and sympathy of spirit, because you see unmistakeable signs of hardship and pinching.

Dear friends, I leave these thoughts with you. There is no position we can hold which is either too high or too lowly, to leave room for the honour which we may bring to His name. We know that it is good that a man bear the yoke in his youth, and we know also that "the trial of your faith worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope. The soul by the attainment of one grace and virtue is led on to another, and so we grow into the likeness of the Lord we love.

Do you find it hard work sometimes to see how, by the exercise of forbearance and self-content, or by the manifestation of courtesy and gentleness, you are doing any more than others? Do you say, "All who wish to do well in this position must do that"? Well, so much the better. But keep on trying to make your work more than a

mechanical work. Let it be a something your Father has appointed unto you, and though you may see little fruit as regards others, your own soul will be strengthened and braced with the discipline, and you will go on "from grace to grace and strength."

Till having all things done,

And all the conflict past,

We may o'ercome, through Christ alone,

And stand complete at last.

W

IV.

About your Pleasures.

E hear a great deal now-a-days about the

necessity of some relaxation or recreation

for every one who works. The greater the sameness of the occupation the greater the need for change and variety in the hours of leisure.

It is quite possible for us to get tired even of our most favourite employment if necessity compels us to persevere in it for any length of time. We can have too much of a good thing.

There is no doubt that some kinds of employment are much more monotonous than others; these requiring from us little skill or knowledge, do not call into action any of our vast powers, and so for want of anything to awaken our energy we get weary with their sameness.

But in smaller measure we get weary of any sameness; the regular succession of one duty after another palls and tires if we can get no change. And it is when our weariness takes the form of intense longing for other scenes and occupations, that a little change, even for a few hours, is most likely to do us good.

This is especially the case with young folks. The elders can very well afford to settle down quietly in one place, taking an outing at regular intervals, often to the self-same sport. They have memories and recollections of people and things, and by "fighting their battles over again" they get change of thought and enjoyment.

But there is so much bustle and whirl and excitement in the present day, that it is no wonder if our lads and lassies are more affected by it than we are who were born in soberer, quieter times.

Certain it is that all classes and all trades make a stand for some time when they can seek a recreation for themselves; whether they are always

wise in the plans they adopt to this end, is quite another question.

And there is scarcely any class which has more ground for complaint on the score of sameness than young women in business. If they are seamstresses, the continual stitch, stitch, stitch, is the giant Grim of their lives. If they are shopassistants, the continual measuring of yards and counting of buttons gets irksome. If they are copyists, they weary of words and sentences in which they have no manner of interest; and so on all through the list. It is the sameness of the work which tires rather than its heaviness.

And you will have noticed that we choose for our refreshing something the very opposite to that which has wearied us. We have been continually serving strangers, how sweet it is to serve one's own dear ones by way of change. You who are rather monotonously waiting upon those you neither know nor care about, how much do you brighten up, and with what life your whole frame