POETRY.

She was hungering and thirsting, and now bread from heaven and the water of life were offered to her. She had laboured and was heavy-laden, and now she could come to Christ and find rest. She did come, and O how gladly! The Saviour revealed to her was just the Saviour she needed. He was infinite in compassion, and had power to save to the uttermost.

She cast herself at the foot of the Cross, and found peace in believing. Henceforth she was not her own. She lived for the precious Saviour who had died for her.

When, soon after, a female missionary came to labour for that people, she took her to her own home, and aided her in every possible way. Very soon there was a reformation in that village. The men from being bacchanalians, became a God-fearing people.

Guapung, for that was the name of this remarkable woman, was the means, with the help of the female missionary, of the establishment of a Christian church in Dong Yahn, from which two other churches soon proceeded. This church was the first to build its own chapel and support its own pastor. Guapung established the first district school in the province, and supported it. She laboured much with the mothers to teach them humane ways of training their children, and all she came in contact with she sought to win to Christ. She had great power with every one, for she lived herself on the Word of God, and seemed to catch the tones of the "better land."

Trace back this useful Christian life, and you will find its beginning in a kind Christian word.

ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

Or heavy drops, along thy footstool slipping,
Its life-blood red.

It needs no balm of myrrh for sweet or bitter,
But life and love;

The sad conditions make mine offering fitter
Thy heart to move.

From all these claims of cruel wrong and anguish,
This load of grief

Wherewith my soul doth pant, and mourn, and languish,
Give me relief!

In thy far home is not thy soul still tender

A PERSIAN FABLE.-There is a story in the Bustan of the famous Persian poet Saadi, which runs thus: Jesus, while on earth, was once entertained in the cell of a dervish or a monk, of eminent reputation for sancity. In the same city dwelt a youth sunk in every sin," whose heart was so black that Satan himself shrank back from it in horror." This lad presently appeared before the cell of the monk, and, as smiten by the very presence of the divine prophet, began to lament deeply the sin and misery of his past life, and shedding abundant tears, to implore pardon and grace. The monk indignantly interrupted him, demanding how he dared to appear in his presence and that of God's holy prophet; assured him that for him it was in vain to seek forgiveness; and in proof how inexorably he considered his lot was fixed in hell, exclaimed, "My God, grant me but one thing, that I may stand far from this man on the judgment day." On this Jesus spoke: "It shall be even so. The prayer of both is granted. This sinner has sought mercy and grace, and has not sought in vain; his sins are forgiven; his place shall be in paradise at the last day. But this monk has prayed that he may never stand near this sinner; his prayer, too, is granted, hell shall be his place, for there this sinner shall never come.

WHERE HELL IS.-"I wish to ask you a question," said Mr. Sharp to our young minister as he met him in the street. "I am anxious to

ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

know where hell is. The Bible I have read, geographies, histories, and other books, and I can't find out where it is exactly." The young minister, placing his hand on his shoulder, and looking earnestly into his eyes, replied encouragingly, "My dear Sir, don't be discouraged, I am sure you will find out after a while. As for myself, I have made no inquiries, and really don't wish to know where hell is.' About heaven I have thought and read, and studied a great deal. I wish to make that my home, and by the help of the Lord I will. Ask me about heaven and I can talk,-I don't know where hell is, and you had better not find out.

A WISE ANSWER.-The celebrated Aboo Yusuph, who was chief judge of Bagdad in the reign of the Caliph Hadee, was a very remarkable instance of that humility which distinguishes true wisdom. It is related of this judge that, on one occasion, after a very patient investigation of facts, he declared that his knowledge was not competent to decide upon the case before him. "Pray, do you expect," said a pert courtier, who heard this declaration, "that the Caliph is to pay ignorance?" "I do not," was the mild reply; "the Caliph pays me, and well, for what I do know; if he were to attempt to pay me for what I do not know, the treasures of his empire would not suffice."

CONSCIENCE. It is a very busy faculty of the soul, and it hath many offices. First, conscience is a register, to take notice of and record what we do. Secondly, conscience is a witness against us when we do amiss. Thirdly, conscience is a judge, and gives sentence; it sits upon a throne as God's deputy to award life or death. Fourthly, conscience has the office of a tormentor; it is that worm which dieth not, and a fire that never goeth out. The damned shall feel the sting and teeth of conscience forever, though here they have bribed it and blinded it that it might not trouble them.

EDUCATION.-Some suppose that every learned man is an educated man. No such thing. That man is educated who knows himself, and takes accurate common sense views of men and things around him. Some very learned men are the greatest fools in the world; the reason is they are not educated men. Learning is only the means, not the end; its value consists in giving the means of acquiring, the use of which, properly managed, enlightens the mind.

GRACE. Grace, in itself considered as a creature, will totally fail. Our permanency is not in respect to the thing, but of God; not from our being holy, but from our being kept holy. All the power of hell shall not prevail against the God of heaven.

KNOWING. Knowing, of itself, does not make happy nor holy. For mere knowing's sake I would as soon not know as know, if I had my choice. Better to love an ounce than to know a pound; better a little service than much knowledge. I desire to know what God pleases to teach me; but beyond that, even ignorance is bliss.

THE FIRESIDE.-THE PENNY POST BOX

The Fireside.

A WOMAN'S DEFENCE.

FOR myself, I should be thankful to return to the habits of our grandmothers, buy a bonnet which would do to wear ten years; have three dresses, two for every day and one for "nice," and wear them year after year till they wear out, without alteration; also twist up my hair in a plain wad at the back of my head. I should then have more time for reading and study, and more money to spend in books, pictures, and travelling, to say nothing of the unlimited time and money for doing good. And I know of very many women who would be only too happy to throw aside the wearisome shackles of fashion. But what would be the result? With the maiden, no more beaux; with the wife, a cessation of devotion on the part of her husbandresults too dire to be contemplated for a moment. I speak what I know and testify what I have seen. I have myself been to parties sensibly and economically clad, and I was despised and rejected of men; again, I have been more fashionably and expensively attired, and I had more beaux than I knew what to do with. By the way, why don't some of the wise and sensible batchelors court and marry among the vast army of working girls? They are dressed simply, and are accustomed to habits of economy. They would be glad enough of good homes, and would make excellent wives. They are personally attractive, and, I doubt not, are quite as refined and intelligent as the average of fashionable women. Why is there not a greater demand for them as wives, and why are not the Flora McFlimseys a drug in the market? Let the facts speak for themselves. Be not deceived. O, my brethren! With you lies the fault; from you must come the remedy,-refuse to pay court to silks, panniers, frills and chignons, and we shall go over to calico in battalions.

I SUPPOSE there is no event in the whole life of Christ to which, in hours of doubt or fear, men turn with more anxious thirst to know the close facts of it, or with more interest and passionate dwelling upon every syllable of its recorded narrative, than Christ's showing Himself to His disciples at the lake of Galilee. There is something pre-eminently open, natural, full fronting our disbelief in this manifestation. The others, recorded after the resurrection, were sudden, phantom-like, occurring to men in profound sorrow and wearied agitation of

FACTS, HINTS, GEMS, AND POETRY.

heart; not, it might seem, safe judges of what they saw. But the agitation was now over. They had gone back to their daily work, thinking still their business lay net-wards, unmeshed from the literal rope and drag. "Simon Peter saith unto them, 'I go a fishing.' They say unto him, 'We also go with thee."" True words enough, and having far echo beyond those Galilean hills. That night they caught nothing; but when the morning came, in the clear light of it, behold a figure stood on the shore. They were not thinking of anything but their fruitless hauls. They had no guess who it was. It asked them simply if they had caught anything. They said, No. And it tells them to cast yet again. And John shades his eyes from the morning sun with his hand, to see who it is; and though the glinting of the sea, too, dazzles him, he makes out who it is at last; and poor Simon, not to be outrun this time, tightens his fisher's coat about him, and dashes in over the nets. One would have liked to see him swim those hundred yards, and stagger to his knees on the beach. Well, the others get to the beach, too, in time, in such slow way as men in general do get, in this world, to its true shore, much impeded by that wonderful "dragging the net with fishes;" but they get there,-seven of them in all;-first the denier, and then the slowest believer, and then the quickest believer, and then the two throne seekers, and two more, we know not who. They sit down on the shore face to face with Him, and eat their broiled fish as He bids. And then, to Peter, all dripping still, shivering and amazed, staring at Christ in the sun on the other side of the coal fire,-thinking a little, perhaps, of what happened by another coal fire, when it was colder, and having had no word once changed with him by His Master since that look of His,-to him, so amazed, comes the question-" Simon, lovest thou me?" feel that a little, and think of it till it is true to you.

Facts, Hints, Gems, and Poetry.

Facts.

A Japanese pillow is a curiosity in its way. It is nothing but a rocker of a cradle, broad enough to stand alone, with a semicircular depression on the upper side. The Japanese lie at full length on the floor, place, not their head, but their neck in the crescentshaped hollow on the upper side of the pillow, and rock themselves to sleep in a few minutes.

Try to

The exports of rails from Great Britain to the United States, during August, 1870, were 41,076 tons, against 25,548 tons for the same time in 1869, and 23,250 tons in 1868. For the eight months ending August 31, 1870, 279,616 tons were exported, against 229,146 tons for the same period of 1869, and 188,730 tons in 1868. During August, 1870, England exported to the United States 12,197 tons of pig iron.