the white man, the negro, the red man, and the men with tawny coloured skin, would be waiting, expecting perhaps to receive his stroke. There would be many trembling with joy, others trembling with fear; some crying to God that they were not ready, others hoping that they might be sent for, and crying "Come quickly!" Others, weary of the world, and yet half afraid to change, would remain almost indifferent; but all the earth would be waiting and expecting death. What a solemn time that would be!

L. But it would be only once in 180 years!

P. True; and how is it that we so seldom expect death. Is it that he comes so seldom? Only once in 180 years? Nay, he comes every day!

W. Are you certain, papa, that he comes so often as that?

P. Yes. And yet how little do we expect him? Think; he visits this world, not only once in 180 years, but he is coming to-morrow morning! Do you ever stop to ask yourself: "Is he coming to strike me?" Do you ever look out for him, and see if you are ready, as I told you the world would do if he came every 180 years?

It is a solemn thought that King Death has business here every day. We will now proceed with Jacob's history. You may remember that he and his brother parted in peace: then Jacob and all his family settled in Canaan, making, I dare say, new arrangements because of their increase of riches. If you had been in Canaan at that time, you would have wondered at Jacob's large family. You would have said to him, "What a number of great grown-up men there are in your family!"

And Jacob would have answered, "These are all my sons.!"

W. How many sons had he-six?

P. More than that.

Ion. Were there eight?

P. More than that. It is not worth while for you to guess; I may as well tell you that he had twelve sons, many of whom had wives and children. Their names were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, Dan, Naphtali, Joseph, and Benjamin.

If you had begun to talk to Jacob about his sons, he would perhaps have told you that he was the father of them all, but that they had not the same mother. "Some," he would have said, "are the sons of my wife Leah; others are the sons of the hand-maids of my wives, Zilpah and Bilhah, but these two younger boys are the sons of my best wife,

was alive; and we had

Rachel. I loved Rachel very much when she often prayed to God that she might have a son. Do you not remember the son whom God gave to her? This is he-this is the son whom she nursed, and loved, and cared for. This is her first-born son, who wept with me when his mother died; when I look on his fair and beautiful countenance, he reminds me of his mother who is gone-his name is— JOSEPH.

You may read in the Bible how Jacob, who was becoming an old man, doated on Joseph. He did not care to hide his partiality from his other sons, and gave him a much finer dress than those of his brothers -a coat of many colours.

L. Was it quite right of Jacob to love Joseph best?

P. I cannot say. That depends upon circumstances. If he did not deserve more love than his brothers had, he ought not to have more, for they would be likely to think, "We are not treated fairly,” and would become jealous.

Ion. As Cain was.

P. Yes. But Cain's jealousy was a very unjust one; it arose because Abel was better he. Perhaps this was the case with Joseph; it is very likely that, as he was Rachel's first son, and her only son until she died, that she watched over him very carefully, so that he might be well taught. It appears, too, that some of Jacob's sons were indeed very wicked and cruel. Sometimes Joseph would accompany them and their sheep to distant pasture lands. While they were thus away from their father, Joseph observed many of their "evil doings," and sometimes mentioned them to his father on his return. This Joseph thought was a right thing for him to do; but his brothers did not think so. They said that he was a spy over them; and when they thought of this, and often saw his many coloured coat, it is said that they "hated him yet the more."

ETERNITY.

A GULF, whose large extent no bounds engage;

A still beginning, never-ending age,

Which, when ten thousand thousand years are run,
Is still the same, and still to be begun.

JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BRETHREN.

"And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.

"And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; and they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt."-GEN. XXXVii. 13, 23-28.

P. You remember, I dare say, that Joseph's brethren hated him, and felt toward him the bad feeling of jealousy. One day their feeling of jealousy was roused still more by something that he told them. Perhaps it was one morning, just after breakfast, when they were all going out to work, when he said to them, "Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed."

Now, in those days, dreams were matters of great importance, for they were generally thought to be messages sent by God. So, I dare say, that Joseph's brethren all gathered around him and listened to his dream.

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Then Joseph began his story-"Behold," he said, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf arose, and stood upright; and behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf."

Ion. I think I have heard the meaning of that dream, papa. Did it not mean that Joseph's brethren were themselves to bow down to him?

P. That was the meaning which they put upon it at once, and they did not like it. They answered him, "Shalt thou indeed reign over us ?" And they hated him the more for his words.

Soon after, Joseph had another dream, which he told to his brethren

and his father. "Behold," he said again, "I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me." Then his father also was angry, saying to him, "Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee?" But I dare say that they all thought over the matter again-they all knew that something must be intended by God; and it is said that his father observed the saying, but his brethren still envied him. Perhaps they often said to each other, "We will never bow down to him—we can do just as we please; and no one can make us bow down unless we like."

But it is a foolish thing to feel anger at anything which may be God's will. If they had remembered God, they would have rem.embered, too, that the word which the Almighty hath spoken must be fulfilled. Oh, how differently Joseph's brethren would have felt if they had been good men. They would have said to each other, "Is it God's will? then we will do it and be glad. We shall be delighted to do anything that may please God. We will even lone Joseph now with all our hearts, because God loves him." This would have been much better than having their minds filled with angry thoughts which made them unhappy.

It happened one day that the flocks of Jacob were feeding in Shechem, the place where Jacob had formerly lived, when Joseph's father said to him, "Go, I pray thee, and see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks, and bring me word again." Now it was a long way to Shechem, but we find that Joseph, like an obedient son, went at once. His reply to his father was, "Here am I."

Let us think for a minute of Joseph going on his journey. I dare say he went on his way happily, thinking good thoughts of his brothers, and hoping that he should find them well. Perhaps he was happy, too, because he was doing something for his father; and perhaps, as he enjoyed the pleasant walk, and saw the pleasant trees and fields on his way, he had pleasant thoughts about God. He came to Shechem as his father had ordered, but his brethren were not there, and he was told that they had gone on to a place called Dothan. It might have been near the evening time when he approached Dothan, and saw his brethren afar off.

Perhaps he could see, by the side of some hill, their dark figures standing out very plainly against the bright red sky; as he watched them moving about, he would feel very glad-he would run and make

haste to see them. Before he had reached his brethren, however, they saw him; but they were not glad! Nay, they were still full of envy concerning his dream, and they said to one another, "Behold this dreamer cometh!" As he came on toward them, and they stood looking at him in this unkind spirit, more wicked thoughts came to them; they began to think, "Oh, if he were only dead, his dreams could not come true!" and then they began to talk together, saying, "Let us slay him! Let us cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him, and then we shall see what will become of his dreams." But the eldest brother, whose name was Reuben, began to fear to do so wicked a thing; and he said to the others, "Let us not slay him, but let us cast him into this pit;" for he intended to deliver him secretly, and to take him back to his father.

So, when Joseph rushed forward, with a glad look, to meet his brethren, there were no glad looks given him in exchange. How was he surprised that his brothers did not even answer his questions, but took hold of him roughly, and stripped him of his beautiful coat of many colours! He was soon more surprised, for they carried him on until they came to a large pit which had been dug to receive the rain water, and pushed him into it.

W. Then was he drowned, papa?

P. No; the pit was empty. But he was very much astonished; I dare say that he began, at once, to feel that his bad brothers were going to kill him.

L. Then he was more than astonished-he was frightened, I should think.

P. No, indeed, I should almost think not. It was very dark down there, perhaps, and very damp; very likely, too, that the pit was cold, but in the midst of all that would cause him to fear, there was the one thought, which gives joy to all who love God-it is the thought that takes away all fear-that thought is, GOD IS PRESENT EVERYWHERE.

He knew that if God intended him to live until his brothers should bow down to him, he would not die; and he did not trust to God in vain. The Bible tells us that his brethren "sat down to eat bread, and as they lifted up their eyes and looked, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our