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AFFLICTION.

A venerable Scotch minister used to say to any of his flock under affliction, "Time is short; if your cross is heavy, you have not far to carry it."

LIFE.

R. C.

"LIFE," says Dr. Clarke, " is represented as a stream; youth as morning; the decline of life as evening; death as a sleep; and the resurrection as the return of the flowers of the spring."

AWFUL CALAMITIES.

"I am afraid of thy judgments."

WITHIN the period of one hundred hours in the month of May last, three of the greatest calamities of this or any other century, have occurred.

May 5. The fire at Hamburgh, which destroyed one-third of that city, and a great number of human lives.

May 7. The earthquake at St. Domingo, in which thousands are supposed to have perished.

May 8. The accident on the Versailles rail-road, by which eighty persons were killed, or seriously injured.

THE YOUNG MAN CALLED HOME.

DR. WATTS has very strikingly remarked that

"A flower, when offered in the bud,

Is no vain sacrifice."

R. C.

To see a youth devoting his early years to God, renouncing the pleasures of the world, avoiding the society of the frivolous and the dissipated, and seeking his enjoyments and centering his delights in the subjects connected with religion, yielding his affections to God, and earnestly and diligently seeking to advance the kingdom of the Redeemer, is a source of real gratification to the sincere Christian, an encouragement to those who are well disposed to Religion, and a silent reproof to such as are following the course of this world. Such a character affords joy to angels, receives the approbation of God, and weakens the force of the objections of infidels.

These remarks are in a great degree illustrated in the character of the late MICHAEL DAVEY, of Mylor Bridge, near Penryn, whose premature removal from the bosom of his relatives and the society of his friends, we and they so truly deplore. At an early age his mind was

impressed with the necessity and blessedness of religion. In June, 1834, when about the age of fourteen, he became a member of the Wesleyan Society, and in June 1839, he united himself to the christian church assembling in Mylor Bridge Chapel. In these characters he conducted himself holily and wisely. Regardful of the honor of the cause of God, he was careful that it should not be tarnished by any misconduct of his; and he not only prayed that he might not fall into temptation, but watched against it, that he might adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.

His natural temper was peculiarly amiable, mild, gentle, and unassuming; he manifested that he had learned of Christ, and had imbibed much of his spirit. A good temper is an ornament to all, but in a professor of religion it is a powerful letter of recommendation.

He was a regular and constant attendant at the house of God, so that his place was scarcely ever vacant, never, indeed, but from some unavoidable circumstance. His conduct in public worship was truly exemplary. No roving eye, nor talking lip were observed in him. His look was fixed upon the preacher, his ear regarded all that was contained in the scriptures that were read, and the sentiments uttered in the sermon. When a text was referred to, he sought for it in his bible, which he held in his hand, and seemed as if he were desirous to retain what he heard.

That he might gladly carry home

The treasure in his heart.

He was equally desirous of keeping what he had obtained. Instead of mingling with other persons whose conversation might obliterate the good impressions he had felt, it was his delight, when he left the house of God, to take a solitary walk, and to converse upon the goodness of God to him, and upon the particular parts of the discourse which he had just heard. By this means his knowledge of the gospel was much increased, and he thus continued to "follow on to know the Lord."

To the prosperity of the Sunday school he was ardently devo ted as well as to the great object of forming a public library. His conversation often turned upon the best means of conducting the school, so that it might be rendered an efficient means of instruction and improvement. That which interested him in life, seemed to be the object of his care in death; for he desired the teachers to be punctual, diligent, and persevering, and, for his sake, to be attentive to the school.

The illness which carried him to the grave, attacked him suddenly, and in a short time removed him from this world to the next. It was on the 19th of May that he was obliged to desist from his usual voca

tion. When Dr. Cope saw him on the 26th, he appeared in a state of great exhaustion, complained of great heat, a difficulty of breathing, and insupportable weakness. He replied, in answer to some observations, "I am resting upon the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation; he is my only hope, my sure refuge!"

For the last three months he had been remarkable for his thirst after religion and the house of God. The teachers of the Sunday school observed how much of heaven there seemed to be in his prayers; and when he spoke of it, he knew not how to stop. The description contained in Rev. xxi. 4, 23-25, were to him delightful topics during his illness. He dwelt much on the epistles; the more he read, the more he delighted in them.

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Being asked by one who had been his chief associate, how he felt in his mind? he replied, "Quite composed. Had I left repentance till this time, it would have been dreadful." At another time he said, Death is a solemn thing; but I feel quite composed in the prospect of it. I shall soon cease to breathe." When asked if he felt any fear of death, he replied "No! Christ is precious-I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day!"

A short time before he died, the friend already referred to, visited him, and mentioned the subject of the discourse which Dr. Cope had preached that evening. When the words were mentioned (1 Peter i. 3, 4.) "To an inheritance incorruptible, &c." he appeared to be in an ecstacy, and expressed his desire to have heard the sermon. He dwelt much on the expression, "reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation."

The last few hours of his life he said but little'; he was evidently enjoying communion with God, for at times he was distinctly heard uttering the words, in a tone scarcely exceeding a whisper," Lord Jesus!--Dear Lord! &c." He retained his faculties to the last; and having, like dying Stephen, offered up his final prayer, "Lord Jesus receive my spirit," his saved spirit departed to the eternal rest prepared in heaven for the redeemed, on the 14th June, 1842.

The greatest respect was paid to his piety and worth at his funeral, which was attended by the children and teachers of the Sunday school, and an immense concourse of persons. A funeral sermon to improve the event, was preached to an overflowing congregation at Mylor Bridge Chapel, on Sunday afternoon, June 26th, by Dr. Cope, the minister of the place, from ii Tim. i. 12. "I know in whom I have believed, and that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day."

R. C.

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