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city, Sodom would have been spared; indeed it could hardly have been Sodom: but among ten, every unit is important.

The kingdom of heaven we know, is as a grain of mustard seed; and whatever belongs to that kingdom, is in like manner fruitful.

GUESSES AT TRUTH.

ON THE FUTURE BLESSEDNESS OF

CHILDREN.

YEA, in the rapture of that hour, though songs
Of cherubim, to golden lyres and trumpets,
And the redeemed upon the sea of glass,
With voices like the sound of many waters,
Came on mine ear, whose secret cells were open'd
To entertain celestial harmonies;

The small sweet accents of those little children,
Pouring out all the gladness of their souls

In love, joy, gratitude, and praise to Him,

Him, who had loved and washed them in his blood,

These were to me, the most transporting strains,
Amidst the hallelujahs of all heaven.

Though lost awhile in that amazing chorus,
Around the throne ;-at happy intervals,
The shrill hosannahs of the infant choir,

Singing in that eternal temple, brought

Tears to mine eye, which seraphs had been glad
To weep, could they have felt the sympathy
That melted all my soul, when I beheld
How condescending Deity, thus deigned
Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings here,
To perfect his high praise :—the harp of Heav'n
Had lacked its least, but not its meanest string,
Had children not been taught to play upon it.
MONTGOMERY.

ON THE PLEASURE ARISING FROM THE SOCIETY OF CHILDREN.

No man can tell, but he that loves his children, how many delicious accents make a man's heart dance in the pretty conversation of those dear pledges; their childishness, their stammering, their little angers, their innocence, their imperfections, their necessities, are so many emanations of joy and comfort to him that delights in their persons and society. JEREMY TAYLOR.

ON OBTAINING A HOLD ON THE
CONSCIENCES OF CHILDREN.

It is of incalculable importance to obtain a hold on the conscience. Children have a conscience, and it is not seared though it is evil. Bringing the eternal world into their view, planning and acting with that world before us, this gains at length such a hold on them, that with all the infidel poison which they may afterwards imbibe, there are few children who at night in their chamber, in the dark, in a storm of thunder, will not feel. They cannot cheat like men. They recollect that eternity which stands in their way. It rises up before them like the ghost of Banquo to Macbeth. It goads them, it thunders in their After all, they are obliged to compound the matter with conscience, if they cannot be prevailed on to return to God without delay. 'I must be religious one time or other, that is clear;

ears.

I cannot get rid of this thing.

Well! I will begin

at such a time. I will finish such a scheme-and

then-'

CECIL.

ON THE GRADUAL ADVANCE OF
KNOWLEDGE.

THE progress of knowledge is slow, like the march of the sun. We cannot see him moving; but after a time we may perceive that he has moved onward. GUESSES AT TRUTH.

ON THE POWERS OF PARENTAL
INFLUENCE.

I FIND in myself an evidence of the greatness of parental influence. I detect myself to this day in laying down maxims in my family, which I took up at three or four years of age, before I could possibly know the reason of the thing.

CECIL.

ON A MOTHER'S FITNESS FOR HER

DUTIES.

A MOTHER, to be truly respectable in the eyes of her children, must not only be to them as a tender protector, a perpetual solace, and a source of every joy, but as a guide and oracle; one to whom they are to apply in every perplexity; from whom they are, at all times, certain of receiving light.

The mother who is capable of fulfilling the former part of the parental character only, will soon find that not all the tenderness and affection she can shew will procure for her that filial respect and veneration, which is the precious reward of maternal sufferings and anxieties. To be truly respectable in the eyes of her offspring, a mother must be capable of instructing them.

But is it by the common mode of boardingschool education that she is to attain this capability? Alas! no. She may have been the glory of the school, have learned to play and sing and dance to admiration; and at the same time have had her judgment so little exercised, as to be incapable of giving her children that degree of information which the mother, who would be

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