the poor orphans who had lately been beggars, and now were waited upon by the children of a count, or these nobly-born children, who felt at least as much pleasure in giving as the others in receiving? The meanest in the hall were served by the noblest; and we are told that it is to be so among those who belong to the kingdom of God. So the hours passed on till nearly midnight, before any one thought of being tired. A lady was present who said that she had kept the Christmas festival in the palaces of princes, and had seen more costly feasts, but never one so beautiful as this. When the time came to conclude it, all again knelt down, and the chaplain gave thanks to God, who had permitted us to enjoy this happy festival. And he prayed that God would bless and reward, in their own children, those who had done these things for the poor orphans; and, doubtless, He who repays those who give a cup of water for His sake will reward them according to His mercy, for these works of love. Last of all was sung the old song of praise, so well known in Germany, which begins,

'Now let all give thanks to God.'

And then kind wishes and farewells were exchanged, and all in quiet order left the hall."

Louisa liked this history very much, and asked many questions about Düsselthal Abbey, and the count and his family. And then Louisa said, " And the Christmas tree reminds me, papa, that I want to know why evergreens should be put in churches at Christmas?"

Mr. Williams said, "Perhaps one reason may have been because these trees keep their leaves, and look fresh and bright when every thing else seems dead and looks so dreary,-like the joy which we should feel at this time, though all around is dark and cold, and in itself it seems the gloomiest part of the year. And they may be like a sign that spring will come

again, and all things revive; reminding us of the new life which our Saviour came to give, and so leading our thoughts onwards from Christmas to Easter. You know we have no flowers for this time of rejoicing-the evergreens are all we have left; and they are strong and can bear the cold, and may teach us that we must endure wintry times as well as bright pleasant ones; and this is a thought which we ought especially to recollect at the season when our Saviour came into the world to lead a life of sorrow."

Mrs. Williams said, "I have read of a deaf and dumb boy who liked to see the holly at Christmas, and to have a great deal of it brought into the house; he said that the sharp-pointed leaves were to remind us of our Saviour's crown of thorns, and that the red berries were like drops of blood. We may, at least, learn from the poor dumb boy, that if such remembrances were more constantly in our minds, many things would seem to speak to us of them, and help us both to think of and feel them more than we now do. And we should then feel more and more how true it is, that

'Seen daily, yet unmarked before,

Earth's common paths are strewn all o'er

With flowers of pensive hope, the wreath of man forgiven.'"

[To be continued.]

SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY.

[Continued from vol. iii. p. 268.]

WHEN the children of Israel were at length suffered to depart out of Egypt after the tenth plague, they journeyed from Ramases and came to Succoth, and from thence to Etham, which lies on the edge of the wilderness close upon the Red Sea, and on the borders of Egypt and Northern Arabia, called Arabia Petrea (or 'the stony'). Here Moses received

God's commands that the children of Israel should not pass at once into the wilderness, which would have been the more direct way towards the land of Canaan. "And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt: but God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea." They therefore were led southward to Pi-hahiroth. "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them in the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night."

At Pi-hahiroth they were overtaken by the Egyptians; for no sooner had they been allowed to depart than Pharaoh repented of his permission, and pursued after them, and overtook them encamping by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth. When the Israelites saw themselves thus shut up and surrounded, the sea before them and the Egyptians behind, "they were sore afraid." But God now quickly began to shew them His mighty power, and that He is able to save in every extremity. He directed Moses to lead them towards the Red Sea-as it would seem, still nearer destruction, unless some wonderful salvation should help them. And here occurred that wonderful miracle, the passage of the Red Sea. For Moses by the Divine command lifted up his rod and smote the waters, whereupon the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong wind all that night, and made the sea dry land; and the waters were divided, and the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon dry ground, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left; and the Egyptians pursued after them. But Moses, upon God's command, stretched forth his hand again over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength, and the waters covered the

when John was only six years old, leaving another son and one daughter. As soon as he was fit for the rudiments of Latin he was sent to the free grammarschool at Northallerton, then in great repute for the learning and diligence of the master. Here he was distinguished by kindness towards his schoolfellows. The master appears to have been very severe towards his pupils, often punishing the dull and willing as much as the idle or careless. This excited the pity of young Kettlewell, who shewed his kind and excellent disposition in assisting the former in their exercises and lessons, while other boys as able as himself, regardless of their sufferings, left them to their fate.

Even at an early period of life God's grace planted in him such an hatred of sin, and of the very appearance of evil, that, to prevent it, he watched over not only himself, but all he loved and could be familiar with. Hence it was his practice to tell his schoolfellows of their faults, and set before them the sinfulness and dangerous consequences of any vices to which he saw them inclined. He did this in so kind and happy a manner as generally to give none offence, while it was the means of reforming many, and even of endearing him to them; a proof that while tender he was also faithful, and had already attained some proficiency in that excellent art of reproving which he exercised with so much usefulness in after-life. It was a practice so much above his years, and beyond what is natural, as to leave decided and pleasing evidence of a heavenly disposition. This appeared in another Christian practice of his school-days. From a child he shewed a very devout mind, and would frequently retire to pray by himself. Not content with this, he would often endeavour to make his schoolfellows sensible of the great duty and benefit of constant prayer to God.

No son could be more dutiful and obedient than he was to his mother. To her, under God, he appears > have been indebted for his early piety. "She,"

says Dr. Hicks, "travailed with him in birth again that the heavenly life might be formed in him by the operation of the Divine Spirit in his soul." It was through her that, like Timothy, from a child he knew the holy Scriptures; and, through her nurture and admonition, he learnt a sweet, childlike confidence towards God as a Father; insomuch that he was not only unwilling and afraid to offend God, as such, but, even at this early period of his life, he would, when in any trouble or under any disappointment, betake himself to God by humble and fervent prayer, resting in Him for the event,-" because," he would say, "as He pleaseth, so things come to pass."

When ready for the university, and expecting to proceed thither, the friend on whom he had relied failed him, and his going thither was in consequence postponed. This was the greatest trouble he had ever yet known; but on finding his mother much afflicted by the disappointment, he forgot his own sorrow, and wrote to her almost inimitable letters of comfort, telling her he was sure God never failed them who put their trust in Him; and that he was therefore fully persuaded God would raise him up some other friend, though he knew not whom. God remembered this simple and happy faith; for some person who had heard of his disappointment recommended him to Dr. Thomas Tully, then Dean of Ripon and Principal of St. Edmund's Hall, Oxford. The doctor sent for him; and, after examining him, was so pleased with him that he took him to his own rooms, and treated him with such care and tenderness as if he had been his own child; and on leaving residence, committed him as a special trust to his Vice-Principal, the Rev. John Marsh, under whom, as his tutor, he went through the usual course of studies, making proficiency above his equals in years. This is the first instance, but by no means the last, in the life of Mr. Kettlewell, on the one hand exhibiting in him a singularly simple and firm