Hale, that "of all the persons who were convicted of capital crimes, while he was on the bench, he found a few only, who would not confess that they began their career of wickedness by a neglect of the duties of the Sabbath, and vicious conduct on that day."

5. The prisons in our own land could probably tell us, that they have scarcely a solitary tenant, who had not broken. over the restraints of the Sabbath, before he was abandoned to crime. You may enact laws for the suppression of immorality; but the secret and silent power of the Sabbath constitutes a stronger shield to the vital interest of the community, than any code of penal statutes that ever was enacted. The Sabbath is the key-stone of the arch which sustains the temple of virtue, which, however defaced, will survive many a rude shock, so long as the foundation remains firm.

6. The observance of the Sabbath is, also, most influential in securing national prosperity. The God of Heaven has said, "Them that honor me, will I honor." You will not often find a notorious Sabbath-breaker a permanently prosperous man; and a Sabbath-breaking community is never a happy or prosperous community. There are a multitude of unobserved influences, which the Sabbath exerts upon the temporal welfare of men. It promotes the spirit of good order and harmony; it elevates the poor from want; it +transforms squalid wretchedness; it imparts self-respect and elevation of character; it promotes softness and civility of manners; it brings together the rich and the poor, upon one common level, in the house of prayer; it purifies and strengthens the social affections, and makes the family circle the center of allurement, and the source of instruction, comfort, and happiness. Like its own divine religion, "it has the promise of the life that now is, and that which is to come," for men can not put themselves beyond the reach of hope and heaven, so long as they treasure up this one command, "Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy."

CLXIX. GOD'S GOODNESS TO SUCH AS FEAR HIM.

1. FRET not thyself because of evil-doers,

Neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity;
For they shall be cut down like the grass,

And wither as the green herb.

Trust in the LORD and do goo 1;

So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

Delight thyself, also, in the LORD,

And He shall give thee the desires of thy heart.

Commit thy way unto the LORD;

Trust also in Him, and IIe shall bring it to pass,

And He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light,

And thy judgment as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.

2. Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, Because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger and forsake wrath;

Fret not thyself, in any wise, to do evil,

For evil-doers shall be cut off;

But those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earthı. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be;

Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth,

And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

3. A little, that a righteous man hath,

Is better than the riches of many wicked;
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
The LORD knoweth the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever;
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time;
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

4. The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD,
And he delighteth in his way;

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down,
For the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

But the wicked shall perish,

And the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs,

They shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

The wicked borroweth and payeth not again;

But the righteous sheweth mercy and giveth.

For such as are blessed of him shall inherit the earth.

5. I have been young, and now am old,

Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his seed begging bread.

He is ever merciful and lendeth,
And his seed is blessed.

6. Depart from evil and do good,
And dwell for evermore;
For the LORD loveth judgment,
And forsaketh not his saints:
They are preserved forever:

But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
The righteous shall inherit the land,

And dwell therein forever.

The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom,

And his tongue talketh of judgment;

The law of his God is in his heart;

None of his steps shall slide.

The wicked watcheth the righteous,
And seeketh to slay him.

The Lord will not leave him in his hand,
Nor condemn him when he is judged.

7. Wait on the LORD and keep his way,

And He shall exalt thee to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut of, thou shalt see it.
I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a green bay-tree;
Yet he passed away, and lo, he was not;
Yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

CLXX. CHARACTER OF COLUMBUS.

FROM IRVING.

1. COLUMBUS was a man of great and inventive genius. The operations of his mind were energetic, but irregular; bursting forth, at times, with that irresistible force which characterizes intellect of such an order. His ambition was lofty and noble, inspiring him with high thoughts, and an anxiety to distinguish himself by great achievements. He aimed at dignity and wealth in the same clevated spirit with which he sought renown; they were to rise from the territories he should discover, and be commensurate in importance,

2. His conduct was characterized by the grandeur of his views, and the magnanimity of his spirit. Instead of ravaging the newly found countries, like many of his cotemporary discoverers, who were intent only on immediate gain, he regarded them with the eyes of a legislator; he sought to colonize and cultivate them, to civilize the natives, to build cities, introduce the useful arts, subject every thing to the control of law, order, and religion, and thus to found regular and prosperous empires. That he failed in this, was the fault of the dissolute rabble which it was his misfortune to com ́mand, with whom all law was tyranny; and all order oppression.

3. He was naturally irascible and impetuous, and keenly sensible to injury and injustice; yet the quickness of his temper was counteracted by the generosity and benevolence of his heart. The magnanimity of his nature shone forth through all the troubles of his stormy career. Though continually outraged in his dignity, braved in his authority. foiled in his plans, and endangered in his person, by the seditions of turbulent and worthless men, and that, too, at times when suffering under anguish of body and anxiety of mind, enough to exasperate the most patient, yet he restrained his valiant and indignant spirit, and brought himself to forbear, and reason, and even to supplicate. Nor can the reader of the story of his eventful life, fail to notice how free he was from all feeling of revenge, how ready to forgive and forget, on the least sign of repentance and atonement. He has been exalted for his skill in controlling others, but far greater praise is due to him for the firmness he displayed in governing himself.

4. His piety was genuine and fervent. Religion mingled with the whole course of his thoughts and actions, and shone forth in his most private and unstudied writings. Whenever he made any great discovery, he devoutly returned thanks to God. The voice of prayer and the melody of praise, rose from his ships on discovering the new world, and his first action on landing was, to prostrate himself upon the earth, and offer up thanksgiving. All his great enterprises were undertaken in the name of the Holy Trinity, and he partook of the holy sacrament previous to embarkation. He observed the festi

The Sabbath

vals of the Church in the wildest situations. was to him a day of sacred rest, on which he would never sail from a port, unless in case of extreme necessity. The religion thus deeply seated in his soul, diffused a sober dignity and a benign composure, over his whole deportment; his very language was pure and guarded, and free from all gross or irreverent expressions.

5. A peculiar trait in his rich and varied character remains to be noticed; namely, that ardent and enthusiastic imagination, which threw a magnificence over his whole course of thought. A poetical temperament is discernible throughout all his writings, and in all his actions. We see it in all his descriptions of the beauties of the wild land he was discovering, in the enthusiasm with which he extolled the blandness of the temperature, the purity of the atmosphere, the fragrance of the air, "full of dew and sweetness," the verdure of the forests, the grandeur of the mountains, and the crystal purity of the running streams. It spread a glorious and golden world around him, and tinged every thing with its own gorgeous colors.

6. With all the visionary fervor of his imagination, its fondest dreams fell short of the reality. He died in ignorance of the real grandeur of his discovery. Until his last breath, he entertained the idea that he had merely opened a new way to the old resorts of opulent commerce, and had discovered some of the wild regions of the East. What visions of glory would have broken upon his mind, could he have known that he had indeed discovered a new continent, equal to the old world in magnitude, and separated by two vast oceans, from all the earth hitherto known by civilized man! How would his magnanimous spirit have been consoled amid the afflictions. of age and the cares of penury, the neglect of a fickle public and the injustice of an ungrateful king, could he have anticipated the splendid empires which would arise in the beautiful world he had discovered; and the nations, and tongues, and languages, which were to fill its land with his renown, and to revere and bless his name to the latest posterity.