But oh how different is the case when the leading persons in a family, be it father, mother, humoured son or daughter, disturbed by that common position of human affairs which is usually characterized by the expression of "things going cross," comes, in the potent dominion of selfishness, to scatter the withering blight of an unhappy temper through the whole habitation! The chill of an ice-house is but a faint image of the congelation of heart which such a spirit produces on all that is amiable in social feeling. And alas! to deaden and blight anything that is tender, and kind, and lovely in our fellow creatures can be no light offence against a God whose nature and whose name is love.

If thy temper be naturally turbulent, be mindful of the blessed effect of Divine grace in enabling to overcome. "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city." (Prov. xvi. 32.)

Temptation, 'tis true, will assail,
And trial without and within;
And deeply his soul must bewail
For inward corruption and sin.

But the rags he once counted his own,
Are consumed in celestial flame;

And a mantle is over him thrown,

Wash'd white in the blood of the Lamb.

A true friend unbosoms freely, advises justly, assists

readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably.

He that gives to all without discretion, will soon stand in need of the assistance of others. Liberality does not consist so much in giving largely as in giving seasonably.

-Thou who never knew'st

A serious thought! shalt thou dare dream of joy?

The Earl of Kinnowl, after an allusion to his age and infirmities, continued: "My time in this world. cannot now be long; but with truth I can declare, that in the midst of all my past afflictions, my heart was supported and comforted by a firm reliance upon the merits and atonement of my Saviour; and now, in the prospect of entering upon an eternal world, this is the only foundation of my confidence and hope."

Happy indeed it is, where grace has so strikingly supported its conflict with natural pride, self-importance, the allurements of luxury, ease, and worldly opinion, that the noble and mighty appear adorned with genuine poverty of spirit, self-denial, humblemindedness, and deep spirituality of heart.

Too many, shock'd at what should charm them most, Despise the plain direction, and are lost.

Heaven on such terms! (they cry with proud disdain,) Incredible, impossible, and vain!

Rebel, because 'tis easy to obey;

And scorn, for its own sake, the gracious way.

These are the sober, in whose cooler brains
Some thought of immortality remains;
The rest, too busy or too gay to wait
On the sad theme-their everlasting state,
Sport for a day, and perish in a night:
The foam upon the waters not so light.

Were every noble mind sensible of the extensive information, of the lofty and sublime ideas, of the exquisitely fine feelings which result from occasional retirement, they would frequently quit the world, even in the earliest periods of youth, to taste the sweets of solitude, and lay the foundation of a wise old age.

Silence, how I love thy shade!
"Tis the paradise of thought!
"Tis where wisdom's laws are made,
And where all her truths are taught.

Say not, how can mortals ascend to heaven? Faith hath wings, and meditation is its chariot.

The frequent, believing views of glory are the most precious cordials in all afflictions. These cordials, by cheering our spirits, render sufferings far more easy; enable us to bear them with patience and joy; and strengthen our resolutions not to forsake Christ for fear of trouble.

Breathe from the gentle south, O Lord,

And cheer me from the north;

Blow on the treasures of thy word,

And call the spices forth!

I wish, thou know'st, to be resign'd,
And wait with patient hope:
But hope delay'd fatigues the mind,
And drinks the spirits up.

Help me to reach the distant goal,
Confirm my feeble knee;

Pity the sickness of a soul

That faints for love of thee.

He that gathereth not with Christ, scattereth abroad.

The power which wealth confers, should be exercised in the pleasure of doing good.

No man ever did a designed injury to another, without doing a greater to himself.

Were we to live under the sensible influence of divine love, we should be active, vigorous, and steady in the performance of every divine precept or command. The ways of God would not then appear burthensome or grievous, but, as they truly are, "ways of pleasantness and paths of peace."

None sends his arrow to the mark in view,
Whose hand is feeble, or his aim untrue.
For though, ere yet the shaft is on the wing,
Or when it first forsakes th' elastic string,
It err but little from th' intended line,
It falls at last far wide of his design:
So he who seeks a mansion in the sky,
Must watch his purpose with a steadfast eye:

That prize belongs to none but the sincere,
The least obliquity is fatal here.

The desire of being thought wise is often an hinderance to becoming so, for such an one is more solicitous to let the world see what knowledge he hath, than to learn that which he wants.

Stillest streams

Oft water fairest meadows, and the bird
That flutters least is longest on the wing.

He is the happy man, whose life e'en now
Shows somewhat of that happier life to come;
Who, doom'd to an obscure but tranquil state,
Is pleas'd with it, and, were he free to choose,
Would make his fate his choice; whom peace, the fruit
Of virtue, and whom virtue, fruit of faith,
Prepare for happiness; bespeak him one
Content indeed to sojourn, while he must,
Below the skies, but having there his home.

Of him that hopes to be forgiven, it is indispensably required that he forgive.

The mind is never so sensibly disposed to pity the sufferings of others, as when it is itself subdued and softened by calamity.

Adversity diffuses a kind of sacred calm over the breast, that is the parent of thoughtfulness and meditation.