that followed his exaltation to the heavenly glory. This ascension ought to convince us, that He has a sovereign authority over all things, and that his kingdom is spiritual and heavenly. It should likewise engage us continually to raise our thoughts and our desires towards that glorious mansion where our Lord is exalted at the right hand of his Father, and where He also prepares for us an everlasting habitation; and to live in a constant practice of holiness in expectation of his coming again.-Ostervald. 2.Whitsunday.–The Holy Ghost, the Comforter. The Holy Ghost comforts the faithful, in inspiring them with confidence to address themselves to God as to a Father full of kindness and goodness, in shedding abroad his love in their hearts, disposing them to set their affections on the good things of eternity, which alone can afford true consolation, and in rendering them victorious over the temptation of sin, which is the only evil which ought to affect us. This is not only the fruit of the labours, prayers, and death of Christ as the victim of God. slain upon the cross, but likewise of the intercession which He offers continually for us in heaven as our HighPriest.-Quesnel. 3. Trinity Sunday.-The Trinity in Unity. "Through Christ we have access by one Spirit unto the Father." To the Father, with a due sense of this great honour and privilege, as sons of God, let us therefore address ourselves for pardon and admission to our heavenly inheritance. "O God, the Father of heaven, have mercy upon us, miserable sinners!" But as we have no deserts of our own, no works of righteousness by which to claim his favour, and are entitled only through the sufferings and satisfaction of Christ, let us beseech Him to intercede for us and plead his merits with the Father. "O God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy upon us, miserable sinners!" And since the benefits of his merits are applied, and our pardon sealed, and ourselves enabled to render an acceptable service, only by the operations and assistance of the Holy Spirit, let us implore his aid also: "O God, the Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, have mercy upon us, miserable sinners!" Yet remembering that salvation is the one sole undivided end and work of all; therefore to all let us address our earnest prayers and invocations, as to the Great Power to whom we have consecrated ourselves and services: "O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, three Persons and one God, have mercy upon us, miserable sinners!"-Bishop Horne. Sent by the Rev. T. FARLEY. WATCHFULNESS. HE who wishes to make religion his business will ever with holy jealousy watch the motions of his own heart, for "out of it are the issues of life." He will deal with his heart as the Jews dealt with the holy sepulchre : "they made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone and setting a watch." And thus a devout and heavenlyminded Christian, when he has been engaged in the sacred duties of religion, when, for instance, his heart has been lifted up to God in prayer, or he has been sealed a true believer by the Holy Spirit at the table of the Lord's Supper, will, after the sealing, set a watch. He will pray lest the cares of the world, into which he has again entered, should quench the flame of piety in his heart. He will "make a covenant with his eyes," and set a spy over his thoughts, to "bring them into captivity to the obedience of Christ." He will avoid the company of the ungodly, and seek the society of those who may confirm the good impressions he has received. And thus, with his loins girt and his lamp burning, he will live soberly, righteously, and godly all the days of his life. G. S. R. DRUID'S ALTAR IN IRELAND. THE above print represents one of those monuments of former times, called by antiquaries Druids' altars, and which are supposed to have been used by these ancient heathen priests as altars for sacrifice. This species of rude altar is very common in many parts of Ireland. They are formed of one enormous stone, sustained in some places by rows of pillars, and sometimes by three or more large stones; that in the print appears to have been of the latter class. It is situated in the Island of Magee, in Ireland. Each of the stones on which the slab rests is full three feet above the ground, and the top stone six feet in length, and about the same in breadth. They are called, in the Irish language, Cromleach, from "Crom," God, and "leach," a flat stone. It is conjectured by some that they are the remains of the ancient mode of offering sacrifices. Noah, after he left the ark, built an altar, and offered up sacrifice on it to the Lord, Gen. viii. 20. And it is to be supposed that he built it of such coarse and rude stones as the mountain where the ark rested afforded. In Exodus xx. 25. they had a command not to build altars of hewn stone, from which it is imagined that these Cromleachs are only the remaining effects of the ancient law and custom, of not striking a tool upon the stones of their altars, Deut. xxvii. 5. Some persons, however, deny that these extraordinary remains were altars, and consider them rather as ancient tombs; and perhaps they were intended for both purposes, for among many ancient nations their earliest altars were the monuments of the dead. ACCOUNT OF AN EXPERIMENT OF A BIBLE CLASS. I AM induced, by the advice of a friend, to send you an account of a Bible Class for adults, which during the last four years it has been my privilege and happiness to conduct in the parish of which I am the curate. I am not the only clergyman who has experienced the difficulty of devising any plan of ministerial duty, by which access can be obtained to the adult male population of our parishes. By means of schools we can instruct and watch VOL. XXII. L over the young, by daily visiting, or by cottage lectures in hamlets distant from the church, we can bring the aged or infirm within the range of our ministerial instructions, but it is difficult to become acquainted with the labouring men. They are only at home in the evening, when the distance of their habitations prevents our reaching them, and when, if we did, we should perhaps not discover the objects of our search; the public-houses and beer-shops established in every hamlet and every green, holding out so many inducements to them to leave their families. On Sundays but few come to church, probably not more than one in seven; and thus, except in times of sickness, we find it almost impossible to devise a plan by which we can reach them; and yet that is one of the most important duties of the ministry. These men are the fathers of large families, who depend on them for an example; and a great part of the comfort of home must depend upon their regularity and good conduct. Where the head of a family is a pious man, the result is felt throughout; where it is otherwise, even though the wife is a pious woman, she can effect, humanly speaking, but little comparative good. During a ministry of many years in the same parish, I had been painfully sensible of this difficulty, without knowing how to remedy or meet it. It happened, however, by the mercy of God, that about four years ago, my health became, comparatively speaking, so infirm, that I was not allowed to undertake the duties of a very large church. Preaching was altogether prohibited. When Sunday came, I greatly missed the accustomed delightful duties of the day, and I obtained permission from my rector to assemble a few men before the morning service in the Infant School Room, in order to read them a chapter in the Bible before going to church. I well remember the first morning we met; we were a little party of twelve men, they feeling a little nervous at the idea of reading to me, and I feeling very desirous of making it interesting to them, and to divest it of all undue formality and restraint. We drew a few forms round the fire, and then I invited them each to read a verse, I having taken my verse in turn with them. When we came to a paragraph we stopped, and I asked a few simple |