expression of regret besides that he sometimes indulged in too wild a frolic, or lost money at a game. These things brought him into trouble now and then, and there were some among his comrades who disapproved of them, so he had felt them wrong. But now under Taylor's instruction, he had learnt to think less lightly of sin, and he saw how great was the number and how deep the guilt of his faults. He was no longer contented to try to keep up a fair character before his officers, but knew that he had the Captain of Salvation for his Judge, and that He searches and tries the heart. It was a painful thought to remember what He had seen in him in the years of his youth, and that daily sins of mind, speech, and action, were written down against him. Such a thought might have made Edwin reckless, and determined to go on as he had begun, but his heart was not so hardened against that marvellous love which calls the wanderer to repentance, showing the Price that has been paid for him. Many do go on knowing of that love, accustomed to hear of it, and yet never believing it, or turned to holiness by it: of these happily the young soldier was not. He felt an earnest desire to live after his SAVIOUR'S will, and to prove his devotion to Him, and he weighed as well as he could the cost of doing so. Armed by prayer, and in an earnest temper, he rose when the bugle sounded to resume the active duties of a soldier, and with a sigh to Taylor's memory, was leaving the tent, when Lieutenant Geary called out to him, Grove, you will come and see me some time again, won't you? I shall be so lonely when you are gone." Edwin had waited on him and done almost the duties of a servant since he himself was better, for the servant of Geary had been killed. If you wish it, sir,' he replied, 'I will come and see you when I'm off duty.' 'Do so,' said the officer, and Edwin rejoined his comrades.

"Now boys," said Mr. Weston, "I have no more time to read to-night, we must leave Edwin at present, and another time perhaps I shall be able to let you know whether he carried out his good intentions, and proved the penitence true which he felt in sickness."

"Thank you, sir," said Robert, "I shall like to hear how he got on, for a soldier's life must have many trials."

"I hope we shall hear something of Lieutenant Geary too," said Arthur, " perhaps he became a friend to Edwin."

"Good-night to you all," said Mr. Weston, opening the door, and making a sign to the boys not to keep him longer. They all walked quietly out of the churchyard and parted to their different homes.

WAYSIDE LAMPS.

"According to the old legend, verses of the Bible read when wayfarers are overtaken by darkness with the aid of a glow-worm placed on the page, become indelibly impressed on memory.'

TRADITION says, the insect lamp which sheds mysterious light,
Is nature's gift for wandering men to read the Word by night;
When the golden inspirations of ancient prophet days,
On doubtful memories are fixed till final death erase.

As toiling slow in progress, the autumnal tints among,

I rested on a russet bank to hear the daintiest song

Of birds, when gentle rain has ceas'd, 'mid luscious scented flowers-
While solemn, distant Minster chimes proclaim'd the passing hours;
With troubles overburthened, at length methought I'd try
To search for comfort in my need of friendly sympathy;
For with the darkness, little glow-worms round began to shine,
Like scattered stars replenished by the Master's hand Divine.

Their radiance tenderly ingathered o'er the sacred pages,
I saw these words illumined with the lowly light of ages-
"Come unto Me, ye weary ones, and I will give you rest-"
In silent grandeur thrilling-in graciousness confest.

The consolation I had sought to find in holy text—
Refreshing as the dews of Hermon, soothed my spirit vext;
And when the distant Minster chimes protracted vigils told-
I gratefully replaced my lamps to shine upon the wold.

C. A. M. W.

EVENING COMMUNIONS.

To all advocates on the score of expediency, of Evening Celebrations of the Holy Communion, the devout and simple-minded Churchman will probably find a sufficient reply in the words of S. Paul, "We have no such cus

tom, neither the Churches of GOD," and truly that would seem unanswerable. There never was a time when it was a known custom of the Church to communicate at evening. The following short address on the subject we heartily commend to the serious consideration of all devout Churchmen. We have permission to give it a place in our pages, though it has been printed separately.

"That there has been lately a great revival amongst us, both as to frequency of administration of the LORD's Supper, as well as to the number of communicants, is a matter of joy to all who love the LORD JESUS and thankfully remember His Death. Some of us there are who know the vast amount of ignorance that prevails as to the nature of that Holy Sacrament, and whose experience leads them to dread lest by not discerning the LORD's Body, many should be induced to eat and drink condemnation to themselves, and hence feel bound to pause ere they commit themselves to any innovation which tends to do away with existing safeguards and open a door to anything so perilous to the soul as unworthy Communions. Every one will admit that we are all in danger of receiving people to this ordinance too easily and readily when we are engrossed with anxiety lest the Sacraments of CHRIST be neglected or forgotten. Whenever the number of communicants is taken as a test of progress in a congregation, there is always a temptation to relax in the strictness of the standard. Of late years we have indeed multiplied our Communions and our communicants, but have we increased proportionately in Christian holiness and love, in short, in likeness to Him Whose Life and Death we commemorate? Unless we can give a satisfactory answer to this question, we ought surely to stay our hands ere we offer increased facilities to unconverted, indolent or careless persons in approaching the LORD's Table at a time of the day which is peculiarly open to abuse.

"Every one sympathises with the original intention of the Evening Communion movement. It was to give servants and mothers of families an opportunity, which, it was alleged, they could not else obtain. Why such a necessity should exist in this country alone is inexplicable. Our Continental neighbours, whether Catholic or Protestant, find no demand for such a deferred Communion, though they are much stricter in enforcing a universal reception. In Scotland, not only do the Presbyterians find it possible to give up a whole Sunday for Communion Services, but the Thursday and Saturday previous for preparation, and the Monday after for thanksgiving. To my mind, the crying evil in England, especially in large towns, is the way in which the observance of Sunday, even by more or less religious persons, is driven off so late in the day. Now the adding evening Communions to our observance of the LORD's Day, must aggravate this declension; whereas, most if not all needs might be provided for by an occasional earlier administration of the ordinance. Both clergy and people would be rewarded by the greater freshness of their devotions, were they

(more frequently than they do) to give the first and best of the day to God. Instead of waiting till eleven o'clock on the morning of the weekly Feast of the Resurrection, they will have risen with CHRIST and found Him at the Sepulchre like the Magdalene. It is indeed high time to protest against the present system (which even our Evening Services have fostered) of offering the dregs of the LORD'S Day to GOD, instead of pandering to the vitiated tastes of those who so offer. To urge upon heads of families the duty of providing for the Church-attendance of their servants, and of not allowing the requirements of their own tables to interfere with the claims of the LORD'S Table, seems to be the obvious duty of all pastors. It is the conversion of the LORD's Day into a carnal festival to which the difficulty of servants and mothers is mainly due, and evening Commu. nions do not fairly meet it. Imagine a mother of a family, fagged and wearied with tidying her children and house, and providing that better Sunday dinner to which the Englishman looks forward. At last, after a day's conflict, she has made the best of her way to Church. It is only by great effort she can attend to the Evening Service or to the preacher. At last that Service comes on which demands the greatest exercise of the mind and heart, and who can wonder if she is unequal to the call? Her youngest born is on her knee, but it is wakeful or fractious, and that does not mend matters. This is surely not to attend upon the LORD without distraction.' And all the more that persons make the Communion depend on their own conceptions or feelings, as opposed to the Sacramental system of religion, is the difficulty increased. And again, to suppose that a servant, who has been bustling about all day in a sort of perpetual motion, after having seen the family fairly dined and at tea, can hurry off to Church, and enjoy delightful intercourse with CHRIST in His Own blessed ordinance, requires that servants, at any rate, should be more of saints than most of their masters or mistresses. Any of us who have, on account of some intemperate speech or some perturbation of mind found it impossible to communicate, may form some idea of what must be the result when the whole day has been a scene of bustle, hurry, and confusion. In such cases there must be clearly a danger of barren or unfruitful, to say nothing of profane, Communion.

There are persons who will be moved in this question by the constant practice of the Church, but are not quite clear in their own minds what that practice was. Holy Scripture gives us only two examples of Holy Communion besides that of our Divine Master; S. Paul's administration of It at Troas and on board the ship. Both took place after midnight, when the day was coming on.' Our LORD'S example was so plainly exceptional, as was also His not keeping the Passover greatly desired' at the usual hours of the Day of Preparation, that it is surprising that persons should appeal to it as an authority for Evening Communions. It is obvious that our LORD did not administer this Sacrament after any supper, but after the Paschal Supper, in order to indicate that the one was the shadow and symbol of the other. Even the Communion at Emmaus was evidently before evening.

"If the time at which our LORD celebrated the first Eucharist was to be a pattern to His followers, it is unaccountable that they should in the Apostolic ages, not have adopted it. And if, as the advocates for Evening Communion contend, it is more natural to copy our LORD's example in this respect, we are entitled to infer that the Apostles and their immediate successors must have had some clear and positive reason against so doing, or else Evening Communions would have become ere now a Christian institution. For if antiquity is unanimous in anything, it is in the necessity of receiving this Sacrament fasting. Before morning,' was the usual time of Communion. The single exceptions of the Coena Domini on Maundy Thursday in Africa, or on the Saturday in the Thebais, only prove the rule. The Communion on our LORD's Nativity, after midnight, is the only relic now of primitive Eucharists. After three in the afternoon, except in the time of persecution, when the observance of any rule was attended with difficulty, it may safely be affirmed that no Eucharist was ordinarily celebrated, as at that hour all fasting ceased. It is, however, still more striking that the subject of evening Communions was actually opened up and discussed in the third century. Certain persons, who were afraid lest the smell of wine in the morning should betray them to be Christians, adopted water instead, and thought to make up for this compromise by a second celebration in the evening with a mixed cup, and justified themselves by reasoning that our LORD offered the mixed cup, not in the morning, but after supper. S. Cyprian, however, utterly repudiated the idea that our LORD's time of Institution was any precedent. 'CHRIST,' he said, 'must needs offer at the evening of the day, that the very hour of the Sacrifice might indicate the setting and evening of the world.... But we celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord in the morning.' This difference between the original Institution of our LORD and the practice of His followers, is everywhere acknowledged. S. Gregory Nazianzen says, ' He delivered the Paschal Mystery to His disciples in a guest-chamber and after supper, we in temples and before supper.' S. Augustine: 'It is as clear as day that when the Apostles first received the LORD's Body and Blood, they did not receive fasting. Ought it then to be a matter of reproach to the Catholic Church that this Sacrament is received fasting? For it seemed good to the HOLY GHOST that for the honour of so great a Sacrament, the LORD'S Body and Blood should be received by the Christian before other food. Since it is for this reason that such a custom is kept throughout the world. And though the LORD gave It after meat, yet the brethren ought not to assemble to receive that Sacrament after dinner or supper, nor mix it up with their meals, as they did whom S. Paul reproves and corrects. For our SAVIOUR, in order more earnestly to recommend the depth of that Mystery, wished, as He was going away from His disciples to His Passion, to fix it in their minds and hearts as His last act. And He left no directions as to the future order of its reception, in order that He might reserve it for the Apostles to do, by whose instrumentality He was to govern the Church.""