What was the wee bit callan's name?

Was he onything like me?
An' did he e'er become a man,
Or a fisher on the sea?

I wish the Book had tauld me that,
But I'm sure in after days
He'd like to speak about the King
An' keep out o' wicked ways.
O! mither, sing a hymn the nicht
For my heart is lippen fu',
An' then you'll hap me in my bed
An' I'll sleep as quiet's a doo.'

I

sang the hymn my laddie liked
An' I watched him fa' asleep,
Feelin' assured the Lord abune
Would my jewel safely keep.
An' stars on high cam' peepin' out
Like the een o' angels fair,-

I clapsed my hands and praised the Lord
For the beauty everywhere!

DAVID CUTHBERTSON.

PRIZE BIBLE QUESTIONS.

E can truthfully say that there is no part unalloyed pleasure than the perusal of the answers received, month by month, to the 'Dayspring Bible Questions. The ingenuity and correctness of these answers have frequently astonished and gratified us; and it gladdens us to think that in England, Ireland, and Scotland there should be so many of our youth of both sexes who are finding pleasure and profit from

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Wm. A. Taylor (29). Wm. Barrie (29). Eleanor S. Paterson (29). Josephine Fleming (27). James Linton (26). Mary Menzies (25). Wm. Combs (25). J. Neil (25). Geo. White (24). Eliza Ralston (24). Wm. M. Wood (23). Robert Dalgleish (23). Rachel Souter (22). Wm. Gibson (22). Wm. M'Niven (22). Thos. W. Cuthbertson (22). Jeanie A. Lowe (22). M'Lennan (20).

The following are the correct Answers to the Year's Questions:

(1) Psa. 104. 32: (2) Psa. 29-The voice of the Lord: (3) 2 Sam. 8. 6, 14: (4) Haggai 2. 4: (5) Hosea 14. 2: (6) Isa. 41. 10-14: (7) Psa. 105. 37: (8) Luke 4. 40: (9) Isa. 33. 24: (10) Pro. 31. 21: (11) 2 Tim. 4. 13, 21: (12) Mat. 24. 20: (13) 1 Sam. 22. 3, 4: (14) 2 Chron. 33: (15) 2 Sam. 12. 26-30: (16) Acts 6. 5, 8: (17) Acts 9. 36: (18) Gen. 5. 22, 24, and 6. 9: (19) 1 Pet. 3. 6: (20) Ruth 2. 4: (21) 2 Kings 5. 13: (22) Heb. 11. 6: (23) 2 Kings 22. 19; Jer. 36. 23: (24) Mat. 22. 29: (25) Josh. 24. 14: (26) 2 Sam. 1. 17: (27) Haggai 1. 6earneth wages to put into a bag with holes: (28) Dan. 6. 20-22 (29) 1 Sam. 12. 24: (30) 2 Kings 3. 27: (31) Help, Lord-Psa. 12. 1: (32) Gen. 27. 20: (33) John 5. 44.

during 1881 has been a much closer one than that of 1880. It will be observed that the two who have carried off the first prize are both girls, and out of a possible of 33, they have each gained 32. But for an error of judgment in construing one of the questions, both competitors would have succeeded in gaining the full number of marks. The error may possibly have originated in a mistake of the printer, who has set down 'word' in Question 23 without a capital. The question runs thus-'What father's and son's treatment of the word of God,' &c. This should have been 'of the 'Word of God. As, however, some of the competitors had interpreted the phrase as it was intended to be understood, we were reluctantly compelled to withhold the mark from the others.

THREE Prizes are offered for the largest number of correct answers to the Questions during 1882. The Competition is limited to those under 14 years of age. The answers to be sent to the Rev. JOHN KAY, 7 Argyll Place, Edinburgh, by the 25th of each month.

1 After what battle did the officers of the victorious army bring a thankoffering to the Lord because not one of the men under them had been slain?

2 On what occasion are we told that the people of Judah had enough to eat because they contributed liberally to the Lord's house?

3 On what occasion are we told that they had not enough to eat because they had not contributed to the Lord's house?

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RAGGED ROBIN and FORGETFUL FLO.

Na happy country valley in the east of Scotland, stood a cottage half hidden in the woods. Here was born a little girl, who

was called Flora, after the kind lady of the 'Big House' near. Some time afterwards, another little child was born in the cottage by the wood, but he had no grand name given to him: he was only Robin, or Little Bob,' his father being 'Big Bob,' the dyke-builder of the district. As the children grew up, they began to show very different dispositions. The girl was absent-minded, slow, fond of brown studies, and seemingly content to live buried in a book; while Robin was one of those bright obliging laddies, happy in helping everybody, but looking on books and school inspectors as dark spots in his little world. When he was only seven years old, and his curly head could scarcely reach to Flora's chin, he began to wear an air of business and immense importance, as befitting one to whom all the messages of the district were intrusted. He took upon his small shoulders all the odd jobs and forgotten work of the cottage, and Flora was willing enough to allow the cheerful little Robin of the house to do all that lay neglected by her lazy hands. When they were quite young, an accident carried off their kind father, and the widow had to work out in the fields early and late, to bring in the wages that came no more from the work of the sturdy dyke-builder. Coming home at night hard-worked and weary, it lightened the mother's heart to think of her helpful little lad, who would have a fire blazing for her, and a cup of tea all ready when she came in. Great was his delight when he was able to carry the weekly newspapers to the distant farms;

and though the widow had little time to spare, she always managed to see Robin set out on his rounds, whistling a tune in the frosty mornings, as he settled his ragged cap firmly on his head, tied on his scarlet comforter, and hopped merrily on with the news-bag slung across his back.

But at school our poor Robin's importance vanished. He was one of those bright, out-of-door boys, the torment of school-masters who want only that plodding kind of perseverance which will ensure a 'pass.' No amount of 'keeping in' seemed to open Bob's eyes to the mysteries of the compound rules.' No amount of cramming brought him up to the mark for that dreaded annual visitor-the school inspector; and though many were the raps that fell on that curly head, as counts went wrong and meanings were found preposterous, the master could only shake his head, and say, "The laddie's an idiot,' turning for consolation to his sister Flora, who stood like a rock at the top of the big class.

Whether he were an idiot' or not, poor Robin often pondered; but once let loose from school, his spirits rose; and as he shouldered his news-bag, and looked up at the sky, where larks sang without thought of inspectors, he would feel once more a boy of sense and importance in the world.

His admiration for Flora was almost too deep for words. Had she not 'passed' every year since she was six years old? Hadn't she got into that last Royal Reader' along with all the big boys? Didn't all books come easy to her to understand, even without the help of pictures? And as for her sums, didn't they come right in a twinkling? Robin, lost in a beautiful admiration for the girl who could work on to vulgar fractions, did not take into account how often his busy hands had done the work at home that Flo might pore over lesson-books in peace. In the home lessons of unselfishness and thought for others, she was far behind; and it was only after many struggles, and through much sorrow, that she lost at length the name of 'Forgetful Flo.'

The improvement in Flo's conduct commenced when she gained the Sunday school prize given by Mrs Shand, the lady of the 'big house.' It was a beautiful book, bound in scarlet and gold, presented to 'the best scholar in the class'; and greatly had Flora looked forward to the honour of possessing it. But some words her kind teacher had said seemed to take the brightness from the scarlet cover, and left something to be pondered over by the best scholar in the class. For had not Mrs Shand said that she hoped her best girl on Sunday was also one of the best all through the week-helpful, unselfish, and thoughtful at home-not only saying texts correctly on Sunday, but thinking of them, and practising them well on Monday. For it was only in doing heartily and with all our might, whatever our hands and our head were required to do, that we could become 'fervent in spirit serving the Lord' --little servants no doubt and not fit for much work, but happy was the child of whom it could be said she has done what she could.'

Now all this, though it cheered up little Robin, thinking that all through the week when helping mother, he could be doing what he could, on Flora's ear the words fell with an accusing sound.

She began to see herself as she really was at home, not doing all she could, but rather just as little as she could, and her conscience, long neglected, began to give some remorseful pricks. To-morrow she etermined she would try to be clever at doing things like Robin, as well as clever at saying things at school; they seemed both to go together as Mrs Shand said. She must try and remember what mother liked best, as Robin did, and get the dinner ready for her, instead of looking over all her lessons for the afternoon: so when the beautiful red book was put away that night, good resolutions accompanied it, and seemed to rise hopefully in Flora's fancy, above Le page where her teacher had written, 'Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.'

But who, that has tried to fight against

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old habits, does not know how they seem to rise up in arms to prevent us putting new and better ones in their place. Flora struggled on bravely, sometime forgetting terribly, oftener doing wonders in attempts at home work, but feeling happier, even with her failures, than in days when she had never tried at all. Her mother and Robin looked on at first, surprised at this new assistant in the house work, but they kindly made no remarks. Robin indeed whistled more than usual to relieve his feelings of astonishment, and laughed a little it must be confessed at some of the disasters that befell the absent-minded house-keeper. Full of new importance, she undertook to look after the dinner one busy day, when Robin was kept in' at school, but alas! when the mother returned, the potatoes were found in a strange state. The puzzled Flora explained that they seemed to be all right for a while, but she thought she had forgotten something! yes, forgotten to pour off the water. So for dinner that day, there seemed nothing but a new kind of potato soup, in which the skins floated peculiarly. Nor did the day pass without another disaster for Forgetful Flo. She was to take a basket from the 'big house' to a poor sick woman, who had no one else to send. Robin would have been preferred as a messenger, but it was 'newspaper day,' and the little man of business could not leave his country rounds. So after many promises to be careful, Flo set out, bearing her basket faithfully, and trying hard to think of nothing else; not even the poetry book for to-morrow's lesson that she had kept in her pocket. Through the woods she passed, but as she reached the common, near which the sick woman lived, she thought she would just take one little peep at that new piece of poetry she would like to know by heart. She remembered a shady corner where Robin looked for birds' nests; it was so hot and the basket seemed to grow so heavy, just as she reached the tempting corner with the wooden seat, so down went the basket and out came the book. The lines were on Queen Mary, and Flo learned them steadily and well, but as she came to