LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS VOLUME. ANNE BEALE. ELLIE BEIGHTON. The Rev. H. BONNER. The Rev. ARTHUR BROWN, B.A. PHILLIS BROWNE. AUTHORS. The Rev. WILLIAM BURNET, M.A. The Rev. W. BOYD CARPENTER, M.A. The Rev. J. H. DAVIES, B.A. J. R. EASTWOOD. The late Rev. C. J. ELLIOTT, M.A. Mrs. HENRY FAUSSETT. The Rev. J. W. GEDGE, M.A. W. A. GIBBS. The Rev. JOHN T. FALSIDE. The Rev. W. HARRIS, M. A. The Rev. J. H. HITCHENS, D.D. EDWIN HODDER. Mrs. HORNIBROOK. The Rev. THOMAS JACKSON, M.A. JOHN MACGREGOR, M.A. The Rev. DANIEL MOORE, M.A. The Rev. T. M. MORRIS. The Rev. E. H. PLUMPTRE, D.D. EMMA RAYMOND PITMAN. The Rev. P. B. POWER, M.A. The Rev. ALEXander Roberts, D.D. The Rev. ROBERT SHINDLER. The Rev. GEORGE SMITH. The Rev. JAMES STUART. MARTIN F. TUPPER, D.C.L., F.R.S. The Rev. Canon VENABLES, M.A. GEORGE WEATHERLY. The Rev. J. T. BURTON WOLLASTON. ETC. ETC. "We all do fade as a leaf."-ISAIAH Ixiv. 6. E have entered on the There is a beautiful spirit And from a beaker full of richest Pouring new glory on the autumn Yet, autumn is a season of sad The yellow leaves that seem to woo the To lay them with their fellows in the ground, In their decay, they speak to us of our decay- We fade with the certainty and universality of the leaf. Nothing can arrest the decay of the foliage in the forest, and the hedgerow, and the garden. In sheltered spots, and during exceptionally fine seasons, the leaves may preserve their life and colour unusually long, and some kinds of trees may retain their verdure longer than others; but, sooner or later, the universal law asserts itself. So it is with man. It is appointed unto all men once to die. Death is one of the conditions of our life. Some live longer than others. Some have naturally stronger constitutions than others. The wear and tear of life is not so great with some as with others. But all die. Nothing can avert the calamity-neither youth, nor beauty, nor strength; neither physicians, nor nurses, nor money. Heaven's law cannot be overthrown. This mortality is co-extensive with our race. We fade quickly as the leaf. Only a few months ago, and the bright green garment of spring clothed all the trees. Now, their branches are fast becoming naked, and seem to shiver in the blast. So speedy is the approach of our decay. The seeds of death are in us from the first, and soon begin to develop themselves. Some men. live longer than others, but the longest life is short. The journey from the cradle to the grave is soon accomplished. When Pharaoh asked Jacob how old he was, the patriarch replied, "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years; few and evil have the days of the years of my life been." How much fewer are the days of men now! Our life is a vapour, which appeareth for a moment, and then vanisheth away. We fade gradually as the leaf. The forests and hedgerows do not become bare at once. A tree does not lose its foliage in an hour, or even a day. Weeks, and perhaps months, elapse before its leaves fade and fall. Some begin to wither before they are fully matured. Examine the tree in the vigour of its foliage; you will see that here and there a leaf looks discoloured and ready to drop off. Some leaves are rudely torn from the branch while they are yet green. The majority fall in autumn. Some hold on till winter, and into the following spring. The work of decay is more rapid in some than in others. So it is with mankind. The tree of humanity is not rendered leafless in a moment. A generation does not suffer immediate extinetion; nor a household. Some die in the tenderness of infancy and childhood; some in the vigour of youth; some in middle age; and some last into a second childhood. We fade silently as the leaf. The noise of the falling leaf sometimes arrests our attention; but the fading leaf gives no sound. All God's great processes proceed silently. So comes the spring, with its verdure and bloom. So comes autumn, with its decay. Thus silently goes on the preparation for our dissolution. Death touches us with a quiet hand-comes like a thief in the night. We can calculate on many things; but we cannot calculate on his arrival. He may be nearer to most of us than we imagine; and may place his icy fingers on our heart while we think him far away. Leaves have their time to fall, And flowers to wither at the north wind's breath, And stars to set; but all- Thou hast all seasons for thine own, O Death! We know when moons shall wane, When summer birds from far shall cross the sea, When autumn hues shall tinge the golden grain, But who shall teach us when to look for thee? Diversity marks the fading leaves; and so are there diversities in the decay and death of men. Leaves differ from one another in life-in their structure, and quality, and appearance; and the differences which characterise them in life, occasion differences in death. Millais' wonderful picture, "Autumn Leaves," presents us with the many and marvellous varieties of faded foliage. But we need not Art for a teacher, when Nature herself teaches us as no painter's art can. Go into the country, and walk among the woods. You will see some leaves of a dull brown; others scarlet, and crimson, and gold; beautiful as they were in spring and summer, they are a thousand times more beautiful now. The leaf of the oak, and the ash, and the chestnut, and the beech, and the lime --all have their individual characteristics, both in their verdure and their decay. It is also worthy of note that the foliage which is least attractive in its early stages, and its season of maturity, is least attractive when it fades; the greenest in spring is the most brilliant and gorgeous in autumn. Is it not much like this with men? They differ in life, and they differ in death; and the latter state bears the same relation to the former, as an effect bears to its cause. How striking the diversities of death! Some die in stupid indifference, or in fear; there is no hope, no peace, no joy, no glory about their departure; only sadness reigns around. Others die in calm trust, relying on Jesus Christ, and looking forward to the life beyond as the consummation of their blessedness. Some leaves, it has been observed, when they fade and perish, leave marks that never die out while the tree lasts on which they grew-marks that at length add to the beauty of the tree. So is it with many good men. with many good men. They leave marks behind them when they die. They are missed from the places they once occupied, and the work in which they took part. They leave behind them alms-deeds that they have done, good words that they have spoken; earnest prayers still to be answered in rich blessing; examples of holy living as a precious inheritance to all after-ages. This subject reproves our insensibility. The Persian monarch wept as he thought that in less than a century his innumerable and magnificent army would be dead. Ought we not to be affected by the thought, that in less than that time all the hundreds of millions that now people the globe will have finished their earthly course? We forget that men are mortal. We do not see all the dead, and so we forget them. We do not see all the dying, and so we forget them. We mix with the living and the strong, and think only of the living and the strong. The young do not like to think of death, because the thought damps their pleasures. The rich do not like to think of it, because it will separate them from their wealth. Dr. Johnson said to Garrick, when the latter had shown him his fine house and furniture, and asked him what he thought of them, |