said to himself, "the son of a minister in England, knowing far more about Jesus Christ than that poor boy, and yet caring far less about Him! That little fellow is now earnestly listening to the word of life, while I am living quite careless about it!" In great distress of mind he retired that night to his hammock; but his pious father's instructions came back to his thoughts, and reminded him how he might seek and find that salvation which he so much needed. He became a real Christian; and great was the joy in his English home when the happy tidings reached his parents.

Are there none of our young readers to whom the desire of this heathen boy, to hear more of Christ, should come with equal force? With so many more ways than he had of knowing the true God, and Jesus Christ his Son, how few children in our own land show half his eager desire for religious knowledge, or are so sincerely desirous to believe in the Saviour.

DESIRE FOR BOOKS IN SAMOA.

In 1830, the inhabitants of the Samoan, or Navigator's Islands, were sitting in darkness; up to that time they had never seen a book, and had no idea of any way of receiving or imparting knowledge but by speech. In this respect they were just like the people of Rarotonga when Mr. Williams, to their great amazement, "made," as they termed it, "the chip talk." But missionaries have given them a written language, and provided for them in that language the printed Scriptures and other religious books; and as numbers of them have learned to read, these books are in great de

mand. One of the missionaries says, "Could our friends in England witness the desire of the natives for books, I am sure that printing presses could not long be wanting. I have known individuals travels 10 or 15 miles, in a small canoe upon the open sea, to obtain a single book, bringing articles of native produce in exchange for it. Numbers have gladly walked 20, 30, 40, or even 50 miles, carrying a burden the whole way, and only asking in return a copy of the Gospel of John. An edition of five thousand has not been at all equal to the demand."

One of these natives, thirsting for knowledge, and wishing above all earthly treasures to possess a book, fenced in a plot of ground, planted it with arrow-root, and having waited until it was ripe, dug it up, and prepared and packed it for use. He then got into his little canoe, spread its sail to the wind, and steered for the missionary station, that he might get a book in exchange for his produce. After gliding many miles over the bosom of the ocean in safety, just as he was drawing near the desired spot, a sudden gust of wind filled the little sail, upset his canoe, and sent his arrow-root to the bottom. The poor fellow soon put his canoe right again; but, alas! he had lost his cargo, which grieved him very much, as he feared that he could not get a book without paying for it. He therefore turned the bow of his canoe back towards his home, which he reached with a heavy heart. As soon, however, as he had returned, he planted a fresh plot of arrow-root, and, having patiently waited until it was ready, he set out again, sailed once more across the

open sea, reached the missionary settlement, and thought himself well rewarded for all his toil when he obtained a book, and then with this precious treasure, and a thankful heart, he returned to his distant home.

Surely those who thus value knowledge should be well supplied with it; and our young friends will be pleased to know, that amongst other good things which the ship “John Williams" will take to the South Seas, will be more missionaries and more Bibles.

A CHILD'S THOUGHTS.

AND can it be that I,

A young and thoughtless child,
So full of mirth and play-

So often rude and wild

That I a soul possess,

Which must for ever live;
That Jesus died upon the cross,
This deathless soul to save ?

The Bible tells me this is so-
A book which cannot lie:
Then 'tis a fearful thing to live,
More fearful still to die.

Lord, guide me in the way of life,
To me let grace be given

To cleanse my thoughts from all that's wrong,
And fit my soul for heaven.

Then while I tread the narrow way,

And fix my hopes above,

I'll urge poor sinners, day by day,

To seek a Saviour's love.

THE HIVE AND ITS WONDERS.
No. 11.

AGE-FLIGHT OF THE BEE-BEE-HUNTER-
TRANSPORTATION OF HIVES.

THE honey-bees do not live very long, even when they are taken care of.

The drones live

year; the queen, longer than any of the bees -some think two years, but the exact length has never been certainly discovered.

These little insects are not active in the winter; they sometimes appear to be almost in a torpid state: but, if the weather becomes mild, and the sun shines warmly upon the hive, they soon arouse themselves and are quite lively. They are sometimes led, by the bright sunshine, to come out of their hives in midwinter, and perhaps fly off into the air; and then the cold north wind chills their limbs, and they are not able to return to the hive, but perish in the fields.

They have a dread of rain, and, if a heavy cloud passes before the sun, they often return home in great haste. But when they continue their work till their load is completed, and take the direction in which their home lies, their course towards it is as direct as the flight of an arrow. Though their hives sometimes stand in gardens surrounded by shrubbery, yet, as they know the way, and return with great speed, taking the shortest route towards it, we must suppose that there are marks guiding them, which escape our notice. Each bee will fly directly to its own hive, though there may be many others near, resembling it in appear

ance.

This well-known habit of the bee is very useful to those persons who, in some parts of the world, search for the hives of the wild bee, and track her to her home in the woods, to find her nest, and take away her honeycomb. In order to do this, the bee-hunter takes his stand somewhere upon the broad plain, where the