The Student; a Magazine of Theology, Literature, and Science, Conducted by a Society of Young Men. No. 1. May, 1844. London: John Snow. It would be unfair to judge of a new periodical, or even o an old one, by a single number. The aim of the "Student" is good. May it long prosper, and be profitable to both the society and their publisher. FLEE! FLEE THE TEMPTER! FLEE! flee the tempter! howsoe'er disguised; Eternal as the heavens, shall then be fraught J. F. DAVIS and HASLER, Printers, Crane Court, Fleet Street. THE INDEPENDENT AND YOUNG CHRISTIAN'S MAGAZINE. SEPTEMBER, 1844. SEPTEMBER. IT is the month when the inhabitants of town and country gather themselves upon the shores of our isle, to inhale the fresh blowing breezes of old Ocean. Hither are brought the languishing and the dying, that the sea-breath may kindle one parting glow on their cheeks, ere they quite fade away. Hither resort the young and vigorous, to climb the over-hanging cliffs, and build their nest with the sea-bird, in the adventurous joy of their immature strength. And here are gathered the intelligent and the thoughtful, that the ocean murmur may soothe their intellectual restlessness, and that the winds, sweeping from off the breast of the waves, may restore the vigour of their o'erwrought minds. "Hail to thy face and odours, glorious sea! "Twere thanklessness in me to bless thee not. * What, though thou art Unconscious and material, thou can'st reach And with thy tints and motion stir its chords Surrounded by the merely selfish seekers for pleasure, for mental invigoration, and for bodily health, there are to be found Christian families. And what is the aim of these ? Surely, their aim is not merely selfish. Their health may be restored, and their spirits cheered, whilst, at the same time, they keep in view some end yet more exalted. Alas! how few there are, to whom, if the question were put, What object do you especially propose to yourselves to accomplish by your sojourn beside the sea? who could reply, in the words of Christ our example, "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" Christian, in the dissipated throng whom you meet in your walks, are there none waiting at the gate of death, without hope of eternal life, to whom you might gain access, and whom you might point to Him who once at the eleventh hour gave to a sinner the promise of paradise? Amongst the sailors who are crowded on the beach, are there none whose hard hearts would melt, and on whose weather-beaten cheeks the tears would flow, at the sound of the name of Jesus? In the town where your tent is pitched, is there no small company of disciples, whose hands you may strengthen, whose activity you may awaken and direct, or from whom you may yourself learn lessons of usefulness? Let not the pastor and his people look in vain for your co-operation. Let the support of the ministry of the word receive your aid, however small. Let the Sunday school and the day school be visited; you may gain some information that may be useful to you at home; at least, your presence will give pleasure to the teachers and to the children. It is pleasant to meet with sympathy from Christians who come from afar. It is animating to be reminded that all the disciples of Jesus are engaged in the same great works of faith and love; and that the feeble band, who labour in a corner, and, for the greater part of the year, alone and unnoticed, are linked in their enterprise with the whole family of God. The visits of some Christians to some places have been seasons of revival. Their conversation and their prayers have roused the energies and revived the faith of the faint-hearted. Where the moral soil was barren and desert, a heavenly verdure has followed the sowing of the seed. We should oftener hear of such instances, if the words which, to the knowledge of the writer, a Christian father makes a point of addressing to his children, whenever they are called from home, were the motto of every heart-"Get all the good you can; do all the good you can." 291 GREVILLE EWING.* THE possessor of fortune and rank, seated at the feet of Jesus, is a rare sight to behold. It was a declaration no less true than mournful, “How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of heaven." And yet He who uttered it has all power in heaven and earth; and can, when he pleases, even from amongst the courtly bowers of ease, select and call those who shall consecrate their gifts to Him, and take their place among his lowliest disciples. It was He who thus disposed Viscountess Glenorchy to aid, by her influence and by her wealth, the revival of true religion in Scotland. Married in early life to the only son of the Earl of Breadalbane, she drank to the dregs the intoxicating cup of worldly pleasure. Caressed, admired, and courted by the brilliant circle in which she moved— what monitory voice could possibly gain access to the ear of this high-born lady? The voice of conscience, divinely taught to re-echo the voice of God. The cup of pleasure satisfied not her thirst, nor did it prove an elixir to ward off the touch of disease. The richest of mankind can purchase no exemption from bodily infirmity, and Lady Glenorchy was snatched away from the dissipated throng, to lie in solitude and in great danger, upon the bed of sickness. There, a question of the Assembly's Catechism, learnt in her childhood, darted into her mind, with the power of words unheard before-"What is the chief end of man?" Alas! little had she considered his chief end. Yet her memory, as a faithful servant to admonish her of forgotten truths, could not but remind her of the answer to the question-an answer far different from that which her past life had afforded—“ Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him for ever." Stricken and sad at heart, without a guide, without a friend, Lady Glenorchy spent many days in seeking rest and finding none. It was at this juncture that she received a letter of spiritual counsel from the sister of Rowland Hill. At her suggestion, she engaged in the diligent and prayerful perusal of the holy scriptures. Still were her eyes holden, that she did not perceive the Saviour exhibited in the sacred page, till, one day, sensible of * For much of the information contained in the following article, the writer is indebted to the "Life of Greville Ewing," ably compiled by Mrs Matheson. her own weakness and ignorance, with her bible in her hand, she earnestly committed her soul to the Lord for divine illumination. Then, opening the word of life, a light from heaven revealed to her its meaning, and the third chapter of the Epistle to the Romans set before her eager gaze the way to God. From that hour her faith was fixed upon Christ crucified, and she took up her cross and followed him. It was no easy thing to do so in her high sphere. She was assailed by open darts and secret thrusts-wounded by the calumny of some and the ridicule of others. But she was "not ashamed of the gospel of Christ." From Taymouth castle, the seat of the Earl of Breadalbane, as from the hill Mizar, she looked with a longing eye to Edinburgh, a Jerusalem in its religious privileges. When her steps were led thither, she enjoyed the ministry of Mr Walker, colleague of the distinguished Dr Blair, and the society of some holy women in the same station with herself, who, in the midst of the general lukewarmness, made it a practice to meet together, to strengthen one another's hands in God. There she was introduced to one with whom she was ever after united in the bonds of the firmest friendship, and who was well known in Scotland by the title of the "good lady Maxwell." Left a widow at the early age of nineteen, Lady Maxwell took up her solitary abode in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, and, for fifty-three years of widowhood, "served God with fastings and prayers night and day." "God brought me to himself," she said, "by afflictions." In the year 1770 these two Christian women united in opening a place of worship at Edinburgh, the pulpit of which was to be supplied by ministers of the gospel of every denomination. The plan did not long succeed. The ministers of the establishment were unwilling to mix themselves up with the Wesleyans; and Lady Glenorchy, in consequence, appointed in it a chaplain of her own, in connexion with the church of Scotland. The following year beheld her a widow, and the wealth left her by her husband, she appropriated entirely to benevolent purposes. Her zeal displayed itself in building chapels both in England and in Scotland, in educating young men for the ministry, in establishing schools, and in relieving the wants of the indigent. For four years the head of Lady Glenorchy had been laid in |