tion, is a privilege belonging, not only to the apostles and primitive Christians, as the gift of working miracles; but it is a privilege belonging to all the saints of God. While the vessels of Christ are full of treasures, and the vessels of mercy are not full, the Holy Spirit will abide with us, and continue in his office.

The church of God has suffered great loss in every age. Many strong pillars, and tall and shady cedars, are fallen. The prophets, and evangelists, and the apostles; the reformers, the martyrs, and hundreds of most useful ministers have been removed from this world to the world of spirits; and have left the church in the wilderness to mourn and lament after them, saying, The "fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?" But it is the joy, consolation, and support of the church, that the Holy Spirit abideth with her, and in her. Though the ship on the briny ocean has lost her hands, however strong and powerful they might have been to pull the ropes; and however quick in their motions to climb up the masts, and let down the small boats, to take the drowned and drowning on board; they are all gone one after another, and new hands engaged to take their places but the Captain, the ship's Owner, is still living, and his feet have never been off her board one moment since he took the register book and the compass in his hand, on the day of Pentecost: He never will meet with accidents, old age, nor death. Brethren in the ministry, this is our consolation!

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able, an opening is left in the roof of the building. In this case the shop is often divided into an anterior and posterior apartment by a partition. Galleries run round the interior, and serve for the accommodation of different kinds of stores. The partition is often very diffusely ornamented with carved work, gilding, scrolls of coloured paper, and above all, with an elegant tablet, bearing the owner's name. In the better kind of shops, the fittings are very pretty, and exhibit a great deal of neatness and taste in their arrangement. The goods are placed upon shelves, laid up in drawers, or displayed in glass cases. For the last, perhaps, they are indebted to a hint obtained from Europeans; for it is observable, that the most attractive shops are those which are furnished with goods to be sold to foreigners, or with foreign goods for the use of natives. The extent of European influence may be traced in Canton, by obvious signs of improvement, though that influence be oftentimes no greater than what is associated with a transfer of commodities. The superiority of the manufactures from Europe, naturally suggests to a Chinese the propriety of seeking for a shop, which, in the order of its furniture, exhibits a superior attention to beauty, and a correspondence of parts. The old and new China streets excel all others in the extensive suburbs of Canton, in the style of paving, the elegance of the shops, and the variety of goods they are stored withal. Now these goods are intended expressly for the accommodation of foreigners, who keep a running account with the shopmen, and give their orders with as much facility and good understanding as they do in their own country. The shopmen speak a language which is a curious mixture of Chinese, Portuguese, and English, with here and there a sprinkling from other sources. The shops which rank next after those in old and new China streets are met with in a narrow street, not far from them. These are furnished with European wares for sale among the Chinese, and, as hinted above, present a neat and tasteful appearance. The persons who wait upon customers in them, are generally well dressed, and not unfrequently gentlemen, in the grace and urbanity of their address. Most, if not all of these, are strangers to the English language, and have little need of it, as their business lies chiefly among natives. The air of

improvement which a European diffuses around him, even in the celestial land, as they fondly term it, is a circumstance worthy of note, as it affords a silent, but powerful reply to pompous and abusive edicts, and shows, in the way of practical encouragement, that the common people of China are not so conceited, or so stereotyped, as not to adopt a useful hint, when fairly placed within their reach. At the head of the shops, which have not hitherto received any improving hints from abroad, may be ranked the apothecary's. And, if we except the glass window and the showy array of glistening jars, it is a counterpart of our own. The wall behind the counter is occupied with drawers, which contain various medicaments of a dry and herbaceous kind. Above these are shelves, whereon are ranged rows of China jars, filled with liquids and moist preparations. The natives, though manufacturers of glass, seem to prefer the porcelain jar to the transparent vessel. The glass workers make bottles of small dimensions, which are very neat in figure, and very convenient for small quantities. The writer found them very opportune for diminutive and tender objects of natural history. But the use of bottles, of a large size, is confined to natives, who sell ardent spirits to the foreigner. The vessel is of foreign extraction; but the fiery and pernicious ingredient is a native product. The druggist has not yet condescended to adopt the European fashion, and perhaps has little need, as the jars are very sightly, and answer his purpose very well. We see him sometimes engaged in dispensing a prescription, selecting the several ingredients, in their respective quantities, as set down in the written formulæ sent by the physician, and exhibiting throughout a diligence that very well agrees with the importance of what he is doing. The pestle and mortar are seen, but their use, in the case of medicinal woods and roots, is superseded by the plane. By means of this instrument, the drug is cut into thin slices; and it must be confessed, that this is a more elegant plan than that of reducing it to powder, and, perhaps, a more appropriate one; for in decoction, the common form in which medicine is administered in China, the more active parts are taken up by the water, while the woody and the inert are left behind. Rhubarb, for example, instead of being reduced to the form of a powder, is cut into a thin slice,

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and may be fastened to paper for the entertainment of the physiological botanist. The shops in which the swallows' nest is prepared and sold, are numerous. nest of drawers, at the back of the counter, hold these precious articles of diet in different states, and of different qualities. The shopmen are occupied in separating the feathers and other impurities from the gelatinous parts. As the front of the shop is open, the process is fully exposed to the gazer's view; in fact, mechanical operations and manipulations are conducted in sight of the public, after the manner of the smiths, etc. in this country. The painters' shops are numerous in certain streets, and make a gay figure from the number of highly-coloured drawings exposed for show. The artist works full in the view of passengers, who very rarely stop to inspect his handy achievements, unless a stray foreigner happens to stop and gaze for better information. "What does he think of the things which we admire?" is an interesting question, and never failed to collect a great crowd of persons, to the great annoyance sometimes of the shopman, and the interruption of the public thoroughfare. The shoemakers' shops are very gay, as the shoes worn by ladies' maids, and persons of better circumstances, whose feet have not been marred, are richly embroidered, and set in rows for effect and display. Their soles are an inch or more in thickness, to increase the height of the wearer, as tallness is regarded as an accomplishment in China. Shoes worn by gentlemen are black, as colours, in this part of their dress, are reckoned unbeseeming. Pawnbrokers' shops are not unfrequent. One, within the recollection of the writer, stood at the back of a court yard. The window was long, and so high above the ground, that the persons who pledged their goods had to hold them higher than their heads, in order that the broker might receive them. By this contrivance thievery was prevented, and the men had leisure to inspect the goods before they made their offer for them. But the article is soon labelled, and its duplicate, with the money, handed to the individual. The makers of looking glasses are to be found very thickly planted in the suburbs of Canton. The greater portion of the glass made in China, is intended for this purpose, and hence, after it is blown into a large hollow spheroid, the workman proceeds to cut it with a diamond into plates

of given dimensions for mirrors. The process of silvering is very simple; a little mercury is spread over the surface of the glass, and confined there by the application of a sheet of lead foil. These looking glasses form an essential part of the ladies' dressing cases, wherewith many shops are largely stored, in company with pictures of the Chinese female wearing the softest smile the painter could impart to a very comely face. Glass is stained green or blue, and wrought into beads, rings, earrings, bracelets, ornaments for the hair, and so forth. They are ground upon a stone, which alternates within a case or frame; but does not revolve, for the Chinese have not yet lighted upon the device of a scissor-grinder's machine, by which he can turn a wheel with his foot, at any reasonable rate he pleases. The simple business of grinding a bead, is executed with labour, and at much cost of that patience for which the natives are so well distinguished. The mention of a wheel for turning, will prepare us for the clockmaker's shop, which is very common in some parts of Canton. As to the qualities of these timekeepers, experiment does not enable the writer to offer an opinion; but, perhaps, it will be enough to say, that the workman turns the wheel with one hand, while he applies the object to it with the other. He once took some pains to show a man, that the wheel ought to be turned by the foot, that both hands might be used to guide the object to be shaped and polished. They took the hint of clockmaking from foreigners; but have not yet had an opportunity of seeing the lathe. In some of the retired streets, those monuments of patience, the ivory workers, may be seen, scraping the elephant's tusk into those beautiful forms which we so much admire in this country. The mother of pearl counters are executed by the same hands, and oftentimes with the nicest touches of beauty and finish. The work is performed by a variety of chissels, which lie in a pile on the bench by the side of the artist.

Vessels made of thin brass, and beautifully painted, furnish employment for the labourer, and articles for display in many shops. Urns, ewers, basins, and vessels of various forms and sizes, are made of this material. The colours are laid on with the pencil, as the painter sits upon a stool, and rests the jug against the bench. The landscapes and portraits

upon the best China ware are also laid on with the pencil. Pewter is manufactured into pots, urns, and other vessels of playful device. A shop, furnished with these things, is a very pretty sight; the antique nature of the pattern and the brightness of the polish, are often curiously contrasted with each other. Not a few shops are furnished with desks, trunks, and cases for Europeans; and as their judgment and discrimination are well known, these articles are made in a style very different from those that are meant for natives. For one, a pleasing outside will do, but the other demands the highest skill, with the best of materials. G. T. L.

OLD HUMPHREY ON CHARACTER.

THERE are many people who find much gratification in observing others. Wherever they are, whatever they see and hear, and with whomsoever they associate, they are always on the lookout for those peculiarities that constitute character. You shall have a few of my characters; they are oddly tumbled together; but you may pick out here and there, what may prove to be seasonable information.

There are weak-minded and feeblebodied invalids, who are never well, and who never would be well if they could. The doctor must call, the draught must be taken, and every friend must tell them, on pain of serious displeasure, that they look very ill, and must take great care of themselves. I have met with a few of these.

There are quiet folks in the world, who let others have their way, who sit and laugh in their sleeves, and withal get pitied and petted into the bargain. This class is somewhat scarce; but it has come within the range of my observation.

There are ignorant, hot-headed, highminded, hurley-burley blusterers, who tyrannize wherever they have power. To rail at servants, to look big and call about them at inns and other places, and to quarrel with the feeble and timorous is their delight.

There are tattling gad-abouts, who can no more withhold from the whole neighbourhood anything they may happen to know or hear, than a cackling hen, that has just laid an egg. Be it true or false, let it do good or evil, the story must be told. Sorry am I to say,

that the tribe of the gad-abouts is a

numerous one.

There are kind-hearted souls, who can never be happy themselves, unless they can make others so. Half a dozen such as these in a village, and a score in a town, do more real good, and fling around them more sunshine, than a hundred merely respectable inhabitants. Oh, how I love to fall in with a being of this description!

There are free givers, who have not a particle of charity. They will head a subscription, visit a benevolent institution, put largely in the plate at the church or chapel door, and plead the cause of the widow and the orphan. These things are done "that they may be seen of men," and "verily they have their reward."

There are passionate persons, so hot and peppery, so truly combustible, that a word will throw them into a blaze. Whether the offence be small or great, intended or accidental, it is all one. They are like loaded guns, which go off when the least thing touches the trigger. Of such a one as this it was aptly said,

"He carries in his breast a spark of ire,

That any fool may fan into a fire."

There are thoughtful men who remain at home, and grow wise; and there are thoughtless wanderers who go abroad, and come back ignorant. It is not what the eye sees, but what the mind reflects on, that supplies us with wisdom.

There are persons who, acting from sudden impulse, make use of such highflown exclamations on trifling occasions, that they have no suitable words for occurrences of importance. They know nothing of the positive and comparative, but always make use of the superlative. The squeaking of a mouse and the fall of a church spire would call forth the same ejaculation. The offenders of this class are usually feminine.

There are indolent indulgers of themselves, so lethargic that they can make no effort, except on occasions of extraordinary necessity, like the glutton that gorges himself to supply his hunger, and then relapses into his accustomed torpidity.

There are busy bodies, whose own business seems not to be of half so much importance to them as the occupations of others. These sift trifling matters to the bottom; make much of little things, and do a plentiful deal of

mischief to all around them. They gain the credit of knowing every body and every thing. Some court them, some fear them, and some despise them; but every one dislikes them.

There are susceptible, affectionate, and impulsive spirits, who quickly manifest their kind-hearted feelings, but do not retain them. Like the spark that gives a momentary warmth and brightness, and is suddenly extinguished, their emotions come and go with the occasion that calls them forth. With many of this class have I held communion.

There are well-meaning, weak-minded simpletons, who cannot say, No! but agree in every thing with every body; such sentences as these are ever in their mouths :-"You are right, sir!" "True! true! true!" "Exactly so!" "It cannot be otherwise!" "Undoubtedly !" "To be sure it is !" "That is what Í say !" "There is no question about the matter !" "I see! I see !"

There are silent and reflecting observers of men and things, who commonly hear and see, and say nothing. They neither approve nor condemn audibly, and many imagine that they have no opinion; yet there are times when they can speak. When you meet with such an one, hold him, and let him not go; for he is worth his weight in gold.

There are speakers fond of fine words: they are so self-sufficient and ill instructed as to confound simple language with a deficiency of intellect, thereby undervaluing what is really an attainment of a high order, and only to be acquired by much study and practice. Students of this kind abound.

There are thankless repiners, who always remember to complain of the least of their troubles, and always forget to rejoice and thank God for the boundless blessings he has so liberally bestowed. A thankless spirit is a curse to its possessor.

There are true cocoa nut friends, who with a rough outside possess great kindness of heart. These speak rather with their hands than their tongues; with their deeds, than with their words. If you have such a friend, value him; for you may go far, and not find another.

There are polished and plausible persons who have ever fair words at their disposal. They promise freely, but perform slowly. There is a silky softness in their persuasions, that ill prepares

my friends, the velvet-like paw of a cat conceals talons that are dangerous.

There are rude, unmannerly guzzlers, who take a pride in making themselves at home wherever they go, to the great annoyance of all who are not of the same stamp with them. They who show no respect to others are utterly undeserving of it themselves.

There are hard-hearted, callous-minded, money-getting, mammon-clutchers, on whom a tale of distress has no more effect than a ball has on the stone wall against which it is thrown. Where the soul is absorbed in getting, the heart has little pleasure in giving. These mammon clutchers are a numerous family.

There are habitual and industrious Bible readers, who set a value on the word of God, above all earthly things. It is a stronghold where they go for safety; a treasure house where they obtain riches, and a never-failing source of wisdom, encouragement, doctrine, reproof, and correction in righteousness. If you know any of this class, keep up your acquaintance with them.

There are poetical sentimentalists, who revel in the beauties of creation, and prefer worshipping God in the green fields on the sabbath, to meeting in his house with his people. Their sentiment may be fine, and their poetry excellent; but their piety is of a very doubtful character. If we truly love God, we truly desire, whatever may be our infirmities, to obey God, "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together," according to his word.

There are proud and supercilious sceptics, who affect to pity simple-minded Christians, preferring pride and destruction to humility and peace. They feed on husks, and refuse the fatted calf; they sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind; and they live without the hope of eternal life, and lay up thorns for a dying pillow. I am afraid that the number of this class is on the increase.

There are mercy-loving men, who practise kindness to man and beast, and refrain from treading on a creeping thing. Mercy is a glorious attribute! freely have we received of it, freely let us bestow it. A friend of this sort in a shadowy hour is as balm to a rankling wound.

There are ill-natured and imperious churls, who are more willingly employed in giving pain than pleasure.

tenderness, and mercy, but love to reprove, to condemn, to afflict, and oppress. "The instruments of the churl are evil," Isa. xxxii. 7.

There are compassionate spirits, whose charity is without judgment; the semblance of woe is enough to call forth their pity. With them an impostor in rags is always more successful than a poor woman decently clad, or a distressed man in a whole coat. I have half a dozen people in my eye, while I make this remark.

There are unstable, whining, weakheaded changelings, who are not today what they were yesterday, nor will they be to-morrow what they are today. As well may you desire the weathercock, on the church steeple, to keep to one point, as expect them to be steady in their purposes. The less you have to do with friends of this kind, the better.

There are narrow-minded men, ay, and women too, who have humanity enough to do a deed of kindness, but not generosity enough to abstain from upbraiding the receiver of it. With one hand they give, with the other they smite. You never hear the last of any act they perform. For a pennyworth of goodwill they exact a pound's worth of acknowledgments. Their little drops of honey are mingled with much wormwood and gall.

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There are grateful spirits that, come good or ill, are always singing of mercy." To them the heavens declare the glory of God, and the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. A spirit of this kind is worth a sea full of sapphires!

There are prating old men, who talk much about themselves: often are they grave when they should be gay; frequently do they give advice to their neighbours abroad, while they stand in need of it at home, and continually, while they appear to others as strong, wise, and good, do they feel themselves to be weak, ignorant, and sinful. Come, come, I have hit at last upon something so much like my own character, that I must stop awhile, and muse upon If any thing that I have brought forward is suitable to your case, if, in this budget of odds and ends, you should find a cap that will fit you, put it on and wear it awhile for the sake of Old Humphrey.

it.