courage to do so amongst their acquaintance at home. I met with many poor women of this description: one in particular, interested me greatly. She kept a toy and fancy-work shop, taught fancy-work, and also was compelled to do her own household work, not being able to keep a servant, at least, she could only afford to hire occasionally a very youthful little charwoman. This poor lady could not make up her mind to place her name over her shop, and so, in our family circle, she went by the name of "the reduced lady." I never went out with my little nephew without his begging me to go to the "duced lady's;" and many were the toys this little boy came in for, in consequence of the interest which his fond parents felt in her. Indeed, his father daily passed unflinchingly by the most tempting toy-shops in Collins Street, and went out of his way to buy from the "reduced lady." He, thereby, combined a deed of charity with the pleasure of gratifying an idolised child. This lady once told me that, in the course of about a week, twelve other ladies (who had been brought up in affluence at home) had applied to her, begging her to obtain plain work for them. One of these, she said, was the widow of an officer in the army.

One day, one of our Irish servants re

turned home, breathless with excitement, for she had just met with a very great surprise and shock to her feelings. Two shabbily-dressed ladies had accosted her, whom she did not at first recognise,-so worn, and haggard, and changed were they since she had known them at home. It appeared that they were the daughters of an officer, who had died and left them almost destitute. They had come out to Australia, hoping to be able to earn a subsistence, and were now desirous of taking in plain sewing, as they had settled down in North Melbourne,-a locality so drear, and dusty, and sad,-so scorching in summer and so bleak in winter,-that I never passed through it without a sense of unutterable depression, and heaving a sigh for Old England. "Oh, ma'am," our servant said, "it made my heart bleed to see them looking so piteous, when I remembered them, gay and beautiful, as they rode up on horseback to join our young ladies in riding or hunting parties!" These ladies had asked her if she could procure any plain work for them; and such was the delicacy and kind-heartedness of the Irish woman, that she at once had made up her mind to take them some work to do for herself and fellow servants, but not to tell them from what source it came.-Three Years in Melbourne.

Many women err in the extreme of negligence, and want of system. No extravagance is more pernicious to comfort than this. Few things disgust men of nice habits more than disorder and

untidiness of person. They view, in smaller matters, the type of their destiny. A very easy woman makes an easy wife, and, as the head of a family. her cares must fall somewhere-they fall upon her husband. Shame and vexation ultimately become his portion; and the finest tempers are ruined by the observation of perpetual slovenliness and neglect. A woman should be always carefully, though she may not be handsomely, dressed. If she come down stairs with her hair negligently arranged, a soiled and tumbled gown, and leave behind her a bedroom corresponding to these indications, she may be assured that the romance of love will not long outlive such a shock.

But there is an error of the opposite character; and I know not if it be not worse than the preceding one. This is that of magnifying trifles into the business of life-of making order the

perpetual theme, and passing life in an incessant attention to minutiæ. An overparticularity to dress, an extreme fastidiousness as to arrangements, the affectation of excessive refinement, constitute a sort of prudery in minor morals which narrows the views, and contracts the understanding, if not the heart. And, if you reflect on the real object of life, it is almost as wrong to spend it in detail, as to waste it in a different kind of frivolity. The temper, too, is apt to suffer in the minute irritations of an over-particular lady. She ceases to be a companion to her husband; she ceases to be competent to guide and expand the intellects of her children; she becomes a torment in her love of neatness, and in the importance which she attaches to it. Nor is her over-solicitude at all a necessary accompaniment of order. By giving to each occupation and interest of life its due importance-by weighing well the time justly to be appropriated to each, by system and punctuality-the labour of minutiæ can be obviated, and the mind, one moment occupied with small matters, may be

expanded by study and reflection during a different period of the day.

Set out, young and happy wives, at all events with good intentions. Let your aim be to render a virtuous home, not a mere arena for your own selfish comforts, nor a receptacle of costly furniture, or a scene of ostentation-not a place for gloomy or controversial religious discussion, nor yet a school of morals, nor a theatre for the delivery of connubial lectures. Make it happy, and you will make it moral. Employ well its repose, and it will be a school of religion. Bring to your aid all that intellectual culture and active consideration for others can add to your store. Embellish it if you will with the gifts of fortune, but let its finest embellishments be a glad and kind spirit, a progressing and well-disciplined mind, affection, heightened by views, not centred only in this world, and hopes which have not for their end the mere gratifications of luxury or the fascinations of worldly pleasures.—The English Matron.

ON ECONOMY IN EXPENSES.

It is impossible for a woman to practise a wise economy in expenditures, unless she is taught how to do it, either by a course of experiments, or by the instruction of those who have had experience. It is amusing to notice the various, and oftentimes contradictory, notions of economy, among judicious and experienced housekeepers; for there is probably no economist who would not be deemed lavish or wasteful, in some respects, by another and equally experienced and judicious person, who, in some different points, would herself be as much condemned by the other. These diversities are occasioned by dissimilar early habits, and by the different relative value assigned by each to the various modes of enjoyment for which money is expended.

But, though there may be much disagreement in minor matters, there are certain general principles which all unite in sanctioning. The first is, that care be taken to know the amount of income and of current expenses, so that the proper relative proportion be preserved, and the expenditures never exceed the means. Few women can do this thoroughly without keeping regular accounts. The habits of this nation, especially among business-men, are so

desultory, and the current expenses of a family, in many points, are so much more under the control of the man than of the woman, that many women, who are disposed to be systematic in this matter, cannot follow their wishes. But there are often cases when much is left undone in this particular simply because no effort is made. Yet every woman is bound to do as much as is in her power, to accomplish a systematic mode of expenditure, and the regulation of it by Christian principles.

The following are examples of differ ent methods which have been adopted for securing a proper adjustment of expenses to the means.

On

The first is that of a lady, who kept a large boarding-house in one of our cities. Every evening, before retiring, she took an account of the expenses of the day; and this usually occupied her not more than fifteen minutes at a time. each Saturday she made an inventory of the stores on hand, and of the daily expenses, and also of what was due to her; and then made an exact estimate of her expenditures and profits. This, after the first two or three weeks, never took more than an hour, at the close of the week. Thus, by a very little time, regularly devoted to this object, she knew accurately, her income, expendi tures, and profits.

Another friend of the writer lives on a regular salary. The method adopted in this case, is to calculate to what the salary amounts each week. Then an account is kept, of what is paid out each week for rent, fuel, wages, and food. This amount of each week is deducted from the weekly income. The remainders of each week are added, at the close of a month, as the stock from which is to be taken the dress, furni ture, books, travelling expenses, charities, and all other expenditures.

Another lady, whose husband is a lawyer, divides the year into four quar ters, and the income into four equal parts. She then makes her plans so that the expenses of one quarter shall never infringe on the income of another. So resolute is she in carrying out this determination, that if by any mischance she is in want of articles before the close of a quarter which she has not the means for providing, she will subject herself to temporary inconvenience, by waiting, rather than violate her rule.

Another lady, whose husband is engaged in a business which he thinks

makes it impossible for him to know what his yearly income will be, took this method:-She kept an account of all her disbursements, for one year. This she submitted to her husband, and obtained his consent that the same sum should be under her control, the coming year, for similar purposes, with the understanding that she might modify future apportionments in any way her judgment and conscience might approve.

A great deal of uneasiness and discomfort is caused, to both husband and wife, in many cases, by an entire want of system and forethought in arranging expenses. Both keep buying what they think they need, without any calculation as to how matters are coming out, and with a sort of dread of running in debt all the time harassing them. Such never know the comfort of independence. But, if a man or woman will only calculate what their income is, and then plan so as to know that they are all the time living within it, they secure one of the greatest comforts which wealth ever bestows, and what many of the rich, who live in a loose and careless way, never enjoy. It is not so much the amount of income, as the regular and correct apportionment of expenses, that makes a family truly comfortable. A man with ten thousand a year, is often more harassed for want of money than the systematic economist, who supports a family on only six hundred a year. And the inspired command, Owe no man anything," can never be conscientiously observed without a systematic adaptation of expenses to means.

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As it is very important that young ladies should learn systematic economy in expenses, it will be a great benefit

for every young girl to begin, at twelve or thirteen years of age to make her own purchases, and keep her accounts, under the guidance of her mother, or some other friend. And if parents would ascertain the actual expense of a daughter's clothing, for a year, and give the sum to her in quarterly payments, requiring a regular account, it would be of great benefit in preparing her for future duties. How else are young ladies to learn to make purchases properly, and to be systematic and economical? The art of system and economy can no more come by intuition than the art of watchmaking or bookkeeping; and how strange it appears, that so many young ladies take charge

of a husband's establishment without having had either instruction or experience in one of the most important duties of their station!

The second general principle of economy is, that, in apportioning an income among various objects, the most important should receive the largest supply, and that all retrenchments be made in matters of less importance. In a previous chapter, some general principles have been presented, to guide in this duty. Some additional hints will here be added, on the same topic.

In regard to dress and furniture, much want of judgment and good taste is often seen in purchasing some expensive article which is not at all in keeping with the other articles connected with it. Thus, a large sideboard, or elegant mirror, or sofa, which would be suitable only for a large establishment with other rich furniture, is crowded in too small a room, with coarse and cheap articles around it. So, also, sometimes a parlour, and company-chamber, will be furnished in a style suitable only for the wealthy, while the table will be supplied with shabby linen and imperfect crockery, and every other part of the house will look, in comparison with these fine rooms, mean and niggardly. It is not at all uncommon to find very showy and expensive articles in the part of the house visible to strangers, when the children's rooms, kitchen, and other back portions, are on an entirely different scale.

So in regard to dress, a lady will sometimes purchase an elegant and expensive article, which, instead of attracting admiration from the eye of taste, will merely serve as a decoy to the painful contrast of all other parts of the dress. A woman of real good taste and discretion will strive to maintain a relative consistency between all departments, and not, in one quarter, live on a scale fitted only to the rich, and in another on one appropriate only to the poor.

Another mistake in economy is often made, by some of the best educated and most intelligent of mothers. Such will often be found spending day after day at needlework, when, with a comparatively small sum, this labour could be obtained of those who need the money, which such work would procure for them. Meantime, the daughters of the family whom the mother is qualified to educate, or so nearly qualified that sho could readily keep ahead of her children,

are sent to expensive boarding-schools, where their delicate frames, their pliant minds, and their moral and religious interests, are relinquished to the hands of strangers. And the expense thus incurred would serve to pay the hire of every thing the mother can do in sewing, four or five times over. The same want of economy is shown in communities, where, instead of establishing a good female school in their vicinity, the men of wealth send their daughters abroad, at double the expense, to be either educated or spoiled, as the case may be.

Another species of poor economy is manifested in neglecting to acquire and apply mechanical skill, which, in consequence, has to be hired from others. Thus, all the plain sewing will be done by the mother and daughters, while all that requires skill will be hired. Instead of this, others take pains to have their daughters in mantua-making, and the simpler parts of millinery, so that the plain work is given to the poor, who need it, and the more expensive and tasteful operations are performed in the

family. The writer knows ladies who not only make their own dresses, but also their caps, bonnets, and artificial flowers.

Some persons make miscalculations in economy, by habitually looking up cheap articles, while others go to the opposite extreme, and always buy the best of everything. Those ladies who are considered the best economists do not adopt either method. In regard to cheap goods, the fading colours, the damages discovered in use, the poorness of material, and the extra sewing demanded to replace articles lost by such causes, usually render them very dear in the end. On the other hand, though some articles of the most expensive kind wear longest and best, yet, as a general rule, articles at medium prices do the best service. This is true of table and bed linens, broadcloths, shirtings, and the like; though, even in these cases, it is often found that the coarsest and cheapest last the longest.— Domestic Economy.

"I, PAUL, THE PRISONER OF JESUS

CHRIST."-EPн. III. 1.

THERE is no thought more comforting than that of Jesus being able fully to enter into our individual circumstances. He was in the prison with Paul. He could as easily have delivered Paul from prison as He did Peter; but He would rather have "fellowship with him there, and make him the depository of his deepest thoughts, for the benefit of the - church in after ages. It was to the prison of the apostle, and not to his active journeyings, that we are indebted for the deep revelations of the mind of God in the epistles to the Ephesians and the Colossians. It is often in circumstances which we should least choose for ourselves, that we have our fellowship deepened with the Father and with the Son.

"BLESSED IS THE MAN THAT ENDU

RETH TEMPTATION."-JAMES I. 4. When Jesus came from his baptism, he was "led of the Spirit into the wilderness." He left the wilderness in the power of the Spirit. Our natural portion as children of God is joy; but as there are motives to be sifted, in order that we may know the deceitfulness of our hearts, there is a "needs be for the "manifold temptations" which bring "heaviness." But whenever a believer passes through a temptation leaning on God's strength, he gains power. The temptation

"THE GOD OF JACOB IS OUR REFUGE."-PSA. LXVI. 11.

In reading the Scriptures, we always find God taking the place, so to speak, adapted to His people's need. When they were slaves under Pharaoh, grievously burdened, He became their Redeemer. When they journeyed in the wilderness, and tents, He was there in the tabernacle. He led them by "a cloud by day, and by a pillar of fire by night." He is ever with them, the centre of blessing. Under Joshua, when they had to fight the Canaanites, He was the " Captain of the Lord's host." When they were settled under Solomon, He built himself a settled house. Often under the present dispensation, when His people are placed in the furnace of affliction, He takes His place by them as one who can sympathise in all their weakness He gives them the assurance that He is their strength. "PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD."-EPH. VI. 11.

Christians, young ones especially, who have not yet learned that they will have to stand in " an evil day," and are living in theory,

have not "put on the whole armour." When living near God, and practically in conflict, they learn something of "wiles of the devil," and their need of the panoply. For instance, if we pray without searching the Word, or search the Word without prayer, guidance cannot be expected, for Christ said, "If my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,

and it shall be done unto you." Conscious weakness teaches us that we cannot meet an enemy with the Word, unless leaning prayerfully on Christ. Satan is full of subtlety, and to discern his wiles we must see if the thing proposed lead us into disobedience to God. When we lean on Christ the victory is gained.

The Life and Character of John Howe, M.A.; with an Analysis of his Writings. By HENRY ROGERS. Religious Tract Society. In point of order the life of Howe ought to have come first, although it could not have been properly labelled as vol. I. of Howe's works; and, therefore, although it has come last, it will naturally fall into its own place, as introductory to the splendid volumes of the Tract Society. It is now many years since this life by Mr. Rogers originally appeared. At that time, in common with numbers, it gave us great satisfaction, and having gone through it again, that satisfaction has been revived and augmented. Professor Rogers has performed a great public service by his learned, elaborate, able, and candid performance. The book overflows with important information concerning persons and parties, events and national movements more or less related to religion. But, while all is excellent, the chapter presenting an analysis of Howe's writings is incomparably the best. This we consider to be superior to everything on the subject that has yet appeared. Professor Rogers is a rational admirer of the immortal writer, but his admiration does not blind him to the shortcomings of Howe's style. His strictures are singularly able, and every way, to our judgment, they are accurate. We were, in truth, hardly prepared for so much candour, and sterling integrity; things very rare in these days of hero-worship. In connection with this circumstance, we see reason to congratulate the public on the excellent judgment of the Tract Society Committee, in having secured the services of Mr. Rogers to edit their edition of Howe's works. There can be no doubt that his punctuation has done much, exceeding much, to disentangle thought, and to pour in light, and to many, an intricate, confused, and dark, yet noble page. This will now be, to all coming time, the standard edition of Howe. Of the many great services the Society has done in connection with the re-publication of our classical divines, we know of none to be placed upon the level of the present.

History of the Church from the Reformation to the Present Time. By I. H. Kurtz, D.D. T. and T. Clarke.

THIS volume, although of a thoroughly German type, erudite, elaborate, dark and dull compared with English history, is yet, in itself, a volume of more than ordinary value. Thoroughly to have lightened it, it would have required expansion into three or four volumes. But that was not the object of the learned author, who clearly contemplated securing the welfare of the largest number. The work is divided into periods. We have first the history of the Church in the modern Germanic form of development, extending through many sections, and developed from one stage to another, the progress of the cause which culminated in the rupture between the Pope and Luther, and Luther's declaration of the Pope to be Antichrist. We have next Church history in its modern Germanic form of development, which is decidedly more luminous as well as interesting and important than that which preceded it. Here the relation of the Churches, the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, and the Reformed Church are all in turn examined and discussed. this belongs to the seventeenth century; the same idea, slightly modified, is carried out in the eighteenth. Here the Catholic Church and the Protestant Church are both examined. All this belongs to the seventeenth century; the same idea, slightly modified, is carried out in the eighteenth. Here the Catholic Church and the Protestant Church are both discussed in their theology, polity, devotional literature, and means. There is much here that abounds in interest as bearing on illumination in Germany, rationalistic theology, German philosophy, and national literature. The next branch proceeds to deal with the nineteenth century, and here the interest still rises. In truth, this is the most important portion of this very important volume. Protestantism, Romanism, and Anti-christianity are successively discussed with rare ability, and much success. Those who desire to know precisely

All