ministering to their wants with the most patient kindness, while she denied herself sufficient food, in order to supply them with comforts.

Nothing could exceed Maria's enthusiasm on reading this story. Her father being gone out, she stationed herself at the window to watch for his return, and when he came, she ran to him with the exclamation—

66

O, papa, here is the most beautiful story you ever read of a girl who-O, papa, do read it—it will not take you long."

Her father sat down, and taking Maria on his lap complied with her request.

"Isn't it beautiful, papa?" cried she, as soon as he had finished.

66

Yes, my dear, it is a beautiful instance of filial piety."

"O, papa, I wish-" but Maria stopped, blushing. Well, my dear, go on, what do you wish?"

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“I was going to say, papa, that I almost wished you were poor, so that I might have the pleasure of working for you."

"Thank you, my dear; I have no doubt you would be willing to help me, though it might perhaps be less pleasant than you think now."

“O no, papa, I am sure I should always love to do anything for you."

"And do you really suppose, Maria, that it would be casier to go without food, and work day and night, than it is to perform the light services required of you now?" “No, papa, it would not be easier, exactly; but-” "But there would be more glory about it?"

"Not exactly that, papa; but I should feel as if I were doing something."

"Well, are you not doing something now, when you take care of the baby, and help your mother sew?"

"But then, papa, that is such a little; and, besides, you could get somebody else to do it if I did not."

"As to that, my dear, you are mistaken. To be sure, we are not poor, in the sense that Dorothea's parents were; but I could not afford to keep another servant to take care of the children-so, you see, you can do some good."

This seemed to console Maria for a few moments, but then she sighed to think it was so little in comparison with what Dorothea did.

"You may depend upon it, Maria," said her father, "that all the wishing for some other situation to show your love, is self-deception. You can just as well give proofs of your affection now, as you could in any other circumstances; and it is folly for a person who does not faithfully perform his present duties, to pretend that he should do better in a different station. I can tell you why it looks so easy to you now. We never see fully the difficulties and discomforts of any situation till we are placed in it. You look at it now at a distance, and it seems easy to you to make sacrifices; but if you had to rise early and go to bed late, to work hard, and eat only black bread, and not enough of that, and all this day after day, and week after week, I suspect you would alter your mind. Suppose that Dorothea had been placed in your situation; do you not think she would have found opportunities of being useful?"

66 Yes, papa, I suppose she would."

Yes, she would have been useful in any situation; but she had a principle of action, which you have not. Do you remember how she encouraged herself to do right?"

66

'Yes, papa, she thought of Christ all the time.” "Yes, and looking to Him will make everything easy." The next evening, when Maria again took her seat by her father, he resumed the conversation of the previous day.

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Maria, there is probably another reason why you imagine it would be easier to do what Dorothea did, than what is required of you. You think of her as loved and admired by all who read this story, and this makes the self-denial appear less difficult. But, remember, she did not suppose her conduct would ever be known; she laboured on meekly and patiently, from day to day, with no other reward than the approbation of God and her own conscience. Do you think you could do this?" Maria was not sure.-Payson's Conversations.

LESSON LXVI. EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW.

The two largest and most celebrated cities in Scotland are situated in the valleys of two rivers, the Forth and the Clyde. They are Edinburgh and Glasgow. Edinburgh is on the Forth, though situated at some little distance from its banks. Glasgow is on the Clyde. There is a railway extending across from Edinburgh to Glasgow, and also a canal, connecting the waters of the Forth with the Clyde. The region of these cities, and of the canal and railroad connecting them, is altogether the busiest, the most densely peopled, and the most important portion of Scotland.

The cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, though both greatly celebrated, are celebrated in very different ways. Edinburgh is the city of science, of literature, and of the

arts.

Here are many learned institutions, the fame and

influence of which extend to every part of the world. Here are great book-publishing establishments, which send forth millions of volumes every year-from ponderous encyclopædias of science, and elegantly illustrated and costly works of art, down to tracts for Sabbath schools, and picture-books for children. The situation of Edinburgh is very romantic and beautiful; the town being built among hills and ravines of the most picturesqué and striking character. When Scotland was an independent kingdom, Edinburgh was the capital of it, and thus the old palace of the kings, and the royal castle, are there; and the town has been the scene of some of the most remarkable events in Scottish history.

Glasgow, on the other hand, which is on the Clyde, towards the western side of the island, together with all the country for many miles round it, forms the scene of the mechanical and manufacturing industry of Scotland. The whole district, in fact, is one vast workshop, being full of mines, mills, forges, furnaces, machine shops, shipyards, and iron works, with pipes puffing out steam, and tall chimneys rising everywhere all round the horizon, and sending up volumes of dense black smoke, which come pouring incessantly from their summits, and thence floating majestically away, mingle with the clouds of the sky.

The reason of this is, that the strata of rocks which lie beneath the ground in all this region, consist in great measure of beds of coal and of iron ore. The miners dig down in almost any spot, and find iron ore; and very near it, and sometimes in the same pit, they find plenty of coal. These pits are like monstrous wells: very wide at the mouth, and extending down four or five times as far as the height of the tallest steeples, into the bowels

of the earth. Over the mouth of the pit the workmen build a machine, with ropes and a monstrous wheel, to hoist up the iron and coal by, and all round they set up furnaces to smelt the ore and turn it into iron. Then at suitable places, in various parts of the country, they construct great rolling mills and foundries. The rolling mills are to turn the pig iron into wrought iron, and to manufacture it into bars, and sheets, and rails for the railroads; and the foundries are to cast it into the form of great wheels, and cylinders, and beams for machinery, or for any other purpose that may be required.

The Clyde is the river on which steam-boats were first built in Great Britain. The first man-in England or Scotland that found a way of making a steam-engine that could be put in a boat and made to turn paddle-wheels so as to drive the boat along, was James Watt, who was born on the Clyde, which, of course, very naturally became the centre of steam-boat and steam-ship building. The iron for the engines was found close at hand, as well as abundant supplies of coal for the fires. The timber they brought from the Baltic. At length, however, they found that they could build ships of iron instead of wood, using iron beams for the framing, and covering them with plates of iron riveted together, instead of planks. These ships were found superior, in almost all respects, to those built of timber; and as iron in great abundance was found all along the banks of the Clyde, and as the workmen in the region were extremely skilful in working it, the business of building ships and steamers of this material increased wonderfully, until, at length, the banks of the river for miles below Glasgow became lined with ship-yards, where countless steamers, of monstrous length and graceful forms, in all stages of construction,