"please, massa, teach me to read!" said an aged negro one day to a missionary in the west indies.

the missionary said he would do so, and the negro became his scholar.

but. the poor old man, trained in ignorance through threescore years,

found it difficult to learn. he tried hard, but made little progress.

one day the missionary said:

"had you not better give it up?"

"no, massa," said the negro, with the energy of a noble nature, "me neber gib it up till me die!"

he then pointed to these beautiful words in his testament: "god so loved the world that he gave his only begotton son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." "there," he added, with deep feeling, "it is worth all de labor to be able to read dat one single verse!"

noble, godly old man! though once a slave he had a freeman's soul, and richly merited that freedom which england so righteously gave to her west indian slaves some years ago. let us hope the time is not far distant in which the colored people of our own happy land will also all be free, all able to read the bible, all possess that soul freedom with which christ makes his disciples free. god has many dear children among the slaves, many of whom feel that slavery is worse than death. may he in his wisdom provide for their early deliverance from the terrible yoke which is about their necks!

the end.

18 april, 1860