the reach of all. Through the medium | parting, but little can be felt in receivof the printing-press, the best thoughts ing. Be it yours, then, thoroughly to of the greatest and wisest men, both train your mental powers, that you of the past and present time, are dif- may "rejoice in your labours;" make fused abroad, and knowledge is made much of your advantages; seek to patent to all. Books are a sort of uni- gather at least a little honey "from versal property. The humblest me- every opening flower." The field, chanic may feel the thrill of Milton's whence you may collect your choice electric touch, and catch the inspira- stores, is a very wide one. You may, tion of Newton's star-like spirit; he in fact, roam through creation, and may feel the force of Locke's reason- cull the sweetest, fairest flowers, and ing; and be awed or overcome by the trail them over the lattice-work of "thundering legion" of Johnson's pon- truth, in the form of ever-varied and derous sentences. I repeat, then, seek interesting illustrations of the different to be intimately acquainted with books. subjects you bring before your class. The more familiar is your acquaintance The earth, with its geological formwith the best authors, the more evident ation, its primary, its transition, its will be your fitness for the great work tertiary, and secondary rocks;-the in which you are engaged. In order firmament, with its planets and conto this, it is necessary that you should stellations, its meteors and central cultivate a habit of close attention to suns; the sea, with its tides and curthe subject presented to the mind; rents, its whirlpools and storms;-the then you will find, by degrees, no diffi- atmosphere, with its component parts, culty in following the track of the its wondrous adaptation and uses;longest connected discourse, or the all these, and many other kindred submost elaborated argument. It is vain jects that might be named, should to read without attention, without occupy, in turn, a portion of your atthinking. There are some persons tention. Yes, you may find "sermons who seem to read everything, but in stones, books in running brooks, and digest nothing. Their mind is like a good in everything.""-"The works of cullender, which takes much into it, the Lord are great, sought out of all but very speedily lets everything run them that have pleasure therein." out of it. You know, however much food a man may take, if he does not digest, and so assimilate it, he must sink for want of nourishment. In like manner the mind will be starved, if, while there is much reading, there is little thought. The eye will move over the page in vain, if the mental faculty is allowed to remain asleep. As Bailey well says, in his Festus: "There is a fire-fly in the eastern clime, that only shines when on the wing. So is it with the mind; whenever we rest, we darken." Sabbath-school Teachers! let not your minds remain inert; neglect no opportunity for personal or mutual improvement. If you wish to engage with pleasure to yourself, and profit to others, in this good work, you must give labour and thought, in order that you may acquire the necessary qualifications. An incompetent teacher is not likely to prove a very attractive one: he cannot enter with zest into that labour for which he has little fitness; and where no pleasure is felt in im But let me remind you of what I trust you will never lose sight-that the great thing which you are to strive to do is, to lead the young into the knowledge, the love, and the practice of truthGOD'S TRUTH. How are you to aim to do this? By the power of persuasion, by the force of example,-by this alone. The religion of Jesus will sanction no other method. How sad, that this should have been so often lost sight of in religious movements. The men who cannot "render a reason" are not likely to secure the confidence of a mind inquiring after truth: it must be led-it will not be driven. How sad, I say, that so many should have lost sight of this;-resorting rather to whips and sabres, to fire and fagots, than to persuasive reasoning. It was in this irrational, coercive way, that the Romish Church argued with the Hussites and the Waldenses, and confuted, with similar weapons, every Protestant that dared to question the infallibility or supremacy of the Roman text-book, your class-book, must be that book of books, "The Bible." That Pontiff. In this same inhuman way Queen Mary and her bishops dealt with 277 ministers, gentlemen, trades-is the most venerable book in creation; men, and women, who, for adhering to the Protestant doctrine, were delivered up to be devoured by the fires of Smithfield. It was in this same inhuman way that Claverhouse, and his bloody band, dealt with the Scottish Covenanters, when he hunted them across moors and mosses, and massacred them in cold blood. And it was in this same inhuman way that the Star Chamber dealt with the Nonconformists of England; meeting their arguments by fines and imprisonments, by splitting of noses, and cropping of ears. Now, you are bound to repudiate all appeals to physical force, all coercive measures in advancing truth. It is yours to persuade. In order to do so effectually, you must ever act under the influence of the law of kindness. Love should glow in your countenance, beam in your eye, distil from your lips, and breathe in your words. Never lose sight of the material on which you have to work. It is mind; and mind only can operate on mind, as a diamond only can cut a diamond. You have to work on the youthful mind-that is to say, on the mind in its plastic state, when you may, to a great extent, mould and form it to your will: and your grand aim must be, to form it into a resemblance of the mind that was in Christ. And for such a purpose, a loving mind will be the most effective. You may discern much to guide you in the adaptation of your counsels and appeals, in the very countenances of your youthful charge. How often the "inner man" seems to look out from "the human face divine." This is very observable in some of the upgrown around us. As one hath said, "On some countenances you may, at a glance, see history, classics and poetry, researches, arguments and meditations, all bound in the clear vellum of the brow, and lettered in lines of thought." Be careful, then, how you proceed to deal with this mind-this deathless principle. Forget not that, in order to influence this mind aright-to do it good for both worlds at once-your and, with its history, its general character, and varied subjects, you should all seek to be very familiar. How momentous its truths-how marvellous its narratives-how sublime its doctrines! Think of its wondrous details concerning the creation and fall of man-the deluge-the captivity and deliverance of Israel-their wanderings and preservation in the wildernessthe giving of the law-the possession of "the promised land" by the twelve tribes-the prophecies referring to both Jews and Gentiles-the account of the advent of the Messiah, and his agonizing death-the proclamation of Divine mercy through Him-the declaration of man's immortality-the dissolution of all things-the resurrection of the body, and the final judgment. Here are great and glorious themes indeed! Seek to be properly influenced by them, as well as to do justice to them, when you handle them in the class. Let your young people see that you regard this book of God as the great foundation of all religious belief. Strive to impress this upon them, for they need to be well-grounded in it in the present day. Show them that here alone we find safe anchorage-ground. To quit this, is to make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience. Be thankful that this Bible is now a translated and accessible book. As a transcript of the original Hebrew and Greek, while it has its flaws and imperfections, the most competent judges affirm, with one voice, that its perfections are inimitable and unspeakable. Remember, this book was written, and is handed down from generation to generation, not to conciliate your prejudices, or just to awaken your admiration, but to enlighten your mind, to reach your heart, to arouse your conscience, to make you wiser and holier, happier and better. Too many pass over it as voyagers pass over the sea, heedless of the precious treasures that lie hid in its depths-treasures which would richly reward any diver, who would venture to go down after them. Be it yours, then, to regard the Bible as an ocean, whose floor is covered with the most costly gems, and where the man that dives oftenest and deepest will come up laden with the richest treasures, the most precious pearls. Forget not how much we owe to the Bible. It secures our civil liberty-it proclaims the rights of conscience-it elevates woman-it civilizes nationsit converts individuals-it blesses families-it saves souls! "It is the Bible of the poor and lowly-the crutch of the aged--the pillow of the widowthe eye of the blind-the boy's own book'-the solace of the sick-the light of the dying-the grand hope and refuge of simple, sincere, and sorrowing spirits. It is this which at once proclaims its unearthly origin, and so clasps it to the great common heart of humanity, that the extinction of the sun were not more mourned than the extinction of the Bible, or than even its receding from its present pride of place."-(Gilfillan's Bards of the Bible) Oh, how wretched would be our condition, if we were now to be deprived of this blessed book! The Sabbathschool might as well be closed, and the sanctuary be deserted. If we had lost the Word of God, no wisdom would be in us-we should then have to say, "We must navigate the ocean of life, but the pole-star is hidden, the chart is lost, the needle is neutralized, the helm is destroyed, the sheet-anchor has gone! Yonder is the whirlpool, and what is to prevent our being drawn within the vortex? There are the breakers, and what can save us from being driven upon them? We are in the neighbourhood of sunken rocks and treacherous shoals, and darkness is around us! we must be lost." Ah! such would be the conclusion to which we must be driven, if we had no revelation of God; but to us this Word of salvation has been sent, and we can now read it, so as to be saved ourselves, and so teach its truths to others, that they may be saved also. Do you, while engaged in this work, sometimes feel oppressed with a sense of your own feebleness? Then remember it is written, The Lord " giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength." Learn a lesson on this point from one or two facts connected with natural history. The comparative strength of the insect has ever been a subject of admiration and wonder to the naturalist. The muscular power of these little creatures, in relation to their size, far exceeds that of any other animal. The little grasshopper, for instance, will spring two hundred times the length of its own body. The dragon-fly, by the strength of its wing, will sustain itself in the air during a long summer's day, with unabated speed. The common house-fly will make six hundred strokes with its wings in a second, which carries it to a distance of five feet. Now, all this power comes to them from on high; and will not He who qualifies them, also enable you? Forget not 'tis written, "They that know the Lord shall be strong, and do exploits." It is by weak things that the Lord confounds the mighty; and by things that are not He brings to nought things that are. Is it your aim to save souls? Then labour earnestly, intelligently, hopefully, with this Gospel in your hands, with its blessed truths abiding in your hearts. Thus you will be wise to win souls; thus you will not labour in vain, nor spend your strength for nought; thus you will approve yourselves unto God, be acknowledged as His faithful servants, and have an abundant entrance administered unto you into His everlasting kingdom, where you will have a crown bright with the glories that beam from unshrouded Deity, and share a throne which, through the ages of eternity, will neither totter nor crumble into decay. Oh, then, seek to be well-prepared for your work-work all of you-work together, and work at once; for, "Whether we smile or weep, Time wings his flight; To Heaven or Hell! Lest, while ye dream not, The Fragment Basket. PAUPER CUNNING. While very busily engaged one forenoon in his study, a man entered, who at once propitiated him, under the provocation of an unexpected interruption, by telling him that he called under great distress of mind. "Sit down, Sir; be good enough to be seated," said Dr. Chalmers, turning eagerly and full of interest from his writing-table. The visitor explained to him that he was troubled with doubts about the Divine origin of the Christian religion; and being kindly questioned as to what these were, he gave, among others, what is said in the Bible about Melchizedek being without father and without mother, &c. Patiently and anxiously Dr. Chalmers sought to clear away each successive difficulty as it was stated. Expressing himself as if greatly relieved in mind, and imagining that he had gained his end, "Doctor," said the visitor, "I am in great want of a little money at present, and perhaps you could help me in that way." At once the object of his visit was seen. A perfect tornado of indignation burst upon the deceiver, driving him in very quick retreat from the study to the street-door, these words escaping among others: "Not a penny, Sir! not a penny! It's too bad! it's too bad! And to haul in your hypocrisy upon the shoulders of Melchizedek !" Chalmers' Life, Vol. II. LOVING THE CREATURE, AND NOT THE CREATOR. Strange as sad are the unnatural, irrational exercises of human love. Men love to excess the things of earth, even when they are yet unseen, and only hoped for; and yet love not themselves, their souls, or their God. They love things without them, and things that perish in the using; and yet love not what is within them, and Him who is over all, and blessed for ever. Men value human friendship, when it is directed to their persons, and not their purses to their characters, and not to their condition; and yet they profess to love God, while they take interest only in his gifts, and are unmindful of the glorious Giver. "ITCHING EARS." "sad "In our days," says South, experience shows that hearing sermons has, with most persons, swallowed up and devoured the practice of them, and manifestly serves instead of it, rendering many zealots amongst us as really guilty of the superstition of resting in the bare opus operatum of this duty, as the Papists are or can be charged to be in any of their religious performThe Apostle justly ances whatsoever. reproaches such with itching ears,' 2 Tim. iv. 3; and I cannot see but that the itch in the ear is as bad a distemper as in any other part of the body, and perhaps a worse."-Sermons, Vol. III., p. 427. SCOTCH WIT. The national wit of the Scotch is altogether different from that of the Irish. Indeed, the Scotchman is not witty so much as satirical. If he perpetrates a pun or a joke, it often carries a sting with it. He may raise the laugh, but see if it is not at somebody's expense. The following is a good illustration:-A meeting of the elders of a certain kirk had assembled for the purpose of determining about the position of a stove, which was to be erected for the purpose of warming the building on Sundays. After considerable discussion, an old man, who had hitherto said but little, was asked for his opinion. "In my humble opinion," he said, "the stove should be placed in the poopit, for it is by far the cauldest place in a' the kirk." JOHN BUNYAN'S HUMILITY. One day, when Bunyan had been preaching with considerable warmth and enlargement, he was met by one of his congregation, who complimented him upon the excellence of his discourse. "Oh!" replied Bunyan, "you need not have told me so; the devil reminded me of that before I came out of the pulpit." Poetry. THERE'S REST IN HEAVEN. BY MISS MARY COXHEAD. THERE'S rest in heaven! but what is rest? 'Tis living harmony 'twixt truth and love; To do or suffer-deeming all as best, In peace and patience-so kind Heaven approve. There's rest in heaven! but what is heaven? "Tis love from God above to man below, Flowing in sweet delights by what is given For happy uses, done as best we know. There's rest in heaven! in heaven where? "Tis where our souls that have affections pure, Expressing thoughts of truth and beauty fair, And bright, whose love and truth endure. The rest of heaven is known in bosoms calm And peaceful, from the love of duty's sphere, Then is the rest enjoyed-when grateful balm Is found in love of duty, without fear. There's rest in heaven! but how attained? THE MOTHER PRESENTING HER REMEMBER, lad, who gave thee this, Sleeps in the silent tomb; The mother sought a pledge of love, And bade him keep the gift-that when She said his faith in that would be And should the scoffer, in his pride, A parent's blessing on her son The Children's Gallery. BOYS, MIND YOUR MOTHER. COME, boys, here is a story for you. I want you all to come together and listen. I was a boy once, and I recollect a little how boys feel. I am a man now, but I have had as much to do with boys as I have had with men. I suppose you all have a mother. What I want to tell you is, how you ought to treat your mother. When I was a boy, no larger than you are, my mother used to tell me that she never knew any one to prosper who did not treat his mother well. She said that when she was young she knew several children who did not honour their mothers, and that they all came to a bad end. There were several boys among my acquaintances, whom I knew to have disobeyed and ill-treated their mothers. I thought I would remember them, and see how they turned out in the world I should think it was as much as fifteen years ago. I will call these boys Wil |