familiar yet immortal poem by Longfellow, entitled "The Psalm of Life." Let me quote a few verses here: a man does is the real test of what a man is." Among the different kinds of ability which different men possess, the kind which all men respect, and most men rank as highest in the scale of their estimation, is that which enables its possessor to do what he undertakes, and attain the object of his ambition or desire. Human ability can be classified under distinctive heads, and is commonly called by distinctive names. For example, there is the speculative or philosophical cast of intellect; the ability to think long and and was admired, beloved and trusted, by all except the heartless or the base. No greater homage was ever paid in Parliament to any deceased member. Now let every young man ask, How was this attained? By rank? He was the son of an Edinburgh merchant. By wealth? Neither he nor any of his relatives ever had a superfluous sixpence. By office? He held but one, and that only for a few years, of no influence, and with very little pay. By talents? His were not splendid, and he had no genius; cautious and slow, his only ambition was to be right. By eloquence? He spoke in calm good taste, without any of the oratory that either terrifies or seduces. By any fascination of manner? His was only correct and agreeable. By what, then, was it? Merely by sense, industry, good principles, and a good heart,-qualities which no well-constituted mind need ever despair of attaining. It was the force of his character that raised him, and this character not impressed upon him by nature, but formed out of no peculiarly fine elements by himself. Horner was born to show what moderate powers, unaided by anything whatever except culture and goodness, may achieve, even when these powers are displayed amidst the competition and jealousy of public life. It is lesson after lesson with the scholar, blow after blow with the laborer, crop after crop with the farmer, picture after picture with the painter, and mile after mile with the traveler, that secures what all so much desire success. POWER OF CIRCUMSTANCES. "There is a tide in the affairs of men Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Is bound in shallows and miseries." SHAKESPERE. O thoughtful person will deny that circumstances have much to do in determining the course and current of human life, but there are hundreds of men who are al ways talking about good and bad luck, and who seem to think that fate is ordering the course of their lives and bestowing success or failure as its caprice or fancy may at the time decide. It will be well, therefore, at the outset to examine this question. carefully and see, if we can, how much of truth there is involved in it, and how much of error. About all of solid truth there is in the idea of "chance" is this: Circumstances do combine sometimes to give men very favorable opportunities for improving their condition, as well as for grasping rare and precious prizes in life. These happy combinations of circumstances are apparently fortuitous, but, on the other hand, they may be the result of regular and established forces whose operations are entirely hidden from human vision; and this, doubtless, is the idea that Shakespere intended to convey in the |