Amid all the monuments we saw, and all the impressive solemnity they imparted, one exceeded all the rest. Embosomed in the natural shrubbery of the place, remote from observation we saw a single grave a little elevated and undistinguished by a monumental stone as if this simple mound, was all that could perpetuate the memory of one so dear, so much beloved. Perhaps the mother laid here her last support and retired from the lowly grave doubly widowed; or the orphans in sorrow laid in this shady spot their last parent and had nothing to leave behind, but this mound eloquent of their loneliness and grief. It impressively contrasted with the stately piles and spacious vaults that crowded around us at every step.

We here found the monument of the young friend who was the companion of our early studies-the grave of many whom when living we admired and now dead, we venerate. And though we saw occasionally, an inscription that greatly shocked our sensibilities we returned with the full conviction that the moral influence of the place is good.

New England is the home of Churches and the nursery of the ministry. In this immediate neighborhood are no less than three Theological Seminaries. Andover stands pre-eminent as the oldest, and best endowed of all our American schools of theology. We visited this Institution, whose associations we wish might ever be preserved. Not less than three hundred thousand dollars have been expended in the endowment of this Seminary, and it is now rich in all the resources essential to the best education which the church can demand in her ministry. It is a prevailing opinion in New England that a learned and pious ministry is essential to the best interests of that enlightened people-that the ministry should be respected--that it has divine claims on the confidence of men, and that no one can be a good citizen, or a safe member of society, not to say a christian who despises or undervalues this ordinance of heaven.

To no one cause, can we more safely trace the general intelligence and morality of New England, than to the learning and piety of its ministry. This Institution shares largely in

the honor of preserving and increasing these essential qualifications for the sacred office. May it long be preserved from those influences, which in other countries and in other times, have essentially changed the character of Theological Institutions and made them more the nurseries of error and irreligion than of truth and piety.

There is a respect manifested towards the christian ministry in New England which we admire. A class of ministers, elevated by their literary and religious resources, cannot but be valued and sustained by the wise and virtuous; and no people can afford to loose the benefits of such ministrations. How much does New England owe to her evangelical ministry, and how much does that community forfeit which is destitute of its services. The respect due to it, and the support it demands, are to be measured by the divine authority that ordained it and the invariable blessings that have attended the faithful discharge of its duties; and when this whole land shall have what New England now enjoys, or seeks to enjoy, a learned and pious minister for every congregation of a thousand souls, then may we dismiss all fears for the rupture of our civil ties and the loss of our civil immunities. Domestic evils would fast die away; public calamities be less grievous or more easily borne; political asperities would be softened and instead of sectional jealousies and mutual recriminations, our entire nation would resume the confidence, of one common brotherhood. We have more confidence in the evangelical power of the gospel ministrations and the diffusive spirit of christianity than in the wisdom of any legislation where this spirit and these ministrations are unknown or undervalued. When will the time come, when members of Congress will rise in the halls of our national legislature during its excitement and divisions and propose in the spirit of Franklin, an invocation of the divine blessing and a day of fasting and prayer. The descendants of the Pilgrims will no more sacrifice their industry and frugality, than their intelligence and religion. These united, New England will remain what we would have all America become,the admiration of the world.

It was a cheering sight to behold the meek and trusting child, seated at the feet of his pious friend, listening to all he said with affection and delight.

And when the hermit spoke of that great Being, whose throne is in the highest heaven, and YET Who deigns to dwell in the hearts of the contrite and lowly-who is present in all parts of the universe at the same moment,-who is the Creator and Preserver of every thing,-governing all events by his wisdom and goodness,-looking into the heart of every human being, knowing their secret thoughts as well as their actions, -when the hermit dilated on these things, the child was lost in feelings of awe and admiration, and he longed to hear more and more of so great a God, and to learn to please him.

Then the aged man took the child into the green wood, and there he pointed out the beauties of the variegated foliage. Here, was a venerable oak, spreading its leafy arms far and wide, offering a cool shade to the wanderer during the heat of

the day. There, a stately elm, which ever greets the merry spring with its light and cheerful green, waved its ample branches gaily in the breeze. There, again, the poplar, straight and tall, reared its spiral head to the skies. The mountainash, with its scarlet berries, entwined its branches with those of the elegant white birch; and, not far off, the holly, glitter ing with its armed and varnished leaves, tipped with coral, embellished the forest glade. And now the child stopped to admire the beautiful larch, gracefully tapering from the base to the summit. The hermit told him of the elastic nature of this tree; how it bends before the most violent gale, and regains its erect position as soon as the rough blast has passed over it. "And we, my child," he added, "must bow submissively to the storms of life, should the Almighty, in his wisdom, suffer them to burst over our heads; and He will, in his own good time, raise us up again, nor will he permit us to be destroyed."

The child did not quite comprehend the hermit's discourse, but he hearkened to it with meek attention, wishing to be instructed. Often did he pause to examine the studded and fluted trunk of the white beech, overspread with a variety of mosses and lichens. The lime, the majestic pine, and the overshadowing branches of the horse-chestnut, next claimed his wonder and delight. Nor were the sycamore and maple overlooked; their bark smooth and polished as satin, and their verdant boughs forming an impenetrable shade.

As they slowly left the embowered spot, the aged man again reverted to the great Creator of all.

"The noble oak," he said, "and the minute weed which springs up at its foot, are nourished by the same earth, and watered by the same gentle dews of heaven; and so it is with man, the high and the low are alike His care; neither can subsist without his blessing."

The child felt glad when he heard all this, and he looked fondly into the old man's face as he spoke, and a tear of gratitude glistened in his dark blue eye, while a happy smile played around his pretty mouth.

They returned to their rustic dwelling, where all that contributes to health and peace was ever to be found.

As the shades of evening drew near, and the child felt the influence of sleep stealing over him, the benevolent recluse gently placed him on a leafy bed which he had prepared for him; first, however, teaching him to invoke a blessing from HIM who condescends to hear the weakest infant's prayer.

And soon the child's fair eyelids closed, and he slept the sleep of innocence.

The pious man now trimmed his little lamp, and taking from a nook the volume which is dear to every Christian heart, he sat him down to feast upon its sacred truths. Ever and anon he turned to gaze upon that gentle child, who lay in sweet repose, his little hands gracefully folded on his bosom. Light and joyful seemed his slumbers; his forehead, white as the purest snow, was scarcely shaded by his glossy auburn hair, his cherub-cheek glowed like a blushing rose, -a placid smile was on his coral lips,-while his soft low breathings seemed to whisper all was peace within.

The aged man lifted his soul in prayer to God, that HE would bless this little one, and cause the seed of holiness and love to take deep root within his heart. Pleasing to the Almighty is the prayer of age for helpless infancy; and as it rises to the throne of grace, it seems to bring a blessing on the suppliant. At his side the angel of innocence holds her vigil; every evil spirit stands abashed, and dares not tempt; and all unholy thoughts are put to flight.

It was noon when the child was led by his aged friend to the summit of a steep cliff, whence they beheld the "multitudinous ocean."

Many a white sail was to be seen gracefully moving over the blue waters. The mid-day sun was shining in all his splendor, and the sea-birds skimmed lightly over the surface of the mighty deep. All seemed happy, and the child felt happy also. He pressed the hand of his venerable guide closer within his own, and waited for him to speak.

The hermit noticed his inquiring eye, and, pointing to the