by-word for a low, ignorant and uncultivated person; and the question of Nathanael shows how the town was regarded by the inhabitants of neighbouring places, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" That reproach the Saviour was willing to bear. He "made Himself of no reputation upon earth, that He might exalt His people to glory, honour and immortality. It was quite in keeping with the great design of our Lord's mission, that He should take up His abode with some of the most degraded of human creatures. It was the practical acting out of what He afterwards declared, "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

The rough, uncouth dialect and the moral corruptions which prevailed in Nazareth, probably arose from the mingling of Jews and foreigners. Indeed, the upper part of Galilee was expressly called "Galilee of the Gentiles; and its people were in continual intercourse with the Gentile world. At Nazareth our Lord would be brought into contact with Gentiles as well as Jews; would see something of the sins and needs of heathenism; would behold visibly pictured around Him the wants, the sorrows and the struggles of the human soul.

Living in Galilee, He would be in close contact with the Phoenicians, the great commercial nation of antiquity; and we may safely suppose that He visited their great sea-ports of Tyre, Sidon and Ptolemais, which lay within easy reach, and in our Lord's time retained traces of their ancient splendour. Afterwards in His teaching He referred to Tyre and

Sidon; and one of the most touching incidents in His public ministry-that relating to the SyroPhoenician woman occurred in their coasts. It is probable that our Lord beheld the luxury and godlessness of heathenism. He came into contact, not only with people of the Old Covenant, but also with heathens, civilised, industrious, luxurious, but still heathens, "without God in the world." He lived with both classes; for He had come to save both, to make "both one," "and to break "down the middle wall of partition" between them, and to "reconcile both unto God in one body by the Cross." He mingled with them, in the streets, in the markets, perhaps doing business with them in His capacity as a carpenter, and in their homes blessing them with His truth and grace.

It was fitting that Jesus should spend years in the midst of such associations, seeing that He had come to be "the Saviour of all men." And we may properly think of His living and moving familiarly and graciously among them. We have no reason to believe that Jesus was a recluse at Nazareth, austere in His habits, forbidding in His manners. We may reasonably think of His moving among the Jews and Gentiles of Galilee, as a genial, gladdening presence. He did this during His public ministry; and if we may read His previous life in the light of that period, He did so at Nazareth. Doubtless He entered

both into the joys and sorrows of men. He sanctioned with His presence their social festivals, as

at Cana. He sorrowed with the bereaved, as at Nain. The poor, the humble, the sinful, the distressed, the joyous and the mourners, He blessed with His presence and love; exemplifying the charity and gentleness of His Faith. Doubtless, in this respect

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old Decker describes the spirit of our Saviour, when he says:— "The best of men

That e'er wore earth about Him, was a Sufferer,

A soft, meek, patient, humble, tranquil Spirit;

The first true Gentleman that ever breathed."

A MOTHER'S MEMORY OF A
GOLDEN TEXT.

DURING Dr. Vincent's recent lecture upon" Methods of Teaching in Sundayschools," a sad, sweet memory of other years floated back to me. It had been my plan to keep two blackboards in the nursery, one for the Golden Text and central thoughts of the Sabbath lesson, the other for week-day exercises. The children took turns in printing the texts and important passagesprinting that the youngest might read readily. This was done on Sabbath afternoon, after which the board was hung against the wall, where it remained before their eyes until the following Sabbath, when, after the return from school, it was erased and succeeded by the new text. It was Maymie's turn -the little fingers traced it clearly, distinctly that Golden Text - that last precious legacy-that " Light in the Window" that was to shine out upon the utter desolation that followed:

"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."

It hung there before me, this blessed assurance, through the weeks of suffering that followed. Sabbaths came and went, but no other text supplanted it. The end drew near. I bowed above her in an agony of woe. "Raise me up, mamma," she said. One little fluttering

hand stole about my neck, the other pointed to the Golden Text, and then, with a hopeful, loving look in her eyes, she whispered," Face to face, mamma; face to face !"

Ah, mothers! ye who have loved and lost can best understand how that dying voice hallowed this glorious promise -illuminated with a heavenly radiance the words I had, until then, indeed seen darkly.

"Face to face!" It seemed all I had left to cling to after she was gone. Through blinding tears I gazed upon the little dresses, the half-worn shoes, the playthings that seemed waiting her return, yet, when my lips murmured "Gone for ever," my eye, in its searching gaze, would light upon those sunny letters, and my despairing heart gain strength from the hope of a reunion beyond the stars.

Yes, mothers, make room for blackboards in your nurseries, even though it be your mournful task to take them down and fold them carefully to preserve as long as may be the precious tracery of a vanished hand. It was two years before those words faded wholly; and often, on Sabbath afternoons, I would sit beside them, and let my imagination picture to my yearning spirit the glories of the upper Sanctuary, and the blessedness of those who were gathered home, and ever at the close of these, my silent sermons, a gentle hand seemed resting on my head, while a

All

FROM early life the subject of this brief sketch was under religious influences, and his character seems to have been gradually and silently formed. About twelve years ago, his religious impressions became deepened, and after weeks of intense anxiety, humiliation and prayer, he obtained the consciousness of the favour of God. His conversion was evidenced by a life of faith, piety and usefulness. persons may not be able to determine the exact time of their conversion. The workings of the Holy Spirit are various, and the developments of the new life are diversified; but Mr. Southern knew not only the process of his change, but the time and manner of his conversion. He was a Wesleyan from principle and choice, but while he was firm in his attachment to Methodism, he was remarkably charitable to other religious bodies, and heartily joined them in efforts to promote the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom.

In early life he kept a diary, and such were his views of the shortness of life, that he expressed himself as deeply conscious "there was no time to be lost." He felt life to be earnest, and trifling away time to be a sin. He would say,

'Tis not for men to trifle-Life is brief,
And sin is here.

An age is but the falling of a leaf,
A dropping tear.

We have no time to sport away the hours,
All must be earnest in a world like ours."

He had always work to do: idleness he abominated; and when reproved for excessive study, he replied, "It is better to wear out, than rust out."

His love to the Bible was deep and ardent. It was his daily companion; and he usually carried a copy with him in his pocket, which he frequently and devoutly read. He could not conceive of Christians whose attachment to the Word of God was not strong and firm. It comforted him, elevated and sanctified his spirit, and earnestly did he recommend its teaching to others. With the Bible in his hand, he would go to the homes of the sick, and pour the consolations of religion into the hearts of the afflicted. Home-Mission work he delighted in, and cultivated the friendship of those who showed an interest in it. About five years ago he lectured on Home-Mission work in several places in the Birmingham District, and after one of these lectures at Ebenezer Independent Chapel, West Bromwich, some of the friends were called together, and a large and flourishing Tract Society was formed, which numbered upwards of fifty principal members of the Church. Mr. Blackham, of Hill-Top, states, "We owe our flourishing Tract Society 'to the efforts and excellent advice of Mr. Southern, with whom I have had frequent and sweet intercourse."

Tract Distribution was a pleasure to him, because it brought him into contact with the poor and afflicted; and he wrote several tracts suggested by cases of spiritual good which' came under his own immediate notice. Among others, one entitled, "I Got out of her Way," has recently been published by the Wesleyan Tract Society, which cannot fail to be beneficial to hose who read it.