THE MAN AND THE VINE
IN one of the early years after the creation of the world，man began to plant a vine，and Satan saw it and drew near.
“What plantest thou，son of the earth？”said the prince of demons.“A vine！”replied the man.
“What are the properties of this tree？”
“Oh，its fruit is pleasant to look at，and delicious to the taste；from itis produced a liquid which fills the heart with joy.”
“Well，since wine makes glad the heart of man，I will help thee plant this tree.”
So saying，the demon brought a lamb and slew it，then a lion，then an ape，and，last of all，a pig，killing each in succession，and moistened the roots of the vine with the blood.
Thence it has happened ever since，that，when a man drinks a small portion of wine，he becomesgentle and caressing as a lamb；after a little more，strong and bold as a lion；when he takes still more，he resembles an ape in his folly and absurd and mischievous actions；but when he has swallowed the liquid to excess，he is like a pig wallowing in the mire.
Trajan’s Column
A HEBREW LEGEND
“You teach，”said the Emperor Trajan，to a famous Rabbi，“that your God is every-where，and boast that he resides among your nation.I should like to see him.”
“God‘s presence is，indeed，every-where，”the Rabbi replied，“but he can not be seen，for no mortal eye can look upon his splendor.”
The emperor had the obstinacy of power，and persisted in his demand.
“Well，”answered the Rabbi，“suppose we begin by endeavoring to gaze at one of his embassadors.”
Trajan assented；and the Rabbi，leading him into the open air，for it was the noon of the day，bade him raise his eyes to the sun，then shining down upon the world in his meridian glory.The emperor made the attempt，but relinquished it.
“I can not，”he said，“the light dazzles me.”
“If，then，”rejoined the triumphant Rabbi，“thou art unable to endure the light of one of his creatures，how canst thou expect to behold the unclouded glory of the Creator？”
TIME
I saw the temple reared by the hands of men，standing with its high pinnacles in the distant plain.The stream beat upon it，the God of nature hurled his thunderbolts against it，and yet it stood as firm as adamant.Revelry was in its hall；the gay，the happy，the young，and the beautiful，were there.I returned，and the temple was no more；its high walls lay in scattered ruins；moss and wild grass grew wildlythere，and，at the midnight hour，the owl’s cry was heard where the young and gay once reveled，but now had passed away.
I saw a child rejoicing in his youth，the idol of his father.I returned，and the child had become old.Trembling with weight of years，he stood the last of his generation，a stranger amid the desolation around him.
I saw the old oak stand in all its pride on the mountain；the birds were caroling on its boughs.I returned the oak was leafless and sapless；the winds were playing through the branches.
“Who is the destroyer？”said I，to my guardian angel.
“It is Time，”said he.“When the morning stars sang together with joy over the new-made world，he commenced his course；and when he shall have destroyed all that is beautiful on earth，plucked the sun from its sphere，vailed the moon in blood，yea，when he shall have rolled the heavens and earth away as a scroll，then shall an angel from the throne of God come forth，and，with one foot on the sea and one on the land，lift up his head toward heaven and Heaven‘s Eternal，and say，’Time is，time was，but time shall be no longer.‘”
THE ROSES OF EARTH
Eve，the mother of mortals，walked one day alone and mournful on the desecrated soil of this sinful earth.Suddenly she espied a rose-tree laden with expanded blossoms，which，like the blush of dawn，shed a rosy light upon the green leaves around them.
“Ah，”cried she，with rapture，“is it a deception，or do I indeed behold even here the lovely roses of Eden？
Already do I breathe from afar their paradisiacal sweetness.Hail，the gentle type of innocence and joy！Art thou not a silent pledge that，even among the thorns of earth，Eden’s happiness may bloom？Surely it is bliss even to inhale the pure fragrance of thy flowers ！”
Even while she was speaking，with her joyous gaze bent upon a profusion of roses，there sprang up a light breeze，which stirred the boughs of the tree；and lo！the petals of the full-blown flowers silentlydetached themselves and sank upon the ground.Eve exclaimed，with a sigh：“Alas！ye also are children of death！I read your meaning，types of earthly joys.”
And，in mournful silence，she looked upon the fallen leaves.Soon，however，did a gleam of joy lighten up her countenance while she spoke，saying：
“Still shall your blossoms，as they are unfolded in the bud，be unto me the types of holy innocence.”