affectionately to point them out, and to press upon them the importance of reformation.

2. There ought to be a careful distinction made between their intellectual and moral improvement. The mind may be highly cultivated, while the heart remains unsanctified. A young lady may see how worlds hang on worlds-her mind may be enriched with various knowledge, while she has no right feelings towards God her Saviour.

3. In this age, so favourable to female improvement, religion should hold the most exalted place. It should be admitted into their seminaries of learning, and daily entertained as a welcome guest. And when public and private instruction shall uniformly inculcate the adorning of a meek and quiet spirit, as the highest feminine accomplishment, then will the daughters of our land become "polished stones"-" polished after the similitude of a palace."

SENEX.

THE PRESS. BENEFITS OF PERIODICAL RELIGIOUS PUBlications,

To the Editor of the Christian Herald.

SIR-AS you have inserted in your last number an article entitled "The Press," I would take the boldness, from its favourable reception with you, and solicit admission for another on a branch of the same subject; and I feel the more assured of a favourable reception for this article, from its intention to advance your object, and promote your interests, two things which I consider inseparably connected, although perfectly distinct, and both which I should be happy to see promoted with much more spirit, both by your correspondents and your patrons.

Much as the religious public may be deemed deficient in exerting their abilities to prepare suitable matter for works like your own, they are not less so in patronizing them with their wealth, and in promoting their circulation by their influence. How truly was it said, that "the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light." Let a newspaper, magazine, &c., be established with a view to promoting the objects of a party in politics, a sect in religion, a theory in science or philosophy, and how ready do we find men of influence and property to support such publications, not only with the efforts of their minds, but with the severer efforts of their pecuniary liberality: they press them upon their friends, intrude them upon strangers, praise them in the private circle, and extol them in the public assembly. But let a work be proposed whose object is catholic, without sectarian views, disdaining sectarian protection and sectarian control, whether in politics, literature, or religion, and how difficult is it to set it on foot, how laborious, how disheartening to carry it forward. In vain may you speak of the purity of its motives, the value of information coming from so impartial a source, of the benefits of producing a general feeling among the friends of truth, of the bright example it sets to the world-all is in vain, if it do not promote our objects, support our views, promote our plans. For these we are ready to spend and be spent: but for purposes which are

agreed in by others as well as ourselves, we are niggardly and heartless.

But not to press this topic farther, it may be well to notice some points in which the importance of the periodical religious press appears to be manifested. One great difficulty in operating on the minds of others is to get access to them, to engage them to admit us to their intercourse, and to listen to our arguments. Hence the benefits of religious tracts: they meet the soul in its privacy; the print can see no blushes of shame, can betray no exclamations of remorse, can give no pain by its observation of our weaknesses and our sins: hence we are ready to peruse it with attention, when we would refuse to listen to the same truths from the mouth of even the nearest friend : : we listen with more candour, with a less contentious, cavilling spirit, and with at least some fewer degrees of false pride. A tract too, may reach where oral Christian instruction or reproof cannot; it can remain by us during the various changes of our feelings, and its truths find entrance into the heart at the very moment when a momentary softening in its obduracy may permit. Now all these advantages are possessed by the periodical work: and in addition to these, such a work is susceptible of vastly greater variety in its contents, adapting itself to a greater diversity of tastes; spreading not only useful truths in a popular manner, but conveying the most various and interesting information. Besides, it resembles in a degree the winged seeds of the forest, spreading itself almost without any other aid than its own construction. To distribute a tract gives trouble: we must, at our own expense and labour, seek the person we would benefit, and make a gift of our intended communication. But the periodical work is regularly sought for by all its patrons, who thus are made to procure for themselves, both as to labour and expense, the benefits to be derived from its perusal. Again, such works as we speak of, by combining local information with practical instruction, are sought after with a degree of eagerness, instead of being accepted with a degree of reluctance. And the truths which they are the means of inculcating, by their being ingrafted upon circumstances within our observation, and acting upon our senses, attract far greater attention, and consequently are likely to produce greater effect, than if delivered in the form of abstract truth, or under the guise of fictitious narrative. Again, there is a class of society, very large and very important, both as regards numbers and influence, who are in a measure inaccessible to tracts; to offer them a tract for their reproof or instruction is, in their view, to regard them as ignorant or worthy of blame, to consider yourself as wiser and better than they, and to treat them as you do the ignorant poor, to whose necessities you offer a charity. All these things stand in the way of the circulation of tracts, which, on the contrary, favour the circulation among this class, of periodical works. The magazine or newspaper they take from their own choice, from the publisher whom they consider themselves as thus favouring, and with a feeling of upright independence which, although not a virtue, is a soil in which virtues may take deep root. InstrucVOL. VIII.

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tion or reproof from these they consider as general truths, whose correctness is in a striking manner assented to by their being proposed to the world. In all these particulars we apprehend such works are superior, in a certain extent, to tracts; and when we have said this, can we pay them a much higher eulogy: is not a conclusion to that effect as strong an argument as we can offer to persuade the Christian community to awake on this subject; and may we not claim of them, that they should aid, by their example and influence, the spreading of the circulation of religious periodical publications as much from a sense of duty as they do the support of the preaching of the gospel or any other means of bringing its truths home to the heart of every creature : and may we not assure them, that in so doing, they are promoting the great interests of religion at the least expense, with the least trouble, and certainly not the least profit.

And let it be remembered, that by extending the circulation of such works, and thus widening their effects, we improve their character. Readers will make writers. Encouragement and patronage will draw forth excellence. Were the circulation of religious periodical works as extensive as literary ones, they would be far more elegant and attractive. We not only know from the nature of the thing, but from actual experience, that religion while it purifies the heart clears the understanding, makes the humour of the soul cheerful and paints the imagination with brighter colours. As instances of this, notice the works of Milton, Addison, Cowper, Young, not to avail ourselves of the example of the poets of the Old Testament. If then sufficient patronage were afforded, might we not see such works waiting in the breakfast parlours, engaging us in the drawing room, reposing on the candle stand of our bed chamber, at once attractive, instructing, delighting, and profiting. We should find our tastes formed upon models of purity as well as elegance; our sphere of profitable relaxation from severer duties and pursuits would be enlarged, the topics of social conversation made more numerous, profitable and agreeable, the religious education of the rising generation, to whom such works are very interesting, would be facilitated, and benefits of a thousand kinds would thicken around us. Some of your more sagacious readers will probably before this time have suspected, that the CHRISTIAN HERALD has been in my eye while writing the foregoing remarks. I do not doubt that their suspicions are just. And if they have further so suspected, it is further true, that one main object of this article is to engage its readers to promote the more extensive circulation of your publication, and of its coadjutors in the same design. And I should rejoice greatly if it could only have the small effect, (and surely the effort would be a very small one) to induce every subscriber to procure at least one of his friends or neighbours to subscribe with him: so small an effort would produce so great an effect as to just double the subscriptions, the influence and the usefulness of this publication. As to its excellence, I have no need to speak it would doubtless be better, if it had more contributors, and it would have more contributors, if it had more subscribers.

I hope that you will not, through a false delicacy, Mr. Editor, suppress this article; for if you believe in the usefulness of your publication (and

if you do not you will do well to stop it) you must not neglect any means to promote its circulation; and if there be any so churlish as to think ill of you for trying to do this because it would also increase the profits (receipts perhaps I should say) of your work, I would, besides calling. him a very ungenerous man, remind him of what you told us in your last preface, that as yet you had received no remuneration for your labour, and a generous spirit would not rest quiet until it had at least caused you and the public to square accounts.

For the Christian Herald.

PROFANATION OF THE SABBATH DAY.

YESTERDAY morning, from my window, I saw some persons in a little back yard adjoining my residence, at work cleaning off, digging up and raking certain spots. I immediately took some tracts and went down in the yard back of my lodging, and as I could not see through or over the partition fence, politely as I could, I asked them if they would not have the goodness to read the tracts, and at the same time threw them over. I observed by their actions afterwards that the tracts were no welcome messengers: some agitation was apparent. The work did not stop, many more appeared, and among them as I judged, the father of the children. Many singular motions and mouths, were made as they looked up at my window. I could not however but hope that some good effect would be produced. When I came home in the evening, the children at my boarding house had picked up in the yard, one of the tracts entire; part of one entitled "Serious thoughts on Eternity," together with a mock ticket for the theatre, which had been thrown from the groupe, trampling on the sabbath of the Lord this morning: and yet this same family, were before supposed to be a decent moral family.

Oh, if Christians were faithful, what latent enmity of the human heart would it bring out from those who before were considered good citizens, friends, and even well disposed to the Religion of Christ. They would then see that the refinements of education and human society, do not in the least soften the native enmity of the heart against God; that the morality of this world, is only a cover to the bitterest enemy of holiness, and that the religion of many, is like the spider's web, and finally, that it is nothing but the restraints of mere human laws, which keep men now, from the highest and most cruel persecution of those who will live godly in Christ Jesus. Christians shrink from the duties which they owe to Christ? shall they try to amalgamate his religion with the spirit of this world? shall they, in one word, betray their Lord and Master and his cause, for the applause of sinful men, or for the sake of their own life? Let them renounce the Christian name, and go to their own company, for Christians they cannot be !

Street, Sunday, 7th April.

And shall

J. X.

ON PASTORAL VISITATION.

WE willingly give place to the following communication just as it came to hand, though the writer has left us to conjecture what part of the country he has reference to in his remarks.

To the Editor of the Christian Herald.

SIR-I have observed in your work some observations concerning pastoral visitation, with which I was much gratified. This is a subject of great concern to the churches, to pastors, to pious parents, and their children, and to all the individuals who attend public worship. And if ministers feel the responsibility of their office, and are willing to "spend and be spent" for the salvation of men's souls, I am persuaded they will find time not only to pray and study in their closets, but to visit and "teach from house to house, testifying repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." I am sorry, however, to say, that in the part of the country in which I live, there are several ministers of middling talents, and considerable influence, who excuse themselves from this apostolic and most useful service. They even treat it with something like levity and contempt, and seem to despise those who seriously and faithfully perform it. One would think they felt above a service which to them, perhaps, appears humiliating and wholly uninteresting. Their general excuse is, that they have not time. But instead of allowing this excuse, almost every one is ready to ask, "what do ye more than others?" It does not appear why they cannot find time for this duty as well as those of their brethren in neighbouring towns, who faithfully perform it. I will not undertake to say how far they are guilty in the sight of God, for neglecting this duty, and teaching others to neglect it, nor how far their neglect should make them hesitate to consider themselves "pure from the blood of all;" but I consider their example so inconsistent with their most solemn obligations, and so injurious to the cause of religion, that it ought to be protested against and discountenanced wheresoever it prevails. Their excuse may with as much propriety, and for aught we can know, as little injury to the souls of men, be extended to any other part of a minister's duty. It is but saying they have not time to perform this part of the duty which, before God and men, they have solemnly engaged to perform. They may as well ridicule and despise any other part of the service they have undertaken as this. They may as well quote the names of great meu in extenuation of any other palpable delinquency as of this. It would be more to their credit, as honest men, to resign their places, or else avow that they meant as nearly as possible to make them sinecures, than to attempt to excuse their neglect of so large and important a part of their duty, as that of visiting their people and teaching from house to house.

One of the worst effects of this neglect of pastoral fidelity, which I have observed, is its making the congregation, after a while, contented to hear no more about religion, and to think no more about it, than they hear and think during the services on Sunday. In such a case, the relation of the people to the minister soon comes to be thought of only as a pecuniary relation, They pay him his salary