are foremost in foshibn, but by observing those persons for whom you have the most renl reHpect, WhBtevM mny be the clMs of society to which you belong, you can discern, within the limits of your sphere, the contre.et between the dress of the shallow the frivolous, nnd vain, and the dress of the thoughtful, the humble, and the worthy'. Pctor gives an idea of the standard' of taste, in 1 Pet, iii. 3-5. III. A CHRISTIAN SHOULD DRF'.83 BUJTABLY TO THE SPHERE m LIFE WHICH SHE O1'0UPIEB, AND THFJ CLASS OF 80CI1':TY TO W'RTOH SHE BELONGS, If you do not act thus, rou make yourself a caricature ; you must be a hypocrite, trying to deceive people into the 1dcn that you are what you know that you are not. Most people easily read the disguise, and put a low estimate on the persons who foolishly resort to it. We honour the men and women who bravely say, "My sphere in life may be humble, but it is honest, and therefore it.is'honourable. , I am· not ashamed to dress according to it. I can occupy my place, and look just myself, with the smile of God, and the approbation of all good men, upon me." Let servants dress as ~ervants, maidens as maidens, married women as married, and the aged as aged. Each to herself be true. IV. A CHRISTIAN SHOULD DRESS BO AS TO SERVE GoD BY HER DRESS. Our dress has an influence on others---on those in our station, on those in classes of society below us, and on ,the ch,i!dren '\:VO meet. '.l'his mode of influence is to be laid in service on the Lord's altar. Two points may be impressed from these considerations. 1. Dress reveals character. 'fhisis true of the character of each individual,. We often take our notions of a person from her dress. Carelessness, untidiness, and -uncleanliness, things which are very ·nearly akin to ungodliness, ai:e revealed only by looking at some, s~ed, well-dressed people. Self-conceit, passion, and temper are exhibited in others. Some- times we see 'persons of whom we think very pityingly. Poor creatures! There is little inside the coxy dress but vanity, pride, and worlciliness. And others as certainly tells us of the inward modesty• the delicacy, seriousness, refinement of their souls. Burns sings-:- " Oh, we.d some poo'er the giftie r,e ua, To see o'orsels as ithers see us I ' And many of ·i.uf have longed for the courage to tell others around us the impression which their dress .was making upon us, • If the looking-glass could speak, what sur- prising revelations it would make ! It is true e.lso of nations ; dress is characteristic. It is true of towns and districts in our own land. In some parts of our country, where wages a.re goC>d, and imitation. finery is cheap, we find sharp contrasts of colour, co=onness of material, ,rude ,bold shapes, and overloading of tinsel In other parts where work is concerned with the_, more necessary articles required for man's use, the taste is sober, the que.lity good, and ornamentation refined. 2. Dress cultures characte1·. A woman .feels right when ~he is well dressed, and in a sense is kept right by her dresB. The beautiful_ in appearance wants the beautiful in conduct to match it. Plato says, "Behav_iour, _and not gold, is the ornament of woman. For a woman who wishes to enjoy the favour of one man, good behaviour is the proper ornament, and not dresses. You should have the' '!?lush upon your countenance, which is the sign of modesty, instel).d C>f paint,, ~nd ,worth and sobriety instead of gold and emerald.s."-R. T. Yers. 25, 26 ....:....Natiqnal evil in the lo~s of male population. The destruction of the males in war is.the cause of the extreme grief and helpless desolation of womanhood. The figure is intense when read in the light of the condition of unprotected woman in Ea.stern countries, ,1' In the East of antiquity, as in many Eastern lands to this day, the position of an unmarried woman, whether maid or widow, was a very unhappy and perilous one. Only in the house of a husband could a woman be sure of respect and protection. Henco the Hebrews spoke of the husband's house as a woman's menu- chah, or 'rest'- her secure and happy asylum from servitude, neglect, licence" (S. Cox). In the verses before us the effect of the slaughter of the males on tho com- munity is described. The chief places of concourse are full of desolate, wailing women; !.nd th~ ~tata or nation is then personified ns a desolate widow seated on the ground, a si«n both of. mourning and degradation. For illust,ration of tho figure, seo Vcspasian's cJu, .The devico on it is a woman, llisconsolato, in a sitting posture, leaning against a palm tree, nnd the legend ill "Jud11Ja capta." A! a JPl'licrn illustration take th! 88 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. [CH, IV, 1--6.
calamity which ~e_upon France through the series of revolutionary and Napoleonio wars. The conscnpt10n swept off the males; the age for soldiers, and standard height, were again and aga.in reduced, until even the nation's youths were destroyed; and it hns taken years to recover the national strength. I. A N~TION's _STRONG MEN_ ARE HER PRESENT JOY. They work well in the factory. They advise well m the council. They ensure healthy and strong populations. II. A NATION'S STRONG MEN ARE HER DEFENCE. They ensure her respect abroad. They preserve her when att~cked. They keep off disease by their vitality. III. A NATION'S STRONG MEN ARE HER HOPE FOR THE FUTURE, They put strength into government, art, science, literature, labour. Health is energy. A nation's hope lies in this being the dC!'cription of her sons--mens sana in corpore sano. 'fhen what a national calamity war is I It takes a nation's manhood. We may well" seek peace and ensue it," for it keeps our manhood.-R. T.