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margin-bottom: .1em;} - .noi {text-indent: 0em; margin-top: 2em;} - hr {border-width: 0; margin: 0;} - img {max-width: 100%; width: auto; height: auto;} - table {width: 98%} - .tn {width: 80%; margin: 0 10%; background: #dcdcdc; padding: 1em;} - a:link, a:visited, a:hover, a:active {text-decoration: none; color: inherit;} - } - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Deaf Shoemaker, by Philip Barrett - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Deaf Shoemaker - To Which Are Added Other Stories for the Young - -Author: Philip Barrett - -Release Date: June 10, 2016 [EBook #52296] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DEAF SHOEMAKER *** - - - - -Produced by Lucinda Forest from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="imgcenter width400"> - <div class="hidehand"> - <img src="images/cover1.jpg" width="400" height="646" alt="Cover" /> - <div class="caption">A SABBATH IN THE COUNTRY, <i><a href="#page_190">page 190</a></i></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class="page-break"> - <hr class="full" /> -</div> -<h1>The Deaf Shoemaker<br /> -<span>and</span><br /> -<small>OTHER STORIES</small></h1> - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -</div> -<p class="center p180 lh2 spaced"><span class="p80">THE</span><br /> -DEAF SHOEMAKER.</p> - -<p class="center lh2"><span class="p80">BY</span><br /> -<span class="p140">PHILIP BARRETT,</span><br /> -<span class="p80"><small>AUTHOR OF “FLOWERS BY THE WAYSIDE.”</small></span><br /><br /> -TO WHICH ARE ADDED<br /><br /> -<span class="ornate p150 spaced">Other Stories for the Young.</span></p> - -<hr class="small" /> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">’Tis <span class="smcap">Religion</span> that can give</div> - <div class="line">Sweetest pleasures while we live;</div> - <div class="line">’Tis <span class="smcap">Religion</span> must supply</div> - <div class="line">Solid comfort when we die.</div> -</div></div></div> -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Mrs. Masters.</span></div> - -<hr class="small" /> - -<p class="center p120 lh2">NEW YORK:<br /> -PUBLISHED BY M. W. DODD,<br /> -<span class="p80">No. 506 BROADWAY,</span><br /> -1859.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -</div> -<p class="center lh2">Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1859, by<br /> -M. W. DODD,<br /> -In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the -Southern District of New York.</p> - -<div class="border"> -<p class="noi1">EDWARD O. JENKINS,<br /> -Printer & Stereotyper,<br /> -No. 26 Frankfort Street.</p> -</div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -</div> -<p class="center lh2">TO<br /> -REV. ERSKINE M. RODMAN,<br /> -RECTOR OF CHRIST’S CHURCH, NORFOLK, VA.,<br /> -<span class="ornate">This Little Volume is</span><br /> -INSCRIBED,<br /> -<span class="p60">AS AN HUMBLE TESTIMONIAL OF THE FRIENDSHIP AND ESTEEM OF</span><br /> -<span class="heading-space block right">PHILIP BARRETT</span>.</p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -</div> -<h2><a name="preface" id="preface"></a>PREFACE.</h2> - -<hr class="small" /> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">My Dear Young Friends</span>:</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Encouraged</span> by your kind reception of my -former little volume, I have gathered together -my scattered sketches with the earnest wish and -heart-felt prayer that they may be instrumental -in leading you to childhood’s best and truest -friend—the blessed <span class="smcap">Saviour</span>.</p> - -<p class="right2">Your attached Friend,</p> -<p class="right">PHILIP BARRETT,</p> -<p class="indent"><i>Rural Retirement, Va.</i></p> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vii" id="page_vii">vii</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="contents" id="contents"></a>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<table summary="Contents"> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#john_mcdonough">JOHN McDONOUGH</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#john_mcdonough"> 9</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#mary_and_her_drawer">MARY AND HER DRAWER</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#mary_and_her_drawer">14</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#it_is_i">“IT IS I!”</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#it_is_i">18</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#the_orphan">THE ORPHAN</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#the_orphan">22</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#the_recording_angel">THE RECORDING ANGEL</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#the_recording_angel">26</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#thomas_ward_or_the_boy_who">THOMAS WARD</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#thomas_ward_or_the_boy_who">29</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#the_rose">THE ROSE</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#the_rose">34</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#the_lantern">THE LANTERN</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#the_lantern">38</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#the_decisive_moment">THE DECISIVE MOMENT</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#the_decisive_moment">43</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#the_alarm_watch">THE ALARM WATCH</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#the_alarm_watch">46</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#condemned">“CONDEMNED”</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#condemned">51</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#i_want_to_be_a_minister">“I WANT TO BE A MINISTER”</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#i_want_to_be_a_minister">55</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#rufus_taylor">RUFUS TAYLOR</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#rufus_taylor">60</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#james_jones">JAMES JONES</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#james_jones">63</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#gertrude_mason">GERTRUDE MASON</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#gertrude_mason">68</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#the_deaf_shoemaker">THE DEAF SHOEMAKER</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#the_deaf_shoemaker">71</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#norman_hall">NORMAN HALL</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#norman_hall">77</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#delay_not">“DELAY NOT”</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#delay_not">80</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#the_saviour">THE SAVIOUR</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#the_saviour">85</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#autumn">AUTUMN</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#autumn">89</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#nero_or_cruelty_to_animals">NERO</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#nero_or_cruelty_to_animals">94</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#the_railroad">THE RAILROAD</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#the_railroad">100</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#a_true_sketch">A TRUE SKETCH</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#a_true_sketch">104</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#the_last_night_of_the_season">“THE LAST NIGHT OF THE SEASON”</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#the_last_night_of_the_season">108</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#hugh_miller_and_the_precipice">HUGH MILLER AND THE PRECIPICE</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#hugh_miller_and_the_precipice">112</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#the_home_of_st_paul">THE HOME OF ST. PAUL</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#the_home_of_st_paul">116</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#home">HOME</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#home">121</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#to_my_sabbath-school_class">TO MY SABBATH-SCHOOL CLASS</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#to_my_sabbath-school_class">128</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#half_an_hour_in_bad_company">HALF AN HOUR IN BAD COMPANY</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#half_an_hour_in_bad_company">131</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#the_first_day_of_the_new_year">THE FIRST DAY OF THE NEW YEAR</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#the_first_day_of_the_new_year">134</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#the_young_man_who_went_to">THE YOUNG MAN WHO WENT TO SLEEP IN CHURCH</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#the_young_man_who_went_to">138</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#margaret_wilson">MARGARET WILSON</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#margaret_wilson">140</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#gilbert_hunt">GILBERT HUNT</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#gilbert_hunt">145</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#sketches_for_young_men">SKETCHES FOR YOUNG MEN</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sketches_for_young_men">155</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td><table class="table" summary="Sketches for young men"> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#lamp1"><span class="smcap">The Lamp and the Lantern</span>, No. 1</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#lamp1">157</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#lamp2"><span class="ditto">” ” No.</span> 2</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#lamp2">159</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#lamp3"><span class="ditto">” ” No.</span> 3</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#lamp3">164</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#who1">“<span class="smcap">Who Shall Be the Greatest?</span>” No. 1</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#who1">169</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#who2"><span class="ditto2">” ” No.</span> 2</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#who2">172</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#who3"><span class="ditto2">” ” No.</span> 3</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#who3">174</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#poor"><span class="smcap">The Poor Consumptive</span></a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#poor">181</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#live"><span class="smcap">“What I Live for”</span></a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#live">184</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#sermon"><span class="smcap">The Last Sermon of the Season</span></a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sermon">186</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#nobody"><span class="smcap">“Will Nobody Save Me?”</span></a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#nobody">188</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#sabbath"><span class="smcap">A Sabbath in the Country</span></a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#sabbath">190</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#young"><span class="smcap">The Young Christian’s Death-Chamber</span></a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#young">196</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#prayer"><span class="smcap">What Prayer Does</span></a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#prayer">202</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdl"><a href="#without"><span class="smcap">“Pray Without Ceasing”</span></a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#without">204</a></td> - </tr> - </table> - </td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td class="tdl"><a name="append" id="append"></a><a href="#appendix">APPENDIX</a></td> - <td class="tdr"><a href="#appendix">207</a></td> -</tr> -</table> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_9" id="page_9">9</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="john_mcdonough" id="john_mcdonough"></a>JOHN McDONOUGH.</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">Jesus</span>, lover of my soul,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Let me to Thy bosom fly,</div> - <div class="line">While the raging billows roll,</div> - <div class="line indent1">While the tempest still is high.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Hide me, O my Saviour, hide,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Till the storm of life is past</div> - <div class="line">Safe into the haven guide;</div> - <div class="line indent1">O receive my soul at last.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - -<p class="noi">“<span class="smcap">John McDonough!</span> who is <em>he?</em>” my young -reader will doubtless exclaim.</p> - -<p>It is true, his name is not written in golden -letters on the pages of History,—no Senate -chamber has resounded with his eloquence,—the -conqueror’s wreath has never encircled his brow; -but John McDonough has performed a deed -which posterity, to the remotest generation, can -never forget.</p> - -<p>But a few weeks since, the steamer Northern -Indiana was burned on one of the Northern -lakes, and then and there it was, that this noble -and gallant deed was performed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_10" id="page_10">10</a></span> -You who have never seen a ship on fire can -form no idea of the awful horror of such a scene. -All was wild excitement and mad confusion. -The flames spread like a whirlwind over the -noble ship, and soon wrapt it in their withering -embrace. Every heart was lifted to God in -prayer; every voice was joined in supplication; -mothers were clasping their infants to their bosoms; -husbands endeavoring to save their wives; -fathers encircling their sons in their strong and -unfailing arms; the waters were a mass of living, -immortal beings, struggling for life.</p> - -<p>Amid the hissing of the flames, the pale glare -of the atmosphere, and the wild shrieks of hopeless -agony that arose from the sinking passengers, -John McDonough might have been seen, -calm and composed, struggling nobly with the -swelling waves, and bearing in one hand <em>life-preservers</em> -to the perishing souls scattered over the -surface of the lake, which, to many, was destined -soon to be the winding-sheet of Death.</p> - -<p>How noble the action! How my heart swells -within me when I think of the gallant and fearless -conduct of such a man!</p> - -<p>When despair clothed every brow, fear paled -every cheek, and the wild cry—“Save, Lord, or -I perish”—echoed in the ears of the drowning,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_11" id="page_11">11</a></span> -his lofty brow showed no signs of fear, his eye -beamed with hope. He still struggled on, and -on, till many and many a soul was rescued from -a watery grave.</p> - -<p>I had rather be the brave, the dauntless, the -self-sacrificing John McDonough—the humble -laborer on the ill-fated Northern Indiana—than -Alexander the Great weeping because there were -no other worlds for him to conquer.</p> - -<p>God bless thee, noble John McDonough!</p> - -<p>Though no eulogy be pronounced at thy -death, no booming cannon thunder over thy -grave, no proud monument mark thy resting-place, -yet there will be erected in the hearts of -thy countrymen a monument more lasting than -marble, more enduring than brass. May thy -name live forever!</p> - -<p>My young friends, do you not also see, concealed -as it were by the terrible grandeur and -painful horror of the scene, a beautiful and important -truth displayed in the conduct of this -noble-hearted man?</p> - -<p>We are all embarked in a ship. The destination -of that ship is <em>Eternity</em>. The voyage is -tempestuous, and when we least expect it, the -fires of hell may take hold upon us. But, thanks -be to God, there is a Great Life-preserver always<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_12" id="page_12">12</a></span> -at hand. That Life-preserver I now extend to -you: reject it if you dare; destruction is the -consequence. Accept it; and you will soon be -landed on the blissful shores of Heaven. That -Life-preserver is</p> - -<p class="center p140 heading-space">CHRIST.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -</div> - -<p class="center p120 heading-space">CHRIST THE ROCK OF AGES.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">Rock of Ages</span>, cleft for me,</div> - <div class="line">Let me hide myself in Thee;</div> - <div class="line">Let the water and the blood,</div> - <div class="line">From Thy wounded side which flowed,</div> - <div class="line">Be of sin the double cure;</div> - <div class="line">Cleanse me from its guilt and power.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Not the labor of my hands</div> - <div class="line">Can fulfil the law’s demands;</div> - <div class="line">Could my zeal no respite know,</div> - <div class="line">Could my tears forever flow,</div> - <div class="line">All for sin could not atone,</div> - <div class="line">Thou must save, and Thou alone.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Nothing in my hand I bring,</div> - <div class="line">Simply to Thy cross I cling;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_13" id="page_13">13</a></span> - <div class="line">Naked, come to Thee for dress;</div> - <div class="line">Helpless, look to Thee for grace;</div> - <div class="line">Vile, I to the Fountain fly,</div> - <div class="line">Wash me, Saviour, or I die.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“While I draw this fleeting breath,</div> - <div class="line">When my heart-strings break in death,</div> - <div class="line">When I soar to worlds unknown,</div> - <div class="line">See Thee on Thy judgment throne,—</div> - <div class="line">Rock of Ages, cleft for me,</div> - <div class="line">Let me hide myself in Thee.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_14" id="page_14">14</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2 class="lh2"><a name="mary_and_her_drawer" id="mary_and_her_drawer"></a>MARY AND HER DRAWER;<br /> -<span class="p60">OR, NOTHING MADE BY GETTING ANGRY.</span></h2> - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">I cannot</span> curb my temper,</div> - <div class="line indent1">I might as well have tried</div> - <div class="line">To stop, with little pebbles,</div> - <div class="line indent1">A river’s rapid tide.</div> - <div class="line">My good resolves I hardly form,</div> - <div class="line">When trifles raise an angry storm.</div> -</div></div></div> -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Child’s Christian Year.</span></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">The</span> church bells were sending forth their -merry chimes, and hundreds of children were -wending their way to the Sabbath-school. Mary -was late that morning, and ran very quickly to -her drawer, in which were kept her gloves, hymn-book, -catechism, &c., and endeavored to jerk it -open at once; but in so doing she got it crooked, -and it would move neither way.</p> - -<p>Being in a great hurry, she began at once to -fret and blame the drawer for not coming out. -She soon became quite angry; her check flushed, -her eyes sparkled, and with a violent effort she -pulled the drawer out, emptied its contents on<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_15" id="page_15">15</a></span> -the floor, tore her dress, disfigured her hymn-book, -and almost ruined the drawer itself.</p> - -<p>Her father was patiently waiting in the hall -for his little daughter, when the accident occurred, -and asked her what was the matter. Her -instant reply was, “Nothing, Father; you go on—I -will overtake you presently.”</p> - -<p>Little Mary did not overtake her father, and -he looked in vain for her at the Sabbath-school.</p> - -<p>Her dress was so badly torn that she could -not go to Sabbath-school, and with tears flowing -down her cheeks, she sat down and thought soberly -over her conduct.</p> - -<p>She doubtless felt very sorry for her anger, and -the unnecessary damage she had done.</p> - -<p>No one, when the family returned from church, -said a word to her, but left her to her own reflections. -When her father had taken off his hat -and seated himself, she modestly approached him, -threw her arms around his neck, and said,—</p> - -<p>“Father, do you know why your little Mary -was absent from Sabbath-school this morning?”</p> - -<p>“No, my child,” he replied.</p> - -<p>“I was in a very great hurry, and attempted -to pull my drawer out very quickly, and got it -fastened so tightly that it would move neither -one way nor the other. I tried and tried, but it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_16" id="page_16">16</a></span> -would not move. I then got angry with the -drawer, pulled it very hard, and not only scattered -its contents over the floor, but hung the knob -in my dress and tore it so badly that I could not -come to the Sabbath-school.”</p> - -<p>Her father told her he willingly forgave her, -and that she must also ask God’s forgiveness, for -she had committed a sin in giving way to her -anger. He also told her to remember that nothing -was ever made by getting angry. If she -ever tried to do anything, and could not do it at -once, she must not get angry, but be patient and -calm.</p> - -<p>I hope this little thing taught Mary an important -lesson—and may it teach you the same, dear -little reader. <em>Nothing was ever made by getting -angry, but something always lost.</em></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_17" id="page_17">17</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">AGAINST YIELDING TO TEMPTATION.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container62"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">My</span> love, you have met with a trial to-day</div> - <div class="line indent1">Which I hoped to have seen you oppose;</div> - <div class="line">But alas, in a moment your temper gave way,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And the pride of your bosom arose.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">I saw the temptation, and trembled for fear</div> - <div class="line indent1">Your good resolutions should fall;</div> - <div class="line">And soon, by your eye and your color, my dear,</div> - <div class="line indent1">I found you had broken them all.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Oh, why did you suffer this troublesome sin</div> - <div class="line indent1">To rise in your bosom again?</div> - <div class="line">And when you perceived it already within,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Oh, why did you let it remain?</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">As soon as temptation is put in your way,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And passion is ready to start,</div> - <div class="line">’Tis then you must try to subdue it, and pray</div> - <div class="line indent1">For courage to bid it depart.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">But now you can only with sorrow implore</div> - <div class="line indent1">That Jesus would pardon your sin,</div> - <div class="line">Would help you to watch for your enemy more,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And put a new temper within.</div> -</div></div></div> -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Jane Taylor.</span></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_18" id="page_18">18</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="it_is_i" id="it_is_i"></a>“IT IS I!”</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“<span class="smcap">Claim</span> me, Shepherd, as Thine own,</div> - <div class="line">Oh, protect me, Thou alone!</div> - <div class="line">Let me hear Thy gracious voice,</div> - <div class="line">Make my fainting heart rejoice.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">There</span> was once a great storm on the Sea of -Galilee.</p> - -<p>The wild winds howled, and the furious waves -rose almost mountain high.</p> - -<p>There was a small vessel in the midst of this -storm, and in this vessel were some of Christ’s -disciples.</p> - -<p>When the storm had reached its utmost fury, -and certain destruction seemed to await those -who were in it, a man was seen walking on the -water towards the vessel.</p> - -<p>The disciples were at once struck with wonder -and amazement. They were doubtless somewhat -superstitious, and supposed it to be a spirit; -for they were well aware that nothing having -flesh and blood like themselves could walk on the -surface of the water without sinking.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_19" id="page_19">19</a></span> -But whose familiar voice is that, heard even -above the roar of the sea, and the noise of the -winds? Who is He that dares approach their -vessel on such a night?</p> - -<p>The voice is the voice of their Saviour; and -He who dreads not the rage of the billows, is He -whom “the winds and the sea obey.” What are -His words? They are few and well chosen—such -as were best suited to the occasion: “It is -I; be not afraid!” Oh, how welcome the visitor! -How delightful that familiar voice! How -the downcast hearts of the disciples throb with -joy when they welcome their Saviour to their -bosoms! How their hearts gush forth in thanks -when they see the raging billows become, at His -command, as gentle as a lamb, and the furious -winds as innocent as a little child.</p> - -<p>Children, do not we gather some important -truths from this Scripture narrative? In the -storms of adversity and sadness, affliction and -bereavement, ought we not hear Christ saying to -us, “It is I; be not afraid?”</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_20" id="page_20">20</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">CHRIST STILLING THE TEMPEST.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container57"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">The</span> beating rain in torrents fell,</div> - <div class="line indent1">The thunder muttered loud,</div> - <div class="line">And fearful men with deep grief dwell</div> - <div class="line indent1">Before their Saviour bowed.</div> - <div class="line">The billows lashed the rock-bound shore,</div> - <div class="line indent1">The howling winds roared by,</div> - <div class="line">While feeble cries rose on the gale,</div> - <div class="line indent1">“Christ, save us, or we die.”</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Upon a bed of sweet repose</div> - <div class="line indent1">Our blessed Saviour lay,</div> - <div class="line">While round Him played the lightning’s flash</div> - <div class="line indent1">From out a frowning sky.</div> - <div class="line">And feeble cries of grief and woe</div> - <div class="line indent1">Were heard around His bed,—</div> - <div class="line">“Oh! Jesus, wake—we perish now,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Our courage all has fled.”</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">The lightnings flashed, the thunder roared,</div> - <div class="line indent1">The foaming waves rolled by,</div> - <div class="line">And Jesus calmly rose and said,</div> - <div class="line indent1">“Fear ye not; it is I.”</div> - <div class="line">Loud roared the winds in wailing notes,</div> - <div class="line indent1">The night was cold and chill,</div> - <div class="line">And to the raging storm He said,</div> - <div class="line indent1">“Hush, ye winds; peace, be still.”</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_21" id="page_21">21</a></span> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">The winds were stilled, the sea was calm,</div> - <div class="line indent1">The clouds soon passed away,</div> - <div class="line">And sunny skies, with golden gleams,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Beamed on the face of day.</div> - <div class="line">“What man is this,” the seamen cry,</div> - <div class="line indent1">“That e’en the sea ’ll obey?</div> - <div class="line">He only whispered, ‘Peace, be still,’</div> - <div class="line indent1">And darkness passed away.”</div> -</div></div></div> -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Western Recorder.</span></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_22" id="page_22">22</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="the_orphan" id="the_orphan"></a>THE ORPHAN.</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> -<div class="line outdent">“<span class="smcap">An</span> orphan in the cold wide world,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Dear Lord, I come to Thee:</div> - <div class="line">Thou, Father of the fatherless,</div> - <div class="line indent1">My Friend and Father be!”</div> -</div></div></div> - - -<p class="noi">“<span class="smcap">Cold</span> is the world without a father’s arm to -shield, and a mother’s heart to love. The sun -shines but dimly on the head of the orphan, for -sorrow claims such as its own, and no earthly -power can release from its embrace. When a -father dies, and she who ‘loves with a deep, -strong, fervent love,’ is laid in the grave, then is -the brightness of earthly existence extinguished.”</p> - -<p>Children, how accurately do the above lines -describe the lonely and forsaken condition of the -orphan!</p> - -<p>Have you never felt your little hearts throb -with sorrow when you saw the children of the -Orphan Asylum walk quietly down the aisle of -the church and seat themselves in regular order -in the front pews? Did not their plain dress -speak to you in language which you were obliged<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_23" id="page_23">23</a></span> -to hear? Did not the prayer arise from your -breasts, that God would be a Father to the fatherless, -that He would watch over, guide and protect, -throughout the journey of life, that helpless -little band of fatherless and motherless children?</p> - -<p>How lonely must their condition be. No father -to counsel, no mother to love, no home -beneath whose shelter they may rest, but <a name="dependent" id="dependent"></a><ins title="Original has dependant">dependent</ins> -upon the cold charities of a colder world.</p> - -<p>He who would treat unkindly, or wound the -feelings of <em>an orphan</em>, is worse than the brute of -the field.</p> - -<p>My young orphan friends, there is but one -source to which I can direct you; there is but -one friend who will never desert you; there is -but one house whose door will never be closed -against you.</p> - -<p>That source is God; that friend is Christ; -that house is one not made with hands, eternal -in the heavens. God will counsel you; upon -the bosom of Christ you may “lean for repose;” -and the angels of heaven will ever welcome you -to their blest abode.</p> - -<p>The kind father and the loving mother, from -whom you have been separated by death, you -shall meet again, if you are Christians.</p> - -<p>And to you, dear little readers, who know not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_24" id="page_24">24</a></span> -the length and breadth and depth of a Saviour’s -love, let me say one word: <span class="smcap">There is no orphanage -like that of the soul which leans not -upon Christ as its Saviour and Redeemer</span>.</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -</div> -<p class="center p120">LAMENT OF AN ORPHAN.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">Homeless</span>, friendless, for many years</div> - <div class="line indent1">I’ve wandered far and wide,</div> - <div class="line">With none to wipe away my tears,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And none to be my guide.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“No gentle word to soothe my grief,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Words so harshly spoken;</div> - <div class="line">No tender hand to give relief,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And now my heart is broken.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“I sigh to think in former days,</div> - <div class="line indent1">When by my mother’s side</div> - <div class="line">I watched the sun’s last golden rays</div> - <div class="line indent1">As they sank at eventide.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Oft I’ve played beside the brook,</div> - <div class="line indent1">My brother’s hand in hand,</div> - <div class="line">As each did seek his favor’d nook,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Then we’re a merry band.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_25" id="page_25">25</a></span> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“I have no friends—my mother’s gone,</div> - <div class="line indent1">She is far, far away;</div> - <div class="line">I sit beside her lowly stone,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And sing my plaintive lay.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“I pray that God will take me home</div> - <div class="line indent1">To that bright world above;</div> - <div class="line">There we shall meet to part no more,</div> - <div class="line indent1">In that heaven of love.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Death has marked me for its own,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And I no more shall rove;</div> - <div class="line">God has called the orphan child</div> - <div class="line indent1">To praise with Him above.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Can you hear my prayer, Mother,</div> - <div class="line indent1">In yonder region bright?</div> - <div class="line">I’m coming to you now, Mother,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Earth’s but a dismal night.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_26" id="page_26">26</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="the_recording_angel" id="the_recording_angel"></a>THE RECORDING ANGEL.</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“<span class="smcap">Among</span> the deepest shades of night</div> - <div class="line indent1">Can there be one who sees my way?</div> - <div class="line">Yes, God is as a shining light</div> - <div class="line indent1">That turns the darkness into day.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">We</span> are told, that during the trial of Bishop -Cranmer, in England, he heard, as he was making -his defence before the judges, the scratching of a -pen behind a screen. The thought at once arose -in his mind that they were taking down every -word he uttered. “I should be very careful,” -thought he to himself, “what I say; for the -whole of this will be handed down to posterity, -and exert an untold influence for good or for -evil.”</p> - -<p>Do you know, my young friends, that there is -a Recording Angel in heaven that takes down -not only every wicked word you utter, but the -very thoughts of your minds and desires of your -hearts?</p> - -<p>Remember, that though your actions are not -all seen by men, nor your thoughts known to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_27" id="page_27">27</a></span> -your companions, yet every action, thought and -word is carefully recorded in the Book of God’s -Remembrance.</p> - -<p>How chaste, then, should be your conversation, -how guarded your conduct, how pure your every -wish!</p> - -<p>At the day of judgment, how full will the pages -of that book be of your unkind treatment of some -poor, forsaken little wanderer; of your revengeful -feelings towards your schoolmate for his little -acts of childish thoughtlessness!</p> - -<p>But is there not some way to blot out these -dark sins from the Book of God’s Remembrance? -Yes, there is. Christ has <em>died</em>, that you might -<em>live</em>. He assures you that though your sins are -“as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; -though they be red like crimson, they shall be as -wool.”</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_28" id="page_28">28</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">THE EVER-PRESENT GOD.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">In</span> all my vast concerns with Thee,</div> - <div class="line indent1">In vain my soul would try</div> - <div class="line">To shun Thy presence, Lord, or flee</div> - <div class="line indent1">The notice of Thine eye.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Thy all-surrounding sight surveys</div> - <div class="line indent1">My rising and my rest,</div> - <div class="line">My public walks, my private ways,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And secrets of my breast.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“My thoughts lie open to the Lord</div> - <div class="line indent1">Before they’re formed within;</div> - <div class="line">And ere my lips pronounce the word,</div> - <div class="line indent1">He knows the sense I mean.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_29" id="page_29">29</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="thomas_ward_or_the_boy_who" id="thomas_ward_or_the_boy_who"></a>THOMAS WARD; OR, THE BOY WHO -WAS ASHAMED TO PRAY.</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“<span class="smcap">Come</span>, my soul, thy suit prepare,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Jesus loves to answer prayer;</div> - <div class="line">He Himself has bid thee pray,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Therefore will not say thee nay.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Early</span> one morning, in the month of September, -184–, Mr. Ward’s family were assembled -around the family altar for prayer, to implore -the blessing and protection of our Heavenly -Father in behalf of their only boy, who was -about leaving his home for a distant school.</p> - -<p>Thomas, a boy of about twelve summers, was -deeply affected by the solemn services, and as he -arose from his knees his eyes were filled with -tears, thinking, perhaps, that he might never be -permitted to enjoy that delightful privilege again. -His father prayed particularly that God would -take care of his boy during his absence from his -parents; that He would preserve him from all -dangers; that He would be near him in all his -temptations; and, if they should not meet again<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_30" id="page_30">30</a></span> -on earth, that they might all—father, mother and -son—meet where the “wicked cease from troubling, -and the weary are at rest.” He endeavored -to impress upon his mind the necessity of -prayer, and that he should never neglect it, under -any circumstances. <em>Don’t be ashamed to pray, -my son</em>, said his father.</p> - -<p>The ringing of the car-bell announced that in -a short time he must be off. The most trying -point had now come,—he must bid his parents -farewell. Clasping his arms around his mother’s -neck, he said: “Oh, my Mother, my Mother, shall -I ever see you again?” and with a kiss to each, -bade his affectionate parents adieu, and, valise -in hand, walked hastily to the dépôt.</p> - -<p>Having procured his ticket, he seated <a name="himself" id="himself"></a><ins title="Original has him self">himself</ins> -in the cars, and in a few moments left the -home of his childhood for the P—— H—— -school, at B——. His heart was sad, as he -thought of the many happy hours he had spent -“at home” with his kind parents, and a tear -stole silently down his cheek. These sad and -melancholy thoughts, however, were soon banished -from his mind by the magnificent scenery -of the country through which he was passing.</p> - -<p>He thought “the country,” as it was called in -town, was the loveliest place he had ever seen.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_31" id="page_31">31</a></span> -Thomas’ mind became so much engaged with the -picturesque scenery—mountains, lakes and valleys—that -he reached his place of destination -ere he supposed he had travelled half-way.</p> - -<p>He met the principal at the dépôt, awaiting -his arrival, and in a few moments they were on -their way to the school. Nothing of interest occurred -during the remainder of the day, with the -exception of the boys’ laughing at Thomas, calling -him “town boy,” etc.; “initiating” him, as -they termed it. When the time for retiring to -rest drew near, and one after another of the boys -fell asleep, Thomas was surprised that not one of -them offered a petition to God, asking Him to -take care of them during the silent watches of -the night. He knelt beside his bed, and attempted -to offer a short prayer; but his companions -were laughing and singing, and he arose -from his knees, wishing that he was at home, -where he could, in his quiet little chamber, offer -up his evening devotions. Some of the boys were -actually so rude as to call him “Parson Ward,” -and ask him if he intended holding forth next -Sabbath?</p> - -<p>The next night Thomas felt so <em>ashamed</em>, that -he determined <em>not to pray</em>, and laid his head on -a prayerless pillow,—a thing he had not done<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_32" id="page_32">32</a></span> -since he was able to say, “Gentle Jesus, meek -and mild.” The last words of his father, “<em>Don’t -be ashamed to pray</em>” came to his mind; but -thinking about them as little as possible, he soon -fell asleep.</p> - -<p>In a short time Thomas became the ringleader -of the gang in all that was bad, and soon learned -to curse and swear worse than any of his companions.</p> - -<p>On a beautiful Sabbath morning, instead of -going to church, he wandered off, and finding -nothing to engage his thoughts, determined to -take a bath. He had scarcely been in the water -five minutes, when he was seized with cramp, and -sunk to rise no more. The last words that -lingered on the lips of the drowning boy were, -“Oh, my mother!”</p> - -<p>The awful death of Thomas speaks for itself. -May it serve as a warning to those who violate -God’s holy commandment, and are <em>ashamed</em> to -<em>pray</em>. May it also teach us how quickly one sin -leads to another. His <em>first</em> sin was neglecting -to pray; his <em>second</em>, profanity; his <em>third</em>, Sabbath-breaking, -which terminated in his death.</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_33" id="page_33">33</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">NOT ASHAMED OF CHRIST.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">Jesus</span>, and shall it ever be,</div> - <div class="line">A mortal man ashamed of Thee?</div> - <div class="line">Ashamed of Thee, whom angels praise,</div> - <div class="line">Whose glories shine through endless days!</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<em>Ashamed of Jesus!</em>—Sooner far</div> - <div class="line">Let evening blush to own a star;</div> - <div class="line">He sheds the beams of light divine</div> - <div class="line">O’er this benighted soul of mine.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<em>Ashamed of Jesus!</em>—Just as soon</div> - <div class="line">Let midnight be ashamed of noon;</div> - <div class="line">’Tis midnight with my soul, till He,</div> - <div class="line">Bright Morning Star, bid darkness flee.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<em>Ashamed of Jesus!</em> that dear friend</div> - <div class="line">On whom my hopes of Heaven depend!</div> - <div class="line">No, when I blush be this my shame,</div> - <div class="line">That I no more revere His name.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<em>Ashamed of Jesus!</em>—Yes, I may,</div> - <div class="line">When I’ve no sins to wash away,</div> - <div class="line">No tear to wipe, no good to crave,</div> - <div class="line">No fears to quell, no soul to save.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Till then—nor is my boasting vain—</div> - <div class="line">Till then I boast a Saviour slain;</div> - <div class="line">And oh, may this my glory be,</div> - <div class="line">That Christ is not ashamed of me.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_34" id="page_34">34</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="the_rose" id="the_rose"></a>THE ROSE.</h2> - -<p class="center">“There is no rose without a thorn.”</p> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">There</span> are few lovelier things than the rose to -be met with along the pathway of life.</p> - -<p>There is something about it so meek and modest, -that I love to look at it; and what is sweeter -than the mellow fragrance of a beautiful rose? -It always reminds me of that beautiful country -where, we are told, never-fading flowers continue -to bloom forever.</p> - -<p>The Church of Christ is compared, in the -Bible, to the Rose of Sharon; and it seems to -me that the inspired penman could not have -found, throughout the length and breadth of the -world, anything better suited to convey the idea -of gentle lowliness and meek humility, than the -rose.</p> - -<p>Its fragrance can be enjoyed by all. It is not -sweeter to the king than to the peasant. So with -religion. It is a fountain from which all can -drink.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_35" id="page_35">35</a></span> -There is another thing about the rose which -should teach us a lesson. As there is no rose -without a thorn, so there is no enjoyment without -some pain connected with it. There are -many children who are always discontented; -they are never pleased with any thing, but are -always looking out for what is disagreeable, and -not for what is pleasant. What is this, but forgetting -the delightful fragrance of the rose, and -piercing our fingers with the few thorns which -are about it. Our blessings are much more -numerous than our cares and troubles. Why -not, then, clip off the thorns, and keep merely the -fully opened rose?</p> - -<p>As the leaves of the rose wither and die, so -must we.</p> - -<p>Let us always remember this, and also live in -such a way, by shedding a sweet fragrance about -our pathway, that all who know us will love us, -and forget the few thorns of evil which may be -found in our characters.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container62"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_36" id="page_36">36</a></span> -“How fair is the rose! what a beautiful flower,</div> - <div class="line indent1">The glory of April and May;</div> - <div class="line">And the leaves are beginning to fade in an hour,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And they wither and die in a day.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Yet the rose has one powerful virtue to boast,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Above all the flowers of the field:</div> - <div class="line">When its leaves are all dead and fine colors lost,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Still how sweet a perfume it will yield!</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“So frail is the youth and the beauty of man,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Though they bloom and look gay like a rose:</div> - <div class="line">But all our fond care to preserve them is vain,—</div> - <div class="line indent1">Time kills them as fast as he goes.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Then I’ll not be proud of my youth or my beauty,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Since both of them wither and fade,</div> - <div class="line">But gain a good name by well doing my duty;</div> - <div class="line indent1">This will scent like a rose when I’m dead.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="imgcenter width400"> -<img src="images/i-036.jpg" width="400" height="502" alt="Children and the flowers" /> -</div> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_37" id="page_37">37</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">CHILDREN AND THE FLOWERS.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“‘<span class="smcap">Flowers</span>, sweet and lowly flowers,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Gems of earth so bright and gay,</div> - <div class="line">Is there nothing you can teach us,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Nothing you to us can say?</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“‘List, and ye shall hear our voices</div> - <div class="line indent1">Speaking to you from the sod;</div> - <div class="line">List, for we would lead you gently</div> - <div class="line indent1">Upwards from the earth to God.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“‘Children, as ye gaze upon us,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Think of Him who, when below,</div> - <div class="line">Told you well to mark the flowers,</div> - <div class="line indent1">How without a care they grow.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“‘Children, know that like the flowers</div> - <div class="line indent1">You must quickly fade away:</div> - <div class="line">Life is short; improve the hours—</div> - <div class="line indent1">You may only have to-day.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“‘We were once but seeds, dear children—</div> - <div class="line indent1">We were placed in earth, and died;</div> - <div class="line">You must die; but trust in Jesus—</div> - <div class="line indent1">Fear not, but in <em>Him</em> abide.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“‘We proclaim the resurrection,</div> - <div class="line indent1">How the dead in Christ shall rise;</div> - <div class="line">Incorruptible, immortal,</div> - <div class="line indent1">They shall reign above the skies.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“‘Farewell, children, and remember,</div> - <div class="line indent1">When our forms shall meet your view,</div> - <div class="line">That the Lord, who clothes each flower,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Will much more provide for you.’”</div> -</div></div></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_38" id="page_38">38</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="the_lantern" id="the_lantern"></a>THE LANTERN.</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">Gently</span>, Lord, O gently lead us</div> - <div class="line indent1">Through this lonely vale <a name="duplicate_of" id="duplicate_of"></a><ins title="Original has of of">of</ins> tears—</div> - <div class="line">Through the changes here decreed us,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Till our last great change appears.</div> - <div class="line">When temptation’s darts assail us,</div> - <div class="line indent1">When in devious paths we stray,</div> - <div class="line">Let Thy goodness never fail us—</div> - <div class="line indent1">Lead us in Thy perfect way.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Sp. Songs.</span></div> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">The</span> sun had disappeared behind the western -hills, and darkness was fast covering the face of -nature, when a little girl, who had been to a distant -city, commenced retracing her steps homeward. -A kind friend handed her a lantern, and -told her if she followed the road on which the -lantern shone, it would certainly direct her home. -She started with a light heart and joyous spirits, -much delighted with her journey beside the still -waters, and through the green pastures.</p> - -<p>By and by she came to a certain place where -two roads branched off. She did not know -which one to take; but soon found that her -lantern shone very plainly on the one beset with -thorns and briers. She concluded to disregard<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_39" id="page_39">39</a></span> -the advice of her friend, and took the opposite -road, as it seemed so much more pleasant than -the one on which her lantern shone. At first -her pathway was bordered with roses of the -sweetest fragrance, and with <a name="everything" id="everything"></a><ins title="Original has everthing">everything</ins> calculated -to make a young person happy. Finally she -reached a point in her journey where she knew -not what to do. She had no lamp to direct her; -no kind friend to whom she might look for directions; -all around her was dark and dismal. -Wherever she trod, her steps seemed beset with -troubles of every kind.</p> - -<p>At last a friendly voice whispered in her ear, -and said: “Stop, my dear child—stop and think. -You know not whither you are going. You are -in the road to death. Stop, before you further -go.”</p> - -<p>She determined to turn her course, and retraced -her steps with a heavy heart, determined -thereafter always to follow the road on which -her lantern shone. She soon reached the place -where she had left her lantern, and found its rays -still brightly shining on the same road.</p> - -<p>She continued her journey onward, and found, -though it was rough at first, the farther she proceeded, -the better was she pleased. When she -reached her home, she found her friends anxiously<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_40" id="page_40">40</a></span> -awaiting her arrival. They all greeted her -with a kiss, and welcomed her back again.</p> - -<p>Children, the little girl about whom I have -been telling you is the young Christian, commencing -her journey from the city of Destruction -to the New Jerusalem. The journey is her -Christian life; the two roads are the long and -narrow road to Heaven, and the broad road to -Hell; the kind friend is some fellow Christian, -and the lantern is God’s Holy Word. The thorns -in the one road are the trials of a Christian; -while the roses in the other are the allurements -placed there by the Wicked One, to ensnare the -careless and inconsiderate. Her <em>home</em> is <em>Heaven</em>.</p> - -<p>Young Christian, learn a lesson from the conduct -of this little girl: Never pursue the course -which seems most pleasant, but the one laid down -in the Bible.</p> - -<p>“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a -light unto my path.”</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“‘Whither goest thou, pilgrim stranger</div> - <div class="line indent1">Wand’ring through this lonely vale?</div> - <div class="line">Know’st thou not ’tis full of danger,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And will not thy courage fail?’</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“‘Pilgrim thou hast justly call’d me,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Passing through a waste so wide;</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_41" id="page_41">41</a></span> - <div class="line">But no harm will e’er befall me</div> - <div class="line indent1">While I’m blessed with such a guide.’</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“‘Such a guide!—no guide attends thee,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Hence for thee my fears arise:</div> - <div class="line">If some guardian power befriends thee,</div> - <div class="line indent1">’Tis unseen by mortal eyes.’</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“‘Yes, unseen, but still believe me,</div> - <div class="line indent1">I have near me such a friend;</div> - <div class="line">He’ll in every strait relieve me,</div> - <div class="line indent1">He will guide me to the end.’”</div> -</div></div></div> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_42" id="page_42">42</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">HEAVEN IS MY HOME.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">I’m</span> but a stranger here;</div> - <div class="line indent1">Heaven is my home:</div> - <div class="line">Earth is a desert drear;</div> - <div class="line indent1">Heaven is my home:</div> - <div class="line">Danger and sorrow stand</div> - <div class="line">Round me on every hand</div> - <div class="line">Heaven is my fatherland,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Heaven is my home.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“What though the tempests rage?</div> - <div class="line indent1">Heaven is my home:</div> - <div class="line">Short is my pilgrimage;</div> - <div class="line indent1">Heaven is my home:</div> - <div class="line">And time’s wild wintry blast</div> - <div class="line">Soon will be overpast;</div> - <div class="line">I shall reach home at last.</div> - <div class="line indent1">Heaven is my home.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Therefore I murmur not;</div> - <div class="line indent1">Heaven is my home:</div> - <div class="line">Whate’er my earthly lot,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Heaven is my home:</div> - <div class="line">And I shall surely stand</div> - <div class="line">There at my Lord’s right hand:</div> - <div class="line">Heaven is my fatherland,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Heaven is my home.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_43" id="page_43">43</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="the_decisive_moment" id="the_decisive_moment"></a>THE DECISIVE MOMENT.</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">There</span> is a time, we know not when,—</div> - <div class="line indent1">A point, we know not where,—</div> - <div class="line">That marks the destiny of men</div> - <div class="line indent1">To glory or despair.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Not</span> many years ago, when the H—— river -was very much swollen by the spring rains, and -the water had nearly reached its highest point, -a lumberman was seen in the midst of the -stream, attempting to secure a lot of timber -which had broken loose from its fastening.</p> - -<p>In his deep interest to secure the timber, he -went too far out into the current. His little -bark was caught by the rapid tide, and borne -along with almost lightning rapidity.</p> - -<p>There he sat, motionless as a pillar, not knowing -at what moment he should be swallowed up -by the roaring and foaming stream. A friend -on shore sees his critical situation, mounts his -horse, and rides, courier-like, to a neighboring -bridge which spans the river. On and on he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_44" id="page_44">44</a></span> -speeds; now the rider and the boat are side by -side; anon the boat passes him, but he spurs his -noble animal onward, reaches the bridge in time, -seizes a rope and throws it over the arch, awaiting -with breathless suspense the approach of the -pale and fear-stricken lumberman.</p> - -<p>The boat passes immediately under the arch, -the boatman grasps the rope with death-like -earnestness, and is <em>saved</em>.</p> - -<p>One moment’s delay of the rider, or his failure -to grasp the rope, would have sealed his doom -forever, and the noble H—— been his grave.</p> - -<p>My dear young friends, how often do we see -persons, in their mad attempts to procure the -filthy lucre of this world, go too far into the current -of Sin, and are swept wildly over the cataract -of Destruction, not knowing, or not desiring -to see, that the rope of Salvation is within their -grasp! Children, Christ bids you come, <em>now</em>. -If you delay another moment, your destiny for -despair may be sealed.</p> - -<p>How bitter will the thought be, when you -come to die,—“I might have been saved, but I -neglected the golden offering of mercy, and -therefore must be consigned to a never-ending -eternity of misery and suffering!”</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_45" id="page_45">45</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">THE VALUE OF TIME.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">If</span> idly spent, no art or care</div> - <div class="line indent1">Time’s blessing can restore;</div> - <div class="line">And God requires a strict account</div> - <div class="line indent1">For every misspent hour.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Short is our longest day of life,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And soon the prospect ends;</div> - <div class="line">Yet on that day’s uncertain date</div> - <div class="line indent1">Eternity depends.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Poems for the Young.</span></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_46" id="page_46">46</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="the_alarm_watch" id="the_alarm_watch"></a>THE ALARM WATCH.</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">But</span> if we should disregard</div> - <div class="line indent1">While this friendly voice doth call,</div> - <div class="line">Conscience soon will grow so hard,</div> - <div class="line indent1">That it will not speak at all.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Jane Taylor.</span></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">A young</span> lady, who was very much given to -the habit of sleeping late in the morning, purchased -a small alarm watch, hoping that it would -be the means of breaking her of a practice not -only troublesome to those around her, but really -a sinful waste of time. At night, on retiring to -rest, she so adjusted the watch that it would -awaken her at five o’clock the next morning. -The watch, with a punctuality worthy to be imitated -by all of us, not only at the appointed -hour, but at the <em>very minute itself</em>, commenced -such a whirring noise, that the sleeper was immediately -awakened, arose at once, and prepared -herself for the duties of the day.</p> - -<p>The day passed away very pleasantly. She -was at prayers and breakfast at the appointed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_47" id="page_47">47</a></span> -hour, and everything moved quietly and pleasantly -on throughout the entire day; and when -the shadows of evening darkened the face of -nature, she felt that it was the most pleasant day -she had ever spent.</p> - -<p>She retired to rest, the next night, with the -same resolutions; but when the morning came -and her watch commenced its rattling noise, she -thought it was not worth while to get up then, -but would lie in bed only fifteen minutes longer. -The expiration of the fifteen minutes found her -sleeping soundly, and she did not awake till the -sun had risen far above the tree-tops, and the -laborers were busy at their work.</p> - -<p>The next morning she heard her watch at its -accustomed noise, but came to the conclusion -that getting up ahead of the sun was all a -humbug.</p> - -<p>The next morning she slept so soundly that -she scarcely heard the watch at all; and that -night concluded not to wind it up, as she had no -idea of having her morning’s nap disturbed by -such a disagreeable noise as that. Thus did she -return to her former bad habit, and “her last -state was worse than the first.”</p> - -<p>Each of you, my dear young friends, has an -alarm watch in your breast. The moment you<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_48" id="page_48">48</a></span> -disobey your parents, utter an untruth, use a -profane expression, or break God’s Holy Day, -you hear the busy fluttering of that watch whispering -in your ear, “<em>you have done wrong</em>, <span class="p70">YOU -HAVE DONE WRONG</span>.” The first time you did wrong -how loudly did that little watch whir and buzz! -You turned pale, and your heart throbbed so -violently that you could almost hear it.</p> - -<p>The next time its noise was fainter and fainter; -and at last it grew so feeble that you could not -hear it all.</p> - -<p>Then it was that you could swear so boldly, -utter an untruth without your cheek coloring, -and break the Sabbath without one painful -thought.</p> - -<p>My young reader, you know too well what that -alarm watch is, whose ticking you so frequently -hear in your breast. It is your <span class="smcap">Conscience</span>. -And oh, how I tremble when I think of what an -awful thing it is to endeavor to drown the voice -of that conscience!</p> - -<p>Day after day, since your early infancy, your -conscience has been begging, entreating you to -come to Christ and be saved. Its voice has been -unheeded. Beware, O young man or young -woman, how you trifle with your conscience! Its -voice, once stifled, will be hushed forever.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_49" id="page_49">49</a></span> -Like the young lady about whom I have been -telling you, if you do not obey its summons at -once, but keep on putting it off and off, it will -leave you in the awful embrace of that sleep -“which knows no waking” in this world, and -you will only be aroused by the piercing notes -of the Archangel’s trump,—“Come to judgment.”</p> - -<p>Conscience, my young friends, is “the fire that -is not quenched,” and “the worm that dieth not,” -which shall continue to burn, yet not consume, -to gnaw and not diminish your immortal soul, if -you do not obey its whisperings by coming to -your Saviour, now, in the morning of life.</p> - -<p>How awful! oh, how awful will it be, to hear -the voice of your disregarded conscience ringing -throughout the dark, deep caverns of hell:—</p> - -<p>“Because I have called, and ye refused; I -have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded: -I also will laugh at your calamity; I -will mock when your fear cometh; when <em>your -fear cometh as a desolation</em>, and your <em>destruction -cometh as a whirlwind</em>; when distress and anguish -cometh upon you.”</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_50" id="page_50">50</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">CONSCIENCE.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">When</span> a foolish thought within</div> - <div class="line indent1">Tries to take us in a snare,</div> - <div class="line">Conscience tells us “It is sin,”</div> - <div class="line indent1">And entreats us to beware.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">If in something we transgress,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And are tempted to deny,</div> - <div class="line">Conscience says, “Your faults confess;</div> - <div class="line indent1">Do not dare to tell a lie.”</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">In the morning, when we rise,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And would fain omit to pray,</div> - <div class="line">“Child, consider,” Conscience cries;</div> - <div class="line indent1">“Should not God be sought to-day?”</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">When within His holy walls,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Far abroad our thoughts we send,</div> - <div class="line">Conscience often loudly calls,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And entreats us to attend.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">When our angry passions rise,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Tempting to revenge an ill,</div> - <div class="line">“Now subdue it,” Conscience cries;</div> - <div class="line indent1">“Do command your temper still.”</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Thus, without our will or choice,</div> - <div class="line indent1">This good monitor within,</div> - <div class="line">With a secret, gentle voice,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Warns us to beware of sin.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">But if we should disregard</div> - <div class="line indent1">While this friendly voice doth call,</div> - <div class="line">Conscience soon will grow so hard</div> - <div class="line indent1">That it will not speak at all.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Jane Taylor.</span></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_51" id="page_51">51</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="condemned" id="condemned"></a>“CONDEMNED.”</h2> - - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“<span class="smcap">Now</span>, despisers, look and wonder;</div> - <div class="line indent1">Hope and sinners here must part:</div> - <div class="line">Louder than a peal of thunder,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Hear the dreadful sound—‘Depart!’</div> - <div class="line indent5">Lost forever!</div> - <div class="line indent1">Hear the dreadful sound—‘Depart!’”</div> -</div></div></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">I saw</span>, not long since, a man busily engaged in -branding, with a red-hot iron, the word</p> - -<p class="center">“<span class="p70">CONDEMNED</span>,”</p> - -<p class="noi1">on a large number of barrels of flour.</p> - -<p>On asking him what it meant, he informed me -that the flour was not sound, and he was instructed -to brand all such “<em>Condemned</em>.”</p> - -<p>How forcibly, my dear young friends, did it -remind me of the situation of sinful persons—those -who have no part nor lot in Christ’s kingdom! -What a melancholy spectacle would your -Sabbath-school present, if your Superintendent -were instructed by a Divine command to brand -all the bad boys, and girls too—for we often find -little girls as bad as boys—“<em>Condemned!</em>” -What would be their feelings while undergoing<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_52" id="page_52">52</a></span> -such a painful and disgraceful operation? Yet -God says those who believe not on Christ are -condemned already, and you know “His Word -is truth.” There is one, and only one, way by -which this word can be effaced from your guilty -and sin-defiled hearts; and that is by the purifying -and sin-cleansing blood of Christ.</p> - -<p>Then pray that He will “Create in you clean -hearts, and renew right spirits within you;” so -that you may love Him better and serve Him -more faithfully in the future than you have done -in the past.</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_53" id="page_53">53</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">THE SPIRIT QUENCHED.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">There</span> is a line, by us unseen,</div> - <div class="line indent1">That crosses every path;</div> - <div class="line">The hidden boundary between</div> - <div class="line indent1">God’s patience and his wrath.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">To pass that limit is to die,</div> - <div class="line indent1">To die as if by stealth;</div> - <div class="line">It does not quench the beaming eye,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Or pale the glow of health.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">The conscience may be still at ease,</div> - <div class="line indent1">The spirits light and gay;</div> - <div class="line">That which is pleasing still may please,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And care be thrust away.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">But on that forehead God has set</div> - <div class="line indent1">Indelibly a mark,</div> - <div class="line">Unseen by man, for man as yet</div> - <div class="line indent1">Is blind and in the dark.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">And yet the doomed man’s path below</div> - <div class="line indent1">May bloom, as Eden bloomed;</div> - <div class="line">He did not, does not, will not know,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Or feel that he is doomed.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">He knows, he feels that all is well,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And every fear is calmed;</div> - <div class="line">He lives, he dies, he wakes in hell,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Not only doomed, but damned.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_54" id="page_54">54</a></span> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">O where is this mysterious bourne,</div> - <div class="line indent1">By which our path is crossed?</div> - <div class="line">Beyond which God Himself hath sworn,</div> - <div class="line indent1">That he who goes is lost!</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">How far may we go on in sin?</div> - <div class="line indent1">How long will God forbear?</div> - <div class="line">Where does hope end, and where begin</div> - <div class="line indent1">The confines of despair?</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">An answer from the skies is sent:</div> - <div class="line indent1">“Ye that from God depart,</div> - <div class="line">While it is called <span class="p70">TO-DAY</span>, repent,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And harden not your heart.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution p70">DR. J. ADDISON ALEXANDER.</div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_55" id="page_55">55</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="i_want_to_be_a_minister" id="i_want_to_be_a_minister"></a>“I WANT TO BE A MINISTER.”</h2> - - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">Lives</span> of great men all remind us</div> - <div class="line indent1">We can make our lives sublime;</div> - <div class="line">And, departing, leave behind us</div> - <div class="line indent1">Footprints on the sands of Time.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Longfellow.</span></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">More</span> than a century ago there lived in England -an orphan boy of no ordinary promise. -From his early childhood, “I want to be a minister,” -was his chief desire. Being deprived not -only of the counsel of a father and the affection -of a mother, but also of the necessary amount -of money to carry out his cherished desire, his -youthful spirit was bowed to the earth, and his -noble heart throbbed only with feelings of bitter -disappointment and despair.</p> - -<p>But a brighter day dawns. There is a prospect -for his ardent desire to be gratified. A -wealthy lady kindly volunteers to pay all of his -expenses at the University of Oxford, if he will -become a minister of the Church of England.</p> - -<p>But he is a Dissenter, and his noble spirit refuses -to sell the religion of his father and mother<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_56" id="page_56">56</a></span> -for the perishable riches of this world, and -he most respectfully declines the proffered kindness. -God bless thee, noble youth! Wait patiently—don’t -despair—<em>never give up</em>. “Where -there’s a will, there’s a way.” The path of Duty -is always the path of Right.</p> - -<p>Not long after this occurrence, a poor boy, -dressed in the garb of poverty, presented himself -at the door of a celebrated minister, and -asked to have a private interview with him relative -to studying for the ministry. The minister -listened patiently to the recital of his many difficulties -and numerous trials, but told him that -he thought it entirely unheard of, for a youth -like himself to think about entering upon so high -and responsible a calling. He advised him to -think no more of preaching, but to choose some -other calling.</p> - -<p>Disheartened at himself, discouraged by his -friends, poor, penniless and forsaken, he knew -not whither to go. No smile of encouragement -met his eye; no voice of approval sanctioned -his noble endeavor. There was one Friend, however, -who had never forsaken him; who had never -turned a deaf ear even to his smallest desire; -who had ever loved him with fatherly affection -and motherly tenderness. To that friend he then<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_57" id="page_57">57</a></span> -betook himself, and when engaged in fervent -prayer, a postman knocked at the door, and handed -him a letter from an old friend of his father, -informing him of his willingness to take him under -his care and assist him in his studies, if he -was still intent upon studying for the ministry. -“This,” he exclaimed, “I look upon almost as an -answer from Heaven, and while I live I shall always -adore so seasonable an opening of divine -Providence.”</p> - -<p>The wishes of the poor orphan boy were thus -gratified; and before many years had passed -away, under the guidance and instruction of his -friend, he became a bright and shining light on -the walls of Zion.</p> - -<p>Youthful reader, this orphan boy was <span class="smcap">Philip -Doddridge</span>—the pious and devoted minister of -Christ, the beautiful writer, the faithful pastor, -the brilliant Christian.</p> - -<p>If there be any one into whose hands this little -article may fall, who, like Doddridge, “wants -to be a minister,” and is prevented from accomplishing -his desire on account of want of means, -let me say one word—<em>never despair!</em> If God -wants you to be a minister, He will provide the -means. Wait patiently, and pray earnestly.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_58" id="page_58">58</a></span> - <div class="line outdent">“Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;</div> - <div class="line indent1">The clouds ye so much dread,</div> - <div class="line">Are big with mercy, and shall break</div> - <div class="line indent1">In blessings on your head.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">TRUST IN PROVIDENCE.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container57"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">On</span> a bridge I was standing one morning,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And watching the current roll by,</div> - <div class="line">When suddenly into the water</div> - <div class="line indent1">There fell an unfortunate fly.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“The fishes that swam to the surface</div> - <div class="line indent1">Were looking for something to eat,</div> - <div class="line">And I thought that the hapless young insect</div> - <div class="line indent1">Would surely afford them a treat.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“‘Poor thing!’ I exclaimed with compassion,</div> - <div class="line indent1">‘Thy trials and dangers abound,</div> - <div class="line">For if thou escap’st being eaten,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Thou canst not escape being drowned.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“No sooner the sentence was spoken,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Than lo! like an angel of love,</div> - <div class="line">I saw to the waters beneath me</div> - <div class="line indent1">A leaflet descend from above.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_59" id="page_59">59</a></span> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“It glided serene on the streamlet,</div> - <div class="line indent1">’Twas an ark to the poor little fly;</div> - <div class="line">Which soon, to the land reäscending,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Spread its wings in the breezes to dry.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Oh, sweet was the truth that was whispered,</div> - <div class="line indent1">That mortals should <em>never</em> despair;</div> - <div class="line">For He who takes care of an insect,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Much more for His <em>children</em> will care.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“And though to our short-sighted vision</div> - <div class="line indent1">No way of escape may appear,</div> - <div class="line">Let us <em>trust</em>, for when least we expect it,</div> - <div class="line indent1">The help of ‘<em>our Father</em>’ is near.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_60" id="page_60">60</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="rufus_taylor" id="rufus_taylor"></a>RUFUS TAYLOR.</h2> - -<p class="p90">Children, obey your parents in all things; for this is well-pleasing -unto the Lord.—<span class="smcap">Bible.</span></p> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">On</span> an evening in July, 18–, as several youths, -from twelve to eighteen years of age, were standing -at the corner of a street in the little village -of B——, Rufus Taylor, one of their companions, -came up to them and said, “Come, boys, -let’s go and take a cool bath—’tis terribly -warm.”</p> - -<p>Rufus had been positively forbidden by his parents -to go bathing without their consent; but, -thinking they would never know anything about -it, he came up to the group of boys and made the -preceding proposition.</p> - -<p>They all, with one consent, agreed to it, and -soon were on their way to the bay.</p> - -<p>Arriving at their famous bathing spot, and undressing -in a few moments, they soon plunged into -the cooling water, and swam to an island, a -few hundred yards distant.</p> - -<p>Rufus alone remained on the shore.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_61" id="page_61">61</a></span> -He was afraid to attempt swimming such a -long distance, as he had but recently learned to -swim. But, collecting all his courage, he followed -his comrades, and cried out that he would -overtake them or be <em>damned!</em> What an awful -word to proceed from the lips of a boy twelve -years old! He had not swum more than fifty -yards, when his strength failed, and he sank beneath -the blue waves of the roaring ocean. Every -effort was made by his friends to save him, -but they were all in vain.</p> - -<p>Let his untimely end be a solemn warning to -boys who are in the habit of disobeying their -parents.</p> - -<p>May it teach a lesson, also, to those who indulge -in the use of profane language. Rufus did -not think that his <em>damnation</em> was so near at hand, -when he uttered that awful curse.</p> - -<p>He was hurried into the presence of his Maker -without one moment’s warning, and with the -profane expression still lingering on his lips.</p> - -<p>Who can tell the unutterable anguish of his -parents when the intelligence of the death of -their only son—their disobedient boy—reached -their ears? His father, on being told that his -son was drowned, exclaimed, “<em>Oh, my disobedient -son! I told him not to go bathing without my consent. -Would to God I had died for him!</em>”</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_62" id="page_62">62</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container57"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">Let</span> children that would fear the Lord,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Hear what their teachers say;</div> - <div class="line">With reverence mark their parents’ word,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And with delight obey.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Have you not heard what dreadful plagues</div> - <div class="line indent1">Are threaten’d by the Lord</div> - <div class="line">To him that breaks his father’s laws,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Or mocks his mother’s word?</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“What heavy guilt upon him lies!</div> - <div class="line indent1">How cursed is his name!</div> - <div class="line">The ravens shall pick out his eyes,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And eagles eat the same.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“But those that worship God, and give</div> - <div class="line indent1">Their parents honor due,</div> - <div class="line">Here on this earth they long shall live,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And live hereafter too.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_63" id="page_63">63</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2 class="lh2"><a name="james_jones" id="james_jones"></a>JAMES JONES;<br /> -<span class="p80">OR, THE LITTLE GAMBLER.</span></h2> - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“<span class="smcap">Make</span> us unguarded youth</div> - <div class="line indent1">The objects of Thy care;</div> - <div class="line">Help us to choose the way of truth,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And fly from every snare.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi">“<span class="smcap">What</span> can be meant by ‘the little gambler?’ -I never heard of a boy’s gambling in my life!” -my little reader will, no doubt, exclaim. Though -it may seem very strange, yet such things often -occur. I will relate to you an incident that occurred -in my school-boy days, which, perhaps, -may bring to your recollection the fact that you -have indulged in it yourself. Boys as well as -men are frequently found to be gamblers, though, -of course, on a much smaller scale.</p> - -<p>At the corner of a street in the city of —— -was a gaming house, kept by a boy not more -than twelve years old. It was one of the most -beautiful and pleasant places I ever saw, well -calculated to entice within its polluted walls the -heedless and inconsiderate youth. Here, after<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_64" id="page_64">64</a></span> -school hours, quite a number of boys were accustomed -to assemble and spend their evenings.</p> - -<p>Passing near the above place one pleasant -evening in May, I saw a youth, whom I shall call -James Jones, who seemed to be intently engaged -in the issue of a game. He was successful; and -when he gathered up the “stakes,” a smile of exulting -joy passed over his face. I saw nothing -more of James till some eight years after the -above occurrence. I was standing in the court-room -one morning, when I heard the clerk read -out a charge against James Jones for forcibly -breaking into the trunk of a certain gentleman, -and stealing therefrom the sum of $500.</p> - -<p>On examining the appearance of the young -man more closely, I found him to be the same -youth whom I had seen in the “little gambling -house.” A widowed mother sat by his side, weeping -most bitterly. His appearance had altered -very much. Long confinement had turned the -healthy, robust man into a mere skeleton. His -countenance was haggard, his cheek sunken, his -eye dim, his step tremulous.</p> - -<p>He was found guilty, and sentenced to five -years’ imprisonment in the State Penitentiary. -When he arose to receive the sentence the most -perfect indifference was manifested by him, while<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_65" id="page_65">65</a></span> -his poor mother seemed as though she would die -beneath the weight of such heavy affliction.</p> - -<p>She informed me that James, at a very early -age, became fond of bad company, and would often -steal away at night, and spend the time allotted -to rest in the most dissipated assemblies. -He finally became involved in debt, and determined -to get out at all hazards. He was thus -almost forced to commit a deed which brought -the grey hairs of his mother in sorrow to the -grave, and ruined him for life.</p> - -<p>Doubtless, you would like to know what was -James’ first act in his downward career. It was -betting at the “<em>little gambling house</em>.” There he -learned to do evil rather than good.</p> - -<p>I have neglected to explain to you what the -<em>gambling house</em> was. It was a wide-spreading -elm tree, beneath the hospitable shade of which -the boys of the neighborhood were accustomed to -meet and play marbles for <em>have-ance</em>; that is, -each boy kept all the marbles he knocked out of -the ring.</p> - -<p>Have any of you ever been guilty of this? If -so, then you were gambling, and, unless you stop -it at once, the gallows or the penitentiary may be -your end. Do not gamble with marbles; it may -be your ruin. Truly, “The way of the transgressor -is hard.”</p> - -<div class="poetry-container62"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_66" id="page_66">66</a></span> - <div class="line">“Placed on the verge of youth, my mind</div> - <div class="line indent1">Life’s opening scene surveyed;</div> - <div class="line">I viewed its ills of various kinds,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Afflicted and afraid.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Oh, how shall I, with heart prepar’d,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Those terrors learn to meet?</div> - <div class="line">How from the thousand snares to guard</div> - <div class="line indent1">My inexperienced feet?</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Let faith suppress each rising fear,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Each anxious doubt exclude;</div> - <div class="line">My Maker’s will has placed me here,</div> - <div class="line indent1">A Maker wise and good.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“He too, my every trial knows</div> - <div class="line indent1">Its just restraint to give,</div> - <div class="line">Attentive to behold my woes,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And faithful to relieve.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Though griefs unnumbered throng thee round,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Still in thy God confide,</div> - <div class="line">Whose finger marks the seas their bound,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And curbs the rolling tide.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_67" id="page_67">67</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">TAKE HEED.</p> - -<p class="center">“Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”</p> - -<div class="poetry-container57"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">Let</span> him who thinks he stands secure,</div> - <div class="line">And in self-confidence is sure</div> - <div class="line">He shall unto the end endure,</div> - <div class="line indent10">‘Take heed.’</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Let him who fears not Satan’s art,</div> - <div class="line">Nor dreads temptation’s fiery dart,</div> - <div class="line">But says he’s safe in every part,</div> - <div class="line indent10">‘Take heed.’</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Let him who sees his neighbor wrong,</div> - <div class="line">And makes those faults his daily song,</div> - <div class="line">Blasting his fame with thoughtless tongue,</div> - <div class="line indent10">‘Take heed.’</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Let him whose heart is lifted high,</div> - <div class="line">Who’ll pass an erring brother by,</div> - <div class="line">Or bid him from his presence fly,</div> - <div class="line indent10">‘Take heed.’</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Who feels not his own strength is small,</div> - <div class="line">Nor lifts to heaven an early call</div> - <div class="line">For daily grace, lest he should fall,</div> - <div class="line indent10">‘Take heed.’</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“By faith in ‘Christ our strength’ we stand,</div> - <div class="line">He keeps by His almighty hand,</div> - <div class="line">Those who obey His wise command:</div> - <div class="line indent10">‘Take heed.’”</div> -</div></div></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_68" id="page_68">68</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="gertrude_mason" id="gertrude_mason"></a>GERTRUDE MASON.</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“<span class="smcap">Come</span>, children, come!</div> - <div class="line">God bids you come!</div> - <div class="line">Come and learn to sing the story</div> - <div class="line">Of the Lord of life and glory;</div> - <div class="line">Come, children, come!”</div> -</div></div></div> -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Mrs. Brown.</span></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Gertrude Mason</span> was a sweet little girl of -about ten summers, with rosy cheeks, and bright, -sunny hair.</p> - -<p>She did not live in the city, like a great many -children, but she lived at a quiet little cottage -in the country, which she called “Rose Neath.”</p> - -<p>Gertrude was a good child.</p> - -<p>She loved everybody, and everybody seemed -to love her.</p> - -<p>She was meek and gentle, and was always willing -to do any thing she could to minister to the -wants of the poor and needy.</p> - -<p>Gertrude had a beautiful Newfoundland dog, -named Rescue, and wherever she went, her friend -Rescue was always at her side. She loved him -very much, and used to give him part of her<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_69" id="page_69">69</a></span> -meals every day. One lovely Sabbath morning, -when the sun was shining brightly, and the little -birds singing sweetly from the boughs of the -trees, Gertrude, dressed neatly and tidily, hymn-book -and catechism in hand, started off for the -Sabbath-school.</p> - -<p>She had not gone very far, when she came to -a creek.</p> - -<p>Thrown across this creek was a log, on which -persons were in the habit of crossing.</p> - -<p>It had rained the night before, and the log was -very slippery. Gertrude did not think of this, -and was about crossing over, when her foot -slipped, and she was thrown headlong into the -swollen current.</p> - -<p>She would have been drowned, had it not been -for her faithful friend Rescue, who swam in and -brought her safely to the shore.</p> - -<p>Thus was the life of this lovely girl saved by -her affectionate dog.</p> - -<p>This little story should teach us two lessons.</p> - -<p><em>First</em>, if we wish persons to love us, we must -be kind and attentive to them.</p> - -<p><em>Secondly</em>, the pathway of life is very slippery, -and many of our companions fall into very great -sins, and it is our duty, like Rescue, to save them -from destruction.</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_70" id="page_70">70</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">“REMEMBER THY CREATOR IN THE DAYS OF THY -YOUTH.”</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">While</span> in the tender years of youth,</div> - <div class="line indent1">In nature’s smiling bloom,</div> - <div class="line">Ere age arrive and trembling wait</div> - <div class="line indent1">Its summons to the tomb,</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Remember thy creator, God,</div> - <div class="line indent1">For Him thy powers employ;</div> - <div class="line">Make Him thy fear, thy love, thy hope,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Thy confidence, thy joy.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">He shall defend and guide thy course</div> - <div class="line indent1">Through life’s uncertain sea,</div> - <div class="line">Till thou art landed on the shore</div> - <div class="line indent1">Of blest eternity.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Then seek the Lord betimes, and choose</div> - <div class="line indent1">The path of heavenly truth:</div> - <div class="line">The earth affords no lovlier sight</div> - <div class="line indent1">Than a religious youth.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Gibbons.</span></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_71" id="page_71">71</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="the_deaf_shoemaker" id="the_deaf_shoemaker"></a>THE DEAF SHOEMAKER.</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">Toiling</span>—rejoicing—sorrowing,</div> - <div class="line">Onward through life he goes,</div> - <div class="line">Each morning sees some task begun,</div> - <div class="line">Each evening sees its close;</div> - <div class="line">Something attempted, something done,</div> - <div class="line">Has earned a night’s repose.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Longfellow.</span></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Beneath</span> the scorching rays of a blistering summer’s -sun, or chilled by the piercing blast of winter, -a puny, sickly youth might have been seen -daily ascending a ladder, bearing on his head a -heavy weight of slate. There is nothing about -his appearance but his feeble step and emaciated -frame, calculated to attract the attention of the -passer-by: a closer observation, however, will -show that he possesses an eye which bespeaks an -amount of patient perseverance but seldom -known.</p> - -<p>On one occasion, when about twelve years of -age, while engaged in his accustomed labor, his -foot misses the round of the ladder which he had -so long ascended, and the infirm youth is thrown<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_72" id="page_72">72</a></span> -a distance of thirty-five feet on the hard stone -pavement beneath. In a state of perfect insensibility -he is taken up and borne to the arms of his -afflicted friends. For two long weeks he remains -in a state of unconsciousness, not knowing -the nearest and dearest of his relatives.</p> - -<p>At the expiration of this time his mind begins -to revive, and his feeble eye wanders about the -room with listless indifference. Recovering from -his attack, he immediately inquires for a book in -which he had been deeply interested previous to -the accident which came so near terminating his -earthly career.</p> - -<p>No one seems to answer his inquiries. “Why -do you not speak? <em>Pray let me have my book!</em>” -Still no one replies. At last some one takes a -slate and writes upon it that the book had been -returned to its owner.</p> - -<p>“Why do you <em>write</em> to me?” exclaimed the sufferer—“speak, -<em>speak</em>! <span class="p70">SPEAK</span>!” Again was the -pencil taken and the three words—<em>you are deaf</em>—written.</p> - -<p>How severe the affliction! No more can that -ear drink in the sweet melody of the little warblers; -no more listen to those words of affection -which make home the brightest and happiest spot -in the world; no more hear the gentle notes of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_73" id="page_73">73</a></span> -the “sweet singer of Israel,” or gather the soul-stirring -anthems that echo and reëcho through -the vaulted roof of God’s sanctuary.</p> - -<p>As his father was very poor, he was placed in -an almshouse to keep him from starvation.</p> - -<p>He was soon removed, however, from his lonely -prison home, and placed under a shoemaker, -but was treated so unkindly that his friends -found it necessary to have him again put in the -poorhouse.</p> - -<p>His studious habits and intellectual qualities -soon attracted the notice of the officers of the -almshouse, and he was treated with marked -kindness and attention. While others were -wasting the golden moments of youth, the <em>deaf -shoemaker</em> was busy garnering his spare minutes, -and storing his mind with information which -was destined to exert an influence throughout -the world.</p> - -<p>In a short time he was removed to the London -Missionary Society, whence he went to Malta as -a printer.</p> - -<p>Here he studied very closely, and, after returning -to London, accompanied Mr. Groves in a -tour through Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Kurdistan -and Persia.</p> - -<p>During this tour he gathered a vast amount of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_74" id="page_74">74</a></span> -information relative to Eastern manners and customs, -which rendered him one of the most instructive -and interesting writers in the world.</p> - -<p>He published, as the fruit of his arduous toil -during this journey, quite a number of books, -which have been greatly sought after both in -Europe and America, and have made him a welcome -guest at thousands of happy firesides.</p> - -<p>His toilsome and unceasing labors for the cause -of truth and religion were too severe for so -feeble a frame, and at an early age, not fifty -years old, <span class="smcap">John Kitto</span>—the deaf shoemaker of -Plymouth—gently fell asleep in the arms of his -Saviour—beloved and respected by all who -knew him, and honored by those who had become -familiar with him from his deeply interesting -and invaluable productions.</p> - -<p>In speaking of Kitto, a clergyman of considerable -distinction uses the following beautiful -language:—</p> - -<p>“Rarely have we read a more touching record -of heroic struggle than the toilsome ascent of -the deaf boy of Plymouth to the lofty position -of the world-famed Editor of the Biblical Encyclopædia, -the Pictorial Bible, the Daily Bible Illustrations. -He reached, through incredible difficulties, -a position that few attain under the most<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_75" id="page_75">75</a></span> -favorable circumstances, and has left behind him -nearly fifty volumes, some of which take high -rank as works of critical authority. Truly the -heroic ages have not yet ceased, and there is a -heroism of the solitary student that is a nobler -thing than that of the warrior on the field of -battle; and such heroism is seen in the life of -Kitto.”</p> - -<p>My young friends, how touchingly beautiful -and highly instructive is the brief but brilliant -life of John Kitto! Do not</p> - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“Lives of <em>such</em> men all remind us</div> - <div class="line indent1">We can make our lives sublime,</div> - <div class="line">And, departing, leave behind us</div> - <div class="line indent1">Footprints on the sands of Time—</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“Footprints, that perhaps another,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,</div> - <div class="line">A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Seeing, shall take heart again?”</div> -</div></div></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_76" id="page_76">76</a></span> -</div> - - -<p class="center p120">THE CHILD OF POVERTY.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">Lord</span>, I am poor, yet hear my call;</div> - <div class="line indent1">Afford me daily bread;</div> - <div class="line">Give me at least the crumbs that fall</div> - <div class="line indent1">From tables richly spread.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Thou canst for all my wants provide,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And bless my homely crust;</div> - <div class="line">The ravens cry, and are supplied,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And ought I not to trust?</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Behold the lilies, how they grow,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Though they can nothing do;</div> - <div class="line">And will not God who clothes them so,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Afford me raiment too?</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">O may I heavenly treasures find,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And choose the better part:</div> - <div class="line">Give me an humble, pious mind,</div> - <div class="line indent1">A meek and lowly heart.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Jane Taylor.</span></div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_77" id="page_77">77</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2 class="lh2"><a name="norman_hall" id="norman_hall"></a>NORMAN HALL;<br /> -<span class="p80">OR, THE BOY AND THE ROCK.</span></h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“<span class="smcap">Blessings</span>, Lord, vouchsafe to give</div> - <div class="line">On the teaching I receive.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Norman Hall</span> was what most of us would call -a “dull boy;” that is, though he studied hard, -yet he was never ahead in his classes, and could -not master his lessons as easily as a great many -other boys. He was respected and beloved not -only by his teacher, but also by the scholars. -His father and mother both felt very sad because -their only boy did not rank among the first in -his class, and knew not how to account for it.</p> - -<p>One Friday, Norman missed nearly all of his -lessons, and was so much discouraged that he almost -determined to quit studying entirely and go -to some honest trade. He left the school-room -with tears in his eyes, thinking that he had entered -it for the last time. As he was going home, -he saw a large and deep hole in a rock, which a -small stream, by continually falling in the same -place, had worn. It was the very thing he needed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_78" id="page_78">78</a></span> -and suited him exactly. The thought at once -arose in his mind, if a little stream, so soft in itself, -can make such a deep and lasting impression -on this hard and flinty rock, I am sure, by hard -studying and close application, I can make an -impression on my mind, which certainly is not as -hard as this rock.</p> - -<p>He returned to school on Monday, and studied -more diligently than he had ever done before; and -as he grew in years, he grew in understanding, -and at length became a learned man.</p> - -<p>Remember, “That a drop hollows out the stone -not by force, but by falling often; so you will -become learned, not by a violent effort, but by -frequent reading.”</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_79" id="page_79">79</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">THE SLUGGARD.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container72"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">’Tis</span> the voice of the sluggard; I heard him complain,</div> - <div class="line">‘You have waked me too soon, I must slumber again.’</div> - <div class="line">As the door on its hinges, so he on his bed,</div> - <div class="line">Turns his sides and his shoulders, and his heavy head.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“A little more sleep, and a little more slumber;”</div> - <div class="line">Thus he wastes half his days, and his hours without number;</div> - <div class="line">And when he gets up, he sits folding his hands,</div> - <div class="line">Or walks about sauntering, or trifling he stands.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">I passed by his garden, and saw the wild brier,</div> - <div class="line">The thorn and the thistle grow broader and higher:</div> - <div class="line">The clothes that hang on him are turning to rags,</div> - <div class="line">And his money still wastes, till he starves or he begs.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">I made him a visit, still hoping to find</div> - <div class="line">He had took better care for improving his mind;</div> - <div class="line">He told me his dreams, talk’d of eating and drinking;</div> - <div class="line">But he scarce reads his Bible, and never loves thinking.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Said I then to my heart, “Here’s a lesson for me,”</div> - <div class="line">This man’s but a picture of what I might be;</div> - <div class="line">But thanks to my friends for their care in my breeding,</div> - <div class="line">Who taught me betimes to <em>love working and reading</em>.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Watts.</span></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_80" id="page_80">80</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="delay_not" id="delay_not"></a>“DELAY NOT.”</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container62"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“<span class="smcap">Delay</span> not, delay not, O sinner, draw near;</div> - <div class="line indent1">The waters of life are now flowing for thee;</div> - <div class="line">No price is demanded, the Saviour is here,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Salvation is purchased, redemption is free.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">The</span> sun was hanging low in the West; dark -and threatening banks of lead-colored clouds -were moving slowly across the heavens; the distant -muttering of thunder, and quick and piercing -flashes of lightning, bade me prepare for the approaching -storm. In circumstances like these, I -was riding slowly along the banks of a canal, -when my attention was attracted by the appearance -of a small house, which sat just above my -head, on a little eminence. Seeing the storm was -rapidly approaching, I thought it would be a -good shelter from the rain.</p> - -<p>The unhinged shutters, the broken panes of -glass whose places were supplied by dirty rags, -the large cracks between the logs, all told too -plainly that withering poverty had there an -abode. After repeated knocks at the door, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_81" id="page_81">81</a></span> -woman made her appearance. Such a human -being I had never seen. She looked more like -a fiend from the regions of the damned, than -a living and immortal soul. Her cheek was -sunken; her eye dim and staring wildly about; -her hair thrown loosely over her shoulders; her -feet uncovered; and her person clad in the most -filthy and disgusting manner.</p> - -<p>She did not seem accustomed to seeing strange -faces, and gave me such a wild stare that my very -blood chilled in my veins. There we both stood. -For some moments not a word was uttered by -either. I was waiting to see if she would ask -me to take a seat. This she did not do; and -feeling that I had a matter of more importance -than politeness to attend to—<em>her soul’s welfare</em>—I -sat down on the remains of what was once a -chair, and commenced the following conversation:</p> - -<p>“Are you a Christian?” “No.” “Do you -ever expect or hope to be a <em>Christian</em>?” “No.” -“Have you ever felt the workings of God’s Spirit -upon your heart?” “Never, since a child.” -“Have you at any period in your past life ever -read your Bible?” “Yes, I read it when a -school-girl.” “Did you not see a peculiar beauty -and simplicity in it?” “I did not.” “Do you<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_82" id="page_82">82</a></span> -believe in the Bible?” “Yes,” she angrily -replied, “<em>I believe it to be a lie from beginning to -end</em>.” “Have you ever read any other books besides -the Bible?” “I have read Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s -Progress, and believe that he was as complete -a liar as ever lived, and never experienced -one feeling described in that book, but wrote it -only to deceive the foolish common people.” -“Are you, in your present situation, willing to -die?” “<em>Yes, and willing to go to hell, and stay -there forever and ever!</em>”</p> - -<p>Giving her several tracts on infidelity, which -she contemptuously threw on the floor, I invoked -a Father’s blessing on her, and departed—never -to meet again till we stand around the judgment-seat -of Christ.</p> - -<p>The clouds which were wandering over the -heavens when I entered the house, had collected -in a mass, and produced one of the most awful -storms I ever witnessed in my life. The wind -blew most furiously; the rain poured in torrents; -peal after peal of the most deafening thunder -echoed and reëchoed among the mountain crags; -and flash after flash of piercing lightning darted -across the heavens. But, my dear young friends, -this storm did not compare, in its madness and -fury, with that still more awful storm of despair<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_83" id="page_83">83</a></span> -and hopeless agony which was raging in the breast -of her from whom I had just parted.</p> - -<p>Dear young friends, do not put off till to-morrow -the eternal interests of your immortal souls. -Remember—oh, remember the terrible condition -of the woman about whom I have been telling -you.</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_84" id="page_84">84</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">THE DANGER OF DELAY.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">Why</span> should I say, “’Tis yet too soon</div> - <div class="line indent1">To seek for Heaven or think of death?”</div> - <div class="line">A flower may fade before ’tis noon,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And I this day may lose my breath.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">If this rebellious heart of mine</div> - <div class="line indent1">Despise the gracious calls of Heaven,</div> - <div class="line">I may be harden’d in my sin,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And never have repentance given.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">What if the Lord grow wroth and swear,</div> - <div class="line indent1">While I refuse to read and pray,</div> - <div class="line">That He’ll refuse to lend an ear</div> - <div class="line indent1">To all my groans another day!</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">What if His dreadful anger burn,</div> - <div class="line indent1">While I refuse His offer’d grace,</div> - <div class="line">And all His love to fury turn,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And strike me dead upon the place!</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">’Tis dangerous to provoke a God!</div> - <div class="line indent1">His power and vengeance none can tell:</div> - <div class="line">One stroke of His almighty rod</div> - <div class="line indent1">Shall send young sinners quick to Hell!</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Then ’twill forever be in vain</div> - <div class="line indent1">To cry for pardon and for grace;</div> - <div class="line">To wish I had my time again,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Or hope to see my Maker’s face.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Watts.</span></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_85" id="page_85">85</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="the_saviour" id="the_saviour"></a>THE SAVIOUR.</h2> - - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">One</span> there is, above all others,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Who deserves the name of Friend.</div> - <div class="line">His is love beyond a brother’s,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Costly, free, and knows no end.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Newton.</span></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">A mother</span> with three children was once returning -home, at a late hour of the night, through -one of those dark and lonely passes which abound -in the Alps mountains.</p> - -<p>The night was so very cold that she drew two -of her children close to her side, and clasped the -youngest to her breast, in order to keep them -from freezing.</p> - -<p>They thus journeyed on, drawn rapidly over -the smoothly beaten road by their faithful horse, -dreaming only of the warm fire and affectionate -welcome which awaited them at their mountain -home, little thinking of the danger which lurked -so short a distance behind them.</p> - -<p>Presently she heard in the far-off distance the -faint howl of a wolf.</p> - -<p>In a few seconds that of another, and another, -fell upon her ear.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_86" id="page_86">86</a></span></p> - -<p>The sound grew louder and louder, and the -number seemed to increase every moment.</p> - -<p>The thought at once flashed across her mind, -that a pack of half-starved wolves was in hot -pursuit of herself and darling little ones.</p> - -<p>The noble horse knew too well the danger that -awaited himself and his precious burden, and -with renewed speed hastened rapidly onward.</p> - -<p>But his strength was not sufficient to rescue his -mistress and her little ones from the jaws of -twenty hungry wolves; for their fearful yell -rang louder and louder on the midnight air, till, -on looking behind her, the affrighted mother beheld -them within a hundred yards of the precious -laden sleigh.</p> - -<p>Their blood-shot eyes glared fiercely, and their -tongues hung far out of their mouths.</p> - -<p>There was no escape—destruction was certain. -Yes, there was one means of escape, and only -one; that was, to throw one of her children to -the wolves, and while they were satisfying their -hunger on its body, she and the other two might -safely reach their home. Awful thought! She -looked into their cherub faces, kissed by the soft -rays of the silver moon, with that tenderness -which a mother only can feel, and her loving -heart shrank back with horror from such a fiendish -deed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_87" id="page_87">87</a></span> -Not a moment was to be lost. The yelling -wolves were within a few steps of the sleigh—she -felt their heated breath warming her cheek. -One minute more, and herself and children would -be devoured by the bloodthirsty beasts. Love -for her children prevails, she throws herself a -sacrifice to the hungry pack, and soon breathes -her last, surrounded by the growls of devouring -wolves, and the mournful dirge of the mountain -winds.</p> - -<p>Children, was not that loving mother the -<span class="smcap">Saviour</span> of her tender offspring?</p> - -<p>And now I ask you,—Will you, can you, reject -that dear Saviour who suffered, and bled, and -died on Calvary, to save you from a never-ending -destruction?</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line indent2">“Oh! that all might believe,</div> - <div class="line indent3">And salvation receive,</div> - <div class="line">And their song and their joy be the same.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_88" id="page_88">88</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">THE STRAYED LAMB.</p> - -<p class="center p80">Matt. xviii. 12, 13.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">A giddy</span> lamb, one afternoon,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Had from the fold departed;</div> - <div class="line">The tender shepherd missed it soon,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And sought it, broken-hearted;</div> - <div class="line">Not all the flock, that shared his love,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Could from the search delay him:</div> - <div class="line">Nor clouds of midnight darkness move,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Nor fear of suffering stay him.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“But, night and day, he went his way</div> - <div class="line indent1">In sorrow, till he found it;</div> - <div class="line">And when he saw it fainting lie,</div> - <div class="line indent1">He clasp’d his arms around it;</div> - <div class="line">And, closely shelter’d in his breast,</div> - <div class="line indent1">From every ill to save it,</div> - <div class="line">He brought it to his home of rest,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And pitied, and forgave it.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“And so the Saviour will receive</div> - <div class="line indent1">The little ones that fear Him;</div> - <div class="line">Their pains remove, their sins forgive,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And draw them gently near Him;</div> - <div class="line">Bless, while they live—and when they die,</div> - <div class="line indent1">When soul and body sever,</div> - <div class="line">Conduct them to His home on high,</div> - <div class="line indent1">To dwell with Him forever.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_89" id="page_89">89</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="autumn" id="autumn"></a>AUTUMN.</h2> - - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">See</span> the leaves around us falling,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Dry and wither’d to the ground;</div> - <div class="line">Thus to thoughtless mortals calling,</div> - <div class="line indent1">In a sad and solemn sound.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">On the tree of life eternal,</div> - <div class="line indent1">O let all our hopes be laid;</div> - <div class="line">This alone, for ever vernal,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Bears a leaf that shall not fade.</div> -</div></div></div> -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Horne.</span></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">To</span> me, no season of the year brings with it so -many solemn and instructive reflections as Autumn. -When I look around me and see everything -looking so barren and desolate, I cannot help -feeling sad. The fields which a few months since -looked so gay and beautiful, with their flower-dressed -meadows and waving grain, are now -parched and dead. The busy scythe of the reaper -has laid many a proud stalk level with the -ground, and the frugal husbandman has gathered -his abundant harvest into his garner, or left it -carefully stacked in the field to breast the storms -of the approaching Winter. The variegated -blossoms of the apple-tree have matured, ripened,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_90" id="page_90">90</a></span> -and fallen to the ground. The garden which, a -short time since, sent forth such delightful fragrance, -now lies barren and bare. The leaves -have fallen one by one from the sturdy oak, and -left it in its lonely barrenness to battle with the -piercing winds and howling tempests of the winter -king. I have sat by my window and seen -the green leaf of Summer first fade into a pale -amber color, grow darker and darker by degrees, -till it finally turned to a beautiful russet, and -then flutter to the ground. When I first noticed -the tree, it was covered with a heavy foliage. In -a few days it became thinner and thinner; in a -few more days a few leaves lingered on its topmost -boughs, and at last they, too, fell to the -ground, and left it perfectly solitary.</p> - -<p>Children, can you look upon such scenes as -these, and not feel that they were intended by -God to teach you many important truths? Does -not the barren field remind you of that soul from -which the light of God’s countenance has been -withdrawn? The gathered harvest of that -great harvest of mankind which shall take place -at the judgment day? Does not the oak teach -you, if you wish to encounter the trials and tempests -of the world, that you must lay aside everything, -however small it may seem, which will enable<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_91" id="page_91">91</a></span> -those trying tempests better to uproot your -faith and cast you headlong into destruction? -May you, like it, the more violent the storm, the -deeper penetrate the roots of your trust into the -soil Christ Jesus.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container67"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,</div> - <div class="line"><em>I will not</em>—<em>I will not</em> desert to his foes;</div> - <div class="line">That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,</div> - <div class="line"><em>I’ll never</em>—no, <em>never</em>—no, <em>never forsake</em>.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>When we look upon the fading leaf and the -withering flower, may we feel that “We all do -fade as a leaf,” and that “All flesh is grass, and -the goodness thereof is as the flower of the field: -the grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the -word of our God shall stand for ever.” How -frequently do we see it the case, that those whom -we consider friends, when the sun of prosperity -shines brightly upon us, cannot be drawn away; -but, like the leaves of the forest, as soon as the -pinching frosts of adversity begin to wither our -hopes and blast our cherished expectations, they -can nowhere be found, but have left us to struggle -against difficulties, when we most needed -their advice and counsel. Let us not, then, put -too much trust in an arm of flesh, but always -rely upon God, who will never desert us or leave -us to the mercy of our enemies. As the leaf falleth<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_92" id="page_92">92</a></span> -to the ground, and moulders into dust, so -does the body of man; but his spirit returneth to -God who gave it, and shall spend an eternity -amid the joys of Heaven or the woes of Hell.</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">THE VOICE OF AUTUMN.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">There</span> comes, from yonder height,</div> - <div class="line indent1">A soft repining sound,</div> - <div class="line">Where forest leaves are bright,</div> - <div class="line">And fall like flakes of light</div> - <div class="line indent7">To the ground.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">It is the autumn breeze,</div> - <div class="line indent1">That, lightly floating on,</div> - <div class="line">Just skims the weedy leas,</div> - <div class="line">Just stirs the glowing trees,</div> - <div class="line indent7">And is gone.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">He moans by sedgy brook,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And visits with a sigh,</div> - <div class="line">The last pale flowers that look</div> - <div class="line">From out their sunny nook</div> - <div class="line indent7">At the sky.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">O’er shouting children flies</div> - <div class="line indent1">That light October wind;</div> - <div class="line">And, kissing cheeks and eyes,</div> - <div class="line">He leaves their merry cries</div> - <div class="line indent7">Far behind,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_93" id="page_93">93</a></span> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">And wanders on to make</div> - <div class="line indent1">That soft uneasy sound</div> - <div class="line">By distant wood and lake,</div> - <div class="line">Where distant fountains break</div> - <div class="line indent7">From the ground.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">No bower where maidens dwell</div> - <div class="line indent1">Can win a moment’s stay;</div> - <div class="line">Nor fair untrodden dell;</div> - <div class="line">He sweeps the upland swell,</div> - <div class="line indent7">And away!</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Mourn’st thou thy homeless state,</div> - <div class="line indent1">O soft, repining wind!</div> - <div class="line">That early seek’st, and late,</div> - <div class="line">The rest it is thy fate</div> - <div class="line indent7">Not to find?</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Not on the mountain’s breast,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Not on the ocean’s shore,</div> - <div class="line">In all the East and West;</div> - <div class="line">The wind that stops to rest</div> - <div class="line indent7">Is no more.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">By valleys, woods, and springs,</div> - <div class="line indent1">No wonder thou shouldst grieve</div> - <div class="line">For all the glorious things</div> - <div class="line">Thou touchest with thy wings</div> - <div class="line indent7">And must leave.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">W. C. Bryant.</span></div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_94" id="page_94">94</a></span> -</div> - - - -<h2><a name="nero_or_cruelty_to_animals" id="nero_or_cruelty_to_animals"></a>NERO; OR, CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.</h2> - - -<div class="poetry-container67"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">I would</span> not enter on my list of friends</div> - <div class="line">(Though graced with polished manners and fine sense,</div> - <div class="line">Yet wanting sensibility,) the man</div> - <div class="line">Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Cowper’s Task.</span></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">About</span> fifty years after the birth of Christ -there lived a Roman Emperor whose name was -Nero. He was one of the most cruel and unmerciful -men whose lives are recorded in history. -He put to death many of the noblest citizens of -Rome upon the very slightest and most unfounded -charges. The most bloody and brutal act of his -life was the persecution of the Christians in and -about the city of Rome. He set fire to the city -in order that he might enjoy the pleasure of seeing -a conflagration similar to that of a great -city which had been destroyed many years before. -To silence the report of his having set fire to the -city, the base Nero laid the guilt of it upon the -new sect of Christians, whose numbers were -rapidly increasing in every part of the empire. -The death of these poor harmless Christians -was aggravated with sport; “for they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_95" id="page_95">95</a></span> -either covered with the skins of wild beasts, and -torn to pieces by devouring dogs, or fastened to -crosses, or wrapped up in combustible garments, -that when the daylight failed they might serve, -like torches, to illuminate the darkness of the -night.”</p> - -<p>He not only inflicted upon them every manner -of torture and suffering which his wicked and -depraved mind could invent, but he also took a -great delight in seeing the poor innocent creatures -suffer. Sometimes he drove a chariot -among the sufferers, and at others he stood -among them as a spectator of scenes which would -make the coldest heart melt with sympathy, and -the eye of the most unfeeling shed tears of sorrow.</p> - -<p>Such was the character of one of the most -cruel and merciless wretches that ever lived. -And to what thing do you suppose, dear reader, -his cruelty may be attributed? To the great -delight which he took, when a child, in inflicting -pain on the harmless and inoffensive little insect. -It was his delight to extract from it cries of sorrow, -and to tread upon the worm in order that -he might witness its painful writhings. As he -was in childhood, so was he when he became a -man. As in childhood he caught the fly and -pierced its body through with pointed instruments,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_96" id="page_96">96</a></span> -so in manhood did he cause his fellow-man -to suffer every pain which his corrupt heart -could wish, or his sinful mind invent.</p> - -<p>Whenever I see a little boy or a little girl -catching flies and pulling their legs and wings -off, or piercing their bodies, I always think -<em>there</em> will be a <em>second Nero</em>, if that disposition -is not changed by God, or a check put upon it -by some kind friend.</p> - -<p>Children, be kind to every thing around you, -particularly the dumb brute. Do not throw -stones at the harmless little sparrow, or the -pretty little snow-bird. Life is as precious to -them as it is to you. Doubtless they have feelings -of love and tenderness for each other, and -why do you wish to destroy their happiness? -Even if they had ever wronged you, it would be -your duty to return good for evil; and how much -more is it your duty <em>not</em> to <em>injure</em> them, since -they have never harmed you in the least. It -always pains me very much to see a little boy -throwing stones at every cow, horse, or hog that -passes along within striking distance of him. Oh -how unkind! How unlike Him who went about -doing good!</p> - -<p>I once saw a boy throw a stone at a beautiful -young horse. He did it thoughtlessly, and did<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_97" id="page_97">97</a></span> -not intend hurting the animal; but the stone -struck it in the eye and destroyed its sight forever.</p> - -<p>Dear reader, if you had seen the agony and -heard the screams of suffering which that <em>one</em> -stone caused that harmless horse, I am sure you -would never throw another stone at a bird or -beast as long as you live. The boy, when he -saw the pain which he had caused the innocent -colt, went off and wept most bitterly; and I am -certain, learned a most instructive lesson. Children,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“Let love through all your actions run,</div> - <div class="line">And all your <em>deeds</em> be <em>kind</em>.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_98" id="page_98">98</a></span> -</div> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">Sweet</span> it is to see a child</div> - <div class="line">Tender, merciful, and mild;</div> - <div class="line">Ever ready to perform</div> - <div class="line">Acts of mercy to a worm;</div> - <div class="line">Grieving that the world should be</div> - <div class="line">Thus a scene of misery;</div> - <div class="line">Scene in which the creatures groan</div> - <div class="line">For transgressions not their own.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“If the creatures must be slain</div> - <div class="line">Thankless sinners to sustain;</div> - <div class="line">Such a child, methinks, will cry,</div> - <div class="line">‘Treat them gently when they die;</div> - <div class="line">Spare them while they yield their breath;</div> - <div class="line">Double not the pains of death;</div> - <div class="line">Strike them not at such a time,</div> - <div class="line">God accounts the stroke a crime.’</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“God is love, and never can</div> - <div class="line">Love or bless a cruel man;</div> - <div class="line">Mercy rules in every breast</div> - <div class="line">Where His Spirit deigns to rest;</div> - <div class="line">We ourselves to mercy owe</div> - <div class="line">Our escape from endless woe;</div> - <div class="line">And the merciless in mind</div> - <div class="line">Shall themselves no mercy find.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_99" id="page_99">99</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">SPARE THE INSECT.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">Oh</span>, turn that little foot aside,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Nor crush beneath its tread</div> - <div class="line">The smallest insect of the earth,</div> - <div class="line indent1">That looks to God for bread.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“If He who made the universe</div> - <div class="line indent1">Looks down in kindest love,</div> - <div class="line">To shape an humble thing like this,</div> - <div class="line indent1">From His high throne above—</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Why shouldst thou, then, in wantonness,</div> - <div class="line indent1">That creature’s life destroy?</div> - <div class="line">Or give a pang to any thing</div> - <div class="line indent1">That He has made for joy?</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“My child, begin in little things</div> - <div class="line indent1">To act the gentle part;</div> - <div class="line">For God will turn His love away</div> - <div class="line indent1">From every cruel heart.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100">100</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="the_railroad" id="the_railroad"></a>THE RAILROAD.</h2> - -<p class="center">“For we are sojourners, as were all our fathers.”—<span class="smcap">Bible.</span></p> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">The</span> cars were crowded. In one corner sat -the grey-haired grandfather; by his side, the -gay, thoughtless maiden; farther on, the youthful -aspirant after the world’s honors; and at his -elbow, the stern, thinking business man, intently -engaged in reading the morning’s Prices Current, -thinking only of Profit and Loss, and the rise -and fall of articles for which he trafficked, forgetting, -not the <em>almighty dollar</em>, but his <em>immortal -soul</em>.</p> - -<p>We started. On and on the fire-breathing iron -horse drew us along:—now hurrying around the -sweeping curves; now ascending some steep -acclivity; now rattling through dark, dungeon-like -tunnels; anon speeding with almost lightning -rapidity over the smoothly laid track.</p> - -<p>None seemed to fear. All was happiness and -joy. One was thinking of the joyful welcome -that awaited him at his happy home; another<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101">101</a></span> -of the pleasure he expected to meet with from -the friends of his childhood, from whom he had -been separated many a long year; others were -perfectly indifferent—no trouble to cloud their -brows, no care to harass their hearts—gazing, -with countenances of delight, on the fair fields -of nature which stretched out before them, the -mirror-like lake, or the cloud-capped mountain -that lifted its proud head far above the bustle -and confusion of the world.</p> - -<p>None thought of danger. None thought that -the next moment might find them a mass of -bruised and mangled corpses, or struggling for -life amid the waves of some roaring river. The -engineer was at his post; the conductor would -see that no harm should befall them.</p> - -<p>My young friends, as I sat in that crowded -car, many were the thoughts that rose in my -mind. I thought this life was but a railroad; -we the passengers. Some of us are thoughtful -and considerate; many gay and inconsiderate. -The railroad of life has many curves, to avoid -the current of sin, or the pit of destruction; -many a high acclivity of difficulty; many a dark, -lonely tunnel of doubt and uncertainty; many a -deep cut of affliction, from which the light of -God’s countenance seems entirely withdrawn.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102">102</a></span> -The route lies along the flower-dressed meadows -of happiness, and through the dark, dismal morasses -of poverty and want. At one moment -all is beauty, loveliness and grandeur; at another, -the clouds of God’s wrath gather thick and -heavy around us. Some of us are journeying to -our heavenly home; others, far from that home, -in search of what the world calls enjoyment, -but, like the apples of Sodom, bitterness and remorse.</p> - -<p>My young friends, if Christ be our engineer -and God our conductor, we need fear no evil. -All will be well; our journey safe and pleasant: -and we shall safely reach a glorious home in -Heaven, and there spend an eternity of blissful -happiness in the company of the loved and lost -who have traveled this road, and reached, without -any collision or accident, its termination.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103">103</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">THE SPIRITUAL RAILWAY.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">The</span> line to heaven by Christ was made;</div> - <div class="line">With heavenly truths the rails are laid;</div> - <div class="line">From earth to heaven the line extends;</div> - <div class="line">To life eternal—there it ends.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Repentance is the station then,</div> - <div class="line">Where passengers are taken in;</div> - <div class="line">No fees for them are there to pay,</div> - <div class="line">For <em>Jesus</em> is Himself the way.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“The Bible is the engineer,</div> - <div class="line">It points the way to heaven so clear;</div> - <div class="line">Through tunnels dark and dreary here,</div> - <div class="line">It does the way to glory steer.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“God’s love—the fire, His truth the steam</div> - <div class="line">Which drives the engine and the train;</div> - <div class="line">All you who would to glory ride,</div> - <div class="line">Must come to Christ—in Him abide.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“In the first, second, and third class,</div> - <div class="line">Repentance, faith, and holiness,</div> - <div class="line">You must the way to glory gain,</div> - <div class="line">Or you with Christ can never reign.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Come, then, poor sinners, now’s the time,</div> - <div class="line">At any place along the line;</div> - <div class="line">If you repent and turn from sin,</div> - <div class="line">The train will stop and take you in.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104">104</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="a_true_sketch" id="a_true_sketch"></a>A TRUE SKETCH</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container57"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">Let</span> us be patient! These severe afflictions</div> - <div class="line indent1">Not from the ground arise,</div> - <div class="line">But oftentimes celestial benedictions</div> - <div class="line indent1">Assume this dark disguise.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Longfellow.</span></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">A venerable</span> minister of Christ left his home -one bright, beautiful Sabbath morning, for the -house of God. He was riding a restless, fiery -mountain colt, but had no fears of his ability to -manage him, as he had been raised from early -childhood, as it were, on a horse’s back, and -feared the wildest animal as little as he did a -playful kitten.</p> - -<p>He had gone but a short distance on his way, -when the horse, becoming frightened, made a sudden -leap, and threw his rider headlong against -the projecting points of a large rock lying near -the roadside. The rock entered his skull, and -in a few moments that aged father in Israel -breathed his last, with no kind friend near to -whisper words of consolation in his dying ear, or -wipe the sweat of death from his patriarchal -brow.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105">105</a></span> -The anxious congregation waited long and impatiently -for the appearance of their much-loved -pastor, but he came not. His spirit had winged -its way to that bright, happy land,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container57"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“Where congregations ne’er break up,</div> - <div class="line">And Sabbaths have no end.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>A portion of the congregation determined to -find out the cause of his long, unusual delay, and -accordingly set out along his accustomed road. -After travelling several miles, what was their -surprise and sorrow to find their grey-haired -shepherd, who had so long and so cheerfully led -them “beside the still waters, and through the -green pastures,” who had taken the lambs of the -flock in his bosom, and protected their tender -little feet from the thorns which strew the pathway -of childhood, lying stretched on the cold -ground, a lifeless corpse. Many were the tears -that moistened the noble brow of this man of -God; bitter were the throbbings of stricken -hearts that stood around the body of him who, -Sabbath after Sabbath, had broken to them the -Bread of Life.</p> - -<p>There anxiously kneels at the side of her -sainted father a little girl, whom they have failed -to notice. What is she doing there? Come,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106">106</a></span> -gather closely around this scene, children, and -look at one of your number. She heard the clattering -of the horse’s feet as he hurried wildly -from the spot where lay his lifeless corpse; she -hastened quickly towards the church and reached -her father only in time to hear the death-rattle -in his throat, and see his brains all scattered -over the ground. What does she do? She -gathers them up, places them once more in his -skull, and with her little hands endeavors to hold -the shattered fragments together. But it is too -late now. Dear, loving little Mary can’t recall -the spirit of her departed parent back to earth; -and the sorrowing members of that shepherdless -flock bear her away to a home, around whose -bright fireside and at whose morning and evening -altar shall never again be heard the voice -of one whom none knew but to love.</p> - -<p>My young friends, I have witnessed and heard -of many touching scenes, but for child-like innocence, -and tender, loving affection, this surpasses -them all.</p> - -<p>I now leave you to learn the many lessons of -affection and love this hasty sketch teaches, and -hope you will not throw the book carelessly -aside, and forget all about it; but think if you -love your parents as fatherless little Mary loved -hers.</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107">107</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">THE SPIRIT OF THE DEPARTED.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container67"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">I know</span> thou art gone to thy home of rest;</div> - <div class="line indent1">Then why should my soul be sad?</div> - <div class="line">I know thou art gone where the weary are blest,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And the mourner looks up and is glad;</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Where Love has put off, in the land of its birth,</div> - <div class="line indent1">The stain it had gathered in this,</div> - <div class="line">And Hope, the sweet singer that gladdened the earth,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Lies asleep on the bosom of bliss.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Hervey.</span></div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108">108</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="the_last_night_of_the_season" id="the_last_night_of_the_season"></a>“THE LAST NIGHT OF THE SEASON.”</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“<span class="smcap">Hasten</span>, O sinner, to return,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And stay not for to-morrow’s sun,</div> - <div class="line">For fear thy lamp should cease to burn</div> - <div class="line indent1">Before the needful work is done.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi">“<span class="smcap">The Last Night of the Season</span>,” stood forth -in bold prominence from mammoth posters at every -prominent place in the city.</p> - -<p>“<em>The Last Night of the Season</em>” headed an advertisement -in every daily paper.</p> - -<p>“The Last Night of the Season,” was echoed -by thousands of handbills.</p> - -<p>“The Last Night of the Season,” lingered on -the lips of nearly every passer-by.</p> - -<p>At night, thronging crowds, with hurried step -and anxious heart, pressed earnestly into the accustomed -entrance—then too narrow to admit -the greatly increased numbers—of a large and -brilliantly illumined building.</p> - -<p>Do you know, breathed in quick succession -from one to another, it is “The Last Night of the -Season?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109">109</a></span> -Fellow traveller to the bar of God, “I have -somewhat to say unto <em>thee</em>.”</p> - -<p>Has not this sentence already gone, like an -arrow, to your heart? Do you not feel that -perhaps you have seen the last night of the season -of salvation?</p> - -<p>Oh! it is an awful thought. Yet, thanks be -to God, there is still another opportunity of being -saved. I now present you that opportunity. -Will you, can you, refuse? It may be the last -night of the season. God only knows.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container62"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“Delay not, delay not, O sinner, to come,</div> - <div class="line indent1">For mercy still lingers and calls thee to-day,</div> - <div class="line">Her voice is not heard in the vale of the tomb;</div> - <div class="line indent1">Her message unheeded will soon pass away.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>Fathers, mothers, friends, relatives, brothers, -sisters, those that love you tenderly, dearly, -Christian ministers, the writer of this little article, -all join in the earnest entreaty, “<span class="smcap">Come to -Jesus</span>!”</p> - -<p>He is a precious Saviour.</p> - -<p>He is a loving Saviour.</p> - -<p>He is a willing Saviour.</p> - -<p>He is an able Saviour.</p> - -<p>Then, will you not come and cast your burden -upon <em>Him?</em></p> - -<p>He has never turned away <em>one</em> soul.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110">110</a></span></p> - -<p>The thief on the cross,—poor, weeping Peter—Mary -Magdalene, with her seven devils,—all -found Him such a Saviour as I have described.</p> - -<p>Young man, in the morning of life, you whose -brow no cloud of sorrow has ever darkened, will -<em>you</em> not come to that Saviour?</p> - -<p>Young lady, will <em>you</em> not come to that -Saviour? Will <em>you</em>, whose sex was the last at -the cross, the first at the sepulchre, stay away -from that Saviour? The daughters of Jerusalem -found Him an all-sufficient Saviour, and will <em>you</em> -not come, like Mary, and</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“——fall at His feet,</div> - <div class="line">And the story repeat,</div> - <div class="line">And the lover of sinners adore?”</div> -</div></div></div> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111">111</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">MARY AT JESUS’ FEET.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">To</span> hear the Saviour’s word</div> - <div class="line indent1">The gentle Mary came;</div> - <div class="line">Low at His feet she sat and heard</div> - <div class="line indent1">Sweet mention of her name.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">She chose the better part,</div> - <div class="line indent1">The one bright pearl she found:</div> - <div class="line">May we, with Mary’s constant heart,</div> - <div class="line indent1">In Mary’s grace abound.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Like her, we look above,</div> - <div class="line indent1">To learn our Saviour’s will;</div> - <div class="line">The droppings of His lips we love,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And would His word fulfil.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Speak, as to Mary Thou</div> - <div class="line indent1">Didst speak in Galilee;</div> - <div class="line">Call us by name, our hearts shall bow,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And melting, flow to Thee.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">E. M. C.</span></div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112">112</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="hugh_miller_and_the_precipice" id="hugh_miller_and_the_precipice"></a>HUGH MILLER AND THE PRECIPICE.</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“<span class="smcap">Heaven</span> above and hell below,</div> - <div class="line">Pleasure, pain, and joy and woe,</div> - <div class="line">Repeat the words in accents slow,</div> - <div class="line indent3"><em>Stop and think!</em>”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">The</span> celebrated Hugh Miller, when a boy, was -in the habit of scaling giddy precipices, either in -search of some peculiar specimen of rock, or some -unknown species of bird.</p> - -<p>On one occasion he saw a raven’s nest far above -the ground, snugly fixed on a very high cliff, -which had never been scaled by the foot of man. -From below it was a matter of impossibility to -reach it, for it was more than a hundred feet -above the level of the sea. He therefore determined -to make an attempt from above. Creeping -carefully along, now holding by some protruding -rock, now clinging to some slender -shrub, he at last found himself within six or eight -feet of the desired prize. There he stopped and -hesitated. Beneath, the raging surf roamed and -boiled. One misstep would launch him into -eternity.</p> - -<p>His foot was stretched out to take the first step,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113">113</a></span> -when he observed, as the sun burst suddenly from -behind a cloud, the light glisten on a smooth -surface of chlorite, slippery as glass. He at once -saw the consequences of such an attempt, retraced -his steps, and was, in God’s providence, spared -to exert an influence for good, the extent of -which will never be fully known.</p> - -<p>Reader, have you ever attempted to perform -some act which no one else was able to accomplish, -and been on the very brink of destruction, -when the Sun of Righteousness shone on your -pathway and revealed to your darkened understanding -the imminent danger of your position?</p> - -<p>Young man, you that are anxious to write -your name high above that of your fellow-man, -beware how you step. The ocean of a never-ending -eternity is roaring beneath you. You, -perhaps, do not see your danger, yet it is there. -If you are seeking only the riches of this world, -which perish with their using, and endeavoring -to do what no one else has done, pray that God -will show you the peril of your position, retrace -your steps, and remember the sad end of him -“who layeth up treasure for himself and is not -rich toward God.” Luke 12: 21.</p> - -<p>The sequel to this little sketch is very, very -heart-rending.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114">114</a></span> -Not long after the above occurrence a youth -named Mackay made a similar attempt; paused -even for a longer time; then trusting himself to -the treacherous chlorite, his foot slipped, and he -fell headlong over the precipice. His head -striking violently against a projecting rock, his -brains were scattered over a space of ten or -twelve square yards in extent.</p> - -<p>The rock doubtless yet remains—a lasting -monument of the sinful folly of man.</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115">115</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">A FEW SHORT YEARS—AND THEN.—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">A few</span> short years—and then</div> - <div class="line indent1">Our young hearts may be reft</div> - <div class="line">Of every hope, and find no gleam</div> - <div class="line indent1">Of childhood’s sunshine left!</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“A few short years—and then,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Impatient of its bliss,</div> - <div class="line">The weary soul shall seek on high</div> - <div class="line indent1">A better home than this!</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“A few short years—and then</div> - <div class="line indent1">The dream of life will be</div> - <div class="line">Like shadows of a morning cloud,</div> - <div class="line indent1">In its reality!</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“A few short years—and then</div> - <div class="line indent1">The idols loved the best</div> - <div class="line">Will pass in all their pride away,</div> - <div class="line indent1">As sinks the sun to rest!”</div> -</div></div></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116">116</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="the_home_of_st_paul" id="the_home_of_st_paul"></a>THE HOME OF ST. PAUL.</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">I never</span> left the place that knew me,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And may never know me more,</div> - <div class="line">Where the cords of kindness drew me,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And gladdened me of yore,—</div> - <div class="line">But my secret soul has smarted,</div> - <div class="line indent1">With a feeling full of gloom,</div> - <div class="line">For the days that are departed,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And the place I called my home.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Tupper.</span></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Who</span> is there that can stand beside the simple -stone which marks the birthplace of <span class="smcap">George -Washington</span>, or enter that plain cottage in the -slashes of Hanover, or walk the halls of Monticello, -and not feel arising in his bosom feelings -of pleasure and delight? Such feelings are -natural; and I hope, dear reader, you will -ever cherish them for the memory of such men -as Washington, Jefferson, Clay, and the host -of others who have done so much for our common -country. If we love to visit the birthplaces -and homes of men who have preferred death to -bondage, how much greater must be the love -with which we look upon the home of him who<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117">117</a></span> -suffered and bled and died for the liberty of the -soul from the powerful bondage of sin and Satan—the -home of Saul of Tarsus, the scholar of -Gamaliel.</p> - -<p>That Tarsus was the birthplace of Saul is not -very certain, as no one informs us of the fact; -but one thing is certain, it was there he spent the -hours of his childhood, there he was taught to -reverence God’s Word, and there his tender mind -received those impressions of love to God and -his fellow-man, which followed him throughout -his interesting and eventful life.</p> - -<p>Tarsus, at the time of Saul’s residence, was -one of the largest cities in Asia Minor. It was -beautifully situated on the river Cydnus, in the -midst of a most fertile and picturesque valley, -and was the capital of Cilicia. On the one side -a lofty peak of the Taurus mountains lifted its -hoary head, and stood like a sentinel, to watch -over and protect the city which lay in such calm -quietude at its base; on the other lay the lovely -valley of the Cydnus, interspersed with beautiful -groves of palm trees and luxuriant gardens, -through the midst of which the silver stream -wound its way till it was lost in the Mediterranean -sea. Over this plain, happy cottages were -scattered like stars in the blue canopy of heaven.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118">118</a></span> -Above the city, about a mile distant, were the -falls of the Cydnus, whose sullen roar added no -little to the grandeur of the scenery. Such was -the nature of the country in which the youthful -Saul spent the days of his childhood and youth. -Tarsus, as Saul himself says, was “no mean -city.” It was no less remarkable for the beauty -of its situation, than as a seat of learning and -wide-spread commerce.</p> - -<p>There is something about the word Home, -which in itself is pleasant. How delightful is it -to him upon whose locks have fallen the snows -of many winters, and whose brow has been furrowed -by the hand of time, to look back to the -home and friends of his childhood! Every thing -about the old homestead is interesting to him. -Here, surrounded by kind friends and dear relatives, -he spent the happiest hours of his life. Every -spot has some attraction. In one he once -was rescued from danger; in another he used to -indulge in those sportive games which afford so -much pleasure to the young beginner of life’s -journey; beside some murmuring stream he often -strayed, and stole the nimble trout from its crystal -home, or rested his weary limbs beneath the -wide-extending branches of the aged oak which -overhung the gushing spring.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119">119</a></span> -Such, doubtless, were the feelings with which -the great “Apostle of the Gentiles,” when his -mind was “burdened with the care of all the -churches,” visited his native city. And now how -changed! An English writer thus describes the -present condition of that once prosperous city: -“It is now a Turkish town, greatly decayed, but -still of some relative importance, and carrying -on a somewhat active commerce. The population -is about 6,000.”—However the works of -<em>man</em> may have decayed in and around Tarsus, -yet the works of <em>God</em> remain almost unaltered.—“The -rich harvests of corn still grow luxuriantly -after the rains in spring; the same tents -of goats’ hair are still seen covering the plain in -busy harvest. The same sunset lingers on the -pointed summits. The same shadows gather in -the deep ravines. The water-falls of the Cydnus -still break over the same rocks.”</p> - -<p>Who would not like to visit a city once hallowed -by the presence of one of the greatest and -best of men?</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120">120</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">THE WANDERER’S RETURN.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">I left</span> my home in childhood,</div> - <div class="line indent1">The beautiful green spot,</div> - <div class="line">Where I used to sport among the leaves,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Around my native cot.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">My heart was full of happiness</div> - <div class="line indent1">Among the woods and hills,</div> - <div class="line">And I heard the voice of hope and love</div> - <div class="line indent1">Sing gayly in the rills.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Each lawn and sunny meadow,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Each tree and flower was dear—</div> - <div class="line">And I left them full of sadness,</div> - <div class="line indent1">With childhood’s flowing tear.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">And after years of roaming</div> - <div class="line indent1">I sought again the scene—</div> - <div class="line">I stood within the cottage door,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And looked upon the green;—</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">But my heart within me died away—</div> - <div class="line indent1">For time had trod the lawn,</div> - <div class="line">And change had passed o’er field and cot,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And those I loved were gone!</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">The earth was full of beauty,</div> - <div class="line indent1">There was balm upon the air,</div> - <div class="line">But the feelings of my childhood</div> - <div class="line indent1">I found no longer there.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">C. W. Thompson.</span></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121">121</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="home" id="home"></a>HOME.</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">I am</span> not one of those who wander</div> - <div class="line indent1">Unaffection’d here and there,</div> - <div class="line">But my heart must still be fonder</div> - <div class="line indent1">Of its sites of joy or care;</div> - <div class="line">And I point sad memory’s finger</div> - <div class="line indent1">(Tho’ my faithless foot may roam)</div> - <div class="line">Where I’ve most been made to linger,—</div> - <div class="line indent1">To the place I called <em>my home</em>.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Tupper.</span></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Though</span> many a long year has passed away -since I mingled in the pleasant enjoyments and -childish sports of my native home, yet I look -back with feelings of the deepest sorrow, and -sincerely wish that I could again spend those -hours which afforded me so much innocent delight. -It is true, that I had a home only for a very few -years, for I had scarcely learned to love my mother -and feel the worth of my father, before the -clods of the valley rumbled over their coffins; -yet those years were the happiest of my life.</p> - -<p>It is in the family circle that we are taught so -many lessons of kindness to our fellow-men, and -it is there we are fitted to enter upon the stern<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122">122</a></span> -realities which await us in the busy world. There, -and there alone, are the seeds of truth and morality -sown by the affectionate hand of an attached -mother; and a loving sister entwines her affections -around the heart of a thoughtless brother, -and frequently keeps him from houses “which are -the way to hell,” and from a drunkard’s grave.</p> - -<p>Blot out of existence the thousands of Christian -homes in this land of ours, and you will -destroy the very <em>corner stone</em> of this happy and -prosperous country.</p> - -<p>It was around the fireside that such men as -Patrick Henry, Henry Clay and Daniel Webster -first learned those lessons of wisdom and -unwavering devotion to their country.</p> - -<p>Well has it been remarked, “There is no place -like home.”</p> - -<p>I had rather part with my right hand or my -right eye, than to be deprived of those simple -truths taught me by my sainted mother when I -was scarcely old enough to lisp her name. How -indelibly are they impressed upon my mind! And -those simple prayers which she taught me—shall -I ever forget them? No, never. They will go -with me to my grave. And when I was sick, -how she watched over me, nursed me, and prayed -for my recovery!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123">123</a></span> -My home! How thoughts of the loved and -lost arise in my mind at the mere mention of the -name! That dear father, that more than sainted -mother, where are they? Gone, gone forever!</p> - -<p>It is customary with many heathen nations, -when any one of their number is thought to be -dying, to place him upon a narrow couch, set by -his side a small portion of bread and water, and -permit him to draw his last breath with no friend -near to whisper words of consolation in his dying -ear, or shed a tear of regret at his departure.</p> - -<p>How different in the Christian family! Nothing -can equal the tender care and soothing attention -paid to him whose sand is well nigh run -out. And when he is gone, how fast do tears of -bitterness flow from the eyes of those who loved -and watched over him even in the hour of death!</p> - -<p>William Jay, in speaking of domestic happiness, -uses the following beautiful and touching -language: “Oh! what so refreshing, so soothing, -so satisfying, as the quiet joys of home? Yonder -comes the laborer;—he has borne the burden -and the heat of the day; the descending sun has -released him from his toil, and he is hastening home -to enjoy his repose. Half way down the lane, -by the side of which stands his cottage, his children -run to meet him. One he carries and one<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124">124</a></span> -he leads. See his toil-worn countenance assume -an air of cheerfulness. His hardships are forgotten—fatigue -vanishes—he eats and is satisfied. -Inhabitant of the lowly dwelling! who -can be indifferent to thy comfort? Peace to thy -house!”</p> - -<p>But, children, that pleasant home cannot always -be the abode of happiness.</p> - -<p>Since sin entered into this world of ours, and -death by sin, man can never be perfectly happy.</p> - -<p>Sooner or later some member of that family -will be locked in the cold embrace of Death; -and sadness will follow in the footsteps of joy. -There will be a vacant chair, and a deserted -hearth-stone, ere many more days shall have passed -away. That dwelling in which pleasure and -happiness now reign, shall soon echo with the -sobs and lamentations of those who have parted -with perhaps a father, a mother, a fond sister, or -a loving brother. He who to-day resides in -the costliest mansion, may to-morrow be an inhabitant -of a hovel. That father who to-day bowed -before the family altar, and asked a Heavenly -Father’s blessing upon his children, may be wrapped -in the winding sheet of Death to-morrow.</p> - -<p>How important then is it, that we should look -forward to a home in that house not made with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_125" id="page_125">125</a></span> -hands, whose builder and maker is God. There -father and mother, husband and wife, brother and -sister, shall meet to part no more. There shall -be no night there. Pain and anguish, sickness -and sorrow, affliction and disappointment, -shall be feared and felt no more for ever. How -happy the scene! How joyful the meeting of -friends and relations! How delightful will it -be to meet with that father and that mother who -have gone before, and feel that we shall never -be separated again!</p> - -<p>Children, if you wish to meet your departed -relations, who have died trusting in Christ, in -Heaven, beware how you trifle away your inch -of time. If you die in your sins, you can never -be with them in that “happy land;” for to a sinner -<em>Heaven</em> would be the worst <em>Hell</em> into which -he could be placed. Then, “Seek the Lord while -he is near, and call upon Him while He may be -found.”</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_126" id="page_126">126</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">MY OLD DEAR HOME.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container57"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">Between</span> broad fields of wheat and corn</div> - <div class="line">Is the lovely home where I was born;</div> - <div class="line">The peach-tree leans against the wall,</div> - <div class="line">And the woodbine wanders over all;</div> - <div class="line">There is the shaded doorway still:</div> - <div class="line">But a stranger’s foot hath crossed the sill!</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“There is the barn—and as of yore</div> - <div class="line">I can smell the hay from the open door</div> - <div class="line">And see the busy swallows throng,</div> - <div class="line">And hear the pee-wit’s mournful song:</div> - <div class="line">But the stranger comes—Oh, painful proof—</div> - <div class="line">His sheaves are piled to the heated roof!</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“There is the orchard—the very trees</div> - <div class="line">Where my childhood knew long hours of ease,</div> - <div class="line">And watched the shadowy moments run,</div> - <div class="line">Till my life imbibed more shade than sun;</div> - <div class="line">The swing from the bough still sweeps the air,</div> - <div class="line">But the stranger’s children are swinging there!</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“There bubbles the shady spring below,</div> - <div class="line">With its bulrush brook where the hazels grow;</div> - <div class="line">’Twas there I found the calamus root,</div> - <div class="line">And watched the minnows poise and shoot,</div> - <div class="line">And heard the robin lave his wing:</div> - <div class="line">But the stranger’s bucket is at the spring!</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_127" id="page_127">127</a></span> -“Oh! ye that daily cross the sill;</div> - <div class="line">Step lightly, for I love it still;</div> - <div class="line">And when you crowd the old barn eaves,</div> - <div class="line">Then think what countless harvest sheaves</div> - <div class="line">Have passed within that scented door,</div> - <div class="line">To gladden the eyes that are no more.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Deal kindly with those orchard trees,</div> - <div class="line">And when your children crowd your knees,</div> - <div class="line">Their sweetest fruit they shall impart,</div> - <div class="line">As if old memories stirred their heart:—</div> - <div class="line">To youthful sport still leave the swing,</div> - <div class="line">And in sweet reverence hold the spring.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“The barn, the trees, the brook, the birds,</div> - <div class="line">The meadows, with their lowing herds,</div> - <div class="line">The woodbine on the cottage wall,—</div> - <div class="line">My heart still lingers with them all:—</div> - <div class="line">Ye strangers on my native sill,</div> - <div class="line">Step lightly, for I love it still.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="imgcenter width400"> -<img src="images/i-126.jpg" width="400" height="533" alt="My old dear home" /> -</div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_128" id="page_128">128</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="to_my_sabbath-school_class" id="to_my_sabbath-school_class"></a>TO MY SABBATH-SCHOOL CLASS.</h2> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Lewisburg</span>, Va., July 31st, 1858.</p> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">My Dear Sabbath-School Class</span>:—I have -been intending to write you a short letter ever -since leaving home, but have been so constantly -engaged that I have not found an opportunity.</p> - -<p>A great deal of interest has transpired since -the commencement of my mountain trip, of which -I should like to tell you, but must defer doing so -until we meet, which, if God spares our lives, -will be in a few weeks. I know you would like -very much to leave the hot and dusty streets of -Richmond, and come out and enjoy the pure -mountain air and health-giving water. My own -health has improved very much, and I do most -earnestly pray that it and my life may be precious -in the sight of God, and I may yet ere long -enjoy the greatest of earthly privileges—preaching -the mystery of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. -I have very often thought of and frequently remembered -you at a throne of grace. Oh! you -know not how much pleasure it would afford me -to see you <em>all</em> professors of religion. You know<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_129" id="page_129">129</a></span> -I told you before leaving, if any of you should -<em>perish</em>—I feel sad to think of such a thing—I -hoped it would not be my fault, for I had endeavored, -feebly and imperfectly though it was, -to lead your youthful feet in the ways of righteousness—the -paths of peace.</p> - -<p>I feel constrained to urge you once more to -<em>come to Jesus</em>. We may never meet again on -earth, and I do so sincerely desire to meet my -Sabbath-school class in heaven. Suppose <em>one</em> of -you should be missing, which will it be? May -each one of you ask himself the question, “<em>Lord, -is it I?</em>”</p> - -<p>And then, my dear young friends, we want -ministers so badly. Where shall we get them? -Do I not hear at least <em>one</em> of you say, “<em>Here am -I; Lord, send me?</em>” Think of that shepherdless -and sorrowing flock, that vacant pulpit, that -newly made grave, in Amelia county! think how -fearlessly and faithfully the lamented <span class="smcap">S. Hamner -Davis</span> stood up for Jesus, and how triumphantly -he died! My dear scholars, will not <em>some</em> of you, -would it be too much to say <em>all</em> of you, dedicate -yourselves to the work of the blessed ministry? -I know it has not a great many earthly attractions, -but there is something cheering in the -thought of living for the benefit of your fellow-men.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_130" id="page_130">130</a></span> -I had rather be the humble instrument, in -the hands of God, of saving one soul, than be -worth all the riches or obtain all the honors -which the world can furnish.</p> - -<p>May the Lord abundantly bless and preserve -you all, while we are absent from each other, is -the prayer of</p> - -<p class="right2 nmb">Your affectionate Teacher,</p> -<p class="right nmt">PHILIP BARRETT.</p> - - - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_131" id="page_131">131</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="half_an_hour_in_bad_company" id="half_an_hour_in_bad_company"></a>HALF AN HOUR IN BAD COMPANY.</h2> - -<p class="center">“Separate from sinners and unspotted from the world.”—<span class="smcap">Bible.</span></p> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">A youth</span> was once unintentionally thrown into -the company of some half dozen young men of -very immoral character. Their language, their -jests, were of the lowest order. Indecent expressions, -vulgar anecdotes, heart-defiling oaths, -characterized their conversation. It was evident -<a name="there" id="there"></a><ins title="Original has their">there</ins> was no thought of God in all their hearts.</p> - -<p>He left them and went to his room. It was -time for retiring to rest. He opened his Bible -and attempted to read its sacred pages; but he -could not confine his thoughts. The low, vulgar -anecdotes of that godless party were continually -flitting across his mind. Their hollow mockery -of God still rung in his ear; the thought that -perhaps there was no God, no heaven, no hell, -disturbed his hitherto pleasant evening meditations; -but that kind, friendly voice within, the -lives and death-beds of parents whom he had -loved only to lose, told him too plainly there -was a God above, of tender and forgiving mercy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_132" id="page_132">132</a></span> -there was a heaven of bliss and joy, there was a -lake whose waves of fire and brimstone were -never quiet. He knelt down to pray, and the -profane jests of that God-rejecting company intruded -themselves upon his thoughts; he retired -to rest—they haunted his slumbers; he awoke in -the morning—they still lingered in his mind. -Year after year has passed away, but that half -an hour in the company of the profane, the -wicked, still exerts its injurious influence upon -the heart of that young man. It will never leave -him. Wherever he goes, whatever he does, it -will remain in his mind to the last day of his -life. It may be forgotten for a time, but, like the -serpent concealed in a bed of violets, it will -again and again come up to pollute his best and -purest thoughts, to poison his sweetest affections.</p> - -<p>My dear young friends, particularly boys, -write this as your motto upon the fly-leaves of -your books—write it on the walls of your rooms—write -it in your copy books—write it on your -hearts—<span class="smcap">Keep out of bad company.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_133" id="page_133">133</a></span></span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">THE BIBLE A GUIDE TO THE YOUNG.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">How</span> shall the young secure their hearts</div> - <div class="line indent1">And guard their lives from sin?</div> - <div class="line">Thy word the choicest rules imparts</div> - <div class="line indent1">To keep the conscience clean.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">When once it enters to the mind,</div> - <div class="line indent1">It spreads such light abroad,</div> - <div class="line">The meanest souls instruction find,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And raise their thoughts to God.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">’Tis like the sun, a heavenly light,</div> - <div class="line indent1">That guides us all the day,</div> - <div class="line">And through the dangers of the night</div> - <div class="line indent1">A lamp to lead our way.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Thy word is everlasting truth;</div> - <div class="line indent1">How pure is ev’ry page!</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Watts.</span></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_134" id="page_134">134</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="the_first_day_of_the_new_year" id="the_first_day_of_the_new_year"></a>THE FIRST DAY OF THE NEW YEAR.</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container67"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">’Tis</span> greatly wise to talk with our past hours,</div> - <div class="line">And ask them what report they bore to heaven,</div> - <div class="line">And how they might have borne more welcome news.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Young.</span></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Another</span> year, with its fond anticipations and -blasted hopes, its scenes of joy and its seasons of -sorrow, its days of rejoicing and its nights of -weeping, has been laid in the grave of the past.</p> - -<p>Many a bounding heart that welcomed us a -year ago, now lies beneath the clods of the valley: -many a cloudless brow which then met our eye, -now meets it no more for ever; many a manly -form which then walked the streets of our city, -now walks the golden streets of the New Jerusalem. -The young man, before whom the future -stretched in scenes of brightness and beauty; -the young lady, whose glowing cheek and brilliant -eye bespoke a long life of joy and happiness; -the father, whose presence cheered and -whose counsel guided his little flock; the mother, -whose yearning heart seemed to throb only for -the dear little one whose cherub arms clung so -lovingly around her neck; the young minister,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_135" id="page_135">135</a></span> -whose hopes of wide-spread usefulness gladdened -his lonely hours of toil; the venerable man of -God, whose golden virtues, mingled with his -silver locks, won the love and admiration of all -who knew him;—these, all of these, have been -laid in the cold and silent grave, during the year -that is past and gone.</p> - -<p>Over some of their graves the green grass is -not yet growing, and stricken hearts are now -bleeding for loved ones, with whom we had expected -to walk hand in hand during the year -which has so beautifully dawned upon us.</p> - -<p>During the past year we have permitted many -a golden opportunity for doing good to pass -away unimproved; we have failed properly to -use many a precious privilege; and does it not -then become us, to-day, to implore forgiveness -for the past, and unreservedly to dedicate ourselves -and all we have and are, to the service of -our blessed Redeemer?</p> - -<p>Let us determine that this year shall be a -year of entire consecration to God’s service; -that our places at the Sabbath-school, in the -house of God, at the Wednesday evening lecture, -at the prayer-meeting, shall be less frequently -vacant than they were during the past year.</p> - -<p>That this shall be a year of prayer—earnest,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_136" id="page_136">136</a></span> -importunate prayer. That we will especially -pray for those who are bound to us by ties of -affection and love, but who know nothing of -the warm affection and tender love of a Saviour’s -heart.</p> - -<p>That it shall be a year of heart-searching.</p> - -<p>“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try -me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be -any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way -everlasting.”</p> - -<p>That it shall be a year of unremitting prayer -for the outpouring of God’s spirit, not only upon -the church with which we are connected, but -throughout the length and breadth of His vineyard.</p> - -<p>And, in conclusion, that we will endeavor so -to live and act, that whenever the summons comes -to call us hence, our lights shall be burning, our -lamps trimmed, and we shall hear the welcome -invitation, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit -the kingdom prepared for you from the -foundation of the world.”</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_137" id="page_137">137</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">THE SWIFTNESS OF TIME.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">Swift</span> as the wingèd arrow flies,</div> - <div class="line indent1">My time is hast’ning on;</div> - <div class="line">Quick as the lightning from the skies</div> - <div class="line indent1">My wasting moments run.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“My follies past, O God, forgive;</div> - <div class="line indent1">My ev’ry sin subdue;</div> - <div class="line">And teach me henceforth how to live,</div> - <div class="line indent1">With glory full in view.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Thanks, Lord, to Thine unbounded grace,</div> - <div class="line indent1">That in my early youth</div> - <div class="line">I have been taught to seek Thy face,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And know the way of truth.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Oh! let Thy Spirit lead me still</div> - <div class="line indent1">Along the happy road;</div> - <div class="line">Conform me to Thy holy will,</div> - <div class="line indent1">My Father and my God.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_138" id="page_138">138</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="the_young_man_who_went_to" id="the_young_man_who_went_to"></a>THE YOUNG MAN WHO WENT TO -SLEEP IN CHURCH.</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“<span class="smcap">When</span> to the house of God we go</div> - <div class="line">To hear His word and sing His love,</div> - <div class="line">We ought to worship Him below</div> - <div class="line">As saints and angels do above.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">There</span> is but one instance mentioned in the -Bible in which a person went to sleep during religious -service. It was at night. Paul, the eloquent -preacher, with his usual burning zeal and -strong enthusiasm, had enchained the attention -of his audience till a late hour—12 o’clock. On -the morning he was to leave them, His hearers -were hanging with deep sorrow on his parting -words, for they felt “they should see his face -no more.” There was, doubtless, many a <a name="quivering" id="quivering"></a><ins title="Original has quiverering">quivering</ins> -lip, many a tearful eye, many a throbbing -heart.</p> - -<p>In the midst of such a scene, beneath the -preaching of so gifted, so talented a man as Saul -of Tarsus, there sat a young man unmoved by the -tears of the listeners, unaffected by the sermon -of the minister. Deep sleep fell heavily upon<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_139" id="page_139">139</a></span> -his slumbering eye-lids; his dull ear was closed -against the touching appeals of the fervent -speaker.</p> - -<p>The house was no doubt crowded; for the -young man was sitting in a window; “and as -Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with -sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and <em>was -taken up dead</em>.” (Acts xx. 19.)</p> - -<p>Sleeping, slumbering souls in the church of -God, beware least you fall asleep and <em>be taken up -dead!</em></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">SLOTHFULNESS LAMENTED.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">My</span> drowsy powers, why sleep ye so?</div> - <div class="line indent1">Awake, my sluggish soul;</div> - <div class="line">Nothing has half thy work to do,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Yet nothing’s half so dull.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“We, for whom God the Son came down</div> - <div class="line indent1">And labored for our good,</div> - <div class="line">How careless to secure that crown</div> - <div class="line indent1">He purchased with His blood!</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Lord, shall we lie so sluggish still</div> - <div class="line indent1">And never act our parts?</div> - <div class="line">Come, Holy Spirit, come and fill</div> - <div class="line indent1">And wake and warm our hearts.”</div> -</div></div></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_140" id="page_140">140</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="margaret_wilson" id="margaret_wilson"></a>MARGARET WILSON.</h2> - -<p class="center">A COVENANTER SKETCH.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">O fear</span> not in a world like this,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And thou shalt know ere long,</div> - <div class="line">Know how sublime a thing it is</div> - <div class="line indent1">To suffer and be strong.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Longfellow.</span></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Almost</span> two hundred years ago there lived in -Scotland a girl whose name was <span class="smcap">Margaret -Wilson</span>. She was a covenanter; that is, she -belonged to that noble band of Scotch Christians -who claimed the right of worshiping God according -to the teachings of their own consciences.</p> - -<p>About this time a violent persecution was commenced -against these quiet, inoffensive and pious -covenanters. The officer who commanded the -King’s (James II.) forces in Scotland was named -<span class="smcap">Claverhouse</span>. He was a man of violent temper, -and possessed a heart as hard as adamant. -The mere mention of his name would cast a -gloom over many a happy home, and mothers -would clasp their children closer to their bosoms -whenever the news of his approach reached their -ears. He drank in iniquity like water, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_141" id="page_141">141</a></span> -breathed out bitter persecution and death against -God’s servants. The poor covenanters were -driven from their peaceful homes by his troopers, -and forced to seek shelter in the rugged sides of -the mountains. There they were hunted and -shot down like wild beasts of the forest. Homeless, -poor, despised, forsaken of man, day after -day, and night after night, they wandered through -the pathless woods without clothing to protect -or food to nourish them. From many a mountain -top, from many a barren heath, in the silence -of the night, the fervent prayer and the wild -warbling notes of some simple Scotch hymn went -up like incense before the face of Jehovah. It is -true “they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, -were tempted, were slain with the sword; they -wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins; -being destitute, afflicted, tormented; they wandered -in deserts and mountains, and in dens and -caves of the earth.” (Acts xi. 37, 38.) They -were imprisoned by hundreds, and hung by scores. -Corpses were seen dangling from trees, and the -atmosphere itself was tainted with death. The -blood-thirsty troopers spared neither age nor -sex. The prattling babe and the hoary head -were alike disregarded.</p> - -<p>The severity of the persecution only made<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_142" id="page_142">142</a></span> -them cling more closely to their religion, and a -mighty army of martyrs went up from Scotland -to join the ranks of the great captain of their -salvation—Jesus Christ.</p> - -<p>The noble courage with which <span class="smcap">Margaret -Wilson</span> suffered death rather than forsake the -religion of her childhood, has made her name to -be held in lasting remembrance. She was quite -young, but showed a degree of calm composure -and unshaken faith worthy of much riper years. -On being seized by the troopers, she was told -that her life would be spared if she would give -up her religion. This she positively refused to -do, and was sentenced to be drowned. She was -alike unmoved by the fierce countenances of the -brutal soldiery and their horrible threats. Her -heart was fixed. She was as firm as a rock. -Finding her still unyielding, she was taken to a -place where the Solway overflows twice a day, -and securely fastened to a stake fixed in the sand -between high and low water mark. Presently -the tide commenced coming in. At first it -played around her feet; by and by it rose higher -and higher; at last the waves approached within -a few inches of her lips. Still she remained unmoved. -Her unclouded brow looked serene and -happy. Her cheek was pale, but not with fear.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_143" id="page_143">143</a></span> -Her thoughts were wandering by the banks of -the river of the Water of Life; she seemed to -be listening to the angelic notes of the heavenly -choir.</p> - -<p>“Will you deny now your religion?” demanded -the cruel soldiery.</p> - -<p>“No, never; I am Christ’s; let me go,” she -gasped out, her voice choked by the gurgling -water, and the waves closed over her for the last -time.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">“THE NOBLE ARMY OF MARTYRS.”</p> - -<div class="poetry-container62"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line indent7"><span class="smcap">Their</span> blood is shed</div> - <div class="line">In confirmation of the noblest claim—</div> - <div class="line">Our claim to feed upon immortal truth;</div> - <div class="line">To walk with God; to be divinely free.</div> - <div class="line">Yet few remember them. They lived unknown</div> - <div class="line">Till persecution dragged them into fame,</div> - <div class="line">And chased them up to heaven. Their ashes flew</div> - <div class="line">——No marble tells us whither.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Cowper.</span></div> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_144" id="page_144">144</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">THE DAY OF LIFE.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">The</span> morning hours of cheerful light,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Of all the day are best;</div> - <div class="line">But as they speed their hasty flight,</div> - <div class="line">If every hour is spent aright,</div> - <div class="line">We sweetly sink to sleep at night,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And pleasant is our rest.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">And life is like a summer day,</div> - <div class="line indent1">It seems so quickly past;</div> - <div class="line">Youth is the morning bright and gay,</div> - <div class="line">And if ’tis spent in wisdom’s way,</div> - <div class="line">We meet old age without dismay,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And death is sweet at last.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Jane Taylor.</span></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_145" id="page_145">145</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="gilbert_hunt" id="gilbert_hunt"></a>GILBERT HUNT.</h2> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">Toiling</span>, rejoicing, sorrowing,</div> - <div class="line">Onward through life he goes;</div> - <div class="line">Each morning sees some task begun,</div> - <div class="line">Each evening sees its close;</div> - <div class="line">Something attempted, something done,</div> - <div class="line">Has earned a night’s repose.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="smcap">Longfellow’s Village Blacksmith.</span></div> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">There</span> lives in the city of Richmond, Virginia, -a very venerable and highly respected negro -blacksmith, named Gilbert Hunt. For more -than three-score years he has pursued his humble -calling; and even now, at the advanced age of -seventy-seven years, the merry ring of Gilbert’s -anvil is among the first things that break the -stillness of the morning. His shop is situated on -one of the most <a name="busy" id="busy"></a><ins title="Original has business">busy</ins> streets in the city; and -long before the stores are opened, or the busy -hum of human voices heard, the lively glow of -the blacksmith’s fire and the unceasing blowing -of his bellows, whisper in the ear of many a tardy -young man—<em>Be diligent in business</em>.</p> - -<p>Thus has he lived and labored through the -weary days of many a long year. Though time -has plowed many a deep furrow across his dusky -brow, though his head is covered with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_146" id="page_146">146</a></span> -almond-tree blossoms of age, though those that -look out of the windows are darkened, though -the doors are shut in the streets, though the -silver cord has been worn almost to its last -thread, yet Gilbert Hunt remains still healthy -and robust, retains the cheerfulness of youth, and -seems to feel that his work on earth is far from -being accomplished.</p> - -<p>His dark countenance, while in conversation, -is lighted up with a happy smile, and you cannot -help feeling, as you look upon the old and grey-headed -man, what a precious promise that beautiful -old hymn expresses when it says,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container67"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“E’en down to old age, all my people shall prove</div> - <div class="line">My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;</div> - <div class="line"><em>And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,</em></div> - <div class="line"><em>Like lambs, they shall still in my bosom be borne</em>.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>The eventful life of this aged blacksmith, together -with his vivid remembrance of bygone -days, renders an hour spent in his company very -pleasant.</p> - -<p>’Tis true, his name is unknown both to fortune -and to fame; for but few stop, in this cold world -of ours, to pay the deserved meed of praise to -humble, unpretending merit.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container57"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_147" id="page_147">147</a></span> - <div class="line outdent">“Far from the madd’ning crowd’s ignoble strife,</div> - <div class="line indent1">His sober wishes never learned to stray—</div> - <div class="line">Along the cool sequestered vale of life</div> - <div class="line indent1">He kept the noiseless tenor of his way.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>But to return to our first intention. Gilbert -Hunt was born in the county of King William, -(Va.,) about the year 1780; came to the city of -Richmond when seventeen years of age; learned -the trade of a carriage-maker, at which he worked -for a considerable length of time, and by constant -industry and close economy laid by a sufficient -amount of money to purchase his freedom -of his master. In 1832, he determined to emigrate -to Liberia; and in February of that year, -left Virginia. He remained in Africa eight -months, and having travelled some five hundred -miles into the interior, returned to the coast and -embarked for home. His reception, on arriving -at Richmond, was one which would have done -honor to any conqueror or statesman, so highly -was he respected by the citizens. “When I reached -Richmond,” to use his own language, “the -wharves were crowded with all classes and conditions -of people; I was invited to ride up town -in a very fine carriage, but preferred a plainer -style, and came up in a Jersey wagon, seated on -my trunk.” Since that time, nothing of special<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_148" id="page_148">148</a></span> -interest has transpired in the life of this truly remarkable -man. “Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing,” -he has followed with unpretending simplicity of -character his accustomed labor. Success seems -not to make him proud, nor failure to discourage -him. He has made a sufficient amount of money -to enable him to spend the evening of his life in -quiet retirement, but his place at his shop is seldom, -if ever, vacant.</p> - -<p>For more than half a century he has been a -consistent member of the Baptist Church; thus -teaching us, would we have the needed blessings -of life added to us, we should seek first the kingdom -of God and His righteousness.</p> - -<p>The event which invests the name of Gilbert -Hunt with more than ordinary interest, is the -active part which he took at the burning of the -Richmond theatre in 1811.</p> - -<p>We add a brief account of this sad occurrence, -as related by Gilbert himself, feeling there are -but few eyes which can read it without moistening -with tears.</p> - -<p>“It was the night of Christmas, 1811. I had -just returned from worship at the Baptist church, -and was about sitting down to my supper, when -I was startled by the cry that the Theatre was -on fire. My wife’s mistress called me, and begged<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_149" id="page_149">149</a></span> -me to hasten to the Theatre, and, if possible, -save her only daughter,—a young lady who had -been teaching me my book every night, and one -whom I loved very much. The wind was quite -high, and the hissing and crackling flames soon -wrapt the entire building in their embrace. The -house was built of wood, and therefore the work -of destruction was very short. When I reached the -building I immediately went to the house of a -colored fiddler, named Gilliat, who lived near -by, and begged him to lend me a bed on which -the poor frightened creatures might fall as they -leaped from the windows. This he positively -refused to do. I then procured a step-ladder and -placed it against the wall of the burning building. -The door was too small to permit the -crowd, pushed forward by the scorching flames, -to get out, and numbers of them were madly -leaping from the windows only to be crushed to -death by the fall. I looked up and saw Dr. —— -standing at one of the top windows, and calling -to me to catch the ladies as he handed them -down. I was then young and strong, and the -poor screaming ladies felt as light as feathers. -By this means we got all the ladies out of this -portion of the house. The flames were rapidly -approaching the Doctor. They were beginning<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_150" id="page_150">150</a></span> -to take hold of his clothing, and, O me! I thought -that good man who had saved so many precious -lives, was going to be burned up. He jumped -from the window, and when he touched the -ground I thought he was dead. He could not -move an inch. No one was near that part of the -house, for the wall was tottering like a drunken -man, and I looked to see it every minute crush -the Doctor to death. I heard him scream out, -‘<em>Will nobody save me?</em>’ and at the risk of my -own life, rushed to him and bore him away to a -place of safety. The scene surpassed any thing -I ever saw. The wild shriek of hopeless agony, -the piercing cry, ‘Lord, save, or I perish,’ the -uplifted hands, the earnest prayer for mercy, for -pardon, for salvation. I think I see it now—all—all -just as it happened.” And the old negro -stopped to wipe away a tear which was trickling -down his wrinkled cheek.</p> - -<p>“The next day I went to the place where I -had seen so much suffering. There lay a heap -of half-burnt bodies—young and old, rich and -poor, the governor and the little child—whose -hearts were still fluttering like leaves. I never -found my young mistress, and suppose she perished -with the many others who were present on -that mournful occasion. <em>I thought there would<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_151" id="page_151">151</a></span> -never be any more theatres after that.</em>” The old -man was silent; his tale was told; tear-drops -were standing in his eyes.</p> - -<p>Should any of my readers desire to learn more -of the history of this venerable old negro, the -simple sign of</p> - - -<p class="center border2"><span class="smcap">Gilbert Hunt</span>,<br /> -Blacksmith,</p> - -<p class="noi1">which still hangs over his door, will direct them -to his lowly shop, and guarantee a warm welcome -at his hands.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_152" id="page_152">152</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p120">THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><span class="smcap">Under</span> a spreading chestnut tree</div> - <div class="line indent1">The village smithy stands;</div> - <div class="line">The smith, a mighty man is he,</div> - <div class="line indent1">With large and sinewy hands;</div> - <div class="line">And the muscles of his brawny arms</div> - <div class="line indent1">Are strong as iron bands.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">His hair is crisp and black and long,</div> - <div class="line indent1">His face is like the tan;</div> - <div class="line">His brow is wet with honest sweat,</div> - <div class="line indent1">He earns whate’er he can,</div> - <div class="line">And looks the whole world in the face,</div> - <div class="line indent1">For he owes not any man.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Week in, week out, from morn till night</div> - <div class="line indent1">You can hear his bellows blow;</div> - <div class="line">You can hear him swing his heavy sledge</div> - <div class="line indent1">With measured beat, and slow;</div> - <div class="line">Like a sexton ringing the village bell</div> - <div class="line indent1">When the evening sun is low.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">And children coming home from school</div> - <div class="line indent1">Look in at the open door;</div> - <div class="line">They love to see the flaming forge,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And hear the bellows roar,</div> - <div class="line">And catch the burning sparks that fly</div> - <div class="line indent1">Like chaff from a threshing floor.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_153" id="page_153">153</a></span> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">He goes on Sunday to the church,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And sits among his boys;</div> - <div class="line">He hears the parson pray and preach,</div> - <div class="line indent1">He hears his daughter’s voice</div> - <div class="line">Singing in the village choir,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And it makes his heart rejoice.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">It sounds to him like his mother’s voice</div> - <div class="line indent1">Singing in Paradise!</div> - <div class="line">He needs must think of her once more,</div> - <div class="line indent1">How in the grave she lies;</div> - <div class="line">And with his hard, rough hand he wipes</div> - <div class="line indent1">A tear out of his eyes.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Toiling,—rejoicing,—sorrowing,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Onward through life he goes:</div> - <div class="line">Each morning sees some task begun,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Each evening sees its close;</div> - <div class="line">Something attempted, something done,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Has earned a night’s repose.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,</div> - <div class="line indent1">For the lesson thou hast taught:</div> - <div class="line">Thus at the flaming forge of life</div> - <div class="line indent1">Our fortunes must be wrought;</div> - <div class="line">Thus on its sounding anvil shaped</div> - <div class="line indent1">Each burning deed and thought.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<div class="attribution"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_154" id="page_154">154</a></span> -<span class="smcap">Longfellow.</span></div> - - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_155" id="page_155">155</a></span> -</div> - -<h2><a name="sketches_for_young_men" id="sketches_for_young_men"></a>SKETCHES FOR YOUNG MEN.</h2> - -<p class="center p120">NOTE.</p> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Finding</span> in my portfolio a number of sketches -not considered entirely suited to the class for -whom my little volume is intended, I have determined -to add them in the form of an appendix, -with the hope that they may prove interesting -and instructive to persons of maturer years.</p> - - -<div class="attribution"> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_156" id="page_156">156</a></span> -<span class="smcap">The Author.</span></div> - - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_157" id="page_157">157</a></span> -</div> - -<p class="center p150"><strong><a name="sketches_for_young_men2" id="sketches_for_young_men2"></a>SKETCHES FOR YOUNG MEN.</strong></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<h3><a name="lamp1" id="lamp1"></a>THE LAMP AND THE LANTERN.<br /> -No. 1.</h3> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">It</span> has long been a mystery to us that the Bible -is so little read, so poorly appreciated. A few -hurried snatches in the morning, the shortest psalm -in the evening, to a very great extent constitute -the Bible reading of many who even profess and -call themselves Christians. The prolific press is -daily pouring forth issues of aids to Scripture -reading; the most gifted intellects, both of this -and other lands, are using all their powers to -make the Bible the text-book of the age; but in -vain. There seems to have arisen, in the minds -of many, an insatiable desire for something new, -something stirring, something calculated to arouse -their stupified faculties.</p> - -<p>Persons will pore, hour after hour, over the -pages of some trashy novel, while the Bible—<em>its</em> -pages glittering with golden truths—its chapters -glowing with a Saviour’s love—lies unopened for -weeks, yea, months; its clasps blackened by canker—its -cover thick with dust.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_158" id="page_158">158</a></span> -They will nestle in their bosoms the sin-stained -pages of Byron—not knowing his slime is polluting, -his poison infecting, the purest affections of -their hearts, while a stream of living water is -gushing from this ever full and overflowing fountain -of Truth. In the one are found waters of -Marah; in the other, sweet, soul-inspiring, soul-cheering -streams, whose supply is never wanting, -whose freshness never departs.</p> - -<p>You cannot inflict greater punishment on some -persons than force them daily to read a portion -of God’s word. To them it is as a root out of -dry ground, having no form or comeliness. Notwithstanding -this, we find in the Bible every thing -that is attractive and lovely. Viewed as a literary -production, <em>aside from</em> its inspiration, there -is no work, ancient or modern, which is marked -by such variety of style—such beauty of diction—such -sublimity of sentiment. Its writers are -taken from all classes and conditions of life—from -the shepherd boy that watches his father’s -flocks on the grassy hill-sides of Judea, to the -king, the golden magnificence of whose court, and -unerring wisdom, attracted the notice of Arabia’s -queen—from the humble fisherman who mends -his nets on the shores of “deep Galilee,” to the -talented scholar of the learned Gamaliel.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_159" id="page_159">159</a></span> -The rich and the poor, the aged and the young, -the wise and the ignorant, the pastor and his -people, can all discover in its pages something to -suit their respective situations. In fact, from -Genesis to Revelation, it is filled with truths simple -enough for the prattling child—deep enough -for the profoundest scholar.</p> - -<p>What sublime simplicity characterizes the Pentateuch! -what melodious notes fall upon the ear, -like “sweet music from some far-off isle enchanted,” -as the sweet Psalmist of Israel sweeps the -<a name="chords" id="chords"></a><ins title="Original has cords">chords</ins> of his thrilling harp! what rapt, impassioned -eloquence bursts from prophetic souls as -they picture the future glory of Immanuel’s kingdom, -or paint the awful scenes of that wrathful -day,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container57"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“When, shrivelling like a parched scroll,</div> - <div class="line">The flaming heavens together roll;</div> - <div class="line">When louder yet, and yet more dread,</div> - <div class="line">Swells the high trump that wakes the dead!”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Rural Retirement,</span> Va.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -</div> - -<h3><a name="lamp2" id="lamp2"></a>THE LAMP AND THE LANTERN.<br /> -No. 2.</h3> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Turn</span> to the New Testament. How touching -those simple narratives! Hard indeed must be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_160" id="page_160">160</a></span> -the heart of him who can read without deep emotion, -that truly affecting account of the return of -the prodigal son to the father of his early love, -the home and scenes of his childhood.</p> - -<p>Behold that aged man, as with tottering step, -forgetful of the pressing weight of his many -years, he <em>runs</em> to meet his poor wayward boy, -clasps him to his yearning bosom, falls on his -neck and kisses him.</p> - -<p>Stand beside the grave of Lazarus; look at -those loving sisters of Bethany, as with throbbing -hearts and swollen eyes they gather around the -last resting-place of that much-loved and only -brother. Is your heart more unfeeling than the -heart of Him of whom it was said, “Behold how -he loved him?” If not, then moisten his grave -with a tear of sympathy for those heart-stricken -sisters; for it is not unmanly to weep,—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“That noble gift! that privilege of man.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>Let us leave these scenes, so well calculated to -sadden the heart and moisten the eye, and turn -to others of a far different nature.</p> - -<p>Look at that stranger standing on Mars Hill. -’Tis true he is not commanding in person; neither -is his speech in itself eloquent; but there is -an electric current which continually passes from<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_161" id="page_161">161</a></span> -his soul to his eye, making it to flash with dazzling -brilliancy.</p> - -<p>With the deep blue sky as his canopy, and -standing where Socrates once stood, he begins -one of the most highly finished and closely argued -orations on record.</p> - -<p>With kindling features and burning ardor, he -enters at once into the mysteries of his subject,—<em>The -nature of God</em>. What eloquence!</p> - -<div class="poetry-container57"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“It wields at will that fierce democracy.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>John Milton has truly remarked: “There are -no songs comparable to the songs of Zion; no -orations equal to those of the prophets; no politics -like those which the Scriptures teach.”</p> - -<p>But there is another feature in this precious -Book to which we would briefly direct your attention.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">The Characters.</span>—A young man, dressed in -the plain garb of a husbandman, is wandering -over the rugged sides of mount Ephraim in search -of his father’s cattle. Exposure to wind and -storm has rendered his frame robust, his tread -firm and steady. Fearless courage sits enthroned -on his peerless brow; stubborn resolution, untiring -energy, prompt decision, all beam from a -countenance, which, though bronzed by the ardent<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_162" id="page_162">162</a></span> -frown of the summer’s sun, yet is none the less -attractive for the noble qualities which it so -plainly displays. But it is the commanding appearance -of his person, the symmetry of his form, -which first unconsciously draws the attention. -As the oak of the forest lifts its head far above -the surrounding trees, so does the dauntless crest -of this choice young man rise head and shoulders -above his companions.</p> - -<p>Such is the person and character of him who -was chosen as the first king of Israel; and as -Pallas, “over the head and shoulders broad” of -Ulysses,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container57"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“Diffused grace celestial, his whole form</div> - <div class="line">Dilated, and to statelier height advanced,</div> - <div class="line">That worthier of all reverence he might seem</div> - <div class="line">To the Phæacians,”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi1">so God endowed the son of Kish, in order that -he might better command the respect of those -over whom he was called to preside.</p> - -<p>Time does not suffice to notice in detail his -anointing by the venerable Samuel, nor the -swelling tide of human beings which rolled along -the streets of Mizpah, on the day of his proclamation, -nor how the enemies of Israel were swept -before his stalwart arm, like chaff before the -whirlwind.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_163" id="page_163">163</a></span> -Thus far Saul presents one of the noblest specimens -of filial obedience, of daring bravery, of -unreserved submission to the will of God, to be -found in sacred history.</p> - -<p>But his heart becomes elated at his unparalleled -success, and the remainder of his life is a -series of heaven-daring presumption, of flagrant -disobedience, of detestable faithlessness, of unmanly -cowardice; his bosom swells with arrogant -pride—that invariable precursor of destruction—which -paves his way to the most ignominious -of deaths—that of a cowardly suicide.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container67"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“Then wish not o’er his earthly tomb</div> - <div class="line">The baneful night-shades’ lurid bloom</div> - <div class="line indent1">To drop its deadly dew;</div> - <div class="line">Nor oh! forbid the twisted thorn,</div> - <div class="line">That rudely binds his turf forlorn,</div> - <div class="line indent1">With spring’s green swelling buds to vegetate anew.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>But only remember that <em>one</em> act of indiscretion -will blast a lifetime of virtue and usefulness; -and remember also how essential it is that we -be true to our God, true to our country, true to -ourselves.</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Rural Retirement</span>, Va.</p> - - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_164" id="page_164">164</a></span> -</div> - -<h3><a name="lamp3" id="lamp3"></a>THE LAMP AND THE LANTERN.<br /> -No. 3.</h3> - - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">There</span> is one other character, noticeable for -none of those traits which mark the life of Saul; -yet of an order to which no one, we think, will -be unwilling to pay deserved tribute,—which -next claims our attention.</p> - -<p>Two men—the one in the prime of manly vigor, -the other has passed the ordinary limits of human -life—are standing on the banks of the Jordan. -The one is arrayed in royal garments, the other -in a pastoral garb,—for during many a long year -has he led his flocks beside the still waters, and -made them to lie down in the green pastures of -Gilead.</p> - -<p>The snows of four-score years have fallen softly -upon his head, and his “brow has grown wrinkled -like the brown sea sand from which the tide of -life is ebbing.” The friends of his youth are -<em>asleep with their fathers</em>; the playmates of his -childhood have also been laid in the cold and -silent sepulchres of Nebo or Pisgah. With the -Poet he exclaims,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“They are all dead now:</div> - <div class="line">I’m old and lonely.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi1"><em>He is blind.</em></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_165" id="page_165">165</a></span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container57"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> -<span class="line indent5">“Thus with the year<br /></span> - <div class="line">Seasons return. But not to him returns</div> - <div class="line">Day, or the sweet approach of ev’n or morn,</div> - <div class="line">Or sight of vernal bloom or summer’s rose,</div> - <div class="line">Or flocks or herds, or human face divine.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>To him taste has lost its sweetness; music, its -melody.</p> - -<p>David—for it is he who wears the robes of royalty,—insists -on his aged friend accompanying -him to Jerusalem.</p> - -<p>Noble-hearted old Barzillai replies, that he will -go a little way with him beyond Jordan, but adds, -“Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, -that I may die in mine own city, and be buried in -the grave of my father and my mother.”</p> - -<p>How beautiful! how touching! how true to -nature!</p> - -<p>The winter of age is not severe enough to wither -the blossoms of youth!——</p> - -<p>A storm is raging on the sea of Galilee; the -heavens are black with clouds; the moaning of -the billows, as they dash against the sides of the -vessel, falls on the ear with a peculiar loneliness; -the winds are howling fearfully through the rigging; -an occasional flash of lightning, as it darts -athwart the waters, reveals to the eye many a -face pale with fear, and many a form struggling -nobly with the furious elements.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_166" id="page_166">166</a></span> -There is on that vessel an old weather-beaten -sailor, whose home is the bosom of the lake. -Hardship and exposure have rendered him perfectly -reckless as to danger. His brow shows no -signs of fear; his noble heart throbs only with -emotions of fearless daring.</p> - -<p>A familiar voice is heard above the fury of the -winds, the roar of the waves.</p> - -<p>The practiced ear of the sturdy old sailor -quickly catches the sound, recognizes it as his -Master’s voice, and with impetuous zeal and unshaken -confidence, makes an attempt to rush into -his embrace.</p> - -<p>Though this Galilean fisherman doubtless possessed -a rough exterior, yet his heart was easily -warmed into expressions of the deepest love, and -quickly melted to tears.</p> - -<p>At one time we behold him, with that quick impetuosity -which so peculiarly distinguished him, -cutting off the ear of a high priest’s servant; at -another, going out into retirement, and weeping -with intense bitterness.</p> - -<p>In no instance is his ardent temperament more -plainly shown, than the one in which Christ appears -to His disciples by the dim twilight of morning -on the shores of Galilee. It is he who hastily -girds his fisher’s coat about him, casts himself into<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_167" id="page_167">167</a></span> -the sea and swims with longing earnestness to -the shore.</p> - -<p>It is true there are some acts in this noble -apostle’s life over which we should like to throw -the mantle of forgetfulness; yet there is much -worthy of admiration and imitation.</p> - -<p>No one ever suffered more than he on account -of his errors; no one of the apostles labored -with more self-denying application for his Master’s -cause; and we are sure no one received a -richer reward.</p> - -<p>We know not with any degree of certainty -how he died, though tradition informs us that -he was crucified, with his head towards the earth, -thus showing he never forgot, to the last hour of -his life, that one act of denial which caused him -so many bitter tears, such intense anguish of -spirit.</p> - -<p>There are many other lovely characters which, -did time permit, we should love to dwell upon.</p> - -<p>Let us read God’s word with more diligence -and greater earnestness in the future than we -have in the past: let us lay its sacred truths up -in our hearts, and practice them in our lives.</p> - -<p>Oh! let us rejoice, that this lamp does not -shed its light on a chosen few, but that its rays -have penetrated many a land of darkened ignorance<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_168" id="page_168">168</a></span> -and fiendish cruelty, scattering joy and -happiness in habitations where sorrow and misery -once had their abode.</p> - -<p>Let us thank God, that leaves from this Tree -of Life have been wafted by propitious breezes -throughout the length and breadth of the world. -They are to be found in the hut of the Esquimaux, -the hovel of the African, the wigwam of the Indian, -in the cottage of the laborer, in the palace -of the lord, floating on the surface of the Ganges, -fringing the borders of the Nile.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container57"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">’Tis a fountain ever bursting,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Whence the weary may obtain</div> - <div class="line">Water for the soul that’s thirsting,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And shall never thirst again.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">’Tis a lamp forever burning,</div> - <div class="line indent1">By whose never-dying light,</div> - <div class="line">Sinners, from their errors turning,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Are directed through the night.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line"><a name="tis" id="tis"></a><ins title="Original has ’Ts">’Tis</ins> a mine of richest treasure,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Laden with the purest ore;</div> - <div class="line">And its contents, without measure,</div> - <div class="line indent1">You can never well explore.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">’Tis a chart that never fails you,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Which God to man has given,</div> - <div class="line">And, though rudest storms assail you,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Will guide you safe to heaven.</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_169" id="page_169">169</a></span> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">’Tis a tree whose fruits unfailing,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Cheer and stay the fainting soul,</div> - <div class="line">And whose leaves, the nations healing,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Scatter joy from pole to pole.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">’Tis a pearl of price exceeding</div> - <div class="line indent1">All the gems in ocean found;—</div> - <div class="line"><em>To its precepts ever listening,</em></div> - <div class="line indent1"><em>In its truths may I abound</em>.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Rural Retirement</span>, Va.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -</div> - -<h3><a name="who1" id="who1"></a>“WHO SHALL BE THE GREATEST?”<br /> -No. 1.</h3> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">A teacher</span> of great wisdom is seated in the -midst of a class of students, who long have hung -with breathless silence on the wonderful words -which fall from his lips. His class is composed -of persons from nearly all conditions and -callings of life. Some have been nurtured on -the bosom of the deep; some dwelt from early -childhood under the shadows of venerable mountains, -and caught from them true nobility and loftiness -of soul; others, doubtless, spent their days -in the peaceful pursuits of husbandry; while one, -at least, has lived amid the active duties of public -life, demanding, perhaps, with Shylock relentlessness,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_170" id="page_170">170</a></span> -the uttermost farthing from the hand of -his debtor.</p> - -<p>As they sit at the feet of their instructor, what -diversity of disposition meets our eye. One is -impulsive, ardent, passionate; by his side sits another, -of fervent love, gentle mildness, unshaken -confidence; another is evidently very skeptical—sometimes -doubting the truthfulness of his own -vision; by his side is one whose heart is as guileless -as that of a little child; while not far off, -is another, of calculating mind and heart, as black -as night with vile hypocrisy.</p> - -<p>What is the question which has so deeply absorbed -their thoughts?—It is one which they -have been discussing by the wayside—for their -cheeks would burn with shame did they think -their Master suspected such feelings ever throbbed -in their bosoms. It is this:—</p> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">Who shall be the greatest?</span>” (Mark 9: -34.) That this is still an absorbing thought of -mankind, may be seen from the anxious brow and -hurried step of the merchant, the feeble frame -and the hollow cheek of the student, the brawny -arm and vigorous tread of the laborer; yea, the -skeleton fingers of the lowly seamstress, as she -mingles her very life’s blood with her daily toil, -and sings alike the “Song of the Shirt,” and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_171" id="page_171">171</a></span> -Dirge of the Sewer. Neither is it alone common -to the city of the living; its intrusive front has -even invaded the solemn silence of the city of -the sleeping dead.</p> - -<p>Though prattling childhood and hoary-headed -age, the lordly rich and the needy poor, there -dwell side by side, how great is the contrast between -the places of their abode! Over the one -rises the proud monument, on whose cold front -are written in letters of gold the names and -deeds of the dead. The simple rose, with its -blushing purity, planted by the hand of affection, -and watered by the tears of love, sweetly blooms -above the other. In what beautiful numbers has -the poet sung:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container67"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“Nor you, ye proud, impute to these the fault</div> - <div class="line indent1">If Memory o’er their tomb no trophies raise,</div> - <div class="line">Where through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault,</div> - <div class="line indent1">The pealing anthem swells the note of praise.</div> -</div> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“Can storied urn or animated bust,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath?</div> - <div class="line">Can Honor’s voice provoke the silent dust,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Or flattery soothe the dull cold ear of death?”</div> -</div></div></div> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_172" id="page_172">172</a></span> -</div> - -<h3><a name="who2" id="who2"></a>“WHO SHALL BE THE GREATEST?”<br /> -No. 2.</h3> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Men</span> are ambitious of the esteem of those who -are prominent in the eyes of the world on account -of their wealth, their greatness, their learning.</p> - -<p>How fond we are of the notice of the rich! -How we strive to win their approbation! How -we labor to gain their interest! How highly -prized, how exaggerated, how boasted of, their -slightest attentions. We will lick the very dust -from the feet of <em>wealth</em>, and refuse to shake the -honest hand of <em>poverty</em>. With what amazing -sycophancy do we bow our heads at the footstool -of him who has been mighty in battle, or great -in the councils of the nation! And then the -learned! How we out-Boswell Boswell himself, in -picking up the crumbs which fall from their tables. -In their august presence the world-worshipper -prostrates himself in the dust of humility, and -looks up to them for a smile with that air of servility -with which the dog turns his face to the -eye of his master for a crust of bread.</p> - - -<p class="center"><em>Men are Ambitious of Wealth.</em></p> - -<p>The son of some poor cottager is charmed by -the glitter and glare of riches. His father’s cottage<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_173" id="page_173">173</a></span> -soon becomes -<a name="too" id="too"></a><ins title="Original has two">too</ins> small for his accommodation; -the narrow confines of the little farm -cramp too much his swelling expectations. He -leaves the home of his childhood, the friends of -his youth, and enters the busy, bustling marts of -commerce. No stone, however heavy, is left unturned; -no task is too burdensome, no difficulty -too great, for the accomplishment of his heart’s -desire. Toilsome labor, assiduous application, -penurious economy, a heart steeled alike against -the cries of want, the claims of his Maker, are -called into requisition for the furtherance of this -one mighty object. Visions of beautiful and -boundless fields—of coffers overflowing with -gold, of princely mansions, flit across his disordered -imagination during the silent watches of -the night. The more fuel he adds, the stronger -the passion burns.</p> - -<p>As the shipwrecked mariner, driven at the -mercy of the winds and waves, seeks to quench -his burning thirst by drinking the briny element -which surrounds him, only to find that his <a name="thirst" id="thirst"></a><ins title="Original has hirst">thirst</ins> is -increased rather than diminished, so does man -find his desire for wealth increase with each successive -gain. Soon his ledger becomes his Bible, -his bank his sanctuary, his gold the god at whose -shrine he bows morning, noon and night.—When<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_174" id="page_174">174</a></span> -he has reached the dregs of his existence, when -his body is wasted by disease, weakened by age, -when enfeebled Reason sits tottering on her -throne, how bitter must be his thoughts when they -revert to the hearts he has left all crushed and -bleeding, to the homes all deserted and destroyed.—He -then begins fully to realize the fact that he -has been in the constant pursuit of an ever-receding -<em>ignis-fatuus</em>, which dazzled only to destroy -him. He has betrayed the noblest principles of -the human heart for the sake of filthy lucre: -like Judas, madly dashes the occasion of his misery -to the ground, and frequently goes forth and -hangs himself.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -</div> - -<h3><a name="who3" id="who3"></a>“WHO SHALL BE THE GREATEST?”<br /> -No. 3.</h3> - - -<p class="center"><em>Men are Ambitious of Distinction.</em></p> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">As</span> the child with uplifted hand and eager look -chases the bubble which its tiny lips have fashioned, -only to find that it vanishes into thin air -as soon as it is grasped, so does man, seemingly -but a child in understanding, spend days and -nights of laborious toil in pursuit of the bubble -Distinction.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_175" id="page_175">175</a></span> -The heart of some youthful aspirant is fixed -with a burning desire for the gaudy tinsel of distinction, -with which the name of some hero in -life’s battle is clothed. He abandons the cheerful -fireside and genial society of home, and chooses -for himself some arduous profession. Every energy -is bent towards this one great object of -his life. Every faculty of mind and body is rendered -subservient to this “heart’s desire.” Hours -which Nature has allotted to rest, are spent in -unwearied application. He finds himself not -only burning the oil of his midnight lamp, but -the oil of the very lamp of life itself. He soon -finds that the race is not <em>always</em> to the swift, nor -the battle to the strong—that “there is a Divinity -that shapes our ends, rough hew them as we -may.”</p> - -<p>As one competitor after another passes him, -lean-faced Envy whispers words of malice in his -ready ear, so that him whom he once loved he then -despises.</p> - -<p>As Themistocles could not sleep because of the -deserved honors of Melviades, so do the <em>deserved</em> -honors of his rivals drive peace from his side, -repose from his couch.</p> - -<p>Every <em>laurel</em> which crowns their brows becomes -a <em>thorn</em> in <em>his</em> pillow. Anxiety for the future,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_176" id="page_176">176</a></span> -dissatisfaction with the present, remorse for -the past, embitter his lonely hours. Long-deferred -hope makes his heart sick. And then he -comes to the pass of death.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container62"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Another followed fast,</div> - <div class="line">And a book was in his hand,</div> - <div class="line">Filled with the flashes of burning thought,</div> - <div class="line">That are known in many a land;</div> - <div class="line">But the child of Genius quailed to hear</div> - <div class="line">Death’s pitiless demand.</div> - <div class="line">“<em>Here that book cannot enter with thee,</em></div> - <div class="line"><em>For the bright flash of Genius is nothing to me.</em>””</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi1">He presses into the unknown night alone, leaving -behind him the sad warning to those who -come after him—<span class="smcap">Love not the praise of men -more than the praise of God.</span> (John 12: 43.)</p> - -<p>It may seem that we have painted the lovers -of wealth and distinction in colors too deep and -dark. They, however, are intended as the background -from which true nobility and true greatness -shall stand forth with greater beauty and -loveliness.</p> - -<p>He who is conscious of possessing powers capable -of benefiting his fellow man, and spends -his time and talents in inglorious ease, is guilty -of sinful self-indulgence. It is not ours, like the -stupid rustic, to sit still and wait until the stream<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_177" id="page_177">177</a></span> -passes by in order that we may cross, but rather -stem the current and breast its billows. If we -succeed, then success has been gained where it is -always surest and sweetest, in the discharge of -duty. We have sacrificed no principle; we have -stooped to no mean act; our gold is not stained -with the blood of trampled-on innocence; our -reputation has not been gained in the pathway -of shame.</p> - -<p>If we fail, then we are encouraged by the -thought that we have done what we could. (Mark -14: 8.)</p> - -<p>In reply to a letter from a young man in which -the following sentence occurred,—</p> - -<p>“If I know my own heart, I ask not wealth -or honor; but to do good and to communicate, -(Heb. 13: 16) is the object of my life,”—a successful -Christian merchant thus wrote:</p> - -<p><a name="quote" id="quote"></a><ins title="Original omits closing quote">“The</ins> object of your life as you explain it, is the -noblest on the face of the earth; and although it -will not bring you worldly wealth and ease, it is -sure of much higher reward both here and hereafter. -<em>Press forward. Never lose sight of it.</em> Be -very thankful that God has thus called you to -his service, and show Him your gratitude by -consecrating yourself wholly to Him. I think I -have lived long enough to <em>know</em> that your choice,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_178" id="page_178">178</a></span> -or the service to which you are called, is not -only the noblest, but in fact, the only service worth -a man’s living for at all. How many failures do -we see in the lives of the ambitious and the great, -notwithstanding advantages of the highest distinction. -<em>But bankruptcy with a genuine child of -God is impossible.</em> <span class="smcap">His life cannot be a failure.</span></p> - -<p>That there are and have been numberless persons, -the object of whose lives was to advance -Christ’s Kingdom and add to the happiness of -their fellow-men, we have abundant testimony. -The names of Howard, of Wilberforce, of McCheyne, -of Henry Martyn, of Hedley Vicars, of -Brainerd Taylor, of Harlan Page, of noble-hearted -Daniel Baker, the pioneer of the cross -in the wilds of Texas, of many others, of whom -the world is not worthy, stand out in the boldest -prominence. Yea, such men are to be seen -around us every day. In the pulpit, at the bar, -in the counting-room of the merchant, in the shop -of the mechanic, at the bedside of the sick and -dying, fearing neither the death-breathing pestilence, -nor the destruction that wasteth at noonday.</p> - -<p>Shall it not, then, be ours to follow in their -footsteps? Is there any pleasure so great as -the pleasure of doing good?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_179" id="page_179">179</a></span> -<em>Who shall be the greatest?</em> Not in worldly -honors, but in the measureless wealth of disinterested -kindness, and the unfading honors that -cluster around the Cross of Christ.</p> - -<p>Longfellow beautifully sketches the upward -and onward career of a youth who, despite the -warnings of the aged, the entreaties of the -young, wound his weary way up the steep -sides of one of the Alps mountains only to make -his grave beneath the cold snow of the topmost -peak.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container67"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">The shades of night were falling fast,</div> - <div class="line">As through an Alpine village passed</div> - <div class="line">A youth, who bore, ’mid snow and ice,</div> - <div class="line">A banner with the strange device,</div> - <div class="line indent15"><span class="smcap">Excelsior.</span></div> -</div> - -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Beware the pine tree’s wither’d branch</div> - <div class="line">Beware the awful avalanche!”</div> - <div class="line">This was the peasant’s last good-night,—</div> - <div class="line">A voice replied, far up the height,</div> - <div class="line indent15"><span class="smcap">Excelsior.</span></div> -</div> - -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">At break of day, as heavenward</div> - <div class="line">The pious monks of St. Bernard</div> - <div class="line">Uttered the oft repeated prayer,</div> - <div class="line">A voice cried through the startled air,</div> - <div class="line indent15"><span class="smcap">Excelsior.</span></div> -</div> - -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">A traveller, by the faithful hound,</div> - <div class="line">Half-buried in the snow was found,</div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_180" id="page_180">180</a></span> - <div class="line">Still grasping in his hand of ice</div> - <div class="line">That banner with the strange device—</div> - <div class="line indent15"><span class="smcap">Excelsior.</span></div> -</div> - -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">There, in the twilight cold and grey,</div> - <div class="line">Lifeless, but beautiful, he lay,</div> - <div class="line">And from the sky serene and far,</div> - <div class="line">A voice fell, like a falling star,</div> - <div class="line indent15"><span class="smcap">Excelsior.</span></div> -</div></div></div> - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_181" id="page_181">181</a></span> -</div> - -<h3><a name="poor" id="poor"></a>THE POOR CONSUMPTIVE.</h3> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p class="center p120">A COLPORTEUR SKETCH.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container62"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">Is</span> this the place where a princess dwells,</div> - <div class="line indent1">A favored daughter of the King of kings?</div> - <div class="line">Within their humble and contracted cells,</div> - <div class="line indent1">Do heavenly spirits wave their guardian wings?”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Stretched</span> on a bed of painful sickness there -lay a woman in the last stages of consumption. -Pale-faced poverty was an inmate of the hovel -in which she dwelt. The broken panes of glass, -the bare floor, the large cracks in the wall, the -scanty covering, carefully thrown over the bed, -all plainly bespoke the absence of the very necessaries -of life. As I entered the door, my -heart throbbed hurriedly when my eyes caught -the destitution, the misery, the wretchedness, -which surrounded me. Several children, from -six to fourteen years of age, were in the room—some -of them lying together on the floor, others -seated on the remnant of a chair, while one little -fellow, with matted hair and unwashed face, -scowled at me from behind a door, as if he -thought me an unwelcome visitor. The children -had evidently been long neglected. No voice of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_182" id="page_182">182</a></span> -love had often fallen on their ears; no smile of -affection had cheered their loneliness. Their -lives had been made up with scenes of want and -wretchedness. Their minds were like gardens -all overgrown with noxious weeds. But few -seeds of truth had been sown in their little hearts -by the hand of kindness, and their little voices -had never sung the sweet notes of “Happy Day,” -or “The Sabbath-school.”</p> - -<p>But let me not forget the quiet sufferer, who, -with such calm composure, has all this time been -lying in unbroken silence. Her days are almost -numbered. Consumption, that fell destroyer of -human hopes, has long been gnawing at her -heart-strings. The cord of life is worn almost -to its last thread. Her hollow cheek, her wasted -form, her sunken, death-glazed eye, all tell me -that the cold, clammy hand of Death is gradually -chilling her life-blood. She breathes with difficulty, -for her lungs are too far gone to perform -their functions. Now and then a hacking cough -seems as if it would rend her frail chest to pieces. -In her feeble hand she holds a fan, with which -she is endeavoring to cool her burning brow. Its -faint fluttering is but the counterpart of the almost -fainter fluttering of life, as it hovers round -her heart.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_183" id="page_183">183</a></span> -I sat for several moments quietly gazing on -the wan and wasted features of the poor sufferer, -before I could summon the resolution to say a -word. I finally broke the solemn silence which -filled the desolate chamber, by telling her that I -sympathized very deeply with her in the suffering -through which she had to pass.</p> - -<p>I then asked her, if God should see fit to call -her away from earth, did she think she was prepared -for so awful a change. She feebly whispered -“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“What is then to become of your unprotected -children?”</p> - -<p>“God will take care of them.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think it right that <em>you</em> should suffer -so much, while others are in the enjoyment of -countless blessings?”</p> - -<p>“Perfectly.”</p> - -<p>“Shall I read a portion of God’s Word, and -pray with you?”</p> - -<p>“If you please, sir.”</p> - -<p>She reached her arm under the pillow and -drew forth a Bible. Oh! how precious a thing -it is, in the hour of death, to pillow one’s weary -head on the precious promises of that blessed -Book!</p> - -<p>I slowly turned its sacred pages till I reached<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_184" id="page_184">184</a></span> -the fourteenth chapter of John—that chapter of -blessed memory, which has soothed the troubled -spirits of so many dying souls—after reading -which, I knelt at her bedside and united with her -in prayer. When I arose from my knees, her -eyes were melted to tears, and a calm and holy -peace rested on her pale and emaciated face.</p> - -<p>Reader, it was a precious season to my own -soul. God grant that the influences of that scene -may never depart from me. My heart was cast -down in humility, in penitence, as I remembered -how often I had rebelled against God’s holy law. -The unbidden tear was quietly trickling down -my own cheek as I left that Bethel—that house -of God.</p> - -<p>Since writing the above, “The Poor Consumptive” -has sweetly fallen asleep in Jesus.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -</div> - -<h3><a name="live" id="live"></a>“WHAT I LIVE FOR.”</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container57"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“<span class="smcap">I live</span> for those who love me,</div> - <div class="line indent1">For those who know me true;</div> - <div class="line">For the heaven that smiles above me,</div> - <div class="line indent1">And awaits my spirit too;</div> - <div class="line">For the cause that lacks assistance,</div> - <div class="line indent1">For the wrong that needs resistance,</div> - <div class="line">For the Future in the distance,</div> - <div class="line indent1"><em>And the good that I can do</em>.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_185" id="page_185">185</a></span> -<span class="smcap">We</span> are told that a word, when it has fallen -from the lips, never dies away; that the sound -goes on widening and widening throughout the -immensity of space.</p> - -<p>Such are our lives. The acts which we do, the -words which we utter, are exerting an untold influence -for good or for evil. They are moulding, -silently but certainly, the character of those by -whom we are surrounded, for weal or for woe. -Their influence extends even to eternity.</p> - -<p>Fellow Christians! impressed with this solemn -thought, let our heart’s desire be to minister to -the wants of the sick and dying, to carry the -glad tidings of salvation to the hovels of ignorance -and poverty, to cheer the homeless orphan, -to console the friendless widow; for by so doing, -we shall surely gain our reward both in this world -and that which is to come. Let us do what we -can to dry the tear of sorrow, to gladden the -heart of the laborer in his long hours of lonely -toil; do what we can by precept, by prayer, by -example, by toilsome labor, to win souls to Jesus -Christ. Who had not rather be the means of -saving one soul, than obtain all the riches or receive -all the honors the world can furnish?—</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_186" id="page_186">186</a></span> -</div> - -<h3><a name="sermon" id="sermon"></a>THE LAST SERMON OF THE SEASON.</h3> - -<p class="noi">“<span class="smcap">What</span> a thought! The last opportunity I -shall ever enjoy of making my peace with God; -the last time I shall ever listen to the glad tidings -of salvation; the last time I shall hear -from the sacred desk the earnest entreaty, Come -to Jesus; the last time I shall ever sing the songs -of Zion!”</p> - -<p>Such were the thoughts which rushed wildly -through the mind of a young man as his unwilling -feet lingered on the steps of the house of -God. He was leaving that house with a heart -at enmity with his heavenly Father. Again and -again had he put off for a convenient season the -eternal interests of his never-dying soul. Long, -long had Satan pacified his restless conscience -by whispering in his ear that to-morrow would -be time enough. To-morrow after to-morrow -had come and gone, yet he was farther from salvation -than he had ever been.</p> - -<p>The minister’s earnest entreaty, a conviction -of the awful eternity which awaited him if he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_187" id="page_187">187</a></span> -died in his sins, pressed with burning weight -upon his thoughts. He seemed to be held fast -by some resistless power. “Perhaps it may be -the last night of the season of salvation; God -only knows. I will arise and go to my Father,” -thought he to himself. He sought the minister; -went with him to his study; and there, by the -aid of God’s Spirit, trusts he gave himself to his -Saviour.</p> - -<p>Fellow sinner, this may be the last night of the -season of salvation to you. Will you not come to -Jesus? Father and mother, brother and sister, -those that love you tenderly, all join in the entreaty, -<em>Come to Jesus</em>. He is a precious Saviour; -he is a willing Saviour; he is an able Saviour. -Then will you not come and cast your burden of -sin upon him? He has never turned away one -soul. “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to -the waters, and he that hath no money; come -ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk -without money and without price.”</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_188" id="page_188">188</a></span> -</div> - -<h3><a name="nobody" id="nobody"></a>“WILL NOBODY SAVE ME?”</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“<span class="smcap">Nothing</span> in my hand I bring,</div> - <div class="line">Simply to thy cross I cling;</div> - <div class="line">Naked come to thee for dress:</div> - <div class="line"><em>Helpless</em>, look to thee for grace;</div> - <div class="line">Vile, I to the fountain fly;</div> - <div class="line">Wash me, Saviour, or I die.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">During</span> the burning of the Richmond theatre, -in 1811, a gentleman who had nobly endangered -his own life in endeavoring to rescue others from -the jaws of the devouring flames, was seen to -leap from one of the topmost windows to the -ground. So severe was the fall, he was unable -to move an inch. Above him stood the tottering -wall, ready to fall and crush him to death. He -looked around him; not a soul was near. From -the depths of his agony, he cried out, “<em>Will nobody -save me?</em>” The cry fell on the ear of a -sturdy negro, who rushed to him, and bore him -away in his strong and brawny arms to a place -of safety.</p> - -<p>Such is the case with the sinner. When he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_189" id="page_189">189</a></span> -finds that of himself he can do nothing, that -God’s angry vengeance is tottering above his -head, that no one is near to save him, then it is -that he cries, “<em>Will nobody save me?</em>” The cry -comes to the waiting ear of his blessed Saviour, -and He bears him away in His arms of love to His -Father’s bosom.</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_190" id="page_190">190</a></span> -</div> - -<h3><a name="sabbath" id="sabbath"></a>A SABBATH IN THE COUNTRY.</h3> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">There</span> is something to me peculiarly pleasant -in a country Sabbath. No rattle of carts, no -bustle of crowds, no hum of voices, disturb the -calm and holy quietude of the hallowed day. -Cattle are quietly grazing on grassy meadows, or -sleeping in the refreshing shade; the irregular -tinkle of the sheep-bell falls sweetly on the ear; -the plough stands motionless in the unfinished -furrow; the little songster trills from some swinging -bough its morning song. The household dog -seems to know it is a day of peaceful rest. His -voice is hushed in silence. The clouds glide -calmly across the heavens; the rays of the Sabbath -sun rest sweetly on the face of nature. A -dreamy, delightful serenity hovers over all the -land. The incense of prayer rises from many a -family altar, and the accents of praise tremble -on many a lip.</p> - -<p>Let us go up to the house of God. How different -from our city churches! Perhaps it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_191" id="page_191">191</a></span> -some venerable building whose foundation was -laid by men to whom the faces and forms of a -Samuel Davies, or William Wilson, were familiar; -perhaps remains of the foundation erected for the -protection of God’s people against savage cruelty -still linger around it; perhaps marks of the Indian’s -bullet have not yet been effaced from its -rude stone walls. Let us cross its threshold. No -stained glass softens the rays of light, no cushioned -pew invites you to a seat, no costly pulpit -meets your eye; no beautiful fresco will draw -your attention from the minister or the word of -God. Every thing is as plain, as practical, as -solid, as the men who first worshipped beneath -its roof, but who now sleep beneath the waving -grass of the adjoining cemetery.</p> - -<p>One by one the congregation begin to enter -and take their seats. They reverently bow their -heads and seek the aid of God’s Spirit to enable -them rightly to understand and apply the truths -to which they shall listen. Many and varied are -the personages which draw the attention. One -is a venerable elder: time has not dealt gently -with him; his brow is furrowed, his cheek wrinkled, -and he totters feebly to his seat beneath the -weight of many years, and a life of laborious toil. -Though the fires of life are well nigh gone out,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_192" id="page_192">192</a></span> -hope burns brightly in his heart, and beams forth -from his eye. The assurance that his Redeemer -liveth, is the rod and staff on which he leans for -support. Another is a young man. His step is -firm, his frame robust. He has not seen the -snows of more than twenty winters. His countenance -wears a thoughtful, solemn air. He is -thinking of God, of heaven, of eternity. He has -not come to the house of God because it is his custom, -to see a friend, or to while away an hour. -His is a nobler object. It is to worship God, to -obtain instruction which shall lead his steps in -the ways of righteousness, the paths of peace. -At his side sits his mother—“he is the only son -of his mother, and she a widow.”</p> - -<p>But another form, of dignified, yet gentle, demeanor, -enters the door. The placid features of -his face, the mildness of his eye, point him out as -“the man of God.” His appearance is such as at -once to attract the attention. He is very tall, -perhaps above six feet. His person is quite -spare. He is slightly bowed with age, and as he -feebly walks down the aisle, you almost involuntarily -rise from your seat as if to do him reverence. -He has long been a laborer in his Master’s -vineyard. For more than half a century -has he proclaimed the glad tidings of salvation<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_193" id="page_193">193</a></span> -from the same pulpit which he now occupies. His -mind easily reverts to the time when the whistle -of the red man’s bullet was liable at any moment -to disturb the worship of God’s people; -when the hardy pioneers of Christ and His kingdom -came up to the house of God with muskets -lashed to their backs. The thriving village in -which he now resides was then almost a wilderness; -cattle grazed, and corn grew in the fertile -valleys from which now rises the populous city. -The wild Alleghanies, then the home of the beasts -of the forest, now daily echo with the rattle of -the stage coach; and the shrill whistle of the locomotive -has made the panther and the bear to -seek shelter in the more distant West. He is -one of a very few of the links which bind the -Virginia of the present with the Virginia of -fifty years ago. His few remaining silver locks -are combed back from a forehead of fine proportions. -He enters the sacred desk; bows his -head and supplicates the assistance of God’s -Spirit. He rises; “Let us worship God,” falls -tremblingly from his lips, and the whole congregation -rise to their feet. With earnestness, with -simplicity, he invokes the presence of Him with -whom is the residue of the Spirit. He then -slowly turns to that beautiful old hymn, so dear -to God’s people—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container47"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_194" id="page_194">194</a></span> - <div class="line outdent">“Whilst Thee I seek protecting power!</div> - <div class="line">Be my vain wishes stilled;</div> - <div class="line">And may this consecrated hour</div> - <div class="line">With better hopes be filled.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi1">So distinct is his enunciation that his voice -falters on every syllable. Every heart trembles -in unison with his, and many an eye is dimmed -with the unbidden tear. From almost the entire -congregation rises up a united song of praise. -One voice after another catches it up, till there -is scarcely one which does not join in the melodious -hymn.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container62"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“They chant their artless notes in simple strain,</div> - <div class="line">They tune their hearts, by far the noblest aim;</div> - <div class="line">Perhaps Dundee’s wild, warbling measures rise,</div> - <div class="line">Or plaintive martyr’s, worthy of the name;</div> - <div class="line">Or noble Elgin beats the heavenward flame;</div> - <div class="line">The sweetest far of Scotia’s holy lays:</div> - <div class="line">Compared with these, Italian trills are tame;</div> - <div class="line">The tickled ears no heartfelt raptures raise,</div> - <div class="line">No unison have they with our Creator’s praise.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>“<em>This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all -acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world -to save sinners, of whom I am chief</em>,” is announced -as his text.</p> - -<p>Such a sermon I never heard before; such an -one I am afraid I shall never hear again. His -voice, at first weak and tremulous, strengthens<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_195" id="page_195">195</a></span> -as he progresses with his subject. His eye burns -with a new lustre; his frame becomes more erect, -his features kindle with animation, as with pathetic -eloquence he dwells on Christ’s mission to -this sin-stained world of ours. And then, his invitation -to those who know Him not. How simple, -how sublime, how earnest! His whole heart -is full of the deepest emotion struggling for utterance. -As he looks anxiously on the waiting -congregation, and in accents of melting tenderness, -says, <em>of whom I am chief!</em> the hot blood -rushes unbidden to my face, and the briny tear -trickles unconsciously down my cheek.</p> - -<p>I shall never forget that Sabbath, that sermon, -that minister. They will go with me to my -grave. When I am earnestly engaged in other -pursuits, ever and anon visions of them flit across -my mind, and awaken emotions of the most delightful -nature.</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_196" id="page_196">196</a></span> -</div> - -<h3><a name="young" id="young"></a>THE YOUNG CHRISTIAN’S DEATH-CHAMBER.</h3> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“<span class="smcap">Why</span> lament the Christian dying?</div> - <div class="line indent1">Why indulge in tears or gloom?</div> - <div class="line">Calmly on the Lord relying,</div> - <div class="line indent1">She can greet the opening tomb.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Every</span> voice was hushed; every step muffled. -The soft rays of an April sun kissed, with a lingering -affection, the pale cheek of a young lady, -the tide of whose life was fast ebbing away.</p> - -<p>She was the child of -<a name="christian" id="christian"></a><ins title="Original has christian">Christian</ins> parents, who -had faithfully endeavored to bring her up in the -nurture and admonition of the Lord. At an -early age she was deprived by death of her -sainted mother; and before many years had -elapsed, she was called to mourn the loss of a -father upon whom every affection of her young -heart was centred. To the <em>bitterness</em> of orphanage -was added the loss of the greatest blessing -on earth—health. The rose of Death was long -blooming on her cheek, ere her nearest friends -were aware that she was falling a victim to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_197" id="page_197">197</a></span> -flattering and insidious attacks of consumption.</p> - -<p>She had not neglected the early instructions -of her pious parents, and, when very young, made -a profession of her faith in Christ. For several -years previous to her last sickness, her mind, at -times, was clouded with doubts, and she occasionally -seemed to suffer unutterable anguish at the -absence of God’s Spirit from the heart. A few -days preceding her death, these doubts and fears -were all entirely removed, and she seemed to enjoy, -to the fullest extent, the light of God’s reconciled -countenance. It was indeed beautiful to -see her, who, but a few weeks before, was so cold -and indifferent, now wholly absorbed in the great -and glorious truth of salvation through Christ. -She was frequently engaged in earnest secret -prayer, and never allowed anything to be read -in her presence but the Bible, or some of those -sweet and touching hymns so soothing to the -troubled heart of the dying Christian. No moment -was to be lost. During the silent watches -of the night, she would frequently call her brother -to her bedside, and say, “T——, read to your -dying sister some of those beautiful passages in -Revelation which our dear father used to love so -tenderly, and caused to be read when dying.”<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_198" id="page_198">198</a></span> -“How beautiful! how grand! how sublime!” -she would exclaim, when the book was closed.</p> - -<p>Reader, come with me and stand beside the -bed of this dear, dying young Christian, and see -how calmly, serenely and happily a Christian -can die. Contrast <em>her</em> death-bed with that of -Hume or Voltaire, and tell me if there is not -something in religion they knew nothing about—something -that fits a man for <em>life</em>, and especially -for death; listen attentively to the few words -which drop from her faltering tongue; treasure -them in your memory, and so live that your last -end may be like hers.</p> - -<p>The devoted Pastor of the —— church had -frequent and delightful interviews with her. In -one of them the following conversation occurred: -“Miss M——, you doubtless are aware that you -can be with us but a few days more; are you <em>perfectly</em> -resigned to God’s will?” With calm and -sweet composure, she replied, “Yes, Mr. M——, -perfectly, <em>perfectly</em>, <span class="p70">PERFECTLY</span>; I long to be with -my Saviour; earth has no charms for me now.”</p> - -<p>After reading the beautiful 14th chapter of -St. John, Mr. M—— extended his hand, and was -about bidding her, what seemed to him, a last -farewell, when she made the following remarks: -“Perhaps this will be the last time we shall ever<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_199" id="page_199">199</a></span> -meet again on earth: I wish you to preach my funeral -sermon in the old R——n church—the church -of my father and my mother, where first I listened -to the glad tidings of salvation; preach it from -the text, “In the way of righteousness is life; -and in the pathway thereof there is no death”—Prov. -xii., 28. Preach to the living—to the living—to -the living! And I want the congregation -to sing that delightful hymn, beginning,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">‘God moves in a mysterious way—’</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi1">Good-bye.” The Sabbath previous to her death, -several of her friends united in singing that -beautiful old hymn,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“Rock of ages,” &c.</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi1">When they had completed the 3d verse, and -were just beginning the last—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container52"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“While I draw this fleeting breath,</div> - <div class="line">When my heart-strings break in death,</div> - <div class="line">When I soar to worlds unknown,</div> - <div class="line">See Thee on Thy judgment throne,—</div> - <div class="line"><em>Rock of Ages, cleft for me,</em></div> - <div class="line"><em>Let me hide myself in Thee</em>”—</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p class="noi1">she, with a sweetness and heavenly melody which -beggars description, joined with them and sung -the entire verse <em>alone</em>,—as the voices of all in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_200" id="page_200">200</a></span> -the room were so much choked with emotion -they could not utter a word. Oh, what a scene! -That feeble, faltering voice spending its “last -lingering breath” in singing her Redeemer’s -praise! I felt as if I was standing in the very -vestibule of heaven, catching some of those -sweet accents of devotion warbled by immortal -tongues. Such composure, confiding trust, holy -resignation!</p> - -<p>When her brothers and sister stood around her -bed to receive the dying embrace and last fond -kiss of their dear sister, she made them kneel -down at her side, laid her feeble hands on their -<em>orphan</em> heads, (yea, <em>doubly orphan</em>, since she was -about leaving them,) and gave them a sister’s -dying blessing. She then remarked to her younger -brother:—“My brother, you <em>alone</em>, of the three -which will be left when I am gone, are not a -Christian. My brother—my young, fatherless, -motherless, almost sisterless brother—<em>be a Christian!</em>”</p> - -<p>A few moments before her death, a new and -unusual lustre shone forth from her eyes, a beautiful -glow mantled her hitherto pale and wan -check, and in accents of the most touching and -rapt eloquence, her voice rich and full, she gave -utterance to the following sublime sentiment,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_201" id="page_201">201</a></span> -which should live forever, and be proclaimed -wherever the Gospel of Christ is preached:—“I -have tasted of Racine; I have dipped into Voltaire; -I have read Tom Paine; I have had the -daring audacity to study Hume; I have attempted -to form a Philosophy myself—but have found -them all”—not one exception—“<span class="p70">FALLACY, FALLACY!</span>”</p> - -<p>With these words lingering on her lips, she -calmly and resignedly fell asleep in Jesus. O -for the death of those that die in the Lord!</p> - -<p>The devoted Mr. M—— complied with her -minutest requests; and when he informed the -congregation that he preached to them from -the text selected by his departed sister in Christ, -and that she urgently requested him to preach -to the <em>living</em>, there was not a dry eye in the -house. Many a soul left that old time-honored -church, feeling that “<span class="smcap">In the way of righteousness -is life; and in the pathway thereof -there is no death</span>.”</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_202" id="page_202">202</a></span> -</div> - -<h3><a name="prayer" id="prayer"></a>WHAT PRAYER DOES.</h3> - -<p class="center">“<span class="smcap">Prayer</span> moves the arm that moves the world.”</p> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">Herod</span> Agrippa, finding that the death of the -Apostle James pleases the Jews, has seized the -venerable Galileean fisherman and thrust him -into prison. Four quaternions of soldiers are -guarding him. He is chained by each hand to a -Roman soldier—soldiers who know that, to sleep -at their post is to die. Thus guarded, the doors -and windows and gates all bolted and barred, he -lays himself down to sleep. His sleep is doubtless -sweet and refreshing. His faith is strong in -the promises of the Lord. To human eyes, death -seems certain. On the coming morrow, this -veteran soldier of the cross must lay his life -down for Jesus. Tears, hot and bitter, will be -shed by God’s people over the lifeless form of -him who once so fearlessly breasted the strong -waves of Galilee to meet his Master.</p> - -<p>But we are told that the Church “made prayer -unto <em>God, without ceasing, for him</em>.” And even -while he is quietly and sweetly sleeping, there is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_203" id="page_203">203</a></span> -going up from an inner chamber on one of the -dark and unfrequented streets of Jerusalem, a -fervent, importunate prayer in his behalf.</p> - -<p>During the prayer, an angel of the Lord descends -and stands by the side of the slumbering -apostle. A heavenly radiance lights up the dark -cells of the dismal prison. The heaven-sent messenger -arouses the sleeper, and the chains fall -from his hands. No sound of footsteps is heard; -no rattle of chains breaks the solemn silence. -There is no hurry. Peter slowly girds his coat -about him, and binds on his sandals. He then -throws his rough cloak around him, and follows -the angel. They pass, unheard and unseen, -through the wards of the prison; the massive -gate moves on its hinges, and opens wide at their -approach. At last he is safe—safe from the -wrath of his enemies. All—all of this accomplished -through importunate intercessory prayer!</p> - -<p>Christian, I care not how lowly your situation, -never say again, “<em>I can’t do any thing for Jesus.</em>” -<span class="smcap">You can pray.</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<hr class="tb" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_204" id="page_204">204</a></span> -</div> - -<h3><a name="without" id="without"></a>“PRAY WITHOUT CEASING.”</h3> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">During</span> a great outpouring of God’s Spirit at -—— college, my attention was called to the case -of a young man of the most wicked and immoral -character. It is true, he was the son of a godly -father and a praying mother; but this, rather -than softening, seemed to harden his heart. -It was one of the most copious outpourings of -God’s Spirit I ever witnessed. The windows of -heaven were indeed opened, and God was pouring -out such a blessing that it seemed there could not -be room to contain it. The dry bones of the -valley had been breathed upon by His Spirit, and -hearts once dead in trespasses and sins were -awakened to a new life, and rejoicing in the -blessed hope of salvation through Jesus Christ.</p> - -<p>Nearly every student seemed to feel the need -of a Saviour. Every countenance was marked -with concern; every heart lifted to God in prayer -for mercy and forgiveness. Rooms which once -resounded with drunken revellings, were now -Bethels of the living God. Lips which once<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_205" id="page_205">205</a></span> -profaned Jehovah’s name, and joined in singing -lewd and vulgar songs, now trembled with the -accents of prayer, and sung the songs of Zion. -It was a delightful season—I shall never forget it.</p> - -<p>Amid such scenes as these, there was one whose -hard heart was steeled against the influence of -God’s awakening Spirit. It was A. M——, the -son of pious parents. Many and fervent were -the prayers which ascended in his behalf, but -they seemingly were of no avail. The more -Christians prayed for him, the more hardened he -became. The campus, time and again, resounded -with his awful profanity; and even the most obdurate -would stop and wonder that man, “whose -breath was in his nostrils,” could call upon God -so frequently and earnestly to <em>damn</em> rather than -<em>save</em> his soul.</p> - -<p>Such was the extent to which his God-defying; -wickedness went, that frequently, when the Christian -students were engaged in the exercises of a -prayer-meeting, he gathered together a few of -his sinful comrades and held a <em>mock prayer-meeting</em> -in an adjoining room. Is it not wonderful -that God did not cut him down in the midst of -such heaven-daring presumption? But, like Paul, -he was a chosen vessel. God had yet a great -and glorious work for him to perform.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_206" id="page_206">206</a></span> -During one of those meetings which he was in -the habit of holding, the arrow of conviction -pierced his flinty heart, and laid him low and -bleeding at the foot of the cross.</p> - -<p>Great was the joy among the students, when -the glad tidings flew from lip to lip that A. -M—— had come to Jesus and fallen at His feet. -Old men wept with delight, and yearning hearts -throbbed with inexpressible pleasure.</p> - -<p>The “tidings of great joy” soon winged their -way to the ear of the young man’s mother. Her -heart overflowed with rejoicing, and tears of exultation -flowed in quick succession down her furrowed -cheek. Said she to a friend, “<em>I have -never bowed my knee without beseeching God -to convert my poor wayward boy; and now my -prayer is answered. Joy, joy, joy!</em> Now let -thy servant depart in peace. My son is a Christian.”</p> - -<p>This wayward boy is now a devoted minister -of Christ, and has gone far hence to proclaim -the glad tidings of salvation to the hundreds of -settlers scattered along our western territories. -Christian fathers, Christian mothers, Christian -brothers, Christian sisters, <em>pray without ceasing</em> -for those who are near and dear to you. Your -prayers will be answered.</p> - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_207" id="page_207">207</a></span> -</div> - - -<h2><a name="appendix" id="appendix"></a>APPENDIX.</h2> - -<p class="center p120 ornate">Letters from Staunton, Va.</p> - -<p class="center">NO. 1.</p> - -<p class="center p120">INSTITUTION FOR THE DEAF, DUMB, -AND BLIND.</p> - - - -<p class="right"><i>Staunton, Va.</i>, May, 1859.</p> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">The</span> Institution for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind, -situated at this place, is a building of very attractive -and beautiful appearance. Occupying -an eminence to the right of the Virginia Central -Railroad, it is among the first things that -attract the attention in your approach to this -beautiful mountain town,—for we believe it has -not yet risen to the dignity of a city.</p> - -<p>The style of the building is Doric; the entrance -being a large portico supported by six -massive pillars. On each side of the portico are -two attractive wings, used for the reception of -visitors and recitation rooms;—in the rear are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_208" id="page_208">208</a></span> -several other apartments, all large and well -arranged, appropriated to the different purposes -of the Institution.</p> - -<p>The building is situated in the midst of quite -a number of stalwart mountain oaks, and the -yard is beautifully diversified by various kinds -of shrubbery and winding graveled walks. -There is an absence of everything like studied -formality in the arrangement of both the shrubbery -and the walks, and the eye is at once struck -with the peculiarly easy and natural appearance -of the building and its surrounding ornaments.</p> - -<p>On entering, you are at once pleased with the -neatness and beauty of the internal arrangements. -A very polite and attentive gentleman -meets you in the reception room, and inquires if -you wish to look through the Institution. On -replying affirmatively, you are first ushered into -the apartment for</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center">THE BLIND.</p> -</div> -<p>The scene is one which awakens mingled feelings -of pleasure and pain; of pleasure to see so -many afflicted little ones, for most of them are -young, led by the hand of kindness in the -pleasant and peaceful ways of wisdom; of pain, -when you behold them rolling wildly their sightless<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_209" id="page_209">209</a></span> -orbs, and seemingly endeavoring to gather -in some few straggling rays of the cheerful sun, -or to look out upon the beautifully draped fields -of nature, and know that all these things, so attractive -to us, are midnight darkness to them.</p> - -<p>One of the scholars, a little girl about ten -years old, read several passages from various -books for me, and then pointed out on a large -map of the United States, Pittsburg, and told -me at the junction of what rivers it was situated, -Richmond, Staunton, and many other places, with -an ease and accuracy really astonishing. Two -other girls, somewhat older, sung, and played on -the piano “Do they miss me at home?” As I -listened to the sweet melody of their well-tuned -voices, I, for a moment, forgot their blindness, -and felt tears dimming my eyes as my mind wandered -back to the two near and dear ones at -home, and I thought to myself, “Do they miss -ME at home?” I then listened to the reading of -several passages in French by a young lady of -about sixteen. It really was surprising to witness -the fluency with which her delicate fingers -glided over word after word, and sentence after -sentence.</p> - -<p>In all these cases the reading is done by passing -the fingers over raised letters.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_210" id="page_210">210</a></span> -The sweetness of expression, the amiability of -character, the flow of spirits which characterized -one of the little pupils, Bettie Archibald, engaged -my attention, and enlisted my affection. -On being asked if she would be blind in heaven, -she very sweetly and quickly replied, “No, sir.”</p> - -<p>Quite a number of the male pupils are daily -instructed in instrumental music, and many of -them display more than ordinary talents. It -was quite a treat to hear the little fellows play -“Yankee Doodle:” their faces were soon lighted -up with smiles, and they played with as much -life and animation, as if they were leading an -American army on to victory.</p> - -<p>We now wend our way into the apartments -for</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center">THE DEAF AND DUMB.</p> -</div> -<p>A large class, consisting of boys and girls, is -seated in regular order opposite their instructor, -who is also deaf and dumb. At a given signal, -they all devoutly rise, and with eyes fixed on the -fingers of their teacher, follow him in his devotions, -as he leads them to a throne of grace. It -is the most touching scene I ever witnessed. -There is but one person (he, your correspondent,) -in that large assembly can utter a syllable, or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_211" id="page_211">211</a></span> -distinguish a sound. Not a sound is heard; the -stillness becomes painful—deathlike; the devotion -seems to grow warmer and warmer; the -prayer is concluded; the seats resumed; all of -this gone through without the utterance of <em>one</em> -word.</p> - -<p>What a lesson should it teach us! How true -is it that we shall not be heard for our much -speaking! Leaving the chapel, we enter the recitation -room. Each pupil is standing opposite -a black-board, with his eyes turned to the -teacher; questions and answers are written by -the instructor, and then copied by the pupils. -In this room are assembled classes, each under -the charge of a separate teacher, studying -geography, grammar, history; and in one room -is a small class just beginning to read. The -chirography of some of the pupils is really beautiful; -and we leave the room feeling that though -God has deprived them of two senses, yet, in his -loving kindness, he has bestowed upon them unusual -capacities in the others. It may be a fact -worthy of mentioning, that the deaf and dumb -do the printing (raised letters) for the Blind: -such is the economy of the Institute.</p> - -<p>The number of pupils in the departments is at -present sixty-nine.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_212" id="page_212">212</a></span> -In conclusion, I would express my especial -thanks and obligations to Assistant-principal -Mr. <span class="smcap">Covell</span>, Mrs. <span class="smcap">Coleman</span>, of the Blind, and -Mr. <span class="smcap">Fink</span>, of the Deaf-mute Department, for -their extreme kindness and attention.</p> - -<p class="nmb">In my next, I shall give you a sketch of the -Lunatic Asylum, also situated at this place.</p> - - -<p class="right2 nmt nmb">Yours, truly,</p> -<p class="right nmt"><span class="smcap">Philip Barrett</span>.</p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center">No. 2.</p> - -<p class="center p120">THE LUNATIC ASYLUM.</p> -</div> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Staunton, Va.</span>, June, 1859.</p> - -<p class="noi"><span class="smcap">The</span> sun was hanging low in the west, when -we stood at the gateway of the Staunton Lunatic -Asylum. His rays were gilding with a golden -lustre the hoary summits of the Blue Ridge, as -they printed their bold outlines on the cloudless -evening sky; and as a few beams fell here and -there on the graveled walks, the flower-crowned -terraces, and verdant shrubbery of the beautiful -greensward which stretches forth in front of -the Asylum, we could but thank an ever-gracious -and ever-good Providence, for His inestimable -gift to mankind—the bright, sparkling, joyous -sunshine.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_213" id="page_213">213</a></span> -A moment’s glance at the general appearance -of the buildings convinces the beholder that they -are not as beautiful nor as commanding as those -of the Blind Institute; though much taste is -displayed in the arrangement of the walks, and -selection of many and choice specimens of rare -and beauteous flowers and shrubbery. You -enter the main building, after ascending a flight -of granite steps, through a portico of Ionic architecture, -supported by four graceful pillars. The -first apartment which we enter is the <em>chapel</em>. -On either side of the pulpit are painted in beautiful -gilt letters, the Ten Commandments; in the -opposite end of the room stands a large and -handsome organ; the dome and walls are -beautifully frescoed. The pulpit is occupied -every Sabbath evening by some one of the ministers -of the various evangelical denominations -worshipping in Staunton. All these bespeak -that these poor demented creatures are not forgotten -on the Sabbath; and even where a few -sparks of intellect linger amid the ashes of minds -once proud and noble, it is interesting to see -how those sparks are kindled anew by the light -of religion.</p> - -<p>After wending our way through various other -portions of the buildings, and stopping here and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_214" id="page_214">214</a></span> -there to bestow a hasty glance at one and another -rare specimen of curiously carved workmanship, -by some lunatic genius, we find ourselves -gazing through iron bars at a scene which would -cause the most unfeeling heart to shudder with -horror. There are grouped together, in the -narrow confines of four tall brick walls, not less -than a hundred patients in the very worst stages -of lunacy. It seems that the darkest cavern in -the regions of Despair could present no more -heart-rending picture.</p> - -<p>The wild glare of the piercing eye, the dishevelled -locks; the meaningless gibberish; the -incoherent babbling; the fiendish ravings that -rent the silent air, together with numberless -other acts which constitute the sum of a poor -maniac’s life, have left an impression on our -mind that will go with us to our grave.</p> - -<p>How true are the words of the poet—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container67"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“Oh, what a noble mind is here o’erthrown!</div> - <div class="line">The courtier’s, soldier’s, scholar’s eye, tongue, sword;</div> - <div class="line">The glass of fashion, and the mould of form,</div> - <div class="line">The observed of all observers, quite, quite down.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>We willingly leave such scenes, and turn our -ready steps to an observatory which crowns the -main building, and commands one of the loveliest -views we ever witnessed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_215" id="page_215">215</a></span> -Let us forget the painful sights we have just -beheld, and drink in the resplendent beauty of -nature as she stands robed in the crimson folds -of evening—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container67"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line">“For the west yet glimmers with some streaks of day.”</div> -</div></div></div> - -<p>Beneath us are the various buildings of the -Asylum, glittering, like burnished gold, in the -rays of the setting sun. To the north rise the -graceful proportions of the Blind Institute, -nestled in its grove of wide-spreading oaks; to -the west are seen the heaven-pointing spires and -beautiful residences of Staunton; to the east is -the graveyard of the asylum, with its plain, upright -marble slabs, marking the spot where -slumber the remains of many a friendless maniac; -to the south is one wide-extended view of sloping -hills, smiling valleys, sunlit streams and snow-white -cottages, dotted over the scene <a name="like" id="like"></a><ins title="Original has liks">like</ins> stars -in the blue canopy of heaven.</p> - -<p>Who can look upon such a prospect and not -feel his thoughts turn from nature to nature’s -God?</p> - -<div class="poetry-container62"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"> - <div class="line outdent">“All things are calm and fair and passive; earth</div> - <div class="line">Looks as if lulled upon an angel’s lap,</div> - <div class="line">Into a breathless, dewy slumber: so still</div> - <div class="line">That we can only say of things, they be.”—<span class="smcap">Festus.</span></div> -</div></div></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_216" id="page_216">216</a></span> -The gathering darkness reminds us that we -have trespassed too long on the kindness of the -gentleman who has so cheerfully shown us -through the many apartments of this truly -noble institution, whose object is to ameliorate -the condition of the suffering maniac.</p> - -<p>We bid her, her directors and her officers -“God-speed” in their noble enterprise, and -earnestly pray that they may continue “blessing -and being blessed” until the light of reason -shall be shed abroad in the darkened intellect -of every lunatic in our land.</p> - -<p>There are many other points which we might -mention; but they are of such a nature as only -to sicken the heart, and we pass them by in -silence, simply remarking that if there be one -crowning blessing for which our hearts should -ever be outgushing in grateful thanks to our -Heavenly Father, it is <span class="smcap">REASON</span>.</p> - -<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Philip Barrett.</span></p> - - -<div class="chapter"> - <hr class="rule" /> -</div> -<div class="tn"> -<p class="center p120">Transcriber’s Note:</p> - -<p class="noi"><a href="#append">APPENDIX</a> has been added to the Contents. -Punctuation has been standardized, and spelling and hyphenation -have been retained as they appear in the original publication, -except as follows:</p> - -<ul class="nobullet"> - <li> - <ul><li>Page 23<br /> - but dependant upon the cold <i>changed to</i><br /> - but <a href="#dependent">dependent</a> upon the cold</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li> - <ul><li>Page 30<br /> - he seated him self in the cars <i>changed to</i><br /> - he seated <a href="#himself">himself</a> in the cars</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li> - <ul><li>Page 38<br /> - this lonely vale of of tears <i>changed to</i><br /> - this lonely vale <a href="#duplicate_of">of</a> tears</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li> - <ul><li>Page 39<br /> - and with everthing calculated <i>changed to</i><br /> - and with <a href="#everything">everything</a> calculated</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li> - <ul><li>Page 131<br /> - their was no thought of God <i>changed to</i><br /> - <a href="#there">there</a> was no thought of God</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li> - <ul><li>Page 138<br /> - many a quiverering lip <i>changed to</i><br /> - many a <a href="#quivering">quivering</a> lip</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li> - <ul><li>Page 145<br /> - one of the most business streets <i>changed to</i><br /> - one of the most <a href="#busy">busy</a> streets</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li> - <ul><li>Page 159<br /> - cords of his thrilling harp <i>changed to</i><br /> - <a href="#chords">chords</a> of his thrilling harp</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li> - <ul><li>Page 168<br /> - ’Ts a mine of richest treasure <i>changed to</i><br /> - <a href="#tis">’Tis</a> a mine of richest treasure</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li> - <ul><li>Page 173<br /> - soon becomes two small for his <i>changed to</i><br /> - soon becomes <a href="#too">too</a> small for his</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li> - <ul><li>Page 173 - only to find that his hirst <i>changed to</i><br /> - only to find that his <a href="#thirst">thirst</a></li> - </ul> - </li> - <li> - <ul><li>Page 177<br /> - “The object of your life as you explain it<br /> - <a href="#quote">Unmatched quotation mark</a> retained as printed</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li> - <ul><li>Page 196<br /> - the child of christian parents <i>changed to</i><br /> - the child of <a href="#christian">Christian</a> parents</li> - </ul> - </li> - <li> - <ul><li>Page 215<br /> - dotted over the scene liks stars <i>changed to</i><br /> - dotted over the scene <a href="#like">like</a> stars</li> - </ul> - </li> -</ul> -</div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Deaf Shoemaker, by Philip Barrett - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DEAF SHOEMAKER *** - -***** This file should be named 52296-h.htm or 52296-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/2/9/52296/ - -Produced by Lucinda Forest from page images generously -provided by the Internet Archive - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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