Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts. Many years afterwards the city was destroyed by the Assyrians, and we do not know when it was rebuilt. In the time of our Lord it was a large city and formed a part of the kingdom of Aretas an Arabian prince, who held his kingdom under the Romans. Several hundred years afterwards it became one of the finest cities of the East; and to day it is a large city containing 150,000 inhabitants. Our friend John Ashworth of Rochdale, in his interesting book, called "Walks in Canaan," says of Damascus :-"The streets are most of them narrow and uninteresting: the houses are many of them built of mud and wooden rafters. or sun-dried bricks, and in rainy weather have a miserable appearance. There are nine gates in the city, but only three of them in use; the others being walled up with fragments of ruins. One cause why Damascus is the most flourishing city in the east is owing to the vast multitudes of pilgrims that annually flock here on their way to Mecca; at least forty thousand yearly arrive, some of them months before the day of setting out. Many of them are merchants, and trade with the citizens in what may be required by the pilgrims, and buy at Mecca the produce of India to sell or exchange on their return." Our young friends will reccollect reading in the Acts of the Apostles that Saul of Tarsus was journeying to the city on his persecuting mission, when he was struck down by the power of God. which eventually led to his becoming the Apostle of the Gentiles.

The Old Castle.

WOW pleasant the parlour looked on the evening of "Flaxy's " birthday. To be sure it was November, and the wind was setting the poor, dying leaves in a miserable shiver, with some dreadful story of an iceberg he had just been visiting. But what cared Dicky and Prue, or Dudley and Flaxy, or all the rest, setting cosily around that charming fire, which glowed as if some kind fairy had filled up the little black grate with carbuncles and rubies? Over the mantlepiece were branches of pretty, white sperm candles, whose light fell softly on the heavy red curtains, and the roses in the carpet, and danced in the eyes of the happy children.

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They, the children, had been having a splendid time." They had played games, and put together dissected maps, and tried puzzles, and read in Flaxy's wonderful books, and since tea they had had a grand romp at "fox and geese," even such big boys as Bernard and Dudley joining in, and now they were resting with pretty red cheeks and parted mouths.

“Well, what shall we do now?" cried little Prue, who could not bear that a minute of the precious time should be wasted in mere sitting still.

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Why, isn't it a good time for some one else to tell his story?" asked Flaxy.

"Just the thing." was the unanimous response. "Another story! a story!" and then a voice cried, " and let Dudley Wylde tell it."

"Well," said Dudley, slowly, "if I must tell a true story about myself, I'm afraid it won't be much to my credit, but as Flaxy wasn't a coward about it, I'll try to be as brave as

a girl. Shall I tell you something that happened to Bernard and me when we lived over in England?"

"Oh, please don't tell that story, Dud," pleaded Bernard with reddening cheeks, but all the rest cried, "Oh yes, go on, go on," and Dudley began.

"You all know that Bernard and I were both left orphans when we were almost little babies, and Uncle Wylde sent for us to come and live with him-me first, and Bernard about a year afterwards. I was only six years old when Bernard came, but I remember I was very angry about it. Old Joe, the coachman, and I had had a quarrel that morning, and he told me uncle' would never care for me any more after Cousin Bernard came, for he was a much finer boy than I, and looked like a young English lord, with his blue eyes and white skin, but I was a iittle, dark, illtempered foreigner (my mother was Italian, you know), and he wondered how uncle could like me at all.""

"But uncle did love you dearly, you know," broke in Bernard.

"A great deal better than I deserved, that's certain," said Dudley," but I almost worshipped him, and I couldn't bear the thoughts of his loving anyone better than me. So all the day that Bernard was expected I stood sulkily by the window, and would not play, nor eat, nor even speak, when Uncle Wylde came and took me in his lap.

"Poor child,' said uncle, at last, he needs some one of his own age to play with. I hope the little cousins will be fine company for each other.'

6

"Just then the carriage drove up, and uncle ran out and took such a lovely little boy in his arms, but when I heard him say, almost with a sob, Darling child, you are just the image of your dear, dear, mother,' then I thought, 'There, it is all true what Joe said, uncle loves him the best already,' and I bit my fingers so that when uncle bade me hold out my hand to my cousin, he was frightened to see it covered with blood, and drew back with a shiver, and then I grew

angry about that, too, and called him 'proud,' and went and hid away every plaything I could find.

"Well, I won't have time to tell you every little thing, only that as Bernard and I grew up together, I did not love him any better, He was almost always kind and good.” Now, Dud, you must not say so,” said Bernard, blushing, "I did everything to tease you."

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"You must not interrupt," cried Dudley. story, remember.

This is my

You never teazed me much, but the great thing I couldn't forgive you for was that uncle loved you best."

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No, I'm sure he didn't," cried Bernard.

"No more interruptions," said all the children, and Dudley went on.

"Well, you see I was very suspicious and miserable, and I always thought Bernard wanted to make fun of me. When he first began to call me 'Dud,' for short, I thought he meant that I was like the old rags that Joe used to clean the carriages with, for he always used to call them 'old duds.' And then sometimes when I came in from riding on Lightfoot's bare back, with my hair blown every sort of a way, if he said, 'Shall we have our lessons now, uncle? Here comes Wylde,' I always thought he was trying to make uncle think I was wild like those horrid Indians we used to read about, while he, Bernard, was always neat and smooth like a little gentleman. So you see there was nothing that Bernard could do or say, that I did not twist around to make myself miserable.

"One day, when I had been playing with my dog Sambo half the morning, and riding Lightfoot the rest of the time, I was called on to recite Latin to uncle, and didn't know one word. But Bernard recited like a book, and, when it was over, uncle did not scold me, he never did, but just gave Bernard the pretty picture I had long been wanting, of the boy climbing up over crag and ice, shouting 'Excelsior.'

"That very afternoon we had planned to take a walk together to an old ruined castle, but I was so cross and sullen I wonder Bernard did not slip away and go alone: I can't begin to tell you how envious and unhappy I felt, and I quarrelled so with him about every little thing, that at last he scarcely opened his mouth."

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'I don't believe this story is true," said Flaxy indignantly. "I'm sure the Dudley Wylde we know was never so bad and quarrelsome."

Dadley smiled, while Bettine whspered softly, “But he's different now, Flaxy. Do you know his uncle says he is trying to be a Christian?

Flaxey looked up with a bright tear of sympathy, as Dudley continued.

"At last we reached the castle, where we had often been before, and for a while I was more good-natured, for there was nothing I liked better than climbing up and down the broken stairway, which wound round and round like a great screw, or looking into every queer little room hid away in the thick walls, or climbing to the turrets to wave my handkerchief like the flag of a conquering hero.

"But this afternoon there was something new to see. In the great hall, just under the 'stairs, the floor had lately caved away, and you could see down into a deep vault. Bernard and I lay down with our faces just over the edge, and tried to see the bottom, but it was dark as pitch, and we couldn't make out anything.

"I shouldn't wonder if they buried dead people there, a great while ago," said Bernard, with a little shiver, and, when we both got up, feeling very 'sober, he said, just to raise our spirits,—

"Let's have a race up the steps, and see which will get to the roof first.'

"Off we started. I could generally climb like a wild cat, but in some way I stumbled and hurt my knee, and Bernard gained very fast. I felt my quick temper rising