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moved him; so he was shot there where he had dragged himself after saving me. I heard the gun,' added the boy, his eyes flashing with feverish excitement, 'I heard it, sir, though I would have run miles and miles away, if I could; and then I knew my faithful dog was dead; and he had died for me-for me who had struck him, and had wished to hurt him!'

“The poor child could restrain himself no longer; and it was fearful to see the burst of agony that followed. His unhappy mother, seeing her boy was in tender hands, could not bear the sight; and, nearly as afflicted as her child, she left the room, unable to be a witness of his sufferings.

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"When the first ebullition of remorse was over, Mr. Palmer tried to soothe the wounded conscience of the boy, and he was divinely directed to make use of this incident for the eternal welfare of the little one. My boy,' he said, 'you tell me your dog loved you, even whilst you ill used him. What a glorious thing is love; how it beautifies, how it ennobles the mind even of a brute beast! Is there, can there be, any thing equal to love. Ah! my dear Edwin, how thankful ought you to be to that good God, who gave the instinct to your lamented Fido to save your life. Fido loved you dearly; but how much more must God have loved you, that he should have given a brute beast love for you too! God is love, my child: the creatures he has made, as they approach more or less to His likeness, or betray the wonderful hand that created them, partake of this blessing of love. What should we do without it?-man could not exist. The infant without the mother's love must die. The feeble woman, without the love of brother or husband, would soon be destroyed. Old age must perish without youthful support: the strong arm would lay all low before it; and, without that beautiful affection which your beloved dog died to demonstrate, the earth would be one wide desert. This love then, my child, this all-subduing, all-conquering love, is shewn from the least to the greatest; now evinced in the brute to its own progeny, and shining as one may say, with a selfish and worldly light, but occasionally blazing forth with a brilliancy and glory that only our Almighty Father could create.'

"And now, my dear boy, grieve not over the love, the faithful, and unextinguishable love, of your dog, whilst life was granted it ;

but trace up this glorious principle to Him alone from whom it issues. Inasmuch as your conduct yesterday was unkind, so far was it unlike and displeasing to the Holy Father who has created you. You have then grieved his Holy Spirit, you have despised the blessings and instructions he has bestowed upon you, and your ingratitude is greater to your Heavenly Father, than it has been to your beloved Fido. For what had he done for you, that God has not done, a thousand or ten thousand fold ?'

“But it would take up too much of your time, were I to tell you all that Mr. Palmer said to little Edwin; or how the dear child's mind seemed ready to take in with avidity the blessed instructions given to him. I shall therefore only add that the work of grace was a rapid one, as the tender boy, probably owing to the severe shock he had received, never again recovered his health, and before another summer arrived, he was laid beside his father in the churchyard adjoining his parks and pleasure grounds. His last words to Mr. Palmer were-“Oh, love is indeed beautiful, very beautiful; the love of a mere brute creature given to him by God, has been the means of leading me to think of my Saviour-my kind, beloved Saviour, and His love, stronger than death itself; and the good Spirit of God has answered the prayer he had himself prompted—that I might win Christ and be found in Him? When I felt my poor Fido grasp me in the water, I felt safe at once; now my Saviour has hold of me, and I am safe and happy, for His grasp is indeed the grasp of love!”

"As soon as the narrator had finished this affecting history, Paternus, who, during its recital, had sunk back in his arm chair, and with clasped hands and closed eyes, listened in a kind of placid reverie, intimated his desire of saying a few wordsin reference to it. Had he been less respected than he was by that assembly, there would have been no need to command silence, for the entire company sat motionless, and apparently breathless, communing with their own hearts on this new evidence that God, as in the days of old, still condescended to perfect praise out of the mouths of babes and sucklings. In this instance he had indeed ordained such strength out of the feebleness of childhood, as to still the whisperings of the Avenger in every conscience present. The silence said emphatically—‘This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.'

"How beautifully simple,' said the father of our party, 'is the gospel of the grace of God—to know that we are apprehended of Christ Jesus! Man has sought much to lay his trammels on the scheme of salvation, and to neutralise that all-embracing injunction, Only believe!' How far does the practical, personal, application of an incident like that just recited, transcend in value and importance, the most learned and scrutinizing enquiry into the nature and properties of abstract faith. To feel that we are loved and agonized for by One whose displeasure we have causelessly provoked, is more than to hear the most subtile disquisition on the length and breadth, the height and depth, of that love and its endurance unto death.""

“I have often thought,' said another of the company, 'in these days, when so much is said about authorized teachers, and a duly qualified ministry, that the words of Peter, when writing to his brother elders in the church, have a most emphatic meaning. He rests his claims to be heard, mainly, on the fact, that he was 'a witness to the sufferings of Christ,'-not that he was one specially honored by his parting injunctions, and a marked preeminence in the affairs of His Church.'

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And holy Paul,' resumed Paternus, speaks of the fellowship of his dear Master's sufferings, and conformity to his death, as evidences that we know, or rather are known of him. A heartfelt consciousness that he has died from love to us, leads us to look to him, till our faces are lightened in the reflection of our Heavenly Father's smile.'

"The Father's smile '-remarked one who had hitherto remained silent--the Father's smile has been found in my limited experience, to be more potent than the terrors of the Lord, in bringing souls to Christ. I have by me a short narrative on the subject, which, with permission of the company, I will now bring before you.'

"Just as our attention had been fixed upon the speaker, it was suddenly drawn off again by a loud crash outside the house, not unlike the rapid discharge of musketry, followed by a dull, heavy sound, and a shower, as of hail stones, on the windows. Our kind host was at no loss to divine the cause: one of the stateliest of the stately elms in the rear of the parsonage, lay prostrate on the uptorn sward. It had braved the storms of

nearly a hundred winters and had at length fallen, when all was still around it. For the tempest that had raged so furiously during the early part of the evening, had long since subsided, and when it lulled, a soft, warm rain had fallen, the wind having veered round just before it fell calm.

"Our little party adjourned for a few minutes to the scene of . devastation; the mildness of the air as we emerged through the back entry, calling for general remark: the clouds too had blown over, and the moon shone mildly on the scene before us.

"How are thy garments warm, when He quieteth the earth with his south wind!' ejaculated Paternus,-' what a contrast to the bleak and riotous afternoon ! I have often thought when a sudden change like this in the arrangements of God's Providence fills the heart to overflowing, how striking is the analogy to those movements of His grace which lead us to exclaim, his anger is turned away, and he comforteth us.''

“ ́And here,' said the former speaker, 'is an illustration of the principle I have just advanced about the Father's smile That prostrate tree had long braved all the fury of the storm-the terror of the great and strong wind; and yet it has fallen beneath the soft, still droppings of the rain, distilling almost with the gentleness of dew upon its roots. So will you find it oftentimes when our Heavenly Father's smile rests where before his frown alone had fallen.'

"To our fireside comforts again,' said the venerable Paternus, 'that we may hear something more about the Father's smile.'" M. M. S.

(To be continued.)

ARRANGEMENT.

A new year has lately been put into our hands. Shall we use and improve, or shall we waste and mar it? In looking back on the last year, how much cause have we for contrition and humiliation in looking forward on the present year, how anxious should we feel, that it may be adorned by the beauty of holiness; that we may move on in a quiet and Christian spirit, under the guidance and assistance of Divine grace.

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Now, while real principle can alone form a proper main-spring for our actions, there must also be some regulator, ere they can

lead to any useful result. That regulator is Arrangement; and we must set it afresh, at the commencement of every year, month, week, and day. Otherwise, confusion will ensue; our employments will clash; and with much labor, little will be done. Loss of temper, and impatience at every interruption, will arise; and after a season of profitless bustle, time will depart with a scowl, and dissatisfaction rest upon the retrospect. Such is the consequence with persons of an active spirit. The children of indolence on the contrary, will dream away their lives, spin out some trifling employment, or remain absolutely idle, ere they pass on to another; and at the close of the day, remember many things that should have been done, and wonder they were never thought of.

In the present paper, my young friends, I will endeavor to suggest some way, in which arrangement may tell upon our usefulness and happiness.

We will pre-suppose that most important arrangement already made, by which we acknowledge our heavenly Father as our supreme Lord, the light of our understanding, the ruler of our will, the centre of our affections; that change wrought, by which salvation becomes our first and chief desire; while having sought and found it, through the atoning sacrifice and justifying righteousness of our blessed Redeemer, we exclaim with grateful love,

"Be this in all my varied ways,

In all events my only care,

How I may best shew forth thy praise,

How best adorn the name I bear."

If then we have experienced this preliminary work, and thus far been led to see things in their right order, let us enquire what further arrangements we can make, for our present and lasting benefit.

Arrange fairly between soul and body. Place the former at the head, the latter in subjection. For want of this, how many live in one continual struggle, commencing daily with their waking moments. The language of the soul would be,

Once more I bless the rising hour,

Again with awe rejoice to be;

While consciousness resumes its power,

And springs, my guardian God! to thee.

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