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PRIZE BIBLE QUESTIONS.

When the sentence of death was pronounced by the judge, the whole court was moved. Desubas alone of all who heard it, listened without grief. Through a great crowd of weeping people, he went to his execution.

At the foot of the gallows he knelt down to pray; afterwards he tried to speak to the people, but the soldiers beat their drums, and the people could not hear.

So at the age of twenty six, the pastor Desubas died. It was on the second day of February, 1746.

H. W. H. W.

71

banner you carry, and do not disgrace it. If one does right, it makes it easier for the other to do right too. Thirdly, it means rejoicing. You know how flags are hung out on grand days, and carried in triumphal processions. The little hand that carries Christ's banner through His war, will carry it also in His triumph; the little hand that tries to unfurl it bravely now, will wave it when His glorious reign begins and His blessed kingdom is come. Then, ‘in the name of our God we will set up our banners' now!

(From 'Morning Bells.') FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL.

STANDARD BEARERS.

'Thou hast given a banner to them that fear Thee.Psalm 60, 4.

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THEN what is your banner, and what are you doing with it? For if you are among them that fear' God, He has given you a banner that it may be displayed.' Is furled yours and put away in a corner, so that nobody sees it or knows of it? Or are you trying to be a brave little standard-bearer of Jesus Christ, carrying His flag, so that the sweet breezes of His Spirit may lift its bright folds, and show its golden motto? That motto, I think, is 'Love.' For we are told that His banner over us is love. Are you displaying it, showing your love to Him by your love to others? showing the power of His love over you by your sweet, happy temper, and by trying to please Him always.

Carrying a banner means something. First, it means that you belong to or have to do with those whose banner you carry, and that you are not ashamed of them. At great Sunday-school festivals we know to which school a boy belongs by the flag that he carries. You would like to carry the flag of England or the Queen's royal flag, because you are English and loyal. So let us carry the banner of Jesus Christ because we are loyal to Him, and are not ashamed to own Him as our King. Secondly, it means that we are are ready to fight, and ready to encourage others to fight under the same banner. When you are tempted to do something wrong, remember whose

PRIZE SCRIPTURE ALBUMS

THREE Prizes, of the value of £2, £1 10/, and £1, for the best Album of Pictures and Scripture Texts. The pictures may be either drawn or cut out, and an appropriate text or texts neatly written beneath. Each Album must contain not less than twenty pages, and be sent to REV. JOHN KAY, Coatbridge, not later than 1st November, 1877, accompanied by a note from the parent or guardian of the competitor, certifying that it is his or her own unaided work. Competitors not to be above 18 years of age. Unsuccessful competitors will have their Albums returned.

PRIZE BIBLE QUESTIONS.

SENIOR DIVISION.

16 Where does a change in the material used for the making of bread, mark an era in a in a nation's history?

17 Give, from one of the prophets, the battlecry of a tribe from which came a most distinguished preacher. The same battle-cry is also found in a very ancient poem, written by

a woman.

18 On what battle-field did Israel, for the last time meet with, and overthrow, the Canaanites, as distinguished from the Philistines?

JUNIOR DIVISION.

16 When were the lives of 276 persons preserved, for the sake of one righteous one? 17 What little word in the Acts of the Apostles tells us when Luke became Paul's travelling companion?

18 What expression used by Paul shews his kindly remembrance of Timothy's affection for him?

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His cause.

Give to the pilgrim and stranger;
Lighten their burdens of care;

Give to the widow and orphan,
Help them their sorrow to bear.

3 Give! give! give!

Give to distribute the Bible

Over the isles of the sea;

Nations now sitting in darkness

Light from its pages will see.

From 'Sabbath School Union Hymnal' (price 6d, Words 1d)—J. & R. Parlane, Paisley.

Paisley: J. AND R. PARLANE.]

[London: HOULSTON AND SONS,

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74

I

OLD JANET AND HER YOUNG SCHOLARS.

OLD JANET AND HER YOUNG SCHOLARS.

WONDER if there are any little girls of nine years old looking at the picture of old Janet in this number of the 'Dayspring.'

Little! I think I hear some of them say; we are nine years old, but we are not little. George and Mary, who are only three and five, are little; but nine!'

Well, if nine is not such a small age after all, what do you think of ninety? The old woman you are looking at saw ninety new-year's-days, with their frosts and snows; and in childhood's hours during the summers that followed them, she rejoiced like you in the bright green woods, when the song in the child's heart echoes that of the bird on the tree. She wandered by the burn-side, and picked the wild flowers on its banks, and then a June day seemed very long to her as it does now to you. What a length of a day then, must her ninety years' life seem!

I am sure you would have liked her, had you known her as I did; and I'll tell you how, because I am sure she would have liked you. Though girlish years were far off when she lived up in her garret-where you see her now-she was still very fond of little children. Had you gone up her long stair as I used to do, she would have given you a hearty welcome, and asked you to sit down on that three-legged stool, which you see beside her there—it just seems made for some young visitor like you.

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But there used to be a good many more stools and little low forms besides, for old Janet kept a school till she was nearly eighty years old. Little girls sewed samplers and learned to hem; and boys and girls together read with her for the first time their A B C,' and began to know how pleasant it was to be able to read a story for themselves, instead of having it read to them. She told them the best story of all, about Jesus loving the little children, and saying, 'Suffer them to come unto Me.' Boys that were rather wild, and talkative, trifling little girls, would become quiet and attentive then, for

they saw how their old teacher loved the Saviour of whom she spoke, and wished them to love Him too. Then a short hymn would be sung, and the small company would run down the stair, not thinking very much of what they had been taught, but not forgetting it altogether either; for day by day the A B C was quite understood, the sampler somehow got covered; and sometimes when a story was asked for, and old Janet would say, Which story will it be to-day?' some child would say, 'Tell us about the little girl that was dead and came to life again; or about the Good Shepherd that went after the lost sheep.'

When the children were away, and the garret was quiet, the old school mistress would sit down and rest, and think on days long gone by. She is doing that in the picture. But I think I must first tell you about the giving up of the school. Every thing on earth, however long it lasts, comes to an end; and old Janet's school came to an end too. At the beginning of one winter, she was feeling very frail and feeble, so she told the fathers and mothers of her little scholars not to send the children, for she was not able to teach them. Though they were very sorry, they did as they were told. But winter, stormy and cold, passed away; and one fine spring day, when the skies were blue, and old Janet seemed stronger, the little children got on clean pinafores, and bags and books in hand, went up with some of their older friends to the sky-lighted room. They thought the sight of the children she loved so well, would make her wish to begin her work again. But no, she was not able; so each child got a gingerbread cake, one of the old hymns was sung, and they went down stairs more quietly than usual. School days with old Janet were over.

As I have said, she is thinking, as you see her, of days that are past, and friends who are gone. She is reading an old letter, and there is a lock of hair lying on it. She was nineteen, not ninety, when she got it; and she has often looked at it since. She got the hair before she got the letter. If you look up on the wall, above that queer

SEARCH DILIGENTLY FOR TREASURE.

chest of drawers (she calls it a 'Secretary') which Janet has just opened, you will see a picture of a ship. Well, a dear friend, whom Janet loved very much, sailed away in it. He told her he would come back again, when he had made money; that they would be married and be very happy. He gave her that lock of hair, and told her to keep it; and you see she has done so. But, ah! he never came back; that long letter is from him, not quite the whole of it, for he took ill and died, before it was sent home, and some other person finished it. It lies in one of the drawers there; I wonder how often she has read it! Some thought has just come over her, that she would look at it once again; so she has laid down her stocking, and begun at the first page. I am sure she is thinking that in a short time they will meet again, for her long life cannot be very much longer. They both loved God; and as those who love Him must, living or dying, be with Him for ever, she knows their time of separation is nearly over. When that day comes, she will think nothing of all the cares and sorrows she has had during her solitary life here.

'When the shore is gained at last,

Who would count the billows past?' Now, don't you think you would have liked old Janet, had you known her? And wouldn't you like to live a useful life, and look forward, as she did, to a happy home above? Then begin early by loving the Saviour whom she loved. She was very fond of reading; you may see that by the number of books on the shelf; she was very poor, but she bought them with her savings, and they helped her to spend many a happy hour. But the book she loved best of all was the Bible, and as she read in it of the Father's house with many mansions, her little garret room seemed just like a porch to the palace where she was going. She is there now-life's long day is ended-but I don't think she forgets the earthly home where she used to read of that bright land, and guide the little ones to their Saviour, who waits for them there.

K.

LESSONS FROM AN OLD SCHOOL-BOOK. SEARCH DILIGENTLY FOR TREASURE.

75

A CERTAIN king,' says Krelof, the

Russian Fabulist, could not make up his mind as to whether knowledge and science produce more good or harm. He consulted divers learned men on the subject, but they could not solve the problem to his satisfaction. At last, one day he met a venerable and remarkably intelligent hermit, to whom he cofided his doubts, and who answered him as follows:

'There was once a fisherman, in India, who lived on the sea-coast. After a long life of poverty and privation, he died, leaving three sons. They, seeing that their nets brought them in but a scanty livelihood, and detesting their father's avocation, determined to make the sea yield a richer recompense-not fish but pearls. So as they knew how to swim and to dive, they gave themselves up to collecting that form of tribute from it.

'The first, the laziest of the family, spent his time in sauntering along the shore. He had an objection to wetting even so much as his feet, so he confined his expectations to picking up such pearls as the waves might wash ashore at his feet. But the result of this laziness of his was that he scarcely made enough to keep him alive. As to the second, he used to dive, and find rich pearls at the bottom of the sea, never sparing any pains, and knowing how to choose those depths only which it lay within his power to sound.

'But the third brother, troubled by a craving after vast treasures, reasoned with himself as follows: "It is true that there are pearls which one can find near the shore ; but what treasures, apparently, might I not expect if I could only succeed in reaching the lowest depths of the open sea! There, no doubt, lie heaps of countless richescorals, pearls, and precious stones-all of which one might pick up and carry away at will." Captivated by this idea, the foolish fellow straightway sought the open sea, chose the spot where the depths seemed blackest, and plunged into the abyss. But

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