131





THE
UNIVERSITY
OF CHICAGO
LIBRARY














HARAN
HARAN, THE HERMITS
OR,
THE WONDERFUL LAMP.
Y BY
REV. J. HYATT SMITH.

BUFFALO:
BREED, BUTLER & CO.,
NEW YORK: PHINNEY, BLAKEMAN & MASON.
1860.


PS2869
QH3
leho
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860,
By F. W. BREED,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court, for the Northern
District of New York.
Στη
C. E. FELTON, STEREOTYPER.
J. M. JOHNSON,....PRINTER AND BINDER.
2142 B
Anu .Auth,


45427
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION,
.
CHAPTER I. Haran, the Hermit — Willy Wildman-
Ishmael; his conversion, and death,
CHAPTER II. An Angel visits the Hermit — The gift of
the Wonderful Lamp,
21
.
.
CHAPTER III. Second visit of the angel - Haran
warned against a thief, by the name of Doubt, . 34
CHAPTER IV. Haran makes his farewell visit among
the mountains, lakes, and streams—The untimely
nap, and the loss of “Faith," the Wonderful
Lamp,
44
CHAPTER V. The Hermit leaves the woods
-
The bird
called “Moses,"
58
CHAPTER VI. Haran makes a great discovery – He
tells the story of his life,
65


Tv
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VII. The Hermit visits the city — The scene
in the death-chamber of a child - Visit to the
prison, and the almshouse,
76
.
CHAPTER VIII. Haran returns to his new home - His
love for little Stanley and Seymour, two father-
less boys,
85
CHAPTER IX. Haran's dream -
· Another visit from the
Angel - He goes through the valley,
-
95
CHAPTER X. The author's talk to his little readers,
about the story of HARAN, OR THE WONDERFUL
LAMP,
108
.


INTRODUCTION.
TO THE CHILDREN WHOM IT HAS BEEN MY PRIVILEGE TO AD-
DRESS, ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS, DURING MY MINISTRY:
.
I am trying to imagine that you are before me, as I pen
this little introductory letter.
The writer loves children. He loves to talk to them; and,
during the few years of his public life, it has been his honor
and pleasure to talk to many thousands of Sabbath School
children.
At the suggestion of a highly esteemed friend, he con-
cluded to write a little book, so that, when his own tongue
should be silent, its pages might still be speaking to his
young friends.
Then, the question rose, what to write about, and how to
write. First, he thought he would take some scripture
character, and try to work it into a familiar story; enforc-
ing, in that way, some valuable truth. But he thought
again: the Bible does its own talking best. There is the


vi
INTRODUCTION.
story of Samuel; the story of Samson; the story of Ruth;
and, above all
, the story of Joseph. For your friend to
attempt to tell those stories of the Holy Book, in any other
way, would be like a little boy, trying to improve on some
beautiful old painting. What shall the book be? Suppose
he were to make a little speech, or sermon, in the form of a
book! He did not see exactly how he could do that. A
speech on paper is
“ Without breath, or motion;
Idle as a painted ship, upon a painted ocean."
So, after a great deal of thinking, he concluded to make up a
STORY, which should enforce some noble principle, invalua-
ble to the little reader. Now, the writer knew that there was
a very curious old book, called ALADDIN; OR, THE WONDER-
FUL LAMP; and he concluded he would write about Faith:
that that should be his lamp; and so he would call the book
HARAN, THE HERMIT; OR, THE WONDERFUL LAMP. There.
fore, his mind was made up, that he would take the living
truth of Faith, and put on it a dress of fiction, which should
be attractive to those for whom it was prepared. In this
way, you know, the Pilgrim's PROGRESS is full of instruc-
tion to every body.
Second, How WILL HE WRITE? This was easily answered.
Write so that the smallest child may catch the truth of the
story, and that the one of riper years shall be interested in the


INTRODUCTION.
vii
>
allegory. Now, your friend had no hope that he could como
any where near to glorious old John Bunyan in this; but
still, he resolved that he would be like that great writer, in
one respect, and that is, in avoiding all words and sentences
not easily understood.
There was once a good preacher, who was in the habit of
using very big words. It was a single fault of this noble
man, surrounded by a thousand virtues. One time, in his
sermon, he wanted to say that a friend of his had caught
cold, and by it had grown very deaf; and this is the way he
expressed it: “Mr. A-through exposure, caught a
cold, whereby he contracted a disease in his auditorial appar-
atus, which materially affected his hearing.” The writer has
aimed to set forth the idea of holy faith, in language plain
and simple, so that each reader will say, “I know what he
I understand the figure of the oil, the wick, and
the lamp; and why Faith burned brightest, when close by
the Bible. I know what he means by the scene in the child's
death-chamber; the prisoner's cell; and the dark valley !
It is just as Bunyan talks about Christian, and other char.
acters, in the PILGRIM'S PROGRESS !”
Now, with this word of explanation, and with an earnest
prayer that each reader, old or young, may have the Won-
derful Lamp of Faith to light his footsteps along the high-
way of life, and through the valley of the shadow of death,
means.


vili
INTRODUCTION
the writer here dedicates, to all the children he has ever ad-
dressed, the story of HARAN, THE HERMIT; OR, THE WON-
DERFUL LAMP.
J. HYATT SMITH,
PASTOR OF THE ELEVENTH BAPTIST CHURCH.
PHILADELPHIA, June 1st, 1860.


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
CHAPTER I.
Far up among the high mountains, there onco
lived a man, known as HARAN, THE HERMIT. His
little lonely home was a cell, or cave, formed by
three large rocks, in the side of one of the moun-
tains. The earth floor was carpeted with leaves,
which the man had gathered; and his bed, in the
corner of the cave, was on the ground, and it
was made, also, of leaves and twigs; and the pil-
low was a piece of a log, covered with thick,
soft moss.
There was a smaller rock, inside of
this cell of rocks, which served as a table, and
on it, as on the log, was the beautiful moss
only not so deep as that on the cnrious pillow-


10
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
and it served as a bright-green table-cloth. In
his wanderings through the forest, one day, the
hermit found root, or small stump, so formed
by nature as to make a good chair; and he took
that for his seat in the cave. His little house
had no windows in it, and, even in the bright
days, he was very much troubled for light.
Neither was there any door; but, in its place,
there was, every summer, a singular curtain.
Wild vines were growing on the sides of the
great rocks, and their branches and tendrils were
so interwoven as to make a complete curtain.
So the hermit arranged this vine in such a way
that he could let it fall in front of the mouth of
the cave; and, when he chose, he could fasten it
at the side of the entrance. Haran was much
pleased with his natural door, for it was not only
green, but, in the season, it was covered with lit-
tle pink flowers, and filled all the room with the
sweet smell of the blossoms. This cell was the
home of Haran, for nearly forty years-as long
as the Jews were in the wilderness and around
this lonely dwelling, for miles, in every direction,
was one unbroken forest.
1
1


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
11
The woods were filled with all kinds of wild
animals, and every sort of bird. But Haran
thought it was wrong to take away any creat-
ure's life; and so he lived on such roots, herbs,
and nuts as are to be found in the woods — every
fall, like a squirrel, laying up a store, to last bim
until the next summer. Three times a day, the
hermit would sit down to his solitary meal,
spread upon the mossy rock, and having whispered
his words of grace, he would silently eat such
food as he had gathered. When he was thirsty,
he would step just to the entrance of the cave,
and, getting down on his knees, would drink
from å spring of water, which welled up there
among the shining sands.
I said that the hermit would say grace before
he would eat; and this leads me to speak of his
character. Haran was a good man, who loved
his Saviour. The only book he had with him was
a Bible, once belonging to his mother. This
precious volume he used to read daily, and it
came to be, that he could recite nearly the whole
of it. His greatest pleasure was to take the old


12
HARAN, TIIE HERMIT.
Bible, and bend over its sacred pages for hours
together.
I have declared that Haran, the Hermit, lived
alone most of the long time of forty years. But
it was true that, during his abode in the cave,
for two brief periods, he had company.
It was through the influence of a strange old
man, who used to be sometimes seen, when Ha-
ran was a boy, frequenting his native village, that
he himself became a hermit. This person was
known by the villagers as “Willy Wildman,"
i though no one ever knew his real name. Of
him I will tell you something more, before I am
through my story. Some years after the disap-
pearance of old Willy, Haran had another com-
panion, who dwelt with him the better part of a
year and a half. One summer day, as the her-
mit sat at his stone table, eating his dinner,
looking toward the door, he saw something
suddenly pass by. He, at first, thought it might
have been a deer; for they, frequently, would make
their way very near to his dwelling. Soon, how
ever, he heard the stirring of the vine curtain,
and there appeared a man looking in through the


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
13
green leaves. So Haran arose, instantly, from
the table, and invited the stranger to come in.
A curious looking being indeed was this visitor.
He had on a dress, made of the skin of a
bear, and his face was almost entirely covered
with hair. Yet hệ, to all appearances, could not
be more than twenty, or, at the most, thirty,
years of age. So, after he came in, Haran invited
him to eat with him, and began to question him
as to who he was, and where he lived. It
seemed, he had been an inhabitant of the woods
nearly all his life, living as the hermit lived, in
caves and dens, and gathering his food from the
earth and the trees. He had little desire to talk,
and it was with great difficulty that Haran could
get any thing from him, which he could under-
stand. He could not tell where he was born, or
who his parents were; but said something about
the woman's crying, when she left him in the
woods.
“What woman?" said Haran.
“She did cry,” he replied; "and it was too
bad!”


14
LARAN, THE HERMIT.
“Who was the woman?” asked the hermit.
“Was it your mother?”
The man looked up, with a wild, dreary
look of the eyes, saying, "Don't you know?
Hagar! Every body knew Hagar! It was too
bad!”
“Then she was your mother, and left you in
the woods," said Haran, hoping to get at some-
thing which should reveal the history of the
mysterious visitor.
But the man seemed to be lost in some strange
memory of the past, and sat for some minutes
with his eyes fixed on the ground; then said he,
“It was too bad! But it was good in the man
to give me the great bearskin!”
The old hermit had pity on the poor being,
seeing that he was either foolish or crazy; so he
resolved to take care of him, and try if, by gen-
tle dealing and kind treatment, he could not
make him of some use, as a companion in his
Bolitary home. Then Haran asked him his name;
but could get no reply but “It was too bad ! ”
and “Every body knew. Hagar! Her name,


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
15
you know, was Hagar!” Then the hermit
thought of the tender story in his Bible, of Ha-
gar in the wilderness, and of her son Ishmael; so
he named the man Ishmael. After the meal was
over, Haran got the stranger to lie down on his
own bed, in the corner of the cave, and soon,
being weary, he fell asleep.
When the man was sleeping, the good old
hermit prayed that God would give him wisdom
to instruct the poor man, and especially that he
might be able to make him know his Heavenly
Father, and so secure, when he should die, an
everlasting home in the bright world. A long
time Ishmael slept on the bed of leaves; and
when he awoke, he seemed to be more clear in
his mind, though he could give no story of his
parents, his home, or his life.
For a year and a half, the hermit and this man
lived together; and Haran's prayer was finally
answered.
Soon, he learned to answer to the name of
Ishmael, and became attached to the hermit, with
all the confidence and love of a little child. And
Haran, too, loved him, and daily tried to teach


16
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
him the knowledge of some blessed truth. Above
all, he labored to give him some idea of the great
God, and how Christ was the great Saviour. He
told him where the sun came from, in the morn-
ing, and where it went, in the evening; and what
became of the moon and the bright stars, in the
daytime. He showed him, also, that God made
the sun to rise and set; and that God created
the moon, the stars, and all things beside. Ish-
mael would sit, for hours, with the wonder of a
listening boy, and hear the hermit talk; and
many were the curious questions and strange
sayings of the old man's scholar. One day, he
asked, why the hermit kneeled down, and talked
with his eyes closed ? and who it was he so loved
to talk to ? So Haran explained to him what
prayer was. Then, seeing him kneel at the side
of the spring, to drink, he asked him if he prayed
to the spring, too? and if that was the reason
why it gave him drink? Then the hermit showed
him how men were wicked, and the relation of
Jesus to man, as the Saviour of sinners. This
was the great lesson. “0,” thought Haran, “if
I can only make this child of the wilderness wise


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
17
in this wisdom!” Again and again, he prayed
for Ishmael, that he might come to know,
and trust, and love the glorious Redeemer.
Haran himself felt that his own
faith was
weak, and, in his prayers, often prayed that the
angel of the Lord would give him clear light
into the truths of the Bible. This prayer you
will find, before I finish my story, was strangely
answered, long afterward, by an angel, with a
Wonderful Lamp. The prayer-hearing God an-
swered the petition of the hermit, in behalf of
poor Ishmael. He saw that he had an evil heart,
and that, if he would ask for forgiveness in the
Saviour's name, God would give him a new
heart, and fit him for heaven.
That was a day of joy in the cave!
mountains appeared to break out with singing,
and all the trees seemed to clap their leafy hands.
After that, Ishmael's continual request was, “Tell
me about Jesus! Tell me how I shall see him,
up above the stars!” But with all this knowl-
edge of heavenly things, the past of this strange
being was little else than a blank. No question
that the hermit might ask would get more than
The very
2


18
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
a
man.
the old saying, that “Her name was Hagar!” and
“ It was too bad !” Only one day he said that,
“The man must have been good, and loved Jesus,
or he never would have given him the nice bear-
skin dress!" and "I know, now, who made the
bright stars !"
A year and a half Haran and Ishmael lived to-
gether, alone, and happy; and the hermit thought
that he had obtained a companion for his life in
the wilderness, in the place of old Willy Wild-
But God had ordered otherwise.
One evening, Ishmael appeared strange and
sleepy. He would rise up, and fall back again,
on the bed of leaves; and his eyes
looked sunken
and glassy. Haran saw that the one whom he
had come to love so well was to be taken from
him: indeed, the hour of death was then at
hand. So the hermit prayed that Ishmael might
live. But the latter interrupted him, saying, “I
am going to die! I am going to the Saviour,
who paid the big price, with blood; and shall
live with him, away up above the stars.” Then
be kissed Haran, and thanked him for all his


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
19
CG
kindness to him, and told him to be sure and
meet him the other side the star3.
Then he said he saw an angel, and, asking the
hermit to put his ear close down to the bed, he
whispered, “The bright angel says, you shall
have the Lamp, and the little bird knows the
way! He tells me, the light will shine through
the valley, and the two boys may take FAITH
from the Rock, when you have gone through
the gate."
“What lamp ?” asked Haran. “What do
you mean about the valley,' and 'the boys ?'”
“Lift the vine curtain !” said the dying one:
“Let me see the stars, that I am to pass by, in
going up! Her name was Hagar!” he faintly
whispered;—and his eyes closed. Haran was
all alone-Ishmael had gone.
What a dreary funeral it was, the next morn-
ing, when the hermit carried the body out, and
buried it. He found a little cell, among the
rocks, down in a deep ravine; and there he laid
Ishmael. Putting a great flat stone close against
the cave, he took a piece of flint, and scratched
un its smooth surface these words:
-


20
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
ISHMAEL;
His Mother's name was Hagar.
With the Saviour above the Stars.
HARAN, THE HERMIT,
Who loved him, put up this Stone.
1760.
Back again to his lonely cave went the hermit;
and, on his knees, in his cell, he prayed to God
to bring good out of this great trial, and, above
all, to increase his faith. All that day he spent
in the cave, or down by the sepulcher of poor
Ishmael.
Often, during after years, he would recall the
strange saying of the dying man, “The bright
angel says you shall have the Lamp!” and “The
little bird knows the way! The light will shine
through the valley !”
These dying words sounded like a prophecy, in
the ears of Haran, the Hermit.


AARAN, THE HERMIT.
21
CHAPTER II.
Many, many years after the death of poor
Ishmael, it came to pass that Haran had a won-
derful vision of an angel. At evening, having
ate his supper of roots and herbs, he built his
bonfire in front of the cave, to keep away the
wild beasts; and, as usual, having aropped the
vine curtain of his stone house, he bowed on his
knees, and prayed. In his prayer that night, the
hermit especially asked for more faith, and earn-
estly besought God the Father, for the dear Sav-
iour's sake, to give him a clearer light, in which
to read his blessed Bible. The supplication over,
he laid himself down on his bed of leaves, in the
corner of the cave, to go to sleep. A long time
Haran lay upon his couch awake. He was not
sick - neither was he troubled - but still be
could not sleep. His mind was busy, calling up
the past. He thought of the visit of the strange


225
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
man, so many years before; his brief, but happy,
life with him, in the woods; and his death, on
that same bed! Then he remembered the saying
about the angel, the lamp, and the valley; and,
while he was thinking of the mystery of those
dying words, he fell asleep.
In his dreams, the hermit again beheld the
death of poor Ishmael, and thought he saw a
bright and glorious being, such as the dying man
described, and that he made him a present of
a curious and beautiful lamp. Then Haran
awoke, and was surprised to find a brilliant light,
shining all around him. At the first, before he
was quite awake, his impression was, that the
leaves of his room had caught fire; but, the next
instant, he was filled with amazement, to see a
glorious angel, standing beside the stone table.
There was no lamp burning, no fire; but the
light seemed to come from the face and from the
broad white wings of the mysterious visitor. The
good hermit was astonished, but he was not
frightened; for the look of love, on the counte-
nance of the angel, gave him confidence. He first
thought he would speak; but then he feared, it


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
23
>
he did so, the angel might go away; so he raised
himself up on his elbow, as he lay on his bed,
and watched silently to see what the strange
being was doing.
The angel did not seem to notice the hermit,
but was very busy with something at the table.
Then Haran remembered how a heavenly mes-
senger once made a supper for old Elijah, the
prophet, in the wilderness; and he said to him-
self, “Who knows but I, too, am to eat angels'
food, to-night! But he soon saw that he was
mistaken; for, the next moment, the angel took
out from his long white robe a bright silver
vessel, or dish, and set it on the stone table.
Then he took up the old Bible, and, opening it,
he seemed to press some of its leaves together,
as he held the book over the bright dish; and
there appeared to run something like oil right
out of the book, into the silver vessel. Then,
again, he opened to another part of the holy vol-
ume, and drew out what appeared to be a long
white wick, and laid the same in the narrow
mouth of the dish. Once more the angel took
the book, and, opening to another page, held the


24
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
leaf just over the end of the wick, which was in
the dish; and instantly there fell a spark upon the
wick, kindling a bright white fiame, and giving
forth a clear, beautiful light. Then the angel
again carefully opened the Bible, and, making
the sign of the cross, in three places, he kissed
the sacred book, and laid it on the table, setting
the burning lamp upon it. This done, he spread
his white wings, and was gone. For a time,
Haran did not dare to get up and go to the table,
lest the angel should return. Soon, however, the
hermit heard the sound of distant music. It was
just for a moment, as though a church door,
when a choir was singing, was opened and then
closed again. So Haran knew that the angel
had gone into heaven; and he ventured to ap-
proach the table, and look at what the angel had
done.
There, sure enough, was a magnificent silver
lamp! On one side of it was stamped the like-
ness of a crown; and, on the other side, the form
of a cross. It was not like a common lamp,
having on a cover, and with burners; but it was
a deep, long, open dish, with a handle at one end
a


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
25
and a narrow mouth at the other. It was also
filled with oil, such as the hermit never saw be-
fore; and the white wick, the end of which was
burning, was in the long, bright mouth of the
vessel. Then the hermit closely examined The
WONDERFUL LAMP, to see if the angel had left
any mark, or name, upon it; and he found, on
the front of it, just beneath the mouth, this one
word, FAITH, inscribed in beautiful letters. So
Haran knew that was its name, and he called the
heavenly gift, Faith; OR, THE WONDERFUL
LAMP.
You may well believe, the old hermit was de-
lighted, and astonished, too, with his strange pres-
ent, and that he kept it with great care. Then
came to his mind the saying of dying Ishmael,
“The bright angel says, You shall have the lamp!”
“Is this," said the hermit, to himself, “the ful-
fillment of that saying of my dear companion
and scholar!” Is this an answer to my prayer
of last night, that God would send his angel, and
give me light ?” And Haran fell upon his
knees, and thanked the Lord for the visit from
heaven, and the gift of the silver lamp. Then


26
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
he arose, and sat down, in the old root chair,
beside the table, and began to read the Bible, by
the light of Faith. Great was Haran's surprise,
to see the effect of the lamp, in its shining on
the holy page. When he would open to some
promise, the letters were filled with light; and
the story of the Cross seemed to sparkle like a
casket of diamonds, open in the bright sunshine.
. Finally, the hermit thought he would try an
experiment; so he turned over the leaves of his
Bible, until he found a passage of scripture which
he never could explain. Here again did the
lamp discover its wonderful power; for, in the
light thereof, the whole darkness of the scripture
saying was removed, and the simple truth was
clearly revealed.
Now, the next day, Haran, when he was to
leave his cave, set his precious lamp away, with
bis Bible. But he was troubled in his mind.
First, he feared, if he did not blow out the light,
that all the oil would burn away, and so his
lamp would become only a beautiful toy, without
use; and, on the other hand, he feared that, if he
did extinguish the light, he would not be able


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
27
.
to light it again; so, what to do he did not
know. Nor was this all his trouble; for he was
apprehensive that a sudden gust of wind, blow-
ing into his cave, might put out the light; and,
worse than all that, some wanderer, passing that
way, in his absence, would carry it off. So he
did the best he could.
He went out and got some stones, and, bring-
ing them into his cell, he made, in one corner, a
little close kind of box, and within it placed his
book and lamp. Yet this, he well knew, was but
a poor security, at the best ; for, do what he
could, the light would shine through, between
the stones. Finally, Haran said to himself, "If a
thief does come, he shall not steal both ту
book
and light;" and, at that, he took the Bible, and
hid it in another part of the cave. Now, when
he turned to go again toward the lamp, he
was shocked to find that the light seemed to be .
going out; so, remembering that the angel got
the spark from the Bible, he ran and took the
holy book, to see if he could not find the place
where the angel had procured the light. He
soon found the three marks of the cross. The
"
.


28
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
.
2
first, where the oil came from, was among the
promises; the second, from whence the wick
was taken, was also in the promises; but these
he did not need. Soon, however, he found
the third mark, at the place out of which the
bright spark fell. This was it: I AM THE LIGHT
OF THE WORLD. So, with the book open to this
page, Haran hurried to the flickering lamp. But,
as he drew near, with the Bible, silver Faith was
burning as bright as ever; and so he started to
go back again with the book. Once more hav-
ing laid the Bible down in the corner, look-
ing up, he saw that the lamp was again going
out.
“What mystery is this?” said Haran. “I will
try this thing again." So saying, he took up the
book, and went toward the lamp, when, behold!
the nearer he drew, the brighter shone the light;
and so soon as he would go the other way,
the
wick would burn but feebly. Then Haran did
remember that the angel left the lamp on the
Bible; and he learned the first lesson which this
bright gift was sent to teach: and that was, that
if he would have silver Faith to shed a bright


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
29
light, he must keep it close to the holy book.
So he put the Bible and lamp together, in the
little stone cell.
Haran was also taught another truth by his
heavenly teacher, before he left his house, that
day. In taking up the lamp, to lay the Bible
beneath it, a strong wind struck the lamp - the
very thing he had so much feared;- but, con-
trary to his expectations, the wick only blazed
the more, and the brighter burned the light.
Now, all his fears were gone but one: and that
was, that his precious treasure might be stolen;
though, for years and years, no human being had
come near his dwelling. This fear, unlike the
others, was, as you shall soon see, not without
foundation.
All that day, as Haran wandered in the forest,
he thought of the angel's visit, and the Wonder-
ful Lamp. Since the day when poor Ishmael
found his Saviour, he had not been so happy as
then. It seemed to him, that, with the gift of
the angel, there had come down to him from
heaven a new life. What more did he need ?
His wardrobe was complete, for, in addition to


30
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
his deerskin dress, once bought with the price of
a dinner and lodging from a passing hunter, who,
benighted and lost, sought his cave, he had
Ishmael's bearskin coat. His food and water
were sure; and his house of rocks no tempest
could shake, and no fire could consume. He
lamented the loss of old Willy Wildman, and,
still more, the death of Ishmael ; yet he had
companions and friends. The deer, all around
his rocky home, knew him well. To many of
them he had given names; and he had, also, an
extensive acquaintance among the birds. Above
all, with his Bible as his library, and with the light
of bright-burning Faith, in which to search its holy
page, Haran, the Hermit, felt rich and happy.
Again, he thought, “I may have future visits from
the good angel; and a daily communion, possibly,
with the inhabitants of heaven, shall complete the
joys of a hermit's life.” On one thing he resolved:
and that was, if he had another visit from the
angel, he would make bold to speak to him.
Now, after a day's wandering among the trees
and along the streams, just as the sun was set-
ting, the hermit turned toward his little home,


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
31
happy as a father who expects to meet the smile
of his loving child at the door. Again and
again did Haran stop to admire the glorious
scenery spread out everywhere around him. At
one time, standing upon a high rock, he looked
away over the woods. Directly down before
him was a little lake, surrounded by high trees,
whose dark shadows stretched far over its sur-
face. Close to the water's edge, wild roses were
growing; and the shallow water near the shore
was dotted everywhere with water-lilies, looking
like the wise man's description of good words,
even as “apples of gold in baskets of silver.”
These beautiful flowers seemed to be growing in
a liquid of crimson and gold, for the yellow light
of the setting sun shone full on the still waters.
While the old hermit was gazing on the picture
before him, a doe, with her little fawn, came
slowly and cautiously out of the thicket, and
stooped, to drink from the lake. And then a
great buck, with his branching horns, made his
appearance. A grand fellow he was! He would
look, first one way, and then the other; then he
would snuff the air, until seeming to be assured


32
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
that no danger was near his little family, he, too,
bent down to drink, and to crop the tender
stalks of water-lilies. That was a sight, to see
a splendid buck, with a lily in his mouth, as
though he had picked a boquet, for his wife and
child, at his side!
But the sun
was setting, and the distant
mountain was fast putting on its mantle of pur-
ple and sober gray, fringed with gold. So Ha-
ran felt he must hurry to his cave. Now, just as
be turned to go, he thought he saw, on the oppo-
site shore, the face of a man appear, for an in-
stant, and then vanish again, among the bushes.
“What can that mean?” thought the hermit.
“For years, no hunter's foot has printed its track
on that shore; and the sound of no hunter's gun
has echoed along these wild valleys.” Finally,
Haran concluded that it was more likely that
some lurking beast had looked through the
thicket, and that he had better hasten to the
pro-
tection of his cave and his watchfire.
First thing, as he entered his cave, he looked
to see if the silver lamp was safe. There it was,
on the Bible, in its little stone cell, as though it,


AARAN, THE HERMIT.
33
too, was a little, cheerful hermit, living in a
happy home. So Haran built his fire for the
night; and then dropped the curtain of vines,
before the mouth of the cave. Then, having ate
his supper of roots and herbs, he took his lamp
and Bible, and read these words:
“ Hear me when I call, O God of my right-
eousness! thou hast enlarged me, when I was in
distress. Have mercy upon me, and hear my
prayer.
"Offer the sacrifice of righteousness; and put
your trust in the Lord.
“I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep:
for thou, Lord, only, makest me to dwell in
safety."
Then, having offered his prayer, and putting
the Bible back in the little cell, and setting the
lamp upon it, Haran, the Hermit, laid himself
down on his bed of leaves, and fell asleep.
3


34
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
CHAPTER III.
Haran converses with the angel.
AGAIN the hermit awoke from his sleep, in the
iniddle of the night; and there, beside the table,
reappeared the angel. He had taken the lamp
and Bible from the stone cell, and had placed
them on the moss-covered table before him. For
a while, Haran silently watched his glorious guest,
and he saw him examine the oil, and trim the
wick. Then did the hermit pray in his heart that
strength might be given him, to keep the vows
his lips had uttered the day before; even that he
would speak to the angel of the Lord.
“Holy One from heaven!” exclaimed Haran.
The angel looked toward the hermtt's bed, and,
smiling kindly, beckoned with his hand, bidding
the hermit to come forward to the table. Haran
would have worshiped; but the bright being for-
bade him, saying, “ Worship only God!” When


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
35
Haran made bold to ask, from whence he came;
why he sought out this lonely cave for his heav-
enly visit; and for what especial purpose he had
made the costly present of the Wonderful Lamp.
Then the angel spoke to Haran, saying, that the
glorious Saviour of men, his Master, had sent him
on the errand of love, and had commanded him to
take the silver lamp to this cell. “It is a gift,"
he added, " which is only given to those who do
repent of sins, and do prayerfully read the Bible."
Then he explained to him all about the lamp,
showing to him the significance of the cross, on
the one side, and the crown, on the other; also,
the name on the front part of the lamp.
Moreover, the angel discovered to the hermit in
what way the oil of the promises was extracted,
and how the wick was drawn forth; and, also,
how the spark fell from the sacred sentence, pro-
ducing the light. He told him, further, what
also the hermit had ascertained: that Faith
would only burn bright when near the Bible;
and that it shone clearest on the story of the
Cross, and among those passages which were
dark to the eye of the ungodly.


36
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
Now said the angel, “I am come to tell thee
that thou must go forth from the cave and this
lonely forest, within a few days, to the dwellings
of men; and be sure to keep ever with thee the
book and the silver lamp: for my Lord would
not that thou shouldst avoid the world, but,
being in the world, be careful to keep from the
evil. Your lamp," said he, “is for yourself,
and for others; and you must let your light so
shine that others, seeing your good works, may
glorify your Father which is in heaven.' Be-
ware," added the angel, “ of losing the sacred
gift, for there is an evil being, by the name of
Doubt, who is living in this wilderness; and, if
he can, he will surely steal it from thee."
Then the old hermit thought of the sight he
saw on the opposite shore of the lake, and knew
that it must have been the very one of whom the
angel spoke.
Then the angel told him of all the wonders
which the lamp should work. It would scatter
the darkness of temptation, and all sorrow. If
he was thirsty, with it he could find water; and
if hungry, he could discover food. With the


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
37
lamp, he never could lose his way. No wicked
being could come near him, to hurt him, while
its bright light shone around him. He said, it
was described in the Bible as “a lamp to his
feet, and a light to his path,” in all the journey
of life. He told him, also, that it would not be
long, before he would have to walk through a
deep, dark valley, called THE SHADOW OF DEATH;
but that there was a great rock, in that weary
land, right at the entrance of the path, and on it
he must first lay his Bible; and then, setting the
lamp on the holy book, with the mouth in which
burned the wick toward the path, he should go
through this valley in a light brighter than the
sun; and so he should “enter in through the
gates, into the celestial city.”
56 And am I not to take the precious lamp with
me, through the gate?” asked the hermit.
“No," replied the angel; “leave it on the
rock, and it will send its light all the way to the
gate; and then there is no need of a candle
neither of the light of the sun -for the Lord
God is the light thereof."
He told more strange things about the lamp.


38
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
He said that there were a great many ways
to dim the light, and a great many ways to
increase it. “As I have told thee,” continued
the angel; 'if thou dost take the lamp far from the
Bible, it will give little or no light. So,” said he,
“if thou dost go to using the old pine knots and
strips of bark for a light, the lamp will not shine
upon thee. Again, evil communication with
wicked men, or the yielding to bad habits, or to
worldly pleasures, will dim the light of the lamp.
And yet again;'he said, “ beware of that miser-
able thief, called Doubt, for he will steal it !”
6. Would he use it himself?" asked the old
hermit.
“By no means," said the angel. "But, be-
‘,
ing a servant of the Prince of Darkness, and
hating the Prince of Light, he delights to get
the lamp away from the children of light,' that
he may enjoy seeing them stumble and fall. He
has no use for the lamp-indeed, the bright light
torments him, for he hath very weak eyes.”
Then, the good angel told the hermit how he
might increase the light: “First,” said he, "all
”
the oil is to be procured from the Bible; and you
66
6


+
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
39
و
will get the most only by clasping the book be-
tween your hands, while you are down on your
knees. Moreover,” added the angel, “ a great
many things which you may do will make the
light burn bright. The more thou dost love the
Lord, the brighter the lamp will burn; and the
brighter shines the lamp, the stronger will be thy
love! Every act of kindness will increase the
light. Every time you carry the lamp through a
dark place, it will burn brighter. Every good
word you say, and every good thought you
think, will increase the light. You will find it
burn beautifully, if you open the Bible among
,
your fellow-men; and, above all, if you read to
them the story of a dying Saviour. Finally,"
”
said he, “ if you get a company of dear little
children around you, and attempt to instruct
them from the holy page, you shall find the light
very bright. I have seen,” said the angel, “a
place, filled with circles of children, and, in the
center of each company, the open Bible and the
silver lamp; and how brightly the light shone on
their young faces, and into their little hearts !
while, at the head of the whole company, stoud


40
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
2
a man with a book, and the same kind of a lamp,
burning equally bright. This,” said the angel,
" is an excellent place to take lamps, that do not
burn, well, in order to increase their light; and
many, who are now stumbling in darkness, know
not how easily they might make their light shine,
by such a course."
Then asked the hermit,“And what is the value
of such a lamp : "
** Value !” exclaimed the angel; “it is beyond
all price." The Holy One bought them all; and,
by the rich provisions of his love, on certain con-
ditions, he left them for all who would desire
their light. The man, or child,” added the an-
gel, “ who would lament his sins, and ask for for-
giveness, in the name of Jesus, can have one of
these lamps, 'without money, and without price.'
He only is rich who hath one; and he is poor,
though possessing great earthly wealth, who hath
it not."
Then the angel made ready to go, and bade
the hermit remember the directions he had given
about the lamp


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
41
"And how shall I know when and where to
go ?” asked the old man.
“This shall be thy sign to leave," said the
angel: “On the morning of thy departure from
the cave, a beautiful bird shall come, while yet
the dew is on the leaves; and, lighting on the
handle of the lamp, shall sing his morning song
there, and then fly out, and perch upon the tree
before the mouth of the cave. This bird shall
be thy guide, during the day: when he stops,
at night, thou shalt stop; and when he starts, in
the morning, then thou shalt begin thy journey.
do shalt thou be directed, until thou reach the
habitations of men; when again he shall sit on the
handle of the silver lamp, for a moment, and then
fly back to the forest, and thou shalt see him no
more, until the day of thy pilgrimage through
the valley.”'
Then the angel kissed the Bible, and kissed
the hermit, and went forth from the cave. It
was early in the morning when he went out,
just as the sun was rising; and Haran watched
him, until, away up in the blue sky, he grew
smaller and smaller, and then was gone. Just as


42
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
the hermit turned to go into his cell, he heard
that faint music again, for a moment, and then it
ceased. So he knew the angel entered heaven.
So soon as Haran got to the table, he opened
the Bible, to see what his glorious visitor had
marked, and he found the sign of the cross be-
side these words: “The angel of the Lord en-
campeth round about them that fear him, and
delivereth them.” Ps. 34; 7. So the hermit
knew that he was safe. Then he thought to him-
self, “ What has Haran done, that he should have
such signs of heavenly favor? Why am I sin-
gled out, here, in the wilderness, to receive this
beautiful lamp; and thus to commune with the
angel of the Lord ? Surely,” said he to himself,
" it is all for the Saviour's sake." Then a light
flashed on him, and he saw the lamp did send out
strange brilliancy. “Thank God, for the lamp!”
exclaimed the hermit. Then a brighter light
came forth. So he remembered the saying of
the angel, for his feelings of humility, and his
expressions of gratitude, made the lamp to burn
brighter.
“So,” said he to himself, “ I am to go back to


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
43
the homes of men, again, after an absence of
near a half a century! No doubt,” he added,
“it was good and wise, in the angel, to tell me
so, and I must obey; but, I am sorry! O, I had
rather stay in my cave, and enjoy the wonders
of my beautiful lamp, and, from time to time,
meet the — "
Here he stopped, for the lamp was burning
very low; and he cried, as he knew it was a sign
he had offended Him who sent the angel.
Forgive!” exclaimed the old man; “forgive
my repining! I will rejoice in the will of the
Lord!” So the lamp burned brightly again.
Now, having had his morning service and his
morning repast, he again carefully put the Bible
and the lamp together, in the little stone cell, and
went forth for another stroll in the woods, feeling
that, as he was so soon to take his farewell, he
must make the most of his stay now.
"


44
NARAN, THE HERMIT.
CHAPTER IV.
The Hermit loses his Lamp.
All the forenoon of the day, after the angel had
announced to the hermit that he was to leave his
forest home, he was busy making his farewell
calls. The wild caves, and deep ravines; the high
rocks, lakes, streams, and waterfalls,-Haran had
learned to look upon them all as old and intimate
acquaintances. Indeed, he had long felt toward
them a feeling like friendship. They all talked to
him a language he could understand. And the
towering mountains, they, too, had been his com-
panions; for, wherever he strolled, they were
always in sight. They had told him of coming
storms; and, better than any almanac or barom-
eter, had foretold the bright weather. Their
lofty peaks were the first to publish the rising
sun ; and, at evening, long after the deep shad-


.
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
45
ows lay in the valley, they were golden with the
sunset.
So the hermit wandered, silent and sad, bid-
ding all his old friends, one after another, good-
by; and it seemed to him that they answered
back. The mountain seemed to say, “Do n't
forget me, Haran! You have seen me with my
royal winter mantle, whiter than Solomon's; and
you, too, have stood before my flinty throne,
when, in summer, I have been clothed in green,
and purple, and gold. Oh, Haran! you will find
no such firm friends where you are going. Re-
member what we have preached to you from our
great rocky pulpits. Like us, be immovable for
truth. Like us, be the first to tell of the rising
of a glorious sun, and the last to lose his light.”
So the silent, beautiful lake also seemed to say,
"Do n't forget me, Haran! Let truths open and
bloom around you, as the lilies and the roses grow
on my shores; and let the men in the great city,
thirsting for knowledge, be refreshed by thy wis-
dom, even as thou hast seen the deer drink from
me. Remember, too, and boast no more of all
the blessings that thou dost impart than I have


46
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
done of the waters I have given away.” The
little waterfall, on the hillside, appeared to call to
the hermit, as he passed, saying, with its sweet
liquid voice, “Good-by, Haran!” and kept right
on in its sport among the rocks, like a child at
a
play, who could n't stop to shake hands. “When
you see the fountains — my cousins — playing in
the parks of the great city, think of me, hermit!”
“Ah!” said Haran, as he took his seat on a
rock to rest himself, “ how can I leave this glori-
ous old wood, for the haunts and homes of men ?
How can I consent to live alone again?” For
he knew that he would be more lonely among
men than among the hills and streams, the lakes,
the deer, and the birds he had known so long
and so well.
Now, as Haran sat listening to the babbling
brook, which ran near the rock, and was trying
to imagine what it might be saying, he caught a
glimpse of a man going off very fast, as thongh
he knew that he was discovered. “Sure enough,”
he whispered to himself, “that must be Doubt,
the thief; and I have no need to fear him, for his
hasty retreat shows him to be a coward." Yet


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
47
he thought of what the angel had said, and so
he made his way back to his cell, with all possi-
ble speed, reaching home about noon.
When Haran sat down on the old root chair,
he felt that he had overtasked his strength, in
the morning stroll, and in the run from the rock
to the cave; and, being very weary, he leaned.
his head on the table, and, in a few moments,
fell asleep, with his book and lamp at his side.
When he awoke, he felt much refreshed, though
he was sure he had slept only a few minutes. So
he determined to take another farewell ramble,
before night should shut in; but, on stepping to
the door, he was astonished to find that the sun
was already going down behind the mountains.
So he gave up his walk; and, building his even-
ing fire, at the mouth of the cave, and dropping
the vine curtain, he thought he would busy him-
self with the Wonderful Lamp, until it was time
to go to his bed.
As he turned to the little stone cell, to get
his light and his Bible, he saw that the lamp
had gone out; and, instantly, he thought the
sorrow he had had, at the idea of obeying the


48
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
angel's command, had extinguished the light.
So, with a trembling hand, he took away the
stone cover, and, behold! the silver lamp was
gone. Then, he remembered that he had care-
lessly left Faith on the table, when he fell asleep.
Yes, his precious treasure was actually stolen!
He knew he had lost it, forever. What could he
do? There was no question but that lurking
fellow whom he saw moving down by the brook
had carried off the beautiful gift of the angel.
First, he thought he would take his great staff,
and go out to search for the thief; but that was
useless, even in the daytime, in the wide range
of the woods, and now the night was coming on,
and there were signs of an approaching storm.
Again and again he bemoaned his folly in sleep-
ing in the daytime, and leaving the lamp exposed.
“ Yes,” said he, “I know that Doubt has taken
it, for it is just like the character described to
me by the angel.”
The poor hermit felt that the evil being might
as well have made a clearer sweep, by taking the
Bible, too, for how could he read the book with-
out the light of Faith? But Haran determined
66
a


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
49
: to make the best of the trouble, knowing well
that crying would n’t mend the matter. So he
sat down, and tried to read his Bible, by the
flickering light of the fire, which shone in
through the vine at the mouth of the cave.
But he soon gave up the task, for the Bible
looked like another book, without the bright
light of the Wonderful Lamp.
The
poor
hermit's trouble of mind was enough
of itself to have kept him awake all night; bat,
beside this, a terrible storm had already begun to
sweep through the woods. The wind blew a
gale, and, every once in a while, he could hear
the crashing fall of some great tree. He knew
his stone house under the mountain could not be
overthrown, and that the falling trees could do
no more than block up the mouth of the cave.
Yet a thunder storm, in the forest at night, is a
fearful thing. The lightnings blazed, and the
heavy thunder rattled and rolled continually.
Suddenly, his little room was filled with a
blinding blue light, and, at the same instant,
there was a report, as though a huge cannon
had been fired right in the doorway of his cell !
.4
a


50
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
The old man fell to the earth, for the time com-
pletely overcome by the shock. As he recov
ered, he saw a tree in front of the cave splintered
from top to bottom, and all on fire. Then there
came another flame, and another crash! Again
the lightning had struck, just over his cabin.
Haran was used to storms, but never had it been
his lot to witness a storm like this. It seemed to
him, that all the artillery of the skies were firing
at his poor little home. The wild beasts of the
forest were crying out with terror. Wolves were
howling, and panthers screamed.
Then asked Haran, in anguish, “O, will my
good angel come down from heaven to me, on
such a night as this !" But the angel staid inside
the golden gates, and the hermit was all alone.
It was not until near the break of day that
the storm passed away and the hermit sunk
asleep. When he awoke all was quiet, save the
sweet singing of the birds; and the sun was
shining from a cloudless sky, as though no tem-
pest had so lately passed that way.
So soon as the hermit had finished his morning
meal -- and he had little desire to eat he start-
-


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
51
ed out, to see if he might find any thing of his
lost lamp. If it had only been in a city, he could
have put a notice in the papers, and sent out the
police; but in the woods, and all alone, there was
a poor
chance of ever finding his lost treasure.
First, he went to the lake shore, where he had
seen the being looking out from among the
bushes, hoping that possibly he might find the
dwelling-place of the thief, somewhere near
there. But he found no trace, save, on the
beach, there were tracks of some one, who must
have passed that way a day or two before.
Suddenly, he heard the stealthy tread of some-
thing walking among the little dry sticks in the
brush, which were breaking under his step. In-
stantly, Haran hurried in pursuit, when a deer
bounded out and ran up the hill.
Then he thought he would go along the
stream, where, the day before, he saw something
moving among the bushes. But there was no
sign of Doubt, the thief, to be seen.
All day the poor old hermit searched, and at
evening lay down in his cave, weary and dis-
heartened. He knew his silver lamp was gone


52
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
forever, unless the good angel should make him
another visit; and he feared he had grieved the
holy messenger, by that miserable noonday nap;
for angels are industrious beings, and do not like
to see well men sleeping at midday.'
The night passed, and no angel. So, also, an-
other day of fruitless search came and went, and
no sign of the thief. 'That night, however, in
the evening prayer, the hermit felt some comfort
in his devotions, and with a grieved, but humble
and submissive, spirit, he fell asleep.
About midnight he awoke, and, to his joy,
found the cave was full of light; and he saw the
angel again standing beside the table. So soon
as Haran beheld the heavenly visitor, he quickly
arose from his bed, and went forward where he
stood, falling at his feet, and confessing the whole
story of his folly in losing the lamp. Once more
the good angel commanded him to rise, and
make his confession to God; and, instantly, the
hermit obeyed. Then the angel told the hermit
how Doubt had stolen the lamp, and where it
could be found; and, charging him to henceforth
take better care of the holy gift, he departed.


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
53
It seems
Now, as soon as the first streak of daylight ap-
peared in the east, the old man went out, follow-
ing the direction of the angel; and to his delight
he soon discovered his precious lamp, burning as
bright as ever.
Doubt had hid it
close by the cave, and the hermit had passed and
repassed the spot many times, as he had gone out
and returned, on his fruitless search. It was in
a little dark hole, between two rocks, where no
man could crawl, that the thief had set the lamp;
and he had concealed the light, by piling in front
stones and leaves.
You may imagine the hermit was rejoiced,
when he had the precious lamp again in his own
hands. So he went directly back to his cave,
and, falling down on his knees, he thanked the
Lord for the return of the great blessing; ac-
knowledging that his own folly had caused the
loss, and that the restoration of the lamp was all
of grace. “Surely,” he exclaimed, "Faith is the
“
gift of God!” He never could have found his lost
treasure, without the guidance of the angel.
Then did Haran promise never, during his stay
in the wilderness, to sleep in his cave in the day-


54
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
time, and never to leave the lamp exposed, when
he should be absent from his room.
All that day he staid in his cave, reading his
Bible, and watching the work of the Wonderful
Lamp. In the evening, he built his watchfire,
with a joyful heart, and went to his bed of leaves
filled with gladness at the thought that the can-
dle of the Lord again shone brightly in his
mountain home.


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
55
3
1
CHAPTER V.
The Hermit leaves his cave, in the forest, forever.
The next morning, the hermit arose very
early, and, getting out his Bible and lamp, he sat
down on the old root chair, at the side of the
stone table, to read. The lamp burned very
brightly, and the chapter which Haran read was
a part of the narrative of the going forth of the
Israelites through the wilderness. He also read
one of the beautiful psalms of David. That
morning, he seemed to have unusual freedom in
prayer. He felt, in going to God, just as a good
child feels in going to its parent, with all the
sweet confidence of love. It was a glorious
June morning, and the sun was shining from a
clear sky, and the dew was sparkling, and the
countless hirds were all singing in the green
galleries of God's great forest temple. Even so
the Lord was smiling on the old man in prayer.


56
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
So the dew of grace was on the hermit's heart,
and all his grateful feelings, like the little birds,
were vocal with praise to the Redeemer.
When Haran had finished his prayer, he turned
to put away the silver lamp, when, behold! on
the beautiful handle sat one of the prettiest birds
he ever saw. Its head had on the top a little
crown of crimson feathers, its breast was snow-
white, and its wings were a mingled red and pur-
ple, with the edges tipped with a bright gold.
Pretty soon, it began to sing; and such singing !
The old hermit sat entranced with the melody,
until, all at once, he remembered the saying of
the angel about the sign of the bird, and he
knew that this was the little guide, who was to
be his Moses, in leading him forth from the wil-
derness. Haran thought it very curious that a
bird should be sent on such an errand; but he
remembered that the quails were given as food
to Israel, and that the ravens, like black servants,
waited on old Elijah. So when he thought on
the matter, it was not so strange, after all, that
the little bird, like the pillar of cloud, should


1
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
57
lead him forth from his home in the woods to
the dwelling-places of men.
The bird was yet singing, but had left the
handle of the lamp, and had perched on a limb
of a tree in front of the door. So the old hermit
got ready for a start. He had nothing to pack.
His leather dress, which was upon him, was all
his clothing; and there was nothing to carry but
the Bible and the lamp. So he took a piece of
bark, and with it bound the book to his side;
and, taking his lamp in one hand, and his pil-
grim staff in the other, he started, the little
bird flying before, from tree to tree, in a straight
line, in the way he should go.
The beautiful guide never, for a moment, got.
out of sight of the hermit. About noon, the
bird alighted on the branch of an oak, and at the
foot of the tree there was a large spring, all
around the margin of which grew herbs, good
for food; and here the hermit halted, unstrap-
.ping his Bible and setting the lamp upon it. Hav-
ing gathered some roots and herbs, of them he
made his dinner, while the bird was hopping
around, getting bugs and worms for its meal


58
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
Then Haran got down on his knees, and drank
from the spring, and as he did so he thought of
poor Ishmael's idea of praying to a spring. As
he rose up, refreshed with the
pure
cold
waters,
he said to himself, “ I get all my best blessings,
on my knces.”
The walk had been a long one, and the guide
had led on pretty fast; so the hermit, being
weary, lay down on a knoll and fell asleep; and
the bird, having finished its dinner, perched on
the handle of the lamp, which sat on the Bible
close by the old man's side. By and by, Harar.
was awoke by the screaming of the bird, close to
his ear, as it sat on tho lamp. The old man was
frightened, thinking his little friend was sick.
Then he remembered that a bird would be
alarmed, and cry out with a strange noise, at the
sight of a serpent; so he took his staff, and
maue search for what had been the cause of the
fright. Just baok of the tree under which he
had slept was a high rock, and, knowing that
snakes frequent such places, he climbed up there,
and saw in the distance, a being running down
into a valley, through which his morning path


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
59
>
had led. Sure, as the world, it was that thieving
fellow, whose name was Doubt! Then he un-
derstood why the little bird made the strange
noise, for that wicked being had been after the
lamp. Haran saw, also, why the wise angel had
directed that the bird should perch on the handle
of the lamp. So, after that, when the old man
would take a nap at noon, while on his journey,
he would set the lamp near his head, and the
bird, like a soldier in beautiful uniform, would
stand sentinel at the ear of the sleeping pilgrim;
and as in the camp, the drum beats and the bu-
gle sounds, to awake the men sleeping in the
tents, so would the little guard sound the alarm,
if there was danger, or sing sweetly, if all was
right, to awaken the hermit for his journey.
It was time to go, for Haran saw the sign, by
the bird's leaving his silver perch, and alighting
on the limb of a tree, in the path which he was
to travel. So journeyed the man and bird, until
the shadows of evening began to fall; and then
again the bird alighted. He could not have
found a more beautiful place in all the woods.
Two great rocks leaned their tops against each


60
HARAN, THE UERMIT.
othor, making the entrance to look like the letter
V, turned downwards: so, A. As the hermit
went in, he feared there might be, perhaps, some
wild beast in the stone house; but he searched
it with Faith, and found it a complete place to
stay in. There, too, was a stone, covered with
green moss, much like his old table in the cave;
and in the corner of the cell was a spring, and as
it bubbled up little bright sands all the while
arose, looking like particles of silver. So again
the bird gathered its meal, and the hermit he got
his. Then he built his evening watchfire, for he
felt that the bird could not frighten away the
wild beasts; and, taking his lamp and Bible, he
sat down and read. Now, while he was reading,
in flew the little bird, and sat in his old place, on
the handle of Faith.
That night, the hermit found in the holy book
the story of the blessed Saviour's taking up chil-
dren in his arms, and blessing them; and he sat
;
and thought how, in early childhood, Jesus gave
him a blessing, and how, in later life, he had so
often done evil, and had acted disobediently. And
then again he thought of his hours of penitence


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
61
and conscious forgiveness; and, last of all, of the
angel's giving him the silver lamp;- and the
meditation of the hermit sent him to his knees,
with the waters of sorrow and joy mingled on
his cheeks. Then the lamp burned bright! The
old man did not know it, but, while he was in
prayer, Doubt, who, all the while, hung around
his path, came and looked in; but before the lit-
tle bird could give a scream, the thief was off,
for the light was so bright his weak eyes could
not stand the glare; and, beyond that, the sound
of thanksgiving and praise always gave him the
headache, and made him faint.
So the old hermit lay down to his rest, and
the little bird, sitting on the lamp, grew drowsy,
too, and finally put his head under his wing and
went to sleep. At midnight, the good angel
came noiselessly to the cell, and stood by the
bed of leaves, where the pilgrim lay, and then
looked at the little bird and the lamp; but he
was not heard by the sleepers. Now, while he
stood over the hermit, the old man smiled in his
sleep; and when he was near the stone table,
the lamp burned brighter, and the little bird half


62
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
warbled a tune, as it slept. So the angel, seeing
that all was right with his precious charge, flew
away again to heaven.
The bird woke up first, and began to sing on
the silver handle close by the ear of the hermit,
until the old man was aroused from his slumber.
Haran that morning remembered his dream. At
first, some trouble came near, but he thought it
soon passed away, and he dreamed of angels and
heaven. But how little he knew of Doubt's
having been around the door, and that an angel
had actually been in the cabin! Perhaps, if the
bird could have talked, he too could have told
a dream.
The morning meal over, again they started
on the journey; halting at noon for an hour,
and then going on their way till evening. This
night, the hermit slept under a juniper tree, with
his Bible and lamp at his side, and his watch-
fire burning near by. As he arose in the morn-
ing, at the singing of the bird, who was in his
usual place, he found, to his surprise, a leaf of a
tree lying on the Bible, and on it these words:
“This day completeth thy pilgrimage out of the


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
63
wilderness. 7." By the sign of the cross, the
hermit knew it must have been that the angel
had visited him during the night. After the
morning service and morning meal, the bird and
man started on their last day's pilgrimage, for so
Haran knew it to be, because of the writing on
the leaf. Now, about noon, the bird perched
upon a tree, and the hermit found he was at
the edge of a forest, and that, in the distance, he
could see a house. After the little guide had
eaten its meal it came down and sat on the lamp,
as before, singing one of its sweet melodies.
Then it flew far away toward the house, and re-
turning, again alighted on its silver perch, and
sang. Pretty soon, it flew around the hermit,
and sat on his shoulder, then on his hand, and
again on the lamp. Haran would have gladly
kept the bird, but suddenly it took its flight to
the forest, and he saw it no more, until the very
close of his life.
After the little bird was gone, and the pilgrim
had partaken of his last dinner of nuts, roots,
and herbs, he knceled down, and, first thanking
God for the lamp, the angel, and the bird, he


64
ARAN
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
then asked divine direction. This precious prom-
ise welled up in his heart, while he was praying:
“Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in
him, and he shall bring it to pass.” So, with
his Bible strapped to his side and his silver lamp
in his hand, he made his way to the farm-house
which he saw in the distance.
Now, on the way, again and again he would
stop and look, asking himself “What does this
Then he would go on again, wonder-
ing at what he saw, and feeling like a man walk-
ing in his sleep, or dreaming, when half awake.
So, reaching the door of the house, he rapped
with his pilgrim staff, and a voice answered,
“Come in!” So, in his leather dress, with his
Bible strapped to his side, and the wonderful sil-
ver lamp in his hand, entered Haran, the hermit
of the wilderness.
mean?"


1
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
CHAPTER VI.
Haran makes a great discovery— God is better to him than
his fears.
WHEN the hermit reached the door of the
farm-house, as I have said, he rapped with his
staff on the door, and a voice on the inside an-
swered, “Come in.” It was the first time for
nearly or quite forty years that his feet had stood
in any human habitation, save his own cave in
the wild woods. The people looked strange to
him; and, surely, he must have appeared still
more strange to them. It had been six long
years since he had beheld a human face. Then
a hunter found shelter and food in his cell,
and for a night shared the cheap hospitalities of
his little forest home. The stranger, grateful for
the kindness, made the hermit a present of a deer-
skin; and from it Haran managed, with a thorn
for a needle, and some fine, strong roots for
a
5


66
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
or.
thread, to make the strange dress in which he
was then clothed. Had it not been for his
Bible, and the habit he had of talking to himself,
he would have nearly or quite forgotten his own
language.
You may well suppose that the good people of
the house were both astonished and alarmed at
the curious appearance of their unexpected visit-
The head of the household, a very old man,
invited him to take a seat, and asked him if ho
was not hungry. Haran told him that he would be
thankful for food; and so they brought out some
bread, potatoes, and meat, and told him to help
himself. It seemed odd enough to the hermit
to sit at such a table. His first thought was that
he should crack the potatoes, as he used to do
with the nuts; and he made awkward work with
the knife and fork. Some of the younger folks
whispered to each other, as they watched him,
saying, “He is crazy.”
The old man in the house thought, at first,
that the intruder might be a robber, until taking
up the book, which, with the lamp, Haran had
put on the table, he found it was the Bible.


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
67
So, then, he too concluded that it was some
poor being who had lost his reason, and for a
long time had been wandering in the woods ;
and the fact that he carried a burning lamp in
the daytime went far to confirm his suspicion.
Therefore, from pity, he invited him to stay all
night, knowing he had a room up stairs, with a
strong lock, in which the man could be put, safe
from doing any harm.
Just then, a bird began to sing in front of the
house, when instantly the hermit ran to the door,
and, listening a moment, he hurried out into the
yard, looking every way for the singer. Soon
he saw that it was a Canary, which lived in a lit-
tle cage, which was suspended from an upper
window. As Haran came in, he remarked that
he thought it was the bird that had been his
guide, but added that the angel had said his lit-
tle messenger should return again through the
forest by the way in which he came.
“Poor crazy man!” whispered the good old
lady, “hear him talk of angels.”
“Your yellow-bird," continued the hermit,


68
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
“has something of the appearance and somewhat
of the notes of my charming little Moses."
“ Your what?” asked the old man.
“I came from my cave to your dwelling,” said
Haran, "led by a mysterious bird; and, in the
thought of the Jews being conducted through
the wilderness, I named my pretty guide Moses.”
“And how long," asked the old man, “have
you been this
way
?”
“I was never this way before,” replied Haran,
not understanding the question, “and had it not
been for the good angel and the bird, I should
not be here now. Thank the Lord for the an-
gel!”
>
Now, after the hermit had finished his supper,
the old man of the house was about to light
the candles for night, when, observing that the
curious light of the lamp illuminated the room,
he asked his crazy visitor—for so he fully believed
him to be- if he intended to let his lamp burn all
the evening
“It never goes out," was the mysterious reply.
So the whole of the large family circle was
gathered together, and in addition some of the


1
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
69
neighbors also happened in, making a goodly
company. Of course the hermit was the .center
of attraction, with his long, gray hair, his strange
dress, and, above all, his Wonderful Lamp.
In answer to the questions of the head of the
family, Haran told the story of his life. They
were soon convinced that he was not insane.
Said the hermit, “When I was a lad of some
twelve years of age, my father and mother, who
were both godly people, died, leaving myself and
one only older brother, the only remnants of a
once numerous family. We were without prop-
erty, our father's farm having been sold for debt,
during the days of his last sickness. All we two
boys had was a Bible and a painting—the likeness
of our dear mother. This treasure we divided
between us-my brother taking the portrait, and
I that Bible now lying on the table, on the blank
leaf of which is a name the most precious to me
of all names on earth.
"A few years after," continued Haran, "Orrin,
my brother, shipped on board a trading vessel,
as a hand, before the mast, resolved to lead a
sailor's life. For many years he made regular


70
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
voyages from Boston to a distant foreign port,
and I believe he became mate of the ship. One
fall, when I was daily expecting his arrival tho
dreadful news came that the ship was wrecked
in a gale, on the coast, and all hands lost. Then,"
said the hermit, “I was alone indeed. An or-
phan, and, without brother or sister, in the great,
cold world! I became a wanderer, estranged
from my fellow-men, and feeling that my chief
happiness was in being alone. Just at that time,
a strange old man, who, at long intervals, made
his appearance in the village near my home, re-
turned again. His name no one knew; but he
was familiarly called by every body Willy Wild-
man, and his home was said to be far distant in
the depths of the forest. This man proposed,
knowing my condition, that I should accompany
him on his return to the wilderness. I readily
complied with his request, and found my home
with him in the cave.
“I saw,” said Haran," that Willy's roughness
was all on the outside; that he had nothing of
the bear but his skin. He loved his God, and
bad sweet communion with his Saviour and the


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
71
Holy Spirit. By his counsels and his prayers, I
trust I became more fully acquainted with true
religion. Then I loved the hermit, and could
not bear to be separated an hour from his
company.
“Our home was the cave; and our food was
the roots, herbs, and nuts, of the woods. The
hermit declared to me that all life was sacred,
and that he would by no means kill the innocent
inhabitants of the streams, the air, and the for-
est, inasmuch as they had been better friends to
him than his fellow-men.
“Now, one morning good old Willy went
forth from the cave alone, saying that he would
return before sunset; and that was the last I
ever saw of him. For days I sought for him;
but all in vain. He might have fallen into one
of the lakes ; but it is more likely he was
devoured by wild beasts." Then said Haran, “I
was for a long time alone, until one day a poor
fellow, who appeared to be either foolish or
mad, made his way to my solitary home. He
also became my companion, and remaining with
me a short time, died. From that time to


72
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
the present,” said the hermit, “I have lived
alone.”
Then did the curious guest relate the story of
the angel's visit and the gift of the Wonderful
Lamp; and also how, with a beautiful bird for
his guide, he had again been led to the habita-
tions of men.”
“I knew that Willy Wildman,” said the old
man of the house, “ and, by a strange coincidence,
my name, too, is Orrin.” As he said this, he
opened the hermit’s Bible, and his eye lighting
upon the name written on the fly-leaf, he dropped
the book, and, crying aloud “Oh, Haran ! — my
brother Haran!” he fell on the hermit's neck,
and wept.
Yes, it was Orrin, the sailor, and Haran, the
hermit! Then the whole company bowed down
upon their knees, and Haran offered thanks
unto Him who had commanded the angel and
directed the bird.
While this sacrifice of praise was being offered,
one of the little grandchildren called aloud, say-
ing, “See, see! What ails the curious lamp ?”
and as they rose from the floor, the light was


HARAN, THE AERMIT.
73
shining with new brilliancy; which mystery Ha-
ran explained to the astonished circle.
It seems, Orrin, the brother, was wrecked,
off the coast, in a terrible storm; but of all the
ill-fated crew he alone was spared, and his salva-
tion seemed little less than a miracle. After
some months, he obtained a situation on another
ship, and finally rose to be master of the vessel.
A number of years of successful voyaging yield-
ed him a handsome property, and with it be
returned, and, buying the old farm, settled down
in the place where he was born. Haran was
then in his father's house, and, at that moment,
sitting in his mother's old chair;- for Orrin had
succeeded in restoring all the furniture, so pre-
cious in the associations of the past. Around
him were the descendants of his brother, sons,
and daughters; grandsons, and granddaughters.
Then asked his brother's wife, as she looked
over at the hermit through her spectacles, “And
do you remember among your early playmates,
at the village school, one wild, frolicing, but, I.
trust, good meaning girl, whom all the children
used to call • Crazy Kate?'"


74
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
6
>
“Who could forget her!” exclaimed Haran;
and asked he, “Is she still living ?”
At that, his brother, smiling, came forward
with his wife, saying, “ Let me introduce you to
Crazy Kate,' of the village school."
Then said she, pointing to a little grand-
daughter, with black hair and bright-hazel eyes,
“There is what we call the third edition of
Kate,' revised and corrected.”
"I do n't know how that may be," replied Ha-
ran; “but the little volume has at least a very
fine binding."
What a change had come over that circle !
Hour after hour passed by, and the story of a
lifetime was rehearsed, until the sober old clock,
solemnly ticking in the corner, sounded out the
hour of three in the morning.
As Haran started for his bed, he took his
lamp and his Bible with him.
“ You
may
leave the book," said his brother,
6 for there is one in your room.”
“ The old Bible and Faith are inseparable,"
said Haran; and bidding all good-night-though


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
75
really it was morning – he was conducted to
to his room.
The next day, the house was crowded with
neighbors, from the little village close by, all
anxious to see the long lost man. Then Haran
showed them the wonders of the lamp, calling to
mind the angel's saying, to let his light shine be-
fore men. Many were the mysteries displayed,
and many the blessings imparted, by Faith, the
Wonderful Lamp.


76
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
CHAPTER VII.
Haran visits the city.
HARAN's brother had a grandson whose name
was Frederick, but whom the household always
knew as “Freddie.” He was ten years of
and
his wisdom was quite beyond a boy of his years.
Freddie's home was in the great city, some forty
miles from his grandfather's house. When Ha-
ran arrived, this lad was home on a visit, and
the time had come when he must return. Now,
Freddie had listened with great interest to the
story of the power of Faith, the Wonderful Lamp,
and so he proposed that the hermit should go in
with him that day to the city, and show the lamp
to his employer. So Haran, having exchanged
his old leather dress for better apparel, went, with
Freddie for his guide now, instead of the bird, to the
house of the merchant in the city, who was a good
man and loved his Saviour.
age,


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
77
Now, when they arrived, great was the aston-
ishment of all the family. Though the old her-
mit had put on the ordinary dress of a citizen,
still his manner and appearance were such as to
surprise any one who saw him. His hair was
white and long, hanging over his shoulders, and
his beard descended down to his breast. Then,
too, he had his old Bible strapped to his side, and
always carried the Wonderful Lamp in his hand.
Freddie's employer took him aside into another
room, and there asked him all about the old man,
thinking he had escaped from some lunatic asy-
lum. So the boy told the whole story of the
forty years' dwelling in the wilderness, and all
about the mysteries of the curious silver lamp.
Then the merchant bade Haran to stay all night,
and so they spent the evening together in conversa-
tion, and Haran tried some experiments with
Faith. He opened to the story of the Cross, and
showed the effect of the lamp, in making the page
to shine like beautiful jewelry. Then, by its light,
he read and explained some difficult and dark
passages, much to the delight of all the circle.
Before the hour of evening service, it was agreed


78
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
that on the morrow Freddie's employer should
conduct Haran to the prisons and the almshouse,
and try the power of the lamp in the cells and
rooms of the inmates.
But, during the night, a beautiful little child,
of about a year old, was taken very sick. All
the family were called up, and the doctor was
sent for. All the next day it grew worse and
worse, and the following evening it died. When
the child was dying, and the family were all
weeping around its little bed, Haran came into
the room with his Bible and the lamp; and, at
his request, all the lights were put out, except
his. Then he took the holy book, and read a
chapter full of the love of God. Having finished
the reading, he put the open book on a stand,
close by the bed, and set Faith right on the page
which contained the promises, with the light shin-
ing on the couch of the dying one. In a minute,
they were astonished at the sight presented: two
beautiful angels stood over the child; and when
they smiled, the dying one would smile too, and
the light of their faces shone like the light of the
Wonderful Lamp. Pretty soon a third, as it might


AARAN, THE HERMIT.
79
be the angel of a babe, seemed to be just over
the child; and the next instant, with one of the
large angels on one side, and the other on the
other side of the little angel, the three spread
their wings and flew up to heaven, and the doc-
tor said the child was dead. All in the room
did not see the angels: only the father, and moth-
er, and Haran, the hermit; though everybody
saw the baby smile, just as it was dying. The
first vision greatly comforted the parents of the
child, and the second was equally consoling, and
much more glorious. Opening the Bible to an-
other place, and setting the lamp thereon, a great
smoke went up from the burning wick, and in
this cloud there appeared, as far distant, broad
pastures, through which lay a calm, clear river.
In these beautiful fields, and along the margin of
this quiet stream, a shepherd was seen leading a
flock of sheep, and in his arms he was tenderly
carrying a little lamb. Then the father and
mother knew that the vision was to instruct and
comfort in the dark hour of bereavement
that the green pastures were the fields of heaven,
the still waters the River of Life, the good shep-


80
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
herd the Saviour, the flock of sheep the saints in
glory, and the lamb in the shepherd's arms must
be the little one just gone to glory.
The day after the funeral, Freddie's employer
took Haran, whom he had come to love, and
whose lamp he now prized above all price, to the
great prison and the almshouse. He went in a
carriage, because when he walked in the street
crowds of people followed, thinking that the good
hermit was insane. Greatly did the keepers of
the prison stare, as this old white-haired man,
with his Bible and burning lamp, passed through
the iron doors, and along the halls where the
men were confined. But Freddie's employer
took the chaplain aside, and told him about the
hermit, and why he always kept with him his
Bible and Faith. So the chaplain proposed they
should visit a certain cell, wherein was a man in
great concern of mind about his soul. He felt
that he had been very wicked, and sobbed aloud,
to think he had been such a sinner. Now when
Haran, the hermit, saw the condition of the mis-
erable man, and that he despaired of being for-
given, he unstrapped his Bible from his side, and
a


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
81
opening to the story of the dear Saviour's death,
he set the Wonderful Lamp on the precious page.
In a few m.nutes the prisoner began to look, as the
cloud of smoke, with the white light, went up
from the lamp.
“ What is that?” said he. “I see,” he ex-
claimed, a hill, and on the top stands a cross.
On the cross hangs a bleeding, dying man; and
on the ground, at the foot of the cross, I behold,
written in red letters, these words: “The blood of
Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.'”
Pretty soon, the prisoner clapped his hands,
and, smiling through his tears, he cried aloud,
“I am forgiven! I am forgiven!”
He was so happy he did not know how to act.
He kissed Haran, and kissed the lamp, and the
holy book on which it stood.
“ Thou art saved through Faith,” said the her-
mit; and, taking up his precious treasure, he left
the cell.
Then he went to where others were confined ;
but most of them would have nothing to do with
Faith. Haran always first asked them whether
they wanted him to use the lamp; and, if they
6


82
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
very
refused, he could bring no vision from the smoky
cloud. Still, there was quite a number who were
blessed by the visit of the hermit. One old
man, who was in for life, said to Haran,
“Oh, that I had found that book and lamp
when I was young! I should not be spending
the evening of my life in this awful place."
“Wouldst thou take a look at the cloud ?"
asked the hermit.
“Oh, yes !” he replied, “ if it is not too late.”
Then the lamp burned brightly, and in the
smoke again appeared the picture of the hill and
the cross, and on the ground was the blood-red
writing. So the old man raised his hands and
exclaimed, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant
, “
depart in peace, according to thy word, for mine
eyes have seen thy salvation.” The bright light
made the old prisoner's snow-white hair to
glisten like a silver crown.
Then they went into the almshouse which was
full of poor people. Many were the visions en-
joyed there; and they all said that a man could
not be poor with the treasures of Haran, the her-
mit. But it was getting late, and they had 1


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
83
good way to ride; so they left, in the carriage,
for the house of Freddie's employer. As they
were riding home, the hermit said that he felt so
happy, when he received the lamp, that he was
desirous to stay in his cave among the mountains
until he should go to his heavenly home; but
the good angel said to him, that he must go
among men, and “let his light so shine that oth-
ers, seeing his good works, might glorify his
Father who is in heaven.” He added, also, that
he expected to go down into a valley, before long,
and, passing through the gate at the farther end
of the same, he should dwell forever in a land
where no such lamp was needed.
On his arrival at the house, a large company
had gathered to meet him, and he told them all
how to study and how to pray, so that the angel
would give them such a lamp as he carried. He
also charged them, when they received the heav-
enly gift, to use it for the benefit of others.
“See to it,” said Haran, “ that you gather to-
gether a company of little children; and each in
his circle of youth, every Sabbath day, with Bible
»


84
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
and lamp, make the holy truth to shine into their
minds and hearts."
So, spending that night at the house of Fred-
lie's employer, the next morning the good old
man left for his brother's house, with the blessings
of all the company upon him.
Before Haran left, he held a long talk with the
little boy who had been his guide to the mer-
chant's house. He told him how he, too, could
obtain such a lamp, and that in its light he would
make a safe journey to the bright world. Fred-
die promised that he would ask God's good angel
for the lamp; and old Haran then did kiss the
boy and gave him his blessing.


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
85
CHAPTER VIII.
Haran arrives at his brother's house.
MANY were the stories which Haran had to
tell, on his return to his brother's house. Al-
ready, he joyfully confessed that it was both wis-
dom and love which did prompt the angel to
send him from his wild cave in the woods to the
homes of men, and saw the folly of his former
sorrow at the decision of heaven. The smile
of gratitude, in the face of the prisoner who had
found his Saviour by the light of Faith, was
enough to repay him an hundred fold for all his
toils and trials. It is a great thing to carry joy
to a heavy heart, and to impart the light of holy
happiness to a face wet with the waters of grief.
Then, too, Haran thought of others in the prison
and in the almshouse who had received an inesti-
mable blessing in the light of the lamp. He re-
membered, too, with pleasure, the tender service


E6
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
of bright-burning Faith, in the room where the
child lay dying. So the hermit felt great glad-
ness of heart, in the reflection that he had not
lived in vain; and he saw, also, that we must
not go out of the world because
is bad, no
more than a candle should avoid a room because
it is dark; but that we should stay in the wicked
world, and do good, just as a bright candle
shines.
Then Haran resolved that he would not go to
bed any night without being able, as he laid his
head on his pillow, to remember some act of
mercy, or some word of timely wisdom that he
had performed or spoken that day. If he had
made the vow when he was a little boy, and had
kept it, what a valuable life would his have been !
But he was already an old man. The most of
his life was gone, and there was no recalling it
back again. For a man advanced in years to be-
come an active Christian, is like a person loiter-
ing around a barvest field all through the day,
and just at sunset going into the field to work;
but for a little child to turn to Christ, is like a
man to begin his labor in the brightness of the


HARAN, TUE HERMIT.
87
morning, there is a hope that he may work
through the long summer's day. It is a glorious
thing for even an aged person to seek the Lord;
but it is a more glorious thing for a child to be-
gin the long day of life in the presence of him
who blessed little children-he may do so much
much more for the Saviour and the world.
Now when Haran the hermit returned, he re-
solved to make his brother's house his home.
The whole household became very much attached
to him, and he loved them all, and daily tried
to do them good. There were living at the old
homestead two little boys, who were cousins, and
their fathers were both dead. The name of the
one was Stanley, and the name of the other was
Seymour, and they were the great-grandsons of
Haran's brother, and the hermit loved them as
much as if they had been his own children. At
first, these boys were afraid of the hermit, his
appearance was so strange; but very soon they
came to cling to him, and love him as much as
he loved them. Hour after hour, he would sit
with them, reading to them out of his old Bible,
and talking to them about the lamp, the angel,
>


88
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
and heaven. Very soon he taught them to real-
ize that their dear parents were not out in the
graveyard; but that they, too, were angels, away
up in the bright world, from whence the angel
brought the Wonderful Lamp. He helped them
to set out beautiful bushes, and to plant flowers
in the little yard wherein their parents were laid ;
and showed them that as the seeds, hid away in
the ground, did first decay, and then quicken
and come up in the form of beautiful blossoms,
so it was with the bodies of good men, Jesus
would raise them up at the last day. His words
of instruction and love were like balm to the
hearts of those two dear little fatherless boys.
Nor was this all. Haran never rested until he
had, by his prayers, brought both Stanley and
Seymour, and Freddie, too, whose home was in
the city, to love the glorious Saviour, so that
they might one day join the happy ones in
heaven. When they had received the “Calvary
wisdom,” as he loved to call it, then, day after
day, he would have them read his good old book,
in the light of the Wonderful Lamp, until their
knowledge of divine things quite surpassed the


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
8€
wisdom of this world. One day, while he was
gone over to a neighbor's, he left the boys in his
room with the Bible and the lamp; and so they
had a kind of little church, all alone to them-
selves. Now when Haran returned, he thought
he would go noiselessly up to the room and listen
at the door, to learn how the little fellows would
act, unconscious of his presence. So as he got to
the door, he looked through the keyhole, and
saw Stanley was reading the scriptures by the
light of the lamp, and little Seymour was listen-
ing. These were the words which he read: The
poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the
father of the fatherless. Ps. 10; 14. Then he
saw them both kneel down and pray. Now
while they prayed, their eyes being closed, Ha-
ran beheld that the silver lamp burned very
brightly, and suddenly the very angel he once saw
in the cave appeared, bending over the boys, and
smiling upon them, and then flew away again,
leaving upon the faces of the praying children
the same glad holy look which his own face
So Haran saw that the good angel was
near a child when bowed in prayer.
wore.


90
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
When the supplication was over, as they rose
from their knees they sang aloud the hymn,
“We won't give up the Bible,
God's holy book of truth."
-
While they were singing, he opened the door
and went in. Then they both ran to him, say-
ing, “Oh, Uncle Haran!”—for so they called
“.
him-
we have had children's church,' and the
lamp has acted wonderfully; and we have been
so happy while we prayed.” Stanley said it
seemed to him that the angels might have been
in the room, he felt so glad, when on his knees.
The hermit smiled and kissed them both, but did
not tell them what he saw.
“Now," said he, as he sat down, “let us have
that singing over again, for I heard you at the
door.” So the boys again sung the Bible hymn,
until they made the room ring with the music.
“Good !” exclaimed the old man, “good! No
choir in the great city churches can surpass it, 1
will venture any thing."
Then, as the little boys leaned upon Uncle


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
91
SO
Haran's knees, said Stanley, “ Uncle Haran, Sey-
mour and I have one request to make, and it is a
great one."
“If it is right,” said the hermit, “I will grant
it. Speak your mind."
“We hope you will stay with us a great many
years, for, our fathers being dead, you seem as a
father to us; but when you do go into that
bright land, of which you have told us
much,–
Here the boy hesitated, for he had all his fa-
ther's diffidence.
“Speak on," said Uncle Haran. So Stanley
ventured to complete the sentence.
“Will you let Seymour and I have the silver
lamp?" You will not need it in the land of
light, “Where the saints in glory stand, bright,
bright as day.”
The hermit kissed the dear little boy, and
smiled, and cried. “I shall not be long with
you, my dear children,” he replied, “and you
are right in saying that I shall have no need of
Faith, in the better country, 'for therein there is
no need of a candle, neither light of the sun;


92
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
6
the Lord giveth the inhabitants light. But,” he
added, “the lamp is not mine to give; it is only
loaned to me, for a season.” Then, with great
solemnity, he said, “ My journey is almost over;
and the angel told me, while I was yet in the
wilderness, that I should finally go through a
valley called “The Shadow of Death,' and that
the light of the lamp would shine on my path,
close to the gate of the celestial city. If you
are good children in Christ, and are present
when I go through, it may be that the good an-
I
gel who visited me in the cave will give to you
the Wonderful Lamp.” Then he thought of the
saying of poor Ishmael.
For a year and a half, Haran the hermit dwelt
under the roof of his brother's house. During
that time, his brother died, and the lamp shone
brightly on the pillow of the dying man. In its
light, a throne, and harp, and crown appeared, and
waiting angels hovered around the bed. When
the spirit had taken its flight with the angelic
company, in the cloud of smoke from the lamp
these words appeared,“The separation shall not be
long.” Haran believed the message was to him,


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
93
and so he made diligent use of his Bible and his
lamp, knowing that the time was short. A great
many good people learned from his lips how they
might attain to the wealth of a silver lamp, and
how they might let their ligau shine in the
world.
As I have said, the good hermit saw it to be
his duty and privilege to be among his fellow-
men, and impart unto the destitute all the bless-
ings at his command. Still, the memory of the
sweet solitude of the solemn old woods had not
left him, and he used to love to go into the
depths of the forest, with his Bible and his lamp,
alone. At other times, he would take with him
the boys he loved so well, and be gone a whole
day, returning at evening to his dwelling.
But all could see that he was not to stay a
great while among men. He himself observed a
sign of his early departure, which the angel had
told him should be a sure indication of his final
journey drawing nigh. That was, that, day by
day, Faith burned brighter and brighter. Ons
evening, the Wonderful Lamp fairly flamed, as
the hermit, after evening service, started for his


94
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
room. Then, again, his conversation ran much
upon the theme of man's being a “pilgrim and a
stranger;” and there came to be a peculiar ex.
pression of his countenance, like one seeing
something in the distance. That night he was
overheard, in his room alone, for many hours in
prayer; and the bright light of the lamp shone
out into the yard. Stanley's mother thought
that might be the time that was set ; but the little
boys did not so think, because of the strange
sayings of Uncle Haran about the valley. But
they could only whisper together about that, for
they feared to tell it to any one, the hermit was
80 solemn, when he told the story to them.


HAKAN, THE HERMIT.
05
CHAPTER IX.
Håran goes through the Valley.
During the night, Haran dreamed a dream, in
which all the past seemed to go before him.
Again he was a child, playing with other child-
ren, at home or at school. All those places to
which he used to go in childhood looked to him
as they did near sixty years before. There was
the old mill, whose great wheel was moved by
water, and, turning, set all the stones in the build-
ing whirling so swiftly. There was the mill-
dam, along which he used to play in summer,
and on the surface of which, in the cold winter,
the boys used to slide and skate. In his dream,
familiar faces appeared, and father and mother
were there, looking as they used to look, before
their eyes were concealed with spectacles, or
their faces were marked with wrinkles. Every
thing seemed as in the scenes of life's glad, fresh


96
HARAN, THE HERMIT
morning. The old church on the hill, with the
still, solemn graveyard at its side. He thought,
in his sleep, that it was the Sabbath-day, and that
he rode in the large, two-horse wagon, which had
in it the tall, splint-bottomed chairs for seats.
Again they drove up to the platform, and each
stepped out upon it; and, going down the little
steps, entered the old meeting-house. How
clearly he saw every thing in that building, as
through a child's eyes. The square, straight-
backed pews; the faded
green curtain, strung on
a wire in the gallery, behind which the choir
were “practicing.” Then the singing! the same
old tunes, the same voices, the untold mysteries
of the big bass-viol, and the sweeter sound of
the flute. There, too, was the curious old pul-
pit standing on a high post, with its winding
stairway. And there stood the stout old man,
Mr. Redfield, who used to work in the field all
the week, and preach three times on Sabbath;
and never once had to go to Europe for his
health. Then, the dark, dark day in which his
mother died, passed before his mind. He sa :v
the people around the bed, he heard her last fal-


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
37
tering words, and the final breath. Again he felt
that inexpressible desolation that comes with the
thought-mother is dead! The funeral, the de-
scent of the coffin so far down into the ground,
the singing of the hymn in the graveyard, the
prayer, and the going home to the lonely house,
now empty, though filled with neighbors. His
dream seemed to last for years, and yet it was all
within the narrow boundary of a night. For
days he was, in his sleep, wandering in the woods,
among the high, wild hills, and along the lakes.
The beautiful deer were cropping the water lilies,
and the wild ducks and geese were swimming
along the streams, or flying in the clear, blue
sky. Finally, the angel and the silver lamp ap-
peared ; and this vision was so bright that Haran
awoke, and behold, at the table stood the angel,
and he was again examining the lamp. As once
in the cave, so now he pressed from the Bible,
where the promises were, much oil into the lamp,
and carefully trimmed the wick. Haran lay and
silently looked at the glorious visitor, and
thought he never appeared so beautiful as that
night. He saw, also, that he had in his hand a
7


98
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
»
scroll, and as he partly unrolled it, and the light
of the lamp fell upon it, the hermit read many
names thereon, in letters of gold, and among them
he saw distinctly “Freddie," “Stanley," "Sey-
*” “.
mour," and they were in the midst of a long,
long list of other names. Some time the good
angel seemed to be busy with the lamp, and then
he opened the Bible, and, on one of the pages,
made the sign of the cross. Then he spread his
broad, white wings, and flew away; and, as he
passed out, the hermit heard, in a low, musical
whisper, the word “to-morrow.”
Now, after the angel was gone, Haran asose
and went to the table, to see what the angel had
done. He found that the lamp was full of oil,
and the wick carefully trimmed. Then he opened
to the place which the angel had marked, and
found the sign of the cross, beside these words:
“The silver cord is loosened, and the golden bowl
is broken.” So the hermit knew that that was
his last night on earth. From that time until
morning, he spent the time in getting ready for
the journey, and in writing farewell words to
those whom he had learned to love so well. Hav.


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
99
ing got every thing prepared, he sat down at the
open window, and watched until he saw the first
rays of golden light in the east, and knew that
the daylight had come.
Never did a morning appear so bright and
beautiful as that. The sky was without a cloud,
the air was laden with the perfume of flowers,
and the birds were singing everywhere. He
thought, “What a world this is to leave! I shall
no more see the golden sun in the day, and the sil-
yer moon at night, with all the bright stars !
I shall never again breathe the fragrance of the
blossoms, nor hear the sweet voices of the birds !
For a moment, Haran was very sorrowful, and
felt to lament the message of the angel; and then
he noticed that Faith was burning very dim,
though the angel had filled it so full of the pure
oil. Soon, however, he came to think of what
sorrow and what sin was in this world, and how
glorious was the home in which he was to be, be.
fore another morning sun should rise; and the
meditations of his heart were so elevating and so
holy that he longed to depart. He was to go
above the stars, even as Ishmael went. He was


100
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
to fly with such wings as the angel had; he was
to see the friends who had gone before him to
glory; and, above all, he was to see and be with
that Saviour who had sent the bright angel to
his cave in the forest, and whose love hąd put in
his hand the silver lamp of faith. Then, again,
the light burned brightly. So he exclaimed,
“Let me go; for the morning breaketh !"
Very early he went to the room where the lit-
tle boys were sleeping, and awoke them. Then,
he told them what he had seen and heard, and,
above all, that he had read their names on the
angel's scroll. Then Seymour and Stanley broke
forth into the song,
“How I long to be a little angel!”
“Now,” said Haran, "you remember what I
told you, when you asked me to give you the
lamp? To-day I go away from you forever, and
you need not cry, for it will not be long before
you two will be with me in the same happy place.
I have some things to say to you,” said he, “but
not just now. I have come to tell you to get
ready, so that after I have parted with the house.
hold you can accompany me to a place which I


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
101
will tell you of.” So the hermit went back to his
room, saying, “I'm a pilgrim and a stranger,'
and the little boys hurried to get ready for their
mysterious journey.
Now, as Haran took his seat again at the win-
dow, he heard the singing of a bird, quite differ-
ent from all the other sweet voices which filled
the air ; and the next moment there perched
on the limb of a tree, close before him, the little
guide who conducted him out of the wilderness.
The next moment, it flew in through the window,
and again alighted on its little silver perch, even
the handle of the lamp. So he called the boys
into the room, that they might see the bird with
the golden wings. They were astonished and
delighted. “That,” said Haran, smiling, “is the
little ‘Moses,' who led me from my cave to this
house, and he is to be our guide to-day.”
Now, after the morning meal and morning ser-
vice, Haran proposed to the little boys to go
with him into the forest; and, having left a pa-
per on his table, up stairs, he took his book and
lamp, and, bidding a good-by, went forth. As
he started with the boys, the bird flew forward,


102
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
and alighted on a tree; and then, when the man
and boys would reach the spot, it would fly
again ; and so they journeyed on, until, finally,
they reached a deep, dark ravine, at the entrance
of which the bird sat on an overhanging vine and
sang sweetly.
“This must be the place,” said Haran, “ where
we are to separate, my dear children;" and so,
sitting down on a rock with them, he gave them
his farewell advice. He told them the outline of
his strange life; how he would live better if he
could live his days over again; what a blessing
it was to have one's home among godly people ;
and what a privilege it was to go to the Sabbath-
school. Beyond all, he dwelt upon the love of
Jesus to little children, and bade them to re-
member what he had said about the advantage of
beginning the day of life in the work of Christ. He
told them, also, to try and bring others to a knowl-
edge of the same Saviour; and to avoid bad compa-
ny; and each night, praying for forgiveness for all
sins, to think over, “Now, what good have I
done to-day ?” For more than an hour, Ilaran
talked with the little boys, and then knelt down


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
103
with them, and prayed for them, in the opening
of the dark valley.
When they arose from their knees, the boys
were astonished to see how the silver lamp
flamed the bright light penetrated far into the
mysterious valley.
“Now," said Haran, “a word about your go-
ing home. Have no fear of being lost."
Just then the little bird flew around the little
boys, two or three times, and then took his place
on one of the trees toward the path over which
they had come.
There," said the hermit, pointing to the bird,
is your unerring guide. He will conduct you
safely to the door of your own home, before the
sun goes down.”
Then, last of all, he told them about the Won-
derful Lamp. He said he believed the angel
would give it them when he was through with
it; and then he gave them much instruction how
to use it. Moreover, he told them of the danger
of losing it, saying that there was a thief, whose
name was Doubt, and if they were careless he would
steal it. "If this should ever happen," said ho,


104
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
"you must pray for the angel to show you
where
it is, and search for it, with your Bible in your
band.” He also told them them that they must
use the lamp for a threefold purpose: first, for
the glory of God; second, for their own perfec-
tion; and, third, for the benefit of others.
So, having given them all needful advice, he
told them to leave the lamp undisturbed as he
should place it, until they saw him go through
the gate, at the farther end of the valley; and
then he thought the good angel would come and
give it unto them.
Then Flaran laid the Bible on the rock, at the
entrance of the valley, and set the lamp on the
Bible, so that the light could shine right on his
path. Then he kissed the dear little boys, and,
bidding them farewell, with his staff in his hand,
he started down into the strange valley. Just as
he began his walk, a voice came up the path,
saying, “When you walk through the Valley of
the Shadow of Death, fear no evil; for I am with
you, and my rod and my staff they shall comfort
you!”
Now, as the little boys stood wondering and


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
105
watching Uncle Haran, they saw that the light
of the lamp seemed to bathe him in a flood of ra-
dience, and that his garments seemed to change,
until they looked like a glorious robe, and his
white hair seemed to be a crown of glory. They
hoped he would look back, for they wanted to
see his face, knowing he must be very beautiful
now; but he did not once turn round, after he
had started, but went slowly and steadily on to-
ward the distant gate.
Now when he had got almost through, they
saw that an angel came out and joined the her-
mit, and together they journeyed toward the
gate. It appeared, also, that the angel helped
the old man, at times, over some rough places in
the
way. When they came to the gate, which,
by the light of Faith, was clearly seen, the her-
mit knocked with his staff on the door, and in-
stantly it opened. Then, for a moment, the little
boys saw a wonderful sight. The place was
bright with the same kind of light which was
shed by the silver lamp, and was also full of an-
gels; and they heard, also, the sweetest music.


106
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
A great company of bright beings welcomed the
pilgrim at the gate; and among them they saw
their parents, and other friends well known on
earth. It was only an instant, and the gate shut
again; and through the golden gates of para-
dise had passed Haran, the hermit.
Just then, as they still stood gazing into the
valley, they saw coming toward them the angel
who had conducted the hermit to the gate.
Though he was so great, and so bright, the little
boys did not fear him; for his face was full of
gentleness and love, and they also remembered
the promise of the hermit.
So as he came up he took the lamp, and gave
it to the boys, telling them that it was he who
first gave it to the man who had just passed
through the gate. Then the little bird came
down and sat on the handle of the lamp, while
still the angel held it, and there sang. “This,"
said he, " is your guide. Go to your home, and
be good boys, and 'my glorified Master, in
whose name I present you this lamp, and who so
loves children, be with you and bless you ! and
inay the day come, that I may pass you through


AARAN, THE HERMIT.
107
yonder gate, into the world where even the light
of the silver lamp of faith is not needed !”
Then the angel departed, and by the guidance
of the bird, Seymour and Stanley again returned
to their home.
On their arrival, great was the inquiry about
Uncle Haran, and the people wondered at the
story of the boys and THE WONDERFUL LAMP.


108
HARAN, THE HERMITI
CHAPTER X.
A talk to children about the story of Haran, the Hermit; or,
the Wonderful Lamp.
In the little allegory which you have just read,
I think you have caught the idea which I have
desired to convey, and that the story hardly
needs a note of explanation; but I do so love
to talk and write to children, that I find myself
tempted to another chapter, in chatting with
my youthful audience. I will say a few things
about the hermit, and his lamp.
You saw that he had a good father and
mother, but that, like many others, he lost them
by death, when he was yet a child. Only the
one who has experienced this deprivation knows
any thing of what the loss can be. Still, though
they died so early in his life, their instruction
was not lost upon him, and their prayers were
answered. You see, again, that Haran becomes


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
109
-
disgusted with the ways and habits of his fellow-
men, and withdraws to the seclusion of a her-
mit's cell, in the wilderness.
I show you, by the language of the angel, that
this was wrong. The world is bad ;—it is full of
sin, and temptation besets us at every turn; still,
God never designed we should go out of it, until
Death opens to us his earthy door. No, we must
ourselves be good and do good. I trust you un-
derstand the idea of the Bible and the lamp.
The good angel, you remember, got the oil for
the lamp of Faith, and the wick, and the light,
all from the holy volume. The Bible is the only
source for that Christian confidence which we
call faith. So, when the old man, you remem-
ber, separated the book and the lamp, then the
light burned dimly; and when he brought them
together again, then the light was bright.
Let me, in this connection, tell you something
more about faith. You know, the Bible speaks
a great deal about faith, and the preacher says a
great deal about faith, and all Christians sing,
and talk, and pray much about faith. You are
told, you must have faith. You are told, with.


110
AARAN, THE HERMIT.
>
out faith it is impossible to please God. Again,
the Bible says, “By grace are ye saved, through
faith.” If we have faith, we are happy, just as
the men in prison and in the almshouse were
happy, when they saw the sights in the smoke
of the silver lamp. What is this curious faith?”
Why does it save people? How does it make
men and women happy? I will try and tell you,
avoiding all the dark words usually used, in dis-
coursing upon such a subject.
Suppose a boy- we will call him John-had
a good father, who loved him, and took the best
of care of him. Now, this father has told his
son what he must do, and what he must not. Ho
has said very plainly, if you obey me, I will give
you this, that, and the other present; but if you dis-
obey me, I will punish you severely. In addition to
all this, the father has been kind enough to add,
in regard to the disobedient, that if the offender
is sorry for his fault, and humbly and honestly
asks for forgiveness, he will not whip him, buting
in the place thereof, will pardon him and love
him. Now, John, one day, does wrong, and
feels that he ought to be punished. While he


AARAN, THE HERMIT.
111
sits thinking of his sin against his father, he re-
members, also, how good his parent has been to
him, how much he has done for him, and
how much he loves him. John feels guilty,
grieved, and sorry; and so he arises, and
goes to his father, saying, “My dear father, I havo
done wrong; I deserve to be punished. I am
very sorry - please to forgive me!” His father
replies, “John, I freely and fully forgive you."
Do you not see that, just in proportion as John
believed his father, he would be happy? If he
believed a little, he would be happy a little ; and
;;
if he believed a great deal, he would be happy a
great deal. Now call belief faith, and you have
got one idea, how faith makes a man happy.
God says, that if we sin, he will punish us. He
says, if we repent, that is, if we have the kind
of sorrow I have described, and ask for forgive-
ness, believing on the Saviour, he will, for the
Saviour's sake, forgive us. Now, see: a child
feels that he is wicked, and that God is good.
He sits, and thinks how God has tenderly cared
for him, and how badly he has acted toward
God until he cries, to think he has offended so.


112
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
-
merciful a being; and, as he weeps, he trembles,
too, at the thought of the dreadful punishment
which he is to receive. Then he asks, “What
shall I do to be saved from all this trouble?”
God, in the Bible, says, “Jesus Christ died for sin-
ners just like you, and on account of his death I
promise, if you will get down in prayer, and
confess that you are wicked, and will ask that I
will pardon you, for Christ's sake, – that is, be-
cause Christ died, -I will that moment, for
Christ's sake, forgive you all your sins.” So the
child goes and prays. He feels he is wicked,
He feels he ought to be punished. He feels he
can not carry any thing to the great God to buy
his pardon. But he remembers that God tells
him to ask in the name of Christ, and he will for-
give him. So he asks that God will, on account of
Christ's dying for sinners, forgive him his sins.
Now he knows God keeps his word, and that he
has said, if you só ask, I will forgive; so he knows
he is forgiven: and that is faith in God's word;
faith in Christ; and do n't you see how faith
makes him happy? Now, his being forgiven
makes him finally go to heaven; so he is “saved


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
113
by faith.” So I have pictured faith as a silver
lamp, and the oil, and the wick, and the light as
coming from the promises of God in Christ.
Now, my little reader, try and see if you and
I can not do another sum on our little gospel
slate. As
your school-teacher would say, “I will
state the sum. We will call the Bible an arith-
metic, and do you turn to Hebrews, 11th chapter
and the 1st verse: “Now faith is the substance
of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen.' “Oh," you say, “I can not do that
sum !” Yes you can I will show you how.
First of all, there are three hard words-faith,
substance, evidence.
The first you already un-
derstand : it is to believe. Now to the second.
Suppose, for instance, you had an orange in
your
hand;-that orange is a substance - any thing
a
-
you can see, or feel, or handle, is substance; this
paper, on which these letters are printed, sub-
stance. You understand that;- now to the
third word. Suppose you hear a band of music
in the streets, and know that the soldiers are
marching; you do n't see the soldiers, but the
sound of music is evidence that the soldiers are
.
-
8


114
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
-
in the street. You hear the sound of an organ;
you do n't see it; but the music is evidence that
there is a man before the door, turning a handle
around, and so making the music. You see a
piece of crape tied to the door-handle of some
house; that is, a sign-it is evidence--that some
one is dead. You hear the church bells ringing,
on Sabbath; that is evidence that the hour of
worship is come. There is a bud on the rose-
bush, in the back yard; that is evidence that
there going to be a rose. Now you fully un-
derstand the three hard words, in the sum which
we are going to work out; therefore, supposing
that you have turned back, and again have read
the verse from the Bible, we will proceed.
Imagine that I own a box of ripe oranges.
So I give you a paper, and, on it, say to the man
who has charge of my oranges, “Give to the
boy who brings this paper an orange. J. H. S.”
When you get the paper, you say, "Mr. S. has
given me an orange." But a boy says, “That is
not an orange, it is only paper.” You reply, “I
know it is only paper; but I believe Mr. S., that
is, I have frith, and so my paper is the substance


HARAN, THE HERMIT.
115
of an orange hoped for, and the evidence of an
orange not seen. That is, you are already hap-
py in the thought that you will surely have the
orange; and the paper is a sure sign that you
will get it. God has promised to take the Chris-
tian to heaven. The man is yet on the earth;
but having God's paper, the Bible, in his hand,
he is already happy, knowing that he is going
there; that is, having faith, and the promise is
the evidence of his surely reaching his bright
home.
Again, the boy did not need any faith, or pa-
per, after he got the orange; and so when the
hermit went in through the gate, he left his lamp,
Faith, behind him, for the little boys who were
to come after him. Now, do you not understand
the apostle's sum? And do you not see how
faith makes Christians to sing and rejoice, while
the
earth, while as yet they do not see heaven?
Then, my dear little reader, remember the
story of HARAN, THE HERMIT; OR, THE WON-
DERFUL LAMP, called Faith; and go to the
Saviour in prayer, and that lamp of faith shall
be yours. Then the angels shall take you, when
on


116
HARAN, THE HERMIT.
you die, up to the bright world of glory, where
you will live forever.
God bless this little volume, to some child's
soul! Amen.
1


BREED, BUTLER & CO., PUBLISHERS
ANOTHER BOOK,
BY THE AUTHOR OF“HARAN, THE HERMIT."
IN PRESS,
THE VISION OF ALL SOUL'S HOSPITAL,
AN ALLEGORY,
BY J. HYATT SMITH,
AUTHOR OF
HARAN, THE HERMIT, OR THE WON-
DERFUL LAMP."
This volume will be published in the fall of
1860. It has been pronounced one of the
most novel and absorbing books of the day.
While it is purely original, it reminds one, at ev.
ery step, of that bewitching story of John BUN.
YAN; and we feel that, as a speciinen of allegor.
ical composition, it is worthy a place beside that
of the " immortal dreamer.”
We give, on the following page, a few of the
notices, from gentlemen of the press who have
looked over the manuscript copy of the work:


BREED, BUTLER & CO., PUBLISHERS.
«
We are able to present to our readers, thus early, the fol-
lowing beautiful extract from a book, now nearly ready for
the press, by Rev. J. HYATT SMITH, of Philadelphia, and late
of this city. The work is entitled “THE VISION OF ALL
Soul's HOSPITAL. AN ALLEGORY.” From the glimpse into
its plan and contents which has been granted us, we are con-
fident in saying that the high position Mr. Smith has won as
an orator, will be quickly acceded him as an author. The
same rich, imaginative glow suffuses his written as well as
his unwritten thought.-Buffalo Courier.
We take the following beautiful extract, by permission,
from the manuscript of a book now nearly ready for the
press, by the pastor of one of our Baptist churches, in this
city. It is an allegory of rare power and completeness ;
and, unless we greatly mistake the public taste, it can hardly
fail of a large and well-deserved favor with the people.-
Philadelphia Christian Chronicle.
THE following beautiful extract is from the manuscript of
the work. We copy the entire extract, knowing that much
interest will be felt in the promised work, by very many of
our readers, and that such will be particularly pleas with
an opportunity to read so much of it in advance. It was
known to many of Mr. SMITH's friends that he was engaged
upon some contribution to literature before he left our city;
and it is somewhat pleasant to think that the inspiration of
such an allegory bas to be
E. press
335 bestem be azredited to Buffalo. -— Buffalo


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SMITH
Haran, the hermit
PS
2869
.S 22H3
1860
45427
BINDERY APR 19 1988



PS2869.S22H3 1860 с.1
Haran the hermit or The wonderful la
088 074 902
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO