312 THE ivy. 



merits of earth, directed by the permitted fury of 

 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 histor}^ for future 

 generations to marvel at, when the patient suffer- 

 ers shall be numbered wilh the saints in glory 

 everlasiing, when every tear shall have been wiped 

 from ihcir 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 ihe 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 stale of my poor Ivy ! Some lofty 

 trees planted near it have cast a goodly shallow 

 upon it, yielding defence, alike from the burning 

 ray, and the rending gale. I have seen ihem 

 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 wilhdravvn their shade — they stand 



