acute pains occasioned by an inflammation of the throat. Seated by his side, you behold another, writhing under the torturing sensations arising from an inflammation of the intestines. Not far from him, you see a third, whose pallid countenance, and decayed constitution, indicate the powerful effects which a gradual, but corroding, consumption has made on his frame. Contiguous to him is a fourth, part of whose limbs is going through a rapid process of putrefaction. Beside him is another, who for a series of years has been subject to spitting of blood, accompanied with violent pain and sickness. There is another, whose disease is of so peculiar a nature, that the physicians themselves know not a suitable term whereby it might be designated. And at a small distance from him you hear the groans, and see the emaciated frame, of another, who is suffering the dreadful ravages of a malignant disease, which, alas, too many procure for themselves by their dissolute conduct,-and which daily carries vast numbers to an untimely grave. But, to see the various descriptions of human misery, it is not necessary to inspect our common hospitals. We may perceive it, in too many instances, in our families, in our streets, and in our public walks. There are but few families that have been long fortunate enough, to be so exempt from the common calamities of life, as to utter no complaint. How often are we, or some of our friends, confined to our beds and rooms in consequence of some species of fever, or some kind of sickness? And how often are we suffering the poignant agonies occasioned by the head-ache, the tooth-ache, or some species of rheumatism, and a thousand other causes, of which we know not even the name? In our streets, how often do we come in contact with unfortunate creatures who have been deprived of some of their senses,-it may be, of vision, or of hearing; and we not unfrequently meet with individuals, who, in the mysterious dispensations of Providence, have been deprived of the faculties both of hearing and speaking, You have scarcely made an additional step, before you meet another unfortunate being, who exhibits the small remnant of a leg or arm, occasioned by some awful disaster, and thus, in | silent, but expressive language, records to you his unvarnished tale of wo, and implores the benefit of your benevolence. At no great distance from him you see another, whose “tattered clothes his poverty bespeak,” and whose starved countenance betokens his little familiarity even with the common necessaries of life. A fourth presents himself to your kind commiseration, by exhibiting those scars and bruises which have been occasioned by the falling-sickness, to which he is greatly subject. But it were vain to attempt an enumeration of the multifarious afflictions which our streets daily present to view. If we cast our eyes around us in the world at large, what scenes of distress and wretchedness are there exhibited before us! How many unfortunate creatures meet us in our country excursions, who are literally citizens of the world, travelling from one place to another in all the disagreeable varieties of the seasons,—enduring the intense cold occasioned by the chilling blasts of winter, and the intolerable heat of a summer's sun,-without a home, in which to enjoy even a few days' repose, and destitute of one single known friend, whose sympathetic soul, and affectionate accents, might soothe their troubled minds, and administer some small measure of consolation to them. Add to all this, that they often suffer the want of that food which is necessary to the support of their bodies, and that clothing which is requisite to protect them from the severity of inclement weather. There are others again, destined to spend an uncomfortable life in the hard service of some cruel masters, who scarcely allow them that relaxation from labour which is necessary for the strength of their constitutions. And if we survey the revolting scenes which are daily presented to our view in our West Indian colonies, what a mass of misery is there visible! As if the unremitting toil and drudgery to which the unfortunate negroes are subjected, together with the oppressive heat of a tropical sun, were not, of themselves, adequate to render them sufficiently miserable, they have the lacerating lash of their unfeeling masters applied to their bodies with as little ceremony, and frequently with as much rigour, as we see it, in our country, applied to the horse. Passing over a great variety of other species of misery which are so prevalent in the world, let us contemplate for a moment, the dreadful calamities which are produced by the occurrence of an earthquake, the inundation of some mighty river, the pestilence, famine, or war. The four former are the dispensations of Providence; but the devastation and miseries produced by the latter, are the doings of man. And who can calculate the evils which are occasioned by the uncurbed passions of some obdurate, and unfeeling, but powerful mortal? Think of the great privations to which an immense number of men are subjected, while led on, by long marches, to battle; listen to the affecting groans of the mutilated and dying, during the heat of the conflict; and see the streams of blood which issue from their wounds. And, to complete the misery which such scenes of desolation produce, contemplate the many thousands of women, who, by the events of a few hours, are rendered inconsolable widows, and their helpless children made fatherless; and all this to gratify the unhallowed ambition of one individual, whom the world perhaps may dignify with the name of warrior, or hero; but who, notwithstanding his present imaginary greatness and glory, will in a few years lie motionless within the narrow limits of a few feet of earth, and whose body shall then become the food of worms.* But there is also much mental, as well as bodily affliction, abroad in the world. If we survey the inmates of some lunatic asylum, how acutely must every individual feel for their deplorable condition. In the vacant and unmeaning stare, and wild and incoherent conversations of some, we It is oftentimes curious, but in the present instance it is painful, to contemplate the inconsistency of mankind; for, when one man, in private life, kills another, he is hunted through every hole and corner of the world, until he is secured, tried, and executed for the commission of the crime; but in the case of war, the general who disposes of the lives of the greatest number of human beings, receives a proportional share of national adulation, and his praise is sounded through the four quarters of the globe! On this subject Bishop Porteus very justly remarks, "One murder makes a villain; Millions a hero.-Princes are privileged To kill, and numbers sanctify the crime!" And, on the same subject, Voltaire makes the following striking observations. "A king fancies that he has a right to some distant province. He raises a multitude of men who 84.-VOL. VII. see but too sensibly that they are deprived of reason-the noblest gift of God; and from the exterior appearance and foolish actions of others, we learn the same mournful fact. But such individuals are often to be found in the streets, as well as within the walls of these places of safety; and from their conversation and conduct, we too manifestly see, that they are quite incapable of participating in the social enjoyments of life, and of engaging in those religious exercises, which, when rightly performed, administer so much sublime enjoyment to the mind. Besides this species of mental affliction, there is another, which is occasioned by the occurrence of sorrowful events. In yonder house lie the lifeless remains of an amiable and beloved son, whose affectionate offices and exemplary conduct afforded the highest gratification to his parents. Their hearts now sob with grief, and their eyes are bathed with tears, in consequence of their irreparable loss,—and these circumstances bespeak the sorrows of their souls, in far more eloquent strains than that formal external mourning which has become so fashionable in our day. From the pensive look and melancholy aspect of another individual, we are led to understand that her days and nights are spent in unremitting grief; and the short but pathetic annals of her wo, tell us, that she mourns the demise of a most affectionate husband; and that she is left with a helpless family, totally unprovided for. In another place, we see a whole family in the greatest distress, occasioned by some unexpected event; through which they are reduced from have nothing to do, and nothing to lose; gives them a red coat and a laced bat, and makes them wheel to the right, wheel to the left, and march to glory! Five or six of these belligerent powers sometimes engage together, three against three, or two against four: but whatever part they take, they all agree in one point; which is, to do their neighbour all possible mischief. If a principal warrior bas had the good fortune of getting only two or three thousand men slaughtered, he does not think it worth while to thank God for it; but if ten thousand have been destroyed by fire and sword, and if (to complete his good fortune) some capital city has been overthrown; a day of public thanksgiving is appointed on the occasion. Is not that a fine art, which carries such desolation through the earth, and, one year with another, destroys forty thousand men out of a hundred thousand?" 4 A respectable and affluent circumstances | those various calamities which are so to the lowest depths of poverty.—And | visible in the world. too often do we see the susceptible hearts of parents overwhelmed with sorrow, on account of the profligate and impious conduct of their children. But it likewise happens, in the cases of many individuals, that there is bodily combined with mental affliction; particularly in those unhappy beings. who are immured within the walls of a gloomy prison. While their bodies are enduring pain from the chains in which they are bound, and from the scanty pittance which is allowed them for subsistence,--their minds are suffering acutely from the remorse which a recollection of their past crimes occasions, and from the dread anticipation of future punishment. In short, so various and great are the afflictions of life, that no individual whose bosom is not dead to every philanthropic principle, can contemplate them without the most lively emotions of sympathy and commiseration. Having thus given a very imperfect sketch of the calamities incident to man in his present state of existence, what then are the important inferences to be deduced from them? We may, in the first place, infer the degeneracy of man. When man originally came from the hands of his Maker, he was in a state of complete innocence and happiness; and, so long as he thus continued, he enjoyed his Maker's favour, the frequent manifestations of his gracious presence, and all that felicity of which his exalted and perfect nature was susceptible. And had fre, in obedience to the commands of Heaven, abstained from eating the forbidden fruit, himself and all his posterity would have continued to enjoy the uninterrupted favour of God, and have been entirely exempt from all those afflictions and miseries which are now so prevalent in the world. The doctrine thus asserted, is every | where to be met with in the sacred scriptures; and is, at the same time, equally demonstrable from the light of nature; for the works of God, and the dispensations of his providence, prove that he is a gracious and benevolent Being; and that unless mankind, by their apostasy from him, had incurred his righteous displeasure, he never would have visited them with Man, however, did apostatize from his Maker, and, in consequence of that apostasy, was expelled from paradise, excluded from the favour of God, deprived of that felicity which he formerly enjoyed, and rendered the subject of all those miseries which are now both seen and experienced. The degeneracy of mankind is so evident, from the calamities incident to human nature, that even those heathen nations, who never heard of the volume of revelation, were fully convinced of the mournful fact. They saw, in the varied and acute sufferings to which they were subjected, that they were guilty creatures; and hence they offered up so many sacrifices, from an expectation that they would atone for their guilt, and appease their supposed offended imaginary deities. From the various afflictions incident to life, we may also infer the truth of those passages of scripture, which assert the future punishment of the finally impenitent. Though man had, by his disobedience to the commands of God, procured his expulsion from paradise, and all that sublime happiness which he therein enjoyed, and at the same time plunged himself into an abyss of degradation and misery,-yet the Most High, in his infinite love and mercy, did so commiserate his ruined condition, that he provided a suitable and all-sufficient Saviour, by whom he might be rescued from his degraded and miserable state, and be restored to the favour of his Maker, and be made an heir of eternal life. But it is those only who repent of their sins, and, in the exercise of a living faith, appropriate the atonement of Jesus to their souls, who can participate in the benefits of his salvation. Repentance and faith are the only conditions on which salvation can possibly be obtained; and those who reject the conditions, reject the salvation itself; and it is expressly declared, in a multiplicity of passages of scripture, that all such shall be the objects of God's righteous displeasure throughout eternity. Now, the solemn declaration of the inspired volume, regarding the future punishment of those who reject the salvation of Christ, is greatly confirmed by the sufferings which mankind endure, even in this life; for their present sufferings, being on account of sin, are but the beginnings of an infinitely higher degree of punishment, which they must endure for ever. It must appear, to the mind of every individual who is acquainted with the odious nature of sin, and the revealed character of the Deity, that he has, by his providential dealings towards his creatures, manifested his determination to punish sinners. But since the punishment which they experience in this life can bear no proportion to the magnitude of that guilt with which they are chargeable in his sight; and as their natures, in the present mode of existence, are not capable of bearing a punishment commensurate with their culpability, it is most reasonable to suppose, that he hath reserved the full measure of his wrath for another state of existence, when their natures shall be rendered capable of enduring it; and that then, all those threatenings which he hath pronounced against them, shall be carried into awful execution. Let those, therefore, who have been unjustly calculating on the mercy of God to be extended to them on the day of judgment, ever recollect, that one attribute of the Deity can never come in contact with another;-that his mercy can never eclipse the glory of his holiness and justice ;-and that, as he has denounced the most awful vengeance against sinners, to be endured in another world,-so his faithfulness is pledged to carry it into complete effect. From the same subject, we may likewise infer the exceeding evil of sin in the sight of God. We have already seen, that the sufferings to which mankind are subjected, are various and great; and we have seen from our last inference, that the punishment which awaits the finally impenitent, will not only be extreme in degree, but also eternal in duration. Now it would be quite inconsistent with the revealed character of the Supreme Being, to imagine, for a moment, that he would visit his creatures with such manifest tokens of his dread displeasure in this life, and threaten them with intolerable and everlasting misery in the life to come, were not sin, the procuring cause of all this misery, exceedingly hateful in his sight. The Deity is a being of infinite benevolence. This is demonstrable from the circumstance, that when he originally created man, it was with a view of rendering him completely happy; and, for this purpose, he bestowed on him every thing which his heart could desire;-and it was not until he had tasted of the forbidden fruit, that he manifested his displeasure toward him. His holy word, too, as well as his works of nature and providence, proclaim him, in the most explicit language, to be a God of infinite love and grace; and no consideration whatever could induce him to visit us with such awful calamities in this world, and threaten sinners with everlasting wo in the next, except the perfect and immutable hatred with which he regards iniquity. This leads us to infer, in the last place, the strong reason we have to hate sin, and avoid the commission of it. If sin has produced such disorder and misery in the world, that no individual, in any age or place, can possibly be exempt from its painful effects;-if that misery which it has procured extend to the whole nature of man, soul and body, and affects every faculty of the one, and member of the other; if, in consequence of sin, man comes into the world suffering, passes his time in it in a state of suffering, and leaves it in a state of suffering;-and if it exposes him to a state of extreme suffering through eternity; then surely he ought to hate it, and ever watch against it; for if we invariably hate the secondary causes of our sufferings, we ought, on the principle of common consistency, to hate the primary or procuring cause. But there is something in the conduct of sinners, with regard to sin, which cannot be reconciled to their consistency in other respects; for whatever else has a tendency to mar their happiness, is sure to become the object of their decided detestation; and yet, instead of hatred, they feel a love for that, which not only procures their present wo, but likewise procures for them the most extreme misery in the world to come. Those, however, who do not hate sin in the present life, will hate it in a future state of existence; but, alas! their hatred will then be unavailing. J. G. Elgin. IT would be a very vain attempt for me to try to describe the various characters who have, by a charitable world, been designated fools, or who are so in reality. Folly is opposed to wisdom, and if we for a moment contemplate the small quantity of wisdom which is to be found on the earth, we shall be able to form some estimate of the height to which folly has attained. There are those who rush forward ignorantly, and do all their various works without any consideration. There are those who think wisely, and speak and advise wisely, and yet, who, when acting, do it foolishly; and if we class these characters together, how few people shall we find who do not resemble one or the other of them in many important respects-and how fruitless would be our efforts, if we sought for the man who did not, in some instance, display himself to be a fool. There are, however, two characters which mankind have generally distinguished by this appellation,-and upon which I design to make a few observations. blinded by vanity and conceit, as not to perceive his insufficiency, we say— he is a fool. If we see one, who, through neglect, has made himself unfit for all genteel society, and when he has had opportunities of becoming civilized, yet continues a boor, we three destitute, in the instances mensay he is a fool. They may be all tioned, of wisdom; and the exterior of the first character may much, and very closely, resemble the third; and yet-only the two last can be blamed for their folly. The first may be awkward, because he knows not how to be otherwise.— The second is to be reprobated, for adding conceit to his natural stupidity; and the third, for levelling himself, by indolence and inattention, to the standard of that man who has not had his opportunities. Thus, on this part of our subject, the world, as relates to the opprobrium which it casts upon these individuals (for it blames them all alike) is, in two cases, right,-in the remaining one, wrong, But this is not the case with the other character.— Whoever calls those people fools who have wedded their affections to the frail vanities of earth, and all whose common sense seems suffocated among things which, however some individuals may inwardly prize, all confess to be really and substantially of nothing worth, calls them rightly.— What is worst of all, there is danger in these things; and the moth that neglects the full blaze of a summer's sun, in order to fly round the attractive glare of a poor insignificant candle, is almost sure to meet with a merited destruction. The stupid man-and the unsettled, ignorant, idle, butterfly-like individual, the being, who seems destitute of common perception, and who is generally denominated thick-skull- There is Jack Lance,-be never ed-and he who is constantly drawn raises his ideas above the meanest aside by every thing that glitters, and most trifling things that present however paltry may be its sheen-the themselves to him.-Dancing is about former, to use vulgar comparisons, his only accomplishment; flirting, and partakes greatly of the characteristics dressing, and talking nonsense, his of an ass, the latter of those of a mon- only employments;-and yet, although key. In relation to the first charac- he is to all appearance beneath the ter, if we see a gaping staring fellow, standard of a man, he has vices enough, who seems hardly to know his right he can drink with any one, and swear hand from his left, and who, when- like a trooper.-I had written thus far ever he speaks, does so in a barbarous when I fell asleep--I am a sad dreamer, and uncouth dialect, and with a con- (more's the pity,) and this is my dream. fused and awkward manner, we say--I thought I stood upon a vast he is a fool. If we see an individual entering upon some scheme, of the nature of which he is entirely ignorant, and being at the same time so and seemingly interminable plain. It stretched itself forth in all directions, and wherever I looked, the prospect was the same. |