spirit. But, to these compensations, we must add our warmest sympathies, and, where need is, our most unstinted offerings of time and substance,-not charities but dues; and all the while, by maintaining our own spirits at the high level of this high hour, we must give to no mourner the least occasion to feel, saddest and dreariest of all feelings! that tears and blood, widowhood and orphanage, dwellings which henceforth shall always be lonely, mothers who can never be quite comforted, — all these sufferings and sufferers, have only been unto the increase of the vast ocean of human misery. If, at the end of these eventful days, and in the time of success, which is sure to come, they shall scarcely be saved who have done and suffered little or nothing, what place shall be found for those who have added, to the real burden of the hour, the weight of their heavy spirits? And let us not, in consecrating ourselves to solemn joys and highest privileges, forget any humblest duty of the season, or fail in our Christian remembrance of the poor, who are ever with us, and, whether in war or in peace, are still the poor! Let not the weight under which the strong stagger crush the weak; and, as one hand has been open for our brave and patient soldiers, so let the other be open for those whose bravery and patience at home are none the less real because they are so often and so much unknown. For this giving let there be no left hand: a hundred right hands would be all too few to finish the work of the Lord's great year.

E.

MY CREED.

I BELIEVE in God, Infinite Fountain of righteousness, truth, and love, Creator of the universe, and Father of mankind.

I believe in his providential government of the world after a perfect purpose.

I believe that he has begotten man in his own image, with the nature and the power to grow in moral likeness towards him for ever, by partaking of his spirit.

I believe in his displeasure at sin, its righteous retribution, and his forgiveness of it upon repentance.

I believe in the power of prayer to derive help from God.

I believe that God has revealed his truth in the hearts and

consciences of all men, but most of all in the holiest, whose words become our holy scriptures.

I believe that the divinest life ever lived upon earth was that of Jesus the Christ, who is thus our highest revelation of God and of man, and whose spiritual attractiveness has power, under God, to draw all men into his likeness.

I believe in the endless life, the constant discipline, and the final holiness of all mankind.

I believe in heaven, whose life may be partly known, here and now, in the soul, independent of circumstance; but which is at last the home, in which all beings shall dwell in perfect satisfaction with their Father, God, for ever.

For my belief in these blessed truths, I thank God with joy unspeakable: I desire to live according to the light of them; and I would earnestly spread them to every creature.

J. C. P.

MEASURE AND RHYME IN HEBREW POETRY.

MESSRS. EDITORS, -Having recently had occasion to read some of the psalms in Hebrew, I have been interested, as others have been before, to observe how far there was any resemblance between their rhythmical cadence, and the measures of modern poetry. In the following translations, I have attempted to render the ancient words in the ancient measure, syllable for syllable, accent for accent, and rhyme for rhyme. I fear, indeed, that the ancient spirit has escaped in the process; and feel how feebly I have translated the strong, scornful words, which are best rendered simply,

"Our lips are our own;

Who is lord over us?"

But my attempt may at least convey some idea of what poetical measure and rhyme were, before Grecian genius gave laws to the one, and modern literature transformed the other from an occasional ornament to a regular form of composition. The rhymes in these two psalms are the result, in each case, of similar grammatical structure in successive lines: they seem to have come spontaneously to the writer, rather than to have been sought by him. No doubt, it was from such accidental rhyming that this great ornament of poetry was first discovered, The wonder is,

that so many ages should have passed before the importance of the discovery was appreciated.

In the "Shepherd's Psalm," one of the most musical lines has very nearly the cadence of that which corresponds with it in Montgomery's beautiful version:

"Dishánta bashémen roshí, cosí rivayá."

"With perfume and oil, thou anointest my head."

PSALM XII.

Support me, Mighty One, for in thee I trust.
For faithfulness is failing the sons of men.
Vain is their speech, man with man talking;

Their lips are deceitful, double-hearted their accents.
The Lord shall cut off all the lips of deceit,
Tongues uttering proud and lofty words;

Who said, our tongues shall be means of conquest,
And our lips none restraineth;
Who o'er us reigneth?

Because of the meek,

For defending of the weak,

I now rise up, proclaims the All Just,

And set him free from the scornful foe.

The words of the Lord are the words of the pure,

Silver tried in furnace earthen-moulded,

Melted over seven times.

O Lord, thou wilt keep the upright,

And preserve them from this vile race evermore.
The wicked walk haughtily around,

When baseness rules among mankind.

PSALM XXIII.

Be my shepherd God, nought shall I want.

In a green pasture he me feedeth;

By waters of stillness he me leadeth ;

Restoreth my soul, and precedeth

In paths of uprightness, because of his name.

Yea, though I walk in death's dark valley,

I'll fear no ill, for 'tis thou who art near.

"Tis thy rod, the staff is thine, that keep me and give me comfort.

Thou preparest my table before the face of my foes.

With oil thou anointest my head, my cup brimmeth o'er.

Yea, Lord, thy loving-kindness through my life's whole circuit goes.
I shall dwell in God's holy place for days unending.

S. G. B.

A MODERN GREEK PREACHER.

ATHENS, November 7, 1853.

EARLY this morning I went to the Church of St. Demetrius, to hear a celebrated Greek preacher, Metrophanes. It is a great fête day, eortè, as they call it in Greek; and the whole population of Athens put on their best clothes in honor of so distinguished a saint. I was at the church-door at eight o'clock, and had some difficulty in getting in, till a Greek friend who was with me whispered that I was an Americanós, when the crowd not only gave way, but some of them led me to a kind of stall near the pulpit, usually occupied by some ecclesiastical dignitary. The chants were performing; but I cannot say that I was much edified or delighted by the style of the singing.

If Sis correct in supposing that the Greek Church has preserved, in part, the ancient Dorian and Eolian moods, why, then, I must think the Dorian and Æolian moods were not much better than that bit of Pindaric music which you once performed, but refused to repeat. After an hour and a half of this infliction on my delicate, musical sensibilities, varied by swinging censers, and perfuming the church (which needed it), and sprinkling perfumed water over the heads of the people (I had about half a pint dashed into my face over my spectacles, which I was obliged to take off and wipe), a strange-looking chap, with long hair hanging over his shoulders, and a grotesque, many-colored dress, mounted the pulpit, and began to chant alone. At first I thought it was the sermon, and I recalled various statements about the ancient fashion of pitching a tone at the commencement of an oration; but I soon discovered that he was not the preacher.

The preacher is one of the four authorized to preach in Athens; for the Greek Church very prudently permits only a small portion of its clergy to perform this function, thereby - an arrangement worth thinking of elsewhere-saving the heavens from a great deal of unnecessary vexation.

His sanctity, Mr. Metrophanes, is a good-looking man, with a fine voice, and an earnest, eloquent style. His sermon was excellent and practical, naturally arising out of the occasion, and treating of the proper use to be made of festivals. "You must not pass the day in drinking, in gluttony, in wantonness: you

must make it the occasion for kindness and charity, for mutual love, and the practice of all the virtues." Just at this moment, a crowd of Athenian women, just over my head, in a little gallery, began to chatter so loud, that, for some minutes, I could not hear a word. His sanctity turned in the direction of the noise, stopped a moment, and then said, to some lay functionary of the church, "Tell those women to hold their tongues, or I will come down." This, of course, put an end to the disturbance; and the sermon went on to the conclusion.- Familiar Letters from Europe: Felton.

THE LESSON OF THE HOUR.

STRONG in faith for the future,

Drawing our hope from the past;
Manfully standing to battle,

However may blow the blast;
Onward still pressing undaunted,
Let the foe be strong as he may:
Though the sky be dark as midnight,
Remembering the dawn of day.

Strong in the cause of freedom,
Bold for the sake of right;
Watchful and ready always,
Alert by day and night:

With a sword for the foe of freedom,
From whatever side he come;

The same for the open foeman,

And the traitorous friend at home.

Strong, with the arm uplifted,

And nerved with God's own might;

In an age of glory living,

In a holy cause to fight;

And whilom catching music
Of the future's minstrelsy,

As those who strike for freedom
Blows that can never die.

Strong, though the world may threaten,

Though thrones may totter down,

And in many an Old World palace

Uneasy sits the crown.