"Mister Bell," said I, "you have a grand work to do here your work is almost grander than that of your neighbour, Mister Bright-light!" "Do you think so?" said the bell, in a tone which led me to see that he was beginning to be a little encouraged by what I had said. "I do, indeed. Don't you think so yourself?” "No," said the bell; "I cannot quite think that. I never had any very high opinion of myself, and the service I might be able to do for men. Still, when I was placed here, I thought I was being put in a very responsible position, and that I ought at times to be able to do a great deal of good. But I had not been here one year even before I began to get a good deal discouraged. I hope I am not envious, but you see, do as I will, I am not like my neighbour, Mr. Bright-light. His services can never be dispensed with: never a night passes but he holds out his bright, dazzling light right over the expanse of water, so that there is hardly a sailor that goes up or down the Channel that does not know him. You should see the salutes he receives when they come within sight of him on their homeward voyage, and the nods and "Good-byes" he gets when they are outward-bound, and about to part company with him. But as for me, not one in a hundred of the sailors who pass seems to know anything about me; and it is only just now and then, when my neighbour cannot do the work, that I am asked to do anything. Then the visitors who come to see us in our dreary abode: excuse me, sir, they don't all do as you have done-turn in and have a little cheery talk with one. They are certain to go up into my neighbour's tall house, and they seem delighted to make his acquaintance, and to tell him how much good he is doing; but when I am pointed out in my lowly little hut, they most of them just say: 'Oh, yes; I see,' and pass on.' "Well, friend," said I, "I can believe all that, for I happen to be a humble worker in the great brotherhood of men myself. Indeed, if I had not learned some of these lessons, that are often so painful to learn, I should not be able to say much to you that would be likely to help you. As to your neighbour being able to do his work every night, while you can only try to do yours occasionally, you cannot help that. God (for, depend upon it, it is God who assigns us all our work) has put him in a more prominent position than you, and He holds him responsible for doing a great deal more than you-holds him responsible, indeed, for doing a great deal that He never expects you to do, for the simple reason that He has not given you the power to do it. But that does not say that your work is inferior, or in any way less important. God gives us all different kinds of work; and if we are only faithful in doing to the best of our ability what He has asked us to do, and what He has given us the power to do, we shall receive our "Well done' just as much as anybody else. 'She hath done what she could,' you remember Christ said to the woman whose offering some of the disciples found so much fault with. And if we do our part well-whatever that part may be-He will one day say the same to us. Besides, has He not given to you (what He has given to most of us, if we will only look for them) special opportunities for helping men and for fulfilling your mission? Has it never occurred to you that, while your neighbour can often work while you have no opportunity, you in your turn can often do what he could not possibly do? What good is his light when the dense fog is all around? Ah, it is then that your warning voice is needed, and you can do what a hundred lights could never do." "I know that," said the bell, "and it often cheers me; but when people come to see us, and give all their attention and all their praise to my neighbour, it discourages me again." "Ah," said I, "I know what that feeling is very well; and I hope I know something about getting the better of it. Let me tell you, as a friend and as a fellow-worker, that you will never be happy until you feel that you can do with or without the praises of men. Our satisfaction and joy are to be found in the assurance that we are doing the best we can-the best God has given us the power to do; and if we do that we shall never fail to have the approving smile of the Great Master. He who declared that a cup of cold water, rightly given, should not lose its reward, will not fail to observe us, and to give us His commendation. And having that, we can afford to dispense with everything else. 'Men heed thee, love thee, praise thee not; For some seconds a bright smile had been stealing over the face of the bell: before it had time to reply, however, a cloud gathered again, and it proceeded: "But there is another trial that I have not mentioned. Men often tell me that my voice is far from being pleasing-that it is harsh and heavy, and that it grates upon their ears. They like to see the bright, cheery light of my neighbour: as for me, they admit that I may be necessary sometimes, but if they could help it they would rather not hear me." "That's very likely; but does it prove that you are to be silent, and afraid to do your work? I can imagine men saying: 'Why do you come with your doleful song into such a place as this, where grassy slopes, rugged rocks, and the mighty roaring sea, all combine to make the scene enchanting? Surely we don't want, so surrounded, to be saddened by such a noise as yours?' And I can imagine them saying sometimes to the parent, the friend, the teacher, and to the preachers of Christ's gospel, when they are compelled to speak in tones of faithful warning: 'We don't want to hear the sound of your great fog-bell-we would rather hear something more pleasing, something that is not so harsh, and that does not grate upon our ears so much.' But, my friend, you know too well why you have been placed here to listen to such a temptation as that. If you could speak as effectively in softer and more musical tones, I have no doubt you would be very glad to do so. But so long as there are precious vessels and brave men constantly passing by, and the fog is often so dense that they cannot see the warning light, you must call to them in your loudest voice, and tell them of the dangers that surround them. And if you keep some of them off the perilous rocks, you can afford to let men say that your notes of warning are sometimes rather harsh and loud. And it is so with all of us who are commissioned by God to warn men of their danger. We should like to always deliver such messages, and to discourse upon such themes as would be pleasing, if we dare; but so long as our fellow-men are surrounded by perils which they cannot see, and which so soon may prove fatal, we must ring out our notes of warning with all clearness, and with all the earnestness which we possess. We must never lose sight of this-numbers of our fellowmen, possibly many of our own friends, are in danger; they don't see it, but God has commissioned us to give the friendly warning, and we must faithfully deliver our message, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear." "So we ought!" joyously exclaimed the bell; "and so I will; and this thought, that I am doing my duty, and that if I do it faithfully I may save some, shall be my solace and satisfaction." While the bell was uttering these concluding remarks I seemed to see around me a goodly number of parents, Sunday-school teachers, and a few preachers of the gospel, and the subdued but very earnest tones of the bell had their due effect; for I could hear them saying to each other: "We have had a lesson to-day which we ought not soon to forget." 'Ah," said I to myself, "so have I; and, for the sake of many who did not hear the conversation, I will try some day to write it down, so that if they like they can read it for themselves." J. P. 66 Salvation. NO. III. THAT must I do to be saved?" "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the "W" can the sinner be e'er justified? law, but by the faith of Jesus Yes, by putting his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, even we have believed Christ, Who once upon Calvary died. "What must I do to be saved," For my guilt and my vileness I know? Come unto the Lord, and turn from your sins, He will wash them as white as the snow. "What must I do to be saved," For I know, oh, I know I am lost? The Lord came from heaven to save such as you, And He saves to the uttermost. "What must I do to be saved," Confess Him, and own Him your Lord. "What must I do to be saved," in Jesus Christ', that we might be justified by the faith of Christ."-Gal. ii. 16. "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shal be as white as snow."-Isa. i. 18. "The Son of man is come to "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, is and shalt believe in thine For in doubt and in darkness I stray? And darkness shall change into day. heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."-Rom. x. 9. "I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."-Fol viii. 12. R. R. T. Old Andrew's Proverbs. NO. IV. "The destruction of the poor is their poverty."-Prov. x. 15. HAT, said Old Andrew, is a proverb which has got no hard words in it that need explanation; but I am not quite so sure that everybody sees exactly what is the meaning and application of it. There are a great many poor people who come to utter |