ll use his pockets for." So she went all
through the pockets. In one of them she found a soiled handkerchief tied
in a knot. With much pulling, for it was a hard knot, she loosed the
little package, and there she found five marbles. With the marbles was a
note scrawled in a boy's hand--

"DEAR BOY WHO GETS THIS COAT,

I have eight marbles. First I put in four for you. Then I put in
another one. I hope you will like the coat, and the marbles.

From your friend,

JOHN MASON."

Now what do you think of that? Isn't it glorious? To give more to the
other fellow than you keep for yourself, especially when that other
fellow is some one you have never seen, is Christlike.

MEMORY VERSE, _Matthew_ 7: 12

"All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye
even so to them."

MEMORY HYMN [411]

_"O Master, let me walk with thee."_

THE FIRST MONTH

What month is this? December. It is the first month in the year. "No,
no," you say, "December is the last month." I cannot entirely agree with
you. December is last on the calendar but first in importance. Now you
agree with me, do you not?

How many days has December? One day. "No, no," I again hear you say,
"December has thirty-one days." I think we can reach an agreement on
this point too. There is one day in December of unexcelled importance
and loveliness; that day is the twenty-fifth. Yes, we all say there is
but one day in December. How readily we agree when we understand one
another!

What is the twenty-fifth? It is the pivotal day in the history of the
world. It is the day upon which the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords
was born. Jesus, son of man and son of God, came into the world as we
all come, as a tiny babe. It brings him much nearer to us, does it not,
to think that our Saviour was once as we are? He grew up as a child, a
boy, a youth, a man. It is the birthday of Christ the Saviour we
celebrate on the twenty-fifth of each December.

To whom did Jesus come? He came to a lowly people. He was revealed first
of all to the shepherds. The shepherd's task was not an enviable one. He
was out in the open, subject to storms and winds and wild beasts. His
business was to shepherd the sheep, to lead them to good pasture, to
protect them from all harm and danger. The shepherd's task was lonely as
well as lowly. His days and nights were passed in solitude. Occasionally
a group of shepherds would come together,