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"Our teachers will teach you, dear father," said he, in a respectful and affectionate manner.

"Well, I'll go," said the father.

He went. He learned to read. He became a Christian. Then he felt so much interested in the Sunday-school cause that he engaged himself as a Sunday-school colporteur, and in four years that man had established four hundred Sunday-schools, into which thirty-five thousand children had been gathered. Only think of all this amount of good resulting from the one effort of that little boy, when he said-"I'll try." God paid him again. more than a hundredfold.

I could go on, ever so long, telling you cases of this kind; but I will only mention one more. More than half a century ago, long before railroads were invented, a stage coach used to run every day between Glasgow and Greenock, in Scotland. One day, a lady who was travelling in this coach noticed a boy walking barefooted, and looking very tired as he struggled to get along. She asked

the coachman to take him up and give him a seat, and she would pay for it. When they arrived at the inn at Greenock, which is a seaport town, she asked the boy what he had come there for. He said he wished to be a sailor, and hoped some of the captains would engage him. She gave him half-a-crown, wished him success,

and told him to be a good boy, and try to love and serve God.

After this twenty years passed away. One afternoon the coach was going along that same road, returning to Glasgow. Among the passengers was a sea-captain. When they reached just about the same spot referred to, the captain observed an old lady on the road, walking very slowly, and looking very tired and weary. He asked the driver to put her in the coach, as there was an empty seat, and he would pay for her. Shortly after, as they were changing horses, all the passengers got out except the captain and the old lady. As they were alone, the lady thanked the captain for his kindness in giving her a seat, as she was unable to pay for one. He said he had always felt a pity for poor tired foottravellers for twenty years ago, when he was a poor boy travelling on foot, near this very place, some kindhearted lady ordered the coachman to take him up, and paid for his seat. "I remember that very well," said she, "for I am that lady; but my condition is very much changed. Then I was very well off; but now I am reduced to poverty by the bad conduct of a prodigal son." Then the captain shook hands with her, and said how glad he was to see her. I have been very successful," said he, "and am now going home to live on my fortune; and now, my good friend, I will settle twentyfive pounds upon you every year as long as you live." God paid her back again more than a hundredfold what she gave in pity to that poor boy.

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Well, then, for these three reasons, lending to the Lord is the Best Loan. It is so, because He receives the

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smallest sums; because what is lent to Him is safe; and because He pays good interest.

Now, my dear children, let us all believe in our hearts that God means what He says when He makes this promise; and let us show by our conduct that we do believe it. We are now going to make our offering. In doing this, we lend it to the Lord. This is just what we do with it when we give it to the poor. How wonderful it is that God, who owns all things, should be willing to borrow of us. Yet it is so. Oh, what an honour, what

a privilege, to be permitted to lend anything to Him! How willingly, how gladly we should lend to Him! I know we make our offering willingly, and that is one reason why we have such happy anniversaries. God makes us all feel that "it is more blessed to give than to receive." May God accept this offering, and reward you all a hundred fold for what you give!

He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given, will He pay him again."

THE places to which we go to learn are called schools. The things we learn there are called lessons. This world. in which we live is like a great school. All the people in it are scholars. Every infant born into the world is a new scholar. Some new scholars when they enter a school know a great deal. They have been to other schools before. But when an infant is received as a new scholar into this great school of the world, what does he know? Only one thing. He knows how to cry; but that's all. Everything else he has to learn. He must learn to know his father and mother, his brothers and

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sisters. He must learn how to eat and to drink; how to sit, and stand, and walk; how to see, and hear, and feel; how to speak, and think, and act. He must learn to read, and write, and cipher. He must learn how to play, and how to work; and then he must go on learning as long as he lives. He never will get through with all his lessons. Methuselah was the oldest scholar that ever was in our world's school. He was nearly a thousand years old before he left the school; and I suppose he was learning some lesson or other till the very day he died.

How many lessons we have to learn here! Some are hard and some are easy. Some are bad and some good. But there is none more important than that which St. Paul speaks of when he says-"I have learned * * * to be content." This is the best lesson. I wish to give you two reasons why this is the best lesson, and three reasons why we should all learn it.

To learn to be content is the best lesson, because IT MAKES THOSE WHO LEARN IT HAPPY.

Nothing in the world can make a discontented person happy. There was a boy once who only wanted a marble; when he had the marble, he only wanted a ball; when he had a ball, he only wanted a top; when he had a top, he only wanted a kite: but when he had marble, ball, top, and kite, he was not happy.

There was a man once who only wanted money; when he had money, he only wanted a house; when he had a house, he only wanted land; when he had land, he only wanted a coach; but when he had money, house, land, and coach, he wanted more than ever.

I remember, when a boy, reading a fable about a mouse