small, when it disappears all at once. It has been determined by observation that the drop really does not touch the hot stove, but is kept off a certain distance by the steam that is generated just before it comes in actual contact with the stove. In boiling away the water from the juice of sugarcane in order to obtain the sugar, it was found that when this was done at the high temperature of 212°, a great deal of molasses was formed at the expense of the sugar, and the only way to avoid this was to boil it away at a lower temperature. Accordingly as soon as the facts above mentioned became known, air pumps were used to draw away the air, and also the steam as fast as it was formed, and thus the pressure from the surface of the juice was so much removed that boiling could take place at a very low heat, and thus a great deal more sugar was produced, and of course much less molasses.

Alcohol boils at a temperature much below 212°, and hence if we take any ordinary spirituous liquor we may easily separate the alcohol, by raising it to a heat below the boiling point of water, and thus only the alcohol with but little of the water will pass off as a gas. If

this process is repeated, there will be still less water mixed with the alcohol, but it can not all be removed by this process. It is in this way also that many of the essential oils, used in making perfumes and essences are separated from water.

In gold and silver mining, these precious metals are often separated from the rock and dirt by allowing them to dissolve in quicksilver or mercury, a metal found in the liquid state. After this the quicksilver is boiled away, and only the gold or silver is left behind.

The nutritious matter contained in bones cannot be dissolved in water at 212°, and hence in order to overcome this difficulty a Frenchman named Papin, invented a kettle with a tight fitting lid so as to keep the steam in and to increase the pressure, and thus raise the boiling point to any temperature desired. The expansive force of steam is also used as the motive force in the steam engine.

Quebec.

The mixture of those things by speech, which by nature are divided, is the mother of all error.-Hooker.

FIRST LEAF.

THERE is nothing more valuable than truth. Religious truth, or that which relates to God, our duty to Him, His laws and purposes, and the means by which we may now come to Him and eventually be exalted in His presence, is really priceless. To obtain a knowledge of religious truth, both young and old should be willing to make every exertion and to offer any sacrifice. There are many systems of religion in the world, but only one can be correct, for the simple reason that there is but one God for the inhabitants of the earth to worship and obey. If there were many true Gods to whom mankind owed reverence, there might be several true religions. God is the author or revealer of true religion. Men may

invent and arrange methods of worship, imagine and think out doctrines, and formulate and enforce creeds; but they are of no value as a means of salvation. God must be approached and served in the way which He ordains, or the worship and service will not be accepted.

The first principle of true religion is Faith. This is the beginning of righteousness. It is the very root of the tree of life, and its sap runs through all the branches. "Without faith it is impossible to please God." And "Whosoever cometh to God must believe that He is." Faith, in its simplest sense, is the assent of the mind, and its assurance of the existence of things unseen by the natural eye. This is belief. In another sense, faith is a motive power, a principle of

It

action. Examination into the secret springs that prompt us in the common affairs of life will show that faith moves us to exertion and incites us to perseverance. It is the assurance we feel of the existence or attainment of things unperceived by the senses, which urges us onward and inspires us with energy. In a higher sense, faith is a spiritual force. It reaches up to the heavenly spheres. lays hold upon eternal things. It acts upon the grosser elements, and moves spiritual essences and immortal intelligencies. It is in its fulness all powerful. By its exercise God made the worlds, bringing order out of chaos, light out of darkness, and visible things out of the invisible, all moved by that spiritual energy called faith. By its power Christ stilled the winds and walked upon the waves, healed the sick and raised the dead. Elijah by faith closed the heavens, that they rained not, and overcame the might of Death, passing with his body into the mansions on high. faith Job beheld the coming of the Redeemer and Paul ascended to the third heaven. And by faith men and women can overcome the influences of earth and time, and rise to communion with angelic beings, and even with God, the highest and holiest of all.

By

Man must have faith in God in order to become exalted into His presence. No man knows of himself how to reach that position, nor how to obtain salvation from sin and its effects, among which are sorrow and pain, and death as the ultimate. To learn anything in relation to these important matters he must be taught of God, and faith is therefore absolutely necessary in the outset of any attempt to learn of Him. This faith "comes by hearing," or in other words is developed by testimony. Through the testimony of men divinely appointed to speak in the name of the Lord, faith is awakened in the human heart. It is a principle existing in every soul, but in the condition of fallen humanity is measurably dormant, until quickened by a divine influence. The word spoken by inspired men, accompanied by the influence of the spirit of truth, arouses faith

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in the soul of man, and by its force he is led to call upon the Lord, and by its light to see his way to repentance and obedience.

No man by his own researches can find out God. He may, by reason and reflection, by observing and pondering upon the wonders of creation, by studying his own internal and external nature, come to the sure conclusion that there is a God, and to a very small extent make an estimate of His character. But without the Almighty manifests Himself in some manner, finite man can never obtain a knowledge of infinite Deity. The speculations of human beings concerning God are many and various, and a vast number of their conclusions inconsistent and vain. Human learning, no matter how extensive, and human research, no matter how profound, are of necessity inadequate alone to the acquisition of a knowledge of divine things. Hence an unlettered person enlightened direct from God, will know more of Deity than the most erudite collegian who has not received this divine illumination.

Some conception of God is necessary to proper faith in Him. On this account He has, at different periods of the world's history, manifested Himself to chosen persons, whom He has deputed to bear witness of His existence and attributes to others, and declare His will and commandments. The history of some of these manifestations and revelations given in olden times is recorded in the Bible. Those that have been vouchsafed to man in the latter times are em. bodied in what is popularly known as "Mormonism," but what should be called the Everlasting Gospel, renewed on earth.

By these we learn that God is the Father of the human race. As every seed in nature bears its own kind, it is reasonable to conclude that man bears some semblance to the Being from whom He sprang. And this idea is confirmed by the divine declaration that "God made man in His own image." Our Father in Heaven is, then, a personal Being. He is a Spirit. But He is also enclothed in a tabernacle. In other words, He is an immortal Spirit dwelling in an immortal

discover him to be possessed of virtues, the existence of which his most intimate friends had never known. Particularly is this apparent in the matter of religious tendencies, whose recipients have frequently been ashamed to make them known. A few of our most popular writers, however, have exhibited, in portions of their works, such a spirit of meekness, of utter reliance upon God, and such an universal benevolence, as the world has too rarely seen.

As an example of the first of these, may be mentioned the poet Byron, of whom it is enough for our purpose to say that his conception, Cain, is the reflex of his own character. Byron was universally regarded as an unbeliever, as a scoffer at others' faith, as one whose tendencies were "to destroy all belief in the reality of virtue, and to make all enthusiasm and constancy of affection ridiculous." Yet this man, in his Hebrew Melodies, has left us some of the most exquisite thoughts upon record, and in a poem written upon his deathbed, displays that doubt of the past and uncertainty of the future, which during his life he was ashamed to avow.

It is cheering to turn from this dark mind to the genial Addison, than whom few have written better or more trustingly in sacred poetry. Of him it is related that, being on a bed of sickness, he sent for his acquaintance, the Earl of Warwick, whom he wished to reclaim from a life of licentiousness and dissipation." "I have sent for you," said he, "that you may see in what peace a Christian can die." He breathed his last on the 17th of June, 1719. The chief characteristics of his devotional works are humility, veneration, and admiration of the Divine Power. These qualities are seen very plainly in the Paraphrase of the Twentythird Psalm, in the hymns commencing "How are thy servants blest, O Lord!" and "When all thy mercies, O my God," etc. The following ode is also very fine:

The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim:

Th' unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's power display,
And publishes to every land
The work of an Almighty hand.

Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And, nightly to the list'ning earth,
Repeats the story of her birth:
While all the stars that round her burn,
And all the planets in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.
What though, in solemn silence, all
Move round the dark terrestrial ball?
What though no real voice, nor sound,
Amid their radiant orbs be found?
In Reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice;
Forever singing as they shine,
"The Hand that made us is divine."

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The sacred hymns of Dr. Isaac Watts will probably last as long as our language. They arrest attention by their simplicity, warmth and exquisite imagery. He is one of the most prolific of religious poets, and is the constant companion of old and young. No collection of hymns would be complete without some of his productions. The succeeding is a good example of his style:

A SUMMER EVENING. How fine has the day been, how bright was the

sun,

How lovely and joyful the course that he run, Though he rose in a mist when his race he begun,

And there followed some droppings of rain! But now the fair traveler's come to the west, His rays are all gold, and his beauties are best; He paints the sky gay as he sinks to his rest,

And foretells a bright rising again.

Just such is the Christian; his course he begins, Like the sun in a mist, when he mourns for his sins,

And melts into tears; then he breaks out and shines,

And travels his heavenly way; But when he comes nearer to finish his race, Like a fine setting sun, he looks richer in grace, And gives a sure hope at the end of his days, Of rising in brighter array.

On the 20th of November, 1752, was born Thomas Chatterton,

"The marvellous boy, The sleepless soul that perished in his pride."

Other poets had written at an early age: Pope, and Cowley, and Byron had composed poems when ranging from twelve to fifteen years old. Chatterton, taught to read and write at a charity school, when a mere child eleven years of age, wrote as follows:

A HYMN.

Almighty Framer of the skies,
O let our pure devotion rise

Like incense in thy sight!
Wrapt in impenetrable shade
The texture of our souls was made,
Till thy command gave light.

The sun of glory gleamed, the ray
Refined the darkness into day,
And bid the vapors fly:
Impelled by his eternal love,
He left his palaces above,

To cheer our gloomy sky.

How shall we celebrate the day,
When God appeared in mortal clay,
The mark of worldly scorn.
When the archangel's heavenly lays
Attempted the Redeemer's praise,

And hailed Salvation's morn?
A humble form the Godhead wore,
The pains of poverty he bore,

To gaudy pomp unknown:
Though in a human walk he trod,
Still was the man Almighty God,
In glory all his own.
Despised, oppressed, the Godhead bears
The torments of this vale of tears,
Nor bids his vengeance rise:
He saw the creatures He had made
Revile his power, his peace invade.

He saw with Mercy's eyes.

Chatterton lived only six years after writing the above. To escape starvation, he destroyed himself by taking arsenic; dying, at the youthful age of seventeen, the wonder of England. "No English poet," says Campbell, "ever equalled him at the same age."

No one can read the delightful poetry of William Cowper, without lamenting the dark malady with which his mind was clouded. Learned, devout, of simple and kindly habits, he was the delight of all acquaintances. His contributions to hymnal literature are very numerous, and of the highest merit. Many of the

selections oftenest used in divine service are from his pen. He has nothing finer among the Olney Hymns than the ode so familiar to us all, "God moves in a mysterious way." What follows, on retirement, shows a mind accustomed to reflect upon the mercies of the Lord:

Far from the world, O Lord, I flee

From strife and tumult far!
From scenes where Satan wages still

His most successful war.

The calm retreat, the silent shade,

With prayer and praise agree;
And seem by thy sweet bounty made
For those who follow Thee.

There, if thy Spirit touch the soul,
And grace her mean abode,
Oh, with what peace, and joy, and love,
She communes with her God!
There like the nightingale she pours

Her solitary lays;

Nor asks a witness of her song,

Nor thirsts for human praise.

Author and Guardian of my life,

Sweet source of light divine,
And (all harmonious names in one)
My Savior, thou art mine!
What thanks I owe Thee, and what love,
A boundless, endless store,
Shall echo through the realms above
When time shall be no more.

Thomas Moore, poet, novelist and biographer; the friend and Aristarchus of Lord Byron, by whom he was called "Anacreon Moore," in reference to his amatory publications, has added to the common stock a few beautiful specimens of devotional poetry. The sequent is, perhaps, as good as anything in his collection. The ideas are easily and beautifully expressed:

As down in the sunless retreats of the ocean Sweet flowers are springing no mortal can see, So, deep in my soul the still prayer of devotion, Unheard by the world, rises silent to Thee, My God! silent to Thee

Pure, warm, silent to Thee.

As still to the star of its worship, though clouded,

The needle points faithfully o'er the dim sea, So, dark as I roam, in this wintry world shrouded, The hope of my spirit turns trembling to Thee, My God! trembling to TheeTrue, fond, trembling to Thee.