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And seal'd with the same token. It is held
By charter-and the charter sanctioned sure
By the unimpeachable and awful oath

And promise of a God."

Soon, amidst the downfall of all false systems, amidst the crumbling of idols, amidst the wreck of superstition and the final throes of unbelief, this liberty shall be tasted by all; we shall see a world devoted to prayer, men shall pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands; each chamber shall send forth its chaunt, each household sound its hymn, each sanctuary tune its song; Earth, which is the footstool of Jehovah, shall be thronged with suppliants sending up their praises to Heaven, which is His throne. All its dwelling-places shall resound with joy; all its inhabitants shall be priests of God and Christ. The incense, once so sluggish, shall no longer struggle up in flickering wreaths, but float aloft in eddying clouds; the song which arose in unequal strength, soon sinking and almost dying away, shall break forth into a universal anthem. "Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever!"

And now, my respected friends, fathers, and brethren, will you join in that song. Now is the time to choose. Take down, then, the harp which hangs upon the willow-take your places amidst the choral multitude of the redeemed, and strike a jocund tune to your Redeemer's praise!

Or, if you refuse and leave it hanging still unswept, that willow shall loom above your grave, and the midnight blasts of eternity shall moan through the unstrung chords of the suspended harp, and tell the passers-by "Here lies a fool."

Ladies and Gentlemen.

THERE are no two terms in the English language more perverted and misapplied than those which form the title of this address! There are very few who would agree in furnishing an accurate definition of a lady or a gentleman. They might be defined in general terms to constitute the true masculine and feminine aristocracy. Not the aristocracy that consists in a long pedigree or a lordly title. Not the aristocracy which beguiles its leisure in the noble and instructive game of "Aunt Sally." Not the aristocracy which derives its lustre from a coronet which ought to be changed by some magician's wand into a fool's cap. Not the aristocracy which consists in the possession of a landed estate, in the proprietorship of equipages, in the exhibition of fashion and of splendour, or in the accumulation of wealth and influence. But the aristocracy which is derived from a warm and sympathetic heart, and which springs from the cardinal virtues of charity, and love, and truth; the aristocracy of honest poverty as well as honest wealth; and which is manifested in pure principles of right, attuned by virtue and sanctified by religion.

About three weeks ago the walls of Manchester were placarded with bills announcing that St. George's Hall, Brook-street, was about to be re-opened under a new management, that dancing was to commence at eleven o'clock (I think it was), and that supper was to be prepared at one o'clock in the morning, and was to include "all the delicacies of the season." And at the foot of the bill it was stated that ladies' tickets were to be 2s. 6d., and gentlemen's tickets were to be 3s. 6d. We see from this,

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that in the estimation of the proprietor of St. George's Hall people do not at all forfeit their claims to the title of ladies and gentlemen by going and supping together in a public casino at one o'clock in the morning, and waltzing together till daybreak; or, in other words, by discussing all "the delicacies of the season first, and practising all the indelicacies of the season afterwards. The man who printed that bill knew perfectly well that no lady, and no gentleman, would ever set foot upon the threshold of the place; and he knew that if he printed the plain truth upon his placards he would have put "blackguards' tickets 3s. 6d., and strumpets' tickets 2s. 6d."

It is very possible that there are some individuals who call themselves gentlemen, "and even some who imagine themselves ladies," who "trip the light fantastic toe" in such a place as this. I dare say there are specimens of the first fashions in dress, both masculine and feminine, to be seen there. I have little doubt but that the hoops are as extensive, and the peg-tops as exaggerated there, as in other quarters of the beau monde. Probably that handsome individual yonder who has just entered, with the moustache, and beard, and eye-glass, has lots of money, a shooting-box somewhere in the country, a dog-cart waiting for him at the door, and a retinue of lacqueys to perform his behests; "therefore," says the verdict of the world, "he must be a gentleman." It is rather a serious thing to quarrel with the world, but I must beg leave to differ with it in this case. So far from being a gentleman, that fellow with all his wealth, with all his dandified vagaries, with all his fashionable blandishments, is a low-lived, mean-spirited, filthy-hearted libertine,—a cruel, selfish, lustful animal,-the devil in his most devilish dress,-Satan with his best clothes on,-Beelzebub in a ball-dress, putting his best foot foremost in the dance of Death. Yes, and those ambling sirens who in their gaudy finery are sailing round the room, who are cracking the very paint upon their cheeks in their leerattempts to imitate a smile,-although they do disgrace the fair and lovely sex to which they belong,-although the have forfeited all claim to the title of "lady" which they so haughtily demand, they have far more right to it than the hot-lipped lecher, whose

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mouthing fooleries and golden baits first lured them from the path of virtue, has to the name of gentleman. Yet the seducer passes in the world for a gentleman, and the few hearts he may have broken, and the few lives he may have blasted, and the few hopes he may have crushed-these are only looked upon as trophies of his high and gentlemanly spirit. O! how many miscreants are there in this town of ours, who roll along our streets in carriages, who wear purple and fine linen and fare sumptuously every day, against whose title to the name of gentleman the blood of slaughtered virtue crieth from the ground! How many of our great men are there, men to whom society touches its hat in deference,-who are obliged to set a golden seal upon lips which could brand them with the damning name of libertine. I call it a damning name, because it is so in the eye of God. I only wish it were equally so in the esteem of men. The world thinks little, if any the worse of a man because he is a rake; and however deeply he may have imbrued his hands in the blood of innocence,-however many happy cottages he may have made miserable,—however many trustful hearts his accomplished brutality may have wrecked and ruined,—so long as he does but pay his debts,-so long as his name is good at the back of a bill, and he can pay twenty shillings in the pound, he is to all intents and purposes a gentlemen. But can he pay pay his debts? Are there no arrears to make up? 'Tis true he has a large balance at his banker's: 'tis true his estates are free of all encumbrance,-that his houses and lands are exempt from mortgages and all legal impediments: but is there no outstanding account left unsettled? Let the following little picture determine this question :-Away in a picturesque valley among the country hills there is a neat cottage where an honest peasant family reside. It is a cold dark winter's night: the sleet has drifted thick against the mountain-side, and drawn a veil over its brow. The wind is howling drearily, and clattering the latch of the little dwelling as if an impatient hand were seeking to open it from without. The herdsman has come home and hung his shaggy coat on its accustomed nail, and he sits smoking his pipe while the housewife plies her needle, and the little daughter

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