ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS. bundreds of poor Indians. The widow's mite was not forgotten by Jesus. A cup of cold water, too, is handed down as a memorial to subsequent generations. What have you done? May these few words stimulate us all; and let us ask Jesus to help us to greater usefulness. Plymouth. T. H. TWO KINDS OF WORKS.-There are two kinds of works-works not of ourselves, and these are good; our own works, they are of little worth. One man builds a church; another goes on a pilgrimage to St. Iago of Compostell or St. Peter's; a third fasts, takes the cowl, and goes barefoot; another does something else. All these works are nothingness, and will come to nought, for our own works have no virtue in them. But I am now going to tell you what is the true work. God has raised one Man from the dead, the Lord Jesus Christ, that He might destroy death, expiate sin, and shut the gates of hell. This is the work of salvation. Christ has vanquished! This is the joyful news! and we are saved by His work, and not by our own. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "Peace be unto you! behold my hands,"—that is to say, Behold, O man! it is I,-I alone, who have taken away thy sins and ransomed thee; and now thou hast peace, saith the Lord.Luther. BIRDS AND LIGHTHOUSES.-It is a curious fact that, during the months of April and October, keepers of lighthouses along the coasts are obliged to exercise the greatest vigilance in order to prevent injury to their lights through the breaking of the lantern glasses by birds flying against them at night. Ducks often dash against the panes with such force as to shatter heavy plate glass, and even wire netting, now used, is sometimes found an inadequate protection. The keeper of a new light near St. Augustine, Florida, states that almost every morning during April he picked up from twenty to fifty dead birds, which had committed involuntary suicide in the above manner. estimated that at each of the large lighthouses on the coast some 2,000 birds are thus yearly slaughtered, or, in all, about 100,000 annually. This circumstance also serves to indicate that the flight of the birds, which migrate during the months named, is accomplished in the night. It is HE KNEW WHAT A SARDINE WAS.-Just after the close of the American war, a public meeting of the citizens of Concord, New Hampshire, was called to decide upon a proper reception of the returning veterans. A sub-committee on collation was appointed, the chairman being then mayor of the city, a gentleman more widely known for the excellence of the mackerel kits manufactured by him than for the extent of his book learning. Upon the question as to what should constitute the menu at the collation, the mayor named sardines among other things. A heated debate arose, during which a member of the committee mildly suggested that perhaps his honour did not know what sardines were! This brought Mayor H-to his feet, and he angrily retorted: "I think I know what a sardine is as well as any member of this committee; it is two pieces of bread and a piece of meat!" It is needless to add that the house came down. THE FIRESIDE. CHINESE MEDICINES.-The larvæ of beetles and other insects are used medicinally to give strength to feeble children; dried toads are taken to give tone to the system; caterpillar syrup is a specific for bronchitis; and for smallpox the skins of snakes and scorpions, dried and powdered, are considered efficient remedies. The horns of the rhinoceros, the bones of tigers, the paws of bears, and the wings of bats, all have a place in Chinese pharmacopoeia. The body of the bat eaten is said to prolong life; to partake of the white bat is believed to protract one's existence beyond that of the aged Methuselah. A simple remedy, containing well-known ingredients, is nothing thought of by a patient, and the doctors seem to be quite of the same mind. LONG PRAYERS.-We need no long prayers to bring us the sweet sense of God's Fatherhood, the hidden secret communion of Him who is ever with us. I walk with my friend through a bustling, crowded street, and though I speak no word to him, the close pressure of his hand upon my arm, from time to time, tells me all I want to know. The little child, too, holding my hand through a long summer walk; he looks up into my face now and then. Look down into his, and in that look how much is said; what compact of trust and love, what bright assurance that all is fair and calm and pleasant between us. So a good man walks with God.-R. W. Dale. CHARLES LAMB AT LICHFIELD.-When Charles Lamb visited the Lichfield cathedral his guide told him that three men once dined upon the steeple. "They must have been very sharp set," said Lamb. The Fireside. DRY FEET.-Keep your feet dry. Self-acting rubbers-on and off with a kick-are the grandest life-preservers of the age. But if, by accident, you wet your feet, don't be foolish and sit till death-damp steals to your vitals; or, still more foolish, to be frightened into a fever. Exercise common sense, and remove the wet stockings. If chilly, take a warm foot bath, closing with a cold dip, and rub entirely dry, and feel and be the better for the accident. If in a judicious way people would wet their feet-clear up to their ears-it would be better for their health. REMEDY FOR HOARSENESS.-Horseradish will afford instantaneous relief in most obstinate cases of hoarseness. The root, of course, possesses the most virtue, though the leaves are good till they dry, when they lose their strength. The root is best when it is green. The person who will use it freely just before beginning to speak will not be troubled with hoarseness. HINTS.-When ivory-handled knives turn yellow, rub them with nice sand paper or emery, which will take off all the spots, and restore their whiteness. Tortoise-shell and horn combs last much longer for having oil rubbed into them. Do not sweep carpets any oftener than is absolutely necessary. Spirit of turpentine is good to remove spots of grease. Woollen should be washed in very hot suds and not rinsed. Never iron flannel. A teaspoonful of mustard to a gallon of cold water will destroy vermin in the earth of flower-pots, without injury to the plants. FACTS, HINTS, GEMS, AND POETRY. Notes and Queries. A. M.-It would be better to read the passage, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith." J. B. S.-Yes: the Jews did speak of God as "our Father," but they meant the Father of the Jews only, not the Father of all. J. S. P.-It is more correct to read, "Let your light in like manner shine,' &c., that is, like "the city set on a hill," and like the lamp on the lampstand. B. B. H.-No. The law of Moses did not make anyone guiltless. It only pronounced persons free from molestation after they had performed certain rites, or offered certain sacrifices. S. A. L.-You are right: Acts xiii. 38, 39, is a kind of summary of the earlier part of the Epistle to the Romans. C. C. M.-The expression "they had also John to their minister" (Acts xiii. 5) means, that John served them, or was their assistant; but in what he was their assistant the opinions of expositors differ. Some think that he relieved the apostles Paul and Barnabas of the incidental cares of their journey. Others think that he baptized, and so left the apostles at liberty to preach. Others, again, regard him as employed with them in the work of preaching. M. A. B.-Christ was angry with the sin, but was full of pity for the sinners. R. W.-The expression is unusual: "the worthy name by the which ye are called," does, of course, mean, the Christian name, which they bore as the followers of Christ. S. J. A.-Our Lord dealt with men according to the state of their heart. Perhaps He saw the man was too ready to talk, and He wished the seed of truth to grow in his mind. Hence He "charged him to tell no man." was always a sufficient reason for every command, although that reason is not in every case plain and obvious to us. Facts, Hints, Gems, and Poetry. There thus distributed over the three branches of the service: The active army, 479,100; reserve, 144,570; territorial army, 118,000. BRITISH INDIA.-The area under British rule is 909,834 square miles, with a population of 191,065,445. Including the French and Portuguese possessions the total area of all India is 1,484,150 square miles, with a population of 239,978,595. Of the 191,000,000 inhabitants of British India, the religious denominations are given as follows: Hindoos, 139,343,820; Sikhs, 1,174,436; Mahometans, 40,867,125; Buddhists and Jains, 2,832,851; Christians, 897,682; others, 5,417,304; and "religion not known,' 532,227. FACTS, HINTS, GEMS, AND POETRY. Hints. Avoid popularity, it has many snares, and no real benefit.-Wm. Penn. The worst of all knaves are those who can mimic their former honesty. -Lavater. A man's hobby rides him a great deal more than he rides it. - Rev. Dr. Furness. The whole question is not whether sin tempts or not, but whether it reigns or not.-Brownlow North. Learning is pleasurable, but doing is the height of enjoyment.-Novalis. "When I was young," the old man sighs, "When I'm a man I shall be free An effort made for the happiness We must learn to comprehend the essence of art from admiration of excellence.-Schlegel. Extreme self-love will set a man's house on fire, though it were but to roast their eggs.-Bacon. The man that has got so low down that he cannot be flattered, has got so low down that he cannot be abused. Gems. The sick chamber of the patient is the kingdom of the physician.-Scott. Those are the best Christians who are more careful to reform themselves that to censure others.-Fuller. Never mind where you work; care more about your work.-Spurgeon. Turner could put infinite space into a square inch of sky.-Ruskin. True courage is unassuming; true piety serious and humble. — Robert Hall. Death is as the foreshadowing of life. We die that we may die no more.Hooker. It is one thing to make an idea clear, and another to make it affecting.Burke. Practice in life whatever you pray for, and God will give it you more abundantly.-Dr. Pusey. With yonder prize, when I'm a man." "When I'm a man these idle toys The boy's bright dream is all before, Fate were unkind. But, brother, toiling in the night, -Blackwood's Magazine. "HOW MUCH OWEST THOU MY LORD ?" How much?-alas, if I could tell, I might have hope to cancel it; I owe Him for my very breath, My life, from His own life distilled; Oh, every hope that gilds my way, Proclaim His love, and blossom fair O boundless grace-too often met -Caroline A. Mason. A CHIP THAT COULD TALK. THE following anecdote was related by John Williams, the martyr missionary to the South Sea Islands. He was engaged one day in hewing timber for a chapel, surrounded by many wondering natives : "As I had come to the work one morning without my square,' he says, "I took up a chip, and with a piece of charcoal wrote upon it a request that Mrs. Williams would send me that article. I called a chief, and said to him:- Friend, take this; go to our house, and give it to Mrs. Williams.' "He was a singular-looking man, remarkably quick in his movements, and had been a great warrior; but in one of his battles he had lost an eye. Giving me an inexpressible look with the other, he said :-Take that! She will call me a fool and scold me, if I carry a chip to her.' "No,' I replied, she will not; take it and go immediately: I am in haste.' "He took it from me, and asked, 'What must I say?' 66 I replied, 'You have nothing to say; the chip will say all I wish.' With a look of astonishment and contempt, he held the piece of wood, and said: How can this speak? Has it a mouth?' I desired him to take it immediately, and not spend so much time in talking about it. "On arriving at the house, he gave the chip to Mrs. Williams, who read it, threw it away, and went to the tool-chest, whither the chief, resolving to see the end of this mysterious business, followed her closely. On receiving the square from her, he said:-Stay, daughter; how do you know that is what Mr. Williams wants?' 'Why,' she replied, did you not bring me a chip just now?' Yes,' said the astonished warrior; but I did not hear it say anything.' 666 666 · "If you did not, I did,' was the reply, for it told me what he wanted. And all you have to do is to return with it as quickly as possible.' "With this, the chief leaped out of the house, and, catching up the mysterious piece of wood, he ran through the settlement with the chip in one hand and the square in the other, holding them up as high as his arms would reach, and shouted as he went, See the wisdom of these English people! They can make chips talk! They can make chips talk!' |