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Les diagrammes suivants lilustrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 1^ ■ 56 GiUu 23 3.2 3.6 4.0 j,0 1.8 ^ ^jPPUEDjyMGE Inc 1653 East Moin Street Rochester, New York 14609 USA (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone (716) 288- 5989 - Fax R Fie BUG CESH R m^ ei//ei/yi. t. "V l- / CHRISTMAS OPFHRING, ■lli'j'li'iiMiaiiiiiiil'lifci iTiiiijIi jiASti MiSk. ,j£ay THE TREASURES OF HASSAN, \ "And han'ii;/ niifhlini, in't luith nil." Sii: Hknuy Wotton. SothiiKj til hi III J'dllx vniiji, or ton lnt>: Our actn ouf nnijelx arc, or /mod or III Our J'nteful xhadown that walk hi/ I'v .■^till. John Flktchku. Seither xhalt thou anii, Lo here .' or lo thirc .' /or behold, the Kingdom 0/ (iod ix within i/ou. ¥)antilton : SI'KCTATOB PRINTING COMPANY. 1890. HAn^ilTHM P!,!P!JC LIBRARY tlhiVi!'. t VII • — *- JAN 1 7 1953 COE»| V** i *mmmmsmmmmmmmm ^*rmm.m*t.0m^n:mMmmm»»m. .d Write, BloHwecl are ihe dead which die in the Lord from hencefortli : Yea, saith the Spirit that they may rest from their lahours ; and their workH do follow them. li Lay not up for yoursqlves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust cloth corrupt, and vvhere thieves break through and steal : But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal : For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. - Then said Jesus unto His disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the King- dom of heaven. And again 1 say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom ' * God. When His disciples heard i,. they were exceeding amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them. With men this is impossible ; but with God all things are pos- sible. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed ine ; I was sick, and ye visited me ; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying. Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, and fed Thee ? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink ? when saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in ? or naked, and clothed Thee ? or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them. Verily I say unto you. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. From such an one as FIassan the aged, TO his son, Hassan, Ben Hassan, this, WITH BLESSING AND GREETING: At the end of my journey, I, Hassan, wait at the gate whence I first came forth ; through it once more I go, poor as I set out : — I brought nothing with me hence ; and I take nothing back. The rays of the setting sun gild the towers of Beth-berai, whither I go ; the Golden gate lies open before me, to close as the sun shall sink into the lap of the far, low West ; ere that, I must have passed within. Ben Hassan, my son, thou knowest how fair a trader I have been — rated a prince among my fellows, in all the rich Eastern land : — My caravan surrounds me here ; my camels, — mine asses bend under their bur- dens of precious stuff; there remaineth no u\ m !<■ ~^ ■ £ r 8 The Tr ensures of HassaH. time new, ere the night falls, to unload my •beasts and unpack my stuff ; as it is, it cannot pass through the needle's eye ; I rest me at the strait gate; therefore said I to thee, I return poor as I set out. My trading and journeyings, in strange far lands, are over. I am glad to rest. Something whispers in my heart that I, H9ssan, poor though I be, shall not be un- welcome to a corner of peace, in some green glade, by the waters of rest, in the land of delights, my day's work done. The caravan, with all its precious stuff, is still of value in mine eyes, my son ; and to thee, Ben Hassan, I bequeath it ; I shall trade with it no more. Youth is stronger than age; it should be wiser too; — ihe sons endowed with the experience of the fathers. Go forth then, double — treble thy talents, in fair and honest trade, as thy father, I, Hassan, have done before thee. Among my most cherished possessions, thou shalt find a chart to direct thee by r The Treasures of Hassan. day, a lamp of gold to light thy path by night ; these for instruction and guidance ; a keen and trusty blade, for protection and defence, against the perils that may beset thy journeyings; I, Hassan, found these many and grievous, but not insurmountable ; I thought of them as nothing in view of the excellent glory of the gains. Thou shalt find among my precious treasures, a record and history of lands and peoples ; the land from whence thou camest forth, the land whither thou goest, and the inhabitants of these, that thy mind may be stored with knowledge and understanding ; and above all shalt thou learn in it, of the loving kind- ness, the wisdom and the glory of the King thou shalt serve, as I, Hassan, have served Him these many years, and to whom I go to give my account, with thanksgiving for all his dealings by me, in the dark as in the light, in all my long journeyings. As thou journeyest, neglect not to lighten thy beasts of their burdens, drop here a little and there a little by the way, as thou 'II fvl M<- 10 The Treasures of Hassan. seest good may come of it ; thou shalt never lajk opportunity,— I, Hassan, have found it so,— mayhap oftener than thou, in thine un- wisdom, wilt avail of. Scattering thou shalt increase, withholding more than is meet, shall tend to thy poverty of heart, if not of purse. O Ben Hassan, my son, lighten thy journeyings, with the happiness and comfort thou mayest have it in thy power to bestow: and thy lips shall break forth in songs of joy, from the pure, sweet fountain of thy heart. Goodness and mercy have followed me — Hassan — all the days of my life ; and I shall dwell in my Lord's house for ever. Hassan Ben Hassan, I charge thee to join me there, when the Master's work is done. These are the last words to thee of Hassan, the aged. Farewell, my son ; the light fades from mine eyes; the glory blinds me; the Gates, through which I, Hassan, pass, — close: — Farewell ! fs ttb I'l" -uaawfcA: The Treasures of Hassan. II m. As the golden gate swung to, the last note of Hassan's farewell, fainter and fainter, as if from far distance overhead, was borne to the ear of one who listened ; and ere the last vibration ceased, the whole air was filled with music, sweet and penetrating, as from a perfect chime of silver bells, calling fancy to follow Hassan on his further way, into the land of sights and sounds beyond the tongue to describe, or the heart of man to conceive. Hassan, known as the aged, endowed with perennial youth, and the strength of youth — immortal, is filled with amaze. A great multitude, whom he had met in his desert journeyings, welcome him ; around him, the patter of children's feet; parents and children ; young men and maidens ; all in the vigor of youth and health, — there is no breach through which old age can steal, creeping, into that land of delights. Some faces are known to Hassan, — long pic- tured on his heart, and well remembered ; 12 The Treasures of Hassan. many unknown or forgotten ; all full of joy and gladness to greet their friend. And One, dearest of all to the loyal heart of Hassan, — the King whom he had served these many years — years seeming but as a day to Hassan. And thus His greeting: — ** I sent for thee, Hassan, that thou mightest be with me where I am, to behold my glory. Welcome home, my rich friend, to the place I have prepared for thee in everlasting habitations ' " *• Nay, my Lord, O King, mock not the poverty of thy servant ! Hassan returns to Thee as he set out, — poor — a child — simple, knowing nothing ; drawn home again by his love to Thee, — constrained by Thine ineffa- ble love to him." "Hassan, my humble, loving friend, just such as thou art, are all the inhabitants of my kingdom, —poor, yet rich. My friend, what was impossible to thee, is possible to me. Thou couldest not fetch thy posses- sions, with thee, through the needle's eve — i H. ' The Treasures of Hassan. 13 a stumbling-block to many, — thou hadst the wisdom to know it ; but lo ! thy treasures are here before thee. Art thou in amaze, Hassan ? Come, enter into thine inherit- ance ! Come, see the place prepared for thee, and the treasures that are verily thine own, safely kept for thee against this day! Where thy treasures are, let thy heart con- tinue to be ! " H And Hassan was led on, in great won- derment, to the treasure house, where the record of his wealth was spread out before his eyes; and one read to him out of it, thus : — " At such and such a time, Hassan, jour- *' neying across the desert, came upon a lovely *' glade, into which many wandered ; wide ''and green it was, beautiful with flowers of "every hue, and overhead, rich, luscious "fruits to tempt the eye and the taste; "birds of song were there, to charm the " ear ; the sound of joy and mirth was in fl X,' ^1 14 The Treasures of Hassan. all the pleasant glade. Hassan, weary and foot-sore, would fain have rested there, — changing the burning sands for the green, cool sward. But not knowing whither it might lead, he bethought him of the chart his king had provided, to guide him through the wilderness ; and there he read : * Turn not to the right hand nor to the left. This glade is dangerous, and no exit from it save at the peril of life. The flowers and the fruits are poisonous ; the song of the birds lure to destruction ; its wells are the waters of Marah. Courage ! a little way on, at Elim, are wells of sweetest water, and palm trees ; there may my servants rest.' In the pitifulness of his loving heart, Hassan, forgetting his own weari- ness, moved with compassion fcr the thoughtless ones, hurrying into the poison glade, waited on his way, that he might try to turn some heedless steps, into the path his cliart pointed out ; if only some little feet unused to seek out paths for themselves ; and to warn all, that his voice ^ 4 The Treasures of Hassan. 15 "could reach, of the danger. Some turned " to listen ; some took heed to their way, — ''mostly the little ones; many still sped on, " with glee and laughter, many, with scorn ** and contempt." Behold ! ike diadem of Hassan, it shineth as the stars in heaven for beauty — he hath turned many to righteousness ! 1 (( (( <( <( ** In the time of the great famine, Hassan came to the city. Fathers and mothers were famishing; the hungry children weep- ing for bread ; the sick and dying lay about the streets, the strength clean gone out of them ; pestilence walked at noon-tide ; the people cried for help, and no help came ; the heavens brass, the earth iron ; death and desolation possessed the land. Hassan dealt out, to the stricken city, bread and the finest of his wheat, while a crust or a grain remained, making no note of it ; he poured out his oil without mea- sure, his wine without stint ; he knelt by I vl i6 m reamres of Hassan, " thp wasted and wan, unheeded by glaz- " ing eyes ; he pressed the life-giving^ por- "tions, bit by bit, drop by drop, between " hunger-blacMened lips, upon famii e-parched •' tongues ; he heeded not the pestilence, '• nor the taint of decay ; he drove the fever "from fire-wracked bones; he warmed the " death-chilled pulses into motion and life. " The blessing of the perishing came upon •'him; he had freely cast his bread on the "waters, shall he find it after many days?" Behold it now restored to him, a thousand- fold, in goods laid tip for many days, that his soul may feast, and be satisfied, on heavenly manna / " '' " Under the blazing noon-day sun, Hassan ** pursued his way, well-nigh spent with " consum.ing thirst. Far from home and "fresh supply, for many a mile, he had " fought bravely against the almost un- " conquerable impulse to quench desire in "one last refreshing draught. The moment r . .-« mtf-:v~- i ♦ r The Treasure of Hassan. 17 ••had come when he might dare to do so; "with capper, trembling hand he raised the "cup to quaff. But lying prone on the " burning sand, lo ! one, in even greater strait " than he, waiting the cool finger of death to "extinguish the life-consuming fire. Hassan " staid his hand, even at his lip, to put " the cup to the stranger's lips— poor dumb •'lips, that could not thank — to moisten "them with the pure crystal, so unspeaka- " bly precious. A voice in the ear of Hassan, "whispered, 'The stranger's spirit has "all but fled. From happy life to living, 'death, why call him back? Hassan, thine "own need is great; slake thine own in- " satiable thirst, with a few drops, at least ; " thou hast many a weary mile of the desert '' before thee still ; the sound of falling water, "like sweetest music, is in thine ear; but " when, O when shalt thou drink again ? ' " Hassan, his compassionate eyes bent on "the stranger, not yet fully refreshed, with- "drew not the cup for a moment, while a " drop remained ; while thus to the temp. i e" "* r i8 the Treasures of Hassan. " ter he answered : * If He, whose servant " I am, hath yet further need of me, and I " must drink, He can cause showers to fall " on me from the cloudless sky ; bring " streams of water from the flinty rock ; "open wells of water in the arid, trackless " waste. He that watcheth over my way, " hath placed this stranger in my path, that " we may share, the good things He provides '* for us, according to our (An needs. The " stranger's need is the greater, — the water " is his. My King bringeth me to my jour- " ney's end when, where, and how, — He «* knoweth ; Hassan lacks nothing.' " Behold! Hassan, the cup, thy touch of pity turned to purest gold, brimful of precious gems, each fit for a royal crown ; a gem for every drop thou sparedest from thine own sore need, when no eye saw thee, no ear heard, save the closing eye and the dulling ear of death — death but for thee; save the eye and ear of Him who forgetteth never, and restoreth to thee thine own with usury ! I i?-mmm:: The Treasures of Hassan. t9 <( (< (( (( (( {( << (< (( (( <( <( (( <{ <( (< (( (( (( (< " A gang of slaves crossed the desert as Hassan journeyed. Some lay down to die ; the thong of the cruel drivers, cut into the quivering flesh of parents and children, separated from one another; thirsty and hungry were they, — food and water too precious to waste on captives, more than enough to keep the dreary spark of life alive, in such as were still precious enough to their captors to save; the sick, the weak, the dying, left to perish where they fell, — time more precious than human lives. On, on across the dreary, trackless desert, to the prison house, or the slave mart, whichever came first ! Joy forgotten, com- fort dead ; no ray of hope to point to some- thing better ; no anchor of the soul to lay hold on ! Hassan's mighty heart of love melted within him; he parted with his treasures to buy the shackles off captive limbs ; where his wealth failed to purchase the freedom his heart would fain have be- stowed, he, gave of his time,— his most precious possession,— that he might go to -,# T 20 The Treasures of Hassan. it the prison-house, to tell the poor captive, *' that captivity and death were not all ; he told " of Him who had led captivity captive, and "purchased gifts for the slave,— eternal life "for death. He told them of the far off, " beauteous land— far, and yet so near to all, "where the shackles fall from the captive, "and the slave goes free. In the dungeon- " darkness, he cheered them with words of "joy and gladness, till songs rose in the " night, and the cloud of sorrow broke with " blessing over desolate hearts ; he told of " Him who died to purchase freedom, and "the veil that hid the Holiest from them, " was rent in twain. His words to them were " words of his Master's love, as water to the " thirsty ground ; and the desert of weary, " desolate hearts blossomed as the rose, and "endurance was born of hope — the hope that "maketh not ashamed." Behold ! Hassan, the ingots of precious gold, once the shackles of slaves ! Behold ! the trea- sures, which the winged hours, spared from self, and thoughts of self, have borne hither — innumera- /) <0 f mt:i^t!mmmii>:s.'^-..x^^m^* ^^immmmii^ji >m I . The Treasures of Hassan. 23 ' place of shelter and protection, that she I might rest till her grievoui wounds were ' healed ; he gave charge to robe iier in fit- * ting raiment, and to deal gently with her, 'as was becoming unto the daughter of a ' King, and to lead her lovingly home to her * father'-, house ; and he told them her name 'was Hephzibah." Hassan, behold! the jewelled robe, thou didst wrap around the desolate one, in the day of her misery, laid by for thee, where neitJier moth nor rust doth corrupt ! Behold I the tears thou didst wipe from the eyes of Bithiah in the day of her trouble,~each tear a priceless pearl, worth more than a prince's ransom I "And to sum up all; Hassan, hearing of " the Pearl of great price, sold all his posses- "sions, counting them but as dross, forgetting " all else for the glory that excelleth, that he " might acquire it. ••Here is thy treasure— thine own, ** O Hassan, my beloved ! " $ ^ \t I I 24 The Treasures of Hassan. Hassan, in great amaze, fell at His feet, crying: — "O chiefest among ten thousand! " Thou only perfect ! Thou altogether lovely " One ! my All-in-all ! my Lord and my God I " All, all is mine, for I am thine and thou art " God ! Hassan is poor no more 1 " ^1 i^l/t ^ ti. *a_i*^ ^•£r±^ 2 '^1-i—." i^ • ^ : i ^ . >lJ^ j' 'y-*.,'^ : -^-■aisiii*'^ i_iaCE*U'i*_