POETIC SELECTIONS.-THE CHILDRENS' CORNER. And laughs in his heart at his peril and Whose night with wild, tempestuous, storms pain; is rife ; Shamed by the beasts that go down on And yet—a little hope can brighten life. the plain. Is it worth while that we battle to humble God pity us all! Time it soon will tumble THREE ANGELS. THEY say this life is barren, drear, and cold, They say our hands may grasp but joys Youth has but dreams, and age an aching void, They say we fling ourselves in wild despair And stab ourselves with sorrow's two-edged And yet a little patience strengthens life. Three angels share the lot of human strife, Love, Hope, and Patience, cheer us on our way; Love, Hope, and Patience, form our spirit's stay; Love, Hope, and Patience, watch us day by day; And bid the desert bloom with beauty vernal, Which Dead Sea fruit long, long ago has Until the earthly fades in the eternal. cloyed, -Frazer's Magazine. The Childrens' Corner. A TRUE STORY. THERE was once a man, living in the village of M- who owned a large dog, by the name of Lion. He also owned a mill, where the dog used to stay most of the time, taking care of his master's property, as dogs only know how to do. One day Lion was missing, and could not be found for a long while, but his master, having occasion to go below in the mill, chanced to find him in a strange place. The water-wheel was one of those which go by the weight of water, and was, therefore, very large, resembling in form the rollers used in smoothing rough ground. The dog was in the inside of the wheel, and as the wheel kept turning, the dog had to keep walking. Having once got into the wheel, he could not get out, and so his master had to stop the mill to release him. It seems Lion had chased a cunning rat into the wheel, and then found it impossible to get out. Sometimes it is just so with little children, they are led astray by naughty companions, thinking they will do wrong only once, but having got into the treadmill of sin, they keep walking round and round, and many of them perish at last. Therefore, let us be watchful of the company we keep. Be not deceived, evil communications corrupt good manners. ROMANISM IN AMERICA. A STATEMENT made by a prominent organ of the Catholic church, and quoted extensively by other papers, has succeeded in exciting an unusual interest in this subject. The statement referred to is that, "In 1776, Roman adherents numbered but one in one hundred, whereas, in 1876 they are one in seven of the population." From this statement many have inferred that Romanism was fast taking hold upon the people of America; and prominent writers of the old country have prophesied that the Roman Catholic church is to be the church of the future of America. That there has been a large increase of the Catholic element in America during the past century cannot be denied; but the inference which so generally prevails, that America is fast adopting the discarded religion of Europe, is not warranted by the statement from which it is drawn. The rapid growth of a religious denomination in a country where immigration does not exist, may safely be regarded as evidence of the successful propagation of its doctrines; but in a country like our own, which in every decade is receiving millions by immigration from other countries, it proves nothing, unless it can be shown that the increase in the church is greater than the sum of its acquisitions from births among former numbers, and additions from immigration. Upon this allimportant point, the statement that has inspired so many to prophesy, throws not a ray of light; hence is capable only of misleading, and working deception. A forcible illustration of this comes from the immigration now settling in from China. It is annually assuming large proportions, and for all that we can foresee, at no distant future, may rival that from the Emerald Isle. They may bring their priests along; build temples, and worship him in whom they believe, just as Roman Catholics have done; yet who would affirm from this that America was fast adopting pagan notions? In the closer consideration of the progress of the Catholic element in America, we are fully aware that it is impossible to show just how much Catholicism has gained by immigration during the century; still there are sufficient facts, and of such a nature as to throw much light upon this subject. From the close of the revolutionary struggle, that gave our nation its birth, and its citizens their freedom-the poor, the oppressed, and the persecuted, together with those seeking wealth, have been coming to our shores, adding many millions to our popu THE FERTILITY OF PALESTINE. lation. A glance at the countries from which so many have come, and furthermore at their religious condition, forces the conclusion upon our minds that a large element of the Catholic persuasion must have existed among them. From Ireland alone we have received, up to the present year, more than 3,000,000 immigrants; and being almost entirely of Catholic descent have gone en masse into the Romish church. Of the other, nearly 7,000,000, who have come from other countries, it is impossible to say to what extent the Catholic element existed among them; but, knowing that it predominates throughout all the continental countries of Europe, it is very probable that not less than 2,000,000 more Catholics must be added to the number already mentioned to cover the gain by immigration that has come to the Catholic church in America. To this there must be added the children born to Catholic parents in America which, in stating the number of Roman Catholics, are always to be included. We have then a number fully equal, we believe, to all that is claimed by that denomination; and, too, without allowing for a single conversion from Protestantism. We do not deny that there have been conversions to some extent from Protestantism to Catholicism; but we do not believe that Protestantism has lost more than it has gained from its adversary. The cause of the rapid gain in the past has been due to the transfer of Catholicism to America from other countries, which brings no real gain to that church; and to base an assumption upon this, that the people of America are fast adopting the dogmas of the Pope, is as absurd as it would be for a general to transfer a corps of troops from one flank of his army to the other, and declare that he had been reinforced. THE FERTILITY OF PALESTINE. THE quarterly statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund has just been published, and contains a large amount of information, which cannot but prove interesting to Jewish readers. The paper which most commends itself to us is that on the fertility of the Holy Land, written by Lieutenant Claude R. Conder, whose researches have gained for him a well-deserved celebrity. His paper enters into an inquiry concerning what is known historically of the ancient condition of the country, of its water supply, cultivation, etc., and a lengthy account is given of the numerous observations made during the course of his survey as to the decay THE FIRST ENGLISH BOOK. of cultivation, and the disappearance of forests. By these means he arrives finally at a fair generalization as to the change that has occurred in Palestine, and thinks that the change is one of degree only, and not of kind. The curse of the country is bad government; and were justice and security once established on a firm basis, Mr. Conder is of opinion that the Holy Land would "become once more a land of corn, vines, olives—rivaling in fertility and in wealth its ancient condition." Let us examine his analysis of the present and past conditions of the degenerate land. The climate of modern Palestine is extremely trying; yet the heat in summer is not very great, seldom ranging above ninetyfive degrees in the shade; and Mr. Conder shows that in days gone by the atmosphere of the country was very similar. With respect to the rainfalls, we cannot do better than quote the author's own words. "In the present time, rain, in an ordinarily good year, falls first at the autumnal equinox. During November frequent thunder storms occur, and about Christmas the weather is generally stormy. In January the heaviest rains fall, and in February, sometimes, none at all; but the weather is never settled until after the vernal equinox, and the early April showers are past. From May to September no rain falls excepting generally one heavy shower in June or July." THE FIRST ENGLISH BOOK. 66 THE first English book-or, more correctly, the first book printed in English (as mentioned in the very complete list given by Mr. William Blades, in his life of Caxton)-was "The Recuvell of the Historyes of Troye," which was translated by Caxton in 1471, but was issued without any date of printing. This was followed by "The Game and Playe of the Chesse." Fynyshid the last day of marche the yer of our lord god. a. thousand foure hondred and lxxiiii." These two books were printed in English at Bruges; the first book printed in England being, it is believed, the "Dictes and Sayinges of the Philosophers," bearing date November 18th, 1477, "emprynted by me, William Caxton, at Westmestre." The Book of the Chesse, bearing the date 1474 as the time of the completion of the translation, and the first English book mentioned above, having probably been printed in that year, may be the ground of the popular belief that the art was introduced into England by Caxton in 1474. The following extract from a letter A CHINAMAN'S QUEUE. received from Mr. William Blades, under date April 23, 1874, seems to dispose of the popular belief in 1474 very satisfactorily: "At the end of Caxton's Chess-book' is the date of translation, Finished the last day of March, 1474.' According to modern reckoning this was really 1475, because, as I have shown in my 'Life of Caxton,' II., p. 9, the new year in the Low Countries did not begin until Easter-day. Now Easter-day in 1474 fell upon April 10, and therefore Caxton did not finish his translation in Bruges till March 31, 1475. As the book was printed after that in Bruges, and before Caxton came to England with the new art, we must, I think, arrive at this conclusion: Caxton probably came to England in 1476; but the first indisputable date we have to stand on is the printing of The Dictes 'in 1477."London Bookseller. A CHINAMAN'S QUEUE. THE Chinese shave the whole head, except a round patch on the crown about as large as a breakfast saucer. On this they let the hair grow, and it is combed back and down and tied firmly with a string at the middle of the bottom of the patch. It is then divided into three strands and braided. If a man is very poor, he simply has a plat, the length of his hair, fastened at the end with cotton string; but the Chinese have a good deal of pride about their hair, and, if they can afford it, like to have the queue handsomely made. Often tresses of false hair are added to it, for making which the hairs that fall out are carefully saved. Of course the hair is thinner at the end than at the top, and, to keep the braid of more even size and to increase its length, long bunches of black silk cord are gradually woven into it. Queues vary in length; but the grown men often wear them hanging nearly to their shoes, the upper part of the braid being of hair, and the lower part of black silk cord, which is tied in a tassel at the end. In Southern China children's queues are made bright and jaunty with crimson silk. For mourning white cord is used, and for half-mourning blue. Also persons in mourning do not have their heads shaven for a certain length of time. When the emperor dies, nobody in China is expected to be shaven for one hundred days. Commonly, tidy, well-to-do people have their heads shaven every few days; and, as no one could easily shave the top of his own head, every body employs a barber. Of course there are a |