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shall not give a full analysis. Its leading object manifestly is, to give a very favourable view of the state of France, as the result of the measures pursued by the government; and to secure a perseverance for the future, in the course which was adopted by the predecessors of the present members of the Chambers. But, although the speech begins with the declaration, that "France has continued in undisturbed tranquillity since the last session, and the enjoyment of the blessings of peace and order," it contains plain indications that there are parties and projects prevalent in France, which have already given trouble to the government, and which are the source of anxiety for the future. On this subject the king holds the following language-" An increasing vigilance is still necessary; insensate passions and culpable manœuvres are at work, to undermine the foundations of social order. We will oppose to them your loyal concurrence, the firmness of the magistrates, the activity of the administration, the courage and patriotism of the national guard and the army, the wisdom of the nation, enlightened as to the danger of those illusions, which those who attack liberty, in pretending to defend it, still seek to propagate-and we will ensure the triumph of constitutional order, and our progress in civilization. It is thus, gentlemen, that we shall at length put an end to revolutions, and accomplish the wishes of France. I thank her for the tokens of confidence and affection with which she has surrounded me. I received them with emotion in such of the provinces as I have been able to visit; and I render thanks to Providence for the blessings which our country already enjoys, and for those of which the future holds out a promise." Several subjects of legislation are proposed. The death of the King of Spain is noticed, and information is given that the successors of the Queen Regent, and her daughter, had been recognised. Concert and a state of amity with Great Britain, are particularly mentioned; and the Chambers are informed that the relations of peace are inaintained with all other powers, and that the assurance of its continuance has been received. The renewal of diplomatic relations with Portugal, under the sovereignty of Donna Maria, is also announced; and the continuance of the military establishments, without diminution, is declared to be demanded, by the state both of the Spanish peninsula, and the Ottoman empire. It appears that the House of Peers responded, speedily and cordially, to the speech of the king; but in the Chamber of Deputies, there was a warm altercation on the answer which should be made to the speech, and the debate was not terminated at the date of the last accounts. We have remarked in our article of Religious Intelligence, which we hope will receive an attentive perusal, what all the information recently received from France, goes to confirm; that a settled state of this interesting country, in its political concerns, cannot exist, without a change for the better in its moral condition-It appears that the Duke of Orleans intends to visit, and to spend the greater part of the present year, in the United States-His arrival will probably be announced in the present or coming month.

SPAIN-Till the last arrival, the Carlists, or opposers of the present regency of Spain, were represented as gaining advantages, and becoming very numerous and formidable, in the northern provinces of the kingdom; and that the Queen Regent had rather frowned on a communication made to her of the embodying of a large army of Constitutionalists under a general of the name of Llander, in the province of Catalonia. But accounts direct from Madrid, of so recent a date as the 17th of January, bring the following interesting intelligence. On the 16th January, a most daring and deep-rooted conspiracy of the Carlist party was discovered. The plan was to destroy the Queen Regent, her two daughters, the Infant, Don Francis, his wife, and all his children-in fact, to destroy all the royal family. Many of the most distinguished persons, of all ranks, had been arrested and thrown into prison. The Liberals became so indignant at the conduct of the Premier, Zea Bermudez, and his fellow ministers-by whose negligence the conspiracy had been so near being accomplished-that they repaired to the house of Zea Bermudez, on the night of the 16th, for the purpose of destroying him; but being unable to find him, they vented their rage by destroying his furniture and valuables. The excitement was so great that the Queen Regent changed her government at once, by removing all her ministers except Zarco Del Valle, of the War Department. Martinez de la Rosa, is appointed Premier, in the place of Zea Bermudez: Gareli is called to the Department of Justice; Vasquez Fiqueroa, Minister of the Marine; and Aranalde, to the Finance Department. Nearly all the Captains-general of the various Provinces, have addressed the most energetic representations to the Queen, requiring a representative government, and demanding the immediate assembling of the Cortes. A new state of things had taken place; the Liberals were again in power; and exiles from foreign countries, were returning to the land of their nativity. The Pope and the King of Naples, still continue to refuse to recognise the Infant, Donna Isabella, as the lawful sovereign of Spain. They doubtless still hope to see their friend, Don Carlos, on the throne of this kingdom.

PORTUGAL. The cause of Don Miguel in Portugal, is waning. His whole force is said not to exceed 6,000 men. He, however, still occupies several fortresses, which will require a far larger number of troops to subdue them, than those by which they are garrisoned; and troops, it appears, do not abound under the direction of Don Pedro. A frigate of 48 guns, from Goa, in the East Indies, with a rich cargo and £20,000 sterling in cash, intended for Don Miguel, lately came into the port of Lisbon, uninformed of the surrender of the place to Don Pedro. The frigate was allowed to pursue her course, till she was completely under the command of the forts, and was then apprized of her situation. No resistance was made, and the next day the flag of Donna Maria was hoisted, in place of that under which the ship had come into port.

Since writing the above, an arrival from Havre, which was left on the 30th January, brings information, "that intelligence had been received in England, of an important advantage gained by the troops of Don Pedro, over those of Don Miguel."

GREECE, TURKEY in Europe, AUSTRIA, PRUSSIA, HOLLAND, BELGIUM, DENMARK, SWEDEN. We have noticed nothing in the public papers, for the last month, relative to political changes or occurrences in any of these States, of such importance as to claim a place in our brief chronicle. There has, however, been an occurrence in Germany, relative to an individual, which we think we ought to notice. In our number for September last, we inserted, from the Eclectic Review, an extended article, relative to a most extraordinary youth, by the name of CASPAR HAUSER. It was mentioned in that article, that after he was taken from the prison, or rather hole, in which he had been immured from infancy, and with a manifest intention to make that infancy perpetual, an attempt had been made to assassinate him. The attempt at that time was unsuccessful; but recent information has been received, that he has at length been made the victim of the assassin's poniard. The motive of this horrible deed is not known. We have seen a conjecture, that poor Caspar was probably the illegitimate son of some ecclesiastic, who was fearful that if he lived, the knowledge of his patronage would bring disgrace, and perhaps degradation, on his father. What probability there is in this conjecture, we are unable to decide-He was induced to meet a stranger in a retired place, and received two wounds from a dagger, of which he died the following day. The murderer escaped, and had not been discovered at the date of the last accounts.

RUSSIA. The south of Russia is suffering by famine. Whole villages, near Odessa, had been deserted for want of food.

ASIA.

A famine is raging with great severity at Cashmere, in the hither India. The accounts of the number who have perished by real starvation, are shocking in the extreme. In the mean time, upwards of 50,000 have died in six weeks, of the Cholera, in the city of Lucknow. Oude, Cawnpoor, and Banda, are the regions or places most afflicted.

AFRICA.

The Pacha of Egypt is stated to be taking every precaution for meeting the dearth, and other disastrous consequences, expected to follow from the failure of the overflowing of the Nile. Although his armies were completely victorious over those of the Grand Seignor, he has recently paid an enormous sum, as a tribute to his nominal

master.

AMERICA.

The republic of Peru, it appears, is suffering under another revolution; and in the contiguous country and city of Guayaquil, a counter-revolution, instigated and conducted by General Mina, is reported to have taken place in November last. Alas! When will revolutions cease among our Southern neighbours! Our prayer is, that they may there come to an end, and not invade our own endangered country-of which we have nothing to add to what we stated in our last number.

THE

CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE.

MAY, 1834.

Religious Communications.

THE INCALCULABLE WORTH OF THE SOUL.

MATT. XVI. 20.-" For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

These words were addressed by our Saviour to his disciples, as an admonition against the folly of forsaking him, on account of any danger or difficulty which an adherence to his cause might induce. He had reminded them that to save, or to prolong their mortal life, by apostatizing from him, would prove in the event the greatest loss, as it would preclude them from an eternal life beyond the grave: And that, on the other hand, if by an inflexible attachment to him, they should subject themselves to death itself, their gain would be immense; as the death of the body would immediately introduce them to a happy and unending existence in heaven, as the reward of their fidelity. Having clearly held forth these important ideas in the context, he gives them, in the words on which I discourse, a weighty and powerful enforcement, by putting two questions, the answers to which are obvious, and yet so overwhelming as to forbid expression-As if he had said "What will it profit a man though he gain the whole world, if he lose his soul in getting it? Or if he barter away his soul, what will he give in exchange for it, that it may be restored to him again?"

In discoursing on these interrogatories of our Saviour, a real difficulty arises, from the circumstance that they contain truth so plain as almost to preclude illustration, and so important as to render enforcement seemingly superfluous, if not disadvantageous. This, perhaps, would truly be the case, if lamentable experience did not teach us, that our meditations are apt to be desultory, wandering, slight and superficial, in regard even to the most interesting topics of a spiritual kind, and therefore have much need of something to fix and deepen them. The preaching of the word is the instituted ordinance by which this effect is usually produced, even when that which is delivered is neither novel as to the matter discussed, nor striking as to the form in which it is presented. Let me then entreat you to go along with me into a train of serious thinking, on the familiar but important truths which the passage before us suggests-lifting up your souls to God for the aids of his grace, that our meditations may be richly blessed to our spiritual edification-"What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

It is the evident intention of these solemn questions, to call our Ch. Adv.-VOL. XII. 2 B

attention to a comparison between the value of the soul, and that of any other possession or consideration, for which it may be exchanged or lost; and to induce us to make and act upon a just view and estimate of this great concern. I see no method of treating them, therefore, more proper than to consider dictinctly

I. The value of the soul: Or to show rather, that it is altogether invaluable, and incapable of having an adequate price set upon it.

II. That it must, of course, be unspeakable folly to exchange it for any consideration or possession whatsoever, on account of which it may be sacrificed: And

III. To apply and improve the subject.

On each of these points I shall detain you but a few minutes; but O! that they may be minutes of close and solemn attention.

1. We are to consider the value of the soul: Or to show, rather, that it is altogether invaluable.

We must begin here with an idea hinted at in the text, and which is distinctly stated by one of the evangelists by whom it is recorded. The idea is, that the soul of man is himself, and consequently that nothing else can be equally precious to its possessor, however it may be estimated by others, or whatever may be its value in itself. The word which is here rendered soul, is in the original the same which, in the preceding verses, is rendered life; and it appears that the text, in this view, had become proverbial among the Jews. When they wished to express the palpable and gross absurdity of giving, as the price of any proposed good, the very capacity of possessing and enjoying it, they said "What will it profit a man to gain the whole world by the loss of his life?" Our Lord, probably alluding to this proverb, and using the word that signified life to denote the soul, or the principle of life itself, which the language in which he spoke fully allowed, gave a spiritual turn and application to the adage, and accommodated it to his purpose with great energy and beauty. He urged them, and he urges us, to think of the indescribable folly of those, who for the sake of grasping at the fleeting shadow of a world, subject themselves by the very act to the total perdition of their souls of souls which, being once lost, the losers can neither enjoy the object for which they gave them, nor recall the act by which they bartered them away. If it would be, as I am sure you would think it, a trifling with your understandings, to enter into a formal argument to prove that a man must be literally beside himself, who should deliberately sell his soul, though he actually obtained the whole world in stipulating for its price-think, then, I beseech you, how severe is the censure which this very circumstance inflicts on the greater part of mankind, who are actually and constantly doing a thing, which is too manifestly and awfully absurd to justify argument or admit of illustration. The fact, alas! is incapable of denial-Indeed I can scarcely think without horror, on the probability that many of those who now hear me, are concerned in this shocking traffic of giving themselves for the offers of the world-Giving their souls to the world, and therefore giving them for it; so that if this covenant with death be not speedily broken, final, irretrievable perdition, must be the consequence. For "the friendship of the world is enmity with God; whosoever therefore will be the friend of the world is the enemy of God."

2. The incalculable worth of the soul appears from the price which was paid for its redemption.

Is it not probable, brethren, that this consideration was in the view

of the Saviour, when he pronounced the text? Being himself the Creator of the world, and the Redeemer of the soul, he knew the value of both-He knew that the world was made by a word; but that to save the human soul it behooved him to come from heaven to earth, and to lay down his life as a ransom for it. Verily this is a thought that deserves to be most seriously pondered by us. It is indeed true, that the exhibition of the divine glory before the whole intelligent creation, is the ultimate purpose of the Deity in all his works. But this circumstance takes nothing from any representation which can be made of the importance of man's redemption, as it is argued from the method in which it was effected-The circumstance rather adds weight to the argument. It shows that the salvation of a number of our lost race, was an event so intimately and essentially connected with the highest of all possible objects, the glory of God, that infinite wisdom determined to provide for it, even at all that amazing expense which the attainment of it required, and which it actually cost. Remember then, dear brethren, that "We were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold-but with the precious blood of Christ." Consider whatever could be done or endured by the eternal Son of God, "the brightness of his Father's glory and the express image of his person," as a matter of price or worth; and then search your imaginations for another object of equal value. Consider the humiliation of such a great and glorious being, his assuming "the form of a servant, and becoming a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”-Consider him as persecuted, despised, insulted, and derided, while "found in the likeness of sinful flesh"-Consider him as having heaven, earth and hell set against him; so that in his agonizing conflict "he sweat great drops of blood falling down to the ground; and exclaiming on the cross," My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"-Consider him, at last, as dying with the vilest malefactors, and himself represented as the greatest of all-While you consider these things, imagine that you were ignorant of the plan of redemption, and were called on to point out an object, or a purpose, worthy to be achieved by such a treatment of the Son of God-Would you be able to name it? Would you dare to say that you judged it proper that the Author of all things should give himself in this manner for any of his works, or for all of them collectively? You would not-you ought not. Yet oh! the sovereign mercy and compassion of the Redeemer!-Having the right. to do it, he has-may I so express it!-outbidden all our estimates, hopes and expectations, and set this very price on the human soul. Though he was himself to pay the ransom, he set it thus high, and he discharged it. He actually gave himself to all the dreadful sufferings we have contemplated, that our immortal spirits might not be lost. A judge perfectly qualified and competent, has thus fixed the value of our souls, at a higher mark than our own conceptions, when challenged to the effort, could otherwise have reached. Infinitely, therefore, do we undervalue them, when we give them for any created object-Nay, the whole material creation is but the dust of the balance, when brought into this competition: For the Creator hath given himself for us-It is the language of Scripture-" He gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works."

3. The inestimable worth of the soul appears also, from its immortal nature, and the happiness or misery of which it must be the subject throughout eternity. To this consideration there has been necessarily

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