day seems to have become grave and thoughtful, and sinks down to rest as if conscious that his closing hour should breathe of sweet but awful things. For ourselves we are touched almost to tears at losing him; and as we turn homeward, the joys, the blessings, and the privileges he has brought us, flood our spirits as we cry out, "So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom!"

THE ELECTION.

THE past month has been one of great excitement, and unpleasant as such seasons must always be to lovers of peace and quietness, it is not wise to let them pass without trying to find something in them beneficial to ourselves.

Candidates have been traversing over and over again, with weary steps, the streets of our cities, our towns, our villages, soliciting the votes of their constituents; and it is my province, dear young friends, to bring before you two more Candidates, each of whom would fain win you over to his side.

Do not decide hastily, but listen while I tell you something of them both.

You are fond of peace? One of these is called the Prince of Peace-He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

You would like your representative to be beneficent and merciful?

He is the Father of the fatherless and the Husband of the widow. He delivereth the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He bids the hungry come to him that he may feed them with the bread of life; and the water which he provides for the thirsty is such, that those who drink thereof shall live for ever. He left a throne and a kingdom with all their wealth and all their honors, and condescended to men of low estate, that he might seek and save the wretched, the miserable, the lost.

He giveth us all things richly to enjoy; he is the chief among ten thousand; he is Altogether Lovely. The otherbut if the mind delight to linger over the beautiful character of

the one, how can it bear to detail the loathsomeness of his antagonist?

His word may not be depended upon. Oh no! and the father of it."

"He is a liar

He is a roaring lion, going about seeking whom he may devour. He transforms himself into an angel of light, that he may deceive the unwary; and like the ignis fatuus, allures the unthinking wanderer to destruction. He hates the light because his deeds are evil, and the blood of the martyrs who, from the foundation of the world, have suffered in the holy cause of truth and righteousness, will be justly visited upon his guilty head.

And now I cannot pursue the subject any further, I must submit to you, dear young friends, this alternative-" Choose ye this day whom ye will serve! If the Lord be God, follow Him. If Baal be God, follow him."

There can be no neutrality here. He that is not for us, is against us; and he that gathereth not with us, scattereth abroad. This world is the great hustings upon which the fate of its inhabitants is to be decided. As you vote now, your vote will stand for ever-Which side will you take? Oh, decide for Jesus! Come now to him; and glory, and blessedness, and eternal life are yours. I long to claim your suffrages for my

Master.

Would you follow one who will lead you into the midst of groaning, and woe, and agony for yourself and for others? Can you deliberately choose to dwell in everlasting burnings?

Surely-surely not! Oh come and give your heart and all its powers and energies to the service of Jesus. In him you will find all, all you need-wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption.

Fellow Christians! The causes of many candidates have been injured by the injudicious conduct of the members of their party. Oh! take care how you act. You know that all your inconsistencies will be charged upon your Lord. Pray then to him who is able to keep you from falling, that he may hold up your goings in his paths.

Some of you, dear readers, may perhaps be doubtful whether you are Christians or not. Is it so? Oh! search and see

whether you are indeed a child of God! Without this there is no safety. Without this there is-there can be no lasting happiness.

If it be by the blood of Jesus that you are desirous of entering into the holiest of all, go forward with boldness, by the new and living way which he hath consecrated for us. Yes! all is well, and you may now "draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith." If trusting in Jesus, fear not. Is he not faithful that hath promised ?

But if you find that you are not doing this, if conscious that your heart has not been cleansed by his precious blood, and that your guilty sin-stricken spirit has no part in the benefits of his atonement-hesitate no longer! He came "that you might have life, and have it more abundantly." Come then and ask him for it. Come now, for he is waiting to be gracious. Give diligence, all diligence, dear friends, to make your calling and election sure.

Chester.

Jesus for my transgressions died,

His blood for me did once atone;
And in his strength I here decide
To stand for him, and him alone!

Now to his cross, in faith, I flee,
My suffrages to him are given;
He is, and shall for ever be,

My representative in heaven.

MARY ISABELLA.

RECENT ASCENT OF MONT BLANC.

A short account of the latest ascent to Mont Blanc may be interesting. I remained, says a recent traveller, at Chamounix for some days, looking out for propitious weather. It is necessary to wait at least two days of fine weather before setting out, to allow the snow to condense and afford a firm footing. While at Chamounix I found an Englishman, who declared himself able and willing to share the fatigue and excitement of the undertaking. We accordingly set forth from Chamounix at half-past 7 on the morning of the 5th July, 1852. The chief guide selects the proper guides for the expedition. Each

traveller is compelled to take at least four guides, and as many more as he chooses. The pay of each guide is 100f., and the traveller furnishes all provisions. At 11 the whole cavalcade had reached the Pierre de l'Echelle, or land's-end of the mountain, and here, on the top of a huge stone, the caravan set to feasting, in all, a party of 19, for each guide has his porter, and we had a volunteer guide besides.

The subject of conversation now became, how far the porters were to accompany the guides over the ice; this point and the meal having been settled, we struck out on the Glacier de Bosson, and having marched through pretty deep snow, the porters, in about an hour, turned back, and the guides took the whole of the burdens, consisting of the remainder of our provisions and some wood for our fire on the Grands Mulets. This wood is picked up on the way through the forest of fir trees. I was apprehensive of some accident to men thus heavily laden, and presently, as we were scaling a most awkward block of ice, down went Favret, load and all, into the crevasse, and but for his long protruding faggots of wood, which stuck on either side of the crevasse, he would have gone to a great depth. He was soon hauled up, apparently greatly pleased with his adventure, and strode on. Devouassond, Cachat, and Frasserand took their turns in clearing the way, and after floundering in deep snow till half-past 4, we reached the Grands Mulets, consisting of several chaotic pyramids of great size. The ladder we left sticking in the snow below. We immediately set to work drying ourselves and dressing for the grand effort of the night and morrow.

Having sent out three guides to explore the track, we began once more to attack the provisions, and when the party returned, we were all exceedingly pleasant together, and managed to turn to and sleep for three hours. At 11 we swallowed some tea, and at half-past 2, lanterns were lighted, and the snow being pretty well frozen during the night we walked more easily, and all tied together about five feet apart, we followed the leader, who, with knitted brow and mighty strides, struck forth into the white gloom. In an hour and a half we came to where the traces of the reconnoitring party ceased, and another half hour brought us to a region of terrible crevasses. We were brought

to a halt, and the usual passage was declared impracticable; exploring parties were again detached, and we stood watching Devouassond, Cachat, and Frasserand, as they skirted along the edge of the crevasse to the left, thrusting their staffs into the hollow, and peering on every side with the lantern. They returned without success. (On our return in daylight we saw what a terrible place we were attempting.) Devouassond began to fear that no passage existed; but I told him that to go back was impossible, and so we lay to once more, waiting for the sun to dispel the great darkness.

At half-past 3, Devouassond went away to the right with Frasserand and my friend, and the increasing light showed us a narrow bridge at the foot of the Dome de Gouté. We joyfully crept along this slender bridge of ice, and reached the other side. While we waited for the sun, the scenes were of ghastly grandeur. Leagues above us the summit and the Dome de Gouté were tipped with the moon, and stood out like comets in the black sky, while behind, on the opposite side of the valley of Chamounix, namely, on the range of Brevent, the whole of Mont Blanc's shadow in the moonlight was reflected. No pictorial effort could convey the solemn majesty of this scene. When the sun began to rise in deep red over the wall of mountains, the scene was still more grand; the precipitous cliffs of the Géant, bearing up the fortresses of ice, cut the golden sky with their black edges, and while on one side scarcely any light appeared in the sky, the other was in hard relief against its brilliancy. The Dome de Gouté, now opposite the sun, was a mass of gorgeous violet colour, which being reflected on the prominences of emerald green ice on the plain before us gave a variety and peculiarity that if correctly described would sound like a magic illusion it seemed like walking on a huge prism; and I think that if I had been able to sleep a wink the night before leaving Chamounix. I could not have resisted the temptation of trying to make some representation of the scene on my roll of paper.

The snow was still hard, and we walked on over the Petit Plateau in silence, and winding up a steep ascent came to the Grand Plateau-a vast plain of a semicircular form, the circular side being surrounded by cliffs of ice and snow, The Grand