our lives. Some thoughtless people say it will be time to think about heaven when we are old and are about to die. It is foolish as well as wicked to say this; no one knows that he will live to grow old, or that he will know when he is going to die; and even if he did know this, can he suppose that he will feel more inclined to think about heaven then than he does now? Besides, how ungrateful it seems, that we, to whom God has given so many good things, and over whom he watches every moment of our lives, should spend the best of our days, when we are young and strong, in pleasing ourselves, and think that the time when we are old and feeble will be good enough to give to God. But I will hope that it is not so with you, but that in the days of your youth you will remember your Creator and Redeemer; and though you may meet with many trials in your journey to heaven, he will take you safely through them all, even through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, till you stand with the holy angels around his throne, and sing praises with them in the Golden City.

G. G.

THE WATCH; OR, COVETING WHAT OTHERS

IIAVE.

"Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have."-Heb. xiii. 5.

LITTLE Clara had been spending the afternoon with one of her favourite companions; but she came home silent and sad, and did not join in the cheerful sports

of her brothers and sisters. Her father, who loved her much, took her on his knee, and talked with her until he found out the cause. The young people where she had been visiting were not older than herself, and she really thought they were not much wiser or more clever; but they all wore very handsome ornaments, especially one of them, who had just received a present from her uncle-a very pretty watch. "How I wish," she added, "that I might have a watch and chain too."

"I am glad," said Mr. Rose," that you have nothing more to make you uneasy. And what would you do with a watch if you had one, my Clara ?"

"I would wear it at my side," she said, "and look at it every minute.”

"Is your time so very precious? Or are the days so dull and so long that you are tired before they come to an end ?"

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No, father, I am generally happy, and time passes very quickly."

Mr. R. Does not the clock at the foot of the stairs tell you

all

you want?

C. Sometimes when I am very busy in my room I cannot hear it strike. But if I had a watch, I could always be ready, and regular.

Mr. R. Well, can you give me some other reason? for I think, if you took care to listen, you would find the striking of the clock would do. I am afraid you want a watch merely as an ornament, and not for

use.

C. You have a watch yourself, father. Surely you find it useful?

Mr. R. You know that I have many engagements to attend to out of doors.

C. But you like me to be punctual at school.

Mr. R. Well, that is a good reason; and, as you wish for a watch, I will give you one.

C. Thank you. Oh! I wish I had had it when I went out this afternoon.

Mr. R. You may fetch it now, if you like. It hangs up in my bed-room.

C. What! that old-fashioned thing?

Mr. R. It is a very good one, though it is oldfashioned. It belonged to my father; but if I give it you, it will still remain in my family.

C. I am afraid every one else will consider it very strange.

Mr. R. Then, after all, you see you care more about show than use. Besides, do you think that to have a handsome watch would make you happy? If I were rich, you would soon find out by experience that very often, the more people have, the more discontented they are. If you had a watch, I think, in a month, you would neglect it, and then it would very soon be out of repair.

C. Do you think that, if you had more money, I should be less happy than I am ?

Mr. R. All people, whether rich or poor, are happy only so long as they are contented with the stations in life that God has provided for them. There are none so high, or so low, but they may covet something which is denied to them. The labourer may long to have his neighbour's house and land, and the lord of a rich kingdom may desire something which lawfully he

cannot possess, as Ahab wanted the vineyard of Naboth. 1 Kings xxi. Sometimes kings and rulers go to war, because they cannot agree about their possessions; and people who are of less consequence often have sad quarrels and lawsuits with each other. Did you think this afternoon, as much as usual, about being kind to your little friends ? or was not your heart full of envy towards them, because they happened to be better dressed than yourself? And then, did you not feel some hard and unkind thoughts towards your best friends? All this shows, my dear Clara, that wishing for what God withholds from us is a sin. It is one to which even the best persons are liable, and we must pray for the grace of the Lord Jesus to deliver us from its guilt and power.

C. Oh, father, I was very wrong. But how can I get rid of these vain wishes?

Mr. R. Think how many mercies you have, of which others are in want. Remember that the only way to be truly happy and respectable, is to live within your means, and not to spend your money on useless things. If I, now, were to keep a carriage, I could not pay the expenses of your education; and how, then, could I expect comfort from you when I grew old ? But above all, seek to set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.

"From covetous desires set free,

On Jesus cast thy care:
In heaven thy better portion see,

And let thy heart be there."

E. M.