A CALL TO THE UNCONVERTED. O COME, come away, for danger now surrounds you: O come, come away. Come now, and you he will receive, Repent and then believe O come, come away. From all vanity, and every sinful pleasure, "His blood atoned for all our race, And sprinkles now the throne of grace;" O come, come away. No longer despise the Saviour's invitation; Jesus, with an outstretched hand, No longer him withstand, But come, come away, Arouse, O, arouse, shake off thy heavy slumber, And come, come away, Your sinful hearts to Jesus bend, And he will surely be your Friend Only on him depend, And come, come away. PREPARE! THE rosebud yet unblown, may lie The lamb amidst the flock may die; POETRY. O let not one short day be past, Many a day has proved the last- Now, Saviour, bless me; then, whene'er There shall be left no cause for fear, 39 WILLIE AND THE BIRDS. A TRUE STORY. A LITTLE black-eyed boy of five Thus spake to his mamma"Do look at all the pretty birds How beautiful they are! "How smooth and glossy are their wings How beautiful their hue; Besides, mamma, I really think That they are pious too." "Why so, my dear?" the mother said, The answer showed a thoughtful head- "Because when each one lows his head, To lift a thankful glance above He never can forget; And so, mamma, it seems to me, Dear child, I would a lesson learn 40 VARIETIES. VARIETIES. FRAYER. Ere the morning's busy ray PERSEVERANCE. The more people do, the more they can do; he that does nothing renders himself incapable to do anything; whilst we are executing one work, we are preparing ourselves to undertake another. REASONING THE POINT. "I wish I could join an abstinence society," said a little boy about six years old, who stood shivering in one corner of a miserable habitation, rendered so by "You are his parents' use of intoxicating liquors. 66 not old enough," replied his mother; you can't understand it.' "Well, mother, I am old enough to know better than to drink intoxicating liquor," was the child's reply; "and as I am an abstainer, I don't see why I may not be a member of the society." TRIFLES. One kernel is felt in a hogshead; one drop of water helps to swell the ocean; a spark of fire helps to give light to the world. You are a little child; passing amid the crowd you are hardly noticed; but you have a drop, a spark within you, that may be felt through eternity. Do you believe it? Set that drop in motion-give wings to that spark, and behold the results! It may renovate the world. None are too small, too feeble, too poor to be of service. Think of this and act! Life is no trifle. Up then, little reader, and prepare to live in earnest. Mind your book, mind your teacher, mind your parents, but above all, remember your Creator in the days of your youth. DEAR YOUNG READERS,-Many of you will have heard the pleasing hum of the honey-bee. You see we have got a little straw house in our woodcut this month. This is the house where the bee lives, and in which it builds its beautiful cells. You see they are flying about, busy at work. Children like to watch the little bee, as it trips from flower to flower in search of food, and to listen to the pleasant hum of its busy wings. Just run out to the garden or green-fields this fine summer day, and you will be charmed to see the sweet flowers bend their heads beneath the weight of its light footsteps, as it gathers its sweet store! This insect finds a nectar fluid in the flowers, which it June, 1852. [Vol. V., No. 51. carries to its little home, and deposits in the cells. The manner in which the bee collects its food is worthy of note. The hairs with which its body and feet are covered, are the main instruments used for this purpose. By means of the hairs on the feet the bee begins its collection of the pollen (that is a fine powder which lies in the heart of flowers) in the corolla it has entered, and after kneading the dust into balls, places it in the baskets on its hind legs. Sometimes it rolls itself round and round in the cups of flowers, and brushes off the pollen as clean as possible, so that it often flies home like a dusty miller, and brushes its jacket when its legs are unloaded. The vision bestowed on the bee is very wonderful. It has five eyes; two in front, and three on the top of its head. I'm sure this will be strange to some of our young readers. Perhaps you are ready to exclaim, "What, the bee has five eyes and I only two!" Yes, it is very curious; but you know God has given the bee three additional eyes, because it requires them. The three eyes on the very top of its head give a "defensive vision upwards from the cups of flowers." When the bee has all its store collected, it rises high in the air, in order to look out for its little straw house. Its power of vision is strong, and it discovers in an instant where its home is, however distant the hive may be. It "goes for the point with the directness of a cannon-ball, and usually alights at its own door, though the whole court be crowded with hives. Now, dear readers, we wish you to be like the bee, industrious. You will observe how it flies from one flower to another in search of employment. It cannot be idle. So little children should imitate the honey-bee in this respect. Be always gathering. You cannot make honey, it is true, but you can, every hour, learn something, if you are willing. |