Moabites and Edomites (2 Sam. viii. 2, this out, thought he would charge his 14). Out of Jacob shall come, etc. An- stingy neighbor for the smell of his other reference to the royal race of Is- eels. So, making out his bill, he prerael, but absolutely fulfilled only in Christ, whose enemies shall be made His footstool. (Heb. x. 13).

sented it to Kisaburo, who seemed to be much pleased. He called to his wife to bring his iron-bound money box, Balaam himself subsequently became which was done. Emptying out the an enemy and fell a victim to the power shining mass of kobans (oval gold of Israel. He was slain because he had pieces, worth five or six dollars), ichi bu counseled the Midianitish women to and ni-bu (square silver pieces, worth a seduce the Israelites to commit idolatry, quarter and a half dollar respectively), as the only way of effecting their de- he jingled the coins at a great rate, and struction (Num. xxi. 16). In conse- then, touching the eel-man's bill with quence of this counsel a destructive his fan, bowed low, and said, with a plague had broken out in Israel (Num. xxvi. 1). Thus Balaam became in fact the destroyer of the people, which is what his name signifies. The idea of injuring people by seducing them to sin is what is meant by the doctrine of Balaam (Rev. "Why, yes, I have paid you. You ii. 14); and this is the only way in which have charged me for the smell of your the wicked can ever seriously hurt the eels, and I have paid you with the sound righteous. Balaam could effect nothing of my money."-Prof. Griffis "Japanese Fairy World."

by cursing Israel, but he could bring evil upon them by leading them to commit sin. Our worst enemies are the se who would corrupt our religion and morals.

Smells and Jingles.

A JAPANESE STORY WITH A MORAL.

smile:

"All right, neighbor Kichibei, we are square now.'

What!" cried the eel-frier," are you not going to pay me?"

AT NIGHT.-Here is one of Thackeray's pleasant touches: "It is night now; and here is home. Gathered under the quiet roof, elders and children lie alike at rest. In the midst of a great pace and calm the stars look out from the heavens. The silence is peopled with the past; sorrowful remorses Yedo people are very fond of broiled for sins and short-comings, memories of eels. A rich merchant, named Kisa- passionate joys and griefs rise out of buro, who was very miserly with his their graves, both now alike calm and money, once moved his quarters next sad. Eyes, as I shut mine, look at me door to the sbop of one Kichibei, who that have long ceased to shine. The caught and cooked eels for a living. town and the landscape sleep under the During the night Mr. Kichibei caught starlight, wreathed in the autumn mists. his stock in trade, and in the day-time Twinkling among the houses, a light served them, smoking hot, to his cus- keeps watch here and there, in what may tomers. Cut into pieces three or four be a sick chamber or two. The clock inches long, they were laid to sizzle on tolls sweetly in the silent air. Here is a grid-iron over red hot charcoal, which night and rest. An awful sense of was kept in a glow by constant fanning. thanks makes the heart swell, and the Kisaburo, wishing to save money, and head bow, and I pass to my room through having a strong imagination, daily took the sleeping house, and feel as though his sest at meal time close to his neigh- a hushed blessing were upon it.” bor's door. Eating his boiled rice, and snuffing in the odors of the broiled eels as they were wafted in, he enjoyed with his nose what he would not pay for to put in his mouth. In this way, as he flattered himself, he saved much money, and his strong box grew daily heavier. Kichibei, the eel-broiler, on finding you.

THE greater your wants, the greater God's goodness in supplying them; the greater your enemies, the greater the display of God's power in subduing them; and the greater your unworthiness, the greater his grace in saving

The Guardian.

VOL. XXXII.

A Parting Greeting.

DECEMBER, 1881.

In January, 1867, I accepted the editorship of the Guardian. At the same began the publication of the Reformirte Hausfreund, a bi-weekly German paper, in the interest of the Pennsylvania German membership of the Reformed Church. I also assumed the editorship of the latter, for which 1 then, as now, felt poorly qualified. A sheer sense of duty impelled me to undertake it. There was a pressing demand for the publication, and no one else seemed willing to undertake it. Thus it happened, contrary to any previous expectations, at the earnest solicitation of a number of our best ministers, among whom was Dr. Harbaugh, that I became the publisher and editor of a German periodical, and till the present have continued to be such. Besides editing an English monthly and a German bi-weekly, I then was the pastor of the large First Church of Reading, and in December, 1872, became pastor of my present flock. This, too, has grown to become a large congregation. In looking back over the way along which the Lord our God has led me these fifteen years, my heart and my eyes fill up. To have charge of three such interests is no light matter. I have served in weakness but in sincerity. I pray God to forgive my failings, and beg my friends to forgive the imperfections of my services.

NO. 12.

then. My health is vigorous, God be praised. Still advancing years admonish me to lighten my burdens, and as it is easier to find an editor for the Guardian than for the Hausfreund, I withdraw from the former.

Fifteen years of editorial care and labor for a publication like this, endear it to one's heart. Though personally unknown to many of its readers, one acquires the habit of thinking of them as friends, closely allied to him with tender ties of mutual affection, to whom you owe solemn duties of head and heart, and who have a kindly sympathy for you. I gratefully call to mind the many words of kindly appreciation from readers and periodical exchanges, accorded the Guardian during my editorial labors. I thankfully think of the patient and perplexed printers, to whom my erasures and interlinings must often have given a world of trouble; and of the obliging printing firm of Grant, Faires & Rodgers. During these fifteen years I have not visited their office once, but communicated solely by correspondence. This firm printed the Guardian more than fifty miles away from its editor, with such accuracy, despatch, and uniform courtesy, that my heart prompts me to make this public acknowledgment. My kind wishes shall attend the dear Guardian in the future. May it long continue to bless and cheer the young. Although no longer an editorial contributor, I Through all these years the Guardian hope, as time and occasion may permit, gave me much pleasure. I wove into now and then to furnish something for its texture my heart's warmest sympa- its pages. It affords me pleasure to rethies, my mind's purest thoughts. And port that it now has a larger subscripoften in writing for it have I felt the tion list than at any previous period of touches of the warm throbbings and its history. In 1875 a Sunday-school fresh glow of the young, in whose be- Lesson department was added to it, half I labored. I love the young now to which its increased circulation is no less than fifteen years ago. I am largely owing.

as much in sympathy with them now as I part, editorially, from the Guardian

with feelings of sadness, not unlike those
of a personal bereavement; as though one
very near to my heart were about to be
taken out of my sight. Yet this feeling
is materially mollified by the assurance
that my successor in office is one of its
faithful and long-tried friends. I take
great pleasure in introducing to the
readers and patrons of this magazine, Dr.
J. H. Dubbs, who is not unknown to its
readers. His busy and able pen has
often enriched its pages. His appoint-
ment by the Board of Publication is a
guarantee that the Guardian, as from
its first number, published thirty-two
years ago, shall continue to breathe the
spirit of Life, Light, and Love. I feel
convinced that he is in hearty sympathy
with his work and with the people whom
he is to serve, and bespeak for him the
same kindly support which has been so
generously accorded to me. May God
abundantly bless the readers aud pa-
trons of the Guardian, and him too, into
whose hands I hereby place its editorial
management.
B. BAUSMAN.

A Notice To Our Exchanges.

We hereby notify all the exchanges of the Guardian, to change the address of the magazine from Reading to Lancaster, Pa., after January 1, 1882.

The Sapling and the Oak.

BY S. E. DUBBS.

"I have planted four saplings in these woods and I must leave them to your care.' -Dying words of Garfield's father to his mother.

that strong men wept, and women wailed in uncontrollable sympathy.

With the heroic courage born of her puritanic faith and lineage Eliza Garfield then and there consecrated all her powers to the assumption of those responsibilities a dying husband bequeathed to her in firm faith of her abilities. And what a golden picture for the world's example is held up to us in her methodic combination of labor and intellect; what a panorama of moral influence emanates from that humble cottage in the Cuyahoga wilderness! That Christian mother makes the hearthstone of home a resounding sphere of the uses and heroisms of life.

When the cattle had been housed, the wood stored and the frugal meal partaken of, that mother, though cut off from all communication with intellectual communities of the day, and wearied by incessant toil, indefatigably labored to introduce her children within the arena of books and soul knowledge. "In the morning she sowed her seed; and in the evening withheld not her hand."

For daily bread her children toiled with willing hands, guiding the plow, swinging the axe and scythe, hoeing corn and gathering the potato and the nuts for winter use; while James, our hero, with mechanical skill guides the chisel and the gimlet, and puts the hinges on many a door+for, says a late writer, "There was not a lazy bone in his body, and he possessed all the boyish enthusiasm that often makes the whole world seem attainable."

of Napoleon," "Life of Marion," or that source of endless comfort—the Bible.

Until they were full-fledged readers themselves, every night that loyal mother overhauls her scanty library, and reads with her own lips to the little audiOn the Western plains of a but part-ence of four, some incident in the "Life ly cleared wilderness, amidst pioneer scenes, the mass of the settlers had gathered by the open grave of a comrade. The suddenly bereaved widow and four children stood weeping over the remains of a late strong, athletic husband and father. The subdued grief of the mourners was broken by the youngest of the band-a mere babe in the arms of his maternal uncle, mustering all his infantile strength in wild calls for "Papa, papa! Wake up!" So pathetic was the action of the child,

Through much heroic endurance and many self-denials the Orange homestead can hold its own, under that noble woman's guidance until the pliant "saplings" have their twigs bent and the tough young oaks spread their firm branches in the breeze of heaven! Childhood is past, and the energetic youth feels his blood bounding for enlarged fields for an expansive intellect.