LITTLE CROSSES. HRIST comes to us morning by morning to present to us, for the day then opening, divers little crosses, thwartings of our own will, interferences with our plans, disappointments of our little pleasures. Do we kiss them, and take them up, and follow in His rear, as Simon the Cyrenian? Or do we toss them from us scornfully because they are so little, and wait for some great affliction to approve our patience and our resignation to His will? Ah, how might we accommodate to the small matters of religion generally those words of the Lord respecting the children, "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones." Despise not little sins; they have ruined many a soul. Despise not little duties; they have been to many a saved man an excellent discipline of humility. Despise not little temptations; rightly met they have often nerved the character for some fiery trial. And despise not little crosses; for when taken up and lovingly accepted at the Lord's hand, they have made men meet for a great crown, even the crown of righteousness and life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him.-Dr. Goulburn. "LET EVERY MAN, WHEREIN HE IS CALLED, THEREIN ABIDE WITH GOD."-1 Cor. vii. 24. WHY thus longing, thus for ever sighing Wouldst thou listen to its gentle teaching, Poor indeed thou must be, if around thee If no dear eyes thy fond love can brighten, Not by deeds that the crowd applauses; Not by works that give the world renown; Not by martyrdoms, or vaunted crosses, Canst thou win and wear the immortal crown. Daily struggling, though enclosed and lonely, HINTS FOR THE HOUSEHOLD. HINTS ABOUT HOUSES. The value of health to a working man and his family will be best understood by those who have seen the misery, suffering, and poverty which sickness occasions among working people. The bad state of the houses in which such persons live, is a common cause of the loss of health, and hence the following hints are of serious importance. I.-Wherever a working man and his family may live (whether in a neat cottage or a wretched cellar), everything in and about his dwelling should be kept neat and clean. II.-Nothing in the way of cleansing tends more to keep away fevers, cholera, and infectious disease, than the frequent and proper use of LIME in the washing of ceilings and walls of houses. Working men should therefore lime-wash in the spring of every year, and oftener if necessary, all walls not papered or painted, and every ceiling of their dwellings. III.-Lime-washing may be done by a man or his wife, at a very trifling cost, and the proper way to do it is the following: 1. Brush away all the dust; and wash the walls with clean water. (The limewashing brush may be used for this purpose.) 2. To make the lime-wash, slake the lime in clean water only. 3. Let the lime be as fresh as possible; as it is spoiled by lying very long in the open air. 4. The lime-wash when made should be about the thickness of cream. 5. Lay on the first coat as quickly as you can; because lime-wash does most good when it is hot. 6. Lay on a second coat as soon as the first is so dry that it does not rub away when the brush is used. One pennyworth of lime ought and a brush may be hired at many to be enough for each cottage room; shops, on leaving a small sum until it is returned. People are therefore without excuse, if they suffer the loss of health from their walls being dirty. IV. In re-papering rooms, let all the old paper be carefully cleanfore the new paper is put on; beed off, and the walls washed, because when the dirty paper and old paste are covered up, they are liable to mould and rot; and the vapour from anything rotting is a fruitful cause of disease. Occupiers of rooms should call upon the landlord to put on new paper when the old becomes dirty. V.-Sink holes, both inside and outside the dwelling, require to be looked to. If they send up bad smells, point this out to the landlord or his agent, and do not be satisfied until they are trapped. BOOKS RECEIVED. Deliverance; or, The Value of a Text-The Children's Friend (Partridge & Co.). The Cottager and Artisan-Sunday at Home-Child's Companion (Religious Tract Society).—The Children's Treasury (Book Society).-The Family Treasury (Nelson & Son). WE all love to look upon the masterly paintings in which artists have represented the Virgin and her Child; and our hearts reiterate the angel's salutation, "Hail, highly favoured; blessed art thou among women!' Conscious of having my own heart thus touched by that scene, I cannot but feel that every human mother has an experience which gives her peculiar advantages for appreciating it. Is it not well for mothers often to visit in imagination that humble home in Nazareth where the child Jesus was "brought up," growing at once "in stature and in favour with God and men"? You will not envy that favoured mother, but your contemplations of her and her only Child may help you to influence your own little ones to become like Him. Such contemplations are calculated to produce that tender and gentle mood which is best adapted to the right discharge of the most important maternal duties. Returning from such visits to Nazareth your whole air and manner will be characterized by all that is most happily impressive to children. If at any time you should need power to influence aright a rude and wayward boy, and soothe to gentleness his turbulent spirit, I think you will be most likely to find yourself clothed with that power if he should rush into your presence [JULY, 1870. VOL. VII. No. 7. when you have just closed the Testament, the reading of which has taken you to Nazareth, or to Bethlehem, and while you are still pondering in your heart the things which Mary pondered in hers. It will help you in all the perplexities and under all the burdens to which, as mothers, you are subjected, to reflect that Jesus condescended to be the child of a human mother, to repose upon her breast, and to be nurtured and protected and guided by her. You will gain a fuller view of the filial character of Jesus by meditating upon the glance of tenderness which He cast upon her, and the dutiful provision which He made for her when He hung upon the cross. While the sword was piercing through her soul by which her Divine Son was smitten for our offences, she did not fail to receive the consolation which she needed in the assurance that Jesus remembered her, observed her, felt for her. Though burdened with that load," the sins of the world," He still had a special thought, a special care, a special feeling, for His mother. How is the relation of mother and child dignified and sanctified by having been thus sustained! All that was human in Jesus may be imitated, and it is permitted you to hope that by His grace your children may humbly imitate the filial dutifulness of Jesus, and that when death shall be separating you-whether by taking them from you, or you from them your parting agony shall be soothed by a similar exercise of filial tenderness. No other scene in the life of our Lord is more precious than that familiar one-His reception and blessing of little children. This surely is peculiarly precious to mothers. Be thankful for it. You are not obliged to think that your children must go on in sin, through the years of childhood, only permitted to hope that, after a career of folly and sin, they may at length be turned to God. Nay, they may belong to Jesus now-they may have the privilege of His kingdom now-they may be Christians now. Almost as early as they are capable of loving you, they may love Him. Just as early as they can be sorry for having grieved or displeased you, they may repent toward Him. Just as early as they confide in you, and submissively and trustfully accept for best whatever you appoint for them, they can trust Him and really be submissive to Him. I do believe that some little ones lisp their cradle prayers with as genuine and acceptable faith as any mature Christian. Yes, mothers, thank the Saviour that you may bring your little children to Him; and thank Him for His own assurance that the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as they. Let nothing prevent you from bringing your children to Christ. Remember His words, 66 Forbid them not." If those who preach the Gospel ever seem to propose doctrines too difficult for children to understand, as if the understanding of them were necessary to Christian character, do not believe it. We are doubtless too apt to fall into a technical and scientific way of speaking upon religious subjects, which actually forbids the reception of the Gospel by children. But, be assured, we have no right to say that children shall not come to Christ till they can come able to recite all our catechisms and to define all the hard words of our theology. They only need to know that they are wicked, and unhappy on that account, and that Christ loves them, and is able to make them good and happy. If you can teach them so much, and can secure by your prayers God's help to make them believe it, they may come to Christ. Nay, in so believing they have come to Christ, they are embraced in the arms of His love. Ponder those words of Christ, "Forbid them not." Keep fast hold of the blessed assurance which those words convey. Let nothing discourage you, let no man prevent you from bringing your children to Christ, in humble prayer, and leading them to Him by faithful instruction and discipline, believing, expecting that He will bless them. Instead of the erring men, mothers themselves may forbid or prevent their children from coming to Christ. This is far more sad, far more cruel than the other. Mothers sometimes do this: 1. By not appearing to expect their children to be disciples of God. They calculate on seeing their children grow up in impenitence, and imagine that they honour the grace of God by expecting that when they are confirmed in habits of sin He may overcome their obstinacy, and make them yield to Him. Do not take that view, I entreat you. Pray for the renovation of your children in earliest life, and be content to have it take place in the gentler and less imposing manner that is suited to their tender character and state. The Good Shepherd has a place for lambs in His fold. He does not shut them out in the howling wilderness, and only admit them to the safe enclosure when they shall have escaped all its perils, and grown to maturity. 2. You may "forbid" them, by the harshness of your discipline, by having too little sympathy with them. You may too much blame them for being faulty, and too little encourage them in efforts to become good. Even mothers sometimes do this. Especially may you too little encourage them to such help from the Saviour. Do not carelessly smile at their artless addresses to Him. He loves that simplicity in prayer so often exemplified by children. Be careful, I pray you, not to forbid your children to come to Christ by the want of sympathetic gentleness in your discipline. 3. You may forbid your children to come to Christ by engaging their thoughts and affections upon worldly objects. Does the mother who sends her little daughter to a dancing school, or stimulates her ambition to be admired in parties or elsewhere, for her dress, her manners, or her beauty; does such a mother lead |