No one need fear whom God doth keep,
By day or night;

Then lay thee down in slumber deep,
Till morning light.

"Oh, little child, thou need'st not wake:
Though winds may howl,

And bears may prowl,

And watch-dog's bark thy slumbers break,
Jesus is strong;

And angels guard thee for his sake
The whole night long."

And so the Winter King, enthroned on Mont Blanc amid storm and snow, holds court among the Alps, and freezes up everything except the warm hearts of the mountain people.

CHILDREN IN A BALLOON.

WHAT makes a balloon rise in the air? You see it consists of a great pouch or bag. This is filled with something lighter than air. What is lighter than air? One kind of gas. The balloon filled with this gas is lighter than the air, and therefore rises and sails aloft in the skies, swifter than the swiftest ship on the ocean. At the bottom of the balloon is a large round car or basket, with seats in it, where the aëronaut, as he is called, or balloonist, wishing to sail in the air is seated.

The scene is said to be very wonderful as they rise and leave the earth below. Rivers look like silver ribbons, villages like baby-houses, fields like

green patches, and people like little ants; while all around is the wide, wide sky. I do not think I should like a voyage in this air-ship; should you ?

About six years ago, two children in North America had a strange adventure in a balloon. It happened that a balloon came down very unexpectedly in their father's farm-yard one afternoon. The strange visitor pleased the family very much; and after Mr. Brooks, the balloonist, got out, the farmer put his children in. He did it in fun or play. He held the balloon by a long rope, and jerked it up and down, to their great delight. By and by the rope broke, and up shot the balloon-up, up, up, carrying Martha Harvey and her little brother David straight into the air.

The voice of the little girl was only heard to say, "Pull me down, father; father, father!" and then her voice was lost in the distance. The poor father and mother screamed aloud. Who can describe their feelings as they saw the balloon grow smaller and smaller, until it was lost sight of! Soon night came on; the news of the accident quickly spread far and near. Men and boys ran from all quarters to search the country, in order to find where it might come down; for if it alighted on the water or in the woods, the poor children would be drowned or starved before help could reach them. Everybody was in a state of feverish anxiety; and what a terrible night must it have been at the farmhouse!

Where was the balloon, and what became of the children in their ride?

It so happened, in the kind providence of God, that a farmer who lived about eighteen miles distant from Mr. Harvey's got up very early the next morning to see a comet, which at that time was to be seen in the sky; but, looking out of the window, what strange great thing did he see fixed in the boughs of one of his trees? Something that alarmed him very much; and he soon ran round the house to wake up his family. Out they went, when they heard a little voice crying out piteously, "Come here, come here, and let us down; we are almost frozen." Quickly the farmer and his men climbed the tree, and secured the balloon; for indeed it was the runaway balloon, with the poor children in it. The little girl told her sorrowful story; and without delay the kind-hearted farmer sent a man post-haste to their father's house, with the joyful tidings of their safety.

The poor children were very cold up in the air. Martha covered her little brother with her apron, and he cried himself to sleep. She then noticed a rope which hung down from the balloon, and reached the car in which she sat. Not knowing what she did, she caught hold of this rope, and the tug she gave it opened what is called a valve or stopper at the top of the balloon. This caused the gas to escape, and the balloon to descend; and in a short time the car lodged between two branches of a tree, where they were seen by the farmer.

Little Martha Harvey was eight years old, and her brother David was only three.

Oh, what joy was there at the farm-house when, at two o'clock that afternoon, the children reached their home! The lost were found.

Is there not joy in another place when those are found who were once lost, and in danger of perishing? What place is that? and who are the rejoicing ones?

FIRST DISCIPLES OF JESUS.

ST. JUDE.

ST. JUDE was brother to James the Less, and equally related to our Lord. This degree of relationship is not certain; he may have been a nephew of Joseph and Mary, or else the son of Joseph by a former wife. Among the Jews, all near relatives were called brothers or sisters. He was surnamed Lebbæus and Thaddæus, to distinguish him from Judas the traitor. It is said that the word Lebbæus means prudence, and Thaddeus a person zealous in praising God.

The provinces allotted to St. Jude in which to labour, are said to have been Judea and Galilee. It is supposed by some that he afterwards went through other countries. It is remarkable that when Domitian was emperor of Rome, he wished to find all the descendants of David and put them to death, in case they should ever try to recover their father's throne. Only two men could be found, the grandchildren of Jude, who stated, with great sincerity, that they were indeed of the race of David, but that they were very poor, and lived