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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/8156-8.txt b/8156-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d216605 --- /dev/null +++ b/8156-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11163 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Twilight And Dawn, by Caroline Pridham + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Twilight And Dawn + +Author: Caroline Pridham + +Release Date: May, 2005 [EBook #8156] +[This file was first posted on June 22, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, TWILIGHT AND DAWN *** + + + + +E-text prepared by Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders + + + +TWILIGHT AND DAWN + +OR + +SIMPLE TALKS ON THE SIX DAYS OF CREATION + +by + +Caroline Pridham + +(Mrs. L. G. Wait) + + + + + + + +"KNOWN UNTO GOD ARE ALL HIS WORKS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD." + +"THE LORD SHALL REJOICE IN HIS WORKS." + +"HIS TENDER MERCIES ARE OVER ALL HIS WORKS." + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +GOD'S BOOK + +"IN THE BEGINNING": CREATION + +RUIN AND DARKNESS + +FIRST DAY. LIGHT + +SECOND DAY. THE OCEAN OF AIR + +THIRD DAY. THE WORLD OF WATER + + " " THE EARTH BENEATH + + " " THE GREEN EARTH + +FOURTH DAY. SUN, MOON, AND STARS + + STORY OF A DEAF BOY WHO HEARD THE SUN PROCLAIM THE GLORY OF GOD + + THE STONE BOOK + +FIFTH DAY. "THE MOVING CREATURE THAT HATH LIFE" + + " " "FOWL OF THE AIR, AND FISH OF THE SEA" + + " " FLYING FOWL + + " " CREEPING THINGS + +SIXTH DAY. THE ANIMAL WORLD + + " " THE CROWN OF GOD'S CREATION + + + + + "Everywhere, everywhere + A tale is told to me-- + It is told in the sunny air, + It is told on the sparkling sea. + + "It is told in the forest brakes, + It is told on the purple hills, + By the silent mountain lakes, + By the singing and leaping rills. + + "In the meadows that stretch away + As a sea of golden green, + With hedges of sweet white may + And the reedy brooks between. + + "Where I wander and run and rest, + The tale is told to me, + The sweetest tale and the best + Of all the tales that be. + + * * * * * + + "The tale is the tale of Jesus; + It is told in heaven above, + On the sea and the moors and the mountains, + In language of all the peoples, + The speech of love. + + "The morning star and the dayspring, + The sun and the cloud and the shower, + The grass and the rose and the cedar, + His glory and love are telling + From hour to hour. + + "The birds in the green wood singing, + The sea that is wide and deep, + The sheep in the folds of the mountains, + The corn in the golden valleys, + And all beside. + + "All round me are glorious pictures + Of him who has made them fair; + Through the long bright day I can see Him, + And I fear not the silent darkness, + For He is there," + +--FRANCES BEVAN. + +Taken, by permission, from _Hymns by Ter Steegen and Others_ Second series. + + + + +INTRODUCTORY. + +Ten years have passed since this book was first published, and in issuing a +third edition it seems desirable to say a few words as to the object with +which it was written, and to explain why some additions and alterations +have been made. + +The earlier chapters remain pretty much as they were, but the latter have +been recast; and the writer's original endeavour to show that the Story of +Creation is not the Story of Evolution, as set forth in many attractive but +misleading books for the young, has been more constantly kept in view. + +It is hoped that by this means the end sought may be better reached, and +that the young readers may be furnished with the truth before they meet +with false teaching on this important point. The mind which has been +carefully grounded in what is true may confidently be expected to detect +and refuse what is erroneous, however fair may be its show; and if the need +for early training on the lines marked out for us in Scripture was apparent +some years ago, how much more imperative is it now, when the authority of +God and of His Word is questioned on every hand? + +It has been argued, with some reason, that the early chapters of these +"Simple Talks" are "too childish" when compared with the latter part of the +book; but it may be said in excuse for this seeming inconsistency that the +wish of the writer was to furnish assistance to mothers and those who train +young children. She therefore began at the beginning, intending the early +chapters to be read aloud, with additions and omissions, as the young +listeners were "able to bear." These chapters, therefore, are full of +repetitions, of which the young mind does not weary, but which are +necessary as long as it can only receive "here a little and there a +little," without overstrain. + +The later chapters will be found more suited to children of larger growth, +who will be able to enjoy reading for themselves, without needing the "line +upon line and precept upon precept," apart from which it is vain to attempt +to teach the little ones. + +How imperfectly the work is done will be manifest to those who know +anything of the subjects, which are touched upon rather than explained. The +difficulty of deciding how much to tell, and how much to leave untold, has +sometimes made the writer's task seem an almost impossible one; but she has +taken courage to go on by remembering a wise saying--that if we shrink from +attempting any little work which comes in our way from the fear of making +mistakes, it is easy to make the great mistake of doing nothing at all. + +If what has been a labour of love to the writer should be of some interest +and profit to readers, young or old, that labour will be amply repaid. + +The book is now sent forth again, with prayer that He who said, "Suffer the +children to come unto Me," and who "took them up in His arms, put His hands +on them, and blessed them," may be pleased to use it in His service and for +His glory. + +EVESHAM. + + + + +TWILIGHT AND DAWN. + +GOD'S BOOK. + + +"_As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to +them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters._"--PROVERBS +xxv. 13. + +"_The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of +earth, purified seven times._"--PSALM xii. 6. + + +I wonder whether you are as fond of asking questions as I was long ago--so +fond that I did not mind asking them when I well knew I could get no +answers, because I spoke to things, not to people who could speak to me +again? + +Still, if any mere thing could be supposed capable of answering for itself, +I think a book might; and so perhaps as you take this book of mine into +your hand, and run away to some quiet place to have a look at it, you may +be taking it into your confidence, and asking it some such questions as +these: + +(_a_) What are you all about? Are you a lesson-book? + +(_b_) Have you any stories--real stories, not made-up ones? + +(_c_) Any pictures? + +(_d_) I wonder whether I shall like you? Does the person who made you like +children, and know the sort of things they care for? + +Now before you put any more questions to my book, I will answer for it; and +that we may not miss any, we will call them questions (_a_), (_b_), (_c_), +(_d_), and answer one at a time. + +Your first question (_a_)--the first part of it at least--is what grown +people as well as children have a right to ask of a book; and it would be a +poor thing for the book to answer, "Oh, I am about nothing in particular! I +can't quite tell you why I was written." But most books are about something +in particular, and what that is you can best find out by reading them right +through; for many people miss their way in a book by beginning at the end +and travelling backwards, or beginning about the middle, and not knowing +whether to go backwards or forwards. So you see I want you to find out for +yourself the answer to question (_a_), only I will just say that the book +is mostly about your own dwelling-place. I do not mean your body, though +that is, in one sense, your dwelling-place; neither do I mean your own +home, nor even that part of England where you were born. By your own +dwelling-place I mean this wonderful world which you see all around you, +where God has made so much for you to see and enjoy; and learn about too, +that you may use and enjoy it better. + +[Illustration: GOOD-BYE TO THE SWALLOWS] + +So you will find in this book something about the firm ground upon which +you trod as soon as you were old enough to run about the fields and pick +the daisies. Something too about the blue sky, where the lark sings and the +swallows fly; and the great wide sea, where the fishes live; and a little +about what the Bible tells us of how all that you see around you came to +be; long, long ago, when everything was quite new and beautiful, and God +said that all that He had made was "very good." + +"Then it is a lesson-book?" I hear you say. + +Yes, in one way, and yet not quite all lessons, for you will find some +stories here too. + +And now I must answer the (_b_) question about these same stories, for I +want you to know, before you begin to read them, that they are all true, +and there is no pretending or making-up about them. + +Question (_c_), about the pictures, you can soon answer for yourself; so +now I have only the (_d_) question to answer, and I can only say for my +book, that I do not know whether or not you will care for it; but I do know +that the person who made it loves children, and very much likes teaching +them and talking to them. And that you may better understand that I know +something about children, I will explain that, though I am only talking +to you just now, I shall tell you in this book the very same things which +I told to some children who came every morning to do their lessons at my +house, three or four years ago--at least, I will write down for you all I +can remember of the talks these children and I had together, and I will +tell you the same true stories which I told them. I used to ask them to +give me their ears, and I must ask you to give me your eyes; for writing is +different from talking, is it not? You cannot look up in my face and ask me +questions as my children did; and when I ask you a question, I cannot hear +you answer, but am obliged to fancy what you would be likely to say. Still, +I think we shall be friends, and get to know each other a little, even by +means of this dumb-show talk, as I speak to you with my hand and you listen +to me with your eyes. + +And now I want to tell you about my children. It was a beautiful morning in +September when I opened the schoolroom door, and found them, all the seven, +sitting round the table, waiting to begin school again, for the long summer +holidays were over. I was afraid they would think it rather hard to sit +still and do lessons, especially when the sun was shining brightly and it +was as pleasant a day as could be out of doors; but as I looked at their +bright faces, I thought they did not seem as if they minded coming back to +school so very much after all. + +I wonder what you feel like, when the holidays are over and your little +work-a-day world begins again? Does it seem too bad to be true? or are you +just a tiny bit glad to have something that you really must do, instead +of all play and no work? Do you know--and you remember I told you I knew +children pretty well--I have actually met with girls, and boys too, who +have sometimes, especially on a very wet day in the holidays, found this +delightful having nothing to do all day long harder work than the most +difficult of their lessons? + +And now for the names of my children. You would like to know them, would +you not? for they are real boys and girls, not children in a story book. + +My eldest boy was Ernest, and he sat at the bottom of the table, opposite +the place where I always sat, and where someone had put a chair for me. +Next in age came Charlotte, Ernest's sister; and then Chrissie, the elder +brother of Eustace and Dick. I put Sharley and Chrissie together, because +they were both ten years old and did most of their lessons out of the same +books. Next came another little pair: May, Ernest's younger sister, and +Eustace. Last of all, the little ones: Ernest's youngest brother, Leslie, +and Chrissie's youngest brother, Dick. These little boys were only six +years old. + +Now that you know the ages of my children you will be able to tell whether +any of them were about your own age; perhaps you may be older than Chrissie +and Sharley, or even Ernest, who was nearly twelve, but I am quite sure +that if you are younger than any of my elder children, you will be able to +understand some of the lessons which we had from the Bible every morning. + +Before the holidays we had been reading in the New Testament, and had +finished the Acts of the Apostles; and it was settled that when they came +back to school we should read some of the Old Testament, and begin at the +beginning. The children remembered this, and were just going to open their +Bibles and find the first chapter of Genesis, when I said that I should +like to ask them one question before a word was read. + +I should like you, too, to think about it, and try to give an answer; for +my question-- + + Why is the Bible different from any other book? + +concerns you as well as the children of whom I asked it. + +They all said at once that the Bible is different from every other book in +the world because it is God's Book. Yes, that is the great difference; the +Bible is God's own Book, in which He has spoken to us His own words, and it +is the only Book in the world which tells us all the truth. + +How wonderful it is to think of this, that every child who can read, and +has a little Bible of his own, can learn what God has said! + +Will you try to remember when you open that beautiful Bible, which was +given you on your birthday, that there God is speaking--speaking to you +just as much as if you were the only person in the world? + +If you think of this it will make you very still and quiet, that you may +hear what He says to you. + +When we say that God has spoken to us, we mean that long ago He told those +holy men whom He allowed to write His Book exactly how He would have them +write. When you read in your Bible, you do not read what Moses and David +wrote out of their own minds. God gave them His words to write for Him, so +that we might know for certain, not what they thought God meant them to +say, but what He really did say. + +Do you understand this? + +Perhaps not quite; so I will tell you a story to make it plainer. + +I know a boy who is very fond of running errands, and a very useful boy +he is. If I give him a message he is off like a shot, and back again with +the answer almost before I know that he has gone. So willing and quick a +messenger is Willie, that it is a pleasure to send him anywhere. + +But there is just one thing that has sometimes hindered him from being a +really good messenger. Can you guess what it is? You will soon find out +if you remember that, besides being willing and quick, a messenger must +deliver the exact message entrusted to him. He must give it just as it was +given to him if he would deliver it faithfully. + +Now Willie prefers to give his messages in his own way, and so, although +he is willing and quick, he cannot always be relied on as a faithful +messenger. + +One day, when his mother said "Willie, run to the nursery and give Nurse a +message for me," the little boy hardly waited to hear what the message was, +but ran upstairs as fast as his feet could carry him. Very quickly back he +came and went on with his play--I think he was just then building a fine +house with wooden bricks. Now, as the message was an important one, his +mother wished to be quite sure that it had been correctly delivered; so +presently she said, "What did Willie say to Nurse?" + +"The right thing," said he, going on with his building, quite unconscious +that this was not enough for his mother, who must know exactly what Willie +had told Nurse, or go upstairs to see whether she was doing what she had +desired her to do. + +You understand now, I am sure, that we could not be quite certain that we +had God's message--and the Bible is a message or letter from God to us--we +could not be sure that we had it right, if we did not know that He had +given it to us in His own way and in His own words. + +So, then, our question is answered. The Bible is different from any other +book because it is God's Book, in which He speaks to us. Now I am going to +ask you one more question. + +If it is God who is speaking, and if He speaks to you, what must you do? + +You must listen, not only with your eyes, when you read the words, or with +your ears, when someone reads to you, but with your heart. + +Do you remember what we are told in the Bible about a child to whom God +once spoke? It was in the night that this boy heard God's voice calling +him by his own name--the name which his mother had given him when he was a +baby. Samuel had never heard the voice of God before, and he did not know +who was speaking to him in the quiet night. + +But he did what he was told to do by one who knew that God was calling +him, and the next time the voice came he answered, "Speak, for Thy servant +heareth." + +Then, when God spoke again, he listened to the message which God gave him +to give for Him. + +How near God was to this child! + +Yes, He was very near to Samuel as he slept; but He is as near to you, as +you lie in your own bed at home. He keeps you safely all through the dark +night: when you cannot even think about yourself He thinks about you and +cares for you; and He speaks to you by His Holy Word just as much as if He +called you by your own name. + +Do not forget that it is really true that when you take God's Book into +your hands, and open it, and listen with your heart, God is near you and +speaks to you, your own self. For this reason, when we read the Bible, +as the children said, "We must attend, or we shall not know what God has +said." + +And for another reason, too, we must attend: that is, because it is God who +is speaking. + +God's Word is the only thing in this world that is quite sure; but it is, +because it has come straight from Him, and He is the God of truth. + +God's Word can never pass away; for He has said that it endures for ever. + +God's Word can speak, even to a child, and can make that child "wise unto +salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus." + +For it is of Jesus, the Son of God, that God has spoken to us in His book. + +I think you will like this poem, which speaks of a time when the Bible was +not only a rare, but in most countries a forbidden book, bought in secret, +and read in fear by those to whom it became all the more precious because +it cost them so dear. We are told that at this time the actual cost of a +Bible was £30, and that the wages of a labouring man were only 1-1/2d. a +day; so that he would have to work fifteen years to pay for one copy of the +Word of God! + + +"THE VAUDOIS TEACHER. + + "'Oh, lady fair, these silks of mine + Are beautiful and rare; + The richest web of the Indian loom, + Which beauty's queen might wear. + And my pearls are pure as thine own fair neck, + With whose radiant light they vie; + I have brought them with me a weary way-- + Will my gentle lady buy?' + + "And the lady smiled on the worn old man + Through the dark and clustering curls + Which veiled her brow, as she bent to view + His silks and glittering pearls; + And she placed their price in the old man's hand, + And lightly turned away; + But she paused at the wanderer's earnest call-- + 'My gentle lady, stay!' + + "'Oh, lady fair, I have yet a gem + Which a purer lustre flings + Than the diamond flash of the jewelled crown + On the lofty brow of kings: + A wonderful pearl of exceeding price, + Whose virtue shall not decay; + Whose light shall be as a spell to thee, + And a blessing on thy way!' + + "The lady glanced at the mirroring steel, + Where her form of grace was seen, + Where her eye shone clear and her dark locks waved + Their clasping pearls between-- + 'Bring forth thy pearl of exceeding worth, + Thou traveller grey and old; + Then name the price of thy precious gem, + And my page shall count the gold.' + + "The cloud went off from the pilgrim's brow, + As a small and meagre book, + Unchased with gold or gem of cost, + Prom his folding robe he took; + 'Here, lady fair, is the pearl of price: + May it prove as such to thee; + Nay, keep thy gold; I ask it not, + For the Word of God is free.' + + "The hoary traveller went his way, + But the gift he left behind + Hath had its pure and perfect work + On that high-born maiden's mind; + And she hath turned from the pride of sin + To the lowliness of truth, + And given her human heart to God + In its beautiful hour of youth." + +J. G. WHITTIER + + + + +"IN THE BEGINNING": CREATION + + +"_Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and +the heavens are the works of Thine hands: they shall perish; but Thou +remainest._"--HEBREWS i. 10. + + +To-day let us talk a little about the very first words which God has +spoken to us in His Book. You would like to find them in your own Bible, I +daresay. + +"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." + +And we will find one other verse, because it is the first verse of a +chapter which also speaks of "the beginning." + +"Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?" (Prov. viii. +1). + +Now that we have read these verses; I must tell you that Ernest and Chris +and Charlotte and May used each to learn a verse for me every day, and say +them in turn; indeed, they usually said two verses, for I liked them always +to repeat along with the new verse the one they had said the day before, in +order that they might not forget it. I am glad to tell you that the verses +were generally learned so perfectly, and repeated so distinctly, that it +was quite a pleasure to hear them; for even little May knew that if we +repeat anything from God's Book we must be careful not to put in any words +of our own. If we did, we should be like Willie, giving the message in our +own way, should we not? Then, every one of God's words must be remembered, +and none left out; not even a little word like "and" or "the," which +perhaps would not very much matter if we were repeating merely what men had +said. + +Perhaps you may think this chapter about Wisdom was a difficult chapter for +my boys and girls to learn, and not so interesting as some of those which +you know. I will tell you the reason why I especially wished them to learn +it; but I will first ask you to find in the New Testament three verses +which also tell us of "the beginning"-- + +"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was +God. + +"The same was in the beginning with God. + +"All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that +was made" (John i. 1-3). + +The "Word" is one of the names of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a beautiful +and wonderful name. Suppose you have been playing with something that has +made your hands very dirty, and mother says, "Come to me, dear, and I will +make them clean." Through mother's words you know what is in her heart; you +know that she loves you, and wants you to be with her, and fit to be with +her. So it is through the Word, the One who was with God in the beginning, +the One by whom everything was made, that God has spoken to us so that we +may know His thoughts about sin, which made us unfit to be with Him, and +His feelings towards the men and women in the world, who are His creatures, +and yet have tried to find happiness away from Him. But it was because the +chapter, which my elder scholars were learning, speaks of the Lord Jesus by +another wonderful and beautiful name that I wished them to learn it. He is +called "Wisdom" not only in the Old Testament, where we are told in other +verses of the same chapter (Prov. viii.) that He was "from the beginning" +with God (vv. 22-31), but also in a letter which the apostle Paul wrote to +some clever people who lived in Greece long ago he speaks of Him as "the +power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. i. 24). + +I can remember that we had a good deal of talk after we had read the verse, +"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth"--those few words, +so quickly read, in which God has told us what the wisest man of all the +wise men who ever lived could not have found out for us; for God alone can +speak about what He did so very long ago, before the sun shone, or the +grass and the trees grew, or the birds sang in the branches, or lambs +played in the fields. + +Did you ever think, as you watched the great sun going down behind the +crimson clouds, that there was a day, long, long ago, when that sun, in all +its glory, set for the first time? + +I daresay you never thought of the beginning of the sun, or of the first +time that it set, but were just pleased to see the sky so red and glowing, +and sorry when the beautiful sunset colours faded and the clouds became +cold and grey. + +Or perhaps, as you have shaded your eyes from his noonday splendour, you +may have remembered that it was God in heaven who made that wonderful sun +to light up the sky, and that he has been shining down upon this earth ever +since; but did you ever stop to ask such a question as this-- + +How long has that great sun, which is now above my head, been shining in +the sky? Or, again, as he passed in glory out of sight, How many beautiful +sunsets have there been since he first began to "rule the day" and to rise +in the east and set in the west? + +Ah! so long a time that no thought of ours could measure it; so many +sunsets that we could never count them. All we can know about it is that +there was a time, long, long ago, when the sun first set and a time when he +rose upon the earth, which was then so beautiful--fresh from the hand of +God. + +This world of ours is a very old world, but there was a time when all was +new; not only the sun and moon, but all that you see around you had a +beginning--a birthday. There was a time when no such things were, and there +was a time when they began to be. Now it is about this beginning that I +want you to think a little. + +[Illustration: "HOW PLEASANT THE LIFE OF A BIRD MUST BE!"] + +As we open our eyes to-morrow morning and see the light come in at the +window, let us thank God that He has made His sun to shine upon us, to send +away the darkness and bring a new day. And as the light grows and grows, +and we lie awake and listen to the morning songs of the thrushes and +blackbirds and the chatter of the sparrows, do not let us forget that God +gave its own sweet note to every one of those warblers, and that the air +has been full of the songs of birds ever since the day, so long ago, when +the first little lark flew up, up, up into the blue sky and sang its first +song, so full of gladness. Then, as the pleasant sound of the lambs, +bleating after their mothers, comes to us from the fields, let us remember +there was a day when that sound, which you know so well, was heard for +the first time; and as we go for our walk and look around us at the green +fields and the trees with their leaves and blossoms, and then far away to +where the strong mountains lift their heads against the sky, let us say to +ourselves, "All these things, which seem as if they had been there always, +had a beginning; there was a time when there were none of them, and then +there came a time when they were there, for God had made them to be." + +While we were talking about this, the elder children and I, the little boys +were very quiet; but I was afraid it was all rather difficult for them, +so I asked Leslie and Dick to tell me what we mean when we speak of the +beginning of anything. + +I forget whether I got the answer from them or from one of the elder ones, +but I know I thought it a good answer when somebody said, "The beginning of +a thing is the first of it." + +Then we spoke about the beginning of the table at which we were sitting--I +suppose we chose that to talk about because it was so close to us--how it +was made of wood, and the wood was once a tree; and if it was an oak, that +giant tree must have been long, long ago only a tiny acorn in its pretty +green cup. Each of those children, too, as they sat round the table, had +had a beginning. Have you ever thought of this? There was a time, not so +very long ago, and yet you cannot remember it, when your life had not +begun. And then your birthday came, the first of all the birthdays; that +day when your dear father and mother thanked God for giving you to them to +love and take care of, and everyone at home was so glad because God had +sent a little child to the house; someone who had never been there before. + +Just think, you were that little child; only a tiny thing, but as you +opened your baby eyes to the light, and stretched out your little clasping +fingers, your first cry, and every movement of your little body, showed +that you were alive. Then, by-and-by, the nurse said, "Hush, baby is +asleep!" and everyone moved about softly, so as not to wake the little +creature, who had not been there yesterday, the baby whose life had just +begun, the little traveller who had just started on its journey through +time to the great eternity beyond. + +But you knew nothing about this; only your mother knew, as she watched you +in your sleep, that one more tiny vessel had been launched upon that stream +which flows on, on, till it meets the ocean which has no shore--the time +which never ends. + +I remember, a very long time ago, how fond I used to be of making boats. +Not far from where I lived a real ship was being built, and I used to watch +how it was made, and think that when I grew up I should like above all +things to be a shipwright, for I had heard someone say that was the name of +the man who was building this beautiful vessel. Of course, the boats which +my brother and I used to make were only toy boats--we generally made them +of paper--but however small they were, we were very particular to give each +of them at least three tall masts. Then, when it came to sailing them, +we had to be content with any water we could find, and generally these +three-masted vessels made very short voyages, from one side of a big tub to +the other; and though, by rocking the tub, we used to manage to make pretty +stormy weather for them, they generally reached the end of their voyage in +safety. It was quite another thing when we set our vessels afloat upon what +we thought a real river, like the Thames or the Severn; but it was only a +brown stream, which, ran along the bottom of a meadow, and was crossed, not +by a bridge, but by stepping-stones. Sometimes, on a lovely day in June, we +were allowed to go down to our river, and we used to sit for hours among +the flags which grew beside it, hidden by the tall reeds and the yellow +flowers, making little green boats out of the broad leaves of the flags, +while the sound of "Cuckoo, cuckoo" came from the orchard close by. + +When we had made as many boats as we could carry, each with a curly-whirly +bit of a leaf for its sail, we used to balance ourselves carefully on the +stones--for we knew that if we got wet we should not be allowed to go to +our river again--and launch our little fleet, one by one, on the brown +water, and then eagerly watch each green vessel upon its course. We wanted +them to sail across to the other side; but I need not tell you that the +river water was very far from being so calm as the water in the tub, and I +do not think many got safely over. + +One little boat would start off very straight, and then suddenly stop +because it had run against some hidden rock; the greater number, in spite +of all our efforts to steer them, would get into the current, and so be +carried down the stream out of our sight; while some at once turned on +their sides, got filled with water, and became dismal wrecks. + +I can remember well how happy we were in spite of all such disasters and +losses! + +But we should have been surprised indeed in those days if anyone had told +us, as we launched our boats, and watched them sail away from land--to +"America" or "India," or any of those far-away places where we used to +pretend they were going--that we were like those boats of ours. And yet it +would have been true, for we too had been launched; the voyage of life had +begun for us; and every birthday that came found us a little farther from +the place from whence we had started--a little nearer to the end of the +voyage, the place whither we were bound. Yes, in this sense you and I and +all the people in the world are voyagers on the stream of time. But this +voyage of our life--how long will it be? + +That is one of the things which no one can tell. God alone knows. + +In one sense the story of your life may be soon told; your little voyage +down the stream of time may be very short, and your boat may reach the +great ocean of eternity before many birthdays have come and gone. But in +another sense it is a story without an end; and this is what makes your +beginning such a great thing to think of. It is a beginning which has no +end; the part of you which is most really yourself, must live on always. +You can never stop living for one moment; for there is on board your little +boat a wonderful passenger. God has put into you a living soul, which can +never die. + +But how soon God may call that soul back to Himself, away from the body, +where it lives now, who can tell? + +I am just now thinking of some young voyagers whose passage from time to +eternity was indeed short, but the story is so sad that I could not tell +you about it if I did not remember what the Lord Jesus once said, when He +was teaching His disciples. He called a little child to Him, and began +to speak to them about such little children, and one of the things which +He said was this, "The Son of man is come to save that which was lost" +(Matt. xviii. 11). And again He said (you will find this verse in the same +chapter), "It is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one +of these little ones should perish." + +Since even the very little children have gone astray from God, so that the +Lord Jesus spoke of them as "lost" and "perishing," how could I tell you +this story, if the Lord from heaven, He who called Himself the "Son of man" +when He was here in this world, had not come to save that which was lost? + +This is the sad, true story: + +It was on a beautiful Monday morning, in the bright June weather, that the +scholars belonging to a large Sunday-school in Ireland were travelling with +their teachers and friends from the town where they lived to spend the day +at a lovely place by the seaside. How proud and happy they were, all these +boys and girls, as they marched through the town waving their flags and +singing, and how much they had to say about the grand time they were going +to have! You may be sure they liked a long holiday out of doors, with games +and races, and buns and oranges, as much as you do, and so they got into +the train in high glee. + +But that train never reached the lovely place at the seaside. Before it +had gone very far on its way there was a dreadful accident; some of the +carriages were crushed and broken, as if they had been matchboxes, and +many of those bright boys and girls were killed all in a moment--the short +voyage of their life was over; oh, how soon! By-and-by some doctors came +hurrying to the place where the ruined train lay, and began to look about +to find those who might not be dead, only hurt. It was a sad sight they +saw, and one they can never forget. While they were busy, giving help here +and there, someone noticed two little ones, sitting on the green bank, +beside the wreck of the train. A doctor went up to see if they were hurt. +No, they were picking the daisies which grew among the grass; they were too +young to understand what a dreadful thing had happened. + +"Were you in the train, my dears?" said the kind doctor. + +"Yes," said a little girl of six years old, "we were in the train, and she +was too," and she pointed to where another child lay quite still upon the +grass; not picking daisies--no, she could not speak or move, she was dead. + +Put your finger on your wrist, and keep very still for a moment. Listen. +You feel something, do you not? Something alive, and it goes beat, beat; +one, two, three, like the ticking of a watch. As long as you live, that +tick, tick will go on; but for this little girl it had stopped, because her +heart had ceased to beat. When the doctor put his hand upon her wrist, he +could feel nothing moving there. "She is quite dead," he said, as he took +her body up from the grass that it might be carried back to her home, the +home which she had left that morning, so happy and gay. + +At the Sunday-school these children had been taught about the "wondrous, +glorious Saviour," of whom you sometimes sing, and we may believe that the +spirit of this dear child, redeemed to God by the precious blood of Christ, +went straight from that wrecked train to spend its long for ever with the +One who had loved her and given Himself for her; and that God, who takes +care of the poor little body which was laid low in the grave with many a +sad tear, will raise it in glory, one day, when "death is swallowed up in +victory." + +But there were not only very little children in that wrecked train. We are +told of a boy who was terribly hurt, but lived an hour after the crash +came. As he lay by the wayside, a young girl with a pitiful heart came and +knelt beside him. + +"I will pray you up to heaven," she whispered. + +"I am going there!" said the dying boy; "Lord Jesus take me, I am ready." + +Of another his poor mother said-- + +"I asked him before he started--'Well, dear, have you committed yourself +to your heavenly Father?' 'Yes, mother, I have,' he said. So I gave him +my blessing and sent him off, and that was the last time I ever saw him +alive." + +These boys did not think as they left their homes that morning that they +would never return, but they had learned to know the Lord Jesus Christ as +their own Saviour, and so when danger and death came, they were ready to +leave this world and go to Him: their boats were not wrecked; they sailed +right into port. + +And now that we are coming to the end of our lesson for to-day, let us +"think back," and see if we can remember what it is all about, and then we +will mark the subjects (_a_), (_b_), (_c_), (_d_), to help us to keep them +in mind. + +The subjects were-- + +(_a_) That very far away time which God speaks of as "the beginning." + +(_b_) It is God alone who can tell us about this time. + +(_c_) God, who made all that has a beginning, Himself had no beginning. +This means that there never was a time, no matter how long ago, when God +was not. If you think back, back, even to the time when there was no sky, +no earth, no great ocean, you can never come to a time when there was no +God. + +(_d_) "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the +Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God." The "Word" is one of +the names of the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to this world that He might +show us how very much God His Father loves us, and who could say, "He that +hath seen Me hath seen the Father." + +For He who was once born a little child in this world and laid in the +manger at Bethlehem, and who grew up in the home of Joseph and Mary at +Nazareth, is the Same who was "in the beginning with God," for He "was +God." + +This is what God has told us about His great Eternity, when Time, with its +days and weeks and months and years, had not begun. + + +"TIME AND ETERNITY. + + "How long sometimes a day appears! + And weeks, how long are they! + Months move as slow as if the years + Would never pass away. + + "It seems a long, long time ago + That I was taught to read; + And since I was a babe, I know + 'Tis very long indeed. + + "Days, months, and years are passing by, + And soon will all be gone; + And day by day, as minutes fly, + Eternity comes on. + + "Days, months and years must have an end; + Eternity has none. + 'Twill always have as long to spend + As when it first begun. + + "Great God! no finite mind can tell + How much a thing can be: + I only pray that I may dwell + That long, long time _with Thee_." + +JANE TAYLOR. + + + + +RUIN AND DARKNESS. + + +"_Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word +of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do +appear._"--HEBREWS xi. 3. + +"_Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven, and in earth, in the +seas, and all deep places._"--PSALM cxxxv. 6. + + +There are three words which God has used to tell us about His work which we +call "The Creation." + +We read, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." + +"And God made two great lights." + +"And the Lord God formed man." + +"Created," "made," "formed," these are the words; and it is of the first of +them we shall speak a little to-day. + +Before my children came, I had been thinking how I could make it plain to +the little ones that there is a very great difference between being able +to create and being able to make anything. It happened that when they came +in they were all talking so fast, of something which had greatly delighted +them, that it was some time before I could find out what it was all about. +At last Sharley told me that as they were racing along with their hoops a +strange dog had followed them, and rubbed his nose against their hands, +wanting to make friends with them. + +"We are quite sure it is nobody's dog," she said; "or at any rate it is +a dog that has lost its master, and has no home now. So after lessons we +are going to call it, and get it to follow us home. It is waiting for us +outside the door this minute." + +"And I am going to make a kennel for it," said Ernest, who was very fond of +sawing and hammering away in the shed behind, the house, and wished to be +a carpenter, when he grew up; "at least, I am going to try, and I think I +can." + +I may as well tell you at once that this little stray dog soon got tired of +waiting, outside the door. When lessons were over, and the children went to +look, no doggie was to be found; and as they did not know his name it was +not easy to call him. I have no doubt he found his own master and his own +home again, and was much better off there than he would have been in the +best kennel Ernest could have made, with seven boys and girls to take him +for a walk every day. + +However that may be, I tell you of this dog because it was while Ernest was +talking about making a house for it that I was saying to myself, "I wonder +whether this plan of Ernest's about making a kennel will help them to +understand, what I so much want them to learn, about the difference which +there is between the words make and create." + +First of all I had to tell them not to talk any more just then, but to +repeat their verses. Then we read--more than once--for Leslie and Dick +would not have liked to miss their turn, and there were not enough verses +for each to read one--what God has told us in the first five verses of His +book. + +"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. + +"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face +of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. + +"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. + +"And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from +the darkness. + +"And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the +evening and the morning were the first day." + +When we had finished I asked Chrissie what it means when we read that "God +created the heaven and the earth." Why is the word "created" used? Would +any other word have done instead of that one? + +Chrissie said no other word would do, because to create means to make out +of nothing. He was right, was he not? + +The next question was, "Why is create a word which can never be used except +when we are speaking of God?" + +I don't know who answered, but someone gave the right reason--"Because only +God can make a thing be when there was nothing before it; nothing to make +it out of." + +This seems quite plain, does it not? But do you know there was once a boy, +who did not believe that he could not create things until he had tried to +make something out of nothing, and found that only nothing came. He was +quite sure he could create anything if he only told it to come; so at last +his teacher said, "You had better try." + +He was only a very little boy, so he thought he would try, and up he got +and stood as straight as he could on his chair, while he said with a loud +voice, "Fishes, be!" + +Perhaps it was a good thing that this boy should thus prove for himself +that it is only God who can create anything; only God of whom it could be +said, "He spake, and it was done." + +I did not tell this little story to the children, but I said to Leslie, +"You heard Ernest say just now that he was going to make a kennel for your +stray doggie; do you think he could make one?" Leslie thought perhaps he +might if he worked very hard; and then I asked them all whether, if he +worked very hard, day and night, for a long, long time, Ernest could create +a kennel? + +"No, indeed he could not. He never could, no matter how hard he worked." +Everybody was sure of this; for even little Dick quite understood that if +the cleverest and handiest boy in the world were told that he must make +a box, he could not even begin to make the commonest box unless he had +something given him to make it out of, and something too to make it with. +"He would need wood," they said, "and nails, and a hammer and saw; and if +it were to be a nice box, to last long, he would want paint, and a lock and +key, and hinges; and if he wished everyone to know that it was his own box, +he must mark it with his name when it was finished." + +Now I am sure you quite understand that this word "created," which you find +in the very first verse of your Bible, is a word which you must not forget +to notice whenever it is used, because it is a wonderful word, which can be +used only in speaking of God, the Creator, and of the Son of God, by whom +and for whom all the things that we can see, and all that we cannot see, +were created; and in whose power they stand together. + +Now I want you to read again very carefully the verses which we have read, +and to notice that we have only one verse to tell us what God did at the +beginning; this one verse explains that it was then that He created the +heaven and the earth. This is all that God has told us, and it is just what +we need to know; for how could we ever have found out by what means this +earth of ours came into being, at the very first, if God had not been +pleased to tell us that He created it? + +But what a happy thing it is just to listen to the account which God +Himself gives us, telling how the heaven and the earth came into being! + +One who simply receives God's word into his heart will understand more than +the cleverest man who ever lived, who tries by his own mind to search into +the beginning of things, and to account for all that we now see around us +by any other way. We read, "By faith we understand that the worlds were +framed by the word of God." Faith does not wait till it sees, but believes +what God says, because He says it. We may say that we cannot understand +what creation is, but we can find rest for our restless thoughts by saying +"Yes" to all that God has told us--and the very first line of His Book +explains all that we need to know about, how the heaven and the earth came +into being, when it tells us that God created them in the beginning. + +We read next, "And the earth was without form and void." We are not told in +the verse which follows anything more about the "heaven"; that means the +vast universe of which our earth is but a tiny part; but of the earth we +read two things which are very surprising, when we think of what it is like +now: + +"Without form and void"--what does that mean? + +After I had explained to the elder children that these words, which are +used to describe the earth, mean that it was waste and desolate and without +order, we looked for a verse in the New Testament which tells us that "God +is not the author of confusion" (1 Cor. xiv. 33); and then we spoke about +how we can be quite sure that the earth, which is part of God's creation, +was not in disorder, not a waste and desolate place in the beginning; and +we found in the Old Testament this other verse: + +"For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God Himself that formed +the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, +He formed it to be inhabited; I am the Lord; and there is none else" +(Isaiah xlv. 18). + +The reason why we found this verse was because I wanted to show Sharley and +Chris and Ernest that there the same word is used about the earth as in the +verse in Genesis of which we had just been speaking. The words "in vain" +are the same which were there translated "without form" by the people who +turned the Hebrew, in which most of the Old Testament was first written, +into English, that we might be able to read it. So you see how very +important words are, and learn that when God tells us in one part of His +Book that He created the earth not "without form," and in another part +that it was (or became) "without form," the state of the earth as it is +described in the second verse of the first chapter of Genesis was different +from its condition when God created it in the beginning. Between these two +verses, so close together in your Bible, ages upon ages may have run their +course; a distance of time may have passed so great that we cannot measure +it by any thoughts of ours. + +What happened between the time, which God calls "the beginning," the time +of the earth's creation, and that time when what He created had become +"waste and desolate," we do not know. What this earth was like, when God +first created it, we do not know. How the plants and animals, which now lie +buried deep beneath the ground upon which we tread, and shut up within the +rocks, lived and died, we do not know. How confusion and desolation came, +we do not know. And why do we not know? + +Because God has not told us. People have thought a great deal about it, and +they say that upon the earth itself may be read, as in a book, marks of +the many changes which it went through during that far, far away time; but +what we have to remember is that God does not tell us anything about it in +His Book; it is with the days and weeks and years of Time and the "from +everlasting to everlasting" of His great Eternity, about which He does +speak to us, that we have to do. + +God speaks to us, the inhabitants of the earth, of what it concerns us to +know--and the first thing we learn about this earth upon which we live is +that it was created by Him. + +The next thing that we learn is that the earth which He had "formed to be +inhabited" was "without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of +the deep." This was the state of the earth which God had created, when He +began the work of His wonderful "Days," and brought what had become a scene +of desolation into order and beauty, a place prepared for men to dwell in. + +And now there is one more verse to find, because it speaks about those SIX +DAYS in which God "made" (not "created") the heaven and the earth. "In six +days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is." +(Exodus xx. 11.) + +How wonderful it is, is it not? that God should tell us so much about His +work! He might have made everything in a moment, by one word, but He was +pleased to take all these "Days," and to tell us about the wonderful things +which he made upon each of them, and at the end of them all we read-- + +"And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold it was [not waste and +desolate any more, but] very good." + +I wish that I could look over your shoulder as you are reading, and ask you +whether there is anything you want to have explained. Ah, well! I cannot, +and, perhaps, if I could I should not explain to you nearly so well as +father or mother would. Only be sure you ask questions, if there is +anything you do not understand, that you may have it made plain to you. + +I once told my children about a little girl I knew, who very much wanted to +know things, but sometimes she went on ever so long without knowing, just +because she was too proud to ask; she could not bear for people to find +out that she did not know all that she thought a child of her age ought +to know. But children of any age cannot know things without being taught, +and so it came to pass that this child grew to be quite a big girl without +knowing how to tell the time. Once, when her mother said, "Run and tell +me what o'clock it is," Lucy ran off as quickly as if she knew all about +it, and then she stood at the foot of the stairs and looked at the clock, +and wondered why one hand was still and the other moved, and how grown-up +people knew what time it was by just looking at their watches for half a +minute. Before she had found out any of these puzzling things, all at once +Lucy heard her mother's voice calling, "Lucy, Lucy," and she ran back to +her in a great hurry. + +When asked why she had been so long, this poor, proud child made some +excuse. And then--I am ashamed to tell it, but it only shows what becomes +of pretending to know, instead of asking to be taught--she told her mother +what she guessed would be about the right time. + +Her mother never thought she had been deceiving her; but Lucy went back to +her play with a very heavy heart, and a miserable feeling of how naughty +she had been, and how God knew all about it; and this was not the last time +that the wish to be thought clever--so clever as not to need to be taught +like other children, but to be able to find things out for herself--brought +her into sad trouble. + +After having heard the story of Lucy and the clock, my children knew how +much I like them to ask questions, and were sure that I would answer them +if I could; and so Sharley asked me about something which she could not +understand. + +"When God created the heaven and the earth, did He create the angels too?" +she said. "Were there angels in the beginning?" + +Now the first part of Sharley's question I could not answer. I could only +say about it, "We do not know, because God has not told us." + +Remember always, that when God does tell you a thing you must believe it, +just because it is God who has said it; and it is only by believing what +God tells you that you can understand it. But when you are quite sure that +God has not told you about something which you would like to know, you must +never try to guess at it, or make up something about it out of your own +head. Our thoughts and fancies may seem very pretty, and please us very +much; but we are quite sure to be wrong when we try to peep at what God has +not shown us in the wonderful glass of His word. + +But there is an answer to the last part of Sharley's question, and she +found it in the Book of Job. When God was taking a great deal of pains to +teach Job not to think himself wise or good--really not to think of himself +at all--He asked him a great many questions which Job could not answer. +This was one of the questions: "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations +of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.... When the morning +stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job +xxxviii. 4-7). + +From this question, which the Lord asked Job, we know that at the world's +birthday, when its foundations were laid, angels were there, rejoicing in +God's works, though we do not know when these "sons of God" were created. + +Angels are happy, blessed creatures; they are God's messengers, who "excel +in strength and do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His +word." + +All we are told about angels is very beautiful. When the Lord Jesus was +born, you know it was an angel who brought to the shepherds of Bethlehem, +as they watched their flocks, the "good tidings of great joy," that to them +was born a Saviour, Christ the Lord. How glad he must have been to fly with +such a wonderful message! And how the "multitude of the heavenly host" must +have rejoiced as they praised God, saying, "Glory to God in the highest, +and on earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke ii. 14). + +It is beautiful to see that angels rejoiced at the world's birthday, and +also at the birth of Him who is the Saviour of the world. And there is "joy +in the presence of the angels of God"--the Lord Jesus Himself has told us +of this--whenever anyone is sorry for his sins and turns to Him. + +And there is another thing very beautiful to think of about the angels. +They are God's ministers, or servants, who do His pleasure in serving His +children here in this world; taking care of them, because they are so +precious to Him. + +I want you to find the verse which tells us about this "ministry of +angels," and then I will not ask you to look for any more references +to-day. It is at the end of a chapter in the epistle to the Hebrews. + +"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who +shall be heirs of salvation?" (Hebrews i. 14). + +Remember that in the Bible the word "minister" means servant, and so to +minister means to serve. And we must not forget that in the last book of +the Bible we read of a "new song;" which no angel can sing, for it is known +only by the great multitude of the redeemed; and though it will be sung +in heaven, it is learnt on earth. Angels may join in the mighty chorus of +praise to which every creature will add its voice--but it is those who have +been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ who will lead that song and +say, "Thou are worthy, for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed to God by Thy +blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." + +How much is told us in the first three verses of God's Book? We have read +that this earth, now so full of beauty, was once waste and desolate; there +was no life there, and no light--for "darkness was upon the face of the +deep." How long this state of ruin continued we do not know; but the next +thing we are told is very solemn and wonderful--"the Spirit of God moved +upon the face of the waters." Then, in the next verse we read, "and God +said." The Spirit of God and the word of God are spoken of together here, +where we read of His mighty working in the past in bringing the earth out +of ruin and darkness into light and life and beauty; and it is by His word +and His Spirit that the soul is turned from darkness to light, and is born +again--born of God--now. + +So that God has given us here a picture or type from which we can learn; +but I hope to tell you a little more about this another time. Just now I +should like you to look for a very beautiful verse (Deut. xxxii. 11) which +compares the care of God for His chosen People to that of the eagle for her +young; because the word there translated "fluttereth" is the same which +in the second verse of the Bible is translated "moved," as we read, "the +Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." + +It is that Holy Spirit who alone can explain to us the meaning of such +words, for it is written, "The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit +of God." + + "Songs of praise the angels sang, + Heaven with hallelujahs rang, + When Jehovah's work begun, + When He spake and it was done. + + "Songs of praise awoke the morn + When the Prince of Peace was born; + Songs of praise arose when He + Captive led captivity. + + "Heaven and earth must pass away, + Songs of praise shall crown that day; + God will make new heavens and earth; + Songs of praise shall hail their birth." + +J. MONTGOMERY. + + + + +THE FIRST DAY. + +LIGHT. + + +"_Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the +place thereof?_"--JOB xxxviii. 19. + +"_He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with +him._"--DANIEL ii, 22. + +"_God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our +hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face +of Jesus Christ._"--2 COR. iv, 6. + + +I want you to notice, in the beautiful verses which speak of "light," that +God does not at first tell us anything about Himself. He speaks to us of +what He did when in the beginning He created the heaven and the earth, and +of what He said at the time when the earth lay in darkness, buried beneath +the waters. In the midst of the silence and darkness a voice was heard, the +voice of God, "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." This +we read in the first page of God's Book; but it is very near its end that +God makes it known that the One who made the light, the One at whose word +light came from darkness, is Himself Light. It is His very Nature. + +"God is light." Now we learn from God's Word that there are two kinds of +light, and two kinds of darkness; let us talk a little about this. + +We can well understand one kind of darkness, because we can see it: and +we know it is caused by the absence of light. It grows dark when the sun, +which makes our day, has set to us, and the night has come to wrap us +round, as it were, in a curtain of shade that we may sleep quietly. It is +dark too, not only by night, but all the day long in the deep caverns where +the miner must carry his lamp to light up those dismal places where the sun +never shines. This darkness, like that which rested upon the face of the +deep before God spoke that word which brought the light, is caused by there +being no light, and as soon as the light comes the darkness goes. The other +kind of darkness we cannot see: it has to do, not with places, but with +people, and we read about it very often in the Bible. It is that dreadful +kind of darkness which has come through sin, and has settled down upon the +heart of every one of us. This darkness God sees, and He speaks about it in +His Word. + +We find it hard to believe that our hearts are all dark when God looks at +them; that He finds no love to Himself there; no bright spot anywhere; but +God, who is Light, as He looks straight down to the depths of those hearts, +and sees us through and through, has told us the truth about ourselves, as +He sees us. + +You do not like darkness better than light; the night better than the day, +do you? + +I remember how sorry I used to be when night came, and how fond I was of +saying to myself a verse I had learnt, as I lay awake in the early morning +and watched the dawning light-- + + "I saw the glorious sun arise + Far o'er yon mountain grey, + And as he rode upon the skies + The darkness went away; + And all around me was so bright + I wished it would be always light!" + +Yes, we naturally love the light which is so cheerful, and shows us so +plainly all the beautiful things around us. + +But that other kind of light which shines from God into our hearts, do we +like it? + +No; one sad thing that sin has done is to make us love the dark, because we +feel as though there we could hide away from God. We know quite well that +if God is looking at us He sees us right, just as we are, not as we like to +think we are, and this is why we try to forget that He is always looking +at us. I know a little boy, who had done something naughty, and had been +hiding it all day. No one saw Georgie go to the cupboard and take a piece +of sugar. He had eaten it, and had gone back to his play as if nothing had +happened, before his grandmother came back into the room. All day long +Georgie kept in the dark; a darkness which could not be seen ruled in +his heart--but it was a darkness that might be felt, and which made him +miserable. At last when bedtime came, and he had said good-night to his +grandmother, upstairs in his little room his aunt knelt down beside him and +began to pray. Presently something happened which showed that Georgie was +praying really himself, while Auntie said the words. He looked up for a +moment and said softly, "Tell God about that sugar." + +And then he went to bed, oh, so much happier than he had been all those +long hours before he had come into the light, and told the truth about what +only God and Georgie himself knew--nobody else in the world! + +But while I say this I think I am forgetting what we so often forget when +we do wrong. Satan knew about it, and he had tried all day long to keep +this little boy away in the dark, hiding from God, and to make him think it +was not worth while to tell the truth about such a little thing as a piece +of sugar. If any such thought as that comes into your heart when you have +done wrong, do not listen to it for one moment. Remember that the darkness +and the light are both alike to God. + +And now I want to tell you about another boy, older than Georgie, who was +made very unhappy by the thought that he could not get away anywhere to +hide from God. But why did Johnny want so much to hide from God? Had he +been very naughty? It was not because he had done anything very naughty +just then, but because something inside him--that voice that perhaps often +seems to speak deep down in your heart--spoke to him and made him afraid. +He did not like that God, who is Light, should come close to him. When +people saw him crying, and said kindly, "What is the matter, my boy?" poor +Johnny could only say, "God is looking at me." He had just this one thought +always with him--God was looking at him, and God could see what no one else +could, the real Johnny, and all the secret things which he could not bear +that anyone should know. + +But had God only just begun to look at this boy? No; all his life +long--more than twelve years, I think--the eye that never sleeps had been +watching him. Johnny had tried to hide himself behind his play and his +pleasures, and, as he grew older, behind his carelessness; but now he had +learnt that none of the things which may hide us from ourselves and from +others, can hide us from God. He could only feel that God was looking at +him, and in this way Johnny learned something of the meaning of the words +"God is light." That is what God has to teach us all, and it would be a +lesson too terrible for anyone to learn, if that were all God has been +pleased to tell us about Himself. But there is another part of God's +message to us, and it was when Johnny had learned it that he was not afraid +or unhappy any more. + +It was because God was looking for him that He allowed this boy to have +that dreadful feeling that there was someone, from whom he could not hide +away, who knew him perfectly. Johnny learnt this lesson, and then God +taught him not only that "God is light," but that he need not be afraid to +stand, just as he was, in the light which shows everything, because of this +other wonderful little verse which tells us that "God is love." + +And so at last Johnny learned to say to God what king David said--after he +had told God all the truth about what he had done, and God had forgiven +him--"Thou art my hiding-place." I have heard a very wonderful thing; but +I believe it is true. It is said of light that "it conceals more than it +reveals"; that there is no hiding-place like light, if it is only bright +enough; and the brighter the light is, the more impossible it is to find +what has been hidden there! + +I remember when I first saw the electric light; it was in the middle of the +night, as the boat on board which I had been crossing the sea which divides +Wales from Ireland, came in at the pier. All around, the whole scene was +lighted up; the dark water shone, and the people came on shore and looked +for their luggage, and took their places in the tram, no one thinking of +such a thing as a lamp, for all was clear as daylight. + +But this light, bright as it was, lighted only a very little space; as the +train moved off we left it behind us, and hurried on into the dark night. +How much more wonderful is the light of the sun which shines night and day, +always giving light to some part of the world! + +But sunlight, moonlight, and electric light, all these shine upon the +outside, upon what we can see. God, who is Light, shines upon what is +within, upon that heart which is by nature so dark that there is not one +bright spot there, so that if God did not shine into it no light could ever +come. + +Have you ever seen, when the moon has been shining over the sea, making a +long, broad pathway of brightness, a ship, as it sails along, suddenly come +into that bright track? It is a beautiful sight; just for one moment every +mast and sail all stand out with such distinctness that you say, "Oh, I can +see her now perfectly!" Then, while you look, she has crossed the shining +path, and you can but just trace her dim outline, and know that a ship is +sailing there. + +[Illustration: CROSSING THE SHINING PATH.] + +When the Lord Jesus Christ was in this world He said, "As long as I am in +the world, I am the light of the world." He showed people plainly that He +knew them in a way that no one else could. Some people were glad; one poor +woman, who had been in the dark all her life, went and told everyone about +Him, and said, "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did." +Others could not bear that that light should show them to themselves, so we +read that one day those who had been with Him, "went but one by one," until +they were all gone. Which would you rather be like--the people who went +away into the darkness, rather than be found out by the Light, or the one +who stayed, and heard those words she could never forget--"Neither do I +condemn thee; go and sin no more"? + +The only way not to be afraid of the light is to come to the Lord Jesus +Christ, who has said of every one that follows Him, that he shall not +"abide in darkness, but shall have the light of life." + +But hiding--hiding from God--only means getting deeper into the dark, +farther away from Him who is Light. + +Now that we have spoken of these solemn and important things--things which +I like to speak to you about, but which God alone, who loves you so much, +can really teach you:--I should like to tell you a little about the light +as we see it all around us. + +Now, what can we learn about it? + +First, we learn that it was called into existence by the voice of God. God +said, "Let there be light; and there was light" on the FIRST DAY, but it +was not until the FOURTH DAY that those great light-bearers--the sun and +the moon--were made lights to the earth, and set "for signs, and for +seasons, and for days and years." But the question, "What is light?" is not +one easily answered. + +We can all understand that light is that which makes everything visible, +but you will perhaps be surprised to hear that it has taken a very long +time even to find out how the light comes to us. + +It is now generally believed that light, which is one of the strongest +powers in the world, is caused by motion; and that it is because every +light-giving body is always moving very fast, that it gives out light. But +no one can explain how this rapid movement began, nor what that "ether" is +through which the "vibrations" travel until they reach a wonderful little +screen which we have at the back of each of our eyes, by means of which we +are able to see. + +We may think of the air around us as a vast ocean, through which waves +conveying light and sound are constantly travelling. When a sound-wave +strikes the ear, we hear; when a light-wave, moving like a water-wave, +reaches the eye, we see. Light comes chiefly from the sun: it is beautiful +to think, is it not?--of waves of light streaming always, day and night, +from that wonderful sun so far away, and coming, wave after wave, to paint +beautiful pictures on our eyes! For if you and I both look at the same +lovely view, we have each a picture of it--the mountains, and sea, and +green fields, and houses--all to ourselves; and so it would be if, not two +people, but two hundred were looking. One thing about light of which we are +quite sure is, that it travels very quickly. It makes its noiseless journey +all round this great earth eight times in one second--in less time than it +takes for my watch to give one tick; and it comes all the long, long way +from the sun to the earth in less than ten minutes. + +I spoke just now of the light painting pictures upon our eyes. Did you know +that if there were no light there would be no beautiful colours? Where the +sun shines very brightly, in those parts of the world called the tropics, +it is not only very hot, but travellers tell us that there the green of +the leaves is darker than we are accustomed to see it, and the colours of +the flowers and of the birds' feathers are more brilliant than in our own +country, where the sunlight is never so strong. + +Then, though the sunlight gives their lovely colours to the anemones and +seaweeds, as it shines into their homes in the shallow places near shore, +if you could go far down into the ocean depths, where the light can hardly +reach, you would find the colours of any creatures, or plants, or shells +that might be there soft and pure, but not brilliant. + +But how does the light make the colours? It seems only white, or perhaps +gold-coloured, in itself. + +This is what I should like to explain to you, for it is a very beautiful +lesson, and not difficult to learn. + +When I asked the children if they could tell me what we mean when we say +that a thing reflects the light, Chrissie said he had often seen the red +sunset reflected by the windows opposite, but he could not quite tell how +to explain it. + +We may read in books this explanation: "The reflection of light is the +turning back of its rays by the surface upon which they fall." And while we +read this we must remember that the surface or outside of everything has +some peculiarity about it, which affects the light as it falls upon it. + +The light of the sun is made up of seven colours, though God has so +perfectly blended them that we see only white light; but all these colours +may be traced in the seven-coloured arch, which is a token to men of His +mercy, and a sign that while the earth remains "seed-time and harvest, cold +and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease." + +The smallest portion of light which we can speak of is called a ray of +light. You have seen, when what you call a beam of light comes in at a +hole, before the shutters have been opened, how the little specks of +dust glance up and down in it, as if they were at an endless game of +puss-in-the-corner. But have you ever seen beautiful colours, like those of +the rainbow, dance about the room--now on the ceiling, now on the floor? + +You can best see this lovely little rainbow by darkening the room, and +letting just one ray of light stream in through a small hole. Then take +a bit of glass, cut so that it has at least three sides--a "drop" of cut +glass from the lustre on the mantelpiece will do--and hold it up between +you and the light. This little piece of glass, which is called a prism, +because it has been sawn or cut, will do a wonderful thing, as you turn +it about in the sunbeam. The ray of light, as it passes through the +three-cornered bit of glass, will be turned out of its straight path, and +this causes it to be split up into many colours, so that you will have a +tiny rainbow, which can be seen beautifully if you allow it to fall upon a +sheet of white paper; and the colours are always arranged in the same way. +Look! in the centre of your rainbow there are green and yellow; then comes +red, then blue, then violet. You can easily see these five colours; and two +more are counted; indigo, or dark blue, and orange. The only difficulty +about saying how many colours you can see is this. If you begin with the +violet, and count till you come to the red, you will find that the soft +hues are so blended, or run into each other, that it is not easy to see +where one ends and the other begins. + +I want you to make this little rainbow, not only because the colours which +it paints upon the ceiling are so pure and beautiful, and it is so curious +to see the bright band of red and blue and green dancing from place to +place as you turn your bit of glass, but because you can see in this way +how a ray of light spreads itself out when it passes through this glass +with three sides. The colours are separated from each other because no two +waves of light are of quite the same length; some move slowly and others +fast, and the faster a wave travels the more it is turned aside out of the +straight road. + +This is a difficult subject, but I think you will understand that if all +rays were alike, the whole beam would be bent; but as some are more easily +bent than others, as they pass through the prism they are spread out. + +Long ago, the great philosopher Newton bought a prism, and thus "analysed" +or broke up the sunbeam, and discovered what is called the "prismatic band" +of colours. He found that what seemed to be white light was made up of +tints really infinite in number; for though we count only seven prismatic +colours, they are shaded off, one into the other, as you see. + +Having thus broken up the beam of light, Newton, by means of two prisms, +put together again the rays which he had separated, and the sunbeam was +"white" as before. Perhaps you wonder why we do not always see coloured +light: the reason is that the waves of light, unless interfered with and +turned out of their straight path, all travel together in their rapid, +noiseless course, and so remain unbroken. + +You will find it very interesting to make the first of Newton's experiments +yourself, and some day perhaps you will hear what wonderful things about +the sun and the stars are being learnt in our own time by means of the +spectroscope, which is an instrument having a fine slit through which the +ray is passed before it is allowed to fall upon the prism. + +And now what do we mean when we talk of things being of different colours? +When we say of snow that it is white we mean that, as the light falls upon +the snow, it is all sent back again. The surface of the snow reflects all +the light, and keeps none. The other day, when I was buying some flowers +to plant in the garden, the woman who was selling them showed me a black +pansy. "I am sure you would like to have this root," she said, "black +pansies are so rare." + +[Illustration] + +I did not buy the flower, for I did not think it nearly so pretty as the +purple and yellow pansies, which seemed to look up at me with such knowing +little faces; but I was interested to see it, because (and are you not glad +that it is so?) black flowers are very rare. But why was this pansy black? +Ah! it was quite different from the snow; it kept all the light which fell +upon it, and gave away none. You see that God has given to some things the +power of absorbing light and to others that of reflecting it. If it were +not so, our world would be very different from the beautiful world which it +is--as different as an engraving is from a coloured picture, with fields, +gardens, sea and sky all of varied hue. Almost all the flowers are so +beautiful because, while they keep some of the colours from the light which +falls upon them, they do not keep all. + +Now look at the flowers in that glass upon the table. The lovely rose keeps +part of its ray of light, but gives us back the red; the larkspur gives +back the blue; and those pure white lilies, which show so fair beside the +roses, give back all the light in its bright whiteness just as it comes to +them, so that a poet, who loved them well, calls them "those flowers made +of light." + +And the water in the glass, why is it white? + +Because water is what is called transparent; it does not drink in the +light, but lets the whole ray pass through it, as it passes through the +window-pane. + +Now my lesson about colours is over, and I will tell you a story. I don't +know whether you have as good a memory as some of my children had, and +whether you remember my promise to explain to you about types. I daresay +you have heard this word used in more than one way, and a word which has +two meanings is rather a puzzle, is it not? I know how it used to set me +thinking, when I heard someone say of a new book that it was pleasant to +read, because of its good type; the word was not new to me, but I had heard +it used in quite another way, the way in which it is used when we say of +the serpent of brass lifted up by Moses in the wilderness, that the dying +people might look at it and live--that it was a type of the Lord Jesus +Christ lifted up upon the cross, as He Himself tells us it was. I daresay, +if I could ask you, you would tell me that "type" used in this sense means +a picture. That was what Chris and Sharley said, but it was because I +wanted the little ones as well as the elder ones to understand that meaning +of the word that I told them this story which a friend of mine once told +me, and which I am sure you will like to hear, + +We were saying just now how dark it would be in the deep mines, far +underground, where no daylight can come, if it were not for the lamp which +the miner carries with him wherever he goes. You may think you would rather +like to go down a mine, just for once, if you were quite sure of being +drawn up safely in the miners' cage, but I think you would not go down, +if you thought you would have to stay even a whole week in such a dismal +place. + +My story is about a boy who had never been anywhere else, for he was born +in a mine, and all his childhood, while other children were running about +in the fields, looking up at the sky and breathing the fresh air which +makes your cheeks so rosy, this little boy might turn his bright eyes this +way and that, but no trees and houses and gay gardens were to be seen, far +or near; for though he was five or six years old, no one had ever taken him +up to the top of the mine and let him see the sky, and pick the daisies, +and feel the warm sunshine. Poor boy, he was an orphan; both his parents +had died before he could remember, and he had no one to care for him in the +way in which your dear father and mother have always cared for you. At last +one of the miners thought what a sad life it was for a child to be always +down underground, and he began to take notice of the lonely little boy, +who had no father and mother to love him and be good to him, and in the +evenings, when his work was done, he coaxed the child to come on his knee, +and used to tell him stories about that wonderful world above ground which +he had never seen. + +Do you not think it must have been very difficult for the kind miner to +talk about the blue sky and the birds, and the grass and trees, and all the +beautiful sights which most children know so well, to a child who had never +seen any of them? It was indeed a difficult task, but you know there is an +old saying about difficulties which tells us that "love will find out the +way" to overcome them. The miner became very fond of his pet, and he found +out a way of making the things of which he spoke seem real to him. + +"He could show him pictures," you will say. That was what little May +thought, and it would have been a very good way; but remember that there +were no beautiful picture-books such as you have, down in the mine. How +then could the miner teach his little friend about things above ground? + +The only way in which he could do this was by means of things in the mine +which the boy knew well, and had been used to all his life. So he would +take his lamp, and talk to him about it, and show him how its tiny flame +lighted up the darkness, and then he would point upwards, and say that far +above ground there was a great lamp burning all day long, and giving light +to the people who lived in that upper world. + +Now you would say that a miner's lamp was a very poor picture of the +glorious sun; still, this child saw that in the under world, where he +lived, it made all the difference between light and darkness whether the +lamps were shining or not; so the lamp was like the sun, at least in that +respect, though it was so poor and dim, and such a tiny likeness of it. + +In the same way--when his kind friend made the little boy look at the pails +of water which were swung down into the mine, and explained to him that +above ground, in that new world which he had never seen, the water ran +along quickly in great streams called rivers, and that there was a great, +great world of water called the sea--though you might say that a pail of +water in a mine, water which would soon be used for the miners to drink or +for cooking their food, would give a very poor idea indeed of the mighty +ocean with its rolling waves, where the whales spout, and the ships sail +on their long voyages; still, poor as it was, that water in the pail was a +likeness, a type of the rivers and seas, was it not? + +The children were interested in this little boy, and they wanted to know +how long he lived in the mine, and what became of him afterwards; but this +I could not tell them, for I never heard any more about him. + +And now I want you not only to be interested in this story, but to remember +why I have told it to you. You understand now, I am sure, that a type is +a figure of something not present; of course, inferior to the thing it +represents, as the miner's lamp was inferior to the sun, or a man's shadow +on the wall is to the man himself, but giving a true idea to a certain +degree. + +The light given by the miner's lamp was bright when compared with that +given by one little candle in a cottage window, and yet that feeble ray, +quietly shining night after night, served to guide many a fisherman safely +past a dangerous rock, which juts out into the sea, on the coast of one of +the Orkney Isles. It was a young girl, the daughter of a fisherman, who +lighted that candle and kept it burning. Her father's boat had been wrecked +one wild dark night on "Lonely Rock," and his body washed ashore near his +cottage. The girl, in her grief, remembered other poor fishermen, and when +night came on she set a candle in the window, and watched it as she sat at +her spinning wheel. She did not do this once, or twice, but through long +years that coast was never without the light of her little candle, by which +the men at sea might be warned off the neighbourhood of the terrible rock. + +In order to pay for her candles, this lonely girl with a faithful heart +spun every night an extra quantity of yarn--for she earned her own living +by her spinning wheel--and so the tiny flame was kept alight, and she found +comfort in her sorrow by doing what she could, in her unselfish care, for +"those in peril on the sea." + +The meanest candle is a luminary in its way, for it possesses light, while +the most brilliant diamond has none in itself, and can give back only what +it receives. + +And now that our lesson about the FIRST DAY is finished, we must not forget +what we have been learning. + +God, the Creator, alone in creation, + +(_a_) "said, Let there be light: and there was light." (_b_) "saw the +light, that it was good." (_c_) "divided the light from the darkness." +(_d_) "called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night." + +"And the evening and the morning were the first day." + +The astronomer Proctor, in his beautiful book, _Flowers of the Sky_, says +that "light is the first of all that exists in the universe." And we are, +told that the action of light was necessary to prepare the way for all +life; but this is far too great a subject for us to speak of in this little +book. Let us remember that God saw the light, that it was good, and that +He made the division between light and darkness in nature which He uses as +a figure in the New Testament, where we read that the children of God are +called "children of light," and "not of the night nor of darkness"; and +where "goodness, and righteousness, and truth" are spoken of as "fruits of +the light," in contrast with "unfruitful works of darkness." + +In all that is around us in this world which God made, if we had eyes to +see, we should find pictures of the things which are unseen, but yet very +real; so in the Book which He has written, He has given us pictures. The +description in verse 2 of the waste empty earth, with darkness upon the +face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moving over the face of the waters, +is a picture of the condition of everyone born into this world. + +In verse 3 we have a picture of God as Light shining into the dark and +empty heart. + +In verse 4 we see that God separates good from evil. + +Now I want you to think of these things, and as we have been talking of the +words, + + God is Light, + God is Love, + +I am going to copy for you a hymn, which speaks of them very beautifully; +my children know it well, and often sing it. + + "God in mercy sent His Son + To a world by sin undone. + Jesus Christ was crucified; + _'Twas for sinners Jesus died_. + Oh! the glory of the grace, + Shining in the Saviour's face, + Telling sinners from above, + 'God is Light,' and 'God is Love.' + + "Sin and death no more shall reign, + Jesus died and lives again! + In the glory's highest height-- + See Him God's supreme delight. + Oh! the glory of the grace, + Shining in the Saviour's face, + Telling sinners from above, + 'God is Light,' and 'God is Love.' + + "All who on His name believe, + Everlasting life receive; + Lord of all is Jesus now, + Every knee to him must bow. + Oh! the glory of the grace, + Shining in the Saviour's face, + Telling sinners from above, + 'God is Light,' and 'God is Love.' + + "Christ the Lord will come again, + He who suffered once will reign; + Every tongue at last shall own, + 'Worthy is the Lamb' alone. + Oh! the glory of the grace, + Shining in the Saviour's face, + Telling sinners from above, + 'God is Light,' and 'God is Love.'" + +H. K. BURLINGHAM. + + + + +THE SECOND DAY. + +THE OCEAN OF AIR. + + +"_Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of +Him which is perfect in knowledge?... Hast thou with Him spread out the +sky?_"--JOB xxxvii. 16-18. + +"_When He prepared the heavens, I was there: when He set a compass upon +the face of the depth: when He established the clouds above: when He +strengthened the fountains of the deep._"--PROVERBS viii. 27, 28. + +"_Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out +heaven with the span?_"--ISAIAH xl. 12. + + +In reading these beautiful verses, let us remember that in the second of +them it is the Lord Jesus Christ who says of that time when God prepared +the heavens, "I was there." And now, as we are going to think about what +God did on the SECOND DAY of Creation, I want you not only very carefully +to read those verses in the first chapter of Genesis which tell us about it +(verses 6-9), but to keep your Bible open at the place, so that you may be +able to refer to them constantly. + +When we had read them together, my children noticed that in these verses we +find once more three words which are used to tell us about the work of God +upon the FIRST DAY. You see these words, do you not? + +"God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters." + +"God divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters +which were above the firmament." + +"God called the firmament Heaven." + +And there is one word which has not been used before: "And God made the +firmament." + +It is quite simple to see this, but I daresay you want to know, as all the +children--even the elder ones--did, the meaning of one very uncommon word +which we find in each of these verses. "What does 'firmament' mean?" they +said. + +I told them that the word conveys the idea of something firm and strong and +steadfast; and then I asked Sharley, who has a reference Bible, to look in +the margin, and tell me what word she could find there which might be used +instead of this uncommon one. She found, as you will find if there are +references in your Bible, that the word is there translated "expansion." +And what does that mean? + +You can understand something spread out wide, can you not? + +Those who turned the Hebrew word into English long ago thought +"firmament"--that which stands fast--was a better word than "expansion," +which simply means what is stretched or spread out--as the heaven is spread +above the earth "like a curtain." The expanse, then, which God made on the +SECOND DAY, is what we call, the sky, as we look up and see the + + "... tapestried tent + Of that marvellous curtain of blue and gold," + +which is high above our heads, and stretches away far, far as our eyes +can reach. And this tent, under whose shadow we dwell, is not firm and +solid, but is really a globe of vapour, which surrounds us everywhere, and +reaches, not all the way up to what we call the blue sky, but very much +higher than any bird could fly or balloon float--as high as forty or fifty +miles above the earth. God has fixed its height; if it were less, every +breath we take would hurt us; if it were much greater, we should be always +tired. + +But before we speak of this atmosphere, or globe of air, which surrounds +the earth, I want you to remember, as you read of the work of God on the +Six Days of creation, that each one of these Days led, in a beautiful +order, to the next, and that in all of them God was preparing the earth, +which He had created in the beginning, for the creatures which He had not +yet formed. For each kind of creature a place was found fit for it to live +in, whether that dwelling-place was the earth, or the great and wide sea, +or the boundless fields of air. And each creature, as it came from God's +hand, was fitted to live where God had placed it: for every living thing +the means of living was provided. Thus on the First of His Days God called +for the light. What would the face of all the world be without it? Then on +the SECOND DAY He not only provided the place in which the happy winged +creatures fly and utter their sweet songs, but that by which all living +things, whether they were plants or animals, should be kept alive. I am +sure you know that without air you could not breathe; but perhaps you have +never thought that without it no plant could live, not even the smallest +blade of grass. Every green thing lives by breathing the air, and if there +were no air which it could breathe, it would soon die. + +How freely God has given us this great blessing! His air is all around us, +as is His presence. When people wish to speak of what belongs to everyone +alike they sometimes say, "It's as free as the air you breathe"--this +wonderful air, which we cannot see, but which helps to make the sky so +blue, without which no fire could burn, no robin sing to its mate, no lamb +bleat after its mother, no merry voices of boys and girls at play be heard. +God has indeed made it free to us; but let us never forget that we are, as +His creatures, dependent upon Him for every breath we draw. + +Now while we speak of the way in which this world was created by God, and +fitted to become the dwelling-place of His creatures, we may remember how +the Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples, after He had told them that He would +be only a little while with them, about the place He was going to prepare +for them. This reminds me of a little incident which I should like to tell +you, because it is so beautiful to know that the Lord of glory, who was +allowed no place here, He who + + "Wandered as a homeless stranger, + In the world His hands had made," + +has indeed gone to prepare a place for those whom He has, by His death and +resurrection, made ready to dwell there. + +In a quiet market-town in the North of England an aged Christian had +invited a number of those of whom our Lord says, "whensoever ye will ye may +do them good," to take tea with him and his friends. After they had enjoyed +what loving hands had made ready, their host took out God's book, and +turning to the second verse of the fourteenth chapter of John's Gospel, +read it, and then said, "It comes to me in this way, dear friends: If our +Lord is preparing a place, He wants a prepared people." + +He then went on to say that we all need preparing, that is making ready, +to dwell in the place of which the Lord Jesus Christ spoke as "My Father's +house"--the place which was always His own home--and then he told once +again the story which you have so often heard-- + + "... the old, old story + Of Jesus and His love." + +The Lord often spoke to His own disciples about His Father. He said, "I +came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the +world, and go to the Father," and when He spoke of leaving them He said, +"If ye loved Me ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father." +But we know that those who had been with their Master for so long did not +rejoice when He spoke of going away: their hearts were filled with sorrow. + +When He said to them, "Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know," Thomas +replied; "Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the +way?" + +What did the Lord say? + +He said that He was Himself the way to the Father--"I am the way, and the +truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me." + +But if the Lord was going back to His Father's House--the place which was +always His home--He was not willing to go alone. He might have gone back at +any time, but if He would have those who could neither cleanse nor clothe +themselves, who were sinful and unfit for that Home of love and light, He +must go by the way of death, giving up His own life, that He might make +them ready to dwell with Him in His Father's house; so that when He said, +"I go to prepare a place for you," He, the Son of God, in His wonderful +love, was going to do that which alone could make anyone fit to enter +there, and be at home for evermore. + +But then we sometimes go on as if we were to live in this world for ever, +and do not come to Him who says, "I am the way." Or perhaps we think we can +make ourselves ready by trying to be good--forgetting that the One who is +Himself the Truth said, "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that +which was lost," and that if the Lord is preparing a place, He wants a +prepared people. + +But we were speaking about the way in which God, when He made this world in +which we live, prepared it for the creatures to whom He would give it to +be their dwelling-place; and especially of the globe of air with which He +has surrounded the earth--that wonderful ocean of air in which we live and +move, just as the fish live and move in their ocean of water. + +Let us see if we cannot learn something more about the atmosphere. But +first of all let me ask, What can you tell me about it? + +"You cannot see the air; you can feel it, and often hear it." + +Yes, indeed we can. How delightfully fresh it comes to us as we swing, or +when we are driving fast, or sailing; and how terrible its force is when +the stormy wind rushes past, driving everything before it! It is then we +can understand that the gentle air, which yields to the slightest touch, +may be a very mighty power indeed. + +And now I am going to tell you something about the air which may surprise +you. We often say of a thing that it is "as light as air"; but air is not +really light, it is so heavy that it would press upon us and crush us, just +as a great hammer might crush your little finger, only that this heavy +weight of air presses quite evenly everywhere all through our body, within +and without, upward as well as downward, and yields at once when we move, +so that we do not feel its weight. + +Just think of the weight of water which lies above a little fish as it +swims far down in the sea. Why is it not crushed by it? Just for the same +reason; the water is all round the fish, as the air in our ocean is all +round us; and it presses so evenly that it cannot be felt in any particular +part. + +Another very wonderful thing about the atmosphere is that what we call the +air is made up of two airs, or gases, as different as possible from each +other, but mixed so as to make exactly that particular sort of air which is +fit for us to breathe. + +One of these gases, named oxygen, might well be called "life-sustainer"; it +forms about one-fifth of the air we breathe, and is that part of it which +makes our fires burn and our lamps give light, and keeps us and all the +animals alive. The other gas is called nitrogen; it is a dull gas, with no +life in it, and remains behind when all the oxygen is taken out of the air. +But this part of the air is very useful; it prevents the breathing of men +and animals and the burning of fires and lamps, from going on too fast. If +you had only the life-sustaining part of the air to breathe, you would soon +die; and if the air was all made of that part which burns so well, one +spark falling upon it would be enough to burn up the whole world, for no +one could put the fire out. + +These two gases are mixed in nearly the same proportions in all climates +so as to make the beautiful pure air which God has given us to live and +go about in. There is another gas, called carbonic acid, made partly +of oxygen and partly of carbon, or burnt wood, which might be called +"life-destroyer," for it will put out light and make an end of life. It is +one of the most deadly poisons, and forms the "choke-damp" which too often +suffocates the miner; but what we call fresh air contains such a very +small proportion of this dangerous gas that it is harmless. Still we must +remember that every time anyone or any animal breathes, some of the air +by which we live is taken away from that which surrounds us, and some of +this poisonous air is thrown into it. If this is the case, should we not, +by degrees, find the air becoming less and less pure and fit for us to +breathe? + +Certainly it would be so, if God had not made a beautiful provision for +keeping the air fresh, which I will try to explain to you. + +You may remember that the Lord Jesus, after He had made the five barley +loaves and two small fishes prove enough for thousands of hungry men and +women and little children, turned to His disciples, and said, "Gather up +the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." So, in the world around +us, we may often see that God gives freely, but does not allow what He has +freely given to be lost or wasted. + +Now when you take a long breath, and breathe in the air, you presently +breathe it out again. But what you breathe out is not the same; the part +of it by which you live is gone, and a poisonous air has taken its place. +Then, if every person in the world, and even the smallest animal, is +constantly using up the good part of the air, and breathing out that which +has been spoilt for animals, and would kill them if they had nothing else +to breathe--why are not all animals poisoned? What becomes of this air +which has been spoilt for them? Is it good for anything? + +Ah! there is a wonderful, beautiful answer to these questions going on all +day long, surely and silently, unseen by any of us. + +This air which has been used by us, and is no longer fit for our use, +feeds the plants and trees, the grass, and all living things which are +not animals; the plants, through tiny mouths at the edge of their leaves, +breathe it in. They grow by it; and, wonder of wonders, all day long, if +only the plant is where the sun can shine upon it, every green bit of it +is busy making this same air fit for us to breathe again; using up what it +wants, and what we do not want; every fragment, as it were, being gathered +up, and nothing lost. + +I used to think, when I first learnt this beautiful lesson, that every part +of a plant was useful in purifying the air, and also that plants are always +busy at this purifying work, and so I liked to keep geraniums and fuchsias +in my room at night, for I thought that while I was asleep they would keep +the air fresh and sweet. But now I know--for as long as we live in this +world we can always be learning--that it is only in the daytime, when there +is light, that a plant can keep the air pure, by using up what we have +spoilt for our own use, and giving away what is good for us to breathe; and +also that, it is only the green part of it that has the power to take out +of the air the carbonic acid which we are constantly breathing into it, +using the carbon for its own food, and giving the oxygen back into the air +for our use; the parts which are not green, such as the roots and flowers, +breathe just as animals do, and spoil the air for us instead of making it +more fit for us to breathe. + +You never thought, did you, that you help to feed the trees, and to keep +them alive and green, and that the trees and grass in their turn help to +keep you alive? + +We were saying the other day how a ray of light will come through a little +round hole in the shutters when they are closed, or by any cranny through +which it can force its way. As long as that one ray is shining into the +darkened room you may watch the little grains of dust, like bright specks, +dancing up and down in it. But someone opens the shutters, the room becomes +all light, and you no longer see those tiny specks--and yet the dust is +still there, not only where you saw it, but all over the room. + +Why could you see the dust just where the ray of light shone, and nowhere +else? The light did not make the dusty specks, they were in the room +already, but it showed them to you. + +Just so there are many wonderful things going on around us in earth and sky +and sea--in what people call Nature--which we cannot see or hear or feel; +for God is always working mightily and graciously, unseen and unheard by +us, though He does allow us to know "parts of His ways," and to look with +wonder upon many more which we cannot understand. + +We are apt to think that all things continue as they were from the +beginning of the world: but in reality the earth is never at rest; it has +passed through many changes, and still the old story goes on; on the one +hand there is change and decay, and on the other that constant building up +and repair by which "the face of the earth" is "renewed." Nothing is lost; +nothing stands still; and things which seem to have no relation to one +another, yet depend upon each other and work together in ways more +wonderful than we could ever have imagined: each is a part of the great +whole, and you could not take away any portion without spoiling the rest. + +And now let us read again the 7th and 8th verses of our chapter. + +"And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the +firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. +And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were +the second day." + +What are the "waters which were above"? + +They are those beautiful clouds which seem to float in the ocean of air. I +am sure you have often wondered at their pure loveliness, as they sailed +over the sky, soft and white against the blue, as the foam upon the sea. +It was such clouds as these which two little boys saw once when they were +out driving. They were sitting close together in the back seat, and their +father heard them talking about the sky. + +"Look," said one of the children, "God lives in the blue." + +"No, Georgie," said his brother, "He lives in the white." + +They were both right, for God is everywhere. + +A little child of whom I have heard used to think, because she understood +that brightness and glory go together, that the stars were holes in the +floor of God's dwelling, to let the glory through. In the book of Job the +clouds are spoken of as "the treasure-house of the rain and snow," and +as the "bottles of heaven," and these names become full of meaning when +we know that the water, which falls from the clouds at every shower, is +constantly being drawn up again to fill them once more. This is done by +what is called evaporation, and very much of the water which rises to the +clouds comes from the sea, along shore, as well as from rivers and lakes. +Have you seen a pond dry up in summer? No? Then perhaps you have looked +into the ink bottle when all the ink had gone, and only some dry black dust +was left in it. What has happened? All the water in the ink has flown away; +the heat has turned it into vapour, which is lighter than air, and so it +has risen up through the air to form part of those snowy clouds which you +love to watch, when the light of the setting sun turns them to crimson and +gold. This change of water into vapour is one of the beautiful things which +we cannot often see, but which is always going on. The rain from heaven +falls upon the thirsty land, making it bring forth and bud, that there may +be bread for us, and food for every living thing; and then, when its work +is done, all that is not wanted goes back again, and is stored up in the +treasure-house of the clouds--nothing is lost. + +I remember when we were speaking of this, I asked my children what the +earth would be like if all the rain that fell remained upon it. Chrissie +was the only one who had an answer ready; he said it would soon be a swamp, +and nothing could grow well, and no one could live. We can all understand +that if there were no rain to "satisfy the desolate ground," the earth +would soon be a parched desert; but it is just as true that, while the +rain is such a blessing, if God had not provided for its returning to the +clouds, the earth would indeed become a desolate waste of water. I must +tell you that little Dick was very much interested about this, and he +remembered that he had seen, in a place where the sun was shining, the +water going back from the earth to the clouds. "It went up in streaks," he +said, "and I saw it quite plainly." + +Generally we look up at the clouds, but I remember once looking down and +seeing them below me. I had climbed a high mountain, and just when I got to +the top it happened that the peak was quite clear, but around it, a little +lower down, a wreath of white cloud was floating. Every now and then, +through a rift in the cloud, I could see the beautiful valley below, with +its smiling fields and winding river, and far away there was the sea, with +hundreds of green islands; all this I saw for a moment, as if through a +soft thin veil, and then the cloud closed again, and shut out the view. +I can quite understand travellers saying how lovely it is when they sail +through the air in balloons, to get up into a clear still height, and see +the "plains of clouds" below them. But there is one thing which makes +voyages in balloons dangerous. The higher people go, the more thin and +difficult to breathe the air becomes. One celebrated traveller, when he +had got as high as seven miles in his balloon, lost his senses, and his +companion was nearly frozen to death by the piercing cold. This traveller +tells us that about six or seven miles above the earth no sound can reach +the ear to break the perfect stillness and silence. This is because the +air at this height is so thin. On the top of Mont Blanc a pistol-shot can +scarcely be heard even though it is fired quite close; but if the same +pistol were to be fired off in the next field you would hear it, and put +your hand to your ears because the report was so loud. + +But what makes the report? The pistol was fired into the air, and hit +nothing. + +It was the air which was struck, and which sent back the sound. You +remember learning how light is turned back or reflected. Just as the +light-waves come back again, so do the sound-waves; very quickly if the +reflecting surface is near; after some time if it is far off. You know what +an echo is. There is a lovely place where some children I know used often +to go for a picnic. What they cared for most in Coombe Dingle was a wood +which they called the "Echo wood." They would stand beside a gate, and call +across the fields, and then listen. Very soon their own words, and even +their own tones, were sent back to them. The waves of air carried the +sounds along until they reached a pine wood which shut in the field. They +struck the tall trees, and were reflected, or sent back again, almost as +clearly as when first spoken. + +Just in this way echoes of sound are, like birds, ever on the wing: the +whole air is alive with them. The walls of our rooms give back the tones +of our voices, but we hear no echo, because they are so near that the +repeating of the sound comes almost at the same moment as the sound itself. +There are echoes on all sides of us, and no sound is ever lost. How can +this be? + +If you stand beside a quiet pool, and drop a stone into it, the stone sinks +down to the bottom and lies there; but from the spot where its fall broke +the calm surface, ring after ring ripples the water. Just so a single word +dropped from the lips of a child into the ocean of air is carried on, wave +after wave; so that, as a great philosopher once said, "the air is one vast +library, on whose pages is for ever written all that man has ever said or +even whispered." + +[Illustration: THE "ECHO WOOD"] + +There is a poem which you may know, that begins with this line-- + + "Kind words can never die." + +This is quite true; but we might alter the first part of it a little, and +say, "No word can ever die." Not only the soft, loving words, but the +rough, angry ones, which we may well wish we had never spoken, all live in +this "vast library," and tell their own story. + +How much it ought to make us think about our words, to know they can never +be lost! + + +THE RED, RED SKY. + + "In the early, early morning, beyond the islands green, + Beyond the pines and palm trees, and the purple sea between, + Like the glow through a crimson window the morning rises slow, + And the isles lie dun in the glory, and the sea is all aglow. + + "In the dim and misty evening the purple mountains stand, + And the glooms that hush the woodlands lie over all the land, + And high in dark blue heavens the red light bums and glows. + Like the Jasper of God's city, like the deep heart of the rose. + + "Oh, why does morning dawn, and why ends the golden day, + With the crimson glow and glory, while the children kneel and pray? + Is it thus that God would tell me before the day begins + Of the morn of the Day of pardon, the Blood that has washed my sins? + + "The morn of the day of gladness, the day of His love and grace, + When like the sun in his glory, the Lord unveiled His face, + And His love shone forth in beauty where all was dark before, + For the Blood had been shed which saved me, once and for evermore. + + "Is it thus that God would tell me the evening draweth nigh, + When we pass beyond the mountains, beyond the purple sky? + And then, in God's great glory, the golden gates I see, + And sing, 'The Blood of Jesus has opened them for me!'" + +FRANCES BEVAN + +Taken, by permission, from _Hymns by Ter Steegen and Others_. Second +series. + + + + +THE THIRD DAY. + +THE WORLD OF WATER. + + +"_The sea is His, and He made it._"--PSALM xcv. 5. + +"_Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand?_"--ISAIAH xl. 12. + +"_Who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters._"--PSALM civ. 3. + +"_He hath compassed the waters with bounds._"--JOB xxvi. 10. + + +We have been learning something about the wonderful world of air, in which +we live and move about. To-day we shall think a little of that vast world +of water which is the home of so many of God's creatures. I daresay you +know a pretty song about the ocean, beginning in this way (it is meant to +be sung by a sailor): + + "The sea! the sea! the open sea! + The blue, the fresh, the ever free! + Without a mark, without a bound, + It runneth the earth's wide regions round; + It plays with the clouds, it mocks the skies; + Or like a cradled creature lies." + +The philosophers say that if our earth were quiet and at rest, instead of +being the never-resting traveller that it is, the great mass of water would +surround it everywhere, just as the atmosphere does. We cannot imagine such +a thing, but we can see many ways in which the two great oceans are alike. + +Both have their waves. Though we cannot see those in the world of air, we +can hear them, as you know. + +Both are colourless in themselves, yet blue in their heights and depths. +Both are made of two airs or gases, beautifully combined. + +At first sight we might say that this is almost too strange a tale to be +a true one; for few things seem more unlike than air and water. You will +think it stranger still when I tell you that one of the gases which goes +to form water is that same oxygen which gives life to the air we breathe, +and which will burn so fast if only a tiny spark comes in contact with it; +while the other is the gas called hydrogen, the "water-maker," which also +burns. And yet these two fiery gases make the water which the brave firemen +pump in streams upon a burning house to put out the flames. How wonderful +this is! If you were to mix them together as carefully as you could, using +exactly the same proportion of each as is found in water, you would make +something very dangerous, which might blow up with a terrible noise like +gunpowder. It is only when they are "combined," which means very closely +joined together, that they form water. + +Perhaps this is rather hard to understand; but we have been taking only a +very little peep into that page of what is called the Book of Nature, which +tells to those who will take the trouble to read it something about the +chemistry of things--not so much how they are made, for that is a lesson +too great for us, but what goes to the making of them. + +And now we are going to read the verses in our chapter which tell us of the +time when, at the word of God, "the sea and the dry land" were made. + +"And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto +one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the +dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas: +and God saw that it was good." + +Once more you have read these words, "God said," "God called," "God saw." +They are quickly read. But who shall say how wonderful is that of which +they speak? God has been pleased in these few words to tell us what no +one could ever have found out about the birthday of that mighty world of +waters, when it was gathered together unto the place which He had prepared +for it, and received its name from Him. + +I wonder whether you have ever seen the sea. If you have, you know it and +love it so well that there is no need for me to try to describe it to you. +If you have not, if your home has always been in the country among the +quiet fields, far away from the sound of the waves as they break upon the +strand; or if you have lived all your life in the town, where the streets +are full of noise and bustle, and busy folk hurrying to and fro--then I +think it would be almost as difficult for me to give you an idea of what +the boundless ocean is like, as it was for the kind miner to make his +little friend understand all about seas and lakes and rivers, as he talked +to him over that poor little pail of water, deep down in the dark mine. + +Ah! you must see the great ocean-world for yourself; you must sail over the +crests of the waves, and learn to swim and dive. If you have never yet been +to the seaside, there is indeed a treat in store for you some day, and I +should like to be with you when that day comes, and catch a sight of your +face, so full of wonder and pleasure. I remember hearing of a little "city +sparrow" of a boy who was taken with a great many town children to spend a +long summer's day by the seaside. When he first came in sight of the bay, +with its bright, dancing waters, and saw the tide rolling in, wave after +wave, upon the yellow sands, he gave one long, satisfied look, and then +said, "How nice it is to see plenty of anything!" + +Poor child, these words of his told their own touching tale; he had never, +in his parents' home, known what plenty was, and so his first thought about +the "great and wide sea" which God had made, was that there was enough of +it and to spare--no stint there, at any rate. To another little boy, the +first sight of the sea brought this thought, "How great God, who made it, +must be!" + +It is delightful to live, as I did when a child, within sight and sound +of the sea; but I suppose it is only those who really live upon the world +of waters, sailing away in a swift ship, day after day, for thousands +of watery miles, and seeing nothing but the two oceans, "the blue above +and the blue below," as that same sailor-song says, who can really know +anything of its vastness. How strange it must seem, to be neither a fish +nor a bird, and yet to live as it were between sea and sky; each morning +finding yourself farther away from land, each night lying down to be +"rocked in the cradle of the deep," and to hear the wash of the waves +as the boat cuts her way through them, and the sighing of the wind, not +through the trees on the lawn, but among the sails and ropes of your +floating home! + +I have sometimes thought that the sight of "water, water everywhere," +during a voyage of three months, must make one more ready to believe what +we are told by those who have done what they can in the way of weighing +and measuring--that upon our globe "water is the rule, and dry land the +exception"; and also that, although we read in geography books about the +five great oceans, yet the ocean is really one, for it "embraces the whole +earth with an uninterrupted wave." As we think of this wonderful wave which +thus girdles the earth about, constantly breaking against the shore, yet +always flowing back again, at its appointed time, into its own place, we +may well remember that THIRD DAY of Creation, when "God spake, and it +was done; He commanded, and it stood fast"; when "He gave to the sea His +decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment." + +In a Psalm which has been called the "Psalm of Creation," because it speaks +of the greatness and glory of God, and of how the Lord shall rejoice in +His works, we find a description of what happened at this time. There is a +beautiful verse which speaks of God covering the earth "with the deep as +with a garment"; and of a time when it was so covered and hidden that "the +waters stood above the mountains." + +[Illustration: "WHEN SPRING-TIDES ARE LOW"] + +And then we read how, at God's word, that waste of waters went into the +place prepared for it, and the dry land appeared. "At Thy rebuke they fled; +at the voice of Thy thunder they hasted away. The mountains ascend, the +valleys descend, unto the place which Thou hast founded for them" (you will +find the verse reads like this in the margin of your Bible). "Thou hast set +a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the +earth" (Psalm civ. 7-9). I was very young when I learnt this long Psalm; +and though I understood very little of it, and certainly did not know +that these verses spoke about what we have been reading of in the Book +of Genesis, I was very fond of repeating it, and I especially liked the +part which describes the "great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping +innumerable, both small and great beasts. There go the ships: there is +that leviathan, whom Thou hast made to play therein." Of course I need not +tell you that I did not know what the leviathan was; but I liked the name +because it was such a long, difficult word, and I have known other children +who were particularly fond of strange and hard names. As we grow older we +learn many things; and so--for I told you my home was by the sea--I got, in +time, to know the meaning of a very difficult verse; that one which speaks +of the "bound" which God has set, beyond which the sea with its proud waves +"may not pass." When the tide was coming in I used to watch the long blue +waves with their foamy crests coming nearer and nearer, and when I heard +them break with a loud noise against the strong rocks I was quite sure that +those stern barriers were the "bound" which kept them back, and would not +allow them to come any further. + +But by-and-by I went to a place where the shore was quite different. There +were no rocky cliffs, like giants, guarding the land; only a long reach of +soft white sand, with which I was never tired of playing--making forts with +moats round them to keep off the enemy; or gardens with straight paths, and +trim beds in which I planted sea-daisies and poppies. + +It seemed as if there was nothing about this shore strong enough to keep +back the great waves. They rolled in upon the sand with an angry roar when +the wind was high, and swept away my castles and gardens in no time. Still, +even here there was a bound, for the sea did not overflow the land; and so +I learnt that those waves, which threaten to overwhelm everything in their +resistless march, are kept in their place by God, who alone can say to the +restless ocean, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall +thy proud waves be stayed." + +As the poet George Herbert has beautifully said, + + "Tempests are calm to Thee; they know Thy hand, + And hold it fast as children do their father's, + Which cry and follow, Thou hast made poor sand + Bound the proud sea, even when it swells and gathers." + +I do not mean that the waves, as they rush like an invading army upon the +land, have no effect upon it. Look at the Map of England, and see how the +outline of the coast on the east and south has been jagged and broken. Or +go and see the Needles in the Isle of Wight, and you will learn how the +constant dash of the ocean can hollow out not only caves, but deep coves +and spreading bays, especially when the land against which it breaks is +made of chalk, or some of the softer rocks. Thus in the course of long +centuries, the seashore may rise or sink; peninsulas may become islands +by the narrow neck which united them to the mainland sinking into the +water--but whatever the land loses in one place, it gains in another, by +the quantity of sand and mud cast up by the waves. Many changes are caused +by the restless sea, but yet, even in its wildest moods, it owns the +curbing hand of its Maker; it may ebb and flow, but still keeps in its +appointed place. + +This ebbing and flowing, which is caused by the coming in and going out +of the tides, was a great puzzle to me long ago. I used often to hear the +fishermen say at what hour it would be "full tide"; but I saw no mark which +could help them to fix the time, and wondered, when I found their words +came true, how they could know so surely. When I was older I learnt, what +is very interesting, that the gradual rising of the ocean, which is called +the "flow," and the gradual going back again of the water, which is called +the "ebb," do not happen at any chance time, for nothing is by chance in +God's creation, but at regular intervals, and in obedience to one of those +wonderful rules made by God, which people call the "laws of nature"--rules +which never change as the rules which men make so often do. And so we +notice that for about six hours from the time when the tide begins to rise, +the sea gains upon the land, either stealing on, step by step, over the +pebbly beach, and creeping tip the mouths of the rivers, or, when the winds +are abroad, rushing over the sand, and dashing against the rocks, as if it +would sweep all before it. No power upon earth can stop that steady onward +march of wave upon wave, until the unseen boundary is reached. Then we say, +"It is full tide." The mighty ocean seems to pause for a few minutes, then +some old fisherman, who has known that shore all his life, says, "The tide +has turned"; and for six hours the gradual fall goes on. At last the lowest +point of the "ebb" is reached--a few minutes' rest, and then the "flow" +begins again. + +To those who have seen it all their lives there is nothing strange about +this, but when some brave Roman soldiers, who were accustomed to conquer +wherever they came, saw for the first time this ebb and flow of the tide, +they were more frightened than they would have been if they had seen an +army of savage men with spears and clubs rushing upon them with their +fierce war-cry. They were in the presence of a power which they could not +understand, and in terror they besought their general to lead them against +foes whom they could face, or to take them back to their own land! + +By-and-by you will be interested in learning more about the tides, but I +will only tell you now that they are caused by the sun and moon. Two pair +of waves travel round the earth every day, the greater pair obedient to the +moon, which, because she is so much nearer to us, has a greater power of +drawing the water to herself than the sun has; the lesser pair obedient, in +like manner, to the attraction of the sun. This is all that I can tell you +now about a very difficult subject, and it is more than I told Chrissie or +Ernest when we were talking about the sea; but then you know we had not +much time for matters hard to be explained. One thing which I think we did +talk about was the depth of the sea, and I know there were some differences +of opinion about this as well as about its colour. + +First of all, then, How deep is the "deep, deep sea"? + +Actually, in some places, five miles deep, about the height of the loftiest +of mountain-peaks. I have heard that these far-away ocean-depths are very +quiet and still--no rolling waves ever break their stillness, and this is +proved in a very beautiful way. At the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, where +overhead great billows which seem mountain-high are in ceaseless motion, +there lie beds of delicate shells, so small that you need a microscope to +see their beauty, yet these shells are unbroken; no storm ever reaches +their quiet home; they are among the lovely things which the ocean hides in +its "treasure-caves," and they only come to light when the long line with a +clip at the end, which is used for deep-sea soundings, brings them to the +surface from those + + "Sand-strewn caverns, cool and deep, + Where the winds are all asleep; + Where the spent lights quiver and gleam, + Where the salt weed sways in the stream." + +These delicately "chambered" shells were once the homes of creatures which +lived in the sunless depths of the ocean, for though it is totally dark at +the bottom of the deep, deep sea, life is now known to exist at all depths +below the surface of the ocean; on the ocean-floor starfishes and their +relations abound, and some of those brought from a great depth are very +beautiful indeed--telling to those who have eyes to see, the same tale as +the little fern buried in the coal--that it is the glory of every created +thing to show forth something of its Creator, even in hidden places where +no human eye can trace its loveliness. + +I am sure when we speak of the treasures of the sea, you are thinking of +places where pearls lie deep, hidden in the shell of the oyster--but I did +not know until lately that not only iron and copper, but also gold and +silver, are found in sea water. + +And now what can we say of the colour of the sea? I used to think that +it was always a clear green, but that was because the sea which I knew +appeared to be that colour, for I had seen it only near the shore, where +the bottom was fine white sand, and the sunset light made the water shine +like an emerald. And so the sea was green to me, and I was often puzzled +and vexed to find that I could never catch this beautiful green water; +for you know that if you dip your bucket where the sea looks greenest +or bluest, all the lovely colour will seem to be left behind, and your +bucket-full will look as colourless as water drawn from a well. Where the +sea is dark blue, you may be sure that it is deep where it looks gold and +purple, the sun has tinged it with the glory of his rising and setting; +where it is grey and sad, it takes its sorrowful hue from the rain-clouds +overhead. These are some of the reasons why the sea is of such different +colours, but the water is sometimes coloured, to some extent, by myriads of +living things which give it a reddish tinge; in the cold Northern Ocean, +where the icebergs are, travellers tell us the sea is green because there +its tiny inhabitants are green; while those who have sailed in the South +American waters tell of countless swarms of minute creatures which make +them glow like fire on a dark night, lighting up the crest of every wave as +it rolls past the ship. + +The sea is also coloured by those beautiful plants which we often call by +one common name--seaweeds, but which are almost as varied in their way as +the land plants are. + +Columbus, when sailing sadly through unknown seas in search of the New +World of which he had dreamed so long, came upon water so covered with long +green weeds that it seemed like a floating meadow, while his vessels could +hardly make their way through the grassy tangles of what is now known as +the Gulf-weed. + +I have seen the sea off the coast of Ireland green for miles, with long, +ribbon-like plants covering its sandy bottom, sheltering, and perhaps +helping to feed, the millions of crawling and running and swimming +creatures, many of them so small as to be nearly invisible, which find +their home there. This sea-grass, or Zostera, the only flowering plant to +be found in the sea, is very useful to the poor people who live near the +coast. They gather it when the tide is low, and dry it in the sun, and it +serves them for nice soft beds; though I should think they must always keep +a briny, fishy smell about them. + +[Illustration: "O'ER BANKS OF BRIGHT SEAWEED, THE EBB-TIDE LEAVES DRY."] + +The Irish fisher-folk also gather the common brown seaweed with pods, which +are really air-bladders, and serve to keep it afloat. I have many a time +watched the women and children wading among the pools, cutting it from the +rocks with sickles, and putting it into baskets, which they carry home +on their backs; for this precious harvest of the sea is what they depend +upon to make their potatoes grow well and yield a plentiful crop. There is +another kind of seaweed, of a pretty purple colour, which they eat, and +call it by an Irish name which means "leaf of the water." + +But it is far away in the watery valleys of the great Pacific, where the +sea is very calm, that the ocean forests grow. I have read that there giant +leaves of the sea grow upon stems longer than those of our tallest trees, +and spread abroad like waving palms. Though you are not likely ever to +see such seaweeds as these, you will find, wherever you may be, though +much more abundantly on some shores than others, some of those beautiful +"weeds"--green, red, or brown--which have their use as well as their +beauty; for they help to purify the water, just as plants do the air. +Perhaps I should not promise more than the brown Tangle and the green Ulva, +with its bright lettuce-like leaves; for red seaweeds belong to deep water, +and are not easy to find. Many an hour have I spent peering and groping +in the little pools at low water in search of these same much-prized +rosy-tinted "flowers of the sea"; and many a disappointment I have had, +even after a fortunate find, in seeing how soon the lovely colour faded, in +spite of all my efforts to keep it. + +We often speak of the "salt sea" or "the briny ocean," without perhaps +thinking how it comes to be salt. I used to think it was because there were +vast salt mines at the bottom of the sea; but that was only a guess at the +truth. + +Let us think what happens when there is a heavy shower; how quickly the +raindrops gather force until they run down the street, making gutters on +each side! But how unlike the muddy water in these gutters is the rain as +it fell from the sky--how is this? It is the same water, but as it hurries +along each drop picks up and carries with it its own little grain of sand +or dust. If tiny gutters are tinged by the mud which they carry with them, +how much more must this be the case with the great rivers which empty +themselves into the ocean! They carry with them not only sand and earth, +but the minerals and salts which are contained in them, to form the bed of +the ocean. The salt which is thus washed out of the soil by streams and +rivers is not evaporated, but remains behind, for the sea has no outlet +through which it can again be carried away. + +If you go to Switzerland, you will be able to see for yourself how a great +river as it rushes along its course washes away the soil. The Rhone, when +it enters the Lake of Geneva, is so laden with mud that its waters are +brown and turbid. For some distance you can trace the course of this brown +water as it makes its way through the deep blue of the lovely lake, not +mingling with it--but by the time the river reaches the other end of the +lake it has rid itself of its burden: the mud has sunk to the bottom, and +the Rhone flows out a clear stream. This is a strange and beautiful sight +which perhaps you may see some day. + +Have you ever noticed how often the sea is mentioned in the New Testament? +We read of the Lord Jesus walking beside it, and sailing over it in the +boat with His disciples. And I daresay you remember how He once sat in the +boat upon the sea, while He taught the people who were upon the shore. The +Sea of Galilee must have been calm and quiet then, but it was not always +so. Travellers tell us a great deal about the beauty of this lake, when the +sky is clear, and the crimson bloom of the Oleanders is reflected in the +still water. But they speak also of the sudden and dangerous storms, which +rush down from the mountains, and turn the glassy lake into a raging sea. +In the gospel by Mark we read of just such a storm of wind, when the Lord +Jesus Christ was in the little boat with His disciples crossing over to the +other side. It was such a terrible storm, that the waves dashed into the +boat until it was filled with water. + + "And all but One were sore afraid + Of sinking in the deep; + His head was on a pillow laid, + And He was fast asleep." + +Yes, amid all the tumult and alarm, the Saviour who was often weary in this +sad world, was sleeping upon the cushion of the boat. He slept on until the +disciples came and awoke Him with their cry, "Master, carest Thou not that +we perish?" Then the voice of the Lord was heard above the rage of wind +and water, and their cry of terror, as He rose and rebuked the wind, and +said unto the sea, "Peace, be still." The proud waves obeyed that voice of +power, the wind was hushed, "and there was a great calm." + +Do you remember what the Lord said to His disciples, and what they said to +one another, as they "feared exceedingly"? + +Perhaps you wonder how anyone could be afraid, no matter how dreadful the +noise of the winds and waves might be, when the Lord Jesus was there. It +is true that in that little boat, tossing upon the dark stormy lake, was +the One who upholds all things by the word of His power, the One whose word +those stormy winds fulfil; but the disciples, though they had been so much +with Him, were now to learn a little more who their Master was, and to find +that there was no fear of perishing when the Lord of life was with them. +They seem to have forgotten, too, that He had said, before they launched +the boat, "Let us pass over unto the other side"; or they might well have +afforded to be quiet when He slept, for after He had said those words, they +were as sure of being there with Him as if already landed. + +How kind it was of the Lord to put the disciples with Himself, and say, +"Let US pass over"; and how safe and free from fear of harm are those happy +people who have trusted themselves, with all they are, and all they have, +for this life and the long life that is to come, to this mighty, gracious +Saviour and Lord! One who knew this great happiness, once wrote these +beautiful verses about having Christ in the boat as he sailed over the +ocean of life, with its many storms. He said-- + + "My bark is wafted from the strand + By breath divine; + And on the helm there rests a hand + Other than mine. + + "One who has known in storms to sail + I have on board; + Above the raging of the gale + I hear my Lord." + +Once again in the same gospel by Mark we read of a tempest coming on while +the disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee; but this time their Master +was not with them in the boat. He had told them to go to the other side +while He sent away the crowds of people whom He had been feeding with the +five loaves and two fishes--and then He had gone into the hill-country to +pray. + +The evening came on, the sky growing dark much more quickly than it does in +our country, and Jesus had not come to them. Still the disciples rowed, and +tried to get their boat to land, and still the storm grew louder. + + "Fierce was the wild billow, + Dark was the night, + Oars laboured heavily, + Foam glimmered white." + +How they must have longed to hear again that well-known voice rebuking the +rough wind, and saying to the angry waves, "Peace, be still!" + +But the tired disciples rowed on; and Jesus had not come to them. They did +not know what we know, that their Master was watching them; He knew that +they could not bring their boat to land, and that they were worn out with +toiling at their oars, and were sad at heart too. And so, just at the +darkest, coldest hour of that night of fear, the Lord came to His beloved +ones. I have seen a picture of the weary men in their tossing boat, and +a shining figure which is meant for the Lord Jesus, as He came to them, +walking upon the white crests of the waves. But no picture can give a true +idea of that wonderful scene. + +Do you remember how frightened all in the boat were before they knew that +it was the Lord? + +They cried out for fear; and in answer to their cry they heard their +Master's own voice talking with them, and saying, "Be of good cheer: it is +I; be not afraid." Ah, what a change was there! + + "Sorrow can never be-- + Darkness must fly, + When saith the Light of light, + 'Peace; it is I.'" + +And now, before we come to the end of this "world of water" chapter, listen +to a wonderful story of the sea, told by the only one who could tell +it--the heroine of the tale. + +Look at the map of Scotland, and you will find its most northerly county, +Shetland of the Hundred Isles, lying between the Atlantic Ocean and the +North Sea. Perhaps you know this part of the world mostly in connection +with the pretty little shaggy Shetland ponies which feed upon the young +heather, and are brought to England for children to ride; but those who +have visited it can tell very interesting stories about the wild country, +with its warm-hearted kindly fisher-folk, and they often bring home with +them beautiful shawls which the women and girls knit from the soft wool of +their sheep. + +They tell us that of the hundred islands, about thirty are inhabited. Some +are large, but others so small that only one or two families live upon +them; and others are little more than rocks--the home of sea-fowl of every +wing. + +In the largest island you will soon find Lerwick, the chief town. Now look +to the very south for the lofty cliff called Sumburgh Head, and near it +Grutness Harbour, where they catch the grey fish. + +It was from this harbour that a small vessel, the _Columbine_, set sail on +Saturday, January 30th, 1886, intending to make the voyage--rough at all +times, but often very perilous in winter--along the coast to Lerwick. + +Many a boat had perished on these cruel shores, even since lighthouses have +been placed to warn the seamen from the most dangerous rocks. If you had +asked the captain of the _Columbine_ about his route, he would have told +you that he must steer past Cape Noness, then close to the Isle of Mousa, +with its ancient castle built in the time of the Picts; Bressay Island +would next come in sight, and then the tall lighthouse which guards Lerwick +Harbour. He might have told you, too, that upon that January morning he was +starting with only one passenger on board--an elderly woman who was leaving +her home in the south of the island to go and see a doctor at Lerwick, as +she had been ill for some months. + +The two men who formed the crew of the _Columbine_ returned the same day as +they had set sail, in an open boat belonging to their vessel. They said it +had been blowing hard when they started, and they had not got more than +four miles on the way when the captain was knocked overboard by a sudden +jerk of the boom. They quickly lowered the boat, and rowed hard to save +him; but, sad to tell, all their efforts were in vain, and they were at +length obliged to give up the attempt as hopeless, and were about to return +to the ship, when, to their dismay, they saw that she had drifted out to +sea, and, with her helpless passenger on board, was now far beyond their +reach. + +The men pulled with all their strength; but the sea was so heavy, and +the _Columbine_ drifted so fast, that the distance between them rapidly +increased; and at last they had to turn and make for the shore, which they +reached with difficulty in their little open boat. + +They told their tale, but nothing could be done to reach the drifting +vessel. Towards nightfall, some fishermen on the Isle of Mousa, where +opposing currents meet, and the sea is white with foam, saw the _Columbine_ +pass, driven along by the wind. She was soon out of sight, and was heard of +no more upon the shores of Shetland. + +And what became of Elizabeth Mouat, the sick and lonely passenger, who +shared the fate of the abandoned ship? + +You must hear her story, for, wonderful to say, she lived to tell it; and +I know those who saw her safe and sound in her Shetland home, and heard it +from her own lips. But she had been to Norway meanwhile, a much longer +voyage than to Lerwick. + +Below in the little cabin on that Saturday morning, weak from ill-health +and very sea-sick from the rolling of the vessel, Elizabeth heard the +alarm on deck caused by the accident to the captain, but knew not what had +happened. Presently she heard the boat suddenly lowered, and a terrible +fear took possession of her mind. + +"I am deserted!" she said. "The men have gone off and left me alone in the +ship." + +With the strength of despair she left her berth, and tried to get on deck; +but just as she was about to mount the ladder, it fell to the ground. She +had not power to lift it and put it in its place again, though she tried +hard and often. But although unable to get on deck, she was just tall +enough to look out of the open hatchway; and as she looked this way and +that, neither captain nor crew were to be seen, only the little boat, which +the _Columbine_ was fast leaving behind; and she knew that her worst fears +were realised, and she was indeed left alone. + +Presently she began to consider what it was best for her to do, in her +solitary condition, as far removed from human aid as poor Robinson Crusoe +upon his island. + +There was plenty of food on board, but it was impossible for her to reach +it, and she had with her in the cabin only a bottle of milk and two +biscuits. + +As night came on, and the vessel still drifted, carried by the wind, she +knew not where, if Elizabeth had not known how to "cry unto the Lord" in +her trouble, how terrible her feelings would have been! As she stood with +her head just above the hatchway, ever keeping her anxious watch, and +searching the horizon in vain for a sail, the wild seas dashing over the +vessel often drenched her through and through. She knew that her cries +could reach no mortal ear; and still the masterless vessel drifted, drifted +on into the night. But Elizabeth had a strong Refuge. She quietly committed +herself and the ship to Him, who is "the confidence of all the ends of the +earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea." And when the long night +wore through, and morning broke, again she searched the waste of waters +with eager eye, but in vain--no land was in sight, no friendly sail showed +white against the red dawn. Far as eye could reach, nothing could be seen +but the sky above, and the heaving ocean below. + +But from that time, during the seven days and nights which followed, +Elizabeth never lost hope. When she told the story of those days, she +simply said that she put her trust in God, and that she believed He would +bring her safely to land. For a whole week she never slept, but every now +and then stood up and looked around for the sail which never appeared, or +for the light which, shining through the darkness, should give token that +help was at hand. Once indeed she saw the red light of a ship, and her +heart beat high; but the vessel went on its way, knowing nothing of the +lonely voyager. + +The two biscuits were carefully hoarded, but at last not a crumb remained, +and for four days she was without food. But in telling her tale, Elizabeth +said that she suffered more from wet and from thirst than from hunger. To +allay her thirst, she used to lick the drops of rain from the window panes. +At last, becoming too weak to keep her constant watch, she tied herself +close to the hatchway, fearing lest she might roll away from her post of +observation, and be unable to get back to it. And so, for eight days, the +_Columbine_ and her passenger--so weak and helpless in herself, so strong +in her trust in God--drifted over the wild waves of the North Sea. + +It was on Sunday morning, February 7th, that a vessel which had lost her +mast came ashore among the rocks near Aalesund, in sight of a crowd of +Norwegian villagers. As she drifted in, a woman's head was distinctly seen, +and a brave young fisherman, taking a rope with him, swam out to her, +climbed on board, and found Elizabeth tied to the hatchway, still alive, +still confident. + +She was drawn ashore by the rope, and thus her long voyage to Norway ended. +She found herself among strangers truly, who spoke a tongue unknown to +her, but was kindly cared for at a farm-house, until she was sufficiently +recovered to be sent home to Shetland, where she received a letter which +must have, indeed surprised and pleased her. It was from our gracious +Queen, and contained a present for Elizabeth of twenty pounds. I am sure +you will like to read the letter, so here it is: + +"WINDSOR CASTLE, _March 27th_, 1886. + +"The Queen has been much touched by the account of the sufferings of Miss +Mouat, and was pleased to learn, by her brother's letter of the 20th, that +she is recovering her strength." + +[Illustration: WINDSOR CASTLE.] + +Do you not think Elizabeth must be very proud and pleased to show the +Queen's letter to those who ask her about her voyage to Norway? + +A Norwegian gentleman, writing about the place where the dismasted, +unpiloted vessel drifted ashore, says: + +"Had not the _Columbine_ been steered by an invisible but almighty Hand, +she would never have got clear of the thousands of rocks. So furious was +the storm that all the boats not taken ashore went down at their moorings; +and yet the _Columbine_ escaped the network of rocks and skerries, and +picked out the only place where she could have beached!" + +Elizabeth did not see the Lord Jesus walking upon the waves, and drawing +near to her in the dark night, as the disciples did; but surely she heard +His voice through the storm, hushing her spirit, and saying to her, as He +did to them, "It is I; be not afraid." + +I know a little girl, older than Sharley or May, who is fond of repeating +a beautiful poem about the storm on the Lake of Galilee. Perhaps you would +like to learn it for your next hymn. It is called + + "TO YONDER SIDE." + + "Behind the hills of Naphtali + The sun went slowly down, + Leaving on mountain, tower, and tree + A tinge of golden brown. + + "The cooling breath of evening woke + The waves of Galilee, + Till on the shore the waters broke + In softest melody. + + "'Now launch the bark,' the Saviour cried; + The chosen Twelve stood by; + 'And let us cross to yonder side, + Where the hills are steep and high.' + + "Gently the bark o'er the waters creeps, + While the swelling sail they spread; + And the wearied Saviour gently sleeps, + With a pillow 'neath His head. + + "On downy bed the world seeks rest; + Sleep flies the guilty eye; + But he who leans on the Father's breast, + May sleep when storms are nigh. + + "But soon the lowering sky grew dark + O'er Bashan's rocky brow; + The storm rushed down upon the bark, + And waves dashed o'er the prow. + + "The pale disciples trembling spake, + While yawned the watery grave; + 'We perish, Master--Master, wake; + Carest Thou not to save?' + + "Calmly He rose with sovereign will, + And hushed the storm to rest; + 'Ye waves,' He whispered, 'Peace, be still!' + They calmed like a pardoned breast. + + "So have I seen a fearful storm + O'er wakened sinner roll, + Till Jesus' voice and Jesus' form + Said, 'Peace, thou weary soul' + + "And now He bends His gentle eye + His wondering followers o'er; + 'Why raise this unbelieving cry? + I said, To yonder shore.' + + "When first the Saviour wakened me, + And showed me why He died, + He pointed o'er life's narrow sea, + And said, 'To yonder side.' + + "'I am the ark where Noah dwelt, + And heard the deluge roar-- + No soul can perish that has left + My res--To yonder shore.' + + "Peaceful and calm the tide of life + When first I sailed with Thee; + My sins forgiven, no inward strife, + My breast a glassy sea. + + "But soon the storm of passion raves; + My soul is tempest tossed; + Corruptions rise, like angry waves-- + 'Help, Master, I am lost!' + + "'Peace, peace, be still, thou raging breast: + My fulness is for thee'-- + The Saviour speaks, and all is rest, + Like the waves of Galilee. + + "And now I feel His holy eye + Upbraids my heart of pride-- + 'Why raise this unbelieving cry? + I said, To yonder side.'" + +McCHEYNE. + + + + +THE THIRD DAY. + +THE EARTH BENEATH. + + +"_He hangeth the earth upon nothing._"--JOB xxvi. 7. + +"_The pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he hath set the world upon +them._"--1 SAM. ii. 8. + +"_As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it +were fire. The stones of it are the place of sapphires; and it hath dust of +gold._"--JOB xxviii. 5, 6. + + +Have you ever noticed that some words have two meanings, both their own, +but giving us very different thoughts about the things of which they speak, +according to the way in which we use them? + +It is so with our earth. We may speak of it as the firm ground upon which +we stand, and may think of the wonderful time of which we are going to read +in our chapter in Genesis, when God caused it to bring forth and bud, and +clothed all its waste places, so that it has been ever since the green +earth which is so fair to look upon. This is the way in which we generally +speak of the earth, is it not?--but we may also think of it, not as it +appears to us, but as a great globe hung up in the heavens by the mighty +hand of God, who "hangeth the earth upon nothing"; for "the pillars of the +earth are the Lord's, and He hath set the world upon them." + +If you could look at a star through a telescope, I think the first thing +that would strike you is that there is nothing by which it is upheld and +kept in its place. You might say, as you saw it, as it were, hanging in the +depths of the sky, "Why, it is hung upon _nothing_!" + +It is just so with our earth: there is nothing that we can see by which it +is supported, no "pillars" for it to rest upon--but yet it is kept in its +place. God set it there, and God keeps it there. + +The Hindu has tried to account for this in his own way: he says the earth +does rest upon something; it is supported upon the backs of four great +elephants and when he is asked, "Where do they stand?" he replies, "Upon +the back of a huge tortoise." This shows the folly of men who have tried +to explain what filled the patriarch Job with awe and wonder, even before +God had asked him those questions which He alone could answer. "Where +wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast +understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who +hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof +fastened? or who hath laid the corner stone thereof, when the morning stars +sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" + +Once in a time of great danger and trouble, Luther wrote thus to a friend: +"I recently saw two miracles; you listen to hear of something startling: +some great light burning in the heavens, some angelic visitation--some +unusual occurrence; but you hear only this. As I was at my window, I saw +the stars, the sky, and that vast and glorious firmament in which the Lord +has placed them. I could nowhere discover the columns on which the Master +has supported this immense vault, and yet the heavens did not fall! And +here was the other miracle: I beheld clouds hanging above me like a vast +sea--I could neither perceive ground on which they reposed, nor cords by +which they were suspended, and yet they did not fall upon me." + +We find it difficult to think of our own globe as a star; but so it is, and +when you go out at night and look up at the sky, all covered with little +points of light, you may remember that our great earth, with its mountains +and forests, seas and plains, and all its cities and towns alive with busy +men and women, is but a tiny speck in God's universe; many of those stars +which seem so small, as their "twinkle, twinkle" comes from so far away, +are themselves suns, larger than that mighty sun of ours which it takes the +earth a whole year of days to travel round; and all these wonderful worlds +belong to Him "for whose pleasure they are and were created." + +Looked at in this way, our earth is but one of a group of eight stars, +which have been called planets, or wanderers, because, while other worlds, +which are called fixed stars, keep constantly in the same position with +regard to each other, these planets are always moving. They have two +movements; I think you know that our earth turns round upon itself, as your +top does when it spins, and that in this way the changes of day and night +come to us; the other movement is that by which it, along with the other +planets, travels round the sun. + +This yearly journey round the sun which the earth takes is a long one, but +so swiftly does it move that it may be said rather to fly than to wander. +Shut your eyes and count "One," "two," "three," "four," "five"; in this +little moment of time the earth will have got over a hundred miles of its +journey. You see it flies along faster than any bird; and what a noiseless +flight it is! How is it that we do not feel it moving? Ah, you must +remember that the earth carries _you_ along with it; you know nothing about +the rapid journey, and yet you are a traveller in spite of yourself--a +traveller round the sun. + +All the planets, like our earth, move round the sun, and are kept in their +places by means of a wonderful power which we cannot see, but which is one +of those "laws of nature," as the rules which God has made for His great +universe are sometimes called, about which I told you that they never +alter. It is a law, or rule, that, in the world around us, "the same causes +always produce the same effects." If you think a little about this, it will +become plain to you that it is so, and if you observe carefully you will +see that this rule is the same in connection with the smallest as well as +the greatest things; if it ever seems that it is not so, be sure that this +is only because you do not yet know all about what you have been observing. +And now learn a little about the beautiful rule by which the planets are +kept in their places. + +Two hundred years ago, Sir Isaac Newton discovered that everything in the +universe attracts or draws every other thing to itself, and this power or +attraction he called "the force of gravitation." I cannot do much more than +tell you the name of this "law," but you will learn more about it one day I +hope, and see how simple and yet how wonderful it is. An astronomer of our +own day says, in his _Story of the Heavens_, that there are "grounds for +believing that the law of gravitation is obeyed throughout the length, the +breadth, the depth, and the height of the entire universe," and a little +observation and thought will enable you to see something of its working in +the world around us. + +Do you remember my telling you how fond I was of swimming boats long ago? +When my brother and I used to launch our paper boats--not on the river, +but in that big tub in the yard--our great difficulty was to keep them +from running each other down, and becoming dismal wrecks before they had +completed their first voyage. We did not know why, but it seemed as if the +vessels of our tiny fleet _would_ drift towards each other, in spite of all +our efforts to keep them apart. Have you not found it so with your boats? +It certainly was with ours, but we should have been surprised if anyone +had told us that as they ran against each other, our paper boats were but +obeying the "law of gravitation," each little vessel drawing the other to +itself by a power which it had of attracting it. Knowing this rule makes +many things plain. If you throw your ball high into the air, it is sure +to come down again. Why? Because the earth, which is a much larger ball, +attracts it to itself by the law of gravitation; by the same law, the drops +of rain in a shower fall to the ground; by the same law, we and all the +people upon the globe are able to stand firm on it; by the same law, the +great earth itself, the moon, and all the planets are kept in their places. +But what is the mighty magnet which has power to draw the earth to itself? +It is that wonderful globe the sun, which is more than a million times +as large as the earth; and though it is so far, far away--at a distance +greater than we can have any idea of--yet by its mighty power of drawing +them to itself, makes our earth, as well as the other planets, move round +it in the most beautiful order, and keeps them all in their places. + +Although Newton felt sure that this unseen but resistless power, of which +he afterwards spoke reverently as "the finger of God," kept the moon going +round the earth and the earth round the sun, yet he was at first silent +about his great discovery; he worked and waited for long years, until he +had proved that it was not merely a happy guess, but that he had really +discovered the rule which governs the motion of sun, moon and stars. Then +he explained the reason why the moon is always moving _round_ the earth, +and the earth and other planets _round_ the sun, instead of all moving on +in a straight line; it is because everyone of the heavenly bodies attracts +all the rest, and thus the smaller move round the larger, all in perfect +order and harmony. + +[Illustration: SAILING THE BOAT] + +You must not think that this force set them all moving; it only governs +their movements, the earth pulling the moon to itself, and the sun in +like manner pulling all the planets with gentle but resistless power, and +keeping them all moving round himself--their glorious centre. + +You will learn by-and-by what has been found out about the other planets. +All I shall tell you of them now is, that they are, like the earth, quite +dark in themselves. The light they give is reflected light from the sun; +just like the light which comes to us from another planet, which belongs, +not to the sun, but to our earth, and indeed is so near home that I am sure +you can find out its name for yourself. Of the seven other planets which +belong to the sun, the nearest in size to our earth is one which shines +with a lovely soft light, and is sometimes the evening, sometimes the +morning star. Ask someone to show you Venus; and I think you will soon +learn to look for her in the evening, and to love her pure, calm radiance. +This star is peculiarly beautiful in the early morning, when she seems to +shine alone in the sky, and reminds us how, in the last book of the Bible, +the Lord Jesus speaks of Himself, and says, "I am the ... Bright and +Morning Star." What a beautiful name for us to know the Lord Jesus by! +There are some children who know Him by that name, and they are watching +for that bright star to appear. + +I will tell you of one. Her name is Sharley; but she is not May's sister +Sharley, and I do not think she is quite so old. This little girl had been +obliged to go away from her home, to stay for some time in the Children's +Hospital. This is a bright, pretty place, with pictures and flowers and +toys. But it was not at all like home to poor little Sharley; and as she +thought of her mother and her sisters she sobbed and cried in her little +bed, and buried her head under the pink quilt, and refused to be comforted. +A lady came to see her, and brought her a picture-book; but still she hid +her face, and cried, "Oh, do let me go home!" The lady tried to please +her by showing her a stuffed squirrel, and telling stories about how she +had seen the merry little creatures, with their bright eyes and red bushy +tails, running about in the beech-woods, eating nuts. But no, nothing that +she could do or say would win a smile or a bright look. At last she noticed +a little Testament lying upon the tray across her bed, beside the toys +which had been given her to play with, and she said, "Is that your own +Testament, Sharley? Will you find the place and read me your favourite +verse?" + +In a moment the little girl stopped crying, and turned over the leaves of +her Testament till she came to the very end; and she put her finger on the +verse, "Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." As she +pointed to the words the lady read them, and then asked, "Do you want Him +to come?" + +Sharley did not speak, but nodded her head. + +"Why do you want to see Him? What has He done for you?" + +"He died for me," said the little girl. And then she asked just one +question, "If the Lord Jesus hasn't come before Monday, do you think mother +will come and take me home?" + +I am glad to tell you that little Sharley had not long to stay in the +hospital; she soon got well enough, to be allowed to go home. But I +tell you about her that yon may see that she was not too young to know +what the Lord Jesus had done for her, and to be looking out for Him to +come--watching for the "Bright and Morning Star." + +And now I want you to find one more verse about the earth as it hangs in +the sky, a very beautiful verse in the fortieth chapter of Isaiah. "It is +He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof +are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and +spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in." What is meant by the "circle of +the earth"? You have learnt that the earth is round, like the sun and moon; +for you see how round the globe in the schoolroom is, and you know that it +is meant to be as like the earth in shape as it can be made. Besides, you +have read of sailors who have made voyages round the world, and brought +their ships back again to the very place from whence they set sail. It +seems quite plain to you, now that you have been taught so much about the +form of the earth, that it must be round. But I wonder whether you have +ever thought that, long before a geography-book was written or a globe was +made--at a time when no one had ever sailed round the world, but all the +wise men thought the earth was flat (except where the mountains and hills +were), and that if they could only travel far enough, they would in time +get to the world's end--God had spoken of it as round. He had spoken of +Himself as the One who "sitteth upon the circle" (or "arch") "of the +earth"; and of the inhabitants thereof--all the people who have lived and +died upon it--as "grasshoppers"; creatures of a day. + +When we learn something about other worlds, and find out that this world, +so large in our eyes that we cannot think of anything to compare with it +for greatness, is yet so small that it is like a grain of sand in the vast +universe which God created at the beginning, we may well ask + + "Why did the Son of God come down + From the bright realms of heavenly bliss, + And lay aside His kingly crown, + To visit such a world as this? + + "Why in a manger was He born, + Who was the Lord of earth and sky?" + +The answer to this question is to be found in the verse which you know so +well, where the Lord Jesus Christ Himself tells us that "God so loved the +world"--this place which is "a little city" indeed compared with other +worlds; and the "few men within it"--all sinful people who had gone away as +far as they could from Him--God so loved this lost world, "that He gave His +only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but +have everlasting life." The Son of God gave up "all that He had" to buy +back this lost world, for the sake of the treasure which was hidden there. +Do you know what that treasure is? + +And now we will look again at a verse in the Book of Job, which tells us +something very wonderful about the inside of this great globe of ours, upon +the fair outside of which we live and move. You would never have thought +it possible that such a great ball could be weighed. But by weighing and +measuring--not with scales and weights, you may be sure, but by clever ways +which are known to learned philosophers--it has been found out that our +earth is very, very heavy. The philosophers thought it could not be so +heavy if it were made of earth and rocks all through, and they wondered +what could be far down beneath the deepest mines, in those secret places +which they could not reach. But long before these wise men had begun to +weigh and measure, and to guess and wonder, God had said, "As for the +earth, out of it cometh bread"--you know that in many places the surface of +the earth is rich with waving corn--"and under it is turned up as it were +fire." + +I remember well when I first heard about this fire always burning at the +heart of the earth. I had been told that the world was round like a ball, +and yet that people lived upon every part of it. And when I turned the +globe in the schoolroom round until I had found New Zealand--that land +which is just opposite our own country, as you can see for yourself if you +look--I used to think how wonderful it was that the New Zealanders should +be there "walking about under my feet," as I had been told they were; and a +great desire came into my mind to make a way right through to them, and see +what they were like. I believe I thought they were men who walked on their +heads, for in those days I much preferred guessing at things I did not +understand, to asking someone who knew how to explain them to me. So you +see I understood so very little, that I actually thought that by getting up +early and working hard it would be quite easy for me, with my little spade, +to dig right down to the other side of this mighty globe! + +However, one day, before I had made more than an opening to my tunnel, I +listened to a conversation about digging deep wells and mines. I could not +understand most of what was said, nor did I know the meaning of any of the +long words which I then heard for the first time; but there was one thing +which I did understand, and this made me stop short in my work, afraid to +dig another spadeful of earth. I had thought it would be so delightful to +walk through my tunnel, and come out at the other side where the strange +New Zealand people lived; but now my great dread was lest I should get to +the inside of the earth before I was aware of it, when I had dug perhaps +only a little hole; for those who were speaking about it, said how +impossible it was to get very far below the surface,--or, as they called +it, very deep into the "crust" of the earth--because of the great heat, +which makes the men who work in deep mines glad to throw off their clothes. +"The deeper the bore, the greater the heat," they said; and then went on to +speak of this crust as if it covered the earth as the shell covers an egg, +so that I thought it might perhaps be broken just as easily. "And how +dreadful it would be," I said to myself, "if I could get to the inside of +the earth and find it all on fire!" + +It was a pity that I did not ask a little about what surprised and +frightened me so much, and especially that I did not get someone to explain +to me the meaning of this new word, the "crust" of the earth. I know now +that it is the name that has been given to that part of the earth which is +known to be firm and solid--the bed of the ocean as well as the dry land. +Beneath this crust lies the inner part or kernel of the earth, and no one +knows of what it consists; all that can be done is to examine the rocks +which rest upon it, and whether the lowest of these layers of rock has +yet been reached, we do not know. If you have ever been to a quarry where +the rocks have been blasted and cut away, you have seen a little way down +into this earth-crust. I remember once, when I was living in a country +warmer than England, seeing a beautiful sight. It was a great quarry in a +hillside. In part of it men were busy, cutting out the stone and carrying +it away; but all over one side, which was no longer worked, a beautiful +vine had woven its lovely green leaves and purple clusters of grapes. + +You would have thought, perhaps, that the side where the rough, hard rock +was hidden by the fruitful vine, was the only part of the quarry worth +looking at; but the other side, where the quarrymen were at work, was very +interesting to anyone who would take the trouble to notice how the rocks +lay, piled one upon another, and especially to one who had learnt a little +about the different kinds of rock of which the earth-crust has been made. +Even if you have never learnt much of what is called geology, by keeping +your eyes open and your mind awake you may see a great deal in the stones +which have perhaps seemed to you most uninteresting. A block of granite +from one of the Dartmoor hills, and a piece of slate from a Welsh +quarry--how different these two kinds of stone are! We see this at once; +but they become much more interesting when we know that each has its own +history. The granite is one of the fire-made rocks, so called because there +are marks upon it, like letters written long ago, quite plain to those who +have the skill to read them; which show that though it is now so hard, it +was once soft, as soft as iron becomes when melted by very great heat. +The mountains of Devon and Cornwall, the Grampians of Scotland, even Mont +Blanc, the "Monarch of Mountains," are made of the grey or red granite +which takes such a beautiful polish when cut that it is much prized for +buildings. + +The piece of slate has quite a different history. It is one of the +water-made rocks, in which so many fossils have been found; while in +the fire-rocks there are no remains of anything which ever lived. The +water-rocks are so called because water has had so much to do with the +making of them; for they have been very slowly formed by the gravel and +grains of sand which have been washed down by streams and torrents, and +left behind in their course. In these slate and sandstone rocks the +wonderful fossil animals, which are to be seen in the Museum, have been +found. A fossil means what has been dug out of the earth; and numbers +of animals are to be found buried deep in the rocks along the coast of +Yorkshire--huge creatures which lived on the earth long, long ago, of which +the hard parts, such as bones and teeth, have gradually been turned into +stone. + +All this is very wonderful to think of, and I am sure the poet, who spoke +of finding "sermons in stones," was wiser than he knew; but what will you +say when I tell you that one kind of rock--the chalk with which you are so +fond of drawing upon the black-board--is made of shells, most of them very +tiny ones, which can be seen only by a microscope? What myriads of living +things once made their homes in those little shells, and what sort of +life they lived, we cannot tell; but there the shells remain in the white +chalk, and the microscope will show them to you, as it shows so many hidden +wonders in this wonderful world, where the very great and the very small +meet on every hand. + +Only the other day, May brought me a lovely branch of white coral. "Look," +she said, "when baby was out for a walk, a lady gave her this." She thought +it very pretty, but she was surprised when I showed it to her through a +magnifying-glass, and told her that it had been made by a very tiny kind +of jelly-fish; a plant-animal some people call it, of the same kind as the +sea-anemone; and she wondered still more when we found in a book a picture +of a coral island, and I told her that such little creatures have been busy +ever since the world began, constantly building up the coral-rocks. These +rocks, which are strong enough to resist the force of the waves, rise out +of the sea naked and bare, but are soon covered with green, and become the +resting-place of the sea-birds, until at last they are like that lovely +island, fringed with tall cocoa-palms, which we saw in the picture. If it +were not for the myriads of tiny jelly-fishes, who work on and on, each +forming its own little bones from the lime it gets from the sea-water, +dying, and leaving its skeleton behind for others to build upon, there +would be none of these beautiful green isles of the sea of which sailors +love to tell us. + +We were speaking of contrasts some time ago; now for a contrast. Beside the +coral, with its lovely branching sprays, we will put a piece of coal. You +think the coal very black and ugly, not fit to be put alongside the white +coral; but let me tell you that there is that in the coal which was once +far more beautiful than the coral--which is only a bare skeleton after +all--could ever be; for, though coal and coral are alike dead now, both +were once full of life. + +But the coal, which is certainly more useful than beautiful at present, has +had a wonderful past. Besides the fossil-animals which are dug out of the +earth's crust, there are also fossil-trees and ferns, and it is of them +that coal, which seems only like a black stone, is made. I have read that +in a part of England where there are now great coal mines, for a long time +no one knew the worth of coal except some old women, who said they could +make their fires burn beautifully by putting those black bits of stone upon +them. How strange this seems; and what should we do now if we had not these +black stones to burn? Coal is generally called a mineral, as all things +which are dug from mines are called; but it is really a vegetable. You may +perhaps pick up in some swampy place, a piece of wood, very black, which +breaks as you handle it. Look at it well, for this wood is being turned +into coal; but for what was once a forest to become a coal-mine takes a +very long time indeed, with a strange history of change and decay; yet it +is true that the coal dug out of mines is nothing else than trees and ferns +and mosses, long ago buried by mud and sand, and so crushed together that +they have become like a piece of black stone. + +The other day Chrissie had what you would consider a rare treat, for his +father took him and his brother down a coal-mine. They put on some of the +miners' clothes, and then got into the "cage," and were let down by a +strong chain; down, down, until they reached the bottom of the shaft, as +the tunnel from the mouth of the coal-pit to the place where men are at +work below is called. I have never seen a mine of any kind, but if I ever +find myself at the bottom of a coal-pit, I think I shall use my eyes, and +see whether, even in such a grimy place, I cannot find something beautiful. +I shall hold my safety-lamp high, and look carefully at the roof and sides +of the mine, for I have been told that in all coal-mines remains of the +plants from which the coal is made are to be found; so I should not be +surprised to find here and there in the dark shining walls traces of leaves +and branches; and upon the hard clay which forms the roof, beautiful +patterns of ferns, which lived long, long ago, and have lain buried for +ages. + + "In a valley, centuries ago, + Grew a little fern-plant, green and slender, + Veining delicate and fibres tender, + Waving in the wind, crept down so low; + Rushes tall, and moss, and grass grew round it; + Playful sunbeams darted in and found it; + Drops of dew stole down by night and crowned it; + But no foot of man e'er came that way, + Earth was young and keeping holiday." + +We can speak of the roof and the floor of a coal-mine, because the coal +lies in what are called seams, between layers of slate or hard clay. I +cannot tell you much about the sedges and reeds and giant ferns, the +remains of which have been found in these seams of coal, but I know that +they are of the same kind as plants which are now found in damp and warm +places, though they were giants indeed compared with them. Some of these +old-world plants would not grow in our country now, but there are great +mare's-tails, just the same as the small ones which I have often found +beside a pool of black water on an Irish bog; and I have read that some +plants with stems fifty feet long, which are found in coal, are of the same +kind as a pretty little moss which grows upon the mountains almost all over +England. + +You remember the story about the boy who was brought up in a mine. Now I +want to tell you about a little girl who did not live in a coal-mine, but +was often taken there by her father. Her mother had died when she was a +baby, and as she grew older her father was her constant friend, and loved +his little daughter so much that he liked to have her always near him. And +so, though she was only seven years old when he came to work in this mine, +he very often took her with him in the cage, and she had leave to stay +underground until his work was done and he could take her home again. +Children can always find ways of amusing themselves, and this child had a +happy time in her strange nursery, and many a merry game she played among +the coal. As she grew older her father allowed her to carry a lantern, as +the miners did, and she would go fearlessly through the dark passages by +herself, until she knew all their windings as well as you know the paths in +your father's garden. + +But all at once this happy life came to an end: three years had passed, and +she was just ten years old, when a great sorrow came to this child. As her +dear father was going down the shaft one morning the chain broke, and the +cage fell to the bottom of the mine. When his mates ran to the spot, they +knew at once that he had been killed by that terrible fall, and slowly and +sadly they took up his crushed and wounded body and carried it home. The +first thing that the dear little daughter knew about the accident which had +made her an orphan child, was when she saw the men, who had worked with her +father, coming towards his cottage with their sad burden. + +She at once ran to meet them, asking when father would be home; but the +sight of their faces soon told her, young as she was, all the truth. When +first she understood what had happened she cried with a bitter cry, for her +father was all she had in the world. Then, while the rough miners, amid +their tears, tried to comfort her, she suddenly knelt down on the grass +where they had laid the body and prayed as her dear father had taught her +to pray. + +[Illustration: THE MINER'S LITTLE DAUGHTER.] + +What a touching thing it must have been to see the child kneeling there, +and to hear her, in her great grief, say three times over, "Thy will be +done!" + +One of the miners took her to his home, and they all tried to comfort her. +At first it seemed as if she could not recover from the shock, and they +feared she would die of grief; but by-and-by she began to try to help +the kind woman--who was like a mother to her--in the care of her little +children, and at last she got courage to go down into the mine again, to +the very place where her poor father had been killed. + +But she did not come now to run about and play hide-and-seek among the +winding ways; those days were over, and the sorrowful time, which had +passed since then, had taught her precious lessons. Her father's Friend +was _her_ Friend now, and she loved to carry the Bible, which had belonged +to her father, down into the mine, and while the miners were taking their +dinner or their short rest, she used to sit beside them and read them +chapters and psalms, and so became a little messenger to tell them of the +love of God. Do you know a hymn about shining in this world--where so "many +kinds of darkness" are found--for the Lord Jesus Christ? I do not know +whether this child had ever heard of it, but it is very sweet to see that +the Lord had taught her to shine--as the hymn says--"first of all for Him"; +then in her little corner in that humble cottage where she tried, in spite +of her own sore trouble, to be a cheer and comfort to the miner's wife; and +then He gave her a little corner in the dark mine where she might shine + + "Like a little candle + Burning in the night." + +The rough men loved this gentle child who had known sorrow so early. They +listened as she read to them, and used to say she was their good angel. If +we remember that an angel means a messenger, we shall perhaps think it not +a wrong name to give to her, since she read to them God's Book, which is +His message to us. + +While we were talking about the earth-crust, I daresay you were wishing to +know, as I did, how thick it is--how far down the layers of rocks go, and +what lies underneath the lowest layer of all. + +These are questions which cannot be answered; for no one has ever been able +to search so far into the hidden parts of the earth as to tell us what lies +beneath those fire-rocks, which are the lowest known, although they are +sometimes found upon the tops of mountains, cast up by a mighty heaving of +the crust, such as happens when there is an earthquake, or what is called +the "eruption" of a volcano. + +But what power could be strong enough to heave up solid rocks, and to make +the firm ground upon which we tread, and upon which the houses are built, +waver to and fro like the restless sea, so that the strongest buildings +begin to totter and fall, and the bravest men run for their lives? + +It is the mighty power of steam--caused by the great heat far down +below--which, when it does come to any part of the earth's surface, makes +itself known in very terrible ways. + +We do not often hear of earthquakes near home; but in some of the most +beautiful parts of the world they are so common that the houses are built +only one storey high, and of wood, not stone, because low houses are less +likely to fall, and wooden ones are easily built up again, if overthrown. I +think you have heard of the boiling springs in Iceland, which burst through +the ground, shaking it and making it tremble; just as the steam shakes the +lid of the teakettle; and rising almost to the clouds, with a noise like +fireworks; and perhaps you may have seen the hot springs at Bath, from +which a cloud of steam rises almost in the heart of the beautiful old city, +and which are believed to come from a depth of nearly a mile. + +Such is the force of this steam that even the bed of the sea has been +heaved up by it into a burning mountain, from which great stones are cast +high into the air; while down its sides flow melted rocks and metals, +forming the lava which, when seen at night, looks like a stream of liquid +fire, but quickly cools into a river of mud. All these strange things tell +us terrible tales of the great heat which is somewhere in the heart of the +earth, and help us to understand the verse which tells us all we really +know about it: "As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is +turned up as it were fire." + +New Zealand is a country where there are many hot springs, and several +mountains which were once volcanoes, but were supposed to have died out. +One of these, Mount Tarawera, was situated in what was called the Hot Lake +district, because there were not only boiling springs, but pools of hot +water there. The Hot Lakes valley was not only a lovely green spot, but +it was noted for the wonderful Pink and White Terraces, which were so +beautiful as to be one of the sights which people from all countries came +to see. + +Imagine, if you can, basins of white and pink marble rising one above +another, filled with water of the deepest blue, by a warm stream which kept +flowing over them in a constant cascade. You would have enjoyed a bath +there, I am sure, and would have been interested to see the country-people +cooking their food in some of the neighbouring springs where the water came +from so great a depth that it was always boiling. + +But this lovely place was full of hidden dangers; for miles around these +lakes the ground was hot and crumbling, and in many places so thin that if +you did not tread very carefully, you might find yourself sinking into hot +mud. + +It was in June, which you know is winter-time in New Zealand, in the year +1885, that the people of Wairoa, a beautiful place where some missionaries +had settled that they might teach the Maoris, were awakened at midnight by +a heavy shock of earthquake, accompanied by a fearful roar, which made them +rush out of their houses in terror. The sight which greeted them was grand +but awful. Ernest has a picture of it in his room; but I suppose it would +not be possible for any picture to give an idea of what the poor frightened +people saw. Mount Tarawera had been asleep for a hundred and twenty years, +so that it was supposed to have burnt itself out, and to be no longer +dangerous. But it was awake now: the fearful roar which had aroused the +sleepers was caused by its having suddenly burst into flame; and it +continued to throw high into the sky fire and mud and stones, while the +inhabitants of the peaceful little village saved what they could carry, and +then fled away in their night-dresses. + +As morning broke, a dense pillar of ashes rose from the burning, roaring +mountain; the school-house, where sixty Maori boys and girls used to be +taught, was struck by lightning; and while burning, overwhelmed with +torrents of hot mud and stones. Sad to say, the schoolmaster and most of +his family were killed, the two eldest daughters only being rescued from +the buried house. How well it is to know that Mr. Hazard and the four +children who were taken out dead from the ruins, were ready, quite ready +for whatever might happen, because they knew the Lord Jesus Christ as their +Saviour! + +God allowed them to lose their lives upon that dreadful day; but for them +the eruption of the volcano was only the "chariot of fire" by which He was +pleased to take them away in a moment, to be for ever with the Lord, who +had loved them and given Himself for them. + +The darkness caused by the ashes which fell in a ceaseless shower for +eighteen hours, continued till noon the next day, when it was seen that not +only had the beautiful marble terraces vanished, but the whole valley had +been blown into the air by the tremendous force of imprisoned steam. A +traveller describing the scene of desolation says,[Footnote: Miss Gordon +Cumming on "The Eruption of Tarawera in 1885."] "Even living birds were +coated with mud, while for some days after the eruption the poor bewildered +cattle roamed about this dreary wilderness mad with hunger and thirst, +gnawing boughs of trees or decayed wood, bellowing pitifully, and with eyes +bloodshot and nostrils choked with greasy slate-coloured mud, which lay an +inch thick all over their coats." And of the smiling valley itself, she +says: "Where, but a few days previously, the wild fowl were swimming +securely among the reeds and sedges which bordered the quiet lakes, there +now exists only a chaotic wilderness of cones and craters all in hideous +activity, ejecting clouds of pestilential black smoke and showers of +stones. One large crater was in full action on the spot where the beautiful +Pink Terrace had hitherto gladdened all visitors by its loveliness, and +another apparently close to the White Terrace was throwing up masses of +black dust and steam, which rose in columns thousands of feet in height." + +There is a verse in the hundred and fourth Psalm which tells how God +"touched the hills, and they smoke." There are many burning and smoking +mountains in different parts of the world, besides those which have risen +from the depths of the sea; some of them have destroyed whole cities by hot +streams of lava or showers of ashes; there are some whose high peaks are +covered with snow, and yet from those snowy heights the fire sometimes +breaks forth; and there are others which are called extinct volcanoes, +because the fire no longer breaks forth from them as it once did; but Mount +Tarawera has taught us not to be too sure that a volcano which has been +quiet for more than a hundred years is really extinct. + +Hot springs, earthquakes, burning mountains, all tell the same tale: +somewhere beneath the earth's surface there is a quantity of heated +material, and these "convulsions of nature" which are so terrible in their +effects come from the efforts made by it to escape from its prison. A +friend who had been in a South American city during an earthquake told me +of the terror-stricken feeling which he experienced when he ran out of the +house in alarm, only to see buildings reeling and falling, and to feel the +solid earth itself rocking beneath his feet, while from beneath came a +rumbling noise, and a sound as of the clanking of chains. This trembling +and rocking of the earth has led savage nations to speak of some monster +underground turning his huge body. Shocks of earthquakes are occasionally +felt in England, and in the north-west of Ireland sheets of lava show that +volcanoes were once nearer home than we think. The Giants' Causeway, in +the north of Ireland, and Fingal's Cave, in the Island of Staffa, off the +north-west coast of Scotland, have been made by this lava having cooled and +split up into beautifully formed columns, which look like stone pillars. + + +"BEAUTIFUL THINGS. + + "What millions of beautiful things there must be + In this mighty world!--who could reckon them all! + The tossing, the foaming, the wide flowing sea, + And thousands of rivers that into it fall. + + "Oh, there are the mountains, half covered with snow, + With tall and dark trees, like a girdle of green, + And waters that wind in the valleys below, + Or roar in the caverns too deep to be seen. + + "Vast caves in the earth, full of wonderful things, + The bones of strange animals, jewels and spars; + Or far up in Iceland, the hot boiling springs, + Like fountains of feathers or showers of stars! + + "Here spread the sweet meadows, with thousands of flowers; + Far away are old woods, that for ages remain; + Wild elephants sleep in the shade of their bowers, + Or troops of young antelopes traverse the plain. + + "Oh yes, they are glorious, all to behold, + And pleasant to read of, and curious to know; + And something of God in His wisdom we're told + Whatever we look at--wherever we go!" + +ANNE TAYLOR. + + + + +THE THIRD DAY. + +THE GREEN EARTH. + + +"_The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof._"--PSALM xxiv. 1. + +"_Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it:... Thou preparest them corn, +when Thou hast so provided for it._"--PSALM lxv. 9. + +"_Every tree is known by his own fruit._"--LUKE vi. 44. + + +I want you to read carefully verses 11, 12, 13, and then 29 and 30, of our +chapter in Genesis; for in them God has told us of His work upon the THIRD +DAY of Creation, when at His word the earth--no longer waste and bare, as +when it came up from beneath the waters--was clothed in garments of beauty; +"dressed in living green," as the hymn says. + +I remember that when we began our morning lesson about the THIRD DAY, we +noticed that God caused the earth, which had no life in itself, to bring +forth that which was alive; for every green thing which grows upon the +surface of the earth, no matter how tiny it may be, is quite different from +those rocks which form its crust, about which we have been learning. Rocks +and stones are without life, but every blade of grass which you tread under +your feet, every blossom which scents the breeze, is alive. + +We had a good deal of talk about this, for life is a very wonderful thing; +one of those "secret things" which belong to God, and which no one has ever +been able to understand. But though we cannot know what this wonderful +secret is, we can understand how great a difference there is between living +things and those which have never had any life in them. If you were to take +a pebble and hide it in the earth, you might water it every day, and the +sun might shine upon it, while you waited and waited till you were quite +old; but no change would come to the pebble, If you dug for it you would +find it a pebble still. + +But with a plant, how different! See how those weeds in your garden grow. +You may cut them down, or bury them underground--do anything indeed except +pull them up by the roots--and still they will force their way through the +soil which you pressed down so tightly over them; their leaves will push +themselves up into the light and air, and their roots will strike deep into +the earth, for every bit of them is alive; as the "Song of the Crocus" +says-- + + "My leaves shall run up, and my root shall run down, + While the bud in my bosom is swelling." + +Long ago, when I was a child, I saw a field covered with beautiful white +things, smooth and rounded like the top of an egg, which seemed to rise +here and there from the grass. They grew out of the ground, but yet they +did not look like any flowers I had ever seen. I was told that the pretty +white things were mushrooms, and that I might gather as many as I could in +my pinafore, and take them home for breakfast. + +You may fancy how delightful it was to search about in the dewy grass, +every minute finding a mushroom finer and whiter than the rest; but what +puzzled me was the wonder of it--how had they all come there? + +They had grown up in the night, I was told, while I had been asleep in +my bed; and I knew it must be so, for I had been in that field only the +evening before, and had seen nothing there but the sheep, eating the grass +and daisies. + +The thought of these beautiful white things growing up so quietly in the +night-time, when no one could see them, was very wonderful to me, and I +only wished that I might stay up all the next night in that field, and see +them come, and find out how they grew: I was sure I could keep awake all +night! + +But since then I have learnt that there are many, many things about which +we grown people, as well as you children, may ask questions, and say, "How +do they come?" and there is no answer ready for us except that old wise +answer--God has made them to be. + +I daresay you may have a little garden of your own. Did you ever, in +spring-time, make a hole in the soft brown earth, and drop into it a little +black round seed? Perhaps last March you put in a good many sweet peas, and +then covered each one up in its earthy bed, and left them. People told you +not to forget to take care of your garden, and so you often watered the +place where the seeds lay hidden, and at last you saw something very tiny, +but fresh and green and full of life, where only the dark brown earth had +been the day before. You clapped your hands for pleasure, and ran to tell +everybody: "My sweet peas are coming up!" You see you can tell when the +seeds are growing, but you cannot tell how they grow; you can water the +ground where they are lying hidden from your sight, but when you have done +all you know how to do, you must still leave them to God's care; for He +alone can make those little dark balls spring up and grow, and blossom in +sweetness and beauty. + +What wonderful thing it was that went on underground so quietly, while you +were asleep or at play, neither you nor I can tell; and this dead-like seed +coming to life and springing up into beauty is only one of the many things +which go on in this world all around us, seen and known only by God, who +says of the seed of His word, sown by His servants--not in the ground, but +in the hearts of people--that it is He who "giveth the increase." + +We speak of vegetable life as well as of animal life, for I am sure you +have not forgotten that plants breathe through their leaves--they drink in +water by their roots, and some plants even show that they are sensitive to +touch by shrinking if anything comes in contact with them; but how a daisy, +with its hardy little stem and its fresh green leaves and "crimson-tipped" +flower, comes to grow out of the earth, we do not know at all. + +The beautiful leaves, fringed with downy hairs, are the lungs of the +plants; and just as the blood runs through the veins at the back of your +hand, the sap: which is the life-blood of the plant, runs through some fine +veins which you see at the back of the leaf. If this sap were to cease +flowing up the stem, the leaves and flowers would soon droop and die. + +[Illustration: GREEN PASTURES.] + +Look at the sheep, cropping the grass so busily that they hardly lift their +heads from the ground. Every time they breathe, they give out air which +feeds all the green things around them; and as the green things breathe +this air, by the very act they purify it, and give it back to the sheep, +fit for them to inhale again. + +We see that when God made the world, everything was prepared beforehand. He +did not cause the earth to bring forth living things, until all that was +needful to keep them alive was ready. Before the beasts of the field were +made, the grass, which was to be their food, covered the earth like a soft +carpet, and their table was furnished. This is a lesson which we have +already learnt, when speaking of "The Ocean of Air"--but it is one of which +we cannot be too often reminded. + +And now I want to point out to you that in the eleventh verse we read of +three kinds of living things which God caused the earth to bring forth. Let +us look at them: (1) "grass"; (2) "the herb yielding seed"; (3) "the fruit +tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed was in itself." + +Long ago, when I first noticed these three distinct kinds, I could not +understand why there was a difference made between "grass" and "the herb +yielding seed"; for the grass in our fields in autumn is, as little May +said, "all full of pips." This was her way of describing those beautiful +seeds which hang so gracefully that we sometimes gather the long stalks and +dry them for their beauty, that we may have a winter nosegay when there are +no flowers to be found. I had forgotten my puzzle about this when, not long +ago, I met with a very interesting book which explained that the grass +which is spoken of in Genesis as the first thing which the earth brought +forth, was not the grass of our fields. If you look in the margin of your +Bible, you will see that it is there called "tender grass." You might +perhaps think there is not much difference; but words, which are the names +of things, are very strong for good or evil. And especially in reading the +Bible, it is important to get the very best English word that can be found +for the Hebrew words which we could not understand. The verse has been more +exactly turned from Hebrew into English in this way: "And God said. Let the +earth sprout forth with tender grass." + +This word "tender grass" is not the same as that which is used in a Psalm +which the children were just then learning, where we read that God "causeth +the grass to grow for the cattle." It means rather "the plant that shoots" +out of the ground, and would apply to any green thing just sprouting. It is +thought that in the word are included all those plants such as mosses and +mushrooms, whose flowers are invisible, and which multiply not by producing +seed, but by budding, or by means of little living particles, looking like +brown dust, which botanists call "spores." + +These flowerless plants are of much simpler structure than those which have +root, stem, leaf and flower, and produce plants of their own kind by means +of their seeds. If you look at the back of a common fern, you will see +brown specks, not bigger than silkworms' eggs, beautifully arranged upon +it. Each of these is a collection of little cases containing spores, which +by-and-by will split open, allowing the spores to fall into the ground. + +"Then the spores are the same as seeds, after all"--you say. No; if they +were seeds, each would at once grow into a fern. This is what happens, as +far as I can explain it to you: from the spore springs a tiny leaf, which +roots itself, and it is from this green leaf that the young fern actually +grows, until it, as it were, begins life on its own account. The leaf dies +down, and the first frond of the new fern peeps above ground, closely +coiled up, as you have often seen, if you have been through the woods in +spring-time. The earliest forms of vegetable life, then, brought forth by +the earth at the word of God were the plants which have no seeds: botanists +have divided such plants into groups--the seaweeds and lichens, the mosses, +and the ferns. + +Of the seaweeds, the lowest of all groups of plants, we were speaking some +time ago. The lichens, though such lowly plants, are very interesting, for +I have read that every form of lichen is composed of two distinct plants--a +seaweed and a fungus--so closely interwoven that you cannot tell where the +one ends and the other begins. The lichens range in colour from white to +yellow, red, green, brown--and some are as black as that rare black pansy +of which I told you. Each kind has its own peculiar way of growing, and +these hardy little plants can live where no other plant can--on the hard +black lava, on naked rocks, and even upon the highest snow-mountain. + +Next time you pass an old gateway or ruined wall, and notice stains of +yellow and brown and grey upon it, remember that there the lichens grow; +tiny plants indeed, whose beauties are revealed only by the microscope, but +each one of them made by God, and given the means of living by Him, just +as much as those giants of the forest of which travellers tell us such +wonderful tales. You may sometimes find a rock, or the trunk of a tree, +encrusted with dry lichen, and it is interesting to know that these plants +when they decay form the first mould for mosses and ferns, plants which +botanists think of as higher in the scale of vegetable life than the lowly +lichens themselves are. + +The great family of mosses is found not only near home, but even far away +amid the icefields and the snow, where the reindeer searches with its horns +for the white moss which is its food, and where Sir John Franklin and his +devoted men gathered the black _Tripe de Roche_ upon which they tried to +live during those dark months when their ship lay fast wedged between + + "... those icebergs vast, + With heads all crowned with snow, + Whose green roots sleep in the awful deep, + Two hundred fathoms low." + +But prettier than these Arctic mosses are those nearer home. Talking about +them makes me think of a place where I wish you and I could go together +some beautiful afternoon in winter. It is a lovely little pine-wood near +Bournemouth, to which some boys, with whose friends I was staying during +the Christmas holidays, wished to take me to see their favourite walk. + +[Illustration: ICE-BOUND] + +Once when we were starting for our run, on a bright frosty morning, and I +was rather hoping I should be taken to the sea, I heard them say to each +other, "The Pincushion Wood; that's it; do let us go there." I wondered +what kind of place this could be but when we had scrambled through some +heather and come to this pine-wood, I saw at once why they had given it its +name. Overhead, with their needles against the blue sky, were the pines in +their dark solemn green, but under our feet the ground was bright with moss +which grew, not on stones or trunks of trees, but all by itself in round +balls, soft and firm and cushiony. You may be sure I was delighted with the +green pincushions: we gathered a quantity of them, and I took one home with +me, but though I watered it carefully, it soon lost its beauty. + +These moss-balls lay at the roots of the pines, and we could pick up as +many as we pleased; but generally even the most delicate mosses grasp the +soil, and clasp their soft tendrils round the stones so firmly that you +need a knife or a sharp stone to make them loose their hold. One of the +uses of moss is to protect the rocks from the frost, and from the heavy +rains which wash them away by degrees. The roots of trees, too, are +cherished and warmed by the closely clinging mosses; and by holding the +moisture from dew and rain, they form where they grow a little bed of soft +mould, and so prepare the way for plants of larger growth. + +Do you know the Trumpet-moss, with its red cups each holding its own little +dewdrop? Perhaps not, for it is a rare treasure, and needs to be sought +for in its own haunts; but there are many green mosses which are very +beautiful, and so common that we see them upon every garden wall. There +is the Hair-moss, the seeds of which are eaten by the birds, while its +delicate tendrils serve as soft lining for their nests: it grows +plentifully beside our streams; but far away in Lapland, during the short +summer when the flowers all at once burst into bloom, it may be seen in +full beauty. The Laps cut this moss in layers and dry it in the sun, to +form a soft rug for them to sleep under during their cold nights. Then +there is the velvety moss which, like the many-coloured lichen, loves to +creep over old buildings, and make the ruined and desolate places bright +with a beauty not their own. + +Speaking of mosses reminds me of a story which is told us by a doctor named +Mungo Park, who was nearly lost in an African desert about a hundred years +ago. Day after day he had toiled on, under the burning sun, until he was +almost in despair; for he had been robbed and deserted, and felt as if +there was nothing left for him but to lie down and die in the wilderness, +or become a prey to the savage animals which ranged over the country; and +the remembrance of those at home in Scotland who would never know what had +become of him, made him sick at heart. As these sad thoughts filled the +traveller's mind and took away all his courage, his tired eye lighted upon +a tiny tuft of moss, showing green and fair even in the parched soil of the +desert. It was the Lesser Fork-moss which grows in our shady woods, and +beside our ponds and ditches. We should perhaps hardly notice it unless we +were shown its beauty by a microscope, for it is one of the smallest and +humblest of things that grow; but as he looked at it, tears of joy came +to his eyes. Silently springing up in that thirsty land, the tiny moss +spoke to the lonely exile of the care of God for the very smallest of His +creatures, whether the restless brown bird of which the Lord Jesus spoke +when He bade His disciples not to fear, saying, "Ye are of more value than +many sparrows," or the creeping moss which spreads from stone to stone. + +In a moment all was changed for the weary traveller. He felt that he was +not alone in that great solitude, for God who had cared for that tuft of +moss, and kept it green and fresh by means of some hidden spring, surely +cared for him, His own child, and would show him the right way out of +that desolate place. Thus the burden and the heat were forgotten in happy +thoughts of the faithfulness of God; and he went on his way with new +courage, and soon found the path which he had lost; but he never forgot +the message which the little moss had brought him. Though the whole plant +was not larger than the tip of his finger, he managed to keep it safely +through all his journeys by land and sea, and had the pleasure of seeing +it flourish under our cold skies just as well as it had done beneath the +burning sun of Africa. If you are fond of poetry, you may like to read some +lines written by the poet McCheyne about this incident. + + "Sad, faint, and weary, on the sand + Our traveller sat him down; his hand + Covered his burning head; + Above, beneath, behind, around, + No resting for the eye he found-- + All nature seemed as dead. + + "One tiny tuft of moss alone, + Mantling with freshest green a stone, + Fixed his delighted gaze; + Through bursting tears of joy he smiled, + And while he raised the tendril wild, + His lips o'erflowed with praise. + + "'Oh, shall not He who keeps thee green + Here in the waste, unknown, unseen, + Thy fellow-exile save? + He who commands the dew to feed + Thy gentle flower, can surely lead + Me from a scorching grave.'" + +The poem has many more verses, but I think these the prettiest. Moss has +been spoken of by a poet as the "nest of time"; it has also been called +"nature's livery," because the earth is clothed with it; and I have read +that Mungo Park's little teacher may be found upon many a wall near London, +and also clinging to those great stones which were once part of the walls +of far away Jerusalem. It is nice to think that the little green plants, +which we have such reason to love--because they are brightest and best in +the winter-time, when all our + + "Gorgeous flowerets in the sunlight shining, + Blossoms flaunting in the eye of day, + Tremulous leaves, with soft and silver lining, + Buds that open only to decay." + +have faded--grow all the world over; even down in the mines of Sweden the +shining Feather-moss is said to light up the darkness with a tiny glimmer +of its own. + +When we were speaking of the fossil animals which are found hidden deep in +the "crust" of the earth, you may remember that I told you that upon the +hard grey-coloured clay which forms the roof of coal-mines beautifully +traced patterns of ferns are sometimes found. I have heard that half the +plants the remains of which are found buried in the coal-measures are +ferns, but ferns which are now known to us as but three feet in height, +appear in those early times of our earth's history to have been grand trees +with trunks three feet through, and fronds of great length. + +If you want to see tree-ferns growing wild now, you must go to New Zealand +or Australia, or to the south of India: but you may perhaps some day have +an opportunity of looking at pictures of some of the giant mare's-tails, +and other plants with beautifully sculptured stems, of which traces have +been found in our own English coal-fields; meantime, look at the vivid +word-picture which Dr. Buckland has given of what he saw in a Bohemian +mine. He says: "The most elaborate imitation of living foliage upon the +painted ceilings of Italian palaces bears no comparison with the beauteous +proportions of extinct vegetable forms with which the galleries of these +instructive coal-mines are overhung.... The effect is heightened by the +contrast of the coal-black colour of these vegetables with the light +groundwork of the rock to which they are attached"--for you must not forget +that it is upon the roof of the mine that the impressions of the plants +which have been turned into coal are found, not upon the coal itself, +though even there they may be discovered by a microscope. + +And now leaving the mosses and lichens, ferns and mushrooms, we will turn +to the "herb yielding seed," and speak of the great family of grasses; and +to begin with I will quote for you two verses which were brought to me by +the children when I had asked for texts about grass. + +This is one: "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?" + +And the other is: "The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth +away: but the word of the Lord endureth for ever." + +When we were speaking about the former of these verses, I told them +that by "the grass of the field" we must understand not only grass, but +the wild flowers which grow upon the green slopes of Palestine in the +spring-time, when God + + "Lets His own love-whispers creep + Over hills and craggies steep." + +They bloom but for a short time--from February to April; for in May a +burning wind from the desert sweeps over the flowery meadows, and in one +short day the grass has withered and its flower has faded. All "the grace +of the fashion of it perishes," and there is no more beauty in the fields +till the return of spring makes them bloom again. + +In a country where wood is as scarce as it is in the Holy Land grass and +flowers are all cut down together, and burnt to heat the ovens in which +bread is baked. The flowers of the field may live but a day, and then +wither on their stalks under the hot breath of the desert-blast; or they +may be cut down and "cast into the oven." But the Lord spoke of them that +He might teach His disciples that they must not be anxious about how they +were to live in this world, because God their Father who "so clothed the +grass," cared for them much more than for the birds, and all the helpless +living things which are never forgotten by Him. + +The flowers have no care. Those crimson lilies, which shine like stars +among the grass in Palestine in the spring-time, do nothing to make their +own rich dress. But God has thought it worth while to clothe them, as well +as the daisies of our English meadows, in grace and beauty; and fair and +sweet as they are, not for themselves, but as the overflowings of God's +brimming cup of love, From His own word we learn to "consider the lilies +how they grow," and receive through them the same lesson which the +Fork-moss taught the lost traveller. + + "For who but He that arched the skies, + And pours the day-spring's living flood, + Wondrous alike in all He tries, + Could rear the daisy's purple bud? + + "Mould its green cup, its wiry stem, + Its fringčd border nicely spin, + And cut the gold-embossčd gem, + That, set in silver, gleams within? + + "Then fling it, unrestrained and free, + O'er hill and dale and desert sod, + That man where'er he walks may see, + In every step, the stamp of God." + +The verse which speaks of the "withering" of the grass, becomes even more +striking if we remember that grass in Eastern lands often grows so tall as +to reach to the saddle, as a horseman rides through it. But this tall grass +withers away as soon as it is smitten by the burning heat of the sun. +The apostle Peter speaks of all the glory of man as like grass which has +withered; and then, in contrast with what so quickly perishes, he reminds +of what can never grow old or pass away--"the word of the Lord," which +"endureth for ever." + +While we were speaking of the verse in Genesis which tells us that "every +herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth" was to be food +for man, I asked the question: "What are the grain-bearing plants?" + +Every voice at once replied, "Corn"; and certainly corn is one of the most +beautiful, and the plant which has in a special manner given "bread to the +eater." "But," I continued, "are there not other grasses whose seeds supply +food for us?" + +The children thought awhile, and then said, "Barley," "rye," "oats"; and +presently, thinking of other countries besides England and Scotland, +someone ventured, "rice"; and Chris, remembering the tall Indian corn which +grows so abundantly in America, suggested "maize." + +So we went on to notice (Genesis 1. 29, 30) that corn and grain of various +kinds are the food specially prepared by God for man. There was the "green +herb" for the animals and birds and creeping things; and for us, the "herb +yielding seed." How beautiful it is to see that at the very outset food +was provided for man, even before God had made him; and that all through +the long years which have passed from that time till now, it has never +been wanting. It is true there have been terrible famine years, when the +wheat-harvest has perished, or when the rice-crop, upon which the lives +of thousands of people in India and China depend, has failed from want of +water; and the hand of God in judgment may at times be seen in these years +of drought; but through His goodness in giving "rain from heaven, and +fruitful seasons," the earth still brings forth food, and will do so, for +God's own word assures us that "while the earth remaineth, seedtime and +harvest ... shall not cease." It is cheering to think of this when we pass +through a corn-field, and admire the red poppies shining here and there +among the wheat, and the full ears of corn waving in the sunshine, until +the field looks like a sea of gold. + +Interesting too it is to see, as Ernest and his friend did the other day, +all that must be done ere those waving ears of corn become a loaf such as +you see on the table every morning: for in this country we do not feed on +"parched corn," as it is described in that lovely story of Ruth the Moabite +woman, from whose line descended our Lord Jesus Christ, "Son of David, Son +of Abraham." + +As they were walking along the road, the boy noticed a large piece of bread +which someone had thrown away. + +"How wrong to throw away such a nice piece as that!" he remarked to a +friend at his side. + +"Indeed it was," she replied. "Whoever threw it away never thought how much +it cost to make that piece of bread." And she began to tell how the hard +ground must be broken by the plough, and smoothed by the harrow, to make +it ready for the seed; then, after the seed has been sown and covered up, +water, air, and sunlight are all needful, that the roots may sink down deep +into the earth, and the green stalks shoot up into the light; so that where +there was once only the bare brown field may be seen "first the blade, then +the ear, after that the full corn in the ear"--the harvest-field in all its +glory. As the "Sower's Song" says: + + "Fall gently and still, good corn; + Lie warm in thy earthly bed, + And stand so yellow some morn, + For man and beast must be fed." + +Then come the reaping and the threshing, and the winnowing and crushing of +the grain, and the making of the flour into bread, and its baking. All this +must be done before our tables can be furnished with "our daily bread." + +[Illustration: WITH THE REAPERS.] + +For the birds, which "neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse +nor barn," God makes the grass to grow of itself; but all those +seed-bearing plants, which He has given to man, must now be cultivated. +Rice needs a great deal of water that it may grow; and corn, if no care +is given to its cultivation, soon becomes but a poor and useless sort of +grass. It must be sown fresh every year in ground which has been made ready +for it. Did you ever pluck one of the golden ears from a field of corn, and +sit down and count how many grains there were upon one slender stalk? And +then did you think that every little grain in that ear was itself a seed +which, just as the egg contains the bird that is one day to fly and sing, +wraps up within itself a young wheat-stalk with all the golden ears which +may wave and rustle when next year's harvest time has come? No longer then +the one lonely seed dropped by the hand of the sower into the good soil +prepared for it, but many, many grains instead. So true is it that + + "A grain of corn an infant's hand + May plant upon an inch of land, + Whence twenty stalks may spring and yield, + Enough to stock a little field. + + "The harvest of that field may then + Be multiplied to ten times ten, + Which, sown thrice more, would furnish bread + Wherewith an army might be fed." + +And such life is there in seed, that even grains of corn which had been +hidden away for thousands of years--wrapped up in an Egyptian tomb within +a mummy like those you saw at the Museum the other day--when sown still +brought forth fruit; not in Egypt where they first grew, but in England. +But those grains which had slept the sleep of ages would never have thus +wakened into life and fruitfulness unless they had been sown in the earth; +for before we can see the "full corn in the ear," the one grain from which +so many were to come, must "fall into the ground and die": in darkness and +silence and death the plant is born, and begins to show signs of life. Did +you ever think of this? + +The Lord Jesus once spoke of it to two of His disciples, Andrew and Philip. +I do not know whether they understood then that He was speaking of Himself +when He said the words, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn +of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, +it bringeth forth much fruit." "Much fruit"--even that great multitude +redeemed by His blood, who shall be with Him and praise Him for ever, as +they remember how He died that they might live. + +I hope that you belong to the happy company who shall sing that new song in +heaven. If you have known and believed the love of God in giving His own +beloved Son to die instead of you, and the love of Christ in coming into +the world and laying down His life for you, you can say of the Lord Jesus +the very words which the great apostle Paul said, when he spoke of Him as +"the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." + +How much there is for us to learn, and how much to admire, in the wonderful +works of God! Far, far more than we have been speaking of to-day in the +lichens, covering the bare rocks with "cloth of gold," and in the leafy +mosses which the birds weave into soft lining for their nests; the palms, +pines, reeds, and grasses, and the beautiful waving corn, which is God's +special gift to man. But we must now turn to the third division of plants, +which is described as "the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose +seed is in itself." + +There is a pretty poem which Sharley learnt the other day, beginning-- + + "I praised the earth, in beauty seen, + With garlands gay of various green." + +When she had repeated it to me, I asked, "What are the 'gay garlands,' +Sharley--flowers?" + +But no, they could not be, because the flowers are not "green"; so Sharley +answered that she thought they must be beautiful trees with which the earth +is covered; for their brightly coloured leaves, especially in autumn, are +as gay as wreaths of flowers, with their many shades of red and brown, as +well as "various green." + +The more we notice the trees and flowers, the more we wonder at their +loveliness; for God has "made everything beautiful in his time," whether +the rich trees of autumn or the tender green of the spring-time, when all +the earth seems young again. + +Beautiful indeed this earth must have been; still so fair, even in its +ruins; when it came fresh from the hand of God, prepared by Him to be the +dwelling place of His creatures; but who can tell how fair it will be when +every trace of sin and its sad work shall be gone for ever, and the Lord +Jesus, the Prince of Peace, shall reign over it? + +And although it is all done so quietly and secretly, and seems so natural +to us that we hardly give it a thought, even still more wonderful than +their beauty is the way in which these trees, yielding fruit after their +kind, "whose seed is in itself," go on constantly, not only living, but +producing other living plants, which increase and multiply, each in its +turn again producing more and more "after its kind." + +Perhaps you save up your pennies, as I did long ago, until you have enough +to buy a packet of flowerseeds. As you unfold the packet, and see the +pictures of the flowers that are to be, on the little papers inside--the +scarlet poppy, the yellow marigold, the blue lupin, and the many-coloured +sweet peas--you almost feel as if you already saw these bright flowers +blooming in your garden. But open the little parcels one after the other, +and what do you find? Nothing bright or sweet or beautiful; only little +brown seeds, tiny as grains of March dust, or so light and feathery that +your breath would blow them away. + +Do you then throw them into the fire, and say they are no good? Not so. You +take the greatest care of these little grains. You prepare the earth, and +make a soft bed for them, then cover them up, carefully marking the spot +with the name of the flower whose seed you have sown there. You water that +bare place, and wait to see green leaves push themselves up through the +dark soil; for well you know that within each tiny brown seed the flower +that is to be, lies hidden. + +To see your seed grow, and your plant live and bloom, does not surprise you +at all. But how astonished you would be if, in the spot where you had sown +white candytuft, you were to find yellow tulips! + +Such a thing can never be; for the mother-plant from which the seed came +must always produce plants of its own kind. You never saw a bean grow into +a cherry-tree, or a pink change into a rose, did you? God gives the seed a +body "as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed its own body." + +It is true that what are called "varieties" can be produced among +cultivated plants, as among birds and animals, by change of food and +climate, and by care and training. The same plant will soon look very +different if taken from a dry, sunny spot, and placed in a damp, shady +corner. I have heard that if plants are moved from their home on the +seashore, and placed in a dry, hot place, their thick, fleshy leaves will +in time quite change their character, becoming thin and hairy. In the same +way a tree, if given room, will spread its branches wide, but will shoot +upwards if hemmed in on all sides. It is important, however, to remember +that man has never been able by his skill to produce a new kind of either +plant or animal. But we were speaking of your seeds, so tiny, yet so unlike +each other. These differences become much more apparent if the seeds are +looked at through a microscope, and the varieties in their way of growing +are endless. + +You know where to look for the tiny seeds of the apple-tree; but may not +have noticed, that while they lie safely hidden inside the fruit, the +strawberry's yellow seeds are outside. Then some seeds, such as peas and +laburnums, grow in pods. Some, like the hips and haws, we must look for +between the stalk and the flower, or in the place where the flower has +been. You may have seen a hawthorn-tree in the spring all white with its +scented blossoms. If you pass by the same place months later, when spring +and summer are past, what a change! Where the sweet flowers had been, the +red berries, which the birds like so well, hang in clusters. This is what +has happened: the wind has blown away the soft blossoms; then the parts +beneath them which held the seeds grew larger and turned into berries; the +sun shone upon them and dyed them their brilliant red; and now they are +quite ripe, and ready for the birds' winter supply; or perhaps one here and +there may bury itself in the ground, and become a young hawthorn. + +The power of life in the seed is a very wonderful thing. I have read of a +grave far away in Hanover upon which a very massive stone was laid, and +upon the stone were engraved the words, "This grave shall never be opened." +We know that the time will come when the seal of every tomb will be broken, +but even now it may be seen that those proud words were written in vain. +A seed which had fallen into the grave has grown into a tree, which has +actually raised and pushed aside the heavy stone to make room for itself +and force its way into the light and air. + +I wonder if you ever thought of the fruits which you so much enjoy, as +seeds? Such they really are. Almonds and grapes and oranges, yes, and +the blackberries of the hedges, are either the seeds of plants or what +are called their seed-vessels, because they hold the seed. But fruits +like apples and pears have a double use; they were made not only to +serve as seed-holders, but God has given them to us for food. And those +horse-chestnuts you are so fond of gathering--next time you pick one up +just stop and think that in the round smooth nut, which you can hide in +your closed hand, lies the baby plant which may one day become a spreading +tree like those you have seen in the park. Can you believe that such a +mighty tree, with its branches and leaves and blossoms, is folded up in one +small horse-chestnut, such as that with which you were playing the other +day, whirling it round your head at the end of a string? The life of a +plant, could it be told, would be indeed a tale of wonder; and I should +like to try to tell you a little more about it, as well as something about +how flowers are made; but as we have had so long a chapter, we must end +with another story, the true story of what a flower, growing alone in a +yard, just springing up in its green sweetness between the flagstones, +taught a poor man who was as lonely as itself, and also very unhappy. + +He was a Frenchman, and had been in prison a long time, because the Emperor +Napoleon considered him his enemy. One day while he was walking in the +prison-yard, pacing backwards and forwards, up and down the narrow space +which was allowed him, he noticed something green at his feet, and stooping +down to see what it could be, found that a busy little plant was bravely +pushing its way up between the crevices of the paving stones, to reach such +light and air as could be found in a prison-yard. "How could it have come +here?" the prisoner thought. A seed must have been dropped by some passing +bird, and "the scent of water" from some hidden spring must have caused it +to bud and to send down the slender fibres of its roots, with their little +sponges, to suck up all the moisture, so that the plant should grow, and +shoot up those fresh green leaves which had attracted his attention. + +If the poor prisoner had been happy and busy, he perhaps would have thought +no more of the little plant; but he was very sad and lonely, and he could +not be busy as he had no books to read, and all the occupations which he +most cared for had been taken from him. So this living thing was to him +like a country in which he was constantly discovering some new wonder +and beauty. He loved to watch the lonely plant, which was, to his fancy, +a prisoner like himself; and when at last the buds unfolded, and the +flowers--such sweet flowers with such gay colours--bloomed, he was filled +with delight; he guarded his treasure with the most anxious care, for if +a hasty foot had trodden it down, he would have lost a friend which had +cheered for him many a sad hour. + +But I have not yet told you what this prison-flower taught the lonely +prisoner. As day by day he watched the growth of that humble little plant, +God spoke to him. He had spent his life without thinking much about God, +and when he had thought about Him, he had been like that poor proud man of +whom God's word says that he is a "fool," although men may think him very +clever. + +He had many times said in his heart, "There is no God;" and he used to try +to believe that there was no one greater or wiser than a man like himself, +and that all that he saw in the world--the mountains, and sea, and all the +wonderful works of God--came of themselves; or, as he said, "by chance." He +had even written these words upon the wall of his cell, "All things come by +chance." + +But it was not by chance that he was allowed to see something of the work +of God in one little flower. As day by day he watched the leaves grow, the +buds unfold, and then the blossoms open in all their fragrance, he knew +that God alone could work the miracle of life and growth which was going on +before his eyes. His proud, scornful heart was bowed in the presence of a +power at which he could but wonder, for it was past all his understanding, +and he humbly owned that God had taught him by his pet plant lessons which +the wisest men in the world could not have taught. + +It was by means of the flower, too, that at last the prison doors were +opened, and a message came to tell him that Napoleon had given him leave to +go home. + +It would take too long to tell this part of the story, but you will not be +surprised to hear that, like the African traveller, he could not bear to +part with his cherished flower. He carefully dug it out from between the +stones, carried it home with him, and never forgot the simple but great +lesson which he had learned while in prison. + +We have been able to say very little about the "green earth," and the +wonders of the work of God on the THIRD DAY of Creation, but perhaps you +will understand something of what a student of nature meant when he wrote, +"The earth may be looked at as a vast seed-plot of life, seen from the +point of view of the Great Sower." + +I think you will like these verses which were repeated to me by an old +friend who remembered having learnt them from his mother's lips, long ago. +They seem just fit to close our chapter about the earth in its verdure and +beauty. + + "All the world's a garden, + God hath made it fair; + Living trees and flowers + He hath planted there. + Rain and sunshine giving, + All His goodness prove; + There is nothing living + But has felt His love. + + "Every home's a garden, + Clustering side by side, + Each to others yielding, + Flow'rets should abide. + Word or thought of anger + Ne'er should enter there; + Buds of loving kindness + Opening everywhere. + + "Every school's a garden, + Hedged and fenced around; + Nothing vile or useless + Should within, be found. + Teachers are the gardeners, + Sowing precious seed, + Training up the tender plants, + Plucking every weed. + + "Every heart's a garden; + It should bring forth fruit; + But foul weeds and briars + In its soil have root. + Envy, wrath, and hatred, + Malice, strife, and pride, + Lies and disobedience, + And many more beside. + + "Cast them out, I pray, Lord, + And supply in place + Gentleness and goodness, + Lovely plants and grace; + Patience and longsuffering, + Faith and hope and love-- + These will bear transplanting + To the world above." + + + + +THE FOURTH DAY. + +SUN, MOON, AND STARS. + + +"_When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the +stars, which Thou hast ordained: what is man, that Thou art mindful of him? +and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?_"--PSALM viii. 3, 4. + +"_The day is Thine, the night also is Thine: Thou hast prepared the light +and the sun.... Thou hast made summer and winter._"--PSALM lxxiv. 16, 17. + +"_Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to +behold the sun._"--ECCLESIASTES xi. 7. + +"_One star differeth from another star in glory._"--1 CORIN. xv. 41. + + +When we had got as far in our reading of the first chapter of Genesis as +the fourteenth verse, we noticed that it is very like the third; for both +verses begin with those wonderful words which none but God could say--"Let +there be." + +But there is a great difference between the "light" of the third verse and +the "lights" of verses fourteen and sixteen. The sun is called "the greater +light," and the moon, which is so very much smaller, "the lesser light"; +but in the language in which this part of the Bible was first written, +these two lamps which give us light are called by a name which means, not +the light itself, but that which holds it; not, as we might say, the candle +which gives light as it burns but the candlestick in which it is set. + +Let us read again carefully what God has told us about His work on the +FOURTH DAY, and I think we shall see, as we noticed in the chapter on +"Light," that we are not told that it was upon that Day that the sun and +moon were _created_. + +"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide +the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for +days, and years. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven, +to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; +the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: +He made the stars also." + +You remember that in the whole of this chapter which speaks of God's work +in creation, the word "created" is used only on three occasions, though in +the verse which tells of the creation of man, it is three times repeated +(verse 27). And now I want you to turn to the hundred and fourth Psalm, and +notice the verses which speak of the Days of Creation: you will see that +light is spoken of in the second verse, and in the nineteenth we read-- + +"He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down." + +Those who know the Hebrew language tell us that the word "appointed" in +this verse is the very same as that which has been translated "made" in the +sixteenth verse of the first chapter of Genesis--so that we may read, "God +appointed two great lights," just as in the eighth Psalm we read, "The moon +and the stars, which Thou hast ordained." + +We have seen that God could give light without the sun or moon;--an old +writer quaintly says that before the sun was made "the whole heaven was +our sun"--but He was pleased upon this Day of His creation to command the +light, which He had called out of the darkness, to gather round the sun, +so that he might, as the great light-bearer in all his splendour "rule the +day"; and to cause light from that glorious sun to fall upon the moon, so +that she, with her silvery shining, might "rule the night"--both sun and +moon thus giving "light upon the earth." + +May is fond of repeating a verse, which I daresay you know, about a little +girl who, when it was too dark for her to see any more, folded up her work +and put away her playthings with a "good-night, good-night" to them; for +the time for working and playing had come to an end. "But," the verse goes +on-- + + "She did not say to the sun 'good-night,' + Though she saw him set like a ball of light; + For she knew he had God's time to keep + All over the world, while others sleep." + +Yes; this wonderful "ball of light"--so bright that the brightest light +we know of looks dull when held up before its dazzling face--is ever, +night and day, sending out rays of light and heat, like streams from an +overflowing fountain, always making daylight somewhere. When you lie down +in your bed, and settle yourself to sleep sound till morning, your little +cousins in Australia and New Zealand are just beginning to sit up in +theirs, and to rub their eyes, and think it will soon be breakfast time; +and in the evening, when their day is done, yours will be just beginning +again. + +If there were any part of the world upon which the sun never shone, how +cold and dark and desolate that forsaken spot would be! If no waves of heat +warmed the earth, not a seed could spring up; no plant could live, no tree +bear fruit, no flower lift up its head to the kindly light and show its +fair colours; for do you not remember we learnt that the colours of flowers +all come from the sunlight? Without the sun, the green earth would be +changed into a frozen desert, with nothing living or moving upon it. + +In old times the clever Greeks, who knew nothing of the God who made this +wonderful star--for the sun is really a star, and the thousands of stars +which we see on clear nights are suns, some larger and some smaller than +our sun--worshipped it as the god Helios; and the Grecian philosopher who +first ventured to say it was not so was tried for his life at Athens for +his impiety; yet even he saw nothing in this wonderful light-bearer but a +red-hot stone, half as big as his own country. If you have learnt better, +if you know that "to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all +things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, +and we by Him," you can think how good that gracious God has been in not +leaving the world in the dark and cold, but giving this great light to +shine upon us, and to cheer us by his warmth. For though the sun is so very +far away, "there is nothing hid from the heat thereof"; every little leaf, +every tiny creature that creeps upon the ground, lives and grows in the +life-giving rays of the sun, and would perish without them. Have you ever +stopped to think of what is more wonderful than this? + +God, who made the sun, is Love, as the text you know so well, tells us; and +His love is like His sun, always shining down upon you. All the love and +kindness which you have known from the day when you came into the world, a +little helpless creature, with "no language but a cry"; all this love which +surrounds you and has made your life so happy and bright, comes from Him; +for "love is of God," and "God is love." + +But it is only when God turns our hearts to Himself, so that we can say +that we have "known and believed" His love to us, that we can really thank +Him for it. When one, who knew what it was to have had his own dark heart +lighted up by this great love, was thinking of these things, he wrote +some words which I am going to write down for you, for they deserve to be +remembered. + +"The creation of the sun," he says, "was a very glorious work; when God +first rolled him flaming along the sky, he shed golden blessing on every +shore. The change in spring is very wonderful; when God makes the faded +grass revive, the dead trees put out green leaves, and the flowers appear +on the earth. But far more glorious and wonderful is the conversion (that +is, the turning to God) of the soul. It is the creation of a sun that is to +shine for eternity; it is the spring of the soul that shall know no winter, +the planting of a tree that shall bloom with eternal beauty in the paradise +of God." McCheyne wrote like this because he knew that + + "When this passing world is done, + When has sunk yon glaring sun," + +the spirit, that part of man which can never come to an end of its life, +will still be living somewhere; and that those only who have been turned to +God, and are His children by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, will live with +Him all through that great _for ever_ which will go on when sun and moon +and all that we can see may have passed away. + +And now, before I try to tell you a very little about the sun, I should +like to know whether you have ever learnt any astronomy. My children +thought it a hard name, but its meaning is beautiful, for it is only the +Greek way of saying, "the law of the stars." Astronomy is the science which +teaches us about the heavenly bodies, as the sun, moon, and stars are +sometimes called; and all that we can learn about them is very wonderful +and interesting, so that the more we know, the more we want to know. But +the pleasantest way for you to learn would be if someone would talk to you +a little, especially about the stars, and take you out of doors on clear +nights, and show you some of those which are best known, so that in time +you would learn to look for them yourself; _that_ would be a delightful way +of beginning to learn. + +I remember that I had a great wish to know about the different +constellations, or groups of stars; I wanted to know where to find Orion, +with his seven brilliant stars, and those other seven stars which form the +group called Charles's Wain; from an idea that they are so placed as to +give a rough sketch of a waggon and three horses; and the wonderful cluster +of the Pleiades--for I had heard of all these constellations; but I did not +like the trouble of learning about them in difficult books. One day I met a +gentleman who was very fond of sailing about in his yacht, and I thought he +would teach me all about the stars, for I had heard that sailors knew them +well. But, to my disappointment, I found that my new friend, though he was +very kind to me, was not able to answer my questions; he said he did not +know much about the stars, and that it was in the old times, before ships +were steered by the compass, that sailors learned so much from watching +them; though the moon considered in reference to the fixed stars is of very +great importance as enabling them to ascertain their position. + +Though it is a long time ago, I can remember how surprised I was when I +first understood that the sun was a star, and that there are other stars +very much like him, but most of them so very far from us that it is not +possible to measure their distance. We do know how far our sun--the Star +of Day, as he is sometimes called--is from us. Perhaps it may help you a +little if I tell you that the astronomers say that if the sun was as far +away from us as the nearest of these stars, he would appear but a point of +light; but I think you will best understand how great the distance is if I +tell you that a train, rushing along at full speed, as you see the express +go by, and never resting, day or night, would take two hundred and ten +years to reach him. + +We cannot be surprised that very little is known certainly about a star so +very far off, and yet nearer to us than any of the little points of light +which you see so thickly sown over the sky; but we know that he is a great +globe, like our earth, only twelve hundred thousand times as large--as much +larger, I told the children when we were having our lesson in astronomy, as +May's curly head was larger than the little blue bead which I put upon it. + +But this great globe is unlike the earth in one respect; for while _it_ is +in itself quite dark, the sun which is used in the Bible as an emblem of +God Himself shines by his own glorious light, and though he is believed to +be made of the same materials as our earth, it is likely that they are in a +state of very great heat. + +Astronomers, who look at the sun through their wonderful telescopes, and +so get much nearer to him than we can, tell us that we never see the sun +himself; but that what we look at is the bright garment of light which is +wrapped around him. They tell us also about great holes which sometimes +appear in this bright covering; and they believe that they have actually +seen, through these holes, the dark globe which is the real sun. These +holes are called spots upon the sun, and very dark they look upon his +bright face. The astronomers have long tried to find out what makes the +sun-spots, and some of them now think that they are caused by furious winds +which make great rents in this bright garment; for they tell us that there +are sun-storms far more terrible than any storm that ever raged on sea or +land. + +It was while patiently watching the movement of these dark spots, through +the little telescope which he had made and set up in Rome, that Galileo, +nearly three hundred years ago, discovered that the sun moves round upon +itself once during twenty-eight days, just as the earth turns round on +herself once in twenty-four hours. But he lived in a time when it was +believed that our earth was the centre of the universe, and that to say +that it was only one of many planets moving round the sun was to deny the +word of God; so to save his life, he pretended to give up what he knew to +be true, and promised that he would never teach it again. + +You remember that our earth has an atmosphere, a globe of air which wraps +it round. We are told that the sun, too, has an atmosphere--a colour-globe, +as it is called, because it is believed to be not air, but fiery gas. Then, +outside this colour-globe, is something very lovely; that corona, or crown, +of silvery light, which can be seen only during an eclipse of the sun. But +what is an eclipse? + +When the moon, which has no light of her own, passes directly between the +earth and the sun, so as to hide his face from us, we say there is a solar +eclipse, or obscuring of the sun's light. When the earth comes directly +between the moon and the sun, instead of the sun's light falling upon the +moon, _she_ is eclipsed by the dark shadow of the earth passing over her +face. I think you may have watched an eclipse of the moon: a solar eclipse +is a much rarer sight, and there is something awful about it: as the +darkness deepens, the stars begin to shine out, and it seems so much like +night that the cocks and hens have been known to go to roost at midday. +It is then, when the bright, dazzling face of the sun is hidden, that his +lovely crown is seen, as a ring of soft light appearing all round the dark +face of the moon. + +Now let us think of some of the things that this wonderful Star of Day does +for us. In the first place, he is the great source of light and heat, as he +shines, not for us alone, but upon all the other planets--those which are +so near to him as to get more heat than we could bear, and those which are +so far away that it seems to us as if they must be very cold indeed. + +But, if we leave these distant worlds and think of our own, how wonderful +it is to know that, as we learnt when speaking of Light itself, not from +the sun alone, but from every star, waves of light and heat, like tiny +messengers from them to us, are always speeding on their noiseless way. +They travel to us through space, or rather through something finer than air +or water, which fills all the room between us and them--for no place in the +universe is really empty. + +You may be surprised to hear that these messengers come from the stars by +day as well as by night; but remember that they are _always_ shining in +their places in the sky. We cannot see the starlight waves while the sun's +great light is shining upon us; but you know how beautifully they shine on +clear nights, when there is neither sunlight nor moonlight to quench their +soft beams. + +But after all, the stars are so far away that we must think specially of +our own star, the sun, as the source of light and heat; he also makes for +us all form and colour, and gives us the pictures drawn by his light which +we call photographs, and which make us know something of people we have +never seen, and places which we may never visit. + +You remember that sunlight also helps the plants to sift the air, so that +they take from it the part that suits _them_, and leave behind the part +that suits _us_--that precious oxygen which is so necessary for all animal +life. + +Then we must not forget the work done by the heat-waves. These are called +"dark," because they cannot be seen. They not only strike upon the land, +waking up the hidden seed, and warming it into life, but they are the great +water-carriers. When we were talking about the clouds we learnt that from +every wet place, as well as from the seas, lakes, and rivers, water is +constantly being drawn up, so that we can see it again in the fleecy clouds +which float across the sky, and again when it comes down in the showers +which water the earth--the tiny heat-waves are the messengers which perform +this work of evaporation. + +When we were speaking about the world of water, we learnt that the moon is +the chief cause of the tides, by whose constant ebb and flow the ocean and +rivers are purified; in like manner the sun, by causing the winds to blow, +keeps the air fresh and pure; but this is a subject rather beyond us. We +can, however, remember that one more thing which the sun does for us is to +tell us the time. God gave him "to rule the day ... and to divide the light +from the darkness," and he marks how long our day is to be, "keeping time," +as May's verse says, all the world over--for he is the great clock which +tells the hours and the days--a clock which never needs to be wound up, +and which we can trust, for it never goes wrong. And he is a constant +silent witness to us of the power and the goodness of God, as "day unto day +uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech +nor language; their voice is not heard"--but "the heavens declare the glory +of God ... in them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun." If, as we look at +our watches, we are certain that men must have made them, how sure is it +that God made this great time-keeper, light-giver, and life-sustainer--this +mighty magnet that guides and controls the world of which it is the +glorious centre! + +The sun "divides the light from the darkness" by being seen by us or hidden +from our sight. If you watch, after the sun has risen in the morning--and +you _can_ watch him in the winter, when you are often up before he is--you +will see that he seems to climb the sky, always mounting higher and higher, +until he is shining right above your head. Then, as the day goes on, and +it gets towards afternoon, he seems to go down, down, until he sinks into +the far away place where the earth and sky seem to meet, and we see him no +more. It is while he is hidden from sight in the far west, behind that line +which we call the horizon, that night wraps us in its deep shade; for the +sun, the day-star is, gone. + +I wonder whether you have ever thought of this darkness, which would be so +dreadful did it last long, as one of the blessings which God has given us. +The night is the time of sleep and rest for animals and plants, as well as +for weary men and women, and children who can get tired even with their +play. God watches over you while you sleep--"the darkness and the light are +both alike" to Him--and you get up in the morning fresh, and ready for a +new day. + +It is while we are in this world, which is a place of toil, and labour, and +sorrow, that we need the rest and quiet which the still, dark night brings; +but God has said that there is a rest for His people, His Sabbath, which +can never be broken; and when He speaks, in the last book of the Bible, of +the bright, golden city, He says, "there shall be no night there." + +Not long ago a. boy was dying. He had been ill a long time, and all through +the hot summer nights he could not sleep, for his weary cough kept him +waking. Frank had not much to cheer him, for his house was in a noisy +street, where the carts were constantly rattling to and fro; and very +little fresh cool air found its way to the room at the top storey, where he +lay on his bed, often suffering and always very tired. + +Once, when someone brought him some flowers, he was so delighted that he +buried his poor pale face in them, and seemed as if he would drink in their +sweetness. + +"Oh, I do love roses!" he said; and the flowers came as God's own gift to +him, in that poor place where nothing green was growing. But better than +the flowers was the message which came with them. + +The lady who sent them from her garden was sure that Frank knew the Lord +Jesus Christ as his own Saviour, and that he was on his way to be with Him, +and so she sent him those precious words which He spoke to His disciples at +Jerusalem, but which belong also to every one who is a child of God through +faith in Him--"The Father Himself loveth you"--this was the message which +was sent with the flowers; a beautiful message, was it not? + +But I wanted to tell you about the last day of Frank's life in that poor +room in the noisy street. He was very weak and tired, and could not bear to +talk much; but his father sat by his bed, and read to him the last chapter +of Revelation. When he came to the words, "And there shall be no night +there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God +giveth them light," he stopped and said as well as he could, for his heart +was sore at the thought of the parting which was drawing so near, "Frank, +my boy, this is your last night; you are going where there is no night." It +was even so. Before morning came, Frank's redeemed spirit had gone to be +"present with the Lord." + +Do you know a hymn beginning + + "Oh, they've reached the sunny shore, + Over there!"? + +One of the verses comes to my mind when I think of those last words which +Frank's father read to him. The hymn speaks of the "street of shining gold +over there," and then goes on-- + + "Oh, they need no lamp at night, + Over there! + For their Saviour is their light, + And the day is always bright, + Over there!" + +There will be no need of the sun to measure the time when that eternal day +has come; but now you know that his presence or absence makes our days +longer or shorter. In summer, when he is sometimes above the horizon for +sixteen hours, what beautiful long, light days we have! But in winter, when +he rises late and sets early, our days are sometimes not more than half the +length of the longest summer day. + +I remember we had rather a long talk upon a difficult subject, after we had +considered how the sun measures the length of our days. We were speaking +of the verse which tells us that God said, "Let there be lights in the +firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be +for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years." + +I am afraid I did not make this clear to the children, for it is difficult +to understand how the sun makes one season different from another; but I +will just tell you a little about it, and you may learn more by-and-by. + +You know that there are four seasons: the Spring, when the grass begins to +shoot forth its fresh blades, and the trees unfold their buds; the Summer, +when the roses bloom and the fruits ripen; the Autumn, when the corn and +fruits are gathered in; and the Winter, when the earth rests, often closely +wrapped in a soft mantle of snow. + +All these changes pass before our eyes. But if we wish to understand how it +is that the sun is the cause of one season being so different from another, +we must remember that as the earth takes its yearly journey round the sun +it changes its place, getting nearer to him or farther away from him. In +our summer-time the part of the earth where we live is turned more towards +the sun, and so gets more of the light and heat which have their home +there, than at any other time. Our winter days are so short, because at +that time we are turned from the sun more than at any other. And in the +spring and autumn we are not so much turned away from him as we are in +winter, nor so directly in front of him as we are in summer. + +You must remember also what you learnt about the motion of the earth, and +how things are not what they seem. You know that the earth turns round once +a day, though it _seems_ as if it stood still, and the sky, with its sun +and moon and stars, turned round. + +When you watch the rising sun, remember that, though it seems actually to +climb the sky, and to mount higher and higher as the day goes on; and then, +when it is setting, to go slowly down, down, behind the far away hills or +the shining waves--it is all seeming. Just as, when you are going along +in a fast train, the fields and trees and sheep all seem to be in motion, +flying past you; yet you know that _you_ are moving as the train moves, and +flying past _them_; so it is not the sun moving across the sky which makes +day and night, but these changes are caused by the movement of our earth, +as she spins round upon herself like a great top. + +You remember that Galileo was accused of denying the truth of the word of +God, because the Bible speaks in many places of the sun _"arising"_ and +_"going down."_ His accusers forgot that God does not teach us astronomy, +but speaks in His word of things as they appear to our eyes. + +We have seen that our earth, with her faithful companion the moon, is not +only the traveller round the sun; he is the great centre, and around him +all the moving-stars, or planets, travel in their varied paths. But the +moon has a little journey of her own to take besides this long one, for she +travels round the earth, and takes nearly thirty days on her way. + +You know that the moon is always changing; you can never see it for two or +three nights quite the same, but it seems each night a little smaller or a +little larger than when you last saw it. When you looked out of the windows +the other night, just before you went to bed, it was a very young moon +indeed that you saw--not more than two days old, as we say in reckoning +the moon's age. How small and thin it was--just like a curving rim of pale +light upon the dark sky; but as you watch this crescent--or growing--moon, +you will see it constantly getting larger and brighter, until from being +half-moon it has become full-moon, for it faces the sun, and is bright all +over that part which is turned towards you. When we speak of the "face of +the moon," we mean that side which is always turned towards us. But why +does "the gentle moon" always turn the same face to us? Astronomers tell us +that it is because she also turns slowly round on her own axis while she is +travelling round the earth. _How_ this is, I don't think I can explain to +you: but it is true that we can see only one side of the moon, that side +which catches the sunlight, and that hardly anything is known about the +other side. + +Next time the beautiful moonlight nights come, remember, as you watch all +these changes, that this "waxing" and "waning" of the moon comes to pass, +not because she really changes her shape, but because, as she goes round +the earth, we see sometimes more, sometimes less of the bright part which +is lit up by the sun. The moon is dark in herself, like our earth; not like +the sun, and those stars which shine by their own glorious light; if she +had light of her own, it would be full moon every night; but all that soft +brightness which makes everything look so beautiful in the quiet moonlight, +really comes from the sun. When the sun has gone down, as it were, into the +sea, or has disappeared behind some distant mountain, how do you know that +there _is_ any sun? Look at the moon "walking in brightness," and remember +that it is only as the light of the absent sun falls upon her and is +reflected from her face (just as Chrissie said he had often seen the light +of the setting sun thrown back from the windows) that she can shine at all. + +[Illustration: "YON CRESCENT MOON, A GOLDEN BOAT, HANGS DIM BEHIND THE +TREE, O!"] + +Little children love the moon. I have seen a baby who could hardly speak, +clasp her tiny hands and call out, "Have it! have it!" as she saw it glow +like a lamp behind the trees; and we do not lose this love as we grow +older. + +When we remember that the sun is four hundred times farther away from us +than the moon, it makes our earth's silent companion seem very near by +comparison; but still you will not think the journey to the moon a short +one, when I tell you that if you could travel through the fields of air, +rushing along in a fast train, never stopping day or night, it would be +eight months before you got to your journey's end. And when you did get +there you would have arrived at a more desolate country than you ever +dreamed of--a place much like what we might imagine our earth would have +become if there were no water, no air (for if there is air, it is so thin +that no creature like any we know could breathe it), no greenness or +beauty, though there might be scenery grand in its awfulness. + +Have you ever looked through a telescope at the moon? I have. Last summer I +was staying at a seaside town, and one evening I noticed a crowd gathered +on the sands. As I came nearer, I found that a man was showing the moon and +planets through his telescope to any who wished to see what they could see. +He was selling peeps through the telescope, which was a pretty good-sized +one, at a penny a peep. Now, though I had read a great deal about the moon, +and had seen in books photographs of what are called lunar landscapes, I +had never once had a chance of looking at her face through anything but a +bit of smoked glass, at the time of an eclipse. + +So I paid my penny, and when my turn came I stood upon the stool and had my +peep. I can only tell you that the moon did not look nearly so beautiful to +me through the showman's little telescope as she did when my peep was over, +and I saw her once more sailing through the deep blue of the sky, the queen +of night indeed. + +I had read that astronomers had found that the nearer their great +telescopes brought them to the moon, the more like a barren rock she +became, and when I had this nearer view of her than ever before, she looked +to me just as she had been described, like "a burnt-out cinder." + +You know the shadowy figure which you can see, sometimes more distinctly +than at others, on the face of the moon (when I was a child I was told that +it was "the man in the moon"!), this appearance is caused by deep valleys, +or by the shadows of terrible mountain peaks, which were once volcanoes, +throwing out smoke and lava. While I was looking through his telescope, the +showman pointed out to me two of the highest of these peaks, and told me +their names, that is the names which the astronomers had given them; for +these rocky heights have been marked upon maps of the moon, just as the +Welsh mountains are marked upon the map of England and Wales. Upon these +maps we can find Mount Tycho, Mount Gassendi, Mount Copernicus--all of +them extinct volcanoes--and the name of Apennines has been given to a vast +mountain-chain; and the heights of all these mountain peaks have been +ascertained by measuring the shadows cast by them. There are oceans and +seas also marked upon these moon-maps, but they were named at a time when +it was not yet known that they were great plains; for, as I told you, no +trace of water, cloud, or even mist has been discovered there. + +Are you sorry to hear that the moon which looks so lovely to our sight, is +found by those who can get a nearer view to be such a weird and desolate +place that it seemed as if only death reigned there? I know I was, when +first I read about it, and saw a picture of the moon, and wondered at its +bare mountain peaks, with their rugged craters and dreadful precipices, and +its "Ocean of Storms" and "Lake of Death," as two of the sea-like plains +have been called. I wondered how it could have become, as it were, like a +dead earth; but this is one of the things which God has not told us about. +What He _has_ told us is that He made this "lesser light to rule the +night," and as she moves over the sky in her calm silent beauty, she speaks +to us of His goodness in giving not only the sun to rule by day, but the +moon and stars to rule by night, those wonderful stars whose silent voice +is ever making known His power, and telling of His glory; as the poet +Addison has beautifully said-- + + "For ever singing as they shine, + The hand that made us is Divine!" + +This is a long chapter, but we have been speaking of a vast subject, and +before I close it, I want to refer to two wonderful things about the stars, +to which God draws our attention in His word. He tells us that "one star +differeth from another star in glory," and astronomers have discovered +that there was a deeper truth than they at first imagined underlying these +words. + +But what I specially want to speak of for a moment is the number of these +heavenly bodies, and their distance from us. + +In the hundred and thirty-seventh Psalm, two verses are placed close +together, the one speaking of the power and greatness of God, the other of +His tenderness and compassion towards His creatures. + +"He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds." + +"He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by names." + +And in the Book of Job we read-- + +"Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the height of the stars, +how high they are!" + +There are wonderful things to learn about the colour of the stars, some +yellow like our own sun, others of a dazzling whiteness, and others giving +out beautiful rainbow-coloured light. But these wonders you must study +by-and-by; just now we will speak first of their amazing number, as they +appear to our eyes when by the help of the telescope we peer deeper and +deeper into the blue depths of the sky. When alluding to the stars in a +general way we include the seven planets--one of them our own earth--which +move round our sun, and are as it were so near home that five of them may +be seen without the telescope--though not more than three are visible at +the same time--and also those myriads of "fixed stars," all of which are +suns, many of them much larger than our own glorious sun, and removed from +our ken by distances which our minds refuse to grasp. + +I have been told that the number of stars which can be seen with the naked +eye is five thousand, but that only half that number are visible at the +same time. + +If you ask me how many can be seen with the help of the telescope, I cannot +tell you, because more powerful glasses are constantly being made, only to +discover worlds beyond worlds, ever new and more distant, strewn in space +like golden dust, while stars hitherto invisible through the most powerful +telescope can now be made to leave the impress of their rays upon the +photographic plate--so that a great astronomer of our time can show us +pictures of "invisible stars." + +God who made them, God who has appointed to each its own path through the +heavens, and also guides and controls each world and system of worlds in +its course, so that in all His universe there is no jar, no clash, no being +before or after time--He alone can tell their number. + +And when we consider their height, their amazing distance from us and from, +each other, the wonder only grows. + +If we think of the worlds hung in space like our own, our nearest neighbour +among them, the "red planet Mars," is thirty-five millions of miles away, +while the grand planet Saturn--the "ringed world"--though lighted up by our +sun, is so distant, so "_high_," that the ever-hasting traveller whom we +imagined some time ago rushing through space at the speed of an express +train, would take two thousand years on his endless journey. Yet Saturn's +rays actually come to our eyes from this vast infinity of distance--while +the light of the nearest star--and you know we say "quick as light"--takes +more than four years to reach us. + +These things, so far beyond our scanty thoughts to conceive, are indeed too +great for us, but how simply the Bible speaks of them-- + +"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by +the breath of His mouth." + +"By His spirit HE hath garnished the heavens." + +"It is HE that buildeth His storeys in the heavens." + +In the next chapter you will read a true story which I told my scholars as +a reward for their attention while we had been speaking on a very difficult +subject. I hope you will be as much interested in John Britt as they were. + +Here are some beautiful verses, speaking of the way in which "the heavens +declare the glory of God," and my story shows how they may "utter forth a +glorious voice" to ears closed to every earthly sound. + + "The spacious firmament on high, + With all the blue ethereal sky, + The spangled heavens, a shining frame, + Their great original proclaim. + Th' unwearied sun, from day to day, + Doth his Creator's power display. + And publishes to every land + The work of an Almighty Hand. + + "Soon as the evening shades prevail, + The moon takes up the wondrous tale, + And nightly to the list'ning earth, + Repeats the story of her birth: + While all the stars that round her burn, + And all the planets in their turn, + Confirm the tidings as they roll, + And spread the truth from pole to pole. + + "What though, in solemn silence all + Move round this dark terrestrial ball; + What though no real voice nor sound + Amidst their radient orbs be found; + In reason's ear they all rejoice, + And utter forth a glorious voice; + For ever singing as they shine-- + The hand that made us is Divine." + +ADDISON + + + + +STORY OF A DEAF BOY WHO HEARD THE SUN PROCLAIM THE GLORY OF GOD. + + +This story is about an Irish boy who was deaf and dumb. Do you know what +that means? Thank God, you who cannot know. I have been in a school where +every scholar was deaf and dumb. These children had been patiently taught +the finger language, and they had also learnt to express themselves by the +quicker language of signs, so that they could understand a great deal, and +could do many clever things; but it made me very sad to see so many of them +at once, for I knew that this world was to them a silent world. They could +see people speak and smile, but never hear one sound; they might watch the +fingers of anyone who was playing the piano move quickly over the keys, but +not one note of music could reach them. Think how sad it must be never to +have heard your mother's voice, never to be able to speak to those you love +except by signs, which can tell so little of what you want to say, even +if they are understood. Ah, you cannot tell _how_ sad it is! Ernest and +Sharley and May were with me when we went to the school; and when some of +the elder boys acted little plays, just as you might act "dumb charades," +to amuse the visitors, they were delighted with their cleverness, and +laughed heartily; and I daresay the boys were pleased to see them laugh, +though they could not hear them. These boys spoke very quickly on their +fingers, and wrote beautifully on the black board, in answer to questions +which they were asked. I do not remember what these questions and answers +were; but I know we all thought some of the questions too difficult, and +wondered at the good and thoughtful answers which were given. They reminded +me of the reply to a difficult question I once saw a deaf and dumb boy +write. + +The teacher of his school asked the visitors who had come to see it, to +put any questions they liked to the boys. Some questions in history and +geography and arithmetic were asked and answered; and then a lady said, +"Ask them to tell what is the amount of the Christian's riches." + +There was a pause; but presently a boy of fourteen stepped forward, took +the chalk, and wrote this text as the answer: "Having nothing, and yet +possessing all things." I think he must have known what it is to be "rich +unto God." + +It is sad to think that when the ear, that "gateway of knowledge," is shut, +a poor child may, for want of teaching, and often for want of love and +sympathy, grow up almost like an animal; his friends thinking him stupid, +because he cannot ask questions or tell anything that is in his mind, until +at last he really becomes stupid, and his mind grows dull from want of use. + +I am glad to tell you that a way has lately been found, by which children +who have never heard a sound may be taught, not only to understand the +speech of others, but to speak themselves. It is true that their talk +sounds strange and unnatural, and is not easy to understand, but where +this method is known it makes a wonderful difference in the lives of the +poor children who have been so cut off from intercourse with others. +By carefully watching the lips of their teachers, those who learn this +"lip-reading" can tell what is said, and I have seen them write it down, +just as you would write a dictation lesson; and quite as correct, though +they only see the words, and you hear them. But before they have learned to +understand in this way, and still more before they have learned to speak, +great patience is needed, both in teachers and children. I have heard that +in the schools where lip-reading is taught, the children are forbidden to +make signs to each other or talk on their fingers, and so some of them +learn this much better plan wonderfully quickly. + +Sometimes children become deaf after a fever, sometimes from a fall or +a heavy blow, or from a fright; some are born so. I do not know how it +happened in the case of this boy whose story I want to tell you, because +the lady who has written an account of him never knew him till he was +eleven years old; but I think he must either have been born deaf, or have +lost his hearing when he was a baby, for he had never spoken a word, and up +to the time when his story begins he had never been taught anything. His +name was John Britt, but everybody called him Jack; not that it mattered +to him what, he was called, for he had never heard his own name, nor the +shouts of the boys with whom he played, nor the crowing of the cocks, as +they flapped their wings in his mother's yard; all the world was dumb and +silent to poor Jack. + +When he first came to the house of the lady who was to be such a kind +friend to him, Jack looked a very stupid boy. I am sure he was shy too, for +he had never before been in any house but the poor little cottage where he +was born, or the cottages of the neighbour folk; and when this lady from +England tried to make him understand that she wanted to be friends with +him, he kept looking round at all the fine things in her drawing-room. Some +people would have thought him a very rude boy, but she only watched him +with pitying eyes, and longed to teach him about God. But how could she +begin to teach him, since he could not hear a word she said? + +This was what May was most anxious to know; and I could not tell her how +the very beginning was made, nor how Jack liked his first lesson. It must +have been a very difficult task, but you know what you have often heard, +"Where there's a will there's a way." Jack's lady greatly longed to do +something for the poor boy; she was deaf herself, and was obliged to use +an ear trumpet, by which the voices of those who spoke to her were brought +nearer to her ear, and perhaps this made her pity one who had never heard +at all, more than she might otherwise have done. But God had given her a +feeling of love and tenderness towards him, and a great longing and earnest +purpose to help him, and He showed her the way to put His truth within the +reach of this poor boy, whose life had been almost as lonely as if he had +been, shut up in prison, and gave her faith and patience, and courage to +undertake what seemed a hopeless task. One of the things she did was to +get a box of letters, and she held Jack's hand while he copied them on a +slate--I think this must have been his first real lesson--and when he had +copied the letters a great many times, without any idea of what he was +doing, but just to please his kind friend, she took the three letters D-O-G +and put them together. Her pet dog was lying in his basket by the fire, and +she pointed to him, and then pointed to the letters, and after she had done +this over and over again many times, she saw that the boy was beginning to +understand that the letters, in some strange way, must have something to +do with the dog. When this step was gained, she threw the D, O, and G back +into the box, and Jack had to pick the three letters out, one by one, and +put them together again. Then, when this word was quite learnt, she taught +him the names of other things which he knew--all in three letters--and last +of all showed him how to make the letters on his fingers, teaching him what +is called the deaf and dumb alphabet. + +All this seemed a pleasant game to poor Jack, and he little thought that he +was being taught to read, and to speak on his fingers while he was playing +at it. As time went on, the boy became very quick at this game; he knew how +to write a great many words, and to spell them in the finger alphabet, and +the more he learnt the more he wanted to know. He now began to bring all +sorts of things to his teacher, spelling "W-h-a-t, what," on his fingers +again and again, until she had taught him their names. She saw that his +mind, which had been almost asleep, was fast waking up, and she prayed God +to show her how to teach this child not only words and names, but that +"fear of the Lord" which "is the beginning of knowledge." + +Jack's lady well knew that though he was so clever and quick at learning, +he knew nothing about the God who had made him for Himself, nor about the +Lord Jesus Christ who had paid such a price--His own precious blood--to +redeem poor Jack, and buy him back for God. She never forgot while +teaching him, that he had within him a priceless treasure of which he knew +nothing--that immortal spirit which must go on living always, +somewhere--and so, more and more earnestly her cry went up to God: "Teach +me how to teach this boy about Thee!" + +At last the opportunity come. One day Jack pointed upwards at the sun, and +showed by signs that he wished to know who had made that great light in the +sky--had his lady made it? + +She shook her head, as he next made signs for the names of two or three +people, asking whether the sun had been made by them; and then she pointed +to heaven and spelled G-O-D. She told him three things about God: He was +great, He was kind, He was always looking at Jack. + +Soon after this the boy came again with his eager "_What? what?_"--and +explained that he could not find out how the sun was made, because it was +so bright that he could not keep looking at it; but he said he knew all +about the moon. It was rolled up into a ball and then sent across the sky, +just as he would roll a marble along the floor. And the stars--he knew all +about them too; someone had cut them out with a pair of scissors, and stuck +them into the sky. + +I need not tell you that the children, who had just been learning that the +stars are suns, were much amused at this notion of Jack's. + +And now this poor boy began to search for God. He came to his lady and told +her that she was "bad Ma'am," and had told what was not true; for he said +he had been everywhere to look for God, he had even got up in the night to +try to find Him; but nowhere, in the streets or in the fields, had he seen +anyone tall enough to reach the sky, so that he could put up his hand and +stick the bright stars there. And so he repeated many times, "God, _no_; +God, _no_," until she could not bear to hear him; for she knew that Satan +was trying to take away from him the thought of God, and make this poor boy +like the fool of whom the fourteenth Psalm speaks, who "said in his heart, +No God." Jack's lady was silent, for she knew not what to say; but again +she prayed to God to teach her how to teach him; and then she did what the +boy thought a very strange thing, and I am sure you will think it so too. + +A pair of bellows was hanging beside the fire; she took them and began to +blow the hot coals into a ruddy flame. Then suddenly she turned to Jack +and blew puff, puff, at his hand. He did not like the cold air, and shrank +back. When she blew again, saying, "What? what?" just as he had done, he +got angry and said she was bad, and it made him cold. She still pretended +to be very much surprised that he should feel anything uncomfortable, and +looked all over the bellows as if in search of something; then she blew +again, and explained that she could not see anything, repeating just as he +had done, "Wind, _no_: wind, _no_." + +With joy and wonder she saw that her lesson had been understood. Putting +two fingers side by side--the only way which he could think of to express +likeness--Jack repeated over and over, "God like wind; God like wind." + +After this he often spoke of God; once when he had been trying to look at +the sun, he shut his dazzled eyes and spelt on his fingers, "God like sun." +The lightning was to him "God's eye"; the rainbow, "God's smile"; and of +living creatures he would say, patting them kindly, "God made, God made." + +About this time, while Jack's lady was still praying for him, and asking +God to show her how to teach him the sweet story of the love of the Lord +Jesus Christ his Saviour, a fever came to the place, and the boy saw the +strange and sad sight of many funerals passing along the road, as one and +another of those whom he had known when they were strong and well, fell +sick and died. One day he spoke about them, asking by signs whether they +would ever open their eyes again. Without answering his eager question, the +lady took a piece of paper and began to draw, and Jack stood by looking +at her. It was a strange picture, and she went on explaining it as she +drew. First Jack saw a crowd of people--men and women, boys and girls--and +his teacher told him to look at them well, for he, Jack, was in that +crowd--everybody was there. Then she drew a great pit, and out of it came +flames; and she told him that all in that crowd were "bad, bad," and that +God was very angry with these bad people, and said they must all go into +that dreadful pit. + +Poor Jack looked in her face with a frightened stare; he knew that he was +in that crowd, that he was one of those bad people. "Must I go there?" his +anxious look seemed to ask. Still she did not speak, but went on drawing, +and as she drew one man, standing alone, she told Jack that He was the Son +of God, come down from heaven--come to die instead of that crowd of bad +people, so that they might be saved from that dreadful pit. Then it was her +turn to look anxiously into the boy's face. Had her poor Jack understood +the picture? + +Yes, he had understood; and his next question showed that he was thinking +earnestly of what she had told him. + +Pointing to the crowd of people, he said they were "_many_, very many"; but +the Man who come to die instead of them was "_One_, only One"; and then +again he asked, "What? what?" in his eager way. + +How should this question be answered? How should Jack be shown that while +all in that crowd of people had sinned--all "come short of the glory of +God"--the Holy One who came to do God's will and to give Himself a ransom +for them, had glorified Him on the earth, and finished the work which His +Father had given Him to do? + +His teacher did not now draw a picture; but she made one in another way. +There were some dead flowers in the room; taking a pair of scissors, she +cut them up into little bits, till they lay in a brown heap on the table. +Jack watched her do this, and then he saw her take from her finger her gold +ring, and lay it down beside the brown heap. Pointing to the dead flowers, +she said, "Many"; pointing to the ring, she said, "One"; and then asked, +"Which will you have?" + +With a laugh of delight, Jack made her see that he understood this picture +also. The brown heap of worthless, withered flowers was like that crowd of +people--"many," but all bad; the ring, all of gold--only "one" thing, but +so precious--was like Him who died to save them; and over and over again he +spelt, "One! One!" + +Then presently, as the thought came to him that he, Jack, was in that +crowd; that he was one of the "many" for whom that holy One had given +Himself, his heart was full; he burst into tears, and looking upwards he +spelt again, "Good One! good One!" and ran for the box of letters that he +might learn His name. + +And so this boy learnt for the first time that Name which is above every +name, the Name of Jesus. + +It would take too long to tell you how Jack learnt each day something more +about the Lord Jesus Christ. You see he had to be taught the story of His +wondrous birth; of His life in this world, so full of deeds of love and +power, and words of grace and compassion; of His obedience unto death, even +the death of the cross; and how He was raised from the dead by the glory of +the Father, and ascended up to heaven. All this, which you have heard so +often, was not the "old, old story" to him, but quite new; the "good news +of God concerning His Son"; and he did indeed receive the truth in the love +of it. + +His teacher still found that the best way of teaching him was to give him +a picture of something which he could see; and her account of the way in +which he learnt the great truth of resurrection, by her showing him how +hyacinth-roots, which seemed dead and worthless, would put forth leaves +in the spring-time, and "blossom in purple and red," is very interesting. +After he had learned this lesson, he could never stand beside a grave +without asking reverently whether the one whose name was upon the headstone +"loved Jesus Christ." + +About this time there came a great change in Jack's life, for he left his +home and went to England. The friend who had been so kind to him was going +back to her home, and could not bear to leave him behind, so she asked his +parents to allow him to go with her. They did not refuse, for they were +very grateful to her for all that she had done for their poor boy; and his +mother said, "Take him; he is more your child than ours." So Jack went +first to Dublin, where nothing he saw struck him with such wonder as the +ships in the river; and then he went on board ship and sailed over the sea, +and up the river Avon to Clifton. In this beautiful place he lived for a +year. He became a good and faithful servant to his mistress, and especially +loved to wait upon and play with "Baby-boy," a little nephew of hers of +whom he was very fond. + +But you must not think Jack was always good. He had a very angry temper, +and would sometimes go into a passion, and cry in a very naughty way; or +else sulk so as to make not only himself but his kind and gentle lady +miserable; and sometimes he had to be punished for his bad ways. But +whenever he had shown this naughty temper, the time came when he was very, +very sorry. He would go and have what he called "a long pray," and tell God +all about it. I do not know whether it was at such a time that he spoke to +his mistress about the "red hand;" but before I tell you of this, which has +always seemed to me very beautiful, I must try to remember for you part of +an address to Sunday scholars, which my children heard just at the time +when I was reading to them the story of John Britt. + +This address was given by an uncle of Ernest and Sharley, and they were +both there. He spoke about how the eye of God looks us through and through, +searching right down into our hearts, and seeing every bad thought there; +and then he spoke of God's book, in which all about us is written down, and +of God's hand, which writes all down in that book. He said that when he +was a child, and thought of God's book, it made him tremble all over to +remember what must be written there about _him_; and then, speaking very +earnestly to the little scholars, he said, "Think of your name at the top +of a page in that book, and then, one after another--none left out or +forgotten--every naughty word you have spoken, every naughty thing your +hands have ever done, all written on that page!" + +When he had spoken for some time in this way, Ernest's uncle George said +that if any of the children to whom he was speaking really did think +of this dreadful page, and did not try to hide away from God, but went +straight to Him about it, and said, "O God, I am such a sinner!" that cry +would be written down there too. And we must never forget that because of +the work Jesus "finished" when on earth, it is righteous for God to blot +out the whole black list of every one who "comes to the Father" by Jesus. + +I do not know who had told Jack about God's book, but one day when he was +alone with his lady, he began to speak to her very earnestly. He told her +that he knew that if he should die, like those people who had died of the +fever, he would be put in the grave, but that he would not stay there for +ever. He said that after he had lain there a good while, God would call +"Jack!" and he would answer, "Yes; me Jack." Then he would stand before +God, and in His hands would be a very large book, a "Bible book." He said +God would turn the pages until he came to one where "John Britt" was +written, and then He would look to see if there were any "bads" written +there; but God would find no bads, "no no, nothing, none." + +"No bads?" said the lady. "Have you never done anything wrong, Jack?" + +"Oh, yes," he said quickly, "much bads"; and then he went on to show her +how the Lord Jesus Christ had taken the book and had found that very page +where Jack's own name was, and where all his "bads" were written down; and +He had put His hand all down that page, so that when God looked at it, none +of Jack's "bads" were there; only Jesus Christ's blood. "Then," he said, +"God would shut the book, and Jesus Christ would say to God, '_My_ Jack!'" +Perhaps you wonder what those bad things were which this boy knew he had +done. I will tell you of one thing which he particularly remembered. Once, +long ago, when he was quite a little boy, he had stolen a halfpenny from +his mother; this was one of the wrong things which he thought of as written +down upon that page, and he knew that without the precious blood of the +Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son, even that one sin would have been always +there. And so he often told people about this, and would smile with +happiness, and say, "Jack very much loves Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ loves +poor Jack. Good Jesus--die--save poor bad Jack." + +There are some things which are told us in the Bible which Jack did not +know. He thought that when the last day was come, all who were in their +graves would be raised, and all stand before God; he was not afraid when he +thought of that great day, because he knew that "perfect love" which casts +out fear, but it would have been very sweet to him to have known that the +Lord Jesus is coming for His own, and that at His call "the dead in Christ +shall rise first," and then all the living people who are "Christ's at His +coming" shall be changed, and all together be "caught up to meet the Lord +in the air, and so be for ever with the Lord." + +Jack is one of those who have "fallen asleep in Jesus"; he died when he was +a little more than nineteen, and the shamrocks, which he loved because he +was an Irish boy, have long been growing green upon his lowly grave; but +when the Lord calls His own to meet Him in the air, the deaf and dumb boy, +just because he is _His_ Jack, will be sure to hear that awakening voice; +although he never heard any voice on earth; and to answer to the call. + +But I must tell you a little more about his short life. When he was +fourteen, his mistress left Clifton and moved to a very pretty house in the +country, and there Jack was given a little room over the coach-house to be +quite his own, so that he might go there to write or draw, when his work +was done. And now, to his great delight, he was trusted to take charge of a +horse; he took such care of it, and kept it so clean and neat, that before +long another horse was given to his charge, and he had also to look after +the cow, so that he must have felt that he was quite an important person. + +You will be interested about his drawings when I tell you that he worked +so hard at them, because he had a wonderful plan in his head. You must +not think that he had forgotten his old home; though he was so happy in +England, his great longing was to see his dear parents once more. He did +not wish to go back to Ireland, but he thought if he could only earn enough +by his beautiful drawings to buy a little cottage and a cow, he would send +for them to come and live near him, and then his joy would be complete. + +He used to pray a great deal about this, kneeling at the window, that "God +might look through the stars into his heart," and see how very much he +loved the Lord Jesus Christ; and he used to say that he knew God had +"looked at" his prayer, just as you might say, "God has _heard_ me praying +to Him." + +Five years passed in that quiet home, and then the cough, which had +troubled him for some time, grew much worse, and he seemed to understand, +without being told, that he was soon going to die. + +When he came down one morning, looking sadly pale and tired, his mistress +asked, "Have you slept, Jack?" + +"No," he said, smiling sweetly. "Jack no sleep. Jack think good Jesus +Christ see poor Jack. Night dark, heaven all light; soon see heaven. Cough +much now, pain bad; soon no cough, no pain." + +You can see that, when he spoke on his fingers, Jack's way was to make his +sentences short by leaving out all the little words, much as children do +when they first begin to talk. + +During the few months of life which remained after he became so ill, his +sister Mary was with him, and his soldier-brother Pat got leave to come and +wish him good-bye. For Jack was really going to Him whom having not seen +he loved, and at the last moment of his life his great comfort and joy +was in thinking of the love of Christ to him. He would say, over and over, +"Jesus Christ _loves_ poor Jack," and then speak of the "red hand" that had +blotted out all his sins--those many sins which God would remember no more, +because "good Jesus Christ" had given His own life for poor Jack. + +The snow was falling fast when they laid the body of this dear boy in the +quiet churchyard, far away from his Irish home. His beloved mistress and +his sister Mary were there. How wonderful it is to think that the first +sound that will fall upon those ears, deaf all his life long to every human +tone, will be "the voice of the archangel and the trump of God," calling +him, and all those who sleep in Jesus, to rise in their bodies of glory, +"to meet the Lord in the air," and to be with Him for ever! + + "Then, when the archangel's voice + Calls the sleeping saints to rise, + Rising myriads shall proclaim + Blessings on the Saviour's name. + + "'This is our redeeming God!' + Ransomed hosts shall shout aloud + Praise, eternal praise, be given, + To the Lord of earth and heaven." + + + + +THE STONE BOOK. + + +"_The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath He given +to the children of men._"--PSALM cxv. 16. + +"_Speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea +shall declare unto thee._"--JOB xii. 8. + +"_Be still, and know that I am God._"--PSALM xlvi. 10. + + +We have been reading a little about the story of the heavens. Now I want to +take you from the starry heights to the dens and caves of the earth, and to +speak to you a little about--not astronomy, but geology, as the science or +study of the earth is called. This is a very interesting study, but one in +which we may easily make serious mistakes; for we have not here the firm +ground under our feet which the Word of God gives us, and we must always +beware of saying, "This thing _is_ so, therefore that other thing _must_ be +so"; or, "This thing is not, therefore that other cannot be." + +When we first began our talks, we read that "In the beginning God created +the heaven and the earth"--all that which is meant when we speak of the +"Universe." This is just what we need to know; and how gracious of God the +Creator to speak to us about His own works, and set at rest all the guesses +and reasonings of our minds as to how and when this earth first came into +existence! + +Then we noticed that there is a pause, how long a pause we know not. The +silence of God, as it were, falls upon the scene; we hear nothing more +about the heavens, and nothing of the earth between the time of its +creation and its state as described in the next verse--a desolate, watery +waste, upon which darkness brooded. + +It is a great thing to know how to listen when God speaks to us, and to +be silent when He is silent. "By faith we understand that the worlds were +framed by the word of God"; this is what He has been pleased to tell us, +and we cannot go beyond it. + +In the chapter called "Ruin and Darkness," we learnt a little about the +"crust" of the earth; and I told you that those who have studied it believe +that they can read in it, as in a book, marks of the many changes which +have passed over it since the Creation. + +As they search into its depths and bring out to the light of day remains of +plants and animals which lie buried there, they point to these "footprints +on the sands of time," and tell us that our earth is very, very old; _how_ +old they do not say; they can only guess. + +But long before anyone began to lay bare the recesses of the earth and to +ponder its age, God had told us that it is older than our little minds can +conceive, for He created it "in the beginning." + +Men of science also when they speak of the work of God on the SIX DAYS +of His Creation, say they could not have been actual days of twenty-four +hours, as time is now measured. I have told you that in speaking of what +God does we must never say a thing _could_ not be; but rather lay our hand +upon our mouth, or speak as Job did when he answered the Lord and said, "I +know that Thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden +from Thee." But we may also remember that, as God measures time, "One day +is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day"; +"for a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, +and as a watch in the night," + +I wonder--as we have read now four times, at the close of each of God's +wonderful days, "The evening and the morning were the first," "the second," +"the third," "the fourth day"--whether you have stopped to think why the +evening is always put before the morning; surely this way of reckoning time +is very unlike ours. + +Is it not so reckoned because as light was made to shine perfectly upon the +earth, when God called it out of the darkness, there was no dawning of that +first day? It began when God said, "Let light be: and light was"; then, +with the gradual disappearing of the light, "there was evening," nothing +being told us about the "unfurled flag" of night, or the dawning of the +second day. + +This at least we know, that whether in the beginning, when the strong +foundations of the earth were laid, or during those periods of time when +God was working to bring it into order and beauty, "no touch of man's rude +hand" interfered. The goodness of God was seen in storing it with mineral +treasures for his use; covering it with vegetation which has lived and died +and laid up vast abundance of coal; peopling the air and the waters with +birds and fishes. But with all this man had nothing to do, for one of the +very last acts of Creative Power was that which called him into existence, +and set him, as lord of all, in a place so carefully and wonderfully +prepared for him. + +And as we look back over those Days of Creation of which we have been +reading, let us remember that each successive Day led up in perfect order +to making his dwelling-place perfectly fitted for him, the creature of +God apart from all others, specially formed for Himself. As has been +beautifully said, "when the sea was gathered into one place and the dry +land appeared, a secure footing was found for man; when the waters above +the firmament were separated from the waters below, man, the highest of all +created things, could look up"--all was done in reference to him, when as +yet he was not. + +We shall not read about the work of God on the Fifth Day in this chapter, +but I want you to turn to the account of it given in the first chapter +of Genesis, and you will see that there for the first time in the Story +of Creation the word "life" is used. God speaks to us no longer of only +inanimate or lifeless things, such as the sea and the dry land, the earth +with its herbs and trees, and the two great lights which were made to give +light upon it. He tells us now of creatures which live and move and have +a being, each "after its kind"; each exactly fitted to enjoy life in the +place prepared for it. + +The story of the way in which God in His mighty and gracious working +prepared earth and sea and sky to be the home of creatures which were yet +to be brought forth and created, is very wonderful. But when we read of +"the moving creature that hath life," and of "every living creature that +moveth," we come to what is still more wonderful. + +You remember in the history of the plagues in Egypt, that when the wise men +tried to imitate what God was doing in sending His judgments upon the land, +there was a point at which they stopped, and could go no farther, "This is +the finger of God," they said. + +What was that point? It was when they tried, by their enchantments, to +produce one of the meanest, as we should say, of _living_ things. + +And so it has always been: man, the highest of God's creatures, apart from +all the rest, is still a creature, and he never has been able to usurp the +power which belongs to God alone. + +It is true that man can destroy animals, and so hunt them down as to render +them extinct; he can also, as we have seen, by great care and skill and +long patience, produce what are called "varieties" of both plants and +animals, increasing the size of leaves and blossoms twenty, thirty, even a +hundredfold; but though he may talk of the formation of new flowers, with +endless shades of colour, they are not really new, but only varieties of +those already existing. You remember, when we were speaking of the "Green +Earth," we learnt that never, from the beginning of his life on earth, has +man produced a new _kind_, or species, of either plant or animal. + +We must never forget this. God, who said to the mighty ocean, "Hitherto +shalt thou come, and no farther: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed" +(Job xxxviii. II), has also set a bound beyond which man, however great his +powers may be, is not permitted to go. Life, in all its forms, from the +lowest to the highest, belongs to God. + +But perhaps you are asking why I said that we do not in the Story of +Creation read anything about _life_ till we come to the work of God on the +Fifth Day. Are not the trees and plants alive? Do we not say of a blasted +tree or withered flower, It is dead? + +It is quite true that plants have a life which shows itself as we have seen +in their growth, and even in some "sensitive" plants, by their shrinking +from the touch. In the wheat-fields the order of the unfolding of the life +of a plant "whose seed is in itself," may be seen, as we watch "first the +blade, then the ear, afterwards the full corn in the ear." But this life is +very different from that of the lowliest animal which has power to feel and +to give expression to its feelings, power to move from place to place, and +which shows in its own way of living an intelligence which is not seen in +the very highest forms of vegetable life. At the same time it is true that +in their lowest forms animal and vegetable life approach each other so +nearly that it is often difficult to say where the one ends and the other +begins. + +But without the plants and their ceaseless work, as the "sleepless +universal providers of the earth," as they have been called, all animal +life would fail and die; for they are the means by which all the +nourishment which is contained in earth, air, and water can be made of use +both to themselves and to the animals. + +And is it not very beautiful to see how God has made one part of His +creation dependent upon another, and all dependent upon Him? Does it not +show us His care for His creatures, and especially for that wonderful +creature--the last and best of all, who was created for the earth and the +earth for him--when we see, as we have seen so constantly, that before the +inhabitants of earth, air, and sea came into being, He had caused the earth +to bring forth that which should give to every living thing the means of +sustaining life? + +I have called this chapter, which does not speak of the work of God on any +special Day of Creation, THE STONE BOOK. A wonderful book it is for those +who can read it; its leaves are the successive layers of the earth's crust; +its letters are not only the remains of plants, but the fossil-shells and +bones of animals imprisoned there, which tell us that creatures, all in +some way unlike any we now know, once lived and died, and are still to be +found, not in their ancient forms in rushy mere of tangled jungle, but in +"graves of stone and monuments of marble." + +When we were speaking of the coal-mines I told you something about +the remains of giant ferns, sedges, reeds, and mare's-tails of far +larger growth than any now known, which have been found there. You are +familiar with fossil-plants, but I do not think we have spoken much +of fossil-animals, which are found in all except the oldest layers of +rock--the first pages of the "Stone Book." + +The children had been with me to the Museum in the town in which we lived, +and had looked with wonder at the huge creatures whose skeletons have +been built up bone by bone, after being taken from their rocky tomb--for +this earth of ours which has seen so many changes has been rifled of her +treasures; not the gold and silver, coal and iron with which she is so +richly stored, but the wonderful specimens of God's work in bygone ages +which He has allowed us to see; so that we cannot doubt that such creatures +once existed, though we may know nothing with certainty as to the time of +their first appearance in the sea and on the dry land, and can only guess +at the kind of life they lived. + +You remember that we spoke, in the chapter about the earth's crust, of the +"fire-made rocks," which were once in a liquid state from intense heat +(we could not expect to find any remains of plants or animals there, and +none _have_ been found), and of the "water-made rocks," which have been +gradually accumulated by the action of water in wearing down the land. +These rocks lie in layers, and fossil shells, plants, and bones of animals +have been found in them, as we have already seen. + +But how did these fossils get into the rocks? And how is it that they have +been found in all countries and at all heights above the sea? + +Before I try to answer these questions, I must tell you that when +geologists speak of "rock" they mean everything which has gone to form the +crust of the earth, whether clay, or loose sand and gravel, or the hard +heavy granite which some of us had seen crowning the Dartmoor tors. + +It is thought that the huge creatures whose bones have been found at +different depths in the earth's _strata_ were buried there when the "rock" +which formed the layers was soft; perhaps in the mud of lakes, or in peat +or sand at the mouths of rivers. Then, as time went on, their softer parts +perished, but the harder turned to stone, thus forming the "letters" in the +stony pages from which those who study the earth try to read something of +its history. Then, as sea-shells are found inland, deeply buried in the +hills, it is thought that the land in which they were buried has been +raised by earthquakes, or thrown out by volcanoes: or was altered in +position at the time when the earth's foundations were overflowed with +a Flood, and "the waters stood above the mountains." As geologists read +the Stone Book, like the writing of Eastern lands, _backwards_--as they +search deeper and deeper into the crust of the earth, they speak of its +Old life, Middle life, and New life: but we must remember that they _do_ +read backwards, calling the older life what is really the younger. And +we must also bear in mind that many of the words used in what is called +science--especially those relating to the study of the earth--betray our +ignorance rather than prove our knowledge. The marking off stages in the +life-history of the earth, and speaking of its Old, Middle, and New Age has +been done to help in the study of its crust. Nothing is known, however, +with certainty about these different periods or where one ends and another +begins, and no one knows whether the first, or oldest, layer has yet been +discovered. One geologist says, "I have found it," and presently another +penetrates a little deeper, goes a little farther back, and finds one lower +still. Nor can anyone say certainly where a fossil-fern or the mummy of +an old-world fish appeared for the first time, and though many plants and +animals which are found in a fossil state have long been extinct, yet +there are many more which appear at a very ancient date and have continued +unchanged to the present time. + +There is a famous cliff in Dorsetshire upon which may be read, almost as +upon a map, the record of the changes which have passed over it during its +life-history. + +On examining the strata, or layers which lie one above the other, +geologists find the first, or lowest of all, to be Portland stone, which +was formed by the accumulation of lime at the bottom of the sea. + +The second layer shows that this sea-bed in time became dry land, and was +covered with soil--what had once been the seashore gradually giving place +to a forest. + +But how do we know that such a wonderful change was wrought in process of +time? + +We have clear proof that it was so from the vegetable soil still remaining, +and the numbers of trees the remains of which are embedded in the rock, +many of them standing upright as when growing. + +The third layer seems to show, from the limestone and the fresh-water +shells embedded in it, that the level land where the forest grew sank lower +and lower until it formed a hollow which in time became a lake. + +The fourth layer, which "ends this strange, eventful history," gives +evidence of the whole land having been again covered by the ocean, and +again raised above the waters! + +If we were studying geology together, I should like to take you with me to +the Museum, and we would first look at the fossils which are believed to +belong to the most ancient time of life upon the earth; then we would pass +on to those belonging to the second or "middle" stage, and then to the +third, or "new" stage, letting these wonderful stones, taken from mountain +height or deep sea bottom, or from the depths of the earth itself, tell +their own eloquent story. + +But what I should like you to remember is that geologists of our own time +tell us that the lowest layer of the earth's crust which has yet been +explored appears to be made of vegetable remains, so crushed and altered by +time and by the tremendous pressure of rocky layers lying above it, +that though it is probably of the same material as that which forms the +coal-measures, it resembles the blacklead of which pencils are made much +more than the coal which you know is what has been formed by the decay of +buried forests and jungles. + +In this layer of "graphite," geologists with the help of their microscopes +have searched in vain for any trace of what once was living, but they think +it may have been formed from the "flowerless" plants, or even from those +still more lowly, too minute when living to be seen by the naked eye, and +consisting of one tiny bag or "cell." + +They tell us that these "infant" plants were followed by those of larger +growth, specimens of which are found in layers of rock and clay nearer the +surface, and are followed by remains of the "herb yielding seed, and the +fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind"--for mummies of seed vessels and +fruits have been found in coal-fields in many parts of the world. + +It is interesting, too, to see that as far as we can tell at present, in +the case of fossil-fish and other living creatures, the lowest forms are +found _first_ (that is, _farthest back_), and are followed by remains of +creatures higher in the scale of life; that is to say, not so simple in +structure. In using the words "higher" or "lower," we do not mean that +there is anything imperfect about the humbler creatures; they are exactly +suited to the life which has been given to them to live, but their form is +very simple compared with that of "higher" animals, just as a three-legged +stool is much more simple in its construction, and is made of fewer parts, +than a watch. I may tell you a little about these lowly creatures when we +speak of the FIFTH DAY of Creation, and then you will see that they were +all made according to a "perfect goodly pattern" or plan, and each "after +its kind"; for if we read the pages of the Stone Book aright, we shall see +plainly written there that from the first beginnings of life, as far as it +is given us to trace them, the goodness and wisdom and power of God are +shown in the way in which the smallest creature of His hand is suited to +the place appointed to it to fill, by Him who is "good to all," and whose +"tender mercies are over all His works." + +But there is a great difference between what we may thus glean from the +study of the earth, and what is revealed to us by the clear teaching of the +Word of God, as He tells us what He did in His wonderful work of Creation, +and how He "saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good." + +When God speaks, all is clear and simple and true; and is to be understood +by believing His word: when we come to the thoughts of men about what +happened in the far past, especially when they try to settle not only the +_when_ but the _how_ of His mighty working, much is dark uncertainty. + +Should we then _not_ study the letters of the Stone Book? I did not say so; +"God has made everything beautiful in its time," and His handiwork in the +past as well as the present is indeed worthy of our attention. But in +reading books about geology, more perhaps than in any other study, you need +to ask God to teach you to hold fast by His Word. + +Then, if you read that many geologists now believe that there has been no +special creation of fish or bird or beast of the earth, but that "all the +many forms of plant and animal life have been unfolded out of a few simple +forms, just as the stem, the leaf, and the flower are evolved out of a +simple seed"--you will say at once, "That cannot be; for God has plainly +told us of both plants and animals that they were made each 'after its +kind,' and therefore there can never have been such a thing as a fish +developing into a bird, or a bird into a lizard: nor, so far as I have +seen, is any such creature to be found in a fossil state." + +I heard some time ago that a young man who was studying to become a doctor, +said to his father, "When I go to some of my lectures on biology" (that is +the study of life), "the only thing that I can do when I hear things said +that are quite contrary to the Bible, is to keep saying to myself, 'It's +not _true_, it's not _true_.'" + +I think this young man was right: he had settled it in his heart that +whatever he might hear, he must think as God thinks. He was like one who +when just starting in life, wrote these words on the flyleaf of his little +Bible--"Man has faith in his compass, yet he cannot understand it. He takes +it as his guide across the trackless ocean. He relies implicitly upon it, +and well he may trust it. This Book is my compass. I have faith in it, +thanks to God: it explains itself; I take it for my guide across the ocean +of life--I rely upon it. Man may jeer at my faith, but my compass is vastly +more reliable than his--still better may I trust mine." + + + "HIDDEN TREASURES. + + "The gems of earth are still within + Her silent unwrought mines; + There hide they, all unknown, unseen, + No sparkle upward shines. + + "The stars of heaven, how few and wan + Are all we see below + Compared with what remain unseen + Beyond all vision now! + + "Who knows the untold brilliance there, + The wealth, the beauty hid? + Like sparkle of a lustrous eye + Beneath its veiling lid. + + "So with the heaven of better stars + Of which these are but signs: + So with the stores of wisdom hid + In everlasting mines." + +H. BONAR. + + + + +THE FIFTH DAY. + +"THE MOVING CREATURE THAT HATH LIFE." + + +"_This is the finger of God._"--EXODUS viii. 19. + +"_The Lord ... in whose hand is the soul of every living thing._"--JOB xii. +10. + +"_O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all: +the earth is full of Thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are +things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts._"--PSALM civ. 24, +25. + + +We now come to the time when the empty water, air, and land were filled. +The work of God on the FIFTH DAY is spoken of in verses 20 and 21 of our +chapter. In reading them we noticed that in respect of the "great whales," +or sea monsters, the word "created" is again used, as it was in the first +verse; and then, as we read the twenty-third verse, we had a little talk +about the words now used for the first time in the story of Creation, "and +God blessed them." + +How beautiful it is to see that as soon as God had caused the waters to +"swarm with swarms of living souls" (look at the margin of your Bible as +you read the twentieth verse)--as soon as we read of creatures to whom God +gave a life different from that of a tree or a flower, a life that could +enjoy itself in the home prepared for it--all these living things were +blessed, that is, made happy, by Him who called them into being! + +God's world was a happy world for the humblest creature of His hand; and if +it is now a sad world, where the groan of many a suffering animal goes up +to Him who hears the ravens when they cry--whose fault is it? + +Did you ever think how kind we ought to be to the creatures which, innocent +themselves, have shared the sorrow brought into the world by man's +disobedience? I heard someone say the other day, "It is terrible to see +animals suffer: to see cattle overdriven, and sheep dying for want of +water, and defenceless creatures cruelly used. But when I see any of these +things, I have to feel--_I_ am to blame for that." + +When I asked my scholars, "What is the meaning of _abundantly_?" Sharley +said, "It means enough and over." + +Do you like her answer? + +As the sea everywhere, even down in those depths where the sun's light +cannot pierce through the masses of water, is peopled by millions of +creatures--every drop of water, as we might say, _alive_ with life--I +thought it a good one. A great poet has spoken of the "multitudinous seas," +but whether this was in allusion to their wealth of life, or to their +myriad waves, I do not know. Certainly in his time very little was known +about the dwellers in the deep, deep sea, compared with what we may learn +in the present day, when the sounding-line has reached the bottom of +the Atlantic, and actually brought up some of the clay that forms its +floor--clay which is made up of the skeletons of myriads of creatures. It +was once thought that no life could exist in the ocean-depths, but we now +know that life is everywhere--in air and water, upon the earth and within +it, in the lowest depths of the sea, and on the highest mountain peaks, in +hot and cold climates, and in the bodies of animals: all around us--earth, +air, and water--teems with life. + +Now let us read once more the simple words which tell us all we can really +know about what is so wonderful: "And God said, Let the waters bring +forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life" (or, as it may be +translated, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living souls"). + +We will not read farther to-day, as I want to tell you in this chapter +something about life in what are called its lower forms, and we shall +find that wherever we may look, every creature is perfect in itself, and +perfectly suited to the life appointed to it by its Creator, and the home +where He has placed it. + +My children had learnt something about the two great divisions of animals, +those which belong to the great Backboned Family and those which have no +backbone. It is of the latter that we shall speak today. You know that a +fish has a backbone, and that it is beautifully formed, for you have often +seen it; but perhaps you have not noticed that a lobster, though called one +of the shell-fish, is quite unlike the true Fishes: its skeleton is not +inside, but outside; there are no bones within, but all the soft parts are +inside, and the hard parts outside; while the body of a fish is formed on +just the opposite plan. The fish is called a _Vertebrate_ animal, because +it has a backbone, made up of numbers of separate bones called vertebras. +Some of us know that this word comes from the Latin, and means _that which +turns_, because these many small bones are so beautifully jointed together +as to be all perfectly moveable, so that the long bone which they form is +very flexible. Some snakes have more than three hundred of these vertebrę, +and you know how they can coil and twist their glittering length. + +The marks of a Vertebrate animal are very easy to remember. + +It must have this wonderfully jointed backbone, and also what is called the +skeleton, which is a framework of bone. + +A spinal cord (from which this division of animals is sometimes called the +"Chordate"). + +Four limbs, and red blood. + +In these respects all the animals which belong to this division are alike, +though in general appearance they may be as unlike each other as a horse is +unlike a bird, or a crocodile unlike a herring. + +Few things in nature are more wonderful than the way in which this +Vertebrate plan has been fitted to animals differing from each other in all +other respects. + +Now let us look at the marks of an Invertebrate or Inchordate animal. + +It has _no backbone_, and instead of a bony framework _within_, to support +the soft parts of its body, it generally has a hard shell, or thickened +skin _outside_, to protect the softer inner parts. + +It has _no red blood_. + +Now, just as plants have been arranged in different classes, so animals are +classified according to the various plans upon which they have been +formed. So, besides the two great divisions of the Vertebrates and the +Invertebrates, the latter have been classed as-- + +(a) _Radiata_, or Rayed Animals--those whose parts all radiate from a +common centre--such as the starfish, red-coral, sea-anemone. + +(b) _Mollusca_, or Soft-bodied Animals, protected by shells--such as +snails, oysters, limpets. (The members of this family are numerous indeed). + +(c) _Annulosa_, or Ringed Animals--those whose bodies are composed of many +parts, jointed together--such as crabs, spiders, bees, ants, centipedes, +shrimps, and many more; for this great family has relations among all the +insect tribes. + +It is very beautiful to see that God has formed His creatures on such +different plans, and though we shall be able to say very little about them, +I hope you will by-and-by study Natural History, and learn more and more +of His care in fitting each for the life it has to live. But remember that +all these types of animals, the Radiates, Molluscs, Articulates (as the +members of the "ringed" family are sometimes sailed), existed in the most +ancient times: they lived side by side, as it were, and were not, as some +philosophers would have us believe, derived from each other. Each was +"after its kind," and each species remains; animals may alter from changes +in their way of life, but there is no passing from one _kind_ to another. + +Now I think you will be interested to hear that in the Stone Book, some +of the most ancient "letters" are formed from creatures belonging to the +Invertebrate Group. We were speaking just now of the white clay brought up +from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean by the sounding line. The microscope +shows that it consists of the imperishable part of creatures, tinier than +any you can imagine, which had the power when living of extracting from the +sea-water--as I told you is the way of the corals--the lime which formed +their outer coat, or skeleton. These busy workers lived their little day, +and then as they died, the shell-like coverings sank to the bottom of the +sea, forming, as ages passed, thick beds of chalk, such as that of which +the white cliffs of Dover are built up. + +Then, as the sounding-line searches still deeper ocean-depths, it brings up +a red clay, and this again is shown by the microscope to be composed partly +of very minute creatures of a reddish colour, which live near the surface +of the ocean, but when they die sink to the bottom. + +Sponges, too, which form the home of great numbers of little radiates, grow +upon the ocean floor or near the bottom of the sea; their tiny tenants, +like minute cells, living upon still smaller creatures contained in the +water which is held by the sponge. + +And we are told that in some places the bottom of the sea is strewn with +star-fishes and their relations, some of them very beautiful in form and +colour, but all formed on the same plan of a central plate, from which five +arms or fingers radiate. + +Do we not better understand that the waters did indeed "swarm with swarms" +when we learn even a little about these living creatures, many of them +so small that we should not be aware of their existence if we had no +microscope to reveal to us their countless myriads? + +The Mollusca form a very large group of Invertebrate animals; they live +on land as well as in the water, but the aquatic species are much more +numerous than the terrestrial, and the deep-sea dredgings are constantly +bringing to light new forms. Some of the shells which protect their soft +bodies, and are formed by the animals themselves, are marvels of beauty, +and many of them are secured from injury by a waterproof coating. A number +of extinct animals, such as Ammonites and Belemnites, belong to this +group--their shells may be seen in any good museum; those of the +Belemnites, as their name implies, are shaped like a dart; those of the +Ammonites, like that of the beautiful Nautilus of our times; but the +fisherfolk of Whitby, where they are found in numbers, say they are "snakes +turned to stone." + +But as we have been speaking so much of sea-creatures, I think we will +now leave the oysters, cockles, mussels, and razor-fish, and choose the +familiar garden-snail as our specimen of the Mollusca, or Soft-bodied +Family. I fancy you need no introduction to that snug little householder. +Often, however, as you have touched his soft horns, you possibly do not +know that the very house in which you first made his acquaintance has been +his habitation ever since; for young snails come from the egg with the +shell upon their backs, and they never quit that first house for a larger +one, for as they grow, their shell-house grows too. Look at this empty +snail shell, and say whether God has not given a beautiful coat of mail to +protect a creature without a bone in its body, and so sensitive that + + "Give but his horns the slightest touch, + His self-collecting power is such, + He shrinks into his house, with much + Displeasure." + +But _how_ does the house grow large so as to suit the growing tenant? Most +shells are made from a part of the animal called the mantle, and increase +round the rim; if the snail's house is broken, its slime will harden over +the injured part and repair it. Then, when the cold weather comes, and the +snail prepares to bury itself underground for several months, and take +its winter nap, it makes a strong cement of earth and slime, with which +it builds up the open part of its shell--but, wonderful to think of, the +clever little mason leaves, as it were, one brick out of the wall, and thus +there is a tiny opening, too small to let in the water, but large enough to +admit air sufficient to keep him alive during his long sleep. + +Now that our snail has been good enough to put out those four horns of his, +let us ask what purpose they serve, and why they are placed' where they +are. The answer is very simple; these "feelers" are to the snail instead of +arms and legs; and the upper pair have eyes at the end, so that the wary +little traveller, as it drags itself along a broad cabbage leaf, leaving a +slimy track behind it, can tell, both by sight and touch, what obstacles +may lie in its path. I don't know whether you have ever seen the eggs of +snails; I have not, but I have heard that they are about the size of peas, +and are buried in the earth, as the crocodile's eggs are buried in the +sand. + +Of the many families of Ringed or Jointed Animals, we will choose the Crabs +and Lobsters first. They are encased in armour of shell, and this has given +to them and their relations the name of Crustaceans, or Crusty creatures, +because what bones they have are outside, not hidden beneath the flesh. But +unlike the snail's house, which grows with the growth of its inmate, and +unlike _our_ skeleton which grows as _we_ grow, this close-fitting armour +does not increase in size, nor is it elastic enough to expand, but every +year one coat of mail is cast off, in a way not unlike the sloughing of the +serpent, to make room for a fresh soft suit. This new suit soon hardens, +and the creatures embrace the opportunity to make a little progress in +growing, which they do by fits and starts, not continuously; for the shell, +when once hardened, gives them no room to increase in size--they have to +wait till next year! The long pointed claws of the crab and lobster are +easily broken, and sometimes lost altogether, so that the power which they +have of growing new ones is a wonderful provision for their life among the +rough rocks and tangled sea-weeds. + +One of the crusty creatures you know well enough, and you can find it +without going to the seaside, I mean the wood-louse, which I used to hear +called a "carpenter" when I was a child. In damp places, you can hardly +turn over a mossy stone, or pick off a bit of bark from a fallen tree, +without disturbing a whole colony of these slate-coloured creatures, with +their mailed coats, made of ten rings, or plates of armour. They seem +to know the use of their armour well enough, for if disturbed you will +see them either scurry off as fast as their many little feet can carry +them--and they are able to run forward or backward at pleasure--or else +roll themselves up into tight balls, so that feet and head and feelers are +all safe, under the ringed shield which God has given them as a defence and +protection. + +Many such creatures, rolled up just as the wood-louse curls itself, in +tight balls, have been found in a fossil state; and there is a little +petrified crustacean with wonderful eyes, which has been found in the slate +quarries of South Wales. It is called the Trilobite, because it is composed +of three lobes or divisions, and is an animal of the same kind as the +lobster. Be sure you look for it, if you are fossil-hunting in the Museum, +for it is a most interesting specimen, and has been found in rocks deep +down in the earth's crust. + +Now, next to this Crab and Lobster family, come that of the Spiders, and +then that of the Insects. + +Perhaps you will say, "But what are spiders, if they are not insects?" +I know I used to think they were, until I found that no creature can be +reckoned one of that large family unless it has _six legs_--not even one +more or one less. Now, a spider has eight legs, and it has no wings, while +all true insects have either wings, or what seems to be the beginning of +wings: also although some spiders have as many as eight eyes, they are all +"simple," while the eyes of insects are "compound"; that is, great numbers +are massed together at each side of the head, like the "facets," or little +faces, of a precious stone. As insects have fixed eyes, which cannot move, +they would be very badly off without these many points of view. + +I wonder whether you ever had a good look at a spider, or whether you +learnt when you were almost a baby to think it a "horrid creature"; so that +now, when you might be watching it at its work, your first notion is to get +out of its way as fast as possible. + +Some creatures are really harmful, and it is right to keep out of their +way, but it is never right to despise a single thing which God has made, +and when we think that the spider is one of His creatures, one which He +calls "exceeding wise," it does indeed seem a pity not to learn something +about it; and the best way to learn about spiders, as well as all the rest +of the animals, is not only to read about them--though that is a very great +help to begin with--but to observe and study their habits for ourselves. + +Ernest is fond of repeating a poem about King Robert the Bruce; how, as he +noticed a spider six times fail to climb up its slender thread, but succeed +at the seventh attempt, he took courage to make one more effort for his +lost kingdom, and succeeded. + +This was long, long ago; but Kings and Commons have yet their tugs of war; +and for old and young it is still all honour to those who + + "Try, try, try till they win, + Brave with the thought that despair is a sin-- + Who fights on God's side is sure to win." + +There are a great many spiders, of which we cannot now learn much more than +the names which have been given them; but the true story of their lives, +and the wonderful way in which they overcome all sorts of difficulties, if +rightly read, would make us feel that many a lesson of patient toil may be +learnt from such busy little weavers, and engineers, and divers. + +Here are a few of them: The Hunters--they live in crevices of walls and +houses, and have their name because they wander about constantly, ready +to steal upon any insect which may come in their way; the Vagrants, who, +though they will run to catch their prey when it is in sight, lie in wait +for it, rolled up in a leaf, or hiding at the bottom of a flower, just +where the flies are sure to come for honey; the Water-spiders--they manage +to live under water in a nest so nearly made of air, though in the midst +of the water, that this spider has been looked upon as the inventor of the +diving-bell. Then there is the industrious Mason, which bores a hole in the +earth, makes the walls of its little tunnel as smooth as if it worked with +trowel and mortar, and then hangs them with delicate silken curtains of its +own spinning and weaving; the Trap-door spider, so called because the mouth +of its burrowed nest is fitted with a cleverly hinged door, which the owner +of the nest can shut with its claw when it leaves home; the Pirate, which +makes a leafy raft, and skims along the water after the insects which suit +its taste; the Gossamer spider, which rises so high in the air, and floats +at its ease in its own balloon--and Epeira, the Garden spider, whose +beautiful web, covered with dewy diamonds, we have all seen, laid like some +fairy lacework, over the hedges, on an autumn morning, as if the little +weaver had been early at its work, as "wise" people usually are; and, as +God has deigned to tell us, He Himself has been. + +[Illustration: THE GARDEN SPIDER.] + +As we can only find time to study one spider, this shall be the one, for we +have not to go far to look for it. + +First let us consider why it makes its beautiful web, so slender and so +easily destroyed that it is used as an emblem of the "hypocrite's hope" +which "shall not endure"; and yet so strong when we think of the little +creature whose cunning "hands" have woven it. The spider lives upon flies +and other insects, but is itself without wings, so that it would be +impossible for it to catch its prey if it had not been given power which +the animals on which it feeds do not possess--the power to lay snares; this +is why it takes such trouble with its beautiful web, and makes the cords +from which it is woven so fine, and yet so strong. The web is the snare in +which the insects on which it lives are caught, and from which they have no +power to escape, for as soon as the insect is entangled, the spider, in his +hiding-place, knows by the shaking of the threads that his prey is secure, +pounces upon it, benumbs it by one prick of his poison-fang, binds it fast +with silken threads, and carries it off to his "dismal den," as the verse +about "the spider and the fly" calls the place where he lies in wait for +any winged thing which may "come buzzing by." + +But this subtle and beautiful snare--how is it made? Where do the threads +which form the silken meshes come from? Ah! you have seen the cocoons +which silkworms spin, have you not? The weaver-spiders get their threads +just as the silkworms do, from their own bodies; each thread comes from an +exceedingly small hole; there are four of these holes in the spider's body, +and the threads are made of a sort of gum which is almost liquid, but which +becomes hard when it is exposed to the air. The spider spins and twists its +slender threads just as a rope-maker twists his ropes, only using its feet +for hands--for each fine thread in the web, which you could break with one +touch of your finger, is made up of many finer ones, and thus rendered +strong. The only tools which the spider uses for his rope-walk and in his +loom, are his own claws, which are furnished with comb-like fingers, and an +extra claw, for winding up the thread into a ball. + +If you could watch the spider at his work, you would see that he first +marks the outline, by passing this thread from one leaf or branch to +another, until the circle is as large as the web he intends to make; then +this circle is filled with lines, which are woven from the outside to the +centre, and resemble the spokes of a cart-wheel. A spider has actually been +seen trying the strength of these cords which form the foundation of his +web, breaking any that are not strong, and weaving others in their stead; +for he has a sure instinct which tells him that if the framework is faulty, +all will fall to pieces; and only when, by pulling each thread separately, +he is certain that each will hold, does he begin to work from the centre, +and spin ring after ring, the threads which pass from one spoke to another. +When all is finished, the workman rests from his labour, and may often be +seen sitting in the place which he has left for himself in the middle of +his own web, watching with all his eyes for his prey. + +A careful little fellow too is the spider; he is not ashamed to mend as +well as to make, and you may see him busily repairing his broken net, and +may know, by means of this little barometer, what weather to expect; for he +is too wise to waste his silken threads and busy skill in making or mending +a net for a coming storm to break. + + "When the spider works away, + Be pretty sure of a sunny day." + +Very soon after the little spiders leave the silky ball in which they are +hatched, they begin to make webs of their own; but I. have heard that these +first attempts look very irregular, which shows us that although God has +given them the instinct by which they set about weaving snares, they learn, +as we do, by painstaking and practice, to make their work more and more +perfect. + +Perhaps one reason why God has allowed us to watch the spider lay snares +for his prey, is to keep us in mind of the snares of which He tells us in +His Book. There are many very important passages about snares to which we +do well to take heed. + +While I was telling you about the way the spider has of pulling each of the +cords which form the foundation of his web, one by one, to make sure that +there is no weak place in any of them, I remembered something which a young +girl once said to her mother. Alice had always been a merry, happy child, +the light and joy of her home, and she loved her father and mother and +little brothers and sisters, and the lambs and birds and flowers and summer +sunshine, and games and treats, just as much as you do. But as she grew +tall, Alice was not so strong; the child who, when she was nine years old, +had "climbed the dark brow of the mighty Helvellyn"--running on before +all the rest, until the guide called her his mountain-goat, and actually +getting first to the top of the mountain--when she was about seventeen, +began to fade like a flower, and to grow weaker and weaker day by +day. [Footnote: _The Master's Home Call_. Memorials of Alice Frances +Bickersteth, by her father.] + +Her parents sorrowfully took her from place to place, hoping that fresh air +might give new life to their child, and bring back the roses to her pale +cheeks. But nothing made her better, and at last, when they brought her +home again from the seaside, her father thought the time had come to tell +Alice that the doctors all said the same thing; she might live a few months +longer, but she would never, never be well and strong again, for she was +not only very ill, but dying. + +[Illustration: MOUNTAIN PEAKS.] + +It was lovely bright summer weather; you would have thought the sunshine +and the soft air would have made anyone well, as Alice lay on the sofa +while her dear father read to her. They had been reading the Epistle to the +Philippians, and when they came to the verse where the Apostle Paul says, +that to him "to die is gain," and to that other verse which speaks of +departing "to be with Christ, which is far better," though he could hardly +speak for tears, he told her just what the doctors had said. + +I do not know whether Alice had ever thought of not getting better, but +long before her illness, when she was strong and well, she had come to +the Lord Jesus Christ--and now He was her Saviour and Friend, so that her +father was not afraid to tell her that she was going to Him. This is what +she said, as soon as he had told her: + +"Dear father, I am not afraid to go. How I thank you for telling me." Then, +when the tears came at the sight of his grief, she added, "It is only +leaving you all; but Jesus will be there. What should I do without my +Saviour now?" + +From this time Alice very often spoke, about dying, but she always called +it "going home." It was very soon after her father had told her, that she +said to her mother those sweet words which came to my mind when we were +speaking of the little spider making quite sure that his threads were +strong, with no weak place anywhere. + +"I feel just like a sailor," Alice said. "When he is called to go aloft, he +tries all the ropes to see if they are firm. I have been trying them all, +and, mother, they are all right." + +Another time, when someone said, "You always looked happy, Alice," she +smiled and said, "Yes, but I am happier now." And when he asked, "Have you +no fear whatever?" she replied, "None whatever." + +But had this always been so? Ah! no. It is true that she had always been a +loving child, and had many bright ways about her which made people fond of +her, so that it was no trouble to her to win love from all around her; but +Alice had a very strong will, and liked to do just as she pleased, and as +she grew up she often showed that she was indeed far away from God, and +one of those "lost sheep" whom the Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd, came to +"seek and to save." But He had sought and found her, and now He was gently +carrying her home on His shoulder. + +This is what Alice herself said about it: "I used to be afraid of death; +but God has taken it all away. I cannot understand people calling it 'being +in danger.' Once my sins seemed to me as a mountain-pile, but they have all +been laid on Jesus, and His blood is peace. It is all done for me. I have +nothing to do but to keep clinging to Jesus till I see Him." + +I wonder, when she spoke of having had all her sins laid on Jesus, whether +Alice was thinking of that verse which says, "All we, like sheep, have gone +astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on +Him the iniquity of us all." + +How well it was for her that she had learnt to know her Saviour before the +time of illness came; for she was then so weak and so very, very tired that +she could not think much; but only, as she said, "keep clinging to Him." +And as she grew weaker and weaker, I am sure the Good Shepherd taught her +that even if she could not cling to Him--and it was no longer "the weak +clinging to the Strong, but the Strong clinging to the weak"--she was safe, +for He has said of His sheep, "I give unto them eternal life; and they +shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My +Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to +pluck them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one." + +Alice had near her bed, where she could always see it, a beautiful picture +of a shepherd with a lamb upon his bosom. She was very fond of looking at +it, and saying how it made her think of herself. "If you see a flock of +sheep going along the road, and one of them is very weary," she said--one +day when she was very tired, and her feet were very hot, so that she felt +as if they would never be cool again--"you would not like to see them go on +driving it, but would wish to see the shepherd take it in his arms to the +fold." She asked that these works, "My Beloved is mine, and I am His," +should be put upon her gravestone, saying that it was her favourite text; +and against her name in the family Bible she wished them to write,... "so +He bringeth them unto their desired haven." + +When she was almost Home, her father spoke to Alice about the many she had +to love on earth, and the many in heaven; for two little sisters, Constance +and Eva, were already with the Lord. Looking up with a smile, as if she +really saw the One who had been her Friend in life, and from whose love +death could not separate her, she said softly, "Whom have I in heaven but +Thee?" + +I think these were her last words; a little before, she had said, "It seems +strange to be going where you can none of you come with me; but He is +there, and that is enough." + +If you are like the rest of my young friends, you do not mind having the +Spider's history interrupted, that we might think of this sweet story of +Alice, and how she too "tried the ropes," and found them "all right." But +there was one great difference, was there not? The spider's ropes are spun +out of his own body; they are twisted so strongly and firmly by his own +feet; but Alice knew that if she was to be safe in life and in death, +nothing of her own was strong enough to hold by; she could be saved only +because the Lord Jesus Christ had finished the work which God gave to Him +to do. It was because Alice knew Whom she had believed that she could say +she had tried the ropes and found them all right; she knew they would bear +_any_ strain, and so she could answer that question about being afraid, and +reply that she had no fear whatever. + +I want just here to copy for you some beautiful lines, written by one who +"fell asleep in Jesus" when he was quite young, not yet sixteen; they were +found in his pocket-book. + + "Oh! I have been at the brink of the grave, + And stood on the edge of its dark, deep wave; + And I thought, in the still calm hours of night, + Of those regions where all is for ever bright; + And I feared not the wave + Of the gloomy grave, + For I knew that Jehovah was mighty to save. + + "I have watched the solemn ebb and flow, + Of life's tide which was fleeting sure though slow; + I've stood on the shore of eternity, + And heard the deep roar of its rushing sea; + Yet I feared not the wave + Of the gloomy grave, + For I knew that Jehovah was mighty to save. + + "And I found that my only rest could be + In the death of the One who died for me; + For my rest is bought with the price of blood, + Which gush'd from the veins of the Son of God; + So I fear not the wave + Of the gloomy grave, + For I knew that Jehovah is mighty to save." + +How happy it was for his parents to read these words in their dear boy's +own writing, after they had laid his body to rest in the grave which had no +terror for him! + +But to return to our Spider, or Spinner, as his name means. You have not +only watched him coming down from the ceiling upon his own strong rope, +spinning it longer and longer as he travels, but have seen him crawling +along the ceiling head downwards, and perhaps wondered that he did not +fall. If you were to look at one of those eight feet of his through a +microscope, your wonder would be turned into admiration, as you saw the +beautiful little brushes by which he is enabled to cling fast to the smooth +surface, and walk along the ceiling as securely as you do on the floor. + +And now I will leave you to read in some interesting book how prisoners +have tamed House-spiders, and about the Water-spider which has been known +to spin its nest in a tumbler of water, and the great Americans, as large +as sparrows, which catch tiny birds; for it is time to pass on to the +Insect family. But I must first tell you a story about a Tarantula, a very +large spider, which lives in the south of Europe, as well as in tropical +countries, and makes holes for itself about four inches deep in the ground. + +Two officers from India agreed to spend their furlough together in a visit +to Australia, the one for the sake of making researches in natural history, +the other for any chance interest or amusement that might offer itself in a +new country. + +The former, Dr. Prendergast, was one day writing in his log cabin, when a +huge Tarantula spider gently lowered itself from the roof by its slender +cord, and dangled in front of him. "Ha!" said the naturalist, making sure +of the handsome specimen that had thus unwittingly come within his reach, +"I'll have you, my good fellow"; and taking a valuable pin from his necktie +he made a dexterous shot, and pierced him through the body. + +To his dismay, however, the spider, quite equal to the occasion, turned +and bit him so sharply that he drew back with a cry, and before he could +recover himself, the Tarantula had scrambled back up its rope, bearing the +pin with it, and was again safe in its hiding place in the roof. + +Now as the pin contained a precious stone which Dr. Prendergast had had set +in order to carry it about in safety, he was exceedingly annoyed at this +loss, and he and his companion searched the roof with care in the hope +of finding it; but all in vain, and Dr. Prendergast could only reproach +himself with having made such a foolish experiment. + +A few days later he was again writing in the same position, when he beheld +his enemy the spider once more descending from the roof, and to his +surprise and joy it carried with it the pin, still sticking through its +body. This time our naturalist made no vainglorious display of his power as +a marksman, but beating down the spider with the nearest object at hand, +he again possessed himself of the lost treasure, now doubly valuable on +account of its extraordinary adventure, and his mother, for whom he was +preserving the beautiful stone, afterwards wore it, set in a small brooch. + +There are six "orders" of Insects, arranged according to their form, and +the number of their wings, and one of each is chosen to represent the whole +class. + +First, the Beetle. + +Second, the Grasshopper. + +Third, the Dragon-fly. + +Fourth, the Bee, the Wasp, and the Ant. + +Fifth, the Butterfly, and the Moth. + +Sixth, the Fly and the Gnat. + +I wonder which of all these we had better discuss; for there are such +wonderful things to tell even of the tiniest creeping and winged creature, +that I only wish we had time for them all--the honey-making bees and +the paper-making wasps, the many coloured dragon-flies, the moths, the +butterflies and the beetles--but as we must choose one out of this great +family, it shall be the "wise" and busy little ant: for how are we to learn +the lesson which God has given her to teach us, if we do not, as He bids +us, "consider her ways?" + +Before we attempt to do so by noticing her "city," so full of life and +bustle, suppose we ask ourselves for a moment how it is that we see so very +few insects in winter. Did you ever stand very still, in the silence of +a clear frosty day in the country, and wonder what made all around so +strangely quiet? + +One reason is, that the myriads of insects, whose hum and buzz make a good +part of the noise and stir of a summer afternoon, are all gone. No whirring +wings rush past; there is no sound of "dragon-fly, or painted moth, or +musical winged bee" to break the stillness; all the insect-world seems +dead, or flown south with the swallows--though, as there are still spiders' +webs to be seen, each delicate thread marked in sharp outline, like the +rigging of an icebound ship, it would seem that there must still remain +some unwary fly to be taken in the beautiful snare. + +But _are_ they all dead and gone, those happy winged things that danced up +and down in shady nooks, or so lately shone like jewels in the sunshine? +Where are the topaz-coloured butterflies that glanced from flower to +flower, the emerald tiger-beetles, the ladybirds, and the grasshoppers? + +Some of them are indeed dead; their little life, bounded by a few summer +days, was soon lived out; they have laid their eggs, making careful +provision for the protection and food of the young ones which they will +never see--for the eggs of insects will bear the cold which so soon proves +fatal to their mothers--and their little hour of work in this busy world +is finished; but many more are only very fast asleep. Like the dwarfish +Esquimaux, when _their_ long dark winter comes, and they draw their mossy +blankets over them, they are taking their winter rest, and lie hidden +safely in depths of soft moss, or beneath the bark of some ivy-grown tree, +or deep in the lap of Mother Earth herself. + +And with many of them, before they wake to life again, such changes will +have taken place that they will come forth from their hiding-places like +new creatures, fitted to enjoy a new mode of living. It is not difficult to +see that this winter-sleep, or torpor, is no wasted time, but a means by +which God has ensured the lives of hosts of His creatures which, having no +extra clothing to protect them from the frost, and no power of migrating to +a land of sunshine and plenty, would otherwise be liable to perish during +the long season of cold and dearth. + +So when + + "Bright yellow, red, and orange, + The leaves come down in hosts," + +those insects whose life is in "the herb of the field" have the instinct +("that power," as it has been well explained, "of doing without thinking +what _we_ do by thinking") which makes them seek out some safe shelter or +quiet hole, and there give themselves up to sleep, awakening only when +the time of the singing of birds has come, and all the green things are +sprouting and budding, and there is food for them everywhere. + +Those who have watched this mysterious slumber, tell us that when it begins +the insect is as if benumbed, and will move when touched; but that as the +cold increases, the torpor deepens, until the little dormant creature seems +no longer to breathe, but lies to all appearance dead, until the warmth of +the sun shall break the spell, and call it up to life again. + +We are a long time reaching the ant-city, but it would be quite an insult +to the Insect-family to give no thought to the most wonderful thing about +it--the "transformations" by which many of its six-legged members pass +through their three distinct stages of existence; so it will be well +to turn over a few pages in the story of the Butterfly, one of the +family-branch called Lepidoptera, because its wings are covered with +thousands of tiny scales, which enclose the colouring that makes them as +softly tinted as the flowers upon the nectar of which it feeds. + + [Illustration:... "Little butterfly, indeed + I know not if you sleep or feed."] + +When we, by rough handling, brush the bloom off a butterfly's wing, we have +really torn away these delicate scales. + +Let us suppose we have been so fortunate as to find a Red-admiral, the +most gorgeous of British butterflies--often found late in the summer near +nettles, because its caterpillar used to like their leaves better than any +other. + +We will look at this beautiful insect and see what it _is_, and then go +back in its history and find out what it _was_. + +It has six feet, and its head bears two horns or feelers ("antennę," they +are called), two large eyes which, when seen under a microscope, seem as if +cut like precious stones, and a trunk like that of an elephant, which it +can uncurl so as to suck the honey from the very heart of the flowers. Its +legs are hairy, and very little used; its body, light and slender. Of the +broad, beautifully-marked wings, generally erect when at rest, we need not +speak, for it would be impossible to describe them. + +Now for a page or two in the early history of this brilliant creature. +We will go back to the time when it was a tiny egg, laid by the mother +Red-admiral shortly before her own death; this egg soon develops into the +"larva," or caterpillar--the word, which means a _mask_, expressing that +the butterfly that is to be, is thus disguised in its first form. + +How admirable are God's orderings--the same spring sunbeams which, as it +were, waken up the living creature sleeping in the egg deposited by Mrs. +Red-admiral, also cause the green things, upon which it will feed so +voraciously, to appear! + +For the little worm is a tremendous eater; it seems to do almost nothing +else during its grub existence; but eats and grows, eats and grows; +constantly changing its skin for a new one in order to obtain room for +itself, while it is laying up a store against the time when it will be +unable to take in food. + +At last it really seems tired of eating, and after it has cast its skin +four times, the fifth one becomes thick and hard, and the caterpillar hangs +itself by a fine silken thread of its own spinning to a twig, and passes +into its second stage--that of the "pupa," or chrysalis, from which it will +awaken, a thing of life and beauty, to live in the air instead of crawling. + +[Illustration: (A) CATERPILLAR; (B) CHRYSALIS.] + +The name "pupa" or doll, was given to the creature in this stage, because +long ago people thought the way in which insects are thus enclosed was +somewhat like the way in which the babies used to be wrapped round in +bandages or "swaddling clothes": it is also called a "chrysalis," because +sometimes dotted with gold or pearly spots. But the wonder of it is that +inside that narrow shell lies an insect quite unlike the caterpillar which +lay down to rest; a creature with legs and wings beautifully folded, all +ready for use when the time for its release has come. + +How little we dream, as we watch a caterpillar crawling along a leaf, of +what lies hidden beneath its skin! Yet I have read of a naturalist who +proved for himself that it was actually so. Having killed a full-grown +caterpillar, he let it remain for a minute or two in boiling water, then +gently drew off the outer skin, and beheld to his delight "a perfect and +real butterfly." But though I tell you of this, I do not wish you to +try the experiment, as he warns us that it requires great care, for the +limbs of the butterfly are very tender and small, and folded in a very +complicated manner. Nor should I advise you to try hatching butterflies +like chickens, by enclosing some chrysalides in a glass shaped like an egg, +and placing them under a hen, though it has been done successfully! + +There seems no doubt that all the while the caterpillar sleeps within its +chrysalis, it is being made ready for the new kind of existence it is to +enjoy; and just as, while the grub lay dormant in the egg, its food was +being prepared, so while the butterfly that is to be sleeps in its dark +tomb, the flowers upon which it is to live are slowly unfolding to the +light. + +And now, what words can describe the wonder of the _third_ chapter of this +story of life in its changes? The pupa dies and falls to pieces, + + "An inner impulse rends the veil + Of his old husk," + +and the butterfly comes forth, a glorious creature, "a living flash of +light" whose home is in the sunbeam! + +What a change! No wonder that it has so long been looked upon as a parable +and type of resurrection, an image of what will come to pass when the Lord +Jesus comes, according to that promise which was a comfort to that little +girl in the Children's Hospital, for His own--whether they have "fallen +asleep in Jesus," or are living on this earth--and all "they that are +Christ's at His coming" shall be "changed in a moment, in the twinkling of +an eye." + +To both alike the Lord will give a body of glory, "fashioned like unto His +glorious body," a body which knows not, weakness or suffering or death--"a +spiritual body." + +You remember--do you not?--that a type is but a very small and faint +picture of the real thing; yet, when you see a butterfly, and think of what +it once was and what it has become, let it preach its little sermon to you; +say to your own heart, "If that wonderful moment, which is so soon coming, +were to come just now, should I be one of those who are Christ's at His +coming? Would my body be changed and made like His glorious body? Should +I 'be caught up together with them' (those who 'sleep in Jesus') 'in the +clouds, to meet the Lord in the air,' and so be for ever 'with the Lord'?" + +And now as we turn from the wonderful story of the butterfly, in which we +may, as has been said, "see the resurrection painted before our eyes," +to the busy little ants; let us see that it is the sluggards, the lazy +persons, who are especially told to "consider" their ways. To do this we +must visit them in their own home, which we shall find in some pine-wood, +like the "pincushion-wood," or in some grassy thymy spot, covered with +little green tufts. Each of these grassy hillocks is an ant nest, and if +you look inside you will find that it contains a great many tiny rooms, +connected by galleries. Some of the rooms are hollowed out below the +surface of the earth; these are the cellars where the baby-ants are kept +warm in cold weather, while in summer they are taken by their watchful +nurses to the cool upper storeys. + +Now I have read that every ant-city has its wary sentinel, to keep watch +and ward, and give warning of the approach of the foe. And when he does +give warning there is a great hurry-scurry in the town; young ants, whether +in their larva or pupa stage, must be carried down to the cellars for +safety, and all the provisions which have been collected and stored with +so much care must also be removed to a secure hiding-place. But who is to +accomplish all this? + +If you notice carefully, you will see that it is a mistake to think of +these insects as all of one kind, and you may have heard that they have +been divided by those who have studied them, into three classes--males, +females, and neuters. + +It is about the neuters we will talk now, for these busy, unselfish little +creatures do all that has to be done; the whole work of the ant-city is +left to them. It is they who collect the food--and very clever hunters they +are, carrying their prey, whether alive or dead, right home to the nest; it +is they who build the nests with their chambers and galleries, and bring up +the little ones. Yet these earnest little workers have no wings, and must +toil along upon their feet, while the ladies and gentlemen lead much easier +lives, and fly about at will. + +Still I do not think the workers are to be pitied, for they know their +work, and do it in a very beautiful and unselfish way; and we must not +forget that when the earth was in all the freshness of its beauty--no +serpent's trail, no touch of fallen ruined man to mar its perfectness--"the +Lord God took Adam, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and to +keep it." As an old writer says--"What was man's storehouse was also man's +workhouse; his pleasure with his task ... if happiness had consisted in +doing nothing, man had not been employed." + +A child, who has been set to watch beside the cradle of a baby brother +or sister, and wants very badly to be off to play, may learn a lesson of +patience from the way in which these little workers take care of the +babies which are their special charge--for I suppose an ant's egg may be +considered in its tiny way like a baby in its cradle. + +These eggs are at first so small that you could scarcely see them, and +they would probably never become living ants if not diligently tended; but +under the care of their nurses they soon grow larger, and at the end of a +fortnight the baby ants creep out, not bigger than grains of sand, but with +head and wings complete. The first want of every living thing is food, so +the nurses begin to feed their charge by placing the little open mouths to +their own, and giving them the food which they have stored. Then I have +watched them carrying them up and down, that they may enjoy the warmth of +the cellars or the air and sunshine of the upper rooms, just as if they +had a thermometer to tell them the exact amount of heat or cold that was +needed. And I must not forget to tell you that part of the duty of the +nurses is to keep their babies white and clean, and this they do not +neglect, but wash them with their tongues, as pussy washes her kitten. + +Even when their nurslings are full-grown, and begin to spin a silken cocoon +round themselves, and it would seem as if, being no longer in need of food, +they might be left to themselves, the untiring workers do not give up their +charge. We may see them carrying little oval bodies carefully about: and +these are the cocoons which they take to the top of the nest every morning, +and back again at night. Most wonderful of all, they have an instinct which +tells them when the perfect insect within the cocoon is ready to escape +from its prison-house, and also that it is not strong enough to force its +own way through. Working three or four together, very gently and patiently +they open the silken covering, just where the insect's head lies, cutting +the threads one by one until a hole is made, large enough for the young ant +to crawl through. + +When at last released from what has been its cradle and its prison, the +tiny creature is still wrapped in a thin covering, which the kind nurses +remove. They carefully stretch out the wings of the males and females, and +pile the empty cocoons outside the nest ready for building; for waste and +disorder are unknown in an ant-city. + +Nursery days ended, the young insects are now shown "all over the house," +conducted from one "winding stair" to another, taught to know friends from +foes, fed and petted, until they take their airy flight beyond the reach of +the wingless caretakers of their infant needs. + +By-and-by you will read more about how the workers, by their busy toil, + + "Raise such monstrous hills along the plain + Larger than mountains," + +in proportion to their own small size; you will read also strange stories +of how they collect the eggs of those little green insects which you may +see in such numbers upon a rosebud, and tend them with great care--because +these tiny aphides are their "cows," and they "milk" them by gently +stroking them with their antennę, and so obtain a kind of honey--also how +the red and black ants occupy the positions of masters and slaves, the +blacks doing all the hardest work, and being kept strictly indoors; and how +it is not _all_ work, even with the workers, for they have been caught at +play, having high games of leap-frog and hide-and-seek! + +Interesting as is the mode of life among our ants at home, not less so is +that of those found in Southern Europe and in Syria, as well as in India. +They are called "Harvesters," because they "prepare their meat in the +summer" by gathering the seeds of grasses, and storing them in granaries +against the winter. I have watched long trains of these ants going and +returning with their loads, keeping their "own side" as carefully as if +passengers in London streets. A naturalist who was watching such a train, +once strewed a number of grey and white beads about, and waited to see what +would happen. One unsuspicious ant seized a bead and trotted off with it +to the nest; but not so a second time; the mistake was soon found out, and +the (to them) worthless beads were left untouched by the wary workers, who +before they stored the seeds in their granary, took off the chaff and left +it in heaps outside, to be blown away by the wind. + +It has been thought strange that the seeds thus collected do not sprout and +grow, but for this moisture would be necessary, and the ants keep their +grain as free from it as possible, spreading it out in the sun to dry, and +storing it in granaries, underground like the nurseries, but quite distinct +from them. + +If you have ever disturbed one of their nests, you do not need to be +told that ants, as well as bees and wasps, have stings, with a "poison +apparatus" like that of a serpent. + +How wonderful are these tiny creatures made by God, who has set them in +their places in His creation, and given them their work to do, and the +instinct which enables them so faithfully to play their part in the great +world, that they are set as a pattern for us to imitate! How true it is +that + + "Each shell, each crawling insect holds a rank + Important in the scale of Him who framed + This scale of beings; holds a rank which, lost, + Would break the chain, and leave a gap behind + Which Nature's self would rue." + +And what may we learn from the Harvester-ant, who "provideth her meat in +the summer"? + +I think I can hear you answer, "A lesson of prudence and foresight." + +Surely this is so: "The ants are a people not strong but they prepare their +meat in the summer"; on this account they have their place among the "four +things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise," and +we do well to consider their ways and learn the lesson which they teach us. + +Before we quite leave the ant-city, I should like to tell you that the eggs +of ants grow while hatching, to accommodate themselves to the increasing +size of the tiny creature within them. There are many interesting things +to be observed about the eggs of insects; as to their colour, they are +generally of that best adapted for concealment; as to the way in which +they are hatched, I have heard that the mother insect--the Earwig was the +one mentioned--sometimes sits upon her eggs, and that one of the spiders +has been seen sitting upon the silken bag which contained its eggs, and +carrying it away if disturbed. + +I ought to have told you that there are two great divisions of the insect +family--those which suck liquid food through their proboscis or trunk, +such as flies and butterflies, and those--such as the beetles, bees, and +locusts--which bite and eat solid food with their jaws. Dearly as I should +like to tell you about bees, both "solitary" and "social," "masons" and +"carpenters," we must not make this chapter longer, so we will speak only +of the Locusts. + +If I could let you have a peep into the box where I keep a specimen-locust, +which came to me by post from his native country, you would notice his +powerful jaws, which are so strong that they inflict a severe wound; but it +is not on account of their bite that locusts have been used by God as His +"exceeding great army" to punish those who hardened themselves against Him; +but because wherever they alight in their countless myriads, they devour +every green thing, turning a fruitful field into a barren desert in a few +hours. + +[Illustration: THE LOCUST.] + +Did you ever _see_ as well as hear a grasshopper? The locust is an insect +of the same kind, and I have heard that African locusts in the first stage +of their life are as green as grasshoppers, but wingless--though they +afterwards have very pretty wings. They are described as crowding together, +"standing upon each other in heaps four or five deep, or gradually +advancing over each other's backs, eating all before them." + +A flight of locusts is indeed a wonderful sight. An African traveller once +saw advancing towards him a dark cloud; the seeming storm came nearer and +nearer; ah! it was no snow-storm or hail-storm, but a living cloud of +locusts. He thus describes it, as it came upon him and his companions: + +"Each flake of snow was a locust; we stood with our backs to them, and +they struck us over the face and ears; we had to protect our eyes with our +hands; the ground where the flight had settled was soon bare, and the trees +leafless." Can you wonder that such a storm-cloud should be dreaded beyond +any other, and that when the Egyptian sky was darkened by it--and "before +them there were no such locusts as they"--Pharaoh besought that God might +be entreated to take away this "death" from him and from his land? And they +were not the only creatures used by God at that time to punish the proud +and wilful king who refused to let His people go that they might serve Him. + +But we must now end this long chapter, remembering that we have spoken +of only a few of the living creatures which belong to the vast family of +animals which have no body framework or skeleton; you can read in larger +books the wonderful things which are told about jelly-fishes and sponges, +bees and wasps, flies and gnats, and green tiger-beetles--for when we +have made a beginning in these little talks of ours together about God's +creatures, it will be pleasant to go on; so pleasant for some of us that, +having once begun, the difficult thing will be to know where to leave off. + +I wish I could show you some pictures which I have seen of fossil insects. +I believe white ants and dragon-flies, and even a butterfly, have been +found among the rocky strata, but those of which I speak were preserved in +amber, which is a clear yellow substance, long thought to be a mineral, +but now recognised as the hardened resin of ancient pine-trees. In this +transparent sepulchre bees and wasps, gnats, spiders, and beetles have been +buried, some uninjured, and others with broken legs or wings. They must +have got into the sticky gum while it was moist, and been unable to +escape--and so have lain for ages in their transparent tomb. + +I wonder whether these verses, which came to my mind while we were speaking +of the lessons we should learn from those creatures which faithfully use +the wisdom given them, are new to you. + + "_Never man spake like this man_." + + "From everything our Saviour saw, + Lessons of wisdom He would draw; + The clouds, the colours in the sky; + The gently breeze that whispers by; + The fields, all white with waving corn; + The lilies that the vale adorn; + The reed that trembles in the wind; + The tree where none its fruit can find; + The sliding sand, the flinty rock, + That bears unmoved the tempest's shock; + The thorns that on the earth abound; + The tender grass that clothes the ground; + The little birds that fly in air; + The sheep that need the shepherd's care; + The pearls that deep in ocean lie; + The gold that charms the miser's eye: + All from His lips some truth proclaim, + Or learn to tell their Maker's name." + +CAROLINE FRY. + + + + +THE FIFTH DAY. + +"FOWL OF THE AIR, AND FISH OF THE SEA." + + +"_And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much.... He spake +also of beasts, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fishes._"--I +KINGS iv. 29-33. + +"_The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth +through the paths of the seas._"--PSALM viii. 8. + + +We have already seen that it was on the FIFTH DAY that the two great +oceans--the world of air above, and the world of water below--were peopled +with inhabitants; that "God saw that it was good," and that all these happy +living things began their life blessed by Him who gave it. + +I wonder whether it will surprise you to hear that in some respects the +inhabitants of these two worlds are alike. + +Perhaps if you think of a fish and a bird--say a herring and a sparrow--you +will say two creatures could hardly be less like each other; the bird has +soft warm feathers, and the fish has scales, overlapping each other as the +slates on the roof of a house do, thus making a perfectly waterproof coat +for its whole body; the bird has legs and wings, and the fish has neither; +the bird can chirp and sing, while fishes generally make no noise. + +But if you could look inside the feathers and the scales, you would +see that there is a likeness in the bony structure of these creatures, +otherwise so unlike. Both are vertebrate animals, though the backbone of +a fish is in some respects unlike that of a bird, still the _plan_ is the +same, and it has been truly said that "among the many wonders of nature +there is nothing more wonderful than this--the adaptability of the one +Vertebrate type to the infinite variety of life to which it serves an as +organ and a home." But when you said that the herring had neither legs nor +wings, you forgot to notice the fins, by means of which it moves from place +to place in its watery home; as the bird, on its strong wings, makes its +way through the fields of air. Birds too, lay eggs, and so do most fishes, +some of them even making nests; so there are points in which they resemble +each other, are there not? + +But while we know a good deal about the ways and habits of birds, very +little is known of the life of a fish; for it is much more difficult to +watch its way of living, and what is known about animals has been learned +by watching them patiently. + +Sometimes when you are in a boat sailing over very calm, clear water, you +may look down and see the fishes darting here and there, and you may even +think that if the boat would but stop you could catch one in your hand; but +the only way in which you can really watch fishes sufficiently to see their +mode of life, is by studying the habits of those which have been caught and +put into glass tanks in an aquarium, where they live and move about just as +birds do in their cages; only the fishes' tank must contain water as well +as air. + +Some time ago I went to an aquarium; it was close to the sea, so that there +was no want of water to fill the tanks. At the bottom there was sand, and +there were bits of rock, among which brown and green seaweeds were growing, +in order that the prisoners might forget that they were shut up in a glass +prison-house, and feel as much at home as possible in their captivity. + +There they were, big fish and little fish, flat plaice and long +serpent-like eels--fish of all sorts, of all shapes and sizes. There were +other creatures as well as fish; lobsters and crabs and star-fishes; and +the anemones, which "blow flower-like," and have such lovely colours that +they are sometimes called "sea-roses," were waving their bright fringes to +and fro, and catching the shrimps for their dinner with those same soft +fingers of theirs. I should like you to see an aquarium such as this was; +but if you cannot just now, I daresay you may have the chance of watching a +gold-fish in a globe of water, and noticing how it uses its fins to balance +itself and steer its way through the water, and its tail to move itself +along so gracefully and swiftly; how it has two pairs of fins, which serve +for legs and arms, besides three others, the use of which you cannot so +well make out; and how the boat-like shape of the fish helps it to cut its +way so rapidly through the water. If you keep drilled those two bright eyes +over which God has made you officer, you will notice something near the +fish's eye which keeps opening and shutting like a little door. That little +door covers the gills, and it opens and shuts every time the fish breathes. +But now comes a question which used to puzzle me--that is, What does a fish +breathe? + +[Illustration: A CRYSTAL-WALLED PRISON] + +When I heard, long ago, that fishes cannot breathe if they are taken out of +the water, I used to think that they breathed the water; for then I knew no +better than the boy who, when he had at last caught a minnow, put it into a +bottle with plenty of water, and corked it up tight, in order to keep his +prize safely. + +Of course the poor little fish was dead before he got home. It died, not +from want of water, but from want of air; for fishes draw in and send out +the air through their gills, which are to them what your lungs are to you. + +Those fringes which you see when the little doors open, are the gills. They +are so red because they are filled with blood; indeed, they are made of +a great number of little blood-vessels. As the fish swims along with its +round mouth open, it does not swallow the water, but lets it run over its +gills, and then out it comes at the little doors; the red fringes take the +oxygen out of the water, and it goes into the fish's blood. The water is +the fishes' atmosphere, and it is only from it that they can get air to +breathe; so that if the glass globe were broken, and the pretty goldfish +were let fall upon the carpet, unless they were quickly put back into water +they would gasp and die from want of air; just as you would, if someone +held your head long under water. + +So you see that the home of the fish is perfectly suited to it. In the +aquarium you would observe that while most of the fishes dart hither and +thither, there are some which never rise to the surface of the water. These +are the flat-fish; and they keep at the bottom, because for some wise +purpose God has made them without the power of rising and sinking like +others. + +Inside most fishes there is a bag filled with air, as is the india-rubber +ball which you delight to bounce so high. The fish can make this little +balloon larger or smaller, just as it wishes to be itself lighter or +heavier. As it swims along, it is usually about the same weight as the +water; but when it wants to dive, the fish squeezes its air-bag tightly +together, which causes its body to become heavier than the water--for air +pressed closely together becomes heavy, and its own weight sinks it down. +When it wants to rise again to the surface, it ceases to squeeze this bag, +the air in the little balloon expands, and the diver rises again and floats +or swims because its body is now lighter than the water. + +Is not this a very perfect and beautiful plan? How true it is that God has +provided for the wants of all His creatures, and fitted them for the life +designed for them! + +But besides rising or sinking when they please, fishes can turn themselves +about very quickly. To understand how they do this, you must look at the +long bone which runs right through the body, from head to tail. You will +see that it is made, like your backbone, of a number of small bones which +move upon each other so easily that they enable the fish to turn itself +rapidly, as you see it does. The wonderful way in which these tiny bones +are fitted together by what is called the "ball and socket arrangement" may +best be seen in a large fish, such as the salmon; but a sardine's frame is +made in the same beautiful way. + +The scales, overlapping each other as they do, serve to protect the fish +in its journey through watery ways, and their smooth, polished surface +rendered slippery by a sort of natural oil, helps it to move quickly. We +have imitated the scales of a fish in the way in which we arrange slates +and tiles to keeps our houses dry. You know how the slates on the roof of +your house overlap each other, so closely that no rain can get between +them. + +When I tell you that there are said to be nine thousand different kinds +of fish in all parts of the world, you will understand that even in a +large aquarium you can see but few varieties. In England alone hundreds of +fresh-water fishes are known, while those whose home is in the sea are much +more numerous still. + +It has been found that if fresh-water fish is taken out of its natural +element and put at once into the sea, it will die. But there are some fish, +like the salmon, which live in the sea, but go up the rivers to lay their +eggs, and then back again to their proper home; taking "change of air," as +it were, but taking it gradually, and not plunging into a foreign country +all at once. + +Some fishes are great travellers. I have heard that what is called a +"shoal" of herrings consists of millions of fish, and takes up a place in +the sea larger than the area of London. This fish takes its name from an +old word which means an army; and the herring-army has to come a long, long +march--if we so speak of a journey through "the paths of the seas"--before +it, as it were, encamps near our shores. + +In winter the herrings are far away north, within the Arctic Circle, but in +the spring they go south, travelling in shoals, six miles in length, and +three or four in breadth. + +When one of these great shoals comes near our northern shores it divides, +one part travelling west, the other east. It is in September that the +herring fishing begins, and a busy time it is for the fishermen. + +The fish are always caught at night, and the darker the night the better +chance there is of a good catch. When I was a child I used often to stand +and watch the boats setting out about sunset, and many a time did I wish I +might be of the party, for I thought no treat could be greater than to be +allowed to stay out all night and see the nets full of shining fish drawn +in over the sides of the boat. However, the fishermen are too wise to take +children with them, for any noise frightens the herrings, so the fishing is +done in silence, under the quiet stars. If you saw a herring-net taken in, +you might forget yourself so far as to scream with delight at the sight of +the fish flashing like silver, and bright with blue and purple hues which +no painter could copy. But the rainbow colours, like those you see upon a +soap bubble, are almost as soon gone; they will have lost their brilliancy +before the boats come in, and the men begin to throw the fish on shore, and +to count them. + +One fish, "the Arrow of the Sea," is never so beautiful as when it is +dying. I have read that the Romans--after they ceased to be a brave people, +and became idle and pleasure-loving--used to have these fish brought in +before dinner and shown to the guests. The gay, thoughtless ladies, as they +clapped their hands with delight at the beauty of the quickly-changing +colours--white turning to sky-blue, and then to deep red--cared no more for +the suffering of the poor fish, gasping and dying before them, than for the +fading petals of a rose; so hard-hearted can people become, who think only +of their own pleasure. If poor Jack had been there, it would have made +him grieved and angry indeed to have seen one of the "God-made" creatures +treated so cruelly, would it not? You remember how he loved all living +things, and could not bear that they should be hurt. + +From the Gold-fish, with their brilliant, flashing scales, you can form +some idea of how brightly coloured the fish in tropical seas are; but the +most brilliant fishes have not always the most graceful forms, nor are they +so good for food as those better known to us. + +It is very interesting to observe that the sea-creatures which live upon +the surface of the ocean are bluish or quite colourless and transparent, as +some jelly fish, which look as if they were made of glass, and one kind of +fish of which I have heard that its body is so transparent that the words +of a book can be read through it. Others, not very unlike, but whose home +is at the bottom of the sea, have opaque and mud-coloured bodies. We +find that many creatures are of the same colour as their dwelling-place; +butterflies are bright, like flowers, insects living on leaves are green, +desert creatures are yellow or sand-coloured, those which live among the +snow are white or grey, while the winter lasts, though some of them change +their coats during their short summer. In this way the hunters and the +hunted alike escape observation. + +Fish have been divided into different classes: there are those which have +bony plates instead of scales, as the Sharks and Rays, and many fishes +which exist only as fossils; and those called the "splendid" fish, from the +brilliancy of their coats of mail, which lock together like ancient armour. +Most of them are extinct species, but the Sturgeon is one of these armoured +fishes. Then the Mud-fishes form another class. But by far the most +numerous is that to which the Bony-skeletoned fishes, with scales like +those of the Salmon, belong. A few species are destitute of any bony +or scaly covering; and one of them--the Electric Eel of South American +rivers--protects itself by giving a sharp electric shock to any creature +that comes in its way! + +The eyes of fish are sometimes large, and they can see a long way, and +also hear very quickly. Turbot, plaice, and other flat-fish, which have no +swim-bladder, lie with one side in the mud at the bottom of the sea or +rivers--Can you guess in which side of the head their eyes are placed? + +"In the uppermost, and sometimes _both_ eyes are there." + +You are right, for there would be no use for an eye in the side turned to +the mud. + +As far as we know, fish are not clever creatures, but I have heard that +some kinds, kept as pets, have learnt to know the sound of the dinner +bell just as well as the lions and tigers at the Zoo know their bell; and +you have seen how _they_ rush about their cages, and roar with hungry +impatience when it rings. I have read that some fishes of various kinds, +such as Cod and Ling, kept for the use of the owners in a pond to which the +tide came, near a house in Scotland, and regularly fed with limpets by an +old woman who had charge of them, knew her voice, and would put out their +heads and crowd to the side of the pond when she came near, and even let +her take them up and stroke their cold backs; but I doubt that you will +find your gold-fish so intelligent and affectionate. + +I must not forget to speak of the fishes which make nests, for very +few such have been discovered, and they are considered curiosities of +fish-life. Perhaps when we know more of the habits of the finny-tribe, we +shall find that some others provide for the safety of their young in a +similar way, but at present I believe the Stickleback, which not only makes +a nest but takes care of his young brood until they are six days old and +can "find for themselves," is the only one known in Europe. In Demerara, a +fish called the Hassar makes a floating cradle of grass or leaves for its +eggs, over which it watches carefully, being ready to defend it bravely +when attacked; thus in Australia, an eel called the Jew-fish was one day +noticed swimming round and round a clear place among the reeds, and it +turned out that it was guarding a nest of stones which it had placed in the +river bed. + +There are one or two strange fishes which you will not see in any shop; +though if you have friends who "follow the sea," they may have told you +of the Sun-fish, sometimes caught in the west of Ireland; very large and +round it is, of a silvery-white colour, so that on dark nights, when the +fishermen have seen it shining as it swam, just under the water, it has +seemed to them like the sun shining behind the clouds on a showery day; and +they have given it this name. + +You may too, have heard strange tales of another round fish, called from +its shape the Globe-fish, and from its skin the "Sea-hedgehog"; it is +covered with sharp thorns, and has the power, by swallowing air, of so +greatly increasing its size (without sharing the fate of the poor toad in +Ęsop's Fable) that it not only can rise to the surface of the water, but +float as long as it pleases. Then there are the blue Flying-herrings, with +long fins, which you would see if you took a voyage to Australia. These +poor little creatures have enemies both in birds and fishes. When the +sharks want to make a meal of them, they leap into the air, using their +long fins almost as a bird uses its wings, and are able to keep up for some +distance; some say they can fly five hundred feet; but alas! when they are +on the fin, the sea-gulls are eager and ready to pounce upon them, and they +have to take refuge in the sea again. With all their beauty, they have +a hard life of it, constantly escaping away from the sea-gull, into the +shark! + +And now, when we have time, I think both you and I shall be pleased not +only to observe carefully the fishes which we see every day, but to +read about others; about the sword-fish, which has neither scales for +its protection, nor teeth, but whose snout forms a bone, four or five +feet long, set with sharp pointed teeth on each side--somewhat like a +double-edged saw; this bone is a most formidable weapon when used against +large fish, and is so strong that it has even pierced through the planks of +a boat; about the tiny Sea-horse, with its head so curiously like that of a +horse, and its wing-like fins; about the Whale, which is not really a fish +at all (and why it is not will be something for you to find out), besides +a great many monsters of the deep of which I have not time to tell you. +We have already had a much longer talk about fish than my children had, +although it was while we were speaking about fishing, and how the night is +the usual time for it, that we read two accounts of great numbers of fish +being caught in the sea of Galilee--not at night, but in broad daylight. + +One account is given in the gospel of Luke. You know that--the disciples, +Simon and Andrew his brother, and James and John his brother, were +fishermen, and used to launch their boats upon the Sea of Galilee, and let +down their nets into the deep blue water. It was when they had been fishing +all night, and had caught nothing, that they left their boats beside the +sea, and were busy washing their nets. + +[Illustration: "THERE IS NOT A BREATH THE BLUE WATERS TO CURL."] + +Fishermen feel very downhearted and disappointed when the morning comes, +after they have been out all night, and finds them with only a few fish in +their boats: but these fishermen had got one fish. Peter said, "We have +toiled all the night, and have taken nothing." + +The Lord Jesus knew all about that long night of toil, as He sat in Peter's +boat, and taught the crowds of people who stood on the shore; and He knew +how disappointed those tired fishermen must be. Presently He spoke to +Peter, and said, "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a +draught. And Simon answering said unto Him, Master, we have toiled all the +night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at Thy word I will let down the +net." + +Night is the best time for fishing, and all night they had toiled in vain. +The empty nets were there; but in Simon's boat was the One who had made the +fish, and He caused them to fill the nets in such numbers that the slender +cords broke, and both the boats were overladen. + +"When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from +me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." + +He felt what it was to be in the presence of the Lord; how unfit he was to +be near Him; but yet he could not bear to let Him go; Jesus said to Peter, +"Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men." + +"What does it mean?" May asked, when she had read this verse, "How could +Peter catch men?" + +To find the answer to her question, we read in the second chapter of Acts +about the first time Peter preached at Jerusalem, and how he told the +very people who had taken Jesus of Nazareth, and "by wicked hands" had +"crucified and slain" Him, that God had raised Him from the dead, and "made +that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." We read +that while he spoke of Him three thousand people received his word gladly. +Surely at that time there was a fulfilment of the Lord's promise to him. +Peter had indeed become a fisher of men--rescued from the cold waters of +death, caught away from the grasp of Satan, henceforth to belong to Christ +for ever. + +But before this time there had been that other scene beside the Galilean +lake, of which we read at the end of the gospel of John. + +Again after a weary night's fishing, the disciples had taken nothing; +again, at the word of the Lord, the net was cast over the side of the boat, +and drawn in "full of great fishes." + +The Lord Jesus, after he rose from the dead, was still the same, always +thinking of His dear disciples, and caring for them. You remember that He +would not allow the crowds of people, who had come from far to hear them, +to go back to their homes hungry and tired, but that He made them rest on +the green grass while He fed them with the loaves and the little fishes. +Now He knew all about Peter and James, and John and Thomas, and those two +others who had gone fishing with them. They had been out all night, and +were very hungry, and directly they came to land they could see that their +Lord had been thinking of how they would feel; for all that they wanted was +ready--a fire of coals on the shore, and fish laid upon it, and bread--and +they heard the voice which was so dear to them, that well-known voice which +had once come to them across the stormy waves saying, "It is I; be not +afraid," now bidding them, "Come and dine." And it was from those kind +hands, which had been pierced when He suffered the cruel death of the +cross, that they received the bread and the fish which was prepared for +them. + +What a wonderful time to remember! I think Peter must have been thinking of +it when he said to Cornelius, We "did eat and drink with Him after He rose +from the dead." Perhaps he also thought of another time when the Lord asked +for some food, "and they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an +honeycomb. And He took it, and did eat before them"--to show them, while +they yet believed not for joy and wondered, that it was indeed Himself who +was standing among them, risen from the dead. + +You will find that there are a good many places in the Bible where fish +are spoken of. I hope you will have in your list one which was given me by +Sharley only; although I had expected that everybody would have found it. +It is mentioned in the gospel by Matthew, alone. We are not told what sort +of fish it was in whose mouth Peter found the "stater," a piece of money +worth about three shillings, which was exactly enough to give, as the Lord +told him, to those who had come to ask for money to meet some expenses +belonging to the temple. Every Jew paid a fixed sum, and this piece of +money in the fish's mouth was just twice that sum. How beautiful that the +One who was God, and had power over the fish of the sea, to send them into +Peter's net, or to make even a fish bring to Him the coin which was wanted, +should put Himself beside Peter, and say, "Lest we should offend them, go +thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh +up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: +that take, and give unto them for Me and thee"! Ah, but we know that the +Lord Jesus Christ was "meek and lowly in heart" and He loved to put His +disciples with Himself, as children of God His Father! + +A writer who lived at the time when our "King James's" Bible was +translated, speaking of the sea as "the great pond of the world," says, "We +know not whether to wonder at the element itself, or the guests which it +contains." + +As we have been learning a little of the ways of the inhabitants of the +ocean of air, as well as those that people the world of water, let me close +this chapter by quoting an American poet's beautiful verses:-- + +"TO A WATER FOWL. + + "Whither, midst falling dew + While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, + Far through their rosy depths dost thou pursue + Thy solitary way? + + "Vainly the fowler's eye + Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, + As, darkly painted on the crimson sky, + Thy figure floats along. + + "Seek'st thou the plashy brink + Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide, + Or where the rocking billows rise and sink + On the chafed ocean side? + + "There is a Power whose care + Teaches thy way along that pathless coast-- + The desert and illimitable air-- + Lone wandering, but not lost. + + "All day thy wings have fanned + At that far height the cold, thin atmosphere; + Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land, + Though the dark night is near. + + "And soon that toil shall end; + Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest + And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend + Soon o'er thy sheltered nest. + + "Thou'rt gone; the abyss of heaven + Hath swallowed up thy form; yet on my heart + Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given, + And shall not soon depart. + + "He who, from zone to zone, + Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, + In the long way that I must tread alone, + Will lead my steps aright." + +W. C. BRYANT. + + + + +THE FIFTH DAY. + +FLYING FOWL. + + +"_Gavest Thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers +unto the ostrich?_" + +"_Doth the hawk fly by Thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the +south?_" + +"_Doth the eagle mount up at Thy command, and make her nest on high?_"--JOB +xxxix. 13, 26, 27. + +"_The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is +come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land._"--SONG OF SOLOMON +ii. 12. + + +It was on the FIFTH DAY of Creation that the silence was broken by the +voice of birds. We are so accustomed to the various cries of animals, +the buzzing of insects, and above all to the chirping and twittering and +singing of birds, that we can hardly imagine what a voiceless world would +be like. + +I have heard that far away in New Zealand, travellers who try to make +their way through the great tangle of trees and creepers which is called +the "Bush," speak of the silence and loneliness of the dense forests as +dreadful, and they particularly mention that there is no voice of bird to +be heard there. Very different is a place I know, where, although the trees +in which they perch are by the roadside, and noisy carts and carriages are +coming and going all day long, yet the sparrows overhead keep up such a +constant chatter and flutter that once as I passed that way a countryman +looked up at the trees and smiled, and said to me, "Plenty of company up +there!" + +When I told the children this they were much amused, and I am sure they +thought it would be very dull never to hear the crowing of a cock or the +"quack, quack" of a duck--to say nothing of the soft cooing of doves in the +wood, and the sweet, rich notes of the thrushes and blackbirds. + +A Frenchman, who has written a very large book all about birds, says that +if we were not so accustomed to them we should think a bird flying through +the air the most wonderful thing we had ever seen--and I think he is right; +but before we speak of these wonderful and beautiful creatures, let us read +once more the verses in Genesis which tell us of their birthday, beginning +with, "And God said," and ending with, "And the evening and the morning +were the fifth day." + +We have been speaking of the living creatures which the waters brought +forth, and now we must think a little of the "winged fowl," which were made +to people the "expansion," and are sometimes called the "fish of the air," +as the fishes are called the "birds of the ocean." + +Of all the happy living things I think none _seem_ so full of joy as the +birds. Their very flight has such buoyancy and gladness in it, and their +songs seem always to be telling of happiness. Did you ever watch the +sea-gulls flashing and darting about, and then floating quietly above your +head, or the swallows in their rapid flight, wheeling round and round, and +think how beautiful a thing it is just to see them on the wing, fluttering, +soaring, floating in that ocean of air which is their home? + +[Illustration: A "WINGED FOWL."] + +Birds are marked off from all other vertebrate animals by the possession +of feathers. How wonderful is the wing of a bird; spread wide when it is +flying, and folded up like a fan when it is resting, perched upon the +branch of a tree, swaying to and fro in the sunshine. But how sad it is to +see such a wild, free creature as a lark, or even a thrush or a linnet, +pent up in a narrow cage, where there is no room to stretch those wings +so strong and light, no swinging branch to rest upon; but all the little +prisoner can do is to hop from one perch to another, and beat its wings +against the "wiry grate" which shuts it in so hopelessly. I suppose we +don't think so much of captive birds as of other captives, because a bird +in a cage is such a common sight, and when we hear it sing so sweetly it +seems as if it could not be _un_happy; but when we say "as happy as a +bird," I doubt if it is of birds in cages we are thinking after all. + +The cage may be of gilded wires, or of willow twigs; but both are alike +prison bars which keep the birdie back from the liberty to which it was +born. At least this was what an English sailor felt when he met a man +carrying a cage full of birds. He had been a prisoner himself, away +in France, and had many a time longed to be free; and now when he saw +the birds in their gilded prison, he was not happy until he had made a +bargain and got them, cage and all, to do what he liked with. What was +the astonishment of the man from whom he had bought them, when he saw the +sailor open the cage door and let them out, one by one, until all the +little prisoners were free! + +As you have watched the birds in their flight, I daresay you have wondered +how they can keep themselves up in the air. Even the little wren has some +weight; much more the crows which make their nests in the topmost branches +of the trees. We say "as light as a feather"; yet the downiest feather has +some weight, and will find its way to the ground if not kept up by wind or +breath. + +It is true that the "feathered fowl," as all kinds of birds are called +in the Bible, are very much heavier than the air in which they float and +swim, using their wings for oars, just as the fish use their fins. But +do you remember that little balloon inside the fish, which enables it to +rise through the water? A bird is almost a live balloon; as it flies, it +breathes air into every part of its body; this air becomes heated, and is +kept warm by the feathers; and as hot air becomes light, the bird is so +much lighter than the air which surrounds it, that it can easily rise +higher and higher, until, like the skylark, its little quivering body seems +almost lost in the far blue sky, and its "waterfall of song" alone shows +where it is. + +[Illustration: "THE WHITE SEA-GULL, THE BOLD SEA-GULL, A JOYFUL BIRD IS +HE."] + +The bones of a bird are very strong, but they are also very light; if you +look at the bones of a chicken, you will see that some of them are hollow; +when the bird was alive, those hollow places were all filled with air. Take +a dead bird and look at the quills at the roots of the feathers; and now +watch that swallow as it darts so rapidly hither and thither. The bird is +able to fill each tiny quill with air, so that its body becomes like a +balloon, and it rises high above the roofs of the houses; then, like the +fish, when it wishes to sink, it can breathe out all the air again, and so +constantly change its weight, and fly, now high, now low, faster than any +train can rush or ship sail. + +There is a wonderful bird which sailors have seen a thousand miles from +land. It is called the Frigate-bird, and has never been known to rest on +the sea; it lives upon sea-creatures, but makes its nest on shore. Each of +its wings, if stretched out as when the bird is flying, measures more than +the height of a man; yet even such an enormous bird as this does not sink +down by its own weight, but flies mile after mile upon its strong wings, +every feather of which unites strength and lightness, never resting till +its airy voyage is over, and it finds its nest. It is said that when storms +sweep over the sea, this "ocean eagle" mounts upward until it has reached +the calm which lies above the storm, and so sails upon its untroubled way. + +The feathers of birds are to them what its scales are to the fish, and +hair and wool to other animals--a protection. They are not only light and +strong, but warm, and by their means, as a bird soars into colder regions +of air, it is protected from the cold: while for aquatic birds there is a +special provision--by pressing with their beaks an oil-gland near the tail +they can waterproof their feathers! Now look again at your dead bird; you +will see that the wings and tail are formed of quills, while the surface +of the body is covered with short feathers--even the ear being protected +by a little tuft--and all the spaces between are filled with the softest, +warmest down. Could any creature be more beautifully equipped for its +journey through the fields of air? + +Then this soft, warm, light dress is renewed once or twice a year, +generally so gradually that the change is imperceptible--but you may have +seen fowls and ducks straggling about the farmyard with half their feathers +gone--on the principle of being off with the old coat before they are on +with the new. + +The eyes of both fishes and birds have an extra lid formed of very thin +skin, which can be moved quickly over the surface of the eye, serving to +cleanse it and protect it. + +There are three thousand distinct kinds of birds, but it would be +impossible to learn about so many, they have been divided into five +groups--birds of Prey, Perching birds, Scratching birds, Wading birds, and +Swimming birds. + +I must tell you that Chrissie and Sharley and May had learnt something +about these groups from a book of which they are very fond; it is called +_The First Year of Scientific Knowledge_, and there are pictures in it of +the different birds, beasts, and fishes which are mentioned. + +Now, let us think of some of the birds in the first group. Birds of Prey +are those which hunt for their food, and eat the flesh of other birds, +or of small animals, such as rats, and mice, or of snakes. All these +birds--vultures, hawks, owls--have sharp hooked beaks, and long claws, also +very sharp; they fly quickly, and soon overtake their prey, whether they +hunt by day or by night. + +The two birds of prey most often mentioned in the Bible are the Raven and +the Eagle. You remember how, when the terrible flood, which God sent upon +the earth because of the violence and wickedness of men, was over, and the +Ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat, Noah opened the window of the Ark, +and sent forth a raven. This bird of prey could find food for itself, as it +"went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth," +and it never came back to Noah; unlike the gentle dove who found no rest +for the sole of her foot, but twice returned to her refuge, the second time +carrying in her bill the fresh green "olive-leaf plucked off," which showed +Noah that the waters were indeed gone. How wonderfully God, who feeds the +young ravens which cry to Him, used those birds of prey to bring to Elijah +"bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening," +all the time that they were commanded to feed the prophet in his lonely +hiding-place by the brook Cherith. The Raven is the patriarch among birds; +it lives to be a hundred years old--beyond the age of man! + +The Eagle, the king of birds, is a large and beautiful creature with very +strong wings, and has its home in rocky places, difficult to reach. Like +all birds who live upon prey which they catch alive, it is bold and fierce. +There is a verse which speaks of it as "hasting to the prey." Eagles seize +rabbits, hares, lambs, and young deer, and have even been known to attack +a pony. They often carry off ducks and wild birds to their rocky eyrie, as +food for their young ones. The Sea-eagle lives upon fish which swim near +the surface of the waves; it sees them afar off with its keen eyes, and +darts down upon them. + +[Illustration: "THE OWL WILL BUILD BESIDE A BARN, OR IN A HOLLOW TREE."] + +Most likely you remember the story of the Highland mother, whose baby was +carried away by a great eagle, and how she climbed the steep rocks until +she reached its nest, and rescued her child. Her strong mother-love took +away all fear of the dreadful height which even a young sailor feared to +climb, and of the wild birds who flapped their great wings at her, and then +fled screaming away; but I need not say more of this Scotch story, which +you may have so often heard, so I will tell you of what happened once in +Switzerland to a little girl about five years old. + +She was playing near her mountain home, when a great eagle saw her, darted +down, and was just catching her curly little head in its strong talons, +when a man with a gun, not far off, fired. He had been watching the eagle, +but did not see the child, or he would have been afraid to fire, lest he +should kill her. When he came to pick up the dead bird he found the little +girl beside it. She had been saved by the shot which killed the fierce +eagle; but I have heard that when she had grown to be a woman the scars of +deep wounds made by its talons upon her head could still be seen. No doubt +she often heard the story of how God had saved her from a double danger, +and by-and-by she felt that she must ask Him to make her His servant all +her life long, God heard her prayer, and allowed her to go as a missionary +to a far-off land. + +There is a beautiful verse in the thirty-second chapter of Deuteronomy, in +which God compares His care for His people to the way in which the eagle +cares for its young ones, and teaches them to fly. + +I do not know whether you know many of the second group, the +Perching-birds; but I am sure you have seen parrots, and heard them too. +These clever, gay birds must look beautiful indeed in their forest home +in tropical countries, as they flash and gleam in the sunshine; but their +screaming--you know what it is like if you have ever paid them a visit +at the Zoo--takes something away from their charm. They have been called +"feathered monkeys," because they are so well able to climb trees. Look at +their dark grey toes, and you will see that two of them are turned forward +and two backward, so as to enable them to take a firm hold upon branch or +twig. They have such hard bills because they live upon nuts and seeds. You +have seen how Polly holds a nut, and shells it with the sharp point of her +beak, keeping her eye on you all the time. + +[Illustration: "FEATHERED MONKEYS."] + +Perhaps you would not think it, but parrots are affectionate birds. A story +is told of one that was very fond of a servant girl in the house where he +lived. When she had a bad finger he would not leave her, and groaned as he +sat beside her bed, as if he were himself in pain; and when she recovered +he became quite cheerful again. But I think the account which Dr. Franklin +gives of the kindness of a parrot to its mate is more interesting still. + +He says he knew two parrots who had lived together four years, when the +female became so ill from gout that she could not get down from her perch +to reach her food. For four months the male bird went on carrying the +food to her in his beak; and when at last she fell from her perch through +weakness, he kept constantly near her, trying to raise her, and showing the +greatest care for her. + +When she could no longer eat, he tried in vain to open her beak, so as to +give her food, uttering sad cries; or stood with his eyes fixed on her, +mournful and silent. From the time of her death he pined away, and died a +few weeks afterwards. + +Such stories are very beautiful, because they show, as a lover of animals +once said, "what kindness God has put into the heart of His creatures." + +Of the Scratching birds, there is none which you know so well as the hen; +indeed this group is often called by a Latin name, which means that all +belonging to it are of the hen tribe. + +Our fowls come from India, but they have been at home in this country for +a long time, and are very common in Palestine. If you have ever seen a +mother-hen taking care of her chicks, calling them to her when she fears +any danger for them, and hiding them beneath her soft warm wings, you will +better understand the words which the Lord Jesus spoke when He beheld +Jerusalem, the beloved city, and wept over it. Think of these words when +you hear the hen call her chickens, and see them all come running to her, +and hiding away under her wings, to be kept in safety from some foe which +_you_ cannot see, but which _she_ knows to be lurking near, or perhaps +hovering above, ready to pounce upon a stray chick and carry it off. + +[Illustration: HARK!] + +You may often see the Turkeys, Pheasants, Peacocks, and other birds of +this Hen-family, scratching up the gravel; and you know, I daresay, that +grain-eating birds have a little mill inside them called a gizzard, which +grinds their food for them. Birds of prey have no gizzards, because their +food does not need to be ground before they can digest it. + +The Wading-birds have long bare legs because they live in marshy places, +and long necks and beaks to catch the small animals upon which they feed. +Snipe and Woodcock have long tapering bills which are alive to the very +points with what are called nerves, so that they may be able to feel for +worms as they dig for them in the soft sand and mud, where they cannot see +them. Two birds of this family, the Stork and the Crane, are mentioned in +the Bible in connection with a wonderful power which God has given to some +birds, by means of which they know when the time is come for them to leave +a country where their food is over and gone, and where the winter is too +cold for them, for a warmer land, where they may find food convenient for +them, and from which they will know right well how to come back again when +spring returns, with its food and foliage. Such birds are called birds of +passage; the Swallow is the one you know best, and it also is mentioned in +the verse in which so many migratory birds are grouped together, "The stork +in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and +the swallow observe the time of their coming." It is God who bids these +birds "observe the time of their coming": no one knows why they go south +for the winter, nor how they can tell their way over land and sea, and come +back again to the very place from whence they took their flight. + +The Stork must be to the People in Palestine just such a "guest of summer" +as the swallow is with us, for it regularly arrives about the end of March, +and flies away in the autumn. + +Ships make their long voyages to the other end of the world and back with +wonderful regularity, but though the helmsman has a compass to guide him, +they do not arrive in port so exactly at their appointed time as the little +swallow, who has only the sense which we call "instinct" to guide it; only +its own light, strong wings to carry it on its swift way, flying a mile a +minute--for even to its little bones and feathers, every part of its body +is filled with air, rendering it the most buoyant of winged creatures. + +I met with a beautiful passage about migratory birds in a book I was +reading lately. The writer says, "Were they planets revolving round the +sun, their arrival could hardly be more accurately calculated by the +astronomer.... The little birds are guided in their flight through the +waste, lone wilderness of the sky, and over wide seas, without a compass +or a map or a path, by His counsel and will. And they obey that guidance +without the slightest inclination to swerve from it or seek a way of their +own.... + +"Migratory birds passing from Africa to Europe over the sea, often alight +on ships bound in that direction. Not unfrequently ship-captains tell us +that they have seen birds of prey, hawks, and owls, appearing on the masts +on such occasions in the company of swallows, goldfinches, and chaffinches; +and yet the cruel birds never touched the innocent ones. The migratory +instinct seems to subdue for a season the predatory instinct." + +I want to tell you more about swallows, and especially a true but sad +story of a tame one; but first we will speak of one more group, the +Swimming-birds. You may have often noticed a duck's foot, and seen how the +"web," or skin between the toes, can be folded up like a fan; or spread +out, when the bird is swimming; Geese, Swans, Sea-gulls, the beautiful +great Albatross, all these and a great many more of this family; they have +a kind of water-wing, which cleaves its way through the streams, and most +of them can also fly, although they are heavy birds. I have seen a flock of +grey geese sailing on the sea, and the same flock at sunset coming home by +a quicker way, looking like dark specks against the evening sky; but it is +only wild geese that will fly so far. + +Now then, we have had five groups. Let us count them. Birds of Prey, +Perching birds, Scratching birds, Wading birds, Swimming birds, and I think +I must add one more; for the Passerine, or Sparrow group includes most +of the small birds, such as blackbirds and thrushes, nightingales and +swallows, larks and magpies, linnets and humming-birds, and I cannot tell +how many more "feathered fowl." + +[Illustration: FISHING.] + +Our story of a tame swallow must follow. There are four kinds of +swallows--the Swift, the Chimney-swallow, the House-martin, and the +Sand-martin; they all look much alike when on the wing, but there are +differences, especially in the sort of nest which they build. The +house-martin makes its nest of mud, lined with grass or feathers, against +the side of a house, and there lays its beautiful white eggs. + +A pair of martins built their cosy nest one summer beneath the eaves of +a house in the country, just under the window of one of the bedrooms. +Swallows rear two broods every season, and one brood was reared +successfully in this nest, but the second was not so fortunate. Late in +September--and you know the swallows are off to Africa in October--a +servant found a poor little shivering bird on the steps. It was plain that +it had tried to fly from the nest, with its brothers and sisters, but had +not been strong enough. The poor birdie seemed almost dead when it was +picked up, but in the family there was a lady who loved "all things both +great and small," and she fed the tiny martin, and made a bed for it in a +work basket lined with wool. She was delighted when she saw it tuck its +head under its wing, puff out its little feathers, and settle itself to +sleep in her basket as cosily as if it had been at home in its parents' +nest, and she began to think that she might be able to keep this little +deserted bird in an English home while all the other swallows had gone over +sea for the winter. + +I need not tell you that the little martin gave plenty of trouble and +anxiety in his rearing; but at last he got on so well that he was allowed +to go out in the garden, and sit upon his mistress's hand, while he feasted +on any spider, gnat, or fly which was caught for him. It must have been a +pretty sight to see the fondness of this pet bird for the kind friend who +had saved its life. He could not bear to be away from her, but would sit on +her shoulder while she was at work or writing, and sometimes nestle under +her chin; tiresome enough in his tricksy ways of pulling at her thread and +snatching at her paper, but still always borne with, because he was such a +pet. + +One day when his mistress was going out for a long walk, and intended to +leave her bird behind, he insisted on going too. And go he did, perched +upon her finger; but on the way he became so clamorously hungry that she +had to take him into a butcher's shop, and get some meat for his dinner. + +She often wondered how long he would stay with her. The swallows had not +yet gone; and sometimes he would look up and see crowds of them skimming +through the air, and darting about overhead. He would watch them, even call +to them and answer their wild cry, then sweep round the room in imitation +of their rapid flight; but always came back again to his old place on her +shoulder. At last, while there were still flies to be caught; be became +so grown up as to begin to catch them for himself, though he had had no +parent-bird to teach him; but still he was a tame swallow, liking to have +his head stroked, and enjoying his morning bath like any canary. + +After all the wild swallows were off to Africa, the little tame martin +began to feel the cold. This wax what his mistress had been afraid would +happen, and she tried in every way to keep her pet warm. She wrapped him in +fur, and used to pack him warmly in a little box and take him to bed with +her; but she was soon awakened by his creeping out of the box, and nestling +under her chin. At sunrise he would career round and round her room, then +fly downstairs and begin to make himself very much at home at breakfast, +pecking at the butter, and standing upon the edges of the cups; but never +so busy as not to dart to his mistress at the sound of her voice. Indeed he +was so unhappy when away from her that she used even to take him railway +journeys, because she did not like to leave him behind. This way of +travelling, however, did not suit the little passenger-bird, for he was +always in a fright, and glad to get home again. But many a country walk he +took with his mistress, perched on her shoulder or her wrist, much to the +wonder of the country-folk, who used to crowd around and ask questions +about such a rare bird as a tame swallow. Sometimes they would shake their +heads and say, "Well, well; did ever anyone see the like? I'll never shoot +another swallow." + +As the winter came, all these pleasant walks were over. The poor birdie +began to droop; it was impossible to keep him warm, though he often crept +under the parlour fender, to get as close to the fire as possible; and in +spite of all that loving care could do, before the end of the year his +bright little life had been lived, and all his clever tricks, and airy +flights and loving ways were over. + +The lady missed her pet sorely; and next summer when the low twittering of +the swallows was heard again, as they came back to their old home to build +once more, she watched them at their work with many a thought of her lost +birdie. + +This is why I said it was a sad story; but we must not forget that the lady +really saved the life of the poor bird, when it had fallen from the nest. +If she had stolen it away from its parents, and tried to keep it in our +cold country when they had gone to Africa, she would have blamed herself, +and felt that she had been the cause of its death. It is cruel to take +young birds from the nest, for it is a great grief to the parent-birds to +lose their little ones; and it is so difficult to rear them, that they are +almost sure to die, in spite of the great care you take of them. Some boys +are fond of collecting birds' eggs, and know a great deal about them. A +collection of eggs--of all sizes and of all shades of colour, from pure +white to bluish green, or speckled grey--is a pretty sight; but if you go +nesting, be careful not to spoil the beautiful little cradle which the +parent-birds have made with such labour and care. And if you take one, or +even two, eggs for your collection, be sure not to touch the others, or +it may be that the birds will desert them. I well remember the delight of +finding a robin's nest when I was a child; but my brothers and I were not +allowed to touch the eggs. We were told they did not belong to us, and this +certainly was nothing more than the truth. + +It is beautiful to see God's care for all His creatures, especially the +helpless ones. When He was teaching His chosen people in the olden times +about things which are pleasing or displeasing to Him, He told them a good +deal about how they were to treat the animals. You would hardly expect to +find anything in the Bible about bird-nesting; and perhaps you might think +that if a boy found a nest with eggs or young birds in it, he might take +the young ones or the eggs, and if he chose he might take the mother-bird +also. + +But God said-- + +"Thou shalt not take the dam with the young: thou shalt in anywise let the +dam go, and mayest take the young to thee, that it may be well with thee." + +He who cares for the sparrow would not allow the mother-bird to suffer by +perhaps seeing her little ones die while she was shut up in a cage, too +fluttered and frightened to help them; and He would teach us to be merciful +and tender-hearted towards those who cannot defend themselves or plead +their own cause, "even as our Father in heaven is merciful." + +I should like you to read in some nice book all about birds, a great deal +about their ways, and especially about the clever nests they build, of +which I have not time to tell you now. Also, I should like you to find +out all you can for yourself. You may at least learn to know by sight and +by sound some of our own songsters. It is often said that English birds +have sober plumage; and so they have, compared with the parrots and the +humming-birds that "flit about like living fires, scarce larger than a +bee," and the wonderful bird of paradise, which the natives of New Guinea +call "God's bird," because it shines with silver and gold--but still we +have some very gay birds. + +It is true that the goldfinch and the kingfisher are not often seen except +in picture-books; but our own little robin is a real beauty, is he not? And +what can be gayer than the feathers of some of our cocks, which strut about +so proudly? Then, the more you notice the songs of birds, the more you will +admire them. The sweet notes begin before daylight in the spring-time, and +the cock-bird seems never tired of singing to his mate as she sits on her +eggs. By and by, when they are busy with family cares, feeding the little +ones, and teaching them to fly, there is not much time for singing. It is +said that every bird has a different note or call. I wonder how many you +know? I fancy I can guess: the cock, the rook, the swallow, the thrush, the +blackbird, the lark; if you do not know the notes or calls of all these, +try to learn them. + +Then, with regard to the nests; have you not seen rooks and cranes carrying +in their mouths the twigs with which they build theirs in the top of very +high trees? And have you not watched these nests swinging about in the +wind, and wondered that they did not fall? Some of our birds build in holes +of trees, some line their nests beautifully with any soft thing they can +find; blackbirds and thrushes make theirs of mud. But instead of describing +how the nests of our English birds are made, I will copy for you, out of +Leslie's poetry-book, a little poem, which will help you to know where to +search for the nests of different birds:-- + + "The skylark's nest among the grass + And waving corn is found; + The robin's in a shady bank, + With oak-leaves strewed around. + + "The wren builds in an ivied thorn + Or old and ruined wall, + The mossy nest so covered in + You scarce can see at all. + + "The martins build their nests of clay + In rows beneath the eaves; + The silvery lichens, moss, and hair + The chaffinch interweaves. + + "The cuckoo makes no nest at all, + But through the wood she strays. + Until she finds one snug and warm, + And there her eggs she lays. + + "The sparrow has a nest of hay, + With feathers warmly lined; + The ringdove's careless nest of sticks + On lofty trees we find. + + "Rooks build together in a wood, + And often disagree; + The owl will build beside a barn, + Or in a hollow tree. + + "The blackbird's nest of grass and mud + On bush and bank is found; + The lapwing's darkly-spotted eggs + Are laid upon the ground. + + "The magpie's nest is made with thorns, + In leafless tree or hedge; + The wild duck and the water hen + Build by the water's edge. + + "Birds build their nests from year to year, + According to their kind; + Some very neat and beautiful, + Some simpler ones we find. + + "The habits of each little bird, + And all its patient skill, + Are surely taught by God Himself, + And ordered by His will." + +The other day I saw a lark's nest. It was made upon the ground; for it is +true that + + "The bird which soars on highest wing, + Builds on the ground her lowly nest." + +and I had to move aside the grass before I could see it. The parent-birds, +I daresay, were somewhere near, but I found only the little ones, looking +as if they were almost all mouth, so widely did they open their yellow +beaks. If you find such a treasure, and are very careful not to touch, or +even to peer and peep too much, you may have the great interest of watching +over the rearing of the little family; seeing the parents bring them food, +and teach them to fly; and then, when the brood has flown, the deserted +nest will belong to you, if you choose to keep it; but I am afraid you +would not care for a lark's nest, for it is not beautifully finished, as +some birds' nests are, but really only the dry-grass lining of a hole in +the ground. The eggs are brown, like the bird itself, which is so beautiful +in its song--that lovely song which you can hear even when you can hardly +see the tiny singer. + + "Far in the downy cloud," + +or but a speck in the deep blue; for the lark will + + "Soar up and up, quivering for very joy," + +singing all the time, till he is out of sight--yet never forget that low +spot, hidden with grass, where his nest is. + +You know why it is said that "the cuckoo builds no nest at all," don't you? +May has a verse which calls him "a most conceited bird," because from the +time when he comes back from Africa we hear him constantly calling his own +name, 'coo-coo, coo-coo!' Still, I don't think the cuckoo should be called +"conceited" when it is we who have given it its name from the call which +is natural to it; but it is a most unfaithful bird, and leaves its little +ones to be brought up by others, not taking the trouble to build a cradle +for them, nor will the mother sit upon her eggs. I used to think the +reason why we saw so few cuckoos was because this bird laid only one egg; +but I have read that she lays eight, each one in the nest of some bird +much smaller than herself. The cuckoo is grey, and about the size of a +blackbird; but her eggs are small, not bigger than a hedge-sparrow's or a +lark's. She lays her egg on the ground, and then lifts it with her bill +into the nest which she has chosen. The stranger bird is hatched first, and +always behaves as if the whole nest belonged to him. He grows bigger and +bigger, until at last he throws the little sparrows over the side of the +nest to make room for himself. When the "woolly bears "--the caterpillars +on which they feed--are all gone the cuckoos fly off to find them in South +Africa. + +How different from this bird is the faithful dove, who would not desert her +little one, even to save her own life! I must tell you the story of the +particular dove of which I am thinking. + +When the famous city of Pompeii--which had lain for eighteen hundred years +buried beneath the ashes and mud which fell upon it during a terrible +eruption of Mount Vesuvius--was brought to light again, as the workmen were +digging among the ruins of what had been a beautiful house, in a niche +overlooking the garden they found the skeleton of a dove. They were not +surprised that, as the sky grew darker and darker upon that dreadful day, +and the soft, choking shower of ashes fell more thickly, many of those who +ran for their lives should have lost their way in the darkness, and fallen +to rise no mare. The skeletons of men and women had been found, just as +they had fallen while trying to escape; but this dove, with her swift +wings, why did she not flee away? Ah, as they lifted her from her nest +the secret was revealed: beneath her lay the egg which the timid, gentle +creature, so brave in her love and faithfulness, would not leave. + +If you ask me about fossil-birds, I must tell you that very few have been +found. However, if you go to the British Museum, look out for a large stone +slab covered with footprints of birds. It was taken from a quarry in an +American valley, and is a piece of sandstone, which was once soft enough +to receive the impress of the feet of the giant wading-bird, probably much +larger than an ostrich, which once walked across it with long strides. You +will also trace upon it the tracks of smaller birds. In New Zealand very +large bones of an extinct bird have been found, but the most remarkable +remains have been discovered in Germany of a bird which has been given the +name of "Lizard-tailed," because it has a tail with vertebrę, from each +joint of which feathers spring. Three claws are attached to the ends of the +wing-bones, like the single claw of the bat. What is left of this specimen, +which is thought to have been about the size of a rook, is to be seen in +the Natural History branch of the South Kensington Museum. I mention this +in case you should have a chance of visiting it there. + +And now, to speak of those birds which we know best, I think there are +none which seem to belong to us so much as these three--the thrush, the +blackbird, and the robin; for they are with us all the year. The thrush +begins to sing very early, before there are any leaves for him to hide +himself among, while the robin's song is heard not only in autumn, but in +winter when all others are silent. All these birds feed upon worms and +insects, not on grain and fruit like the larks and finches and starlings; +but they are very glad of berries in winter when they can get them. + +The other day I met a little boy about seven years old carrying a basket +with some dozen snails in the bottom of it, and looking as if he had found +a wonderful prize. + +"What are you going to do with them?" I said. + +"Give them to our thrush. He cracks the shells and eats them, he does." + +"Does your thrush sing?" I asked. + +"Oh, yes!" he replied. "You can hear him all over the house." + +The song of even a captive thrush is sweet indeed; but I would rather hear +its voice in a choir of birds singing in the woods. + +The blackbird's clear note, like the thrush's, may be heard very early in +the morning, and on still evenings, as it "sings darkling" in some leafy +bower. Its eggs are bluish green, with dark spots, while the thrush's five +eggs are light blue. There are white blackbirds--if such a thing can be--in +the Alps, and occasionally in this country; with us you may know the cock +by its being very black, while the hen is brownish-black, and I think both +birds are best known by the "orange tawny" bill. But neither the blackbird +nor the thrush is so pretty as the "little bird with bosom red" of which we +are all so fond. + + "Our thrushes now are silent, + Our swallows flown away; + But robin's here in coat of brown, + And scarlet breast-knot gay." + +Some time ago I was reading the account which a boy, who had always lived +in town, gave of his first sight of a robin-redbreast. His master told him +to write for his composition all about a holiday which the boys had had +given them, so he gave an account of how he had gone for a long day in +the country with his father and his little sister. Of all the sights he +saw that day, none delighted him so much as to see a robin perched upon a +clothes'-prop in a garden--for this bird always likes a high perch--singing +with all his might and "showing all his red." This boy had read about +robins at school, and learnt verses about them; but when he actually +saw one, and heard it sing, he says it made him "tremble all over with +pleasure." + +A lady, who has told many interesting stories about what she has herself +observed, says that one day her gardener was struck by the strange conduct +of a robin, which the man had often fed. "The bird fluttered about him in +so strange a manner, now coming close, then hurrying away, always in the +same direction, that the gardener followed, its retreating movements. The +robin stopped near a flowerpot and fluttered over it in great agitation. +It was soon found that a nest had been formed in the pot, and contained +several young. Close by was a snake, intent, doubtless, upon making a meal +of the brood." + +This little story seems to show that the redbreast understood that the man +who had been so kind was not only good enough but also strong enough to +save his little ones from the danger which threatened them. Can you learn +any lesson from it? + +I have not time to tell you of all the feathered creatures mentioned in +the Bible, which were found and written down for me in those nice little +three-cornered notes, some of which I still have. You will not be surprised +to hear that each contained one reference, and some many more; but the text +about which we had most talk was found by Chris--those words spoken by the +Lord to His disciples to show how precious they were to their Father: "Fear +not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows" + +The boys wanted to know whether these birds were the same as our sparrows, +which are so common everywhere, even in the busy streets London, and so +mischievous in the country, eating the grain, and stealing the peas, and +nipping off the young buds of the gooseberry-bushes. + +[Illustration: Our little English Robin; + The bird that comes about our doors + When winter's winds are sobbing.] + +I could not answer this question; so we got the Bible Dictionary and read +there that a great many of our smaller birds, such as the starling, linnet, +goldfinch, blackbird, lark, wagtail, and thrush, are found in Palestine, +and that the Tree-sparrow has been seen in great numbers on Mount Olivet; +while another kind, the Rock-sparrow, is often found perched upon a large +stone, all alone, like the solitary bird mentioned in the hundred and +second Psalm. + +One, of whose work among the poor of Lancashire you may some day hear, +tells us that when he was on a visit to America in 1873, he strolled one +morning round a miniature park in New York, glad to find shelter from the +hot beams of the sun. Looking up, he saw a great many boxes fastened, +some to the stems, some to the branches of the trees. Surprised at this, +he asked a gentleman on one of the seats, "What is the meaning of those +boxes suspended up there?" and he was told that twelve years before, not +a single leaf was to be found upon any of those trees, now so full of +beautiful foliage. At that time, a small grub called the inch-worm had the +disagreeable habit of breeding in the bark, climbing up the boughs and +stripping them of every leaf. Thus it was in the orchards, gardens, and +parks in many States of the Union. + +At length a thinking man who kept his eyes open, suggested a remedy--to +import several thousands of English sparrows, providing them with little +wooden houses, and feeding them daily until they were settled in, and +contented with their new home. Thousands of beautiful little boxes were +volunteered and fixed in the trees, and thousands of young sparrows +were brought over. A State law was passed inflicting a penalty of one +dollar--nearly five shillings--or a week's imprisonment, on any person who +killed one; and most happy was the result. The inch-worm was destroyed, the +trees became healthy and green, and now the spirited little English birds +hop and chirp in every garden and park in the Union! + +[Illustration: "ONLY A LITTLE SPARROW."] + +A restless little House-sparrow would seem an unlikely bird to become tame, +but I have heard of one which was rescued, having fallen from his nest, and +lived for two years on the happiest terms with his master, who says of his +pet bird; "He was only confined to his cage during the morning: from midday +until the next morning he was free to go about the house, but was of course +mostly kept to one room. He always slept at the foot of my bed, and as soon +as it was daylight he would come up and creep into my arms, and nestle +there till I rose.... I fed him on seed and sand, but he had food with me +besides, such as a little potato at dinner-time, and bread and butter at +tea-time." + +Does this account of a tame sparrow encourage you to try to attach one +of these little birds to yourself? I am afraid it would not be possible +unless, as in the case of this birdie, it was one taken from the nest. + +The poem about birds' nests tells only of those made by our home-birds, but +we can read of wonderful nests made by those in foreign countries. Perhaps +the most clever nest-builder is a tiny Indian bird, called the "Tailor," +because it actually sews leaves together, using both its bill and its +feet, to make a safe hiding-place for its eggs, no bigger than peas, where +neither snake nor monkey shall find them. It first chooses a plant with +large leaves, then sews a dead leaf to the side of the green and living +one, and in the space between the two, it lays its tiny eggs. It gathers +cotton from a shrub, and with its long bill and slender little feet works +away until it has spun a thread; then, using its bill for a needle, it +pierces holes through the leaves, and sews them securely together. Should +you not like to see such a wonderful nest, and still more to watch the +little tailor--more like a bee than a bird in size--at his work? + +[Illustration: TAILOR-BIRD'S NEST] + +I will tell you of one more nest; it is of a very different kind, and is +made by a swallow which lives in the islands east of Asia, and is generally +called the Java swallow. The other day I was reading how one of our princes +was entertained in China, and among the dishes on the table "birds'-nest +soup" was mentioned. It made me think of how, long ago (when, as I told +you, I was so foolish as not to like to ask questions, for fear the +grown-up people should think I knew nothing at all), I heard of this kind +of soup, and thought how disagreeable it must be to meet with bits of hay +and moss in one's soup, and what queer people the Chinese must be not to +mind it. Now I know that these nests, which are sold in China for their +weight in silver, are made of a clear jelly which comes from the swallow's +mouth. The nests are built against the sides of rocky cliffs, so that it +is very dangerous work to procure them. I do not know whether the Duke and +Duchess of Connaught liked the soup, but it was offered them as a very +great delicacy. + +Chrissie and his brothers have a canary, and a very loud singer he is. No +doubt he was born in England. but his family are foreigners, as you know, +and come from Madeira and the Cape Verde and Canary Islands. But if, as I +have heard, they were brought to this country so long ago as the time of +Queen Elizabeth, we cannot be surprised that they are so much at home with +us now, and will lay their pale blue eggs, and hatch their yellow broods, +and live even thirty years in their pretty cages, in which they certainly +seem to be as happy as the days are long. I hope if you have a canary +of your own, you are very careful to give it its seed and water quite +regularly, and to keep its little house as clean as a new pin; for how sad +it would be to neglect the happy little creature who is entirely dependent +upon you for everything! + +I once knew a little girl who had a present of a canary when she was seven +years old. I think she was realty too young to have the care of a bird, but +she was very, very fond of her Dick, and used to bring him home groundsel +and chickweed when she went out for a walk, and often had the pleasure of +standing upon a high chair and putting a lump of sugar between the bars of +the cage as a special treat for her pet. + +All went well until one morning, when she opened the cage door and saw, +instead of the pretty, pecking, chirping birdie hopping from his perch to +greet her, just a soft yellow ball of feathers lying at the bottom of the +cage. Ah, the sad story was soon told--her pet had been starved to death, +and she had been the cause! This was what nurse told her, when she ran +sobbing to her with the poor dead bird in her little hand. "It is very +cruel of you," she said; "you just went to your play, and forgot all about +your poor little Dick, and now he is dead; you will never hear him sing his +sweet song again." + +The poor child was too sorry and too frightened to say anything, and yet +in her heart she knew she had not forgotten her birdie; she was quite sure +that she had filled his glass with seed and given him fresh water, only the +day before. This was quite true; but I will tell you what she had done, and +then you will see why I said I thought she was too young to have the entire +charge of any living creature. After filling the glass with seed, she had +put it back again, as she thought, into its place, where there was a round +opening for the bird to come and peck at the seeds. But she had turned the +glass round, so that the back of it was towards this hole, and the open +part right away from her poor Dick, who might peck and peck against the +hard glass, but could not get one seed. I think if nurse had known just +how it all happened, she would not have said this little girl was cruel +for neglecting her bird; but she was a very careless child, and this +thoughtless act cost her pet his life, and his mistress many a bitter tear. + +Now for one more true story, and then we must finish our chapter about +"feathered fowl." You remember the little girl who was so nearly carried +off by a great eagle; this story is about a man whose life was saved by an +enormous sea-bird, whose wings when spread out measure about twelve feet +across. It is called the "Wandering Albatross," and often follow ships in +the southern seas a long way, looking very beautiful and majestic as it +seems to float in the air. One of these huge birds had been following a +ship on board of which was a regiment of soldiers, on their way home to +England. Among them was one man, who, though he seemed to care for nobody, +and always laughed at those who read the Bible, was very, very unhappy. +God's word says that there is no peace to the wicked, and this poor man +never had any rest or comfort, and was constantly disobeying the officers +and getting into disgrace. He had no fear of God, and so one morning, when +no one was near him, he suddenly jumped over the ship's side into the sea, +thinking that he would put an end to his life and his misery. + +But just as he sank beneath the waters, God put it into the heart of this +poor sinner against his own soul, to cry to Him for mercy; and then in a +moment, in His great kindness, He sent the answer to that despairing cry. +The great albatross, always ready to pick up anything which was thrown +overboard by the sailors came sweeping by. The drowning man put up his hand +and caught it by the leg, and such was the strength of the bird that it was +able to bear his weight until a boat from the ship came and rescued him. I +do not think I should like to tell you this story, which has such a dark +and sad beginning, but for its bright ending. It was a long time before +this poor soldier recovered; but when he was able to walk about the deck +again, all was changed for him. He knew that God had not only, in this +remarkable way, saved him from drowning, but there was great peace in that +heart which had been so full of trouble; for he had learned to know the +Lord Jesus Christ as the blessed Saviour who had loved him and given +Himself for him--so I think this is really a very beautiful story. + +You will find many of the Flying Fowl of which we have been speaking +mentioned in this poem, which reminds us of how God cares for the wildest +as well as the weakest of them all. + + +"WHO PROVIDED FOR THE RAVEN HIS FOOD? + + "All the world lay still and silent in the morning grey, + And at once a thousand voices hail the glorious day; + For the great Sun, glowing crimson, rises o'er the sea-- + 'Welcome Day!' they sing together, 'Day that is to be!' + Oh, how glad and sweet and joyous is that morning hymn! + Whilst the golden day is stealing through the valleys dim-- + Thrush and blackbird, lark and linnet, doves that coo and hum + Wild delight and soft rejoicing, for the day is come. + Not a thought, of care or wonder what the day will bring, + For the Father careth for them in the smallest thing. + There upon the pathless mountains is their table spread, + All by God are known and numbered, by His hands are fed. + Some in deep and tangled forests where the berries glow, + Some, where children's crumbs are scattered on the garden snow, + Some where, through the river sedges, Mayflies glance and play, + Some where mountain tarns lie gleaming in the hollows grey. + For the wild and hungry eagle, for the wren so small, + All is ready--food and gladness, free to each and all." + +FRANCES BEVAN. + +Taken by permission, from _Hymns by Ter Steegen and others_. Second Series. + + + + +THE FIFTH DAY. + +CREEPING THINGS. + + +"_His hand hath formed the crooked serpent._"--JOB xxvi. 13. + +"_The Lord thy God ... who led thee through that great and terrible +wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions._"--DEUTERONOMY +viii. 15. + +"_The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw +like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt +nor destroy in all My holy mountain, saith the Lord._"--ISAIAH lxv. 25. + + +The "_creeping things_" which God caused the earth to bring forth on the +Fifth Day are so unlike each other in many respects that we might at first +sight wonder that they should have been grouped together; but the more we +study Reptiles--so called from the Latin word _reptilis_, creeping--the +more we see that there are many things which this great family of +vertebrate animals have in common. + +There are four chief divisions of the Reptile family--Tortoises and +Turtles, Crocodiles, Lizards, and Snakes. + +Most reptiles have a tail and two pairs of limbs, but, as you know, Snakes +are destitute of limbs, and seem to move along by a motion from inside, so +that they have been said to walk on their ribs. Serpents are covered with +horny scales; Crocodiles and Tortoises have a bony covering. + +The Tortoise--so called from its twisted feet, or its crooked way of +walking--has, as you know, an upper and an under shell which covers its +body like a coat of mail, protecting it from every enemy except man. This +strong shell is, like that of the snail, a house for the tortoise to live +in; but this house is formed by arched bones, and is part of the creature +itself. The four feet of the tortoise or turtle, and a curious mouth rather +like the beak of a bird--without teeth, but with jaws hard enough to make +a bite from it very painful--and a little scaly tail; these are the only +parts of the animal not covered by the shields of its bony shells. + +The Lizard has both limbs and teeth, but no shell. Lizards are wonderfully +active, darting away at the least alarm, so that it is not easy to catch +them. + +We may think of the Crocodile of the African, and the Alligator of the +North American rivers, as enormous lizards; though they are now placed in a +class by themselves, on account of their horny covering, which is so strong +that it is almost impossible to pierce through it, and so smooth that a +bullet will glance off from it. Serpents have neither shell nor limbs. +Their vertebrę, as you will see, if you look at any skeleton of a snake in +the Museum, fit very beautifully one into the other; and owing to this they +are able to glide swiftly along the ground, to coil their shining length +round trees, and to dart their heads in every direction. + +In one respect Tortoises, Lizards, and Serpents are alike--they all lay +eggs, only the shell is not made of lime and earth, but is soft like +leather. They are also cold-blooded animals, like fish. Of tortoises, some +live on land, some in marshy places, some in rivers; turtles live in the +sea, their lungs being so made as to enable them to remain under water +without breathing. + +The common tortoise, often kept in gardens, is found in the south of +Europe, and is generally not more than nine inches long. Its upper shield +is exceedingly strong. My brothers and sisters and I used often to stand +upon the back of a pet tortoise which lived in our garden; it did not seem +to feel our weight, but I remember finding it no easy matter to keep my +feet together upon its smooth back, and none of us could perform this feat +unless the tortoise was pleased to stand still while we balanced ourselves +upon him. I can, in imagination, see this little tortoise of ours now, not +larger than a crab such as you see at the fishmonger's, with its short +legs and feet, and its little tail, all covered with scales, sticking out +between its upper and under shells. How we used to laugh, when we saw him +draw in his head and feet under the shelter of the shell: the only sign he +gave of being annoyed at all our pranks! We were told that our tortoise +might not die for a hundred years, and I have heard that some have been +known to live twice that time; it is a slow sort of life, but we must not +forget that, in the poem about the Hare and the Tortoise, it was "slow and +steady" that won the race. + +I cannot remember that we ever gave our tortoise anything to eat; it must +have catered for itself in the garden where it was so fond of burrowing +and hiding away, that we had many a hunt for it when it was supposed to be +lost. Mr. Wood speaks of a small one which he used to feed with bread and +milk. He kept it, not in a garden, but in his own room, where its favourite +place was the rug: for it enjoyed the heat so much, that it made many +attempts, with its short legs and heavy shell, to climb over the fender in +order to get nearer to the fire. I don't remember that our tortoise ever +made any noise; but this one, shortly before it died, went about mewing +like a young kitten. Far from living to be a hundred, Mr. Wood's pet died +so soon that he had no opportunity of seeing whether it would in time get +to know him; but a story is told of a tortoise who did take a fancy to one +person, and, though he would attend to no one else, would come creeping +along at her call, and tap the boot of his favourite with his beak, in +token, we may suppose, of his regard. One lady, who had a long-standing +acquaintance with a tortoise, having fed him for thirty years, said he +would come to her, and to no one else; which looked rather like "cupboard +love," you will say. + +You may have often admired the tortoise-shell of which combs are made, with +its beautiful wavy lines and markings; it is taken from the outside of the +shell of the turtle or sea-tortoise, which is caught not only for the sake +of its shell, but because its flesh is so good to eat. You may perhaps have +seen, as I have, a small turtle at the door of a shop, and wondered where +it came from, and what brought it there. You may be quite sure that it has +come a long way, and that the poor creature is soon to be made into soup. +Very awkward it looks, poor thing; for its proper home is in the water, and +not on the hard pavement; its feet are rather like fins, so that it may be +able to make its way rapidly through the water, and it only comes ashore +to make its nest in the sand, where it scoops out a great hole with its +paddle-like feet, and then covering its eggs over safely, leaves them for +the sun to hatch. + +I have heard that as many as two hundred eggs have been found in one of +these sand-nests; but not all laid by one turtle; for those who hunt for +the eggs have watched a crowd of animals come ashore, and have seen one +of them dig a deep pit with its broad paws, lay its eggs, and cover them +over; then another has done the same, until there have been several layers +of eggs: such a nest is a lucky _find_; for turtle eggs are said to be +delicious food, though some I tasted were very "strong" and nasty. + +[Illustration: TURTLE.] + +The turtles common in Jamaica, and other islands of the West and East +Indies, are great creatures five or six feet long, but they are not +difficult to capture, for when once they have been turned over on their +backs, the shell is so heavy that they cannot, owing to the shortness of +their legs, turn themselves back again, but lie helpless on the sand. + +Of Lizards, the second division of the Reptile group, I doubt if you have +seen any, except in the Reptile-house at the "Zoo"; for although there are +two kinds of these active little creatures in our country, they do not +often court our society. The common lizard, about six inches long, with +very bright eyes, has a tail which is so brittle, that if you were to catch +hold of it, it would break right off, and its late owner would dart away to +its hiding-place, leaving the old tail in your hand; itself growing a new +one. + +The Sand-lizard, also found in England, is about twice the length of the +common lizard: it lives on sandy heaths, and like the turtle, lays its eggs +in the sand, to be hatched by the sun. But neither of our lizards is so +pretty as the little green one so common in the warmer countries of Europe. +It may be seen on walls, or by the wayside, basking in the sunshine, and +now and then darting at a fly. The whole species are, like the butterflies, +summer creatures, and hide themselves safely underground before winter +comes. + +In the Reptile-house of the Zoological Gardens, I have often stood to look +at the largest kind of lizard; for the Crocodile, that huge animal with its +green glaring eyes, and its armour made of bony plates with sharp ridges, +is but an overgrown lizard. If you wish to form some idea of what it is +most like, you can look at one of the beautiful little newts which live in +some pond or ditch near you, and fancy it magnified many, many times, and +then you will not have a bad notion of the crocodile, the lizard of Africa, +or of the Cayman or Alligator, the great lizard of the New World. + +[Illustration: CROCODILE.] + +The word crocodile means a creature which dislikes saffron; so it would be +of no use, I suppose, for us to offer that lazy-looking animal floating +in his tank, looking as lifeless as the trunk of a tree, with his nose +and a little ridge of his mail-clad back alone appearing above the water, +a saffron bun--to say nothing of his being a creature whose appearance +does not seem to invite us to come to close quarters, or to hold any +communication with him. But we have little idea of what these enormous +reptiles are really like, when we see them so far away from their native +haunts. It is thought by some that the "_leviathan_," spoken of in the +book of Job, whose "teeth are terrible round about," is the crocodile; for +its mouth is larger than that of any other animal, and is armed with very +sharp teeth. Dr. Smith tells [Footnote: "Nile," _Dictionary of the Bible_, +p. 621.] us that crocodiles were once so plentiful in the East, that the +great river of Egypt swarmed with them, and the Egyptians, who made almost +everything into a god, worshipped them and made mummies of them, as they +did of birds, cats, and snakes. + +I have often thought that when the mother of Moses long ago laid that child +who was "fair to God" in his bulrush cradle among the reeds by the river's +bank, her heart must almost have failed her as she remembered the terrible +crocodiles; but she had faith in God, and He suffered no wild beast to +molest that little ark. The crocodile feeds upon fish, and any animals +which he can catch, when they come to the banks of the Nile and other +African rivers to drink. Though it is clumsy in its movements on land, it +makes its way swiftly through the water by means of its tail; sometimes it +opens its terrible jaws, gives a great yawn, and then shuts them again with +a sound which is heard far away. Mr. Arnot, a missionary in the heart of +Africa, tells us that the crocodiles in the great river Zambesi drag the +game which they catch under water, and so drown them, and then hide them +under the river's banks. He says, "I used to watch these animals come up +with perhaps a quarter of an antelope, and by firing at their heads I +compelled them to drop their supper, Which my men picked up from their +boats." The crocodiles' eggs are about the size of goose-eggs, and are said +to be good to eat. + +Herodotus, the "Father of History," tells a curious story about the +crocodile and the Nile bird. He says, "When the crocodile takes his food in +the Nile, the interior of its mouth is always covered with flies. All birds +with one exception flee from the crocodile: but this one bird, the Nile +bird, far from avoiding it, flies towards the reptile with the greatest +eagerness, and renders it a very essential service. Every time the +crocodile goes on shore to sleep, and at the moment when it lies extended, +with open jaws, the Nile bird enters the mouth of the terrible animal and +delivers it from the flies that it finds there. The crocodile shows its +recognition of the service by never harming the bird." + +I have heard that the flies which molest the crocodile are gnats, and their +devourer a kind of plover. + +Near Karachi, in India, there is a swamp caused by hot springs, which is +inhabited by crocodiles. There are over two hundred in the tank, which has +been walled in, as they are considered sacred creatures. Buffaloes stand +in the water unharmed, but any other animal which came within reach would +be instantly devoured. A rash young Englishman once made the tour of this +tank, alive with crocodiles, by walking on their horny backs! + +Alligator is only the Spanish name for all lizards, so called in allusion +to their having legs like arms. The great American lizard, known by this +name, is not so large as the crocodile; it loves heat, and will bury itself +in the mud in cold weather. It feeds mostly upon fish, and will drive them +before it in a shoal, until they have got into some creek or narrow bend +of the river, and then stun them by blows of its great tail. Mr. Waterton, +who knew the South American rivers so well, tells us that he once came +upon what he thought a pretty sight--a number of young alligators, about a +foot long, playing about on the sand like so many rabbits. He also tells +a story, which might have had a sad ending, saying [Footnote: _Life of +Charles Waterton_, p.56] that when he was anxious to secure an alligator, +which he much wished to stuff, with its tough skin uninjured, he would not +allow his men to shoot at him, but actually jumped upon his horny back and +rode him along the sandy river-bank until the poor creature was tired out, +and the daring rider secured his prize. I daresay yon would like to see the +picture which one of his friends made of him, riding upon his dangerous +steed. + +We may form some idea of this naturalist's feat from what he tells us in +another part of his book about his "wanderings." "One Sunday afternoon," +he says, "when a good many people were standing about on the banks of the +Orinoco, never dreaming of danger, a great Cayman came suddenly out of the +river, seized a man, and carried him off beneath the water, so that he was +seen no more." + +How sad it would have been had Waterton shared a similar fate, in his +effort to get the alligator's skin! Life is a precious gift from God, and +no one has a right to risk his life in a rash foolhardiness, which is very +different from the true courage which does not shrink from facing danger if +the life of one more helpless than himself is in peril. + +But while we know that no one has a right to give up his life unless at +God's desire, and that it is wicked in His sight for anyone to risk losing +his life unless at God's command, we must not forget that there is no risk +for those who count not their lives dear to them for Christ's sake. He +spoke some solemn words about "loving" and "hating" life, which His +servants should ever remember. + +You will be interested to know that the alligators' eggs are laid in a +nest made of grass on the banks of a stream, and that they often travel +for miles across forest or prairie from one stream to another. The nest +is raised higher and higher by a fresh layer of grass, cut with the great +water-lizard's sharp teeth, every time more eggs are laid, until it is as +high as a cock of hay. The eggs take a month to hatch; but as soon as the +young alligators are out of the shell, they are quite able to run about and +get their own living. + +A gentleman who was looking after some building in a lonely part of South +America, + + "Where on the mighty river banks, + La Platte and Amazon, + The Cayman, like an old tree trunk, + Lies basking in the sun." + +caught a baby-alligator, and made it so tame that it would follow him about +the house like a dog. + +It must have been a strange sight to see this little creature, born in a +rushy swamp, scrambling upstairs after his master; but stranger still to +see him lying on the rug before the fire, with his head resting upon the +cat, of whom he had become so fond that he was restless and uncomfortable +when she was not near him. + +He was fed on raw meat and milk, and was shut up in cold weather, like the +tame swallow, in a box lined with wool; but, alas! one frosty night the +poor little pet was forgotten, and next morning found him dead, killed by +the cold. How often we find that the stories of pet animals, especially +wild ones which have been made unnaturally tame, have had a sad ending! + +The Blind-worm, so called from its small eyes--and yet these tiny eyes are +brighter than some larger ones--is a kind of lizard without legs, and is, +on that account, sometimes included in the Snake-family. We may come upon +it in hot weather, among the furze bushes upon the common, or the stones +of some old ruin. It feeds upon a little grey slug, and is like the common +lizard in being so brittle that you can hardly take hold of it without +breaking it. + +There is one more lizard which I have seen next door to the crocodile tank +at the Zoo: a very curious little animal, almost of the same colour as the +stick along which it walks, so slowly and silently that you may stand and +watch it for some time without being sure that it is moving at all; though +its eyes, which can move in different directions at the same moment, and +its long thin tongue, so clever at catching the insects on which it feeds, +are constantly in motion; but for its eyes and tongue, the Chameleon looks +as if it were as dead as the withered branch to which it clings. + +The name of this lizard means "Ground-lion," but it is very unlike the king +of beasts both in appearance and disposition. The chameleon is found in +Spain, in Sicily, and in Syria; its home is in the branches of trees. Many +stories used to be told of the way in which it would change colour, not +exactly by blushing like a human creature, but by becoming green, yellow, +and even black when angry or calm, or when in sunshine or shade; but +naturalists who have kept a careful watch upon it do not believe that all +that has been said about this is true. There seems to be no doubt, however, +that it changes its colour according to its surroundings--a means of +protection given to a creature otherwise very defenceless. + +[Illustration: "A lizard's body, lean and long, + A fish's head, a serpent's tongue."] + +Serpents--so called from a word which means that which _creeps_--are +constantly used in the Bible as emblems of deceit and treachery. The words, +"More subtle than any beast of the field," may well come to our minds as +we watch a serpent, with its limbless body, winding along with that soft, +gliding motion to which we have given the name "snake-like." + +In the serpent's eyes, too, though they are often so beautiful that we +cannot but admire them, there is some of this same dangerous subtlety--an +untrust--worthiness which makes us shrink from looking at them. + +There are many varieties of this large family; some, like the rattlesnake, +cannot climb or swim, but crawl along the ground, the terror of unwary +travellers who may tread upon them in the dim forest-paths; others are +Water-snakes; some, like the Boa and Python, are dreaded, although not +venomous, because, of their enormous strength, and power of crushing their +victims in their close embrace; others, like the Cobra, for their deadly +bite; while many--we might almost say most--snakes are quite harmless, for +it has been reckoned that not more than one in ten is venomous; and none +but the giants of this family are dangerous, except for their poisoned +bite. The skin of serpents is covered with what are called false scales, +which do not overlap each other like those of the fishes, but only seem to +do so; and these scales are said to help them to move along rapidly. Most +of them are beautifully marked and spotted, and some shine like gold in +the sun, while others have pale, soft tints; but these lovely colours fade +in death, just as those of fish do; so that a snake in all its glittering +beauty can only be seen when alive. They often change their skins, creeping +out of the old and appearing ready-dressed in the new. A traveller along +the banks of the Nile has often found these cast-off skins in the fields; +they are always turned inside out, for the old skin, which is very soft, +folds back as the snake slips out of it. + +[Illustration: SPOTTED SNAKES] + +I suppose the first thought of all of us, on finding a snake in the grass, +would be, Is it a venomous one? So I think you will like to know that +poisonous snakes are rare in Europe; and Mr. Wood [Footnote: _Natural +History_ p. 521.] tells us that the Viper, which is our only venomous +serpent, is one of those least dangerous to life, although far from a +friend to those who shrink from pain. It may be known by dark spots down +the back. When we speak of venomous serpents, we mean those whose bite is +to be dreaded, because it conveys a tiny drop of poison, which mingles with +the blood, and often causes intense anguish, ending in death. In poisonous +serpents, the venom lies in a little bag at the root of a long sharp tooth, +pierced by a narrow tunnel, through which, at the moment when the bite +is given, the poison flows into the wound. If these poison-fangs--one on +each side--are taken out, the bite of the most dangerous serpents becomes +harmless. + +The Indian serpent-charmers of whom you have heard know this, and before +they allow themselves to be bitten by the deadly cobras, with which +they are so fond of playing their feats of jugglery, are careful to +extract their sharp poison-fangs. Snakes seem to have a higher degree +of intelligence than is possessed by reptiles generally, and they can +be trained to be as playful and friendly as kittens; as you will allow +when you have heard a story which I have read, about some tame serpents +which lived in a cupboard, and were allowed to crawl about a gentleman's +drawing-room and lie coiled up on the tables and in the arm-chairs--besides +being on the most familiar terms with his children. + +But we were speaking just now of the Viper, and you remember in the account +of the Apostle Paul's stay at Malta how the people who had been so kind +to the shipwrecked company looked at him when the viper crept out of the +bundle of sticks which he had gathered and laid on the fire, and fastened +on his hand? They expected that he would have swollen--for that is one +of the effects of the poison--or fallen down dead suddenly; but the Lord +Jesus, when He was on earth, said to His disciples, "Behold, I give unto +you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the +enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." And when He was going back +to His Father, He said to those who believed on Him, "In My name ... they +shall take up serpents"; so we are not surprised that His servant "shook +off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm." + +We must not forget, that although God may now allow what we call a violent +death to come to one of His children, whether by the bite of a serpent +or by some accident, nothing can possibly happen to them by chance; and +whatever dangers He allows them to fall into or saves them from--all that +comes is the very best for them that could happen: because "we know that +all things work together for good to them that love God." + +Though you may admire the "spotted snakes" at a safe distance, in their +cages, I know you will not be sorry to hear that in England we have but +two kinds--the Ringed or Grass snake, which has no poison-fangs, and is +perfectly harmless, feeding upon the frogs which it finds in the marshy +places which are its home, and upon mice and young birds; and the common +Viper or Adder, which has two poison-fangs, but is not ready to use them, +unless it is trodden on, or otherwise provoked. This snake is found in +woods, and is fond of basking in the sun. It hatches its young before their +birth; so that the viper's brood have not to make their way out of the +shell before they can run about. + +It is sad that dogs, and sometimes children, have been killed by its bite; +but it has not generally been fatal to men. These snakes are fond of +cream, and will wind their way into the dairy, and skim the milk-pans, and +sometimes visit hen-roosts, and suck the eggs. + +The most terrible of the venomous snakes are the Cobra of India--called +by a Portuguese name, which means "hooded"; a very grand-looking serpent, +which holds its head high, and gives a loud hiss as it rises to strike its +prey; and the Rattlesnake of South America. + +The Cobra de Capello is a land-serpent, but can swim, and climb trees. It +is treated with great respect in Egypt and India; and the people of Ceylon +say that it belongs to another world, but has come to pay them a visit. +They worship it in their temples, and their priests feed it with sugar +and milk, and never allow it to be killed. I believe serpents are not now +worshipped in Egypt; but they once were. They are constantly represented +upon Egyptian monuments, which are as old as the time when the children of +Israel were in Egypt; and on one of them may be seen three men, who are +being offered as sacrifices to a serpent which is represented coiled around +the seat of the sceptred king, as if protecting him. + +The cobra loves music; and it is upon these serpents especially that the +snake-charmers like to show their skill. They take them about, coiled up in +baskets. When the performance is to begin, the lid of the basket is opened, +and the charmer, seated on the ground, begins to play upon his pipe. +Instantly the beautiful snake lifts its head, expands its hood--a loose +skin about the neck which it makes large or small at pleasure--and creeps +out, waving its body gracefully while the music lasts, and when it ceases, +dropping down again into the basket. + +Some people have power to charm serpents; I have read a story of a man who, +by his music cleared a house of the snakes which infested it; having got +into the empty rooms, and hidden themselves in the crevices in the walls. +It was a strange sight to see them creep from their hiding-places at the +sound of the pipe; but sometimes serpents are deaf both to the voice and +music of the charmer--"like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; which +will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely" to +which David compares the wicked. + +Since the bite of the cobra is so deadly, it is well that travellers are +not likely to meet it; for in the day-time it sleeps in the depths of +the forest, gliding silently out at night in search of food. The bold +naturalist, of whose alligator-ride you have heard, says that he never saw +any snake pursue a retreating prey; so that when a man, threading the mazes +of a forest, sees a serpent gliding towards him, he has but to turn into a +side path, and be safe. But if a snake is trodden upon, or otherwise roused +to anger, it will dart forward upon its enemy, in self-defence; also, if +one of the enormous snakes comes upon a man, it may seize him before he +has time to run away. Waterton, however, did not know what fear was; and +instead of being paralysed with terror at the sight of serpents, once +[Footnote: _Life of Charles Waterton_, p. 55.] caught a large one, the +"Bush master," and holding it by the throat so as to make it impossible +for it to bite, walked home with its folds coiled round him. He showed his +courage at another time quite as much by rescuing a little bird out of the +very mouth of a snake in a tree, as by the famous alligator exploit. + +[Illustration: RATTLESNAKE.] + +The Rattlesnake of South America takes its name from its warning rattle, a +sound made by some loose bones at the end of its tail, which knock together +when it moves, and so give fair warning of such a dangerous foe being in +the neighbourhood. Its bite has been known to cause death in two minutes, +and when it does not kill immediately, it produces a dreadful burning +feeling all over the body. Horses and dogs show very great terror if they +see these snakes; but the country folk are not so much afraid of them as +you would expect, for they know that it is the habit of the Rattlesnake to +glide away at the sound of footsteps, and as long as the warning sound is +heard, they feel safe. If the rattle is silent, it means danger, for the +snake is about to spring. + +A Frenchman tells us that he once disturbed a mother rattlesnake, and saw +it coil itself up, open its mouth wide, and allow the five little ones +which were lying beside it to glide in, and hide themselves there. He was +very much interested, and waited behind a tree to see what would happen +next. In about a quarter of an hour he saw the little snakes come out +again; but when he once more showed himself, they hid as before, and the +mother quickly glided out of sight. + +The Puff-adder of Africa, when roused, will breathe in air and puff +itself out to an extraordinary extent. Being, like all these cold-blooded +creatures, very fond of warmth, it often comes at night to fires made +by herdsmen or travellers; and so it happened that a traveller in South +Africa, sleeping soundly one night beside the fire, wrapped in his cloak, +was awakened by a weight on his chest, and found to his horror that a +puff-adder had coiled itself up inside his shirt. His first thought was to +seize the unwelcome visitor and throw it from him, but remembering that it +probably would only injure him if disturbed, he had the presence of mind to +let it remain in the warm nest it had found for itself, until, roused by a +light, it slowly uncoiled itself and crept away. + +Of the serpents which are dreaded--not for their bite, for they have no +poison-fangs--but for their great strength and daring, and for the way +in which they coil round their victims, crushing them to death in their +terrible embrace--the most dangerous are the Python of the Old World, and +the Boa-constrictor of the New. + +In one respect all serpents are boa-constrictors, for a very small one +has been seen in the act of thus crushing a bird; but the great boa which +inhabits tropical America is a giant, which has been known to swallow even +a buffalo whole, after it has crushed it to mummy, and broken all its +bones. Boas can swim and climb; they will catch fish as they come near the +surface of the water, and drag them ashore; or hang by their tails from +some forest tree, and thus lie in wait to seize any animal which may be +passing. They are now very shy of men, and not much feared by them; but +these great snakes used to be worshipped as gods by the people of Mexico, +and some of their serpent-idols have been found in ancient temples--showing +how much they were once dreaded; for it is the habit of men to worship what +they greatly fear. + +The Python, a snake very like the boa, is an object of horror to the people +of South Africa; yet they are unwilling to destroy it, because they believe +it has an awful power, and say that no one has ever been known to injure a +python, without being severely punished in some mysterious way. I have read +an account of an adventure which a Dutchman had with one of these serpents, +which I must tell you, because of the part played in it by his little dog. +You shall have the story in his own words:--"I had in my cabin a large and +strong cage, enclosing a python of considerable size, but which appeared to +be dull and inanimate. We were lying off the coast of Borneo, where I was +detained for some days. When I came again on board, I had not taken many +steps before my little dog seized me by the trousers and endeavoured to +hold me fast. I shook him off and proceeded, when the dog seized me again, +and I again roughly forced him from me. At this juncture my attention was +directed to several hatchet-marks on the deck, and I instantly inquired the +meaning. The answer was, 'The snake, sir! the snake is loose!' And so it +proved. The reptile had cast his slough, and assumed with renewed beauty +all its natural energy. It had forced itself out of the cage, and after +doing some damage below, found its way to the deck, spreading consternation +among the men; by whom, as it appeared, it had been slightly wounded, +hatchets having been used for its destruction. Hence the marks on the deck, +and hence the fear of the dog, and its anxiety to detain me from advancing +into danger. + +"With some precaution I proceeded to the spot where the snake was said to +have ensconsed himself, and soon observed him lying in coils. The instant +he saw me, he raised up full half of his length, and glancing around as +if uncertain whether to attack or fly, commenced a succession of violent +undulatory movements, the head alternately towering aloft and touching the +deck. At last, spying an opportunity, he dashed along with inconceivable +rapidity to the other end of the vessel, whither he was pursued; again he +displayed the undulations as described, and again darted to another part +of the deck. All felt excited, not without a misgiving that some accident +might take place. In this manner the chase was continued," the story goes +on to say, until the snake received its death-blow from a cutlass. He +measured seventeen feet. "I repented of my roughness to the dog," thus his +master concludes, "and he was henceforward a great favourite with the men, +who appreciated his fidelity and intelligence." + +We read in the Epistle of James that "every kind of beasts, and of birds, +and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of +mankind"; and I have read of some snakes kept as pets by an English family, +which were not only perfectly tame, but seemed to be exceedingly fond of +those to whom they belonged. + +An artist named Severn who visited this family says he found himself in +company with a large boa-constrictor, a python, and several smaller snakes. +He felt a good deal alarmed when the master of the house was called out of +the room, and he was left with the boa--a great serpent as large round as a +small tree--coiled on an arm-chair beside him. Presently two little girls +came in with their mother; they at once went to the boa, calling the huge +snake pet names, and allowing it to twine itself around them. He says, "The +children over and over again took its head in their hands and kissed its +mouth, pushing aside its forked tongue in doing so. The animal seemed much +pleased, but kept turning its head continually towards me with a curious +gaze, until I allowed it to nestle its head for a moment up my sleeve. +Nothing could be prettier than to see this splendid serpent coiled all +round Mrs. Mann while she moved about the room, and when she stood to +pour out our coffee. It was long before I could make up my mind to end +the visit, and I returned soon after with a friend to see my snake-taming +acquaintance again. The snakes seemed very obedient, and remained in their +cupboard when told to do so." [Footnote: Romanes' _Animal Intelligence_, +pp. 260, 261.] + +Although I tell you this strange story, I do not think I should like to +make a pet of any serpent, however tame it might be; because it was this +creature, "more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had +made"--which that enemy of God and of the souls of men, who is spoken of +in the last book of the Bible as "that old serpent, called the Devil, and +Satan, which deceiveth the whole world," used as an instrument, when he +came to tempt Eve in the garden of Eden. + +The word Eden means "pleasure"; and when we were talking of that delightful +place--that garden which God planted, and where He put the man whom He had +formed--the little ones were asked to tell all they knew about it. + +Leslie's answer was, "It was God's garden"; and Eustace and Dick told of +the two trees which were there, "the tree of life also, in the midst of the +garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil." + +It was of this tree that Sharley and Chris spoke, when they answered the +question-- + +"There was something in the Garden of Eden to remind Adam and Eve that they +were God's creatures, subject to Him. What was it?" + +"It was the tree of knowledge of good and evil," they said; for "the Lord +God commanded the man, saying. Of every tree of the garden thou mayest +freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt +not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely +die." + +Another question which the little boys had to answer was this-- + +"What was the first sin?" + +"When Eve and Adam plucked the fruit." This was the answer given by all. + +I want you to think about it. Adam and Eve owed everything to God, for He +had created them in His own image; and had blessed them, and given them +"dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and +over every living thing that moveth upon the earth," and had put them in +the beautiful garden which He had planted. How dreadful that they should +disobey the only command God gave them, and thus sin against Him! But had +not Eve sinned against God, even before she put out her hand and "took of +the fruit thereof, and did eat; and gave also unto her husband with her, +and he did eat?" + +Chrissie said that when the serpent asked Eve that question about what God +had said, she ought not to have taken any notice; and Sharley thought that +the first beginning of the sin was listening to the serpent at all, and +that the devil now puts it into our hearts to ask, "Is there any harm in +doing it?" when he wants to make us listen to him, and forget what God has +said. And then we all agreed that the way to answer Satan is in Scripture +words. + +I think Sharley was right in saying that the first beginning of the sin in +the Garden of Eden was when Eve _listened_ to the serpent--lent her ear to +one who dared to ask such a question as "Hath God said?" The next step in +the road which led away from God, Eve took when she _answered_ that daring +question; the next, when she _believed_ the lie of the serpent, instead of +the word of God. + +The devil is a liar, and when he spoke to Eve he tried to make her think +that God was not so good to His creatures as He might be, for He would not +allow them to have the very best thing in the garden--that forbidden fruit. +The great enemy of God envied His creatures their happy place where they +received everything from Him, and were dependent upon Him for everything; +and God allowed the man and woman whom He had made, to be proved; and, when +weighed in the balance, they were found WANTING. And so we read in God's +book how "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so +death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." + +As Eve gave her confidence to the serpent, she lost confidence in God, and +went on to believe that when _God_ had said, "In the day that thou eatest +thereof thou shalt surely die," and the _serpent_ said, "Ye shall not +surely die," it was the serpent that spoke the truth. How dreadful it was +for God's creatures to look to the devil for happiness, to give up God who +created them, and take Satan for their master! + +Instead of happiness they found only shame and misery. The serpent had said +that their eyes should be opened, and they should be as gods, knowing good +and evil. We read, "And the eyes of them both were opened;" but God in His +word tells us of those whose eyes "the God of this world hath blinded." +They had no power to choose what was good; and tried to hide away from God. + +And so the first man was driven out of God's garden, and there has never +been any way back to it at all! No way back to God either, for Adam or +for his children, except through Christ, "the Second Man, the Lord from +Heaven." + +It was of this wonderful way, of Him who is "the Way," that God spoke when +He told the serpent that the Seed of the woman should bruise his head. + +The Lord Jesus Christ was "the Seed," the One who loved us and gave Himself +for us: the One whom "God so loved the world" as to give, "that whosoever +believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life;" the One who +"once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to +God." + +We have been learning something of how dreadful the bites of serpents are, +how full of deadly poison: and we have been reading how, by listening to +the old serpent, the poison of sin--having our own will, and thinking hard +thoughts of God--came into the hearts of God's creatures, bringing sorrow, +and shame, and death with it. How beautiful that the righteous One in whom +was no sin, and who come to take away our sins, should tell us that "As +Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man +be lifted up." The serpent of brass was not kept in Moses's tent; it was +lifted high, for all to see it. God, who knew His people's sin, and had +sent those fiery serpents to bite them, had Himself told Moses to make that +serpent of brass, and those who were bitten had only to look at it and +live. If they looked at their own hurt, or at each other, or at Moses--all +was of no avail; but "it came to pass that if a serpent had bitten any man, +when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." + +God--who knew that every one of us born into this world is born away from +Him, and with the dreadful poison of sin, like the serpent's bite, in +us--gave His only begotten Son to be lifted up, that "whosoever believeth +in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." And He tells us +to look at Him and live, just as the poor sinful people, dying of the +serpent's bite, looked at the serpent of brass, and their deadly wound was +healed. God has told us to look straight to His Son, dying for sin, dying +in our stead; but it is not our looking that saves us, it is the blessed +Saviour whose name is called Jesus, "for He shall save His people from +their sins." + +I must not forget to tell you that many of the extinct animals whose +skeletons are to be seen in museums belonged to the class of Reptiles. + +We read that "God created great whales"--or sea monsters--and remains have +been found of enormous lizard-like creatures. One has been called the +Fish-lizard; it seems to have had a crocodile's head, with a body like that +of a small whale. + +Another had a long swan-like neck, the body and tail of a quadruped, and +paddles like a turtle. + +Another, called the Winged-lizard, had bat-like wings and dreadful jaws +armed with numerous teeth. All these "Saurians" are believed to have +frequented the sea or rivers; but another called the Great-lizard, was a +land-animal, as was the Forest-lizard, and a monster kind of Toad with very +curiously formed teeth. But no description will give you an idea of the +size of these creatures, though I may tell you that a party of gentlemen +dined inside the body of one great extinct lizard at the Crystal Palace, +where models, not very accurately made, of the most remarkable ancient +animals are to be seen. I think my first thought when I see the actual +remains of these old-world monsters, with their terrible jaws, is that of +thankfulness that they have passed away from sea and land. But we know that +God who created them "saw that it was good," and in the Book of Job we may +read His description of mighty and terrible creatures which show forth His +power. + +We were speaking of a monster toad whose fossil remains have been found; +and I must tell you that before we had done with the "Creeping Things," I +was asked a difficult question. "To what class do the frogs and toads and +newts belong? Are they Vertebrate animals? Do they belong to the land or +the water?" + +I said they certainly do belong to the great Backboned family, and are +placed in a class by themselves, as they are neither Mammalia, Birds, +Fishes, nor Reptiles, properly speaking, and are called Amphibia, because +they live, as it were, a double life. + +[Illustration: BROWN FROGS.] + +They have gills, which enable them to breathe in water, to begin with, +and lungs which enable them to breathe in air, later on. They are mostly +without scales, and do not need to drink, because they imbibe moisture from +the air through their soft damp skin. When you see a frog hopping across +your path, you see a creature which has known many a change in its life, +for frogs are among those very interesting animals which undergo what are +called _metamorphoses_. We have met with this word before, and may remember +that it is used to express the change from one form to another which is +wrought in some living creatures in the course of their growth. I daresay +you imagine as I once did, that all young animals are like their parents, +only on a smaller scale; for you see that a young horse, or elephant, or +whale, a pup or a kitten, is at its birth in all respects just what it +will be when full-grown, only smaller. So it is with the reptiles and the +birds--the young ones, when hatched, are like the parents. But in the case +of frogs and newts, and also most insects, the young ones do not merely +increase in size as they grow, but pass from one stage of growth to +another, each different from the former, until like the butterfly when +it emerges from the chrysalis, they reach what is called their perfect +state--and these metamorphoses or changes are very curious and interesting +indeed. + +When Master Froggie was a young tadpole, some pond or ditch was his home, +for he was an aquatic animal; but now that he is full-grown he has passed +into another way of living: he breathes, or rather swallows _air_, and +must, as he swims about with his beautifully webbed feet, come to the +surface of the water now and then, or he would die. I am sure you know the +frog well enough, and you may even have heard the harsh croak from which +it has its name, as you have passed some damp meadow or weedy pond, on a +summer evening. But I wonder whether you know frogs' eggs when you see +them? + +My brothers and I did not, long ago, when we used to fish with sticks in a +pond by the cross-roads for what we called "bunches of grapes!" The grapes +were little balls of jelly with a tiny black spot in each, and we never +guessed that they were really eggs, and that the little black spot in the +slimy covering would one day actually turn into a live, leaping, croaking +frog. If we had had the patience to watch, we should have seen that little +black dot grow and grow, until it seemed to have become a creature almost +all tail, with the head and body still only a tiny ball. By-and-by we +should have seen legs and feet begin to appear, and as the legs grew +longer, the tail become shorter, until it quite disappeared. Meanwhile, +other changes which we could not see would have taken place; instead of the +gills, which made the tadpole a water-breather, Master Froggie would have +acquired lungs, like any land animal; the aquatic would have changed into +an aėrial, the herbivorous into a carnivorous creature, so that we may well +say it has lived two lives. + +The beautiful little newts' life-history is much the same, only that +their transformation is not quite so complete, for they never lose their +lizard-like tails, but remain little crocodiles to the end of the chapter. + + + "_Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father + who is in heaven is merciful._" + + "Turn, turn thy hasty foot aside, + Nor crush that helpless worm; + The frame thy wayward looks deride + None but our God could form. + + "The common Lord of all that move, + From whom thy being flow'd, + A portion of His boundless love + On that poor worm bestow'd. + + "The light, the air, the dew He made + To all His creatures free, + And spreads o'er earth the grassy blade + For them as well as thee. + + "Let them enjoy their little day, + Their lowly bliss receive; + Oh! do not lightly take away + The life thou can'st not give." + +GISBORNE. + + + + +THE SIXTH DAY. + +THE ANIMAL WORLD. + + +"_Every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand +hills._"--PSALM l. 10. + +"_... God ... who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh +us wiser than the fowls of heaven._"--JOB xxxv. 11. + +"_Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the +beast that goeth downward to the earth?_"--ECCLESIASTES iii. 21. + + +Now that we have come to the last of those wonderful working-days of which +God has told us, I want you--just as we all did when we had reached the +SIXTH DAY in our readings--to read over again all the verses in the first +chapter of Genesis down to verse 26, and to notice carefully the _words_ +which God has used in speaking to us about what He created and made. And I +want you especially to think of those two words of which we were speaking a +little while ago--God _created_, and God _made_. + +Before God speaks to us of the FIRST DAY, with its evening and its morning, +He tells us that "in the beginning" He "created the heaven and the earth." + +(_Day I_.) Then--we do not know how long after--God spoke, and commanded +the light to shine out of the darkness; so that where the dark had been +the light now was. "And God saw the light, that it was good," and divided +it from the darkness. The light God called Day. Then after the night had +passed, the light returned, and there was morning. "And the evening and the +morning were the First Day." + +(_Day II_.) Again God spoke, and that great globe of air which surrounds +the earth was formed--the blue sky above us, and the clouds, the +treasure-house for the rain. "And God called the firmament," or expansion, +"Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the Second Day." Upon this +day we do not read of anything new being made; and it is not said, "And God +saw that it was good," as after the work of the other days. + +[Illustration: "THE JOY OF HARVEST."] + +(_Day III_.) Again God spoke, and the dry land appeared'; so that upon this +Day there were already in existence earth and sea, air and water, day and +night. And God Himself saw that all was good in the world which He had +made. Then He adorned the earth with verdure and beauty, and brought out of +it grass, corn, fruit-trees; each "after its kind," "And God saw that it +was good. And the evening and the morning were the Third Day." + +(_Day IV_.) Again God spoke, and the two great lights, sun and moon, were +set to give light--day and night--upon the earth, and to order the seasons. +"And God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the +Fourth Day." + +(_Day V_.) Again God spoke; living creatures swarmed in the waters, and +"winged fowl" flew "in the open firmament of heaven." It is now, in +connection with air and sea being filled with living beings, to which God +gave not only the same power to grow and multiply with which He had endowed +the trees and the herbage, but in addition to it, power to move from one +place to another at will, power to enjoy, and to go in quest of that which +seems to them desirable, that we have again the word, "God created," and +also a new word, never before used about day or night, earth or sea, sun or +moon, tree or flower--"God blessed." + +You remember how we noticed, when we were reading about the work of God +on the Fifth Day, that as soon as He had made, not stones or plants, but +fishes and birds, He blessed them. God made these living creatures happy, +each in the place suited to the kind of life He had given it. And again of +this Day's work we read, "And God saw that it was good.... And the evening +and the morning were the Fifth Day." + +Now let us read verses 24 and 25 very carefully. These verses tell us of +part of God's work on the Sixth Day; and we notice that this Day begins, +like the former ones, with those three words which we have read so many +times in this chapter--"And God said." + +(_Day VI_.) I wish you to stop at the end of verse 25 because there the +account which God has given us of His creation of the world ends. All was +now complete; and all was very good in the eyes of Him who had made and +fashioned it. The rest of the chapter speaks of a distinct part of God's +Creation, when man, who was to be over it all, was made; a part of the +Creation, but head and Crown of all; a being distinct from any other +inhabitant of earth, air, or sea, because created _in the image of God_. + +The old writer who speaks so quaintly about the "great pond of the world," +and the "guests" which it contains, exclaims with wonder when he thinks of +the "tenant" which God, when He had made the great house of the world and +furnished it, brought in to possess it. He says:-- + +"But, oh God, what a little lord hast Thou made over this great world!... +yet none but he can see what Thou hast done; none but he can admire and +adore Thee in what he seeth.... Other creatures Thou madest by a simple +command, man not without a divine consultation; others at once, man Thou +didst first form, then inspire; others in several shapes, like to none but +themselves, man after Thine own image ... others with qualities fit for +service; man for dominion; other creatures grovel to their earth, and have +all their senses upon it, this is reared up towards heaven." + +We talked a good deal about this; for I wished that Eustace and Leslie, and +even little Dick, should understand something of the great difference which +God has put between those creatures--the cleverest and best of them--who +live their little life in the sea or on the earth, and then pass away +altogether, and even a little child who does not know its right hand from +its left, and cannot take care of itself perhaps nearly so well as a bird +or a beast, but who has within it what God has given to no bird or beast, a +spirit which can never die, a spirit which must some time "return unto God +who gave it," because it belongs to Him. + +No beast will have to give an account of itself to God; for to these +creatures of a day, He has given their bodies, so wonderful and beautiful, +and the breath by which they live; but not that deathless part, the spirit, +because of which every man is responsible to God, and knows that he is, +even though he may never have read in God's Word that "every one of us +shall give account of himself to God." + +Let me tell you how a missionary explained this, not long ago, to a king +far away in the heart of Africa. + +He had been talking to him about the stars and the sun; and the king +presently asked where God, who had made the sun, dwelt, and what He did +with people after they were dead. + +The missionary says, "I answered that God was not confined to one place as +we are; that when man's body died, the spirit of him who was a child of +God went above, and dwelt for ever in the presence of God, and those whom +God knew not here in this life were cast out into a place of sorrow and +burning." + +"But why does God do so?" the king asked. "What reason has He for putting +man from Him?" + +The missionary explained that God is righteous, and must punish those who +are guilty in His sight. + +"But," said the king, "_we_ did not know the laws of God _here_. How can He +punish _us_ for not keeping them?" + +[Illustration: KAFFIRS OF VARIOUS TRIBES.] + +The missionary answered that God had put His law in their hearts, so that +they all knew what was right and what was wrong. + +"You know," he said, "when a man lies to your face and steals from you, +that he injures you; and call him bad and wicked. So when you tomorrow +do the same thing, God judges you with the same judgement with which you +judged your fellow-creature yesterday." + +"Yes," replied the king, "that is true; that I understand." + +We shall think more by-and-by about the great difference which God has put +between man, whom He created in His own image, and every other creature, +but I want you never to forget it. + +In reading of the beautiful life which God gave to the fishes and the +birds, and to those beasts that He commanded the earth to bring forth, +about which we are going to speak a little today, we must always remember, +while we admire the wonderful gifts and powers which they have from God, +that He has put the widest possible distance between us and them. + +We shall see that many of these animals are much stronger than the +strongest man; that to some of them God has given senses keener than ours; +and to others, in an especial degree, that great gift called instinct, by +which the little swallow finds its way over sea and land, the ants "prepare +their meat in the summer," the beaver makes dams across the stream, and the +little prairie dogs build pleasant towns, where they can all live together, +one of them always keeping watch lest any enemy should surprise the +workers. + +All these are beautiful proofs of the kindness and faithfulness of God +towards the creatures He has made; and we may admire them, and learn all we +can from them; but never imagine for one moment, that man is only a grander +and more wonderfully made sort of animal, as a lion is superior to a mole, +and a mole to a worm. + +Just as God has told us there would be, there are now some people who think +they know better than to believe what His Word says about this, and who try +to think that there never was such a "wonderful animal" as man has grown to +be, and are not ashamed to talk of his "ape-like ancestors." But among all +the fossil-animals which the earth has kept so safely, I need hardly tell +you that not one specimen of an animal between a monkey and a man has +ever been found. As has been well said, those who speak in this way "have +to convert a four-handed ape into an erect man, a screaming baboon into +an articulating, speaking being; brutal instinct into reason, will, +conscience; a thing that perishes into that which believes in God, and +whose soul is immortal." + +Mr. Frank Buckland, whose interesting books I hope you may one day read, +had a great many strange pets; among them a remarkably clever monkey. He +studied the habits of this monkey very carefully and describes some of +the things which it did by instinct--a sense which no one can understand, +given by God to guide those living creatures upon whom He has not bestowed +reason--and he also tells most amusing stories of the way in which it +imitated what it saw him do; but he found that this monkey never reasoned +about things, as even a very young child will. + +It could use its own powerful head and hands to defend itself, if attacked; +but he never saw it make a weapon to use against its enemies. It was very +glad to get near the good fire which its master had made, and would spread +out its hands and warm them in the blaze; but it never made a fire for +itself. And though Mr. Buckland laid plenty of wood close to the fire, and +watched to see what a creature so fond of heat would do, he found that the +monkey sat by the fire and allowed it to go out; for although he shivered +with cold, he did not understand that by putting fresh wood on, the heat +which he had so enjoyed would be kept up. + +So it is with animals generally; they do things by instinct or by imitation +rather than through reason; though we often see them look as if "putting +this and that together." And we know no animal able to tell its thoughts by +speaking, though some birds have been trained to repeat words. + +In that charming book, written for French children "The First Year of +Scientific Knowledge," _man_ is placed first among animals, as the most +wonderful of them all, but the author is careful to explain that he is +there treating only of man's body; as, were it otherwise, it would be +needful to allow him a particular division all for himself. We see that +in God's Book man is put last, and that he is not counted with the other +living creatures at all. + +You may say that men are born, and eat, and sleep, and breathe, and grow +old, and have bones, and a heart, and blood running through their veins; +and so it is with beasts, and birds, and fishes. But God speaks to us of +the spirit of a beast--its natural life--which goes downward, in contrast +with the spirit of man, which goes upward, and returns "unto God who gave +it." It is because of this immortal part, that the life of a man is not to +be compared with, or put beside, that of a beast that perishes. + +Put your hand upon your heart for a moment. You can feel something there, +going "beat, beat," and you know that as long as that "beat, beat" goes on +you are alive. If it were to stop you would die, for no man has power to +set it going again. Now, you can also feel the beating of the heart of a +dog, or of a little frightened bird as you hold it in your hand; and you +know that when its heart ceases to move, its little hour of pleasure or +pain is over, for there is nothing in the dead body of a bird, as there is +even in a dry seed, that will make it spring up and grow again--_all_ its +life has gone. + +Even as I am writing this for you, a sparrow, picking up crumbs of bread, +comes hopping close to my feet. The crumbs feed his little life, and you +know that he would soon die, starved to death like many a poor birdie in +its cage, if he could get no food. You, too, would die if you had nothing +to eat; that is, your body would, but not what has most right to be +called _you_; that never-dying spirit which has lived in your body as its +house--_it_ would still be alive--alive to God: "for all live unto Him." So +different are you from the beasts that perish that we will turn to the Book +from which alone we can know the truth, and there let us notice, first, +that when man was to be made, it is no longer, "And God said, Let there be: +and there was;" but instead, the wondrous words are written, "And God said, +Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.... So God created man in +His own image"; and again we read, "The Lord God formed man of the dust +of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man +became a living soul." + +We are now going to study some of the wonderful works of God in the +animal-world, and I hope to be able to tell you some interesting stories of +what creatures who have not language, and cannot reason in the way in which +we can, have been able to do by instinct and intelligence. + +It is very pleasant to read the accounts given by other people of what they +have observed, but even better still to learn to use our own eyes. Try this +plan, and you will be surprised at the many curious and beautiful things +about the ways of animals which you can find out for yourself. + +You remember, when we were talking about fishes and birds, we found that +they both belong to the great group of animals called Vertebrate, from +having a backbone made of many pieces beautifully fitted together. + +We are now going to speak of the last class in that great group--the +Mammalia, so called because they feed their young, not as birds do, with +insects or grain, but with milk. They are chiefly "four-footed beasts of +the earth," and are covered with hair or fur. In this class extremes meet; +we find the great elephant and the playful little squirrel, the kingly lion +and the timid mouse which is said to have set him free when snared in the +hunter's net. + +To this class also belong the land-monsters of bygone days, whose skeletons +you may see in museums: such as the Mammoth, or hairy elephant, found in +the British Isles, and also over half the globe; the Mastodon, another +elephantine extinct monster, whose remains are found in America; the Woolly +Rhinoceros, with two large horns on his face, dug out of the frozen soil of +Siberia; the Great Irish Deer, whose antlers measured 9 feet from tip to +tip; and Giant Sloths of South America, inhabitating the same region as the +Sloths of to-day. + +But we must leave the "unnumbered, unremembered tribes" of buried creatures +which once trod this earth; and speaking only of those now alive, I +must tell you that in the first Division of the great class, Mammalia, +naturalists place the Quadrumana, or four-handed creatures. This name is +given to all monkeys; because their great-toes are like thumbs, so that +they can take hold of the branches in the forests where they spend their +lives, quite as well with their feet as with their hands. + +I need not tell you what they are like, for you know something of the +noisy, chattering, mischievous creatures, from watching them at the "Zoo." +But you have never seen the enormous apes which live in Africa and the +forests of Borneo. Of these the Orang-outang--its name means "man of the +woods"--is the largest. He is as tall as a man, and very strong, with long +arms, which almost reach the ground as he stands. From the pictures I have +seen, I certainly should not like to meet this "man of the woods" at home, +seated in the sort of nest which he makes for himself in the trees. But +these great, fierce-looking creatures can be tamed; and I have read of one +who might be seen walking in the garden, arm-in-arm with his keeper; and of +another who would sit at table and imitate everything which he saw people +do. He would pour out his tea, put sugar and milk in it, and then hold his +cup and saucer, and drink the tea, all very cleverly; for no animals are so +good at imitating others as monkeys are. Remember this, if you are fond of +copying what other people do and say, be sure that you copy only what is +worthy of imitation. + +[Illustration: TOO CLEVER.] + +Here is an amusing traveller's tale about some monkeys which carried their +love of imitating very far; as you will say when you have read + +"THE SAILOR AND THE MONKEYS. + + "Once, in the hope of honest gain + From Afric's golden store, + A smart young sailor crossed the main, + And landed on the shore. + + "And leaving soon the sultry strand + Where his fair vessel lay, + He travelled o'er the neighbouring land + To trade in peaceful way. + + "Full many a toy had he to sell, + And caps of scarlet dye; + And such things as he knew full well + Would please the native's eye. + + "But as he travelled through the woods + He longed to have a nap, + And opening there his pack of goods, + Took out a scarlet cap, + + "And drew it on his head, thereby + To shield him from the sun; + Then soundly slept, nor thought an eye + Had seen what he had done. + + "But many a monkey dwelling there, + Though hidden from his eyes, + Having well watched the whole affair, + Now longed to win a prize. + + "And while he slept each one did seize + A cap to deck his brows; + Then climbing up the highest trees, + Sat chattering on the boughs. + + "The sailor waked, his caps were gone, + And loud and long he grieves, + Till, looking up with heart forlorn, + He spied at once the thieves. + + "With cap of red upon each head + Full fifty faces grim, + The sailor sees amid the trees, + With all eyes fixed on him. + + "He brandished quick a mighty stick, + But could not reach their bower, + Nor could he stone, for every one + Was far beyond his power. + + "'Alas!' he thought, 'I've safely brought + My caps far o'er the seas; + But could not guess it was to dress + Such little rogues as these.' + + "Then quickly down he threw his own, + And loud in anger cried, + 'Take this one too, you thievish crew, + Since you have all beside.' + + "But quick as thought the caps were thrown + From every monkey's crown, + For, like himself, each little elf + Threw his directly down. + + "He then with ease did gather these, + And in his pack did bind; + Then through the woods conveyed his goods, + And sold them to his mind." + +I daresay you could tell me the story of the monkeys who washed their hands +and faces in pitch, and so were caught. But from all the stories which are +told about monkeys, I fancy that we think of them too much as clever, and +noisy, and mischievous, and sometimes very ill-tempered and revengeful; so +I want to tell you something of their good and gentle ways, and especially +of their love for their little ones. + +I used to watch a mother, in the monkey-house at the Gardens, nursing +her baby--a tiny grey thing, with its hair parted down the middle, and +the funniest, most knowing little face of its own. She nursed it in the +tenderest way, with such a loving expression on her face the while. + +Then I have read of an American monkey driving away the flies which teased +her little one; and of another good mother who was seen washing the faces +of her family in a stream. And they are kind not only to their own; for if +a poor little monkey is left an orphan, it is sure to be taken care of by +some other monkey's father or mother. + +A gentleman who was coming home from India tells this story: There were on +board two monkeys, one older than the other, but not its mother. One day +the little one fell overboard. The other at once jumped over the side of +the vessel to a part of the ship where she could stand, and holding on by +one hand, with the other she held out to the poor little drowning monkey +the end of the cord by which she was tied up, but which was then dangling +from her waist. It was a wonderful plan for her to think of, was it not? +But the cord was too short, and the little monkey was saved by a sailor who +threw it a rope, which came near enough for it to catch at and cling to. + +I remember being told by a brother of mine who had once shot a young +monkey, that he could not forget the reproachful look which the poor mother +gave him, and he never again would shoot one. He said the little wounded +monkey cried like a child. + +If you have ever seen a bat, you will think it strange to class these +winged creatures with monkeys, and it does at first sight seem a mistake +that they should be among the Mammalia at all; one would expect to see +all winged things in the Bird family. But the bat is rightly placed in +this division, and you will understand why it has been classed with the +Quadrumana, when you have carefully examined those soft, fan-like wings +which you can spread out with your fingers. If you could take a bat in your +hand, and look at it from head to foot, you would notice three things very +unlike a bird about it. In the first place, it has no feathers, but is +covered with very soft grey fur; it has no beak, but sharp teeth--so sharp +that I advise you to keep your fingers out of their way; then, look at its +long ears! It certainly cannot be a bird. + +Besides being reckoned among the four-handed creatures, a Greek name has +been given to bats, from the curious way in which their fore paws, or +hands, have been lengthened out into wings; it means "hand-winged." + +Now, keeping this name in mind, gently unfold the wing: the small bones +which you feel, over which the soft grey web is stretched, are really the +fingers of the animal, very long fingers they are, and the web is the skin +of the back and breast which has been drawn over them, so as to make this +strange hand-wing. If you cannot examine a live bat, perhaps by studying +this picture of one, you may understand better how this soft, dusky wing is +made. + +[Illustration: "FLITTER-MOUSE" ON THE WING.] + +The bat is what is called a nocturnal animal, because it cannot bear the +strong light of day, and flies about at night in search of its food. We +sometimes hear it said that a person is "as blind as a bat," but that is +because when bats are taken, contrary to their nature, into the sunlight, +they are so dazzled by it, that they fly blunderingly hither and thither, +in their efforts to get away from it. They have very sharp eyes, but they +do not use them by day, but sleep all day long, hitched to a stone in a +wall, or to a branch in the woods by their hind legs--always choosing a +dark place, and folding their wings around them like a curtain. + +I remember being very much afraid of bats when I was a child. An old castle +by the sea swarmed with them, and when my brothers took lighted pieces of +wood and went into the dark, deserted ruin to rouse the sleeping bats and +see whether they could not catch one, the way in which the poor dazed +creatures flew at our faces in their blind efforts to escape frightened +me very much, and when one was caught and put into my hand I disliked the +"creepy" feel of the soft wings too much to keep it long. I knew nothing +about bats then, and was silly enough to think that they were "horrid" +and "frightful" creatures--words which we should not use in speaking of +anything that God has made. Now that I have learnt a little about them, I +fancy I should not mind going into that old castle, and having another look +at them; but still I do not think I should care to have one for a pet. + +Perhaps you think no one would; but I have read of a tame bat which knew +its master, and loved to be stroked and petted as much as a dog would. +Indeed it behaved very much like a dog, for it would climb up its master's +coat and rub its head against him--more like a cat, you will say, in +this--and lick his hands. When its master sat down, the bat used to hitch +itself up to the back of his chair, and it would take flies and insects +from his hand. But I have no doubt he was always a dull pet in the daytime; +for it really is his time for sleep, and we cannot change the nature of +animals, and ought not to try to do so. + +Talking about sleeping, I must not forget to tell you that a bat is like a +dormouse in one respect: it does not fly away to a warm, country when the +cold is coming, and the insects are getting scarce, but goes off to sleep +in a barn, or belfry, or cave, and sleeps on all through the winter, +needing neither food nor drink. There are many different kinds of bats +about which you can read in Natural History books; one kind eats fruit, not +insects. The bat is about the size of a mouse, and feeds its young, as the +mouse does, with milk. When we were speaking of the animals mentioned in +the Bible no one thought of the bat; but it is referred to among the birds +or winged things, which might not be eaten by the Israelites; also in +Isaiah ii. we read that in that day when the Lord alone shall be exalted, +"a man shall cast his idols of silver and his idols of gold ... to the +moles and to the bats"--for they especially haunt waste and desolate +places. + +Now we must leave the Four-handed family, and come to the largest class +among the Mammalia--the Quadrupeds. As all four-footed animals, no matter +how unlike each other they may be in other respects, belong to this family, +you may imagine what a very large one it must be. Naturalists have divided +the Quadrupeds into different classes, and at the head of them they place +the Carnivora, or flesh-eaters, so called because they are beasts of prey, +catching birds and smaller animals alive, and eating them. + +The animals of the Cat kind--lions, tigers, panthers, jaguars--are the most +beautiful as well as the most dangerous of this class. They have long and +sharp teeth, and very long claws--five on the forefeet and four on the +hinder-feet--and these claws are kept sharp by being guarded within a soft +sheath when not wanted; so that all these cat-like creatures tread very +softly. + +You have often noticed how pussy can stretch out her claws when she wishes +to climb or to scratch, but you know they are most often hidden within this +velvet sheath. If you have ever watched your cat creeping cautiously nearer +and nearer to her prey, and then suddenly springing upon the poor little +mouse or bird, you will know exactly how such great and terrible cats as +lions and tigers spring upon their prey, whether it be a cow or a sheep, a +man or a child. + +Of all of them, none is so fierce as the + + "Tiger, tiger, burning bright + In the forests of the night," + +which is found now in only one quarter of the world--in Asia, especially +India--and is so bold that he will fight with a lion. + +[Illustration: TIGER AND CROCODILE--"THE TUG-OF-WAR."] + +No beast has such a beautiful skin; but you may not know that this +wonderful coat is made for use as well as for beauty. A writer who has +observed very carefully says, "However lovely nature frames or fashions a +plant or a bird or an animal, it is never for ornament, but for some actual +purpose or use." It is a good thing to bear this in mind, and to try to +find out the uses of the beautiful things which you see. The stripes of +the tiger are so very like the long grass--taller than a tall man--of the +jungle, is its home, that the hunters, mounted on their trained elephants, +cannot see him, unless he betrays his hiding-place by some movement. +Tiger-hunting is a very dangerous sport, and many tigers are killed, not in +the chase, but by being taken in pitfalls by the natives. + +I am sure you know a great deal about the king of beasts, and I need +not describe him, since you have probably both seen him and heard his +terrible voice. Still, we can have little idea, from seeing lions in this +country--very likely born in captivity--how majestic the king is in his +forest home in Africa. Those who have heard his roar echoing through the +forest, say that it rolls along like distant thunder, and that when he is +angry his eyes flash with a gleam almost like lightning. His strength is +so enormous that one blow of that soft paw, which looks so harmless, will +break the back of a horse, or knock down the strongest man; and he will +carry off a young cow as a cat carries off a mouse. Young lions are very +pretty, and as playful as kittens. I have seen a happy family all in one +cage--a great African lion called Hannibal, with a very royal look; a +lioness and her four cubs, playing with a retriever pup! The cribs looked +very much like big puppies, and had such innocent, gentle little faces, +that you would have liked to pat and pet them. + +You will not be surprised to hear that the lion was the one chosen by all +the little boys, when they answered their question about animals mentioned +in the Bible. They all found the story telling how David, when he was a +shepherd boy, killed both a lion and a bear, when they had taken a lamb +from the flock, and rescued the helpless little creature out of the very +mouth of the lion--and how he said to King Saul, "The Lord hath delivered +me out of the paw of the lion" [that strong paw which can knock a man +down], "and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand +of this Philistine;" and, strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, +he went to meet the boastful giant of whom everyone was afraid. + +[Illustration: "THE LONELY LION LEAVES HIS LONELY LAIR."] + +I also had references given me to Daniel in the den of lions and to the sad +story of the prophet who disobeyed the word of the Lord, and was slain by +a lion. Will you see whether you can find the name of one against whom a +young lion roared? "And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and +he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand." +And also the name of one of King David's mighty men, who "went down ... and +slew a lion in the midst of a pit, in time of snow?" There are no lions now +in Palestine, but they were at one time often seen there; they made their +lair in caves among the mountains, and on the reedy banks of the Jordan. + +[Illustration: THE LEOPARD.] + +Other wild beasts--which are really great cats--are the beautifully spotted +Panthers or Leopards of Africa and Asia, the fierce and cunning Jaguar of +South America, and the Puma, sometimes called, without much reason for the +name, the American lion. + +Wild cats were once common in England, and it has been thought that our +home-cats are their descendants, only tamed; but I believe this is not +true, and that our cats came from the East. It is generally thought that +they are not very affectionate animals, or rather that their affections are +set upon places more than upon people; but they are certainly very fond of +their own kittens, and very proud of them when they first begin to "walk +high," which I suppose answers to a baby's beginning to "run away." + +Mr. Wood, in _The Boy's Own Book of Natural History_, tells a pretty story +about a baker's cat, which was so fond of him, when he was a young man at +college, that she used to come regularly morning and evening to have her +breakfast and tea with him. He says, "She continued her attentions for some +time, but one morning she was absent from her accustomed corner, nor did +she return till nearly a week had passed, when she came again, but always +seemed uneasy unless the door were open. A few days afterwards, she came +up as usual, and jumped on to my knee, at the same time putting a little +kitten into my hand. She refused to take it back again, so I restored it to +its brothers and sisters myself. A few hours afterwards, on going into my +bedroom, I found another black kitten fast asleep on the bed." Fancy this +mother being so anxious to show her kittens, and so sure that her friend +would be pleased to find one in his bed! + +Next to the Cat family comes that of the Dog, and in this family Wolves, +Jackals, and Foxes are placed, as well as Dogs. I had some texts about +wolves given me by the boys, but I do not think we shall have time to speak +of them now. Wolves and jackals and foxes are very much like dogs run wild, +while dogs in many respects are like these wild animals become tame; so +much so, that it is believed that the "friend of man" has altered a good +deal in the thousands of years during which he has been his constant +companion; he has become less fierce, but has also lost some of the +independence which once belonged to him, and is very much behind foxes and +jackals in knowing how to take care of himself and get his own living. + +We ought to treat with great respect and kindness a creature which we have +in this way made dependent upon us, and one which gives us its affection +so freely, and is so glad even of a kind word or look from its master or +mistress. + +Dogs have a good deal of dignity, and their feelings are very easily hurt. +Perhaps you think it is saying too much for a doggie to talk of its having +feelings that can be hurt, but I assure you dogs _have_ feelings, and very +keen ones too. + +The master of a little Skye terrier found that a reproachful word, or a +look of displeasure, would make him miserable for a whole day; he never +thought of such a thing as beating him; but once, when he was away from +home, his brother, who did not know the dog, kindly took him out every day +for a walk in the park. One day, when he wanted him to come on, he gave him +a blow with his glove. The dog, who had been playing about with a friend +he had met, stopped and looked up at him in surprise, as if he would have +said, "If you knew whose dog I am you would never treat me so,"--then +turned and ran away home. Next day he was again taken out by his master's +brother, but when they had gone a little way he stopped, looked in his face +as much as to say, "You remember what you did?" and then trotted home; he +could never again be induced to go out with the person who had so offended +his dignity. This sensitive little Skye could not bear to see anyone hurt, +and when driving with his master would pull his sleeve, and try to check +him every time he touched the horse with his whip. + +A little white, curly dog, whom the children knew well, had a great +objection to his Saturday bath, and would get out of the way when he saw +it was coming. Tippoo submitted to be washed when he found there was no +escape; but a little dog belonging to a lady used to make such a fuss over +his weekly bath that at last none of the servants would run the risk of +being bitten and snapped at by him. His mistress tried threatening him, +then beating, then keeping him without his dinner; but all was of no use +until she made up her mind to see what taking no notice of him would do. +The doggie found it very hard when his dear mistress came home, and he ran +out with his joyful bark to welcome her, to see her turn her head away from +him just when he was longing for a pat or a kind word; and I fancy the +lady found it hard too, constantly to disappoint all his little efforts to +attract her attention; but she went on for more than a week, showing her +pet in this way that something was wrong, and there is no doubt at all that +the wise little creature knew what it was. He looked very miserable all the +time, and at last crept quietly to her side, and, as she says in telling +the story, "gave a look which said as plainly as any spoken words could +have done, 'I can stand it no longer; I submit.' Then, after patiently +bearing the washing, without snapping or fighting, he came in wagging his +tail with a joyful bark, as much as to say, 'It's all right now'!" + +I am sure you have read or heard accounts of the large Newfoundland dogs; +of whose courage in saving children who fall into the water, many beautiful +stories are told; and also of the dear, faithful Collies with their pointed +noses, who know all their master's sheep, and will drive them wherever they +are told to go; and even, when two flocks have got mixed, will separate +them with the most wonderful patience and cleverness. A Scotch shepherd, +who loved poetry, and made some verses about the skylark, which Sharley and +May repeat, tells a story of one of these dogs which I am sure you will +think worth remembering. + +The collie's name was Sirrah, and his master prized him greatly. When the +shepherd first bought him he was scarcely a year old, "and," he says, "knew +so little of herding that he had never turned a sheep in his life; but as +soon as he discovered that it was his duty to do so, and that it obliged +me, I can never forget with what anxiety and eagerness he learned his +different evolutions. He would try every way deliberately, till he found +out what I wanted him to do, and when I once made him understand a +direction he never forgot or mistook it again." + +Sirrah's master once had charge of a flock of seven hundred lambs, and one +night the whole flock broke up into three divisions, and ran away in the +dark, so that the shepherd could not tell where they had gone. The night +was so dark that he could not even see Sirrah, much less tell him how to +find the lost lambs; but the dog knew exactly what had happened, and had no +doubt at all about whose duty it was to get the flock together again. All +night long the shepherd sought in vain, not being able even to discover +what direction either of the three flocks of truant lambs had taken; but in +the morning he suddenly came upon his dog, guarding the whole flock--all +the seven hundred brought back, and not one of them lost. + +I have been told that while a trained sheep-dog is so valuable to his +master, and can be so trusted by him, one that has been allowed to grow +up without any teaching or training is of little worth. The training must +begin while the collie is young, and an old hand at it says, "The first +thing to learn your pup is to mind at the word." From this beginning the +dog goes on until he seems almost to read his master's thoughts in his +face, and to watch each movement of his hand and each glance of his eye. Of +one of these dogs his master says: + +"I have known him lie night and day among from ten to twenty pails full of +milk, and never once break the cream of one of them with the tip of his +tongue; nor would he suffer cat, rat, nor any other creature to touch it." + +Sheep-dogs become very much attached to each other, as this story shows. +Two Scotch collies were fast friends, going everywhere together until one +of them died, and was buried on the top of a hill. The other watched the +spot, and when no one was by, actually scratched at the new-made grave, and +dug up the body of his comrade. Afterwards, when it had been buried again, +and heavy stones laid round the place, he still kept watch there, howling +piteously and eating nothing, until he died upon the grave of the friend he +had loved so well. + +But while there are so many beautiful stories of the loving and faithful +and tender and true ways of dogs, we must not forget that they sometimes +show cruel and revengeful tempers, as well as something of that low kind of +cleverness which tries to deceive, and on account of which the fox has such +a bad name. + +Only the other day I was told about a dog who actually killed a pretty +little kitten from pure jealousy, because he could not bear to see his +mistress pet and fondle it. _He_ had been the pet for a long time, and +when this new favourite came, he showed his dislike in many ways. One day +Flossie--the little kitten--was missing, and could nowhere be found. At +last, something about the dog's guilty look made his mistress sure that he +knew better than anyone else what had become of her. So she looked at him +very severely, and said, "Turk, _you_ know where little Flossie is. Show me +directly." + +Turk walked straight to the waste-paper basket, which was under the table, +and began to take the paper out, bit by bit. At the bottom of the basket +lay the poor little furry pet, killed by the dog in a fit of jealousy! How +sad it is to think what sin has done, how even in the animals it may be +seen that they belong to a world where the man, whom God made head over +them, turned away from Him, and distrusted and disobeyed Him. + +But since I have told you of Turk's cruel jealousy, I must not forget a +very pretty story of a dog who saved the life of a kitten which was to have +been drowned. When he saw the poor little thing thrown into the pond, he +swam after it and brought it back, laying it at the feet of the groom who +had thrown it into the water. The man took the helpless creature up and +threw it back again, and again the dog rescued it. A third time it was +thrown into the water, and a third time saved from drowning; but now the +dog brought it to the opposite side of the pool, carried it home in his +mouth, and laid it beside the fire to dry. In this case which would you +rather be like--the man or the dog? + +The children often say that our Tippoo, the little white dog of which I +told you, does things "just like a person"; he will contentedly eat what +he does not care for, because he expects to get something he likes, as a +reward. If he has been naughty, you can generally know it by his face, and +he will hide away under the sofa, until brought out from his refuge, and +made to show what he has been doing. He cannot bear to be laughed at; +nothing hurts his feelings so sorely, unless indeed it be seeing a little +child petted: this is almost more than he can bear. But he behaves better +than Psyche, another little Maltese terrier of my acquaintance, who used to +fly at anyone who dared to kiss her mistress. Poor little Psyche's was a +sad end, for she was killed by a carriage while crossing the street to get +to her mistress. + +Dogs have all sorts of ways of making their wants known, but I think you +will admit that a little dog called Button was particularly clever in his +way of doing it, when you hear how he managed. He used to have goat's milk +for breakfast, and one morning, when he thought breakfast-time had passed +without any being brought to him, he made up his mind that he had been +forgotten; so he went to the closet where the china was kept, fetched the +cup in which his milk was always given him, carried it in his teeth, and +laid it down at the feet of the maid who used to milk the goat for him. I +think he had earned his breakfast, don't you? + +[Illustration: OUR GOAT--"NAN."] + +Another dog, who has a drinking-trough of his own, draws attention to it, +if it is allowed to go dry by scratching at it, till someone fills it with +fresh water. + +May knows a very pretty story in verse about a little dog called Music, who +did all she could to save a greyhound, Dart, from drowning, when he had +gone down beneath the ice while trying to cross a frozen river. It must +have been a touching thing to see her standing on the broken edge, and +stretching out her paw, like a hand, to save him, while she as the poem +says, + + "... makes efforts and complainings, nor gives o'er + Until her fellow sank, and reappeared no more." + +Faithful, loving little Music failed to save her friend; but a Scotch dog +was the means of saving the life of his master, as he was crossing a river +on the ice. When the crash came, and he sank, he had the presence of mind +to support himself by means of his gun, which lay across the broken ice. +The dog, after making attempts to save his master, seemed to understand +that the only thing he could do for him was to leave him, and go in search +of help. So off he ran to the next village, and pulled at the coat of the +first man he saw, so earnestly, that he got the man to follow him, and was +in time to save the life of the drowning man. + +But more remarkable still is the story of a strange dog who seems to have +been sent by God to protect a poor miner's house in his absence. + +In a very lonely place in Cornwall, the house of a miner is situated among +the rocks. Only he and his wife lived there, and the poor woman was often +left alone far into the night, as her husband's work kept him very late. + +One evening a large dog came up the hill to this cottage, and began to make +himself at home there, and to make friends with the miner's wife. At first +she petted him, but when it began to grow dark, she thought he ought to be +going to his own home, and used every effort to send him away. But the dog +would not be turned out, and at last the lonely woman allowed him to stay +with her. Late at night, a noise of footsteps was heard, and she ran to +open the door, as she thought, to her husband. But the dog sprang past her +into the darkness, and she heard the sound of a great struggle, and then +the footsteps again passing down the path. The dog presently came back to +her, but after a time she began to be alarmed lest he should have attacked +and frightened--perhaps injured--her husband, as he was returning home. +Lighting a lantern, she unbarred the door, and went out into the dark +night, still attended by the strange dog, who seemed resolved not to +leave her. They soon met the miner on his way home, and the dog, far from +springing upon him, went up to him, and then--without a word, I was going +to say--disappeared into the darkness. The miner's wife could never find +out anything about him, but she felt quite sure that it was God who had +sent this strange protector to take care of her in her loneliness. + +Now this must be nearly our last Dog-story, or we shall never have done, +for there is no end to the wonderful tales which are told of the sense +and kindliness and courage and faithfulness of these creatures who are so +rightly called the friends of man. + +You remember that wolves, foxes, and jackals are placed in the Dog-family; +and if you notice the wolves at the Zoological Gardens, you will see in +how many respects they resemble dogs. It is when they go about in great +numbers, as they do in the east of Europe and Asia, that these animals are +such dreaded foes, and devour so many defenceless sheep and cattle. + +Do you not think this a wonderful account of a traveller and a wolf taking +shelter together in a storm and lying down side by side? It is called + + "FATHER'S STORY. + + "'Little one, come to my knee! + Hark! how the rain is pouring + Over the roof, in the pitch-black night + And the wind in the woods is roaring. + + "'Hush, my darling, and listen; + Then pay for the story with kisses; + Father was lost in a pitch-black night, + In just such a storm as this is! + + "'High up on the lonely mountains, + Where the wild men watched and waited; + Wolves in the forest and bears in the bush, + And I on my path belated. + + "'The rain and the night came together + Came down, and the wind came after, + Bending the props of the pine-tree roof, + And snapping many a rafter. + + "'I crept along in the darkness, + Stunned and bruised and blinded, + Crept to a fir with thick set boughs, + And a sheltering rock behind it. + + "'There, from the blowing and raining, + Crouching, I sought to hide me; + Something rustled, two green eyes shone, + And a wolf lay down beside me. + + "'Little one, be not frightened; + I and the wolf together, + Side by side, through the long, long night, + Hid from the awful weather. + + "'His wet fur pressed against me; + Each of us warmed the other; + Each of us felt in the stormy dark, + That man and beast was brother. + + "'And when the falling forest + No longer crashed in warning, + Each of us went from our hiding place + Forth in the wild, wet morning. + + "'Now, darling, kiss me in payment, + And hark! how the wind is roaring; + Surely home is a better place, + When the stormy rain is pouring!'" + +The Fox, as you know, is found in most parts of England, and in many other +countries. He is a sly, clever hunter, living by day in the hole which +he hollows out for himself, and prowling about at night, stealing from +hen-roosts, or pouncing upon some unwary hare or rabbit. The Jackal, which +is perhaps more like a wolf than a fox, and lives in Africa and parts of +Asia, is also a great devourer of game and poultry. + +[Illustration: A FOX TAKING TO THE WATER.] + +The Arctic-fox, which is found in the far north, is grey during the summer, +but turns white as snow in winter, and its coat then becomes so thick as to +cover even the soles of its feet. It is interesting to notice that those +creatures whose home is in the far north are clad in grey or white, for +animals which are hunted either as prey or for the sake of their fur, often +take the colour of the ground, whether it be covered with snow, as in the +Arctic regions, or brake and heather, as upon the moors and furzy coverts +where our own hares and foxes hide. + +Now we come to the bears, which are found all the world over except in +Africa. The Brown bear, which is a peaceable creature, feeding on honey or +fruits, is still met with in the Alps and Pyrenees, as well as in the north +of Europe, but it has not lived in England since before the Conquest, at a +time when wolves were quite common with us; especially in Wales. + +The Grizzly bear is a very different animal; its home is in North America, +and it will hunt down a man with such determination that it is very much +dreaded by the fur-hunters. The white or Polar bear belongs entirely to +the Arctic regions, so that I have often wondered that the great creature +which looks so innocent as it dives for the bread which is thrown to it by +visitors at the Gardens, or plays with its ball in the water, does not die +during our hot summer months. I have heard that the reason why the soles +of its feet are so hairy is because in its northern home it is constantly +travelling over icefields, sometimes climbing the lofty bergs--and the +long hair prevents it from slipping. If so, this is but one more instance +showing how perfectly the animals are fitted for the life which they live +in their natural state. + +And now we must pass from this group to another great Division of the +Mammalia--the Herbivorous animals, which live, not on the flesh of birds or +beasts, which they hunt for themselves, but upon grass and green things. + +In the first class the Gnawing creatures are placed; you can always know +them by their teeth. Perhaps you remember how different the front teeth of +a rabbit are from those long, sharp ones which pussy shows now and then +when she yawns. By constantly gnawing their food, the teeth of squirrels, +hares, rats, mice, dormice, and all animals called Rodents, or Gnawers, +would soon be worn away, but that, unlike our teeth, they never cease +growing while the creature lives. The most interesting of these creatures +is the Beaver, with its webbed hind feet and broad tail. I hope you will +some day read about the mud-built houses, and the clever dams which beavers +make across the rivers. Mr. Wood says that when they have been tamed they +will still go on building dams across one corner of the room in which they +are, and collecting boots, brushes, books, all sorts of things, and putting +them together industriously; for they still have in captivity the same +instinct which teaches them to dam the stream where they build, so that +the entrance to their houses may always be below the surface, and never be +barred by the ice, during frost. + +The teeth of horses are differently formed from those of the gnawing +animals: at the back they are massive, and act like grindstones, crushing +the grain which they eat. The Horse-family includes the patient Ass, and +the beautifully marked Zebra of South Africa. I need not tell you that all +these animals have only one toe, with that hard and strong toe-nail which +is called the hoof. + +The Ruminants, or animals that chew the cud, are cows, sheep, and goats, +deer, giraffes, and camels. + +You have often noticed a Cow when lying down in the field, going on eating, +although she seems to have no food before her. This is because she has +already eaten plenty of grass, very fast, and now that she is resting, she +brings what she has, as it were, laid up in store, back into her mouth, and +chews it over again. + +I think there are no animals so often mentioned in the Bible as oxen, +sheep, and lambs, goats and kids; and they are the only creatures, except +the turtle dove and the pigeon, which were offered as sacrifices, from the +time when Eve's second son brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of +the fat thereof, "and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering." + +All creatures that chew the cud have two toes, or are what is called +cloven-footed. The Camel, whose home is in the dry and thirsty desert, has +the power of storing up water, and bringing it back into its mouth for +several days after it has drunk it. This enables it to make long journeys, +without needing a brook by the way. Its feet, too, are just fitted for +the sandy wastes which it has to tread. The one-humped camel is found in +Africa, and the two-humped, or Bactrian camel, in Asia. The Llama of South +America is like the camel in some respects, but, as you know, is very much +smaller; I knew one which had a disagreeable habit of spitting at those who +came to call upon him, and I have read or others doing the same. We read +of Abraham having camels, and of John the Baptist wearing clothes made of +camel's hair, and that King Solomon had deer. + +The beautiful Giraffe, found only in South Africa, is like the camel in +some respects, and the deer in others. That long neck which it arches so +gracefully when you offer it a bun, enables it in its forest-home to feed +upon the leaves of trees; so you see it is for use, not only for beauty. + +There could hardly be a greater contrast to the giraffe than the Elephant, +with its short neck and large body; but what the giraffe can do with its +long neck, that, and a great deal more, the elephant can do with the +wonderful trunk which is his nose, his hand, his trumpet, and we might +almost say his mouth, as he could neither reach his food nor drink except +by its help, his neck being so short. + +There are only two kinds of elephants, the Asiatic and the African, the +latter having very large ears, and the former only being tamed; the African +elephant is hunted merely for the sake of its ivory tusks. + +In a delightful story book, called _Friends in Fur and Feathers_, we had +all read a very interesting account of a young elephant called Kornegalle +Jack, which became exceedingly attached to his master. I wonder whether +you know it? If you do not, perhaps you might have the book for your next +birthday present, and read a great deal about elephants, as well as other +animals, whose names only we have time, to mention now. + +But you will say, perhaps, that we have forgotten one kind of animal, for +we have not said a word about Pigs. Well, Piggie has not been forgotten; +but it seems difficult for him to find just his own place among the classes +of Mammalia, for he is like several of the quadrupeds in some particular, +but unlike any one of them altogether. You cannot put him with the +Ruminants, and yet he has cloven feet; he has the same number of teeth as +the horse, and his snout is rather like, in a small way, the trunk of the +elephant; then, in his wild state, he might almost be reckoned among the +beasts of prey, for the wild Boar, with its terrible tusks, is a most +formidable creature to encounter. + +Of all the families of the Mammalia, that of Rats and Mice is the most +numerous. There are two kinds of rats, the black and the brown. I do not +know to which kind Willie's "Ratto" belongs, but I have heard many stories +of his clever tricksy ways, and of how well he knew his name, and obeyed +his master. + +A rat, however clever, is not an animal which I should care to pet and +tame; but I know a very interesting story of one which seemed to be the +means of taming a poor man who was so wild and miserable that he cared for +nobody. This man had been transported for life, for some of his wicked +deeds, and he was so savage that even the companions who worked with him +were afraid of him, and hardly dared speak to him. + +Once, as he was at work in the woods near Port Philip, felling trees, with +a heavy chain around him lest he should escape, a rat, chased by some +boys, ran towards him, and nestled inside his shirt. There the frightened +creature lay, in its place of refuge, close to that hard heart which cared +for no fellow-man; and as the poor lonely convict felt its fluttering, a +strange feeling came over him towards the trembling thing which had thus +trusted him. He asked leave to keep it as a pet, and from that time the rat +followed its protector everywhere, faithful and loving as a dog; and from +caring for his little rescued friend, the man who had been so savage and +hard, became more gentle, and no longer needed to be chained, and kept +almost as if he had been a wild beast. There is a sad ending to this story, +for at last the rat was killed by a bough falling upon it, and its death +caused such grief to its master that he never spoke again; but I do not +know his history to the very end, and I hope that even through seeing the +gratitude and faithfulness of one of the creatures whom God had made, he +may have learnt that the God against whom he had so hardened himself was +ready to forgive and to receive him, for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, +who came "to seek and to save that which was lost." + +We must not forget the Toothless animals, of which the Ant-eater is the +best known. They live upon insects, chiefly white ants, which they catch by +tearing open their houses with their strong claws, and then rolling their +long tongues among them. The tongue of the ant-eater is covered with a kind +of gum, to which the ants stick, and when there is room for not one more, +the living mouthful is swallowed. + +Perhaps your cousins in Australia sometimes tell you about the great +Kangaroo, or "Old man," as they call him in that part of the world. By +means of his very long and powerful hind legs, and strong tail, he can leap +great distances, so rapidly as to outstrip a greyhound. There are many +species of kangaroos, but they are all much alike, and belong to the order +of Pouched animals; so called because instead of rearing her young in a +nest which she has made for them, the mother carries them in a bag. The +little creatures at their birth are more helpless than most young animals, +and this pouch is their home for some time, and their refuge in danger, +even after they have grown beyond the need of her constant care. + +Australia has no animals like those of other parts of the world, except +the dog and the bat; but only one of these pouched animals--the Opossum of +America--is not found there. This creature is very like a monkey, and the +one best known in the southern states of America is about the size of a +cat, and very mischievous--as it sleeps during the day and prowls about at +night, in search of birds, eggs, and fruit. It has the power, which some +animals possess, of pretending to be dead, when in danger of being caught; +and thus it often escapes. + +Seals and Whales must also be classed among the Mammalia, although they are +especially formed to live in the water. + +Whales, though so much like fishes that they used to be classed with them, +have warm blood and do not breathe through gills; so they have to come +to the surface of the water every now and then, in order to get air. +By-and-by, when you read more, you will understand how it is that the +whale, though it breathes as you do, is able to stay under water as long as +half an hour at a time. + +Now, at the end of this long chapter about the Mammalia, let us see what we +have been noticing about them. + +They are put first in the Vertebrate Group, though we have spoken of the +birds and fishes before them, because they were made on the Fifth Day. + +They are generally--for we must not forget the whale--covered with hair or +fur, and they feed their young with milk. First of the classes into which +the Mammalia are divided, we place the Four-handed creatures--apes and +monkeys. + +Second, the Hand-winged; the bats. + +Third, the Flesh-eaters; many of them beasts of prey of the Cat-kind and of +the Dog-kind. + +Fourth, the Herbivora; animals which feed upon grasses. + +Fifth, the Horse-tribe. + +Sixth, the Ruminants; animals which chew the cud. + +Seventh, Elephants. + +Eighth, the Pig-kind, including the Hippopotamus which is believed to be +the creature called Behemoth. + +Ninth, the Pouched animals. + +Tenth, Seals, including the Walrus. + +Eleventh, the Whale-tribe. + +In saying "good-bye for the present" to this wide field of interest, shall +we make up our minds to observe for our own selves the animals which we see +every day, and to notice particularly how beautifully they are formed so as +to live in the way which is, as we say, suited to their nature; and also to +read some of the many interesting books on Natural History, where we shall +find pictures of the different "orders" of animals, and learn all sorts of +curious things about their habits? + +God does not tell us what we do not need to know, just how he fed the +beasts of prey, and all the flesh-eating creatures which, in their present +state, live upon birds or animals which they catch alive; but God does not +say either that there was any death in the Garden of Eden, or that the +creatures which He had just made, each "after its kind," and all "very +good," preyed upon those weaker and smaller than themselves. It has been +found that it is possible _now_ for those beasts whose claws are fitted for +catching their prey--and their long sharp teeth for tearing to pieces what +they have caught--to live upon green things; and we know from the chapter +we have been reading together that God at the first gave them "every green +herb for meat." + +Perhaps some of us have already read this beautiful poem in _Scattered +Seed_, but I will copy it for others who may not know it. + + "GOD IS LOVE. + + "All the earth, about us, + All the world above, + Tell the old sweet story, + Whisper, 'God is Love.' + Every wayside blossom + Lifts its little voice, + Every bright-eyed daisy + Bids our heart rejoice. + + "Surging, seething torrent, + Bubbling, sparkling spring, + Hum of insect nature, + Birds upon the wing, + Evening's flush of beauty, + Morning's streaks of light, + Noonday's radiant glory, + All in praise unite. + + "See His kind provision + Waving in the grain, + Shining in the sunbeams, + Falling in the rain; + Parching days of summer, + Cool the dewy fall, + Hoary frost of winter, + Sheltering snow o'er all. + + "Swift o'er trackless region + Runs the lurid flash, + Sounds from hill to moorland, + Deep resounding crash, + Towering peak and cranny, + Eagles' dizzy height, + Dignity and splendour, + All reveal His might. + + "Nature's varied voices + Chant the sweet refrain, + Echo o'er the mountain, + Linger on the plain, + Thunder in the ocean, + Whisper in the shell, + Murmur in the breezes, + Sighing in the dell. + + "Shall our lips be silent? + Shall our lives be still? + Tune our hearts, O Father, + To perform Thy will; + Fill our souls with rapture, + Fill our hearts with praise, + Give us grace to follow + Gladly all our days." + +M. A. E. + + + + +THE SIXTH DAY + +THE CROWN OF GOD'S CREATION. + + +"_The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given +me life._"--JOB xxxiii. 4. + +"_In Him we live, and move, and have our being ... for we are also His +offspring._"--ACTS xvii. 28. + +"_I will praise Thee: for I am fearfully and wonderfully made._"--PSALM +cxxxix. 14. + +"_Ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body._"--1 COR. +vi. 20. + + +Before we speak of the last work of God upon the last of those wonderful +days of which we are told in the first chapter of the Bible, let us read +the verses about it, from the twenty-sixth to the end of that chapter, and +to the tenth verse of the next. And then let us read the eighth Psalm, +unless indeed you can repeat it, as my little scholars once could--and I +hope they have not forgotten it now. + +I think the first thing we noticed as we read was, that after the verses +which speak of the beasts and creeping things which God made on the SIXTH +DAY, there is, as it were, a close to the history, and then a fresh +beginning. + +We read, "And God saw that it was good." There is a full stop there; and +again we read--now for the eighth time--the three words, "And God said." + +But this is not all; a very wonderful expression, which had not been used +in connection with any part of the work of God, is employed to tell us of +the creation of the man who was placed by God as the head of all that He +had made, the one to whom He gave dominion, after He had made the earth, +and brought it all into order. + +God had said, "Let the waters bring forth.... Let the earth bring forth" +living creatures. "And God made the beast of the earth"; but before man was +created He said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." + +Of no other creature could it be said that he was made in the likeness of +God, and of no other do we read that he was "formed" by God "of the dust of +the ground," and that the Lord God "breathed into his nostrils the breath +of life"; then, and not till then, did man become a "living soul." The body +was made of earth, but the soul came immediately from God. + +The more we learn about our own body, that wonderful and beautiful house in +which we live, the more we shall see, in what God thus formed from the dust +of the ground, to call forth our admiration; but the body of the first man, +although fashioned with such perfection in all its parts, did not _live_ +until God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. + +Let us never forget how great a difference God has put between man, about +whose creation He took thought, and who was made in His image, to whom +He has given speech, reason, and a deathless soul, and all the creatures +concerning which we read none of these things. + +And now let us learn just a very little about the way in which God has +formed what His word speaks of as our "house" or "tent"--the dwelling-place +of the soul and spirit. + +It would be strange indeed if we did not care to know something about our +own home; but our body is not only the house in which we live, it is also +the means, through those five senses--the eye, the ear, and the organs of +touch, taste, and smell--which have been so well called "the five gateways +of knowledge," by which we learn all that can be known by us of the world +outside us. + +More than this, it is the wonderfully perfect instrument, and implicitly +obedient servant, by which all that we do is performed. + +But the science that teaches us all that is known about our bodies is a +very difficult study, and there are many hard names to master, even at +the very outset. For instance, when we speak of the bony framework--that +skeleton which, as you know, belongs to us in common with the vertebrate +animals--there is a great deal which you would find very difficult to +remember. + +Still, as I daresay you have found out, the more we learn, even of +difficult sciences, the more we _can_ learn, and little May (though, to +be sure, she is now four years older than she was when you first made her +acquaintance) _has_ learnt a good many of the hard words. She could show +you upon her own round arm, just where the bone which reaches from the +shoulder to the elbow begins and ends, and tell you its name, and the +names of the two bones which reach from the elbow to the wrist, and of the +wrist-bones, and of those which you can feel in the palm of your hand, and +the finger-bones. + +But when you hear that you have more than two hundred bones in your body, +you will be inclined to agree with me that it would take both of us some +time to learn even their names, much more to know all about them. + +The spine consists of twenty-four short bones, each with a little ring. +These vertebras are piled up one upon the other; for God has made our +bodies upright; our faces, are lifted upwards, and our eyes look straight +before us. These twenty-four little bones are closely and strongly bound +together, and between each one and its neighbour there is something so soft +and elastic that we can bend our heads, or move in any direction, without +the slightest strain or jar. + +The head is most wonderfully built up, like an arch, of several bones +beautifully joined in a very strong and perfect way which carpenters call +"dove-tailing." We can understand why the head, which is so much exposed, +and is almost entirely occupied by the brain, should be so carefully +protected; for thought, memory, will, and what we can best express as +"consciousness of our being," all depend upon it. + +Passing from head to foot, we find that our feet, which are not large, yet +must bear the weight of the body, are also made upon the arch-principle, +which has been found, like the hollow bones of the bird's wing, to combine +lightness and strength. The twenty-six bones are so fitted together that +this wonderful arch is quite elastic, as you can prove by moving your own +foot up and down. + +The joints, where two bones which are to play upon each other come in +contact, as they do at the elbow or shoulder, are made in different ways. +The elbow only moves to and fro like a hinge; the hip and shoulder, like +a "ball and socket," move every way. You do not need to be told that each +kind of joint is found just where it is needed for the work it has to do; +for there is no mistaking or misplacing in God's workmanship, as there so +often is in the very best of _ours_. + +I cannot at present tell you anything about the muscles, except that it is +by their means that we move arms, legs, head, eyes--every part of the body, +for bones cannot move of themselves, but are acted on by the muscles. + +Nor can we learn much about the nerves, because the subject is very +difficult to understand. They come from the brain in the head, and from +that part of it which runs all down the backbone, through the little bony +rings of the vertebrę; and they are protected, because they are so very +delicate, and so precious to us, by a strong bony sheath. At first these +nerves are like coarse twine, but they divide and divide until they become +as fine as threads of white silk--almost as fine as the stronger part of a +spider's web--and they go all over the body, reaching to the very tips of +the fingers. + +The first pair of nerves goes to the nose, for smell; the second to the +eye, for sight; and so on for hearing and taste. These are the nerves +called "sensory," which carry to the brain sensations from outside the +body. The "motor" nerves are those which take orders from the brain, to be +instantly obeyed by the muscles. + +In the hand, which has twenty-seven bones--one more than the foot--and is +a more wonderful "tool" than any which God has given to the lower animals, +wonderful as _their_ tools are, the sense of touch is stronger than in any +other part of the body. + +Suppose you put your fingers upon something very hot or very cold. "Quick +as thought," as we say, you draw them away again. But before you did so, +what had happened? + +The nerves at the tip of your finger had sent a telegram straight home to +the brain, "Too hot!" or "Too cold!" and the brain had telegraphed back to +the fingers, "Keep out of the way of it!" whatever the hot or cold thing +may have been. + +To think, even for a moment, of these lightning messages running backwards +and forwards, to and from the brain, gives us some little idea how very +wonderful the brain itself must be, and also how God has made one part of +the body to depend upon another. + +Apart from the brain, the ear would be conscious of no sound, whether the +soft wash of the waves along the shore, or the mighty roll of the thunder +through the sky. On the other hand, none of these voices could reach the +brain if God had not "planted the ear," and formed it so perfectly to +receive the waves of sound which, striking upon its delicate little "drum," +cause it to vibrate, and so are passed on by the nerve which takes messages +to the brain. For it is the brain which takes charge of every "impression" +conveyed to it by eye, ear, hand, nose, or palate; but _how_ these +impressions conveyed to the brain give rise to what we call "thoughts" and +"ideas"--this is one of the secret things which belong to God, and of which +He has not allowed the wisest man to say, "Oh yes, I understand all about +it!" + +And there is another secret thing which cannot be explained. The heart has +been called "the fountain of life," because by it the blood, which is the +life of the body, is kept in continual motion, and sent to every part. How +little we think of it! But whether we are waking or sleeping, at work or at +rest, this busy fountain still goes on playing. We may hear the throb of +it, as it strikes against the chest, in its ceaseless working; and we may +count these regular "beats," and find that there are about seventy-five +of them every minute. It has been calculated that during an ordinarily +long life there are three thousand millions of beats without a break. But +what has set this fountain at work? and what keeps it going night and day +without any thought or care of ours, all our life long? Of all this it can +only be said, "We do not know; we cannot find out. God in His wisdom has so +ordered it." + +Many years ago a doctor, who had observed very carefully, and thought much +about what he observed, found out that every time the heart beats, the +blood rushes from it into a great curved tube called an artery, and so +passes through tubes which, like the nerves, are constantly becoming finer +and finer, to every part of the body. + +He also discovered that the blood takes its journey back again to the heart +by a different road: it does not return through these tubes, but through +softer ones, called veins. Thus far he could go, and the story of the +"circulation" of the blood is very interesting; but the _cause_ of the +heart's perpetual motion, and the blood's continuous flow, this he could +not discover. + +Is it not wonderful to think that this rapid motion of the fountain within +us goes on so noiselessly that even a baby whose little heart has only just +begun to beat, is not disturbed by it, as he sleeps in his cradle? + +To all the "higher animals" God has given both heart and brain. He has +also given them, in more or less degree, that mysterious sense of which we +have spoken before, and of which we have had so many proofs; a sense which +is not at all dependent upon reason or intellect, but is found in a less +degree in men than in animals to which reason has not been given. + +We have before noticed that by instinct and memory all the wants of the +brute creation are met; God has given them all that they need to teach them +to live, each in its own life, after its kind, and to provide for their +young ones; but He has not given to the "beasts that perish" the power of, +as we sometimes say, "putting this and that together," nor, as far as we +know, of learning by experience; although it does seem as if the spiders, +in making their webs, improve by practice. + +Instinct teaches every living thing to get its own food, choosing that +which is suited to itself, and rejecting that which is not. It teaches the +bird or the insect to seek out a fit place in which to deposit its eggs, or +to make a nest or "homie" for them, even before they are laid; and it can +teach even such a free creature as a bird to leave for a time its airy +life, and to sit patiently upon its eggs, even carefully turning them, as +if it knew that the life of the unfledged nursling within the shell-wall +depended upon its being kept warm. + +Instinct leads the butterfly, as we have seen, to lay its eggs upon the +leaf of the very tree upon which the caterpillar, when hatched, will +feed--though its own food has been taken from flowers. + +Instinct guides the swallow in its flight, as it leaves us in the autumn +for the shores of Africa; and the redwing on its way from its summer home +in the far North to winter in our warmer country--each arriving in its +appointed season. + +[Illustration: THE SWALLOW.] + +And so, as we study the habits of birds and beasts, we see how instinct +everywhere guides and directs them; but what this sense _is_ we cannot +tell. It has been well remarked, that all that can rightly be said of it +is, that it is "a guide which God, in His care for His creatures, has given +them, and caused them to obey." + +We also noticed in reading these verses that until man was formed, there +was no lord over the Creation, but that to Adam God gave dominion over all; +nothing was expected, and he was owned as head, God Himself bringing the +creatures to him that they might receive their names from him, though Adam +himself was still under God, and every benefit with which the Creator +loaded him, only left him so much more bound to own His right over him. + +As God has made us for Himself, He has given to every man, even the rudest +savage, something within him which reminds him of One to whom he of right +belongs; however far he may have got away from Him, or may have tried to +satisfy his conscience--that "eye of the soul"--by seeking to please some +idol-god which he has made for himself. + +God has also given proof of His "eternal power and Godhead" by "the things +that are made"--His glorious works in Creation. + +Listen to what a Red chief, far away in North America, said to a missionary +the other day:-- + +"I have long lost faith"--this was his confession--"in the old paganism. +They know I have not cared for the old religion. I have neglected it. And I +will tell you, missionary, why I have not believed in our old paganism for +a long time. + +[Illustration: NORTH-AMERICAN INDIANS.] + +"I hear God in the thunder, in the tempest, and in the storm; I see His +power in the lightning that shivers the trees into kindling-wood; I see His +goodness in giving us the moose, the reindeer, the beaver, and the bear; +I see His loving-kindness in giving us, when the south winds blow, the +ducks and geese; and when the snow and ice melt away, and our lakes and +rivers are open again, I see how He fills them with fish. I have watched +these things for years, and I see how every moon of the year He gives us +something; and He has so arranged it that, if we are only industrious and +careful, we can always have something to eat. + +"So, thinking about these things which I had observed, I made up my +mind years ago that this Great Spirit--so kind and so watchful and so +loving--did not care for the beating of the conqueror's drum, or the +shaking of the rattle of the medicine man. So for years I have had no +religion. + +"Missionary, what you have said to-day fills my heart, and satisfies my +longings. It is just what I have been expecting to hear about the Great +Spirit. I am glad you have come with this wonderful story; stay as long as +you can." [Footnote: From _By Canoe and Dog-Train_, p. 119.] + +Nothing more than the fact that man was made, not like even an angel or +an archangel, but in the image of God, is needed to show how far beyond +and above every creature he was; and, as no creature owed so much to the +Creator, none was responsible to Him in the same way. No one had any right +over him except the One who had made him for Himself, his Creator, without +whom he would not have been. + +"The ox knoweth its owner, and the ass his master's crib." (Isa. i. 3.) + +God has made the animals faithful and affectionate, and there are many true +and touching stories of the way in which they have attached themselves to +those who have cared for them. A dog will devote itself to its own master, +and even give its life for him; but no mere animal has that within him +which can have to say to God and be in relationship with Him. And how sad +it is to think that the only creature of God who could know Him is the one +who has turned away from Him and listened to the spoiler! + +At the beginning God could say of all Creation "_very good_"; though +there is a wonderful beauty still--beauty everywhere if we have eyes to +see it--He cannot say "_very good_" where decay, pain, sorrow, death are +all around; where we grow weak and old, and even while we are young and +strong, the most pleasant things tire us; where hatred and envy, shame and +fear--all the sad feelings brought by sin--exist in the heart of the last +and best of His creatures, to whom His voice and His presence once brought +only joy. "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin." And +who can say how terrible has been the change thus wrought? + +Sad indeed is the wreck which Satan has made of God's fair Creation, but +a sadder wreck still is the man whom He made upright; and yet the day is +surely coming when round and round the throne of "Him that liveth for ever +and ever" shall echo and re-echo the words, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to +receive glory and honour and power; for Thou hast created all things, and +for Thy pleasure they are and were created." + +God does not mend things, but replaces what has been spoilt or marred +by something far better. Even the poor earth, so ruined by sin and its +consequences, He will not mend; but He will make "new heavens and a new +earth" (never more to bear the marks of the spoiler's hand) "wherein +dwelleth righteousness." + +But before the new heavens and new earth are created, a great deal will +take place upon this earth of which we have been speaking. The Jews, now +scattered in every land, will pass through much trouble, the lost tribes +will be found and restored, and the Lord will put down all His enemies, and +"reign in righteousness" as King over His once again united people Israel. +There will be a thousand years of wonderful peace, and Jerusalem will be +the centre of earthly blessing; for He says of it, "The name of the city +from that day shall be 'Jehovah Shammah' (the Lord is there)" (Ezek. +xlviii. 35); and again, "They shall call thee 'the city of the Lord'"; and +"Thou shalt call thy walls 'Salvation,' and thy gates 'Praise'" (Isa. lx. +14-18). + +Those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour now, will be with Him +when He thus reigns over the earth, for they will be caught up to be with +Him for ever, before the time of trouble (followed by earthly blessing) +begins. In those thousand years of peace even the animals which have so +long suffered through man's sin and oppression will share in the rest of +that happy time, and God's ancient people Israel, once more dwelling safely +in their own land, will sing many of the Psalms in His Word for joy and +happiness. + +The following hymn speaks of that good time which is surely coming:-- + + "Hail to the Lord's Anointed, + Great David's greater Son! + Hail, in the time appointed, + His reign on earth begun! + He comes to break oppression, + To set the captive free, + To take away transgression, + And rule in equity. + + "He shall come down like showers + Upon the fruitful earth, + And love, joy, hope, like flowers, + Spring in His path to birth; + Before Him on the mountains, + Shall peace the herald, go, + And righteousness in fountains + From hill to valley flow. + + "Kings shall fall down before Him, + And gold and incense bring; + All nations shall adore Him, + His praise all people sing; + For He shall have dominion + O'er river, sea, and shore, + Far as the eagle's pinion + Or dove's light wing can soar. + + "O'er every foe victorious. + He on His throne shall rest; + From age to age more glorious, + All blessing and all-blest; + The tide of time shall never + His covenant remove; + His name shall stand for ever, + That name to us is Love." + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, TWILIGHT AND DAWN *** + +This file should be named 8156-8.txt or 8156-8.zip + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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