ters, we ought always to be gentle and affectionate towards them. We ought to speak mildly to them, and never allow ourselves to use any hard names, or to make any unkind remarks. Thus shall we lead them to be kind to us as we are kind to them; and our homes will be the abodes of love and peace.

WHAT HAPPENED TO JOSEPH IN EGYPT. (Gen. xxxix. xl. xli.)

JOSEPH was sold by the Ishmaelites to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. While he was in his service, he behaved so well, and was so much liked by his master, that Potiphar made him overseer of his house, and entrusted him with the management of all his affairs. And God made Joseph to prosper, and his master's affairs also prospered in his hands.

But Potiphar's wife, who was a bad woman, tried to persuade Joseph to commit a great sin; and when he would not do as she wished, she accused him falsely to her husband, and had him cast into prison.

It must have been very miserable for Joseph to be cast into prison, especially when he was so far away from his father's house; but he knew that he had done nothing wrong, and he determined that he would still behave well, and obey the commands of God wherever he was. Now we know that God loves good men; and we are told that he was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatever was done there, he was the doer of it. And the keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand, because the Lord was with

Joseph, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper.

Here Joseph remained for two years; and at the end of that time king Pharaoh had two dreams. One of them was, that, as he stood by the river, he saw seven fat cattle come up out of it, and feed by its side; and after them came up seven lean cattle, which ate up the fat ones. The other dream was, that he saw seven ears of corn come up, on one stalk, large and good; and after them sprang up seven thin ears, blasted by the east wind -and the seven thin ears devoured the seven large and full ones.

When Pharaoh could get none of his wise men to explain to him what these dreams meant, at last the chief butler recollected that, when he and the chief baker' were in prison, they had their dreams explained by Joseph; and he knew that the explanation which Joseph had given came true. He therefore advised Pharaoh to send for this young man,

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who had shewed such extraordinary wisdom.

Accordingly Joseph was sent for out of prison; and when Pharaoh had told him his dreams, he explained to him what they meant. He said that the seven fat cattle, and the seven large ears of corn, meant seven years of great plenty, which there would be in the land of Egypt-during which time much more corn would be produced than the people could possibly eat; and that afterwards there would come seven years of famine, in which all the plenty would be forgotten. He therefore advised Pharaoh to choose a wise and discreet man, and proper officers, who should lay up the food which was not wanted in the seven years of plenty, in order that it might be for a store against the seven years of famine which were to follow.

Pharaoh was so pleased with this explanation, and with the advice which Joseph had given, that he paid him great

honour, and made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. The seven years of plenty came as Joseph had foretold; and during these he gathered together all the spare food, and laid it up in the cities-so that, when the seven years of famine followed, and the people had nothing to eat, they all came to Joseph, and bought corn from the store-houses in which it had been put.

Joseph behaved so well, that he won the favour of Potiphar, and afterwards that of the keeper of the prison. He was so highly esteemed by them both, that they committed all their affairs into his hands. This should be an encouragement to us to be active and diligent in the business of our station, to labour hard at what is given us to do, and to be respectful in our behaviour to all about us.

Such conduct as this will lead men to love and honour us, and, what is of far greater consequence, it will procure