the mighty anthem, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men," rolled in solemn strains upon my awakened It was earthly music truly, with the weakness and the faults of earth marring the genius of the inspired harmonist; yet still it seemed to tell me that earth was not all dead. ears. When all was again silent I rose, quitted the study, and sought repose. Entering the chamber, it was irradiated by the beams of the brilliant moon, which, sailing in purest majesty aloft, seemed to tell of a fairer heaven than that from which her light was poured. On retiring to rest the voice of a faithful earthly friend was heard at the door, shouting cheerily, "God bless you, and give you a happy Christmas!" I wish the same blessing to you all. J. W. T. EXTRACT FROM THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MRS. FLETCHER. Ir was in the winter of 1788 (I was then eighteen) that I met, at the house of the Misses Hutton, two excellent maiden ladies at Tadcaster, the Rev. John Clowes, rector of St. John's Church in Manchester. The bond between these pious and primitive old ladies and Mr. Clowes was, I believe, their mutual admiration of the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, although I could not participate in their enthusiasm for that visionary writer. I think it was from Mr. Clowes's conversation and writings that I first became interested in the spiritual sense of true religion, or, in other words, felt its experimental truth; and I wish here to preserve the following transcript of the conversation, which I made from memory after passing the evening with Mr. Clowes at Miss Hutton's. Several ladies, some of the Methodist persuasion, were present. His views have always appeared to me to contain much of the true spirit of Christianity. Being asked the opinion of Mr. Law's works (author of "Serious Call"), Mr. Clowes said, "I read them, Madam, with great diligence and much affection, and I found that they tended to produce a pure, holy, and peaceable frame of mind; but I found likewise that they disqualified a man for the duties of his calling. I could not even go to perform my duty in the Church without finding something to disturb me. This made me conjecture that all was not right in Mr. Law's doctrine, and I conceive it to be this, that it is admirably suited to the contemplative but not for the active life of man, inasmuch as it does not bring the outward man into entire subjection to the inner man, for man has two lives, or two beings, in his very best state while on earth." Speaking of regeneration, Mr. Clowes said "he conceived the vision of Jacob's ladder to afford a beautiful figure on this subject, and that we should do well to consider that the descent was a much more difficult and arduous task than the ascent. The ascent was the desire of knowledge, or the love of truth, which made us climb the ladder, that we might know God and the things of His kingdom; but when we have reached the top of the ladder it will avail us nothing unless the love principle, or the love of good, descend with us, to penetrate to the bottom of our hearts, and purge them of all unclean affections, so that the natural man should act under entire subordination to, and entire conjunction with, the spiritual man. Thus is the descent more difficult than the ascent; as it is said, 'And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.'" Asking him how we should know that we were in a safe state without deceiving ourselves, he said, "Let us carefully examine what is our delight. If our delight be in good, then may we certainly conclude that our state is safe, because all good is from God and the things of His kingdom." When asked what he conceived to be the state of the blessed, he replied in a calm but animated tone of voice, "I conceive the state of the blessed to be a total forgetfulness or absence of self, and to consist in beholding the good and happiness of others, so that every individual will enjoy the whole happiness of heaven." He afterwards said “it was a principle of the old law, that if any man should kill his neighbour unawares, he might abide for a time in the City of Refuge. This he conceived a beautiful figure to represent the mercy of God. We often engaged in action from a principle of good, but in the performance of it were overtaken unawares by some evil or uncharitable inclination. The good principle which at first operated was from God, and this is the city of refuge in which we may abide until the enemy which thwarted us is overcome.' He added, "The state of man is a state of absolute dependence upon God, and the most desirable frame of mind is that in which the Psalmist said, 'I am poor and needy, but the Lord careth for me.'" Being asked what was justifying faith, he said, "It is to be feared that many deceive themselves in this matter. It is dangerous to rest our salvation on the bare belief of the death and suffering of our Lord. That is indeed resting in the first attainments of religion. Belief enlightens the understanding, but it is love which regulates the affections and produces obedience to the commands of God, without which no man can enter into the kingdom of glory. Works are not in themselves meritorious, but as being tests of obedience, for without works the spiritual world would stagnate." "I conceive," he said, "that the great evil of life arises from a contempt of others in comparison with self. A strict and resolute selfexamination, therefore, and supplication for Divine assistance, will enable us to expel this evil, for evil affections must be expelled before we can receive good ones. Who would put lambs among wolves?" On being asked if he thought fear and doubt of the favour of God consistent with true faith, he said, "Most certainly, for it is impossible to arrive at any degree of favour with God but by the state of deep and sincere humiliation which produces fear and doubt, and which proceeds from a clear conception of the beauty and holiness of the Lord's kingdom. This is perhaps the best state man can be in; because while he is under the influence of these fears he will be continually labouring to grow better, and be continually dependent on God for grace and favour. This is the cross which we must all bear if we would be followers of the Lamb, and partakers of His kingdom. We are commanded not to resist evil, for the fierce and violent opposition which this resistance would demand is hurtful to us. When evil assailments come, our only security is in our dependence upon God. He will give us strength to overcome evil, though we should perish in attempting to resist it. Every man is according to his own desire, for assuredly the Lord wills the good and happiness of all His creatures. If a man says he desires to be better, and that he is unhappy because his desire is not fulfilled, let not that man be impatient; he has begun to bear his cross, and if he bears it patiently, humbly waiting for a better state, he will certainly obtain his desire. The good he did because he saw that it was commanded will soon be his delight, and to delight in good is the temper and disposition of angels." Mrs. Fletcher met Mr. Clowes again after twenty years, and again at Warwick in 1829. Mr. Clowes was then in his eighty-fourth year, employed in translating the Psalms from the Hebrew, and said that his motive for such undertaking was to "control the activity of his thoughts, and to give them a profitable direction." IN MEMORIAM MR. JOHN BOURNE, ETAT. XC. CROWNED with the years oft seeming so delayed, For Eshcol's prize; like Caleb, with delight Through the long hours-long pressed with worldly schemes- JESMOND LODGE, MALTON. ROBERT ABBOTT. THE NAMES OF DUTY. HAIL, Duty! mistress stern, severe, Beneath thy frown I dare not rest. And thou dost change it unto Truth! Than heavenly orb in arch of blue. And only Love unfolds thee quite ! T. W. B. THOUGHTS IN TROUBLE. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."-Ps. xlvi. 1.. NEVER more near than when most sought; Never so close as when the thought 66 Why hast Thou left me?" wrings the soul Fearful of losing Thy control. Never more tender than in pain; Never so loving as when fain To cleanse us-even though by fire- Never more bright than when Thy Face Turn to Thee more, the more my foes Clinging to Thine unfailing love, November 15, 1878. J. B. THE CHURCH OF THE FUTURE. "WHERE is the Church of the future? in what Church? in what creed? in what form of government? It may come from Judæa as the first came from the East. But all our old forms are effete as old oaks, although young ones may grow out of them. Neither Calvinism, nor Presbyterianism, nor Thirty-nine Articles, nor High Churchism, nor Low Churchism, nor any existing organization, can be the Church of the future! May God give us patience to wait. It may be one thousand or three thousand years yet ere it come, but come it will" (Dr. NORMAN M'LEOD, from his Biography). Did he ever read the heavenly doctrines of the New Church? His mind was sorely agitated about the doctrine of the Atonement, about which he was forced to relinquish his old orthodox notions. Correspondence. (To the Editor of the Intellectual Repository.) WHEN I sent my few remarks upon the use of fermented wine in the Holy Communion, I had no intention of opening up a teetotal controversy in the pages of the Intellectual, although I ought, perhaps, to |