Plant of celestial seed! if dropped below,

Say in what mortal soil thou deignest to grow.

Deus nobis hæc otia fecit. At length God Himself was seen to be all-satisfying, and found intelligible and accessible in the person of his Son. From this moment a new world was opened. From the invisible was shot a light upon the visible, which removed the mists that formerly obscured it; and the true value of literature, of the creations of art, and of the discoveries of science, was seen and estimated in just proportion. The mens divinior of Plato and Eschylus and Euripides and Dante and Shakespeare; the eloquence of Demosthenes and Cicero and Burke; the powers of Bacon, of Newton, and La Place; the subtilties of the Stagyrite and of Liebnitz, and Kant and Berkeley; the new lights of Watts and Lavoisier and Wollaston and Davy, are felt and appreciated as sensibly as ever. But if all these acquirements were attainable by, and combined in, the person of one individual, they are seen to be still incapable of satisfying the soul of man. The glories of the Creator have more eclipsed the glories of His most glorious work, which such men are, than the meridian sun surpasses the light of an expiring taper. Although Nature's God could not be discovered through Nature, Nature lay disclosed when looked down upon from the throne of Man's Redeemer and Nature's Lord and God. We do earnestly desire to make others participate of this blessedness likewise, not solely for its own sake, but because the alternative of their not sharing it is not merely negative, but involves the eternal ruin and misery of those who reject it. We do not desire to bring an acknowledgment of error from our antagonist, because that would prostrate him at the feet of a fellow-worm, where no man ought to lie. Neither do we desire this for our own sakes, because it would tend to puff us up, as if it were our own powers, and not the truth of the living God, that had gotten Him the victory over the heart of one of His rebellious creatures. We would be content that he should hale us to the death, provided only we could ensure, as the reward of our martyrdom, the gratification of knowing that he would embrace that faith which he is now destroying, and join us hereafter in the courts above, in singing praises to the Lamb who died for us, who washed us in his blood, who has made us kings and priests unto God.

We must, however, in parting, give our antagonist one word of solemn warning. He has, no doubt, some notion, however vague, that the present scene and system is not eternal, but that it must have an end. Since he has never endeavoured to ascertain when that end will come, and since we have endeavoured to ascertain it, our opinion is entitled primâ facie to more consi

deration upon that subject than his. Now we warn him, that the time of the end is come: and we further warn him, that a separation is going on at this hour that we are writing; that some are becoming daily and rapidly more conformed to the mind and will of God, and that others are becoming more hardened against Him. The hearts of the former are also becoming daily more tender, and alive to the motions of God's Spirit; the hearts of the latter are becoming daily more callous. To the former the signs of the coming glories of Jesus Christ are every day more apparent; to the latter the expectation of his appearance seems daily more absurd: increasing light is breaking in upon the former; increasing darkness and obscurity is enveloping the latter. The day of the Lord is coming as a day of ineffable light to the one party, and as a day of blackness and gloominess to the other. Every hour that any one delays to turn to the Lord, the difficulty of his ever doing so is increased. For eighteen hundred years has God stretched out his hands of reconciliation to a disobedient and a gainsaying people; but the day of salvation is on the point of closing to this world for ever. The Lamb, who has been despised and rejected, is now shewing signs of his wrath, and of his coming forth of his hiding place with the strength and vengeance of a young lion, to tear his enemies in pieces, and to stain his garments in their blood. We see symptoms of a preparatory hardening on every side, and a greater impossibility than ever of making men understand the merest elements of Christian verity ;-a difficulty the more grievous, as we feel an increased anxiety to proclaim the truth, from the conviction of the shortness of time which is left in which we can labour. Our conviction of this truth, long since derived from other and independent sources, is greatly strengthened by the manifested display of the power of the Holy Ghost in the persons of some of God's servants; because, the more extraordinary we admit it to be, the more are we bound to believe that the state of the church, which has called it forth, is becoming extraordinary also. The practical effect upon ourselves of the manifestation, may be summed up in two general heads. First, a stronger conviction that the appearance of Christ to take his saints to himself in the air, and the judgment, to the final destruction, of all the other inhabitants of Christendom, may be expected instantly: Secondly, that those who possess the Holy Ghost in power being thereby endowed with superhuman courage and boldness, a state of peril, through persecution of Infidels, joined probably by many calling themselves Evangelical, is to be anticipated for the true mystical members of Christ, from which nothing but His coming to their rescue can deliver them.

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PARTICULARS OF A FEW RECENT CASES OF HEALING.

We now fulfil our promise of publishing some of the many cases of healing which have come to our knowledge. We select the most recent of them; and shall from time to time publish others, as they come to our knowledge: and we urge it as a duty upon all who experience the mercy of God, to give glory to Him by publicly declaring it; that others, in like affliction, may have their faith strengthened, and in like manner be healed.

MRS. MAXWELL.

The first case is attested by two clergymen of the Church of England, of the highest respectability; one of whom holds a prebendal stall in a neighbouring cathedral, and who writes of Mrs. Maxwell as follows, under date July 8:-" I have been here more than twenty-five years, and it was, I think, about a year after I came that she began to be lame, and had gradually, I understand, been growing worse. I saw her about a year and a half ago, and she then could not move from one chair to another without crutches. She can now walk perfectly well and her recovery certainly was, as you have stated, instantaneous. It was on a Sunday evening, when, after her private devotions, she felt that she had strength to rise: she did so, and found her strength perfectly restored, and walked down stairs completely recovered. These circumstances I had from herself, in a long walk which she took with me in my garden."

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The left knee had been bad for twenty-three years: it was regarded as a hopeless case by all the medical men who attended her, and one of them told her so. That limb was at first affected by a rheumatic swelling, and very active measures were used, which Mrs. Maxwell was told had injured the bone: from that period it was always weaker, thinner, and often painful, and particularly susceptible of cold; so much so, that she apprehended paralysis. The other knee received an injury upon the cap eight years ago, which, being neglected for two months, became a serious case for surgical care, and was pronounced by some who' attended her to be a white swelling of a mild nature. The active remedies of blisters, leeches, &c. only tended to increase the bad symptoms; and after the milder applications of fomentations, poultices, and various others, the complaint settled into a chronic affection; which for the first three or four years it was hoped would have yielded to perfect rest; but, as every little exertion brought on a return of pain and swelling, this lady's difficulty of walking continued to increase; and three years and a half ago she was obliged to use crutches, being unable any longer to move without them. After using them three or four times she attempted to walk down stairs with them, and, from want of practice, fell forwards, down fourteen steps, into a stone

passage, rapping her knees on the edges of the stairs as she fell ; by which she became so bruised and shaken, that she was confined to her bed, lost much of her health and strength, and was many weeks before she could stand at all, even with the help of crutches. She was, however, so far restored as again to have the power of getting up and down stairs: the surgeon who attended her told her, that all she could expect was to keep off active disease by perfect rest, as the muscular power in both limbs was so far destroyed as to leave no hope of any return of strength; and sponging with cold water was all the remedy used from that time, except in one instance, when an attempt was made at drawing the pain from the right knee by an application in the foot, which was always either painfully hot or cold. For the last three weeks previous to her cure she had been confined up stairs, from inability to move. About six weeks before

her cure, the account of Miss Fancourt's case fell into her hands, which led her first to ask also for a removal of her own affliction. Before this, she had only sought resignation patiently to endure. The remainder of the narrative must be stated in her own words.

"The extraordinary motion put into my limbs while praying, leaves no doubt upon my mind, that, had I then risen from my bed, the cure would have been performed; but I reasoned upon it; and although I stopped praying, and tried to compose myself several times, and the motion always returned when I resumed my prayer, I dared not get up, lest I should fall; and so my prayers ended with a feeling of disappointment. I did not like to speak of this, though it made a great impression upon my mind; and on the 6th of February, while praying fervently for spiritual blessings, I was again led to pray for the cure of my limbs, when the words, Did I not tell thee, that if thou wouldst believe thou shouldst see the glory of God?' were most powerfully applied; my faith increased, and I pleaded the promise, desiring only to know the Lord's will, not doubting his power. After some time, being exhausted, I was sitting, under the most soothing influence of the Spirit, contemplating the text Keep yourself in the love of God, and in the patient waiting for Christ,' when a desire suddenly came into my mind, that, if it were the Lord's will to restore me, He would put the same involuntary motion into my limb that I had before experienced, as a signal for me to rise and walk: upon which I resumed my petitions, through our great Mediator and Advocate, with this request; when the motion instantly returned. I rose up, leaning for a moment on the table, to ascertain the degree of strength given; and, finding I could stand, I moved forward, without any other support than the arm of Omnipotence, praising God with a heart filled with gratitude and perfect love. The blessedness imparted to my soul seemed almost to make me forget the wonderful cure wrought in my limbs, and for many weeks I really think the happiness I enjoyed could scarcely be exceeded by that of angels; and the presence of the Lord seemed so constantly and powerfully manifested, that I had

neither a care, nor fear, nor doubt, of any kind. Indeed, for one week it was almost too great a weight of blessing and glory for my earthly, tabernacle to endure. The cure seemed perfect and instantaneous, but the strength and size of my limbs increased with use; and though I walked nearly four miles in one day a few weeks afterwards, nothing ever threw me back, or seemed more than they could bear."

From the 6th of February to the 11th of August Mrs. Maxwell continued in perfect health and increasing strength. On this latter day, in getting into a chaise where the wheel came unusually near the step, she struck her right knee violently against the wheel, which has confined her for the present to her sofa. This circumstance has not the remotest connection with her previous illness or cure; but it is mentioned lest any one, not knowing the facts, should hear of her present state without also hearing the cause, and be led to infer some inaccuracy in the report of that cure which was wrought in her through faith in the power of Jesus of Nazareth.

MISS HUGHES.

The next case is of the sister of a gentleman whom we have known for many years, and all the parties mentioned are of unimpeachable respectability.

Letter addressed by Miss Hughes to the Rev. H. J. Owen, M.A.; dated

Chelsea July 21, 1831.

"My dear Friend and Pastor,-As several persons have expressed a wish that I should give a clear and distinct account of the state, both of my body and mind, previous to the late manifestation of God's great mercy to me; and as I believe it will be for the glory of God so to do; I will, with his help, endeavour to comply with the wishes thus expressed, in a letter to you, who can bear witness to the truth of some part of my tale, and have so kindly interested yourself in the welfare both of my soul and body.

"On my mother's authority I state, that from my earliest infancy I have been weak and sickly, having had every disease incident to children with severity; and since I can recollect I have been frequently ailing; in the winter suffering much from colds on the chest, and in the summer overpowered by the heat. Towards the close of the year 1820 I felt my health and strength very much decline, but I would not give up till February 1821, when I was compelled to keep my bed. I partially recovered from this sickness, but was soon laid aside again, and was obliged to seek for medical aid. After a short time I was able to go out again, though very weak; and on the 15th April, 1821, I sent for Mr. Keele, who immediately took blood from my arm, and the next day applied a blister to my chest. I recollect, as he was going down stairs from my bed-room, my mother asked his opinion of my danger: he answered, I do not know: she is very ill, and is a very delicate subject.' The means used for my recovery were so far blessed as to enable me (though not without great fatigue) to visit my friends in Norfolk in July, as it was hoped change of air might prove serviceable to me; but in August my mother was sent for to take me home, as it