"I know it isn't a very good one, but it is so handy, and just fits here. Nobody will see it up here, and it is too much trouble to get another." "Don't put it in. Take time to send for another. That stone won't stand the weather, and when it falls the whole building will be damaged." "I guess not. It won't hurt us, so here goes." Then he lifted the stone into its place, poor, and loose-grained, and flakey as it was, covered it over with mortar, and went on with his work. Nobody could see the stone, and none knew of its worthlessness but the two masons, and the church was finished and accepted. But time and the weather did their work, and soon it began to flake and crumble. Every rain-storm and every hot, sultry day helped its decay, and it soon crumbled away. But that was not all, nor the worst. The loss of the stone weakened the wall, and soon a great beam which it should have supported sunk into the cavity, a crack appeared in the roof, and the rain soon made sad havoc with ceiling and fresco; so a new roof and ceiling, and expensive repairs, were the result of one poor stone being put in the place of a good one. Each one of us, young or old, is building a structure for himself. The structure is our character, and every act of our lives is a stone in the building. Don't work in poor stones. Every mean action, every wrong act or impure word, will show itself in your after life, though it may pass unnoticed at first. Let every act and word of every day be pure and right, and your character will stand the test of any time. A MORNING'S WALK IN A COUNTRY LANE. It is pleasing, during the bright summer time, to rise early and, if our lot is so cast, to stroll into the country lanes and breathe the pure air of heaven, inhale the sweet scent of the hay, and gaze upon God's beautiful creation around us, and, if possible, learn some of the many lessons which even a tiny flower or a feeble insect may be able to teach us. One Monday morning during the last summer, when staying in Hampshire, we had such a walk, the memory of which, and its profitable lessons, are still fresh upon our minds. Leaving the town where we were staying, we quickly found ourselves between the hedgerows, and our first impulse was to turn at once into the green fields, but another feeling led us to keep to the lane. Was that change of plan the result of chance? Nay; the great Ruler of all things, who guides the flight of a sparrow, as surely orders the footsteps of His children. John Knox had a usual seat at his table, with his back to the window. A sudden impulse led him to take another seat. That night the assassin's bullet came through the window, and but for an overruling Providence, Knox would have lost his life.