IV. — THE PEN AND THE PRESS.

Young Genius walked out by the mountains and streams,
Entranced by the power of his own pleasant dreains,
Till the silent, the wayward, the wandering thing

Found a plume that had fallen from a passing bird's wing:
Exulting and proud, like a boy at his play,
He bore the new prize to his dwelling away;
He gazed for a while on its beauties, and then
He cut it, and shaped it, and called it a PEN.

But its magical use he discovered not yet,
Till he dipped its bright lips in a fountain of jet;
And, oh! what a glorious thing it became!
For it spoke to the world in a language of flame;
While its master wrote on, like a being inspired,
Till the hearts of the millions were melted or fired:
It came as a boon and a blessing to men,
The peaceful, the pure, the victorious Pen.

Young Genius went forth on his rambles once more,
The vast, sunless caverns of earth to explore;

He searched the rude rock, and with rapture he found

A substance unknown, which he brought from the ground;

He fused it with fire, and rejoiced at the change,

As he moulded the ore into characters strange,

Till his thoughts and his efforts were crowned with success;
For an engine uprose, and he called it the PRESS.

The Pen and the Press, blest alliance! combined
To soften the heart, and enlighten the mind;
For that to the treasures of knowledge gave birth,
And this sent them forth to the ends of the earth:
Their battles for truth were triumphant indeed,
And the rod of the tyrant was snapped like a reed;
They were made to exalt us, to teach us, to bless,
Those invincible brothers, the Pen and the Press.

JOHN CRITCHLEY PRINCE.

V. A TASTE FOR READING.

We cannot linger in the beautiful creations of inventive genius, or pursue the splendid discoveries of modern science, without a new sense of the capacities and dignity of human nature, which naturally leads to a sterner self-respect, to manlier resolves and higher aspirations. We cannot read the ways of God to man as revealed in the history of nations, of sublime virtues as exemplified in the lives of great and good men, without falling into that mood of thoughtful admiration, which, though it be but a transient glow, a purifying and elevating influence while it lasts. The study of history is especially valuable as an antidote to self-exaggeration. It teaches lessons of humility, patience, and submission. When we read of realms smitten with the scourge of famine or pestilence, or strewn with the bloody ashes of war; of grass growing in the streets of great cities; of ships rotting at the wharves; of fathers burying their sons; of strong men begging their bread; of fields untilled, and silent workshops, and despairing countenances, - we hear a voice of rebuke to our own clamorous sorrows and peevish complaints. We learn that pain and suffering and disappointment are a part of God's providence, and that no contract was ever yet made with man by which virtue should secure to him temporal happiness.

In books, be it remembered, we have the best products of the best minds. We should any of us esteem it a great privilege to pass an evening with Shakspeare or Bacon, were such a thing possible. But, were we admitted to the presence of one of these illustrious men, we might find him touched with infirmity, or oppressed with weariness, or darkened with the shadow of a recent trouble, or absorbed by intrusive and tyrannous thoughts. To us the oracle might be dumb, and the light eclipsed. But, when we take down one of their volumes, we run no such risk. Here we have their best thoughts, embalmed in their best words; immortal flowers of poetry, wet with Castalian dews, and the golden fruit of wisdom that had long ripened on the bough before it was gathered. Here we find the growth of the choicest seasons of the mind, when mortal cares were forgotten, and mortal weaknesses were subdued; and the soul, stripped of its vanities and its passions, lay bare to the finest effluences of truth and beauty. We may be sure that Shakspeare never out-talked his Hamlet, nor Bacon his Essays. Great writers

are indeed best known through their books. How little, for instance, do we know of the life of Shakspeare; but how much do we know of him!

For the knowledge that comes from books, I would claim no more than it is fairly entitled to. I am well aware that there is no inevitable connection between intellectual cultivation, on the one hand, and individual virtue or social well-being, on the other. "The tree' of knowledge is not the tree of life." I admit that genius and learn. ing are sometimes found in combination with gross vices, and not unfrequently with contemptible weaknesses; and that a community at once cultivated and corrupt is no impossible monster. But it is no overstatement to say, that, other things being equal, the man who has the greatest amount of intellectual resources is in the least danger from inferior temptations, if for no other reason, because he has fewer idle moments. The ruin of most men dates from some vacant hour. Occupation is the armor of the soul; and the train of Idleness is borne up by all the vices. I remember a satirical poem, in which the Devil is represented as fishing for men, and adapting his baits to the taste and temperament of his prey; but the idler, he said, pleased him most, because he bit the naked hook. To a young man away from home, friendless and forlorn in a great city, the hours of peril are those between sunset and bedtime; for the moon and stars see more of evil in a single hour than the sun in his whole day's circuit. The poet's visions of evening are all compact of tender and soothing images. It brings the wanderer to his home, the child to his mother's arms, the ox to his stall, and the weary laborer to his rest. But to the gentle-hearted youth who is thrown upon the rocks of a pitiless city, and stands "homeless amid a thousand homes," the approach of evening brings with it an aching sense of loneliness and desolation, which comes down upon the spirit like darkness upon the earth. In this mood, his best impulses become a snare to him; and he is led astray because he is social, affectionate, sympathetic, and warm-hearted. If there be a young man thus circumstanced, within the sound of my voice, let me say to him, that books are the friends of the friendless, and that a library is the home of the homeless. A taste for reading will always carry you into the best possible company, and enable you to converse with men who will instruct you by their wisdom, and charm you by their wit; who will soothe you when fretted, refresh you when weary, counsel you when perplexed, and sympathize with you at all times. GEORGE S. HILLARD.

There is a relative, as well as a more general, perfection in man, which must not be lost sight of in examining the question of his proper vocation in life. There is required of him, not only a culture of his whole being as a man, but also a diligent and faithful adaptation of certain of his powers to the particular circumstances in which he is placed. Life's purpose is only adequately accomplished in discharging both these claims; and, indeed, the more limited service is a necessary condition of the general development. You find yourself, then, occupying a given position in the world. It has its appointed duties, its special opportunities of usefulness, trials also, difficulties and temptations of its own. Take your lot as it is assigned you, without murmuring. Make the best of it; and, if in the eyes of men it seems unhonored and unenviable, ennoble it by your own spirit, and work your way through it, by character and honest industry, to something better and happier. If, on the other hand, you find it accord with your inclination, and open before you a fair prospect of worldly advancement, be assured there is nothing irreligious in honorably aiming at success and eminence in it, and still less in openly avowing that such is your object. Every pursuit which conduces to the welfare of the world has its appropriate honor attending it; and a genuine virtue is developed by enthusiasm for what is highest in our own line of action. You may treat life as a problem, which has to be wrought out to a successful result, with certain moral conditions attached to it. Do not, because it looks difficult, timorously shrink from attempting the solution; but work through every part of it, whether you get the whole result or not,' without violating one of its moral conditions. Draw the utmost from it that it will yield for temporal prosperity, for social weight and position, for honor, usefulness, mental culture, and refined enjoyment, consistently with the strictest integrity, with health and the exercise of the affections, with a remembrance of the end of life and a cheerful submission to the divine will. Whatever your vocation in life, whether you labor with the head or with the hand; whether you write books, or manufacture cloth; whether your ships cross every sea, or your whole stock in trade is contained within the four walls of your humble shop; whether you sit on the bench of justice, or earn your honest wages from week to week, – honcr your work as assigned you by God, who regards not its

subject-matter, but the spirit in which it is performed; and, as in his sight, with a loyal and devoted heart, strive to be outdone by no one in the completeness and efficiency of its execution.

This is the healthy view of our human world. Contentment, comfort, abundance, depend on its wide diffusion. It would put every one in his proper place, and fit him with his proper task. It would let none be idle, and leave none in want. It would abolish useless privilege, and bring all under the constraint of wholesome duty. This view reconciles earth and heaven. While we are in the world, it makes us, in the best of senses, friends with the world, but not less fitted for heaven when we pass away. It is also the honest and sincere view. Thousands who disown it act upon it; and none more so, and with a keener eye even to selfish advancement, than some who put forth an exclusive claim to the religious character. Such is the course of action which contributes to relative perfection, by linking our individual lives through specific duties with the general well-being of the world.

JOHN JAMES TAYLER.

VII. - LABOR NOT LOST.

A genial moment oft has given
What years of toil and pain,

Of long industrious toil, have striven
To win, and all in vain:

Yet count not, when thine end is won,

That labor merely lost;

Nor say it had been wiser done

To spare the painful cost.

When, heaped upon the altar, lie

All things to feed the fire,

One spark alighting from on high,

The flames at once aspire:

But those sweet gums and fragrant woods,

Its rich materials rare,

By tedious quest o'er lands and floods

Had first been gathered there.

R. C. TRENCH.