1861.] ADDRESS OF THE EDITOR. 25 



of the Lord Jesus Christ wrote for our learning and comfort, as 

 well as that of the Church in his days, " Put on therefore, as the 

 ELECT of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, 

 humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering ; forbearing one 

 another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel 

 against any : even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And 

 above all these things put on charity. . , . And let the peace of 

 God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one 

 body ; and be ye thankful." 



Charity is like a cloak, for it not only warms the heart of him 

 who is clothed therewith, but it hides or makes an excuse or 

 allowance for the shortcomings of others. He who has Christian 

 patience and forbearance, and the peace of God above all, will 

 not be sorely vexed either by the petulance or the neglect of 

 reviewers, — naughty men ! — who are unable to see and unwilling 

 to award a due recompense to merit, as distinguished as it is dis- 

 interested. 



We bid him adieu, for the present, rather in sorrow than in 

 anger, because our sincere desire is that every human creature 

 may rejoice at this season, when all Christians celebrate the great 

 festival of humanity. We dare not mar intentionally the joy 

 wherewith every heart should be full ; nor may we with a good 

 conscience interrupt that peace proclaimed from heaven by an- 

 gels and confirmed by Him who was the Lord of angels, and the 

 Prince of Peace, by harping on our own petty wrongs, and 

 clamorously insisting on an immediate redress of our grievances. 

 We are well aware that the great and awful day, when time shall 

 be no more, is surely and rapidly approaching, and this season 

 specially reminds us of future events which are as certain as the 

 past ; and as we all profess to be followers of Him who was meek 

 and lowly, it should not be taken amiss if one who has seen many 

 returns of this anniversary, should put his readers in mind of 

 the example of Him who said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, 

 for they shall be called the children of God." 



Non magnis componere parvum, another volume of our publi- 

 cation is closed, and we are about to close another weightier 

 volume in the great book of the history of time. The past 

 year, ungenial as it was, did not bequeath at its close a legacy 

 of famine and scarcity, as a punishment for our sins. For this 

 we are thankful. The sinister predictions of July were happily 



N. S. VOL. V. E 



