which shall encourage them to pray to him; which shall bring their childish affections and sympathies into constant and close communion with Him who loved little children, and said, 'Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.' *

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Experience proves that this is possible where pious training and teaching, and holy example, are combined with dependence on the gracious aid of the Holy Spirit, and earnest prayer for his Divine teaching. Children may thus be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord,'† and may pass from step to step and from stage to stage of Christian experience, till they become matured Christians, their piety growing with their growth and strengthening with their strength, even as our Lord Jesus, the Divine pattern of our lives, grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.""‡

After quoting several illustrative examples, the writer says:

"In the case of Francis Lewis Mackenzie, to which allusion has already been made, the evidence of a change of heart was manifested much earlier, and in a more childish way; and his subsequent life bore full testimony to the reality of his piety. His moral sense was cultivated by a wise and tender mother from the very dawn of reason, and almost from infancy he responded to appeals made to it. When not more than three years old he would take himself to task, and gravely pass judgment on himself for his childish delinquencies. But what is more remarkable, as evidence of the work of grace at a very early age, his biographer says, 'There does not appear to have been any period in which this child, when old enough to give expression to thought, was unable to realize and to rejoice in the consciousness of his dependence upon God.'

"Very early it was his habit to pray; not simply repeating forms of prayer, but putting his desires into expressions of his own, the very childishness of which proclaims their genuineness. Sometimes he mentioned these desires to his mother, that she might put them into words for him; but more frequently he gave expression to them in his own simple language. On one occasion, having been present during a conversation on the evangelization of the world between some ministers, one of whom was going Luke ii. 52.

*Matt. xix. 14.

Ephes. vi. 4.

out as a missionary, he said in his evening prayer,—' O Lord, they are wanting to tell the people about Jesus. Do thou make a great many people go to hear them, that they may know about Jesus and be good.' On another occasion, having been reproved for a fault which at first he attempted to justify, but which he afterwards with sorrow acknowledged, he thus prayed:-'O my God, forgive me for having been so wicked, and for having made Satan so glad this day; for oh! how Satan rejoices when he makes one of thy children do wrong.'

Far away in a bright southern clime, where a true spiritual worship shines amidst the surrounding darkness of superstition, like the stars on a winter's night, the brighter for the surrounding gloom, I have listened with intense interest to the prayers uttered by childhood's lips. There dwelt a family in which religion was no loose-fitting garb that could be donned or doffed at pleasure. whole atmosphere of the house was worship. The elder children, when they retired for the night, were usually accompanied by their mother, but occasionally when we were alone, she would request them to remain in the drawing-room.

The

Both knelt, and after a few moments spent in silent recollection, each in turn poured out in guileless accents his evening prayer to God. There was no prompting, and I could but wonder how a little fellow of seven years old could so look back over the events of the day, and bring them up for pardon or for praise. For the benefit of my young readers, I give my imperfect recollections of one such occasion.

"O God, our heavenly Father, I thank Thee for taking care of me this day and for giving me so much happiness, and for taking care of dear papa and mamma, and of my brothers, and of our dear nurse. O God, forgive me that I have grieved dear mamma again by being restless and noisy at dinner; may I always do what she wishes me to do, and be a good boy, that I may repay dear papa and mamma for all their care and love. I thank Thee for making me attentive and good in school, and that I pleased papa with my Latin. Please God take care of that poor beggar-woman who came to the door to day, and her baby; may they find some place to sleep in to-night, and may some kind people give them some more clothes. And, O God, may the great pleasure dear papa intends to give us to-morrow make us love Thee more, and try to work better

after it. Bless us all, O God, and give us a good night, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen."

Surely it is the bounden duty of parents and teachers to impress more constantly and clearly upon the children they have to educate for eternity, the great duty and privilege of carrying all sorrows and joys, hopes and fears, to Jesus, in all childlike simplicity, and in all the fulness of childlike faith.

GRATITUDE TO GOD.

FOR what shall I praise thee, my God and my King?
For what blessings the tribute of gratitude bring?
For the spirits that heightened my days of delight,
And the slumbers that sat on my pillow by night?
For this I should praise-but if only for this,
I should leave half untold the donation of bliss;
I thank thee for sickness, for sorrow, and care,
For the thorns I have gathered, the anguish I bear;
A present of pain, a perspective of fears,
For nights of anxiety, watchings, and tears.
I praise thee, I bless thee, my King and my God,
For the good and the evil thy hand hath bestowed.
The flowers were sweet, but their fragrance is flown,
They yielded no fruits, they are withered and gone;
The thorn, though 'twas poignant, is precious to me-
'Twas the message of mercy-it led me to thee.

WELCOME TO THE SABBATH.

WELCOME, sacred day of rest!

Sweet repose from worldly care;

Day above all days the best,

When our souls for heaven prepare;

Day when our Redeemer rose

Victor o'er the hosts of hell.

Thus He vanquished all our foes:

Let our lips His glories tell.
Gracious Lord! We love this day;
When we hear thy holy word,
When we sing thy praise and pray,
Earth can no such joys afford.
But a better rest remains,
Heavenly sabbaths, happier days;
Rest from sin, and rest from pains;
Endless joys, and endless praise.

There are so many

I'M loth to let him go, George. temptations for a lad in London; and we hardly know what sort of young men he may meet with at Pollard and Lawson's."

Mrs. Howard and her husband had been for some little time past anxious respecting the settlement of their elder son, who was now nearly sixteen years of age. Mr. Howard was a schoolmaster in a quiet country town, about thirty miles from London, and he and his wife were pious, devoted Christians, who had endeavoured, with much solicitude and prayer, to train up their children for God. Mr.

OCTOBER, 1864.

L

Howard's school was not a large one, and it had been no easy task to rear a family of two sons and four daughters. They had found situations for two of their daughters-the eldest one as teacher in a school, and the other in a pious family as governess; and now the time had come that something must be found for Joseph. There was no eligible opening for him in the town in which they lived; and, after many inquiries-and, let it be added, after commending the matter in fervent prayer to God-they had heard, through a friend, of a situation in a large drapery establishment in London. Yet, after all, the loving mother's heart trembled for her boy, and she felt afraid to send him.

"It does not seem to me, my dear," replied her husband, "that we have any choice. Nothing else presents itself. From what I have heard, Pollard and Lawson's is one of the best conducted and most respectable establishments in the trade. We have done our best to instil right principle into our dear boy's heart, and we must pray to God that he may be kept from evil. Let us commit him into God's hand, and believe that all will be well."

Mrs. Howard saw the reasonableness of what her husband said, and it was decided that Joseph should go. The night before he left, his mother took him aside, and, after giving him her last council, said, "Now promise me, Joseph, that you will let no day pass without reading your Bible and prayer; that you will not, on any account, break the sabbath; and that you will go regularly every Sunday to the house of God."

"Yes, mother," said he, "I promise you."

Joseph's father went up to town with him to see him settled. On inquiry, he found that the young men of the establishment were expected on Sunday morning to attend a church in the neighbourhood; but that during the rest of the day they were at liberty to do as they pleased. Mr. Howard, however, arranged that his son should attend the ministry of an early friend of his, who preached at a little distance, and who had promised to take a friendly interest in him.

Not a day passed in which Joseph was not remembered by his parents, and remembered where remembrance is of most avail, at the throne of grace. In secret, and in the household, too, fervent prayers went up to God that he