have been the effect on the republic? What would have been the outcome of Paine's life and influence, as a whole, for his country? What relief would his patriotic pamphlets have offered to a calamity like this? They would have been the light of a glow-worm in a night of despair. Better, a thousand-fold, to have left us under the shelter of Christian England, with all the tyranny of her government. Better leave the Ship of State on the stocks than to launch her, without helm or compass, to a sure wreck and ruin.

Whether Mr. Paine ever came to recognize the work he had attempted to do, is an open question. That he ever forsook his anti-Christian attitude there is no sufficient proof. But that he grew uneasy as he approached his end, that he suffered from such alarms as are commonly explained by remorse, is as certain as any fact that rests on evidence.

On the 11th of June, 1849, the writer enjoyed an interview with Dr. Manly, of New York, the physician of Mr. Paine during his last illness, in 1810. Dr. M., who must have passed his threescore years and ten, was highly respected in his profession and a gentleman of evident candor and simplicity of character. He defended his former patient from several discreditable rumors, as, for instance, that he inveigled away the wife of his friend Bonneville.

There had been published, over Dr. Manly's name, the following account of Paine's last hours:

"During the latter part of his life, though his conversation was equivocal, his conduct was singular. He would not be left alone, night or day. He not only required to have some person with him, but he must see that he or she was there, and would not allow his curtain to be closed at any time. And if, as it would sometimes unavoidedly happen, he was left alone, he would scream and halloo until some person came

to him. When relief from pain would admit, he seemed thoughtful and contemplative, his eyes being generally closed, and his hands folded upon his breast, although he never slept without the assistance of an anodyne. There was something remarkable in his conduct about this period (which comprises about two weeks immediately preceding his death) particularly when we reflect that Thomas Paine was author of the 'Age of Reason.' He would call out during his paroxysms of distress without intermission, O Lord, help me! God, help me! Jesus Christ, help me, Lord help me,' etc., repeating the same expression without any variation, in a tone of voice that would alarm the house. It was this conduct which led me to think that he had abandoned his former opinions, and I was more inclined to that belief, when I understood from his nurse, who is a very serious, and, I believe, pious woman, that he would occasionally inquire when he saw her engaged with a book, what she was reading; and being answered, and asked, at the same time, whether she would read afoud, he assented and would appear to give particular attention. The book she usually read was Hobart's 'Companion for the Altar.'

"I took occasion, during the night of the 5th and 6th of June, to test the strength of his opinions respecting Revelation. I purposely made him a very late visit. It was at a time that seemed to sort exactly with my errand. It was midnight. He was in great distress, constantly exclaiming in the words above mentioned; when, after a considerable preface, I addressed him in the following manner, the nurse being present: "Mr. Paine, your opinions, by a large portion of the community, have been treated with deference; you have never been in the habit of mixing in your conversation words of course; you have never indulged in the practice of profane swearing. You must be sensible that we are acquainted with your religious opinions as they are given to the world. What must we think of your present conduct? Why do you call upon Jesus Christ to help you? Do you believe that He can help you? Do you believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ? Come, now, answer me honestly. I want an answer from the lips of a dying man, for I verily believe that you will not live twenty-four hours.' I waited some time at the end of every question; he did not answer, but ceased to exclaim in the above manner. Again I addressed him, ' Mr. Paine, you have not answered my questions; will you answer them? Allow me to ask again, Do you believe, or let me qualify the question, do you wish to believe, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? After a pause of some minutes, he answered, 'I have no wish to believe on that subject.' I then left him, and know not whether he afterward spoke to

any person on any subject, though he lived, as I before observed, to the morning of the 8th. Such conduct, under usual circumstances, I con sider absolutely unaccountable; though with diffidence I would remark, not so much so in the present instance. For though the first necessary and general result of conviction be a sincere wish to atone for evil committed, yet it may be a question worthy of able consideration, whether excessive pride of opinion, consummate vanity and inordinate self-love might not prevent or retard that otherwise natural consequence?"

The object of the present writer in seeking an interview with Dr. Manly was to obtain from his own lips a confirraation or denial of these statements. Dr. M. acknowledged and re-affirmed them in every particular. He added that the outcries were so violent as to be distinctly heard by the neighbors in a house standing diagonally opposite, and at a considerable distance from Mr. Paine's residence. And they were evidently cries from no mere physical pain. If Col. Ingersoll were in pain to-day, would he call upon Jesus Christ for relief? Thomas Paine was not a man of so barren thought or meager speech that he could find no other ejaculation. He may not have clearly seen the wickedness and folly of the "Age of Reason." But a candid reader will hardly doubt that he inwardly trembled with some vague fear of coming retribution as he looked out into the shadows.

"THERE is but one book; bring me the Bible."-Sir Walter Scott.

"THAT book" (pointing to the Bible,) "is the rock upon which our republic rests."-Andrew Jackson.

YOUNG man, attend to the voice of one who has possessed a certain degree of fame, and who will shortly appear before his Maker. Read the Bible every day of your life." -Dr. Samuel Johnson.

"THE farther the ages advance in cultivation, the more can the Bible be used, partly as the foundation, partly as the means of education, not, of course, by superficial, but by really wise men."-Goethe.

"PERUSE the books of philosophers with all their pomp of diction: how meagre, how contemptible, are they when compared with the Scriptures. The majesty of the Scripture strikes me with admiration."-Rousseau.

"But it is a much more serious ground of offense against Voltaire that he intermeddled in religion without being himself in any measure religious; that, in a word, he ardently, and with long-continued effort, warred against Christianity, without understanding, beyond the mere superficies, what Christianity was."-Carlyle's Criticism of Voltaire.

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"THE Bible is a fountain whose waters feed intellect, heart, life, promoting the highest worship as well as the largest humanity. Kingdoms fall, institutions perish, civilizations change, human doctrines disappear; but the imperishable truths which pervade and sanctify the Bible shall bear it up above the flood of change and the deluge of years. It will forever remain."-James Freeman Clarke.

"FOR a wonder, gentlemen, for a wonder, I know nobody, either in France or anywhere else, who could write and speak with more art and talent. I defy you all-as many as are here—to prepare a tale so simple, and at the same time so sublime and so touching as the tale of the passion and death of Jesus Christ; which produces the same effect, which makes a sensation so strong and as generally felt, and whose influence will be the same, after so many centuries."-Diderot

"I HAVE carefully and regularly perused the holy Scriptures, and am of opinion that the volume, independently of its divine origin, contains more sublimity, purer morality, more important history, and finer strains, both of poetry and eloquence, than could be collected within the same compass from all other books that were ever composed in any age or in any idiom."-Sir William Jones.

"THIS book is the mirror of the Divinity, the rightful regent of the world. Other books, after shining their season, may perish in flames fiercer than those which consumed the Alexandrian library; this, in essence, must remain pure as gold and unconsumable as asbestos, amid the flames of general conflagration. Other books may be forgotten in the universe where suns go down and disappear like bubbles in the stream; this book, transferred to a higher clime, shall shine as the brightness of that eternal firmament, and as those higher stars which are forever and forever."George Gilfillan.