informed of this, and asked if it were so. He pretended astonishment, but could not deny it. He was thereupon challenged by Mr. Wall to a public discussion, but wisely declined it. Since that Sabbath we have had further intercourse with our Baptist brethren, and have broken bread with them, and quietly preached the word of life."

Mr. Spurgeon has made his repeated visits to Mentone for rest and health seasons of usefulness. We are able to present two or three instances of these efforts, as reported in his magazine for 1880. We have a sermon on "The Pearl of Patience,' preached in his own room, to an audience of fourteen friends, from the words, “Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." He speaks first of the fact that we need to be reminded of what we have heard, for we are too ready to forget. Then he says that patience is not an unheard of virtue; neither is it an unreasonable virtue. This is the closing paragraph -"Job, by his trials and the grace of God, was lifted up into the highest position of usefulness. He was useful before his trial as few men of wealth and influence have been, but now his life possesses an enduring fruitfulness which blesses multitudes every day. Even we, who are here this afternoon, 'have heard of the patience of Job.' All the ages have this man for their teacher. Brothers and sisters, we do not know who will be blessed by our pains, by our bereavements, by our crosses, if we have patience under them. Specially is this the case with God's ministers, if He means to make much of them; their path to usefulness is up the craggy mountain's side. If we are to comfort God's afflicted people, we must first be afflicted ourselves. Tribulation will make our wheat fit to be bread for saints. Adversity is the choicest book in our library, printed in black letter, but grandly illuminated. Job makes a glorious comforter and preacher of patience, but no one turns either

to Bildad, or Zophar, or Eliphaz, who were 'miserable comforters,' because they had never been miserable. You, dear sisters, whom God will make daughters of consolation to your families, must in your measure pass through a scholarship of suffering too; a sword must pass through your own hearts if you are to be highly favoured and blessed among women. Yet, let us all remember that affliction will not bless us if it be impatiently borne; if we kick at the goad it will hurt us, but it will not act as a fitting stimulus. If we rebel against God's dispensations, we may turn his medicines into poisons, and increase our griefs by refusing to endure them. Be patient, and the dark cloud shall drop a sparkling shower. 'Ye have heard of the patience of Job;' imitate it. 'Ye have seen the end of the Lord;' rejoice in it. He is very pitiful and of tender mercy ;' yield yourselves to Him. Divine Spirit, plant in us the sweet flower of patience, for our patient Saviour's sake."

We have another brief discourse delivered on a sacramental occasion to about a score of brethren, from the words, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." He opens it by saying "I must confess of my short discourse, as the man did of the axe which fell into the stream, that it is borrowed. The outline of it is taken from one who will never complain of me, for, to the great loss of the church, she has left these lower choirs to sing above. Miss Havergal, last and loveliest of our modern poets, when her tones were most mellow, and her language most sublime, has been caught up to swell the music of heaven. Her last poems are published with the title, Under His Shadow, and the preface gives the reason for the name. She said 'I should like the title to be Under His Shadow. I seem to see four pictures suggested by that-under the shadow of a rock in a weary plain; under the shadow of a tree; closer still, under the shadow of His wing; nearest and closest, in

the shadow of His hand. Surely that hand must be the pierced hand, that may oftentimes press us sorely, and yet evermore encircling, upholding, and shadowing."" He then paints the first picture-the rock sheltering the weary traveller-"The shadow of a great rock in a weary land;" after that, the shadow of the tree-" As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste;" after that the third-the shadow of His wings "Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice;" lastly, the shadow of the hand- -"And He hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand hath He hid me, and made me a polished shaft, in His quiver hath He hid me." Thus he brings out the ideas of shelter rest and delight, endearment, and power and position in service. He speaks of them as merely hints and surface thoughts, which he recommends his hearers to enlarge for themselves by a long personal experience of abiding under the divine. shadow.

In preserving a memorial of another of these seasons, when the preacher was a Christian brother of another denomination, he says "Away upon the Continent, we use on the Sabbath morning such means of grace as we can find; sometimes these are admirable; frequently they are all but intolerable. Be these as they may, our wont is to meet with three, or four, or twelve, or twenty, as the case may be, and to remember our Lord's death, showing it forth in His own prescribed manner. There is no need to prepare

a sermon-the bread and wine are text and discourse all ready to hand; simple prayer, and suitable song, with the reading of the word, make up a complete service, requiring no laborious study, always preserving its freshness, and evermore bringing before the mind the most weighty of all themes. Our audience in our sitting-room at the hotel has

varied from twelve to twenty, but there has been no variation in the faithfulness of our Lord to His promise to be with His waiting people. The seasons have been exceedingly sweet and profitable, and we have praised the great Father's care, who has spread for us such a table in the wilderness."

It is matter for thankfulness and praise to all who love the Lord Jesus Christ, and wish the universal establishment of His kingdom, that though Mr. Spurgeon's personal visits to other parts of the world for active service have been comparatively restricted and few, yet through his books and published sermons his voice has gone forth into all lands. It cannot be considered an exaggeration to say that his name is one of the best-known in the world. More truly than any other living man does he preach the gospel to all

OME of Mr. Spurgeon's sermons deserve special mention. The circumstances that led to their deliverythe conditions under which they were preachedtheir attendant results-all combine to invest them with peculiar interest. Among these, his first sermon (or, as he calls it, his first attempted sermon) claims a place. The circumstances which led to his preaching that sermon are thus referred to by himself, in a sermon preached in 1873 from the text, "Unto you, therefore, which believe he is precious"-"I remember well that, more than twenty-two years ago, the first attempted sermon that I ever made was from this text. I had been asked to walk out to the village of Taversham, about four miles from Cambridge, where I then lived, to accompany a young man whom I supposed to be the preacher for the evening, and on the way I said to him that I trusted God would bless him in his labours. 'Oh dear,' said he, 'I never preached in my life; I never thought of doing such a thing. I was asked to walk with you, and I sincerely hope God will bless you in your preaching.' 'Nay,' said I, 'but I never preached, and I don't know