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refrain from a smile at some of their fancied grievances; but her countenance wore an expression of cheerful gravity when they gave the history of their holidays, and propounded the perplexing question, which was the worst, "Too many leisure hours, or too few ?"

"Certainly, if I must choose between two evils," replied Aunt Susy, “I would prefer to have too little, rather than too much leisure."

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Really, Aunt!" exclaimed Matilda with astonishment, "why I often think how many plans of usefulness I should devise, and what intellectual thoughts I might have, if I had but more leisure."

"That is a very common opinion, my dear Matilda; but accurate observers have truly remarked, that the wise thinking in the world's history has come much more from its good workers than from its refined idlers."

"Well," interposed George, "I have not studied the subject much; but when reading the lives of celebrated thinkers, I have often marvelled to find how busily employed they had been all their lives, while one is apt to imagine a sage philosopher sitting in his easy chair all day long meditating."

"The easy-chair meditations possibly would be rather of a drowsy order. You know Dr. Johnson averred he never occupied the inspiring looking arm-chair in his study."

"There, George, exclaimed Arthur, laughing, "that will reconcile you to the bare walls and rush chairs of the quiet sanctum Mamma has promised us. But, Aunt Susy," he continued more gravely, you have not told us why you would eschew too much leisure."

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"Because, Arthur, my responsibilities would be so much greater. It is not very easy to employ leisure time profitably. Unless the mind be girded up to positive duty, it is apt to grow listless and dilatory, till many precious hours are imperceptibly frittered away."

"But to have no leisure for amusement or recreation, Aunt, would be quite overpowering," said Matilda.

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True, my dear. I am not arguing in favor of no leisure ; for those busy mortals who, in their great anxiety to attain some favorite object, have allowed themselves no interval, have

found human strength inadequate-the over-strained bow has snapped assunder, and life or reason fled under the unnatural tension."

"How very sad."

"On the other hand, those who are burdened with too large a share of leisure are prone to spend it upon frivolous pursuits, or to mistake their mental lassitude for physical disease, nursing themselves as invalids, whereas it was the mind that required a regimen under which their hypochondria would speedily disappear. Nor must we forget the repulsive crew ever ready to steal in among a leisure group. You, yourselves, have confessed sundry jealousies and envyings which do not trouble you when you are too busy to remark every addition to your friends' attire, or to count how many bows and greetings you may legally claim from your acquaintance on the promenade. Miss Jane Taylor's 'Troublesome friend' acknowledged that most of her disagreeable failings originated in her nnfortunate possession of too much leisure."

These remarks seemed rather novel to the youthful audience-for they all remained silent awhile, as if pondering the subject. At length George rose, and with a bow of arch deference to his Aunt, remarked

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May it please your Majesty and the honorable house in committee now assembled the last speaker has set forth very ably the evils of the two extremes-too much, and too little leisure, and being herself, as we are all well aware, a notable example of diligence and activity; I move that she be further requested to explain that happy medium which she has obviously discovered."

"I rise to second the motion of my honorable brother," added Arthur, amid a burst of merriment from the young party.

Aunt Susy, though she joined heartily in the mirth of her companions, was too good a politician to let slip so favorable an opportunity of instructing them, and therefore resumed her discourse-or 66 speech," as George whispers, is the most appropriate appellation.

"Feminine modesty ought to disclaim the compliments paid by any member of this honorable house, but it being convenient

to address a few words to you, we will avail ourselves of the reverence due to hoary hairs, and to the best of our ability respond to the motion which has just been proposed and seconded. The happy medium, is, I think, best indicated by the Scripture declaration, 'there is a time for every purpose under the sun.' Leisure hours are therefore too few when a man cannot spare time for the worship of his Creator and Redeemer, or for preparation for eternity, and the discharge of the duties of his station; and leisure hours are too many whenever he finds time hang heavily on his hands—

'You may always find something or other to do,
If not for yourself, for a neighbour.'

Solomon justly affirms that a slothful man is brother to him that is a great waster? So it behoves all who know they must render an account of the use or abuse of so important a gift, to take heed how they spend that leisure which is entrusted to their own control."

"That is very true Aunt Susy," exclaimed the whole group, "but if you will only please to direct us, we will gladly obey your orders.”

"Nay, my life will probably close long before yours, my dear nephews and nieces, and therefore supposing I were competent to so onerous a task, it would be far better for you each to learn your own part, and happily, our Heavenly Father, as if in compassion to our ignorance and weakness, does not ordinarily leave us much leisure. The varied social and domestic relations of life involve an ample measure of duties which must be performed. Its sorrows also claim some time!"

"Ah, yes!" interposed George, "and how often we invade your sanctum, Aunt Susy, with our woeful tales; I really have pitied you, when I have been dinning you for an hour, to meet another of your hopeful nephew's faces on the way, with as rueful a countenance as my own. I wonder your fortitude does not break down, but perhaps you think our troubles very slight!"

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'They are serious enough sometimes, my boy, you know, and I am glad to have sufficient leisure to give you the relief of

pouring out your griefs, and to carry them for you to Him who invites you to rest all your care upon Him.”

"I hope I am learning to do that a little for myself, Aunt," whispered Laura, "and it is such a comfort, I only wish I had leisure to do a little in God's name."

Aunt Susy turned a glistening eye upon her dear girl, while she rose from her mossy throne, concluding, as advice to them all-"Learn to make a good use of your present fragments of leisure time, if you would seek to be entrusted with the responsibility of more." E. W. P.

A CHAPTER ON INDEXES.

IF the PREFACE of a book be in danger of being unread, its INDEX is perhaps as much so, of not being consulted.

It is by no means amiss to glance at the Index of a work before reading the work itself, especially when it is arranged like the Table of Contents prefixed to D'Aubigné's "History of the Reformation," or that to "Waddington's History of the Church." The advantage is, that to a certain extent, it advises you of the ground you have to go over, and you enter upon the perusal of the book with a feeling like that of partial acquaintance with an individual. If present impressions are favorable, you desire a more thorough and intimate knowledge of him, and seek to form an enduring and hallowed friendship. And what friendship is more endearing or enduring, than that which we form in spirit with the good, the gifted, and the great of every age and nation through the medium of their works! We hold delightful converse with them, and have a transcript of their noble intellect and liberal hearts in the writings they have left. How blessed is the friendship formed in early youth with Moses, David, Isaiah, Paul, John, and the other inspired penmen, or with the bright succession of sanctified genius which has continued to adorn our world! It is pleasant to listen to a Milton, when he seems almost to wake afresh the lyre of David; or those philosophers who have shown us the mysteries of God's world; or the divines-a Baxter, a Bates, a Howe-as they

tell of divine and eternal truth; and a goodly galaxy in every other walk of literature! How calculated is such friendship to raise, instruct, and bless!

But I was to speak of Indexes. When the contents of a book are placed at the end, alphabetically, the index is chiefly useful to consult when the book is used for reference, and serves if well executed, to show at a glance, how often a particular topic is touched on. To those who study books this is a great saving of time and labor. If our profit rather than our pleasure were consulted, we should read fewer books, but read those few books more. When Bunyan was shut up in Bedford gaol, he had but two books, while he composed his wonderful Allegory. One of his books was the Bible, the other was Fox's Book of Martyrs. What became of his Bible I do not know, but I have seen his Book of Martyrs, which has his name written in it by his own hand, and is preserved with becoming care. His townsmen have long since demolished his prison, but they preserve his Book of Martyrs, and the memory of his sufferings.

There is an old saying of a celebrated man-"I fear the man of one book!" (Timeo hominem unius libri.) And Quintilian says, "the mind is to be trained by much reading, rather than by that of many books." Pliny quotes, as a proverb, the saying, "that we should read much, not many things?" Seneca says, "a multitude of books distracts the mind," and insists that "the number of a person's books is of little consequence compared with their character." To these sentiments many Christian writers have subscribed. And they who possess the desire to thoroughly understand the books they read, will feel their truth, and will reperuse good works, and consult them still more frequently.

To some books, an Index would be superfluous, because it would never be consulted. As a rule, however, the book which is not worth an Index, is not worth reading, unless it be alphabetical, and so an index to itself.

During the first two hundred years after printing was invented, the preparation of Indexes was a matter of much importance, as the making of catalogues to museums and great libraries is in our day. Some of the indexes to the Bible are

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