I have now related to you the parable of the Prodigal Son:-and does not this parable afford you most kind encouragement to confess your sins to your heavenly Father, and to ask his forgivness? When the Prodigal came and confessed to his father, that he had sinned against God and against him, his father did not reject him, nor drive him away from his presence; he did not reproach him with what he had done, and tell him that his conduct had been so bad, that he could show him no favor. He did not do this, but received him with the greatest kindness and compassion; he did even more for him than he asked, and, instead of making him merely one of his hired servants, treated him as a son, and made great rejoicings, because he had returned to his home, and was willing to live once more under his father's roof.

So, too, my dear children, will your heavenly Father receive you,if you humbly confess your sins, and pray for his inercy. He willeth not the death of a sinner, but would rather that he should turn from his evil ways and live. He delights to see his children return to the path of truth and duty; he delights to see them virtuous and happy, and will abundantly reward those who show an earnest desire to avoid that which is wrong, and to do those things which are agreeable to his laws. When you

have sinned against God, therefore, do not attempt to hide or to deny your guilt: nor yet fear to ask forgiveness of God: but rather kneel down, and confess that you have done wrong, and pray fervently for his gracious pardon and assistance. Confess your past sins, and resolve that you will never commit the same again; for, let me tell you,the true meaning of repentance is, to be sorry for what you have done, and not to do the same again. It will be of no use to say one moment that you are sorry, and then to go and sin again the next, for this will show that your sorrow was not true and sincere. The father who is mentioned in the parable which I have related to you, would not have killed the fatted calf for his son, had he perceived that he was disposed to leave him again. So neither will your heavenly Father forgive you, if he sees that you only half repent of what you have done; but if he sees that you are truly and deeply sorry for your past sins, and that you also earnestly strive to lead better lives, then he will bestow his favor and his blessing upon you; he will help you to be wise and good; he will give you peace of mind as long as you live; and he will receive you at last into heaven itself, where 'there is joy among the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.'

ADDRESS XIX.

WHAT SORT OF BOOKS TO READ.

My dear children,

books

Your teachers not only give you to learn from, and to read in your classes, but they have also provided for you a very nice collection of books, from which you are allowed to take some away with you to read at your own homes; and I hope that you apply for them and read them diligently. You ought, I am sure, to consider yourselves very fortunate, in having those books to read, for there are many poor children who have no such useful works. There are many schools where there is no library at all; and about fifty years ago there were neither Sunday school, libraries, nor even Sunday schools. There were then no books for children to read, besides the Bible, and the spelling book, and one or two others. But now, what a number of books we have for young persons!—so many that we can scarcely tell the titles of them all; and they are many of them very good books, very entertaining and instructive, and such as you can understand.

The Bible is certainly of the highest impor

tance, and ought to be constantly and most diligently read. It contains many interesting narratives, and it is besides, the Book of books; it is the explanation of God's will, and the history of his dealings with men; and if you would have true wisdom, and know how to be truly happy, you must never neglect to study its holy pages, and try to understand what it tells you.

Yet there are other books, which explain the Bible, and give you a great variety of information, which will be very useful to you, and excite you to lead good and virtuous lives. You have that excellent little work, the Gospel Examples, which explains to you many things that Jesus Christ has said, and shews you the true spirit of his religion. And then you have books of history, such as Josephus's history of the Jews, and the history of Greece,and Rome, and England, and many others, which shew you what wars and tumults there have been in the world, and how bad kings and bad nations have been brought to destruction. There are also books of Biography, as it is called--that is, the lives of eminent men and women, of persons who were very good or very clever, and who made themselves known and loved, and did a great deal of good in the world. Much of the same kind are the six volumes of The Christian Tracts, which tell you many instruc

tive stories about good and bad people; there are the stories of William's Return, and the Twin Brothers, and Samuel Bonner, and James Talbot, and Eliza Curtis, and the Week in a Cottage. There are also other excellent little books very similar to these, such as Ellen and Mary, and the Cottage Stories for Children. I do not know any thing that can be more interesting than the works which I have just mentioned; and I have known some children who were never tired of reading them. They tell you how good men and good children have lived, and how they died; they show you how different their behaviour has been from that of the wicked, and how much better it was for them that they persevered in being good.

Besides these, you have another kind of books, on what is called Natural Historythat is, a description of the various substances and productions of the earth, and also of the various kinds of animals. These are very interesting books indeed, and you will have great pleasure in reading them They tell you about all the different flowers which grow wild in the fields, or which adorn your gardens: they describe to you all the different sorts of trees, and where they grow, and for what their wood is used: they tell you also about the bee, which lays up honey for winter; and about the beaver, which cuts down trees with his teeth, and