NECESSITY, it has been said, is the mother of invention. Men will perform work when necessity is laid upon them which, under other circumstances, they would not attempt. When pressed by difficulties, they will devise means of accomplishing their purposes which otherwise never would have occurred to them. It takes trying circumstances to develop men and call forth their utmost strength. Many men have risen to great eminence because the difficulties of their position have stimulated them to the greatest effort, and other men have remained in obscurity who, if placed in similar circumstances, would, perhaps, have developed equal greatness. But few men tax themselves to the utmost of their ability, unless compelled by necessity to do so. We are apt to complain when necessity compels us to the utmost exertion, when we should rather be thankful that the proper incentive to action has been afforded. We should not shrink from difficulties, if duty calls us to encounter them, for by properly meeting them we shall develop and strengthen our powers, and rise to a higher plane of excellence and usefulness.—Methodist Recorder.