they pressed forward; difficulties stood in their way, but before them they never faltered nor swerved. Obstacles, almost insurmountable, they bravely trampled under foot. The most untoward circumstances, before which cowards would have quailed, they seized upon and made them so many stepping-stones to greatness. My brothers, let us go and do likewise.

I remember, when quite a boy at school, forming one of a party to go a day's nutting in the woods; during the day we came to a very large tree, and the question was asked which boy could climb it; after each boy had had a trial, and all proved unsuccessful in getting beyond a few feet, we, as practical and experienced climbers, pronounced it an impossibility, and therefore useless to make any further attempt. All were satisfied of the impractibility of the thing except one boy; he was not the best climber amongst us, but he had an iron willonce set upon a thing he was determined to accomplish it. "I'll climb that tree," said he, and I fancy I can see him now, carefully examining every inch of the trunk to see which was the best place to commence operations; at length he selected what he considered to be the most favourable side, and commenced climbing with all his might; again and again did he try, and again and again did he slip; and you may be sure each failure was hailed with a round of derisive laughter. At last we left him, at what we considered his utopian task, bathed in perspiration, but still trying with all his might;

presently, it might have been half an hour, we heard a tremendous shout-Charley's energy and determination had overcome every difficulty, and there he was standing triumphantly at the top of the tree, waving his cap in the air, shouting as lustily as his lungs would let him, and feeling himself to be a real hero-and so we thought him, and frankly told him so. If ever I envied anybody in my life it was that boy, standing victoriously at the top of the tree. So, methinks we big boys would not do far amiss to follow his example. Cowards will look at the gigantic difficulties, and rugged steep up which they have to climb, and say it is an impossibility, it can't be done-but the brave soul says, “I'll try," and begins at once the difficult task. is climbing well, and perhaps just congratulating himself upon his success, when his foot slips, the shrub to which he is clinging breaks from its rocky bed, and down he tumbles; and once let a man begin to go down hill, there are plenty to give him a kick and send him rolling a little faster. But he is not to be daunted; like the boy at the tree, he has resolved to reach the top, and with wearied limbs and blistered feet, he tries again the difficult ascent. He often tumbles and as often tries again, until at length he accomplishes the difficult task; the object of his aspirations is reached, and he stands triumphantly on the summit. While those who said,

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it can't be done," "it's an impossibility," and so on, now look on in astonishment, saying, "who'd have thought it!" My friends, never

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say fail, never get faint-hearted, but let hope be your polar star, energy the impulsive power, and nil desperandum your motto. These qualities will achieve wonders, and before them difficulties vanish like dew before the morning sun!

Never give up! it is wiser and better
Always to hope, than once to despair!
Fling off the load of doubt's heavy fetter,
And break the dark spell of tyrannical care :
Never give up! or the burthen may sink you-
Providence kindly has mingled the cup;
And in all trials or troubles bethink you,

The watchword of life must be, Never give up.

Never give up! there are chances and changes
Helping the hopeful a hundred to one,
And through the chaos high Wisdom arranges
Ever success-if you'll only hope on :
Never give up! for the wisest is boldest,
Knowing that Providence mingles the cup,
And of all maxims the best, as the oldest,
Is the true watchword of, Never give up.

Never give up! though the grape-shot may rattle,
Or the full thunder-cloud over you burst;
Stand like a rock, in the storm and the battle,
Little shall harm you, though doing their worst:
Never give up! if adversity presses,

Providence wisely has mingled the cup,
And the best counsel in all your distresses,
Is the stout watchword-Never give up!

THE HIGHER LIFE.-I have hitherto spoken of the Life Battle, principally as it relates to the securing of the bread that perisheth,-the struggle we have for a mere existence. But this is only a part of the fight; a man may fight, and

fight nobly here he may win victory after victory, and be loudly applauded by his fellows; and yet, viewed in the true light, every such victory gained may be nothing more than a sad defeat. A man may enter a firm as office sweeper, and fight his way up steadily step by step, pushing on one side all competitors, and rising successfully above every difficulty; gain position after position, until he has reached the very topmost place; and then, after all his plodding, planning, and toiling, be miserably defeated. True he is the proprietor of the firm, and reputed immensely rich; but instead of his riches being a blessing to him, they are a curse. He has thirsted for gain with a sordid soul. The amassing of gold, and the collecting of bank notes, have been the one great aim of his life. Poor fool! he shall presently find that there are greater riches than gold, and other books besides the ledger. There is the higher life-the Home above the stars-the wealth that never perishes, and the soul that can never die. Man has a mind, great, noble, and divine,-a mind that can ramble far up amongst the grandeur of the starry heavens, and then return and delve down into the very bowels of the earth! Man, who can laugh at the roaring billows and tame the raging torrent! Man! who can look complacently with folded arms upon yonder huge mountain and defy its dizzy height, for he has made an iron horse which shall go rushing up there at the rate of ten miles an hour! Man! who can grasp the forked lightning, compel it to do his

bidding, carrying words with the rapidity of thought whithersoever he will! Yes, man has a mind, bearing the image of the Deity-a mind which shall live right down through the endless ages of eternity. And yet is there not something appalling in the fact, that man with a soul bearing the imprint of his Maker, with such a dignity of being and glorious destiny, should stoop so low as to prostitute all his talents, energy, and abilities, to the collecting together and hoarding up so much dust?

My dear friends, don't let the one object of your life be the collecting together a mere handful of gold, when there is a "higher life" to fight for, far more glorious mansions to enjoy, and riches to seek "that shall never fade or die." If you would gaze on the catalogue of the greatest warriors the world has ever seen, I would not take you to our millionaires and point you to their landed estates, splendid mansions, and enormous wealth, as their victories; no, no, they may be great for a time, but their greatness is evanescent. The world does not care to fondly cherish their memories-to inscribe their names "pon the nation's scroll-erect statues to their honour, and entwine around them the rich laurels of a people's gratitude and admiration! The warriors whom the people delight to honour, are not the men who have struggled for gold merely, but those who have fought gallantly, nobly, and well for the faith of our forefathers, the cause of liberty, and the welfare of humanity. The glorious names of Luther, Cromwell, How