THE BEER SHOP EVIL,-No. III.

ADDRESSED TO OUR YOUNG MEN.

(Continued from page 118,-No. 5.)

BUT perhaps the worst, and, alas! now very common evil- . schools of crime, are the beer-shops, or "jerries,” which

are not licensed to sell on the premises, who do, nevertheless, so sell beer, and often carry on as good a trade as their neighbours who have the higher license. At these places the landlord is at the mercy of his customers; if they inform against him to the Excise he is liable to a heavy fine. It can be then no matter of surprise, that such places are the favourite resort of thieves and poachers, that the keepers of them are often agents in the disposal of stolen property. The public are generally but little aware how numerous these houses are. The Excise and all other local authorities seem to be purposely blind to their existence. In some places, there seems to be no disguise about the matter; within a short distance of the spot where these pages are written, there is a village notorious for its immorality, and a very hotbed of crime, in which, though there is every evidence of the amount of beer consumed at the several beer shops, there is no one such shop licensed to sell beer on the premises, there is no public-house in the place!

Now, admitting, and who will deny it? that the beer-shops are in the rural districts very generally, under the best of circumstances, but ill ordered; that in by far the great majority of cases, those that keep them neither care to check crime in others, nor to avoid the appearance of it in themselves,-we must ask of ourselves, what other place of social resort have

the young men of our villages? Their presence at home is often most inconvenient, in very many cases the circumstances of their homes are such as to drive them from it; young men of every class naturally seek the company of those of their own age; they as naturally, at their time of life, are easily led to purchase the social intercourse which might be innocently enjoyed, at the cost of obtaining it where it leads to evil. What have we hitherto done in the way of antidote to the admitted poison of promiscuous society in such places as these beer-shops ? We are aware that some villages have evening schools for adults, at which there are occasional amusing and instructive lectures. These are good things, but they do not meet the case we are considering.-Meliora.

These remarks are applicable to towns as well as villages; more on this subject in our next.

THE WALKING BELL.

FROM GOETHE.

"The boye he tripped, the boye he ranne,
He neither stint nor stayed."

The Child of Elle.

THERE was a child who loved his play
Too well upon the Sabbath day;
And who, when told to Church to go,
Would hide him in the fields below.

His mother said, "I hear the Bell;
'Tis God's command, now mark it well,
For should'st thou from its bidding flee,
The Bell itself would follow thee."

"The Bell," he thought, "hangs safe and high,
In yonder spire so near the sky!"

And like a child let loose from school,
He fled his mother's gentle rule.

The chime has ceased, his mother's threat

He thinks he may as soon forget;
When, lo! behind him comes dismay-
A walking Bell pursues his way!

It walks! it flies! Beyond belief!
The boy stands mute with fear and grief;
For, like a feverish dream, he knows
The Bell will soon his form enclose.

But, wise in this his utmost need,
He takes his course with utmost speed-
Nor stock, nor stone, his steps can stay,
Till to the Church he finds his way.

And still, as holy days come round,
He waits not for the Bell to sound;
But mindful of his past disgrace,

Is foremost in the holy place.

PRAY unto God this day; and if He give thee leave to stay till the morrow become to-day, pray unto Him then also; and so let thy unwearied zeal still proceed, still keep pace with time, not ceasing to travel over the whole calendar of days, until it hath found that "acceptable day" wherein God will seal the full pardon of thy sins. For, be sure He hath laid up that thy day among the rest; yet concealed it from thee, that He might engage thee in a perpetual, assiduous, indefatigable search of it.-Henry King,

LOVE WORKS OBEDIENCE.

"WHAT did Miss Latimer mean this afternoon when she told you, you had failed to give her your usual proofs of love?" said Mary Allison to her schoolfellow, Lettice Stainthorpe, "you seemed to take it much to heart." "I didn't know my lessons," sighed Lettice, "and Miss Latimer often tells us, she has no faith in people's love unless she sees some proof of it: but I do love her and very much too, and I wish her to think so."

"Who doubts it ?" said Mary, "surely your not happening to have learnt your lessons has nothing to do with loving or not loving Miss Latimer." "Oh, yes, but it has though," replied Lettice, "for Miss Latimer often says she loves us all, and that we may not doubt her words, she gives us an example of her sincerity by coming to teach us every Sunday; and she also often asks us if we love her, and when we tell her we all do, she assures us she will believe us if we show a readiness to please her by being punctual, and by repeating our tasks perfectly. Miss Latimer begs for two proofs of my love, and I have only given her one.”

"You will try and do better next week, dear Lettice," said Miss Latimer, who had been walking near the children and overheard their remarks, though they had been too much engaged to perceive her, till she laid her hand affectionately on Lettice's shoulder, and made the child look round,-"Yes, indeed, I will," said Lettice, "and do please to explain to Mary, as you have done to me, how love works obedience."

"I will gladly," returned Miss Latimer, "if Mary will give me her whole attention. We read in the Bible that, "love is the fulfilling of the law," and consequently, a thing to be desired. There are two kinds of love, active and passive; the latter, contents itself with bestowing expressions of regard on the object of affection; for instance, persons will declare how much they love God, and yet make no effort, no sacrifice, to serve the Almighty, but deceive themselves with the idea, that love dwelleth in their hearts, when in reality they possess only the shadow without the substance.

It is active love which must be the animating principle, showing itself in children, and growing with our growth, and testifying itself to the object of our affection by acts as well as words; for example, those persons who really love God, will strive to fulfil His wishes, searching for them in the Holy Scriptures, and attentively listening, and earnestly responding to each one of God's commandments, proclaimed to us Sunday after Sunday. After obtaining a knowledge of God's will one important step is gained in the Christian pilgri mage heavenward, but a great work is still to be done in putting that knowledge into active exercise. The true lover of God, having learnt his Father's will, is urged on by love, and impelled by baptismal strength, to endeavour to walk in obedience to God's laws, and more diligently to obey every precept of His Word.

My dear little girls, if you earnestly love God, the obedience He requires from you will be promptly and cheerfully performed, and I think I may say to you, Lettice, that your increasing affection for me will induce