mere transient preacher only an evangelist.

He has

a few subjects on which he can preach tolerably well; but he can't stay long in one place. He don't last like our admirable preacher of 'dry bones '!" In this style these deputy skeletons were tattling and gabbling in all directions, when the whole valley was waked and electrified by the clear, strong, trumpet-like voice of Ezekiel "O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!" And immediately there was a noise; and behold there was a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. The skeleton preacher beheld these movements with the utmost alarm and perturbation. He stamped on the naked earth with his skeleton foot, until the dry bones clanked again. "Order!" he exclaimed; "I call to order! This is my congregation. I will sanction no such measures as these. Order! order! I call to order! But the shaking went on, and the bones came together, bone to his bone; and the prophet Ezekiel continued his address "O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these dry bones, 'Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live; and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath into you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord." And while the prophet Ezekiel spoke thus, lo! the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above; but there was no breath in them. "Ha!" exclaimed the skeleton preacher, "they are not alive, after all — a mere spasmodic movement'-nothing but animal excitement." I thought it would amount to this. Here's all our ancient order of things broken up, con

fusion and novelties introduced, and nothing gained at last a mere 'spasmodic awakening' — nothing but 'animal excitement.'" And here he gave the sign to his deputy skeletons" Discredit it, discredit it, all you can." Away went the deputy skeletons through the crowd, tattling, "No revival! no revival! only spasmodic awakening! nothing but animal excitement!" But just now they were startled and stunned by the powerful voice of Ezekiel, with which the whole valley rang again—"Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live ;" and lo! the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet an exceeding great army. And there was glory to God in the highest. And there was the joy of life from the dead. The brother greeted the brother

redeemed from the grave. and embraced the son.

The father hailed, blessed, Glad angels spread their rainbow wings over the enrapturing scene, and sung, "The dead is alive, and the lost is found."

As for the skeleton preacher, he escaped from the living multitude; then turned, and gazed over the scene with more than fiendish indignation. He gnashed and ground his naked teeth, struck his bony hand on the dry ribs of his breast, then turned, and set his face for the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, elsewhere called Tophet, muttering, as he went along, "Yes, this is the result of the revival. I am unsettled. The relationship between me and this church is dissolved. Perdition on such revivals! This is the result of allowing such evangelists as Ezekiel to roam over the country, preaching. Perdition on such revivals! Yes, I'm unsettled; and now I must look out

for another location." As the skeleton preacher went 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

Do

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? 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. You are cast out, because there is no Your bones are fleshless, frightful, Avaunt, wretched skeleton ! "

breath in you. and very dry.

The chop-fallen skeleton preacher made no reply, but went on his way toward the Valley of Tophet. The entrance of the valley was dark and dismal. Heavy 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,