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shine, (and April is sweet, even in London,) were repeating Wordsworth's poetry, and Talfourd's recital of the "Sonnet on Westminster Bridge," on the spot where it was composed, "made me," says Havelock, "a Laker for life." Nor after he became a soldier was he likely to forget a poem of his favourite poet, upon which his whole life might seem to have been moulded; and when, forty years later, his brother, Colonel William Havelock, flung away his life in battle against the Sikhs, Henry, proudly writing that "my grief is more than half absorbed in admiration, and I would scarcely give my dead brother for any living soldier in the three Presidencies," justifies it by describing how "Will Havelock" rode "happy as a lover" to his death. But it is not such casual allusions as these that make us connect the poem of Wordsworth and the life of Havelock. It is because, as the life was an exposition of the poem, so the poem is a commentary on the life; and in sketching the one we shall ever and anon listen to the stately music of the other.

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When the victory at Futtehpore shot the first ray of light across the darkness of Indian mutiny, he sat down and wrote his wife, One of the prayers oft repeated throughout my life since my school days has been answered, and I have lived to command in a successful action. Norris would have rejoiced, and so would dear old Julius Hare, if he had survived to see the day."

Havelock had intended to be a lawyer, but owing to "an unhappy misunderstanding with his father," of which we have no details, he, like his three brothers, entered the army at the age of twenty. For some ten years thereafter, he occupied the position which Lord Burleigh characterised as "a soldier in peace-a chimney in summer;" but our young officer refused to acquiesce in this view of his profession. He studied Vauban, and Lloyd, and Templehoff, and Jomini, read every military memoir within his reach, made himself fami liar with the events of every modern and ancient campaign, got up the history and exploits of all the regiments of our army, and made himself a well furnished and accomplished soldier before he saw a single skirmish. Nor was this all; our lieutenant, who is described at this date as "diminutive in stature, but well built, with a noble expanse of forehead, and an eagle eye,”

"With a natural instinct to discern

What knowledge can perform, is diligent to learn, Abides by this resolve, and stops not there, But makes his moral duty his prime care." For now Havelock becomes a Christian. The old How they Charter House feelings had died away. were revived we have no exact knowledge. Havelock's Christianity always partook of the nature of the man-stern, outspoken, uncompromising, but very averse to dwelling upon or analysing his own feelings. We only know that on his outward-bound voyage to India in 1823, in the twenty-eighth year of his age, "the Spirit of God came to him with its offer of peace and mandate of love, which, though for some time resisted, at last prevailed." A fellow voyager, a Lieutenant Gardener, was of great use to him at this time. Havelock taught him Hin dostanee, and he taught in return the elements of the doctrine of Christ, giving him to read, as we find, the "Life of Martyn," and Scott's "Force of Truth." And so he seems to have stepped upon the soil of India, the land with which his name must henceforth be associated, a confirmed and consolidated Christian character; and to have henceforth regulated his upright, downright, straightfor ward life, not by the gentlemanly maxims of the mess, nor by the unsteadfast emotions of an “honest English heart," but by the power and in the strength of duty, as taught from the lips of Him who has brought duty as well as immortality to

Havelock bears the name of Havelok the Dane, who ruled or ravaged the eastern counties before Hengist and Horsa visited them. Whether he was also descended from him does not appear. It is much more satisfactorily established that he was the son of a Sunderland shipbuilder, who, having made his money by the sea, like those old Norse pirates, retired, not like them, to some solitary wave-washed rock, but to a comfortable park in the county of Kent, where his son Henry was born. At school, seeing a big boy thrashing a little one, he interfered, and was accordingly thrashed by the big one, and thereafter thrashed by the master for having been thrashed before. At the age of ten he left this reverberant pedagogue, and went to the Charter House, where he was thrashed incessantly, and came, like the famous eels, rather to like it. We are told, indeed, that the severity of discipline here, and the custom of fagging and being fagged, had a great influence on his afterlife; he was a terrible disciplinarian in the army, never sparing others, and, it must be added in justice, never sparing him self. Among the boys who scampered about the Charter House in Havelock's time were Fox Maule, now Lord Panmure, Eastlake, the President of the Royal Academy, and Grote and Thirlwall, the wellknown historians. But a little knot of more intimate friends-Sam Hinds, and Daphne Norris, and Phlos Havelock, and Julius Charles Hare, had some stranger and deeper thoughts in their heads, and used to creep away to one of the dormitories to read sermons, and perhaps to pray, at the risk of much "crackling of thorns" if they were discovered. The friendship thus laid in honest young hearts lasted through life; and in 1850 Archdeacon Hare, one of the noblest Christian men and English wri-light. ters of our day, welcomed back the bronzed little warrior from India, having "longed continually to know what fruit the bright and noble promise of your boyhood had borne." In more than one respect, therefore, does Havelock's life at the Charter House, compared with his subsequent history, recall to us Wordsworth's

"Generous spirit, who, when brought Among the tasks of real life, hath wrought Upon the plan that pleased his boyish thought."

"Hence, in a state where men are tempted still To evil for a guard against worse ill, And what in quality or act is best Doth seldom on a right foundation rest, He labours good on good to fix, and owes To virtue every triumph that he knows." This character was, for many years, to be dis played, not in active service, but in the monotony of a subaltern's life in cantonment and office. No doubt the year after he went out to India he went through a Burmese campaign, but it was very

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short; "the gilded spires of the countless pagodas of Rangoon" had fallen into our hands before his arrival, and in the only skirmish in which he was personally engaged, my pioneers (Madrassees) fairly flung down the ladders, and would not budge, though I coaxed, harangued, and thrashed them by turns, all under the best fire our feeble enemy could keep up, and within pistol-shot of the work." After a twelvemonth of liver complaint and convalescence, we find him sent as the emissary of the British power to Ava, to receive the ratification of the treaty of peace, when the courteous barbarians, placing a fillet of gold leaf on his forehead, invested laim with the title of a Burmese noble. But while he was a noble in Burmah, he remained in India a Heutenant in the 13th Foot, and it was long before his keen desire for either active service or promotion, or both, was gratified. Yet in this, too, as in later life amid more important work, he maintained the characteristic consistency and strength of his nature, as one

"Who, if he rise to station of command, Rises by open means; and there will stand On honourable terms, or else retire, And in himself possess his own desire; Who comprehends his trust, and to the same Keeps faithful with a singleness of aim; And therefore does not stoop, nor lie in wait For wealth, or honours, or for worldly state; Whom they must follow, on whose head must fall, Like showers of manna, if they come at all." Let us hear, on this subject, how he writes to his friend Major Broadfoot, a man of kindred and prodigious energy:—

"Let me ask, my good friend, what it is you mean by prejudices against me. Tell me plainly; I am not aware of any. Old and others used to tell me that it was believed at the Horse Guards and in other quarters, that I professed to fear God, as well as honour the Queen, and that Lord Hill and sundry other wise persons had made up their minds that no man could be at once a saint and a soldier. Now, I dare say such great authorities must be right, notwithstanding the example of Colonel Gardiner, and Cromwell, and Gustavus Adolphus, (all that I can think of just now ;) but if so, all I can say is, that their bit of red ribbon was very ill bestowed upon me, for I humbly trust that, in that great matter, I should not change my opinions and practice, though it rained garters and coronets as the rewards of apostasy."

And again—

"You are quite right; in public affairs, as in matters eternal, the path of popularity is the broad way, and that of duty the strait gate, and few there be that enter therein. I shall have been half a century in the world if I am spared another month, and I end in opinion where I begin. Principles alone are worth living for, or striving for."

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Meantime, long before promotion came, and before these letters were written, he had "lived his life" honestly and truly. He taught and instructed the religiously-disposed men of his regiment, and formed a little band of Baptist "saints," whom the rest respected. "I know nothing about Baptists," said bluff Colonel Sale, "but I know that I wish the whole regiment were Baptists, for their names are never in the defaulter's roll, and they are never in the lock-up house." "Call out Havelock's saints," said Sir Archibald Campbell, when the Burmese threatened an outpost unexpectedly at night; they are always sober, and can be depended on, and Havelock himself is always ready."

An officer sauntering through the passages of the Great Pagoda at Rangoon, suddenly found himself in a little room with idols in the niches, each holding a lamp, by the light of which the pious soldiers of the 13th, with Havelock in the midst of them, were standing up and singing a Christian hymn to the one living God; even as, long afterwards, within the walls of beleaguered Jellalabad, surrounded by an overwhelming force of enemies, and ere yet the earthquake had hurled its fortifications into ruin, he read in the midst of the military square, "God is our refuge and our strength: Therefore we will not be afraid, though the hills be carried into the midst of the seas; though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof!" In 1829, not being able any longer "to run against the tide in an Indian canoe," he "consented to give hostages to fortune," and married the daughter of Dr Marshman, the revered Serampore missionary. From the marriage ceremony, he hurried away to attend a court-martial, in spite of the assurances of his friends that so interesting a transaction would plead for him sufficient excuse. Twenty-six years afterwards, he writes to his wife that the first incident of that twofold day, partitioned with such rigorous impartiality, was the source of nearly all the satisfaction and happiness which retrospect presents to me on the chequered map of my sixty years' existence. So, madam, all hail! best of mothers and not worst of wives." Nor is this the only utterance which recalls to us Wordsworth's soldier, who,

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"Though endued as with a sense
And faculty for storm and turbulence,
Is yet a soul whose master-bias leans
To home-felt pleasures and to gentle scenes;
Sweet images! which, wheresoe'er he be,
Are at his heart; and such fidelity

It is his darling passion to approve;

More brave for this, that he hath much to love."

Like most men of strong, firm natures, he had a great pride in his sons; in the "boy Harry," who rode straight on through a shower of grape at Cawnpore, and in "the mighty Georgy," to whom he thus writes from Bombay:-

"MY DEAR GEORGE,-This is your birthday, and I sit here in sight of the house in which you were born, five years ago, to write you a letter. My office is gone to Poonah, and I have nothing to do but to think of you. But your brother Joshua is very busy in the next room, reading Mahratta with his pundit. However, he says that he too will scrawl a note for you as soon as his daily studies are over. I dare say Harry is remembering you too, but he, you know, is a long way off from us now, in the Punjab.

"Now, though a little boy, you ought to have wisdom enough, when you get these lines, to call to mind how very good God was to you on this day, in preserving the life of your dear mamma, who was so sick that no one thought she would recover...... They tell me that now-a-days it is the fashion for little boys like you to do So if you are no work until they are seven years old. spared, you have two more years of holiday; but then you must begin to labour in earnest, and I will tell you what you will have to learn: the first thing is to love God, and to understand His law, and obey it, and to believe in and love Jesus Christ, since He was sent into the world to do good to all people who will believe in Him. Then, as it is likely you will be brought up to be a soldier in India, you will have to be taught to ride well, and a little Latin, and a great deal of mathematics, which are not very easy; and arithmetic, and English

history, and French and German, and Hindostanee, and drawing and fortification.

"Read all the accounts of the battles of Alma, Balaklava, and Inkermann, and if by God's blessing we meet again, I will explain them to you."

But we must hurry on to notice Havelock's public career. It was that of a soldier, who

"Doom'd to go in company with Pain,

And Fear, and Bloodshed,-miserable train! Turn'd his necessity to glorious gain "not so much by the placability and tenderness of which the poet speaks, as resulting from the view of wretchedness around-for, in truth, it was on this side that his character was deficient-but by that strength of soul which rooted itself the deeper through the shocks of a stormy existence. peace, the soldier is, or should be,

"More skilful in self-knowledge, even more pure, As tempted more;"

in war he becomes

"More able to endure,

In

As more exposed to suffering and distress." So our brave little officer, with his high forehead, and piercing eye, and ringing voice, rode through campaign after campaign in the Northwest. He passed over the gate of the impregnable fortress of Ghuznee, just after "the massive barricade had been shivered in pieces, bringing down in hideous ruin, into the passage below, masses of masonry and fractured beams," and having gained the inside, found Colonel Sale on the ground, struggling desperately with a powerful Affghan, and calling out to Captain Kershaw — coming up at the moment-to "do him the favour to pass his sword through the body of the infidel." In the Cabul war he went forward with this same brigade to Jellalabad, and took part in its memorable defence, a defence all the more difficult from the want of the reinforcements which he had demanded at the beginning of the year,- eight 28-pounders, four mortars, and a chaplain." For a long time matters remained here as he described them in a letter at the time,-" Our only friends on this side the Sutlege, are our own and General Pollock's bayonets. Thus, while Cabul has been overwhelmed by the billows of a terrific insurrection, Candahar, Khelat-i-Ghilzie, Ghuznee, and Jellalabad, stand like isolated rocks in the midst of an ocean covered with foam;" and when at last the garrison saved themselves by their own gallant exertions, their success was owing not a little to Havelock's valour and wisdom. Then came the Sikh

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wars, with their "smashing combats." Through them all the future saviour of Lucknow rode boldly and calmly; getting one horse shot under him by a ball in the ribs, another by a ball in the mouth, and a third hurled from under him by a cannon shot. Everywhere he distinguished himself by personal intrepidity, by his professional science and skill, by his clear-headed views of the requirements of each case, and by the trustworthiness and reliableness of his nature. Now, as afterwards, when all men watched his progress by the blood-stained Ganges, or, as before, when a neglected subaltern, he realised the character of "The man, who lifted high, Conspicuous object in a nation's eye, Or left unthought of in obscurityWho, with a toward or untoward lot, Prosperous or adverse, to his wish or not

Plays in the many games of life that one
Where what he most doth value must be won:
Whom neither shape of danger can dismay,
Nor thought of tender happiness betray;
Who, not content that former worth stands fast,
Looks forward, persevering to the last,
From well to better, daily self surpast."

So he lived his life, until at last, to use the metaphor of our laureate, the "stubborn thistle" of duty burst into the bright red rose of fame. The hour came, and the man; for the man had so lived, that no hour should find him unprepared. On his birthday, the 5th of April 1857, while he was gaining victories over the Persians, and expecting more, news was brought him that peace with Persia had been signed. "The intelligence," he writes, "which elevates some and depresses others, finds me calm in my reliance on that dear Redeemer, who has watched over me and cared for me when I knew Him not, threescore and two years; " and with such an utterance on his lips, he turned to his last, crowning labour-for the mutiny in India had already broken out. now, beyond all former emergencies of his life, was seen that most brilliant characteristic of the Happy Warrior,

"He who, if he be call'd upon to face

And

Some awful moment to which Heaven has join'd
Great issues, good or bad, for human kind,
Is happy as a lover, and attired

With sudden brightness, like a man inspired;
And, through the heat of conflict, keeps the law
In calmness made, and sees what he foresaw :
Or if an unexpected call succeed,

Come when it will, is equal to the need."

In this spirit he fought up to Cawnpore, and from its blood-stained well to Lucknow. "In battle, the General," says Major North, "seemed to be gifted with ubiquity, and the clear tone of his voice raised to the highest pitch the courage of his men, as he hurried toward the Highlanders, and said, 'Come, who'll take that village, the Highlanders or the 64th?'" And so his soldiers loved him, as men will love those who know how to lead them, however stern they be-and not even on this march would he relax his discipline, threatening, as we find, to hang up in their uniform all plunderers in the corps. Yet, after fighting two battles on the 28th of July,—

"As he returned to the causeway, the weary soldiers who were grouped on it, leaning on their arms, suddenly caught a glimpse of him, and in an instant there was a enthusiastic shout through their ranks, Clear the way for the General!' A bright smile stole over the stern features of the old chief, as he exclaimed, 'You have done that well already, men.' This unexpected comple ment electrified the troops, and as his form gradually disappeared, God bless the General!' burst from 2 hundred lips."

So, too, at that last, deadliest fight, when Have lock and Outram, twins in fame, struggled at the head of their men into that world-famous Presi dency-the loopholed houses on either side pour ing forth a stream of fire as they advanced, every roof sending down a shower of missiles, with deep trenches cut across the road to detain them under the fire of the adjacent buildings, and from every angle of every street a volley of shot scattering death-when at last they arrived, it was no won der that the garrison and the Highlanders, the

deliverers and the delivered-nay, the children and the women, united in one rapture of acclamation and of welcome to the soldier who in deepest need had proved himself worthy of the name.

One more battle-one more enemy to fight and overcome-and then Havelock shall have, as another brave man strengthened himself by reflecting, "all eternity to rest in." The true warrior, says Wordsworth, finally, concluding his noble delineation, is he

"Who, whether praise of him must walk the earth For ever, and to noble deeds give birth, Or he must fall, to sleep without his fame, And leave a dead, unprofitable name-Finds comfort in himself and in his cause; And while the mortal mist is gathering, draws His breath in confidence of Heaven's applause." Thus died Havelock-thus, and even better. For while he found, as he had ever done, a deep comfort in himself, in his cause, and in the witness of Heaven authenticating the verdict of his conscience; while he said, most truly and characteristically, to his brave comrade Outram, "I have for forty years so ruled my life, that when death came I might face it without fear;" he also called his son, the inheritor of his honours, to see how a Christian could die, and affirmed in these last hours the trust, not in himself, in which he had entered upon the campaign. Weeks before he had written to his wife," I must now write as one whom you may never see more, for the chances of war are heavy at this crisis. Thank God for my hope

in the Saviour. We shall meet in heaven."

"This is the Happy Warrior; this is he
That every man in arms should wish to be."

THE STORY OF CORNELIUS.

FIRST PART.

SUDDEN AND GRADUAL.

As a flash of lightning, which, in the darkness of night, reveals for a moment to the affrighted wanderer the desolate and perilous region in which he has lost himself; so did the Spirit of God in that midnight hour reveal unto the jailer his sin and danger, and he exclaimed, "What shall I do to be saved?" And as sometimes, after cold and stormy winter, spring, bringing life and joy, bursts forth suddenly; so did the glorious message, the gospel of the Lamb of God slain for sin, which Philip brought unto the Ethiopian, commence in his soul suddenly a new era of peace and gladness. To us it appears sudden, and in one aspect it is; but God prepares all things, not merely for years, but from all eternity, and even before the children whom He has chosen return to Him, and know and love Him -while they are still in Egypt, the house of bondage, or in the far country, joined to the citizen, who is a cruel and selfish master, or wandering in the wilderness in a solitary way, hungry and thirsty, their soul fainting in them. The Father watches over them and guides them; "It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." Oh, let him whose conversion was sudden, reflect and think of the ways that God has led him, and remember all the gracious providences and deliverances, and all the influences, direct and indirect, of which he was the subject, and all the restraining |

mercies, and of all the messengers of truth and peace which must "needs" pass through his Samaria; and he will acknowledge that, though his turning to God was sudden, God's turning to him was not sudden, but prepared of old, even from everlasting. "Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee."

But it is right to notice God's various ways and methods, that we may adore His manifold wisdom and goodness; and Scripture contains so many records of conversions, differing widely from each other, that encouragement and direction may thus be given to every sincere and anxious seeker of the truth. And therefore while we read of some who were enlightened suddenly, and brought to faith and peace and joy, while some, as the woman of Samaria, are found by Jesus, whom they did not seek or expect to meet, we read of others who, for a long time, were seeking God's light, and striving to obtain peace and consolation, and who had to wait patiently, till at length God inclined unto them and heard their cry. Some, when roused from the sleep of ignorance and godlessness, open their eyes upon a bright and smiling day; while others leave the City of Destruction before the sun has risen: "My soul waiteth for the Lord, more than they that watch for the morning." Thus was it with Cornelius. For a long time he asked, he sought, he knocked, and it was fulfilled unto him what is promised, "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth."

A WHOLE CHAPTER ABOUT ONE MAN.

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" And yet what are all God's works, great and glorious and wonderful as they are, when compared with the soul, which He has given unto man te know, adore, and love Him-when compared even with the feeblest and most imperfect manifestations of that life of knowledge and affection as we notice them in the helpless infant? Therefore out of the mouth of babes and sucklings has He ordained strength and praise to Himself, and revealed the glory of His kingdom, which is spiritual and eternal. And yet what were the glory of man, sinful and captive, but for Him who is called the Son of man, the Lord of hosts, Immanuel, who was obedient unto death, and is now, as our Saviour and Representative, crowned with glory and honour, appointed heir of all things, and unto whom is put in subjection the world to come, even that new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness? (Compare Ps. viii. and Heb. ii.) What is man, when compared with the angels and archangels, who surround God's throne? Man is but of yesterday, while theirs is the wisdom of centuries; they are strong, and pure, and holy, while man is frail, and sinful, and guilty. Yet even the greatest of the angels of God, that strong and mighty prince who contended with Satan about the body of Moses, and who shall stand up for the children of Israel in the latter days (Dan. xii.), is called Michael, "Who is like unto

God?" Revealing thus an infinite distance between himself and the Lord Jehovah! Yet did the Son of God, unto whom none is like, take upon Him, not the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham. Oh, what is man?-we ask, with a feeling of holy awe and reverence-that the Son of God should become the Son of man!

Thou canst not think too much of the infinite distance which is between thee, the creature, and God, the Creator-between thee, the sinner, and God, the holy, righteous Father. Yet canst thou not wonder, and adore, and rejoice sufficiently, when thou beholdest the Man, the Man Christ Jesus, once crowned with a crown of thorns, and now on the right hand of the Majesty on high!

And it is in Him that God loved His people, and as the Father hath loved Him, so hath He loved us. How unspeakably precious is every ransomed soul to Christ! "A whole chapter devoted to the history of one man!" Yes, He knows His sheep, He knows His people by name; and to the history of one saved soul God devotes not merely a page in His book, but in His heart, and Christ bears every one of His people on His priestly breastplate, interceding for him within the Holy of Holies.

But not merely as the history of a soul sought and found is this tenth chapter of Acts to be regarded, but as the history of

THE ABRAHAM OF THE GENTILES.

Yes, what Abraham is to Israel, Cornelius is to the Gentiles. He was the first Gentile who was admitted by the apostle into the visible Church of Christ; with him commences a new era in the Divine kingdom upon earth; from him we may date "the times of the Gentiles." Now the word of Jesus began to be fulfilled: 66 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." Cornelius was not merely the representative and earnest of a great multitude which no man can number, who, besides the chosen number of Israelites, are to be gathered out of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, but his conversion, and the outpouring of the Spirit upon him and all who, with him, heard the word preached by Peter, were the events which formed a turning-point in the views and efforts of the apostles. It was the dawn of a day of light and joy for the Gentiles. As God chose and called and separated Abraham to be the father of Israel according to the flesh, so was Cornelius chosen to be the beginning of the Gentile Church. It is for this reason that his conversion possesses a world-historical character.

PREJUDICES AGAINST, AND PREPOSSESSIONS IN
FAVOUR OF, CENTURIONS.

It was in the large city of Cesarea, on the Mediterranean, the capital of the province Syria, which embraced likewise Judea, a city which Herod had beautified, and on which he had conferred a new name in honour of the emperor, that Cornelius lived as centurion of an Italian band. The fact noticed by Paul, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, was not confined to any particular age or country; and this

general circumstance may, at first sight, incline us to think, that Cornelius (no name was more honourable at Rome than that of the Cornelian house) was a man not likely to be reached by the influence of the despised followers of Jesus. His calling, too, was one which many call, with peculiar emphasis, "worldly"- -a calling in which, doubtless, there are many strong temptations, and in which it is difficult to remember the vanity of all earthly glory and strength, and to seek the hidden kingdom, into which none can enter who are not like unto a little child. And if these temptations and difficulties exist in the military profession in our day and country, there can be little doubt but they were much greater and stronger in the days of proud and godless Rome. However, whatever temptations and difficulties our different callings and occupations may bring with them, as they form no insuperable barrier to God's powerful and graci ous influence, so they afford no ground of excuse for our indolence and negligence, for our sins and transgressions. In a calling which is in itself sinful we dare not abide; but believing firmly that when God is against us, it is impossible that any real good should attend us, we ought to pray to God to give us strength, and to open up ways, that we may leave it forthwith; and in a calling which is lawful, it were sin and murmuring against God to maintain that in it we cannot serve God, and lead a holy life. God has His children and obedient followers among rich and poor-men who live in the glare of celebrity, and men who live in the shadow of obscurity; busy merchants and scholarly recluses; courtiers in the gay metropolis, and peasants on the quiet farm.

But while there are prejudices against, there are prepossessions in favour of the centurion; for do we not read of a centurion in Capernaum who asked Christ to heal his servant? What a noble, beautiful character was his! He had built the Jews a synagogue, and loved their nation-this was enthusiasm and generosity; he loved his servant, and was intensely interested in his welfare

this is true greatness and benevolence. What humility, that he thought himself not worthy that Jesus should enter his roof! what true knowledge of his sin and Christ's purity! What gigan tic faith, that he recognised Christ as the King of an invisible kingdom, in which messengers and influences obey the word of their Divine Commander, as promptly and surely as soldiers yield obedience to their leader! Friend, are you not astonished at his faith? Jesus marvelled, and exclaimed, "Verily, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." We read of another centurion, also at Capernaum, who obtained the Lord's help and healing for his sick child; and of a third, who witnessed Christ's sufferings on the eross, glorified God, saying, "Certainly this was a righteous man!"

And ever since there have been many gallant soldiers, brave and fearless warriors, who fought also the good fight of faith, and served the King of kings, and in this higher warfare strove manfully, and overcame, and obtained the crown of righteousness, and have entered into the city of peace. Cornelius, like the centurion mentioned in Matt. viii., had come to a knowledge that the

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