THE LITTLE HOUSEKEEPER, OR GETTING TIRED. 115

to be tied to Bell so; then it is tiresome to stay at home all the time, with nothing to do but to take care. I long for mother to come."

They were soon joined by other girls, and once in the street, Emily did not know how the time went, until coming in sight of the city clock, she saw it was late in the afternoon. She now hurried home, and ran into the house. 66 Sissy" was not in the sitting-room, bedroom, or kitchen. "Bell! Phebe!" shouted Emily. The doors were all open to the yard, where at last she found Bell playing on the damp ground at the foot of the steps, her clothes wet, and her feet in the mud. "How could you allow this, Phebe?" she cried, snatching up the child and running into the house, where she met Phebe coming down stairs. "I only went up stairs a minute," said Phebe: but how could she blame others for neglecting duties which she herself had abandoned? In what a flutter of anxiety was Emily! She was afraid to say much, lest the whole story should go to her mother; it was rather hushed up, and sissy was put into a warm bed.

Late in the evening her mother unexpectedly returned home, and Emily put on a bright face to welcome her, and a good account was given of things during her absence. Mr. Cutter not returning, Emily slept with her mother, and "sissy" in the cot-bed beside them. "And you do not think Bell has eaten anything improper, do you?" asked Mrs. Cutter, looking anxiously on the little girl before retiring; "she is very restless." "No, I am certain she has not, mamma," "answered Emily. "And you did not leave her?" long," answered Emily, faintly. "She seems to be in a high fever; and yet she has not been exposed at all, you say?" said the mother, taking the hot hand of the

"Not very

little girl in hers. Emily made no answer, but sat pale and trembling on the cot-bed. "I am sure I could not have left her in better hands than yours, Emily," said her mother; but the words pierced poor Emily to the heart. The little girl had a long and painful illness, and sometimes the breath seemed to have gone from her pale and parted lips for ever. Hour after hour, day after day, and night after night, did the mother watch by the crib of the little sufferer, with a patient and unwearied love. Emily was much affected by the sight. Often she shed tears in her chamber, and said, "Mother never gets tired of taking care of us;" and what a contrast was it to her own impatient and selfish spirit! "Sissy" got well, thanks to her mother's nursing, and God's sparing mercy. When the Lord Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane, expecting the wicked mob who were seeking his life, he took Peter and John into a retired part o the garden to pray, and he asked them to keep guard while he went alone by himself. Coming back, he found them asleep. 'What," said he, "could ye not watch with me one hour?" Could they not do that little service for him who had done so much for them:

66

But they were very sorry afterwards.

t of

God never gets tired of sending his rain and sunshine, his night and day, his corn and fruit, his com forts and mercies, his goodness and grace; and shall we ever get tired of serving him? Your parents never get tired of feeding and clothing you, bearing with you and caring for you, nursing you, and making you happy in every way they can; and will you grow tired of obeying their commands, who never get tired of doing for you?

A NEGRO WOMAN'S GENEROSITY.

A NEGRO WOMAN'S GENEROSITY.

117

THE REV. William Hillyer, one of the London Missionary Society's agents in Jamaica, gives the following pleasing instance of Christian liberality in a poor black woman last year :

"At one of our Missionary prayer meetings some few weeks before the annual meeting in August, I suggested the propriety of the people beginning to put by, in small sums, as their means would permit; and for this object Mrs. H. had provided a number of small bags, which were then introduced, and immediately an old woman arose, saying, 'Make me hab one' (Give me one). And the next week she came to me with a smiling face, saying, 'Minister, me bring me Augus;' she gave me the bag, containing four shillings. I said, • You have set a good example for many who are able to do more than you, and I must tell them so.' She replied, 'You mus'n say notin.' And finding the old woman so modest, I kept silent for this time. In a few days she came again, saying, 'Me want me bag agin.' I said, 'Why, you have not repented of the step you have taken, and wish your money back?' She said, 'No; but me bin tinkin Augus no come yet, and ma-b me get nother fivepence tron (thrown) in afore den.' In a few days after her husband was taken of cholera; he had it very severe; but as he did not live far from me, I was enabled to give him more attention than has fallen to the lot of many of his less favoured countrymen, and God raised him up again; but to this day he is scarcely able to do anything. However, the week before the meeting, his wife brought back her bag, containing another dollar. I said 'No, I cannot take this; you have done well al

ready, and it will be a long time before your husband is able to work, and he will require lighter food than your ground produces. You must keep it.' I think I never shall forget the look she gave me. She said,

'No, me can't do so after it belong to God already. Me heart no gib it him before me bring it to you. If God no send you here me husban no dead already (he would have died). Ye no tell me den tudder potter patter. (Do you not tell us the heathen are scattered, &c.) Me no touch it agin, me heart get it freely to God.' She had stripped her ground of every bit of saleable provision, and sent it to market to raise the money. I know these old people, with many others who contribute cheerfully to the Redeemer's cause, never taste anything beyond their yams and other ground provisions, with a little salt. Such sacrifices ought to fill every British Christian heart with joy, that the Gospel has not been sent to these long-despised people in vain."

CHINA.

"MOTHER," said a little girl one day when the family were assembled round the tea-table, "how many things the heathen give us! I was thinking so when I grated that nutmeg for you this morning; and here are our tea and sugar, too."

"Yes, Janet, it is a sad fact that if all our commerce were limited to Christian lands it would indeed be small, and many things we should have to do without. Our own sailors go round the globe to fetch us these good things. What useful missionaries they might make were they faithful followers of Jesus! Some of them are so, and you know there is a very useful Sailors' Society established on purpose

to benefit and teach this noble class of men, that through them the seed of Christianity may be dropped by the way as they go from shore to shore. You speak of sugar and tea. To the West Indian Isles, that grow so much sugar, we have long ago sent the Gospel, and they are now a happy Christian people, working in freedom instead of slavery, and selling the produce of their own labour. Chapels and schools have long been built in Jamaica; and though the infant churches have gone through much trial, we hope prosperous days will come again."

"But what about China, mother, where the tea comes from?"

“Well, listen while I tell you all a little about China. Get your map, Janet, and show your brothers what a very, very large country it is-it is, as you say, the native soil of our tea, which is a plant bearing a tiny white flower, but it is the leaves that are dried and rolled on hot plates, and used to make the beverage; it is quite a business in China attending to these tea-plantations, as much so as it is in England to grow wheat. I wish the Chinese had wheat-fields to take care of, for then they could have bread; but they only get a little rice to eat, with now and then some meat.

In

China, too, was first discovered the making of china; silk-worms are also kept there, and silk is made in great abundance. The picture (see next page) represents the feeding of the silkworms on mulberry leaves.

heathen lands.” "Why ?"

China is very different from most

"Because the Chinese are not an ignorant, idle people like the savages of Africa, or the Sandwich Islands; they are a clever, well-educated, industri