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of his own officers; so whilst he lived he was wont, as the historiographers report of him, at the terrible thundering and lightning, not only to cover his head but also to get himself under his bed, and there to hide himself with fear. Whence, I pray you, came this fear upon him; but that his own conscience did tell him, howsoever, in words perchance he would not affirm so much, that there was a God in heaven, able to quail and to cast down his pride, and all the emperors of the world if He listed; whose thunderbolts were SO terrible as that justly by his own example He showed He was to be feared of all the world.-Henry Smith.

FULL-GROWN AND CRADLE CHRISTIANS.

Some of God's children seem to have attained unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; they are fullgrown men, can bear a man's burden, and do a man's work. These favoured ones look down on the storm; they have pitched their tent higher than the clouds can climb, and live on that sunny summit where the darkness and the light no more divide the day. Others of God's children seem to be stunted from the birth. If they grow at all it is so slowly as not to be perceptible to an ordinary eye. I have seen a child, nearly twenty years old, in a cradle; and I have seen a Christian, who numbered as many years of the new life, in a cradle. He never leaves the cradle, eating only as he is fed, and sleeping only as he is rocked, living for no purpose unless it be that others may have something to do. Cradle Christians

-the Church of God is full of them. Now whence this difference? Why do

some receive so much more than others? The chief reason-not by any means the only one-but the chief reason is, that we do not make an honest surrender of ourselves and ours to the Lord; and are not willing to be brought into those exigences where alone He can do great things for us. Perhaps an honest scrutiny would show that no one thing in our inventory is entirely at God's disposal! No one thing, unless it should be "the torn, and the lame, and the sick." Alas! some bring nothing to the altar except what the shamble rejects. If our self-surrender were sincere-if, according to the motto on Calvin's seal, we have "given all to God-kept nothing for ourselves," how is it that there is never a demand on God's part without a struggle on ours? How is it that we shrink, as if by a sinful instinct, from every strait where the arm of the Lord might be made bare? And thus struggling, and thus shrinking, we still ask, Why hath not the Lord done greater things for us? We want Joseph's patience without going into the pit. We want Daniel's faith without entering the lions' den. We want Paul's joy without passing in to the inner prison. We want John's raptures without an exile in Patmos. We sigh for Abraham's faith, pray for it, wonder that it is not given, when the voice and the vision of God could not bring us one step towards Moriah. We would have the waters part, without approaching the sea--eat the manna and drink of the water which comes from the rock, without entering the desert-and feast on the clusters of Canaan, without foregoing the fleshpots of Egypt.-J. B. Shaw, D.D., New York.

Pages for our Young Friends.

STORY OF A FORGOTTEN CHILD, AND OF A NEGLECTED
TREASURE.

DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS, WE begin these
pages for you with a letter, a genuine
letter, written some years ago by a father
to his children. Who the children were,
or who the father, we don't mean to tell
you. If you choose to guess you are as
likely to be wrong as right. But this

matters nothing. Only perhaps I should say that the letter went from Scotland to London. And, omitting a few bits of it, it is as follows::

"To J., A., and W., three little boys all in a circle around their mother's knee, their loving father sends greeting. Last

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Saturday I went to to preach on Sunday. I lived in a house in which there were eight children; three of them are girls of ages corresponding with yours, or a little younger. And on Sabbath evening these girls delighted me by singing some beautiful hymns. They have a sister a little older than themselves who interested me very much, and I will tell you why. She has never walked, never spoken, perhaps never thought, in her life. And I could not help thinking, oh! if Jesus were in the world now, working miracles as of old, how we should bring this dear child to Him to be healed, and how lovingly and kindly He would say, 'According to your faith so be it unto you.' And then we should see her standing on her feet, and fixing her large eyes on her father and mother, which she has never been able to do, and opening her mouth to sing the praises of Jesus. When this little child was born, her neck was dislocated, and this injured her spine and her brain, so that she has never had the least power over a single limb or muscle of her body. But yet her body has grown, and is now nearly as big as -'s. She is carried in her nurse's arms, cr rolled about in a little carriage. Her mind is a prisoner in that poor body of hers. Whether it can think, and, if it can, what sort of thought it has, no one can discover.

Of one thing we are sure that the mind exists, though its communication with the outer world is cut off-and of another thing I have no doubt, that the same Jesus who healed so many afflicted ones of old will redeem that imprisoned mind, and make it pure and perfect, and give it a very different sort of body to dwell in, on the morning of the glorious resurrection of which the Bible tells us.

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Thou wilt mark her and seal her for Thine own, and that at last Thou wilt take her to be with Thyself for ever!'

"In our Sabbath evening conversation in this child's father's house many anecdotes were told, and one of them will interest you if I can tell it. There was a family near G—, in which there was a boy who was almost idiotic, so imbecile at least as to be generally treated as being without reason. This boy never took his place in the parlour with the other child. ren, but was always kept about the kitchen or in his own room, and very few visitors knew of his existence. A new minister came to the place, and he heard somehow of this boy and wished much to see him, but had some difficulty in contriving a way that should not hurt the feelings of the family. At last, when calling (for he was the minister of the family) he said he should like to see the children. And the children were brought in.

"Are these all ?' he said.

"No,' was the reply,' there's another, but'-and there was then stammered out some apology for not calling him in.

"Oh! I should like to see him,' said the minister. And poor Geordie was sent for. On coming in, Geordie was bewildered with the fine pictures on the wall, and with the other fine things in the drawing-room, for if he had ever been there before, it was so long ago that everything was new to him.

"Isn't that grand, Geordie ?' said the minister, pointing to a picture at which Geordie was looking. And in this way he went on for a time talking in a kind, homely way about things in the room. Then he said, 'Hae ye a soul, Geordie ?' "Nae-nae,' said the boy.

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Oo, what hae ye done wi' it?' "I sell't it, I sell't it,' said the boy, with great emphasis.

"To whom did ye sell it, Geordie?' "To Christ-to be sure,' said the poor half-witted boy.

"Where did ye sell it to Christ?' "Behind the bush, behind the bush!' "Now came out what had been a mystery. George was often seen going to a particular bush not far off, and his going

to it had actually trodden down a footpath. But his reason for going there could not be divined. The fact was that one of the servants, who had charge of Geordie some time before, loved Christ and loved to speak of Christ to him, and had taught him about Christ and His love and power. And we may well suppose that the, poor boy was taught by Christ Himself, and was now wise unto salvation. Henceforward Geordie was no longer excluded from the family. In fact the parents were ashamed, and were as much surprised as the minister by the conversation which had revealed the simple-hearted piety of the too long forgotten child.

"Whether this story has ever been published, I do not know. But Mr.

my host, received it from persons who knew the minister who had thus been the means of restoring Geordie to his right place."

So far, the part of the letter which refers to this matter. And we hope the children who read it now will be as much interested in it as those who read it first.

With a story for parents and children, told by Dr. Edmond, we conclude. A

good man once entered a house in Germany, and found it very wretched-no fire, no furniture, no food. Everything bore the appearance of utter poverty. But glancing round, he saw in a neglected corner a copy of the Bible, and, when he went away, he said to the poor inmates, "There is a treasure in this house that would make you all rich." After he had gone, the people began to search the house for what they thought must be a jewel or a pot of gold, and, finding nothing, they went to dig up the very floor, in hopes of discovering the hidden store of wealth. All in vain. One day after that the mother lifted up the old Bible, and found written on the fly-leaf of it, taken from its own pages, these words, "Thy testimonies are better to me than thousands of gold and silver." "Ah!" she said, can this be the treasure the stranger spoke of ?" So she told her thought to the rest; they began to read the Bible, became changed in character, and a blessing came in to stay with them. The stranger came back to find poverty gone, contentment and peace in its place, and a hearty Christian welcome, while with grateful joy the family told him, "We found the treasure, and it has proved all that you said to us it would."

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HOME MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

Quarterly Record.

THE Home Missionary Society conducts its operations now through County Associations, and in three departments of Christian effort. The first lays hold of new and rising populations-the second, of villages contiguous to each other, which are grouped and formed into mission stations-and the third provides for the thorough visitation of manageable districts, by means of lay evangelists.

NEW DISTRICTS.

As regards the new districts, the Society has been the means of establishing Congregational Churches in Mar

gate, Herne Bay, Folkestone, Grimsby, Middlesborough, Hersham, New Peckham, Rugby, Canningtown, Potton, Slough, Silloth, Brixham, Lincoln, Portland, and Hornsea. At Rugby a new chapel has just been opened; and at Canningtown a new chapel is in progress. In Dowlais, Glamorganshire, a new interest has been formed; and at Swansea another is about to be established. Most of these stations are now self-supporting other fields of effort are in their first experience, especially two in South Wales; and did the funds admit of doing more in this direction at present, there are loud calls for help to

Brompton, near Chatham; to Cromer, in Norfolk; and from one or two places in Kent, which would be at once responded to.

GROUPED STATIONS.

The grouping of villages is carried into effect as small and feeble village churches become vacant, and can be induced to unite with others around a common centre. In some counties this work has been in successful operation for years. In Somerset, for example, there is a grouped station where the missionary has seven villages and hamlets under his care; and where, by the help of voluntary lay preachers, he has been enabled to do a most blessed work. Of this station one agent reports -"I am now in my full winter work, and thankful to say that at the very commencement there are some buds of promise. Several seem to be impressed with the importance of religion, and I hope are sincere inquirers after salvation. Last evening we had a special prayer meeting in the schoolroom, and a deep and solemn feeling prevailed; five persons prayed, and all present appeared heartily to join. I made a few remarks between the prayers, gave an address at about the middle of the meeting, urging sinners then and there to decide for Christ. This made my fourth service yesterday, and I hope to have five more during the week.

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to say that we have raised a neat sanctuary, gathered a congregation, and formed a Sunday school in such a village; and that seventy-eight members, nearly all from the world, are in church fellowship."

In Dorset there are other two grouped stations which have been greatly blessed; one of them is in the centre of a population where, six years ago, there was only one Evangelical clergyman within a radius of seven miles; and with the exception of two rooms occupied by the Wesleyans, the only other place where the gospel was faithfully preached was at the station of the Home Missionary Society. To meet the pressing wants of this locality, two districts were grouped, and agencies equal to the wants of each district were supplied. One of the agents thus writes, under date December 2nd:-"My congregations, although not so crowded as they were, are yet encouraging. Our school is well attended, with a band of young teachers. I attend and open the school every Sabbath morning and take a class, in addition to preaching morning and evening at home, and at a village in the afternoon. On Monday I have an adult class-Tuesday, a Bible class-Wednesday, lecture and prayer meeting— Thursday, preach at a village, and Friday, meet the choir. I have during the last two months visited seven villages from house to house, and am now going through M— N. Last week we admitted three members to the church; and, upon the whole, matters are in a hopeful state. Above all, I have to record that, within the last few months, I have, through grace, been visited with a gale of the Spirit in my own soul. Marvellous is the love of God, that, without any hopeful antecedents, the love of Jesus and of perishing souls seemed to sweep through my spirit. It has made a throne of grace very dear to me. It has made the word of God exceedingly precious.

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neighbourhood carry themselves higher than ever. Close to M N, the rector had to bury his own sister, brought from a distance. In this service the church was lighted up with candles in broad daylight. A large wooden cross was borne before the corpse, and several other irregularities and follies were practised. The people were generally disgusted with it.

"Some time since a poor woman in a village called C▬▬ was in a decline, and I was requested by her friends to visit her. I accordingly went, and happened to meet with the clergyman of the parish at her house. He at once stated that if I visited her he would not

see her any more. I said if the person

herself desired me not to come I would not. By persuasion, though I could see with great reluctance, she consented that I should not come again. On the very next Sabbath, as I was going to preach at a village further on, and was obliged to pass her door, her friends came out and besought me to come to her, for she was under terrible convictions of sin. I went and prayed with her, &c., and she became quieted. She told me afterwards, though her life had been far from moral, that the clergyman had told her she was all right if she believed in the prayer book, and if she really wanted to see Christ, he would bring a picture of him next day; but was indignantly declined. After this the rector never visited her more, although his sister did so occasionally. I continued my visits to her until the end, and I cannot but hope that she has been accepted through Christ and is now in glory.

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A few weeks ago he opened a neat little new chapel in one of the villages, where a good work has been done. "You will be glad to learn that many sittings are taken at the new chapel by strangers to the old place; and that the report of last Sabbath by Mr. P., the preacher, is that it was to him a happy day, and the evening service was densely crowded with attendants. Of course this continued thronging will subside; but it is clear proof that there are people in that locality disposed to hear the word of God."

LAY EVANGELISTS.

The work done by the seventy evangelists in the field in connection with the Home Missionary Society during the year is most encouraging. In Sussex, for example, there are ten evangelists. The Committee of the Sussex Home Missionary Society, at their Annual Meeting held lately, said: "The last report showed that there were nine evangelists employed. Since then," continued the report, “there have been ten; and the following have been the noteworthy modes of their doing Christian work, and its ascertained results-Towns, villages, and hamlets under visitation, 121; population, 52,487; visitable families, 3,582; visits paid to familes, 28,047; hours employed, 12,651; meetings held, 1,102; number of attendants, 33,766; times read the Scriptures during visit, 8,738; open air services, 20; attendants, 1,168; addresses given, 848; visits to the sick. 2,207; deaths of those visited, 47; Scriptures sold, 37; persons induced to attend public worship, 90; periodicals sold (such as Band of Hope, Cottager, British Workman), 742; rooms occupied for cottage meetings and public worship, 170."

In every other county where this agency has been employed the results have been most gratifying, and such is the demand for evangelists by County Associations, with offers to provide for

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