"He turneth the wilderness into standing water, And dry ground into water-springs;

And there He maketh the hungry to dwell, That they may prepare a city for habitation, And sow the fields and plant vineyards, Which may yield fruits of increase."

THE THANKSGIVING IN CONGRESS IN 1781.

"Cornwallis is taken!"

The announcement ran through the crisp, frosty air of Philadelphia, on the night of Oct. 23, 1781, arousing thousands from their beds. Lights were seen moving in every house, and soon the streets were thronged with people.

Morning came, and Congress assembled at an early hour. Its first resolution was, "To go, in procession, at two o'clock, to the Dutch Lutheran Church, and return thanks to Almighty God, for crowning the allied arms of the United States and France with success.'

It was a jubilant procession, and the old Dutch church rang with solemn anthems of thanksgiving. It was fitting that the Congress that had proclaimed solemn fasts, should re-as

semble to acknowledge that, "Blessed is the people, whose God is the Lord."

PRESIDENT LINCOLN.

When President Lincoln left his home in Springfield, Ill., Feb. 11, 1861, he made the following farewell address to his friends:

"My friends, no one, not in my position, can appreciate the sadness I feel at parting. To this people I owe all I am. Here I have lived more than a quarter of a century; here my children were born, and here one of them lies buried. I know not how soon I shall see you again. A duty devolves upon me, which is, perhaps, greater than that which has devolved upon any other man, since the days of Washington. He never would have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, upon which he, at all times, relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without the same divine aid, which sustained him; and, on the same Almighty Being, I place my reliance for support; and I hope you, my friends, will all pray that I may receive that divine assistance, without which I cannot succeed, but with which

success is certain. Again, I bid you an affec tionate farewell."

Under the discipline of the war, President Lincoln's life, at the White House, became, according to many concurrent testimonies, one of Scriptural study and prayer. "When I left home, to take the chair of State," he once said to a friend, while his eyes filled with tears, "I requested my country to pray for me. I was not then a Christian. When my son died

the severest trial of my life I was not a Christian. But, when I went to Gettysburg, and looked upon the graves of Our dead heroes, who had fallen in defence of their country, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ."

Then, in answer to the question that had led to these remarks, he said, "I do love Jesus."

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XXVII.

BEGINNINGS OF MISSIONARY ENTERPRISES IN PRAYER.

It has been said that every genuine prayer is a positive force in the universe; that the Eternal Will-the axis of creation-dips to human entreaty.

Most missionary enterprises have been the outgrowth of special prayer. Columbus desired to add a new world to the crown of Spain, that he might thereby extend the kingdom of Christ, and it was for the success of this purpose that Isabella, the Catholic, prayed.

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions owes its beginning to the prayers of Samuel John Mills, and some fellow-students at Williams College.

These students met to pray near some haystacks in a retired place, which is now marked by a monument. Here they presented their petitions to God for guidance in forming plans for the spread of the Gospel in the world. Mills, called the "Father of Foreign Missions in America," died at sea while engaged in grand mission schemes. The prayer-meetings under the haystacks at Williams College were continued amid the groves of Andover, when Mills became a member of that institution, and these latter meetings led to the appointment of a Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions; and in the embarkation of Messrs. Hall, Nott, Judson, Rice and Newell for mission work in India in 1812, and ultimately in the establishment of missions in Ceylon and the Sandwich Islands.

Early in the present century, a young missionary to the Indians knelt down on the top of Lookout Mountain, to pray for the success of the Gospel among the aborigines of the West. His name was Loring Williams. He is said to have given the name to the mountain, which has become famous in history as the scene of the "battle above the clouds."

He