Here he frequently finds the first men of his profession, and a new impulse is awakened within his bosom; his ambition is roused, and a spirit of laudable emulation is begotten. He rises from his moral degradation, and bursts the fetters which so long have bound his noble spirit. He repudiates all corrupting companionships, and lays an embargo on his vicious propensities and habits. He puts off the beast and puts on the man.

On every hand he meets with a friendly salutation from those who labor for his good, and it comes to his crushed spirit like the reviving influence of an April shower. The words of kindness never fall unheeded on the sailor's ear. The matron, whose charming temper and warm sympathy throw a halo about her, reminds him of his own dear mother; and the other ladies of the household, whose gentle tones sweep the chords of memory, are constantly calling up the visions of his childhood, the images of his loved and loving sisters, and the thousand endearments of a domestic paradise, from which misfortune and death have driven him forth a perpetual wanderer.

But to the social privileges here enjoyed, are added those of religion. The morning and evening sacrifice is ever on the altar, and the sailor is invited to unite the incense of his own heart with that of the

family. There is also a weekly prayer meeting and a weekly temperance meeting, in which I have heard many a poor wanderer from virtue tell the

story of his aberrations, and promise, with many tears, and solemn assurances, to return to the paths of wisdom. It has been said that the sailor is a hardened and hopeless wretch. If he is, it is from the want of religious influences, and not from having resisted them. However hardened, he is not gospel-hardened. He has a heart within him, and it is a heart of peculiar susceptibility, and frequently melts at the first utterance of the words of God in his hearing.

Connected with this institution is a spacious reading room, containing a good library and an extensive cabinet of curiosities from every part of the world. This last is made up of the contributions of sailors themselves-a noble commentary on the proverbial generosity of their hearts. Specimens of the rare and the curious, both of nature and of art, are here brought together, to attract the eye and feast the soul. To all these every inmate of the house has unrestrained access, furnishing a powerful attraction to preserve him from the vicious associations and influences of the city. It is a delightful spectacle-the long table covered with books, pamphlets, and various periodicals, surrounded by scores of sailors, spending their leisure with these agreeable and improving companions, while their vicious shipmates are cursing and carousing in the dens of infamy and shame.

These are the institutions which, in connection with Floating Bethels and Mariners' Churches, are to

renovate the sea. What a change has been wrought by these benevolent agencies since the commencement of the enterprise! Twenty-five years ago a pious sailor was a rare curiosity; now about seven hundred ship-masters, and as many thousand officers and common sailors, are consistent and exemplary Christians. Twenty-five years ago a revival among seamen was as little looked for as a shower of gold; now the voice of prayer and praise mingles often with the sound of wind and wave, and in some cases whole crews have been converted during a single voyage. Twenty-five years ago there was not a temperance ship afloat, nor a temperance society for sailors any where in Christendom; now many vessels go out from the different ports of this country without a drop of spirituous liquor on board, and the Marine Temperance Society of this port has a list of nearly twenty thousand names attached to its pledge.

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IX. "THE IVORY CHRIST."

(1845.)

THERE had lain in some garret or storehouse of Genoa, from time immemorial, a solid beam of ivory, more than three feet in length, and thirteen inches in diameter, and weighing nearly a hundred and thirty pounds. Nothing equal to it had been else

where seen. Antiquarians had pronounced it a relic of the antediluvian or preädamic world. But its surface was discolored and partially decomposed; and it was esteemed valueless, except as a curiosity of unknown origin. The monk, however, upon examination, found it sounder than had been supposed. He at once conceived the idea of carving it in into a statue of Christ upon the cross. He regarded it as a godsend for this specific purpose. Wild with enthusiastic delight, he commenced the arduous task. He knew nothing of sculpture. He had never wrought upon a piece of ivory in his life. But he prayed to the blessed Mary, that she would aid him to execute an unparalleled image of Jesus. All at once he felt a peculiar glow at the heart. A vision of the Crucified sprang up in his soul. It was an answer from the Virgin Mother, the requisite inspiration for his work. He studied that mental vision, he prayed before that ideal crucifix, till its impress was stereotyped upon his heart. His work became a work of sublime devotion. O, if he could but produce a crucifix transcending all other crucifixes! It would be an achievement of unrivaled merit. And would not the holy mother reward him with a higher place in paradise? Daily, as the figure grew into symmetry beneath his hand, he knelt before it, and wept out his prayers for aid. Frequently he continued his toil through the day, and through the livelong night. Sometimes his fevered vision beheld a radiant halo around the

head of the image, God's sign of approval and pledge of grace. Thus, for five years, he toiled on through weariness and pain. He never dreamed of making that toil a source of pecuniary profit. His pious ambition contemplated nothing farther than the reverence which the devout would pay to his crucifix in some Catholic church, and the favor it might procure him from Heaven. But Mr. Lester purchased it at a handsome price, and brought it to America. Here, as in Italy, it has attracted the curious and the skillful, and elicited from the best judges unlimited applause. There is not another crucifix equal to it in the world. By universal consent, it stands at the head of all sculpture in ivory. The form is perfect. The features are intensely beautiful. The American Review, speaking of the face and head, says: "The contrast of intellectual agony, knit into the brows, and frozen upon the lofty forehead, with the sublime composure of a sweet and calm resignation, that sleeps around the almost feminine mouth, is such as could arise only from the great conception of the Son of God, who had been able to feel a deep joy in dying by an infinite torture!" Mr. Powers, an eminent American artist, residing at Florence, thought he could touch some of the features with a slight improvement, and had the image conveyed to his studio for this purpose; but after studying it intensely for ten days, sent it back to Mr. Lester, declaring that a single line could not be altered without injury. Such is the