WE often say of certain things that they are of no use, and this may be true with regard to things made by man, but there is nothing useless in the world around us. The things which we call useless are, for the most part, things of which we do not know the use. What we call a weed is looked upon as useless until we find its value as a drug, and then we prize it. Many things which manufacturers used to throw away as of no value they now keep, and make large sums of money from.

The Jews have a tradition that King David was once lying upon his couch and watching a spider, when it occurred to him to ask himself, "What is the use of a spider? It only increases the dust and dirt in the world, and disfigures what is beautiful, and gives annoyance.”

Then he thought of a person who had lost his mind, and he said, "How sad is the lot of a madman! I know that whatever God has made, He has made with some wise purpose, yet I cannot understand this. Why should some people be born idiots or become insane?"

Then a mosquito bit him, and he said, “Now, what can mosquitoes be good for? Why were they created? They only mar our happiness. Nobody

derives any profit from them." Yet King David lived to find out that one of these insects might be the means of saving his own life.

On one occasion he hid himself in a cave, and, after he had entered it, a spider spun a web over the entrance. When his enemies who were in pursuit of him came to the cave and saw the web at the opening, they said, "O, he cannot be here, for he could not have gone into the cave without breaking the web," and they went on their way, thereby allowing him to escape.

Once when he fled from Saul, he was taken prisoner by the Philistines and brought before the King of Gath; but he pretended to be a madman, and disguised himself so skilfully that the king could not believe it was King David and gave him his life.

On another occasion David entered the very camp of Saul in order to get possession of Saul's spear. As he was crawling on the ground in the tent, Abner, Saul's general, who was sleeping by his master's side, moved, and threw his leg across David's body. What was David to do? If he moved he would wake Abner, and be put to death; if he remained where he was he would be found out in the morning, and in that case also he would be put to death. He did not know what to do, and gave himself up as lost, when a mosquito pitched upon Abner's leg and bit it. The general naturally moved it at once, and so David was free to escape.

He now saw that everything that God has made is not without its use. So whenever you find some

thing which you are inclined to despise as being of no value, say to yourself, "This is a useful thing, though its use has not yet been found out. But He who made it knows its use, and if I study it carefully and am not impatient I may, perhaps, find out its use."

Tradition, a story handed down from father to son.

Mosquito, a kind of gnat that stings very badly.

EDITOR.

Disfigure, to make ugly; e. g., the picture was much disfigured.

AN Arab and his tribe had attacked in the desert the Damascus caravan; the victory was complete, and the Arabs were already engaged in loading their horses with the rich booty, when the horsemen of the Pacha of Acre, who was coming to meet the caravan, fell suddenly upon the victorious Arabs, killed a great number of them, made the others prisoners, and having fastened them with cords, led them to Acre to make a present of them to the pacha.

Abou, one of the tribe, received a bullet in his arm during the fight. As his wound was not mortal, the Turks tied him upon a camel, and having taken

possession of his horse, led away the horse and its

owner.

On the evening of the day when they were to enter Acre, they encamped with their prisoners in the mountains of Japhadu; the wounded Arab had his limbs bound together by a thong of leather, and lay stretched out near the tent where the Turks were sleeping.

During the night, being kept awake by the pain of his wound, he heard his horse neigh among the others that were fastened round the tent in Oriental fashion; he recognized its voice, and, not being able to resist the pleasure of going to speak once again to the companion of his life, he dragged himself with difficulty along the ground, by the aid of his hands and knees, and at last succeeded in reaching his steed.

"Poor friend," said he to him, "what will you do among the Turks? You will be imprisoned under stone roofs with the horses of some pacha; the women and children will no more bring you camel's milk, nor barley in the hollow of their hand; you will live no more in the desert, free as the wind of Egypt; you will no more cleave with your chest the waters of the Jordan, which used to freshen your coat till it was as white as their own foam! Though I am a slave you shall be free. Here, go, return to the tent which you know so well; go and tell my wife that her Abou will return no more, and put your head between the curtains to lick the hands of my little children."

While saying this Abou had gnawed through, with

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his teeth, the goat's-skin rope which is used to fasten Arab horses, and the animal was free; but, seeing his master wounded and a prisoner at his feet, the faithful and intelligent creature understood at once that which no language could explain to him; he

lowered his head, smelled his master, and seizing him with his teeth by the leathern girdle which he had round his body, he set off at a gallop and carried him off to his tent. On arriving, he threw down his master at the feet of his wife and children, and dropped down dead, having been completely exhausted by fatigue. The whole tribe bewailed his loss; their poets celebrated him in their songs; and