with certainty the meaning of various things in it. It is, however, enough for you, dear children, to remember that everything for your salvation has been made so plain that you can understand it perfectly, and be thus made wise enough to obtain everlasting life.

THE BEAR.

THERE are many kinds of this awkward, but dangerous animal, of which I cannot now tell you. Of course when the bear is mentioned in the Bible, it is the bear of Syria which is meant. Bears can feed either on flesh or vegetables, so that they are unlike such creatures as the lion or leopard, who live entirely on flesh. Bears do not generally attack man, unless very angry or hungry; but they are terrible things to fight with. They have large dreadful teeth, and heavy paws, which they will clasp round their enemy, and squeeze him to death. They live generally in thick forests or caves, and in winter in hollow trees, in which they lie for many weeks without food. A few bears are still found on the high hills of Syria, and if pursued up a mountain, they will turn and throw heavy stones on their enemies; and are so fierce that no man alone dare attack them. How brave, then, and strong must that young shepherd have been, who, when a bear had

seized a lamb of his flock, went after him, and, without help, caught and slew him. Need I tell you this was David. (1 Sam. xvii. 34, 35.) Daniel saw a vision of a bear, which was told to "arise, devour much flesh!" (Dan. vii. 5.)

This beast represented the kingdom of the Medes and Persians: which was to conquer and kill so many other nations. God in His judgments, is compared to a bear "lying in wait." (Sam. iii. 10.) The bear is very fierce when robbed of its whelps, or young ones. This is two or three times spoken of in the Bible. When Absalom was fighting against his father David, Hushai, one of the king's friends, compared David and his mighty men, in their fierceness and strength, with "a bear robbed of her whelps in a field." (2 Sam. xvii. 8.) And Solomon says: "Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly." (Prov. xvii. 12.) By which he meant, that fierce as a bear would be, it was better to be torn in pieces in her fury, rather than follow a bad man into sin. When Jesus Christ comes to reign, "the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together," we are told. (Is. xi. 7.) In Proverbs, a “ranging bear" is compared to "a wicked ruler over the poor people." (Prov. xxviii. 15.) God says in His judgments on sinners,-"I will meet them as a

bear that is bereaved of her whelps," etc. (Hosea xiii. 8.)

Thus you see how often this animal's fierceness is spoken of. All of you, I doubt not, have heard that sad story (2 Kings ii. 23-25) of the wicked children who mocked the prophet Elisha, saying,-"Go up, thou bald-head; go up, thou bald-head." Do you know what these children meant? I did not when I was a little child.

A short time before this happened, God had taken Elijah from Elisha, and carried him up to

heaven in a chariot of fire? Elisha now was going up a steep hill, to a place called Bethel : and these little children seeing him toiling up the steep road, most likely with his bald head uncovered, mockingly laughed at him, and told him to "go up ;" meaning, go up to heaven as your master Elijah did. This was very wicked. Elisha was God's servant: and God punished them for their sin. Elisha cursed them, or said they should be punished; and there came out of the wood two she bears, and tore forty-two children in pieces. Oh! how must those wicked little children have felt when seized by the monsters, and torn limb from limb! Did they call on God to have mercy and forgive? We do not know; but we do know that this dreadful story was written for our warning, that we might not follow in the same dreadful path. I hope you are always respectful to old people, -never laughing at their misfortunes, or making fun of those who have something strange in their appearance. Whenever you feel the least inclined to do this, think of the children and the bears.

THE BADGER.

THE badger is generally considered a stupid, but inoffensive animal. Its habits are solitary, or lonely it prefers night to day for coming · out to seek its food. It has a thick flattish

:

F

body, a short tail, long pointed head, and small eyes. It has a thick grey skin, which is waterproof. It lives in many parts of Europe and Asia. It is seldom mentioned in the Bible; I believe only twice. In the directions for making the Tabernacle, badgers' skins were to be used; probably because of their strength, and security from rain. (See Ex. xxv. 5.)

THE FERRET.

THE word given in our translation of the Bible as ferret, does not mean the animal we know by that name. It is a kind of lizard, which has a cold, clammy body; and if it crawls over anything, leaves it injured and unfit for use. Well might it be unclean and loathsome to the Israelites, and serve to remind them of the very touch or thought of sin leaving a mark on the soul, which would make it unfit to approach a holy God. (Lev. xi. 30.)

THE WEASEL OR MOLE,

THE word translated weasel in the Bible means a mole. Perhaps some of you have seen what are called mole-hills,-little mounds of earth thrown up in fields. These little animals, though only five or six inches long, are among the most curious creatures in the world. I could tell you much about them; but the days of the