As the bard of Avon expounds the theory, under the whimsical fiction of Queen Mab sallying forth by night in her hazle-nut chariot, on her dream-inspiring missions—

When in this state, she gallops night by night

Through lovers' brains, and then they dream of love;
On courtiers' knees, that dream on court'sies straight;
O'er lawyers' fingers, who straight dream on fees;
O'er ladies' lips, who straight on kisses dream:
Sometimes she gallops o'er a courtier's nose,
And then dreams he of smelling out a suit;
And sometimes comes she with a tithe-pig's tail,
Tickling a parson's nose as 'a lies asleep,
Then dreams he of another benefice:

Sometimes she driveth o'er a soldier's neck,
And then he dreams of cutting foreign throats,
Of breaches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades,
Of healths five fathom deep; and then anon
Drums in his ear; at which he starts, and wakes;
And, being thus frighted, swears a prayer or two,
And sleeps again.

Many Christians, of a nervous temperament, are tempted to make too much of

RELIGIOUS FRAMES.

They will imagine themselves, perhaps, to be in a state of favour with God, or to be unreconciled, according to their present im

pression or mental enjoyment. Mr. Brownlow North, in one of his public addresses in Ireland, mentioned the case of a female in Belfast, who said that she knew that Christ had pardoned her sins, because she was so happy; but if her feeling of happiness were taken away, she would not think her sins to have been forgiven. "Many imagine, unless they are at all times in a glow of fervour, an ecstatic frame of feeling, all must be wrong with them. But there is nothing more dangerous or deceptive than a life of mere feeling; and its most dangerous phase is a life of religious emotional excitement. It is in the last degree erroneous to consider all this glowing ecstacy of frame a necessary condition of healthful spiritual life. You will not be asked, in the last great day, whether you had great enjoyment, or much enlargement of soul here. Speak to that vast multitude which no man can number, now around the throne. Ask them whether they came through much consolati on and joy in the Lord. No! through much tribulation. Ask them whether they

were saved by their warmth of love to their Saviour. No! but they had washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Many persons, Mr. North says, derive their faith from their feelings, whereas they ought to do the exact reverse, and let their feelings flow from their faith.

The power of temptation in the form we now speak of, was exemplified, to a remarkable extent, in the case of Mrs. Hawkes, that devoted friend of Mr. Cecil, of London, and an honoured servant of Christ. Her copious diary is full of meditations which exhibit her spiritual vacillancy, and show that this was her infirmity. Thus, after one of her transitions from spiritual gloom to light and hope, she exclaims: "How variable are our frames and feelings! How like the shining and the shadow passing over the green plain! But, blessed be God, our salvation consisteth not in frames and feelings, but in being engrafted on the living Vine, and abiding in Christ; consisteth not even in our sensible hold on him, 14*

but in our simple belief of his gracious declaration that he will never leave, nor forsake, nor suffer us to be plucked out of his hand." In reference to such cases as hers, Mr. Newton remarks, "that a humble, dependent frame of spirit, perseverance in the appointed means, care to avoid all occasions of sin, a sincere endeavour to glorify God, an eye to Jesus Christ as our all in all, are sure indications that the soul is thriving,' whether sensible consolation abound or not. Neither high nor low frames will do for a standard of faith; self may be strong in both." Persons who are conscious of such spiritual oscillations, should learn to discriminate between their emotions or frames and their habitual principles of action. The former may be likened to the little eddies near the margin of a river, which, at different times, flow towards all points of the compass. The latter are the current, constantly tending the same way, and which makes it evident in what direction the great volume of water is running. In one of his affectionate letters to Mrs. Hawkes that relates to the religious

depression which she often suffered, he compares an afflicted believer to "a man that has an orchard laden with fruit, who, because the wind has blown off the leaves, sits down and weeps. If one asks, 'What do you weep for?' "Why, my apple-leaves are gone!' But, have you not your apples left?' 'Yes.'

6

'Very well, then, do not grieve for a few leaves, which could only hinder the ripening of your fruit.' Pardon and promises, that cannot fail, lie at the root of your profession, my dear daughter; and fruits of faith, hope, and love, that no one can question, have long covered your branches. The east wind sometimes carries off a few leaves, though the rough wind is stayed. And what if every leaf were gone? What if not a single earthly comfort were left? Christ has prayed and promised that your fruit shall remain; and it shall be my joy to behold it in all eternity." Not less injurious to the spiritual progress of others, is a

HABIT OF MENTAL INTROSPECTION.

We mean, not the salutary practice of self