A Human Pincushion.

ITTY HUDSON, whom many still remember as the Arnold Post, was born at that village in 1765, and when six years of age was left with her grandfather, Mr. White, the sexton of St. Mary's, Nottingham. Here a young woman resided in the capacity of a servant, who used to reward Kitty with a stick of toffy for every "mouthful" of pins she procured in sweeping the pews and aisles of the church. The poor child followed this practice till she could neither eat, drink, Often she nor sleep without pins or needles in her mouth.

got out of bed to supply herself with them, that she might induce sleep. To such an extent did she carry this strange practice that ere it was discovered by her friends, her double teeth had almost disappeared. At length the began to perceive a constant numbness in her limbs, and a great inability to sleep. After various medical applications, she was removed to the general hospital. Between the time of her admission and June 12, 1785, when she was finally "dismissed cured," she underwent a most astonishing series of operations. Great numbers of pins and needles, and pieces of curious bone were extracted from her feet legs, arms, and other parts of her body, while both her breasts were removed with the knife. While in the infirmary a young man named Goddard, who "had sweethearted her from a child," happened to be an out-patient for a complaint in his head, through which he lost an eye. He used to cheer her by saying he would marry her if she lost all her limbs; she said it was the kindness of this young man, which enabled her to bear up under her protracted sufferings. Six months after her discharge she was married, and bore the faithful Goddard nineteen children.

The Holy Sepulchre.

N the Hive for September we gave an illus-
tration of the exterior of the Holy Sepul-
chre. The cut now given represents the
interior. Our readers will be interested
in reading the account of a visit to this
place, given by John Ashworth, in his
"Walks in Canaan."
He says
"The

heat caused by the crowding in of the
people, and the burning of so many lamps,

was intense, and I was glad to bend down

and return to a cooler atmosphere. Pilgrims are continually crawling on their hands and knees into the rooms, weeping and kissing the floor and tomb, many of them sobbing and howling. Scenes the most revolting are often witnessed in the whole Church of the Sepulchre, especially on the Saturday in Easter Week. Their ignorance and superstitions burst forth in the wildest phrenzy; the Turkish soldiers keep open a passage, and forty or fifty men clothed in skins, or almost naked, run wildly round the tomb, shouting and yelling "This is the tomb of Jesus! This is the tomb of Christ." Then from the Greek part comes a procession of priests clothed in scarlet and gold, and the excitement becomes terrible; the yells from the huge mass of pilgrims becomes fierce and awful, calling for the holy fire to come down from heaven. Three times the procession moves round the Sepulchre, but believing that the fire will not come while the Turkish soldiers are present, a rush is made to drive them out; this the soldiers expect and allow themselves to be expelled. Then the principal bishop enters and the door is shut; outside a priest stands with candles ready to catch the fire, thousands of hands with tapers are stretched forth towards the place where the heavenly fire will burst forth; for a moment a stillness pervades the mul

titude. Suddenly a bright flame flashes through a small opening in the wall, the fire spreads from hand to hand, from taper to taper, till the vast edifice is one dazzling blaze of light. Then comes a rush to carry the sacred fire into the streets and houses of Jerusalem, in which many have been crushed to death; and it is recorded that on one occasion two hundred lost their lives. It is well known that this fire is a deception."

It is one of the lying wonders for which Popery is notorious, which the Lord hath said He will consume by the spirit of his mouth, and the brightness of his coming.

T. B.

The Months and Remarkable Days.

BY THE REV. W. L. ROBERTS, HOLMFIRTH.
X. OCTOBER.

CTOBER, according to the signification of its name, should be the eighth month, and such was its position in ancient times. Like the preceding month September, efforts were made to change its name when the year was made to begin in January, but those efforts failed, and the name October still clings to it although it is now the tenth month. Its Anglo-Saxon name was Wyn moneth, that is wine month, so named, doubtless, because the fruits of the earth were now fully ripe, and the manufacture of wine and other beverages produced from fruit juices, would be largely carried on. Amongst the Greeks and Romans many religious festivals were held in this month.

The most prominent days, however, now noted in the

calendar for October are St. Crispin's Day and Halloween: St. Crispin's is on the 25th. Mr. Crispin dates from the third century; he had a brother called Crispianus, and the two being under the necessity of fleeing from Rome, they entered Gaul or France, where they endeavoured to spread Christianity, and while doing so they supported themselves by shoemaking. Crispin was both industrious and charitable, so charitable it is said that he even stole leather to make shoes for poor people, a method of manifesting his benevolence which the great apostle Paul would hardly approve of, judging from Rom. iii. 8. From the fact that Crispin was such a famous shoemaker, shoemakers generally have made him their patron saint, and men of that craft are often facetiously called Sons of St. Crispin. The two brothers were cruelly put to death as martyrs in the year 287, and the 25th of October, which is their memorial day, is called St. Crispin's. Halloween, or Hallow-even, or Allhallow's Eve is the last night in October, being the night before All Hallow's Day, of which which we shall have something to say next month. Halloween festivities were strange ones; cracking nuts, ducking in water for apples, were formerly common in England, but it was in Scotland that most was made of Halloween sports. Many very foolish superstitions were connected with it, and if the description given by Robert Burns, the celebrated Scotch poet, in his " Hallowe'en" be at all correct, and we suppose it is, then, although there would be plenty of fun, there must have been much of ignorance. The charms practised by the young people in Scotland or Halloween had reference chiefly to their future husbands and wives. With the spread of education and other enlightening influences many of these superstitious customs are rapidly disappearing, and we hope worse will not take their place.

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