belief that they are deceived. In vain they obtain the highest medical skill. Morning after morning that fearful white spot enlarges, until the withering truth has fully forced itself upon their mind that their son, their beloved boy, is a leper! And he must clothe himself in sackcloth; he must put the covering on his lip; he must leave the paternal roof; he must tear himself away from the embraces of his heart-broken parents and his weeping relatives; he must bid a last adieu to the home of his childhood, and become a wanderer in the wide world, an outcast from society; for God has commanded that the leper shall be separated from the people. Or the reader may conceive that the person mentioned by the Evangelist was a man farther advanced in life. Perhaps he sustained the endearing relations of husband and father. In this case the distress would, if possible, be heightened; because he was the stay, the support, of the beloved ones around him. Suppose that one evening, after the fatigue of the day, he reached his beloved home; and, having found the usual welcome, and partaken of the usual refreshing cheer, gathered his happy family around the hearth, and in the midst of them forgot the cares and trials of the day. And as he received the artless caresses of his little ones, and gazed on the beaming countenance of their mother, his heart warmed with all the intensity of a husband's and a father's love. Ah! little thought that happy household of the awfully dark cloud that was gathering over them, and about to burst upon their heads. The evening rolled round, and they retired to rest, cheerful and happy as usual. The night passed away, and the morning dawned; but the light of that morning brought with it a fearful discovery. The husband, the father, is a leper! The white spot, that fearful white spot, has appeared; and it tells the mother that she is a widow, the children that they are fatherless, and the father that he is an outcast from all he loves on earth! But it is the will of God; and he prepares to take his departure. He wraps himself in the sackcloth; he puts the covering on his lip; he leaves his beloved ones to the care of Him who is the Friend of the fatherless and the widow; and, as he passes from the threshold of the dwelling which contains all that is dear to him in this world, he raises his voice, and cries, "Unclean, unclean!" Those who hear him remove out of the path, and the poor outcast is left to pursue his lonely wanderings. In the midst of those wanderings He hears of One whose name falls upon his ear like music. It is "Jesus of Nazareth." Some one ventures near to him, and tells him of the extraordinary Personage who was "going about doing good." It was stated to him that this Jesus had, in the exercise of a Divine power, not only opened blind eyes, unstopped deaf ears, and loosed dumb tongues, but that He had also cleansed some lepers! Let the reader conceive, if he can, what feelings must have taken possession of the poor leper's mind, as he listened to those tidings. Hope, soulsustaining hope, was awakened in his breast. He had now but one desire; and that was to speak with Jesus of Nazareth. He sought for Him. He found Him. The Saviour was fulfilling His commission as "the Prophet of the Lord; the great Interpreter Divine." He was delivering to multitudes who surrounded Him His memorable sermon on the mount. The poor leper remained at a distance, for he dared not to mingle with the people; and, keeping his eye steadily fixed on the person of the "great Teacher," he waited for the end of the discourse. At length it finishes; the multitudes disperse; the Saviour comes down from the mount. The leper approaches him, trembling: his mind is torn with doubt as to the reception he may find. But he approaches Him; he throws himself at His feet; he worships Him; and, with half-choked utterance, he says, "Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean." "the Methinks I see the Saviour bending over him. I see great Philanthropist " looking upon the poor leper prostrated at His feet! That look is full of compassion, of tenderness, of love. He speaks. And the leper's heart bounds with joy and gratitude when he hears Him say, "I will; be thou clean." "Now, Lord, to whom for help I call, Thy miracles repeat; With pitying eyes behold me fall A leper at Thy feet. belief that they are deceived. In vain they obtain the highest medical skill. Morning after morning that fearful white spot enlarges, until the withering truth has fully forced itself upon their mind that their son, their beloved boy, is a leper! And he must clothe himself in sackcloth; he must put the covering on his lip; he must leave the paternal roof; he must tear himself away from the embraces of his heart-broken parents and his weeping relatives; he must bid a last adieu to the home of his childhood, and become a wanderer in the wide world, an outcast from society; for God has commanded that the leper shall be separated from the people. Or the reader may conceive that the person mentioned by the Evangelist was a man farther advanced in life. Perhaps he sustained the endearing relations of husband and father. In this case the distress would, if possible, be heightened; because he was the stay, the support, of the beloved ones around him. Suppose that one evening, after the fatigue of the day, he reached his beloved home; and, having found the usual welcome, and partaken of the usual refreshing cheer, gathered his happy family around the hearth, and in the midst of them forgot the cares and trials of the day. And as he received the artless caresses of his little ones, and gazed on the beaming countenance of their mother, his heart warmed with all the intensity of a husband's and a father's love. Ah! little thought that happy household of the awfully dark cloud that was gathering over them, and about to burst upon their heads. The evening rolled round, and they retired to rest, cheerful and happy as usual. The night passed away, and the morning dawned; but the light of that morning brought with it a fearful discovery. The husband, the father, is a leper! The white spot, that fearful white spot, has appeared; and it tells the mother that she is a widow, the children that they are fatherless, and the father that he is an outcast from all he loves on earth! But it is the will of God; and he prepares to take his departure. He wraps himself in the sackcloth; he puts the covering on his lip; he leaves his beloved ones to the care of Him who is the Friend of the fatherless and the widow; and, as he passes from the threshold of the dwelling which contains all that is dear to him in this world, he raises his voice, and cries, "Unclean, unclean!" Those who hear him remove out of the path, and the poor outcast is left to pursue his lonely wanderings. In the midst of those wanderings He hears of One whose name falls upon his ear like music. It is "Jesus of Nazareth." Some one ventures near to him, and tells him of the extraordinary Personage who was "going about doing good." It was stated to him that this Jesus had, in the exercise of a Divine power, not only opened blind eyes, unstopped deaf ears, and loosed dumb tongues, but that He had also cleansed some lepers! Let the reader conceive, if he can, what feelings must have taken possession of the poor leper's mind, as he listened to those tidings. Hope, soulsustaining hope, was awakened in his breast. He had now but one desire; and that was to speak with Jesus of Nazareth. He sought for Him. He found Him. The Saviour was fulfilling His commission as "the Prophet of the Lord; the great Interpreter Divine." He was delivering to multitudes who surrounded Him His memorable sermon on the mount. The poor leper remained at a distance, for he dared not to mingle with the people; and, keeping his eye steadily fixed on the person of the "great Teacher," he waited for the end of the discourse. At length it finishes; the multitudes disperse; the Saviour comes down from the mount. The leper approaches him, trembling: his mind is torn with doubt as to the reception he may find. But he approaches Him; he throws himself at His feet; he worships Him; and, with half-choked utterance, he says, "Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean." Methinks I see the Saviour bending over him. I see "the great Philanthropist " looking upon the poor leper prostrated at His feet! That look is full of compassion, of tenderness, of love. He speaks. And the leper's heart bounds with joy and gratitude when he hears Him say, "I will; be thou clean." "Now, Lord, to whom for help I call, Thy miracles repeat; With pitying eyes behold me fall A leper at Thy feet. "Loathsome, and vile, and self-abhorr'd, I sink beneath my sin; But, if Thou wilt, a gracious word Of Thine can make me clean." THETA. THE INWARD THOUGHT. "THEIR inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling-places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.' ."-Psalm xlix. 11. THERE is an elegancy in this kind of speaking. The Hebrew is, "their inwards," their internals: their inwards are how they may get themselves a name and riches: not only are their thoughts about these things, but the very inmost of their thoughts; the most retired thoughts and recesses of the soul are about these things,-these lie nearest to their hearts. As the story says of Queen Mary, when she died, she bade them open her, and they should find Calais on her heart. It was a pitiful case that a paltry town should lie where Christ ought, at the heart. The heart is the place where Christ and the thoughts of heaven should lodge. All below heaven should be below our hearts. But while a godly man's inward thoughts are for heaven and the things of heaven, for grace and for holiness, he has indeed thoughts upon the world; but, if I may so speak, they are his outward thoughts, not his inward thoughts. That which lies nearest his heart, his inward thoughts, are for heaven. So the inward thoughts of worldly men are for the world. The Apostle might well say, "Not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:" the thoughts of wise counsellors, potent Kings, and rich Princes, are legible in their actions.—Caryl. SUBMARINE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPHS. THE advantages of transmitting communications by electricity increase, of course, in proportion to the distance; for this agent annihilates both time and space. Were it extended to India, instead of waiting months between the posting of a |