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little town in the South of Bohemia. But although he lived so long ago, Wickliffe was before him. Wickliffe was preaching the pure truth, in his little parish in England, and had been preaching it for many years, through long struggle and opposition, while Huss was still a little child in his Bohemian home. Wickliffe died tranquilly at his own house at Lutterworth, and among those he loved. The flames of martyrdom lay before Huss; and the Rhine was to receive his ashes when the fire had done its work.

But the names of the two men come together in our thought as Reformers before the Reformation time. Both good men, who faithfully taught what they knew was true. One in England while Edward Third reigned, and one far away in Bohemia.

Huss was the friend of Jerome of Prague, whose fate was like his own. They studied at the same University, and both protested with whole-hearted earnestness against the abuses of the church of Rome.

In the year 1402 Huss became preacher in the Bethlehem chapel at Prague. He was also made confessor to the Queen, and so gained access to court. Thus his influence spread alike among high and low, and soon his strange new doctrines alarmed the authorities of the church. For it was new to hear bold declamations against confessions and indulgences. And priests were at that time going through the country selling indulgences, to raise money for the Pope, who wished to make war on the King of Naples.

Against all this Huss openly protested. He declared it was a wickedness, a cruel deceit. For the poor foolish people · crowded to the priests to buy pardon for their sins, and thought they might do what evil things they would without fear of God, while they had indulgence from the Pope.

Huss had before this time been accused as a follower of Wickliffe, and been summoned to appear at Rome. He

had disregarded the summons. He was strong enough to disregard it, for all the people were his friends.

Again he was condemned by the Pope, and thinking himself no longer safe in Prague, he retired to his native place. There he continued preaching with great power. He moved the people by his earnestness; and thought, perhaps, that in shelter of the little town he was safe from the Pope and the great authorities of Rome.

But he was not long to be allowed this quiet. He was summoned to a council at Constance, and when he reached the town was seized and thrown into prison. The Pope had resolved upon his death; and on the sixth of July, 1415, he was burned to death, and his ashes thrown into the Rhine. !

II. W. II. W.

THE THREATENED BLOW.

EDDIE and Willie, the one eight, the other six years of age, were bright little fellows, and loved each other dearly. They would play happily together for hours, while their dear mother was attending to the wants of their sweet baby sister. But it happened one day, as they were enjoying their plays, that Eddie, the older brother, did something that exceedingly displeased Willie. In an instant, he raised his little fist and said: 'I would strike you, Eddie—if mother was willing!' Though he was very angry, the hand fell. The blow was not given. A long pause ensued, but they finally resumed their sports.

How many children, do you suppose, would have been thus thoughtful, when angry, of mother's wishes?

When anything occurs to displease you, and your naughty tempers rise and make you feel as if you would just like to strike your dear brother or sister, or any other playmate, remember Willie. Stop and think if mother' would be willing,' and never forget that 'the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.'

THE

HERE is a mountain in the Holy Land which is called mount Tabor. Near this mountain there lived a little boy whose name was Selia. He had pious parents who often told him about the good angels that Jehovah sends down to earth, to walk beside little children and guard them from harm and to teach them how to be wise and good and happy. Now, Selia loved flowers very much, and so he thought, 'Surely, the flowers too, have an angel to take care of them. Oh, how I wish I could see him!'

The little boy went often away up by himself to the quiet mountain, and would sit with his large blue eyes gazing up to heaven, or resting thoughtfully on the flower-carpeted hillsides. He was sitting watching, waiting, if perchance he might hear the rustle of the angel's wings. But, in vain he saw not, nor heard the flower angel.

Then he thought, 'The angel works when no one sees; at night he comes and cares for the flowers, sprinkling them

with dew, that they may bloom all day, and then at dawn he disappears. Oh, how I should like to thank him!'

So he went and gathered all the loveliest flowers that he could find in the valley. He wove them into a beautiful wreath and, thinking of the flower angel, he laid them softly on the mountain side. Then, with a heart full of peace and joy, he went to his home.

When he was going to bed in his little room, his mother said to him, My dear Selia, what have you been doing all day? Have you been away again among the flowers?'

So he told her how he had gathered all the loveliest flowers in the valley, and had woven them into a wreath and laid it in a field where the angel of the Spring would find it, that very night. His elder brother laughed, and said, 'You fool, if the angel can make flowers, he can get plenty of his own, and does not need any from you.'

This vexed the little boy very much, and he looked sadly to his mother. She said, 'Do not heed him, dear; the angel will welcome your gift, for he looks not only at the flowers, but at the loving heart which made you wish to wreathe and consecrate them to him.' This comforted Selia very much, and he fell asleep. In his sleep the flower angel visited him and smiled upon him in his dreams.

Early the next morning he was up and away to the hill. Home again he came, shouting for joy. Mother, he cried, 'The flower angel has been pleased to welcome my gift. He has not despised it, for see, over all my wreath he has sprinkled drops of shining dew.

E. B. M'T.

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FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL.

UR readers will notice the black border round our music page this month. It tells that the sweet singer who has so often delighted them has gone to a better home on high. Quoting from a letter of her own in reference to her father's death, Iwe have to announce the fact that on the morning of Tuesday, the 3rd of June, Miss Frances Ridley Havergal 'ENTERED INTO LIFE.' It was only a week or two before that she had sent us the hymn which we now print, along with a few others which will appear in the Dayspring,' and the intelligence of her departure came to us with a sad surprise.

Miss Havergal was a daughter of a well known clergyman of the Church of England-the Rev. W. H. Havergal of Worcester. He was a man of sincere piety, and endowed above many with the gift of song, which he sought to consecrate to the Master's service. His daughter inherited her father's gifts and spirit. She, too, had the gift of song in no mean degree, for she was both a poet and a musician; and it was her supreme desire to use her powers in advancing the cause of the Saviour. Her heart's deepest desire was expressed in one of her own hymns, now very familiar to many,

'Jesus, Master! whose I am,

Purchased Thine alone to be,
By Thy blood, O spotless Lamb,
Shed so willingly for me;
Let my heart be all Thine own,
Let me live to Thee alone.

which we have mentioned, she published several others, as Bruey,' 'Under the Surface,' The Royal Invitation,' 'Loyal Responses. Many of her pieces were published in the form of leaflets, and had a very large circulation. In all, her endeavour was to do good; and in looking over her letters, mostly relating to business, we have been struck with the earnest spirit breathed through them, and the constant desire to bring, by her verse, to some weary pilgrim

"The quiet and refreshment of an upward pointing thought.'

It was not by her poems alone that she sought to point upward to the skies. In a letter written some years ago, she says: 'I am setting aside all literary requests, &c., for a spell of more direct work for Christ, such a singularly wide "open door" seeming to be set before me that I cannot refuse to enter. I have several Bible classes or readings every week, and eager welcome in every cottage and farm-house. God is blessing me beyond anything of the kind I ever had.' So earnest was she that she injured herself by her devotion to work. In another letter, written shortly after, she says: 'I am not at all strong, and find that having several different Bible classes or mectings a week, with separate preparation for each, and all the interviews' and personal following up which they involve is too much for me, and I could not keep it up much longer without risk. As it is, I have had a series of small breaks-down and fits of exhaustion, and cannot do all that would be otherwise within reach. my But God knows how to put the weights on the clock; and the Lord Jesus is indeed a good Master, and it is worth any suffering to be permitted to work for Him at all.' The toil and excitement proved too much for her, for both in mind and body she was finely cast and sensitive. She fell into a nervous fever, and her life was despaired of. Her own impression was that she was dying; but she said 'It is perfect peace': and when a text of Scripture was repeated to her, she replied, 'It is true; I have

proved it.' From that fever she recovered, but was never strong. She was called away rather suddenly at last. She had been planning a visit to Ireland to visit some Protestant missions there, with the view of writing some papers illustrating the importance of the work; for she was a true Protestant, and gloried in the name 'Ridley' which she bore. Her tour was to have begun on the 4th of June, but on the 3rd she was called home. Her end was peace; and among her last words were these How splendid to be so near the gates of heaven!'

Let our readers hear the message which comes to them from her death-bed-NOW. Now is the accepted time; to-day is the day of salvation.

INTERNATIONAL SERIES of LESSONS. QUESTIONS ON THE GOLDEN TEXTS.'

July 6. PEACE WITH GOD. Rom. 5. 1-10. Memory verses: 6-10. Golden Text. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom. 5. 1. What is faith in the Lord Jesus? John 1. 12. Heb. 11. 13.

How does faith justify the sinner? Rom. 4. 5-8, 23-25. 2 Cor. 5. 21.

What is it, to have peace with God? Phil. 4. 7.
John 14. 27. Acts 16. 25.

Why does faith in the Lord Jesus produce
peace? Eph. 2. 14-17. Luke 7. 50.
How may we keep this peace in our hearts?
Isa. 26. 3; 48. 18. Psa. 119. 165.

What is it, to have God for us? 2 Chron. 32. 8. 1 Sam. 17. 45. Mat. 10. 19, 20.

When is God for us? 1 Chron. 28. 9. 2 Chron. 16. 8, 9. 1 John 4. 16.

What powerful enemies oppose the believer? Eph. 6. 12. 1 John 2. 16.

Why, notwithstanding such foes, can he say, Who can be against us? 2 Kings 6. 16, 17. Rom. 8. 37-39. Heb. 13. 5, 6.

What does the little word if point out? 2 Pet. 1. 10; 3. 14.

July 20.-CHRISTIAN LOVE.

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1 Cor. 13. 13.

1 Cor. 13. 1-13. Memory verses: 4-8. Golden Text. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. Who implants faith, hope, and sinner's heart? Acts 15. 8, 9. Why is love greater than faith? Rom. 13. 10. 1 Cor. 13. 8. What is Christian hope? Heb. 6. 18, 19. 1 Thes. 5. 8. 2 Thes. 2. 16.

love, in the Rom. 15. 13. 1 John 4. 16.

Why is love greater than hope? Rom. 8. 24, 25. 1 Cor. 13. 12. 1 John 3. 1, 2.

July 27.-VICTORY OVER DEATH.

1 Cor. 15. 50-58. Memory verses: 54-57. Golden Text. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.

John 11. 25. To whom, and on what occasion, did Jesus utter these words? John 11. 21-27, 43, 44. Why is Jesus, Himself, the resurrection? 1 Cor. 15. 20-23. 2 Tim. 1. 10. Heb. 2. 14, 15. What other pledges did Jesus give of the resurrection at the last day? Luke 8. 54,55. Who are those for whom death has no sting? 1 Cor. 15. 57. Phil. 3. 20, 21. Heb. 9. 28.

PRIZE ESSAYS.

is very gratifying to find that so many boys and girls are practically interested in the temperance question, as is manifested by the result of the competition for the best Essay on 'How can the young advance the cause of Total Abstinence'? All the competitors are members of Bands of Hope, and bear testimony to the good which these institutions are fitted to accomplish. The Essays have all been carefully examined, and the following is the adjudication in the order of merit :

FIRST PRIZE-James Slimon, Kirkintilloch.
SECOND
Jane Martin, Dunmurry, Belfast
John Paton, Renton.

THIRD FOURTH FIFTH

Campbell N. Moody, Bothwell.
R. M'Lauchlan, Troon.

Three Prizes were offered, but as an encouragement to our young friends we have awarded five as above. The subject for the next Essay will be

'What evidence have we that the Bible is the inspired Word of God'?

The competitors must not be above 15 years of age. The Essays, accompanied by a sealed note, giving the name and address of the competitor, to be addressed to Rev. JOHN KAY, 2 Cumin Place, Edinburgh, and reach him not later than 29th Nov. 1879.