The Latter-Day Glory anticipated. ["AND it shall come to pass in the last days, that the ountain of the Lord's: house shall be established in the op of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the alls; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people all go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the moun ain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and e will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths: or out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the ord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the naons, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat heir swords into plowshares, and their spears into prunng-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against naion, neither shall they learn war any more. But they hall sit every man under his vine, and under his fig-tree, And none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the ord of hosts hath spoken it. The wolf also shall dwell vith the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the Dear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw (herbage) like the ox. And he sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and he weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain : or the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as he waters cover the sea." Isa. ii. 2—4, xi. 6—9; Micah v. 1-5. An Imaginary Scene. A summer evening's walk on the banks of a navigable river running through an extensive plain; at the end of which the sun is setting. On either side stand beautiful rows of trees; in the valleys the flocks and the herds are all feeding in harmony.] The Sun reclining in the west, The peaceful tribes of men at rest; The pious crew their grateful anthems raise Along this pleasing path I rove, The reign of wickedness is gone, The Saviour's glorious conquest won. Hail glorious King! All earth shall speak thy fame, And heaven itself re-echo with thy name. No warriors now their garments stain, And earth resembles heaven above. To love, and serve, and praise the Lord. 44 Rolvenden, July 17, 1826. The Death-bed of a Mother. T. PAYNE. [From "The Recollections of Jotham Anderson, Minister of the Gospel," one of the publications for which we are indebted to the piety and zeal of our Unitarian brethren in the United States of America. The little volume thus entitled, was printed at Boston, in 1824. A continuation of it is promised, which when published we hope to receive from the same kind "American reader and friend," to whom we are indebted for this first part. ED.] My childhood passed like that of other children who have tender and watchful parents, and has left as few d tinct traces, which are worth recording. The waves of time have flowed over the track which my little boat made, and I can discern its path no longer. I was in my thirteenth year when I lost my mother. 'his is one of the events which made a lasting impression. he had been, for a long time, gradually wasting away, nd I had seen the anxious countenance and manner with ✓hich my father watched her. But a boy, even of thirteen, s not likely to understand or realize such signs, and I emember I had no foreboding of the coming calamity. But, at length, I observed an altered tone in the morning and evening prayer of my father, which impressed me. I began to suspect the truth. I observed more narrowly. I discovered that the form was wasted, the cheek had grown pale, the eye had sunk, and disease had made a fearFul onset, while my childish eyes had been blinded. * And I do not wonder that they were blinded; for the calm and cheerful manner of my mother was unaltered, and she spoke and smiled as she always had done. But I now saw the truth, aud every hour served to make me see it yet more plainly. My solicitude soon betrayed itself, and then my father summoned resolution to speak upon the subject to his children. The others were younger than myself. They were frolicking in all the unapprehensive lightness of childhood, when he called us around him. There were four of us. The youngest sprung upon his knee, and playfully put her lips to his mouth; while the rest of us, who perceived the emotion upon his face, gazed upon him, and gave him our hands without speaking. As soon as he could command himself My children,' said he, God has given you a good mother; but he is about to take her away from you. You will not see her much longer. She is visited by a disease which is hurrying her to the grave, and we can do nothing but weep, and give her back to God. But we must not weep,' said he, bursting into tears, 'for she is only going home; going to be happy, which she has not been here. It would be wrong to mourn, for she is only going to sleep a sweet sleep, and we shall all, by and bye, sleep too, and then shall all rise together, if we have been good." "Not many days after this, my mother called me to her, as I sat in the chamber, and, kissing my cheek-' You are old enough,' said she, to know what death means, and to learn a lesson from it. I am soon to die. I have known it for a long time, and have perfectly prepared my mind to meet the event. I have no longer reluctance or fear. And now, my dear son, while I speak to you, perhaps for the last time, hear my parting counsel. I have tried to teach you your duty, and to fill your mind with religious princi ples.. Do not swerve from those principles. They my support now, they always have been my support. You will need them as much as I do. And if you would cherish them, and have them strong, I charge you never pass day without prayer.-Promise me this, and I shall fea easy. I kissed her hand, and bowed my head; for I coul not speak. She put her hand beneath the pillow, and taking thence a locket, containing a braid of her own hair she gave it to me. 'I do not know,' said she, that de parted spirits are acquainted with what happens to the friends they have left on earth; but if they are, I shal never cease to watch your life with maternal solicitude. Think of this whenever your eyes meet this memorial of my love. Reflect that, perhaps I see you, and remember the promise you have made me; or, if not so she added in a voice of inconceivable expressiveness, reflect that God sees you, and bears witness whether you keep that promise or not. My dear son, farewell! a mother's part ing blessing is on your head; and do Thou, O Father, bless him, and make him thine!' She kissed me again, and sunk back exhausted. "It seems as if I still heard her voice, and gazed upon her composed, but animated features. And it is one of the joyful anticipations of my approaching removal from earth, that I shall again see that face, and be united to her pure spirit, never to part again. I had no spirit, after this, to leave her side, or to engage in any occupation. I was suffered to remain near her; to see the gradual approach of dissolution; and to witness the tranquillity and cheerfulness with which Christian faith can await the appalling summons. She was too weak to say much, but sometimes gave a word of encouragement, admonition or blessing, to those who were near her, and after she became unable to speak, she still looked unutterable things, and smiled upon those who did her any little offices of kindness.-All was peace within and without; and gently at last did she sink asleep in Jesus, without a groan or a struggle, and with an expression on her face as if she had already caught a glimpse of the glory to come. "There are some who would keep children from the chamber of death, and remove from their minds, as soon as possible, the impressions which sorrow may have made. They little consider the natural buoyancy of the mind, and the tendency of all feeling to pass away from a young heart. My father was one of those who thought the solemn impressions of such a season should be deepened, and pains taken to make them lasting. He thought that much might be done to give right views of the value and purposes of existence, and to get ready that frame of mind which is best fitted to meet and endure the changes of the world. By his conversation, therefore, and instruction, for a long period, he kept fresh the feelings to which this sad event had given birth. He did not converse a great deal in the formal way; it was not his habit, and he rather avoided it, from a persuasion that it was not an effectual mode of addressing young persons. I do not think that he ever made a long harangue to his children upon any subject. His custom was to seize moments when their minds were cheerful and at ease, or when any remarkable event had excited their attention, and by a few concise, pointed remarks, sometimes by only one single emphatic expression, convey the important lesson. He would then leave it to work upon their minds. And it would often happen that the words would sink down into their hearts, and never be forgotten. I can recall many examples of forcible sayings thus uttered, which were of great use to me afterward; but am certain that the same sentiment, diluted into a formal speech of fifteen or twenty minutes, would have made no impression and been altogether lost. Upon the present occasion, he pursued his customary course. He spoke seldom; but because seldom, I dwelt the more upon what he did say. I forgot nothing. And as he directed my reading, and the whole occupation of my time, I was, for a long season, prevented from returning to the sports of my childhood, or regaining the frolicksome dispositions of boyhood." British and Foreign Unitarian Association. SIR, Lynn, Sept. 14, 1826. THE Contents of the British and Foreign Unitarian Association Report will, I flatter myself, afford satisfaction to most of our friends who have an opportunity to peruse them and I am still further pleased to observe the evident wish on the part of the Committee to obtain publicity for their proceedings. ; VOL. XII, 2 H |