early. Let her think on the youthful Samuel, who was dedicated to the service of the Lord from his very infancy. Let her remember that not only is she, as a Christian, to be "lifted up as an ensign," but that she and the children whom God hath given her, are to be as signs and tokens of what God will do in the use of means. Let her remember that none of the means of grace can be begun too early. We read that when the hardened king of Egypt, terrified by the judgments of God, would have let the men of Israel go to worship, but wished still to retain the children, the servant of the Lord said, "We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters (Exod. x. 9). Under the Jewish dispensation it was specially commanded that the children should be admitted into the covenant of circumcision at the earliest age; and no less under, the gospel did the Saviour say, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God." Can anything be a stronger encouragement to mothers to begin the work early? to sow the seed while the heart is in a great measure unoccupied and void? We say not but that in the youngest there will be natural sin; but there is not the sin of worldliness, there is not the contaminating influence of evil example and evil habits to contend with. The heart has not grown hard and callous; therefore let them "sow beside all waters," but especially beside the still waters of infancy and childhood.

A MOTHER TO HER SON ON HIS WEDDING-DAY.

To keep them back, and held my breath

Until I thought my heart would break :

But I am thinking of a lad,

Of books and ball, of blocks and
play,

And then a man with virtues rare,
And now of this his wedding-day.
He's leaving father, mother, home,
And it may ill become the one
Who reared the boy and taught him
well

To speak with rapture of her son. But ere he leaves the well-loved hearth,

Or quits the old accustomed seat, Where we so oft, around the board, His manly form were wont to meet;

It seems but right that I, whose cup
Is running o'er with joys so rare,
Whose path through life has been so
full

Of richest loves and tenderest care, Should speak with pride of this dear one,

Who always nobly did his part; Whose thoughtful mind and willing hands

Were lent to cheer his mother's heart.

And we shall miss him, oh! so much, Each day and hour from morn till night;

We'll miss the dear familiar face, The kindly eye and smile so bright;

But let the merry throng go on,

And fill with mirth the dear old
home,-

My proudest thought will ever be,
He is my boy, where'er he roam.

A SOFT ANSWER."

JUDGES Viii. 1-3.

MONG the incidents recorded in Old Testament story "for our learning" is the example of a true-hearted Hebrew gentleman, which stands not surpassed, perhaps, by anything attained in more favoured gospel days. Gideon the Abiezrite was chosen of God to work out his country's deliverance from Midianitish oppression; but personal aggrandizement was no part of his mission. When, flushed with conquest, he was returning from an exploit which would have made any general of later times the idol of an admiring country, he was met by one of those envious, spiteful displays which jealousy sometimes raises against the great and good. Instead of receiving him with respect and honour, one of the tribes of Israel took him to task for not inviting them to share the victory he had gained: "The men of Ephraim did chide sharply with him."

How galling to the hero's pride! Was Gideon's temper roused? Did he denounce the paltry ingratitude, and vow to give up the public service? Did he take his stand upon his Divine mission, and call on God to avenge his cause? Oh, no! his conduct was an illustration of the precept afterwards embodied in those oft-quoted yet little heeded words, "A soft answer turneth away wrath."

Picture the man, grandest in his meekness, noblest in his humility; more truly great in this conquest over his own spirit than when at the head of his renowned three hundred he led the battle cry: "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon (Jud. vii. 18). "Why," said the mean-spirited Ephraimites, "why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst not us when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites?"

Listen for the reply-no proud defiance, no lofty contempt, but a gentle remonstrance, a polite compliment: "What have I done now in comparison of you? As the very gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim is better than the whole vintage of Abiezer, so your conquest of the princes far exceeds my defeat of their followers what was I able to do in comparison of you -Mark the effect of this beautiful well-timed forbearance: "Then was their anger abated when he had said that."

?"

:

Gideon was a self-sacrificing peacemaker among his countrymen, and was terrible only to the enemies of Israel and Israel's God. While fame crowned the warrior, better and sweeter in Gideon's heart must have been the approving voice of the Prince of peace.

66 Be ye angry and sin not" is an apostolic warning which has been aptly paraphrased, " Be ye angry and speak not;" so difficult

is it to restrain that little member that, once unloosed, runs riot over feeling, forbearance, and charity: so, if a soft answer may not appease strife, let silence end it at once. "Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God." And though we cannot still the passions and mend the tempers of our neighbours, let us seek for ourselves that forbearing lowly spirit which withholds fuel from the flame; which, like Gideon's answer, turns away wrath; and, like Christ's example, "when reviled, reviles not again."

REGISTERED PRAYERS.

T is not unusual for friends, on the birth of a child, to place in a savings-bank funds available for the child's benefit on attaining his majority. It is a pleasant way of showing one's affection, and, if the bank be secure, of promoting the interest of the child. But all such prospective arrangements may fail. There is no mode of investment absolutely secure against all possible contingencies.

You may lay persons under weighty obligations to promote the welfare of your child after you are gone; but they may die before you, or may forget the obligation. There is only one way in which measures taken for the benefit of the child cannot be lost. Every true prayer for your child will be registered in the book of God's remembrance.

An old disciple, writing his friend, said, "How much of the peace and joy of our old age may be owing to the prayers of the dear ones who have gone before us?" Both had been blessed with companions of rare piety, and both had been left to preform the last years of their pilgrimage alone.

It is our duty to help one another. It is the especial duty of parents to provide for the welfare of their children. This is best done by doing as much as is possible for their education, and commending them to God in constant prayer. Houses and lands and stocks designed for children, may fail; but true prayers never. Registered prayers are infinitely more safe than registered bonds.

A wayward son left his loving and praying widowed mother, to enter upon a life of wickedness in a large city. His limited means were soon exhausted, and he shipped as a common sailor for a voyage to China. He continued to follow the seas, his deprivation preventing him from rising above the rank of a common sailor. At length his health gave way, and he was taken to the hospital. A Christian labourer passed through the wards of the hospital, and said a few words to the sufferer. In reply to a question, the sufferer answered, "I am about as great a sinner as I can be."

"Have you any one to pray for you?"

"I had a mother who did a good deal in that line. I don't know whether she is living or not."

"Do not speak so lightly of your mother's prayers. They may be your only hope."

He passed on, leaving the sailor to the reflections which had been awakened. He subsequently saw him often, being encouraged to labour for his conversion by the fact that he had a praying mother. In the end, before he left the hospital, partially restored to health, he was brought to Christ and returned, like the prodigal, to bless the few remaining days of his praying mother.

THE FATAL

Linked on earth in sweetest union, They, through grace Divine, shall rise,

Soon to share the high communion

Known by seraphs in the skies. There, amid the bright hosts telling Of their God and Father's love, Memory still shall bless the dwelling Which once imaged heaven above.

CORSET.

O let me take this corset off, mamma," said a young girl, pleading with her mother; "it makes my side ache, and my heart beats so hard against it, that it tires me."

"Nonsense! You ought to have pride to wear them. You will grow up as round shouldered as a camel without them. Do you want people to think you are deformed?"

"But it hurts me to breathe. I feel as if I was

"Say no more about it. Other girls breathe in them, and you are not made differently from them. Look at Martha Aberly. There's an ugly figure for you. Her mother does not believe in corsets. When your figure is properly formed, it will be time enough to talk about it."

It is four years ago, but the frail, lovely girl has for three years been wearing the shroud which requires no lacing to make it fit. A white marble cross in the burial-place shows the grave where she rests. It is called a sad providence that thus removed an only daughter, so sweet in temper, so promising in talent. But in reality it was the cruel stays. Many mothers will be terribly dismayed when the day of final reckoning shall come, to discover how the fresh, happy life that God meant to blossom out in excellence and beauty upon the earth, was untimely crushed and blighted by their own worship of fashion.