POETRY.

workers can only be induced to work moderately, avoid excitement, eat moderately of nourishing food, take plenty of exercise in the open-air, and sleep soundly, they may hope to enjoy good health, good digestion, and the "length of days" that attends a normal physical condition.

Poetry.

THE KINGDOM WITHIN.

I FANCY I hear a whisper
As of leaves in a gentle air;
Is it wrong, I wonder, to fancy

It may be the tree up there-
The tree that heals the nations,

Growing amidst the street,
And dropping, for who will gather,
Its apples at their feet?

I fancy I hear a rushing

As of waters down a slope;
Is it wrong, I wonder, to fancy
It may be the river of hope-
The river of crystal waters

That flows from the very throne,
And runs through the street of the city

With a softly jubilant tone?

I fancy a twilight round me,

And a wandering of the breeze, With a hush in that high city,

And a going in the trees.

But I know there will be no night there

No coming and going day; For the holy face of the Father Will be perfect light alway.

I could do without the darkness,
And better without the sun;
But oh! I should like a twilight
After the day was done!

Would he lay his hand on his forehead,
On his hair as white as wool,
And shine one hour through his fingers,
Till the shadow has made me cool?

But the thought is very foolish;
If that face I did but see,
All else would be all forgotten-
River and twilight and tree;
I should seek, I should care for
nothing,

Beholding His countenance;
And fear only to lose one glimmer

By one single sideway glance.

'Tis again but a foolish fancy

To picture the countenance so Which is shining in all our spirits,

Making them white as snow.
Come to me, shine in me, Master,

And I care not for river or tree;
Care for no sorrow or crying,
If only Thou shine in me.

I would lie in my bed for ages,
Looking out on the dusty street,
Where whispers nor leaves nor waters,
Nor anything cool and sweet-
At my heart this ghastly fainting,
And this burning in my blood,
If only I knew thou wast with me-
Wast with me and making me good.
-George MacDonald.

ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

Anecdotes and Selections.

WHAT INTEMPERANCE COSTS ENGLAND.-Here is a sober, practical view of the question as presented by Macmillan's Magazine :-" The wealth of the nation is decreased by the money spent for drink. We spend £140,000,000 a year on alcoholic liquors, and if they are practically useless, as many affirm they are, if they answer no good purpose, being at the best only a luxury,-that sum is actually thrown away. That they are not a necessity may be gathered from the fact that whole nations in various parts of the world pass through life without them. Further, if intoxicating drinks are in any degree beneficial to health, if they assist any part of our system in the discharge of its functions, if they contribute to any appreciable extent to keep our bodies or minds in proper working condition, either by direct assistance, or by protecting them from injury, it must follow that any one who is deprived of these liquors, or who is not provided with a substitute for them, must be so much the worse in proportion to the benefit to be derived from them. Nothing can be a benefit of which it is no loss to be deprived. In our own country, hundreds of thousands of people do not drink intoxicating liquors, nor are they provided with a substitute, yet it has never been proved that they are, in consequence of their non-use of these liquors, in any way, morally or physically, incapacitated for the discharge of all the duties of life. On the contrary, it has been shown that, compared with those who do use the drinks, even in what is called a 66 proper way," they are the healthier, the less injurious, and the more moral citizens. They suffer less from sickness and disease, they are longer lived, and their names are far less frequently, if ever, found in the lists of those who are known as our pauper and criminal classes.

"I KNOW WHERE HE IS GOING."-When Philip Henry, the father of the celebrated commentator, sought the hand of the only daughter and heiress of Mrs. Matthews in marriage, an objection was made by her father, who admitted that he was a gentleman, a scholar, and an excellent preacher; but he was a stranger, and "they did not even know where he came from." True, said the daughter, who had well weighed the excellent qualities and graces of the stranger, "but I know where he is going, and I should like to go with him," and they walked life's pilgrimage together. How honoured would that reluctant father have been, could he have foreseen that his daughter would be the mother of Matthew Henry! And how different would be the world's estimate of men if they were judged less by their origin, and more by their destiny! There is one pride of family highly commendable, there is another pride of family ineffably contemptible.

THE PEASANTS OF PALESTINE.-Clermont Ganneaw, a recent traveller in Palestine, has a curious theory in regard to the peasants of that land. He holds that they are the descendants of the races inhabiting the land when it was conquered by the Israelites. The Israelites, being a nomadic people, were not accustomed, he says, to

ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

agriculture, and were disposed to leave the cultivation of the soil in the hands of those who had made it so luxuriant in fertility. The Mohammedan conquest, at a later day, was only a repetition of the Jewish conquest, and they left the peasant to till the soil, as before, exacting only a heavy tribute. He says: "We have arrived at the conclusion that the fellaheen of Palestine, taken as a whole, are the modern representatives of those old tribes which the Israelites found settled in the country, such as the Canaanites, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Philistines, Edomites, etc. But each successive change in the social and political condition of the country has more or less affected it in different ways; and we must not be surprised, when studying the fellaheen, at finding Jewish, Hellenic, Rabbinic, Christian and Mussulman reminiscences mingled, pell-mell, in the quaintest combinations, with traits which bring us back to the most remote and obscure periods of pre-Israelite existence.

USE OF PAPER. Of the 1,300,000,000 of human beings inhabiting the globe, 370,000,000 have no paper nor writing material of any kind; 500,000,000 of the Mongolian race use a paper made from the stalks and leaves of plants; 10,000,000 use for graphic purposes tablets of wood; 130,000,000-the Persians, Hindoos, Armenians, and Syrianshave paper made from cotton, while the remaining 300,000,000 use the ordinary staple. The annual consumption by this latter number is estimated at 1,800,000,000 pounds, an average of six pounds to the person, which has increased from two and a half pounds during the last fifty years. To produce this amount of paper, 200,000.000 pounds of woollen rags, 800,000,000 pounds of cotton rags, besides great quantities of linen rags, straw, wood, and other materials, are yearly consumed. The paper is manufactured in 3,900 mills, employing 90,000 male, and 180,000 female labourers. The proportionate amounts manufactured of the different kinds of paper are stated to be-of writing paper, 300,000,000 pounds; of printing paper, 900,000,000 pounds; of wall paper, 400,000,000 pounds; and 200,000,000 pounds of cartoons, blotting paper, etc.

66

HOW JESUS DRAWS MEN.-Dr. Payson once, in the process of a revival at Portland, gave notice that he would be glad to see any young person who did not intend to seek religion. Any one would be surprised to hear that about thirty or forty came. He spent a very pleasant interview with them, saying nothing about religion till, just as they were about to leave, he closed a very few plain remarks thus: Suppose you should see coining down from heaven a very fine thread, so fine as to be almost invisible, and it should come and gently attach itself to you. You knew, we suppose, it came from God. Should you dare to put out your hand and thrust it away? Now such a thread has come from God this afternoon. You do not feel, you say, any interest in religion. But by your coming here this afternoon, God has fastened one little thread upon you all. It is very weak and frail, and you can easily brush it away. But will you do so? No: welcome it, and it will enlarge and strengthen itself until it becomes a golden thread to bind you forever to a God of love.

THE FIRESIDE.

ANECDOTE OF DR. ALBERT BARNES.-In the afternoon of one Lord'sday, a year or so after this renowned man became pastor of the First Presbyterian church, Philadelphia, he was in the midst of his sermon when three strange men, in full sailor's garb, entered the door, and awkwardly strayed up the aisle. None of the congregation moved to give them a seat, perhaps because there were numbers of empty pews that warm afternoon. As the three waddled up slowly toward the front they betrayed considerable embarrassment. Just then the preacher stopped short in his discourse, stepped down from the pulpit, and showed the tars into the pew of his own family. As might have been expected, when the minister resumed his sermon the eyes of the sailors were fixed upon him, and were kept riveted on his face till the final word. In the meanwhile the congregation was taught a wholesome lesson touching church hospitality.

THE LOVE OF CHRIST is like His name, and that is, "Wonderful;" yea, it is so wonderful that it is above all creatures, beyond all measure, contrary to all nature. It is above all creatures, for it is above angels, and therefore above all others; it is beyond all measure, for time did not begin it, and time shall never end it; place doth not bound it, sin doth not exceed it, tongues cannot express it, understandings cannot conceive it; and it is contrary to all nature, for what nature can love where it is hated? What nature can forgive where it is provoked? What nature can offer reconciliation where it is receiving wrong? ? What nature can heap up kindness upon contempt-favour upon ingratitude-mercy upon sin? And yet Christ's love hath led Him to all this; so that we may well spend all our days in admiring and adoring this wonderful love, and be always ravished with the thoughts of it.-Brooks.

The Fireside.

FAMILY RELIGION.

I HAVE a Christian friend who has begun her family religion in the right way. Her husband is not a pious man, and of course does not maintain family worship. They have one child, a winsome little girl, a year and a half old. The mother often speaks to her of Jesus in such simple language as this, "Jesus loves the baby." She can speak only a few words; but when the mother says, "Say Jesus, dear," her little finger is pointed upward, and her sweet lips utter, "De."

Every morning the mother takes a little book ("Green Pastures") containing a verse of Scripture and a passage of comment upon it for every day in the year, and calling her baby, says, "Come and read in the Jesus book." The child will always leave her picture-books and her dollies, and run to her mother. After the selection has been read, both kneel, and the little one bows her head while her mother repeats this simple prayer, which is called the baby's, "Jesus bless papa, bless mamma, bless the baby." Then she offers a short petition, using

THE PENNY POST BOX.

frequently the name of Jesus, after which both rise from their knees. The mother told me that if the baby sees her kneeling any time during the day, she runs to her and kneels beside her.

Oh! the foolish idea that children cannot be taught of Jesus and His love until they count their age by years.

Again: "There is nothing more potent than family prayers. No child ever gets over having heard his parents pray for him." This, I believe, for when a child myself, I not only "squirmed around on the floor, and looked at my father and mother at morning and evening prayers," but instinctively squirmed back again, and closed my eyes when they prayed "for all these little ones." Long before we felt the need of religion for ourselves, we were impressed with the idea that if our parents felt anxious for our salvation and prayed for us, we ought to do the same for their sakes at least.

The family altar and its hallowed memories are often a great restraint to the children of pious parents, even after they have left the paternal roof.

Blessed is that home where parents and children join together in family devotion at the throne of grace.

On the other hand, how sad is that home where the voice of prayer is never heard, where the family altar is missing. Sad, indeed, does it appear when we reflect that the curse of God rests upon it. "Pour out Thy fury upon the heathen that know Thee not, and upon the families that call not upon Thy name"―Jer. x. 25.—Good Words.

The Penny Post Box.

A WORD TO THE ERRING.

IF you have led a sinful life, and are now ashamed and weary of it,— if yon arise and go to God, He will receive you graciously, and will abundantly pardon. All His assurances are to the same affecting tenor. "He is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish." "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways." And here He is represented as the merciful Father, whose pity survives the longest provocation, and whose love is such that, when the prodigal at last returns, He presses him to his bosom. Such is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus; and, if you are wise, you will let no bold suspicions or subtle casuistry, cheat you out of the strong consolation. You cannot err in doing as He directs. Be assured that God is as kindly disposed as in the parable of the prodigal son He is represented to be. The calls, invitations, promises which He has given us in the gospel mean the utmost of what they express; and God is as earnestly desirous that sinners should return unto Him, and as much pleased when they actually return, as the strongest language of the gospel declares.-James Hamilton, D.D.