No. 23. ue.- BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY. FACTS FOR THE YOUNG. Bear Young Friend— This paper is placed in your hands in the hope that yon are desirous of doing good and serving God ; and your kind attention is earnestly asked to what it has to tell you. In the year 1804 a number of Christian gentlemen met together in London, and formed what they then called, and what is still called, * THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.’ This Society has but one object in view, and that is, to put a Bible into the hand of every man, woman, and child—at home and abroad—savage and civilised—black and white—slave and free ; and you are invited to engage in this blessed work. That you may¬ be induced to do so heartily, you are now presented with some ‘Facts for the Young,’ from which you will learn what the Society has done, and how much the young have done in furthering its noble enterprise. In the first place, then, you can be told that— The British and Foreign Bible Society has already distributed more than sixty-three millions of copies of the Scriptures. Only think of this ‘ Fact! ’—Just calculate for yourselves, and you will see that if these books could be put side by side, and they only measured on the average one inch each across the back, they would require a shelf up¬ wards of nine hundred and ninety-nine miles in length to hold them! If you could weigh all these sixty-tliree millions of hooks, and on the average they only weighed half a pound each, you would find that the weight of them would be upwards of fourteen thousand tons ! An d if you had to count them, you would have to count sixty a minute for ten hours a day, and for six days a week, and at this rate of counting the books, you would be employed for more than five and a half years at your task! These calculations are made to help you to understand how vast a number of copies of God’s Holy Book, in whole or in part, the Bible Society has already sent out into the world. II. The Bible Society has helped to distribute the Scriptures in TWO HUNDRED LANGUAGES AND DIALECTS; by which you will under¬ stand that it has sent the Bible to many distant nations and 2 tribes. In fact, God has repeated by its means what He did by His miracle on tbe day of Pentecost, when He cansed ‘ Parthians and Medes and Elamites,’ and men ‘out of every nation under heaven,’ to hear in them own tongues ‘the wonderful works of God.’ III. The Bible Society has supplied, and is still supplying, the Holy Scriptures to tens of thousands of poor people in Hospitals, Asylums, Poorhouses, Reformatories, and Prisons. It has given many hun¬ dreds of thousands of Bibles and Testaments for the use of the poor children in Daily Schools, Sunday Schools, and Ragged Schools. IV. This good Society also provides the Missionaries with Bibles for those who are converted from heathenism, and for the children of the heathen hi the Mission Schools. If you could see those little chil¬ dren with their New Testaments, and watch their eyes brightening when they read that Jesus said, ‘ Suffer the little children to come unto me,’ you would feel very thankful to God for the Society which has given them the book that contains these blessed words. V. The Bible Society has made the Bible so cheap a book, that you can buy a Bible for Sixpence, and a New Testament for Twopence , and a Gospel for a Penny. Only think that you can buy ‘ The Life of Jesus Christ ’ for a penny ! But now we come to some ‘ Facts ’ which will show you WHAT YOUNG PEOPLE CAN DO. I. In the year 1851 a Juvenile Bible Association was formed in a Ladies’ Boarding School at Broughton, near Manchester, by the late Venerable Charles Stokes Dudley. There were only twelve Collectors, but in about eighteen months these diligent ‘ Bible Society bees ’ collected golden honey to the value of forty-two pounds ! II. In the year 1859 a Juvenile Bible Society was formed in a Ladies’ School, formerly at Ehnsdale House, and now at Malvern- bury, Great Malvern, and in ten years of zealous labour this association has contributed nearly TWO hundred and twenty pounds. III. A Juvenile Bible Society was formed at Lavington House, Stratford-on-Avon, in the year 1864, and in three years contributed upwards of one hundred and thirty pounds ! IV. Duringten years endingl862the Juvenile Societies established in Yorkshire collected upwards of a thousand pounds in aid of the great object they have desired to promote ! And in addition to their regular offerings, no less a sum than 1,300Z. has been contributed to the ‘Building Fund’ of the new Bible House by the young people of the same county; whilst the Sunday Schools and young people of the principality of Wales have presented nearly 1,000Z. to the same object. V. Many of the young friends of the Bible Society employ some portion of them leisure time in the production of works of art, or 3 articles of clothing, which older friends of the Society have pleasure in purchasing to encourage them in their efforts. ‘Sales of Work’ are annually held by some of our Juvenile Associations, at which as much as twenty or thirty pounds are realised. YI. It is well known that some young people are very diligent in collecting foreign postage stamps ; and it is a pleasing fact that many young friends of the Bible Society are equally diligent in col¬ lecting English postage stamps to send the Bible to those lands where foreign postage- stamps are used ! ‘ Will you enclose me a postage stamp for the Bible Society?’ is a very common petition in the letters which the children who are at school send to their parents and friends—a petition which very few are disposed to disregard. VII. There are thousands of children who regularly contribute to this good cause by denying themselves in sweetmeats and toys, that the children of the poor heathen may possess the Book of which they may one day say, like David, ‘How sweet are thy words to my taste ; yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth ! ’ VIII. This paper may come into the hands of some young friend who has no money, but who may still wish to help the Bible Society. What can such an one do ? Two ‘ Facts ’ are given in reply to the question. The young people connected with St. Stephen’s Church Sunday School in Sheffield have contributed £20 to the Bible Society during the first year of their effort to aid the good cause. Their rule is to collect from as many persons as possible one halfpenny per iveek, ancl no more, and they have gathered by these many ‘ littles ’ the ‘ mickle ’ of twenty pounds ! A gentleman who attended a Bible Society Meeting writes:— ‘Among the contributions announced was the sum of 11. 10s. 6d. collected by a little girl, who is quite blind. Being very anxious to increase the amount, so as to exceed that collected by her during the preceding year, she ingeniously adopted the following plan. When the gleaners went into the fields after the harvest, she persuaded another child to lead her also into the fields. There she groped about from day to day until she gathered a considerable quantity of wheat, which she succeeded in selling for ten shillings. By making a separate bargain of the straw, she obtained another sixpence. With what she had previously collected, the whole amount was one pound ten shillings and sixpence ! Her efforts have been continued in various ways for successive years; and since the year 1863 the Bible Box of this blind girl has averaged the sum of .€5.’ IX. A similar fact is recorded by another gentleman. He says :_ ‘ One circumstance made a deep impression upon my own mind. It was the case of a poor blind girl in Dorsetshire. Though deprived of natural sight, she has been savingly enlightened by the Divine 4 Spirit, and, when introduced to me, prior to the’ Meeting, brought her “ Bible Box,” containing upwards of twelve shillings, collected from those who had called at her humble cottage during the year. Very poor herself, she needed all the charity of her friends ; hut through the Bible for the Blind, she had received the “ true riches,” and was most anxious to give that precious Bible to others.’ These * Facts ’ will prove that the young can do something —nay, that they can do much —and will show how true is the old and well- known proverb, that ‘ Where there’s a will there’s a way.’ And if the question should be asked, ‘ WHAT MIGHT THE YOUNG DO ? ’ the inquiry would cany us away from * Facts ’ to ‘ Fancies for the Young,’ otherwise it could be shown how very much might be done. Just to make one calculation. If every one of the two millions of Sunday School children in England and Wales were to subscribe one farthing per week, there would be upwards of One hundred thousand founds contributed yearly to the funds of the Bible Society. We can scarcely hope for this, but the calculation may show how much might be done. But instead of imagining what others might do, let the young friend who has read this paper think about these ‘Facts,’ and then ask these two questions— 1. What has my Saviour done for me ? 2. What can I do for my Saviour? If the first of these questions can be answered by your heart— ‘ Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wandering from the fold of God; And, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood; ’ Then the second question is one that you will never cease to ask as long as you live, and this is one of the many answers you will give— 1 1 can be a Collector for, or a Subscriber to, the Bible Society.’ Yes, you can, and in so doing you can show that your dear Saviour’s love to you has touched your heart; and in thus endea¬ vouring to serve and please Him, you will present an offering of no less value in the eyes of your Heavenly Father than all the gold of the rich and great; for, 1 When we devote our youth to God, ’Tis pleasing in His eyes : A flower when offered in the bud Is no vain sacrifice.’ June 1871. [Spottiswoode &• Co., Printers, fteic-slreet Square, London.