Yes; the pot of meal wasted not, and the cruse of oil was not diminished, according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke by Elias.

But while the prophet was with this poor woman, a great trouble came upon her? Yes. Her only son fell sick and died. How did the prophet come to her aid? He took the dead child out of her bosom, and carried him into the upper chamber where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried to the Lord, and said, "O Lord, my God, hast Thou afflicted also the widow with whom I am after a sort maintained, so as to kill her son!" And he stretched and measured himself three times upon the child, and cried to the Lord, and said, "O Lord, my God, let the soul of this child, I beseech Thee, return into his body." And the Lord heard the voice of Elias, and the soul of the child returned into him, and he revived. And Elias took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber, to the house below, and delivered him to his mother, and said to her, "Behold, thy son liveth." And the woman said to Elias, "Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and the word of the Lord in thy mouth is true."-verses 19, 24.

CHAPTER LXXVII.

THE HISTORY OF ELIAS CONTINUED.

What do we next read about Elias? That by the command of God, he went to shew himself to Acbab.

'How did this come about?

King Achab sent Abdias, the governor of his house, to seek for Elias. They divided the country between them, Achab going one way, and Abdias the other. And Elias met Abdias, and told him to go and tell his master that "Elias is here."

How did Abdias receive this command?

He feared that if he went and told Achab, in the meanwhile Elias would disappear.

What did he say?

"When I am gone from thee the Spirit of the Lord will carry thee into a place that I know not of and I shall go in and tell Achab, and he not finding thee, will kill me: but thy servant feareth the Lord from his infancy. Hath it not been told thee, my lord, what I did when Jezabel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the prophets of the Lord, by fifty and fifty in caves, and fed them with bread and water? And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy master Elias is here, that he may kill me."-3 Kings, xviii. 12, 13, 14.

How did Elias answer him?

"" As the Lord of Hosts liveth, before whose Face I stand, this day I will shew myself to Achab."

When Elias and Achab met, in what words did the latter address him?

He said to Elias, "Art thou he that troublest Israel ?"

Give the reply of Elias.

"I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house, who have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and have followed Baalim."-3 Kings, xviii. 18.

What counsel did Elias then give Achab?

To collect at Mount Carmel all Israel, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the prophets of the Grove four hundred, who eat at Jezabel's table.

And what did he propose when they were collected together?

First of all he addressed the people, and said: "How long do you halt between two sides? If the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him." And the people did not answer him a word. He then proposed that two bullocks be given, one to him, the other to the prophets of Baal; and that these prophets should first cut their bullock in pieces, and lay it upon wood, but put no fire under; and that he should dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under it. They were then to call upon the name of their God, while Elias, in his turn, should call on the Name of the Lord, and "the God that shall answer by fire, let Him be God. And all the

people answering, said: A very good proposal." Was all this done?

Yes. The false prophets called on Baal, and they cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till they were all covered with blood. They also called on the name of Baal from morning till noon, saying: O Baal, hear us. But of course there was no voice, nor any that answered, and they leaped over the altar that they had made.

Did not Elias mock them, while they were thus calling on Baal?

Yes. Elias jested at them, saying: Cry with a louder voice, for he is a god, and perhaps he is talking, or is in an inn, or on a journey, and perhaps he is asleep and must be awaked."-3 Kings, xviii. 27.

Was it right thus to cast ridicule upon these false prophets?

Without doubt it was. They were wicked and false teachers. They were deceiving the people. They knew they were wrong, or they ought to have known it. It was therefore right and just that Elias should expose them before the people, and should shew how grossly they allowed themselves to be deceived.

Did not the early martyrs and confessors of the Church act in a similar way?

They did. They constantly cast ridicule upon the gods of wood and stone, which they were asked to worship. Even in the midst of their cruel sufferings, they shewed how little they cared for these sufferings, in comparison with the glory that awaited them, by mocking

their tormentors, like St. Lawrence, who said in the midst of the fire, "This side is sufficiently roasted, turn now to the other."

But what happened when it came to Elias's turn to offer the sacrifice?

Elias, first of all, repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. Then he took twelve stones, according to the number of the twelve tribes of Israel, and built an altar to the Lord. He made a trench for water. He laid the wood in order, cut the bullock in pieces, and put it on the altar. Three times he ordered them to fill four buckets with water, and to pour it upon the offering and the wood, so that the water ran round about the altar, and the trench was filled with water. He then offered a prayer to God, and "the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the holocaust, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench."

Give me the words of his prayer.

"Elias the prophet came near, and said: 0 Lord God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, shew this day that Thou art the God of Israel, and I Thy servant, and that according to Thy commandment I have done all these things. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may learn that Thou art the Lord God, and that Thou hast turned their heart again."3 Kings, xviii. 36, 37.

When the people saw what Elias had done, how did they act?

"They fell on their faces, and they said: The Lord He is God, the Lord He is God."