me no kiss; but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. feet with ointment. Therefore I say unto thee, Her sins which are many are forgiven: for she loved much but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. Thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace."

There seems to have always been a large proportion of women amongst the followers of Jesus: to their honour it may be said, that they continued constant to him to the last, after all the male disciples except John had fled and deserted him. Women were around him while he suffered on the cross, women watched by his tomb, and it was to women that the angels first announced his resurrection.

Jesus now found it necessary to choose out twelve from amongst his disciples, and to give them the power to do miracles and heal the sick. The multitude of his followers had become so great, that they were scattered about like sheep without a shepherd: as he beautifully expressed it to his dis

ciples, "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few: Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers unto his harvest." Here were thousands ready to hear and learn, and but one to teach and direct. The twelve whom he chose to assist in this glorious work, were "Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother: James the son of Zebedee and John his brother: Philip and Bartholomew: Thomas and Matthew the publican: James the son of Alphous and Lebbous whose surname was Thaddous: Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him."

These twelve Jesus sent forth and commanded them saying, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel : And as ye go, preach, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand: Heal the sick, cleanse the leper, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give: Provide neither gold nor silver, nor brass in your purses: nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. And into whatsoever city

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or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy, and there abide till ye go hence." whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet." "Behold! I send

you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves : But beware of men, for they will deliver you to the councils, and they will scourge you in the synagogues: And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. . . . Ye shall be hated by all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end, shall be saved."

It was well that they were warned and prepared by their master, for the sorrows and troubles which awaited them their persecutions and sufferings were only second to those of Jesus himself, and almost all of them suffered a cruel and violent death. Jesus had warned them not to expect better treatment than he met with: "The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his Lord: If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

Fear them not therefore: And fear not them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

The fate of John the Baptist was as cruel as that of the apostles. Herod the Tetrarch, Governor of Galilee, had thrown John into prison, because he had told him that it was unlawful to marry Herodias, the widow of his brother Philip. Herodias was very angry with John for trying to prevent her marriage, and would have killed him, but she could not, because "Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and a holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things and heard him gladly." This proves that John still spoke boldly to Herod, and was not prevented by any fear for his life, from telling him of his crimes, and teaching him how to make himself more acceptable to God.

One day, however, when it was Herod's birthday, and he gave a great supper to his lords and captains, the daughter of Herodias danced before him, in a way that pleased him so much, that he told her he would give her whatever she asked of him. "He

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sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom." Then she went to her mother to know what she should ask for. The mother said, The head of John the Baptist. "And the king was exceeding sorry: yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: And he went and beheaded him in prison: and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel, and the damsel gave it to her mother."

When the apostles heard of the death of John the Baptist they went and told Jesus, and gave him an account of all they had been doing and teaching. Then Jesus told them to come aside into a desert place and rest a little, "For there were many coming and going, and they had not time so much as to eat."

Soon the usual multitude collected around Jesus, and here he performed one of his greatest miracles. After Jesus had taught them many things, his disciples came and reminded him that the people had been in that desert place now for a long time, and

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