an Anglo-German branch, in which the children of the German emigrants might be instructed through the medium of the German language, until they are capable of proceeding with their American companions.

The emigrants, when they arrive from Germany, I repeat it, are ready to avail themselves of the means of religious and intellectual cultivation, as soon as they are placed within their power; but if no steps are taken to preserve them under such influences, they and their children cannot but degen

erate.

THE STRANGER'S HOPE.

As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.-PSALMS xlii. 1.

In the midst of the realms of existence, there is a sun, which sustains and preserves everything; and there is an eye, which is itself of sun-like nature, and made for that sun. The Sun is God; the eye is the soul.

Neither the terrors nor the dread, which come to man on the wings of the storm, or in the thunder of the avalanche, or the eruptions of the volcano,-it is not these, which have first proclaimed to him, that there is a God; nor is it from the starry heavens, letters, as it were, of his creation,-that man has derived this knowledge. Deep as the longing, which, in the new-born babe, calls for the mother, of whom it yet knows nothing; loud as the crying of the young raven, after food which he has never yet tasted; strong and intense as the urgency with which the eye, when unsealed, or the plant, when breaking from its capsule, seeks the light, which they have never before felt ;-such is the longing which I feel through my whole being, for the living fountain of all being, from which I have derived my existence.

Should I take the wings of the morning, and fly where the last waves of the visible world are lost; should I descend into darkness, where there is no star, where the cries of anxiety, the loud manifestations of joy, nay, where even the softest breathing of life, is no longer heard; and should I remain there, alone and solitary, yet I should feel that He upholds me; I should perceive his nearness, like the rustling of the eagle's wing in the stilly night; I should perceive something within me, on which it rests; so is there a desire within my bosom, which takes its way through the midst of the creation, unto God.

TRANSLATED FROM V. SCHUBART.

Ir was in the early part of the spring of the present year, when at a social meeting of several of the German residents in Boston, among other topics, that of religion was touched, and the fact stated that with the exception of domestic devotions, they were almost entirely beyond the pale of religious influence, since they had found neither

time nor opportunity to learn English enough to understand the whole of a discourse; a fact which can hardly excite our astonishment, if we remember that in general most of those emigrants who speak a foreign language, become intimately acquainted with the various terms which belong to every-day life, while they learn but very little of the language which refers to their internal and spiritual life. There had been several exertions made by them to satisfy their longings after religious knowledge, and the edifying influence of social worship. The pious father of a family might be seen to collect on the Sabbath his children and a few friends, in order to unite in singing German hymns, and in offering up a prayer in their native language. Instances of this kind, however, were but very rare, and the great majority of the German population were almost without the light of the gospel, though they might not be wholly ignorant of the treasure of which they were thus deprived. We may infer this at least from the ready manner with which they assembled around one of their countrymen, when they were told that he was able and willing to assist them in the right understanding of the Bible. Availing themselves of the spiritual hospitality, with which they were treated by their Christian brethren, they began to hold regular meetings. With every new Sabbath, the interest with which they regarded the continuance of this

Bible class was more strongly manifested, till finally the power of the gospel, applied to their hearts in their own mother tongue, prompted them to express an ardent desire of organizing a society, that they might secure to themselves the means of religious instruction.

It now became obvious that the various obstructions and difficulties which sometimes threatened to interrupt their meetings, and which even the kindness of their friends could not entirely remove, had been sanctified to their hearts as so many trials, by which they were to experience that "the poor in spirit are blessed." The wish above referred to seemed the more deserving of attention, as experience has but too often taught us that individual influence in such cases is but of comparatively small importance, if no means are taken by which the several members may be enabled to exercise a regular and mutual influence on each other. As most of the individuals concerned had in their youth, by confirmation, become regular members of the Lutheran Reformed or Evangelical churches in Germany, it was thought proper to adopt the principles of the latter as the basis of the religious views, since the Evangelical Church is formed by a union of the Reformed and Lutheran churches. My readers are probably aware of the fact, that in Prussia, and in several of the lesser states of Germany, a kind of ecclesiastical compromise has taken place, between the

Reformed or Calvinistic and the Lutheran churches. The latter have generally abandoned Luther's view of consubstantiation, while the rigidity with which Calvin proclaimed the doctrine of predestination, is but little approved of by the German Calvinistic divines of the present day. From the works of Schleiermacher, and of his successor, Tiresten, my readers may become acquainted more particularly with the character of this union. The governments under whose auspices it has taken place frequently evince so tolerant a spirit in regard to these three denominations, that at one time you may meet with Evangelical divines presiding over Lutheran flocks, while at another the reverse will take place. The membership of the several individuals belonging to any particular church, as in the time of the apostles-though not always in the spirit which characterized that time-is decided by their habitual attendance and worship with it, after they have once passed through a preparatory course of religious instruction, and publicly confirmed the vows made for them in their infancy.

Under the charge of a faithful minister, this admission of members by confirmation furnishes him with the means of influencing directly and privately, every one of the younger members of the flock, and he has thus an opportunity of increasing the kingdom of the Redeemer, which those denominations do not enjoy, who are with