In order, however, to enable the student to judge of the manner in which history illustrates the evidences of revealed religion, the leading historical facts must be lodged in the memory in an unbroken series; and the synchronisms of the most important events in different countries, rightly adjusted. A superficial knowledge of history will not qualify its possessor to form a satisfactory judgment on this important subject; because the slightest appearance of ambiguityan appearance which a deeper and more comprehensive acquaintance with the records of past ages would completely dispel-will suffice to throw over the mind of a person possessing only such a superficial knowledge, the mist of sceptism.

Having thus furnished us with a comprehensive prophetic history of the world-for such surely this inspired prediction from the mouth of Noah may be justly called—and having also given a brief account of the origin of the variety of languages, the sacred writer quits GenERAL history, to pursue, in the affairs of the line of Shem, the peculiar subject of his narrative. It is true, indeed, that many notices of various nations decended from Ham and Japheth are intermingled with, and grow out of the sacred story; and it is needless to say, that such notices, constituting, as they do, the only certain information which we possess concerning the history of these nations in remote ages, are absolutely invaluable; but that which may be properly called the MOSAIC INTRODUCTION TO GENERAL HISTORY, ends with the account of the dispersion of mankind after the attempt to build the tower of Babel; an event which took place about one hundred years after the deluge.

THE ORIGIN OF RHYME.

One day, as Delphic records go,
Apollo bent his eye below,

From proud Parnassus' height;
And half in earnest, half in jest,
The circling Muses thus addrest,
With smiles celestial bright:

""Tis long since he, my earliest born, Fair Grecia's glory and her scorn,

To Death resigned the lyre;

Yet still I see his sightless eye,

Roll in its dark sublimity,

With more than mortal fire.

Proud was his pinion-high his flight; He soared into the realms of light,

And mortals raised to heaven;

But Ah! no Homers now arise,
Such powers are far too dear a prize
To be so lightly given.

A thought has glanced across my mind, To jeer and jibe at human kind;

And by the spell I'll frame, The veriest fool that wields a pen, May rise above his fellow men,

To heights of power and fame."

He ceased-and gazed around the bower; In careless consciousness of power,

He struck the solid earth.

His foot had scarcely given the blow,
A wondrous wight was bowing low,
To thank him for his birth.

The stranger stood scarce three feet high, With laughing lip, with eagle eye;

Yet nought that eye exprest; Chains in his little hand he bore, And glanced around, behind, before, In weariness of rest.

"Sir Rhyme!" Apollo smiling said,
"A burden lights upon thy head,
E'en from thy natal hour;
Hence to the earth! and let thy chain,
Fancy's exuberant flights restrain,
Or aid her labouring power.

Various thy task-thy realm is SOUND;
And yet more wide extends thy round
Than feeble mortals see;

The search of words presents a thought;
By echoing sounds rare tropes are brought,
And all is due to thee.

SLAVE to the bards that know My face,
To give their thoughts and feelings grace,
And grave them on the heart;

But LORD o'er those to me unknown,
Language and taste will vainly groan,

While thou assum'st my part.

Yet go! Sir Rhyme ! nor mourn thy lot; Who know thee best will blame thee not,

If fools thy smiles obtain ;

Those smiles, with them, will pass for mine,
And, meteor-like, by thee, they'll shine,
In glory's splendid fane.

The crown of Vice-roy, on thy brow,
Henceforth, the prayers of those below
I'll seldom deign to hear;

Thou for my absence wilt atone-
But hush! for this must rest unknown
Το every human ear."

THOUGHTS ON THE LORD'S PRAYER.

T has been well observed of THE LORD'S PRAYER— Sa prayer which is so simple and concise as not to burden the understanding or the memory of a child, and yet so profound and comprehensive, that the strongest powers of the noblest human intellect cannot scale its heights or fathom its depths-that in order to be rightly and efficiently used, it must be viewed and reflected upon "in the light of the Gospel." Thus viewed, every word in it will be seen to be extensively significant; and it is only by meditating closely upon every word and every clause which it contains, that we can hope, by the blessing of God, to obtain any adequate ideas of the extent and variety of meaning comprehended and condensed in this Divine composition.

We have observed, that this Prayer must be viewed "in the light of the Gospel;" and in illustration of this observation we may ask, "In what sense are we to call God, OUR FATHER?" Surely not merely as He is the Creator and Governor of all things; the Father of our spirits by calling them into existence: to call Him our Father in this sense, is to call Him so, as creatures, indeed, but not christians. From the Gospel it is, that we learn to approach God, and to pray to Him as our Father, on the ground, that, as we humbly hope, we are His children by adoption and grace; entitled to call Him Abba Father and admitted into His spiritual family. From the same sacred source we acquire just notions of His name, kingdom, and will; of the bread of life, of the method by which our sins may be forgiven; of this present world, and of the means through which we may be preserved from the evil with which it abounds. In short, without a distinct and scriptural knowledge of the Gospel of Christ, we cannot use this Prayer with any competent understanding of its meaning; with that knowledge, every clause, nay every word of it, may, as it has been justly said, be considered as "a radiating point from which diverge those bright rays of truth that fill and illumine circles of large circumference."

To this Divine and all comprehensive prayer, the Church of England, with excellent judgment and propriety, has assigned a place in