THE FARTHING FOUNDATION. Letaié, my grandson, where are you? Listen to my last words! Why do you resist God? O, submit to Jesus! He wishes to save you. Give up your wars, and all of you love each other.' "Not long after this Libé died. It was on a Sunday morning. One of his grandsons had just been reading to him some verses in the Gospels. 'Do you know,' added the young man, 'that to-day is the Lord's day?' 'I know it,' he re 31 THE FARTHING FOUNDATION. A LITTLE BOY once attended a missionary meeting, and was much interested in the speeches. When he got home, he tried to think what he could do to help the missions, and could think of nothing that seemed of much importance. He was very young, and he felt he must live many years before he was able to speak much for this great cause. He was very poor, and all he had seemed worth nothing, as he thought of the pounds and shillings of others. His whole wealth consisted of a solitary farthing which somebody had given him. It was a beautiful farthing, but was only a farthing, and of what use could it be? At last he resolved to send it to the minister that had most interested him by his speech at the meeting. The minister had come from London, and the little boy thought he had best put the farthing in a letter, and send it to him by the post. He folded it nicely up in a bit of paper, and wrote a little letter with it, something like this: “DEAR SIR,—I am but a very little boy, and very poor. My father and mother can give me nothing to send to the Missionary Society, and I have only a farthing of my own. Still I want to give something, so I send this farthing to you.-G. B. S." Away went the letter, and great was the delight of the gentleman on getting it. He was then going to visit Scotland, to hold missionary meetings; so he took the farthing, lead to a great good. The little boy Wherever sent a farthing;—what and the letter with him. he held a meeting, there he showed the farthing, and read the letter. Everybody was pleased. The little people especially were stirred up by it, to try to raise some money; and ere the gentleman got back to London, the little boy's solitary farthing had gained above FORTY POUNDS. Now, I have called this the Farthing Foundation, because it was the foundation of so much good; and I want to make it the foundation of some efforts by you. a feeble effort! It won forty pounds. What great good did it produce! You have thrown a stone into the pond. What circles did it make! Circle widened on circle, till all the pond moved, and the sides only bounded the effect. A Roman garrison was once attacked by the enemy in the dead of night. Nobody heard their approach, and, notwithstanding the guard, the castle would have been taken. But a number of geese heard them coming, and, though 1. Learn from it, that every little only foolish geese, they made such a helps. The world is made up of noise, that they roused the sleeping littles ; -little grains of sand, little soldiers and saved the garrison. drops of water, little blades of grass. You are only a little boy or a little A good minister in Scotland proved girl. Some people may despise you, some years ago, that if the people and say, what can a little child like living in a certain island in the you accomplish? Never mind them. western isles would only give up the Tell them a goose could save a seventh pinch of snuff, and the garrison; a little stone could move seventh pipe of tobacco, they could a whole pond of water; a solitary keep a gospel minister amongst them. farthing could raise full FORTY 2. Learn from it, that a very POUNDS.-Montreal Sunday-school feeble effort, if rightly made, may Record. RAIN FROM HEAVEN. A LITTLE girl in Yorkshire, when ary Society. When she brought it water was scarce, saved as much to the Secretary, she was not willing rain-water as she could and sold it to to tell her name. "But I must the washer-woman for a cent a put down where the money came bucket, and in this way cleared from," said he. "Call it then," replinearly five dollars for the Mission-ed the little girl, "rain from heaven." Price 6d. per doz. or 3s. 6d. per 100; 20 copies sent free by post for 10d., paid in advance. Published by GALL & INGLIS, 6 George Street, Edinburgh. HOULSTON & WRIGHT, London. One tells us of a great awakening in some country villages, where a blacksmith has been preaching the Gospel to his neighbours. The shopkeepers discuss religious subjects with each IN Armenia as well as other parts of Asiatic Turkey, the thick darkness in which the people have sat for ages, seems to be passing away. Very cheering is it to hear the news from the various missionaries there. | other across the streets, as they sit May 1861. in their shops. There is a great demand for Bibles and Testaments -every one is inquiring for the strange Book, and passing it from hand to hand. In European Turkey the same good work is going on. In Constantinople itself, where, some years ago, no one dared publicly to buy or sell a Bible, the Bible-sellers go through the streets crying out, "The Bible! the Bible !" The New Testament is becoming quite a popular book in the city. A short time ago a Turkish lady stopped at a book-stall. She took up a book -it was the Bible; and as she turned over its pages a Turk approached her, saying, “Buy that book; it is most beautiful. My son bought a copy a little while ago, and now we spend all our evenings in listening to the wonderful things it tells us. Be sure and buy it." "A few months since," writes a missionary, "the priest of the Greek church at Abeih, after celebrating mass in a neighbouring village, preached a sermon, which is a rare. thing in eastern churches. 666 "He pointed his people to Christ for salvation, and spoke as follows:— 'My brethren, you are in danger of losing your souls, because you do not trust in Christ-you do not take the Bible as your guide. The Bible is from God, and you ought to study it.' "Then he became bolder, and exclaimed, 'Are you not ashamed that missionaries must come thousands of miles to teach the truth to you, who live in the land where Christ was born, and died, and whence He ascended? These Protestants are right, because they teach only what they find in the Bible: we are wrong.' "At this point in his sermon some of the women, and then the men, mocked. 'Ah,' said the priest, 'you cannot have the light, because your deeds are evil.' He was compelled to dismiss the audience, though the more sober part approved his sermon. I saw this priest, and asked him if such was his belief. He replied, 'Yes,' and that he intended to preach thus. Many years ago, when a little boy, he had received instructions from the American missionaries." POOR JACK. A GENTLEMAN going late one evening from St. Martin's Lane to Bloomsbury Street, London, saw a number of ragged lads-beggars, thieves, or both-standing in a knot, talking, laughing, and swearing. POOR JACK. Just as he passed, one of them shouted some jeering piece of impertinence after him. He turned round, and said kindly to the one who had spoken, "Did you speak to me, my boy?" He shambled a little away, muttering, "No, Sir." The gentleman then stepped into the middle of the dirty group, saying, "Boys, listen to me: I have something to tell you-a short story." They were all silent in an instant; and then, in the plainest and shortest manner, he told them of God's pity and love for them. After which, he spoke to them of the life, and sufferings, and death of Jesus Christ. He said nothing of punishment or of hell. He only tried to tell them all about Jesus, using the words of the Bible as much as possible. As he told them of how weary, and tired, and hungry the Saviour often was, all was silence. Then, as the end came nearer, trying to make the last awful scenes seem true to them, he heard an occasional shuffle, as one and another pushed nearer to hear how the good Lord had suffered for him. They listened with faces of awe— dirty enough but solemn-to hear of His agony and bloody sweat, His cross and passion; and by-and-by he heard-and God heard too-little vulgar sobs of uncontrollable emotion. Dirty hands wiped dirty faces; and 35 their round eyes never moved from his lips as he told them that now, while he spoke to them, Jesus was standing amongst them, and that He loved them just as much as when He died on the cross for their sakes. The story ended, no one spoke. Suddenly the gentleman said, "Now, lads, He loved us very much ought not we to love Him? Who loves Him? Let every one that wishes to love Him hold up his hand. I do ;" and he held up his. They looked at one another. Then one held his up. A little mass of rags, with only one shoe, and a little grimy face, half hidden in a shock of hair, scarcely confined by an old battered hat with no rim, held up his dirty little hand. It was a touching sight. One and another followed, till all the hands, just twelve in number, were up. The gentleman then said slowly, "You all wish to love Him. Now, dear boys, hear what He says to those who love Him-'If you love me keep my commandments."" Then, going straight up to him who had first held his hand up, the gentleman, holding out his, said, "Shake hands on it, that you will promise me to try to keep his commandments." At once the little black hand was put in his; and the gentleman shook it hard, saying, "God bless you!" So he went round to all. He then gave |