My soul obeys the sacred word,

And casts her care upon the Lord.

What though affliction's shades surround,
My path, yet God is wise and just;
And oft my fainting soul has found
The promise true, in which I trust:
Shall I then doubt His Sacred word?
No, let me humbly trust the Lord.
"Tis in the hour of deep distress,
That we religion's comfort prove;
The chastening hand we feel and bless
Of God, that scourges us in love:
Though nature sinks beneath the rod,
Yet faith reposes still in God.*

-MRS. C. RICHARDSON.

Moments there are in life-alas, how few!
When casting cold prudential doubts aside,
We take a generous impulse for our guide,
And following promptly what the heart thinks best,
Commit to Providence the rest;

Sure that no after-reckoning will arise,

Of shame or sorrow, for the heart is wise.
And happy they who thus in faith obey
Their better nature: err sometimes they may,
And some sad thoughts lie heavy in the breast,
Such as by hope deceived are left behind;
But like a shadow these will pass away
From the pure sunshine of the peaceful mind.
-SOUTHEY.

• Fron Practic il Sermons, by Rev. Dr. Carpenter.

A great fortune is not necessary for the attainment of faith, hope, or charity; and he that is endowed with these cannot be miserable; you may learn the whole system of divine and important truths; you may acquit yourself with all the beauty and enjoyments of virtue at a very cheap rate; and you may learn temperance, fortitude, justice, modesty, constancy, patience, contempt of the world, without the assistance of much more wealth than will serve to feed and clothe you. And canst thou not be content with these possessions? Is not this a sort of merchandize to be preferred before that of fine gold? -RICHARD LUCAS.

Once shatter inborn Truth divine,
The soul's transparent mirror,

Where Heaven's reflection loved to shine,
And what remains but terror?

Terror and woe ;-Faith's holy face
No more our heart's relieving-
Fades from the past each early grace
The future brings but grieving;
However fast life's blessings fall
In lavish sunshine o'er us,

That Broken Glass distorts them all,

Whose fragments glare before us.

-B. SIMMONS.

it

The mind which hath not faith, is fickle and unsettled, because, not being fixed by any certainty, changeth from one thing to another.*

From the Works of H. H. Wilson.

—DÂDU.

Fear and lack of faith go hand in hand. The one is born of the other. Tell me how much one is given to fear, and I will tell you how much he lacks in faith. -RALPH WALDO TRINE.

'Tis not enough of faith to talk;

A man of God with God must walk.

If faith produce no works, I see,
That faith is not a living tree.
Thus faith and works together grow;
No separate life they e'er can know:
They're soul and body, hand and heart;
What God hath joined, let no man part.

Sing the
song with earnestness, making pure the heart;
If you would attain God, then this is an easy way.
Make your heart lowly, touch the feet of saints,
Of others do not hear the good or bad qualities, nor
think of them,

Takâ says "Be it much or little, do good to others."*

ZARAAS

From Sir A. Grant's Translation in Fortnightly Review, (1867)

51. FAMILY.

PARENTS.

Every parent is like a looking-glass for his children to dress themselves by. Therefore parents should take care to keep the glass bright and clear, and not dull and spotted, as their good example is a rich inheritance for the rising generation.

Besides setting them a good example, parents should teach their children what is right. They should tell them that God sees them always, that He hears every word they say, that He knows every thought that passes through their mind.*

To fix a good or evil course,
Example is of potent force;

And they, who wish the young to teach,
Must even practise what they preach.

Parents should very carefully guard against that weak partiality towards their children which renders them blind to their failings and imperfections, as no disposition is more likely to prove prejudicial to their future welfare.†

Lay not a sin upon the child, but upon its parents.

From Pictures of Women in Many Lands, Madras. † From Bewick's Select Fables.

Few parents like to be told of the faults of a child. The reason is obvious. All faults are hereditary or educational, and in either case to point a finger at the child is indirectly to reprove the parent.

Be careful to discountenance in children anything that looks like rage and furious anger.

-TILLOTSON.

Parents should

1 Restrain their children from vice.

2 Train them in virtue.

3 Have them taught arts or sciences.

4 Provide them with suitable wives or husbands. Give them their inheritance.*

-GAUTAMA.

A father and a mother in managing and training their children should have "a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether;" there should be no divided authority; for if there be, discipline cannot be enforced, good rules cannot be observed, and good results, therefore, are not likely to follow.

*

Unanimity between father and mother in the bringing up of their children is essentially necessary, or evil results will assuredly follow.

-CHAVASSE.

DUTY OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN.

FIRST There is the care of nourishing and sustaining it; which begins from the very birth, and con

From David's Buddhism.