fallen must stop-a point beyond which to go, and recovery seems impossible. The deadening of the soul's faculties by continued indulgence-the loss of self-confidence and control-added to the consciousness of the world's contempt and abhorrence of us, and a man will soon lose all hope and finally plunge into the vortex of inextricable and irretrievable ruin, as thousands do. Hence the man who would pick up must take his case in time, and, with all the help he can get from God and others, he must go to the work of repairing the breaches of weakness in the fortress of his own character. He must take his case in time, and not wait, as many consumptives do, who go to Florida or Colorado, too late and simply to die.

2. Another difficulty in the way is the uncharitable and the tempting world-to say nothing of the devil himself. A man's enemies, and the cold, uncharitable element of humanity around him, will take pleasure in arraying his past history before him, and his old companions in vice, stronger than himself— and the very agents of the devil for ruin-will seek to draw him back to the horrible pit and the miry clay. The Puritanic and the Pharisaic will scowl him into hell itself, if possible-thrust him into obscurity, at best, and tell him, if he does reform or rise, he must keep a back seat the balance of his life. Such people never pick anybody up, never help anybody but themselves and their own. Upon the whole, however, the majority of the world is more charitable than we think, and a man trying to rise will have just about enough to help him pull his kite-string, while there will be plenty enough to create a breeze of opposition sufficient to make it rise, if he will keep on pulling the string. This is just about as it should be, for a

man needs enough opposition to rise up successfully, appreciate his fall, and stay picked up when he gets up. It would not do to get up too easily, else he would not stay up, and the harder the fight he has in getting up, if he stays up, the better for him. It would be all the better for him if he could fight it out all unaided and alone. He would then be better able to stand and to become all the more useful and eminent if he turned his talents and energies, thoroughly educated by sad experience, into the channels of God's glory; and let me conclude by saying that no one upon earth is so capable of doing his fellow-man good as a thoroughly and permanently reformed man or woman. They know themselves, and they know the world better than any other class of people; and if they will only turn their experience into the gold of other's good, they may rapidly lay up treasure in heaven as no other class of people can do. Unfortunate men and women, pick yourselves up. There is a chance for you all, if you have not fallen too hard and killed yourself in the utter loss of your moral and intellectual strength. Ordinarily, there is a bright and glorious future for every fallen and failing victim of vice or misfortune determined to rise up and live again. The world always kicks a fellow when he is down. It loves to wallow him in the mud; but the world always shouts applause, at last, to the man who rises and returns the compliment by wallowing it in the mud. Don't be so much afraid of the world as of yourself, and be sure that God is on your side if you only trust him. Nobody can hurt a man half so badly as himself, and nobody can help a man when hurt. half so effectively as himself. Pick yourself up.

CHURCH ASSES.

EFORE proceeding to discuss my subject let me explain the blackboard picture which I have drawn for the occasion. The scene is a church audience, before which a minister is trying to preach the gospel of the Son of God. This audience is seated before him, and in the main trying to listen to his discourse. You will observe, however, that there are quite a number of disturbers sprinkled through the assembly of the saints. These disturbers are distinguished by asinine heads, the only true mark of a church disturber. On the front row you observe one looking back and passing a note to another on the second row, who is scribbling a note in a hymn-book. At both ends of the third row you see a couple of "gabblers," who represent the "braying ass and the laughing jenny," seen upon almost every occasion in the house of God. At the farther end of the fourth and fifth rows you observe two engaged in backward and forward conversation across the pews, in so bold and boisterous a style as not only to disturb those around them, but as to indicate that they regard themselves as the only personages of importance in the congregation. Near the center of the sixth row there is a greenhorn of a donkey who is looking behind him at the congregation in his rear. On the last