And so, no doubt, many another has been "taken in " by the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in New Orleans, of whom it seems to be still true, "there is nothing imposing or even attractive in his personnel."

Of the late Dr. Thornwell the same might have been said -he was not very "imposing" in his appearance. Perhaps the first time he ever attended the General Assembly of his Church, he was invited by the Moderator, Dr. N. L. Rice, to go into the pulpit with him. It was at Indianapolis. As he ascended the pulpit, some one said:

"What is Dr. Rice taking that man into the pulpit for? Who is he ?"

Those who did not know him were greatly surprised at one of his appearance being thus honored, and nobody seemed to know who he was. At an early day in the meeting, some question was sprung in which he felt a deep interest, and on it he made one of his masterly speeches. From that hour he needed no introduction in that Assembly. From these examples we may learn that it is not always safe to judge a man by his size, or by the height of his forehead, or by the cut of his coat, or from all these put together. While it is true that all is not gold that glitters, it is just as true that jewels are sometimes found where they are least expected.

THE MIRACLE.

TWO MEN were talking once in England. "Well, you may say what you please," said one; "I, for my part, cannot believe that God would first impose laws on nature and then go on to violate His own laws. What would be the use of making them if they are to be so easily set aside ?"

"I dinna ken, sir, what God may do, or what He winna do," said the Scot, very reverently. "But I don't regard a miracle to be a violation o' the laws o' nature; there is nae violation o' the laws o' nature, or rather the laws o' God, that I ken, save the wicked actions o' wicked men."

"And what, then," asked he, "do you make a miracle to be ?"

"I regard it to be merely such an interference wi' the established course o' things as infallibly shows us the presence and the action o' a supernatural power. What o'clock is it wi' you, sir, if you please?"

Is there a better illustration of a miracle than this of the old Scotchman? Looked at rightly, there need be no difficulty about this matter of miracles which so many rationalizing people so coolly assert is so beyond belief as to be unworthy of a thought.

VARIETIES OF THE SILKWORM.

THE order of Lepidoptera, or "Scale-winged" insects, is widely spread, and includes numerous genera and species. In general terms it may be said to include the butterflies and moths; the most obvious distinction between them being that the moths fly chiefly by night, and the butterflies by day. With few exceptions, these insects in their last and perfect state are remarkable for their manifold and brilliant colors, beauty of form and rapidity of flight. But before reaching their perfect state they all undergo three complete transformations. They emerge from the egg as caterpillars; then change into the chrysalis or pupa state, in which, however, may be discerned the rudiments of all the organs which are developed in its complete form of butterfly or moth.

The number of species of caterpillars is almost beyond counting. It has been said that there is a different variety for every kind of plant. This is, perhaps, an exaggeration; but it is true that only a certain number of vegetables suit a particular variety of caterpillars. In the limited district of New England alone, nowise remarkable for its variety of vegetation, naturalists have distinguished more than six hundred species, and it is not at all probable that the list has been exhausted.

The particular genus of moths with which we have here to do is that which produces silk, to which the generic name of Bombyx has been given. By far the greater part of the silk of commerce is produced by the Bombyx mori, "Mulberry Silkworm," so called because it feeds mainly upon the leaves of the mulberry-tree, being, it is said, the only insect which does so. The mulberry silkworm has been called "the dog of insects," because it has been domesticated from time immemorial, and has in consequence lost many of its original characteristics. "The moth of the silkworm," says an eminent European authority, "can no longer traverse the air nor even keep its hold upon the leaves of the mulberry-tree when the branches are agitated by the wind. It can no longer elude its enemies, nor even shelter itself under the leaves from the burning heat of the The female, always motionless, seems to be unconscious that she has wings at all; and the male does not fly, but merely flutters around its mate without ever leaving the

sun.

"Weel, sir," said the Scot, pulling a huge old timepiece from his pocket, "It is ane o'clock wi' me. I generally keep my watch a little forward, but I may have a special reason, the noo, for setting my watch by the railways, and so ye see I'm turning the hands of it round. Noo wad ye say that I hae violated the laws o' the watch? True I hae done what watchdom wi' a' its laws could not hae done for itself, but I hae done violence to nane o' its laws. My action is only the interference o' a superior intelligence for a suitable end. But I hae suspended nae law, violated nae law. Weel, then, instead of the watch, say the universe; instead o' the moving o' the hands, say God acting worthily o' himsel', and ye hae a' that I contended for in a miraclethat is, the unquestionable presence o' a mighty hand work

tion is not universal; for we are told by competent American authority that "while the females are inactive, the males fly swiftly in the evening, and sometimes by day." To whatever extent it has, in domestication through generations, lost its power of flight, its structure shows that in the wild state it possessed this in no inconsiderable degree; and M. Charles Martin has proved by experiment that even the sluggish European silk-moths, which are reared under cover, will, when reared in the open air, in three generations regain the power of flight. But the domesticated silkworm is one of the most delicate of creatures. With all the care bestowed upon them they are liable to perish from slight changes of weather, from dampness, foul air, or from unwholesome feeding. They are also subject to many diseases, principal among which is one occasioned by

QUEEN MATILDA OF ENGLAND.

A STRANGE legend has been handed down by the old chroniclers respecting Matilda, the consort of William the Conqueror. She was the daughter of Baldwin of Flanders, and was held to be the fairest princess in Christendom. Among her numerous suitors was her cousin, William of Normandy; but she had given her affections to Brihtric, ambasssador at her father's court from the King of England. But the Saxon was fickle, and one day the princess received a cold letter from him, announcing that he was on the point of returning to England, and inclosing a ring which she had given him in token of her love. Roused to i indignation, Matilda announced to her father and his court that she had resolved to accept the suit, which she had just rejected, of William of Normandy, who was now on his way home. Lanfranc, an ecclesiastic who in time was to become the famous Archbishop of Canterbury, was sent to overtake William and inform him of the new decision of the prin

cess.

Lanfranc found William on board of a vessel, in which he was on the point of setting sail for Normandy. "I bring you," he said. "word from the Lady Matilda, and am bidden to announce the conditions

slow and measured tones, "that this which you have taken is no common oath, from the performance of which you might, perhaps, be absolved. You have sworn not merely upon the Holy Evangelists, but upon the very body and blood of our Blessed Lord. Should you fail, when called upon to perform this oath, no prayers or penance can save your forsworn soul from eternal perdition."

As he spoke he opened the sacred volume, and from a recess in its cover, under the cross, he drew forth a small golden and jeweled case; opening this, there was seen a consecrated wafer, so small as to be scarcely visible. But in this, as men believed, was embodied the entire body and blood, the humanity and divinity, of the Redeemer.

The marriage was duly celebrated, and Matilda became Duchess of Normandy. Nearly a score of years passed.

upon which she consents to become your wife. If you do not accede to them, she will at once enter the cloister. The conditions, to which you must solemnly swear, are: First, You shall never relinquish your claim to the throne of England, upon the death of King Edward; Second, When you come to be King of England you shall give her the absolute power of life or death over that one of your English subjects whom she shall name."

"I so promise, and thereto will give my oath," said William.

From the folds of his serge robe Lanfranc drew a copy of the Sacred Evangelists, upon the cover of which was a golden cross. "You must swear," he said, "upon this most holy record."

The Duke, with trembling lips, repeated the words of the oath.

"Know now, William of Normandy," said Lanfranc, in

Edward, King of England, styled the Confessor, died. Harold, son of Earl Godwin, to whom Edward had bequeathed the crown, to the exclusion of the legitimate heir, the young and feeble Edgar Athelingwas proclaimed King by the assembled thanes and the citizens of London. William of Normandy, though of illegitimate birth, claimed the crown of England through Emma, sister of his grandfather and mother of Edward the Confessor. He

also alleged that Edward had promised the crown to him before bequeathing it to Harold.

William needed no oath to hold him to the prosecution of his claims upon the English Crown. As it happened, a year before the death of Edward, Harold was shipwrecked on the coast of France, and made prisoner by Earl Guy of Ponthieu, who delivered him over to William of Normandy. Harold was detained until he had taken a solemn oath to support the pretensions of William to the crown of England upon the death of Edward. William invaded England, and the issue between him and Harold was decided at the battle of Hastings, fought September 25th, 1066; and on Christmas-day following, William the Conqueror was crowned in Westminster Abbey.

A few days after the coronation, Lanfranc stood before William.

"I am come," said he, "at the bidding of Matilda, your

age of twenty-eight, I am a wreck, body and mind. You led me to drink. In this room I formed the habit that has been my ruin. Now, sell me a few glasses more, and your work will be done! I shall soon be out of the way-there is no hope for me. But they can be saved. Do not sell it to them. Sell to me and let me die, and the world will be rid of me; but for Heaven's sake sell no more to them !" The landlord listened, pale and trembling. Setting down the decanter, he exclaimed: "God help me; this is the last drop I will ever sell to any one !" And he kept his word.

A YOUNG man entered the barroom of a village tavern and called for a drink. "No," said the landlord; "you have had delirium tremens once, and I cannot sell you any more." He stepped aside to make room for a couple of young men who had just entered, and the landlord waited upon them very politely. The other had stood by silently and sullen, and, when they finished, he walked up to the landlord and thus addressed him :

"Six years ago, at their age, I stood where those young men are now-I was a man of fair prospects. Now, at the

FROM time immemorial the vail has been an indispensable article of dress among ladies in the East, at least when they were likely to come into the presence of strangers. Thus, when Rebekah was about to meet Isaac for the first time, "She lighted off the camel, took a vail, and covered herself." Sometimes these must have been as voluminous as are those worn by widows among us; for we are told that the vail of Ruth held "six measures of barley." The word measures is not in the original; and we are left in doubt as to the real quantity. If, as is probable, it was so many pecks, we may well wonder that Boaz should have allowed the young woman to carry it all the way from the field to the city. If it was some smaller measure, the rich Boaz seems scarcely warranted in saying to her, as he made the present, 'Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law." Sometimes the Hebrew vails must have been as transparent as the lace or gauze fabrics of our times; for the enamored