Select.

REFLECTIONS ON THE CLOSE OF THE YEAR,

Dec. 31, 1821; being also my Birth-day.

"Tis past-and the recording angel bears To heaven the record of another

Another year of nature's and of mine!

Nature has known no change, The spring, has bloom'd
The autumn has fulfill'd the summer's promise,

And winter's mantle clasps her in repose.

Nature has known no wrong. The simple flower
Liv'd but to do the purpose of its being,
And, uncorrupted, died when it was done.
The summer fly has play d its little hour,
Grateful, perhaps, and surely innocent.
The very dust we tread upon has been

All that its God ordain'd it-all that he wish'd it,-
Omniscient Lord! If wonder be in heaven,
Angels indeed will wonder, when they hear
That while all nature has fulfilled thy law,

I, who have called thee Father, I have broke it.
Worse than the most despised thing of earth-
Worse than the very dust of which thou mad'st me;
They do thy will, but I have done my own-
My soul misgives me as I backward trace

The year that even now is gone its way,
To witness of the things that it has seen.

Which are the hours? Speak, Conscience! for thou knowest
That no impetuous, no resentful thought,

No proud contempt, no haughty self-esteem,

No bold impatience against Heaven's decree,
No restless wish for what my God denies,

No selfishness, no vanity has stained?

Where shall I date the deeds that can disown
All other motive but my maker's will?

Alas! I cannot find them! Lord, thou knowest
Why I have still forsaken what I love,
And madly have pursued the thing I hate:
Judge if I hate it! Thou hast seen the tear
That fell when every eye but thine was clos'd;
Thou hast beheld the blush suffuse my cheeks
At thought of sins which only thou hadst known!
And thou hast mark'd when sleep forsook my pillow,
Scared by the recollection of the wrong

That had been offer'd to my Saviour's name,
Judge if I hate it! Yes, the year has clos'd,
And if the sum of all it can bequeath,
Be sense of sin on every deed of mine,
How sweet a record does it leave of thee!

How often, when my vacillating foot
Has rashly trod the path of sin too near,

Some quick reproof, unknown to those who gave it,
Has timely whisper'd "And canst thou do this?
How often, when forgetful of the past,
Guilty mistrust, and sullen discontent,

Have mark'd their sable shadows on my brow,
Has some sweet pledge and earnest of thy love-
Some flower unwonted blooming on my path-
E'en as a father wooes a captious child,
Recall'd the smile of grateful exultation!
And often when my lips could frame no prayer,
Thou hast said, "Fear not, Jesus pleads for thee!"
And when the bitterness of conscious guilt
Urg'd my impatient spirit to despair,
How many times redeeming love has spoken-
"Is it beyond the price that I have paid?"
Yes, I remember, when the swelling bosom
Told that the pang it suffered was too much,
How sweet a voice celestial spake within me,
Didst thou not say, 'e'en now thy will be done?
"This is my will-wouldst thou not have it so ?"
And I could date the hour when friends withdrew,
Malice was pleas'd; and they whom I had lov'd
Fix'd on my name the stigma of reproach;
And tell how sweetly thou couldst make me feel
The wrong was thine, and I but too much honour'd
In that thou suffer'dst me to share it with thee;
Thy love was tender, when my own was cold-
Thou couldst remember, e'en when I forgot:
When I provok'd thee, thou forbar'st to punish;
When I forsook thee, thou upheld'st me still;
When I denied thee, thou didst own me thine.
Bear off the record-bear it e'en to heaven!
I am content to blush while it is read;
Since he who reads will blot it with his tears;
And they who hear with feeling voice will utter-
Shame upon me, but glory to my God!

Serious Poetry by CAROLINE FRY.

Register of Intelligence.

LITERARY.

In the Press-PULPIT ORATIONS, LECTURES, and SERMONS, delivered in the Caledonian Church, Hatton Garden. By the Rev. EDWARD IRVING, M.A. in one volume, 8vo.-SERMONS to CHILDREN. BY ALEXANDER FLETCHER, M. A.-THE EVENTIDE; being Dissertations on the Prophecies of Daniel and St. John. By S. A. BROWN.-PALMER'S NON-CONFORMIST'S CATECHISM, revised and continued down to the present time. By the Rev. W. NEWMAN, D.D.

Preparing for the Press-FACTS OPPOSED TO FICTION. LEFEVRE begs to inform the public, that instead of submitting to them a series of Letters addressed to Douglas in Reply to "No FICTION," he will lay before them the History of his Life, with the real causes and copies of letters and documents now in his possession, and a review of " No Fiction."-Proposals are issued by Mr. R. BAYNES, Ivy Lane, for the publication of an uniform edition of Dr. John Owen. To be edited by THOMAS CLOUTT, M.A.

Just Published.-A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS for 1823, on Miscellaneous Subjects and in Theology. By JAMES RUSHER, of Reading.-THE READING GUIDE and BERKSHIRE DIRECTORY for 1823, including an enumeration of the PRINCIPAL SEATS of the Nobility and Gentry, and their present occupiers.-Just published the Fourth Volume of THE PREACHER, or, Sketches of Original Sermons, chiefly selected from the manuscripts of eminent divines of the last century, for the use of Lay Preachers and Young Ministers; to which is prefixed a FAMILIAR ESSAY ON THE COMPOSITION OF A SERMON. 12mo. Price 4s-A LETTER ON PREACHING THE GOSPEL, &c. &c.-FRIDAY EVENING; or, an Attempt to demonstrate that we are now living late in the sixth day of the Millenary week, which will be succeeded by a Sabbath of a thousand years, commonly called the Millenium. 1s. 6d.-TEXT BOOK for the year of our Lord 1823. By the Rev. THOMAS BOYS, A. M.-A SERMON IN AID OF THE CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY, preached at Hampstead Chapel, on Sunday, October 6, 1822. By the Rev. EDWARD GARRARD MARSH.-A CHARGE to the CLERGY of LONDON. By the BISHOP of the Diocese. 3d edition.-A SERMON preached before his Ex. cellency Richard Marquis Wellesley, Lord Lieutenant, &c. President, and the Members of the Association incorporated for Discountenancing Vice and promoting the Knowledge and Practice of the Church Religion, in St. Peter's Church, on Friday, June 16, 1822. By CHARLES ELRINGTON, D. D.-LESSONS on MORALITY and PIETY, extracted from the sapiential books of the Holy Scriptures. By the late Rev. PETER GAUDOLFO. Revised and approved by Dr. Milman, V. A.-L'HE IMPERSONALITY OF THE HOLY GHOST; an humble endeavour to refute the opinion that God and his Spirit are two distinct persons. Fourth edition, corrected and enlarged. To which is now added a Reply to the principal arguments of Dr. Hawker, for the Deity of the Holy Spirit, in his Sermon on the Divinity and Operations of the Holy Ghost. By JOHN MARSOM.-THE FIERCENESS OF MAN TURNED TO THE PRAISE OF GOD. A sermon preached Oct. 1, 1822, at the Monthly Clerical Lecture in the Church of St. Lawrence, Reading, by the Rev. W. G. BROUGHTON, A. M. Curate of Hartley Wespall, Hants.-The CONNEXION of CHRISTJANITY with HUMAN HAPPINESS, by the Rev. WM. HARNESS, A.M. 2 vols. post 8vo.-A TRIBUTE of GRATITUDE to the MEMORY of the late Rev. JOHN OWEN, Rector of Paglesham, &c. particularly addressed to those who felt the power and value of his ministry. By ONE of his CONGREGATION,

RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.-HOME.

An affair, calculated to excite considerable interest, is about to come under the notice of the religious public, to whom it is publicly announced an" Appeal is about to be made in a Letter addressed to the Inhabitants of the Forest of Dean, occasioned by the dismissal of the Rev. Isaac Bridgman, A.B. from the Curacy of Trinity Church in the said Forest." We understand that the cause of Mr. Bridgman's dismissal from his situation is his having suffered the Rev. Rowland Hill to preach in his Church. It seems Mr. Hill intends to write a preface to Mr. Bridgman's Appeal.

The Gloucester Auxiliary Bible Society during the last year, remitted 1,1367. 158. to the Parent Society, and received back Bibles to the amount of 636/ 15s. leaving 5007. in the hands of The Parent Society, for foreign purposes, being 50 pounds more than were remitted for the same purpose last year.

Rumour confidently states, that the Rev. WILLIAM CLAYTON, of Saffron Walden, has taken the Chapel, lately occupied by the seceding clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Snow, at Cheltenham, and that he will shortly remove thither.

FOREIGN.

From the Rev. Dr. Morrison, Canton, March 24, 1822.-The printing of the whole Bible in Chinese, carrying on at Malacca, draws near to a close. You have mistaken my phrase, that one Chinese had suffered for righteousness' sake.' He suffered imprisonment and scourging, and the loss of all the little property he possessed, but he did not suffer death; he yet lives, and was one of the four persons who left China to go to Malacca, to complete the printing of the Scriptures.

The governor of Ochotsk has gratefully acknowledged the receipt of those copies of the Scriptures, which I sent up to that unfrequented portion of the globe.

The Chinese scribe, who many years ago wrote out for the type-cutters my first edition of the New Testament, although long since out of my employ, and at that time feeling rather an aversion to Bible truths, appears now to believe that the religion of Jesus is from Heaven, which is some encouragement. We have prepared the seed, to which, when extensively sown, we hope God will not deny his blessing.

Antigua, July 27, 1822-It would much delight you to see the avidity with which the negroes read their Bibles. I offered to lend one to a little boy, a few Sundays ago in the Pacham school, and I was soon surrounded by applicants. I lent all 1 could spare; and the sorrowful countenances with which some departed, who could not obtain any, would have been a powerful encouragement to renewed energies.

Aleppo, August 30, 1822,-A few days ago I received 499 Arabic New Testaments, and 640 Arabic Psalters. The Christians crowded in great numbers to the Society's depôt to become purchasers. Being most of them of the lowest class of the people, we gave them at very low prices. In three days all were

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distributed. Purchasers have not ceased since to come to us for books, and we had the painful task to send them away without the word of God, but we promised that they should be soon supplied.

It was a pleasing sight to see with what eagerness they sought the possession of those holy books; and to hear their invoca. tions of blessings "on the English and on the Bible Society, who did not forget the poor Christians of countries so distant from their own."

From the Rev. Mr. Kohlmeister. one of the Missionaries of the United Brethren on the Coast of Labrador. Nain. Aug, 1, 1822. I informed Mr. Latrobe last year, that several of our Esquimaux converts had spontaneously come forward, and sent thirty gallons of oil as a small token of their gratitude to the British and Foreign Bible Society, in return for the most pre cious of all presents sent to them by the Committee of that In stitution.

The present season has proved very unpropitious to our people. Having been unable to lay in a sufficient stock of provi sions for the winter, most of them are in a very destitute con. dition: indeed some have no store at all. It really cost us some pains to persuade them not to send their contributions in the present year; and we observed some of them leaving us with countenances expressive of deep regret and sorrow. Not long after, a woman came to us, belonging to our congregation at Nain, and brought twenty eggs, (of Eider ducks) accompanying her present with these words: "As my husband could catch so few seals this year, that we have no blubber to spare, but has found some eggs in the islands, I determined to send part of them to those friends, who so greatly love us, that they have printed for our benefit those writings which contain the comfortable words of Jesus, and freely sent them to us." She added, with tears flowing down her cheeks: The delightful words of Christ, that he loves sinners, are the most precious and savoury nourishment for our souls.' I promised to comply with her wish, and accepted the eggs, which quite cheered and comforted her mind; but being unable to send these eggs themselves, I beg leave to add to my annual subscription of one guinea the further sum of two shillings as the value of them.

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE.-HOME.

Edinburgh Freethinkers, from the Caledonian MercuryIt is with deep concern we find, that a regular establishment has been formed in this city, for the propagation of the blasphemous tenets espoused by Carlile and his followers, with which the metropolis of England has, of late, been so much annoyed. We had no conception that the sober-thinking inhabitants of Edinburgh, whose attention to public worship has always been the theme of admiration, and whose clergy have ever been remarkable for their attention to the well-being of their flocks, could have been drawn in to espouse sentiments of this description. True it is, however, that information having been conveyed to