my soul-I have left my Father's house, and I, too, want to go home. God has made the parent a type of his own infinite love; and if an earthly father can say, "It was meet that we should be merry and be glad, for this my son was dead, and is alive again, and was lost, and is found," how much more will our Heavenly Father welcome the wanderer's return to his protecting love! The sweetest tears shed are those of penitence. Some of the noblest steps trod are those which return from wanderings. A greater than a father's love waits to embrace the prodigal. JOHN ANDERSON, MY JO. This exquisite ballad, constructed by Robert Burns out of a different and somewhat exceptional lyric, has always left something to be wished for and regretted: it is not complete. But who would venture to add to a song of Burns? As Burns left it, it runs thus John Anderson, my jo, John, When we were first acquent, Your locks are like the snaw; John Anderson, my jo, John, We clamb the hill thegither; Fine as this is, it does not quite satisfy a contemplative mind: when one has gone so far, he looks and longs for something more-something beyond the foot of the hill. Many a reader of Burns must have felt this; and it is quite probable that many have attempted to supply the deficiency; but we know of only one suc cess in so hazardous an experiment. This is the added verse: John Anderson, my jo, John, When we have slept thegither Simple, touching, true-nothing wanting, and nothing to spare; precisely harmonizing with the original fact of completing them. This poetstanzas, and improving them by the ical achievement is attributed to Mr. Charles Gould, a gentleman whose life has been chiefly devoted to the successful combination of figuresbut not figures of rhetoric. The verse was written some years ago, and it has not hitherto found its into way print; but it well deserves to be incorporated with the original song in any future edition of Burns' poems, and we hope some publisher will act on this suggestion.-Home Journal. THE DEPTH OF SPACE. In 1837, Prof. Bessel, of Germany, commenced a series of astronomical measures for getting the exact distance to the fixed stars, a thing that had never been done. The instrument which he used, in connection with a powerful telescope, in his experiments, was called the Heliometer, (sun measurer.) After three years' hard labor, he was so fortunate as to obtain a parallax, but so minute that he could hardly trust his reputation upon it. But after repeated trials, and working out the results, he was fully satisfied that be could give the true distance to sixtyone sygin. But who can comprehend this immense distance? We can only convey an idea to the mind, of this distance, by the fact that light, which travels 12,000,000 of miles in a minute, requires no less than ten years to reach us. Just let any one try to take in the idea. One hour would give 720,000,000 of miles; one year, then-8760 hours-gives 6,307,200,000,000, and this multiplied by ten, gives 63,702,000,000,000. This, according to Prof. Bessel, is the distance of the nearest fixed star to the sun. All astronomers confirm the correctness of Prof. Bessel's calculations. But this distance, great as it is, is nothing to be compared to the distance of the Milky Way. Sir William Herschel says that the stars or suns that compose the Milky Way, are so remote that it requires light, going at the rate of 12,000,000 ́ of miles in a minute, 120,000 years to reach the earth. And he says there are stars, or, rather, nebulæ, five hundred times more remote! Now make your calculation: 120,000 years reduced to minutes, and then multiply that sum by 12,000,000, and the product by 500. What an overwhelming idea. The mind sinks under such a vast thought; we can't realize it— it is too vast, even, for comprehension. David says, Psalms 103: 19, "The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom (or government) ruleth over all." THE THE TEMPLE OF DIANA OF EPHESIANS. This temple was built, as Pliny says, on a soft foundation, to guard against the shocks of earthquakes. The foundation, therefore, was laid in a swamp; wool and charcoal were interposed to absorb the wet, and the arches form a subterranean labyrinth, in which water stagnates; all which is so at the ent day. The superstructure bears all the evidence of an edifice which was destroyed eight times, and took two hundred and eighty years in building and rebuilding. It now consists of several walls of immense blocks of marble, the fronts which pres are perforated with small caviites, into which were sunk the shanks of the brass and silver plates with which the walls were faced. In several places where the walls had fallen, they have posted cornices and mouldings of a former edifice against which the newer walls had been built up. Some of the vast phorphyry pillars which formed the front portico still lie prostrate before it; but others were brought by Constantine to his new city of Constatinople. The heathen temple was dilapidated to build the church of Santo Sophia in which these pillars are again become the great support of an anti-christian edifice. But the most interesting circumstance of this building to me is the great illustration it gives to the Acts of the Apostles. Here is the place where St. Paul excited the commotion among the silver and brass-smiths, who worked for the temple; and over the way was the theatre, into which the people rushed, carrying with them Caius and Aristarchus, Paul's companions. Hence they had a full view of the temple, which they pointed out as that "which all Asia worshippeth," and in their enthusiasm they cried out; "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" to whom such a temple belonged.-Voter. ELOQUENCE. Eloquence that so astonishes is only the exaggeration of talent that is universal. All men are competitors in this art. Go into an assembly a little excited-some angry political meeting on the eve of a crisis and you will observe the fact. Eloquence is as natural as swimming-an art which all men might learn, but so few do. It only needs that they be well pushed off into the water, over head, without cork, and after a struggle or two they will find the use of their arms and henceforward they possess the new and wonderful element. Jenny Lind, when in this country, complained of concert rooms and town halls as not giving her room enough to unroll her voice, and exulted in the opportunity given her in certain great halls, which she sometimes filled, over railroad depots. And this is quite as true as the action of the mind itself, that a man of this talent finds himself cold in private company, and proves himself a heavy companion; but give him a commanding occasion, and the inspiration of a great multitude, and he surprises us by the new and unlooked for powers. There are physical advantages in relation to this art, by which men are different. There are born orators as there are born poets and painters. A good voice has a charm in speech as in song. Sometimes even it enchains attention and indicates rare sensibility, especially when trained to wield all its powers. The voice betrays the nature and indicates what is the range of the speaker's mind. The voice is so delicate, that an eminent preacher has said that he learned from the first utterance of his voice on Sunday morning whether he was to have a successful day. - Emer son. FAMILY GOVERNMENT. The chief difficulty in family government, arises from the fact that so few parents ever learn to govern themselves. It was said of old that, "he who ruleth his own spirit, is greater than he who taketh a city." The fact is, that the ruling of his own spirit is about the last accomplishment ever arrived at by mortal man; and the remark is equally true as to mortal woman. Hence, the government of children is poor enough, as a general thing. In fact, it is, in many cases, no government at all, but simply the venting of some father's or mother's or teacher's vexation upon a child that has done something to stir up the evil passions of one's nature. Some say that the more they punish their children, the worse they seem to grow. That may very well be, if parents punish them because they are annoyed or angered at something they have done. A parent should never punish a child, when he is the least bit "put out" with him, or for any reason whatever, except the highest good of the child itself. Mother's Magazine. PREACHING TO THE POINT. Passing along, one Wednesday night— for evening at the South is our afternoon-in Montgomery, Alabama, I stepped into the Presbyterian lecture room where a slave was preaching: "My bredren," said he, "God bless your souls, 'ligion is like de Alabama riber! In spring come fresh, an' bring all de ole logs, slabs an' sticks dat hab been lyin on de bank, an' carry dem down in de current. Bymeby de water go down-den a log cotch on dis island, den a slab get cotched on de shore, an' de sticks on de bushes-an' dare they lie, withrin' and dryin' till come 'nother fresh. Jus so dare come 'vival ob 'ligion-dis ole sinner brought in, dat old backslider brought back, an' all de folk seem comin', an' mighty good times. But bredren, God bless your souls; bymeby 'vival gone-den dis ole sin ner is stuck on his own sin, den dat ole backslider is cotched where he wus afore, on jus' such a rock; den one after 'noder dat had got 'ligion lies all along de shore, an' dere dey lie till 'noder 'vival. Belubed bredren, God bless your souls, keep in de current." I thought his illustration beautiful enough for a more elegant dress; and too true, alas! of others than his own race.--Christian Herald. BLACK HAWK. TEMPERANCE. This celebrated Indian chief was born in 1767-and died October 3, 1838. He is noted in history for having waged war against the United States in 1832, for the recovery of certain lands which certain chiefs of the Sauks and Foxes had ceded to the whites. But it needs to be known that he was probably the first ultra temperance man in the State of Illinois. This is made certain by Hon. Perry A. Amstrong, in his recently published history of the Black Hawk warfrom which we gather the following facts. The Sauks had located their principal village at the foot of the promontory, on the north bank of the Rock River, some three miles south of the island of Rock Island, and named it Sauk-e-nuk. To this village of Saukenuk came Joshua Vandruff in March, 1829. In the summer and fall of 1830 Vandruff began selling whisky to the Indians as well as to the whites, and drunken ness became an evil of daily occurrence. Mr. Amstrong quotes Black Hawk as saying, "The white people brought whisky to our village, and made our people drunk, and cheated them out of their horses, guns, and traps. This fraudulent system was carried to such an extent that I apprehended that serious difficulty might occur unless a stop was put to it. Consequently I visited all the whites and begged of them not to sell my people whisky. I used all my influence to prevent drunkenness, but to no effect." Though they all agreed that they would stop selling to the Indians, but Vandruff. The first island south of Saukenuk was a beautiful plateau containing about 200 acres, and Mr. Vandruff saw that by removing his whisky mill thither, he could be out of Saukenuk but sufficiently near thereto to carry on his traffic in fire water and still run his ferry. He therefore built a log cabin on this island, immediately opposite the upper end of Saukenuk, and within sight and hailing distance of Black Hawk's lodge; and moved his family and wet grocery store thither in the winter of 1830-1. His first invoice at his new hell-hole, embraced ten barrels of whisky. When the Indians returned to their farms and homes in the spring of 1831 Mr. Vandruff had everthing ready for his work of ruin. Black Hawk did everything in his power to persuade Vandruff to desist from selling to the Indians, at least to those who had become habitual drunkards. He begged and coaxed, then endeavored to hire him to desist. Failing in this, he offered to buy his entire stock, that he might turn the liquor into the river. To all of turned a deaf ear. which Vandruff He was obdurate, obstinate, saucy. This roused the just indignation of the old chief, who then told him that unless he quit selling whisky to those Indians, whose names he had given him as confirmed drunkards, he would take forcible. possession of his liquors and destroy it. Even this threat was disregarded by Mr. Vandruff, who kept steadily on in making worse than useless brutes of these drunken Indians. Black Hawk was now 64 years of age, and the ruin being wrought his people was more than he could endure. Calling about half a dozen trusty warriors to his aid, he entered his canoe and paddled across to Vandruff's island, where, without saying a word, he entered the cabin of Vandruff and rolled or carried out every barrel, keg and demijohn containing ardent spirits, and with his trusty tomahawk drove in the heads of the barrels and kegs and broke off the necks of the demijohns, and emptied their contents upon the ground, and without comment turned to his lodge. among re This was a successful execution of the Maine law in Illinois, before it had an existence in Maine—and let it be remembered that it was done by the man whose likeness stands at head of this article. DRINKING A TEAR. "Boys, I won't drink unless you take what I do," said old Josh Spilit in reply to an invitation. He was a toper of long standing and abundant capacity, and the boys looked at him with astonishment. "The idea," one of them replied, "that you should prescribe conditions makes us laugh. Perhaps you want to force one of your abominable mix. tures down us. You are the chief of mixed drinkers, and I won't agree to your condition." "He wants us to run in castor oil and brandy," said the Judge, who would have taken the oil to get the brandy. "No; I'm square. Take my drink, and I'm with you." The boys agreed, and stood along the bar. All turned to Spilit, and looked at him with interest. "Mr. Bartender," said he, "give me a glass of water.” "What! water?" "Yes, water. It's a new drink to me, I admit, and it's a scarce article, I expect. Several days ago, as a parcel of us went fishing, we took a fine stock of whisky along, and had a heap of fun. 'Long toward evenin' I got powerful drunk, and crawled off under a tree and went to sleep. The boys drank up all the whisky and came back to town. They thought it was a good joke 'cause they'd left me out there drunk, and told it 'round town with a mighty bluster. My son got hold of the report, and told it at home. Well, I lay under the tree all night, and when I woke in the morning, my wife sot right thar side of me. She said nothin' when I woke up, but sorter turned away her head, and I could see she was chokin.' "I wish I had suthin' to drink,' says I. "Then she took a cup wot she had fetched with her, and went up to whar a spring cum up, and dipped up a cupful and fetched it to me. Jest as she was handin' it to me, she leant over to hide her eyes. I saw a tear drop into the water. I tuck the cup and drank, and raisin' my hands, I vowed that I'd never drink my wife's tears again, as I had been doin' for the last twenty years, and that I was goin' to stop. You boys |