48

able, ropes were thrown, by which, with great difficulty, she was drawn through the surf to the southern end of the Spa. As soon as she touched the ground, a crowd rushed down the incline with ropes, and strong helping hands.

A cheer of triumph was well nigh raised as the crew stood in apparent safety; when, sad to tell, a mighty receding wave bore back with it two of their number, and, alas! also three of the brave men who had just aided in the rescue.

One of the three who thus perished, was Lord Charles Beauclerck; who, on the first alarm of a ship ashore, hastened down to the scene of disaster, and from the treacherous incline was swept into the angry breakers. With heroic courage, brave men dashed to a hopeless charge against the mighty army of waves, which tossed the dying and the dead upon their foaming crests. By one of these, the body of Lord Charles was recovered; but the spirit had returned to God who gave it. Tenderly was it borne into the saloon; and in that place of mirth and music, he who in the morning had come forth like a flower, was cut down, and lay withered in the evening. To a friend he said that afternoon, the storm had disturbed his rest, but "I shall have a sound sleep to-night." A dreamless slumber indeed, not to be broken until the resurrection!

never

Another, who bravely rushed to the rescue, Mr. William Tindall, a young man, only twenty-four years of age, was seen by one or two spectators to throw up imploring hands, and then to disappear. His body was recovered. After long absence in a foreign land, he had returned to his home in the gladness of restored health and strength, to find in his native place a grave, around which none who knew and loved him could gather. The third left a widow and children to mourn his loss.

The only ray of light upon the dark

ness of that terrible scene is the knowledge that the crew of the wrecked vessel were safely brought ashore.

May all who read this page of sorrows remember, that each one living is bound upon a longer or a shorter Voyage to the shores from whence there is no return; and that the promise is given of an abundant entrance into the harbour of eternal safety to those who pursue their way through the waves of this "troublesome world" relying on the guidance and protection of the Galilean King.

"Render'd safe by His protection,

We shall pass the wat'ry waste;
Trusting to His wise direction,
We shall gain the port at last,
And with wonder

Think on toils and dangers past.

"O! what pleasures there await us!

There the tempests cease to roar; There it is that those who hate us Can molest our peace no more. Trouble ceases

On that tranquil, happy shore."

The Zoology of the Bible.

THE EAGLE.

THE Hebrew word translated "eagle' signifies to lacerate or tear in pieces. As the lion has been called the king of quadrupeds, so the eagle has been looked upon as the chief of the feathered tribes. Majestic in appearance, rapid in movement, lofty in flight, he maintains a supremacy over the birds of heaven.

There are many species of eagles in the world; at least eight are indigenous to southern Europe. Requiring large and unobstructed space for their domains, in no one part of the earth do they abound in great numbers, and they prefer those regions where the mountains are. The male eagle, like the male of most birds of prey, is smaller than his mate; and it is two or three years before either the one or the other acquires a perfect plumage.

In books of ornithology of comparatively recent date, the golden eagle has two names given to it, while the sea-eagle

50

Naturalists have remarked that the eagle has a very quick, threatening eye, a little sunk in the head, and protected by a prominency in the forehead which a little resembles an eyebrow. The tongue does not terminate in a point, like that of other birds, but is cartilaginous, and almost square at the end; and at its root there are two hard points, like the iron point of an arrow. Its stomach corresponds with the voracity which is one of its characteristics; for, when thoroughly inflated, it is two inches in diameter. The bones are very hard, and have little marrow in them. Its blood is thick and fibrous; and the bill is sharp and corrosive.

The sharpness of eye which belongs to this bird is a quality it seems greatly to value. To preserve it, as soon as their young begin to have strength, they turn them towards the sun, and make them fix their eyes upon it. And if any of the young cannot bear the sun's rays, it is said that they chase them away from their nests, as if they judged them unworthy of protection and assistance. But they attach themselves to those who stand this test with a remarkable affection, even exposing their own life for their preservation in the time of danger. One reason why they can gaze so steadfastly in the face of the sun, and support his severest rays, is because they have two eyelids; one with which they shut their eyes entirely; the other, which is thinner, they draw over them on looking at a luminous body.

In some States, the cagle is the national emblem; and under its expanded form,

-sometimes gilded, sometimes black, now with one head, and now with two,deeds of rapine have been perpetrated which have deluged the world with blood. Truly "where the carcase is, thither are the eagles gathered together." So was it with the Romans, one of whose chief standards was an eagle, when they came down on the decayed remnant of the Jewish nation, as prophesied by Him whose word is truth; (Matt. xxiv. 29;) and so will all who oppose that word, and "neglect so great salvation," be yet destroyed. (Luke xvii. 37; Rev. xix. 17, 18.)

66

The Bible, from Genesis to the Apocalypse, abounds with illustrations and imagery derived from the structure and habits of this powerful race of birds. That great Monarch, Nebuchadnezzar, is referred to by the Prophet Ezekiel, (chap. xvii. 3,) as a great eagle, with great wings, long-winged, full of feathers, which had divers colours;" while Isaiah, alluding to the same King of Assyria, prophesies that "the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of Thy land, O Immanuel." To "mount up on wings as eagles" is imagery as poetical as it is powerful and true to nature. The mode in which the eagle trains its young has been described in Holy Writ by one who had, doubtless, observed the eagles as he fed the flocks of Jethro among the mountains of Arabia. Job often refers to this bird and its habits. The Assyrians, as their monuments show us, employed its head, claws, and wings, as emblems of strength, ferocity, and swiftness.

RICHARD BAXTER'S EARLY LIFE AND FIRST PASTORATE. (Concluded from page 29.)

THE year 1638 commences a new and deeply - interesting period of Baxter's history. The first Charles was in the midst of his reign, and every day filled up a new chapter in the volume of God's designs. Great men contended for great principles. Conformity and Nonconform

ity stood forth in their respective might. Names, overlooked amidst the sparkling and superficial literature of the present age, were then symbols of intellectual strength and great ideas. There were giants on the earth in those days. In the writings of Downham, Burgess, Hooker, and others of kindred sentiment, Baxter had imbibed the spirit and principles of the powerful Conformist party. Intercourse with Walter Cradock, (a godly

Minister, who, a year before, had been driven from his church on account of his Puritanism,) and with Mr. Simons, (who "preached strange things for toleration and liberty for all men to worship God according to their conscience,") let a flood of light into his mind, in the brightness of which he was led to inquire "if such were the men to condemn whom the voice of Bishops was raised in thundrous energy." In this state of mental transition he was ordained by the Bishop of Worcester, accepted a situation as headmaster of a school at Dudley, and preached his first sermon in the upper church of that town. Thus he entered the ministry in which he acted so important a part during a lengthened and stirring period of English history. Here, prayerfully and intensely, he examined the various questions agitating the public mind. "Fresh Suit against Human Ceremonies greatly modified his views on some of the observances of the Church. From Dudley he removed to Bridgnorth, in Shropshire; where he entered heartily into the struggle for liberty which was then progressing with unprecedented acceleration. About this time a Convocation, held in London, passed certain canons, in which was the following extraordinary clause :-" Nor will I ever give my counsel to alter the government of the Church by Archbishops, Bishops, Deans, Archdeacons, et cetera, as it stands now established, and as it ought to stand;" and which was henceforth designated the "Et Cetera Oath." It may be well for us in these days to remember, that our beloved British Isle was, at that time, the platform of 8 conflict in which to resist the powers swaying the sceptre of authority, was to secure opposition, persecution, probably death. Baxter now stood forth, and fearlessly resisted the irrational enactment. A combination of circumstances led to the march of a Scotch army into England, and hastened those civil commotions which so long afflicted the country. The Long Parliament now excited attention; and their resistance to many prevalent abominations led to the presentation of numerous petitions against what was called "the tyranny and immorality of the Clergy." Kidderminster presented one

The perusal of Ames's

51

against its Minister and his Curate, who were both alleged to be ignorant and profligate. This led to Baxter's acceptance of an invitation to labour there; and in 1640, when twenty-five years of age, he commenced ministering in a town where he wrote many of his best books, and pursued with unwearying energy the duties of the pastoral office, the ultimate results of which will be seen above the disquietudes of time before the throne of God.

It is impossible to appreciate the labours of Baxter during his first two years' residence at Kidderminster, without considering the circumstances of the period. To such a man, every event would be an element in the aggregate of life. Nothing is little in God's sight. To trace event after event in the chain of human affairs is but to trace the workings of an almighty and all-wise Hand :

"A spark is a molecule of matter, yet may it kindle the world:

Vast is the mighty ocean; drops have made it

vast.

Despise not thou a small thing either for evil or for good;

Commit thy trifles unto God, for to Him

nothing is trivial.

It is but the littleness of men that seeth no greatness in trifles.

All things are infinito in parts, and the moral is as the material.

Neither is anything vast but it is compacted

of atoms.

A thing is great or little only, to a mortal thinking,

And happy and wise is the man to whose thought existeth not a trifle."

The Reformation, though not so complete in England as in Scotland, accomplished a great work; and the seed of Divine truth, scattered broadcast over the land, had taken root in many hearts, and produced precious fruit. At the period of Baxter's birth the number of Nonconformists was small, and their increase was occasioned by the treatment they received from those in authority. Longing for spiritual food, they sought it wherever it was to be found, and in their own houses sung praises to the God of heaven. Persecution followed. The cry of the rabble rent the air, "Down with the Roundheads." Daily, many took refuge in the citadels of the Parliament, and thus became soldiers. The general discontent increases; events thicken. Baxter is seen moving, step by

step, to a great stand-point. The calling up of the northern army; the imposition of a guard upon the Commons; the passion of the King on entering Parliament to seize the five Members; the conduct of Lord Digby, and others, all hastened the issue. Now, by force of arms the two parties prepare to settle the controversy. On the side of the King were the nobility, many Members of the House of Commons, Knights, and men of family and influence, representatives of power, wealth, and learning. On the side of the Parliament were the inferior gentlemen of the country; merchants, freeholders, and tradesmen. The passions were excited. The spirit of controversy raged. The kingdom rocked in a terrible crisis. Brother met brother in deadly conflict, and the soil of England was dyed with the blood of its sons, shed in those memorable contentions. Baxter now avowed his sentiments, and took his stand as the friend of the Parliament. "I thought," he wrote, "whoever was faulty, the people's liberties and safety should not be forfeited. I thought that all the subjects were not guilty of all the faults of King or Parliament, when they defended them; yea, that if both their causes had been bad as against each other, yet that the subjects should adhere to that

BEGIN THE DAY WITH GOD.

BEGIN the day with God!

He is thy sun and day;

His is the radiance of thy dawn,
To Him address thy lay.

Sing a new song at morn!

Join the glad woods and hills;

party which most secured the welfare of the nation; and I thought it was a great sin for men that were able to defend their country to be neuters."

Here the lofty heroism of Baxter appears. The qualities of decision, firmness, perseverance, and self-denial he exercised fearlessly, for human good, in times of increasing difficulty and danger. In the face of power and flattery; of want, persecution, and death; he defended the principles which he deemed to be those of truth and freedom,-principles under whose reign alone man can pursue the task assigned him by his Maker. In 1642 the county of Worcester devoted itself to the King; "the commission of array" was set on foot; and, amid the gathering cloud, and the war-cry waxing louder and louder, he withdrew for a period from the sphere of his beloved toil, rather than support the cause in which he had been trained, but which, now, he had well nigh abandoned:

"Give me the dauntless man, Who flinches not from labour or fatigue, But moves right on upon the path of duty. God will stand by the man who boldly stands By God's command; will give him energy And courage now, and afterwards success." Wolverhampton. J. F. M.

Join the fresh winds, and seas, and plains,
Join the bright flowers and rills.
Sing thy first song to God!

Not to thy fellow-man;
Not to the creatures of His hand,
But to the glorious One.
Awake, cold lips, and sing!

Arise, dull knees, and pray;

Lift up, O man, thy heart and eyes;
Brush slothfulness away.

Look up, beyond these clouds !
Thither thy pathway lies;

Mount up, away, and linger not,
Thy goal is yonder skies.

Cast every weight aside!

Do battle with each sin;

Fight with the faithless world without, The faithless heart within.

Take thy first meal with God!

He is thy heavenly food; Feed with and on Him; He with thee Will feast in brotherhood.

Take thy first walk with God!

Let Him go forth with thee; By stream, or sea, or mountain-path, Seek still His company.

Thy first transaction be

With God Himself above; So shall thy business prosper well, And all the day be love.