haggard ghost of Disease, with her companion Death; real ghosts, these, that need exorcising from the earth by the gentle ministries of the servants of Christ. J. HUGHES.

HELP IN THE STRUGGLE OF LIFE.

HEN I was a very young boy I remember having my imagination powerfully wrought upon by the sight of a public-house sign. There was painted upon the board a large globe, on the upper side of which appeared the head, shoulders, and arms of a man, and on the lower side his legs and feet, his body being hid in the internal part of the globe. Under this strange picture was inscribed-THE STRUGGLER.

I was curious to know the meaning of such a sign; for meaning I supposed it had, apart from designating the house before which it was suspended to be a house where good entertainment might be had for man and beast. So I inquired of my elders, and was told that the painting was symbolical of the life of man; it was our destiny to struggle through the world, and this feat had to be performed by us several times; in infancy, in youth, in manhood, in old age; and that in our last attempt we should find ourselves like the man on the sign board, in a fix, and not be able to complete our passage through.

Whether this was intended to be the correct exposition of the painting, or given only to teach me a useful moral lesson, I cannot say; but I know, young as I was, it made a deep impression on my mind, and awakened trains of thought that did not soon pass away. I began to question whether life was really so sweet a thing as I had supposed it to be; at any rate I saw it was not to be all pleasure and enjoyment. I might amuse myself at present with ring-taw, and hoop, and kite, and bat and ball; but ere long I should have to exchange play for work, and if that picture told the truth, the work I should have to do would be arduous and severe; for the man seemed as if he had to do his struggling with all his might, and he got on very slowly even by that.

The lesson I then learnt I have found, by subsequent experience and observation, to be a true one. Our passage through this world is a struggle, notwithstanding all the pleasing pictures poetic pens have drawn of human life. Looked at from one point of view it may seem to be the fact that "man wants but little here below," and that it is a comparatively easy thing to get the little that he does want; as a matter of experience, however, most find it to be otherwise. The struggle partakes of varied severity in different instances, but in some degree it is inevitable to all; and as to results, while some engage in it bravely and successfully, others as sadly and painfully fail. It is to be regretted that any should fail, especially that they should fail through their own fault, or for want of means of success

that might be obtained by rightly directed personal effort, or supplied by relative assistance. If our struggle through the world is to be rightly and successfully done we must in it help ourselves-we must also help each other-and further we must look up to the great and good Being above to help us each and all. On these three topics we wish to say a few things to our readers, especially our youthful readers, for they will be principally in our thoughts as we write.

SELF-HELP.

If all that has been said and written on self-help, during, say, the past twenty-five years, was known to my readers, and if they had marked, learned, and inwardly digested it, I might soon dismiss this branch of my subject; or, indeed, the consideration of it would be an exercise uncalled for. It has been the theme of many a poet's song, and many an author's dissertation, and many a lecturer's harangue. One author has written upon it a goodly volume in such an interesting style that its sale has reached nearly one hundred thousand copies. Those who have not read" Self Help" by Mr. Smiles I would most earnestly counsel to do so; for not only is the duty stated and explained in that book, but what is said respecting it is so accompanied with illustrations of character and conduct, that it is scarcely possible for the reader to misunderstand the duty, or to remain unincited to its fulfilment.

CHAPTER I.-SELF-KNOWLEDGE.

THE three principal elements of self-help are-industry, frugality, and providence.

But, antecedently to considering these, we must premise that thoughtfulness and self-knowledge-a just apprehension and appreciation of the faculties and powers with which we are endowed-lie at the basis of self-help.

I have somewhere read a story of an Indian who was, one day, reclining on the bank of a river; gazing with mental vacuity and bodily indolence into the stream that flowed past him, and thinking, perhaps, that his occupation and mood were the best form of enjoying life; when he felt his body gently moved from the ground by the pulsation of his heart and the inflation of his lungs. His curiosity was awakened, and this led him to thought and reflection; while his reflection brought home to him, for the first time, the conviction that he was a living organism; and this consciousness was the birth of a new life to him. He began to study the construction of his physical frame and the powers of his mind, and not only did he seek to know himself in this sense, but he began to enquire what was his relation to the world around him, what the adaptation of his body and mind to external nature; why, in fine, he was made what he was, and why he was placed where he was; the result of the whole being, that he awoke to a full consciousness of his manhood, and the work he came into the world to do.

I fear this Indian, be he a real or an imaginary person, in his in

dolence and ignorance, is but too true a picture of vast numbers living in what are called our enlightened times. How few observe the poet's maxim, "The proper study of mankind is man"! How few attend to the precept which even a heathen could give, "Man, know thyself!" The habit of introspection and contemplation, in the right sense of the action, is but rare among men. How strange it is that it should be so, for it is as true now as when the Hebrew psalmist said it" we are fearfully and wonderfully made."

The gifts and endowments lavished upon us by our Creator were never intended to awaken within us the feeling of pride; yet they may justly fill us with a sense of awe, and prompt to the inquiry ;– For what purpose do I possess these faculties? Why this agile or muscular limb? Why this thinking brain? And why these high mental powers? this understanding? this judgment? this will? this skill to evade or this energy to overcome difficulties? Does the character of these endowments indicate that we have no part to play but a passive one? that we must of necessity succumb to the force of circumstances and yield to the play of surrounding influences as the sapling bends to the passing breeze? Rather, do they not tell us that it is our duty to engage manfully and resolutely in the struggle of life, seeing we are so amply gifted with the capacity both to strive and conquer. It was this inspiration, which a knowledge of ourselves ought to give, that led Longfellow to indite the oft-quoted lines :

"In the world's broad field of battle,

In the bivouac of life,

Be not like dumb driven cattle,

Be a hero in the strife."

CHAPTER II.—INDUSTRY.

In the whole constitution of nature we find interwoven the great truth that by the sweat of our face we eat bread. The earth is given to the children of men, but before they can truly inherit it they must subdue it by tillage and cultivation. Neither the individual nor the race can obtain the good things of life-its necessaries and comfortsby merely wishing for them. Appropriate and abundant food; suitable and sufficient clothing; comfortable and happy homes, are only to be had as the fruit and reward of toil, and industry, and thrift.

I wish my readers to take a broad view of things-to contemplate them as they relate to the human family at large, rather than to some exceptional members of that family, for we ought ever to guard against our self-help becoming selfish help-a mere taking care of number one, as it is called. There is too much of this dishonourable and dishonest way of helping ourselves in the world. "Each one

for himself," is a maxim which many adopt, and they carry it out to the letter; they mind the things that are their own just as if they were beasts of prey, and not rational and conscientious beings, who

are capable of observing the rule, and under imperative obligation to observe it, "Do unto others as ye would that others should do unto you."

A right-minded person will shape his life on reflections like the following:-"I find toil an inevitable condition of human existence in this world. The Heavenly Father may feed the fowls of the air, though they sow not, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and He may array in surpassing beauty the lilies of the field, which neither toil nor spin, but without work being done by someone, man cannot live. His natural appetites want providing for. He needs food for the sustenance and nourishment of his frame; he needs clothing to protect that frame from the inaptitude of the atmosphere to its health and comfort; he needs also a habitation to dwell in-a home. The raw material for supplying these wants is in abundance around him, yet it cannot be appropriated and used without industry. The earth is fertile for man only as it is cultivated, and when cultivated the fruit it yields is in the main unfitted for human food until it has undergone processes of preparation. And it is with our clothing as it is with our food. While our houses do not grow for us, they must be built; and the materials of which they are constructed have again to be manufactured, or specially prepared for the purpose, by human skill and industry. It is plain, then, that industry is a law of my being, and I will obey that law, that by my obedience I may have a right to live. Coming into the world under the necessary condition of being a consumer, I will in some shape and to some extent be a contributor to the means of human subsistence and happiness."

But the secular side of life is not the whole of life. Man does not live by bread alone, inasmuch as his highest life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses. He has intellectual powers which must be used for the purpose for which they were given, and moral affections which must be nurtured and placed on their appropriate objects. In fulfilling the work of life this truth has to be recognised, and it is only properly recognised when it prompts us to use all the means within our reach to qualify ourselves rightly to act in the whole sphere of our being. Hence we shall be observant of the laws of health, that our bodies may attain to a vigour as equal as possible to the demand made upon their power of action or endurance; while by mental culture we shall do our best to secure a sound mind in a healthy body; and thus body and mind will be fitting helpmates of each other in all their efforts, and the work of life be done with all the efficiency to which man with his limited faculties is permitted to attain.

Legitimate self-help, then, involves the practice of industry in some department of life. A drone in the hive, or a parasitic plant on the tree, of human society may be said to help himself; but he is not selfhelpful. He takes that which is another's, instead of subsisting on resources to which he has indisputable claim because he has contributed his due share to their creation.

If, then, my essay may take for a moment the preceptive form, I would say, Let every one help himself in the struggle of life; first of all by diligent, honest, useful industry. Scorn to be dependent on others for that which you can supply of yourselves. A "hanger-on," either in the family or in general society, is a despicable character. Work, then, either by brain or muscle for your living :—

"Work, work, my boy-be not afraid ;

Look labour boldly in the face :
Take up the hammer or the spade,
And blush not for your humble place.
"There's glory in the shuttle's song,

There's triumph in the anvil's stroke;
There's merit in the brave and strong,
Who dig the mine or fell the oak.
"The wind disturbs the sleeping lake,
And bids it ripple pure and fresh;

It moves the green boughs till they make
Grand music in their leafy mesh."

Yes, our industry should be honest and useful, infringing no correct moral principle, nor shedding a baneful influence on the life or character of anyone. The activity of some persons is worse than busy idleness-it is busy mischief. The trades they follow may be lucrative, but they are disreputable, for they can only flourish by demoralising society, as they are intimately connected with sensuality and vice. He who gets his living by deceiving and over-reaching and oppressing those he deals with, though there may be no human law that can touch him for his conduct, is in the sight of God a thief and a robber; while he who does well to himself at the cost to others of impoverished circumstances, blighted reputations, and ruined homes, proclaims his affinity with him who is pre-eminently the Evil One, and whose work it is to go about seeking whom he may devour. Perhaps you of adult years who read these pages may say that I am enjoining the form and character of industry you practise. You are the sons of toil, and your toil contributes to the happiness and wealth of the nation. You are the chief honey-makers of the State. You literally obey the Apostolic precept, and "labour with your hands, working the thing that is good." Honouring you for your position, we will next month commend to your attention the other modes of practising self-help we have mentioned.

THE HOMES OF OUR

CHILDREN.

"Was not my soul grieved for the poor ? "-Job. xxx., 25.

[An esteemed correspondent wrote us some time ago to the following effect:-"The comment you make upon the 'cut' ('Poor Children,' in the September INSTRUCTOR, 1874), relating to ragged children, led me to think