tradition of the way he said Watts's hymns when he was too young to understand them; another rumbles like a broad-wheel waggon; another

has a way of reading, which seems to proclaim that what is read is of no sort of consequence, and had better not be listened to.

“A WISE Son maketh a glad father." So wrote Solomon, long centuries ago, and so testify the favoured few who have wise sons now. But will not all the boys who read this desire to be wise, that they may make their fathers glad? Children often say they do not know how to be wise, or they would try. Now let my dear young friends bear with me while I give them some of Solomon's rules for being wise, or rather his signs of wisdom, and also a short account of a lad who kept these rules, and made his father's heart rejoice. Solomon says, "A wise son heareth his father's instruction;" and Robert M. Browder, the son of Robert and Sarah L. Browder, who was born in

county, January 19, 1840, was an obedient child, and kept the counsel of his parents by associating with good and moral boys who attended church and Sabbath school, and shunning the company of the wicked, who profane the name of God, and desecrate His holy Sabbath.

"The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom." Robert also had this mark of a "wise son." He feared the Lord, and would not tell a falsehood nor do forbidden things, but he gave heed to pious instruction around the fireside, attended to the preaching of God's word, and at the early age of ten or twelve years he sought the Lord, in the pardon of his sins, and

was happily converted. He joined the church, and adorned his profession by a consistent deportment. He would talk of God's grace and goodness, with such zeal and earnestness, that many old Christians wept for joy, and hoped much for his future usefulness. In the prayermeeting, too, he bore his cross, and the voice of childhood was heard in solemn supplication, pleading with the Lord for a blessing on himself and his unconverted school-fellows. He was a boy of fine sense and sound judgment, and he gave his talents to the Lord. He exerted a good influence wherever he went, and, being polite and respectful to all classes, he had the respect and confidence of all who knew him. He was also "diligent in business," and whether discharging his duties as librarian and secretary of the Sunday school, or looking after his father's interests, he was prompt and energetic; kept his accounts clear and correct, and did not loiter away his time, nor seek to amuse himself to the neglect of his trust. He had great reverence for his father's authority, and most profound respect for his opinions.

Again: Solomon says, "The ear of the wise seeketh knowledge:" and Robert was true to this mark; diligent in his studies, he knew his lessons well, was thorough as far as he proceeded, observed all the rules

of the school, and was a favourite with all his teachers, and honoured by all his school-mates.

In another place Solomon says, "He that gathereth in summer is a wise son;" and he certainly refers to those frugal and economical habits which are so pleasing to careful and provident parents. In this respect little Robert was a model, and exemplified the assertion of Job, "A wise man may be profitable to himself;" for in the days of his boyhood he exhibited a rare combination of frugality and benevolence. He did not spend all his time in childish pleasures, but as soon as he was old enough to work, he spent his Saturdays and leisure hours in raising small crops for himself; and by prudent trading he saved a good bit of money, by the time he was eighteen years old, after allowing himself whatever he needed, and giving liberally to the cause of missions and the Bible, support of Sunday schools and the ministry, and charitable causes generally. It is not strange that his father should look upon him with pride and satisfaction, for truly "A wise son maketh a glad father."

But this dear, generous boy could not live to extend his usefulness, nor comfort his friends. In the latter part of May he was attacked with typhoid fever, and said from the first that he would not recover. He had "laid up in store for himself a good foundation," and said that he was not afraid to die. He often spoke affectionately of his good father and mother, brothers and sisters, and talked calmly and confidently of his trust in God. He

did not express a desire to get well, nor a wish to die, but meekly said to a loving brother, "I leave it all with God." There was a triumph of "that wisdom that is from above, that is pure, and peaceable, and gentle." The future of life was bright before him. His home, his friends, his position in society, all combined to make life desirable; yet he said, "I leave it all with God." I suppose no parents ever loved a son with purer, deeper, richer love; and when the last struggle ca me, and they wept around him, he urged them to be calm, and said, "God will take care of you;" and taking his father's hand in his, and laying his arm tenderly around his mother's neck, he repeated, "God will take care of you;" and soon after quietly fell asleep in Jesus, on the morning of the 14th of June, 1859. A large number of his acquaintances, old and young, came to see him buried, and to weep over his grave; and the servants of the family pressed through the crowd with tearful eyes, to see him the last time, and turn away with sad hearts.

comply with the proposal in the text!

Where will you find a Father like God, who can love you as He will love you; who can provide for you as He will provide for you? Perhaps you may be already deprived of your earthly parents; or, if they still be continued to you, yet you may soon be deprived of them. But if the Almighty be your Father, He will be your Father for ever. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Your earthly parents, however strong may be their love to you, however anxious their desire of doing you good, can do but little for you. There are numberless evils from which they cannot protect you. There are innumerable blessings which they can never insure to you. But your heavenly Father, if, indeed, you take Him for your Father, is able and mighty to save, and to bless you to the uttermost.

Where also will you find such a Guide of your youth as God? Entering on an ensnaring world, surrounded by countless temptations, solicited on every side to folly and to sin, without experience and without strength, what reason have you to accept and value the offer of a heavenly Guide, who alone can conduct you in peace and safety through all these intricate paths, and can bring you at last to eternal rest and happiness? Refuse the offer of His heavenly guidance, and where will your trust be placed? You will be like a vessel in a boisterous sea, without a pilot to direct your course. The sport of every wind, the victim of every current, you cannot but quickly split on some of those many rocks and shoals which wait for your destruction. Then choose the Lord for your Guide. He will be with you in danger. His grace shall be sufficient for you. The winds and the waves obey His voice. He will comfort you with His presence. He will strengthen you with His Spirit. He will support you with His arm. He will preserve you from sinking. He will bring you at last into the desired haven.

Third.-Think of the seasonable

ness of the proposal in the text, "Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My Father?" Is not this time the most convenient, the most seasonable for the duty proposed? The time passed cannot be recalled. You may deeply regret that you have hitherto neglected to make God your Father, and to choose Him for the Guide of your youth. But regret will not recover the time which is past. Opportunities lost are gone for ever. Your business is to improve those which remain. The present time is still your own. Notwithstanding the time that is past, and the opportunities that are lost, yet time and opportunity await you still. God still waits to be gracious. He still invites you. He still says to you, "Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." Wilt thou not, then, from this time cry unto me?

It may be that there are some circumstances in your case which give peculiar weight to this expostulation. It may be that at this present juncture the Lord is enforcing by His providence the gracious invitations of His word. Perhaps you are under affliction. Deprived of some earthly comfort, you are feeling the vanity of the world. You are taught the folly of human dependencies. You are looking about for some better foundation than what this world can furnish; or, possibly, you are experiencing the mercy of the Lord. He has heard your cry, and has brought you out of trouble. He has raised you from the bed of sickness, and has brought you back from the brink of the grave. He has turned away some heavy calamity which you feared, and has given you joy instead of mourning. Surely, under any of these circumstances, He pleads with additional force, when He says to you, "Wilt thou not from this time "-this time of affliction, this time of deliverance, this time of rejoicing" wilt thou not cry unto me, My Father, thou art the Guide of my youth?"

Young people! Let these considerations sink deeply into your hearts. Be assured that, whether

you die or live, this is your true wisdom. Happiness, real, solid, and lasting, can be found only in the loving service of God. From this hour submit to His righteousness, and you will find rest to your souls.

THE TWO ROBINS.

THERE are two little robins, with beautiful red breasts, building their nest with evergreen under our window. I have watched them with much interest, and noticed several things in which children might learn a lesson and follow their example.

They seem to love each other very much, while at their work or at play. I have not seen them quarrelling, or even angry at each other, since they came to our yard.

They are very industrious. Early and late they seem intent on the work of building their nest-to get it ready for housekeeping-only pausing occasionally to cheer each other by a few notes of song.

They are very persevering.-They do not begin to build their nest and then get tired, and neglect their work. After having settled on their place and plan, they went to work, and have kept working with all their might, and their little house increases in size every day.

They do not interfere with each other. They both seem to have the same end in view-that is, to build their nest and get it ready to occupy when the roses shall begin to blow. They work together in carrying out their plans; one does not tear down what the other builds; neither does one refuse to work because the other will not.

They do not get discouraged because they cannot build their nest in a day. They are satisfied if they can add a little to it each day. They go about picking up a straw here and there as they can find them, and then put them in the proper place; and so on each day until the work is done.

They do not refuse to work because they have to find their own straws.-They fly around, picking

up the bits of straw and moss without waiting for some one to bring it to them.

They do their work in the right time. They do not put off until to-morrow what ought to be done today. They do not wait until the summer before they begin to build, nor stop and complain if the weather is cold; but they begin early, and work away to get the nest ready for the little family of redbreasts that they expect will want the room when the cherries begin to get ripe.

Will not my little readers learn a lesson from the robins? If the robins which God has made and cares for every day, but which can neither talk, nor read, nor reason, as we do, are so kind to each other, so industrious, persevering, and energetic-how much more is it the duty of boys and girls, who can read God's holy word, to be kind to each other, and industrious, and try to help each other in doing all that God has told them to do! What a blessed world this would be, if little children, and big ones, too, would only behave as well as do the birds!

ANECDOTE OF A CHILD.

A GENTLEMAN was, some little time since, called upon to visit a dying female. He quickly obeyed the call; and, entering the humble cottage where she dwelt, he heard, in an adjoining room, an infant voice. He listened, and found that it was the child of the poor dying woman, engaged in prayer.

O Lord, bless my poor mother," cried the little boy, 66 and prepare her to die. O God, I thank thee that I have been sent to a Sunday school, and there have been taught to read my Bible, and there learned that when my father and mother forsake me, thou wilt take me up. This comforts me, now my poor mother is going to leave me. May it comfort her, and may she go to heaven, and may I go there too! O Jesus, pity a poor child, and pity