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holy Apostles, upon whose foundation our Church is built, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone.'1 Let us turn to the 6th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, and we shall find that the Apostles ordained 'seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom," to be their assistants or deacons, and to them was given power to work miracles. The holy martyr St. Stephen was one of these. In the 8th chapter of the Acts, we find that Philip, another of the deacons, went down to Samaria; and there, by his preaching and the miracles which he wrought, won over a great many converts, and baptized both men and women. I see you have found the chapter, Jane; will you read the 14th and three following verses?"

Jane then read aloud, "Now when the Apostles which were at Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John; who, when they were come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost (for as yet He was fallen upon none of them; only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus) then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost."

Mary. "From this we perceive that none but the Apostles had the power of laying on of hands. Philip, the deacon, only baptized. In another place we read, 'When Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them.' In St. Paul's 1 Ephes. ii. 20. 2 Acts vi. 3. 3 Acts xix. 6.

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Epistle to the Hebrews, the doctrine of baptism and of laying on of hands is mentioned,' in a manner that makes it appear to have been a common practice in the early ages of Christianity. Baptism and the Supper of the Lord were ordained by our Lord Himself. The command for both was from His own lips. 'Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved."3 These precepts inculcated the observance of one sacrament, while for the other we read, that having broken the bread and given the cup to those who were with Him the night before His crucifixion, Jesus said, 'This do in remembrance of me.' To this St. Paul calls the attention of his Corinthian converts in the 11th chapter of his first epistle to them. For infant baptism, we seem to have our Saviour's authority by his saying, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God."" 5

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Another long pause then ensued, during which it was evident that both Mary's cousins were reflecting very seriously. It was at length broken by Jane observing, "Confirmation is then the open acknowledgment of our being Christ's disciples. And as we are thus to renew the promises made at our baptism, I should like to consider what those promises are, 2 Matt. xxviii. 19. 3 Mark xvi. 16. 5 Mark x. 14.

1 Heb. vi. 2.

4 Luke xxii. 19.

and what are the privileges conferred upon us at our baptism."

To this Mary replied, "Let us remember that we promise nothing at our baptism, but what every Christian, who takes the Bible for his guide, is bound to perform. And we should be very grateful for the blessing of having these Christian duties placed before us so clearly as they are in the Service of Baptism; so that no one need be ignorant of what is his duty through life, and what are the articles of his belief. If we reject these advantages by slighting our baptismal vows, or refusing to confirm them when the opportunity is offered, at the time of confirmation, we shall certainly not be held guiltless.

"When I left home, Miss Howard gave me a little book in her own hand-writing, which makes it doubly valuable to me, full of passages she had copied from different books she had read. Here is one on baptism, which is not very long, and I should like to read it to you.

"Baptism is very seldom and slightly considered by many, even real Christians; and so we are at a loss in that profit and comfort, that increase of both holiness and faith, which the frequent recollecting of it, after a spiritual manner, would no doubt advance us to."1 "And now," continued Mary, we must put off any farther conversation on this subject till another day, for aunt will be home directly. Is it not time to put the kettle on the fire for tea?"

1 Abp. Leighton.

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Jane and Bessy had no idea it was getting so late, till Mary, looking up at the clock, reminded them of the time. They thanked her for all she had told them, and Bessy said, "I believe I was much more like Sarah Kimpton than Jane, for till this afternoon, I never thought about confirmation at all seriously. I took it as a matter of course that I should be confirmed, because most other girls are; but I did not understand anything about it, and did not even think of trying to understand it till to-day."

CHAPTER III.

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Happiest ye who, seal'd and blest,

Back to your arms your treasures take,
With Jesus' mark impress'd,

To nurse for Jesus' sake."-KEBLE.

THE next Sunday afternoon, Jane and Bessy accompanied their cousin Mary to church, instead of going to the town to hear the band play, as they were told one of their neighbours was going to have a baby christened, and they wished to witness the ceremony of baptism performed in church. On their return home, their conversation naturally turned on the Sacrament of Baptism.

"I suppose," observed Bessy, "in the first prayer of the Service of Baptism, where the clergyman exhorts the congregation to pray that the child about to be baptized may be received into Christ's holy Church, and be made a lively member of the same’— a member of the Church of Christ is only another word for a Christian ?"

"Yes," replied Mary; "and it gives us a more

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