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poverty and lowliness. There was no room for Him in the inn. He came as a child, because He was to be the Saviour of children. " Of such is the kingdom of heaven." child, too, He came that He might set us the pattern of a perfect life in every stage of its human growth and development. He came in poverty and lowliness, that He might descend to the condition of the poorest and the meanest that needed His salvation. Thus Jesus became "the Son of man," that we might become the sons of God.

God by Him and in His humanity desired to express to us what He Himself is, and what He would have us to be. The great infinite nature that was beyond our search has thus been made known to us through our own human nature which we can understand. Looking at Jesus we are looking at the most perfect revelation of God that can be visible to human sight. "He that hath seen Me hath seen the

Father."

This birth was at once the highest and the humblest, for it was the birth of the Son of God, born in a stable and laid in a manger.

No joy-bells rocked the steeples as at the birth of princes, and no blare of trumpets or beat of drums announced the event to an expectant land. Yet were there nobler heralds there than ever greeted the nativity of earth's loftiest children. From the gateway of heaven a choir of angels swept down to sing His birth-song over the fields of Bethlehem and God's own hand hung His starry banner in the sky, to guide the Magi to where the young child was. It is a strange but significant fact that it was not the wise men of Israel who were interested in that wondrous birth, but those of a distant Eastern land, and that not in the great temple of Jerusalem and to the priests that served there were the wondrous tidings told, but between the night and morning at the folds of Bethlehem, to the humble shepherds who watched their flocks by night. God's highest revelations come to the humblest souls. "He resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the lowly."

Not to the temple shrine
At silent midnight dim;
Not to the holy city came
The choir of Seraphim.

Not through the temple courts
The chant angelic rung;
Not to the priests that ministered
The choir of angels sung.

But o'er the lowly fields

Gleamed forth the vision bright, And on the eyes of shepherd men Shone that celestial light.

Thus humble worth was owned,
And simplest duty blessed,
And common privilege became
The brightest and the best.

Thus are we taught to know
That not on holy ground,
And not in consecrated shrines
Alone can Christ be found.

But wheresoe'er the heart
Looks up to Him in prayer,
His angel ministers are near,
And God Himself is there.

Such visions bright, O Lord,
Each night I fain would see;
And every day amid my toil
Have messages from Thee.

Thy presence be with me,

Amid abounding wrong,

And let me hear above earth's noise
The blessed angel-song.

Which tells of deathless peace,

Of guilt and sin forgiven,

Of grace and gladness here on earth,

And glory in the heaven.

R. R. THOM.

What a Husband should be.

BY THE REV. G. EVERARD, M.A.,

Vicar of St. Mark's, Wolverhampton.

Na village churchyard in Staffordshire I met with the following epitaph. It was over the grave of a certain Henry Hawkes, and unless he was a very rare character indeed, that one who penned it must have been very blind to his faults and very favourably struck with his virtues.

But here it is, and we may take it for what it is worth, and at least learn from it a good lesson.

HE WAS

BUT WORDS ARE WANTING TO SAY WHAT,

THINK WHAT A HUSBAND SHOULD BE,

HE WAS THAT.”

"Think what a husband should be!”

The words set me a-thinking, and I will put down a few of my thoughts.

A good husband will be a man who is not afraid of hard work, and will not waste his days in idleness.

The breadwinner must do his best to provide well for those at home. He will work with a good will, for he thinks of the dear ones depending upon him. Perhaps at the bottom of a coal-mine, or in the factory, or elsewhere, he will toil all day long, as he remembers the cottage door, where he will be welcomed at nightfall. Such a man will know nothing about St. Monday, but will be only too thankful to do six days' work in the week, if he can get it to do.

A good husband will be a man of self-control. He will be no slave to drink. And it will be all the better if he never touched it at all. He knows how to curb his tongue and his temper, and will not disturb the peace of his family by rough and angry words. He will not break out in a passion because the dinner is five minutes late, or something has

gone wrong with him. He will bear and forbear. And remembering how many faults he has himself, he won't be surprised if his wife has her faults also.

A good husband will be a man of kindness and consideration for the partner of his choice.

He will sympathise with her in her times of weakness and suffering. He will stay with her when she needs his care, and he is able to do so. He will do his best to lighten her burden, and feel for her in the daily worries of the household. He will not expect too much from her, and will gladly from time to time sacrifice his own pleasure to hers. He will give her, when he can, little unlooked-for surprises to gladden her heart. In short, he will fulfil the promise he has made "to love her, comfort her, honour her, and keep her in sickness and in health," and till death part them he will be faithful to his troth.

A good husband will be a man of fixed principle. He will walk in the fear and love of God. He will say with Joshua, "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord." Without this how can a man do his duty in his home? How can he help his wife in the temptations which may try her? How can he help his children in the way to heaven?

But let him be a true Christian, let him trust in Christ and follow Him, then he will be a blessing to all about him. He will daily pray for each member of his household. He will call them around the family altar, and there read with them the Book of God. He will make Sunday a bright and holy day, and go with them to the house of prayer. By his own example he will show them the beauty and the joy of true religion, and thus "allure to brighter worlds and lead the way."

In fact such a one will be " a husband" indeed-that is a house-band," one to bind together all beneath his roof in one holy bond of faith, holiness, and charity.

Friend, is this your standard? If you are a husband, are you doing your duty in your home? If not, begin now.

A merciful Saviour will forgive all that is past, and He will help you in the future to live as you should. Look to Him for His grace day by day and He will teach you in the right way.

"Oh happy house, where man and wife are one,

Through love of Thee in spirit, heart, and mind,
Together joined by holy bands which none,
Not death itself, can sever or unbind.

Where both on Thee unfailingly depend
In weal and woe, in good and evil days,
And hope with Thee eternity to spend
In sweet communion and eternal praise."

Scattered Feathers.

LADY who had been in the habit of spreading slan_ derous reports once confessed her fault to St. Philip Neri, who lived several hundred years ago, and asked him how she should cure it. " Go," he said in reply, "to the nearest market-place, buy a chicken just killed, pluck its feathers all the way, and come back to me." She was greatly surprised, wondering in what way a dead chicken could help her to overcome her evil habit ; but she did as he bade her, and came back to him with the plucked chicken in her hand. "Now go back," he said, "and bring me all the feathers you have scattered." "But that is impossible," she replied, "I cast the feathers carelessly, and the wind carried them away: how can I recover them?" "That," he said, "is exactly like your words of slander. They have been carried about in every direction. You cannot recall them. Go, and slander no more."

It was a striking way of teaching a very important lesson. Let us hope the lady never forgot it; and, in so far as we need it, let us apply it to ourselves.

Our dictionary explains slander to be a "false tale or report maliciously uttered to the prejudice of another."

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