sentation, and a false mediation. What is this but to deny the sufficiency of the merits of Christ; and to dishonour the whole Godhead? The Socinian errs, not, as the papist errs, in a false representation by images; but he errs in a way no less affronting to the Almighty; for he exalts his mercy, at the expense of his holiness and his justice; and thus entirely misrepresents the blessed God. He errs too, no less widely, in the doctrine of mediation; seeing that he is his own mediator; for all who hope for acceptance with God on account of their own works, present themselves before God, as their own saviours. Whether it be on saints or angels; on masses or pilgrimages; on alms or on any other moral works, that men place any portion of their hope of acceptance with God, they put these things in the place of Jesus Christ; and thus, alike, dishonour the Redeemer, the ONLY mediator between God and man. That any persons who deny justification to be of grace, through faith alone, are in fact, although they may call themselves orthodox, utterly ignorant of the gospel-plan of salvation, has, I think, been already sufficiently demonstrated. The Spirit of holiness shows the Christian, that these things are not matters of uninteresting speculation; but that they enter into the very essence of holy worship. Never is the believer so well convinced, that there is indeed a power in the principles which he professes, as when he sees the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ; beholds his own sin done away by that Mediator; approaches his God in this confidence; perceives Him to be all LOVE, in Himself, and towards him; knows himself to be a guilty sinner, yet finds God, as his reconciled Father, adopting him as a child, and accepting, his imperfect performances, as wrought in him by the power of the Holy Ghost. Then does he behold his Mediator in heaven interceding for him full of sympathy and compassion, and pleading for him there, HIS perfect righteousness; supporting, guiding, and solacing him, oppressed by the sense of all the woes, the temptations, the corruptions of humanity; and assuring him, that he shall one day worship God in his temple above, in a more perfect manner, for ever. How glorious does the Godhead appear to him in this view! Here is the source and support of faith, hope, charity, patience, long-suffering, and all the virtues of a Christian. Amid these contemplations, the believer feels his soul enriched with spiritual blessings, and his mind stored, and armed with power to do and suffer the • Vide Dialogue I. "Englishwoman's Magazine" for January, 1850. will of God; and while many around him cling to false gods, and false mediators, he feels emphatically what it is to know and worship the true God, in the image of his Son, and in the faith of the one only Mediator, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." • Isai. vi. 3. (To be continued.) LAYS OF THE MONTIIS. JANUARY. то THE NEW YEAR. "Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid."—Is. xii. 2. NEW Year! I bid thee hail, Some message thou shalt bring Of joy, or grief, to me, Borne on thy dark and rapid wing; Whether of weal, or woe, And so, each passing year A blessed one may prove; Come life or death, I will not fear; BERTHA. EVENING ADULT SCHOOLS OR CLASSES. T has been unavoidable business, and not a light opinion of the importance of Adult Classes, which has kept me so long from redeeming my engagement of writing on them.* I purpose, first to speak of their importance; and, secondly, practically, of the means by which they may be carried out: and of the mode in which (in my opinion) they may be conducted with the greatest prospect of success. I esteem the establishing throughout the country of Adult Evening Classes, to be quite as important as the establishment of schools for the children of our working classes. The power of reading, and the amount of training generally imparted in the latter, bear about the same proportion to education, that the knowledge of the letters of the alphabet bears to the power of reading. It is merely the rudiments of education that are given in our parish-schools, whether in towns or in the country; and it cannot be otherwise; because, in the first place, children almost invariably leave these schools just as their faculties of comprehension are beginning to be unfolded; just as they are beginning to feel their lessons to be a pleasure, and not a drudgery; and because, in the second place, in nine cases out of ten, the scholars have never attended their respective schools really regularly. In agricultural neighbourhoods, besides the continual necessity of looking after babies, and younger children generally; or of keeping the house while the mother is out at work; there are the occasional calls of haying, dibbling, and acre-ing; not to mention harvesting and hopping; which are so all-engrossing, that schools in districts where these two latter are going on, are necessarily broken up during those periods; and, doubtless, manufacturing and mining localities furnish at least as many, if not more, of these occasional interruptions. Necessarily then, from their age and the interruptions in their attendance, our children-boys and girls-leave our schools with a very small proportion of learning, and a still smaller amount of education; but, in most cases, we hope, with a sufficient power of reading to be able to read and understand by themselves, provided, that proper books are obtainable by them; and with a sufficient love of learning to * Vide" Englishwoman's Magazine" for October, 1850.—ED. be willing to undergo some inconveniences, and to make some sacrifices, to acquire more. The real scholar is like the miser: when once he has actually tasted the pleasure of laying up, he is anxious to increase The wealth, whether of vile clay, or of Attic salt, is tenfold more precious when acquired by personal labour, whether of hand or of brain. his store. I would wish, therefore, to impress on all who take an interest in the working classes, that children's day-schools cannot give them education sufficient to be turned by them to real profit: indeed, it is my own belief, that it had been better to have left the matter alone altogether, than to stop short here. "A little learning is a dangerous thing." We must go on, then, to establish Adult Evening Classes and Schools, wherever we have only children's schools. Very often the same building, and the other requisites for the instruction of the children, will answer for the still more important work of Evening Schools. I do not think that the same teachers should be employed in both. It appears to me, that the daily instruction of a school from nine till five o'clock, with only the hour or hour-and-half's intermission at dinnertime, is quite as much as any school-master or mistress is equal to, without detriment to the heart, the intellect, the health, and the temper, unless under very peculiar circumstances. Fresh teachers should, therefore, if possible, be engaged for the evening classes. This word, classes, I use advisedly, in place of the word schools; because I feel, that one great essential towards success is, that the numbers collected together should not be too large, nor the place of meeting very far from the houses of the learners. A man or a boy will thankfully attend a class three or four times a week, if within a mile of his own cottage; but to walk a great distance frequently, when tired with a hard day's work, and after dark too, as it must necessarily be, would be a drudgery which he could not be expected to undergo; and for the same reasons, as for others also, a place of meeting near at hand, is still more necessary for Adult Female Classes. Experience will soon prove, that at least in agricultural districts, these adult classes can only be held during the long evenings of the winter months; from the beginning of September, to the end of March. Different localities must, of course, require different arrangements; and will admit of various modifications of the plans here specified; but to show how much may be done with the smallest means-how much more, could these means be increased ! -I will mention a little of my own practice and experience in these classes. About twelve years ago, I opened an adult afternoon class for women,-married women-who could not read. This I held twice a week, by turns in three of the cottages of those who formed my class. In the course of a year and a half, or two years, eight of the ten women who attended the class were able to read the Bible; not fluently, certainly, but sufficiently well to get at the meaning of it. Six years ago, it was my lot to take up my residence in a small village, in the vicinity of a county town. I was warned over and over again against the character of the inhabitants, especially of the troops of young men and boys who overran the place. I soon found, that I had not been warned unnecessarily. On Sundays especially, in going to and fro a mile or two through some fields to attend a Sunday School, I and some of the scholars were almost mobbed by troops of these youths, who set themselves against the school. I had not been six months at my residence, when I prevailed on three or four of these very lads who had behaved so ill on the Sunday afternoons, to come to me once or twice a week, to learn writing and summing. I need not say, that I never experienced any annoyance from any one of them, after I had succeeded in getting him to my house. The next winter, I opened an evening school four times a week-Sundays included-and have continued it ever since, in my own dining-room. I very soon found, that every youth in the place, from twelve to eighteen years of age, was willing and desirous to come. Some who were older were ashamed to begin; but, till circumstances compelled me a few months ago to leave the place, not one of those who began ever wilfully left off coming; several, of course, left, on going out to service and for similar reasons. The average number on my list was from twenty to twenty-five; the average attendance on week-days, about fifteen; more came on Sundays. I could have had twice as many scholars from the neighbouring town, but I was obliged to refuse admittance to them, on account of want of room. The boys and young men were full of spirits, and full of wit; but I never had any difficulty in curbing both. It is true, that at times some would seem to have an irresistible propensity to laughter; but if this was the case to an immoderate degree, or at improper times, (such as at Bible-reading, or prayers,) the oldest among them would leave the room instantaneously at my bidding. If it be asked, Has any good resulted from the school? I can only give the following fact; which, as far as it goes, speaks for itself. At the Agricultural Meeting for the half of this county, held about a fortnight since, six "good |