work begun may be completed, and man become a fit companion of the just in heaven, and a rational adorer of his God. It is then, surely, of high importance to us that we obtain truth. And nothing will so effectually enable us to do so as simplicity of mind, and a life according to our present knowledge. "He who doeth the will of his Father shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God." When evil is rooted out of our affections, error will lose its power over our thoughts; for there is a natural affinity between that which is evil and that which is false. Let us not be high-minded when truth opens to our view, but let us lose sight of self and selfimportance in gratitude to the Giver of every good and perfect gift. When a new truth is discovered let us not claim it as ours, but rather let us consider ourselves entrusted by the Lord with additional power for working out our own salvation, and with increased ability to benefit others. Let us also remember that-"where much is given much will be required," and that he who allows truth to remain in the memory merely, without applying it for the purification of his own heart, and for the benefit of those within the sphere of his influence, instead of hearing at the last the welcome words "well done," will be found in the condition of that servant who "hid his Lord's treasure in the earth." And further, that the fate of that servant will be his fate, for the truth given unto him will be taken away, because unimproved, whilst they who have applied their knowledge to a useful purpose, will receive fresh communications throughout eternity from Him who is the Fountain and Source of all truth. The wicked as well as the good have, whilst in this world, the power of discerning truth; for if they had not they could not be reformed. But if, when they perceive a truth, they refuse to conform to it, their guilt is increased. Far better had been their condition if they had remained in ignorance, for "he who knoweth his master's will, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes." The lover of truth for the sake of goodness, seeks not to be confirmed in his own opinions because they are his own, but is ever open to receive fresh light, and dreads nothing more than confirming himself by reasonings in any evil practice; whilst he whose affections are placed on evil things, is ever seeking after doctrines which will allow him the possession of that in which he delights. It is no uncommon thing to see people in the daily practice of a sin the wickedness of which they once perceived; but continued indulgence has so injured their capacity of seeing the truth, that they first palliate, then excuse, and, in the end, justify their guilt. Let us beware, when that which once we condemned without hesitation no longer appears sinful in our eyes. It may still be sinful, and we may only be prevented from seeing its sinfulness because it has become our delight. All thought originates in affection, for that which is loved will be thought about, and the understanding will devise methods for justifying that to which the heart inclines. The "pure in heart," who wish for nothing that has not the sanction of truth, are in little danger of erroneous conclusions; whilst, on the other hand, the impure will never cease in their endeavors until all those truths which condemn their practice are eradicated from their minds, and their understandings are filled with falses corresponding to the evils of, their wills. J. S. THE TWO MITES. BY MRS. SARAH JOSEPHA HALE. "Verily, I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury."-Jesus, to his disciples.—ST. MARK, xii. 43.” WHY ever to a shining mark Should human hope be reaching? A little lamp outshines a star, Because the lamp is nearer And Love divine may brighter shine, Reflected from this humble heroine's story, Poor Widow! wasted, wan, and weak, I see thy footsteps falter, As through the throng, that flaunt along Thou, in thy worn and week-day garb, From silken robes art shrinking And, one by one, the proud pass on Their golden gifts, bestowed in ostentation, Will be as dross, weighed with thy pure oblation! O, sad and stricken poverty! A scanty pittance earning, How like the dream of cooling stream The Saviour's sweet and soothing words- "The widow wins the blessing!" O woman! in the depths of want and sadness, Heaven holds for thee a fount of hope and gladness! The cedar's shade, like cloud, may lie Athwart the lily's brightness- Yet never may the shadow stay Where faith, like blossom holy, Keeps white the heart-to such there will be given A blest assurance of the love of Heaven! RELIGION AND ART. A LOVE for the beautiful, in some form, appears to be as essential a part of the human soul as is memory or imagination. It would seem as though the Deity, who is himself all beauty, had implanted in the human breast a deep and ardent longing after things lovelier than those of earth, for the purpose of raising the thoughts from this life to a better, and winning back to himself what has been lost through sin. The object which appears perfectly beautiful to each mental eye may not be obtained-indeed, it never is attained here below. But the ideal image remains; the desire, the struggle for it, continues; and every faculty is employed to approach as near as possible to it. It is this inborn appreciation of the beautiful which animates the painter and the sculptor-we mean the true sculptor and painter— the child of genius, who, regardless of earthly reward, or external circumstances, toils on year after year to create, from the canvas or the marble, the embodiment of that ideal model with which his own soul is thrilled. Poetry and architecture are branches from the same stock; for the lay which sounds mournfully over a by-gone race of perfect and gigantically endowed heroes, or the church whose spires seem struggling to pierce the heavens, are each but the visible longings of their authors, after a condition of perfect beauty. It was this feeling which gave rise to Plato's Esthetics-to the winning philosophy which could look through the simplest flower, the strangest animal, to one main source of all beauty and all love, infinite in degree, eternal in duration. Gibbon, as he stood among the ruins of the |