140, 284 Spurgeon, J. A.—

217, 277 Stockwell Orphanage

Truth, a Poem

327 Usefulness, Plans of

Wedding Sermon, A

Worldlings, Vain Pursuit of

ILLUSTRATIONS.

"Where there's a will there's a way

THE

SWORD AND THE TROWEL.

T

JANUARY, 1869.

"Bless the Lord, O my Soul."

BY C. H. SPURGEON.

HE Orphanage at Stockwell was not of our designing, but a work given us by our Great Taskmaster, whom it is joy to serve. Entering upon the work at his bidding, we felt sure of his help; we prayed for it, and at once received delightful earnests of what the Lord intended to bestow. Month by month the hand of the All-sufficient God has sent a goodly portion of the sum required to erect the buildings, until on this first month of 1869, we are able to record that when the students have paid all their amount, and Messrs. WIGNER & GOODALL have finished the two houses given by the Baptist churches (and both these amounts are sure to be made up ere long), the whole of the Orphanage buildings will be paid for. In fact, the whole amount needed may be said to be raised. Blessed, for ever blessed be the name of the Lord.

In the month of December there still remained £1,500 to be raised, and much prayer was offered by me both day and night distinctly for this amount. The Lord began to answer, and stayed not his hand till he had given all. A beloved sister in the Lord called with £100, half of which she gave to the College, and the other £50 to the Orphanage. Here was a commencement. A day or two afterwards, a legacy left by Mr. DODWELL, of Long Crendon, which amounted nett to £225, was paid. Two days after, our dear brother and deacon, Mr. HIGGS, volunteered £200 to furnish the house which he had already given, and then to crown all, we received by post from some generous friend unknown to us, two Bank of England notes for £500 each: we believe it to be from the same hand which sent large sums before. The Lord abundantly bless all these donors, and especially that unknown steward of his house who so bounteously and secretly helps the orphan's cause. sang, "Praise God from whom all blessings flow" with the family in which we reside, and then retired to rest with a heart full of gratitude, magnifying the faithfulness of the Lord. On the next service night we held a special meeting to bless the Lord that heareth prayer, and thus we set up our Ebenezer to his name.

Under our heavy domestic trial, which is now we trust much alleviated,

the Lord in infinite pity has spared us all anxiety about the Orphanage and College. "He stayeth his rough wind in the day of his east wind." Blessed be his name!

To all donors, great and small, to all who helped the Bazaar, whether as sellers or buyers, to all collectors, to all who have prayed for us, we tender loving acknowledgments, and ask them to join with us in praise. Thus encouraged, we set forward to the daily task of managing the Orphanage, and seeking from our heavenly Father the needed supplies. According to the amount of funds sent will be the number which the houses will contain. We shall begin with fifty, and proceed to receive fresh accessions as the houses are finished and fit for occupation, by which time we shall hope to have two hundred and fifty boys under our care. "The Lord will provide" is the motto which we have engraved upon the pillars of the entrance arch, and in confidence in that truth, we already rejoice with exceeding great joy at the misery which will be relieved and the benefit which will be bestowed, by THE STOCKWELL ORPHANAGE.

Don't throw Orange Peel on the Pavement!

BY J. A. SPURGEON.

LIKE oranges when they are sweet, in fact, I like most sweet things. I have no doubt, my dear reader, that your taste and mine are very much alike: I prefer the best of everything and plenty of it. There are two sides, however, to every question, and also to an orange; and it happens that most people throw away the side they don't like. I am not going to endeavour to stop this habit; I am afraid I should have too much to do if I were to try, and most probably only get well pelted for my pains. The practice is likely, however, to lead to falls, which are none the less painful because they might have been avoided. Of course, you and I never set trap to throw down any fellow creature, but I am afraid we may have dropped orange peel, and some persons have possibly slipped over it and been injured by their fall. Ever since I saw an old man leaning on his staff, for very age, day after day, in the East end of London, most carefully occupying his time in removing with much exertion every remnant of orange peel from the pavement, I made up my mind to do the same as often as it was in my power.

There are, however, other falls than bodily ones, and there is orange peel to correspond to every case; so we will have a chat on the whole matter, and speak in the joint name of "We."

What do we think about dancing parties? Orange peel on the carpet, we say; and if the children should fall (mind we don't assert that they will), but if they do who put it there? We believe that there are some "Spurgeon Quadrilles" published, and unless we are misinformed, they have been danced, and notably so, last summer, not far from Leeds, when one gentleman (?) pushed another in the dance, who returned a blow, which was repeated, and the whole led to a fight, and ultimately to the police-court. We certainly can only say, "Serve them right." If a man tries to walk on orange peel and falls, on his own head be the penalty; we can only hope that it may raise the bump of caution for the future. But to expose the little ones to this and all