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On Saturday evening we every moment expected her departure, which, however, did not take place till about five minutes after the Sabbath commenced :—a glorious one for my dear fifter!

The laft words fhe faid were, "Pray, pray for me, oh dear!"-Soon after, without one ftruggle, groan or figh, The fweetly fell asleep in Jefus. Her age was fix years,. fix months and eighteen days. She had fupported a most painful illnefs truly like a chriftian, having never, to my knowledge, uttered one murmuring expreffion. With the image of death marked on her lovely face, the smiled on all around.

Thefe, dearest Sir, are fome of the dying fayings of my fweet little fifter. When I confider her happy death, I feel the greatest comfort, though mixed with regret.

A. H..

REMARKABLE INSTANCE OF SUPERSTITION.

SIR,

To the Editor.

OBSERVING in the Evangelical Magazine for Decem

ber, that "Application has been made to the Directors from a pious few, at Quebec, defcribing their deplorable want of Gofpel light, and requesting a perfon might be fent from the Society to affift them :" I have been induced to fend the following anecdote, from Weld's Travels in Canada, in 1797, hoping it may serve to prove to the religious public, the propriety of complying with their request, as it hows the ignorance and fuperftition in which the people of Canada are immerfed.

"On the evening before we reached Quebec, we stopped at the village of St. Auguftin Calvaire, and after having ftrolled about for fome time, returned to the farm-houfe where we had taken up our quarters for the night. The people had cooked fome fifh, that had been just caught, while we had been walking about, and every thing being ready on our return, we fat down to fupper by the light of a lamp, which was fufpended from the ceiling. The glimmering light, however, that it afforded, fcarcely enabled us to fee

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what was on the table; we complained of it to the man of the house, and the lamp was in confequence trimmed; it was replenished with oil; taken down and fet on the table; fill 'Sacre Dieu!' exclaimed he, but the light was very bad. you fhall not eat your fish in the dark ;' fo faying, he stepped afide to a small cupboard, took out a candle, and having lighted it, placed it befide us. All was going on well, when the wife, who had been abfent for a few minutes, fuddenly returning, poured forth a volley of the most terrible execrations against her poor husband, for having prefumed to have acted as he had done. Unable to answer a fingle word, the fellow stood aghaft, ignorant of what he had done to offend her; we were quite at a lofs alfo to know what could give rife to fuch a fudden ftorm; the wife, however, fnatched up the candle, and haftily extinguishing it, addreffed us in a plaintive tone of yoice, and explained the whole affair. It was the holy candle- La chandelle benite,' which her giddy husband had fet on the table; it had been confecrated at a neighbouring church, and fuppofing there should be a tempeft at any time, with thunder and lightning ever so terrible, yet if the candle were but kept burning, while it lafted. the house, the barn, and every thing elfe belonging to it, were to be fecured from all danger. If any of the family happened to be fick, the candle was to be lighted, and they were inftantly to recover. It had been given to her that morning by the priest of the village, with an affurance that it poffeffed the miraculous power of preferving the family from harm, and fhe was confident that what he told her was true, To have contradicted the poor woman would have been uselefs; for the fake of our ears, however, we endeavoured to pacify her, and that being accomplished, we fat down to fup, per, and even made the most of our fish in the dark.”

AN INFIDEL OBJECTION OBVIATED.

MONG the objections of infidels to the truth of fcrip. ture, one has been often produced, derived from the fuppofed antiquity of the earth. Some writers on natural hiftory reafon thus: A ftratum of lava (or melted mineral fubftance) which flowed from the burning mountain Etna, in the time of the fecond Punic war, or about two thousand years ago, is not yet covered with foil fufficient for the pro

duction of corn or vines; it requires therefore, say they, two thousand years at least, to convert a ftratum of lava into a fertile field. Now, having difcovered in that neighbourhood, feven diftinct ftrata of lava, parallel to each other, and most of them covered with a thick bed of rich earth, they conclude that the lowest of these must have flowed from the mountain at least fourteen thousand years ago, and if fo, then the Mofaic hiftory, and confequently the whole Bible must be untrue.

That this is a very rotton basis on which to build fo important a conclufion, will, I think, fufficiently appear from the following fact.

Mount Vefuvius much refembles Etna in the caufes of its eruptions, the nature of the lava, and in the time neceffary to cover it with vegetable mould. Now it is certain that within feventeen hundred years, feven different strata of lava have flowed from Vefuvius, which are now visible, with interjacent ftrata of vegetable earth. The eruption of this mountain which deftroyed Herculaneum, and in which Pliny perifhed, is well known to have happened in the year 79, A. D. And we are informed by unquestionable authority, that "the matter which covers the ancient town of Herculaneum is not the produce of one eruption only; for there are evident marks, that the matter of fix eruptions has taken its courfe over that which lies immediately above the town, and was the cause of its deftruction. Thefe firata are either of lava or burnt matter, with veins of good foil betwixt them." Hence it is evident from fact, in oppofition to theory, that seventeen hundred years may effect what it was fuppofed would require fourteen thousand.

Let me caution your young readers to beware of "vain philofophy," and not to decide haftily against religion, on the bold affertions of men, whofe own ignorance is often the caufe of their infidelity. Moft of their objections are like that we have juft refuted, and may be as easily and fatisfactorily anfwered. FIDES.

CONFESSION OF A JEW.

To the Editor of the Evangelical Magazine.

Perhaps the following Letter, extracted from Willet's Commentary upon Daniel, may deferve prefervation, it being the confeffion of R. Samuel, fent in an epiftle to R. Ifaac, about 790 years fince, who, upon the evidence of the prophefy of Daniel, was convinced that the Meffiah

was come.

Stockton.

REV. SIR,

POSTHUMOUS.

T feemeth that the prophefy of Daniel, which is written in the 9th chapter, must be now fulfilled. After 62 weeks Meffiah fhall be flain, and a people fhall come with a prince, to come and deftroy the city, and the houfe; and the deftruction and defolation thereof fhall be perpetual. Now it is not to be doubted, my good Sir, but this is the perpetual deftruction and defolation in this captivity wherein we are: for now there are a thousand years fince, and the Lord plainly faith by his Prophet, that the defolation fhall be perpetutual for the killing of Chrift, as our defolation is after the laying of Chrift: for the Lord threatened not perpetual defolation, but after the flaying of Chrift. And if we will fay that before the killing of Chrift we were in defolation, the Chriftians will anfwer us, that before his death we had but a defolation for 70 years, and after this we were brought into the land of promife, and were in grace and favour with God. Truly, Sir, I fee no evafion: for it is proved unto us in facts, that after 70 weeks of years were fulfilled from the re-edifying of the temple, then was Jefus flain of our fathers, and afterwards came a Captain, even Titus, and the people of Rome, and did unto us according to this prophefy. Now a thousand years are paft, and we are notwithstanding under God's wrath, and yet we truft in him, expecting a Meffiah to come; and that we fhall return into the land of promife, and restore the city and temple, and that we shall be in favour with God, and fo this defolation not to be perpetual, but temporal. Alas, Sir, this excufe and evafion hangeth not together, and fuch expectation feemeth to be altogether vain.

A WORD IN
IN SEASON.

OCCASIONED LY THE EXTRAORDINARY PRICE OF BREAD.

HE prefent fcarcity of grain and dearnefs of bread, is

THE

Tan afliction of fo general and ferious a kind, as to call

upon us all to "confider our ways." May it not be faid to us, as it once was to the Jews, "Ye looked for much, and lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it?" But "Is there evil in the city, and the Lord hath not done it?" Surely the Lord calls us to repentance. "Our fins have feparated between him and us, and have kept good things from us." It is on this account he has "turned a fruitful land into barrennefs."

Bleffed be. God for the hopes of fupplies fpeedily. In the mean time, let the people of God live by faith on their heavenly Father. Dear name, full of encouragement! He knows we have need of bread; and he bids us expect from from his paternal heart what a finful mortal cannot deny at the request of His child. He who provides for beafts, and birds, and fishes, will not forget his children. Are we not much better than they? Take then no anxious thought for to-morrow; feek firft the kingdom of God and his righteoufnefs, and the neceffaries of life fhall be added. 'He that fpared not his own fon, but delivered him up for us all, shall 'he not with him alfo freely give us all things?'

Where is the Lord God of Elijah? Let us call to mind how wonderfully that man of God was fuftained by the miniftry of ravens: bread and flesh were brought him every morning and evening. How wonderful is God's authority over the creatures! Thefe ravenous birds were his daily purveyors, and he can ftill employ means the leaft promifing to effect our fupply.

The stock of grain in hand is faid to be very fmall. Let us call to mind the widow of Sarepta.* Elijah, at the command of God, afks this poor woman for a draught of water, and a cake of bread: "Alas!" faid fhe, "I have but a hand"ful of meal left, and a little oil in a crufe, and I am gather66 ing two sticks that I may drefs it for me and my fon, that

1 Kings, xvi. 8, &c.

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