THE DIVINITY AND HUMANITY OF CHRIST.-The divine and human natures of Christ were manifested in all his words and works. As man he communed in familiar intercourse with his disciples, calling them friends, and even stooping to serve them; as God he taught those sublime truths which omniscience alone could know, with authority which omnipotence only could warrant. As man his heart moved with compassion toward the distressed and suffering; as God he miraculously supplied their wants, and healed their diseases. As man, wearied with the toils of the day, he lay asleep in the storm-tossed vessel which bore him and his disciples across the lake: as God, when the cry of distress was heard, he rose "and rebuked the winds and the sea, and they obeyed him." First among all instances stands his conduct at Bethany. Near the close of the fourth day, since the death of a beloved brother, the anxious waiting of the bereaved sisters is interrupted by the words, "The Mas ter is come." Hear the sorrowful, half-reproachful words as they meet him, "If thou hadst been here my brother had not died." They see in the travelstained personage before them simply the friend whom they love most dearly-whose advice and assistance, timely present, might have saved their brother's life. Deeming it now too late, their minds, filled with despairing grief, fail to comprehend the import of his mysterious words, "I am the resurrection and the life: whosoever believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." Looking around upon the sorrowing multitude, the man-Christ Jesus-weeps. But see him a moment, afterward approaching the tomb where the already-decomposing body lies. All the man sinks from sight; the divinity rises in native majesty, and the voice that spoke the universe from naught cries, Lazarus, come forth!" W. H. D. THE ETERNAL DAY.-Mattison, on the "Immortality of the Soul," beautifully expresses that the death of a good man is but the dawning of an eternal day. Not till then does he enter upon real life-a life unclogged by corruption. Then is he "clothed upon," and ascends to be with Christ, which is far better. Then, farewell earth-farewell toil, and pain, and death. He goes to join the immortal company who sing and shine in the presence of God forever. "And though the hill of death May hide the bright array, The marshaled brotherhood of souls Still keeps its upward way; Upward forever upward! I see their march sublime, And hear the glorious music Of the conquerors of time." shore of the river of death, looks back upon the toils of the past, and forward to the joys of the immortal future. How appropriate his "cygnean song," the last he heard on earth: "Spirit, thy labor is o'er; Thy term of probation is run; Thy steps are now bound for the untrodden shore, Spirit, how bright is the home For which thou art now on the wing! In that "better country" there will be no more hunger, or thirst, no cold or heat, no weariness or sickness, no pain, decay, or death, forever! There the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest. The Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall lead us to the fountain of living waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes. Reader, does your bosom glow with this glorious hope of joys immortal beyond the grave? If so, of what account are our earthly trials, disappointments, and sufferings? Are they ready to be compared with the glory to be revealed? Should we not rather bless affliction-which is but for a moment-worketh for us God for every pang we feel, knowing that our light a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory? "Thou, O my soul, despond no more, Of everlasting rest. O happy day! O joyful hour! When freed from death my soul shall tower Beyond the reach of Satan's power, To be forever blest." Such is the prospect that opens before the Christian as he passes the gates of death. No wonder he shouts "Victory, victory through the blood of the Lamb!" Then welcome, death! Welcome, the tomb and the bright world beyond! Welcome, ye angels immortal! Welcome, ye blissful hosts, once of earth, and heirs of sorrow, pain, and death, but now forever free! Welcome, my long-lost kindred who await my coming! Welcome, thou gates of day, thou city of my God' Welcome, thrice welcome, thou glorious Redeemer, thou Infinite Godhead! All hail, immortality! All hail, eternal life! CHRISTIAN SECURITY.-"I have seen," says Jeremy Taylor, "young and unskillful persons sitting in a little boat, when every little wave sporting about the side of the vessel, and every motion and dancing of the barge seemed a danger, and made them cling fast unto their fellows; and yet all the while they are as safe as if they sat under a tree, while a gentle breeze shook the leaves into a refreshing and cooling shade. And the unskillful and inexperienced Christian shrieks See the dying Mozart, as he stands upon the higher out whenever his vessel shakes, thinking it always a No doubt, no darkness, no tears! The two-leaved gates of eternity are gently opening before him, and the light of that brighter world is pouring forth upon the scene of his departure. danger that the watery pavement is not stable and resident like a rock, and yet all is in himself, none at all from without; for he is indeed moving upon the water, but fastened to a rock. Faith is his foundation, and hope is his anchor, and death is his harbor, and Christ is his pilot, and heaven is his country; and all the evils of poverty, or affronts of tribunals and evil judges, of fears and sad apprehensions, are but like the loud winds blowing from the right point-they make a noise, but drive faster to the harbor. And if we do not leave the ship and jump into the sea, quit the interest of religion and run to the securities of the world, cut our cables and dissolve our hopes, grow impatient, hug a wave and die in its embraces, we are safe at sea, safer in the storm which God sends us, than in a calm when we are befriended by the world." THE WINTER OF THE HEART.-A beautiful writer counsels wisely when he says: "Live so that good angels may protect from this terrible evil-the winter of the heart. Let no chilling influence freeze up the fountains of sympathy and happiness in its depths; no cold burden settle over its wintered hopes, like the snow on faded flowers; no rude blasts of discontent moan and shriek through its desolated chambers. Your life path may lead through trials, which for a time seem utterly to impede your progress, and shut out the very light of heaven from your anxious gaze. Penury may take the place of ease and plenty; your luxurious room may be changed for a humble one; the soft couch for a straw pallet; the rich viands for the coarse food of the poor. Summer friends may forsake you, and the unpitying world pass you with scarcely a look or word of compassion. You may be forced to toil wearily, steadily on, to earn a livelihood; you may encounter fraud and the base avarice that would extort the last farthing, till you well nigh turn in disgust from your fellow-beings. Death may sever the dear ties that bind you to earth, and leave you in fearful darkness. That noble, manly brow, the sole hope of your declining years, may be taken from you while your spirit clings to him with a wild tenacity, which even the shadow of the tomb can not wholly subdue. "But amid all these sorrows, do not come to the conclusion that nobody was ever so deeply afflicted as you are, and abandon every anticipation of better days" in the unknown future. Do not lose your faith in human excellence, because confidence has sometimes been betrayed, nor believe that friendship was only a delusion, and love a bright phantom which glides away from your grasp. Do not think that you are fated to be miserable, because you are disappointed in your expectations, and baffled in your pursuits. Do not declare that God has forsaken you, when your way is hedged about with thorns, or repine sinfully, when he calls your dear ones to the land beyond the grave. Keep a holy trust in heaven through every trial; bear adver sity with fortitude, and look upward in hours of temptation and suffering, When your locks are white, your eyes are dim, and your limbs weary, when your steps falter on the verge of death's gloomy vale, still retain the freshness and buoyancy of spirit which will shield you from the winter of the heart." Literary, Scientific, and Statistical trus. ANOTHER GREAT BRIDGE. The great railroad bridge over the Susquehanna at Havre de Grace, Md., on the line of the Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington Railroad, was completed and opened for the passage of trains early in the present year. For five years from five hundred to one thousand men have been employed upon this great work. Upon its construction nearly five million feet of timber, sixty thousand cubic feet of masonry, three million pounds of wrought and cast iron have been used. The structure between the shores of the river is about 3,500 feet in length. It has thirteen supporting piers and two guard piers at the draw, and two abutments. Piers are built in water varying from 10 to 45 feet in depth. Spans are 250 feet in length between bracings. The draw span is 176 feet long. Hight of superstructure 25 feet. The superstructure is an improved form of the Howe truss. When completed each truss is to be incased entirely in iron, thus making it fire-proof and free from exposure to the weather. The peculiarity of the hy. draulic engineering connected with this work is the disuse of the coffer dam. Instead thereof water-tight wrought-iron caissons have been used in a manner new and different to any thing ever employed in this or any other country. | The whole cost of the magnificent structure has been something less than $2,000,000, and is one of the most splendid bridge structures in the world. FORMER CIVILIZATION AT THE WEST-There are many memorials in the Western States of a civilization that has perished; of nations advanced in the mechanic arts who have left no record in written history. An exchange refers to some of these relics: A most interesting feature of these regions is the ancient Indian diggings. Openings have been found in the earth accompanied by other indications, which show conclusively that copper mining was carried on here long before the country came into possession of the present occupants. These excavations have, to a great extent, become filled up, and huge trees have since grown over them, a fact which sufficiently attests their great antiquity. In some instances immense masses of copper have been found cut out and bearing the deep imprint of rough implements used upon them. But their great weight, and the lack of mechanical skill necessary to manage them, seem to have necessitated their abandonment. The stone utensils, earthen vessels, and other scanty remains still found scattered about, afford but meager data for judging of the race, character, and habits of these ancient miners. Certain it is, however, that they belonged to a race distinct from the savages, our immediate predecessors. There is nothing in the mode of life, customs, or habits of the latter, which at all indicate that they ever possessed the tastes and degree of civilization manifested by the former. Most probably they were a branch of that wide-spread people who once inhabited Mexico, the ruins of whose temples and cities are still objects of wonder. Their history, however, will doubtless forever remain unknown; and these dumb, uninscribed monuments of bronze constitute the only memorials of their existence. CONCENTRATED POWER.-When the Atlantic cable was first laid, it was supposed that it would require a galvanic battery of unusual power to send a message so long a distance. At first the electricians used a battery of 50 cells, and afterward of 500 cells. This great power, however, only injured the wire; and now they are working the cable with a battery of only 20 cells. The engineer of the company recently performed a most astonishing feat. Joining the extremities of the two cables, thus forming an immense loop of 3,700 miles, he put some acid in a lady's silver thimble, with some bits of zinc and copper; by this simple agency he succeeded in passing signals through the whole length in little more than a second of time. It is stated that the new cable has steadily improved since it was laid down; and the old is better than the new, the gutta percha and the insulation seeming to improve by submersion; and that it is far easier to telegraph from Newfoundland to Valentia in Ireland, than from Valentia to London; showing that the ocean telegraph, however long, affords the surest means of communication, and that the longer the wire, the quicker and safer is the delivery of the message. EUROPE IN 1817 AND 1867.-Messrs. Macmillan & Co., the London publishers, in announcing the "Statesman's Year Book" for 1867, make an interesting tabular comparison between the state of Europe in 1817 and 1867. The half century has extinguished three kingdoms, one grand duchy, eight duchies, four principalities, one electorate, and four republics. Three new kingdoms have arisen, and one kingdom has been transformed into an empire. There are now forty-one states in Europe, against fifty-nine which existed in 1817. It may be remarked that the nineteen grand dukes, and dukes, and princes of 1867 will be much less ducal and princely-thanks to one Bismark-than the thirty-two who ruled in 1817. Not less remarkable is the territorial extension of the superior states of the world. Russia has annexed 567,361 square miles; the United States, 1,986,009; France, 4,620; Prussia, 29,781. Sardinia, expanding into Italy, has increased by 83,041. The Indian Empire has been augmented by 431,616. The principal states that have lost territory are Turkey, Mexico, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands. THE WONDERS OF SEED.-Is there upon earth a machine, is there a palace, is there even a city, which contains so much that is wonderful as is inclosed in a single little seed-one grain of corn, one little brown apple-seed, one small seed of a tree, picked up, perhaps, by a sparrow for her little ones, the smallest of a poppy or a bluebell, or even one of the seeds that are so small that they float about in the air invisible to our eyes? Ah! there is a world of marvel and brilliant beauties hidden in each of these tiny seeds. About a hundred and fifty years ago, the celebrated Linnæus, who has been called "the father of botany," reckoned about 8,000 different kinds of plants; and he then thought that the whole number existing could not much exceed 10,000. But, a hundred years after him, M. de Candolle, of Geneva, described about 40,000 kinds of plants, and he supposed it possible that the number might even amount to 100,000. Well, have these 100,000 kinds of plants ever failed to bear the right kind of seed? Have they ever deceived us? Has a seed of wheat ever yielded barley, or the seed of a poppy grown up into a sunflower? Has a sycamore-tree ever sprung from an acorn, or a beech tree from a chestnut? A little bird may carry away the small seed of the sycamore in its beak to feed its nestlings, and on the way may drop it on the ground. noticed, and sixty years after it may become a magnifiThe tiny seed may spring up and grow where it fell uncent tree, under which the flocks of the valleys and their shepherds may rest in the shade. THE NATION'S CURSE.-The revenue commissioners estimate that there are annually consumed in this country 42,000,000 gallons of distilled spirits, 186,000,000 gallons of fermented liquors, and 10,000,000 gallons of imported liquors, the estimated cost of which is $500,000,000, on which the Government derives an income of $47,727,276. This of course does not include the liquor smuggled into the country, nor the immense amount secretly and illicitly manufactured, which would vastly increase this estimate; nor does it include the enormous loss annually sustained by labor and capital, the direct result of drinking habits, nor the suffering and vice directly caused by strong drink. THE MINERALS IN OUR BODIES.-In the body of a man weighing 154 pounds, there are about 74 pounds of mineral matter; consisting of phosphate of lime, 5 pounds 13 ounces; carbonate of lime, 1 pound; salt, 3 ounces 3.76 grains; peroxide of iron, 150 grains; silica, 3 grains-making 7 pounds, 5 ounces, and 47 grains— with minute quantities of potash, chlorine, and several other substances. The rest of the system is composed of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon; 111 pounds of the oxygen and hydrogen being combined in the form of water. Though the quantity of some of these substances is very small, it is found absolutely essential to health that this small quantity should be supplied; hence the importance of a variety of food. If we furnish Nature with all the material required, she will select such as the system needs, and always just in the proper quantities. UNLUCKY WEDDING DAYS.-Every nation is more or less troubled with superstitions fears respecting marriage and death. Days and months are singled out as unlucky for marriage, and are avoided as steadily as if a dread something stood between them and the future. It is the same in regard to death on certain days, and the after happiness or misery of the deceased is made to depend greatly on the season and the day in which they shake off the mortal coil. The nations of Northern Europe seem to cling to these superstitions of the room soon becomes vitiated by the unconsumed longer than any others, and the Scotch probably longest of all. With them, even to this day, Saturday is an unlucky" day for marriages, and none are performed on that day, and very few on Sunday. The last day of December, when it does not fall on Saturday or Sunday, is the great wedding day of the Scots. The average for several years on that day was 1,055, while for any month of the year besides the daily marriages would not average 75. When the 31st of December falls on Saturday, however, superstition rules the day, and the marriage record is nearly a blank; but the day previous is usually taken in its stead. Something similar, but not to such an extent, prevails in Sweden and Norway. AGED DIVINES.-The age of some of the principal living theologians are: Dr. Pusey, 66; Dean Alford, 56; Birks, 56; Cairns, 62; Archdeacon Churton, 66; Archdeacon Denison, 61; the Archbishop of Dublin, 59; the Bishop of Ely, 55; Archdeacon Evans, 75; Archdeacon Garbett, 56; the Bishop of Gloucester, 47; Professor Jowett, 47; the Bishop of Llandaff, 68; the Bishop of London, 55; F. D. Maurice, 61; T. Mozley and J. Mozley, 60 and 53; Dean Stanley, 51; Dr. Temple, 45; Dr. Williams, 49; the Archbishop of York, 47. POISONOUS GASES FROM OIL LAMPS.-Many persons who use kerosene or oil lamps are in the habit, when going to bed or leaving the room for a time, of turning the wick down low in order to save a little in the consumption of oil. The consequence is that the air oil vapors, by the gas produced by combustion, and also by the minute particles of smoke and soot which are thrown off. Air thus poisoned is deadly in its effects, and the wonder is that more persons are not immediately seized with inflammation of the throat and lungs, headache, dizziness, and fatally injured by breathing it. Irritation and nausea are among its effects. POPOCATAPETL.-The great slumbering volcano, Popocatapetl, has recently been explored by a party which reports the crater accessible. Millions of tuns of sulphur are lying in there, and in many cases in a pure state. It can be carried to the summit of the volcano, and from thence to the summit of that externally snow-covered mountain, at an expense of only 50 cents to the 100 pounds. The value of 100 pounds in Mexico is $10. The crater is big enough to hold several cities, but it is not probable that any will be built there at present. HERCULANEUM.-A French paper says the excavations at Herculaneum are expected to be much more productive than those at Pompeii, whence a great many persons had time to carry away their chief valuables before the storm of ashes and lava overwhelmed the place. At Herculaneum the case was different. The labor will, it is said, be greater than at Pompeii-a mountain of lava has to be pierced, and a descent made into the city as into a mine. The work will probably be prosecuted at once. Retrospect of Beligious Lutelligence. THE EASTERN QUESTION.-Turkey was for a long time the terror of mankind; but its prestige is gone, the Crescent has waned, and Mohammedism subsists in Europe only by the sufferance of the Christian powers, who have been loth to disturb what is called the "balance of power." The insurrection in Crete bas attracted unusual attention. Candia, or Crete, is one hundred and sixty miles long, its greatest breadth about forty miles, and, though once populous, it has now only between two and three hundred thousand inhabitants. The Turkish rule has been terribly oppressive, the people are spirited and brave, their religion has intensified the hatred of their tyrants, and frequent insurrections have shown the obstinacy of their hope for liberty. The present rising has now continued some time, and, though the Turkish Government has several times declared it entirely ended, it is evident the Cretans are not yet completely subdued. Many volunteers have gone to the assistance of the Cretans from Greece and Italy; many more will go from other countries. The Greek Government is eager to join in the strife; and the Sultan has resolved to organize an army of 150,000 men, which shows that the Cretan trouble is regarded as dangerous to the empire. The Western powers will probably observe a strict neutrality, but the people of Britain, and of the | United States, feel a lively sympathy with these Greek Christians. The temptation to interfere is very strong, to those who feel a natural sympathy with the oppressed Christians, and also to those who long to possess provinces that seem ready for conquest. The interests of Christianity are concerned, to an incalcu lable extent, as it respects the spread of the Gospel, in the settlement of this "Eastern question." Its settlement may not immediately take place; it may take place after mighty conflicts and bloody wars; or it may take place by a mutual agreement forced on the parties by the evident necessity of the case, and by a reasonable view of the circumstances; but it is impossible that it can be much longer prevented. The cries and struggles of eleven millions of Christians against the wicked and cruel tyranny of Turkish fanaticism, and against a Government that is too wretchedly helpless to protect them, can not much longer be disregarded. CHRISTIAN UNION.-One of the cheering signs of the times is the growing intimacy of the various branches of the Christian Church. Already several have coalesced in denominational fellowship; the union of others is in contemplation or in progress, and the different sects have come together more nearly in doc trinal points and in kindly feeling. The fierce discussions of old questions, the old creeds all bristling with antagonism, the dogmas of Calvin and Arminius, foreordination and election, have ceased to disturb the peace, and the cardinal doctrines of Christianity are preached alike in all the Churches. Minor differences there are and will be; but for these the charity grows stronger and the animosity less. And in furtherance of Christ's cause, in nearly all of our cities, Christian associations are now formed or forming, union prayer meetings are established, reading and conversation rooms are furnished for young men, lectures and libraries are founded, and the safeguards of Christian intercourse thrown around many who otherwise would, in all probability, drift away from virtue and respectability. We are pleased to note the establishment of a new journal, published in New York, entitled "The Church Union," which advocates the essential alliance of all the Protestant Churches. The only basis of the proposed union is subscription to the cardinal doctrines of Christianity, as set forth in the Apostles' or Nicene Creed; and the ministers who join in this movement advocate the exchange of pulpits, no exclusion of evangelical Christians from the Lord's Supper in any Church, and the general brotherhood of all the Churches. It is not proposed to submerge all denominational distinctions, but to bury all hatred and bitterness, and to provoke one another to love and good works. In this way it is hoped to make visible the unity of the Church, and thus the prayer of our Lord will be answered, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us!" RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN ITALY.-The Italian Prime Minister, Ricasoli, has recently written a manifesto on the question of separation between Church and State. He states that his Government is determined to introduce full liberty of religion as it exists in the United States. The occasion of his letter was an appeal from some Catholic Bishops whom the Italian Government had banished for their plotting against the union of the Italian States. United Italy having become an established fact, they petitioned for permission to return to their dioceses-a permission which the Government had granted to them even before their letter was received at Florence. That the question of religious liberty is discussed and its defense boldly undertaken by the Prime Minister of one of the largest countries of Europe, who is throughout Europe esteemed one of the ablest and noblest statesmen of the Old World, is itself an event of no common importance. The example thus set by Italy will not fail to influence other countries in Europe. Even Protestant Governments will do well to emancipate their subjects from compulsory support of a State Church. All hail, Italy! INTOLERANCE IN SPAIN.-The Spanish Government gives further evidence of its weakness and wickedness by a new exhibition of the spirit of intolerance. A royal decree has been issued forbidding the proprietors of hotels, club and reading rooms, and so on, to receive or circulate any foreign journal that contains, or may have at any time contained articles against the Catholic religion or the fundamental institutions of the country. The Government organ, to make sure that this edict shall not be misunderstood, says that "it is enough that a journal has once had in its columns a single article offensive to the Church or to the queen, to justify its suppression." Such religious bigotry and political tyranny would better become some of the ages of the past than the enlightened period of the nineteenth century. ner. INFIDELS IN COUNCIL.-On every Sabbath afternoon, says the New York Examiner, in a hall on Broadway, there is a gathering of infidels. The meeting is published in secular journals, and exciting topics suggested for discussion. Men and women talk and debate promiscuously. The themes of the Bible, the Church, and our blessed Savior, are treated in a blasphemous manBut it is surprising that so few are drawn into such a meeting, when New York is full of impiety and crime. The audience rarely numbers fifty. Scarcely a young person is found in it, and not one decent-looking young man or young woman. Long-bearded, uncombed men, unwashed and untidy, and dilapidatedlooking women, make up the audience. Every city must have its cesspools, and New York can form no exception. The contrast between this outlandish-looking assembly, who evidently have no time to wash and be tidy, and an assembly of Christians gathered for worship, is eminently suggestive, as well for sanitary as religious consideration. THE RITUALISTIC CONTROVERSY.-The Romanizing tendency of the English Church was never so strong as it is at this day. Ritualism has always been a prominent feature of its public worship. The minds of men will be occupied with something, and if they do not have that which feeds the inner life, they must have that which amuses and entertains the exterior man-the senses. Hence, logically, we must have the spiritual life in religion, or we will have candles, incense-swinging, bells, and ecclesiastical dry goods. There is no help for it; to one or other we are infallibly driven by the logic of events. As a general protest against these "abominations," as Bishop M'Ilvaine does not hesitate to call them, a movement even more destructive of all spiritual life was initiated by the rationalists, or the Oxford tractarians. This is the setting up of reason as superior to faith, of human authority and interpretation to Divine sanctions and inspiration. But the Oxford heresiarchs have been thoroughly answered. At heart the Church is evangelical; but its orthodoxy does not save it from dead and unspiritual ceremonies. Heart religion is lacking; the letter, indeed, killeth; even its bishops, and deans, and canons join in sympathy with the ritualists. The same dreadful deadness and apathy prevails which cursed the Church in the days of the Wesleys; and when its ultra-conservatism rejected the spiritual regeneration preached by the "Holy Club" at Oxford, it rejected its only real life. That was for it the day and hour of grace; but the reformers were cast out and compelled to establish independent societies-which at first they had no intention or desire to do-and the leaven which might have raised the whole lump was lost to the Establishment. Since then its course has been steadily downward; one wing inclining to rationalism and infidelity, the other to Popery. Of |