"what is the half of a half?" The pupil said one-quarter, and added: "Oh, I see! The half of 75 1-2 is 373-4." Such work as this will set the pupils "a-thinking," and they will soon be able to work out their own salvation, if the teacher will give them a chance to do it. FOR OPENING EXERCISES. 1. Subject THE CATTLE TRAIN "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." "Somewhere above Fitchburg, as we stopped for twenty minutes at a station, I amused myself by looking out of a window at a waterfall which came tumbling over the rocks and spread into a wide pool that flowed up to the railway. Close by stood a cattle train, and the mournful sounds that came from it touched my heart. "Full in the hot sun stood the cars, and every crevice of room between the bars across the doorways was filled with pathetic noses, snuffing eagerly at the sultry gusts that blew by, with now and then a fresher breath from the pool that lay dimpling before them. How they must have suffered, in sight of water, with the cool dash of the fall tantalizing them, and not a drop to wet their poor, parched throats! "The cattle lowed dismally and the sheep tumbled one over the other in their frantic attempts to reach the blessed air, bleating so plaintively the while that I was tempted to get out and see what I could do for them. But the time was nearly up, and while I hesitated two little girls appeared and did the kind deed better than I could have done it. "I could not hear what they said, but as they worked away so heartily their little tanned faces grew lovely to me, in spite of their old hats, their bare feet and their shabby gowns. One pulled off her apron, spread it on the grass, and, emptying upon it the berries from her pail, ran to the pool and returned with it dripping to hold it up to the suffering sheep, who stretched their hot tongues gratefully to meet it, and lapped the precious water with an eagerness that made little barefoot's task a hard one. "But to and fro she ran, rever tired, though the small pail was so soon empty, and her friend meanwhile pulled great handfuls of clover and grass for the cows, and, having no pail, filled her 'picking dish' with water to throw on the poor dusty noses appealing to her through the bars. I wish I could have told those tender-hearted children how beautiful their compassion made that hot, noisy place, and what a sweet picture I took away with me of those two little sisters of charity." -Louisa M. Alcott. 2. Subject A SERMON IN RHYME "Not what we give but what we share, If you have a friend worth loving, If you hear a song that thrills you, Why should one who thrills your heart If you hear a prayer that moves you Bow before his God alone. Why should not your brother share If you see the hot tears falling If a silvery laugh goes rippling Through the sunshine on his face, There's health and goodness in the mirth If your work is made more easy Scatter thus your seeds of kindness, Leave them. Trust the Harvest Giver, He will make each seed to grow. Your life shall never lack a friend. -Boston Transcript. 3. A RUSSIAN LEGEND "The gates of heaven are closed to him who comes alone." "There was an old woman who for many centuries suffered tortures in the flames of hell, for she had been a great sinner during her earthly life. One day she saw far away in the distance an angel taking liis flight through the blue skies, and with the whole strength of her voice she called to him. The call must have been desperate, for the angel stopped in his flight and, coming down to her, asked her what she wanted. "When you reach the throne of God,' she said, 'tell Him that a miserable creature has suffered more than she can bear, and that she asks the Lord to be delivered from these tortures.' "The angel promised to do so, and flew away. When he had transmitted the message God said: "Ask her whether she had done any good to anyone during her life.' "The old woman strained her memory in search of a good action during her sinful past, and all at once: 'I've got one,' she joyfully exclaimed; 'one day I gave a carrot to a hungry beggar.' "The angel reported the answer. "Take a carrot,' said God to the angel, ‘and stretch it out to her. Let her grasp it, and if the plant is strong enough to draw her out from hell she shall be saved.' "This the angel did. The poor old woman clung to the carrot. The angel began to pull, and lo! she began to rise. But when her body was half out of the flames she felt a weight at her feet. Another sinner was clinging to her. She kicked, but it did not help. The sinner would not let go his hold, and the angel, continuing to pull, was lifting them both. But lo! another sinner clung to them, and then a third, and more, and always more-a chain of miserable creatures hung at the old woman's feet. The angel never ceased pulling. It did not seem to be any heavier than the small carrot could support, and they were all lifted in the air. But the old woman suddenly took fright. Too many people were availing themselves of her last chance of salvation, and, kicking and pushing those who were clinging to her, she exclaimed: 'Let me alone; hands off; the carrot is mine.' No sooner had she pronounced this word 'mine' than the tiny stem broke, and they all fell back to hell, and forever."-Educational Independent. 4. Subject "A WORD ABOUT CLOTHES" “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” Do clothes make a boy? Sometim.es. I knew of a boy who was made by his clothes. I will tell you. He had a chum at school whose parents were poor, and who was obliged to dress coarsely and plainly. He could have offered his intimate friend better clothes, but that would have wounded the heart that he loved. What should he do? His friend dressed coarsely but neatly. He resolved that he would wear exactly such clothes as his friend could afford, and dress as nearly like him as possible. His parents liked his sense of brotherly kindness and his true heart. The act was a lesson. It taught him the nobleness of self-sacrifice. As he grew older he seemed to think but little of his own gratification-a true mark of a gentleman. He loved others more than himself. This caused him to be beloved, and when at last the people of bis city and State wanted a man for a position of trust and honor, they selected him. Clothes make nothing but clothes, as a rule, but they show character, and a ten-dollar suit may be used to express as much character as one that costs fifty dollars. It is neatness, and care, and taste, that makes good clothes; they also make boys-not the tailors. Do you see the principle?-Hezekiah Butterworth. 5. Subject THE LEGEND OF THE TWO SACKS "Out of thine own mouth I will judge thee." There is an ancient legend that tells of an old man who was in the habit of traveling from place to place with a sack hanging behind his back and another in front of him. What do you think these sacks were for? Well, I will tell you. In the one behind him he tossed all the kind deeds of his friends, where they were quite hid from view, and he soon forgot all about them. In the one hanging round his neck, under his chin, he popped all the sins which the people he knew committed, and these he was in the habit of turning over and looking at as he walked along, day by day. One day, to his surprise, he met a man wearing, just like himself, sack in front and one behind. He went up to him and began feeling his sack. "What have you got here, my friend?" he asked, giving the sack in front a good poke. "Stop, don't do that!" cried the other; "you spoil my good things." "What things?" asked number one. "Why, my good deeds," answered number two. "I keep them all in front of me, where I can always see them and take them out and air them. See, here is the half crown I put in the plate last Sunday; and the shawl I gave to the beggar girl; and the mitten I gave to the crippled boy; and the penny I gave to the organ grinder; and here is even the benevolent smile I bestowed on the crossing-sweeper at my door; and-" "And what's in the sack behind?" asked the first traveler, who thought his companion's good deeds would never come to an end. "Tut, tut," said number two, "there is nothing I care to look at in there! That sack holds what I call my mistakes." "It seems to me that your sack of mistakes is fuller than the other," said number one. Number two frowned. He had never thought that, though he had put what he called his "mistakes" out of his sight, everyone else could see them still. An angry reply was on his |