Lessons in Parables. A DREAM-WHICH WAS NOT ALL A DREAM. "Judge not that ye be not judged." 'CHRISTIANITY, indeed!" said Mr. Edmonds, as he looked over his books, in the little back parlour behind the shop; "I am disgusted with such hypocrisy !" There was a dark frown upon the brow of the man of business as he spoke these words, and an irritability in his manner of turning over the leaves before him, which spoke of some bad debt troubling his mind, and robbing him of his good temper. "What is the matter?" asked a cheerful little woman by the fire, at whose side a basket of stockings told of a large family, and a consequent demand for stitchery. "Matter!" echoed the husband; "do you not know that Welsford owes me four pounds ten and sixpence ?" "Well, he will pay, I suppose ?" "Not he. The goods were purchased more than a year ago, and I have not had a penny yet?" "What does he say when you see him ?" asked Mrs. Edmonds, who evidently loved to look at the bright side. "Say? He does not say much to me. I told him not to worry me with his excuses, but to bring his money; and that he need not cross my door-step again until he could do that." "I am very sorry for his wife," said the little stocking mender, presently; "she appears to be a truly pious woman.' "Pious!" retorted her husband, ""yes, and so is he;-'tis that disgusts me. Religion, indeed! and he owes me four pounds ten and sixpence. I thought the Bible said, 'Owe no man anything.' Christianity, forsooth!" Mr. Caleb Edmonds was a highly respectable grocer in the town of Marlby -in fact, a man of substance, for business had prospered with him. He was industrious and obliging; rising early, working hard; and thus from small beginnings he had risen to the possession of considerable wealth. But although an excellent man of business, Mr. Edmonds was a very ordinary Christian. True, he had begun the race, but he did not press towards the mark? alas, for "the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches!" And as it is characteristic of a low standard of piety, to be harsh and censorious in our judgment of our fellow Christians, so Mr. Edmonds, when he heard of any defect in the character of professors around him, was always the first to exclaim, "Christianity, indeed!" 66 Is not this too common with us all ? Do we not, even if we give no expression to our thoughts, doubt and hesitate much more than we should doubt and hesitate, regarding the reality of the religion of our 'Ready-to-halts" and "Feeble minds ?" Do we not set up a standard of perfection for our fellows, which is too lofty, in our view, as a standard for ourselves? And are we not too ready to exclaim against the wanderings of others, even while we turn aside into forbidden paths ? Perhaps such thoughts as these had passed through the mind of Mrs. Edmonds, as she sat over her work; for when she rose to leave her basket for some more active household duty, she bent over her husband for a moment, and said gently," Caleb, I do not like to hear you say, 'Christianity, indeed!' as you did just now, Suppose your fellowChristians were to judge of you as harshly as you of them! You often say it," she continued, hastily; "you doubted John Watson's religion yesterday, because he lent money to your rival; and Thornton's, because he opposes you in business; and you shook your head about Miss Millwood's piety, because she argued with you against total abstinence! 'Judge not, that ye be not judged.'" Long after his wife left him, these words rang in Caleb's ears_"Judge not!" At last, as he sat in the twilight, between sleeping and waking-for business was very dull, and he could spare half an hour for rest-a vision stole upon him, and he passed, in imagination, rapidly through the scenes which follow: At first he found himself in the front parlour of a house in a very quiet neigh bourhood, and in the presence of three maiden ladies, whose names he knew very well. They had their feet upon the fender, and—their knitting laid aside--were evidently discussing the affairs of their neighbours. "Such pride!" said the elder lady, whose name was Rayby; 66 'what will come next, I wonder?" 66 "The most fashionable boarding-school in R—————, I assure you," said another— Miss Phillip. "Ah!" said Miss Rayby; "I can remember the time-of course I was very young then, but still I can remember-when Caleb Edmonds swept out his own shop!" "And now he has the impudence to send his girl to such a school as that!" exclaimed Miss Sophia Millwood, the spinster who had not yet spoken. "Oh, the pride of human nature!” "And he a professor, too!" 66 "Professor!" said Miss Rayby, "religion does not teach a man such absurd pride as that." Miss Phillip shook her head, and began to lament the increase of false professors. "Well," thought Caleb, "I believed that in spending some of my cash upon the education of my children, I could not go very far wrong; but I find I am misunderstood even here." The next scene was the drawing-room of the John Watson of whom Mrs. Edmonds had spoken. A lady was making tea behind a silver urn, and a gentleman -her husband-sat beside her. "Poor Thompson," said Mrs. Watsonfor it was she-"I trust he will succeed." "He shall, if by God's blessing I can compass it!" "He is a very deserving young man," continued the lady; "the manner in which he bore the loss of all his property would win esteem, even if he had no other claim." Mr. Watson did not reply. His mind had wandered to another branch of the subject. "That Caleb Edmonds," he said at length, "I am surprised at the ill-feeling he displays." "Towards Thornton ?" "Yes; he is evidently annoyed at the opening of another shop so near his own; whereas, in the principal street of a town like this, he should have expected competition. Besides, he has made a little fortune, and has nothing to fear; yet he will not treat George Thornton with ordinary civility." "I thought he was a religious man," said Mrs. Watson. 66 He pretends to be," replied her husband; but I have not much faith in a religion which brings forth so little fruit.” Poor Caleb! his wife's words - the Master's words-still sounded in his ears as they had never done before, meeting with a responsive echo in his heart. Again a change, and Mr. Edmonds. found himself behind a sickly-looking woman, who, leaning on her husband's arm, walked slowly towards the house of prayer. It was impossible to look without interest upon her pale and anxious face-a face which had once been beautiful; and equally impossible to disregard the careful tenderness with which her steps were guided by the strong man at her side. Their conversation, too, wasworthy of remark-they were speaking of the consolations of the gospel. 66 Who knows?" exclaimed the invalid; "perhaps there may be words just suited to our case this morning-words for the poor!" "Poor as regards this world only, Mary!" Her eyes brightened as she looked up cheerfully. "Yes, yes; rich in treasure far more costly than earth's gold. God help us to look up, and to trust him for the meat that perisheth.'' They walked on for a while, and then the wife said, mournfully, "I sometimes fear that it is pride which makes me shrink from meeting Mr. Edmonds. I do shrink from it. Oh, if we could but pay him!" "We shall be able to do so soon, I hope," said Welsford. "It has been a hard struggle, Mary-starvation almost; but, I think it is nearly over." "Ah, it was all for me! I am sure Mr. Edmonds would be patient if he knew how much you spent in medicines for me, and how little work you have." "He is patient, after a fashion; and we have reason to be thankful for that: still he has said some crushing things to me-harsh things, which he may live to repent-things which have made me doubt his Christianity." "Nay," said Mrs. Welsford, gently, "I would not judge him; how many inconsistent things we do!" 66 "You are right. I may not lift my voice; alas! but little likeness to my Lord is found in me." Again the echoing voice thrilled through the soul of the listener; again he heard the words, "Judge not ;" and as he dwelt upon them the vision slowly faded, and he, Bunyan-like, awoke, “and, behold, it was a dream." But the lesson of the dream was not quite lost upon him, for he awoke to a deeper spirit of Christian charity, a nobler self-denial, a holier humility, a nearer likeness to Jesus. He had been taught, in that brief twilight musing, one of the grand old lessons of the book of God. The fireside morning worship was just ended, and Charles Welsford was about to go forth to his daily toil, when a gentle knock at the door spoke of a visitor; how great was the surprise of all when Caleb Edmonds entered! 66 You are come, sir—” "I am come," said the grocer, interrupting him, "to express my hope that you are not under any concern about the little amount you owe me. Take your time, my good sir, take your time." The poor man's eyes were filled with tears, as, grasping the outstretched hand, he tried to speak his thanks. "My wife," said Mr. Edmonds, turning towards Mrs. Welsford, "put something into my hand, just as I left, for you, ma'am ;" and forth from his pockets came tea, sugar, biscuits, from the good wife's ample store, till Mary's eyes, too, filled with grateful tears. "And now," said the visitor kindly, "don't forsake the shop; get your little parcels there, and pay just when it suits you. By the way, if a sovereign would be of any service to you, I have one which will burn a hole in my pocket, as the saying goes, unless I give it to somebody." And before they could reply he had laid the coin upon the table and was gone. "Mary," said Mr. Welsford, "let us thank God for this." They knelt, and he breathed forth his heart's gratitude, his wife wept for joy, and even the little ones murmured the "Amen." But Mr. Edmonds did not stop at this; it was to him Charles Welsford owed a situation which soon after placed him far above the reach of want; it was to him he owed a host of kindly deeds, which came like sunshine to his inmost soul. We hasten on. Not alone in this regard was Caleb Edmonds changed; for, two days after his strange dream, he walked into his rival's shop, shook hands, invited him to drink tea at his house, spoke pleasantly about their "opposition," and even hinted at his own retirement at some future day, when his new friend would have "a better chance." And from that time the "charity which suffereth long and is kind, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things," held an almost undisputed sway over the heart of Caleb Edmonds; and ever was the maxim of the Bible borne in mind: Judge not, that ye be not judged."Episcopal Recorder. 66 Poetry. THE HOLY WAR. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities."-Eph. vi. 12. GOD in old time looked from the mount of Hor: Beneath his feet the mountains burned and trembled. His glorious voice called Israel forth to war; And hath he left us in these latter days? Hath God's great glory and our hope departed? Rebellious powers their unblest heads erect, And wreathe their serpent forms where God should And spread unceasingly their mortal bane. In carelessness and sloth will ye lie sleeping? Captain of God's great host, in power come down; What shouts of victory reach the echoing skies! For we remember, Lord, thy deeds of old, Thy outstretched arm, thy matchless power we know Speak, great Jehovah, TRUTH's undying thunder: 66 Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name.-CLEMENT. Religious Incident and Experience. THE BED OF WOOD SHAVINGS. On the afternoon of one cold, wintry Saturday, I was busily at work at my bench, when, on turning round, I saw a cleanly attired aged female, whom I had seen coming to the workshop for several years on the errand of getting chips, &c., now filling a large sack with very clean, fine, dry deal shavings that I had been making. In a kind tone I suggested to the old lady that I thought she might be satisfied with less than a sack full jus expected some poor Irish wor them up to make a bed with. denly turned and looked hard her lips quivering with emo half choked with the endeavou she said, "How do you know them to make a bed ?" "Oh dear," said I, "that surely a clean and respectab like you cannot want them bed." She assured me that sh what was worse, she had not tasted food all day, and but very little the day before. I began to feel that such a respectable woman could not be telling an untruth. So I asked her what church or chapel she attended, for I suspected that she was or had been a Methodist. "I do not belong to any church now; but I have been a member of the Wesleyan body for more than thirty years." During that time, she informed me she paid twopence a week class money, gave a shilling for her ticket, and contributed to all collections, &c. She had frequently entertained the preachers at Conference and other times, and felt proud and happy to be able to place before Christ's ministers a comfortable meal. About twelve years ago her husband was taken ill, and continued an invalid for about a year. The expenses of keeping a sick husband. and the damage to his small business occasioned by the cessation of his own labours, had much reduced her, so that when his death took place the bereaved widow had to sell some of her furniture to bury him decently. After a time, business failing, she was compelled to go into a smaller shop, where she had to work out a new trade. At the end of one year the landlord wanted the house, and she was obliged to leave. With her daughter she went into a single-room lodging, and they earned a scanty living by making shirts, caps, &c., for the slop shops. In this occupation they continued, and ashamed to make their poverty known, they had pledged or sold nearly everything they possessed, and were near starving. On hearing this tale of woe, I determined, in my own mind, that the next day I would find her out. When on my search for her I met with Mr. C., who, having heard my story, offered to accompany me. After much inquiry we found her. At first sight she exclaimed, "This is the good man that gave me the money last night that bought our tea." The room was looking thoroughly clean; on the floor were several bits of carpet spread, of different patterns, but laid out with evident care: there was also what must be called a brass fender, not worth sixpence apparently, but quite clean, and a little squeezed up fire, about two handfuls. The mother and daughter were both sitting at a table reading a bible each. I saw no sign of a bed. "Now, my good woman," said I, "tell me whether those shavings you had yesterday were to make a bed." The poor girl blushed deeply when the mother went to a recess in the room, and drew back a curtain. On the bare floor lay spread the shavings. All the bedding I saw was two cotton sheets. 66 And is this all you have to cover you ?" I asked. "We use our own garments," was the reply. "You told me yesterday you had had nothing to eat till I gave you some money; how have you fared to-day ?" "We had a cup of hot water and some broken fragments of a neighbour this morning." "Then you have not been able to go to a place of worship this morning, I suppose." "Yes, sir. I go to my chapel and get refreshed, when I have no food at home. And then our bibles are such a consolation to us, as we read its sweet promises to each other, and are inwardly blest. I feel it a struggle in my soul to reconcile God's dealings with me; to think he fills my soul with overflowing joy, and yet I am so tried in temporal matters. I have felt more tried to-day than at any former time, for this is the last Sunday I shall be able to go to chapel. I owe half-acrown rent to-morrow for my room, and I must pledge the gown that I have on to pay it. I have nothing else to pledge; every thing I and my daughter had is gone; this is my last pledge; and what I am to do, God only knows." 66 Well, Mrs. S., yours is a sad case; but, in the midst of your last extremity, God has found you out. You know in the last extremity God often delivered his servants in ancient times, and do you think he will forsake you?" "Oh no! I know he does not. Surely he will deliver me yet." My friend gave her some money to get food and to pay her rent, and on the morrow (Monday), he went to the overseer and told the sad tale. An officer was |