The subject for April will be, "Who are they that will Stand Perfect in the Day of Judgment?" and the prize to be given for the best Essay on that subject, a copy of "The Life of John Newton." All competitors must give a guarantee that they are under fifteen years of age, and that the Essay is their own composition, or the papers will be passed over, as the Editor cannot undertake to write for this necessary information. Papers must be sent direct to the Editor, Mr. T. Hull, 117, High Street, Hastings, by the first of March.] "LET NO MAN DESPISE THEE." Does the injunction to Timothy and Titus respectively--"Let no man less despise thy youth," and "Let no man despise thee"--give any sanction to self-assertiveness? Let it not be thought so. Am I eccentric for the sake of eccentricity, or for the sake of attracting notoriety? Am I tenacious of my own rights, while sublimely indifferent to the rights of others? Do I try to pass myself off for better, wiser, richer, or nobler than I am? Then I deserve to be despised. But if, in the vindication of unpalatable truth, or in the steadfast and unostentatious discharge of duty, I encounter scorn, be scorn my portion. The sum of the matter seems to me to be this--While, on the one hand, I must be willing, for conscience' sake, to endure reproach, opposition, buffeting, and contempt, I must be equally concerned, on the other, to avoid every questionable act or thing that, with any show of reason, may cause me to be despised, and may thus materially mar my influence for good. Herein does the poet of the "Night Thoughts" hit the mark--"Revere thyself, and yet thyself despise." Let self be "of no reputation," but, at the same time, do thou faithfully and prayerfully pursue intrinsic worth, and let not "a good name" be of no account in thy regard. THOMSON SHARP. EGOTISM and self-assertion are unamiable traits. Interesting Items. A CORRESPONDENT of the _Echo_ calls attention to the fact that, at Dr. Lee's church, in the New Cut, on Sunday night, January 1st, the _Te Deum_ was sung in thanksgiving for the Papal Jubilee, and wishes to know what is to prevent it. "Nothing," replies the editor. ACCORDING to the _Charity Record_, the amount of money bequeathed in great sums for charitable purposes during the year just closed was more than £700,000; and if bequests under £1,000 be added, the total would at least reach £1,000,000. This is exclusive of the money given to several religious and book-publishing societies.