Those wicked men grew very angry. They said, 'We shall get no more money by our slave telling people what will happen.' So they went to meet the good men. They caught hold of Paul and Silas, and dragged them to the market-place. They complained of them to the judges, saying, 'These men are Jews, and they are a great trouble to our city, for they teach us

new customs.'

The multitude joined in abusing them. No doubt they did not like the girl being stopped from telling them what was going to happen, so they were very angry with Paul and Silas.

The judges were ready to please the people, and so instead of judging them, they desired their men to beat them. The clothes of Paul and Silas were torn off their backs, and they were beaten with rods. Every stroke of the rod left a red stripe upon the flesh of

these holy men. I do not know what number of stripes they had to bear, but the number was more than forty. It was only the Jews who gave no more than forty. The Gentiles gave any number of stripes.

The cruel judges sent Paul and Silas to prison with their stripes all bleeding, and they desired the keeper of the prison not to let them escape.

The keeper, or jailer, was as cruel as the judges. He gave them no food, nor did he bind up their wounds; but he thrust them into a dungeon underground, and placed their feet in the stocks. There they sat-unable to move their legs or to draw their feet out of the holes in the board-unable to lie down or to stand up.

Where were Luke and Timothy? They had not been seized by their enemies. How much grieved they must have been when they heard what had happened to their dear friends!

What must Timothy have felt for his father in the Lord!

'We were shamefully entreated* at Philippi.'-1 Thess. ii. 2.

XXX.

THE EARTHQUAKE.

Acts, xvi. 25-34.

PAUL and Silas were sitting in the stocks at night, when a sound was heard from their dungeon. Was it the voice of weeping and wailing? No, it was the voice of singing! And what was the singing about? It was the praises of God the prisoners were singing.

What could they praise God for? Did they praise Him for letting them

* Treated.

be thrust into a horrible dungeon? Yes they praised Him for letting them suffer for the sake of Jesus, because they knew they should rejoice with Him when He came again in His glory.

The other prisoners heard them sing. They were most of them thieves or murderers-wicked men, who deserved to be punished. But now we hope the singing turned their hearts to God; for the apostles sang about Jesus. They sang such a song as, Worthy is the Lamb, for He was slain for us.'

Suddenly a dreadful sound was heard,—it was the earth moving up and down--it was an earthquake.

So great was the earthquake that it shook the dungeon, opened the doors, and undid the chains. The apostles

found their feet were set free from the holes in the boards. They could easily run away. But they did not move, because they knew it was God's will