subject; but it would swell this article beyond reasonable limits. I trust what has been said will induce reflection, and this produce conviction, and conviction the desired object-your conversion, when the Saviour, who is anxiously concerned for your salvation, will, if sought, dispense those precious gifts he has to bestow upon the seeking sons and daughters of men. Again, I repeat, let your ministers and teachers see your anxious disposition to uphold the institution that has, more than any other, blessed the children of this land, and contribute in any and every way you can to promote the glory of God, and give proof that you are a seed to serve him, a generation to call him blessed. Gomersal, Yorkshire. J. B. THE BIBLE PICTURE GALLERY. NO. IV. THE RAISING OF LAZARUS. As soon as we sat down to write a few words descriptive of this memorable event, we were reproved by a touching incident which occurred to our recollection. During the American war, a gentleman and his wife were on board a vessel under convoy the wife died on the passage, leaving two infants, the charge of whom fell to a negro, about seventeen years of age. One day the father went on board the Commodore's vessel: during his absence a violent storm arose, the ship which had the children on board sprung a leak, and was on the point of foundering. The Commodore sent a boat to rescue the crew and passengers: the boat was soon filled, but the negro and the children were not among the number. To take the three would have endangered the lives of the whole party; but room could be made for the infants or the negro. The devoted servant did not hesitate a moment: handing the children into the boat, he simply said, "Tell massa that Cuffy has done his duty," and then calmly awaited the death which soon overtook him. The heroic conduct of the negro was related to Queen Charlotte, who, touched with the recital, requested Hannah More to write a poem upon it; but the gentle poetess excused herself, finely observing, that no art could embellish an act so noble. And what pen can, without marring it, add a single touch to the picture which the beloved disciple has drawn of the scene enacted near Bethany, when He, who could rightfully lay one hand upon the attributes of Deity, moved by the sympathies of the purest and tenderest humanity, stretched forth the other to bind up the broken-hearted, and give to the mourners, while standing at the very grave, the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness? We therefore leave the scene to tell its own story, and to bear its own simple but eloquent testimony to the grace and power of Him, whose voice, as he stands at the world's grave, shall once more utter the omnific words, "Come forth!" and the earth shall give up its dead, and death and hell shall give up the dead that are in them. A SIGHT NEVER YET SEEN.-Who ever saw a faithful, punctual, interested Sundayschool teacher at the head of an irregular, inattentive, and listless class? MEMORABILIA FOR THE MONTH. HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY. 1st.-Union of England with Scotland consummated, 1707. 4th.-Jamaica discovered, 1495. 5th.-Napoleon Bonaparte died, 1821.Religious Tract Society instituted, 1799. 8th.-Congregational Union formed, 1832. 9th.-Corporation and Test Acts repealed, 1828.-Matthew Henry ordained, 1687. -Whitfield excluded the church, 1739. 14th. - Vaccination first applied by Dr. Jenner, 1796. 15th.-O'Connell died at Geneva, 1847. 22nd. Alexander Pope born, 1688. 24th.-Queen Victoria born, 1819. 25th.-Princess Helena born, 1846. 27th.-Calvin died, 1564. 28th.-William Pitt died, 1759. 30th.-Alexander Pope died, 1744. 31st.-Dr. Chalmers died, 1847. BOTANY. May is proverbially the month of flowers. The hawthorn, the sloe, the horse-chesnut, the Scotch fir, the beech, and the honeysuckle, are in their full beauty; all the varieties of the strawberry open their blossoms; and the mulberry-tree puts forth its leaves. In the fields we have in flower, the orchis, the celandine, the blue-bottle, and the ragged-robin; in the gardens, various sorts of narcissus, the veronica, the early peony, the lily of the valley, the ple rhododendron, the columbine, the scarlet azalia, the monk's-hood, &c. The wild, or entire leaved peony, has bloomed for centuries, during this month, on an island called "Steep Holmes," in the Severn, and is almost unknown as a wild flower in every other part of England. NATURAL HISTORY. pur The latest species of the summer birds of passage arrive about the beginning of May. Among these are the Goatsucker, the spotted Fly-catcher, and the Sedgebird. The songs of wild birds are, perhaps, heard in their greatest perfection in this month. The Willow-warbler, which may be heard this month, is one of the few birds which sings as it flies; its nest is built on the ground. The Ephemera, or Mayflies, appear towards the end of this month. Though they pass two or three years in their larvæ state, they live as flies only one day: they undergo their transformations buried on the sides of ponds, the entrance being below the surface of the water. In less than two hours from the time they burst from the bank where they have been buried the female insects have laid their eggs, about 800 in number. These eggs are glued together so as to form two small packets, about a quarter of an inch long, which are laid in the water by the parent, who dies as soon as she has performed her task. ASTRONOMY. The Sun is in the constellation Taurus till the 21st, on which day he enters Gemini. On the 1st he is 95,792,000 miles from the earth. Taurus to the 27th; and in Gemini from Mercury is in Aries till the 6th; in the 28th. He is an evening star. He is near Venus on the 8th, and near the Moon for observation at the end of this, and the on the 23rd, and is more favourably situated beginning of next month, than at any other time during the year. Venus is in the constellation Taurus and Aries during the month: till the 14th she is an evening-star, then a morning-star during the month. Mars is in the constellation Pisces till the 20th, afterwards in Ceres. He is a morning-star; is near the Moon on the 18th, and Saturn on the 25th. Jupiter is in Cancer till the 16th, then in Leo to the end of the month: he is an evening-star. Saturn is in Ceres throughout the month, and is a morning-star. The Moon is at the Full on the 7th, at 7 min. past 7, A. M.; on the 15th, at her Last Quarter at half-past 10, A.M.; it is New Moon on the 22nd, at 37 min. past seven in the morning; and on the 28th at Last Quarter, at 23 min. past 11 in the evening. MANCHESTER SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION ANNUAL CONFERENCE. THE Fourth Annual Sunday-school Teach- blished, and lectures have been delivered; ers' Conference was held on Good Friday, in Grosvernor-street Chapel. The chair was taken by the Rev. R. Fletcher. There was a large attendance of delegates and teachers. The proceedings having been opened with singing and prayer, the CHAIRMAN briefly alluded to the origin and results of Sunday-schools. Reports were then given from various towns connected with the Union. A Ragged-school had been esta- and, upon the whole, the experiment of the institution has met with considerable success. Returns had been received from fifty-seven schools within the borough. There were 10,613 scholars, with an aver. age attendance of 2,864 in the morning, and 8,247 in the afternoon. There was almost as great a difference in the attendance, morning and afternoon, of the teachers. 416 of the teachers had previously been scholars. The report from Preston stated From these reports we make a few that a systematic visitation of the schools in extracts. At Bolton, a Sunday-school the neighbourhood of Preston had been reading-room had been established, which | adopted. was found to be very useful, as it brought | blished. the teachers connected with the Union great numbers of the scholars had been into contact with other teachers. At Bury, prayer-meetings and tea-meetings, embracing teachers of all denominations, had greatly increased the usefulness of the schools. At Beverley, an Infant-school has been established in connection with the Wesleyan body, and has been very successful. On the first Sunday in each quarter a Sunday-school missionary meeting is held, and is found to exercise a beneficial influence upon teachers, parents, and children. At Halifax, about forty schools are in connection with the Union; these schools are visited by deputations as far as Skipton, Keighley, and other places at a greater distance. The report from Leeds stated that the Union had about thirty-five of the churches of Leeds in connection with them, embracing those of many different denominations. Especially among the Wesleyans and New Connection they had a great number of young men and women from twenty to twentyfive years of age. The visits from deputations of the Committee were found to be exceedingly useful, many important suggestions thrown out by the deputies having been acted upon. Frequent conferences of the teachers had also produced much good. In connection with twenty-nine schools belonging to the Wesleyan body (not in the Union), there were 4,968 scholars, and 876 teachers, 429 of whom had been formerly scholars. The Liverpool report stated that the teachers had been very active in carry-teacher must have only one class, and, if ing out the principles of the Sunday-school Institute. The libraries are well supplied with books of a good class, which are well read. Normal classes have been esta added to the various churches. The esta- con The CHAIRMAN believed the practice of visiting by the teachers was of more importance than any other kind of teaching. It tended to create a kindly feeling between the teacher, the scholars, and the parents. In order to do that properly, one possible, attend to that class morning and afternoon. The subject of separate services had attracted considerable attention. Now, one of the great complaints as to the |