12 THE CHILDREN'S CORNER. expelling all who held it; they made a secret treaty with the old enemy of their country, Austria, for the object of exterminating what they called heresy. When the other cantons heard it, they were furious, and marched against them. So affairs took this turn,—the Reformation and civil liberty, against Romanism and bondage. But war was averted this time by the Romanist Cantons giving up their treaty with Austria. A little time passed on, and Ulrich Zwingle became, not only Gospel preacher and reformer, but a great statesman. He tried to form a union between all the cities who had accepted the Gospel, for mutual defence a great and noble idea, but, in giving up his mind to it, he left the preaching of the Word, and became entangled in worldly interests. War again broke out, force was opposed to force; Zwingle forgot that a minister of the Gospel has only one sword to wield, the sword of the Spirit, and when his people of Zurich, for whom he had lived, and who loved him, besought him to be with them on the field of battle, he yielded. And a great wail of lamentation rose from all the Protestant side, when they found that Ulrich Zwingle lay dead on the fatal field of Cappel, 1531. "All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” But his work survived, the Word of God was not defeated; his preaching had illuminated all north-eastern Switzerland, and been carried over the plains of Southern Germany. Later on the work should be taken up in the south-western part of Switzerland, and Farel and Calvin rose after him, till every peak in Switzerland at least caught the radiance of the great day of Gospel light. Both Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingle followed on as they learned the Holy Scripture. Both fearlessly and dauntlessly proclaimed what they learnt, and, by their holding up the light with a hand made strong by the Spirit of God, the darkness was scattered far and wide, and other lights were lit from their's, so that when they died, many a one was prepared to carry on their work. So let us be faithful in that which is least, and the Lord will make us the means of adding to His glory. THE CHILDREN'S CORNER. BY CARRIE 8. MATTHEWS. AM going to tell you something about a little girl who lately THE CHILDREN'S CORNER. 13 It pleased God to afflict little Hettie with a long illness, and for two years she never left her bed. During this time her mother told me her patience was beautiful to witness, and even when in much suffering she never complained. When visiting at the watering-place where her home was, I was much pleased with one or two visits I paid to Hettie. Her gentle, childlike face and calm expression of countenance were very winning, and I found out the secret of her happiness very quickly-she had given her young heart to Christ. Hettie had a picture placed in front of her bed which had been given her by a lady friend from London, who took great interest in her, and Hettie loved this picture. It represented an angel carrying a child in his arms; and looking up at it a few days before she died, Hettie said, "The angel will soon come now to take me." "Are you not afraid to die, Hettie?” asked her mother. Oh, no; why should I be?" she answered, "I am very glad to die." Another time she said, "I shall soon be 'over there,' and, oh, won't it be nice ?" Hettie loved to work for others, and whenever she was able to sit up in bed she would do plain work for her mother, and just before she died, she finished some crochet work for her mother, and was busy making some slippers for her father. I had given her Miss Havergal's 'Little Pillows,' and asked her to read one every night to sleep on. Referring to this in a letter to me, Hettie writes: "I oft times think of you when I take my 'Little Pillows' to read before I go to sleep for the night, and I never miss reading it, and praying to God to bless me, and keep me from pain. He will take me home with Him by-and-bye, and then I shall always be happy." Her childlike faith in prayer was very strong. During a severe gale her father was out on the sea, and a friend who was in the house that night went upstairs to see Hettie, and mentioned his fears for the fishermen. But Hettie only smiled, and said: "They will be all right, for I have prayed that they should come back safe." The man came down-stairs, saying to Mrs. F. "Would that I had the strong faith of that child of yours." Hettie loved hymns, and would often join her little brothers and sisters in singing what they learned at school. 14 THE MOTHERS' PORTION. Very quietly this dear child passed away. her mother's arm, and her happy spirit fled She closed her eyes in away to the Saviour she so loved on earth, to be with Him for ever. She was only eleven years old when called home. Dear children, do you love Jesus as Hettie did? Do you seek, as she did, to please Him all through the day? He loves you very much, and He died to save you, and He asks for your young hearts to be given to Him. Come now to Him, and He will bless you and make you His own, and by-and-bye you will be amongst the bright jewels in His kingdom above. WHAT IS YOUR RAILWAY STATION ?-We have had a few responses to our proposal last month, that subscribers should supply a copy of LIVING WATERS monthly to the waiting-rooms of their nearest station. It is a work open to anyone, and we hope that now a commencement has been made, it will be largely taken up. Those who do so will please send a post-card to the Editor (Beverley, Sidcup, Kent) to say which station is to be supplied. We will announce the fresh names of stations so supplied each month. Our first list is: Andover Junction, Waterloo (London), Maghull (Lancs.), Burgess Hill, Hammersmith (Metropolitan), Farnham, Aldershot, Mutley, Victoria (London), Lee, Harrow, Woking, Batley, St. Leonard's (Warrior Square), Southport. Fifteen stations-BUT WHAT ARE THEY AMONG SO MANY? Shall our next list be larger? Our readers must decide this, and let us know by the 10th of January. GOSPEL TEMPERANCE PAGES. GOSPEL TEMPERANCE PAGES. BY FREDERIC T. GAMMON. 15 URING the late autumnal Convention of the Sunday School Union, the Rev. Charles Garrett read a paper on "The Relationship of the Sunday School to the Band of Hope." The Rev. Dr. Clifford, who presided, expressed his opinion that if we are to have in the next generation men and women who are sensibly thrifty, men and women who would not purchase to-morrow's miseries by the excesses of to-day, we must show the young that they are doing the best for themselves and others by total abstinence. We must not trust too much to the pledge, which might become the outward sign of something that did not exist. We must trust more to the intelligent apprehension on the part of the children of what alcohol is; how it effects the tissues of the body; how that men cannot be built up upon it; that those who wish to make a successful career must avoid it; that if they form habits of moderate drinking in youth, they will find themselves handicapped in the race of life which is characteristic of our time. * ** A Manchester publisher has issued a diagram, constructed from figures supplied by Mr. William Hoyle, which shows at a glance how much is spent throughout the United Kingdom in food, rent, fuel, Christian missions, and in drink. The items of expenditure are represented by columns; that for intoxicating liquors being the highest, viz. £136,000,000, while the lowest £1,050,000, represents the amount raised for missions. House rent and bread are each represented by £70,000,000, so that these two important sources of expenditure added together, are only a little in excess of the amount spent in strong drink. The total amount spent in rent of houses and land is considerably less than that spent in drink; and the united cost of linen and cotton goods, coal, tea, coffee, sugar, milk, butter, cheese, etc., is only £9,000,000 in excess of the sum spent in intoxicants. Such figures as these, compiled by such an eminent authority as Mr. Hoyle, are extremely valuable at the present time, when so much interest is being created in the condition of the poor in London and other large centres of population. The presidents of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, says: "The degree to which many diseases commonly referred to-malaria, overwork, and other vague, general scapegoat causes, are actually grounded in what would almost invariably be called a temperate use of 16 GOSPEL TEMPERANCE PAGES. drink by persons of reputed temperate habits, would be incredible to the mass of people unaccustomed to careful observation and comparison of related cases." * ** That total abstinence from strong drink is conducive to longevity, is conclusively proved by the following figures, which are furnished by the United Kingdom Temperance and General Provident Institution, and which cover a period of seventeen years: Temperance Section, General Section. Expected 549 Actual Claims.* Actual. 1,485 1,480 585 .... *According to ordinary mortality. 4,339 It will be seen from these figures that the claims in the Temperance Section are only a little over 70 per cent. of the number expected, while in the General Section they are but slightly below the number anticipated. Mr. Arthur Pease, M.P., referred to this important phase of the question in a recent address. He said: "Insurance statistics prove that when abstainers and non-abstainers are separated-the latter being all good lives at the period they are insured-and the expectation of death being 100-there are 99 non-abstainers who actually do die, and only 69 abstainers. Therefore, let no one imagine that by joining the ranks of the abstainers, they are going to lessen their chances of life, or to deprive themselves of any pleasure which is worth having. On the contrary, the chances of life will be increased, and its enjoyment enhanced by a regime of total abstinence. Looking abroad upon the world, and at the sorrow we see around us, it is the duty of every earnest Christian to ask the Lord what he can do to mitigate this suffering, and to prevent its falling to the lot of those, who, exposed to temptation, may yet be saved by good example, and the blessing of God." CONNEMARA CAROLS.-I cannot refrain from putting in this tiny note of praise, which will stir our readers' hearts. Already (Dec. 8) £24 has come to me! part for beds and part for outfits and feasts. So let us sing together over this loving and prompt response. Details will be advertised in February: |