his was! If
Jesus made this piece of money in the mouth of the fish, at the time
when Peter caught it, how wonderful his _power_ must be! And if,
without making it then, he knew that _that_ one fish, the only one in
the sea, probably, that had such a piece of money in its mouth, would
be the first to bite at Peter's line, then how wonderful his
_knowledge_ must be!

Peter would not be likely to forget that day's fishing as long as he
lived. And when he thought of the illustration it afforded of the
wonderful power and the wonderful knowledge of the master whom he was
serving, what encouragement that would give him in his work!

And Jesus is constantly doing things to encourage those who are
trying to serve him.

Let us look at some of the ways in which this is done. Our first
illustration is from the life of Washington Allston, the great
American painter. We may call it:

"Praying for Bread." Many years ago Mr. Allston was considered one of
the greatest artists in this country. At the time to which our story
refers, he was living in London. Then he was so poor that he and his
wife had not a morsel of bread to eat; nor a penny left with which to
buy any. In great discouragement he went into his studio, locked the
door, and throwing himself on his knees, he told the Lord his
trouble, and prayed earnestly for relief.

While he was still upon his knees, a knock was heard at the door. He
arose and opened the door. A stranger stood there.

"I wish to see Mr. Allston," said he.

"I am Mr. Allston," replied Mr. A.

"Pray tell me, sir, who has purchased your fine painting of the
'Angel Uriel,' which won the prize at the exhibition of the Royal
Academy?"

"That painting has not been sold," said Mr. A.

"Where is it to be found?"

"In this very room," said the artist, bringing a painting from the
corner, and wiping off the dust.

"What is the price of it?" asked the gentleman.

"I have done fixing a price on it," said Mr. A., "for I have always
asked more than people were willing to give."

"Will four hundred pounds be enough for it?" was the next question.

"That is more than I ever asked."

"Then the painting is mine," said the stranger, who introduced
himself as the Marquis of Stafford; and from that day he became one
of Mr. Allston's warmest friends.

What a lesson of encouragement the great painter learned that day,
when he asked for bread, and while he was asking, received help that
followed him all h