Congenial with this brother is Brother Promptitude. When the leader opens the meeting, he is always ready to rise. He shudders at these pauses. They are to him as ice-cakes clogging the current of love, hindering the wheels of prayer. Yet he would not rush things. I have known him to count seven, the mystic number of the Scripture, and then, if no one rose to speak or pray, he did. He is thus a minute man, ready for action in a minute, and hating to lose the minutes. Slower natures than his complain that he does not give them time to think. No matter; they may learn at last not to be so slow.
In the other seat sits Brother Brevity. He has something to say, and having said it he sits down. When some overstocked divine or some thin-laid layman drags wearily along with a chain of dull platitudes, he is very twitchy, wondering why people will waste so much good breath and use so many poor words in saying nothing.
Brother Pointedness deeply sympathises with him. He wants to see people take good aim at the mark, and hit it—not try to see how near they can come and not do it.
Brother Round-the-Circle greatly distresses him, who, if he has a fact, an incident, or an illustration, has so many minor details to dwell upon that he smothers the infant-truth under his mass of old clothes.—Selected.
[Perhaps this curious sketch may yield useful hints to some who read it.—Ed.]
GENEROSITY AND LOVE.
The late Duke of Portland was a nobleman who contrived to pass through life without much noise, but reaped happiness and respect in abundance, and, while gratifying his taste for rural occupation, conferred the most lasting benefits on the country. The following, among many stories, is told of him:—
The duke discovered that one of his tenants, a small farmer, was falling, year after year, into arrears of rent. The steward wished to know what was to be done. The duke rode to the farm, saw that it was rapidly deteriorating, and the man, who was really an experienced and industrious farmer, totally unable to manage it, from poverty. In fact, all that was on the farm was not enough to pay the arrears.
"John," said the duke, as the farmer came to meet him, as he rode up to the house, "I want to look over the farm a little."