QUESTIONS.

1. Who is the happy child?

2. What has God put within every one?

3. Mention the times when conscience has told you that you have done wrong.

4. What did God's voice say to you when you lost dear parents?

5. What does God's voice say to us in his holy word?

6. What should we do if we indeed wish to meet with God?

7. What did Nathaniel do ?

8. What should we say, when we go into the house of God?

9. What should we say, when we open the Bible?

10. And when we kneel down to pray?

STORY XVI.

THE ARK AND DAGON.

THE Sons of Eli, the High Priest, were very wicked, and they led the people to attack the Philistines, a nation that lived near them; and the men of Israel were smitten, so that four thousand of them were left dead on the field of battle.

In this trouble, they began to ask, what they should do. And they thought they would take the Ark of God, and go and fight their enemies again vainly supposing, that the Lord would be sure now to appear for them and give them victory.

And when the Ark of God was brought into the camp, the people "shouted with a great shout, so that the very earth rang again." And when their foes heard this shout, and knew on what account

it was, they were greatly afraid, and said, Their God is come up among them; woe unto us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of this mighty God, who smote the Egyptians?"

Now the Ark of God was a coffer, made of beautiful wood, and spread over with gold within and without. In it, among other sacred things, were the tables of God's covenant with the people. The lid of it was solid gold; and was called the mercy-seat,—for from above this, out of a cloud, God often, in great mercy, made his will known to his servants.

God never meant that this Ark should be taken out to the field of battle. And the Ark, without the blessing of the God of the Ark, could do them no good; and so they found it. Israel was beaten again; many thousands were slain; the Ark of God fell into the hand of the Philistines; the sons of Eli were cut off; and Eli himself dropped down and died when he heard of the loss of the Ark.

The Philistines now thought that their god Dagon, which was nothing but a senseless image,