And how did he, Mamma?

It was on the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, when his disciples enquired of him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare, that thou mayest eat the passover? And sending forth two of them, he replied, Goye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water; follow him. And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the good man of the house, The Master saith, where is the guest-chamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared; there make ready for us. On which his disciples went forth, and came into the city; and finding as he had said, they made ready the passover. In the evening, he arrived with the twelve. And as they sat, and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, one of you which eateth with me shall betray me. And they began to be sorrowful, and one by one, earnestly begged to be informed, Is it I? and another said, Is it I? He answered and said, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish. The Son of man indeed goeth as it is written of him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed: good were it for that man if he had never been born. And as they ate, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave them, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

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And he took the cup; and when he had given thanks; he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. This is my blood in the New Testament, which is shed for many. Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until the day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God. On which mournful intelligence they sung an hymn, and then went out into the mount of Olives.

What was the meaning of that ceremony, Mamma?

The departure of the Jews from Egypt, my love, was typical of this ceremony, when the blood of the lamb was shed for a sign, that those dwellings which were sprinkled with it the Lord passed over, when he destroyed the first-born of wicked sinners. It was typical, my love, that he was about to die. As the lamb was killed, the sprinkling of his blood would be a sign to us, that we should escape out of the bondage of sin, as the Israelites did out of the bondage of the Egyptians; that when the judgment day arrived, the Lord would set on us the sign of redemption through his blood, and pass over us when he took vengeance on Satan, the first-born. This ceremony, which is called the Holy Sacrament, is kept up by all who call themselves in heart the followers of Christ (or in other words, Christians) to this day. As Christ died, my child, of his own free will, his

oblation of himself once offered was deemed by a holy Judge, a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice and satisfaction for the sins of the world. Christ,* therefore, my child, instituted this ceremony, that all who loved him, and hated and left sin, might keep in perpetual memory his precious death until his coming again.

And did he really, Mamma, die? and did any other disciples forsake him?

Yes, my child, our Saviour previously told them that they would forsake him in the hour of trial. He said unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night; for it is written, I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter said, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. Verily I say unto thee, replied Jesus, that this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. But he spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.

How noble was that in Peter! I dearly love Peter, Mamma.

Yes, my sweet child, he was very ignorant of his own evil nature. It was not in his power to be so noble or so good: it was presumptuous in him to sup

pose he could do any thing right but by the power of God; which was proved, when his generosity and noblemindedness were put to the test.

Oh, pray tell me.

I will, my love; but I must first proceed with this painful account of our dear Lord's sufferings, "And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane ; and he said to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. He took with him Peter, and James, and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; and said to them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed, that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee: take away this cup from me; nevertheless not what I will, but thou wilt. And he came, and found them sleeping. To Peter he said, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation: the spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. And again he went away and prayed, and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy, neither wist they what to an swer him. And he came the third time, and said unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest; it is enough: the hour is come. Behold, the Son of man is betray

ed into the hands of sinners.

Rise up, let us go.

Lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand." How cruel it was, Mamma, to sleep at such a time!

They were exhausted, my sweet child, with sorrow: man is weak, as our gracious Lord acknowledged. But to proceed. "While he yet spake, behold, a multitude; and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? And one of them smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. Suffer ye thus far," said Jesus, gently and benevolently turning away the sword. "And he touched his ear, and healed him." It was Peter, my child, on seeing the people endeavour to seize Jesus, that smote the high priest's servant. Our Lord rebuked him for it, by calling the wounded man, and healing his wound on the instant, and addressing his disciple in that merciful, forgiving expression, "Suffer ye thus far." O let me thus overcome evil with kindness, with compassion! Our precious Jesus now said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders which were come to him, Be ye come