chimney, bruised and torn by the sharp edges of the ice, but sustained by the strong hope of approaching deliverance. He reaches the narrow stream of water, and follows its course, groping along, now going upon his hands and knees, now crawling with his chest upon the ice, now twisting and writhing in the most painful and difficult struggles. By degrees the way grew wider, there was freer space to move, the current of the stream became stronger; everything seemed to indicate that he was approaching the end of his terrible journey. At last a faint light began to pierce the horrible darkness. It is the light of the sun, and every moment it grows brighter. His heart bounds with joy. His limbs, benumbed with cold, recover their vigour. He sees the opening of the crevasse. He presses on, and imagine, if you can, his transport, when he sees, as if in a picture, the spire of his own village church! That silent finger, pointing from home to heaven, had never spoken so eloquently to his heart! Full of joy and thankfulness, he was soon out of his cold and dangerous passage. Then by well-known and familiar paths he soon regained his father's house, and astonished his family by relating the history of his wonderful adventure. What will not a hunter attempt and endure in the ardour of the chase? Should not a Christian be as daring and as eager in the pursuit of higher and nobler objects? R. W. FIRST PRIZE COMPETITION. KNOWING Well that our COMPETITIONS are always objects of special interest, apart from their material advantages to the winners, we make a beginning once again, and as early as possible in the New Year. Our Frontispiece, which we have entitled "BY THE WATER SIDE," is worthy of admiration merely as a specimen of pictorial art; and, we doubt not, will receive as such many a good word from our readers. We propose, however, as a novelty, to put it up for Competition as the basis of an original Tale, and we are authorised to offer A PRIZE OF Two GUINEAS in cash or books, for the best story illustrating the picture; and a similar PRIZE OF ONE GUINEA for the story next in merit. We make no conditions as to length, but the story need not exceed two chapters. Competitors must write legibly, on one side of the paper only, and must send their MSS., addressed to the Editor of EXCELSIOR, 56, Old Bailey, London, E.C., not later than February 15th. The words "Prize Story" should be written outside the envelope or wrapper. 66 THE SCRIPTURES IN THE MEMORY. RISTOTLE calls memory "the scribe of the soul," and another, "the stomach of the soul, because it hath a retentive faculty, and turns heavenly food into blood and spirits." 'Memory," says one, "is the golden thread linking all the mental gifts and excellences together. Memory, when treated well, is like an angel even within the soul; but, treated ill, is like a black, weird shadow, casting a baneful and remorseful eye on all within its reach." Bishop Jewel, after writing a sermon, could repeat it after once reading. Dr. Kidston affirms that, if the whole Bible had been lost, Professor Lawson could have restored it from memory. Miss Logan, when only four years old, could recite the whole of Pope's Essay on Man.” 'Greffer Fagel is said to have recited the whole of a newspaper, after one reading, from beginning to end, and then to have recited it backward, from the end to the beginning, without a mistake." "Dr. Johnson, it is said, never forgot anything that he had seen, read, or heard. Burke, Clarendon, Gibbon, Locke, Tillotson, were all distinguished for strength of memory. For intellectual power of the highest order none were distinguished above Grotius and Pascal; and Grotius and Pascal forgot nothing they had ever read or thought. Ben Jonson tells us that he could repeat all that he had ever written, and whole books that he had read. Themistocles could call by name the twenty thousand citizens of Athens. Cyrus is reported to have known the name of every soldier in his army. Hortensius (after Cicero the greatest orator of Rome), after sitting a whole day at a public sale, correctly enunciated from memory all the things sold, their prices, and the names of their purchasers. Niebuhr, the historian, was not less distinguished for his memory than for his acuteness. In his youth he was employed in one of the public offices of Denmark. Part of a book of accounts having been destroyed, he restored it by an effort of memory." In the memorising of Scripture we find some of the most amazing evidences of the power of this faculty. Beza could repeat them in Greek at fourscore years of age. Cranmer and Ridley learned the New Testament by heart, the one in his journey to Rome, and the other in the walks of Pembroke Hall in Cambridge." Says an eminent preacher: "A house may become sacred through memory. Every man has a silent and solitary literature written by his heart upon the tables of stone in nature; and next to God's finger a man's heart writes the most memorable things." The "finger" of the Lord in the use of his Holy Word writes indelibly its precious truth upon the fleshy tables of the human heart. When the mind is once well fixed upon the contemplation of Scripture, the storing of Scripture in the memory becomes a work at once easy and pleasurable.-J. H. Kellogg, in S. S. Journal. OUR CALENDAR OF OLD CUSTOMS. JANUARY. T has been said that the age in which we live is one of stern reality, an age in which romance and sentiment pass like golden dreams into the midnight of the past. Work and worry rule the day, and the cares of the counting-house rudely thrust out the memories of long ago. Historian and poet alone connect the ages, and all their writings cannot stay the march of utilitarianism-the ruling spirit of the age. Fancy may conjure up the shades of the forgotten dead, and beautify life with visions of the past, but toil and trouble destroy the spell, and the iron heel of necessity tramples on the flowers of thought. England has changed, and is still changing; manners and customs in vogue yesterday are forgotten to-day, and a new order of things arises. Some, however, take firm hold on the nation, and are not easily displaced, and so it happens that ceremonies and superstitions belonging to medieval times are handed down to nineteenth century critics. We shall endeavour to bring before our readers a few of these quaint practices, having deprived them, let us hope, of none of the interest with which they were formerly invested. January, the "opening month," is, or rather was, rich in rites and festivals, which still survive in many parts of our land. The custom of going round with the wassail-bowl on New Year's Eve is of ancient date. The name wassail, which is a corruption of the Saxon was-hæl, means "be in health," and alludes to the good wishes exchanged by friends at the beginning of the year. The mode of proceeding in the western counties is as follows:-A company of six men, having provided themselves with a bowl of spiced ale, set out at midnight to visit the inhabitants of the town or village in which they live. As the clock strikes twelve they knock at the door of the first house, and begin singing some verses suitable to the occasion. They then open the door, and receive the usual donation in drink or money. This is repeated until they have finished their round. A gentleman writing in 1846 mentions this custom as still existing in Gloucestershire, where "the country folk take round a great bowl adorned with ribbons and garlands, and sing doggrel verses at the various houses." In Cumberland, too, a similar practice is observed by the peasant children, who go about singing a ditty in which they claim the bounty "they were wont to have in old King Edward's days." 66 year. Singen-een" is the appellation given in Fifeshire to the last night of the As might be expected, these curious customs were long retained by th rough natives of Orkney and other remote and isolated parts. A very common ceremony was (perhaps it still is) observed in Sussex and Devonshire, under the name of "Apple Howling." On New Year's Eve a troop of boys used to visit the different orchards, and encircling the appletrees they shouted in chorus and sang to the luck of a good apple harvest next year. New Year's Day was attended with many curious observances, some of which are still extant. In Westmoreland and Cumberland, early on this morning, the peasant folk used to assemble, carrying poles and baskets. Any unfortunate individual whom they fell in with was immediately mounted and carried to the door of the nearest tavern, where he was liberated on payment of sixpence. Our forefathers considered it extremely unlucky to take a light out of the house on this day. They believed it would be followed by a death in the family. The sixth of January is as famous for its customs as the first. Our ancestors made it the occasion of much merrymaking, and the traditional twelfth-cake, spiced and sugared, may still be seen at juvenile gatherings. This cake used to be made full of plums, and a bean and a pea were baked in the centre. Whoever got the bean with his portion was elected "king,” and the lucky possessor of the pea was chosen queen. These two characters enjoyed a prominent part in the festivities of the evening. Twelfth Day used to be observed by the country folk with many curious rites and ceremonies. In Cumberland and other parts of the north the rustics used to meet in a large room, commence dancing at seven o'clock, and finish at twelve. They then sat down to a feast of what they called lobscouse and ponsondie. The former was a composition of beef, potatoes, and fried onions; the latter was a drink made of ale, sugar, and nutmeg, into which they put roasted apples. A subscription was afterwards made to defray the expenses of the meal, and the revellers then dispersed. The famous antiquarian, John Brand, who died in 1806, thus describes a contemporary practice : "In the Southams of Devonshire, on the eve of the Epiphany, the farmer, attended by his workmen, with a large pitcher of cider, goes to the orchard, and there encircling one of the best-bearing trees, they drink the following toast three separate times : 'Here's to thee, old apple-tree, Whence thou mayst bud, and whence thou mayst blow, And whence thou mayst bear apples enow! Hats full caps full! Bushel, bushel-sacks full, And my pockets full too! Hurrah!' This done they return to the house, the doors of which they are sure to find bolted by the females, who, be the weather what it may, are inexorable to all entreaties to open them till some one has guessed at what is on the spit, which is generally some nice little thing difficult to hit upon, and is the |