upon the earth. So, knowing that God was her Father in Heaven, she prayed to Him, for the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ, to forgive the sins she had committed, and also to help her by his Holy Spirit for the future, to watch and pray that she entered not into temptation. God answered her prayers, and when she felt that she was His child, through faith in the This dear little sister's pet atonement of Christ, she was name was Milly; she was very very happy. As a consequence delicate, and seemed a lovely of this, she wished others to be flower, more fit to bloom in happy too; and, thinking she Paradise, where eternal summer was not too young to do someever reigns, than on earth, thing towards it, she asked where the rude blasts of winter herself what she could do; so, often blow: but delicate, lovely, after due consultation with her and good as Milly was, she early parents, I joined her, and we found out the plague of a bad became tract distributors. This heart within, and that unless led us to see how shockingly God by his Holy Spirit changed the Lord's Day is profaned by it, she would never be fit to go many, many, people. We had to Heaven, nor even fit to live learned to keep the Sabbath

day holy, and the sin our first time, and many of them neighbours were committing became regular scholars. But

week after week, struck very heavily upon Milly's mind. Oftentimes, in her peculiarly winning tones, she would speak to the Sabbath-breakers, telling them how wickedly they were acting, and entreating them to serve God, and attend public worship. Sometimes the people listened to, and followed her advice, and, blessing her, would wish they were as she was; others were very rough and unkind. One day, a man who was a professed Socialist, when we offered him the tract, very rudely refused it, and abused us sadly, telling us never to come near his house again, but to go right away, which we did; but Milly said she should pray for him, and ask her parents to do so too. The following Sunday, with much fear, we ventured to offer him a tract again, when, to our great surprise, he not only politely took it, but also asked us into his house to partake of some fine fruit, which, however, we refused. He then pressed Milly to accept of a beautiful orange; she refused this also. When we got home, I asked her why she did not accept it, as I thought it seemed as though she did not forgive him for his unkindness; but she said, "I did not like to accept it, for fear he had bought it to-day, and I thought it looked like paying us.

We often went to see the children of our district getting ready to go "walks on a fine afternoon, and used to ask them to go to the Sunday-school, in which endeavour we often succeeded, and took them with us to some of the teachers for the

Milly thought she could be useful in more ways than one, and, as she loved teaching, she very gladly joined a young lady who had the charge of a class of little children in the Sundayschool, and there, the pretty hymns she taught, and the pleasant anecdotes she told, so won upon the little children, that they learned from her to love Jesus.

"Little child! do you love Jesus? Oh! how He loves!"

But now I come to a sorrow

ful part of my story. You will remember that Milly and I were sisters, and, as most sisters do, we went to school together; we were skipping off one fine frosty day, as blithe as larks, when, at the turn of a street, Milly fell down; she arose again in a minute, but, oh! how pale she looked. Yet she said she was not hurt much, and she soon forgot it.

But next morning, when it was time to get up, Milly could not stand, which alarmed us very much. After the usual remedies had been tried, she got worse instead of better. The doctor was sent for, and he tried everything that was neces sary, but with no effect. Now, dear children, pay attention, and mark how blessed a thing it is to be ready to die at any time. Before Milly had been ill many hours, she became delirious, and continued so except during a few short intervals, in which she gave blessed assur ance that she was happy in the prospect of death, by singing hymns, and listening with delight to all the portions of God's word

which were read to her.

On one of these occasions, she sent her love to her class, and a message urging them to serve God better than she had done, that they might all meet in Heaven; and, after thanking the lady who was her leader, for all the care shown to her, and bidding her farewell, she again relapsed.

She very often comforted her weeping parents, by reminding them of the love of Jesus to little children, and of the beauties of Heaven; her illness now rapidly increased, and in nine short days after her first attack, Jesus folded this dear lamb in his arms: and from that time, I have had no dear sister Milly.

And now, my dear children, having read the account I have tried to make simple and pleasant for you, are you ready to say,-I, too, will love and serve the Lord Jesus, that I may be fit to live and fit to die.

Begin at once, dear children, and with believing prayer to the loving Father of all, you will surely succeed; and may you and I meet around the throne of God in Heaven. Amen.

Little Milly was born 28th November, 1836, and died 28th March, 1846; so her age was nine years and four months.

Birmingham.

OUR CHILDREN'S PORTION.

S. A. V.

FROM THE SCHOLARS OF ISLINGTON GREEN WESLEYAN REFORM SUNDAY SCHOOL, LONDON, TO THE SCHOLARS OF THE WESLEYAN REFORM SUNDAY SCHOOLS IN YORK.

April 30th, 1854. DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS,-The receipt of your beautiful and affectionate letter, of the 20th November last, was to us as agreeable as it was unexpected.

The great cause always was and ever will be forwarded by maintaining a feeling of fellowship; and it is delightful for us to find, in so distant a part of our land, feelings to which our own hearts can make a glad response, and which prove to each of us, that religion, and religion only, can unite in common sentiment, those who are otherwise strangers to each other.

You ask, "do we not meet and sing many of the same sweet hymns, and read the same good news about Jesus Christ in our Bibles?" We reply, that we do; and we hope that we do not meet in vain, but rather that we make good use of the talents intrusted to our care, for we know that if we do not, those privileges and opportunities with which we are now favoured, will rise up in judgment to condemn us, and it may be said of us as our Saviour said of the city of Capernaum, that "it will be more tolerable for Sodom in the day of judgment" than for us.

You tell us that the object of your superintendent and teachers in wishing you to write to us, was, "that a kind and brotherly feeling might be cultivated between us." We think hat this object is fully carried out, for we have a very strong

brotherly affection for you, and it is a source of great pleasure for us to know that, though you and we have never seen each other, yet we can "love as brethren, as children of one father." Yes! God is our common father, and whilst we rightly think of Him, we find ourselves drawn, as it were, to a common centre.

We are young-the wide world has yet to open upon us, with all its enticing snares and allurements. Let us thank God for the words of instruction which we, week after week, hear from the lips of those who so kindly sacrifice their own comfort to our benefit; and being grateful for our opportunities, let us take care to embrace them, so that when we proceed into the still more slippery paths of advancing youth, we may, having a good foundation, be enabled to resist the many temptations with which our path may be beset, whether from our own hearts, the world, or the wicked one. How grateful (as you observe) ought we to be, born and trained in the land of the free. How grateful ought we to be for the Bible, the blessings of which, we believe, raise our country above all others, and therefore justly called "the great bulwark of our nation." It tells us of evil and its punishmentof good and its reward. It convinces of sin, points out a remedy, and offers righteousness and its attendant true happiness to all who embrace it. Yes! when we consider our position, our opportunities, and the encouragement which is given us to seek that which is for our benefit, and to avoid that which would injure us, we are left to exclaim, "O! praise the Lord, for his mercy endureth for ever."

We trust that the labour of our dearly beloved teachers, who come, Sunday after Sunday, to teach us the way to Heaven, is not spent in vain; but, that the seed they sow from time to time, will be like "bread cast upon the waters," seen "after many days."

We thank God that we live in the nineteenth century-that we are not like the ancient inhabitants of this country, worshipping the sun, moon, stars, and other objects: but are worshipping the one true God, who made heaven and earth, and all things that are therein, and "without whom nothing was made that was made;" who so loved us, though we had sinned and rebelled against Him times innumerable, that he sent his only begotten Son to die a malefactor's death on Calvary for us, that we might live eternally.

When we think of our advantages, and compare our lot with that of many others, who, instead of having the .Word of God taught them each Sabbath-Day as we have, are held in cruel bondage, and subjected to the lash of the cruel task-master, we feel it to be our duty to pray that God will hasten the time when slavery, and everything which opposes the spread of the gospel will be abolished-when the gospel shall be preached to every one, and when "all shall know the Lord, from the least unto the greatest." May it be our part to do all that lies in our power to effect that object, by giving our aid in sending Bibles and Missionaries to those places where "darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people."

As you favoured us with such an interesting account of the city of York, we will give you a brief account of the great metropolis-London.

London, like York, is a city of great antiquity. Its ancient name was Londinum. It stands at the head of the navigable tideway of the river Thames. The city of London (that part of it which is situated within the line where the ancient wall stood) is about three miles in circumference, includes 98 parishes, extends over 600 acres, and, (by the census of 1851) contains 122,395 inhabitants. The walls and gates formerly surrounding it have all been removed, with the exception of Temple Bar, and there has been recently considerable talk about removing it. That which is now styled by the general name of London is vastly more extensive than the part we have just been describing, taking in and surrounding several places which were formerly distinct villages, and containing altogether about two millions and a-half of inhabitants, 600,000 houses, and between 10,000 and 12,000 streets, squares, lanes, &c., so that it appears that the metropolis contains more than a quarter of the houses in the United Kingdom.

As to its history, it is known to have existed as a town for nearly 2,000 years, yet, with the exception of here and there a building, or a mass of old tenements, all is comparatively of yesterday, there being few portions more than a century old.

What Roman London was, is now a matter of conjecture, for, although Mosaic pavements and fragments of antiquity have been dug out, they serve only to show that places of magnificence have formerly existed; but, in regard to the buildings themselves, they afford us no information, still less do they point out the general mode of building, or the aspect of the city. Londinum was probably a British town (a large enclosure, surrounded by a rampart and fosse), but, though Cæsar crossed the Thames, he makes no mention of it, and the first account is in "Tacitus," where it is spoken of as honoured with the name of a colonia, and much frequented by merchants. It was, at the time the Romans landed in Great Britain, a very flourishing city, and in the revolt of Boadicea (Queen of Icéni), A.D. 63, it was abandoned by its Roman General, Paulinus Suetonius, and burnt to ashes by the infuriated Britons. On this occasion, 70,000 persons, consisting of Romans and their dependents, were slain.

As to the Anglo-Saxon city, we have as little account as we have of the Roman one, but we may conclude that, alternately ravaged by Picts, Scots, Angles, and Saxons, it considerably declined. In fact, as to the appearance and condition of the metropolis, we have but at best conjectural and piecemeal information, until comparatively recent dates.

We may, however, picture what it must have been in a.d. 1552, for in that year we find an act passed, describing London very foul, and full of pits and sloughs, very perilous, and noyous, as well for the king's subjects on horseback as on foot."

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