doctrines of that large class who in Boston so vehemently oppose it. The other two discourses were by the Baptist minister who was so conspicuous in the procession on the Fourth of July; they were respectable in talent and unexceptionable in doctrine. Between sermons on the Sabbath I saw him baptize two persons, in presence of two or three hundred spectators. In the afternoon he dispensed the ordinance of the supper to a large congregation, as he is accustomed to do once a month, and took occasion to remark that it was twenty eight years, that very day, since he had first presided among them on a similar occasion. The males and females of the congregation occupied different pews, and the latter were by far the more numerous. The mode of conducting worship in both these churches was similar. The psalms and hymns used are chiefly those of Dr. Watts, and the singing is left entirely to a choir, perched in front of the gallery with their music books before them, and aided by instruments. This is a cold and very spiritless substitute for the united worship of the congregation. It was in fact a mere musical parade, for while the singers rose and performed every one else kept his. seat in silence, and the scene was nothing calculated to awaken or sustain the fervour of grateful devotional feeling. How inconsistent with every right idea of social worship, to see a man after the service was over unscrewing a clarionet, FROG CONCERT-FIREFLIES. 89 putting the pieces into a leathern bag, and with the utmost indifference and unconcern stuffing the whole into his pocket! There are several Sabbath Schools in Boston, one of which I visited. It was conducted in the English style; there were six teachers present, and they informed me that there were about one hundred scholars on their list, but not a half of that number were in attendance. Within the last three weeks I have begun to experience the heat of an American Summer. The Thermometer at mid-day has ranged generally from 80 to 90 Degrees, and on last Sabbath, which was the hottest day of all, it stood thus; at half past Six A. M. 81o, at Ten 90°, at Noon 93°, half past Two P. M. 9610, Five 94o, Ten 82o. You have read Miss Edgeworth's tale of "Tomorrow," and will recollect the incident of the "Frog Concert." Since my arrival in America I have had frequent opportunities of listening to these performances. Marshes and ponds are filled with shoals of the Bull Frog, an animal four or five times as large as any of our hopping countrymen, who whistles away almost without intermission. Some of the frogs, probably the younger ones, have a pretty shrill note, others a deeper tone, and some tickle the auditory organ by a perpetual trill. The combination of these various strains produces an effect not altogether unmusical, and the distance to which the sound reaches is very great; sometimes more than a mile. At first I enjoyed it pretty much, but the perpetuity with which it is continued makes it exceedingly tiresome, and to be kept awake during the night by their monotonous tune makes one very apt to lose temper at such untimely serenades. Let me introduce you to another of my American acquaintances, the Firefly; more engaging in its manners than the other. Myriads of this brilliant little insect float through the air in the summer evening. The spark of light which they emit is of vivid brightness, and from the fluttering of their wings twinkles incessantly. Moore in one of his songs, has made a pleasing allusion to these meteoric atoms "She is gone to the Lake of the Dismal Swamp, She paddles her white canoe. Unlike the Mosquito, which is a great annoyance here, the Firefly neither sings nor bites; it flutters and sparkles its little hour, and passes away-an apt emblem of many a thoughtless son and daughter of the human race. |