men amongst them, and some are teetotallers. There are three schools connected with the establishment, and endowed by the proprietors, to which the children of the workmen are sent free, viz., an infant-school, and a boys' and girls' school. There is likewise a flourishing mechanics' institution at Low Moor, which is supported by the men at the works. The proprietors have 400 houses of their own, in which a portion of the men and their families reside, and medical attendance is provided for all the work people without any charge to them.

185

SKETCHES IN THE VALE OF THE CALDER.

ST. JOHN'S IN THE WILDERNESS.

ALL my readers will remember the personal character and mission of St. John the Baptist. He was the connecting link between the old dispensation of the Law and the Prophets, and the new Gospel of Life, with its baptism of the Holy Ghost, and of Fire; so that he may be called the last of that long and illustrious line of Hebrew Prophets, whose collective history is the most wonderful of all human records. Each one of these Prophets stands out before us, in the sacred books, like a fiery visaged statue, conjured up from the vast and solemn imagination of some poetic Michael Angelo. There is a severe grandeur about their persons which renders them at once objects of awe and reverence; whilst the austerity, sanctity, and seclusion of their lives, invest them with mystery and supernatural authority. I remember how, in my early youth, I was struck with the bold and decisive aspect of these Men of God, as they appeared to me in the Vision of the Scripture; with what terror I listened to their fierce denunciations

of the old world "lying in wickedness ;" and with what tears of joy I welcomed their message of salvation to that world, if men would only "hearken unto the Lord," and turn from their evil ways and The impression which that early reading gave me of the persons and character of these old Prophets has never died away, but they still appear to me as Messengers of the Eternal, dwelling upon the earth, but not of the earth; each one, with his black hair and streaming beard; his eyes flashing with the heaven's lightnings; his loins girded; a mantle over his shoulders, and a staff in his right hand, as if he had come from a strange, far off country to deliver his Evangel, and then abruptly and swiftly to go his way. It is moving likewise to see these men in their great loneliness,—childless, friendless, upborne by no outward circumstance, but penetrated with the Divine significance of Man's Life, and absorbed in the contemplation of the Everlasting. And now that the Divine meaning of the life these men lived is manifest to me, I regard them with unspeakable reverence. All that concerns them is, to my mind, full of significance. Elijah carried to Heaven in his Chariot of Fire, and dropping his sacred mantle upon the shoulders of his upgazing, awe-struck brother; the ravens feeding Elijah by the brook; and all the marvellous histories of the Prophet Order, are henceforth, not only histories to me, but Living and Speaking Oracles of God. But looking at them only in an historical point of view, how wonderful were the ways and influence of the Prophets.Passing to and fro amongst the cities and haunts of men, admonishing, threatening, commanding. Poor themselves, and dwelling in caves and wild wildernesses, with asps and the poisonous cocką.

trice, which harmed them not, they wielded power over kings, and held the destinies of nations in their hands. They passed lions by the wayside, whose fury was tamed by the shadow of their pre sence. The fiery furnace could not consume them, nor wild beasts tear them. And the mockers who cried after them, "go up, thou bald head!" as they journied with the Word of the Lord in their mouths, must learn even by the fangs of bears, that verily a God liveth in the earth, who will protect and avenge his own.

John the Baptist then was, as I said, the last of these ancient prophets, filling up, as it were, the broken chasm of inspiration, and connecting the old world with the new. He also dwelt in the wilderness, far from the pursuits of men, preparing himself for his Divine mission. He reigned there, the king of that wild desert-red-visaged-with the old prophet fire slumbering in his black eyesand in his attire, shaggy like a born son of the desert. For his loins were girded with the camel's hair; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. When his hour was come, and his fame was gone abroad, over all the region round about, the people flocked to hear him; for he had a message to deliver unto them.

Now, there are two religious houses in this neighbourhood, which are called after St. John the Baptist, because they are both built in the wilderness. One of them is a church in the Todmorden Vale, and the other is a chapel on Pole Moor. We will visit them both; for they are not only interesting in themselves, but on account of the historical objects and associations which surround them. First of all, then, let us go to church; for that was the custom of our forefathers; and, as it

has become very fashionable of late years, we will, if you please, ride there. Seat yourselves, then, in this railway carriage; the fire-breathing horse is already harnessed, and impatient to be gone. The last bell has sounded-the clock of the Huddersfield station points with its long finger to the minute of starting. The shrill, horrible, whistle screams, echoing over our heads; the first labouring efforts of the fiery horse are heard ;—we move; faster and still more fast; and now away we roll over the arches of the magnificent viaduct, the town far below us, so that we can almost see down the chimnies, into the houses, which if we could quite do, would reveal to us as strange sights as those which Asmodeus saw in Spain, or Teufelsdrock imagined in Germany. All the way to Cooper Bridge, if we except the deep cuttings through the hills, you will have fine scenic views of mountain, vale, meadow, and water. When you leave the Cooper Bridge station, which you must do by the next train going to Manchester, I will advise you to keep your eyes wide open, and to make the best use you can of them; for you will be whirled at the rate of thirty miles an hour through a land of surpassing beauty, which I will not attempt to describe. And when we stop at Mytholmroyd station, where our pedestrian journey to the church of St. John begins, you will feel, as you look towards Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, like one who is suddenly cheated of a fair inheritance. For nature assumes in that direction every aspect you can imagine of loveliness and wild sublimity. The mountains increase in height, boldness, and grandeur-now covered with forests, which extend from their summits far down into deep, precipitous ravines; and now bare, bald, and