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sents a striking contrast to the means we adopt for taking a journey. Mr. G. Robinson, who has travelled lately in Syria and Palestine, thus describes one, which may be taken as a specimen of many :— "A small caravan starts two or three times a month from Damascus for Aleppo. The journey is usually performed by them in eleven days, but it might easily be performed in eight or nine. The road lies to the east of the Anti-Libanus chain, and passes through the great cities of Horns and Hamah. In some parts, it is pressed upon by the desert, properly so called, but in general it is carried over a rich, cultivated soil, free from sand and stones, though equally destitute of trees and shrubs. Excepting the towns, which form the usual halting places of the caravan, few detached villages or even houses are to be met with in its whole extent. As the caravan went out of Damascus yesterday evening, and stopped at Tourna, a large village two hours from that city, in a north-easterly direction, I hastened in the morning to overtake it. At the time I did so, it was moving along at a slow, straggling pace, and I joined it almost without being perceived. It consisted of about a hundred persons mounted on horses or mules, with twenty or thirty camels laden with merchandize. The common load of an Arabian camel, is from four to five hundred pounds, on a short journey; and from three to four hundred pounds, on a journey of considerable distance. The longer the journey to be undertaken, and the fewer wells to be found on the way, the lighter are the loads. The capability of bearing thirst, varies considerably among the different races of camels. The Anadolian, accustomed to cold climates and countries, copiously watered on all sides, must, every second day, have its supply of water. It is some time before the European traveller can get accustomed to the slow, rocking motion of the common transport camel, and on this account, and with a view to my greater independence, I hired horses on this journey. An hour before sunset, we reached Kteifa, a small village enclosed with slight walls, but of sufficient strength to keep out the Arabs, who often approach these parts in search of plunder. Instead of entering the village, we turned into a fine large khan or caravanserai, distant from it a few hundred yards, and also enclosed."

THE WILLOW.-No. I. (Salix.)

EXPLANATION OF CUT. a, twig, with male catkins. b, male flower. c, twig, with female catkins. d, female flower. e, the capsule bursting and emitting its seeds.

NATURAL ORDER. AMENTACEE.

LINNEAN ARRANGEMENT. Diccia Diandria.

Barren Flowers in an imbricated oblong catkin. Calyx, an oblong, spreading, one-flowered scale, as long as the stamens. Corolla none. Filaments,

two, thread shaped, spreading. Anthers two lobed. Nectary, a small oblong gland, at the base of the scale.

Fertile Flowers in a long imbricated catkin. Calyx, an oblong scale. Corolla none. Germen superior, egg shaped. Stigmas two, longer than the styles, cleft, spreading. Capsule, egg shaped, one celled, smooth. Seeds numerous, minute, tufted with hairs. (S. fragilis.) A tall bushy tree growing in watery places, eighty or ninety feet high. The branches round, smooth, and brittle, growing obliquely, and somewhat crossing one another. Leaves between lance and egg shaped; pointed, serrate, very smooth, four or five inches long, dark green above. Flowers in April and May.

"As willows by the water courses," Isa. xliv. 4.

MANY valuable and ingenious arguments in support of the Divine origin of the sacred Scriptures have been founded on the minute and universal coincidences which subsist throughout them, and thus prove them the production of a perfect Author. It is in this never-failing consistency that the works of the infinite God differ from those of finite man. Many a work of art or piece of mechanism, of the happiest conception or most complicated invention, is marred by remissness in the least conspicuous, yet equally important, parts. Even when to our eyes all is perfect, how the illusion vanishes before the magnifying glass! The most delicate fabric of cambric and the invisible edge of steel, are then revealed as clumsy, irregular, and uneven. But the most trifling work of the Almighty will bear

the most searching ordeal. The blade of grass, or the spider's web magnified, do but develope more clearly their most perfect symmetry, exquisite finish, and elaborate contrivance. None but an infidel will deny that the finger of Jehovah alone could trace those all-important passages which teach how mortal man can be just before God, or those which are given to guide his way on earth, and reveal the blessings prepared for him throughout eternity. Yet even the Christian, who receives with meekness this word as able to save his soul, and finds it "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness," often from ignorance or inattention overlooks those minute touches, if the term may be allowed, which in every page attest the wisdom and knowledge of their Author. And if it be a pleasing task to trace the skill and wisdom of an earthly friend, how infinitely more interesting thus to mark the ways of Him with whom we have to do, and to find him, in every particular, consistent with himself. In those casual allusions made in Scripture to the objects of creation, we discern the Creator, for none but the God of nature could so clearly reveal the secrets of nature. Simple and brief though the allusion may be, how correctly does it describe facts connected with the object, which were for centuries unknown to human science, and which every discovery of the present day does but confirm and repeat. It has been with truth asserted, that in the sacred Scriptures we may discern the germ of every sublime image or beautiful figure which embellishes the writings of men; and with equal truth may we observe, that from this inspired treasury we can obtain glimpses of the secret workings of Jehovah no where else to be discovered. How could the dreary desert be more strikingly delineated than as "a dry and thirsty land, where no water is?" We read of the sun, whose " going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof;" of the earth "which hangeth upon nothing;" of the rain, "which the clouds do drop and distil on man abundantly;" of the snow "like wool," and the hoar frost "like ashes;" of the springs "which run among the hills, and give drink to every beast of the field." Could the vocabulary of science describe so forcibly, yet so concisely?

Nor is less force and accuracy employed upon the minor objects of creation. We read of the eagle, that "dwelleth and abideth on the crag of the rock, and thence seeketh the prey which her eyes behold afar off;" of the ant, "which, having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest;" of the lion, "which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;' of the cedar tree, with his "shadowing shroud;" of the flag, which "groweth not without water;" of the heath, which "inhabits the parched places in the wilderness;" of the "great and strong oak;" of "the willows of the brook ;" and of the vine "meet for no work." Under the unerring guidance of Scripture, then, we are directed to the watery place, the streamlet bank, the river side, when we would examine the willow tree, and in such a spot, in England, as in Judea, we shall not seek in vain.

It is remarkable that whenever the inspired writers allude to the tree, this peculiar situation is expressly mentioned. With the "boughs of willows of the brook” entwined with those of "thick and goodly trees," the children of Israel were to make booths at the feast of tabernacles, to commemorate the sojourn of their fathers in the wilderness. The elephant, (behemoth,) "chief of the ways of God, lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed and fens. The willows of the brook compass him about." On the willows which grew "in the midst of the rivers of Babylon," the captives of Judah suspended their silent harps. The spoil of Moab, it was foretold, should be carried "to the brook of the willows;' and in the parable wherein Ezekiel predicts the judgments coming on Jerusalem, the seed "was placed by great waters, and set as a willow tree.' One of the most expressive images of Scripture is that in which the prophet Isaiah describes the blessed effects of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the seed of Jacob, both literal and spiritual, by saying, "They shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses."

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To enumerate the many uninspired poets, who, true to nature, and therefore, though perhaps in ignorance, following the track of the inspired writers, have associated the willow with such scenes, would be impossible. A few, however, may be mentioned.

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Even the very name of the species would seem to originate from the situation in which it so universally abounds. Salix is supposed to be derived from two Celtic words; sal, near; lis, water; though some botanists have traced it to the Latin word salire, to leap; an origin scarcely less appropriate, from the extraordinary rapidity of their growth. Many of the species cultivated for basket making, if in good soil, after being cut, will send forth, in a single season, shoots from eight to twelve feet long. The timber species, in congenial situations, will in ten years from the time of planting attain the height of fifty or sixty feet.

The willow belongs to the Linnean class Diccia, the distinguishing feature of which is, that the flowers bearing stamens, and those produeing pistils and seeds, are on two different trees, although the leaves and general appearance of each tree are the same. All the species are natives of the northern hemisphere, mostly within the temperate zone, though one or two are found within the arctic circle. The branches and twigs are long and flexible; the leaves are arranged on them spirally in groups of three, four, five, and often six. The catkins of the different species vary in length and size, as well as in the colour of their anthers. To every seed is attached a tuft of silky hairs, which wafts the infant embryos through the air, or on the water, to their future home. The leaves, though grealy varied in size, and form, are all

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It has been too much the fashion to regard the willow species as one of comparatively little use to man. Perhaps there are few who will not at first sight be rather disposed to start at sir W. J. Hooker's assertion, that "the many important uses rendered to mankind by the different species of willows and osiers, serve to rank them first in the list of our is amply corroborated by the testimony of economical plants." Yet this declaration those who have investigated the subject. The timber is soft, light, and smooth, though tough; and on these accounts was, as Pliny tells, selected by the Romans for the fabrication of their shields; and for the same reasons it is now generally used for cutting-boards by shoemakers and tailors. It is also used for whetting the fine steel instruments of cork cutters and other mechanics. "It is in demand for turnery and for shoes, shoemakers' lasts, and toys, for dyeing black in imitation of ebony, as it takes a fine polish, and for a great variety of minor purposes. The wood of the larger trees is sawn into boards for flooring, and sometimes for rafters; in which last situation, when kept dry and ventilated, it has been known to last upwards of a century. The straight stems of young trees, when split in two, make excellent stiles for field ladders, on account of their lightness. The boards are well adapted for lining wagons and carts, particularly such as are intended for coals and stones, or any hard material; as willow wood, like other soft woods, is by no means liable to splinter, from the blow of any hard, angular material. It is also valued for the boards of the paddles of steam vessels, and for the strouds of water wheels, as it wears in water better than any other kind of wood. The red wood willow, (S. fragilis,) according to Matthew, produces timber superior to that of S. alba, or any other tree willow. It is much used in Scotland for building small vessels, and especially for fastsailing sloops of war, by reason of its lightness, pliancy, elasticity, and tough

Mr. Loudon, from whose valuable article on the willow we have quoted the above passage, also dwells on its medical properties. The bark of the willow, and also the leaves, are astringent. A substance called salicine has been extracted from the bark of S. Helix, and some of the other species by M. Leroux, in the form of very fine white crystals, soluble in water. The process by which it is obtained is long; three pounds of bark, when dried and ground fine, only yield one ounce of salicine. Professor Burnet asserts this has been proved to be of equal efficacy with the Peruvian bark; three doses, of six grains, have stopped the progress of a fever. Thus mercifully has the providence of God caused the moist and marshy situations in this hemisphere, as in the other, to produce a remedy for the very diseases engendered by their atmosphere.

ness. The longer shoots and branches | a most agreeable fuel. In a rude state of of the tree willows are made into poles civilization, the twigs of the willow were for fencing, hop poles, props for vines, used in constructing houses, household and other purposes; and when forked at utensils, panniers, the harness of horses one end, into posts for supporting lines and cattle, etc. The twigs are very genefor clothes. They are also much used for rally applied in Norway and Sweden to the handles of hay rakes, and other light, all these uses; and Dr. Walker relates, agricultural implements; and they are that he has ridden in the Hebrides with split and made into hurdles, crates, and a bridle made of twisted willow twigs, hampers; and when interwoven with the while his boat has lain all night at ansmaller branches, into racks and cradles chor, with a cable made of the same mafor the hay and straw given to cattle in terials." the fields or feeding yards. The smaller rods, with or without the bark on, are manufactured into various kinds of baskets for domestic use, and split up into two, four, or more pieces for making lighter and more ornamental articles, such as work baskets, ladies' reticules, etc. At Caen, in France, hats are manufactured from strips or shavings of the wood of S. alba; branches of two or three years' growth are taken and cut into thin pieces with an instrument called a shave, and afterwards divided into ribbons by a steel comb with sharp teeth. Similar willow hats were formerly manufactured in England, and sheets of what is called willow, which is a kind of stuff woven with fine strips of the wood and afterwards stiffened, are still in common use for the framework of bonnets, and are covered with felt for light, cheap hats. This stuff is chiefly manufactured by weavers in Spitalfields. The downy substance which envelopes the seed is used by some kinds of birds to line their nests, and by man occasionally as a substitute for cotton in stuffing mattresses, chair cushions, etc. In many parts of Germany it is collected for making wadding for lining ladies' winter dresses, and a coarse paper may be formed of it. The shoots of willows of certain vigorous growing kinds, when cut down to the ground, produce, in two years, rods, which admit of being split in two for hoops for barrels, while others in one year produce shoots more or less robust, and of different degrees of length, which are used with or without their bark on, for all the different kinds of wickerwork. In the neighbourhood of London, the market gardeners use the smaller shoots for tying up vegetables sent to market in bundles; and both in Britain and on the continent they are used for tying up standard trees and shrubs, etc. The top of willows, and all the branches and old trunks which can be applied to no other useful purpose, make

Useful as we have proved the willow tribe to be to man, the deputed master of creation, it fills a scarcely less important place, as affording nutriment to many varieties of the insect race," the scavengers of nature," and ornaments of the atmosphere. The ornamental catkins and delicate leaves of the willow, which embellish the earliest days of spring, furnish sustenance for those insects which even then emerge from their winter state of torpor. On those of the S. caprea especially, which are produced most abundantly in some districts, the annual produce of the hives depends. "It is in flower," says Dr. Walker, "between March 15 and April 8. During this time, whenever the thermometer is at or about fortytwo degrees in the shade, accompanied with sunshine, the bees come abroad. This is a temperature which often occurs, and if they have an opportunity during that interval of feeding three or four days upon this willow, the hive will be preserved, when, without this, it would probably perish.' Very many insects,

larvæ, caterpillars, and moths feed upon the leaves, bark, rind, and wood of the different species of willow, some of them beautiful, others curious; many of them are peculiar to the tree. The wood, also, is the favourite food of the industrious beaver. The leaves and twigs are considered nourishing to cattle; in some districts they are gathered and stacked for the purpose. It is said that horses thus fed can travel twenty leagues a-day without fatigue.

FAITH.

knows what it is to believe, as well as any one can tell him, yet as he reads of a dead, as well as of a living faith, a faith of devils and a faith of God's elect; as he reads on one page that he that believes shall be saved, and on another, that Simon himself believed, and yet remained in the gall of bitterness and the bonds of iniquity, he is often greatly perplexed, and at a loss to determine what that faith is which is connected with salvation. This is a difficulty which is inseparable from the use of language. The soul of man is so wonderful in its operations; its perceptions, emotions, and affections are so various and so complicated, that it is impossible there should be a different word for every distinct exercise. It is therefore absolutely necessary that the same word should be used to express different states of mind, which have certain prominent characteristics in common. The definite, in distinction from the general or comprehensive meaning of the word, is determined by the context; by explanatory or equivalent expressions; by the nature of the thing spoken of, and by the effects ascribed to it. This is found sufficient for all the purposes of intercourse and instruction. We can speak without being misunderstood, of loving our food, of loving an infant, of loving a parent, of loving God, though in each of these cases the word love represents a state of mind peculiar to itself, and different from all the others. There is in all of them a pleasurable excitement on the perception of certain qualities, and this we call love; though no two states of mind can well be more distinct, than the complacent fondness with which a parent looks upon his infant, and the adoring reverence with which he turns his soul towards God.

"God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him," John iii. 16. 18. 36. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life," John vi. 47. "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned," Mark xvi. 15, 16. "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved," Acts xvi. 30, 31. God is "just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus," Rom. iii. 26. The Gentiles "have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel hath not attained it, because they sought it not by faith," Rom. ix. 30-32. "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the We need not be surprised, therefore, faith of Christ, and not by the works of that the word faith is used in Scripture the law," Gal. ii. 16. "By grace are ye to express very different exercises, or saved through faith; and that not of states of mind. In its widest sense, faith yourselves it is the gift of God," Eph. is an assent to truth upon the exhibition ii. 8. "This is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ," 1 John iii. 23. "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself," 1 John v. 10.

Language so plain and so varied as this, cannot be misunderstood. It teaches every serious inquirer after the way of life, that in order to salvation, he must believe in Jesus Christ. Still, though he

of evidence. It does not seem necessary that this evidence should be of the nature of testimony; for we are commonly and properly said to believe whatever we regard as true. We believe in. the existence and attributes of God, though our assent is not founded upon what is strictly called testimony. But if faith means assent to truth, it is obvious that its nature and attendants must vary

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