before their minds God's promises of mercy to Judah and Jerusalem. We wish them to be more in earnest, and more active than they have ever been before; and to remember their watchword for the year," Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; they shall prosper that love thee."

I WONDER.

"I WONDER if to-morrow will be a fine day," said a little girl lately in my hearing; and "I wonder who will take us," added a sister younger than herself; whilst her brother finished by wondering who would meet them at the station of the town to which they were all three going next day, to pay a new year's visit.

Amongst all these wonderings, it is not surprising that I myself, though a good deal older, began to wonder too, as I recollected some of the wonderings of my childhood.

I remembered planting some seeds in my little garden, and going daily to look if they were coming up; and, O! what a pleasure it was, and what a wonderful morning that was to me, when the first tiny plant made its appearance above the ground. I remember, too, that when I saw my seeds spring up so quickly, and so soon have leaves and flowers, I wondered whether, if I were to plant money it would grow up as well, and I should

have money-trees producing far more than I had

sown.

Indeed, I was not satisfied with merely wondering, for I took two bright shillings, the only money I possessed, and digging a hole, put them in and covered them up, not forgetting to water them well, in hopes of soon seeing the heads of my money-trees peeping out from the border. I need not say, that all my wondering and watching were equally in vain; and not only that, but when, after my patience was quite exhausted, I tried to dig up the shillings again, I could not find them, and so had neither my money nor my money-tree.

Another time, I recollect wondering whether it were true, as I had heard, that you could catch birds by putting salt on their tails. Full of this wonder, I managed to get a pinch of salt, and creeping carefully to a bush in which a bird was sitting, I threw it at his tail, quite expecting that if any fell upon it, it would have the magical power of keeping him there till I should catch him.

Ten times greater then was my wonder at seeing the bird fly away, with a little chirp which certainly sounded very much as if he were laughing at me. On complaining, however, of my disappointment, to the person who had told me of this method of bird-catching, he answered, that it was no use throwing the salt

from a distance, but that you must be near enough actually to put it on the tail before you could catch the bird, an explanation with which I was obliged to be content.

Such were one or two out of thousands of childish wonders which occurred to me, and you may perhaps think that they were very foolish, and that I must have been rather a silly child, to have had such wonders at all.

Perhaps I may have been; but still I think that now that I am older, even in the midst of all their childishness I can see some sense in them. My idea of a money-tree was a very good idea, only I sowed my seed in the wrong place. I was quite right in thinking that even a piece of money was a seed which would grow, and bring forth fruit; but I did not understand what sort of a plant to look for, or what kind of fruit to expect. Since that time, I have read (Mark xii. 41) of a poor widow who planted the only two mites she possessed, hundreds of years ago, and they, I know, produced more fruit than I or you can tell; whilst other rich men at the same time sowed quantities of gold seed in the same ground, which produced little or no fruit at all.

I have besides known, since, many girls and boys who have planted their half-pence and shillings in the treasury of the Jews', or some other good society, putting them there not as a

merit or for mere show, but from a simple love to Jesus, and a wish to do good as He did; and these also, I know, will find one day that their seed has brought forth fruit a hundred-fold.

Again, I think that my second wonder was not without its meaning. Many children, and grown up people too, set about doing what is good, just as I did about catching birds, and then wonder that they do not succeed. They think it is not of much consequence whether they come within reach (so to speak) of the object they are seeking for, or whether they just throw a good wish, like my pinch of salt, at it from a distance. They forget that to do a thing thoroughly, hand as well as heart must be in it; the heart first, indeed, but then the hand must follow, and whatsoever it finds to do must be done with all its might. May it be so with all our young friends, who are interested in the Jews, throughout the coming year.

But you will begin to wonder how much longer I am going to write, if I do not finish soon; so I will end by repeating the three wonders with which I began, not, however, I hope as mere idle wonders, but trying to discover what answer we can find for them.

First, then, I wonder if to-morrow will be a fine day. By to-morrow I do not mean the day after this one, which when it comes will still

have a to-morrow beyond it, but I mean the only true to-morrow-eternity; towards which each day and each year is quickly carrying even the youngest amongst us. Of that to-morrow, if fine to us, there will be no end, for "there shall be no night there;" there will be no need of a bright sun to lighten that day, for "the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." Nor are we left to wonder who those are who shall enjoy that to-morrow, for we are told that it will be those who are here the children of light, those who love God and keep His commandments. To such and such alone to

morrow will be a fine day.

But our next wonder is, Who will take us? Who will lead us on the journey of life which, longer or shorter, we must each travel; and how shall we know that we are in the right path? This, again, we might in vain wonder, had we not been told of One who "leads His flock like a shepherd, and carries the lambs in His bosom ;" One, whose people are led "by the right way to a city of habitation." Surely, then, if we belong to His flock, we, like Him, shall be continually seeking to bring back to the fold the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Are we really doing so? If we are, and thus show that we belong to His flock, our reply to the second wonder will be, "Jesus will take us."