IV.

In Sorrow, not in Anger.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way.—Isaiah liii. 6.

HE little I have seen of the world and know of the history of mankind teaches me to look upon the errors of others in sorrow, not in anger. When I take the history of one poor heart that has sinned and suffered, and represent to myself the struggles and temptations it has passed-the brief pulsations of joy-the feverish inquietude of hope and fear-the tears of regret the feebleness of purpose-the pressure of want the desertion of friends--the scorn of the world that has little charity-the desolation of the soul's sanctuary and threatening voices from within-health gone-happiness gone-even hope, that stays with us. longest, gone-I have little heart for aught else than thankfulness that it is not so with me, and would fain

leave the erring soul of my fellow-men with Him from whose hands it came.

And Joseph's brethren said to him: We pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him, and he said: Fear not! for am I in the place of God? I will nourish you and your little ones; and he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.-Genesis 1. 17-21.

ET not the sun in Capricorn (when the days are shortest), go down upon thy wrath, but write thy wrong in ashes. Draw the curtain of night upon injuries; shut them up in the tower of oblivion; and let them be as though they had not been. To forgive our enemies, yet hope that God will punish them, is not to

forgive enough.

To forgive them ourselves, and not to pray God to forgive them, is a partial act of charity. Forgive thine enemies totally, and without any reserve. SIR THOMAS BROWN.

He that cannot forgive others breaks down the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven.

JN peace with all the world we live,

Nor let our angry passions burn,

But when we suffer we'll forgive,
And good for evil we'll return.

And we'll forgive and we'll forget,
And conquer every sullen word,
Unkindness shall with love be met,
And evil overcome with good.

VI. Doing Good Without Causing Harm.

Bring the poor that are cast out to thy house; when thou seest the naked, cover him; hide not thyself from thine own flesh.-Isaiah Iviii. 7.

Receive the poor among the children of thine own household.-The Pharisees.

HE only way in which we can help men and women, in the long run, is to help them to be men and women. If we cannot make them self-supporting, we cannot see them starve, I suppose; but yet we have

done them no real good until we have taught them to stand on their feet, and to conquer their conditions for themselves. It is time that society should be organized in such a way that we shall at least give these people an opportunity, give them a chance in their fight for life. But there is only a little that we can do. We can give them the inspiration of hope, we can give them the hand-clasp of our sympathy, we can give them an example. Let me make this real. One of the best things we can do for the poor is to teach them, by our example, that we believe that manhood is more than money, and so teach them, what we believe to be the best thing in the world as within their reach. sow discontent broadcast so long as we make the pernicious impression that we believe money is the most important thing in the world, and all the while they are not able to get it. But if we live in such a way as to show that we really believe that manhood is more than money, then we put hope in their hearts.

We

MINOT J. SAVAGE.

VII.

ONE

Angels' Visits.

For He will give His angels charge to guard thee

in all thy ways.-Psalm xci. 11.

NE angel," say the Rabbis, "has only One mission at a time." The world might be a fitter place for angels' visits if we possessed something of this angelic concentration, if our sympathies were less diffuse, and, therefore, stronger; if we gave our hearts more fully to our fellows, if our conceit did not render us so anxious to have a finger in everything, while we have a hand in nothing. Then, again, has it ever struck you, how chary the angels were of their words? The angels of the Bible did many wonderful things, but they had very little to say. They mostly spoke in monosyllables; they rarely uttered two sentences together, and when they had done their work, they went without waiting for thanks.

Men's words create no angels; but, say the Rabbis, men's honest acts do. "Every deed well done gives birth to an angel who watches over the doer." Isaiah's angels had but one voice to speak with, and six wings to fly with and to act. What an angelic world this would be if every one of us did six times as much as he said! ISRAEL ABRAHAMS.

OD deigned to man His angel hosts reveal, That man might learn, like angels, to obey; And those who long their bliss in Heaven to feel, Might strive on earth to serve Him e'en as they.