THE LITTLE FLOWER. to enable it to escape the gun of the idle and cruel sportsman? 55 picus heart with adoration of the wondrous wisdom of God, as the sweet songs of BriThe rattlesnake is rarely seen in East- tish birds are fitted to do. But the greatern Canada, and the other kinds of est difference is in our winter. In Desnakes are harmless. The turtle and cember the snow takes up its permanent the bull-frog are about the only reptiles stay until April; wheel-carriages are laid that are to be found, besides those in past, and in their traineaux the farmer Britain. The musquitoes in the woods in bears his produce to market; and the sleigh summer are dreadfully annoying. This glides over the smooth surface of the beatinsect, and the fire-fly, that darts like a en snow, the bells jingling their warning spark of fire in the warm summer's even- sound. The rivers, and the St. Lawrence ing, would, as far as I recollect, alone itself, are frozen over, and serve as bridges appear strange to you among our insects. to bring all parts of the country together. Among the birds you would miss the lark's From all quarters the markets are supplied cheerful lay, and the song of the mavis with " food for man and beast"-loads of and blackbird. The robin red-breast does pigs from the distant townships-deer from not watch the gardener's spade, nor the regions traversed alone by the Indian-and "sparrow sit on the house-top." The hum- fish from the sea-board of the Atlanticming bird, however, would sip from the are offered for sale, along with fruit and flowers in your garden, and the dazzling vegetables, and firewood to keep out the plumage of strange birds would, through piercing cold. J. C. the sense of sight, in some degree, fill the Montreal, 12th Nov. 1845. THE LITTLE FLOWER.-(Continued from p. 45.) "I must now come to the last day she was | know who suffered more.' 'Oh yes,' she in school, Sabbath 19th Jan., 1840. Every exclaimed, my Saviour. I know I am one observed her on that day to be unusually dying; but I am not afraid to die. There attentive, and that her eye never wandered from me for one moment. I remarked it myself, and thought she was afraid I did not love her as I had done,-little did I think she was within a few hours of eternity! is no fire in heaven, that happy place.' said, Are you glad, my dear, that you have been taught to know and to love your Saviour?' She said, Oh, yes! If I had not known and loved my Saviour, I must On the Monday following, Eliza was have gone to hell, where I could never have left at home to prepare the dinner, while got a drop of water to cool my tongue. But her aunt was at the mill. In putting the though this fire burns my body, it cannot pan of potatoes on the fire, her apron hurt my soul; and I cannot go to hell, becaught the flames, and before any one cause I love God, and he loves me.' I came to her assistance she was burnt in a could not help saying to myself, happy dreadful manner. It was about one o'clock child! though the chariot be of fire that is when they came to tell me the sad news. come for thee, it will safely carry thee to On entering the room I saw the form of a thy Father's house, into the immediate child standing in the bed, and heard from presence of God, where there is fulness of it a well-known voice. 'Mistress, do you joy, and to his right hand, where there are know me? I am a' burnt; I have no mo-pleasures for evermore.' ther, and my father is far away-Oh, this "She repeated several of her hymns: in is dreadful suffering!' I took her in my particular, How sweet the name of Jesus arnes, and said, It is, my lamb; but you sounds,' and Here we suffer grief and 56 SHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE COULD. pain,' &c. I asked her if she was able, in the midst of her own sufferings to think of her Saviour's? She said, 'Oh, yes! I shall soon see him; and he will not have a crown of thorns upon his head!' Her sufferings were extreme, and it was only for a short time that she could speak. She said, Oh mistress, heaven must be a happy, happy place! You told us on the first Sabbath of the year, that it was possible some of us would die before the year was over: you said you did not know which you could best spare; but God knew which to take. I must die first-but I am not afraid. How sweet is that hymn-' But if some one of us should die,' &c. She said, 'Oh, let me see my own brother Hughie!' I took him in my arms to the side of her bed, when she said, Oh, Hughie, keep from the fire, say your prayers, and do not learn bad words, or you will go to a bad place.' "She asked me to lie down beside her, which I did, and heard her repeat, Oh, send thy beloved angels to carry my soul, like that of Lazarus, into Abraham's bosom, which is heaven, where holy children dwell.' This was part of a prayer which she had learned at school. She bore her sufferings with great patience, and they must have been very great. The flesh was quite burnt off her hands-I saw the bare bones-yet she murmured not. She showed great affection for her friends, asked if they were all come, and often cried out for her dear father. When I asked her if she would like the minister to pray with her? she told me he was not at home, and bade me pray myself. I asked her if she wished to get better? She looked at me half surprised, and said, 'Oh, I cannot get better; pray that I may go to heaven, that happy place.' I felt my whole soul drawn out in behalf of the little sufferer. She lay perfectly quiet, and listening to every word, and when I had done, she said, Thank you, maʼam; will you kiss me? I know you love me; do not cry, it will not make me better,we shall meet in heaven, that happy place.' "At about half-past ten the same evening, she breathed her soul into the hands of her Redeemer. My heart was filled with gratitude to God for his mercy in releasing her so soon. "Eliza R- died on the 20th January, 1840, aged nine years." Let us hope there are many such flowers in this bleak world, who will all be gathered in at last to God's presence for ever. May there be many of our readers thus growing up loving and serving that gracious Saviour, who offers his salvation to all sinners who put their trust in him! SIE HATII DONE WHAT SHE COULD. "SHE hath done what she could!" Oh how sweet | "She hath done what she could!" Oh! with shame Did those words of encouragement prove To that meek one, who knelt at Christ's feet, "She hath done what she could!" Yes, the proud "She hath done what she could!" Can this be Would the Saviour say thus unto me I remember how little I've tried To spread the sweet sound of his name, "She hath done what she could!" Let me now "She hath done what she could!" Shall I fear If he spoke from his bright throne above? Triced., or 4d. per dozen. Published by J. GALL & SON, 38 North Bridge, Edinburgh. G. GALLIE, Glasgow. W. M'COMB, Belfast. J. ROBERTSUN, Dublin. HOULSTON & STONEMAN, Lordon. THE KHUNDS. THE KHUNDS. great preparations are made in the village. The night before the day of sacrifice is spent in drinking an intoxicating liquor made from the juice of the palm-tree. In the morning the victim is led round the village, and then to the place of sacrifice, which is an open space of ground about a mile from the village; a grave is then dug by one of the priests, the victim is made fast to pieces of bamboo so that he cannot escape, thrown down on his face, and a signal given to the people, who all rush forward with knives, cut his flesh off his body, and carry it away, still quivering with life, to squeeze the blood from it upon their lands, by which they expect they will be made fruitful, and a good harvest thereby secured. THERE is in the north of India a large dis- and kept close prisoners. The officer who trict of country called the Goomsur. It is first visited the victims, says he found a inhabited by a race of people called Khunds; child, only six years of age, with irons on it a fine strong and healthy race, very lively as heavy as we should put upon a man in and industrious, but very ignorant and su-one of our jails in Britain. perstitious. The Khunds have no idols When the time for sacrifice comes round, and no temples, as far as is at present known, but they have priests, and once -year they offer human sacrifices to their imaginary gods. The time for offering these sacrifices is about the full moon in our month of January, and just before they sow their fields. The goddess to whom these offerings are made is called Appah, and she is supposed to possess the power of making the earth either barren or fruitful, as she is grieved or pleased. Every year, while you and I are sitting snugly and comfortably at home in Britain, many poor little boys and girls are being offered up in cruel sacrifice to this imaginary god. Some years ago, a good officer visited this people, and found out much about their cruel customs. He saw many victims which were being fattened up against the sacrifice, and succeeded in saving them from the cruel doom. He found out that the Khunds will not offer the prisoners they take in war, but that they buy their victims from a low class of people called Vawers, who get their living by dealing in human flesh. These wicked Vawers steal little boys and girls throughout the country, by enticing them away when they see them playing in their native villages, or by seizing them suddenly and carrying them off by force. They will even sell their own children when they cannot get a sufficient supply of others. The common price they get for a child is from 30 to 60 rupees, and for a man about 100 rupees. When the children are brought to the Khund villages, those under 8 or 10 years of age are allowed to run about and play with the children of the place; and those above 10 are loaded with heavy irons, The officer I have told you of as giving this account, was so affected by the tales he had heard of these cruelties, that he set off with a number of native troops to a village near which he was stationed, and arrived a few days before the sacrifice would have taken place. He seized upon all the men in the village, and forced them to tell where they had their victims, which he at once set at liberty. They amounted to twelve, and since then many little boys and girls have been delivered from the cruel Khunds. Good missionaries in India have done all they could since these things were first made known, to help the poor children; and schools have been opened, to which, as soon as any were obtained from their captivity, they have been sent. It will please you to hear a little story about one of these little children. THE CORANNA CHIEF. He was a little boy, and, on being saved from sacrifice in the Goomsur, was sent to Vizagapatam, and placed under the care of the missionaries there. He had a very tender and gentle spirit, and soon gained the love of all in the place. He gave no trouble to any one, and learned his lessons very well. At his baptism he received the name of Henry, and his teachers hoped he would grow up to be a good and useful native missionary. When he had been about two years in the place, however, he was taken ill and died. A few days before he died, the kind missionary visited him, M. "Henry, do you feel very ill?" M. "How then do you think you will be fully is the prophecy thus fulfilled of Christ's pardoned?" H. "By believing in Christ." reign: "He shall save the children of the needy," Psal. lxxii. 4. THE CORANNA CHEF; OR, PEACE IN DEATII. lost his teacher, but he did not quite forget what he had been taught; and though he grew up in the ways of sin, he was not happy, for the thought of a judgment to come made him miserable. AN officer, speaking of some heathen | fly far away into the country. Jan now tribes, once said, "Nothing but powder and ball can civilize these savages." This was an unkind and thoughtless remark: he should have known that the gospel can make the most barbarous of the human race both useful and happy. The Corannas are a tribe of South Africans. They are a very poor, ignorant, and wretched people. When a missionary first visited them, he set up a school, and among the scholars was a little boy named Jan, the son of one of the chiefs. Before little Jan, however, had time to learn his alphabet, another fierce tribe of Africans came and destroyed the kraal, or village, where he lived, and made the poor natives When his father died, he was made a chief of the Corannas, and was called by them Jan Kapitein, or, as we should say, |