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Many a cheer supplants a sigh, 
When fond parents help their dear ones 
In the battle of the right, 
For the sake of 'precious near ones 
Sign the pledge , then! sign to-night! 
—Frederick Sherlock. 
Th e Bamboo. 
The Bamboo occupies an intermediate 
place between grasses proper and trees. It us¬ 
ually grows to a height of forty or fifty feet, and 
its diameter is from one to eight inches. It re¬ 
quires thirty or more years to bloom, when the 
plant produces a great quantity of seed and dies. 
They are edible and in 1812 in China when crops 
failed, their blooming 'prevented a famine. In 
1869, a large district flowered at one time and 
50,000 people camped in the jungles and gath¬ 
ered the seeds.—The Bamboo is the national 
plant of China and the young and tender shoots are eaten like asparagus, 
and preserved by confectioners. 
Universal Christian Charity. 
“Mot the bright stars which night’s blue arch adorn, 
Mor rising sun that gilds the vernal morn, 
Shines with such luster as the tear that flows 
Down virtue’s manly cheek for others' woes." 
—A Christian Poet. 
