for another location." muttering along toward the Valley of Tophet, he was met by one of the sons of the prophets, who perfectly understood the whole case. He was a plain, straightforward, out-spoken man, ardently devoted to the cause of God and the salvation of men. He heard the mur

As the skeleton preacher went

murings of the skeleton for a few moments, and his anger was kindled, and he thus addressed him: "Meagre, miserable skeleton! are you raving and wrathful because your great congregation has awaked to life, and your control over them is at an end? Do you think that the great Majesty of heaven planned the scheme of redemption in eternity, and established his beloved church on earth, for no higher object than that such a wretched rackheap of dry bones as you should be bolstered up in some comfortable location? Do you think that all the wheels of creation, providence, and redemption should be stopped, for fear that such a foul, frightful scarecrow as you should be driven from its roost! Wretched skeleton! What madness has possessed thee ! What worse than demon has entered into thee! Yes, you're unsettled, and deservedly so. You attempted to hurl back the Spirit of the Almighty. You lifted up your dry bones to resist the growing conquests of the glorious Immanuel. You're unsettled; yes, because you hated light, and hated life. You continued dead, and your bones very dry; and you wished to keep all as dead and dry as yourself. Why did not you hear the word of God? Why did not you awake to life? Why did not you have flesh and sinews, and skin cover your dry bones? Why did not you receive the breath of heaven, and live? You might then have remained in the congregation

of the living.

breath in you. and very dry.

The en-
Heavy

You are cast out, because there is no Your bones are fleshless, frightful, Avaunt, wretched skeleton!" The chop-fallen skeleton preacher made no reply, but went on his way toward the Valley of Tophet. trance of the valley was dark and dismal. clouds hung over it, and shut out the light of heaven. The exhalations of the valley arose like columns of ascending smoke, and from the depths within sounds issued like weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. The skeleton approached. His "ruling passion was strong" up to the very moment when he entered the gloomy vale. "This," he exclaimed, "verifies the doctrine I have maintained for years. The conversion of souls costs too much, and the resurrection of the dead costs too much. Here I'm unsettled. I must look out for a new location; and there is little likelihood that I shall better my condition. Perdition on revivals! Tell me not that God is honored, the Redeemer glorified, sinners saved, the dead alive, the lost found, the angels rejoicing. What are all these things to me? Here is an evil that outweighs them allI'm unsettled! Perdition on revivals!" Muttering and blaspheming thus, while he gnashed his naked teeth, the skeleton plunged into the horrible valley, and I saw him no more.

THE LITTLE AUGER AND KING
SOLOMON.

AN EXTRACT FROM THE "BOOK OF THE ACTS OF SOLOMON," MENTIONED 1 KINGS XI. 41.

Now it came to pass, while King Solomon was building the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, that very many tools and instruments were employed by the king in this great work. "And King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home. And Adoniram was over the levy. And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains; beside the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work. And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stone-squarers so they prepared timber and stones to build the house." "And this is the reason of the levy which King Solomon raised; for to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo,

and Gezer. For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife. And Solomon built Gezer." "And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store-cities, which he built in Hamath. Also he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars; and Baalath, and all the store-cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot-cities, and the cities of the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout all the land of his dominion." (1 Kings v. 13; ix. 15-17.)

And it came to pass, that among the great variety of instruments employed in building the house of the Lord, there was a little auger, that had a spirit of high ambition. It is not more strange that a little auger should have a spirit of high ambition, than that the trees, in Jotham's time, should go forth to anoint a king over them, and that the olive, the fig-tree, the vine, and the bramble, should converse together on the subject. (Judges ix. 8—15.) So this little auger was greatly troubled with an ambitious spirit — the same spirit that has often proved a source of anguish and trouble among the children of men.

Now, it came to pass, that on a certain day King Solomon came up to look upon the workmen, and to see the progress of the work. And behold, as the king was passing near the little auger, it opened its mouth and hailed him, saying, "Hear! hear! that I may speak to thee, great king of Jerusalem."

King Solomon stopped, and looked upon it. "Ha!"

said the king ; "what have we got here? auger, straightening itself up for a speech!

A little

But it is not more strange," continued he, reconciling himself to the singular phenomenon "it is not more strange than that old Pharaoh's bad corn should eat up all his good corn." (Gen. xli. 7.) (Gen. xli. 7.) Then addressing the little auger, which was still standing erect upon a workbench, drawn up to its utmost height

you to say to the king ?"

"What have

"Is not this house," said the little auger," which you are building to the name of the God of Israel, designed to be very great?"

"Yes," said Solomon; "to quote the language of my venerable father, David, The house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries.' (1 Chron. xxii. 5.)

"Great king," continued the little auger, "I beseech you to make me the only instrument that shall be employed in building this famous temple. I should love to have all the honor. I am grieved deeply with the present state of things. I see the workmen every day handling immense crowbars, great axes, long steel saws, hammers, chisels, wedges, planes, and an almost countless variety of implements, whose shape and fashion differ widely from my own. Now, great king, I have studied the subject thoroughly; and I have felt deeply; and I must say, that these instruments are all wrong. They are useless, and worse than useless. Great king, look at me!"—here the little auger assumed the tallest attitude, and appeared to entertain marvellous conceptions of its own consequence, as though it were prodigious"great king, look at me! Am not I a