the boat; putting himself at once amongst those who were to remain in the sinking ship. "The post of a captain is to stay in his ship to the last," said he ; 66 save yourselves, my brave fellows, and save, too, our good clergyman."

The missionary's lot was to go into the boat; but he would listen to no entreaties, and resisted every effort of the sailors to carry him from the ship. At last, finding that all was in vain, the sailors rowed away in the boat; and the ship a minute afterwards sank and disappeared in the sea. Those who were still in her when she went down, rose presently to the surface of the water; and the missionary, borne up by a supernatural strength, swam from one to another, repeating with each the prayers of the Church, and administering to the penitent the absolution, as he would have done by some peaceful deathbed in his own parish. He laid each to rest in the sea, which must at the great day give up its dead; and then, having done his work, he was himself covered by the waves and seen no more.

Climate.

SOME Countries are much hotter than this, and some much colder. They have what are called different climates, according to whether they lie more or less directly under the sun, when he shines at mid-day, whether his rays are low and slanting, as in our winter, or more high, as in our summer, or whether they come straight down on our heads, as in some countries that lie to the south of us; and the look of the country, and the plants and animals that belong to it, all depend on the climate.

In travelling north you would come to a part of the world where the sea is frozen over, and immense mountains of ice float about upon it, sometimes clear, and sometimes shewing in their cracks all beautiful colours, while the earth is covered with snow, and where, during the winter, the sun never rises, and his place can only be known by a red light along the edge of the sky; but

bright lights of different colours play about the sky, and shoot and sparkle through the long night.

And could you sail to some countries far south of us, you would find great forests, where the trees, and leaves, and fruit, were quite unlike ours, and much larger; where oranges, and lemons, and pine-apples, and geraniums, and all kinds of curious flowers grow wild; where birds of the brightest colours fly about, and all sorts of wild beasts live in the woods and wildernesses. Further south you would find scorching deserts covered with sand or rocks, where the dry heat allows nothing to grow, and travellers faint for lack of food, and water, and shade.

And further south still are cold countries, like those I spoke of before; the hottest lying in the middle, the mild countries, of which ours is one, on each side, and the frozen parts beyond these. Some of the hot countries are the most beautiful to see, but the mild ones are the pleasantest to live in; and we should be very thankful to live where neither heat nor cold hinder us in our daily business, where no wild beasts frighten us on our way, and no hurtful insects torment us.

The countries mentioned in the Bible lie in different climates from ours. Let us speak of the Holy Land, that wonderful country where our Saviour lived while He was on earth, and which has been left desolate since God's judgments came on the nation of the Jews. To go there you must cross the sea southwards to France, travel through France, and sail eastwards, till you land at Cesarea, Joppa, Sidon, or some other port on the coast of what was once called Canaan. The heat of the sun is great there; but there are cool shades, pleasant streams, and mountains whose tops are so cold that the snow lies on them for all high mountain-tops are very cold, and snow cannot melt there. These mountains are called Lebanon or Libanus; and I will find you some texts about them, and about the cedars that grow there, and which Solomon used for building the temple. Perhaps you have seen a wide-spreading cedar in a garden: they do not grow wild here. They are very large trees, and the wood smells very sweet. There are still some growing on Mount Lebanon. 2 Chron. ii.: Jer. xviii. 14; Is. xxxvii. 24; Ezek. xvii. 3; Ps. xcii. 12; Hos. xiv. 5.

The land of Canaan was always a beautiful and fruitful

country, and is called in the Bible a land flowing with milk and honey; but now much of it lies barren and desolate, because no one cultivates it. Lev. xxvi. 33; Deut. xxix. The Jews are scattered over other countries; and the land" enjoys her Sabbaths;" that is, the land rests.

Egypt lies southwards of the Holy Land, and is hotter ; it is at the corner of Africa, and the Holy Land is at the corner of Asia, and between them lies the wilderness.

There is a great river in Egypt called the Nile, where Moses was laid among the bulrushes, which, by its overflowing, makes part of the land fertile. There are great pyramids and temples, and other buildings and idols, made long ago by the Egyptians, and perhaps the children of Israel might help to build some of them while they were in slavery there.

To go straight from Egypt to Canaan, round the top of the Red Sea, and then across the wilderness, is not a very long journey. Joseph's brethren travelled it backwards and forwards when they wanted corn. But it pleased God, when He delivered His people from their slavery, to lead them by the way of the Red Sea, and to shew His power in bringing them through it on dry land; and then, as a punishment for their sins, they were kept out of the promised land, and wandered up and down in the wilderness for forty years.

Travellers go to see that wilderness now; they go round Mount Sinai and Mount Horeb, and travel through the barren valleys, and among the high rocky hills. There

are no trees, and few streams, and nothing but rocks, and stones, and sand, are to be seen. The hearts of the Israelites might well have failed them, had they not had the power and goodness of God to support them in the barren desert. But He shewed them mercy amongst chastisement, giving them bread from heaven, and water by a miracle; therefore they were wrong to murmur and to despond.

The greater Antiphons of Advent.

O WISDOM, which camest out of the mouth of the Most High, reaching from one end to another, mightily and sweetly ordering all things; come and teach us the way of understanding.

O Lord, and Ruler of the house of Israel, who appearedst to Moses in a flame of fire in a bush, and gavest him the law in Sinai; come and deliver us with an outstretched

arm.

O Root of Jesse, which standest for an ensign of the people, at whom kings shall shut their mouths, Thou to whom the Gentiles shall seek; come and deliver us now, tarry not.

O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel, Thou that openest and no man shutteth, and shuttest and no man openeth; come and bring the prisoner out of the prison-house, and him that sitteth in darkness and in the shadow of death.

O Orient, Brightness of the Everlasting Light, and Sun of Righteousness; come and enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

O King and Desire of all nations, Thou corner-stone, who hast made both one; come and save man, whom Thou formedst from the clay.

O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, Hope of the Gentiles, and their Saviour; come and save us, O Lord our God.

Innocents' Day.

HOLY CHILDHOOD.

WE look especially to the children mentioned in the Gospels, to learn what is said of them as they came near to the person of our blessed Lord; and now we find this eircumstance (and blessed be God for it), that full as is every page of the Gospel with the wickedness of men, yet no bad word and no wicked deed is recorded of any child against Christ. And, moreover, when men were forward to follow Him, and made professions of zeal in serving Him, He put them back with awful warnings, speaking to them of "taking up the cross," and of first counting the cost; but not so with children,- He drew them unto Him with unrestrained affection, and bowels of compassion yearning over them: we behold Him taking them up in His arms, and with His hands upon them. And they alone of all mankind returned His affectionate care without alloy; for we find them in the temple celebrating His praise, when the priests and scribes were angry with them, as they heard them crying, "Hosannah to the Son of David!" The children, indeed, understood not what was the meaning of those glorious words which they sung; but to our Lord it was the most acceptable offering of praise that He received; for He defended them, and said, "Have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise?" This was the praise which best spoke the nature of His kingdom; these were the songs that were most suitable to His temple; these ho