SORROW.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, Who comforteth us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction, through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.-ST. PAUL.

The Divine Sculptor.

Scant beauty Nature gave her; in disguise
Rugged and harsh she bade her go about
With face unlovely, save the dark, sad eyes,

From which her fearless soul looked bravely out.

But Life took up the chisel, used her face

Roughly, with many blows, as sculptors use a block; It wrought a little while, and lo! a grace Fell, as a sunbeam falls upon a rock.

Across her soul a heavy sorrow swept,

As tidal waves sweep sometimes o'er the land,
Leaving her face, when back it ebbed and crept,
Tranquil and purified, like tide-washed sand.

And of her face her gentleness grew apart
And all her holy thoughts left there their trace;
A great love found its way into her heart--
Its root was there, its blossom in her face.

So, when Death came to set the sweet soul free
From the poor body that was never fair,
We watched her face, and marveled much to see
How Life had carved for Death an angel there.
BESSIE CHANDLER.

We Need Sorrow.

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There is something in man which needs sorrowhumbling and purifying work as regards his spiritual recreation, which can not go on without its ministry. How many deeds would never spring to life but for its loosening and detaching agency, breaking up the hard, stony soil of nature. And to the believer, what is affliction but God's hand upon his head to bless him-his Father's hand, recognized through that heavy pressure? Think how Christianity exalts, almost enthrones sorrow! -DORA GREENWELL.

Our Burden God's Gift,

Thy burden is God's gift,

And it will make thee calm and strong.

Yet, lest it press too heavily and long,
"Cast it on me,

He says:

And it shall easy be."

And those who heed this voice

And seek to give it back in trustful prayer,
Have quiet hearts that never can despair,
And hope lights up the way

Upon the darkest day.

Take thou thy burden thus

Into thy hands and lay it at His feet,

And whether it be sorrow or defeat

Or pain or sin or care,
Leave it calmly there.

It is the lonely load

That crushes out the light of Heaven;
But borne with Him, the soul, forgiven,
Sings out through all the days
Her joy and God's high praise.

FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL.

God With Us.

Suffering is a very solitary thing. Great suffering brings upon the heart a sense of intense loneliness, and it needs all that God Himself can be to the stricken one. It might seem almost impossible that anything more than the peace of God could be promised, but there is a fuller promise yet. "The God of Peace shall be with you.' Here language is exhausted. The portion of every praying one is the peace of God," and when even that is not enough, "the God of Peace," Himself Emmanuel, stands beside you. -PENNYFATHER.

A Strange Beatitude.

"Blessed are they that mourn." This seems indeed a strange beatitude. But to those who have learned its meaning it is no longer strange. There are blessings, rich, deep and satisfying, which we never can know until we mourn. You would never see the stars if the sun continued to shine through all the twenty-four hours. It would be a loss, too, to any one if he were to pass through all the years of his human life and never once behold night's sky with its brilliant orbs. We can then