nomination. In this heightened zeal for public, and especially for religious, education, we find one of the best auguries for our future unity and well-being. The able secretary of the College Society, the Rev. T. Baldwin, at the recent anniversary of that association, gave a full report of what had been done for education during the past five years. aggregate of contributions exceeded seven millions of dollars; two millions of this having been given during the past year. The same liberal spirit shows itself in other directions." These are noble movements, and every Christian man must wish them Godspeed.

The

There are interesting items of intelligence from Australia. We speak not now with reference to the labours of our own respected agents in that colony-labours which God has greatly blessed, but with respect to other matters. On the 10th of October, 1866, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New South Wales commenced its annual session. This was the first meeting of the General Assembly since the time the union was consummated, in September, 1865; and as that event was the return to one united church of parties who had been long divided, and, in several instances, had maintained a protest one against the other, it was with considerable anxiety that the time for the review of their first year's combined labours was anticipated. The result was found to be most satisfactory. The progress of church extension had been far greater than anything that had been accomplished by the Presbyterians in their former divided state. The discussions which took place on various questions, proved that no differences of opinion could destroy that growing purity of heart and oneness of soul of which the union was the outgrowth, and which its reacting influence had only increased and strengthened. The presence of the Rev. J. O. Dykes (late colleague of Dr. Candlish), from the Free Church of Scotland, and of the Rev. George Mackie (of Melbourne), from the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, and the expres

sion of their sympathy with the Presbyterian Church in the colony, added much to the interest of the session. The Assembly brought its sittings to a close on October 23.

The first General Assembly of the Congregational Union met in Sydney on the 16th of October. There were twelve ministers and thirty lay delegates present. The Rev. John Graham delivered an able and eloquent address on the principles maintained by the denomination. A variety of important matters were brought under consideration, and the proceedings are described as having been characterized by much unanimity.

The important question of education is being earnestly discussed in the colony. The "Public Schools Bill" is opposed and denounced by the bishops and clergy both of the Church of England and of the Church of Rome, but has been approved by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, the Congregational Union, and

the Wesleyans, through their Committee of Privileges. It is stated with considerable confidence that the Bill is likely to pass the Colonial Legislature.

OUR CHINESE MISSION.-Blessed be God for the "good news" contained in the January Magazine, and also in the Missionary Chronicle, in relation to the glorious work of grace that has broken out, through the instrumentality of our agents, in China. The intelligence will have sent a thrill of joy through the Connexion. With eager and longing interest will the fuller account, from the pen of the Rev. W. N. Hall, be anticipated. Surely our Mission in China has the seal of Heaven's approval and smile upon it. More agents will be imperatively required; and if more agents, then more money. But the money will be well spent. May the great work go on! Who can tell to what extent we, as a Denomination, may have to bear a part in the evangelization of that deeply interesting country, with its more than four hundred millions of blood-redeemed souls?

Some interesting cases of conver

sion are reported, from North India, by the Church missionaries. One of these, in Calcutta, is that of Boroda, a young man who belongs to a family of cousiderable respectability, and the nephew of an earlier convert, whose influence is supposed to have had much to do with Boroda's decision. He has had much persecution, especially from his father, but remains steadfast. Another case is that of Hasa Ali, a Mahometan, who, baving left Sultanpore, in Oude, for Azimgurh, in order to learn English, was brought under Christian influences, and though his "bitterness against the Bible was for some time extreme," it gave place to conviction of its truth, and he sought and obtained baptism. In a third case, Chand Khan, a sepoy of Her Majesty's army at Gorruckpore, and nominally a Mussulman by religious profession, has been brought to Christ, together with his wife. Menaces and bribes have alternately been employed to induce them to recant, but in vain. Father, mother, and son, an intelligent little boy, were baptized together, the names taken by the three respectively being, Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac. another instance, in Burdwan, an unbelieving wife, who for thirteen years had lived apart from her husband, on account of his having embraced Christianity, has returned to her home, received Christian instruction, and been admitted into the church by baptism. Other instances of a similar character might be given. The baptism of three interesting converts, in connection with the Free Church Mission, is reported from Bombay. Favourable prospects are also reported by the United Presbyterian missionaries, in the Todgurh district (Rajpootana), where the prejudices of the people are evidently giving way. There are likewise similar reports from Ceylon, South and Eastern Africa, Polynesia, &c. May the truth as it is in Jesus everywhere prevail ! January 7, 1867.

L. S.

In

GOD IS LOVE.-Let heaven and earth unite in blessing and praising his glorious name.

THE CELESTIAL SCENERY OF THE MONTHS.

II.-FEBRUARY.

IN the former article attention was directed to the constellation of Oriou and its immediate neighbourhood, as some of the most conspicuous objects of the celestial vault during winter. Perhaps the next most striking constellation is the Great Bear, or Ursa Major, also called Charles' Wain and the Plough. The position in the heavens occupied by this group of stars is important, as by it we are enabled at all times to find the place of the north pole. Any one who examines the heavens attentively will not fail to notice the gradual advance of the stars from east to west in the course of an hour or more. This phenomenon is entirely owing to the daily revolution of the earth on its axis, which causes an apparent motion of the celestial bodies. It is evident, if this be the case, that some point of the heavens will be stationary, from its being the pivot on which the whole firmament turns. This point is called the north pole, and is visible in the latitude of Great Britain. In southern latitudes there is the corresponding south pole, but invisible in our island. The place of the north pole can be readily found when once the constellation Ursa Major is recognized. Let the observer turn his back to Orion, and direct his gaze to the north-west, when he will notice the group of seven stars commonly called Ursa Major. The two upper stars (of which the first to the left in our diagram is called Dubhe, and the other Merak) are called "the pointers," because they always point to the Pole Star, which is the star alpha in Ursa Minor. A reference to our diagram shows the Little Bear to be an inverted form of Ursa Major. These two, with several neighbouring constellations, are called

circumpolar stars," from their ceaseless revolution round the northern pole, while they have the peculiarity of being visible throughout the year.

Immediately over our heads is the constellation Auriga, or the

Wagoner; and if an imaginary line be drawn from either Bellatrix or Betelguese in Orion to the Pole Star, it will pass near Capella, the brightest star in Auriga. Capella is situated at an equal distance from Orion and Ursa Minor. Looking at Ursa Minor, it will be noticed that the two stars which occupy a corresponding place to that of the "pointers" in Ursa Major, together with the Pole Star, are the brightest of the seven visible to the naked eye. The number of

Perseus, also in the Milky Way. Near Perseus is a remarkable star, Algol, in the Head of Medusa, which changes its apparent brightness at regular intervals, shining at one time like a star of the first and second magnitudes, then decreasing to the fourth, and then returning to the first magnitude. In the annexed diagram, dotted lines are drawn to the two stars, Algol and Capella: the zigzag dotted lines enclose the Milky Way. There are several other stars of variable brilliancy in the northern hemisphere.

While speaking of the circumpolar stars, it will be interesting to the reader to know the results of the efforts of certain modern astronomers to find the distance of some of these objects. In a future paper we hope to represent by diagrams the methods by which this wonderful problem is solved. The annual revolution of the earth round the sun causes us to be 190,000,000 miles nearer any of the fixed stars, than when the opposite point of the earth's orbit is reached. Yet this amazing distance makes no difference in the size of the fixed stars, although a slight increase in the disk of the planets is perceptible. The reason will be evident when the reader is told that the most recent researches make the Pole Star to be at least 3,078,582 times the distance of the earth from the sun, which is 95,000,000 miles! Capella is thought to be 4,484,021 times more distant than the sun. At this incredible revelation the mind almost staggers with the immensity of its own conceptions. If these sparkling gems are so distantly situated, what must be their size, to render them visible to spectators on the

earth! Light travels 192,000 miles in a second, and it would seem a vain task to estimate the time thus occupied in traversing the voids of space. Still, our telescopes span the infinite gulf, and thus give a faint glimpse of the extent of the kingdom over which the Eternal Architect holds undisputed sway. Yet these stupendous manifestations of His power, on the authority of the inspired Psalmist, are but "the works of his fingers!"

Returning to Orion, we notice the bright star Procyon, in the Little Dog, to the left of Betelguese, at about three times the distance which separates the latter star from Bellatrix. If a line be drawn from Procyon to the Pole Star, it will pass through the two stars Castor and Pollux, in the Twins, as shown in the annexed diagram, which represents the neighbourhood of Orion on a smaller scale to that given last month.

Of

The triangular dotted lines embrace
Procyon, Sirius, and Betelguese.

Below Orion are seven stars, which form the constellation of the Hare. Under Pollux, to the left, will be noticed a ruddy star, the planet Mars. It was near this place that Sir W. Herschel noticed a new star on the 13th of March, 1781, which afterwards proved to be the planet Uranus, or the Georgium Sidus. Much of the success achieved by modern astronomers in the discovery of so many small planets within the last twenty years, rests on Herschel's fortunate detection of Uranus eighty

course this wood-cut only represents as many stars as the field of view will contain at once, as by slightly moving the instrument many more may be seen.

We now hasten to remark upon the planet Mars, now at its greatest brilliancy. Mars is one of the planets, and the next in order of distance to the earth. Its name is derived from its fiery lustre. It revolves round the sun in about 687 days, and its average distance is 145,000,000 miles. A caunon-ball, moving 480 miles an hour, will require thirty-four and a-half years to cross this vast interval. In one hour Mars moves over the space of 55,000 miles, which is 115 times swifter than the speed of a cannonball. The diameter of this planet is about 4,200 miles-about half of that of the earth. Notwithstanding its

inferiority in size, it has been estimated to contain 55,417,824 square miles on its surface, which, remembering that two-thirds of the earth is water, is about six times greater than the habitable portions of our globe. Reckoning 280 inhabitants to a square mile, Mars might accommodate twelve times the number of persons living on our globe. The seasons in Mars are similar to those of the earth, but, owing to the greater length of its year, they are of longer continuance. Under good telescopic power, the outlines of what appear to be seas and continents may be traced, the former having a greenish hue, and the latter a dull red appearance, which may account for this planet's fiery colour in the sky. Interesting telescopic observations have been made on Mars, resulting in our knowledge of the time occupied in a revolution on its axis, or the length of a day in this planet. In the year 1666, Cassini, with an unwieldy telescope, observed several spots on its surface, which, by their change of place, enabled him to fix the time of axial rotation. Near the poles of Mars are remarkable spots brighter than the rest, and long considered to be masses of snow. W. Herschel says that in 1781 the south polar spot was extremely large, as the pole had been involved in a whole twelvemonth's darkness, and absence of the sun; but in 1783 be found it considerably smaller than before, and it decreased considerably from May to September. During these five months the south pole had been enjoying the benefit of summer, while in 1781 the north polar spot, which had been a twelvemonth in sunshine, appeared smaller, though increasing in size. From these facts be drew the conclusion that the bright polar spots are owing to the vivid reflection of light from frozen regions, and that the reduction of those spots is to be ascribed to their being exposed to the sun. This opinion has received confirmation from the observations of some Continental astronomers of our own day, who have examined the planet with very powerful telescopes, and published drawings of the phenomena.

Sir

PLANETARY

PHENOMENA.-On

the 2nd, Venus attains her greatest northern latitude from the sun. Both Saturn and Venus are morning stars. Throughout the month Jupiter is eclipsed by the solar rays, on emerging from which he will be a morning star. The moon is near Mercury and Jupiter on the 4th, on which day new moon takes place, but the dark side of our satellite being turned to the earth renders it invisible. The moon is near Uranus on the 14th, Mars on the 15th at noon; and Saturn on the 25th at noon; and near Aldebaran soon after midnight of the 12th. Full moon will occur on the evening of the 18th. During February the sun is south of the equator, and is moving northward, which causes a slight increase in the length of daylight. On the 1st the distance of the sun from the earth is 93,643,000 miles, being nearly 2,000,000 miles nearer than during the summer, but the rays shine obliquely in winter, and have less effect. Special attention will be given to the sun and moon and principal planets in the course of these papers, when the most favourable opportunities occur for viewing these bodies.

THE EFFICACY OF PRAYER.

"In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."-Prov. iii. 6.

I AM quite of your opinion in regard to the efficacy of faith and prayer for all things temporal as well as spiritual. My views on that point, from early youth, have been very special and very practical. I cannot live without constant transactions, so to speak, with God by faith and prayer. And this has, as it were, given me such a close acquaintance with God, that it has long been to me a second nature to acknowledge him in all my ways, however minute and apparently trifling. think it is our privilege to live, and move, and have our being in the felt loved presence of God, even in all the smallest minutiæ of life. It has long been my delight and endeavour to follow out this mode of spiritual

I