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The Children's Gallery.

MEMOIR OF DINAH SIMS.

THE subject of the following memoir to be with Jesus; and gave expres

sions to feelings and sentiments not often experienced in children of such tender years. Her heart appeared so full, that she often felt a difficulty in

was born March, 1839. From very early life she was the subject of serious impressions. At the age of four years she was often found engaged in prayer with and for her sisters; the Sabbath-giving utterance to her feelings. When school was her delight, and there those serious impressions were formed and fostered; and to the instruction received in this nursery she ascribed the foundation of that piety which shone so brightly in her last days. It was not till within a few weeks of her death that the full lustre of those religious principles which had been nurtured in the Sabbath-school, and wrought by the Holy Spirit on her heart, took that decision which gave positive evidence, that she was born from above. From the commencement of the illness which terminated in her death, she manifested a deep interest in all her relatives and friends, exhorting them with all earnestness to seek and love that Saviour who had loved her and died to save her precious soul. An elder brother, who had long known the Lord, she admonished with more than usual fervour to live near the Saviour, assuring him that Jesus was the foundation of her hope and the source of her joy; and breaking out in an ecstasy of praise for redeeming love she sang the well-known lines,"Jesus, Lover of my soul,

Let me to thy bosom fly," &c. From the time she was taken ill she told her mother that it would end in her death; but not to weep on that account, for she was happy, and longed

friends came to see her, of whose piety she doubted, she would warn them to flee from sin and seek the Saviour; assuring them that the blood of Jesus, which had cleansed her guilty soul, and made her happy, could cleanse the vilest sinner who sought an interest in its all-prevailing merit. To others she would say, "You must pray or perish!" When it was evident she was drawing near her end, just on the threshold of the better world, she had such manifestations of the scenes that awaited her happy spirit in the heavenly Jerusalem, that she would often audibly praise the Saviour, whom she longed to behold. She now began to feel it difficult to articulate her words, so that much she said was lost. To her elder sister, who was standing by her bedside, she gave her last parting advice, to live near the Lord; and with much earnestness intreated her to bring up her children in the fear of God, and never cease praying for them; and, as if to sum up all her desires in one sentence, which appeared the burden of her anxious wishes throughout her affliction, she again charged them all to follow her to Heaven. Thus lived and died Dinah Sims, a monument of what the grace of God can do in very early life. In her we see fulfilled that promise, that those who seek God

early shall find him:-Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings he hath perfected praise.

It may be profitable to inquire what lessons of instruction this narrative is calculated to teach. First, that God blesses those who seek him in the ordinary use of means. This young disciple had little education beyond the instruction of the Sabbath-school; but she was made wise unto salvation, through faith in Christ; she was no scholar, but, to the best of her ability, she commended the Saviour to her relatives and others, and this proved the sincerity of her faith. Though very young in years, she was thoughtful and prayerful, a pattern worthy of imitation by the youngest child in the Sabbath-school. Let her example admonish those who never pray for themselves, although possessing advantages far superior to her!

Let her early death enforce instruction on the minds of the careless Sabbath-school scholars, who feel no interest beyond being in their place on the Sabbath-day, and there, by their volatile conduct, disturb the class, pain the mind of the teacher, and grieve the Holy Spirit. The narrative supplies a striking contrast; she was not only attentive in the class, but we find her at home diligent in the practice of those lessons herself, and endeavouring to instil them into the minds of her sisters and others, children of the Sabbath-school. Let her example shame your prayerless spirit, you who never pray for yourselves! How can you imitate her in this respect, and pray for others? Remember the time is coming when you will need what she possessed, a good hope of eternal happiness. And you may need it

much earlier than you expect. Remember her age, only ten years! younger than many who are taught in the Sabbath-schools. Let her early death enforce the truths so often brought before your minds by your teachers. Imitate her prayerful spirit; then it will be your happiness, as it was her's, to have Christ for your portion, Heaven for your home, angels for your attendants, redeemed spirits for your companions; and your teachers will join in the general ascriptions of praise to that Saviour whom Dinah Sims served in life, loved and enjoyed in death, and is now for ever praising before the throne !

A MONKEY'S MEMORY. AUTHORS generally seem to think that the monkey race are not capable of retaining lasting impressions; but their memory is remarkably tenacious when i A 1 striking events call it into action. monkey which was permitted to run free, had frequently seen the men-serits huge fire-place, taking down a powvants in the great country kitchen, with der-horn that stood on the chimneypiece, and throw a few grains into the fire, to make Jemima and the rest of the maids jump and scream, which they always did on such occasions very prettily. Pug watched his opportunity, and when all was still, and he had the kitchen entirely to himself, he clambered up, got possession of the wellfilled powder-horn, perched himself very gingerly on one of the horizontal wheels placed for the support of saucepans over the waning ashes of an almost extinct wood-fire, screwed off the top of the horn, and reversed it over the grate. The explosion sent him half-way up the chimney. Before he was blown up he was a snug, trim, well-conditioned monkey as you would wish to see on a summer's day; he came down a carbonated figure, in an avalanche of burning soot. The weight with which he pitched upon the hot ashes, in the midst of the general flare

fied.

up, aroused him to a sense of his condition. He was missed for days. Hunger at last drove him forth, and he sneaked into the house close singed and begrimed, scorched and terriHe recovered with care; but, like some other great personages, he never got over his sudden elevation and fall, but became a sadder if not a wiser monkey. If ever pug forgot himself and was troublesome, you had only to take down a powder-horn in his presence, and he was off to his hole like a shot, screaming and clattering his jaws like a pair of castanets.

A PIOUS DAUGHTER.

CHILDREN, says the Rev. Wm. Gray, have conveyed religion to those from whom they ought to have derived it. "Well," said a mother, one day, weeping, her daughter being about to make a public profession of religion, "I will resist no longer. How can I bear to see my dear child love and read the Scriptures, while I never look into the Bible; to see her retire and seek God, while I never pray; to see her going to the Lord's table, while his death is nothing to me !" "Ah!" said she to the minister who called to inform her of her daughter's intention, wiping her eyes, "Yes, sir, I know she is right and I am wrong. I have seen her firm under reproach, and patient under provocation, and cheerful in all her sufferings. When, in her late illness, she was looking for dissolution, heaven stood in her face. Oh, that I was fit to die! I ought to have taught her, but I am sure she has taught me. How can I bear to see her joining the church of God, and leaving me behind, perhaps for ever?"

From that hour she prayed in earnest that the God of her child would be her God; and was soon seen walking with her in the way everlasting. Is it mere supposition? More than one eye, in reading this allusion, will drop a testimony to the truth of it: "We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen." May God bless us, and make us blessings !

AN ALLIGATOR STORY.

THERE was an alligator who had taken up his abode near a ford, and given a dusky acquaintance of mine a great deal of vexation, and had occasioned him much loss by pulling into the water calves, and even cattle, that came to drink. He told me that one day, being on horseback, he caught the alligator in shallow water, a good way from his accustomed pool; and having his lasso with him, but attached to the pummel he was making for his haunt, and lasof his saddle, he galloped after him as

He tried to

soed him round the neck, and tried to drag him to a tree on the bank; but his horse was completely overpowered, and brought down on his knees. He had no remedy left him but to follow the beast and try to get rid of his lasso, but it was too fast to the saddle; and he was dragged right through the pool and out at the other side. cut the lasso with his machete, but it was so blunt he could not cut through the hide-thongs; so down the stream they all went together, through pools and shallows, till he remembered he had a knife in the pocket of his sheepskin, and, after some trouble in getting at it, managed to sever his tow-rope.

Never, caballero," said he, "did a man take such a journey, sometimes in the shallows, but the bottom all large stones and rocks; then splash into deep water, then deep mud, then stones over again; and, worse than all, I knew if I had gone a very little further, there was a fall of water as high as this rancho, and I to have gone down it without having even confessed myself!"-Byam's Wild Life in Central America.

TO THE YOUNG.

THE WAY TO BE FRIENDS WITH GOD.

I WILL tell you a little story of a child not much older than many of you. She had sometimes been naughty, and she felt that she was a sinner against God's holy law: this made her sad. But one day she was seen to be very happy. Her eyes were bright with joy, and she seemed as though she could scarcely bear the pleasure she felt, it

was so great. Some person asked the little girl why she, who had been so sad, was now so cheerful?

"Oh," she said, "it is because I am so happy."

"But are you happy?" she was asked; and then she replied,

"God was angry with me, and that made me sad; but now I hope he has forgiven me."

Was not this enough to make a child happy, to feel that God and she were friends? Yes, Mary thought it was quite enough.

Then will you, my dear children, be friends with God, too? The way to be so is, to ask the kind, and gentle, and loving Jesus to be your Friend and Saviour. Then, if Jesus is your friend, God will be your friend too; for Christ and God are one.

A NOBLE BOY.

A BOY was once tempted by some of his companions to pluck ripe cherries from a tree which his father had forbidden him to touch.

"You need not be afraid," said one of his companions; "for if your father should find out that you had them, he is so kind that he would not hurt you."

"That is the very reason,” replied the boy, "why I should not touch them. It is true my father would not hurt me; yet my disobedience would hurt my father, and that would be worse than anything else."

BENEFIT OF OBEDIENCE.

A BOY wishing one afternoon to go with some other boys on a sailing excursion, asked permission of his mother, which was not granted. After a severe struggle in his mind between inclination and duty, he gave up his anticipated pleasure, and remained at home. The other boys went. A sudden flaw of wind capsized their boat, and two of them were drowned. The boy, when he heard of it, was much affected, and

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BLIND BOY AT PLAY.
THE blind boy's been at play, mother,
And merry games we had;
We led him on our way, mother,
And every step was glad.
But when we found a starry flower,
And praised its varied hue,
A tear came trembling down his cheek,
Just like a drop of dew.

We took him to the mill, mother,
Where falling waters made
A rainbow o'er the rill, mother,
As golden sun-rays played;
But when we shouted at the scene,
And hailed the clear blue sky,
He stood quite still upon the bank,
And breathed a long, long sigh.
We asked him why he wept, mother,
Whene'er we found the spots
Where periwinkle crept, mother,
O'er wild forget-me-nots:

"Ah, me!" he said, while tears ran down
As fast as summer showers,
"It is because I cannot see

The sunshine and the flowers." Oh! that poor sightless boy, mother, Has taught me I am blest, For I can look with joy, mother, On all I love the best; And when I see the dancing stream, And daisies red and white, I kneel upon the meadow sod, And thank my God for sight. ELIZA COOK.

A PENNY.

"A PENNY I have, it's all my own,' Little Charlotte exclaimed in a lively tone. "I cannot do much with a penny, I fear; But I'll buy myself something to eat or wear."

"A penny I have," little Mary said, And she thoughtfully raised her hand to her head;

"Both missions and schools want money, I know,

But I fear 't is little a penny can do."

So Charlotte ran off, and some apples she bought,

While Mary her mite to the mission-box brought,

And which of them, think you, more cheerfully smiled?

And which of the two was the happier child?

William Tyler, Printer, Bolt-court, Fleet-street.

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