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FATHERLY PITY.

"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust."-Ps. ciii. 13.

HESE beautiful and touching words show that even in the ancient dispensation the love of God the Father made itself known to His poor children of the dust, as revealed by those feelings which He himself placed in the hearts of earthly parents. It was not merely to aid them in the work of bringing up their children, that God, who is the Father of spirits, placed in the hearts of men those tender feelings which parents and children know so well and trust in so implicitly; there was a mighty revelation of Himself to be given to men by the very workings of their own parental nature; and even as the existence of moonlight proves the existence of sunlight, the love of an earthly father proves that of the heavenly Father from whom it is derived. It is the love of God which causes the love of fathers and mothers; He created them with hearts capable of reading His nature by the feelings of their own. He might have made parents and children independent of each other, or as loosely allied, after infancy was over, as the lower animals are to each other; instead of this, He has ennobled man's nature, and given a revelation of His own, by pouring into the hearts of parents some drops from that river of love whose streams "make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High." If we pity our children, it is because God pities us. If we love and trust our fathers, it is to teach us to love and trust our heavenly Father.

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JESUS HAS SAVED ME."

PIOUS couple had for many long years prayed for their son, but it seemed as if all their cries were in vain. Their son, who, as a boy, had been giddy and obstinate, turned out a bad, ungodly youth, who prepared grievous trouble and anxiety for his parents, and at last, when their house became too strict for him, ran away, and became a sailor.

One day on board ship, he had mounted the rigging,

and when there, lost his balance and fell overboard. A boat was at once lowered to pick him up, but as the vessel was sailing quickly at the time, it was a long time before the young man could be reached; but at last he was brought on board seemingly lifeless. The ship's doctor used all possible means of restoring him to life, but it seemed as if they would prove fruitless. His comrades had given up all hope of being able to save him, when he gave a few signs of life. The attempts for reviving were now begun afresh, and

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after a short time the young man opened his eyes, and then uttered "JESUS CHRIST HAS SAVED ME. the cry of joy, Then he was silent again, and it was a long time before he was able to relate what he had experienced when in the water he had struggled with death. "When I fell down from the mast and recognised my danger, it seemed as if all the sins of my whole life stood before me. I beheld my terribly great guilt, and did not fear death so much as the punishment which would follow it. In this anguish of soul a text came to my recollection which I had often heard my father repeat, This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.' To Him I cried in my trouble, and I hope that He has pardoned me: I am sure that He has saved me."

His after-life proved that his penitence was sincere, and not only the passing effect of the fear of approaching death. He henceforth led a new life. He returned to his parents, who received him with great joy; he now became their comfort and support, and lived the life of a true Christian.

"LET US NOT BE WEARY IN WELL DOING; FOR IN DUE SEASON WE SHALL REAP, IF WE FAINT NOT."

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SAVED FROM A ROBBER BY RAIN.

MERCHANT was one day returning from market. He was on horseback, and behind him was a valise filled with money. The rain fell with violence, and the good old man was wet to his skin. At this he was vexed, and murmured because God had given

him such bad weather for his journey.

He soon reached the border of a thick forest.

What

was his terror on beholding on one side of the road a robber, with levelled gun, aiming at him, and attempting to fire! But, the powder being wet by the rain, the gun did not go off, and the merchant, giving spurs to his horse, fortunately had time to escape.

As soon as he found himself safe, he said to himself: "How wrong was I, not to endure the rain patiently, as sent by Providence! If the weather had been dry and fair, I should not probably, have been alive at this hour, and my little children would have expected my return in vain. The rain which caused me to murmur, came at a fortunate moment, to save my life and preserve my property." And thus it is with a multitude of our afflictions; by causing us slight and short sufferings, they preserve us from others far greater, and of longer duration.

Matthew Henry well remarks, "What we call 'the course of nature, should often be termed the way of Providence."

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THE COTTAGE CHILDREN.

APPY little children,
In their cottage low,
Sheltered when the rain falls,
Or the rough winds blow.

Thinking nothing better

Than their bread and milk;
In russet garb as joyous
As in robes of silk.

Little has their mother,

But, though small her store, She can clothe and feed them, And she asks no more.

All day working for them,

With her love's great might, Sleeping calmly by them Through the silent night.

Dreaming not of riches,

Poor content to be,
And the future leaving
To its poverty;
Knowing if the ravens
Certainly are fed,
They will never hunger
For their daily bread.

THE BLESSING OF THE LORD,

IT MAKETH RICH.

Proverbs x. 22.

HINTS FOR THE HOUSEHOLD.

OUR BABY.

BABY has arrived, exactly like its mother, and the very image of its father; and the doctor says, "It's a bonny little thing, sound wind and limb." Now, what are we to do with it, the most helpless of all young creatures ? What is done with it every day? First it is washed, then some spirits rubbed on its head, one or two caps, and perhaps some flannel are put on, and it is dressed. Then, of course, it must begin life by taking some sort of physic, either castor oil and sugar, or butter and sugar made into a thick paste; shortly after this it is laid on its back, and some gruel is poured down its throat, and it is put to bed: but alas! not to sleep. In a little while it begins to cry, and it is so uneasy that something has to be given to make it sleep, or there will be no rest either for itself or others. If it has been sufficiently crammed, and unfortunately has not been sick, it is very likely to have a convulsive fit, and after a hard day's work the doctor will be roused out of bed to find it suffering misery from all this interfering with nature, or to find it already gone where thousands of infants have been sent before it. Now all this is an abomination : it is ignorance and cruelty, and it does not make it one whit less so for the helper to say she did it out of kindness. Let an old physician, who loves children and has watched over hundreds of them, plead for these helpless little ones. Let me tell you a few plain truths. There is no oil nor any other medicine needed for an infant that has a mother to suckle it. The first supply of milk is purgative, and quite differ

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ent to what comes afterwards. No infant requires food the first twenty-four hours; no infant ever died for want of food the first day of its existence, but hundreds have died from over-feeding. And I need not say give no spirit or soothing mixture, for if you do not abuse its stomach, but have faith and leave it to nature, you will not require any.

As to the dressing, there is almost always sufficient notice for you to prepare the things, and with very little trouble, a few tapes and a needleful of cotton, you may do away with the dangerous practice of using pins.

Wash the little stranger with lukewarm water and soap, and dry the skin well, use no spirit, fasten the clothes on not too tightly with strings or a needleful of cotton. It is better not to have any cap, for the border is very apt to tickle and rub the face: but if you must have one, let it be as thin and light as possible. Give it nothing; or if you cannot resist the temptation, let it have occasionally a teaspoonful of milk and warm water not too sweet, till the proper supply comes; but no oil, no butter, no gruel, no spirit, no mess of any kind, but with its body clean and its tiny breath sweet and pure, lay it in its proper warm nest, the place which God has appointed for it, and child, mother, and nurse will have a calm, quiet sleep, such as all the drugs in the world cannot give, but which you may almost always enjoy, if you will exercise good plain common sense when you are trying how to help the doctor.

"Till the Doctor comes." A most useful little manual, published by the Religious Tract Society.

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woman.

had suffered from spinal complaint from a child. Her lower limbs were paralysed; her left hand was powerless; she was almost blind; and she suffered from most distressing attacks of asthma. Her mother was a violent and hard-tempered woman, who lived in a poorly-furnished, rickety garret, and whose only means of maintenance were the wages she earned as a charThe parish made her a small allowance for her afflicted daughter-an allowance, however, so small that it barely and scantily furnished the absolute necessaries of life. The poor girl was left alone all day long, save when the visit of some Christian friend broke the solitude. She dreaded the mother's return, for too often she was then assailed by volleys of abuse, as an "idle, good-for-nought hussy;" and, not seldom, any little present given her through the day by her visitors was carried off to be exchanged for gin. Yet Charlotte seemed always contented and resigned, sometimes even joyful.

Once I expressed pity for her as I looked round the poor miserable room, through the broken casement of which the chilly winter's wind was blowing. She gently checked me, saying, " Our Saviour had not where to lay His head." She always had some text of Scripture upon her lips to reply to any remark as to her bodily sufferings. When her dim and failing sight was spoken of, she VOL. VIII. No. 4.]

[APRIL, 1871

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