nances showed that the cares of a family were weighing upon them, met as they were engaged in wheeling their barrows. "Give me a pinch of tobacco to fill my pipe!" one man said to his comrade; " it's about the only solace a poor man has in these days of want and scarcity. These are hard times indeed; I can scarcely believe that there is a God in heaven!"
But the other replied: "Hold your tongue! Your complaints will not mend matters! You just look at me! I have a sick wife and seven children, and they have all to be supported by the labor of my hands! The bread doesn't go very far in filling their mouths, and my heart is often heavy when I look round on them all. But do you know what sustains and supports me? I have been married for seventeen years, and God has never forsaken me; His hand will not be shortened in years to come, and He will never cease to help me; for Providence watches over us!"
3. "O what an excellent lesson is this in simplicity and pious trust in God," I reflected; "how suitable, and practical a subject has been chosen!" Providence watches over us! Frequently have I heard these consoling words, but never did they seem so impressive as upon this occasion, when I heard them uttered by a father who had an invalid wife and seven children, and in these hard times had only his scanty earnings, wherewith to furnish them with daily bread, and whose confidence in God never wavered for an instant in spite of everything.
4. Providence watches over us ! How does this thought bring comfort to the heart of him who is overtaken by misfortune. But where is confidence in God to be found in this unbelieving
