last thing in her thoughts;-when her spirit would have fainted as it were for the courts of the Lord,-when her foot would have been foremost in the house of prayer,-when her voice, so rich and clear and sweet, would have gone up joyously in the song of thanksgiving; but some years had passed away,she was young, lively, admired; she had mingled with the gay and pleasure-seeking world, and her wit had been extolled, her seriousness laughed at and ridiculed, till she had become ashamed of her religion; and fainter and still fainter had become, by degrees, those feelings which had once been so absorbing,-had once made the happiness of her existence: she had forsaken the fountain of living waters, and hewn out to herself "broken cisterns, which could hold no water." She had "loved the praise of men more than the praise of God;" and now was she happy? Yes, when she could forget-when she could effectually silence the still small voice within her. And this after a long period of backsliding may be done: God's spirit will not always strive

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with men ; and the once awakened conscience may again be lulled into fitful, if not fatal repose. Yet there were moments when it roused itself and spoke; and this was one of these this bright Sabbath morning, about to be so unworthily employed: but the shore receded from her view, the sound of the distant warning bell died on her ear, and she roused herself from the momentary depression, and turned with a bright eye to meet the happy smile of one who was at that time the dearest object of her affections. He was about her own age, handsome, wealthy, fashionable, warm-hearted; he was an only child, and had sought her hand with the full approval of his parents, who already loved her as their own; in a few months or weeks they were to be united; and what was wanting to her happiness? Nothing that this world could give; and yet, sometimes there was, as we have said, the warning voice, the worm at the bud: it was not happiness. (To be continued.)

CAUTION TO FEMALES.

THAT Women are exposed to insult and to injury, and that wrongs are inflicted upon them for which they can obtain little or no redress or recompence, are facts which are almost daily forced upon our observation. Pity, that in a country where civilization has prevailed, and where the Christian religion has been professed for centuries, it should be possible to prefer this charge against one individual! Pity that man should be found who can assail females with incivility-with rudeness-with brutality; and still more pity that, with the affectation of gallantry, of sympathy, of love, they should lay snares to entangle the innocent and unsuspecting, and inflict upon them the foulest wrong! Yet, we repeat it, the proofs are constantly before

us.

And were it not that there are persons of a better mind, men and women who care for the concerns of others, and who feel it their duty to place the unwary on their guard against the dangers to which they are exposed, these instances would be multiplied to a far greater extent.

Our readers will probably have noticed paragraphs in the public papers, headed "Cautions to Females." In the Times newspaper, a few weeks ago, appeared the following: "Some time ago we published a caution against certain advertisers, who offered great inducements to young ladies desirous of some employment. We now repeat our caution; and if such advertisements seem to demand any inquiry, we ad

VOL. I.

vise ladies not to inquire personally or alone." On another occasion we read, in the same journal, a letter signed "A Daily Governess," in which she assures the editor, that "seven out of ten of his advertisements for governesses and other female occupations, are false; first, to decoy the unwary, and secondly, to wound the feelings of those more knowing by experience, and more advanced in life." More recently was published a caution to females travelling by railway carriages, founded upon a case of insult which had just before occurred. A friend of ours who resided for some time nearly opposite to an office for registering and hiring servants, was often struck with the appearance of gentlemen, so called, hovering near the entrance, and endeavouring to get into conversation with the young females who resorted thither in the hope of obtaining situations. On more than one occasion he felt determined to ascertain the nature of these inquiries made by these seeming friends, and gained sufficient information from the girls to convince him that these "gentlemen" were arrant hypocrites, and that their intentions and designs were base and cruel.

Many striking illustrations of the danger to which unprotected females are exposed have been laid before the public: we have before us another of a similar description, from which it will be seen that females are in danger from the artful and designing of their own sex, as well as from licentious and depraved males. . . . "A few years ago,"

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says our correspondent, "I received a letter from my father, requesting me to meet my sister, who was coming from Oxford on the following day, on her way to Tottenham, where she was about to finish her education. The coach by which she intended to come being full, she came by one that arrived in London an hour earlier. Not finding her as I expected, and being ignorant of what had become of her, I immediately proceeded to Tottenham to inquire after her, when, to my great joy, I found her safe under the protection of her schoolmistress . It appeared that on her way to London in the coach, her only fellow-traveller was a female, who was remarkably attentive to my sister, and very chatty, and pressed her to partake of some brandy and water which she had with her in a bottle. She told her that she had some daughters about her age; and, as she had come by a different coach than was intended, it was pretty certain her brother would not be there to meet her, and she would be disgusted at the language she would hear while waiting for her brother; and that, very likely, some impudent fellow or other would

insult her; and so on. She then pressed my sister very strongly to go to her house, near Covent Garden, for the night, and then in the morning she could go to Tottenham by the stage! Fortunately my sister determined on taking a cab on her arrival at the coachoffice, and proceeded immediately to her destination. Her schoolmistress, on being told what had passed, felt convinced that the woman, though dressed in costly apparel, was not a respectable character; and resolved to go the following day to the street in which the woman had told my sister she lived, giving her the number of the house. On inquiry she ascertained that the house was inhabited by degraded females; and, from the description she obtained of the person keeping the house, she was convinced that it was no other than the wretch who had endeavoured to decoy my sister to that horrid abode! Is not this a proof that young females are exposed to danger; and that even when they consider themselves safe, they may be on the brink of destruction?"-Female's Friend.

(To the Editor of the Christian Miscellany.) THE following Address was occasioned by the baneful influence which the several Lodges had upon the religious character of many members of our societies. Some Leaders and Local Preachers, and not a few private members, in the Dudley, Wolverhampton, Wednesbury, and Birmingham Circuits, belonged to one or other of these lodges, and regularly attended their meetings, which were always held in publichouses, and not unfrequently continued till past midnight; at which meetings there were often profane songs and much noisy revelry.

The late Rev. James Wood, then in Birmingham; the late Rev. George Morley, then in Wednesbury; the late Rev. John S. Pipe, and the Rev. John Rigg, then in Dudley; with myself, deeply deplored the ravages which were made by this moral pestilence, and resolved in our different Circuits to "lay the axe unto the root," by insisting on those who had joined any of these lodges either to renounce their connexion with them or with us. This by some was thought a severe measure; but we believed it to be a necessary one. Desperate diseases require desperate remedies.

Some weeks before the quarterly visitation of the classes, it was announced that an address to the lodges would be delivered on a certain Sabbath afternoon at Tipton, a place

where there were several lodges, and which was surrounded by their members.

The number assembled to hear the address was large, and the interest excited was great. Its publication was urgently requested, and cheerfully complied with. The evil was at that time put away not only in Tipton, but throughout the Dudley, and, I believe, also the Birmingham and Wednesbury Circuits.

The evil, however, I am sorry to learn, exists in a few places in our Connexion, and in other sections of the Christian church, to the dishonour of religion and the grief of the pious.

Being as deeply as ever impressed with the religiously deteriorating character of these secret associations; and also being solicited to republish the address, I forward it to you for insertion in the CHRISTIAN MISCELLANY, AND FAMILY VISITER, if it meet your approbation.

JACOB STANLEY.

ADDRESS.

I HAVE long felt an inclination to address the members of those clubs, or associations, called Druids, &c., which, in imitation of Masonry, have assumed the name of Lodges. As many of you belong to one or the other of these, I cannot, perhaps, have a more favourable opportunity than the present for this address. Let me entreat you to hear

without prejudice; for what I shall say is not intended to give any offence, though, perhaps, it may occasion a little pain. Believe me, my heart's desire and prayer to God is, that ye may all be saved. I shall beg leave to make a few, and but a few, observations on the introductory rites-the oath the meetings-and the general tendency of such lodges.

First. The introductory rites.—What are they? They are such as cannot fail to excite astonishment, pity, or disgust, in every intelligent and pious mind. The per. son about to be made a member of one of these lodges, is first blindfolded in a neighbouring apartment, and led into the lodge; then he has a chain put round his neck; after which he is conducted to the ArchDruid, whose office it is to administer the oath.* In the mean time, something is burning which throws a ghastly hue over every person and thing in the place; which the newly-created member, when the bandage is removed from his eyes, (which is done as soon as the oath is administered,) views with astonishment and horror. There are other things which are equally ridiculous.

Jesus

All this is utterly unchristian. Christ came not to blindfold those who could see, but to give sight to the blind, and light to them who sit in darkness. He came not to chain mankind, but to proclaim liberty to the captive; not to make his creatures resemble fiends and spectres, but to transform them into his own image.

All this is a rude imitation of ancient heathenism. The Spirit of God is uniform in his operations; so also is the spirit of heathenism. Heathenism had its mysteries; persons were initiated into these in the dark:

the rites of initiation, the Apostle says, it was a shame even to speak of; and the initiated person, it is well known, was bound to secrecy. What a resemblance! By these means the prince of darkness formerly carried on his infernal purposes; and by these he is endeavouring to give a firm establishment to his kingdom in this and other places.

Secondly. Consider the oath.-It is an oath of secrecy, and is altogether illegal, irreligious, and absurd.

1. It is illegal. According to the laws of our country, no person has a right to administer an oath but a magistrate, or some officer appointed by Government. But your Arch-Druids and Most Noble Grands, or by whatever name you call them, are not appointed by Government: every time, therefore, that they administer an oath, they

* In some of the lodges the office of administration is performed by the "RIGHT-HAND SUPPORTER," who holds a nuked sword; in others, by the "MOST WORTHY SECRETARY," who wears a horribly ugly mask, with a prodigiously large pair of spectacles. The person receives the oath, kneeling upon his right knee.

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break the law of their country, and subject themselves to a legal prosecution. Now every Christian is bound to obey the laws of his country; to be subject, as the Apostle expresses it, to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, except where those ordinances or laws interfere with our duty to God. But the prohibition of unqualified persons to administer oaths does not at all interfere with our duty to God: therefore, for such persons to administer oaths, is to act in direct opposition to the Apostle's doctrine, and is consequently sinful in the sight of God.

2. It is irreligious. An oath is a solemn appeal to God for the truth of what we affirm, and should only be made on important occasions. On every ordinary occasion, the doctrine of our Lord and his Apostles is, "Let your yea be yea, and your nay be nay. On every such occasion, he absolutely forbids all swearing: "Swear not at all." Solemn appeals to God, on trivial occasions, indicate want of reverence, and evidently tend to remove that awful sense of the majesty of the Divine Being, which ought continually to influence the human mind. Did the occasion justify it, you might, were it legal, "swear by the Lord." But in some of your lodges, you do not swear by the Lord, but by honour, truth, justice, virtue, &c. This is downright idolatry; heathenism unmasked! For what are honour, truth, &c., but the gods of the heathen? I hesitate not to say that such swearing is as complete an apostasy from God, as when Israel forsook the Lord, and bowed the knee to Baal, to Moloch, or to Ashtoreth.

3. It is absurd. You swear that you will keep that secret which shall be committed to you. This, indeed, is ta xing a leap in the dark. This is worse than submitting to be bound with a chain. What is it that you are to keep secret? Before you take the oath you know nothing of the secret. It may,

for any thing you can then know, be something that ought not to be kept secret, but made known ;-to what a dilemma must you be reduced! Should you keep the secret, you would act contrary to the convictions of your understanding; and should you reveal it, you would perjure yourself!!! I do not assert that the secret possesses this character; but I do assert that, for anything you knew to the contrary when you took the oath, it actually did possess it.

But why

I said it is an oath of secrecy. secrecy? The thing must be either good or bad, beneficial or hurtful. If the latter, certainly persons professing Christianity should have nothing to do with it: they should have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." But if the former, instead of secrecy, there should be publicity. Error and vice may court the shade, but truth and righteous

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ness shine forth, and challenge investigation. Christ is the light of the world, and Christians are lights in a dark place, and are commanded to let their light shine before men. The Apostles never affected secrecy : "We have," they said, "renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, but by MANIFESTATION OF THE TRUTH, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of GOD." But your truth, be it good or bad, is not like theirs; for it is not manifested, but hidden.

Thirdly. Consider the meetings.-Like all other associations, you hold regular meetings for the transaction of the affairs of your society. In some things, however, you differ from others, particularly in the articles of dress and singing.

A finer subject for satire I have seldom met with, than the antique and dignified appearance which some of you affect. Who could have thought that Christian men would have been so much in love with ancient Druids, men who sacrificed human victims, as not only to assume their name, but also to imitate their appearance, by adding to their Christian faces the beard of a goat, or of some other animal? And who could have imagined that any of my plain, poor brethren, would have been so fascinated with the charms of greatness, as to throw away their hard-earned money upon medals, scarfs, and robes, somewhat resembling the vestments of heathen Priests? But the subject is too serious for satire.

In other societies there may be song-singing, but in yours there must. According to one of your rules, the song called "God save the King," must finish your lodgehours.* To the loyalty of this song there can be no objection; but is there none to its piety? Can you join with drunkards and debauchees in a public-house, in singing this to the glory of God? Is this abstaining from the appearance of evil? Or is it not rather giving your sanction to a custom, which is pregnant with incalculable mischief?

Finally. Consider their general tendency. It would require no great depth of penetration, antecedently to the knowledge of the actual effects produced by such associations, to calculate with a shrewdness approaching to certainty. I would not say it is impossible for good men to mix with a host of ungodly persons-at a public-house-to hear them sing songs-and appear to be united in

* In addition to "God save the King," they frequently sing "Rule Britannia." They have also their songs of initiation, which are sung on the creation of every new member.

affection to them, regularly addressing each by the appellation of brother, without losing some degree of spiritual good; but I do say, it is a difficulty nearly approaching to an absolute impossibility. "Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burnt?" You pray that you may not be led into temptation; but every time you mix with these, you act in direct opposition to the spirit of this prayer. Were you indeed called, in the order of Providence, to attend such meetings, you might then with confidence expect that the "God of all grace" would keep you from evil." But to rush into danger, and expect to be preserved, is mad presumption. But we are no longer left to conjecture about the effects of such associations: these effects are already visible. The tree has brought forth fruit, by which fruit we know the tree to be bad. Formerly you were diligent in your attendance on the means of grace: now many of you are negligent. Formerly you loved your Preachers, profited by their ministry, and delighted in their company; but now, though you hear us, you cannot receive our doctrine, because, forsooth, everything we say is personal. If we preach on separation from the world and sin, woe be to us! Even some of our texts are objected to, as being opposed to the lodges. Prophesy smooth things: tell us that we may continue in the lodges, join with drunkards and whoremongers, and neglect many of the ordinances of God, and yet be good Christians: this, at present, seems to be your language. But we will not tell you any such things. Whether you will receive it or not, we will preach the whole counsel of God, and be pure from the blood of all men. "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise; but a companion of fools shall be destroyed." Formerly you considered it your highest honour to be members of a religious society. You said, "This people shall be my people, and their God shall be my God;" and, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning; if I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I do not prefer Jerusalem above my chief joy." But now you prefer the company of song-singers. Now some of you say, " If we cannot be members of both societies, we will continue in the lodges." Unhappy men! you are preparing work for repentance. In a little time God will dis-lodge us all ; and how think you, will you then approve of your present choice? What! prefer darkness to light; Belial to Christ? You cannot serve both. "Choose ye, this day, whom ye will serve."

THE ASS

Is well known for domestic purposes, and is frequently mentioned in Scripture. People of the first quality in Palestine rode on asses. Deborah, in her song, describes the greatest men in Israel as those who "rode on white asses." (Judges v. 10.) Jair of Gilead had thirty sons, who rode on as many asses, and commanded in thirty cities. (Judges x. 4.) Aboon, a Judge of Israel, had forty sons, and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy asses. (Judges xii. 14.) We read, (Matt. xxi. 4,) that in order to accomplish a prophecy of Zechariah, our Saviour rode on an ass into Jerusalem, in a triumphant manner: this has been made a subject of ridicule by some; but we ought to consider, not only that the greatest men in Israel rode on asses anciently, as we have seen above, but also, that God had thought fit absolutely to prohibit the use of horses, and of chariots for war; (Deut. xvii. 16; Josh. xi. 6;) that David rode on a mule, and ordered Solomon to use it at his coronation; (1 Kings i. 33, 34;) that afterwards, when Solomon and succeeding Princes multiplied horses, they were rebuked for it; (Isa. ii. 6, 7; xxxi. 1; Hos. xiv. 3;) and that the removal of horses is promised in the days of the Messiah. (Hos. i. 7; Mic. v. 10, 11; Zech. ix. 10.) So that, on the whole, we

find that this action of our Lord is to be viewed in the light of a recurrence to ancient principles; not merely as an accomplishment of prophecy, but also as a revival of an ancient and venerable Hebrew custom.

Chamor is taken to be the name of the common working ass of Asia; an animal of small stature, frequently represented on Egyptian monuments, with panniers on the back, and usually of a reddish colour. It appears to be a domesticated race of the wild ass of Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Southern Persia, where it is denominated Gour: in Scripture it is distinguished by the name of Orud, (Job xxxix. 5,) and in the Chaldee of Daniel, Oredia; (Dan. v. 21;) both terms being most likely derived from the braying of the animal. In its natural state it never seeks woody, but upland pasture, mountainous and rocky retreats, and it is habituated to stand on the brink of precipices, where, with protruded ears, it surveys the scene below, blowing and at length braying in extreme excitement. This habit is beautifully depicted by Jeremiah when speaking of the Para (xvii. 6) and Orud, (xlviii. 6,) where, instead of Orud, heath, we should read Orud, wild ass; for there is no heath, erica, in Asia.

By the law of Moses the ass was declared unclean, and therefore was not used as food, excepting, as it would appear, in seasons of