the work, and his wife finished it off much better than he could have done. So when she was ill and unable to work, he felt it was very hard; he had been disappointed, had not got out of her so much as he expected; seemed to think she had not lasted long enough. He was very kind to her, but did not understand how to do anything for her.

This illness seems to have been much blessed to the poor woman, and the means of bringing her back again to rest in a Saviour's love. She feels her sinfulness deeply, but sees her sins, as she says, laid on Jesus, and is resting on Him alone for salvation. The text-roll that was put in Nurse's bag a few weeks ago has been just the very thing she wanted, for she could not hold a book, but this hangs just where she can read it. She says she lives upon the texts day by day.

The husband never used to kneel when the City Missionary or I offered prayer, but lately he has always done so; and the night before I took the poor woman to the hospital, after I had attended to her, washed her, and prepared as well as I could for her journey on the morrow, we had quite a little prayer-meeting in her room. The City Missionary came in, and, with myself, and the husband, and daughter, and the poor woman, we all joined in prayer, and felt it a holy season. The next morning I took her in a cab to Middlesex Hospital, where she will remain till she dies. Her great distress was lest she should not have a kind nurse there; but on Sunday, when some of them went to see her, she sent a message to me that her prayer had been answered. She knew I should be glad to hear she has a very kind nurse, and everything she can desire.

The City Missionary will follow up the man, who seems now lost without his wife, and we hope he may yet be brought into the fold of Christ.

THE WORK OF THE BIBLE AMONG THE COM

MUNISTS OF PARIS.

An interesting story has recently been published concerning a work of faith in Paris, commenced by a lady who had desired to devote herself to the work of God in FRANCE, and was led to

an aggressive movement, on rage, ignorance, suffering, and despair among the communists of Paris. It has a preface by LORD SHAFTESBURY, who truly describes it as deeply touching.

Just after the siege of Paris in 1871, Miss De Broen paid a visit with some friends to Pere la Chaise; they little knew what a sad spectacle they would witness-only the night before above 500 communists had been shot there-and the long ditch into which they fell one after the other, was their common grave. The dead were buried and out of sight-but the living? A crowd of women and children were assembled there; in their hands a little black cross or a wreath of immortelles.

A few were silent in their deep grief, but the most uttered cries of rage and revenge.

One poor woman was so wild in her sorrow that Miss De Broen ventured to speak a few words of sympathy to her, saying, "It is very sad for you to lose what you have loved." "Ah," said the woman, "I have lost all." "You have not lost the love of God," she replied. These words seemed to soothe the poor bleeding heart, and the lady then spoke to several others, telling them that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners," and pointing to HIM as the only comforter. She also gave them some portions of scripture, which were gladly accepted, but her interest in these poor outcasts did not end here. On returning to the hotel she informed Mrs. A-, with whom she was travelling, that she had made up her mind to remain in Paris, and to devote her time to these miserable people, for she felt that though guilty they were not too bad for the love of Christ to reach them. Her proposal was received with surprise, and many obstacles were brought forward, the chief one being the want of money to begin such a work, besides, the quartier where the communists lived was not considered safe, even soldiers dared not enter its haunts excepting in large companies, and for a lady to go and work there was pronounced quite out of the question.

But that sight in Pere la Chaise was not soon forgotten, and Miss De Broen left the room with tears in her eyes, saying:"If God has put that thought into my heart HE will send the money."

N

The money was sent, and in the most singular way; very soon after this two gentlemen came to Paris to dispose of some money remaining over from the funds provided by the Society of Friends for the victims of the war. The outbreak of

the Commune had put everything into confusion, and as the money had been given solely for the relief of Paris they came to consult with Mrs. A-- as to how to dispose of it. Miss De Broen's wish was mentioned, the money was granted, and the work was begun.

To this we must add that the work has found a very charming recorder in Miss Clayton, who spent three weeks with Miss De Broen in 1877, and desires to report what she has seen and heard. She says:

"During the first year of the mission work at Belleville Miss De Broen lived with the wife of a French pastor, in Paris, taking cold luncheon with her and remaining away all day. 'She worked,' says Madame D, 'with the energy of ten men and had to bear all kinds of persecution.' And one of the people themselves said, 'It was as if God sent an angel to help us, for when she came to see me five years ago in my little room, she prayed with me.. I had never heard any prayer like it before, it was like holding a conversation with God; I cried and yet it comforted me. Before, I repeated my prayers every day as a duty; now I have learned to speak to God as my Father. What is the use of praying to Saints when we can go straight to God?"",

Very soon sewing schools were established, and then night schools, and it was now an interesting sight to see fathers and sons sitting side by side spelling out words or patiently learning to write step by step the work went on, and after about two years an Evangelist was engaged to take the gospel addresses, who has been there ever since; he was formerly a colporteur in Paris and successful among the working men. His addresses are striking and his own history also, for which, as for further detail, we must refer our readers to the little book itself.*

We can only further note what chiefly interests us-the

*The Story of Mission Work among the French at Belleville. Nisbet and Co., 1878.

power of the Bible over the poor sorrowful ones in Paris, with their different habits from those of our own poor, and in some respects we must own-they have nationally-better habits. "However poor she is, the French mother of a family looks far more respectable than the English one in exactly the same circumstances, aye, and even with less to spend on her attire. Let us look at her as she goes out with a basket upon her arm, either to the shop or market. Her dress, which is of some dark stout material, is made with a full plain skirt, and a loose jacket; perhaps she may wear a blue striped apron, which she will not fail to put on if her dress be shabby in front. A hole is never allowed-but she will patch and mend till the very last. The petticoat is also tidy, though in some cases it has become literally a coat of many colours, being patched with a variety of pieces."

"What is her head gear? Not a small pretence of a bonnet with soiled ribbon and flowers, but a snow-white muslin cap, with strings tied behind or under the chin; and oh! how becoming it is! In the winter, and in Paris, the cold is severe, and she wears a merino hood, which looks so comfortable, and is, no doubt, a preventive against neuralgia and many other aches. But we must inspect her from head to foot. As she trips along we notice her stout leather boots, and if we catch sight of her stockings-which we may easily do, as the dress is not allowed to sweep the streets we shall see that they are knitted by her own fingers; and what French hands have done English hands might do."

"The French mother understands well the maxim:

"What can't be done by pushing or striving,

May often be done by a little contriving."...

"For instance, we know one woman who is very poor and has only one set of underclothing. How does she manage? Well, she rises very early before anyone is astir, and washes and dries and irons, and makes as good an appearance as if she had a stock of clothes. We must admit that the supply of water in Paris is much more plentiful than in London, and even in the poorest quarters there are public baths at a low price."

So much for the people; now for their homes and their supply of the Word of God.

But we must first mention a gift which has been presented to every concierge in Paris.

"Every house in Paris, however grand it may be, is let out in either apartments or flats; that is, one family occupies a suite of rooms on a floor, and close to the front door there is a small room, where the concierge, or porter, is to be found, whose business it is to inform visitors on which floor the family lives, or to receive messages or parcels for them. This system extends to every house, even to those tenanted by the poorest families, only in some cases the concierge has charge not of one house but of a whole court. These concierges are expected to be always at their post, and have therefore very few opportunities of attending Divine service. For their spiritual well being no special effort had been made until last summer, when a Parisian lady offered to give a New Testament to every concierge in Paris, and the Toulouse Society made her a grant which enabled her to buy them at half-price. Thus for the sum of £1,000 she procured 50,000 copies, in large type and neatly bound, and presented them to the concierges in memory of her brother, deceased. On the fly-leaf of each copy there was the following inscription :

'This copy of the New Testament is offered to you by a lady of Paris as a gift in memory of her brother, with the earnest wish that in this precious Book you may find, as she has done, the only true guide to what we must believe and do, in order to be Christ's followers and to be made partakers of His work of salvation, both in this life and in that which is to come.'

"By this means there will be a copy of God's Word in every house in the great city.

"Miss De Broen's lady workers undertook to distribute five hundred copies. In some cases the concierges expressed surprise at such a free gift being presented to them by a lady whom they had never seen, and wished to know if it was from Madame Thiers."

It is difficult for those who have had the Bible in their hands all their lives to enter into the feelings of those who