those properties, which belong to the new combinations and separations, which take place in the great laboratory of nature. 3. Circumstances attending chemical action. (a) Heat promotes chemical action. (b) Rapid chemical action is accompanied with light and heat. Exp. Thin paper soaked in Spirits of Turpentine and dipped in Chlorine, takes fire; so does powdered Antimony, when thrown into it. Exp. 2. Powdered Sugar and Chlorate of Potash when touched with Oil of Vitriol does the same. Exp. 3. Oil of Vitriol mixed with cold water becomes hot. (c.) Change of form. Exp. Fluid Epsom Salts mixed with Alcohol (Spirits of Wine) become solid. Exp. 2. Solid Nitrate of Ammonia rubbed with Solid Sulphate of Soda becomes Auid. Lates of Lessons. SCRIPTURE LESSON. "And we all do fade as a leaf."-Isaian lxiv. 6. In the Holy Scriptures we have many truths, which we need to remember, told us in figures. Now we all ought to remember that our life in this world is short, so that we may set about the business which God has given us to do in it, and may think oftener about the other and better world. And there are many figures used in the Bible to show us the frailty and shortness of life; if we look into them we shall see how true they are. Sometimes life is said to be like a vapour,-one of those small white clouds which float over the fields or among the hills, and then pass away as if they had never been there. It is also said to be like the shuttle which the weaver, as quick as thought, moves in and out among his threads. Again our life is said to be a mere handbreath, for it is only like a narrow strip of time; and it is compared to the grass and flowers which so soon wither and lose their freshness and colours. And in the verse which we have just read we are said to fade like a leaf. I. A leaf may very soon perish. When the leaf is just opening out its beauties and appears most healthy and blooming, how often it is nipped by harsh winds and late frosts, and at that untimely season fades and falls. And how many of the human family die in the bud of life. Often the little infant who seems scarcely to have sipped of the cup of life, and who has just begun to smile on its mother's knee, is called away from our world. Life may perish very early. II. A leaf is very slenderly constructed. Hold the leaf up to the light, and it will be seen to be full of transparent vessels, many of which are finer than a hair But slenderer still is the construction of the human body. The nerves and other parts, as you know, are most slightly made and may very soon be injured. III A leaf is dangerously situated. The leaf hangs extended to the winds; it is exposed to frosts and storms and lightnings; it may be scorched by the sunbeams or pinched by the cold at night. And thus from all around it is in danger. And how dangerously situated is man. How often life is lost by sudden accidents. The fall of a slate from the roof of a house may cause death. very air we breathe is often filled with disease, and brings death with it. The IV. A leaf is perpetually agitated. From many causes the leaf is seldom at rest. And it is thus frequently that its stem is broken and its decay hastened. The Bible tells us, and we learn in life, that man is "born to trouble." Sometimes we are happy, sometimes in sorrow; one day in health, and in sickness on the morrow; sometimes those who are around us honour and esteem us, and sometimes we are despised and slighted. V. A leaf is sure to fade in the lapse of time. The leaf that has survived all dangers must fade and fall at last. The keen frosts and autumnal winds bring all down to the ground. The sap leaves the branches and the heat of the sun is withdrawn, and so the leaf must fade. Aud we ought not to forget that we must all die. Time will bring us all to the close of life. "It is appointed unto man once to die." There was a great king who wept when he looked on all his hosts, with the sunshine upon their tents and armour, to think that in a hundred years all his splendid army, which was so large that it could scarcely be counted, would have been swept into the grave. But so it was. And when a hundred years have gone we shall none of us be here either. Then we may be sure that we ought to "work while it is called to day;" and to strive, as Christ said when His Mother came to seek Him in the Temple, to be about our Father's business We can all do something to make this world a better place, and if our life in it is so short, we should try to do as much good in it as we can while we are still here. And another thing which the shortness of life should teach us is to think sometimes about the other world, and to pray that God will make us fit for it. Each day brings us nearer to that better land, and if we wish to enter it we must love to do the will of our Father in Heaven and ask Him to guide us there. P. LESSON ON SNOW. I. Its formation. Snow is the condensed vapour of the atmosphere brought below freezing point. Vapours are condensed by currents of cold air, and precipitated. Illustration; some fishermen wintering on the coast of Nova Zembla remained shut up in the hut for several days. When the windows of their dwelling were opened, the rush of the cold external air condensed the atmosphere of the room, the result of which was a fall of snow upon the floor. The coldness of the earth is greater in winter from the obliquity of the sun's rays. When the air near the surface of the Earth is warmer than in the upper strata, and is above freezing point, the snow becomes partially melted and is called sleet. II. Its properties and uses. All the colours are reflected by the crystals. These unite before reaching the eye, giving to snow its white appearance. Its warmth as a covering is the consequence of a large quantity of air which is contained between the crystals; air being a bad conductor. The heat of the earth cannot radiate on account of Heat is given the covering of snow. off by snow when it begins to dissolve. Snow water contains a considerable portion of carbonic acid; hence its fertilizing properties. III. The line of perpetual congelation. The tops of mountains are surmounted by rarefied air. But little heat is radiated, and in consequence the snow descending upon the summits remains congealed. The distance above the surface of the earth beyond which snow does not melt, is called the snow line. Draw from the children the cause of this snow line having a less elevation upon the equator than it has a few degrees to the north or south of it. Ask them to account for its gradual decrease towards the poles; lead them to give the reason of the slow descent of the flakes, and to account for the formation of hail. IV. Call their attention to the allusion in the Book of Psalms, "He giveth snow like wool." Draw out the points of resemblance: 1st. in colour; 2nd. in weight; 3rd. both form warm coverings. A. G. B. THE DRAUGHT OF FISHES.-LUKE V. 1—11. I The Scene. II. The faith of Peter. III. The effect which the miracle had on Peter. and despair now that the day has begun to break, nevertheless at Thy word we will let down the net. And then for his obedience the draught of fishes was taken in the net. So until we too set about our duties in the same spirit of faith and obedience, and seek to fulfill them at Christ's word, we shall labor for that which will not profit us. III. The effect which the miracle had on Peter. He did not deny the mercy and goodness of Jesus. He did not really desire Him to depart. No-but he was afraid to find himself in the presence of One so great. He felt that he was so sinful that he was not IV. The blessing of the Saviour. 1. The Lake of Gennesareth was also called the sea of Galilee and Tiberias. Near its coasts the early ministry and miracles of our Saviour were wrought. The people who lived there were chiefly fishermen and on this occasion many thronged to hear the word of God, which means the Good News which the Saviour brought to the world. Remark the want of a synagogue and a pulpit, and their substitutes the open sky and a bor-worthy to stand beside the Saviour. rowed boat; (it is not a ship because a draught of fishes sinks it.) Picture the peacefulness of the whole scene to the imagination; the calm and sober grey of the early morning; the tranquil bosom of Gennesareth; the stillness of the winds, and above all the person of Jesus in His calm solemn majesty, Lead the children to see His character and the wonderful goodness which breathed in all His words; Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill towards men." 66 II. The faith of Peter. What is faith? Believing even what seems difficult on the word of another because we know that he is good and true. This was a stranger on the shore of the lake; but He had spoken beautiful words and more than human. All the night long they had toiled and caught nothing. They might have said -the night is the proper time for fishing, and our chance is over; it is no use trying a single draught after we have toiled all the long night. But Peter said though we have cast the net so often and that too all the night, This is natural. The eye cannot bear IX. 6. And Gideon and Isaiah were IV. The Saviour's blessing: "Fear not." He alone was able to command this. And His words will be the same to all who believe in Him like Peter. If we love our Saviour and strive to obey His commands we need not fear sorrow or death; we know indeed that like Peter we have sinned, but we may still seek to live with Him by faith, as Peter afterwards lived near Him and followed Him wherever He went. Poverty: its Eauses. There are two chief causes of poverty amongst the labouring classes. First there is want of Education; secondly, there is too much mis-applied charity. This word education is often used, but is seldom understood in its real and fullest sense. An uneducated person is one whose mental and moral powers have never been cultivated; his mind has run to waste, ard produces nothing but what is frivolous or vicious. We may often find an illiterate person, who is far from being an uneducated person. But what is the cause of this want of Education amongst the poorer classes of society, when so much money is expended for educational purposes? I answer, simply because real Education is scarcely given at all. The great mass of Schoolmasters think that they educate a child if they teach him reading, writing, and arithmetic. They forget that the child has a mind, within which they ought to sow the seeds of virtue; that their part is to encourage, with wise and careful treatment, the growth of all right dispositions, and to weed out as far as they are able, the vices that will naturally spring up with them. If this view of Education were more common, and if those engaged in it would work out their convictions, the face of society would be changed; and instead of the povertystricken artizan, besotted and without self-respect, we might often see the intelligent and industrious workman, spending his leisure hours in his own home, and spreading happiness around him. In our haste, we are often apt to blame the poor man for falling into the temptations which are around his path, and which lead him to poverty and wretchedness; but let us look at him before we blame him. That man has a mind, which in his wakeful hours is always active. When he is at his daily calling his mind has something to work upon, and is satisfied; but as soon as the duties of the day are over, and the mind has no more to think upon, it then becomes a trouble to its owner, and to stop its cravings he takes it to the alehouse and drowns it in drink, or stimulates it with the excitement of the theatre. Now, would there not be a difference in the social position and circumstances of the labouring man, if he had placed within his mind the means of supplying his own mental wants? But I am sorry to say few of our schools go so far as to prepare the boy to become a man. I trust the day is not far distant, when the poor man's child will have its mind so cultivated at school, that it will expand when he goes into the world, and that instead of following low and grovelling pursuits, he will have higher interests, and be able to employ his mind on better objects. This is the Education that would fill our lecture rooms, empty our prisons, thin our unions, and help in good carnest to put down those curses of the poor man-the gin-palaces. Another great cause of poverty is the quantity of mis-applied charity. It is a common saying, that virtues may become vices, if extended too far; and it is so with charity. To give to those who have the means of earning their own livelihood, is a sure way to make them dependent on others, not on their own honourable selfexertion. It also makes them improvident; and when the hour of sickness comes, they have no resources but the Hospital or the Union; and thus are dependent on charity again. When we consider what an enormous amount of money is annually spent to put down vice, we are surprised that society is not reformed. those who give charity put their money into the wrong box; if they were to put it into the channels of Education, it would have a far greater effect. But that does not do; people want to see something for their money, and when money is applied to Education, they cannot see the effect of it till the next generation; and that is too long to wait. But I consider that the best charity which the rich can bestow upon a poor boy, is to pay for his schooling; if he can, let him pay something toward the funds of the school himself; and let it be real and good Education which is given there. The person who does this, not only benefits the boy, but in the end does good to the State, by having the boy trained to be an intelligent man. Who can tell what there is in the mind of a child; perhaps there is the germ of something that with culture, might expand into a Milton, or Shakespeare, a Watt, or a Newton. Then let us consider that the School is like the Earth in seedtime; it needs merely to be sown. But perhaps, on that sowing depends the harvest of centuries. One single word may wake up some power in the Educational Intelligence Already in this session, the attention of Parliament has been called to the state of public education. Difficulties still beset the adjustment of this question; but the opinions of public men seem, we think, to gravitate towards some solution as imperative. The impulse which the Committee of Council has already given to Education is not, we think, fully appreciated by the public, nor has it been represented to the Legislature. The results of the late examination for Queen's Scholarships, which, we understand, gave much satisfaction to the Examiners, shows that through the apprenticeship of Pupil-teachers alone, the standard of attainment has been much raised in many schools; they will form, we trust, an efficient body of Teachers, and that is the first requisite for an improvement in Education. The erection of Normal Colleges is another important work which the Education Committee has originated. Its system of inspection has awakened new life and energy in numerous schools, and has called out an educational zeal in various districts, which was before unknown. Besides this, it has augmented the salaries of Teachers, promoted the erection of schools, and supplied them with more efficient apparatus. It is evident that we want some distinct enactment, which would extend aid to those districts which are too poor to claim the government grants; and that another is required, which would reach the class of children whom the Ragged Schools seek to educate. With these provisions, and with larger funds placed at the disposal of the Education Committee, to extend its system of inspection, and to give further aid to Schools and Teachers, it is still a question, whether the present administration of education is not better than the other projects, which have been hitherto proposed in its place. When introducing his proposed Reform Bill in the House of Commons, Lord John Russell observed on this subject: "I trust, Sir, that when these enlarged franchises have been given, we shall next have to consider, the Government of this country in whosoever hands it may be placed-will have to consider, most seriously and earnestly, the great question of the education of the people. In my mind this question of the franchise is not at all alien from the other question -that of providing that the instruction and education of the people, shall be in a better state than it now is. I am convinced that if after a measure of this |