stood a man who seemed to be completely drenched with rain. I asked him to come in; but he said, 'Young man, I am sorry to trouble you; but I am very anxious to cross the bridge to-night, and would like to have you open the gate for me.' I tried to persuade him to come in and stay till morning; but he said he could not think of it, as he had a child on the other side who was very sick, and he felt that he must go. So I took my lantern and the key, and went out to let him go across; but when we got to where the bridge had been, we found it was swept away. Then the stranger gazed in consternation, and exclaimed, What shall I do? what shall I do? I fear my child will die before I can get to it.'

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"Then I said, Stranger, there is a place a few rods above here, where I have often waded across in pleasant weather. If you will get upon my back and trust yourself with me, I think I can get you across safely.' He said, 'Willingly, willingly, young man, if you are disposed to undertake it.' So I took him upon my back; but as the water was quite deep, I had to use a great deal of caution and care: but at last I got him safely upon the opposite bank. When I put him down he offered me a wellfilled purse. I thanked him, and said I wished for nothing but the regular fee. As I spoke I looked towards him, and a halo of light seemed to surround his head as he repeated these words: 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto another, ye have done it unto Me;' and he was gone.

"How I got back and into bed again, I have no recollection. In the morning, when I got up, my light was burning in the window as usual. The rain had ceased, and I looked out to view the devastation caused by the late storm, when, lo and behold! there stood the bridge, apparently as strong and defiant as ever. Then I knew my labour of love had been all a dream.' But, boys, it left an indelible impression upon my mind, and after that I was more inclined than ever to do good as I had opportunity.

"I hope you will profit by the secret

PRAYER.-How little is all greatness, how low and impo proudest monarch, if compar the poorest person in the wo leads but a good life; for their i even in their highest prosperity among weak men like themsel not seldom their designs are blas Heaven, for the insolence of th formed them. "Is not this grea lon that I have built by the mig power, and for the honour of jesty?" While the word was king's mouth, there fell a voi heaven, saying, "The kingdom parted from thee." But the poo prayer pierceth the clouds; an and contemptible as he seems, draw down the host of heaven, a the Almighty in his defence, so he is able only to utter his w can but turn the thought of his God.-Ogden.

"BUT you were speaking of illus. trations, Lina," said Mrs. Villers; "it is quite true that we have to be very careful, in bringing forward a simile or allegory, not to let it be understood as bearing more resemblance to the original than it really does. Our country children, who are unaccustomed to comparisons, sometimes are puzzled instead of enlightened by them."

"Yes," said Agnes, "that reminds me of a friend of mine who was trying to explain the words, 'Heal my soul.' She asked one of the children what she would do if she had cut her hand. The reply was, she would tie it up with rag. 'Yes,' said my friend, and so it would get well and would be healed. She then went on to explain how the soul is sick from sin, and needs to be cured or healed, and at last tried to recapitulate, and said, 'Well, now, what is it to heal a soul?' 'To tie a bit of rag round it, ma'am,' said the child."

to prevent the mechanical style of answering?" asked Lina.

"By changing your style of questioning again and again, till you find the kind of questions which the pupils will enter into and understand. Then again, be very careful to use simple language. This is a point very much overlooked; half, I might say two-thirds, of the tracts written for uneducated people are rendered practically useless by the hard words employed. Indeed, I believe few tract writers are aware what a very small vocabulary the poor, especially in country places, possess. The words 'reflect,'' contemplate,' 'momentous,' ' spontaneous, deliberation,' and many more, which seem very simple for us, are to them absolutely unintelligible."

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"I have found that in reading at mothers' meetings," said Agnes. "If I bring a book or tract with me, I am generally obliged to translate it as I proceed."

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"I remember," said Sophia, a story of a clergyman who used the word ostentatious'-in a cottage lecture I think it was. A friend told him many of his hearers would not know what the word meant; so he tried it on his own servant, and asked him what he thought it meant. The

F F

man said he thought it was the word to describe some one who was ' quite the gentleman.'

"Yes," said Mrs. Villers, "short and simple words should always be preferred, and, in fact, Saxon rather than words of Latin origin. Another point to keep in mind is that numerous Bible words require explanation. Many expressions which were in use when our translation was made are now obsolete, and many words have changed their meaning: if we leave these unexplained, we shall find that our pupils sometimes form wrong ideas, and sometimes carry away no idea at all from what they have read."

"Yes," said Agnes; "I remember asking a young girl what was meant by Hallowed be Thy name;' did she know what to hallow' was? Oh yes, she replied: it was to bawl out loud! She conceived it to be the same as to halloo.'"

Any information, too," added Mrs. Villers, "you can give about eastern customs, or illustration by citing cases in point in the daily life of your pupils, will also help them to enter into the spirit of the Scripture narratives."

"A friend of mine," said Agnes, was reading with a German Roman Catholic girl in Switzerland. When they came to the account of the inscription on the cross, in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, she pointed out to the girl how this was to be explained by observing what went on in the part of the country they were living in, where three languages (French, German, and Italian) were in constant use, and in all of which placards or notices would often be written. My friend said the girl's face quite brightened up at this little explanation, and she seemed to realize the whole narrative as she had never done before."

Secondly, do not, if you can help it, ask questions which may, as a rule, be answered by 'yes' or 'no." "Why?" interrupted Sophia. "Because they are so easily an swered by guess," replied Mrs. Villers, who continued

"Thirdly, do not supply half a sentence, and then wait for the rest; as, 'He said to the stood by the on the

He what ?''sailed

what?' etc.

'Fourthly, do not be tempted to ask such questions as 'We should do so and so, shouldn't we?' 'So and so is the case, isn't it?' Of course you will receive a very energetic 'yes from the whole class; but such goes for nothing.

"Fifthly, never allow simultaneous answering, except every now and then, by way of recapitulation, to fix the answer already given in the memory. The quick ones lead the way, and the others chime in without thinking.

"Sixthly, do not let one or two of the quickest pupils monopolize all the answering. Question all the children in turn; or bid any who can answer put out their hands, and choose from among them.

"If one mode of questioning fails to elicit an answer, try and obtain it in another, if longer way-let them

take a run before they leap. The French proverb' Il faut réculer pour mieux sauter' is a very good one."

"But that last mode of questioning," said Agnes, "reminds me of a difficulty which has hindered me a good deal of late. I have undertaken the care of a class of young women, whose only leisure hour is one on Sunday afternoons. They are very anxious to learn, but dreadfully shy and timid; and when I ask them questions I am met by dead silence. I try again and again; no one has courage to speak; and at last I have to end by making all the observations myself."

Yes, that is very true," said Agnes; “but, with my young women, for example, what can I do? I can't force them to speak."

"No; but you can employ the means. If the subject, for instance, is a narrative, make them reproduce it by questioning them on the mere simple incidents of the story. Do it as if taking for granted they must know. They will then get used to the sound of their own voices, and gradually will gain courage to answer less obvious questions."

"That is an excellent plan," said Agnes; "but can you suggest any subjects for a class like the one I speak of?"

"Oh, yes. If they are already well

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acquainted with Scripture history, I should give them a lesson to prepare on some special subject: for instance, illustrations of meekness, faith, or unbelief, answers to prayer, etc.; and make them look out and compare passages. Or take the various parables and miracles of our Lord; or, say, if the pupils are advanced, the prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament, or types and figures. The Irish Church Mission plan of taking a text, and bringing other passages to bear on it, works admirably, as I know. But, if you want suggestions on the mode of studying and comparing Scripture with Scripture, I cannot point to a better hand-book than a little volume entitled, 'Kenneth Forbes; or, Fourteen Ways of Studying Scripture.' It is written as if for children, but is really more fitted for older readers, and especially teachers."

"In teaching classes of boys, Mrs. Villers," said Sophia, "I suppose pains should be taken to illustrate one's subject by allusions to their daily life and calling."

:

"Yes, certainly but with all classes this is a good plan it makes them look on the Bible as a real aid, a daily guide and reference. But we have not yet spoken of the kind of pupils for whom Sundayschools are applicable. In general, they are filled with the children of the working classes exclusively. In England they are; but in Irish mission schools adults also are taught extensively on the text-teaching plan, and it has been found a great blessing. hope classes for grownup persons will become more general here; for young girls and lads in service they are particularly important. I also wish much that more efforts were made to include the children of the upper classes in Sunday-school teaching."