SWEET SABBATH BELLS.

O sweet Sabbath bells!

A message of musical chiming

Ye bring us from God, and we know what you say ;
Now rising, now falling, so tunefully calling

His children to seek Him and praise Him to-day.

The day we love best!

The brightest and best of the seven,

The pearl of the week, and the light of our way ;
We hold it a treasure, and count it a pleasure
To welcome its dawning, and praise Him to-day.

O sweet Sabbath rest!

A gift of our Father in heaven,

A herald sent down from the Home far away,
With peace for the weary, and joy for the dreary
Then, oh! let us thank Him and praise Him to-day!

January 10.

Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart.PROV. iii. 3.

WRITE your name in kindness, love and mercy. Good deeds will shine as the stars of heaven.

THOMAS CHalmers.

FROST PICTURES.

Pictures on the window,
Painted by Jack Frost,

Coming at the midnight,

With the noon are lost;
Here, a row of fir-trees,
Standing straight and tall;

There, a rapid river,
And a waterfall;

January 11.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.-PHIL. iv. 13.

A LIFE need not be great to be beautiful. There may be as much beauty in a tiny flower, as in a majestic tree,-in a little gem, as in a great mountain.

A beautiful life is one that fulfils its mission,—that is, what God made it to be, and does what God made it to do.

JAMES R. MILler.

LOVING AND GIVING.

Lord, teach us the lesson of loving,
The very first lesson of all;
O Thou who dost love little children
How tender and sweet is Thy call!
Now help us to hear it, and give Thee
The love Thou art asking to-day :
Then help us to love one another,—
For this we most earnestly pray.

Lord, teach us the lesson of giving,
For this is the very next thing;
Our love always ought to be showing
What offerings and fruits it can bring.
There are many who know not Thy mercy;
There are millions in darkness and woe:
Our prayers and our gifts all are needed,
And all can do something, we know.

January 12.

And let us not be weary in well-doing.—GAL. vi. 9.

WHAT MARY GAVE.

SHE gave an hour of patient care to her little baby sister. She gave a string and crooked pin and some good advice to the three-year-old brother who wanted to play at fishing.

She waited upon the door, that Ellen, the maid, might have a precious hour to visit her sick baby at home,-for Ellen was a widow, and left her child with its grandmother, while she worked to get bread for both.

But this is not all that Mary gave. She looked so bright, and kind, and obliging, that she gave her mother a thrill of pleasure whenever she caught sight of the young face. She wrote a letter to her absent father, and gave patient attention to a long story from her grandmother, and, when it was ended, made her happy by a good-night kiss. Thus Mary had given valuable presents to six persons, in one day, and yet she had not a cent.

THE GIRLS THAT ARE WANTED.

The girls that are wanted are home-girls,-
Girls that are mother's right hand,
That fathers and brothers can trust in,
And the little ones understand;
Girls that are fair on the hearthstone,
And pleasant, when nobody sees;
Kind and sweet to their own folk,-
Ready and anxious to please.

The girls that are wanted are wise girls,
That know what to do and to say;
That drive with a smile or a soft word
The gloom of the household away.
The girls that are wanted are good girls,-
Good girls from the heart to the lips;
Pure, as the lily is white and pure,

From its heart to its sweet leaf-tips.

January 13.

Beloved, let us love one another.-1 JOHN iv. 7.

THESE words were written by John, the "beloved disciple of Christ." He lived a long, beautiful life of love and faithfulness to God. It is said that, when too old and feeble to preach, he yet went into the church at Ephesus, and spoke these parting words: "Little children, love one another."

LITTLE CHILDREN, LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

A little girl, with a happy look,

Sat slowly reading a ponderous book,

All bound with velvet, and edged with gold,
And its weight was more than a child could hold ;
Yet dearly she loved to ponder it o'er,

And every day she prized it more;

For it said :-and she looked at her smiling mother,-
It said: "Little children, love one another.'

She thought it was beautiful, in the book,
And the lesson home to her heart she took.
She walked on her way with a trusting grace,
And a dove-like look in her meek young face,
Which said, just as plain as words could say,
"The Holy Bible I must obey;'

"

"So, mamma, I'll be kind to my darling brother,
For little children must love each other.

"I am sorry he's naughty, and will not play,
But I'll love him still; for I think the way
To make him gentle and kind to me
Will be better shown, if I let him see
I strive to do what I think is right,

And thus, when we kneel in prayer to-night,
I will clasp my arms about my brother
And say, 'Little children, love one another.'

The little girl did as her Bible taught,

And pleasant, indeed, was the change it wrought;
For the boy looked up in glad surprise,
To meet the light of her loving eyes:
His heart was full; he could not speak,
But he pressed a kiss on his sister's cheek;
And God looked down on the happy mother,
Whose little children loved one another.

FANNY.

January 14.

Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth: keep the door of my lips.-PSA. cxli. 3.

LET your words be few and sweet, few and good, few and simple, few and sincere, few and pleasant.

Maxim of ST. FRANCIS DE Sales.