itself a spectacle most singular and most memorable. But what shall there be to correspond to this on the day of the Lamb's marriage?— "Every, eye shall see him!" 0 young reader, shall that sight fill your soul with rapture! Is the Lamb thy Saviour to-day? "Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear: forget thy people, and thy father's house; so shall the King greatly desire thy beauty." (Ps. xlv. 10, 11.)

4. One difference let us notice. The Princess of Denmark, on a fixed day, came to the country of the Prince to be married; but the Bridegroom of the Church-the Lamb-shall come to the country of the Bride: he shall land on this world's shore; and he has not told us the hour, or day, or year. He would have us waiting every day. And when he does arrive, young reader, are you prepared to go out to meet him? You know how they tell of the happy meeting of the Prince and Princess at the landing, and the mutual delight expressed in the kiss of welcome; and we would fain have you ask yourself if angels shall gaze on your meeting with the Lamb, and tell one to another, in ages to come, how your countenance glowed with delight, and your whole soul was in a moment satisfied, when you saw Him (whose coming you had so desired) at last arrive, to bring in the marriageday?

Go now to your fellow-men, and tell in all lands of this day of days, and of this Prince of the Kings of the earth. "Go" (it is the Lamb's own desire)-" go ye, therefore, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.” (Matt. xxii. 9.)

A CAPTAIN of a vessel had a canary, which was much attached to him, and which would perch on his hand or head. One day the captain had several friends to dine with him; the cage door was open, and the bird, after flying round the room, perched on the head of the captain.

The party were then drinking wine, and he held up his glass, when the bird hopped upon the edge of it, and drank some wine. The little creature soon felt the effects, and returned to his cage completely intoxicated.

Soon after, at another party, the captain attempted the same; but the bird, remembering what he had suffered before, would not taste, but flew back to his cage. Would that all were as wise as this bird!

TIME'S QUESTION.

TIME waits upon you every morning, saying, "What wilt thou do with me to-day?" "What will you do for father and mother?" "What for the Saviour?" Would it be a shame to tell it?

INDIA.

MADRAS.

A Strange Kind of Property.

A FEW months ago there appeared in our pages a likeness of Nagalingum, a convert of the Madras Mission. Concerning him Mr. Campbell writes:

"You will remember Nagalingum, one of our young converts, of whom I have often spoken. He has got back all his property, and on examining the matter here, I find that the decision of the Supreme Court is much more favourable for him than I thought. So far as known, his property will amount to from £20,000 to £30,000. Strange to say, he comes into undoubted possession of the temple and the god in his native village, which lies about six miles from Madras. I have seen the temple. It is built of solid granite, and the god is about the size of an ordinary man. Some of the leading inhabitants have already waited on Nagalingum here, requesting him to make them a present of the temple and the idol. I have advised him to commit himself to nothing. The property is wholly his, and he can do what he likes with it. His position in regard to the temple is a novel one. For a native Christian to be master of a temple is a new thing, and I feel extremely anxious that Nagalingum should be led to do what may have the most lasting and beneficial effect on the inhabitants of the village."

PUNA.

An Old Scholar.

THE Rev. James Mitchell, of Puna, in the course of a recent journey, recognised, in the railway station keeper at Patus, an old pupil of the mission. Many years had passed since the missionary and his young heathen friend had met. Some time afterwards, Mr. Mitchell received from this young man the following letter:

"MY DEAR SIR,-Since I saw you at this railway

station, I have been shifted to the Nasik line; but having requested my superior to bring me back, I am here again. "After I left school, I was keenly engaged in the pursuits of life; but, sir, Í have not altogether forgotten the gospel instruction you had the goodness to pour into our young hearts. All the time I have been in the service of the Company, now and then a thought of religion was my favourite theme, and often got an ascendency, with a view of coming out; but yielding again to the temptations of the world, I have been kept back from taking such a step. I believe now, however, a time has come which has set my heart at a dreadful conflict with conscience. I seek peace, and none is to be found; but I determine now to have it, from whatever source it may be obtained. The occasion of such a stir was, that I observed a man in the train bad with cholera, who had no hope of his life, nor of anything beyond death. I dreaded the same result one day to myself, and from that moment I fixed upon some religion to be at peace, and found Christianity to be the best.

"Now, dear sir, I wish you to inform me of what will soon turn my heart to that blessed religion. I am quite convinced of the benign influence it bestows on human nature, and of its moral excellence. All I want now is the grace of God. I know that I have temptations in the world, such as family ties and evil habits; but the grace of the Almighty will soon break up the way from them, and land me safe. Tell me, please, something that will ease my heart, and make peace in my own self. I am miserable. Peace, peace, is the call from yours affectionately C. GOVIND."

Mr. Mitchell not only replied to this most interesting letter, but visited the young man personally. He left him with a mind rather more composed than at the time of writing the letter, and has good hope that he is not far from rest in Christ.

A HELP TO CONTENTMENT.

CHILDREN, how can you have everything you want? Answer. By not wanting anything you cannot have.

THE BUSY BEE.

AMONG our many sweet hymns about believing and feeling, let us not forget those about doing. Young people can have no better teachers of good behaviour than the songs of that dear old singer, Dr. Isaac Watts. Many a child has the "Busy Bee" been the means of keeping out of bad habits. It has fit and useful words to put fronting the useful picture of the busy little girls on the opposite page.

Against Idleness and Mischief.

How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour,
And gather honey all the day,
From every opening flower!

How skilfully she builds her cell!
How neat she spreads the wax !
And labours hard to store it well
With the sweet food she makes.

In works of labour or of skill
I would be busy too;

For Satan finds some mischief still
For idle hands to do.

In books, or works, or healthful play,
Let my first years be past;
That I may give, for every day,
A good account at last.

WORKS OF DARKNESS.

SINFUL works are works of darkness. They come from the darkness of ignorance, they seek the darkness of concealment, and they lead to the darkness of hell.Matthew Henry.