were my competitors and rivals are gone into eternity; some of them long ago. These thirty years have been given wholly to spiritual work, in preaching the Gospel, leading a small class, helping Sunday-schools, serving the Evangelical Alliance, reading and writing for the Local Preachers' Association, and visiting the sick and the dying, and aged invalids. Some great sorrows I have had, and seventeen and a-half years of physical suffering from an incurable ailment; but these thirty years, nevertheless, have been the happiest period of my life.

This paper has been written in compliance with the wish of the publisher of our Magazine, to whom some of the astounding facts in the history of the lace trade were mentioned, as were some of my own experiences in the trade. Somewhat similar vicissitudes have no doubt been experienced in other manufactures and other branches of industry; but none so extreme, probably, in any. Many families have I known that have flourished and lived in affluence for a while, and afterwards sunk into poverty. No such fortunes have been made by any in the Nottingham lace trade as in the manufactures of such places as Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford, Manchester, Birmingham, and some other towns, where large properties have been acquired, and an aristocratic position attained by their owners.

Nottingham is five or six times the size that it was seventy years ago, and has more than quadrupled its population. Its buildings, too, both private and public, are immensely improved. Its culture is equal to that of any town of similar size, and in matters of taste it is second to none: but its money-power is comparatively small. Its future, perhaps, may be brighter than its past; but its progress depends so much upon taste and fashion, that it is sure to be subject to greater fluctuations than most other manufacturing towns. In mechanical genius and invention it is unequalled. Let us hope that those endowments will prove equal to all future emergencies, and that fewer reverses will be experienced in the future than have been in the past.

Meantime, the members and ministers of Christian Churches ought to lay more earnestly to heart than they commonly do such inspired precepts as that given in Col. iii. 2: "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth;" and that in 1 John ii. 15: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world." The beloved and loving John adds, "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Great homage is paid to men of wealth, and to men who are thought to be making money, especially if they are liberal in giving. Is not this, in many cases, a rendering of homage to wealth? Would it be rendered to moral worth alone, minus the money? There is a snare here against which we cannot be too much on our guard. Freely ye have received; freely give," is a divine injunction, applicable to money as well as to talents; but neither these nor that should be unduly honoured. Nor may we trust in "uncertain riches, but in the living God."

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CAREFUL, prayerful preparation is a most important element to our success. Our teaching means fighting: fighting with all the powers of darkness-with sinful natures, with evil, and in some cases, confirmed habits. To go to war unready, unprepared, means defeat, disgrace, ruin. As sure as the soldier-officer must learn his drill, the use of his weapons, the art of drawing plans, and of executing rapid and skilful manœuvres, so sure must the Christian teacher be skilful and thoroughly prepared for his work. In our preparations, let us remember," the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;" and the strongholds must fall if these weapons be rightly used.

The best preparation is made in the closet and study. Earnest pleading with God for each child by name, as well as for the baptism of fire upon ourselves, brings down the holy unction that will make our presence felt. Montgomery's immortal hymn has been so often sung by us, and the mighty power of prayer in those who have gone before is so well known, that we only press the thought that none of us has yet learnt the power of prayer unless the habit has been acquired of pleading for others in greater anxiety, if possible, than for self. Oh, for the pleading power such as Moses possessed, when he could cry, "Blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book," rather than the people should be lost! or of Abraham, when he wrestled for the cities of the plain; of Paul, who could "wish himself accursed for his brethren's sake.” Oh, for the spirit of our Master, whose ardent love for souls led Him, even in the agonies of death, to pray for those who had crucified Him! If we want the children converted, we shall have to pray more for them, even if we have to pray less for ourselves.

Let the Bible, especially the New Testament, be your study. Use anything else, either in books or men or nature, that you can get to bear upon its teaching, so as to enable you to understand it, and illustrate or explain it to others. Read it; study it by some method or plan, the best you can get; for as no science can exist without method, so no study is worth the name that is not founded upon some distinct method. Apply the lesson you are about to teach closely to yourself. Whitefield used to say, "He was never fit to preach to other people until he had preached every bit of his sermon to George Whitefield." Thus, if we make the truths of the Bible practical to ourselves, we shall be able to explain and enforce them upon the children. We require to know and to feel more about the lesson than we can well explain in words. need to be full. A learned professor once said, "There are no exhausted receivers, but there are exhausted givers ;" and if we are exhausted before the class, the young people will assuredly be quick enough to

We

perceive it. Let us be full, and not superficial. We need be always getting fresh knowledge. Stale lessons are as bad as stale food or stagnant water. Some one asked Dr. Arnold, when head master of Rugby (a man, perhaps, more beloved by his pupils than any man who ever lived), why he continued to study for his pupils, as though he should not have enough to give them. "It is not that," he replied, "but because I prefer that they should be supplied from a running stream, instead of a stagnant pool." Oh, may God save us from ever becoming stagnant; but rather cause us to drink of that living water, which shall be" in us, a well of water, springing up into everlasting life."

The Psalmist says, "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Whether we sow in tears or not, one thing we must do-sow in love. We must teach with love in the eyes, love in the head, love in the voice. "How is it your shrubs always look so well?" asked one of a gardener. "Oh," replied he, "it is very simple; we plant them with love, and treat them with love; and the gentleman in whose service the gardener was, told the writer that the man used to be as careful in making the hole or bed for the plant as though he were making a bed for a babe; and all his care and treatment afterwards was of the gentlest kind. So, dear fellow labourers, let love guide our hands, mould our hearts, control our lips; and the immortal plants, thus nurtured, will grow up loving and loveable. Alas! it is so easy to make things awkward and crooked. A child was once asked why a certain tree grew crooked. He replied, "I suppose somebody stepped on it when it was a little fellow." Oh, how many of our little fellows do get stepped on, crushed and wounded in spirit, and become crooked and dwarfed for life. The Lord help us to plant in love!

To visit our scholars at their homes is perhaps one of the surest ways or means to become familiar with them. This will bring us into more direct contact with each individual scholar. Let us remember, the more we gain their confidence, the more influence we shall have over them; and unless we can exercise considerable influence we shall do them but little good. By private conversation we shall have the opportunity of learning more fully their spiritual state; and, like the medical man, who gains all possible information from his patient ere he prescribes for him, so, when we are fully informed as to our dear scholars' ideas, thoughts, and feelings, on the all-important question of their eternal interests, we shall be the better able to meet their wants, and prescribe for their advantage.

Undoubtedly, the great object is the conversion of the scholars; and we fully believe that private conversation will materially aid us in pressing home the lessons of the class, leading to deeper thought, and hasten their decision for Christ. It seems to us our work is of much too desultory,

at nothing, and hitting it.” Such must not be our mode: we need the energy, but we must have some special point at which we aim. More than that; we must not only aim at something, but must hit it; and we shall hit more surely when in close proximity to our object. Another thought will help us to see the value of private conversation. It is more than probable that not two of the scholars in a class will be of the same temperament, of the same age, or possess the same or equal capability to receive instruction. The carrying out of this practice will enable us to overcome this difficulty. We shall become acquainted with the character and disposition of each, and be able especially to adapt our remarks to meet each case. Persons as a rule are not the same when from home, as at home. This remark applies, doubtless, more to adults, when the simplicity of childhood has passed away; but even children will be under more restraint at school than at home; so that the home visit will reveal to us their characters, even without much seeking on our part, and imperceptibly to themselves.

If we are to introduce Christ to others, we ourselves must be on intimate terms with Him. We must know Him, be with Him, be accustomed to speak to Him, if we would speak of Him. Peter writes with authority, as one who had been an eye-witness of Christ's Majesty. Can we speak with authority? Are we walking with Him, listening to His voice, conscious of His presence, feeling the touch of His mighty but loving hand? "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He will show them His covenant." Are we in covenant with Him? Does He make known His secret to us? "If any man will do His will he shall know of the doctrine." The world knoweth Him not; but do we know Him? Do we feel upon our foreheads the warm breath from His loving lips as He whispers of that love? A mother, seeing her child playing upon the edge of a precipice, and fearing to call out lest by a sudden movement it should fall over, knelt down, and opening her dress, with extended arms she displayed her bosom. The child saw, ran into those arms, and was safe. So our Father shows us His heart, all tenderness and love-does it woo us and win us? If so, we shall live near Him; we shall rest on the bosom of our God; we shall know of His secrets, we shall be able to make known that love to others. Then our words shall be as fire kindled at the sacred altar; our scholars will recognise our mission; and in their selvation our Master and Redeemer will"see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied."

G. C. AMPHLETT.

Biography.

MEMOIR OF MR. THOMAS MOCK,

Of the United Methodist Free Churches, Newport, Monmouthshire. THOMAS MOCK was born at Bideford, Devonshire, on January 6th, 1807. His parents attended the Episcopal Church, and sent their son to the Sunday-school belonging to it. He was a lad of strong constitution and robust health, more fond of pleasure than of study. At various times he was the subject of serious religious impressions; but grew up to manhood ignorant of the value and blessedness of spiritual life. The good he received from his tuition and training was manifested in his preservation from the bad habits he would otherwise have formed, and from vices to which he was exposed.

At the age of twenty-four years he removed to Newport, Monmouthshire, and obtained work in one of the dockyards. He had not been here many days before one of his fellow-workmen invited him to go to the Wesleyan chapel. He went, and found himself for the first time in a Nonconformist place of worship. The earnest appeals he listened to roused him to such a state of mind as he had never before experienced, and his conscience became very uneasy. He now began to review his past life, and to compare what it was with what it should have been. Deep conviction of sin was followed by a spirit of penitence; sin was given up, submission made to God, and forgiveness sought in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This was followed by pardoning love shed abroad in his heart, and a blessed sense of peace with God. When speaking to him about his conversion, he said, "I was so very anxious to be saved, I did not need, nor did I wait for, an invitation to attend the prayer-meeting and the class-meeting."

He now began to work in the Sunday-school as a teacher of the young, and found great delight in supporting the truth he taught by a description of his own experience of the blessedness of religion. Many good impressions were made upon the minds of the children, and he himself derived spiritual good by this work. He was casting the seed of truth into the ground of the children's minds and hearts, and in many cases the seed rooted and brought forth good fruit.

He was thus engaged from 1831 to 1849. In the latter year he was dismissed from the Wesleyan Society by the "travelling preachers " withholding his ticket of membership on the ground of sympathy with the "expelled travelling preachers." Immediately afterwards he opened his house for public worship, and invited those members who had been expelled to worship there until better accommodation could be secured. This was soon done, and our present chapel engaged, though but then half its present size. The services were commenced without any special