might send a copy of the New Testament to China, produced at one collection the sum of £20. Two other schools, where the Bibles and Testaments to which the collectors had entitled themselves as prizes, under the regulations of the Manchester Committee, were presented, with appropriate commendations, at tea-parties, specially held for the purpose. A private school, conducted by members of a congregation, which forwarded, through the superintendent of the Sunday-school, twenty-two fourpenny pieces, in a neat little crochet bag, accompanied by a kindly appropriate letter from the principals: the money the spontaneous gift of little girls, who had heard they could each this present a Chinese Testament to a Chinese. A dayschool, where the purpose of the Society to send one million New Testaments to China, was explained by a friend to about one hundred children, under six years of age. Some weeks afterwards the same friend, on revisiting the school, had a little bag, containing sixty half-pence (2s. 6d.) placed in his hand, by one of the girls. The children in the gallery, on being interrogated, gave an intelligent explanation of the object the money was designed to accomplish; and the little representative has often since inquired, whether "the Testaments have been printed yet? Two girls connected with another school, having become impressed with the opinion that all who were wealthy ought to be acquainted with and should sympathize in the objects of the Bible Society, and being resolved that, so far as they were able, the opportunity of contributing should be afforded, they visited the warehouses, banks, and larger shops of the neighbourhood in which they reside, and succeeded in obtaining a total of £6 11s. 6d. A Christian body, consisting of three congregations only, have subscribed about £110 for Jubilee objects; £84 of which, on behalf of the Chinese New Testament Fund, was collected on one Sunday.

Aggregate meetings of Sunday Schools of all denominations have been held in various schools. The meetings have all been public, with special invitations to Sunday School teachers and scholars; and the platforms have afforded legitimate neutral ground, whereon the clergy and ministers of the various Christian bodies have expressed their delight in being enabled to meet each other in promotion of the work of the great and common Master. All have there been fearless to affirm, that "the Bible, the Bible alone, is the religion of Protestants." All have been led to glory in this grand central rallying point. We earnestly trust that this unanimity of sentiment may be increased; and that thus, all one in the work of CHRIST, He, who honours His Word above all His Name, may cause through that Word the knowledge of the glory of His Grace to be revealed, and the dominion of our REDEEMER to be established from sea to sea, aud from the river unto the ends of the earth.

The Sunday School Jubilee Committee was inaugurated by a morning meeting for prayer; business proceedings have been invariably preceded by supplication for Divine guidance; and in consonance with the unbroken harmony which has characterized the effort, and in earnest acknowledgment of the measure of success which has been vouchsafed, a devotional meeting for reading the Scriptures, prayer, and praise, closed the year of Jubilee of the Bible Society, in Manchester.

Manchester-and not Manchester alone—still owes a debt of gratitude to the British and Foreign Bible Society. An immeasurable advantage is conferred in the presence, among its teeming population, of the allhallowed Revelation, which, as the salt, conserves; as the lamp, irradiates; and, as the teacher, tells of good things to come: the hope of the enjoyment of which enables to the patient endurance of trials otherwise grievous to be borne.

THE DEATH OF A YOUNG CHRISTIAN.

SOFTLY sighed the breezes

On the sunny lea,

And gently played the ripplets
On the bright blue lea.
Warmly fell the sunbeams
On many a leafy bower,
Or coaxed the odorous incense
From many a summer flower.
And the birds in trilling music,
Their grateful anthems sung,
Or plumed their ruffled feathers
The shady boughs among.
All nature, glad and smiling,
Came forth at opening day,
With flowery chaplets on her brow,
And robings green and gay.

Within a darkened chamber,
On a couch of suffering there,
Lay the loved and youthful object
Of tender, pious care.

And they watched from early morning
Till the setting of the sun,

And the short and fluttering breath
Told her course was well nigh run;

In meek, submissive silence

She clasped her hands in prayer,
And she knew that ere that night
She should Jesu's glory share.
She spoke of those bright mansions,
Where she was going to dwell,

While from her eyes beamed forth the joy
Her tongue could never tell.

And as they watched she feebler grew,
Till, with the fading light,
Her gentle spirit passed away,

And Heaven burst on her sight.
All nature's daily music ceased,
Sweet strains awoke in Heaven,
For joy that another ransomed jewel
To the Saviour's crown was given.
West Ham.

H. E. W.

THERE are about fifty species of owls, which may be divided into two sections; those that have feathers on their heads standing up like ears or horns, which they can raise or depress at pleasure, and which have been called horned owls; and those birds of the tribe which have no such distinction.

The principal kinds are the great horned owl, called also the eagle owl, the screech owl, the brown or hoot-owl, the white or common barn owl, &c.

The first of these is a native of many parts of Europe, Asia, and America, where it dwells in desert places and amongst inaccessible rocks. At first view it appears almost equal in size to the eagle, but it is really much less; indeed, owls in general are

covered with such a mass of feathers as to appear much larger than they really are. The great horned owl has large and transparent eyes, which are encircled with an orange-coloured iris; his ears are large and deep; his plumage is of a reddish brown, marked with yellow and black spots on the back, and on the belly with yellow alone. It has a stronger sight than other owls, and is sometimes seen pursuing its prey in the open daylight. It feeds on hares, rabbits, and all kinds of feathered game. It has sometimes been seen in Scotland and also in England, but is uncommon here. The horned owl is more common in this country and in France, and is smaller; the fullgrown bird measures three feet in the wing, from tip to tip. Its horns are composed of six feathers on each side, about an inch in length; its colour is a reddish brown, with a mixture of white; the legs are feathered down to the claws.

The white owl is the most common species in this island, and inhabits barns and outhouses about farmyards; where it is encouraged in consequence of its facility in destroying the mice which are so injurious to the grain. The plumage of this bird is very elegant, all the upper parts of the body being of a pale yellow, mottled with white spots, while the under parts are entirely white, and a circle of soft white feathers surrounds each of the eyes.

The brown owl, common also in England, is rather more than a foot in length. The breast is of a pale ash colour, marked with dusky streaks, and the head, back, and wings are spotted with black. In some places these birds may be heard in great numbers, hooting in the evenings of autumn; they breed in ruined buildings and hollow trees, are very rapacious, and often commit great depredations in pigeon-houses; and in defence of their young, they will attack even mankind with a surprising courage.

The screech, or ivy owl, resembles the white owl,