ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

A CHURCHYARD GHOST.-A gentleman related to a friend the following incident:-He had been kept out by some business far beyond his usual hour, and was returning home in very early morning, at a time when objects were indistinctly seen, and when the mind, it may be added, overstrained by undue exertion, is in a condition very favourable for the reception of ideas of the supernatural. His path lay by a churchyard. Just as he reached it, he saw, though indistinctly, a white figure slowly moving to and fro close to its precincts. If, alarmed by terror, he had fled from the spot, his tale might have added a new item to the catalogue of spectral appearances. But he went on, and as he drew nearer, he ascertained that the supposed apparition was only the inhabitant of a cottage hard by the church, who, unable to sleep, and half undressed, was taking an airing, certainly at a very unseasonable, and, as it would have proved to most, at a very uncomfortable hour in the morning.

WHAT IS REPENTANCE?- "Repentance," says the Rev. D. E. Ford, in his "Damascus," "is not sorrow for sin, or hell would be the most penitent world in the universe. Not a lost soul there, but is sorry for the course which led to so fearful a termination. Scarcely ever has a culprit brought himself to the gallows, without being sorry for his crimes. I have conversed with many a hardened profligate who has assured me that he was sorry for his sins, and I have given him credit for sincerity in that acknowledgement. Yes, he was sorry for his sins, but he would have been more sorry to part with them; he was sorry for his sins, but much more sorry to know that 'the wages of sin is death.' "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death."

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TO DESPISERS OF THE GOSPEL.-Can there be such characters ? Yes, multitudes, who, for the indulgence of their sensual appetites, neglect the glorious gospel of the blessed God, and forfeit all hope of eternal life. A man who had been an enemy to Christ all his life long, was suddenly taken ill; in his dying moments he exclaimed, "There, hell opens its mouth wide to swallow me! I'm going to the devil!" and then expired! This was a fearful end. How was it? What was it that gave him such a dreadful foreboding of coming horrors? What but the last effort of conscience

"shrieking through the gloom,

Man, we shall meet again beyond the tomb!"

Take heed, ye despisers, take heed! "God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Now, listen while you may to the greatest fact of all facts-"God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

S. J.

THE FIRESIDE.

The Fireside.

TO MOTHERS.

Your children's souls are entrusted to your care as well as their bodies. There are mothers who are excellent nurses; who wash, and dress, and feed their children well, and who would rather overdo these things than underdo them. But some of these do not think about their children's souls at all. Now if the mother does not, who on earth will? The father? Yes; he ought, for both parents are commanded to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; but who can do this so well as the mother? She is with them more than the father, and they always look more to her than to him-all children do. She then has more time for teaching them, and more real influence over them. And yet some, who are, no doubt, christian women, strangely neglect this duty, though they may have heard again and again that some of the best and greatest men the world ever saw were first taught the true fear of God by their own mothers. How is it, then, that some find it difficult to speak to their children respecting their eternal interest, but not difficult to speak to them concerning their temporal interest. Why is it so? Why is it that many who feel deeply anxious for the spiritual welfare of their children, never speak to them on the subject? Is it because they are conscious of their own shortcomings, and remain silent lest the charge of inconsistency should arise in their children's minds? This, no doubt, is the case with some, but not with all. There are some who walk humbly with God, in whose piety their children have the utmost confidence, and yet their lips are all but sealed on the subject of religion when in the presence of their children. Why is it so?

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Oh, if there be a subject upon which parents and children should have the freest interchange of thought and feeling, it is that of the soul's well-being. Children often desire to be spoken to on this subject. It weighs upon their minds, and they would fain have parental counsel and parental sympathy. "My mother," said one, now in the ministry, was a good woman, but she could not talk to her children on the subject of religion. When I was about fourteen years old, my mind was deeply impressed by religious truth. I longed to tell my feelings to my mother. I at length gathered courage to speak to her on the subject, but she said little to me, and I was led to resolve that I would never speak to her again on the subject. My seriousness left me, and for many years I seemed like one given over to hardness of heart."

This was a sad thing for any one to have to say of his mother, but so it was. Take care, ye christian mothers, that such a thing be not said of you. Rather let it be said that you first planted and cherished the seeds of piety in their infant hearts, which afterwards brought forth rich fruit to the praise of the grace of God.

THE PENNY POST BOX.

The Penny Post Box.

THE SINGERS CONTRASTED.

Passing home, one evening, from my daily labor, my attention was arrested by the sounds of song, and as "there is in souls a sympathy with sounds," I paused to listen, and at once discovered that they came from a company of christians who were singing a psalm, hymn, or spiritual song in the house of God. I proceeded onward with pleasing reflections, but scarcely had I crossed the road, when I again stopped to listen to other sounds from a public house, and these appeared to proceed from some of its half-drunken noisy inmates. This incident furnished food for reflection, and led me to contrast

1. The places in which they met.-The two places stood opposite, as if indicating their antagonistic character. One was hallowed ground, where God was glorified, where the gospel was proclaimed to sinners, and where saints were called to glory and virtue. As such it is an honour to our country, and an eternal excellency. The opposite place was a synagogue of satan-a pathway to hellwhere men met to curse, swear, drink, and debase themselves;— it was a moral plague-spot-a stronghold of the devil, where Deity was insulted, men degraded, and evil abounded.

2. The persons who sang. Those who sang at one place were saints, whose hearts had been changed, whose affections had been elevated and purified, "the excellent of the earth." The others were children of disobedience, walking according to the course of this world, fulfilling the desires of the flesh, who had "given themselves over to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." 3. The feelings with which they sang. One party sang with the understanding, with reverence, faith, and love. The other with vanity, pride, and low ignoble emotions.

4. The object of their singing. It was the aim of one party to magnify the Lord, and withal to humble themselves before him. The aim of the other was, doubtless, to extol self, to excite applause, and to minister to the depraved tastes of pot companions.

5. Their different effects. As regards those who sang in the sanctuary the effect would be beneficial. The noblest emotions of which the human soul is capable were called into exercise-the divinest principles were fostered, strengthened, and displayed. On the other hand, the effects of the singing in the public house would be injurious, tending to the prostration of the best, and the enthronement of the basest emotions which have place in the human heart. To which of the contrasted characters do we belong? To which of the contrasted places do we go? With what feelings do we sing or listen? What is our object, and what are the effects upon us? Nottingham. W. W.

FACTS, HINTS, AND GEMS.

Facts, Hints, and Gems.

FACTS, HINTS, AND GEMS.