one; but her mother said, "My darling, I cannot give you one ; there are not many, and I wish to send them all away as a present. You shall have some of the next we gather." Lizzie appeared disappointed, and stayed behind in the garden while the basket of rich fruit was carried into the house, and placed upon a table in the parlour. Several hours passed by. The sun, in rich splendour, tempted all into the garden; and the sounds of merry voices echoed all around. Lizzie was not in the happiest mood, and when tired with her play, she sauntered slowly back to the house. She was not there long before she found that she was alone, and, as though some sudden thought flashed into her mind, she hastened to the parlour-door. In an instant it was opened, and she crept softly to the basket of fruit. Lizzie's hand was upon it, but, seeming to hesitate, she looked timidly around the room, to see that no one was watching her; then, glancing quickly at the apples, she took one in her hand, and turned to go. All of a sudden Lizzie stopped. No sound had fallen upon her ear, yet her little cheeks, rosy with health and excitement, turned pale, and the folds of her frock showed how she trembled. If she had held a serpent she would not have thrown it down more quickly than she returned the stolen apple to the basket; and, clasping her little hands together, tears filled her large blue eyes, as she exclaimed,— "Guard my heart, O God of heaven, Lest I covet what's not mine; Lest I take what is not given, Guard my heart and hands from sin." This one verse, with all its deep power, stopped that young child in the moment of strong temptation; and who shall say what effect it had upon the whole of her future life. She is a woman now, and has had many temptations; and, perhaps, the hymns of her childhood have helped her more than once. Children, store your minds with beautiful hymns; and, above all, always stop and ask God to keep you right when you are tempted to do wrong. Many a wandering youth has been brought back, both to home and heaven, by his sinburdened heart remembering the hymns of his childhood. LOOKING AFTER OUR PRAYERS. KNEW a little boy who was very fond of gardening; and one morning in the spring I found him kneeling down, and carefully examining a small plot of ground which had been given him. When I asked him what he was doing, he said, "I am looking after my seeds. How I wish they would come up!" A few hours afterwards, I was myself as busily engaged in turning over the pages of a Missionary Magazine; and when the little boy looked up in my face and said, "What are you doing, mamma ?" I replied, in his own style, "I am looking after my prayers." Looking after your prayers, mamma! What do you mean ?" "Why, I mean just this: I want to see whether God has been pleased to answer them." ther's little lisping tongue presents a request to your father or mother, do they not often attend to him before they attend to you? Now I believe that God, our heavenly Father, has peculiar delight in the prayers of children; that He stoops to receive them; and that they will, if according to His will, and offered in the name of Jesus, be graciously answered. —Juvenile Missionary Herald. LITTLE BY LITTLE. One stitch, and then another, And the highest wall is made; And the deepest snow is laid. By their slow but constant In the distant, dark-blue ocean: Man's wisdom hath conceived, Have been patiently achieved. Now, dear children, when you hear that the heathen have given ap their idols to serve God, Would it not be sweet to feel hat you had united in praying or this? You may think that our prayers are not of much onsequence, because you are so oung and ignorant; but now ell me, when your baby bro- You never can get through; VOL. IV. SECOND SERIES.-December, 1864. Then do not look disheartened O'er the work you have to do, And say that such a lengthen'd task. M But just endeavour, day by day, Another point to gain, rich;" rich in faith, rich in good works, rich in loving And soon the mountain which you thoughts and deeds. I will fear'd, Will prove to be a plain. "Rome was not builded in a day," The ancient proverb teaches; And nature, by her trees and flowers, The same sweet sermon preaches. Think not of far-off duties, But of duties which are near, And, having once begun to work, Resolve to persevere. -Sabbath-School Messenger. 66 REMEMBER THE POOR. ND what can little children do to help the poor?" some of you are ready to ask. Let us try if we cannot answer this question. First, and above all, surely you can pray to our Father in heaven, that He will incline the hearts of those who have been blessed with a portion of this world's goods, to spare a little for the needy. But then there are many things that you can do yourselves, if you are willing to exercise a little selfdenial, and if you have some of that love in your hearts which Christ Jesus had, who, "though He was rich, yet for your sakes became poor, that ye through His poverty might be tell you what a little girl did who was poor herself, but who longed to help some one who was poorer still. She had been saving the pence which were given her to provide & few comforts for a very aged widow. But after a few weeks it amounted to so small a sum, that there was little prospect of its being available for her cherished purpose. What was to be done? She did not feel inclined to yield to this difficulty. A thought struck her; if she could only induce some of her companions to save the halfpence spent on "toffy" and "sweets!" She tried first with her little sister, who gladly consented, and forthwith her halfpence also were dropped into the little box where they were to accumulate. Next she tried a gir! bigger than herself, who seemed to be always buying something to eat. She had hard work to persuade her to relinquish these sweet delights; but, nothing daunted, she returned again and again with her persuasions using all her girlish eloquenc to show how pleasant would be to surprise the wido with some little things whic basket; and, as the old lady thought flannel indispensable for her rheumatic head, the little girl's mother added a a large cap of that material. Away they went on their interesting errand, and presented their gifts, feeling almost as though they had taken liberty with their old friend. They asked permission to read to her a chapter out of the Bible, which request was gladly complied with. No wonder they went away followed by the blessings of the old lady, their own hearts dancing with pleasure to think that their little piece of self-denial had so gladdened and comforted the heart of poor old Jenny. That little girl is a woman now; but as she looks back on the past, no incident in her life gives her a purer joy than the remembrance of the look of wonder, thankfulness, and love, which lit up the countenance of the poor woman. Well, now, you see even a little girl can do something to help those that are poor; that even a child can exercise an influence for good over others. Will you, dear children, try what you can do, now that winter is come with his cold, bringing terror to many who cannot afford warm clothing and good fires to lessen the gripe of his icy fingers? Many of you have kind friends, who at this season remember you with gifts. With the permission of your parents, could you not lay aside some of the money specially for the use of "God's heritage," as the poor have been called? Your mammas would gladly, I am sure, advise you how to lay it out to the best advantage. Some of it, perhaps, in purchasing material which your own fingers could make into some comfortable article of clothing. This would make your gift much more precious, because it would be a sign of your thoughtful care. There is another thing you can always do. Speak kind, gentle words to the poor. Let them come from the heart. The older the person is to whom you speak, let your words and manner be all the more tender and kind. You can scarcely think how much good it does an aged person to be treated lovingly and respectfully, especially by the young. Try in this way, too, to soften the rugged path of poverty. Remember that many who are now poor and almost forgotten, were once in good circumstances, surrounded by comforts and friends, and all that could make life agreeable |