had written upon it, "This man is a liar?" Not all his glare and his glory would screen him from shame and derision. If I thought that passages taken from the word of God would move you, I would give you fifty, every one of which would condemn you. "He that uttereth slander, is a fool," Prov. x. 18. "Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile," Psa. xxxiv. 13. "Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight," Prov. xii. 22. "All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone," Rev. xxi. 8. But it is not the want of knowledge, that has led you to evil. May God, in his mercy, give you to abhor deceit and to love truth!

What advantage is there in a lie, Edmund? If it answer your present purpose, it is sure to cover you with future confusion. "The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment,” Prov. xii. 19. Now, Edmund, if ever you thought me to be your friend, do let me earnestly urge upon you to take this matter to heart. You are on the brink of a precipice, stop in time. Strive hard to regain the credit you have lost. Let no temptation lead you to utter a falsehood. If you had no shoe to your foot, and loved the truth, you would be deserving of respect; but if

you rolled in riches, the character of a liar would brand you with infamy. Hold fast the words of truth; and rather die than spread a slander or invent a lie.

A CALL ON A BROTHER AND SISTER.

Visitor. I hope you are well, Mrs. Moreton; I have called with the two little books which I promised William and Fanny. Oh, yonder they are, I see.

Mrs. Morton. I am much obliged to you. Come here, children, see what nice little books are on the table. It is not every promise that is kept so faithfully. My young people have been disappointed, in not receiving a puzzle which I bought for them yesterday. I cannot think why the man has not sent it.

Visitor. These little disappointments are not without their advantages; for they, in some degree, prepare the youthful mind for more serious troubles in after life. I will tell William and Fanny a circumstance which took place in the days of my childhood. It is just as much as I can remember, being very young when it occurred. My sister and I had been promised a great treat by Betty, the cook. Day after day, we wanted to know what the treat would be, and day after day, she put us off, saying, "Oh, it will

be such a treat as you never had before." The longer she delayed to gratify us, the higher our expectations arose; and we doubted not that Betty was preparing for us one of the very best treats in the world.

At last, after a heavy fall of snow, Betty told us that, in the afternoon, she would give us the treat she had so long promised us, and then whispered in our ears that if we would not tell any body, and not eat too many of them, she would boil us some snowballs. We were, as I said before, very young, or we could not have been so silly as to have felt pleasure in the prospect before us, but Betty talked so much of dipping the beautiful white snowballs, all piping hot, into sugar and treacle, that we were absolutely delighted.

The afternoon came: my sister and I went into the kitchen almost too happy to contain ourselves. There was Betty with a large saucepan, half filled with boiling water, on the fire, and a dish of nice clean white snowballs on the table. The sugar-basin and a pot of treacle stood ready, and never sure were happier hearts than those which then beat in our bosoms. "Now," said Betty, after she had put the snowballs one by one into the saucepan, and placed the cover over them, "you must watch the saucetill they are quite done, while I put two little

pan

plates and spoons for you, that you may be quite comfortable." Betty bustled about the kitchen, making as much fuss as if she had been preparing for a dinner party, until both my sister and myself grew impatient, and insisted upon it that the snowballs must be boiled enough. The saucepan was taken from the fire, and placed just inside the fendcr, so that we might take out the hot snowballs ourselves; for which purpose we were provided with spoons, but to our utter amazement and consternation, when the lid was taken from the saucepan, not a single snowball was to be found. It was in vain we put our spoons to the very bottom of the saucepan and turned them round and round, the snowballs were not there; and, to add to our disappointment and distress, Betty burst out into a hearty laugh. My grandfather explained to us, afterwards, that the snowballs had melted in the saucepan; and I can remember, even now, the smile which he had on his face when, taking us both on his knees and kissing us, he told us that, in going through the world, we should find many a fine promise and glowing expectation turn out to be but a boiled snowball.

Now, what my grandfather said to me, I say to you—and I say it by my own experience -many of this world's proudest promises will

produce nothing. They may raise your expectations, they may afford you a degree of pleasure in the prospect, but they will end in disappointment, and yield you no more solid enjoyment than we derived from the boiled snowballs of our servant Betty.

But, my dear children, if many of this world's promises are so deceitful and hollow; if they burst like a bubble, or melt like a snowball, there is the more reason why we should rely on those heavenly promises which God has given us in his holy word. God has promised to forgive the sins of every repentant transgressor. He has promised that those who seek him early shall find him. He has promised to give grace and glory, and to withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly. He has promised to take away, from them that trust in his mercy, the fear of death, and to give them everlasting life, prepared for them by the merits of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

These are promises which will never deceive you; for faithful is He who has promised, and able and willing is he to perform. I dare say that you will not entirely forget the account given you of the snowballs: try, then, to remember also the promises of God to all who believe in him.