late comers lose the early blessing; but come early or come late, we are unworthy to receive God's favour. Early or late, He gives it for His own sake, and of His own free mercy, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Yes, I took heart when I saw that there was One who had taken my earnings on Himself, while He handed me over His; for "God hath made Him who knew no sin to be sin (that is, a sin-offering) for us; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." To Christ, therefore, I came; I cast myself on Him; and in Him I found peace.

There are some lines of poetry I once met with in some book. I will write them out here, for I think they well describe my case:

"She wander'd vainly all this desert through
In search of happiness; nor found repose
Till she had reach'd the borders of this waste.
Full many a flower that blossom'd in her path
She stoop'd to gather, and the fruit she pluck'd
That hung from many a tempting bough ;-all but
The Rose of Sharon and the Tree of Life;
That flung its fragrance to the gales, and spread
Its blushing beauties,-this its healing leaves
Display'd, and fruit immortal,-all in vain :
She neither tasted nor admired, but found
All that she chose and trusted fair and false ;-
The flowers no sooner gather'd, than they faded;
The fruits enchanting, Bitterness and Dust;
The world itself, a wilderness of care.
Wearied, dispirited, and near the close
Of this eventful course, she sought the plant
Which long her heedless haste had overlook'd,-
And proved its virtues ;-underneath its shade
Outstretch'd, drew from her wounded feet the thorns,
Shed the last tear, breathed the last sigh, and now
The aged pilgrim rests in humble hope."

I see there is the reverse of this, which I found somewhere else, and have copied it out in my writing-book. It is a piece addressed to one who became a Christian when she was quite a child, and who afterwards went out as a Missionary's wife to the East:

"I little deem'd

'Mid all our glad and gentle fellowship
That Asia's sun would beam upon thy grave;
Though even then, from thy calm serious eye
There was a glancing forth of serious thought
That scorn'd earth's vanities.

"I saw thee stand,

With but a few brief summers o'er thy head,

And in the consecrated courts of God

Confess thy Saviour's name ;-while they who mark'd
The deep devotion and the high resolve

Of that scarce half-blown bud, did wondering ask
What its full bloom must be.'

....

There can be no question which of these pictures is the fairest, and which of these patterns is best worth following. It is but the other day I went by omnibus to Abney Park Cemetery. Mrs. Carmichael-Mrs. Edward, I mean, for the old lady is gone to her rest-gave me the money for my fare, because she knew I should like to see where they had laid my kind teacher; Miss Charlotte had been married some years ago, and died last winter. As I was wandering about among the graves, I came to one on which was written, "A sinner saved by grace, though late." It was the tomb of quite a young man. But it said upon the stone, that he had himself wished these

words written for his epitaph. He must have felt that he ought to have come to Christ much sooner. And it was true enough. We ought to come to Christ, when first we hear of Him. None ever came too soon; but many have been sorry that they put it off. It was much in this way, no doubt, that Jack felt, when he underlined those words about the "eleventh hour." I dare say he was grieved to think that he had wasted so many years in the spring-time of youth. As for me, when I stood beside that grave in Abney Park, I felt that surely the words on that stone were still more suitable for me, and that I must indeed take them as my motto. When Christ rescues us, we are all of us brands plucked out of the fire;" but truly I was a brand very nearly burned away to nothing! My earthly years are now few in number, and my power of doing good well nigh gone. Yet thanks to His mercy, who has given me (I trust) not only a name but also a place among His children. Better "less than the least" than not a saint at all. If less than the least, the blame is my own. If a saint at all, the glory is His.

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It is because my heart is full, that I seem as if I could not stop. To my own soul, I would say,-Hush! no repining! Paul never complained that he had not like Timothy been early made wise unto salvation. No more may I complain. That I stayed away from the Saviour so long, is a thing to reproach myself

for. That I came to Him at last, and was allowed then to find Him, is cause for thankfulness and joy.

To the young, I would say,-Come, come at once, to Jesus. Do not fancy you must wait for sorrow and trouble to drive you to Him. Come to Him, while all is sunshine around you. Give Him your earliest love ;— the "first-fruits" of your affection.

"Young and happy while thou art,
Not a furrow on thy brow,

Not a sorrow in thy heart,

Seek the Lord thy Maker now.

"In its freshness bring the flower,
While the dew upon it lies,
In the cool and cloudless hour
Of the morning-sacrifice."

True, you are told to "count the cost;" but when you do so, do not, oh! do not forget also to count the gain. You are required to cast away sin, but God promises to give you holiness. He bids you turn away from earth, but He offers you heaven in its stead. He asks you to throw away dross, and holds out to you the purest gold. He counsels you to lay aside fading flowers, and invites you to come and be crowned with an immortal garland. He calls on you to fling away an empty nut-shell, and to partake of that which can satisfy your hungry soul. Again I say, Count the cost, but also count the gain.

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CHAPTER XII.

THE RECOMPENSE OF THE FAITHFUL.

I HAVE still a little more to say about Miss Rosa. What a friend I had in her! I had loved her from the time I first saw her, but latterly I loved her more dearly than ever. I used to go and tell her my little difficulties and troubles; and how kindly she always received me! If she was at leisure, she had me straight up into her study, where she sat among her books and her flowers. She always began the talk pleasantly and usefully, till she had made me feel quite at home with her again; and then she would break off by saying, "But we must not spend our time over this, Nurse, for I am sure that you have a great deal to tell me : sit down, and let me hear all about it." So kindly she would listen to my tale, and then give me such good advice, all to the very purpose!

It was none the less so, when I came to need help of the highest and the best sort. In temporal or in spiritual difficulties, I turned to Miss Rosa, when I wanted words of advice. And many is the sweet saying that dropped as honey from her lips; and "which, when I

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