would be answered often gave me unspeakable comfort. I remember how, when very young, I felt that, on account of my parents having thus given me to God, I was His, and that He would show me this by the indwelling of His Holy Spirit in my heart sooner or later. I have therefore ever been thankful, not only for pious parents, but also for parents who openly and formally dedicated me to God in the ordinance of baptism.

PAPERS FOR THOUGHTFUL GIRLS.

BY THOS. STONELEY, Author of "Papers for Thoughtful Boys."

III. ADORNMENTS OF CHARACTER.

CONSISTENCY.

"Let the road be rough and dreary,
And it's end far out of sight,
Foot it bravely, strong or weary,
'Trust in God, and do the right.'

"Perish policy and cunning!

Perish all that fears the light! Whether losing, whether winning, 'Trust in God, and do the right.'

"Simple rule, and safest guiding,

Inward peace, and inward might,
Star upon our path abiding-
'Trust in God, and do the right.'"

-NORMAN MACLEOD, D.D.

HO is not fond of ornaments? Even those people who pretend to care only for "the useful" are not really quite indifferent to "the ornamental." We not only have

some things simply for ornament, but things which are made for use we like to look as nice as possible. We do not bind books, nor make furniture, nor build houses and sanctuaries for the sake of ornament, yet we all admire a pretty book, handsome furniture, a fine house, and beautiful sanctuaries. Of course,

66

tastes differ," as the phrase is, and what pleases one may not please another person; but we all like a thing better if its look pleases us.

Now, this desire for ornament is laid deep down in our nature, like one of the foundation-stones of a house, and therefore it is quite right, so long as it is guided properly. Very frequently, indeed, it is altogether debased in its object, wrong in its principle, or excessive in its degree; but it is in its own nature a likeness of the handiwork of Him who "by His Spirit has garnished the heavens," and covered the earth with beauty. The blended colours of the rainbow and of sunset clouds; the variously-tinted and exquisitely-moulded flowers and lovely fruit blossoms; the brilliant

wings of insects, like the butterfly; the gay, rich plumage of the birds, and the handsome coats of animals; green fields and running streams, with the charming variety of hill and dale; the pearls strewn upon the ocean floor, and the amethyst and jasper sown among the rocks: all these things, dear young friends, prove to us that God, the great Creator and our heavenly Father, loves what is beautiful. To reject all idea and effort to add the fair to the good, the beautiful to the useful, would be to oppose, and not to imitate, the work of the great Creator.

There is, without all doubt, a propensity, peculiarly strong in the female heart, to personal decoration. We are not going to join company with those who unreservedly condemn this. That it should be regulated is but proper, and in harmony with the teachng of Scripture. For the present, however, the subject of personal decoration must be left. Our purpose now is to speak upon that part of your nature which it should be your chief concern to beautify. Let me point you to the very beautiful reference which the Apostle Peter makes to it. "Whose adorning," he says, "let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price." How exquisitely is this put; how impressively conveyed! It is the decoration of the soul rather than of the body, about which females should be chiefly solicitous, and the ornaments that are suitable to the nature of the soul. Personal beauty will soon pass away; but beauty of mind and character increases in attractiveness the older it grows.

Now, as there is nothing more disfiguring in reference to any profession than inconsistency, as incongruity of conduct is a deformity and not a decoration, remember that inconsistency would be so in you in reference to your profession of a high and noble character. Therefore study well what that profession implies and enjoins, and seek in your daily life to meet its requirements.

I have before me a portrait of a lady who furnishes an admirable example of consistency of character.

As a Christian, she has fervent piety, without the least tincture of austerity. She is liberal and catholic in her views and feelings towards other denominations, and at the same time maintains a strong and wholesome attachment to the one to which she belongs, which springs from matured convictions and settled principles. With genuine meekness and humility she possesses self-respect, and does not disclaim the respect of others. Her cheerfulness springs from equanimity, contentment, and the peace of a good conscience. She is never light-minded and frivolous. In her most sober moments she is not gloomy. She has quickness and perception to discern whatever is sinful in others, and moral courage to warn and reprove without severity or bitterness towards the offender. Her charity is open, but not ostentatious. Possessing uncommon disinterestedness, her motives are often misunderstood by the

selfish, and oftener misrepresented; yet she submits to reproach without a murmur: though naturally extremely susceptible to public opinion, she has fortified her mind to meet injustice. She yields to the world when it would be unwise to differ; but makes no compromise that involves a sacrifice of principle. Although uncommonly active in doing good to all within her sphere of usefulness, she neglects not the culture of that personal, spiritual religion which results from secret devotion and close habitual self-examination. Being thus beautifully consistent herself, it may be asked, is not this lady a severe censor upon those who are less so? In example she may be, but in words never. The law of kindness dwells upon her lips, and the bright side of character in others seems ever present to her generous mind.

Dear young friends, I commend to you this consistency as that which will truly adorn and render you a "thing of beauty" for ever. Such inflexible adherence to right, in defiance of popular sentiment, is truly sublime.

There are many girls whose conduct is regulated by expediency or policy in almost all matters. They have no fixed rules of action, chosen because they are right, but they leave everything to be decided by circumstances. They are influenced by the opinion of others, and regard what fellow-mortals will say about them more than God will think. They consult the customs and demands of society, rather than the sacred Scriptures, for rules of action. This is the class who make gay and useless women; who do not hesitate to tell the "white lies" of society.

Sometimes timidity causes girls to swerve from the truth. "Is the room too cool for you?" said a matron to a young lady visitor. "No, I thank you," she replied; and yet she was almost shivering with the cold.

66

Why did you not reply in the affirmative?" asked the girl's friend, who was visiting with her.

"Oh, it is such a delicate matter to find fault," said she.

Is it not a more delicate matter to compromise the truth? Which is worse, to complain of the temperature of the room, or to inflict moral injury upon the soul? There is much of this kind of falsehood among young and old, and it arises from want of courage to utter the truth. Be as interesting as you please, but cultivate moral courage. Ask God to give you that earnestness which will enable you to pursue your course undeterred by contrary examples or opposing influence! Along with this intense earnestness let there be blended that prime virtue in the composition of womanly and Christian excellence, meekness. You remember how the apostle commends it in the passage I have already quoted. It is in the sight of God of great price. God values it above all gifts of intellect, delights in it above the most splendid genius, honours it above all that men delight to honour. It is woman's ornament above all others. Earnestly cultivate it.

THE PHILOSOPHER IN THE PLAYGROUND. By TOM BROWN, Author of "A Year at School," &c.

RED GREEN will stay in and write 'inattention' fifty times," said Mr. Brewster sharply. The lad named foolishly assumed a look of indifference and gave his head a contemptuous toss, so the master added: "You will write it

a hundred times, Green, and on paper."

There was no scorn visible now on Fred Green's cheek. He dared not risk another increase of the punishment, for it was plain the master was not in a temper to be trifled with. He had been very severe all the afternoon, and Fred was not the first who had been sentenced to be "kept in" for very slight offences.

Mr. Brewster had been engaged for the last half-hour in explaining on the blackboard the mode of extracting the cube root; and, either he was not so clear as usual in explaining his meaning, or the boys were more than ordinarily dull of comprehension, for, judging by their answers to his questions, they seemed to have very hazy ideas of the complicated mass of figures before them.

Perhaps there were faults on both sides. Mr. Brewster had unfortunately one of those bilious constitutions which are so easily upset. A foggy or drizzling wet day would bring him to the lowest ebb of despondence, or make him irritable and impatient. The day in question had been wretchedly dull and damp, and the master was unmistakably cross. Perhaps the boys were dull from the same cause, or possibly they caught the infection from Mr. Brewster. At any rate they were slow in comprehension, and very restless and inattentive. So, besides Fred Green, Mr. Brewster had ordered Jack Summers to be kept in for talking, and George Walters to remain standing for half an hour with his eyes shut, as a punishment for looking about him.

At length the cube root was correctly extracted, and the master gave the class five minutes to study its complicated figures before he cleaned it off the board. At the end of that time he rubbed off the sum, and set in its place another similar problem, which he said every boy would have to work out correctly before he went home. It was certainly a likely way to fix the process on the minds of his pupils, but yet it did seem rather hard to attach such a penalty to the inability to work such a difficult sum. However, it was useless to discuss that. There was the sum, and those who wanted an early tea must set about and do it at once.

It was a good thing that, notwithstanding the apparent inattention, the majority of the boys had, in the few minutes grace allowed, succeeded in mastering the principle of the sum, and were able to work the second one after a few minutes' consideration.

Just before closing time Mr. Brewster came to examine the class,

and having written the correct answer on the blackboard he asked those whose slates agreed with it to stand up. He was agreeably surprised to find nearly the whole class rise to their feet. Such a result went a long way towards improving his temper, and his face brightened as he expressed himself so pleased that he would accept that sum instead of a home-lesson, that is, if in every case it was properly worked out. To know this, he commenced to examine each slate separately.

This was a very unfortunate thing for one who had stood up as having the correct answer, and, as the master came nearer, Tom Taylor felt his legs tremble under him. He was never quick at figures, and as for cube root, he knew more about extracting teeth than extracting it. He, however, happened to catch a glimpse of Charlie Dawes' slate in front of him. It was only for a few seconds, but it was long enough for him to copy the answer which Charlie had arrived at.

Now when Tom copied Charlie's figures, he merely intended to compare his answer with them so as to see if he were right; but, as in most other cases, one wrong act led to another. When he saw Mr. Brewster sternly approaching the class, he recollected the punishment threatened for those who failed to get the correct answer, and remembered, too, that his father had promised to take him and his brothers and sisters to a dissolving view entertainment in the next town. The temptation to deceive was too strong for him. He hastily added a few figures to those he had worked out, and then placed those he had copied in the place where the answer should appear.

As Mr. Brewster examined the slates, he became more and more pleased to see that the lesson he had thought so much disregarded was really understood after all. In their turn he examined the slates of those who had failed to get correct answers. There was

Bob Smith, who had written the question very neatly at the top of his slate, but for the life of him could not get any further. And in direct contrast there was Joe Robbins, who had worked away until he had filled both sides of his slate with lines of figures that went straggling off in all directions, like ill-drilled squadrons, but who seemed as far from finding any root as when he began. Owen Jeffries, finding he did not understand the master's rule for cube root, had invented one of his own. He knew a cube was a six-sided figure, so he hit on the ingenious plan of dividing the area by six; and was considerably surprised to find himself so far wrong. And there, too, was Tom Jones, that clever arithmetician, who had got all his figures perfectly correct, but, by the misplacement of a decimal point somewhere in the process, his answer was about a thousand times more than it should have been.

But when the schoolmaster took Tom Taylor's slate, and after puzzling over several lines of meaningless figures, found the correct answer placed as the result, he grew almost furious at the bare