FACTS, HINTS, GEMS, AND POETRY.

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regards it as equivalent to surnum corda-up my soul! Sommor, after examining all the seventy-four passages in which the word occurs, recognizes in every case an actual appeal or summons to Jehovah." They are calls for aid and prayers to be heard, expressed either with entire directness, or if not in the imperative "Hear, Jehovah !" or Awake, Jehovah!" and the like, still earnest addresses to God that he would remember and hear, etc. The word itself he regards as indicating a blast of trumpets by the priests. Selah, itself, he thinks an abridged expression used for Higgaion Selah-Higgaion indicating the sound of the stringed instruments, and Selah a vigorous blast of trumpets.-Bibliotheca Sacra.

Facts, Hints, Gems, and Poetry.

Facts.

CHURCH AND DISSENT.

In England fifty per cent. of the population are connected with the various Dissenting bodies, and fifty per cent. with the Established Church.

In Scotland forty per cent. are Establishmentarians, and sixty per cent. Dissenters.

In Ireland eleven per cent. are Episcopalians, and eighty-eight per cent. are non-established.

The result is as follows: only fortytwo per cent, in the United Kingdom are Episcopal; and fifty-eight per cent. are Dissenting.

The entire income of the clergy in England and Wales is between three and four millions per year.

The entire income of the State Church in Ireland nearly six hundred thousand per year.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has an income of £15,000 a year. The largest income of any Dissenting minister is £1000 a year.

Hints.

Better a threadbare coat than a threadbare credit.

Poverty is no plea for shabby morals. Greatness and deceit cannot long co-exist.

Peace does not dwell without, but within.

The evil that men do lives after them.

If we are conscious of our unworthiness, we do not grieve when others perceive not our worth. The greatest difficulties are imaginary.

Since God has spread our sorrows over the whole of life, do not let us gather them into a single cloud.

Better to work and fail, than to be lazy.

None have so little time for doing anything as those who do nothing. Bustle is not always progress.

Gems.

It matters not what a man loses if he saves his soul; but if he lose his soul, it matters not what he saves.

Sinful security is the forerunner of sudden destruction.

Love is the golden thread that runs through the Gospel: God's love to us, our love to Him, and to one another.

To build a virtuous character requires time and pains; but to destroy it is simple and easy.

Ants may as well attempt to overthrow the Alps, as sceptics the Scriptures.

He who flatters man displeases God.

THE CHILDREN'S CORNER.

Poetic Selections.

ASPIRATIONS.

THOUGH God's high things are not all ours, 'Tis ours to look above;

All is not ours to have and hold,

But all is ours to love!

Strong aspirations, high and pure,

Ne'er fired a soul in vain;
God hears us most when to our hearts
His answer is least plain!

Climb, O my soul, toward God's high things,
And He will take thy part;

Yea, though thou stumble in His hands,
He'll lift thee toward His heart!

Covet and have great things of God,

And take them not by stealth;

Seize on those things that most He loves,
And covet all His wealth.

Dare to aspire to lofty heights,

Look up with eagle eyes;

For, high as thou dost dare to gaze,
So high 'tis thine to rise!

Dread not the dizzy, icy crags;

Fear not to pierce the skies;
Stay not upon the topmost peak,

But spread thy wings and rise!
They see their God who lift their hands
With longing toward His throne;
Who scale the rugged mountain steeps,
And climb the cliffs alone.
God honours zeal; His loftiest gifts
To those bold souls are given
Who, Titan-like, pile up the hills

That they may mount toward heaven!
Have faith; for fearless faith unbars

God's treasure-house on high;
It soars to heaven; it grasps His wealth
And bears it from the sky!

God gives to men His greatest gifts
With kind, yet jealous care;
Large gifts are born of large desires,
And come not without prayer.
He scattereth with lavish hands
Many good things abroad;
But of all good be thou content
With nothing less than God!

The Children's Corner.

AN EASTERN TALE.

A CERTAIN Rabbi had two sons, whom both he and his wife tenderly loved. Duty obliged the Rabbi to take a journey to a distant country; during his absence his two promising boys sickened and died. The grief-stricken mother laid them out on their bed, drew the curtain, and waited anxiously for her husband.

He came-it was night. "How are my boys ?" was his first question. "Let me see them."

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Stay awhile," said his wife; "I am in great trouble, and I want your advice. Some years ago a friend lent me some jewels. I took great care of them, and at last began to prize them as my own. Since your departure my friend has called for them, but I did not like to part with them. Shall I give them up ?"

"Wife! what strange request is this? Give them up, and that instantly, this very night. Show me the jewels."

She took the Rabbi to their bed, drew wide the curtain, and said, "Husband, there are the jewels !"

The Rabbi bowed his head and wept.

A FEARFUL VOYAGE.

THE Glasgow Herald publishes the narrative of Mr. Davies, the second officer of the steamer" Hibernia," who had a marvellous escape in one of the ship's boats. When he left the "Hibernia" his boat contained two barrels of biscuit, three casks of water, and several cans of preserved meat. Two hours after, one of the barrels of biscuit had to be thrown overboard, the boat was so overloaded with passengers. The boat was a life-boat, twentytwo feet long, with six or seven feet beam, and it required two men constantly baling to keep her afloat. One of the women had two children, of three and five years old respectively, and another an infant six months old. The tarpaulin was spread over the forward part of the boat to keep the women comfortable. Nothing of particular note occurred till the second night, when an old man, who had shown symptoms of derangement, jumped overboard, saying he was going to bed. From that time their troubles and sufferings increased rapidly.

"Next morning one of the passengers, supposed to be Francis Rodgers, suddenly threw himself overboard. A woman, supposed to be his sister, pleaded hard that some of us should throw her into the sea after him; but we endeavoured to soothe her, and succeeded in some degree. Rodgers was evidently out of his senses. He had quarrelled with us because we nailed the compass to the thwarts. He wanted the knees of his trousers darned, as he could not,' he said, go home with holes in them.' Up to this time provisions had been given in moderate quantities, and each person had a daily allowance of a pint of water. We had now to shorten the allowance. We had to keep pulling both on the fourth and fifth days, and did not make much progress.

Sunday was calm all day. The children hitherto had been tolerably lively. The infant was fed on mashed biscuit, its mother having no milk, and the others got biscuit with a small quantity of preserved meat. The want of sufficient water now began to be felt; and owing to the close packing of all in the boat, and the frequent wettings, cramps were very general. We were forced to keep everything in one position as much as possible to avoid capsizing. Up to Monday no one had seriously complained of the discomforts, and all were in tolerable spirits. The seamen did all

A FEARFUL VOYAGE.

in their power to inspire hope; and the quartermaster, Blair, spun yarns to keep their spirits up.

On the Wednesday, the second engineer sung the hundreth Psalm, and many joined with him. That day the wind blew hard from the south-west, and we had to bring the boat to by using the sail, and two of our oars as a floating anchor, and in doing so lost both sail and oars. It was useless to seek for them, it being now dark, so we had to make a sail out of a piece of tarpaulin, and be content with one oar and a half that we had with us in the boat. The wind blowing fiercely, the tarpaulin was torn into rags, and we substituted for it bed covers. These latter were also destroyed. Samuel Brewster, an old man, died on Wednesday, after going raving mad.

Many of our number now showed signs of madness; probably from despair and exposure to extreme cold. Some became violent and threatening in their conduct, and we had to use force with certain of them, and gradually we got them calmed down. Early on Thursday morning a child, five years of age, died; and shortly afterward its mother expired. Another child took lock-jaw, and died also. The bodies were thrown overboard. The effect on the survivors was very visible. All this time we were making slow progress toward the Irish coast. The torn tarpaulin had been mended in the best fashion we could, and served in a kind of a way for a lugsail.

Provisions and water were now given in small quantities. One of the barrels of biscuit was found to be much soaked with sea water, and one of the fresh water casks had leaked half of its contents. We had to disregard the appeals for drink, and the consequence was that several seamen among the rest took to quenching their thirst with salt water, in spite of our remonstrances. This was continued until a number got perfectly mad. Walter McFarlane, fireman, was one of those who persisted in taking salt water, and his conduct became so dangerously outrageous that he had to be tied to the bottom. He died in this state. On Friday morning we had sailed four hundred and fifty miles. The tarpaulin sail had given way half a dozen times, and as often mended, and on the whole the boat had gone very well. This day the infant died.

Our situation had. become miserable in the extreme. The sea was breaking over the boat in clouds of spray, wetting every one to the skin, and all were sitting in pools of water. There was nothing now to cover the women, as we had used everything for

A FEARFUL VOYAGE.

sails. Cramp had seized all of us more or less, and our legs and hands were greatly swelled, and, consequently, very painful. The fresh water was so scarce that less than a pint had to serve four persons for a day, and provisions were equally scanty. Some of us were raving and violently mad. A woman died as the evening closed in, but the fact was not noticed at the time, and the body was still in the boat when the greatest of all our calamities occurred.

About eleven o'clock a heavy wave struck the boat, and those on board in their drowsy condition falling suddenly in a mass on the lee side, she went over, and all were left struggling in the water. The boat floated upwards, and Reilly managed to struggle up and seat himself on the keel. He assisted Blair to get up, which the latter did with some difficulty, as a drowning passenger had laid hold of his leg. Reilly then assisted Mr. Davies, who had also to shake himself clear of some one clinging to his foot. No others got hold of the boat, though several were heard for a time shouting or swearing as they swam about in the darkness. One poor soul had got under the boat, and he was heard for nearly an hour. He was apparently holding on by the thwarts and breathing the air which had been inclosed when the boat rolled over, or which reached him through the chinks of her timbers.

About twelve o'clock a heavy sea struck the boat, and the three who were sitting astride of the keel were again immersed in the water. Blair was the first to recover his position, and by his assistance the other two were brought up on the boat. The sail was floating alongside, and we got hold of the ropes attached to the mast, and, watching for a favourable opportunity, managed, by pulling upon the ropes, to get the boat righted. She was, of course, full of water, and we baled her at first with flat pieces of wood, and afterwards with two tin cans which we found attached to the thwarts. At length, by hard labour, we got her clear. Everything was lost out of the boat except one oar, the mast, the tarpaulin sail, and the yard, and we were thus left without provisions or water. When daylight broke we again made sail upon the boat as well as we could, and again steered our course to the eastward, with a favourable wind.

By Sunday evening we were beginning to get downhearted. We saw a sail-the first we had seen-but she did not observe us, and darkness shortly afterwards closing in we had no light with which to attract attention. We were downcast at this, but about