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diff --git a/old/62941-0.txt b/old/62941-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 78437de..0000000 --- a/old/62941-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3250 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Little Alfred, by Various - -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: Little Alfred - -Author: Various - -Editor: D. P. Kidder - -Release Date: August 16, 2020 [EBook #62941] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LITTLE ALFRED *** - - - - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Barry Abrahamsen, and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The University of Florida, The Internet -Archive/Children's Library) - - - - - - - -[Illustration] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - LITTLE ALFRED. - - - - - BY - THE AUTHOR OF “LITTLE ELLA.” - - - - - Behold I have prepared the tenderest grass - That grows on Zion’s hill. Here feeble lambs - May find sweet nourishment, and gather strength - To climb the verdant heights, where the fair flock - On richer pasture feed.—PEEP OF DAY. - - - - - EDITED BY D. P. KIDDER. - - - - - New-York: - PUBLISHED BY LANE & SCOTT, - FOR THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION OF THE METHODIST - EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 200 MULBERRY-ST. - Joseph Longking, Printer. - 1850. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - Entered according to Act of Congress, in the - year 1847, by Lane & Tippett, in the Clerk’s Office - of the District Court of the Southern District of - New-York. - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - PREFACE. - - --- - - -I have written this book for little boys. I hope they may like it; -although it does not contain any wonderful stories about giants, or -genii, or fairies. - -I wanted to do them good, as well as to amuse them. Although I do not -mention the name of the Saviour in every chapter, I yet try to talk of -things that will lead their minds up to him. I wish them to feel how -good he has been to them, in giving them kind parents to teach them his -word, health to enjoy the beauties of creation, and in bestowing on them -so many other mercies. - -That they may love the Redeemer in their early years, and at last dwell -with him in heaven, is the prayer of their friend, - - THE AUTHOR. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - Chap. Page - - I. —Summer Pleasures 9 - - II. —A Contrast 14 - - III. —The Snow 23 - - IV. —The Sled and the Skates 26 - - V. —Scripture Instruction 31 - - VI. —Little Samuel 43 - - VII. —The Farewell—The Return Home 51 - - VIII. —God’s Call to the Little 56 - Prophet - - IX. —Rupert’s Sunday Ride 62 - - X. —Sunday Evening—Talk with 69 - Rupert - - XI. —The Commandments 72 - - XII. —Love makes Obedience easy 86 - - XIII. —Prompt Obedience 91 - - XIV. —The Disobedient Chicken 98 - - XV. —About many good Things 103 - - XVI. —The Obedient Boy 108 - - XVII. —Pierre Merlin 112 - - XVIII. —The Silly Bird 124 - - XIX. —Joy in Heaven—The Runaways 129 - - XX. —The Rescue—Welcome Home 135 - - XXI. —The Little Dogs 143 - - XXII. —Forbidden Fruit 150 - - XXIII. —Happy Children 160 - - XXIV. —The School-house 165 - - XXV. —The Sugar-plums 171 - - XXVI. —The Robins 177 - - XXVII. —The Prophet—His Deliverer 181 - - XXVIII. —Little William 187 - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - LITTLE ALFRED. - - - - - CHAPTER I - - SUMMER PLEASURES. - - ------- - - Up! let us to the fields away, - And breathe the fresh and balmy air: - The bird is building in the tree, - The flower has open’d to the bee, - And health, and love, and peace are there. - MARY HOWITT. - - -ALFRED PENROSE was a little boy who lived in a pretty town on the banks -of the Connecticut River. We will call the place in which Alfred lived -Norwood, although that is not its real name. - -When the weather was warm Alfred’s father would often take him and his -older brothers in a little boat upon the river. Sometimes they would row -to a pleasant creek, over which large trees drooped their branches until -they touched the water. There Alfred’s father and brothers would catch -fish, which they carried home to have cooked for breakfast the next -morning. They were not cruel enough to use worms for bait. They baited -their hook with pieces of raw meat, or dough, which the fish liked quite -as well as worms. - -While Alfred’s brothers helped their father to fish, the little boy -would steal away from them to a small brook which ran through the meadow -where his father allowed him to go by himself, because there was no -danger. Mr. Penrose did not like to have Alfred too near him when he was -fishing. The little fellow’s merry laugh and loud voice frightened away -the fish. So, as we have said, Alfred would steal away to the little -brook, and launch the shingle boat, with its paper sails, which his -brother Harry had made for him; or pick his way across the brook on the -stepping stones to the sunny bank, in search of the beautiful flowers -which peep forth from among the withered leaves of the last year. And -handfuls of the pretty light blue flower called innocence would he -gather, for it is found everywhere in its season, smiling in wood and -meadow, by shaded streams, and in the glittering sunshine. - -O, very pleasant was the budding spring-time, and the rich, ripe summer -season, to little Alfred! - -Then they would often bring their dinner with them, and eat it by the -pebbly brook, which sung its sweet tune to them as it danced along, and -mingled its voice with the merry birds which saluted them from the trees -above their heads. - -Alfred’s father always received his son’s little love-offering of -flowers with a smile. - -“I am glad my little boy loves flowers,” he would say. “They are God’s -beautiful presents to us. How sweetly Jesus speaks of flowers in Matthew -vi, 28-30: - -“Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither -do they spin: and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his -glory, was not arrayed like one of these. - -“Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, -and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, -O ye of little faith?” - - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER II - - A CONTRAST TO THE FORMER CHAPTER. - - * * * * * little children, endeavoring - to gather amusement from the very dust, and - straws and pebbles of squalid alleys, shut out - from the glorious countenance of nature. - WILLIAM HOWITT. - - -WHEN little Alfred returned home, on a Saturday afternoon, from one of -the delightful visits to the woods of which I have told you, his mamma -lifted him up on the sofa beside her, and said, - -“How good our heavenly Father is to my little Alfred! He has given him a -kind papa, who loves him dearly. Little boys cannot be thankful enough -to God for that great blessing. There are many little children who have -very unkind fathers. Some of them are wicked enough to spend all their -money for rum, and do not get anything for their poor little children to -eat.” - -Alfred’s little sister Flora had run up to her mamma, to listen to her -as she talked with Alfred. She was a tender-hearted little girl, and her -lip quivered, and the tears came into her eyes, when she heard about the -children who had such naughty fathers. - -Then Mrs. Penrose took little Flora upon her lap, and went on talking to -Alfred. She said, - -“And my little Alfred’s papa takes him in the pleasant woods, and in the -fields, and lets him gather the sweet flowers which grow there. And he -and little Flora can hear the happy birds sing all day long. Now, there -are some little children who never see a flower grow, or hear a bird -sing, and they scarcely even see the pretty blue sky which is over their -heads.” - -“O, mamma!” said Alfred, “are they blind and deaf?” - -“No, my love, but they live in dark and crowded places in the city. Some -live in garrets, and some in cellars, where the houses are high and the -streets very narrow. So the beautiful things which God has given us to -make us glad are quite shut out from them. When I lived in the city I -went one day to see a poor family who lived in a cellar, in a dark and -dirty court. The father of this family was a drunkard. He had even sold, -for rum, the bed on which his sick wife lay. When I went to her, the -poor woman had only some straw, in a corner of the cellar, to lie upon. -The children had very little fire, although the weather was cold, and -nothing to eat, except what people carried them from day to day. - -“Among the children was one pale, sickly-looking little boy, named -Johnny. He was only eight years old; but his mother told me that she did -not know what she should have done without little Johnny. He did -everything that he could for her during the day; and when she coughed or -moved at night, the little boy would run up to her and ask her if she -would have some water, or if he should raise her head higher. - -“In a corner, Johnny had a faded rose planted in some dirt which he had -scooped from the cellar, and put in an old tin cup. - -“The rose had been, one day, dropped by a lady, who was walking before -Johnny, in Broadway. Johnny was an honest boy. He ran up to the lady, -and offered her the rose which she had dropped. The lady smiled, and -said, ‘You can keep it, my little boy. I do not want it.’ - -“The rose was then fresh and beautiful. Johnny thought that if he -planted it, it might perhaps live. It did take root even in that poor -soil, but it could not grow any. - -“He looked up into my face, on the day that I first went to see his -mother, and said, - -“‘O, ma’am! do you think that my rose will live? I have kept it in the -warmest place, and watered it every day.’ - -“‘Yes,’ said his mother, ‘however hungry and cold poor Johnny has been, -he never forgot his rose.’ - -“I saw when he asked me the question that his rose was nearly dead. The -tears came into his eyes when I told him this. - -“Poor little boy! The flower was like himself, withering away for want -of light and air. - -“Just think, Alfred, how happy little Johnny would have been, running -with his bare feet through the fields, looking at the golden and -speckled butterflies, filling his cap with wild-flowers, and listening -to the song of the birds, and the busy hum of the honey-bee! - -“One day I took Johnny to my house, and showed him a stand of flowers. -He was delighted. He clapped his hands, and his eyes sparkled. He smelt -the heliotropes and the roses, and he looked at the rich flowers of the -cactus. When I gave him a bouquet to carry to his own miserable home, he -seemed perfectly happy. - -“The next time I went to that dark, gloomy cellar, there the flowers -stood in the old tin cup from which the poor rose had been taken.” - -Alfred and Flora felt sorry for poor Johnny; but they were glad to hear -that his mother got well, and that little Johnny had been put with a -farmer, where he could hear the birds sing, and see the brooks and the -trees, and pick wild-flowers in the fields. - -When they went to bed they thanked God for many mercies which they had -not thought of before. - - -[Illustration] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER III - - THE SNOW. - - How beautiful the earth is now! - The hills have put their vesture on, - And clothed is the forest bough: - Say not ’tis an unlovely time! - MARY HOWITT. - - -IF the summer season and the spring-time were pleasant to little Alfred, -so also were the winter hours. - -When the snow came—the fair, beautiful snow, falling so softly and -quietly upon the frozen ground, and making every tree look like a fairy -bower—Alfred ran about the house, singing: - - “I love the snow, the first white snow, - That decks the merry earth.” - -When Alfred was very little he had no sled of his own; but his friends, -Charles and Arthur Brown, used now and then to give him a ride upon -their sled. This he always enjoyed very much. - -When he was four years old, Alfred said, - -“O, father, I do wish that I had a sled of my own!” - -“Why do you wish to have a sled of your own, my son?” said his father. -“The boys are so kind as to give you a ride every day.” - -“Yes, I know it, papa,” said Alfred; “but I am afraid they take me -sometimes when they want to ride themselves. And then you know I can -only go to ride when their school is out.” - -“Indeed,” said Alfred’s mother, “I have thought lately that I would like -Alfred to have a sled of his own. He gets his lessons quickly now, so -that he is quite through them by eleven o’clock. If he had a little sled -he could slide down the terrace two hours before dinner time. It would -be good exercise for him.” - -Alfred’s father looked pleased to hear that he got his lessons quickly. -He said, “I think if Alfred continues to study well he must have a sled -of his own.” - -“O, father! do please get me one, and have it painted green, with a -black stripe around it.” - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - THE SLED AND THE SKATES. - - When the north winds blow, on my sled I go, - With a bounding heart, o’er the glitt’ring snow; - Or swift on the clear, cold ice I glide, - With my watchful father close by my side. - - -O, HOW very much pleased was Alfred to find the sled he had asked for -standing by his bed one morning when he awoke! As soon as he had washed -and dressed himself, and said his prayers, he ran to thank his dear -father for his nice present. Alfred’s mamma had bought him a woolen cap, -which she wadded and lined, and he had a warm plaid cloak; so he was -quite ready for his first ride. - -The snow was frozen very hard, so that the upper crust bore the sled; -and merrily, merrily indeed did the little boy slide swiftly down the -terrace, and even to the very bottom of the lawn. He did not mind -pulling the sled up the hill for the pleasure of riding down. - -By and by he looked up at the bed-room window, and saw his little sister -Flora’s face looking at him through one of the panes. Alfred was not a -selfish boy. He liked to share every pleasure with his sister. - -“O, my poor little Flora!” said he, “you must come out and have a ride -too.” - -So he left his sled, and ran into the house to ask his mother if she -would not let Flora ride upon the sled. At first his mamma said she was -afraid it was too cold for Flora; but when Alfred promised to take great -care of her, she said that she might go out with him for a little while. -She put on Flora’s warm cap, and coat, and mittens, and comforter, and -stood by the window to watch the little ones. - -O, how they both enjoyed it! Alfred was very much pleased to have Flora -put under his care. He kept her feet covered up, and drew the sled down -the terrace very carefully. After a little while Mrs. Penrose sent Ann -out to bring Flora into the house. When Mr. Penrose came home to dinner, -he asked Alfred how he had enjoyed the morning. - -“O, father,” said Alfred, “I have been so happy! How much I thank you -for my new sled! I will be a very good boy for it.” - -“I hope you will be a good boy, Alfred,” said his papa. “You must ask -God to keep you from doing wrong; for you know, I suppose, that it is -only through his help that we can do a right action. I am always afraid -when I hear people boast of what they intend to do.” - -Soon after this, Alfred’s father bought him a beautiful little pair of -skates, and took him upon the pond to teach him to skate. - -He had thought that winter was almost as pleasant as summer when he -first rode upon his sled; but now that he could skate too, he forgot all -the pleasures of the summer, and, like Tommy in the looking-glass, -wished that it could be “always winter.” - - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER V - - SCRIPTURE INSTRUCTION. - - And these words, which I command thee this - day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt - teach them diligently unto thy children, and - shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine - house, and when thou walkest by the way, and - when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. - And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine - hand, and they shall be as frontlets between - thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon - the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.—Deut. - vi, 6-9. - - -BEFORE little Alfred could read he knew a great deal of the Bible. He -had a volume of Scripture plates, which he would turn over upon his -father’s knee, and ask him the meaning of them. Alfred’s father loved -the Bible, and he wanted his children to love it too; and therefore he -took great delight in explaining it to them, and in telling them the -beautiful stories which it contains. - -There was the picture of Jacob dreaming his sweet dream about the ladder -which reached to heaven, on which the angels of God came and went. - -And there was brave Daniel in the lions’ den; because he _would_ worship -God when the king said he should not. - -And there, too, was faithful Abraham, about to offer up to God “his son, -his only son Isaac,” whom he loved. - -All these, and many more delightful stories from the Bible, Alfred and -Flora would repeat before they could read. - -They both thought and talked a great deal about the Bible. - -One day, in the summer time, Alfred and Flora went out together into the -garden. They sat down upon a seat under the willow-tree. Little Flora -took her doll in her arms when she went out; but when they returned to -the house she did not have it with her. - -Alfred said, - -“Flora, where is your doll?” - -“O, brother,” said Flora, “I left her lying on the grass.” - -“Why did you leave her there?” inquired Alfred. - -“I thought, brother, that maybe God would make a gourd grow over her -head, like that which grew over Jonah.” - -“But the sun is not as hot here as it is in Jonah’s country,” said -Alfred. “Besides, she is not flesh and blood.” - -Some time after this, when the weather had become cold, Alfred had a -cousin, named Rupert, come to spend his vacation with him. Rupert was -five years older than Alfred. He had not lived much at home with his -parents. He had been almost always at a public school. Alfred had never -yet been to school. - -Rupert’s mother sent Flora a large doll. She said, - -“O, thank you, cousin! I will name her Miriam.” “Who is Miriam?” said -Rupert; for he had not heard of her. - -“O, cousin,” said Flora, “Miriam was the dear little sister who watched -Moses when he lay in the ark by the river’s side. And it was Miriam who -played beautiful music on the timbrel, after the children of Israel had -crossed the Red Sea.” - -Rupert managed to amuse himself pretty well, for the first few days, -with skating, and riding down hill on Alfred’s sled. But after a little -time he took a cold, which confined him to the house, and he began to -look around for something to read. Now there were quantities of very -instructive, and very amusing books too, about the house; but there were -not fairy tales enough to satisfy Rupert. So, in place of reading, he -began to tell Alfred a good many of the wonderful things that he had -heard or had read in his own books. - -He said that there was once a man who had a wonderful salve, which, when -put on a person’s eyes, would make him see all the silver, and gold, and -diamonds, and other precious stones in the world. - -“Is that true, Rupert?” asked Alfred. - -“True? No, I do not suppose it is true.” - -“Then I do not like it as well as that story papa told me the other day -about the blind man, on whose eyes Jesus put the eye-salve; for that is -true,” said Alfred. - -“I will tell you another story, then,” said Rupert, laughing. - -“A fairy once gave a cap to a man whose name was Fortunatus. Whenever -Fortunatus wished to be anywhere, he had only to put the cap upon his -head, and he was in the place where he wished to be, in less than a -minute.” - -“Is not that true either?” said Alfred. - -“No; fairy tales are never true.” - -“I do not think it is as pretty as the story of Elijah, which papa has -often told me, nor any more wonderful either. Elijah was taken to heaven -in a fiery chariot. There is a great deal about Elijah in the Bible.” - -“Well,” said Rupert, “I think you pair my stories pretty well. See if -you can match this. - -“There was a poor woman who had a good little girl named May-Flower; and -one day a fairy brought May-Flower a cow, and told her to milk it. She -milked the cow, and it gave milk enough to fill all the dishes and pans -in the house; and yet the milk still ran, so that there was no end of -it. And that one cow made that woman the richest person on the island -where she lived.” - -Alfred’s mamma had been listening to Rupert’s stories. When he stopped, -she smiled and said, - -“I think Alfred can match that story.” - -“How, mamma? O, I know! Elijah went once to a poor woman, and asked her -for a piece of bread, when there was a great famine in the land. The -woman had only ‘a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a -cruse;’ but that handful of meal never grew any less, or the oil either, -until God sent rain to put an end to the famine.” - -“Yes, Alfred, that is a match to Rupert’s story: but do not you -recollect another miracle, which is quite as wonderful as the story of -the cow which gave so much milk?” - -Alfred did not, at first, understand what his mamma wanted him to -remember, until she said, - -“What did the prophet Elisha do for the poor widow whose husband feared -God, when they were going to make slaves of her two sons?” - -“O, he made one pot of oil fill all the vessels that were in the house; -and the woman sold the oil, and paid her debts with it, and then had -enough money left for herself and her sons to live upon.”[1] - -Footnote 1: - - See frontispiece. - -“Well, those _are_ nice stories,” said Rupert. “I did not know before -that there were any such in the Bible.” - -Then Alfred said, - -“O, you haven’t heard half of them yet. Let me show you my picture of -Samuel, and we will get mamma to tell us about him. I never get tired of -hearing about little Samuel and his dear, good mother!” - -Rupert looked as if he did not care about hearing the story; but he -seemed pleased with the picture. It was the picture of a beautiful boy, -kneeling before a very old man, with a long beard. The sun fell upon the -boy’s curls, and made them appear of a golden color. - -“Is not little Samuel pretty?” said Alfred. “And that is grandpa Eli. -Does not he look good? O, do mamma tell me about him!” - -And mamma told him the story; and Rupert seemed to get interested in it -before she had finished. I give it to my little readers in the next -chapter. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - LITTLE SAMUEL. - - It is the child to Hannah sent, - When humbly she implored; - It is the child by Hannah lent - To her prayer-hearing Lord. - BIBLE STORIES. - - -MRS. PENROSE said, “I like to read the stories in the Bible very slowly; -and I like to think, as I go along, how the persons of whom I read -looked, and how their houses looked, and how they felt when they did -certain things of which the Bible tells us. It makes me remember the -stories better, and makes me feel as if I had seen all that I read of. - -“The story of Samuel always appeared to me like a beautiful picture. I -seem to see the house in which pious Hannah lived. - -“There were many pretty hills in the land of Syria; and perhaps her -husband’s house stood on the side of one of them. Olive-trees, with -their pale green leaves, and dark cedars, may have shaded the house, for -they both grew in that country; and grape-vines, bearing sunny grapes, -may have grown over the pleasant porch. - -“But I must not indulge my fancy too much: so I will go on with my -little story. - -“Hannah was a good woman. She had no children: so she prayed to God to -give her a child. She said if God would do so, her child should be his -as long as he lived. - -“God heard Hannah’s prayer. He sent her a little son, and then she was -very happy. - -“Some people make promises to God, and then forget them. This is wicked. -Hannah did not do so. She remembered how she had promised God that her -little boy should be his child. She called him Samuel; and she took -great pains to make Samuel a good boy. She taught him about the true -God, and about the Messiah who was to come to redeem his people. She -sung him to sleep with holy songs. She taught him to kneel down and pray -to the God of Israel when he was a very little boy. - -“I have no doubt that she told him of all the great things that God had -done for the children of Israel. How the waters of the Red Sea parted, -and stood up, like high crystal walls, on each side of them, as they -walked across on the dry land; and how he sent them bread from heaven, -when they traveled through the dreary wilderness, and made plenty of -pure, cool water gush out from the burning rock, when they were almost -choked with thirst. - -“Little Samuel loved God. Very young children _can_ love God. They need -not wait to do that until they have grown large, or until they have -learned a great deal. - -“At last Samuel became old enough to live away from his mother; so she -took him up to the tabernacle at Shiloh. The tabernacle was the church -in which the Jews worshiped. In the tabernacle lived a very good old -man. His name was Eli. It was Eli who was to take care of Samuel. - -“I suppose Hannah led her little boy by the hand, except when the way -was rough, or when he became tired of walking, and then perhaps she -carried him. And maybe when it became hot Samuel might want to take his -little nap under some of the shady trees that grew on their way. As he -slept, I think, his mother sat beside him, and almost cried to think -that he was to be with her no longer; for although she was willing that -he should go to be a priest of the Lord, yet it was hard for her to part -with her only one. Perhaps, as she looked at Samuel sleeping under the -shadowing tree, she softly said, ‘O, my darling boy, how I shall miss -you when I return home! Your little feet will not run after me when I go -out to pick fresh flowers. When I go to bring water from the spring you -will not skip beside me, and no little dimpled hands will try to raise -the pitcher for me then. My house will be so lonely without my precious -boy! I shall dream of you in the night, and think that you are near; -but, when I try to touch you, no little hand will be there to take hold -of mine; and when I wake in the morning I shall never hear my Samuel’s -sweet voice saying, ‘Peace be with you, my mother.’ - -“But though Hannah may have thought thus while she looked at her -sleeping boy, she never once felt that she wanted to take back her vow. -She loved God so well that she was glad that she had anything as lovely -as her Samuel to give him. - -“Thus I might weep, Alfred, if you were one day to go from us, as a -missionary, to distant lands; but I think that I should still be -willing, and even thankful, that you were called by God to such a high -and holy office.” - - -[Illustration] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - THE FAREWELL—THE RETURN HOME. - - And true it was that angels still - Good little Samuel led; - Were with him in his happy play, - And round his little bed. - They kept his heart so kind and true, - They made his eye so mild; - For dearly do the angels love - A gentle little child. - FLOWERS FOR CHILDREN. - - -“PERHAPS Eli met Hannah at the door of the tabernacle, and she may have -said to him, - -“‘Eli, I bring you a precious offering. It is my only child. It was -sweet to have him with me, for he was gentle and obedient, and he made -my house cheerful and happy. But I promised my little Samuel to the -Lord, and now I have come to perform my vow.’ - -“Then Eli would say, - -“‘Thou hast done well, my daughter. The Lord bless thee, and repay thee, -because thou hast fulfilled the vows which thy lips did make unto him.’ - -“At last Hannah had to leave her little boy. It must have been hard for -Samuel to have his mother go away from him. At night her voice would not -sing him to sleep. When he wakened in the darkness, and said, ‘My -mother!’ she would not be there to answer him. No more would he sit upon -her lap, in the evening hour, to hear beautiful stories of the -patriarchs and saints, and of the great Messiah that was to come. - -“But if he said, ‘Do not go, my mother!’ she told him that she would -love him still, and come again to see him; and that Eli would be a dear -father unto him. - -“Perhaps when she went away she said, - -“‘O, Eli, be very kind to my little boy! He is only a tender babe. His -little bed has always been near my own. Shall he not sleep near you at -night, so that if he is ill you may attend to him?’ - -“And the good old priest told Hannah to be comforted; for he would love -and take care of her boy, and teach him to be good. - - -[Illustration] - - -“Then Hannah kissed and blessed Samuel, and returned to her own home. - -“But, O, how much she thought of him on her way back to her house! She -thought of him when she saw flowers such as he had picked for her on his -way to Shiloh, and which she had put in her bosom; and when the tree -came in sight under which he had slept, and when she saw, gushing from -the hill, the spring of whose water she had given Samuel to drink, and -with which she had wetted his soft, warm hair, and cooled his sweet; -rosy face. But Hannah heard God’s voice telling her not to grieve for -Samuel; for that he was to be a great and holy prophet, who should do -much good in the world, and serve the Lord from youth to old age. Then -Hannah listened to the voice of God, and was comforted.” - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - GOD’S CALL TO THE LITTLE PROPHET. - - When little Samuel woke, - And heard his Maker’s voice. - At every word he spoke - How much did he rejoice! - O blessed, happy child, to find - The God of heaven so near and kind! - SUNDAY-SCHOOL HYMNS. - - -“HANNAH used to go up to the tabernacle, once a year, to see her dear -boy. She always took him a little coat. O, how much pleasure she must -have taken in making that little coat! It was of linen, and made very -much like the tunic aprons which children wear now, only that it was -long. - -“Samuel must have enjoyed his dear mother’s yearly visit very much. I -think he often went to the door of the tabernacle, and looked out, on -the day that he expected her. When he saw her coming, perhaps he asked -Eli to let him run and meet her; unless he was too busy assisting at the -altar, for it was the day of the yearly sacrifice. - -“Samuel lived happily in the tabernacle. God loved him, and those whom -he loves are happy. - -“One night, as Samuel slept upon his little bed, a voice called -‘Samuel!’ - -“The little boy thought that Eli called him, and he ran to the prophet, -saying, - -“‘Here am I.’ - -“Eli told Samuel that _he_ had not called him; and bade him go and lie -down again. He had just done so, when again the voice called ‘Samuel!’ - -“The little boy again jumped from his bed, and ran to Eli, saying, - -“‘Here am I; for thou didst call me.’ - -“Eli said, - -“‘I called not, my son. Lie down again.’ - -“Then the third time did God call to Samuel, and three times did he go -to Eli, thinking it was he who called him. - -“But then Eli knew that it was God who called the child. He told Samuel -to say, when the Lord called him again, ‘Speak, Lord, for thy servant -heareth.’ - -“This little Samuel did. Then the Lord told him that he was going to -punish Eli’s wicked sons. Eli had wicked children, although he was a -good man. He did not punish his children when they were naughty; so they -grew up sinners against God, and were destroyed for their wickedness. - -“Samuel lived to be a very old man. When he died the whole nation -mourned for him; for he was a great prophet in Israel. We do not read of -his having ever done one wrong thing during his whole life. - -“Now, my children,” added Mrs. Penrose, “perhaps you may think that -Samuel was very highly favored to have God talk with him. But he speaks -to you also. He speaks to you in the Bible, which tells you how you may -get to heaven. He speaks to you by your minister and Sunday-school -teacher, every week. He speaks to you through your parents’ voices; and -he speaks to your heart, by his Holy Spirit, every day of your lives.” - -Little Flora had been listening to the story as attentively as Rupert -and Alfred, although her bright blue eyes began to look sleepy. She -said, - -“Mamma, is there more about Samuel in the Bible?” - -“Yes, my dear, there is much more than I have told you,” said her mamma. - -“Then I will make haste and learn to read,” said she, “that I may know -all that Samuel did when he was a big man.” - -Her mamma was glad that her little stories made Flora wish to read the -Bible for herself. - - -[Illustration] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - RUPERT’S SUNDAY RIDE. - - “This day belongs to God alone; - He chooses Sunday for his own; - And we must neither work nor play, - Because it is the sabbath-day.” - - -EVERY morning, at the breakfast-table, each one repeated a text of -Scripture. They selected their texts alphabetically, each text beginning -with the same letter. They began with A, and went on daily with each -letter until they got through the alphabet. Rupert did not like this. He -could not see the use of it, he said. But the truth was, he did not want -the trouble of learning the text. - -Mr. Penrose knew that Rupert was to be with them but a short time, and -he was anxious to teach him something good while he had the opportunity. -He felt sorry for the poor boy, who had learned so little of God’s word, -and who had never been taught to make any difference between the sabbath -and other days. Rupert often gave Mr. and Mrs. Penrose trouble; but they -bore it patiently, in hope of doing him some good. - -One Sunday the snow lay deep upon the ground, but there was a good path -down the hill. Alfred set off for church with his papa, brothers, and -Rupert. It was too cold for little Flora to go that day. When they got -about half way to church Rupert found that he had left his -pocket-handkerchief. Like most careless boys, Rupert was always losing -his pocket-handkerchief. Instead of putting it back in his pocket, after -using it, he would lay it by him in the chair on which he sat, and leave -it there when he got up. Rupert’s pocket-handkerchief was always to be -picked up. - -“So, as I have said, when he was half way to church Rupert had to go -back for his pocket-handkerchief. The family walked slowly toward the -church, thinking that he would overtake them: but he did not; and Mr. -Penrose waited for him upon the step. As he stood there, however, he saw -Rupert riding in a sleigh, through a street which crossed the one on -which the church stood, with John Strong, a boy with whom he had formed -a great intimacy, very much against the wishes of his uncle and aunt. - -The sermon had commenced when Master Rupert walked into church, and took -his seat in his uncle’s pew, with rather a sheepish air. As usual, after -he got there he gaped about the church, put his head down as if -composing himself to sleep; then jerked it up suddenly, turned round, -fidgeted on his seat, and made everybody near him uncomfortable. - -When the hymn was sung he turned his back to the minister, and looked up -at the choir; a practice, by the by, which shows as much irreverence as -bad breeding. When we sing we should feel as much devotion as when we -pray. How can we do this when we stand gazing at the choir, instead of -feeling the solemn words that we are repeating? - -As soon as the benediction was over, Rupert caught his cap, and, leaning -over to Alfred, said, - -“By jingo! what a noble pair of horses John Strong drives! I have had -such a capital ride!” - -Alfred’s father took hold of his hand, and did not let it go until he -got to the house; and Henry Penrose walked beside Rupert; so that he had -no one to listen to his praises of John Strong’s driving, and John -Strong’s horses, of which his mind was full. - -Between the Sunday-school, church in the afternoon, and reading aloud to -Alfred and Flora, from some interesting and profitable book, Rupert had -no time for any conversation with Alfred; and nothing had been said to -him about his conduct in the morning. He seemed, however, even more -restless and tired of Sunday than usual. Mrs. Penrose searched the house -for some book to interest him, but could find none that he would read. - - -[Illustration] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER X - - SUNDAY EVENING—TALK WITH RUPERT. - - Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and - fear him, and keep his commandments, and - obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and - cleave unto him.—Deut. xiii, 4. - - -AFTER tea the family assembled around a bright coal fire, which burnt in -the grate, and threw its pleasant glow over every object in the room. -The wind howled around the house, and more snow was falling to improve -the already fine sleighing. The solar lamp lighted the table around -which the family sat. All looked quiet and happy but our poor little -restless Rupert. In the next room slept Flora, it may be dreaming of the -loving Marys who went to the sepulchre of Jesus; for that was the story -which her mother told her that night, before she laid her in her little -bed. - -“Papa,” said Alfred, “I know all the commandments now; may I say them to -you?” - -And Alfred repeated them to his father, without missing many words. - -“What’s the use of getting all those commandments?” asked Rupert. - -“Papa says it is God’s law, which we are to try to keep,” said Alfred. - -“Why, you _do_ keep it, don’t you?” said Rupert. “I am sure I do.” - -“Are you quite sure, Rupert?” said Mr. Penrose, looking off his book. - -“Yes, sir; I am sure I do not worship images, nor lie, nor swear, nor -steal.” - -“And you think, then, that you have not broken one of God’s commandments -to-day?” - -“I do not think I have.” - -“O, Rupert, take care!” said Alfred. “I have often said so; but when -papa came to talk to me about them, I found that I broke them every -day.” - -“Let us begin then, Rupert,” said Alfred’s father, “and inquire what the -first commandment is.” - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - THE COMMANDMENTS. - - Say not, Too soon - I urge their tottering steps. Should I forbear, - On every side deceitful strangers stand, - And beckon them away; in flowery paths - Awhile to sport; and then to wander long - Amidst the hills of darkness and of death, - Where hungry beasts, in every thicket hid, - Wait to devour.—PEEP OF DAY. - - -RUPERT knew the words of the first commandment. He answered, “The first -commandment is, ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’” - -“Now,” said Mr. Penrose, “this commandment forbids our giving that -worship, or love, to any other which is due to God alone. If we think of -anything besides God when we profess to be thinking of him, and when we -seem to be engaged in his worship, then we are putting other gods before -him. Now tell me, Rupert, were you thinking much of God when you were in -church this morning?” - -“No, not very much,” said Rupert, who, with all his faults, generally -spoke the truth. - -Then Mr. Penrose tried to show Rupert that he had broken the first -commandment, by allowing something besides God to have the first place -in his mind and heart; but he did not dwell as long upon the subject as -he wished to do, because he knew that young people, from their natural -dislike to serious truths, can best be instructed by a few hints at a -time. - -“You say that you did not think much of God, Rupert. Will you tell me -candidly what you _did_ think of?” - -After close questioning, Rupert acknowledged that he had been thinking -more of John Strong’s beautiful gray horses than of anything else; and -that he wished that he had them. - -_Mr. Penrose._ “What is the second commandment, Rupert?” - -Rupert undertook to say it; but could not get quite through it, and -Alfred helped him. - -_Mr. Penrose._ “It is certain that we always worship what we love best; -and I fear, Rupert, although you had no graven image to worship, your -heart was going out in idolatry after those ‘beautiful gray horses,’ as -much as the poor Papist’s after his wooden cross, or his image of the -Virgin. Do you not think so? Alfred, can you tell me of another way in -which the second commandment can be broken?” - -“By thinking of our clothes instead of listening to the minister, and -trying to pray to God, when we are in church,” said Alfred, blushing -very deeply. - -“Well, that is what I did not do, I am sure,” said Rupert, whose fault -was certainly not that of being too particular about his dress; for his -clothes were always pitched on any way, although he was old enough to -dress himself properly if he would. - -_Mr. Penrose._ “But it is what I knew a little boy do, when he had his -new suit of plaid clothes, with brass buttons, on for the first time, -and two pockets in them besides. First he looked at himself in the -buttons; then he put his hymn-book in his pocket; then he pulled it -out.” - -_Alfred._ “O, father! I know I did that; but I was sorry for it, and I -have tried not to break the second commandment since.” - -_Mrs. Penrose._ “Yes, father, I think that we must not talk of what is -past any more.” - -_Mr. Penrose._ “I spoke of it to show Rupert in how many different ways -we can break God’s commandments; and to let him know that I did not -consider him the only guilty one. Now, I am afraid you have broken two -of the commandments, Rupert. Shall we go on with the others?” - -_Rupert._ “Yes; for I am sure I could not have broken any more by that -little sleigh-ride.” - -_Mr. Penrose._ “What is the third commandment, Rupert?” - -_Rupert._ “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for -the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” - -_Mr. Penrose._ “Your first words after the congregation was dismissed -prove that you broke the third commandment. Christ says, ‘Swear not at -all: neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: nor by the earth; for it -is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great -King: neither shalt thou swear by thy head; because thou canst not make -one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, -nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.’ Matt. v, 34-37. - -“Now, your communication was not Yea, yea, or Nay, nay, when you burst -upon us with ‘By jingo,’ before the minister had hardly finished the -benediction. That word was wicked, and certainly comes under the head of -that ‘foolish talking’ which the apostle condemns.” - -_Rupert._ “Well, I know you will make me out a sabbath-breaker next. I -knew I was that myself; but I did not know that I was doing so many -other bad things by that sleigh-ride.” - -_Mr. Penrose._ “Since you plead guilty to breaking the fourth -commandment, Rupert, we will pass over that, and come to the fifth.” - -“I did not break that. My father and mother would not have cared for my -riding to-day,” said Rupert, who had got the Bible opened before him, at -the twentieth chapter of Exodus, that he might find out what the -commandments were. - -_Mr. Penrose._ “But you are now under our care, Rupert. We are as -parents to you while you stay with us. You knew that we would not like -to have you riding about the town on a Sunday; therefore, in not -honoring us, and doing as we wish, I think you broke the fifth -commandment.” - -By this time Rupert seemed to have got quite interested in the -examination of himself; for Mr. Penrose spoke kindly to him, and he knew -that it was out of love to him that he thus talked to him of his faults. -He ran over the commandments: - -“‘Thou shalt not kill.’ I am sure I did not do that.” - -_Mr. Penrose._ “Not if you did not get angry at the horses, or overdrive -them.” - -_Rupert._ “We could not get angry at them; they are such noble fellows, -and went so free: but they _were_ all in a lather when they got to the -stable. I cannot say they are not hurt, but that was not my fault, you -know.” - -_Mr. Penrose._ “If they were hurt, I am afraid you will have to bear a -little of the blame; as you were probably the cause of the extra ride.” - -_Rupert._ (Looking at the Bible,) “‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’ -That has nothing to do with horses. ‘Thou shalt not steal.’ We did not -steal, at any rate! ‘Thou’”—— - -_Mr. Penrose._ “Stop, stop! Rupert. Not so fast. Do not skip over the -eighth commandment so swiftly. Did Mr. Strong know that John had his -horses and sleigh?” - -_Rupert._ “No, sir, I do not think he did. I suppose he expected John -would take them directly to the stable, when he left the family at -church.” - -_Mr. Penrose._ “Then you were both using what belonged to another, in a -way that the owner would not have liked; and in doing this you broke the -eighth commandment.” - -_Rupert._ “O dear, uncle! I hope that you won’t make out that I broke -any more of the commandments. I know that I did not break the ninth.” - -_Mr. Penrose._ “Read the ninth commandment to me, Rupert.” - -_Rupert._ “‘Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.’ -That I did not do.” - -_Mr. Penrose._ “This commandment forbids falsehood. A boy who, like John -Strong, would drive his father’s horses on Sunday, without permission, -would be likely to tell a falsehood to screen himself from blame.” - -_Rupert._ “He _did_ say that he meant to tell his father he took the -horses directly home from the church.” - -_Mr. Penrose._ “Then I very much fear that your company was the -temptation to John to take that ride, which ended in his telling a -falsehood to his father. When we are, in any way, knowingly the cause of -another person’s committing sin, it is the same as if we had committed -the sin ourselves. So, my dear Rupert, I fear you are not quite -guiltless upon the ninth commandment. But go on with the tenth.” - -_Rupert._ “‘Thou shalt not covet.’ There! Now I know you will bring me -up with that too, uncle; because I said I wished I had John’s grays. I -do think that I broke that. But just to think that in less than an hour -I broke almost all the commandments!” - -_Mr. Penrose._ “You see by this that the breaking of one commandment -leads to the breach of many. We rarely ever break one commandment alone. -As St. James says, ‘Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend -in one point, he is guilty of all.’ James ii, 10.” - -_Rupert._ “Well, I do not believe any person ever kept all the -commandments, or ever could keep them either.” - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XII - - LOVE MAKES OBEDIENCE EASY. - - May I in my God delight, - Have him ever in my sight; - Love to do his holy will. - LITTLE HYMN-BOOK. - - -“NO mere man ever lived without having broken God’s commandments,” said -Mr. Penrose. “Jesus Christ, who was both God and man, is the only person -who ever lived in our world without breaking that law which was given -upon Mount Sinai.” - -“But must we always break God’s commandments, papa?” asked little -Alfred. - -“When we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and love him, then he takes -away our naughty feelings, and enables us to do his will. Do you -remember that very cold day when I was taken ill, and your mamma had no -one but you to send for the doctor? The snow lay deep upon the ground; -but you did not mind that or the cold north wind either. You loved your -father so well, that it was no hardship for you to run half a mile -through the cold for him. But if you had not wanted me to get well, I -know that you would have drawn up your little face, and said, ‘O, mamma! -must I go?’ especially as you were very happy, playing with your blocks -and your toy-sled, when she asked you if you thought you could take such -a long, cold walk for dear papa. - -“Just so it becomes easy for us to keep God’s commandments when we learn -to love him. When we are made new creatures in Christ Jesus we feel as -the loving child does toward his dear father and mother. You know that a -child who loves his parents cannot bear to do anything to displease -them. He is always inquiring what he shall do for the dear father whom -he loves, and who is so very good to him. Just so the Christian feels. -He asks God, for his dear Son’s sake, to teach him what his will is, and -to enable him to do it; and God hears and answers his prayer. Thus Jesus -said, ‘If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love -him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.’ John xiv, -23.” - -Mr. Penrose then told Rupert where he must go for pardon, even to the -Lord Jesus Christ, “who ever liveth to make intercession for us.” He did -not usually talk to the children upon religious things for as long a -time together as he had that evening: but Rupert was to leave them for -school in a few days, and Mr. Penrose wanted to give him as much -instruction as he could bear; hoping that he might think of his words at -some future time, although he did not care much for them now. - -Rupert left Norwood at the appointed time; and we will now turn to our -little Alfred, who continued to have pleasant sled-rides, fine skatings, -and nice talks with papa. - - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - - PROMPT OBEDIENCE. - - Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for - this is right.—Eph. vi, 1. - - I watch’d thee silently, and now - Thou art before mine eye. - It was a moment worthy years. - BERNARD BARTON. - - -“COME, Alfred, it is time to go to bed,” said Mrs. Penrose to her little -son, one evening. - -Alfred was busy making pictures on a slate, and did not want to go to -bed yet. He begged that he might finish off his horse. His mamma said he -_might_ finish his horse, although his hour for going to bed _had_ come. - -Because he was allowed to sit up a little later than usual on that -evening, Alfred wanted to do so at another time. When his mamma said, - -“Alfred, take the lamp, and go into the bed-room,” he would hesitate and -linger, as if he only obeyed his mamma because he was obliged, and not -because he loved to. - -One morning Alfred’s mamma said, - -“I am afraid my little boy has forgotten his old text, ‘Children, obey -your parents.’” - -“Why, mamma,” said Alfred, “I think I do always obey you.” - -“But you do not obey me directly; and you do not always seem to like to -do what I tell you. When I call you to me, you do not run quickly. And -lately, when I have told you to go to bed, you draw up your face, and -behave as if you went because you must, and not because you loved to do -what your mother desires. Now that is not the way that God would have -little children behave. He tells them to honor their parents. Children -should always obey willingly, and not stop to ask for a reason, when -they are commanded to do anything.” - -Then Alfred’s papa, who had been reading in the room, but who had heard -what mamma had said to Alfred, said, - -“I will tell you a story, Alfred, which I read when I was a very little -boy.” - -“O, papa!” said Alfred, “did you use to read stories when you were a -little boy, and did you like to have stories told you as I do now, and -did you have a good papa to tell them to you, as I have? Or perhaps your -mamma told them to you.” - -“You ask a great many questions in a breath, my little boy,” said his -father; “but I will try to answer them. I did love to read stories when -I was a little boy, and I did like to have them told to me; but my papa -was always too busy to tell me stories, and my mamma was dead; so I had -no one to tell me stories, as you have.” - -Alfred stood still a moment, as if he were thinking. Then he said, - -“O, papa, it must be very sad not to have a mamma! Did you never see -your mother? Were you a little baby when she died?” - -Then his papa told Alfred that he was not a little baby when his mother -died; but that he was only five years old. - -“I only remember one thing about her,” said he. “I went into her -bed-room one morning, and said, ‘Mamma, will you go down stairs now?’ -And she answered me, ‘In a few minutes, Arthur. Go and stand by the -window until I am ready.’ Then as I stood by the window I saw my mamma -kneel down by the side of her bed, and put her hands over her face. When -she was done I asked her what made her cry? She answered, ‘I was not -crying, my child. I was praying to God.’ That is almost all I recollect -of my dear mamma, Alfred.” - -“I think that was a pleasant remembrance, papa,” said little Alfred. -“Perhaps your mamma then prayed for you, and maybe that is the reason -why you are good now. But please tell me the story that you read when -you were a little boy.” - -Then Alfred’s papa told him the little story, which you will find in the -next chapter. - - -[Illustration] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - - THE DISOBEDIENT CHICKEN. - - The poor hen did cry, - And make a loud din. - And hard did she strive - To teach them aright; - For to see them do wrong - Always gave her a fright. - FLOWERS FOR CHILDREN. - - -“THERE was once a hen that had five chickens. They were all very pretty. -Four of them were white. One of them was of a reddish brown. - -“The hen and chickens belonged to a little boy, named James. One day -James heard the hen and chickens make a great noise. He was planing some -boards with his little plane, to make a bird-house; but he dropped his -plane, and ran out into the yard. The old hen was calling her little -ones to come under her wings. She had seen a large, fierce-looking dog -come into the yard, and she was frightened for her chickens. She said, -‘Cluck! cluck! cluck!’ very quickly; and the chickens seemed to know -that she called them to her, for they all, except one, ran very quickly, -and hid themselves under her wings. One little white chicken looked up -at its mother, as if she said, ‘I will come directly, mother; but not -quite yet:’ and then went on picking up seeds with her little bill. - -“The poor mother called louder. James ran to drive away the dog; but he -sprang forward, caught the little white chicken in his mouth, and ran -out of the yard. - -“Now the poor chicken was lost for not minding its mother immediately; -and great harm may come to little children from the same cause. - -“If children are not obedient to their parents they will not do well -here; but, what is worse, disobedience will be punished in another -world. It is said of him who does not honor his father and his mother -that ‘his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.’” - -After this Alfred was very careful, for some time, to do everything that -he was told, immediately. It was pleasant to see him jump the instant he -was called, and make his little feet fly rapidly along to do what he was -bid. He did not say any more, “Mamma, I am not sleepy;” “O, please, -mamma, let me sit up a little longer! why must I go to bed so early?” -when his mamma said, “Alfred, it is your bed-time;” but he would take -the lamp in his hand, and say, “Good night” to all the family, and go to -bed with a pleasant smile upon his face. - -The day after his father had told him the story of the disobedient -chicken, Alfred said to his mother, - -“When papa was telling me that story yesterday it made me think of the -pretty words that Jesus said when he came nigh unto Jerusalem, and wept -over it. Won’t you read them to me, mamma?” - -Alfred’s mother read the words to him, from Matt, xxiii, 37:— - -“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest -them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy -children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, -and ye would not!” - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XV - - ABOUT MANY GOOD THINGS. - - A sinful creature I was born, - And ever since have stray’d; - I must be wretched and forlorn - Without thy mercy’s aid. - But Christ can all my sins forgive, - And wash away their stain; - Can fit my soul with him to live, - And in his kingdom reign. - MY LITTLE HYMN-BOOK. - - -WE closed our last chapter with a beautiful verse from the Bible; and -when she had read it, Alfred’s mamma said, - -“How full of love was our dear Saviour when he lived upon the earth! He -pitied the poor wicked people who despised him, and who at length put -him to death. And now that he is in heaven, at the right hand of God the -Father, he yet pities the poor sinner who will not come unto him and -obtain eternal life. - -“O, Alfred! I hope that you will not make Jesus sorry, as the Jews did! -You must love him, my dear child. You must think of all his goodness. -You must pray to him very often, and try to please him in all things. -Then you will be his dear little boy. He will take care of you as long -as you live; and, when you die, he will take you to heaven, to dwell -with him for ever and ever.” - -“O, mamma!” said little Alfred, “I do want to be God’s dear child. I do -not love wicked people who swear, and get drunk, and break the sabbath.” - -“No, I dare say not, Alfred. But those who swear, and get drunk, and -break the sabbath, are not the only wicked people. There are some, who -would not do any of these things for the world, who yet are not good in -the sight of God. He sees their hearts, and he knows that they do not -love him. They do not think of him. They love many things better than -God.” - -_Alfred._ “But it is so wicked, mamma, to love anything better than -God!” - -_Mamma._ “Yet how many do this, Alfred! How few little boys there are -who think constantly of God, even when they are in church, or while they -are saying their prayers.” - -Alfred, who sometimes boasted how good he was, although he had often -been told what a wicked and deceitful heart he had by nature, and how -necessary it was that it should be washed in the blood of Jesus, said, - -“Mamma, I think of God when I go to church, and whenever I say my -prayers.” - -_Mamma._ “I wonder then that you should have looked so long at those new -boots, in church, last Sunday, my dear. I was quite sorry and ashamed to -see you hold out your feet, and look at them so many times. Then you -would pull the straps, and turn your foot round and round, that you -might see the boots all over: and I do not believe that you heard a word -of the sermon all the time. O, my dear Alfred, you thought more of your -boots than of God!” - -Alfred hung his head, and said he was sorry that he had done so; and -that he would pray to God to forgive him for Jesus’ sake. He asked his -mamma to pray that he might love God more, and try to do his will, not -only on Sundays, but every day and all day long. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - - THE OBEDIENT BOY. - - I must not tease my father, - For he is very kind; - And everything he says to me - I must directly mind. - MY LITTLE HYMN-BOOK. - - -A VERY few days after Alfred’s talk with his papa about obeying -immediately, Mr. Penrose met a gentleman who told him about a little son -of his, whose life was probably saved by his quickly obeying his father. -The story was as follows:— - -The little boy, and his father and mother, were sailing upon a canal. A -canal is a very deep and wide ditch, full of water, on which boats sail. -Many bridges are built over these canals. Persons have been killed by -not lying down flat upon the deck of the canal-boat in time to prevent -their being struck by the bridges. But grown people generally look out -for them in time to save themselves, when they stand upon the deck of -the boat. - -Little Edward had been taken from his parents by some of the passengers, -and carried up to the deck. He was then about six years old. After -awhile his father and mother also went up. As soon as they reached the -deck they saw the boat was going very rapidly toward a bridge; and O how -frightened they were to see their dear little boy standing alone on that -part of the boat which was nearest to it! There was no time to run and -catch him in their arms. The father could only speak to him, and his -mother stood trembling. - -Little Edward’s father called very loudly to him, “Edward! lie down!” -and the dear little fellow was so accustomed to obey in a minute that he -dropped down upon the deck as soon as his father spoke to him. In this -way his life was saved. If Edward had stopped to say, “Why must I lie -down, father?” he would probably have been killed. It is promised to -those who keep their Father’s commandments, that they shall have “length -of days, long life, and peace.” Proverbs iii, 2. - -This story delighted Alfred, and afterward, when he was bidden to do -anything, his mamma had only to say, “Alfred, remember Edward,” to make -him run very quickly and do what he was told to do. - - -[Illustration] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - - PIERRE MERLIN. - - He pray’d, and, trusting in God, he slept - In his heaven-appointed nest. - - The angel of the Lord encampeth round about - them that fear him, and delivereth them.—Psa. - xxxiv, 7. - - -“PAPA, what is the name of the book you are reading?” said an older -brother of Alfred to his father, one day. - -His father told him the name of the book, and Frank said, - -“O, how dry it looks! I wonder you can bear to read such very dry books, -father!” - -“The book is very interesting to me, Frank,” said his father. - -“I like to read travels, and stories of all kinds; stories about the sea -and the land,” said Frank. - -“God knew that children loved stories,” said his papa; “and he has -filled his own book with the most wonderful and beautiful stories.” - -“Yes, and travels and voyages too, papa,” said Alfred. “Was not that a -fine voyage of Paul; and a wonderful journey which the Israelites took -through the wilderness?” - -“O yes!” said little Flora; “with a bright pillar going on before them -at night, and a cloudy pillar all day.” - -“And bread sent down from heaven for them to eat,” said Alfred. - -“And cool water gushing out of the rock,” continued little Flora. “And, -O, how pretty the story of the Shunamite’s little boy is, who got sick, -and said, ‘My head! my head!’ I am glad Elisha made him alive again.” - - -[Illustration] - - -“And, O, Flora,” said Alfred, “all about Elijah is so pretty! Don’t you -remember how the ravens fed him in the wilderness? Was not that a -wonderful story, father?” - -“Yes, my son,” said Alfred’s papa, “it was very wonderful: and I read a -story yesterday that was something like it, although it was not in the -Bible.” - -“Dear father,” said Alfred, “will you tell it to me?” - -“Yes, if you will bring your chair beside me, and sit very still. - -“There was once a good man named Pierre Merlin. He was a pious minister; -and the Roman Catholics hated him, because he preached doctrines which -the Bible teaches, but which they do not like. - -“At one time, the Roman Catholics, in France, determined to murder all -who did not belong to their church. They _did_ murder many hundred pious -persons, on a night which was called St. Bartholomew’s Eve. They would -have killed good Pierre Merlin, but he jumped out of a window, and thus -got away from those wicked people. It was dark, and he ran on, on, on; -expecting every minute to be caught. Then he came to a hay-stack. Quite -out of breath, he hid himself in this friendly place, which seemed set -there to be to him what the city of refuge was to the Israelites, when -they ran for their life. He thanked God for his mercy to him. He could -not lie down in that narrow place, and he was very tired; yet, nestled -in the hay, he slept in peace, for the Lord sustained him. - -“The morning came, gray, still, and misty. The little birds began to -twitter, and the poultry around awoke, and shook their wings, and -smoothed their feathers, and sent out their long, loud cry of welcome to -the opening day. Then golden colors painted the eastern sky; and, at -last, the bright, red sun rose to spread his gracious rays over the -awakening earth. - -“Pierre Merlin gladly, yet sorrowfully, looked at the sun. Since it had -last risen many of God’s dear saints had been cruelly murdered. Some of -his own friends were among the number. This thought made him weep. - -“Do you think, my dear children, that Merlin wished any evil to those -people who had been so cruel to him, and to his friends? No, for he was -a Christian. Like Jesus, he said, ‘Father, forgive them! They know not -what they do.’ - -“I said that _gladly_, as well as sorrowfully, this good minister looked -at the sun. Though he was sorry for the wickedness of his enemies, and -for the death of his friends, he was yet glad that his life was saved. -He thought that he might yet preach the gospel of Christ. - -“He knew that his enemies were all around, looking for him; for he had -heard his name mentioned by them with loud curses. He dared not venture -from his hiding-place; although, as the morning advanced, he became -faint and hungry. He thought he should perish with hunger if he remained -there many days. But he continued praying to God, and did not fail to -put his trust in him. - -“After he had prayed, he felt something moving near him. Merlin’s heart -beat very quickly. What could it be? Was it a hand thrust in among the -hay, to feel if he was there? He lay very still. Still the motion -continued. Directly he heard a sound: it was the voice of a hen that -said, ‘Cack, cack, cack!’ very joyfully, because she had just laid an -egg. - -“Then the hen went away; and Merlin put out his hand, and took the egg -which she had left, and ate it for his breakfast. O, he did not want -egg-glass or spoon, or even salt, to make that egg taste deliciously! He -felt stronger for eating it. ‘But what shall I do to-morrow?’ said he to -himself. Then came this text to Merlin’s mind: ‘Behold the fowls of the -air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet -your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?’ -Matt. vi, 26. - -“So he determined to trust in God for the morrow; in the gracious Father -who feeds the little birds that cannot do anything toward making food -grow for themselves. - -“God did not forget his child. He saw Merlin in the hay-stack just as -plainly as he saw Elijah in the wilderness. - -“The second day came; and the old hen came too, laid her egg in the -hay-stack, and walked off. Merlin thus got his breakfast on the second -day. It was not much, but it gave him some strength. - -“The third day his good old friend again paid him a visit. O, how very -anxiously he had watched for her that morning! How afraid he was that -she would not come! Faint and hungry as he had become, it tasted even -more deliciously than the two former ones. - -“On the third day all was still around him. He made a little hole in the -straw, and peeped out. He saw nobody. Night came on, and Merlin left his -hiding-place, praying to God every minute, as he walked along. - -“What is that he sees in the distance? It is one of the cruel soldiers, -with his gun! But he must go on. He fears to turn back. As he comes -nearer he finds it is only a small tree, with a very long arm, which had -frightened him. - -“Onward he goes, stumbling in the darkness, and very weary. The morning -comes. What is that before him? A river, gleaming, like molten silver, -in the early light. And, O joyful sight! a vessel, bearing English -colors, just setting sail. Merlin makes a signal. A boat is let down -from the vessel. He is taken in it, and escapes safely to England to -tell the story of his wonderful preservation.” - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - - THE SILLY BIRD. - - “The poor bird did not know, - For nobody taught her, - That her nice little nest - Would be drown’d in the water.” - - -ALFRED began to read pretty well by the time he was five years old. He -and his papa would read a chapter in the Bible together, verse by verse, -once a day. Then, when his papa had time, he would talk a little to his -son about what they had read. - -The month of March had come, and brought with it many signs of spring. -The blue-bird and the robin had been heard, and wild-flowers bloomed in -warm and sunny nooks. The willow showed its silvery balls, and the sun -was high in the heavens. - -One sunny day, when the snow had melted, and the roads were a little -dried, Mr. Penrose took his little boy to walk in the woods. They found -some beautiful green moss, and one bunch of arbutus. Alfred brought the -flower to his mamma, and put the moss around her flower-pots. Then, when -they had rested, he sat down to read his chapter with his father. - -They read the seventh chapter of Matthew, which tells of the man whose -house the floods swept away, because it was built upon the sand. - -“Who is meant by the foolish man, Alfred?” said his papa. - -“Is it the wicked man, papa?” asked the little boy. - -“Yes, it is the sinner, who does not love the Saviour. Jesus Christ is -the only hope of the soul. I know I often tell you this; but I do it -because I want you always to remember this great truth. Jesus here -compares himself to a rock. When we learn to love the Saviour as we -ought, then we are set upon this rock; and God will not let sorrow, or -even death, remove us from that safe resting-place. - -“Last summer I saw something which made me think of what we have just -read. - -“It had rained hard in the night, but cleared off early in the morning. -The sun was very hot. About ten o’clock I saw quite a smoke arise from -the flat, tin roof of the wing of the house. I looked, and found it -covered with water. I wondered what it could mean. Upon examination, I -found a bird’s nest, very neatly made of hair, and lined with feathers, -placed directly over the hole which led into the spout. It filled it up -entirely, and so prevented the water running into the spout. - -“Poor foolish bird, to take so much pains to build its nest in that -insecure place! She had thought, I suppose, that she would keep house -very snugly there; and there bring up her little ones, and give them -their first lesson in flying from the house to the big willow-tree, -which stands alongside of it. - -“How frightened she must have been when she felt the waters overflowing -her nest! How much she must have wished that she had put it in the right -place! My dear boy, we must make a better provision for our heavenly -home than this poor bird did for her nest; so that we may not be -surprised and disappointed, like her, at last.” - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - - JOY IN HEAVEN—THE LITTLE RUNAWAYS. - - These pretty babes, with hand in hand, - Went wandering up and down. - BABES IN THE WOOD. - - -ONE day, when Alfred was at church, the minister preached from the -words, “I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of -God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke xv, 10. It is a sweet text; -and the minister preached a beautiful sermon upon it. Alfred’s mamma -showed him the words in the Bible; and he remembered them, and told them -to his papa, who was ill that day, and could not go to church. Mr. -Penrose talked to Alfred about the words he had repeated to him, and the -next day told him about a family which rejoiced over the lost ones who -wandered from their home. - -“I had two little cousins who lived in New-York,” said Alfred’s papa. -“Harry was six years old, and little Ann five. They had two brothers, -and one sister. They were never allowed to go into the street without -some person with them. This they did not like; so they often tried to -open the front door, but the latch was too high and too strong for them. - -“One morning they went into the entry, before their papa and mamma had -come down stairs. While they were playing there the milkman rang at the -door. The servant went to get a pitcher for the milk, and left the front -door open. When Harry saw this he said, - -“‘Ann, let’s go down on the pavement, and take a little walk.’ - -“Ann said, - -“‘O, yes, Harry, do let us go!’ - -“So they walked out of the door, and down the steps to the pavement. -Then they felt very proud. They were pleased to think how nicely they -had run away. They had no cloak or shawl, although the day was cool, for -it was the fall of the year. Harry wore a little cap, and Ann a bonnet, -which they caught from behind the door, as they went out. - -“They walked on through the streets, looking at all the pretty things -that they saw in the shop-windows. After they had gone on some time, -little Ann said, - -“‘Brother, I am hungry.’ - -“Harry said, - -“‘I am hungry too. We will go home, and get our breakfast.’ - -“But this was not easily done. They turned back; but they did not take -the right street to lead them home. Every step took them further off. So -on they went, hand in hand, like the babes in the wood, until they both -grew still more hungry and faint. They sat down upon some steps to rest, -and then got up, and wandered on. - -“After awhile they found that they were near a river, and they saw a -boat lying by the wharf. - -“Harry said, - -“‘Ann, I think that boat will take us to grandpapa’s. We always sail on -the river when we go to see him. Let us step into it; and when we get to -Newark grandmamma will give us some breakfast.’ - -“The tears were running fast down poor little Ann’s purple cheeks; for -she was not only hungry, but tired and sorry. - -“She said, - -“‘But won’t mamma be angry? O, I want to see mamma!’ - -“Then Harry was very naughty. He shook his little sister, and pulled -her, to make her step upon the boat. She drew back, and Harry slipped, -and fell between the wharf and the boat into the water. Ann was -dreadfully frightened, and screamed. She thought her brother would be -drowned.” - - -[Illustration] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XX - - THE RESCUE—WELCOME HOME. - - O joy! I see our mother’s face, - Our own delightful home; - And never more from it shall we, - Dear Annie, want to roam. - - -“IN our last conversation we left Harry struggling in the water, and Ann -standing on the wharf, screaming and crying very loud. - -“Just then, a young man, who wore a short blue jacket, a checked shirt, -and a shining hat on the back of his head, came along; and, seeing Ann’s -distress and poor Harry’s situation, without saying one word, pulled off -his jacket, and jumped into the water after him. By this time a good -many other people had gathered around. The sailor soon came up, with -Harry in his arms; but the little boy was very pale and cold. - -“Some people carried them into a small house that smelt of rum and -tobacco smoke. They asked the children their names, and where they -lived. When they had told them, they said they should be sent home after -awhile, but that Harry must first go to bed; for he shivered, and was -still very cold. They wanted him to drink some rum, but he refused. So -they carried him up into a little, dark room, and laid him in a dirty -bed, and put some very heavy covering over him; and then went to get the -children something to eat. Little Ann staid alongside of her brother’s -bed, crying all the time. Soon the woman of the house came up stairs, -bringing them some bread and butter, and crackers and cheese. But, -although they had been so hungry before, they did not feel like eating -then. They were sick and unhappy. It seemed to them as if they were a -great way off from their own home. The people in whose house they were, -were not at all like their dear papa and mamma. They talked very loud, -and laughed a great deal, and used words which the children had never -heard before. Ann said, - -“‘Brother, we have been very wicked in going away from home. I am afraid -we never shall see our dear papa and mamma any more.’ - -“Then they put their arms around each other’s neck, and cried. - -“Just then the woman of the house came in, and again asked them the name -and the number of the street in which they lived. This Harry remembered, -and told her. - -“She said, - -“‘Well, don’t take on so. I am busy fixing my Ned off to sea now; but -to-night I will take you to the place where your father and mother -live.’ - -“The children thought it would be a very long time before night would -come. Ann crept into the bed with Harry; and they nestled up to each -other, and fell fast asleep. - -“While they slept, a sound was heard without: ‘Lost children! Lost -children!’ This was called out by a man who, at the same time, rang a -bell which he held in his hand. - -“When he got near the sailor, he was told that the children were safe in -the house. He stopped ringing his bell, and went, in great haste, to -tell the parents of the children that they were found. Soon the father -came, in a carriage, to take his little runaways home. The children -awaked from their sleep in that miserable room to see their dear -father’s loving face bending over them, and to feel his warm kisses on -their lips and cheeks. - -“It was dark when they got home. As they were taken from the carriage, -they saw each window in the brightly lighted parlor filled with faces on -the look-out for them. And, O, what joy, when they found themselves -again in their cheerful, happy home; in their precious mother’s arms! - -“It was time for Willy and Charlie to have their supper, and for their -little baby-sister to be put to bed; but nobody thought of them. Every -one was thinking of the little ones who had been lost, but were now -found. Parents and servants rejoiced together over the little stray -lambs. They had been in danger, but were now safe. They had wandered -from their father’s house; and he had sent a messenger to find them. -They had been naughty; but their father forgave them, and rejoiced over -them.” - -Alfred knew enough of the Bible to apply this story. He saw in Harry and -Ann’s kind father a picture of our dear heavenly Parent, who sent his -Son to call us back to him; and who kindly receives and freely forgives -us when we return. The rejoicing household, who forgot the other little -ones for joy that Harry and Ann were safe, reminded him of the holy -angels, who are so glad when a wicked person becomes good. - - -[Illustration] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - - THE LITTLE DOGS. - - Frank had two pretty little dogs, - With hair as soft as silk, - A few brown spots upon their back, - The rest as white as milk. - And many a happy hour they had, - In dull or shining weather; - For, in the house, or in the fields, - They always were together. - It was rare fun to see them race - Through fields of bright-red clover, - And jump across the running brooks, - Flush and his brother Rover. - MRS. CHILD. - - -ALFRED, with all his brothers and sisters, had been taught to tell the -exact truth. They had learned many texts of Scripture which speak of the -sin and punishment of lying. These are a few of them:— - -“The mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.” Psa. lxiii, 11. - -“The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is -but for a moment.” Prov. xii, 19. - -“All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and -brimstone.” Rev. xxi, 8. - -Alfred’s brother Frank had two very beautiful young dogs. They had been -given him by a friend, and were of a scarce and valuable breed. One of -the dogs he had named Flush, and the other Rover. They had brown, silken -ears, and brown spots on their backs and legs. They had just been taken -from their mother when Frank brought them home in his arms. They mourned -a little; and Alfred and Flora felt sorry for them. They thought that -they cried for their mother; and I suppose they did. Frank fed them with -some warm milk. Then he let Alfred and Flora stroke them. After they had -been fed they lay down very quietly, and went to sleep. It was time for -Frank to go to school: so he said to Alfred and Flora, - -“You must not touch my little dogs while I am at school.” - -Little Flora said, - -“No, brother, I will not.” - -But Alfred said, - -“May I not put them in my apron, very softly? I will not hurt them; for -I love them.” - -His brother said, - -“When I am at home I will let you play with the little dogs; but you -must promise me not to touch my dogs while I am at school. They are very -tender; and if you were not to lift them in just the right way, you -would hurt, and perhaps kill them.” - -Alfred then said, - -“Frank, I will not touch the pretty little things when you are away; but -you will let me pat them when you are at home, won’t you?” - -“Yes; you may play with them, and pat them, when I am here; and then you -may feed them sometimes, too; but you will certainly remember your -promise when I am away.” - -Some days after this, when Frank was at school, Alfred’s mamma heard him -say, - -“O, pretty little fellows! nice little fellows! I love you very much, -little Flush and little Rover!” - -Alfred’s mamma stepped into the hall to see what her little boy was -doing. He was standing by the steps of the kitchen door; and the dogs -were trying to climb into the house. But when they had put their paws -upon the step they would fall backward; for they were too small to climb -up. Alfred would stretch out his hand to help the little dogs; and then -he would draw it back again when he remembered his promise to his -brother. - -The little colored boy was rubbing his knives in the kitchen, and he -said to Alfred, - -“The dogs want to get up the steps. My hands are all brick-dust. Take -hold, and help them up.” - -But Alfred said, - -“O, I must not touch them, John; for I promised I would not. I wish I -_could_ lift the little things up!” - -It made Alfred’s mamma glad to find how well her dear boy kept his word. -She lifted the dogs into the kitchen; and they seemed happy and well -satisfied, for they laid down close together, behind the door, and went -fast asleep. - - -[Illustration] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - - FORBIDDEN FRUIT. - - And some of the fruit-trees that grew in the - garden shot their branches over the wall; and - they that found them did gather them up, and - eat of them to their hurt. So Christiana’s boys - (as boys are apt to do) being pleased with the - trees, and with the fruit that did hang thereon, - did pluck them, and began to eat. Their mother - did also chide them for so doing. - THE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS. - - -SOON after this Mrs. Penrose went to New-York, and took Alfred and Flora -with her. There they saw many beautiful things. As they rode up from the -wharf, they were continually calling out, “O, mamma, look at that -window!” or, “O, mamma, see that picture!” and, “O, what is that high -building?” and, “Who is that queer-looking person?” - -Their mamma shook her head, and said, - -“Children, try to be quiet. Look as much as you like, but do not ask me -any questions now.” - -The carriage rattled over the pavement, and there were so many other -noises around, that she could not hear their questions. - -When they stopped at the house of the friend with whom they were to -stay, they saw much that was very beautiful. There were pictures and -vases, and many things that they had never seen or thought of in their -little simple country home. But Alfred thought that nothing in the house -was as pretty as what he saw from the back windows. It was a garden, -filled with flowers. He was delighted when he was told that he might -spend as much time there as he liked. Alfred was a real little country -boy, and he loved flowers dearly. In this garden were purple and white -petunias, and roses of many shades, and of different colors. Sweet -mignionette, too, grew there; and there was the delicate cypress-vine, -with its feathery stalk, and its little bright flower. There were -grape-vines too, which climbed a trellice that leaned against the high -brick wall. On the vines hung grapes; but they were still quite green -and hard. - -Alfred’s mamma told him that he might walk in this garden; but that he -must never pick any of the flowers, or the grapes. She thought that she -might trust the little boy, who kept his word so well about the dogs. - -Some days after this, when Flora was taking her nap, Alfred’s mamma -wanted him for something; and, from the garden door, called him to come -to her. While she waited, she saw him coming toward her, with his little -mouth puckered up, as if he had something in it. She called, - -“Come here, Alfred.” - -And Alfred came up the steps very slowly. - -“What have you got in your mouth, my dear?” said Alfred’s mamma. - -Not one word did Alfred answer; but he looked down, and turned very red. -His mother knew, from his looks, that he had been doing something that -was not right. He did not have that bright, happy face which he usually -wore. - -Alfred’s mother said to him, - -“My son, open your mouth.” - -When Alfred opened his mouth, O, how sorry I am to tell it of him! he -showed a large green grape, tucked away in the corner of his mouth, -which he put into his hand as quickly as possible. His mamma took the -grape out of Alfred’s hand, and led him up stairs into her bed-room. She -said to him, - -“Alfred, how many of those grapes have you eaten?” - -“Just one besides this, mamma,” said he, crying very much. - -“Why did you eat them, Alfred?” said his mother. “Did not I tell you -that you must not do so?” - -“Yes, mamma; but they looked so very good.” - -“My dear little boy, that was the reason that Eve ate the apple which -made us all sinners. She thought it looked good. It ‘was pleasant to the -sight.’ Did you not tell me, the other day, that you thought Eve was -very naughty to eat the apple; and that you would not have done as she -did? But you see you have done just like her. She disobeyed God by -eating the apple, and you have disobeyed him by eating that green -grape.” - -_Alfred._ “Mamma, God did not tell me that I must not eat the grape.” - -_Mamma._ “Yes, Alfred, he told you so through me; for it is for me to -tell you what the will of God is: and you did not follow God’s -commandment to ‘obey your parents’ when you ate that green grape. I did -not see you eat it, but God did; and God does not love little boys, you -know very well, who disobey their parents.” - -Alfred continued to cry, and said, - -“O, I am so sorry, mamma!” - -His mamma told him to go into his room, and stay there by himself, that -he might think over what a naughty boy he had been. - -Alfred went; and when his mamma followed him, some time afterward, he -came to her, and said, - -“Mamma, I was very wicked, I know. But I have prayed to God to forgive -me, because Jesus Christ died. Don’t you think he will, mamma?” - -His mother said, - -“Yes, my dear, I have no doubt that he will forgive you, if you are -sorry for your sin, and are determined never again to do such a naughty -thing. God has forgiven us all a great many sins; and he is still -gracious and merciful. It is written, ‘Let the wicked forsake his way, -and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, -and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly -pardon.’ Isa. lv, 7.” - -From that time, I am glad to be able to say, little Alfred always told -the truth; and would never stop to look at anything that he had been -told not to touch; but hasten from it, that he might not be tempted to -do as he had done about the grapes. - - -[Illustration] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - - HAPPY CHILDREN. - - Now I saw in my dream, that by this time - the pilgrims entering into the country of Beulah, - whose air was very sweet and pleasant, the way - lying directly through it, they solaced themselves - there for a season. Yea, here they heard continually - the singing of birds, and saw every day - the flowers appear in the earth, and heard the - voice of the turtle in the land. In this country - the sun shineth night and day.... Here they - were within sight of the city they were going - to: also here met them some of the inhabitants - thereof: for in this land the shining ones commonly - walked, because it was upon the borders - of heaven.—THE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS. - - -ALFRED and Flora, soon after this, went with their mamma to a very -delightful place. You must read the lines from the Pilgrim’s Progress -which I have put over the chapter; for the land of Beulah, which they -speak of, was very much like the spot they visited. The kind friends -with whom they staid loved God; and there were bright flowers, and -pleasant fruits, and blue hills, and a wide, clear river, and a dear -little boy for Alfred to play with. Alfred was very happy, running -through the garden and orchard, and swinging in the nice swing, and -going to school with little Walter. They went to school to a lady who -loved them, and taught them many good things. - -My dear little readers, I wish you all to see the pretty school-house to -which they went every morning and afternoon. So get your caps, for the -sun is hot, and stand by me on this large piazza, from which we have so -fine a view of the river. - -It is nine o’clock, and Alfred and Walter come running out of the house. -They turn to the right upon the gravel walk which leads to the river. -They take the longest way, because the walk is so pleasant. - -How the river sparkles in the sunshine this clear morning! O, how many -boats we see! One, two, three, four. The boys get tired of counting -them, there are so many. - - -[Illustration] - - -Now a steam-boat, with many people on its deck, rushes swiftly past. -Alfred and Walter stand by the swing on the Catalpa-tree, to look at the -steam-boat. Then they must sit down, just one half minute, on that -pretty covered bench, standing between two trees. But they will not sit -long. They must not keep Miss Lee waiting; and she calls them from the -school-house door. Round the lawn they fly, past that large elm, and the -plum-tree, bent down with green gages. They have come to the -school-house, which well deserves a separate chapter. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - - THE SCHOOL-HOUSE. - - Come, dear ones, to your lessons, - You have so much to say, - Your spelling and your reading, - Before you go to play. - Ah! I know you will be scholars; - You’ve said all rightly o’er: - Good children; and to-morrow - You are to learn some more. - Come now into the garden, - To the fruit and flowers away; - So well you’ve said your lessons, - That you deserve to play.—L. E. L. - - -O, WHAT a pleasant place that school-house was! How happily did Alfred, -and Walter, and little Sidney, pass their time there; taught so well and -so kindly by good Miss Lee! - -There it stands, down in a little dingle, with its deep roof and carved -border, and its green latticed windows. It is shaded by a large elm, - - “which, with looks of love, - Spreads its whispering leaves above, - Through long summer hours.” - -A cherry-tree stands by the door. White and blue pigeons sit upon the -roof, and coo. The little boys smell the sweet flowers in the garden, as -they study their books. All kinds of sweet flowers grow in that charming -garden, alongside of the school-house. There are whole beds of the -heliotrope, the ever-sweet heliotrope, with its gray, crimped leaves, -and its yellow heart. Lovely mignionette, too, is hiding itself -everywhere. Although you do not see this modest flower, whose pretty -French name means little darling, yet you smell its sweetness -continually. There are white, and pink, and deep red roses, in full -bloom; and verbenas, pink, crimson, blue, white, and purple; and the -snow-white day-lily, which smells like fresh, ripe grapes. And near the -little school-house is the prettiest bower, made entirely of the -cypress-vine. It looks as fine and delicate as lace-work, yet its stalks -are so thickly woven that it will not blow down. - -In front of the school-house is a green lawn. When the boys stood upon -it they saw the river, and the hills on the other side, and the noble -Catskill Mountains, as blue as the sky. - -In this beautiful little place the boys spent some hours every day. When -their lessons were over they played in the garden, or swung, or -sometimes rode upon the donkey. - -One day, as Alfred sat by the door, he saw something run past him, very -swiftly. He called out, - -“O, Miss Lee, I see something!” - -“What do you see, Alfred?” said Miss Lee. - -“A pretty little red thing, with a long, bushy tail,” said he. - -“I suppose it is a squirrel,” said Miss Lee. - -“O yes, ma’am,” said Alfred. “it is a squirrel. I have seen squirrels in -the woods; but I did not know that they ever lived in a garden.” - -As he said this, a little ground-squirrel, with two young ones, came out -of a hole under the green well-curb, by the school-house door. At first -they seemed a little afraid; but the boys were still, and the squirrels -became bolder. After that they would pay Alfred and Walter a daily -visit. - -They were wise little squirrels to come and live with such good people. -They need not fear mischievous boys, or cruel guns, in that sweet, quiet -place. - - -[Illustration] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XXV - - SUGAR-PLUMS. - - I do not want to study, - It is so warm to-day; - So I’ll run into the meadow, - And roll among the hay. - CHARLOTTE FOX. - - -At length the time came when Alfred’s pleasant visit must end. When he -was going away, Walter gave Flora a very beautiful box, as a keepsake. -The box was filled with sugar-plums. - -He also gave one to Alfred, on which was a picture of a boy flying a -kite. - -When they were in the steam-boat, Alfred brought the box to his mother, -and said, - -“Mamma, how many of these sugar-plums may I eat to-day?” - -His mother said, - -“You had better give me the box to keep for you, my dear; and when you -say your lessons well, I will give you a few sugar-plums at a time, as a -reward.” - -Alfred loved sugar-plums very much; and he said he would rather keep the -box himself, and eat them just when he liked. - -His mother told him that if he did he would eat them all up, as the boy -in the story-book eat his cake, and very likely get as sick as he; -therefore he had better give them to her to deal out to him. So Alfred -consented that his mamma should do this. - -There were some very hot days after Alfred’s return to Norwood. On one -of these he felt very lazy, and said, - -“O, mamma, my lesson is so hard that I cannot get it to-day!” - -Then, instead of studying it, he would play with his shoe-string, or -pocket-handkerchief. - -His mamma said, many times, - -“Alfred, it is getting quite late. Are you not ready to say your lesson -yet?” - -But Alfred did not get ready until twelve o’clock; and even then did not -know his first lesson quite well; and the second one had to be put off -until the afternoon. In the afternoon it was hotter than it had been in -the morning. Alfred held his book in his hand, and did everything but -study. He would lie down upon the floor, and look out of the window, -although nothing was to be seen there but the still trees, and the -drooping flowers, and the parched grass, and the hot, blinding sun, -which seemed to have frightened the katydids, and the bees, and the -birds, into entire stillness. - -At night, when he went to bed, he called to his mamma, who was in the -next room, - -“O, my sugar-plums, mamma! I have not had my sugar-plums!” - -“No, I know you have not, my dear. But why should you have them?” - -“O, because I love them! And you know, mamma, I was to have a few every -day.” - -“Yes, if you deserved them. You know they were to be a kind of reward; -but you certainly cannot, feel that you ought to have any to-night.” - -Alfred confessed that he had not deserved them, and said he would try to -do better the next day; and so, after saying the little verse which he -used to repeat after he had said his prayers, he went to sleep. - -This is the verse which Alfred said:— - - “At night I lay my little head - To rest upon my nice soft bed; - Lord, let thy holy angels keep - Thy watch around me while I sleep.” - -After this Alfred got his lessons well, even without sugar-plums. He -began to think, too, that he was too large to eat them, and gave them -all away; although he still kept the box with the picture of the boy and -the kite on it. But it became quite a saying among the children, when -any one wanted something that they had not earned, “O, you must not have -the sugar-plums, when you have not got your lesson.” - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI - - THE ROBINS. - - O, they are sweet, pretty things! - Flying round with rapid wings. - FLOWERS FOR CHILDREN. - - -ONE sweet September morning, Alfred’s papa rose early. Silvery mists -rested upon the mountains; but when the sun arose they parted, and -curled upwards. The industrious little spider, who works when we sleep, -had hung fine silk threads over the dewy blades of grass. The sky was -bright, and the air very still. - -Mr. Penrose was going to take a ride into the country; and Alfred was to -go with his papa. As they stood by a window, waiting for the carriage, -they heard a strange whirring sound. They looked up into a wild -cherry-tree, that stood at a short distance from the window, and saw so -many robins that they could not count them. The little thieves were -stealing all the cherries. O, how fast they picked and ate! The robins -did not belong there. Other birds built their nests in that tree; but -the robins always built in the mossy and crooked apple-trees, on the -other side of the fence. - -At first Alfred was pleased to see the robins enjoy the cherries; but -afterward he thought they ate so many that none would be left for the -little birds who made their home in the shrubbery, and sung for them all -day long. - -I think Alfred never had a pleasanter ride than on that day with his -papa. The road was hilly; and a great part of it lay through rich, dark -woods. The smell of the woods was delightful; and beautiful mosses were -spread along the track of their carriage. Now and then, little brooks -ran swiftly along, with a gurgling sound; and gray squirrels leaped -among the branches of the trees. - -Mr. Penrose, who always tried to say something that would do his -children good, when he was with them, said to Alfred, - -“My son, you may say your text to me this morning, as you did not say it -at the breakfast-table.” - -So Alfred repeated the text to his father, which he had learned the -night before. It was this:— - -“Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of -cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily, I say unto you, he -shall in no wise lose his reward.” Matthew x, 42. - - -[Illustration] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII - - THE PROPHET—HIS DELIVERER. - - Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the - Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The - Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; - and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and - thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his - enemies.—Psa. xli, 1, 2. - - -WHEN Alfred had finished, his father said, “That text tells us that God -knows when we are kind to his children, and will reward us for it at the -judgment day.” - -“But, father,” said Alfred, “you told me once that we did not deserve -reward for any good thing which we ever did.” - -“We do not deserve any reward,” said Mr. Penrose. “The wish in us to do -anything right comes from God. Yet, after he has given us this -disposition, he rewards us for the exercise of it; so, as the apostle -Paul tells us, ‘It is all of grace.’” - -“Does God never pay us in this world for doing right?” said Alfred. - -“Sometimes he _does_ pay us, even in this world, for being good to his -people. I will tell you, Alfred, how he once rewarded a man because he -was kind to one of his ministers. - -“Many years, a great many years ago, some wicked men took one of God’s -good ministers, and put him in a dungeon. A dungeon is a dark prison. -The dungeon in which this good minister, or prophet, was put was a -doleful place under ground. The bottom of it was full of soft, filthy -mud. - -“Wicked people put him in this sad place, because he feared the Lord, -and would say what he bade him, instead of what the enemies of the Lord -wished. They wanted him to say pleasant, flattering things; but God did -not tell him these. - -“No doubt Jeremiah, for that was the prophet’s name, prayed to God from -that dark dungeon. Daniel cried to him from the lions’ den, and Jonah -prayed to him when the darkness wrapped him about. Man could not hear -Jonah’s voice from the midst of the seas; but God heard both Daniel and -Jonah. And he also heard the voice of his faithful Jeremiah from the -deep, damp dungeon. - -“God put it in the heart of a man, who lived in the king’s house, to -remember Jeremiah, and to pity him. This good man went to the king, and -said, - -“‘Those are wicked people who have cast Jeremiah into the dungeon. He -will die for hunger.’ - -“The king told this man to take some persons to help him, and to draw -Jeremiah out of the dungeon. - -“Then this kind man let some ropes into the dungeon, and drew Jeremiah -out of it. He made him put some old linen, which he threw down to him, -under his arms, lest the ropes should hurt him. So he was very tender -toward him. - -“Now because the man had done this thing to one of God’s faithful ones, -God remembered him when, some time after, fierce soldiers came against -the city, and killed almost all the people. He was not hurt because of -his kindness to the prophet. - -“So you see, Alfred, _he_ was paid for it in this world. - -“You will find this story in the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth chapters -of the book of Jeremiah. “When you get home you must read it for -your-self.” - - -[Illustration] - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - CHAPTER XXVIII - - LITTLE WILLIAM. - - Forget her not! though now her name - Be but a mournful sound.—HEMANS. - - -JUST as Alfred’s papa had finished saying these words they reached the -gate of the house where they were to breakfast. It belonged to a friend -of Mr. Penrose, who wished to see him on some business; and Mr. Penrose -had chosen the early part of the day for the visit, because he was -generally much engaged at other times. - -Alfred saw that the gentleman looked very serious; and that no lady sat -down to the breakfast-table with them. There were two children; a little -boy about the age of Alfred, and a sister who was older. The little -boy’s name was William. He looked pale and sad; and Alfred could not -help feeling sorry for him. - -After they had finished eating breakfast, William’s papa told him that -he might take Alfred out into the garden, to walk. Rosa also went with -them, and seemed very cheerful and kind; and showed Alfred her rabbits, -and her birds and flowers. She said, - -“William used to love these, and helped me to take care of them once; -but he does not care anything about them now.” - -When Rosa said this, Alfred saw the tears come into William’s eyes, and -he wished Rosa had not spoken so. - -William said, - -“I did love them when mamma was here, Rosa; but now everything makes me -feel sorry.” - -Then Rosa turned red, and went into the house; and William cried very -much, as Alfred stood by him. Alfred said, - -“Has your mamma gone away from you?” - -“Yes,” said little William, “my mamma died two weeks ago. I know she has -gone to heaven; but I miss her very much. Nobody loves me as she did.” - -Alfred felt ready to cry too. He said, - -“But you know if you are a good boy you will go to heaven too, William, -and see your dear mamma in that beautiful place.” - -“Yes, I know it,” said William. “She told me so before she died. She -said if I was a good boy it would not be long before I should come to -her; and that then she would not go away from me any more.” - -Alfred was an affectionate child. His heart was full of sorrow for -little William. All the way home he could talk of nothing else: but he -was glad when his papa told him that William’s father had promised to -let his little boy come over, on the next week, and spend several days -with them. - -William came; and soon felt quite at home. Mrs. Penrose liked to hear -him talk of his good mother; and all the family loved him, for he was a -good-tempered and interesting little fellow. - -The evening after Alfred’s first visit to William, he told his sister -Jane about him. The next morning she brought him a folded paper, and, as -she opened it, said, - -“Alfred, I thought so much of your little friend last night that I wrote -some verses about him, which I will read to you.” - -The verses were as follows; and were headed, - - - THE MOTHERLESS BOY. - - It is the hour when I was wont, - At my lost mother’s knee, - To say my little evening prayer, - Before she read to me. - But many weary months have pass’d, - And many tears I’ve shed, - Since I have felt her gentle hand - Laid kindly on my head. - - The hour I loved so dearly once, - Now only sorrow brings; - No mother reads the word of life, - Or song of Zion sings. - A stranger comes, with careless voice - And bids for bed prepare; - And often hardly gives me time - To say a hurried prayer. - - Although this room is just the same, - It wears a mournful look; - Yet here’s her bed, and here’s the stand - Which bears the holy book, - That tells me of another land, - In which she dwelleth now: - O, often o’er that book she bent, - With pale and earnest brow! - - In other days this little room - A temple seem’d to me; - She taught me here to worship God - In truth and purity. - The fields beneath the window smile, - And wear their summer hue; - The flowers she nursed look gay and bright, - As when they met her view. - - Yet, O, to me no thought of joy - This happy season bears; - All dimm’d are these delightful scenes - With thick and blinding tears. - I cannot laugh as once I could, - Nor hide the deep distress - That breaks my heart, when I reflect - That I am motherless. - - And, sister, when I see you stand, - With such an anxious air, - Before the glass, your sash to fix, - And smooth your braided hair; - I think of one so far above - The petty pride of dress; - Who only shone in plain attire - And simple loveliness. - - She’s gone! but let her image sweet - Be in our memory set; - And her example, pure and bright, - Ah, let us not forget! - We see her not; but I believe - Her mild and pitying-eye - From heaven with anxious love looks down, - Our actions to espy. - - -[Illustration] - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - VALUABLE BOOKS - FOR SUNDAY-SCHOOL CHILDREN. - Published at 200 Mulberry-street, N. Y. - - --------------------------------------------------------- - - LITTLE ROSE; - Or, Stories on the Lord’s Prayer. - 48mo. Pages 170. Price, twenty cents. - - --------------------------------------------------------- - - EMILY; - Or, Early Days. - 48mo. Pages 208. Price, twenty-five cents. - - --------------------------------------------------------- - - CHARLOTTE BROWN; - Or, I am so glad I have been to Sabbath School. - 48mo. Pages 92. Price, eighteen cents. - - --------------------------------------------------------- - - HELPS FOR EVERY HOUR. - 48mo. Pages 48. Price, eighteen cents. - - --------------------------------------------------------- - - PLEASANT DAYS WITH AUNT HOWARD. - 48mo. Pages 104. Price, 20 cents. - - --------------------------------------------------------- - - THE WAY TO JESUS - 48mo. Pages 104. Price, twenty cents. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - -_The following are bound uniformly, with red morocco backs and corners. -Price, six cents each._ - - - Little Stories for Children. - Rose Leaf. By Uncle William. - First Foreign Missions. - The Child Jesus. - The Hazel Nut. - Wonderful Machine. - The Cherry and Peach. - African Orphan Boy. - Little Mickey. - Mohammedan Children. - Heathen Brother. - Hen and Chickens. - Bird’s Nest. - Swan and Glow-worm. - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - ● Transcriber’s Notes: - ○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected. - ○ Typographical errors were silently corrected. - ○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only - when a predominant form was found in this book. - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Little Alfred, by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LITTLE ALFRED *** - -***** This file should be named 62941-0.txt or 62941-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/9/4/62941/ - -Produced by Charlene Taylor, Barry Abrahamsen, and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net -(This file was produced from images generously made -available by The University of Florida, The Internet -Archive/Children's Library) - -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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