his parents objected: but "it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines." When going to see her at Timnath, "a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent the beast as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand."

Samson, on going to celebrate his marriage, found the skeleton of the lion which he had slain, containing bees and honey. He took some of it, and proposed to his thirty wedding friends this riddle: "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." As they could not find the meaning of it in seven days, they barbarously threatened to burn his wife and her father's house, unless she would explain it for them. They then falsely won the reward, for which Samson slew thirty men of Askelon to pay them.

Samson's wife was given to another man, so that, in revenge, he caught 300 foxes, to whose tails he tied fire-brands, to burn the corn of the Philistines: they then burnt his wife and her father to death, and compelled the Israelites to seek Samson. Three thousand men of Judah, therefore, delivered him to their enemies: but while they shouted, he burst his bonds, and, with the jawbone of an ass, he slew a thousand of them.

Samson broke his vow of a Nazarite; as we next find him living with a wicked woman in Gaza, and afterwards with Delilah, who became his ruin for the lords of the Philistines gave her money to betray him, which she did by cutting off his hair, and delivering him to his enemies.

Samson's sin was punished in prison, where his enemies put out his eyes, and made him work in

chains. But he repented of sin and prayed to God; so that when the Philistines brought him to the temple of their idol-god, Dagon, he prayed for strength, and God enabled him to push down its pillars, when the temple fell, killing him and 3,000 men and women of the Philistines.

Samson has been called a type of Jesus Christ: but this could be only in his profession as a Nazarite for Samson was a great sinner; while perfect holiness in heart and life distinguished our blessed Saviour!

AWFUL SUFFERINGS OF SAILORS AT

SEA.

THE ship Vicksburg, captain Berry, which arrived at New York from New Orleans, fell in, on the 6th of August, in latitude 26° 27, longitude 27° 46, with an open boat, containing seven persons, and took them on board. They proved to be the captain and crew of the British schooner, Orange, which was lost on the voyage from Jamaica for Matanzas. Their names were as follow:-Alexander M'Donald, master; William Young, mate; Edward Cook, Richard Evans, John Brown, William Roscoe, seamen; and Robert Wilkinson, cook. They had been thirteen days in the boat, which was only fourteen feet long. When fallen in with, they were in a very exhausted state, and three of them had to be lifted on board. The youngest of them, William Roscoe, was totally insensible, and although every exertion was made to restore him, he survived but about three hours, and at sunset his body was committed to the deep. During the first night the mate was de

lirious, but has since, as well as the rest, nearly regained his health. Their thirst was excessive, and great care was taken in giving them water at first, and it was not until the third day that it was satisfied, at which time each person had taken about three gallons of water.

Captain M'Donald stated, that on the 24th of July, at two, A. M., when in latitude 22. 45. longitude 85. 4., his schooner was capsized in a sudden squall from the eastward.

They were

then teft to the mercy of the waves, without provision or water, or even an oar. Part of one of the masts was made use of to steer with, and the long-boat was kept before the wind till daylight.

During the day the linings and foot-boards were taken off and converted into a mast, on which was spread the captain's shirt for a sail, and the boat was steered in a southerly direction, in the hope of falling in with land. On the 28th, for the first time, it rained for about two hours. By using two pair of shoes, all they had among them, and by wringing their clothes, they succeeded in getting about half a pint of water each.

"From this time till the 31st, they saw no vessel, and were without water. On the 31st, and the day following, it rained three or four hours, and they obtained sufficient water to quench their thirst for the time. From the 1st to the 6th of August, they obtained no water, but on one of those days they picked up a piece of bamboo, which was found to contain four small fishes, about two inches long, which they divided among themselves; this was all the food they had while in the boat. On the morn

ing of the 6th, three ships passed them, but it was supposed the boat was not seen by them. They were, however, soon afterwards gratified with the sight of the ship which afforded them relief, on board of which they received every care and attention.”

From this affecting narrative we learn that sailors, above all other men, need to be furnished with Bibles, that they may enjoy the consolations of religion by faith in Jesus Christ.

SANDWICH ISLAND SWIMMERS. THE grand recreation of the natives is the constant habit of swimming. In fact, the Sandwich islanders are all but amphibious, and seem to be as much at home in the water as on the land; and at all times of the day, men, women, and children are sporting about in the harbour, or even beyond the reef, with shoals of sharks, perhaps, as their playfellows. These voracious creatures, however, are far less likely to meddle with the aborigines than with foreigners; not that they prefer white meat to brown, but because they have been taught by experience that one Hawaiian has more of the Tartar in him than a score of Europeans. There is scarcely an instance on record, in which a native has suffered any serious injury from a shark. If at any time, the latter take the preliminary step of turning over on his side to get a mouthful, the former is sure at least to elude the attack, by diving below the monster; while, if he has a knife or similar weapon, he seldom fails to destroy the enemy by carrying the war into his interior.

To return to the swimming. It was part of our daily amusement to watch the rapid and elegant evolutions of the performers, more particularly of the ladies, who, in the great majority of cases, excelled their lords and masters in agility and science. Even in point of strength

and endurance one woman, a short time before our arrival, had carried off the palm from her husband. The whole story is well worth telling, as illustrative of something better than toughness of muscle or suppleness of limb. A man and his wife, both Christians, were passengers in a schooner, which foundered at a considerable distance from the land. All the natives on board promptly took refuge in the sea; and the man in question, who had just celebrated Divine service in the ill-fated vessel, called his fellows, some of them being converts as well as himself, around him, to offer up another tribute of praise and supplication from the deep in which they were struggling to tarry, with a combination of courage and humility, perhaps unequalled in the world's history, in order deliberately to worship God in that universal temple, under whose restless pavement the speaker and most of his hearers were destined to find their graves.

The man and his wife had each succeeded in procuring the support of a covered bucket, by way of buoy; and away they struck with the rest for Kahoolawe, finding themselves next morning alone in the ocean, after a whole afternoon and night of privation and toil. To aggravate their misfortunes, the wife's bucket went to pieces soon after daylight, so that she had to make the best of her way without assistance or relief; and, in the course of the afternoon, the