POETRY.

On reading some late intricate discussions in the Monthly Repository on the Doctrine of a Particular Providence.

O never, never from thee tear

The simple Faith whose fruit is Prayer!
Though far beyond the common creed
Thy practis'd eye hath learnt to read;
Though deep and high thy musings be
On heav'n and man's fix'd destiny;
Though earth and air and sea combin'd,
Have brought their treasures to thy mind;

4 Q

Though the fair tree of knowledge show'r
In rich redundance all her store,
And thou hast look'd and look'd again
At all the springs of joy and pain-
Not deeming heav'n itself too high,
To pass before thy searching eye;-
Yet to thyself, to others spare
That simple Faith whose fruit is Prayer!

O pause-If 'mid those darker themes,
Where struggling reason scarcely seems
To hold her empire o'er the breast,
And, weary, longs to be at rest-
If there one spirit mourns her lot,
Her light obscur'd, her trust forgot,
O dearly-bought the joy, the pride
Of wisdom, thus to doubt allied:
And better, better far to spare
The simple Faith which causeth Pray'r—
That faith, which, noiseless, meek and mild,
The loftiest minds hath reconcil'd;
That faith which oft in times gone by,
Hath rais'd to heav'n the martyr's eye;
And now, in many an hour, will come,
When the heart mourns its martyrdom,
Feels thy cold hand, suspicion! rest
On many a kind and faithful breast,
Feels that the power which once allied
Its joys to theirs, must now divide.
Yet gathering sweetness out of pain,
Turns back to heav'n and hope again,

Looks through the passing cloud-and there
Breathes out the rising sigh in Prayer.-

OBITUARY.

"This very valuable man was yesterday buried in the Quakers' burying-ground in Lisburn. His remains were followed to the tomb by a large concourse of people of all denominations. The most respectable inhabitants of Lisburn and its vicinity assembled to pay their last respect to a fellow-townsman, whose solid and substantial qualities they had long admired. The poor, with the sincerity which generally characterizes them, followed the remains of their friend and protector. They called to their recollection those sad and calamitous days when nobody almost was to be found at the bed-side of the dying victim to the typhus fever but the inestimable individual whose loss they had then to lament. Protestants, Presbyterians and Catholics, felt it a duty they owed to this inflexible advocate of public justice, to pay him the last sad honours of the grave. When the body had arrived at its destined abode, Dr. TENNENT, one of the most intimate and confidential friends of the deceased, addressed the surrounding multitude in the following pathetic terms-a true and honest tribute to the worth of the departed, and a record full of value to the survivor:

"

to weaken the attention to that purity
of conduct and universal benevolence for
which he himself was always so remark-
able: and I think this construction is fairly
borne out by the whole of his after-life.
Who like him so constant in visiting the
widows and fatherless in their affliction?
Who so attentive to the wants of the
sick and destitute, to relieve the poor,
and plead the cause of the oppressed?
And who so unwearied in following the
example of him who went about doing
good? If any such, I trust their hearts
will be found right before God, and that
any involuntary error of their heads will
lie lightly on them. John Hancock had
no formal creed, religious or political,
but the fervent aspiration of his heart
was, Glory to God in the highest, on
earth peace, and good-will towards men.'
This he thought could never be attained
without freedom-that freedom which
becomes men possessing reason, and de-
sirous of happiness; who should not only
be free to secure that happiness, but
encouraged and directed by freely-chosen
collective wisdom in the pursuit of it.
This made him the ardent and zealous
advocate of liberty, the uncompromising
enemy of corruption in the State or in
the Church, and of all tyranny or assumed
power in either, inconsistent with the
perfect exercise of individual exertion to
procure a man's own good, and that of
the society of which he is a member.
Our late friend was a Reformer indeed:
after securing civil and religious liberty
on sure foundations, he would have re-
form brought home to a man's own
bosom, and considered liberty, however
precious in itself, as little better than
licentiousness, unless founded upon vir-
tuous conduct; he considered the victory
not to be yet won nor the prize gained,
unless the heart, the temper and the
This is
affections were reformed also.
what distinguished his principles; he
went to the root of the matter, both as
to the external system and the internal
qualifications, by which alone that system
can be advanced to perfection; he would
have man stand erect in freedom, that

ences of opinion, or oppositions arising
from misapprehension, well knowing that
with such sacrifices as these God is well
pleased. He was a man fitted to bear a
part in a better state of society than the
present; but such a man as Providence
sometimes vouchsafes to mankind to
cheer them under the gloomy aspect of
human affairs, and to excite others to a
persevering philanthropy, independently
of every worldly hope or expectation. In
no country could such an example be
more useful than in Ireland, and in none
could the loss of such a one be felt more
severely. Here, where integrity is assailed
with so many temptations, and where
systematic delusions are practised to ac-
complish the overthrow of public virtue,
we would need to fix our eyes steadily
on one who has stood firm all his days,
and who, having finished his course with
honour, may now safely be contemplated
as an object for imitation by all who love
their country and mankind. He was a
man whom all may imitate; plain, direct,
right-forward in all his pursuits; he had
but one object in view-the advancement
of human happiness, and from this no
consideration of difficulty, or danger, or
obloquy, of personal labour or personal
sacrifice, could ever induce him to swerve.
Every one may not possess his talents,
but every one may possess his integrity;
and every one may propose to himself the
same laudable end in all his actions, and
follow it during life with the same con-
stancy, and at its close rest from his
labours with the same humble conscious-
ness of having endeavoured, to the best
of his power, to do that which it was his
duty to do. It is at this awful period
that the value of a man's life can be truly
appreciated; no delusive plea can be ad
vanced now; no flattery can now cover
delinquency or assuage the sorrows of
regret ; 'but, the righteous shall enter
into peace; they shall rest in their beds,
each one walking in his uprightness.'
We do not mean to follow our late la-
mented friend into the privacies of domes-
tic life, to scenes of family happiness often
witnessed. Here, indeed, he was himself

he might successfully cultivate their dis--here, were centered the choice enjoy-
positions, which confer upon freedom all ments of his life-here, he reaped the
its value. To this end all his efforts were reward of his anxiety and toils for a
more extended circle-and here, he found
directed, his writings breathed the same
spirit, and his precepts were powerfully refreshment in the intervals of public ex-
recommended by his example. Indeed, ertion, and consolation for those disap-
agrecable to his own doctrine, his life pointments to which the philanthropist
was a practical comment on moral and is peculiarly liable. But I must pause,
political science. He devoted himself to and not attempt, too rudely, perhaps, to
practical utility, and all his extraordinary penetrate the recesses of domestic life,
or withdraw the veil from the sacredness
powers were employed, with an energy
rarely witnessed, to do good and to com- and delicacy of filial regret and love.
may emphatically remark,
municate good to all within the sphere However,
of his activity, without regard to differ- that here the tree is known by its fruit;