fences. Westward, where wood is almost valueless, the "snake" fence is
used, but in the more cultivated parts the fence is made by fixing two
strong stakes in the ground, so as to cross each other like the letter
X, and nailing them together where they cross. Long poles are then laid
on the crossed stakes, so that the fence can be made to any height which
is most convenient, the poles being seldom nailed, but held in their
place by their own weight.
Now, foxes often run along a fence, or the top of a wall, as far as the
end. Then they go back for some distance on their own track, and leap
off the wall as far as they can, so as to mislead the hounds. Knowing
this trick, Mr. Webber took the hounds all round the fence and the
plantation, but could find no signs of the fox. At last he determined to
hide himself near the place, when the hounds were again set on the fox,
and try to discover the trick. After a while the fox came quite slowly
until he reached the fence. Then he jumped on the top rail, and ran
along it for about two hundred yards, until he came opposite a dead
tree, nearly sixteen feet from the fence. He paused for a moment, and,
with a tremendous jump, leaped upon a tree, alighting on a large knot on
the side of the trunk. Then he ran up the trunk, which was slightly
sloping, and entered a hollow at the top, nearly thirty feet from the
ground, where he lay hid, no one even suspecting that he could leap
from a fence to the tree, much less run up it. This feat was the more
wonderful, because ivy does not grow out of doors in America, so that
there seemed to be no foot-hold. Indeed, had it not been for the knot,
the fox could not have climbed the tree.
[Illustration: THE FOX SEES THE EAR, THE RABBIT SEES THE TAIL.]
Mr. Webber was so pleased with the cleverness of the fox that he would
not betray the trick, but amused himself on many occasions by watching
the fox baffle the hounds.
Sometimes the mother fox chooses a hollow tree, instead of a burrow, for
her nursery.
In April, 1868, a strange discovery was made in Warwickshire, seven dead
cubs having been found in the top of a pollard oak. It was clear that
the mother had been killed, and that the poor little cubs had died of
hunger.
The cubs, when very young, are odd-looking little creatures--not in the
least like their parents. They are pale brown in colour, have short,
snub noses, like those of pug dogs, and little, short, pointed tails,
not at all like the beautiful "brushes" into which they will grow in
course of time.
The courage of the fox is wonderful. A fox was on one occasion sent to
Mr. Bartlett for the purpose of being stuffed. It had only three feet,
and, on opening it, Mr. Bartlett found the missing foot in its stomach!
The animal had clearly been taken in a trap, and had freed itself by
biting off the foot by which it was caught. We can understand why it
should bite off the foot by which it was detained, but why it should eat
its own foot seems rather puzzling. I am inclined to think that it did
so by mere instinct, which made it eat any morsel of bleeding flesh that
came between its jaws.
[If foxes are only fit to be hunted down, why are they preserved for
that cruelty?--ED.]
ONE POOR STONE.
Two masons were working together on the rear wall of a church, when one
stopped the other just as he was putting a stone in its place.
"Don't put in that stone," he said; "it is flakey, and will soon fall to
pieces."
"I know it isn't a very good one, but it is so handy, and just fits
here. Nobody will see it up here, and it is too much trouble to get
another."
"Don't put it in. Take time to send for another. That stone won't stand
the weather, and when it falls the whole building will be damaged."
"I guess not. It won't hurt us, so here goes."
Then he lifted the stone into its place, poor, and loose-grained, and
flakey as it was, covered it over with mortar, and went on with his
work. Nobody could see the stone, and none knew of its worthlessness but
the two masons, and the church was finished and accepted.
But time and the weather did their work, and soon it began to flake and
crumble. Every rain-storm and every hot, sultry day helped its decay,
and it soon crumbled away. But that was not all, nor the worst. The loss
of the stone weakened the wall, and soon a great beam which it should
have supported sunk into the cavity, a crack appeared in the roof, and
the rain soon made sad havoc with ceiling and fresco; so a new roof and
ceiling, and expensive repairs, were the result of one poor stone being
put in the place of a good one.
Each one of us, young or old, is building a structure for himself. The
structure is our character, and every act of our lives is a stone in the
building. Don't work in poor stones. Every mean action, every wrong act
or impure word, will show itself in your after life, though it may pass
unnoticed at first. Let every act and word of every day be pure and
right, and your character will stand the test of any time.
A MORNING'S WALK IN A COUNTRY LANE.
It is pleasing, during the bright summer time, to rise early and, if our
lot is so cast, to stroll into the country lanes and breathe the pure
air of heaven, inhale the sweet scent of the hay, and gaze upon God's
beautiful creation around us, and, if possible, learn some of the many
lessons which even a tiny flower or a feeble insect may be able to teach
us.
One Monday morning during the last summer, when staying in Hampshire, we
had such a walk, the memory of which, and its profitable lessons, are
still fresh upon our minds.
Leaving the town where we were staying, we quickly found ourselves
between the hedgerows, and our first impulse was to turn at once into
the green fields, but another feeling led us to keep to the lane.
Was that change of plan the result of chance? Nay; the great Ruler of
all things, who guides the flight of a sparrow, as surely orders the
footsteps of His children.
John Knox had a usual seat at his table, with his back to the window. A
sudden impulse led him to take another seat. That night the assassin's
bullet came through the window, and but for an overruling Providence,
Knox would have lost his life.
How many such instances might be related, which shows that even more
surely than the smallest wheel of some vast machinery is as readily
controlled as the largest, so surely does Infinite Wisdom control all
the great machinery of life, from its most momentous events down to the
smallest circumstance, such as the movement of a leaf. "If a pestilence
stalk through our land, we say, 'The Lord hath done it.' Is it not also
His doings when an aphis creepeth on a rosebud? If an avalanche fall
from the Alps, we tremble at the will of Providence. Is not that will
also concerned when the sere leaf falls from the poplar?"
Pursuing our walk, we soon found that we were in the most delightful of
country lanes, with high hedgerows and overhanging trees, that formed a
most delightful shade from the fierce burning sun, which, even at that
early hour, was almost unbearable. What must be the sufferings of a
traveller in the desert, with the fierce orb of day beating down upon
his head, as mile after mile he traverses the burning sand without shade
or water? How grateful to him must be "the shadow of a great rock in a
weary land," or some delightful Elim, with its seventy shady palms, and
its twelve refreshing wells of water!
But there is yet another person to whom a shade is more delightful than
even this desert traveller, and that is, a poor sinner upon whom is
beating down the threatened wrath of an offended God.
When Thomas Bilney, as a young man, was feeling this, he endeavoured for
a long time to find a shelter in some of the foolish and deceptive lies
of the Romish Church. He gave his money for Masses and performed his
penances till his purse was empty, and his body reduced to great
weakness, and yet no shelter could he find in these from the wrath of
God. At length he purchased a Greek Testament, and there he found the
blessed shade, for with delight he read therein, "This is a faithful
saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." Well might he exclaim, as he
sat down under the shadow of the cross, with great delight, "Oh, blessed
saying of St. Paul! Oh, blessed saying of St. Paul!"
Dear young reader, have you felt your need of this precious shade?
Presently we noticed in the hedge a rose-bush, a large portion of which
was hanging down broken--doubtless the work of some thoughtless person,
who had plucked the flowers in such a reckless manner as to leave a sad
memento of his thoughtless action. But people who live in glass houses
must be careful what stones they throw at others. That little boy, for
instance, was just as thoughtless who played with his ball in so
careless a manner as to break two windows in one week. That little girl,
too, was equally thoughtless who, when left at home to take care of
baby, carelessly left it on the bed while she went up the street to see
some dancing dogs, and who found, on her return, that the baby had
fallen on the floor, and had so injured its head as to nearly result in
its death.
Ah! and how many are now in our workhouses or prisons who would have to
confess they were brought there because they did _not think_ what
trouble their thoughtless actions would bring upon them! Yea, we fear
that there are many among the lost who would have to make the same sad
confession. May the Lord cause each of our young readers to think of
what will be the sad consequence of seeking only after earthly pleasure.
It will be worse than a destroyed rose-bush. It may be destroyed
health--destroyed reputation--destroyed prospects in life--yea, and, if
grace prevent not, destroyed happiness for ever.
As we proceeded further up the lane, we noticed that the hedges on both
sides were blooming with wild roses, which were truly charming to
behold. Our first thought on seeing them was of the dear ones at home
(many miles away), and how we should like to transport them to this
shady bower, to enjoy what we were beholding. But, as this desire was
impracticable, the next thought was, to gather some of these roses and
take them home, that they, too, might, in some measure, share in our
pleasure. Henceforth our endeavours to please others made our walk
doubly pleasant.
A selfish person, young or old, can never be happy. But find one who
tries to share his pleasures or comforts with others, and he is surely
happy--like the little girl who stretched her small cloak round her
young brother to shelter him from the wintry blast, although, strictly
speaking, the cloak was scarcely big enough for herself. And how happy
was that little girl who nursed a sick cat in the garret, and shared her
meals with it, till pussy was quite well again!
Boys and girls, share your pleasures with others.
The next thought was, to look after the little roses, knowing they would
last longer than the big ones.
Yes, fellow-teachers, look after the little rosebuds just blooming into
life. Who can tell but what the Master may use you to gather them from
the world, that they may, by His grace, be prepared for His mansion
above?
_But the thorns!_ Not a single little rosebud without a thorn, yet so
beautiful in other respects. Before Adam's fall, roses grew in Eden
without thorns. Thorns are a badge of the curse, and even the smallest
child has the thorn of sin. And how often we see it manifest! The thorn
of pride, the thorn of self-will, the thorn of temper, the thorn of
deceit.
But, dear young friends, are these thorns a trouble to you? Would you
like their power destroyed, and guilt pardoned? Listen, then, to God's
way of salvation.
As we gathered the roses, the thorns pricked our hands. But never mind
that. We love them too much to mind a few pricks.
Have you ever thought how the thorns (as long as your finger) were
plaited into a crown, and pierced the head of Jesus? Yes, He loved His
children so much that He willingly endured even the "nails," as well as
the thorns, that they might be for ever saved from the wrath to come.
A child once cried for fear when a wasp was near, but his mother said,
"Don't fear, my child! It has left its sting in my hand. It won't hurt
you."
Yes, Jesus has been pricked and stung by sin that His people may for
ever be delivered from its fatal power.
May you, dear young friends, from a living faith, be enabled to commit
your soul into His keeping who is able to "save unto the uttermost all
that come unto God through Him."
But how easily many of the roses scattered! We only touched the branch,
and they were gone. Such is life! We may be in full bloom one day, but
in a moment we may be carried into eternity. "We all do fade as a leaf."
The longest life is but brief. Then well may we pray--
"Prepare me, gracious God,
To stand before Thy face;
Thy Spirit must the work perform,
For it is all of grace."
EBENEZER.
"KEEP THE STAR IN SIGHT."
On a wild spot on the coast of Cornwall I fell in with Will Treherne. He
was as sound an "old salt" as ever manned a lifeboat or went aloft in a
gale of wind. He was getting an old man when I used to see him sitting
on the beach, when his day's work was done, smoking his pipe and gazing
at the evening star. He told us boys stirring stories of sea life and
adventure. One evening he narrated the following:--
"Thirty years ago, in just such a night as this, the wind whistling as
it does now, with the sea rising, and with as crazy a craft as seamen
ever sailed in, I found myself drifting along a dangerous coast.
"Our captain was an experienced one, and, when he saw what weather we
were threatened with, he took his place at the wheel, and did his best
to keep our courage up. He was in terribly poor health, but his spirits
rose above his bodily weakness, and he gave his orders with a pluck and
decision that made men of every one of us.
"'Will Treherne,' he cried, 'stand by me if you can be spared. My
strength is going. Do you see that star right ahead?'
"'Yes, sir.'
"'If my strength should fail, steer right ahead for that, and you are
safe. And oh, remember, Will, that there is another Star you must always
keep in view if you are to get safely into port at last.'
"I knew what he meant. He was pointing me to the Lord Jesus Christ, for
he was as good a Christian as he was a captain, and he never lost a
chance of saying a word that might steady us youngsters, and make us
think of our souls. I have heard many a sermon since that night in the
storm, when he told me to keep the star ahead, but none took more hold
on me than that one that night, when I lost my truest and best friend."
"Did you lose him that night?" I asked.
"Yes, my lad," the sailor answered, sadly. "His hour was come. When he
could stand the gale no longer, he shouted as loud as he could, 'Keep
the star in sight, my lads; keep the star in sight!' Then he was helped
down to the cabin, and I never saw him alive again. I was lashed to the
wheel, and though the spray well-nigh blinded me, yet I managed to keep
the star in sight, as the first officer gave his orders for the working
of the ship.
"After two hours of steering through a narrow and dangerous channel, we
found ourselves in a friendly sea. The star had guided us right.
"When the ship was in safety, and my turn of work was over, I went down
to the captain's cabin. A flag was thrown over his body, but his manly,
resolute face, which even death had not much altered, was visible. I
knelt down there and prayed God to guide me through the storms of life;
and I believe I can say that, from that night, in spite of my faults and
failings, I have kept the Star in sight. Now you will know why I am such
a star-gazer; and if I may give you a bit of counsel, my lad, let me
advise you to seek grace to begin and steer your course by the Star of
Bethlehem; and, if your eye is fixed on that Star, you will come safely
through the dangers of life into the port of peace at last."--_Chatterbox._
ANSWER OF GEORGE III. TO LORD GRENVILLE,
WHEN APPLIED TO ON THE ROMAN
CATHOLIC BILL, MARCH, 1807.
MY LORD,--I am one of those that respect an oath. I have firmness
sufficient to quit my throne and retire to a cottage, or to place my
neck upon a block on a scaffold, if my people require it; but I have not
resolution enough to break an oath--an oath I took in the most solemn
manner at my coronation.
[God grant that the legislators of the present day may feel speedily the
justice and wisdom of the noble sentiment of this illustrious monarch.]
THE LATE PRINCE CONSORT'S OPINION OF POPERY.
"It is an open secret," says the _Christian_, "that the Queen insists on
exercising her right of private judgment on all ecclesiastical affairs
in which she has to act. Before giving her assent to the selection of a
golden Mass bowl as her Jubilee present to the Pope of Rome, the fact
possibly escaped Her Majesty's memory that the late Prince Consort's
opinion of Romanism was summed up in Adam Smith's statement, as
follows--'The greatest conspiracy ever hatched against human liberty,
civil and religious, is the Roman Catholic Church.' This quotation
appears on the title-page of the 'Prince Consort's Speeches,' edited by
His Royal Highness himself."
A BIBLE WITH PINS IN IT.
It was an old Bible, a family Bible, a well-worn Bible--the Bible of an
old lady who had read it, and walked by it, and fed on it, and prayed
over it for a long lifetime. As she grew older and older, her sight
began to fail, and she found it hard to find her favourite verses. But
she could not live without them, so what did she do? She stuck a pin in
them, one by one; and after her death they counted 168.
When people went to see her, she would open her Bible, and feeling over
the page after her pin, would say, "Read there," or "Read here"; and she
knew pretty well what verse was stuck by that pin, and what by this pin.
She could indeed say of her precious Bible, "I love Thy commandments
above gold; yea, above fine gold; they are sweeter to me than honey and
the honey-comb."
BIBLE ENIGMA.
The father of a blind man.
An ancient musical instrument.
A measure of time.
An immense fish.
A non-believer.
A foreign language.
A relation of Jacob.
An animal.
One of Joseph's sons.
A domestic animal.
A very valuable stone.
A particular time in the day.
Another word for a letter.
JOSEPH SMITH
(Aged 12 years).
THRILLING SCENES AT THE FORTH BRIDGE WORKS.
Two more fatal accidents were, some time since, reported from the Forth
Bridge works, making thirty-four since the work began. One of the
engineers of the bridge, Mr. Benjamin Baker, recently gave a lecture in
Dundee, descriptive of the work, in the course of which he gave the
following account of the dangers of the undertaking:--
Much of the work, he said, required men of exceptional hardiness,
courage, and presence of mind. In August last, six men were standing on
a few planks hanging by iron hooks, at a height of about 140 feet above
sea level. One of the hooks gave way without any warning, and in a
fraction of a second the planks slipped away from under the men's feet.
Short as the time was, with the lightning quickness of thought, three of
the six men saved themselves by springing at and clutching hold of
pieces of the steel work. Another man plunged headlong down twice the
height of the Tay bridge into the water. His hardiness was such that the
terrible flight through mid-air and shock on striking the water--a shock
which he had seen break planks like matches--did not incapacitate him
from grasping the rope which was cast to him, or from resuming work
after he had recovered from the immediate effects of the shock.
As regards courage, two of the men were left hanging by the arms with a
clean drop of 140 feet below them. Although presumably unnerved by
seeing their comrades take that terrible flight, the first man reached
by the rescue party said, "I can hold on. Go to the other man; he is
dazed." Such workmen upheld the best traditions of their
fellow-craftsmen in the past.
OUR BIBLE CLASS.
"_And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be
one, even as We are One._"--JOHN xvii. 22.
"The glory of the Lord endureth for ever"; and in this sublime prayer
Jesus speaks of the glory that He had with His Father before the world
began, and asks that He may be glorified in finishing His saving work.
But what is the "glory" spoken of in our text? Two thoughts must guide
us to its meaning--first, the Father had given it to His Son; secondly,
Jesus had given it to His disciples.
Christ is God, and, as God, is, and ever must be, glorious. But this
glory was _not given_ Him; it was _His own_. Christ is the one Mediator
between God and men--the only Way to heaven and happiness--the
all-sufficient and only Saviour of sinners, who redeemed them by His
blood, and saves them by His life. But His glory, as Mediator and
Saviour, He will not give to another. He received it, and is crowned
with it, _alone_.
Yet He says, "I have given My disciples"--"the men Thou gavest out of
the world"--"the glory Thou hast given Me." He is the Truth. His words
were always divinely full of heavenly meaning. Let us try by other
Scriptures to understand this one.
In Isaiah xl. 10, we read, "Behold, the Lord God will come with strong
hand"--or will come as a Mighty One--"behold, His reward is with Him,
and the recompense of His work [see margin] is before Him." In Hebrews
xii. 2, we are told that, "for the joy that was set before Him, He
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down," now and for
ever, "at the right hand of God." This recompense, this joy, is Christ's
glory. And what is it? In one word, it is _salvation_--the
satisfaction, the honour, and delight, of rescuing, and eternally
enriching, the people whom He loved from eternity, and will for ever
love. As Cowper sweetly sings--
"Of all the crowns Jehovah wears,
Salvation is His dearest claim;
That gracious sound well-pleased He hears,
And owns Emmanuel for His name."
In this--His joy, His glory--He makes His people share here in this
world, and in this present time--
"Before they reach the heavenly fields,
Or tread the golden streets."
They are interested in His salvation, and on this word we may reflect a
little, for "interest" has a two-fold meaning. It means, benefit or
profit; and it also means, friendly, loving concern for a person or an
object. If I am interested in a paying business, I share in its profits,
and am benefited by it; but I am interested in many things that bring me
no money, and I gladly give them all the help I can, because I long for
their success and prosperity.
And in this double way believers are interested in Christ's salvation.
They are for ever benefited by it. His death secures their endless life;
His sorrow yields them joy and peace; and His poverty has made them rich
for evermore. "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift," is the glad
cry of all who know that this precious salvation is their own.
Then comes the other form of interest--loving, prayerful desire that
Christ may be glorified; that "the kingdom of God may come"; that
sinners may be brought to the Saviour. The burdened heart, longing for
peace, may be too full of its own sorrows to think much of others; but
the forgiven child of God, rejoicing in Jesus as his own dear, almighty
Friend, says, or desires to say--
"Now will I tell to sinners round
What a dear Saviour I have found;
I'll point to His redeeming blood,
And say, 'Behold the way to God!'"
Thus the apostles laboured to carry the Gospel wherever they could
travel, though, by so doing, they were exposed to persecution,
suffering, and death. But they longed to spread the joyful news abroad,
and to be the means of leading their hearers to Jesus; and when they
"saw the grace of God," they were glad with an unspeakable joy. And, so
far as we are animated with Christ's spirit, we, too, shall seek after
the same blessed results.
And Jesus has given His glory to His people that they may all be united
together, even as He and His Father are One--one in heart, and mind, and
aims.