make arrangements for the circulation of tracts at an approaching public execution, it pleased the Almighty to put a sudden termination to his valuable life.

The truth of Dakin's conviction, that God makes use of humble means to work out great results, may be illustrated from the following facts. When Baxter, the author of the "Saints' Rest," was young, a tract "seasonably sent" to him was left at the door by a pedlar, and afterwards he read a "little piece" of a work on Repentance, belonging to a servant of his father, which did further "inform and confirm him;" Doddridge owed much to the writings of Baxter; Wilberforce was roused to religious earnestness by the writings of Doddridge, while Legh Richmond, the author of the "Dairyman's Daughter," and one of the best of pastors and most holy of men, was stimulated to repentance and a renewed life, by "Wilberforce's Practical Christianity." Baxter was once heard to say: "I had rather be the author of books to be sold from pedlars' packs, in the houses of the poor, than of works to stand in golden libraries."

S. L.

WORK

RICH, or poor, or great, or small,
God appoints us workers all.
Hearts were given to feel for grief,
Heads to think, to plan relief,
Hands to work for daily food;
God, in wisdom, saw this good.
Where is ignorance, want, or care,
Work for feeling hearts is there;
Wise man, there is work for thee,
Idle thou'rt not meant to be.
None may sit with folded hands,
Proudly issuing commands,
Of the slightest work afraid,
Doing nought to bless or aid.
Think, ye rich, ye favoured few,
Heavy duties lie on you;
Wealth is not an idle toy
To be spent on selfish joy;
'Tis a serious, awful trust;
Oh be thoughtful, oh be just.
Yours the task to deal abroad
Riches ye receive from God;
Give with liberal hand your store,
All are brethren, rich or poor,
This the task ye should pursue,
Noble work indeed for you.

J. A.

SOMETHING ABOUT LUTHER.

(Continued from page 52.)

EMMA and Robert talked a good deal about Luther in the course of the following day; and in the evening Emma took the earliest opportunity of renewing the subject, by asking her father" whether Luther remained all his life shut up in the University at Wittenburg?"

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Oh, no," said Mr. Morton; "not long after his return from Rome, a great change took place in his life. A messenger from the Pope came to Wittenburg, bringing indulgences for sale!" "Indulgences! what are they, papa ?" interrupted Emma. "You have heard of the Pope, haven't you, dear?"

Yes, mamma was telling me about him the other day, he is the chief Roman Catholic Bishop, and mamma says they look up to him with great respect, and think he is even able to forgive them their sins."

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Yes, and, at the time of Luther, the Pope had greater power than he has now; these indulgences were papers which the Pope sent round for sale, promising that all who could afford to buy, should have pardon for their sins. Now Luther had, you know, been studying the Bible very carefully, and as it seemed very shocking to him that a man should dare to take upon himself to pardon sin, he began to preach against these indulgences, and to show how contrary they were to Scripture. This roused a great many enemies against Luther, but he was not a man to be frightened out of what he believed to be right; and from preaching against indulgences, he soon went on to show how wrong the Roman Catholic priests were, to keep back the Bible from the people. At last the Pope persuaded Charles V., the Emperor of Germany, to call together a council or assembly of the clergy, and to command Luther to attend it; Luther's friends were much alarmed by this, and they tried very hard to dissuade.

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Why were they frightened, papa ?" asked Robert.

"Because, of course," said his sister, rather impatiently, "they were afraid of his being taken and shut up in prison, or perhaps burnt, as some people have been in England."

"Burnt! oh how shocking; I hope Luther wasn't burnt: oh, I hope he didn't go to the council."

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Well now, I hope he did go!" said Emma, "because I think it would be most right that he should."

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He did go, my dear; the council was held at a town called

Worms, and there Luther appeared before the Emperor and a great number of people, to defend his writings and himself."

"Why," cried Robert, "that was just what that picture represented, I do believe, I should like looking at it a great deal better now though, because I could understand it.”

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That's one use of gaining knowledge, you see, my boy; it enlarges the circle of your pleasures. But to return to Luther; he appeared many times before the council, to hold discussions with them, that means, to talk over the subjects on which they disagreed, and to strive in this way to arrive at the truth. At last, however, Luther found that it was of little use to remain any longer at Worms, since all that he could say seemed to have no effect upon the council, and he requested leave to return home, which was granted to him by the Emperor. He was travelling along, on his road to Wittenburg, when he was suddenly surrounded by a party of armed men, with masks on their faces, who seized him and "Oh papa!" burst from both the children at once; and fixing their eyes on their father's face, they waited quite anxiously for what was to follow.

"Whatever you might think, Emmy," said Robert, almost in a reproachful tone, "I never liked poor Luther's going to that nasty council."

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The men who seized Luther," continued Mr. Morton, with a smile, carried him off to a castle, situated on a high mountain, near Isenach, (look out for Isenach, Emma) and there they shut but this was done, I must tell you, entirely for Luther's good, and at the command of one of his best friends."

him

up;

Of one of his friends, papa ?"

"Yes, the Elector of Saxony, fearing that he would endanger his life by his boldness, determined to save him by putting him in a sort of friendly imprisonment. In this castle (which your uncle visited last year) Luther lived very comfortably, and employed himself in a great and useful work, perhaps the most useful he could have undertaken-that of translating the Scriptures into German, his native language."

Oh, papa, what a good thing!' the people were now able to read the Bible; how nice it must have been to them to know all about Joseph and Moses, and the New Testament too, which was better than all! Papa, I want to know. . . .

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Something which you cannot know to-night, Bob, my boy," said his father, patting him affectionately on the shoulder, "for there is the clock striking nine, and it is time, I'm sure, for you to be thinking of bed."

(To be continued.)

ZECHARIAH.

ZECHARIAH, who began to prophecy a few months later than Haggai, was the grandson of Iddo, a prophet, and the son of a certain Berechiah. The whole book which bears his name cannot have been written by him; for not only does it differ considerably in style, but alludes to events as present which occurred before the return from the captivity, and must, therefore, have been recorded by an earlier hand.

The mission of Zechariah appears to have been to encourage the Jews in rebuilding the temple, to exhort them to "turn from their evil ways." He impressed upon them the necessity of speaking the truth, of "not imagining evil of their brethren," of "executing true judgment," and showing "mercy and compassion." He animated them with his vivid illustrations of the love of God to the favoured Jerusalem, and consoled the despondent with the promise of the Most High, that he would dwell in the midst of them, and the assurance that Jerusalem should be their permanent abode. "There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls, playing in the streets thereof."

The authors of the book of Zechariah saw the foreshadowing of the branch, under whose shelter Gentiles, as well as Jews, should have peace, and had a faint vision of the "living waters" which should go out from Jerusalem, when the evening should be light as the day." Like Isaiah, also, they had a glimpse of that more distant time, when "the Lord should be king over all the earth: when there should be one Lord, and his name one."

The prophet Zechariah has been thought to be him of whom our Saviour spoke, as being killed between the temple and the altar, but the supposition is erroneous. A tomb was shown at the foot of the Mount of Olives, as his, and another at Bethariah, a village about a hundred and fifty miles from Jerusalem. A tradition ascribes to him prophecies written while he was at Babylon, foretelling the birth of Zerubbabel, the victories of Cyrus, and the restoration of the public exercises of religion at Jerusalem. A monument, said to be his tomb, is standing now in the valley of Jehoshaphat, but as there are thirteen men mentioned in Scripture history, bearing the name of Zechariah, two of whom lived after him, and the mausoleum bears traces of modern architecture, it is natural to suppose that there may be some error in regarding it as his. The monument is a remarkable structure-it rises in the form of a pyramid, and is four score feet in circumference. There is no entrance to it, and through a small window but a few stones are visible.

S. L.

the

MARY SILVESTER.

(Concluded from p. 54.)

THE morning sun wakened Mary and her cousin, to a pleasant consciousness of some happy event; and at an early hour, they were on their way to the Sunday school, which was distant about three miles. It had been mainly established through the efforts of Mr, Calland, the gentleman referred to as Mary's employer. He was a highly educated and charitable Protestant, who devoted much time, and a great part of his wealth, to the refinement and instruction of poor classes, in the numerous villages which surround Limerick. Mary's perseverance in well-doing had won his esteem, and he not only constantly provided her with employment, but also asked her to attend the school, every Sunday, and whenever she could spare an hour during the week as well. Thus she had acquired not only a knowledge of reading and writing, but also a rich store of Scripture truth, and a dependance and trust in God, which enabled her to fulfil her duties faithfully, and meet her trials cheerfully.

The scene at the Sunday school was a novel one to Norah Connor; in a large room, fitted up with desks and forms, were assembled about sixty children, most of them evidently poor, but in general clean, neat, and well-behaved. She timidly followed her cousin to one end of the room, where a group of children stood round a table. at which sat Ruth Kennedy, Mary's beloved friend and teacher. As Norah looked at the pleasant face before her, she thought she had never seen anything so sweetly calm and gentle; and when Ruth, in loving words, welcomed her as a new scholar, the little girl was truly happy. Ruth was indeed one who, enjoying few worldly blessings, was rich in charity and love, and ever ready to shed around her the sunshine of the heart. She had been prevented, by ill health, from earning her livelihood at glove-making, which then furnished employment to hundreds in the neighbourhood of Limerick, though it is very little carried on there now, the manufactories having been generally removed to Cork. Mrs. Calland had long known Ruth, and now found her a faithful and judicious assistant in her labours amongst the poor.

The morning passed very happily, and as the cousins walked home they spoke of the beautiful parable of the poor man who fell amongst thieves, and Norah wished very much she could be like the good Samaritan. She felt sure that a poor child could not act just as he did, but she knew that she could be kind and forgiving to her brothers and sisters, or speak gently to all, in suffering or distress;