he could not find some means of making up for the loss occasioned by his wife's illness. The spinning-wheel in use at this period was very simple in its construction, and was only capable of forming a single thread. The happy thought took possession of the weaver's mind that, if he could invent a machine that would spin several threads instead of one, he would not have his loom standing idle for want of weft. But how to make this machine was the difficulty. He could scarcely earn enough for their daily necessities; and, to add to his perplexity, his wife was now entirely confined to her bed, and the loss of her accustomed help, little as it had been, still further reduced their slender resources, and they were sometimes in want of the necessaries of life. Nothing daunted, but rather prompted to increased exertion, James set about making the requisite drawings. He had no pencils or instruments to assist him; so, for want of better materials, with a burnt stick for a pencil, he made use of the stone floor of the cottage on which to draw the different parts of his proposed machine. tion of his wife by a loud assurance that he "had it ;" and, lifting her in his sturdy arms, he held her over the black sketches on the floor. "Our fortune is made," said he, "when that is made." "What will you call it?" asked his wife. "Call it? What if we call it after thyself, Jenny? They called thee 'Spinning-Jenny' afore I married thee, because thou beat every lass in Stanehill Moor at the wheel. What if we call it 'SpinningJenny'?" James manfully struggled to surmount the numerous obstacles he met with; he felt sure that, if he could succeed in carrying out his idea, it would be a boon not only to himself, but to the hardworking weavers around him. At last he had the satisfaction of successfully completing his machine, which formed eight threads in the same time that the spinning-wheel made one. It would take too long to describe the various improvements that this ingenious man made, till at last he increased the number of threads from eight to eighty; or to narrate the opposition his "spinning-jenny" met with from his neighbours, a party of whom broke into his house and destroyed his machine, fearing that it would deprive them of their means of subsistence. The poor weaver worked on perseveringly, occasionally going to the fire to burn his stick. Sitting on a chair, and placing his elbows upon his knees, his head between his hands, he gazed intently upon James's hopeful spirit was not the floor. After a time he sprang to discouraged even by this. He his feet, and replied to some ques- removed into the adjoining county HIGH in yonder realms of light, Far above these lower skies, Fair and exquisitely bright, Heaven's unfading mansions rise. Built of pure and massy gold, Strong and durable are they; Decked with gems of worth untold, Subjected to no decay. Glad within these blest abodes Dwell the raptured saints above, Where no anxious care corrodes, Happy in Immanuel's love. Once, indeed, like us below, Pilgrims in this vale of tears, Torturing pain and heavy woe, Gloomy doubts, fears; distressing These, alas! full well they knew, Sad companions of their way; Oft on them the tempest blew Through the long, the cheerless day. Oft their vileness they deplored, Wills perverse and hearts untrue, Grieved they could not love their Lord, Love him as they wished to do. Oft the big, unhidden tear, Stealing down the furrowed cheek, Told, in eloquence sincere, Tales of woe they could not speak. But these days of weeping o'er, Past the scene of toil and pain, They shall feel distress no more, Never, never weep again. 'Mid the chorus of the skies, 'Mid the angelic lyres above, Hark! their songs melodious rise, Songs of praise to Jesus' love. Happy spirits, ye are fled Where no grief can entrance find; Lull'd to rest the aching head, Soothed the anguish of the mind. All is tranquil and serene, Calm and undisturbed repose; There no cloud can intervene, There no angry tempest blows; Every tear is wiped away, Sighs no more shall heave the breast; Night is lost in endless day, Sorrow in eternal rest. OCEAN CURRENTS. A NUMBER of empty bottles have been thrown into the sea on the west coast of Africa, and have head as if keeping a sharp lookout, shakes the feathers, now walks, now trots, till he gets within bowshot, and then-off goes the arrow, which sinks deep into the heart of the poor unsuspecting bird! THE Bushmen of South Africa of the poor creature, turns the have a very ingenious way of catching the ostrich, represented above. A cushion is filled with straw, like a saddle. It is then covered with the feathers, and surmounted with the head and neck of an ostrich. The Bushman whitens his legs to resemble those of an ostrich; he then puts the saddle over his shoulders, and takes his bow and arrows with him, which protrude through the breast of the mock bird. He exactly imitates the ways BE EARNEST. Whatsoever it may be ; With zeal and vigour labour, But form thy purpose gravely, Old age is drawing near; winter's rains, were cleared away; how the fallen tree-trunks were gathered up and supported, and the broken edges of the road, and the holes formed by the bursting of springs were blocked up. And I see in fancy the chariot roads winding round terraced hills, and through vineyards, pleasant gardens, and pasture-land in the plains, as they did when such kings as Solomon the Magnificent ruled, or when Uzziah, the lover of husbandry, reigned (see 2 Chron. xxvi. 10, 11).-Miss Rogers' Domestic Life in Palestine. THE BALM OF GILEAD, OR BALSAM "Go up into Gilead, and take balm, ILLUSTRATIONS OF SCRIP-o virgin, the daughter of Egypt." TURE. PREPARING THE WAY. "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."-ISAIAH xl. 3. JEREMIAH xlvi. 11. The genuine Balsam of Mecca is both scarce and expensive. The kings of Judah cultivated this shrub, but only to a very small extent. It will be interesting to learn that a bottle of this extraordinary balsam is kept at the botanical garden at Paris, as an object of the rarest and highest value. What is generally sold by the name of Balsam of Mecca is merely the oil, obtained by boiling, from the seeds, stones, and branches of the tree. The balm itself is too rare to be purchased in the ordinary way. Josephus informs us that ROADS in Palestine must have required peculiar attention and care in the Talmud, it is said, that before the going up of the tribes three times a year to Jerusalem, the roads leading to it were prepared. "Prepare the way of the people; cast up the highway. gather out the stones, take up the stumbling-block out of the way of my people," &c. I can imagine the kind of preparation required in the Queen of Sheba brought it obedience to this command; how first to Judea, where balsam, the rocks and stones and debris myrrh, and incense, in the days of of the hills, washed down by the old, were to be seen used by the far as I could guess, I was not near the centre, it whirled me off my feet, and threw me down upon my face, so as to make my nose gush out with blood; two of the servants, likewise, had the same fate. populace in abundance almost daily. This is one of the many things which we 66 mourn for" in "the days gone by." The reason of its excessive scarcity is supposed to be owing to the destruction of Jerusalem. The Jews, actuated It plastered us all over with mud, by despair and hatred, destroyed almost as smoothly as could have all the balsam plants. There are been done with a trowel. It took none now to be found in Palestine. away my sense and breathing for Only one plantation is now known an instant; and my mouth and to furnish it, and that is in Arabia nose were full of mud when I rePetræa. The whole plantation covered. I guess the sphere of its only yields about three pounds action to be about 200 feet. It annually, and it is monopolized by demolished one-half of a small the Grand Seignior. This, of hut, as if it had been cut through course, we can scarcely refrain with a knife, and dispersed the from noticing without an expres- materials all over the plain, leaving sion of regret. the other half standing.-Bruce's Travels. WHIRLWINDS IN THE EAST. "There came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house."-JOB i. 19. On the 25th, at four o'clock in the afternoon, we set out from the villages of the Nuba, intending to arrive at Basbock, where is the ferry over the Nile; but we had scarcely advanced two miles into the plain, when we were enclosed in a violent whirlwind, or what is called at sea the waterspout. The plain was red earth, which had been plentifully moistened by a shower in the night-time. The unfortunate camel that had been taken by Cohala seemed to be nearly in the centre of its vortex ; it was lifted and thrown down at a considerable distance, and several of its ribs broken. Although, as THE RED INDIANS. A TRAVELLER says :-"In a part of the southern lands of North America, from which the red man has now been driven, I once attended a meeting held in a forest. The subject on which the preacher dwelt was Christ and him crucified. He spoke in a most affecting manner of the Saviour's sufferings and death. The congregation wept. Soon there was a slight movement amongst them, and a tall son of the forest, with tears on his cheeks, came near the pulpit, and said 'Did Jesus die for me-die for poor Indian? Me have no lands to give Jesus-the white man take them away. Me give him my dog and my spear.' |