from many causes, some of them similar to the adverse the necessary funds; and in 1648 there were not fewer influences which retarded the Protestant Church of than forty Highland youths, approven by the Synod of France, the noble designs of the Church of Scotland Argyle, in the course of training for the ministry. At were not carried into full effect, yet much was accom- the same time, were it not unduly protracting this plished, so that, in point of knowledge and improve-paper, it were easy to shew that in the matter of uniment, the face of the country assumed a new aspect. versity visitation there is also a parallel between the It was uniformly found that when the Church was Protestant Church of France and the Protestant Church strong, and just according to her strength, successful of Scotland, but enough has been adduced to shew that means were undertaken for the education and elevation both were, even in the earliest times, the warm friends of the people. Limiting our view to the parallel period of enlarged knowledge and enlightened education, and in the Church of France, it is ascertained from the enough has been brought forward to rebuke the silly report of a visitation of schools, in 1611 and 1613, in and unfounded notion that religious men care nothing the district of St. Andrews, that schools were, at so about the culture of mind, and are the enemies of early a period, planted in about two-thirds of the parishes. knowledge. It will be difficult, indeed, for those There can be little doubt that this held true of the who are so fond of arrogating to themselves, exclucountry generally. The eminent Alexander Henderson, sively, the title of the friends of knowledge, at the in 1630, liberally endowed a school in the Parish of present day, to give evidence of such generosity, selfLeuchars, of which he was then minister, and another denial, and sincerity, in the cause, as the friends of at Creich. Mr Gabriel Semple set apart two thousand religion, and the Protestant Presbyterian Churches, merks for the same purpose, in the Parish of Kirkpatrick- have manifested all along. Durham. Kirk-sessions defrayed the educational expenses of the poor, out of the parish funds, and sometimes made it a condition of parents receiving relief, that they should send their children to school. And the education was not slender. In 1645, it was resolved, by the General Assembly, that no schoolmaster should be appointed to burgh or considerable parish schools, unless he were found skilful not only in writing Latin prose, but Latin verse. In a parish so small as Ormiston, money was expended by the session at that period, in purchasing Greek Lexicons for the use of the school, and other expensive books. With regard, again, to the higher profession of the ministry, the requirements were proportionally high. According to the first book of discipline, a young man must have studied till the age of twenty-four, before he was accounted fully qualified for public service. In 1641, the General Assembly used her best exertions that "a sufficient maintenance be provided for a competent number of professors, teachers, and bursars, in all faculties, and especially in divinity, and for upholding, repairing, and enlarging the fabric of the colleges, furnishing libraries, and such like good uses, in every university and college." It is earnestly recommended that only the ablest men should be appointed to professorial chairs. And in 1645, it is enacted that at the time of the General Assembly, commissioners from the different universities of the kingdom shall meet and consult together for the advancement of piety, learning, and good order, in the schools and universities. It is scarcely necessary to mention, that while so earnest in promoting the interests of literature and knowledge, the Church never, for a moment, lost sight of the paramount claims of true religion, but, on the contrary, made every thing else subservient to them. It is a striking illustration of this, that professors of languages and philosophy were required, along with their respective sciences, to ground their students in the first principles of Christianity. The Confession of Faith was translated into Latin, that it might be used as a text-book by the young men at College. By an act of the General Assembly, at a later date, 1705, it was strongly "recommended to masters in universities, and all other instructors of youth, that they be careful to instruct their scholars in the principles of the Christian reformed religion, according to the Scriptures." It is well known what efforts were used to create and wisely administer bursaries; and what was their great end, but to assist and encourage young men in studying at the universities? Here, too, religion was the reigning object. Who were the bursars? They were youths intended for the ministry, especially in Gaelic parishes. Such was the anxiety of the Church to obtain a sufficient number for this work, that she ordered a contribution of forty shillings Scots, from every congregation, yearly, to raise WILD FLOWERS. BY CHARLES MOIR, ESQ. WHO does not love wild flowers? Those gentle children of the sunshine and the shower-those sweet gifts, fresh from the hand of the Deity, rendering more beautiful the face of a world already rich with his bounty. How many pious and grateful feelings are their presence calculated to call up in the meditative mind! Their fragile beauty is an emblem of man," he cometh forth as a flower of the field, and is cut down." They perish, and their leaves are scattered by the wind of heaven; but the seeds they generate are borne along by the same breeze that witnesses their destruction, and while some may perish, others are carried into fertile places, so that when summer again gladdens the earth, their reappearance is secure. Even so with man; he dies, and returns to the dust from whence he came; but the good seed he has sown in this world, is brought to perfection in another and a more congenial clime, when out of the sleep of death he wakes to immortality. They are an emblem of love; for they speak to man of the unfailing goodness of Him who strews his path with beauty, that his faith may not grow cold, nor his gratitude to his gracious Benefactor suffer diminution. When lusty summer is at its prime, and beneath every hedge-row the wild flowers are blooming-when every green bank is studded with variegated daisies, and yellow butter-cups are peeping out here and there among the fresh grass, nature's verdant carpet, so that, at every step, he treads upon flowers, no one can walk abroad without feelings of a pure and holy kind being excited within him. From these simple evidences of an unceasing benevolence, our thoughts naturally revert to the Giver of all good. The pleasure they inspire, unlike that derived from the grosser objects of sense, is indulged without purchasing it at the expense of painful afterreflection. On the contrary, the only reminiscences they leave behind, are such as are due to things hallowed as the gifts of love-the free-will offerings of Him, whose bounty clothes the earth with beauty. To youth brought up in the country, wild flowers are ever great favourites. With the sight of them are associated many delightful remembrances. They are the companions of their infancy; the eye of childhood is riveted by their beauty, and the hand is eagerly stretched out for the gaudy favourite so soon destined to wither in their grasp. As time moves on, and youth are left to their own guidance, the long summer days are spent in wandering by the green fields, or lingering in the shady places, culling their simple favourites, and binding them into nosegays, or may hap scattering them about in their playful innocence. Their affection for wild flowers grows with their growth, and strengthens with their strength. They are associated in their hearts with the song of birds, with trees and streams, and every thing fair in nature. They cannot separate them, and a partial estrangement only makes the lover of nature more ardent in his affection when he returns to the objects of his early love. This feeling has been so graphically described by a modern poet, that I cannot refrain from quoting it : "To him who sojourns mid the busy crowd Mid tumult, yet whose youth hath pass'd away,— Man, although pent up all his life in towns, still shows his love for flowers, in the attempts he makes to have them about his home. And as I pass the windows of many of the poorer classes in the crowded streets of our own city, and witness the humble attempts of the sickly artizan, toiling amid its heat and noise, to cheer his dwelling with some remembrance of the beauteous attendants of summer, I am often grieved to think what sacrifices man is forced to make that his daily sustenance may be obtained. Such appearances mark-but how affectingly!-that the love of nature is inherent in man, and flowers may be said to be the poetry of nature. They present to us emblems of purity, grace, and beauty. Links in the mysterious chain, binding, by still closer ties, the heart of man to "The good God, who loves and cares for all." The ancient Greeks were ardent admirers of flowers; their love for them was boundless. They scattered them in the porticoes of their temples, they strewed them in the conqueror's path, and on all occasions of rejoicing they were profuse in their use of them. In the East, they are still made the language of sentiment; and until lately, in many of the rural villages of England, they were used, made up into garlands for the bridal day, or, on mournful occasions, to be strewed in the coffins of the dead. "Bring me flowers all young and sweet, 66 In Scripture, wild flowers are everywhere to be met with, quoted as incentives to faith, love, and duty. Our blessed Saviour himself did not disdain to use them as emblematic of the entire dependence of man on the goodness of God: And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet, I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and tonorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith." The Song of Solomon is full of passages alluding to flowers: "Lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle The poem is descriptive of a summer evening in the country, is heard in our land." And again, "Let us fill ourselves with costly wine, and ointments, and let no Let us crown ourflower of the spring pass by us. But selves with rosebuds, before they are withered.' to multiply quotations from Scripture, where they are introduced either casually, or as conveying lessons of higher import, would be endless. With the poets, wild flowers have ever been a favourite theme. The works of our bards of past and modern times are profuse in allusions to them. Old Barbour, in describing the "softness of the sweet seasoune" of May, speaks of the time, when "Fieldes strewed are with flowers, Well savouring of seir colours, And all things waxeth blythe and gay." They cannot fail to be favourites with the poets; for they are gentle creatures, brought forth with no other ostensible use but to give pleasure to the heart of man, and invest, with a still higher beauty, this, his temporal dwelling-place. Scattered far and wide over the hills, and in the depths of the dark woods; in the green valleys, and by the margin of the brooks that run like threads of silver through the smiling meadows, their presence calls up many glad and joyous thoughts, and it may be, at times, some allied to seberer meditation. "Thoughts, that have long been veiled in sleep; Hopes, that allure but to depart; And recollections, buried deep Within the shut and silent heart." Every one must recollect the beautiful incident related by Mungo Park, when, amid the torrid wastes of Africa, heartless despondency seized upon him, the sight of a little wild flower, blooming amid the cheerless sterility around, roused him once more to action, by the cheering reflection, that He who brought forth and sustained the tender plant amid such a waste, would likewise bear up and successfully carry him through all the trials that yet awaited him. A fine characteristic of wild plants, is the tenacity with which they attempt to throw a mantle of beauty even over the ravages of time. What more picturesque object in nature, than the wild ivy trailing its lithe tendrils over the mouldering walls of our venerated abbeys and old castles! Here, too, will sometimes be found, the honeysuckle, like a shred of network, trellising the ruined walls, and shedding abroad its luscious fragrance; the wild bramble, with its succulent berries, clustering at its foot; and far up, beyond our reach, in some neglected loop-hole, a bunch of wallflower, lighting, with its golden tresses, this "lonely mansion of the dead." Such a beautiful provision of nature, calling, as it were, life out of death, has often. suggested the analogy that exists between it and the hope that gilds the departing hour of the Christian, when he reflects that the dark night of the grave is to be succeeded by the daylight of another scene of more than earthly beauty. Even simple wild flowers may thus call up thoughts of high import to man. viewed in their true sense as emanations of a love that never faileth; as sent to minister to the pleasure of man, to gladden his abode, and make his heart joyous, how dear should they be to us, for the sake of Hin who freely bestowed them! And when we look on their beauty, and wonder; let us think of His creative power, and of the protecting care he bestows even on the humblest of his creatures. "Thou art, O God! the life and light Are but reflections caught from Thee: But, SACRED POETRY. THE SPIRIT OF THE SEASONS. OH! beautiful is God's green earth! Its flowery beauties leap to birth, And wild-wood echoes ring. To Him whose goodness gave them birth :- Oh! beautiful is God's bright earth! 'Neath Autumn's gorgeous skies, With heavenly smiles of conscious worth :- Oh! beautiful is God's grand earth! Bids tempests in their savage mirth O'er land and ocean yell; " The Conversion of a Seaman, or the Blessed Influence of a Floating Chapel.-The following interesting statement was made by the Rev. Dr Muir of St. Stephen's Parish, Edinburgh, in a Sermon lately preached in behalf of the " Edinburgh and Leith Seaman's Friend Society:' "In the course of ministerial duty, I was called to visit, on his death-bed, a fine youth, who, after several voyages and perilous escapes, was laid down in consumption. It was a considerable time before that he had been seized with this disorder; and there was, also, little doubt that harsh treatment, during one of his voyages, had aggravated the malady and confirmed it. On his way home he had been carried to an English sea-port, where the opportunity was given him of attending the floating chapel; and, situated as he was, he could not have been able to attend divine worship, had not such a provision been made for seamen. And I state these particulars that you may the better learn the frame of his mind, as I inform you, that, amidst all his last sufferings, (which were peculiarly trying,) his gratitude for having had that opportunity of hearing the Gospel, was unbounded. He frequently recurred to it. He spoke of it with satisfaction. He often mentioned it with tears of delight. He said that he saw the hand of God in bringing him, by chastenings, to a place where he was told of the love of God to lost sinners. He said that the Bethel-ship had been the house of the Lord to him, as a refuge, as an ark to him. And well I remember the emphasis with which he said, '0, the sound of those psalms and hymns, and the words of those prayers, and the texts of the Bible. They came on my heart, after the long voyage in which there was no Sabbath, and no God to me,-they did come on my heart as voices and messengers from heaven. I was then made thoroughly to know the Gospel-salvation. And I found the very Saviour whom my sinful and weary soul needed.' And, let me add, that be blessed the Saviour to the last; that he died committing his soul in peace to the Saviour; that even when near his latter end he still connected his eternal hopes with the privileges he had received at the seaman's chapel; and that his afflicted mother, while she could not but weep at the loss of her sailor boy, was enabled to rejoice in tribulation for the glorious rest on which his soul had entered; and blessed God for the Bethel-ship where her son had first experienced the preciousness of the Saviour." The Minister's Prayer Book.-The pastor of an Independent Congregation in America, after many years labour among his people, was supposed by some of them to have declined much in his vigour and usefulness; in consequence of which two of his deacons waited on him, and told their complaint. The minister received them kindly, and assured them that he was equally sensible of his langour and little success, and that the cause bad given him very great uneasiness. The deacons wished that he would mention what he thought was the cause. Without any hesitation the minister replied, “The loss of my prayer book." "Your prayer book!" said the senior deacon, with surprise; I never knew you use! one. "Yes," replied the minister, "I have enjoyed the benefit of one for many years, till lately; and I at tribute my want of success to the loss of it. The prayers of my people were my prayer book, and it bas occasioned great grief to me that they have laid it aside. Now, brethren, if you will return to my people, and procure the use of my prayer book again, I doubt not that I shall preach much better, and that you will hear more profitably." The deacons, conscious of their ne glect, thanked the minister for the reproof, and wished him a good morning. Inattention. When Bishop Aylmer observed his congregation inattentive, he used to repeat some verses of the Hebrew Bible, at which the people naturally stared with astonishment. He then addressed them on the folly of eagerly listening to what they did not understand, while they neglected instructions which were readily comprehended. Just Published, Volume II., Part I., Containing Numbers 45 to 70 inclusive, and extending from 7th January to 1st July, elegantly bound in embossed cloth, Price 4s. 6d. Also, Volume I., for 1836, in same style of binding, Price 75., of in Two Parts, Price 8s. Published by JOHN JOHNSTONE, at the Offices of the SCOTTISH CHRISTIAN HERALD, 2, Hunter Square, Edinburgh, and 19, Glass ford Street, Glasgow; J. NISBET & Co., HAMILTON, ADAMS & CO and R. GROOMBRIDGE, London; W. CURRY, Junior, & Co., Dublin; and W. M'COMB, Belfast; and sold by the Booksellers and Local Agents in all the Towns and Parishes of Scotland; and in the principal Towns in England and Ireland. Subscribers in Edinburgh, Leith, and Portobello, will have their copies delivered at their own residences regularly, by leaving their addresses with the Publisher.-Subscribers in Glasgow will, in like manner, have their copies delivered, by leaving their addresses af the Publishing Office there, 19, Glassford Street. Subscription (payable in advance) per quarter, of twelve weeks. 1s. 6d.-per half-year, of twenty-four weeks, 3s.-per year, of fortyeight weeks, 6s.-Monthly Parts, containing four Numbers each, stitched in a printed wrapper, Price Sixpence, THE WORD OF GOD THE BEST MEANS OF TRAINING THE YOUNG TO BE PIOUS, USEFUL, AND HAPPY. BY THE LATE REV. ANDREW HUNTER, D.D., One of the Ministers of the Tron Church, and Professor of Theology in the University of Edinburgh. To a man who loves his country, or is interested both in the present and everlasting welfare of his fellow-creatures, no object can be more worthy of serious attention than the best means of educating youth, or preparing them for serving God and their generation faithfully. When a due attention is paid to their principles and conduct, to the exciting in them an early abhorrence of vice of every kind, a reverence of God, and regard to his institutions and laws, such exertions for their benefit seldom fail of producing happy effects. The Father of lights has appointed this discipline, and usually crowns it with his blessing. "Train up a child in the way in which he should walk, and when he is old he will not depart from it." By these means is the State furnished, from time to time, with enlightened, upright, active, and useful citizens in different departments; the Church with pious and exemplary members, and heaven, itself, with those who shall be the everlasting monuments of rich grace. The proposition which I mean at present to illustrate is, that a due attention to the Word of God is the best means of promoting the purity, the usefulness, and the happiness of a young and rising generation. I. The Word of God tends to promote their purity. By purity, I mean every branch of holiness or conformity to the moral law. I shall select a few of the most important virtues for illustrating this part of the subject. Piety, or the love of God, is the first commandment, and upon it all the other moral duties depend. How adapted are the Scriptures of truth to inspire us with a just sense of the perfections of God, and the obligations to love, worship, and obey him! There we have the clearest information that there is only one God, the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of the universe; that his presence is in every place, and that his watchful care is exerted over all his creatures; that he is possessed of every VOL. II. PRICE 1d. natural and moral excellence in the highest degree, of unlimited and infallible wisdom, almighty power, immaculate purity, unchangeable truth and faithfulness, and the most diffusive goodness; that these, and all his attributes, are exerted in harmony with one another, and in such a way as is most conducive to the general interests of his government; that he is the constant witness and the supreme Judge of all his intelligent creatures. The Scriptures point him out as the only object of our religious worship, and as entitled to our highest love and obedience. They lay open a way of access to the Supreme Being for guilty creatures through a Mediator, and assure us that every sincere worshipper shall be accepted, that God will pardon those sins which are confessed with humility, and bestow those blessings which are supplicated with earnestness. They warn us that God will not hold them guiltless who take his name in vain; that the profane swearer, the Sabbath breaker, those who neglect the worship of God, or who perform it insincerely, shall be the objects of punishment, and even those who, though they pay some attention to religious duties, yet withhold from God the chief affections of their hearts, and the obedience of their lives. cannot be accounted true worshippers or subjects of God's kingdom. Now, if these scriptural views of the character and government of God are impressed early upon young minds, how powerful must be their influence? Must they not be effectual preservatives from cursing and swearing, from the profanation of the Sabbath, and the disregard of religious institutions? Must they not cherish in their breasts reverence of God, gratitude for his benefits, delight in the duties of devotion, and an ardour to comply with every part of God's will? Shall not those young persons, who take heed to God's Word, be afraid of offending, and be eager to please Him whom they consider not only as their righteous Lord, but as their greatest benefactor, to whom they are indebted for all their enjoyments and hopes? Those who give way to profanity and vice are usually such as have not enjoyed the advantages of a religious education, or have disregarded the means of their spiritual improvement. Again, sobriety is another virtue which those young persons will steadily practise, who carefully | eth not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh study God's Word. There they find intemperance no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in strictly prohibited, under the most awful sanctions, the truth. Beareth all things, believeth all things, as a gross abuse of the gifts of Providence,-as hopeth all things, endureth all things." detrimental to health, to industry, and worldly pros- Again, how explicit and peremptory are the perity, as depriving men of the due use of their precepts in the Bible that respect the private reintellectual powers, as the source of strife and lations of life, and how admirably calculated to confusion, as highly offensive to a holy God, and promote the happiness of those with whom we are as the object of his awful denunciations of punish- connected! Not only are these duties enjoined in ment. There they learn that the impenitent | the fifth commandment, but the various duties of drunkard shall be excluded for ever from the king- these relations are delineated and arranged, by dom of God, and consigned to the abodes of misery. the strongest motives, in many passages of ScripConscience confirms these declarations of Scripture, ture. Husbands are enjoined to love their wives and urges them to habitual watchfulness against even as their own bodies, and as Christ loved the temptations to intemperance. I speak of those who Church-to give honour unto the wife as the weaker really peruse God's Word, for upon others all vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of the divine precepts and threatenings make no more life. Wives are commanded to submit themselves impression than if they were not true, or had never to their own husbands as unto the Lord, and even been enunciated. A pious youth will be filled those connected with unbelieving husbands were with abhorrence of every departure from sobriety; not exempted from obedience in all things lawful, he will shun the company of the drunkard, and that if any did not obey the Word they might every enticement to excess, not only as disquali- also, without the Word, be won by the conversafying him for usefulness, but as highly injurious tion of their wives, whilst they beheld their chaste to the honour of the Christian profession, and conversation coupled with fear, and saw them as grieving the Holy Spirit of God, by whom be- adorned with the ornament of a meek and quiet lievers are sealed unto the day of redemption. spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. il. A serious and practical attention to the Word Parents are enjoined to train up their children in of God is the most effectual mean of rendering the nurture and admonition of the Lord; to comyoung persons useful members of society. In mand their children and household after them to it there are the strictest prohibitions of all those keep the way of the Lord, and to do judgment vices that are subversive of the safety and hap- and justice. They are to conciliate their affecpiness of our fellow-creatures. Lying, fraud, tions by kindness, while they maintain due authoand dishonesty of every kind, are forbidden under rity and discipline. They are to walk within their the severest sanctions. Every man is enjoined to houses with perfect hearts, and recommend religion speak truth to his neighbour, and lying lips are and its duties, not only by assiduous instruction, declared to be an abomination to the Lord. Justice but by a pious and exemplary deportment. They and inviolable integrity, in all transactions, are are not only to provide for their bodies, but exert required, as fundamental virtues in the character their best endeavours for promoting their eternal of a good man or heir of heaven. No apology is interests. Children are strictly enjoined to obey admitted for deviating from them in the intercourse their parents in the Lord, for this is right." Honof life. The man who shall abide in God's taber- our thy father and mother, which is the first comnacle, and stand in his holy hill, is "he who walketh mandinent with promise, that it may be well with uprightly and worketh righteousness, and speaketh thee, and that thou mayest live long in the earth." the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with "A wise son heareth his father's instructions; but a his tongue, nor doth evil to his neighbour, nor scorner heareth not rebuke." "The eye that mocktaketh up a reproach against his neighbour; he eth at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, that sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not. the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor young eagles shall eat it." No less excellent are taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth the precepts in the Word of God as to masters and these things shall never be moved." Not only servants. Masters are exhorted to do that which are fraud and oppression prohibited, but evil- is just and equal to their servants, forbearing speaking, and strife and revenge, and even all those threatening or undue severity, knowing that they evil dispositions which lead to the transgression of also have a Master in heaven, and that there is no social duty; as hatred, malice, envy, rash judging respect of persons with Him. Servants are enof others, and covetousness. We are exnorted to joined to be "obedient to them that are their masput on bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness ters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, of mind, forbearing and forgiving one another in in singleness of heart as unto Christ; not with love, and perfecting the unity of the spirit in the eye-service as men pleasers, but as the servants of bonds of peace. That charity or spirit of love, by Christ, doing the will of God from the heart." which Christians are to be animated, is represent- Christian servants are to be subject with all fear, ed as the end of the commandment, and bond of not only to good and gentle masters, but also to perfectness." It suffereth long, and is kind; it the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man, envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not for conscience towards God, endure grief, suffering puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seek-wrongfully. The young are exhorted to flee |