pieces at the school anniversaries. THOMAS HORATIO, SON of Thomas and Emma WHEELER, was cut down by the last enemy on the 5th of January, 1863, at the tender age of six years and three months. He had not a long warning that he must die. After an illness of five days, his spirit left the house of clay, to join that company who are without fault before the throne of God. Though his suffering was short, it was severe; but like the children in the days when our Saviour was on earth, he sang the praises of God. Two days before he left this vale of tears he sang a little hymn, commencing with the words, She was very fond of conversing with her mother on heavenly and Divine things. She was often overheard praying in secret for the Lord to create in her a clean heart, and to make her a good child. She told her mother that she loved everybody, but she loved the Saviour better than all, and would like to depart and be with him. She seemed to bid fair to be an ornament to the church militant below, but the Great Disposer of all things ordered it otherwise. He has planted her in a better soil, in a healthier clime, where "Sickness, sorrow, pain, and death, Are felt and feared no more." "When shall I see thee face to face? She was seized with scarlet fever;"O, what hath Jesus done for me!” and though medical aid was cal- When he came to the words,led in, the disease baffled human skill, and she sank under it. A short time before she departed, she called out, "Open the gates.' Then she said to her little brother with apparent rapture he said, "I may." His behaviour and attendance at the Sabbath-school that was standing by her bed- were good; he won the respect side, "O, Alfred, I am dying, but I love you." She then gently fell asleep in Jesus. J. DowNES. of all who knew him. W. Moore. Sabbath Scholars' Department. THE BEAVER. making provision for the support of itself and family presents a striking resemblance to the reason of man. Two things, how ever, in particular, show that it is not endowed with reason after all: 1. It never makes any improvements in its style of architecture, or its other labours, from one generation to another; the present race of Beavers just working in the same way that their ancestors did the year after Noah's flood. And, 2. It goes through very much the same plans and performances, where they are of no avail, as where they are absolutely necessary. As, for example, if tamed and kept in a human habitation, a beaver would try to construct itself a house in the corner of a room, as though it were in a forest or a river. Formerly the beaver, as well as the wolf and the bear, in habited England and Wales, and it used to pursue its housebuilding business on our rivers, but it is now no longer seen here; and it is said to have disappeared about the year 1188. It abounds still in North America, and on the Euphrates, and on the fine European rivers, the Rhone and the Danube. It is about three feet six inches long, and is clothed with a fur of which hats, called beaver hats, are made. Silk hats have superseded beaver ones very largely, but still the beaver hat is yet in use. The house-building achievements of this animal are the most remarkable of its peculiarities, and therefore we must say a little about them. The site where a beaver chooses to | And he always makes provision fix his habitation is usually the bank of a stream of water; not that he may be able to look over the river, and survey the surrounding scenery, and breathe the pure country air; but because he there finds the materials of his architecture, and he has an eye to safety. His materials are wood, mud, stones, and rubbish. He fells trees of considerable magnitude by the natural imple- HINTS FOR LITTLE FOLK. ments, his teeth. He employs a MY DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,-As number of workers, and a good-we shall now speak about locusts, ly sized tree can be cut through I had better tell you that Dr. in an hour or so. But he could Clarke says the word arbeh, a not well remove the tree to any locust, is from the root rabah; great distance, and he therefore he multiplied, became great, contrives to fell it where it can mighty, &c., and includes three be used to purpose, and he also species-crickets, grasshoppers, cuts it so that it shall fall in the proper direction. His object seems to be, generally, to use trees in forming artificial dams, while he prepares his foundations and gets his building prepared. He carries smaller articles between his chin and forelegs, and it has been supposed he works well with his tail. He builds his house of, a suitable size, and lays a good floor, and takes care to have a strong wall and roof. He has apartments for living in, and others for store rooms, where he bestows his goods. While prosecuting his work he fills up interstices in his walls and in the dams with interlaced branches of trees, and other loose materials. say the sun is darkened by them for danger, by leaving openings under the surface by which, as by an underground road, he may effect his escape. We recommend our young friends to study the natural history of this industrious and clever animal, as a great curiosity; but we have not space to say more on the subject here. and what are commonly called locusts. See this subject referred to in Judges vi. 5, vii. 12; Psalm cv. 34; Jeremiah xlvi. 23, li. 14; Joeli. 6; Nahum iii. 15. The locust has a large open mouth, and in its two jaws it has four incisor teeth, which traverse each other like scissors, being calculated to grip or cut. The noise the locusts make in brousing on plants and trees may be heard at a distance, like an army plundering in secret. Fire seems to follow their tracks. When the clouds of locusts take to flight, in order to surmount some obstacle, or more rapidly to cross some desert, one may literally They sometimes cover the whole ground to the depth of six or eight inches, and will enter into the houses and beds. Dr. Boothroyd reads the tenth verse of the tenth chapter of Exodus thus: "He then said to them, so let Jehovah be with you, as I let go both you and your little ones! See, how evil is your design! Not so; but go now ye men, and serve Jehovah; this ye requested. And they were driven out," &c.-Exodus x. 14; Joel i. 2, 4. Some think these passages of Scripture are contradictory; Moses had reference to Egypt, say some, but others think he refers to the quantity of one species, as Kimchi says, which they called Ar bé, which were more than those of Joel's time; or none should come at the com mand of a man as they did at the command of Moses. R. Hezekiah says that those of Egypt, taking each species separately, were less numerous than those of Joel's time, but together they made a larger number, and committed greater ravages; but those of Joel's time are said to be greater, as each species separately was in greater number, as before stated; one species following another during the space of four years-which solves the difficulty. "They exceeded all that went before, or were since, in number, and devastation," says Clarke. Exodus xi. 1, 2; xx. 15; Psalm xxxvii. 21; Malachi iii. 9, should be read before we comment. Now can any little boy or girl think that the Lord commanded every Israelite to "borrow," &c., when he knew they would be unable to pay, or that he was so changeable, that about fifty days after he said "Thou shalt not steal!" The word should be rendered (as elsewhere.) "Ask," "demand." In the verse above it is so rendered in the Greek, and other versions. Thus should they get payment for their labour: such are the opinions of good and wise men. Exodus xii. 3. There seems to be a contradiction in the same verse, for in the former part it says, "The house oftheir fathers;" in the latter part "foreachhouse." But if we look at it calmly, we shall perceive if a house consisted of a large family they were to take a lamb; but if a family, including relations, were few, they only took one among the whole. And if a house consisted of but few persons, they could takealamb with their neighbours, requiring that each should do according to his means. See chapter xii. 5, "Ye shall take it from the sheep or from the goats." The young of sheep, or goats, or the kids of goats. One writer says that the sacrifice in Egypt was ordered to be of lambs, but afterwards of sheep or goats. Dr. Clarke has a note thus, on verse 4, "If the household be too little. If there be not persons enough in one family, to eat a whole lamb, then two families must join together. The Rabbins allow there should be ten, and not more than twenty." Verse 7. The same writer remarks, "This was to be done by dipping a|vious year's produce. bunch of hyssop into the blood, and sprinkling it upon the posts," &c. not gain admission; the other in the evening, by the Rev. T. Brackenbury, Wesleyan minister, which, with the recitals of the children, which reflected much credit upon the teachers, produced a very excellent effect. The collections were £3 14s. 1d., being far in advance of any pre My dear children, think about the precious blood of Christ, and pray to have it sprinkled on your We are thankful to say the school is in a prosperous state; the number of scholars is seventy. I am happy to inform you the school and the church have of late had many additions. May the great Head of the Church cause this nursery to flourish more and more is the prayer of J. PHILLIPS. |