INTRODUCTION. T is related that many lives were lost on the sad occasion of the sinking of the Princess Alice, because ropes which were thrown out to the poor drowning people, and by which many hoped to be saved, proved unable to bear the strain, so that they fell back again into the water and perished. May we not hence draw a lesson? Most people have some sort of hope that they will be saved. But in too many cases it is to be feared that their hope is not well-founded, and that they are depending upon that which will not bear the strain. Is it not wise, then, to examine our hope well beforehand, and so to make sure that it is a safe and true one |