IIIs life was one grand battle with Old Time;
From morn to noon, from noon to weary night-
Ever he fought, as only strong men fight.
And so he passed out of his golden prime

Into grim, hoary manhood; and he knew
No rest from that great conflict, till he grew
Feeble and old, ere years could make him so.
Then on a bed of pain he laid his head,
As one sore spent with labour and with woe;
"Rest comes at last, I thank thee, God," he said.

Death came, upon his brow laid chilly hands,

And whispered, "Vanquished!" but he gasped out "No;

I am the victor now, for unto lands

Where Time's dark shadow cannot fall I go."

The Night Watchman's Song.

FROM THE GERMAN.

Hark, while I sing! our village clock
The hour of Four, good sirs, has struck.
Four seasons crown the farmer's care;
Thy heart with equal toil prepare.
Up! up! awake, nor slumber on;
The morn approaches, night is gone!

Thank God, who, by His power and might,
Has watched and kept us through the night!

Hearty Hints to Lay Officers of the Church.

BY GEORGE VENABLES, S.C.L., VICAR OF ST. MATTHEW'S, LEICESTER.

VISITORS.

LTHOUGH our next and final paper, by embracing lay agency in general, may be said to include Visitorswhether District Visitors or visitors for specific purposes and upon unusual occasions-it seems well to devote one paper more especially to them.

For, in past times, they did good service when the vast portion of church members were inert and careless. They still do a great work in many localities. And it is not unlikely that under a more complete system of organization than has commonly obtained amongst them, they would prove an even more valuable auxillary in church-work than heretofore.

I reflect, with much gratitude and pleasure, upon the great good effected by district visitors in two parishes wherein (in the one case, I was curate, and in the other, I was vicar), they worked very cheerfully and well. But experience tells me, also, that the circumstances and surroundings of some parishes may render the use of visitors almost impossible. Wherever it is otherwise, a faithful band of true-hearted visitors is a cause of great blessing, and much strengthens the pastor's work.

Visitors ought, of course, to be regular worshippers and communicants, and generally at the church within whose district they But these remarks are obviously so necessary as to scarcely need offering to the reader.

serve.

Visitors, in common with the clergy themselves, and in common with all who try to do good, have difficulties and temptations peculiar to their office. They must not be offended if I, most heartily wishing them every success and blessing, venture to point out what their especial dangers are.

There is a danger of the visit becoming a mere affair of gossip. Mrs. Garrulous is in many respects a decent body, and attends church at least every Sunday afternoon, but unhappily she knows her neighbours affairs better than she knows her prayer-book, and being clever, with her way of putting things, she contrives to interest her kind, well-meaning visitor so much in her story about Widow Watchford, and about the goings on down at the Winkwells, that, quite without suspecting it or intending it, the visit has become a mere empty talk about anything and anybody except Christianity or themselves! We all are in some danger here, but none more so than the district visitor.

There is, also, the very easy, and very natural, danger of favouritism. Favouritism is very easily acquired, and it is very natural withal, but it puts an end to all usefulness, if permitted. Those who know what visiting is, know very well the difference between the reception one meets with at (suppose) No. 45 and No. 73, and that one would rather go a dozen times to the former house than once to the latter. What so natural as to prefer calling where you are met with a smile and a welcome, to calling at that other dwelling, where the barely civil manner, short, stumpy voice, and general bearing of the inmate assure you, beyond doubt, that you are certainly not wanted there?

And let me say, even here, there are limits to the perseverance with which you continue to call at such a house. I do not remember above four houses at which I have ceased to call, and I apprehend that we should be very careful not too readily to "give up" anyone, however roughly we may be treated.

At the same time, we have no right or authority to invade the dwelling of any man, poor or rich; and the poor ought certainly to be treated with the same manners as the rich. Only the danger to the visitor is, lest easily ceasing to call upon those who are not very attractive at first, a system of favouritism towards others gets set up, which works much ill feeling in the mind.

These are two of the great dangers and difficulties of the visitor. Let me offer a few hearty hints of another kind.

In dealing with the poor, I mean the needy, it is useless to talk to them about spiritual mercies while they are starving. Jesus ever showed sympathy with the visible evil, and sought to relieve it, even though He came to deal with evil in its higher and more spiritual forms.

A tract to a hungry man is of little use. Nay, it may do harm. On the other hand, "Blessed is he that considereth the poor." Much indiscriminate giving is positively harmful. If you so give as to encourage a habit of dependence and a want of self-reliance, and if you crush out, instead of foster, a spirit of self-help, you are doing great harm; you are pauperising the person; you are making beggars; and you are doing a positive injury to them and to the whole community.

"Consider" the poor. Try to assist them to help themselves. Aid them in an emergency; but endeavour to put them in a position to prevent emergencies arising.

It is kind to assist the poor in their distress, but it is better to put them into a way of keeping out of distress.

I should be very sorry to say one unkind word against a man, because he is poor or "down."

There are many genuine cases of very sad suffering and distress which demand our sympathy and deserve our assistance. But with all this, I cannot shut my eyes to the fact that vice and want go very much together, and that in very many instances (though with distinct and numerous exceptions) the distress and the poverty are plainly caused only by the immorality of the sufferers.

This is a great matter for the contemplation of visitors.

Then, I would hint, also, that visitors should have a definite aim, and should work to secure it. In one case it is to persuade J. T. to cease his drunken habits. Here, it is to bring C. D. to church. And here, to show that steady fellow, B. R., that he is much in the wrong for not attending the Holy Communion, as His own loved Saviour hath invited him, asked him, and advised him to do!

Do all prayerfully. Make your visits a subject of prayer ere you leave home, make them the subject of prayer on your return. Get, a'so, early to Church, and there plead with God for any special cases to whom your heart has been peculiarly drawn out.

Remember that you are working in a good cause, and for One

Short Sermon.

Who will not let your labour fail of good results. Therefore, do not act feebly, as though a "perhaps" hung about all you do. Act. as a thoroughly hearty, earnest member of the church, who is working for the glory of his God and the benefit of his fellow creatures. Go at your work as to a reality, for reality it is. Treat

it as a work which embraces the unceasing Future as well as the Present in its influences, and you will, I think, be, what I earnestly trust you may be, "Hearty Visitors."

Short Sermon.

Overcoming the World.

BY T. C. WHITEHEAD, M.A., HEAD MASTER OF CHRIST'S COLLEGE,

FINCHLEY.

1 S. John v. 4.-" This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."

ROM this text let me take occasion to set forth three points:

I. What is meant by the world?'

II. What is meant by 'overcoming the world?'

III. By what means this is to be done.

I. What is meant by the expression, the world?' The phrase has many significations, but it is used in the text in the sense in which it is a source of danger to the Christian's soul. People sometimes use the expression the world,' intending by it to describe the society of ungodly people, in contrast to that of the servants of God. But it is impossible to draw a line which will clearly separate the two classes. Doubtless, in some cases, the distinction is plain enough. There are some few servants of God of whose characters none can doubt. There are some enemies to God and religion of whose characters none can doubt, as well. But, in the outward and visible Church in general, the wheat and the tares grow together, not distinguished by human eye. Amongst the Twelve was a Judas, evidently undetected by the other Apostles; and when Elijah complained that he only was left, God surprised him with the answer, that He had seven thousand left in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal.

In the same town-in the same congregation-in the same family-the spiritually dead and the spiritually alive are mixednay, even in the same heart, the heart of every Christian man, there is to the last something left of the spirit of the world, not wholly driven out by the Spirit of Christ. We cannot therefore now call any set of people the world,' and any other set 'the company of the people of God.' By-and-bye, the reapers will come to make the separation, but at present the Lord of the harvest has issued His command, let them both grow together.'

What, then, is the world,' spoken of in the text?

Simply, the

things that are seen and temporal, as opposed to the things that are unseen and eternal.

And it is often called this wicked world,' because of the wickedness which it produces, by ministering to the sinful lusts within us, and inclining us to forget the interests of our souls, and to worship the creature rather than the Creator.

How clearly is this the case! How easily are we drawn aside from the service of God, not only by things lawful, but even by things necessary. The money that we use the business to which the Bible bids us attend-the recreation needful for our health and spirits our food, and raiment, and sleep-nay, our very homes. (intended to be the types of the harmony and peace of the eternal Home above), even these needful things may and do minister to sin by withdrawing our affections from things above. It is this which makes the battle we have to fight the life-long struggle that it is. The religious life were easy, if it consisted in the avoidance of certain well-known people, and certain well-defined places and practices. But closely mingled as are the world and the church, the Christian soldier must be ever on the watch. Wherever he may go into the deepest retirement-into the very sanctuary of God itself-he has with him the battle-field and the contending forces, the battle-field, his own heart, the contending forces, the spirit of self and the spirit of God.

Such, then, is the enemy of which the text warns us, so subtle, so continually about us and within us, so hard to detect, so difficult

to overcome.

II. Let us ask next, then, what is meant by overcoming it?

Not flight. There are some particular temptations from which we may flee, and must flee, if we can; but there are many, again, which meet us every day, and all day, which must be manfully met, fought with, and overcome. Would it be possible to say that a general had overcome his enemy (though he had not lost a soldier), if he had never met him? He might be wise in avoiding him for a season, that he might gather strength or better choose the place of conflict. But to overcome' him, he must meet him, fight him, and subdue him. Hence the mistake which they commit, who imagine that a life of cloistered seclusion gives opportunity for the growth of a higher and a loftier Christian character. Not so. The Christian's strength is shown, not in blind ignorance of evil, but in deliberate preference of good. A Christian's duty lies, therefore, not in forsaking his place in the business and intercourse of the world, not in quitting the friendly gathering and the family circle, but in glorifying God in them, in showing how His Holy Spirit can make him an example of integrity, of purity and humility, of self-denial, and of charity-it lies in mastering the special temptations incident to each man's own particular position and callingit lies in proving to the world, not only that every duty of life is best discharged by the servant of Christ, but also that God's world of natural duty is the fittest, as it is the appointed, training-ground to prepare His saints for His heaven and for His presence.

This is what Christ meant, when, not long before His departure from them, He prayed for His disciples, not that God should take