obedient, teachable, and devout. Not so; to all outward appearance he continued the same as ever, till he left the class, and I had almost begun to despair of him, for I had forgotten that it is written, "Though he tarry, wait for Him."

About a year after his renoval from my class, I received a message to the effect, that William was lying at home, dangerously ill, and would be glad if I would call and see him. I did so, and it will be long I think before I forget the sight he presented. There he lay, wasted to little more than a shadow of his former self, pale and emaciated to the last degree. When I came up to him, took hold of his attenuated hand, and asked him how he was, the tears filled his eyes, and he seemed almost unable to speak. When a little recovered, he said he was so weak that it gave him great pain to speak at all, and requested me to read and talk to him as I used to do in the School. He said he had lived in so wicked and hardened a manner, he feared God would never forgive him, and if he might recover, oh how different would he be. I saw him several times during his illness, and was pleased to see he felt so much at the thought of his former wicked ways, and prayed that it might indeed be true repentance. On one occasion, he recollected my having told him at School, that there was a time when it was too late to repent even in this world, and perhaps his sorrow might only be the fear of death. He wished I would tell the rest of the class to learn from him to improve the season of health, lest when they came to die, they might find they could not repent.

Shortly after this, I took leave of him for an absence of some mouths, fully persuaded that I had left him for

ever.

What was my surprise when I returned to the School, to find William there again occupying his usual place. I spoke to him, and found he had not long recovered, and got better again, the serious feelings he had had were not given up with returning health, and I am glad to be able to add he still continues to attend the School, has learned to call the Sabbath a delight, holy of the Lord, and honourable, and to take pleasure in the ordinances of God's Church.

My dear young readers, remember the advice William sent to his young class-mates, to use the time of health for serving God; as no one can tell that he shall be able to repent on his death-bed, or that he shall not be cut off suddenly for rejecting all former opportunities.

M. C. C.

GATHERINGS.

"THE root of human guilt lies deeper than the human will; and man is seldom able of himself, and by a single effort of his individual power, to say to the temptation which most easily besets him, 'Thus far shalt thou go and no farther."Mrs. Ellis.

WANT OF PUNCTUALITY." The want of punctuality has a great and grievous influence on religious matters. By indulging a few minutes too late in bed, secret devotion is hurried, and family prayer is interrupted, or perhaps some member of the family is obliged to leave before it can be attended to; the first supplications of the sanctury are lost; the congregation and minister are disturbed; often the mind is agitated and kept in an uncomfortable and unprofitable frame during the whole Service, and all for want of not being in time. Who, then, will venture to say that it is but a trifle-that there is no sin in being a little too late?"

"HAVE MERCY, LORD!"

Lord! have mercy when we strive
To save through Thee, our souls alive!
When the pamper'd flesh is strong,
When the strife is fierce and long;
When our wakening thoughts begin
First to loathe their cherish'd sin,
And our weary spirits fail,
And our aching brows are pale,

Oh then have mercy! Lord!

Lord! have mercy when we lie
On the restless bed and sigh,
Sigh for death, yet fear it still,
From the thought of former ill;
When all other hope is gone:
When our course is almost done;
When the dim advancing gloom
Tells us that our hour is come,

Oh then have mercy! Lord!

Lord! have mercy when we know
First how vain this world below:
When the earliest gleam is given
Of Thy bright but distant Heaven!
When our darker thoughts oppress,
Doubts perplex and fears distress,
And our sadden'd spirits dwell
On the open gates of Hell;

Oh then have mercy! Lord!

MILLMAN.

THE OFFICE OF THE HOLY GHOST.

MY DEAR CHILDREN,-I wish to mention a mistake you are mostly in the habit of making when repeating your Catechism, which shows either inattention, or ignorance; the latter I will endeavour to remove, nor will the former, I trust, again occur.

In answer to the question, "What dost thou chiefly learn in these Articles of thy Belief?" you reply, "Thirdly, in God the Holy Ghost who" sanctified, instead of "sanctifieth me." The works of God the Father, and God the Son, are completed; not so of the Third Person in the Trinity. The world was once created, Christ once suffered, so that our creation and redemption are finished, but the acceptance of what our blessed Saviour hath done for us

depends upon ourselves. He has purchased our freedom, our aim must be to believe in, and attain it. Think of the frailty of our natures, of the sins thickly crowding into the short space of a single day, and then we must acknowledge that we want some Divine help; we require it hourly, and the Holy Ghost supplies our need. Our insufficiencies plainly show us we are not yet sanc

tified, or made holy; perfection belongs to heaven, but on earth the Holy Spirit lends his gracious assistance, leading us to righteousness. Any good feelings we possess are instilled by Him.

At Baptism we are made the children of God, and from that time are tended and cared for, and the office of the Holy Ghost begins, but so prone are we to evil that some resist God's help altogether, others for many years; you I hope, my dear children, will see and feel His protecting hand, and implore His special guidance in your youth, for you may not arrive at manhood.

Never again let me hear you say sanctified, instead of sanctifieth. To sanctify is to make holy. For spiritual help and holiness we must all pray; maintaining a strong determination to do right in all things. After this explanation, I dare say, I shall hear no more similar mistakes. YETTA.

THE CHRISTIAN'S SERVICE. "Every thought, and word, and deed, of a faithful man is a step towards heaven; in every place he meeteth Christ-everything puts him in mind of God; he seeks Him to find Him, and when he hath found Him he seeks Him still; he is not satisfied, because at every touch there comes some virtue from Him."-Henry Smith, died in 1660.