POETRY.-ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

Poetry.

"NOTHING BUT LEAVES."

Mark xi. 13.

WHEN across Judea's mountains broke the moon in silver sheen,
Where a fig tree by the wayside stood with shining leaves of green,
Came our Saviour, faint and thirsty, seeking fruit and finding none,
For his earnest search discovered nothing there but leaves alone.
After fruitless quest he turned Him from the barren tree away,
Saying, "Let no fruit be gathered off thy branches from this day;"
And another morn beheld it drooping, all its verdure fled,-
Blighted 'neath that fearful sentence, dry and withered, crisp and dead.
Thus when Jesus comes in judgment, with the trumpet's awful sound,
Will His dread displeasure wither those with whom no fruit is found:
And are we for whom He suffered pain and anguish, grief and shame,
In our life and conduct bearing fruit to glorify His name?

Oft my wayward steps have wandered from the straight and narrow way,
Yet I love Thee, dear Redeemer, guide me that no more I stray;
Lay Thy welcome burden on me, cheerfully Thy yoke I take,
And Thy cross I'll bear it gladly, joyfully for Thy dear sake.

Here I bring my heart, my Saviour,-lay it humbly on Thy shrine,
And with love and trust unshrinking, place by faith my hand in Thine,
Crying, "Guide me now and ever, be my future what it may,
If Thy blessed hand but lead me, it will end in perfect day.
Clouds of woe may gather 'round me, dark and drear my path may be,
Grief may crush and sorrow wound me, only keep me close to Thee;
And forbid that when Thou comest claiming fruit from all Thine own,
I should wither 'neath the sentence, 'Nothing here but leaves alone.'
-Mary E. B. Tourtilotte.

Anecdotes and Selections.

FIVE KINDS OF CONSCIENCES.

THERE are five kinds of consciences on foot in the world :

First, an ignorant conscience, which neither sees nor saith anything, neither beholds the sins in a soul nor reproves them.

Secondly, the flattering conscience, whose speech is worse than silence itself; which, though seeing sin, soothes men in the committing thereof.

Thirdly, the seared conscience, which has neither sight, speech, nor sense in men that are past feeling.

ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

Fourthly, a wounded conscience, freighted with sin.

The last and best is a quiet and clear conscience, pacified in Christ Jesus. Of these, the fourth is incomparably better than the three former, so that a wise man would not take a world to change with them. Yea, a wounded conscience is rather painful than sinful; an affliction, no offence; and is in the ready way, at the next remove, to be turned into a quiet conscience.-Thomas Fuller.

BEGIN THE DAY WITH GOD.-There are many toiling ones whose time is not at their own command. But there is not one who cannot hold converse with God. His ear can hear amid the clang and roar of machinery, or the hum of hundreds of voices. The heart can go up to Him, no matter what the surroundings. Wherever Abraham pitched his tent, there he raised up an altar to the Lord. So, wherever the Christian heart is, there is also an acceptable altar from which the incense of prayer and praise may ascend. Yet there are but a few who may not, if they will, find time and place for private communion with God before entering on the morning's duties. Luther, in his busiest seasons, felt that praying time was never lost. When remarkably pressed with labours, he would say, "I have so much to do, that 1 cannot get on without three hours a day praying." Sir Matthew Hale also bears testimony-"If I omit praying and reading God's word in the morning, nothing goes well all day.' How many of us may find here the cause of many of our failures, and consequent discontent and loss of happiness.

THE CROSS OF CHRIST.-The cross of Christ is the sweetest burden that ever I bore; it is such a burden as wings are to a bird, or as sails to a ship, to carry me forward to my desired haven. Those who by faith see the invisible God and the fair city, make no account of present losses and crosses. Truly it is a glorious thing to follow the Lamb; it is the highway to glory; but when you see Him in His own country at home, you will think you never saw Him before. I find that when the saints are under trial and well humbled, little sins raise great cries in the conscience; but in prosperity conscience is a pope that gives dispensations and great latitude to our hearts. The cross is therefore as needful as the crown will be glorious.—Rutherford's Letters.

Two PICTURES.-Pictures themselves have sometimes a curious history. The story of the two pictures at Florence is old, but not worn out. An artist at Rome saw often playing in the street near his window a child of exquisite beauty, with golden hair and cherub face. Struck with the loveliness of the boy, he painted a picture of him and hung it up in his studio. In his saddest hours that sweet, gentle face looked down upon him like an angel of light. Its presence filled the soul with gladness and longings for heaven, which its purity symbolized. "If ever I find," said he, "a perfect contrast to this beau teous face, I will paint that also, and hang it on the opposite wall, and

THE FIRESIDE.

the one I shall call heaven and the other hell." Years passed. At length, in another part of Italy, in a prison he visited, looking in through the grated door of a cell, he saw the most hideous object that ever met his sight-a fierce, haggard fiend, with glaring eyes and cheeks deeply marked with the lines of lust and crime. The artist remembered the promise he had made himself, and immediately painted a picture of this loathsome culprit to hang over against the portrait of the lovely boy. The contrast was perfect; the two poles of the moral universe were before him. Then the mystery of the human soul gained another illustration. He had two pictures, but they were likenesses of one and the same person. To his great surprise, on inquiry into the history of this horrid wretch, he learned that he was no other than the sweet child with golden ringlets whom he once knew so well and saw so often playing in the streets of Rome. Both of these pictures-representing the angel and the demon of the same soul-are said to be hanging side by side in a gallery at Florence.

The Fireside.

REMEDIES FOR EVERY-DAY MALADIES.

FOR a Fit of Passion.-Walk out in the open air: you may speak your mind to the winds without hurting any one, or proclaiming yourself a simpleton.

For a Fit of Idleness.-Count the ticking of a clock; do this for one hour, and you will be glad to pull off your coat the next, and work like a negro.

For a Fit of Extravagance and Folly.-Go to the workhouse, or speak to the inmates of a gaol, and you will be convinced

Who makes his bed of briar and thorn,
Must be content to lie forlorn.

For a Fit of Ambition.-Go into the churchyard and read the gravestones; they will tell you the end of ambition. The grave will soon be your bed-chamber, and the earth your pillow; corruption your father, and the worm your mother and sister.

For a Fit of Despondency.-Look on the good things which God has given you in this world, and to those which He has promised to His followers in the next. He who goes into his garden to look for cobwebs and spiders, no doubt will find them; while he who looks for a flower may return into his house with one blooming in his bosom.

For all Fits of Doubt, Perplexity, and Fear.-Whether they respect the body or the mind-whether they are a load to the shoulders, the head, or the heart-the following is a radical cure which may be relied on, for I had it from the Great Physician-" Cast thy burden on the Lord, and He will sustain thee."

THE PENNY POST BOX.

The Penny Post Box.

JEANIE AND THE BIBLE.

IN Scotland, during the times of bloody persecution, when Claverhouse was marching about the country, driving people from their homes, burning their houses, and putting many godly people to death, a pious father told his family that there were soldiers near, and they must hasten to the next village, where there was a strong old church the fugitives could use as a fort. So he told Jeanie to take the big Bible for her load, and that she must be very careful not to let it get wet, or lose it by the way. "For we could not live," said he, "without the good Book."

So she wrapped a gown around the Bible, and started with her father and mother, each of whom carried a child.

They had to cross a brook, but they did not dare to go by the bridges, lest they should be captured by the enemy. There was a place where they thought they could cross on some stepping stones, but on reaching the place it had become quite dark. So Jeanie's father waded across, and carried the others one by one, until she was left quite alone.

Jeanie was much afraid to be left there by herself, so she started to cross after her father, stepping carefully from stone to stone. But presently her foot slipped, and down she went to the bottom. At the same time up went her arms, holding the precious burden over her head. The water came up to her waist, but bracing herself firmly against the rapid current, she walked bravely on across the stream, and had nearly reached the shore, with the dear old Book lifted as high as she could raise it, when she met her father returning to bring her. "Father," she cried, "you told me to take care of the dear old Bible, and I have done so.

Just as she said this they heard several pistol shots and the sound of approaching horsemen. They soon hid themselves in a little cleft of the rocks, and were not discovered.

Jeanie married in after years, and now has great great grandchildren living. The old Bible became her's after her father's death, and in it were written the names of her seven children. It is still, in very good condition, in the possession of her descendants.

Jeanie never forgot that dreadful night when she carried the old Bible through the deep waters; and when she was dying she seemed to be dreaming of it, and said

"I am in the deep river-in the deep river, but I'll hold up the dear old Bible! There, take the book! take the book!" and she soon ceased to breathe.

FACTS, HINTS, GEMS, AND POETRY.

Facts, Hints, Gems, and Poetry.