this stupendous conflict. The plan of the battle and the final issue had been illustrated of late on the field of Waterloo. The vast audience were electrified by this sudden turn. All the great people forgot their prejudices against the Nonconformist minister as he went on to describe the recent conflict in Waterloo, and showed how the fate of nations, the peace of the world, the progress of commerce, the success of trade, the growth of knowledge, and the advancement of the Gospel turned on that important hour. There the hand of Providence had been plainly seen. Their officers had been gifted with the wisdom and power necessary for the stupendous task-'The Lord is a man of war, the Lord is His name.' Then describing the gallant officer going forth into the front at that moment when the scale was about to turn for ever, he repeated the description of the war-horse in the Book of Job, and applied it to the steed upon which the noble Marquis rushed into the thick of the fight, and amid the smoke and din of battle led his men to victory. Gathering strength the speaker rose from height to height of oratory, and exclaimed, Methinks I hear the shout of victory before it was won. Yes, but victory at the cost of losing the life of one of the choicest sons of the nation. No, not the life, only one limb. Now death comes forward and hurls a ball which severs the arm of the gallant soldier, but what of that? Providence steps in at once, and exclaims, 'Thus far shalt thou go and no further. Touch not his life. Do not go a step nearer his life than his arm. I need his services yet as an officer in a far nobler conflict than this. I shall require him to occupy the chair in the Bible Society meeting at Anglesea. I want him to lead an army that shall carry the Word of Life to every country, and tongue, and people, and nation over the face of the whole earth.' Then the preacher in a mighty but

The enemy The whole

pathetic voice shouted, "What see we now? is bound, but the Word of God is not bound. audience had by this time lost all control. The Welsh hearers were thrilled by the oratory, and the English overcome by the mystery of the influence and the pathos of that voice. The noble chairman made a sign to a friend near who understood Welsh, and asked for the secret of that extraordinary sensation, to which he replied, 'It was an allusion to yourself, my Lord, and the accident at Waterloo, where by the interposition of Providence you were spared to preside over this meeting.' The noble Marquis, who had stood the terrors of war without quivering, wept like a child. There was not enough force in all the cannons of Waterloo to make him betray the softer feelings of his nature, but this touching allusion vanquished him."

"Have you ever heard the story about an old Methodist minister baptizing an infant ?" asked a mischievous Baptist minister, who had been taking a kindly interest in the preparations for tea which had been going on. "He took the babe in his arms very affectionately, and addressed in a paternal fashion a few words of advice to the young parents-See that you train up the child in the way that he should go, that you surround him with the best influences, and that you give him a good example. If you do so who knows but that he may become a Christmas Evans or John Elias! What is the name of the child?' 'Jane, Sir,' replied the mother."

This anecdote put an end to the conversation, while the hearty laugh it elicited prepared the way for the social cup of tea, which was now ready.

We have had only a glimpse of the services and social meetings in connection with this Association, but that must suffice for the present.

CHAPTER XVII.

The Harvest Field.

LADSOME spring, so full of song and vigorous energy, had ushered in the summer with its mellower music and maturer life. The young birds that a few months ago twittered in their infancy had now learnt the song of life, and carolled it forth in all the fulness of its melody, and the green blades that then peeped

above the ground

modestly asking for a place in the world of life and beauty had now developed into the ripe grass, or the tall stalk bearing upon its head its crown of golden grain.

At this season the quiet and peaceful villagers obeyed the friendly summons of the neighbouring farmers to the harvest-field. Shadrach's smithy was unceremoniously closed, and John Vaughan and his apprentices quitted the

workshop for the more inspiring activities of the harvest season. The village was deserted save by the aged, who had done with harvesting, and had laid down the scythe and the sickle for ever. They had remained at home to see that the children did not carry away the houses while the bread-winners were in the fields.

On this particular day Shadrach Morgan, John Vaughan, their wives, Jenkin, and other villagers started early in order to reach a field three miles distant, where the corn of a friend of theirs was ripe for the sickle. They had promised him a few days in harvest, and he had sent to them the preceding week urging upon them to give him. that day without fail. They arrived early in the field ere the freshening breeze and the morning sun had lifted the white mist which during the night had enveloped the sleepy hill close by, and which still fluttered in tatters on its flanks and crest, and before the glittering dewdrops, sown broadcast in the harvest-field when the stars were out, had been wooed and snatched away by the million sunbeams that came in bright battalions from the source of day. It was a spot which had a peculiar charm for a typical Welshman. At the foot of the sloping field in which they toiled, and sheltered by the projecting shoulder of the opposite hill, is an ancient sanctuary, which was built in that lonely dale in the times of severe persecution, but which since then had undergone several enlargements. It is so secluded a spot, so much out of the world, that it is just the place where man would find it easy either in times of deep sorrow or exultant joy to worship God. The old chapel is situated on a narrow slip of ground between the two hills, the one, upon the slopes of which they harvested, being little more than a hillock, the other being of considerable height and steep withal. Around the chapel is a graveyard adorned by a stately yew-tree, which

overshadows many a resting-place, and skirting the graveyard is a tiny brook, which has just emerged from the bosom of the earth, and which has already learnt to babble musically through the narrow and winding glen on its way to the stately Towy. There are no human sounds heard there save the occasional voice of the herdsman or shepherd, the annual din of harvesters in the fields close by, the music which at service-time floats upon the breeze from the little chapel under the hill, and the numerous voices of the worshippers on the way to and from the lonely sanctuary. Those sounds are only occasionally heard. At other times that brook sings its song to the varied accompaniment of the whistling breeze or the sighing wind, the bleating of a wandering sheep on the hillside or the lowing of the cattle that browse on the neighbouring slopes, the song of the lark as it pours forth its thrilling carol to returning or departing day, or the still sweeter and fuller music of the nightingale who sings her lullaby over her native glen, while for a few brief hours it lies asleep in the dark mantle of the night.

It was natural that the conversation that morning between Shadrach and John while they were waiting for the dew to evaporate from the grass should derive its character from the associations of the harvest-field and of the little chapel at the foot.

"I heard Mr. R. Thomas, of Bala, preach once," said Shadrach, "from the words, 'As the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.' He referred to the certainty of the growth in each case, and if man could not prevent the growth of the kingdom of Nature how could he expect to prevail in reference to the spiritual kingdom? He said that rather than oppose the