the resurrection. What an unknown joy it will be, when you have fulfilled all the fruits of righteousness in this lower world, to be transplanted to that heavenly mountain! What a divine rapture and surprise of blessedness, to see all your little offspring around you that day, springing out of the dust at once, making a fairer and brighter appearance in that upper garden of God, and rejoicing together, (a sweet company,) all partakers with you of the same happy immortality; all fitted to bear heavenly fruit, without the need or danger of a pruning knife. Look forward by faith to that glorious morning, and admire the whole scheme of Providence and grace. Give cheerful honors before hand to your Almighty and allwise Governor, who by his unsearchable counsels has filled your best wishes, and secured your dear infants to you forever, though not just in your own way; that blessed hand which made the painful separation on earth, shall join you and your babes together in his own heavenly habitation, never to be divided again, though the method may be painful to flesh and blood. Fathers shall not hope in vain, nor mothers "bring forth for trouble. They are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them." Isaiah lxv: 23. Then shall you say, "Lord, here am I, and the children that thou hast given me. For he is your God, and the God of your seed, in an everlasting covenant." Amen.

Heaven on Earth.

MR. JOHN HOLLAND, the day before he died, called for a Bible, saying, "Come, oh come; death approaches, let us gather some flowers to comfort this hour." And turn ing with his own hand to the 8th chapter of Romans, he gave the book to Mr. Leigh, and bid him read: at the end of every verse he paused, and then gave the sense to his own comfort, but more to the joy and wonder of his friends. Having continued his meditations on the 8th of Romans thus read to him, for two hours or more, on a sudden he said "O stay your reading! What brightness is this I see? Have you lighted up any candles ?" Mr Leigh answered, "No, it is the sunshine;" for it was

about five o'clock in a clear summer evening. "Sunshine!" said he, "it is my Savior's shine, now, farewell world; welcome heaven. The day-star from on nigh hath visited my heart. Oh, speak it when I am gone, and preach it at my funeral; God dealeth familiarly with man. I feel his mercy; I see his majesty; whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell. God knoweth but I see things that are unutterable."

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The Pearl of Great Price.

SOME years ago a female of rank-a native of one of the islands in the Indian seas, having been married to a merchant of Aberdeen, who had visited her country, returned with him to Scotland. There she continued to live for some years, without religion of any kind; it is probable that formerly she had been a Buddhist, but she showed no appearance of devotion. Her time was spent upon her children, and her jewels, of both of which she seemed very fond. In playing with the one and adorning the other, her days were passed. Whilst thus engaged, she one day heard a loud rumbling noise in Union street, where she resided, and upon looking out of the window to see what it was, beheld merely some carts filled with blocks of granite passing through the street. Disappointed, she turned to an old Scotch nurse then in the room, and remarked what a poor country Scotland was, the hills of which produced nothing but great blocks of ugly

stone.

In her country she intimated that from their hills they obtained gold, jewels, and precious stones. The old nurse could not for a moment allow her own country to be inferior to that of her mistress', and she replied that they had a treasure in Scotland which her mistress' country did not possess; we have, said she, the most precious of all treasures here, we have "the pearl of great price."

The heathen lady's ear was instantly caught by this expression. At once she declared, she must have that treasure, and was confident that her kind husband would not fail to buy it for her, let it cost indeed what it might, she would even part with all her other jewels, of which

she was passionately fond, to obtain it. The old Scotch servant then intimated to her that it was not to be bought, but to be had freely, "without money, and without price." She gave her also to understand that the jewel of which she spoke was not intended as an ornament for the neck or ears, but as a blessing for the heart. The poor heathen then said, that was just what she wanted, for she was often very unhappy, when she thought of all her relations, whom she should never see again, and of her much loved though distant land; she said she often had an aching heart in spite of her children, and her comforts and her jewels. Her poor instructress then explained to her that this treasure was hid in the field of Holy Scripture, and that it was to be found by diligently seeking for it. Upon hearing this, her mistress seemed resolved upon obtaining it; she immediately began to learn to read, although before this she had refused to be instructed. applied herself earnestly to the task; at length she became able to read the Bible, and searched it diligently, until she found what she so greatly desired. In one word, she became a Christian, was a regular communicant at one of the churches in Aberdeen, and at length died a peaceful death, trusting in the merits of her Savior.

She

There may be many of our readers, who although they have lived all their years in a Christian land, are still as utter strangers to the greatest of all its treasures as was this poor heathen. Surrounded by dear relations and children, possessed of many comforts and much earthly good, they may have been content to live all their years without savingly acquainting themselves with him, who is above all price, who is more precious than rubies! Dear Christ is the blessing for the heart." If you are still a stranger to this blessing-to this "pearl of great price," O set earnestly to work to search for it.

A Good Example.

A GENTLEMAN not long since enclosed twelve dollars for the Treasury of the Foreign Missionary Society, accompanied by a letter, in which he says: "This sum, which is the annual amount of my contributions at the

monthly concert for prayer, has become due in conse sequence of the writer's having been absent in a foreign country, and traveling in places where, and under cir cumstances when it was impracticable to attend this most interesting of all meetings for prayer.

And here, may I be permitted to allude to a systematic plan of contributing to this object, which, for many years, I have pursued; as I do it with the hope of inducing others, whose means, like my own, may be limited, to adopt a similar progressive plan.

Fifteen years ago, when my attention was first called to the importance of foreign missions, I was a fatherless boy, striving from my own resources to educate myself; for I was without friends or patrimony. Poor as I was, I thought it was my duty to do something for the cause of missions; and I determined to contribute a certain sum monthly, which sum should be increased in proportion to the increase of my means. Six-pence, each month. was at first all I could afford. A mite' indeed! and 1 thought, hardly worth contributing. But I remembered that the aggregate amount of one year would pay for a Bible, or, at least, a few tracts, which, carried by a missionary into some pagan family, and blessed by Him, who had bestowed his commendation upon her of old, who, in poverty, cast her 'mite' into the Treasury of the Lord, might be instrumental of doing incalculable good.

At the end of a year or two, this sum doubled; and, in the course of a few years longer, I was enabled to contribute my half dollar, monthly, to the cause of missions. For the last three or four years, the sum has been increased to one dollar a month; and I hope the time may yet come, when I shall have it in my power to give monthly the aggregate amount of my annual donation During the period since my first contribution was made, I have never omitted to give the sum which I had stipulated at the commencement of each year, to bestow upon this object. When detained from the monthly concert, as in this instance, I have invariably laid aside my sixpence or shilling, or half dollar, as the case might be, and have contributed the accumulated amount, at the first concert I could attend. It has always seemed to me to be a contract with the Lord, and I dare not, on my

part, withhold the fulfilment of it. It is true that I have often in this way, parted with my last shilling; but I have never suffered by so doing. Indeed, if I thought it would induce one doubting soul to "cast its bread upon the waters," I would relate some striking "providences" which have followed, in some of those instances where I contributed my last dollar to the monthly concert, the Bible or Tract cause, or to some other branch of the Lord's treasury. This I will say, that I can bear my most decided testimony to the truth of that declaration of Holy writ that "he that watereth shall himself also be watered."

The Ivy and the Oak.

AN interesting volume entitled "Algic Researches," contains the following allegory:

A vine was growing beside a thrifty oak, and had just reached that height at which it requires support. "Oak," said the ivy vine, "bend your trunk so that you may be a support to me." "My support," replied the oak, "is naturally yours, and you may rely on my strength to bear you up, but I am too large and too solid to bend. put your arms around me, my pretty vine, and I will manfully support and cherish you, if you have an ambition to climb, even as high as the clouds. While I thus hold you up, you will ornament my trunk with your pretty green leaves and shining scarlet berries. They will be as frontlets to my head, and I shall stand in the forest like a glorious warrior, with all his plumes. We were made by the Master of life to grow together, that by our union the weak should be made strong, and the strong render aid to the weak."

"But I wish to grow independantly," said the vine, "why cannot you twine around me, and let me grow up straight, and not be a mere dependent upon you?" "Nature," answered the oak, "did not design it. It is impossible that you should grow to any height alone, and if you try it, the winds and rain, if not your own weight, will bring you to the ground. Neither is it proper for you to run your arms hither and yon, among the trees. The trees will begin to say it is not my vine---it is a