but the preparation which they need is a preparation to live, to live and act in the fear of God and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost. "The day of salvation" is not the day of death, nor yet the day of judgment; God's word hath said: "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." The call of God to man is to-day- To-day if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." The invitation of Christ is to a present salvation, and if we are saved to-day we need have no anxiety about our salvation in years that are to come. If to-day we are lost and without God, no hope of future salvation will profit or avail us. The preparation for death does not differ from the preparation for life; the preparation to be translated in glory to meet the Lord does not differ from the preparation requisite to serve the Lord in this world; the preparation which a man needs to meet his Judge is simply the preparation which he requires every day in his active life in the midst of temptations and trials-the preparation which will make him honest and upright in his dealings; compassionate towards all men; kind and affectionate in his home; tender-hearted toward those who are bound to him by the ties of nature and affection; patient in all the buffetings and conflicts of this life. This preparation, which fits him for present duty and present service, will be his preparation for other trials, and other scenes of conflict and affliction, or triumph and victory.

The same grace that keeps the father from provoking his children, the mother from scolding under provocation, children from disobeying their parents, and all Christians from falling into sin of word, or thought, or deed, is the grace that makes them ready for translation, and fits them for the presence of the great King.

And we should not for a moment give place to the idea that any new or peculiar blessedness is needful for those hours of awful moment which are before us. It is true that God's grace is sufficient in every hour of need; that as our day is, so shall our strength be; but it is also true that every day brings its own burdens, and that those who here in this world have served the Lord will be found at last of him in peace.

We do not need to ask the question how men die, when we are fully informed as to how they have lived. A life of fidelity to God prepares for a peaceful and triumphant death; and he who walks as a pilgrim and a stranger on the earth, looking for the city that hath foundations, shall not find its gates closed against him when at last his feet shall reach the sacred portals. Let us see to it that the full measure of Divine grace and blessing be ours from day to day; and if we receive" of his fulness" and rejoice in His favour, the thoughts of God's presert salvation will fill our souls with such sweetness, confidence, and rest, that we shall have no fear of the future, but shall rejoice in the present grace of an ever-present Lord, and look forward with joyful hope to the day when we shall see His face and behold His glory in the kingdom of our God.

ECHOING THE SONG.

"CHRISTMAS is coming! Hurrah | eighteen hundred years ago there for Christmas!" shouted Harry lived in a country 'way off over the Hathaway, as he burst into the sea, some folks called Jews. They play-room, tossing his cap to the wanted a king; and so the Lord He farthest corner. promised 'em one, and then they At this diplay of enthusiasm went to getting ready for him, three pairs of bright eyes looked building a temple and all that sort wonderingly up-the blue ones of of thing. They thought he'd come sweet and gentle May, the brown perfectly magnificent, and be a ones of Puss-or, as the big Bible wonderful man that could make has it, Katharine Manchester, which their enemies, the Romans, stand dignified name for every-day hand- around in a hurry; though if they'd ling came to be Katie, then Kitty, read their Bibles they'd have known and finally Puss-and the big ones better. But they didn't sit up of Master Theodore, who, having nights to read 'em, and what they dubbed himself Dodo in his early read day-times they didn't pay no attempts at speaking, was from that attention to; and they was awful time Dodo by common consent. proud, too; so when their King came, a helpless little baby, with a poor carpenter out of one of the meanest villages in those parts for his father, they wouldn't believe 'twas their king. They wouldn't have anything to do with Him; and as true as you live, that baby King had to sleep in a manger the first night he was in this world, for the hotel was full, and the folks in that city where his mother was stopping didn't care to keep travellers. But no matter how he came, he was King all the sameeverybody says so now-and the Lord was bound to take notice of him if the Jews didn't, so before morning He sent one of His angels down to tell some good, pious shepherds that the King really was in Bethlehem.

"Who's Trismas?" asked Dodo, after a moment of perplexed meditation.

"Oh, Dodo Hathaway, not to know about Christmas!" cried Puss. Why 'taint anybody, it's a day. Don't you 'member when we went out to Uncle Frank's an' had the Christmas-tree with the beautifullest presents on it? But then I s'pose you don't; you're nothing but a baby."

"Ain't a baby," indignantly answered Dodo. "I'se four yees an' a half ole. Mamma said sho zis mornin'."

"Christmas is Jesus' birthday," wisely interposed May, just in the right time to divert Dodo from the grievance of being called a baby.

"Yes," said Harry. "Miss Denison told us all about it in school this afternoon. You keep still, young ones, and I'll tell you. A great many years ago—"

up

"Let me tell about that," broke in Puss, who had eagerly followed the story as it fell from Harry's lips; and quickly springing to her feet the little lady recited, in tones tha might have proved her at least ex-great-granddaughter to the loudvoiced Stentor, these words:

Many 's five ? " interrupted Dodo.

"Twas more'n

"Five!" contemptuously claimed Harry. eighteen hundred." Whereupon Dodo relapsed into silence, and the narrative went on after this fashion: "More'n

"Shepherds lay afield that night to
keep their silly sheep:
Hosts of angels in their sight came
down from heaven's steep;

Tidings! tidings unto you! to you a child is born,

Purer than the drops of dew, and
brighter than the morn.

Sing high, sing low, sing to and fro,
Go tell it forth with speed;
Cry out and shout all round about,
That Christ is boru indeed.”

"That's a Christmas ball-ad," she graciously explained, looking around upon the listening group.

"Yes, bawl-ad I should think," responded Harry. "Where did you learn it?"

"Why, don't you know Cousin Dilly sung it to the Christmas-tree at Uncle Frank's ?" replied Puss. "There's a lot more verses to it, but I can't 'member 'em. I'membered this, 'cause it told about the 'silly sheep.'"

"Wants to hear more about ze King baby," said Dodo.

6

Agreed," answered Harry. "All that will, show the right hand"and instantly up went three little hands as far as three short arms could send them.

66

"And let's keep what we do a secret till the day after Christmas," continued May. Then we'll get together here, and tell each other what we've done."

"An' that'll be a s'prise!" joyfully cried Puss. "I think s'prises are splendid."

On the second day following this talk Merry Christmas came, and a very Merry Christmas it was too, in the house of the Hathaways. There was turkey and plumpudding with other goodies "too numerous to mention," as the advertisements say, for dinner; a wonderful green tree in the evening, that bore all manner of fruit, and gave everybody just what they wanted; and plenty of fun and frolic over "Puss in the Corner," "Kitchen Furniture," "Steamboat," and "Twenty Questions.”

But the happiest day must come to an end. Christmas was over full soon, and the time for reporting good works at hand. Harry, May, Puss, and Dodo all were ready.

"Well, continued Harry, "the shepherds was sort of afraid of the angel at first sight, not knowing what his business might be; but he told 'em right off that they needn't be afraid, for he had only come to tell 'em the best kind of news, and then, like sensible old fellows,' they cheered up, and believed every word he said. He hadn't more'n got through speaking, either, before there was lots and lots of angels with him, making the sweetest music you ever heard, singing Peace on earth, good will to men.' Miss Denison said that "I'll begin," said Harry. "You was exactly the song to sing then, see, Hal Burton's skates are played for this King had come to save out, and he can't have any new folks from their sins, and show 'em ones because his folks are so poor. the way to heaven. She said we I saw him yesterday morning, and ought to be so thankful for such a he was just dying to get on the ice. King that when His birthday came I told him I'd lend him my skates round-we call it Christmas, you some day, and he said being an know-we'd do something out of errand-boy he couldn't go except on love to Him, to make somebody a holiday. Now, young man,' said happy, and so keep echoing that I to myself, is your chance to make beautiful song about 'peace and somebody happy;' but I did want good will.'" to skate dreadfully, for all the fellows are out Christmas afternoon, and we have a famous time. I

"Oh! how lovely!" softly whispered May, looking almost like an

didn't stop to think about it long, though, but poked those skates into Hal's hand and ran off double quick, for fear I'd back down. 'Twas better up to the house than I expected, and when Hal brought the skates home at night, acting so jolly, I declare I felt jollier than if I'd skated a whole year. Now, May"-turning to his sister. "Tisn't much," said May, hesitatingly. "I only went over and stayed an hour with old Mrs. Roberts. I thought she'd be lonesome, having to lie still in bed when other folks were out having a good time, even if she has got lots of money. I told her all about what we had for dinner, and read "The Lord is my Shepherd' chapter to her, and sang some pieces out of the Gospel Songs,' and when I came away she said I'd made the day brighter for her."

family an' took out Albert Edward an' Beatrice Mary Victoria Feodore, an' sent 'em with the note."

"Didn't have no dood will for nobody," said Dodo. "Didn't have no piece but a piece ov tandy, an' wanted to eat zat; but was faid King Zesus wouldn't like me if I didn't do somefin for somebody on His burfday. Finds Ann in ze titchen an' ask her what she finkin 'bout, an' she say, 'Ould Irelan'.' Zen I tell her zat I loves her, an' gives her ze piece, an' she say, Shure, it's a swate morsel, an' I'll roll it under my tongue;' an' zen she hugs me hard an' says, ' Howly Mither, bless the bye! he's a heap o' comfut.'"

6

And this is how the little Hathaways echoed the beautiful song that sounded over the Judæan fields when the Christ-child came upon earth. It was not very much they "Aunt Flo said," chimed in Puss, did, to be sure, but it was their "that good will meant good wishin', best; and the best we can do is so I printed the sweetest little note enough to make the Christ-child, all 'bout Merry Christmas for Mag- grown great and mighty now, look gie Danvers; an' then I reckoned down from the throne of His glory she didn't have many paper dolls, in heaven, lovingly and approvfor her mamma's a washerwoman, ingly on us every one. so I broke right into my royal |

SEVEN WOMEN AND ONE MAN.

A NOTABLE instance of the obscurity caused in the Scriptures by the arbitrary and unwarranted divisions into chapters and verses, is found at the beginning of the fourth chapter of Isaiah, where it speaks of seven womem that shall lay hold of one man. Persons have puzzled their brains over the matter, and commentators have sometimes sought for some deep meaning, or have looked upon the passage as referring to "the call of the Gentiles," or something of that kind, when the whole obscurity is removed by simply joining the first verse of the fourth chapter to the last verse of the third chapter of Isaiah.

The prophet in the third chapter denounces wrath against the proud and haughty daughters of Zion, who walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing on their way, with tinkling ornaments, and chains, and bracelets, and rings, and jewels, and mantles, and wimples, and crisping pins, and such other incentives

them

to early piety as were in vogue in the fashionable synagogues in Jerusalem some twenty-six hundred years ago, and which are— perhaps with some modifications, introduced by the Paris demi-monde -as common to-day in fashionable churches as they were then in Jerusalem. After having pictured the pride of those prosperous days, the prophet thus describes the calamities that should come upon when the Lord entered into judgment with His people for their sins. "And it shall come to pass, that instead of a sweet smell there shall be a stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty. Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground. And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach."

The natural connection of the passage removes all obscurity. The men were to fall by the sword, and the slaughter was to be so great that the number of women should far exceed the number of men who should survive. And as to be unmarried and childless was, and still is, an occasion of the greatest reproach in the East, and as polygamy was not forbidden under the Jewish law, therefore, in their distress and poverty and wretchedness, the young women who had minced and flirted through Jerusalem with their gay clothing and fine trinkets, contrary to their natural modesty, would become suitors to the men, and under the hardest conditions seek the name and credit of wedlock to be free from the reproach that would otherwise be their portion. Kimchi, the Jewish commentator, says this happened in the days of Ahaz, when Pekah the son of Remaliah, slew in Judæa one hundred and twenty thousand men in one day. (See 2 Chron. xviii. 6.) The widows which were left were so numerous that the prophet said: "Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas" (Jer. xv. 8). This simple joining together of sentences which should never have been separated at once removes all obscurity, avoids all necessity for lengthy and laboured expositions, and presents the passage as solemn warning against the pride which goeth before destruction, and ends in calamity, distress, and ruin.

COMPANIONS ON THE ROAD.

LIFE'S milestones, marking year on year,
Pass ever swifter as we near

The final goal, the silent end

To which our fated footsteps tend.

A year once seemed a century,

Now like a day it hurries by,

And doubts and fears our hearts oppress,
And all the day is weariness.