but seriously and grandly, as a man who wore a soul of his own in his bosom, and did not wait till it was breathed into him by the breath of fashion. Let men call you mean, if you know you are just; hypocritical, if you are honestly religious; pusillanimous, if you feel you are firm. Resistance soon converts unprincipled wit into sincere respect; and no after-time can tear from you those feelings which every man carries within him, who has made a noble and successful exertion in a virtuous cause.-Sidney Smith.

JESTS UPON SCRIPTURE. Ir is very common with some persons to raise a laugh by means of some ludicrous story connected with a text of Scripture. Sometimes it is a play on the words, a pun; at other times a blunder; and not seldom, a downright impiety. Whatever be its form, even when lightest, it is no venial offence; and those who practise it have never been celebrated for genuine wit. laughter which they call forth is provoked solely by the unexpected contrast between the solemn words of Scripture and some droll idea. There is no real wit in the case, and the dullest persons in society are most remarkable for these attempts.

The

The evils arising from this practice are greater than they appear at first. It leads, in general, to irreverence for Scripture. No man would jest with the dying words of his father or his mother; yet the words of God are quite as solemn. When we have heard a comic or

vulgar tale connected with a text of Scripture, such is the power of association, that we never hear the text afterwards without thinking of the jest. The effect of this is obvious. He who is much engaged in this kind of false wit will come at length to have a large portion of Holy Scripture spotted over by his unclean fancy.

ADVICE TO YOUNG MEN. PERSEVERE against discourage

ments.

Keep your temper.

Employ leisure in study, and always have some work on hand.

Be punctual and methodical in business, and never procrastinate.

Never be in a hurry; preserve self-possession, and do not be talked out of a conviction.

Rise early, and be an economist of time.

Maintain dignity, without the appearance of pride; manner is something with everybody, and everything with some.

Be guarded in discourse, attentive and slow to speak.

Neyer acquiesce in immoral or pernicious opinions.

Be not forward to assign reasons to those who have no business to ask them.

Think nothing in conduct unimportant and indifferent.

Rather set than follow examples. Practise strict temperance; and in all your transactions remember the final account.

CONSEQUENCES.

"CONSEQUENCES! who thinks of consequences?" cried a fast young clerk, when a friend warned him of danger. He dashed off with a couple of fine horses, and spent the night in carousing. But what were the consequences which he so recklessly dashed away the thoughts of? A few months afterwards he fled from the city, over head and ears in debt, took passage to Australia, and died in a grog-shop!

Ah, these consequences are dreadful reckoners. If you do not think of them, they will dog you night after night, track you from city to city, appear as swift witnesses against you, and finally drag you down to ruin here, and hell hereafter. You must think of consequences.

THE BIBLE PATTERN FOR

YOUNG MEN.

"BE sober-minded. In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceit.

Abhor that which is evil: cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another, with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another. Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit, serving the Lord."

FIRMNESS OF CHARACTER. THERE is no trait in the human character so potential for weal or woe as firmness of purpose. It is wonderful to see what miracles a resolute and undying spirit will achieve. Before its irresistible energy the most formidable obstacles become as cobweb barriers in its path. Difficulties, the terror of which causes the pampered sons of luxury to shrink back with dismay, provoke from the man of lofty determination only a smile. The whole history of our race-all nature, indeed, teems with examples to show what wonders may be accomplished by resolute perseverance and patient toil.

TASTE FOR READING.

SIR John Herschel has declared that if he were to pray for a taste which would stand him in need under every variety of circumstances, and be a source of happiness to him through life, and a shade against ills, however things might go amiss and the world frown down upon him, it would be a taste for reading.

him, and he could not settle himself down for calm reflection. He began to be later than usual in returning home, and the hour of family prayer became peculiarly irksome, and was latterly avoided.

His father remonstrated, his mother wept, his conscience lashed. His propensities, already too strong to be overborne by moral suasion, raged and rioted, and clamoured for gratification; and now, grown weary of parental restraint and parental admonition, he came to the fatal resolution of casting off parental authority altogether, and abandoning himself to "walk in the ways of his own heart, and in the sight of his own eyes." He thought himself happy when he had the courage to lacerate all the tender feelings with which an affectionate mother clung to him, and to snap asunder all the ties of love that bound him to his father and brothers and sisters.

I need not harrow your feelings by tracing his career farther, in all its minuteness. It may be pretty correctly inferred.

We now think we see him entering upon a long, dark, subterranean tunnel, hurrying down a steep incline, goaded on by remorse and despair, and rushing from one excess to another. We see him with vacant stare and woeful look, strolling along the street, seeking to avoid observation; we see him descend the stairs of vice, and enter the doors of infamy; and with a horrid chill which shakes our whole frame, our imagination follows him, as he approaches the strange woman's adulterous bed.

We saw him the companion of harlots; we saw him the companion of vagabonds and thieves; again and again did we see the policeman's iron grasp seize him, and drag him, convicted and disgraced, to the house of correction, with haggard face and blood-shot eyes, a sullen, hardened, self-degraded felon. In a few months more-only a few months more-and we find him weeping in prison, with a sentence of fifteen years' transportation on his head! What a commentary on the text: "Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backsliding shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts." Jer. ii. 19.

II. A naturally amiable and generous disposition, although very lovely, is often a snare to a young

man.

This is very likely to lead him into society, sometimes of questionable description. A young man of amiable character and guileless disposition, well educated and respectably connected, unsuspecting and unsophisticated, fresh from the country, took his place among other young men in E. He found himself surrounded with young men obliging and generous, and he at once threw himself into their confidence. They began to talk to each other and to him of places of resort where they enjoyed the most exquisite pleasures, which far exceeded anything that he had ever heard of. His curiosity was excited. He became anxious to know what those

pleasures could possibly be, of which he heard his companions talk in terms of so rapturous delight. This curiosity he expressed, and they obligingly agreed to introduce him to their friends, and share with him all their joys. He was led as a man blindfolded to a house of low reputation, and introduced to its inmates. He saw nothing at first fitted to afford such unspeakable delight as he was led to expect. This only excited his curiosity still more. He went again and again, sometimes alone and sometimes along with his companions, in utter ignorance of the character of the house. The results we shall not attempt to trace; but suffice it to say, by a remarkable interposition of Divine Providence, he was saved from what might have otherwise proved a course of irretrievable ruin. Oh, young men! seek the society of those you know to be better than yourselves.

III. Pleasure-seeking on the Lord's-day is a great snare to young

men.

Young men given to Sabbathbreaking, be warned! If you had robbed a man, would you not tremble? You have robbed God; have you trembled for that? Some saunter the Sabbath away, some feast it away, some drink it away, some doze it away; still it is broken. Young men, take warning from the following case.

A young man, the son of a revered father, was born and educated in a rural district. He shared the admonitions and prayers of his parents along with younger brothers and sisters. His career while a

schoolboy was such as was to be expected of one enjoying such advantages; nor are we aware that he as yet ever gave his parents the least cause of anxiety. He was fast approaching an age when he must, at least for a time, leave his happy rural home, and procure a livelihood by his own industry. He was sometimes elated with the thought of being independent, and frequently indulged fond fancies of what he was to do for his parents and his family when he grew to manhood. The kindness of friends procured him a situation in a distant city, and he became an apprentice.

The morning of his departure was anticipated by the anxious forethought of his mother, who was busy preparing everything requisite for his comfort. On the night previous, there was one in the family who slept but little, and whose waking eyes anxiously watched the dawning. It was his mother. She was first astir. The family in a little gather round the departing boy, to get the last glance of his eye. The father's farewell kiss is pressed upon his cheek, and a mother's parting tear rolls from her eye, and drops upon his soft hand, as she shakes it and presses it for the last time. He arrives in the city, and is introduced to his shopmates. They receive him with patronizing kindness, and surround him as candidates for his friendship, offering their services to initiate him into the regulations of the shop. A week passed, and they were insinuating themselves into his confidence, and his respect for