most deeply buried, holds-chained to it by these all-pervading forces-the uncounted worlds which-like luminous sand-are sprinkled by the hand of the Great Creator throughout the glorious universe! R. HUNT.

The very law which moulds a tear,
And bids it trickle from its source-
That law preserves the earth a sphere,
And guides the planets in their course!

THE GREAT CHANGES OF NATURE.

Geology teaches us to regard our position upon the earth as one far in advance of all former creations. It bids us look back through the countless ages of the past, and see through all the vast changes a gradual progress to a higher and still higher state of things. No grain of matter has either been added or taken away from the earth since it was first poised with other worlds. But in virtue of those forces which seem to originate in the sun, a constant succession of new forms has been produced, as the old things passed away. Hence what is now a beautiful and fragrant flower, or a living and sagacious animal, was once a portion of the shapeless mass which lay in the deep ocean; destined to return to the inorganic state, but from this to arise again clothed perhaps with more exalted powers than ever. R. HUNT.

Ages on ages slowly pass away,

And nature marks their progress by decay.

The plant which decks the mountain with its bloom,
Finds in the earth, ere long, a damp dark tomb:

And man-earth's monarch, howe'er great and brave-
Toils on, to find at last a silent grave.

The chosen labours of his teeming mind

Fade by the light, and crumble 'neath the wind;
And e'en the hills-whose tops appear to shroud
Their granite peaks deep in the vapoury cloud-
Worn by tempests, wasted by the rains,
Sink slowly down to fill wide ocean's plains.
The ocean's breast new lands again display,
And life and beauty drink the light of day:
The powers which work at great creation's wheel,
Will from the wrecks of matter still reveal
New forms of wondrous beauty, which will rise
Pure as the flame of love's young sacrifice-
Beaming with all the pristine hues of youth,
Robed by the day, and crowned by holy truth!

265

MISCELLANEOUS.

"ORIENT PEARLS AT RANDOM STRUNG."

Heart! be thou like the sunflower, and unfold
To all the blessings God hath given thee!
Still ever turn to Him-so shalt thou hold
Thyself in an undying purity!

Nature hath assigned

Two sovereign remedies for human grief;
Religion, sweetest, firmest, first and best,
Strength to the weak, and to the wounded balm;

And strenuous action next.

Christianity is a divine system of spiritual attractions, by which, whosoever honestly gives himself to them, is effectually drawn out of the otherwise invincible entanglements and inextricable difficulties of this dark, uncertain and trying world.

Christianity alone can save us; but it must be based on that which is eternally God's own, and which is as indestructible and invincible as He is Himself: it must be based on Reason and Conscience-that is Reason spontaneously embracing the Faith in Christ, and the conscientious reception of that Faith which is at once with Reason and with the History of the World.

There are two lights for man, one which enlightens his understanding, and is subject to discussion and doubt, leading to aberration and error. The other enlightens the heart, and never deceives; for it is at once truth and conviction.

If e'er, when faith had fallen asleep,
I heard a voice "Believe no more,"
And heard an ever breaking shore,
That tumbled in the godless deep-
A warmth within the breast would melt
The freezing reason's colder part,
And, like a man in wrath, the heart
Stood up and answered, "I have felt."

Beneath our feet and o'er our head
Is equal warning given;

Beneath us lie the countless dead-
Above us is the Heaven!

And this is Life Eternal, that they might know Thee the only True God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.-John xvii. 3.

The one Idea which History exhibits as evermore developing itself into greater distinctness, is the Idea of Humanity-the noble endeavour to throw down all the barriers erected between men by prejudice and one-sided views; and by setting aside the distinc

tions of religion, country, and colour, to treat the whole human race as one brotherhood, having one great object-the free development of their spiritual nature!

What is our duty here? To tend

From good to better-thence to best!
Grateful to drink life's cup,-then hend
Unmurmuring to our bed of rest;
To pluck the flowers that round us blow,
Scattering their fragrance as we go.
And so to live, that when the sun
Of our existence sinks in night,
Memorials sweet of mercies done,

May shine our names in memory's light;
And the blest seeds we scatter'd bloom
A hundred-fold in days to come.

His warfare is within. There he toils

And there he wins fresh victories o'er himself,

And never withering wreaths-compared with which
The laurels that a Cæsar wears are weeds.

There's a life that has its law in goods that feed the sense;
There's a life that has its law in Love's beneficence.
There's a life that labours hard to seem what Man desires;
There's a life that patient strives to be what God requires.
A life that says to Error, "Go forth to banishment!"
A life that says to Error, "Draw near, thou may'st repent!"
A life that casts its frown o'er the Eden where it stands;
A life that, like a fountain, mirrors heaven amid the sands.
A life, set in rich pastures, that pines and bears not fruit;
A life that thrives 'mid rocks, by the vigour of its root.
A life that hath its banquet, yet loathing quits the board;
And a life that breaks its crust with blessings to the Lord.
A life whose inner sickness no wholesome airs dispel ;
A life that in contagion sleeps calmly and is well.
A life that is but death, though an age it cumber earth;
A life that, by expiring, attains to nobler birth.

My son, be this thy simple plan :
Serve God, and love thy brother man;
Count life a stage upon thy way,
And follow conscience, come what may;
Alike with heaven and earth sincere,
With hand and brow and bosom clear,
"Fear God"-and know no other fear.

Man is his own star, and the soul that can
Render an honest and a perfect man,
Commands all light, all influence, all fate-
Nothing to him falls early or too late.
Our acts our angels are, or good or ill,
Our fatal shadows that walk by us still.

From the low prayer of want, and plaint of woe,
O never, never turn away thine ear!

Forlorn in this bleak wilderness below,

O what were man should Heaven refuse to hear!
To others do (the law is not severe)

What to thyself thou wishest to be done.

Forgive thy foes, and love thy parent's dear,
And friends and native land! nor those alone,

All human weal and woe, learn thou to make thine own.

Life is transfigured in the soft and tender

Light of love, as a volume dun

Of rolling smoke becomes a wreathed splendour
In the declining sun.

'Tis the mind that makes the body rich;

And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds,
So honour peereth in the meanest habit.

What is the jay more precious than the lark,
Because his feathers are more beautiful?
Or is the adder better than the eel,
Because his painted skin contents the eye?

Happy the man who dares be just,
Refusing to betray his trust,

Though interests tempt him to the deed:
Though the seducing passions plead.
Him would the storm-vexed ocean's weight,
Or lightning barbed with instant fate,
Or the last earthquake's awful shock,
Unfearing smite ;-God is his rock!
Among the faithless, faithful only he,
Among innumerable, false, unmoved,
Unshaken, unseduced, unterrified,
His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal:
Nor number, nor example with him wrought
To swerve from truth, or change his constant mind.

How happy is he born and taught
That serveth not another's will,
Whose armour is his honest thought,
And simple truth his utmost skill.
This man is freed from servile bands
Of hope to rise or fear to fall,
Lord of himself, though not of lands,
And having nothing, yet hath all."

Oh be thyself, and nobly striving,
With earnest soul spend every hour!
Up! up! discharge some holy mission,
And break the bonds which now enthral-

Voices from the Future summon:

And Love, Faith, Death and Duty call!

The key to social happiness lies in a delicate attention, a fine sense of the nameless and exquisite tenderness of manner and thought. It is rarely found in the characters of men, but it outweighs, when it is, all grosser qualities. There are many who waste and lose affections by carelessness, and often unconscious neglect. It is not a plant to grow untended; the breath of indifference, or rude touch, may destroy for ever its delicate texture. There is a daily attention to the slight courtesies of life, which can alone preserve the first freshness of affection. The easy surprises of pleasure, the earnest cheerfulness of assent to slight wishes, the habitual respect to opinions, the polite abstinence from personal topics in the company of others, and unwavering attention to their comfort, are some of the secrets of that rare happiness which age and habit alike fail to impair or diminish.

Whether famous or unknown when I die,
It matters not, so that God's work be done:
I've learned to prize the quiet lightning deed-
Not the applauding thunder at its heels!

Take what the present moment offers, and work it up in the best way you can; put soul into it-then it will stand forth as something great and real.

There's a Divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them as we will.

I pity all that evil are,

As well as those forlorn ;

For the Supreme hath fashioned them,
And oh! I dare not scorn.

The darkest night that shrouds the sky
Of beauty hath a share;

The blackest heart hath signs to tell
That God still lingers there.

God loves to see His Children "happy," and He has sent an abundance of every thing to make them so. Yet they do strangely prefer that which is unnatural! Now, I detest even virtues that are unnatural. I dislike a matronly "Miss." The cat should begin by being a kitten!

The noble heart that's truly blest

Is never all its own;

No ray of glory lights the breast

That beats for self alone!

All who would be "well" and "happy" should take Nature into their counsels. Of all physicians she is the most skilful. She effects her cures without medicines, and makes no charge whatever for her attendance.

The history of Nature exhibits only blessings; that of Man little save cruelty and madness. Man everywhere despises the hand that spins the garment he wears, and that cultivates for him the