Joshua, with all the children of Israel, passed over Jordan to possess the land; and eighteen hundred since the coming of our blessed Redeemer, according to the word of prophecy, "And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel."

It is almost impossible for one seriously disposed, to regard an authenticated model setting forth the different places in the Holy Land, without feeling a desire for an increased knowledge of Scripture history. To read over more carefully the pages of Holy Writ has been, no doubt, the secret determination of many who have visited the exhibition. Cana of Galilee, and Mount Carmel, and Joppa, and Kadesh-Barnea, and Tyre, and Sidon, all recall something to remembrance strikingly interesting.

But there is another point of view in which the model of Palestine may be of some service. Exhibiting, as it does, that portion of the earth which was the earthly inheritance of the people of God, the glory of which is, at this day, corrupted, defiled, and faded, it may awaken in the mind a deeper concern for "an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven." Though the land of Palestine, the earthly land of promise, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out

of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive-oil and honey, is, for the sins of its inhabitants, become a land of desolation; yet is there a heavenly promised land, whose beauty will never perish. Sin shall not there separate the people of God, the followers of the Redeemer, from their everlasting inheritance, nor cut them off from an abundant entrance into eternal life. It becomes us, then, to look more anxiously and more ardently than ever after our promised heavenly inheritance. On what foundation does our hope stand? Are we building on the shifting sands of human merit, or on the eternal Rock of ages? Are we looking to ourselves, or to the Lamb that was slain, for an abundant entrance into everlasting life? Again and again, should these questions be put to our hearts; and again and again, should these words tingle in our ears, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God," Rom. iii. 23. We cannot be too much in earnest about this matter, nor too urgently fly to the Redeemer! "for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved," Acts iv. 12.

THE PANORAMAS

OF

MONT BLANC, LIMA, AND LAGO

MAGGIORE.

As we are possessed of various dispositions, capacities, and degrees of information, we are variously affected by the works of nature and art; and it ought to be a cause of unfeigned thankfulness that so many sources of gratification and delight surround us. The unlettered spectator is not without his share of pleasure derived from natural objects; the naturalist, more highly gifted, sees a beauty in what others consider to be the deformed works of creation; and the Christian naturalist, rising still higher in his enjoyments, sees, throughout the whole creation, innumerable marks of Divine wisdom, power, and goodness.

The remarkable sights of the metropolis are often called "the lions of London ;" now, there are the lions of the different countries of the world, as well as of London, and one of these lions is Mont Blanc.

In Europe we have Stonehenge, and the lakes of Westmoreland; the Giants' Causeway, and the falls of the Clyde; the grotto of Antiparos, the Black Forest, and the Lago Maggiore; the boiling Geysers, burning Vesuvius, Herculaneum, the Maelstrom, and the icebergs of the north. In Asia, Persepolis, and the ruins of mighty Babylon; Jerusalem, the caves of Elephanta, and the wall of China. In Africa, Thebes, the Great Desert, and the Pyramids; and in America, Lake Superior, Cotopaxi, and the Falls of Niagara. These are some of the "lions" of the earth, and few persons have seen them all.

The highest mountain in Asia, and in the world, is Chamoulari; Geesh lifts its head above all others in Africa; Sorata is the loftiest summit in America; and the highest in Europe is Mont Blanc, in Switzerland.

I have indulged in these reflections while sitting on the circular bench, that my eye may get a little familiar with the wide-spread panoramic painting of Mont Blanc around me; but my vision, even now, is a little confused: the mountainous masses are too near me; I must continue my abstractions.

Some of the favourite enterprises of mankind are clothed with additional interest by the dangers which surround them. There are three of these enterprises that appear to be just within the verge of practicability: they have long called forth the

fearless intrepidity and enterprising perseverance of resolute and inquisitive men. The first is the enterprise of penetrating into the heart of Africa; the second, that of finding a north-west passage from the Frozen Ocean to the great Pacific; and the third is, the ascent to the summit of Mont Blanc. The two former enterprises have not yet been attained; but the latter has, in several instances, been successfully accomplished.

Paccard, Saussure, Beaufoy, Woodley, Forueret, and Doorthasen, have gazed around from the summit. Rodaty, Meteyeski, Renseyler, Howard, Undrel, and Clissold, have achieved the same adventure and Jackson, Clarke, Sherwell, Fellows, Hawes, Auldjo, Barry, Tilly, and Waddington, encouraged by the successes of those who had preceded them, mounted also to the giddy height, more than fifteen thousand feet above the level of the sea. To this list the names of several other successful adventurers might now be added. Nor has man alone triumphed in this ambitious enterprise; for the foot of woman has left its impress on the proudest summit of the monarch mountain.

It is a bold

But let us look at the panorama. attempt on the part of man to mimic nature in her sublimest forms. Not long ago, within this building, we could almost fancy we heard the thundering din of Niagara, spell-bound by the attractive representation of the great falls. At