HOW A GOOD THOUGHT GROWS.

No doubt Mr. Charles was much pleased with the girl, though she could not tell him the text. Nor did he meet her in vain; for it led, as will be seen, to very important results. After she had gone, he began to reflect how many were without the sacred Scriptures. He next inquired among the people in the towns and villages, in how many houses the Bible was to be met with; and you may suppose how great was his sorrow when he found there was only one copy to about every eight families. What was to be done? He was not a rich man, so he could not supply them; and, even if he could get the money, he well knew they were not to be bought, as there were very few printed in those days. After he had thought much on the subject, he resolved to go to London to seek for help in giving the word of God to his loved Welsh people. A journey from Wales to the great city was then a serious matter: there were no railroads in those days; it cost a good sum of money, and took up much time; and, besides it was winter, when travelling was not pleasant. But to London he went, and made many inquiries for Welsh Bibles, and obtained only a small number. He now thought he would seek for some pious person who might assist him; he had heard that several ministers and gentlemen used to meet early in the morning to consult about the circulation of tracts, so he resolved to call on them, hoping they would help him.

It was early on the morning of the 7th of December, 1802, that the Welsh minister paid a visit to the Committee of the Religious Tract Society, and made known his errand. They talked together about the state of the people without the word of God; and they soon resolved to make an effort to circulate the bible more extensively. They first consulted how they could procure a supply of Bibles for Wales, and then for England; when a minister present, the late Joseph Hughes, baptist minister of Battersea, said, "A Bible

Society for Wales! a Bible Society for England!— why not a Bible Society for the World?" After the Committee of the Tract Society had talked over the matter for several months, these gentlemen, along with some others, formed the British and Foreign Bible Society. "Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!" Who could have thought that the fact of the little Welsh girl not being able to remember the text would have led the minister to London? and that his visit to the Committee of the Religious Tract Society would have ended in forming a separate society, which in forty-five years has sent out nearly twenty millions of copies of the Holy Word of God?

"SHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE COULD." From America.

THERE lived in a little log hut, in the outskirts of a neighbouring State, a girl of sixteen. The only means of instruction ever enjoyed by her, did not exceed six months, but her mind was awakened by an ardent desire for knowledge. After she had learned by heart the few books within her reach, she took the bible, and though she had seldom heard the gospel preached, yet the Spirit of God inspired her with wonder, as she read the story of the Saviour's love. Her wonder was changed to penitence; she was humbled; she sought pardon; and with a sense of forgiveness, came the inquiry, what she, a poor ignorant child, could do for her Saviour. She thought of her brothers, and she read to them over and over again, the lessons she had learned from the bible. She had heard of Sabbath-schools, and with a determination to establish one among the few neighbours in her vicinity, she persuaded her father to lend his kitchen for a school-room. When the Sabbath came, twenty poor

66

SHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE COULD."

ignorant children filled her room. Soon her school increased; old men and middle aged came, the youthful teacher was happy, and with a trembling heart she persevered.

Years passed, and in place of scores, hundreds gathered in that school each returning Lord's-day, and it is now in the midst of a flourishing village. A neat church stands by the site of the old log kitchen, and the songs of Zion echo from its walls, and the voice of the gospel minister is heard from its pulpit on the Lord's-day. That teacher sleeps! Her spirit has gone to receive the blessed commendation-"She hath done what she could."

Yes, she has ceased from her labours; but mark the sequel. A brother who listened to the first lessons of holiness that trembled on her lips, is preparing for the christian ministry; others are devoted, useful christians, and one of the scholars is already on missionary ground. Verily, "She hath done what she could," and she did something.

To every young christian we would say, "Go and do likewise." But do you ask what you can do? Look around you. Are your brothers and sisters better for your example? Are your companions looking to you as a pattern of holiness, or are you a stumbling-block, over which they will plunge into the abodes of the lost? Say, is your heart filled with the love of Christ? Is it burning with a missionary spirit? You can be a missionary even where you are, in your own town, in your own neighbourhood, for there are those all around you who seldom hear the sound of the gospel. Seek them out; bring them to Christ. Thus you may bear fruit to the glory of God, and of you too, it may be said, "She hath done what she could,"—and your name will stand out emblazoned upon the firmament of the upper world. Is not the very thought enough to fill the soul with heavenly rapture?

THOU sacred treasure-dearer to me far
Than earth's delusive fading glories are;
I'd give them all, could I possess them now,
For one blest truth thy sacred records show;
To taste the heavenly sweets thy page unfolds,
And view the scenes which faith's bright eye beholds
Beyond the vale of perishable things,

Where joy for ever in the bosom springs,
Where waves of bliss in rich profusion roll,
And pour immortal raptures o'er the soul,
From that great, deep, unfathomable sea-
The love of God-vast as eternity!

This book, how dear how bright its pages shine,
Its high behest is stamped on every line:

By God's beloved Son its truths are taught,

Seal'd with the blood which man's salvation bought.
Design'd to cheer his dark benighted mind,
Weary and anxious some retreat to find
Of calm repose, free from perplexing care,
Some higher good, some holier joys to share.
Here hope's bright vision calms the troubled breast,
And faith looks upward to a world of rest.

Thou art my friend, companion of my youth;
The star which led me in the search of truth,
And broke the spell which kept my wand'ring mind
Long in delusive snares of earth confined;
Thou art my solace in this vale of tears,
My counsellor and trust in riper years-

THE BIBLE.

Imparting gladness when my aching heart
Feels anguish deep, as earthly hopes depart.
When darker days come slowly creeping on,
And all my sun-lit hours of life are gone;
When wintry age my feeble frame shall bow,
And bind its snowy wreath around my brow;
To this blessed source of comfort will I fly,
And taste the streams of bliss which never dry;-
Lean on this anchor of eternal hope,

Which buoys the sinking fearful spirit up.

Thou art my wealth, with thee content I'll live,
And ask no more than thy rich pages give
Of promised blessings-plainly written there,
Obtain'd by faith in holy ardent prayer.

Thou art my pole-star, through life's trackless deep My fragile bark to guide and safely keep:

When the white surges dash the sounding shore,
And howling winds and gathering tempests roar,
With thee I'll fear no ill, but watch thy light,
For ever beaming with effulgence bright-
My Pharos to direct me to that shore,

The port of bliss, where storms disturb no more!

THE BIBLE.

THIS little book I'd rather own

Than all the gold and gems

That e'er in monarch's coffers shone;

Than all their diadems;

Nay! were the seas one chrysolite,
The earth one golden ball,

And diamonds all the stars of night,
This book were worth them all.

Oh no! the soul ne'er found relief
In glittering boards of wealth;
Gold dazzles not the eye of grief;
Gems cannot purchase health;
But here a blessed balm appears,
To heal in deepest woe;

And they who seek this book in tears,
Their tears shall cease to flow.