But the worlding heapeth up riches, and knows not who will gather them. Cupidus, with great labour, accumulated a large estate, and dying, left his wealth to his two sons, Stultus and Effusio. Stultus had in a little time to be placed under guardians, who spent his money for their own pleasures. Effusio squandered his patrimony in riotous living, and died in a lunatic asylum.

"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me."-MATT. xvi. 24.

Dear reader, o'er this sacred emblem pause,
And view the Christian bearing up his cross;
Nor steep ascent, nor roughness of the way,
E'er makes him halt, or turns his feet astray :
Should he in weakness think to lay it down,
His strength increases when he sees the crown;
His soul enkindles at the glorious sight,

His yoke's more easy, and his cross more light.
The Cross all hallowed, is the Christian's boas -
His WATCHWORD, fighting at his arduous post-
His true insignia as he glides along,

Conspicuous; through the pleasure-loving throng;
His royal passport, sanctioned by the skies,

By which he triumphs, and secures the prize.

BEHOLD here the Christian bearing up manfully under his cross. It is a glorious sight. You see him going with his cross up the difficult mountain passes, as well as along the smooth and flowery plain. View the crown! It is seen in the distance. Sometimes the clouds gather around it ; in general, however, to the cross-bearer the sky is clear; he can discover the crown glittering in its beauty. The young Christian will know what this means spiritually. It is not of the Saviour's cross but of the Christian's own proper cross that we now speak. What is it to bear the cross? To bear the cross

always, is to do right always. It is no less than to fulfil the high commands of the Saviour under all circumstances. It is to deny, control, and conquer self. It is to watch, pray, and by divine meditation, have constant hold upon Christ. It is to glorify God before men by a holy walk and conversation; forgiving enemies, loving all men, aiming to do them good bodily and spiritually-in a word, it is to follow Christ as far as the disciple can follow his Lord in piety toward God, in benevolence toward man. When Peter exclaimed, "I know not the man," he laid down his cross. When Paul declared, "I am ready, not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus," he expressed his willingness to take up his cross, and his delight therein.

The Christian's proper work is to bear the cross. This is his calling, his trade, or profession. It is the business of a watchmaker to make watches; it is the business of the Christian to bear the cross at all times at home, abroad, in the shop, in the store, in the market place, or in the field. By reason of corruption within, of opposition without, of the malice of the wicked one, the burden is sometimes a heavy one, but strength will increase by practice. He has many discouragements, many solicitations to lay it aside. It sometimes presses heavily upon him, but the sight of the crown inspires him with fresh vigour, he glows, and bounds along the heavenly road. By the cross, i. e., by his conduct, the Christian is distinguishedt from the lover of the world. While he bears the cross, the cross will bear him. It will guide him through labyrinths of darkness. As a shield, it will protect him in dangerous conflicts.

Among the Romans, criminals about to be crucified were compelled to bear their own cross to the place of execution; but the Christian bears his to the place of triumph. If it should prove at any time so heavy as to crush him down to death, as did Stephen's, like him he beholds the heavens opened, the King in his beauty, and the crown of celestial glory. He comes off more than a

conqueror.

"O may I triumph so, when all my conflict's past,
And dying, find my latest foe under my feet at last."

"Who suffer with our Master here,
We shall before his face appear,
And by his side sit down;
To patient faith the prize is sure;
And all that to the end endure

The cross, shall wear the crown."

The pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. The world passeth away, and the lust thereof."-JOHN ii. 16. "Man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish."-Ps. xlix 12.

WORLDLY HONOUR.

Lo! here are honours floating in the breeze,

That wafts them changeful o'er the land and seas:
The air-inflated bubbles pass along,

Attract the gaze, and fascinate the throng;

Away they go pursuing and pursued,

O'erleap all bounds, the legal and the good;

Through fields of fire, and seas of blood and woe,
Through broken hearts, and blasted hopes they go.
On others' carcass, see! they strive to rise,
And grasp the phantom that before them flies;
In blood-red garb the butchering knife one bears,
Nor friend, nor foe, if in his way, he spares.
All this for what? For what this vast outlay?
This sum infinite, squandered every day?
Of those thus fool'd, some answer in dispair,
"We clasp'd the phantoms, and we found them air."
Not so the honours that from God descend,
Substantial, pure, and lasting without end.

THIS emblem is a representation of the vain pursuits of mankind. Honours, titles, and fame, are borne upon the wings of the wind, which is ever changing, as are the sources from whence worldly honours are derived. Numbers are seen pressing after them with

mind and strength, and in their haste to possess them, they sacrifice all that is good and holy, all that is benevolent and divine.

One, with his tongue, assails the character of the pious and the wise; another with his pen dipped in gall, attacks the reputation of a suspected rival; others, as seen in the emblem, hew down with the sword those who stand in their path, and trampling on the bleeding body of the victim, strive to obtain the object of their desire; while the shrieks of the wounded, the groans of the dying, the tears of the widow, and the sobs of orphans, seem only to add wings to the speed of ambition.

It often costs them much to enable them to accomplish their ends. They expend peace of conscience, ease, and often life itself. Nay, the soul's salvation-the favour of God, eternal life, immortality in heaven, are exchanged for this empty nothing. The peace and happiness of others, of millions, with their lives, fortunes, and destinies, are thrown away for the same worthless objects.

Perhaps the reader will say, "Surely, a thing that costs so much must be valuable?" True wisdom condemns such things as valueless, and true wisdom is justified of all her children. The little boy who left his satchel and his school to run after the rainbow, expecting to catch it, was a philosopher compared to the idiots in the picture. Alexander, called the "Great," bought the title of "Son of Jupiter" for the consideration of many lives of his followers; and enduring much fatigue while passing through burning and distant climes. After conquering mighty kings and warriors, he attained the pinnacle of honour and fame, and adding to his own dominions the rest of the earth, he became master of the world, and then-he wept, because there were no more worlds to conquer; and, at the age of thirty-two, died in a drunken fit, and was laid in a drunkard's grave. He left his extensive empire a legacy of desolation

to mankind.

The

How different the honours which come from above! The Almighty Saviour, Jesus, hath ascended up on high; He hath received gifts for men-honours, titles, fame-in abundance. saints, who are the excellent of the earth, God delighteth to honour. Angels are their body-guard; the Saviour is their friend. He confers on them the title of "Sons of God," of "Kings and Priests," who shall possess a kingdom that shall endure for ever. Their fame is immortal: the righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance.

The honours of earth come from inconstant mortals; the honours which are spiritual flow from the unchangeable Jehovah. The