HINDOO JUSTICE.

with horror that John, a child of six, was still in the nursery. The father sprang back into the burning dwelling, and tried to mount the stairs, and found them so nearly consumed that to gain the upper story was impossible. Hopeless of seeing the boy again on earth, Mr. Wesley dropped on his knees at the stair-foot, and commended into the hands of God the spirit of that child between whom and himself there lay a gulf of fire. Not yet, however, was the gulf of eternity to be set between them. The boy climbed on a box that stood before the nursery window, and those outside caught sight of his face above the sill. The house was low, the Epworth villagers active. In a moment one man had been hoisted on the shoulders of another, and, reaching the window, snatched down the child just as the roof crashed in. Had it not fallen inward, all the actors in the scene would probably have been dismissed from earth together. The little life, thus marvellously preserved, was to be lengthened out to nearly ninety years; and the boy on whom the fire had all but seized was, as a man, to kindle the flames of repentance in minds choked and dull with habitual sin. A preacher of the Boanerges order had been born into the world.

HINDOO JUSTICE.

FOUR men, partners in business, bought some cotton bales. That the rats might not destroy the cotton, they purchased a cat. They agreed that each of the four should own a particular leg of the cat; and each adorned with beads and other ornaments the leg thus apportioned to him. The cat, by an accident, injured one of its legs. The owner of that member wound around it a rag soaked in oil. The cat, going too near the hearth, set this rag on fire, and being in great pain rushed in among the cotton bales where she was accustomed to hunt rats. The cotton thereby took fire and was burned up. It was a total loss.

The three other partners brought a suit to recover the value of the cotton against the partner who owned this particular leg of the cat. The judge examined the case and decided thus: "The leg that had the oiled rag on it was hurt; the cat could not use that leg; in fact, it held up that leg, and ran with the other three legs. The three unhurt legs therefore carried the fire to the cotton, and are alone culpable. The injured leg is not to be blamed. The three partners who owned the three legs with which the cat ran to the cotton will pay the whole value of the bales of the partner who was the proprietor of the injured leg.

THESE are two priests such as used to sacrifice before the Lord at the Temple of Jerusalem. One of them is standing near the altar, from which smoke is now going up. He is a common priest. with the brazen censer in his hand, is the high priest.

The other priest,
You will at once

see that his dress is not like the dress of the other priest. The high priest has a turban on his head, and round the part which fits to his forehead there is a golden rim, and on this golden rim are cut, deep in, the words "Holiness to the Lord." He has on his breast his breast-plate. No one wore this but the high priest. The breast-plate was made of twelve precious stones, and on each stone was cut the name of one of the

ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

sons of Jacob. The high priest did not always wear this very fine and beautiful dress. When he went into the most holy place, he had on nothing but a plain white linen dress.

Aaron was the first high priest among the Jews. There were many high priests after him. But we have only one High Priest, that is, Jesus Christ. He has offered Himself-once for all-for us, and He has now gone into "the holy place"-heaven itself. When we pray to God, we pray to Him through our High Priest, Jesus Christ. Always think of that.

Anecdotes and Selections.

NIGH UNTO GOD.

"By which we draw nigh unto God."-Hebrews vii. 19.

I WISH to say a word or two on this subject. It is one that concerns you all, and I trust that you may be led to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. Mankind is at a distance from God. I do not mean but what God is near every one of us, and sees all that we do; but we have broken His holy commandments, and gone astray like lost sheep, and followed our own ways, and our own ways are sinful and at variance with God. When Adam sinned in the beautiful garden of Eden this distance began, and thus introduced sin into the world. Illustration: A little boy once said, “We have soiled our characters by sin."

II. We may be brought nigh. Many there are who do not care about God-who still keep at a distance-still remain in their sins; yet there is no need to keep away, for He delighteth in mercy, and there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. Illustration: A little girl was lying in St. George's hospital very weak and ill, she said to her mother, "I am not afraid to die; Jesus is very near to me."

III. There is only one way. Jesus said when upon earth, "I am the way. No man can come to the Father but by Me." Jesus has made perfect salvation for us. He has made the way by His sufferings and death. We can have a place in that beautiful home above when we die if we are in the love of Jesus. Illustration: Princess Elizabeth (daughter of Charles the First), who was imprisoned in Carisbrooke Castle after her father's execution, was found dead one day with her head leaning on her Bible, which was open at the words, "Čome unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." There is her monument in Newport Church (erected by our Queen), in marble, reclining on a Bible with this text.

Application: may you from this time ask the Lord Jesus to bring you nigh to Him by His pardoning love.

Plymouth.

T. H.

ANECDOTES AND SELECTIONS.

A DOG'S CONSCIENCE.-A young fox terrier, about eight months old, took a great fancy to a small brush of Indian workmanship, lying on the drawing-room table. It had been punished more than once for jumping on the table and taking it. On one occasion the little dog was left alone in the room accidentally. On my return it jumped to greet me as usual, and I said: "Have you been a good little dog while you have been alone?" Immediately it put its tail beween its legs and slunk off into an adjoining room and brought back the little brush in its mouth from where it had hidden it. I was much struck with what appeared to me a remarkable instance of a dog possessing a conscience, and a few months afterward, finding it again alone in the room, I asked the same question while patting it. At once I saw it

had been up to some mischief, for with the same look of shame it walked slowly to one of the windows, where it lay down with its nose pointing to a letter, bitten and torn to shreds. On a third occasion it showed me where it had strewn a number of little tickets about the floor, for doing which it had been reproved previously. I cannot account for these facts except by supposing the dog must have a conscience.-London Spectator.

PETER THE GREAT AND THE HOLLANDER'S WIG.-On his second visit to a town in Holland, he and the burgomaster of the place attended divine service, wheu an unconscious action of the Czar almost upset the gravity of the congregation. Peter, feeling his head growing cold, turned to the heavily-wigged chief magistrate at his side and transferred the wig, the hair of which flowed down over the great little man's shoulders, to his own bead, and sat so till the end of the service, when he returned it to the insulted burgomaster, bowing his thanks. The great man's fury was not appeased till one of Peter's suite assured him that it was no practical joke at all that his majesty had played, that his usual custom, when at church, if his head was cold, was to seize the nearest wig he could clutch.—Belgravia.

SUGGESTIVE WARNINGS In a tavern in Calcutta there is a notice hung on the halls, "Guests are requested not to beat the waiters and servants." This recalls the supplication in a London inn, "Do not kiss the servants on the stairs; it makes them drop the dishes;" and the solemn admonition printed and stuck on the doors of the only "hotel" in Blue Dog, Gulch, Arizona, "Gentlemen are earnestly requested to remove their boots before retiring."

THE HEN NURSED THEM.-A lady not accustomed to raising poultry, set a hen on some eggs, and in due course of time a brood of chickens was hatched. A friend coming in, four days afterwards, noticing that the little things looked weak and puny, asked how often they were fed. "Fed!" was the reply, "why, I thought the hen nursed them."

A

HIS LITTLE BROTHER.-An organ-grinder, accompanied by the inevitable monkey, was performing, to the delight of the children. father asked his son of five years how he liked the music. "I like it much," he replied, "but I pity the man's little brother."