neighbourhood lately, and is now in the hospital, where he will have to remain for at least six weeks longer. In the meantime those dependent on him are at the point of starvation, so the poor wife gladly and thankfully accepts some food from our basket.

A few doors lower down Mrs. P—— lies on a bed of sickness, and will gladly receive a visit from us. Poor thing! her husband is only just getting into work again, after having failed in obtaining employment for several months. Like many more, he had fallen ill, and while he was laid up another man had been taken on in his place. His eldest son, too, has had no work since Christmas. Three younger children complete the family. The mother lies weak and feverish on her bed, too poor to send for a doctor, too weak to go to one. It is Thursday, and nothing save a cup of tea has passed her lips since Monday. I only buried my baby a fortnight ago, and it was as much as I could do to scrape together the money for its funeral, and I've been ill ever since. I used to get washing to do when I could, but I'm too weak to do it now,' she tells us in a sad, resigned sort of way.

Calling at another house, we inquire of the mother whether the little children clinging round her are baptised. 'Well, no,' she answers, not yet; but I want to have 'em done. There's one of 'em as is kind of baptised, but I don't feel quite satisfied, and I should like to have her done again. This is how it happened :-A friend of mine, a young girl, belongs to the Salvation Army. Well, she had a notion as how she should like to baptise some one, so one day, as we were all sitting round at tea, she said, "Here, Mrs., give me your baby and I'll baptise her; so she poured some water in a teacup and sprinkled it on the child's head, saying the words out of the Prayer-book, as she knew from hearing 'em in church; but I don't feel quite satisfied about it like, and I think I shall have to have her done again!'

Mrs. I is dying of consumption; she is a bright, pleasant-looking young creature, and has lived most of her life in the country.

She has never had any Church teaching, and has no desire for it, buoying herself up-as, alas! so many do-with the idea that as she has lived a tolerably respectable life, she is certain of going to heaven. However, she is delighted to see the Sisters, and to pour out her tale of suffering into their ears. 'I think of all my aches and pains when I am alone,' she says; it makes me feel as if I was just sinking.'

And only a few houses lower down lives the sister of our poor consumptive friend, to all appearance travelling to the grave as quickly as herself, and stricken with the same hopeless disease. But she has not given herself up, whatever the doctor may think or say. 'I want to get well as quick as I can for the children's sakes,' she says; and no wonder, for she has a little baby scarcely a year old, besides a bright little girl. of eleven.

Our next visit is to old Mr. C——, a weather-beaten old soldier of eighty, who very much prizes a visit from anyone who will read or talk to him. He is too infirm to go to Church, and tells the Sisters, sorrowfully, that he has not received Holy Communion for five years. When asked if he would not like again to receive this Holy Sacrament, he answered, with great earnestness, 'Oh! Sister; it's what I've wished for night and day, that someone should bring my Saviour to me.' His strength is failing fast now; but he tells us with a smile that his daughter takes most loving care of him.

D—— will be glad to have a visit from us next, so we bend our steps towards his lodging. His face lights up at our greeting, but a double affliction prevents him from rising to shake hands. Not only has he an incurable disease which renders him incapable of moving without assistance, but he is stone blind. He has always lived in, and loved, the country; and, having naturally an active disposition, it must be terribly trying for him, day by day, to sit helpless in his chair, cooped up in a narrow London lodging. How often must he not long for country sounds and scents, through the hot, tedious

summer days. Ah! when his eyes are opened once more he will be in the country, we hope that country which infinitely surpasses in loveliness all that he has ever seen on earth.

Mrs. S

will be expecting us to-day, so we must not disappoint her. We climb up to her room-a very small one, by-the-byeand find her somewhat in a muddle, I must own; but that is not very astonishing, as she has suffered for years from a bad leg-a very bad one, too. She cannot stand upon it, and has simply to

crawl about as best she can on her knees. 'I was just trying to clean up a bit, but it takes me a long time, you see, and my leg seems extra bad to-day, so I can hardly get about at all,' is her greeting. (It is but fair to say that, as a rule, her place is neat and tidy.) How long has it been bad?' we ask. 'Oh, for the last twelve years. I knocked it one day as I was getting out to clean a window. My youngest son keeps me; he is a good boy; he's kept me for the last eight years, but he hasn't had regular work lately, so it makes it bad for me. It does fret me sometimes to think as how I could be getting a living for myself if it weren't for my leg.' Rest and nourishing food are the only things of use for such a case as hers-both almost unattainable by the very poor.

Just one visit more. We shall gain more than we can give here, I fancy. In a small kitchen, beautifully kept, sits Mary CShe is quite a cripple-even her hands are deformed. She is carried from her bed and placed in an arm-chair by the fireside every morning. There she stays exactly as she was placed until night, when her mother and sister carry her back to bed again; and she is never, no, never out of pain. You will expect her face to wear an habitual look of weary resignation, perhaps. Not a bit of it; it literally beams with happiness. 'Oh, I am happy,' she tells us. 'I don't mind my affliction a bit. I've such a dear, good father and mother to look after and do for me,' looking up with genuine love into her mother's face-a hale, cheery old woman of sixty.

'There's only one thing I pray for—that is, that I may be taken before them. I shouldn't like them to leave me behind. I should like, though, to be able to go about as you do, and do something for GOD; but then, I can't.'

Dear, patient soul, we heartily assure her that she is doing a very real work for GOD by her loving, cheerful acquiescence in His will, and bid her good-bye, promising ourselves that, should we get dispirited or disheartened any time, we will pay her another visit, that the sight of her bright, happy face may serve as an elixir, and cheer us into good heart again.

We trust our readers have enjoyed their afternoon's outing, and will not be averse to joining us in a similar expedition at some future time.

Meanwhile, we fancy we hear voices asking eagerly, 'Can we not help this good work? Have you no wants for this fresh sphere of action ?'

Yes, indeed; our wants are manifold. First of all, the Sisters have at present no house-not even a room in the parish, no spot to which they can direct their poor friends to meet them, where they can hold small classes, do a little sick cookery, make and sell cheap soup, or, in short, do those hundred and one things for which a Mission-house is wanted. The sombre walls of the great West India Dock form one of the boundaries of this parish, and the West India Dock Road runs straight through it. Up and down this road, sailors of every nationality, dock-men, engine-men, stokers, &c., &c., are continually passing and repassing; and it is here that the vicar is urgent we should open the much-needed Mission Station. Glad, therefore, shall we be if those whose sympathies are with the poor and labouring population of this part of London will give or promise contributions towards the rent, taxes, fittings, and maintenance of a Mission-House in the West India Dock Road. They may be sent to Miss Helen Wetherell, or Miss A. M. Thomas, 27 Kilburn Park Road, London, N.W.

editations from Genesis.

Corn in Eappt.

JOME, HOLY GHOST, our souls inspire, &c.

First Prelude.-Picture: A granary full of corn surrounded by an arid waste.

Second Prelude.-Prayer: 'O LORD! I beseech Thee to enlighten my mind and to inflame my will, that I may know where to seek the true Bread, and may have energy to find it.'

CONSIDERATION.

The Egyptians in their distress and starvation went to Pharaoh. They cried to their earthly king for help. He sent them to Joseph. The nations around, and in the far distance, heard that there was corn in Egypt; they too came, and they too were sent to Joseph. Joseph's father and brethren heard that there was corn in Egypt; they too sent to that far-off land, and lo! the keeping of the corn was in the hand of Joseph the despised one. He was the centre, the hope of all men, the ruler of the Egyptians, the deliverer of the nations, the saviour of the brethren who had despised him.

And who is the spiritual Joseph? Is it not JESUS, the Saviour of all men who come to Him, the Ruler of the kings of the earth, the Holy One whose brethren did not believe in Him! The nations of old were hungry; they sought Joseph and found bread, and were satisfied. The nations now are hungry, and restless, and dissatisfied, but they will not seek JESUS, who would give them the Bread of Life.

APPLICATION.

There is no true satisfaction in the arid waste of a worldly life, and yet do I not try to be satisfied with it? I am one of the children of light, and yet I am not as wise as the children of this world. They even find out where to go for their bread, and they lose no time in seeking it. I, too,

know where to find the True Bread, but do I take the trouble of the journey, and do I rejoice to bring the price? If I have a long way to walk to the Altar of the LORD, if I have to get up early in the morning, am I not apt to grudge the trouble, to avoid the exertion? Do I not think sometimes it costs too much money, it takes up too much time, when I would grudge no money, no time for something the world thinks necessary or expedient?

AFFECTION.

O Blessed LORD JESUS! True Bread of Life! pardon me for neglecting Thee and spending money for that which is not bread. Thou art the true corn, Thou alone canst satisfy the hunger of the soul.

RESOLUTION.

To seek more earnestly the Bread of Life, and to grudge no exertion in obtaining it. THOUGHT.

'Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?'

The Discipline of the Hardened Soul. First Prelude.-Picture: Joseph's brethren bowing down before him.

Second Prelude.-Prayer: 'O LORD! I beseech Thee to enlighten my mind and to strengthen my will that I may learn how to follow Thee in the ways of holy discipline.'

CONSIDERATION.

Joseph's brethren came to him for bread. They knew him not, and as yet they felt no remorse for their sin. He knew them, but restrained himself, for they were not to be restored to the privileges of kinship until they had undergone the roughness of discipline. Gradually they were to be brought to the knowledge of their sin, gradually they were to be restored to brotherhood. Their own hearts were to be prepared by little and little for the great future that lay before them. The true Joseph, the LORD JESUS, prepares the hearts of His people in the same way. They

come, hungering for earthly food, and He does not let them go until they yearn for their spiritual privileges; they come, halfhearted, and He insists upon their giving up all to Him, even the cherished Benjamin; they come to Him, as the multitude came for the loaves, and He speaks roughly to them in order to convince them of sin. Joseph's brethren had to go through the Purgative Way, before the Illuminative Way dawned upon them; and the brethren of JESUS have to do the same.

APPLICATION.

Entire self-surrender is what JESUS claims. Am I seeking Him for my own advantage? Am I keeping back some Benjamin of my heart? I must give all to Him. But perhaps I do not know Him, I do not see Him as He is. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.' What keeps me from knowing Him? Some unacknowledged, unrepented sin. I go to Him and expect the bread of prosperity, and wonder why all my desires are not granted. Instead, I am met by a demand for entire surrender, and He speaks roughly to me. Why is this? His heart yearns for my heart, but my heart yearns not for Him, but for His gifts. I will accept the discipline; I will try to find out what it is that prevents me from knowing the face of my Brother.

AFFECTION.

O dear LORD JESUS! May I know Thy voice even when Thou seemest to speak roughly to me! May I keep a brave and loyal heart when led in the dark ways of holy discipline! May I be steadfast and self-sacrificing in the Purgative Way, until it pleaseth Thee to bring me out into the Way of Illumination.

RESOLUTION.

To be steadfast to JESUS when deprived of all comfort.

THOUGHT.

'Nevertheless, though I am sometimes. afraid, yet put I my trust in Thee.'

The Suffering of the Waiting Soul. First Prelude.-Picture: Joseph's brethren in prison.

Second Prelude.-Prayer: O LORD! I beseech Thee to enlighten my mind and inflame my will that I may learn wisdom by patient waiting.'

CONSIDERATION.

Joseph put his brothers in ward for three days. They had been the cause of a long and dreary imprisonment to him, but no thought of revenge enters his mind. His action is simply for the sake of gaining time, of giving them time to think. Before he places them under guard he swears by the life of Pharaoh ; when they come out he tells them that he fears GOD, and shows them what to do if they fear Him too. He enters into a covenant with them. They are to leave one brother behind; they are to fetch the other. On this condition they were to have bread for all. Thus does the true Joseph-the CHRIST-reveal Himself gradually to the souls He yearns for. He places them in ward, He gives them time to think, He keeps one close to Him, He sends for another, He offers food to all, and all this time they know not the reason. He reveals Himself and His doings gradually.

APPLICATION.

How is GOD teaching me at the present time? Have I been journeying, trafficking, occupied busily though innocently? Have I been oppressing my brethren, or deceiving my parents? I have come to a sudden check. I am put in prison. I am given time to think. Perhaps my prison is bodily infirmity, perhaps mental slowness, perhaps spiritual weakness, perhaps the narrowness of poverty. In any case, it is a check. Perhaps I have avoided meditation, perhaps I have despised retreats, perhaps I have refused to spend three days with GOD. But He is merciful, and He will be heard. He holds me with His loving hand, and He makes His own conditions. I have sought His presence, and I am not to break loose. One brother is to

be left, the youngest is to be sought; all are to be brought to Him. Had it not been for this, should I have cared to bring my brother to Him?

AFFECTION.

O LORD CHRIST! I thank Thee for Thy loving correction. I praise Thee for holding me. I entreat Thee to continue Thy watchful care of me, and I pray Thee that I may never leave Thee except to bring my brother to Thee.

RESOLUTION.

To accept any suffering thankfully.

THOUGHT.

'Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth.'

The Remorse of the Awakening Soul. First Prelude.-Picture: The brethren speaking of their sin; Joseph weeping.

Second Prelude.-Prayer: O LORD! I pray Thee to enlighten my mind and to inflame my will, that I may know and feel all the love Thou bearest to penitent sinners.'

CONSIDERATION.

The

Joseph wept for his brethren before they wept for themselves. The light begins to dawn upon them. The quiet time has borne fruit. All has come back to them. anguish of their brother, the touching words with which he implored them to have pity on him, their own hard-heartedness; and now they are to be punished. Attrition, or fear of punishment, has come to them; contrition, or sorrow for sin, has yet to come. But the brother against whom they sinned is weeping for them, and they knew not that he understood them. They do as they are told they take the first step in the way of righteousness; and even then, after this small obedience, they find a present in their sacks. And so it is with CHRIST. He weeps with His erring brethren, and they know not that He understands them; yet so great is His love towards them that the first act of obedience is abundantly rewarded.

APPLICATION.

When the sins and the mistakes of longpast years come back to me, and I find out that I am verily guilty concerning my brother, and verily guilty concerning GOD, may I remember that my LORD is weeping with me, though perhaps I know not that He understands me. The thought of Him will soften my heart, will turn attrition into contrition, will change remorse into repentance; and as light increases, love will grow stronger. He alone can restore, He alone can repair. Let me not waste time by wrangling with the past, but at once appeal to Him, the Brother who wept for my sins on the Mount of Olives, in the Garden of Gethsemane, on the Cross of Calvary.

AFFECTION.

O dear LORD JESUS CHRIST! THOU who hast wept for my sins, help my repentance, and accept my tears! Grant that, not the fear of punishment, but the love of Thee may move my heart to true penitence.

RESOLUTION.

After weeping for my sin, to take the first opportunity of performing some act of

obedience.

THOUGHT.

'Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.'

Monthly Botes.

E have to return our warm thanks to our members, and to many kind friends in all parts of England, for their liberal response to our appeal for articles

for our sale of work.

It was held in a large hall in a central part of London-the Grosvenor Hall, 200 Buckingham Palace Road-so that we had much more space than usual. Yet so many beautiful things were sent to us, that all the stalls