Not liking to lose it, he asked the people at the telegraph office, at the terminus, to inquire about it. This they did, and had an answer directly from a distant station, that the umbrella was safe there, and should at once be forwarded. The man was told to wait a little while, and, not very long after, to his amazement his umbrella was restored to him. He went away with it safe under his arm, thinking, no doubt, that of all the wonderful things in this wonderful world, the electric telegraph was the most wonderful."

"Well he might think so."

"Remember, Edmund, that if learning to converse is a great advantage for which we cannot be too thankful, it is accompanied with great responsibility. To have the power to do good, and to abuse or neglect it, is not only weakness, but wickedness. The apostle says, 'Let your conversation be as becometh the gospel of Christ,' Phil. i. 27.

And though the word 'conversation' in this case no doubt means general behaviour, yet in that is included the words that we speak. Besides, there is a verse in Matthew which is almost enough to make us tremble at the thought of abusing our conversational powers. Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.' Well may we put up the prayer-Ŏ Lord,

May grace Divine, while I am young,
Direct aright my heart and tongue.

Forget neither your debt of thankfulness, nor your great responsibility, Edmund, and thus will you be the more likely to use and not to abuse your powers. In our next conversation, I will give you a sort of summary of what has been said."

"I owe you a great deal, uncle, for telling me all these things."

"I have great hope that our labour will not be lost, but that you, on the one hand, will have reason to rejoice that you learned to converse, and I, on the other, for having been a means of instructing you. Fix your heart on heaven, and never rest satisfied unless you are moving in that direction, as a lowly follower of the Redeemer. The world is Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved,' says the apostle Peter, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness?' 2 Pet. iii. 11.

passing away.

Worldly joys will not endure;
Life is short and death is sure;
While the present hour is given
Gird your loins and start for heaven.

Would you find that world above
Filled with peace, and joy, and love;
Humbly seek without delay
Jesus Christ the only way."

Every one who thinks wisely, feels virtuously, and acts usefully, should learn to converse profitably-Tools, hearts, and tongues-Requisites for good conversation-Things to avoid-Proper end and object of conversation-Scriptural illustrations-Languages-A useful rule-Anecdotes Poetry-Objectionable conversation-Desirable conversation-Advantage and responsibility of learning to converse -Conclusion.

"As I promised, Edmund, to give you a kind of summing up of all I had said, my promise shall now be fulfilled. If it do nothing more, it will refresh your memory on many of the points on which I have spoken."

"It will, uncle; and I shall be much obliged to you."

Every one who has learned to think wisely, to feel virtuously, and to act usefully, should doubtless learn also to converse profitably." "That is very clear."

"As the mower whets his scythe, the reaper his sickle, the woodman his axe, and the carpenter his saw, to enable each to perform his labour; so ought they who learn to converse to have their hearts and tongues in proper order." "Certainly."

"No one can converse well and usefully without good knowledge, good affections, good principles, and good judgment; and to obtain and increase these should be an object with us all. I told you that the two particular points of conversation were its manner and its matter."

"I remember; the matter is the most important."

"It is. The manner of conversation relates to the way in which we make known our thoughts. We may speak too loud or too low, too fast or too slow; or we may pronounce our words indistinctly; in all which cases we neither do justice to ourselves, nor to those with whom we converse. But the matter of our conversation is, as you say, of still greater importance, for the best manner in the world will never recommend worthless matter. Were you to hand me a mouldy

crust on a silver salver, or even on a gold one, it would not make the crust a whit better than it was before."

"Certainly it would not."

66

Long, difficult, and unusually fine words in conversation are to be avoided, and so also thoughtless and foolish remarks, high-coloured statements, bad and vulgar language, illnatured, bitter, and unjust speeches, with slander and wilful untruths."

"Yes; they are all bad."

"Reason and the faculty of speech are gifts of great value, and they distinguish us from the brute creation. It is well to remember that the object of all conversation should be, either to afford pleasure, to communicate knowledge, to do good, or to glorify God; to secure these objects, we can hardly take too much trouble. By far the most important thing in conversation is truth; this is a precious jewel beyond all price, and ought never to be lost sight of. We should wear it in our bosoms as the brightest ornament with which we can be adorned."

"I remember that you said something very like that before. But I like to hear it again, uncle."

"Sometimes people talk much, and yet say nothing to the purpose; sometimes they repeat what they say over and over again, till they weary their hearers; and, sometimes,

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