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Patience With the Living. Sweet friend, when tbou and I are gone Beyond earth's weary labor. When small shall be our need of grace From comrade or from neighbor ; Passed all the strife, the toil, the care, And done with all the sUhins, What tender truth shall we have gained, Alas, by simply dying? Then lips too chary of their praise Will tell our merits over. And eyes too switt our faults to see Shall no defect discover. Then hands that would not lift a stone Where stones were thick to cumi>er Our steep hill path will scatter flowers Above our pillowed slumber. Sweet friend, perchance both thou and I, Kre love is past forgivinsr, Khmiiii t lu? earnest lesson home: I5e patient with the living. To-day's repressed rebuke may save Our blinding tears to-morrow ; Th>*n patience, e'en when keenest edge May whet a nameless sorrow! Tis easv to be gentle when Death's silenee shames our clamor; And easy to discern the best, Through memory's mystic glamor; But wise it were lor thee and me, Kre love if past forgiving. To take the tender lesson home; lie patient with the living. ^ GRAINS. Recommend to your children virtue. This alone can make them happy?not gold. In an angry moment a man may do what a lifetime of repentance can not undo. The best way for a man to get out of a lowly position is to be conspicuously effective in it. Are we not engraven upon His heart aud the palms of His hand, and can He forget us in anything that He doeth ? Base all your actions upon a principle of right, preserve integrity of character, and in doing this never reckon on the cost. Have a teuder regard to sudden and unpremeditated impressions. In the pure heart they are often God's whispers to the soul. There are sweet surprises awaiting many an humble soul fighting against great odds in the battle of a seemingly common-pmce me. Wickedness and wretchedness are one and the same thing seen from different points of view; and so, too, are lioliuess and happiness. When we are least worthy, most tempted, hardest, unkindest, let us yet commend our spirits into His hands. Whither else dare we send them ? Nothing ever happens but once in this world. What we do now we do once for all. It is over, it is gone, with all its eternity of solemn meaning. Suffer not the dear children to gain domiuion over parental authority, but traiu them up as the tlock of Christ, committed to your charge in the wilderness. The good that is done in a pleasant way accomplishes most and is more lasting. Fond advice kindly given, is worth a dozen reproofs accompanied by scOwls. The more believers love God, the more they love one another; as the lines of a circle, the nearer they come to the centre the nearer they come to each other. "Whether young or old, think it nei- [ ther too late to turn over the leaves of j your past life and consider what you j would do if what you have done were to be done again. Like a river elorious Is God's perfect peace, * Over all victorious In its bright increase, Pert'ecl?yet it lioweth Fuller every day: Perfect?yet it groweth Deeper all the way. We serve Christ by serving men. The daily sacrifices we make for those near us, the help we give to the discouraged aud fainting, the cheerfulness and joy we impart is Christian service. Prayer and singing and sermons are but preparations; we serve j in uoing and suuering. If we were perfectly honest with ourselves, most of us would have to confess that we do not <lo our very best in many of the things to which | we put our hands. There are few things which with more pains we could ; not do better. This is especially truei of things that we do every day, and of] the secondary duties of our callings. Let the weakest, let the humblest re-| member that, in his daily course he! can, if he will, shed around him al-J most a heaven. Kindly words, sym-l patliizing attentions, watchfulness against wounding men's .sensitiveness ?these cost very little but are priceless in their value. Are they not almost the staple of our daily happiness? From hour to hour, every moment, v.*e are supported, blest, by small kindnessMost Christians are "zigzag" in life and character. They go u certain dis" tance straight, then deviate from the right line, go a while wrong, and merely jerk along through life. Their Chiistiau career is like a worm fence, which is never perfectly straight. Nevertheless we may rejoice that, divided as it constantly is by temptation, it makes any progress at all and reaches the end even by such devious and crooked advances. Better a new start than to continue on wrong ; and happy he who has the fewest angles in the aim and direction of his Christian career.?2?. }V. Lowric. How to do Things. There is a best way to reach every result, whether it be a mental decision, the fitting of a dress, the learning of a I new lauguage, or the making of a johnny-cake. "I do wish my sister Mary would J make me a visit," said a woman in ! |straightened circumstance, "for babyj j has outgrown the stockiug pattern j Mary gave me a year ago, and I can-| 'not cut any more of mine for her un-J ; til I can get a larger pattern." And it was all for lack of applying' j her own brain to the subject; she has! ! never tried to develop her own mental i 1 - " _i. * ? : iacuuies ; ll WiW so muuu easici iu ic? i things go and await sister Mary's an! nual visits and assistance. Mary was so "handy" she was always welcomed. ' Mary could take! mother's old under-vests and drawers j and lit the infants out for a year there-J from; but the mother would have thrown them away. ; Baby's stockings were now too short!* and too small for the well-fattened leg,'; I but the mother could not see that all!; j I that was needed was to use the same'i shapely pattern, and cut it a half inch j; I larger all around and as much longer; | in the leg as baby's lengthened limb de-j; mauded. i She was of the stamp of women who, I having a receipt for one loaf of cake, < will mix two "batcnes" when she desires to make two loaves! if making i molasses candy for the children and they bog to have part of it "peanut < candy" will sweetly consent to humor i J them and boil and make plain, and then boil more for the peanuts ready, land having made sufficient for both i | kinds, pour out part plain to cool, and put her peanuts in the remainder! j Such a woman never finds the best nor the quickest way to work, but in the I country parlance, will "work in a peck i measure all day" to achieve what betj tor management could have done in j half a day. In,making over the legs of stockings ! for children, stitch the seams closely |on the machine; then lay the seam i open and loosely hem the edges down 1 il A I I ctiift cross suicu 11K*iii. >ccuu ini4?5 i treated will not fret the most delicate j foot. Don't throw away stockings when | the feet only are worn out; "If one lias no babies of their own there , are I plenty of people who have, and no thrifty mother with but a moderate I income will feel otherwise than grate- , ful when she receives from a friend a package of long stocking legs. So with the lower parts of one's under-vests and the strong upper parts of under-d rawer?. These soft pieces make lovely, comfortable under-wear > for the babies for the first three or four years of their life and save the moth- ( ers many "a pretty penny." i Let nothing be wasted : gather up the fragments of clothing, and of life, ' and make the best of them, Is the way 1 Sn/rnmn | WJ UU UUUIIUIIUUIC UK a aiijuii iiiu'iuc, , and happy where the joys of life must be few! Too Much of n Good Thiug1. John Pereival was a boy about f) years old, who, like many other boys, i had not learned that one might have . too much of a good thing. I One day he said to his mother, "I wish I were a man!" ''Why, Johnny ?" "So that I could have as much blackberry pie as I want." "Don't you have as much now as you want? You always share with j us." "Yes, mother, I Lave one piece, sometimes two pieces, but I want a whole otie, and when I get to be a man I mean to have a whole black berry pie to myself." "Well Johnny, you need not wait i to be a man for that, you may have one now." "What, mother! a whole one all to myself." "Yes; you go and pick the berries and I will make the pie for you, and you may have it all to yourself." "Oh, goody!' exclaimed Johnny, and in great glee he ran off to pick the ( berries. He brought them home, and ; his mother made a nice, fat berry pie. , jWhen baked it was handed over to ; Johnny, who sat down iu the cornier . I to cat it. He began with a hearty relish, smacked his lips, and pronounced 1 i it a real good pie, and soon had half of | it devoured. But such a pie is a great 'deal for one boy to eat at once; he at tacked the latter half with less eager-] iuess. His mother sa\v his failing ap-l; ' piM ite ami pleasantly said ; 1 "Johnny, you need not eat it all if, ; you do not want it." Jlut .Johnny had undertaken to eat; the whole pie, and did not mean to ' give it up, so he answered : "Vis, mother, I do want to eat it all; 1 l>iu 'his part is not quite as good as the' other half." "Thai can't be, my son, for it was; ail itiade together. One pari must be; just as good as another." Johnny kept on eating, but slower' and slower, and with less relish, lie: persevered, however, till he swallow-1 ed the last mouthful. Then he pushed the empty tin away, and said aloud :! "I wouldn't give a cent for a black-! j berry pie." J I Thrilling Adventure with Highway Robbers. William A. Walls, who is connected with the Friends' Mission at Matamoras, Mexico, publishes in the C//risfian Worker for First Month, Gth, IS- j 81, the following remarkable experience with highway robbers. He was on his way from Gonuz-Farias to Mat" amoras, traveling alone and on horse-J back, sleeping at night mostly under! ebony bushes. He says : "On Third-day morning, started at; 3 o'clock, partly because the rain made ' my ebony bush an uncomfortable roof, | and partly because a seventy mile trip lay between my bed-room and Matamoras. "About 9 a. m. I was overtaken by three horsemen, all on good horses, ! but as we were in sight of a ranch they j simply passed the usual "JBtienas d/-\ r.c Qounn > ninl inrlp on to the ll0U*C ! no? uf/rvtv) M**%. -? ... "I (lid not like their appearance, but. as T had no business at the ranch rode quietly pass. When about a mile bo-; yoiul I was again overtaken by tliei j-anie company, and now they propos.; ed that we should journey to Matamor-j as together. Consenting to the ar-j rangement, one of them went immedi- j ately in front and the others one at i each side of my horse. "As this order of march was a little: suspicious, I turned my horse suddenly, so as to be at the side of the rnad,i and saw that one of my companions had a pistol in his hand, which he put Dut of sight as quickly as possible and supposed that it had ascaped my observation. "I now knew the character of my companions, and could simply put up a fervent petition to the Heavenly Father for protection. The leader of the compan3T ortereu to snow me ? suuuci ( road to Matamoras, and proposed that! we should leave the highway to find this short cut. When 1 declined this obliging offer, which was intended toj draw ine i uto the chapparal where the J buzzards would probably be the only discoverers of the body, he threw ofl'| his mask of pretended kindnsss, and, j pointing his pistol at my head, threat-1 ened me with instant death if I did] not follow the foremost of the company "Asit seemed like leaving the path of duty, I refused to leave the only | place in which I had a right to expect! God's protection. The frontmannowsei-j zed the halter of my pony and attpemt. I ed to lead him away from the road. I! I at once dismounted, and with a jerk freed the rope from his grasp. | 'Knives, men,' said the captain, and two knives, each over a foot long, were held threateningly over my breast. Then the capiain a second time ordered i me, on pain of immediate death, to accompany them to the northward. | The reply wa?, 'You may kill me if! you will?it makes no difference to me ?thanks to God, I am ready; but this is my road and from here I will not go.' 'Areyou prepared?' 'Yes.' The! idea seemed a novel one, an'd tlie i knives disappeared, though the pistohj with its barrels all charged, still pointed at my face. I then asked who they were and where they lived, and was told that they were 'Gentleman of St. j John, and lived under the moon.' Ij gave him a fifty-cent piece, which I j had in my pocket, not caring to snow | my purse, which contained about eight! dollars?more than I could afford to i lose. Ee said, 'it is very little; have you no more?' 'Yes but I need thel rest,' which was quite true. Ee again i asked for it, but in a somewhat doubt-1 ful tone, as if he expected to be refused, and it seemed to me that I need i make no futhcr sacrifice, so I told him that I could spare tlu- half dollar, bu^ no more. ' Vamose,' he said to hisj fellow bandits, and they galloped on at ii lively rate. Returning thanks to God who had so wonderfully delivered nie from the hands of these highwaymen, I remounted and at a slower[ pace followed. "Certainly it is not usual for the Mexican 'road agents' to let their vie- J tira escape with his life, much less car- j ry his mouey out of their hands. I can only praise God, who, in the moment of peril, kept my mind perfectly ijuiet. When I refused to leave the road I expected to receive a shot in* stautly, and as the mind works with almost lightning rapidity, the thought of past occupations, apparently important once, but now, when face to fact' with eternity, utterly trivial, (iilled me wiili Kli'tmo for wasted onnortunities. At the same time I had unutterable! gladness at the thought that sudden! death was sudden glory ; that to leave! this'earth was only to leave earthly friends for the presence of Him who ! is dearer than all earthly friends. "While regretting the mis-spent' time and lost opportunities, I felt great calmness from the knowledge that through the blood of Christ I was ac-j eepted, and was enabled to say in my heart, '() I?ord, deliver thy servant in thine own way ; by life for thy service on earth, or by death for thy praise in heaven.' "I have often thought, and now know, that the hmuan mind can carry j on several operations at the same time, j While meditating upon my past life, j and rejoicing that the question of sal-l ration was settled, I was also wonder 'ng at the same instant how it feel9 to be shot, and whether he intended to fire at the head or heart; whether a second shot would be necessary, and what Mr. Purdie would say when he heard of it. Also thought of the pain the news would give at home, all ap" parently in an instant. "One idea, amusing from its triviality, kept coming up continuously, without any effort of the will. I had a bag of fruit at my saddle bow, and the idea suddenly presented itself, 'Well, Mr. Purdie will never get his oranges.* While so many other iin. portaut questions were occupying my attention, this was certainly an odd notion for that moment. I also re niembered counting repeatedly the five barrels of the pistol, and even noted the carving of the handle with a singular curiosity?singular, I mean, to exercise at that time. When the danger was past I felt very glad thai I had not possessed a pistol, too, as in that case certainly one, and probably two , lives would have been lost." A Neglected Duty. Probably the majority of parents in- , terest themselves in making it more or j less easy for their children who are attending day school to prepare their ( lessons for recitation. But how is it , with the Sunday-school lesson? Do ' parents take as much pains :i9 they should to give their children time to ^ prepare this lesson, aid in prepariug it, ( and do they insist that the scholar | shall be ready for the recitation in Sun Jay-school? Let each parent who , reads this paragraph answer this question to himself or herself. ] It is taken for granted somehow that our children will grow up with a knowledge of the Scriptures; they hear the Bible read at family prayers, from the pulpit, and in the Snndayschool ; it lies on all our tables, it is in all our libraries, and yet the ignorance of members of the church of the Bi- 1 ble is simply astonishing. If one < would become an astronomer, he must 1 do something more than read a page or < two every day in a text-book of astron- ' omy. If one would be a chemist, he 1 will not compass that desire by casual 1 and desultory consultation of a book of chemistry. And so of all of her scieuces, arts, and professions. If our ' children are to know the Bible they 1 must study the Bible, and their par- 1 ents must study the Bible and teach it 1 to the children "diligently." The last aunday the writer of this 1 conducted a class of young ladies in ' the Sunday-school, there were eight or nine in the class, and every one was a 1 church member: but not one seemed ever to liave heard before of the witch of Endor and her connection with ' Saul; nor one could tell how Saul had ' tinned, and why the kingdom of Israel was taken from him ; nor could they ' give a connected history of David up to the time of his becoming king in J Hebron. And yet, ought not they to have known all the.se things from their ' youth up? The history of David is the best commentary possible on many of the psalms of David. Xow, dear parent, who shall read this, do you not owe it to your child to grouud him in the Scriptures of the Old and Isew Testaments? Ought you not from Sabbath to Sabbath to see to it that his Sunday-school lesson ' each Sunday is thoroughly prepared? So shall you reap a double blessing. IIow to Mark Your Bible. C. H. Y ATM AN. "Have one to mark, one of your own, one with good print, marginal references, well, bound in silk, printed on rice paper that will stand ink. One with a text book bound in the back is the best. "Might as well use other people's liats or snoes as to use omer people's Bibles. I'd sell my clothes any day to buy a good one if I had none. '"Mark the first page with your < name aud your life text, and then add your year text as the years come and go. "Make a memoranda of your con. version and the dates of great spiritual blessings. If some earnest prayer gets j a mighty answer, make a note of it, with a reference to the promise which brought the blessing. "Make the promises staud out by un- ) derlining them with iuk. When you < find a promise for gold, mark that, i There are hundreds of Bible verses that center around Haggai 2:8. I always go to them when in need of 111011- I ey, then work, and it always comes. < Take a promise like Matt. 7 : 7, andl you should mark it so you could find 11 it almost in the dark. ' Take the prayer verses and mark them in red. j Know just where they are to ho found. I ".Every great event of your lifeii ought to be marked in your Bible. J That's the place to put it; for God by I] his promises and providences is work, ing out your eternal welfare, all for;1 good if you will let Him. "Mark the books and chapters; for ; instance, at the beginning of Exodus ; write 'Book of Redemption over Jeremiah write the 'Backslider's Book ; > over James write 'Work;' over the eleventh chapter of Hebrews write Faith Chapterand Proverbs 31, I 'Wife's Chapter,' and so on till each chapter and book is well marked. When a preacher takes a text and gives you some good thoughts mark by its side date of sermon, and preacher, with the seed thoughts; when you return to that it will all come back as fresh as when delivered. Don't mark your Bible up with poor sermons. "Take the promises for grace and mark them. Why, II Corinthians, 9 : 8, is as powerful as an army! One promise like that is better to trust in than forty centurion bands. "You want the passages marked that will help you in dealing with in quiries of every kind. Then, too, you j want the texts that will help you to| help weak and discouraged Christians." "When souls come into the light put | their names Id your book ; then when ! you see them pray for them. "Now and then a stanza of some I hymn will be so blessed to you lln?J you will want to copy it on the blank pages. "Have some blank pages put in rubber; when full you cau take it out. Also have a place where you cau make a note of good illustrations. Lastly, have your own plan, but have one. If you don't make a note of the good things they will go from you. \ Put pour own name alongside of the best promises; mine is written many times ill through my Bible; thjs makes them more personal to me, and thus the Bible becomes a very precious book. I'd not take a thousand dollars sash for my own Bible. It's priceless." Don't overdo it. Some Bibles are so marked up that God's word is second ana Human mougnt, noies anu worus first. This is not right. "Though the Earth be Removed.'' The traveler, Humboldt, gives an interesting account of the first earthquake lie witnessed. It was at Curnatia, in South America. The first shock same after a strange illness. It. caused in earthquake in his mind, for it overthrew in a moment all his life-long notions about the safety of the earth. He could no lo'j/,M| trust the soil which, up to thatp^^Phad felt so firm under his feet. \U.J had only one thought -univers! boundless destruction. Even the crocodiles ran from the river Orinoco, howling into the woods, the dogs and pigs were powerless with fear. The whole city seemed "the hearth of destruction." The liouses could not shelter, for they were falling in ruins. He turned to the rees, but they were overthrown. His next thought was to run to the moun tains, but they were reeling like irunken men. He then looked toward the sea. Lo! it had tied ; and the ships, which a few moments before were in deep water, were rocking on the bare sand. He tells us that then being at his wit's end, he looked up .md observed that the heaven alone was calm and unshaken. Many strange things art yet to come upon the world?earthquakes, overturnings, and upheavals. But amid them all, the Book tells us the Christian shall look up to the heavenly One, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever," and to the heavenly home which "cannot be moved." Times of Refreshing. A Stri ct Incident. A reporter called to a little bootblack near the City Hall to give him a shine the other day. The little fellow came rather slowly for one of that lively guild, and planted his box down under the reporter's foot. Before he could get his brushes out, another mrgc uuy iuii ujj, ciiiu uuillhj yi the one aside, said : "Here, you go sit down, Jimmy." Tlie reporter at once became indignant at what he took to be a piece of bullying, and told the newcomer to L-lear out. "Oh! dat's all right, boss," was the reply, "I'm only goin' to do it fur him. You see he's been sick in the hospital for uior'n a month and can't do much work yet, so us boys all turn in and give him a lift when we can !" "Is that so, Jimmy?" asked the reporter, turning to the small boy. "Yes, sir," wearily replied the boy ; and as he looked up, the palid, pinched face could be discerned even through the grime that covered it. "fie doos it fur me, if you'll let him." "PftrtAinlv. mi nhonrl." find ns flip boot-black plied the brush, the report-j er plied him with questions. "You say all the boys help him inj this way ?" "Yes, sir. When they ain't got no' job themselves, and Jimmy gets one, j they turns in ami help him, Vau.-x he! luu't very strong yet, ye see." "What percentage do you charge, liim on a job?" "Hey?" queried the youngster.| "I don't know what you mean." "I mean what part of the money do fou give Jimmy, and how much do. you keep of it?" "I don't keep none. I ain't no such j sneak as that." "So you give all to him, do you ?" "Yes, I do, All the boys give whatj they gets on his job. I'd like to catch 1 ' ' wm ! \ M ============= 4 ' i any feller sneaking it on a sick boy?I would." -y Taeshine being completed, the re- | porter handed the urchin a quarter, V saying ; "I guess you're a pretty good fellow, so you keep ten cents, and give the rest to Jimmy there. "Can't do it, >w-\ it's his Customer. Here, Jim!" He threw him the coin and was off like a shot after a customer himself, a veritable rough diamond. In this big city there are many such lads, witn warm and generous hearts under their ragged coats. 't\ Xtw York Commercial Advertiser. Served Him Right. It was a day when everybody was tired and wanted to sit down that a hirje hi'Mi, carrying a gripsack, boarded an eastern railroad train and after wa)!;i:?ir through several crowded cars finally found the one vacant seat, and, * seating himself, placed the bag on the cushion at his side. Just as the train was about to start, another man entered and made the same journey in search of a seat. As he stopped inquiringly before the large man, the latter said : "This seat is engaged, sir; a man just stepped out, but will return in a moment; he left his baggage here as a claim to the seat." "Well," said -the second traveler -L fraukly, 'I'm pretty tired, and if you ^ don't object I'll just sit down here and \ hold his bag for him till he returns," aud without further ceremony this he proceeded to do. Then the large man who was bound for Lynn, earnestly prayed within the inmost chambers of his little heart that his compauion might get ofT at Somerville, or Everett, or Chelsea, anywhere but Lynn or a station beyond. And the tired man thanked his stars for even a moment's seat, expecting every second to be oust- 4 ed by the owner of the gripsack. The , train moved out from the station. In vain did the large mau try to read the stranger's ticket to see what his destination was. Somerville was reached, but the stranger sat quietly in his place, and the large man grew nervous. The train stopped at Everett, and still the stranger gazed peacefully ahead, never budging, and the large man began to perspire. Then came Chelsea; but the stranger held fast to the bag aud never offered to stir. The agony of the large man wa9 simply frightful, but he saw he could do nothing but grin and bear it and get out of the fix as best he could. But the stranger had by this time fully grasped the situa- . tion, and, though thankful for his seat, determined to punish the unac coraraodating pig for his selfish deception. So, when Lynn was reached, the large man put forth his hand for his bag, but the stranger drew back the same with an expression of surprise, saying: . . "I beg your pardon, sir, but this is not your baggage." "But it isn't yours," stammered the owner, blushing. "To be sure, but I propose to see it restored to the proper persou. Here, conductor, here's a man who wants to run off with this baggage that doesn't belong to him. Somebody put it in a seat to procure a place, and evidently got left in Boston, for he hasn't claimed it, and now this man wants to run away with it," and he gave the conductor a wink, and, as that official knew the stranger personally, he un_ derstood the wink, and promptly re- , plied: "The only thing to do is to return the bag to Boston and store it among 1 )> lilt? UIJC1UIUICU uuij^n^g, "But"?expostulated the large man"Hold on, there," said the conductor, showing a police badge ; "none of this; what kind of a mau was it who left the bag?" And then the stranger and the conductor and one or two sympathizing passengers combined to confuse tiie large man, and he, hatiug to confess his piggishness, and knowing not what to do, precipitately fled amid the frowns and sighs of the observers of ^ his wickedness. But the stranger, with a contented smile, had the bag returned to Boston, where the large man had to come next day and identify it. The moral to this true tale is . obvious.?Boston Globe. "Sit" and "Set."?3ianj>-or tue agricultural journals aresojkly troubled to know whether a hern aits or sets. If some editor of ilignU/C* would set a hen on the nest, and (lie little editors would let her sit, it would be well for the world. Xow a man or women ei tlier, can .<<,(a hen, although ihey can not sit her; neither can they set on her, although the old hen might sit on them by the hour if they would allow. A man can not s?t on the wash-bench : but lie could set the basin on it, and neither the basin nor the granunari tins would object. He could sit 011 :i a dog's tail if the dog were willing, or he might set on the aforesaid tail, or sit his foot on it. But if lie should set on the aforesaid tail, or sit his foot there, the grammarians as well as the dog would howl. And yet, strange as it may seem, the man might set the tail aside and then sit down, and nei. tlier he assailed by the dog nor the grammarians.?Christian World. fi