EDITOR'S ADDRESS TO HIS YOUNG FRIENDS. DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS,-It is with a desire to be very grateful to God for His abundant mercy to us in sparing us, that we take our pen to write an introductory address to our Nineteenth Volume of the LITTLE GLEANER. How good and gracious of the Lord to have so long and so largely shown His mercy, power, and kindness to us in conducting this work-a work brought into existence in so much weakness, with so many fears, yet fervent desires, and amidst so many predictions of its death in early infancy. In spite of all our weakness and all our timidity, all the gloomy forebodings of friends, and perhaps evil wishes of enemies, the infant has gone on more or less thrivingly until it has reached the age of 18 volumes, and breathes with some health and vigour, and with sincere willingness to be useful on the morning of its entrance upon the first twelfth of its nineteenth volume. And what a mercy that the Lord has so helped us in our weakness, so pitied our infirmities, and so borne with our failings, as to have given us many proofs that He has granted His blessing to the moral and spiritual truths contained in our pages. Oh, may this year, with respect to matter, mode of expression, interest, circulation, and usefulness of our work, be the best that the GLEANER has yet seen. May all our dear friends show a lively interest in the GLEANER'S contents, and in the widening its spread, and may those who have ability to collect or write what shall convey important truths to the young in an interesting and pleasant style, feel it a privilege to lend us a helping hand! Long articles written in a dull and common-place manner will not do for a Magazine for the Young. Narratives with point, brevity, freshness, raciness of style, and clearness of meaning, suit the young. But, though this is true, we must never sacrifice truth and profit for time and for eternity at the shrine of mere prettiness and pleasure. Dear young friends, the GLEANER seeks to be more and more an interesting book, what you would, perhaps, call a "pretty" book; but it is not content with mere paint and trimming, it wants to profit you while it pleases you. It wants to tell you truth, only truth, truth that may be a moral benefit, and, above all, a spiritual blessing to you; and, because you are yet young, it wants to tell you that truth in the winning, pleasing style in which youth delights. Your old friend is no longer young, but he does not forget being so; and, as far as his young wishes and notions about a book were right, he wants that Vol. xix. of the GLEANER should be such a book as would have gratified his wishes before the hand of upgrown gravity and care had been pressed upon the rising, bounding, pleasurable aspirations of youthful days. Read, dear young friends, from month to month, the pages of the GLEANER with attention, and introduce it to all your friends, that for every ten circulated last year twenty may be circulated this year, and thus may twice as much good be done. And oh, may the Lord give such power with its pages that you may have to be thankful for God's blessing upon its contents to the latest breath you draw! One special work we should like to do this year is to publish once a quarter, beginning with Ladyday, a penny Sunday-school Class-book, containing a quarter's Sunday reading-lessons, with questions and references to Scriptures to an appropriate hymn in Clifton Hymnal, to be learnt by heart and sung in the Sunday-school. We want that these lessons shall contain a complete body of divinity, so that children who grow up instructed into them all would have a full outline of Scriptural divinity in their judgments. Will all our friends, especially Sunday-school teachers, give us orders? If sufficient should be ordered to pay the printing expenses between this and the middle of February, we shall feel justified in doing this (which we consider) deeply-needed work. The book would be sent postfree at the same rate as the GLEANER and SOWER, seven for 6d. Thus a subscription of 2s. would secure to any friend seven copies each quarter for four quarters. Only names are now requested, not payment, before the issue (D.V.) of the first number, in March. It is proposed that these books should be taken home by the children, therefore in many schools it would be well the children should pay at least a portion of their cost. They would then be required to prepare themselves for Sunday-school teaching, with the texts referred to, answers to the questions, and commit to memory the hymn named; thus this quarterly book would answer the purpose of a catechism, &c. It is of the utmost importance that the whole truth should be instilled into the minds of the young, to counteract the evil influence of the spreading leprosy of ritualism, and the gangrene of infidelity, that are so increasing in our land. We must not push our address forward until it squeezes out the full ears of corn gathered for our January bundle. We must, however, commend to the notice of our dear young friends our engraving of Pisgah Cottages, especially those who have so kindly helped us in this work of mercy. We trust, long before the year has passed away, should we be spared, that we shall have the great pleasure of entering beneath the roof of a Widows' Home, or Homes, the result of the bounty of our readers. Now, dear friends, ministers, superintendents, and teachers of schools-parents, youths, children --all the thousands who take an interest in our pages, receive our first bundle for 1872 with the New Year's salutations and hearty good wishes of THE EDITOR. BIBLE ENIGMA. AN instrument by which a man did prove An ornament that graced one Who long had been a rebel son; A tree in which a man was caught And would not forfeit for his honour's sake; EDITOR. |