THE PEACOCK IN TROUBLE." Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall;" so says the wisest of men in that storehouse of practical wisdom, "the Book of Proverbs." If the opinion of our fabulists, that

"In days of yore, when time was young, The birds conversed as well as sung,'

were correct, we might suppose the feathered tribe would moralize in similar strains on the event we now record.

In a beautiful villa, where the river S-glides sweetly along the smiling vale, a peacock had found an agreeable residence. Fully conscious of his beauty, and anxious to enlist the admiration of others, he delighted to mount the wall, or perch himself on the top of the rosecrowned trellis, and become the observed of all observers; while, as he walked with consequential air in front of the drawing-room, he appeared to say, as plainly as actions could speak, "Am I not a splendid creature? What a magnificent bird!"

On one unfortunate day, whether from lack of suitable appreciation from mankind, or to try the effect of his charms on quadrupeds, he strove to captivate the cattle in a neighbouring field by the exhibition of his plumage. The poor cows being of prosaic temperament, and caring more for the tender herbage or fragrant clover than all the colours in the rainbow, which only awakened their anger, gave chase to the haughty bird. Many were the turns and expedients to which he had recourse, to avoid his excited pursuers; but he was neither so swift of foot, nor so fleet of wing, as many less handsome birds.

In an unlucky hour he was overtaken by one of the cows. She put her rude and vulgar foot on his tail, and he only escaped by losing nearly every feather it contained. Piteous was the plight in which he returned, and most abject was his spirit after his misfortune. He rarely presented himself in public, courted privacy, and when obliged to appear was fully conscious of his deep

shops and purchase at so cheap a price. Its produce is now very largely encouraged in the south of Europe; but it was undoubtedly the Chinese who first made use of the labours of this little worm; and at one time it was a mystery in Europe from what source silk was produced, until two monks purposely travelled to China to investigate the matter, and returned, bringing to Italy some of the eggs of the moth, which they concealed in the hollow canes. At one time silk was valued at its weight in gold at Rome; and we read that the Emperor Aurelian refused his empress a garment of silk, on account of its enormous cost! The manufacture of silk was not introduced into England until the fifteenth century. James I. endeavoured to promote the rearing of the worm in our country, but was quite unsuccessful, owing I suppose greatly to the unfitness of the climate. He was a great lover of silk himself; and we are told that once, when king of Scotland, having to appear before the English ambassador, he actually begged the loan of a pair of silk stockings from the Earl of Mar!The Children's Hour.

BELIEVING, BUT NOT UNDERSTANDING. "I will not believe anything but what I understand," said a self-confident young man in an hotel one day. "Nor will I," said another.

66

'Neither will I," chimed in a third. "Gentlemen," said one well known to me, who was on a journey, and who sat close by, "do I understand you correctly, that you will not believe anything that you don't understand?"

"I will not," said one; and so said each one of the trio.

"Well," said the stranger, "in my ride this morning, I saw some geese in a field eating grass; do you believe that?"

"Certainly," said the three believers.

un

"I also saw pigs eating grass; do you believe that?"

"Of course," said the three.

"And I also saw sheep and cows eating grass; do you believe that?"

THE SCEPTIC AND THE CHILD.-Mr. Hone, the well-known author of the "Every-Day Book," was, in the days of his infidelity, travelling in Wales on foot. Being tired and thirsty, he stopped at the door of a cottage where there was a little girl reading a large Bible. He asked the child if she would please to give him a drink of water.

"Oh, yes, sir," she said; "if you will come in, mother will give you some milk."

Mr. Hone followed the little girl into the cottage, where he partook of the nutritious beverage, the little girl again resuming her seat and her book. After a short conversation with her mother, Mr. Hone came out and accosted the child at the door

"Well, my little girl, are you getting your task?"

66

"Oh, no, sir," she replied, "I am reading the Bible."

FELLOW-TEACHERS, have you ever seriously considered this question,"Do our scholars pray ?" If you have not, it is one which has a claim upon your earnest attention.

Prayer is one of the first steps in the march to heaven; and until our children have learned to pray, they will be making little progress thitherward. I have on more than one occasion been much surprised—after teaching a class of boys for many months, during which period the subject of private prayer has been frequently alluded to, and the importance of observing fixed times for morning and evening prayer duly urged upon my scholars-to find, on coming to a close examination of each individual child, how few among them ever practised private prayer. The objections raised against it, the difficulties in the way of it, the inability to engage in it, set forth in the replies given to questions kindly put at such times, have often much astonished

me.

On one occasion I remember, when giving a lesson on prayer, I put the question to my class, "Do you kneel down to pray to God when you rise in the morning, and before you get into bed at night?" There were only four boys, out of a class of sixteen, who could answer in the affirmative. And when I pressed MAY, 1868.

the examination a little further with these, and inquired, "When you pray, do you ask God in your own words for what you want, or do you merely repeat some written prayer ?" the reply of one was, "I always say, 'Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,' and the Lord's Prayer." The others gave somewhat similar answers. I told them God was a kind and loving Father, and that He wished His children at all times to approach Him in a simple, trustful spirit, to ask for all they need; and that such forms as those they had mentioned were prepared to teach them how to pray. Then I asked, "Will you begin this sabbath evening, and try to pray to God in your own words ?" They all hung down their heads in silence, as if they deemed the thing impossible, until one little boy, more bold than the rest, broke the silence by uttering, in a half bashful, half inquiring tone, these simple words, Teacher, I don't know what to

say.

It is not my intention here to describe the way in which I dealt with this honest assertion at that moment; but, as I have been led to believe, by later observation, that this obstacle is one which often presents itself to our young disciples, and deters them from the exercise of private extemporary prayer, I venture to suggest a simple method

this, it is useless to proce But I have generally fou process of learning the panied by a little interrog tice, similar to that descri sufficient to accomplish It is most important five parts of worship be v stood by our scholars: u like these, which we make use of, and the rela they imply, be fully com by children, we can har them to make practical lessons. Spare no pains in reducing the various 1 ployed, and the acts they the simplest form of word their meaning can be expre for your own satisfactio consider the task accompl the children can tell you t ing in their own words. ply them with examples, a them to tell you to whi they belonge. g. "Gi day our daily bread;" section does that belong? fession, petition, or int And, finally, require them you in their own words trations of each section, s sure yourself that the subj fectly understood by them

I feel we cannot be too our language, or too clear planation of terms, to capabilities of some of ou And I am inclined to belie more often unsuccessful in sons from lack of attenti important part of our w from any other cause. is it, in my estimation, to ear of eleven intelligent c this respect, than to let after sabbath pass away w twelfth learning anything the teaching goes beyon pacity.

Each section of the lesson needs to be explained, and should be taught somewhat after this manner :

Confession means telling our faults to God; it comprehends the process of examining our hearts, by trying to call to mind what wicked things we have thought, or said, or done, and then humbly telling them to God with a view to obtain His mercy and pardon.

Petition means asking God earnestly for what we want. We should begin by asking His forgiveness for the sins we have confessed. Intercession means "going between," and of course here signifies going by prayer between fellow-sinners and God, to ask Him to bestow blessings upon them; as, for example, when Israel sinned by worshipping the golden calf Moses says (Deut. ix. 25, 26), "I fell down before the Lord forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because the Lord had said He would destroy you. I prayed therefore unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, destroy not Thy people and Thine inheritance, which Thou hast redeemed." That was intercession, or intercessory prayer. We should also remember that Christ is our great Intercessor, and should in this part of prayer remind God of His promises to us through Christ, as a ground for seeking His favour.

Thanksgiving consists in calling to mind God's mercies to us, and expressing our gratitude to Him for them. And praise is the act of

The answer of conscience to these five questions would assist in furnishing a child with ample words of prayer:

1. How have I sinned in thought, in word, and in deed?

2. What good things do I need for my body and my soul?

3. What blessings do others lack, which God alone can supply?

4. What good gifts have I received from God?

5. What can I render to Him who has done so much for me?

If the five sections of worship were fully understood by our scholars, the obstacles presented to extemporary prayer would, I believe, in a great measure be removed; and if they were carefully taught to make use of this knowledge in early youth, they would more frequently be found upon their knees in after years, and their spiritual welfare would be greatly enhanced.

How many blessings do our scholars lack, simply because they "ask not"! How many of them fail to ask, merely because they think they know not how to pray! If they had been taught and encouraged in early childhood, at the close of each day, quietly to kneel down, and to spend a few moments in silence, to exclude all worldly thoughts from their minds, and endeavour to realize themselves in the presence of Him who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, and then to examine themselves after the manner above sug

ness and goodness; or, as David beautifully expresses it (Ps. c. 4), it is to be thankful unto Him, and bless His name."

have presented itself to them. The Spirit helping their infirmities, they would begin to ask, and so in truth begin to pray.*

A TEACHER.