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The peasant and the village swain,
Lightly trip it o'er the plain,
With the merry dance go round,
Stimulated by thy sound.

And hear thee hail the blest return of Spring,
Or requiems to departed Winter sing.

A double welcome, happy bird-
I give thee, tho' thou art so coy;-
For long it is since last I heard

Thy notes, that with them bring such joy.
For now the fields in verdure clad,
The trees no more supinely sad,
But cover'd with a verdant green,
And blossoms lovely to be seen;
And all the feather'd tribe help thee to sing,
A happy welcome to returning Spring.

Why is it that thou wilt not stay
The year around till Spring again?
Do other Springs call thee away,
And tempt thee o'er the boisterous main?
Or is our Summer over-warm*
Or does our Winter's cold alarm?
Or does thy fondness for the Spring,
Keep thee always on the wing?
As Fashion's sons seek happiness below,
And look for pleasure in delusive show.

Yes, bird of pleasure, thou dost seize
By far (to me) the happiest time
Of all the year, thyself to please,
In visiting our changeful clime;

Had I thy wings, I too would fly,
When Wint'ry clouds infest the sky;
And when the Summer's heat draws on,
With pleasure, that with thee I'd shun.
And joyfully along my way, I'd wing
From clime to clime, enjoying always Spring.
D. BROUGH.

66, Queen-street, Cheapside, London.

* The Cuckoo is rarely heard after June.

A FRAGMENT.

WHEN lost in thought my soul doth soar Beyond where wandering comets fly, Imagination hears the choir

That hymns the concert of the sky.

No superstition there doth dwell,
To check their wild seraphic lyres,
But all can join the song to swell,
And love their sweet-tun'd breast inspires.
There with their Saviour and their God,
Majestic in bright glory crown'd,
The saints adore redeeming blood,
And heaven's high arch repeats the sound.
Methinks I hear the concert break
Upon this raptur'd soul of mine;
But O my words are far too weak
To tell of music so divine.

Their instruments, we cannot know,
In sweet harmonic strains unite,
While angels and archangels blow
Such strains as yield to God delight.

But, hark! where can those notes be found?
These cannot be terrestrial strings,
Those chords must be an angel's sound,
That hovers o'er me with his wings.

Hark now the sounds more strongly rise,
And other instruments combine!
This must be music from the skies,
That charms this raptur'd soul of mine.

The sweet-ton'd trio now declines,
And silent rapture makes a pause,
Till all at once the choir begins,
And list'ning worlds return applause.
O thou great, wise, eternal King,
Inspire my soul, my passions raise,
Till borne on faith's triumphant wing,
I join that choir to sing thy praise.

On the Atonement.

MR. EDITOR.

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J. N.

SIR,--In the Imperial Magazine for March 1821, you profess it was your intention to publish that month an article you had received on the Atonement, had not your premises been destroyed by fire. And engaging it shall speedily appear, if another copy be sent you; and presuming that the allusion is to a little production of my pen, on that momentous subject, I now again send you my thoughts, as I think many of my brethren form erroneous views of this most important doctrine, when applied to the character our Lord delineates, Mark xii. 30, 31. Ephesians iii. 17, 18, 19.; 1 Thess. v. 23. 1 John iii. 3, 6. and John iv. 13, 16.

The word atone, has two meanings given to it by the religious world; and strange as it may appear, those meanings seem to be in direct opposition to each other. The only sense in which the Scriptures use it, in its application to the above character, appears to be the following; At-One; Union, Concord, Harmony, Agreement, involving in it the idea of two parties, formerly at variance, being now perfectly reconciled through some intervening medium, Rom. v. 11. And the idea attaching to this term, implies that a propitiatory offering has been made, whereby this reconciliation is effected; and that when this end is accomplished, the cause which induced the former separation is altogether annihilated; and the two parties are as completely one, not only as though no enmity had ever subsisted between them, but as though they now formed one constituent indissoluble body. Agreeable to this, are our Saviour's declarations: As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.-I in them, and

thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.-I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.-I am the vine, ye are the branches. Abide in me and I you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me.' ""

in

This, according to my apprehension, is the real import of the word Atone, and with this view of it, other parts of Scripture perfectly accord; representing man as naturally at variance and at enmity with his Maker; but, that whosoever believes in, and receives Christ as his all-sufficient Saviour, this faith, by the operation of the Spirit of God, has such a renovating influence, where it is permitted to act in all its sanctifying energy, that man's nature is again transformed into the image and likeness of God, wherein he was first created; for, "whosoever shall confess that Jesus the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God." Hence we read, "As he is, so are we in this world. And every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself even as he is pure. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.That ye might be filled with all the fulness of God."-That being sanctified wholly, the "whole spirit, and soul, and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.--Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious premises, that by these ye might be partakers of the Divine nature. He that is joined unto the Lord, is one spirit."

Now, although the justified believer, in a measure participates in these privileges, yet we see, by all the foregoing texts, and which might be multiplied by innumerable others, that it is not to babes, but to fathers in Christ, to those only who are fully sanctified, they apply in all their plenitude; and those can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth them. For the promise of Christ is, "My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with

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you for ever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him. But ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." It is in the foregoing sense, that I receive the term Atone, as being altogether appropriate to the state of a fully sanctified soul; and as holding forth the means whereby this gracious work is accomplished.

But there is another meaning attached to this term, which seems to be more generally received by my brethren, in relation to a sanctified believer, and in which sense I must reject it, in toto, when applied to that character; namely, that such is the infirmity of human nature, that imperfection, short-comings, non-performance, and involuntary transgression, mar their best actions. They contend, that the Fall hath so completely debilitated the powers and faculties of the soul, that unbounded love, infinite holiness, and unlimited power combined, are inadequate to counteract its dire effects, to reinstate it in its primeval rectitude, and enable man to keep the pure and holy law of God; but that the most sanctified believer in Christ, every moment needs the application of the blood of Jesus, to expiate for his violation of it. Therefore, in this sense, of its being a sacrifice to expiate for transgression, to purge from guilt, to heal a breach of God's commandments, to satisfy for infirmities, to avert anger incurred by non-performance, to reconcile for imperfection, to answer the demands of offended justice for short-comings, and to restore to favour where it has been forfeited, as being now applicable to those who are fully sanctified, I cannot receive it.

Whenever therefore my brethren use this term, I inquire in which of the two foregoing senses they intend it, when speaking of those who are perfected in love; and according to their application, I must regulate my reply. If they say, there is no other means whereby any can be sanctified, than the atoning, cleansing blood of Christ; that we have need of its continual application to preserve us holy; that there is no other mediator, nor any other name under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved, than the name of Jesus, and that his intercession at the right hand of God

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is indispensable, in order to obtain for us those spiritual and temporal blessings, we continually need; I acquiesce with all my heart, and mind, and soul. But if they say, we mean, that such is the infirmity of man, and such the imperfection of his best services, that sin mixes with all the actions of the most sanctified; or, that God requires a constant oblation, to expiate for guilt, transgression, offence, disobedience, violation of his law, to effect a reconciliation, or to restore to his favour, as applicable to such; for that the imperfections, infirmities, short-comings, nonperformance, or involuntary transgression, of the most holy believer, are such as to require the momentary application of the blood of Jesus, as a sacrificial offering, to expiate for his continual infraction of the law of God, call it by whatsoever soft, mild, gentle, diminutive epithet we please, I must reject this doctrine altogether, or else 1 cannot receive the declaration of scripture, that "For this purpose the son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil:" since I can by no means make those two doctrines harmonize; for they appear to me to be absolutely irreconcilable.

Dublin, 6, Ormond Quay, March 8th, 1821.

JOHN COOKe.

Reply to a Query on Singular Fishes.

MR. EDITOR.

SIR, In your Magazine for October last, col. 816, is a Query by W. Mason, on the subject of a singular fish, concerning which he is desirous of information. The description afforded by the inquirer is extremely imperfect; but I have no doubt that it belongs to a species of the genus Lophius, which is arranged among cartilaginous fishes, of the order Chondropterygii, of Steward's Elements of Natural History. Perhaps the following account of the fishes of this class, which are taken on the British coasts, may interest your readers. It is taken from a work in MS. which I have by

me.

Lophius Generic Character. The pectoral fins formed with an articulation resembling an elbow; ventral fins broad, resembling paws.

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Frog-fish-L. Piscatorius. The head is flat, and larger than the body; the mouth, which is always open, is very large, and well furnished with teeth, as well in the tongue, palate, and throat, as in the jaws; the under jaw protrudes, but the fish is able to bring them both equal. Near the angle of the upper jaw are two long processes, at regular distances. The body tapers towards the tail, and is covered with a loose skin; having some prickles on the upper surface. The ventral fins, which lie under the pectorals, are short, broad, thick, and fleshy, jointed like arms, and on the inner side divided into fingers. It has one dorsal and one anal fin. A fish of this species, taken at Par in Cornwall, weighed 72lbs.; the length four feet six inches; one foot six inches wide, and nine inches thick; the under jaw projected five inches beyond the upper; the under jaw was surrounded by twenty-six soft tubercles; mouth fourteen inches wide,

Long Angler. This fish is described by Borlase. It has no fin-like appendices round the head, but only on the tail part. It has spines at the end of the pectoral fins, nearly two inches long; there are spines also at the extremity of the tail.

The form of the Frog-fish, or, as Pennant calls it, the Angler, is very singular, and its habits are scarcely less so. Possessed of great rapacity, for the supply of which nothing seems to come amiss, it is not capable of that celerity of motion, which seems necessary to enable it to take its prey, and must therefore have recourse to stratagem. Creeping, by the aid of its claw-like ventral fins, to a proper position, it remains with open mouth in patient expectation. Nothing is seen but a large hole, that is formed by its gaping jaws; whilst the long worm-like processes on its head, operate to entice the unwary to destruction. It is probable, that, like other fishes whose heads bear a very large propor tion to the body, this fish cannot move forward by the help of its tail, without throwing the head and body into so great an exertion, as might excite alarm in those which it is its interest to lull into security. The paws therefore, by a motion that is less perceptible, answer this useful purpose: hapless is that being which swims within the cavity of fate. The Frog