path." The Bible, with the grace it reveals, is the field of hid treasure; the which when a man hath found, he acteth wisely to go and sell all that he hath, and purchase that field. It is the pearl of great price, which itself alone is an inheritance beyond all that earth can give. The Bible is "the tree of life, which beareth twelve manner of fruits, and yieldeth its fruit every month, and whose leaves are for the healing of the nations." The Bible is the "pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb;" and whose streams make glad the holy places of the tabernacles of the Most High." THE BIBLE BLESSES ALL AGES AND ALL CONDITIONS. وو If it be asked, "How shall the young cleanse their way?" The answer is, "By taking heed thereto according to thy word." If it be asked, How shall the afflicted bear their burdens? The answer is, "Through comfort of the Scriptures:"-"thy word, on which thou hast caused me to hope.' If it be asked, How shall the pilgrim to eternity cheer himself onward in his course? The answer comes back from himself, "Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage." If it be asked, How shall the dying die in peace? The answer trembles on his lips, that it is the hope which the Bible has inspired, that bears him through. Hence the language of good men on this subject: "O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day." "And in the night his song shall be with me." "How precious also are thy thoughts unto me!" "More to be desired are they than gold; yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey, and the honey-comb." [To be continued.] "If ever the devil feels shame,—if ever he stands abashed, -if ever he pines his loss at the progress of virtue and piety, -it is in the presence of a Sabbath school. It stands before him as a beauteous angel sheltered by invincible grace, and severe in youthful dignity. It robs him of more than half his power, and leaves him to the fearful conviction that his threatened prostration is at hand." VOL. VII. 17* The Bed of Pinks; or the Folly of Impatience. "O, dear mother, give us each a little flower-bed, for our own, one to me, and one to Gustavus, and one to Alice, and let us take care of them ourselves." So spake the little Frederick to his mother, and the mother granted his request, and gave to each a blooming bed, full of beautiful pinks. And the children rejoiced beyond measure, and said, "When the pinks first blossom, what a splendid sight it will be!" For it was not yet the time of pinks, and they had but just budded. But the little Frederick was impatient in his disposition, and could not wait the time of blossoming, and he wished that his bed of flowers might blossom first before all the others. Then he stepped up to it, took the buds in his hand, and peeped inside of the leaves, and was greatly delighted when out of the green covering, he found a beautiful little red or golden leaf, just beginning to appear. But it was too long for him to wait. So he broke open the buds and loosened the little leaves from one another. Now," cried he, with a loud voice, "see! my pinks are blossoming." But when the sun arose, the flowers bowed their heads mournfully, and before it was mid-day, they stood withered and fallen to pieces. And the boy wept to see this. 66 But his mother said, "Impatient child, may this be the last joy of thy life which shall be ruined by thine own fault. Then hast thou not too dearly purchased the great and difficult lesson, to wait." Affecting Incident. A. In the Memoir of Dr. Griffin is an affecting account of the dangerous illness of his eldest daughter, and of his trials connected with it. Some years afterwards, when by marvellous grace that daughter was brought into the kingdom of heaven, and had become the mother of children, she came forward, with her husband, "to offer them to the Lord;" he stood for a moment before he uttered a word, and then, with deep emotion, said to her, in a way that affected to tears every person present, "I had not thought to see thy face; and lo, God hath showed me also thy seed."-Chr. Review. Benefits of Infant Baptism. Rev. Mr. Chickering's report on the subject of Infant Baptism, mentioned in the last Visiter, has been published in the Christian Mirror. The following is an extract: Not only as a privilege, which God kindly continues from the ancient to the new dispensation, and as a rite consecrated by the almost universal practice of the church, never even disputed by any body of men for the first thousand years after Christ, but as one of the most powerful aids to the parental education of children for God and to the other means of grace, it should be dear to the heart of every Christian. Your Committee are of opinion, that our churches are not fully aware of the extent to which this ordinance has been blessed, even of late, notwithstanding its partial observance and the very imperfect degree in which its obligations and the duties it implies have been understood and felt. One brother in the ministry has given it as his opinion, that, among those who have been received to the communion of one of our churches within fifteen years, scores, at least, have referred to the sight of this ordinance, as one means of spiritual good to their souls. We have heard of one brother, whose daughter asked permission to mingle in a scene of gay and foolish amusement. What could the mother do? To grant permission would be to send that child, whom she had promised to train up for Christ, into a place where she knew he was neither loved nor named, but in derision. To refuse, might alienate and disgust that child, whose love and confidence she had every reason to desire might be retained. What did she? She simply said, with kindness, "My dear child, seventeen years ago, I carried you in my arms to the house of God. Your father and myself, when called upon, stood in the aisle in presence of the congregation. Your father took you from my arms and held you in his own, while the minister baptized you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. As I heard the solemn words, and saw the drops upon your little face, when I again folded you to my heart, I prayed that you might be a holy child, and I determined as far as in me lay to bring you up for Christ. Now, my dear child, if you think the scenes of that evening will be proper for you to mingle in, and for me to send you to, I have nothing more to say. "Need it be added, the daughter did not go. Can we doubt that such an appeal was better fitted to do her good, than any sermon or any remonstrance? One of your Committee had the pleasure a few years since to baptize five little girls of one family, on occasion of the profession of their father. The eldest was about eleven years of age. In less than a year she died. And what was her testimony on this point? Often, both before and after the commencement of her long illness, she referred to her baptism. She said that from the moment she was baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, she felt that she belonged to God. Nor was it a mere feeling. Her conduct corresponded with her language; and she died at twelve years of age, as none but Christians can die; followed already by her next sister, as another pledge of God's promise to believing and praying parents. Miscellaneous Questions. Who was Noah's elder son? Who was Abraham's father? Who was Lot's father? Who was steward of Abraham's house? Who was king of Salem, and priest of the Most High God? Of whom was it said by the Lord, "He will command his children, and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord?" For the sake of how many righteous persons in it, would God have spared Sodom? Who was Rebekah's nurse? Who went out to meditate in the field at the even-tide, when his intended wife was brought to him? Whose wife was Mehetabel? Who bound a line of scarlet thread in the window of her house which was on the town-wall? What prophetess was the wife of Lapidoth? Who, after her marriage, had a south land and the upper and nether springs given to her by her father? What prophetess dwelt under the palm-tree between Ramah and Bethel in Mount Ephraim? What prophetess arose a mother in Israel? Who wrung a bowlful of dew-water out of a fleece of wool? What two men were hid in a well in Bahurim? How was the well concealed? What prophetess was the wife of Shallum? Who said to the king, "Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in mine own city, and be buried by the grave of my father and of my mother?" Whose daughter was Noah? Who was more honorable than his brethren, and called on the God of Israel to bless him, and enlarge his coast? What prophet was among the herdmen of Tekoa? Who said, “But I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth?” Of whom was it said, "And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures?" Who was the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward? What king was taken among the thorns, and bound with fetters, and carried to Babylon? Anticipation; or Comfort to Edward. The following lines were occasioned by this circumstance. Immediately after the death of a little brother, Edward C., a boy about ten years old, went into the country to spend a few weeks with a friend. While there, a letter was received which contained this sentence, "Tell Edward, that instead of George, God has given him another little brother; yet judgment is still mingled with mercy, for this dear little boy has no fingers on his left hand." Edward was a thoughtful boy, and this intelligence filled him with grief. He burst into tears, and said, "He never can work!" "No matter," said his friend, "God intends that he shall be a minister." "We don't know that." "But, see, see, Edward; and I will write down what I have thought, this moment." Methought, I saw a little boy Most lovely, by his father stand, And God had marked him for his own,- Again, he was a sprightly youth, Then 'neath the old paternal roof, |