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ing to live. The interests of eternity must be settled, and can any of you tell how long you are to have to make that settlement? Time can be to each of you only your life-time. And your life-time! which of you knows what that is to be? It is a term that includes as many varieties of duration as there are moments in the "threescore years and ten." By the will of Him "in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind," you have been spared to various stages of advancement in your earthly journey; and I would remind every one of you, that if a coming eternity has not yet been provided for, the chief business of life has yet been neg. lected; every moment of it has been mispent; and how many mo ments may now remain, who has the foresight to predict? "In the midst of life we are in death." The God "in whose hand your breath is," may have dated your death much earlier than you are dating it yourselves. You may be counting years, while he is numbering moments. And the manner of it, as well as the time, may be widely different, indeed, from your anticipations. The present instant only can be called your own. Oh, let it not be misimproved. "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salva tion; to-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." Yes, to-day; now, even now, come to Christ; believe in his name; for the mercy of God through his atoning blood; seek an interest in him, as the soul's only safety for eternity.-Dr. Wardlaw.

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THE CONTRAST.-Should christianity universally prevail, should its precepts be acted upon, in all the length and breadth of their require. ments, there would be no occasion for bolts, nor bars, nor penitentia. ries, nor anything of the kind; every man would become as an angel, and earth as a paradise! But, if Infidelity should universally prevail and triumph, who believes that there would be no occasion for bolts, and bars, and penitentiaries? Who believes that every man would become as an angel, and earth as a paradise? In the provi dence of God Infidelity did once prevail. Where? In revolutionary France. When? During that period so properly called "The Reign of Terror." Yes, Infidelity did then prevail and triumph, for then the National Convention decreed that there was no God. The Sabbath was abolished; churches were closed or converted into "Temples of Reason." Death was declared to be an eternal sleep; and the Bible was dragged along the streets of Lyons in a way of derision and contempt. Yes, Infidelity then prevailed and triumphed; and most frightful was its reign. Its crown was terror,—its throne the guillotine, its sceptre the battle-axe,—its palace-yard a field of blood,— and its royal robes dripped and dripped with human gore! All France was, as it were, one vast slaughter-house, and the rulers of France as demons from the bottomless pit! "Oh, my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united."

-Dr. Baker.

A Page for the Young.

LITTLE BELL; OR, THE NEW YEAR'S DRESS.

"Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what
a day may bring forth."

"The holidays, the holidays,"
Said laughing little Bell,-

"The happy cheers, and greeting lays,
I ever love them well;

And then the nuts, the cakes, and toys,
Come in to heighten still my joys.

"I wonder if sweet cousin Bess,
Will New Year's spend with me;
I love her dimpled cheek to press,
She is so kind and free.

How cheerily will pass the day
If cousin Bess can with me play.

"And here's my purse," continued Bell;
"Tis almost filled with chink,

To buy my dress; dear mother, tell,
Shall it be blue or pink?

Oh, shall I not on New Year's shine
In that new dress, so nice and fine?”

The merry Christmas came, but where
Was little rosy Bell?

A tiny cot was spread, and there
Her ghastly features tell

That soon her struggles will be o'er,
And little Bell will be no more.

As Parian marble soon she lay,

All white and cold in death,-
This lovely one, who yesterday
Was sporting with each breath;
Her auburn curls, still tinged with gold,
Lay on that bosom now so cold.

A budding rose was on her breast,
Wet with her mother's tears;
But, little Bell, thy New Year's dress
Nor blue nor pink appears.
Thy treasured store, once thy delight,
Purchased a robe of snowy white,
To clothe thee for the silent tomb,
Where New Year's greetings never come.

THE NEW YEAR AND THE HOUSE

OF GOD.

"What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord, now in the presence of all his people.”—Psalm cxvi. 12—14.

Thus sung the Psalmist; thus let us also enquire, resolve, and do. What so fitting at the beginning of a New Year, as to recal the Lord's benefits to mind, for many and great are they to our bodies and our souls? What so fitting as to do it in His house?

"We will call upon our souls, and all that is within us, to bless His Holy Name." We will call upon our families to join with us, acknowledging the mercies which a New Year brings to mind; but we will also give Him honour and praise before our fellow-men, and with them too. Most becoming is it that they and we should join in celebrating His mercies to our whole community. We all feel so much more deeply what we join with our fellow-men in doing. Their interest and zeal strengthen ours, and ours strengthen theirs. The gospel worship of God is peculiarly a social worship. It aims to bind our hearts to each other as well as towards God, by our common worship of one gracious Father, and one blessed Saviour, through the grace of one Holy Spirit.

Almost everywhere on New Year's Day, and everywhere on the first Lord's-day in the year, sermons will be preached and prayers offered appropriate to the time. Let us join in them with heartiness and delight. If the past year has seen us neglecters of the House of God, let the New Year awaken us to the duty and the privilege of the Public Worship of our God.

THE APPEAL;

A Magazine for the People.

"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof is the ways of DEATH."-Prov: xvi. 25.

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A PAGE FOR THE YOUNG. WHAT WILL THE END BE? THE POOR BOY.

Cover, p. 3.

TOO BUSY!-Cover, p. 4.

PRICE ONE HALFPENNY.

LEEDS:

JOHN HEATON, 7, BRIGGATE;

LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO., ARTHUR HALL & CO., BENJAMIN L. GREEN;

EDINBURGH: JOHNSTONE & HUNTER.

May be had by order of any Bookseller.

As "The Appeal" is especially designed for usefulness to the class amongst whom Town and City Missionaries labour, the following communication may be interesting to those who circulate it already :

Southfield Place,

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Bradford, Dec. 29th, 1851.

- Dear Sirs, In looking over the Journal of one of the Agents of our Town Mission, I met with the following case:-"The Appeal" has been instrumental, through the blessing of God, in arresting the attention of a thoughtless young man who happened to take it into his hand to read while at a friend's house. From that time he began regularly to attend a place of worship on the Sabbath, and now professes to be happy in the enjoyment of God's love. This is not the only case of an encouraging nature that we have met with respecting "The Appeal," in the course of our Missionary labours. I am, yours very truly,

To the Editors of "The Appeal."

WILLIAM LOGAN, Town MISSIONARY.

"The Appeal" is already largely circulated by several Missions and Local Tract Societies in towns, and we venture to hope that no series of Religious Tracts of the present day is more suited to the numerous operatives of manufacturing districts. Taking each number throughout, it fully complies even with the fundamental principle of the Religious Tract Society's publications,—namely, that of each tract enabling a hitherto ignorant person to learn from it all the essential truths of the Gospel; while its narratives and directly religious appeals, are, to say the least, as interesting as those of any other tract. On the other hand, some article will frequently be found at the beginning adapted to gain the good-will of the vast number who despise religious tracts, on the supposition that they are the product of Priestcraft, and of the class opposed to their social and political rights. The Editors are not unwilling their readers should know that, though utterly opposed to Physical Force Chartism, and irreverent and licentious Infidelity, they yet hate Priestcraft in every form and sect as the greatest foe to Christianity, and fully believe in the equal Political Rights of all classes. They do not, indeed, advocate any distinctive Political or Religious creed (unless evangelical sentiments may be so termed); but they think it an advantage to be able to use topics of the day of general interest, as texts for suitable religious suggestions, and to advert to them without disguising their own sincere attachment to the People's party in public questions. Even Distributors, zealous to do religious good, who may not concur in every opinion of the Editors on such questions, and who are yet fully aware that the Editors' views are more acceptable to the many than their own, will, we think, deem it an advantage to have a tract to put into the hands of the gainsaying, which they can recommend as written by persons on their own side. Our object is the Religious Welfare of our Readers. To secure that object in cases where we should otherwise be rejected with contempt, we think it must be well to let them know how much we have in common with them. We do not belong to the school of coaxing philanthropists, but of those who would first give the people their Rights, and then supply, by charity, what was needed further. These ex,planatory remarks have been suggested to us by the note inserted above, and by occasional remarks we have heard from some friends, on those pieces which we think best calculated to obtain the good-will of our intelligent, but frequently misled operatives, towards religious persons and their writings. A religious writer for the many, sharing on public questions the views of the many, ought, in the present day, to let them be known.

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