^12 THE IVY. 



ments of earth, directed by the permitted fury oJ 

 evil spirits, can bring to bear on their unsheltered 

 heads ! The condition of those faithful men, who 

 at this moment are doing the work of evangelists 

 in that branch of the Protestant church established 

 in Ireland, will be a matter of history, for future 

 generations to marvel at, when the patient suffer- 

 ers shall be numbered with the saints in glory 

 everlasting, when every tear shall have been wiped 

 from their faces, and the Lamb be visibly reigning 

 in the midst of them for ever. Yet even these 

 ephemeral pages shall record it too ; and while 

 suffering, as indeed I do, continual sorrow and 

 heaviness in my heart for our brethren's sake, I 

 will not refuse the consolations that abound on 

 their behalf, in tracing the beautiful analogy that 

 certainly exists between the natural world, as 

 under the Providential government of its Creator, 

 and the spiritual world of regenerate men, as 

 more richly provided for in the covenant of grace. 

 If I look upon that which is seen, how sad is 

 the wintry state of my poor Ivy ! Some lofty 

 trees planted near it have cast a goodly shadow 

 upon it, yielding defence, alike from the burning 

 ray, and the rending gale. I have seen them 

 stand long, like appointed guardians, and if the 

 defence of the Ivy had depended on their fidelity 

 to the trust, alas for it in this day of calamity ! 

 The trees have withdrawn their shade — they stand 



