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ISAIAH xxvii. 11.
For it is a people of no understanding: therefore lie that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.
THIS chapter is one of the eloquent strains of the most oratorical of the prophets, describing a severe judgment to be inflicted on the Jews, in the deplorable destruction of Jerusalem, the demolishing their stately buildings, and the wasting their pleasant and delightful habitations. All this is set down in the 10th and 11th verses; the defenced city shall be desolate: no defence or munition can keep out a judgment, when commissioned by God to enter. And the habitation forsaken: when God forsakes a place, the inhabitants do not stay long behind. And there shall the calf feed, there shall he lie down: when men forget their Maker, and degenerate into brutish affections, it is but just with him, that they, who have changed affections with beasts, should change dwellings with them too. When the boughs thereof are withered, &c. For the exposition of these words, we must note, that they admit of a double construction.
1. They may be either understood literally, and so they set forth the destruction of Jerusalem, in the devastation of the pleasant gardens and vineyards; which shall be left so desolate, that the vines and 363trees shall wither, and poor women shall come and gather them into bundles, for the making of fires and heating ovens. Thus we see the vintage of sin, and the clusters of Sodom; they destroy the vines, and fire the vineyard.
2. Another sense of these words is figurative and metaphorical: and so this expression, When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off, signifies thus much: when the inhabitants have filled up the measure of their sins, when they are spiritually withered and dead, and fruitful to no good work, then they shall be broken off, and ruined with the heaviest destruction. And to aggravate this judgment, to put an edge upon this misery, it is added in the next words, that women shall come and set them on fire: that is, a womanish and effeminate generation of men (for such were the Babylonians) shall triumph over them. A hint of their luxury we have in the seventh chapter of Joshua; it was a Babylonish garment that enamoured Achan. We know how Lucian brings in Menippus, speaking of Sardanapalus, one of the womanish kings of Babylon. Ἐπίτρεψον μὴ ὦ Ἑρμῆ τὴν Σαρδανάπαλον πατάξαι κατὰ κόῤῥης. Now a generous spirit, that has the least spark of honour and virility, does not feel so much smart in the punishment, as in the unworthiness of the hand that does inflict it. And this was the emphasis of Samson's disgrace, to be held in captivity by a woman. And it is the height and aggravation of this judgment, for men to be fired and destroyed by women; the valiant to be made a prey to the luxurious.
And thus having described the judgment, he does in the next words assign a reason of it; for it is a 364 people of no understanding. One would have thought that ignorance should have excused the sin: he that sins out of ignorance is rather to be pitied than punished. Is any father so cruel, so hardhearted, as to disown and cast off his son, be cause he is a fool? No; an innocent ignorance excuses from sin, both before God and man: and God himself will own that maxim of equity, Ignorantia excusat peccatum. But then there is another sort of ignorance, which is not an ignorance of an empty understanding, but of a depraved heart; such an ignorance as does not only consist in a bare privation, but in a corrupt disposition; where the under standing is like that sort of blind serpents, whose blindness is attended with much venom and malignity. This was such a blindness as struck the Sodomites; there was darkness in their eyes, and withal, villainy in their hearts. There is an ignorance that could not be remedied, the schools call it an invincible ignorance, and this excuses from sin, and that deservedly; for this is a man's unhappiness, not his fault. But there is also an affected ignorance, such an one as is contracted by a wilful neglect of the means; and this is not excusing, but condemning. Such a want of understanding it was, that is here charged upon the Jews, as the sad occasion of this woful punishment: for they had large and enriching means of grace; the mysteries of God, the arcana coeli, were intrusted with them, and explained to them; the fountains of this great deep of knowledge were broken up before them. And in this case to be ignorant; in the midst of light to be in darkness; for an Israel to have an Egypt in a Goshen; this is highly provoking, and may justly 365cause God to lay hold on vengeance. Where by the way we observe, that some want of understanding, some ignorance, is so far from excusing sin, that it is its highest aggravation: It is a people of no under standing: therefore he that made them, &c.
Here we ought also to note, in what strange terms God expresses his anger. It is not said, the Lord, the just God will punish them; this was not so wonderful: little to be expected from God's justice but a sinner's misery. No; God assumes the most endearing titles, and under them gives the severest judgments: he joins the creator and the destroyer, such expressions as almost confute one another: he clothes himself in the robes of mercy, and in these pronounces the sentence of death upon the sinner.
From the words thus explained, we may naturally deduce these two observations.
I. The relation of a Creator strongly engages God to put forth acts of love and favour towards his creature.
This is clear from the strength of the antithesis in the words, he that made them will not save them: where, for the advantage of the expression, it is redoubled; he that formed them will shew them no favour. As if he should say, It may seem strange to you that your Creator, which very name speaks nothing but bowels of love and tenderness, should break and ruin, utterly confound and destroy you. Yet thus it must be; though the relation make it strange, yet your sins will make it true.
II. Sin does totally disengage God from all those acts of love and goodness to the creature, that the relation of a Creator can engage him to.
Or more clearly thus:366
There is more provocation in sin for God to destroy, than there is obligation upon him as a Creator to preserve the creature.
Conclusion the first, viz. That the relation of a Creator strongly obliges God, &c.
The strength of this obligement appears in these two considerations.
1. That it is natural; and natural obligements, as well as natural operations, are always the strongest.
2. That God put this obligement upon himself; therefore it must needs be a great and a strong one: and this is clear, because the relation of a Creator is, in order of nature, antecedent to the being of the creature; which not existing, could not oblige God to create it, or assume this relation.
There are three engaging things, that are implied in the creature's relation to God, that oblige him to manifest himself in a way of goodness to it.
1. The first is, the extract or original of the creature's being, which is from God himself. It is the nature of every artificer to tender and esteem his own work: and if God should not love his creature, it would reflect some disparagement upon his workmanship, that he should make any thing which he could not own. God's power never produces what his goodness cannot embrace. God oftentimes, in the same man, distinguishes between the sinner and the creature; as a creature he can love him, while as a sinner he does afflict him. Hence arises that dearness between the parent and the child: what wonder is it to see him in his father's arms, who before lay in his loins? or to see that child admitted to the bosom, that before lay in the womb? It is mentioned as a sign of strange, unnatural disaffection in the 367ostrich, that it hardens itself against its young ones, Job xxxix. 16. It has a stony heart without love; a flint without fire. God is not an heathen god, a Saturn, to devour his children. It casts an obligement upon the very place where we are born to regard us; and if there be no father known, it ought not only to be our country, but our parent.
Now the creature's deriving its being from God, includes in it two other endearing considerations.
(1.) It puts a certain likeness between God and the creature. The foundation of love is laid in the likeness that is between things: now the likeness that is between the creature and the Creator consists in this, that he has taken it into the participation and society of that great privilege of being: and it is in respect of this that the creature is a copy of God, a rough draught of some perfection that is in his Maker. What is written in a large, fair character in him, is imprinted upon the creature in a small. Now although God loathes and abominates any likeness that we make of him, yet he loves and embraces the likeness that he has drawn of himself. And as, in respect of holiness, it is not the perfection of it only that God accepts, but he is ready to cherish our very breathings and longings after righteousness; he will embrace purity, not only in practice, but in inclination. So for the perfections of being; though he does absolutely acquiesce in the contemplation of his own, yet he does not despise those weaker draughts of it, visible in created things; but is ready to own whatsoever he sees of himself in the creature: and, like the sun, can, with much serenity, behold his image in the lowest waters. Every thing has a 368 strong interest in that, by which it had its being and beginning.
(2.) Whatsoever comes from God, by way of creation, is good; and so, by reason of the native agreement that is between that and the will of God, there naturally does result an act of love: for where there is nothing but goodness on the creature's part, there can be nothing but love on God's. Although the acts of God's love do not always presuppose a moral goodness; for he loves the persons of the elect, while they are unconverted: yet it is probable, that the acts of dislike presuppose a want of that goodness. Though a man is not always good before God loves him, yet many are so favourable as to think, that he is always evil before he hates him; those especially that are of this judgment, that in the very act of man's reprobation, God did not reprobate him as a man, but as a sinner. Now the creature as such, and immediately issuing from the hands of God, has no evil cleaving to it, to provoke his detestation; but, like a sword, comes shining out of the hands of the artificer, though afterward it chance to gather rust. God made man upright; however since, he has sought out to himself many inventions. And this is the first consideration that endears the creature to God, viz. the original of its being.
2. The second thing that bespeaks God's love to the creature is, the dependence of its being upon God. As the fruit is produced by the tree, so it hangs upon the tree. If by creation the creature is endeared to God, then much more by its dependence upon him; for this is founded upon a continual creation. Every creature is upheld from relapsing into 369nothing, by a continual influence of that creative power by which it was made. A moral dependence upon any one, that is, the voluntary placing of all a man's hopes and confidence upon the goodness of such an one, puts a strong obligement upon the party confided in, to employ the utmost of his power and interest to preserve and defend that man. For to desert him who relies upon me; to elude those hopes, that have no refuge but myself; for that reed, upon which I lean, to pierce my hand; this is a thing that ordinary humanity would detest. But now the natural dependence of the creature upon God is much greater, and consequently much more obliging, than the moral dependence of one man upon another; forasmuch as that is necessary, this voluntary, and from choice. If I desert a man that depends upon me, I disappoint his hopes; but if God forsakes the creature, he disappoints his being. Not to give a being to a thing, could be no misery to it; because to be miserable, presupposes first to be: but when it has a being, then to desert or for sake it, this is a calamity, and an evil to that very existence of which God himself was author; and he will not thus deal with the creature till he is provoked. The same goodness which did incite him to make a thing before it was, certainly, now it is made, will much more oblige him to preserve it. Not to beget a child, could be no injury to it; but when it is begot, and born, to deny it food and education, this is an inhuman, an unfatherly temper. He that does not provide for his family, the Spirit of God counts him worse than an infidel, 1 Tim. v. 8; and the reason is, because his family has a dependence upon him. The creature's depending upon God, engages 370 him to uphold it with love and mercy. A poor, empty bladder, if we rely upon it, will keep us from sinking: if we hold fast upon any thing, it will rescue us from falling. He that took Israel, as an eagle does her young, and bore him upon his wings, as it is elegantly expressed, Deut. xxxii. 11, would he, think you, without cause, have let him fall? This we may be assured of, that those impressions of love and compassion that are in us, are also in God; only with this difference, that in him they are infinite.
3. The third consideration that engages the love of God to the creature is this; that the end of the creature's being is God's glory. Now God, that loves his own glory, must needs also respect the instrument that advances it. There is no artificer, that intends a work, that would break his tools. Why does a man tender and regard his servant, but be cause he is for his use? The ability and aptness of the creature for the serving of God's use, does induce God so far to preserve him. For he that has a rational respect to the end, must of necessity bear a suitable affection to the means. The being of the creatures stands related by the tie of a natural connection to God's glory; they are the materials of his praise. Hence we have the business excellently stated by the prophet Isaiah, chap. xxxviii. 18, 19, The grave cannot praise thee; death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down to the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee. God's glory is the motto inscribed upon every created being; and wheresoever God reads, he owns this superscription. It is all the creature has, under God's hand and seal, to shew for its life. As 371God stampt a mark upon Cain to secure him from men, so it is this that secures us, in respect of God. Whatsoever we are, we are not our own, but his. We are by nature servants to the interest of his glory; and if my life, my actions are devoted to such an one's service, I may very well claim a maintenance from him whose interest I serve. And thus much of the third thing that endears God's love to the creature, viz. the designation of its being for the use of his glory.
II. I proceed to the second proposition, to shew how sin disengages and takes off God from all those acts of favour, that the relation of a creation engaged him to.
1. It turns that which, in itself, is an obligation of mercy, to be an aggravation of the offence. True it is, to make a creature, to give it being upon a rational ground, is an argument of love. But for a creature to sin against him from whom it had its whole being; and that a puny creature, the first born of nothing, a piece of creeping clay, one whom, as God created, so he might uncreate with a breath; for such an one to fly in his Creator's face! this gives a deeper die to sin; this makes it ten times more sinful. What, my son! the son of my womb! the son of my vows! dost thou give thy strength to women? What, my creature! the work of my hands! the product of my power! and the object of my care! dost thou sin against me? dost thou dishonour me? The treason of an Absalom, the stab of a Brutus, is doubled by the circumstance of so near a relation. The nearer the party that offends, the distance is so much the wider. Nemo tam prope, tam proculque; none so near in respect of alliance, 372 none so far off in respect of the offence. Between friends, the same friendship that passes by some affronts, heightens others. It is the cause why some are pardoned, and why some cannot, ought not to be pardoned. Such an one speaks slightly of me, but my friendship pleads his pardon; yes, but he endeavoured to take away my life, my reputation; the same friendship speaks this injury unpardonable; in Psalm lv. 12, 13, If it had been an enemy, I could have borne it; but it was thou, mine equal, mine acquaintance. The relation of a Creator is always very strong, and before sin, this strength appears in love; but after sin, the same strength vents itself in revenge. Where it meets with holiness, it protects; where it meets with sin, it destroys; as the same wind that carries a ship well ballasted, if ill rigged or accoutred, it drowns it. The same strength of constitution that keeps off diseases from the body, when it comes to be infected, and to comply with a disease, quickens its dissolution. The same argument that proves this assertion, by a subtle inversion of the terms, will prove the contrary. The same relation of a Creator, that endears God to the innocent, fires him against a sinner. God looks upon the soul, as Amnon did upon Tamar: while it was a virgin, he loved it; but now it is defloured, he hates it. We read in the law, that he that cursed his father was to be stoned to death: we do not read, that if he had cursed another, he had been dealt withal so severely. One would have thought, that the nearness of a father would have saved him; but it was this alone that condemned him. Build not therefore upon the sandy foundation of a false surmise of God's mercy as a Creator; for this relation 373is (as I may so speak) indifferent, and may be determined, as to its influence, either to be helpful or destructive, according to the goodness or badness of the creature. While thou doest well, it will embrace thee; but upon the least transgression, it will confound thee. The same sword that now hangs by thy side, and defends thee, may be one day brought to run thee through.
2. Sin disengages God from shewing love to the creature, by taking away that similitude that is between God and him; which, as has been observed, was one cause of that love. The creature, indeed, still retains that resemblance of God, that consists in being; but the greatest resemblance, that consists in moral perfections, this is totally lost and defaced. A mere existence or being is an indifferent thing, (it is a rasa tabula,) that may be coloured over with sin or holiness: and accordingly it receives its value from these; as a picture is esteemed not from the materials upon which it is drawn, but from the draught itself. Holiness elevates the worth of the being in which it is, and is of more value than the being itself. As in scarlet, the bare dye is of greater value than the cloth. Sin debases the being in which it is; and makes the soul more unlike God, in respect of its qualities, than it is like him in respect of its substance. It is not the alliance of flesh and blood, but the resemblance of virtue, that makes the greatest likeness between the father and the son. Consanguinity and likeness of features will not so much incite him to love, as a dissimilitude, by reason of vice, will cause him to disinherit him. Better have no son, than a prodigal, profane, unclean son; better not to be a man, than an irreligious man; better an 374 innocent nothing, than a sinful being. God has shed some of his perfections upon the natural fabric of the soul, in that he made it a spiritual, immaterial substance, refined from all the dross of body and matter: but the chief perfection of it consisted in this, that he did adorn it with holiness. As the temple of Solomon was glorious, because built with cedar; but its chief magnificence was the over laying it with gold. But now, when this part of God's image is blotted out, he cannot read his likeness in the soul's other perfections. Be the soul ever so spiritual in its substance, yet if it be carnal in its affections; be it ever so purified from the grossness of body, yet if it be polluted with the corruption of sin; it has nothing to shew why God should not disown it, even to its eternal perdition. If we meet with a letter drawn over with filthy, scurrilous, unbecoming lines, the fineness of the paper will not rescue it from the fire. It is not thy strength, thy wit, thy eloquence, that God so much regards; these indeed may adorn thee, but it is thy holiness that must save thee. A sinner appearing before God, adorned with the greatest confluence of natural endowments, is like Agag presenting himself to Samuel in his costly robes: the richness of his attire could not compound for the vileness of his person. When those glorious pleas shall be produced in the court of heaven; We have prophesied, we have cast out devils, we have wrought wonders; God shall answer them with one word, weightier than them all, but ye have sinned. Howsoever we flatter ourselves, and misjudge of things, yet God will overlook all the natural perfections of the soul, and punish us for want of moral.375
3. Sin discharges God from shewing love to the creature, by taking off the creature from his dependence upon God. I know it cannot dissolve its natural dependence: for in God we live, and move, and have our being, Acts xvii. 28, whether we will or no. But our moral dependence, which is a filial reliance and recumbency upon God, this it destroys. For in sin the creature quits his hold of God, and seeks to shift for himself, to find his happiness within the centre of his own endeavours, totally departing and apostatizing from God; for sin is properly defined, aversio a Creatore ad creaturam. It was an absolute, independent happiness that was aimed at in the first sin, which made it so detestable. Our first parents, they would be as gods, they would have an αὐτάρκεια, a self-sufficience; they would stand upon their own bottom, without the support of divine influence; they would fetch all their happiness from within, without repairing to the bounty of Providence. Now when the creature depends upon God, and yet scorns to own this dependence; but in a high strain of arrogance would derive his satisfaction entirely from himself; this is the highest provocation. For one to live upon an alms, and yet to scorn an alms; to be a proud beggar; through weakness to lean upon another; and yet through pride to pretend to go alone: this is odious and in sufferable; a temper made up of those two abominable ingredients, pride and ingratitude. He that pretends to live upon his own means, does not deserve the continuance of his pension: he that will not acknowledge his felicity from his Creator, deserves to lose it. If we depart and quit our reliance upon God, it is but equitable for him to let go his 376 hold of us; if we desire to be miserable, can we blame him, if he punisheth us with the answer of our own desires? God is not so married to us by creation, but if we leave him voluntarily, it may be the just cause of a perpetual divorce. Yea, sin proceeds so far, as that although the creature cannot dissolve its natural dependence upon God, yet there is nothing that it desires more, and it proceeds to attempt it as far as it is able, that is, in a wish. What would the damned, forlorn spirits give to wring themselves out of God's hand by annihilation? What would the devils give for a full discharge from their being? Job speaks the natural desire of a tormented sinner; Job vi. 8, 9, Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for! even that it would please God to destroy me! And thus we see how sin takes off the creature from its dependence upon God: first, in the commission of sin, he let go his dependence, as to his confidence; and then in the punishment of sin, he would willingly let it go, as to his very being.
4. Sin disengages the love of God to the creature, because it renders the creature useless, as to the end for which it was designed. Things, whose essence and being stand in relation to such an end, have their virtue and value from their fitness to attain it. Every thing is ennobled from its use, and debased as far as it is useless. As long as a man continues an instrument of God's glory, so long his title to life and happiness stands sure, and no longer. But now, sin in scripture, and in God's account, is the death of the soul; Ephes. ii. 1, We were dead in trespasses and sins. Now death makes a thing 377utterly useless, because it renders it totally unactive; and in things that are naturally active, that which deprives them of their action, bereaves them of their use. The soul, by reason of sin, is unable to act spiritually; for sin has disordered the soul, and turned the force and edge of all its operations against God: so that now it can bring no glory to God by doing, but only by suffering, and being made miserable. It is now unfit to obey his commands, and fit only to endure his strokes. It is uncapable by any active communion, or converse with him, to enjoy his love, and a proper object only to bear his anger and revenge. We may take the case in this similitude: A physician or chirurgeon has a servant; while this servant lives honestly with him, he is fit to be used, and to be employed in his occasions; but if this servant should commit a felony, and for that be condemned, he can then be actively serviceable to him no longer; he is fit only for him to dissect, and make an object upon which to shew the experiments of his skill. So while man was yet innocent, he was fit to be used and employed by God in a way of active obedience; but now having sinned, and being sentenced by the law to death as a malefactor, he is a fit matter only for God to torment, and shew the wonders of his vindictive justice upon. In short, sin has unframed the fabric of the whole man; it has made all the members and faculties of his body and soul weapons of unrighteousness, and placed them in open defiance against God. But now God made the world, and the fulness thereof, to display the riches of his glory, and he continues it to this day to advance his great name, and for no other cause. And it is very probable (which is worth our 378 observation) that if other creatures should bring no more glory to God, within the sphere of their actings, than man does, that the world could not^stand, but would certainly provoke God to throw it back into confusion. So long therefore as man continues in sin, he is a useless lump, a burden to God that made him, and to the earth that bears him, an usurper of his being, and a devourer of the creatures that do God more honour and service than himself, not able to think, speak, or do any thing for his glory. And can God preserve such a creature with any credit to his goodness? Will he strain the riches of his mercy to the damage of his honour? Man would provide for his credit better than so; certainly therefore the wise God will much more.
First use, is to obviate and take off that usual and common argument, that is frequently in the mouths of the ignorant, and in the hearts of the most knowing; that certainly God would never make them to destroy them: and therefore since he has made them, they roundly conclude that he will not destroy them. Erasmus said, that he could not presume so far as to hope for heaven; but he thought God was too merciful to send him to hell. Now the very design of the Spirit, in these words, is to anticipate and forestall this objection, which he knew was apt to rise in the hearts of men, who, upon the hearing of God's fiery judgments, are ready to shelter them selves under such poor, groundless considerations. How does a poor soul strive to dispute and baffle itself into this persuasion! but how feeble and in consequent are all his arguments! God made thee, 379and formed thee: true; but since thou hast sinned against so dear a relation, this very thing is an argument that he should destroy thee: God has imprinted his image upon thee, but sin has defaced it. God is the potter, and thou the vessel; but when the potter has made a vessel, if it chance to leak, or get a crack, the very same hand that made it, will break it in pieces. Thou art God's possession, a creature designed for his use: true; but sin has made thee totally useless. Thy soul was made an habitation for God himself; but sin and Satan have got it in possession: and when an house or castle is possessed by the enemy, the very owner himself will set it on fire. As long as thou dost remain entire, thou mayest have recourse to God, and he will receive and own thee, upon this score, that thou art his workmanship; but if broken and defiled through sin, he will not own thee upon this account. As when a man makes and sells a watch, while it is entire we may return it, and he will own it, because he made it: but when it is broke, there is no returning it; though it were of his own making, yet he will not receive it. All the wheels, the faculties of the soul, they are disordered and broke; all the motions of it are depraved: and can God, who made nothing but what was good, who gave every thing its due and exact proportion, acknowledge and embrace such a piece of disorder? A child may be so disfigured and deformed, and changed from its native visage by some diseases, that the very father may not know it, but pass it by as none of his. We can now shew nothing but the ruins of our creation, the just argument of our shame before God; but not at all the matter of our plea. We can say, indeed, 380 Here stood God's image, these understandings were the candle of the Lord, these hearts were the entertaining rooms of Christ, these bodies were the temple of the Holy Ghost; but, alas! what does all this amount to, but a miserum est felicem fuisse? Does former holiness excuse present impiety? Because God embraced us in our purity, must he love us in our sins? Is any person in love with a face because it was beautiful heretofore? Now the reasons, I conceive, from whence men frame these kind of objections, may be these two.
1. A self-love, and a proneness to conceive some extraordinary perfection in themselves, which may, as I may so speak, compound for their misdemeanours. Certainly, says the proud heart, God could not be without the service and attendance that he receives from me; he could not well want that revenue of honour that he receives from my prayers and praises. Though I may have slipt and sinned, yet the excellency of my being will outweigh the merit of my sin; not at all considering, why it should not be as easy for God to create -a new innocent world, as to preserve an old sinful one. It is natural for every carnal heart, upon the commission of sin, instead of repenting for sin, to look out for some good in itself that may countervail the sin. When it lays its sins in one balance, it will lay its perfections in the other. If it must acknowledge its magna vitia, it will take shelter here by opposing non minores virtutes. What is spoke of true, evangelical love, may in another sense be said of this self-love, that it covers a multitude of sins. The soul will never view any of its sinful actions, but through those that are religious; and we may be very confident, that 381many, by reflecting upon some of their good performances, have even by them been emboldened to sin, thinking that those have set them so far before hand with God, that the delinquency of a few sins may well be tolerated. Questionless the pharisee could not have devoured widows' houses with so good an appetite, had it not been for his long prayers. And it is as little to be doubted, but that we may ascribe it to the persuasion that many have of their piety and regeneration, that they dare give their consciences scope to practise as they do; and by their actions so notoriously to confute their professions. Thus the soul is apt to deck and paint itself, as Jezebel did, upon the approach of Jehu; and then presently to imagine, that God would fall in love with it. But now the Spirit of God is no where more full, than in the beating down this proud self-esteem; to this intent it expresses the most exact of our services by the vilest of things, in Isaiah lxiv. 6, All our righteousness is compared to filthy rags; and in Ezekiel xvi. 5, 6. the sinner in his natural condition is presented wallowing and polluted in his blood, to the loathing of his person. And can we think that these are such amiable objects in God's eye? Can filth and pollution afford any thing that may enamour God's affections? If a sinner did but dwell upon the serious meditation of his exceeding vileness by reason of sin, he would never be able to entertain the least thought of meriting acceptance before God.
2. The second reason is, our readiness to think that God is not so exceeding jealous of his honour, but he may easily put up the breach of it, without the ruin of his creature. Nay, we are even apt to 382 doubt, whether or no our sins make any breach upon it at all. For alas! his honour is above the reach of our sins; his glory is so solid and entire, that as it is not capable of receiving any addition from our choicest services, so neither of suffering any diminution from our vilest impieties; neither our goodness nor our evil does extend to him. If we do well, what is he the better? and if we sin, he is not at all the worse. We know the very heavens have this royal property, to be impassible from any thing that is below.
And moreover, what is this sin? Is it not a mere privation? a nothing? so weak, so low, that we can not ascribe any active influence or operation to it? And shall such a nothing, such a mere deficiency, be expiated by nought under the eternal ruin of an immortal soul? Is this such a thing, for which God should keep anger for ever? especially since it is that which gives him so fair an opportunity for the glorifying his dearest attribute, his mercy. For the proper, formal act of mercy is to pardon and to spare: and if the creature had not sinned, how could God have pardoned? Such reasonings as these the soul is apt to mutter out against God. Hence it is that God so often in scripture sets his face against this imagination; he tells us over and over, that he is a jealous God, Exod. xx. 5. xxxiv. 14; and that he will in no wise acquit the guilty, Nahum i. 3. Shall a poor, mortal man, the best of whose glory is but a fading flower. I say, shall he stand so upon the punctilios of his credit, as to vindicate the least breach of his reputation with duel and bloodshed? and shall not the great God vindicate his honour with fire and sword against all transgressors? We shall 383one day see, that it is not so easy a matter to escape God's revenging justice for sin.
But now to clear off all these pleas and objections of men, I shall state and answer this question, viz.
Whence is it, that the offence of a child against a parent does not disengage him from acting according to the relation of a father? I speak of ordinary offences; for there are some that do, as it were, even dissolve this relation, as has been already specified in him that cursed his father, that was incorrigible, Deut. xxi. 20. In this case, the hand of the parent was to be first upon him, both in his accusation and execution. But now, for ordinary offences, whence is it, that a father ought not upon these to cast off a child? And yet, the least offence against God so far dissolves the relation, as to discharge him from manifesting himself in any further acts of goodness towards the creature; notwithstanding the mercies of God are infinitely, inconceivably greater than the most tender compassions of an earthly father.
In answer to this, to omit this consideration, that a man owes infinitely more to God than to an earthly father, even in respect of those things that he received from his father; God gave him his life, the parent only conveyed it. And shall we owe as much to the casket that brought the jewel, as to the friend that sent it?
But I say, to pass by this,
1. The reason that every ordinary offence does not disentitle a son to the love of his father, as it does the creature to the protection and favour of his Creator, is not from the obliging nature of that relation 384 beyond the other, but from the law and command of God; which, on this side, commands men to exercise a mutual forgiveness of injuries, and so much more obliges the father freely to forgive his son: and, on the other side, the law says, that the soul that has sinned, it shall die. So that God can not, upon the same terms, forgive a sinner: there is a word gone out against him.
2. Every offence of a child against a parent, though it immediately strikes him, yet it is ultimately resolved not into him, but into God, of whose righteous command and law it is a breach and violation. But every offence against God is ultimately resolved into God, and no other. And therefore a father is not so much concerned in an injury offered him by his son, as God in the offence of the creature; and, consequently, he is not so much provoked by that, to let fall the tenderness of a father, as God to lay aside the affection of a Creator.
3. That which hinders an offence from pardon, is the vindicative justice of him against whom the of fence is committed. But there is no such thing as vindicative justice in men one towards another, naturally and from themselves; for they are all equal, and this is founded in God's essential sovereignty. All coaction, (as Grotius observes,) of which punishment is the greatest, being peculiar τῇ ὑπερεχούσῃ ἐξουσίᾳ: and God himself says, Vengeance is mine. Wherefore there is not the same reason for God to forgive a sinful creature, that there is for one man to forgive another.
I think these considerations sufficiently clear the question. But before I leave this use, I shall add 385this one thing, which may more fully state the case between God and the sinner; viz.
When I say the sin of the creature disengages God from shewing him any favour, it is not hence to be gathered, that it must therefore engage him to shew him none; for this was no less to put a bond of restraint upon God, than if we should admit of a contrary obligation. As for those that say, that God, after the sin of man, is so engaged by the necessity of his nature, that he can with no accord to his justice shew him any mercy, till a full satisfaction be paid down; J think they cannot say, that God's giving of Jesus Christ did presuppose any satisfaction given before; which if so, it may be left to the impartial consideration of any one, Whether for God, being so offended by man, yet upon the free, spontaneous motion of his own will, to find out, give, and constitute a mediator for him, be not as great or greater mercy, than, when a mediator is given, to accept of a satisfaction from him in man's be half?
Second use. This may serve to inform us of the cursed, provoking nature of sin. Certainly there is something in it more than ordinary, that should make the great and merciful God take a poor creature, and shake it almost into nothing, to rid his hands of it, to disown and let it fall out of his protection into endless, unspeakable woe and misery; that should make a Creator the executioner of his own creature; a loving father the butcher of his own child; that should sour the sweet relation of a maker into the terrible name of a revengeful destroyer. O let him that commits sin with pleasure and delight, consider this, and tremble; him that 386 can please himself in his drunkenness, his uncleanness, poor creature! Does such an one know what he is now doing? He is now fixing the insupportable wrath of his great Creator against his poor guilty soul. He is now dissolving that bond of love, by which alone his Maker had bound him to himself. Wouldest thou have all the poison and malignity of thy sin strained into one expression, take it thus in short; it is able to make thy Creator be come thine enemy.
Third use. This may inform us under what notion we are to make our addresses to God; not as a Creator, for so he is no ways suitable to our necessities. He is offended and provoked, and we stand as outlaws and rebels to our Maker. Under this notion, no sinner can see God, and live. He is, to such an one, a consuming fire, an everlasting burning, no thing but wrath and vengeance. And can we find any comfort in a consuming fire? Is there any refreshment in an everlasting burning? If we cast ourselves upon his mercy, his justice will break forth upon us, and devour us. But you will then say, What shall poor sinners do? whither shall they repair? Why there is yet hope: God's wisdom has reconciled his justice to his mercy, and consequently us to himself. And now he represents himself under a more desirable relation, as a reconciled God. And although, under the former relation, he drives us from him; yet, under this, he tenderly invites us to him. He therefore that trembles at the name of an offended Creator, yet let him comfort himself in the title of a reconciled Father. Though we have cause to dread the tribunal of his justice, yet let us come confidently to the throne of his mercy: let us come 387freely, and spread all our wants before him; lay open our complaints, tell him all the distresses and secret anguishes of our burdened consciences. Believe it, we cannot be more ready to tell them, than he is to hear them; nor he to hear them, than to relieve them. Let us anchor our hopes, our trust, our confidence, upon his goodness: for although, as our Creator, he will not save us; yet, as our Redeemer, he will.
And could we now have a greater or an happier instance of his reconcilement to us, than the present solemnity that we are engaging in? in which we have the very arts and inventions of omniscience to endear us to himself. Could we have a more pregnant demonstration of a reconciled God, than a sacrificed Son; nay, than the blood of that Son? and that so mysteriously, and yet so really, conveyed to us? that he does not only invite us to come to him, but to come within him; not only to an embrace, but to an union; and by ineffable and seraphic in corporations for us to be in him, and for him to be in us: not only endearing, but amazing us with his affection; and at the same time feeding our necessities, and entertaining our admiration.
Only let us see that we so come to him, that we do not put him to receive sins as well as sinners. For though Christ is willing to make us part of his body, yet he is not willing to unite himself to ulcers and putrefaction. And therefore he that comes hither with a Judas's heart and hypocrisy, will find a Judas's entertainment: and though he may receive the morsel from Christ's hand, yet he will find that the Devil will enter and go along with it. It will be only the nutriment of his sin, and the repast of 388 his corruption. He that comes to this dreadful duty profane, unclean, or intemperate, will go away with quicker dispositions and livelier appetites to those sins. Every corruption shall rise and recover itself, like a giant refreshed with wine. For Christ has given the Devil full commission to enter into such swine, and to drive them headlong to their own destruction.389
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As you know, the Alliance has made a significant investment in research to test the awareness and relevance of the fraternal business model among consumers in our "sweet spot" – 30-55 years old, middle income, children living at home, active members in church or civic groups. We discovered that most consumers have virtually no awareness of fraternals; and that their perceptions of them were often wildly off the mark ("kind of like a college fraternity with more money and less beer"). However, we also learned that when we communicate who we are and what we do in a way that makes sense to these individuals, consumers become downright enamored with the fraternal business model.
The Alliance has provided its member societies with detailed reports on the consumer research results, and I've made presentations to more than 15 societies about how best to utilize this important information. In addition, the Alliance has created a video based on the findings to help us communicate the value and validity of the fraternal business model to our key audiences – primarily state and federal public policymakers. I'd like to hear how you are putting the research to work in your societies. Please take a minute to complete the following question.
Filed under: Uncategorized |

subset: commoncrawl


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Buck Nighthawk Bravo 4″ Besh Wedge Blade, Heavy Duty Rubberized Handle
Buck Knives has release another great, USA made new knife! This is the latest in the Nighthawk series of combat knives and features the innovative, Besh Wedge blade tip. This tip is part point, and part chisel and has been featured on the Buck Bravo combat folder series as well as the Boker Applegate combat fixed blade. This Nighthawk model is less than half the price of the Boker German made Applegate, however. The handle is much beefier than the Buck Nighthawks generally are and the blade is also thick. This is a hard-use type of fixed blade that would be at home in combat, out camping or in a survival mode. We like the overall quality ofthis knife and the design. You can see them at www.knifecenter.com
Here is the latest information from Buck Knives:
Outdoor Life – Survival and Tactical
Survival Depends Upon It
When emergency situations arise the equipment one carries is just as important as their finely honed instincts. The tool they carry must be reliable, strong and durable. Whether it be a car accident or a war zone, Buck's collection of survival and tactical knives and tools were designed for any situation.
Rugged, strong and heavy-duty. With the contoured, rubberized handle, non-reflective blade finish and proven superior BESH Wedge blade, the Nighthawk Bravo will allow one to pry, dig, cut or puncture their way out of any situation. The 420HC blade allows for corrosion and wear resistance, while holding an edge longer.
* Blade: 4″ (10.16 cm), BESHTM Wedge, 420HC steel
* Length: 9 1/4″ (23.50 cm) overall
* Weight: 8.3 oz. (235.30 g)
* Handle: Black reinforced molded nylon, with an olive
* rubberized grip
* Sheath: Heavy-duty nylon, M.O.L.L.E compatible
* AVID Level
* Made in USA


text: India's first Trump Towers, managed by Donald Trump Corporation of New York, are truly iconic. The twin block towers offer an exclusive one flat per floor concept. Each flat is approximately 5,000 SF and offers a 360-degree view of the Pune skyline. The main entry lobby is, at the same time, a converted art gallery. A high-end fitness center will be directed by the famous Bollywood actor, John Abrahim.


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301 1088 Quebec Street, Vancouver
This amazing home at The Viceroy has been meticulously renovated with the highest quality materials & workmanship. At nearly 1200 sqft, this 2 bed+den home features spacious rooms, ample storage, gas FP, and engineered HW floors throughout. The gourmet kitchen and both bathrooms boast gorgeous cabinetry & quartz counter-tops. Brand new SS appliances are a welcome addition! The Viceroy is a well maintained Bosa building with a pro-active strata. It's amenties include a pool, hot tub and gym. 1 locker and a parking stall are included. Pets & rentals are welcome (no Airbnb). Enjoy all this fantastic neighbourhood has to offer - False Creek, Main St, Chinatown and the Olympic village are just a short stroll away! 3D VIRTUAL TOUR AVAILABLE. OPEN HOUSE by pre-booked appt on Oct. 10, 1:30-3pm.
Taxes (2019): $2,250.00


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Search Results by tag: ECW Press
Two new non-fiction books focusing on Canadian pop-culture stars were announced this week. Toronto's ECW Press has acquired The Never-Ending Present: The Story of Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip, a biography of the band and frontman ... Read More »
Leonard "Red" Kelly's hockey memoir The "Red" Kelly Story, written with David M. Dupuis and L. Waxy Gregoire (ECW Press), has won the 2016 Speaker's Award, which aims to spotlight Ontario books that bring the ... Read More »
March 7, 2017 | Filed under: Awards
Canzine, the country's largest festival dedicated to zines and independent culture, happens this Sunday in Toronto (the Vancouver edition is scheduled for Nov. 17). Following the success of last year's event, writer Jason Spencer spoke ... Read More »
October 19, 2012 | Filed under: Events
Quillcast is a podcast and video series from Quill & Quire featuring behind-the-scenes conversations with authors and publishing insiders. In the second video of the series, freelance book designer David Gee discusses the creative process ... Read More »
October 18, 2012 | Filed under: Quillcast
On Oct. 1, cinephiles, friends, and other well-wishers gathered at Toronto's No One Writes to the Colonel to mark the launch of film critic Richard Crouse's Raising Hell: Ken Russell and the Unmaking of The ... Read More »
October 3, 2012 | Filed under: Events
Dave Bidini donned his vintage Hockey Night in Canada jacket to launch his latest non-fiction title, A Wild Stab for It: This Is Game Eight from Russia (ECW Press), on Sept. 11 at the Dakota ... Read More »
September 13, 2012 | Filed under: Events
When U.K. publisher Continuum put out a call for its popular 33 1/3 music-essay series earlier this year, it received 471 submissions. Judging from that number, Toronto's ECW Press will have no problems finding people ... Read More »
July 19, 2012 | Filed under: Industry news
When Toronto journalist Mark Dillon decided to make the Beach Boys the subject of his first book, he knew there would be obstacles ahead. The biggest was how to write about the revered pop group ... Read More »
June 18, 2012 | Filed under: Authors
As the National Hockey League playoffs get underway, this week's bestsellers list is dominated by books about Canada's favourite sport. For the two weeks ending April 8: 1. The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger ... Read More »
April 16, 2012 | Filed under: Bestsellers
From Tupac Shakur to Don McKay, this week's bestsellers list honours National Poetry Month. For the two weeks ending March 25: 1. The Iliad, Homer; Stephen Mitchell, trans. (Simon & Schuster Canada, $35 cl, 9781439163375) ... Read More »
April 2, 2012 | Filed under: Bestsellers


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Job Description
Position Overview
Our client is one of the leading Software Engineering and Solutions in South Africa and has now opened a branch in Cape Town. We are looking for C# Developers to join the Cape Town team, you will get exposure to the full SDLC process including analysis, design and implementation and will be applying your skills to enterprise solutions across multiple industries.
Successful candidates will be working with like-minded individuals in an intellectually stimulating environment. In addition you will be exposed to our client's in-house continuous professional development programs, which will ensure that you will be in an environment that puts you on the path to achieving your career goals.
Depending on your area of specialisation, the technologies that you will be working with includes, but are not limited to: .Net Framework 3.5 and above (C#) / ASP.Net MVC and Web forms / WCF and Web API services / WPF / Windows services / MS SQL Server, SSIS, SSAS, SSRS / JavaScript / JQuery / Knockout.js / Angular.js / HTML 5 / CSS / Windows Azure.
Skills Required
- Non-negotiable is a BSc, BIS, BCom or BEng degree in Computer, Software, Information or Electronic related Sciences from a reputable university
- A solid understanding of object-oriented programming and computer science fundamentals
- Experience in designing & implementing n-tier architectures and best practices.
- Detailed knowledge and practical experience in C# .Net and peripheral technologies.
- We are open to both contract and permanent for this position
- A variety of commission incentives and bonus structures in addition to the basic package
- A variety of both external and internal training programmes
- Performance based salary increases twice a year
- Annual performance bonus
- Excellent provident fund and group insurance schemes (life, disability, vehicle)
- Participation in our rewards programme
5 non-negotiable requirements
- BSc, BIS, BCom or BEng degree from a reputable university
- Ideally South Africans or if from Africa they must be based here and have a critical skills/quota work permit
- Must have over 3 years .Net (C#/ASP.Net) working experience and stable work record i.e. if he/she has 3 years working experience and in that time has moved 3 times this person would not be suitable
- Excellent communication skills


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In its 23rd meeting, the GST Council left only 50 items in the highest bracket after it was felt that the revenue from GST in the first three months had stabilised, giving the council enough margin to reduce the rates.
The cut in goods and services Tax (GST) on 177 items to 18% from 28% may have short-term revenue implications higher than the ballpark figure of Rs 20,000 crore quoted by some governnment officials, analysts reckon. This, they said, is because many businesses will have a larger pool of tax credits from the previous tax rate on their inputs, which they will likely use to meet their (now reduced) output tax liability over the next three-four months, rather than pay it in cash. Businesses which have procured input for their final product at 28% will have a lower final tax liability at 18%. This would lead to an accumulation of input tax credit which would be utilised to pay taxes till it is exhausted. A typical business can use the ITC till mid-February and may have to pay much cash only later. "I believe any change of this magnitude will force the economy to adjust demand and supply tangents again. However, I am not worried about this. My concern is on two accounts: one, a potential fall in tax collections that is bigger than anticipated and the fact that tax revenues would shift from one state to another during this period," Rajat Mohan, partner, AMRG & Associates said.
He added that assuming other factors constant, the government may generally see a depletion in tax revenue for next 4 months. (See illustration) In its 23rd meeting, the GST council left only 50 items in the highest bracket after it was felt that the revenue from GST in the first three months had stabilised and gave the Council enough margin to reduce rates. Some of the items that saw rate reduction include furniture, mattress, wire, cables, shampoos, hair cream, cocoa butter, cinematographic cameras, projectors and image projector. "While the collection figures for the initial months of the GST rollout appear to be stabilising, it will be interesting to evaluate the impact of the recent rate reductions on collections in the coming months.
"The expectation would be that the expansion of the tax base and improved compliance would make up for the reduction in revenues due to rate reductions," MS Mani, partner GST, Deloitte India, said. The combined revenue to both the Centre and states from taxes subsumed in GST was Rs 8.8 lakh crore in FY16. This revenue base was divided roughly equally between the Centre and states. It was decided by the council that states need to be compensated for any revenue shortfall from what they could have achieved with 14% increase in revenue from these taxes annually. That puts the total GST revenue for the current fiscal at around `11.5 lakh crore or around Rs 96,000 crore a month. The actual GST revenue in each of the first three months since the new tax's launch has been around `92,000-95,000 crore, which is broadly in line with the projections.
The monthly revenue due to states is seen at upwards of `43,000 crore. However, since integrated GST revenue disbursal is with a lag, the perception of a revenue shortfall exists among most states. The Centre has already disbursed about Rs 8,600 crore to states to meet their revenue deficits in July and August, mostly for the later month. Collections have picked up further in September (up to October 31, Rs 95,131 crore was collected). While the GST Council has estimated that the revenue loss of the rate reduction for commodities and restaurants would be around Rs 20,000 crore annually, some experts say it could be much higher.
"If the revenue impact is only around Rs 2,000 crore monthly, it would be manageable but its likely that it may fall by much more. So, if the GST revenue collection for a month falls to, say, Rs 85,000 crore, then the government may struggle to compensate states and meet its own budgetary target," an analyst said on the condition of anonymity. "I believe pruning of tax rates is good, but recurrent vacillations in tax rates is debauched. This only demonstrates that our tax system was designed in a haste is therefore is left with gaffes which requires a regular tweaking. "Frequent vicissitudes in tax rates not only burden the industry, but may also impact the economy in an adverse manner, as every change in tax rate will push swords of demand and supply to work out a new equilibrium price," Mohan said.
Source by financialexpress..


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ExaSound Audio Design is a Canadian company that designs and domestically manufactures two DACs: an e18 multichannel model and the recently released $2499 two- channel e20, the subject of this review. So just what distinguishes the e20 from the veritable flood of new DACs showing up on the market these days? In my view, the e20's most distinctive feature is its ability to play Direct Stream Digital (DSD) files in their native format without converting them to PCM data first.
That's a new capability recently developed by industry heavyweights dCS, Playback Designs, and Channel D to handle the DSD format. If you're unfamiliar with DSD recording, it was the system originally designed to record music for SACDs. SACDs don't use raw DSD files; they add a copy-protection scheme that's been difficult, though not impossible, to crack. If you're unfamiliar with DSD files, they usually come with file name extensions of .DSF or .DFF. For example, a DSD file could be named "Bolero.DFF." The e20 doesn't just play standard 2.82MHz DSD files; it also plays the 5.64MHz double- speed DSD files, which some recorders are capable of making.
"And why," you may ask, "should I care about playing back DSD files? Do they really sound any better than 192kHz/24- bit PCM files?" They should, since DSD DACs don't have to use the very complex oversampling digital filter needed for PCM conversion. Although DSD DACs do use a filter, it's very simple, not the sonically damaging brickwall filter needed for PCM. Another important question to ask if you're considering a DSD-capable DAC is: "Are there any DSD files commercially available to play?" And the answer, at least as of Winter 2012, is not many. I don't have a complete list of sources for DSD files; two that I've encountered are Channel Classics (channelclassics. com) and Blue Coast Records (bluecoastrecords.com). Both sources charge higher prices for DSD files than for high- resolution PCM files, but that's hardly surprising, since it always costs more to pursue the bleeding edge of technology. If the demand for DSD files continues to increase, competition among record companies is bound to drive prices down.
The e20 also plays Digital eXtreme Definition (DXD) files, which are 352.8kHz/24-bit PCM files used in professional recording studios. DXD files are also hard to find, but a few are available from highresaudio.com. ExaSound's Web site includes a page dedicated to DXD files from highresaudio.
For the hardware junkies, inside the e20 is an ES9018 Sabre32 DAC chip from ESS Technologies, which accepts up to 384/32 PCM files. As I just noted, there aren't currently many companies selling files that advanced, but at least you can consider this capability as a sort of future-proofing. Software upsampling to 384kHz is also possible. Three precision oscillators are used to minimize jitter, with a claimed ultra-low 0.13 picosecond master-clock error. Eleven power-filtering stages are used to reduce noise, jitter, and channel crosstalk. The 128dB signal-to-noise ratio illustrates how effective these measures are.
Like most modern DACs, the e20 uses an asynchronous USB interface to minimize jitter. The USB receiver is galvanically isolated from the DAC circuits to eliminate noise or ground loops from your computer. The e20 supports automatic sample- rate switching if your source does. There are custom Audio Stream Input/Output (ASIO) drivers for Windows and high- performance Macintosh OSX drivers, which support PCM at sampling rates up to 32bit/384kHz and DSD at 2.82 or 5.64MHz.
As a frequent headphone listener, I was tickled to see that the e20 had a headphone output jack. ExaSound's Web site claims the e20's headphone amplifier is "capable of driving the most demanding headphones." With an output impedance of only 1 ohm, the e20 should be able to drive low-impedance headphones like those from Grado. Unlike some headphone amps, the line output is not muted when you plug in headphones. The volume control on the e20's front panel controls both headphone level and line level.


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"High Crossing" – Wharton State Forest
Location: Shamong Twp., Burlington County, Wharton State Forest
GPS location: N 39.76869/ W 74.64397
Directions: Carranza Road south, just beyond Carranza Memorial to the abandoned N.J. Central R.R. tracks, make a right just before the tracks, Park Road. Follow till you come to the squalor at the end of the road, about a mile, you can't miss it, the road in front of you will be historic Old Tuckerton Stage Rd.
Local name: High Crossing
What is going on at this site: This is an historic site at the intersection of Old Tuckerton Stage Rd and the old N.J. Central R.R. Line. From here you use to be able to get to Hampton Furnace, Batsto or back to Carranza Rd., but you can not travel beyond this point now. Two of the roads lead to a most popular off-roading site (to be blog about at a later date) called "1/4 Mile". High Crossing is an off roaders play ground in miniature. In all directions at this site there is nothing but water holes and mud holes to play in. The roads in all directions are impassable unless you have a max'd out Jeep. This area is in the heart of the Pinelands and normal people can no longer visit here.
What is there: Upland pine forest


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When burning an Audio CD using CD-R or CD-RW I am getting an error from windows media player 12.
"Windows Media Player cannot burn some of the files. To investigate the problem, click the icon next to the files in the burn list."
Software installed on system is
- Windows 10 build 1803 (x64)
- Media Player 12.0.17134.81
- Nero 2018 Platinum
Using a LG model WH16NS40 drive and Magnavox 52x 700MB 80min disc. My C: drive is a Samsung 500 GB 850 SSD that contains my library of MP3 files. My paging file is managed by the system on a RAID 0 drive D: comprised of 3 Samsung 1 TB 850 SSD drives. Intel i7 7820X CPU and 128 Gigs of RAM.
Steps to reproduce,
- Open Media player
- Select enough MP3's in your library to fill the disc (I was using 700 MB discs)
- Add them to a new bun list in Media Player
- Insert a CD into drive. (tried both CD-R and CD-RW with same results)
- From the "Burn" tab in Media Player I selected the "Start Burn" button
- I immediately was given an error message:
- "Windows Media Player cannot burn some of the files. To investigate the problem, click the icon next to the files in the burn list."
- Changed to optical drive letter (mine is drive E:) in media player. Status in media player stated "An Error Occurred"
- Selected the red X next to file. It said the following:
- "Windows Media Player encountered a problem while burning the file to the disc."
- Press the "Start burn" again and now different files from the same list are causing the error. Never gets to processing the files for the burn
- Keep pressing "Start Burn" until it works and no errors are reported. No changes of the audio files just clicked the "Start Burn" button.
Burn options in Media player are:
- General
- Burn Speed - Slow
- Audio CDs
- Apply volume leveling across tracks - CHECKED
- Burn CD without gaps - CHECKED
- Data Discs
- Add a list of all burned files to the disk in this format: - M3U
- Use media information to arrange files in folders on the disc - CHECKED
I have a video of the this process to back up what I'm reporting YouTubeLink
The problem is when I have a large selection of files I want to burn to multiple Audio discs, I have to "baby sit" the process and only process enough files to fill one disc (multiple discs won't retry just moves onto the next set of files). A burn of multiple discs is a nightmare using Windows Media player and is as pleasant as backing up a 1 TB drive to floppies.
I've seen other posts about un-installing media player (did that), defrag the hard drive (SSD try again), Clean the CD lens, CD's are old technology (really!!!, an excuse I seen on this forum from another user). https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-pictures/windows-media-player-wont-burn-cds/ee7bf79e-1000-4c38-9259-d8eaf71dee1c
Please fix Media Player so it won't error out on files that are obviously not the problem. I've been using Media Player since version 10. I've tried others and they either focus on doing too much, poorly or don't have this ability to burn a playlist as easily at Media Player.


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Your Trusted Family Dentist in Coral Gables
March 10, 2016
You don't want to take any chances when it comes to your family's oral health. You can protect their smiles by trusting them to the best family dentist in Coral Gables! When you and all your loved ones visit the same dental practice, you all benefit from a long-lasting relationship with a team that truly knows what's best for your and your family's teeth. Keep reading to learn more about Bushdid Smiles, and all we have to offer families like yours!
Family Dental Services In One Convenient Location
Dr. Jose Bushdid and the whole team at Bushdid Smiles strive to offer your family everything you need to keep your teeth happy and healthy for a lifetime of beautiful smiles. We offer a range of family dentistry services, which we've listed below.
Regular Checkups and Cleanings
It's best to stop dental problems from occurring in the first place, and we can help you do that with wonderful preventive care. Regular checkups and cleanings at Bushdid Smiles allow us to check teeth for small issues before they turn into much larger problems. Catching a cavity right when it begins, for instance, can mean the difference in a quick filling or an eventual root canal (or even extraction). As is paying attention to breathing problems as early as possible to prevent bad bites and possible TMJ in the future.
Periodontal Treatment
Your gums play a big role in your oral and overall health. In fact, gum disease is related to cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke. Some 75 percent of Americans suffer from the condition, but the good news is that it's easy to treat and prevent. The team at Bushdid Smiles can check for the warning signs of periodontal disease, like red, swollen, tender gums, and perform a deep cleaning or other periodontal treatment as needed.
Pediatric Care
You can help your child enjoy healthy teeth for a lifetime by starting their dental care early. Dr. Bushdid and his team provide the warm, friendly atmosphere children love — because we want to send them the message that there's nothing to fear in visiting the dentist. And as your child gets older, we can also provide the orthodontic care he or she needs.
Restorative Dentistry
Chances are good that at some point, you or someone in your family will need a little help getting your smile back to its original health. We've got a number of restorative care options available when it happens to you. From root canal therapy to crown and bridge and dental implants, we can restore teeth from decay and infection and replace them when they've gone missing altogether. We also offer metal-free restorations for the health and beauty of your family's teeth.
Schedule Your Appointment Today!
Treat your family to the quality dental care you deserve — we're here to help you all smile healthy and bright. Request your appointment online today!
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Getty Images Historic Trends
Posted on 3/10/2012 by
Jim Pickerell
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The following articles supply some useful numbers for analyzing the historical sales trends of Getty Images.
Return Per Image At Getty
This story provides a chart that illustrates what has been happening to Getty Images return-per-image over the last four years. Getty's gross revenue from still image licensing has grown about 50%, but as the charts show, not nearly as fast as the number of images added to the collection. As a result image suppliers have found that they have to produce more and more images each year just to stay even.
Eleven Year Trend
Using numbers from Getty Images it is interesting to look back at the RM and RF unit sales and revenue trends over the last decade. Between 2003 and 2007 when Getty was a public company they provided investors with very precise gross revenue and average price per image figures. This made it possible to make a reasonable estimate of the number of images licensed in each category.
Getty Reports 2006 Results
Getty Images reported revenue for Q4 2006 of $203.5 million up 9.5 percent from $185.8 million in Q4 2005 and up from $198.1 million in Q3 2006. However, profit declined as a result of restructuring and other costs. The company earned $30.3 million, or $.50 per share, down from $42.5 million, or $.64 per share, during the same period in 2005.
Getty Historic Numbers 2002 Thru 2007
Below is a list of the Getty Images revenue for the various segments of their business quarter by quarter from Q3 2002 through Q4 2007. At the beginning of 2008 Getty stopped supplying quarterly breakdowns.
Image Licensing Trends
Earlier this week I wrote about the average price per image licensed at Getty. (http://www.selling-stock.com/Article/things-to-consider-when-licensing-images-as-r) This article will examine some of the publicly available and widely reported numbers related to the number of images licensed.
Average RM and RF Prices At Getty
On its web site for Flickr contributors Getty asks, "What are the average prices for RM and RF?" and then gives the following answer. "The average licensing fee for royalty free ranges from $175 to $225. And for rights managed licensing, keeping in mind that uses and fees vary widely; the average is around $550-$650."
Growth In Number Of Images Licensed
Recently, I received a request from Clive Thompson, columnist with Wired Magazine, asking about the number of stock photography images licensed annually. He was more interested in the increase/decrease of the number of images sold than in any impact it might have had on revenue. Here's what I told him.
Seeing Declining GI Sales? Think Search Return Order
Are your Getty Images sales declining? It may have nothing to do with the quality of your images, the subjects you shoot or your keywording. It could be that customers rarely, if ever, get a chance to see your images. Currently Gettyimage.com has 4,278,804 RM and 6,034,642 RF images on the site for a total of 10,313,446 in the creative section of the site. Getty has images from 103 different RM collections and 98 RF collections.
Getty Images Drives It's Customers To Use iStock
http://www.selling-stock.com/Article/driving-getty-images-customers-to-istock - comments
Getty Images appears to be trying to drive its www.gettyimages.com customers to iStock where the customers can get images for a fraction of what they would cost on Gettyimages.com.
Copyright © 2014
Jim Pickerell
. The above article may not be copied, reproduced, excerpted or distributed in any manner without written permission from the author. All requests should be submitted to Selling Stock at 10319 Westlake Drive, Suite 162, Bethesda, MD 20817, phone 301-461-7627, e-mail:
Jim Pickerell is founder of
, an online newsletter that publishes daily. He is also available for personal telephone consultations on pricing and other matters related to stock photography. He occasionally acts as an expert witness on matters related to stock photography. For his current curriculum vitae go to:
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You might not expect an ancient Aboriginal instrument from Australia to find its way to Alaska. But walk around downtown Ketchikan on a warm day and you may hear 15-year-old Kinani Halvorsen playing her didgeridoo. She's played the unusual instrument for three years. And she hopes to bring the didgeridoo into the mainstream band practice.
Here's the response Kinani Halvorsen got from a boy in her 7th grade band when she played the didgeridoo a couple years ago.
"What the heck is that? And his jaw literally dropped. 'Cause you wouldn't expect that sound to come out of a little tube thing like this."
The tube thing is actually not so little. Kinani is a tall girl, and the didgeridoo is a tall instrument. It comes up to her shoulders, at about 5 feet.
You can't exactly play any Katy Perry or Macklemore on something like this. So why is a high schooler here in Ketchikan playing this ancient Aboriginal instrument? It all started with an Australian substitute teacher in Kinani's fourth grade class at Houghtaling Elementary School.
"He brought in his didgeridoo and I thought, 'Wow! That is coolest thing I've ever seen,'" she said.
Fast forward a few years. It's 6th grade, and Kinani has been playing the trombone for a year. She walks into McPherson's, a local music store, and there on the shelf, is a didgeridoo.
"It's really interesting to hear and see someone play such an intriguing thing like the didgeridoo," Kinani said. "And it's a memory that really sticks in your head. So when you see one, and you're like hey, maybe I could play that, it's a want you really get."
"I said no, no, no," Krissy Halvorsen, Kinani's mom, said. "Because she likes to pick up things like that and of course, they end up in the closet or elsewhere."
Kinani swore to her mom that she wouldn't throw the instrument in the closet. She brought it home and started practicing. Her older brother, Keelan, was upstairs.
Keelan: "I rushed downstairs because I thought it was a wild animal. Saw her with a long tube and was even more confused."
Emily: "And then after you found out what it was and what was happening what did you think?"
Keelan: "I was entirely amazed. It was a beautilfulish sound coming from a stick, and I didn't know how it worked so I asked a lot of questions."
Kinani has been playing her didgeridoo for three years now. She's had to teach herself, because there isn't anyone else she know in Ketchikan who plays the didgeridoo. Her brother is impressed.
"She's definitely improved a lot," Keelan said. "It went from a semi obnoxious noise, to be honest, to something we all enjoy hearing."
The didgeridoo is over 1,000 years old. It's still used to accompany song and dance in the Arnhem Land region of Australia.
"What really motivates me to keep playing is it's such a unique instrument, unless you're in Australia, you really don't get a chance to see, hear, or play something like this," Kinani said.
Kinani is in four bands. Three at Ketchikan High School, and one other outside school, called Sound Waves. She's been on a mission to incorporate the digeridoo's sound into more traditional music.
"We haven't had occasion or any particular reason to hear her play it in here, because this is a big band that is mostly saxophones, trumpets, trombones, rhythm section," Roy McPherson, director of the Sound Waves band where Kinani plays trombone, said.
The didgeridoo is nowhere to be seen at a recent practice here.
But in a couple weeks, that's going to change. Kinani has a didgeridoo solo in the band's upcoming show, during "I Wanna Be Like You" from The Jungle Book.
And she's going to keep trying to play her didgeridoo in different settings. She's attending the Sitka Fine Arts Camp this summer.
"And so I'll bring it and I'll talk to whoever's running the class and I'll say, 'Hey I have a didgeridoo, is there anything I should bring it in for?'" Kinani said.
And If Kinani keeps spreading the sound of the unique instrument, maybe she'll get fewer "What the heck is that?" responses, and more people saying, "Oh, that's a didgeridoo."


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Fllike wants to be the Yelp of airlines
Flying used to be a glamorous endeavor. In the 1970's, even those flying coach could enjoy legroom and a half-decent meal. But then airlines started cutting back. As fuel prices rose, amenities began to vanish. Now, flying sucks. Not even a free prostate exam (thanks TSA!) makes up for flying Spirit.
One person who knows this especially well (flying, not complimentary TSA prostate exams) is Chris Holmes, founder and CEO of Fllike. This iPhone app lets you review your flight from your iPhone in just a matter of seconds, sharing it with other users of the app.
Holmes believes that as more people use it, it'll build a picture of quality across the airlines, allowing consumers to make more informed decisions about who they fly with. Holmes believes that "eventually Fllike will offer a great picture of airline performance regardless of price."
The app lets you give each element of your flight a score ranging from one to ten. Once you've keyed in your flight number or scanned your boarding pass, you can rate the seats, the crew, the timeliness, the food, and even the quality of the aircraft by swiping on a slider.
This desire to make the flying experience more bearable comes from a personal place. "I work for a soap company. My role is in business development. This means that I take around 50 flights every year," he explained.
Read next: Instagram will now alert you if someone screenshots your temporary direct messages


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When you visit any typical escort mall (or directory), it's common to see escorts' ads promising everything from companionship and "full service" to great conversation and "unbelievable sex". Many of these escorts who are blatantly advertising they are willing to have sex or engage in other sexual acts with their clients are breaking prostitution laws and could be arrested based on their advertising efforts.
Although the law is worded differently in all 50 states in the U.S., prostitution is generally defined as exchanging sex or sexual acts for money or other things of value and is considered illegal. So, any advertisement by an escort indicating that she will provide sex for money could be trouble in the making. However, what about those ads that don't expressly say "sex"? Are they potentially troublesome for escorts, too?
Ads that specifically combine the issue of money and rates in relationship to services including sex are considered explicit ads. Explicit means that the ads leave nothing to be implied by clearly defining what a client can expect when he pays an escort for an encounter. Often, these ads graphically detail the included options, leaving little to the imagination. Ads that provide long lists of sexual services that are part of an escort's offerings can be explicit evidence that she intends to commit prostitution.
However, an escort who implies, through her marketing, she might be interested in consensual intimacy during an encounter isn't breaking any laws, technically. But, her implicit suggestion could be enough to get attention from law enforcement. Implicit ads contain ambiguous and vague language that doesn't clearly express what a client may expect, even though the nature of the encounter is pretty much understood by both parties. An escort's implicit ad can be decoded to suggest to a client that she is willing to provide sex, even though she has not expressly promised such, especially if her ad is placed along with others that offer sexual acts.
Knowing that ads can set an escort up for legal trouble, it's important to know the legal guidelines to be arrested by the police. Most states and law enforcement authorities require at least one of the following things to occur before they can charge someone with prostitution:
- A discussion of exchanging sex for money (or other valuables): While most of the time an explicit conversation is required, all that has to be said, legally, is that a client can expect to experience sexually-related acts when he pays an escort's rates. If an escort even combines a conversation about her rates and sex, it can be construed as an agreement for prostitution terms.
- An agreement to meet for the exchange of sex for money: When an escort agrees to meet up with a client after a discussion of giving him sex (or other sexual acts) in exchange for him paying her fee, it is called assignation. This act of meeting up in person can be enough to get yourself arrested, if the intent to trade money and sex is apparent to law enforcement.
- Intention to engage in prostitution: Even if your ad explicitly says that you charge for your time, not for any sexually-related activities, your intention to provide intimate attention to your client can be enough to give law enforcement officers cause to arrest you. If your ad implies that you plan to give your client a good roll in the sack, it demonstrates your intention to trade your escort fee for sex.
Keep in mind that several physical actions can demonstrate your intention to commit prostitution. These include, but are not limited to, possession of condoms (more than one or two of them); possession of large amounts of cash (assumed to be from previous encounters); possession of client contact information; wearing suggestive attire (not typically an issue for escorts); and possession of sex toys, bondage items or other sexually-related accessories. However, these things, alone, are not sufficient to create cause for your arrest. But, couple them with an explicit escort ad that lists sexual services you provide and you may give authorities enough evidence that intention is present.
When an escort is put to trial for prostitution charges, a jury decides her fate. Prior to the beginning of the trial, the judge gives specific instructions to the jury. They are usually directed to hand down a guilty verdict when implications lead them to believe that an escort committed prostitution through her intentions and actions, even if she did not explicitly demonstrate it or promise it. Jury members are instructed to use their common sense, knowledge of slang, understanding of implied intent and the totality of circumstances. The totality of circumstances comes into play when considering an escort's ad, the type of site she listed it on (whether it's a known site for promoting the exchange of sex for money) and her actions. If enough evidence exists to suggest that an escort intended to provide sexual services to her client as part of the business transaction, a jury will convict her of prostitution.
Knowing the realm of the law is essential for keeping yourself out of trouble when you're an escort. In addition to knowing the law, here are some things to consider about the differences between explicit and implicit marketing:
- Even if your advertising doesn't explicitly promise sex, your ad implies it based on where it appears. By posting profiles to sites where known prostitutes market themselves, your ad could be considered solicitation of prostitution. If your clients know, based on the types of ads that appear on a particular site where your ad can be viewed, that they can expect an intimate encounter with you, your marketing is more explicit than you may think. Law enforcement officials regularly monitor Backpage.com and similar sites to identify prostitutes for investigation, because the site is known for promoting sex for sale by escorts. You must use extreme caution to clearly inform clients that your fees are exclusively for your time and companionship, and not for sex.
- Keywords in your profile or advertisements may bring you additional scrutiny. Law enforcement agencies regularly review online ads for keywords that lead them to believe an escort may be committing prostitution. These include slang terms and explicit sexual descriptions. Even adult entertainment services websites monitor their own content for posters who are breaking laws. Liz McDougall, attorney for Backpage, told CNN in 2011 that ads in the escort section are scanned for 25,000 different terms and code words linked to prostitution, sex trafficking and child exploitation. Each month, the site reports 400 suspicious ads to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. So, in other words, even if you make no promises to provide sexual services, be careful about including them in your profile. Someone could be watching.
- The implied discussion of sexual acts can get you in trouble. Many escorts believe that when they inform clients about sexual activities they will not do with them, they are avoiding the topic of sex for money. However, the police see it differently. They perceive this as a discussion implying there are other activities that you will engage in with a client for a fee. When discussing your boundaries, be sure to clarify that the services you provide are companionship and time, not sex or any similar activities. With this disclaimer, you are helping to blur the legal lines of implicit intention.
- Discussing sex activities with clients demonstrates intention to engage in prostitution. When planning an encounter, it puts you in a difficult position to talk about fantasy role-playing, special sexual requests (such as golden showers or sploshing) or engaging in sexting. They are all indirect promises of what a client can expect during an encounter and implicates you for prostitution, even if you insist that the activities are consensual sex during a period of companionship. Specific sexual details about upcoming encounters may cross the fine line between what you are charging for and what you truly provide to clients. Use extreme caution when discussing special plans for encounters.
- Acceptance of your client's intention to have sex during an encounter is considered prostitution. When a client contacts you looking for sex and you agree to meet with him for your fee, you are agreeing to prostitution in the eyes of the law, even if you insist that your fee is for your time. Despite the fact that you remind your client the encounter is based on companionship, knowingly entering into an agreement with your client who expects sex indicates that you are going along with his goal. You have to be very careful what you agree to do with a client. Ensure you both have an "understanding" without having to say anything more.
- Ensure your advertising and profiles provide details about things clients can expect to get during encounters, besides sex. Indicate to your clients that they can laugh from your wit and sense of humor, be enlightened with your education and conversational skills, be nurtured through your compassion and affection and enjoy hanging out with you and your fun personality. Indicate that you listen well, wish to help him relax and provide him with a pleasant experience from reality. However, do not mention sex or physical intimacy in any way, in order to avoid legal scrutiny.
- Avoid smutty details and lewd descriptions in your advertising. Some escorts use sexually-explicit language in their ads, describing acts for readers. They post sexually-suggestive photos (or ones containing nudity). All of these details, even if they don't directly promise sex to clients, leave escorts open to clear implication of intent. Additionally, ads that include sexually-graphic language garner more legal attention than those written eloquently by an escort who does not publicize sex. Keep yourself looking innocent by focusing on the legal aspects of your escort offerings and demonstrate to clients you are more than just a quick bang.
- Refuse to engage in discussions with clients about sex. If it is construed by law enforcement officials that you've gone along with a client's request or suggestion for sex in exchange for your fee, you can be arrested. Acknowledgement of a client's desires with a nod, smile or a wink can be grounds for your arrest. It's in your best interest (and your client's, too) to avoid the subject of sex and let the encounter take its course naturally. When a client begins to talk about sex, stop the conversation immediately and tell him that you see clients for encounters based on companionship and nothing more. Clearly state that your fee is to compensate you for your time.
- Avoid using slang in your advertisements. Writing to clients that they will "get lucky" or guaranteeing them a "good time," among using many other sexual phrases, suggests that your services include sex, not companionship. The words "full service" and "girlfriend experience (GFE)" are well-known industry terms that flag ads for law enforcement officials. Your ad and profile can still openly flirt with your prospective clients through sexually-charged language and lots of complimentary suggestions.
- Remember that discretion is key. Your experienced clients understand that the goal of an encounter doesn't have to be spelled out. They know what they want, and they know that you are aware of it, too. Real clients understand the fine line between escorting and prostitution. They know that escorts charge a client to spend time with them, and whatever happens during that time will happen. Escorts provide affection, friendship and attention to their clients, in addition to occasional intimacy. And, they also know that prostitutes charge for the sex act (intercourse, blowjob, etc.), instead of by the time it takes. Being discreet about your relationships with clients is the way to go when you're an escort.
- Always be aware that someone can be paying attention to your actions and conversations. Law enforcement investigators can listen in on your conversations and track your online communications. They can watch you interact with clients in public places. To keep yourself safe, maintain professional conduct and avoid loosening your guidelines about communication with clients, even your regular ones.
Jun 12 2013


text:
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An officer or seaman of a privateer.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun An officer or seaman of a privateer.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun nautical The
captainor member of the crewof a privateer
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an officer or crew member of a privateer
Sorry, no etymologies found.
The privateersman was a gentleman adventurer, a protected pirate, a social highwayman of the waters.
Famous Privateersmen and Adventurers of the Sea Their rovings, cruises, escapades, and fierce battling upon the ocean for patriotism and for treasure
A pirate, indeed, in those days, was synonymous with the individual who was termed a privateersman at the time of the Napoleonic wars.
I do not, therefore, consider that privateering is worse than any other species of warfare, or that the privateersman is a whit more reckless or brutal than soldiers or men-of-war's men in the hour of victory in the king's service. "
Elijah West, father's great-grandfather, was a privateersman in the Revolution.
On the very day of these achievements he despatched Theopompus, a Milesian privateersman, to Lacedaemon to report what had taken place.
He was usually addressed as Captain, this visitor; and had been a pilot, or a skipper, or a privateersman, or all three perhaps; and was a very salt – looking man indeed.
And this, too, is worth noting: that the buccaneer by sea, the privateersman, through long practice in endurance, is able to live at the expense of far superior powers.
Hazard, who had commanded a privateersman during the Revolution, purchased the place from "Citizen" Edmond Charles Genet, the first
As I Remember Recollections of American Society during the Nineteenth Century
Street he and his gang one evening pressed a privateersman -- an insult keenly resented by the master of the ship.
Many were the speculations as to the probability of capturing the saucy privateersman; for by this time all the sail that the convoy could possibly set was spread in chase of the enemy, who as yet had made no attempt to fly, although apparently but a stone's throw ahead of us.
The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, February 1844 Volume 23, Number 2