THE ELDEST CHILD'S BIRTHDAY.

IF I knew, dear young friend, your exact age and circumstances, your station in life, how many brothers and sisters you have who are younger than yourself, and whether you loved the Saviour or no, I might be able to address you more pointedly than I can now do. My remarks must, of necessity, be somewhat general; but you should seek to make them more personal, by prayer and meditation.

You are the eldest child in the family. This is often reckoned a post of respectability, and is always one of responsibility. Would that the last was more considered than the first, but alas we have all naturally much pride, and little prudence; and young people, especially, are in danger of grasping at shadows and neglecting substance; of craving the homage of fellowcreatures, and neglecting to seek the approbation of God.

You are the first-born. Over you fond parents have lingered with delight, exulting in their new relationship, and invoking blessings upon your infant head. Your life has been spared a considerable number of years, while many younger than yourself have passed away into eternity. Consider on this your birthday, the great outlay of care and kindness, both divine and human,

of which you have been the subject, and ask whether you have sought to render to the Lord according to his benefits toward you. Do you remember your Creator in the days of your youth? Have the Saviour's gracious words, "I love them that love me, and they that seek me early shall find me," taken any effect upon you? or are you yet thoughtless and prayerless, without God, without hope, and under condemnation ? Your first, your grand concern should be, to be reconciled to God, and then you shall be adopted into God's family, and this will well prepare you to act your part in the family of which you are a member.

Your parents look for much from you. They have many cares and trials. You have helped to add to them; now help to bear them. Are you the eldest daughter?—be the companion and comforter of your mother, expect more pleasure in her society than in the society of any other. Shew those little attentions to your father which a tender female heart suggests, and which are so soothing to a toil-worn mind. Are you the eldest son?-let no companion usurp a mother's claims, and whatever connections are formed, be sure a good place is reserved in your heart for her. Respect father's authority, and ever make him your confidant and friend.

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Remember that you must assist to form the character, and mould the habits of your younger brothers and

sisters. Cherish affection towards them, and manifest it in every possible way. Do not stand aloof from their little pleasures, but try and give their minds a right direction. You will surely increase your own happiness, while you endeavour to make others happy, and if you are loving, you will surely be beloved.

Let your birthday be a time of serious inquiry into your conduct in this respect, and a time of earnest prayer to God, that he would guide you in the way everlasting.

THE BIRTHDAY OF THE ONLY CHILD. THIS is very frequently a grand day; especially if the parents of the loved one move in a respectable sphere of life. Friends are invited to commemorate the day, and considerable pains are taken to give effect to the celebration. In this there is frequently more folly than wisdom displayed, and more worldliness than religion, even among professedly religious people. Some persons who are niggardly in their charities, are sumptuous in their entertainments. If the money misspent upon only children even on their birthdays, leaving out all other days in the year, had been spent upon poor orphans, many a heart would have sung for joy. But the world will take its own course, and, alas! many professors of religion will imitate it. Turn away, O Lord,

our eyes from beholding vanity, and quicken us in thy

way.

How mysterious are the arrangements of Divine providence, and how sovereign its dispensations, as regards the gift of children. Some persons who are poor and afflicted have large and trying families; and others, who have abundance of property are without any children, or have an only one. God cannot do wrong. Let not the burdened ones murmur or repine at poverty and trials, but seek grace to train up their children for God. The riches of eternity are not withheld from them, and great will be the joy of those poor Christian parents who shall welcome their children among the living in Jerusalem. Let not those who are solitary be discontented, or if, like Hannah, they are of a sorrowful spirit, like her let them pour out their souls before God, and then, whether they receive a Samuel or not, they "shall go their way, and be no more sad."

But how intense sometimes is the love that twines around the one child. It may be, that it is the last survivor of several, and but a tender plant; or, perhaps, the sole remaining pledge of a dear union now broken. The stem whence the lovely bud sprung, has been transplanted to another world, and the fond heart clings around the image of the departed one. Parents, if the former supposition be true; or parent, if the latter, beware. Beware of an idol. Be very anxious

not to constrain God to send a worm to wither your gourd; or, worse still, beware lest your over-indulgence produce a crop of wild gourds, and there be "death in the pot," as regards both its existence and yours. In Ashbourne church there is the following inscription on a beautiful monument :

To PENELOPE,

Only child of SIR BROOK and SUSANNA BOOTH BY.
She was in form and intellect most exquisite.
The unfortunate parents confided their all to this frail bark,
And the wreck was total.

I was not in safety; neither had I rest,

Neither was I quiet,

And this trouble came.

If you, fond parent, would escape such a wreck, love your child subordinately to God. Seek grace to train it for eternity. As your earthly affections are centred here, let those affections be impregnated with heavenly principles. Love your child's soul most and first. Aim to engraft God's truth therein, and to attract your dear one to seek the immortality of glory which the gospel unfolds. Then will your solicitude be tempered by submission, and your earthly love be sublimated and refined. Abraham had but his Isaac, and never parent more tenderly loved a child; but he was willing to surrender him without a murmur at God's command; and he had trained him so well, that Isaac was nothing loathe to be laid upon God's altar.

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