he advises his readers to live upon it with the lips of cogitations and the teeth of admiration. Philon, Carpath epise in Cantic. interp. apud Bibbliot Patrum, tom. 1.

A man who allows his fancy to play with scripture may make any thing of it. The following parallel delivered in a sermon at St. Paul's in London, before the gentlemen of Nottinghamshire, on the day of their yearly feast, is curious.

"The town of Nottingham doth run parallel with Jerusalem. Was Jerusalem set upon precipitous hills? and is not Nottingham also? And as the mountains stood round about Jerusalem, do they not so about Nottingham ?

And as there were two famous ascents in Jerusalem, is it not so in Nottingham ? I need not tell you that the soul of man is a precious thing, and the loss thereof sad in any country; yet, methinks, in the agueish parts of Kent and Essex, where I have seen, sometimes, a whole parish sick together, the souls that miscarry thence seem but to go from purgatory to hell; but those that perish out of Nottinghamshire go from heaven to hell. When a soul miscarries out of Nottinghamshire, methinks, in melancholy visions, I see the infernals flocking about it, and saying, Art thou come from those pleasant mountains to these Stygian lakes ?'" &c. Was it worth a man's while to come, as the preacher tells his auditors he did, "twenty-four miles in slabby weather," to preach such stuff as this?

A certain preacher took for his text Acts xx. 13. Paul went a-foot to Assos; and expatiated on the humility of trudging a-foot, after the apos-

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tle's example. Unluckily for this declaimer, the word geven does not signify to go a-foot it means to go by land; and he might as well have preached on the infirmities of good men, and have proved that St. Paul was timorous of sailing.

It would be easy to transcribe more instances of this kind, but I suppose the reader is already tired with the above. I shall only stop to express my grief that men, whose business it is to inform others, should be so ignorant themselves; that they, who pretend to illuminate should dar. ken. Such characters who substitute fancy for genius, and contemptible singularities for extraordinary powers, give but little evidence, in my opinion, of their being called to the sacred work of the ministry. And yet, alas! how many of these miserable preachers have we, with whom multitudes, as miserable as themselves, are carried away!

SERVANTS.

SOBRIETY, activity, fidelity, submission, patience, punctuality, sincerity, and obedience to their masters are required of servants : but it is religion which will make them shine. This will enable them, not merely to fill up, but to adorn their stations. This will sweeten all their toils, produce contentment in the place which Providence hath allotted them, and teach them to look forward to that happy period, when they shall be elevated to those honours which are immortal, and those glories which shall never fade.

The Faithful Servants.

At the recent banishment of the famous Barthelemy, it is said, his servant Le Tellier came running up, just as his master was getting into the carriage, with an order from the Directory permitting him to accompany his master. He delivered it to Angereau, who, having read it, said, "You are determined, then, to share the fate of these men who are lost for ever? Whatever events await them, be assured they will never return." " My mind is made up," answered Le Telliere; "I shall be too happy to share the misfortunes of my master." 66 Well, then,' replied Angereau : go, fanatic, and perish with him :" at the same time adding, "Soldiers, let this man be watched as closely as those miscreants." Le Tellier threw himself on his knees before his master, who was but too happy at this awful moment to press so affectionate a friend to his bosom. "This worthy fellow," say they, "has constantly shewn the same courage and attachment, and we have always treated and considered him as one of our companions."

A Portuguese slave, who had fled into the woods to enjoy the liberty which was his natural right, having heard that his old master was arrested and likely to be condemned for a capital crime, came into the court of justice, assumed the guilt of the fact, suffered himself to be imprisoned, brought false though judicial proofs of his crime, and was executed instead of his beloved master. Though we must condemn this conduct as an unjustifiable sacrifice

of truth and of his own life, yet we cannot but admire the affection, greatness, generosity, and gratitude of mind here displayed.

A gentleman of respectability, Dr. L, was lately confined for some time in the King's Bench prison; while his fortune, involved in a chancery suit, was unjustly withheld from him. During this distressing period he was obliged, by poverty, to tell his negro servant that, however repugnant to his feelings, they must part, his pecuniary difficulties being now such, that he was unable to provide himself with the necessaries of life. The negro replied, with affectionate warmth, "No massah, we will never part: many a year have you kept me, and now I will keep you." Accordingly he went out to. work as a day labourer, and at the end of every week faithfully brought his earnings to his master; which proved sufficient for the support of both of them, until the recent decision of the chancery suit, by which the doctor obtained an award of thirty thousand pounds. Very much to the doctor's honour, he has settled a handsome annuity for life on this faithful and affectionate negro.

The following declaration, made in a court of justice, ought to be well considered by unfaithful and wicked servants.

At a late trial at the Old Bailey of a man who had robbed his master, whose extreme lenity induced him to desist from prosecuting to convic-tion, although a bill of indictment had been found, the judge remarked, "I would have servants know, when they are convicted of abusing

the confidence reposed in them, which in many cases is unlimited, that it is a rule with his majesty never to extend mercy to them."

Servants should be honest, diligent, and civil, if it be only out of respect to themselves. Who is not struck with the answer of that slave, which history records, who, standing among others for sale, and being asked by a purchaser, "Wilt thou be faithful if I buy thee?" replied, "Yes; whether you buy me or not.”

Religious Servants.

"I have often been encouraged," says one, "when from the pulpit I have met a servant's attention, when I have seen them listening to a profitable remark while waiting in the parlour, I have been pleased to meet them at a bookseller's, enquiring for some instructive publication; and have been ready to say, upon such occasion, Happy is the man (whatever be his station) that getteth understanding; for she is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her." Prov. iii. 13. 18.

The servants of Lord were greatly impressed, and evidently reformed under the preaching of the gospel at His lordship being one day on the promenade, was jeered by some of the company upon the revolution which had taken place among his servants by a change of their religion. The noble lord replied, "As to the change of their religion, or what their religious sentiments are, I cannot tell; but one thing I know, that, since they have changed their religion, they have been much better servants, and shall meet with no