light. Daybreak arrives, and with it calm weather; but the gig has been drifted out of sight. The small boat is near, and now their only chance.

The probability of floating in the little boat is so small, that they resolve to keep to the ship, until they have made a raft, but find they have not spars enough. Though, apparently, doomed to perish, they dare not crowd into the boat the mate and eight men. A heavy burden rested on the heart of each, and they needed counsel wise and cheering. That was given.

In this extremity of distress they assembled in the cabin, at the request of one of the sailors. The man, in his own rough fashion, prays to God Almighty for aid and comfort in their desperate need. By the advice of this good man and the mate, they resolutely abstain from indulging in the ardent spirits at their command. The smell of the rum is, to some of them, alluring; but they refuse to drown their misery thereby. They pass the night in calm distress, alleviated by the prayers they have offered to the Supreme Ruler of all. The good words had proved of essential service to those forlorn sufferers.

Morning again dawns. One of the men, going forward, discovers a wreath of smoke on the horizon. A steamer is at hand. Their flag of distress is hung out on the stump of the mizen-mast, and they thank God for His mercy. But no one on that steamer perceives the wreck. The steamer passes on, and they despair. An hour has elapsed since it was apparent they were not seen, when suddenly the steamer puts about, and steers towards them. They have been discovered just in time, and are saved.

True Pre-Eminence.

PROV. xii. 26: "The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour: but the way of the wicked seduceth them."

MORAL excellence is the true standard of man. Most who have been favoured with Scriptural instruction will readily acknowledge this in reference to others, No one desires to trade with cheats. But

wicked people are deceived by their own evil desires. They aim at that which they condemn in others; and even become so blinded as to applaud in themselves what they would severely censure in their associates. Real worth, however, will, eventually, be seen to be the highest dignity.

There has been too much of applauding men because of what they have. A man, forsooth, is to be honoured because he has somehow come into the possession of a vast deal of money, although he is selfishly boarding or selfishly squandering it. A man must have homage paid to him because his ancestry gained the favour of some monarch, in many cases by treachery, or cruelty, or vileness, for which penal servitude for life would have been the suitable recompense. A man becomes the idol of an unthinking crowd because of what he seems to be; and is admired because of his stature, his countenance, his demeanour, or his tongue. As truth and right prevail, all this will disappear. The question comes out with greater distinctness, "What is he?" We honour real excellence.

A good man is pre-eminent in his doings. Mr. Penn, a manufacturer of some celebrity, was accustomed to say, "I cannot afford to turn out a secondrate article." Of course mistakes would occur, and accidents would happen, and workmen would prove careless, and thus articles second-rate and fourth-rate would be produced at Mr. Penn's place as well as elsewhere. But he found that it would not pay to send such forth. Let it be altered if painstaking can make it firstrate, or let it be disposed of at a suitable price to those who knew it to be a failure, or let it be destroyed altogether. Anything would be better than sending it forth from his warehouse as a specimen of his workmanship. As a natural consequence, the business became first-rate, and the results satisfactory. Many, unfortunately, are self-deceived. They have the opportunity for profiting by unfairness and knavery. They can get the price of a first-rate article for what is third-rate, and they do so. They think that such conduct is the way to wealth;

but they eventually discover that they have been deluded. "The way of the wicked seduceth them."

A good man is pre-eminent in his character. Though we may strive to admire in ourselves that which is worthless, and wish others to join us in so doing, we do not fail to perceive the superiority of real worth in those around us. Naber was an Arab chieftain, who was justly esteemed for the probity and kindliness of his heart. He was also a prosperous man. He possessed a horse which he greatly valued because of its fleetness and strength, and also because of its attachment to himself. Daher was a Bedouin of another tribe, who resembled Naber neither in generosity nor rectitude. Daher had long coveted the horse of Naber, and had long been resolved to steal it if possible, but had failed. One day, however, knowing that Naber was approaching, the crafty man lay down on the ground, pretending to be very ill and altogether helpless. Naber saw him stretched on the ground, pitied him exceedingly, and raised him up. Eventually he assisted him into his own saddle, purposing to walk by his side, until he could place him in some friendly tent. As soon, however, as he was on the horse, the selfish wretch urged the animal forward, and rode off. Naber saw how he had been deceived, and knew that he would be unable to recover his favourite steed. He called to Daher, saying, "Tell of your successful exploit to no one, lest, perchance, some traveller, really perishing in the desert, be left to die there because the passer-by fears for himself." Now, in this case, Daher, the wicked, was successful. Yet he lost what was really more valuable than the noble steed he unlawfully acquired. No person fails to discern which of those Arabs was the more excellent.

The transgressor is enticed onward by his very success, until he is ruined, Daniel A---was a coachman, who had sufficient wages to support himself. But, unhappily, he had acquired a taste for gambling. It seemed much easier, living in a gentleman's family, to acquire so much information concerning the various races as would enable him to gain by betting, than patiently to toil and save. But poor Daniel had sad reverses. He had been induced to bet very heavily, for his means, on the results of the Derby. All went wrong. He could not meet his liabilities. He was in a labyrinth of difficulty, and sorrow, and disgrace. Like too many, under similar circumstances, poor Daniel destroyed himself, and thus added one more victim to the gambling of the racecourse and elsewhere. He had been allured to his ruin.

A good man is pre-eminent in his anticipations. If truly good, that is, if he has been made righteous by the grace of God, his blessedness is unspeakable. He belongs to the nobility of heaven. "If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together." During the early days of Methodism, William Hiskins was a prosperous farmer in Dorsetshire, who had given his heart to the Lord, and found delight in sustaining the work of God. One evening, when returning from chapel, he discovered his outhouses and ricks on fire, having been ignited by some mischievous boys, who were catching birds by means of a light. A great part of Mr. Hiskins's property was thus destroyed. Yet, when all was over, he could say," God is too wise to err, and too good to be unkind." Shortly afterwards, a grievous disease broke out among his cattle. Most of them died, and he was reduced to poverty. But the worth of religion was then made apparent. He was still a happy disciple of Jesus. He was sustained in peace until more than ninety years old; and on the latest day of his life exultingly declared the joyousness and certainty of his hope.

June 5.-The Allwise Leader. ROMANS viii. 14: "Led by the Spirit of God."

1. About being led.-What is it to be led? Sheep are led; they know not the way to food or shelter: they must be led by a shepherd. Children are led; they have not strength to walk alone, and they know not what they should do: they are led by parents. The Israelites in the way to Canaan, like sheep, knew not the way; like children, were helpless in time of danger: they were led by Moses. Some, too, who know, and can do the right, will not of themselves; if they will not be led, they must perish. All need leading, for "all

we, like sheep, have gone astray," and know not the way back to happiness and to God. Like children, we are weak, and cannot beat back our great enemy, or save ourselves from danger. We must be led, as Israel by Moses, through life's journey, or heaven cannot be reached. We need a leader.

2 All are led.-The Bible speaks of many being led captive by the devil. How sad this is! How does he lead men? and where? Into sin, and danger, and death. He is crafty, and is stronger than we. If he alone were the leader of men, how wretched our state! God has given another leader, His own Spirit. How great the blessing to be led by the Spirit of God." He is allwise, and can guide in every trouble; almighty, and can save from every danger; great in goodness, and will keep from every evil way. He will lead us right for this life, and also for the life to come. No other leader can do this. There is a time when the wisest and best must fail. Moses could not lead Israel into the good land. He died before they entered. God will be with His people even in the hour of death.

3. Led, not forced.-This means we must not be forced, but go willingly. The heart must be given to Jesus. He has said, "My sheep hear My voice, and they follow Me." How does Jesus lead His flock, and where will He lead them to ?

REVISION.-What is it to be led? Who are those who need leading? Why do we need

a leader? Whom did Moses lead? Whom does Satan lead? where? Whom does the Spirit of God lead? Why should we be led by Him? Where will He lead us?

June 12.-The First Death. GENESIS iv. 5: "And Cain was very wroth."

1. The first brothers.-Cain and Abel were brothers. They were the first little boys ever born into the world. Who were their parents? They grew up together as brothers do now, but things about them were very different from what they now are. You have many people and children everywhere about you. But they had no neighbours to visit, no other children to play with. Theirs was the only family in the world. They were taught the same lessons by Adam and Eve. All about them was the same to both, yet they grew up very different. They differed in what they did. Cain was a "tiller of the ground," Abel a shepherd. But they differed more in what they were, their hearts were so different. One was good, one was evil. How came this difference ? Where could Cain have learned his wickedness? Sin was in his heart. Born in sin, so also was Abel, for all are; but his heart was changed. How may your heart be changed?

2. Their offering. They had been taught to worship God, as Adam did. Their way was different from ours. Cain brought the fruits of the ground. Abel brought a lamb from his flock. These offerings were the fruits of their labour. Both were doing the same sort of thing. Yet God had respect to Abel's offering, and was pleased to receive it, but would not receive Cain's. When Cain saw this, he "was very wroth." He showed it in his face; "his countenance fell." But why did not God receive his offering? God asked him why he was angry. "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door." Sin, then, made the difference. It is so with us and our offerings. If we would be accepted of God, we must repent of sin, and then, for Christ's sake, God will receive

us.

3. Abel's death.-Cain still kept his

sin. Evil thoughts were busy in his heart. He was angry with Abel, but was this just? Could Abel help it? Yet it came to pass, as Cain talked with his brother in the field, he lifted his hand against him, and smote, and slew him. O sad and bitter deed! Thus came the first death, and it came by sin. How dreadful a thing is sin! It has brought death and all our woe into the world.

REVISION.-Who were the first brothers ? How did their life differ from ours? In what way did they differ from each other? What made the difference? How did they worship God? Why did God not accept Cain's offering? What further sin did he commit? Why is sin so dreadful a thing?

June 19.-The New Birth.

JOHN iii. 7: "Ye must be born again."

1. The first birth.-Have you ever seen a new-born babe ? How strange everything around it is to it. All is new and fresh: the face of its mother and of those about it, the sun, the trees, all living things, are full of interest, for all is new. When a child is born, it has life; it grows, and becomes strong, but its life will be the same kind of life as long as the body lives. But each one may have

2. The second birth.-This is a birth of the soul. What does this mean? Can the soul have a new life? Yes, "Ye must be born again." This was what Jesus said to Nicodemus, when He spoke of the new birth. But how could it be? To be born is to have life. Each soul must have a new life. Whence does this come? It comes from God only. This new birth gives a new life. "All things become new." Though all about us is the same as before, the soul is so changed, that they all seem different. We shall love much what was before hated, and hate much of that which before was loved.

3. What the new birth does. - It changes the heart and the life. The angry are made kind; the violent become gentle; the wretched happy; the bad, good. It always makes the soul better; it is going from "death to life." It is good for this life: it is yet better for the life to come. For those only can enter heaven who have been "born again." Would you have this new birth? Pray for it. It is given to

those only who ask it in the name of Jesus.

REVISION.-What birth does our Lesson tell us of! What is meant by being " born again?" What will the new birth do for us? Why is it better for this life? the life to come? How may we have the new birth?

'June 26.-The Great Search. AMOS V. 14: "Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live."

1. Of good and evil. - Every one wishes to have what is good, and to avoid what is evil. Yet very many have evil, and not good. How is this? Often, because evil is mistaken for good. Sometimes, because good is sought in wrong ways. Good is not known or cared for, or it costs labour and self-denial. Both are within our reach. We may have either. God's Word shows what is good and evil, and how each may be had. There we learn what is really good, and how we may know it, and how we may get it.

2. The search for good.-Do any seek evil? Not for themselves, it may be; but they seek their good in ways that lead to evil. There are ways which seem right to men, but their end is death. Pleasure, riches, fame, these seem good, and sometimes are so; but they may lead to evil.

3. Why we should seek good.-"That ye may live." There is a life beyond this life, and different to it. Good leads to that second and better life. If we get it not, we perish. God's word to Israel and to us is, "Seek good." What is the best good for the soul? To be free from sin, How is this got? By the love and the fear of God: "Thy favour is better than life,"

REVISION.-What does our Lesson tell us to seek? What is sometimes sought instead of it? Why should good be sought? How may we know good from evil? What is the best good for the soul?

July 3.-Cain's Punishment. GENESIS iv. 9: "And he said, I know not."

1. Sin found out.-When Cain slew Abel, they were alone in the field. No one saw it. It may be, he thought, no one would ever know it; but his sin could no more be hid than the sin of Adam or Eve. And now the voice of God came to Cain as it came to them. Nothing can be done which God does

not see. He said to Cain, "Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not." Was this true? How fast sin was gaining on him; it always does so. But the Lord said, "The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground." Cain was now found out.

2. The punishment.-God said Cain should be cursed from the ground which had received his brother's blood, and that the earth should not give him forth its strength as before, and that he should be a wanderer on the earth. Now, Cain felt how hard and bitter a thing it is to sin against God; it was stinging his conscience, and filling him with fear and wretchedness. Sin always does this, sooner or later. He was afraid, too, lest others, knowing his sin, should kill him. Yet God mingled mercy with His anger, and would

SCHOOL

not let others take vengeance upon him.

3. The evil of sin.-How sad a story is this! Sin had not long entered into the world, yet see how great the mischief it had done! It had driven Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden. It had brought a curse upon the earth. It had caused the death of Abel. It had brought misery upon those who had sinned; and still it spreads its evil over all the earth. All sadness and evil come from sin, both of body and of soul. How blessed to know that there is a cure for sin; that its guilt, as well as its bitter fruit, may be cured. Where is the cure? To whom must we go?

SARAH ANN CLAYTON. SARAH ANN CLAYTON was born at Goxhill, in the Barton-on-Humber Circuit, on the 29th day of December, 1854. At an early age she entered the Wesleyan Sabbath and week-day schools in her native village, and became very regular and punctual in her attendance for several years. Her strict attention to duty, and the constant delight she manifested in her studies, secured for her the esteem of her teachers and friends. Whatever she was requested to do she did to the best of her ability. She spared no pains that she might succeed. Possessing an active mind and a retentive memory, she acquired knowledge rapidly, and stored her mind with portions of Scripture and many of the Wesleyan Hymns. She desired no other recreation than to retire into a quiet spot to read some of her favourite books. She really enjoyed the Sabbath-school, which she attended as long as her health permitted.

A girl so promising was soon to be removed. About a year and a half before her death, she suffered from a cold and cough, which gave too evident signs of the seeds of disease being already deeply seated. She gradually grew weaker, and

consumption was now speedily carrying her to the grave. Teachers and friends visited her, and found her very attentive, but painfully silent. Indeed, it was feared lest all her former favourable indications of character and experience should have an unsatisfactory result. But no. There had been a secret concern about her soul for months, which was followed by a clear and decided conversion, and consummated in a happy and most triumphant death. About a fortnight before she died, that excessive reserve passed away, and she became open in her conversation, and related her experience in bold and unquestionable terms. She had found rest to her soul through faith in Christ. To the last she had hoped to recover, but she now felt thoroughly resigned to the will of God.

She manifested a most anxious concern for the conversion of her relatives and friends. On one occasion she called her brothers and sister around her bed, and gave to each very affectionate and suitable advice. She urged them to seek the Lord, and meet her in heaven. Her father frequently prayed with her, and she desired the Bible to be read, and the hymns she had learned repeated. A day