5. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, With the precious onyx, or the sapphire. Gold and glass cannot equal it:

Neither shall the exchange thereof be jewels of fine gold.

6. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls,
For the price of wisdom is above rubies.
The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it,
Neither shall it be valued with pure gold.

7. Whence, then, cometh wisdom?

And where is the place of understanding?
Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living,
And kept close from the fowls of the air.

8. Destruction and Death say,

"We have heard a rumor thereof with our ears."

God understandeth the way thereof,

And He knoweth the place thereof.

9. For He looketh to the ends of the earth And seeth under the whole heaven;

To make a weight for the wind;

Yea, He meteth out the waters by measure.

IO. When He made a decree for the rain,

And a way for the lightning of the thunder,

Then did He see it, and declare it;

He established it, yea, and searched it out.

II. And unto man He said,

"Behold, the fear of the Lord-that is wis

dom;

And to depart from evil is understanding."
The Bible (Job xxviii. 12-28).

TUBAL CAIN.

I. OLD Tubal Cain was a man of might
In the days when earth was young;
By the fierce red light of his furnace bright
The strokes of his hammer rung;

And he lifted high his brawny hand

On the iron growing clear,

Till the sparks rushed out in scarlet showers
As he fashioned the sword and spear.
And he sang, "Hurrah for my handiwork!
Hurrah for the spear and sword!
Hurrah for the hand that shall wield them well,
For he shall be king and lord!"

2. To Tubal Cain came many a one,
As he wrought by his glowing fire,

And each one prayed for a strong steel blade
As the crown of his desire.

And he made them weapons sharp and strong,
Till they shouted loud for glee,

And gave him gifts of pearls and gold,
And spoils of the forest free.
And they sang, "Hurrah for Tubal Cain,

Who hath given us strength anew!
Hurrah for the smith! Hurrah for the fire!
Hurrah for the metal true!"

3. But a sudden change came o'er his heart
Ere the setting of the sun;

And Tubal Cain was filled with pain
For the evil he had done.

He saw that men, with rage and hate,
Made war upon their kind;

That the land was red with the blood they shed
In their lust for carnage blind.

And he said, "Alas! that I ever made,
Or that skill of mine should plan,
The spear and sword for men whose joy'
Is to slay their fellow-man!"

4. And for many a day old Tubal Cain
Sat brooding o'er his woe;

And his hand forebore to smite the ore,
And his furnace smouldered low.
But he rose at last with a cheerful face,
And a bright courageous eye,
And bared his strong right arm for work,

While the quick flames mounted high.

And he sang," Hurrah for my handiwork!"
As the red sparks lit the air.

Not alone for the blade was the bright steel
made!

And he fashioned the first plowshare.

5. And men, taught wisdom from the past, In friendship joined their hands;

Hung the sword in the hall, the spear on the
wall,

And plowed their willing lands.
And sung, "Hurrah for Tubal Cain!
Our staunch good friend is he.
And for the plowshare and the plow
To him our praise shall be.
But while oppression rears its head,

Or a tyrant would be lord,

Though we may thank him for the plow,

We'll not forget the sword!"

Charles Mackay.

TWO BROTHERS.

I. ON one of the Danish islands where great trees tower in the beech-woods there lies a little town whose low houses are covered with red tiles. In one of these houses wondrous things were brewed over glowing coals on the open hearth: there was a boiling in glasses, a mixing and dis

tilling, and herbs were cut up and bruised in mortars, and an elderly gentleman attended to all this.

One must only do the right thing," said he; "yes, the right thing; one must learn the truth about every created particle, and keep close to this truth."

2. In the room with the good housewife sat her two sons, still small, but with grown-up thoughts. The mother had always spoken to them of right and justice, and had exhorted them to hold truth fast, declaring that it was as the countenance of the Almighty in this world.

3. The elder of the boys looked roguish and enterprising: it was his delight to read of the forces of nature, of the sun and of the stars; no fairy tale pleased him so much as these. "Oh, how glorious it must be," he thought, "to go out on a voyage of discovery, or to find out how the wings of a bird could be imitated, and then to fly through the air! Yes, to find that out would be the right thing; father was right, and mother was right: truth keeps the world together."

4. The younger brother was quieter, and quite lost himself in books. When he read of Jacob clothing himself in sheepskins to be like Esau and to cheat his brother of his birthright, his little fist would clench in anger against the deceiver; when he read of tyrants, and of all the wickedness and wrong that is in the world, the tears stood in his eyes, and he was quite filled with the thought of