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myself to another unduly, I have committed a fault, identical in principle with the crimes of theft and murder." This will be the reflection of every one who tries himself by a profound standard of morals. Preference of ourselves makes love, lust; aquisition, greed; anger, malignity. Crime is essentially selfish! The violation of the law is not necessarily crime, and may be virtue and nobility. All martyrs for truth have been criminals in the eyes of the law which they have broke. Yet the true criminals were not the martyrs, but the legislators and the administrators of bad laws. What the law calls crimes, are crimes only when the law is right. There is no crime where there is no selfishness. It is the selfishness which there is in a deed which gives it guilt and shame; and neither the condemnation, the illegality, nor the punishment.-Eclectic

Review.

WAR.

"Justice is as strictly due between neighbor nations as between neighbor citizens. A highwayman is as much a robber when he plunders in a gang, as when single; and a natior that makes an unjust war is only a great gang."-Franklin.

A LESSON FOR REFORMERS.

Great is the strength of an individual soul, true to its high trust;-mighty is it, even to the redemption of a world.

A German, whose sense of sound was exceedingly acute, was passing by a church, a day or two after he had landed in this country; and the sound of music attracted him to enter, though he had no knowledge of our language. The music proved to be a nasal psalmody, sang in most discordant fashion; and the sensitive German would fain have covered his ears. As this was scarcely civil, and might appear like insanity, his next impulse was to rush into the open air, and leave the hated sounds behind him. "But this, too, I feared to do," said he, "lest offence might be given; so I resolved to endure the torture, with the best fortitude I could assume, when lo! I distinguished amid the din, the soft clear voice of a woman singing in a perfect tune. She made no effort to drown the voices of her companions, neither was she disturbed by their noisy discord; but patiently and sweetly she sang, in full rich tones; one after another yielded to the gentle influence; and before the tune was finished, all were in perfect harmony."

I have often thought of this story, as conveying an instructive lesson to reformers. The

spirit that can thus sing patiently and sweetly in a world of discord, must indeed be of the strongest, as well as the gentlest kind. One scarce can hear his own soft voice, amid the braying multitudes; and ever and anon comes the temptation to sing louder than they, and drown the voices that cannot thus be forced into perfect tune. But this were a pitiful experiment the melodious tones, cracked into shrillness, would only increase the tumult.

Strong, and more frequently comes the temptation to stop singing, and let discord do its own wild work. But blessed are they that endure to the end-singing patiently and sweetly, till all join in with loved acquiescence, and universal harmony prevails, without forcing into submission the free discord of a single voice.

This is the hardest and the bravest task which a true soul has to perform amid the clashing elements of time. But once has it been done perfectly, unto the end; and that Voice, so clear in its meekness, is heard above all the din of a tumultuous world: one after another chimes in with its patient sweetness; and through infinite discords, the listening soul can perceive that the great tune is' slowly coming into harmony.-Mrs. Child.

A PLEASANT SURPRISE.

A young man of eighteen or twenty, a student in a university, took a walk one day with a professor, who was commonly called the strident's friend, such was his kindness to the young men whom it was his office to in

struct.

While they were now walking together, and the professor was seeking to lead the conversation to grave subjects, they saw a pair of old shoes lying in their path, which they supposed to belong to a poor man who was at work in a field close by, and who had nearly finished his day's work. The young student turned to the professor, saying; "Let us play the man a trick; we will hide his shoes, and conceal ourselves behind those bushes, and watch to see his perplexity when he cannot find them."

"My dear friend," answered the professor, 66 we must never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and you may give yourself a much greater pleasure by means of this poor man. Put a dollar into each shoe, then we will hide ourselves."

The student did so, and then placed himself with the professor behind the bushes close by, through which they could easily watch the laborer, and see what a wonder of joy he might express. The poor man had soon fin

ished his work, and came across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. While he put on the coat he slipped one foot into one of the shoes; but feeling something hard, he stooped down and found the dollar. Astonishment and wonder were seen upon his countenance; he gazed upon the dollar, turned it around and looked again and again, then he looked around him on all sides, but could see no one. Now he put the money into his pocket, and proceeded to put on the other shoe; but how great was his astonishment when he found the other dollar! His feelings overcame him; he fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven, and uttered aloud a fervent thanksgiving, in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread, whom this timely bounty from some unknown hand would save from perishing. The young man stood there deeply affected, and tears filled his eyes.

"Now," said the professor, "are you not much better pleased than if you had played your intended trick?".

"O, dearest sir," answered the youth, "you have taught me a lesson now that I will never forget. I feel now the truth of the words which I never before understood-'it is better to give than to receive.' We should never approach the poor but with the wish to do them good.'-Selected.

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