strength grew less. Great
riches had fallen to her lot; but in her dwelling luxury found no home. A
hospital--a charity school--an orphan asylum--all attested her true
appreciation of the value of riches. In her house, many a young girl found
a home, whose head had else rested on a pillow of infamy. The reclaimed
drunkard dispensed her daily bounty to the needy. The penitent thief was
her treasurer. Prisons knew the sound of her footstep. Alms-houses blessed
her coming. She had been a faithful steward of the Lord's gifts.

Eighty-and-eight years had dropped upon her head as lightly as withered
leaves; but now the Father was ready to release his servant and child. Her
numerous household was gathered around her bed to behold her last hour. On
the borders of eternity, a gentle sleep fell upon her. She seemed to stand
in a lofty wood, beside a towering pine. A spring bubbled near, and soft
breezes swept the verdant boughs. She looked upon the tree, glorious in its
strength, and smiled to think she could ever have desired to change her
crown of immortality for its senseless existence. Then the old
question--"What is life?"--resounded again in her ears, and she opened her
eyes from sleep and spoke, in a clear voice, these last words--

"He that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life. This is the true life
for which we endure the trials of the present. For this we labor and do
good works. A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things he
possesseth; for to be spiritually-minded is life. I have finished my
course; my toil will be recompensed an hundredfold; and I go to Him whose
loving kindness is better than life."

* * * * *

A POETICAL VERSION.

OF A PORTION OF THE SECOND CHAPTER OF JOEL.

BY LADD SPENCER.

In Zion blow the trumpet,
Let it sound through every land;
And let the wicked tremble,
For the Lord is nigh at hand.
Alas! a day of darkness--
A day of clouds and gloom--
Approaches fast, when all shall be
As silent as the tomb!

As the morn upon the mountains,
There comes a mighty train,
The like of which hath never been.
And ne'er shall be again.
A burning fire before them,
And behind a raging flame--
Alas, that beauty so should be
Enwrapt in sin and shame!

The earth doth quake before them,
The sun withdraws its light;
The heavens and earth are shrouded
In darkest, deepest night.
Then weep, y