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become ministers in his place, were not only bad ministers, but bad men, so that many people had stopped going to church. In those days, when people went to church, they carried sheep with them, or other animals, to offer to God. This they did that they might show God that they truly loved Him: they gave Him the best they had. But when they came with their sacrifices, and the meat was in the pot cooking over the church fire, Hophni and Phinehas would send their servants, each with a great three-pronged fork in his hand; and they would thrust their forks into the pot, and whatever they brought up they "Give us meat,' would carry away to their masters. they said, "for the priests." And if anybody objected, the servants answered, "If you will not give it, we will take it from you by force." Thus Hophni and Phinehas had plenty to eat, and grew rich, and became more wicked day by day; but the number of persons who came to church grew less and less. So when Eli saw Hannah praying at the church steps he was surprised. Nobody had been to church to pray for a long time. He could not believe, at first, that she was really praying; her lips moved, but she made no sound. And because he was old and his eyes were bad so that he could not see well, he thought that she was some drunken person.

"Come, come," he said at last, "how long wilt thou be drunken?" But she said, "Sir, I am not drunken. I am praying my prayers." And she told him what

she was praying for. And Eli said, "My daughter, go in peace. May the God of Israel grant thy request.

And the God of Israel did grant her request. God sent a little son to Hannah and Elkanah, and they named him Samuel. When the child was two years old, they went one day to the church in Shiloh, and there was Eli sitting by the door. And they said, "Sir, do you remember the woman who was here praying for a son? Here she is, and here is her son with her. And we have promised that the lad shall belong to the Lord. Take him now and bring him up to be a minister of the church." Then they went away, leaving the child behind them. Eli took care of the little boy, and because his own sons had turned out so badly, he took the greater pains with Samuel, and taught him to be obedient and honest and to tell the truth. And every year his mother came to see him and brought him a little coat which she had made with her own hands.

At last, one night when Eli was so old that he could hardly see, and Samuel had grown to be a sturdy lad, they were both asleep in the same room. There was a great box in the room called the Ark, and in it were the two tables of stone on which the Ten Commandments were written, and over it hung a lamp which was kept burning every night.

And Samuel heard a voice calling his name, "Samuel!" and he answered, "Here am I," and ran to see what Eli wanted. But Eli said, "I did not call, my son; lie down again."

So Samuel went and lay down, and again there was a voice, "Samuel! Samuel!" And again Samuel ran to Eli, saying, “Here am I"; and Eli said, “I did not call." And this happened a third time.

Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go lie down, and if you hear the voice again, say, 'Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.' Soon he heard the voice again, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth."

Then the Lord spoke and said, "Behold, I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. I will punish Eli and his sons for all the evil that is done; for they have behaved themselves wickedly and he did not stop them." Then there was silence, and by and by the lamp burned out, and the sun rose and it was light, and Samuel got up and opened the doors and let the morning breeze blow in. And Eli said, "Samuel, what did the Lord say?" Samuel did not like to tell, but Eli urged him, and he told. Then Eli said, "It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good."

GEORGE HODGES.

The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And his ears are open unto their cry.

The face of the Lord is against them that do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

- Psalm xxxiv. 15-16.

1. What did Hannah pray for?
2. How was her prayer answered ?
3. What was done with Samuel ?

4. What did Samuel hear one night?

5. How many times did he hear the voice?

6. What did Eli tell Samuel to do?

7. Tell what happened after that.
8. What did Eli say?

TEMPTED AND TRIED

MY DEAR GRANDMOTHER,

I do what you told me.

You told me to bite my

lips and count ten, before I spoke, when the boys plague me, because I'm a spunky boy. But doing it so much makes my lips sore. So now I go head over heels sometimes, till I'm out of breath. Then I can't say anything.

This is the account you asked me for, of all I've bought this week:

The "Two Betseys," they keep very good things to sell. They are two old women that live in a little hut with two rooms in it, and a ladder to go up stairs by, through a hole in the wall. One Betsey, she is lame and keeps still, and sells the things to us sitting

down. The other Betsey, she can run, and keeps a