A Letter to the Young.

Y DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS.A little incident occurred today, which, if named, I pray God may be of use to you.

The toll-gate through which I was about to pass was open, and I should have gone on as usual, after paying the toll, only that I saw the gate-keeper run after a young woman, who had just gone through, in advance of me. As, after a few

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words with her, she turned back, and again passed through the gate, I took for granted she had not the money to pay the toll, and that, therefore, she was not allowed to pass. So I said to the gate-keeper, as he was handing me my change, "Oh, take it out of that, and let her pass." Oh, it was not that," said he, meaning it was not for want of money he had called her back, "but she was going the wrong road." The toll-keeper's wife as well as himself looked on and listened with special interest, as I exclaimed, "I trust that we are not going the wrong road." As I drove on, dear young readers, I thought there were some teachings connected with that little passing circumstance.

1. She was going the wrong road; but she was made acquainted with it; and, promptly giving heed, she at once turned back. Now, there are thousands upon thousands going the wrong road; but they neither know it, nor give the matter a moment's consideration as to whether they are in the right road

or not.

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2. She had no doubt taken the wrong road, because it appeared the nearest, the readiest, and the best to the place where she was bound. Ah, reader, "there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is death." Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life; and few there be that find it."

3. She believed the toll-keeper. For the same reason that she chose the road, she might have kept to it, because it was the best of the two, and because it had appeared the nearest to her destination; but she cheerfully gave up her own choice and will, and submitted to the advice of another. How few are prepared to do this! All by nature are bent upon pursuing their own course; nor will they be diverted from that course until "made willing in the day of God's power." Said He who spake as never man spake, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." It is because those who warn and caution and admonish others meet with so little success, and are so little heeded, that they are heard so frequently to exclaim, "Who hath believed our report, and unto whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?"

4. Although the turning back, on the part of the young woman, was vexing (inasmuch as it was holidaytime, and she was in haste), doubtless, she found afterwards it was far more satisfactory than if she had persisted in pursuing her own course. That would certainly take her wide of the mark she had in view. So, if we are enabled by the Great Leader and Teacher to follow His footsteps rather than our own, we find " Wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace," in contrast to those solemn facts, "The way of transgressors is hard," and There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." 5. It was a kind act, on the part of the gate-keeper, to run after the poor girl, and tell her she was going the wrong road; but for his having done so, there is no knowing how far she would have gone out of her way, nor what inconveniences she might have been put to; so it is equally kind of those who warn and caution and admonish their poor erring fellow-creatures when they see them " going the wrong road." How many will have to thank God to all eternity for the counsels and cautions thus given at the hand of one and another the Lord has thus been pleased to - employ for their present and everlasting good!

THE SUMMER-HOUSE AND ITS SUGGESTIONS.

[SEE LAST PAGE.]

F you will accompany me, dear reader, at least mentally, I think I may interest you.

It is true the day is cold and unseasonable. We do not expect March winds in the month of May, nor the gloom of November, or the chilling rains of December or January. Still, in spite of all these, we shall find the counteracting influences of genial hearts and true English hospitality. These, doubtless, will make amends for out-door inconveniences. By the way, touching upon our ever-changing and most uncertain climate, I was struck, the other day, with the observation of one who had just returned from a third or fourth voyage round the greater part of the world. To my surprise, he included even the atmosphere of England among its many advantages over the various other parts of the globe. He declared that the perpetual sunshine of Australia was most wearying.

Well, now, our present destination is a pretty watering-place. I cannot conceive of a greater relief to business-men than this lovely drive, with the bracing air from the Channel. Rapid and easy as railway transit may be, it cannot compare with the healthiness and the beauty presented by the route to which I have referred.

And now, having reached the hospitable roof of our kind friend, and partaken of the refreshment so promptly provided, we accompany him through this winding footpath under the pleasant shade and shelter of these trees, to his lovely summer-house. Ah, here it is, pretty and most convenient in itself, but still additionally attractive from the site it occupies, and the view it commands. A visit, some years ago, to a like retreat, commanding the self-same wide and beauteous prospect, has ever since left its impress upon my heart, as being so adapted for retirement and reflection. How sweet and salutary is the withdrawing, at certain seasons at least, from the busy haunts of men, for the enjoyment of calm and uninterrupted fellowship and communion with Him who created all things, and by whose power, dominion, and absolute and irresistible control His vast works are maintained and kept in ceaseless and uninterrupted opera tion! In unison with His blessed word, I know of nothing more calculated to cheer and animate the anxious heart of such as are brought into contact with their fellow-men, in the various and responsible duties and engagements of every-day life, than the recollection that He who causes the sun to shine, the rain to fall, the winds to blow; that He who regulates the ebb and flow of tides, spreads the downy meadow, or covers the hill-side with that which shall sustain both man and beast, is the self-same Almighty One who holds all hearts in His hands, and "worketh all things after the counsel of His own will." Yea, it is He who "doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?" This is a cheering and encouraging thought to entertain amid all the changing scenes, ever-varying circumstances, and fickle-mindedness of men. Unspeakably blessed it is, when the heart can take a deeproot-hold in the wisdom, love, and unchangeable character of Him who has bade us " acknowledge Him in all our ways, that He may direct our paths;" and who has, for our encouragement, said, "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass."

At length we reach the little summer-house. Here

it is, you see, placed on the very brow of the cliff, and consequently commands an uninterrupted view of the Channel and the Welsh coast, with the hills as its back-ground.

You observe, as we enter, it is all dark with the exception of the light thrown into the interior by the door. Now, as the shutters are opened one by one, how light and cheerful it becomes! This fact at once reminds one of how dark and gloomy is the human heart until God is pleased to open, as it were, the windows of the soul, through which to admit the light and the glory and the blessedness of Divine things. What a chaos, what a blank, what worthlessness and nothingness was all before, just like the little building, standing a useless, unoccupied, objectless blank; but now the door is opened, access had, and we take possession; how changed the scene! Ah, and so it is, as already intimated, when the Lord Himself condescendingly and graciously comes in and takes His own rightful possession of the soul. It is no blank now; no cheerless, comfortless, useless waste now! No, occupation, and by such a Guest and such an Inhabitant, makes all the difference indeed.

Moreover, I see, although one was so little prepared to expect such a luxury in such a place, there is a fireplace; so that not merely is light admitted through the various windows, but warmth and comfort also by the fire. Ah, when and where God enters the previously dark and cold and barren heart, He not only admits light, but warmth and heat, too. He lights a fire, and He infuses a wholesome and a healthful glow through all the inner man. In place of coldness and stoicism and heartlessness, when the Holy Ghost strikes a light, and kindles a fire, a flame of love divine instantly springs up, not only towards the Lord Himself, but also towards the various members of the whole household of faith. Live where they may, and as they may; be they scattered east, west, north, or south, the most sacred of all ties is realized

the most blessed of all bonds is felt; the tenderest of all sympathies is aroused; and thenceforth, in connexion with this species of spiritual freemasonry, there is "a weeping with those that weep, and a rejoicing with those that rejoice."

There is another thought, moreover, with respect to the position of those of whom the Lord is pleased thus to take possession. The spot upon which this little building is erected, it will be readily seen, is not only elevated, but exposed and dangerous. Not only is there the liability of the base of the cliff upon which it stands, gradually crumbling away through the force of "the eternal wave," as a great orator once expressed himself when speaking of the sea; but it is exposed to the wintry blast, to the thunder's roll and the lightning's flash. It is a marvel that so small and comparatively tender a structure should day by day and year after year so withstand the contending elements.

The fact suggests a greater wonder still, with respect to the marvellous preservation of men in a state of unregeneracy, in whose hearts the Lord God of Israel has purposed, in His own good time, to take up His gracious and immoveable abode. This little structure, although exposed, as we have seen, to the storm and tempest, has no self-existing destructive influences; but the heart of man has. It is evil and corrupt and abominable in itself; it is composed of destructible and ruinous material; and, moreover, it affords a willing occupancy and a gratuitous and uninterrupted possession to the most crafty, subtle, and deadly of enemies; one who is in league with all the powers of darkness against the Person, authority, and dominion of that Almighty One in whom and by whom alone His every creature lives and moves and has its being. How, therefore, man, in a state of heathenish darkness and hostility, is preserved in that condition is amazing, prompted as he is by, and in league as he is with, Satan, the god of this world. One is reminded by these facts of that Scripture, "When the strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace; but, when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth the spoil."

Hence what proof we have of the divine, irresistible, and almighty power of Jehovah, in that He preserves from utter destruction the object of mercy, in his state of carnal enmity and absolute hostility against both Himself, His laws, and His dominion; and, next, that He should in the exercise of His own divine compas

MONG the various public servants to whom, under God, we are indebted for protection during the midnight hours, when we are sleeping safely and unsuspectingly in our beds, are the coast-guard men. These not only keep a vigilant watch round our coast, to prevent the introduction of spirits or commodities subject to duty, but likewise to give the promptest notice should an enemy approach our shores and attempt a landing.

Among these men are often to be found, not only, men of sober lives and industrious habits, but also of true principles. We have personally known several of such, with whom it was a real pleasure to be acquainted, and from whose experience and testimony much might be learnt. Among the men we thus THE LATE RECTOR OF CHELTENHAM. personally knew was one who, as represented in our engraving, was very tall in stature, and equally noble in heart and principle. If ever a man was a credit to his calling, and carried weight and true dignity of character with him, that man was RICHARD DAWES. Happy in the remembrance are these interviews, which we, from time to time, had with him. His whole soul was absorbed in the things which make firm our everlasting peace. Prayer, reading the Word of God, and singing His praises, were prominent and permanent features in his home and everyday life. Nor did anything afford him more real pleasure than attending the house of the Lord. He has told us what a happy thought it was to him, when he has awoke of a morning, and remembered it was lecture evening. And, if so be his duties prevented his attendance, it being his turn to keep watch, he would walk up and down outside the school-house where the lecture was held, in order that he might at least hear the singing the praises of God, and mentally take part therein.

But we rarely, if ever, think of this dear servant of God-for a servant of God indeed he waswithout identifying him as a special object of Divine Providential goodness and care; and a beautiful and blessed illustration of that Scripture, "Leave thy fatherless children; I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in Me."

On one particular occasion-some twenty years ago-the dear man was on watch when we fell in with him; and, as his beat that night happened to be close beside our own home, we walked with him up to a late hour. On that occasion he was particularly anxious. We never remember any like season with regard to him. His great anxiety was how was his large family to be brought up and maintained upon his very limited income. Their prospects he thought to be gloomy indeed; and he, in consequence, was the subject, for the time being, of deep depression. His case (as connected with that particular evening) has been a lesson for ourselves time without number since, to seek to live by faith, and to pray for grace from on high to leave all our concerns in His hands, of whom the dear Redeemer says: "Your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all things before ye ask Him."

Very shortly after the conversation alluded to, the Crimean war broke out, and this dear man of God, with other of his comrades, was sent up the Baltic, on board the Duke of Wellington. He returned home, upon leave, for a short time, and then went out again. Soon afterwards, however, he and another Christian man, a companion of his in the same service, named ATTRIDGE, died. Nor do we hesitate to say that, although so suddenly taken from his family, and leaving a widow and some six or seven children, the whole were far better provided for than had he lived. A large fund was subscribed for the widows and the fatherless ones of those who might fall in the war; but, as many of our readers will remember the peace being restored so much sooner than was anticipated, a much larger allowance was, in consequence, awarded to those who by the war were deprived of the husband or the father.

After a time the widow of dear DAWES died in the faith and hope of the Gospel, and, to the glory of our God, we testify that the loved orphans, long grown up to the estate of manhood and womanhood, have become respectable members of society, and are doing well. Two of the sons, after filling places of trust in one of the first establishments in Dublin,

N the Gospel Magazine for this month we have briefly touched upon a deeply-interesting meeting held at Blaisdon, some ten miles from Gloucester, on the Welsh line. How very different was the gathering on the opposite extreme, and about the same distance from that ancient city, on the following day! On the one day, hundreds had assembled from the neighbouring towns and villages to hear from the lips of living men of the wonderful works of God; on the other day, a whole town might be said to be in tears over the loss of one whom they had so deservedly respected and loved. Except on the decease of royalty, we never remember to have seen more decided proof of deep lamentation and sore regret. Nearly every shop was partially closed, and, as the hour of interment drew on, entirely so.

As we stood within the walls of that cemetery, in anticipation of the arrival of the funeral cortège, we could but admire the lovely scenery around, as we had done from the grave-yard of Blaisdon on the preceding day. The scene under those Cotswold Hills is extremely beautiful; but such scenes, even under ordinary circumstances, have a certain depressing influence upon our heart, when we think what sin has done. How it has marred this beauteous creation! how it has, as it were, steeped this lovely world in sin and blood!-yea, with everything that is polluted and degrading and ruinous! But, if these were one's ordinary feelings in the contemplation of scenery so attractive, how much more so as beheld under present circumstances! There was being borne along, amid the tears of a vast assembly, and about to be committed to its last resting-place, one who had long and successfully laboured in the neighbouring city, and who had doubtless often performed the last sad office over others which was now about to be performed over himself. "What is life ?" thought we, as we stood in the midst of that weeping assembly, and as we gazed upon that lone and trembling mourner, as he stood, the last relic (his widowed mother excepted) of a so-recently united and unbroken family. Within a comparatively short period, first, one brother-then another-and now, his own dear father, were called to occupy the silent grave! The living voice was to be heard no more! The active frame now lay in the stillness of death! No ardent, touching, soul-stirring appeal to the heart and conscience would ever again be heard from those lips which were now for ever sealed as far as the present world is concerned.

Ah, reader, what a farce is life! what a reality is death! Men for the most part are wont to reverse this order: they treat death as a farce, and life as a reality! But it is quite otherwise! Man lives to die, and dies to live! But oh, where? where? There is the question-yea, the question of all questions! Die he must! None (strange fact!), none doubt this. It is a truth incontrovertible! a fact beyond dispute!' And why? Because it is of every-day and all-the-day occurrence! "The living know that they shall die!" "There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it."

But how sweet, amid the surroundings of death, and, notwithstanding the darkness and the gloominess of the grave, to hear the heart-cheering, fear-assuaging, peace-infusing declaration "I am the Resurrection

dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die!" Oh, glorious hope! oh, blissful anticipation! "Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead; for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive,"-that is, all those who by the Holy Ghost are led to feel their death, and to look to Him for life-even each and all of these shall be finally raised in Him and by Him and with Him in the resurrection at the last day.

Additionally consoling was this reflection to our own mind, because, whilst waiting the arrival of the mourning procession, we had been introduced to and conferring with two respected ministers of the neighbouring town who had both been personally acquainted with another dear servant of God who, about that very day twelvemonth, had been likewise carried to his last resting-place-we refer to the late Rev. JOHN TARR. Yea, more, we had only the day before been apprized of another whom we had met once-and only once-and who had since likewise passed away to the joy of his Lord. Hence we could but triumph in the great fact spoken by the prophet Isaiah of "the righteous:" "He shall enter into peace; they shall rest in their body, each one walking in his uprightness."

The believer-especially the Christian minister -is perpetually reminded that "this is not his rest." The latter more especially has trials and temptations-sorrows and sufferings-weight and responsibility, inseparable from his high and holy calling. The nature of his service, the character of his sorrows, the daily pressure upon his heart, can only be known by those who are called to the work. The very prominency of his position makes him perpetually an object for comment, and too commonly for censure, when, were the facts known and the case understood, there would be sympathy instead of reproach. God has been pleased, in the greatness of His condescension and in the boundlessness of His love, to choose as His messengers of mercy, and as the bearers of "peace and goodwill towards men," one and another and another from among themselves! Not angels who have never sinned, and therefore cannot sympathize with those who have; but men of like passions with men; and hence, because they are men, and the subjects of all the sins and frailties and infirmities of men, have sympathies in common. They can speak from the heart to the heart, because that heart is what it is and where it is. Therefore, instead of men sitting in judgment (as they are too commonly wont to do) upon the frailties and infirmities and shortcomings of their ministers, they should be only too thankful that they are what they are; whilst seeking in their individual persons to "deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world," yet, at the same time, unable (nor anxious, either) to disguise the fact, that they are, after all, men of like passions with themselves, and ready, at any time, to declare with the Apostle Paul, "Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me;" "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me" (Gal. ii. 20).

How many, for lack of a due consideration of these things, have laid the foundation for much afterreproach, when their ministers have been taken from them! Then, and perhaps not until then, they have discovered the cause of this or the reason of that at the time apparent neglect or inconsistency, when a little more reflection or consideration at the time would have put a totally different face upon matters. Then there would have been the condolence instead of censure-sympathy and not reproach.

But marvellous has been the dispensation, to be solved only by the "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight," that a father, in the very zenith of his power, and a son, just setting out in his ministerial career, should, within so few weeks of each other, have been called away. The case to our mind is unparalleled! Marked and marvellous! Speaking as with trumpet-tongue, not merely to the congregations of Cheltenham and Manchester, but throughout the very length and breadth of Christendom. "If God see fit to call hence, and so near together, a father and a son, fellow-labourers in His vineyard,