with his earthly children. And then was heard the voice of a trumpet mingling with the roar of the thunder,-its blast prolonged and repeated in a thousand echoes. When Moses heard this voice, he brought forth the people out of the camp, and marshalled them in order upon the plain, tribe by tribe, company by company, thousand by thousand, before the mount of God. They came forth to meet with God-to listen to His voice-to behold the manifestation of His presence-and to hear His will concerning them uttered by the voice of His own thunder. They stood, and gazed, and trembled. They waited, and watched, and listened. Thicker still flashed the lightning through the darkness, and louder pealed the roar of the thunder, and more awfully replied the rolling of the answering echo. Above, the smoke as of a mighty furnace went up towards heaven. Below, the earth trembled and groaned beneath their feet. And still the blast of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder. It was a voice that even the dull material Israelites could hear. The scene before them was one which even they could understand and feel. Moses drew near to the burning, thundering mountain, and spake unto God for the people, who stood trembling at his presence. And as Moses spake, God answered him with a voice. Forth from the darkness, and from the cloud and the fiery lightning, came that awful voice, and even amid the uproar of the elements, above the trumpet and above the thunder, did Israel hear it, distinct and separate from every other sound. It was the voice of God Himself calling upon His faithful servant to come up to Him in the mount. And Moses went forward towards the foot of the mountain, and disappeared among the thick masses of cloud that were rolling round the base, and curling tempestuously up the rocky precipices that formed this face of Sinai. The people waited to see what next would follow. Presently, Moses appeared again, charged with another warning to the people not to come near the mount, or attempt with prying eyes to discern the hidden glory that might lie behind this thick veil of darkness which shrouded the presence of Jehovah. Even the priests, who were allowed to approach nearer than the rest, were commanded again to sanctify themselves, and be fit to appear before the Lord, lest He should break forth upon them. Everything, in short, was done, that could impress upon the people a sentiment of veneration and holy fear. And the people said unto Moses, "Speak thou with us, and we will hear but let not God speak with us, lest we die." And Moses said unto the people, "Fear not, God is come to prove you, that His fear may be before your faces, and that ye sin not." And the people stood afar off, and Moses again drew near to the mount, and to the thick darkness where God was.

Then followed the delivery of the Ten Commandments, which contained all the great outlines and principles of the moral law, and the one great truth which they seem to have been selected and set apart to preserve and bear witness to among all nations-viz. that the God whom they served was ONE GOD-that He was the only God-that He was the God of all men-and the Creator of all worlds and that to make any graven image and fall down and worship before it, was that deadly sin of Idolatry, from which He was now making it His especial care to deliver His chosen people. After these first and great commandments came many more minute and particular directions for the regulation of their social duties in the ordinary concerns of daily life. After this Moses was commanded to bring up into the mount three individuals that were named, together with seventy of the Elders of Israel, in order probably that by thus admitting them to some share of that peculiar honour hitherto reserved for Moses only, they too might feel more deeply interested in the noble cause that he was labouring in, and might strengthen his hands in all his dealings with the ignorant, wayward, and stiff-necked people, whom God had entrusted to his leadership. Moses returned therefore to the camp, but before he called the Elders to go with him into the presence of God, he again called the people together and told them of the commandments he had already received; and not satisfied with the mere promises of the people that in all things they would faithfully obey the directions he had given, he tried still farther to bind and to confirm them in their resolution, by building before the mount an altar, which was erected on twelve pillars, to represent the twelve tribes of Israel, and offering sacrifices thereon, and peace offerings unto the Lord. And then again, yet again, while the fire was burning high and bright upon the altar, and the smoke of the burnt-offering was going up towards heaven, Moses took the book in which he had written the law already given, and read it in the hearing of all the people. And the people answered with one voice, and said, "All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient."

Then with the blood of the sacrifices Moses sprinkled the people that stood near, as the representatives of all their brethren, and said, "Behold, this is the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words." And the people bowed their heads, and we can imagine, that from one end to the other, and through all the ranks of that assembled people, from the front before the mount to the farthermost rear on the edge of the receding plain, there would rise from that vast multitude, like the murmur of a distant wave breaking on the shore, one deep AMEN.

Then Moses called on Aaron, and Nadab, and Abihu, and the seventy Elders, and with them he again went up into the mount, and disappeared from the sight of all the people. What then those seventy saw, or what they heard, we know not; for the words which attempt to describe the vision, evidently describe nothing, but only give us to understand that it was something glorious and beautiful, beyond the power of words to tell, or the skill of man to paint. They did not indeed go where Moses went. They did not see what he saw, or hear what he heard, or draw near to God, as he drew near. They stood afar off and worshipped. But still they were within the cloud-within the veil-the darkness was between them and the earth :—the light only was between them and heaven.

They descended, and Moses again went up into the mount, taking with him only his servant and minister, Joshua. And when he had entered the cloud, again the presence of the Lord seemed to be stirring the slumbering elements into life. The clouds again rolled hither and thither, and rose and curled as if boiling up the mountain side. Once more the lightning flashed through the darkness, and the voice of the thunder spoke in tones of awful warning, and the fire and the smoke went up towards heaven, as if the granite rocks of Sinai were melting in a furnace. God was speaking unto His servant, and the awe-struck multitude below still stood gazing, trembling, and feeling that in all the earth, and in the heavens and firmament above, there was surely no God like the One great God of Israel.

(To be continued.)

"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass; for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was."

We often find in one man two distinct characters, according to one of which he thinks and judges, while according to the other he acts. Now, it is the acting character according to which we judge of a man, for we know it to be the true one; the other is only a prophetic shadow of what he might be.

The outward show may be delusive,

A cheating name;

The inner spirit is conclusive

Of worth or shame.

"Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things."

God hath made every man a governor over himself. The poor man who hath none to govern, yet may be a king to himself. It is the natural ambition of men's heart to desire government. Well, then, let us make use of this disposition to rule ourselves. When we have learned to rule our own spirits well, then we may be fit to rule others. He that is faithful in a little, shall be set over more. Our wishes our desires control,

Mould every purpose of the soul;

O'er all may we victorious be

That stands between ourselves and Thee.

SUNDAY SCHOOL MATES.

WHEN men and women we are grown,
And pupils in the world's great school,
We will not present ties disown,

Nor let the child's warm friendship cool.

We stand together side by side,

Together read, sing, learn, or pray;
But scattered o'er the world so wide,
Some from the narrow path may stray;

Some on the couch of pain may moan,

Some see all friends and kindred die,
Some, every earthly comfort flown,
In deepest poverty may sigh:

And some may riches great obtain,
Some rise to scientific fame,
And some to rank and power attain,
Or win a high and noble name:

But ne'er may power, or wealth, or pride,
Tempt school-mates to forget the time

We stood together, side by side,

Ere sundered, or by rank or crime.

Then let the firm the lost restore,
And let the great respect the meek,
And let the rich assist the poor,
And let the strong support the weak:

That so we all again may meet,
And none of us be missing there,
In heaven, our God and Father's seat,
And heavenly joys together share.

J. A.

RECOLLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN.

CHAPTER I.

Ir is now perhaps half a century since Milwood, one of the most picturesque villages in England, began to lose its character for beauty, for a young man who inherited a large landed property in the neighbourhood, began, at that time, to make alterations in the place which none of the inhabitants regarded as improvements. Circumstances, however, favoured his views; and, before he died, some ten years since, he had the satisfaction of seeing the subject of his experiments converted into a country town, with its police station, its corn-hall, its large red brick union house, and a rail-road, which doomed to destruction the avenue of fragrant lime trees leading to the old hall. I know such things must be; that Milwood must progress with the rest of the world, but I mourn the loss of the pretty cottages and shady lanes, which have been sacrificed on the shrine of utility, and I shall never have sufficient public spirit to prefer the shrill whistle of the engine to the joyous notes of the songsters of the groves.

No place has been so much changed as the church-yard. The porch is demolished where aged worshippers were wont to rest in reverent thought before the hour of prayer. The winding path and rustic stile are no longer to be seen, and a wide straight gravel walk is now the only means of entrance to the sacred building. The grassy mounds which marked the graves of the villagers are too simple for the present taste, and you now see large slabs of stone, recording the virtues of the dead, which, if genuine, will remain in the memory of those who loved them, and are of no interest to those who loved them not. Many a peaceful hour have I passed in this church-yard, yet now, as age is creeping on, and my thoughtful and retired habits lead me to seek with deeper interest the scene of my last abode, an iron gate with massive lock debars me. But like many an old man, I am getting prosy, and my readers will agree in opinion with a youngster of my acquaintance, who told me the other day that if I had been the contemporary of Adam, I should even then have been behind the times.

On a fine October afternoon a long funeral procession was seen to wind through the wooden gate of the church-yard of my boyhood. I behold it now with a vividness of memory which I have not for the events of the last few years. The aged clergyman, with his white hair floating on his temples, enters the burial ground with he manner and appearance of an inspired prophet. Weaned from