RESPONSE TO THE RESCUE CALL. 37 belong to such men as these; men of character, of truth; men who, in many instances, have been found ready to sacrifice even their lives for the sake of bearing witness unto the truth."— November, 1879. RESPONSE TO THE RESCUE CALL: THANKS FOR IRELAND. HE response to the Irish plea in our December number has been far above what was thought likely. The plea was put in with much prayer, and as day after day smaller and larger sums kept dropping in, we could only praise with a very full heart, with His own words, "Verily Thou art proved to be One who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think!" Our readers have united in making many hundreds of hearts happy : they have helped to make the little ones feel more than ever sure that God hears their prayer, for every gift which has come to them with such warm words is taken by them straight from Him; they have also cheered the hearts of the workers very greatly. Miss Davies says, "When looking forward to the needs of a new winter we asked our Father for some new gift, as a token that He was with us these dark times, your letter, suggesting a paper in LIVING WATERS, came as a direct answer, and now we can say Verily God hath heard us.' Let us praise Him in glad thanksgivings.' The gifts for the Connemara Orphanages came at a most needed time; for the terrific gales of November had much damaged the already weak roof, and one night the girls had to pull their beds about from place to place to try and find a dry spot where the rain would not reach them; so that the gifts of blankets were most eagerly welcomed; and the Christmas treats were more than ever enjoyed. Besides what I acknowledged in January, the following sums have been sent to me anonymously :-Dropped in the letter box 1s, Johnnie 6d, H. P. ls, two members and a friend 3s, J. F. B. 28, Drayton 1s, Huddersfield 1s, a Dressmaker, Jersey, 8s 6d, Thank-offering from a servant 48, Milkboy, Leicester, 2s 6d, M. B. B. 1s, E. M. 2s, E. B. 28, A. H. 2s 6d, Weston 2s 6d, a reader of LIVING WATERS, 1s, Thankoffering 28 6d, A. B., Shrewsbury, 10s, D. C. B. 2s 6d, H. E. E. 1s, Stockwell 1s, a little girl who loves Jesus and wants to please Him 1s, E. E. S. 1s, St. Helier's 1s. Besides these there came a ring from “ an invalid, Birmingham." I should like to thank her personally, but can only do so very warmly in this way, as she gives no further address. One Mother's Meeting sent a collection of 17s 6d, a London Bible Class gave 11s 6d, and a little girl of nine collected 7s. I hope all these kind givers, unknown to me, but every one of them known to the Lord 38 RESPONSE TO THE RESCUE CALL. Jesus, will accept my very earnest thanks and assurance that prayer for blessing on the giver was asked as each gift came in. All this has been divided between Dublin and Connemara equally, unless otherwise mentioned by the donors. Lady Lighton also has the following to thank for :-A friend in England, per Miss Rutton, £5, S. E. D. 5s, Mrs. Tilly, 2s 6d, J. K. S. 1s 3d, A. B. £1, M. M. D. £1, Mrs. D. W. Logie, £2 2s, E. R. B. £5 (special for blankets), a sincere Friend 1s, Christmas gift, Clifton, 2s 6d, Mrs. Picton 5s, Hopeful, Bath 2s, Mr. and Mrs. Robson 5s, Miss Charlton 2s 6d, F. Bliss 7s 6d, F. S. G. 1s, Reading ls. Miss Davies sends warm thanks for these gifts:-A Friend, Sale, 5s, Reader of LIVING WATERS 3s 6d, 2s 6d, 5s, M. O. G. 2s 6d, Mrs. Kell, Woodlands, 2s 6d, A. A. U. 2s, M. E. B. 10s, Pro Bono £5 (I think the Lord must love this offering as much as He did that of the two mites), S. E. D. 5s, A. M. F. 2s 6d, 1859, 5s, R. M. G. 2s, 43456, 3s, E. R. B. £5, Nosboh 2s, Youghal £1, a member 1s, C. E. D. 2s 6d. These sums are in addition to what have been received with names, and acknowledged by letter; and also several most welcome packets of petticoats and mitts. Now tell us the total. Altogether it reaches £84 8s 8d! I can hardly believe it as I write it. It tells how good the Lord is, first of all, and how true; and then it tells how much willing and loving hearts can do. Now you want to know how it has been divided. Blankets for the Orphanages Repair of Roof Fund General work and Christmas treats in the Orphanages. 3 29 40 19 7 £84 8 8 Besides this, two kind friends have sent me £10 for helping to give employment to some of the distressed converts in Connemara, whose boats were broken and their roofs unthatched by the terrible gales. Now let us all join together in saying, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy Name give glory! The Lord hath been mindful of us, He will bless us." Glory be unto the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen!" SOPHIA M. NUGENT. P.S.-It only needed £5 12s. to complete £100. Should I get it or not? I asked God for it very definitely, if it were His will. But nothing more came by morning post. However, it came just after the list above had been sent to the printer's-£5 from one, and 12s. from another, proving themselves to be God's hands in bringing the answer. Let us all take courage, and do not be afraid of asking for definite things. It is a Father we ask, who will be loving enough to refuse if it would not be for His glory. HOMELY WORDS. HOMELY WORDS. "WATER." BY EVA L. TRAVERS, POOLE. ATER should never be taken from a surface stream if possible; if you must do so, filter it, either through a common charcoal filter, which costs but half-a-crown, or make one for yourself out of a flower pot, covering the hole at the bottom with a piece of clean flannel, then using three inches of gravel to fill it, and covering the gravel with a block of animal charcoal, which will stop all grosser substances from passing through. Keep your water, if you have to fetch it from a distance, in a covered stone or earthenware jar; never let it stand in open buckets or jugs to catch all the impurities floating in the air. A common notion is that clear, transparent water is good. Some turbid waters, however, are not unwholesome; a little red or yellowish sediment is not uncommon or injurious, and is merely iron from pipes, or iron sand from the bottom of deep wells. So also water off a moor or common will sometimes be discoloured or contain sediment from the peat or growth on the common, or the moss; this, of course, is quite harmless. Sometimes a perfectly clear water may be unwholesome; it is a rare case, but occurs when organic matter is in the water. A water of this kind is often sparkling and agreeable. The water may generally be detected, if thus contaminated, by putting it in a stoppered glass bottle, half full, and placing it in a warm place. In four or five days impure water will acquire a disagreeable smell, from the putrefaction of the organic matter. Water should be without smell; all bad-smelling waters must be unwholesome. Sometimes, when water is boiled, a smell will be detected, which otherwise would not be. Smell is a better test than taste; all water should be tasteless, although a slight taste of iron is far from objectionable. The evil of keeping drinking-water in buckets is, that wood gets soft and may make the water impure; soft water will act on metals, so do not use metallic vessels more than you can help. As I said before, glazed earthenware or stoneware jars are best. It is a dangerous thing to find, as we often do, the well and the cesspool close together; and frequently there is drainage one from the other. A house with such an arrangement should never be taken by a wise man or woman, and when such houses are found unsaleable, they I will cease to be built. OUR WIVES AND DAUGHTERS. OUR WIVES AND DAUGHTERS. GOD'S DEAR CHILDREN. 41 D BY LOUISA CLAYTON. EAR children! This is another of the sweet names connected with the family of God, for we have already spoken of that precious name "Father." Perhaps some are asking, "How can I be sure that I am one of God's dear children ?" Have you the two marks which are to be found on them? One is, "they have known the Father "--that means they know Him as a loving God, Who has sent His Son to die for them; they know Him as the gracious God, Who watches over them and supplies their every need. The other mark is, "they desire the sincere milk of the word." Just as your babies crave for milk, and will not be satisfied until they have it, so God's children desire food for their souls, and hunger for His Word. But if you want some further proof as to whether you are a child of God, look at Jeremiah iii. 19. In that verse God asks a question and then answers it Himself. "I said, 'How shall I put thee among the children and give thee a pleasant land ?" The answer is, "Thou shalt call Me My Father,' and shalt not turn away from Me." The secret of our being able to call God Father is given in Romans viii. 15: "Ye have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father!" What a happy moment it is for us when we can say this! It is not easy to become like a little child, our proud hearts rebel against it; we want to be independent, but the Lord Jesus says: Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. xviii. 3). 66 If only our eyes are open to see, and our hearts ready to understand, we may learn many sweet lessons in watching the little ones around us. I like to notice their clinging and trustful spirit. Why does your baby lie so restfully on your breast and cling close to you if any stranger comes near? Oh, you reply, I am its mother, and so it clings to me in its helplessness, and it knows it can trust me. Dear friends, do we in our helplessness cling to our loving Father? But as time goes on the mother rejoices in seeing her baby crawling about on the floor, and very soon it can run alone. But it is not so with the children of God. They can never take one |