WHILE HE WAS YET AMONG US.

WHILE he was yet among us,

To him did parents press,
And ask'd a gracious Saviour
Their little ones to bless.
Could a request so urgent
By Jesus be denied?
"Suffer the little children
To come to me," he cried.

Though now he's parted from us,
And hidden from our gaze,
He's still the same blest Saviour
As in those bygone days.
And every loving mother

Who does her children bring,
Shall gain for them a shelter
'Neath his protecting wing.

L. M. T.

CHAPTER X.

NELLY got on very nicely with her reading and writing, and she was not a little glad when she had finished her first copy book and brought it to show "Miss Katie." She had improved in other respects besides writing since that New Year's morning when Katie first saw her; for there was a sprightliness in her manner which formed an agreeable contrast to her former dull and care-worn look. Her mother, too, No. 154. OCTOBER, 1857.

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was more cheerful than she used to be; for better food and less anxiety had lifted a heavy burden from her spirits; and she often felt ashamed of the want of trustfulness in God which she had manifested.

Katie generally went to Mrs. Turner's when there was a message to be carried, for she liked Mrs. Turner, and she liked to hear her talk; and she knew that the widow, to say nothing of Nelly, was always pleased to see her. But Katie did not know, at least not till long afterwards, that she was the means of teaching Mrs. Turner a very useful lesson, What was it? To be useful to her neighbours. But had Mrs. Turner never heard of such a duty as that until she knew Katie ? Yes, certainly, for she read her Bible carefully and constantly; but she had been so taken up with her own wants and troubles, that she had lived quite to herself, and had seemed to forget that Christians, all Christians, are told to look, not only on their own things, but also on the things of others. There was Mrs. Grey, for instance, the baby's mother; she lived in the room directly under that of Mrs. Turner's, and they often passed each other on the staircase, but, beyond a cold "good morning," or

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good evening," Mrs. Turner had never spoken to her. She knew from what she had heard that Mrs. Grey was very thoughtless and ignorant, not only about the way to heaven, but also about the way to make her husband's home a happy one, in order to keep him from the public-house; and yet she had not made any effort to instruct her less favoured neighbour, and to guide her into the paths of peace. When the child died, she had indeed gone to express her

sorrow for its mother, and to ask if she could be of any service; but the first attempt to soothe the mourner's grief by thoughts of a loving Saviour, and of the many mansions in our Father's house where the baby was now sheltered, had been Katie's, not hers. Mrs. Turner felt condemned for her past neglect by Katie's conduct, and she resolved, in God's strength, that she would not in future be so neglectful of others, and so wrapt up in self as she had been. So she made herself Mrs. Grey's friend in the best and truest sense of the word. She helped her to manage better about her marketings and her cookery, not by roughly finding fault with her ways, but by gently hinting at her own contrivances in such matters; and she persuaded both Mrs. Grey and her husband to go with her to the house of God on a Sunday evening. Thus, as week after week rolled on, their room became tidier, themselves cleaner and better dressed, their cupboard fuller, and their hearts lighter. There was some hope, too, that they were together seeking the Saviour.

Would all this have come to pass if our little home missionary had not striven to do "what she could ?"

Katie, by trying to do good at home, did not forget, you may be sure, to care for the heathen abroad. Besides giving a portion of her own pocket money to the Missionary Society, her mother had lately allowed her to become one of its collectors. Patty Cooper and her sister Jane, Emily and Augusta Layton, and some other young friends, together with aunt Martha, grandpapa, and Ruth, and a few poor women, were Katie's subscribers. She was very regular and punc

tual in her weekly call for the pennies. Everybody knew just the time when she would come, and did not therefore keep her waiting; and if she ever failed in her visits, they were sure that something very particular must have happened. The poor people were always glad to see her smiling little face appear at their doors, for Katie was a humble-minded child, and had always been taught to behave both to poor and rich with civility and kindness. It is painful to observe how some young folks, just because their parents have more money and live in a finer house than others, give themselves airs of consequence, as if they had a right to be attended to. Such are not sitting at the feet of Jesus, and learning of him who is meek and lowly in heart.

Katie's favourite subscriber was not a very large nor a very frequent one. It was old Nurse Martin, who lived in an almshouse; and all that she could afford to give was one penny a month. She was a warm-hearted, pious old woman, and could not rest satisfied without contributing her mite to the good

cause.

One Monday afternoon Katie might have been seen walking quickly up to Nurse Martin's dwelling with a brighter face than usual. The reason was that she was carrying a present in her bag for her. It was a large-printed edition of the book of Psalms-bought with part of the well-spent five shillings-which, from its clear type and light weight, could be read without difficulty by a person when lying down; and, as Nurse Martin, being unable to move herself, was obliged to keep in bed the greater part of the day, it