234 



KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



MEKCY FOR THE UNFORTUNATE. 



The greatest attribute of Heaven is mercy ; 

 And 'tis the crown of justice, and the glory, 

 Where it may kill with right, to save with pity. 



[In our last, we penned a somewhat forcible article on 

 the adamantine hearts of women generally, who, towards 

 the unfortunate of their own sex, never show pity ; but 

 would positively see them die, without lending a helping 

 hand. We remarked, moreover, how prone they them- 

 selves were, individually, to fall whenever temptation 

 beset them. Our remarks have excited considerable 

 attention, and, amongst others, the following lines on 

 the subject have been sent us, with a request for their 

 insertion. How gladly do we circulate them over the 

 ends of the earth !] 



Think gently of the erring ; 



Ye know not of the power 

 With which the dark temptation came, 



In some unguarded hour. 

 Ye may not know how earnestly 



They struggled, nor how well, 

 Until the hour of weakness came, 



And sadly thus they fell ! 



Think gently of the erring; 



Oh, do not thou forget, 

 However darkly stained by sin, 



He is thy brother yet ! 

 Heir of the self-same heritage, 



Child of the self-same God, 

 He hath but stumbled in the path 



Thou hast in weakness trod. 



Speak gently to the erring; 



For is it not enough 

 That innocence and peace have gone, 



Without thy censure rough ? 

 It sure must be a weary lot 



That sin-crushed heart to bear ; 

 And they who share a happier fate, 



Their chidings well may spare. 



Speak kindly to the erring ; 



Thou yet may'st lead them back 

 With holy words, and tones of love, 



From misery's thorny track. 

 Forget not thou hast often sinned, 



And sinful yet may be ; 

 Deal gently with the erring one, — 



As God has dealt with thee ! 



[The much-esteemed correspondent who sent us the 

 above, is a Christian in every sense of the word. Yet 

 does he plead in vain. "1 is said that 



" flate shuts her soul when dove-eyed Mercy pleads." 

 It may be so with certain of mankind ; but women, alas ! 

 never did, never will make any allowance whatever for 

 an erring sister. No. Their hatred pursues her even 

 beyond the grave. Sad, but true.] 



FLOWERS. 



They bring me tales of youth and tones of love, 

 And 'tis and ever was my wish and way 

 To let all flowers live freely, and all die, 

 Whene'er their genius bids their souls depart, 

 Among their kindred in their native place. 

 I never pluck the rose : the violet's head 

 Hath shaken with my breath upon its bank, 

 And not reproach 'd me : the ever sacred cup 

 Of the pure lily hath, between my hands, 

 Felt safe,"unsoil'd, nor lost one grain of gold. 



Walter Savage Landok. 



THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



To study God, God's student, Man, was made, 

 To read him as in Nature's text conveyed ; 

 Not as in Heaven, but as he did descend 

 To earth, his easier boot— where to suspend, 

 And save his miracles, each lesser flower 

 And lesser fly show his familiar power. 



Sir W. Davenant. 



That we are progressing in knowledge, 

 cannot be denied ; but is that knowledge 

 what it ought to be ? 



This is an age for reading ; and people 

 will read something. Universal is 



The wish to " know " (the endless thirst, 

 Which even by quenching is awak'd) ; 



But it becomes or bless'd or curs'd, 

 As is the fount whereat 'tis slaked. 



The huge loads of printed matter that 

 travel weekly throughout the land (by post, 

 by sea, and by rail), tell a tale that few 

 can be ignorant of. Mental poison is pre- 

 pared without limit for the million ; and they 

 as greedily swallow it. The " consequences" 

 come before us in the newspapers. 



Many bulwarks have been raised, to try 

 and check the dissemination of so much 

 moral impurity ; but in vain. The human 

 heart is fallible ; and artful men know but 

 too well how to get access to it. Hence are 

 all efforts, made with a philanthropic view, 

 comparatively abortive. Amusement is pre- 

 ferred before instruction, and the animal 

 passions are allowed to prevail to the exclu- 

 sion of the pure graces of the mind. 



It is quite clear then, that our mission 

 must be a very restricted one ; for by speak- 

 ing the truth we get to ourselves enemies. 

 This daunts us not. Whilst we do hold the 

 pen (the time may be very short) , we will 

 faithfully carry out the principles we have so 

 steadily advocated thus far; and the " choice 

 few " shall share our heart. 



A correspondent, whose ideas we have 

 embodied above, has written to us, requesting 

 insertion for some remarks on Natural 

 History, that have just appeared in a con- 

 temporary.* We readily comply with his 

 wishes ; and desire as heartily as himself that 

 the study may become more and more 

 popular. The system of education adopted 

 among us, is indeed, as he remarks, faulty ; 

 and to it may be attributed the comparatively 

 little desire there is to admire the wonderful 

 productions of nature. Superficiality, selfish- 

 ness, and exclusiveness, set aside all the finer 

 feelings of the soul. Nature is now almost 

 universally sacrificed to Art. 



But here let us append the observations to 

 which our attention has been drawn. 



When one hears mention made of " Science 

 in the Provinces," the mind naturally reverts 

 to the exhibitions of " incandescent charcoal 



* The Critic. 



