Part 6
An eminence in the road afforded us the first view of Loch Katrine, a blue and bright expanse of water, cradled among lofty hills, though moderate both in point of altitude and boldness, when contrasted with those which had already been seen. The first feature that arrested attention, was the peculiar complexion of the water, which is cerulean, and differs several shades from that of the other Scottish lakes. Its hue is probably modified by the verdure upon the shores, as well as by the geological structure of its bed, in which there is little or no mud. Like some of our own pellucid waters, it is a Naiad of the purest kind, sleeping on coral and crystal couches. Its blue tinge was doubtless in some degree heightened by the distance whence it was first descried, as well as by the deep azure of the skies after the late storm.
Hastening to the shore, we waited some time for the oarsmen, who accompanied us from Loch Lomond, to bring out their boat from behind a little promontory, which for aught I know, was the very place where Rob Roy and Ellen Douglas used to hide their canoes. There is no house within several miles of the landing. The only building of any kind is a small temporary hut, of rude construction, serving as a poor shelter in case of rain. As this lake has become a fashionable resort, one would suppose the number of travellers would justify the expense of a boatman's house, which would relieve the oarsmen from the trouble of walking half a dozen miles, and the tourist from the vexation of paying for it.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, seven of us, including the boat's crew, embarked, and commenced a voyage to the foot of the lake, a distance of nine miles in a south-eastern direction. Winds and waves both conspired to accelerate our progress, and no Highland bark probably ever bounded more merrily over the blue billows. The cone of Ben-Lomond rapidly receded, and Ben-venue and Ben-an, on opposite sides of the outlet, came more fully in view. At the head, Glengyle opens prettily from the north-west, with serrated hills forming the lofty ramparts of the pass, in the entrance of which is a seat belonging to one of the descendants of Rob Roy M'Gregor. The width of the lake is about two miles, with deeply indented shores, which are generally bold and romantic, exhibiting occasionally scattered houses and patches of cultivation, particularly on the north-eastern borders. Our course was nearest the south-western side, touching at one little desolate promontory, to exchange boats, and often approaching so close, as to enable us to examine the scanty growth upon the margin.
In about two hours from the time of embarkation, we reached Ellen's Island, near the outlet; and half encircling the green eminence, rising beautifully from the bosom of the lake, our Highland mariners made a port in the identical little bay, where the far-famed heroine was wont to moor her skiff, fastening it to an oak, which still hangs its aged arms over the flood. This miniature harbor is also signalized, as the place where Helen Stuart cut off the head of one of Cromwell's soldiers. As the story goes, all the women and children fled hither for refuge. After a decisive victory, one of the veterans of the Protector attempted to swim to the island for a boat, with an intention of pillaging and laying waste the asylum; but as he approached the shore the above mentioned heroine, stepped from her ambuscade, and with one stroke of her dirk decapitated the marauder, thus rescuing her narrow dominion with its tenants from destruction.
The Island is small and rises perhaps fifty feet above the water. It rests on a basis of granite, covered with a thin coat of earth, through which the rocks occasionally appear, and which affords scanty nutriment to a growth of oak, birch, and mountain ash. The red berries of the latter hung gracefully over the cliffs, in many places shaded with brown heath. A winding pathway leads to the summit, which is beautifully tufted, and affords a charming view of the surrounding hills and waters.
In a little secluded copse near the top stands Ellen's Bower, fashioned exactly according to the description of the same object in the Lady of the Lake. Those who are curious to form a minute and accurate image of it, have only to turn to that picture. The exterior is composed of unhewn logs or sticks of fir, fantastically arranged, with a thatched, moss-covered roof, and skins of beasts converted into semi-transparent parchment for windows. Every thing within is in rustic style. A living aspen grows in the centre, and supports the ceiling. Upon its branches hangs a great variety of ancient armor, with trophies of the chase. Here may be seen the Lochaber axe, Rob Roy's dirk, and sundry other curiosities. A table strewed with leaves extends nearly the whole length of the bower. The walls are hung with shields, and the skins of various animals. Chairs and sofas woven of osiers fill the apartment. The chimney is formed of sticks, and the head of a stag with his branching horns decorates the mantlepiece. Half an hour was passed in lolling upon Ellen's sofas, and in examining her domestic arrangements.
Bidding a lingering farewell to the sweet little island, we again embarked and soon completed the residue of our voyage. The foot of Loch Katrine is very romantic and beautiful. Innumerable hills of moderate elevation raise their grey, pointed peaks around and above a deeply wooded glen, opening towards the south-east and forming the outlet of the lake. The highest of these are Ben-venue and Ben-an, rising on each side of the pass. Both are fine mountains, something like two thousand feet in height, with naked masses of granite overhanging wild and woody bases. From the great number of peaks or _pikes_ which are crowded into this narrow district, it has been called the Trosachs, or _bristled region_. The lake is here reduced to less than half a mile in width, sheltered on all sides from the winds by high promontories, jutting so far into the water, as to appear like a group of islands.
Towards the north-west, the eye looks up the glen of Strathgartney, in which tradition says that the grey charger of Fitz-James fell. The boatman gravely informed us, that _his bones are to be seen to this day_! Such stories, and the sketches of certain topographers, have afforded us an infinite fund of amusement.
We landed at the foot of Loch Katrine, and after walking a mile and a half reached our hotel.
WORSHIP.
By Asa Cummings.
That heart must be desolate indeed, which is a stranger to devotion. Were it possible to remain undevout, and at the same time not be criminal, it were still a state of mind most earnestly to be deprecated. It is a joyless condition, to live without God in the world; to be unsusceptible to the attractions of his moral excellence; to pass the time of our sojourning in a world of trial, without ever communing with the Father of our spirits, or voluntarily casting ourselves on an Almighty arm for support, and breathing forth to the Author of our being, the language of supplication and praise.
And how is the effect of devotion heightened by the junction of numbers in the same service--even of the "multitude who keep holy day!" A scene, so honorable to Him "who inhabiteth the praises of Israel," so fit in itself, so congruous to man's social nature and dependant condition, so impressive on the actors and spectators, and so salutary in its influence,--awakened in the "sweet singer of Israel," the most ardent longings for the courts of the Lord, and constituted the glowing theme of more than one of his unrivalled songs. Nay, under the influence of that inspiration which prompted his thoughts and guided his pen, he does not hesitate to affirm:--"_The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob._"[1]
Far from us be the thought of casting upon the Psalmist the imputation of undervaluing himself, or of designing to lead his fellow-men to undervalue domestic or private worship. Every contrite heart is an abode where God delights to dwell--a temple where he abides and operates--a chosen habitation, where he reveals his love and displays his grace. It is a complacent sight to the Father of spirits, to behold one prodigal returning, to see an individual prostrate before him, and lifting up his cry for pardon and spiritual strength. It is pleasing in his eyes to see a family at their morning and evening devotions, pouring out their souls with all the workings of pious affection, and the various pleadings of faith. No sweeter incense than this, ever ascends to heaven. When, therefore, God expresses his preference for the worship of the sanctuary, it is not the _quality_ which he regards, but the _degree_; not the _kind_ of influence exerted, but the _amount_. In the sanctuary is the concentrated devotion of many hearts. Here are more minds to be wrought upon; here is a wider scope for the operation of truth; here a light is raised which is seen from afar, and attracts the gaze of distant beholders, as the temple on the summit of Moriah, "fretted with golden fires," arrested the eye of the distant traveller. Here is a public, practical declaration to all the world, that there is a God, and that adoration and service are his due.
In the sanctuary the Creator and the creature are brought near to each other. The character and perfections of God, his law and government, the wonders of his providence, the riches of his grace, the duty and destiny of man, are brought directly before the mind by the "lively oracles." "Beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image." Truth, enforced by the energies of the life-giving Spirit, "is quick and powerful." God "pours water on them that are thirsty;" and in fulfilment of the prophetic word, "young men and maidens, old men and children," awakened to "newness of life," spring up "as willows by the water-courses," and flock to the Refuge of souls, "as doves to their windows." A spectacle this, well pleasing to God, and cheering to the hearts of his friends on earth--none more so this side heaven. None produces such a commingling of wonder, love, humility, and gratitude; none calls forth such adoring thankfulness; none makes the songs of the temple below so like that new song of Moses and the Lamb, which is perpetually sung before the throne above. Heaven is brought down to earth--eternity takes hold on time; this world yields its usurped throne in the hearts of men, and Jehovah reigns triumphant, the Lord of their affections. "The power and glory of God are seen in the sanctuary."
Here, too, are ample provisions to meet all future wants--moral means to restore the wandering, to recover the spiritually faint, to refresh and fortify their souls to sustain the conflict with temptation, to inspire the heart with religious joy, to nourish that spiritual life which has dawned in their souls. Here is the "sincere milk of the word," on which they may "grow;" the significant ordinances, so quickening to the affections, so invigorating to man's spiritual nature. The Baptismal water affects the heart through the medium of the eye, and enforces the worshipper's obligation to abjure the world, and to be pure as Christ is pure. The Emblematic Feast, exhibiting "Jesus Christ set forth crucified before his eyes,"--while it affectingly reminds him of his lost condition as a sinner, contains an impressive demonstration of the power and grace of his Deliverer, "in whom we have redemption through his blood." His faith fastens itself on this sacrifice. He is loosed from the bondage of sin; his "soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness." His fellowship is with the Father, and with the Son. He has communion with the saints. He derives new support to his fainting faith, and goes on his pilgrimage rejoicing.
The entire exercises and scenes of the house of worship--the reading of the scriptures, the confessions, prayers, and praises, the songs of the temple--for "as well the singers as the players on instruments" are there[2]--the preaching of the gospel, the celebration of the sacraments,--all combine their aid to strengthen pious principle, holy purpose, virtuous habit, and to render the children of God "perfect, thoroughly furnished to every good work." The place, the day, the multitude, the power of sympathy, all conspire to give effect to truth, and to rouse them up to labor for God, for their species, for eternity: all combine to render the house of God "the gate of heaven," the image of heaven, and a precious antepast of the enjoyments of heaven!
"My willing soul would stay In such a frame as this, And sit, and sing herself away To everlasting bliss."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Psalm lxxxvii, 2.
[2] Psalm lxxxvii, 7.
THE VALLEY OF SILENCE.
By William Cutter.
It was a perfect Eden for beauty. The scent of flowers came up on the gale, the swift stream sparkled like a flow of diamonds in the sun, and a smile of soft light glistened on every leaf and blade, as they drank in the life-giving ray. Its significant loveliness was eloquent to the eye and the heart--but a strange deep silence reigned over it all. So perfect was the unearthly stillness, you could almost hear yourself think.--_Katahdin._
Has thy foot ever trod that silent dell? 'Tis a place for the voiceless thought to swell And the eloquent song to go up unspoken, Like the incense of flowers whose urns are broken; And the unveiled heart may look in, and see, In that deep strange silence, its motions free, And learn how the pure in spirit feel That unseen Presence to which they kneel.
No sound goes up from the quivering trees, When they spread their arms to the welcome breeze; They wave in the Zephyr--they bow to the blast-- But they breathe not a word of the power that passed; And their leaves come down on the turf and the stream, With as noiseless a fall as the step of a dream; And the breath that is bending the grass and the flowers, Moves o'er them as lightly as evening hours.
The merry bird lights down on that dell, And, hushing his breath, lest the song should swell, Sits with folded wing in the balmy shade, Like a musical thought in the soul unsaid. And they of strong pinion and loftier flight, Pass over that valley, like clouds in the night-- They move not a wing in that solemn sky, But sail in a reverent silence by.
The deer, in his flight, has passed that way, And felt the deep spell's mysterious sway-- He hears not the rush of the path he cleaves, Nor his bounding step on the trampled leaves. The hare goes up on that sunny hill, And the footsteps of morning are not more still, And the wild, and the fierce, and the mighty are there, Unheard in the hush of that slumbering air.
The stream rolls down in that valley serene, Content in its beautiful flow to be seen, And its fresh flowery banks, and its pebbly bed Were never yet told of its fountain head; And it still rushes on--but they ask not why, With its smile of light, it is hurrying by; Still, gliding, or leaping, unwhispered, unsung, Like the flow of bright fancies, it flashes along.
The wind sweeps by, and the leaves are stirred, But never a whisper or sigh is heard; And when its strong rush laid low the oak, Not a murmur the eloquent stillness broke. And the gay young echoes--those mockers that lie In the dark mountain-sides--make no reply, But, hushed in their caves, they are listening still For the songs of that valley to burst o'er the hill.
I love society;--I am o'erblest to hear The mingling voices of a world; mine ear Drinks in their music with a spiritual taste; I love companionship on life's dark waste, And could not live unheard;--yet that still vale-- It had no fearful mystery in its tale;-- Its hush was grand, not awful, as if there The voice of nature were a breathing prayer. 'Twas like a holy temple, where the pure Might blend in their heart-worship, and be sure No sound of earth could come--a soul kept still, In faith's unanswering meekness, for heaven's will, Its eloquent thoughts sent upward and abroad, But all its deep hushed voices kept for God!
DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DIVINE BEING.
By Gershom F. Cox.
It is a difficult task to shadow forth spirit. The best emblems of the earth can give but faint and distant views of its incomprehensible nature. Our own consciousness, too, must fail to give us adequate notions of the mysterious traits of its character. Aided by the brightest images of earth, or the most subtle principles of philosophy, who can bring to view any tolerably good picture of a HUMAN SOUL!--who can draw the outlines of thought!--thought that is as immeasurable as the universe!--thought that _could encompass_, with more than the quickness of the lightning's flash, all that God has made!--thought that gives to us, at once, the gravity of the merest atom, the beauties and properties of the petal of a single flower, or the structure, density, size and weight of the worlds that border on the outskirts of our own universe; and when it has done its noble work, as if plumed for fresh conquests, stretches itself far beyond the material universe, into the deep solitudes of eternity, in quest of something more! Who, we ask again, can give the outlines of thought? Who can tell us of its yet hidden resources; or of a mind like that of Newton, or of Bacon, which, after they had taken from the arcana of nature some of her most hidden principles, "entered the secret place of the Most High, and lodged beneath the shadow of the Almighty?" How much less, then, can we give just descriptions of the DEITY! How can we describe Him "who covereth himself with LIGHT as with a garment,"--whom no man hath seen, nor can see.
We are aware that every thing speaks of _a_ God. All nature has its language; and however dark the alphabet, it still speaks, and speaks every where; for there is no place where he has not "left a witness." We acknowledge, too, that the only reason why the deep tones of nature are not more audible, may be found in the imbecilities or transgressions of man. But, while the babbling brook hath its story to tell of its Maker, and the willow that bends and sighs by its side, and the pebble o'er which the streamlet rolls;--while the glorious dew-drop has its power of speech--the soft south breeze, and "the hoar-frost of heaven;" while the deep vale may offer its chorus to the waving corn, or to the lofty summit by its side; while often may be heard the full notes of the angry tempest, and of the tornado as it sweeps by us, carrying fearful desolation in its path; although these may all speak forcibly of the power, of the goodness, of the wisdom, of the terrible justice of God; yet, without divine revelation, like the inscription at Athens, they only point to a God UNKNOWN. The awful precipice, where
"Leaps the live thunder,"
in the hour of the tempest, doth but stun the intellect of man with its overhanging and dizzy heights. And "the sound of many waters," or "the deep, lifting up his hands on high,"--although they may arouse every passion of the spirit, and address it as with the voice of God; yet, to man, these all want an interpreter. Lo! these are but "_parts_ of his ways." But what a mere "_whisper_ of the matter is heard in it, and the thunder of his power who can understand!"
Nature speaks--we repeat it--but her language, to us, is often indefinite; like the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, it may arouse the spirit to inquiry--agitate every passion to consternation; but without a Daniel to interpret her admonitions, "the thing is passed from us." Else why this gross ignorance of the character of God among even the enlightened, or rather civilized, nations of antiquity? Why did not Egypt, when all the "wisdom of the east" was concentrated in her sons, have _some_ notions of the Deity that would have raised their minds above the serpent or crocodile, or some insignificant article of the vegetable creation? Why did not the savage, roaming in the freedom of his interminable forests, have some correct views of God? He had talked with the sun, and heard the roar of the tempest; the evening sky in its grandeur was an everlasting map spread out before him, and the broad lake mirrored back to him its glories. But how confused--how degraded were the loftiest notions of the Deity, among the most powerful of Indian minds!
But I have already strayed from my purpose. I intended only to give a specimen or two, of attempted descriptions of the Deity, for the purpose of showing the infinite superiority of those contained in the bible, above every other in the world.
It ought, however, to be recollected, that the descriptions we find among heathen authors, are doubtless more or less indebted to sentiments borrowed from the Jewish scriptures; although we believe the contrast will show that they have passed through heathen hands. One of the most sublime to be met with in the world, out of the bible, was engraved in hieroglyphics upon the temple of Neith, the Egyptian Minerva. It is as follows:
"I am that which is, was, and shall be: no mortal hath lifted up my veil: the offspring of my power is the sun."
A similar inscription still remains at Capua, on the temple of Isis:
"Thou art one, and from thee all things proceed."
In the above, evident traces are to be seen of the Hebrew term JEHOVAH. Some of Homer's descriptions have their excellencies; but they all suffer from the fact, that he clothes the deities he describes, not only with human passions, but with human appetites of the most degrading character. And he never seems more satisfied with himself than when he represents them heated for war! "Warring gods," when placed at the foot of Calvary, or contrasted with any just description of the true God, is certainly a revolting idea; and it is still worse to introduce them as does Homer, with the shuddering thought that,
"Gods on gods exert _eternal rage_!"
And our impressions are scarcely more favorable when he presents us with an _un_incarnate, and yet "bleeding god," retiring from the field of battle, "pierced with Grecian darts," "though fatal, not to die." The following from this author is singular indeed:
"Of lawless force shall _lawless_ MARS complain? Of all the _most unjust_, most odious in our eyes! In human discord is thy dire delight, The waste of slaughter, and the rage of fight. No bound, no law thy fiery temper quells, And all _thy mother_ in thy soul rebels!"--_Illiad, Book 5._
The following is far less exceptionable:
"And know, the Almighty is the God of gods. League all your forces then, ye powers above, Join all, and try the omnipotence of Jove; Let down our golden everlasting chain, Whose strong embrace holds heaven, and earth and main: Strive all, of mortal or immortal birth, To draw, by this, the thunderer down to earth: Ye strive in vain! If I but stretch this hand, I heave the gods, the ocean, and the land; I fix the chain to great Olympus' height, And the vast world hangs trembling in my sight! For such I reign unbounded and above; And such are men, and gods, compared to Jove."--Ill. b. vi.
Some of the above ideas are certainly sublime, and considering the age that produced them, they have no superior but the bible.
As the KORAN has attained considerable celebrity, we should hardly be pardoned should we not notice it. The passage on which the Mohammedan rests his whole faith, for sublimity, and which is confessedly unapproached by any thing else in the koran, is the following: