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because God forbids to his family all strife and angry contention whatsoever. For the most part they are some little matters of selfish encroachment, of selfish tenaciousness: they may be the offspring of the most malignant passions, such as envy, jealousy, and revenge; or they may be the effect of mere physical irritability, of which the poor child is the almost unconscious victim. In no case, however, can the indulgence of the disposition be beneficial to the child. All quarrelling and bickering ought, if possible, to be prevented. To accomplish this, it must be established as a principle, that all angry contention is sinful in itself, apart from the right and wrong of the subject in dispute : and the watchful parent or teacher should put an end to it the moment it is observed, either by separating the children, or commanding them to silence. It will be time enough afterwards to adjust the cause of quarrel, if it appears to be such as needs interference. The first lesson to be conveyed is, that right or wrong, for anything or nothing, they are not to quarrel.

The boy who is accustomed angrily to maintain the superiority of his top, will, when a man, angrily maintain the superiority of his creed; the girl who is allowed to quarrel for precedence in the use of a toy or a book, will, when a woman, disturb the peace of her family by jealous contention and pertinacity.-Mrs. Fry.

THE FAITHFUL FRIEND.

THE green-house is my summer seat;
My shrubs displaced from that retreat,
Enjoyed the open air;

Two goldfinches whose sprightly song
Had been their mutual solace long,
Lived happy prisoners there.

They sang as blithe as finches sing
That flutter loose on golden wing,
And frolic where they list;
Strangers to liberty 'tis true,
But that delight they never knew,
And therefore never missed.

But nature works in every breast;
Instinct is never quite suppressed;
And Dick felt some desires,
Which after many an effort vain
Instructed him at length to gain
A pass between his wires.

The opened window seemed to invite
The freeman to a farewell flight;
But Tom was still confined;

And Dick although his way was clear,
Was much too generous and sincere,
To leave his friend behind.

For settling on his grated roof,
He chirped and kissed him, giving proof
That he desired no more;

Nor would forsake his cage at last,
Till gently seized, I shut him fast,
A prisoner as before.

O ye, who never knew the joys
Of friendship, satisfied with noise,
Fandango, ball, and rout!
Blush, when I tell you how a
A prison with a friend preferred,
To liberty without.Cowper.

bird

BENEFIT OF AFFLICTIONS.

THE following extract from a letter which Oberlin wrote to a lady, who had been tried by many successive bereavements, in the hope of convincing her that such dispensations are permitted, to strengthen our graces, and to promote our spiritual refinement, will illustrate his lively faith and fervent piety, as well as the simple and original mode in which he was accustomed to pour out the language of his heart in epistolary converse. "I have before me two stones, which are in imitation of precious stones. They are both perfectly alike in colour; they are of the same water, clear, pure, and clean; yet there is a marked difference between them, as to lustre and brilliancy. One has a dazzling brightness, while the other is dull so that

the eye passes over it, and derives no pleasure from the sight. What can be the reason of such a difference? It is this. The one is cut but in a few facets; the other has ten times as many. These facets are produced by a very violent operation; it is requisite to cut, to smooth, to polish. Had these stones been endued with life, so as to have been capable of feeling what they underwent, the one which has received eighty facets would have thought itself very unhappy, and would have envied the fate of the other, which, having received but eight, had undergone but a tenth part of its sufferings. Nevertheless, the operation being over, it is done for ever! the difference between the two stones always remains strongly marked; that which has suffered but little, is entirely eclipsed by the other, which alone is held in estimation, and attracts attention. May not this serve to explain the saying of our Saviour, whose words always bear some reference to eternity: Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted?-Blessed, whether we contemplate them apart, or in comparison with those who have not passed through so many trials. Oh! that we were always able to cast ourselves into his arms, like little children-to draw near to him, like helpless lambs-and ever to ask of him patience, resignation, and entire surrender to his will; faith, trust, and a heartfelt obedience to the command which he gives to those who are willing to be his disciples."

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Memoirs of Oberlin.

AS THY DAY, SO SHALL THY STRENGTH BE.

WHEN adverse winds and waves arise,
And in my heart despondence sighs,-
When life her throng of care reveals,
And weakness o'er my spirit steals,—
Grateful I hear the kind decree,
That, "as my day, my strength shall be."

When, with sad footstep, memory roves
Mid smitten joys, and buried loves,-
When sleep my tearful pillow flies,
And dewy morning drinks my sighs,—
Still to thy promise, Lord, I flee,
That "as my day, my strength shall be."

One trial more must yet be past,
One pang,-the keenest, and the last;
And when, with brow convulsed and pale,
My feeble, quivering heart-strings fail,
Redeemer grant my soul to see

That" as her day, her strength shall be."

Mrs. Sigourney.

THE REVOLUTION OF A YEAR.

THESE regular returning aspects of nature, which divide man's time into equal parts, and which he has only to number as they succeed each other, like the lettered stones erected on the sides of our roads, to inform the traveller what space of ground he has traversed, serve to give notice to the passenger through human life, how far he has proceeded in his path to the grave. The divine wisdom which has thus measured our time, more especially appears in that annual division of it, which periodically calls our attention to the lapse of those larger parts of the life of man, the susceptible departure of which excites, of necessity, a peculiarly alarming sense of diminution of our days. Nor is that wisdom less conspicuous in the striking nature of those signs in the system around us, which indicate the departure of the perpetually perishing parts of our time. Most pointed are the marks, most forcible are the mementos of their expiration. They irresistibly rouse our attention to the wings of time and force us to take notice of his flight.

Nature signifies it to us by no faint intimations: she proclaims it with a loud voice-she paints it in strong colours. The monitor must and will be heard. Vegetation starts from the ground-a green resurrection surprises the eye-the leaf fades; and falls—the forest is strippedthe shower is frozen-and the waters are fettered to spur to his duties irresolute and procrastinating man! repeated proclamation of nature to mankind, which revolving seasons successively utter, that their years are rolling swiftly, once in every year it is their custom to echo. Once in every year they tell each other what nature tells them more than once that those longest

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periods of their time are passing rapidly from them. Another of those years, of which only a few make up the life of man, is become a part of the irrevocable past? A year is a season of magnitude in the little life of man. It is an ample stride to the tomb. A few more steps will bring us all thither.-Fawcett.

TIME.

TIME speeds away-away-away :
Another hour-another day-
Another month-another year-
Drop from us like the leaflets sear;
Drop like the life-blood from our hearts,
The rose-bloom from the cheek departs,
The tresses from the temples fall,
The eye grows dim and strange to all.

Time speeds away-away-away,
Like torrent in a stormy day;
He undermines the stately tower,
Uproots the tree, and snaps the flower;
And sweeps from our distracted breast

The friends that loved-the friends that blest:
And leaves us weeping on the shore,
To which they can return no more.

Time speeds away-away-away:
No eagle through the skies of day,
No wind along the hills can flee
So swiftly or so smooth as he :
Like fiery steed, from stage to stage,
He bears us on from youth to age;
Then plunges in the fearful sea
Of fathomless Eternity.-Knox.

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