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STORY OF A NATIVE MISSIONARY IN INDIA.

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"At this time the danger of our lives was most imminent, and the temptation was strongest; but the Lord delivered us from their wretched designs, and rescued us from the snares of Satan. To aggravate my sufferings, they put me out with the stocks in the hot burning sun. But notwithstanding all the exposure to the sun, and hot winds, and privations, our gracious heavenly Father did not permit the disease in my head to be increased, but it remained as it was before.

Him for counting us worthy to suffer for His name's sake. When we reached the place of our imprisonment, we found two other Christian families, one native and the other European; the former from Mr Hay's printing establishment, and the latter, Mr Conductor Colman, his wife, and five children. We felt extremely sorry, seeing them in the same difficulty as ourselves. After conversing and relating each other's distress, I asked them to join with in prayer, to which they all readily agreed; and when we knelt down, one of the guards came and gave me a kick on my back, ordering me to keep quiet, or pray according to the Mohammedan form. Our lips were truly closed, but our hearts were in communion with Him who required the emotions of our hearts more than the utterances of our lips. The wicked jailer ordered my feet to be fastened to the stocks, after which they removed me into a different place, thus causing a separation from my poor family. To this I made a great resistance, and a body of the rebels fell upon us with weapons, and forced my feet into the stocks, at the same time holding out the offer of pardon if I became a Mohammedan. They dragged my poor wife by the hair,How can you expect to make proand she received a severe wound on selytes of others, when you yourself the forehead. do not understand what you read?'

"We were in the prison from Wednesday the 10th till Tuesday the 16th. All this time our sufferings were great indeed; for our food we received only a handful of parched grain in the middle of the day, and at night a single chapaty (a cake made of coarse flour, about three ounces in weight). Water was sup

plied only twice daily, and that sparingly. Every five minutes the Mohammedans used to come and threaten to take our lives if we did not become Mussulmans. Once an illeducated moulwi came with a portion of the Koran, and read a part from it. When I asked the meaning thereof, he could not give it, as he himself was ignorant of it. To this I answered, .

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DR LIVINGSTONE'S EARLY DAYS.

"Instead of the moulwi sending | finger of God directed the whole course. He sent these dangers and difficulties no doubt to try our faith, and gave us grace sufficient to make a full confession of it before the world. The saving of our lives was a miracle, for they were no less exposed than that of Daniel of old. Thanks be to the all-protecting hand of God!

for us on the third day, as he arranged at first, he came himself on the sixth day, and, drawing near to us, he inquired of the jailer where the padre prisoner was; and when I was pointed out, he asked me if I were comfortable. My answer was, 'How can I be comfortable when my feet are in the stocks? but I take it patiently, as it is the will of our heavenly Father.' I then begged of him to order a little milk to be given to our baby, which was in a state of starvation. He reluctantly gave the order, which was never executed.

"The moulwi left nothing untried to make us converts to his faith. He made our sufferings of the worst kind, threatening to take our lives every moment; and yet why he spared us I cannot tell. It was, I believe, that he thought it would promote his glory, and that of his religion, by making us converts and preachers of the same, more than by killing us, who are but natives like himself. Whatever it was, this much I know, that the

"On the sixth day of our imprisonment, that is, on the 15th of June, Captain Brazier came out with some European and Sikh soldiers to meet the enemy; he had a regular fight not very far from the place where we were confined, and totally defeated them.

"The next morning, about three A.M., the enemy retreated, and forsook Allahabad, leaving us prisoners. When we saw that they were all gone, we broke the stocks, and came into the fort, where our missionary brethren, Messrs Owen and Munnis, rejoiced and welcomed us in their quarters. They all heard that we had been killed by the mutineers."

DR LIVINGSTONE'S EARLY DAYS.

"THE earliest recollection of my mother recalls a picture so often seen among the Scottish poor-that of the anxious housewife striving to make both ends meet. At the age

of ten I was put into the factory as a 'piecer,' to aid by my earnings in lessening her anxiety. With a part of my first week's wages I purchased Ruddiman's 'Rudiments of Latin,' and

HOW THE NEGROES GIVE IN SIERRA LEONE.

pursued the study of that language for many years afterwards, with unabated ardour, at an evening school which met between the hours of eight and ten. The dictionary part of my labours was followed up till twelve o'clock, or later, if my mother did not interfere by jumping up and snatching the books out of my hands. I had to be back in the factory by six in the morning, and continue my work, with intervals for breakfast and dinner, till eight o'clock at night. I read in this way many of the classical authors, and knew Virgil and Horace better at sixteen than I do

now.

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constant study, undisturbed by the roar of the machinery. To this part of my education I owe my present power of completely abstracting the mind from surrounding noises, so as to read and write with perfect comfort amidst the play of children, or near the dancing and songs of savages. The toil of cotton-spinning, to which I was promoted in my nineteenth year, was excessively severe on a slim, loose-jointed lad; but it was | well paid for; and it enabled me to support myself while attending medical and Greek classes in Glasgow, in winter-as also the Divinity lectures of Dr Wardlaw-by working with my hands in summer.

"In reading, everything that I could lay my hands on was devoured, except novels. Scientific works and books of travels were my especial delight. My reading while at work was carried on by placing the book on a portion of the spinning-jenny, so that I could catch sentence after sentence as I passed at my work; I thus kept up a pretty | Miss. Travels.

"Looking back now on that life of toil, I cannot but feel thankful that it formed such a material part of my early education; and, were it possible, I should like to begin life over again in the same lowly style, and to pass through the same hardy training." - From Dr Livingstone's

HOW THE NEGROES GIVE IN SIERRA LEONE. ONE of our native missionaries in Sierra Leone told his people that their place of worship needed repairs and furniture. "A contribution list," he says, "was opened among ourselves, and it was nobly responded to.

young men have done remarkably well, We have more than £12, and a faithful promise is made to me to procure curtains for the church, and cushion for the pulpit, &c. We have now The completed a better reading-desk, pul

POETRY NOT TO MYSELF ALONE.

Poetry.

NOT TO MYSELF ALONE.

Price 6d. per doz. or 3s. 6d. per 100; 20 copies sent free by post for 10d., paid in advance. Published by GALL & INGLIS, 6 George Street, Edinburgh. HOULSTON & WRIGHT, London