Our blessed Lord laid down the grand rule of a child's education, when He said, "Suffer little children to come unto Me." And there is no period so early in which they may not come; but at that early period to which our Lord more particularly referred, they must be brought, in order to come at all; they must be carried in the arms of others' faith, borne by others' instructions, drawn from the word of God. If they come at all, it is the Christ of the Scriptures to whom they must come-the Christ of that faith taught by the Scriptures, and not an imaginary Christ. And for this especially the Bible is a child's book-because it is so full of Christ, and because its grand requisite of character is a childlike faith in Him; a thing which, as it is taught only in the Scriptures, can be produced only by their instrumentality. It is the leaves of the Tree that are needed, whether in books, tracts, catechisms, hymns, passages, and chapters committed to memory, Sabbath-school instructions, instructions by the fireside, oral, written, or in whatever way; all the varieties of leaves in their place are good, and all adapted to lead even little children to Christ, provided they are leaves from the Tree. Passages put into the memory are good; oftentimes they prove infinitely precious, though at the time when they were so deposited, the little learner could know little or nothing of their meaning. Oftentimes they prove talismans, which by and by are pronounced, or manifested by a living faith, which, when they were laid away in the mind, was not in existence. Oftentimes they are as the leaves that repel the serpent, even when neither he nor the leaves themselves are the subject of notice by the unconscious nestlers.

Selected.

FAMILY PRAYER." The world," says a writer, "does not furnish a single prospect so beautiful, so lovely, to the eye of virtuous contemplation, as a family assembled in the morning for their affectionate devotions: combining the two most charming among all the exercises of the human heart-piety to God, their common Parent, and tenderness to each other. No priest, no

minister, is so venerable as a father. No congregation so dear and tenderly beloved as a wife and children; and no oblations are offered with the same union, interest, and delight as those of a pious and affectionate household."

Nor can it be without its benign influence upon children who are not pious. They may not, indeed, be sensibly impressed at the time; they may leave the parental roof for other residences and other employments; but they will not be likely to lose the recollection of the altar at home. No! should they wander to the ends of the earth, should they settle in some wild of the fardistant West, or bend their course to the farthest East, the image of a father, bowing at the throne of grace, will recur to their thoughts; his tears, his devout aspirations for the welfare of their souls, can scarcely fail to lead them to efforts for their own salvation. The parent who humbly, daily, and fervently prays in his family, has reason to anticipate the blessing of God upon his children. But he who neglects so obvious a duty, and such a means of salvation, ought not to pretend that he has any real love for them. What reason has he to hope that his offspring will pursue the path of true wisdom when he neglects it? or will they invoke the favor and grace of God upon themselves, when he does not do it for them?

But family prayer is not the only duty of the parent; to it he should add daily, fervent, and importunate prayer in the closet. For his personal holiness and growth in grace-for his comfort in communion with God-secret prayer is indispensable. In the solitude and secrecy of his chamber he may wrestleagonize; then, with a holy pathos, such as finds birth only in the parental heart, and is uttered only by parental lips, he may cast his children on the Lord, and claim for them the blessing guaranteed in that covenant which can never fail.-BIBLE HISTORY OF PRAYER.

WHEN excellent things go away, and then look back upon us, as our blessed Saviour did upon St. Peter, we are more moved than by the nearer embraces of a full and actual possession.JEREMY TAYLOR.

Original.

DUTIES OF HUSBAND AND WIFE.

BESIDE the duties of husband and wife, of which we have heretofore spoken, is that of mutual attention and respect.

It would seem unnecessary to mention this as a duty. If mutual love, sympathy, and confidence prevail, those thousand nameless attentions which constitute the sum of domestic enjoyment will naturally and almost inevitably follow. Attentions, little kindnesses, doubtless did much in securing the love, sympathy, and confidence which led to the marriage union, and if they would be retained, these acts must be continued. Many, indeed, seem to think that when the prize is fairly won, or the Rubicon actually passed, and there is no possibility of retreat, they may be indifferent as to attention, if not positively uncourteous. This, to say the least, is morally dishonest, a failure to fulfill expectations which previous conduct had excited. And, besides, who does not know that life is a fabric made up of little threads, in other words, that small things give it its coloring, make it joyous or sad, happy or miserable. It is not the splendid mansion, nor the costly furniture, nor abundance of this world's goods, nor admiring friends, that can make home the sanctum of the heart, the bower beneath which we may recline in happy security; but it is the steady exercise of those holy charities, those unsolicited attentions, that soothe the sorrows and calm the feverish irritabilities of our nature. Those little evidences of sincere esteem, those spontaneous expressions of affection and tenderness, those unpremeditated smiles and tears at each other's joy or sorrow, those affectionate efforts and offers to share each other's cares and trials-these are the things, more than sumptuous living or pompous displays, that give to home its purest and most powerful attractions-let these abound, and it is not in the power of poverty or persecution from without, or any other of the unavoidable ills of life, to destroy the peace and the happiness of the domestic fireside. Let these be wanting, and no external circumstances can make us happy. How evident that, in the conjugal state, there should be the most marked and unvarying mutual respect even in little things; there should be no searching

with microscopic scrutiny after faults, no reproachful epithets, no rude contempt, no incivility, no cold neglect, no churlish silence, but there should be courtesy without ceremony, politeness without formality, attention without slavery, free, equal, and affable access to each other's hearts without explanation or restraint. Thus do we best fulfill the spirit of the apostolic injunction, "Let every one of you so love his wife even as himself, and the wife see that she reverence her husband." We intended to speak of mutual forbearance and forgiveness, but can not do so now. We mention, as a final duty, mutual concern for each other's salvation. What has been said has reference, for the most part, to time-the relation which we have contemplated is one which exists only in this world-yet the influence and the moral bearings of it extend over the unmeasured and the infinite. Husband and wife can affect each other's happiness, not only for time, but for eternity. Such is the nature of the relation, and such the power of the influence exerted, that it may be said that they hold each other's destiny almost at their own disposal. They can hedge up each other's way to heaven, they can facilitate each other's downward career to hell; or they can be helpmates to each other, they can bear each other's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. In case both are pious, then encouragement, counsel, admonition, instruction, prayer become duties mutually binding on each; their growth in grace, spirituality, and usefulness should be the object of their mutual concern and daily prayer. Regular attendance on public, social, family, and secret worship, earnest searching of the Scriptures, frequent personal conversation, are among the more prominent of their religious duties. If one be pious and the other not, then a heavy responsibility rests upon the one, and guilt, in proportion to the light and privileges enjoyed, upon the other. And there should be efforts the most judicious, earnest, and affectionate to bring the unconverted to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. "For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shall save thy husband? or how knowest thou, man, whether thou shall save thy wife?"

The thought of an eternal divorce, of an endless separation, is most painful, and should stimulate to fidelity in duty, and the most earnest and importunate prayer to God.

Original.

THOUGHTS OF AN HOUR.

BY MRS. M. L. GARDINER.

THE beautiful! the beautiful! I've seen them pass away,
Like stars in yonder heaven before the breaking day.
Their blended hues of loveliness have faded on my sight,

And shrouded this once fairy world in shades of darkest night.

How changed to me is now the home where loved ones late were seen!
How desolate the garden walks, the lawn, and arbor green!

How lonely are the parlors! the halls no more resound
With voices warbling cheerily, the foot's elastic bound.

Passing away are all I love, yea, passing swift away;

Why should I mourn their early flight, why wish their longer stay,
When the world is full of sorrow, and bitter every stream,
And unsubstantial every joy as morning's feverish dream—

As fleeting as a sunbeam, as transient as the hue

Of flowers that bloom in sweetness, impearled with drops of dew;
Which gleam but for a moment, nature's pure diamonds bright—
And then dissolve in clearness beneath the sun's warm light.

Life! what is life? a summer cloud that floats upon the air,
Adorned in rainbow beauty, is not more false or fair.
While we gaze, admire, and wonder, we sce its beauties fly,
Its fairest, brightest, loveliest tints commingle, fade, and die!

Look, then, beyond these changing skies, look up, my soul, and sing
Of Eden bowers, where purer joys from purer sources spring.
Where all is permanent as God, where death can never come,
And pray in faith that thou and thine may safely reach that home.

Home! home! in heaven-where Jesus is, who died the lost to save,
Who took from death its deadly sting, the victory from the grave;
Who suffered in the sinner's stead, to bring them safe above,
Where happy souls and golden harps are all attuned to love.

Sag Harbor, August 16th, 1850.