WORK FOR ALL. God in thinking upon his past life, he was led to think of Flavel's sermon, which was now so driven home to his conscience that he was led earnestly to seek the Lord, and He obtained mercy. Thus this good man's sermon bore fruit eightyfive years after it was preached. also bestows on His people favours in Providence. Look what care was over Mordecai in preserving his life, and punishing Haman. At the massacre of St. Bartholomew a good man took refuge in a loft, and God caused a hen to lay an egg there every day, which supported him till he could escape. God also bestows a great favour on His people by taking them to heaven-to such glories as When no human tongue can describe. the Queen of Sheba saw Solomon's glory there was no spirit left in her; and when John saw Jesus on the Isle of Patmos, he fell at His feet as dead: then what must be the glory of heaven? John Bunyan says, when his pilgrims entered heaven, he saw the glories of that place were so great that he wished himself amongst them. Looking, then, at these favours God bestows upon His people, can we wonder at David's prayer: Remember me, O Lord,' &c.? The dying thief cried also at the the eleventh hour, Remember me!' Oh, that you also, my young friends, may be brought to remember your Creator in the days of your youth; and not for the Lord to say to you, as He did to the rich man in hell, 'Son, remember that thou hadst thy good things in thy lifetime, and Lazarus likewise evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.'" After the distribution of the prizes, one being accorded to each scholar, Mr. Cooper, superintendent of Gower Street Sunday-school, addressed the children at some length upon the use and benefit they might derive from their teaching, and from their teachers. After which Mr. Self, one of the deacons, spoke forcibly to the same purport, in a few words. Another friend then very briefly pro 55 posed a vote of thanks to the superintendent, secretary, and teachers, which, being seconded by Mr. Prior, was carried unanimously. The pastor then concluded by prayer, and a very pleasant evening was brought to a close by the children being regaled, before departing, with buns and oranges. J. W. WORK FOR ALL. I have a fellowship with hearts THE TOWER OF SILENCE.-On a hill in the island of Bombay (called by the Europeans Malabar Hill) stand, all within a short distance of each other, the churchyard of the Christians, the cemetery of the Mussulman, the place where the Hindoos cremate their dead, and the Tower of Silence, where the Parsees leave theirs uncoffined, to be devoured by the birds of the air. It is a lofty square enclosure, without roof or covering of any kind. Huge bloated vultures and kites, gorged with human flesh, throng lazily the summit of the lofty wall surrounding the stone pavement, which is divided into three compartments, wherein the corpses of men, of women,and of children are laid apart, and all nude as they came into the world. Some relative or friend anxiously watches, at a short distance, to ascertain which eye is first plucked out by the birds, and from thence it is inferred whether the soul of the departed is happy or miserable. The Parsees regard with horror the Hindoo method of disposing of the dead, by throwing the bodies or ashes into rivers; yet their own custom is even more repugnant to the feelings of Europeans in India.-Cassell's Illustrated History of India. FULFILLED DREAMS. EAR SIR,-In your interesting | throughout Cumberland to be "safe as the leading article on the subject of "Strangely-Fulfilled Dreams" you remark that" rarely is it possible to get at the only good authority for the story, the man or the woman who beheld the vision." Now, if you can find room for two instances of "strangely-fulfilled dreams," for the absolute truth of which I can vouch, having had them at first hand from the person "who saw the vision," they may serve to interest your readers. Some years ago the Rev. Thomas Snow, then vicar of Richmond, in Surrey, was travelling in France with his eldest son. One morning Mrs. Snow came down to breakfast with a very alarmed expression of countenance (I was staying in the Vicarage at the time), and said "I had a most distressing dream last night. I dreamt that I saw Mr. Snow and Doyley put into a hearse, and, as it were, carried off to burial." A letter from the travellers a few days after dispelled the apprehensions naturally excited by this gruesome dream, and on their return they were told what Mrs. Snow had seen. "Well," said Mr. Snow, "that is most remarkable. On the day you mention Doyley and I were walking in the country near Paris, when we were overtaken by a tremendous thunderstorm and in danger of getting wet through. Whilst we were looking for shelter a hearse drove up, returning from a funeral, and the driver kindly offered us a lift. Faute de mieux, we jumped inside, and in this strange vehicle made our entrance into Paris." The other is a still stranger instance of a "strangely-fulfilled dream," and was told by an old friend, who was himself the hero of the tale. The Rev. John Monkhouse, incumbent of Newlands, near Keswick, dreamt three times in one night that Forster's Bank, in Carlisle, had failed. This dream so preyed upon his mind that, though Forster's Bank was supposed Bank of England," he determined to go next day and withdraw a large sum of trust money (I think some £5,000) which he had deposited in the bank for security. The money was paid without the slightest demur in hard cash, which rather staggered his belief in the truth of his dream. He went about his other business in Carlisle, and hearing no whisper in the course of the day as to the instability of the bank, and having no other investment ready, he actually went and put the money back again. In a few days the bank failed, and he lost every sixpence, except some very trifling dividend. I make no comment upon these extraordinary dreams, but relate them as simple facts, which came within my own cognizance at first hand.-A. R. W., in Daily News. THE RAPIDS OF ST. LAWRENCE. 57 W THE RAPIDS OF ST. LAWRENCE; OR, WHAT I SAW IN CANADA. From E left Yonkers, New York, August | and stayed over the Sabbath. 28th, by rail along the shore of the beatiful Hudson river all the way to Albany, which is 145 miles from New York. This river has a charm that does not belong to such rivers as the Mississippi, the Ohio, the Danube, or the Rhine. All these have a strong downward current, and cannot be navigated except by steam. Flat-bottomed boats may float downwards, but then they must be broken up or towed back by steamers. On the contrary, the Hudson river has tide-water up to the head of navigation, and is covered with sailing vessels all the way to Albany, carrying produce of all kinds. Besides these, there are numerous passenger steamers to the different towns along the bank of the river. Add to these large flotillas of canal boats, loaded with corn and wheat from the West, an immense number being towed by one steamer like a town upon the water. Large ships may go to Hudson, over 110 miles up this river, its width varying from half a mile to three miles. The tide rises and falls only about six or seven feet; consequently, the shores are not left bare at low tide, like the Thames below London. The before-mentioned rivers have, however, a far greater length of navigation than the Hudson, and the Danube has the finest mountain scenery, superior even to the Rhine. It was a fine day, and we had good views of the river, with its mountain scenery and vessels of all kinds on its bosom. At Albany we turned up the beautiful valley of the Mohawk river, and through the German flats, a fine farming country, to Utica and Syracuse, where we put up for the night. thence we went to Rochester, and went to see the falls of the Genesse river at Carthage. The fall is over broken rocks a hundred feet perpendicular, and we sat on the rocks for half an hour to see the foaming cataract. From the foot of the falls there is about four miles of river navigation to Lake Ontario. From thence we proceeded to Niagara Falls, and put up at the Clifton hotel, on the Canada side, in full view of both falls. The sight and the sound were all new again, and we spent the evening on the large piazza of the hotel with this wondrous work of Almighty power before our eyes. There is, I believe, nothing like it in the habitable earth besides. All the waters of four immense lakes, one of which is larger than England, are here discharged, falling first down the rapids eighty feet in three-quarters of a mile, then 150 feet perpendicular into an abyss that no human eye can ever see, on account of the cloud of mist that arises and ascends to the clouds. The colour of the water as it rolls over the edge of the fall is of a most beautiful green, from its immense volume said to be twenty-five or thirty feet in thickness. I have been under the sheet of water as it rolls over for a short distance with an umbrella. People go farther under with a dress on purpose, and a guide. The next day we passed through the lake country, over Cajuga lake, and along the end of Seneca lake, both forty miles long and two to four miles wide. At Cannandaigua we visited some friends, Here I must refer my readers to a very full description of this cataract, the whirlpool, &c., which I wrote, and was printed in the GLEANER of August, 1870. I will only say that the great cataract, the great rapids above, and the more mighty rapids below, because they are pent up in a narrow channel, together with the great whirlpool, were all as grand and mighty as ever. In one place the river, after leaving the whirlpool between rocks, is so pent up that there is not room apparently for all the water to pass; and it is supposed that it is deeply hollowed out underneath, where the immense body of water passes when it rises in mighty waves to the surface about half a mile below. We left the hotel for Toronto in two days, and had to wait several hours on the dock with other passengers wishing to cross the lake, the steamer being behind time. Here was a large quantity of very fine peaches, in baskets holding about half a bushel, or a little more. Several of the people wanted to buy some to eat, but the owners would not sell less than a basket-price one dollar, or four shillings sterling. As there were five of us, and we were all hungry, I bought a basket, and we all began to devour them. A lady then came up and begged me to sell her a few, which I did. Others seeing this, came also, till I and my son had sharp work to serve them; and thus we were peach merchants before we were aware of it. We got most of our money back, and had more than we could eat besides. It was rather stormy on the lake, and people were sick all around us. At Toronto there were great preparations to greet the Princess Louise and the Marquis, her husband. The National Anthem was to be sung by five thousand children. Being taken ill, I could not be there, although we had tickets, and the others would not go without me. There was a great illumination in the evening, and we saw both of the visitors as they bowed to the crowd. From Toronto we went by rail to Kingston, where we put up for the night. In the early morn we took the steamer for Montreal (about 200 miles), going down the great rapids of the St. Lawrence. We went on board at 5.30 a.m., and began to go through the thousand islands of this great river. The river itself is very wide, but full of these islands of all sizes, from a mere islet or rock, to those of miles in extent. After a good steamboat breakfast we sat watching our way down this noble-I might say mighty-river, and its clear waters of a beautiful green colour. At some points it was very rapid, and was never less than a mile wide. We now began to feel excited at the thought of the great rapids yet to come. On inquiry I found we should not pass them before dinner. At On the Canadian boats they treat Americans with English plum-pudding for dinner. After dinner we were all on deck again in anxious expectation, since the great rapids were drawing near. We soon came to where the current of the river ran eleven miles an hour, and the water was full of eddies and whirlpools from the rapidity of the current; but we still had some miles to go, watching for the greater rapids yet to come. length the edge of the roaring waters was seen before us, and every preparation was made; the pilot, with assistants, at his post, and the steam-engine stopped, except just enough to give steerage way; and in breathless expectation we came to the edge of the foaming waters, and made the awful plunge, the steamer rocking and plunging in the boiling flood as we glided swiftly down a hill as it were; for looking back, the waters were seen far above us. All the breadth of the river, for a mile or more, it was covered with white billows of foaming water; and we went rocking and rolling onward, passing numerous islands which make two channels of the river. We were thus swiftly carried along nine miles in a few minutes, but when it was over, and we had reached smoother water, we almost felt disappointed that there was no more of it. I have heard that the pilots are mostly Indians, and great care must be exercised to keep in the channel and avoid the rocks. The steamer stopped at Cornwall, at the foot of the rapids, which fall nearly 100 feet in the nine miles. We left Cornwall and passed over a very wide stretch of the St. Lawrence called Lake St. Francis, about eighteen miles, till we came to the Cedar rapids, in three parts-first, the Coteari de Lac; next, the Cedars; then the Cascades-three rapids with a short run of still water between HOW A TOAD UNDRESSES. each. It was very exciting as we passed down these three rapids one after the other; and as I stood at the bows of the boat, it looked awful, as she plunged into a great wave of boiling water, and was carried swiftly past an island almost close to us. In all three of these the whole width of the river was covered with white foaming waves, like the sea in a storm; and the last was as exciting as ever. (To be continued.) HOW A TOAD UNDRESSES. A GENTLEMAN sends to an agricultural paper an amusing description of "How a Toad takes off his Coat and Pants." He says he has seen one do it, and a friend has seen another do the same kind of thing in the same way : "About the middle of July, I found a toad on a hill of melons; and not wanting him to leave, I hoed around him; he appeared sluggish and not inclined to move. Presently I observed him pressing his elbows against his sides and rubbing downward. He appeared so singular that I watched to see what he was up to. After a few smart rubs, the skin began to burst open straight along the back. 'Now,' said I, old fellow, you have done it ;' but he appeared unconcerned, and kept on rubbing until he had worked all his skin into folds on his sides and hips; then, grasping one hind leg with both his hands, he hauled off one leg of his pants the same as anybody would, then stripped the other hind leg in the same way. He then took his cast-off cuticle forward between his fore legs and his mouth, and swallowed it; then, by raising and lowering his head, swallowing as his head came down, he stripped off the skin underneath until it came to his fore legs and then grasping One of these with the opposite hand, by Considerable pulling, stripped off the skin; changing hands, he stripped the other, and by a slight motion of the head all the 59 while swallowing, he drew it from the neck and swallowed the whole. The operation seemed an agreeable one, and occupied but a short time."-Southern Cross. DEATH DESTROYS INFIDELITY. THE dying hours of bad men give melan. choly witness to the tormenting power of conscience, and the hopelessness of the human spirit when not united to Christ. Gibbon's last and oft-quoted words were: "All is dark and doubtful." Churchill's bitter self-proposed epitaph was: "What a fool I have been !" Hobbes described his own feelings in dying: "I am about to take a leap in the dark;" and his last words were: "I shall be glad then to find a hole at which to creep out of the world." "Shall I sue for mercy?" said the unhappy Byron. "Come, come, no weakness; let's be a man to the last." "I would gladly give £30,000," said that arithmetical rogue, Colonel Charteris, "to have it proved to my satisfaction that there is no such place as hell." This was the scamp who said he would give "£10,000 for a character," as he could make £20,000 if he only possessed one." "Give me more laudanum," said Mirabeau, "that I may not think of Eternity and of what is to come! I have an age of strength, but not a moment of courage." Voltaire spent his last moments alternately praying and blaspheming and crying to the Saviour whom he once proposed to "crush :" "O Christ! O Jesus Christ!" Wilmot, an infidel, when dying, laid his emaciated hand on the Bible, and exclaimed solemnly and with energy, The only objection against this Book is -a bad life." 66 WISDOM goes not always by years. HE who never changes any of his opinions never corrects any of his mistakes. |