the native inhabitants of Canada, console themselves on the death of their friends, by the hope of being reunited to them; and, as travellers credibly inform us, are accustomed to express in their lamentations over the dead, the confident expectation of seeing them again in the unknown regions beyond the mountains which skirt the horizon, to renew the accustomed pleasures of the chase, the dance, and the song. And when the oppressed and wretched descendant of Ham is torn, by monsters in human shape, from his home and family, and memory reverting to the distant scenes and days of youth, sharpens all the pains of slavery, and brings the tear of sorrow down his sable cheek, what most effectually revives his spirit, and sweetens the bitter cup of life? The triumphant belief that death will form anew those social bonds which infernal cruelty has dared to

sever.

66 "Tis but to die, and then to weep no more,
Then will he wake on Congo's distant shore;
Beneath his plantain's ancient shade renew
The simple transports that with freedom flew ;
Catch the cool breeze that musky Evening blows,
And quaff the palm's rich nectar as it glows;
The oral tale of elder time rehearse,

And chant the rude traditionary verse
With those, the loved companions of his youth,
When life was luxury, and friendship truth."

It appears, then, from these testimonies, which, were it necessary, might be extended indefinitely, that the doctrine in question has met with a general reception; and this fact must of course be admitted as a presumptive evidence of its truth, precisely for the same reason that the prevalent belief of the divine existence, and of the immortality of the soul, is advanced as a valid argument in support of these fundamental and sublime principles of our holy religion. A concurrence of sentiment, on any subject, must have its origin either in some superhuman discovery transmitted to successive generations by written or oral tradition, or it must be the result of unaided reason; and then the tenet which has acquired such currency must be ranked amongst those principles and deductions to which the human mind, in the free exercise of its powers, is naturally conducted. If we adopt the former of these suppositions, we concede the point in question, and place the hope of renewed and conscious intercourse amongst good men after death on an immoveable rock; even the testimony of God himself, who will not fail to gratify an expectation built upon his own immutable promise. Whether any supernatural disclosures relating to this subject were made to the faithful of old, it is not our business at present to inquire; but admitting such information to have been imparted to

the world, we may conclude, that however it might be obscured in the progress of time, its accordance with the strongest sympathies and desires of the heart, and its rational character, must have secured its transmission in some form to the latest posterity.

But if we are disposed to believe that the harmony of opinion which men have always maintained in reference to the topic of inquiry, is to be accounted for on the other hypothesis, the fact still affords a strong testimony in favour of the doctrine on which it bears. It is the voice of nature proclaiming in loud and joyous accents the destiny of her virtuous children, and consequently it is the voice of God. It comes before us in this case as one of the established conclusions of reason, and the obvious presumption is, that the conclusion has some solid foundation to support it. In this view it is at least entitled to the respectful consideration of those who are inclined to be sceptical on the subject, since it would be a manifest outrage upon decency, and an act of arrogance, which a wise man could not commit, to trifle with an opinion which has the sanction of all ages and nations, barbarous and civilized, and in which the best feelings of the heart are deeply implicated. We conceive, however, that the hope in question will bear the test of close examination, and will be

found in the event to harmonize not more with all the social tendencies of our nature than with the conclusions of reason and revelation. But before we examine the evidence which the scriptures supply in relation to this subject, we deem it proper to make some preliminary remarks upon friendship, and to consider what it is that invests this connection with perpetuity of existence.

CHAPTER III.

ON CHRISTIAN FRIENDSHIP.

WHOEVER has paid the least attention to the constitution of man, must have been often struck with the fact, that, of all the principles which enter into it, there is none which is more deeply seated or which exerts a more powerful influence over him than that of sympathy. It is the cement of society -the grand law of our nature-the attracting power, in short, which appears to answer the same purpose in the moral as is secured in the physical world by the gravitating tendency of matter. Hence the deep and natural aversion which we feel to a solitary life, and the desire which we have to give utterance to our emotions; a desire which is proportioned to their strength, and which, when our feelings rise to a high degree of intenseness, sometimes constrains us in the absence of a better channel of communication, to express them even to the unconscious and inanimate objects which may