water for an hour. When done enough, slice three goodsized onions, and fry them till well browned; put them into the soup with some crusts of bread, and let them boil together for a quarter of an hour.

It will thus be seen that these soups can be made for very little money, if the labourer have a garden; and, indeed, the late Dr. Kitchener has published a receipt for making a gallon of barley broth for a groat. Having tried it, we here give a copy of it; it requires four or five hours to make it well, and we consider two quarts of water sufficient: "Put four ounces of Scotch barley (previously washed in cold water), and four ounces of sliced onions into three quarts of water; gently boil for an hour, and pour it into a pan; then put into the saucepan one or two ounces of clean beef or mutton suet, or two or three ounces of fat bacon minced. When melted, stir into it four ounces of oatmeal, rub these together till you make a paste, and, if this be properly managed, the whole of the fat will combine with the barley broth, to which it must be then added by degrees, about a spoonful at a time, stirring it well together till it boils. Season it at pleasure, let it simmer an hour." The flavour may be varied by doubling the quantity of onions, and frying them, or by using a clove of garlic, or an eschalot, and it may be thickened with ground rice, or peas.

EXTRACT FROM A PUBLIC NEWSPAPER.

66

M. B.

AND WHAT NEXT?" And what," said a gentleman to a young stranger, are your plans for the future?" "I am a clerk," replied the young man; "and my hope is, to succeed and to get into business for myself." "And what next?" said the gentleman. "I intend to marry, and set up an establishment of my own," said the youth. "And what next?" continued the interrogator. Why, to continue the business, and accumulate wealth." "And what next?" "It is the lot of all to die, and I, of course, cannot escape," replied the young man. "And what next?" once more asked the gentleman; but the young man had no answer to make-he had no purpose that reached beyond the present life. How many young men are in precisely the same condition?

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

We have received the communications of M. B. ; S. B.; a Layman ; an Old Reader; E. D.; H. G.; and M. D,

I KNOW not how the spirit of Christian charity can exert itself with better hope and prospect of real and permanent good, than in the education of the rising generation. As far as we can see, it is education that forms the future character. We know, indeed, that it is God's grace alone, the converting and sanctifying influence of his Spirit, that can fix and establish in the heart of man that love for holiness, that earnest resolve for what is good, that firm resistance of what is bad, which marks the character of a true Christian, and makes him the faithful servant of God, and the true friend of his fellow-men. But a Christian education, instruction in the ways and the will of God, is the means which we are required to use, -the means which God has appointed us to use,-for leading his little ones to see and know what is the will of God, what He requires of them, what is the end and aim of their being, what is the preparation needful for them in this world, that they may be found "meet for the inheritance of the saints in light;" how they shall find that grace which shall lead them to the love of all that is good, and shall thus prepare them for the kingdom of

VOL. XXVIII.

Q

heaven. They are Christians, as having been admitted into the flock of Christ by baptism, and they are thus entitled to the privileges and hopes connected with the Christian name they are entitled to lift up their prayers to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; they are encouraged to ask of Him, in the name of Christ, all that is needful for their spiritual good; they are invited to seek, and they have the promise that they shall find; to ask, and they shall receive. But, if they are never taught the necessity of thus asking and seeking, they never will ask nor seek, and they will be left without any knowledge of God, any strength to serve Him, any desire to serve Him; in truth, they will be left in that state of utter ignorance, and of consequent indifference as to all that concerns their everlasting state, which we know to exist to a fearful extent amidst a large mass of the population of this our land. They have not in their youth been trained up in the way they should go; and they are not partakers of that Divine help and guidance which is graciously promised to those who are trained up in the right way, that by God's help "they shall not depart from it."

A BROTHER'S LETTER.

MY DEAR SISTER,

V.

You have not heard from me for a long time, and my

last letter was a very dismal one; but this, I hope, will

be more cheerful. Instead of grumbling and complaining of my difficulties in my distant home,-which, to be sure, I well deserved to meet with, for my headstrong behaviour in leaving my father, to go abroad,-I shall now tell you that I find myself very tolerably off, as respects the present moment; and have good expectations after a while but I will enter into particulars. A few months after I landed, and sent my first letter, I was taken ill of a fever, which brought me into a very weak state. And I was carried to a hospital, which I have not left long; but during the time of my stay there, it was so ordered that I became acquainted with a great and valuable friend, whose name I had heard of before I left England: I shall not mention in this place how this acquaintance

:

was brought about, but only describe the circumstances in which I am now placed :-I am inhabiting a small inn, where I work as a servant, hard enough at times, and often fare but poorly; sometimes I am treated with unkindness, but yet, on the whole, find many comforts, and occasionally enjoy agreeable company and pleasant walks, and songs of birds, and sweet sights of trees and flowers. The fact is, that the house fronts one way a barren sort of country, full of mud huts, inhabited by people of low and vicious habits; but the other front faces the grounds of that friend I have just been speaking of; and our little garden looks that way, and by a sidegate I can get into the grounds themselves, for he allows persons of a certain stamp, who love peace and quiet, to walk in them and I have often very pleasant discourses with these persons, for they are very friendly to me, though they are all of so much better quality and temper than I am. And, you must know, that my kind, good friend has promised, that after a while I shall be his servant in his very own palace. Palace, I call it, for I know it is a very grand place: it stands on a hill, all embosomed in such high trees, that one can but just see its top, and that only in certain parts of these lower grounds, which are open for us to walk in; and we cannot get near the house itself, by reason of a high iron paling, which goes all round the inner gardens and lawns of the palace, but we peep through now and then, and remember that the lord within has promised (and he always keeps his promise) that the day of admission will soon. come; and he knows the best time for me, I am sure, because I have some sort of work to learn in the inn where I am now living, which is to fit me for being a servant in his palace. And you cannot tell, when I have had a peep into these sweet glades, and glens, and valleys, and sunny banks, dressed with bright flowers, and have heard those sounds of birds and running streams which abound in the grounds I have been speaking of, how cheerful and light of heart I return to my work in my inn; and I take a rebuff and a reproof, nay, a sharp blow from those who would teach me, so easily, because I know it is all needful to make me more expert at my

business, for I am an awkward clumsy lad. And besides this, when I am tempted to be idle, and there are many idle, good-for-nothing people who frequent the inn, I feel a good heart to resist their snares; for I think to myself, unless I am sober, and watchful, and industrious, I shall never be ready, when I am sent for to the palace.

And now, dear sister, I think I have puzzled you a little with my odd letter. I fancy I hear you say, What does he mean by his expectancies and his palace, and is he not a poor private in the army? and what great friend can he have met with in those distant countries? Well, now I will explain myself, and perhaps my explanation may be useful to you, my young sister, for I wanted to speak some home truths to you; and I thought, that if I spoke them in the way of a riddle or parable, I might interest you more than by straightforward advice. You know that our dear mother, while she lived, brought us both up in the fear of God and in the knowledge of our Saviour, and while she lived I thought I should never forget her sweet counsels; but she died, as you remember, when I was sixteen, and you but ten; and then you know what happened, and how I got into wild company, and at last was tempted to enlist, against my father's wishes; but when I reached a strange land, and fell sick, then, through God's mercy, I was brought to know myself, as I had never known before, and to seek for pardon through Christ: and when I returned to health again, I seemed to be entering upon a new course of life; and, indeed, all things were become new to me. And then many of my mother's similitudes, in which she used to explain to me the difference between earth and heaven, came strongly into my mind; and, amongst them, the comparison of life to an inn, which, she told me, was one very commonly used; and I found this especially profitable. And now, instead of grumbling, as I once did, at hardships and difficulties, I think to myself this world is but an inn, where I shall not stay long; there is a mansion (and you know one meaning of mansion is, an abiding-place) where I shall soon be, if I keep firm hold of my Saviour by faith, and live in habits of obedience;