INTO THE LIGHT.

"Where are the snow-drops?" said the Sun;
Dead," said the Frost,-

"Buried and lost! buried and lost, every one!"
A foolish answer!" said the Sun;

"They did not die;

Asleep they lie,-every one,-every one,
And I will wake them,-I, the Sun,
Into the light,

All clad in white,-every one, every one!"

A. MATHESON.

February 28.

For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.—Psa. xxxiii. 21.

SPRING will come again, and under its warm breath the earth will be clothed with beauty. Have patience, little flower-lovers! God never forgets to send the delicate, sweet arbutus-blossoms to the hillside, and the daisies and buttercups to the meadow, and all the " "gentle race of flowers" to gladden your eyes and hearts. Trust Him, and be glad!

BETWEEN WINTER AND SPRING.

That weary time which comes between
The last snow and the earliest green!
One barren clod the wide fields lie,
And all our comfort is the sky.

We know the sap is in the tree.
That life at buried roots must be ;
Yet dreary is the earth we tread,
As if her very soul were dead.

Before the dawn,-the darkest hour!
The blank and chill, before the flower!
Beauty prepares this background gray,
Whereon her loveliest tints to lay.

Ah, patience! ere we dream of it,
Spring's fair new gospel will be writ;
Look up! good only can befall,
While Heaven is at the heart of all!

LUCY LARCOM.

February 29.

In your patience possess ye your souls.-LUKE xxi. 19.

PATIENT little plant, hidden in the damp dark ground, God will not forget you. His gentle spring rains will soon reach your tiny roots, His sunshine will warm you into new life, and you shall blossom in beauty by and by. Teach me your sweet lesson of patience. When things look dark and unpleasant, let me cheerfully and trustingly wait God's time, and the sunshine will surely come.

THE CROCUS' SOLILOQUY.

Down in my solitude under the snow,
Where nothing cheering can reach me,-
Here, without light to see how to grow,
I'll trust to Nature to teach me.

I will not despair, nor be idle, nor frown,
Locked up in so gloomy a dwelling;

My leaves shall run up, and my roots shall run
down,

While the bud in my bosom is swelling.

Soon as the frost will get out of my bed,
From this cold dungeon to free me,
I will peep up with my bright little head,
And all will be joyful to see me.

Then from my heart will young petals diverge,
As rays of the sun from their focus;

I, from the darkness of earth will emerge,-
A happy and beautiful crocus.

Gayly arrayed in my yellow and green,
When to their view I have risen,
Will they not wonder how one so serene,
Came from so dismal a prison?

Many, perhaps, from so simple a flower,
This little lesson may borrow,-

Patient to-day, through its gloomiest hour,
We come out the brighter, to-morrow.

HANNAH F. GOULD.

March 1.

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men.-COL. iii. 23.

THE thoroughly great men are those who have done everything thoroughly, and who have never despised anything, however small, of God's making.

WHAT MARCH DOES.

In the dark silence of her chambers low

JOHN RUSKIN,

March works out sweeter things than mortals know;

Her noiseless looms ply on with busy care,
Weaving the fine cloth that the flowers wear;

She sews the seams in violet's queer hood,
And paints the sweet arbutus of the wood;

Out of a bit of sky's delicious blue,
She fashions hyacinths and harebells too ;.

And from a sunbeam makes a cowslip fair,
Or spins a gown for a daffodil to wear;

She pulls the cover from the crocus beds,
And bids the sleepers lift their drowsy heads:

"Come, early risers! Come, Anemone,

My pale Wind-flower, awake, awake!"' calls she,—

The world expects you, and your lovers wait
To give you welcome at spring's open gate."

She marshals the close armies of the grass,
And polishes their green blades as they pass:

And all the blossoms of the fruit-trees sweet
Are piled in rosy shells about her feet.

Within her great alembic she distils
The dainty odors which each flower fills;

Nor does she err, and give to mignonette
The perfume that belongs to violet ;

Nature does well whatever task she tries
Because obedient; there the secret lies.

MAY RILEY SMITH.

March 2.

To everything there is a season.-ECCL. iii. 1.

WAIT a little, wait hopefully! No matter how long the winter may have been, the spring comes at last, and its loveliness is all the more welcome to our eyes because they have looked so long on gray skies, and fields white with snow.

ROBIN'S MESSAGE.

Hastening northward, a message to bear,
Coming while snowflakes yet dance in the air,

Robin is herald of spring;

"Cheer up!

he chants," be the winds e'er so chill, Spring-time comes soon over valley and hill, Cheer up, cheer, cheer up!

he sings with a will; Bravest of prophets of spring.

Under warm blankets the leaf-buds are hid,
Baby-buds, sleeping, will waken, when bid,"
Clear calls the robin again;

Sunshine will waken the sleepers below
Brown, furry robes, or white blankets of snow
Bright, smiling faces with warm life will glow,'
Sings the glad prophet of spring.

Spring-time and seed-time, and harvest ne'er fail,
Trust in the promise, tho' bleak winds prevail,
Cheer up! " rings out his refrain:
One speaks the promise who holds in His hands
All things in nature,-One who commands
Clouds as His chariots, sunlight for lands
Waiting for warmth of the spring."

FANNIE L. HALL.

March 3.

Thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest th springing thereof.—PSA. lxv. 10.

HERE or there, in the full time comes the full blessing; the flower flashing out glory, the fields laughing with plenty.

ROBERT Collyer.

THE LITTLE SEEDS.

"Tiny seeds, tiny seeds, under the ground,
Are you awake, when the storm-winds sound?
How do you know when the snowflakes throng?
What do you dream of, the winter long?"

"Little one, little one, warm is our bed,
Soft is the coverlet over each head;

Sometimes we dream of the birds and the bees,
The blue, sunny sky, and green, waving trees.
Spring may come early or late ;
Through dark Winter's blight
We'll creep to the light;

So we wait, little one,-so we wait."