and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven,”—Frank seemed to understand. The blessed Holy Spirit carried home the truth to his little heart. His soul was brought under a real conviction of his sinfulness and his need of a Saviour, and in his gentle childish way, easily and simply, he too believed and was born again.

Among my old papers I find the following account, written at the time, and as I have read it over and over since his death, every scene it describes comes up before me with vivid intensity.

"Our little boy, only four years old, has been converted this past winter. We had never taught him anything about trusting Jesus, because we did not know it ourselves. And we had contented ourselves with general instructions about God as a Father in heaven, and about His moral law as the rule of life. And even after we had learned the truth for ourselves, it seemed to us for a while that it was impossible for one so young to understand anything about it. But having heard the story of a little girl who had been saved, our eyes were opened to the fact that even little children could come to Jesus and find forgiveness. And with earnest prayer that the truth as it is in Jesus might be blessed to our child, we began to tell him the blessed story. He listened to it wonderingly and gladly. The Holy Spirit made him feel himself to be a sinner needing a Saviour, and at once he seemed to open his gentle heart to admit the dear Lord who was knocking for entrance.

"The fruits of the Spirit at once began to show themselves in him very manifestly. He loves to talk

of Jesus, and to hear stories about Him, and repeats over and over again, ‘Mamma, Ilove Heavenly Jesus best of all.' He has become gentle and yielding, and full of love, even his little face shining often with a real heavenly light, and all his old sullen tempers seem to have disappeared almost entirely. This change is so striking that even our casual visitors cannot but notice it, for he was formerly one of the most obstinate and difficult of children, so that we at times almost despaired of conquering him. Now, when he is tempted to be naughty, he runs away by himself for a little while, and then comes back with a bright smile on his face, and in gentle tones makes a pleasant remark, watching eagerly to see how it will be received. Several times when this has occurred I have said, 'Frank, did thee ask Heavenly Jesus to send the good angel into thy heart?' and he has answered, 'Yes, mamma, I said it in my heart, and right away He heard me and sent the good angel to drive the naughty one away.' But sometimes his answer has been, No, mamma, I did not ask Him, for He sent it right in Himself, quick before I had time to ask.'

"He loves to talk about our spirits going up to heaven, and seems fully to realize that the spirit is the part of us that loves and trusts Jesus, and wants to please Him. Once when we had been talking together on these things, his face lighted up with a lovely, enthusiastic little smile, and he said, 'Oh, mamma, I do love Heavenly Jesus so! If He was standing. here by me, I would wipe my mouth right clean, and would kiss and hug Him all the time.' Then, after a pause, he added, 'and, mamma, I will save ever so

many hugs on my hands to give Him when we go up to meet Him in the clouds.'

"The darling child seems to have no fear of death, but rather to desire it, and sometimes he will say in the morning, 'Oh, mamma, maybe it will be Heavenly Father's time for me to go up to Heaven to-day, and then I will be so glad.'

"A short time after his conversion, he taught me a lesson I shall never forget. I had been teaching him to pray every evening - O Lord Jesus, please give me a new heart that will love thee.' He was for a while very earnest in praying, saying it two or three times in the evening, and asking us to remind him to say it in the morning; and it was very sweet to see him, his little hands clasped, and his eyes closed, pausing reverently a moment in silence, and then saying the few simple words so confidently, as though sure of a speedy answer. But one night, after I had read his usual little story to him, and had tucked him up comfortably in bed, as I leaned over him to listen to his last prayer, he said, 'Mamma, I want to pray, but I don't know what to pray for.' Why not say thy usual prayer for a new heart?' I asked. 'Oh, mamma,' he answered, 'I can't say that any more, for I did ask Heavenly Jesus for a new heart, and He gave it me, and I have got it now. And besides,' he added, "I know it is a soft heart, for it loves Heavenly Jesus so much. So now, mamma, what shall I pray for?' I suggested that he should ask to be so very good that everybody would see it, and it would teach them to love Jesus too. 'Oh, but,' he replied, 'I am too little to be a preacher.' No,'

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was my answer, 'thee is not.' And then I told him of some very little children who had trusted Jesus, and had talked to others about Him, and had been the means, some of them, of bringing even men and women to believe in Him and love Him. Frank listened with deep interest, and said at last, 'Well, mamma, I want to preach to the soldiers; and if papa will take me to their house, I will say, Do you love Jesus? and if they say, No, I will tell them to do it, and then they will. So, mamma, I will pray for that.' And with clasped hands, and an earnest little face, he said, 'Please, dear Heavenly Jesus, make me so good that everybody will know that I love thee; and please let me preach to the soldiers, and tell them to love thee, and to throw their guns away.'

"Since then, something like this has been his nightly prayer; and he often adds, with beseeching earnestness, Please, never, never, never let me do anything naughty any more!'"'

How well I remember it all. My incredulity as to the possibility of so young a child being converted, and my slowness in believing in the reality of it, even after I saw daily so many proofs. But looking back now over the fourteen years that followed, I see how wonderfully real and true it all was, and what a radical change did at this period take place in our boy. From that time I have no recollection of anything in him ever needing punishment, scarcely of anything calling for reproof. And yet his life was so thoroughly natural and boyish, that while it was passing it had no sense of strained piety, such as we have been too apt to associate with the idea of children

converted young. From first to last he was a joyous, happy, natural boy, ready to enter into all sorts of innocent fun, rejoicing in every manly sport, fond of gunning, sailing, climbing, swimming, and base-ball and cricket; and always the foremost to lead in any adventurous expedition.

His religion did not deprive him of happiness, but increased it tenfold. He could afford to be natural, because having been made a partaker of the Divine Nature through faith in Christ, it became to a great degree natural to him to do right. Relieved from all anxiety about his salvation, he was free of heart to throw himself into every innocent pursuit or pleasure that came to him; and the result has been a life which it is a perfect delight to contemplate, so unstained seemed its last fourteen years to our sight with any care, or sorrow, or sin. He said himself, in the last conversation he had with his darling cousin Minnie, to whom he confided everything, that in looking back over his life he believed he had always had everything he wanted, and had done just what he pleased. And this was very much the case. I can scarcely remember his ever expressing a wish that we found it necessary to deny ; and we were able, for many years before his death, to grant him almost the entire control of his actions in every respect. It was because his heart was right with God, that this could be. And it is a beautiful exemplification of what the religion of Jesus was intended to do for us, taking effect first upon the inward life, and then producing its results naturally, and therefore easily, upon the outward actions. Being "born again" into the family