ficult passages of Scriptures he had of late been attending to, and promised to look after it "the first convenient season." The elders, however, were not to be put off any longer; they insisted on the Doctor at once making use of the means, and exacted from him a promise, that on Monday afternoon he would straightway visit the house of a widow lady, a few doors from him, who had three pretty daughters, and who were the most respectable in the Doctor's congregation. To solve any difficult passage in the book of Genesis, to reconcile apparent discrepancies, or clear up a knotty text, would have been an easy and agreeable task to the Doctor, compared with storming the widow's premises. But to the opening of the siege the Doctor must go; and with great gravity and simplicity, gentle reader, you can imagine you see him commencing the work. After the usual salutations were over, he said to Mrs. W-n: "My session have of late been advising me to take a wife, and recommended me to call upon you; and as you have three very fine daughters, I would like to say a word to the eldest, if you have no objections." Miss W-n entered, and the Doctor, with his characteristic simplicity, said to her: "My session have been advising me to take a wife, and recommended me to call upon you." The young lady, who had seen some thirty summers, was not to be caught so easily. She laughed heartily at the Doctor's abruptness, hinting to him that in making a sermon it was necessary to say something first to introduce the subject properly, before he entered fully upon it; and as for her part, she was determined not to surrender her liberty at a moment's warning; "the honor of her sex was concerned in her standing out." tered into. I would not consent, without taking time to deliberate upon it." "My time," said the Doctor, "is so much occupied, and my session have said so much to me on the business, that I must finish it today, if I can. So you had best tell your mother to send in your youngest sister to speak to me." In a moment comes the honest, lively Miss Mary W- -n. "Come away, my child; it is getting on in the afternoon, and I must get home to my studies. I have been speaking to both of your sisters on a little business, and they have declined. I am a man of few words; and, without misspending precious time, what would you think being made Mrs. L- -n?" "Indeed, I always thought a deal of you, Doctor; and if my mother does not say any thing against it, I have no objections." The Doctor left Miss Mary in a few minutes, enjoining her to fix the day, for any would suit him, but to send him up word the day before. The Doctor was scarcely gone, before a keen dispute arose in the family among the three young ladies, all claiming the Doctor. The eldest one said the offer was first made to her, and she did not positively refuse. The second declared that she wished only a little time to think upon it; and the youngest insisted that it was completely settled with her. The mother of the young ladies was in such difficulty with her daughters, that she was obliged to call upon the Doctor himself to settle the dispute. She called: the Rev. Doctor, in his characteristic way, said : "My dear Mrs. W-n, I am very fond of peace in families; it is all the same thing to me, which of them; and just settle it among yourselves, and send me up word." The Doctor was married to the youngest, and one of his sons is at this day a respectaDoc-ble clergyman "in the land of the mountain This was all a waste of time to the tor, and he requested to see her sister. Miss E. W- -n then entered; and, to save time, the Doctor said: :- "My session have been advising me to take a wife, and I have been speaking to your sister, who has just gone out at the door; and as she is not inclined that way, what would you think of becoming Mrs. L- •n}??? "Oh, Doctor, I don't know; it is rather a serious question. Marriage, you know, binds one for life, and it should not be rashly en and the flood." THE FATE OF A LEARNED MAN-A THERE is in Boston an old man of 60, graduated at the University of Dublin, Ireland at the age of twenty-two was admitted as a surgeon in the British Army, and in that capacity visited this country with the English was present at the destruction of the public "I will nourish thee so that thou shalt be refreshed, and rejoice, and thy infants shall bloom as the young rose." "Joyfully we bloom," replied the refreshed meadows. The full ears of corn waved as they sung "We are the blessing of God, the Hosts of God against famine.” "We bless you from above," said the moon, "We bless you," responded the stars. And the grasshopper chirped — “ We, too, He blesses in the pearly dew-drop.” buildings at Washington city, had been in India with the British army; has been present, during his service as a surgeon, at over 4,000 amputations and fifteen severe battles; was shot twice, performed surgical operations on three hundred wounded generals, seven colonels, twenty captains, and over eleven thousand officers of smaller grades. He has dined with two kings, one empress, one emperor, the sultan, a pope, innumerable great generals, &c.; has held the largest diamond in his hand known in the world, except one; "He quenched my thirst," said the roe; has had the British crown in his hand; has "and refreshed me," continued the stag; been married three times, father of eleven" and grants us our food," said the beasts of children, all of whom he has survived. Bro- the forest; "and clothes my lambs," grateken down by disease, he could no longer fully sung the sheep. practice his profession; too poor to live without employment, and too proud to become a pauper, he sailed in an emigrant ship to this country, three years ago. And this man of remarkable adventures, classic education, master of four languages, sixty years of age, poor, old and decaying, is now peddling oranges and apples in the streets of Boston. SONGS IN THE NIGHT. In disturbing the rubbish of my library, I stumbled upon the following beautiful extract from one of the Rabbies. The Rabbinical writings, as most of your readers are aware, though generally characterized by the loftiest strains of allegory, still, often contain passages, in beauty of allusion and tenderness of expression, very rarely surpassed, as I trust the following will attest. Z. 66 Light is the countenance of the Eternal," sung the setting sun. "I am the hem of his garments," responded the rosy tint of twilight. The clouds gathered and said, "We are his nocturnal tent," and the waters in the cloud, and the hollow voice of the thunders, joined in the lofty chorus. "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters, the glory of God thundereth, the Lord upon many waters." "He did fly upon my wings," whispered the wind, and the silent air replied "I am the breath of God, the aspiration of his benign presence." "We hear the songs of praise," said the parched earth : "All around is praise, I alone am silent and mute." And the falling dew replied "He heard me," croaked the raven," when I was forsaken and alone.” "He heard me," said the wild goat of the rocks, "when my time came and I calved." And the turtle-dove cooed; and the swallow and all the birds joined their song-"We found our nests, our houses; we dwell on the Altar of the Lord, and sleep under the shadow of his wing in tranquillity and peace.” "And peace," replied the night; and echo prolonged the sound, when chanticleer awoke the dawn and crowed- "Open the portals; the gates of the world! the King of glory approaches! Awake! Arise! ye sons of men, give praises and thanks to the Lord; for the King of Glory approacheth.” — [N. Y. Observer. Selected for the Casket, by E. S. EVERY WORD TRUE. Ir is a great and prevalent error, that children may be left to run wild in every sort of company and temptation for several years, and that it will be time enough to break them in. This mistake makes half our spendthrifts, gamblers, thieves and drunkards. No man would deal so with his garden or lot: no Iman would raise a colt or puppy on such a principle. Take notice, parents—unless you till the new soil and throw in the good seed, the Devil will have a crop of poison weeds before you know what is taking place. Look at your dear children, and think whether you will leave their safety or ruin at hazard, or whether you should not train them up in the way they should go. From the New York Observer. "WE had an excellent sermon this afternoon," said Mr. Ford to his neighbor, Mr. Hall, as they walked homeward together: "I wish our minister would give us such ser mons." "Your minister did not preach, I conclude," said Mr. Hall, who was a member of another congregation. "We had Mr. P—, from L.” giving him a respectful and earnest attention." "If a minister write first-rate sermons, people will go to meeting, and pay good attention." "It is true that good sermons commonly have that effect, but we were considering how good sermons were to be had. Next to a sense of duty (which may be quickened by the prayers of his people), the sight of a large and attentive audience is the strongest stimulus to exertion on the part of a public speaker." "Does your minister never give you a ser- "In the third place, you must give your mon equal to the one you heard this after-ministers time to write good sermons. noon?" "He does sometimes, but not very often. If we had such sermons all the time, our congregation would present a different appearance from what it usually does: I saw no one asleep this afternoon." "I am afraid your congregation does not understand the way to get good sermons." "The way is plain enough. It is, to get a minister who will preach them." "I am afraid you do not understand how to get good sermons from your minister. It seems he does give you good ones sometimes." "If there is any secret about it, I should like to know it." You must not make him preach three or four times in a week, and spend all the time in visiting into the bargain. A good sermon cannot be produced without time and toil. President Davies remarked that he had never prepared a sermon worthy of being preached, which had not cost him four days of hard labor." "A minister could not write two sermons in a week, at that rate." "True enough; and you must not expect to get two first-rate sermons from a man in a week. It is not possible in the nature of things. President Davies had a powreful and rapid mind; and if he required four days to "I do not know as there is any secret write a good sermon in, you must not expect about it." "Well, then, let us know what it is." "In the first place, if you want your minister to preach good sermons, you must pray for him a great deal." "We ought to pray for ministers, to be sure, but that will not help their heads." a man to write two good ones in six days, in addition to his pastoral duties. "In the fourth place, you must give your minister a competent support. No man can concentrate his mind upon the exhausting labor of original composition who is burdened with debt, who is anxious, and harrassed in his pecuniary relations. To write a good sermon requires the utmost concentration of the mind upon the subject; and calmness and freedom from anxious care are indispensable to such concentration. Many congregations neglect their promises to such an extent, that half the energies of their minister are lost in consequence. If congregations would pay attention to the particulars I have mentioned, they would have good sermons, the sermons would be better than they are now, and they would be heard a great deal better. We all know that much depends upon the hearer. By pursuing the course I have marked out, both speaker and hearer would be placed in circumstances most favorable to good preach"By being present in the sanctuary, and ing and good hearing." "It will help their hearts, and a warm heart will prompt the head to an activity which it would not otherwise reach. The power of a sermon is two-fold — intellectual and moral, so to speak. Of two discourses, the result of an equal degree of intellectual power, that which is instinct with pious feelings will be far the most interesting and offective. The better element depends upon the state of the writer's heart. The people, therefore, who pray much for their minister, are taking a very direct method to get interesting and effective sermons from him. "In the next place, the congregation should apply to the minister the necessary stimulus." "In what way?" A LESSON. "OUR ambitions and our vanities wither before us, like the gourds of a night, and we, as the prophet, lean over them and weep. Compare the blithesome boy, lingering and loitering on his way to school, and the aged man, lingering, ah! yes, and loitering too, on his way to the grave, and how startling and impressive the contrast. Look at the youthful maiden, with the summer's dawn upon her cheek, the star-light brightness in her eyes, and the gladness of maidenhood in her breast; and behold her again in the decline of age, and you will have extremes before you as solemnly impressive as they are inseparably united. Do we sorrow over the shortness of life, there is no strength for our sorrow, nor consolation, unless we are united to God. Bloom will depart from the field and splendor from the grove; the seed-time will come and the harvest pass away, and winter will fall upon us if our year of life continues. We cannot stop the sun nor the moon in their courses, though we should cry out with the collected supplication of the whole world. There is no Gibeon of life upon which we can rest the morning or the noon-tide; there is no Ajalon in age whereupon we can force the moon-light to repose beyond its appointed hour. We cannot re-kindle the morning beams of childhood; we cannot recall the noon-tide glory of youth; we cannot bring back the perfect day of maturity; we cannot fix the evening rays of old age in the shadowy horizon; but we can cherish that goodness, which is the sweetness of childhood, the joy of youth, the strength of maturity, the heaven of old age, and the bliss of the saints.". [Giles. the way of everlasting life. Suppose I were to go forth to some lovely landscape, in some of the most beauteous parts of Scotland, and were to look upon it at the hour of midnight, while the moon shone full around me, I should find it dim and obscure; I could not trace the windings of the streamlet, nor discern the delicate loveliness of the panorama; not from any defects in the landscape, but from defects in the medium through which I viewed it. But let me visit it the next day at noon, and I shall see every flower with its beauteous tints, every streainlet meandering towards the ocean, every field in its verdure, every forest in its thick and majestic foliage. The whole landscape is changed. And why? Because, in the hazy light of the moon, it could not be distinctly seen, but in the full light of the sun, everything is clear and visible. So it is with this book. Read the Bible by the dusky light of reason, and it is covered with a film; clouds and darkness rest upon it. But bring it with bent knee, and broken heart, and place it beneath the rays of the Sun of Righteousness; and in the clear light of Christ, you will clearly "see light." LIVE TO GOD. - Those whom God renews by his grace, are bound by the most solemn ties to live to his glory. Go, then, to the sa THE SCRIPTURES MAY BE READ IN cred volume, visit with a penitent and believ TWO LIGHTS. GENERAL ASSEMBLY. A This venerable members; Union Church, under Rev. Mr. body met on Thursday, May 20th, in Charles- Homes, with 67 members; and North Preston, S. C. Dr. Humphrey, the last Modera- byterian Church, under Rev. Mr. Parks, with tor, preached the opening sermon, after which, 92 members. the Assembly was constituted by the election of Dr. Lord, of Buffalo, as Moderator. large number of delegates were in attendance. NEW SCHOOL ASSEMBLY. - This body met in the city of Washington, on the same day that the O. S. Assembly met in Charleston, and elected Dr. Adams, of New York city, as their Moderator. BOARD OF EDUCATION. - The Anniversary Meeting of this Board was held in Charleston, at which the secretary, Dr. Van Renssalaer, stated that there were under the care of the Board, last year, 372 candidates for the ministry, or sixteen less than the year before; while the reasources of the Board were greater, amounting to $80,500. METHODIST BOOK CONCERN. This estab lishment has a capitol of over $650,000, and sells nearly $200,000 worth of religious books annually. RESIGNATION OF A BISHOP. — Bishop Hamline, of the Methodist Church, has resigned his Episcopal office, which has been accepted by the General Conference. NEW ALBANY SEMINARY.- The whole number of Students in connection with the Seminary, during the year, is twenty-two. Of these one was, near the beginning of the year, dismissed to the Seminary at Princeton; and one has been temporarily absent. The number in attendance is twenty, viz : SENIOR CLASS.-James W. Hoyt, graduate of Union College; J. T. Leonard, graduate of Masonic College, Ky; J. L. Swain, graduate of College of N. J; Wm. C. Smith, graduate of Jefferson College; James N. Swan, graduate of Miami University; Henry E. Thomas, graduate of Hanover College'; Jeff. C. Thornton, graduate of University of Indiana. THE Father of President Fillmore is a Methodist preacher, and is at this time Presiding Elder in a Conference District in New York, gray with years and reverently pious - loved and esteemed by all who know him. THE Rev. J. W. Hall, D. D., of the Third street Presbyterian Church, of Dayton, Ohio, has signified his intention of resigning the pastorate of that Church. He has accepted a call from a Church in Huntsville, Aia. FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.- We learn that the First Congregational Society of this city, of which Rev. T. M. Post is the PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. pastor, have lately effected the purchase of a Last year, the receipts of the Board of Publot from Hon. H. S. Geyer, fronting one hun-lication increased $20,000 over the receipts of dred and nine feet on Tenth, and on Locust street one hundred and twenty-two feet, which is designed as the location of a new Church to be erected by the Society. The lot was purchased for $12,500. The drawings of the Church, which is to cost about $35,000, we have seen, and we have no hesitation in saying that it will be one of the most beautiful edifices adorning our city. THEATRES. The Herald remarks, “it would seem that over $10,000, are nightly spent by the good citizens of New York in the mental pleasures which music and the drama afford to all possessed of mind and soul." "Mind and soul" must be expensive articles in New York! Ten thousand nightly, or nearly the rate of three and a half millions annually (for that city has its Sunday night amusements, too), is a pretty good price for the gratification of "mind and soul." We hardly suppose the religion of the people costs so much.-[American Telegraph. NEW SCHOOL CHURCHES IN ST. LOUIS. There are five New School Presbyterian churches in this city, having an aggregate number of 707 members, viz: First Presbyterian Church, of which Dr. Bullard is pastor, having 241 members; Pine Street Church, Mr. Long's, with 254 members; Spruce Street Church, Rev. Mr. Wright's, containing 53 the previous year; the Tract Society's increased only $2,000. The Board is gaining on the Society at a prodigious rate, and is now doing a greater amount of business than the American Tract Society did when at the same age! These are astonishing facts, and they show that the Presbyterian Board is doing a great work, and is destined to do a greater. God bless it and its friends. -[New York Ob |