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children,' said she, if nurse has charged you not to tell, never mind, I am your best friend, and if she has threatened to beat you, you have nothing to fear: she shall not be permitted to touch you. Tell me all, for if it is as I suspect, she shall not remain in the house longer than till to-morrow morning. Did nurse, instead of taking a walk with you, go into a house? Tell me plainly.' 'Yes,' timorously, was the answer. This led to the discovery of an amount of deceit and lying hardly to be credited, and disclosed the severe bondage under which the little ones were held by one in whom her mistress had perfect confidence. Threats had been uttered to them in such language as the following,— You little sluts, if you tell your mother where you have been, or what I have done, or that I have said this to you, I shall do for you; I shall shake you to pieces.' The children were terrified, and dare but keep silence. The lady called the nurse and told her she must leave; and after much conversation and severe threats, she confessed to many lies she had told about articles she had used and destroyed,-improper places to which she had taken the children,-parties of her own friends she had had in the nursery, when her mistress was visiting in the evening; and on these occasions many pieces of silver plate were used and injured, the cause of which had not been before discovered. The children had been trained to deceit and lying, to a fearful degree, and to a want of confidence in their parents." All this is sad, and it is awful to think that any children are exposed to such influences. These are not isolated cases; many such have come within our own knowledge. Mothers must attend to these things more than hitherto.

Much of this mischief arises from the system of educational and moral training that our "accomplished females" receive. Why are they not taught to nurse, or at least to superintend children? It would not abate a jot from their accomplishments, and would add much to their own and their children's comfort and future wellbeing. As it is, however, they are brought up in the parlour, and a taste for a fashionable (which tends to subvert domestic) life is cultivated. If there be no servant, commonly, the mother is the domestic slave, and the daughter the lady! The "ladies" might never be intended for wives and mothers, nay, the good-intentioned old dame, the mother, would be shocked at the idea of even hinting at such probabilities to them! In consequence of this mock modesty, ladies grow up to regard children as troubles; and even when they become mothers themselves, they frequently look upon offspring as misfortunes incidental to the marriage state, and are but too glad to hand them over to some domestic. We do not impugn their affection, far from it; but we are

compelled to say that it is too often but merely natural. If females were properly trained, they would regard children as angels committed to their charge by our heavenly Father, to train and instruct and fit them for immortality. And trained up under this impression, would they willingly commit them to the care of such nurses as we have already named? We regard this practice of preparing children for heaven by deputy, as little short of sin. We are not averse to proper nurses, but even those should not dispense with the duties of mothers. The time also will come, we hope, when schools will be opened for the moral training of female ser vants. It has been a matter of astonishment, that we should take so little interest in the spiritual and moral condition of those on whom our houses depend so much for comfort, and who exercise so much influence in forming the manners and dispositions of our children! The right spirit, however, is abroad, and this will be attended to by and by. In the meantime, let mothers do their duty; home is their school, and those dearest to them on earth are their pupils. And, oh mothers, remember how much depends upon you! More than worlds are worth are in your hands, eternal interests are in your charge. Think of this responsibility, and be not unmindful of its requirements.

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REVIEW.

THE SCIENCE OF CORRESPONDENCES ELUCIDATED, AND SHEWN TO BE THE TRUE KEY TO A RIGHT INTERPRETATION OF THE WORD OF GOD. By the Rev. EDWARD MADELEY. London: HODSON; NEWBERY; and RICH. pp. 192.

HAD Swedenborg distinctly announced in his writings, that on a certain mountain summit, hitherto untrodden by the foot of man, might be found a golden crown, transcending in beauty and workmanship all earthly skill, and that the said crown had been deposited there by the angel Gabriel; and supposing that in consequence of this announcement certain adventurous parties, anxious to disprove the prediction and confound the followers of the prophet, succeeded in reaching the all but inaccessible height, and there, to their own confusion, had found the said crown, and brought it down to the astonished gaze of the multitude, how loud and universal would have been the confession, while the precious prize was admitted to exceed all the possible work of man, that the miracle proved the prophet to be a true prophet, and verified all that he had announced concerning himself. But of a truth, Swedenborg has

wrought a miracle not less convincing, much more easily established, and bearing a close analogy to the one supposed, although it is addressed to the rational sight of man, instead of the sight of his body. And this miracle every intelligent member of the New Church, with all solemnity of feeling, and certainty of assurance, testifies, that his intellectual eye continually beholds. Swedenborg declared that the Word of God contains within it a spiritual sense throughout; that through the Divine mercy he possessed, and in his writings communicated, "the key of knowledge," by which the fact might be certainly ascertained; he has also promised, that if any one be willing sufficiently to urge upward his contemplation, the grand prize of a spiritual sense, the inestimable crown of Revelation, will certainly appear to his view. Now we of the New Church have attained this sublime reality. In commencing our search after it, we were convinced from the first, what even common sense dictates, that if the Word of God were not written according to the rule of interpretation offered; if it were not adapted by the Divine Wisdom to give forth an internal sense, the key would be applied in vain: but, on the contrary, if it should perfectly answer to that key, leading on the result of a perfectly harmonious interpretation, combining all that could be expected from a successful examination, of light for the understanding, and edification for the heart, then the miracle was wrought; the crown more precious than gold and rubies was actually discovered. We have found this spiritual crown; it has been discovered to us by a rational miracle, which is as far before a natural one in the value of its evidence, and in its moral effects, as the reason and conscience of man are superior to his animal senses; and with one accord we exclaim, "This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes!” As the woman in the parable who found her lost piece of silver, called to her friends and neighbours, saying, "Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I had lost," so do the members of the New Church go forth to their fellow-men, proclaiming the discovery of the lost science of correspondences, and affirming that, by the mercy of the Lord at His second advent, the internal sense of the Word has, by means of this science, been brought to light. And how is their announcement generally received? With incredulous wonder, and possibly with derision, by those who exclaim substantially, "Whence hath this man this wisdom?" and thus little is left to the announcers of these great events, when disappointed of their benevolent purpose, but to look up to heaven with feelings of sorrow, and exclaim, "Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?"

It is not to be expected that all New Churchmen should be equally

skilled in the qualifications likely to induce the world to enter on the task of climbing that mountain of holy affection, from which alone can successfully be received the glorious prospect opened by the internal sense of the Word. Some there may be who, possessing more zeal than knowledge, will bring down ridicule upon their pretensions, where they hoped for admiration or at least respect. It must needs be that such offences will come. Some persons better qualified for the work, may, in a greater or less degree, produce a respectful impression by efforts carried on in private; others, in the pulpit. Tracts lend their aid, and may be made use of to introduce Mr. Noble's Plenary Inspiration of the Scriptures; but something in addition to our existing means of announcing the opening of the internal sense, seemed still to be required; something not so bulky as to alarm the lukewarm inquirer, or too expensive for the poor; or such as the poor-rich man might object to as above the market-price of books; something combining a popular, familiar, and clear illustration of the many and various correspondences contained in the Word, supplied with no sparing hand, and backed by as much of the authority of the wise and learned of this world as might be conveniently and judiciously afforded, without increasing too much the bulk or cost of the book. The New Church has the happiness of seeing this desideratum admirably supplied in the truly valuable work before us, at once comprehensive and within the desired limit. Mr. Madeley has long been known to the church as a universally respected and able advocate of the doctrines in the great town of Birmingham, and, occasionally, elsewhere; but while esteemed throughout the Church for his talents, diligence, and consistent conduct as a minister, the present work presents him under a new aspect, being his first essay, by the press, (excepting two or three sermons and his Sunday School Hymns) to call the public attention to the serious investigation of the claims of the New Church doctrines, as constituting a perfect system of heaven-descended Truth. It is no small praise to say, and to say truly, that every candid and at the same time intellectual reader of this production cannot but perceive, that the Word of God is written according to the science of correspondences. Even the most cautious of well-poised minds must admit, that abundant grounds are presented for the fair and strong presumption, that the Word of God contains an internal sense. Mr. Madeley presents, in great variety, specimens of our mode of interpreting the Scriptures by means of the science of correspondences. His explanations are couched in language at once clear, forcible, and dignified, and remarkably free from technical terms. His style is simple and unaffected, yet there is nothing in it approaching to what is common or low. His thought is

well concentrated, and conveyed in the fewest words required for a clear perception of it; while his solid matter is most abundantly supplied, and yet not so discursively selected from either New or Old Church sources, as to suggest that less might have been sufficient. There is a uniform tone of dignified piety maintained, without the least approach to the inflated style of pretended saintliness, so offensive to good taste in too many religious publications, even of talented authors. The notes, 127 in number, contain matter that must be highly acceptable to the more learned amongst ourselves, and are well calculated to arrest attention and procure respect from the learned in other quarters; while the less learned amongst us cannot but feel, that in the text and notes of this work together, they possess an extensive treasure of great worth; an acquisition which affords the pleasant feeling of a perfect assurance of the truth, while it leads to a grateful experience of its hallowing tendency. The bountiful instruction presented to us, drawn immediately from THE WORD, while it elevates the reader's mind heavenward, cannot but inspire respect for the piety of the author; and at the same time, the extensive confirmatory and satisfying notes, further aided by a judicious Appendix of additional matter of the same kind, must obtain the praise of considerable tact united with great industry. These valuable notes are compressed into the smallest type that could conveniently be used, shewing the author's anxiety to afford the fullest satisfaction to the reader, at the least cost to his purse, although furnished at the cost to himself of the largest outlay of labour and expense. Our friend must have read most extensively indeed to furnish such a store of extracts from rare literary sources. Had there been a large field of congenial readers of his work, and had the author been a profit-seeking bookmaker, his book would have been made to occupy four times the quantity of paper it now does. Amongst the notes are found extracts of singular beauty from the pens of truly lovely and exalted minds, and from writers of admitted eminence, appealing, in behalf of the principles advocated, to the best feelings and tastes of the readers. work ought to convince thousands, but will it do so? Alas! no. will take effect, however, with prepared minds, attuned to the "voice of the charmer," but where are they to be met with? All who are already "taught of God," to whom this work may gain access, will be ready to accept his further teaching by means of it, and receive the opening of his Word with joyful thankfulness; but how few are such characters at the end of a church! If our Divine Master when he was upon earth exclaimed, "Who hath believed our report?" it cannot be expected that the disciple, however talented, will find any greater

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