THE LEPER HEALED.

"I TOLD you yesterday," said Mrs. Ross, that crowds of people came after Jesus wherever he went. What do you think brought them, Ellen ?"

"It would be to hear him preach." "That was one reason; you know what crowds will go to hear some ministers preach now. And Jesus spoke in a way they never heard before; and his words must have been far beyond any preacher that ever lived before or since, and had a wonderful power to reach the hearts and souls of those who heard. But this was not the only reason, perhaps not the great one with most people. Have not you often heard of how he healed the sick?"

"Oh yes, mamma, he made the blind see, and the deaf hear, and took the fever away."

"Yes, he had the power of God, and did what no earthly doctor could do. You know that, everywhere, in this world, there is sin, and therefore there is also sickness and pain. So everywhere people came to Jesus to be made well.”

Could he make everybody well,

mamma?" said Harry.

Yes, dear, there was no disease too bad for him to heal, and this morning we shall read a story about that. us look at the picture."

Let

"Oh, mamma, what a sad, miserable looking man!"

"No wonder, for he was a leper. Did you ever hear of that, Ellen ?"

"I think I have, but I do not quite know what it means."

"It means a person who has a very dreadful disease, called leprosy, which people had among the Jews, and other nations in that part of the world. It begins in the skin, and gets so bad that parts of the body will fall away. I have read descriptions of poor lepers, that almost made me sick, and which I would

not repeat to you. Unless it was cured at first, it soon became impossible to heal, and then it was very infectious. Do you know what that means?"

"I remember when cousins had the scarlet fever, papa said we must not go to the house, because it was infectious."

"Yes, some diseases are of that kind which one person can make another take by touching or coming near them, and this was one. So the poor lepers among the Jews were obliged to live in houses by themselves, out of the town, and no person would touch them, or come nearer than they could help. And when they met any one on the road they were to cry out, "Unclean! unclean!" to make them keep away."

Oh, mamma, what a dreadful thing!" "I told you one day that the brazen serpent in the wilderness was what is called a type of Christ. Now this sad disease was considered by the Jews a type of sin, and of how we should fear. and flee from that. And sometimes God sent it as a punishment for sin.

H