Year: 1861

A child was playing with somo building blocks
and as the mimic castle rose before his eyes in
graceful proportions, "A new pleasure swelled in
his heart. He felt himself TO be the creator of
ga thing of beauty" and was conscious of new
born power Arch, wall, buttress, gateway,
drawbridge, lofty tower and battement, were all
the work of his hands. He was in wonder of his
own skill in thus creating, from an unseemly pile
of blocks structure of such rare design.
Silently he stood and gazed upon his castle
with something of the pride of an architect who
sees, after months and years of skllfuliy applied
labor, some grand conception in his art embodied
in his imperishable stone. Then he moved around,
viewing it on every side 1t did not seem to him
q toy, reaching only few inches in hight, and
covering but square foot OF ground but real
castle, itself hundreds of feet upward to the blue
sky, and spreading wide upon the earth its ample
foundations. AS the idea grew more and more
perfect, his strange pleasure increased. Now he
stood with folded arms, wrapped in the over
mastering ilusion-nOw walked slowly around,
viewing the structure on all sides and noting
every minute particular, and now sat down, and
bent over il with the fondness of a mother bend
ing over her child. Again he arose, purposlng
to obtain another and more distinctive view OF
his work. But his foot struck against one OF the
buttresses, and instantly with crash, wall, tower
and battlement fell in hopeless ruin.


In the room, with the boy, sat his father, read
ing. The crash disturbed him and he uttered
a sharp, angry rebuke ; gianolng for moment,
towards the startled child aud then returning
his eyes to the attractive pages before him, unc0n-
cious OF the shadow he had cast upon the heart OF
his child. Tears came into those fair blue orbs,
dancing in light moment before. From the
frownng face of his father, to which his glanc e
was suddenly turned, the child looked back to
the shapeless ruins of his castle. Is it any wonder
that he bowed his face in silence upon them and
wet them with his tears?


For more than five minutes he sat still, as II
sleeping then in mOurnful kind of way yet
almost noiselessly, he commenced restoring to
the box, from which he had taken them, the many
shaped pieces that hty joined together, had
grown into noble building. After the box was
filled, he replaced the cover, and laid 1t carefully
upon shelf In the closet.


Poor child That shadow was deep one,
and long in passing away. His mother found
him half an hour afterwards, asleep on the fi0or,
with checks flushed to an unusual brightness
She knew nothing of that troubled passage in his
young life and the father had forgotten, in the
attractions of the book he read, the momentary
annoyances expressed in the words and tone. with
a power in them to shadow the heart OF his child


A young wife had busted herself for many days
in preparing pleasant surprise for her husband
The work was finished at last, and now she await
ed his return, with heart full Of warm emotions.
A dressing gown and pair of elegantly embrod
cred slippers wrought by her own skillfui fingers,
we're the gifts with which she meant to delight
him.


What troop of pleasure fancies was in her
heart How almost impatiently did she wait for
the coming twilight, which was to be dawn, not
approaching darkness, to her!


At last she heard the step OF her husband In
the passage, and her pulses leaped with Halter
ing delight. Like bird upon the wing, she
almost flew down to meet him, impatient for the
kiss that awaited her.


To meet in the world OF business, few days
without their disappOintments aud perplexities.
IL il mems business to bear this in manly spirit,
They form but a portion Of life's discipline, and
should make them stronger, Drawer, and more
enduring. Unwisely, aud we may say, unjustly
too many men fail to leave their business cares
and troubles in their stores, workshops or count
ing rooms, at the days decline. They wrap them
in bundles and carry them and shadow their
household


IL was so with my young husband on this par
tcular occasion. The stream of business had
taken an eddying whrl and throw bis vessel
backwards, instead of onwards, for brlef space
aud though il was still in the current ana glid'
ing safely onward against II, the jar and dlsap-
pointment had retted his mind severely. There
was no heart ia the kiss he gave his wife, and
because he had let care OVershadOw love- lie
drew his arm around her but she was conscious
of diminished pressure in that embracing arm
" Are you not well? 7"


| With what tender concern was this question
asked!


"Very we'll"


He might be in body, but not in mind that
was plain for his voice was far from being
cheerful.


She played and sang her fayorite pieces, hop