not relish her dinner, and asked to be excused before the others had done, Oh! if Miss Haines should find out. Every day she was expecting it; and what anxious days they were!

What made Fanny go? Had she two sides? Ah, she had a yielding disposition and liked to stand well with those she was with. That was her temptation, that her danger. She loved to do right, but she loved to be popular also ; and when the popular side was wrong, she was too often there. It would have been hard for her to have made on this occasion a clear point of duty, and firmly stood by it. Perhaps she would have been ashamed, too. Ashamed! Yes, she would have been afraid of being laughed at. Jacob said of one of his children, "Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel." That is it. A disposition, like water, liable to run anywhere, is very unfavourable to excellence. You do not know where to find it. It easily loses the golden thread of right. The Lord Jesus says, "Stand fast." Do not allow yourself to be easily carried away by others. Be firm and true.

This disposition brought Fanny into many such miserable days. The sail was never found out, but she suffered as much from fear as if it had been. It also caused people to form very different opinions about her, according as they saw one side or the other. Some thought she could not be trusted; others placed confidence in her. She, like many other little girls, had God's word, the Holy Spirit, the still small voice, her dear parents instructing and leading her in the right, to be a truly Christian child, useful and happy. She needed a steadfast purpose to take fast hold and follow their instructions.

The Idol and the Eyed Doll.

HERE had gone out from Manchester a missionary and his wife to those fair but miserable islands of the Pacific, the Samoan group. Children were born to them in due time, to call forth, more effectually than ever, the sympathy and affection of those in England who "held on to the rope," as Carey said. And a little missionary sewing circle was formed in Manchester to make up a box of clothing, comforts, and memorial gifts for these far off friends in the sea.

When this became known in the households, an old family servant who had spent thirty years of her life with them, and had grown in that time to be one of them, greatly desired to send some present that would be prized by the little ones, the children of the children she had nu:sed and loved, and followed into their willing exile with her tears and blessings. So she bought a handsome doll, one of those mysterious little constructions which opened and shut their eyes on a slight hint; then she went to work upon its wardrobe with a generosity that showed her conviction that dolls at least are not liable to vanity. Morning-dresses, and walking-dresses, dinner-dresses, and ball-dresses, basques, cardinals, &c. &c., until it was necessary to provide a separate smaller box to be enclosed in the larger one, that the rich array might not be marred on the way.

While this kindly little enterprise was growing up in England, another doll had made its appearance in Samoa. Roman Catholic priests had arrived there, bent, we fear, more upon defeating the Protestants than upon converting the natives to Christ. They obtained some slight foothold, and opened their wares, not the least important of which

was an image of the Virgin Mary:

Doubtless its dresses

were also rich, and its tresses fair; but, alas, its eyes were fixed.

The priests and this object of their worship were still under discussion, when it was noised abroad that the English people had received a box of gifts from their own country. Far and wide the tidings spread, and all sorts of people crowded thither to see these strange and beautiful things. Among other matters, the doll of course was not forgotten by the children; she was brought forth in her brilliant attire, and put upon the display of her accomplishments. The eyes silently and rapidly shut and opened, to the admiration of untutored Polynesia.

And now, unbidden by the missionaries, but prompt and clear, came this odd but very direct reasoning: "We have seen the god of the Roman Catholics, we have also seen the plaything of the English children; the plaything opens its eyes, but the eyes of the Catholic god are fixed; greater is the plaything of the Protestants than the idol of the Romanists. What must the God of the Protestants be?" And the missionaries declare that, so strong was the hold of these thoughts upon the minds of the people, that the priests could not recover their influence, but were absolutely driven from the island by the doll. The word preached by the missionary had free course, and was well listened to; and the evangelization of the people was thus signally aided by the old servant's kindly gift.

I.

How narrow is the base of error, and how precarious its foothold.

2. How constantly God's servants find that they are in his hand, no less in their duties than in their history! They set out to do great things, and accomplish nothing; to do little things, and behold, great things are done.

3. God's blessing alone gives life to any means of service we employ. Let it be our business then to be faithful; it is His prerogative to be victorious.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Mount Calvary.

HE Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Mount Calvary is about one hundred paces in length and sixty in width. It is in the form of a circle, having a heavy dome or cupola, the frame of which is made of the cedars of Lebanon and covered with a kind of stucco. It has a spacious and magnificent appearance. It is built upon the supposed site of the

burial-place of our Lord Jesus Christ; and pilgrims of all creeds and nations flock to it to worship there.

Mr. Carde, in his "Letters from the East," thus describes it," In the middle of the first apartment is a large marble slab, raised above the floor, over which lamps are suspended; this is said to be where our Saviour's body was anointed or prepared for the sepulchre. Turning to the left, you enter the large rotunda. In the centre of the floor stands the Holy Sepulchre; it is of an oblong form, and composed of a very fine reddish stone resembling marble. Ascending two or three steps, you enter the first compartment, floored with marble, and the walls are lined with the same. In the centre is a low shaft of white marble, being where it is said the angel rolled the stone and sat upon it. Passing through another narrow door, you enter the side of the Sepulchre. The tomb is of light brown and white marble, about 6 ft. long and 3 ft. high, and the same in breadth, being joined to the wall. The floor and walls are of a beautiful marble, the apartment is a square of about seven feet, and a small dome rises over it, from which are suspended twenty-seven`large silver lamps, presents from Rome and other parts of Europe; these are always kept burning, and cast a flood of light on the sacred tomb and the paintings hung over it."

The place where Christ appeared to Mary in the Garden is also shown, and the exact spot where the Cross stood, a square hole cut out of the rock, and edged with silver, is pointed out.

There is some uncertainty about the exact situations of these last scenes in the life of Christ, and, if there were not, it would not be necessary to go there on a pilgrimage to obtain favours and blessings from God. We can at home, wherever we are, by prayer to God and faith in Him, obtain every needful blessing. Let us show our devotion to Christ, not by visiting His tomb, but by living to Him, serving Him, and obeying His precepts-working