fierce invaders were expelled by General Sale, but he himself fell in the contest. Then followed a series of battles at places formerly almost unknown to European ears, but which have lately been made quite familiar to us by celebrated battles fought in them,-Ferozeshah, Sobraon, Chillianwallah, Mooltan, and others. Much blood was shed, and many lives were lost in these battles; but the war ended successfully for the English, for the Sikhs were conquered, and their country, the Punjaub, became a part of the British possessions.

And here I have something to tell you respecting the good which has arisen from our war with India, as well as from that with China The Punjaub is now, as I just said, a portion of the extensive territories of Britain, and so it is open not only to civilization, but, like the other great empire, to the progress of the gospel also. Devoted missionaries have already gone forth from this country, to instruct the fierce Sikhs in the only religion which can teach men to control their passions, and lead them from cruelty and war, to gentleness and peace. A great deal has to be done ere this can be effected; but there appears so much of what is hopeful amongst this spirited and intelligent people, that we may anticipate the time, when, through God's blessing upon British in

fluence, the Punjaub shall be, like China, a Christian nation.

The last events of which we have been speaking, though in some respects sad because connected with war, were yet on the whole prosperous and successful. But now I must take you away from the continent of Asia, and from all these scenes of conquest, and introduce you to something very different. We will go to the sister country of Ireland, and visit her in a time of distress and sorrow. Perhaps even you can remember the famine which prevailed in that country some few years ago, in 1845 and 1846. There was at that time a failure of the potatoe, the food which forms, as you know, the chief support of the poor Irish. A famine followed, in which many perished; and in those months of destitution, it was the duty of England to act the part of a sister, and to offer help to the suffering island. And so she did. Large sums of money were collected and sent for the relief of the starving Irish; and the people of England, though many of them were perhaps obliged to exercise a little self-denial that they might afford assistance to others, were taught at that time, that to do good is a privilege and a happiness, as well as a duty. And their efforts were not in vain. Many were saved from the dreadful effects of the famine; but

as there was so much distress at home, the plan was adopted of sending a large number of the poor people to America, where they might find a more comfortable maintenance than they could in their own country.

Now I think we may learn some useful lessons from that potatoe-famine in Ireland. It teaches us how dependent we are upon God for all our comforts, whether great or small. Each one of them is a gift from Him,—the rain and the sun-shine, the corn and the green herb, the plentiful harvest and the fruitful seasons; and when He withholds His hand, distress, and famine, and death, soon come upon us. We are too apt to forget to whom we owe our many blessings, even though day by day we repeat the prayer, "Give us this day our daily ́ bread,”—thereby acknowledging, in words at least, that we depend upon God for our daily supplies.

And will you be tired of the repetition, if I say that this famine in Ireland is another, a third instance in our lesson to-day, of good arising out of evil? You know that Ireland has been under the cruel thraldom of Popery for many and many a long year, and that the influence of this religion has degraded and kept down the minds of her quick and intelligent inhabitants. Now sometimes people are more readily convinced of the truth or error

of a system by witnessing its effects, than they would be by instruction and argument. So it happened in Ireland in this time of famine. The effects of the two religions were seen then. While the Romish priests, in most cases, showed but little sympathy for their suffering flocks, and much selfishness in enforcing from them the payment of what they considered their dues, the Protestant ministers were known to do all in their power to relieve the perishing families around them, whatever the creed of those poor sufferers might be; for the religion of the Bible teaches us to be kind to all, "glad to give," and "ready to distribute" to every one who needs our help. The poor Irish papists, ignorant as they were, could see and understand this: and many of them were, by degrees, led to listen to the instructions of their kind benefactors; and their hearts, softtened by affliction, were more disposed now than heretofore to receive the consoling truths of the gospel. Thus a large number of Roman Catholics were brought at that time, by God's blessing, to embrace a pure and scriptural faith, instead of that which they had before been taught to believe and to profess. And when want and disease took away many parents from their families, and their poor orphan children were left without any relatives to provide for them, good arose from that evil

too; for in several cases their little ones were received, and trained up as Protestant children, by Christian friends who pitied and cared for poor Ireland. Oh, then, were not the " severe afflictions" of famine and disease, blessings in disguise to that long-neglected country?

I have told you something about China, and India, and Egypt, and Ireland; now shall we go to another part of the world, and talk a little of California, in North America, and of the famous colony of Australia, in the large island of New Holland? We must not indeed say much about either, but I may just remind you of the discoveries in late years of vast quantities of gold in those countries, and of the eagerness with which people from England and elsewhere hastened thither, and exposed themselves to privations of all kinds, in order to obtain, or to endeavour to obtain, a share of the treasure. Now it would be foolish to despise gold altogether; for it is, like other things which God has provided for us, good in itself, and capable of being applied to useful purposes. As the world is now circumstanced, it would be difficult and inconvenient for us to go on without it; and therefore we may consider this discovery of gold as a blessing for which we are to be thankful. But as I told you that God, in His wisdom, very frequently brings good out of evil, so it happens