lence and sympathy; of active, persevering, self-denying charity; of confidential, child-like intercourse with parents, and prompt, cheerful obedience to their commands; of kind, disinterested, and obliging, sisterly affection; in short, of those innumerable nameless, yet lovely and really essential traits of female character; when are these to be formed? And more important still, when are to be stamped upon the soul, those religious impressions, which will probably decide its eternal destiny, if not before commencing studies, which require the undivided attention, and literally absorb every faculty. For it is a melancholy fact, that as years and purely intellectual cultivation progress, the heart, with its delicate and complicated combinations of emotions, passions, and desires, becomes perverse, indurated and insensible. In conclusion, I inquire, on what principle, physical, intellectual, or moral, is it, that a girl who has hardly attained to the dignity of "Miss in her 'teens," shall be expected to become a proficient in all the studies of her elder brother in college, as well as perfect herself in a variety of difficult and exclusively feminine accomplishments?

DEAR MADAM,

For the Mother's Magazine.

I HAVE observed with much sorrow the fatal effects which ambition is producing in our country. People, in the richer class of society, vie with each other in splendor and luxury of living.

Those in the poorer class are envious of the rich, and all seem running a race, not for the honors of a heavenly crown, but the petty distinctions of worldly greatness. Even Christians are tinctured with this soul-destroying vice, that we are ready to cry out, as did the disciples of Christ, "Who can be saved?" and the only answer is given in the reply of our Savior, "That which is impossible with men, is possible with God."

Impressed with the danger to which our beloved country, and the churches of our God, are exposed by this fatal ambition, I send you a few extracts from the impressive work of Caroline Fry, (“Christ our Example,”) with the hope it may open the eyes of many mothers to the real interest of their children, by teaching them that true greatness consists, not in the honor which cometh from man, but in rising above the flattering distinctions of the world, and seeking that honor which God only can bestow. S. H.

CHRIST OUR EXAMPLE.

"CHRIST JESUS was the only one who chose his own condition in the world, and his choice was adverse to all that human wisdom could have suggested: we should have said of him, as we say of ourselves, that an elevated station would afford the greatest means of doing good. What an effect, as we should think, would have been produced, had Jesus made the throne of the Roman empire the stepping-stone to the cross, and exhibited his passion and his humiliation before the delegates of the universe assembled there, through whom the report would have gone forth to every nation under heaven. Our Savior judged otherwise. He chose his birth-place in a tributary province, not among the rich and noble, but with its poorest and most unknown class. He deigned not to make use of earthly distinctions to manifest his greatness. Nor was it for himself alone that Jesus chose poverty and meanness of condition. He

selected his disciples from among the lowest class in society; not that he preferred the poor, because they were poor, but because he knew it to be the state in which his followers would best subserve his Father's purposes; a choice as little consonant with our ideas of what would have been best, as that which he made for himself, because the sudden conversion of twelve men of distinguished talent and elevated station, would have produced a great sensation, tending more directly, as it seems to us, to evangelize the world. God judged otherwise. As individuals, we should aim to be conformed to the image of our Lord. He chose to be the least of all men. Who besides him does so? Some may suppose he selected a state of poverty because it exposed him to suffering, which was the purpose of his coming into this world. This is not true an exalted station is an exposure to more danger than an obscure one. and wealth has never succeeded to buy off calamity.

"The toils we endure to obtain an eminence, the difficulties we contend with to maintain ourselves upon it, are ample proofs that it is not for ease or safety we desire to rise. But who is of the mind of Christ? When we look upon the condition of our country at this moment, we may well repeat the question; for what has brought us to it, but inordinate, proud, extravagant desires: no matter whether for money, for rank, for influence, or under the more plausible names of refinement and respectability: to be foremost, to be uppermost, to be more than our fathers were, and to push our children still above ourselves, is the great effort? God, in displeasure, has gratified the proud desire to the utmost: the upward progress for a time has been very rapid; but the reproof of Heaven has gone forth-would that it might prove in mercy, "Go to, ye rich men, weep and howl for the miseries that shall come upon you; ye have lived in pleasure upon the earth and been wanton." This is the text: if we want the comment, look upon your children grown up in luxury, made profligate by indulgence, reduced to penury, too delicate to make exertions, left to the world's pity or scorn, subject to privations, which are most painful now, but which would have been no hardship had you bred them in the same industrious and simple habits by which you rose to affluence. There would be a remedy, even to these poor children of indulgence, if men would reflect, that "they are strangers and pilgrims upon earth, who have no abiding place," travellers whom it encumbers to have much to carry. But men do not believe what the Scripture says we are. Followers by profession of him who had not where to lay his head, they can find no place high enough for the repose of theirs. Worshippers (so they say) at the manger and the cross, yet no mansion is large enough, no acres broad enough, no tables so richly spread, no garments so costly, as to suffice them. Christ did not ask wealth and honor of his Father for those he loved when he left them. He never, that we know of, advanced the fortunes of any individual while on earth. He bade the amiable young ruler part with all his riches. You, who, through many a painful struggle, possibly through many a sin, have risen to consequence, do you never look back with regret on younger days, when your name was an obscure one, your home a simple one, and your healthful spirit enjoyed as an indulgence, all that exceeded your necessities? You, whose happiness consists in the opinion men entertain of your style, your connexions, your importance, do you, when your

company has retired, and your chamber door closed, think yourself more happy than some of your former associates, who are too humble, or too heavenlyminded, to care for the world's thinkings. Every Christian should know, every one who is like-minded with his Lord does know, that distinctions are not desirable; and the more he possesses, the less is he proud of the gifts. A child of God, whose heart is as it should be, is never reminded of his power, his wealth, or his talents, but his soul is troubled under a sense of his unworthiness, and the deep responsibility that rests upon him. Like most of the genuine traces of Christian character, this is a hidden feature. God alone can distinguish between the inflated bosom, with its "I thank thee" that I am gifted more than others, and the humility that can only whisper, "Be merciful to my inadequate return."

From the moment an infant opens its eyes on the light, a Christian parent's responsibility begins. The choice our heavenly Father made for his children should regulate our desires for those whose characters are in a measure within our influence. When we begin to form the habits, and give a bias to the minds of our infant children, and devise schemes for their future establishment, it is then that our value for the things of earth is fully manifested, whether or not we be like-minded with our Lord. It rests with us to save them from indulging an inordinate desire for the pride of life, by giving them simple habits, moderate wishes, and a just estimate of what constitute the greatness and the happiness of a child of God. The Scriptures, in a variety of examples, teach us the folly as well as the guilt of placing our desires on the things of earth. It shows us the first Adam, Lord of all he beheld, possessed of the world's good things, when they were good indeed, falling on the first temptation. Lot exposing himself to the sin and to the doom of Sodom, because of the wellwatered plains. Solomon corrupting himself in possession with the very greatness he had been once too wise to ask. The rich man leaving Christ, because he had too much of earth to leave for him. "All men," as St. Paul expresses it," seeking their own, and not the things of Christ"-exposing themselves to temptation, because they will be rich, be great, be above their original station in life. On the other hand, the Scripture exhibits Christ, the second Adam, choosing lowliness as the fittest state in which to recover what the first in his plenitude had lost, making himself the servant of all; and shows us those who are renewed in his likeness exhibiting the same character. Moses preferring adversity with the people of God, to the riches and royalty of Egypt. Abraham leaving all that he had, to go out, he knew not whither; and those many, of whom the world was not worthy, who held its greatness for nothing, and its wealth for dross.

"Consider then, Christian mothers, the danger of implanting vain and proud imaginings in the minds of your children-consider them as heirs of celestial glory. What have they to do with the honors and pride of this life? are they not, if prepared for it, in a few days to receive a heavenly crown, in comparison of which, the greatest empire is as the dust we walk upon ?"

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PHILIP MELANCTHON

For the Mother's Magazine.

PHILIP MELANC THON.

SKETCHES OF THE LIFE OF PHILIP MELANCTHON, WITH BRIEF NOTICES OF PASCAL AND LUTHER, is the title of a Sabbath School book which we could wish to see placed in the hands of every youth in our land. It is a divine maxim that "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise;" this, in its principle, is as applicable to the reading, as well as to the social intercourse, of great and good men. He who is frequently conversant with great events, and witnesses scenes of splendor and magnificence, will rapidly acquire an expansion of views, which he could never otherwise have obtained. It is obvious to every reflecting mind that the youth who is accustomed to contemplate the characters and actions of eminent men, as developed in biographical sketches, will find eventually that their own opinions, habits, and feelings were materially influenced and formed by such models."

On the other hand, if the young mind is suffered to dwell upon scenes or characters, which exhibit nothing but what is low, vicious, or trifling, however fascinating it may be rendered by language or circumstances, he will find his mind, ere he is aware of the fact, contaminated and degraded.

If the youth of our country, who enjoy such vast advantages from the Sabbath School, would remain stedfast in the faith, whatever temptations may hereafter arise from heresies, an acquaintance with the life of the Reformers will be very useful. We give a short extract from the work. "It was the piety of Melancthon that imparted the highest excellence to his character, gave him peace of mind, and furnished the leading motive to his great and valuable labors. While his mind was enlightened and directed by the study of the scriptures, his faith and hope were cherished and all his pious affections invigorated by prayer.

"He prayed much himself. He found much encouragement in the prayers

of others.

"At a time when the interest of the Reformation seemed to languish, he with some other good men, met together to consider what was to be done, in those distressing circumstances. Feeling deeply their own weakness and insufficiency to decide what was best, they betook themselves to prayer, seeking wisdom and help from God. Melancthon's tender spirit was much distressed, and as he was called to leave the room, where they were engaged in prayer, his deep dejection was observed in his countenance.

"But in his absence, he beheld a number of the officers of the churches and their families, with other Christian brethren, their wives, and little children, engaged in prayer. The sight affected his heart. Remembering the words of David, 'Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength, because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and avenger;' he returned, animated and cheerful, to his friends. Surprised at the change in his countenance, Luther cried out, 'What now! What has happened to you, Philip? O Sir,' said he, I have seen our noble protectors. Let us not be discouraged they will prevail over every foe.' 'And pray,' replied Luther,

FEMALE INFLUENCE.

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'Who and where are they?' 'O!' rejoined Melancthon, They are the wives of our parishioners and their little children, whose prayers I have just witnessed-prayers which I am satisfied our God will hear: for as our Heavenly Father, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has never despised or rejected our supplications, we have reason to trust that he will not, in the present hour."

MY DEAR MRS. W.

For the Mother's Magazine.

FEMALE INFLUENCE.

In perusing a work written by the celebrated, and now deeply-lamented Wirt, my attention was arrested by the following beautiful remarks on Female Influence-especially that of mothers; and deeming it an appropriate subject, and calculated to do good to the numerous readers of your excellent magazine, I take the liberty of submitting to your better judgment the propriety of its publication.

Philadelphia.

Yours,

B. H.

"THE virtues of this country are with our women, and the only remaining hope of the resurrection of the genius and character of the nation rests with them. Need I assert that since the revolution this character has most wofully declined? Look to our public bodies, and the question is answered. Where is the remedy? No national institution can be hoped for; it would cost money! How is the glory of the republic to be retrieved? How is the republic itself to stand? As to our men, they are differently employed; how employed, through pity to them, I will not now say. But the mothers of the country, and those who are to become mothers, have the character of the nation in their hands. O! if to their virtues and their personal graces, they would superadd that additional culture of the mind which would fit them for this noble task, and warm them in the enterprise, I should not envy Rome her Agrippina, her Aurelia, her Atia, her Julia Precilla, or Cornelia.

“Who is it that moulds and directs the character of our boys for the first ten or twelve decisive years of their life? Not the father; for such are his engagements, or such the state and reserve of his manners, that his sons but rarely come in contact with him. No it is in the nursery, it is in the gentle and attractive society of the mother; it is in her affectionate bosom and on her lap that the blossoms of the heart and mind begin their bloom; it is she, who bends the twig and thus decides the character of the tree. How then ought she to be accomplished for this important office! How wide, and diversified her reading and information! How numerous the historic models of great men with which her memory should be stored! How grand and noble the tone of her own character!"