in His power for your personal sanctification-that there is no limit to it, and that there is no limit to what God will do for you in this respect except the limit of your own belief.

"II. The patience of hope. Our Lord does not promise to let us see at the time the result of our work, but the harvest will come. (John iv. 36, 37.) Our Lord saw little fruit of His own labour, and how little fruit St. Paul saw; but you and I are now reaping the fruits of Paul's preaching. Wait, work, and be strong, giving up your own will, however painful to flesh and blood. Do you wish to glorify God, or to please yourselves? If your work is real, it must have its harvest. 'He that goeth forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.' (Psalms cxxvi. 6.) You are now often reaping what others have sown. When Christ returns, what a meeting it will be in His presence if all those who have laboured, toiled, hoped, and prayed for souls shall then rejoice together. (Psalm cxxvi. 6.)

"III. "The comfort of love.' I conclude this means love to man as well as love to God, and it is the greatest gift that God can give to those labouring for souls. I mean that outgoing of your heart to them, that tender personal outflow of affection which God makes us feel to those with whom we come in contact in our Mission work. My work has never been so much blessed as when I have found a great rush of love to people in anxiety of soul, whom I had never seen before, and shall not probably see again. Ask God for this gift of love, which will make you tender, patient, and persevering. Your work has so much more 'go' and 'rush' in it when you feel in your heart that you really love your people.

"But the comfort of love is also working from love to Jesus. The love of Christ constraineth us.' (2 Cor. v. 14.) Examine yourselves on this point. There is such a thing as examining ourselves too much, but there is also a fear of examining ourselves too little. There may be faults both ways, but all should look to the motives of their work. It is well for busy Christian people who get into the rut of their work, and when that rut is deepening, to stop now and then

to ask themselves afresh, Where is the motive of my work; is the spring of it to gladden the heart of Christ, or is it done only because I have always done it, or because He is my light, my salvation, my joy? But we must not cease working because we feel we are not doing it out of love, but work on because we wish to work only from love, and now and then go apart and say, 'Lord, give me a little glimpse of Thy glory;' 'Let me feel Thy presence.' In His own good time and way He will come and give you just what you need, and sometimes, when you are alone on the stormy lake, and 'it is dark, and Jesus has not come,' think 'He is on the mountain top, watching over me-praying for me!' He is not here; He is risen, and is at the right hand of His Father; and yet also in every heart which He makes His temple. All that the Father hath He will give to us, if we will only draw it down by faith and prayer, in the name of His dear Son.

"A. W. T."

TWO LETTERS FROM THE QUEEN.

THERE were two letters from our gracious Queen in the papers of the last month or two, which probably have been read by all her subjects, but which we feel tempted to embalm in our pages, because they never ought to be forgotten, as commemorative of an act of true National thanksgiving in February, 1872, for a marked answer to the National prayer:

"Windsor Castle, Dec. 26, 1871. "THE QUEEN IS VERY ANXIOUS ΤΟ EXPRESS HER DEEP

SENSE OF THE TOUCHING SYMPATHY OF THE WHOLE NATION ON THE OCCASION OF THE ALARMING ILLNESS OF HER DEAR FEELING

SON, THE PRINCE OF WALES. THE UNIVERSAL

SHOWN BY HER PEOPLE DURING THOSE PAINFUL, TERRIBLE DAYS, AND THE SYMPATHY EVINCED BY THEM WITH HERSELF AND HER BELOVED DAUGHTER, THE PRINCESS OF WALES, AS

WELL AS THE GENERAL JOY AT THE IMPROVEMENT IN THE

PRINCE OF WALES' STATE, HAVE MADE A DEEP AND LASTING IMPRESSION ON HER HEART WHICH CAN NEVER BE EFFACED.

IT WAS, INDEED, NOTHING NEW TO HER; FOR THE QUEEN

HAD MET WITH THE SAME SYMPATHY WHEN, JUST TEN YEARS AGO, A SIMILAR ILLNESS REMOVED FROM HER SIDE THE MAINSTAY OF HER LIFE, THE BEST, WISEST, AND KINDEST OF HUSBANDS.

"THE QUEEN WISHES TO EXPRESS, AT THE SAME TIME, ON THE PART OF THE PRINCESS OF WALES, HER FEELINGS OF HEARTFELT GRATITUDE; FOR SHE HAS BEEN AS DEEPLY TOUCHED AS THE QUEEN BY THE GREAT AND UNIVERSAL

MANIFESTATION OF LOYALTY AND SYMPATHY.

"THE QUEEN CANNOT CONCLUDE WITHOUT EXPRESSING HER HOPE THAT HER FAITHFUL SUBJECTS WILL CONTINUE THEIR PRAYERS TO GOD FOR THE COMPLETE RECOVERY OF HER DEAR SON TO HEALTH AND STRENGTH."

"Buckingham Palace, Feb. 29, 1872.

"THE QUEEN IS ANXIOUS, AS ON A PREVIOUS OCCASION, TO

EXPRESS PUBLICLY HER OWN PERSONAL VERY DEEP SENSE OF THE RECEPTION SHE AND HER DEAR CHILDREN MET WITH ON

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH, FROM MILLIONS OF HER SUBJECTS, ON HER WAY TO AND FROM ST. PAUL'S.

"WORDS ARE TOO WEAK FOR THE QUEEN TO SAY HOW VERY

DEEPLY TOUCHED AND GRATIFIED SHE HAS BEEN BY THE IMMENSE ENTHUSIASM AND AFFECTION EXHIBITED TOWARDS HER DEAR SON AND HERSELF, FROM THE HIGHEST DOWN TO THE LOWEST, ON THE LONG PROGRESS THROUGH THE CAPITAL, AND

SHE WOULD EARNESTLY WISH TO CONVEY HER WARMEST AND MOST HEARTFELT THANKS TO THE WHOLE NATION FOR THIS GREAT DEMONSTRATION OF LOYALTY.

"THE QUEEN, AS WELL AS HER SON AND DEAR DAUGHTER-INLAW, FELT THAT THE WHOLE NATION JOINED WITH THEM IN THANKING GOD For SPARING THE BELOVED PRINCE OF WALES'

LIFE.

"THE REMEMBRANCE OF THIS DAY, AND OF THE REMARKABLE ORDER MAINTAINED THROUGHOUT, WILL FOR EVER BE AFFECTIONATELY REMEMBERED BY THE QUEEN AND HER FAMILY."

THANKSGIVING DAY.-27TH FEB., 1872.

BETWEEN the dates of those two letters-poured fresh and free from the heart of the mother of her people—the realm of England had lived through one of the most wonderful days of its history, on the whole considered; a day which may be called the crown of its thousand years,—a day in which it came as a nation visibly into God's presence and praised Him as with one voice for His mercy, believing that He had heard its prayer. The human eye is seldom permitted to see or the mind to realize what millions mean-millions of souls in the attitude of thanksgiving, owning the Power that had given, and alone could have given, the Heir of the Kingdom back from the doors of the tomb to which, in his youth and strength, he had gone down. Truly the Prince seemed walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Three times the Royal Family had been summoned round the bed where their loved one lay unconscious-to see him die. Four nights the ringers were on duty at St. Paul's to toll the great bell that would have to announce to the nation that all their hopes were over; and the day of the month drew on when, by a strange coincidence, ten years ago, that very fever had proved fatal to his Royal father.

On the Sunday previous to the 14th every Church throughout the land obeyed the call to prayer-some according to the prescribed and following form, but all with an earnest heart :—

THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY'S FORM OF PRAYER.

"O Almighty God and Merciful Father, to whom alone belong the issues of life and death, look down from Heaven, we humbly beseech Thee, with the eyes of mercy upon Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, now lying upon the bed of sickness. Thou Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of need, we fly unto Thee for succour in behalf of Thy servant. Grant, O Lord, that all the sins of his life past may be done away, and his soul washed in the precious blood of Christ, that it may be pure and without spot before Thee. If it shall be Thy pleasure, prolong, we beseech Thee, his days here on earth, and grant that he may live to Thee, and be an

instrument of Thy glory, and a blessing to our Church and nation. Prepare him, O most loving Father, by Thy Holy Spirit for all that lies before him in life or in death, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"Almighty and Everlasting God, who guidest the hearts of kings, and who hast blessed and sanctified the bonds of love to knit together the members of all Christian families, look down, we beseech Thee, on Thy servant Victoria, our Queen, and the Princess of Wales, in this day of their great trouble, and on all the Royal Family. Comfort and support them in their present trial, and grant that their hearts may be stayed only upon Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

On the dread eve of the 14th was held one, and probably many a watchnight of prayer; and as if "the Lord heard" in that self-same hour, at the dawn of the morning the sharp air and chilling snow of the past week was exchanged for the softened breath of spring. People said it was heaven-sent weather for the suffering Prince, and ere the day passed over a new and hopeful telegram was read with joyful tears, that the morning had passed tranquilly with a little sleep. From that very day all the succeeding news was good.

Never, even in the Crimean War or Indian Mutiny, had the nation ever seemed to wait so anxiously as it did for tidings from that one sick room, and with most unfeigned joy did our wide Empire accept the good tidings of commencing convalescence. Scotland and Ireland, and India, and our brethren in America, had shared in the suspense and participated in the joy.

Very marvellous were the observations in the French papers concerning our circumstances.

The Gaulois said :-"Here we have the spectacle of a real nation kneeling to the Almighty and praying that the days of their future Sovereign may be prolonged. Family meetings are interrupted; life is in some degree suspended; less attention is given to business; newspapers have dropped politics, and for a week the Times has had but one or two leaders, and the subject of all was the same-the Prince of Wales. Despite the cold, crowds gathered to obtain the latest news. In these