'Gentleman Jack.' 195 Prince of Wales, accompanied by the usual suite of attendant lords and ladies. 'It was a brilliant day, and the whole gardens appeared to advantage, dotted about with gay groups of people of all classes, enjoying the freedom of the place. 'But still I preferred remaining near the poultry-house, and grandpapa was not sorry to sit down on a bench under a fine spreading acacia tree, to rest awhile. 'An hour passed away as we sat watching the different groups here and there, spending the time in their own way, very happily. It was altogether a pretty scene, and it amused your grandpapa. At last Arthur came running to tell us that the Royal party had left, but that nobody could go into the Poultry Show yet, as the committee were awarding the prizes. I began to feel very restless, whilst nearly another long hour went by. Then at last the doors were again thrown open to the public, and all who had any interest in the show made a rush to get in as fast as possible. We were rather late, and were nearly pushed down by parties of people, eager, like ourselves, to know the fortunes of their poultry. 'At first I could see nothing of my pets. It really seemed as if everybody was determined to go to their side of the room and hide them from us. I almost cried with vexation and impatience. We waited, straining our necks to no purpose, till at last, one by one, the crowd began to move, and I heard several voices say, "Well, certainly, it was the prettiest pair there." And one dear little girl-not bigger than you, Tiny-was telling her big brother what "sweet little things they were," and then we had squeezed into the place where our fowls had been left. ""Bless me!" said my father; "why only think, May," and he turned to me. "Do you see that ?" pointing to a large card hanging over the empty stand of Snowball and Red Cap, on which was written, "Prize Birds. Purchased by Her Majesty." 'I stared, not understanding the words I read. ""What does it mean?" I asked of my father. "It means, my dear," he replied, “that her Majesty, with her usual good taste, has admired your pretty hens, has bought them, and they have already been carried off, to be packed, and sent down to Windsor." ""Oh, papa!" I exclaimed, "you don't mean to say that I am never to see them again." "My dear child," he answered, "I don't see how you can, unless you get to be maid of honour to the Queen. But look," he said, “Mr Jack is still there in his cage, and it has a ticket on it too. Well, I am glad of this." And he read, "First Prize for Barndoor English Cock. Purchased by the Marquis of De.” "We shall be rid of that tiresome fellow and have some peace. Now come, May," he continued cheerily to me; "dry your tears and think how fortunate you have been. Two prizes in one day, and such an honour, too, for your little favourites." ""Oh papa!" I said, "let us go home." "Very well, so we will, dear," he replied. 'So we left the gardens by a short cut to the station, and went home. 'My mother would scarcely believe what we told her. She saw that I was unhappy to lose my pretty pets, so she began to say how glad she was that Jack-"Gentleman Jack-had found a new master, who she hoped would be kind to him. 'And thus ended this eventful day, to which I had looked forward with so much pride and pleasure. 'I cried myself to sleep, and awoke the following morning to learn that disappointments like this were as nothing when compared with real trouble. 'Arthur was ill-my dear brother-alarmingly ill. For many days his young life was despaired of. We all went whispering about the house and walking on tiptoe, looking very miserable. But he began to get well at the end of a month, and then our doctor said he must be taken to the seaside. 'We all went to Brighton, and as the air suited Arthur better than Gravesend, it was settled that the house there should be given up, and one bought at Brighton instead. So the poultry were sold and we left our old home. We were very sorry to part with all our pets and our pretty garden, but we loved Arthur far above any of these things, and your grandpapa and grandmamma both said that, if it should be God's will to make him strong and well again, they would only be too thankful to give up anything in the whole world for their dear boy's sake. And now, dears, your tea is ready, and I must go to papa.' Oh, thank you-thank you, mamma!' said all the three children. 'I like your true story better, mamma, than all the story-books put together,' added Johnnie. 'Those that seek me early shall find me.'-PROVERBS viii. 17. | OOK at the little verse which stands at the a boy who did not like to be able to say, 'This is my pony, or my ball, or my hoop;' or any girl who did not like to be able to say, 'This is my little garden, or my book, or my doll. You like to have a thing that you can call your own. Well, Jesus knows this. He knows all the feelings that boys and girls have. He was once a child Himself-once exactly the age of each boy and girl who reads this. And He knows this feeling. So He has not only given a great number of very precious promises, which any one can take who likes, but He has given you this one to yourselves. And this New Year's morning, when you are getting presents from those who love you, Jesus comes and brings you this-the most precious of them all. But I dare say some boy or girl will think, 'O but what is the use of this present? I can see the use of the money I have got, and of the toys, and of the nice books with their pretty pictures. But what is the use of this little verse?' Well, it will be of no use unless you do what it tells you. If you don't seek Jesus, it will do you no good that He has given you this precious verse. But if you do, you will be richer and happier than if you had all the gold and silver in the world. I cannot tell you all the good things that will be yours if you seek Jesus early. If I were to set them all down, And they would fill page after page of this volume. when I got to the end of the last page, I would find there were many I had left out. There is a little verse which sums it all up-a verse that you all know well. It is at the end of the 23d Psalm : Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.' Think of that, dear children! Think of a boy or a girl looking forward to life, with all its troubles and difficulties, and then to the great eternity beyond, and being able to say that! And yet, every boy and girl that seeks Jesus early can do so. Goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life. All of them—not some at the end-but all the days when you are at school, the days when you are grown up, and the days when you are old, if you live so long. What a grand thing to know, that through all these days, God's blessing will rest upon you, so that you shall not want for any one thing that is really good for you. And what a blessed thing to know that, when this life is over, there is a place prepared for you in God's house above, so that you shall dwell for ever in that glorious, happy place. All this, then, will belong to you, if you seek Jesus early. Now, let me give you three reasons for seeking Jesus early. 1. If you do not seek Him early, you may never have the opportunity of seeking Him at all. You know many boys and girls do not live till they grow up. A great many children who were alive and well last New Year's Day, are not alive now. So it may be with you. You may not live to be men and women. If, then, you are to seek Him at all, it may be you must seek Him early. 2. It is easier to seek Jesus when you are young than it will be afterwards. Every day you put off, you make the work harder. It is harder to-day than it was yesterday. It was harder yesterday than it was the day before. It will be harder to-morrow than it is to-day. Your heart just now is like a young tree. It is easily |