"No man can be so straitened and oppressed with business, and an active course of life, but he may have many vacant times of leisure, while he expects the returns and tides of business."-Lord Bacon, EDINBURGH: JAMES HOGG. MDCCCLVI. NOTE. WITH equal truth and beauty it has been said, that "a good book is the precious life-blood of a Master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose, to a life beyond life." From the "pages" of many good books-the "spirit-urns" of our elder worthies-these leaflets have been gathered. They will afford matter for reflection to thoughtful minds who have learned to deal lovingly and reverently with such relics. The volume is not meant for swift or consecutive reading, but rather for the profitable employment of such seasons as are set forth in the motto on the title-page. Then may we say with good old Bishop Hall, in his meditation on the sight of a large library, "Blessed be God, who hath set up so many clear lamps in his church; none but the wilfully blind can plead darkness. And blessed be the memory of those, his faithful servants, who have left their blood, their spirits, their lives in these precious papers; and have willingly wasted themselves into these enduring monuments to give light to others." II. B. |
