ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

"No," said I, "I shall take nothing."

After some talk, we parted; but in a few days I met him on the road, and we fell into conversation in the most friendly manner. But when I started on, he seemed loath to move, and paused. For a moment both of us were silent. At last he said,

"I have something labouring on my mind."

"Well, what is it ?"

"Those geese. I killed three of your geese, and I shall never rest until you know how I feel. I am very sorry." And the tears came into his eyes.

"O, well," said I, "never mind; I suppose my geese were provoking."

I never took anything of him for it; but when my cattle broke into his fields after this, he seemed glad, because he could show how patient he could be.

"Now," said I to my children, “conquer yourselves, and you can conquer with kindness where you can conquer in no other way."

BITING THE BARE HOOK.-I was some time since walking upon the wharf where a fishing-boat lay, and as I was passing and repassing, the master was uttering tremendous oaths. At length, I turned to him, and standing beside his boat, said:-" Sir, I am not acquainted with your business. What kind of fish are these ?""They are codfish," replied he.-"How long are you usually out in order to obtain your load ?"-"Two or three weeks," he answered." At what price do you sell them ?"-He informed me.— "Well, have you not had hard work to obtain a living in this way ?"-"Yes, hard work," said he.-"With what do you bait these fish ?". "With clams."- 'Did you ever catch mackerel ?" "Yes.""And I suppose you bait them with clams too ?"— “Oh, no,” said he, "they will not bite at clams.""Then you must have different kinds of bait for different sorts of fish ?""Yes."-" Well, now did you ever catch a fish without bait ?”. "Yes," said he, "I was out last year, and one day when I was a fixin' my line, the bare hook fell into the water, and the fool took hold of it, and I drew him in."-"Now, sir," said I, "I have often thought that satan was very much like a fisherman. He always baits his hook with that kind of bait which different sorts of sinners like best, but when he would catch a profane swearer, he does not take the trouble to put on bait at all, for the fool will always bite at the bare hook." He was silent. His countenance was solemn ; and after a pause, as I turned to go away, I heard him say to one standing by him-"I guess that's a minister."

ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

TRANSFORMING POWER OF THE GOSPEL.-Here is an instance. The facts were related at a missionary meeting in the United States. The scene was one of the cannibal islands of the South Pacific Ocean. The speaker said:-"A few years before, he had formed one of a boat's crew, which had belonged to a vessel which was wrecked on those very shores. Another boat's crew, belonging to the same vessel, having landed on the island, had been killed and devoured by the natives. Their comrades in the other boat kept out to sea when they saw the fate of their companions, and were afterwards picked up by another vessel, and saved. It happened, in the wonderful providence of God, that one of the boat's crew which was saved was wrecked again on the same island some years after the above event. Consternation and extreme dread seized the survivors from that wreck, when they learned from their companion where they were, and what had once befallen his shipmates on those shores. Escape was, however, now impossible, and their only resource appeared to be to hide themselves in the thick woods until an opportunity might offer to escape. Being sorely pressed however, by hunger, they determined to advance a little into the interior in the hope of obtaining food. They were passing through a forest, where the crackling of every branch, and the rustling of the birds, led them to suppose an enemy was at hand at every step, and that their lives would soon be sacrificed. They were toiling up a steep ascent in the hope that, when they reached the summit, they would be able to see some distance both over the island and to seaward. One sailor was ahead of the rest, and having emerged from the forest, and reached the crowning point of the hill, he was anxiously looking round to see if there was any prospect of deliverance. Suddenly his companions, who were just behind him, were startled by seeing him leap for joy, and crying out, with clasped hands, “Safe! safe! safe!" He had, indeed, seen a sight well calculated to cheer and comfort their hearts. Immediately under where he stood, was seen the little village church, surrounded by the comfortable abodes of the people. The missionary had visited those shores and God had blessed his labours. The people had become christians, and of course their former savage and cannibal practices had been given up; so that there was now no cause for fear lest they should be killed and eaten by the natives. The sailor at once saw all this implied in the little church, and the fears of the whole party straightway vanished. It is scarcely necessary to add, that every attention was paid by the christian islanders to the poor shipwrecked crew, whose wants were supplied by them, and they eventually left the island in an American ship, in peace and safety. Surely we have here another striking instance of the power of the glorious gospel of the blessed God. Had not the missionary reached that island, and had not God's word been blessed there, how different would, in all probability, have been the fate of those poor sailors.

ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

FORGIVENESS OF INJURIES.-It is well known that the Koran of Mahomet contains many passages copied from the sacred writings. Among others, the Arabian prophet has given a place to those precepts of our adorable Redeemer, which recommend forgiveness of injuries, and overcoming evil with good. One day the Caliph Kassan, son of Kali, being at dinner, a slave unfortunately let fall a dish of meat reeking hot, which scalded him severely. The slave fell on his knees, exclaiming, in the language of the Koran, "Paradise is for those who restrain their anger." "I am not angry with thee," replied the Caliph. "And for those who forgive offences against them," continued the slave. "I forgive thee thine," responded the Caliph. "But above all those who return good for evil," added the slave. "I set thee at liberty," rejoined the Caliph, "and I give thee ten dinars." Will not this Mahometan rise up in judgment and condemn many who call themselves the followers of the merciful Jesus, but live under the power of a merciless and unforgiving temper ?

MAXIMS OF BISHOP MIDDLETON.-Persevere against discouragements. Keep your temper. Employ leisure in study, and always have some work in hand. Be punctual and methodical in business, and never procrastinate. Never be in a hurry. Preservė self-possession, and do not be talked out of a conviction. Rise early, and be an economist of time. Maintain dignity, without the appearance of pride; manner is something with everybody, and everything with some. Be guarded in discourse, attentive, and slow to speak. Never acquiesce in immoral or pernicious opinions. Be not forward to assign reasons to those who have no right to ask. Think nothing in conduct unimportant and indifferent. Rather set than follow examples. Practise strict temperance; and, in all your transactions, remember the final account.

THE WORD "Irs."—Attention once called to the matter, one is surprised to discover of how late introduction the word "its" proves to be into the language. Through the whole of our authorised version of the Bible "its" does not once occur; the work which it now performs being accomplished, as our rustics would now accomplish it, by "his" or "her" applied as freely to inanimate things as to persons, or else by "thereof" or "of it." "Its" occurs, I believe, only three times in all Shakspeare, and I doubt whether Milton has once admitted it into "Paradise Lost," although, when that was composed, others freely allowed it. R. C. Trench.

RELIGIOUS NOVELS.-John Foster says, "I have often maintained that fiction may be much more instructive and history. I think so still; but viewing the vast rout of novels as they are, I do think they do incalculable mischief. I wish we could collect them all together and make one vast fire of them; I should exult to see the smoke of them ascend like that of Sodom and Gomorrah; the judgment would be as just." What would Foster have said if he had been living now?

ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

FIDELITY.-Never forsake a friend when enemies gather thick around him-when sickness falls heavy upon him-when the world is dark and cheerless; this is the time to try friendship. They who turn from distress to offer reasons why they should be excused from extending their sympathy and aid, betray their hypocrisy, and prove that selfish motives only prompt and move them. If you have a friend who loves you, who has studied your interests and happiness, defended you when persecuted and troubled, be sure to sustain him in adversity. Let him feel that his kindness is appreciated, and that his friendship was not bestowed upon you in vain.

WORTH MAKES THE MAN.-Robert Burns, on his way to Leith, one morning, met a country farmer; he shook him earnestly by the hand, and stopped to converse awhile. A young Edinburgh blood took the poet to task for this defect of taste. "Why, you fantastic gomeril," said Burns, "it was not the great coat, the scone bonnet, and the saundaer-boot hose I spoke to, but the man that was in them; and the man, sir, for true worth, would weigh down you and me, and ten more such, any day."

ACT WELL YOUR PART.-An eminent merchant of Boston, Mr W. Gray, when he was somewhat advanced in years, was one day superintending a piece of carpenter's work, and he had occasion to reprimand the man who was performing it for not doing it well. The carpenter indignantly turned upon him, he and Billy having known each other in youth,-and he said, "Billy Gray, Billy Gray, what do you presume to scold me for? You are a rich man, it is true; but didn't I know you when you were nothing but a drummer ?" Well," said Mr. Gray, “didn't I drum well, eh,—didn't I drum well ?”

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CHILDREN. I remember a great man coming to my house at Waltham, and seeing all my children standing in the order of their age and stature, he said, “These are they that make rich men poor," but he straight received this answer,-Nay, my lord; these are they that make the poor man rich, for there is not one of these whom we would part with for all your wealth.-Bishop Hall's Life.

PARADISE LOST.—The whole of the sums received by Milton and his widow for the copyright of "Paradise Lost," amounted to £23; and Mr. Rogers gave £105 (more than four times as much) for the indenture, the piece of paper signed by Milton, containing the contract between the poet and bookseller! This interesting document Mr. Rogers liberally presented to the British Museum.

A POINTED REPLY.-One of the most remarkable replies we remember ever to have heard, is attributed to Mr. Oulton, the barrister. Some one in his hearing used the hackneyed sarcasm, that between the churches of England and Rome there is but a paper wall. "True," said he, "but the whole Bible is printed on it."

THE FIRESIDE.

The Fireside.

ON DOING THINGS AND DOING THEM WELL.

To Mothers of Families.

FEW have more cares and anxieties than you, especially if you are the wives of working-men with a large family of children about you to see after every day and every night. Here is some good advice:"A celebrated modern writer says, 'take care of the minutes, and the hours will take care of themselves.' This is an admirable remark, and might be very seasonably recollected when we begin to be weary from the thought of having too much to do. The present moment is all we have to do with in any sense; the past is irrecoverable; the future is uncertain; nor is it fair to burthen one moment with the weight of the next. Sufficient unto the moment is the trouble thereof. If we had to walk a hundred miles, we should still have to set but one step at a time, and this process continued would infallibly bring us to our journey's end. Fatigue generally begins, and is always increased, by trying to do too much work in too little time. Thus, in looking forward to future life, let us recollect that we have not to sustain all its toil, to endure all its sufferings, or encounter all its crosses at once. One moment comes laden with its own little burthens, then flies, and is succeeded by another; if one could be borne, so could another, and another.

Even in looking forward to a single day, the spirit may sometimes faint from an anticipation of the duties, the labours, the trials to temper and patience that may be expected. Now, this is like laying the burthen of many thousand moments upon one. Let any one resolve always to do right now, leaving then to do as it can. But the common error is to resolve to act right after breakfast, or after dinner, or to-morrow morning, or next time; but now, just now, this once, we must go on the same as ever.

It is easy, for instance, for the most ill-tempered person to resolve, that the next time he is provoked he will not let his temper overcome him; but the victory would be to subdue temper on the present provocation. If, without taking up the burthen of the future, we would always make the single effort at the present moment, there would, at any time, be very little to do, and by this simple process continued, every thing would at last be done.

It seems easier to do right to-morrow than to-day, merely because we forget, that when to-morrow comes, then will be now.

Let us, then, whatever our hands find to do, do it with all our might, recollecting that now is the proper and accepted time, whether it be to keep the house in order, or to seek for the salvation of our souls by Jesus Christ.