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But it isn't so, chaps, and yo're sartin
He didn't ma' th' world o' i'th' dark;
He made us fur wark an' fur th' warkshop,
An' made it a pleasure to wark.

Mr. EDWIN WAUGH, a Lancashire poet, is deservedly popular as a writer of both prose and poetry. His pieces are characterized by great intelligence, wit, and humour. In the latter character he has few compeers.

BIDE ON.

WHEN the heart 'neath its trouble sinks down,
And the joys that misled it are gone;
When the hopes that inspired it are flown,
And it gropes through thick darkness alone;
Be faith, then, thy cheer;

Scorn the whisper of fear;

Look trustfully up, and bide on.

When fancy's wild meteor-ray
Allures thee from duty to roam,

Beware its bewildering way,

Abide with the soul in its home;
And hearken its voice;

Let the stream of thy joys

From the fountain of purity come.

When by failures and follies borne down,
The future looks hopelessly drear,
And each day, as it flies, with a frown
Tells how helpless-how abject we are ;
Let nothing dismay

Thy brave effort to-day :
Be patient, and still persevere,

Be steady in joy and in sorrow;
Be truthful in great and in small;
Fear nothing but sin, and each morrow
Heaven's blessings upon thee shall fall;
In worst tribulation

Shun low consolation,

And trust in the God that sees all.

CULTIVATE YOUR MEN.

WHY don't you till your barren lands,
And drain your moss and fen,
And so give work to honest hands,
And food to famish'd men?
You cannot always stop the ear
Unto this smother'd cry-

"Is there no chance, then, for us here,
But to beg, or thieve, or die?"

Ye lordly horde of pompous men,
With mammon-blinded eyes,

Think of poverty and pain
That moaning round you lies.

The poorest patch of mother earth
Will bless the tiller's care,
And for her starving sons give birth
To work and payment fair;
But there's another, nobler field—
Big with immortal gain;

The morasses of mind untill'd

Go, cultivate your men !

Plough up the wastes of human mind,
Where weedy ign'rance grows
Th' neglected deserts of mankind,
Will blossom like the rose.

But penny-wise, pound-foolish thrift
Deludes this venal age;

Poor self's the all-engrossing drift,

And pelf the sovereign rage.

E'en in the church the lamp grows dim
That ought to light to heaven,
And all that fed its holy flame
To earth's ambition's given.

Go till the wastes of human mind,
Where weedy ign'rance grows,
And mighty treasures there you'll find,
Whose limit no man knows.

One heavenly eye o'erlooketh here
Proud wrong, and sorrow's tears;
To it all earth's pretence is clear,
Whatever cloak it wears :

Both high and lowly tread one path,
That leads into the grave,

Where false distinctions flit from death,
And tyrant blends with slave.

In life's short hour, with all your power,
Do all the good ye can:

There's no investment brings such dower
As generous love for man.

TO M. S.

AH! this wild voyage o'er the sea of life
Needs all the help that heaven and earth can give,
Through its dark storms and shoals, and battle strife,
God must be Pilot to the ships that live.

Happy the heart that finds a haven of love,
Where in the tempest it can sweetly moor,
And taste below, the bliss that but above,
Is ever stainless, and is ever sure.

And blest the hearth where pure affections glow-
The husband's and the father's best retreat;
Where heavenward souls in one direction grow,
With darling tendrils twining from their feet.

Such be thy home; through earth's mutations strange A garden where the flowers of heaven grow;

And sheltered there from blight, through every change,
Its loves, its hopes, no touch of ruin know.

May time, whose withering finger ever brings
To nature's best, the doom of sure decline,
Float over thee with softly-fanning wings,
And find the twilight of thy life divine.

And, ever hand in hand, along your path

For thee and thine, thus doth the poet prayThat ye may walk in peace through life to death, And earth's night be the dawn of heaven's day.

WARMING AT THE WRONG FIRE:

A TEMPERANCE DISCOURSE, PREACHED IN HIGH STREET CHAPEL, YEADON.-DESIGNED CHIEFLY FOR YOUNG MEN.

"And Peter stood with them and warmed himself."-JOHN XVIII. 18.

TO-NIGHT I am going to discourse on a warming subject; because so few ministers, I am sorry to say, exercise the moral and Christian fortitude to preach on subjects of great social interest. Many neither raise their voices against, nor lift a finger to remove the evils that are palpably increasing in our midst. Yet what subject so dignified and divine? A minister ought to teach the people how to live, as well as how to die. Let this be done, and a greater interest will be taken in our ministrations. We shall then be more like Him who was

called "Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace." He taught the people to eschew evil, and cleave to that which is good. He taught them to "deny themselves," "bear the cross,'

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and "follow Him." And if we follow Him in example by preaching and living, our words and actions will be one unbroken lesson against sins and iniquities, and an embodied commendatory epistle which all may profitably read for virtue and practical goodness. The minister ought to be honoured for faithfulness, wisdom, piety, and outspoken truthfulness. For this he ought to be held dear to every regenerate heart. The man that will learn only of God, in soul matters, and unfettered and unfalteringly deal out the inspired truths to perishing humanity, is the world's greatest benefactor, and is also the spirit most beloved by heaven.

In dealing fearlessly and truthfully with you to-night, I may offend some, yet not willingly nor designedly shall I do so. We must grapple with the cherished idols of your hearts, if they are in the way of your spiritual advancement. If by entering the sacred cabinet of your affections, we disturb and incommode the alien tenants, the ejectment will issue to you for good, an hundred fold in this world, and in the world to come life everlasting.

men.

But I want to speak more especially to young We have a noble army of young men in this congregation-a host which, if properly trained and disciplined, may become a mighty

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