Here he met his wife, who implored him with tears and sobs, to give up Christianity; but despite her entreaties he remained unyielding. For four years Eliezer continued in the army, when at the expiration of that time his discharge was obtained. Freed from the galling military yoke, he joined the ranks of the Church militant, here, on earth, and entered on a course of preparation for missionary work to which he purposed to devote himself as the work of his life, and for which he possessed those natural and spiritual qualifications which do not render special training and instruction unnecessary, but without which all human education is vain. He became a missionary of the Free Church of Scotland, and was appointed to labour in Roumania, where he still carries on his work. G. H. S. N.B.-The materials for this sketch have been derived chiefly from a memoir of the subject by Charlotte Elizabeth Stern, with introduction by Rev. Prebendary Churton. London: S. W. Partridge, 1877. An autobiography was published last year by Eliezer, 'The Modern Hebrew and the Hebrew Christian.' London: Nisbet. On Solway Sands; or, the Wigtown Martyrs. N the month of May, 1685, Margaret McLauchlan, an aged widow, and Margaret Wilson, a girl of eighteen, were fastened by Grierson of Lag and other persecutors to stakes driven into the sands of the Solway, within tide-mark near the mouth of the Bladnock, and there left to drown amid the rising waters. The aged woman was the first to perish, she being fastened farthest out in the sea. As the tide rose and death drew near, the young girl sang a part of the 25th Psalm, and when tempted alike by loving friends and by her cruel persecutors, she replied as the ballad narrates, her last words being, "I am one of Christ's bairns; let me go." Upon which," writes Wodrow, "she was thrust down again into the water, where she finished her course with joy." N Solway sands the tide flows fast, The waters swiftly rise; Alas! for him when lingering there The rushing waves surprise. Full quickly must he hurry hence, Full swiftly must he ride, Who tempts his fate on Solway shore, Past Wigtown borough to the sea With many a pool and shifting shoal Ah! Bladnoch stream and Wigtown bay When ships were stranded on the shore, There many a time has woman wept, When loved ones longed for have been found But sight so strange was never seen As when those martyrs died, Who gave their life on Wigtown shore, Two hundred years ago 'tis now, 'Twas in the month of May, Was out in Wigtown bay. 'Twas then the brother of fierce Graham Of Claverhouse rode down, With Windram, Strachan, and Coltron, The provost of the town. And cruel Grierson of Lag, The persecutor, came To do that day by Bladnoch's bank A deed of sin and shame. At ebb of tide, two stakes of wood And fastened there two prisoners were An aged widow one of them, "To thee I lift my soul, O Lord; Let me not be ashamed, let not The aged widow was the first Drowned by the rising tide. "What think you of her now?" in scorn The persecutors cried. "What think I of her? In that saint Whose soul is on the wing, I see but this," the maid replied, Still ever deeper flowed the tide, To buy her life by breach of faith O she was young, and life is sweet, Yet was temptation vain. She chose And still amid the rush of waves "Let not the errors of my youth, By this the waves rose to her lips, They raised her head, "Pray for the King." "God save him if He will," She answered. Then they dragged her forth, She raised her eyes, nigh dimmed in death; I pray you let me go." They let her go, the waters closed Her name shall never be forgot They speak it oft in Scotland's homes, 'Tis told in far off lands, How in the bloom of youth she died Upon the Solway sands. And souls are thrilled, and hearts beat high, How nobly she maintained her faith In days that now are old. And how she kept her trust in God, God's Remedy for Care. "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."-Phil. iv. 6. HAT does the Apostle mean? Not certainly that we are to be careless about everything, and take no pains or care about anything. The word careful, as he uses it here, does not mean painstaking, but over-anxious; it means, in fact, just 336 what is expressed when we separate it into its two elements, full of care. This text is an advice to care-burdened and anxious people, and it tells them what they are to do with their cares and troubles. There are many such people in this world. Many with real cares, and not a few with cares that exist only in their own fancy. Some have few cares and small, others have great cares and many of them. In any case it is a great mistake to fret and worry over our cares, for, as everybody knows, fretfulness and anxiety will not lessen the cares or avert the troubles, but, on the contrary, will make us feel them all the more, and weaken our power of resistance. We all know this. True wisdom consists in doing the best we can, and, having done so, letting our hearts rest in peace. But, alas! how few practice this philosophy. Most people brood over their cares, and imagine all possible evils, until their minds become enfeebled and embittered, and after all this has been gone through, the care is not lessened in the least. But what is a man to do? We find that the mind wanders back again and again to our cares, whether we will or not. Something can often be done by telling our trouble to a friend. A true friend can at least give us sympathy, which is to the care-burdened often a most helpful thing. Perhaps he can give more than sympathy. He may be able to cast a new light on what troubles us, a light that will dissipate the care. He may even be able to render us substantial help, and so bring our trouble to an end by removing the occasion of it. This is the plan Paul advises us to adopt. He bids us carry our burdens of care to a friend, and that friend the truest, best, kindest, wisest, richest and mightiest of all. He bids us go with our cares to God. We are to tell Him what troubles us, and to put into His hand whatever perplexes us, that He may manage it for us. Pause and think what this really means, and what wondrous possibilities of help are here. God is able and willing to take up our |