A fourteenth writes, “I would like much to become a missionary, as I am named after one; I hope I shall be one.  I have been saving a dollar to buy myself some books, but concluded to give it to buy some books for the heathen.”

The last two children, whose letters you have been reading, gave to the missionary cause the money which they had been earning to buy books.  When you have been earning money for the express purpose of giving it to the missionary cause, then you should devote it all to that cause; but I would advise you not to do as did the two children last mentioned.  Had my opinion been asked, relative to the disposal of their money, I would have recommended them to give one-tenth, or perhaps a little more, of the sums they had been earning, to their Saviour, and to keep the rest to buy their books.  The giving of not less than one-tenth of all you earn, for charitable purposes, is the principle which I wish to have impressed fully on your minds, and I hope you will grow up under the influence of this principle, and never, never depart from it.  But while I thus speak, you must not suppose that I wish you to confine yourselves to the giving of one-tenth, when you can give more; I hope you will not give merely this, but one-half, or more, if you can afford it.  Indeed, if you do not go as missionaries to the heathen, I want you to make it your great object to make money for Christ, and to spend it for Christ.  O, if the generation which is grown, were as anxious to make money for Christ, and to spend it for Christ, as they are to make it for themselves, and to spend it for themselves, or to hoard it up—­it may be for the everlasting destruction of the souls of their heirs—­there would be no complaints that money could not be had to send the Gospel to the destitute, both at home and abroad.

In my twelfth chapter, I spoke of the liberal donations which the heathen of India make for the support of their religion.  In the city of Calcutta alone, it is supposed that two millions of dollars are spent every year on the festival of a single goddess—­a festival which lasts only a few days.  A single native has been known to give, as I before said, more than one hundred thousand dollars at one time to this festival, and afterwards thirty thousand dollars yearly.  How vast, then, must be the sums which are spent upon all the different festivals of their gods.  Would that we could see such liberality among Christians.  Would that we could see the generality of them willing to give even one-tenth of their annual income to the Lord.  Alas, what would the heathen say, if they were to learn how much greater are the sums of money which they give to their idols, than Christians give to honor their Saviour?  Would they not exclaim, It is because Christianity is false, and heathenism is true, that Christians give so little for Christ, while we give so much for our gods?  My dear children, I hope that you will never allow the heathen to say that the Christian religion is false, because you do not give your money for the spread of the Gospel.  Will you not resolve now, that you will, so long as God prospers you in worldly goods, give at least one-tenth of all you earn to the Lord?  Do, my dear children, do make the resolution now.