and there are a few things I want to talk to you about, before I go away and nobody sees me any more."

Marten stopped for a few minutes, as if he would give the little boys time to speak but as they said nothing, he went on"There is one thing in particular I want to talk to you about, which is, secret prayer. You know, we have all got naughty hearts,very naughty hearts,—and we cannot do the least thing that is good of ourselves: but, you know, we are often so silly, and so fond of play, that we forget this, and then we get proud, and conceited, and idle, and disobedient, and love our play better than God, and we get ashamed of being his servants; and if people laugh at us for trying to serve him, we learn to do all the silly things which they do. We have often talked about this under the tree in the master's garden, and, you know, we have said little prayers together; and you will think of this, perhaps, when I am quite gone. But I thought that I should like just to talk to you about it once

more."

This dreadful place
We have been very
Our thoughts

Here he stopped to take breath, and Lucy brought him some roasted apple in a saucer, and when he had eaten it, he said, "Eternity will soon come: we must soon dwell in that lovely land, the garden of the Lord, where joy and gladness shall be found, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody; or we must be cast into that dreadful place where the fire is not quenched night nor day, and the smoke of which goes up for ever. we all deserve to go to. naughty children, all of us. have been naughty, our words have been naughty, our actions have been naughty; but Jesus Christ can save us from that sad place, and take us to his own fair land. And he can blot out with his precious blood all the things which are written against us in God's book, and he can send his Spirit into our hearts, and he can make us holy children, and carry us up at last to live with him, clothe us in white, and put crowns on our heads and harps in our hands. And Jesus Christ loves us very much, and he is ready to do all these things for us. O my dear sis

ter! O John! O James! when I am gone, will you remember to pray to him? I mean, very often in a day. When you have done any thing naughty, pray to him to blot it out of his book; and when you want to do any thing naughty, pray to him to send his Spirit into your heart to make you good; and when any thing vexes you, pray to him to make you happy. I was a poor little sinful child, and Jesus Christ has loved me, and washed me from my sins, and I am going to live with him for ever and ever."

While Marten said these words, he laid his head back on his pillow, and raised his eyes up with so sweet and heavenly a look, that Lucy and the two boys could not help looking at him, and wishing that they were got, like him, almost to the gates of heaven. For a few minutes he seemed to have forgotten where he was, or to whom he was talk ing, and nobody spoke. At last, suddenly turning round to the boys, he took their hands, and said farewell to each in a most kind and calm manner. And he mentioned the names of all the little boys in his class,

L

and bade them give his love to them, and repeat to them what he had been saying. And he added, "Tell them that I hope we shall meet again in heaven, and serve God better than we have done here."

And now Lucy, seeing that her brother was quite spent, and that he hardly seemed to know what he was saying, said to John and James, "Marten shall now rest a little."

So they got up, and wiping away their tears, they took a last look of their dear little master, and went slowly and quietly out of the room. And Lucy, drawing the curtain to shut out the light, Marten closed his eyes, and fell into a calm and pleasant doze. His mamma came into the room to watch by him; and by the time tea was made, and his papa was returned from the school, he was rested enough to enjoy his company.

What Marten said to John and James, they did not forget, as we shall see by and by; and they did not forget to repeat to his little scholars what he had said: and many tears were shed by the children that evening.

CHAPTER XIX.

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.-Isaiah xxvi. 3, 4.

VERY Soon after this visit, little Marten got so much worse, that he could not get up at all from his bed, and the doctor said that he could not live much longer. He was become so thin, that nobody would have known him, except by his sweet smile and the kind pleasant look in his face. He was very weak, and often seemed too tired to speak; and sometimes, too, he was in great pain, and his cough extremely troublesome: but he was very patient, and never complained. He took all his medicine without saying a word, and was very thankful for every thing that was done for him: if he did not feel able to