"There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth.'--PROV. XI. 24. M R. NISBET was of much service to the cause of vital religion, by the republication of valuable works on theology, which were very scarce, or out of print, and by the establishment of a circulating library, the books of which were carefully selected, and open, I believe, gratuitously, for the use of any minister of the gospel. But apart from these, it would not be easy to reckon up the number of good books which he presented to little children, or to young men when leaving the shores of England, and setting out for far distant lands; the village or Sunday-school libraries which he furnished with useful publications, either freely, or at a very cheap rate, or the tracts which, in all his journeys, he circulated, far and wide, in every district through which he passed. It is interesting to notice, that this habit, like many others, was formed in early life. On his first arrival in London, one of the earliest entries in his accountbook was an item of 4s. 24d. for religious tracts. On his visit to Scotland, a few years after, his diary contains such records as the following: Monday.-— Rose this morning at six, left Kelso for Melrose, and in my way dispersed several tracts. Tuesday.— Walked to Spylaw, my old place of residence, and dispersed a few tracts. Wednesday.-Had a long and profitable conversation with Aunt Nanny, a good, pious, old woman, and found it very refreshing. In my ride, dispersed many tracts, and conversed with some shepherd boys. May the Lord bless the dispersion of these little seeds of truth to those into whose hands they may come.' At a later period, when God was pleased, by the outpouring of His Spirit, to visit various districts of Scotland with seasons of revival from His own presence, he sent large packets of tracts, descriptive of the movement, to every minister within the bounds of the Presbyterian Synod in England, that, by making their congregations aware of the great things which God had been doing in other places, they also might be encouraged to use similar means, in the faith and hope that the work of divine grace might be revived among themselves. And at the period of the Disruption, he circulated, at his own expense, not only in Scotland and in Ireland, but throughout England, great multitudes of Dr. James Hamilton's Farewell to Egypt,' and other tracts of a similar description, which, it is understood, were of signal service in removing the ignorance and misapprehension which were then prevailing, as to the great principles for which the Free Church was contending. In this department of Christian work, it is not for a moment to be supposed, that he was spending his strength for nought, or his labour for that which profiteth not. On the contrary, communications were occasionally sent to him, announcing that the tracts, or the little books, which he had distributed, were the instruments of awakening and converting souls previously dead in trespasses and sins. And when the sealed book is opened at the last day, many records, doubtless, will be found there, to demonstrate to an assembled universe, that no prayer of faith is ever lost, and that the least of all the services which Christ's disciples have rendered, have not passed away without yielding some blessed fruit. Reader, you may feel that you are awanting in the gifts that would fit you for rebuking open vice, or speaking a word in season to strangers that you meet with in the journey of life. But even in that case, the door of usefulness is not shut against you. If there be any good thing in your heart at all, you can go forth, like James Nisbet, with your pockets filled with religious tracts; and if, with earnest prayer and simplicity of faith, you put them in the hands of little children, or even scatter them by the wayside, you may rest assured, that you shall in no wise either waste your substance, or lose your reward. • Work while the daylight lasteth, Ere the shades of night come on; Work in the wild waste places, Sow by the wayside gladly, In the damp dark caverns low, Watch not the clouds above thee, Let the whirlwind round thee sweep; God may the seed-time give thee, Have faith, though ne'er beholding |