A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE POPE.

THERE is a great deal said about what we ought to do to prevent the Pope having any power in England; and, though we who are subjects have no right to make any laws about it, I think we may all do something to hinder the evils which it is thought these new cardinals and bishops may do.

I once heard of a good clergyman who, whenever he felt doubts and perplexities about the conduct of other people, used to say to himself those words of our Lord to St. Peter, "What is that to thee? follow thou me" (John xxi. 22); and immediately he would get up and set about doing some work of Christian love or usefulness, such as he thought his blessed and heavenly Master would approve, trying humbly and faithfully, to copy his example, and to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life. This story came to my mind when people began to talk about the Pope; for it happened that a friend kept me so long listening to his arguments against the Pope, that I missed the time appointed for going on a business of real charity, and kept several poor people waiting who expected me to attend to them, as I had promised to do. So I said to myself, "I will not talk about which is the true or the false bishop, but try, if I can, to obey and follow Him who I know is the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls; and by the help of his Holy Spirit I will search and find out those sins which hinder me from being like Him, and pray to Him for grace to root them out of my heart. I will try to make more time for reading the Scriptures, which will teach me what I ought to do, and how I ought to behave to every one, in order to be more like Him; for have I not been baptized, and do I not know that baptism represents "our profession, which is to follow the example of our Saviour, and be made like unto Him?"

I found out, first, that I had a bad habit of seeing other people's faults very clearly, and talking about them, while I seldom or ever noticed my own; and some words of our Lord, which I had learnt as a child, came to my mind: Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's

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eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? First cast out the beam out of thine own eye, and then thou shalt see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." As soon as I began to look at my own faults, I saw so many that I had little time to spy out those of other people.

Then, again, as to my actions, I found, when I read the history of our Lord's life, that it was said of Him, "He went about doing good;" and, when I thought how little good I had ever done, I felt too humble to blame any one for trying to do good in their way, even if it was a wrong way; and as every day brought some opportunity of being useful, many of which I had never thought of till I began to think about copying our Lord's example, I soon found that I had quite enough to do to help those around me, first my own relations, then the poorer people who lived close by; and, the more I did, the more I saw was wanted to be done quite close to me, so that I had no time to watch what the new bishops did.

And I also found that, in all the places I knew where a good minister did copy his Master's example, there false teachers of any kind had no power to lead away the people; for I heard that the lives of the ministers preached more than they did in the pulpit, and that, when the people saw the fruits of their religion by their holy, humble, and useful lives, they were more convinced it was truth than they would have been by ever so many speeches or sermons. So I said to myself, If every one will but try to make himself more like his Saviour, and tread in his steps; if people will pray more in their closet and in Church for the spirit of truth, than talk about it in public; if they will spend their time in doing all the good that lies in their power, in their own families and places where they live; I do not feel at all afraid that the Pope will gain any real power, or set up any false religion among us.

If we are careful and diligent in reading the Scriptures, we shall there find out what is our duty; and, if any false teachers try to persuade us to follow them, we shall have an answer ready, out of Scripture, to show them they cannot lead us to believe any thing contrary to

God's own words. It is only those who are ignorant of the Bible who are led astray to false religions, or those who study other books instead of the Bible. I read in a letter from New Zealand that even a savage, as we should call him, who knew the Scriptures, was able to silence a Roman Catholic priest who tried to make him think it was wrong for the English bishop to have a wife. "How can that be," said the New Zealander, when St. Paul says, "that a bishop must be the husband of one wife?" He quite understood this text, because, till the New Zealanders became Christians, they were allowed to have several wives, and so were other heathens in the time when St. Paul wrote.

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This one story will show what I mean in saying that the best safeguard against falsehood is a knowledge of the truth, and our Lord Himself has taught us, that one way of gaining such a knowledge is to "search the Scriptures;" and further, that by obeying Him our faith and knowledge are strengthened and increased. "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God." (John vii. 17.) It was said of a good man, that, whenever he met with a difficulty, he did as Hezekiah did with his enemy's threatening letter, Ispread it before the Lord." (Isaiah xxxvii. 14.) He sought help and guidance in prayer; and so, in these times, must we pray for "a right judgment in all things, that we may both perceive and know what things we ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same; that we, who have been admitted into the fellowship of Christ's religion, who have been by baptism called to be the sons of God and heirs of eternal life, may purify ourselves, even as He is pure, that when He shall appear again with power and great glory, we may be made like unto Him in his eternal and glorious kingdom." L. S. R.

THE INFLUENCE OF EDUCATION 1.

WHO can estimate the influence of education?

Educa

tion awakens intellect, and the difference between intel

1 Addressed to a Young Men's Society.

lect awake and asleep is incalculable. Man lies, without education, like marble in the quarry, covered with earth and sand, and presenting nothing that is attractive to the eye or pleasing to the mind: but the block is taken from its earthy bed, and the skilful hand of some Canova shapes it into the human form, and makes it frown and smile, weep and laugh. So instruction brings forth the intellect, and it requires no long process of reasoning to demonstrate the superiority of the intellect awake over the intellect asleep; for the examination of a simple question and answer will illustrate it.

You are ignorant on some point, and you seek information from a friend. You cannot propose your question to him without a certain sense of inferiority, nor can he answer it without a certain sense of superiority. He who answers knows more than you who ask-that is enough: he is manifestly your superior. And this applies to a great many cases. The theologian e. g. requires information from the merchant, and obtains it: therein the theologian is the inferior and the merchant the superior. So let the lawyer ask medical information from the physician, or the physician legal information from the lawyer, the one who asks is so far the inferior, the one who answers the superior. Nay, so powerful is knowledge in breaking down all the different barriers which separate society, that if the greatest philosopher in the world were to seek information from the youngest member of your society, touching your daily occupation, and you, being familiar with it, were to instruct him who was ignorant, you for the time would be the superior, and he the inferior. But let us descend to a still more everyday illustration. We have each a circle of friends around us-the family with whom we live-the associates with whom we labour-the friends with whom we take counsel. Within this circle, which is larger in some cases and smaller in others, almost all our real earthly happiness is found. It is what we mean by the dear word HOME: and it is here that the principle or maxim is true, that the more we know the higher we rise. We rise in the esteem of our family, our friends, and companions; we are looked up to, and consulted; our advice is followed;

our influence is felt; we do good; and, in making others happy, we find happiness. E. g. Suppose you are the best reader in your circle. All who cannot read, or to whom it is hard work, come eagerly to you for help. They are thus made dependent upon you. You are able to confer favours upon them. To a certain extent they are compelled to confide and trust in you. Now this influence is a great talent, and one which you may turn to good account. You may by it prevent much that is evil, suggest and encourage much that is good.

And so it would be if you were the best writer and arithmetician in your circle.

Again, you are familiar with the chief events of history in ancient and modern times. The names of Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, convey definite ideas to your mind. But, particularly, you have studied the outlines of the history of your own country-the succession of her kings and queens, her revolutions, her miserable wars, the heroes who have adorned her annals, the statesmen who have graced her senates, and the good men who have hallowed her institutions. When questions of this sort come into discussion within your circle, the superiority of which I speak is at once manifest. are able to inform the ignorant, check the self-conceited, abate prejudices, establish truth. And you learn the import of that trite but true saying, that "knowledge is power."-Rev. J. Topham.

You

REMEDY IN SCARLATINA.

A LADY desires to make known a remedy which has lately been of great service in curing the scarlatina in her family. She was advised to give a tablespoonful of new yeast, night and morning, in warm water, and it had such good effect in reducing the fever as to appear a valuable recipe in other similar cases.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

We have received the communications of L. S. R.; M. B.; A Layman; A.; S. B.; V.; E. M.; and some Anonymous Correspondents.