322 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



" There's a land far away 'mid the stars, we are told, 



Where they know not the sorrows of time; 

 Where pure waters wander thro' valleys of gold. 



And life is a treasure sublime. 

 'Tis tlie land of our God, 'tis the home of the soul, 

 Where ages of splendor eternally roll ; 

 Where tiie way weary traveller reaches his goal 



On the ever green mountains of life. 



Our gaze cannot soar to that beautiful laud, 



But our visions have told of its bliss; 

 And our souls by the gale fronj its gardens are fanned 



When we faint in the deserts of this. 

 And we sometimes have longed for its holy repose, 

 When our spirits were torn with temptations and woes; 

 And we've drank from the tide of the river that tlows 



From the ever green mountains of life. 



Oh I the stars never tread the blue heavens at night 

 But we think where the ransomed have trod. 



And the day never shines from his palace of light 

 But we feel the bright smile of our God. 



We are traveling homeward, through changes and gloom, 



To a kingdom where pleasures unchangingly bloom; 



And our guide is the glory that shines thro' the tomb. 

 From the ever green mountains of life ! " 



Wonderful school of life ! Glorious book of nature ! Thy 

 mission is done when thou leadest us to adore the Infinite. 



IIU.MAX CULTrRE. 

 BY DR. WM. H. GITHENS, HAMILTON. 



Mr. President, and Members of the Horticultural Society: 



For the few minutes allotted me in to-day's exercises, I propose 

 a new departure in culture. While I may know as much about 

 agriculture as Horace Greeley, and as much about horticulture as 

 many who have written volumes upon the subject, and even be as 

 much interested in floriculture as any, I will devote my time to-day 

 to a branch some of you may not have given much thought, viz : 

 " Human Culture." Some may think there is no need for thought 

 in that direction; but I can assure you there is much cause for alarm 

 and effort to avert what may prove to be a very serious evil. You 

 ask, how can we do any better than we are doing? Schools and 

 churches are multiplying by thousands, we furnish newspapers and 

 every variety of literature that tends to the highest culture, what 

 more would you ask? All true; but in our anxiety to cram the lit- 

 erature of ages into one small brain, we entirely overlook the devel- 

 opment of that brain, and its capacity to retain its cramming. 



The more delicate the physical system and the brain, the more 

 susceptible to educational impressions; but, unfortunately, that much 



