thunderstorm, and laid quite unconscious two days and one night; but if the Saviour's name was mentioned, she always answered to," Is Jesus your Saviour? O yes, none other; Jesus! precious Jesus! Jesus only!"" If her daughter, a neighbour, or the Bible-woman who sat up with her, spoke of themselves, it did not seem to reach her ear. The doctor expects a third attack very shortly, and that it will prove fatal. The trouble is she cannot see to read now, and her daughter's time is fully occupied with the business of a little sweetmeat shop and a mangle, and the house of two rooms to keep clean, which is as trim as a palace. The mother longs for the story of redeeming love and precious promises; is always sorry to see the Book closed, and hear that we must go.

CHANGES THROUGH THE MOTHERS' MEETING.

"DEAR MRS. R

"As I know you like to hear from time to time how the work of the Mission is going on in the different districts, I will try to give you a short account of our Mothers' Meeting.

"In the first place I must express my heartfelt gratitude to God for the measure of success which, I trust, has attended the Meeting. The numbers are larger than in any previous year, the average since October, 1877, to the present time being 51. When I find that the mothers, thus numerous, nearly always come in time for the Bible-reading (which begins at three o'clock) I feel greatly encouraged, especially when thinking of that precious promise, 'My word shall not return unto me void.' I am thankful to say, from the first time I took the Meeting to the present, I have never used the allotted hour in other reading than the Word of God. At three o'clock we begin with a hymn, then we have prayer, and next a portion of God's Word, and remarks on the portion read; at the conclusion a further hymn, chosen by the Bible-woman, and a closing prayer offered by her. The Meeting ends at four o'clock. Often, when the Saviour's love for the children has been

spoken of, I have seen the mother clasp her dear one closer to her; and I doubt not that many have heartily joined in the prayer that God may so bless them that they may be a blessing to their children.

"A little while ago, one of the members, in speaking of another who has attended the Meeting for some years, said, in reply to a remark I made, 'I think there is a work of grace going on in Mrs. D.'

"Yes, indeed, she told me the other day that an uncle said to her husband, 'I wonder how your wife puts up with the troubles and annoyances she has had.' He replied, 'She does it by the grace of God' (This man is not a converted man.) The woman added, 'I found it all at the Mothers' Meeting.' Another member, a Mrs. S, was very ill. I called to see her, and, to my surprise, for she was a woman who, I thought, did not take much interest in the reading, I found her speaking most feelingly, and expressing her need of pardon through the blood of Christ. She recovered, and still comes to the Meeting.

"Last week some of the mothers went to Kew Gardens. Amongst them was an elderly widow, who has not been with us long. The next morning she had, poor thing! a letter to say that her son, who was a soldier, and from whom she had received a letter on the 14th of July, had died on the passage from Malta to Cyprus, of fever, his illness only lasting two days. In his letter he hoped to be home in about fifteen months, and then to take care of her. When his father died he had sent her 67. The death of her son was a great sorrow to her; she seems, however, to see that it is the Lord's doing, and to be resigned to His will.

"We had one woman who gave us some trouble, generally trying to leave before the reading commenced, or else to come in after it was over. We told her she could not belong to the Meeting if she acted in that way, as it was quite contrary to our rules. She begged us, however, to keep her, promising that she would amend. She has kept her word, and seems very attentive. Her husband is a sad drinking and swearing man, and the poor woman has to get a living for herself and children by keeping a stall in the Mile End Road.

"About two years since an elderly woman joined. A young friend interested in her had tried for more than two years previously to get her to the meeting, and at last succeeded in persuading her to come 'just for once.' Her once coming has, I am happy to say, been followed by so regular an attendance that she has scarcely been absent six times since. Her breath is so bad at times that it is quite a labour for her to walk the short distance she has to come, and she sinks down on a seat nearly exhausted, saying, 'I did not like to stay away.' I feel interested in her case, and thankful for the change in her state of mind, for I have a remembrance of this same poor woman some five or six years ago coming to church on Sunday morning with her basket on her arm, dragging her unwilling grandchild, and about to leave the church herself to go a-marketing.

"These are a few instance from which, with others that I might mention, I am encouraged to hope that a real work is going on. On looking back over the past few years during which I have had charge of the Meeting, I feel thankful that it has been permitted to me to take part in this Bible work, and I hope a continued blessing may rest upon it.

"Believe me, dear Mrs. R, yours most truly,

"E. T. W."

WHERE THE SUN NEVER SHINES.

THE GROTTO.

"This is a very poor district, the rents are dear, and the men so much out of work, and there are so many Irish with whom it seems almost impossible to read or talk. The first and last word with them is, 'Have you any coal tickets?' Some will assure me that neighbours, who are not half so deserving, get them.' I tell them my mission is not to give coal tickets, but to get them to hear the Word of God, and to have it in their own homes; in large print, so that before going to bed they may read the many promises to the poor and afflicted."

old

Another visitor says, "I am much interested in my poor man in the dark Grotto district. He said on Friday, 'Nobody

but you and the blessed Nurse of your Mission ever think of coming down to my dark back kitchen.' He has sons, but they never come to see their poor old father because they say they have nothing to give him. It is a gloomy room, where the sun never shines.

"I found him last time very low; his wife had gone out to see if she could get a few pence; he was panting for breath and wishing God would take him home. I repeated the words from Job, 'All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come.' I said, 'You are looking on the dark side this morning; let me read to you the last chapter of the Bible which tells of a time when all the darkness will be past, and then we will pray that God Himself may shine into your heart.' He fell on his knees, and when I was leaving he said he felt better.

THE LARGE-PRINT BIBLE.

"In the same Grotto district we are always trying to shed the light of the large-print Bible.

"In a front kitchen lives Mrs. R-, a young mother with a little family. I asked if she would like to subscribe for a Bible.

"No,' she said, bringing one out of a drawer, 'I have

one.'

66

But,' I said, 'is this the only one you have; it is too old and the print is too small for you to read at night, or for your child to read to you when she comes in from school.' I then took out of my bag a large print, and said, 'If you only pay one penny a week you will get it in thirty weeks.' When she saw the large print she paid a penny, saying, 'My print is too small to read at night; my husband cannot read, but he likes me to read a chapter to him on Sunday night.'

"I said, 'When you get your large print I do hope you will read to him every night, if only a verse, and repeat the same verse over and over again, and get your little girl to sit down by you, not as a task but as a pleasure, and read a verse to you and her father.' This is one lesson I try to impress on the mothers, to get their children each day to read, if only a verse; and if they cannot read, to spell it over."

A FAITHFUL WIFE.

Another Pioneer says:

"DEAR MADAM,

"We met with a sad case of a bad husband, who has for a long time ill-used his wife. He lately sold up his home; he sells the clothes off his back, which the faithful wife has actually earned for him. She has left him once or twice, but now thinks, for his soul's sake, she will try once more to endure it, for she knows he is undermining his health; she, too, looks very ill. She is a Christian, and, in spite of all his wicked ways, she loves him. He brought her home 9d. on Saturday last, and she bought him something for a dinner on Sunday with it."

A GOOD DAUGHTER.

WHEN visiting my district I was invited in by a daughter to see her mother, who was recovering from severe illness. She said, "I never expected to recover," and I answered, "Have you a good hope through grace that your sins are forgiven, for Jesu's sake?" She was then led to speak of her past history, and remarked that it was more than twenty years since she was left a widow, with a young family, and she could speak of God's faithfulness to the widow. One day she was almost in despair; her eldest son was laid up with strong inflammation of the lungs, she was ill from anxiety and sitting up at night with him, and she knew her landlord would demand his rent on the morrow. She was without money, and there was no food for her little ones. She told her children she was going into the next room to get a little rest; but she said, "I felt I must pray; I could not help pouring out my heart to God, and asking Him to have pity and help." And quite worn out, she laid herself down, and fell asleep, and a knock awoke her, "and," said she, "it was my former mistress whom I had not seen or heard of for ten years, but who had heard I was a widow, and said I had quite taken up her thoughts, and she felt I might need help, and she placed in my hand the exact amount of money due for