:60 gamic eitttr. "I E STARLESS CROWN." NoTE.—Dear Mr. Mears :—lf the following lines have not appeared in your paper, you might like to publish them. A few weeks since they elicited the deepest interest at a morning prayer-meeting which -filled the gall of Repre sentatives in Springfield, Illinois. I pray that iheymaT inspire many of your readers to seek to save Souls, which shall be stars in their "gown of rejoicing.:' Yours, E. P. H. VBRNOiir OW. N•. AO' 2, 1866. " They that turn runny to righteousness shall shine its the stars forever and ever." DANIEL Xli. 3. Wearied and worn With earthly cares, I yielded to repose, I" `When soon before bay raptured sight a glorious vision rose.,-'; • I thought, while slumbering on my conch, in midnight''s Sdierntl 000 M. heiird'an angel's silvery voice, and radiance .. filled nip, room. A, ge,ntle touch awakened me, a gentle whisper said: '"Ariie, 0 sleeper,. follow m&;" .and though .the air welled. We left the earth, so far away that like a speck it seemed, Alid heavenly glory, calm and pure, scion our pathway streamed. . Still on we went—my soul was wrapt in silent ecstacy; ' • I wondered what the end would be, what next • , • 'shquld rueet,rnine eyp. I . knew not how we journeyed through the path •`'l4's§(fields' o fight; When Suddenly a; change) was. wrought and- I) &Ai 3%18.1'01nd in white. •, , -V,ire,stood upon a city's walls Copt glorious to behold Irorelihiigdithiongh gates of glittering pearls„ itreets of purest gold; . , needpd not the sun by gay, the silver moon' by night, 'The glory of the Lord WaS there, the Lainb' t). • Himself its light. *.• • Bright angels passed the shming"streets and music , filled the air, And f white-robed saints, with glittering crowns, from ; every clime were there. Auld Some that had laved on earth, stood with • theme round the throne. All worthy is the Lamb," they said, "the glory His alone." But fairer far than all beside, I saw my Se viourth face; And as I gazed, .I.e smiled on me with won drous love and grace. Lowly I bowed before throne. o'erjoyed that I; 'at lagt, ' 4111 ad gained the object o'f my hopes, that earth at: length was past. And then in solemn tones He said, " Where is the diadem, That ought to sparkle on. thy., brow adorned with many a gem? I 'know thon bast believed in 'Me, and life throiigh Me is thine: .But where are all those re.diantstars..,,that in thy crown should Shine? Tonder thou see'st a :glorionirthrong, with '- downs on every brow. • FOP•ellOr.V Soul lheyiledlo we, they wear a jewel, bright reWardrhad been, if such had beeirthfdded ; • if thou had'st sought some. andering sheep in , , . paths of peace to lead s ; , , • , £'l did not mean that thou shouldst tread the: way of-life alone.; tut thatthe clear and shining light which' round , ' 'thy I:mtliwaY Sh'one . • ," Should , guide some 'other wear:feet to My bright home of. rest, And thus, in blessing ,those around, thou had' st , " thyself been blessed." The vision faded from my sight, the• voice no longer spoke, A spell seemed. bropding o'er my ,soul which long,l feared. to break. , And when at last 1 - gazed"around in' morning's glimmering light, • ; • • • My spirit fell o'erwhelmed beneath that vision's awful night,, I rose and wept, with chastened joy, that Tet I dwelt below, That yet'AnOtlier hour was mine my faith by ' • wdrlt's•ti) show; That yet., some •-sinner I might tell of Jesus' dying love, And try to lead some weary soul to seek ,a home above. And no* while on the earth I stay, my motto this shall be, I'll live no longer , to myself but Him who, died q forme. And graven. on my inmotit soul, this word ot truth Alvinei They that turn many to the Lord, bright as the stars shall'shine," CLOVE'S--MAGICIAN, ` BY AUGUST BELL "Inti, minti, cuti, corn—there, Dick, it isn't fair to change places." iqt is, too:* I belOng here. Go ,ahead" Chglin, „that'll pale ; me r{lan fif you let 4 7um do,esP." amp t a., anti, por.n, apple seed, ,apple , thorn, wire, briar;:t 0, look!, there's an organman in the yard and .the monkey's jumping in \ at the 'window." , !And the children ran about the zoom shouting andaaughing, upsetting pp chairs, and ireading on the cat's 401. • ail', then, Ohm had sat reso lutely: in ;the.. corner, with, her fingers in her ears and her.forehead. all fretful 111 r d while , she studied away on hqr Sunday-school lesson. She was trying .to, learn (the. beatitudes, Blessecl.,are the meek Blessed are tihemeekir she repeatedlover and over, eating Lout Dtha4noitie about ~h er !ns iikilvistahe,cotadi but' when the tnon4 her :sprang/ uponi;the red Edsees , a indumnatleo 'giimacttst,' th* childrenis riot rosebeyondzdeiteriptioni andiVlove interrupted it shirply with' her voice. , • 0 "Do be quiet, children ; .you outbt tics be`ashanied) to act so. I shall just tell-motherohow naughty you are. so'' , cross,' Clove. There &beret a monk 4 come hardly ever" for us to See," said her little siSler, fiantly. "Well; you - needn't' make such a noina,about it," (Novo replied in a snappish toue < ' ' IvitiOrosa -Clove! ,She's rin cross as two:idieks,"zheuted Dick. and Charlie *thorns, and danced around her like punkt Indi an s.l tflahhed; and she lifted her hand as if grni=niCiiintt to box the nearest pair o f ears . "Pretty Sueday-e(hool scholar you are," added Dick, removing to a safe distance. Clove sprang after him, but failing to catch the little fellow, she stopped, and deliberately setting her'foot on a favorite toy of his, crushed it to atoms. "There!" she exclaimed, with hot anger burning in her face. Poor Clove! I think it is right to pity her and call her poor Clove— don't you?-for slie had let herself gradually become so vexed and wor ried, and now she had lost her temper and done an unkitid. — trinr - Peer Clove I Dick, whose tears were start ihg sight of ViOken Wind : mill,. was not so thoroughly cunhapu as she.., As, the children ; stood still in consternation, -she rushed out,.of . the room, meaning to find her. mother and to complain of her brothers and sisters. • Her mother was not in the house, nor in the zarden, where Clove went next.; but the little back,' gate was open,.and Clove went through it 'me chanically, with a- half idea' that, by following the path, she might find the one she. wanted. On she went, poor unhappy child, through!, , the ;green meadbws ands out into' a pasture-land, where :a few rods =before , her ,lay the woods. She .rnowr I don't be lieve, the minister christened you so. I guess your name isifititherine, and so they called you I,T4tty, and then Kitty Clover, and then Clove; fOr short. Wasn't that the way 'of it?" "I don't kn'ow, sir," answered Clove, -laughing. - By this time they had almost reached the woods; the huckleberry bushes and" the barberry bushes began to thicken about theta. The little brown man sprang lightly along; sometimes holding. out his hand - to - lelP,'CloVe over the' rough places; - and hi:S"' keen eyes wandered restlessly, abont, peer ing through the brushw - aoil and:around every rock, as if in search or some thing. For some minutes - a conviction had ,beengrowing in 'Clove'a mind that was a sort of elf, although ias larger than her Laity stories, had given 'her any reason; to "auppoSe. But he, was somebody l inysterious, at all: events, and perliaPs he was one of the :genii, taking, this ferm to' disarm suspicion. She deterthined to keeP her eyes wide open, and not lose a single hint. Still she could not Make out why he carried a pail, that looked so ,commonplace; but no doubt he had his.,reasons So she was thinking hu.-. iply away in her, own mind, when suddenly he criedi; 0, take care! But it is,ton late ; , what a P;iV-I n ; , 'what's the matter ?" exclaimed dlove quite frightened. you didn't see, where you yere, stepping, an d now -you have. trodden down a:betoltiftd.dumP ef:AlaP, violets." And ,as. she , Amoved, aside, :herstoppeds and , : touched the braised leavestcareseingly. -i,"Poor little things I" he said;, "poor; !little .Cucullata your day was short, but you must try to grow up again." Clove looked on with , ,very, large, ;round eyes. She had read of brownies,. and she„thought he :must be a sort of brown fairy, or he Mould not talk to flowers , /as if they mere people, and call them such Timer, names. "I never like to see bright little flowers stepped on," he said, as they walked along the path, again. And Po* , they entered the woods—the great trees , arched their • leafy' bOughs pro tediagly overhead, and‘the path grew intrieatoamong the laurelsand.young tree saplings. "How many kinds of flowers grow THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, JULY 19, 1864 about here ?" asked the little brown man. "I don't know. There are violets, honeysuckles and dog-flowers. That's all I know anything about." "0, my child," he said, pityingly, "how little you have seen. Now, what do you call this?" And bend ing down, he plucked a long, slender stem with lily-like leaves, and a deli cate pale yellow, bell-shaped blossom, nodding at the top, as if it was tired enough to go to sleep. "* . k don't know;‘4. - never noticed it before. How pretty!" And Clove took it admiringly. "That is one of the Noulariew, but you may call it bell-ivort." ", What was it that yon called those violets ?" asked Clove. " Cucullatczl That's the, name of one branch of the family." , "Family ! Do flowers have fami lies ?" she asked againi,convinc,e,d now that none but a fairy ; Man could have a.family acquaintance with violets. " 0, yes.; were yocheveri,ntroduced to then r?,, I see three or' fohr cousin violets, no'w. I Will Pit them in my pail, 'and bye-aliebye ive" . will sit under some tree and talk about them." As he. lifted the To ; -- Clove got a peep at . a idasst °RI:MIA% „I.Oaves and flowers inside. Howstrange I Did he carry.. a garden about with him ? Per haps he had enchanted it and could make it as large as an acre if he chose, with hot-houses and tiiiip-beds. She -would have been afraid of:him, but his voice was too gentle for a bad fairy. Presently they came to the verge of the great ledge, which shelved down steeply below them. The trees stood like sentinels, only a great deal closer together, on the high rocky ramparts. In the crevices of the ledge they could see green ferns waving, and soft moss clinging, and here and there a young tree had taken root and was bravely putting forth branches. Down at the bottom ran a little brook with broad, sunny shallows, and deep, dark pools. It was very pleasant to stand, there, and hear no sound but the wind in the leaves and the water on the stones. 1 ' Let's go down," said the little old man, with a merry sparkle in his eyes; and almost before Clove knew, he held, himself lightly swinging by a hemlock bough half-way down, with a hand extended ,to help her to follow. So she timidly set one foot before the other down the narrow pathway that a chamois would have delighted in, and by help of the hemlocks, and. ate brown man, she stood at last in safety by the little, brook. Then the brown man 'leaped down besideher and making a green goblet of broad plan tain leaves, dipped it in the,cool water and. gave it to Clove to drink from. " How nice !" she said, " I never thought of doing that before." " And now let us sit down a little while in the shade, and ..I will introduce you to some of the fa i mily.of violets?' So Clove nestled quite confidingly by the odd little figure of her new friend, and watched' him while he took a handful of violets from his pail. These white violets' I = gathered while you were drinking from your goblet. See, there are 'three kinds, three cousins' you , may call them. Can you tell the difference ?" " I don't see any difference," said CloVe, " only some are a little the largest, and the green leaves are not quite the same." " Exactly," he said ; "you can tell the cousins apart by the cut of their dresses. This one is the Lanceolata or lance-leaved' violet ; and this is. the Prz:mulacefolia, or primrose-leaved vio lets, and this dear little thing is a Blanda, or 'sweet white violet. And now, violets, allow me to introduce' to you Miss Clove Elliot, Who wants to get acquainted. Clove laughed, well-pleased, and then begged to hear the names of:the blue ones. ' " Well," he said, " here is one of the Cutullata, the common blue - violet: with a tear in its bhie eyes hediuse you stepped on some of its sisters: That's toObad isn't it? And here is a great purple Pedata, or crow-foot vio let,' with jagged green leaves, a real woodland beauty ; and here is a clump, root, leaves, flowers and all, of the Huh= lenbergii ' not so handsothe;perhaps,"but an amiable little flower. And now there is only one more, this downy yellow violet, which only'grovo about the woods, with its green leaves shaped like the candy hearts ioU get at the confectioner's. Do yolCetti candy ?" " 0, yes," said Clove, smiling broad-, - " Very bad for your teeth, very bad indeed. But about theviolets • there . ;are, a good. many . more cousins of the same family, but.they live so far away. 'Sonic of them live away out West, and .some of them. live among the moun tains. I have been to, see them all,' •and have taken their likenesses, but have notbrought them : with me to-day. Do you have pansies in your garden at home, so,purple that they are almost, 'black, and ,with great golden eyes ?" ," 0, yes," said Clove, "ever so '';Well, they are the City, cousins of these violets here;.they study the art of dress more, and are very elegant. When you go home, you can tell them that their country cousins send their Move to-them." • . promised Clove, earnestly. `, 4 Do,,you suppose they Will liear me 1'! Andishe looked up in his face as if a world hang on his answer. The little brown man nodded sage ly. " I like to think they do, Clove, though very few people would agree with me. But across the ocean dwell a dreamy people who write the'most lovely fanciful stories and poems, and one day I read in a story, that there are five little spirits in every violet, one in each petal, and' when the flower dies they go floating about the air, in visible to us ; but they whisper to the little young violets, and teach them how to grow." • "0, .:the dear, —dear ; little -flower spirits !" cried Clove ; " I never mean to ' gather any More, because that makes them die." The brown man smiled pleasantly and said, " Don't gather'.any to throw away, and don't crush them carelessly ; but .I think they like to havens take them home with us, when we are ready to learn sweet lessons from them. That is their noblest use—to purify human souls." ClOve sat suite still a little 'while, with `hew,wonderful'thoughts crowd ing.into her mind. At' last she asked curioUsly: 4 .lsAhat what you piethern in a,•paillorr = His eyes twinkled-as hetsaid, "Yes, I take, them_ hOme , to study;;;;,l c study them a,-great deal. 4nd now,,Clove, we mnst leaye this npleasa.nt spot, for you'll be missed at home; and I have a long, long tramp beforeme yet.' The mention or Mane brought a shadOiveinfO ClOve's lade;