thee; for "he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness," Neh. ix. 17.

Art thou in a benighted condition? Hast thou no light to see the road before thee? Have neither sun, moon, nor stars appeared for many days? There are "footmarks in the slough." Behold the footmarks of the patriarch Abram, who travelled here; when called by God to go forth out of his country, and he journeyed, "not knowing whither he went!" Notwithstanding the horror of great darkness that fell upon him in this place, "to the land of Canaan he went forth, and to the land of Canaan he came." "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God," Isa. 1. 10.

Art thou in a persecuted and despised condition, suffering shame and reproach for thy Leader and Lord? There are "footmarks in the slough." I should marvel if thou couldest tell me of a saint on earth, or in heaven, who has altogether escaped this place. Nay! Moses even turned out of a smooth path to wade through this quagmire, preferring it to the pleasant paths and broad high roads of the land of Egypt. Here are the crimson footprints of those who suffered even to the death; "not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection." It was

in this spot that John the Baptist was beheaded. Here Paul was stoned, and left for dead. Here Stephen cried out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." The noble army of martyrs perished here; and I cannot promise thee a clear escape from it, any more than thy brethren; but I know that he will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, who has said, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life," Rev. ii. 10.

Art thou in a suffering condition, afflicted in mind, body, and estate; eating thy bread in bitterness, watering thy couch with tears? There are "footmarks in the slough." Observe how

deep Job sank in this place, yet he came out again, and found a better road than he had ever known before. "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory," 2 Cor. iv. 17.

Art thou in a desolate condition? Alone, destitute, forsaken? Is "lover and friend put far from thee, and thine acquaintance into darkness?" There are "footmarks in the slough." Hagar and Elijah laid themselves down in despair in this place; but God appeared for them when they cried to him. "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee," Isa. xlix. 15.

Art thou in a desponding condition, and dost thou envy the ungodly? Art thou ready to faint in the furnace, and cry, It goes well with the wicked? There are "footmarks in the slough." David's foot "had well nigh slipped" here. Good old Jacob was tried hard here, and began to think his grey hairs would go down in sorrow to the grave. "All these things," said he, are against me." But he had good reason to alter his mind after that, and see things in a very different light. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths," Prov. iii. 5, 6.

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Art thou in a dying condition? There are "footmarks in the slough "—footmarks in the dark valley! Thousands, who cried out in this place that they should sink to rise no more, are now casting their crowns before the throne of God, and singing everlasting praises to the Redeemer, who lifted them out of the terrors of death, and gave them victory over the grave.

Take courage, then, Christian reader, and be assured, there shall no temptation befall thee, but such as is common to man. However sad thy condition, somebody has been in it before thee. There are "footmarks in the slough."

OLD HUMPHREY

OUT OF HIS DEPTH.

In my time I have been a bold swimmer, striking out fearlessly in the pond, brook, or river, as the case might be. I have plunged headlong from the high bank, bottomed the deepest part of the water, remained long beneath the surface, and re-appeared far from the point where I took my leap. I have played most of the pranks that good swimmers delight in; and once on a summer's day-not willingly would I part with the grateful remembrance of the achievement-I fished up from the bottom of the troubled waters a drowning fellow-creature, and was thus made a means in the hands of God of saving human life.

You may think, perhaps, and I fear with too much reason, that I am speaking proudly. Oh, the pride and the folly of an old man's heart! Every year, every day, and I had almost said every hour, do I increasingly feel how much the good opinion of my friends is owing to their own kind-heartedness, and to their ignorance of my manifold infirmities:-but to my subject. Once,

before I could swim, I got out of my depth, and had not timely assistance been at hand, the observations I am now making had never been written down. It was in the deep water that I got out of my depth in the case to which I have alluded, but often and often, since then, have I got out of my depth in very different situations.

There is much diffidence necessary in the thought, word, and deed of a man when thinking, speaking, or acting under circumstances that are new to him. He who has never pondered on the subject of the poor laws, should not be severe on the conclusions of those who have. He who has never been at sea should be a little chary of his nautical terms; and the man who is not accustomed to the whip and the reins had better not attempt to drive four in hand in Cheapside.

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Now, though these observations are very reasonable, and of a kind calculated to impress the reader of them in favour of the wisdom of the writer yet, with shame I confess that I am not entitled to unconditional confidence. In other words, it by no means follows that, because I can lay down an excellent rule for another, I always rigidly observe it myself.

Though usually on my guard against the assumption of knowing that of which I am ignorant, and always desirous to keep my standing in