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A Parable*
A certain tyrant sent for one of his sub
ject* and said to him.
‘ What is your employment V
lie said,
‘ I am a blacksmith.’
‘Go home,’ said he, ‘ and make mo a
oh lit' of such a length.’
He went homo.; it occupied him several
months, and he had no wages all the while
he was making the chain ; only the trouble
and pain of making it. Then he brought it
to the monarch, and lie said:
‘ Go and make if twice as long.’
He gave him nothing 10 do it with, hut
sent him away. *'
Again he worked on, and made it twice
as long. He brought it up again, and the
monarch said. *
‘Go and make it longer still.’
Each time he brought if, there was noth
ing but the command to make it. longer still.
And when lie brought it up at last, the
monarch said :
‘ Take it and bind him hand and foot
with it. and cast him into a furnace of tire.’
These were his wages for making the
chain. Hero is a meditation Fr you to
night, ye servants of the devil ! Your mas
ter, the devil, is telling you to make a chain.
Some of you have been fifty years weld
ing the links of the chain : and he says,
1 go and make it longer still.’
Next Sunday morning you will open that
shop of y r ours, and put another link on ;
next Sunday you will be drunk, and put
another, link on ; next Monday you will do
a dishonest action, and will keep on making
fresh links to this chain ; and when you
have lived twenty more years, the devil will
say, ‘*More links on still.’ And then at
last, it will be, ‘Take him and bind him
hand and foot, and cast, him into a furnace
of fire:’ ‘For the wages of sip is death.’
There is a.subject for your meditation. 1
do’not think it will be sweet; but if God
makes it profitable, it will do you good.
You must have strong medicines sometimes,
when the disease is bad. God apply it to
to your hearts.— Spurgeon.
COMPREHENSIVE VIEW OF PROVIDENCE.
—“ Consider not only one single act of Pro
vidence, but the whole scheme, to make a.
conclusion.” The motions of his eyes are
various, but all end in' discoveries of hi*
strength. Men do not argue from one sin
gle proposition, but draw the conclusion
from several propositions knit together. It
is by such a spiritual logic we are to make
conclusions from the ways of Providence.
As in reading Scripture, if we take not the
whole period, we may make not only non
sense, but blasphemy, as in that of iiie
Psalmist, ‘ Thou art not a God that hath
pleasure in unrighteousness.” If a man
should read only, “Thou art not a God,”
and make a full stop there, it would be blas
phemy ; and reading the whole verse, it is
excellent* sense, and an honorable declara
tion of God’s holiness. Such errors will be
committed in reading the books of Provi
dence, if we fix our eyes only in one place,
and make a full stop wheifc God hath- not
made any. We judge not of a picture by
the first draught, but the last lines; not by
one shadow or color, but by the whole com
posure. The wisdom of God is best judged
by the view of the harmony of Providence.
The single threads of Providence may seem
very weak or knotty and uneaven, and seem
to administer just occasion of censure; but
will it not as much raise the admiration to
see them all woven into a curious piece of
branched work ? Consider, therefore, God’s
ways of working; but fully judge nothing
till the conclusion, for that is to judge before
the time. Judge not then of Providence
by the first appearance; God may so loose
the glory of ILis work, and you the comfort.
—Ckarnoek.
Trust in God. —Let us treasure up our
experiences of God's .faithful and tender
care during the whole course of our lives,
that they m ly come in aid to our faith and
hope in the last great conflict; Ictus care
fully consider the examples of others, whose
happy death we witness, or of which wc read
or hear, to allay our fears and encourage
our hearts ; let us prepare daily for this im
port nit season, by faith and repentance, and
a conscientious attention to the duties of
our station ; and let us watch and pray,
against anxious and distressing fears. Hie
Lord will provide for our passage over"this
Jordan when the time comes; yea, he will
come and meet us, and by bis animating
presence invigorate our faith and hope, till
we join the innumerable multitude that, in
the Canaan above, arc singing the praises of
the great Deliverer, who hath both redeemed
them from far worse than Egyptian bondage*
and brought them safe to the promised lan
through his precious blood, and by his all
conquering arm. — Scott.
THE ARMY & NAVY HERALD.
Thf. Dying Soldier Boy. —As 1 walked
over a battle field after an engagement, and
was assisting in removing the wounded, I>
found an interesting boy, who was rolled in
his blanket, and resting his head against i
stump. He had been fearfully wounded
through the lungs; his breath came p;,isi
fully, and his broken arm hung helplessly at
his side. Ills lips were pallid from loss'of
blood, and it .seemed as though such pain
and exhaustion would quickly wear his life
away, I said :
“ My dear boy, are you severely woun
ded.”
“Yes, I am going to die.”
“ Wouldn’t you like to have me write to
your mother ?”
“ 0 yes! Ido!” he eagerly said. “ You.*
will write to her won’t you ? Tell my
mother I have read my Testament, and put
ail my trust in the Lord. Tell her to meet
me in heaven, and my brother Charlie too.
1. am nut afraid to die.”
And-theii, exhausted by the effort, the
head fell back and the epos closed again.
Several soldiers had gathered about, attrac
ted by the patient heroism of the boy, and
that sermon from those white lips was a swift
witness to them of the power of the religion
of Jesus. Strong men turned away to hide
their tears as they* saw that young soul
strengthened and cheered in its agony by
the hopes of the gospel. .It was not hard
to assure him of Christ’s love and remem
brance, and lead him still closer to the cross.
At length the eyes opened again.
“ Tell my m ither that I was brave, that
1 never’flinched a hit.”
What n lesson of courage and patriotism
was that! No wonder he was brave, for ho
was sustained by a more than earthly forti
tude. His trust was in God. and lie was
not afraid to die. Send the tidings.all along
the line, and let the story nerve every man
for the next fierce struggle.
The Golden Chain. —Let us resolve to
serve CL list steadily; and that we may
serve him, let us, with our hearts opeu to
wards heaven, and receiving fully into them
the light of the Spirit of God, kneel down
on our knees before him, not once a day,
much less once a week only, but often, hut
perpetually; and yet more, when we canuot
kneel down on our knees, let us, while stand
ing or sitting, in the intervals of our work
or our amusement, link together, as it were,
our more special and solemn devotions by a
golden chain of heaven-ward thoughts and
humble prayers—not trusting to our gen
eral good intentions, but refreshing our con
tinued decays and failings with as continual
a recourse to the ever-opeu fountain of the
grace of God. — Arnold.
Royal Religion. —Gouvville went to 1
pay his respects to the Duchess Sophia of I
Brunswick, whose young daughter lie was
speculating on as a wife for the Dauphin.
When he was permitted to see the young
lady, then in her twelfth year, he said :
“ This fair and beautiful princess i.s worthy
of the highest destiny. May L ask what,
religion she has been brought up in?”
“She has none at present,” answered Sophia;
when we know what {finnee will be her
husband, she will be instructed in his re
ligion.”
A Submissive and Patient Woman.
Mr. Peabody one day came in from a walk.
His wife said tolling “L have been thinking
of our situation, and have determined to be
subtnisive and patient.” “ Ah !” said •he,
“ that is a good resolution ; let us see what
we have got to submit to. L will make a
list of our trials. First, we have a home
—we will submit to that. Secondly, wc
have the comforts of life —we will submit
to that. Thirdly, we have each other.
Fourthly, we have a multitude of friends.
Fifthly, we have God to take care of us.”
“ Ah,” said she, “ pray stop —I will say no
more about submission.”
An Eloqjjent Thought. —Though the
inventor of the steam engine and the dis
coverer of the telescope may have intended
to invent and discover for themselves alone,
yet they could not help giving the strength
of ten thousand arms, and the vision of ten
thousand eyes to all mankind; and when an
inspiring thought glows up, like sunshine,
in the soul of genius,*a new sun is lighted
up in the firmament of all men’s concious
ness, and a ray out of the Eternal Effulgence
is poured out over the world.
Two Irishmen on a tramp came to a mile l
post, on which it said, “ Twenty-nine miles
from Petersburgwhen one of them ex
claimed, “ Tread lightly, Jamie, tread light
ly; here lies the dead; lie’s twenty-nine
years ould, and his name is Miles, from
Pittsburg.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
1 have seen all ihc works that are dene j
under the sun, and behold all is vanity and !
vexation <v spirit. Egc. 1 : 14.
lie that loveth silver shall not- be si'isiied i
with silver, nor h * that, loveth abundance |
wi:h increase; this is also vanity. Fee. 4: !
10.
< There is no man that hath power over the
'pint, neither hath he power in the day of
death; and there is no discharge iii that
war, neither shall wickedness deliver those j
tiiat are given to it. Fee*. 8 : S.
Oast thv bread upon the waters, for thou j
shalt find it after many days. Eco. 11: l.i
For God hall bring every work into
judgment, with every secret thing, whether
it be good or whether it be evil. Fee. 12 :
14.
Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into
temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but
the flesh is weak. Mark 14: 08.
• For nothing is secret, that shall not be
iade manifest; neither anything hid that
shall not be known and conic abroad. Luke
8:17.
For wher6 your treasure is, there will be
your heart, also. Luke 12: 84.
Be ye therefore ready also; for the 8 n
of Man cometh at au hour when ye think
not. Luke 12 : 40.
[ tell you, nay; except ye repent, ye shall
all likewise perish. Luke 18: 8.
God knoweth your hearts: for that which
is highly esteemed among men. is abomina
tion in the sight of God. Luke Hi: 15.
God is a spirit: and they that worship
him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
St. John 4 : 24.
Search ihe Scriptures; for in them ye
tLink ye have eternal life, and.they are they
which testify of me. St. John 5: B'J.
Verily, verily, 1 say unto you, He that
bclievetli on me ha h everlasting life. 1 am
that bread of liii*. St. John ti: 47, 48.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrec
tion and the life: he that believeth in
me, though lie were dead, yet shall he live
And whosoever iiveth and believeth in
me shall never die. Bclicvest thou this?
St John, 11 : 25, 20.
ANECDOTES OF ANDREW FULLER.
“It is very well known,” says a monthly
editor, “ that Mr. Fuller was generally can
did and forbearing towards young ministers,
and ready to assist them in the explication
of a subject, or in the composition of a serru
mon ; but he knew also how to chasti.-e van
ity, ignorance, and conceit-, and was not very
sparing of persons ot this description. A
young man calling on him on a Saturday,
and anouucing very consequentially, that he
was going to preach on the morrow ut a little
distance, Mr. Fuller asked him for his text,
lie readily answered that he was going to'
nreach from, ‘One thing is needful.’ And
i what is that one thing, said Mr. Fuller. —
J Tyro replied, without, hesitation, Christ of
course Why then said he, you are worse
than the Socimians. They do allow him to be
a man, but you reduce him to a mere thing,
this unfortunate remark spoiled Tyro’s ser
mon : and when he arrived at his place of
destination, where the flock was waiting for
his sage instructions, he had not courage to
bring forward wl*at he had provided with
much study and care.”
On another occasion, after delivering a
sermon to a distant congregation, Mr. Full
er was rudely accosted by one of the would
be ijudges of evangelical preaching, who said
tp him, as he descended the pulpit stairs,
You left Christ at home, sir !” “Did I, in
deed ?” replied Mr. Fuller; “then 1 shall
hopfe to find him there when 1 return.’’ —
Ivqjirtees of this kind abounded in his con
versation ; and both in his sermons and his
wrings, there is a greater variety of apo
thegms than is usually to be met with in
modtrn authors.
HERE AND THERE.
here!
I
It nmaiheth that they that rejoice be as
thougl they rejoiced not, and they that use
this wjrld, as not abusing it, for the fashion
of this world pu.eec.tL why.—l Cor. 7 : 29
—Bl.,|f’
THERE!
In thy presence is fulhc-ss of joy.—l’s.
1G : 11.
“A land of all that is and dear, .
A land of love undash 4 a * ear
Os Spring, whos‘ iarblds no winter shall
dread,
Os flowers ne’e* traded to die o’er the dead ;
Os "lories U o lflovrr; a world such as this,
Os transport > n an Eden ot bliss.”
been subscribed in Rich
mond lot UawPMp Sydney College.
French Retort of Lincoln’s Proto-
SAUS TbIROUGH Blair. —We have reason
to believe that the Imperial Government
has received from M. Geafiry. the French
charge d’affaires at Washington, the fol
lowing details respecting the late peace ne
gotiations. : lie follornn. were t e points
submitted to President Davis by Mr. Blair:
1. The South to return to the Union.
2. The gradual abolition of slavery.
3. Recognition of the rights of the va
rious States at present forming the Southern
Confederacy
4. A general amnesty of all Confederate
citizens.
5. Maintenance of the Confederate army
ou its present footing.
<>. Alliance offensive and defensive be
tween the North and South.
President Davis formally and absolutely
rejected the first proposition, but expressed
his willingness to accept the others in prin
ciple.— I'uns l’ttrnh'rb. IS.
■ -- ♦ -f
Bears and Bulls. —The singular epi
thets of “ bears” aud “bulls” were first
applied to. Speculators in stock on the Lon
don Exchange -bout 1884. When two
parties contract, the one to deliver and the
other to take stocks on a future day at a spe
cified price, it i* the interest of the delivering
party, in the inf iwennig period, to depress
stocks, and of the receiving party to raise
them. The former is styled a “ bear,” in
allusion to the habit of that animal to pull
things down with his paws, and the latter a
“bull,” from the custom of that beast to
throw au object up with his horns.
Ornaments to be Worn. — Meekness,
Gentleness, Patience, a Quiet Spirit, Purity,
Long-sufl’eriiur, Joyfuilncss, Peace, Love,
Fidelity, Forgiveness, Brotherly-kindness,
Obedience, Humility, Usefulness, Benevo
lence, aryl whatsoever things are true, what
soever tilings are honest, whatsoever things
are just, whatsoever things are pure, what
soever things arc lovely, whatsoever things
arc of good report; if there be any virtue,
ami if there be any praise, think on these
things.
What’s in a Name—The wife of oue
of our distinguished citizens yesterday gave
birth to a fine* hearty boy, and the father
has determined to name him “ Constitution
al Amendment.”—Boston Traveller.
. «-«-«• -
A notice of a recent steamboat explosion
in a Western paper ends as follows : The
Captain swam ashore. So did the chamber
maid; she was insured for §15,000 and
loaded with iron.
Henry S. Foote arrived in Baltimore from
Washington, on the 7th, under charge of
Major Newhall, of‘Sheridan’s command;
,and alter breakfasting at the Eutaw House,
was carried North—it is supposed to Fort
Warren.
-
An Imperial Author.— Louis Napo
leon must have found his duties as sover
eign hang lightly, to make time for writing
a life of Julyis Caesar. He is to superin
tend also its translation into English;
— •"
An Illinois soldier at Vicksburg describes
tlie country there as made whth an eye to
economy—the ground being set on edge, so
that both sides can be cultivated. The ra
vines are very deep,"and run in a most lab
yrinthian manner.
Mone y. A philosophy* has said,
“Though a man without money is p&or, a
man with nothing but money is still
poorer.”
Worldly gifts cannot bear up the spirits
from fainting and sinking when trials and
troubles come, no more than headache can
be cured by a golden crown, or toothache
by a chain of pearl. ,
What must be the fruit of the tree of
life, when its very leaves heal the nations?
We may cast our cure on the Lord, but
not our work.
'•
A salt lake has been struck near Grand
Ranids. MiMßgan, at seven hundred feet
from the surface.
.m. r
Courage does not consist in being insen
sible to, but in overcoming, fear. The sort
of praise due to the man insensible to fear
is such as we would give to a cannon ball.
None are so near heaven as those who are
convicted—none so near hell as those who
resist it.
Zeal and Knowledge. —Yo-ung zeal,
and old knowledge, make that Christian
both happy and. useful in whom they
meet.— Russell.
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