't want it there; I wish it
could be wiped out;" and his distress increased. What could I do? I
did not believe, but yet I had been taught the way. I had to console
him, so I said,--

"Well, you need not cry; you can have it all wiped out in a minute if
you want."

"How, father, how?"

"Why, get down on your knees, and ask God for Christ's sake, to wipe
it out, and he will do it."

I did not have to speak twice. He jumped out of bed, saying, "Father,
won't you come and help me?"

Now came the trial. The boy's distress was so great, and he pleaded so
earnestly, that the man who had never once bowed before God in spirit
and in truth, got down on his knees beside that little child, and
asked God to wipe away his sins; and perhaps, though my lips did not
speak it, my heart included my own sins too. We then rose, and he lay
down in his bed again. In a few moments more he said,--

"Father, are you sure it is all wiped out?"

Oh, how the acknowledgment grated upon my unbelieving heart, as the
words came to my mouth,--"Why, yes, my son; the Bible says that if
from your heart you ask God for Christ's sake to do it, and if you are
really sorry for what you have done, it shall be all blotted out."

A smile of pleasure passed over his face, as he quietly asked,--

"What did the angel blot it out with? With a sponge?"

Again was my whole soul stirred within me, as I answered,--

"No, but with the precious blood of Christ. The blood of Christ
cleanseth from all sin."

The fountains had at last burst forth. They could not be checked, and
my cold heart was melted within me. I felt like a poor guilty sinner,
and, turning away, said,--

"My dear wife, _we_ must first find God, if we want to show him to our
children. We cannot show them the way, unless we know it ourselves."

And in the silent hour of the night I bowed beside that dear boy, and
prayed, "Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief!" My wife, too,
united with me, and we prayed jointly for ourselves and our child. And
God heard our prayers, and received us, as he always does those who
seek him with the whole heart.

THE WAY TO OVERCOME.

When first from slumber waking,
No matter what the hour,
If you will say, "Dear Jesus,
Come, fill me with thy power,"
You'll find that every trouble
And every care and sin
Will vanish, surely, fully,
Because Christ enters in.

It may be late in morning,
Or in the