POETRY.

Poetry.

ALONE.

ALONE! no voice to cheer me on,
No feet to tread with me

The shadowed path that, stretching on,
Ends in eternity.

Alone! my sad heart fainter grows,
My feet begin to tire;

Yet still the thorny way I tread
Through bramble and through mire.
Alone alone! no footprint seals
Its impress on the sand;

I hear no step,-the wave of death
Has swept the barren strand.
Before my face, I dare not look;
Behind, O grass-green graves !
You stand between me and the past,
And dim those golden days.

Your shadow hides those joyous hours,
And that unbroken ring;

Dark falls between me and those days

The veil of suffering.

Why must the oil of bitter woe

Be poured upon my head?
Why must some joy in living love,

And I bemoan my dead?

O Christ, the path that Thou hast trod
Shall I refuse to tread ?

Through thorny ways and shadowed paths,
I go where Thou hast led.

The eye of faith can dimly see

Thy footprint on the shore;
I cannot tread the way alone
Where Thou hast passed before.
So, taking up my heavy cross,
Onward with joy I press;

I see no more the shadowed path,
But count it only bliss,

With Him to wear the thorny crown,

And press the cup of woe;

With Him, with bleeding hands and feet,

The weary way to go.

Through Him to thread new blessings on

My sad life's broken string;

By Him find heaven, and then for Him
Perfect the broken ring.

ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

Anecdotes and Selections.

HINTS TO TATLERS.-The heights and recesses of Mount Taurus are said to be much infested by eagles, who are never better pleased than when they can pick the bones of crane. Cranes are prone to cackle and make a noise (Isaiah xxxviii. 14), and particularly so when they are flying. The sound of their voices arouses the eagles, who fly at the signal, and often make the talkative traveller pay dearly for their imprudent chattering. The elder and more experienced cranes, sensible of their besetting foible, and the peril to which it exposes them, take care before venturing on the wing, to arm themselves each with a stone, large enough to fill the cavity of their mouths, and consequently to impose unavoidable silence on their tongues, and thus they escape the danger. Reader, hast thou an unruly tongue? Learn a lesson from the elder cranes, and so bridle thy tongue by watchfulness and prayer that thou mayest say with the Psalmist, who had doubtless witnessed, and perhaps felt the infirmity of which we have been speaking, "I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue."

QUARRELLING.-If anything in the world will make a man feel sorely, except pinching his fingers in the crack of a door, it is unquestionably a quarrel. No man ever fails to think less of himself after it than before. It degrades him in the eyes of others, and, what is worse, blunts his sensibilities on the one hand, and increases the power of passionate irritability on the other. The truth is, the more peacefully and quietly we get on, the better for our neighbours. In nine cases out of ten, the better course is, if a man cheats you, cease to deal with him; if he is abusive, quit his company; and if he slanders you, take care to live so that nobody will believe him. No matter who he is, or how he misuses you, the wisest way is to let him alone; for there is nothing better than this cool, calm, and quiet way of dealing with the wrongs we meet with.

THE SPIDER'S COUNSEL.-One day, upon removing some books at Sir William Jones's chambers, a large spider dropped upon the floor, upon which Sir William, with some warmth, called out to his friend Day, "Kill that spider, Day! kill that spider !". "No," said Day, coolly, "I will not kill that spider, Jones. I do not know that I have a right to kill that spider. Suppose, when you are going in your coach to Westminster Hall, a superior being, who may perhaps have as much power over you as you have over this insect, should say to his companion, 'Kill that lawyer! kill that lawyer!' how would you like that, Jones? And I am sure that to most people a lawyer is a more noxious animal than a spider."

ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

A TOUCHING PRAYER.-I well recollect, in the course of my labours, a poor Hindoo youth, who followed me about the garden of the school, asking of me to make him a Christian. I said, "It is impossible, my dear boy; if it is possible to do so at all, it is possible only through the Lord Jesus Christ to make you a Christian. Pray to him." How well I recollect the sweet voice and face of that boy when he soon after came to me and said, "The Lord Jesus Christ has taken His place in my heart." I asked, "How is that ?" He replied, "I prayed, and said, 'O Lord Jesus Christ! if you please, make me a Christian!' And He was so kind that He came down from heaven, and has lived in my heart ever since." How simple and how touching! "Lord Jesus Christ, if you please, make me a Christian!" Can you say that you have made a similar appeal, in such a spirit as this poor Hindoo boy? And can you say, my young friends, that Jesus Christ has come down from heaven to live in your hearts?-Rev. Dr. Boaz.

THE MUSTARD SEED "when it is grown is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." It is well known that in hot countries, as in Judea, the mustard tree attains a size never reached in colder latitudes. A traveller in Chili mentions the fact of riding on horseback under a tree of this kind. Maldonatus relates that in Spain the birds are exceedingly fond of the seed, so that at times he has seen them lighting in great numbers on the boughs. In the image of the birds flocking to the boughs of the tree, and there finding shelter and food (Ezek. viii. 23), we are to recognise a prophecy of the refuge and defence there should be for all men in the church; how that multitudes should find here protection, as well as satisfaction for all the wants of their souls.-R. C. Trench.

RUST, GILDING, AND POLISH.-Some people are rusty. Their harsh' ungainly manners eat out whatever is good in their own character, and saw the very flesh of those that come near them.-Some people are gilt. A very brilliant exterior they present; but the first brush of hard using rubs off the gilding, and reveals the base metal beneath.— A third class are polished. The polish, indeed, is on the surface; but it is a polish on the surface of solid worth, and in the multifarious crosses of human life the more it is rubbed the brighter it grows.

ROWLAND HILL.-A gentleman once said to Rowland Hill—“It is sixty-five years since I heard you preach, and the sermon was well worth remembering. You remarked that some people are very squeamish about the manner of a clergyman in preaching, but you then added, 'Supposing one is hearing a will read, expecting to receive a legacy, would you employ the time in criticising the lawyer's manner while reading it? No: you would give all your interest to ascertain if anything were left to yourself, and how much. Let that, then, be the way in which you listen to the gospel.'"

THE FIRESIDE.

A GOOD DAUGHTER.-There are other ministers of love more conspicuous than she, but none in which a gentler, lovelier spirit dwells, and none to which the heart's warm requitals more joyfully respond. She is the steady light of her father's house. Her ideal is indissolubly connected with that of his fireside. She is his morning sunlight and evening star. The grace, vivacity, and tenderness of her sex have their place in the mighty sway which she holds over his spirit. She is the pride and ornament of his hospitality, and gentle nurse in his sickness.

The Fireside.

A WORD ABOUT TAXES.

THAT common-sense philosopher, Dr. Franklin, in his day refuted an objection against large taxation, by showing that the heaviest taxes are not imposed by government. In his "Way to Wealth," he represents a plain, clean old man with white locks, called "Father Abraham," as being asked, "Will not these heavy taxes quite ruin the country? How shall we ever be able to pay them?" Father Abraham replied, "Friends, the taxes are indeed very heavy; and if those laid by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we might more easily discharge them; but we have many others, and much more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice as much by our own idleness, three times as much by our pride, and four times as much by our folly; and from these taxes the commissioners cannot ease or deliver us by allowing an abatement. However, let us hearken to good advice, and something may be done for us. God helps them that help themselves,' as poor Richard says."

The Penny Post Box.

THE FULNESS IN CHRIST.

How difficult it would be to name a noble figure, a sweet simile, a tender or attractive relationship, in which Jesus is not set forth to woo a reluctant sinner and cheer a desponding saint. Am I wounded? He is balm. Am I sick? He is medicine. Am I naked? He is clothing. Am I poor? He is wealth. Am I hungry? He is bread. Am I thirsty? He is water. Am I in debt? He is a surety. Am I in darkness? He is a sun. Have I a house to build? He is a rock.

FACTS, HINTS, GEMS, AND POETRY.

Must I face that black and gathering storm? He is an anchor sure and steadfast. Am I to be tried? He is an advocate. Is sentence passed, and I am to be condemned? He is pardon.

To deck Him out and set Him forth, nature culls her finest flowers, brings her choicest ornaments, and lays these treasures at His feet. The skies contribute their stars. The sea gives up its pearls. From fields, and rivers, and mountains, earth brings the tribute of her gold, and gems, and myrrh, and frankincense, the lily of the valley, the clustered vine, and the fragrant rose of Sharon. He is "the chiefest among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely." "In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." I offer Him to youmake a free offer of Him; and doing so, will challenge you to name a want for which I shall not find a full supply in Christ-something that fits your wants as accurately as the works of a key the wards of its lock. "A way He is to lost ones that have strayed;