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MISSIONARIES' HOMES.

hand clasp with which he greeted her appearance in his little room the following morning with the precious books. Great indeed was her happiness in being privileged to assist such an earnest and attentive scholar as Edward, and beautiful to Winnie was the selfsacrificing love mother and son shewed towards each other. The mother hiding under a cheerful countenance a heart that ached with pity for her poor maimed boy, while Edward bravely suppressed every murmur lest he should give pain to his darling mother.

Perhaps it would be well here to give my readers a sketch of Mrs Layton's life as she herself had given it to Dr Holmes.

Her husband, she told him, had died when Edward was a baby, leaving her, however, in comfortable circumstance, but two years ago, the bank in which her money had been lodged stopped payment, rendering her absolutely penniless, and causing her to leave her nice home, and take up her abode in the two small rooms she and Edward at present occupied. She had realised a small sum by selling part of her furuiture, and this she eked out by taking She in plain needle-work. was thus enabled to keep her son at school for a considerable time after the loss of her fortune. When at length she was reduced to depend entirely upon the work of her hands, she began to suffer actual privation. She sat at work almost day and night, denying herself at the same time even necessary food, in her anxiety to give her boy at least a fair education. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she told Dr. Holmes of her vain efforts to hide from Edward their extreme poverty. By contriving to have her own scanty meals over before he came home, she had fondly hoped to preserve any little dainty for her beloved boy. The quick eye of affection saw through each loving subterfuge, and what he thought his idolized mother did not partake of, he also left untouched.

Edward at length prevailed with his mother to let him leave school and try to obtain work. After several fruitless attempts, he succeeded in gaining employ

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ment in a warehouse as a message boy, for which he received five shillings weekly. He had been in this situation for about eight months, when the sad accident happened which we have just related.

While the two children sat at lessons, Mrs Layton busied herself in preparing for them some of the delicacies that Winnie had brought in her little basket, but of which neither would partake, until she had consented to join them in their repast. When Winnie took leave of Edward and his mother, they felt as if a ray of sunshine had departed with her.

As for Winnie herself, I am sure she enjoyed very much more the knowledge that she had been the means of bringing even a little pleasure into the home and hearts of these poor afflicted ones, than if she had spent the hours solely for her own amusement and gratification.

Truly, It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

MISSIONARIES' HOMES.

NGUNA-NEW HEBRIDES.

A. M.

HERE were a number of nice little A girls whom we were very anxious to get to come to live with us, but so long as the people continued heathen there was no hope of that. It made us very sad to see them growing up, marrying and settling down to heathen life. One of these girls and her husband are now, I am glad to say, church members, and living consistent Christian lives.

When visiting one of the Mission stations, I admired the bright clean girls about the house, and asked the Missionary's wife, 'How did you get the girls to come to you?' 'Well,' she said, 'they came of their own accord.' So we returned home and prayed and hoped on till at last, nearly four years ago, two girls came of their own accord.' In a very short time we had ten girls living in a house made for them near to our own. These girls we clothed, fed, and educated. The five older ones I trained to housework with the help of Nalmahmu, an Aneityumese

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woman, who with her husband has been with us for seven years. She was trained by Mrs Inglis, and has been a most useful and invaluable woman. She was the devoted nurse of our three children, and when our first-born was laid in the grave, she grieved for him as if he had been her own. For years she was almost the only help I had, and now that some of the Nguna women have become Christian, and consequently willing to help the Missionary and his wife, Nalmahmu has been very active in helping to teach them to read, sew, wash, iron, etc. etc.

Infanticide is very prevalent in the islands, and two of our girls were saved from being buried alive when infants; one was to be buried by her mother to save her the trouble of nursing, but another woman saved her; the other infant was to have been put alive into her mother's grave, but an old woman saved her and brought her up. Other two of the girls are chiefs' daughters.

Before we left in the end of last year, three of the girls were married. A description of one wedding will serve for all. The bride's dress was made of gay shawlpatterned print, which she sewed herself, and a white straw hat trimmed with red ribbons and flowers. The bridegroom wore blue trousers and white shirt. The church was crammed inside, and numbers were looking in through doors and windows to witness the ceremony of Christian marriage. Over two hundred were present and partook of the feast afterwards. Most of the villages far and near sent representatives. Each one had enough to eat at the time, and a basketful to take away. Great were the preparations for the feast, which consisted of yains, bananas, pork, goat mutton, &c., with the addition of rice, beans, tea and biscuit.

The company had all dispersed, and it was getting dark when the bride's female relatives and friends gathered round the door of the girls' house and commenced to cry; their weeping increased in vehemence as the procession formed the girls escorting the bride and carrying her possessions, viz., a box containing her clothing, bags, mats, etc., and two or three large puddings for

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THE BAIRNIE'S WISH.

THE gloaming hour's the best for thocht,
An' I often sit mysel'

An' think the rosy clouds abune
A picture o' heaven itsel.'
For a' around is quiet an' calm,

There's nae jarrin' onywhere,
An' a joyous peace broods in the heart,
While the Lord seems everywhere.

It's then I'll speak about the King,

An' the weans wha sang His praise, An' cried Hosannas to the Lord

In the sweet, auld, by-gane days. My laddie sits an' waits to hear

Ilka word I've got to say, Syne mony questions asks at me

In his strange, auld-farrant way
About the bairnie that the Lord

Had ance lifted on His knee:-
'O! mither,' he says I wish I had
Been wi' Him o' Galilee!
For I am sure that laddie's heart

Would wi' a sweet music ring
An' think you that he would na ken
That he saw the Saviour King?

PRIZE BIBLE QUESTIONS.

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.

searching the Scriptures. The competition PRIZE BIBLE QUESTIONS.

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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Throughout the past so swiftly sped.

Thy mighty arm hath been our stay;
Through ev'ry danger hast Thou led

And guarded us upon our way:
For life preserved, for health so dear,
We praise Thee on this glad New Year.

Each morn Thy bounties were renewed,
Thy hand supplied our needed fare,
And wheresoe'er we turned, we viewed
Fresh tokens of Thy loving care:
For gifts so countless sent us here,
We praise Thee on this glad New Year.

And when sin brought the bitter tear,

And filled our hearts with woe and shame,

Thou, ever merciful, didst hear

When we besought Thy gracious name:

For pard'ning love, for peace sincere,
We praise Thee on this glad New Year.

To Thee, O Lord, henceforth we'd live,
We'd dedicate ourselves anew;

Faith, strength, and steadfast courage give,
That we Thy service may pursue,
Till, called by Thee from earthly sphere,
We praise Thee for heaven's glad New Year

Paisley: J. AND R. PARLANE.]

[London: HOULSTON AND SONS.

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