until we came to the borders of a mighty river, here I thought we sat down to rest, and then my angel-guide left me. The stream was clear as crystal, and shone like the sparkling diamond. While I was wondering how it was possible to cross this vast stream, I thought I saw coming along the bank a venerable old man, with a head of silvery whiteness, and as he approached where I sat he slackened his pace, and instead of proceeding, as I had thought was his intention, came and sat by my side. For some time he said nothing, his eyes were fixed on the mighty waters before him, and his whole thoughts seemed to be there. At last, seeming to recover himself, he broke the silence. We talked very earnestly together for some time, till at last I was so familiar with him, that I ventured to ask whom he was. He said that he was the Ambassador of a Mighty King, who lived in a far country and that the land I saw around, at one time had belonged to his Lord; "But," said he, "the neighbouring king once ventured to come into this land, he persuaded the people that they were vile slaves to their King, and that if they would but serve him, he would make them very happy, and would deliver them from their slavish chains. Before this, they had never imagined they were in any-wise treated as slaves, nor did they know they were clothed in chains, but now that they had been told these things were so, they began to think they were, and soon persuaded themselves that all the wicked king had been telling them was only too true, and so with a little more persuasion, they set upon their city walls the standard of rebellion, rejoicing that they were so soon to get rid of a tyrannical master for a kind one. Their King soon heard of these sad news, but instead of coming to quell their outbreak,

He suffered them to follow their own imaginations, and so the evil king gained a most easy victory. But, alas! for them the change was soon made visible, and that to their sorrow. They found out who it was that was the tyrant by whom they were ill-treated, and also whose slaves they were. They wept and mourned, but for some time all help seemed hopeless. The King, seeing their sincere penitence, sent His Only Son with a mighty army to attack and discomfit this great enemy, and so set the captives free. There was a mighty and fierce battle, and for some time it appeared doubtful who would be the conqueror. The fierce fight at last ended in the triumph of the King's Son. He then gathered all the people together, and told them that He had now set them free, but that He would not force them to serve Him, except they chose; they might serve whom they would. But, said He, they who serve Me must not remain in this land, but must pass the river, which as they pass will wash the impurities they have now got away, and then, if they will only strive to their journey's end, and keep true to me as their Liege Lord, I will admit them into a far more glorious kingdom, where they shall be for ever. He told them also that they who enrolled themselves as His faithful subjects must have with them His banner, which He said would be given to all who passed the river, and also, that if they had not that banner they would not be admitted into the kingdom, so that He prayed them very earnestly to take heed and preserve it. So saying He left them." Here my companion paused: and here we must pause too, till next number carries on again his tale.-(To be continued.) The brilliancy of the stars is best seen when the night is dark.

-0

T. F.

ASPIRATION.

A MAN's best things are nearest him,

Lie close around his feet.

It is the distant, or the dim,

That we are sick to greet.

For flowers that grow our hands beneath,

We struggle and aspire.

Our hearts must die, except we breathe

The air of fresh desire.

Yet, children, who up life's long hillls,
Advance with hopeful cheer,-

O! loiter not, those heights are chill,
As chill as they are clear;

And still keep straight your reason's gaze,

The higher that ye go,

Remembering distance leaves a haze

On all that lies below.

MONCKTON MILNES.

CONVERSATIONS ON SAINTS' DAYS.

ST. LUKE'S.-Oct. 18th.

Mr. WILSON." Well, girls, are you ready to answer some questions about the Saint whom we commemorate to-day? I mean, of course, St. Luke; who was he ?"

"One of the four Evangelists, sir."

Mr. W.-"Who do you mean by the Evangelists ?" "The persons who wrote the four Holy Gospels."

Mr. W.-"Can you tell me what was St. Luke's profession ?"

"He was a physician, as we find in Coloss. iv., where St. Paul calls him Luke the beloved physician."

Mr. W.-"It is also believed that he was a painter of pictures, though we are not told so in the Bible. What else did he write besides his Gospel."

"The Acts of the Apostles, sir."

Mr. W.-" To whom did he dedicate his writings?"

"To a person named Theophilus, as we find in Luke i. 3, and in Acts i. 1."

Mr. W.-"Yes, we may suppose Theophilus to be some very great man, whom St. Luke had converted to Christianity." "Was St. Luke one of those who became disciples of our Lord while He was on earth, sir ?"

Mr. W. "It is not clear, from the Bible accouut whether he was or no. Some writers think not.-But it has been generally supposed, that he was one of the Seventy Disciples of our Blessed Lord. At any rate, he was at Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. Antioch being his native place. If you look on the map, you will see that Antioch is a city of Syria; and in the 11th Chapter of the Acts, we read that St. Paul dwelt there a whole year, that many of the people believed on the Lord, and that there the name of 'Christians' was first given to the followers of Christ, Acts xi. 26."

"What else do we hear of St. Luke ?"

"He became the companion of St. Paul in his travels, and was his fellow-labourer in preaching the Gospel."

Mr. W.-" True, in Acts xvi. 10, we find him going to Macedonia with St. Paul, and, after this, we may observe that he always speaks of St. Paul and himself in the first person,

which shows that they were constantly together. In 2 Tim. iv. 10, we find St. Paul mentioning that Demas, one of his companions, had forsaken him, while in the next verse be adds, Only Luke is with me,' showing that he still remained faithful."

"Do you know any more about him?"

No, sir, we have not been able to find anything else about St. Luke in the Bible."

Mr. W.-"It is generally believed that after St. Paul's martyrdom he went about preaching the Gospel in Syria. Italy, and other countries, till at last, when about 80 years of age, he was seized by a party of heathens, who put him to death by hanging him on an olive tree. So you see, if this account is true, which seems most probable, St. Luke was, like many other of the first disciples of our Lord, a martyr for the cause of the Gospel. In thinking of this Festival we ought to remember to feel grateful to God for inspiring St. Luke to write the Gospel he has left us, and also the history of the actions and sufferings of the Holy Apostles after the Ascension of our Lord. What simily or comparison does the Church use in the Collect for to-day ?"

"It compares the doctrine delivered by St. Luke to 'Wholesome medicines '"

Mr. W.-"Yes, we say that St. Luke, who at first was only a physician.or doctor of the bodies of men, was called by God to be a physician of souls, and we pray that the doctrine he taught may heal our sinful souls, in the same way as medicine cures our sick bodies. Now, good bye, my dear children; do not forget what St. Luke wrote "for our learning," and pray to God that the lessons taught by him and all the other holy writers, may be blest to our eternal salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord." L. R. P.