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hardly ever strikes an equal, however severely he may be provoked. The Arabs, as well as the Portuguese, are less patient; and at night frays, and even murders, in the streets are of no unfrequent occurrence, chiefly, however, among the two descriptions of persons whom I have named. There are among the Hindoos very frequent instances of murder, but of a more cowardly and premeditated kind. They are cases chiefly of women murdered from jealousy, and children for the sake of the silver ornaments with which their parents are fond of decorating them. Out of thirty-six cases of murder reported in the province of Bengal, during the short space of, I believe, three months, seventeen were of children under these circumstances.

Though no slavery legally exists in the British territories at this moment, yet the terms and gestures used by servants to their superiors, all imply that such a distinction was, at no distant date, very common. "I am thy slave," "Thy slave hath no knowledge,” are continually used as expressions of submission and of ignorance. In general, however, I do not think that the Bengalee servants are more submissive or respectful to their masters than those of Europe. The habit of appearing with bare feet in the house, the manner of addressing their superiors by joining the hands, as in the attitude of prayer, at first give them such an appearance; but these are, in fact, nothing more than taking off the hat, or bowing, in England; and the person who acts thus is as likely to speak saucily or neglect our orders as any English footman or groom. Some of their expressions, indeed, are often misunderstood by new comers as uncivil, when nothing less than incivility is intended. If you bid a man order breakfast, he will answer, "Have I not ordered it?" or, "Is it not already coming?" merely meaning to express his own alacrity in obeying you. They are, on the whole, intelligent, and are very attentive to supply your wishes, even

half, or not at all expressed. Masters seldom furnish any liveries, except turbans or girdles, which are of some distinctive colour and lace; the rest of the servant's dress is the cotton shirt, caftan, and trowsers of the country; and they are by no means exact as to its cleanliness. The servants of the governorgeneral have very handsome scarlet and gold caftans.

At Barrackpoor', for the first time, I mounted an elephant, the motion of which I thought far from disagreeable, though very different from that of a horse. As the animal moves both feet on the same side at once, the sensation is like that of being carried on a man's shoulders. A full-grown elephant carries two persons in the "howdah," besides the “ mohout," or driver, who sits on his neck, and a servant on the crupper behind, with an umbrella. The howdah itself, which Europeans use, is not unlike the body of a small gig, but without a head. The native howdahs have a far less elevated seat, and are much more` ornamented. At Calcutta, or within five miles of it, no elephants are allowed, on account of the frequent accidents which they occasion by frightening horses. Those at Barrackpoor were larger animals than I had expected to see! two of them were at least ten feet high. That which Lord Amherst rode, and on which I accompanied him, was a very noble fellow, dressed up in splendid trappings, which were a present from the king of Oude, and ornamented all over with fish, embroidered in gold,—a device which is here considered a badge of royalty. I was amused by one peculiarity, which I had never before heard of; while the elephant is going on, a man walks by his side, telling him where to tread, bidding him "take care,' step out," warning him that the road is rough, slippery, &c., all which the animal is supposed to understand, and take his measures accordingly. The mohout says nothing, but guides him by pressing

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1 The country residence of the governor-general.

his legs to his neck on the side to which he wishes him to turn, urging him forwards with the point of a formidable goad, and stopping him by a blow on the forehead with the butt-end of the same instrument. The command these men have over their elephants is well known; and a circumstance lately occurred of one of them making a sign to his beast, which was instantly obeyed, to kill a woman who had said something to offend him. The man was executed before our arrival.

THE INCARNATION.

GOD became Man. He hath vouchsafed to us a nearness to Himself, which he gave not to Angel or Archangel. What He gave not to Michael, the Captain of the Heavenly Host, to whom He gave power to cast forth Satan out of Heaven; nor to the Angels who ever stand before Him, and behold His face, and are filled with His glory; nor to the Seraphim, who, ever kindled with the fire of His love, live in continual nearness of contemplation; nor to any of the Thrones, or Dominions, or Principalities, or Powers who fill the court of Heaven;-that He has bestowed upon us, the last and lowest of His rational Creation, and that, when fallen. "He took not on Him the nature of Angels, but He took on Him the seed of Abraham." In his unutterable humility He passed by all that was pure, and holy, and obedient; in His awful justice He passed by the fallen spirits, and came to us, in ourselves of all the least, and now having on us that loathsome taint of sin by which we were steeped through and through, so that we had no soundness left, He took us, "the likeness of our sinful flesh," our very flesh, Himself without sin."The Word became flesh."

Most of us have heard so often, and have prepared ourselves so little, year by year, fitly to celebrate this Divine mystery, when, placed before our very eyes,

we might almost see our LORD, "for us men and for our salvation come down from heaven," and become a little child: we so little meditate, that this deepest depth of Divine mercy affects us but little, and love waxes cold, and other faith becomes unsound, because people have never filled their minds with the belief of this. Of old the Church, when it uttered the words of the Creed, “ And was incarnate of the HOLY GHOST," fell down on its knees to worship Him, bowed down to the earth by the sense of His boundless love and gracious lowliness; it sunk adoring to the earth at the thought of the awful mercy of its GOD.-Pusey.

PRAYER.-(St. Chrysostom.)

"Continue in prayer," says St. Paul, "watching in the same with thanksgiving." For since continuing in prayers frequently makes persons listless, therefore he saith watching, that is sober, not wandering. For the Devil knoweth, he knoweth how great a good prayer is, therefore he presseth heavily. And Paul also knoweth how careless many are when they pray; wherefore he saith, Continue in prayer, as if somewhat laborious; watching in the same with thanksgiving. "For let this," he

saith, "be your work, to give thanks in your prayers both for the seen and the unseen, and for his benefits to the willing and unwilling, and for the kingdom, and for hell, and for tribulation, and for refreshment." For thus is the custom of saints to pray, and to give thanks for the common benefits of all."

I know a certain holy man who prayeth thus:"We give Thee thanks for all Thy benefits shown forth upon us the unworthy, from the first day until the present; for what we know and what we know not, for the seen and for the unseen, for those in deed, those in word, those, with our wills, those against our wills; for all that have been bestowed

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upon the unworthy, even us; for tribulations, for refreshments, for hell, for punishment, for the kingdom of heaven. We beseech Thee to keep our soul holy, having a pure conscience, an end worthy of Thy loving-kindness. Thou that lovedst us so as to give Thy Only-begotten for us, grant us to become worthy of Thy love; give us wisdom in Thy word and in Thy fear, Only-begotten CHRIST; inspire the strength that is from Thee. Thou that gavest Thy Only-begotten for us, and hast sent Thy HOLY SPIRIT for the remission of our sins, if in aught we have wilfully or unwillingly transgressed, pardon and impute it not. Remember all that call upon Thy name in truth; remember all that wish us well, or the contrary, for we are all men."

Then having added the Prayer of the Faithful', he there endeth, having made that prayer as a certain crowning part, and a binding together for all.

REVERENCE FOR WHAT IS GOOD.

THE feeling of reverence for what is good and holy is the most important feeling that we can cultivate; it is a feeling that is to be as immortal as our own souls; it is to outlive even that faith which it here accompanies and cherishes; for faith will no more exist when we see face to face; there is no room for belief, or faith, when we know and cannot doubt. But reverence will not die in heaven, but grow and flourish there. All purest natures, the natures of, not glorified saints only, but of angels and archangels, reverence, and will for ever reverence, as they will for ever love, the all-holy, the all-perfect GOD, in Whose presence they live and rejoice. Reverence, therefore, for what is good and holy is the principle that it should be the business of our lives to cultivate, both in ourselves and in our children. Faith itself,

1 The Lord's Prayer.

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