them all down together, and reduce them to a heap, and begin a new work with the old materials. And so it is with our sinful bodies-they must be dissolved in death, and we must trust to the divine promises for their restoration in a more glorious form than that in which they were in this state of frailty and sin.

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But," continued our grandmother, "I have been talking a long time, and have not much more to add; for I remember little more of that night, only that I was not in bed much before six o'clock, and that we left the castle the next morning. And soon after this my lady went abroad and travelled some years in foreign parts, where I had the advantage of seeing many things; and when I returned to this neighbourhood I married, but was left a widow very soon, with one little son, your father, and then my good lady settled me in a small house in Dudley, where I maintained myself by a small school, and so reared your father, and put him in a way of maintaining himself; and a dutiful son he has been. And it was when I was settled in Dudley that the accident happened which I shall tell you of.

"It seems that the ball to which I attended my lady at the castle was one of the last which ever was given in that place: the old servants who had always resided there dropped off one by one; what was of any value in the way of moveables was carried away, and the place was abandoned, which I always thought was a thing to be lamented; and then it seems that certain coiners took possession of the dungeons and vaults under the castle, of which there are many, and there carried on their wicked trade of making base money. But this was not suspected, and no one knew any thing of it, till by some chance they set the old building on fire, and we in the town were suddenly alarmed by seeing the flames bursting forth from the windows, and forming wreaths of smoke around the time-honoured towers.

"It was a glorious sight, such as I shall never forget; but it made my heart bleed, for I loved the very stones of the castle; and the whole summit of the hill seemed a mass of fire, while the crackling of the flames, the falling of stones and burning beams, the crash of disparting towers, and the thick volumes of smoke pouring through every arrow-slit or aperture of the wall, rendered it impossible to use any means to stop the fire. At length, but it was not till after many hours, the fire

smouldered away, and left the building as it now appears, a huge disfigured ruin, blackened with smoke, and, as it were, the grim and ghastly spectre of what it so lately was. The rains, and damp and purifying winds, have since, in some degree, restored the colour of the stone; and ivy and other creepers, with wallflowers and sassafras, have also added their wild coverings to conceal some of the ravages of the fire; but yet it may be said of it that its glory is departed, and whereas formerly it was the chief seat of the rulers of the land, it is now but the habitation of birds of the night, and the harbour of unclean reptiles.'

"And when were those words first seen, grandmamma," I said-'Water goes round it to guard it from the fire, but fire shall burn it?"

"They were seen after the conflagration," she answered; "but who engraved them, and when they were engraved, no one can tell."

Our grandmother then drawing us to her, one after another, kissed us, and said, "My little ones, I may never again be spared to visit this place with you; but may God grant that what I have taught you in this place may sink deep into your hearts, and into yours especially, Jane, in which I have seen, even this day, more pride and ambition, envy and discontent, than ought to be in a child who has been brought up as you have been. Let the perishing nature of all earthly things be ever present with you; may the Almighty give you grace to seize hold of that anchor of faith by which alone you can be preserved, when the world, like this once magnificent castle, is reduced to ashes; for, as St. Peter tells us, 'The heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men."" Our dear grandmother then repeated to us the following hymn, to commit to memory in recollection of that happy day :—

Jesus, thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.

When from the dust of death I rise
To take my mansion in the skies,
E'en then shall this be all my plea,
"Jesus hath lived and died for me.'

"

Bold shall I stand in that great day;
For who aught to my charge shall lay?
Fully through thee absolved I am
From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.

Thus Abraham, the friend of God,
Thus all the armies bought with blood,
Saviour of sinners thee proclaim,
Sinners of whom the chief I am.

This spotless robe the same appears
When ruined nature sinks in years;
No age can change its glorious hue,
The robe of Christ is ever new.

And when the dead shall hear thy voice,
Thy banished children shall rejoice;
Their beauty this, their glorious dress,
Jesus the Lord our righteousness.

THE HAPPY GRANDMOTHER.

DAME TRUEMAN lived in a very pleasant little village in England. The cottage which she hired of her richer neighbour was small and humble; she had four orphan grandchildren to support; and she was obliged to labour hard for her daily bread. Yet Dame Trueman was a very happy woman. From her earliest childhood she had always been in the habit of preferring the comfort of others to her own; and as she grew older, it was her chief desire to be useful, and to do good in the world. When her neighbours complained of the hardships of the poor, Dame Trueman replied, "The poor man may enjoy the sight of the blue sky, and glittering stars, and the green fields, as well as the rich; the primrose springs up in the path of the cottager, and the wild thyme gives its fragrance to him as freely as to the king. The great pictures up at the hall are pretty things to look at; but to my mind the works of God have a more marvellous beauty; and they belong to us all."

When her friends condoled with her because she had lost her darling daughter, she smiled meekly through her tears, and said, "Blessed be God! her four little orphans are left to cheer my old age and truly it is wonderful what a comfort there is in little children." And when they asked her how she would get bread for so many mouths, she looked upward reverently and answered, God will provide. Little Meg can already earn a trifle by spinning; and John gets a penny now and then for doing errands; and James tends the squire's sheep. As for William, he is greatly given to book-learning. If he had the wherewith, like some of the gentry's sons, he would do something out of the common way. But then if he had the wherewith perhaps he might not have the will. The will is a mighty worker-if mountains are in its way, it will cut right through with tools of its own making. I sometimes wish I could do better for William; but this is foolish. The Lord will show him his work, and prepare the way."

Some of the neighbours said it would not be remark

able if William did turn out a great scholar, for both his mother and grandmother knew more than people in general. But it was something better than mere human knowledge which made them reverence that simplehearted old lady, and call her very wise. It was her quiet, affectionate trust in Divine Providence. She believed in Him who clothes the lilies of the field, and therefore her soul dwelt in peace, and her words were cheerful.

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The old lady one day stood gazing from her cottage on the beautiful landscape, the village church, the quiet stream, and the sheep and lambs nibbling the sweet grass. As she stood musing thus she heard a merry whistle, and looking up, she saw a young man come hurrying through the fields. In another moment the stranger was in her arms-her youngest, her only son! Why, William," exclaimed the delighted mother,"the blessing of God be upon you! Why didn't you send word you were coming?"-"Ah, it is a long way to send messages from New-Holland, mother; and so I thought I would bring them myself. And are you all well?"" All well," answered the old lady; "but one that you left with me is gone to heaven!" The young man looked towards the churchyard where his sister was buried, and brushed away a tear as he stooped to kiss her orphan children. "The little ones are a great comfort to me-a great comfort," said Dame Trueman. "And how do you manage to keep them so decent, mother?" inquired the young man; "It is a great load for you in your old age.' The good woman looked lovingly on the orphans as she answered, "I could not do without them, William."

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There was a joyful family at the cottage while William Trueman was among them. The children were never weary of hearing about the cockatoos and the kangaroos, and the parrots and paroquets, of New-Holland. "And is it like England?" asked little Meg. Oh, no-not at all like England; but it is very beautiful, for all that," rejoined her uncle. "You know I do not exactly live in New-Holland, but on an island near it, called Van Dieman's Land. The trees there are all evergreens. The most common tree is called the white gum. It is tall, and has no leaves except at the very top. This makes it look rather gloomy-quite different from our old oaks, with their fine spreading branches.