"What is your name?" "My name is Ballou," he replied, pleasantly. The man was of course confounded. He stammered forth some excuse; but though he listened to Mr. Ballou's kindly-meant remarks with the utmost attention, yet he was evidently very ill at ease, and, watching his opportunity, left the stage at the next stopping-place. By careful study, aided by his natural quickness of conception and vigorous powers of mind, he had, without other assistance than that of books, acquired a practical knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew languages, which greatly assisted him in his profession, by enabling him to translate the most important passages from the original Scriptures, and thus to throw light upon many points that had heretofore been in some degree shrouded in mystery, by the one-sided and partial translation given in our own version of the Bible. At the present day it is well known that our common translation of the Scriptures is deficient in several instances, and this too at the most important and most critical passages. This being the case, Mr. Ballou found the power of translating for himself to be of the utmost importance as an aid to repel false argument, as well as being a matter of much personal satisfaction and enjoyment. "At different times, and for several years," says Mr. Ballou, in reference to this subject, "I have attempted to solve peculiar passages of Scripture, which were so difficult to understand as to lead me to question the correctness of their reading from the original. In order to do this, I have studied Greek, and have had some aid from Greek scholars and Greek lexicons, and have consulted various commentators; possessed myself of the Septuagint, or Greek Testament, and other Greek works. With all these helps and efforts, I have been enabled to satisfy myself relative to any particular passage. I have found but little benefit from these means in regard to the Old Testament; in respect to the New, I have often been assisted, and found that my little knowledge of Greek has been more useful. For similar ends and purposes I obtained a Hebrew Bible, lexicon, grammar, etc.; but, though I have bestowed not a little labor on the Hebrew, my other avocations and cares have prevented any great degree of proficiency, though I have experienced much aid and assistance in elucidating many points. I might say about as much of my Latin Bible, lexicon, grammar, and reader. I have made some considerable use of all these books, and have given many of my leisure hours to the Hebrew, Greek and Latin languages, but I profess to know so little of them that it is hardly worth naming; though I must acknowledge I have found them of considerable use when some arrogant disputant should think to silence me by an appeal to the original. But it is a fact that I have never met with many college-learned ministers who appeared to have retained much of their Greek, if indeed they ever had much. I think it