ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

to ruin a man.

A man who is in business need not commit forgery or robbery to ruin himself; he has only to neglect the means of restoration, and he will be ruined. A man floating in a skiff above Niagara, need not move an oar, or make an effort to destroy himself; he has only to neglect using the oar at the proper time, and he will certainly be carried over the cataract. Most of the calamities of life are caused by simple neglect. By neglect of education, children grow up in ignorance; by neglect, a farm grows up to weeds and briars; by neglect, a house goes to decay; by neglect of sowing, a man will have no harvest; by neglect of reaping, the harvest would rot in the fields. No worldly interest can prosper where there is neglect; and why may it not be so in religion? There is nothing in earthly affairs that is valuable, that will not be ruined if it is not attended to; and why may it not be so with the concerns of the soul? Let no one infer, therefore, that because he is not a drunkard, or an adulterer, or a murderer, that, therefore, he will be saved. Such an inference would be as irrational, as it would be for a man to infer, that, because he is not a murderer, his farm will produce a harvest; or that, because he is not an adulterer, therefore his merchandize will take care of itself. Salvation would be worth nothing if it cost no effort; and there will be no salvation where no effort is put forth.-Albert Barnes.

THE PRESUMPTUOUS.-Such were those who durst make God and his promise a leaning-stock for their foul elbows to rest upon: "They call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel." (Isa. xlviii. 2.) But they were more bold than welcome. God rejected their confidence, and loathed their sauciness. Though a prince would not disdain to let a poor wounded man, faint with bleeding, and unable to go alone, upon his humble request, make use of his arm, rather than he should perish in the streets; yet he would with indignation reject the same motion from a filthy drunkard, if he should desire leave to lean on him, because he could not go alone. I am sure, how welcome soever the poor humble soul, that lies bleeding for his sins at the very mouth of hell in his own thoughts, is to God, when he comes upon the encouragement of the promise to lean on Christ, yet the profane wretch that emboldens himself to come shall be driven away with infinite disdain and abhorrence.

Bunyan.

IT WILL COME!-You may delay the work of repentance, and think the future far off-but it will come; your last call from heaven far off-but it will come; your last unavailing effort to repent far off-but it will come; the death struggle, the shroud, the funeral far off-but it will come; the day of judgment, the day of reckoning far off-but it will come; the sentence, Depart from me," ye cursed, into everlasting fire!" far off-but it will come; eternal banishment from the presence of the Lord, weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth far off-but it will come!

Chalmers.

THE FIRESIDE.

The Fireside.

ON THE WORSHIP OF CLEANLINESS.

WHAT strange creatures we are, and into what opposite extremes we sometimes run! Now it is admitted by all sensible people that this said cleanliness is a beautiful, lovely, and excellent virtue; and that dirtiness is an ugly, foul, and nasty vice. Nay, some have gone so far as to say that cleanliness is next to godliness; and it may be for aught I know. But there are some of our over-nice women-friends who make it more than godliness; for they make a god of it, and bow down and worship it! "Do they," you say. Why dont they? Let us try it by a good sound rule-"where thy treasure is there will thy heart be also." And are not the folks of whom we complain everlastingly fixing all their attention, and bestowing all their labour and anxiety, upon their dwellings and furniture? These seem to have all their thoughts-morning, noon, and night. Go to the house of such a body as this, just when she happens to be at her favourite scrubbing, and scouring, and polishing, and depend upon it you will soon see that she dont want you nor any one else just then. Come when she has done, and when she has got all in prim order, and she will meet you with a smiling invitation to walk in and sit down; but then you must mind that you do not bring in the smallest particle of dirt, or you will see the cloud gathering again on her brow. And then you must mind where you sit, and where you put your feet, and where you lean your head, and what you touch! Why all this is downright tiresome, and what is worse, it is neither more nor less than worship of cleanliness. Our houses and our furniture are made for our use and our convenience, and not for exhibition, like a jeweler's or milliner's shop. We love cleanliness and tidiness too, in all persons and all things, and we hate filth with a perfect hatred, but we dont like to be pestered by a fidgetty concern about the matter, and would not willingly pay such a high price as that for it. We hope that in what we have said we shall not be misunderstood. Let no sloven or slut think for one moment that we would give any encouragement to their idle slovenliness by these observations, for we dont mean that.

A CURIOUS OLD RECIPE.

How to Cook a Husband.-As Mrs. Glass said of the hare, you must first catch him. Having done so, the mode of cooking him, so as to make a good dish of him, is as follows:-Many good husbands are spoiled in the cooking; some women go about as if their husbands were bladders, and blow them up; others keep them constantly in hot water; whilst others freeze them by conjugal coldness;

THE PENNY POST BOX.

some smother them in hatred, contention, and variance; and some keep them in pickle all their lives. These women always serve them up with tongue sauce. Now, it cannot be supposed that husbands will be tender and good if managed in this way. But they are, on the contrary, very delicious when managed as follows:Get a large jar, called the jar of carefulness (which all good wives have on hand), place your husband in it, and set him near the fire of conjugal love; let the fire be pretty hot, but especially let it be clear; above all, let the heat be constant: cover him over with affection, kindness, and subjection; garnish. with modest becoming familiarity and a spice of pleasantry; and if you add kisses and other confectionaries, let them be accompanied with a sufficient portion of kindness, mixed with prudence and good sense. We should advise all good wives to try this recipe, and realize how admirable a dish a husband is when properly cooked.

The Penny Post Box.

A BUNDLE OF EXTRACTS.

WE now and then receive short epistles with just a few words in them. We have made up a little bundle of these. J. D. I. tells us that he was walking home one afternoon, and made the company of a farmer's lad of about sixteen, who had been taught at a church school. On asking him a question respecting his soul, he replied, "I'm beggared if I know." And such is the rough ignorance of many of the pupils of our accomplished and well-paid clergy. Who wonders that vice and infidelity abound ?—J. B. T. tells us of a church lady in the village who keeps two female servants. One had been a scholar in the dissenting school for several years, and wished to attend the annual sermons, but this lady, who would have readily allowed her to go to a place of amusement, would not permit. The girl sent her shilling to the collection. What petty and shabby conduct, and by one who would be thought a lady too! -M. H. S. wishes to state that the articles exposed for sale (see page 105) were not on "stalls," but in baskets, and consisted of nuts, shrimps, and oysters.- -B. L. tells us of a brickmaker who is a good hand, and can earn full wages, who on the last sabbath 'day, spent three shillings in guzzling ale. He has a wife and six children. What brutish beings some men are! And these poor dear children are dependent for food, and clothing, and education, on such a selfish wretch as this. We must support our sabbath schools if only to teach such neglected, and we might almost say, fatherless children. We are told too that his brother, well to do, would willingly advance this man, but he dare not trust him. We pity his wife-she must have a sad time of it!