of the unconverted sinner, and of the claims which the book of God had upon the consideration of every thinking man. Earnestly and affectionately as the colporteur spoke, he could not get the other to make a purchase, and disappointed, he resumed his journey.

But the visit of the Bible man was not made in vain; the false peace on which the unbeliever had been resting was broken; he felt that there was truth and power in the words he had heard, and he became restless and miserable. Then he grew angry with the man who had broken in upon his solitude, and inwardly charged him with being the cause of his unrest. One sentence spoken by the colporteur had fixed itself upon his memory; it was this: "True rest and peace can only be found in Jesus Christ, and He is to be found in the Bible." Could he find peace in the book he had so long despised? He determined to try; so finding out the colporteur's house, he purchased a Bible. This he read with great eagerness, and as his eyes, by the power of the Holy Spirit, became opened, he found that at last he had the coveted prescription for peace of mind. In other words, he found "Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write," and finding Him, he found all that made life happy and peaceful, and gave a hope of heaven, where some day he will meet his Saviour, and where he has reason to believe his wife and little ones are already happy; for his wife had been converted by the child's reading of the Bible before her death.

We are told that the "Word of God is quick and powerful," and that it is "able to make wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus." Let us then be careful not to neglect its precepts or despise its warnings, but let us take it as our daily guide; let us 66 search the Scriptures," being assured that if we do so earnestly and prayerfully, God, by his Holy Spirit, will bless them to us; we shall learn in them our lost and wretched condition, and also be told how to escape from the wrath to come: even by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Very touchingly did he pray that the country might be brought out of its present straits, and that the God of all nations would cause His face to shine once more upon our land; that He would succour the poverty-stricken and miserable, and forgive the lawless and sinful, and bring all to know and fear Him. Nor did he forget to commend himself and his family to the care of his Heavenly Father. Thus he constantly felt that he was under the protection of a Divine providence, and this gave him a calm and quiet that were unknown to those who had no such trust.

"I must now tell you that our mill was driven by a little stream that ran from the river a mile above, and returned to it again just below the mill. This stream formed a boundary to our meadows on one side, and they were bounded on the other by the river; the little piece of land thus enclosed formed a miniature island, and on this island, close to the mill, stood the house in which we lived. Sometimes, when there had been a great deal of rain, the usually quiet little stream became swollen and overflowed its banks, and then our house was quite surrounded by water, and, but for the little wooden bridge that reached from it to the mill, the only means of communication with the outer world was by boat.

"It was the first week in January; the ground was covered with snow for miles round, and on the hills above our mill there were such enormous drifts that we looked forward with fear to the time when there should be a thaw, as we knew that if it came on rapidly the river and stream would be so overflowed as to endanger the mill and house.

"However much my father put his confidence in God, and trusted in Providence, he was not the man to leave unused the means that lay in his power to prevent misfortune of any kind overtaking him. He accordingly set to work in having all the corn moved from the lower to the upper parts of the mill and store-houses, and as far as possible removed everything that could be injured, in case a flood set in.

"It was on a Saturday evening that this precautionary measure was completed, and we were about retiring to rest, feeling satisfied that all was done that could be to prevent mischief in case of a thaw, which appeared likely soon to come on. Before going to bed, however, my father and I took a last look round the yard to see that all was safe, and while doing so we noticed that the air was very much milder, and found that a thaw had already commenced, and the stream was rapidly rising; we entertained no fears, however, and went to bed.

"Early the next morning I was roused from my sleep by a roaring sound, and on going downstairs to ascertain the cause was surprised to find that the stream, which had made the sound, had risen to such a height that the water was already nearly level with the door-sill; this was much higher than I had ever seen it before, and I began to feel alarmed for the safety of the mill, which was old, and not calculated to bear such a strain upon it as was caused by the overflowed stream.

"I quickly roused my father, who was astonished at the rapid flood, and felt nearly as nervous as I did about the mill; but he said that he felt sure that no harm would come to the house, which stood on slightly higher ground; and he added that we were in good hands, for that He who could command the elements was our friend, and He would not allow us to be harmed.

"It made me almost angry to hear him speak so confidently; I felt more inclined to be rebellious, and to say that if God's promises were of any use, now was the time for Him to fulfil them, and to save us from loss; but neither my angry feelings nor my father's faith had the effect of staying the waters. On they came, creeping higher and higher, until at length the floors of the lower rooms of the house were flooded, and we began to move the furniture into the chambers above.

"It is impossible for me to describe the anxiety we suffered during the long hours that intervened before daylight began to appear.

increase in the income, they found it more and more difficult to " owe no man anything." However, they adhered to their early resolution, and many a time they went without little comforts rather than purchase things for which they were not in a position to pay. They did this cheerfully so long as themselves only were affected, for they preferred privation to debt; but it was a sore grief to them when the children, who seemed always to be wanting something, had to be denied. Surely no other children were like hers, the mother was sometimes tempted to think, for with all her stitching and patching, and mending, early and late, she could hardly keep their clothes darned and decent.

But shoes and boots were her great trouble. She was no cobbler. All her thoughts, and all her skill as a needlewoman failed her where pegs and nails, and wax and bristles were needed. So she beheld, with not a little dismay, the growing necessity which was pressing upon Tom, and out of which he hoped to get the long-coveted clogs. When he asked her, she told him she could not buy them then; he must be patient, and she would get them as soon as possible. There was no help for it, so Tom said no more, but with as good a grace and as cheerful a face as possible, he quietly resigned himself to the situation.

She

About two days after this, Mrs. Henderson paid her customary evening visit to her mother's, to see an invalid sister. As she was seated at the window of the house, she was surprised to see Tom running with all his might up the street. watched him with not a little alarm, fearing lest the unexpected messenger should be the bearer of evil tidings, and that in her absence some ill had befallen her home. She was not kept long in suspense. Tom turned into the front garden, and, seeing her at the window, waved his cap and shouted: " Ma, He's sent 'em! Ma, He's sent 'em!" Then bursting into the room, all but breathless with running and excitement, his eyes sparkling with delight, his rosy cheeks rosier than ever, and his whole face radiant with a child's pure joy, he held before his astonished mother a pair of

clogs, and again exclaimed: "Ma, He's sent 'em! Ma, He's sent 'em!"

The remainder is soon told. Tom's father, in returning from his work that evening, saw exhibited in the marketplace, on a stall of second-hand goods, a pair of boys' clogs. He had heard absolutely nothing of Tom's wants, for his wife, unwilling to trouble her husband, had said nothing whatever about them. But "the thought struck me," said John Henderson to the writer, "the thought struck me that them clogs would just fit our Tom; and as they were cheap, and I had the money in my pocket, I bought 'em, and took 'em home. When I got in I set 'em down on a chair, and went to get a wash; but when I came into the room again the boots were gone. I was fairly puzzled to know what had become of 'em, for I had heard nobody come in."

It was not till Tom and his mother returned that the truth, which explained the mystery, was fully known. The fact is, Tom had been praying in secret for the clogs. His mother, on Sunday evenings, had been in the habit of reading and explaining the Scriptures to her children; and she had taught them "by prayer and supplication to make known their wants and requests to God," who had the power and the will to do for them all that was really for their good. Hence, when she confessed her inability to get Tom his clogs, he went, and in simple childlike faith laid his wants and wishes before his Father in heaven, and asked Him to send the clogs. Coming in from play, and altogether unconscious that his father had returned from work, he saw, to his great delight, the clogs standing on the chair. His prayer was heard. God had sent the clogs. Overjoyed, too glad, in fact, even to "utter cry," he quickly and silently snatched up his prize and ran off to his mother with the good news, acknow ledging the hand of God in the simple words: "Ma, He's sent 'em!"

There was real joy in that home that night. Tom was