willing to believe that he was really risen from the dead, when he had told them so many times beforehand that he should rise."

"It is strange," replied her mother, "though, perhaps, not more strange than many things about ourselves. But do you observe what a powerful effect the resurrection of their Master had on them? They, who had been so fearful, timid, and irresolute before, became now bold as lions. Peter, who had 'followed afar off' at his trial, and then openly denied him, addressed an audience in the very city where he was crucified, not many days after, in these words: 'Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you, by miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know, ye have taken, and, by wicked hands, have crucified and slain."

"I never noticed the change in them as so remarkable before," said Fanny; " perhaps because it never seems as if the book of Acts joined right on to the Gospels."

"But you know that it does, of course. The book of Acts begins with the ascension of Christ, and goes on to relate what happened immediately after. But I want you to observe

another characteristic of the miracles of Christ, beside their publicity and the impossibility of there being any deception about them; and that is, the benevolent end for which they were all wrought. He never performed a miracle for the sake of display, and merely to show what he could do; nor did he resort to miracles to supply his own wants, but always to relieve the necessities or remove the sufferings of others. This fact the multitude noticed, when they exclaimed, 'He hath done all things well: he maketh both the blind to see, and the lame to walk.'"

"He must have healed a great many in all," said Fanny; "for it often says that multitudes came to him, and he healed them."

"We have seen that the miracles of Christ rest on sufficient evidence, though I have not brought before you nearly all that I might have done. The question now to be answered is, Do these miracles substantiate Christ's claim to be a teacher sent from God?"

"Why, yes, mother, of course," replied Fanny; "for if he were not, he could not have performed them."

"You agree, then, with Nicodemus, in saying, Master, we know that thou art a

teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him." Did Jesus himself appeal to them as proofs of his Divine mission?"

Fanny could not remember. James said, "Yes, when the disciples of John came to him, to know who he was, he replied, 'Go and tell John again the things ye have seen and heard,' &c."

"Very well, then; we have considered tonight an entirely new and distinct species of evidence; and we find it leading us irresistibly to the same conclusion we had reached before, the Bible is the Word of God. Next time, we will consider the evidence from Prophecy."

CHAPTER XVII.

EVIDENCE FROM PROPHECY-NATURE OF THE ARGUMENT-

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED.

"I LIKE this subject, mother," said Fanny, "because I can understand it easily, and I have found a great many prophecies which have been fulfilled."

"I am glad to hear it," replied her mother; "but first tell me what is a prophecy?"

"It is telling beforehand something that is going to happen, is it not?" said Fanny.

"Yes, it is the telling beforehand of something that could be known only to God. And how does the fulfilment of prophecy furnish an evidence of the truth of revelation?"

"Why, if the revelation contains predictions of things that God only could know, then it follows that God only could have given the revelation."

"But it seems to me," said James, "that there would be some danger of deception here, as well as in the case of miracles. Did not the old heathen oracles predict things that came to pass, sometimes?"

His mother smiled, which Fanny observing, laughed outright. "I know what you are laughing at, mother," said she; "it is because James always finds something to object to, or to doubt about. I have noticed it a thousand times, that he never will believe anything if he can help it, while I believe everything that I hear."

"Two opposite, and, perhaps, equally hurtful extremes," said her mother. "I have often observed James's tendency to scepticism,

and yours to credulity. A proper medium between the two, that is, a just caution in receiving and weighing evidence, is the state of mind most favourable to the discovery of truth. But I will answer your question, my son. Yes, the heathen oracles did pretend, now and then, to predict future events; but you shall judge how much claim their predictions had to rank with the prophecies of Scripture.

"In the first place, they never undertook to pronounce upon the future, except in compliance with the solicitation of some one who applied to them for information. Of course, their predictions always related to some time not very distant, and events of comparatively trifling importance, about which they could often form some probable conjecture. They never uttered prophecies like those of Scripture, relating to far-distant times, and magnificent events; and their few and petty predictions bear far more resemblance to the foolish pratings of a fortune-telling old woman, than to the sublime utterances of the Sacred Prophets."

"I wish I could remember something I have read," said Fanny, "about the answer