and so he would soon have a bunch of sprawling briers. But the man of knowledge trims the bush, and so it becomes a lovely tree, repaying his care with fragrant clusters of the richest roses. I would have too fond parents to take a lesson from the skilful gardener, and lop off, if possible, the little twigs of selfishness which all children more or less display. Teach them especially to be loving to one another; for this may be taken for granted, that the child who is not loving to brother and sister will not have much affection for father and mother when they come most to require such affection. Parental love sometimes goes very far astray when children have ceased to be children. Many a father and many a mother have, from the best motives, sacrificed the heart's peace of their offspring by coercing them into marriages of monetary convenience, which marriages have proved a crushing of the heart's best affections. I need not say how wrong this is. A parent should be ever ready with counsel to both son and daughter; but, in the matters of the heart, as much freedom as possible should be granted. Remember the lines of Campbell "Ties around this heart were spun That could not, would not, be undone." It is the duty of parents to keep guard over the affections of their children, and so to prevent them from becoming attached to objectionable persons; but such guard not being kept, and love's knot being tied, it is the duty of parents to do their best to make the young folks as happy as possible. It is no light matter separating faithful young hearts for monetary considerations. It was a true poet who wrote these lines, and they would certainly be most becoming in the lips of any maiden who was commanded to break faith with her true lover for a match which would, in “world's gear," be more advantageous, THE PRODIGAL. "Oh, wha would buy a silken gown And what's to me a siller crown "Oh, I have vowed a virgin's vow "The longest life can ne'er repay The love he bears to me, And ere I'm forc'd to break my I'll lay me down and die." faith 29 Wise parents will not directly cross their children in love matters. A father or mother may, however, earnestly plead for the delay of a union which seems to them destined to be unhappy; and such delay being granted, and the affection standing the test of the specified time, then all that parents can do to launch the true ones happily should be heartily done, and the result left confidently in the hands of God. With regard to children who are guilty of grave errors, I have merely to say, as the heart of our heavenly Father is ever open to receive the returning penitent, so ought each of our hearts to throw wide its portals for the reception of every erring son or daughter. I can say nothing so appropriate on this part of my subject as the simple repetition of the words of our Lord in describing the prodigal's return:- -"But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and be merry! for this my son was dead and is alive again, he was lost and is found." Such being the reception given to the Prodigal son, let no parent's heart be steeled by mean worldly pride against the return of the erring daughter. After this much of practical counsellings, my subject seems naturally to require but a very few additional thoughts. I have been speaking of true friends, of faithful lovers, and of loved and loving children. All these objects of endearment gathered around us give us that which is expressed by the most beautiful word in our language,-Home !— "Home, sweet, sweet home!" I could easily write an entire lecture on the love of home. I shall only here express one thought. It is when kneeling at the family altar, with all we love on earth around us, that we pray most fervently that we may all be gathered to our Father's home in heaven. Another thought. I have a home,-you, and you, and you, and all of us have homes; these combined make our country-our native land. Whose heart does not thrill at the word "Our native land!" Our dear, proud, free, happy native land! Our land of heroes and martyrs; our land of glorious liberty-bought by our fathers' blood; our land of wise heads and true hearts: would the world knew how much we love it! Let any power on earth pronounce to us the word invasion, and we'll be tigers. Invasion! no, no, there can be no invasion of a free and happy land, guarded by the fond affections of its virtuous sons and daughters. But I can only touch this string, to which our hearts give forth such healthful music, and pass on to take a farewell glance at the mortal pilgrim whom we have followed through the sweets of friendship, the joys of love, and the high and holy feelings of parental affection. We see him now, life's journey well-nigh over. He is climbing the steep and narrow way that leads straight to the celestial city, that stands secure upon the Rock of Ages. He holds in his hand the Bible-his never-failing guide. He has long read the sacred page with the eye of faith, aided by the THE ROCK OF AGES. 31 soft light of his own affections; and now he is hastening to join the loved ones gone before. How radiantly he smiles! Hark to his words! "Saw ye not even now a blessed troop Invite me to a banquet, whose bright faces Amongst that blessed troop that lines the avenues of light he sees the companions of his youth-the friends of his riper years: her he called by the holy name of wife. She is leading in her hand their little angel child. His father and his mother too are there; his brothers and sisters beckon him joyously; his brother's orphan daughter, to whom he proved a father, is carrying his golden crown. In sight of such sweet natural visionings how eagerly the frail, erring mortal lays hold on Him who saith, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father but by me!" For he has found that anchorage alone can fully satisfy the heart and soul in which has burned the pure, holy light of virtuous affection. MRS. MACNA B. I NEVER knew an individual that changed her servants so often as Mrs. Macnab. She seldom keeps one more than a month and the reason of it is simply this,-She cannot keep them in their own place. You see, she has such an aversion to holding her tongue, that when she has no other person to gossip to, she must make a confident of her servant,—which confidence seldom lasts long; for if, after hearing all her affairs, they either by accident or intention make the slightest allusion to anything she has told them, she flies up in a moment, and calls them everything but ladies for their impertinence. I think it is about six weeks since Mrs. Macnab told me, that after spending a fortnight in receiving applications, and trailing through every corner of the town inquiring into servants' characters, she had engaged what she was sure was a real thorough-going girl, and one that she was sure could keep her own place. Well, the very day that the new servant came home there chanced to be a dryness between Mr. and Mrs. Macnab. I will tell you the cause of this dryYou see, Mrs. Macnab had for a long time been tormenting her husband to get her portrait taken, and nothing would please her ladyship but it should be done by Graham Gilbert, or Macnee, or some of our very best artists. Now Mr. Macnab could not think of that. Not that he grudged the expense-far from that; he did not grudge the expense But, you see, it was so very lately that he had been unfortunate ness. |
