wicked Giant suggested to them that they should put an end to their life with their own hands. Poor Christian was wretched that he actually thought of doing it, but Hopeful came to his help-reminding him how wicked is self-murder, and cheering him with the thought, that God was greater than the Giant, and would perhaps, some day, work out a way of escape. Then, again, Hopeful was of much service when they were crossing the River of Death. Oh! what a time that was for Christian! His sins came to mind one after another, and he was full of fears that he would not be admitted at the gate. But when he was ready to sink, Hopeful held up his head, and comforted him as well as he could, and at last the darkness of his spirit passed away, he felt the firm ground, and they both got happily across.

Dear young reader, have you become a pilgrim ? If not, seek Jesus without delay. If you are on pilgrimage, ask the Lord to give you a true friend, like Faithful or Hopeful, to help you to walk in the narrow way.

"CLING TO THE ROCK."

EXODUS XXxiii. 22.

Two children were playing in a railway cutting among the mountains of America. As the train came on, whistling to warn them out of the way, the little sister caught up the boy of three, and placing him in a cleft of the ragged rock, in which there was only room for one, bade him "Cling to the rock," then, rushing across to the other side, she had barely time to press herself against the opposite rock, to secure her own life. In her anxious alarm for the child's safety, she cried continually, "Cling to the rock, Johnnie; cling to the rock! Had he not clung to the rock he must have lost his foothold and perished.

There is safety for us in the "Cleft of the Rock": and room there not for one only, but for all who will see their danger and cling to the Rock.

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide my self in Thee.

THE STORY OF THE OLD CALABAR MISSION.

LAGOS.

BY ARCHIBALD HEWAN, M.D.

(Continued from page 83.)

WE leave Cape Coast Castle. Where is your map? Take it down and look. We go east and a little north, and reach Accra, which is somewhat like Cape Coast Castle, only on a smaller scale. Here there are some active, hard-working, English missionaries. There are, also, some German missionaries on this part of the Coast.

Whydah you see at a distance. We make no call at it; still I cannot go past without telling you that it is one of the most important towns on the Coast, and, not very long ago, an active centre of the slave trade. Many, many a poor slave has been torn away from his home, and been forced into a slave ship at Whydah, to be sold into slavery in some distant country, if he had strength enough to outlive the horrid tortures and sufferings he had to endure during the voyage.

You must have noticed from the newspapers that a few months ago Whydah was blockaded-that is to say, some British men-of-war would not allow the people of Whydah to trade with white men there. This was done to punish the king of Dahomey and his chiefs. This king is a very savage and barbarous king. He is, poor man, in the habit of doing very cruel and wicked things. His conduct was so bad that the British authorities there did what they could to bring him, like King Coffee Calcalli, to his senses, and the way they took with him was to stop his trade, so that he could neither sell nor buy anything. What would a shop-keeper in Oxford Street say if a policeman were placed at his door, so that nobody was allowed to go into the shop to buy anything, and he not allowed to come out to sell any of his goods? I should think, if he were allowed to speak, he would say I am blockaded. Well, just so was the king of Dahomey. He was told he must pay a

The king himself lives at Abomey, which you see on the map some little distance inland. He is very cruel and bloodthirsty. He likes to kill people, and he kills them in batches varying from one dozen up to one or two thousands at a time. Why? well listen! He thinks by so doing he does honour to his father who died long ago. He thinks that the souls of those people go to the other world, and there become the servants of his father, so that his father may be as great as any great chief in the other world, and this he does in a larger scale every two years. It is called the "Custom."

Poor ignorant man! I hear some of you say. I am sure you pity him. But, remember this mighty African monarch knows nothing of the Bible. He does not know that there is only one God, a God of Love. He knows nothing about Jesus Christ. He knows nothing about His Gospel and His Salvation. He knows nothing of Heaven. And he makes all these sacrifices to his father, for he thinks if he did not make them, his father would be angry, and cause some evil to happen to him.

You see here another illustration of the great work of teaching the heathen that remains to be done. Perhaps some one of you now reading these lines may some day be preaching that glorious Gospel to the King of Dahomey, at Abomey. Let us hope so. To be like the Apostle Paul preaching the Gospel and declaring the will of God to a heathen king. To be the first ambassador of the Lord of Hosts to the king and his people at Abomey. What an honour! Who applies for the appointment? What a high place Paul must have in Heaven! Who would not follow him?

GRACE.

GRACE, the pure Grace of God, is the only power of a holy walk in this world.

"THE JUST FOR THE UNJUST." BY AUNTIE JEANIE.

MRS. GREY loved her children very dearly, and by God's help and in His strength she was a very wise as well as a very loving mother. She spent the morning hours of each day with them in the schoolroom, first in teaching them heavenly things, and then such earthly things as it was good for them to know. There were four children, Edith the eldest, Willie, and the merry and mischievous little twins, Johnny and Georgy, who were about five years old. Edith was a thoughtful, loving and obedient child, thoughtful almost beyond her years, for she was only ten, while Willie, who was eight, was, on the contrary, rather given to disregard the wishes of his father and mother if they interfered with his own plans or pleasure. He had also the fault of glossing over his wrong doings and putting himself in the best possible light both to himself and others. He used often, when reprimanded by his mother, to answer her very impatiently, and speak words which no child should ever make use of to a parent. He had been told that the next time this occurred, he must be severely punished.

One morning soon after, he spoke very passionately and naughtily to Mrs. Grey, and she at once firmly but kindly said:

"Go to your room, Willie, and stay there for the remainder of the day; I cannot let you join in the pleasure the others will have this afternoon, when we take tea in the woods with your cousins," and she was leading him to the school-room door, when Edith, who had quietly left her seat, clasped her mother's hand in both hers, and with tears in her eyes said:

"Mother, do let Willie go to the woods. He would be so unhappy at home. I will stay and bear his punishment, only let him go; I am sure he will not be so naughty again."

Mrs. Grey hesitated for a moment, but then said, "You shall do what you wish, my child," and telling Willie to go to his place, she gave Edith a warm loving kiss at the door, and gently closed it after her.

how his mother smiled on him and spoke lovingly to him as she always did when he was good, and as they walked home he stole up to her side and said:

Mother, you seem as if you were pleased with me to-day, and yet I have been so naughty."

"My boy," she answered, "don't you know I am treating Edith as the naughty one, and not you? I could not punish you too, that would not be just; she is in your place, and you are in hers."

"And are you angry with her, mother?" "No Willie, I am not angry with dear Edith, but I am angry with your fault, the punishment of which she was willing to bear in your stead."

When they got home they found their father there, and looking out for them. He was surprised not to see Edith with them, and Mrs. Grey then told him all the story. It was by this time the hour for family worship, which they always had before the children's bed-time. When they were all ready, Mrs. Grey went and brought Edith down from her room. sight of her was too much for Willie, he threw his arms round her neck as soon as she came in, and sobbed out,

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'Oh Edith dear, how good you are! I will try now always to be good like you, will you help me?"

"Try to be like Jesus, darling," she whispered, "It was He who helped me to do this for you."

When all were seated, Mr Grey opened the Bible and read; "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." Then they all knelt down and he

prayed that everyone of them might accept and trust in this precious Saviour whom God had put in their place, and punished instead of them; so that they, believing that He died for them, might know that their sins were taken away and forgiven, and that now God was their loving and reconciled Father.

Dear young friend, you are like Willie, by nature a rebellious and disobedient child. Are you willing to do nothing yourself, but just let Jesus take your place and punishment? If so, tell Him this, and trust Him, and you will be happy in the sure knowledge that God is now reconciled to you, and that you are His dear child.

I AM.

GOD has simply said "I am." He sets, as it were, His hand to a blank, that His people may write under it what they please that is good for them. As if He would say, Are they weak? I am strength. Are they poor? I am riches. Are they in trouble? I am comfort. Are they sick? I am health. Are they dying? I am life. Have they nothing? I am all things.

TRUE COURAGE.

THIS prayer was found in the desk of a schoolboy after his death: "O, God! give me courage to fear none but Thee."

PRIDE.

PRIDE ruined angels; it has ruined the world; it excludes God from the heart, and the soul from Heaven.

GLORY.

GLORY is not to be gained by wishes: to be obtained it must be fervently prayed for, diligently sought after, and courageously fought for.

FAITH.

FAITH springs from Christ,

To Christ it tends:

With Christ begins, continues, ends.

COMPLETION OF THE NEW CHURCH AT BAKSA.

BY THE REV. DAVID SMITH, FORMOSA.

[An account of the beginning of the work will be found at page 79 of the July number of the Messenger: and we hope to give soon an account of the opening of the Church.] WE began our work on the 9th of March, and have had engaged at it ten masons and eight joiners. The church is now completely finished, and, as it is nearly the first of June, we have been almost three months in building it. The work is on the whole well done, indeed I do not think it is much behind European work. The church is 50 feet long by 30 feet wide inside. It is seated to hold 300 comfortably, but it might hold nearly 400 with a crush. The roof projects four feet all round to protect the walls from the heavy rains. Outside, as well as inside, it looks neat, clean, and tidy; and it is as strong as it is good looking. It is well that we got it finished before the heavy rains began: we have already had nearly a week of continuous rain.

I have now only two joiners helping me to put in glass, to hinge the windows and doors, and to paint them. You may fancy the people's admiration at the new church, when I tell you that none of them had ever before seen a glass window, a brass hinge, or an iron bolt. As for my tools, especially the cramp and boring-brace, they could not at all make out how ever they could have been made.

The church being completely finished, we have fixed that it be opened on the second Sabbath in June. May we then have a season of great blessing from the presence of the Lord!

THE MARTYRDOM OF ONG AT
KA-POA-SOA.

AN account was given in the Children's Messenger for December last year (p. 137), of Ong, of how he was brutally deprived of his eyes by the agents of Gô-a-chiu, and

of how he visited his cruel enemy, and told him of his Saviour. Mr. Smith and Mr. Campbell have sent us in their late letters a very sad account of the cruel murder of blind Ong.

Led by a friend, and accompanied by his young son, Ong was returning home from a village where he had been doing some business, and had passed through Tiam-akhan, when several ruffians fell on him, knocked him down, and battered out his brains on the spot. The friend ran off and alarmed the people; the little boy, only some seven years of age, was very dangerously hurt, but not, it is believed, mortally wounded. The dead body of Ong, was carried away, but was afterwards delivered up. The money he had, amounting to five dollars, was not touched, so that the attack was not by robbers. There is reason to fear that Gô-a-chiu, his old enemy, is at the bottom of it. He hates the Christians, for the influence of the Gospel is most unfavourable to the continuance of his wicked life. Ong was a very active member of the Church, and had no doubt brought down on him his wrath.

It is very difficult to get a satisfactory investigation of such an outrage as this in Formosa. The local magistrate has tried to cover it up. But in the interests of the Christians, whose lives are thus endangered, it is to be hoped that some attempt will be made to find and punish the murderers.

Ong's widow and little son should have our sympathy and prayers.