LENDING TO THE LORD.

SOLOMON says, "He that hath pity on the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again." The following anecdote affords a very striking illustration of the truth of this passage:

In the year 1797, as Mr. M- - was travelling among the mountains of Vermont, he was overtaken by a thunder shower, and sought shelter in a small house on the borders of a great forest. On entering the house, and finding no one but a woman and her infant, he apologized, and asked the privilege of stopping till the shower was over. The woman said she was glad to have him come in, for she was always terrified by thunder. The gentlemen told her that she need not be terrified by thunder if she only trusted in God. After conversing with her some time on this subject, he inquired whether she had any neighbours who were religious. She told him she had neighbours about two miles off, but whether they were religious or not, she could not tell; she heard that they had preaching there once a fortnight, but she never attended their meetings. She appeared to be very ignorant on the subject of religion. The rain had now passed over, and all nature smiled. The traveller, as he was about to leave, thanked the woman for her kindness, and expressed to her his earnest desire for the welfare of her soul, and besought her to read the Bible daily, and give diligent heed to its instructions. But she, with tears in her eyes, confessed that she had no Bible. They had never been able, she said, to buy one. "Could you read had it?" he inquired. you She said she

one, if

could, and would be very glad of the privilege. "Poor woman," said he, "I do heartily pity you. Farewell."

As the traveller was preparing to go, he thought to himself, "This woman is in very great want of a Bible. Oh, that I had one to give her! but I have not. As for money to buy one, I have none to spare. I have no more than will be absolutely necessary for my expenses home. I must go;

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but can I leave this woman without the means to procure the word of God, perishing for lack of knowledge? What shall I do?" These passages of Scripture then came to his mind: He that hath pity on the poor lendeth unto the Lord," "Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it after many days." He said in his heart, "I will trust in the Lord." He took a dollar from his purse, went back, and gave it to the woman, telling her to buy a Bible with it. She promised to do so, and she knew where one could be obtained,

The traveller set out, and when night came, he took lodgings at a private house. He had a little change left, but as he had two days more to travel, he thought he would make his supper on a cold morsel which he had with him. But when the family came to the table, he was urged to take a seat with them, and invited to ask a blessing. He now began to feel himself among friends, and at liberty to speak of divine things; and the family seemed gratified in listening to his conversation. In the morning he offered to pay for his lodging, but the people would take nothing.

He travelled on till late in the morning, when, finding no hotel, he stopped at a private house for breakfast; while waiting, he lost no time to

preach Christ to the family. When ready to depart, the mistress of the house would take nothing for his breakfast, or for the oats which his horse had eaten; and so he went on, asking for and receiving refreshment when he wanted it, and offering to pay for it, as any other traveller would do; but no one would take anything, although they did not know but that he had plenty of money. "What does this mean?" said he to himself, "I was never treated in this manner on a journey before." He recollected the dollar he had given the poor woman, and the passage of Scripture which induced him to do it, and said, "I have been well paid. It is indeed safe 'lending to the Lord.”” On the second day after he left the cottage in the wilderness, he arrived safely at home, having been at no expense on the way.

The Lord has the control of all events: the hearts of all men are in His hands. It was He who inclined the hearts of the people to be kind and hospitable to His servant, and to ask no pay for what they gave him.

About a year and a half after this, a stranger called at Mr. M- -'s house, and asked for some refreshment. In the course of their conversation, Mr. M- asked the stranger whether the people in those parts where he lived paid much attention to religion. "Not much," he replied; "but in a town twenty or thirty miles distant, there has been a powerful revival. The commencement of it was very extraordinary. The first person that was awakened and brought to repentance was a poor woman, who lived in a very retired place. She told her friends and neighbours that a stranger was driven into her house by a thunderstorm, and talked to her so seriously that she began,

while listening to his discourse, to feel concerned about her soul. The gentleman was much affected when he found she had no Bible; and after he had left the house to go on his journey returned again, and gave her a dollar to buy one, and charged her to get it soon, and read it diligently. She did so; and it had been the means, as she believed, of her salvation. The neighbours wondered at this; and it was the means of awakening them to a deep concern for the salvation of their souls; as many as thirty or forty are rejoicing in God their Saviour." Mr. M- who had listened to their narrative with his heart swelling more and more with wonder, gratitude, and joy, could refrain no longer, but with hands and eyes raised to heaven exclaimed, "My God, Thou hast paid me again!”

When we lend to the Lord, He always pays us with "good measure, pressed down, and running

over.

دو

TWO WAYS AND TWO ENDS.

Two boys, whom I shall call James and Charles, occupied the same desk at school and recited in the same class. First, they studied book-keeping. One day James says to Charles, "Charley, now what's the use of this book-keeping? What good will this everlasting 'debit' and credit' system do me? I don't see any use in it. Come, let's play tit-tat-to."

"Neither do I see any use in it," answered Charles. "It's dry business, I own, these debits and credits and long columns of figures; but my father wishes me to study book-keeping, and if

there was not some use in it, I know he would not wish me to pursue it. So, 'wet' or 'dry,' I'm going to study book-keeping."

Another day their lesson was in navigation, and James, getting tired of study, began to mark out a game on his slate, and said, "Charley, what's the use of this navigation? I know I shan't ever be a sailor; and all this about the chart, and compass, and chronometer-what good will it ever do me? I know I can't ever understand it, and if I could, I can't see what use I shall ever have for it. I'd rather play tit-tat-to."

"I know its dry study," Charles replied, " and I don't see any use it will ever be to me, for I mean to be a landsman and not a sailor. But my father told me to study it, and you may be sure I'll mind him, for he would not tell me to study it if it were of no use. I won't play tit-tat-to till I get through my lesson."

After that they were studying surveying, and James began again to mark on his slate, saying, "Oh, dear, I'm tired of these links and chains and squares and triangles! What use will it ever be to me? And, besides, I can't understand it."

"I know,” replied Charles, "it is a hard study, and I don't see what use it will ever be to me. But my father knows more than I do, and he set me to studying surveying, and I am going to study it, whether it will ever be of use to me or not. And as for understanding it, I never saw any study that I could not understand if I put my mind to it. I should be ashamed to be conquered by links and chains, or anything else I find in surveying. You don't catch me playing tit-tat-to till my lesson is learned."

Thus sat these two boys side by side. The one studied and the other played. The one always