We have received-most timely a series of papers from Br. T. B. THAYER, late of Brooklyn, N. Y., now of Lowell, Mass., which discuss very ably the need of doing something more than we now perform in behalf of Liberal Christianitythe great spiritual interests of man. We find great attention is now given to the question, How shall we make the Church more useful? our religious organizations more vitally imbued with religious sympathies and unities of culture? We rejoice in this, and trust that it may lead to the utter abolition of the distinctions between Societies and Churches-two families no longer dividing those who should compose one "household of faith." What we want to see is this:

1. The Communion adopted by our Societies as a part of the usual services on the days chosen for the commemoration.

2. Persons chosen by the Society to assist at the Communion, or the Pastor empowered to select such.

3. The Charities of the Society and Congregation attended to by an appropriate organization furnished with means to do so.

4. Any persons desirous of publicly professing their faith, otherwise than by attendance at the Supper, to receive the Right Hand of Fellowship from the Pastor in presence of the Congregation.

Such an arrangement would make the Communion a different matter from what it now is. It would not be set aside as a thing by itself, nor would it be neglected as it now is by being abandoned by "church members" as soon as some offence against a member arises, and

sometimes wholly set aside by neglect of "the Church," while "the Society" is progressing and prosperous. We should not see the strange things we now see of "the world's people" taking care of the sick and poor of "the Church;" but a unity of interests would pervade the entire community of believers. We were much pleased with a portion of the late Occasional Sermon at the Maine Convention, by Br. G. Bailey, touching this point. He says:-" We want a system that shall bring within the pale of our body every Universalist in the State; an organization, of which every man and woman, parent and child, shall be a member, bound by the most solemn obligations, both to live the Christian life, and to do for the cause of his Master; an association by which all its members, whether those of the great city, worshiping in costly temples, or of the obscurest town far back in the wilderness, who have no temple but the domestic altar, shall constitute one body of which Christ shall be the Head. I care little what it be called, whether Church, or Society, or by some other name. If a Church, then let it be one, such as the Apostles instituted, of which all shall be members until excluded for immorality; a Church into which the children of our families shall be born, rather than permitted to remain without, till they please to become members. This old doctrine of the self-styled Evangelical churches, that a child must grow up without religion, in order that he may be converted afterwards and then join the Church, is and has been, in this country at least, the bane of Christianity; the fruitful cause of infidelity, irreligion and immorality. If the Church is of any worth, the youngest child needs its influences; its sheltering arms should be around the lambs, feeding them with its milk, and preparing them for that strength of religious principle by which they shall be saved from the temptations and the sins of manhood. If a Church is of any worth, it will reach forth a helping hand to the obscurest and most distant member, and provide for his every spiritual want. It will save its members instead of depending on them for safety. It will be to all a nourishing mother, giving strength for their weakness, purifying unto itself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Such a church, I know, many of our people are waiting and hoping yet to see; and I believe were steps taken for its organization all over our State, it would contribute to such an awakening of religious interest as we have never yet seen; that in its progress it would gather up, year after

year, those now cold aud lifeless, and make them worthy members of the church invisible, composed of all the good, whether living amid the shadows of time or the undying realities of the spirit world. Such a Church would be a body like that which the Apostle describes, fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in love.'

But we wish now to introduce to our readers the papers sent us by Br. Thayer. He explains their origin thus:

"Believing that the church meetings (in Brooklyn) might be made more interesting and profitable by introducing some special subject for review at each meeting, I proposed the appointment of an advisory committee, whose business it should be to meet by themselves, and prepare a Report on such subject as they might select as most suitable to the time, or most demanded by the wants of the church, to be read at the subsequent regular monthly meeting: This committee to be composed of lay members of the church, the minister being omitted from the committee, that the movement might be free from any restraint or dictation of his, and wholly the child of the Church itself. The Reports I send you, are the first fruits of this action, and they have been very acceptable and profitable to the members of our communion. And as I thought they might furnish hints to other churches in the way of giving interest to their regular meetings, and also be of general use, I have ventured to send them to you. The author of the Reports is the chairman of the committeeC. C. Gordon.”

CHURCH PAPERS. NO. 1.

WHAT SHALL WE DO?

THE subject which has been considered the most appropriate for the earliest communication, is the means of making our church organization more effective, of extending the sphere of our influence both within our own denomination and beyond it, and awakening attention to the needs and uses of our institution. But your committee propose first to present the most obvious reasons why we should deliberate upon these means, and make some more distinct and well directed endeavor to avail ourselves of

them; for it must be apparent that if we wish to accomplish any thing, we must first define our objects and clearly apprehend our duty, and then avail ourselves of our resources, and press forward by systematic and continued action towards the accomplishment of our designs. We need first to deliberate upon our means and objects-then to resolve and act-and we may be assured that without premeditation and resolution, we shall accomplish little or nothing, and that our energies are crippled and oftentimes misspent, because of our indeterminate purposes and irresolution, and our having no clear conception of what is needful to be effected.

That there is a want of earnest, self-sacrificing devotion to the cause we have espoused, (a devotion worthy of our cause,) a want of relig ious sensibility and a neglect of the various ordinances and instrumentalities among us, needs no enforcement. The conviction of every thoughtful mind assures us, that the charge of religious insensibility and indifference, is not confined to those of any sect or denomination. We can readily discern a reason for the apathy of those who differ from us-in the unfitness of their faith to their wants, in the impracticability and repulsiveness of their creed, in the natural repugnance of the heart of man to the system of orthodoxy-original sin, total depravity, election, vicarious atonement, and the infliction of endless misery; but when we turn to our own faith, and ask a cause for indifference, we fear we must submit to self-reproach, and confess our own unworthiness. The precious faith we confess, ought to urge us to a deeper sense of our duty-to a more willing devotedness and more worthy service; for of all Christians, none should be more zealous in good works, more faithful to their obligations, more prompt in sacrifices, more united in action, more earnest or devout; if we prize our holy faith, we should manifest our sense of its value by our readiness to do something for it. The cause of God's truth we believe will prosper; it is a cheering faith; but the question for us to meet and answer is, will his cause prosper in our hands? Are we faithful to His truth? Are we not, (humble as we may conceive ourselves to be,) the means and instruments of its prosperity? Does not God accomplish his purposes by human agencies, and are not we therefore bound by the most solemn of all obligations, to give ourselves most unreservedly to this cause, (the cause of God and the church,) as the most vital and precious of all interests, of inestimable worth and moment? If

there be an element in our faith which induces lukewarmness or indifference, we ought to get quit of it, and so modify this faith that it shall be reinforced with a new life and energy. We rejoice, and thank God for it, that the influence of the pure and simple truths of the Gospel, the paternity of God, the brotherhood of man, the curative and remedial nature of the penalty of sin, the accomplishment of punishment, the kingdom of peace on earth and good will to man, and the restoration of all through Christ, are silently and certainly remoulding and invigorating the moral and religious systems of the world, that error is dispersing before the coming of a better day, and that the signs of the times are so full of promise and blessedness. We see in every moral and social reform, in political and national revolutions, in popular literature and education, much to cheer and inspire us; but we are not therefore to rest from our labors, or count ourselves to have attained unto any thing, but rather to be strengthened for new and better endeavor and a wiser activity.

But the question recurs, what shall we do? We have done much, and are doing much, but we should not let our efforts be relaxed, because the spirit of opposition and oppression has been quieted, and we have none to molest or make us afraid. We have but begun our course; many beneficent helpers are cheering us onward, and we have now better prospects and a better position, more influence and power, and more and stronger inducements than the conflicts of the past have presented us. We have now to prove that the spirit of Universalism is not merely the spirit of antagonism to Calvinism, and that it can do something besides defending itself, and that it can thrive best in peace and freedom, though it cannot be crushed by the force of numbers or the violence of assailants; and this more benign and peaceful influence we are now permitted to exert. And how shall we act? What shall we do? Your committee are persuaded that with many among us there is a disposition to delegate power to others, to entrust the interests of the church and society to the hands of a few, and to look for the support of our faith to the minister and officers of the church, but it may well be urged that the few cannot possess the power of many. Certain powers may indeed be delegated, but the moral and spiritual power of a religious organization, can no more be delegated than personal character and worth, individual wisdom and piety. The church is no scheme for the substitution of another's merit

for our own, but it exists, if at all, in the combination and co-operation of individual agencies, and it is the embodiment of the vital faith and Christian excellence there is in its members. It may be urged, that one cannot with extremest effort do that which is easily attainable by the union of many; that after all, the strength of the church rests in the aggregate of individual effort, and that that church or society which finds its only hope and support in the zeal and fidelity of its pastor or its officers, (how trusty soever they may be) exists but in name, and has not the elements of a true growth or permanence within it—it is a good clergyman, a good board of trustees merely, a church but in name; for the true living church needs the harmonious and united growth of all its parts, that it may not be a function or faculty merely, but a well developed and systematical entity and living unity. It is apprehended generally that in all demonstrations this passive surrender of the interests of the church to the pastor and constituted officers, paralyzes its influence to a great degree, imposes undue and grievous burdens especially upon the pastor, hampers his usefulness, and dampens his ardor, and that it is the most fruitful cause of the dissolution of the bonds between the minister and his people; bonds which the sacredness of the relation should render reciprocal and permanent, which should be intimate and lifelong.

Liberal Christianity, we doubt not, has already wrought a great and glorious work; its gentle and subtle influence is mollifying the rigors of the stern puritanism of the past, and one by one the citadels and strong-holds of the sects are yielding to its loving and persuasive spirit, and the barriers between us are removed and we are approximating to a better fellowship, a broader tolerance, and a kinder intercourse; but much remains to be done, and still the question recurs to us, what is our duty? what shall we do?

Again, we are told that a renewed zeal is manifesting itself among those of our faith in other places; that our enterprises find earnest advocates, and that there is an influence going forth in other quarters worthy of our imitation; and the question presses upon us, What shall we do?

We have struggled through many difficulties and discouragements, have builded a new house of worship, are gaining accessions to our members, and were perhaps never better able than now to make a vigorous and united effort to improve our condition and make our church or

ganization more effective. And what shall we do?

But above and beyond all these inducements, there are yet others higher and better, more imperative and urgent. The consideration of the imperfection of our spiritual attainments, the needs of our religious life, the consciousness of our own unworthiness, and the conviction that our advantages are unimproved, and that we have not yet apprehended the pure and precious teachings of our Savior, that we are living perhaps without daily communion with God, or that we reluctantly seek his presence and find our services cold and restrained; that we do not study the Scriptures, that we are neglectful even of public worship, and are insensible to the blessings and obligations of our holy religion; that we are assailed by temptation, sorely tried at times, suffering, afflicted, bereaved, oppressed by cares, sorrows and doubts; that we are feeble, erring, sinful, dying, but immortal creatures;— these considerations surely should furnish sufficient inducements for us to ask, What shall we do? What can the church do for us? What can we do for it? How can we strengthen our faith? How can we attain to a better discipleship of Jesus and better serve the cause we have espoused?

Your committee would proceed to an enumeration of the means of making our church organization more effective, and extending the sphere of our influence; but too many themes are presented for consideration in a single Report, and they propose therefore the continuation of their communications at future meetings, designing to report upon the Church, the Society, the Sabbath School, the Conference, Public Worship, the Communion, Family Worship, the Study of the Scriptures, our religious position, and the influence we may exert upon those who differ from us. Submitted in Christian love and fellowship.

When he stands on the verge of a wild-wooded place

In shining array, like a king from the chase.

Light sits on the hills with intelligent brow,
While dark shadows group in the valley below;
The innocent bird is too sleepy to sing,
And shelters his face in the shade of his wing.

But the curtain of Evening is dropping its fold,From the West the last tint of the sun-set has rolled;

On the breast of the billow, Night resteth her head,

And weeps, for the beauty of daylight has fled.

The moon with her light robe of silvery pearl,
Doth the star-spangled flag of the waters unfurl,
And sings as she leans on the arm of the sea,
The song of the gifted, the brave, and the free.

SOME writer, speaking of the flowers, says, It is evident that a Quaker taste was not consulted by the Creator in fashioning the world. But the ornamental in creation is no less apparent in the beauty of Birds than in the loveliness of Flowers. The following sketch of one species of the Bower Bird, we take from "Leaves from the Note Book of a Naturalist"-a series of papers that abound with interest.

"ELEGANT and ingenious as are the structures and collections of the satin bower-bird, the species of the allied genus Chlamydera display still greater architectural abilities, and more extensive, collective, and decorative powers.

"The spotted bower-bird is an inhabitant of the interior. Its probable range, in Mr. Gould's opinion, is widely extended over the central portions of the Australian continent; but the only parts in which he observed it, or from which he procured specimens, were the districts immediately to the north of the colony of New South Wales. During his journey into the interior, he

saw it in tolerable abundance at Brezi, on the river Mokai, to the northward of the Liverpool plains; and it was also equally numerous in all the low scrubby ranges in the neighborhood of the Namoi, as well as in the open brushes that intersect the plains on its borders. Mr. Gould is gifted with the eye of an observer; but, from the extreme shyness of its disposition, it generally escapes the attention of ordinary travelers, and it seldom allows itself to be approached near enough for the spectator to discern its colors. Its 'harsh, grating, scolding note' betrays its haunts. to the intruder; but, when disturbed, it seeks the tops of the highest trees, and, generally flies off to another locality.

"Mr. Gould obtained his specimens most readily by watching at the water-holes where they come to drink; and, on one occasion, near the termination of a long drought, he was guided by a native to a deep basin in a rock, where water, the produce of many antecedent months, still remained. Numbers of the spotted bowerbirds, honey-suckers and parrots, sought this welcome reservoir, which had seldom, if ever before, reflected a white face Mr. Gould's presence was regarded with suspicion by the winged frequenters of this attractive spot; but while he remained lying on the ground perfectly motionless, though close to the water, their wants overpowered their misgivings, and they would dash down past him and eagerly take their fill, although an enormous black snake was lying coiled upon a piece of wood near the edge of the pool. At this interesting post Mr. Gould remained for three days. The spotted bower-birds were the most numerous of the thirsty assemblage there congregated, and the most shy; and yet he had the satisfaction of frequently seeing six or eight of them displaying their beautiful necks as they were perched within a few feet of him. He states that the scanty supply of water remaining in the cavity, must soon have been exhausted by the thousands of birds that daily resorted to it, if the rains, which had so long suspended, had not descended in torrents.

"Mr. Gould discovered several of the bowers of this species during his journey to the interior; the finest of which, now in the National Museum, he brought to England. He found the situations of these runs or bowers to be much varied. Sometimes he discovered them on the plains studded with Myallis, (Acacia pendula,)| and sometimes in the brushes with which the lower hills were clothed. He describes them as considerably longer, and more avenue-like, than

those of the satin bower-bird, extending in many instances to three feet in length. Outwardly they were built with twigs, and beautifully lined with tall grasses, so disposed that their upper ends nearly met. The decorations were very profuse, consisting of bivalve shells, skulls of small animals, and other bones.

I fre

"Evident and beautiful indications of design (continues Mr. Gould) are manifest throughout the whole of the bower and decorations formed by this species, particularly in the manner in which the stones are placed within the bower, apparently to keep the grasses with which it is lined firmly fixed in their places; these stones diverge from the mouth of the run, on each side, so as to form little paths, while the immense collection of decorative materials, bones, shells, &c., are placed in a heap before the entrance of the avenue, this arrangement being the same at both ends. In some of the larger bowers, which had evidently been resorted to for many years, I have seen nearly half a bushel of bones, shells, &c., at each of the entrances. In some instances, small bowers, composed almost entirely of grasses, apparently the commencement of a new place of rendezvous, were observable. quently found these structures at a considerable distance from the rivers, from the borders of which they could alone have procured the shells, and small, round, pebbly stones; their collection and transportation must, therefore, be a task of great labor and difficulty. As these birds feed almost entirely upon seeds and fruits, the shells and bones cannot have been collected for any other purpose than ornament; besides, it is only those which have been bleached perfectly white in the sun, or such as have been roasted by the natives, and by this means whitened, that attract their attention. I fully ascertained that these runs, like those of the satin bower-bird, formed the rendezvous of many individuals; for, after secreting myself for a short space of time near one of them, I killed two males which I had previously seen running through the avenue.

"The plumage of this species is remarkable. A rich brown pervades the crown of the head, the ear-coverts and the throat, each feather being bordered by a narrow black line; and on the crown, the feathers are small and tipped with silver gray. The back of the neck is crossed by a beautiful, broad, light, rosy pink band of elongated feathers, so as to form a sort of occipital crest. The wings, tail, and upper surface, are deep brown; every feather of the back, rump, scapularies, and secondaries, having a large