"But they, while that hour is fleeting, They have gather'd naught but pleasure "How unlike the patient emmet, "Daughter! there are human beings Would my child be one of these? "Rather like the bee or emmet, "Then will play have more enjoyment "But, mother, the butterfly seems very happy in its idleness; happier than I have felt, I must say, for after all one gets tired of idleness." "The butterfly, my child, is in the order of its creation; its gratifications are limited to the delights of sense; it is incapable of any elevation to the superior joys of reason and intellect, still less to the knowledge and love of God. God provides for it the food which sustains, and the instinct by which it preserves and enjoys its brief existence. "But we may also view it as a representative of the immortal spirit of which it is a beautiful image, and while we gaze on its splendid garb as it flits from flower to flower, we should reflect that for our spiritual being, God has also provided its nourishment and clothing-its home of beautiful flowers and exquisite enjoyments; but that it has the liberty of choosing whether it will seek what is thus provided or not." "What is the nourishment and clothing of the spirit, mother?" "As the natural body is sustained by natural food, so must the spiritual body be sustained by spiritual food-it is this we pray for when we say, 'Give us this day our daily bread. This spiritual bread is goodness and truth-which are heavenly food: and which will be given to us according as we desire to live by them; and when the spirit is thus nourished with truth and goodness, will it not be invested with that brightness and beauty which is spoken of in the Word as the cloth ing of righteousness,—the 'garments of salvation: or, as the apostle says, 'Apparel which is not corruptible—the ornaments of a meek and quiet spirit?" "The butterfly has been from very ancient times considered as a symbol of the soul. You know the changes to which this insect is subject; and they bear a striking analogy to the separation of the soul and body in death. From the creeping worm, in which state it is exposed to many enemies, (which have been well compared to the vices that may destroy spiritual life,) we see it at length breaking forth in glory and beauty and no longer a creeping thing, soaring away a creature of life and joy-endowed with new faculties and privileges adapted to its higher and happier state. "And so we, my child, if we permit the love of God to operate to the unfolding of our higher our spiritul nature-when we cast off the grosser and material parts, shall arise to life eternal; while if we pervert the influences of His holy spirit, and live an idle, a useless, and a vicious life, loathing the food of heaven which is goodness and truth-there will remain in our spirits nothing of spiritual life, but only that eternal existence in a state of misery, which in the Word is called deaththe death of the soul." THE sheep and the lamb are so frequently spoken of in the Holy Word, that it may interest you a little if we say something about their signification. The sheep is most harmless and gentle in its nature, and in olden times was much valued; principally, however, for the sake of its wool. We need not say much to you of its habits or of its gentleness-you all know, perhaps, nearly as much as we can tell you. Fe w animals are more easily domesticated, and indeed, being destitute of the means of self-d efence, it seems to seek the society of man as a protection against its numerous foes. In th'ose countries which we read of in the Bible these foes abounded; and the shepherd's life was therefore one of a most arduous cha racter. He not only had to watch the flock, lest any of his sheep went astray, but to keep a sharp look out that no wolf or other ravenous animal was lurking near, ready to pounce upon his defenceless charge. You recollect perhaps having frequently seen sheep straying a long distance from the rest of the flock, each following his own inclination, and wandering or cropping the rich herbage. So when the prophet Isaiah wished to describe the wandering of the church from the Lord, He compared them to a flock of sheep and said, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way." And because the shepherd's duties were so difficult, his life was considered to be a very honourable one. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, you will recollect, all kept sheep; and Jacob was for a long time shepherd to Laban. David also was a shepherd, and perhaps you recollect the account he gave to Saul of the lion and the bear coming and taking a lamb out of the flock, and of his fighting with and overcoming them. The Lord also calls Himself the Good Shepherd, but we cannot now tell you why-we must leave it till next time as the sheep is quite enough for one letter. The sheep and the lamb, then, being such gentle and harmless creatures, and so affectionate, we are at once led to see that they must |