TRUTH.-MARTIN LUTHER. P. We learned the value of Truth, last week

W. Yes, it is worth more than a man's life!

P. Then to-day we will talk about the Power of Truth. So hear about MARTIN LUTHER.

John Huss died, and the Pope went on with his wickedness.

He told the people more untruth, and taught it to the princes and kings of Europe. Instead of gathering up treasures for heaven -he gathered up gold. Instead of being poor like him who had not where to lay his head-he lived in a palace, dressed in splendid robes, eating and drinking very much, and spending much money.

The love which some of these Popes had for money led them to commit a great sin. In order to get riches from the people, they gave them permission to do wrong!

They sent priests through the cities of Europe, who opened their shops in the market-places; and, telling the people that they might buy pardon with silver and gold, they sold them pieces of paper with pardons, called "Indulgences." But, not all people were so blind as to believe the Pope. By the darkness of these wicked deeds, they saw the light of the Truth which JOHN Huss had died for. Thousands of people began to learn the Truth in secret.

At last, God raised up another man as brave as John Huss. He found out that Truth is a part of

Moral Lesson.

the Almighty, and must be stronger than man. His name was MARTIN LUTHER. He was only a poor monk, so no one thought he was worthy of notice. But, little by little, he had learned God's word; and, now he saw that not the POPE but JESUS CHRIST was the way to heaven.

So, like John Huss, as soon as he knew the Truth he taught it. He preached the true Gospel everywhere. He preached against the foolishness of the Pope-against his wicked "indulgences;" and he printed (for people had learned to print then) tracts, and books, and gave them to men to read.

Very soon he made the covetous and wicked sellers of "indulgences" to be laughed at, and frightened many away from the cities.

When some learned men from the Pope met him to make disputes, he showed them that learning without" the Truth" is foolishness; and so confounded them, that they ran back to their homes.

Then Luther gathered many strong friends around him. There were nobles and knights, princes and learned doctors, who had begun to feel that the truth must conquer soon. So, at last, when the Pope noticed this he woke up from his sleep, rose from his throne, and, thundering forth his anger against Luther, determined crush him at once.

Now hear what happened.

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In a house in Germany there sat several great men. There was MARTIN LUTHER with his bold, determined look, holding in his

hand a large paper which_he was reading to his friends. Near him sat a younger man, whose name was MELANCTHON. Near Melancthon was sitting the Secretary to Prince Frederick, named SPALATIN. There were also knights and learned doctors, all of whom were listening to Luther, while he read to them this paper:

CHARLES, by the grace of God elected Roman Emperor, always Augustus, &c., &c.

Honourable, dear, and pious!

We and the States of the Holy Empire, having resolved to make an inquest touching the doctrine and the books which you have published for some time past, have given you our safe conduct, and that of the Empire subjoined. Our desire is that you immediately prepare for this journey, in order that, in the space of twentyone days, you be here certainly, and without fail.

Have no apprehension either of injustice or violence, we expect that you will answer to our call.

Given at our imperial city of WORMS, the sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord, 1521, and in the second of our reign. CHARLES.

And, then, he read to them the "safe conduct," which you will understand was a promise that no one should hurt him.

Ion. I wonder who "Charles " was; and what he wanted to make inquiries for!

P. I will tell you. Charles V. was the Emperor of Germany. The Pope and the Cardinals had been thinking of the best way to get Luther into their hands-so, they had persuaded the Emperor to call a meeting, or "a Diet," as they called it, of the German princes, at Worms. There they wished to try Luther, and to condemn him to be burned.

It was the first diet in the reign of Charles V. Never before had so many princes met together.

So, when Luther read this letter from the Emperor to his friends, Melancthon, Spalatin, and others, what would they say?

L. Why, perhaps they would say, "Stop at home.-Don't go." They would say, "What is the use of a safe conduct? When SIGISMUND gave John Huss a safe conduct, he was burned !"

P. They did say so. They trembled lest Luther should be killed; and, as he happened to be very unwell, they said he had better wait.

But Luther, who knew that the God of Truth would go with him, had no fear. He said, that if he could not walk he could be carried and, although all men were troubled to think of what would become of him,-Luther, with the truth in his heart, was calm.

He set out for Worms, travelling through roads crowded with people who had come out to see him. On his way, when he stopped from illness, he preached in spite of the Pope, and the people listenedHe went on again, and the crowd still followed to see the man who could go to be killed. Ah! they cried, there are so many cardinals and bishops at Worms, they will burn your body to ashes like that of John Huss! But still he went on.

At last he reached Worms; and, getting by force through the crowd, who moved to and fro' like the waves of a troubled sea, he was brought into the hall, before the great assembly.

If you could have gone in with him, you would have seen a fine sight. At one end of the hall, dressed perhaps in splendid robes, sat kings, and princes. There sat CHARLES V., the emperor of the old and new world, his brother, the Arch-duke Ferdinand,-six electors, twenty-four dukes,

eight margraves, thirty arch- | bishops or bishops,-seven ambassadors from kings,-besides deputies from towns, counts, barons, and all kinds of nobles-in all, two hundred and four personages.

At the other end-dressed in the plain black frock of a monkstood one poor man-Friar Martin. When he saw the faces of these great men he began to think to himself, "How shall I speak?”— but his conscience whispered, "Why should you feel afraid? You have not done anything wrong!"

Soon the noise of the crowd outside ceased, and there was a solemn stillness through the hall.

A man called a Chancellor then stood up, and cried out-" Martin Luther! His sacred Majesty has summoned you before his throne to answer these two questions"1st, Were these books composed by you?

"2ndly, Do you mean to retract these books and their contents?"

Now, "retract" means to draw back again: and if Luther were to take back the words about Jesus Christ in these books, and were to say that they were not true, then all his labour would at once be lost.

When the titles of the books were read, Luther said directly that he had written them; but the second question he had a day to consider. W. So that he might "weigh his words," I suppose.

P. Yes; and because he might have made some mistakes in them; but he found that they were true. The next day came, and again he stood before the assembly.

He had to give them an answer they would not like. He had to say something to the kings which would fill some of them with rage; and when he saw hundreds of eyes looking upon him, watching his

mouth, and waiting for his words -then, he trembled once more. "Ah !" whispered his fears to him,

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see how many they are, and how strong!" "It is very easy to say, 'Yes'-so, give up the Truth, and they will love you-you may become an archbishop!" "You are but a poor monk, and if you dare to say it, they will burn you!""Look at them all, your life is in their hands!"

But, No!-His fears stopped. Once more he looked up to the God of Truth, who was near him. Then, the people seemed very far off; and with little fear and a loud voice, he gave his answer-HERE I AM, GOD HELP ME, I NEITHER CAN

NOR WILL RETRACT ANYTHING.

W. Well done, Luther!

P. Ah, but think what made him able to do it! It was because he felt that he was before God. Now learn this dear children, that as long as you live you are before God too! At all times if you speak the truth, no real harm will happen to you. If you can say to yourself, "I am not doing wrong"-then, you will not feel afraid.

Ion. But did they not kill Martin Luther?

P. No. The assembly were: amazed. The Princes could hardly hide their admiration. Many of them felt that God was with him, and that Friar Martin was the greatest man in the room.

With that word of Truth, he conquered the grandeur of kings. He shook the Pope on his throne, so that he was despised by thousands.

Then, the Truth which John Huss had preached, the seed which he had sown, began to grow mightily;-and, it is now, under God's blessing, working out the salvation of the world.

HOW WE KNOW AN ANIMAL FROM A VEGETABLE. (Continued.)

Ion. I know an Animal from a

Vegetable now, mamma,-because it has only one mouth, and it has two organs more than a Vegetable. It has one mouth, the organ for procuring its food;

A stomach, the organ for preparing its food; and

A heart, the organ for circulating its food, when it has been made into blood.

M. Then let us look for the next difference. Animals, you know, can move about on the earth. Most of them are very fond of motionthey will often creep, or run, or fly, or swim for a long time, without feeling tired; so that they are constantly exercising their bodies. Now, when a carpenter is constantly using his tools-exercising themwhat will happen?

Ion. They will wear out.

M. So will "organs" wear out, in time. You are constantly moving about, Ion, and exercising the organs of your body, so it wears out, and wastes away. Now, why is it that your blood, instead of just going "up and down," like the trees' sap, is circulated by your heart through every little corner of your body?

W. Oh, I see, mamma! To mend it where it is wasted, that is, to make new flesh-"keep it in repair" that's what I mean.

Ion. But the old particles of flesh, which are wasted, how are they carried away from my body?

M. This is also done by your blood, partly. I must tell you. Last week, when you ran all the way home from school, you exercised your body too much. Then your

heart beat very fast, and the blood circulated too quickly.

Ion. Yes, I felt my heart beat

ing.

was

M. And when your blood circulated quickly, the "waste" carried away quickly. I saw some of it coming away in a liquid state. It came in little drops through the pores of your skin. Some of them trickled down your forehead, and we called them "perspiration." But some of this waste came from your body in a different manner. I saw some particles coming away in a fluid state. You opened your mouth, and it came out so quickly that you could hardly speak.

Ion. That was my breath coming out of my mouth! But, mamma, I thought that breath was made of air.

M. Not entirely. Breath consists of particles of the air, and particles of the waste of your body mixed together.

I think you can easily understand how it is made. You see this dark vein in your arm? It has a dark look because it contains blood which is nearly black.

L. I thought that blood was always red, mamma,-what makes it black?

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M. It has this dark colour because it is full of particles of the waste which it has collected from your body. It will flow on through many other veins, until it reaches your heart. Your heart will then pump it into another organ, where it will meet with the air which is flowing down your windpipe. As soon as this air gets down to the black blood in this organ, it makes it clean and red again.

This is done by carrying away all the waste from it. Some of the particles of the air mix with the

Ion. Thank you, mamma! Now I know what breath is made ofbut what is the name of that organ where the air meets with the black blood?

M. It is called "the Lungs." W. But the plants, mamma!They do not want any lungs, because they have not any waste, I suppose. They do not go cut for a walk, or take exercise.

M. The leaves of plants are something like lungs. Their sap is thin, like water, when it goes up to the leaves; but these leaves expose it to the air, and it is thus altered; for when it comes down the tree, it is much thicker.

L. Then that will make another difference.

4th difference,-Most ANIMALS have organs for purifying the blood, called Lungs.

VEGETABLES have not-but they have organs something like lungs, called Leaves.

M. We will now find another difference. Come here, Willie, and let me pinch you!

W. Oh! mamma. I'd rather not, thank you! I'll pinch myself -there!

M. Well, what has happened, Willie ?

W. It happened that there was a pain-a sharp feeling, just here -in my arm.

M. Now, take the edge of your thumb nail, and pinch it. Now pinch some of the hairs in your head! There was no pain then, I'm sure. Why is it that there is no pain in those parts as well as your arm?

W. I don't know, mamma. Please tell me!

L. Well, underneath the skin of your arm, and in nearly all parts

of very fine threads, which are like a beautiful network. These threads are called Nerves, and, directly you touch a nerve, you feel a pain, or, as we call it, a sensation. cannot, however, find any nerve in your nails, or in the hair of your head, except at the roots.

You

W. Then, that is the reason why we do not feel any pain! But we do feel a pain when we pull out hairs from our heads by their

roots.

M. Some of your organs have curious nerves. One organ has nerves which can feel smells, or perceive smells, we say.

W. That is my nose- - but do those nerves feel the smell themselves? I thought that I always smelt he flowers myself!

M. That is right, Willie. You use these nerves, and they convey the smell to you.

W. Do they bring it to me, mamma? Then, where am I?

M. That I will tell you in our next lesson. We are learning about Nerves now. Another organ has nerves which can convey sounds.

Another organ - your tongue, has nerves, which you use to perceive tastes. Your eye has different nerves, which perceive the colours of things-their shape and size. These organs, with peculiar nerves, you know, are called Senses. We shall learn more about them next Tuesday.

Ion. But Vegetables have not any nerves, or any senses; so that will make another difference.

5th difference, - ANIMALS can feel, for they have nerves, some of which form organs called the Senses, but

VEGETABLES cannot feel, and have not any nerves.