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nothing in the world could induce him to drink a glass of wine. 'Don't say so,' said she, 'till I have tried him.' asked him to take a glass from HER. He refused. persuaded him--she prevailed. He got intoxicated. The abstemious youth became a drunkard, and ran rapidly in the downward course. Her father, though in the habit of drinking himself, could not bear to see his daughter marry a drunkard, and he was ordered from the house. The father got into difficulties, and became bankrupt. He went into the back settlements of America, to recruit his fortune. One night about twelve years afterwards while there was noise, and dancing, and music, a strange wailing noise was heard outside the building. It became louder and louder. All was silent. The music ceased. The door opened, and the figure of a man entered and threw himself on the floor, crying, 'O God, save me from the fiends! O God, save me from the fiends!' The young lady went up to him, and as he approached, his upturned eye met here. It was too much for her-she fainted away. He whom she had wronged, thus lay before her a poor maniac, and in two days more, I had the melancholy duty of attending his funeral, and hearing the clods of the valley rumbling on his coffin. She is now, if still living, in a lunatic asylum,-her father and mother sleep in an untimely grave. O, what an amount of sin must a person have to answer for, who thus is the means of ruining a precious soul-of causing a weak brother to perish!

PRES. MAHAN.

PROFANE SWEARING.

"To swear-is neither brave, polite nor wise:
You would not swear upon the bed of death-
Reflect your Maker now could stop your breath!”

BROTHER S—— and myself were entertained, during the Convention week, at the house of a medical gentleman, eminent in his profession, but addicted, it was said, to profanity in ordinary conversation. Without a premonition, no suspicions of so blameworthy a practice could have arisen in our minds; for no real Christian ever showed guests

greater courtesy, or seemed further from profaneness than our gentlemanly host. He did not even annoy us with ladylike mincings, putting forth the buddings of profanity in “la me!"—"good gracious!" and the like.

But on Sunday night, our conversation taking a religious turn, the subject of profane swearing was incidently named, when I could not resist the temptation of drawing a bow at venture, and so I said:

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'Doctor, we leave you to-morrow; and be assured we are very grateful to Mrs. D———and yourself; but may I say, dear sir, we have been disappointed here?"

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"Will you pardon me, if I say we were misinformed, and may I name it!"

Certainly, sir, say what you wish."

“Well, my dear sir, we were told that Dr. Dwas not guarded in his language-but surely you are misrepresented-'

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Sir," interrupted he, "I do honour you for your candour; yet sir, I regret to say, you have not been misinformed. I do, and perhaps habitually, use profane language; but, sir, can you think I would swear before religious people, and one of them a clergyman?"

Tears stood in my eyes, (the frank-heartedness of a gentleman always starts them,) as I took his hand and replied: 'My dear sir, you amaze us. Can it be that Dr. D

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so courteous and so intelligent a man, has greater reverence for us than for the venerable God!"

"Gentlemen,” replied the Doctor, and with a tremulous voice, "I never did before see the utter folly of profane swearing. I will abandon it for ever."

MISSIONARY EFFORTS.

MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS, Another year has rolled away since I gave you an account of the Missionary proceedings of the Sabbath-school of which I am the superin

tendent. Since then, how many changes have taken place! How many zealous Sabbath-school teachers have gone to their great reward! How many scholars also! Yet we are spared; and spared that we may discharge the duties which devolve upon us. For our doings, whether they be of an evil or of a good character we must give an account. Surely, it is our duty to use our best efforts for spreading the truths of Christianity. I would affectionately urge you to exert yourselves diligently in giving and collecting for our Missionary Society. I feel happy in being able to state, that the scholars in the school with which I am connected have been very active in this particular, during the last year; and we have to rejoice over great success, inasmuch as we shall present to our Missionary treasurer the sum of 87. 11s.

Allow me to state a few encouraging and praiseworthy circumstances. A little girl received some pence as a new year's gift, all of which she brought to the Missionary box. Another, voluntarily earned a few pence weekly, and cheerfully brought them. Another I found crying bitterly, a little one, a very little one, and she told me she had a halfpenny, and wished to give a farthing of it into the Missionary box; but her mother would not let her, and hence her tears. A little boy cheerfully gave up asking for Christmas boxes for himself, that he might ask for the Missionary cause. Go thou and do likewise, and may the Lord bless you, and make you a great blessing for his names' sake. Yours very truly,

Chelsea.

Amen.

GEO. PARRINGTON.

OVERBOARD IN THE GULF.

By Charles J. Peterson.

"A MAN overboard!"

I heard the cry distinctly as the dark waters whirled

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"Clear away the quarter-boat!"

These were the cries that followed each other in rapid succession, accompanied with the hurried tread of feet, which rose even over the sounds of the whistling hurricane and of the roaring water in which I was immersed.

We had been out from Marseilles about three days, and were now well up with the Straits. A gale, which had begun after dawn, had increased with such violence that before the afternoon had set in we were lying to under a storm stay-sail.—Noticing that the heel of the boom was chafing loose, I had gone aloft to repair it, when a sudden lurch tore the spars from the fastenings, and flung me into the air like a ball shot from a twenty-four.

At first I sunk plumb, as if tied to a shot: but in a few seconds began to ascend. When I reached the surface, however, it was to find myself whirling from the vessel's side, with a confused noise of the howling tempest and the bubbling waters in my ears; yet over all arose the shouts of my messmates.

I was so blinded by the water that I could not immediately see. I spun round and round as in a whirlpool, for I had been caught in the eddies under the stern. I looked to windward, too, forgetting that a heavy vessel would make more lee-way than my light person. Just as I sunk in the trough of the sea, however, I caught sight of the tall spars pitching a short distance to leeward; and when I rose on the next wave I took care to have my eyes fixed in that direction. I could now behold the men in the rigging on the look-out, and hear again distinctly their eager and excited cries. They were all gazing to leeward, and consequently could not see me.

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"There he has sunk in the trough-no! it was not he." "Hillo!"

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While these cries were following each other, the skipper himself came on deck, and springing to the traffail, cast a rapid glance around the horizon. I thought his eye had

lighted on me, for unlike the rest, he turned to windward; but after a hasty glance in the right direction, he too looked off to leeward. How my heart sunk within me! Was I to perish and within hearing too, in consequence of this mistake of my messmates? I raised my voice and shouted. I could still hear the answers.

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"There-that was his voice certainly-can't you see him

yet?"

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Ahoy!—ahoy!—aho-o-oy!" I repeated, straining my lungs to the uttermost.

"Hillo!" repeated the stentorian voice of the skipper, the words struggling faintly against the wind.

The ship was drifting rapidly down to the leeward, and I knew that if not soon discovered I was lost, so I shouted again.

"Aho-o-oy!-A-hoy-A-hoy-Aho-o-oy!"-The last word was frantically prolonged, and I watched its effect for a full minute with intense anxiety. It was evident from the manner in which my comrades on board glanced anew around the horizon, as also from the shouts which they uttered in reply, that my cry had reached them. I could not indeed hear their hail, but saw their hands to their mouths as when persons shout loudly. Alas! the same fatal error of still looking in the wrong direction, prevailed among them; not an eye was turned to windward. My heart died within me.

"Oh, God!" I cried, "they do not hear me, and I am lost. My mother-my poor, poor mother."

I forgot to mention that, on my falling overboard, the cook, who had been cleaning the knives in the galley, had mechanically flung the board he was using into the sea. Happily it floated near me, and catching it, I placed it, end up, under my chin, and thus supported my head above water, without difficulty. But for this, perhaps, I should have been wearied out with the surges which would have broke over me continually, but which I now generally rode. I also had on my oilskin cap and coat; an equally fortunate circumstance.

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