then made haste to bless the God of heaven, giving all the glory of his wisdom and knowledge to Him, to whom alone belongeth the power to reveal deep and secret things, because he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. Deeply persuaded of this, the humble Daniel exclaimed, “I thank thee, and praise thee, O God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto us the king's matter.” After this, Daniel begged to be taken immediately into the king's presence, and made known to him the extraordinary dream which had gone from his mind, which he told him was not a common dream, in the power of any of his wise men to tell or explain to him, but one that had been sent to him by the great God of heaven and earth, who, in that way, was pleased to inform him of many great and wonderful things which were to come to pass in future times. You may open the Bible, if you like, my love, and read what the dream was, that God sent into Nebuchadnezzar's mind, but I do not think you are able yet to enter into the full meaning of it; when you are older, however, you will be able to understand it; for the present it will be enough to tell you, how Daniel explained to the king, that God in this dream had spoken to him of his own great kingdom, and three others, greater still, which were to come after it; one after another, until at length the God of heaven should set up a kingdom, which should never be destroyed, which was to consume and break to pieces all other kingdoms, and endure itself for ever and ever. E. Mamma, I think if you would just tell me what

fulness: therefore he made Daniel a great man, and gave him many rich gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over the wise men of Babylon. At Daniel's request also the king raised his three companions also to high stations of great trust in his kingdom.

But worldly greatness is a dangerous thing, bringing with it for the most part more trouble than enjoyment. We have a striking proof of this in the story which I am going to tell you. Nebuchadnezzar was an idolater. Nothing, we know, can be more foolish and wicked than to make ourselves graven images, to bow down and worship before them; for God is a spirit, and it is the greatest affront we can offer him, to think that the glorious Godhead is like unto gold and silver, or stone graven by the hand of man. Yet this wickedness Nebuchadnezzar was guilty of, and not only did he practise it himself, but he wished also that all his subjects should do the same. For this purpose he made a very great image of gold, about a hundred feet high and ten broad. And he set it upon a wide plain or open country, called the plain of Dura, and sent to call together all the great men of his kingdom, to come and assist at the dedication of the image, that is, the setting it apart as an object of worship. Every thing was done in the most solemn manner. The princes, the governors, the captains, the judges, the treasurers, and the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of provinces, came according to the king's commandment, and stood before the image of gold which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up, ready to do whatever more he should require of them. Now the king's