might be born? When the palsy struck him for the last time, you were both absent; nor was it your fault that you were not beside the old man when he died. 12. "As long as sense continued with him here, did he think of you two, and of you two alone. Tears were in his eyes; I saw them there, and on his cheek too, when no breath came from his lips. But of this no more. He died with this paper in his hand; and he made me know that I was to read it to you over his grave. I now obey him. 'My sons, if you will let my bones 'ie quiet in the grave, near the dust of your mother, depart not from my burial till, in the name of God and Christ, you promise to love one another as you used to do. Dear boys, receive my blessing.' 13. Some turned their heads away to hide the tears that needed not to be hidden-and when the brothers had released each other from a long and sobbing embrace, many went up to them, and, in a single word or two, expressed their joy at this perfect reconcilement. The brothers themselves walked away from the church-yard, arm in arm, with the minister to the manse. On the following Sabbath, they were seen sitting with their families in the same pew, and it was observed that they read together off the same Bible when the minister gave out the text, and that they sang together, taking hold of the same psalm-book. The same psalm was sung (given out at their own request), of which one verse had been repeated at their father's grave; a larger sum than usual was on that Sabbath found in the plate for the poor, for Love and Charity are sisters. And ever after, both during the peace and the troubles of this life, the hearts of the brothers were as one, and in nothing were they divided. J. WILSON. 1. WE 132. THE BROTHERS. E are but two-the others sleep We are but two-oh, let us keep The link that binds us bright! 1 Månse, a clergyman's dwelling-house. 2. Heart leaps to heart-the sacred flood -his honest blood That good old man Alike we fondly claim. 3. We in one mother's arms were lock'd- In the same cradle we were rock'd, 4. Our boyish sports were all the same, Let manhood keep alive the flame, 5. We are but two-be that the band Shoulder to shoulder let us stand, Till side by side we lie. CHARLES SPRAGUR TIME 133. PROPER DISTRIBUTION OF TIME. IME we ought to consider as a sacred trust, committed to us by God; of which we are now the depositaries,2 and are to render an account at the last. That portion of it which he has allotted to us is intended partly for the concerns of this world, partly for those of the next. Let each of these occupy, in the distribution of our time, that space which properly belongs to it. 2. Let not the hours of hospitality and pleasure interfere with the discharge of our necessary affairs; and let not what we call necessary affairs encroach upon the time which is due to devotion. To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven. If we delay till to-morrow what ought to be done to-day, we overcharge the morrow with a burden which belongs not to it. We load the wheels of time, and prevent them from carrying us along smoothly. 1 1 Heårth.—2 De pos' it a ry, a trustee; a guardian; a person trusted with something. 3. He who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows out that plan, carries on a thread which will guide him through the labyrinth' of the nost busy life. The orderly arrangement of his time is like a ray of light, which darts itself through all his affairs. But where no plan is laid, where the disposal of time is surrendered merely to the chance of incidents, all things lie huddled together in one chaos,2 which admits neither of distribution nor review. 4. The first requisite for introducing order into the manage ment of time, is to be impressed with a just sense of its value Let us consider well how much depends upon it, and how fast it flies away. The bulk of men are in nothing more capricious3 and inconsistent than in their appreciation of time. When they think of it as the measure of their continuance on earth, they highly prize it, and with the greatest anxiety seek to lengthen it out. 5. But when they view it in separate parcels, they appear to hold it in contempt, and squander it with inconsiderate confusion. While they complain that life is short, they are often wishing its different periods at an end. Covetous of every other possession, of time only they are prodigal. They allow every idle man to be master of this property, and make every frivolous occupation welcome that can help them to consume it. 6. Manhood is disgraced by the consequences of neglected youth. Old age, oppressed by cares that belonged to a former period, labors under a burden not his own. At the close of life, the dying man beholds with anguish that his days are finishing, when his preparation for eternity is hardly commenced. Such are the effects of a disorderly waste of time, through not attending to its value. Every thing in the life of such persons is misplaced. Nothing is performed aright, from not being performed in due season. 7. But he who is orderly in the distribution of his time, takes the proper method of escaping those manifold evils. He is justly said to redeem the time. By proper management he prolongs 'Låb'y rinth, a place full of windings; something very intricate.Cha' os, state of confusion.-Capricious (ka prish' us), apt to change opinions or purposes suddenly; unsteady.- Covetous (kův' et us), eager to gain or save property.- Pråd' i gal, extravagant; wasteful. it. He lives much in little space; more in a few years than others do in many. He can live to God and his own soul, and at the same time attend to all the lawful interests of the present world. He looks back on the past, and provides for the future. HUGH BLAIR. 1 134. TO-MORROW. OW heavy falls the foot of Time! 2. To-morrow-still the phantom3 flies, Eludes our grasp, is pass'd and gone; And in the morning thou art flown! Thy promise broken o'er and o'er, MRS. ANNE HUNTER. I 135. THE WIFE. HAVE often had occasion to remark the fortitude with which women sustain the most overwhelming reverses of fortune. Those disasters which break down the spirit of a man, and pros 1 Glåss, a vessel to be filled with sand, for measuring time.—2 Phåẳn'tom, apparition; ghost; something imagined to be seen, but not real.— Eludes', escapes; flees away; deceives. Ra' ven, of the color of the raven; a bluish black.- Sprite, spirit; an apparition. trate him in the dust, seem to call forth all the energies of the softer sex, and give such intrepidity' and elevation to their character, that at times it approaches to sublimity.2 2. Nothing can be more touching than to behold a soft and tender female, who had been all weakness and dependence, and alive to every trivial roughness, while treading the prosperous paths of life, suddenly rising in mental3 force to be the comforter and support of her husband under misfortune, and abiding, with unshrinking firmness, the bitterest blasts of adversity. 5 3. As the vine, which has long twined its graceful foliage about the oak, and been lifted by it into sunshine, will, when the hardy plant is rifted' by the thunderbolt, cling round it with its caressing tendrils, and bind up its shattered boughs,—so it is beautifully ordered by Providence, that woman, who is the mere dependent and ornament of man in his happier hours, should be his stay and solace when smitten with sudden calamity; wind ing herself into the rugged recesses of his nature, tenderly sup porting the drooping head, and binding up the broken heart. 4. I was once congratulating a friend, who had around him a blooming family, knit together in the strongest affection. "I can wish you no better lot," said he, with enthusiasm," "than to have a wife and children. If you are prosperous, there they are to share your prosperity; if otherwise, there they are to comfort you." 5. And, indeed, I have observed that a married man, falling into misfortune, is more apt to retrieves his situation in the world than a single one;-partly because he is more stimulated' to exertion by the necessities of the helpless and beloved beings who depend upon him for subsistence; but chiefly because his spirits are soothed and relieved by domestic endearments, and his self-respect kept alive by finding, that, though all abroad is darkness and humiliation, yet there is still a little world of leve 'In tre pid' i ty, fearlessness; courage.- Sub lim' i ty, elevation; that which is so elevated or lofty as to produce a feeling of astonishment and awe. - Mên' tal, belonging to the mind.- Rift' ed, split; shattered.— 'Tên' drils, the fine shoots of a plant by which it clings to any substance. Sol' ace, comfort.-'Enthusiasm (en thủ' ze azm), an ardent zeal with respect to some object or pursuit.-- Re trieve', recover; make better; make amends. Stim' u låt ed, excited; roused to action. 8 |