force the ignorant to buy what will do harm and not good? And what will they they think of English drunkards and thieves, who yet bear the Christian name? 'Is that what your religion teaches you?' they ask, and well they may; if it is, we don't want to hear about it.' They little know; it is the want of the religion of Christ-not the possession of it-that leads to the formation of such habits.

I feel quite sure that from the many thousands who read the 'Dayspring,' some boys will by-and-by go out to Japan, to be merchants, engineers, land surveyors,

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railway contractors, or the like. Let us hope that they will, with God's help, resolve to be honourable, upright, and true; so that they may be a blessing, and not a curse, to the land of their adoption.

Long centuries have passed since wise men came with gifts to the Infant King, saying, 'We in the east have seen His star, and are come to worship Him:' let us, on whom the great Light has arisen, send its rays, pure and unsullied, across the ocean, to those distant isles, so that Japan may be spiritually, as well as physically, the land of the Rising Sun.'

K.

denied that he had ever been entrusted with it.

The young man, unwilling to be thus robbed of his wealth, brought his case before the Kazee, or judge. The old man confidently appeared, believing it quite impossible for any one to prove him guilty of the theft. But he was sadly mistaken. The Kazee was too wise a man for him. He asked the young man- Where were you, young man, when you delivered this money?'

Under a tree,' the young man replied.

'Take my seal and summon that tree,' said the judge. 'Go, young man, and tell the tree to come hither, and the tree will obey when you shew it my seal.'

The young man went away, wondering much why he had been sent on such a strange errand. After he had been gone some time, the Kazee said to the old man, 'He is long; do you think he has got there yet?' 'No,' said the old man; it is at some distance; he has not got there yet.'

'How knowest thou,' cried the judge, 'where that tree is?'

The young man returned, and said that the tree would not come; but the Kazee replied,

It has been here already, and has given evidence. Young man, the money is thine.'

Little did that old man imagine that the very tree under which he had stood would become a witness against him, and that out of his own mouth he would be condemned. If a heathen judge could thus discover this old man's lying tongue, how vain is it for any one to attempt to deceive God.

When Gehazi, by his lying story, got two talents of silver, he thought he had enriched himself; but the leprosy taught him the worthlessness of treasure got by a lying tongue. When Ananias and Sapphira thought to keep their treasures by falsehood, they brought death on themselves. Far better be a poor man than a liar.

'I will not!' said a little boy stoutly. 'What won't you do?' asked a passer-by. That boy wants me to make believe something to my mother; and I won't,' he answered.

That was a boy one could trust. He would not deceive his mother nor any one else. A boy who manfully says 'No, I won't, to every one who would tempt him to deceive, is the boy to be trusted. He may never be rich in this world, but he will have the blessing of the Lord. Lying lips are abomination to the Lord; but they that deal truly are His delight.

'O! 'tis a lovely thing for youth
To walk betimes in wisdom's way,
To fear a lie, to speak the truth,
That we may trust to all they say.'

A JEWISH SCHOOL.

M. T. B.

I HAVE been looking at this picture of a Jewish school, until I almost imagine that I hear the sound of the voices rapidly repeating the appointed tasks, or expect to see the dark, wistful eyes raised to search the old Rabbi's face. Will the scholars in time become like the teacher, old and sad, because of disappointed hope? or, will the roll of the Law which you see in the recess become for them living with new beauty, when they learn to see in all its types the foreshadowing of Him who came unto His own nineteen hundred years ago, and was rejected by them? Will they receive Him as the hope of Israel?

It may be some of these scholars have passed their days with the light of a pleasant home shining around them; for the love of a Jewish father and mother to their children is very tender,-and the love of Jewish children to their parents is strong and reverential. On Sabbath afternoon their mothers will gather them with their sisters, and tell them histories of the nationof Moses and David, and the Maccabees; glorious histories of the triumphs of their people; and then sadder tales, as they speak of later times, of the sufferings of their people in all lands whither they have been scattered. And thus, in the hearts of the children, there will be planted imperishable seeds of love for their nation; and the long hard tasks which they have to learn from the Land and the Talmud, will no longer seem so dry and wearisome.

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of the Old Testament:-Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, and, in part, Numbers too; further, the 150 Psalms, the Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, and all the Haptharah (prophets). Most of them I did not forget, and still can recite them literally by heart,

according to the Rabbinical sentences, which runs thus: "That which a little child has learned with diligence and attention in early youth, remains on the tablet of his heart till old age." On bright nights I got up at two o'clock, after midnight, in order to read the Psalms in the moonlight two hours, as my father did in his youth. I gave away all my pocket money to the poor. I read over, every week, the whole psaltery, and finished it with each Friday.' Which of the readers of 'The Dayspring' can say that they have studied God's word as ardently as this Jewish boy? How many of us learn even one text each day? How much we might learn in the course of a year, if we committed to memory one verse on each of the days from Monday to Saturday, and then repeated on Sabbath what we had learned during the week, not as a hard task, but as the pleasantest part of the day's work-like getting hold of a sunbeam to carry about with us always.

ΑΝ

THE PRICELESS DIAMOND.

N Italian Poet, Jacob Bendetti, tells the following tale:

A beautiful maiden was left by her father a priceless diamond. She had five brothers. The first was a Musician; the second a Painter; The third a Spice Merchant; the fourth a Cook; and the fifth a Builder. Each of them coveted the maiden's diamond. The first came and said, Sister, if you will give me the diamond, I will charm you with delightful music. But she said, The charm of song will not last and my diamond would be gone. The second said, Sister, I will paint you, for it, a beautiful picture. But she said, The picture may be stolen or may lose its colouring and I would lose my diamond. The third said, I will stock you

a garden with the sweetest flowers of the east if you give me your diamond. But she said, The most delicious perfumes pall, and fail after a while to please, and my diamond would be gone. The fourth said, I will give you a banquet that kings might envy. But she said, After the banquet I might again be hungry, and the diamond would be gone. And the fifth came and

said, Dear sister, I will build you a grand palace, if you will give me your diamond. But she said, I have heard that a palace is filled with cares and I do not wish such companions. At last there came to her the son of a great king and he said, Lady, I wish you to give me your diamond. she said, What will you give me? I will give you myself, said he, and all that is mine. And she said, The diamond is yours, I freely accept the offer.

But

Now, the diamond is the soul; the five brothers the five senses; and the king's son is Jesus.

MAKE ME GOD'S CHILD.

O, CONQUEROR of death,

Victor o'er the grave!

Whose latest breath
Was spent to save
Lost humankind:
Saviour, mild,

Make me God's child.

O, guide me as I go

Safely on through all! Through weal and woe, Through rise and fall, Whate'er may hap: Saviour, mild,

Make me God's child.

O, tend me till I die, And to earth return! There safe I'll lie

And wait the morn; My name enscrolled, Saviour, mild,

As God's own child.

NEIL KENNEDY.

TO name Dr Isaac Watts, is to name an

old friend whom nearly every little child has known from almost babyhood. For if you have not known his name, you have surely said many a time the simple hymns which he wrote. Once, indeed, these hymns were in more use than now. Yet they are so easy to understand, so charming in their simplicity, so good for every day, they can never be wholly forgotten, or laid by for sweeter strains.

Dr. Watts was born at Southampton, July 17th, 1674. His father and mother were truly good. And the little boy learned from his infancy all those wise and gentle lessons which he afterwards taught so well. He became Independent minister of Stoke-Newington, near London, when he was twenty-four years old; but his health was delicate, and could not bear,