ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS

Anecdotes and Selections.

THE SHIELD OF FAITH.

WHEN Epaminondas had received his death wound on the battle field, he asked with his fast failing breath if the enemy had taken his buckler.

On being told that it was safe, that the enemy had not so much as laid a hand upon it, he laid him down again peacefully to his soldier's death.

So, when the soldier of the red cross comes to his dying hour, his failing hand reaches out for his trusty shield of faith, which has borne him safely through so many conflicts. If it is safe all is well. He can rest his head upon it, as upon a downy pillow, and breathe his life away in the joyous hope of a glorious resurrection.

66

Now," said the bishops to John Huss, as the fagots were piled about him, 66 we commend thy soul to the devil."

"But I," said Huss, lifting up his eyes to heaven, "do commit my spirit into thy hands, O Lord Jesus Christ; to thee I commend my spirit, which thou hast redeemed."

He wore a shield which no fire of the persecutor could destroy.

A young minister of great promise was called, at twenty-four, to lay his armour down, and take the cross his Saviour held to him.

"None can know," he said, in his last moments, 66 none can conceive, the happiness I possess, but the sincere disciple of Jesus. Redeemer of mankind, give me strength to bear even this joy !"

"I DON'T BELIEVE THAT."

THE well-known Dr. Fletcher, of Stepney, was once requested to visit a man who professed to be a sceptic. Speaking to him of his need of salvation, he pointed kindly and earnestly to Christ as the only and all-sufficient Saviour, who gave Himself as a ransom for sinners, that they, through Him, might obtain forgiveness, and be reconciled to God. Hearing this, the dying man said, “Sir, I don't believe that; I wish I could as my dear wife there does; she believes every word you are saying." But," said Dr. Fletcher, "you say you wish you could; and that, if you are sincere, is a great point towards attaining it. Now, what do you believe concerning Jesus Christ ?" "Why," he replied, "I believe that such a man once lived, and that he was a very good and a perfectly sincere man; but that is all."

It was a principle with Dr. Fletcher, when reasoning with unbelievers, if they acknowledged the smallest portion of truth, to make this a position-a starting-point, from which to go on and argue with them. So he said, "You believe, then, that Jesus Christ was a truly

ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

good man. Now, do you think a good man would wish to deceive others, or that a sincere man would use language that must mislead, and that in things of the highest importance?" "Certainly not," he replied. "Then," said Dr. Fletcher, "how do you reconcile your admission that He was a good man, with this saying, 'I and my Father are one?' And when they took stones up to kill Him, He did not undeceive them, but still asserted the fact of divinity, adding, 'My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life.' Could any mere man say this, or even an angel, or the highest archangel ?" "Stop," cried the dying man, with an excited voice; “stop, sir; I never saw this before; a new light breaks in upon me; stop, sir; let me think!"

Holding up his emaciated hand, as if fearing that even a breath might obscure a new light breaking in upon his darkened soul, and with a countenance lighted up with an indescribable expression of mingled wonder and joy, but with eyes intently fixed on Dr. Fletcher, he exclaimed after a short pause, and while the big tears were rolling down his cheeks, "Sir, you are a messenger of mercy, sent by God Himself to save my soul! Yes! Christ is God, and He died to save sinners! Yes, even me!"

LUTHER AT ROME.-In the close of the reign of Julius, Luther visited Rome. The poor monk, worn with penances and heavy_toil, was sent up on some business connected with his convent to the Papal court. He crossed the Alps full of faith, and stirred by as strong excitement. He was about to enter the classic land, with whose poets and historians he had long been familiar; he was to tread the sacred soil of Virgil, Cicero, and Livy. But, more than this, he saw before him, rising in dim majesty, the Holy City of that Church from whose faith he had never yet ventured to depart, whose supreme head was still to him almost the representative of deity, and whose princes and dignitaries he had ever invested with an apostolic purity and grace. Rome, hallowed by the sufferings of the martyrs, filled with relics, and redolent with the piety of ages, the untutored monk still supposed a scene of heavenly rest. "Hail, holy Rome!" he exclaimed, as its distant towers first met his eyes. His poetic dream was soon dispelled. Scarcely had he entered Italy when he was shocked and terrified by the luxury and license of the convents, and the open depravity of the priesthood. He felt sick with sorrow and shame. He complained that the very air of Italy seemed deadly and pestilential. But he wandered on, feeble and sad, until he reached the Holy City, and there, amid the mockery of his fellow-monks, and the blasphemies of the impious clergy, performed with honest superstitions the minute ceremonial of the Church. Of all the pilgrims to that desecrated shrine, none was so devout as Luther. He was determined, he said, to escape the pains of purgatory, and win a plenary indulgence; he dragged his

THE FIRESIDE.

frail form on his knees up the painful ascent of the Holy Stairs, while ever in his ears resounded the cry, "The just shall live by faith." He heard with horror that the head of the Church was a monster stained with vice; that the cardinals were worse than their master; the priests, mocking unbelievers; and fled, heart-broken, back to his German cell.

UNFAITHFUL IN LITTLE THINGS.-You can by a blow crush and destroy the conscience, or you can nibble and gnaw it to pieces. There is one way in which a lion strikes down his prey, and there is another way in which a rat comes at its prey; and in time the gnaw of vermin is as fatal to beauty and life itself as the stroke of the lion's paw. These little infidelities to duty, truth, rectitude, lower the moral tone, limit its range, destroy its sensibility. In short, they put out its light. It is recorded of a lighthouse erected on a tropical shore, that it was like to have failed for the most unlooked for reason. When first kindled, the brilliant light drew about it such clouds of insects which populate the evening and night of equatorial lands, that they covered and fairly darkened the glass. There was a noble light that shone out into the darkness and vanquished night, that all the winds could not disturb, nor all the clouds and storms hide; but the soft wings and gauzy bodies of myriads of insects, each one of which was insignificant, effectually vailed the light, and came near defeating the proposed gift to the mariners. And so it is in respect to the conscience. There may be a power in it to resist great assaults, to overcome strong temptations, and avoid fearful dangers; but there may be a million little venomous insect habits, unimportant in themselves taken individually, but fearful in their results collectively.

THE ART OF BEING MISERABLE.-Kingsley says::-"If you wish to be miserable, you must think about yourself; about what you want, what you like, what respects people ought to pay you, what people think of you; and then to you nothing will be pure. You will spoil every thing you touch; you will make sin and misery for yourself out of everything God sends you; you will be as wretched as you choose."

The Fireside.

A WOMAN'S FRIENDSHIP.

It is a wondrous advantage to a man, in every pursuit or vocation, to secure an adviser in a sensible woman. In a woman there is at once subtle delicacy of tact and a plain soundness of judgment which are rarely combined to an equal degree in man. A woman, if she be really your friend, will have a sensitive regard for your character, honour, and repute. She will seldom counsel you to do shabby things; for a

THE PENNY POST BOX.

woman friend always desires to be proud of you. At the same time, her constitutional timidity makes her more cautious than your male friend. She therefore seldom counsels you to do an imprudent thing. A man's best female friend is a wife of good sense and heart, whom he loves, and who loves him. But, supposing the man to be without such a helpmate, female friendship he must still have, or his intellect will be without a garden, and there will be many an unheeded gap even in the strongest fence.

The Penny Post Box.

TRUTHFULNESS.

THE ground-work of a manly character is the habit of truthfulness. Whatever faults a boy may have, there is always hope for him if his word can only be depended upon. There is a conservative influence in the veracity-it will surely lead to the correction of faults; but when truth is gone, credit, honour, respect, and reliance all are gone. The child that never tells a lie will be reliable in youth and respectable in age, however low in rank he may be in worldly wealth.

Lying is not a natural fault; but truthfulness is a natural virtue. Is that true, O Mr. Total Depravity? Lying is not natural, because it has to be acquired, and it is extremely doubtful whether any child would ever tell a lie, if it never heard one. But there are many teachers who show them how to practise it, and when they have fully learned, attribute it all to natural depravity.

At a railway station the other day, a little girl was trying to form an acquaintance with a stranger. "Come here," said the mother to her; "that man will carry you off." Shall this be called lesson number one in the art and mystery of lying? To judge from the effect produced upon the little child, it was by no means the first lie she had listened to, for she evidently did not believe it. Little children generally, if not always, believe the first lie they hear, and if this proves their natural depravity, it also proves that our first mother Eve was depraved before she fell, for she believed the very first lie she ever heard.

It is very common, however, to speak untruthfully in fun. This error cannot be too carefully avoided. Would you make use of profane or obscene language in fun? Why not? Would it be likely to lead to the reality? So it is in lying. Never deceive a child in sport, lest you should be responsible for sowing the seeds of deception in its young heart. If we would have our children truthful, we must be strictly truthful with them.

FACTS, HINTS, GEMS, AND POETRY.

Facts, Hints, Gems, and Poetry.