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The snow began to fall again, as I came in sight of the farm whither I was going. Round it, in the angles of its several closes, stood here and there a rick of hay, from which, as I passed one after the other, flew clouds of sparrows. In the bleak hedge-rows, with heads turned aslant as if eyeing the slender rillet below them, threading its way among the broken ice and drooping bents of grass, I watched them for a few moments, and then saw them flocking back for shelter to the hay-rick they had just left. They knew where to rest. And well would it be if those Galatians of our own day were as single-eyed as the poor fowls of heaven. Yet, "after they have known God"—the source and sum of all goodness, blessedness, and comfort; they can turn back again to the starving and beggarly rudiments of superstition and formalism!

But the graver-the more awful, charge against these deluded and deluding “priests" of puseyism, I had not yet examined. The poor ragged beggar-boy with whom I had conversed, who appeared scarcely able to discern between the right hand and the left, and who had apparently not one clear idea of God, of Christ, or of his own character and position with respect to them, had been accredited to the High Court of Heaven, by the sign manual only of an erring fellow-creature! Perhaps he was by no means an average specimen of the class usually admitted to the rite of baptism-but what of that? The crying atrocity remained the same. He who bears the key of David, opening and shutting, at his royal will and pleasure, solely, the great gates of heaven, had been wronged and robbed, and the unquiet conscience had been lulled to sleep by the assurance that the priest had power on earth to forgive, sins, and to admit all who asked it, to membership in Christ's holy catholic church.

I am forgetting, however, the main business of my story; and must, I fear, close it, without reaching the domicile of John Curtis, though it stands just before me, the blue smoke-wreaths from its wood fires driven aslant by the gibbering wind, against the dull grey sky beyond it. And now we are crossing the strawyard, with here and there a cow drowsily chewing the cud beside the thatched crib standing near the barn door. And Ball, the black horse, is startled, or affects to be so, by the pigs that are burying themselves in the litter.

But how we found our patient, how we were received, and who we met there, what we saw, said, and did; and above all things, why we have given so odd a title to our narrative, we must not touch upon at present; though perhaps we may do something towards it next month. H. R. E.

(To be continued.)

NON-RESISTANCE.

THE people of the oasis of Ghadames, situate about twelve days' journey south-west from Tripoli, in Barbary, have from time immemorial adopted the principle of non-resistance. They never had any organized troops or bodies of men to defend them from the wild and marauding tribes of the open desert; and the walls of their city have been suffered gradually to fall into decay. Whenever the robber-tribes came and pillaged their city, they were allowed to come and go unmolested. The Ghadamsee people always trusted in their Marabouts, or priests, and in prayers to God, for security, and not in arms. They are the Quakers of the Sahara; and this principle of non-resistance, they call Zouwea; and so strictly have they adhered to this principle, and such respect has it obtained for them, that it is considered a crime to attack the city of Ghadames, or pillage its people enroute, over the desert. The occupations of these people at home or abroad, are wholly prayers and commerce, which, we all know, are calculated above all other things to promote the peace, the good-order, and welfare of mankind. Here, therefore, for more than a thousand years, has been practised the maxim of the New Testament, in all its liberality : "If any one strike thee on the one cheek, turn to him the other also."-Herald of Peace.

CHRISTIAN SOCIETY.

"Christian society is like a bundle of sticks laid together, whereof one kindles another. Solitary men have fewest provocations to evil, but, again, fewest incitations to good. So much, as doing good is better than not doing evil, will I account Christian good-fellowship better than an eremitish and melancholy solitariness."

"THIS, TOO, SHALL PASS AWAY."

NEW Year's Day! What a crowd of sweet memories of the past, and bright visions of the future, does the sound inspire! Who is there who does not hail the day with some pleasurable feelings, who does not indulge a hope of realizing the " Happy New Year" congratulations with which every one is greeted?

But New Year's Day ought to be a day of solemn reflection, and we would hope, that with most of our young readers it is so --that a portion of it is spent in looking back upon the past; in recounting the many mercies which have been vouchsafed, and in erecting an Ebenezer to the praise of Him, who has brought them safely through another year; in mourning their many short comings, and neglected opportunities of self improvement and usefulness; in lamenting broken resolutions, and forming new ones for the coming year.

It is a practice with many persons at the commencement of the New Year, to select a motto to be peculiarly their own, that shall "meet them as a pleasant thought when such is wanted," and be brought to bear upon every condition in which they may be placed during the period of time they are anticipating. To those who have not hitherto adopted this plan, we would most earnestly recommend it, as one fraught alike with pleasure and profit ; and to them, as well as to those who, having tried it, may not have made their selection for this year, we would suggest the one that stands at the head of this paper, "This, too, shall pass away."

The words were given by an eastern sage to the son of his monarch, when requested to place before the youth a proverb that would be applicable to him in every situation in which he might be placed ;-a warning in the bright sunshine of happiness and prosperity, and a solace when surrounded by the dark clouds of adversity and sorrow; a timely check to the wild pleasures of youth, and a sweet comfort amid the toils and cares of maturer years.

And can we conceive of anything better adapted to ourselves, or more suitable for a New Year's Day's reflections? Let us endeavor fully to realize its meaning by tracing its applicability to our own circumstances.

C

It is impossible that the writer can know the situation of her readers, but she assumes, that all, like herself, are young. And what bright ideas does not that word suggest! What sanguine hopes! What joyous pleasures! But remember my dear young friends, that youth, with its hopes and pleasures, is passing away! Mature years, with their attendant labors and anxieties, will soon be here. Soon the bright eye will become dim, the fair brow will be furrowed with care, the elastic step will be gone; "You must yield up your youthful grace

To age and wrinkles, earth and worms.'

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Endeavor then to improve this joyous season while it lasts; secure every precious hour as it passes; lay up stores of knowledge; cultivate the mind; discipline the heart; and thus prepare yourselves for future years.

But above all, lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven. There neither moth nor rust doth corrupt. There youth and beauty never pass away.

Bnt perhaps with some of you, this bright spring time of life is overcast. You are feeling God's afflicting hand; you are laid upon a bed of wearisome sickness, or are watching with intense anxiety the flickering lamp of life in some beloved friend, or are mourning some recent bereavement. There is comfort for you. Your sorrow will not last always; soon it will pass away. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." But while your grief remains, try to discover the reason for which it was sent, and to gain from it the good it was intended to bestow. There is a bright light in every cloud, how dark soever it may be. Oh! try to see it, and then, when the cloud shall have passed away, the brightness will remain, and shed a halo over all your future path.

But perhaps this is not your case; you are in the full enjoyment of health and strength; you are surrounded by kind friends, and are happy in loving, and being beloved by them. Oh! be careful, "The rills of pleasure never run sincere'. This, too, shall pass away.'

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Be deeply thankful to that kind Providence which placed you in such happy circumstances; but look beyond the present, and while you enjoy your pleasures, remember how transitory they

are, and educate yourself for adversity by laying hold on things that are eternal.

But life itself is passing away! Who can tell how soon it may be gone with you? Ere another New Year's Day, you may live only in the memory of your friends.

You may urge that you are young and strong, but

"Death is not of those who wait

The ripen'd bloom, to seize their prey".

You may be amiable and intellectual, and be loved and valued in the sphere in which you move: still, this year you may pass away, and those qualities which endear you to your friends will avail you nothing, unless you possess the pearl of great price.

Dear young friends, let me entreat you to seek this treasure, and as the present is all of time you can command, seek it now, for "now is the accepted time, and now the day of salvation."

"Think of the sands run down to waste,
None we possess of all the past,

None but the present is our own;
Grace is not placed within our power,
'Tis but one short, one shining hour.
Bright and declining, as a setting sun,

See the bright minutes winged with haste!

The Now that flies may be the last;

Seize the salvation 'ere 'tis past,

Nor mourn the blessing gone."

Every thing around you,-parents, friends, domestic comforts pleasures,—all are passing away, "all perish in the using." But there is a Heavenly Friend who is from everlasting to everlasting. There is an inheritance above, that is incorruptible and "shall not pass away." There, is a life that shall never end— there, are pleasures that endure for ever and ever. Oh! may the motto I have given you, impress on you more fully the unsatisfying nature of earthly things, and thus, lead you to seek these unchanging treasures. Then this will prove to you indeed

"A HAPPY NEW YEAR.”

K.

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