strict an observance of that law which was written on their consciences, offering up at the same time propitiatory sacrifices. May it not be hoped that, as upon the devout Israelites, so also upon the virtuous heathen, the blessings of redemption through Christ were graciously conferred? If we question whether they were so conferred, shall we not be cherishing a prejudice essentially the same as that of which the Jews were convicted by the apostle in denying that the Gentiles would participate equally with themselves, in the blessings of the covenants made with their fathers? How different was their spirit from that of the Saviour Himself, who, when upon earth, while grieved at the unbelief and blindness of some of His own countrymen, on more than one occasion expressed surprise at the faith of Roman centurions, one of whom elicited from Him the words, "Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out. For the last shall be first, and the first last."

It only remains briefly to mention some objections to the view adopted in this paper. First, the heathen are idolatrous. Idolatry, which brought upon the Israelites such fearful punishments when they relapsed into it, and which, when they were obedient to the commands of Jehovah, drew so broad a line of demarcation between them and heathen nations, is urged as a reason why none of the heathen can be admitted to heaven. It was their idolatry and their abominable crimes which brought down upon heathen nations of old the vengeance of God. It was for these He destroyed the cities of the plain. It is these which, in many heathen nations around us at the present time, are calling down His wrath. But of the abominable crimes those spoken of in this paper were innocent. It is cause for wonder, indeed, that under circumstances so unfavourable to purity of life some few heathens, shunning the excesses of others, have risen to a moral position so illustrious that the whole world admires their heroism, their integrity, their patriotism, and their virtue; and when we remember that, as respects their religion, they had not the light which we enjoy or that the Israelites possessed, it may be hoped that He who provided a Saviour and Mediator for the world may not have condemned these few, if, underlying even their idolatry, there was a genuine religious sentiment and a sincere piety, since, if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

Secondly, the New Testament declaration that faith in Christ is requisite to salvation is thought to oppose this opinion. But how could they believe on Him of whom they had not heard? Surely it cannot be supposed that the benefit of the general redemption is extended to none but those who had the advantage of being made acquainted with it here on earth? None of us doubts that infants are saved. We should not think of arguing that, because infants have no faith, therefore they are lost. And why may not God see fit to save some heathens without faith? That the benefits of

redemption are extended to them also seems shown by the passages of Scripture already cited.

Thirdly, it is objected that there is mutual dependence among men, in their spiritual capacity, and that the Bible represents sinners as perishing for lack of knowledge. The principle upon which God will dispense justice to them is thought to be laid down in Ezekiel, where it is written, "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman to the house of Israel, therefore hear the word at My mouth, and give them warning from Me. When I say to the wicked, Thou shalt surely die, and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand." This passage has a reference to those who wilfully contemned both the moral and ceremonial law, of which offence may we not say some heathens were not guilty? Besides, the apostle Paul lays down the principle that all who die in their iniquity are without excuse, because God himself gives abundant warnings to every man, besides implanting a faculty which, if not wilfully perverted, will guide him aright. If any heathens perish, it will be because they wilfully and persistently violated all the higher principles of their nature. If, after all their striving, virtuous heathens failed, as even the best among Christians fail, to meet in themselves all the requirements of a perfect law, can it be believed that simple justice alone will be meted out to the former, while to the latter justice will be tempered with abounding grace and mercy? The character of God surely forbids the supposition, for it is written, "God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth Him and worketh righteousness is accepted with Him."

In the foregoing remarks we have endeavoured to show that the opinion that virtuous heathens will be admitted to heaven is in harmony with our sense of what is equitable in God's dealings with mankind; for the reasons, that the fact that the diffusion of the truths of Christianity is only partial, may be traced to the Divine will; that their ignorance is not wilful, but inevitable; that it throws the blame of the sinner's condemnation upon the sinner himself; and that on a comparison of their lives with those of many Christians, respect being had to the smallness of their advantages, they command our admiration.

It is in harmony, too, with the principles laid down by the Saviour, who declared that the ground of men's condemnation was their repugnance to truth, their hatred of light.

And it is in harmony with many general declarations of Scripture, which show that the benefits of the redemption of Christ are conferred both upon the ancient Hebrews who diligently observed the ordinances and commands of Jehovah, and upon Gentiles who carefully observed the moral law they possessed; and this although neither of these peoples was fully acquainted with the redemption itself, or with the full significance of the sacrifices they offered of a propitiatory character.

And, further, since a sincere religious sentiment may underlie various forms of superstition and idolatry, we have no right to say

that virtuous heathens will all be excluded from heaven on the ground that they worshipped idols. The character of God, likewise, as an impartial, merciful, and loving Being, not willing that any should perish, affords a conviction that some heathens will be saved.

In conclusion, if it is thought that this view, in so far as it is held, tends to exercise a paralysing influence upon Christian zeal, to cripple energy, and to foster slothfulness, at least it may be said that there are numerous considerations which ought to counteract this tendency. Supposing that this view is sanctioned by declarations of the Saviour and His apostles, then the example of the zeal of those apostles in the work of evangelisation is before us for our imitation, and the same words of Divine command which rang in their ears are handed down to us, "Go ye," &c. The same motives which actuated them remain in all their force still. If it be true that they did not teach that all the millions comprehended in the different nations of the world before the time of Christ, the virtuous as well as the vicious, were without any exception whatever excluded from heaven, then the same considerations which urged them to their work are urging us likewise.

The Gospel which is carried to the heathen will, no doubt, arouse the opposition of the proud, the self-righteous, and those who are wise in their own eyes; and to them it must prove a savour of death. But to say nothing of the great temporal blessings which follow in the train of Christianity, of its elevating and civilising influence, it will bestow blessings upon many of a far higher kind. Upon numbers who are at present sunk in degradation it will exercise its reclaiming power; it will furnish to millions now overmastered by their passions and their sins a spiritual aid and strength and cleansing; and it will diffuse itself gradually and steadily among the races of mankind, until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever.

The Children's Hour.

BAYARD

KNIGHT'S AMBITION.

BY MARIANNE FARNINGHAM.

CHAPTER XI.-EXPERIMENTS.

"Do you remember me, Mr. Knight?"

A man, rather older than Bayard, but looking very much more worn out, stood before him. There was, indeed, a great difference between the two. The lives they had lived had left their marks upon their faces. The one was seamed and wrinkled, and looked not only dark, but sour and unpleasant. The other was calm and

happy, and full of peace. The one was an illustration of the text, "The way of transgressors is hard;" the other was a proof of the truth of the beautiful words, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee."

Bayard looked earnestly at the man, but he could not recollect that ever he had seen him before.

"I have been in many lands and mixed with a great many strangers, and perhaps that is the reason why I fail to recognise you."

"I knew you years ago, Mr. Knight, before you had thought of going into foreign lands and becoming a merchant."

"I am not sure of that," said Bayard, smiling, "for I was very young when that idea first entered, almost like a dream, into my mind."

"You have done well with your life, Mr. Knight; I have often heard of your successes. You have been going steadily up the hill, while I have been as certainly going down."

"I am sorry if you have been unfortunate.

I have come to see if you will help me."

"You must tell me more about yourself. I find that it is often waste of time and money to help persons indiscriminately."

"But you promised to help me, and I remember that when you were a lad no one could accuse Bayard Knight of breaking his word."

"Will you recal to my memory the circumstances of my making the promise?"

"You and I were lads together in the service of Mr. Reynolds. You will perhaps remember one evening finding a half-sovereign in your waistcoat pocket which had been stolen from Mr. Reynolds' till, and placed there in order that suspicion might fall upon you."

"I remember it very well; he who stole the money and put it in my pocket was a young man whose name was Charles Smith. He was afterward convicted and punished."

"Yes, and you visited him in prison. He was very wretched of course, and among other things he told you that when he was set at liberty it would be no use for him to try to live a better life, for he would not have a friend in the world; and you said, 'I will be your friend, Charles, and help you if I possibly can.'" "Yes, I remember making the promise. Smith ?"

Are you Charles

"Yes, and I have come to ask you to keep your promise."

"But where have you been all this time?'

I have been in many places, trying part of the time to live

honestly, and part of the time not even caring to try. But I am tired of it all now. If I had the chance, I would work hard and live honestly, and try to do my duty as a man. Nobody believes me, nobody trusts me, nobody is willing to help me, and so at last I have come to you."

"I wish you had come before."

"So do I now, but I was ashamed to come. I knew how different you were from me, and I could not bear to ask a favour of you. I cannot help thinking how foolishly I wasted my youth. If I had striven honestly and conscientiously as you did, I might have been what you are now."

"God has been very good to me," said Bayard, reverently, “but I believe that in a great measure every man's life is in his own hands, and he may be what he wills to be if he begin young enough and keep steadily on. Trust in God, and do the right,' is a famous motto. But it is of no use talking to you of what might have been; the thing for you to remember is, that it is not yet too late. I will keep my promise and help you. If you will come to me to-morrow I shall be able to give you work of some description."

Thank you; I will come."

It was Bayard's way to take a little time for thought before he commenced any new plans. He had a great objection to beginning things and then leaving them off again. He did not hastily decide, but having made up his mind he was not easily diverted from the course which he had marked out for himself.

He had a plan in his head now, but he was not quite sure whether or not it was a good one. As usual, he asked wisdom from God. "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" was the prayer often in his heart and upon his lips.

Also he consulted his friend Mr. Reynolds, who had now retired from the management of the business, leaving it entirely in Bayard's hands, but who was always glad to give his advice.

Bayard told him about Charles Smith.

"Of course I do not know if he is to be trusted, but I should like to try him," said he. "And I should also like to give employment to any released prisoners who wish to live honestly. I am sure there must be a great difficulty in the way of their reformation, because nobody will trust them. Now, I would make them feel that I trusted them fully, and I believe many of them would prove worthy of it."

"It is a very dangerous experiment," said Mr. Reynolds, "and most men would be afraid to try it. Thieves are not easily reformed, nor do they generally prefer honest courses. You might lose a large sum every week."