In the walks of private life, also, there have been many of a like moral character. In their respective neighbourhoods they have been honoured for their genuinely-noble qualities, while, in numerous instances, they have been heartily beloved for their benevolent spirit, and their active generosity.* Among even the poorest of our countrymen there have been discovered those who had a just claim to be held in high esteem, on account of their virtues : virtues springing from, and nourished by, truly Christian principles. In their several stations and relations, they held fast by those rules of conduct which, if duly observed, cannot fail to produce true goodness and greatness of the moral character. That there are now very many of these really honourable, though humble people, to be found among us, cannot be doubted by any one who is at all conversant with the habits and characters of the humbler

classes of society. Belonging to one or other of those classes, there are not a few men and women who are living witnesses of the vast power which thoroughly religious principles exercise, in the way both of restraining from the commission of evil, and stimulating to the performance of what is good and praiseworthy. Here may be seen many examples of the strictest integrity and uprightness, in connection with deep

As is strikingly shown in the case of that remarkably benevolent and kind-hearted individual whom the poet has immortalized under the title of "The Man of Ross."

poverty; of the most enduring patience, under external circumstances of a greatly perplexing or adverse kind; of quiet, and often cheerful, resignation, in times of heavy affliction; and of an unshaken confidence in the Divine Providence, even in the midst of trouble or seemingly ruinous disaster. In addition to these merely passive virtues, there may also be seen the most industrious, laborious, and persevering efforts to "provide things honest in the sight of all men." In fine, whoever will take the trouble to become properly acquainted with the moral character and the habitual conduct of poor, but truly religious people, will not fail to meet with some-it may be with many-instances, in which there are displayed all the essential elements of true greatness.

THOUGHTS IN RHYME.

"All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord."-Psalm 145, v. 10. (Written in the year 1823.)

Great Lord of all! the wondrous frame

Of heaven and earth proclaims thy praise;
Long hath it stood to tell thy fame,

And shall, through all succeeding days,
A monument and witness stand,
To show the wonders of thy hand.

Firm-fix'd in ether's empty space,
By thy consummate pow'r and skill,
Day's splendid orb retains his place,
Obedient to thy sovereign will :
Dispensing, at thy high command,
Light, life, and joy, to every land.

The lovely queen of solemn night—
Though shining but with borrow'd rays-

In all her beams of chasten'd light

And gentle influence, speaks thy praise;
For Thou didst fix her throne on high-
Thou mad'st her ruler of the sky.

And all the bright-the countless train,
Of stars, that throng the firmament;
Unite in one harmonious strain,

And in thy praise are eloquent :
Proclaiming to each age and clime,
That Thou art glorious and sublime.

Nor these alone thy grandeur tell :
For this wide-spreading, lower sky-
Where clouds, and winds, and tempests dwell,
And thunders roll, and lightnings fly-
Doth in the gladsome chorus join,

To magnify thy name divine.

Nor doth the earth refuse to bear
A part in Nature's general song;

Her seasons, days, and nights declare

Thy praise and shall the notes prolong

From age to age: nor silent prove,
While her vast orb shall onward move.

And all the creatures she sustains-
Of ev'ry different form and kind-

Unite, in never-ceasing strains,

To tell the wisdom that design'd

Their wondrous forms-both great and smallAnd with such beauty deck'd them all.

Thus do thy works, Almighty Lord!
Declare thy goodness, power, and skill;
But in the records of thy Word,

Thou shin'st with glory greater still;
For there is seen thy wondrous plan
Of mercy to apostate man.

And from that scheme of mercy, Thou
Shalt have a revenue of praise-
Greater than Nature can bestow,
And lasting as eternal days—
Praise which, in one harmonious strain,
Shall echo through thy wide domain.

ΤΟ ΤΙΜΕ.

(Written in the year 1821.)

Monarch Time, how swift thy flight-
All unparalleled thy might;

None can check thee in thy course,
None withstand thy peerless force :
Since thy powerful reign begun,
Countless wonders hast thou done.

Lo! beneath thy with'ring wings,
Heroes, sages, princes, kings,
Fade and die; while slow decay
Wastes their noblest works away—
Till remains no single trace

Of their pristine strength or grace.