THE FIRESIDE. The Fireside. CURE FOR GRUMBLING. SEEING that this disorder is so very prevalent among young and old in all ranks of society, and presuming that all who suffer from it surely wish to be cured, and believing still further that I can guarantee an immediate cure, even in the most desperate cases, I presume to offer the following remedy, and to set forth some of its advantages, which I think give it a prominence over any other already known. It is very simple. It does not cost anything. It is always at hand. Can be applied directly by the patient himself, or herself, as the case may be. If properly applied it must effect a complete cure. Should the grumbling fit return at some future time, it can be again used with the same certainty of success. The remedy and its application are both expressed in one little word of four letters-SING! Try it. I am not particular as to what you sing, provided always that it is right and good, and in harmony with your character; nor does the manner signify, so long as it is done heartily, and it may be in the treble, alto, tenor, bass, or any other clef, according to individual preference. If the attack is mild, a few bars in common time, sung piano, will usually suffice. If the symptoms are more decided and severe, from twenty to thirty bars, three-four time, forte, and lively, should be tried promptly, repeated after an interval of five minutes, if necessary; and where the complaint, from long habit, has become confirmed and chronic, I should prescribe not less than thirty bars, two-four time, allegretto and fortissimo, on the commencement of every attack. As the patients of this latter class sometimes have a great disinclination to solos, they may try duetts, or even choruses, with many voices, when opportunity offers. Under this course of treatment, if persevered in, the symptoms will, to a certainty, assume a much milder form; in a very short time a radical cure will be effected, and the once habitual grumbler become noted for his cheerfulness and urbanity. Again, I say, try it. Next to a spirit of prayer, cultivate habits of praise. The power of song for good is much overlooked among us; and while it is largely employed by the world as an instrumentality for evil, Christians limit its use and its influence very much to places of worship and religious services. When we have more singing we shall have less grumbling, and shall more fully realize the apostolic injunction, "In psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord." THE PENNY POST BOX. The Penny Post Box. GROWING OLD. WE find the following well-expressed thoughts concerning growing old in one of our exchanges, which does not give their source, however-presenting them, as we do now, on their intrinsic merit. The first shock of surprise with which advancing life announces itself is a very definite experience. It is a deep-cut notch, and the bark of life's tree never grows over it. And then sets in the sophistry of devices, of all dexterous conceits, of pertinacious logic, to persuade ourselves that we are not quite so old as the calendar testifies. A spice of foolery gives a flavour to the effort. Animal spirits are zealously encouraged, young ways put on, fashionable attire assumed, light manners cultivated, boys and girls patronized, small print resisted, big type eschewed, extra lights refused, so as to disguise the fatal symptoms. But a grandchild comes, then another, and yet another, and so the sharp reality moves on us apace, the thin veneering rubs off, and the conclusion is plumply met that we are growing old. And there is a touch of pathos in it, something that vivifies one to one's self, something that empties the memory very suddenly into present consciousness, something that amazes us by the immense contents of the small word, Life. Not that the struggle is all over. The resistance to the thought of age is not ended, it is only intermitted; and back it comes on fine bracing days, or festive occasions, and when enterprises of pith and moment challenge our pluck. If we chance with elderly individuals, men that are very bald, women that are very fat, the weakness gets uppermost again, and asserts itself with charming buoyancy, verging on a little deceit. But at last the true nature begins to cover its lost ground. The gathering time of the harvest is at hand; soon the beautiful fruits are ours; and then appear one by one the sweet compensations for what has been taken away from us. Slowly, too, a new insight is granted to our inward being, and this touches the heart with strange tenderness. A deep quietness pervades us. We do not need our malignant passions to quicken our intellects, for we can be strong without anger, firm without obstinacy, decided without dogmatism, and earnest without fanaticism. If our senses have decayed, has not the soul gained thereby? The outer world has narrowed; how small its horizon, and how few friends stand in its fading light! It is all very sad, but the world within has gloriously enlarged; its horizon has widened into a shining space, and its zenith is far higher, and its lofty sky burns with serene lustre. FACTS, HINTS, GEMS, AND POETRY. Facts, Hints, Gems, and Poetry. Facts. In 1869, one hundred and fiftyeight persons were killed by crocodiles in Java. The dome of the Capitol at Washington is one of the largest in the world, being 137 feet in diameter at its base, and 200 feet high. A Moscow journal states that the railway bridge lately erected over the Dnieper, near Kiew, is one of the greatest works of the kind in the world, and the longest in Europe. It consists of twelve arches, and is 3,503 feet in length. and Disbelief in futurity lessens, in great measure, the ties of morality, to be pernicious to the peace of civil may be supposed for that reason society. The slave has but one master; the ambitious man has as many masters as there are persons whose aid may contribute to the advancement of his fortunes. There cannot live a more unhappy creature than an ill-natured old man, who is neither capable of receiving pleasures, nor sensible of doing them to others. Three days of uninterrupted company in a vehicle will make you better The largest organ in the world is acquainted with another, than one now being built by Willis, for the Hall hour's conversation with him every of Arts and Sciences, South Kensing-day for three years. ton. It will have 111 sounding stops independent of fourteen couplers-an enormous multiplication. By communicating our grief we have less, and by communicating our pleasures we have more. As the moon doth show her light to the world which she receiveth from the sun, so we ought to bestow the benefits received of God to the profit of our neighbour. Gems. Great crimes ruin but few. It is the little meannesses, selfishnesses, and impurities that do the work of death on most men. A man's life is a concatenationit is rolled over and over on himself. God will take care of you if you bear your whole weight on Him. He may not do it just in your way, but He will do it. It is never safe for a man, whether a Christian or not, to measure him. self by any other than God's own rule. The church has been so fearful of amusements that the devil has had the care of them. Many cares are but a morbid way of looking at our privileges. POETIC SELECTIONS.-THE CHILDREN'S CORNER. AFTER THE DARKNESS-LIGHT. AFTER the darkness-light! From foulest wrong upriseth right- What though the billows roll? O'doubting heart, be still! By devious ways works He His will- Truth lives;-for this Christ died;- Child of immortal birth! Then lag not, weary feet, Though rocks loom mountains high,— Press bravely on,-for, fair and sweet, Beyond, the valleys lie! Dread not the battle hour; Move on to meet the foe! Heaven grants the hero's arm its power- Though dark the dun clouds roll Though deadly fierce the fray- O doubting heart, be still! O fainting soul, be brave! The Children's Corner. THE LITTLE TRACT WRITER. DR. BARFF, of Wurtemburg, when a little boy, wished to be useful to his school-fellows. At the age of ten years he wrote a tract, and as he had not money enough to get it printed, he wrote out twenty copies to give to them. He has since spent a great part of his life in writing and publishing tracts and books, which have been very useful, and several hundreds of thousands of them have been printed in different languages. If we wish to be useful when we grow up, we must begin while we are little. A HINDOO'S HOME. Do you desire to learn something of a Hindoo's home, his household furniture, his domestic habits, his food, his manner of eating? Come with me to yonder village, at the edge of that cocoa-nut grove. As we approach the villages, just at the entrance is a large olive tree, with its beautiful dark green foliage; around its venerable trunk is a raised platform of large stones, filled in with earth. Here the men of the village congregate to lounge and to chat; here the headmen of the village decide disputes; here the missionary, after singing a hymn in Tamil, can obtain an audience, to whom, for twenty minutes, he can talk about Jesus. Passing that, without making a salaam to the huge stone idol close by, let us enter the best looking house in the village. Its walls are made of mud, now almost as hard as stone, eight feet high; its roof is tiles, burned clay, or more commonly the palm leaves, or thatched with grass; its length is about twenty feet, its width about ten feet, with one low door, and one small window; the roof projects in front, forming a narrow veranda, a little elevated from the ground; here they will sit by day, and sleep by night, but oftener, when the weather is dry and hot, they will sleep out in the street, in front of the house, wrapped in their white clothes, like corpses laid out for burial, as I have frequently seen them in passing through their villages on a bright moonlight night. There by the door, as you enter, are two round flat stones-that is the family mill, which two women grind, after Scripture fashion; close by is another large flat stone, with a stone roller upon it, designed to grind the curry for a sauce to put upon their rice, such as black and red pepper, coriander seed, cummin, garlic, tamarind; these are put into the gravy of broiled chicken, mutton, or in boiled vegetables, with the meat scraped out from the cocoa-nut, together with butter, and poured on their rice. This composes a Hindoo's best dish. But stooping, let us enter the door; along one side is an elevated platform, a foot high, three feet in breadth, made of mud; on this platform, perhaps, is a grass mat or two, upon which they sit, or lie; to the right of the door is the cooking place, with the cooking utensils; it is made of mud with a round hole in the top, in which to set earthen pots over the fire burning within as an oven, with no chimney for the smoke, it must find its way out as best it can; there stand a half dozen of different sized pots, some on the fire, rice boiling in one, the fowl in another; there is |