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THE WINTER IS OVER AND GONE.

ADDRESS UPON A WATCH.

know You have all seen a watch, and you its use to tell the time of the day. It consists of inside work, and of an outside face and hands; and you are aware that its accuracy in time-keeping depends on the good quality and cleanness of the works. Now, you also have inside works and an outside face and hands. Your heart is the work, and your actions are the hands. This heart was once good, for God made man holy, and then his actions were right, and he did those things which were in keeping with God's law.

But just as when the work of a watch gets out of repair or dirty, it cannot keep time, so our hearts have become impure by sin, and all our principles and feelings out of order, and the consequence is, that our outer actions are all wrong. We cannot keep time; in short, we cannot act up to what God commands, and so we fail in the great end for which we were made. How useless is a bad watch! it is not worth carrying. And how worthless is a wicked man! he can give no glory to God, and when vice and bad habits get the mastery of him, he is of little worth to his fellow-men.

Now, when a watch gets out of order, to whom would you take it to get it repaired? Not to a baker or grocer, would you? No: but to a watchmaker, because he made it, and knows how to repair it. And to whom would you take your hearts to get cleaned and repaired? To your teacher or your minister? No: but to God, because he made them, and he only can put them right. 'He has said, "I will give you a new heart."

Is it not because you have the unclean heart that you tell falsehoods, that you disobey your parents and your teacher, that you quarrel with each other, and in many other ways sin? And do you not often feel your conscience saying to you, 'you have done wrong?' I am sure you do; and I am sure also, that you often wish that you could behave better. Well there is but one way, and that is, to get the inside put right; other words, to get a good heart.

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But after a watch is cleaned and repaired, does it not require to be some time with the

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watchmaker, in order to get it regulated? Yes. Aud after that, it is taken home by its owner. Just so is it with our heartsGod keeps us here to sanctify us, and enables us day after day and year after year to keep His commandments better and better, and when at last He sees we are fit for heaven, He takes us home to serve and love Him perfectly.

Now my young friends, get your hearts right and then your actions will go right. It will save you much pain, and punishment, and annoyance now, and much trouble in after life. You will be all the better scholars, all the better sons and daughters, and all the better and nobler men and women. You will be all the better to live, and you will be all the better to die.

THE WINTER IS OVER AND GONE.
GONE is now the dreary winter,

Stormy wind and chilling snow;
Ice-bound fountains long imprisoned,
Now in sparkling streamlets flow.
Fragrant blossoms shed their perfume,
Verdure clothes the sunlit hills,
Whilst from wood and grove each warbler
Joyous music blithely trills.

Lovely is earth's fleeting summer,
But the land we hope to gain
Knows no autumn's lengthening shadow,
Knows no winter's beating rain.
They who dwell there never weary,
There all tears are wiped away,
There no sin nor sorrow enter,
Never night succeeds to day.
There the golden pavement echoes
Happy tread of happy feet,
There with folded wings the seraphs

Join in strains most glad and sweet.
Dwelling in those many mansions,

Cleansed from every spot and stain,
Multitudes man cannot number,

Praise the Lamb which once was slain.
Jesus! Thou whose blood hath purchased
For us in that Heaven a place,
Make us pure, and meek, and holy,

There to see Thy glorious face.
Through the everlasting summer,
Through the ages yet to be,
May we join the mighty chorus,
Rising from the crystal sea.

JENNETTE THRELFALL.

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OUR MISSIONARY PAGE.

I HAVE often wished that in some cheap,

and easily accessible form, the various statistics connected with missionary work could be presented to the young. Such a book has been published in the shape of a 'Manual of Missionary Facts,' by Messrs Snow & Co., Paternoster Row, London. It will interest the readers of the Dayspring,' to know something not only of the work that has been done, but of the work that remains to be done, and, besides interesting them, it may quicken their zeal, and infuse into them a spirit of more earnest determination to do what they can in carrying or sending the gospel to them that are sitting in darkness.

THE FIELD IS THE WORLD.

THE population of the world is about

twelve hundred and fifty millions.

scholars. They have rooted Christianity in 4,000 places, whence light and love and truth are emanating to pierce the thick darkness around.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE.

1. A Missionary Sermon should be preached once a quarter by every minister. 2. A Missionary Anniversary in every place of worship.

3. A Monthly Missionary Prayer Meeting in every congregation.

4. A Missionary Magazine taken by every family.

5. A weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual subscription from every Christian.

6. A Missionary-box in every house. 7. And more vigour and earnestness thrown into all that is done.

THE TRUE MISSIONARY SPIRIT.

Now, I do not suppose that when I have WH

written this sum you are much wiser as to the number it embraces than you were before I had commenced to write it. Let me endeavour to give you some idea of it in this way. I shall suppose you are ten years of age, and you begin to count the 1,250,000,000, and you count them as fast as

HEN Dr. Backus, of America, was told that he could not live more than an hour, he replied, "Then lift me out of bed, and place me on my knees, that I may spend the last moments of my life in prayer to God for the conversion of the world.' CONTRASTS.

S a nation we spend annually more

the pendulum of the clock beats the seconds. AS

Could you manage it in ten years? No, nor in three times ten years; though day and night without intermission you went on counting, by the time you had finished, you would be fifty years of age, and during the time you were counting them two whole generations would have passed into eternity; and (how solemn the thought) each unit of all the vast total had an immortal soul that must live as long as God himself lives.

WHAT IS BEING DONE.

To summarise all results, there are 2,000

European and American missionaries now labouring for the conversion of the heathen. They are assisted by about 700 ordained native preachers, and 15,000 who are unordained. These have now under their charge 2,600 churches, in which are 350,000 communicants, whilst around them have been gathered more than 1,200,000 baptized adherents, and at least 200,000

than one hundred millions sterling in intoxicating drinks, and less than 160th part of that annually in making known to the heathen world that our religion alone is from heaven. The amount of money spent in beer alone, would support the Church Missionary Society for 250 years at its present rate of income. Europe spends eighty millions annually in times of peace on its standing armies, and gives less than three quarters of a million to all Protestant Missionary Societies. The income of Englishmen on which the income-tax is levied amounts to £98,238,000, while the amount given to all our English Missionary Societies hardly reaches the 200th part of that sum. The contributions from regular attendants at Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, and Congregational places of worship, to their respective Missionary Societies, does not exceed one farthing a week.

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BIBLE QUESTIONS on these Lessons, with answers in the words of Scripture, may be had of the Publishers.

OUR BOOK CORNER.

THE BRIDGE OF HISTORY OVER THE GULF OF TIME. By Thomas Cooper. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1871. pp. 162. Books on the Evidences' are generally rather heavy reading, and are not so popular with the young as they might be. This little volume forms an exception, and will be read with the deepest interest by our Bible classes, and by our working men and women. written by one who now preaches the faith which once he persecuted, and who knows by experience what an evil and bitter thing infidelity is. We would rejoice to see a copy of The Bridge of History over the Gulf of Time,' in every Sabbath school and congregational library.

It is

HEAVENLY LOVE, AND EARTHLY ECHOES.
Edinburgh:
By a Glasgow Merchant.
Edmonston & Douglas. pp. 206.

It is refreshing to discover that amidst all the hurry, and fierce competition of business life, there are in our midst men who seek, and who find time for meditation upon the realities of another world. This little volume produced by the pen of one whose name is familiar to us as the author of the excellent tract 'I must keep this Feast,' shows a remarkable ability for writing upon sacred subjects. It is just such a book as one might, before going out to a day's work in the office, or the exchange, take up, and reading a page or two of it, find something that would keep the heart fresh amidst the tear and wear of business life. Of all the chapters, that

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one which pleases us most is the first'Heavenly Love, revealed through the relationships of life.' We have very seldom seen the hidden analogies of the divine life so powerfully and clearly brought out as in this chapter.

BIBLE QUESTIONS. THREE Prizes are offered for the largest number of correct answers, to be awarded in December 1872.

The following are the conditions.

1. Competitors not to be above fifteen years of age. 2. The answers honestly to be the work of the young persons competing from month to month.

3. All answers to be addressed, not later than the 18th of the month, to the REV. JOHN KAY, Greenbank Cottage, Coatbridge.

16. Give two verses in each of which kind and unkind words are contrasted by striking similes?

17. Name other six comparisons in the book of Proverbs which are employed to describe the value of words wisely and kindly spoken?

18. In what two instances did a few kind words of sympathy for sufferers, spoken by persons who were themselves in affliction, lead to wonderful results?

19. On what occasion did a few kind words, spoken by a rich man, cheer and comfort a poor stranger?

20. When did a kind answer, to the request of a stranger, decide the happy lot for life of the person who gave it?

ANSWERS TO BIBLE QUESTIONS IN THE MARCH NUMBER OF THE DAYSPRING.'

(11) Lev. x. 16-20; Josh. xxii. 11-30; Judg. viii. 1-3; Acts xi. 2-18. (12) 1 Sam. xxv. 10-13; 2 Sam. xix. 41-43-xx. 1, 2; 1 Kings xii. 13-16; Psa. cvi. 32, 33. (13) James iii. 6. (14) 2 Kings v. 13. (15) Prov. xxxi. 26.

The close searching of the Word of God on the part of our young friends has led to their discovering certain other illustrations of questions 11 and 12. In every case where these can be held as equally good with the passages noted above, they have been counted as correct.

All communications for the Editor of the 'Dayspring,' to be addressed to REV. JOHN KAY, Greenbank Cottage, Coatbridge.

All business communications to be addressed to Messrs J. & R. PARLANE, Publishers, Paisley.

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Translated from the German, as sung (words and music) by the children in the Jewish Schools at Pesth. Hungary.-[A dying girl suddenly opened her eyes, and said, 'Raise me higher! raise me higher!' Her loving parents sought to arrange her pillows better, when she smiled and said, 'Not so; I mean something far different -Higher! higher!' and soon she was borne by angels into the joy of her Lord. Her tombstone bears the inscription:-'J. B., aged 13 years. "Raised Higher."-S. S. Journal.]

Paisley: J. AND R. PARLANE.

London: HOULSTON AND SONS, Paternoster Buildings.

The DAYSPRING can be had, post free, from the Publishers, as follows:
7 copies for 4d., or 12 copies monthly, for one year, 6s.

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