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time to be lost; Thomas replied, “Let me go-God bless me and the Lord have mercy on my soul!" Upon which he fell down, was dashed against the rocks and killed! And with what a heavy heart John went back to tell his parents, I leave my readers to judge. So this was the end of their nest robbing. And oh! that I could convince all my young readers of the cruelty of such doings. There are some birds which do harm; and it is not wrong to prevent the increase of such by robbing their nests, because the country would be overrun with them, and they would eat the farmer's corn in the fields, and his chickens and eggs in the yard: but to rob the nests of poor harmless birds for the pleasure of so doing, shews a very unfeeling heart; and I am sure that no good Christian child will take pleasure in such sports. You may not come into the same danger as this poor little boy ; but you may easily fall out of a tree, or off a wall, and be killed; and oh! who would wish to be hurried to the judge ment-seat of Christ from such a work?

Dear Reader, be yours the pursuits which will bring you peace at the last, and which you can bear to look back upon in a dying hour.

“A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast; but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.” Prov. xii. 10.

BITE OF A MAD DOG. A book of travels through the south of India has lately come out; from which I have taken the account I am going to relate. The writer says, “when I got to the house of my friend the clergyman, I found it likely to become the house of sorrow. On the tenth of last October, his only son John was playing with a little dog, which the coachman had: when all at once the dog bit him twice in the arm. Poor John ran into the house, crying a little, as the bite was very sore; but not making much noise, lest he should frighten his mother. Mr. S. as soon as he saw his arm, sent for the doctor ; who, when he came, dressed the wound; but thought ther

was not much harm done, beyond a little pain and fever. Nearly two months had passed away before John felt unwell; and the bites in the arm seemed to be quite healed. But on the Bth of December, he began to seem shy and not easy: He never lifted his eyes from off the ground, or looked at one in the face. On the 9th, he was still restless, would not take his food, and shewed the greatest dislike to drink any thing. The doctor was again sent for, and gave him some physic; but still thought he would soon be well again. At breakfast the next morning, which was the Sabbath, I sat next him, and offered him a sancer full of tea; when all at once he became convulsed and shuddered. Tears started into his eyes ; but with a strong gulp he swallowed down the tea, as he saw his mother looking towards him. The nature of his complaint was now too clear. Most likely the little dog, which had bit him two months before, was mad; and the bite had infected him with madness too-Well, John was put to bed. His mother staid with him, and I went with

Mr. S. to church.* None there as yet knew what had taken place; and they could not tell why this good man's eyes filled with tears, when in the course of his sermon, he spoke of Abraham, who offered up, at the command of God, 'his son, his only son whom he loved.' His voice at length became almost too weak to be heard; but through a strong sense of his holy duty, and the never-failing support of Him in whom he trusted, he got through the service of the day.

“Before we got home, John had again been slightly convulsed. We found with him, besides his mother, three doctors and a lady. About two o'clock in the afternoon, he was more convulsed; and he could no longer swallow his physic. A cure was hopeless; but to lessen his sufferings, he was bled, and then put into a warm bath; but the instant he

* What a happy thing it is, that there are now churches built in beathen lands, and faithful pastors preaching the Gospel in them from time to time to crowds of people. The wood-cut at the beginning of this number is an exact picture of a Church lately built in India.

saw the water, he screamed, struggled, and shook with extreme terror. IIe was then taken out, laid on his bed, from which he did not remove again, as it was thought useless to try any thing further. Nothing was done from this time, but now and then they wiped from his mouth the foam which came up, when the attacks were the strongest. He felt a weight at his breast, and could scarcely breathe; which shewed the progress of the disease. All this time, John only once spoke a word of complaint, and that was a very slight one. He said, “it is very sore to die.' When a little free from sharp pain, he begged his mother to read to him out of a little book of Bible stories. At other times, he wished her to sing some hymns. His dear mother was in too much trouble to be able to sing ; but she now and then read to him the words of a hymn.

“When tears flowed down her cheeks, he would say, 'don't cry, dear mama, I am quite happy. But when her Christian feeling got the better of her sorrow as a mother, she once asked him, 'whe

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