But I must tell you about a little girl whom I saw some time ago, who refused to buy candy while there are so many heathen without the Bible.  Her father is a sea-captain.  Being absent from home, he sent her five dollars to buy candy, or any thing else which she wished.  As this little girl had heard about the heathen, she determined to throw all her money into the missionary-box, instead of spending it for her own pleasure.  The mother, on learning her intentions, asked her if she would not like to spend a part of it for candy, and similar things.  She replied, that she would not, and in due time she put her five dollars into the missionary-box.  Not long after this, she was attacked with a severe toothache.  The mother proposed that the defective tooth should be extracted.  The little creature, for she was only about eight years old, dreaded the operation, and seemed at first to be backward about having it performed.  To encourage her to submit to it, her mother offered her twenty-five cents.  This little girl did not then begin to reason, Now, if I can only get those twenty-five cents, I can buy a doll, or I can buy some sugar-candy; but she reasoned thus, Now, if I can get those twenty-five cents, I can go and put them into the missionary-box.  So she said to her mother, I will go and have the tooth taken out.  The tooth, however, ceased to ache, but still she wished to have it extracted.  Her mother then interfered, and told her that, as it had ceased to ache, it might be well for her not to have it drawn until it ached again.  The little girl, however, persisted, saying, that if it were not taken out, she could not get the twenty-five cents to devote to the missionary cause.  She therefore went to the dentist’s, submitted to the operation, received her twenty-five cents, and went and threw them into the Lord’s treasury.  Was not that a noble little girl?  Doubtless you will all say she was.

I must tell you about a noble little boy also.  Some time ago, I was preaching to the children of Canandaigua, in the western part of New York.  After I had preached there, I went on to Rochester.  Returning from that place, I met with a lady in the cars, who told me as follows:  “After you had preached in Canandaigua,” said she, “a young lady there, who had lost her mother, and who had six or seven or eight of her brothers and sisters under her care, formed them into a missionary society.”  Oh, I wish that all the dear children in America were formed into missionary societies.  After she had done this, she asked her little brother how he was going to get money to put into the missionary-box.  “By catching mice,” said he.  His sister gave him two or three cents for every mouse he caught.  Thus it appears, that this dear little boy was going to throw all his earnings into the Lord’s treasury.

But let me tell you a little more about the children to whom I before alluded.  Another says, “In some of the day-schools of this city, the girls have formed sewing societies, and make pin-cushions, needle-books, emery-bags, and the like, and send the money that is raised from the sale of them to the missionaries, to be used for the heathen.  There are seven Sabbath-schools in this town, and in each of them there is a missionary association; so that in all about five hundred dollars are sent from the Sabbath-schools every year.”