it is, which the Clyde, with many a bend, brightens and freshens and cheers on its long way to the sea.

And here the little boy, whose name was David Livingstone, began the useful life which was to be so noble and so full. He was a poor boy, and when he was but ten years old, went to work at the Blantyre mills all the day long. At six in the morning or before it, went the little feet along the road, through the keen wintry darkness, or in that sunny tempting time when the black-birds built and sang in the hedges, and the May-blooms were whitening, and the unremembered birth-days came.

But while the little boy worked, he learned busily too. He fixed a Latin lesson-book on his frame, and while he spun the threads, he learned ;-learned the long dull Latin verbs, and spun the long threads with a brave, steady, patient heart, making the best of what came.

And as he grew up, and worked and learned, there came into his life a grateful and glad feeling of the great love of God. And he felt he must make that life an offering in some way to Him. All the world knows how he made it so, how bravely and how well!

Thirty-four years ago, Dr. Livingstone left England to help the poor Africans far away across the sea. And he settled among the tribe of the Bakwains. They lived among the wild hills, north of the Cape of Good Hope. The name of their chief was Sechele.

Sechele was very wise; and he was kind to Dr. Livingstone. Sechele's greatgrandfather was the first who told the Bakwains there were men who had white skins. It was very wonderful to the Bakwains; all the men they saw were black. Dr. Livingstone went often to see Sechele Sechele liked him to come. And they talked together much. Dr. Livingstone told the chief of the Bakwains new and strange things-of God and Christ-of a future judgment day.

Sechele said: "You startle me; these words make all my bones to shake.'

Dr. Livingstone told him more; and the

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chief listened earnestly. He wanted to read the Bible. So he learned the Alphabet, and soon he could do what he wished; and never wearied of it. When Dr. Livingstone came into his town, he would press him to come and hear him read some chapters. He liked Isaiah best of all, and would say; 'He was a fine man that Isaiah, he knew how to speak.' He wanted to force all his tribe to become Christians too. He said, 'I shall make them be Christians; you cannot by talking.'

But besides being chief of the Bakwains, and a very wise man, Sechele was a famous rain-doctor. And while Dr. Livingstone was in his country, there came a great drought. The river Kolobeng ran dry; the fishes lay dead in its muddy bed; the poor little leaves drooped upon its banks; only the ants were busy through the burning, bright heat-the long-legged black ants going always to and fro. Day after day, and week after week, and no cloud, no drop. The people thought Dr. Livingstone kept their chief from making rain.

'The corn will die,' they said, let him make rain this once. Then we will all come to the school, men and women and children, and sing and pray as long as you please.'

It was in vain that Dr. Livingstone said, 'God alone can command rain. Only try and wait patiently; God will give us rain without your medicines.'

And at last rain came-cool, delicious. O the luxury of the great drops that fell on the parched land!

Among the Cashan mountains lived the Boers. They were pale-coloured, neither black nor white. Their fore-fathers had come from Europe, but that was long, long ago. They were the enemies of the Bakwains-they made slaves.

'One can never know who is their chief,' said the Bakwains, 'like the Bushmen, they have no king.'

For the Bakwains thought it strange and silly that the son of the chief should not be chief after him. They were pleased when Dr. Livingstone told them the English thought like the Bakwains, and had made

a lady their chief and their queen, because her grandfather and all her forefathers had been chiefs and kings before her. The Bakwains thought it showed the English were a wise people.

Dr. Livingstone had been some years among the Bakwains when the Boers came down from the mountains. They fought with Sechele and his tribe, and took two hundred children slaves. They broke into Dr. Livingstone's house, destroyed his books and his medicines, and carried off all they could carry.

The Boers did not wish Dr. Livingstone to go farther into the country; they were afraid his goodness and his gentle power would take away the power they had.

We will see who shall win,' said Dr. Livingstone, they or I.'

And so he went farther and farther into that unexplored land. When he left the Bakwains, Sechele gave him two men with him.

'These,' said the chief to Dr. Livingstone, 'shall be my arms to serve you.'

And he had faithful followers, for always he was loved and trusted. Farther and farther he went among strange tribes of savages, where no white man had been before where the grass was green and tall, often higher than the waggons, and the vines festooned the trees; where the hot yellow sand stretched dreary and wide, and they looked and longed in vain for water; or where they lay at night on the river's edge, and heard among the great tangled reeds, 'human-like voices and unearthly sounds,' curious birds hopping about with splash, guggle, jump,'-or paddled their canoes up the rapids of the Chobe, which lovely trees overhung, and where turtle doves in their peaceful nests brooded and cooed all day long.

A year after he left the Bakwains, he was very ill with fever. The strange people thought he must die; the traveller thought so too. He thought he must leave this fair world, and all that he loved in it; and he wonders whether an angel will soothe the fluttering soul as it enters the spirit world, and hopes that Jesus will

speak but one word of peace, and so fill his heart with an everlasting calm.

'But as I had always believed,' he says, 'that if we serve God at all it ought to be done in a manly way, I wrote to my brother, commending our little girl to his care, as I was determined to succeed or perish in the attempt to open up this part of Africa.'

Many a long, weary journey, and rest and honour, and a glad welcome-home lay yet between the brave missionary and his last lonely rest.

That rest came at last, twenty long years afterwards; twenty years spent in such modest, brave, noble, untiring work as history keeps few records of, as it makes the world better to know.

The work he resolved to do was done. Africa was opened up. He, and not the Boers had won. But he was feeble and worn out with the long privations, which he would not call sacrifices. 'I think the word ought never to be applied to anything we can do for Him who came down from Heaven, and died for us.' Long ago he had written this. The end was now. knew he would never see England, never beloved faces, never the green Blantyre braes.

He

'Build me a hut to die in,' he said. And his servants built the hut. And there he lay down and waited with the black friendly faces round him.

'I am going home.'

They were his last words-home to Eternity and God-home to Jesus.

But he would go alone. His men waited outside the hut-faithfully, fondly waited, but none disturbed those last hours. None saw when through the silence the Angel of Life came to touch the shattered dwelling place to set the brave soul free.

The men embalmed the body of the master they loved so well. Was ever such a funeral as that long sad march through the country of friend and foe! Weary, weary miles in their faithful love, they carried him to the sea-shore. And the good traveller, the brave missionary, his country took home in death. H. W. H. W.

PIONEER QUESTIONS

PREPARED FOR THE 'CHILDREN'S SERVICE.' BY REV. DAVID MACRAE.

SERIES F.-NEW TESTAMENT BOOKS. The Epistles.

(a) PAUL'S EPISTLES.

42 Name the first of Paul's Epistles. His Epistle to the Romans.

43 What Romans were these? The Christian converts in the city of Rome.

44 What does the Epistle to the Romans teach? The first eleven chapters teach Christian doctrine; the others teach Christian life.

45 In the first eleven chapters, what two doctrines are chiefly taught? 1st, That all men are sinners; 2nd, That they are justified by faith.

46 What does the rest of the Epistle teach? That Justification is followed by Sanctification. 47 What does that mean? It means that those who truly believe in Christ must become like Christ, and seek to live a pure, loving, and noble life.

48 What two Epistles follow Romans? Corinthians and 2nd Corinthians.

1st

49 What was Corinth? A beautiful, but very wicked, city in Greece.

50 What did Paul write his first Epistle to Corinth to do? To heal divisions that had broken out the Corinthian church.

51 Why did he write a second Epistle? To tell the Church how pleased he was that his first had served its purpose, and to give further advice and encouragement.

52 What Epistle follows 1st and 2nd Corinthians? The Epistle to the Galatians.

53 Who were they? The converts in Galatia, a Roman province in Asia Minor.

54 Why did Paul need to write to them? Because some of them were being led away by Judaizing teachers who said that circumcision and the works of the law were the ground of a sinner's acceptance before God.

55 What does the Epistle tell them? That we are justified by faith, and that we become in Christ new creatures.

56 What Epistle follows Galatians? The Epistle to the Ephesians.

57 Who were they? The converts in the great city of Ephesus.

58 Where was Ephesus? On the shore of Asia, looking across towards Greece.

59 What does Paul teach in this Epistle? He teaches the preciousness of redemption through Christ, and calls on the Ephesians to be kind, and good, and stedfast in the faith.

60 What Epistle follows Ephesians? Epistle to the Philippians.

The

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61 Who were they? The converts in the Greek city of Philippi.

62 What does Paul say to them? He commends them for their Christian character, and exhorts them to love and rejoice in God.

63 What Epistle follows Philippians? The Epistle to the Colossians.

64 Who were they? The converts in Colosse, a city in Asia Minor, on the way east from Ephesus to the Euphrates.

65 Why did Paul write to them? To guard them against Jewish ritualism and false philosophy.

66 What two Epistles follow Colossians? 1st Thessalonians and 2nd Thessalonians.

67 Who were the Thessalonians? The converts in Thessalonica, a large commercial city in Greece, from which Paul had been driven away by the Jews.

PRIZE BIBLE QUESTIONS

THREE Prizes, in each of the two divisions, are offered for the largest number of correct answers. The Prizes to be awarded in December 1874.

All answers to be addressed, not later than the 18th of each month, to the Rev. JOHN KAY, Coatbridge.

The answers may be written on post cards. Be careful in all cases to give the name and address of the competitor.

JUNIOR DIVISION.

25 Which miracle is recorded by each of the four Evangelists?

26 Which parable is recorded by three of the Evangelists ?

27 Which saying of a great man, expressive of his deep humility, is recorded four times?

SENIOR DIVISION.

25 Give two verses from the book of Proverbs, each of which is found there twice? 26 In two words, give a precept spoken by Jesus to disciples on five different occasions?

27 Which precept, concerning our duty to the Word, is repeated seven times?

ANSWERS TO JULY QUESTIONS.

JUNIOR DIVISION.

(19) Noah-2 Peter ii. 5; (20) AbrahamGalatians iii. 8; (21) 1 Samuel xix. 20.

SENIOR DIVISION.

(19) Genesis iv. 26; (20) 2 Chronicles xvii. 7-9; (21) Genesis iii. 21.