་ ལ་

WHAT A CHILD'S WORDS MAY DO. (Concluded from p. 131.) BELIEVE,' cried the deeplyagitated man, who seemed quite beside himself; yes, yes, I believe that a miracle has been wrought on my child. God the Lord has spoken to me out of her mouth, that I should not perish in my.sin. It was the devil who tempted me and wished to entice me to commit this bloody deed. But God is merciful, and has not suffered me to fall. Therefore, henceforth will I never turn aside from the ways of the Lord and from His commandments. What would all the silver and gold in the world avail me if I were lost myself?'

'God be praised and blessed for ever!' exclaimed his wife, with joy. "He will strengthen us, too, and help us to bear the burden He has laid upon us.'

"Yes, yes, that He will indeed do,' said the man. I will patiently bear my trouble till God shall remove it from me. He has made my child a saving angel to me. Therefore I will now do His will and not transgress against His commandments.'

'God will never forsake us more,' cried Martha, with pious confidence, and again with many tears the happy couple embraced each other.

They had been sitting side by side for about a minute when the door of the inner chamber was quietly opened. Burmann entered the room bearing the little Annie, still half asleep, in his arms. The weaver and his wife gazed up with astonishment. But they felt as if they must sink into the earth when they saw the stranger with their daughter. Both hid their faces and wept. They could not raise their eyes to

look upon the man whom the weaver had just before been about to murder. The stranger gazed at the couple for a few moments in silence. Then he said with deep solemnity, but with gentleness, too,

'Stand up, good woman! stand up, man! Here I bring you the saving angel! From the very first, Schwabe, I had no real trust in you. Your gloomy and morose manner, and especially your envious glances towards my money-bag, soon betrayed your thoughts to me. I was not, therefore, so stupid or foolhardy as to allow myself to fall asleep, weary and exhausted as I was. As soon as your wife left the room I rose from my bed. I listened at the door to the conversation which you held together. I heard almost every word which you spoke to each other, and I was ready and armed to defend my life to the uttermost. Your wife is an honest woman; love her and honour her is my advice to you, for she did all she could to keep you back from sin, though it was God's will that this child should be your saving angel. And you, too, are not a hardened evil-doer. The bitter want in which you are living, the temptation of the money you so need-probably, too, that drink to which you were not accustomed, which I heedlessly gave you, and which excited you; but above all, the want of a real fear and knowledge of God, have brought you to this danger and to the brink of ruin. Thank the Lord your God for keeping you back and saving you. He will forgive you, for He is merciful and willeth not the death of a sinner. I forgive you, too, as it is the sacred duty of a Christian to do. All shall be forgotten. I beg you, stand up! I will help you and improve your circumstances, so that you, poor man! may not fall again into such grievous temptation.' The couple still had not courage to look At last Burmann himself raised them

up.

from the ground, and at the same time said to the weaver, 'I have forgiven you from the very bottom of my heart, and forgotten everything; henceforth sin no more.'

As the stranger said, so it came to pass. The well-to-do linen-dealer settled down, after he had given up his business, close to the little village, and bought an estate in that country. He then purchased large stores of flax, which he gave to the weavers of that poor district to spin and work into linen, and then to sell for their own profit. Heinrich Schwabe and his wife were now removed from all want. In the factory which Burmann had established they had the best post, the salary of which was quite enough to satisfy all their needs. Little Annie became the darling and favourite of the old linen-dealer. He took her, with her parents' consent, to a large village in Silesia, where there was a good school. When she was seventeen she returned with

Schwabe and his wife live with them, and rejoice at the happiness of their children and grandchildren. The whole family are pious and God-fearing, a credit to the country, and highly esteemed by all their neighbours and acquaintance. Whoever enters their house can see something of the peace and blessing of God. In their largest and best room hangs, in a gilt frame and in brilliant embroidery, the text Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou ordained praise.' And my little readers will easily understand what this text means in this place, and of what it is to remind those who so often look at it. J. F. C.

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE EAST.

WAR-CHARIOTS.

to her greyhaired adopted father, and became not only the joy and delight of the whole household, but also of all who knew her.

Old Burmann never had reason to repent that he had adopted this weaver family. They were bound to him, not only by heartfelt gratitude, but also by deep love. and affection. He called them all his dear children, as they too, called him their beloved father. Half a year after Annie's return the old man began to grow weak and feeble. A year after that he died. Annie was the sole heiress of his property. She and her parents for a long time mourned over the loss of their deliverer and benefactor.

Little Annie when she grew up married a wealthy proprietor of the neighbourhood. She is now living with her husband in Holstein, where he has settled. Heinrich

foot. A king, or a prince, often rode in a chariot made of wood and iron, with a pattern of gold on the sides. The chariot was open behind, and as there was no seat in it, the soldier was obliged to stand, and by his side stood a man to drive the horses. The prince fought with a bow and arrows, and by the side of his chariot was hung a quiver full of arrows, and a case for his dart or a battle-axe. His shield was hung over his back. The driver did not fight, for his duty was to guide the horses at the will of his master. God did not allow the people of Israel to have many horses or chariots, but promised, that when they went to battle He would be with them. This made David say, 'Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.'

PASSION-TIDE.*

PASSION

ASSION means 'Suffering.' Passiontide is the time when the Church reminds us day by day of the sufferings which Jesus Christ endured at the close of His life on earth.

He Who was God and man chose to suffer a cruel death, because that was the only way of saving the world from sin and everlasting misery. Think how great was His agony, when, knowing what was coming to pass, He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane to His Father three times, to remove, if possible, this sorrow from Him! But think how perfect was His obedience when He added, 'Nevertheless, not My will but Thine be done.'

It is sad to remember that the Chief Priests and Rulers conspired against the Holy Jesus, that Herod the king set Him at naught, and Pilate the governor condemned Him just to please the people.

But what shocks us most of all is the thought that it was Judas, one of His own chosen Apostles, who had been His companion for three years, who now treacherously sold Him to His enemies for the sake of gain! St. Peter, too, fell away in the time of trial, and denied his Master three times; and all the disciples forsook Him. But they all, except Judas, came back to His service, and gave the remainder of their lives to the work which He bad called them to do.

When you see men and women persist in doing and saying things that are wrong, and make themselves and others unhappy, remember that when young they never perhaps thought of being so wicked; but they said wrong, and did wrong, and continued saying and doing wrong, until, like the old man's fingers constantly used in driving, they became fixed in the course in which they had so long been engaged.