MEN TO 
HONORED. 
Written for Moore’s Rural New-Yorker. 
TOBACCO-IN REPLY TO W, B. P. 
I must confess to a little disappointment, to see 
that a journal like yours, professedly devoted 
to the best interests of mankind,should open its 
columns for such ‘‘old fogy,'’ anti-reform, and. I 
think, pernicious notions as those advanced by 
one TV. B. P. in your last issue. To some Indi¬ 
viduals, not over Inclined to active exertion in 
the cause of humanity, it is doubtless an exceod- 
Two men I honor, and no third. First, the 
toil-worn craftsman, that, with earth-made imple¬ 
ment, laboriously conquers the earth, and makes 
her man’s. Venerable to me is the hard hand; 
crooked, coarse: wherein, notwithstanding, lies 
a cunning virtue, indefensibly royal, as of Ihe 
scepter of this planet. Venerable, too, is the 
rugged face, alt weather-tanned, besoiled, with 
its rudo intelligence! fop it is the face of a man 
living manlike. Oh, but the more venerable for 
thy rudeness, and even because we must pity as 
well as love thee! Hardly entreated brother 1 
For us was thy back so bent; lbr us were thy 
ingly comfortable assurance that it would be far straight limbs aud fingers so deformed. 
better to leave undisturbed the great, evils which 
are working such fearful damage to the interests j 
of the race, and that the wisest course is to fold 
our arms in self-satisfied indifference, because , 
certain wiseacres tell us that past reforms have . 
universally “ left the condition of society worse 
than they found it." 
I do not propose to enter into any argument < 
with your correspondent upon this subject for 
his last communication shows a narrowness of 
view ill-fitted to bear upon such a theme, shal¬ 
low sarcasm* and insinuating personalities might 
well be dispensed with where there is a sincere 
desire to accomplish real good. It is certainly 
true that every great cause has its mistaken 
friends, and so there tfre well-meaning vision¬ 
aries who are liable to censure for carrying their 
notions to impolitic and impracticable extremes. 
All great movements have been barrassed and 
impeded by just such adherents; but this, far 
from discouraging the true-hearted philanthro¬ 
pist, will rather evoke increased earnestness and 
more self-denying zoai. 
One question now for the sincere readers of 
the Rural. Can araan be pure— pure, mentally, 
morally, physically, in the highest degree hu¬ 
manly attainable—who indulges in the use of 
tobacco? Are the tendencies of its use to render 
us impure? W. B. P., with a show of religious 
sentiment, avoids the direct question. There is 
no need, at this late day, to argue upon the pol¬ 
luting influences of the noisome weed. We can 
find living arguments in our streets at every 
turn, i have seen those who onoo were men, so 
thoroughly saturated with the venomous juice 
that the stench exuded from every pore, the 
breath was fairly sickening; the filthy stream 
was trickling from the mouth corner; the teeth 
and tongue by discoloring and decay were dis¬ 
gusting to the sight, and you found it impossible 
to approach them without feelings of tke strong¬ 
est aversion—and this solely from chewimj to¬ 
bacco- Of course they carried its use to excess; 
but this is the eml to which all its votaries are 
tending; perhaps few may over reach this state, 
but thousands are on the way. The extreme 
case shows an exaggerated but none the less 
truthful picture of the vile influence of tobacco 
upon the system. Is a man, then, less “pure ’’ 
with tobacco in his mouth than without? Look 
at this picture; think of the practice that has 
made such a wreck, add answer for yourselves. 
By all that's noble, and pure, and true, and 
Goo-like In our nature, let us keep the body free 
from such a terrible infection. 
I did not intend to dwell upon this point, for 
so much has hitherto been said as to render it a 
thankless effort, yet I know so well the road 
down which multitudes of our young men are 
walking—I see so plainly the deadly work of 
those twin fiends, Hum and Tobacco , destructive 
alike to pure principle, sound health, and the 
“ Sama metis in suno corpora’ which it should be 
our earnest aim to attain? that I have ventured 
to express my honest convictions in the matter. 
Our young men are the hope of our nation; yet 
as they enter upon tho stage of life, temptations 
assail them oil every hand. We must watch 
over and care for them, that as they grow in 
years they may also grow in strength, purity 
and true manhood, thus to be thoroughly fur¬ 
nished and prepared for the responsible positions 
that await them. I trust that tho influence of 
such doctrines a.-, those advanced by W. B. P. 
will be either materially modified or entirely 
withheld. Ills slurs upon the Sabbath Commit¬ 
tees deserve no attention. The bright history of 
the New York Society, and the good incalcula¬ 
ble it has accomplished during the five years of 
its operation, commends the work to every noble 
and Christian heart. e. a. w. 
Geneva. N. V , 1863. 
*Wi; published W. B. P. 'a article at the request of a 
contributor (to Whom we read it,) who desired to re¬ 
spond—but K. A. W. aud several others have anticipated 
our friend, nnd we fear want of space will compel us to 
decline a number of articles on the subject.—Et>. 
-*.«♦-- 
The Importance op Varied Exercise.— 
“Strength is health," has become a favorite 
phrase. But, like many common saws, it is an 
error. V isit the first half dozen circuses that muy 
come to town, and ask the managers whether the 
cannon-lifter or the general performer has the 
better health. You will find in every case it is 
the latter. Ask the doctors whether the cartmen, 
who arc the strongest men in the city, have bet¬ 
ter health than other classes, who, like them, 
work in the open air, but with light and varied 
labor. You will not find that the measure of 
strength is the measure of health. Flexibility 
has far more to do with it.— Dr. Dio Lewis. 
A Musical Bed.— Foreign journals speak of 
an invention just produced in Germany- namely, 
a musical bed, so constructed that, by means of a 
concealed piece Of mechanism, the pressure of 
the body produces the softest harmony, which 
U*ta long enough to lull one to sleep. At the 
head of the bed is a dial with a hand, which can 
he placed to whatever hour the person wishes to 
awake ; and at the time fixed the bed plays a 
march of Spontini, with drums and cymbals, 
loud enough to wake the soundest sleeper. 
! m 
wort our conscript, on whom the lot fell, and 1 
lighting our battles wort so marred. For in thee, f 
too, lay a God-creuted form, hut it. was not to he 
unfolded; encrusted must it staud with the thick ' 
adhesions and defacements of labor; and thy 1 
body, like thy soul, was not to know freedom. 1 
Yet toil on. toil on; thou art in the duty, be out 1 
of it who may; thou toilest for the altogether ; 
indispensable, for daily bread. ' 
A second man I honor, and still more highly; 1 
him who is seen toiling for tho spiritually indls- 1 
pensable; not daily bread, but the bread of life. 
Is not he too, in his duty; endeavoring toward 
inward harmony; revealing this by net nr by J 
word, through all his outward endeavors, he 
they high or low? Highest of all when his out- 1 
ward and his inward behavior are one; when we J 
can name him artist; not earthly craftsman only, ' 
but inspired thinker, that with heaven-made 1 
implement conquers heaven for us. If tho poor 
and humble toll that we have food, must not the 1 
high and glorious toil for him, in return, that ho 
have light and guidance, freedom, immortality? 
These two, in all their degrees, I honor; all else 
is chaff and dust, which let the wind blow 
whither it listeth. 
Unspeakably touching is it, however, when I 
find both dignities united; and he that must toil 
outwardly for the lowest of mau’s wants, is also 
toiling inwardly for tho highest. Sublimcr in 
this world know I nothing than a peasant saint, 
could such now anywhere be hiet with. Such a 
one will rake thee hack to Ns&aroth itself; thou 
wilt see (lie splendor of heaven spring forth from 
tho humblest depths of eart h, like a light shining 
In great darkness. It is not because of his toils 
that I lament for the poor. Wo must all toil or 
steal, (howsoever we name our stealing.) which 
is worse. No faithful workman finds his task a 
pastime. The poor is hungry and athirst; but 
for him also there is food and drink; he is heavy 
laden and weary, but for him also the heavens 
send sleep, and of the deepest. In his smoky 
cribs, a clear dewy heaven of rest envelops him, 
aud fitful glitterings of cloud-skirted dreams. 
But what 1 do mourn over is that the lamp of Ids 
soul should go out; that no ray of heavenly or 
even of earthly knowledge should visit, him; but 
only, in the haggard darkness, like to specters, 
Fear and Indignation. Alas! while tho body 
stands so broad and brawny, must tho soul lie 
blinded, dwarfed, stupefied, almost annihilated? 
Alas! was this too a Breath of God; bestowed 
In heaven, but on earth never to bo unfolded? 
That there should one man die ignorant who had 
capacity for knowledge, I call a tragedy, were 
it to happen more than twenty times in the min¬ 
ute, as by some computations it does.— Carlyle. 
■ ■ ■ ■ — 
THE FIRST PRINTED BOOK. 
11. is a remarkable and most interesting fact, 
says a secular paper, that the very first use to 
which the discovery of printing was applied, was 
the production of the Bible. This was accom¬ 
plished at Mentz, between the years Hat) and 
1 455. Gulemberg was the inventor of the art; 
and Faust, a goldsmith, furnished tho necessary 
funds. Had it been a single page, or even an 
entire sheet, which was then produced, there 
might have boon less occasion to have noticed h; 
but there was something in the whole character 
of the affair, which, if not unprecedented, ren¬ 
dered it singular in the usual current of human 
events. This Bible was in two folio volumes? 
which have hceu justly praised for the strength 
and beauty of the paper, the exactness of the 
register, and the luster of the ink. The work 
contained twelve hundred and eiglity-two pages, 
and being the first ever printed, of course, in¬ 
volved a loug period of time, and an immense 
amount of mental, manual and mechanical labor; 
and yet for a long time after it had been finished 
and oflered for sale, not a single being, suvo the 
artists themselves, knew how it had been ac¬ 
complished. 
Of the first printed Bible, eighteen copies aro 
now known to be in existence; four of which are 
printed on vellum. Two of these are in England, 
one of them being in the Grenville collection. 
One is ia the Itoyal Library at Berlin, aud one 
in the Royal Library of Paris. Of the remaining 
fourteen copies, ten are in England; there being 
a copy in Oxford, Edinburgh, and London, and 
seven in the collections of different noblemen.— 
The vellum copy bus been sold as high as eight 
hundred dollars. 
An Ancient Deed.—A most venerable and 
interesting relic of the olden times is now exhib¬ 
ited in Providence, R. I. It is the original deed 
for six hundred and twenty-live acres of land, 
on which now stands the city of Philadelphia, 
executed by William Penu to Thomas Vernon, 
March 3, 1681, immediately upon the receipt of 
Penn’s patent from King Charles the Second. 
The instrument is in a remarkably good state of 
preservation, considering its age. It is perfectly 
legible, the ink having faded but from few 
words, ami in these the obliteration is slight. It 
is written in the old English chirography preva¬ 
lent at that period, and to it is fixed Penn’s auto¬ 
graph. The consideration for which this large 
amount of land (comprising what is now West 
Philadelphia) was conveyed, was twelve pounds 
and ten shillings. 
ENGLISH PALACES AND PARKS. 
Few of us have any definite idea of the amount 
of wealth and splendor that surround many of 
the English nobles in their princely residences. 
An intelligent American writing from England, 
describes some of these things. 
Earl Spencer’s homestead, situated about sixty 
miles from London, comprises ten thousand acres 
tastefully divided into parks, meadows, pastures, 
woods and gardens. His library, called the 
finest in the world, contains fifty thousand vol¬ 
umes. Extensive and elegant stables, green¬ 
houses and conservatories, game keeper's houses, 
dog kennels, porter’s lodge and farm houses 
without number, go to complete the establish¬ 
ment, Hundreds of sheep and cattle graze in 
the parks about the house. 
The Duke of Richmond's home farm at Good- 
wood, sixty miles from London, consists of twen¬ 
ty-three thousand acres, or over thirty-live square 
miles. And this is in crowded England, which 
has a population of 10,000,000, an area of only 
50,000 square miles, or just 33,000.000 of acres, 
giving, were tho laud divided, hut two acres to 
each inhabitant. The residence of the Duke is a 
Complete palace. One extensive ball is covered 
with yellow silk and pictures in the richest and 
most costly tapestry. The dishes and plate upon 
the tables are all of porcelain, silver and gold. 
Twenty-five race horses stand in the stable, each 
being assigned to the care of a special groom. 
A grotto near the house, the ladies spent six 
years in adorning. An aviary is supplied with 
almost every variety of rare and elegant birds. 
Large herds of cattle, sheep and deer are spread 
over the immense lawus. 
The Duke of Devonshire's palace, at Chats- 
wortb, is said to excel in magnificence any other 
in the kingdom. The income of the Duke is one 
million of dollars a year, and he is said to spend 
it all. In the grounds about his house are four 
hundred head of cattle and fourteen hundred 
deer. The kitchen garden contains twelve acres, 
and is tilled witli almost every species of fruit 
and vegetables. A vast arboretum connected 
with the establishment, is designed to contain a 
sample of every tree that grows. There is also 
a glass conservatory 387 feet in length, 112 in 
breadth, 67 in height, covered by 76,000 square 
feet of glass, and warmed by seven miles of pipe 
conveying hot water. One plant was obtained 
from India by a special messenger, and is valued 
at $10,000. One of the fountains near the 1 jou.hu 
plays 270 foot high, said to he the highest jet in 
the world. Chats worth contains 3500 acres, but 
tho Duke owns SC.QOO.acrca in the county of Der 
(T it.? 
Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker 
THE NEWSPAPER. 
Having just read the last number of the 
Rural, I am constrained, while tho rain is 
falling, to drop you a word of encouragement. 
I feel like making a speech to your readers in 
favor of it. and would do so, but for your dislike 
of puffs, the scattered nature of my auditory, and 
the fear that I might be taken for a member of 
Congress or the last Legislature. Besides, your 
paper speaks for itself. However, I wish to «ay 
that 1 esteem a well-conducted newspaper indis- 
pensablc to every household. As a teacher, I 
have noticed that llm children in families where 
a paper is taken learn faster than where it is not. 
Written for Moore's Rural New-Yorker. 
WILLIAM’S DREAM. 
There are many doubtless among those who 
read the Rural, whose hearts rejoice when they 
hear one say—“I was full of sin, but I went to 
Jesus ami asked him to cleanse me from sin: lie 
has done so, and now I am happy." Those read¬ 
ers tvill bo glad to hear that in the Institution 
from which this communication is dated, there 
are sotno twenty boys who give good evidence 
that they have been “born again" of the Spirit 
and are now happy In the Lord. There are many 
interesting incidents connected with these con¬ 
versions, of which I will give one. 
Yesterday, one of the boys came to mein school 
other filings being equal. We say to parent*, if and said, “ I wish you would talk with William 
you wish your children to bo good scholars, take 
a newspaper of high moral tone; and not only 
tako it, but read it, study it, and encourage the 
children to do the same. 
Ride, if you please, in second class cars, but 
never take a second or third rate paper. Miir- 
M., he says he has boon tooling bail all day and 
ho would like to talk with you.” I called Wil¬ 
liam to my desk ami ascertained by a little con¬ 
versation with him, that he was laboring under 
deep conviction of sin. He said his sins appeared 
to him ‘dike a groat mountain.” I told him when 
dors, sensation stories, assaults, accidents, elope- ho went to hia room at night, to go to Jesus, just as 
monts and suicides, ought to lie, as a general he would go to his father or mother, and tell Him 
thing, excluded from tho family newspaper. Of just how he felt, and nsk Him to remove tho bur- 
course, there will be murders; of course, people 
will fall in love; of course, there will bo acci¬ 
dents, and now and then a poor mortal gets tired 
of life; but what of all this? Why not inuujlnc 
that so many of each will happen in a year and 
thus save all lo&s of time in reading, the shock¬ 
ing of nerves, and tho demoralizing effects inci¬ 
dent to the disgraceful recital? As the Rural is 
especially free from matter of this kind, I hail its 
arrival with pleasure. My wish is that in the 
future as in the past, it may prove a bloBsing to 
its subscribers, and that many who do not now 
take it, may yet learn to appreciate the value of did before." 
den from his heart, and then trust '-in Him to do 
it, and lie surely would do it. This morning I 
saw him and asked him how lie felt. IIo replied, 
“I feel happy.” “But,” said !, “you have felt 
happy before, havn’t you ?” “Yes, sir," ho re¬ 
plied, “but nor, like this. When I got angry at a 
boy then, l didn’t feel happy any longer, but It 
is not so now. A boy called me names this morn¬ 
ing, but I didn’tsay anything. 1 forgot all about 
it till just now." “And how do you fool towards 
him now?" I asked. He replied, his countenance 
brightening up, “I love him hotter than I over 
n. k. i\ 
this pleasant weekly visitor. 
- Cambridge Valley, N. Y, 1803. 
WHAT TALENT IS. 
What is talent, and what is the connection be¬ 
tween it and genuis ? Talent is a faculty of the 
mind which enables it, to put forth useful effort 
“It comprises general Strength of intellect and a 
peculiar aptitude for being moulded to specific 
employments.” Such Ia the definition the learned 
give us. Talent, too, is the result of training, in 
uo such sense ns genius is. We would call it. an 
acquisition rather than an endowment For in- 
byshlre. Within, the entire is one vast scene of stance, a man, as tho result of years of patience, 
paintings, sculpture, mosaic work, carved wain- 
scotting. aud all tho elegance and luxuries within 
Ihe reach of almost, boundless wealth and highly 
refined taste. 
■ —♦♦♦ ■ - - 
Advantage of Chapters.— Tho division of 
the Scriptures into chapters is a modern work, 
and lias but little reference to the completeness 
of the narratives as to subjects. Bishop Morris, 
in a recent letter to the Northwestern, gives tho 
following pleasing incident, illustrative of their 
use. He says: -“The late Rev. James B. Fin¬ 
ley and his family carno homo from camp moot¬ 
ing, worn down with fatigue and loss of sleep, 
and brought, will) thorn a young preacher as a 
guest, who was a slow, imperfect reader. As the 
family was late arriving, supper was late, tho 
night short, and all anxious for repose, but none 
could think oi slocpiug without worship. The 
young preacher was Invited to lead therein, i le 
selected for tho evening lesson a chapter in 
Luke, containing over seventy verses, and blun¬ 
dered on until ho reached the last end, and then 
prayed through tho bilk After all was over, 
Rev. Robert B. Finley, father of James, who was 
a learned Old man, remarked, ‘ he never before 
saw so clearly tho advantage of having the 
sacred scriptures divided into chapters, for if the 
young preacher had not reached the end of that 
chapter he would have read all night..’”— Zion's 
Herald. 
SPEED OF VESSELS. 
An experiment bus just been mudo on tho 
Seine with an instrument called a lochomdre for 
measuring the speed of vessels. This instrument, 
which is intended to supercede the log now in 
use, is composed of a metal syphon, of which the 
extremities are immersed in the water. A small 
screw is fitted to the top and interior of tho in¬ 
strument, on which tho water acts as soon as the 
ship or boat moves, by constantly entering atone 
end and running out at tho other. Some clock 
work is attached to the screw, the functions of 
which are to mark on a dial plate by hands the 
distance in yards performed by the vessel, com¬ 
mencing with one unit and extending to hun¬ 
dreds of miles. The experiment was tried on 
board the steamboat Parisian, which carries pas¬ 
sengers between Paris aud St. Cloud. The dis¬ 
tance was accurately marked on the dial-plate 
by the movements of tho hands. The apparatus 
appears to bo ol tho most simple character. 
♦ « 4 — — 
Curious Facts.— A scientific journal, in the 
course of an able essay on “ The Races,” says :— 
The nature of the profession exercises a great 
influence on the longevity. Thus, out oi 100 of 
oacli of the following professions, the number of 
those who attain their seventieth year is :— 
Among clergymen, 42; agriculturists, 40; 
traders and manufacturer?, 33: soldiers, 32 ; 
clerks, 32 ; lawyers, 2!); artists, 28 ,* professors, 
27, and physicians, 23—so that those who study 
the art of prolonging the lives of others are most 
likely to die early ; probably on account of the 
effluvia to which they are constantly exposed. 
There are in the world 335,000,000 of Christiana, 
5,000,000 of Jews, 600,000,000 professing some of 
tho Asiatic religions, 160,000,000 of Mohammed¬ 
ans, and 200,000,000 of Pagans. Of tho Christ¬ 
ians 170,000,000 profess the Catholic, 66,000,000 
the Greek, and 80,000,000 the Protestant creeds. 
industry and faith may paint a good picture ; or 
carve a statue, or write a poem. By following 
certain muxims and rules in literature aud art, 
ho may acquire an aptitude for certain special 
kinds of labor. But If lie be a painter, he can not 
paint like Apelles: ho can not make chorrioH 
look so natural that tho birds of heaven shall be 
deceived, ami come and pick at thorn. Talent in 
painting, sculpture, architecture, or any other 
art, may result in considerable progress and effi¬ 
ciency, nay, may load to respectability on the 
part of him who exhibits it; but that is all; 
eminence is impossible to any efforts save those 
of consummate genius. Nevertheless, talent, as 
wo have said, is not to bo despised ; nay, it will 
accomplish what genius itself cannot achieve. 
Talent is Intellect in its vigor and strength, and 
it is that which rules the world. If it can not 
plan cathedrals, it. can build them ; if it can not 
shine as the sun, it can twinkle as a star; and 
genius herself must look through windows con¬ 
structed by eye aud ear and head of tills homely 
yet useful power. National Quarterly lleview. 
BUCKEYE SCHOOLMASTERS. 
The following are some of the “ cases” report¬ 
ed by county examiners of candidates for tho 
“high calling” of school teachers in Ohio. 
Examiner. Parse the sentence, “ How do you 
do." 
Candidate answers in writing. “ How is agi- 
tivc and quabfys you do is an agitive and quali¬ 
fy* the pronoun you you is a pronoun personal 
third person plural no in the nominative case 
nomitive to the do.” 
“An experienced teacher, thirty-two years old, 
bounded Ohio on the north by New York, east 
by Massachusetts, Houth by Tennessee, west by 
Illinois.” 
“New Kngland and Canada comprise the 
Kingdom of Great Britain,” evidently antineipa- 
ting tho proposed action of certain Maine politi¬ 
cians ! 
Another affirmed that the political divisions of 
North America arc “ Democracy and Republi¬ 
cans.” 
Another young “ educator” entered the exam¬ 
ination room, and expressed a wish to be ea lami¬ 
nated. Many other ludicrous cases are given in 
the Report of Commissioner Smyth. — Maine 
Teacher. 
Nor Unhealthy. — It is a great mistake to _ 
imagine that the pursuit of learning is injurious j remember a gre 
to health. We sec that studious men live as long a t, Waltham, and seel 
as persons of any other profession. History will j„ the order of thei 
confirm the truth of this observation. In fact, “These are they t,ha 
the regular, cairn, and uniform life of a student i, f . straight received 
conduces to health, and removes many incou- these are they that 
venienecs and dangers, which might otherwise there Is not of thost 
assault It, provided that the superfluous heart of for all your wealth.” 
the constitution be assuaged by moderate oxer- _ 
cise, and the habit of the body be not over- Q NLy those who i 
charged with a quantity of aliment incompatible t q 0f5erv0 to have a v 
with a sedentary life. them 
1 then asked him when he first began tomfool 
happy. Ho said, “when 1 went to my room last 
night 1 began to pray, and before I got through I 
began to feel better. Then i went to sleep and 
had such a good dream. I droainpt that, I saw a 
high mountain full of precipices and slippery 
places. I saw Jesus standing on top of the 
mountain calling to the people below to come up 
to hha, saying, “Come unto me all ye that labor 
and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” 
I saw a great many men, and women and chil¬ 
dren going up the mountain aud I was going along 
with them. At the foot of the mountain 1 saw a 
man asleep and another man picking fruit from 
a tree. A man came along to tho first one and 
woke him up and said, ‘Come, go up the moun¬ 
tain with me but ho replied, ‘1 waut to sleep a 
little longer.’ Then lie went to the other man 
and asked him to go up the mountain with him, 
but he said he wanted to stay a little longer and 
pick more fruit and enjoy the pleasures around 
him. When I was going up tho mountain I 
slipped and wont nearly to the bottom, but I got 
up and started towards the top again. At last I 
reached tho top where Jesus was, and then I 
waked right up.” e. m. c. 
Home of Refuge, Rochester, June 11, 1883. 
THE ACORN AND OAK, 
Mr little daughter sat silent while busy at her 
play. Finally she said with a sober face : 
“Mamma, this morning when I was at Miss 
W’s she oflered rne an acorn. Now if I had taken 
it, I should have had an oak tree some day, 
shouldn't I?” And after a moment’s further 
reflection, she said, with a sigh, “But I didn't take 
the acorn.” 
“Ah, my darling, you are not the only one who 
has failed to have ail oak for want of taking an 
acorn.” 
See, though it be an oft-told tale, how tiny cir¬ 
cumstances affect great events ; see the shadow 
of the magnificent, forest-king, how delightful, 
how secure from the burning summer heat—not 
for a day nor a year merely, but for ages. Some 
band planted that tree—one, perhaps a baby, 
took the acoru. 
The things of beauty and strength which are 
or may bo composed of its noble timber—the 
sturdy ship which defies the waves, is through 
this good gift of God made the thing she is ; and 
even the cheerful firesides round (which we so 
love to linger, aro all proofs, each in their way, 
that somebody took the acorn. 
This little lesson is in its application so wide, 
so various, that 1 hardly know where it be¬ 
gins or ends. Every good impulse, each word 
of kindly counsel, oven our failures and mistakes, 
may lie to us the acorns which, taken, planted 
and cultivated, may make U3 like the oak in a 
spiritual souse- trees mete for the garden ofGod. 
There are in every human life times when lit¬ 
tle turning points occur. Acorns are oflered; 
refuse them, pass them by, and in after years 
! memory looks back, and says in bitterness. of 
soul, “I did not take the acorn V’—National 
Danner. 
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 aro they that make rich men poor." But 
he straight received this answer, “Nay, my lord; 
those are they that make a poor man rich; for 
there is not of these whom we would part with 
Only those who have thoughts like lightning 
deserve to have a voice like thunder to utter 
them. 
The man of one idea i.s like a man trying to 
walk frith both his feet in one boot; each has 
narrowed his base till the centre of gravity falls 
fur without, and his efforts at progress are but 
spasmodic caricatures of tho thing he attempts, 
likely to end in nothing more glorious than his 
sprawling length prostrate. 
Gravitation is the outspread hand of God 
forcing all things into their places and keeping 
them there. 
__ 4 ■ ■ ■ - — 
Jesus waited thirty years in a carpenter’s 
shop before ho’ 4 began his work, to teach us to 
wait, hardest lesson of all. 
