aving been
so agreeable to Colonel Gardiner, I have given the reader already. The
latter, which is called Christ's Message, took its rise from Luke iv. 18,
19, and is as follows:

Hark! the glad sound! the Saviour comes,
The Saviour promised long;
Let every heart prepare a throne,
And every voice a song.

On him the Spirit largely poured,
Exerts its sacred fire;
Wisdom and might, and zeal and love,
His holy breast inspire.

He comes the prisoners to release,
In Satan's bondage held;
The gates of brass before him burst,
The iron fetters yield.

He comes, from thickest films of vice
To clear the mental ray,
And on the eye-balls of the blind
To pour celestial day.[*]

He comes the broken heart to bind,
The bleeding soul to cure;
And with the treasures of his grace
To enrich the humble poor.

His silver trumpets publish loud
The jubilee of the Lord;
Our debts are all remitted now,
Our heritage restored.

Our glad hosannas, Prince of Peace!
Thy welcome shall proclaim;
And heaven's eternal arches ring
With Thy beloved name.

[*Note: This stanza is mostly borrowed from Mr. Pope.]

There is one hymn more I shall beg leave to add, plain as it is, which
Colonel Gardiner has been heard to mention with particular regard, as
expressing the inmost sentiments of his soul, and they were undoubtedly
so in the last rational moments of his expiring life. It is called
'Christ precious to the Believer,' and was composed to be sung after a
sermon on 1 Pet. ii 7.

Jesus! I love thy charming name,
'Tis music to my ear:
Fain would I sound it out so loud,
That earth and heaven should hear.

Yea! thou art precious to my soul,
My transport and my trust;
Jewels to Thee are gaudy toys,
And gold is sordid dust.

All my capacious powers can wish,
In Thee most richly meet;
Nor to mine eyes is life so dear,
Nor friendship half so sweet.

Thy grace still dwells upon my heart,
And sheds its fragrance there;
The noblest balm of all its wounds,
The cordial of its care.

I'll speak the honours of thy name
With my last labouring breath;
Then speechless clasp thee in my arms,
The antidote of death.

Those who were intimate with Colonel Gardiner, must have observed how
ready he was to give a devotional turn to any subject that occurred. In
particular, the spiritual and heavenly disposition of his soul discovered
itself in the r