and prayer.

Lord failed not to listen to his offending servant when he turned to him in penitence The Lord commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath. On this very land which was purchased from Ornan the Jebusite, the Temple was afterwards built-not by David, for though it had been in his mind to build a house unto the name of the Lord, he had been forbidden to execute his design by the command of God; but Solomon, his son, as I have written for you from the Bible at the beginning of our lesson, commenced its erection in the fourth year of his reign-"In Mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite"-did Solomon build the house of the Lord.

(To be continued.)

AFFECTING DEATH OF TWO LITTLE BOYS,

AT Glasgow, three young boys, two of them sons of Mr. J. Wilson, builder, Gallowgate, and the other a son of his brother, Mr. Charles Wilson, were lost. As nothing could be heard of them, Mr. Wilson left home with the intention of proceeding to Helensburg, where the family were, to ascertain if the runaways were there. He had not, however, been long away, when a carter, who takes charge of a

horse belonging to Mr. Wilson, went to the stable for the purpose of procuring some provender for the animal. The provender is kept in a corn-chest-a box six feet long and about three deep, with three separate compartments, and secured on the outside with an iron hasp, which fits into a staple in the side of the chest. On opening the lid, the man was horror-stricken at finding the three young boys motionless at the bottom of the chest, each occupying one of the compartments. He immediately sum

moned assistance, and they were taken out; but it was found that two of them, James Wilson, aged eleven, and Charles Wilson, about a year younger, were quite dead, and had been so, apparently, for a considerable length of time. The youngest, a boy between

seven and eight years of age, showed some signs of life, and by prompt medical attendance he gradually revived, so as to be able to state what had led to the melancholy catastrophe. The brothers and cousin had gone into the chest in search of beans, and while so engaged, the lid, which, as has been already stated, is secured on the outside by an iron hasp fitting into a staple, closed on them. In falling, the hasp fixed into the staple, and all the united strength of the poor captives could not burst the bands of what, too truly, proved their tomb. On the side at which the youngest boy was found, the lid did not fit so close as the other parts, and to the limited supply of air which had been admitted through this crevice is to be attributed his preservation. They had endeavoured to support each other's courage as well as they could in their dismal dungeon; and, before giving up hope, one of them broke the blade of a penknife in the attempt to make a hole through the side of the chest. After they had exhausted themselves by unavailing shouts and cries which were not heard on earth, they all joined in prayer. This is the last circumstance which the surviving sufferer recollects, as he soon after became insensible. To account for no noise having been heard, or no one within call, it may be mentioned that the wood-yard in which the stable is situated, is locked up early on Saturday afternoon, and is not again en

tered till Monday morning, which was the time they were missing.

It is melancholy but gratifying to think on the conduct of the poor boys to one another, when placed in their awful position. They endeavoured to support each other's courage as well as possible; they cried, as long as they could, for assistance, but no one heard them, though they were not fifteen yards from their parents' roof. They pushed their heads up so as to raise the lid a little at the end in which Robert, the youngest, was confined; and he fortunately put a marble in the chink to keep it open, which served him, of course, to breathe more freely. James was next to his little brother, being in the mid compartment, where there were some beans, and with the ́utmost sagacity and consideration, he managed to push through a few of them to his companions in distress to appease their hunger. He directed them not to eat many, for fear of becoming thirsty, and expressed his fears that he would soon die. Before giving up hope, Charles, the eldest, endeavoured to cut a hole in the chest, but in this attempt he cut his hand, and the blade of his pen-knife broke; they then resigned themselves to their sad fate; and after being exhausted with unavailing shouts and cries, which were not heard on earth, they repeated portions of the Paraphrases, and finally addressed themselves to the hearer and answerer of prayer. Charles

died first, after bidding his cousins farewell. James then bid his brother goodbye, and spoke of his dear mamma, who would never see him again. He became so faint, he said he had just other three breaths to draw, and requested that Robert would not speak to him. There was a loud heavy breath, in a few seconds another, and in about a minute a deep loud sigh, and death closed his eyes for ever. Robert soon after fell asleep, but he awoke on the Sabbath morning, and heard distinctly the ringing of the bells during the day. He slept occasionally till the Monday morning at six o'clock, when he heard the men about the stable, and tried to make such a noise as should lead to his discovery.

THE EARTH.

I FANCY, my little readers, that most of you know the shape of the Earth on which we live is round; but perhaps you will be surprised when I tell you that this world of ours is one of the heavenly bodies. Yes, dear children, it is so. No doubt, it will appear strange to you. You cannot imagine it bears any resemblance to the sun and the stars. As you see them, they appear merely like bright lights, and the other planets also, for the Earth is a planet; but I will give you a short account of the Solar System, as it is called. The reason of its being so