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The way is long, my Father! and my soul
Longs for the rest and quiet of the goal;
While yet I journey through this weary land,
Keep me from wandering. Father! take my hand,
Quickly and straight

Lead to Heaven's gate
Thy child.

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The throng is great, my Father! many a doubt,
And fear, and danger compass me about,
And foes oppress me sore. I cannot stand,
Or go, alone. Oh, Father! take my hand,
And through the throng
Lead safe along
Thy child.

The cross is heavy, Father! I have borne
So long, and still do bear it. Let my worn
And fainting spirit rise to that blessed land
Where crowns are given. Father, take my hand,
And, reaching down,

Lead to the crown
Thy child!"

"The way is dark, my child! but leads to light;
I would not have thee always walk by sight.
My dealings, now, thou canst not understand;
I meant it so; but I will take thy hand,
And through the gloom
Lead safely home
My child.

The day goes fast, my child! but is the night
Darker to Me than day? in Me is light:
Keep close to Me, and every spectral band
Of fears shall vanish. I will take thy hand,
And through the night
Lead up to light
My child.

The way is long, my child! but it shall be

Not one step longer than is best for thee:

And thou shalt know, at last, when thou shalt stand
Close to the gate, how I did take thy hand,

And, quick and straight,

Lead to Heaven's gate

My child.

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POETRY.-THE PILGRIM.

The path is rough, my child! but oh! how sweet
Will be the rest for weary pilgrims meet,

When thou shalt reach the borders of that land
To which I lead thee, as I take thy hand,
And, safe and blest,

With Me shall rest
My child.

The throng is great, my child! but at thy side
Thy Father walks! then be not terrified,
For I am with thee :—will thy foes command
To let thee freely pass; will take thy hand,
And through the throng
Lead safe along
My child.

The cross is heavy, child! yet there is One
Who bore a heavier for thee: My Son,

My well-beloved-with Him bear thine, and stand
With Him, at last; and from thy Father's hand,
Thy cross laid down,

Receive thy crown,
My child."

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PSALM cxliii. 8.

"Give, therefore, Thy servant a hearing heart.”—1 KINGS iii. 9.

GIVE ear unto my prayer, O Lord, and stirring,
With Thy sweet voice, my spirit's deepest chord,
Open my lips to praise; and, in the morning,
"Cause me to hear Thy loving-kindness, Lord."
In silent sun-shine, and in glistening dew-drops,
In golden sun-sets, and in daisied sward;
By every way-side flower that breathes " consider,"
"Cause me to hear Thy loving-kindness, Lord."

In love of friends, in laugh of little children,
In thought and work, by fire-side or abroad,
In everything that gladdens and refreshes,

"Cause me to hear Thy loving-kindness, Lord.”
Hide not Thy face from me, Lord! when I enter,
With fear, into the cloud with trouble stored ;-
But still in bitterest sorrow,-keenest suffering,
"Cause me to hear Thy loving-kindness, Lord."

A heart that stedfastly in God's love trusteth,
Can well contented with His will accord :
In storm or calm, in work or weary waiting,
"Cause me to hear Thy loving-kindness, Lord."
Dear Lord, I would alike in shade or sunshine,
Thy faithful love with grateful heart record;
But, lest my life grow songless,—every morning
"Cause me to hear Thy loving-kindness, Lord."

J. E. B.

SWITZERLAND AND ITS MOUNTAINS.

THE Alps, as seen from Rome on a clear day, present a grand spectacle. The whole range of the Bernese Alps is spread forth crowned with snowy peaks of superior elevation. Our engraving presents one of these-the

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SWITZERLAND AND ITS MOUNTAINS.

Jungfrau, with its two peaks, the Silberhorn (horn of silver) and the Schneehorn (horn of snow.) These summits and the higher slopes are shrouded over with snow of a dazzling whiteness, while on the inferior slopes, when not too abrupt, may be seen the snow and the glaciers. When the day is fine and cloudless, the view is sublime. This, however, is not always so. These few lines are being written on the banks of the river Aar, about a mile from its entrance into the lake of Thun. Opposite, on the south shore of the lake, stand the Stockhorn and the Niesin; but they have been during these few days veiled in clouds, which part occasionally, and afford glimpses of the great mountain masses, which they obscure.

The traveller is, however, in due time repaid; and from the churchyard along the lake, the Blumlis Alp stands forth conspicuously; or, from a point higher up, may be seen the Jungfrau, with other heights.

From the summit of the Niesin (7763 English feet) the snowy mountains of the Bernese Oberland may be seen; from the Altals and Rinderhorn on the west, to the Wetterhorn on the east, the finest object being the Blumlis Alp, and the range extending from thence to the Jungfrau, the more distant view comprising the summit of Mont Blanc and the Dent du Midi.

Can grand mountain ranges be viewed without some lesson being conveyed by them? They are often referred to in Scripture as shadowing forth the glorious excellencies of that God, who is described as "weighing the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance," and who piled them up, these huge masses one upon the other, as evidences of his power. Thus the Psalmist exclaims-"Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep; O Lord, thou preservest man and beast." And again in Isaiah-"The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy upon thee."

The mountains, as we look upon them, convey to the mind the idea of stability. And yet there is something more stable, more enduring, for the mountains may be removed; but this never can, God's covenanted mercy in Christ Jesus, sure to all who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before them, His mercy which reacheth unto the heavens, and His faithfulness unto the clouds. He who by His strength. setteth fast the mountains, has set fast His mercy on Christ; and as he does so, he says-" My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth. . . . lift up your eyes to the heavens and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner; but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished." "Let us lift up our eyes then to the hills, from whence cometh our help," for now "the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and upon all that believe, for there is no difference, for all have sinned and came short of the glory

THE KOLS OF CHOTA NAGPORE.

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of God." Thither let all fly who are oppressed with a sense of sin. “Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place from one generation to another'; before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting, Thou art God."

"As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people." And the land of the Swiss is a mountain-girdled land. The Jura mountains screen it off from France. Penetrating through these defiles, the traveller finds himself amongst the lakes and pleasant towns, the villas and gardens of a free people; while Southward rise the mighty ramparts, first of the Bernese Alps, and then, beyond the Valais, of the great central range dividing it from Italy; while further east extend the Rhetian Alps.

Mighty empires have on every side encompassed this little territory; yet it has remained free. The mountains have been round about it, nay, better still, the divine protection has been around it, and the land has been consecrated to religious freedom, so that there has been room here for the Christianity of the Bible to be taught and professed.

Painful it is to pass through France and see the churches solely engaged in the service of a corrupt Christianity, which obscures the glory of the Saviour, and sets up the image of the Virgin as the immediate refuge of the sinner. Pleasant it is to pass from thence into a Swiss town, Neufchâtel for instance, and see the arrangements made for the sanctification of the Sabbath, and the preaching of the Gospel.

With Switzerland the Church Missionary Society has been long in sympathy. The Missionary College at Basle has furnished us with many valuable Missionaries, and that more particularly at a time when from England few or none were to be had. Their names are recorded in the annals of the Society, men who, in their day and generation endured hardness, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, and laid down their lives in the great battle-field of truth against error.

May mighty and reviving influences be poured out on the Protestants of Switzerland. We do not say all is hope. Far from it. There is much of salt which has lost its savour; a doctrine without Christ, and a name without vitality. It is painful to see in a large town a fine old church on the Sunday, for public worship in the morning, for catechism in the afternoon, and then shut up for the rest of the day. But the Lord has His people in this land, and may they increase more and more, until they fill the land.

THE KOLS OF CHOTA NAGPORE.

We wish to introduce to our readers a primitive people, amongst whom Christian Missionaries have been privileged to introduce the Gospel with marked success.

They are the Kols, inhabiting the eastern portion of a highland country of Central India, rising some 2000 feet above the sea level.

Evidently the Kols, with the Sonthals and other kindred tribes, were once the occupants of the plain country, until the Hindu races came in and drove them into these fastnesses, where they found a refuge—a new

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