"Let not conscience make you linger,

Nor of fitness fondly dream;

All the fitness He requireth

Is to feel your need of Him:
This He gives you;

'Tis the Spirit's rising beam."

And when we have thus cast our burden on Him what does the Lord do with it? His own Word shall answer: "Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." 1

The Fireproof Dress; or, Safe in the Flames.

"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving."-Col. iv. 2. "Pray without ceasing."-1 Thess. v. 17.

E once witnessed a strange exhibition of the protection afforded by a certain fire-proof dress from the ravages of fire. A man clothed in it entered into a wooden structure filled with combustible materials, saturated with oils, which, when ignited, produces a fire of more than ordinary severity; he wandered about in it, picking up red-hot and flaming beams, which he folded in his arms, whilst pretending to look for something in a corner or examining a chest. He held his head down in the midst of the flames, which were powerless against the protective dress he wore, and from which he could see and breathe as freely as in the open air. Then heaping a mass of burning timbers together, he folded his arms and threw himself upon the flaming pile, resting there with apparently as much ease as if reclining upon a couch.

On emerging from the building he exhibited not the least signs of exhaustion, and his temperature was no more than that experienced by a person in moderately warm weather; whilst his dress was icy cold as soon as he had divested himself of it. The dress he wore consisted of a double covering enveloping the whole body, but made in two

1 Micah vii. 19.

parts; one for the trunk, arms, and lower limbs, and the other for the head—both air-tight and joined together at the shoulders. The inner dress is of india-rubber, and the outer part of moleskin, lined with stout cotton cloth, or some other non-conductor of heat. The head of the dress is roofed in by a helmet of double canvas, and channelled for the exit of water. When the dress is adjusted, air is supplied by means of a spiral india-rubber tube placed within a hose conveying water, and this inner tube is fed by a pair of bellows; the air circulating between the inner dress and the body, and escaping finally through the holes in the face of the dress. By this arrangement the whole of the time the man is in the flames he is in dripping water, but the airfeeding apparatus prevents the generation of steam. One important point is the facility with which the dress is put on, less than five minutes being taken in preparing the wearer for his dive into the flames.

There

This fire-proof dress suggested to us many moral lessons. On account of sin we are exposed to many dangers. is the fire of God's wrath revealed against all unrighteousness, and we need a dress which will protect and preserve us from this, and God has mercifully provided it through the person and work of His dear Son-a righteousness which is to all and upon all who believe, so that the soul clothed in it may sing:

"Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness

My beauty are, my glorious dress;
Midst flaming worlds in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head."

But we are exposed also to the fire of temptation, the flames of which, in various forms, constantly surround our path. There is the subtle and penetrating flame of infidelity, consuming and burning up all faith in God or judgment to Oh how brightly is this burning around the path of uany, throwing forth ever and anon the brilliant sparks of learning, intellect, and genius, thus attracting many like moths to a dazzling and bewitching destruction.

come.

Then there is the flame of strong drink, burning and eating out the physical and moral life of thousands.

Then there are the flames of a grovelling and sensual appetite, the language of which is as of old, "Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die."

Oh what numbers are enveloped in these flames, and are being consumed by them under the influence of misery and horror unutterable. And yet there is a dress provided by God which will save men from even these dreadful flames, and each and every temptation to which they may be exposed. We may term it the fire-proof dress of constant, all-prevailing prayer. By this dress the three workers of old, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, though cast into a fiery furnace by the order of a heathen king, were preserved in the midst of its flames, and one like unto the Son of God was seen walking with them in the midst of the fire, for their faith and earnest prayer brought Him forth to their help; and the man who by faith constantly realises the presence of Christ, and lives and walks surrounded by the atmosphere of prayer, will be secure in the midst of the fire of temptation, however severe. And this fire-proof dress of prayer, too, is, like the one we have literally described, accessible to all every moment, and at all times, under all circumstances, and in all places, and can be thrown over the soul, as we see illustrated by the experience of the poor publican, who only exclaimed, "God be merciful to me, a sinner," and of whom it is said, "that immediately he went down to his house justified." Wouldst thou then, dear reader, be preserved amid the fire of temptation which surrounds the path of all below? Oh, seek to realise by faith the presence of Christ, and seek to live in the habit, and to be clothed with the fire-proof dress, of constant prayer. "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving."

"Prayer makes the darkened cloud withdraw;

Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw;

Gives exercise to faith and love;

Brings every blessing from above.

T was a rough and stormy night; the wind which had been blowing hard all day had now increased in violence, and it was impossible to hear unmoved the fearful gusts which swept with tornadolike violence across the masts and spars of the vessels which had taken refuge in the harbour of one of our seaport towns.

Although there was some cause for alarm lest damage should be done to the town and to the shipping in the harbour, yet, as may be imagined, the most anxious thoughts were turned seaward, where in the Roads lay at the time many scores of vessels, all with their sails tightly furled and anchors cast. The strain upon their anchor-chains must

have been immense, and in some cases was so severe that they parted, and the vessels drifted before the wind, with peril both to themselves and other craft which swarmed around.

The harbour tugs had hard work that night, and rendered great assistance to many a vessel that required help.

As yet no wreck had been reported, but just as I was about to retire to rest I was told that a vessel was drifting rapidly on to the sands, and looking in the direction indicated by my informant, I saw the bright light of the "flare" which was being burned by the men on board to indicate that the vessel was in distress.

Although I had been for some hours in the wind and rain and felt somewhat tired, I did not like to go indoors while there was a vessel likely to be wrecked; not that I thought I could be of any use, as there were numbers of beachmen and others, whose business it was to succour ships in distress and to do all that could be done if one was wrecked, and who knew their work and were able to perform it without the assistance of strangers; but a feeling of curiosity seized me, and I determined to hurry to the spot where I thought the vessel was likely to strike.

It was hard work walking over the sands and struggling through the wind and drenching rain, but at length I reached the place where the vessel had already run aground, after having been left by the crew, who had saved themselves in their boat.

No attempt was made to rescue the vessel from her perilous situation, for when a ship is once fixed upon the sands it is difficult even in fair weather to get her off again, but in such a night as this it would have been impossible to do so. I was somewhat disappointed that I had not arrived on the scene a little sooner, and was just thinking of returning home when a brig was seen drifting rapidly in the same direction. She had broken from her moorings and was quite unmanageable, and soon came ashore near to the spot where the other had already grounded. This time I had the