On this subject, I notice only another passage of Scripture, which, however, I am the more disposed to do, from its being one of those, which I well remember my own Father quoting, again and again, with peculiar emphasis, to myself when young ; dwelling occasionally on the four last words:

"Then said Jehovah (to Jonah), Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow ; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: and should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle ?"

Here was a man, who had been sent by the Lord God of the Hebrews, as a kind of ambassador-extraordinary to the then metropolis of the world, and whose message had produced an amazing effect. His

"whereon yet never man sat." In all this there was something more than strict conformity to the law, and even to prophecy, Zech. ix. 9. The meekness and humility of the King of Zion were on that day no doubt conspicuous; but in riding into Jerusalem, amidst the acclamations of a multitude, and the branches of palm-trees, which were more than sufficient to render unruly even an animal accustomed to be used; see this unbroken creature, all the while, quiet, and tractable, and steady! If men will not allow the Divine Power to have been here exerted, they will surely confess, that precisely the same thing had never happened before, and that it has never since. Often, indeed, does the Author of Nature send us to the beasts of the field for instruction, Ps. xxxii. 8, 9. But what an implication was there in all this, to that untoward generation, whom neither judgment nor mercy could move to submission! The Messiah, however, it seems, would not leave his meaning only to be inferred; for it is perhaps not in general observed, it was when thus seated, upon this very animal, now so docile, that upon his coming near, and beholding the city, he wept over it, saying" If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong to thy peace, but now they are hid from thine eyes!" Such were the melancholy effects of voluntary ignorance and obstinate perverseness.

conduct from the beginning, and his spirit in fretting himself as it were to death, does indeed appear most unreasonable, and even inhuman. But all along it should seem the Almighty had a design to accomplish upon him, as well as on the Ninevites; and with both he succeeded: while his patience with the instrument, and compassion for those to whom he was sent, are alike divine. Now, here humanity to the human species and the animal creation is pled, at the same moment, by him who " preserveth man and beast ;" and pled so triumphantly, that it seems as if Jonah, deeply criminal though he had been, was confounded, and silenced, and humbled. He answered not a word; and, with these expressions in his ear, was probably prepared to serve Jehovah in a very. different spirit throughout his whole life.

If I have dwelt too long on this disposition of humanity, let the cruelties so notoriously sanctioned, even in Britain, be my apology. To humanize man after he has grown up-to change the lion into a lamb, is the prerogative of God; but to train up a Child in the way in which he should go, is the injunction of the same God, who will never withhold his blessing upon his own express precept. Let us then apply to the instituted fountain, from whence humanity alone can flow; and with regard to the whole of the inferior creation, let Parents especially bear in mind, that

"The sum is this-If man's convenience, health,

Or safety, interfere, his rights and claims

Are paramount, and must extinguish theirs.
Else, they are all the meanest things that are

As free to live, and to enjoy that life,

As God was free to form them at the first,
Who, in his sovereign wisdom, made them all.
Ye, therefore, who love mercy, teach your sons
To love it too. The spring-time of our years
Is soon dishonour'd, and defiled in most
By budding ills, that ask a prudent hand
To check them. But, alas! none sooner shoots,
If unrestrain'd, into luxuriant growth
Than cruelty, most devilish of them all.
Mercy to him that shows it, is the rule

And righteous limitation of its act,

By which Heaven moves in pardoning guilty man ;
And he that shows none, being ripe in years,
And conscious of the outrage he commits,

Shall seek it, and not find it, in his turn."

Generosity. In the study of the Jewish economy, you will find many things powerfully calculated to enforce this disposition. The original division of the land among the several tribes, being according to their families, each tribe was settled in the same district, and each family in the same barony or hundred. Thus, domestic virtue and affection had an extensive sphere of action. Not only was provision thus made for the happiness of moral and rural life, but the poor might everywhere expect more ready assistance, since they implored it from men whose sympathy in their sufferings would be quickened by hereditary friendship, if not by natural connexion. Besides the tithe every third and the seventh year, for the year when the indigent, the widow, and the stranger, were free to use whatever the ground brought forth of itself; to them annually belonged a share of the olive and the vine; nor was there a corner of a single field, over the whole land, which was not to be left for them. Yes, left for them; for though thus permitted to enter, in their season, into private property, they

poor;

were not to be idle, but to gather and collect their sustenance. Nor was even this all

"When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it : it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. When thou beatest thine olive tree thou shalt not go over the boughs again it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow."

Now, high as this ground may seem, teach your Children, in regard to the incumbent and delightful disposition of generosity, that we, as Christians, stand upon higher still. Point them to the "Father of Mercies" above, "from whom cometh down every good and every perfect gift." In our world, he has much to do, every hour of the day, and every season of the year. On the produce of that year depends the existence of the world; but teach them to observe, that it consists, uniformly, of two parts-not only bread to the eater, but seed to the sower. Inform them, that the property of the Christian, if not of man, consists also of two such parts; that though the poor call one of these their savings, and the rich, their fortune, that both parties often labour under a great mistake. Ask them, What would become of the husbandman, were he to act by his seed-corn as the poor often act by their "savings," and the rich by their "fortune?" and ask them, What can become of the professing Christian who disregards that law of Heaven" He which soweth sparingly, shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully,

shall reap also bountifully ?" Can such a man, say you, lawfully expect that "He who ministereth seed to the sower, will both minister bread for his food, and multiply his seed sown, and increase the fruits of his righteousness?" Certainly not; he never did, and he never will. Tell them, that this man even reaps sparingly, and that, even in this life: tell them, that if God does not keep him poor, which he often does, he may not grant him contentment; or that the evidences of his Christianity must remain, to his own mind, confused or dubious, and that the consolations of God are small with him!

Early, therefore, train your Children to the habit of giving away, freely. Mutual presents may be of service; but distinguish, as soon as may be, between the giving of that which costs nothing, and true generosity, which involves self-denial. Inform them, plentifully, of truly bountiful men, and repeat, again and again, generous deeds. Admire, in their hearing, Araunah the Jebusite; and David, the king of Israel; and Nehemiah, the cup-bearer; and the poor widow that cast in all that she had, even all her living! but, oh! above and beyond all, Him who," although he was rich, for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich."

Accustom your Children, from early life, to observe, that "this is the way to thrive," whatever the selfish and the covetous may say; and that, if Christians, and if (disgusted with the cheap and ostentatious giving which is still consistent with covetousness), they should only act on these scriptural principles, aiming after secrecy and delicacy in all that