of brief, pregnant discourses on the books of the Bible from 1 Samuel to Job, by the Rev. F. B. Meyer. "Out of the Eater came forth Meat." Samson's riddle is an everlasting proverb. Out of the devouring famine that last year devastated India blessings have already come to many provinces. A conquered race find it hard to love and trust their rulers, but in their trouble dwellers in the famine districts saw the practical side of Christianity. In the midst of universal rejoicing England was moved with compassion, and provided food for the starving. Government, in many instances, entrusted missionaries with the distribution of grain. The Indian people are slow to act and strong to endure. Thousands perished because they could not or would not realise that relief was within reach. Parents gave their last morsels to their children, and then lay down to die. Orphanages overflowed, and new ones had to be erected. Where an open shed and light meals of milk, rice, and curry meet the ideas of home and housekeeping, this is easier than it sounds. After a famine the number of Christian adherents to missions is always multiplied, and the supply of pupils creates new demand for teachers. It must be acknowledged that the taunt of being "rice-Christians" is sometimes justified, though there is little doubt that genuine gratitude to God, who moved His servants to help them, has caused numbers to turn to Him. Abraham's Vineyard. This piece of land is close to the Holy City, and now belongs to the Society for the Relief of Persecuted Jews. When the necessary excavation for building was begun, Abraham's Vineyard revealed signs of former glory and prosperity. Tesselated pavement, vats, baths, and a columbarium hewn out of the rock, showed that it had once belonged to a householder with taste for luxury as well as an eye for exquisite scenery. The baths and vats have been converted into cisterns for rain-water, and the place has become the scene of industry. The earth, in past years again and again reddened by battles, now yields peaceful harvests of grain. All the Jewish refugees are not, however, cultivators. Soap-making from olive oil and alkali grown on the Jordan Plain, glue-making, stone-dressing, quarrying, are industries which offer many of them an honest living. The idea of the founders of this society was "to give relief and employment to the Jews, especially in Jerusalem, until they are able to found colonies on their own account." The experiment of Abraham's Vineyard has succeeded, and the Jews have carried the work farther, as the trade in Jaffa oranges and olive-wood ware testify. OUR CHRISTMAS NUMBER.