have instructed us how to secure ourselves from its effects. The chief end proposed by clothing ought to be protection from the cold; and it never can be too deeply impressed on the mind (especially of those who have the care of children), that a degree of cold that amounts to shivering cannot be felt, under any circumstances, without injury to the health; and that the strongest constitution cannot resist the benumbing influence of a sensation of cold constantly present, even though it be so moderate as not to occasion immediate complaint, or to induce the sufferer to seek protection from it. This degree of cold often lays the foundation of the whole host of chronic diseases, foremost amongst which are found scrofula and consumption. Persons engaged in sedentary employments must be almost constantly under the influence of this degree of cold, unless the apartment in which they work is heated to a degree that subjects them, on leaving it, to all the dangers of a sudden transition, as it were, from summer to winter. The inactivity to which such persons are condemned, by weakening the body, renders it incapable of maintaining the degree of warmth necessary to comfort, without additional clothing or fire. Under such circumstances, a sufficient quantity of clothing of a proper quality, with the apartment moderately warmed, and well ventilated, ought to be preferred, for keeping up the requisite degree of warmth, to any means of heating the air of the room so much as to render any increase of clothing unnecessary. To heat the air of an apartment much above the ordinary temperature of the atmosphere, we must shut out the external air; the air also becomes extremely rarified and dry, which circumstances make it doubly dangerous to pass from it to the cold, raw, external air. But in leaving a moderately well warmed room, if properly clothed, the change is not felt; and the full advantage of exercise is derived from any opportunity of taking it that may occur. The only kind of dress that can afford the protection required by the changes of temperature to which this climate is liable, is woollen. Nor will it be of much avail that woollen be worn, unless so much of it be worn, and it be so worn, as effectually to keep out the cold. Those who would receive the advantage which the wearing woollen is capable of affording, must wear it next the skin; for it is in this situation only that its health-preserving power can be felt. The great advantages of woollen cloth are briefly these :-the readiness with which it allows the escape of the matter of perspiration through its textureits power of preserving the sensation of warmth to the skin under all circumstances-the difficulty there is in making it thoroughly wet-the slowness with which it conducts heat-the softness, lightness and pliancy of its texture. Cotton cloth, though it differs but little from linen, approaches nearer to the nature of woollen, and, on that account, must be esteemed as the next best substance of which clothing may be made. Silk is the next in point of excellence, but it is very inferior to cotton in every respect. Linen possesses the contrary of most of the properties enumerated as excellences in woollen. It retains the matter of perspiration in its texture, and speedily becomes imbued with it; it gives an unpleasant sensation of cold to the skin; it is very readily saturated with moisture, and it conducts heat too rapidly. It is, indeed, the worst of all the substances in use, being the least qualified to answer the purposes of clothing. LESSON LXXV. For the Children of a Sabbath School.―JANE TAYLOR. COME, let our songs resound The light of knowledge shines around, Through God our Father's care, Though we deserved it not, Y This cheerful morning sun, Before the dawn of day On Britain's favored isle, On many a pagan pile. He saw the savage wild Lord, let thy light, we pray, We learn thy blessed will, We read thy holy word; Then may we thy commands fulfil, LESSON LXXVI. Wilberforce Richmond. WILBERFORCE RICHMOND was the second son of the Rev. Legh Richmond of Turvey, Bedfordshire, England, and was born August 20, 1807. When a little more than two years old, he fell from a window, on the pavement, and, though he recovered from the accident, he was lame ever afterwards, and the natural delicacy of his constitution was probably increased by the injury he received at that time. This circumstance rendered him unfit for boyish sports, and compelled him to seek amusement in higher occupations. His resource was the museum, and the experiments made by his father's philosophical apparatus. To these he resorted when his other studies did not require his immediate attention. He had a playful temper, and, with great good-humor, would join his brothers in a gambol; but when alone, he was more like a little man than a child. He continued to study for three or four years, and made rapid proficiency under the guardianship of his father and other excellent tutors. In 1824, he was attacked with a dangerous illness, which terminated in his death. A journey to Scotland was recommended, with a view to consult a celebrated physician. Mr. Richmond engaged a small cottage at Rothsay, in the isle of Bute, at a convenient distance from this physician's residence. From hence he made frequent excursions by sea and land, in the hope, by a change of scene and air, to check the progress of the disorder. For a while, his health seemed to be improved, but it was soon discovered that there was no material amendment. For a few weeks, he was apparently restored; then the hectic fever flushed his cheek, he grew weaker, and sunk into depression. In respect to his religious feelings, Wilberforce was very reserved. He shrank from personal conversation, though his thoughtful countenance exhibited traces of inward conflict, and need of help and comfort. During the six months following his return from Scotland, his soul was severely tried. He never spoke of death; but he must have been sensible of increasing inward decay. He was much alone, and when he returned from his closet to his family, the signs of sorrow and the traces of some deep mental conflict were frequently visible in his coun tenance. In one of his letters is the following paragraph:-“I used once to love the rose, of all the flowers, the best ; but it has now left me, and I turn to the lily, for it seems to betoken my approach to a world of purity; nor have I a wish for life, if Christ will receive one so unworthy." Early in January, 1825, a considerable alteration was apparent. Death was evidently approaching. All reserve was now banished from his mind. He opened his whole heart to his father. He said that, for more than three months, he had never looked into any book but the Bible; that God's word had been his only study; and that, amidst all his anxiety, often amounting to agony of mind, he could find no relief, either from religious books, or religious conversation; but was obliged to go to the Bible for every thing he wanted to know; that, whenever he opened the Bible, he turned verse after verse into prayer as he read; and that in so doing he felt a force, a sweetness and consolation passing all understanding. "I have built," he would say, "all my hopes for eternity on God's word, which is unerring truth. I have found peace there, and have been sealed by the Spirit which indited that word, an earnest of the heavenly inheritance. It was without.human aid, that I might give God the glory." On one of his last days, he sent for several people in the village to come and bid him farewell. There was one old person for whom he had a special regard. She had been much with him in his childhood, and he used to tell her, "if he lived to be a man, and had a house of his own, she should come and keep it." He held out his hand to her affectionately, and, alluding to his promise, said, “I shall have no house in this world, Nanny, for you to come and keep; but I shall still have a house,-a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." His countenance, as he spoke, assumed a singularly sweet and happy. expression. Wilberforce died on sabbath evening. The last words which he uttered were, "The rest which Christ gives is sweet." His father came in just in time to hear his last sigh. He raised Wilberforce's head on his arm, and contemplated it for a moment. The countenance looked placid, as if it had beheld the Saviour's face in righteousness, and was satisfied. The father pressed the lifeless body to his bosom, and burst into a flood of tears. length, subduing his feelings, he said, "My child is a saint in glory." At He bid his family follow him to the study, that they might praise God for his mercy and loving kindness. He opened the Bible, and read the last two chapters of the book of Revelation, and knelt down and prayed. It was a moment not to be forgotten. He seemed so absorbed in the contemplation of his child's entrance into heaven, and its union with the spirits of the just made perfect, as |