concluded by a memorandum on the fly leaf at the end, containing some pious remarks on general religious topics which he made just before departing out of this world.

66 PRAY AND PUMP."

In a seamen's prayer meeting lately, in New York, one of the speakers thanked God that he had been a sailor. He had been in tight places at sea, but he never hid his religion or lost his confidence in God. He had learned to call on God in trouble, and had not been disappointed. But then faith must be joined with practice. Praying only, without using effort, is not enough.

"We were once," said he, "driven to great straits in a gale. The wind blew a perfect hurricane, and our ship sprung a leak. It seemed as if we must go to the bottom in a few minutes. Our men worked hard at the pumps. The water gained on us. Death stared us in the face. I ran down below, and on my knees asked Jesus to save us, and give me a token. I then opened my Bible, lying before me, and Isaiah xli. 10, met my eyes. The words are these, and the first I saw: Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not thou dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee with the right hand of my righteousness.' That was enough. I ran on deck and told the men. I said, 'Men, we are going somewhere, but we are not going down.' I reported to them what I had asked of the Lord, and how he had answered me. 'Now,' said I, 'men, pump and pray, and pray and pump. And they did it with a will. And we pumped and prayed our

To the Editor of the Primitive Church Magazine.

DEAR SIR,-As a subscriber to the Bunyan Library, I was sorely disappointed at its failure, because I had anticipated with great pleasure the Sixteenth volume of the series,

namely, Abraham Booth's life, with a selection from his writings, by Dr. Steane. One is suprised to find that while Andrew Fuller, has no fewer than four biographers, Booth who was his contemporary and in some respects I think his superior; certainly one of

TABLE MANNERS.

In silence I must take my seat,
And give God thanks before I eat;
Must for my food in patience wait,
'Till I am asked to hand my plate.

I must not scold, nor whine, nor pout,
Nor move my chair or plate about;
With knife, or fork, or napkin-ring,
I must not play-nor must I sing.
I must not speak a useless word,
For children must be seen, not heard:
I must not talk about my food,
Nor fret if I don't think it good.
My mouth with food I must not crowd,
Nor while I'm eating speak aloud;
Must turn my head to cough or sneeze,
And when I ask, say, "If you please."
The table-cloth I must not spoil,
Nor with my food my fingers soil;
Must keep my seat when I have done,
Nor round the table sport or run.
When told to rise, then I must put
My chair away with noiseless foot,
And lift my heart to God above,
In praise for all his wondrous love.
Home Songs.

SHOOTING THE SHARK.

THE great ship-of-war lay at easy anchor in the beautiful bay, and the waters slept around her, smooth as a mill-pond and silvery as glass. The sailors were idly moving here and there on the ship's deck, for there was nothing to be done. The old boatswain, a favourite with all, was among them, telling long stories, or as they call it, "spinning his long yarns.' Among this crew was a bright little boy, a son of the old boatswain, the idol of his father and the pet of all the sailors. He was so cheerful and bright and good-natured, that there was nothing which they would not do for little Jem." The morning was warm, and the water just of the right temperature for bathing. A group of the sailors leaned over the side of the ship, and seemed greatly delighted with something they saw.

It was

"little Jem," their pet, far out from the ship swimming alone. He could whirl over, dive, float, or shoot forward like a duck.

66

'Boatswain, boatswain, a shark! a shark! Oh, he will get Jem in one minute more."

The old man leaped up, and a single glance took it all in. There was his son playing in the water, lying on his back, unconscious of any danger, and a huge shark made straight towards him, and it was plain that in a moment more he would be crunching the limbs of the boy. The old man remembered that one of the cannons was shotted. Quick as a flash, and with almost superhuman strength, he wrenched the gun in place, depressed the muzzle, aimed a few feet between the child and the shark-just where the fish would be in a single instant. The match was applied, the gun roared and reeled. The poor father sank down beside the gun, too faint to look. The smoke of the gun cleared away, and up rose a shout from the sailors, almost as loud as the roar of the gun.

"What is it?" calls the father.

"Oh, Jem is safe. There lies a shark, dead and torn in pieces. How could you move the gun, and sight her, and get her off so quickly and so accurately?"

"I don't know, but I believe God helped me. Wont some of you bring Jem to me?"

The next moment a boat was lowered and the oars were bending as she cut her way to the boy. He had just begun to understand the thing, and was paralysed with terror. Gently they lifted him into the boat, and in a few minutes placed him in the arms of his weeping father. The old man seemed to receive him as from the dead, and could only rock him in his arms and cry like a babe. The tears of those around so far sympathised with him that they welcomed Jem again as if he had come from the dead.

How wonderful that Providence

that stepped in, and from a source so uncommon and unexpected, sent salvation to the life of that child. The only man who could have managed the gun so quickly and accurately, the only man who thought of the thing was the father. And when life

and death hung on an instant of time, and on the accuracy of his eye and the steadiness of his hand, how he had them all in full use as long as needed

My little reader, there are sharks after you, with wide jaws and sharp teeth-coming directly towards you. Will any power come in between you and them and save you? Have you a Father watching over you who will see that you are safe?

There is one boy who has several sharks after him in the shape of companions who are profane, unclean in conversation, who are trying to make him swear and drink and smoke. Will they succeed? Will his heavenly Father send in some power that will save him? Perhaps the prayers of

his mother, or the gentle voice of his sister, or the loving heart of some good boy may be the instrument. Perhaps his Sabbath-school teacher will become that power. Perhaps the Holy Spirit will do it.

There is another boy who has a shark coming towards him in the temptation to forget the fifth commandment, and not to honour his father and his mother. The hour

that he does this he puts himself out beyond the promise of life, and his end may be near. There is a third upon whom the shark, in the form of doubt and unbelief has fastened his eye. Will he reach him and destroy his faith in his mother's prayers, in his father's religion, in the word of God, and in the name and salvation of Jesus?

Oh that between every child and his great spiritual danger there might come a power loud as the cannon's roar, quick as the speed of a ball, and sure as the eye of a loving father.

New Publications by the Baptist Tract Society.

WE have great pleasure in drawing attention to the following important additions to the list of the Baptist Tract Society.

First, we have five admirable little pamphlets with illustrated cover, and which are sold at 1d., or 25 for 1s. 8d. These are the commencement of a NEW SERIES, which we hope will be rigorously continued. They are all weighty and useful. They are as follows:

I. Ritualism: what it is, and at what it aims.

II. Modern Ritualism and the Acts of the Apostles.

III. Rome: The Colloseum and the Catacombs.

IV. How to make home happy. V. Costly Attire: a letter to Christian women. By Adoniram Judson. THE above will make suitable gift books to our senior sabbath scholars, and others.

no less than £412 2s. 8d., by having had a depôt at his private house until quite recently.

On the Treasurer transferring the stock to the Society's Depôt, the following resolution was unanimously adopted :

"That the statement of the Treasurer presented at last meeting, showing as it does so long a career of active usefulness on behalf of the Society, on the part of our esteemed Treasurer, this Committee begs to present its heartfelt thanks to him, and prays that he may be long spared to aid the interests of the Society, and superintend the New Depôt. They beg also that he will accept an annual grant of tracts to the value of £10, for distribution at his pleasure."

It was unanimously resolved,"That the Statement and Resolution [as above] be printed and circulated."

The Baptist Tract Society may well rejoice in the services of such a Treasurer as our brother Oliver.

DEAR BROTHER PARKER.-You will be aware from one of my last communications that I, with two other brethren, was entreated by the association of the Prussian churches to go on a longer preaching tour in behalf of the mission. Having now returned from this tour I hasten to give you a brief report of it.

The aim of the journey was, with the Lord's help, to stir up the churches to a special mission in their own country-Prussia. The association of the churches in Prussia had carried on a successful mission in former years, but since the time that these churches were mostly put on their own footing (formerly their ministers were supported by our English and American friends), they had nothing to spare, and this common home mission had ceased. However now the duty and importance of beginning it again was strongly felt, and three brethren were chosen to visit for this purpose all the churches in the monarchy. The district I had to go to was the province of East-Prussia,

VOL. XXV.-NO. CCXC.

a part of Poland and of West-Prussia, those districts where we have the most churches. At the end of October last, after I had finished various papers for the press, I started in the name of the Lord on my tour. I had above five hundred miles to go by train before I could commence my tour. Königsberg, one of the largest towns, formerly the capital of Prussia, was the first place where I was expected. Here I was received most heartily by the church, which for the purpose of welcoming me assembled the same evening that I arrived, to a meeting of thanksgiving, because the Lord had once more brought me into their midst. You will recollect that I, in former years, laboured here, as well as in the whole province, in Poland, &c., as missionary of the Baptist Evangelical Society, when the Lord gave much success, so that I, during the three years I spent there, baptised nearly half-a-thousand converts. The most of these I now met again, which was a great joy to them as well as for me, and how could we otherwise, but hold first of all a special meeting of

E