brass, and made him grind in a prisonhouse. But the hair of his head began to grow again, and his strength returned at the same time.

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Then the lords of the Philistines assembled together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and, to rejoice; for they said, Our God hath delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hand." And when the people saw him, they praised their God; and afterwards, when they were merry with feasting, they sent for him out of the prison-house, that he might make sport for them; but he determined that he would punish them for their insolence and their cruelty.

Now the building in which he was, had a large gallery, in which there were about three thousand men and women, who looked on, while Samson made sport; and this gallery was supported by two pillars in the middle of the place. So Samson asked the boy who led him by the hand, to let him take hold of these

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pillars and lean upon them. And when he had prayed to God to give him strength, he took hold of the pillars, one with his right hand and the other with his left, and bowed himself with all his might; and the building fell upon the lords, and upon all the people who were in it, and killed them, as well as Samson himself; so that those whom he slew at his death, were more than those whom he slew in his life.

These Philistines were rightly punished for their cruelty in putting Samson's eyes out, and sending for him to make sport for them. They thought, too, that it was their god Dagon who had delivered him into their hands. But they soon found out their mistake; for, if Dagon had delivered Samson up to them, he would also have delivered them from him, when he wished to avenge himself. Their god could not do this, because he was nothing more than a senseless idol,

which neither saw, nor heard, nor understood, any thing: but God Almighty gave Samson strength, when he prayed for it, and enabled him to do what he wished.

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God alone is Almighty. He giveth strength, and he taketh it away. doeth whatsoever he pleaseth in heaven and in earth, and there is none who can say unto Him, "What doest Thou?" All the gods of the Heathens are idols; but our God made the heavens: we will, therefore, fear and honour Him, and give unto Him the glory which is due unto his name.

THE STORY OF RUTH.

(The Book of Ruth.)

THERE was once a famine in the land of Judæa; and a certain man, called Elimelech, seeing that there was no bread to eat, took his wife Naomi and his two

sons, and went to live in another country, called Moab.

After a while, Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. These two young men married wives of the women of Moab; and after living there about ten years, they died also.

Then Naomi did not like to remain there any longer, when her husband and her sons were dead; and she heard also that there was now bread to eat in her own country: so she set out with her daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, to return to the land of Judæa.

But, as they were travelling along, Naomi thought that her daughters-inlaw would not like to leave their own friends, and to go away with her into a strange country; she therefore desired them to return to their mothers' houses, and she prayed God to bless them. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, and went back; but Ruth would not leave Naomi, declaring that she would go with

her whithersoever she went, and that nothing but death should part them.

So they two went on till they came to Bethlehem, which was the city where Naomi had formerly lived. There the people received them kindly; and when Ruth went out to glean, (for it was then the time of harvest,) she happened to go into the field of Boaz, who was a kinsman of her husband's. Boaz inquired who she was; and when he was told that it was Ruth, who had behaved so well to her mother-in-law, he was very kind to her he let her glean as much as she liked, and told her that she might eat with the reapers; and soon after he took her to be his own wife.

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When Ruth saw that Naomi had a long way to go before she could arrive in her own country, and that it would be very wretched for her to travel by herself, she went with her that she might assist and comfort her. And so too should we