sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Infidel and socialist principles prevail very extensively, as is too well known, amongst the working tailors and shoemakers, and to a somewhat less degree, though still extensively, amongst the barbers of the metropolis. These principles are theoretically discussed in the workshop, and practically carried out in front of the gin-shop bar. On Sunday mornings the two former classes may be seen wending their way to the barber's shop. While their faces are being lathered and shaved, the barber amuses them by preaching in their ears what he knows to be well suited to the perverted taste and opinions of his hearers. After the "Barber's-shop-service," as it may be called, they find their way, by the back door, into the public-house, where the sermon delivered by the barber is fully discussed over the pot and the pipe. This lasts until two or three o'clock in the afternoon, when they break up, and reel homewards to dine. After dinner, they are literally driven to take a nap, which lasts till the time comes round for tea. After tea, they wash, and prepare for the evening service in the tap-room, where the discussion is continued, and a full service offered to Bacchus. Our Readers have been told by some of these Bacchanalians, after being brought to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, that they frequently hold what they call "a Judge and Jury," fining all they can, to supply the company with drink. The day being now spent, they stagger away to their homes (so called) rejoicing that the next day is "St." Monday, the workman's self-constituted day of rest. Such is the kind of way in which the Sabbath is prostituted in many parts, and especially the eastern parts, of this metropolis. In many cases, however, the men are unable to spare two days from their work. They accordingly work on the day which the Lord ordained for rest, and rest on the day which the Lord ordained for work. In either case the privileges of the Sunday are readily sacrificed to the pleasures and amusements of their favourite Monday.

Our readers, in the course of their daily rounds, often meet and have to grapple with the roughest characters. But the roughest are sometimes won. A Reader in the far East was visiting for the first time a shop, where five or six men were at work making strong boots. Immediately he alluded to their Sunday work the master jumped up, with an oath on his lips, and violently ejected him from the room. But his conscience would not allow him to rest. He felt he had ill-treated a man of God, whose only object was to do them good; and, two or three days afterwards, he was constrained to call him in, and to listen attentively to the message which he brought from his Lord and Master. Ever since, he has

treated the Reader with the greatest respect, and has even sent his children to the parochial school.

Another of the same class, who belonged to a thoroughly infidel family, has told the Reader, in confidence, since his conversion to God, of the fearful depths of sin into which he had been drawn by his unbelieving work-mates and relations. But from the very first our Reader was hopeful of him. There was something about him, which, in spite of his infidel notions, attracted the attention of the Reader, and he accordingly made him one of his special cases for frequent visitation. Those dark notions of infidelity had been carefully instilled into him by others, and, finding no other soil than that of the natural heart, they readily took root and sprang up. But they could not stand against the light of day. How true the words of the Psalmist, "The entrance of Thy word giveth light: it giveth understanding to the simple." The Word of God was read in his ears, and he could not resist the truth and energy of that Word. The Spirit of God pulled down, one after another, all his favourite theories, until at length his eyes were opened, and he was enabled to say, with the man who was born blind, "Whereas I was blind, now I see." Henceforth he evinced a most teachable spirit. It was his delight to search the Scriptures daily. He longed to be taught what to do, that he might work the works of God. And here that blessed Book, which he had so long spurned, came to his relief. "This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent." "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you." And he cheerfully obeyed its teaching. His faith worked by love, for it was a living faith in a living Saviour. He induced an infidel sister to attend the House of God, and to send her children to the Sunday-school. He persuaded a niece to become a Sunday-school teacher; and he himself has ever since been a regular attendant at church, and also gives his services as teacher and librarian to the Sunday-school.

We will only mention one other case of this kind, the case of a journeyman tailor, whose employer was, practically, a downright infidel. This man was continually taunting the Reader about the Clergy, and their incomes, as if, forsooth, they were the most idle, useless, overpaid body of men in the world! On one occasion, when a fire broke out in the docks, the fellow actually went about telling everybody that the Bishop had set the buildings on fire. Of course nobody was silly enough to believe him, but it only serves to show the man's burning hostility to the ministerial office.

The Reader's first introduction to the man was not a happy one. He was speaking to his wife at the door, and amongst other things

talking about the baptism of her child. Catching the subject of their conversation, the man flew down stairs like a madman, and threatened him with personal violence. The Reader received the attack with calmness and gentleness of manner, opposing only the shield of faith, for he knew whom he had believed, and was not to be frightened from the path of duty by man. He had learned, by hard experience, not only to bear insult and contumely, but to "rejoice" that he was "counted worthy to suffer shame for His name." This struck the man very much, as he afterwards acknowledged. How any one could do otherwise than return evil for evil he could not understand. That God's grace could sustain a man under trials of this kind, or indeed of any other, he would not believe; for God and grace were words without meaning to him.

The Reader thought of the words of our blessed Lord, when, "groaning in Himself, He came to the grave of Lazarus, and said, Take ye away the stone. And when they had taken away the stone, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth." Is it not thus with this poor journeyman tailor? thought our Reader. Is he not dead in trespasses and sins? And is there not a stone to be taken away-a pyramid it might be, reared over him by the monster Infidelity? This blessed work it pleased God, in His infinite mercy, to assign to the Scripture Reader. And he did it through God's own precious Word, which is "like a hammer, that breaketh the rock in pieces." The stone was taken away by human hands, but then the Almighty voice spake with power to the dead soul, "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." The fabric of infidelity fell down before the Word of the living God; and he that was dead came forth, to glorify Him, who had thus called him out of darkness into His marvellous light.

Well, indeed, was it for this poor man that our God is unchangeable that Jesus is the same tender and compassionate Saviour that He was in the days of His flesh. The same Jesus who wept at the grave of Lazarus His friend, and who wept over Jerusalem full of His enemies, had sought out this poor dying sinner, and bid him live for ever, Not long after he had thus "passed from death unto life," he broke a blood vessel, from the effects of which he gradually sank, until at length he fell asleep, giving every evidence both to the Clergyman and the Scripture Reader of a living faith in the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Not unto us, Lord Jesus,

To Thee all praise be due;
Whose blood-bought mercy frees us,
Has freed our brethren too.

THE GERMAN BARBER, AND THE GERMAN BIBLE.

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"A word spoken in due season, how good is it!"-PROV. xv. 23.

SHOEMAKER in the east of London had literally sinned away his life; or, in other words, sin had so mastered him, as to sow within him the seeds of disease, which ultimately brought him to an untimely end. He had sinned "as it were with a cart-rope," calling good evil, and evil good, putting darkness for light, and light for darkness. He had cast away, in fact, the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. But is anything too hard for the Lord? Our Reader visited him throughout his long and trying illness; and two portions from the Word of God, in the Second Epistle of St. Peter, and the Epistle of St. Jude, having special reference to the man's besetting sins, fastened upon his mind, and allowed him neither rest nor peace, until, by God's distinguishing grace, he was enabled to cast himself unreservedly on Christ Jesus, and thus at length to find peace in Him. In this happy state of mind he lived for a year, and then passed away to be with Him who had thus manifested such wondrous love to him, and washed him from his sins in His own blood.

But it is not to this case that we wish specially to call attention, except so far as it refers to, and is linked in with, the case of the German Barber, the shoemaker's brother-in-law. This man, who was a man of sceptical opinions, and who did not fail to preach infidelity to his customers who frequented his shop on the Sunday mornings, was suddenly very much struck with two things that occurred in the district. The one was the wonderful change that had taken place in the whole demeanour of his brother-in-law. His language, spirit, life, hopes-all changed! The other was the fact that the only other barber in the district besides himself had hanged himself. Which affected him most at the moment it is difficult to say. But the Reader could not but notice the great attention with which he listened to the Word of God, as it was read and applied to his sick relative. He resolved, therefore, if possible, to bring the Word to bear more directly upon himself. But how to begin the attack was the difficulty. To fire upon him point-blank would be the height of folly. So after much consideration and prayer to God, he formed his plans, and patiently waited for an opportunity to carry them out. Like most other infidels, so called, he had a great notion of self. He delighted to hear himself speak, and in all assemblies was the chief spokesman. Nothing,

moreover, gratified his self-love more than to be asked to translate a sentence from English into German.

The shoemaker was intensely anxious that his brother-in-law should possess the same peace and joy in believing which he himself enjoyed. He would accordingly speak to him, whenever he called, on the subject of his immortal soul, and plead with God in his behalf. But it is clear that the barber was far too much wrapped up in self to submit to be enlightened on such a subject by an ignorant shoemaker! So the Reader now stepped forward, and proposed his plan to the sick man, which was, that he should purchase a handsome German Bible, and present it to the barber "from a dying brother." To this he most readily agreed. He bought a beautifully bound Bible, and presented it to his brotherin-law. The barber was greatly pleased with the present, and received it with tears in his eyes. This was just what the Reader hoped for; and now, feeling assured that the seed time had come, he took an early opportunity of visiting him at his own house. Of course the new Bible formed the subject of conversation. Its type, its style, its binding, were all subjects of comment. But after a little time passed in this introductory manner, the Reader asked the Barber to oblige him by reading the third chapter of St. John's Gospel, in order that he might learn the correct pronunciation, when called upon to read it to German sailors, who abounded in his district. The idea greatly pleased him. So he became the Scripture Reader, and the Scripture Reader his pupil. In this simple way he so won the man's heart, that as he read, from time to time, the passages selected by the Reader as most suitable to his case, the Reader was enabled, by God's help, and without the least offence, to bring them home to his own soul, and to show him his lost condition as a sinner before God.

It would be tedious, perhaps, to enter into all the details of this interesting case. Suffice it to say that as the shoemaker died, the Barber began to live. The former gave full and satisfactory evidence of his acceptance with God, and pardon through the blood of Jesus; while the latter wrote up in his shop, in large characters, "NO BUSINESS DONE HERE ON THE LORD'S DAY." This took place upwards of four years ago, since which time he has led a consistent, Christian life, evidencing by his works that he is a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. He does not fail to speak a word in season for his Master to those who frequent his shop; and it is well known that an oath from the mouth of a customer will call forth a solemn remonstrance; and a repetition of it, a summary ejection from the shop.