military garb. His port was noble, his aspect commanding, and his look was directed, with the utmost animation and ardor, towards a phantom immediately before him. The colors in which this spectre was portrayed were so vivid as to be distinctly visible. The figure seemed that of a beautiful female in the dress of an Amazon; one hand was laid across her breast, and with the other she pointed upwards. The farther the warrior advanced, the greater appeared his eagerness; and his visage seemed to grow pale and sicken with the anxiety of his mind. But the instant he reached the gulf, his eye sparkled, his cheek flushed-he sprang forward with extended arms to catch the beauteous phantom, which burst in his embrace with a flash of light that illuminated his countenance, as he sank under the waves, and diffused a splendor across the ocean far and wide!

The surprise and admiration which this produced had no sooner subsided, than a vessel attracted my notice, of a superior size. On the deck stood a man, in the dress of a Senator. His stature was tall, his attitude graceful and majestic; though his hair was whitened with age, his countenance had the energy of youth, and his eye seemed to brighten with unquenchable fire. He looked around him with an air of authority and command; and I could observe that his fellow voyagers within his view gazed on him with awe and reverence. The vessel seemed to move proudly under him; the waves curling and foaming against her stem. As he approached the brink of the whirlpool, he stepped forward, in the attitude of one that speaks; and raising his hand above his head in high emotion, he suddenly staggered forward, as if struck by lightning-and tumbled headlong into the gulf! The sound of his fall, which seemed like the fall of a Colossus, reached me distinctly; and the waves appeared to recoil all around!

Whilst I was lost in sorrow and wonder, the voice of the angel

again saluted me. "Grieve not," said he, "for what thou hast seen. The Eternal Spirit, whose creatures we are, penetrates all nature, and is equally present in the depth and darkness of the ocean, as in the brightness of the summer's day. The beings that are lost to thy sight are yet under his protection, and shall again emerge with renovated powers. They are spirits, like thyself-emanations from the Supreme Spirit; and after a course of action and suffering, a part of which thou hast seen, shall again be united to the source from whence they sprung. Human life is a single scene in the great drama of existence. Earth, oh Mortal! is the school of minds. When thou minglest in its cares and its pleasures, remember thy origin and thy destination: let thy heart be purified from baseness and vice, and bear thyself with the temper of an immortal. But look again on the ocean, and direct thine eye towards the North." I obeyed. On the verge of the horizon, a small vessel appeared, bounding through the waves. As it moved along, I could discern a man standing on the deck with a pencil in his hand. His attention was engaged by the vessels that were passing before him; and he seemed busy in recording their fate, as they successively disappeared. But of his own vessel he appeared to take no care or direction; and he did not seem conscious that he himself was rapidly borne along by the tide. I gazed on him, by a secret sympathy; as he approached more nearly, a sudden thought struck me-alas! I knew his features, though I had never seen them but in a mirror. Confusion, surprise, and terror took possession of my mind. But as I saw this image approach the gulf my eyes became dim; a thousand half-formed shadows danced before my sight; clouds and darkness gathered around; the vision melted away; and I found myself lying on my bed in the old Castle of B by the bay of Caernarvon, with the sunbeams playing on my face.

THE CHRISTIAN MOURNER'S PRIVILEGE.

BY BERNARD BARTON.

How sweet to think, in sorrow's hour,
That He who reigns above,

Although supreme in sovereign power,
Is as supreme in love!

How sweet to know, when thus the axe

Is to our gourds decreed,

He will not quench the smoking flax,

Nor break the bruised reed.

But that to those who kiss the rod,

By Him in mercy sent,

The staff of comfort from their God

Shall in his love be lent.

Sustained thereby, with hopes serene,
Though earth's best joy seem gone,
On this, like Jacob, they shall lean,
And worship Him thereon.

For God, who binds the broken heart,

And dries the mourner's tear,

If faith and patience be their part,

Will unto these be near.

Let such but say, "Thy will be done!”

And HE, who JESUS raised,

Will qualify them, through his Son,

To add, "THY NAME BE PRAISED!"

LINES,

BY T. GRINFIELD, M. A.

Оn, could we pilgrims raise our eyes, So oft bedimmed with tears, Beyond the scenes that round us rise, Of guilt, and grief, and fear;

Could we the sounds of strife, the sighs

Of sorrow, cease to hear;

What glories would our view surprise,

What harmonies our ear!

But, oh, the prospect! 'tis too bright; And if, when faith is strong,

A glimpse of glory glads our sight-
'Tis faded, lost, ere long:

Yet dying saints, with rapt delight,
Have seemed to catch the song,
Far echoed from those harpers white,
Heaven's holy, happy throng!

SAUL OF TARSUS.

THE history of "Saul of Tarsus" is replete with instruction. Nature had endowed him with the qualities which fit man to command his fellows. Resolute, ambitious, and zealous before his conversion, he guided the energies of the Sanhedrim, and was the terror of the afflicted Christians: once converted, he became the chief of the Apostles; the fearless pioneer of gospel light to the benighted Gentiles. Great as was the hatred of the Pharisee to Jesus, it appeared insignificant when compared to the excess displayed in Saul's conduct. In the language of Scripture he "breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, and made havoc of the church." While the change which his conversion produced in the outward condition of the Christians is expressively exhibited by the fact, that "then had the churches rest throughout all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria."

Yet it would be wrong to ascribe to the unconverted Saul a love of persecution for its own sake. All he did, was done in sincerity; and although a conviction of truth in a bad cause, is but a sorry excuse for the consequences to which it may lead, still, the opposition of an honest enemy is at any time more tolerable than the treachery of a deceitful friend. Saul, who persecuted Christ, was less to blame than Judas, who betrayed him. His hope of forgiveness was in part based upon this" because I did it in unbelief." Reared among the haughty Pharisees, brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, studying the law and prophets through a mist of traditions, and expecting in the Messiah