine and oil of gospel consolation into the wounded spirit, which he pointed to Jesus Christ. And such was his wisdom in administering advice and comfort in all cases of conscience, that it is said, "the afflicted in spirit came far and near to him, and received comfort from him.”

He had a surprising talent in perusing books so speedily that one would think he read nothing; yet so accurately, that one must think he had read all. Besides his frequent preaching, and other ministerial

labours, he wrote many excellent books; which, on account of their worth, were many of them_translated into Latin, and sent abroad, where they have been greatly admired and valued; and some of them translated into French, High Dutch, and Low Dutch, and his " Reformed Catholic," into Spanish; which, however, so far as we know, was never answered. Voetius, and several of the foreign divines, have mentioned him with great honour and our Bishop Hall said of him, "that he excelled in a distinct judgment, and a rare dexterity in clearing the obscure subtleties of the schools, and easy explication of the most perplexed discourses." He was much afflicted with the stone, the frequent attendant on a sedentary life, under which severe complaint he was remarkably patient. In the last fit, a little before his death, hearing a friend pray for the mitigation of his pains, he cried out, “Hold! hold! do not pray so; but pray the LORD to give ine faith and patience, and then let him lay on me just what he please." At length patience had its perfect work, and he bade a final and everlasting farewell to all pain of the body and affliction of the soul; was crowned with eternal rest and glory, A. D. 1602, in the fortyfourth year of his age. He was born in the first, and died in the last year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. He died rich only in grace, and in the love of God and of good men yet, like the Apostle Paul (2 Cor. vi, 10), however poor, he was enabled to make many rich. He was buried with great solemnity, at the sole expense of Christ's College; the university and the town striving which should show the most gratitude for his faithful labours among them, or pay the greatest respect to his memory. Doctor Montague preached his funeral sermon on the following words, Moses, my servant, is dead." Josh. i, 2.

66

He was so pious and exemplary in his life and conversation, that malice itself could find no ground for scandal or reproach. He was naturally cheerful and pleasant; rather reserved toward strangers, but when once acquainted, very familiar. He was of a middle stature, ruddy complexion, bright hair, and inclined to corpulency, but lame of his right hand; yet with his left hand he wrote two folio volumes, so well, and to so good purpose, that he proved himself an able evangelical divine, and an invincible champion in the Protestant cause. And such was his humanity and condescension, that he not only preached to the prisoners, as we observed before, but accompanied the condemned to the place of execution; and what success he had in this line of his labours, will appear from the following example-A stout young man going up the ladder, discovered great dejection of spirit, and when he came to the top, and turned round to speak to the people, he looked like one half dead; which Mr. Perkins observing, endeavoured to encourage him; but finding it to be without effect, said, "Man, what is the matter with thee? Art thou afraid of death?" "Ah, no (said the malefactor, shaking his head), but of a worse thing." "Dost thou so (replied Mr. Perkins), then come down again, and thou shalt see what God's grace will do to strengthen thee." When he came down, Mr. Perkins took him by the hand, and, at the foot of the ladder, they both kneeled down, hand in hand; when Mr. Perkins prayed with so much of the Divine presence, and with such power, in confession of sin, with its aggravating circumstances, and the horrible and eternal punishment due to the same, according to God's justice, that the poor man burst out into a flood of tears, being broken and contrite in heart: which when Mr. Perkins observed, he proceeded to the second part of his prayer, in which he set forth the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of every believing penitent sinner, as stretching forth his arms of mercy and power to save him in his

miserable and distressed condition, and from all the powers of darkness, and to give him heaven and glory. This he was enabled to do in so wonderful and successful a manner, that the poor creature continued indeed to shed tears, but they were now tears of love, gratitude, and joy, flowing from a belief that all his sins were cancelled by the merciful shedding of his Saviour's blood. And when they rose from prayer, he evidenced so good and satisfactory a confession, that the spectators lifted up their hands, and praised God, for seeing such a glorious display of sovereign grace, in converting at the eleventh hour this dying malefactor, who went up the ladder again with apparently great comfort, and hastening as it were to have the grace he had so lately been made a partaker of, consummated in glory.

A FEW PLAIN QUESTIONS

ON KEEPING THE SABBATH DAY HOLY.

Is it enough to give a few hours to Public Worship, and then give ourselves to the world and its cares? Is it the Sabbath Morning that we are to sanctify, or the Sabbath Evening only, and not the Sabbath Day? Let us enumerate those various secular works which are unlawful on this day of the Lord. Let us expose the miserable sophistry, which substitutes a mere change of worldly engagements for the holy duties of divine prayer and praise. If we close our offices or our shops, and open our drawer of accounts, and write letters on affairs of business, are we sanctifying the Sabbath? If we withdraw from the exchange or the courts of law, into the chamber of consultation or the secret room of settlements and bargains, is this keeping the Lord's day? We employ not our labourers on Sunday; but we pay them their wages, and almost oblige them to make their purchases on that sacred day: and is this to keep it holy? Or we quit the hurry of the city or town, for the mere sensual indulgence of the rural retreat- "" we eat, and drink, and are merry"— we collect around us friends as thoughtless as ourselves we employ our servants in the unnecessary toil of preparing luxurious meals- we go from the church to the ride, the garden, the park, the pleasure-ground, the river-we walk over our farm or our lands- -we arrange for the business of the following week—we plunge into literary or scientific reading-we lose our devotional feelings in the abominations of a Sunday newspaper; and this we call Religion!--this we designate as the sanctification of the Lord's day ! !

THE GRAND SEIGNIOR OF TURKEY. MUCH has been said of the greatness and wisdom of the present Turkish Sultan. Probably much of it is correct; but his policy has been such as to render his name a curse and an execration among all people. The following passages from a letter of an American missionary to Turkey and Greece, will be read with much interest, especially by those who have an opportunity of seeing the sovereign of Great Britian, whose empire and resources are incalculably greater than those of the Sultan, passing through the streets of London, Windsor, or Brighton, as a father among his people. The writer is the Rev. Harrison G. O. Dwight; it is dated Pera, April 26, 1830.

"Last Friday I had a fine view of the Grand Seignior himself, as he was going to and from the mosque. Five or six thousand troops were out upon the occasion, and on each side of his person was a line of soldiers with drawn swords, and behind him a body of soldiers with muskets and bayonets fixed. Before him eleven beautiful Arabian horses were led, richly caparisoned,

and each guarded by two soldiers with drawn swords. He was on horseback. The breast of his coat was thickly wrought with jewels and gold, and his cap, which was of a beautiful red, was set with diamonds, and from the top a long gold tassel hung around its side. He wore a black coat of rich broadcloth over his dress, so that we could see but little of it. His saddle and bridle trimmings were very heavy, and all of gold. He has a very solid and intelligent countenance, and a piercing eye. We were very near him, and he gazed at us some time as he passed. He has certainly accomplished wonders, by way of reform, during his reign thus far, and I have no doubt he is the greatest man that now sits upon a throne. Would that he were good as he is great! It is heart chilling to reflect upon the quantity of blood he has been the instrument of shedding among his own subjects, to say nothing of his cruelties to the Greeks. It is supposed that by his or der, at least sixty thousand persons have been beheaded or strangled. This includes the Janissaries, thirty thousand of whom were massacred in one day."

LIBERTY.

Blest be the land, where'er it lies,
'Neath brilliant blue Arcadian skies;
Or far in dreary solitude,
'Mid cataract and forest rude,

It shores a desert sea:
To me it shall be holy ground,
If in its air there lives one sound,
And that glad sound is Liberty!
Dear Liberty!-- thou ray of Heaven!
Bright emanation from our God!
Spirit, to whom a power is given
Superior to the prophet's rod,
Where'er thou touchest, flows a stream

Of grace and grandeur, brightening all !
Beauty awakes as from a dream-

Wealth hears, and straight obeys thy call!
Brave are thy youths, and fair thy maids,
The very soul of love pervades

Their every word and sigh !
Around thou turn'st thine eagle gaze,
And tyrants wither in the blaze
Of thine insulted eye!
There is no attribute of mind,
No glow of faculties refin'd,

No charm (that genius gave)
But grows and strengthens in thy light:
And lives there one such gifts to blight?
Go!-cast the traitor from thy sight,

To crawl an abject slave !

Yes! by whatever ocean bound,
That land to me is hallow'd ground,

If from its heart there springs one sound,
The lofty sound of Liberty!

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CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE AT

JERUSALEM.

"JERUSALEM," said our blessed Saviour, "shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Luke xxi, 24. This affecting prediction has hitherto been fulfilled in the most remarkable manner; and the history of that celebrated city, and its present condition, furnish the most convincing proof of the divinity of Christianity.

Jerusalem, as it existed in the times of the sacred writers, our readers will remember is no more! Not the smallest vestige remains of the splendid capital of David, and Solomon, and Herod! Not a single monument of their times is standing the circuit of the walls is changed, and no one can determine the ancient boundaries of the holy city!

Jerusalem has been described by many modern travellers, whom curiosity has impelled to visit the theatre on which the work of human redemption was accomplished by INCARNATE DEITY!

"The city of Jerusalem," says Joh Heinrich Mayr, a modern German traveller, which in the time of Christ is said to have contained nearly three millions of inhabitants, now includes from twelve to fifteen thouVOL. 1.

sand. The circumference of the city itself, as we may conceive, had proportionably decreased, for within an hour I had completed its circuit."

Mr. Buckingham says, "The city occupies an irregular square, of about two miles and a half in circumference. The walls appear to be about fifty feet in height, but are not surrounded by a ditch. They are flanked at irregular distances by square towers, and have battlements running all round on their summits, with loop-holes for arrows or musquetry close to the top. Within the walls of the city are seen crowded dwellings, remarkable in no respect, except being terminated by flat roofs, ard generally built of stone. On the south are some gardens and vineyards, with the long red mosque of Al Sakhara, having two tiers of windows, a sloping roof, and a dark done at one end, and the mosque of Sion and the sepulchre of David in the same quarter. On the west is seen the high square castle and palace of the same monarch, near the Bethlehem gate. In the centre rise two cupolas of unequal form und size, the one blue and the other white, covering the CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. Around, in different directions, are seen the minarets of eight or ten mosques, amid an assemblage of about two thousand dwellings. And on the east is seated the