Those gardens, vales, and plains, and hills, And such is man-a soil which breeds Just as his heart is train'd to bear The poisonous weed, or floweret fair.-Bowring. Ensult. A contemptuous, scornful act, which we feel much more difficult to overlook and forgive than a serious injury. Entegrity. Integrity is the foundation of all that is high in character among mankind; other qualities may add to its splendour, but if this essential requisite be wanting, all their lustre fades. Erresolution. Irresolution is a habit which creeps upon its victim with a fatal facility. It is not vicious, but it leads to vice; and many a fine heart has paid the penalty of it at the scaffold. Trifling as it appears in the wavering steps of the young, as they grow older its form changes to that of a hideous monster, which leads them to destruction with their eyes open. The idler, the spendthrift, the epicurean, and the drunkard, are among its victims. Perhaps in the latter its effects appear in the most hideous form. He knows that the goblet which he is about to drain is poison, yet he swallows it. He knows, for the example of thousands has pointed it to him in glaring colours, that it will deaden all his faculties, take the strength from his limbs and the happiness from his heart, oppress him with foul diseases, and hurry his progress to a dishonoured grave; yet he drains it under a species of dreadful spell, like that by which small creatures are said to approach and leap into the jaws of the loathsome serpent, whose fiendish eyes have fascinated them. How beautiful and manly is that power by which the resolute man passes unmoved through these dangers! “E say.” Some people are in the habit of repeating "I say" to almost every sentence to which they give utterance. On one occasion a lady rang the bell for her footman; on his entering, she said:-"I say, James, I have been to Mrs. Thompson's, and heard say, that you said that I am in the habit of saying 'I say' to every word I say. Now if I do say 'I say' to every word I say, it does not become you to say that I say 'I say' to every word I say, James." Dr. Sharp, of Hart Hall, Oxford, is said to have contracted a similar habit of prefacing his sentences with these words. An undergraduate having mimicked this peculiarity, the doctor sent for him to give him a jobation, which he began thus :-"I say, they say you say, I say ‘I say1”—when, finding the ridiculous combination, he concluded by bidding him quit the room. "Et." The pronoun IT is a comical word, It is sometimes amusing, it is often absurd; -QUIZ. J Jesting. When thou dost tell another's jest, therein Which is thy best stake, when griefs make thee tame. Joy. The honey of existence; really beneficial and agreeable when partaken of in moderation, but highly injurious when used to excess. We are too apt in religious matters to call the man who goes beyond us in belief a fanatic, and he who comes short of our creed an infidel; not reflecting, that He who is the light and the truth sees not with our eyes, and judges not with our judgment. Justice. A pair of scales, in which the actions of mankind are often weighed; the true weights being often bought up by power and wealth, whilst others that are incorrect are substituted. K Keepsakes. A keepsake, like mercy, is "twice blessed-it blesseth him that gives, and him that takes." No heart can be so dead to the best feelings of humanity, as not to throb with emotion when the eye is gazing in solace and secret on the last relic of one we dearly loved. It hallows the mind and purifies the heart, and we have a saving faith, too, that it absolutely betters the morals. No very atrocious deed could be committed when the presence of one we esteemed and respected was near us to check every action. A locket containing the hair of one no longer living, is a melancholy, but yet a gratifying memorial. It is a kind of pledge given to those on earth in anticipation of a blessed re-union hereafter. The hair, too, is the last thing that decays, and is, therefore, the most appropriate relic of the dead. We never behold a locket suspended among the glittering jewellery of a pawnbroker's window, without being led into a train of the most sombre reflections. What a struggle between life and death must that have been, that induced the possessor to relinquish this last token, to satisfy the cravings of hunger. It is too painful a theme to dwell upon long. The heart sickens at the sight of things, the very possession of which speaks of former opulence and present poverty-of a once happy home, now deserted. These glittering memorials of love, these sacred offerings of friendship, are here exhibited like the bony integuments piled up in the Parisian catacombs, as part and parcel of the virtually dead. Oh! know'st thou why, to distance driven, Long, long retains a magic power? “Keep it—yes, keep it for my sake !” On fancy's ear still peals the sound; Nor time the potent charm shall break, Nor loose the spell by nature bound.-Mrs. Knight. Kindness. The sunshine of life is made up of very little beams, that are bright all the time. In the nursery, on the play-ground, and in the school-room, opportunities occur for little acts of kindness, that cost nothing, but are worth more than gold or silver. To give up something, where giving up will prevent unhappiness-to yield, when persisting will chafe and fret others to go a little round, rather than come against another to take an ill word or a cross look, rather than resent or return it; these are the ways in which clouds and storms are kept off, and a pleasant, smiling sunshine secured even in the humble home, among very poor people, as in families in higher stations. Much that we term the miseries of life would be avoided by adopting this rule of conduct. We are but passengers of a day, whether on a railway or in the universal machine of the universe. Let us, then, make the way as pleasant as we can to each other. Short as our journey is, it is long enough to be tedious to him who skulks in his corner, sits uneasy himself, and elbows his neighbour to make him uneasy also. Kindness casts a true shadow: wherever it moves, you will see its form thrown back from the object it has covered. Kind Words. Kind words do not cost much. They never blister the tongue or lips. We never heard of any mental trouble arising from this quarter. Though they do not cost much, yet they accomplish much. First, they help one's goodnature and goodwill. Soft words soften our soul. Angry words are fuel to the flame of wrath, and make it burn more fiercely. Secondly, kind words make other people goodnatured. Cold words freeze people, and hot words scorch them, and bitter words make people bitter, and wrathful words make them wrathful. There is such a rush of all other kinds of words in our days, that it seems desirable to give kind words a chance among them. There are vain words, and idle words, and hasty words, and spiteful words, |