ness had always secretly disseminated against the abberrators of genius, was avowed as the dictate of sense and truth.

Johnson is a proof, among a thousand glaring proofs, how little the wisest men "know themselves;" and how often they pride themselves on points in which they are strikingly deficient. His great boast seems to have been his attention to

"That which before us lies in daily life."

Yet did ever any man more offend the proprieties of daily life than Johnson? His unhappy and neglected person, his uncouth dress, his rude manners, and his irregular habits, required the full eminence of his fame, and force of his talents, to counterbalence his offensiveness. Yet probably he

would have exclaimed

"Non tali auxilio, non detensoribus istis!" He seems to have thought that he himself required no such set-offs. And, if we judge him by the rules by which he judged others, such set-offs ought not to have availed.

But I trust that I shall never judge by rules so harsh, and, in my opinion, so unwise. I regret the depravity of Johnson's taste, and I lament that excess of envy and pride, the unconquerable disease of his disposition, which, in spite of all his efforts, too frequently overpowered his reason. But I venerate his vast abilities, the strong and original operrations of his mind, his force of ratiocination, and his luminous and impressive language. i venerate also the mingled goodness of his heart, his melting charity, his exalted principles, his enlarged moral notions, and the many sublime virtues of his mixed and unhappy life. But this is not all: according to the sentiments I have expressed, I necessarily go even farther. To me it appears that some of his most offensive eccentricities were strongly connected with his most prominent excellencies.

To the constant abstraction of his mind, to the perpetual operation of thinking, we must surely attribute much of the neglect of his person, much of his inattention to polished manners and the etiquette of the world, and much of his irregular mode of life. But to this also is certainly attributable the clearness and arrangement of his ideas, the readiness of his thoughts upon every subject that was presented to him, and the perspicuity and happiness of his style.

Let us hear no more reflections, then, on the "morbid" sensibility of the votaries of fancy. He whose feelings are not acute, sometimes even to disease, can never touch the true chords of the lyre. To be in constant terror of exceeding the cold bounds of propriety, to be perpetually on the watch against any transient extravagance of mind, is not to be a poet. It is not true that eccentricity alone does not constitute genius; and he who is known only by his foibles, unaccompanied by its advantages, deserves little mercy. And little can he expect to meet with it, if he recollects that, in the censorious eye of the world, even the happiest attainments of mental excellence, wili make but little

conduct.

That chilling philosophy which demands the reconcilement of qualities nearly incompatible, has always appeared to me far from true wisdom. We may lament, but we should attempt to soothe and treat leniently, the little ebullitions of that fire, which at other times is exerted to enlighten and charm us. We should pity rather than despise the pangs that springs from that thorn, which is too often at the breast of those who delight us by their songs.

In thus venturing opinions so uncongenial with those of the great as well as little vulgar, I am aware of the extent to which I expose myself. The selfish worldling, the interested parent, the struggler in the paths of ordinary ambition, the stupid, the cold hearted, the sensual, all will exclaim, " If such be the effects of poetry, heaven defend me and all my connections from being poets!" Poor things! they need not fear; poets, they may rest assured, are not made out of such materials!

STANZAS.

Oh! steal not thou my faith away,
Nor tempt to doubt the trusting mind-
Let all that earth can yield decay,
But leave this heavenly gift behind;
Our life is but a meteor gleam,
Lit up amid surrounding gloom-
A dying lamp, a fitful beam,
Quenched in the cold and silent tomb.

Yet if, as holy men have said,
There lies beyond that dreary bourne,
Some region where the faithtul dead
Eternally forget to mourn;
Welcome the scoff, the sword, the chain,
The burning wild, the black abyss-
I shrink not from the path of pain,
Which endeth in a world like this.

But oh! if all that nerves us here,
When grief assails and sorrow stings,
Exists but in a shadowy sphere
Of fancy's weak imaginings;
If hopes, tho' cherished long and deep,
Be cold and baseless mockeries,
Then we'come the eternal sleep,
Which knoweth not of dreams like these.

Yet hush! thou troubled one! be still;
Renounce thy vain philosophy:
Like morning on the misty hill,
The light of truth will break on thee.
Go-search the prophets deathless page-
Go-question thou the radiant sky,
And learn from them, mistaken sage!
The glorious word-Thou shall not die!'

B.

ΑΝΟΝ.

JUDGMENT.

"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God: and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." Rev. xx. 12, 13.

Various portions of Scripture assure us of a day of account; of a day in which God will "judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."

Acts xvii. 31.

Let me not meditate on the day of judgment to propose questions which no ingenuity can solve, but to strengthen my faith, and to urge me to live more and more in the agreement with the gospel. The day of judgment is the day of universal assembly; of examination; of discovery; of final decision; of everlasting separation. To what serious and awful considerations am I led by each of the expressions which I have here used!

Alas! comparatively few seem properly to meditate on this eventful day. How does the rich man use his wealth; the great man his influence; and the scholar his learning? How do men in general use their time and talents in their several stations? Do not most men live as if there were no day of account; as if they might live with impunity according to their own will?

But do not serious Christians remember the day of judgment as they ought? They know that the Lord Jesus will come on the throne of His glory, that all men will be assembled before Him, and that he will give to every man according to what he has done in the body. With this knowledge and admission, do they duly remember that emphatical question ? "What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God?" We speak of the day of judgment; and yet we live too much as if we would never be judged.

Let me bring the subject home to my own soul. "Every man shall give account of himself to God." I shall see that solemn day; I shall behold the Judge; I shall give an account of myself to Him ; I shall stand on his right hand, or on his left; I shall hear the summons to glory, or the sentence to banishment and woe.

Surely I ought to think often of these things, and to allow them to sink into my heart, and to influence my conduct and conversation in the world. Can I possibly employ my time and talents vainly and foolishly, when I remember the day of account? My inquiry, in the anticipation of that day, always ought to be, What does the gospel require me to be

and to do? Am I acting in such a manner as to

be approved at last?

cause of repentance. Tell me not of my virtues, or of my good actions. My sins, imperfections, omissions, and unprofitableness, are ever before me. Where is my refuge? Where is my hope? If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared."

I look on the present, and then forward to the future. Thou knowest, O Lord, my weakness and corruption. In vain, while thinking on the solemnities of the last day, do I make resolves, uniess Thou art pleased to give me power to act in agreement with them. It is only through thy mercy and grace, O Lord, that I can live wisely and faith fully, superior to my spiritual adversaries, and diligent in the improvement of my talents, so that I may finally give account of myself before Thy tribunal, with joy and honor.

Ye careless Christians! think of the future judg ment, and begin to be earnest about your salvation. Here you may shine in splendor, or riot in pleasure, or waste your time in idleness and vanity: but what will your condition be in that day, if your life be spent in mere worldiness, and if the momentous concerns of the soul and eternity be now treated with careless and cold indifference?

Ye faithful followers of Christ! think of the future judgment, and be not "weary in well doing." Improve your talents, as responsible beings. Let your faith be productive of good works. Strive to do good in your day and generation. Be diligent and persevering. Thus your honour will be great before an assembled world. It is not thus written: " Who will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life."

O my Soul! think thou of the future judgment, and remember that no sin will then escape detec tion, and no good thing then will go unrewarded. Let all thou art, and all thou hast, be employed to the glory of God. While thou confidest in redeeming mercy, let the consideration of the last day urge thee to be watchful and diligent in working out thy salvation with fear and trembling.

Holy and merciful God, thy word assures me of a judgment to come; may I duly consider that awful day, and be enabled through thy grace so to believe, and to order my conversation in all things, that I may be found to have been a good and faithful servant. Grant this I bescech Thee, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Redeemer and Advocate,

Amen.

JONES.