if you will bear my voice, harden not your hearts. Remember, Christ casts out none who come to him by faith for though your sins be as scarlet, they shall, by his grace, become as wool, though red like crimson, they shall be as white as snow. "Come then, and dry thy falling tear, Redeem'd at last from guilt and fear, O wake thy heart to love." J. B. THE COMFORT AND CONSOLATION OF PRAYER. We must offer up all our petitions in the name and through the merits of our Redeemer. It is through Him alone that our petitions are acceptable to God; it is through Him, that we are enabled to pour forth our griefs, and tell out our sorrows unto God in prayer. We have, moreover, blessings every day to be thankful for; and, besides our temporal blessings, when we reflect upon the unspeakable and eternal joys of Heaven, obtained for us by Him who is always interceding in our behalf, and mediating between the Creator and his creatures, we are lost in wonder, astonishment, and love, and our emotions become too strong for expression.-Let not the advantages we possess, and the hopes we enjoy, by means of prayer and supplication, be lost upon us; but let them induce us to endeavour to aim at such behaviour, as may show that we are not satisfied with the outward form of godliness only; but let it show that its inward power elevates our souls above this present world, and leads us to fix our thoughts upon our heavenly abode. Let us dwell often upon the mercies of our God; and, while we wonder, let us tremblingly adore; and above all, let us shew the sincerity of our prayers, by the purity of our lives, and by our constant endeavours to act up to what we ask. DOMESTIC COUNSELS AND INSTRUCTIONS. THE SUCCESSFUL REPROOF. She "How tiresome!" exclaimed Eliza, Mrs. Turner's housemaid, in a tone of ill-humour, as she entered the kitchen: "here's master come in just as tea's out, and wants it in again; tiresome!"* "Tiresome indeed!" rejoined the cook; " and I've just put the kettle away too! I wish master"-The rest of her sentence was lost, for she flurried away to get the kettle, while Eliza proceeded to slam the doors and rattle the tea-things, as if with the intention that her master should understand her displeasure, and go without his tea next time. This exhibition of illhumour was accidentally overheard by Miss Turner, who was engaged near the kitchen at the time. heard it with pain; but resolved to say nothing then, lest the warmth of her feelings should induce her to say more than she would, in a cooler moment, approve. Next morning, however, while engaged in some occupation in the kitchen, she said; "I happened to overhear you, Susan and Eliza, last evening, when you gave way to ill-temper at having to get tea for my Father: I was grieved you suffered yourselves to speak and act as you did, and hope you are so also, on reflection. But I think I must say a few words to you about it. In the first place, I believe you must feel, that we all endeavour to give you as little unnecessary trouble as possible; so that when there is anything extra to be done, it would be all the more incumbent upon you to do it cheerfully : besides which, when a thing must be done, how far more comfortable it is to ourselves and others to do it with a good grace. But I wanted, too, to remind our own. you, that, while thinking of our own burdens, we should try to bear in mind that others have burdens to bear also, though not perhaps of the same kind as My father was not, it is true, wearied with a day's dusting and scrubbing, nor with standing over the fire cooking: he had perhaps been sitting all day; but think what must be his weariness of mind, when on his decisions depended the fate of whole families; or on his calculations the loss of all the property of some individual: and often, were he to come home at the exact time of the family meals, he would miss some appointment, which would very possibly bring misfortune to many who depend entirely upon him for advice. Then think, when, after all this anxiety, he comes home for the refreshment of a cup of tea, how unpleasant it must be to have it set before him in such a way as I was grieved to see you, Eliza, did last evening." Miss Turner spoke gravely, but kindly: Susan and Eliza coloured and looked down, but made no reply; but in the course of the day, Eliza took an opportunity of saying, with some embarrassment, (for it is always difficult, even to allude to our faults) "Susan and I are much obliged to you, Miss, for what you said this morning." And the pleasant smile with which, a few days afterwards, Eliza brought in the supper-tray a second time, led Miss Turner to hope that her reproof had, at least for the present, not been given in vain. E. H. D. LETTERS TO NURSEMAIDS:-No. 2. I will suppose you have just gone home to your place, and are perhaps a little frightened at your inexperience. The baby may be young, and if you are the only nursemaid, and there are two or more older children to wash, dress, and take care of, there is need for some management and activity. Now if you were coming into my nursery, let me tell you, for your encouragement, that your inexperience would not discourage me in the least, provided you were teachable, and determined conscientiously to follow every rule I lay down for the treatment of my children. All mistresses have not the same rules, nor the same modes of bringing up their children; but I believe they all agree in this one thing: they all like to have their own rules strictly obeyed. Let nothing therefore ever induce you to break any regulations made by your mistress, in the treatment of her children. Suppose now that a lady says to you when you enter her service, “Here, Mary, is the baby; be careful how you handle it. I never allow it to be nursed in an upright position,-it is not yet three months old; and I never suffer my babies to be set up till after that time.' Dear me !" you think, "I never heard such a thing. I have nursed my little brother sitting up, and he is younger than this child. I have seen scores of children in nurses' arms set upright. How very strange!" Now just dismiss from your mind what you have done, or have seen others do. It is enough for you to consider what your mistress now desires; and it is your duty, having entered her service, to act up to her orders to the letter. If you set up your judgment in opposition to her's in one thing, you will be very likely to do it in another. In such a case, remember your mistress will not have to complain of your inexperience so much as your conceit. Again, your mistress may desire you on no account to give her infant food, unless at stated hours, or she may nurse it entirely, and forbid you to feed it at all. I am writing for servants, not for mistresses; and therefore it is undesirable to discuss the merits of one plan or another; it would be only confusing to you, and could do you no good; for it is the province of your mistress to judge what is best for her child; but it is your duty to pursue her plan, whatever it may be. I will suppose the case of a child that has never been fed. Oh dear!" I think I hear you say, when baby is crying some morning, during the necessary absence of its mother, "I do so wish mistress would come home. How I wish I might feed it! I wonder if a little arrow-root would hurt it? Why, I've heard mother say arrow-root is such a wonderful fine thing for children: I think I'll ask Cook to make a little. Mistress said she should not be home till one, and it is not quite twelve. What shall I do?" Well, what will you do? I confess, I pity you; I pity any one with a crying infant, if it is hungry, for there are few ways of pacifying a hungry baby. But are you sure it is hungry? It is not likely that your mistress would have fixed to be out so long, had she not thought her baby could spare her for that time. I would certainly advise you not to feed it: this would be breaking a rule. Settle this in your mind; and, having done so, try all other ways to soothe it. See if it is quite dry; if any string is too tight; if its legs are drawn up, and it gives signs of pain. Lay it carefully over your shoulder; gently pat it |