The sight of sealing-wax is influential; it reminds me of a store of mottoes, "Dinna forget," and "Gen. xxxi. 49," among them; and it sets before me a crystal seal, picked up in the rude stone on Mont Blanc, engraved with my initials at Rome, and set in gold in London. The sound of a flute, or the sight of a shining, low-crowned, broad-brimmed, sailor-like hat, brings before me a mild and thoughtful countenance, and gentle, expressive eyes that look kindly on me. A clear, rich-toned voice tells of wild scenery in distant lands-rocks and caverns, and midnight adventurous excursions. And then comes a throng of sunny scenes and sunny faces, but the spirits that animated some of them are now beyond the stars. I must soon follow; oh, let me hear the cheering appeal, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life," Rev. ii. 10. The name of Nancy conjures up to my sight a ship that bore that name. There is one on board her that was the friend of my boyhood; we roamed the same path, climbed the same tree, sat at the same table, and slept in the same bed. The storm is abroad, the ship is a thousand miles from land, and not sea-worthy. Her sails are torn, her masts are gone by the board, her bulwarks and her bows are broken. ก The Nancy is among the "missing," and how, and when, and where she sank through the cold, dark waters, is known only to Him that knoweth all things. The purple heath-flower is associated with a moor and a mountain, a cairn and a cromlech, a sweet cottage, by-gone seasons of joy, a bookcase ornamented with trellis-work of brass wire, the portrait of a bard, the sound of a piano; a youthful face, with soft and influential eyes; talent, worth, and kindness. Hark! the dissonance of a rail-road is dispelling the association, and smoky clouds from steam-engines are blackening the air. A loud explosion is fearfully eloquent in my ears, and recalls a dreadful scene. I hurry to the spot. A house is involved in smoke, the roof is blown off; the walls are burst asunder, a dozen wounded sufferers are mingled in the wide-spread ruin, and among them a friend is stretched dead at my feet, with a blackened corpse beside him. Wait! watch! be ready!" for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh," Matt. xxiv. 44. The long-legged, long-necked heron has splendid associations. I am in front of a magnificent palace. Dense masses of soldiery are drawn up in imposing array; guards, cuirassiers, and lancers glitter in the sun. Generals and field-marshals, in the gorgeous trappings of military attire, are passing to and fro on proud and prancing charg ers. Princes, dukes, and ambassadors from crowned heads, are assembled in costly carriages, with sumptuous equipages; tens of thousands of spectators are pressing forwards to gaze on the glowing spectacle, and Britain's queen, right royally arrayed, drawn by eight matchless steeds, is on her way to her coronation. Above the throng a heron is majestically soaring and sailing round and round, a thousand feet in the air. A common brier is associated with shade and shine, with pain and pleasure. It is bound round the sods of a new-made grave which I have visited at midnight in all the unreasonableness and rebellion of grief that refuses to be comforted. The stars are high in heaven, and silence has spread her mantle on the resting-place of the dead. I could almost in my frenzied sorrow, tear the beloved one from the grave. A change has come over me: an arrow from the Holy One has reached my heart, a convulsive sob has escaped me, my eyes are streaming, my unreasonableness and rebellion are gone; and as a chastened child, with an humbled heart, repenting, adoring, and praising, I leave the place. A sere leaf is closely connected with forest scenery. I am walking in the woods, my feet deep in the dry, rustling, ruddy leaves thickly scattered on the ground. The winds are up, and the giant trees are waging battle with their huge and agitated arms. My feelings are excited, my heart is happy, and my spirit grateful. The word "eternity" is clothed with heart thrilling recollections. I am sitting in the house of God with a goodly throng of fellow-worshippers. Prayers have been offered, and sacred psalmody has rung around the echoing roof and walls. The minister of grace to guilty men is standing up high in the pulpit, fixing his eyes on vacancy as though he could see beyond the narrow limits of the earth, and pronouncing with energy and earnestness the words, Millions of ages crowding on millions of ages; millions of ages crowding on millions of ages; and again, millions of ages crowding on millions of ages, are but the beginning of eternity!" Thus might I prate, without intermission, of my own associations, without any of them claiming kindred with yours. No doubt, however, you have associations, and they may be of a calmer character than those I have enumerated. May such be our thoughts, meditations and associations, that they may serve, in some measure, to dispel the gloom of earth, and increase our desires for the glory of heaven! ON OUTSIDE SHOW. THINGS are not what they seem! There is an outward show that, in some cases, dazzles our sight, and in others, deceives our judgment. That which promises much, frequently yields but little, while that which has been undervalued, is often abundantly productive: The bitterest herb that grows upon the mountain, Whatever may be the outward words and deeds, there is so much that is deceptive hidden beneath them, that we know at the very best, but a part of the truth; I sometimes think, that the best and the worst deeds of men are yet unchronicled. The men who have forfeited their lives at the gallows amid the execrations of the crowd, and those who have been effigied in marble, calling forth the grateful admiration of mankind, may have been transcendently surpassed in villany, or |