it is said, that not only has the weather, for some centuries past been gradually altering, but that since Ibrahim Pacha has given a new form to Cairo, by his extensive garden grounds, and the planting several millions of fruit trees, this change has become still more marked, and violent storms of thunder and lightning frequently visit the land as beneficent guests.

In the account of the plague of hail, given in Exod. ix. 31, the sacred historian informs us, that "the flax and the barley were smitten; for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. But the wheat and the rye were not smitten; for they were not grown up." This enables us to determine in what part of the year the ten plagues came on the Egyptians. The first plague, which affected principally the Nile, took place, no doubt, after the inundation, and, therefore, about October. For if it happened before, the consequence would have been the delay of the harvest, and the wheat and the barley would not have sprung up. The time of the first six plagues was, therefore, between October and December; for this is the month when the flax is in bloom, and the barley is in the blade. Before the harvest, that is, in February, came the plague of locusts; and shortly before Easter, was the tenth plague. The whole period of the ten plagues lasted, therefore, half a year.

You may now picture to yourselves the land in which Abraham sojourned, on account of the famine in Canaan; the land in which God tried Joseph, in order, as the event proved, to make him the instrument of preserving a whole nation; the land in which Jacob's family became a great people, on whose account God smote the Egyptians with ten plagues, until they let them go,

From the earliest ages, this, which was one of the most renowned and mighty kingdoms, was also one which was equally distinguished for "changing the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things," Rom. i. 23. From the time of the prophets, it began to decay, and for the last 2000 years it has been gradually sinking so low, that it may now be looked upon with compassion, as a land sold into the hand of the wicked, and laid waste by the hand of strangers, Ezek. xxx. 12.

On the borders of Egypt, on a small peninsula on the western mouth of the Nile, stands the chief commercial city of modern Egypt, Alexandria, named after the great conqueror, who founded it 333 years before the birth of Christ. Alexander was an eminent protector of the Jews, and hence a multitude of Jews, from all countries, settled in this place. Alexandria, in time, became celebrated as a seat of Jewish learning, of which several traces may be found in the New Testament. From its favourable situation, Alexandria was always an important place of commerce. The two vessels in which Paul was conveyed as a prisoner to Rome were both Alexandrian merchantmen, Acts xxvii. 6; xxviii. 11.

This ancient Egyptian city is still adorned by magnificent memorials of its departed greatness. A lighthouse called Pharos, which guided the course of vessels that entered the port at night, by means of a large metallic concave mirror, was considered one of the wonders of the world. By night, this mirror reflected a strong light; and by day, the ships could be seen in it from a great distance, as they were approaching the coast, long before they could be seen in a direct manner.

But of this lighthouse there is left only a ruin about one hundred feet in height.

Another beautiful monument of antiquity is that usually known by the name of Pompey's Pillar. It is nearly 100 feet high, and stands on the south of the city walls. It is very serviceable to mariners, when they are approaching the land, as it is visible at sea long before the city and the flat coast come in sight. Still more remarkable are the so-called Cleopatra's Needles. They are two obelisks of red granite, seventy feet high, each consisting of a single stone besides the pedestal. One of the obelisks has been thrown down.

Still more famous are those massive structures called the Pyramids. About forty of these colossal buildings are still standing in Lower Egypt. The best known and largest are those at Djizeh, not far from Cairo, on the banks of the Nile; the largest is 447 feet high, that is, about forty feet higher than St. Peter's, at Rome, and 133 higher than St. Paul's, in London. Yet the interior of these gigantic piles is almost entirely unknown. It is not yet ascertained at what period the pyramids were erected, nor what purpose they served. Some suppose that they were intended for sepulchres, which is denied by others. If it should happen that any one should some day find, in one of the pyramids, the mummy of the ancient Cheops, or Kephrenes, the supposed founder of the pyramids, and decipher the inscription on his coffin, what an honour would that be!

The mummy would then be deposited in some antiquarian cabinet, and the name of the discoverer would, for ten years, be more famous than that of the great king, who, in order to make himself a great name, erected this memorial of his power. You may thence estimate what is the greatness of human fame.-Dr. Barth.

LETTERS ON SABBATH SCHOOLS.

LETTER II.-THE MORAL ADVANTAGES OF SABBATH SCHOOLS IN GENERAL-TO THE PUPILS.

Mr. Editor,-Since you have seen fit to admit my first number into your columns-thereby signifying, as I understand, your compliance with my design, I will proceed, as proposed, by offer-· ing a few remarks upon the moral advantages of Sabbath schools in the general, and to the pupils in particular.

The grand design and aim of Sabbath schools at the present day is the conversion of the soul of every individual within their precincts, (who may not have already experienced the saving influences of the Holy Spirit,) from the supreme love of sin and self, to the supreme love of holiness and God. By this we would not be understood to arrogate to these institutions the power of changing the heart by any physical operation, but would simply hold up the idea, that a radical change of the natural affections is the object which they have uppermost in view, to which all their energies are adapted, and which, by the blessing of omnipotent grace they have accomplished in a multitude of instances, and will accomplish, so long as there shall be within them souls to be saved, and truth shall have its legitimate influence upon those who are engaged in their internal management.

But, while their aim is so elevated, and their ultimate achievements are so spiritual, they have a powerful influence in forming and giving a correct tone to the moral sentiment, not only in the pupils and teachers, but in the families con

nected with them, and thus through the community in which they are providentially located. Yes, it is in the Sabbath school, that those seeds of morality are sown, that constitute the germ of those embryo principles which operate so conservatively upon the youthful mind, and which characterize the children and youth in many sections of our country. It is in the Sabbath school that the principles are cultivated and trained, under the careful hand and pliant skill of husbandmen taught of God, which in after life are developed in the full blossoming of all those excellent qualities that distinguish the dutiful child, the affectionate parent, the courteous neighbour, and the useful citizen.

But let us dwell for a moment, upon their effects on the morals of the pupils. A child is sent to a common day school for the purpose of intellectual culture; and, to the gratification of his observing parents and friends, he makes a perceptible and gradual, if not a rapid progress, in the various branches of human science to which his attention is from time to time directed. There he acquires the art of obtaining knowledge from books, and the art of communicating ideas and information by language and writing. There he learns that the earth is a sphere,-upon what portion of it his country is located-its resources and relative importance to other nations,--and the relative importance of the whole globe to other worlds, whose numbers and brilliancy often incite a longing after immortality,' as his young intellect expands, and with an instinctive consciousness of its capabilities, would grasp the universe in its scan, and analyse its component principles. And are not the moral qualities of the soul capable of coincident development? And

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