12. SPIRITUAL RECOGNITIONS.

THE following sketch, touchingly beautiful, cannot be ead without interest. It was communicated by an eyewitness to the National Era:

"A little girl, in a family of my acquaintance, a lovely and precocious child, lost her mother at an age too early to fix the loved features in her remembrance. She was as frail as beautiful; and as the bud of her heart unfolded, it seemed as if won by that mother's prayers to turn instinctively heavenward. The sweet, conscientious, and prayer-loving child, was the idol of the bereaved family. But she faded away early. She would lie upon the lap of the friend who took a mother's kind care of her, and, winding one wasted arm about her neck, would say, 'Now tell me about my mamma!' And when the oft-told tale had been repeated, she would ask, softly, Take me into the parlour; I want to see my mamma.' The request was never refused; and the affectionate child would lie for hours, contentedly gazing on her mother's portrait. But

'Pale and wan she grew, and weakly

Bearing all her pain so meekly,

That to them she still grew dearer,

As the trial-hour drew nearer.'

That hour came at last, and the weeping neighbours assembled to see the little child die. The dew of death was already on the flower, as its life-sun was going down. The little chest heaved faintly-spasmodically.

"Do you know me, darling?' sobbed, close in her ear, the voice that was dearest; but it awoke no

answer.

"All at once a brightness, as if from the upper world,

burst over the child's colourless countenance. The eyelids flashed open, the lips parted, the wan, cuddling hands flew up, in the little one's last impulsive effort, as she looked piercingly into the far above.

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'Mother!' she cried, with surprise and transport in her tone-and passed with that breath to her mother's bosom."

13. "FRANKY."

THE subjoined affecting tale, taken from Mrs. Whittlesey's Magazine, is appropriate to our present purpose :

"In one of our Western towns, a minister of Jesus Christ was one morning told by his wife' that a little boy, the son of a near neighbour, was very sick, near to death, and asked if he would not go in and see him.

'I hardly know what to do,' said the good man; 'his parents, you know, do not belong to my congregation; and are, besides, greatly opposed to the doctrines which I preach. I fear my visit would not be well received.'

"But,' rejoined the wife, 'when you were sick, a short time since, the mother of the little boy sent in kindly every day to inquire how you were, and I think they will expect you to come and see their son'

"This was a sufficient inducement, and he was soon on his way to the dwelling of sorrow. The mother was hanging in anguish over her precious and beautiful child, who was tossing from side to side in the delirium of a brain fever.

"The minister, after watching him a few moments, turned to the lady, and said, 'This poor little fellow should be kept perfectly quiet, madam; he should not be excited in any manner.'

"Sir,' said she, 'will you offer a prayer?'

"At first he hesitated, fearing the effect upon the child; but, on second thought, knelt at the bed-side, and uttered a few petitions in His name who said, Suffer little children to come unto me.' The moment he commenced speaking, the little sufferer, who till now seemed unconscious of his presence, ceased his moans, lay still upon the bed, and fixing his large dark eyes upon him, listened intently to every word. The minister rose from his knees, said a few words to the mother, and went home, leaving the child in a perfectly tranquil state. The next morning the first intelligence. which greeted him was, that little Frank had died during the night.

"He had become extremely interested; and the apparent effect of the voice of prayer upon the dying boy had surprised him: He went again to visit the family, attended the funeral, and at length learned from the mother the following facts:

"She had two children. Frank was the oldest, and the second was a daughter of five years. A few months before, little Alice had gone to spend the night with some companions in the neighbourhood, whose parents were Christians, and were training their children to follow their steps. As they were about retiring to rest, these little ones said to their visitor, Come, Alice, kneel down with us, and say, "Our Father," before we go to bed.'

"The child, bewildered by their words and kneeling attitude, answered, 'But I do not know what "our Father" is.'

'Well, don't you want to learn it?' said one.

"O yes,' said Alice; and, being a bright little girl, she soon committed to memory the precious form of prayer which has gone up from so many lips since the Saviour first uttered it.

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The next morning, full of animation, and delighted with her new acquisition, she returned home; and the moment her brother Frank appeared from school, she began to tell him all about her visit, and beg him to learn Our Father,' and say it with her. From that time, the mother said, kneeling together, they had daily repeated the Lord's Prayer with great earnestness and delight, and had also learned other prayers, in which they seemed much interested. A few days before he was taken sick, Frank had come to her with a book in his hand, and said, 'O, mother, here is a beautiful prayer; will you let me read it to you?' It was the remembrance of this which induced her to make the request that the minister would pray by the bed of her suffering boy, and this was the secret of the calming influence which that prayer exerted. He continued thus tranquil a long time; but at length his distress returned, and the hour of death drew near. About midnight, suffering and agonized, he begged of his mother to send for the good minister to pray again. He must have somebody to pray. The parents disliked to call him at that hour of the night, and knew not what to do. At last the mother went up stairs, and taking the little sleeping Alice from her bed, brought her to her brother's bed-side, and told her what Frank wanted. Immediately she knelt down, and slowly and solemnly repeated the prayer which they both so much loved, and then, unasked, said,

"Now Franky lays him down to sleep,

I pray the Lord his soul to keep;

If he should die before he wake,
I pray the Lord his soul to take.'

The first words soothed the sufferer, and with the last his spirit fled.

"Witnessed earth ever a sublimer spectacle? At

the dead hour of night, in the chamber where waits the king of terrors, surrounded by weeping friends, the infant of five summers, roused hastily from the sweet slumbers of childhood, kneels in her simple night-dress, and, undisturbed, unterrified, lisps in childish accents the prayer which Heaven accepts, and on whose breath missioned angels bear upward the ransomed soul."

Surely they labour not in vain who sow precious seed in the fresh soil of youthful hearts.

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