He that is wise will not in haste decide, But look and think before believing aught; Then, having long reflected, will confide To no breast but his own his finished thought, Until experience warrants every jot. Man! Suffer not thy soul to yield to pride Of intellect. Small is thy mortal lot Of wisdom. Others seek the truth beside Thyself. Behold aloft in air there fly Fowls diverse all in nature, strength of wing And keenness: even so the men who hie On the soul's quests. In genius differing, They all some twinkling sparks of truth may see, But the whole flaming round is hid from them and thee. III. Thou who in folly thinkest Heaven's King Has sent thee into this fair world to gain As many guineas as, with toil and pain, In threescore years thine avarice can wring From poorer men, be warned! With tiger-spring Fell death will leap upon your life amain And rive you from your opulence, though fain To tarry. Then the jovial heir will fling To the four winds of heaven thy gathered hoard In flaunting joys and unrestricted glee, While costly dishes glitter on the board And the wine flows in ruddy runnels free. Thou, meanwhile, in the shady realms below A bloodless ghost, wilt wander to and fro. IV. I. Though lilies on their graceful stalk Droop, fade, and die, Earth's still renewing forces mock Death's cruelty. II. For roots and seeds within the mould Will thrust again Their sheathed beauties manifold Up to the plain. III. Though flowery hopes of dazzling gleam Wither and die, New hopes in the soul's garden teem Unceasingly. V. O Lord of light, disperse my baffling fears, Give me a look but for a moment's space Upon the tranquil glory of Thy face, To serve as force to fight the chilling years. Clouds hide Thee from me, and the bitter tears Run down my cheek in floods. Out of Thy grace Let my heart's chamber be a dwelling-place For Thee. Come for a little space. Mine ears Strain for the hearing of a word divine Straight from Thy holy lips. No single task Can I at all accomplish or design Without the full assurance that I ask This, namely, that my soul is one with Thee, And Thou dost work Thy purposes by me. THE CHRISTIAN BRETHREN. It would be well-spent labour if some sympathetic historian could find time to write a short account of the Plymouth Brethren, giving details of the origin, tenets, divisions, and influence of the sect. I am surprised that Mr. Barrie in his notable excursions into Scotch life and religion, has never portrayed such a fine specimen of the working-man turned theologian.