be dishonest, remember Johnnie Campbell, and how it was that he got strength to enable him to stand.

66

WOMEN AT THE MILL

(See Title-page.)

Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left." -MATT. xxiv. 41.

FROM this on southward through Philistia there are no mill-streams, and we shall not cease to hear the hum of the hand-mill at every village and Arab camp morning and evening, and often deep into the night. I like it, and go to sleep on it as a child to its mother's lullaby. It is suggestive of hot bread and a warm welcome when hungry and weary. You observe that two women sit at the mill facing each other. Both have hold of the handle by which the upper is turned round on the "nether" mill-stone. The one whose right hand is disengaged throws in the grain as occasion requires through the hole in the upper stone, which is called the rekkab (rider) in Arabic, as it was long ago in Hebrew. It is not correct to say that one pushes it half round, and then the other seizes the handle. This would be slow work, and would give a jerking motion to the stone. Both retain their hold, and pull to, or push from, as men do with the whip or cross-cut saw. The proverb of our Saviour is true to life, for women only grind. I cannot recall an instance in which men were at the mill. It is tedious, fatiguing work, and slaves, or lowest servants, are set at it. From the king to the maid-servant behind the mill, therefore, embraced all, from the very highest to the very lowest inhabitants of Egypt. This grinding at the mill was often imposed upon captives taken in war. Thus Samson was abused by the Philistines. -The Land and the Book.

A BULLY BROTHER.

A TROUBLE that often falls to the lot of a younger brother is, to have an unkind and domineering elder one. And such was the case with Joe Stabler. Whatever he said or did, or wherever he went, his elder brother was sure to find fault with him in such a positive sort of way, that poor Joe had to submit to his tyranny in pretty nearly everything. But these angry encounters gave rise to much unpleasantness between them, and to many a quarrel. At last Joe determined to make a stand for his rights, and, since he could not thrash Dan with his hands, he would try to do so with his tongue. So one day when they were playing together in the company of some other lads, Joe told his brother that he didn't mean to put up with his harsh and unfair treatment any longer; which caused Dan to get into a rage, and use some very unbecoming words. Joe opened fire right manfully.

"You've no right, Dan, to use me as you do. If I were older and bigger than you are, I would try to put you right quietly and kindly. But you're always finding fault and scolding me about something. It's not fair, and I won't stand it; and if ever you strike me again when I don't deserve it, I'll return the compliment some time."

"Well done, Joe!" shouted several voices.

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Dan; I would, if I were you."

'Better and better!" cried the boys.

"But it's only self-conceited fellows who like to make their little brothers miserable, and cowards who attack those less than themselves."

Without uttering a word, Dan Stabler walked right away, and the boys cheered Joe's plucky speech tremendously.

When the brothers met again there was a change in Dan's behaviour.

"Your spirit and firmness, Joe," he said, "quite mastered me, so let us shake hands and be friends."

"With all my heart, Dan. Friends equal in rights and liberty, if not in strength and years."

"Yes, Joe,-yes."

And so ended their last quarrel. British Juvenile.

ALICE AND THE OX.

HUNGRY, and tired with a long journey, a drove of cattle toiled along a dusty road. One of them poked his nose through the bars of a field, where Alice and her father were walking. Alice, feeling sorry for the poor beast, quickly pulled handfuls of fresh grass, and gave it at least one mouthful. How thankful it looked! for even an ox can feel grateful for kindness.

The hot summer days are coming. Never let our young readers see a poor dumb creature pining for food or water without helping it if they can. Young people love to have pets-rabbits, or a squirrel, or a linnet, or canary. Be specially careful never to forget to feed them at the proper times. Remember they cannot ask for "

a

piece" or a drink," when they are hungry or thirsty, as you can.

A MARK OF A HYPOCRITE. Ir is the mark of a hypocrite to be a Christian every where except at home.M'Cheyne.

ARE YOU CHANGED? FRIEND, didst thou ever experience a great change? Are you a new man? If not, you are in the old way, for the way of nature for every one of us is the old way. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh."-C. H. Spurgeon.

SALVATION, SALVATION!

O LORD GOD, what is so needful as this! Salvation, salvation!-S. Rutherford.

MISSIONARY NOTES. "Thy Kingdom Come."

Chinese Boys at School.

THE Chinese boys in the west of America are now being gathered into schools. At first they all looked alike to their teachers, with their flat noses, dark skins, shaven heads, and long tails; but after the roll had been called for some time, they were gradually identified, and became known by their queer names of Yop,' Jac,' 'Tui,' 'Tun,' 'Sing,'' Bah,'' Song,' &c.

Sometimes these little Chinese would say 'Yes-ce' when they meant No;' but when they said 'Yes-ee, me savez,' they meant that they understood.

After teaching them to read and spell for about an hour, all stand up and repeat the Lord's Prayer together. This is done in a reverent manner, after which the evening hymn is sung.

Loving Little Hindus.

OF one of her zenanas Miss Nicholson writes::- "Here there are six pupils, four women and two little girls. One of the women is a great invalid, so does not learn very often. The two children are dear little things, very quick, and so good in attending to their studies. They always come down to the door with me, each holding a hand, and when we are coming down the narrow stone stair-case they prefer going even sideways rather than release their hold of me. When they get to the door, they shake hands and stand making salaams until I drive away."-Indian Female Evangelist.

South Sea Island Sabbath Scholars. Ir has been my custom almost from the commencement of my arrival in this island (Barabora), to give on the Lord's-day morning in my Sunday-school two Scripture questions for the children to search for during the week. On the following Lord's-day morning they make known the answers. Both teachers and scholars have manifested exceeding pleasure in the search for these questions. Many a shell of cocoa-nut oil has been burned to discover the answers. I have heard with pleasure of many search

ing hour after hour, to possess the key to the questions. At Christmas I offered to give a Bible to the scholar who could best answer the questions given during the past five months. There were thirty-six questions in all, and to repeat the Scriptures to answer them fully, numbered over 150 verses. On the day of the examination, I selected some twelve questions as a trial, and eighteen scholars gave very satisfactory answers to them. But one little girl of not more than nine years of age, told me that she could repeat the whole of the thirtysix questions, the whole of the answers to them, the whole of the texts of Scripture, and the whole of the words in the passages as answers. So I patiently and cheerfully listened to her; and without a single mistake or halt, she recited the whole admirably!-Rev. A. Pearse, London Missionary Society.

A Burning Clime.

OUR Anniversary at Free Town came off well, though we had a tornado at five P.M. We had a capital congregation and financial improvement. I have been recently day after day of necessity with carpenters and labourers, repairing the desolation made by these destructive insects-the bug-a-bugs. The thermometer stood from twelve to two at 140 degrees! Spike nails lying on the ground became so hot that they could not be taken up and held in the hand! Mr. and Mrs. Waite are about to leave. Mrs. Waite has suffered much during her long residence in this climate.-Rev. Benjamin Tregaskis, Sierra Leone (Wesleyan).

The Two Hearts.

A MAN named A-Sun, of "the Southern China Mission," was lately thought to be dying, when he was visited by his friends and others. He was weak and worn-out, and could not be in this world much longer. With extreme cheerfulness he said, "I am all ready to go, whenever it shall please God to send for me. I have two hearts; one wants to go, and the other wants to stay. The one that wants to go is getting stronger every day, and the other is becoming weaker."

From London to the Euphrates. A BRITISH officer, travelling on the Euphrates, overheard a conversation between two Mohammedans on board. The one

was telling the other of his visit to London, and how he had there met with a city missionary, who, in his own tongue, had told him some wonderful things about the doctrines of Christianity. These doctrines the Mohammedan was trying to expound to his Mussulman brother. Who can tell what blessing may have followed this simple telling over of the gospel?

A Brave Colporteur.

A COLPORTEUR at Brescia (in Lombardy) was assailed with the cry, "Here is the curate of the Protestants! We must hang, quarter, or burn alive the whole set of them; they destroy our holy religion." Such threats did not discourage the bravehearted man.

BOOKS.

NOBODY'S CHILDREN: A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF EFFORTS FOR THE "ARAB" CHILDREN OF LONDON, WITH A CHAPTER ON THE WAIFS AND STRAYS. By T. J. Barnardo. London: Morgan and Scott. 32mo. 60 pages. Price Sixpence.

"Nobody's children." How suggestive the words are, of homeless misery! Mr. Barnardo's first little book about labours of love for the street children of London, has called forth, unasked, deeply interesting articles from two London newspapers. Those graphic articles chiefly fill this truthfully touching little book. But the most telling of its contents are two photograph likenesses of the same little boy: one, when he was found lying like a bit of wreck upon the cold stones, "the dreadful past;" the other, "the delightful present."

HYMNS AND MEDITATIONS. By A. L. W. London: A. W. Bennett. 18mo. 125 pages. Price One Shilling.

A book of pilgrim-songs which is surely not known, in Scotland at least, as it ought to be. For spiritual pathos, or for limpid literary beauty, we know few hymns to be compared to them. Here is a specimen :

"I ask Thee for a thoughtful love,

Through constant watching wise,
To meet the glad with joyful smiles,
And to wipe the weeping eyes;
And a heart at leisure from itself,
To soothe and sympathize."

THE MAY-DAY CALL.

For "The Children's Record."

HERE is beautiful May, with her birds and flowers,

With the young leaves bursting in forest bowers,

With the lambkins abroad on the verdant lea,

With the long-lost sound of the murmuring bee,

With the gnats at play by the sun-lit stream, And the lark's sweet song in the noontide beam.

'Tis a bright green world;-come forth, dear child,

The primrose is gemming the wood-path wild;

Come forth to the meadows, once brown and bare,

Greet the ransomed spirits of the earth and air;

Drink the charmèd draught ere the buried flowers

May tell of the speed of her light-winged

CHINA.
FELLOW-WORKERS.

FOURTEEN of our Sabbath schools at home have as many native evangelists labouring for them in the towns and villages in the region around Amoy. We hope to be able to give some information about these evangelists, and the places where they labour, in future numbers of the Record. To-day we give a short account of one of them; but we give also a complete list of the fourteen, and we trust that our readers will take a warm interest in all of them, and not forget them and their work in their prayers to God.

YAP.

YAP is about fifty years of age. He was born at a village near Makiang, about thirty-five miles north-east from Amoy. More than twenty years ago he heard of the love of God in Christ Jesus, and renounced his idols for the worship of the true God. By trade he was a boatman; and when Mr. Johnstone, then a missionary at Amoy, got the "Gospel Boat" built, Yap was engaged as one of the boatmen. He found, in managing the boat during the visits paid to the stations by the missionaries, work for which he was well fitted; and he had many opportunities of telling his heathen countrymen of his Saviour. His health, however, failed him, and he was compelled to give up the "Gospel Boat." Lighter work was found for him in connection with the missionary hospital at Amoy, then under the care of the London Missionary Society. When this hospital was closed for a time, Yap emigrated to Singapore, where he lived for a few

years.

About eleven years ago he returned to Amoy, at a time when our missionaries were seeking out for some young men to educate, so as to fit them to be helpers in the mission work. Their attention was directed to Yap. He had been all alongas a boatman, as a helper in the hospital, and as an immigrant at Singapore-a consistent and earnest Christian; and wherever he had been, he was always trying to lead men to Jesus. He was taken into the class for students-receiving, like the others, just enough to support him while he was at his studies.

Yap accompanied Mr. Douglas and Mr. Mackenzie on their first mission visit to Formosa, and was of great service to our missionaries at that time.