one more wise than Hammond in that worldly diligence which "tends to plenteousness" is yet supremely foolish in the affairs of eternity. Ever neglecting the ever present duty of seeking "first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness," he suffers himself to be drawn aside by every passing toy, or "driven with the wind and tossed." He knows himself to be a sinner, and Christ Jesus to be the Saviour of sinners; and he means to flee to that only hope and refuge. But still, in restless activity about "the things which are seen and temporal," and in idle indifference towards "the things which are not seen and are eternal," the language of his heart is, To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow.

Young friend, is it so with you? Ah! be not so unwise. Abandon, once for all, your criminal trifling. Hear the words which the Holy Spirit teaches: "To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart." Your "present duty" is "to lay hold on the hope set before you;" to believe in the Saviour of sinners; to close with the offers of God's mercy, to seek eternal life, and to seek it in God's appointed way-through Jesus Christ, the Prince of life, the atoning sacrifice, the only Mediator between God and man. Yes, young reader, this is your duty, your present duty. Let this, then, be your first great concern.

Your present duty! Try to find out the worth of your soul, dear young friend; that

is your present duty. Have you never tried your powers on this problem? Try them now, then-not to-morrow.

"Don't tell us of to-morrow!

It must be done to-day :

'Twill never be accomplish'd

While you throw the hours away."

Find out, then, the value of your soul, by the test which the Divine Saviour has taught us to apply: "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Your present duty, young friend, is to find an answer to these questions.

Your present duty! To value and make the most of your present advantages; that is your present duty. To "remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;" this is your present duty.

To say, or think, when any difficulty seems to arise to prevent you from doing what your conscience tells you, and the Bible tells you, ought to be done, and done at once, "There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets;" this is not your present duty. "It is only by meeting and overcoming difficulties that you can form a manly and strong"-and what is more, a Christian-" character." One

victory over temptation paves the way for other and greater victories: one instance of cowardly yielding to temptation weakens the soul for future conflicts. Sloth, like all other evil habits, gathers strength by indulgence.

"There have been multitudes before you who set aside present duty by the help of this or that plausible reason, and at the same time dream of great activity in some indefinite future time. Vain dream! how vain, their dying hour revealed to them. If you imitate their folly, you will find out at last, to your sorrow, as they did, that the real hindrances to God's service you carry about with you in your own bosom, and that no change of circumstances can remove them. If, then, you would not live a life of sloth, and die a death of anguish and despair, awake at once to the performance of duty. God helps the earnest: the sluggard he leaves to want.

Yes, God does help the earnest. He says to you, young friends, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened," Matt. vii. 7, 8.

VIII.

CONCLUSION.

SCHOOLBOYS! our stories are ended; but our book-not quite.

A few years ago were gathered together the teachers and pupils, not of our school, but of one much larger. It was "the public day," as it was called; and many besides teachers and pupils were there to witness its proceedings. There were prizes awarded, and other proceedings, with which schoolboys are familiar, as preparatory to going home. Of these, however, we do not intend to give you any account. But besides these, an address was given to those who were that day assembled; and from that part of it which more particularly concerned the boys, we shall find and borrow a fitting conclusion to our tales.* Here it is; and let every schoolboy in whose hands this book may be placed read it attentively and prayerfully:

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My dear boys, you have heard what I have been saying about learning and religion;

* Address delivered at the Grammar School, Mill Hill, on the public day, June 22, 1842, by the Rev. T. Binney.

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you see how we attach importance to both. Knowledge is good, large information is very desirable; but religious knowledge is absolutely necessary. Science, literature, and elegant accomplishments, all that gives to the intellect greatness or refinement, if possessed apart from religious faith and holy character, are only as flowers that adorn the dead. There is a knowledge which purifies while it expands; which is life to the soul, as well as light to the intellect; which will go with you to any world, and prepare you for any, by guiding you safely through the dangers of this. Seek that knowledge where you know it is to be found-in those 'Holy Scriptures' which you are here taught, and 'which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.' Cultivate, dear youth, piety towards God, deep reverence for his presence, his service, and his name. Pray to him for that pardon of sin which boys need as well as men, and for that grace which children, as well as adults, can receive. The promise is to you as well as to us.

"In relation to your general conduct, I should like you to associate real nobility and greatness of character with what is moralwith habitual obedience to the law of conscience, and the dictates of duty. Vice is mean and degrading, as well as wrong. In the Bible, sinners are represented as objects of contempt as well as of condemnation. A bad