Slike strani
PDF
ePub

so high that it was impossible to see over them. So no one but my dismayed father could imagine what the disturbance was; he, poor man, knew but too well. However, he could do nothing but sit still and wait for the result. On the little fellow came, till he found his master's pew, and as the door happened to be open, he walked in, and lay down quietly at my father's feet, feeling perfectly satisfied.

And after that he would disappear every Sunday morning, so that it was, of course, impossible to confine him. But he always went to church. Sometimes my father would find the fawn in quiet possession of his pew when he himself arrived. The sexton, one Sunday, not approving of the performance, tried to put the little creature out. But the fawn made such a fuss, and jumped about so much, and the bel! tinkled so loudly, that he was obliged to give up the attempt. From that time forward he became a most devoted church-goer, and it was an understood thing that the. fawn belonged to that church Although I am afraid he took many naps during the service and sermon, in all other respects he behaved as well as any gentleman in the congregation.E. Johnson.

BE TEMPERATE

To have a sound mind in a sound body one must be moderate in all things. Moderation is a necessity if one wishes for good health.

Meat, both fat and lean, should be eaten more frequently in cold weather than in hot, but it should not be altogether given up in hot weather unless by the advice of your physician. The body requires plenty of sustenance to overcome the demands of the heated term upon the system. The character of the food rather than the quantity should be watched.

Above all things do not indulge in stimulating drinks in hot weather. Beer, wine and spirits should be rigidly tabooed. Alcohol is far too heating and stimulating to be safely used in hot weather. Sunstroke and other ills due to great heat find many more victims among persons who indulge in drinks containing alcohol than among water drinkers.

The benefit derived from food depends very much upon the condition of the body while eating. If taken when one is moody or cross, digestion is much less perfect and much slower than when taken with a cheerful disposition and amid cheerful surroundings.

The young man who fancies that he needs stimulants to do his work should go to his doctor before taking the stimulants. If he really needs the stimulant he needs the attention of the physician. The young man who forgets moderation. is inviting disease, premature decay, and impaired vigor at the very period of his life when he should be at his best in body and mind, and doing his best work. for himself and for humanity.

Nature's law is temperance. You cannot go amiss if you follow nature's guidance.-From " The New Century Home Book.”

THE MILLER OF THE DEE

There dwelt a miller hale and bold

Beside the river Dee;

He worked and sang from morn till night,
No lark more blithe than he.
And this the burden of his song
Forever used to be:

"I envy nobody, no, not I,

And nobody envies me!"

"Thou'rt wrong, my friend," said old King Hal,
"Thou'rt wrong as wrong can be;

For could my heart be light as thine,
I'd gladly change with thee.

And tell me, now, what makes thee sing
With voice so loud and free,

While I am sad, though I am king,
Beside the river Dee?"

The miller smiled, and doffed his cap.
"I earn my bread," quoth he;
"I love my wife, I love my friend,
I love my children three;

I owe no penny I cannot pay;

I thank the river Dee,

That turns the mill and grinds the corn
To feed my babes and me."

"Good friend," said Hal, and sighed the while,
"Farewell, and happy be;

But say no more, if thou'dst be true,

That no man envies thee:

Thy mealy cap is worth my crown,

Thy mill my kingdom's fee;

Such men as thou are England's boast,

O miller of the Dee!"-Charles Mackay.

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than ostentation; to be worthy, not fashionable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, to do all bravely, to await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual grow up through the common. This is my symphony."-William H. Channing.

"THY TIME OF ROSES"

In the deep hollow, in the heart of a forest, grew a bed of moss. It was thick and soft as a velvet carpet, and its structure was more wonderful and curious than that of the finest carpet ever woven by the hand of man. But the traveler never stooped to see the miracles of beauty hidden in it, but hurried on to the sunshine and bloom beyond. And the moss sighed: "Ah, for the beauty of the grove, and the rosy glow of flowers! The foot tramples me, but the eye regards me not!"

[graphic]

66

IN MARY'S ARMS

[ocr errors]

One evening, just as the last rays of golden sunset lighted up the tree-tops, a pale and weary man came slowly through the forest. It was Jesus returning from the wilderness after his forty days of fasting and temptation. His feet were blistered with wandering over the burning sand, and were torn and bleeding from the briars of the wood. When he came upon the bed of moss, and felt its soft coolness upon his wounded feet, he paused, and spake a blessing on this gift of his Father's hand. "Little plant," he said, "fret not because thou art unheeded by the careless eye. Bear thy lot with patience. Thou hast done good to me, and the Father will remember thee." Scarcely had the words passed his lips, when out of the bosom of the moss budded a lovely rose. Its hue was like the glow in the western sky after the sun had set, and the veil of tender moss, which half concealed, also increased its beauty. "Moss rose," said the Saviour, "spread thou into all lands, and become to men the sweetest emblem of humility!" The despised moss had softened the Redeemer's earthly pain-had kissed his sore and wounded feet. It was for this it had such sweet reward. O, poor and lowly one! keep thy heart soft and tender; be like the moss when trodden on. Then, be sure, the time of thy roses is at hand.-Paxton Hood.

The world should be so happy because God came to men

Jesus, the Lord, in Mary's arms:

O, may he come again

And make his home in every heart.

Come quickly, Lord! Amen!

[graphic][merged small][merged small]

GLADNESS

Scarcely had Hester reached her own room when the voices of children came shouting along some corridor, on their way to find their breakfast; she must go and minister, postponing meditation on the large and distant for action in the small and present. But the sight of the exuberance, the foaming overflow of life and gladness in Saffy, and of the quieter, deeper joy of Mark, were an immediate reward. They could scarcely be prevented from bolting their breakfast like puppies, in their eagerness to rush into the new creation, the garden of Eden around them. But Hester thought of the river flowing turbid and swift at the foot of the lawn; she must not let them go loose! She told them they must not go without her. Their faces fell, and even Mark began a gentle expostulation.

"No, Mark," said Hester, "I cannot let you go alone. kittens, and might be in mischief or danger before you knew. you waiting. I will get my parasol at once."

You are like two
But I won't keep

I will attempt no description of the beauties that met them at every turn. But the joy of those three may well have a word or two. I doubt if some of the children in heaven are always happier than Saffy and Mark were that day. Hester had thoughts which kept her from being so happy as they, but she was more blessed. Glorious as is the child's delight, the child-heart in the grown. woman is capable of tenfold the bliss. Saffy pounced on a flower like a wild beast on its prey; she never stood and gazed at one, like Mark.

Mark was in many things an exception-a curious mixture of child and youth. He had never been strong, and had always been thoughtful. When very small he used to have a sacred rite of his own-I would not have called it a rite but that he made a temple for it. Many children like to play at church, but I doubt if that be good; Mark's rite was neither play nor church. He would set two chairs in the recess of a window-" one for Mark and one for God"—then draw the window-curtains around, and sit in silence for a space.

When a little child sets a chair for God, does God take the chair or does he not? God is the God of little children, and is at home with them.

For Saffy, she was a thing of smiles and tears just as they chose to come. Before their ramble was over, what with the sweet twilight gladness of Mark, the merry noonday brightness of Saffy, and the loveliness all around, the heart of Hester was quiet and hopeful as a still mere that waits in the blue night the rising of the moon. She had some things to trouble her, but none of them had touched the quick of her being. Thoughtful, therefore, in a measure troubled by nature, she did not know what heart-sickness was. Nor would she

ever know it as many must, for her heart went up to the Heart of her heart, and there unconsciously laid up store against the evil hours that might be on their way to her. And this day her thoughts kept rising to Him whose thought was the meaning of all she saw, the centre and citadel of their loveliness.—George McDonald in "Weighed and Wanting."

« PrejšnjaNaprej »