A WORD TO THE PARENTS OF OUR
SUNDAY SCHOLARS.

THE wise man says, "There is a time to every purpose under the sun: a time to get, and a time to lose" what you have got (Eccles. iii. 1, 6). This is an important word.

Isaiah, writing on the use and abuse of sabbath-time, says: "Not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure" on God's day (Isai. lviii. 13). This is also a very important

word.

The Sunday-school opens in the morning at nine, and in the afternoon at two. Children, whose hearts are set upon getting a blessing at the school, will come at "the time to get" it, neither idling on the way, nor playing at the gate. Some children show the foolishness of their hearts (Prov. xxii. 15) by trying to get profit by their lessons and pleasure by their play; but they cannot have both on Sunday. Whatever sparks of godliness the teacher may kindle at the school, idleness and play afterwards will put out. Wise children have sometimes read together, prayed together, and sung together before and after Sunday-school; but no good can come to children gathering to the door on Sundays half-an-hour before school, and wasting precious sabbath-time in play and folly. It is not the wise and careful scholar, who makes a conscience of learning a lesson to his best, that will have time to waste before school. With him it is cry and try, pray for grace to improve, and improve grace by honest preparation. Sabbath-breaking has ruined thousands of young people; and sabbaths may be broken at the door of a school as well as anywhere else. Therefore to prevent a fruitful opportunity for so serious an evil, parents are requested to send their children to the school so as to reach the doors a few minutes only before the time*.

Many prayers have been offered up for the conversion of our scholars by the Holy Spirit. The Lord pour out such a blessed answer, as that the walls of the school shall echo again with children's voices singing, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna in the highest!" But let parents both pray and watch over their children in love, that no habit of sabbathbreaking creep in, while the scholars loiter and play before school; rather may the love of God constrain parents to labour together with teachers, that what is learned at school may be confirmed at home by the holy happy consistency the scholars see there; for the teacher can do little more than instruct in *The rev. Jos. Kingsmill examined one hundred young men in Pentonville prison as to the first step in their course of crime. Most of them named sabbath-breaking and disobedience to parents as the beginning of their ruin, One said, "Breaking the sabbath; which is a breach of the rest." Another, "I did not attend to the instructions given to me at the Sunday-school, and I sought worldly pleasure after churchservice." Another, "Running away from Sunday-school." Another, "I wanted the fear and love of God." Hundreds of youth who have suffered death for murder in England and the colonies, have confessed that sabbath-breaking was the first step of a career that led on to ignominy and ruin. The sabbath is the great sign between God and man. Honour his day; and he will honour thee. If pleasures or business call thee on the sabbath, answer, "I am engaged to-day: call again to-morrow."

the principles of the fear of God: the practice of godliness scholars must learn at home; and, the more holy the home sabbath, the more likely will it be, by the grace of God, that the children will keep the sabbath holy when from home.

The teachers are very thankful for all the support the parents have given them; and they ask this one thing more-that the scholars may punctually come to the Sunday-school at the proper time.

"A Sunday well spent

Brings a week of content,

And health for the toils of the morrow;
But a sabbath profaned,
Whatsoe'er may be gained,

Is a certain forerunner of sorrow."

G. E. S.

A PICTURE OF COMPARISONS; OR, HAZEL GROVE.

"I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes."-Hos. vii. 10.

I OFTEN think of pretty Hazel Grove,
The ancient hall, by ivy half-concealed;
Its sparkling fountains, splendid avenues,
And lofty cedars, stretching o'er the lawn;
Fantastic beds, replete with various flowers,
So well-selected, beautiful, and rare.
Behind the house are several grassy knolls,
Where moulder the remains of warriors brave:
Workmen with pick and shovel oft extract
Helmets and spears, or shields of ancient form;
And zealous antiquarians pay them well.
For, erst, the welkin rang with wild war-shouts :
With scrried ranks the heights were crowned. Long raged
The deadly combat, till the shades of night

Descended on the blood-stain'd woods and fields,
And wounded men crawled to that placid lake,
Impatient to allay their burning thirst.

Unhappy Mars! what misery thou hast caused!
How many joyful homes made desolate!
Prone are thy votaries to draw the sword
T'avenge a trifling insult, or obtain
The territory of some weaker foc.

Beneath our Captain's banner do we fight
With half the zeal that worldly men display,
When struggling to procure an earthly crown?
Do we renounce the devil and his works,
Vain pomps and glory of this fleeting world,
Do we account all carnal lusts as foes,
As three kind sponsors promised in our stead?
And evil habits strive to overcome?

Again, two gentlemen of property,
With blandest smiles and condescending mien,
From house to house and shop to shop repair,
Soliciting votes. Both are determined,
If they the county represent, to strive
To maintain this, to disestablish that.
No trouble seems too great, no journey long,
While they are trying to obtain the seat.
If the elector be an invalid,
Foot-sore and weary; then, free of expense,
"A carriage shall convey him to the poll."
Are we as anxious to secure a place

In heavenly mansions, where no change is known,
Where joys will never fade, no hopes decay,
As these two men to enter parliament ?
God's righteousness and kingdom we're to seek

Before all temp'ral blessings: in due time
These will be granted, as they are required.
Let us, then, first take care to make our calling
And election sure. May we ask support
Of him who leads us in the narrow way!

The watchful mariner his chart consults,
When piloting his ship across the main,
Through rolling waves, or surface smooth as glass;
Marks well the needle as it points the way,
Confiding in his guides; heeds not th' advice
Of ignorant officious passengers;

Thus avoids breakers, quicksands, and shipwreck,
And gains the ports desired in proper time.

Let us, when passing through the sea of life,
Now toss'd with storms, now riding peacefully,
Examine, day by day, the heavenly chart,
Unerring word, that consolation gives
To weary souls. May our frail bark sail on,
Impeded by no winds of doctrine false,
Until at length we reach the blissful shore.

Once more, I would allude to Hazel Grove:
The brilliant flowers will fade, the trees decay;
But in the hearts of neighbours long will live
Remembrance of the aged tenant's name,
His generous aid, and kindness to the poor.
Not one arboreous specimen outside
The stately walls in beauty can surpass
The almond-tree that flourishes within.

July, 1868.

The Cabinet.

J. P.

LAWFUL PLEASURE.-How may a Christian take pleasure in the world? By having respect to three things--whether it be lawful, expedient, or becoming. The pleasure must be lawful: there can be no safety in a sinful delight that which is absolutely evil can by no circumstance be made good. Pleasure, therefore, first must have the warrant that it be without sin; then the measure, that it be without excess. If the cup be evil, we may not taste it; though good, yet not carouse it. Reason forbids us both to touch known poison, and to be drunk with wholesome wine. Pleasure is like sauce to our meals: we must not be too saucy. Nor is the lawfulness only observable, but the conveniency. A man may wear good clothes unhandsomely; the stuff may be good; yet, while the fashion of the garment does not become him, it appears ridiculous. Let us be sure that our delight excludes not the presence of God: we may please ourselves so long as we do not displease him. Let us use pleasure in God, from God, to God in God, lawfully; from God, thankfully; to God, that is, to his glory.-Thos, Adams.

:

Poetry.

HYMN FOR HARVEST HOME.

BY THE REV. M. T. PEARMAN, M.A.

(For the Church of England Magazine.)

INTO thy courts, O Lord, we haste,
With tuneful heart and voice,
To thank thee for thy favours past,
To praise thee, and rejoice,

For spring-time gay with blossoms fair,
And for the increase of the year,

Thy bounteous lavish hand abounds
In gladd'ning wine and corn;
And fruitful earth thy praise resounds
From dark'ning eve to morn;
From where the stream its water pours,
To where the wide Atlantic roars.

Our harvest-hymn we therefore raise,
O gracious Lord, to thee,
Since thou, the Author of our days,
From famine sett'st us free,
And hast to us thy promise given,
Thy word as true and firm as heaven,

That, while this world, in which we live,
Man's dwelling-place shall be,
Each season, in due course, shall give

Its pledge that thou art he
Who made the teeming ground to yield
The herb and grass that deck the field.

Miscellaneous.

THE HILL-PEOPLE OF COCHIN.-At a late meeting of the Asiatic Society, capt. Fryer of the Madras Staff Corps read a paper on the hill-people inhabiting the forests of Cochin State. These people go by different names in different localities, such as Kardars, Maliyars, Vaisharvars, Kannikarens, &c., all of which signify "forester"; but they are also called Mulcher, or outcast, which is probably a corruption of the Sanskrit word mlechha, or barbarian. They are of the aboriginal type,, distinct in appearance and manners from the fairer population of the plains, exceedingly small in stature, though not disproportionately so, with little and active figures, and capable of enduring great exposure and fatigue. They are wild and indolent, subsisting only on jungle produce; and their conceptions of a Deity are of the vaguest description. Nevertheless, they exhibit many nice traits of character: they are gentle to their wives and children, faithful to their conjugal vows, and hardly ever marry more than one wife. It frequently occurs that widows of any age marry men younger than themselves. When a damsel is sought in marriage, the circumstance is made known to the head of the clan, who merely delivers the maiden over to the man, and the ceremony closes with feastings and rejoicings. They bury their dead, and do not practise infanticide. Their square huts are constructed of bamboo uprights and cross posts, with a grass roof and walls of bamboo matting, In elucidation of his paper, capt. Fryer exhibited several photographs, specimens of hair, and tables of measurements, and stated, in conclusion, that in the opinion of professor Huxley the Mulchers bear a striking resemblance to the aboriginal Australians.

TO ELECTORS.-Undoubtedly it is of the greatest consequence that the next parliament should be composed of men who will be the faithful guardians of our civil and religious liberties, and who will promote every measure that will improve the social condition of the country. I beg, therefore, to suggest that all Christians make it a matter of frequent prayer to our heavenly Father, that in his good providence he will raise up and bring out such men, and give them favour with the electors.-J. S. Lowe.

London: Published for the Proprietors, by S. D. EWINS and SON, 9, Ave Maria Lane, St. Paul's; ROGERSON and TUXFORD, 265, Strand; and to be procured, by order of all Booksellers in Town and Country.

PRINTED BY ROGERSON AND TUXFORD,
265, STRAND, LONDON,

TYDD ST. MARY CHURCH.

TYDD St. Mary is a rural parish in the division of Holland, in the county of Lincoln, about six miles north by west from the market-town of Wisbech. It is traversed by the great South Holland drain, running from west to east, and emptying itself into the river Nene, which bounds Tydd on the east. Tydd Gote, a hamlet of the parish, is partly in Lincolnshire and partly in Cambridgeshire; and the population at the census of 1861 was 977.

A very eminent ecclesiastic was one time rector of Tydd St. Mary. This was Nicholas Breakspear, who raised himself from a mean estate, and became cardinal, and ultimately pope, from 1154 to 1159, under the title of Adrian IV. He was the only Englishman who ever filled the papal chair.

From the bequest of certain lands by Martha Trafford, in 1740, a school was established in Tydd, for boys. This was re-built in 1861; and other schools, of which notice will be subsequently taken, have been instituted within the last few years.

The church is, of course, dedicated to St. Mary; and thus the parish is distinguished from Tydd St. Giles, a village contiguous to it, but in Cambridgeshire. This church, of which the architecture is of two different periods of Gothic, decorated and perpendicular, comprises a nave, chancel, and north and south aisles, with a square tower, built of brick and divided into three stages: it is finished with an embattled parapet; above which rises a lofty and elegant octagonal spire.

The south wall of the south aisle is pierced by three square-headed windows, one of which is without mullions or tracery: the others are of three lights. The north aisle is lighted by two windows, one similar to those in the opposite aisle; the other having a four-centred arch of three lights, cinquefoiled: the centre light is divided by an embattled transom, likewise No. 1927.

cinquefoiled. The clerestory of the nave is lighted by five windows in each wall, of two lights, cinquefoiled: in the east gable is a sanctus cot, above which is a beautiful cross. The south wall of the chancel has a priest's door, one of the uncommon ichnoscope windows near the west end now blocked up, and three other windows: one of these also is blocked up. The north wall is pierced by three windows. The east window has been large and handsome.

In the interior the nave is separated from the aisles by five pointed arches on circular pillars. In the south wall of the chancel are three sedelia and a double piscina. The old oak roofs remain. At the west end is an octagonal font standing on a massive pedestal, and decorated with shields on each face.

Tydd is a straggling parish; it was consequently difficult to bring home the ministrations of the church to the doors of all the inhabitants. But by the exertions of the rev. Henry Mackenzie (now archdeacon of Nottingham), who was rector from 1855 to 1866, a very notable work has been effected in the parish; the success of which may well encourage other clergymen similarly situated to similar endeavours.

Some particulars of what has been done have been kindly furnished for the present article ; and these, there can be no doubt, will prove very interesting to the readers of the maga zine.

In 1855 there was one parish church in the parish (twelve miles long); and there were six nonconformist congregations. A "mission" was soon commenced in the Fen district-at first in a farmer's kitchen, and subsequently in a barn lent for the purpose-four miles from the parish church. In 1859 a mission-house was built at a place where four cross-roads met, but where there were only half-a-dozen houses in sight. It cost about £650, but might have been built much cheaper. From that time till now