the eagle, in these two passages which my children have repeated. The quotation from Isaiah serves to remind us that the believer does indeed partake in all the fullness of Christ: for, whatever he was, whatever he did, whatever he suffered in the flesh, all was for our sakes, that we might stand complete in him.

But how peculiar

ly beautiful is the passage that Jane has repeated from the song of Moses! Do you understand the meaning of that description?"

"Not exactly, Mamma."

"The eagle, my dears, when her young ones are fully fledged for flight, cannot give them their first lessons as we see the smaller birds do to their little progeny, teaching them to hop from twig to twig, and by short flights to gain the ground. The eagle's nest is generally in the cleft of some lofty rock, often perpendicular; so that, on leaving it, nothing appears to break the descentno friendly tree extending its branches-no hedge or sloping bank-but a vast depth beneath, terminating in a foundation of hard rock; or, not unfrequently, in the sea, whose boisterous waves dash against it. This is a sad prospect for the young eagles, on first trying their tender pinions, and quitting the shelter of a warm nest. They

are loth to make the attempt; and the parent bird proceeds as you find it described in that passage. First she stirreth up her nest;' she rouses the young ones, and obliges them to climb to the verge of their dwellings, where they stand trembling at the wide expanse before them, until the mother, by a push, sends them tumbling from the height; when they are of course obliged to expand their wings, and to do their best in the way of flying."

66 The poor

little dears!" exclaimed the chil"their wings must soon fail them, and down they would drop."

dren,

"No: for the watchful mother fluttereth over her young,' and, with a powerful effort of her strong pinions, sweeps down below them. She then "spreadeth abroad her wings,' so as to catch them thereon-taketh them' as upon a safe resting-place, with only a little fluttering on their part to keep them steady-she beareth them on her wings,' sailing through the air, among the rocks, over the billows, until they get accustomed to these objects, and emboldened to shift for themselves."

Oh, how wonderful!" said Jane, beautiful!"

64 and how

"And how exactly it answers to the text of Scripture!" added her brother.

"Yes, my children; it is both wonderful and beautiful, and becomes more so, the more deeply we consider it. For the Lord doubtless thus formed, and endowed the eagle with so peculiar an instinct, to be a type of His own dealings with his family; and the eagle is one among his many witnesses, his countless messengers to heedless man. Consider a little the fitness of the comparison. When the child of God, raised from the death of trespasses and sins, and born anew of the Spirit, looks out upon that world through which lies his passage to eternal happiness, he sees little before him but dangers, enemies, and difficulties of various sorts. He must no longer remain in the dark and narrow cell of his natural state, but go forth to do the work of his heavenly Father, and press onward to the kingdom; and this he has no strength nor courage to attempt, until God, in his good providence, sets him forward on the way, with the cheering promise, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.' Then, the same power which had called him into a new and better existence, watches over him carefully; and when his heart fails through fear,

and his flesh through weariness, he finds the Lord a very present help, able and willing to bear the burden which faith casts upon Him. Thus the believer gains confidence from finding every prayer answered, and every want supplied he no longer fears the enemies that surround him, for he knows the Lord to be his helper; he shrinks from nothing to which duty calls him, because faith tells him he can do all things, through Christ, who strengtheneth him ;* and thus he attains by degrees to the blessed state mentioned in Edward's quotation-where, continually waiting on the Lord, he becomes like that powerful bird in its full growth, and mounts upward towards heaven. We will now take leave of the eagle, thankful that our view of him has not been unprofitable."

Jane then proceeded to gaze upon a collection of birds, the colors of whose plumage were most brilliant. "Now see if this does not put all painting to shame. Could any artist in the world shade like this? Stand where I will, there is some new and beautiful tint; and they melt so, one into another, that nobody can say where this ends, or where that begins. And then their

* Phil. 4: 13.

shapes-how elegant and graceful! and some with long, long feathers, sweeping down in such a beautiful curve! I could stand here all day, Mamma, to look at them."

"I believe you could, my dear; for certainly there is enough to admire in the plumage alone: but when we come to examine the difference that distinguishes each part of the species from the one next to it—when we mark the very slight, yet decisive, varieties of form and color, even within the very narrow space of this single shelf-we may well be lost in wondering contemplation, and wish that time were ours to examine every portion of God's amazing works. But, alas! my children, sin has entered into this glorious creation, casting a veil over our minds; so that we cannot comprehend either the Author or his work aright; and bringing a curse upon the earth, and filling us so full of all corruption, that the little span of our shortened lives is barely sufficient to acquaint us with what we need to know of our own state before God, and to seek the salvation of those within our reach. Adam, when holy and happy, was set to dress the garden of Eden, and to keep it; and no doubt it was a book to him, wherein to read the glory, and