Upright walking is sure walking. Virtue and happiness are mother and daughter.

Wise men make more opportunities than they find.

You never lose by doing a good turn.

Zeal without knowledge is fire without light.

SERPENTS.

Even

"Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse's heels, so that his rider shall fall backward."-GENESIS xlix. 17. AMONG the most favourite haunts of serpents in the East, may be reckoned hedges, especially such as are dense and thorny. Thence they descend upon the adjacent roads, either in pursuit of prey, or with the intention of crossing from hedge to hedge. The only period of the year at which there is danger from them, is during the warm, moist evenings of the monsoon. then, of course, a lantern will prevent one from stepping on them; but this simple preservative, like the Davy-lamp in mines, is sure to be forgotten when most required. Such being the places they frequent, it was not without reason that the serpent to which Dan was compared was represented as being "by the way," or "in the path." While there pursuing its sinuous track, an incautious rider passed. Quick as thought it has fixed its fangs in one of the heels of his steed; the venom is in a moment through its entire frame, and the horseman falls backwards to the ground. Some poisons

are slow of absorption; for instance, that of a rabid dog does not pass upwards into the system till the fourth day after the bite, and remedies adopted during that time are almost uniformly effective. It is the very reverse with the poison of one of the more venomous snakes. A medical gentleman once told me he had been present when a gardener in India was bitten by a cobra. There was a sudden scream, and the next moment the man had fallen on the ground. His pulse already beat too rapidly for its vibrations to be counted; then the over-excitement was succeeded by a corresponding depression, which gradually increased till it took the form of death. How forcibly does all this recall a well-known incident in the history of the Danites! The people of that tribe, cramped for room in their original inheritance, despatched men to search for a new settlement. There is at all times not a little of the serpentine element in the character of a spy, and there was unusually much on the present occasion, if we may judge from what the men selected for the office subsequently stooped to do in the affair of Micah and his images. Yet their

tortuous policy in the latter case met the approval of the entire Danite army. As we behold those men of deceit, without declaration of war, stealthily approaching the territory of the tribe they purpose attacking, we seem to see some slimy snake pursuing its noiseless course along the highway, to the peril of the unwary traveller. A little circumspection might even then have saved the men of Laish; but, like one who has forgotten his lantern, they had neglected all precautions; or, as the spies themselves worded it, the people " dwelt carelessly, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure ;" and in consequence, like the heedless steed that sets foot where the serpent lies, and is suddenly roused to the consciousness that its life is in jeopardy, the inhabitants of the defenceless town awoke up to encounter men with hands accustomed to the use of weapons, and hearts pitiless as what the Scriptures term "the cruel venom of asps," who 66 smote them with the edge of the

sword, and burnt the city with fire."

"As if a man..... went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him."-Amos v. 19.

The instances are not unfrequent in which serpents have their holes in Eastern houses. In these cases the peril to the inmates is necessarily great. A native Christian and his wife left Nagpore to take service with a gentleman of decidedly Christian character, and, in consequence, attentive to the welfare of those providentially placed under his charge. Shortly afterwards,

news came back of the sudden death of the woman. She had gone into her house one day and leaned against the wall, when she felt herself bitten by what must have been a serpent. Though her master, who was a medical man, did all he could to avert the fatal result, his exertions were in vain. It was literally the catastrophe to which the passage in Amos makes allusion.

DIED, aged twenty-seven, December 12th, 1859, Miriam, the beloved wife of George Wyard, jun., of New Cross, Deptford. Her departure was sudden and unexpected; but we know not the secret purposes of Him who rules on high; and He has a perfect right to take His children when He pleases-early in life,

in middle age, or when the sight becomes dim, the grinders cease because they are few, and the limbs tremble with feebleness. The departed, by the grace of God, gave indubitable evidence of her being a child of God, by her testimony to His goodness in convincing her of her sinful condition, and consequent

exposure to the condemnation of the wicked-and, furthermore, of His still greater goodness in showing her the only way of salvation; by her love for the word of God; by her reverence for the worship of God; by her cheerful obedience to the ordinances instituted by her Lord Jesus Christ, who said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments;" by her consistent deportment as a daughter, as a wife, and as a mother, and by her unhesitating dependence upon Jesus Christ for pardon, for righteousness, for justification, and for acceptance with God. She died happily, in the full belief and certain prospect of a delightful entrance into eternal glory, to go no more out for ever, but to behold her Saviour's face, and ever dwell in His embrace. The state of her mind when on her death-bed was most satisfactory and cheering to the several friends who visited her, and now yields great comfort and consolation to her bereaved husband. To one kind friend, who expressed a hope that her affliction would be sanctified, she replied, "She hoped it would, or it would pass away as a bubble." On another occasion, when spoken to on the things of God and His salvation, she said, "O, but I have been such a sinner!" The Lord's goodness being referred to, and the Psalm being mentioned, her answer was, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want;' what a sweetness and fulness in that portion!" At another time, when her attention was directed to the promises of God, she raised her hands, and with much feeling quoted the words, "Him that cometh unto me,

I will in no wise cast out," implying that she had dwelt much upon that particular promise. Her father telling her she was going home, asked her if she was happy? She answered, "Happy! happy! happy." Many other utterances escaped her dying lips, indicating an enlightened, happy, and triumphant state of soul. Husband and wife were not favoured to say farewell to each other, both suffering from the same disorder, which, in the hand of God, has proved to one a key to unlock the pearly gates of Jerusalem,-the other spared for a little while to bow with submission to the righteous, holy, and ever-blessed will of God. Think not, reader, that anything that is written here is intended to eulogize the dead, but rather to magnify the exceeding riches of God's grace in saving a daughter of Adam's sinful race from eternal condemnation, and making her meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. Her mortal remains were buried in Deptford Cemetery, on which occasion our kind and worthy brother, Mr. George Moyle, of Peckham, officiated. Thus soul and body have parted until the resurrection morn, when "That which was sown in corruption shall be raised in incorruption; that which was sown in dishonour, shall be raised in glory; that which was sown in weakness, shall be raised in power; and that which was sown a natural body, shall be raised a spiritual body;" and so soul and body shall be re-united, never more to be separated, but to dwell together in a glorified, blissful state, yea, "In the presence of God, where

But this is nought, when with it we compare

The unseen glories of that world so fair,

To which her ransomed spirit winged its flight,

Where endless day excludes the shades of night;

Where sorrow enters not, nor fears depress,

Nor anxious cares to mar her happi

ness;

Nor pain, nor suffering, ever there are found,

But with eternal glory she is crowned. But still I would not check the falling tear,

The tribute mem'ry pays to one so dear.

I, too, can testify, who knew her well, In Christian graces few could her excel.

She was a daughter, dutiful and mild, With all a favourite, even from a child; She was a wife, affectionate and true, As ever husband to his bosom drew; A loving mother, it must be confess'd, As God e'er gave, or children e'er possessed;

She was a sister, tender, too, and kind,

Her counterpart you do not often find; She was a friend, both faithful and discreet,

Alas! alas! not many such we meet. Suffice it, then, a Christian most sin

cere,

Whence none return. Till then he rests secure,

His hope's well grounded, his salvation's sure.

Nought but this hope, when trials thick assail,

When earthly streams and broken cisterns fail,

And every prop that we have fondly loved

To lean upon, from us has been removed :

And we on life's tempestuous ocean tost, Our sails all shattered, and our compass lost;

Without this anchor hope, our bark to check,

We surely should, ere long, become a wreck.

All joy, my dearest friends, for you possess

This glorious hope, serenely you may

You know His hand has brought you hitherto,

The wilderness you've nearly journeyed through;

The rugged path a little longer tread, And fear not, faint not, when by Jesus led.

Beside old Jordan's stream you'll shortly stand,

And soon in safety reach the promised land;

And then upon that bright and happy shore,

Unite with those dear friends who are gone before,

And there with mingled voices loud proclaim,

All glory to the Lamb that once was

slain.

WILLIAM DEDRICK.