belief were amongst the dangers of the pilgrim in his dark and terrible journey through the Valley. Thus, though the Christian still looks to Christ for mercy, and to Christ alone, "joy and peace in believing" are for a time withdrawn; and as the world can give no comfort to a soul which has once found happiness in God, so all seems dark and desolate around him. But the soul that loves Christ clings to him through all; and, sorrowful as the way may be, the true pilgrim still proceeds. While he "walketh in darkness, and hath no light," he will"trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God," Isa. i. 10; and his Saviour is ever beside him, though unseen, leading him on to the Celestial City, where the days of his mourning shall be ended. As I have already told you, youthful pilgrim, there are sacred privileges enjoyed by the people of God, for which you must wait with hope, prayer, and patience, until the fitting time; so also there are conflicts and trials which can be but little known to the lambs of the Saviour's fold. As yet, you can only understand in part the fearful strife between Christian and Apollyon, or comprehend the terrors, the evil thoughts, and the temptations in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. If, through Divine grace, you are enabled to persevere, you will, as you advance, be taught by the Holy Spirit the way in which God leads his children to the promised land. Let the example of the pilgrim teach you, in all seasons of trial, to seek strength and consolation in Christ alone, and in his sure word of promise. When Christian came to the end of the valley he saw lying there the bones and mangled bodies of men, even of pilgrims who had gone that way formerly; and a little before him he espied a cave, where two giants, Pope and Pagan, dwelt in old times, by whose power and tyranny these men had been cruelly put to death. If you know anything of the early history of the Christian church, you will at once recollect the dreadful persecutions under the the Roman emperors, and in other parts of the world, which must be referred to Giant Pagan. The evil deeds of Giant Pope are still more fresh in your memory; for you read of them in the history of your own country, and you know that he is still active, even in England; though when the Pilgrim's Progress was written, little more than a hundred years after the Reformation, it was believed that in our Protestant land he had been quite overcome. In these days, young reader, it is very needful to warn you against the spirit of popery. PLEASANT VISITS TO KEW GARDENS. 305 No bones and mangled bodies of men outwardly attest its power; but, could we see the souls that it has ruined, by leading them from Christ, we should ask with fear and trembling to be kept in the true light of the gospel, and we should love more fervently, and uphold with more earnestness, the pure Bible faith for which our forefathers endured persecution, exile, and death. We must not imagine that the spirit of popery is to be found only in the church of Rome; or that it is an evil belonging only to bygone times. If you open a book which teaches you to regard the outward forms more than the spirit of religion; if you listen to instruction which tells you that your prayers, selfdenial, and repentance will unite with the merits of Christ to procure pardon and the favour of God; if you are directed to look to places and things, to mere rites and ceremonies, for the grace which the Holy Spirit alone can give; reject such teaching at once, for popery is there, although not openly avowed; and be diligent in studying your Bible. There you will find the truth. There you may obtain sure weapons against this and every other foe. It is God's word, and not the word of man. Let no earthly teacher ever beguile you from it. E. W. PLEASANT VISITS TO KEW GARDENS. No. 10. How wonderfully varied are the plants of our globe! What a dreary place would this earth be without them! The eye would soon grow tired of looking on sandy plains and barren fields; and how miserable we should feel if there were no trees to shade us from the burning heat of the summer's sun! But God who made all things has so ordered it that the plants, and trees, and shrubs, and flowers, while they furnish food and clothing, luxuries and medicine, for our use, shall also be pleasant to our eyes, cheer us with their fragrance, and shelter us from the heat. How truly thankful should we be for The gardens and the flowers sweet, the blossoms, and the scented herbs, which cover the earth. Let us unite with heart and voice in praising the Lord for his goodness. It will be our aim, during our tenth visit to the exhibition of the plants of all countries, to notice some of those which are used for medicine, drink, and food. We will therefore first enter the old stove, as it is called, erected nearly a hundred years ago. In its second division we find various specimens of aloes from South Africa and America. They are easily known by their large leaves, which are thick and fleshy, and sometimes eight feet long, with a hard sharp point at the end. The aloes of South Africa grow among the thickets of that country in great abundance; and they are often planted in rows, and used as hedges for inclosures. The spikes at the end of the leaves prevent any animal making a way through them. Some bear a spike of bell-shaped flowers, others display beautiful red flowers; and one, which attains a great size in our hot houses, at the Cape reaches to 300 or 400 feet. The American aloe, or agave, is cultivated in various parts of Europe, and in the West Indies. Some have thought that it flowers only once in a hundred years; but the time of flowering depends almost entirely upon the climate in which it grows. In a hot one it grows rapidly, and blossoms in a few years. The flower is of a greenish yellow colour. It is erect, and grows in thick clusters at every joint of the branches, which spring forth on each side of the upper part of the stem, in such a manner as to form a pyramid of sometimes forty feet high. The leaves of the aloe have been put to a variety of uses. They are employed to scour tin and pewter vessels and floors, and being cut into slices are used as food for cattle. The juice of the leaves is often made into a substance much like our soap, and used like it for washing. It is also squeezed out from the leaves, and boiled down or exposed to the sun till the moisture is dried, and the substance remains in a yellowish brown mass. The most valuable species for this purpose is that found in the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean, also at Barbadoes. The leaves of this aloe also furnish a beautiful violet dye, nearly 100,000 lbs. of which are annually imported. The Mexican aloes furnish a drink called pulque, which, though of a very disagreeable odour, foreigners when they get accustomed to the smell prefer to every other kind of drink. It is said to be very nutritious and refreshing. The fibrous parts of the roots are made into cordage and rigging for vessels. The ropes which form the rude suspension bridges of Mexico are also of |