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friend had gone over, till his frantic search ended at the brush-heap. Look as innocent as it would, Adler knew it covered an awful secret. And now his strong claws served him well.

He tore away the boughs till he had uncovered the dearest face in the world, to him. It was shockingly bruised and swollen, but Adler was not the dog to waste time in useless moans. Something was to be done; he ran for help to the overseer's boarding-place, on the border of the forest. He begged and barked and tried to tell the inmates that it was a case of life and death, but he could not make them mind anything about him; nobody would come, for all his pleading. He saw that whatever was done he must do himself.

Don't you believe his faithful heart ached with disappointment, as he ran back to the fatal spot alone? But he did about as much as any man could have done. He pulled away the boughs and scattered the leaves that buried his master. He chafed his face and hands with his tongue; he tried every way he knew to rouse him. Still there was no sign; the case was desperate. He leaped on the body, tore open the shirt bosom, and licked the cold breast with his warm rough tongue, but all did no good; more decided measures were needed. I do not know, unless the Master of Life taught him, how the spaniel found out just what had better be done, but he did it. I suppose he felt that he must wake his master, somehow; he scratched his breast and that started the blood, the man moaned and feebly moved, he was not dead! Adler never believed he was. can imagine how happy he was when the dear hand tried to return his

caresses.

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But the overseer was still almost as bad as dead; he had been so cruelly pounded that he could not see out of his eyes nor stand on his feet. But his faithful little friend licked his face and breast and hands until he got the blood well circulating again. Then he coaxed him to crawl out of his grave. At first, he could only go on his hands and knees, but his dog cheered him on and led the way, running on before, with his joyful barking, then coming back to lay his silky head against his cheek and tell him as well as a speechless creature could, that it was a cruel shame for anybody to abuse him so, but it would come out all right yet.

So comforted, but very lame and sore, Oppenheimer made his way out of the woods, getting on to his feet at last and staggering painfully along. As soon as they reached the clearing Doggie dashed forward to call the people and show them that it was no fool's errand he had worried them about. Here was his murdered man alive again.

You may be sure the dear fellow got all the thanks and the praise he deserved for the rest of his life. There was nothing a dog knows how to enjoy that he did n't get from his master and his friends. He died not a great while ago, full of years and of honors, at Peru, Indiana.

It was the custom at Rome to give a civic crown to any one who saved the life of a citizen, and I think Adler Oppenheimer deserved one, if ever anybody did.

Jenny Bradford.

THE FIRST BAPTISM IN CONGO.

You have been at a missionary meeting, of course. Perhaps you think

that the zeal for spreading abroad the Christian religion, which you have observed at such meetings, is something new in the world.

It is not so.

Four or five hundred years ago the Christian people of Europe were a great deal more enthusiastic in this matter than we are, and the missionary priests of that period suffered more, and displayed more courage and fortitude, than missionaries are now required to do.

And who can wonder at it? In those simple old times people thought that all a priest had to do to save a soul from everlasting pain, especially the soul of a child, was to baptize it; and they thought it was enough even if he baptized it on the sly, against its own will, and against the will of its parents. I was reading, the other day, of the first missionaries in Canada, who often performed a trick of this kind, of which they were not a little proud. One of them relates that he employed such a device for saving the soul of an Indian boy, seven years old. Both father and child were very sick at the time, and not expected to live; but the father would neither be baptized himself, nor let his son be. At last the priest said, “At least, you will not object to my giving him a little sugar."

"No," said the Indian; "but you must not baptize him."

So the missionary put some sugar in a spoonful of water, and gave it to the child. Then he mixed some more, and gave that to him. A third time he filled his spoon with water; but, before putting the sugar into it, he let a drop of water fall upon the child, and at the same time said the words which are used in baptism. A little girl, who was watching this proceeding, and perhaps wishing for a little of the sugar, cried out, "Father, he is baptizing him."

The father was alarmed at this; but the missionary quieted him by saying, "Did you not see that I was giving him sugar?"

Soon after the child breathed his last, and the missionary firmly believed, and all his brethren believed, that he had saved the child's soul from an eternity of torment. Who would not be zealous for baptizing the heathen if he thought that a drop of water, and a few words muttered in Latin, made all the difference between endless happiness and endless misery? A goodnatured person would be willing to go many times round the world to get only one soul saved, if he thought it could be done with so much ease and certainty.

Four hundred years ago, in the days of Prince Henry the navigator, nearly every one was of that opinion. The prince thought so himself, wise and good as he was; and all his life he longed for the time when there would be among the negroes on the coast of Africa Christian priests and Christian churches, and when all those negro tribes would come flocking in, asking baptism. He died without witnessing the sight. Several times

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he caused young men from Africa to be educated for the priesthood, and he took a great deal of trouble to get a knowledge of the negro languages, and to train interpreters, so that the Africans might at length be converted. But all was in vain. The time had not come for it. It was not until he had been in his grave for twenty-two years that a serious attempt was made to build a church upon the coast of Africa and maintain regular services in it.

Every one knows that a great deal of gold-dust used to be brought from the coast of Guinea. The Portuguese found out, as early as 1472, that the negroes of Guinea wore gold ornaments twisted in their hair, and hanging from their ears and noses; and they soon got into the habit of going there every year, and getting gold in exchange for such trifles as ignorant savages love. So much gold came from Guinea at last, that the king determined to build a fort and a church upon the gold coast, and endeavor to found a settlement, which should serve both to promote the gold trade and convert the natives to the Christian religion.

Many of his people disliked the king's plan, saying that the coast was very unhealthy, and the navigation of the Gulf of Guinea very dangerous.

"No matter," said the king. "If only one soul should be converted to our faith through the building of this fort and church, it will reward us for all our trouble."

He made extensive preparations; for he had determined to plant a colony that should be lasting, and which should send, year after year, African golddust to Portugal and African souls to heaven. The stones for the fort and church were all cut in Portugal, as well as all the timber and other materials. The expedition consisted of twelve vessels and six hundred men, and the fleet carried provisions enough to last this large company for two years. On the 19th of January, 1482, the fleet arrived off the gold coast of Guinea, and came to anchor.

Luckily enough, the Portuguese commander found a vessel of his own country already there, trading for gold with a powerful chief who lived near by. Through the captain, who was well acquainted with the country, and could speak the negro language, he sent a message to the chief, informing him that many noblemen and gentlemen had come from Portugal to pay their respects to him, and that they would go on shore the next morning to visit him, if it was agreeable. The chief returning a favorable answer, the governor went on shore, with a great number of officers, all splendidly dressed, and wearing their arms concealed.

As soon as they had landed they marched in procession toward a large tree, not far from the shore, and at some little distance from the village of the chief. Several priests were in the procession, dressed in the gorgeous robes of their office, and carrying the vessels and implements used in celebrating the mass. When they reached the tree, the governor hung upon it the royal banner of Portugal, and the priests prepared an altar for the religious ceremony. No negroes were present; for the chief, it seems, had a high opinion of his own importance, and desired to come

with all his people, and make an impression upon the strangers. So, under that tree, on the 20th of January, 1482, the first mass was said in Guinea, in the presence of about a hundred Portuguese officers, knights, and soldiers.

"All our people," says a Portuguese historian, "heard the mass with great devotion, praising God, and imploring his assistance in bringing all those idolatrous people to the faith, and praying that the church which was there to be founded might last to the end of the world."

When the mass was ended, the Portuguese saw that the chief and his people were coming out of their village toward them, and they at once arranged themselves for their reception. A chair was brought for the governor, and his officers were drawn up in long lines, between which the chief would pass to where the governor was seated. Both parties evidently desired to show themselves off to the best advantage.

The Africans drew near, walking very slowly and in regular order, many of them playing upon rude musical instruments. All of them were naked, except that they wore a monkey-skin for an apron; and they had oiled themselves so that the whole party glistened in the sunshine. They were armed with shields, spears, bows, and arrows, and upon their heads some of them had a curious kind of head-piece, made of monkey-skins, and stuck full of fishes' teeth, - an enormous, oddly shaped thing, intended to terrify their enemies in battle. The Portuguese found it difficult to conceal their laughter when these comical figures passed by.

In the middle of the procession marched the chief himself, his arms and legs covered with bracelets and gold rings, and wearing round his neck a collar from which hung some small bells. In his beard and hair were twisted wires of gold, the ends of which hung down. His appearance and manner were most ridiculous. He walked as slowly as possible, putting down one foot after another with the greatest deliberation, holding his head high, and not moving it to the right or to the left. The Portuguese commander rose to meet this mighty potentate; upon which the chief took him by the hand, and then making a peculiar sign with his fingers, said,. in his own language, "Peace, Peace." A ceremonial similar to this had to be performed between the principal persons on both sides; and everything was done so slowly and solemnly, that a long time passed before the conversation could begin.

The Portuguese commander, at length, addressed the African chief, through an interpreter. He said that the king his master, learning how well Caramanza (the chief's name) had behaved to the Portuguese, wished to make some return to him, by affording him an opportunity of getting something much more precious than gold, and that was his soul's salvation.

"First of all," said he, "you must know the Creator of all things, who made the heavens, the sun, moon, and earth, and everything in them, and whom the king of Portugal and all other princes in Europe acknowledge as their master. They adore him, and believe in him. They believe, too, that our souls after death will appear before him, to give an account of our •

good and bad actions; and that good people will be placed in heaven, where God is, and the bad will be sent to a bottomless pit, where they will be tormented by things called devils. But in order to understand these things, it is necessary to be washed in a holy water, which the Christians call baptism. This baptism clears the mind for the understanding of God, just as water washes the eyes when they are full of dust."

After going on in this strain for a while, the governor said that the king had sent him to entreat the chief to acknowledge this God, and promised that if he would do so, and be baptized, he would help him in everything that he wished. He added, that he had brought with him a great deal of rich merchandise, and that, in order to keep it safe, he must build a strong house to put it into, and some other houses in which the honorable gentlemen whom he had brought with him could live and carry on trade with the people of the country.

The chief remained silent during this long speech; and when it was finished, it was some time before he began to reply. At last he spoke in something like this way:

"I am much obliged to the king your master for attending to the salvation of my soul, and for all the other good promises he has made me. The king is certainly quite right in what he says about my good treatment of his people, who have come here for trade. But how different was their dress from what I now see upon these noble gentlemen! They were ragged, and were glad to get away as soon as their trade was done. But now I see a great many people better dressed, adorned with gold and jewels; and, what is more surprising, you want to build houses and stay here. Such splendid gentlemen as you are could never put up with such poor things as we have here upon the coast; but you will have to have around you a great many valuable things, some of which may be lost, and then disputes will arise. So I think it much better for our trade to go on as before, your people coming and going every year, ·and then there will always be peace between us, and we shall always be glad to see one another. On this plan my people will be much more inclined to hear about the God you have mentioned."

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It was plain that Caramanza dia not want to be outshone by these grand and richly dressed gentlemen. The governor told him, however, that the king had commanded them to remain and build the houses, and that they would rather die than disobey. The chief, after some further conversation, gave an unwilling consent, and then returned to his village with all his followers, and without saying anything further concerning the baptism that had been proposed to him.

The next morning the Portuguese discovered that the negroes had a religion of their own; for when the workmen began to remove some stones for the foundation of the for, a crowd of natives fell upon them with great fury, and it was some time before the white men could pacify them. The stones had been placed where they were for some religious purpose. When the negroes had been quieted by liberal gifts, the work went on; but they

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