"We have no hesitation in saying that, all things con

sidered, the OXFORD TEACHERS' BIBLES are better for

the Sunday-school teacher than any other with which we are familiar."-Sunday-School Times.

"All things considered, we prefer the OXFORD TEACHERS' BIBLES to the London-and it is between these two that the choice is commonly to be made." Sunday-School Times, September 25, 1880.

"It is only fair to state that, in the light of later examination, we have seen no reason to change our expressed opinion that the OXFORD TEACHERS' BIBLE is the most serviceable for the use of the ordinary Sunday-school teacher."-Sunday-School Times, February 24, 1883.

"The OXFORD TEACHERS' BIBLE, the invaluable companion for the working teacher which it now is."Sunday-School Times, February 7, 1885.

Be sure the "Oxford " imprint is on each book, thus:

OXFORD:

PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS,
LONDON: HENRY FROWDE.

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE,
AMEN CORNER.

NEW YORK: 42 BLEECKER STREET.

Full particulars and Catalogues on application. THOMAS NELSON & SONS, 42 Bleecker St., N. Y.

BUCKEYE BELL FOUNDRY.
Bells of Pure Copper and Tin for Churches,
Schools, Fire Alarms, Farms, etc. FULLY
WARRANTED. Catalogue sent Free.
VANDUZEN & TIFT, Cincinnati, O.

COMMUNION WARE.

We have facilities for selling the above ware in Extra Heavy Silver Plate. best goods made, at extremely low prices. Write for circular. Address PHILLIPS & HUNT, 805 Broadway, New York.

SUNDAY-SCHOOL. TEACHERS who desire to obtain more complete training for their work may address Rev. J. L. Hurlbut for circulars of the

Assembly Normal Union,

A Course of Normal Study by Correspondence.

Fee of membership, 25 cents per year.

Text-books for sale by PHILLIPS & HUNT, 805 Broadway, New York.

A NEW Book by the Old House.

Messrs. LowRY & DOANE promise a NEW Book of Sunday School Songs, in April, one fully equal to any of their former popular works.

The NEW Song Book will embrace a number of NEW features, will be gotten up on an entirely NEW plan, in a NEW shape, and will be printed from beautiful NEW type. It is sure to please and will create a NEW interest in the Song Service. It will be sold at a NEW price, $25 per 100 Copies, in Boards.

BIGLOW & MAIN, 76 East Ninth St., New York.

81 RANDOLPH STREET, CHICAGO.

NEW SERIES.

The Children.

BY MRS. H. M. W. HILL.

IN country lone a sinuous road-way lay,
On which a maiden slowly picked her way;
Its dust lay deep, and pebbles sharp were there,
Its length besprinkling o'er the hill-side bare.
The sun had warmly wooed the morning dew
To soar aloft, in fleecy clouds anew;
While he, insatiate, fiercely glowed
On maiden walking on her daily road
To country school-house, where her duties lay
In teaching urchins wisdom's toilsome way,
Incarceration-hours to her seemed they,
Of minutes sixty, full and long, to-day.
The pupils? Thirty corporate little ones-
Not hers, but other people's, girls and sons.
The thoughts of many trials met each day,
The oppressive heat, the dusty, lonely way,
Had written on her brow a weary frown,
The whilst her hands hung limply down-
Thus step by step she toiled her way along,
Until she neared the little youthful throng.

A shout of joy, a sound of pattering feet,
The children run with glee herself to greet;
With chubby hands, and clinging finger-tips,
And eager upraised rosy, laughing lips,
In eager tones their morning welcome shout,
While gayly compassing her path about.
Their ways are wands, which to her vision's ken
Disclose quite other views, unseen till then.
The sun gave brightness, not oppressive heat,
A verdant turf made boundary for the street,
And buttercups and daisies, fair and white,
Shone out instead of torturing pebbles bright;
The school hours, not of minutes component,
But formed a happy day, too quickly spent.

children dear! who to our weary vision lend A flawless lens, that makes of foe a friend, VOL. XVIII.-3

VOL. XVIII, No. 3.

That shows us flowerets thickly elustering where
Our eyes had noted only stones so bare,
Your loving deeds and trusting words so gay
Bright span with rainbow arches life's drear way!
Chicago, Ill.

A Persuasive Thaw.

WE acknowledge the influence of "a good heavy rain" in liberating this land of liberty from its present bondage to ice and snow, a vigorous downpour like the clatter of a cavalry-troop over country highway and city avenue. Still, is there any thing that is so effective as a good-sized, old-fashioned four-days' thaw? Here it is! It arrived last night, a soft-footed mist. It blew no trumpet and swung no banner, but quietly occupied all the hilltops and then diffused itself throughout all the valleys. How effective! It is touching out-of-theway points, recesses under rocks and behind old roots that no rain has reached for the last twelve months. It also reaches in-the-way points. Old Farmer Slow has been trying to hack out of existence a huge mat of ice carelessly allowed to form before his very door-step. He now smiles to see this obstacle rapidly, silently dissolving before the persuasiveness of this thaw.

Have we not seen the above tactics repeated elsewhere? There are some people who go to work on a trouble like a quarrel or misunderstanding, in a style that is like a "good, heavy rain." In their noisy way they do effect something, but contrast them with Brother So-and-So. He is very quiet, but he has the persuasiveness of a spring-thaw. His style is not to storm at a trouble and bombard it furiously, but in his quiet way he surrounds dissentient hearts with the spirit of charity, forgiveness, and affectionate prayer (which some prayer is not). Just there, he holds on like the mist that lowers its folds hour after hour before our windows. What quantities

of hard, icy feeling will soften and dissipate before his methods, reaching not only open dissensions, but the misunderstandings that sensitive souls hide away and secretly mourn over! It is marvelously persuasive, this patient, kindly, charitable fashion. Would it not be better for us all to speak for a "thaw" at once and try it in our neighborhood?

Something for the Presiding Elders.

A MEETING was held in New York city in December last consisting of the presiding elders of some half-dozen Conferences of the neighborhood. Bishop Bowman delivered a very interesting address on the work of the presiding elder, and among other subjects spoke of the shortcomings of many incumbents of the office. According to the report in The Christian Advocate he said: "It says in the Discipline that the presiding elder shall report to the Annual Conference the names of all traveling preachers within his district who shall neglect to observe the rules for the instruction of children. I have never heard one report yet."

During the nearly fourteen years of his episcopacy Bishop Bowman has presided in many Annual Conferences and has heard reports from many presiding elders; but he has yet to hear the first report giving the names of the preachers who have failed to observe these rules. What the other Bishops might give as their experience we do not know.

It has been our privilege to visit many Annual Conferences on official business and otherwise, yet we cannot now recall a solitary instance of a report such as the Discipline calls for, nor do we remember ever hearing a Bishop ask the presiding elders for it. Either all the preachers keep the rules, and therefore there are no delinquents to report, or else the presiding elders fail in their duty.

Something for the Pastors.

In the same address alluded to in the preceding article, the Bishop related an incident which is certainly very suggestive as well as rather amusing. He said, "In a Sunday-school, not long since, I asked, 'How many of you have seen an elephant?' Every hand was raised. What was his name?' 'Jumbo,' said they. I asked, 'How many of you ever saw a catechism?' There was not a hand up, and the Discipline requires that the pastor shall instruct the people in the catechism! It requires that the children shall be properly instructed in the catechism by the pastor."

The Bishop was a teacher for many years, and bence knows how to catch the boys. And he assuredly did catch them by means of the elephant.

But it is not pleasant to think of Sunday-school children knowing more about Jumbo than about the Methodist catechism. If the pastor was present when the Bishop thus caught the children, what must his feelings have been? Had he performed the duty required of him by the Discipline, some of his scholars would have been able to signify that they had seen a catechism. In our efforts to get our pastors to use the catechism of our Church it is a great pleasure for us to have episcopal sanction and aid. We have been working on this line for years, though often regretting that success was not more manifest. In 1872, when what is known as the "Berean System" was begun, we made the catechism an important part of the lesson scheme. In 1876 the editor of this JOURNAL Succeeded in getting the following resolutions adopted by the General Conference Committee on Sundayschools and Tracts, and passed by the Conference:

Resolved, 1. That we cordially approve the course of "Bible Study for the family and the Sunday-school," adopted in 1872 by the SundaySchool Union of our Church, embodying the lessons of the International Series, the Catechism of the Church, select passages of Scripture to be committed to metuory, and special lessons on the doctrines, usages, and benevolent agencies of the Church.

Resolved, 2. That we urge upon our pastors the importance of employing this system of Church lessons in all our churches; and that we especially insist upon the use of the Catechism by the pastors, according to the Discipline of the Church, in the family, the Sunday-school, and at special meetings appointed for that purpose.-Journal, p. 365.

From this position we have never swerved; and yet every now and then some one who ought to know better asserts in speech or in print that the "Berean System" is driving the catechism out of the Sunday-school, thus showing total ignorance or forgetfulness of the fact that the catechism is as really a part of that system as the Bible. Let the Berean System be carried out and the catechism will be kept in the Sunday-school and faithfully used.

We are glad, therefore, to have our excellent senior Bishop as an ally in this work. If the Bishops will occasionally jog the failing memory of presiding elders, and if the presiding elders will faithfully admonish the pastors, and if the pastors will diligently perform their duty, we shall not long bear the reproach of having Sunday-school scholars who know more about Jumbo than they do about the catechism.

The Death of Youth.

ONE of the hard facts confronting us in life is the death of youth-bright, promising youth. The life of a babe we know to be brittle. Infancy is very fragile ware. Old age expects soon to reach its last