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green-sward temple, higher and higher, as the lark soars on with her dart-like pinions; but, unlike her, it came not back to earth, but ascended onwards and upwards, till reaching the dwelling-place of Jehovah, it fell as incense before his throne.

Quietly one poor man turned from the worshippers there, slowly wound his way round the exterior of the encampment, till, reaching the comparative seclusion of some shrubs near, he fell on his knees and prayed, simply, trustingly, and in faith, that God would overrule the evil designs of those adverse to his cause, would so soften the heart of the opposer that his endeavours to molest them should cease, or that, through some means, the annoyance might be removed. It was a simple, frank petition, from a lowly, trusting heart; and it displeased not the Lord God, the great Jehovah; for he condescended to honour, by answering, the poor man's prayer. In a very short time, the clouds of smoke were observed to be wafted in an exactly opposite direction: the wind had suddenly changed. Many wondered, and were pleased; but few, even in that company, knew of the simple prayer of faith, the heart-felt, the heart-uttered petition, which had been breathed by the holy suppliant, and had been heard and answered. Surely it is not desirable to account for incidents such as these on the ground of mere coincidence. Surely the God who hath numbered the very hairs of our head, will lend a willing ear to the cry of his people, even to that of the most lowly of the flock.

Many months have passed, and we know not if the pleading peasant, or the more wealthy individual who was guilty of an act so uncourteous, be yet denizens of this lower world, or if each has gone to another. If the latter, and dying as they had lived, how different now their states! a contrast how delightful for the one, and how fearful for the other! But this we know, one who joined in the services of that day with interest and pleasure, has exchanged mortality for immortality, -is now singing the praises of the Saviour who redeemed him, in a land fairer than ours, where the sound of war and trumpet-notes have never called an echo forth, and where a fairer sky and brighter beams are around him than ever earth witnessed; even the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, shining on with a brightness how fine and unclouded! And another, who, on the occasion alluded to, was a principal speaker, expired near the spot a short time subsequently. He was proceeding to his destination for the purpose of proclaiming the glad tidings of salvation, the loving-kindness of that Saviour who is typified as the rose of Sharon," and meditating, perchance, on the divine and eternal beauties of "the fairest among ten thousand, the altogether lovely." He fell on the desolate heath; and before human aid could arrive, his spirit had flown to Jesus in paradise.

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"Come in, thou blessed,

Sit by me!

With my own life I ransom'd thee.
Come, taste my perfect favour.
Come in, thou happy spirit, come,

Thou now shalt dwell with me at home.
Ye blissful mansions, make him room,

For he must stay

For ever!"

M. A. COOKE.

HAWTHORN: ITS SENTIMENT.

HOPE ON FOR EVER.

WE yet would bless the hawthorn-bloom,
Forget it not, ah! never.

With greenest leaves bedeck our tomb,
And leave them there for ever.
Hope on we will, though smiles be past,
Though hearts which loved grow cold;
This motto claim, and hold it fast,
Though we be growing old.

"Hope on for ever!" This shall be
A wreath for locks when white,
In tottering age a staff for me,
Our path-star in the night.

ASLAN.

MY FIRST CABINET.

"DEAR mamma, I am tired with my doll; but what shall I do with her wardrobe? it was a present from grandmamma, and I do not feel disposed to give that away just now." "I would advise

you to make it a place of security for all those specimens of shells and minerals of which you know something, such as carbon, sulphur, phosphorus, silicon, and the forty-one classes of metals; and you must ask papa to provide you with bottles of the four principal gases, viz., oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and chlorine. How wonderful the fact, that black coal and transparent amber are the same thing, varied only by a slight mixture of gases! Now if you be industrious, I will procure you some deep blue velvet with which to line your drawers, and some rose and primrose-coloured wool to place around the specimens ; and you must learn to perforate neatly some tissue-paper, to fall as a veil over the contents of each partition; and acquainting yourself with the localities and properties relating to each specimen, you must write out a manual forming an explanation of your collection. And in order to be of efficient assistance to you, I will distinguish, at the earliest opportunity, the varieties of carbon; as they consist of the diamond plumbago, the dif ferent kinds of coal and amber. You know that Scotland abounds with agates and onyxes; Ireland, in amethysts and other crystals; Cornwall, Devon, Cumberland, and parts of Wales, yield vast quantities of copper, lead, and quartz. Supposing you perform all I desire, you will certainly be interested, and remember that He who has endowed you with a reasonable mind, tries it every moment, watches its cultivation, whether it fulfil the important purposes of its creation; and that

we are in more serious danger of undervaluing, than of over-estimating, the mental qualifications that we possess."

Z.

RECOLLECTIONS OF EARLY DAYS.

I REMEMBER, when a boy, having often stopped by the rippling stream, and, procuring flags from its side, I have amused myself by endeavouring to raise an embankment to check its progress. The waters would begin to swell, and my childish heart would beat with joy at the prospect of its overflowing the banks; and piling flag upon flag, I would proceed with my work: but soon would my hopes be blighted, and my fancied happiness flee as a vision; for, on a sudden, my embankment would yield to the force of the stream, and I be surrounded with its waters. Having thus become wet and dirty, I began to be terrified at the probable displeasure of my father, and sought to invent some untruth, to hide from him the real cause of my disaster. I have thus escaped correction; but I could not thus pacify my guilty conscience, and I have felt ashamed to look into my father's face.

Much has my after-life resembled that of my boyhood. Gazing on the dazzling stream of worldly pleasure, have I strayed by its side; and, having unlawfully broken the flags, I have endeavoured to check the stream, and cause it to swell, while my vain heart, dwelling on the

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