in spite of all the efforts of his brave men, the enemy joined their forces on August 17, 1761. Here was a prospect which made even Frederick's heroic heart look wistfully into the future. : The king was encamped at Schweidnitz with his army; his heart was heavier than it had ever been before. He wanted some feeling breast into which he could pour out his troubles, and sought for the right one—the breast of Zieten. The general was lying in a redoubt, wrapped up in his cloak. He could not sleep, but he could pray; and from his inmost heart he was praying to his God, when, in the darkness of the night, the king came to him, and wrapping himself up in his cloak, stretched himself on the hard earth by his side. For some time there was a silence which Zieten did not dare to break; then the king began to talk about the desperate danger of his little army. “I shall never get out of this trap,” said he, sullenly. Zieten, although his own heart almost failed him from fear, yet roused himself to encourage his sovereign; he reminded him of former battles, where his position was scarcely less critical than the present. “Yes,” said the king, gloomily, “but then I had my best soldiers. Now they all are either prisoners or they lie dead on the field of battle.” Zieten ventured to suggest that the soldiers he now commanded were not less brave than those of that day; but the king hardly heeded him, and became more and more gloomy. After a pause he said, “It is not possible now to gain a victory.” “It must come to pass, your majesty,” cried Zieten, “and it will come to pass! Everything will take a favourable turn." The king turned quickly round to him, and asked, o a bitter scorn, “How do you know that so certainly 7 Have you found a new ally?” “No,” said Zieten, “I have found no

new one, but the old Ally is still there above ;” and he pointed up to heaven. “He who has helped us hitherto will not forsake us now.” These words were spoken with that strong confidence which showed the depth of his trust in the power and care of the Almighty. The king was silent. What passed in his soul the Omniscient Searcher of Hearts alone knew, but his future conduct showed that he was deeply impressed by Zieten's words of faith. And, in truth, it seemed as if Zieten had been moved to speak as a prophet; for events soon occurred which changed the aspect of affairs in the most unexpected way. The 1st of September had been fixed upon by the Austrian and Russian generals for the day of attack, but

neither of them was agreed as to how

it should be carried out. This difference of opinion led to a quarrel, which ended in the Russian general withdrawing his 70,000 men. The Austrians, vexed and dispirited, were now left alone to face the Prussians; and in a few days they, too, retreated without attempting a battle.

Thus, to their unbounded wonder and delight, Frederick and his army were delivered from their fears, and once more were free. It was a victory won without firing a cannon or striking a blow, and it came from Zieten's true Ally alone. Zieten praised and thanked the Lord from his inmost soul; and Frederick, when he had recovered from his surprise, did not forget what Zieten had said that night in the redoubt. He summoned him to his presence and said, “You were right about your Ally; He kept His promise.”

Zieten replied, “Sire, the Lord who has thus helped us now, will never fail with His help, if we faithfully trust Him."

Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.-Matt. vii. 7.

SPRING “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arm." Isa. xl. 11. THE winter is past, and the vernal

showers Have waked from their slumber the deli

cate flowers; The blackbird's voice, and the notes of the

thrush, Are mingling in concert in every bush. See, where the shepherd is busily there Engaged in the midst of his fleecy care; How constant the watch he continues to

keep; How great is his love for the lambs and

the sheep! He searches for that which had wander'd

away, And brings back the straggler so ready to

stray; The weak and the feeble he tenderly

warms, And gently he gathers the lambs in his

arms! He knows no distinction: the black and

the white Are cherish'd alike, and are dear in his

sight; He prizes them all, and rejoices the most To seek and to save and recover the lost. Ye children-how blest!-- whom the

Shepherd above So tenderly folds in the arms of His love,-Oh, think of the sheep without Shepherd

that still Are wandering in darkness o'er mountain

and hill; And labour and pray that the Shepherd

who gave His life for the sheep, in His pity may save The thousands and millions far off and

away, That still in the depths of the wilderness

stray. Great Shepherd and Bishop, supreme and

divine, All souls - yes, the souls of the heathen

are Thine!

SINGULAR CUSTOM.-At Munich there prevails a singular custom. Every child found begging in the streets is arrested and carried to a charitable establishment. The moment he enters the hospital, and before he is cleaned and gets the new clothes intended for him, his portrait is taken in his ragged dress, and precisely as he was found begging. When his education is finished in the hospital, this portrait is given to him, and he promises by an oath to keep it all his life, in order that he may be reminded of the wretched condition from which he had been rescued, and of the gratitude he owes to the institution which saved him from misery, and gave him the means by which he was enabled to avoid it in future.

THE BLACK-CAP AND NIGHT

INGALE. WE give this month the pictures of

V two of the sweetest and richest of all our British song-birds- the Nightingale and the Black-cap, though it is only at the very end of March that they ever arrive from warmer climes.

The Black-cap has its name from the dark feathers that crown the head. It chooses a high perch for its singing place, sometimes the topmost twig if the tree be not very lofty. It is a mimic, and often spoils its own song by catching the notes of other birds,