hardly keep himself awake.  And it must have been a burning earnestness that impelled him to ceaseless labor, in the presence of such a drag-weight as that.  I am not thinking or saying, my friend, that it is wholly bad for us to carry weight,—­that great good may not come of the abatement of our power and spirit which may be made by that weight.  I remember a greater missionary than even the sainted Martyn, to whom the Wisest and Kindest appointed that he should carry weight, and that he should fight at a sad disadvantage.  And the greater missionary tells us that he knew why that weight was appointed him to carry; and that he felt he needed it all to save him from a strong tendency to undue self-conceit.  No one knows, now, what the burden was which he bore; but it was heavy and painful; it was “a thorn in the flesh.”  Three times he earnestly asked that it might be taken away; but the answer he got implied that he needed it yet, and that his Master thought it a better plan to strengthen the back than to lighten the burden.  Yes, the blessed Redeemer appointed that St. Paul should carry weight in life; and I think, friendly reader, that we shall believe that it is wisely and kindly meant, if the like should come to you and me.

We all understand what is meant, when we hear it said that a man is doing very well, or has done very well, considering.  I do not know whether it is a Scotticism to stop short at that point of the sentence.  We do it, constantly, in this country.  The sentence would be completed by saying, considering the weight he has to carry, or the disadvantage at which he works.  And things which are very good, considering, may range very far up and down the scale of actual merit.  A thing which is very good, considering, may be very bad, or may be tolerably good.  It never can be absolutely very good; for, if it were, you would cease to use the word considering.  A thing which is absolutely very good, if it have been done under extremely unfavorable circumstances, would not be described as very good, considering; it would be described as quite wonderful, considering, or as miraculous, considering.  And it is curious how people take a pride in accumulating unfavorable circumstances, that they may overcome them, and gain the glory of having overcome them.  Thus, if a man wishes to sign his name, he might write the letters with his right hand; and though he write them very clearly and well and rapidly, nobody would think of giving him any credit.  But if he write his name rather badly with his left hand, people would say it was a remarkable signature, considering; and if he write his name very ill indeed with his foot, people would say the writing was quite wonderful, considering.  If a man desire to walk from one end of a long building to the other, he might do so by walking along the floor; and though he did so steadily, swiftly, and gracefully, no one would remark that