\ 
 
 >C
 
 - 
 
 " ' * -\ ;^' 
 
 -I - 
 \
 
 CHILD'S BOOK 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 FOR SUNDA Y SCHOOLS AND HOMES. 
 
 COMPILED BY 
 
 O. B. FROTHINGHAM. 
 
 EDITION", REVISED. 
 
 NEW 'YORKf: t.. ; 
 PUBLISHED BY D. G. FRANCIS, 
 
 No. 17, ASTOR PLACE. 
 1871.
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the' year 1866, ty 
 O. B. FROTHINGHAM, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massa- 
 chusetts. 
 
 Boston : 
 Rand, A very, & Frye , Stereotyj>ers and Printers.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 A FEW words arc necessary to explain the purpose 
 of this little book, and the wav in which it may be used 
 to the best advantage. 
 
 The author has thought it wiser to make a collection 
 of materials for worship and instruction than to arrange 
 
 a formal series of services or lessons that might interfere 
 > 
 
 with freedom of selection and combination on the part 
 
 of the teacher or superintendent. 
 
 The questions and answers under the captions 
 3 " TRUTH " and " THE GOOD LIFE " are not designed 
 <C to take the place of other teaching, either by manual or 
 discourse ; but are merely intended to supplement and 
 vary such teaching as may be adopted. Where manuals 
 are used, one of the catechisms, or some portion of one, 
 may be read at such intervals of time as may be found 
 convenient ; the whole being recited, perhaps, once in a 
 twelvemonth. Where no manuals are used, but the 
 teachers ae left mainly to their own resources, they will 
 find abundant material for lessons in Part III. by taking 
 the Que.-tions and Answers, in course, from week to 
 week ; or by selecting single passages for oral exposition. 
 
 213650 a
 
 IV PREFACE. 
 
 The " GOLDEN WORDS " of the former editions have 
 been worked into the questions and answers. 
 
 The Creed may be recited by the- whole school in 
 unison, three or four times in the year, or on festival- 
 days, as the conductors of the schools may decide. 
 
 The author is persuaded that the element of worship 
 should enter more largely than it does into the system- 
 atic instruction of the young. He has, therefore, made 
 copious selections in that department ; offering no writ- 
 ten prayers, but endeavoring to express every form of 
 the devout sentiment in language richer than he could 
 frame. The poetical pieces are designed to be read 
 responsively, like the psalms ; teacher and scholars recit- 
 ing the alternate lines in full school. It is recommended 
 that one or more of these, and one or more of the 
 pieces in the Second Part, be used at each service ; the 
 choice of pieces being guided by the feeling of the super- 
 intendent, or by the tone he wishes to give to the general 
 exercise. 
 
 The special forms of service for the festival -days 
 indicate the order which the writer has found most con- 
 venient in the administration of his own school. 
 
 A few hymns and tunes contained in the former edi- 
 tions have been omitted, the number of popular sing- 
 ing-books making them needless. 
 
 The book is, in the main, a compilation ; as^very such 
 book must be. All available sources have been freely 
 drawn from, with suitable acknowledgment to the au- 
 thors. Where the pieces were entirely original, as is the
 
 PREFACE. V 
 
 case with those taken from A. J. DAVIS'S little Manual 
 for the Children's Lyceum, special permission to use 
 them was cordially granted. 
 
 The list of " RULES FOR THE GOOD LIFE," and the 
 Questions and Answers on the subject of Rewards and 
 Punishments, were copied, with some changes, from 
 LEIGH HUNT'S lovely little book, " THE RELIGIOX OF 
 THE HEART." For the rest of the Questions and 
 Answers, and for the Creed, the writer himself is respon- 
 sible. The " LEGENDS OF VIRTUE " were taken from 
 different collections, and have been written out for the 
 benefit of the younger children, who can hear them read 
 by parent or teacher. The number of them might have 
 been indefinitely increased, had the size of the volume 
 not forbidden. 
 
 Such as it is, the book is an experiment If it make t 
 a contribution to the meagre literature of the Sunday 
 School and the Home Worship, or fills, for a time, a 
 place now unfilled, the compiler will be satisfied. 
 
 O.JB. F.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. WORSHIP. 
 
 1. CALLS TO PRATER. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 THE CHILD'S PRATER 1 
 
 THE BEAUTT OF PRATER 2 
 
 PRATER is OF NO PLACE 4 
 
 PRATER is OF NO FORM 5 
 
 THE ACCEPTABLE OFFERING 6 
 
 THE FORM OF GOD . 7 
 
 THE CALL OF NATURE 8 
 
 THE CALL OF THE FLOWERS 10 
 
 THE CALL OF THE BIRDS . ... i ... 11 
 
 THE JOT OF WORSHIP 12 
 
 THE UNFINISHED PRATER 13 
 
 THE BOT AND THE ANGEL 14 
 
 THE CHILD AND THE ANGELS 17- 
 
 TUE CHILD AND THE DOVE li 
 
 2. ASPIRATION. 
 
 O LORD! THOU HAST SEARCHED ME AND KNOWN ME . 19 
 
 OOD OF THE MOUNTAIN 85 
 
 PRAISE 86 
 
 THE GOOD SHEPHERD 37 
 
 A THANKSGIVING 88 
 
 GRASS AND ROSES 40 
 
 To A SKTLAUK 41 
 
 vii
 
 Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 FAITH 42 
 
 ASPIRATIONS OF YOUTH 43 
 
 CONTRASTS 44 
 
 GOOD FROM EVIL . . . 45 
 
 A CHILD is BORN .... 46 
 
 A SUPPLICATION . ; 46 
 
 THE SOUL'S CALM 47 
 
 THE HEART'S PRAYER 48 
 
 THE HYMN or NATURE 49 
 
 GOD'S PRESENCE IN NATURE ....... 60 
 
 PRAISE TO NATURE'S GOD 51 
 
 OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN ........ 51 
 
 GOD is LOVE, AND LOVE ALONE 52 
 
 FOUNTAIN OF DIVINE LOVE 53 
 
 THE UNIVERSAL PRAYER 55 
 
 EVENING PRAYER ..56 
 
 THE DAY AND THE NIGHT ABE THINE 57 
 
 AN EVENING SONG 58 
 
 REST 59 
 
 SONG OF THE NIGHT 59 
 
 VESPER HYMN 61 
 
 UPWARD 61 
 
 A CHILD'S HYMN .62 
 
 3. TKUST. 
 
 THE LOVE OF GOD 64 
 
 TRUSTING LOVE ... . 65 
 
 THE GUIDES ....... 67 
 
 PATIENCE ... 68 
 
 SONG OF FAITH . 68 
 
 THREE WORDS OF STRENGTH 69 
 
 BONG OF TRUST . < 70 
 
 WHAT THE MINUTES SAY 71 
 
 THE LITTLE TREE 72
 
 CONTENTS. ix 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 A DOUBTING HEART 75 
 
 UNDER THE SNOW ... 76 
 
 ONE i; v ONE 78 
 
 THE ARK AND DOVE 79 
 
 OIADNESS 80 
 
 THOU, GOD, SEEST ME 81 
 
 GOD'S LOVE IN THE FLOWERS 83 
 
 MINISTERING SPIRITS 84 
 
 THE GORSE 86 
 
 PEACE 87 
 
 A M.i.i.-i 'iin-i)i:i:\ 88 
 
 THE BETTER LAND ......... 90 
 
 WE SCATTER SEEDS 91 
 
 THE THISTLE 92 
 
 THE FLIGHT OF TIME 92 
 
 CONTENTMENT 93 
 
 SOME MURMUR 94 
 
 CATCHING SUNBEAMS 95 
 
 PASSING AWAY 96 
 
 PART II. THE GOOD LIFE. 
 
 RULES FOR THE GOOD LIFE 97 
 
 PUNISHMENTS 100 
 
 REWARDS 106 
 
 LESSONS IN THE GOOD LIFE 110 
 
 THE PSALM OF LIFE . . . 123 
 
 LITTLE MOMENTO 124 
 
 LITTLE FINGERS 125 
 
 THE SDLTAN'S LESSON 126 
 
 AGREED 1 A CREED 127 
 
 SOWING 128 
 
 STRIVE, WAIT, AND PRAT 129
 
 X CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 GIVE 130 
 
 SOWING AND REAPING 131 
 
 WORDS 132 
 
 WISHES 134 
 
 THE DARLING LITTLE GIRL 130 
 
 THE LESSON OF THE FLOWERS 137 
 
 THE BEGGAR 138 
 
 KINDNESS TO ANIMALS 140 
 
 " NOT TO MYSELF ALONE " 141 
 
 EVERT LITTLE HELPS 143 
 
 LITTLE DEEDS 144 
 
 GENTLENESS 145 
 
 DON'T FRET 147 
 
 LET IT PASS 148 
 
 LEND A HAND 150 
 
 CATCH THE SUNSHINE 151 
 
 THE FOUNTAIN 152 
 
 YOUR MISSION 153 
 
 CHARITY 155 
 
 LIFE'S WORK . . . 156 
 
 A PARABLE 157 
 
 ABOU BEN ADHEM 159 
 
 IF WE KNEW .' 160 
 
 OVER AND OVER AGAIN 161 
 
 THE LITTLE BELL IN THE HEART 163 
 
 THE CHILD'S WAY TO HEAVEN 164 
 
 A MOTHER'S LOVE 168 
 
 THE SIMPLE LIFE 167 
 
 THE KINGDOM OF GOD 168 
 
 FOLLOW ME 169 
 
 THE BUILDERS . . . 170 
 
 APRIL-FOOLS . 172 
 
 HAPPINESS 173 
 
 THE HOLY SPIRIT 174
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PART III. TRUTH. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 TALK BETWEEN THE TEACHER AND THE CHILD. 
 
 GOD 175 
 
 THE SPIRIT 180 
 
 JESCS THE TEACHER 185 
 
 JESCS THE SAINT 188 
 
 WORSHIP 192 
 
 . PRATER 196 
 
 DUTIES AND VIRTUES 200 
 
 HEAVEN 208 
 
 A CHILD'S CREED 211 
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 
 
 THE POWER or TRUST 212 
 
 To DO GOD'S WILL is TO BEHOLD GOD'S FACE . . .214 
 THE LOVING ErE SEES BEAUTY EVERYWHERE . . . 219 
 " HE PRAYETH BEST WHO LOVETH BEST " 220 
 
 NEVER DESPISE SHALL THINGS 221 
 
 CHARITY TO THE SINMNQ 222 
 
 MORE WAYS THAN ONE or DOIXG GOOD . . . .224 
 
 CHARITY THE TRUE SAINTLINESS. 226 
 
 BlIALL WE EVER TIRE OF HEAVEN? 229 
 
 THE INDIAN BOY AND THE FIRE . . . . . 231 
 
 POWER OF THE DIVINE CHILD 234 
 
 THE DIVINE CHILD AT PLAY 239 
 
 THE DIVINE CHILD WITH ins COMPANIONS . . . .240 
 
 EVILS QUICKLY KILLED IN THE SEED 244 
 
 THE BEST USE FOR A GIFT 246 
 
 THE INVISIBLE KING 247 
 
 A PARADLE OF CONSCIENCE 280
 
 Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 A CHRISTMAS SERVICE . 262 
 
 THE OLD YEAR 255 
 
 THE NEW YEAR 259 
 
 EASTER 263 
 
 WHITSUNDAY 260 
 
 THE CHRISTMAS TREE 270 
 
 HARK I A BURST OF HEAVENLY Music ... .272
 
 CHILD'S BOOK OF WORSHIP 
 
 PART I. 
 WORSHIP. 
 
 i. 
 CALLS TO PRAYER. 
 
 1. THE CHILD'S PRAYER. 
 
 BY Alpine lake, 'neath shady rock, 
 The herclboy knelt beside his flock, 
 And softly told, with pious air, 
 His alphabet as evening prayer. 
 
 Unseen, his pastor lingered near. 
 
 "My child, what means the sound I hear? 
 
 May I not in the worship share, 
 
 And raise to heaven ray evening prayer? 
 
 "Where'er the lulls and valleys blend, . 
 The sounds of prayer and praise ascend. 
 .My child, a prayer yours cannot be: 
 You've only said your A B C." 
 
 i . i
 
 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 "I have no better way to pray: 
 
 All that I know, to God I say; 
 
 I tell the letters on my knees: 
 
 He makes the words himself to please." 
 
 Miss Lander (from the German), 
 
 2. THE BEAUTY OF PRAYER. 
 
 IT is good to pray unto God : for his sorrowing 
 children 
 Turns he ne'er from the door; but he heals and 
 
 helps and consoles them. 
 It is good to pray when all things are prospering 
 
 with us, 
 Pray in fortunate days ; for Life's most beautiful 
 
 Fortune 
 Kneels down before the Eternal's throne, and, 
 
 with hands interfolded, 
 Praises, thankful and moved, the only Giver of" 
 
 blessings. 
 For do ye know, ye children, one blessing that 
 
 comes not from heaven ? 
 What has mankind forsooth, the poor, that it has 
 
 not received ? 
 
 Therefore fall on thy knee, and pray. The ser- 
 aphs, adoring, 
 Cover with pinions six their face in the glory of 
 
 Him who 
 Hung his masonry pendent on nought when the 
 
 world he created.
 
 WORSHIP. 3 
 
 Eiirth declareth his might, and the firmament 
 
 speal^eth his glory. 
 Races blossom and die, and stars fall downward 
 
 from heaven, 
 Downward like withered leaves. At the last 
 
 stroke of midnight, millenniums 
 Lay themselves down at his feet; and he sees 
 
 them, and cTmnts them as nothing. 
 Yet why do ye fear, ye children? This awful 
 
 Avenger, 
 Ah! is a merciful God. God's voice was not 
 
 heard in the earthquake, 
 Not in the fire, nor the storm; but it was in the 
 
 whispering breezes. 
 Love is the root of creation, God's essence. 
 
 Worlds without number 
 Lie in his bosotn like children. He made them 
 
 for this purpose only, 
 Only to love, and to be loved again. He breathed 
 
 forth his Spirit 
 Itito the slumbering dust ; and, upright standing, 
 
 it placed 
 Its hand on its heart, and felt it was warm with 
 
 a flame out of heaven. 
 Quench, oh, quench not that flame! It is the 
 
 breath of your being ! 
 
 from the Swe.'/t*A of Tcyner, 
 
 Translated by Longfellow.
 
 A GUILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 3. PRAYER IS OF NO PLACE. 
 
 I II ! wherefore this dream of the earthly abode 
 Of humanity clothed in the brightness of 
 
 God? 
 Were our spirits but turned from the outward 
 
 and dim, 
 They could gaze even now on the presence of 
 
 Him: 
 
 Not in clouds, nor in terrors, but gentle as when 
 In love and in meekness he moved among men ; 
 And the voice which breathed peace to the 
 
 waves of the sea 
 
 In the hush of my spirit would whisper to me. 
 Then what if our feet may not tread where he 
 
 stood, 
 
 Nor our ears hear the dashing of Galilee's flood, 
 Nor our eyes see the cross which he bowed him 
 
 to bear, 
 Nor our knees press Gethsemane's garden of 
 
 prayer ? 
 
 Yet, loved of the Father, thy spirit is near 
 To the meek and the lowly and penitent here ; 
 And the voice of thy love is the same, even now, 
 As at Bethlehem's tomb or on Olivet's brow. 
 
 J. G. Wh'Mier.
 
 WORSHIP. 
 
 4. PRAYER IS OF NO FORM. 
 
 NOT all the pomp of rituals, nor the savor 
 Of gujp.s and spices, can the unseen One 
 please. 
 
 As if his ear could bend with childish favor 
 To the poor flattery of the organ-keys ! 
 Not puch the service the benignant Father 
 Requireth at his earthly children's hands ; 
 Not the poor offering of vain rites; but rather 
 The simple duty man from man demands. 
 For he whom Jesus loved has truly spoken : 
 The holier worship which he deigns to bless 
 Restores the lost, and binds the spirit broken, 
 And feeds the widow anil the fatherless. 
 O brother-man! fold to thy heart thy brother. 
 Where pity dwells, the peace of God is there : 
 To worship rightly is to love each other ; 
 Each smile a hymn, each kindly deed a prayer. 
 "Follow with reverent steps the great example 
 Of Him whose holy work was doing good ; 
 So shall the wide earth seem our Father's temple, 
 Each loving life a psalm of gratitude. 
 
 J. G. Wlttitier
 
 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 5. THE ACCEPTABLE OFFERING. 
 
 TO heaven approached a pious saint 
 From wandering in the darkness late, 
 And, tapping timidly and faint, 
 Besought admission at the gate. 
 
 Said God', " Who seeks to enter here ? " 
 "Tis I, dear friend!" the saint replied, 
 
 Trembling all through with hope and fear. 
 "-If it be thou, remain outside ! " 
 
 Sadly to earth the poor saint turned 
 To bear the scourging of life's rods ; 
 
 But still his heart within him yean KM! 
 To mix and lose its love in God's. 
 
 He roamed alone through weary ycnrs, 
 By cruel men still scorned and mocked ; 
 
 Till, purified by fires and tears, 
 Again he went, again he knocked. 
 
 Said God, " Who now is at the door ? " 
 
 " It is thyself, beloved Lord ! " 
 The saint replied. He doubts no more, 
 
 But passes in to his reward. 
 
 Alger's Oriental Fvit
 
 T 
 
 WORSHIP. 
 
 6. THE FORM OF GOD. 
 
 O Mercy, Pity, Peace, nnd Love 
 
 All pray in their distress, 
 And to these virtues of delight 
 Return their thankfulness. 
 
 For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love 
 
 Is God our Father dear ; 
 And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love 
 
 Is man, his child and care. 
 
 * 
 For Mercy has a human heart ; 
 
 Pity, a human face ; 
 And Love, the human form divine; 
 And Peace, the human dress. 
 
 Thus every man in every clime, 
 Tluit prays in his distress, 
 
 Prays to the Human Form divine, 
 Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace. 
 
 And all must love the Human Form, 
 In heathen, Turk, or Jew : 
 
 Where Mercy, Love, nnd Pity dwell, 
 There God is dwelling too. 
 
 WiUUun Blake.
 
 A GUILD'S BOOK OF RELIUION. 
 
 7. TIIE CALL OF NATURE. 
 
 harp at Nature's advent strung 
 J- Has never ceased to play ; 
 The song the stars of morning sung 
 Has never died away. 
 
 And prayer is made, and praise is given, 
 
 By all things near and far : 
 The ocean looketh up to heaven, 
 
 And mirrors every star. 
 
 Its waves are kneeling on the strand, 
 
 As kneels the human knee ; 
 Their white locks bowing to the sand, 
 
 The priesthood of the sea. 
 
 They pour their glittering treasures forth ; 
 
 Their gifts of pearl they bring ; 
 And all the listening hills of earth 
 
 Take up the song they sing. 
 
 The green Earth sends her incense up 
 From ma*ny a mountain shrine : 
 
 From folded leaf and dewy cup 
 She pours her sacred wine.
 
 WORSHIP. 9 
 
 The mists above the morning rills 
 
 Rise white as wings qf prayer; 
 The altar curtains of the hills 
 
 Are sunset's purple air. 
 
 The winds with hymns of praise are loud, 
 
 Or low with sobs of pain, 
 The thunder organ of the cloud, 
 
 The dropping tears of rain. 
 
 With drooping head, and branches crossed, 
 
 The twilight forest grieves, 
 Or speaks with tongues of Pentecost 
 
 From all its sunlit leaves. 
 
 The blue sky is the temple's arch ; 
 
 Its transept, earth and air ; 
 The music of its starry march, 
 
 The chorus of its prayer. 
 
 So Nature keeps the reverent frame 
 
 With which her years began, 
 And all her signs and voices shame 
 
 The prayerless heart of man. 
 
 J. G. Whlttier.
 
 10 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 8. THE CALL OF THE FLOWERS. 
 
 LO! the lilies of the field, 
 How their leaves instruction yield ! 
 Hark to Nature's lesson given 
 By the blessed birds of heaven ! 
 Every bush and tufted tree 
 Warbles sweet philosophy : 
 " Children, fly from doubt and sorrow : 
 God provideth for the morrow ! " 
 
 Say, with richer crimson glows 
 The kingly mantle than the rose ? 
 Say, have kings more wholesome fare 
 Than we poor citizens of air ? 
 Barns nor hoarded grain have we ; 
 Yet we carol merrily. 
 " Children, fly from doubt and sorrow : 
 God provideth for the morrow." 
 
 One there lives whose guai'dian eye 
 Guides our humble destiny ; 
 One there lives, who, Lord of all, 
 Keeps his creatures, lest they fall. 
 Pass we blithely, then, the time, 
 Fearless of the snare and lime, 
 Free from doubt and faithless sorrow : 
 God provideth for the morrow. 
 
 Bishop Utber.
 
 WORSHIP. 11 
 
 9. TUB CALL OF THE BIRDS. 
 
 LIST to the birds that sing ! 
 Pluck the primroses ; pluck the violets ; 
 Pluck the daisies ; 
 Sing their praises : 
 Friendship with the flowers noble thoughts 
 
 begets. 
 
 Come forth and gather these sweet elves ; 
 Come and gather them yourselves ; 
 Learn of the gentle flowers whose worth is more 
 than gold. 
 
 Pierce into the bowers 
 Of the gentle flowers, 
 Which not in solitude 
 Dwell, but with each other keep society, 
 
 And with a simple piety 
 
 A re ready to be woven into garlands for the good, 
 Or upon summer earth 
 To die in virgin worth, 
 Or to be strewn before the bride, 
 And the bridegroom by her side. 
 Come forth on Sundays, 
 Come forth on Mondays, 
 Come forth on any day! 
 
 Worship the God of Nature in your childhood ; 
 Worship him at your tasks with best endeavor; 
 Woiwhip him in your sports ; worship him ever.
 
 12 A WILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Worship him in the wild wood ; 
 Worship him amidst the flowers ; 
 Pluck the buttercups, and raise 
 Your voices in his praise. 
 
 Edward Youl (altered) 
 
 10. THE JOY OF WORSHIP. 
 
 OH ! SWEETER than the marriage feast, 
 'Tis sweeter far to me, 
 To walk together to the church 
 With a goodly company ! 
 
 To walk together to the church, 
 
 And all together pray, 
 While each to his great Father bends, 
 Old men and babes, and loving friends, 
 
 And youths and maidens gay ! 
 
 He prayeth well who loveth well 
 Both man and bird and beast. 
 
 He prayeth best who loveth best 
 
 All things, both great and small ; 
 For the dear God who loveth us, 
 
 He made and loveth all. 
 
 8. T. Coleridge.
 
 WORSHIP. 13 
 
 11. THE UNFINISHED PRAYER. 
 
 il ' darlin S-" 
 " Lay mo," lisped the tiny lips 
 
 Of my daughter, kneeling, bending 
 O'er her folded finger-tips. 
 
 "Down to sleep." " To sleep," she murmured,- 
 And the curly head dropped low, 
 
 " I pray the Lord." I gently added, 
 "You can say it all, I know." 
 
 "Pray the Lord" the words came faintly, 
 fainter still " my soul to keep : " 
 
 Then the tired head fairly nodded, 
 And the child was fast asleep. 
 
 But the dewy eyes half opened 
 When I clasped her to my breast ; 
 
 And the dear voice softly whispered, 
 " Mamma, God knows all the rest."
 
 11 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Oil the trusting, sweet confiding 
 Of the child-heart ! Would that I 
 
 Thus might trust my heavenly Father, 
 Him who hears my feeblest cry ! 
 
 12. THE BOY AND THE ANGEL. 
 
 MORNING, evening, noon, and night, 
 " Praise God ! " sang Theocrite. 
 Then to his poor trade he turned, 
 By which the daily bread was earned. 
 Hard he labored, long and well ; 
 O'er the work his boy's curls fell : 
 But ever at each period 
 He stopped, and sang, " Praise God ! " 
 Then back again his curls he threw, 
 And, cheerful, turned to work anew. 
 Said Blaise, the listening monk, "Well done! 
 I doubt not thou art heard, my son, 
 As well as if thy voice to-day 
 Were praising God the Pope's great way. 
 This Easter Day, the Pope at Rome 
 Praises God from Peter's dome." 
 Said Theocrite, " Would God that I 
 Might praise him that great way, and die ! n 
 
 Night passed, day shone, 
 And Theocrite was gone.
 
 WORSHIP. 15 
 
 With God a day endures alway; 
 
 A thousand years are but a day. 
 
 God said in heaven, " Nor day nor night 
 
 Now brings the voice of my delight." 
 
 Then Gabriel, like a rainbow's birth, 
 
 Spread his wings, and sank to earth ; 
 
 Entered in flesh the empty cell ; 
 
 Lived there, and played the craftsman well ; 
 
 And, morning, evening, noon, and night, 
 
 Praised God in place of Theocrite. 
 
 And from a boy to youth he grew : 
 
 The man put off the stripling's hue ; 
 
 The man matured, and fell away 
 
 Into the season of decay; 
 
 And ever o'er the trade he bent, 
 
 And ever lived on earth content. 
 
 God said, " A praise is in my ear : 
 
 There is no doubt in it, no fear. 
 
 So sing old worlds, and so 
 
 New worlds that from my footstool go; 
 
 Clearer loves sound other ways : 
 
 I miss rny little human praise." 
 
 Then forth sprang Gabriel's wings ; off fell 
 The flesh disguise ; remained the cell. 
 'Twas Easter Day : he flew to Rome, 
 And paused above St. Peter's dome. 
 In the robing-room, close by 
 The great outer gallery, 
 With his holy vestments dight, 
 Stood the new Pope, Theocrite :
 
 16 .1 CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 And all his past career 
 Came back upon him clear, 
 Since when, a boy, he plied his trade, 
 'Till on his life the sickness weighed; 
 And in his cell, when death drew near, 
 An angel in a dream brought cheer; 
 And, rising from the sickness drear, 
 He grew a priest, and now stood here. 
 To the east with praise he turned, 
 And on his sight the angel burned. 
 
 o o 
 
 "I bore thee from thy craftsman's cell, 
 
 And set thee here : I did not well. 
 
 Vainly I left ray angel sphere ; 
 
 Vain was thy dream for many a year : 
 
 Thy voice's praise seemed weak ; it dropped ; 
 
 The chorus of creation stopped ! 
 
 Go back, and praise again 
 
 The early way, while I remain. 
 
 "With that weak voice which we disdain, 
 
 Take up creation's pausing strain. 
 
 Back to the cell and poor employ ; 
 
 Become the craftsman and the boy ! " 
 
 Theocrite grew old at home : 
 
 A -new pope dwelt in Peter's dome. 
 
 One vanished as the other died : 
 
 They sought the good God side by side. 
 
 R. Browning
 
 WORSHIP. 17 
 
 13. THE CHILD AND THE ANGELS. 
 
 THE sabbatLfs sun was setting low 
 Amidst the clouds at even : 
 u Our Father," breathed a voice below, 
 " Father who art in heaven." 
 
 Beyond the earth, beyond the clouds, 
 
 Those infant words were given : 
 " Our Father," angels sang aloud, 
 
 "Father who art in heaven." 
 
 
 "Thy kingdom come," still from the ground 
 
 That child-like voice did pray ; 
 "Thy kingdom come," God's hosts resound 
 
 Far up the starry way. 
 
 "Thy will be done," with little tongue 
 
 That lisping love implores; 
 "Thy will be done," the angelic throng 
 
 Sing from the heavenly shores. 
 
 "Forever," still those lips repeat 
 
 Their closing evening prayer; 
 " Forever," floats in music sweet 
 
 Hih 'midst thetmels there. 
 
 Sifiiiu.
 
 18 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 14. THE CHILD AND THE DOVE ~ 
 
 THERE sitteth a dove so white and fair, 
 All on the lily spray, 
 And she listeth how to Jesus Christ 
 
 The little children pray. 
 Lightly she spreads her friendly wings, 
 
 And to heaven's gate hath sped, 
 And unto the Father in heaven she bears 
 The prayers which the children have said. 
 
 And back she comes from heaven's gate, 
 
 And brings that dove so mild 
 From the Father in heaven who hears her speak 
 
 A blessing on every child. 
 Then, children, lift up a pious prayer : 
 
 It hears whatever you say, 
 That heavenly dove so white and fair, 
 
 All on the lily spray. 
 
 Fredrika Bremer ( Trans, ly Mury Ilowitt).
 
 WORSHIP. 19 
 
 ASPIRATION. 
 
 i. 
 
 X 
 
 /"\ LORD! thou hast searched me and known 
 
 ^~J me. 
 
 Thou knowest rny resting and my rising ; 
 
 Thou understandest my thoughts afar off.- 
 
 Thou watchest my path and my lying-down, 
 
 And art acquainted with all my ways. 
 
 Before the word is on my tongue, 
 
 Behold, O Lord ! thou knowest it altogether. 
 
 Thou besettest me behind and before, 
 
 And layest thine hand upon me.* 
 
 Whither shall I go from thy Spirit, 
 
 And whither shall I flee from thy presence ? 
 
 If I ascend into heaven, thou art there ; 
 
 If I make my bed in the under-world, behold ! 
 
 thou art there. 
 
 If I take the wings of the morning, 
 And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea ; 
 Even there shall thy hand lead me, 
 And thy right hand shall hold me. 
 If I say, Surely the darkness will cover me, 
 Even the ni<jht shall be light about me.
 
 20 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Yes, the darkness hideth not from thee, 
 
 But the night shineth as the day : 
 
 The darkness and the light are both alike to thee. 
 
 How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God ! 
 
 How great is the sum of them ! 
 
 If I should count them, they would outnumber 
 
 the sand. 
 
 When I awake, I am still with thee. 
 Search me, O God ! and know my heart ; 
 Try me, and know my thoughts ; 
 And see if there be any evil way in me; 
 And lead ine in the way everlasting. 
 
 II. 
 
 I will extol thee, my God, my King; 
 
 I will praise thy name for ever and ever. 
 
 Every day will I bless thee, 
 
 And praise thy name for ever and ever. 
 
 Great is the Lortl, and greatly to be praised : 
 
 His greatness is unsearchable. 
 
 The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion ; 
 
 Slow to anger, and rich in mercy. 
 
 The Lord is good to all, 
 
 And his tender mercies are over all his works. 
 
 The Lord upholdeth all that fall, 
 
 And raiseth up all that are bowed down. 
 
 The eyes of all wait upon thee, 
 
 And thou givest them their food in due season. 
 
 Thou openest thine hand, . 
 
 And sutisfiest the desire of every living thing.
 
 WORSHIP. 21 
 
 The Lord is just in all his ways, 
 And merciful in all his works. ' 
 The Lord is nigh to all that call upon him, 
 To all that call upon him in truth. 
 He meets the desire of them that* fear him ; 
 He heareth their cry, and helpeth them. 
 The Lord preserveth all those that love him : 
 Let all men bless his holy name for ever and 
 ever. 
 
 m. 
 
 Praise ye the Lord. 
 
 Praise the Lord, O my soul ! 
 
 I will praise the Lord as long as I live ; 
 
 I will sing praises to my God while- 1 have my 
 
 being. 
 
 He made heaven and earth ; 
 The sea, and all that is therein. 
 He keepeth truth forever ; 
 He maintaineth the cause of the oppressed ; 
 He giveth food to the hungry ; 
 He setteth free the prisoners ; 
 He openeth the eyes of the blind ; 
 He raiseth them that are bowed down ; 
 He loveth the good ; 
 He defendeth the stranger ; 
 He relieveth the fatherless and the widow ; 
 He gathereth together the exiles ; 
 He healeth the broken in heart, 
 And bindeth up their wounds.
 
 22 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGIOff. 
 
 He lifteth up the lowly ; 
 
 He casteth the wicked down to the ground. 
 
 He covereth the heavens with clouds ; 
 
 He causeth grass to grow on the mountains. 
 
 He giveth to the beast his food ; 
 
 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse ; 
 
 He taketh not pleasure in the power of a man : 
 
 The Lord taketh pleasure in those that love him, 
 
 In those that trust in his mercy. 
 
 Great is the Lord, and mighty in power ; 
 
 His understanding is infinite. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Bless the Lord, O my soul ! 
 
 O Lord, my God ! thou art very great ; 
 
 Thou art clothed with glory and majesty ; 
 
 Thou coverest thyself with light as with a gar- 
 ment. 
 
 He spreadeth out the heavens like a curtain ; 
 
 He layeth the beams of his chambers in the 
 waters ; 
 
 He maketh the clouds his chariot ; 
 
 He ridcth on the wings of the wind ; 
 
 He maketh the winds his messengers ; 
 
 The flaming lightnings are his ministers. 
 
 He sendeth forth the springs in brooks ; 
 
 They run among the mountains ; 
 
 They give drink to all the beasts of the forest : 
 
 Near them the birds of heaven have their habi- 
 tation.
 
 WORSHIP. 23 
 
 He causeth grass to spring up for cattle, 
 
 And herbage for the service of man. 
 
 The mighty trees are full of sap : 
 
 There the birds have their nests. 
 
 He set the moon to mark the seasons : 
 
 The sun knoweth when to go down. 
 
 He maketh darkness, and it is night, 
 
 "When all the beasts of the forest go forth : 
 
 The young lions roar for prey, 
 
 And seek their food from God. 
 
 The sun ariseth : they retire, 
 
 And lie down in their dens. 
 
 Man goeth forth to his labor until the evening. 
 
 All creatures look up to thee 
 
 To give them their food in due season. 
 
 Thou givest it to them : they take it. 
 
 Thou openest thine hand : they are satisfied with 
 
 good. 
 
 Thou hidest thy face : they are confounded. 
 Thou takest away their breath : they die, 
 And return to the dust. 
 
 Thou sendest forth thy Spirit ; they are created : 
 And thou renewest the face of the earth. 
 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live ; 
 I will sing praise to my God while I have being. 
 
 V. 
 
 Bless the Lord, O my soul ! 
 
 And all that is within me, bless his holy n ime. 
 
 Bless the Lord, O my soul ! 
 
 And for<jet not all his benefits:
 
 24 A GUILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities ; 
 
 Who hcaleth all thy diseases ; 
 
 Who saveth thy life from destruction ; 
 
 Who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and ten- 
 der mercies. 
 
 The Lord is merciful and gracious, 
 
 Slow to anger, and rich in mercy. 
 
 Pie hath not dealt with us according to dtir sins, 
 
 Nor requited us according to our iniquities. 
 
 As high as are the heavens above the earth, 
 
 So great is his mercy to them that trust him. 
 
 As far as the east is from the west, 
 
 So far hath he removed our transgressions from 
 us. 
 
 Even as a father pitieth his children, 
 
 So the Lord pitieth them that trust him. 
 
 As for man, his clays are as grass : 
 
 As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. 
 
 The wind passes over it, and it is gone ; 
 
 And its place shall know it no more : 
 
 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to 
 everlasting, 
 
 And his goodness to children's children. 
 
 Bless the Lord, ye his angels, 
 
 Ye mighty ones that do his commands ; 
 
 Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts, 
 
 Ye servants of his that do his pleasure ; 
 
 Bless the Lord, all his works ; 
 
 Bless the Lord, O my soul 1
 
 WORSHIP. 25 
 
 VI. 
 
 The Lord is my shepherd : I shall not want. 
 
 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures ; 
 
 He leadeth me beside the still waters ; 
 
 He refresheth my heart ; 
 
 He leacloth me in the paths of righteousness 
 
 For his name's sake. 
 
 When I walk through th dark valley, 
 
 1 fear no evil ; for thou art with me : 
 
 Thy crook and thy staff they comfort me. 
 
 Thou preparest a table for me in sight of my ene- 
 mies; 
 
 My cup runneth over. 
 
 Snrily goodness and mercy shall follow me all the 
 days of my life, 
 
 And I will dwell in, the house of the Lord forever. 
 
 * vn. 
 
 The heavens declare the glory of God ; 
 The firmament showeth the work of his hands. 
 Day uttereth wisdom unto day, 
 And night showeth knowledge unto night. 
 They have no speech nor language ; 
 Their voice is not heard : 
 Yet their sound goeth forth to all the earth, 
 And their words to the ends of the world. 
 The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the 
 soul;
 
 26 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 The precepts of the Lord are sure, making wise 
 the simple ; 
 
 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the 
 heart ; 
 
 The commandments of the Lord are pure, enlight- 
 ening the eyes ; 
 
 The service of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; 
 
 The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous. 
 
 Oh ! cleanse thou me from secret faults ; 
 
 Keep back thy children from presumptuous sins. 
 
 May the words of my mouth and the meditation 
 of my heart 
 
 Be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength 
 and my redeemer ! 
 
 
 VH1. 
 
 I will lift up my eyes to the hills, 
 
 From whence cometh my help. 
 
 My help cometh. from the Lc*d, 
 
 Who made heaven and earth. 
 
 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved : 
 
 He that keepfith thee will not slumber ; 
 
 Behold, he that keepeth us will never slumber nor 
 
 sleep. 
 
 The Lord is our keeper ; 
 The Lord is our shade on the right hand. 
 The sun shall not smite us by day, 
 Nor the moon by night. 
 The Lord shall preserve us from all evil ; 
 He^ shall preserve our souls.
 
 WORSHIP. 27 
 
 The Lord shall preserve our going-out and our 
 
 coming-in 
 From this time forth, and even for evermore. 
 
 IX. 
 
 The Lord is my light and my safety : 
 
 Whom shall I fear ? 
 
 The Lord is the sti-ength of my life : 
 
 Of whom shall I be afraid? 
 
 "When tempters come upon me to destroy me, 
 
 They stumble and fall. ' 
 
 Though an army should encamp about me, 
 
 My heart should not fear; 
 
 Though war should rise against me, 
 
 In God would I trust. 
 
 One thing I have desired of the Lord, 
 
 That I will seek for, 
 
 That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all 
 
 the days of my life ; 
 That I may behold the beauty of the Lord, and 
 
 see his truth. 
 For, in the time of trouble, he shall hide me in 
 
 his tent ; 
 In a corner of his tent he shall hide me ; he shall 
 
 set me on a rock. 
 
 Then shall my head be lifted up above my enemies. 
 Therefore will I bring him sacrifices of joy : 
 I will sing, I will sing praises unto the Lord. 
 Hear, O Lord ! when I cry to thec with my heart; 
 Have pity upon me, and answer mo.
 
 28 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 When thou saidst, " Seek ye my face," 
 
 My heart said, " Thy face, Lord, I will seek." 
 
 Hide not thy face from me ; 
 
 Put me not away from thee. 
 
 Thou hast been my help ; leave me not : 
 
 Do not forsake me, O God of my safety ! 
 
 When my father and mother forsake me, 
 
 Then the Lord will take me up. 
 
 Teach me thy way, O Lord ! 
 
 Lead me in a plain path. 
 
 Let me not fall under the power of temptation ; 
 
 For the tempters have risen up all about me. 
 
 I must think I see the goodness of the Lord day 
 
 by day. 
 Wait on the Lord ; be of good courage : he shall 
 
 strengthen thy heart. 
 Wait, I say, on the Lord. 
 
 X. 
 
 I will bless the Lord at all times ; 
 
 His praise shall be continually in my mouth. 
 
 My soul shall exult in the Lord : 
 
 The humble shall hear me, and be glad. 
 
 Oh ! magnify the Lord with me ; 
 
 Let us exalt his name together. 
 
 I sought the Lord, and he heard me ; 
 
 He delivered me from all my fears. 
 
 They looked up to him, and were lightened ; 
 
 And I was saved from shame.
 
 WORSHIP. 29 
 
 This poor soul cried, and the Lord heard ; 
 
 He saved it from all its trouble. 
 
 The angel of the Lord encamps about them that 
 
 trust him, 
 And protects them. 
 
 Oh ! taste and see how good is the Lard. 
 Blessed are they that trust him. 
 Trust the Lord, ye children : 
 They that trust him have no want. 
 Come, ye children, hearken .unto me : 
 Thou wilt teach us the fear of the Lord. 
 Who is it that loves life, 
 That loves the days for the good they bring ? 
 Keep our tongue from evil, 
 Our lips from speaking guile. 
 Lead us from evil toward the good ; 
 Make us love peace, and secure it. 
 The eyes of the Lord arc on the righteous ; 
 His ear is open to their cry. 
 They cry, and the Lord.heareth; 
 He delivereth them from all their troubles. 
 The Lord is nigh to them that are of a broken 
 
 heart ; 
 
 He saveth such as are of a contrite spirit. 
 Though the troubles of the good be many, 
 The Lord delivereth him from them all. 
 The Lord defendeth the lives of his servants, 
 And none that trust in him shall be deserted.
 
 30 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 XL 
 
 As the stag panteth for the water-brooks, 
 
 So pant our souls for thee, O God ! 
 
 Our heart thirsteth for thee, the living God : 
 
 When shall we come to the presence of God ? 
 
 When I think of thee, I pour out my heart to thee, 
 
 And we ours, with the voice of joy and praise. 
 
 Why art thou cast down, O my soul ? 
 
 Why art thou uneasy within us ? 
 
 Hope ye in God : 
 
 We shall yet see the light of his countenance. 
 
 The Lord will show his loving-kindness in the 
 
 daytime ; 
 
 In the night, his song shall be in our mouth. 
 Oh ! send out thy light and thy truth ; 
 Let them lead us to thy holy hill. 
 God is our refuge and strength, 
 A very present help in trouble. 
 We will not fear, though the earth be shaken, 
 Though the mountains be carried into the sea, 
 Though the waters of the sea roar, 
 Though the mountains tremble with their rage. 
 God is with us : 
 We shall not be moved. 
 God will help us, 
 And that quickly. 
 The mighty God is with us ; 
 The ancient God is our safety. 
 Be still, and you shall feel the pi'esence of God. 
 The mighly God is with us ; the ancient God is 
 
 our safety.
 
 WORSHIP. 31 
 
 XII. 
 
 Praise waileth for thee, O God ! 
 
 Unto thee shall the vow be paid. 
 
 O Thou that hearest prayer ! 
 
 All people shall come to thee. 
 
 Blessed are they whom thou choosest : 
 
 They shall be satisfied with thy goodness. 
 
 Thou art the confidence of all the ends of the 
 
 earth, 
 
 And of them that are far off on the sea. 
 Thy strength setteth fast the mountains : 
 They are girded with thy power. 
 Thou stillest the noise of the seas; 
 Thou stillest the noise of the people. 
 They that dwell in the desert have tokens of 
 
 thee: 
 
 Thou makest the morning and the evening sing. 
 Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it; 
 Thou preparest corn in its season ; 
 Thou waterest the hills ; 
 Thou waterest the valleys ; 
 Thou makest the ground soft with showers ; 
 Thou blessest the tender shoot ; 
 Thou crownest the year with thy goodness ; 
 Thy footsteps are followed by plenty. 
 The rain falls on the green spots in the desert ; 
 The little hills re-echo with joyfulness; 
 The pastures are covered with flocks ; 
 The valleys are covei'ed with corn ; 
 They shout for gladness, 
 They sing for joy.
 
 32 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Oh ! give thanks unto the Lord ; for he is good : 
 
 For his mercy endureth forever. 
 
 Oh ! give thanks unto the God of gods ; 
 
 For his mercy endureth forever. 
 
 Oh ! give thanks iinto the Lord of lords ; 
 
 For his mercy endureth forever. 
 
 To him who alone doeth great wonders ; 
 
 For his mercy endureth forever. 
 
 To him that by great wisdom made the heavens; 
 
 For his mercy endureth forever. 
 
 To him that stretched out the earth above the 
 
 waters ; 
 
 For his mercy endureth forever. 
 To him that made great lights; 
 For his mercy endureth forever. 
 The sun to rule by day ; 
 For his mercy endureth forever. 
 The moon and stars to rule by night ; 
 For his mercy endureth forever. 
 To him that gave to us our freedom ; 
 For his mercy endureth forever. 
 To him who hath carried us through the Red Sea ; 
 For his mercy endureth forever. 
 To him who gave us our land for a heritage ; 
 For his mercy endureth forever. 
 To him who remembered us in our weakness; 
 For his mercy endureth forever. 
 And hath redeemed us from our enemies ; 
 For his mercy endureth forever.
 
 WORSHIP. 33 
 
 Who giveth food to all creatures ; 
 
 For his mercy endureth forever. 
 
 Oh ! give thanks unto the God of heaven ; 
 
 For his mercy endureth forever. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Oh ! give thanks unto the Lord ; for he is good : 
 For his mercy endureth forever. 
 Let the elders say, 
 His mercy endureth forever. 
 Let all the children say, 
 His mercy endureth forever. 
 Let them that trust in the Lord say, 
 His mercy endureth forever. 
 I called on the Lord in my distress : 
 The Lord answered me, and raised me up. 
 The Lord is on my side : 
 I will not fear what man can do unto me. 
 The Lord taketh my part : 
 Therefore I will not fear them that hate me. 
 It is better to trust in the Lord 
 Than to put confidence in men ; 
 It is better to trust in the Lord 
 Than to put confidence in princes. 
 The Lord is my strength and song ; 
 He is become my safety. 
 The right hand of the Lord is lifted ; 
 The right hand of the Lord is mighty. 
 The Lord doth try me sorely ; 
 But he does not destroy, 
 a
 
 34 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Open the gates of goodness, 
 
 And I will thankfully go in. 
 
 I will praise thee ; for thou hast heard me, 
 
 And hast become my safety. ". 
 
 God is the Lord, who hath showed us light. 
 
 I will not bring to the Lord that which hath cost 
 
 me nothing. 
 
 Thou art my God, and I will praise thee : 
 Thou art my God ; I will exalt thee. 
 Oh ! give thanks unto thfe Lord ; for he is good : 
 For his mercy endureth forever.
 
 WORSHIP. 35 
 
 15. GOD OF THE MOUNTAIN. 
 
 OD of the mountain, 
 
 God of the storm, 
 God of the flowers, 
 God of the w T orm, 
 God of the darkness, 
 
 God of the sun, 
 God of the beautiful, 
 
 God of each one, 
 
 Breathe on our spirits thy love and thy healing; 
 Teach us content with thy fatherly dealing; 
 
 Teach us to love thee, 
 To love one another, brother his brother ; 
 
 And make us all free, 
 Free from the bondage of old superstition, 
 Free from contempt of our comrade and neigh- 
 bor. 
 
 Help us each one to fulfil his true mission ; 
 And teach us 'tis noble, 'tis godlike, to labor.
 
 86 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 16. PRAISE. 
 
 KING of comfort, King of life, 
 Thou hast cheered me ; 
 And, when fears and doubts weie rife, 
 
 Thou hast cleared me. 
 Not a nook in all my breast, 
 
 But thou fill'st it ; 
 Not a thought that breaks my rest, 
 
 But thou kilPst it. 
 Day and night not once a day 
 
 I will bless thee ; 
 And my heart in new. array 
 
 I will dress thee. 
 Not one minute in the year 
 
 But I'll mind thee : 
 As my seal and bracelet here 
 
 I will bind thee. 
 In thy word, as if in heaven, 
 
 I will rest me ; 
 And thy promise, till made even, 
 
 There shall feast me. 
 And if, dear Lord, when to thy board 
 
 Thy child comes begging, - 
 He hath a flower, or to his power 
 
 Some lesser offering, 
 When thou hast made thy beggar glad, 
 
 And filled his bosom, 
 Let him, though poor, drop at thy door 
 
 His tiny blossom. 
 
 Henry Vaughan.
 
 WOBSIIIP. 37 
 
 17. THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 
 
 REGION of life and light ! 
 Land of the good whose earthly toils are 
 o'er ! 
 
 No frost nor heat may blight 
 
 Thy vernal beauty, fertile shore, 
 Yielding thy blessed fruits foreverrnore ! 
 
 There without crook or sling 
 Walks the Good Shepherd. Blossoms white and 
 red 
 
 Round his meek temples cling ; 
 
 And, to sweet pastures led, 
 His own loved flock beneath his eye is fed. 
 
 He guides, and near him they 
 Follow delighted ; for he makes them go 
 
 Where dwells eternal May, 
 
 And heavenly roses blow 
 Deathless, and gathered but again to grow. 
 
 He leads them to the height 
 Named of the infinite and long-sought good, 
 
 And fountains of delight ; 
 
 And where his feet have stood 
 Springs up along the way their tender food ; 
 
 And when in the mid skies 
 The climbing sun has reached his highest bound, 
 
 Reposing as he lies 
 
 With all his flock around, 
 He witches the still air with numerous sound. 
 
 213650
 
 38 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 From his- sweet lute flow forth 
 Immortal harmonies, of power to still 
 
 All passions born of earth, 
 
 And draw the ardent will 
 Its destiny of goodness to fulfil. 
 
 Might but a little part, 
 A wandering breath, of that high melody 
 
 Descend into my heart, 
 
 And change it till it be 
 Transfonned and swallowed up, O Love! in thce, 
 
 Ah ! then my soul should know, 
 Beloved, where thou liest at noon of day, 
 
 And, from this place of woe 
 
 Released, should take its way 
 To mingle with thy flock, and never stray. 
 
 W. C. Bryant (frOm the Spanidi). 
 
 18. A THANKSGIVING. 
 
 FOR the wealth of pathless forests, 
 Whereon no axe may fall ; 
 For the winds that haunt the branches; 
 
 The young bird's timid call ; 
 For the red leaves dropped like rubies 
 
 Upon the dark-green sod ; 
 For the waving of the forests, 
 I thank thee, O my God ! 
 
 For the sound of waters gushing 
 
 In bubbling beads of light ; 
 For the fleets of snow-white lilies 
 
 Firm-anchored out of sight;
 
 WORSHIP. 39 
 
 For the reeds among the eddies, 
 
 The crystal on the clod; 
 For the flowing of the rivers, 
 
 I thank thee, O ray God ! 
 
 For the rosebud's break of beauty 
 
 Along the toiler's way ; 
 For the violet's eye, that opens 
 
 To bless the new-born day; 
 For the bare twigs, that in summer 
 
 Bloom like the prophet's rod ; 
 For the blossoming of flowers, 
 
 I thank thee, O my God ! 
 
 For the lifting-up of mountains, 
 
 In brightness and in dread ; 
 For the peaks where snow and sunshine 
 
 Alone have dared to tread ; 
 For the dark of silent gorges, 
 
 Whence mighty cedars nod ; 
 For the majesty of mountains, 
 
 I thank thee, O ray God ! 
 
 For the splendor of the sunsets, 
 
 Vast mirrored on the sea ; 
 For the gold-fringed clouds, that curtain 
 
 Heaven's inner mystery ; 
 For the molten bars of twilight, 
 
 Where thought leans, glad, yet awed ; 
 For the glory of the sunsets, 
 
 I thank thee, O my God !
 
 40 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 For the earth, and all its beauty; 
 
 The sky, and all its light ; 
 For the dim and soothing shadows 
 
 That rest the dazzled sight; 
 For unfading fields and prairies, 
 
 Where sense in vain has trod ; 
 For the world's exhaustless beauty, 
 
 I thank thee, O my God ! 
 
 For an eye of inward seeing ; 
 
 A soul to know and love ; 
 For these common aspirations, 
 
 That our high heirship prove ; 
 For the hearts that bless each other 
 
 Beneath thy smile, thy rod: 
 For the amaranth saved from Eden, 
 
 I thank thee, O my God ! 
 
 For the hidden scroll overwritten 
 
 With one dear Name adored ; 
 For the heavenly in the human, 
 
 The Spirit in the Word ; 
 For the tokens of thy presence 
 
 Within, above, abroad ; 
 For thine own great gift of Being, 
 
 I thank thee, O my God ! 
 
 From Lucy Lai-coin's Poems. 
 
 19. GRASS AND ROSES. 
 
 I LOOKED where the roses were blowing; 
 They stood among grasses and reeds : 
 I said, "Where such beauties are growing, 
 Why suffer these paltry weeds?"
 
 WORSHIP. 41 
 
 Weeping the poor things faltered, 
 " We have neither beauty nor bloom : 
 
 We are grass in the roses' garden ; 
 But our Master gives us this room. 
 
 " The slaves of a generous Master, 
 
 Born from a world above, 
 We came to this place in his wisdom; 
 
 We stay to this hour from his love. 
 
 "We have fed his humblest creatures; 
 
 We have served him truly and long : 
 He gave no grace to our features; 
 
 We have neither color nor song. 
 
 "Yet He who has made the roses 
 
 Placed us on the selfsame sod ; 
 He knows our reason for being : 
 
 We are grass in the garden of God." 
 
 James Freeman Clarke. 
 20. TO A SKYLARK. 
 
 UP with me, up with me, into the clouds ! 
 For thy song, lark, is strong ; 
 Up with me, up with me into the clouds, 
 
 Singing, singing ! 
 
 With clouds and sky about thee ringing, 
 Lift me, guide me, till I find 
 That spot which seems so to thy mind. 
 
 I have walked through wildernesses dreary, 
 And to-day my heart is weary : 
 Had I now the wings of a fairy, 
 Up to thee would I fly.
 
 42 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 There is madness about thee, and joy divine 
 
 In that song of thine : 
 
 Lift me, guide me, high and high, 
 
 To thy bauqueting-place in the sky. 
 
 21. FAITH. 
 
 IN the gloaming, when my darlings, 
 In their dainty robes of white, 
 By the mother's knee have murmured, 
 "Jesus, keep us through the night," 
 
 To their little crib, white-curtained, 
 Where the upper shadows fall, 
 
 Nestled in my arms, I take them 
 Through the long, unlighted hall. 
 
 Swift, in rayless silence, round us 
 
 Close the deepening shades of night : 
 
 "Dark!" my blue-eyed Bertie whispers, 
 Half in awe, and half in fright. 
 
 "Dark!" the baby-brother echoes, 
 With a hush upon his glee : 
 
 Then my Bertie, nestling nearer, 
 Whispers softly, " Papa, see ! " 
 
 Blessed, blessed faith of childhood ! 
 
 Father, grant this faith to me : 
 Dark the shadows round me gather ; 
 
 But I know that thou dost see.
 
 WORSHIP. 43 
 
 22, ASPIRATIONS OF YOUTH. 
 
 HIGHER, higher, will we climb, 
 Up. to the mount of glory, 
 That our names may live through time 
 
 In our country's story : 
 Happy, when her welfare calls, 
 He who conquers, he who falls. 
 
 Deeper, deeper, let us toil 
 In the mines of knowledge ; 
 
 Nature's wealth and learning's spoil 
 Win from school and college ; 
 
 Delve we there for richer gems 
 
 Than the stars of diadems. 
 
 Onward, onward, may we press, 
 
 Through the path of duty : 
 Virtue is true happiness ; 
 
 Excellence, true beauty. 
 Minds are of celestial birth : 
 Make we, then, a heaven of earth. 
 
 Closer, closer, let us knit 
 Hearts and hands together, 
 
 Where our fireside comforts sit 
 In the wildest weather. 
 
 Oh ! they wander wide who roam, 
 
 For the joys of life, from home. 
 
 Junus MuHti
 
 44 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 23. CONTRASTS. 
 
 EVERY day some vision rises 
 That confounds the old with new : 
 Life is full of strange disguises, 
 
 And the false may seem the true ; 
 And the spirit by the letter 
 Oft is chained with lawless fetter. 
 
 Strangely blent are joy and sorrow, 
 Parts alike of God's great plan ; 
 
 Tears to-day, and smiles to-morrow, 
 Reconcile them as we can : 
 
 We but see how time discloses 
 
 Thorns to pluck from beds of roses. 
 
 Hand in hand see age and childhood, 
 Silver locks, and curls of gold : 
 
 Go they to the grave, or wildwood ? 
 Which shall first the shroud infold ? 
 
 And what matter, when the acres 
 
 ' O 
 
 Show how short life's longest stages ? 
 
 o o 
 
 Side by side go want and splendor : 
 On which most shall pity fall ? 
 
 Which has brightest gems to render 
 Unto Him who seeth all ? 
 
 Which, when fades the transitory, 
 
 Shall behold the fullest glory ?
 
 WORSHIP. 45 
 
 Ah ! short-sighted mortals vainly 
 Seek all things to understand : 
 
 When the veil is lifted, plainly 
 Shall we see the guiding hand, 
 
 Good from evil still awaiting, 
 
 Life from death emancipating. 
 
 Mrs. L. I. 1'iningt 
 
 24. GOOD FROM EVIL. 
 
 JOY ripens where the days make night 
 With bitterest draughts of sorrow ; 
 Hope leaps to meet the dancing light 
 That ushers in the morrow. 
 
 Through clouds and tears, and angry fears, 
 
 Dead hopes, and fruit untasted, 
 The resurrected spring appears, 
 
 Unheralded, unhasted. 
 
 We gather flowers too soon to reap 
 
 The harvest's glad fruition ; 
 We blight the fairest hope, then weep 
 
 To find it but a vision. 
 
 And yet the rainbow's silver sheen 
 
 Is born of many a sorrow, 
 And fields that glow in living green 
 
 Are slumbering in the morrow. 
 
 Each star that's lost, and dream that cost 
 
 Such anguish in its going, 
 But builds a bridge of gold across 
 
 The river's sullen flowing.
 
 46 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 These dark, lone days are God's good ways, 
 
 Revealing sunny places : 
 Life's dying years have many tears ; 
 
 Yet cloud they angel-faces. 
 
 Come on, then, toil and fear and pain, 
 
 That bar the golden portal : 
 Through suffering, garner we the grain ; 
 
 Through death, become immortal. 
 
 25. A CHILD IS BORN. 
 
 A CHILD is born : now take the germ, and 
 make it 
 
 A bud of moral beauty. Let the dews 
 Of knowledge, and the light of virtue, wake it 
 
 In richest fragrance and in purest hues; 
 For soon the gathering hand of death will break it 
 
 From its weak stem of life, and it shall lose 
 All power to charm : but if that lovely flower 
 
 Hath swelled one pleasure, or subdued one pain, 
 Oh ! who shall say that it has lived in vain ? 
 
 26. A SUPPLICATION. 
 
 WILT Thou 'not visit me ? 
 The plant beside me feels Thy gentle 
 
 dew ; 
 
 Each blade of grass I see, 
 
 From Thy deep earth its quickening moisture 
 drew.
 
 WORSHIP. 47 
 
 Wilt Thou not visit me ? 
 Thy morning calls on me with cheering tone ; 
 
 And every hill and tree 
 Lend but one voice, the voice of Thee alone. 
 
 Come ; for I need Thy love 
 More than the flower the dew, or grass the rain : 
 
 Come, like Thy Holy Dove, 
 And let me in Thy sight rejoice to live again. 
 
 Yes, Thou wilt visit me : 
 Nor plant nor tree Thine eyes delight so well, 
 
 As when, from sin set free, 
 Our spirits come with Thine in peace to dwell. 
 
 Jones Very. 
 
 27. THE SOUL'S CALM. 
 
 WHEN winds are raging o'er the upper ocean, 
 And billows wild contend with angry 
 
 roar, 
 
 Tis said, far down beneath the wild commotion, 
 That peaceful stillness reigneth evermore. 
 
 Far, far beneath, the noise of tempests dicth, 
 And silver waves chime ever peacefully ; 
 
 And no rude storm, how fierce soe'er.it flieth, 
 Disturbs the sabbath of that deeper sea.
 
 48 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 So to the heart that knows Thy love, O Purest ! 
 
 There is a temple sacred evermore, 
 And all the Babel of life's angry voices 
 
 Dies in hushed stillness at its peaceful door. 
 
 Far, far away, the roar of passion dieth. 
 
 And loving thoughts rise calm and peacefully ; 
 And no rude storm, how fierce soe'er it flieth, 
 
 Disturbs the soul that dwells, O Lord ! in thce- 
 
 Mrs. II. B. Stowe. 
 
 28. THE HEART'S PRAYER. 
 
 AS down in the sunless retreats of the ocean 
 Sweet flowers are springing no mortal can 
 
 see; 
 
 So deep in my soul the still prayer of devotion, 
 Unheard by the world, rises silent to thee, 
 My God ! silent to thee ; 
 Pure, warm, silent to thee. 
 
 As still to the star of its worship, though clouded, 
 
 The needle points faithfully o'er the dim sea ; 
 So dark when I roam, in this wintry world 
 
 shrouded, 
 
 The hope of my spirit turns trembling to thee, 
 My God ! trembling to thee ; 
 True, sure, trembling to thee v 
 
 Thomas Moore.
 
 WORSHIP. 49 
 
 29. THE HYMN OF NATURE. 
 
 THE heavenly spheres to thee, O God ! 
 Attune their evening hymn : 
 All-wise, All-holy, thou art praised 
 
 In song of seraphim. 
 Unnumbered systems, suns, and worlds, 
 
 Unite to worship thee ; 
 "While thy majestic greatness fills 
 Space, time, eternity. 
 
 Nature, a temple worthy thee, 
 
 Beams Avith thy light and love, 
 Whose flowers so sweetly bloom below, 
 
 Whose stars rejoice above ; 
 Whose altars are the mountain-cliffs 
 
 That rise along the shore ; 
 Whose anthems, the sublime accord 
 
 Of storm and ocean roar. 
 
 Her song of gratitude is sung 
 
 By Spring's awakening hours ; 
 Her Summer offers at thy shrine 
 
 Its earliest, loveliest flowers ; 
 Her Autumn brings its golden fruits, 
 
 In glorious luxury given ; 
 While Winter's silver heights reflect 
 
 Thy brightness back to heaven. 
 
 Bowing.
 
 50 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 30. GOD'S PRESENCE IN NATURE. 
 
 rriHOU" art, O God ! the life and light 
 JL Of all this wondrous world we see : 
 Its glow by day, its smile by night, 
 Are but reflections caught from thee. 
 Where'er we turn, thy glories shine ; 
 And all things fair and bright are thine. 
 
 When Day with farewell-beam delays 
 Among the opening clouds of even, 
 And we can almost think we gaze 
 Through golden vistas into heaven, 
 Those hues that make the sun's decline 
 So soft, so radiant, Lord, are thine. 
 
 When youthful Spring around us breathes, 
 Thy Spirit warms her fragrant sigh ; 
 And every flower the Summer wreathes 
 Is born beneath thy kinflling eye. 
 Where'er we turn, thy glories shine ; 
 And all things fair and bright are thine. 
 
 Thomas Moore.
 
 WORSHIP. 51 
 
 31. PRAISE TO NATURE'S GOD. 
 
 LAUDED be Thy name forever, 
 Thou of life the guard and giver ! 
 Thou who slumberest not, nor sleepest, 
 Blest are they Thou kindly keepest. 
 God of stillness and of motion, 
 Of the rainbow and the ocean, 
 Of the mountain, rock, and river, 
 Laude.d be thy name forever ! 
 
 
 
 God of evening's peaceful ray, 
 God of every dawning day 
 Rising from the distant sea, 
 Breathing of eternity, 
 Thine the flaming sphere of light, 
 Thine the darkness of the night : 
 God of life, that fade shall never, 
 
 Glory to thy name forever ! 
 
 Jamet Uogg. 
 
 32. OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN. 
 
 HOLY, holy, holy Lord ! 
 In the highest heaven adored, 
 Dwelling with the loving heart, 
 
 o o * 
 
 Truly thou our Father art. 
 From thy love our spirits came : 
 Father, hallowed be thy name 1
 
 62 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 In our spirits may we feel 
 Filial love, thy Spirit's seal : 
 Then, in all our want or wealth, 
 Joy or sorrow, pain or health, 
 Still our prayer shall be the same, 
 " Father, hallowed be thy name ! " 
 
 Living near to thee alway, 
 Thy command may we obey ; 
 Gladly by thy hand be led ; 
 Seek from thce our daily bread ; 
 While our daily prayer we frame, 
 " Father, hallowed be thy name ! " 
 
 33. GOD IS LOVE, AND LOVE ALONE. 
 
 LORD and Father, great and holy, 
 Fearing nought, we come to thee ; 
 Fearing nought, though weak and lowly; 
 
 For thy love has made us free. 
 By the blue sky bending o'er us, 
 
 By the green earth's flowery zone, 
 Teach us, Lord, the angel-chorus, 
 " Thou art lore, and love alone." 
 
 Though the worlds in flame should perish, 
 
 Suns and stars in ruin fall, 
 Trust in thee our hearts should cherish ; 
 
 Thou to us be all in all.
 
 WORSHIP. 53 
 
 And, though heaven thy name is praising, 
 
 Seraphs hymn no sweeter tone 
 Than the strain our hearts arc raising, 
 
 " Thou art love, and love alone ! " 
 
 F. W. Farrar. 
 
 34. FOUNTAIN OF DIVINE LOVE. 
 
 LET us sing the praise of Love ! 
 Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove, 
 Bringing cm its blessed wings 
 Life to all created things. 
 Wheresoe'er its light is shed, 
 Sorrow lifts its drooping head; 
 And the tears of grief that start 
 Turn to sunshine in the heart. 
 
 Love Divine ! all things are thine ; 
 
 Every creature seeks thy shrine ; 
 
 And thy boundless blessings fall 
 
 With an equal love on all. 
 
 Let us sing the praise of Love, 
 Everywhere, around, above ; 
 Watching with its starry eyes 
 From the blue of boundless skies ; 
 Heeding when the lowly call ; 
 Mindful of a sparrow's fall; 
 Writing oji the flower-wreathed sod, 
 ** God is love, and love is God."
 
 54 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 
 
 Love Divine ! all things are thine ; 
 Every creature seeks thy shrine ; 
 And thy boundless blessings fall 
 With an equal love on all. 
 
 Let us sing the praise of Love, 
 Fairest of all things above : 
 How its blessed sunshine lies 
 In the light of loving eyes I 
 And, when words are all too weak, 
 How its deeds of mercy speak 1 
 , They who learn to love aright 
 Pass from darkness into light.- 
 
 Love Divine ! all things are thine ; 
 
 Every creature seeks thy shrine ; 
 
 And thy boundless blessings fall 
 
 With an equal love on all. 
 
 Let us sing the praise of Love ! 
 Shepherd of the lambs above, 
 Nothing can forbid that we 
 Come in trusting love to thee. 
 Fold us closely to thy heart ; 
 Make us of thyself a part : 
 All the heaven our souls have known 
 We have found in thee alone. 
 
 Love Divine! all things are thine; 
 
 Every creature seeks thy shrine ; 
 
 And thy boundless blessings fall 
 
 With an equal love on all.. 
 
 Manual of A. J. Davis.
 
 WORSIUP. 65 
 
 35. THE UNIVERSAL PRAYER. 
 
 FATHER of all, in every age, 
 In every clime, adored 
 By saint, by savage, or by sage, 
 Jehovah, Jove, or Lord ; 
 
 Thou great First Cause, least understood, 
 
 Who all my sense confined 
 To know but this, that thou art good, 
 
 And that myself am blind, 
 
 t 
 
 What conscience dictates to be done, 
 
 Or warns me not to do, 
 This teach me more than hell to shun, 
 
 That more than heaven pursue. 
 
 If I am right, thy grace impart 
 
 Still in the right to stay ; k 
 
 If I am wrong, oh ! teach my heart 
 
 To find that better way. 
 
 Save me alike from foolish pride, 
 
 Or impious discontent ; 
 At aught thy wisdom has denied, 
 
 Or aught thy goodness lent. 
 
 Teach me to feel another's woe, 
 
 To hide the fault I see : 
 The mercy I to others show, 
 
 That mercy show to me.
 
 66 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 This clay be bread and peace my lot : 
 
 All else beneath the sun 
 Thou know'st if best bestowed or not ; 
 
 And let thy will be done. 
 
 To Thee whose temple is all space ; 
 
 "Whose altar, earth, sea, skies 
 One chorus let all beings raise, 
 
 All Nature's incense rise 1 
 
 Pope. 
 
 36. EVENING PRAYER. 
 
 BEFORE I close my eyes to-night, 
 Let me myself these questions ask : 
 Have I endeavored to do right, 
 f Nor thought my duty was a task ? 
 
 Have I been gentle, lowly, meek, 
 
 And the small voice of conscience heard? 
 
 When passion tempted me to speak, 
 Have I repressed the angry word ? 
 
 Have I with cheerful zeal obeyed 
 What my kind parents bade me do, 
 
 And not by word or action said 
 
 The thing that was not strictly true ?
 
 WORSHIP. 57 
 
 In hard temptation's troubled hour, 
 
 Then have I stopped to think, and pray 
 
 That God would give my soul the power 
 To chase the sinful thought away? 
 
 O Thou who seest all my heart ! 
 
 Wilt thou forgive, and love me still? 
 
 thou to me new strength impart, 
 And make me love to do thy will ? 
 
 Mrs. Fallen. 
 
 37. THE DAY AND THE NIGHT ARE THINE. 
 
 FADING, still fading, the last beam is shining. 
 Father in heaven ! the day is declining : 
 Thine is the darkness, as thine is the light : 
 We trust thee by day, and we trust thee by 
 
 night. % 
 
 From the fall of the shade till the morning bells 
 
 chime, 
 
 Shield us from danger, and guard us from crime. 
 Father of mercy, oh ! hear thou our prayer. 
 
 Father in heaven, oh ! hear when we call, 
 Thou the Protector and Saviour of all. 
 Fainting and feeble, we trust in thy might : 
 In doubting and darkness, thy love be our light !
 
 58 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Let us sleep on thy breast while the night-taper 
 
 burns, 
 And wake in thine arms when the morning 
 
 returns. 
 Father of mercies, oh ! hear thou our prayer. 
 
 88. AN EVENING SONG. 
 
 LORD, a happy child of thine, 
 Patient through the love of thee, 
 In the light, the life divine, 
 Lives and walks in liberty. 
 
 Leaning on thy tender care, 
 Thou hast led my soul aright : 
 Fervent was my morning prayer, 
 Joyful is my song to-night. 
 
 O my Father, Guardian true I 
 All my life is thine to keep : 
 At thy feet my work I do ; 
 In thine arms I fall asleep. 
 
 Anna L. Waring
 
 WORSHIP. 
 
 39. BEST. 
 
 T^HE daylight is fading o'er earth and o'er 
 ocean ; 
 
 
 
 The sun has gone down o'er the slumbering sea; 
 And now, in the hush of life's fitful commotion, 
 We lift our tired spirits, blest Father ! to thee. 
 
 Oh ! when our feet stumble upon the dark moun- 
 tains, 
 
 Or sink in the stormy and treacherous wave, 
 Or seek in the desert in vain for the fountains, 
 
 Be near in the darkness to help and to save. 
 
 And oft as the tumult of life's heaving billow 
 Shall toss our frail bark, driving wild o'er night's 
 
 deep, 
 Let thy guarding wing be stretched over our 
 
 pillow, 
 
 And shield us from evil, though death watch 
 our sleep. 
 
 40. SONG OF THE NIGHT. 
 
 T? ATHER supreme, thou high and holy One ! 
 JL To thee we bow, 
 
 Now, when the burden of the day is gone, 
 Devoutly now.
 
 60 A CHILD'S BOOK OF JtELIGION. 
 
 From age to age unchanging, still tke same, 
 
 All good thou art : 
 Hallowed forever be thy reverend name 
 
 In every heart ! 
 
 When tfie glad morn upon the hills was spread. 
 
 Thy smile was there : 
 Now, as the darkness gathers overhead, 
 
 We feel thy care. 
 
 Night spreads her shade upon another day 
 
 Forever past : 
 
 So o'er our faults, thy love, we humbly pray, 
 A veil may cast. 
 
 Silence and calm, o'er hearts by earth distrest, 
 
 Now sweetly steal : 
 So every fear that struggles in the breast 
 
 Shall faith conceal. 
 
 Thou, through the dark, wilt watch above our 
 sleep 
 
 With eye of love ; 
 And thou wilt wake us when the sunbeams leap 
 
 The hills above. 
 
 Oh ! may each heart its gratitude express 
 
 As life expands, 
 And find the triumph of its happiness 
 
 In thy commands I
 
 WORSfllP. Cl 
 
 41. VESPER HYMN. 
 
 NOW, on sea and land descending, 
 Brings the night its peace profound : 
 Let our vesper hymn be blending 
 
 With the holy calm around. 
 Soon as dies the sunset glory, 
 
 Stars of heaven shine out above, 
 Telling still the ancient story, 
 Their Creator's changeless love. 
 
 Now, our wants and burdens leaving 
 
 To His care who cares for all, 
 Cease we fearing, cease we grieving ; 
 
 At his touch our burdens fall. 
 As the darkness deepens o'er us, 
 
 Lo ! eternal stars arise ; 
 Hope and Faith and Love rise glorious, 
 
 Shining in the Spirit's skies. 
 
 Samuel LonsftUow. 
 
 42. UPWARD. 
 
 TTPWARD, where the stars are burning, 
 *J Silent, silent, in their turning 
 
 Round the never-changing pole ; 
 Upward, where the sky is brightest ; 
 Upward, where the blue is lightest, 
 
 Lift I now my longing soul.
 
 62 A CHILD'S BOQK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Far above that arch of gladness, 
 Far beyond those clouds of sadness, 
 
 Are the many mansions fair : 
 Far from pain and sin and folly, 
 In that palace of the holy, 
 
 I would find my mansion there. 
 
 Where the glory brightly dwelleth ; 
 Where the new song sweetly swelleth, 
 
 And the discord never comes ; 
 Where life's stream is ever laving, 
 And the palm is ever waving, 
 
 That must be the home of homes. 
 
 Blessing, honor, without measure, 
 Heavenly riches, earthly treasure, 
 
 Lay we at His blessed feet. 
 Poor the praise that now we render : 
 Loud shall be our voices yonder 
 
 When before his throne we meet. 
 
 Rev. H. Boiiar. 
 
 43. A CHILD'S HYMN. 
 
 JESUS, gentle shepherd, lead me 
 To the stream that softly flows ; 
 In thy pastures guide and feed me, 
 Where each lamb thy calling knows.
 
 WORSHIP. 63 
 
 There no evil thing can find mo ; 
 
 I may lie upon thy breast : 
 There no crooked paths shall wind me; 
 
 All shall lead to peace and rest. 
 
 Jesus, gentle shepherd, hear me ; 
 
 Come and call me one of thine : 
 Let me walk henceforth so near thee, 
 
 All thy footsteps shall be mine. 
 
 Agatha Ernest.
 
 64 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 3- 
 
 TR us T. 
 
 1. THE LOVE OF GOD. 
 
 ALL things that are on earth shall wholly pass 
 away, 
 
 Except the love of God, which shall live and last 
 for aye. 
 
 The forms of men shall be as they had never 
 been ; 
 
 The blasted groves shall lose their fresh and ten- 
 der green ; 
 
 The birds of the thicket shall end their pleasant 
 song, 
 
 And the nightingjfle shall cease to chant the even- 
 ing long ; 
 
 The kine of the pasture shall feel the dart that 
 kills, 
 
 And all the fair white flocks shall perish from the 
 hills ; - 
 
 The goat and antlered stag, the wolf and the 
 fox, 
 
 The wild boar of the wood and the chamois cf 
 the rocks,
 
 WORSHIP. 65 
 
 And the strong and fearless bear, in the trodden 
 
 dust shall lie ; 
 And the dolphin of the sea, and the mighty 
 
 whale, shall die. 
 And realms shall be dissolved, and empires be no 
 
 more ; 
 And they shall bow to death who ruled from 
 
 shore to shore ; 
 And the great globe itself, so the holy writings 
 
 tell, 
 With the rolling firmament, where the starry 
 
 armies dwell, 
 Shall melt with fervent heat: they shall all pass 
 
 away, 
 Except the love of God, which shall live and last 
 
 for aye. 
 
 W. C. Bryant (from the Spanish). 
 
 2. TRUSTING LOVE. 
 
 of heaven," love ye the merciful 
 Father ; 
 Wish what the Holy One wishes, as not from 
 
 fear, but affection : 
 Fear is the virtue of slaves ; but the heart that 
 
 loveth is willing. 
 Perfect was before God, and perfect is love, and 
 
 love only. 
 
 Lovest thou God as thou oughtest ? then lovest 
 thou likewise thy brethren. 
 6
 
 66 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Bears not each human figure the Godlike stamp 
 . on his forehead ? 
 
 Readest thou not in his face thine origin? Is he 
 not sailing, 
 
 Lost like thyself, on an ocean unknown? and is 
 he not guided 
 
 By the same stars that guide thee ? Why shouldest 
 thou hate, then, thy brother? 
 
 Hateth he thee, forgive ! For 'tis sweet to stam- 
 mer one letter 
 
 Of the Eternal's language : on earth it is called 
 forgiveness. 
 
 Knowest thou Him who forgave with the crown 
 of thorns round his temples ; 
 
 Earnestly prayed for his foes, for his murderers? 
 Say, dost thou know him ? 
 
 Ah ! thou confessest his name : so lollow likewise 
 his example. 
 
 Think of thy brother no ill, but throw a veil over 
 his failings; * ., 
 
 Guide the erring aright : for the good, the heav- 
 enly Shepherd 
 
 Took the lost lamb in his arms, and bore it back 
 to its mother. 
 
 This is the fruit of love ; and it is by its fruits 
 that we know it. 
 
 Tegn&r (traru. by Longfellow),
 
 WORSHIP. 67 
 
 3. THE GUIDES. 
 
 TAKE ye henceforth, as guides in the paths 
 of existence, 
 
 Prayer, with her eyes raised to heaven, and Inno- 
 cence, gem of your childhood. 
 Innocence, child beloved, is a guest from the 
 
 world of the blessed ; 
 Beautiful, and in her hand a lily: on life's roaring 
 
 billows 
 Swings she in safety : she heedeth them not ; in 
 
 the ship she is sleeping. 
 Calmly she gazes around in the turmoil of men 
 
 in the desert : 
 Angels descend and minister to her; she herself 
 
 knoweth 
 Nought of her glorious attendance, but follows 
 
 faithful and humble, 
 Follows as long as she may her friend. Oh ! do 
 
 not reject her ; 
 For she cometh from God, and she holdeth the 
 
 keys of the heavens. 
 
 Tegnkr (trans, by Longfellow).
 
 08 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 4. PATIENCE. 
 
 THE night is mother of the day; 
 The winter of the spring ; 
 And ever upon old decay 
 
 The greenest mosses cling. 
 Behind the cloud the starlight lurks, 
 
 Through showers the sunbeams fall ; 
 For God, who loveth all his works, 
 Has left his hope with all. 
 
 J. G. WhitUer. 
 
 5. SONG OF FAITH. 
 
 T*HE day is quenched, and the sun is fled 
 God has forgotten the world ! 
 The moon is gone, and the stars are dead : 
 God has forgotten the world ! 
 
 Day will return with a fresher boon : 
 God will remember the world ! 
 
 Night will come with a newer moon : 
 God will remember the world I 
 
 Evil is only the slave of good ; 
 
 Sorrow, the servant of joy ; 
 And the soul is mad that refuses food 
 
 Of the meanest in God's employ.
 
 WORSHIP. 69 
 
 The fountain of joy is fed by tears, 
 And love is lit by the breath of sighs : 
 
 The deepest griefs and the wildest fears 
 Have holiest ministries. 
 
 Strong grows the oak in the sweeping storm ; 
 
 Safely the flower sleeps under the snow ; 
 And the farmer's hearth is never warm 
 
 Till the cold wind starts to blow. 
 
 Day will return with a fresher boon : 
 
 God will remember the world ! 
 Night will come with a newer moon : 
 
 God will remember the world I 
 
 /. G. Holland. 
 
 6. THREE WORDS OF STRENGTH. 
 i 
 
 THERE are three lessons I would write, 
 Three words, as with a burning pen, 
 In tracings of eternal light, 
 Upon the hearts of men. 
 
 Have hope ! Though clouds environ now, 
 And Gladness hides her face in scorn, 
 
 Put thou the shadow from thy brow : 
 No night but hath its morn.
 
 70 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Have faith ! Where'er thy bark is driven, 
 The calm's disport, the tempest's mirth, 
 
 Know this : God rules the hosts of heaven, 
 The inhabitants of earth. 
 
 Have love ! not love alone for one, 
 But man as man thy brother call ; 
 
 And scatter, like the circling sun, 
 Thy charities on all. 
 
 Thus grave these lessons on thy soul, 
 Hope, faith, and love, and thou shalt find 
 
 Strength when Life's surges rudest roll, 
 Light when thou else wert blind. 
 
 Schiller. 
 
 7. SONG OF TRUST. 
 
 LIFE evermore is fed by death 
 In earth and sea and sky ; 
 And, that a rose may breathe its breath, 
 Something must die. 
 
 The oak-tree, struggling with the blast, 
 
 Devours its father-tree, 
 And sheds its leaves, and drops its mast, 
 That more may be. 
 
 The milk-white heifer's life must pass 
 
 That it may fill your own, 
 As passed the sweet life of the grass 
 She fed upon.
 
 WORSHIP. 71 
 
 From lowly woe springs lordly joy ; 
 
 From humbler good, diviner : 
 The greater life must aye destroy 
 And drink the minor. 
 
 For angels wait on Providence, 
 
 And mark the sundered places, 
 To graft with gentlest instruments 
 
 The heavenly graces. 
 
 J. G. Uollind. 
 
 8. WHAT THE MINUTES SAY. 
 
 are but minutes, little things, 
 Each one furnished with sixty wings, 
 With which we fly on our unseen track ; 
 And not a minute ever comes back. 
 
 " We are but minutes. Each one bears 
 A little burden of joys and cares : 
 Take patiently the minutes of pain ; 
 The worst of minutes cannot remain. 
 
 " We are but minutes. When we bring 
 A few of the drops from Pleasure's spring, 
 Taste their sweetness while yet ye may : 
 It takes but a minute to fly away. 
 
 " We are but minutes : use us well ; 
 For how we are used, we must one day tell. 
 Who uses minutes, has hours to use ; 
 Who loges minutes, whole years must lose." 
 
 Sailor^ Magazine.
 
 72 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 9. THE LITTLE TREE. 
 
 A LITTLE tree stood up in the wood 
 In bright and dirty weather ; 
 And nothing but needles it had for leaves 
 
 From top to bottom together. 
 The needles stuck about, 
 And the little tree spoke out : 
 
 " My companions all have leaves 
 
 Beautiful to see : 
 While I've nothing but these needles ; . 
 
 No one touches me. 
 Might I have my fortune told, 
 All my leaves should be pure gold." 
 
 The little tree's asleep by dark, 
 
 Awake by earliest light ; 
 And now its golden leaves you mark : 
 
 There was a sight ! 
 
 The little tree says, " Now I'm set high : 
 No tree in the wood has gold leaves but I." 
 
 But now again the night came back : 
 Through the forest there walked a Jew, 
 
 With great thick beard and great thick sack, 
 And soon the gold leaves did view. 
 
 He pockets them all, and away does fare, 
 
 Leaving the little tree quite bare. ^
 
 WORSHIP. 73 
 
 The little tree speaks up distressed, 
 " Those golden leaves how I lament ! 
 
 I'm quite ashamed before the rest, 
 Such lovely dress to them is lent. 
 
 Might I bring one more wish to pass, 
 
 I would have my leaves of the clearest glass." 
 
 The little tree sleeps again at dark, 
 
 And wakes with the early light. 
 And now its glass leaves you may mark : 
 
 There was a sight ! 
 
 The little tree says, " Now I'm right glad : 
 No tree in the wood is as brightly clad." 
 
 There came up now a mighty blast, 
 
 And a furious gale it blew ; 
 It swept among the trees full fast, 
 
 And on the glass leaves it flew : 
 There lay the leaves of glass 
 All shivered on the grass I 
 
 The little tree complains, 
 
 " My glass lies on the ground : 
 Each other tree remains 
 
 With its green dress all sound. 
 Might I but have my wish once more, 
 I would have of those good green leaves good store." 
 
 Again asleep is the little tree, 
 
 And early wakes to the light : 
 He is covered with green leaves fair to see ; 
 
 He laughs outright,
 
 74 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 And says, " I am now all nicely dressed, 
 Nor need be ashamed before the rest." 
 
 And now, with udders full, 
 
 Forth a wild she-goat sprung, 
 Seeking for herbs to pull, 
 
 To feed her young. 
 
 She sees the leaves, nor makes much talk, 
 But strips all clear to the very stalk I 
 
 The little tree again is bare, 
 
 And thus to himself he said : 
 " No longer for any leaves I care, 
 
 Whether green or yellow or red. 
 If I had but my needles again, 
 I would nevermore scold or complain." 
 
 The little tree slept sad that night, 
 
 And sadly opened his eye : 
 He sees himself in the sun's first light, 
 
 And laughs as he would die. 
 And all the trees in a roar burst out ; 
 But the little tree little cared for their shout. 
 
 What made the little tree laugh like mad ? 
 
 And what set the rest in a roar ? 
 In a single night, soon back he had 
 
 Every needle he had before ! 
 And everybody may see them such : 
 Go out and look ; but do not touch. 
 Why not, I pray ? 
 They prick, some say. 
 N. L. Frolhinyliam (from the German of Ruckcrt).
 
 WORSHIP. 76 
 
 10. A DOUBTING HEART. 
 
 WHERE are the swallows fled? 
 Frozen and dead, 
 Perchance, upon some bleak and frozen shore. 
 
 O doubting heart ! 
 Far over purple seas, 
 They wait in sunny ease 
 The balmy southern breeze 
 To bring them to their northern home once mord. 
 
 Why must the flowers die ? 
 Prisoned they lie 
 
 In the cold tomb, heedless of tears or rain. 
 
 O doubting heart ! 
 They only sleep below 
 The soft white ermine snow, 
 While winter winds shall blow, 
 
 To breathe and smile upon you soon again. 
 
 The sun has hid his rays 
 
 These many days : 
 
 Wjll dreary hours never leave the earth ? 
 O doubting heart ! 
 
 The stormy clouds on high 
 
 Veil the same sunny sky 
 
 That soon (for Spring is nigh) 
 Shall wake the Summer into golden mirth.
 
 76 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Fair hope is dead, and light 
 
 Is quenched in night. 
 
 What sound can break the silence of despair ? 
 O doubting heart ! 
 
 Thy sky is overcast ; 
 
 Yet stars shall rise at last, 
 
 Brighter for darkness past, 
 And angels' silver voices stir the air. 
 
 Adelaide A. Procter. 
 
 11. UNDER THE SNOW. 
 
 TTNDER the snow the violets are buddinjj, 
 
 > 
 
 ^J Nurtured and cherished within the warm 
 
 earth ; 
 
 Rich fragrance imbibing, while patiently waiting 
 The word of command that shall wake them 
 to birth. 
 
 Under the snow the streamlets are sleeping ; 
 
 Lulled is the voice of their murmuring flow : 
 Their rest is not death ; but life is renewing, 
 
 While Spring's brightest promise is ice-bound 
 below. 
 
 Under the snow, oh ! under the snow, 
 
 Earth sleeps but to waken, and rests but 10 
 
 rise, 
 
 And silently toils in her storehouse below, 
 Adding tint to the floweret, and splendor to 
 skies.
 
 WORSHIP. 77 
 
 Un'der the snow, the beautiful snow, 
 
 Rests all the fair future of promise and bloom, 
 The bud and the blossom, the summer's bright 
 
 glow, 
 
 The autumn's full fruitage, the winter's rich 
 boon. 
 
 Under the snow, ah ! under the snow, 
 
 Lie buried the hopes of the sorrowing heart : 
 
 Wailing and sad the winds over them blow, 
 While, weeping, they watch the dear promise 
 depart. 
 
 Oh! hear we not murmuring voices below, 
 When we hopefully listen, and patiently wait 
 
 The hurrying of unseen feet, that go 
 On errands of love for humanity's sake ? 
 
 Hear we the beating, the stir, and the strife 
 Of forces that slumber by night nor by day, 
 
 Abiding their time, when, bursting with life, 
 They scatter their icy fetters away ? 
 
 Though under the snow, deep under the snow, 
 
 Lie hearts all despairing in sadness and gloom, 
 The soft breath of spring-time will over them 
 
 blow, 
 
 And the palo bud of hope into rich beauty 
 bloom. 
 
 Mn. Cheseboro.
 
 78 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 12. ONE BY ONE. 
 
 ONE by one the sands are flowing, 
 One by one the moments fall : 
 Some are coming, some are going ; 
 Do not strive to grasp them all. 
 
 One by one thy duties wait thee ; 
 
 Let thy whole strength go to each : 
 Let no future dreams elate thee ; 
 
 Learn thou first what these can teach. 
 
 One by one, bright gifts from heaven, 
 Joys are lent thee here below : 
 
 Take them readily when given ; 
 Ready, too, to let them go. 
 
 One by one thy griefs shall meet thee : 
 Do not fear an armed band ; 
 
 One will fade as others greet thee, 
 Shadows passing through the land. 
 
 Do not look at life's long sorrow ; 
 
 See how small each moment's pain : 
 God will help thee for to-morrow ; 
 
 So each day begin again. 
 
 Every hour that fleets so slowly 
 
 Has its task to do or bear : 
 Luminous the crown, and holy, 
 
 If thou set each gem with care.
 
 WORSHIP. 79 
 
 Do not linger with regretting, 
 
 Or for passing hours despond ; 
 Nor, the daily toil forgetting, 
 
 Look too eagerly beyond. 
 
 Hours are golden links, God's token, 
 Reaching heaven ; but one by one 
 
 Take them, lest the chain be broken 
 Ere the pilgrimage be done. 
 
 Adelaide A. Procter. 
 
 13. THE ARK AND DOVE. 
 
 was a noble ark, 
 J- Sailing o'er waters dark, 
 
 And wild around : 
 Not one tall tree was seen, 
 Nor flower, nor leaf of green ; 
 All, all, was drowned. 
 
 Then a soft wing was spread, 
 And o'er the billows dread 
 
 A meek dove flew ; 
 But, on that shoreless tide, 
 No living thing she spied 
 
 To cheer her view.
 
 80 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 So to the ark she fled, 
 With weary, drooping head, 
 
 To seek for rest. 
 God is thy ark, my love : 
 Thou art the tender dove ; 
 
 Fly to his breast. 
 
 Mrs. Sigourney. 
 
 14. GLADNESS. 
 
 IS this a time to be cloudy and sad, 
 When our mother Nature laughs around ; 
 When even the deep blue heavens look glad, 
 And gladness breathes from the blossoming 
 ground ? 
 
 There are notes of joy from the hang-bird and 
 
 wren, 
 
 And the gossip of swallows through all the sky ; 
 The ground-squirrel gayly chirps by his den, 
 And the wilding bee hums merrily by. 
 
 The clouds are at play in the azure space, 
 
 And their shadows at play on the bright green 
 
 vale; 
 
 And here they stretch to the frolic chase, 
 And there they roll on the easy gale.
 
 WORSHIP. 81 
 
 There's a dance of leaves in that aspen bower ; 
 There's a titter of wind in that beechen tree ; 
 There's a smile on the fruit, and a smile on the 
 
 flower, 
 And a laugh from the brook that runs to the sea. 
 
 And look at the broad-faced Sun ! how he smiles 
 On the dewy earth that smiles in his ray, 
 On the leaping waters and gay young isles ! 
 Ay, look ! and he'll smile thy gloom away. 
 
 W. C. Bryant. 
 
 15. THOU, GOD, SEEST ME. 
 
 rpHROUGH all the busy daylight, through all 
 -i- the quiet night, 
 Whether the stars are in the sky or the sun is 
 
 shining bright, 
 In the nursery, in the parlor, in the street, or on 
 
 the stair, 
 
 Though I may seem to be alone, yet God is always 
 there. 
 
 t Whatever I may do, 
 
 Wherever I may be, 
 Although I see him not, 
 
 Yet God sees me. 
 o
 
 82 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 He knows each word I mean to speak before the 
 
 word is spoken ; 
 He knows the thoughts within my heart, although 
 
 I give no token : 
 When I am naughty, then I grieve my heavenly 
 
 Father's love ; 
 
 And, every time I really try, he helps me from 
 above. 
 
 Whatever I may do, 
 
 Wherever I may be, 
 Although I see him not, - 
 
 Yet God sees me. 
 
 I have kind and tender parents ; I have many 
 
 loving friends : 
 But none love me as God loves me ; and all that's 
 
 good he sends : 
 I will walk as God shall lead me, while the sun is 
 
 in the sky; 
 
 And lay me down, and sleep in peace beneath his 
 watchful eye. 
 
 Whatever I may do, 
 
 Wherever I may be, 
 ! Although I see him not, 
 Yet God sees me. 
 
 Hymns for Mothert and Children.
 
 WORSHIP. 83 
 
 1. GOD'S LOVE IN THE FLOWERS. 
 
 GOD might have made the earth bring forth 
 Enough for great and small, 
 The oak-tree and the cedar-tree, 
 Without a flower at all. 
 
 He might have made enough, enough, 
 
 For every want of ours, 
 For luxury, medicine, and toil ; 
 
 And yet have made no flowers*. 
 
 The clouds might give abundant rain, 
 
 The nightly dews might fall ; 
 And the herb that keepeth life in man 
 
 Might yet have drunk them all. 
 
 Then wherefore, wherefore, were they made, 
 
 And dyed with rainbow light, 
 All fashioned with supremest grace, 
 
 Upspringing day and night, 
 
 Springing in valleys green and low, 
 
 And on the mountain high, 
 And in the silent wilderness, 
 
 Where no man passes by ? 
 
 Our outward life requires them not : 
 
 Then wherefore had they birth ? 
 To minister delight to man ; 
 
 To beautify the earth ;
 
 84 A CHILD'S BO OK OF RELIGION. 
 
 To comfort man ; to whisper hope 
 
 Whene'er his faith is dim : 
 For lie that careth for the flowers 
 
 Will care much more for him. 
 
 Mary Howilt. 
 
 17. MINISTERING SPIRITS. 
 
 WHY come not spirits from the realms of 
 glory 
 
 To visit earth as in the days of old, 
 The times of sacred writ and ancient story? 
 Is heaven more distant? or has earth grown 
 cold? 
 
 To Bethlehem's air was their last anthem given, 
 Wfien other stars before the One grew dim? 
 
 Was their last presence known in Peter's prison, 
 Or where exulting martyrs raised their hymn? 
 
 And are they all within the veil departed ? 
 
 There gleams no wing along the empyrean now; 
 And many a tear from human eyes has started 
 
 Since angel touch has calmed a mortal brow. 
 
 No : earth has angels, though their forms are 
 
 moulded 
 But of such clay as fashions all below:
 
 WORSHIP. 85 
 
 Though harps are wanting, and bright pinions 
 
 folded, 
 We know them by the love-light on their brow. 
 
 I have seen angels by tjje sick one's pillow ; 
 Theirs were the soft tone and the soundless 
 
 tread : 
 
 Where smitten hearts were drooping like the wil- 
 low, 
 They stood " between the living and the dead." 
 
 And if my sight, by earthly dimness hindered, 
 ^ Beheld no hovering cherubim in air, 
 I doubted not : for spirits know their kindred ; 
 They smiled upon the wingless watchers there. 
 
 There have been angels in the gloomy prison, 
 In crowded halls, by the lone widow's hearth ; 
 
 And, where they passed, the fallen have uprisen, 
 The giddy paused, the mourner's hope had 
 birth. 
 
 Oh ! many a spirit walks the world unheeded, 
 That, when its veil of sadness is laid down, 
 
 Shall soar aloft with pinions unimpeded, 
 And wear its glory like a starry crown. 
 
 The Ditdpha,'' Hymn-book*
 
 86 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 18. THE GORSE. 
 
 MOUNT AIN-GORSES, ever golden, 
 Cankered not the whole year long, 
 Do you teach us to be strong, 
 Howsoever pricked and holden, 
 Like your thorny blooms, and so 
 Trodden on by rain and snow, 
 Up the hillside of this life, as bleak as where ye- 
 grow? 
 
 Mountain-blossoms, shining blossoms, 
 Do you teach us to be glad 
 When no summer can be had 
 Blooming in our inward bosoms ? 
 Ye whom God preserveth still, 
 Set as lights upon a hill, 
 
 Tokens to the wintry earth that beauty liveth 
 still. 
 
 Mountain-gorses, do ye teach us, 
 From that academic chair 
 Canopied with azure air, 
 That the wisest word man reaches
 
 WORSHIP. 87 
 
 Is the humblest he can speak ? 
 Ye who live on mountain-peak, 
 Yet live low along the ground beside the grasses 
 meek. 
 
 Mountain-gorses, since Linnaeus 
 Knelt beside you on the sod, 
 For your beauty thanking God, 
 For your teaching, ye should see us 
 Bowing in prostration new. 
 Whence arisen, if one or two 
 Drops be on our cheeks, O world ! they are 
 not tears, but dew. 
 
 Mrs. Browning, 
 
 19. PEACE. 
 
 MY soul, there is a country 
 Afar beyond the stars, 
 Where stands a winged sentry, 
 
 All skilful in the wars : 
 There, above noise and danger, 
 
 Sweet Peace sits crowned with smiles; 
 And One born in a manger 
 Commands the beauteous files.
 
 88 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 He is thy gracious friend, 
 
 And (O my soul, awake !) 
 Did in pure love descend 
 
 To die here for thy sake. 
 If thou canst but get thither, 
 
 There grows the flower of peace, 
 The rose that cannot wither, 
 
 Thy fortress and thy ease. 
 Leave, then, thy foolish ranges ; 
 
 For none can thee secure, 
 But One who never changes, 
 
 Thy God, thy Life, thy Cure ! 
 
 Henry Vaughan. 
 
 20. ANGEL-CHILDREN. 
 
 ONCE I took a picture fair 
 To my heart, and kept it there ; 
 And I blessed the artist's thought 
 Who that lovely picture wrought. 
 Even as I saw it then, 
 Now it comes to me again. 
 
 Three small children on their knees, 
 Under drooping willow-trees : 
 Pleased and shy, they bend to look 
 In the mirror of the brook.
 
 WORSHIP. 89 
 
 Not a flower upon the brink 
 Bending gracefully to drink, 
 Not a bird that skims the lake, 
 Softer shadowing could make, 
 Nor behold reflected there 
 Form more innocent and fair. 
 
 What beside those faces three 
 In that mirror do they see ? 
 All the blue depths of the sky 
 In its waters they descry ; 
 And not theirs alone, but near 
 Other faces, three, appear, 
 Angel-faces, dimly seen, 
 Serious, tender, and serene ; 
 Bending meekly, bearing trace 
 Of the heavenly Father's face : 
 This is why the children look 
 Pleased, yet thoughtful, in the brook. 
 
 Unto little children here 
 Seraph-forms are always near; 
 Messages of heavenly things 
 Angel-child to earth-child brings: 
 So I blessed the hand that wrought 
 Into form the shadowy thought. 
 
 Mrs. WeUs.
 
 90 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 21. THE BETTER LAND. 
 
 I HEAR thee speak of the better land ; 
 Thou call'st its children a happy band. 
 Mother, oh ! where is that radiant shore ? 
 Shall we not seek it, and weep no more ? 
 Is it where the flower of the orange blows, 
 And the fire-flies dance through the myrtle- 
 boughs ? 
 Not there, not there, my child ! 
 
 Is it where the feathery palm-trees rise, 
 And the date grows ripe under sunny skies ? 
 Or 'midst the green islands of glittering seas, 
 Where fragrant forests perfume the breeze, 
 And strange bright birds on their starry wings 
 Bear the rich hues of all glorious things ? 
 
 Not there, not there, my child ! 
 
 Is it far away in some region old, 
 Where the rivers wander o'er sands of gold ; 
 Where the burning rays of the ruby shine, 
 And the diamond lights up the secret mine, 
 And the pearl gleams forth from the coral strand: 
 Is it there, sweet mother, that better land ? 
 
 Not there, not there, my child ! 
 
 Eye hath not seen it, my gentle boy ; 
 Ear hath not heard its deep songs of joy ;
 
 WORSHIP. 91 
 
 Dreams cannot picture a world so fair ; 
 Sorrow and death may not enter there : 
 Time doth not breathe on its fadeless bloom ; 
 For beyond the clouds, and beyond the tomb, 
 It is there, it is there, my child ! 
 
 Mrs. Uemant. 
 
 22. WE SCATTER SEEDS. 
 
 WE scatter seeds with careless hand, 
 And dream we shall ne'er see them 
 
 more; 
 
 But for a thousand years 
 Their fruit appears 
 In weeds that mar the land 
 Or healthful store. 
 
 The deeds we do, the words we say, 
 Into still air they seem to fleet ; 
 
 We count them ever past : 
 
 But they shall last ; 
 In the dread judgment, they 
 
 And we shall meet. 
 
 Lyra Innocentlum,
 
 92 . A CHILD'S BOOK*OF RELIGION. 
 
 23. THE* THISTLE. 
 
 A THISTLE-DOWN took up its home 
 "Within a greenwood glade ; 
 And winter passed, and summer came 
 With sunshine, shower, and shade ; 
 
 And years on years went rolling by, 
 
 Until it grew at last 
 Into a thistle strong and tall 
 
 That braved the tempest's blast. 
 
 So thus the smallest seed of Truth 
 
 May sink into the soul, 
 And, by God's blessing, gather power 
 
 As ages onward roll. 
 
 Against it, Superstition's bolts 
 And Error's shafts are hurled ; 
 
 But, all unharmed, it grows and spreads 
 Until it fills the world. 
 
 24. THE FLIGHT OF TIME. 
 
 1AINTLY flow, thou falling river, 
 Like a dream that dies away ; 
 Down to ocean gliding ever, 
 
 Keep thy calm unruffled way : 
 Time with such a silent motion 
 Floats along on wings of air 
 To eternity's dark ocean, 
 
 Burying all its treasures there.
 
 WORSHIP. 93 
 
 Roses bloom, and then they wither; 
 
 Cheeks are blight, then fade and die ; 
 Shapes of light are wafted thither, 
 
 Then, like visions, hurry by. 
 Quick as clouds at evening driven 
 
 O'er the many-colored west, 
 Years are bearing us to heaven, * 
 
 Home of happiness and rest. 
 
 Perciral. 
 
 26. CONTENTMENT. 1 f 
 
 TIIINK'ST thou the steed that restless roves 
 O'er rocks and mountains, fields and 
 
 groves, 
 
 With wild, unbridled bound, 
 Finds fresher pasture than the bee 
 On thy my bank or vernal tree, 
 Intent to store her industry 
 Within her waxen round ? 
 
 Think'st thou the fountain, forced to turn 
 Through marble vase or sculptured urn, 
 
 Affords a sweeter draught 
 Than that which in its native sphere, 
 Perennial, undisturbed, and clear, 
 Flows, the lone traveller's thirst to cheer, 
 
 And wake his grateful thought ?
 
 94 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Think'st thou tlie man whoso mansions hold 
 Tnc worldling's pomp and miser's gold 
 
 Obtains a richer prize 
 Than lie who, in his cot at rest, 
 Finds heavenly peace a willing guest, 
 And bears the promise in his breast 
 
 Of treasure in the skies ? 
 
 Mrs. Sigourneg. 
 
 26. SOME MURMUR. 
 
 SOME murmur, when their sky is clear 
 Ana wholly bright to view, 
 If one small speck of dark appear 
 
 In their great heaven of blue ; 
 And some with thoughtful love are filled 
 
 If but one streak of light, 
 One ray of God's good mercy, gild 
 The darkness of their night. 
 
 In palaces are hearts that ask 
 
 In discontent and pride 
 Why life is such a dreary task, 
 
 And all good things denied ; 
 And hearts in poorest huts admire 
 
 How love has in their aid 
 (Love that not ever seems to tire) 
 
 Such rich provision made. 
 
 Trench.
 
 WORSHIP. 95 
 
 27. CATCHING SUNBEAMS. 
 
 REACHING after sunbeams 
 With a dimpled hand, 
 That is right, my darling ; 
 Grasp the golden band ; 
 Fold it to your bosom ; 
 
 Let it cheer your heart ; 
 Gather radiant sunbeams ; 
 Bid the clouds depart. 
 
 When your feet shall wander 
 
 From my side away, 
 You will find that evil 
 
 With the good may stray. 
 Never heed it, darling ; 
 
 Let it pass the while ; 
 Gather only sunbeams ; 
 
 Keep your heart from guile. 
 
 Grief may be your portion ; 
 
 Shadows dim your way; 
 Clouds may darkly threaten 
 
 To obscure the day : 
 Don't despair, my darling; 
 
 There's a Father's love. 
 How could there be shadows, 
 
 With no light above ? 
 
 Little. Corporal.
 
 96 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 28. PASSING AWAY. 
 
 THE snow-flake that glances at morn on Kai- 
 lassa, 
 
 Dissolved by the sunbeam, descends to the plain ; 
 There mingling with Ganges, it flows to the ocean, 
 And, lost in its waters, returns not again. 
 
 On the rose-leaf at sunrise bright glistens the - 
 
 dewdrop, 
 
 That, in vapor exhaled, falls in nourishing rain ; 
 Then in rills back to Ganges, through green fields, 
 
 meanders, 
 Till onward it glides to the ocean again. ^ 
 
 A snow-flake still whitens the peak of Kailassa ; 
 
 But the snow-flake of yesterday flows to the 
 main: 
 
 At dawning a dew-drop still hangs on the rose- 
 leaf; 
 
 But the dew-drop of yesterday comes not again. 
 
 The soul that is freed from the bondage of 
 
 Nature 
 
 Escapes from illusion of joy and of pain ; 
 And, pure as the flame that is lost in the sunbeam, 
 Ascends unto God, and returns not agnin : 
 It comes not, and goes not, and comes not again. 
 
 Eastern Poem.
 
 PART H. 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 
 
 RULES FOR THE GOOD LIFE. 
 
 Let us now repeat together the Hides of the 
 Good Life. 
 
 1. To revere God and his purposes with a filial 
 trust. 
 
 2. To love God, the heavenly Father, with filial 
 love. 
 
 3. To love man, the child of God, with broth- 
 erly affection. 
 
 4. To study the works of God, desiring to dis- 
 coTcr their beauties. 
 
 5. To make duty, or the will of God, our first 
 object, and the only title to happiness. 
 
 6. To delay and neglect nothing that we ought 
 to do. 
 
 7. To keep our bodies clean, our clothes tidy, 
 things about us in order, our appearance simple 
 and neat. 
 
 7 97
 
 98 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 8. To keep our blood pure by exercise in the 
 open air ; since, by means of the air, we live. 
 
 9. To avoid too much eating and drinking, too 
 much pleasure and excitement, and every thing 
 that is excess. 
 
 10. To be kind to all, willing to please and to 
 be pleased ; not out of good nature only, but from 
 a sense of duty. 
 
 11. To avoid slander, gossip, and foolish talking, 
 as unworthy of creatures whom God has made, 
 and placed in so fair a world. 
 
 12. To set examples of perfect truthfulness in 
 word and deed. 
 
 13. To be large-hearted ; trying at all times to 
 think and do generous and noble things, with- 
 out being afraid of rebuke or ridicule. 
 
 14. To be modest, and willing to submit to cor- 
 rection and censure. 
 
 15. To inflict no pain on any creature for the 
 sake of a pleasure. 
 
 16. To shrink from no pain which it is needful 
 that we should bear. 
 
 17. To help the weak, teach the simple, cheer 
 the sad, visit the sick, encourage the hopeless, 
 bear with the dull, excuse the ignorant, forgive 
 the erring,- and pray for the wicked. 
 
 18. To cultivate and encourage the free spirit 
 of inquiry, to censure narrowness of mind, to 
 struggle against prejudice, to cherish the disposi- 
 tion to believe in new truths, and to give welcome 
 to thoughts not known befoi'e.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 99 
 
 19. To respect the righ'ts of others ; to regard 
 the happiness of others as equally important with 
 our own ; and to feel in our hearts the desire and 
 the purpose that all people, so far as we know 
 them or can serve them, may have all the oppor- 
 tunities, privileges, and enjoyments they are able 
 to receive. 
 
 20. To look up with admiration to all men and 
 women who lead noble lives, though they may be 
 misunderstood and hated ; to honor those who are 
 persecuted for righteousness' sake or for truth's 
 sake; and to revere especially those who stand 
 alone, with the rich and the great and the fashion- 
 able against them ; never to speak evil of such as 
 are disliked and despised, and never to take the 
 part of the strong against the weak. 
 
 21. To keep before the mind the images of 
 great and good men and women who have lived 
 and'died for their fellow-creatures, and especially 
 to keep in view the character and example of 
 Jesus. 
 
 22. To keep before the mind the hope of our 
 immortality, and the faith in our perfect happi- 
 ness at last. 
 
 23. To keep before the mind the belief in our 
 power to improve ourselves in every way, to 
 soften our manners, tame our passions, curb our 
 tempers, and grow more and more in loveliness. 
 
 24. To keep before our minds the truth that 
 the child is father to the man, and that wo
 
 100 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 cannot hope to be good men or good women 
 unless we are good boys and good girls. 
 
 25. Never to forget that good habits are more 
 easily formed in childhood than in manhood or 
 womanhood, and that the proper time to begin to 
 form them is the present moment. 
 
 26. To be patient and steadfast in cultivating 
 holy desires, the spirit and th<j habit of prayer; lift- 
 ing the heart to the Father, and imploring his help, 
 in full faith that there is no real strength but that 
 which comes from the Source of all good. 
 
 PUNISHMENTS. 
 Questions and Answers. 
 
 ou tell me what punishment isf 
 Punishment is pain inflicted on wrong-, 
 doing. 
 
 Is all pain punishment ? 
 
 Yes ; for, if there were no wrong-doing, there 
 would be no pain. There must be violation of 
 law before there can be suffering. 
 
 Is all punishment pain? 
 
 Not all ; for sometimes, when the punishment 
 for wrong-doing is most terrible, it is not felt : the 
 very power to feel is taken away. One may do 
 wrong so much, that he does not know at last
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 101 
 
 whether he does wrong or not. Then he does not 
 suffer; but his punishment is worse than if he did. 
 
 Is he happy, then, because he does not suffer ? 
 
 He may be happy as evil spirits are happy, but 
 not with the sweet happiness of those, who, in 
 loving God, enjoy his love. 
 
 Who punishes us when we do wrong ? 
 
 God ; who has so made us, that we must suffer 
 whenever we break his laws. 
 
 Does God like to make us suffer ? 
 . Oh, no ! He makes us suffer in order that we 
 may escape worse suffering. Pain is a kindly 
 warning not to disobey. 
 
 God, then, punishes his children because he 
 loves tJiem f 
 
 Yes : he is not angry with us when we do ill, 
 but only anxious that we shall do well. 
 
 Will pain follow wrong-doing as long as we 
 live f 
 
 Even after death, in another world, pain will 
 follow disobedience till disobedience ends. When 
 we do the will of God wholly, we shall be happy. 
 
 Is it certain that nobody can escape punish- 
 ment for wrong-doing ? 
 
 We feel that it is certain. We believe that no 
 one ever did wrong without being the worse for 
 it. But now we wish to ask you some questions 
 in our turn. We should like to learn how people 
 are punished for particular sins. 
 
 Will you tell us, then, what is the punishment 
 for neglect of duty ?
 
 102 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 The punishment for neglect of duty is, that by 
 and by you cease to love duty, then to care lor it, 
 then to know what it is. When you no longer 
 respect duty, you no longer respect yourself. You 
 become weak and foolish, and fond of silly plea- 
 sures that do nothing but harm. 
 
 What is the punishment of uncleanliness ? 
 
 The punishment of uncleanliness is loss of 
 health, loss of beauty, loss of attractiveness, and 
 the dislike of those who might love you. 
 
 What is the punishment of neglecting air and 
 exercise ? 
 
 It is weakness, dulness, loss of vigor, lowness 
 of spirits, and ill health. 
 
 What is the punishment for putting off till to- 
 morrow what should be done to-day? 
 
 It is an increase of work and trouble ; vexa- 
 tion ; loss of time and opportunity ; mortification ; 
 the displeasure of those whom we disappoint, 
 annoy, and perhaps distress ; and, at last, great 
 weakness and sorrow. 
 
 What is the punishment for over eating and 
 drinking f 
 
 It is headache, dyspepsia, heart-burn, dulness 
 of brain, stupidity of feeling and purpose, lazi- 
 ness; in the end, perhaps, violent pain from sick- 
 ness, with little pity to soothe it; possibly early 
 death ; always the mortification of your friends : 
 every body despises the glutton, and loathes the 
 drunkard.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 103 
 
 What is the punishment for unkind and un- 
 gentle manners? 
 
 It is the dislike of your companions, ill-will, 
 resentment, a bad reputation in society, and 
 sometimes an unkind disposition. They whose 
 manners are unkind will be thought unkind, and 
 may really become so. 
 
 What is the punishment for fault-folding ? 
 
 It is censure from everybody ; it is general dis- 
 trust and hate ; it is loss of power to see the 
 amiable qualities in people, and the loss, of 
 power to make them see your own ; it is an 
 nnamiable temper and a bad heart. 
 
 What is the punishment for untruthfulness ? 
 
 It is distrust, suspicion, alienation, shame, and 
 disgrace. The liar is always abhorred. He who 
 lies in order to make others believe what is not 
 true finds in a little while that people suspect him 
 of lying even when he tells them what is true. 
 He may at last lose the power to know what is 
 true from what is false. 
 
 What is the punishment for selfishness? 
 
 It is being left alone with one's self. 
 
 What is the punishment for carelessness of the 
 opinions of those about us ? 
 
 It is a surly temper and social ill-will. 
 
 What is tlie punishment for shrinking from 
 necessary pain ? 
 
 It is the increase of the pain, timidity, weak- 
 ness, and regret. Every pain avoided is a worse 
 pain incurred.
 
 104 A CHILD' 3 LOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 What is the punishment for neglecting those 
 who need our aid, the poor, the sick, the sad? 
 It is cold-henrtedness and neglect when we 
 ourselves may be sad, sick, or poor. 
 
 What is the punishment for meanness? 
 More meanness, and the contempt of all who 
 know what generosity is. The mean man loses 
 one of the keenest joys of existence, the joy of 
 making others happy by his gifts. 
 
 What is the punishment for malicious teasing? 
 The hatred of those you tease. 
 What is the punishment for telling a, secret? 
 Loss of confidence on the part of those who 
 have secrets to confide. 
 
 What is the punishment for neglect to cultivate 
 a love of the beautiful ? 
 
 Loss of the joy and spirit that beauty imparts. 
 What is the punishment for irreverence ? 
 
 Insensibility to the worth of holy and divine 
 things ; want of seriousness in character ; coarse- 
 ness of mind, and hardness of feeling ; a trifling 
 and flippant heart. 
 
 WJiat is the punishment for neglecting studies? 
 Ignorance and incapacity. 
 What is the punishment for avoiding society ? 
 Loneliness, shyness, sadness; want of power to 
 converse or sympathize with othei*s ; poverty of 
 thought and feeling. 
 
 What is the punishment for neglecting wor- 
 ship ? 
 
 It is that the great object of worship disappears,
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 105 
 
 we are left alone, without the feeling of a God 
 above us, a spirit within- us, or a heaven beyond. 
 
 What is the punishment for disobeying the 
 voice of conscience? 
 
 It is that conscience dies, the sense of evil is 
 lost, and the power of distinguishing evil from 
 good is taken away. 
 
 What is the punishment for indulging in pro- 
 fane or impure words or thoughts ? 
 
 It is thnt the heart becomes unclean, and loves 
 unclean things. The impure in heart will be im- 
 pure in life ; and they who take the Holy Name 
 in vain will be in danger of going without help 
 from the Holy Spirit. 
 
 What is the punishment for neglecting to learn 
 God's will as taught in the Scriptures, in all holy 
 books, and in the lessons of Providence f 
 
 It is that God's will is not known ; and, when 
 God's will is not known, it cannot be loved or 
 obeyed. Then self-will and passion rule us. The 
 greatest of all duties is to study God's will wher- 
 ever it may be found, but chiefly where it is writ- 
 ten the most clearly, in^the words of the New 
 Testament.
 
 106 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 
 
 REWARDS. 
 Children ask Teacher. 
 ITTIIA T is reward? 
 
 wW 
 
 Reward is the pleasure that goes with 
 doing well. 
 
 Is all pleasure reward? 
 
 All healthy pleasure is reward. Happiness is 
 reward, joy is reward, and goodness is the best 
 reward. 
 
 Is all reward pleasure? 
 
 Yes : it is. We do not always feel punishment ; 
 but we do always feel reward. God never let? 
 us miss a feeling of joy. 
 
 Is goodness always rewarded? 
 
 Always; and the reward is great in proportion 
 to the goodness. The best people have flic most 
 
 joy- 
 
 JBut we have often been unhappy because w6 
 were good; because we told the truth, or refused 
 to play truant, or would not do mischief with our 
 companions, or would not hide a fault. 
 
 Yes ; but, if you were really good, you must 
 have felt a joy in being good, much greater than 
 any pleasure you might have had from not being 
 good, the joy of a good conscience and a pure 
 heart. 
 
 JBut will you tell us what rewards we may
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 107 
 
 expect for different kinds of goodness ? What 
 reward may we look for if we worship God, and 
 trust him ? 
 
 You will feel that God is your friend, near you 
 always, caring for you, protecting you in trouble 
 and in temptation. 
 
 What will be our reward if we cultivate a love 
 of the beautiful? 
 
 You will see beauty wherever you are; you 
 will love it more and more, and it will bo a great 
 delight to you. 
 
 What will be our reward if we make duty our 
 first object? 
 
 You will respect yourselves, and you will be 
 respected by others ; you will be strong and 
 cheerful; you will be spared disappointment .and 
 reproach. 
 
 What will be our reward if ice are clean and 
 neat in our persons and clothes ? 
 
 You will do much towards keeping well, and 
 making yourselves attractive to those about you. 
 
 What will be our reward if we are temperate 
 in eating and drinking? 
 
 You will be strong, active, cheerful. You will 
 be likely to lead a longer, happier, and more use- 
 ful life. 
 
 What will be our reward if we are hearty and 
 kind in our manners? 
 
 You will receive kindness in return ; you will 
 make people happy about you ; you will bo like 
 sunshine and fresh air at home and in society;
 
 108 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 you will create good-will, and you will have a 
 peaceful heart. 
 
 "What will be our reward if we are thoughtful 
 and gentle in our judgments of others / if we 
 speak no ill, are not slanderers or fault-finders f 
 You will know that you have, or deserve to 
 have, no enemies. You will be innocent of 
 hatreds and quarrels. The good will love you ; 
 the bad will be grateful to you for seeing some- 
 thing in them that is good. You will correct a 
 good deal of injustice, and will save many people 
 from abuse and shame. 
 
 What will be our reward if we are true in word 
 and deed? 
 
 If you are wisely and lovingly true, true in the 
 spirit of charity, you will certainly be trusted, 
 honored, beloved, by all people. Nothing is so 
 much respected, and by so many, as truth. Truth 
 makes amends for want of beauty, want of talent, 
 want of personal charm ; it gives interest to the 
 uninteresting; it makes the simple delightful ; and 
 it fills the heart with an innocent gladness which 
 no words will express. 
 
 What will be our reward if we give \ip every 
 kind of pleasure that causes pain either to our 
 fellow-creatures or to animals? 
 
 You will enjoy the great satisfaction of never 
 causing pain. Your pleasures will bring no sting 
 with them, and leave no sting behind. Your fel- 
 low-creatures Avill think of you sweetly, and .you 
 will be able to enjoy the greatest pleasures most.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 109 
 
 What will be our reward, if for duty, for truth, 
 for love, for kindness, we meet danger, endure 
 pain, bear misunderstanding and slander? 
 
 You will have the reward that nobleness always 
 brings; namely, nobleness, the best reward there 
 is or can be. You will be respected, loved, hon- 
 ored ; but, more than this, you will respect your- 
 self, and you will feel that all the noble, the high- 
 minded, the true-hearted, are your friends. By 
 bearing pain for yourself, you become brave to 
 bear more pain ; by bearing pain for others, you 
 fulfil the Golden Rule in the very best way. 
 
 What will be our reward if we are open- 
 minded, willing to receive new opinions, and 
 ready to accept new thoughts? 
 
 You will receive new truths. Your minds will 
 become large, generous, sincere. You will even 
 be much happier for your trust in the Great Wis- 
 dom that never leaves the sincere heart alone in 
 the dark. 
 
 What will be our reward if we stand up 
 bravely for the equal rights of all people just 
 because they are our fellow-creatures, for the 
 saJce of justice f 
 
 You will have the respect of all who do the 
 same; you will be a terror to those who arc un- 
 just; and you will get the gratitude of the little 
 and the weak and the abused whom you try to 
 help. 
 
 What will be our reward if we cultivate good 
 habits ichile we are young?
 
 110 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 You will be good men and women by and by. 
 
 What will be our reward if we listen to tJi6 
 teaching of the wise, and try to live by it ? 
 
 You will get wisdom, and wisdom will be 
 power and peace to you. 
 
 LESSONS IN THE GOOD LIFE. 
 
 I. 
 
 MY child, if thou come to serve the Lord, 
 prepare thyself for discipline. 
 
 Let me set my heart aright, and constantly en- 
 dure, and not be fretful in time of trouble. 
 
 Cleave unto him, and never leave him, and 
 thou shalt be always the richer. 
 
 Whatsoever is brought upon us may we take 
 cheerfully, and be patient when we are made to 
 Buffer. 
 
 For gold is tried in the fire ; and good men, in 
 the fires of adversity. 
 
 We will believe in God, and he will help us ; 
 we will order o.ur ways aright, and trust in him. 
 
 Ye that trust the Lord, wait for his mercy ; and 
 go not aside, lest ye fall. 
 
 We will trust the Lord and believe him, that 
 our reward may not fail.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. Ill 
 
 Ye that trust the Lord, hope for good, and fot 
 everlasting joy and mercy. 
 
 Did ever any trust in the Lord, and was con- 
 founded ? or did any abide in him, and was for- 
 saken ? or who was ever despised that called on 
 him? 
 
 The Lord is full of compassion and mercy, 
 long-suffering and very pitiful, and forgiveth sins, 
 and saveth in time of sorrow. 
 
 "Woe be to fearful hearts and faint hands ! 
 
 "Woe be to us if we are faint-hearted and be- 
 lieve not ! 
 
 They tli.it trust the Lord will not disobey him, 
 and they that love him will keep his ways. 
 
 They that trust the Lord will try to do that 
 which pleases him, and they that love him will 
 be kept by his truth, 
 
 II. 
 
 HEAR me, O children! and do as I advise 
 you, that ye may be safe. 
 
 Tell us, thy children, what thou wouldst have 
 us to do. 
 
 Seek not death by an evil life, and bring not 
 ruin on yourselves by your own foolishness. 
 
 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowl- 
 edge : only the foolish despise instruction. 
 
 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the 
 man that getteth understanding : 
 
 The merchandise of it is better than the mer-
 
 112 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 chandise of silver; and the gain of it, than fine 
 gold. 
 
 She is more precious than rubies; and all the 
 things that can be desired are not to be comp.'ired 
 to her. 
 
 Length of days is in her right hand ; and in her 
 left hand, riches and honor. 
 
 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her 
 paths are peace. 
 
 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on 
 her ; and happy is every one that keepeth her. 
 
 Wisdom is a loving spirit ; it fills the world ; 
 it looks into the heart, and knows the unspoken 
 thought. 
 
 Therefore we will beware of murmuring, and 
 keep from slander, and abstain from lying. 
 
 The hope of the foolish is like dust, that is blown 
 away by the wind. 
 
 It is like a thin frost, that is driven away by the 
 storm. 
 
 It is like smoke, that is scattered by a tempest. 
 
 It is like the remembrance of a stranger who 
 passes us in the street. 
 
 Beauty and pride and riches and pleasures 
 pass away like shadows on the ground ; 
 
 Like ships, that leave no trace of their keel in 
 the waters of the sea; 
 
 Like birds flying through the air, that leave no 
 mark of their wings behind them ; 
 
 Like arrows, that cut the air, which comes to- 
 gether again, and shows no sign of their flight.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 113 
 
 The good live forevermore. The Most High 
 cares for them ; 
 
 His right arm shall cover them; and from the 
 Lord's hand they shall receive a beautiful crown. 
 
 Wisdom is easily seen by them that love her, 
 and found by them that seek her. 
 
 To them that desire her, she makes herself 
 known first. 
 
 They that seek her early find her sitting at 
 their doors. 
 
 She goes about seeking for those that are wor- 
 thy of her. She meets them kindly in the street; 
 she comes to them in every thought. 
 
 The beginning of wisdom is the desire for. 
 goodness ; and the root of goodness is love. 
 
 Love keeps her laws; and to keep her laws is 
 to be immortal. 
 
 AVisdom is kind, steadfast, sure, free from care, 
 powerful, and all-seeing. 
 
 She is the breath of the power of God, a pure 
 influence from the Almighty. 
 
 In all ages, entering into pure hearts, she makes 
 them friends of God and children. 
 
 For God lovcth all who dwell with wisdom. 
 
 She is more beautiful than the sun, and 
 brighter than all the stars; she is sweeter than 
 the light of day. 
 
 For after this cometh night ; but no night 
 comes to wisdom. 
 8
 
 114 A GUILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 III. 
 
 HEAR me, O children ! Honor your father 
 and your mother ; for the Lord hath given 
 the father honor among his children, and hnth 
 bestowed authority on the mother over her 
 sons. 
 
 He that hbnoreth his father, and is a comfort 
 to his mother, is obedient to the Lord. 
 
 Honor thy father and mother both in word and 
 in deed, that a blessing may come upon thee from 
 them. 
 
 For the father's blessing is a safeguard ; but the 
 mother's cui'se is a plague. 
 
 My children, help your father in his age, and 
 grieve him not as long as he lives. 
 
 To relieve our father will never be forgotten. 
 
 If his understanding fail, be patient with him; 
 and despise him not in his weakness. 
 
 In helping our father, we build ourselves up in 
 virtue, and in the respect and love of all parents 
 and children. 
 
 My child, defraud not the poor of his living, 
 and make not the needy to wait long. 
 
 We will not make the hungry ones sorrowful, 
 nor will we provoke those that are sad. 
 
 Add not more trouble to a heart that is vexed, 
 and refuse not aid to one that is in need. 
 
 We will not reject the prayer of the afflicted, 
 nor turn away from the poor.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 115 
 
 Turn not away your eyes from the needy, and 
 give him no occasion to curse you ; 
 
 For, if he curse us in the bitterness of his heart, 
 his prayer will be heard by Him who made us 
 both. 
 
 Be willing to listen to the poor, and to give 
 him a kind and friendly answer. 
 
 May we be ready to defend those who are 
 wronged or oppressed ! and may we be brave in 
 protecting the weak ! 
 
 Beware of evil, and never be ashamed of your 
 truth or virtue; 
 
 For there is a shame that is sinful, and there 
 is a shame that is beautiful and good. 
 
 Accept no person against your soul. 
 
 May not any reverence for men cause us to 
 fall! 
 
 Never hesitate to speak when it will do good, 
 nor let the beauty of your truth be hidden ; 
 
 For, by speech, truth is known, and knowledge 
 imparted. ^ 
 
 Never, on any account, speak what is not true. 
 
 May we be ashamed if we do not know what 
 the truth is ! 
 
 Be willing to confess mistakes and ignorance. 
 
 May we ever be straightforward in word and 
 in thought! 
 
 Let not foolish people be your masters. 
 
 The mighty shall not make us slaves. 
 
 Be not quick in words, and slack iu deeds. Bo 
 not harsh with those that serve you.
 
 116 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 May we be patient and gentle with all ! May 
 our lives be sincere! 
 
 Do not open your hand when there is any thing 
 to get, and shut it when there is something to 
 give. 
 
 May we not think too much of the fine things 
 that we possess ! 
 
 Strive for the truth to the death, 
 
 And the Lord will fight for us. 
 
 IV. 
 
 CAST your bread upon the waters, 
 And we shall find it after many days. 
 
 Give a portion to seven, and even to eight. 
 
 We know not what evil shall be upon earth. 
 
 He that mindcth the wind will never sow; 
 
 He that watcheth the clouds will never reap. 
 
 In the morning sow your seed ; in the evening 
 still continue to scatter it. 
 
 For we know not which shall be fruitful, or 
 whether both may not be. 
 
 Sweet is the light of morning, and pleasant to 
 the eye the sight of day ; 
 
 But if we live many years, and are happy in 
 them all, we must not forget the dark days that 
 may come. 
 
 Rejoice, O children ! in your youth, and let 
 your hearts be merry in the days of your youth ; 
 have happy thoughts, and enjoy the pleasures 
 that you possess.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 117 
 
 But may we remember that we must use all 
 these things aright ! 
 
 Remember your Creator in the days of your 
 youth, before the sad days come, 
 
 And the years in Avhich we can have no pleasure ; 
 
 Before the sun and the moon and the stars 
 are darkened, 
 
 And the rain-clouds never clear away; 
 
 When the strong limbs tremble from weakness, 
 
 And the eyes through dimness are darkened ; 
 
 When the mouth opens not for eating or for 
 speech, 
 
 And the note of the early bird breaks the slum- 
 ber, and the music of the human voice is unheard ; 
 
 When there is constant fear of stumbling, and 
 fulling in the common way; 
 
 When the most delicate fruit is not relished, 
 and the taste for food is gone : 
 
 Because the old man is going to his long home, 
 and sadness is gathering about him. 
 
 For the silver cord which holds life's lamp sus- 
 pended shall be snapped, 
 
 And the golden bowl of the lamp shall be 
 broken, 
 
 And the bucket shall be broken at the fountain, 
 
 And the wheel shall be broken at the well, 
 
 And the dust shall return to the dust as it was ; 
 
 But the spirit shall return to God who gave it. 
 
 Fear God, therefore, and keep his command- 
 ments ; 
 
 For this is the duty of all.
 
 118 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 V. 
 
 BLESSED are the poor in spirit; 
 For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 Blessed are they that mourn ; 
 
 For they shall be comforted. 
 
 Blessed are the meek ; 
 For they shall inherit the earth. 
 
 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst 
 after righteousness ; 
 
 For they shall be filled. 
 
 Blessed are the merciful ; 
 
 For they shall obtain mercy. 
 
 Blessed are the pure in heart ; 
 
 For they shall see God. 
 
 Blessed are the peace-makers ; 
 
 For they shall be called the children of God. 
 
 Blessed are they which are persecuted for 
 righteousness' sake ; 
 
 For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 It was said to the men of the olden time, 
 Thou shalt not kill ; and whosoever shall kill shall 
 be in danger of the judgment. 
 
 But the voice of Jesus says to us, Whosoever 
 is angry with his brother, without cause, shall be 
 in danger of the judgment. 
 
 The men of the olden time were told that they 
 should not perjure themselves, but should perform 
 whatever they had sworn. 
 
 But the Great Teacher says to us, Swear not
 
 TUE GOOD LIFE. 119 
 
 at all ; neither by heaven, for it is God's throne ; 
 nor by the earth, for it is his footstool: but let 
 your simple "Yes" and "No" be sufficient. 
 
 The men of the olden time were taught to 
 exact an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth ; 
 
 But the Master says to us, Return not evil for 
 evil ; but, if one strike thee on thy right cheek, 
 turn to him the other also. 
 
 In the olden time it was taught, that, if men 
 loved their neighbors, they might hate their 
 enemies. 
 
 A holier Spirit has taught us to love our enemies, 
 to bless them that curse us, to do good to them 
 that hate us, to pray for them that abuse us and 
 persecute us; that we may be the children' of our 
 heavenly Father: for he makes his sun to rise 
 on the evil and on the good, and sends rain for 
 the just and for the unjust. 
 
 If ye love them that love you, what merit is 
 there ? 
 
 None ; for wicked people do as much as that. 
 
 And, if you are kind to your kindred only, do 
 you do any thing worthy of praise ? 
 
 No; for wicked people may be good enough 
 for that. TVe are bidden to be perfect in the 
 same way that God is perfect.
 
 120 A GUILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 VI. 
 
 LAY not up for yourselves treasures on earth, 
 where moth and rust corrupt, and where 
 thieves break in and steal ; but lay up for your- 
 selves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor 
 rust corrupt, and where thieves do not break in 
 and steal. 
 
 Where the treasure is, there the heart is also. 
 
 The light of the body is the eye : if thine eye 
 be clear, thy whole body will be full of light ; but, 
 if thine eye be diseased, thy whole body shall be 
 full of darkness. 
 
 If the inward light be darkness, how great will 
 be that darkness ! 
 
 No one can serve two masters : for either he 
 will hate this one, and love that; or else he will 
 hold to that one, and despise this. 
 
 We cannot serve God and Mammon. 
 
 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought 
 for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall 
 drink ; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put 
 on. 
 
 Is not the life more than meat, and the body 
 than raiment? 
 
 * Behold the fowls of the air ; for they sow not, 
 neither do they reap, nor gather into barns : 
 
 Yet our heavenly Father feedeth them. 
 
 Consider the lilies of the field how they grow j 
 they toil not, neither do they spin :
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 121 
 
 Tot even Solomon in all his glory was not ar- 
 rayed like one of these. 
 
 If God so clothe the grass of the field, which is 
 to-day, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, 
 
 Will he not much more clothe us ? 
 
 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall 
 we eat? what shall we drink? wherewithal shall 
 we be clothed ? 
 
 Our heavenly Father knoweth that we have 
 need of all these things. 
 
 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his 
 righteousness, 
 
 And all these things shall be added unto us. 
 
 Take therefore no thought for the morrow ; for 
 the morrow will take thought for its own con- 
 cerns. 
 
 Sufficient unto the day is the care thereof. 
 
 VII. 
 
 HP HOUGH I speak with the tongues of men 
 JL and of angels, and have not charity, 
 
 I am fis sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. 
 
 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and 
 understand all mysteries and all knowledge ; and 
 though I have all faith, so that I can remove 
 mountains, and have not charity, 
 
 I am nothing. 
 
 And though I bestow all my goods to feed tho 
 poor, and though I give my body to bo burned, 
 and have not charity,
 
 122 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 It profiteth me nothing. 
 
 Charity suffereth long, and is kind ; 
 
 Charity envicth not ; 
 
 Chanty vaunteth not itself; is not puffed up ; 
 
 Doth not behave itself unseemly ; 
 
 Seeketh not her own ; 
 
 Is not easily provoked ; 
 
 Thinketh no evil ; 
 
 Rejoiceth not in inquity, but rejoiccth in the 
 truth ; 
 
 Beareth all things, 
 
 Believeth all things, 
 
 Hopeth all things, 
 
 Endureth all things. 
 
 Charity never faileth ; 
 
 But prophecies shall fail, 
 
 Tongues shall cease, 
 ^Knowledge shall vanish away. 
 
 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 
 
 But, when that which is perfect is come, that 
 which is in part shall be done away. 
 
 When I was a child, I spake as 3 child, I 
 understood as a child, I thought as a child ; but, 
 when I became a man, I put away childish things. 
 
 Now we see through a glass darkly, but then 
 face to face. 
 
 Now I know in part ; 
 
 But then shall I know even as also I am known. 
 
 And now abide Faith, Hope, Charity, these 
 three ; 
 
 But the greatest of these is Charity.
 
 TIIE GOOD LIFE. 123 
 
 VIII. 
 
 THE PSALM OF LIFE. 
 
 T^ELL me not, in mournful numbers, 
 Life is but an empty dream ; 
 For the soul is dead that slumbers, 
 And things are not what they seem. 
 
 Life is real, life is earnest, 
 
 And the grave is not its goal : 
 
 "Dust thou art, to dust returnest," 
 Was not spoken of the soul. 
 
 Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, 
 
 Is our destined end or way ; 
 But to act, that each to-morrow 
 
 Find us farther than to-day. 
 
 Art is long, and Time is fleeting ; 
 
 And our hearts, though stout and brave, 
 Still like muffled drums are beating 
 
 Funeral-marches to the grave. 
 
 In- the world's broad field of battle, 
 
 In the bivouac of life, 
 Be not like dumb, driven cattle; 
 
 Be a hero in the strife 1 
 
 Trust no future, howe'er pleasant; 
 
 Let the dead Past bury its dead : 
 Act, act, in the living Present, 
 
 Heart within, and God o'erheadl
 
 124 A CHILD'S BOOK OF 
 
 Lives of great men all remind us 
 We can make our lives sublime ; 
 
 And, departing, leave behind, us 
 Footprints on the sands of time, 
 
 Footprints that perhaps another, 
 Sailing o'er Life's solemn main, 
 
 A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 
 Seeing, shall take heart again. 
 
 Let us, then, be up and doing, 
 
 With a heart for any fate ; 
 Still achieving, still pursuing, 
 
 Learn to labor and to wait. . 
 
 H. W. Longfdlow. 
 
 IX. 
 
 LITTLE MOMENTS. 
 
 LITTLE moments, how they fly! 
 Golden-winged^ flitting by ; 
 Bearing many things for me 
 Into vast eternity. 
 
 Never do they wait to ask 
 If completed is my task : 
 Whether gathering grain or weeds, 
 Doing good or evil deeds, 
 Onward haste they evermore, 
 Adding all unto their store. 
 
 And the little moments keep 
 Record, if we wake or sleep, 
 Of our every thought and deed, 
 For us all some time to read.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 125 
 
 Artists are the moments too ; 
 Ever painting something new 
 On the walls and in the air, 
 Painting pictures everywhere. 
 
 If we smile, or if we frown, 
 Little moments put it down ; 
 And the angel Memory 
 Guards the whole eternally. 
 
 Let us then so careful be, 
 That they bear for you and me, 
 On their little noiseless wings, 
 Only good and pleasant things ; 
 And that pictures which they paint 
 Have no background of complaint : 
 So the angel Memory 
 May not blush for you and me. 
 
 X. 
 
 LITTLE FINGERS. 
 
 BUSY little fingers, 
 Everywhere they go ; 
 Rosy little fingers, 
 
 The sweetest that I know. 
 
 Now into my work-box, 
 All the buttons finding, 
 
 Tangling up the knitting, 
 Every spool unwinding.
 
 126 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Now into the basket 
 
 Where the keys are hidden, 
 
 So mischievous looking, 
 Knowing it forbidden. 
 
 Then in mother's tresses; 
 
 Now her neck infolding 
 With such sweet caresses, 
 
 Keeping off a scolding. 
 
 Darling little fingers, 
 
 Never, never still : 
 Make them, heavenly Father, 
 
 One day do thy will. 
 
 Children's Picture Magazine. 
 
 XL 
 
 THE SULTAN'S LESSON. 
 
 A SULTAN placed before his throne one day 
 Three vases, one of gold, one amber, and 
 
 one clay; 
 
 And, when his seal was set upon each urn, 
 His three sons, at his bidding, chose in turn. 
 
 TJpon the golden vase, Empire was writ ; 
 "Resplendent jewels all around it stood : 
 The eldest grasped that vase and opened it, 
 But shrank to find it brimming full of blood. 
 
 Glory upon the amber vase shone bright ; 
 Fresh wreaths of laurel twined the letters o'er: 
 The second seized it quick ; but ah, sad sight ! 
 'Twas filled with dust of heroes known no more.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 127 
 
 No word was written on the vase of eartli ; 
 But still the youngest prince advanced Vis claim : 
 He oped the urn amid the courtiers' mirth, 
 And nought was in it save God's holy name. 
 
 The sultan to the throng of courtiers turned, 
 And asked which of the vases weighed the most. 
 Various the thoughts that in their bosoms burned, 
 And came to speech among the glittering host. 
 
 The warriors said, " The golden vase of might ; " 
 The poets said, "The amber vase of fame;" 
 The sages said, u The vase emblem of Right, 
 The globe is lighter than God's written name." 
 
 Then said the sultan, " Sons, remember well 
 The meaning of the lesson read to-day: 
 When the scales tremble betwixt heaven and hell, 
 The name of God will all the rest outweigh." 
 
 Alger's Oriental Poetry (altered). 
 
 XII. 
 
 AGREED !-A CREED. 
 
 TO make the most of life and health, 
 To take the safest road to wealth, 
 
 Agreed ! 
 
 To live upon the temperance-plan, 
 To do a kindness when I can, 
 
 To help my neighbor in his need, 
 Agreed ! 
 
 To envy not the rich and great, 
 To be content with ihy estate, 
 Agreed !
 
 128 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 To early sow if I would reap, 
 To quench my wrath before I sleep, 
 To others' wants and wishes heed, 
 Agreed ! 
 
 To guide the footsteps of the young, 
 To let not slander stain my tongue, 
 
 Agreed ! 
 
 To daily earn what I shall eat, 
 To strive in dealing not to cheat, 
 To do my best in word and deed, 
 Agreed ! 
 
 Mrs. Ktdder. 
 
 A 
 
 XIII. 
 SOWING. 
 
 RE we sowing seeds of kindness ? 
 They shall blossom bright ere long. 
 
 Are we sowing seeds of discord ? 
 
 They shall ripen into wrong. 
 Are we sowing seeds of hono'r? 
 
 They shall bring forth golden grain. 
 Are we sowing seeds of falsehood? 
 We shall yet reap bitter pain. 
 Whatsoe'er our sowing be, 
 Reaping, we its fruits must see. 
 
 We can never be too careful 
 
 What the seed our hands shall sow : 
 Love from love is sure to ripen ; 
 
 Hate from hate is sure to grow. 
 Seeds of good or ill we scatter 
 
 Heedlessly along our way; 
 But a glad or grievous fruitage 
 
 Waits us at the harvest-day. 
 Whatsoe'er our sowing be, 
 Reaping, we its fruits must see.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 STRIVE, WAIT, AND PRAY. 
 
 STRIVE : yet I do not promise 
 The prize you dream of to-day 
 Will not fade when you think to grasp it 
 
 And melt in your hand away ; 
 But another and holier treasure 
 
 You would now perchance disdain 
 "Will come when your trial is over, 
 And pay you for all your pain. 
 
 Wait : yet I do not tell you 
 
 The hour you long for now 
 Will come, with its radiance vanished, 
 
 And a shadow on its brow ; 
 Yet far through the misty future, 
 
 With a crown of starry light, 
 An hour of joy you knew not 
 
 Is winging her silent flight. 
 
 Pray : though the gift you ask for 
 
 May never comfort your fears, 
 May never repay your pleading ; 
 
 Yet pray with hopeful tears. 
 An answer, not that you long for, 
 
 But diviner, will come one day : 
 Your eye are too dim to see it ; 
 
 Yet strive and wait and pray. 
 
 Adelaide A. Procter. 
 8
 
 130 A GUILD'S BOOK OF ItELIGION. 
 
 XV. 
 
 GIVE. 
 
 SEE the rivers flowing 
 Downward to the sea, 
 Pouring all their treasures 
 
 Bountiful and free! 
 Yet, to help their giving, 
 
 Hidden springs arise ; 
 Or, if need be, showers 
 Feed them from the skies. 
 
 Watch the princely flowers 
 
 Their rich fragrance spread, 
 Load the air with perfumes 
 
 From their beauty shed; 
 Yet their lavish spending 
 
 Leaves them not in dearth, 
 "With fresh life replenished 
 
 By their mother-earth. 
 
 % 
 
 Give thy heart's best treasures; 
 
 From fair Nature learn : 
 Give thy love, and ask not, 
 
 Wait not, a return. 
 And, the more thou spendest 
 
 From thy little store, 
 With a double bounty 
 
 God will give thee more. 
 
 Adelaide A, Procter.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 131 
 
 ! 
 
 XVI. 
 
 SOWING AND REAPING. 
 
 SOW with a generous hand ; 
 Pause not for toil or pain ; 
 Weary not through the heat of summer, 
 
 Weary not through the cold spring rain ; 
 But wait till the autumn comes 
 For the sheaves of golden grain. 
 
 Scatter the seed, and fear not : 
 
 A table will be spread. 
 What matter if you are too weary 
 
 To eat your hard-earned bread : 
 Sow while the earth is broken ; 
 
 For the hungry must be fed. 
 
 Sow : while the seeds are lying 
 In the warm earth's bosom deep, 
 
 And your warm tears fall upon it, 
 They will stir in their quiet sleep, 
 
 And the green blades rise the quickei', 
 Perchance, for the tears you weep. 
 
 Then sow ; for the hours arc fleeting, 
 
 And the seed must fall to-day : 
 And care not what hands shall reap it, 
 
 Or if you shall have passed away 
 Before the waving corn-fields 
 
 Shall gladden the sunny day.
 
 132 A CHILD'S BOOK OF EELIGION. 
 
 Sow: and look onward, upward, 
 Where the starry light appears ; 
 
 Where, in spite of the coward's doubting, 
 Or your own heart's trembling fears, 
 
 You shall reap in joy the harvest 
 You have sown to-day in tears. 
 
 Adelaide A. Procter. 
 
 XYII. 
 
 WORDS. 
 
 WORDS are lighter than the cloud-foam 
 Of the restless ocean-spray ; 
 Vainer than the trembling shadow 
 That the next hour steals away. 
 By the fall'of summer rain-drops 
 
 Is the air as deeply stirred ; 
 And the rose-leaf that we tread on 
 Will outlive a word. 
 
 Yet, on the dull silence breaking 
 With a lightning-flash, a word, 
 Bearing endless desolation 
 
 O 
 
 On its blighting wings, I heard. 
 Earth can forge no keener Weapon, 
 
 Dealing surer death and pain ; 
 And the cruel echo answered 
 
 Through long years again.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 133 
 
 I have known one word hang star-like 
 
 O'er a dreary waste of years ; 
 And it only shone the brighter, 
 
 Looked at through a mist of tears ; 
 While a weary wanderer gathered 
 
 Hope and heart on life's dark way, 
 By its faithful promise, shining 
 
 Clearer day by day. 
 
 I have known a spirit calmer 
 
 Than the calmest lake, and clear 
 As the heavens that gazed 4 upon it, 
 
 With no wave of hope or fear ; 
 But a storm, had swept across it, 
 
 And its deepest depths were stirred 
 Never, never more to slumber 
 
 Only by a word. 
 
 I have known a word more gentle 
 
 Than the breath of summer air : 
 In a listening heart it nestled, 
 
 And it lived forever there. 
 Not the beating of its prison 
 
 Stirred it ever, night or day : 
 Only with the heart's last throbbing 
 
 Could it fade away. 
 
 Words arc mighty, words are living, 
 Serpents with their venomous stings ; 
 
 Or bright angels, crowding round us 
 With heaven's light upon their wings.
 
 184 A CHILD'S HOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Every word has its own spirit, 
 True or false, that never dies : 
 
 Every word man's lips have uttered 
 Echoes in God's skies. 
 
 Adelaide A. Procter, 
 
 XVIII. 
 WISHES. 
 
 ALL the fluttering wishes 
 Caged within thy heart 
 Beat their wings against it, 
 
 Longing to depart, 
 Till they shake their prison 
 With their wounded cry. 
 Open, then, thy heart to-day, 
 And let the captives fly. 
 
 Let them first fly upward 
 Through the starry air, 
 
 Till you almost lose them, 
 For their home is there ; 
 
 Then, with outspread pinions 
 Circling round and round, 
 
 Wing their way wherever 
 
 Want and woe are found ; 
 
 
 Where the weary stitcher 
 
 Toils for daily bread; 
 Where the lonely watcher 
 
 Watches by her dead ;
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 135 
 
 Where, with thin, weak fingers 
 
 Toiling at the loom, 
 Stand the little children 
 
 Blighted ere they bloom ; % 
 
 Where, by darkness blinded, 
 
 Groping for the light, 
 With distorted conscience, 
 
 Men do wrong for right; 
 Where, in the cold shadow 
 
 By smooth pleasure thrown, 
 Human hearts by hundreds 
 
 Harden into stone ; 
 
 Where on dusty highways, 
 
 With faint heart and slow, 
 Cursing the glad sunlight, 
 
 Hungry outcasts go; 
 Where all mirth is silenced, 
 
 And the hearth is chill, 
 For one place is empty, 
 
 And one voice is still. 
 
 Some hearts will be lighter, 
 
 While your captives roam, 
 For their tender singing: 
 
 Then recall them home. 
 When the sunny hours 
 
 Into night depart, 
 Softly they will nestle 
 
 In a quiet heart. 
 
 Adelaide A. Prwter.
 
 186 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 THE DARLING LITTLE GIRL. 
 
 WHO'S the darling little girl 
 Everybody loves to see ? 
 She it is whose sunny face 
 Is as sweet as sweet can be. 
 
 Who's the darling little girl 
 Everybody loves to hear ? 
 She it is whose pleasant voice 
 
 Falls like music on the ear. 
 
 r 
 
 Who's the darling little girl 
 
 Everybody loves to know ? 
 She it is whose acts and thoughts 
 
 All are pure as whitest snow. 
 
 Who's the darling little girl 
 
 Even Jesus Christ can love ? 
 She it is, who, meek and good, 
 
 Daily grows like him above. 
 
 Hymns for Mothers and Children.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 137 
 
 XX. 
 
 THE LESSON OF THE FLOWERS. 
 
 COME, my love, and do not spurn 
 From a little flower to learn. 
 See the lily on its bed, 
 Hanging down its modest head, 
 While it scarcely can be seen, 
 Folded in its leaf of green ! 
 
 Yet we love the lily well 
 For its sweet and pleasant smell, 
 And would rather call it ours 
 Than many other gayer flowers : 
 Pretty lilies seem to be 
 Emblems of humility. 
 
 Come, my love, and do not spurn 
 From a little fl6wer to learn. 
 Let your temper be as sweet 
 As the lily at your feet ; 
 Be as gentle, be as mild ; 
 Be a modest, humble child. 
 
 'Tis not beauty that we prize, 
 Like a summer's flower it dies ; 
 But humility will last, 
 Fair and sweet, when beauty's past : 
 And the Father from above 
 Views a humble child witli love. 
 
 Hymns for Mulhen and Children.
 
 138 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 THE BEGGAR. 
 
 A BEGGAR through the world am I ; 
 From place to place I wander by : 
 Fill up my pilgrim's scrip for me 
 For Christ's sweet sake and charity ! 
 
 A little of thy steadfastness, 
 
 Rounded with leafy gracefulness, 
 
 Old oak, give me, 
 
 That the world's blasts may round me blow, 
 
 And I yield gently to and fro, 
 
 While my stout-hearted trunk below, 
 
 And firm-set, roots, unshaken be. 
 
 Some of thy stern, unyielding might, 
 Enduring still, through day and night, 
 Rude tempest-shock and withering blight, 
 That I may keep at bay 
 The changeful April sky of chance, 
 And the strong tide of circumstance, 
 Give me, old granite gray. 
 
 Some of thy pensiveriess serene, 
 
 Some of thy never-dying green, 
 
 Put in this scrip of mine, 
 
 That griefs may fall like snow-flakes light, 
 
 And deck me in a robe of white,
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 13D 
 
 Ready to be an angel bright, 
 O sweetly mournful pine 1 
 
 A little of thy merriment, 
 Of thy sparkling, light content, 
 Give me, my cheerful brook ; 
 That I may still be full of glee 
 And gladsomeness where'er I be, 
 Though fickle Fate hath prisoned me 
 In some neglected nook. 
 
 * 
 
 Ye have been very kind and good 
 To me since I've been in the wood ; 
 Ye have gone nigh to fill my heart. 
 But good-by, kind friends, every one ; 
 I've far to go ere set of sun : 
 Of all good Aings I would have part. 
 The day was high ere I could start, 
 And so my journey's scarce begun. 
 
 Heaven help me ! how could I forget 
 To beg of thee,. dear violet ! 
 Some of thy modesty, 
 That blossoms here as well, unseen, 
 As if before the world thou'dst been : 
 Oh ! give, to strengthen me. 
 
 J. R. Lowell
 
 140 A CHILD'S LOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 XXII. 
 
 KINDNESS TO ANIMALS. 
 
 TURN, turn the hasty foot aside, 
 Nor crush the helpless worm : 
 The frame thy wayward looks deride 
 Required a God to form. ^ 
 
 The common Lord of all that move, 
 
 From whom thy being flowed, 
 A portion of his boundless love 
 
 On that poor worm bestowed. 
 
 
 The sun, the moon, the stars, he made 
 
 To all his creatures free ; 
 And spreads o'er earth the grassy blado 
 
 For worms as well as thee. 
 
 Let them enjoy their little day, 
 
 Their lowly bliss receive : 
 Oh ! do not lightly take away 
 
 The life thou canst not give. 
 
 Giiborne.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 141 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 " NOT to myself alone," 
 
 The little opening flower transported cries, 
 " Not to myself alone I bud and bloom : 
 With fragrant breath the breezes I perfume, 
 And gladden all things with my rainbow dyes. 
 The bee comes sipping every eventide 
 
 His dainty fill ; 
 
 The butterfly within my cup doth hide 
 From threatening ill." 
 
 "Not to myself alone," 
 
 The circling star with honest pride doth boast, 
 " Not to myself alone I rise and set : 
 I write upon Night's coronal of jet 
 His power and skill who formed our myriad host ; 
 A friendly beacon at heaven's open gate, 
 
 I gem the sky, 
 
 That man may ne'er forget in every fate 
 His home on high." 
 
 " Not to myself alone," 
 
 The heavy-laden bee doth murmuring hum, 
 "Not to myself alone, from flower to flower, 
 I rove the wood, the garden, and the bower, 
 And to the hive at evening weary come. 
 For man, for man, the luscious food I pile 
 
 With busy care, 
 
 Content if I repay my ceaseless toil 
 With scanty share."
 
 142 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 "Not to myself alone," 
 The soaring bird with lusty pinion sings, 
 " Not to myself alone I raise my st>ng : 
 I cheer the drooping with my warbling tongue, 
 And bear the mariner on my viewless wings ; 
 I bid the hymnless churl my anthem learn, 
 
 And God adore ; 
 
 I call the worldling from his dross to turn, 
 And sing and soar." 
 
 " Not to myself alone," 
 
 The streamlet whispers on its pebbly way, 
 " Not to myself alone I sparkling glide : 
 I scatter health and life on every side, 
 And strew the fields with herb and floweret gay ; 
 I sing unto the common, bleak and bare, 
 
 My gladsome tune ; 
 I sweeten and refresh the languid air 
 In dusty June." 
 
 "Not to myself alone." 
 
 O man! forget not thou Earth's honored priest, 
 Its tongue, its soul, its lip, its pulse, its heart 
 In Earth's great chorus to sustain thy part. 
 Chiefest of guests at Life's ungrudging feast, 
 Play not the niggard ; spurn thy native clod, 
 
 And self disown ; 
 
 Live to thy neighbor, live unto thy God, 
 Not to thyself alone. 
 
 Hymns for Mothers and Children.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 143 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 EVERY LITTLE HELPS.' 
 
 SUPPOSE a little twinkling star, 
 Away in yonder sky, 
 Should say, " What light can reach so far 
 
 From such a star as I ? 
 Not many rays of mine so far 
 
 As yonder earth can fall : 
 The others so much brighter are, 
 I will not shine at all." 
 
 4 
 
 Suppose a bright-green leaf, that grows 
 
 Upon the rose-bush near, 
 Should say, " Because I'm not a rose, 
 
 I will not linger here ; " 
 Or that a dew-drop, fresh and bright 
 
 Upon that fragrant flower, 
 Should say, " I'll vanish out of sight 
 
 Because I'm not a shower." 
 
 Suppose a little child should say, 
 
 " Because I'm not a man, 
 I will not try, in word or play, 
 
 To do what good I can." 
 Dear child, each star some light can give, 
 
 Though gleaming faintly there ; 
 Each rose-leaf helps the plant to live ; 
 
 Each dew-drop keeps it fair.
 
 144 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 And our good Father who's in heaven, 
 
 And doth all creatures view, 
 To every little child has given 
 
 Some needful work to do. 
 Kind deeds towards those with whom you live, 
 
 Kind words and actions right, 
 Shall, 'mid the world's worst darkness, give 
 
 A little precious light v 
 
 Hymns for Mothers and Children. 
 
 XXV. ' 
 
 LITTLE DEEDS. 
 
 NOT mighty deeds make up the sum 
 Of happiness below ; 
 But little acts of kindliness, 
 Which any child may show. 
 
 A merry sound to cheer the babe, 
 
 And tell a friend is near ; 
 A word of ready sympathy 
 
 To dry the childish tear ; 
 
 A glass of water timely brought; 
 
 An offered easy-chair; 
 A turning of the window-blind 
 
 That all may feel the air ;
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 145 
 
 An early flower unasked bestowed ; 
 
 A light and cautious tread ; 
 A voice to gentlest whisper hushed 
 
 To spare the aching head, 
 
 Oh ! deeds like these, though little things, 
 
 Yet purest love disclose, 
 As fragrant perfume on the air 
 
 Reveals the hidden rose. 
 
 Our heavenly Father loves to see 
 
 These precious fruits of love ; 
 And, if we only serve him here, 
 
 We'll dwell with him above. 
 
 Hymns for Mothers and Children. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 GENTLENESS. 
 
 SPEAK gently : it is better far 
 To rule by love than fear. 
 Speak gently: let no harsh word mar 
 
 The good we might do here. 
 Speak gently to the aged one ; 
 
 Grieve not the care-worn heart ; 
 The sands of life are nearly run : 
 Let such in peace depart. 
 
 10
 
 146 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Speak gently, kindly, to the poor ; 
 
 Let no harsh tone be heard : 
 They have enough they must endure, 
 
 "Without an unkind word. 
 Speak gently to the erring : 
 
 Ye know not of the power 
 With which the dai-k temptation canio 
 
 In some unguarded hour. 
 
 Ye may not know how earnestly 
 
 They struggled, nor how well, 
 Until the hour of weakness came, 
 
 And sadly then they fell. 
 Speak gently to the erring : 
 
 Oh ! do not thou forget, 
 However darkly stained by sin, 
 
 He is thy brother yet : 
 
 Heir of the self-same heritage, 
 
 Child of the self-same God, 
 He hath but stumbled in the path 
 
 Thou hast in Aveakness trod. 
 Speak gently to the erring ; 
 
 For is it not enough 
 That innocence and peace have gone, 
 
 Without thy censure rough ? 
 
 It sure must be a weary lot 
 
 That sin-crushed heart to bear ; 
 
 And they that share a happier fate 
 Their chidings well may spare.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 147 
 
 Speak kindly to the erring : 
 
 Thou yet mayst lead them back, 
 
 With holy words and tones of love, 
 From Misery's thorny track. 
 
 Forget not thou hast often sinned, 
 
 And sinful yet must be. 
 Deal gently with the erring one 
 
 As God hath dealt with thee. 
 Speak gently : 'tis a little thing 
 
 Dropped in the heart's deep well : 
 The good, the joy, that it may bring, 
 
 Eternity shall tell. 
 
 % XXVII. 
 
 DON'T FRET. 
 
 HAS a neighbor injured you? 
 Don't fret; 
 
 You will yet come off the best ; 
 He's the most to answer for : 
 Never mind it, let it rest ; 
 
 Don't fret. 
 
 Has a wicked lie been told ? 
 
 Don't fret : 
 
 It will run itself to death 
 If you let it quite alone ; 
 It will die for want of breath : 
 
 Don't fret.
 
 148 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Are your enemies at work ? 
 
 Don't fret : 
 
 They can't injure you a whit. 
 If they find you heed them not, 
 They will soon be glad to quit. 
 
 Don't fret. 
 
 Is adversity your lot ? 
 
 Don't fret. 
 
 Fortune's wheel keeps turning round ; 
 Every spoke will reach the top, 
 Which, like you, is going down. 
 
 Don't fret. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 LET IT PASS. 
 
 BE not swift to take offence : 
 Let it pass. 
 Anger is a foe to sense : 
 
 Let it pass. 
 
 Brood not darkly o'er a wrong 
 "Which will disappear ere long; 
 Rather sing this cheery song, 
 
 " Let it pass ; let it pass." 
 
 Strife corrodes the purest mind : 
 
 Let it pass. 
 As the unregarded wind 
 
 Let it pass.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 149 
 
 Any vulgar souls that live 
 May condemn without reprieve : 
 'Tis the noble who forgive. 
 
 Let it pass ; let it pass. 
 
 Echo not an angry word : 
 
 Let it pass. 
 Think how often you have erred: 
 
 Let it pass. 
 
 Since our days, must pass away 
 Like the dew-drops on the spray, 
 Wherefore should our sorrow stay ? 
 
 Let it pass ; let it pass. 
 
 If for good you've taken ill, 
 
 Let it pass. 
 Oh ! be kind and gentle still : 
 
 Let it pass. 
 
 Time at last makes all things straight : 
 Let us not resent, but wait, 
 And our triumphs shall be great. 
 
 Let it pass ; let it pass. 
 
 Bid your anger to depart : 
 
 Let it pass. 
 Lay these homely words to heart, 
 
 " Let it pass." 
 
 Follow not the giddy throng ; 
 Better to be wronged than wrong : 
 Therefore sing the cheery song, 
 
 " Let it pass ; let it pass."
 
 150 A CHILD'S HOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 LEND A HAND. 
 
 LEND a hand to one another 
 In the daily toil of life : 
 When we meet a weaker brother, 
 
 Let us help him in the strife. 
 There is none so rich bu^may, 
 
 In his turn, be forced to borrow ; 
 And the poor man's lot to-day 
 May become our own to-morrow. 
 
 Lend a hand to one another. 
 
 .When malicious tongues have thrown 
 Dark suspicion on your brother, 
 
 Be not prompt to cast a stone. 
 There is none so good but may 
 
 Run adrift on shame and sorrow; " 
 And the good man of to-day 
 
 May become the bad to-morrow. 
 
 * 
 
 Lend a hand to one another. % 
 
 In the race for Honor's crown, 
 Should it fall upon your brother, 
 
 Let not envy tear it down. 
 Lend a hand to all, we pray, 
 
 In their sunshine or their sorrow; 
 And the prize they've won to-day 
 
 May become our own to-morrow. 
 
 A. J. Davis's Manual.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 151 
 
 CATCH THE SUNSHINE. 
 
 CATCH the sunshine, though it flickers 
 Through a dark and dismal cloud ; 
 Though it falls so faint and feeble 
 On a heart with sorrow bowed. 
 Catch it quickly ; it is passing, 
 
 Passing rapidly away : 
 It has only come to tell you 
 There is yet a brighter day. 
 
 Catch the sunshine, though Life's tempest 
 
 May unfurl its chilling blast; 
 Catch the little hopeful stranger; 
 
 Storms will not forever last. 
 Don't give up, and say, " Forsaken ; " 
 
 Don't begin to say, " I'm sad." 
 Look ! there comes a gleam of sunshine : 
 
 Catch it ! Oh, it se&ns so glad ! 
 
 Catch the sunshine ! Don't be grieving 
 
 O'er that darksome billow there : 
 Life's a sea of stormy billows; 
 
 We must meet them everywhere. 
 Pass right through them ; do not tarry; 
 
 Overcome the heaving tide : 
 There's a sparkling gleam of sunshine 
 
 Waiting on the other side.
 
 152 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION 1 . 
 
 Catch the sunshine, catch it gladly, 
 
 Messenger in Hope's employ; 
 Sent through clouds, through storms and billows, 
 
 Bringing you a ray of joy. 
 Don't be sighing, don't be weeping ; 
 
 Life, you know, is but a span : 
 There's no time to sigh or sorrow ; 
 
 Catch the sunshine when you can. 
 
 A. J. Davis't Manual. 
 
 XXXI. , 
 
 THE FOUNTAIN. 
 
 INTO the sunshine ; 
 Full of the light ; 
 Leaping and flashing 
 From morn till night ; 
 
 Into the moonlight, 
 Whiter than snow ; 
 
 Waving so flower-like 
 When the winds blow ; 
 
 Into the starlight 
 Rushing in spray ; 
 
 Happy at midnight^ 
 Happy by day; 
 
 Ever in motion, 
 
 Blithesome and cheery ; 
 Still climbing heavenward, 
 
 Never aweary ;
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 153 
 
 Glad of all weathers, 
 
 Still seeming best ; 
 Upward or downward, 
 
 Motion thy rest ; 
 
 Full of a nature 
 
 Nothing can tame ; 
 Changed every moment, 
 
 Ever the same ; 
 
 Ceaseless aspiring, 
 
 Ceaseless content ; 
 Darkness or sunshine, 
 
 Thy element, 
 
 Glorious fountain ! 
 
 Let my heart be 
 Fresh, changeful, constant, 
 
 Upward, like thee ! 
 
 J. R. Lowell 
 
 I 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 TOUR MISSION. 
 F you cannot on the ocean 
 
 Sail among the swiftest fleet, 
 Rocking on the mighty billows, 
 
 Laughing at the storms you meet, 
 You can stand among the sailors 
 
 Anchored yet within the bay; 
 You can lend a hand to help them 
 
 As they launch their boats away.
 
 154 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 If you are too weak to journey 
 
 Up the mountain steep and high, 
 You can stand within the valley 
 
 As the multitudes go by ; 
 You can chant in happy measure 
 
 As they slowly pass along : 
 Though they may forget the singer, 
 
 They will not forget the song. 
 
 If you cannot in the conflict 
 
 Prove yourself a warrior true ; 
 If, where fire and smoke are thickest, 
 
 There's no work for you to do, 
 Where the battle-field is silent, 
 
 You can go with gentle tread ; 
 You can bear away the wounded ; 
 
 You can cover up the dead. 
 
 If you cannot in the harvest 
 
 Garner up the richest sheaves, 
 Many a grain both ripe and golden, 
 
 Which the careless reaper leaves, 
 You can glean among the briers 
 
 Growing rank against the wall ; 
 And it may be that the shadows 
 
 Hide the heaviest wheat of all. 
 
 If you have not gold and silver 
 Ever ready at command ; 
 
 If you cannot toward the needy 
 Reach an ever-open hand,
 
 TEE GOOD LIFE. 155 
 
 You can visit the afflicted ; 
 
 O'er the erring yon can weep ; 
 Yon can be a true disciple 
 
 Sitting at the Saviour's feet. 
 
 Do not, then, stand idly waiting 
 
 For some nobler work to do * 
 
 For your heavenly Father's glory, 
 
 Ever earnest, ever true. 
 Go and toil in any vineyard ; 
 
 Work in patience and in prayer : 
 If you want a field of labor, 
 
 You can find it anywhere. 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 CHARITY. 
 
 WHEN" you meet with one suspected 
 Of some secret deed of shame, 
 And for this by all rejected 
 As a thing of evil fame, 
 Guard thine every look and action ; 
 
 Speak no word of heartless blame ; 
 For the slander's vile detraction 
 Yet may soil thy goodly name. 
 
 When you meet with one pursuing 
 
 Ways the lost have wandered in, 
 Working out his own undoing 
 
 With his recklessness and sin ; 
 Think, if placed in his condition, 
 
 Would a kind word be in vain? 
 Or a look of cold suspicion 
 
 Win thee back to truth again ?
 
 156 A GUILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 There are spots that bear no flowers, - 
 
 Not because the soil is bad ; 
 But the summer's genial showers 
 
 Never make their bosoms glad. 
 Better have an act that's kindly 
 
 Treated sometimes with disdain, 
 Than, by judging others blindly, 
 
 Doom the innocent to pain. 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 LIFE'S WORK. 
 
 ALL around us, fair with flowers, 
 Fields of beauty sleeping lie ; 
 All around us clarion-voices 
 Call to duty stern and high. 
 
 Thankfully we will rejoice in 
 All the beauty God has given ; 
 
 But beware it does not win us 
 
 From the work ordained of Heaven. 
 
 Following every voice of mercy, 
 With a trusting, loving heart, 
 
 Let us, in Life's earnest labor, 
 Still be sure to do our part. 
 
 Now, to-day, and not to-morrow, 
 Let us work with all our might, 
 
 Lest the wretched faint and perish 
 In the coming stormy night.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 157 
 
 Now, to-day, and not to-morrow, 
 
 Lest before to-morrow's sun 
 "We too, mournfully departing, 
 
 Shall have left our work undone. 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 A PARABLE. 
 
 WORN" and footsore was the prophet 
 When he gained the holy hill : 
 " God has left the earth," he murmured ; 
 " Here his presence lingers still ! 
 
 " God of all the olden prophets, 
 
 Wilt thou speak with men no more ? 
 
 Have I not as truly served thee 
 As thy chosen ones of yore ? 
 
 " Hear me, Guider of my fathers ; 
 
 Lo ! a humble heart is mine : 
 By thy mercy, I beseech thee, 
 
 Grant thy servant but a sign ! " 
 
 Bowing then his head, he listened 
 
 For an answer to his prayer: 
 No loud burst of thunder followed, 
 
 Not a murmur stirred the air ; 
 
 But the tuft of moss before him 
 
 Opened while he waited yet, 
 And from out the rock's hard bosom 
 
 Sprang a tender violet.
 
 158 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 " God, I thank thee ! " said the prophet : 
 " Hard of heart and blind was I, 
 
 Looking to the holy mountain 
 For the gift of prophecy. 
 
 " Still thou speakest with thy children 
 
 Freely as in eld sublime : 
 Humbleness and love and patience 
 
 Still give empire over time. 
 
 " Had I trusted in my nature, 
 
 And had faith in holy things, 
 Thou thyself wouldst then have sought me, 
 
 And set free my spirit's wings. 
 
 " But I looked for signs and wonders 
 That o'er men should give me sway : 
 
 Thirsting to be more than mortal, 
 I was even less than clay. 
 
 "Ere I entered on my journey, 
 
 As I girt my loins to start, 
 Ran to me my little daughter, 
 
 The beloved of my heart. 
 
 " In her hand she held a flower, 
 
 Like to this as like may be, 
 Which, beside my very threshold, 
 
 She had plucked, and brought to me." 
 
 J. R. Lowell.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 ABOU BEN ADEEM (may his tribe in- 
 crease !) 
 
 Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, 
 And saw within the moonlight in his room, 
 Making it rich and like a lily in bloom, 
 An angel writing in a book of gold. 
 Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold ; 
 And to the Presence in the room he said, 
 "What writest thou?" The vision raised its 
 
 head, 
 
 And, with a look made of all sweet accord, 
 Answered, " The names of those who love the 
 
 Lord." 
 
 " And is mine one ? " said Abou. " Nay, not so," 
 Replied the angel. Abou spake more low, 
 But cheerly still, and said, "I pray thee, then, 
 Write me as one that loves his fellow-men." 
 The angel wrote, and vanished. . The next night 
 It came again, with a great wakening light, 
 And showed the names whom love of God hud 
 
 blest ; 
 And, lo ! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest. 
 
 Ltii/h Hunt.
 
 160 A GUILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 XXXVII. 
 
 IF WE KNEW. 
 
 IF we knew the woe and heartache 
 Waiting for us down the road ; 
 If our lips could taste the wormwood ; 
 
 If our backs could feel the load, 
 "Would we waste the day in wishing 
 
 For a time that ne'er can be ? 
 Would we wait in such impatience 
 For our ships to come from sea ? 
 
 If we knew the baby-fingers 
 
 Pressed against the window-pane 
 Would be cold and stiff to-morrow, 
 
 Never trouble us again, 
 Would the bright eyes of our darling 
 
 Catch the frown upon our brow ? 
 Would the print of rosy fingers 
 
 Vex us then as they do now ? 
 
 Ah ! these little ice-cold fingers, 
 
 How they point our memories back 
 To the hasty words and actions 
 
 Strewn along our backward track ! 
 How those little hands remind us, 
 
 As in snowy grace they lie, 
 Not to scatter thorns, but roses, 
 
 For our reaping by and by !
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 161 
 
 Strange we never prize the music 
 
 Till the sweet-voiced bird has flown ! 
 Strange that we should slight the violets 
 
 Till the lovely flowers arc gone ! 
 Strange that summer skies and sunshine 
 
 Never seem one-half so fair 
 As when winter's snowy pinions 
 
 Shake their white down in the air ! 
 
 Lips from which the seal of silence 
 
 None but God can roll away 
 Never blossomed in such beauty 
 
 As adorns the mouth to-day ; 
 And sweet words that freight our memory 
 
 With their beautiful perh'ime 
 Come to us in sweeter accents 
 
 Through the portals of the tomb. 
 
 Let us gather up the sunbeams 
 
 Lying all around our path ; 
 Let us keep the wheat and roses, - 
 
 Casting out the thorns and chaff; 
 Let us find our sweetest comfort 
 
 In the blessings of to-day, 
 With a patient hand removing 
 
 All the briers from our way. 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 OVER AND OVER AGAIN. 
 
 OVER and over again, 
 No matter which way I turn, 
 I always find in the book of life 
 Some lesson I have to learn. 
 11
 
 162 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 I must take my turn at the mill ; 
 
 I must grind out the golden grain ; 
 I must work at my task with a resolute will, 
 
 Over and over again. 
 
 We cannot measure the need . 
 
 Of even the tiniest flower, 
 Nor check the flow of the golden sands 
 
 That run through a single hour : 
 But the morning dews must fall ; 
 
 And the sun and the summer rain 
 Must do their part, and perform it all 
 
 Over and over again. 
 
 Over and over again 
 
 The brook through the meadow flows ; 
 And over and over again 
 
 The ponderous mill-wheel goes : 
 Once doing will not suffice, 
 
 Though doing be not in vain ; 
 And a blessing, failing us once or twice, 
 
 May come if we try again. 
 
 The path that has once been trod 
 
 Is never so rough to the feet ; 
 And the lesson we once have learned 
 
 Is never so hard to repeat. 
 Though sorrowful tears may fall, 
 
 And the heart to its depth be driven 
 With storm and tempest, we need them all 
 
 To render us meet for heaven.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 1G3 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 THE LITTLE BELL IN THE HEART. 
 
 MY heart keeps knocking all the day ! 
 What does it mean ? what would it say ? 
 My heart keeps knocking all the night! 
 Child, hast thou thought of that aright? 
 So long it has knocked, now loud, now low : 
 Hast thou thought what it means by knocking so ? 
 
 My child, 'tis a lively little bell, 
 
 The dear God's gift who loves thee well : 
 
 On the door of the soul by him 'tis hung, 
 
 And by his hand it still is rung ; 
 
 And he stands without, and waits to see 
 
 Whether within he will welcome be ; 
 
 And still keeps knocking, in hopes to win 
 
 The welcome answer, "Come in, come in!" 
 
 So knocks thy heart now day by day ; 
 
 And when its strokes have died away, 
 
 And all its knockings on earth are o'er, 
 
 It will knock itself at heaven's door, 
 
 And stand without, and wait to see 
 
 Whether within it will welcome be, 
 
 And to hear Him say, " Come, dearest guest, 
 
 I found in thy bosom a holy rest: 
 
 As thou hast done, be it done to thee ; 
 
 Come into the joys of eternity ! " 
 
 Tratulated from the German,
 
 164 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 XL. 
 
 THE CHILD'S WAY TO HEAVEN. 
 
 -l I am weary of earth," said the child, 
 As he looked with a tearful eye 
 On the snow-white dove that he held in hia 
 
 hand ; 
 " For whatever I love will die." 
 
 Then the child came out of his little bower ; 
 And he came, and looked abroad ; 
 And he said, " I am going, this very hour, 
 I am going to heaven and God." 
 
 There was shining light where the sun had set, 
 And it seemed as if earth and heaven met. 
 All round in the distant blue, 
 And red and purple too, 
 
 As the child looked out on the far, far west, 
 He saw a golden door, 
 Where the burning sun had gone to his rest 
 But a little while before. 
 
 There was one bright spot on the cloud's dark 
 
 face, 
 
 As if it h^d been riven. 
 Said the child, "I will go to that very place; 
 For it must be the gate of heaven ! "
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 165 
 
 Then the child set out to follow the sun : 
 But the heavens would not stay ; 
 For, ever the faster he tried to run, 
 They seemed to go farther away. 
 
 And the evening shades fell heavily, 
 With night-dews cold and damp ; 
 While each little star in the dark-blue sky 
 Lit up its silvery lamp. 
 
 A light wind wafted .the fleecy clouds; 
 . And it seemed to the child that they 
 Were travelling on to the west, while the stars 
 Were going the other way. 
 
 So the child called out, as he saw them stray, 
 By the evening breezes driven, 
 " Little stars, you are wandering out of the way: 
 That is not the way to heaven." 
 
 Then he wandered on through the rough, waste 
 
 lands 
 
 Where the tangled briers meet, 
 Till the prickles scratched his dimpled hands, 
 And wounded his little feet. 
 
 He could not see before him well, 
 And the night grew dark and cold : 
 And at last he cried ; for he could not tell 
 His way on the open wold.
 
 166 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Then the child knelt down on the damp, green 
 
 sod, 
 
 And he said his evening prayer ; 
 And he fell asleep as he thought of God, 
 
 Who was listening to him there. 
 
 ^ 
 
 A long, long sleep ; for "they found him there 
 When the sun went down next day ; 
 And he looked like an angel, pale and fair ; 
 But his cheek was as cold as clay. 
 
 The sunbeams glanced on -the drops of dew 
 That lay on his ringlets bright, 
 Glistening in every varied hue 
 
 Like a coronet of light. 
 
 From the German. 
 
 XLI. 
 
 A MOTHER'S LOVE. 
 
 HAST thou sounded the depths of yonder sea? 
 Hast thou counted the sands that under it 
 
 be? 
 
 Hast thou measured the height of heaven above? 
 Then mayest thou speak of a mother's love. 
 
 Hast thou talked with the blessed of leading on 
 To the throne of God some wandering son ? 
 Hast thou witnessed the angels' bright employ? 
 Then mayest thou speak of a mother's joy.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 167 
 
 Hast thou gone with the traveller, near or far, 
 From pole to pole, from star to star ? 
 Thou hast ; and, on earth or river or sea, 
 The heart of a mother has gone with thee. 
 
 There is not a grand inspiring thought, 
 There is not a truth by wisdom taught, 
 There is not a feeling pure and high, 
 That may not be read, in a mother's eye. 
 
 XLII. 
 
 THE SIMPLE LIFE. 
 
 BLOWS not a blossom on the breast of spring, 
 Breaks not a gale along the bending mead, 
 Trills not a songster of the soaring wing, 
 But fragance, health, and melody succeed. 
 
 Oh ! let me still with simple Nature live, 
 
 My lowly field-flowers on her altar lay, 
 Enjoy the blessings that she meant to give, 
 
 And calmly spend my inoffensive day. 
 
 % 
 Nor seldom lingering as I muse along, 
 
 Mark from what flower the breeze its sweetness 
 
 bore, 
 Or listen to the labor-soothing song 
 
 Of bees that range the sunny uplands o'er. 
 
 Firm be my heart to Nature and to Truth, 
 Nor vainly wander from their dictates sage: 
 
 So joy shall sit upon the brows of youth, 
 So hope shall soothe the lonely path of age. 
 
 John Langhorne.
 
 1G8 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 XLIII. 
 THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 
 
 I SAY to thee, Do thou repeat 
 To the first man thou mayest meet 
 In lane, highway, or open street, 
 
 That he and we, and all men, move 
 
 Under a canopy of love 
 
 As broad as the blue sky above ; 
 
 That doubt and trouble, fear and pain 
 And anguish, all are shadows vain ; 
 That death itself shall not remain ; 
 
 That weary deserts we may tread ; 
 A dreary labyrinth may thread ; 
 Through pathways underground be led. 
 
 Yet, if we will one Guide obey, 
 The dreariest path, the darkest way, 
 Shall issue out in heavenly day ; 
 
 And we, on divers shores now cast, 
 Shall meet, our perilous voyage past, 
 All in our Father's house at last. 
 
 And, ere thou leave him, say thou this, 
 Yet one word more : they only miss 
 The winning of that fatal bliss
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 169 
 
 Who will not count it true, that love, 
 Blessing, not cursing, rules above, 
 And that in it we live and move. 
 
 And one thing further make him know, 
 That to believe these things are so, 
 This firm faith never to forego, 
 
 Despite of all which seems at strife 
 With blessing, all with curses rife ; 
 That this is blessing, this is life. 
 
 Trench. 
 
 XLIV. 
 
 FOLLOW ME. 
 
 on Life's troubled sea, 
 T Sailing to eternity, 
 Turn from earthly things away : 
 Vain they are, and brief their stay, 
 Chaining down to earth the heart ; 
 Nothing lasting they impart. 
 Voyager, what arc they to thee ? 
 Leave them all, and follow me. 
 
 Traveller on the road of Life, 
 Seeking pleasure, finding strife, 
 Know the world can never give 
 Aught on which the soul can live,
 
 170 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Grasp not riches, seek not fame, . 
 Shining dust, and sounding name : 
 Traveller, what are they to thee ? 
 Leave them all, and follow me. 
 
 Wanderer from thy Father's throne, 
 Hasten back, thine crrings own ; 
 Turn, thy path leads not to heaven ; 
 Turn, thy sins will be forgiven ; 
 Turn, and let thy songs of praise 
 Mingle with angelic lays. 
 Wanderer, here is bliss for thee : 
 Leave them all to follow me. 
 
 Anon. 
 
 XLY. 
 
 THE BUILDERS. 
 
 ALL are architects of Fate, 
 Working in these walls of Time ; 
 Some with massive deeds and great, 
 Some with ornaments of rhyme. 
 
 Nothing useless is, or low : 
 Each thing in its place is best ; 
 
 And what seems but idle show 
 Strengthens and supports the rest. 
 
 For the structure that we raise, 
 Time is with materials filled : 
 
 Our to-days and yesterdays 
 
 Are the blocks with which we build.
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 171 
 
 Truly shape and fashion these ; 
 
 Leave no yawning gaps between : 
 Think not, because no man sees, 
 
 Such things will remain unseen. 
 
 In the elder days of Art, 
 
 Builders wrought with greatest care 
 Each jminute and unseen part; 
 
 For the Gods see everywhere. 
 
 Let us do our work as well, 
 
 Both the unseen and the seen ; 
 Make the house where God may dwell 
 
 Beautiful, entire, and clean ; 
 
 Else our lives are incomplete, 
 
 Standing in these walls of Time, 
 
 Broken stairways, where the feet 
 Stumble as they seek to climb. 
 
 Build to-day, then, strong and sure, . 
 
 With a firm and ample base ; 
 And ascending and secure 
 
 Shall to-uiorrow find its place. 
 
 Thus alone can we attain 
 
 To those turrets, where the eye 
 
 Sees the world as one vast plain, 
 And one boundless reach of sky. 
 
 Henry \V. Loinjfillom>
 
 172 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 XLVI. 
 
 APRIL-FOOLS. 
 
 HE who mourneth day by day 
 That his youth doth pass away 
 Like the blossoms on the tree, 
 Sure an April-fool must be ! 
 For the blossoms fade and die 
 That the tree may fruit supply : 
 So, youth fled, we e'er should iind 
 Fruitful wisdom left behind. 
 
 He who lives to garner gold, 
 Selling what should ne'er be sold, 
 Bartering peace for dress, why, he 
 Sure an April-fool must be ! 
 Many who have mourned his end 
 Will rejoice that they may spend ; 
 For the ingots he may save 
 None will bury in his grave. 
 
 . He who spurns the horny hand 
 Throwing loom or tilling land, 
 Treating labor scornfully, 
 Sure an April-fool is he ! 
 Were the loom of toil bereft, 
 Spider would weave warp and weft. 
 Earth and labor are allied : 
 Thriftless groom makes thriftless bride. 
 
 He who thinks that time hath done 
 All for which time was begun, 
 Nor its onward course doth see, 
 Sure an April-fool must be !
 
 THE GOOD LIFE. 173 
 
 Night but slowly melts away ; 
 Daylight cometh ray by ray : 
 Time must work Creation's plan, 
 And man be victor over man. 
 
 XLVIL 
 HAPPINESS. 
 
 , would you here obtain 
 _ Pleasure unalloyed with pain, 
 Joy that suits your little sphere, 
 Gentle children, lend an ear. 
 
 Learn to relish calm delight, 
 Verdant vales, and fountains bright, 
 Trees that nod on distant hills, 
 Caves that echo tinkling rills. 
 
 If yoxi can no charm disclose 
 
 In the simplest bud that blows, 
 
 You will ne'er the joys explore 
 
 Of the larger world before. o 
 
 See ! to sweeten your repose, 
 Blossom buds, and fountain flows ; 
 Sec ! that you may happy live, 
 Flowers and fruits their richness give. 
 
 Seek no more : the rest is vain, 
 Pleasure ending soon in pain ; 
 Pleasure that soon glides away : 
 Seek no more, but with mo stay. 
 
 Sherutone.
 
 174 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 XLVIIT. 
 THE HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 OUR blest Redeemer, ere lie breathed 
 His tender last farewell* 
 A Guide, a Comforter, bequeathed, 
 With us to dwell. 
 
 He came in tongues of living flame 
 
 To teach, convince, subdue : 
 All powerful as the wind he came, 
 As viewless too. 
 
 He came sweet influence to impart ; 
 
 A gracious, willing guest 
 While he can find one humble heart 
 Wherein to rest. 
 
 And his that gentle voice we hear, 
 
 Soft as the breath of even, 
 y hat checks each fault, that calms each fear, 
 And speaks of heaven. 
 
 And every virtue we possess, 
 
 And every victory won, 
 And every thought of holiness, 
 Are his alone. 
 
 Spirit of Purity and Grace, 
 
 Our weakness pitying see : 
 Oh! make our hearts thy dwelling-place, 
 And worthier thcc !
 
 PART III. 
 TRUTH. 
 
 Talk between the Teacher and the CJiild. 
 
 GOD. 
 
 "Who made the things that you see? 
 
 God. He made the sun, the moon, the stars, 
 the rivers, the rocks, and green grass, the trees 
 and flowers. He made also every living creature. 
 
 Did God intake these things with his hands as 
 a man makes a watch or a pen-knife ? 
 
 No : he made the light, the air, the elements, 
 and the powers by which all things came into form. 
 Who created 'you ? 
 
 God. 
 
 Did the same God create your father and 
 mother? 
 
 He did. 
 
 Did lie also create your grandfather and your 
 grandmother, and all who ever lived? 
 
 He created aJl who have lived on the earth. 
 
 176
 
 176 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Did he create you as a man carves an image ? 
 
 No: he made the substance from which we were 
 made, and the laws by which it came into form. 
 
 Can you see God? 
 
 Not with our eyes ; for he has no body. 
 
 How, then, can you see him, if not with your 
 eyes ? 
 
 God is seen with the eye of the heart. 
 
 What do you mean by the eye of the heart ? 
 
 The eye of the heart is purity. Jesus said, 
 "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see 
 God." 
 
 Who are the pure in heart ? 
 
 They that are not vain nor proud nor selfish ; 
 the modest and the simple ; they who do not 
 think of themselves, but who love some others 
 more than themselves, and goodness more than 
 all. 
 
 What is God? 
 
 God is spirit : so Jesus said. 
 What do you mean by saying that God is 
 spirit ? 
 
 We mean that he is wisdom and love. The be- 
 loved disciple, who tells us that God is spirit, says 
 also, "God is light;"' "God is love." 
 
 Do you know God, then, when you are wise and 
 loving f 
 
 We know God when we love wisdom and good- 
 ness. 
 
 And when do you love God? 
 
 When we love to be true and just and kind.
 
 TRUTII. 177 
 
 To know God and to love God are the same 
 thing. 
 
 Can you be true and just and kind to Godf 
 
 No ; but we can be to his children. John the 
 evangelist said, " He that loveth not his brother 
 whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has 
 not seen. 
 
 Then you love God when you love your fellow- 
 beings, any of your fellow-beings in particular ? 
 
 No: when we love all; because they are his 
 children as we are. 
 
 Does God love all his children alike ? Does 
 he love the foolish as well as the wise, the mean 
 as well as the generous, the false as well as the 
 true, the cruel as well as the kind, the bad as well 
 as the good ? 
 
 Yes : he loves one as well as the other ; but he 
 does not love all with the same kind of love. 
 
 What do you mean by that f 
 
 We mean that he loves the good because he ap- 
 proves of them ; and he loves the bad because he 
 pities them. He loves the good because they 
 are good : he loves the bad in order that he may 
 make them good. 
 
 What story did Jesus tell about that ? 
 
 The story of the PRODIGAL Sox. 
 
 (The story may be read, and made the subject of a lesson or 
 lessons.) 
 
 WJien arc you near to God? 
 We are always near him. 
 
 12
 
 178 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 He is always near you ; but are you always 
 near to him ? 
 
 When do you feel near to him ? 
 
 When, in loving-kindn,ess, we feel near to his 
 children. 
 
 How does he seem to you at such times ? 
 
 He seems to us like a tender Father and 
 Mother. 
 
 Wliere is God? 
 
 God dwells in the heart of all creatures. 
 
 Does God see you f 
 
 The Supreme Spirit dwells in our bosom, and 
 is a witness of all our goodness and our wicked- 
 ness. The sinful say in their hearts, " None see 
 us ; " but the spirit within their breast sees them. 
 
 Hoio does God see you ? 
 
 The heart is its own witness and judge. When 
 we have shut our doors, and darkened our win- 
 dows, we are not alone: God is within. And 
 he has no need of light to see what we are doing. 
 Can the sun illumine so great a portion of the 
 universe ? and cannot He who made and moves 
 the sun perceive all things ? 
 
 How can you be with God? 
 
 If we love God, we shall always be with him. 
 If we love God, wherever we are, people shall 
 think they walk in hallowed cathedrals. 
 
 How does God make himself knoicn to men? 
 
 In the world of beauty and use which he has 
 made.
 
 TRUTH. 179 
 
 Is there any better way than that ? 
 
 Yes : in our own wonderful bodies, with their 
 senses and organs, and all their powers. 
 
 2s there any other way still? 
 
 Yes : in our minds and hearts. 
 
 Hut is there not yet a fourth icay, more noble 
 and beautiful than either ? 
 
 There is. The noblest and best men and women 
 show more of God than can be learned from the 
 trees or'the flowers, or all the glory of the heav- 
 ens ; more than the body teaches, or the mind. 
 They are the most perfect images of God on the 
 earth. 
 
 And who was the greatest of these f 
 
 The greatest of these was Jesus. 
 
 Why was he the greatest? 
 
 Because he loved most. lie that loveth is 
 born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth 
 not, knoweth not God ; for God is love.
 
 180 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 THE SPIRIT. 
 
 LET us talk together now about spirit, the 
 Holy Spirit, as it is called, the Spirit of God. 
 I will ask, and you will answer. The answers you 
 will give are written down for you, and are not 
 your own ; but you can make them your own by 
 thinking of them seriously as you say them. 
 
 Will you tell me then, children, what the word 
 " spirit " means? 
 
 It means quick air, or living breath. 
 What, then, is GocVs Spirit ? 
 
 It is the breathing of God on the hearts of his 
 children. 
 
 Do you think that God breathes on the hearts 
 of his children as you breathe on your chilly 
 hands to warm them, or on a frosty icindow-pane 
 to make it cover itself over with ice-flowers ? 
 
 No : we mean only that nothing gives us so 
 good an idea of his Spirit, and of the way it moves, 
 as the air that we breathe jn and out. 
 
 Will you tell me why f 
 
 Because it is so gentle, yet so swift and strong. 
 It is everywhere, and we cannot see it : it is in 
 all bodies, and it gives life to all bodies ; yet it 
 cannot be caught. It bears up the globe we live 
 on ; yet it cannot be felt. We know not how it 
 comes and goes, nor do we know where it comes 
 from, and whither it is always going.
 
 TRUTH, 181 
 
 Wliat did Jesus say about the Spirit of God? 
 
 ** The wind bloweth where it listcth ; and thou 
 nearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell 
 whence it comcth, nor whither it goeth: so is 
 every man that is born of the Spirit." 
 - Has the Spirit of God always been working in 
 the hearts of his children? 
 
 It has. As soon as there was a man or a 
 woman or a little child able to feel it, there it 
 was waiting to be felt in the heart. 
 
 lias it been, given alike to all nations f 
 
 Yes. Just as the air wraps the whole world 
 about, and has, from the beginning, been breathed 
 in by all people on the surface of the globe ; so 
 this Spirit-air has bathed the hearts of men and 
 women all over the earth, and no souls could ever 
 have lived without it. 
 
 Is it given to all men and women, whoever they 
 may be? Is it given to the simple as well as to 
 the learned, to the foolish as well as to the icise, 
 to the vicious as wtU as to the virtuous, to the 
 wicked as well as to the good? 
 
 Yes: it is given to all alike, just as the air of 
 heaven is. Bad men may breathe it as well as 
 good men, if they will. 
 
 Why, then, are not all men and women goad? 
 
 Because they will not take into their hearts this 
 heavenly air. 
 
 Hut why will they not? Is it not with them? 
 Does it hot touch t/tetn ? Docs it not flow about 
 t/tcm /
 
 182 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Oh, yes ! but they do not think of it ; nor do 
 they know how good it would be for them. 
 
 They are bad, then, because their hearts are 
 narrow and close and foul with hates and un- 
 clean icishes ? Js that what you mean ? 
 
 Yes: they are soul-sick, precisely as people are 
 sick in body who breathe foul air in dark, low 
 chambers. If they would open the windows, 
 they would be glad. 
 
 What does God's Spirit do for his children? 
 
 It makes them active, cheerful, and fresh ; it 
 brightens the mind ; it warms the heart with the 
 love of what is pure, sweet, and kind ; it inspires 
 feelings of gratitude and trust, and stirs the long- 
 ing to be perfect. 
 
 Can you tell me what the worJcing of it is like ? 
 
 It is like the first warm day in spring, or a 
 perfect summer morning, when the sunshine and 
 the sweet air, and the voice of the birds, and the 
 odors from the ground, and the fragrance of the 
 flowers, fill us full of delight; when the heavens 
 and the earth brim over with gladness, and our 
 bosoms seem too small to hold all the love and 
 joy that crowd into them. 
 
 Does the Holy Spirit do as much for one as it 
 does for another? 
 
 It would do as much if it could. But the violet 
 cannot take as much sunshine and dew as the lily, 
 nor the lily as the rose-bush, nor the rose-bush 
 as the maple-tree. So God's children cannot all
 
 TRUTH. 183 
 
 
 
 breathe in the same amount of his Spiiit ; but all 
 can take as much as they need. 
 
 Tliere are many different gifts of tfie Spirit, 
 then ? 
 
 Yes : so we are taught in the Scripture. To 
 one it gives tenderness, to another strength ; to 
 some gentleness, to others courage ; to some quiet- 
 ness, to others activity ; to some lowliness, to oth- 
 ers heroism* ; to one it gives wisdom, to another 
 simplicity, fo another patience, to another meek- 
 ness ; to one it gives the power to avoid terapta 
 tion, to another the power to resist it. 
 
 There are, then, as many gifts as there are 
 graces ? 
 
 There are; but all good gifts are from the 
 Spirit, which makes our hearts bear flowers and 
 fruits as the sun and rain make the earth bring 
 forth grasses and corn. 
 
 What do we say of people who have breathed 
 in a great deal of this Holy Spirit ? 
 
 We say that they are inspired. 
 
 Can you mention the names of any inspired 
 persons ? 
 
 Moses, who gave the Ten Commandments; 
 David, who sung the songs which we call Psalms ; 
 Jesus, who preached the Sermon on the Mount; 
 Paul, who wrote the sweet chapters about char- 
 ity ; John, who said, "God is love," and, when he 
 was too old and weak to utter any tiling more, said, 
 "Little children, love one another." 
 
 That will do; but tell me, did none receive
 
 184 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 the Holy Spirit but those you read of in the 
 Bible ? 
 
 Oh, yes ! Many others have received it. Many 
 receive it now. Many living men and women 
 among ourselves are full of it. 
 
 How do you know that they are ? 
 
 By their love for what is true, just, and good ; 
 by their own great truth, justice, and goodness ; 
 and by their living to help the 'erring, the 
 suffering, the wronged, and the wicked. 
 
 Does the Holy Spirit come to little children ? 
 
 Yes : just as the air comes to daisies and cro- 
 cuses ; and it makes them sweet and loving as 
 little children. 
 
 What can you do to make the Spirit come to 
 your hearts, and work there ? 
 
 We can be simple, truthful, and obedient; we 
 can be diligent and faithful; we can love our 
 parents, our brothers and sisters, our schoolmates 
 and companions ; we can forbear to injure any ; 
 we can forgive those who have injured us; and, 
 while we live, we can try to do good in the 
 little world we live in.
 
 TRUTH. 185 
 
 JESUS THE TEACHER. 
 
 
 
 WE will make Jesus the subject of our lesson 
 to-day ; and as all that we know about 
 Jesus is written in the four Gospels, which most of 
 you have read, I shall ask you questions, and you 
 will give me a nswers. And, first, 
 
 I icant you to tell me who Jesus was. 
 
 He was a great teacher and saint, who lived 
 nearly two thousand years ago in what is now 
 called the Holy Land. He was the son of lowly 
 parents; but so wise, that he was called the Child 
 of the Spirit; and so good, that men took him to 
 be an angel from heaven. Millions worship him 
 now as if he was God himself. 
 
 Was he God ? . 
 
 No: we believe that he was a man as other 
 men are. He was poor, he had few friends, he 
 had much pain and sorrow, he was often lonely 
 and troubled and tempted ; but he was so pure 
 and lovely, BO much sweeter and holier than any 
 God they worshipped or knew of, that men said 
 he was not a man, he could not be a man ; and 
 they worshipped him. 
 
 Can you tell me how Jesus came to be so great 
 in f/ooJ/iess as he icas ? 
 
 We cannot. We cannot tell how we ourselves
 
 186 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION . 
 
 came to be what we are ; ranch less can we tell how 
 a wonderful person like Jesus came to be what he 
 was. But his heart was simple and pure ; and 
 the Holy Spirit can do any thing with a perfectly 
 pure heart. 
 
 You said that Jesus, was a great teacher. 
 What things did he teach about f 
 
 He taught about God and providence, the good 
 life, and the happiness of heaven. 
 
 Can you tell me what Jesus taught about God? 
 
 He taught that God was a Father who loves all 
 men as his children, and wishes to make them all 
 happy. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and 
 the good, and sends his rain on the just and the 
 unjust. 
 
 What did Jesus teach about providence f 
 
 He taught that God's care is over every thing ; 
 that nothing is neglected or forgotten ; that not 
 a sparrow foils to the ground unnoticed, and not a 
 flower dies before its hour. 
 
 What did he teach about men and women f 
 
 He taught that they are God's children, made in 
 the image of the heavenly Father; and that they 
 should try and be as much like him as they could. 
 
 What did Jesus teach about little children ? 
 
 Jesus loved little children : he took them in his 
 arms, and blessed them. He said that people 
 must become like little children if they wished 
 to enter into his kingdom. He said, too, that the 
 guarclian angels of little children were nearest to 
 God in the world of spirits, and could always 
 look on his face.
 
 TRUTH. 187 
 
 W7tat did Jesus teach about happiness ? 
 He taught that happiness did not consist in fine 
 clothes, or in delicate things to eat and drink, but 
 in' goodness. 
 
 Where does he teach this ? 
 He teaches it in the Beatitudes, or the prom- 
 ises of bliss. 
 
 Will you recite the Beatitudes f 
 What did Jesus teach about heaven ? 
 He taught that it is within us ; a state of mind 
 caused by love. Every sweet and pure heart, he 
 said, was already in heaven. We are in heaven 
 when we are good. 
 
 J3ut did he not teach that heaven is a place^ as 
 well as a state of mind? 
 
 Yes: he said that we were to make a heaven 
 about us, on the earth,_by loving our fellow- 
 creatures. 
 
 What did Jesus say was the first thing in 
 religion ? 
 
 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
 heart and soul and strength and mind. 
 What did he say was the second thing ? 
 Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 
 And how, according to Jesus, was one to show 
 his love of God? 
 
 By loving his neighbor. 
 What did Jesus mean by neighbor ? 
 He meant anybody who needs us, or is needed 
 by us. 
 
 Can you tell the story in which he says this? 
 It is the story of the GOOD SAMARITAN.
 
 188 A GUILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 JESUS THE SAINT. 
 
 You said that Jesus was a great saint. What 
 is a saint? 
 
 A saint is one who gives up his own will, and 
 lives to do the will of his heavenly Father. 
 
 How did Jesus show that he uxts a saint ? 
 
 By his meekness, his patience, his submission, 
 his willingness to do what he ought instead of 
 what he liked ; by his forgetfulness of himself 
 when others needed his help ; by his sweetness 
 when he was abused ; by his silence when he was 
 insulted. 
 
 Can you give me an example of the saintUness 
 of Jesus? 
 
 His silence before Pilate, when the Roman 
 governor tried to terrify him by his power. 
 
 Can you give another f 
 
 His patience when the soldiers put the reed 
 into his hand, and the crown of thorns on his 
 head ; when they struck him with their hard fists, 
 and spit upon him. 
 
 Can you give a third example '? 
 
 His forgiving the men who nailed him to the 
 cross, and the cruel people who mocked him, 
 making sport of his sufferings. Then he said, 
 " Father, forgive them : they know not what they 
 do!"
 
 TRUTH. 189 
 
 Can you remember yet one more? 
 
 His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane : 
 " Father, not my will, but thine, be done." 
 
 Was Jesus ever tempted to do wrong ? 
 
 Yes : he was tempted to use his power for un- 
 worthy ends, to make himself rich and great 
 and famous. 
 
 What did he do when he was tempted? 
 
 He put the temptation by as an evil thing, and 
 did what he knew was right. 
 
 How did Jesus spend his life ? 
 
 In doing good to his fellow-men, healing the 
 sick, teaching the simple, comforting the sad, and 
 making the wicked feel that they should be and 
 could be good. 
 
 Can we become like Jesus ? 
 
 We cannot become equal to him ; but we can 
 be like him. We cannot do what he did, nor 
 lead the kind of life that he did ; but we can have 
 the same spirit that he had. 
 
 Wiiat do you mean by having the same 
 spirit ? 
 
 We mean the same wishes and purposes. He 
 was patient, gentle, merciful : we can be so too. 
 He lived to do all the good he could : we can do 
 the same. He thought all the time how he might 
 do God's will : we may think how we can do it 
 also. 
 
 Witt his having done it make your doing it 
 easier ? 
 
 Yes, a great deal easier. As often as we think
 
 190 A CHILD'S BOOK OF PELIGION. 
 
 of him, we become stronger. When we are 
 tempted, the story of his victory makes us brave ; 
 when we are sad, the story of his cheerfulness 
 makes us ^bright ; when we are cold-hearted, the 
 story of his love makes us warm ; when we do 
 wrong, the story of his goodness makes us ashamed 
 and penitent. 
 
 What do you mean by calling Jesus your 
 Saviour ? 
 
 We mean that the thought of his great love- 
 liness makes us wish to be lovely, pure, and 
 sweet, and so saves us from being foolish and 
 wicked. 
 
 Should you not, then, be grateful for Jesus ? 
 
 Oh, yes! more than for anybody else, except 
 our father and mother : sometimes even more 
 than for them ; for he teaches us to love what is 
 right ; he makes it seem noble to love our fellow- 
 beings, and he makes it seem best of all to love 
 God. 
 
 What rule for a perfect life did Jesus give? 
 
 The Golden Rule. 
 
 Will you recite to me the Golden Rule f 
 
 Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. It 
 tells us to return good for evil. 
 
 Is there a Silver Rule ? and what is it ? 
 
 The Silver Rule bids us return good for good. 
 
 Is there an Iron Rule ? and what is it ? 
 
 The Iron Rule bids us return evil for evil. 
 
 Is there a Brazen Rule ? and what is it f 
 
 The Brazen Rule bids us return evil for good.
 
 TRUTH. 191 
 
 What does Jesus say about the Golden Hide ? 
 
 He says that they who obey it do all that can 
 be asked of them, even by God himself. 
 
 Can little children obey this rule f 
 
 Yes jfjust as well as men and women, or as an- 
 gels, can. They can return good for evil; they 
 can bless those that curse them ; they can pray 
 for those that abuse them ; they can be kind to 
 those that hate them. 
 
 Then little children may be perfect Christians f 
 
 Certainly : all that render good for evil are per- 
 fect Christians.
 
 192 A GUILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 WORSHIP. 
 
 CHILDREN QUESTION TEACHER. 
 
 \ 
 
 Will you tell us what worship is ? 
 
 Worship is worth-ship ; which means the pos- 
 session of worth, and also the service paid to 
 worth. All service paid to worth is worship. 
 Worship is paid to God as the worthiest Being. 
 
 Is all service paid to God, icorship ? 
 
 Yes. Worship is of many kinds. Thankful- 
 ness is worship ; praise is worship ; the wish to 
 be good is worship ; working for God is worship ; 
 doing his will is worship ; prayer is worship. 
 
 Does God need our worship f 
 
 Not for himself. God needs nothing that we 
 can do for him or give him. 
 
 Does our worship make him happier ? 
 
 Only as it makes us happier and better. Our 
 joy is his joy. Should not you think that the 
 Father of the world would be happier when his 
 children are joyous than when they are not? 
 
 Yes. But is worship a joyful thing f We 
 thought it was gloomy and painful. 
 
 Worship is the most joyful thing there is. It 
 is like the smiling of the earth in the sunshine. 
 It is like the fragrance of the flowers, and the 
 ripe fruit of the trees. Worship is the voice that 
 tells God how glad it makes us to think of him ;
 
 TRUTH. 193 
 
 how grateful we are for his goodness, and how 
 much we wish to be like him. 
 
 Is worship a duty ? 
 
 Yes : worship is a duty. It is a duty to thank 
 those who do us kindness, to think often of the 
 high and beautiful, and to imitate the best. 
 
 Wliat is the use .of worship? 
 
 I will answer your question by asking another. 
 What is the use of going out into the sunshine, 
 or drinking in the sweet summer air, or looking 
 upon a landscape from the hill-top ? What is the 
 use of reading beautiful poetry, or looking at fine 
 pictures? What is the use of telling mamma 
 that you love her, or thanking papa for his 
 New-Year presents ? of wishing you were like 
 some George Washington, or Florence Nightin- 
 gale ? of praising and caressing some one older 
 than yourself who seems to you perfection ? All 
 these acts help you to be more than you are ; and 
 worship does the same. 
 
 JBut, if we should not feel like worship, ought 
 we, then, to go through the form of it ? 
 
 If you never worship except when you feel like 
 it, you may never worship at all. We may learn 
 to feel like it by trying; and one way of learning 
 to feel like it is to do it. By doing kind actions 
 because they are right and proper, you may get 
 the kind feelings that belong to them ; by think- 
 
 13
 
 194 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 ing of goodness shown to you, and expressing 
 thanks for it, you may really feel the gratitude 
 you speak. It is the same with worship. If you 
 do not feel the goodness and love of God, you can 
 think of them till you do ; and by and by the 
 feeling of joy and gratitude will come. 
 
 People worship in church. Is it our duty to 
 go to church f 
 
 I think it is, even when you would rather 
 not ; when you have something pleasanter to do ; 
 when it is tiresome, and you cannot understand 
 the minister's sermon. You should form the 
 habit of going to church. If you do not see the 
 use of it now, you will presently, when you are 
 older. 
 
 .But, if it does us no good, ought we to go ? 
 
 You must make it do you good ; and, after all, 
 it may be doing you more good than 'you think. 
 It will do you good to be patient and still there ; 
 to sit quietly and listen, and take in as much as 
 you can. 
 
 But does God care whether I go to church, or 
 not? 
 
 God cares whether you are a docile, patient, 
 teachable child, or not. God likes to have you 
 love him, and think of him ; and, if going to 
 meeting helps you to do this, he cares whether or 
 not you go to meeting.
 
 TRUTH. . 195 
 
 But you must never forget what an old sage 
 said, that, "in worship, the presence of the mind 
 will make amends for the absence of the body ; 
 but the presence of the body will never make 
 amends for the absence of the mind." 
 
 Is going to meeting doing service to God ? 
 
 Not alone, or of itself; but it may help us to 
 do service to God by making us think of him.
 
 196 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 PRAYER. 
 CHILDREN QUESTION TEACHER. 
 
 We would Jcnoio something about prayer. 
 Witt you tell us what prayer is ? 
 
 Prayer is asking or begging for what we want. 
 All asking is prayer. When you ask father or 
 mother for any thing, you pray for it. When 
 you pray to God, you ask him for what you 
 want, and what he only can give. 
 
 Should we ask God for every thing we want ? 
 
 No ; for many things are given to you by your 
 parents, such as food, clothing, ornaments. 
 Some things you make, earn, or buy ; and some 
 things, like health, strength, beauty, are given you, 
 and are kept by your own care. You need not 
 pray for these things, for God has given them to 
 you already; or, if he has not given them to you, 
 it is not his fault that you do not have them. 
 
 What, then, should we pray God for, if ice 
 may not ask him for meat or clothes or toys or 
 dresses ? 
 
 You must ask God for what God alone can 
 give, such things as patience, a cheerful temper, 
 a quiet heart, a kind and forgiving disposition. 
 
 Witt he give us these if we ask for them ? 
 
 He certainly will if you ask for them as if you
 
 TRUTH. 197 
 
 really wanted them ; but you must ask in ear- 
 nest. He will give nothing you do not ask for 
 "with all your heart. 
 
 Must we ask in words f 
 
 Oh, no ! He does not care to hear you. Your 
 thought, your wish, your desire, will be enough. 
 
 But if God is so very good, and knoics wliat 
 we icant as well as we do before we tell him, why 
 should we pray to him at all? Why does he not 
 give us what we need at once ? 
 
 Because, until you feel yourself that you want 
 it, until you have a strong wish to have it, a 
 wish so strong that you cannot hold it in, the 
 gift would do you no good. You would neither 
 enjoy it, nor take it, but would neglect it, or throw 
 it away. You must be hungry before you will 
 eat. 
 
 But God does give a great many things to 
 people who never ask him for- them: does he 
 not? 
 
 No. lie gives nothing to people who do not 
 wish for it; arc not hungry for it. 
 
 But then do not tell him they icant bread, 
 clothes, houses, children, or a thousand things 
 tliey have. 
 
 Perhaps not in words; but they do in actions, 
 which are stronger than words. Theytoor&y and 
 to work is to pray with hands and head and
 
 198 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 heart. An old saying has it, that labor is prayer. 
 And so it is. The farmer prays for crops; the 
 student prays for knowledge; the merchant prays 
 for money : their whole working-life is prayer. 
 He prays best who prays, not with his lips, but 
 all over, with body and mind. 
 
 Does God really answer prayer ? 
 
 No doubt he does. The crops come; the 
 knowledge is given ; the wealth is gi-anted. He 
 that with all- his heart prays for goodness has 
 goodness given to him. All real prayer has real 
 answer. 
 
 Which does God value most, goodness, or 
 prayers for goodness ? 
 
 Goodness, of course. There is an old saying, 
 that one hour of justice is better than seventy 
 years of prayer. And Mahomet wrote, that he 
 who diligently sows the ground gains a greater 
 stock of religious merit than he could gain by 
 ten thousand idle petitions. 
 
 Then why not stop praying, and be satisfied 
 with being good f 
 
 Because earnest praying is one way, and one 
 of the best ways, of becoming good. You will 
 never become good unless you pray to become so. 
 
 Ought we to say our prayers night and morn- 
 ing? 
 
 If you can say a little prayer of your own
 
 TRUTH. 199 
 
 every night and morning, it will be well. No 
 matter how short and simple it is, if it is your 
 own. 
 
 J>ut what if we have no prayer of our oivn ? 
 
 You will have one if you think a moment of 
 God's goodness in giving you the sweet sleep of 
 evening and the new day. Think of God's good- 
 ness, and of what you ought to do and be in order 
 to please him, and that will be enough. One of 
 our greatest men, even when he was very old, 
 never laiu his head on his pillow without saying 
 over the childish verse, 
 
 "Now I lay me down to sleep, 
 
 I pray the Lord my soul to keep ; 
 
 And if, perchance, I ne'er should wake, 
 
 I pray the Lord my soul to take." 
 
 Why did the old man say such a very little 
 prayer ? 
 
 Because he was God's little child, and loved to 
 feel so.
 
 200 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 % DUTIES AND VIRTUES. 
 
 What is duty ? 
 
 Duty is what is due ; what we owe to ourselves 
 or to others. 
 
 What do you mean by duties to ypurselves ? 
 
 Duties to ourselves are what we owe to our- 
 selves as human beings, to our bodies, our 
 minds, and our hearts. They are set down in 
 " The Rules for the Good Life." 
 
 Let us recite a few of those rules. 
 
 [Here The Rules for the Good Life " may be 
 repeated either in alternate verses or in unison, 
 as many sentences at one time as the superin- 
 tendent may choose.] 
 
 What is the first duty you owe to yourselves ? 
 
 The duty of self-respect, to guard ourselves 
 against meanness, baseness, deceit, impurity, and 
 every thing that would dishonor us. 
 
 What is the second duty to yourselves ? 
 
 Self-distrust, to beware of conceit, pride, 
 arrogance, and the danger of making ourselves 
 appear more than we are. 
 
 Name another great duty. 
 
 TRUTHFULNESS. A Greek sage said, "There 
 are two ways to perfect virtue, to be truthful,
 
 TRUTH. 201 
 
 and to do no evil to*any creature." And it is 
 written, "The sacrifice of a thousand horses has 
 been put in the balance with one true word ; and 
 the one true word weighed down the thousand 
 horses." 
 
 Hfention another virtue. 
 
 MODESTY. "If we hear that one has spoken 
 ill of us, we should not be angry, but rather say, 
 'If he had known my other faults, he would not 
 have mentioned these.' " We should not speak 
 much of our actions or our dangers ; for, how- 
 ever interesting they may be to us, they cannot 
 be so interesting to others. 
 
 Give me yet another fine virtue. 
 
 HUMILITY. "Lowliness is the base of all the 
 virtues ; and he that goes the lowest builds the 
 safest." 
 
 " They also serve who only stand and wait." 
 
 Can you name still another? 
 
 CONTENTMENT. There is a proverb, " Better 
 a bare foot than none." And another proverb : 
 " Better a dish of herbs where love is than the 
 richest food and hatred therewith." 
 
 You may speak of one more. 
 
 PATIENCE. "We should have patience with 
 all things; but chiefly we should have patience 
 with ourselves," and for the reason that God is 
 patient. It is written in the Koran, "When a 
 good deed is done, the Angel of Life writes it 
 down with joy ten times. When an evil deed b 
 
 I
 
 202 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 done, the Angel of Life Says to the Angel of 
 Death, ' Wait seven hours before you set it 
 down : the man may repent, and ask forgive- 
 ness.' " 
 
 Which is best, seeming, or being ? 
 
 Being. The only sure way to pass for any 
 thing is to be something. "When we are doing 
 any thing that we feel sure ought to be done, we 
 should never shrink from being seen to do it : 
 for, if we are not acting rightly, we should shun 
 the action ; if we are, why should we fear to have 
 men know it ? " 
 
 A great teacher said, "At every meal, there are 
 two . guests to be fed, a body and a mind" 
 What did he mean? 
 
 He meant that we must not eat so much that 
 the mind is made stupid, but as much as will 
 keep the mind bright. 
 
 What is the best thing to have ? 
 
 " A handful of good life is worth a bushel of 
 learning." 
 
 What lasts longest f 
 
 " Only a sweet and virtuous soul, 
 
 Like seasoned timber, never gives ; 
 But, though the whole world turn to coal, 
 Then chiefly lives." 
 
 Do we owe any thing to others ? 
 
 Yes. What we owe to ourselves, we owe to
 
 TRUTH. 203 
 
 our neighbor. What we owe to our neighbor, 
 we* owe to the whole world. 
 
 Should we treat all people alike ? 
 
 We should be just to all, whether they be old 
 or young, rich or poor, pleasant or unpleasant, 
 friends or enemies ; for God is just to all. " We 
 should try to see our neighbor's case with his 
 eyes, and our own case with our neighbor's eyes. 
 We should remember that each one is as much 
 to himself as we are to ourselves." 
 
 How should we treat our friends ? 
 
 " We should live with our friends as if we 
 would keep them from ever being our enemies." 
 " It is better to be forsaken by a friend than to 
 forsake one." 
 
 How should we treat our enemies ? 
 
 "We should live with our enemies as if we 
 would compel them to be our friends." Jesus 
 said, " Love your enemies ; bless them that curse 
 you ; do good to them that hate you ; and pray 
 for them that abuse and persecute you." 
 
 How should we treat the foolish ? 
 
 " We should not be angry with the foolish ; for 
 they suffer more than the wise do, and the wise 
 have joys that they have not." 
 
 How should we treat the wicked? 
 
 Not with hate or scorn, but with pity ; not 
 with the pity that looks down on them, but with 
 tho pity that helps them up. 
 
 "When our companion ia doing wrong, we
 
 204 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 should tench him kindly, and show him his mis- 
 take. If we cannot do this, we should blame 
 ourselves." We should cherish the good in all 
 people, and be glad when we find it. "Every 
 one, taken at his best, is good for something." 
 
 Which does most good, violence, or gentle- 
 ness ? 
 
 Gentleness. Gentleness is always and every- 
 where good. Violence is sudden, passionate, and 
 soon passes away. It is a duty to speak gently 
 to all, to whatever class they belong. It is a 
 good rule never to speak when we are in a passion, 
 and never to speak to one who is in a passion. 
 
 What is the surest way to grieve our ene- 
 mies ? 
 
 To try and be as good as you can. 
 
 What is the sure way to win love f 
 
 To love others. " Let not him think to be 
 loved by any who loves none." They who would 
 be well spoken of must learn to speak well of 
 their fellows. 
 
 What is the best way to make people better ? 
 
 To believe that they can be made better. A 
 poet says, "Men would be better if we better 
 deemed of them : the worst way to improve the 
 world is to condemn it." 
 
 " At the last day the wicked will say to the 
 good, 'O ye pure^ ones! it is because you did
 
 TRUTH. 205 
 
 not teach us that we are shut out from the com- 
 pany of the blessed.' " 
 
 What is charity f 
 
 "Every good act is charity; giving water to 
 the thirsty is charity ; putting a wanderer in the 
 right path is charity ; removing thorns and stones 
 from the road is charity ; smiling in your broth- 
 er's face is charity. Our true wealth hereafter is 
 the good we do in this world. When one dies, 
 men ask what property he left behind him ; but 
 angels ask what kind deeds he sent before." 
 
 What is sin f 
 
 u Angry words and scornful looks are sins ; to 
 strike another, or vex him with words, is sin ; to 
 wish evil to any is a sin ; proud thoughts are 
 sins." The pride of goodness is itself a sin. 
 
 What is the best part of a good life ? 
 
 The little nameless, unremembered acts of 
 kindness and love. "He who has not caused the 
 least fear to a living creature will have nothing 
 to fear when he has left his body." 
 
 What is the best guide in life ? . . 
 
 Virtue. It is Milton who says, 
 " Virtue could see to do what Virtue would 
 
 By her own radiant light, though sun and moon 
 
 Were in the flat sea sunk." 
 
 Wluit is a good rule for a quiet heart ? 
 a Never to blend our pleasure or our pride 
 
 With sorrow of the meanest thing that lives."
 
 20G A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Is there more of evil, or more of good, in the 
 world ? 
 
 " There is some soul of goodness in things evil, 
 would men observingly distil it out." 
 
 " Sin is small and mean and barren : good only 
 is great and generous and fruitful." 
 
 "We must believe the best of every thing; 
 love all below, and worship all above." 
 Which is strongest, good, or evil ? 
 " Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again ; 
 
 The eternal years of God are hers : 
 But Error, wounded, writhes in pain, 
 And dies amid her worshippers." 
 
 Is good, or evil, nearest us ? 
 
 " A man's besf things are nearest him ; 
 Lie close about his feet." 
 
 " The charities that soothe and heal and bless 
 Are scattered at the feet of man like flowers." 
 
 Is goodness ever weaJc ? 
 
 "How far that little candle throws his beams ! 
 So shines a good deed in a naughty world." 
 
 " Every candle fills a mile with its ray." 
 
 Does evil ever escape f 
 
 Never. Justice has feet of wool, and fingers 
 of iron. 
 
 " The heavens are just, and of our pleasant vices 
 Make instruments to scourge us."
 
 TRUTH. 207 
 
 Is any thing useless f 
 
 " All are needed by each one : 
 
 Nothing is fair or good alone." 
 Which is of most importance, life, or death ? 
 Life : for " life is a thing of years ; death is a 
 thing of moments." 
 
 What is the use of trouble ? 
 
 " The good are better made by ill, 
 
 As odors crushed are sweeter still." 
 Difficulties are things that show us what we 
 are. 
 
 How should we feel when we fail or are dis- 
 appointed ? 
 
 We should not be discouraged, but remember, 
 that, if we choose the best life, habit will make 
 it pleasant. 
 
 How should we feel when others fail and dis- 
 appoint us f 
 
 We should not feel as if there was no more 
 goodness in the world. 
 "Angels are bright still, though the brightest 
 
 fell." 
 
 WJiat should we be afraid of? 
 We should be afraid of doing wrong; afraid 
 of missing the best life ; afraid of being less than 
 we might be. 
 
 Should we not fear the day of judgment ? 
 We should try to live so that we shall welcome 
 it. Every day is a day of judgment.
 
 208 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 HEAVEN. 
 
 What is heaven ? 
 
 Heaven is first a temper, and then a place. 
 
 What kind of temper ? 
 
 A temper of peace and good-will. "Blessed 
 are the pure in heart," said Jesus, " for theirs is 
 the kingdom of heaven." " Love is heaven, and 
 heaven is love." 
 
 JBut is not happiness heaven ? 
 
 Not always. Happiness, when it comes with 
 duty, gives us a taste of heaven ; but, if it docs 
 not come, we may be still in heaven, though not 
 in the light of joy. Forsaking duty, we find 
 what we took for heaven to be-none. 
 
 But may one be in heaven, and yet be un- 
 happy ? 
 
 No : all who are in heaven must be happy ; 
 but they must be happy because they are good. 
 
 Then the good are always in heaven ? 
 "He that hath light within his own clear breast 
 May sit in midnight, and enjoy bright day; 
 But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts 
 Benighted walks under the mid-day sun." 
 
 Where is heaven ? 
 
 Wherever the good heart is. 
 
 And is not heaven a place ? 
 
 The good heart makes its own place.
 
 TRUTH. 209 
 
 Must we die in order to go to heaven ? 
 
 No. Death does not keep us away from heaven ; 
 nor does death take us there. Heaven comes to 
 us : we do not go to it. A great many people 
 are in heaven long before they die. And only 
 they who are in heaven before they die find 
 themselves there afterward. To go to heaven, 
 we must die to selfishness. Love is heaven. 
 
 Is the way to heaven long ? 
 
 It is just as long as the way to goodness. It 
 costs more to do ill than to do well. 
 
 Wliat do you mean by the angels of heaven ? 
 
 Angels are ministers, or servants. All who do 
 us good are angels of good : all who bring heav- 
 enly things to us are angels of heaven. 
 
 Why are angels always painted with wings ? 
 
 Because wings mean power to rise above the 
 earth, to ascend and descend. Winged creatures 
 mount to the sky. 
 
 Why are they made to look shadowy ? 
 
 Because they may be either visible to the eye, 
 or invisible. They may have bodies like ours, or 
 not. 
 
 Are angels near us when we do not see them f 
 
 Yes : the poet Milton Says, 
 "Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth 
 Unseen, both when we wake and when we 
 s^eep." 
 
 WJiose fault is it that angels are not oflener seen ? 
 
 Our own. We do not choose to see them. 
 
 14
 
 210 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 We think that angels should always have wings, 
 and float in the air ; yet the people about us may 
 be angels to us, our mothers, our sisters, our 
 friends. 
 
 " Tis only when they spring to heaven that angels 
 Reveal themselves to us : they sit all day 
 Beside us, and lie down at night by us, 
 Who care not for their presence, muse or sleep ; 
 And all at once they leave us, and we know 
 them."
 
 TRUTH. 211 
 
 A CHILD'S CREED. 
 
 I BELIEVE that I am a child of God, my heav- 
 enly Father, who created me, who preserves 
 me, who loves me as his child. 
 
 I believe that Jesus was my heavenly Father's 
 best-beloved Son; and that I shall be well beloved, 
 as he was, if I become like him. 
 
 I believe that God, and all good angels, and all 
 good men and women, and all good children, are 
 helping me all the time to lead a good life. 
 
 I believe that my faults may be mended ; and 
 thatmysinsjf I repent of them heartily, and try to 
 be good, will be forgiven and forgotten. 
 
 I believe that I cannot be happy or good alone, 
 but only as others are happy and good. 
 
 I believe that we make a heaven in our homes 
 by our kindness and love. 
 
 I believe that I shall not die when my body 
 dies. 
 
 I believe that there will be a heaven hereafter 
 for all good children. 
 
 I believe that all children may at last become 
 good, and m:iy go to heaven, to be happy in God's 
 love forever.
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 
 
 THE POWER OF TRUST. 
 
 A HOLY painter walked up and down his studio, 
 stopping every now and then before his blank can- 
 vas, taking up his brushes, and laying them down again to 
 resume his walk. He was meditating the subject of a 
 picture, and earnestly wishing in his heart that Heaven 
 would give him one. At length, in the still morning, a 
 vision came before him of the Madonna, fairer than imagi- 
 nation could have pictured her ; and under the feet of the 
 Madonna was the head of Satan, looking as hideous as 
 the Virgin was heavenly. The artist felt that this was 
 the subject given him to paint. He took up his pallet 
 immediately, mixed his colors with trembling hand, sat 
 down before his easel, and began to paint. The hours 
 flew by, and the setting sun shone on him as he bent 
 lovingly over his task. At night, the lovely vision stood 
 before him in his dreams. The break of day found him 
 in his studio once more, impatient for the sunrise, that lie 
 might resume his sweet labor. Week after week the 
 work went on, increasing in beauty from hour to hour. 
 Faithful in every feature, line, and hue, the blessed fi^- 
 212
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 213 
 
 urc of the Virgin came out; and it only remained to add 
 the few last touches that were necessary to make it com- 
 plete. One day, near the completion of his labor, he felt 
 a chill creeping over him, and was aware of a gloomy 
 presence in the room. Looking up from his picture, he 
 saw the Adversary standing behind him, and looking ear 
 nestly over bis shoulder at his picture. He had come in 
 to beg the artist not to paint him so hideous as he ap- 
 peared in the vision, but to transfer to his dark face some 
 of the sweet expression he had given to the Virgin. In 
 return for this favor, Satan promised the artist any thing 
 he would ask for wealth, fame, honor, the praise of the 
 world if he would take but a line of grace, but a 
 shade of loveliness, but a gleam of light, from her counte- 
 nance, and give it to his. In reply, the pious artist seized 
 his pencil, and, in a moment of inspiration, dashed the 
 Fiend's portrait with a more frightful expression, and 
 touched the Virgin's with a more than celestial grace. 
 The Adversary vanished with a hateful cry. 
 
 The next day, he came again, but this time in another 
 mood. He cursed the artist ; he threatened ; he assured 
 him, that, if he did not comply with his wish, he would 
 torment him piteously; he would make him poor; he 
 would make him miserable ; he would cover him with 
 shame, and make him execrable in the eyes of all men. 
 Again the artist took up his pencil ; again the illumina- 
 tion came : in an instant, the Fiend was more hideous, the 
 Virgin more heavenly, than before. In a black, thick 
 smoke, the Evil One vanished, and left the artist alone. 
 
 And now the picture is finished ; it is set up in the 
 great cathedral : the whole town is there to see the mas- 
 ter-work, the fame wtereof had gone abroad through all 
 the region. Silent among the people stands the artist, 
 humble, and trembling with excitement. Suddenly there
 
 214 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 is a great noise, as of wings : all faces are turned upwards. 
 It is the Adversary, who comes swooping down from the 
 vast dome above their heads. He bears down on the 
 artist, seizes him by the hair of his head, bears him aloft 
 to the very height of the ceiling, holds him suspended 
 there an instant, and then lets him fall through the dizzy 
 distance upon the marble floor. There he lies, crushed, 
 bleeding, senseless. But, even as the horror-stricken 
 people gaze on him, the Virgin of his own picture reaches 
 out her hand from the canvas, and, by a touch, lifts him 
 up whole. The art he was faithful to saved him. 
 
 TO DO GOD'S WILL IS TO BEHOLD GOD'S FACE. 
 
 REPROBUS was by race a Canaanite, of a tribe cele- 
 brated for strength and fierceness. He was a moun- 
 taineer, huge in bulk, immense in stature, and terrible in 
 look. Tired of the tame life he led among the hills, and 
 despising the shepherd people among whom he lived, he 
 left his wilderness, resolved that he would find the greatest 
 prince in the world, and take service under him as a sol- 
 dier. The most famous king of that day was Maximus. 
 Report said that a greater than he did not reign on the 
 earth. To him Reprobus went ; and Maximus, beholding 
 his stature and strength, gladly took him into his service, 
 made him one of his select body-guard, and kept him 
 always at court near his person. Many times, Maximus 
 went to war with his enemies ; and, whenever he went, 
 Reprobus, the chief of his body-guard, gained great fame
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 215 
 
 by his deeds of valor. He was the envy of all the army, 
 and the favorite of the king. His nain j was a name of 
 terror in all the lands round about. 
 
 It chanced on a certain day, when the king was giving 
 a great feast in honor of a victory which had cost much 
 bloodshed, that his favorite minstrel recited a lay, in the 
 course of which the Devil was often mentioned ; and the 
 king, who was a Christian, made, each time the name was 
 spoken, the sign of the cross on his forehead. Reprobus 
 observed this with surprise ; and, when the feast was over, 
 he asked the king why he made that sign, and what it 
 meant The king, at first, gave no answer ; but at last, 
 when Reprobus insisted, and threatened to leave his ser- 
 vice if he refused, he told him, in confidence, that the 
 Devil, whose name was so often spoken, was his enemy, 
 and the sign of the cross was a charm to prevent his 
 doing him harm. Hearing this, Reprobus began to sus- 
 pect that Maximus was not the greatest king in the 
 world. If he was afraid of the Devil, the Devil must be 
 a greater lord than he ; and as he, Reprobus, was in 
 search of the mightiest king there was, he must go in 
 search of the Devil. So he left Maximus, and went out 
 to find his new master. 
 
 Which Why to go, he knew not ; for, though he found 
 himself very soon in his dominions, no person could tell 
 him where his Satanic Majesty held his court Finally, 
 after riding for many days, as he was passing through a 
 gloomy desert-place, he saw a great band of warriors in 
 black armor : and in the midst of them one figure, tall and 
 terrible, with black plume, and eyes full of dark fire, who 
 rode up to him, and cried fiercely, " Who art thou ? 
 and whither art thou going ? " Reprobus told him his 
 rtory ; and, when the grim knight heard him say that lie 
 wished to enter the service of the Devil, said, " You have
 
 21G A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 found him you seek, then : I am the Devil. If you will 
 enter my service, you shall be right welcome : 1 like such 
 tall fellows as you, and will give you work enougb." 
 
 Behold the giant now, duly enrolled in the Devil's reti- 
 nue ! There was work enough to do, to be sure ; and it 
 was well done. Reprobus was not behind the rest in his 
 zeal. Many a deed of blood he perpetrated ; many a 
 good man he ruined ; many a delicate woman he slew ; 
 many a sweet little child he dashed against the stones ; 
 many a house of charity he burned to the ground ; many 
 a caravan of pilgrims he put to the sword. He never 
 stopped at any outrage ; but, whatever he was bidden, he 
 pei-formcd. In the Devil's service he continued several 
 years ; for none was found on earth stronger than he. 
 
 But one day, as they rode on together, they came to a 
 crucifix, which some priests had set up by the wayside, 
 that travellers might be reminded, as they went, of their 
 redemption. The master of Reprobus saw it afar off, 
 and, before theyreached it, turned otf the road into the 
 forest, and struck again into the highway farther on. 
 Reprobus, much wondering at this, and failing to guess 
 what it might mean, ventured to ask his lord, Satan, why he 
 went so far out of his way at that particular spot. For 
 some time, he received no answer ; but, on his<insisting, the 
 Devil replied, u Did you not observe the crucifix by the 
 wayside V " " Certainly," said Reprobus; " but what had 
 that to do with it?'' "Every thing," said his master; 
 ' for that figure on the cross was the image of the Christ." 
 " But who was the Christ ? " again asked the curious sol- 
 dier : " anybody that you are afraid of?" The Devil was 
 obliged to tell him that he was the great King of the other 
 world, who would one day, he feared, put an end to his 
 own kingdom. " Say you so ? " said Reprobus. " Then 
 you are not the strongest king, after all ? I am very
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 217 
 
 
 
 sorry : you have treated me well ; but I must leave your 
 service, and find this great King whose name makes you 
 tremble." 
 
 So Reprobus left the service of the Devil, and went in 
 search o( the Christ. But the Christ was hard to find. 
 Ho journeyed far, and asked many questions. As it 
 chanced, he came, after much wandering, to a lonely 
 monastery, where lived many monks. They promised to 
 show him the way to Christ. They took ofF his heavy ar- 
 mor, and clothed him in a long black robe. They led 
 away his war-horse ; they broke his spear, and buried his 
 sword ; they shaved the top of his head, and changed his 
 heathen name of Reprobus the wicked for the Chris! ian 
 name, Christopher the Christ-bearer. All this he did not 
 much like ; but he liked still less the work they gave him to 
 do. Praying was not so much to his taste as fighting. The 
 huge giant, with his brawny limbs, found himself sadly out 
 of place. The long prayers were very tiresome, and he 
 could not see the use of them. The monks tried to teach 
 him the mysteries of doctrine; but he could not un- 
 derstand a word they said, for he had small brains. See- 
 ing that he could neither pray nor study, that he was 
 little more than a great bulk of body, they decided to 
 put him to such uses as his immense power made him 
 suitable for. 
 
 Now, hard by the monastery, there ran a strong stream 
 of water, difficult to cross at any time, and, in the winter 
 season, almost impossible. There was no bridge ; no ferry- 
 boat, of course. By the side of this little river, Chris- 
 topher built for himself a log-hut, and there lived alone, 
 waiting for travellers to come seeking passage to the 
 other side. Thesc^ he took on his broad shoulders, and 
 carried across. For a long time, he labored in this way 
 as ferryman, summer and winter, day and night, in
 
 218 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 
 
 storm and calm, bearing all who came. One black night 
 in winter, Christopher lay in his hut, sheltered from the 
 weather. It was bitterly cold : the wind roared furiously 
 among the pine-trees ; the clouds drove across the sky ; 
 the river, swollen by the rains, was a torrent. As the 
 ferryman lay wrapped up in his skins, there came to his 
 ear a sound like the cry of a child. He raised his head 
 to listen : it came again more distinctly than before. He 
 went out, but could see nothing but the dark waves of the 
 river, could hear nothing but the roar of the winds and 
 waves. Thinking that his hearing had deceived him, ho 
 went back to his hut, and tried to sleep ; but again the 
 cry came, as of a child in distress. He went forth once 
 more, down to the water's edge ; and there, on the steep 
 bank, sat a little child, crying piteously, and praying to 
 be carried over the stream. Christopher took the little 
 one in his arms, carried him into the hut, lighted his fire, 
 spread a warm bear-skin before it, and tried to make the 
 child sleep till the morning. But the child would not be 
 satisfied ; its cries became louder ; it would be carried 
 across the stream at once. So Christopher, seeing there 
 was nothing else to do, took his stall', made of the trunk of 
 a pine-tree, placed the little boy securely on his shoulder, 
 and began the passage. The water was deep ; the cur- 
 rent was strong ; the waves were high. He had scarcely 
 made half the distance, when the burden he carried 
 seemed so heavy, that he could scarcely stand under it. 
 His limbs trembled; his knees bent; the sweat poured in 
 streams from his body : still he staggered on, saying no 
 word, till with prodigious effort, strained, and out of 
 breath, he reached the shore. 
 
 " Who art thou ? " he said to the child, as, lifting him 
 from bis shoulders, he placed him tenderly on the grass. 
 But the child was no more a child : his form rose and
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 219 
 
 dilated ; his face put on a wonderful expression ; his hair 
 was like a glory ; his eyes were like stars. It was the 
 Christ who stood there, and said to the wondering giant, 
 " I am the King thou seekest. Thou art, indeed, Christo- 
 pher : thy service is accepted." 
 
 THE LOVING EYE SEES BEAUTY EVERY- 
 WHERE. 
 
 TESUS drew near to a village with his companions. 
 " As they entered the gate, behold ! a crowd of people 
 were gathered; and, from their gestures, it appeared that 
 they were interested in something that was lying on the 
 stones of the street Making his way through the press, 
 Jesus approached to see what it was ; and, lo ! dead on the 
 stones, there lay a dog, who had been hunted down and 
 killed. He had been mad. The people were making 
 remarks on the poor creature, and, in various ways, were 
 giving vent to their disgust " How horrible he is to look 
 at ! " said one : " see the foam on his lips, the blood on his 
 tongue and in his eyes ! " " And his skin," said another ; 
 " how rough and torn it is ! and how dusty too ! " " But 
 look at his ears, all slit and ragged ! See how his tongue 
 is bitten, and what an ugly gash he has on his head ! " 
 " Ugh ! " grunted a fourth ; " but look at the flies on him ! 
 how they swarm ! how they buzz ! See them fight for 
 that great sore place on bis side !" " He is dead and 
 rotting ! ** " Pah ! how he smells ! " While they talked 
 thus, coming and going, holding their breath, and express' 
 ing all kinds of disgust, Jesus looked on pityingly. Sud- 
 denly he turned to the people, and said, But see how 
 pearly white his teeth are ! " They looked at him, and 
 said, ' Surely thou art the Christ ; for none but he would 
 find beauty in any thing so hideous 1 "
 
 220 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 "HE PRAYETH BEST WHO LOVETH BEST." 
 
 A MONK was praying in bis cell. The spirit of prayer 
 ** was strong in him ; his heart was full, his feeling was 
 earnest, his thoughts were quick ; he felt himself near to 
 God ; tears of gratitude filled his eyes ; his voice trem- 
 bled with emotion ; his face was glowing. He had never 
 had such rapture in his prayer before : earth and all 
 earthW things were forgotten ; men and all human beings 
 passed from his mind ; heaven was in his soul ; and, as he 
 prayed, heaven opened on his vision. The angels seemed 
 all around him. In full view, palpable to sight, stood 
 the Madonna, looking down on him with tender eyes. 
 Absorbed in contemplation of the beautiful presence, 
 and happy as an angel himself, he hardly heard the bell 
 that told him he was wanted for some duty at the door. 
 It rang again. Could he leave the blessed place fur the 
 cold air outside ? Could he leave his blissful prayer, and 
 go out on some common work of charity, probably to 
 hear some old woman's story, or help some beggar in his 
 rags ? There was the bright presence of the Virgin full 
 before him : she might vanish at any moment ; could he 
 go while she staid ? In a moment, these thoughts passed 
 through his mind : but he remembered his vow ; and, before 
 the bell sounded a third time, he was at the door, answer- 
 ing the call. It was a miserable beggar with a long tale 
 of distress, and a prayer for charity. lie listened pa- 
 tiently to the tale ; he relieved the want : then he went 
 back to his cell, expecting to find all that glory departed. 
 To his surprise, there stood the Virgin just as before, 
 only, if thtt were possible, more beautiful in face and ex- 
 pression. Her lips opened ; and a voice said to him, 
 u Hadst thou not gone, I had not remained."
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 221 
 
 NEVER DESPISE SMALL THINGS. 
 
 TESUS was walking with his disciples along the high- 
 *^ road towards a village now not very distant. They were 
 talking, as they loved to talk, about the Master, and about 
 themselves, and about the new kingdom that was to be 
 set up soon, in which they were to have the first places 
 and th chief honors. They carried their heads high ; 
 for they were thinking of crowns and sceptres and 
 thrones and body-guards, palaces to live in, fine clothes 
 to wear, and delicacies to eat. As they talked on, full of 
 hope, and warm with excitement, Jesus fell behind a few 
 steps, and became absorbed in his own thoughts. 
 
 Suddenly, one of the company struck with his foot some 
 hard object that lay hidden in the dust of the road. It 
 was an old, rusty, worn horse-shoe, that had been cast by 
 the steed of some Roman officer. There was a moment's 
 pause ; but, seeing what it was, the high-minded travel- 
 lers spurned it with their feet, as not being worth picking 
 up, and, resuming their conversation, went proudly on. 
 Jesus noticed their action, marked where the horse-shoe 
 lay, and, on coming to the place, quietly stooped, picked 
 it up, and put it into the fold of his robe. 
 
 They staid but a few moments in the village ; but 
 Jesus took occasion to stop, unobserved by his companions, 
 at a stall in the fruit-market, where he exchanged his 
 old iron shoe for some cherries^ These he put in his 
 large sleeve, and rejoined his friends. They left the vil- 
 lage, and were out on the high-road again. The day lx>- 
 came sultry ; the soil was parched ; there was no water to 
 be seen ; there was no tree to afford them shade. After 
 a time, they became silent, and doggedly s'.umblcd on,
 
 222 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 their eyes bent vacantly on the ground. Jesus walked a 
 few steps in advance of the rest. Presently, without 
 looking round or saying a word, he dropped a cherry. 
 It was quickly pounced upon by Peter, though it made 
 his tired back ache sorely to stoop so low. In a minute 
 or two, another cherry dropped, and down went Petei 
 again : and so on, every few minutes, Jesus let fall a cherry. 
 only one at a time ; and, each time a cherry fell, some 
 tall form was bent to pick it up. When Jesus thought he 
 had made his companions stoop often enough, he turned, 
 and gave them the remainder of the fruit. Most^rateful 
 it was to their thirsty mouths. " But where did you get 
 them ? " asked Peter. Then Jesus reminded them of the 
 old horse-shoe, told them what he had done with it, and 
 said, " If you had not been too proud to stoop once 
 when you were strong, you would not have been obliged 
 to stoop so many times when you were weak." 
 
 CHARITY TO THE SINNING. 
 
 A GREAT many years ago, in a monastery of nuns, 
 ^*- there lived a young girl named Beatrice. She was 
 very beautiful ; but she was no more beautiful than she 
 was good. She prayed to the Holy Virgin constantly, 
 and was very much devoted to all pious duties in her 
 service. So great was her piety, that, though young, she 
 became stewardess, or housekeeper, of the convent ; had 
 charge of the money ; purchased the needful supplies ; and 
 gave alms at the door. For some time, she filled thia 
 place with equal wisdom and generosity, making herself
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 223 
 
 much beloved by all in the house, and by all out of it 
 who knew her. Her life was very quiet: she knew 
 nothing about the ways or the pleasures of the world. 
 Her friends were all inside the convent : she never went 
 abroad ; and it was only now and then that she saw the 
 face of a man. 
 
 One day there came to the monastery, on business, a 
 young man, who saw the fair girl, loved her, and wanted 
 her to go away with him. He told her all about the gay 
 world she had never seen ; the cities, the monuments, the 
 rich parks and gardens, the crowded streets, the bright 
 shop?, the fairs, the games, the merry frolics, the dances, 
 till her fancy was full of dreams. But she knew her 
 duty, and loved her work ; and, though she listened to the 
 pleasant stories, she refused to go away with the young 
 man. Still the young man came and begged ; still she 
 listened and refused lor a long time. At length, she could 
 resist no longer the prayers of her lover, and made up 
 her mind to leave the convent. She came to the altar 
 of the Holy Virgin, her protectress, and said, " Dear 
 heavenly Mother, I have served you as well as I could ull 
 this time : now I am going into the world ; and, as I can- 
 not serve you longer, I leave with you my keys." Hav- 
 ing said this, she placed her keys on the altar, and went 
 away with her friend. 
 
 She saw the world ; she went into its gayeties ; she 
 shared its pleasures ; and, alas ! she learned its vices too, 
 and stained herself with its sins. Her friend left her : 
 lonely, poor, forsaken, she wandered about, sinking from 
 one degree of misery to another, till her heart was bro- 
 ken, and she was ready to die. Not knowing where to 
 go for bread, and not daring to return to the convent she 
 hail left, she sup|K>rted herself as well as she could by 
 beggary and vice. At last, after years spent in this way,
 
 224 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 she said to herself, " I will go to my convent, and beg a 
 place there to die in. They will not remember me ; for 
 my beauty is gone, my looks are altered, and they will 
 surely pity one who is so poor and wretched." 
 
 She went to the gate, and knocked. The same old 
 portress answered the call who used to wait there when 
 she was stewardess. She did not recognize the pale beg- 
 gar in the faded rags. " Do you remember Beatrice," 
 asked the poor girl,*" who was once mistress of this house ? " 
 " Perfectly," repjied the portress. " She is still here ; 
 she is still the mistress of the house. A wise, honest, and 
 holy woman is Dame Beatrice : she has lived in the convent 
 from her childhood, and has never had dispute with man 
 or woman." Beatrice, hearing these words, could hardly 
 trust her ears, and was turning to go away, feeling that 
 the woman was laughing at her, when the Holy Mother 
 herself appeared, looking as she might have looked, and, 
 calling her in, said to her, " My daughter, these fifteen 
 years that you have been absent, I have taken your place, 
 and done your duty. You left the keys with me : take 
 them again ; resume your office. No one knows of your 
 absence or your shame." 
 
 MORE WAYS THAN ONE OF DOING GOOD. 
 
 T 1 1HERE were two brothers, twins, and only children 
 I of their parents. They grew up together as chil- 
 dren, and were so much alike in looks and manners and 
 childish ways, that only their parents knew them apart. 
 As they grew older, they still looked alike ; but their
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 225 
 
 ta?tes and talents were very different. One was fond of 
 study, and particularly of the study of medicine ; the 
 other was fond of music, and spent all his time in learn- 
 ing to play on the violin. Both were kind, tender- 
 hearted, and good ; both seemed happiest when they 
 were doing something for poor and sad people. In course 
 of time, the first became a great physician. The fame of 
 his knowledge and skill was spread all over 'he great 
 city where he lived, and all over the country beyond. 
 Rich carriages stood before his door, and poor people 
 knocked at it ; and, while the rich gave him money, the 
 poor gave him thanks, which he valued as much as the 
 money. Many were the cures that he wrought ; many 
 the people he raised up, as it were, from the dead ; 
 many the sufferers whom he relieved ; many the parents 
 that he restored to their children, and the children that 
 he restored to their parents. Noble lords and ladies sent 
 him splendid gifts ; kings bestowed favor on him. His 
 uame everywhere was spoken with blessings. 
 
 All this time his twin-brother was poor, going about 
 from town to town with his violin, playing in the public 
 squares to the people, playing to sick people in hospitals, 
 or amusing children out of school. He was happy and 
 pay and innocent, very tender-hearted and gentle. Men 
 called him idler and vagabond ; only a foolish fiddler, 
 who was of no use in the world: but many ]>oor people 
 and sick people were made happy by his music ; many 
 dying people were cheered by the sound of his violin ; 
 and many sad people, for whom the great doctor could do 
 nothing at all, were comforted, and blessed the sweet 
 musician and his melodies. 
 
 One day, the greaj physician was called to attend a 
 poor man who was dying in a distant part of the city. 
 The house was low, dark, and comfortless; it was ill 
 15
 
 226 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 furnished ; the fire had nearly gone out on the hearth. 
 No friends were there ; but alone on his hard bed, sitting 
 up on it, pale and weak, with a violin in his hand, was a 
 poor worn-out man. The doctor came in, and knew his 
 brother. They met at last, after many years. The poor 
 player, worn out by poverty, and by travelling from place 
 to place, needed his brother's skill ; the great doctor, sad 
 from seeing so much suffering and death, and from thinking 
 how little he could do to help his fellow-men, needed his 
 brother's music. So they helped each other. The doctor 
 gave strength to the player's body ; the player comforted 
 the doctor's heart. And which did the other the most 
 good, or which did the most good in the world, nobody 
 will ever be able to tell. 
 
 CHARITY THE TRUE SAINTLINESS. 
 
 A CERTAIN man had passed a long life in a desert 
 cave, far away from men and women and little 
 children. He spent his time in fasting and praying, and 
 performing severe tasks which did no good to anybody. 
 His study was to make himself as miserable as he could 
 in this world, in order that he might be happy in the next 
 world. He wanted to be a great saint. Men thought he 
 was, and the fame of his saintliness was abroad over all 
 the land. He liked this very much, and was proud 
 enough because he was so much more holy than other 
 people. But he was anxious that God should think him 
 a great saint too, and holier than anybody else in the 
 world. One day, when he was now an old man, he felt
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 227 
 
 00 much puffed up with the notion of his holiness, that he 
 asked tht^Lord what saint there was anywhere greater 
 than himself, that he might go and find him out, and learn 
 of him how to be more saintly. 
 
 All the time he was asking this, he felt quite sure that 
 no greater saint existed on the face of the earth than he 
 was ; and he was certain that the Lord would tell him so. 
 In fact, he was seeking for a compliment. But a compli- 
 ment he did not get On the contrary, the Lord, who 
 did not at all approve of his conceit of his own goodness, 
 told him, that, if he would excel all others in virtue and 
 sanctity, he must do his best to resemble a certain poor 
 minstrel, who went singing from door to door in the 
 nearest village. 
 
 The holy man was in great astonishment at hearing 
 such words ; but he arose, took up his staff, and went forth 
 in haste to find the minstrel. He found him singing in 
 the market-place, and, greeting him, said very earnestly, 
 " Tell me, I pray, my brother, what good works thou hast 
 done in thy lifetime, and by what prayers and penances 
 thou hast made thyself acceptable to God." The man, 
 amazed at being so addressed, hung his head in shame, as 
 he replied, " I pray thee, good father, do not mock me. 
 
 1 have done no good works: and as to praying, dear me ! 
 poor sinner that I am, I do not know how; I am not 
 worthy to do it. I do nothing but go about from door to 
 door, amusing the people with my flute." 
 
 But the holy man would not be put off in this way. 
 The Lord had told him that this man was a greater saint 
 than he was, and he knew of but one kind of saint, a 
 man who passed his days in prayer and fasting. So he 
 insisted, saying, " Nay ; but some good works thou must 
 have done in the course of thy life to raise tbee so high in 
 the Lord's regard." Still the minstrel replied, No : I
 
 22c8 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 can remember no good thing that T ever did. I have 
 never deserved any praise or honor from the Lord, or 
 from my fellow-men.'' "But hast thou always led this 
 idle, vagabond life ? Hast thou always followed the 
 worthless trade thou fbllowcst now ? Thou art a beggar, 
 to be sure ^that is something. But men of your trade 
 may become beggars by their vice and their riotous liv- 
 ing : then their poverty is 110 merit. Did you beggar 
 yourself so ? " " Oh, no ! " said the man. " I will tell you 
 how I became poor. I saw, one day, long ago, a woman 
 running about from place to place, distracted with fear 
 and grief. Her husband and children had been sold into 
 slavery to pay a debt. She had no home, no money ; and 
 she knew not where to go. She was very beautiful too, 
 which made the matter worse ; for wicked men were in 
 pursuit of her. I protected her from the villains, and 
 took the poor sad creature home to my cottage, out of 
 harm's way. I had laid by some money which I did not 
 need, about enough to ransom her husband and children. 
 This I gave to her ibr that purpose : they were redeemed 
 from slavery ; and now they all live together in their old 
 home in the city. This explains my poverty ; for, at 
 present, the only way I have to earn my bread is this : I 
 go from door to door with my flute, and the people give 
 me what they can. This is the only thing I can recol- 
 lect about myself : and there is no great merit in that ; 
 for any honest man would have done the same thing. 
 Besides, it happened so long ago, that I have almost for- 
 gotten it." 
 
 The holy man, hearing the minstrel's story, burst into 
 tears, and said, " In all my long life, I have never done any 
 thing so good as this deed of thine which thou hast almost 
 forgotten, and dost not think worth speaking of; yet thou 
 art nothing but a poor piper, and men call me a saint."
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 229 
 
 SHALL WE EVER TIRE OF HEAVEN? 
 
 A PIOUS monk, who had tried all his life to live so as 
 \. to be worthy of heaven, had the horrible thought 
 cross his mind, that heaven might at last be as weari- 
 some as earth was. He was tired of every thing about 
 him, even of things that were sweet and beautiful. He 
 was tired of his food and drink ; he was tired of duties ; 
 he was tired of getting up in the morning, and going to 
 rest at night ; he was tired of seeing the sun rise and set ; 
 he was tired of the grass and the flowers and the trees 
 and the running brooks ; he was tired of the forms and 
 faces of his fellow-men. All he saw and heard and knew 
 of had ceased to give him pleasure. He was charmed for 
 a little while, and soon the charm ceased. Might it not 
 be the same in heaven ? Might he not become just as 
 tired of hearing the songs of the angels as he had become 
 of hearing the songs of his fellow-men ? Would not the 
 celestial landscape lose its charm at last V Would the 
 sunshine on the plains of light seem as beautiful to him 
 when he bad lived in it a hundred years ? If it would 
 not, if heaven was at length to be as stupid as the earth 
 was, what was the use, he thought, of wishing so much to 
 go there ? 
 
 Thinking thus sadly, he walked one evening, just after 
 sunset, into a deep forest which was not far from the 
 monastery where he lived. Seating himself on a rnossj 
 stone, he was soon lost in musing, and forgot, in what 
 place he was. Suddenly, from the branch of a tree di- 
 rectly over his head, a nightingale began to sing. Ho 
 listened to the sweet, sad song, forgetting every thing, 
 his cares, his duties, his sorrows, even his own tormenting
 
 230 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 t 
 thoughts. His mind was still ; his very heart was silent 
 
 as he listened. He closed his eyes, and gave himself 
 wholly up to the delicious notes. The song was a short 
 one, and the bird kept singing it over and over and over 
 again, just the same notes all the time : but, each time 
 he sang it, it seemed sweeter than it did the time before ; 
 and he found himself expecting the strain as eagerly, when 
 it had been sung a thousand times, as if he had never 
 heard it at all. He sat thus, listening and longing, for 
 the space, it seemed to him, of an hour ; then, remember- 
 ing his duties at the evening service in the monastery, he 
 started, heaved a sigh, and bent his steps homeward. 
 
 As he drew near, things did not look as they did when 
 he saw them last. The young trees had grown large and 
 tall ; the garden had run to waste ; the brook was almost 
 dry ; the fences looked old, and, in some places, were 
 broken down ; the orchard-wall was dilapidated ; there 
 were no fowls or domestic animals about. He approached 
 the gate : it was off the hinges. Near it stood a very old 
 man, whom he thought he remembered to have seen be- 
 fore, but who did not seem to know him at all. " Who 
 are you ? " said he to the monk, as he approached. " I 
 am Brother Benedict : don't you know Brother Bene- 
 dict ? " " Brother Benedict is dead long since," said the 
 old man : " at least, we suppose he is dead. He went 
 away one evening, after sundown ; and we have never 
 seen or heard of him since." " But I am Brother Bene- 
 dict," said the monk. " I went away this very evening, 
 after sundown, about an hour ago ; and now I am come 
 back for evening prayer." " We said the evening prayer 
 without you," answered the old monk ; " and many even- 
 ing prayers and morning prayers we have said since that 
 time ; for it must be thirty years ago. We have all grown 
 old. I was one of the younger brothers, and you see how
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 231 
 
 old I am. Some ot us arc dead and gone (you may see 
 tbeir graves over yonder in the meadow), and some are 
 very aged and weak ; we can do very little work out of 
 doors : you see how all things have gone to decay. But 
 now tell me where you have been all these years. Have 
 you been travelling in foreign lands ? Have you been 
 to Jerusalem and the Holy Sepulchre ? " 
 
 Then Benedict told him where he had been, and what he 
 had been doing. He, too, had grown very old ; but he did 
 not know it : for the nightingale's song bad made him loso 
 all sense of time and change, of hunger and thirst, of cold 
 and heat, summer and winter, sunshine and shower, day 
 and night. He had listened a generation, and thought it 
 only an hour. He never feared again that he should tire 
 of the joys of heaven. 
 
 THE INDIAN BOY AND THE FIRE. 
 
 ONCE upon a time, the lightning from heaven fell 
 upon a tree standing in the old primeval forest, and 
 kindled it so that it flamed on high. And it happened 
 that a young hunter, who had lost his path in that wilder- 
 ness, beheld the gleam of the flames from a distance ; and, 
 forcing his way through the thicket, he llung himself down 
 in rapture before the blazing tree. 
 
 " O divine light and warmth !" he exclaimed, stretch- 
 ing forth his anus, " O blessed, O heaven-descended 
 Fire 1 let me thank thee ; let me adore thec. 
 
 " Giver oTa new existence, quickening through every 
 pulse, how Just, how cold, how dark, have I dwelt without
 
 232 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 thee ! Restorer of my life, remain ever near me, and, 
 through thy benign and celestial influence, send love and 
 joy to illuminate my soul." 
 
 And the Fire answered, and said to him, " It is true 
 that my birth is from heaven ; but I am now, through 
 mingling with earthly elements, subdued to earthly in- 
 fluences: therefore beware how thou choose me for thy 
 friend, without having first studied my twofold nature. O 
 youth ! take heed, lest what appears to thee now a bless- 
 ing may be turned at some future time to fiery pain and 
 death." And the youth replied, " No, oh, no ! thou 
 blessed Fire : this could never be. Am I, then, so sense- 
 less, so inconstant, so thankless ? Oh, believe it not ! Let 
 me stay near thee ; let me be thy priest to watch and 
 tend thee truly. Ofttimes in my wild wintry life, when 
 the chill darkness encompassed me and the ice-blast 
 lifted my hair, have I dreamed of the soft summer breath, 
 of the sunshine that should light up the world within 
 me and the world around me. But still that time came 
 not. It seemed .ever far, far off; and I had perished ut- 
 terly before the light and the warmth had reached me, 
 had it not been for thee." 
 
 Thus the youth poured forth his soul ; and the Fire 
 answered him in murmured tones, while her beams, with 
 a softer radiance, played over his cheek and brow : " Be 
 it so, then : yet do thou watch me constantly, and minis- 
 ter to me carefully ; neglect me not ; leave me not to my- 
 self, lest the light and warmth in which thou so delightest 
 fail thee suddenly, and there be no redress. And, oh, watch 
 thyself also ! Beware" lest thou too ardently stir up my 
 impatient, fiery being ! beware lest thou heap too much 
 fuel upon me ! once more, beware, lest, instead of life and 
 love and joy, I bring thee only death and bufhing pain ! " 
 And the youth passionately vowed to keep her behest ;
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 233 
 
 and, in the beginning, all went well. How often, for hours 
 together, would ho lie gazing, entranced, toward the radi- 
 ant, beneficent Fire, basking in her warmth, and throw- 
 ing, now a k-afy spray, now a fragment of dry wood, anon 
 a handful of odorous gums as incense, upon the flame, 
 which, gracefully curling and waving upwards, quivering 
 and sparkling, seemed to whisper in return divine oracles! 
 or he fancied he beheld, while gazing into the glowing 
 depths, marvellous shapes, fiery visions dancing and glan- 
 cing along. Then he would sing to her songs full of love ; 
 and she, responding to the song she had herself inspired, 
 sometimes replied in softest whispers, so loving and so 
 low, that even the jealous, listening woods could not over- 
 hear. At other times she would shoot up suddenly in rap- 
 turous splendor like a pillar of light, and reveal to him 
 all the wonders and the beauties which lay around him, 
 hitherto veiled from his sight. 
 
 But at length, as he became accustomed to the glory 
 and the warmth, and nothing more was left for the Fire 
 to bestow, or her light to reveal, then he began to weary, 
 and to dream again of the morning, and to long for the 
 sunbeams. And it was to him as if the Fire stood between 
 him and the sun's light ; and he reproached her there- 
 for, and became moody and ungrateful : and the Fire was 
 no longer the same, but unquiet and changeful, sometimes 
 flickering unsteadily, sometimes throwing out a lurid 
 glare. And when the youth, forgetful of his ministry, 
 led the flame unfed and unsustained, so that ofttimes she 
 drooped and waned, and crept in dying gleams along the 
 damp ground, his heart would fail him with i sadden re- 
 morse, and he would cast on the fuel with such a rough 
 and lavish hand, that the indignant Fire hissed thereat, 
 and burst forth in a smoky, sullen gleam, then died away 
 again. Then the youth, half sorrowful, half impatient,
 
 234 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 would remember how bright, how glowing, how dazzling, 
 was the flame in those former happy days when it played 
 over his chilled and wearied limbs, and shed its warmth 
 upon his brow ; and he desired eagerly to recall that once- 
 inspiring glow. And he stirred up the embers violently 
 till they burned him ; and then he grew angry ; and then 
 again he wearied of all the watching and the care which 
 the subtle, celestial, tameless element required at his 
 hand : and at length, one day, in a sullen mood, ho 
 snatched up a pitcher of water from the fountain, and 
 poured it hastily on the yet living flame. 
 
 For one moment, it arose, blazing, towards heaven, shed 
 a last gleam upon the pale brow of the youth, and then 
 sank down in darkness, extinguished forever. 
 
 From Mrs. Jameson's Commonplace Book. 
 
 POWER OF THE DIVINE CHILD. 
 
 IT is recorded of Jesus in certain very old books, that, 
 when he was an infant, he was taken by his parents 
 down into Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod, 
 who feared lest he should grow up to be a powerful 
 enemy. It was a long and tiresome journey through 
 solitudes and over barren places infested by wild beasts. 
 " His father was an old man, and his mother was a delicate 
 woman. They were too poor to hire an escort, or even 
 to pay a servant to take care of the child. Their donkey 
 was not strong enough to carry much luggage or food in 
 addition to the burden of the mother and babe ; so that 
 they must expect to be often hungry, and almost always
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 235 
 
 in danger. At this time, says the old story, all things wait- 
 ed on the loving child, and were ready to serve him; all 
 nature was kind ; the very beasts were friendly ; the hot 
 days became shorter, and the still, cool nights became 
 longer ; and a troop of invisible angels waited on the 
 little company in their flight, to protect them. It chanced 
 that one day, in the midst of the heat, they came to a 
 cavern, whose wide mouth invited them to enter. The 
 mother, with her child, dismounted from the donkey ; the 
 beast was turned loose ; and the travellers went into the 
 cave. They had penetrated, however, a very little way, 
 when a terrible hissing came to their ears ; and, in the 
 distance, they saw what seemed to be huge balls of red 
 fire. The cavern was the home of a brood of serpents. 
 Their vast coils rose and fell like waves of the sea ; their 
 scales glistened like steel plates, and rustled like armor; 
 on their crests rose plumes of horrid hair, and from their 
 mouths darted and quivered arrowy tongues. There 
 seemed to be legions of them ; and they looked as if they 
 swarmed up from the flaming centre of the earth. 
 
 Joseph and Man' were sore afraid, and would gladly 
 have run away : but terror kept them still ; and, if it had 
 not, the serpents would have moved faster than they, and 
 would soon have overtaken them. The dragons for 
 such they were made a horrid sound on seeing the trav- 
 ellers enter the cavern, and would have devoured them 
 instantly. Jesus, says the old story, had been asleep in 
 his mother's arms; but waking at the moment, and open- 
 ing his great mysterious eyes, he looked steadily at the 
 monsters. That child's look they could not bear ; their 
 beads sank to the ground; their firsts fell; their eyes 
 rlosfd : slowly they crawled back into the dark ; and 
 the travellers had no more fear. 
 
 In the unfrequented parts of the journey, where the
 
 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 way was crooked, and hard to find, or where the dangei-s 
 were especially great, a strange escort, it is said closed 
 about the feeble company to guard and guide them. 
 Lions and panthers i'rom the wilderness, wolves and 
 jackals, gambolled in front of them, or gravely marched 
 behind. Harmless animals, too, joined the procession, 
 the wild asses and goats from the rocks, with their udders 
 full of milk. They allowed him to ride on their backs; and 
 many a weary mile they made pleasant with their awk- 
 ward, kindly ways. This did not last always; for some- 
 times the travellers were alone in the wide wilderness, 
 alone with the white sand, and the short, dry grass, 
 and the rocks, and the terrible sun, which pierced them 
 with its beams like a spear. The shade of a small tree 
 was a blessing they could not be enough thankful for ; 
 and they were very few. 
 
 When they had been out many days, and no rain had 
 fallen, no cloud had shaded the sun, Mary, one hot day 
 towards noon, saw a tree in the distance. " Let us go 
 there quickly," she cried to Joseph, u and rest a while in 
 the shade of it ! " They made haste to the palm-tree, and 
 stopped. The mother and child alighted, and sat down at 
 the foot of it. She was very tired, and her lips were 
 parched. As she turned her eyes upward, she saw its 
 branches, heavy with fruit ; and she sighed, " Oh that 
 I might have some of the fruit that is hanging there 
 above my head ! " Joseph replied, " 1 wonder that you 
 can say that, when you see how high the branches are 
 from the ground. I am more anxious to get water ; for 
 our flasks are empty, and there is no fountain near : we 
 may perish from thirst." On this, the child Jesus, lying 
 on the bosom of fiis mother, smiled sweetly, and looked up 
 at the tree, as if he would say, " Good tree, why do you 
 not let down your branches, and drop your fruit into my
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 237 
 
 mother's mouth ? " The tender, pleading look drew the 
 tree towards the child ; the branches came lovingly down ; 
 and the dates, fresh and sweet, lay in heaps before the 
 little company. They ate, and were satisfied. The moth- 
 er blessed the sweet child, whose love made even the palm- 
 tree return love to it. The tree was not content to give 
 its fruit only ; for when it had raised itself again, and stood 
 tall and straight as it had been before, it sent forth from 
 its roots the most delicious spring of cool, sparkling water. 
 Then their hearts were glad indeed. They bathed their 
 hands and faces in the bubbling stream ; they quenched 
 their thirst ; they gave drink to their faithful beast ; they 
 filled their Hasks ; they sat long, listening to the gentle 
 soothing song of the fountain, which made music in the 
 air. Then they thanked God, and prepared to go on 
 their way. As they left the place, an angel came, broke 
 a twig from the tree, and carried it up to heaven to 
 bloom in paradise. 
 
 But their way was not yet wholly free from dangers. 
 There were waste places to be passed over, which were 
 said to be infested by robbers. As they drew near to 
 one of these, Joseph and Mary said, " We will travel over 
 it by night : then we shall not be seen." But, lo ! midway 
 they came suddenly on a company of robbers asleep by 
 the roadside. Two of them, wakened by the sound of their 
 animal, started up. Their names were Titus and Du- 
 machus. Titus said to Dumachus, Let us not disturb 
 our comrades, nor let us molest these travellers. Do 
 allow them to pass quietly on." 
 
 But I )iiiii.i<-hu> said, " No : they may be rich. Besides, 
 if one of our companions should happen to stir, and see 
 what we were alxiut, and tell the rest, we should lost- our 
 lives as well as our Iwoty." " Nay," replied Titus : " they 
 are sound asleep ; do not bo afraid of their waking. Hero
 
 238 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 are forty gold-pieces ; take them : let the travellers go, 
 and say no more about it." So Dumachus took the 
 money, and the travellers passed on. Thirty years 
 after, Jesus hung on the cross with two thieves, one on 
 each hand. One of them was full of blasphemy ; but the 
 other turned his dying eyes to Jesus, and said, " Lord, 
 remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." 
 Jesus looked on him, and saw Titus, the same kind 
 robber who had saved them in the desert. His heart was 
 touched, and he said, " Yes : I will remember thee. This 
 day thou shall be with me in paradise." 
 
 Yet again, as they journeyed, they were in danger 
 of falling into the hands of robbers. A large troop was 
 riding a short distance in advance of them, moving 
 slowly, because they were loaded with plunder taken 
 from a caravan they had just attacked. As the robber- 
 band marched on, suddenly they seemed to hear be- 
 hind them a great noise, as of horsemen armed, scouring 
 the plain. There were the ringing of weapons, the rattle 
 of bridles, the clatter of hoofs, the notes of the trumpet 
 sounding a charge, and the confused murmur of many 
 steeds and men. The robbers said apart, one to another, 
 " It is the king with his army : we must fly ! " And fly 
 they did immediately, leaving the booty, and all their 
 prisoners to shift for themselves as they could. They 
 were loosening one another's bonds, and picking out the 
 goods that belonged to them, when Joseph and Mary and 
 the little child appeared. " Where," they exclaimed in 
 great wonder to Joseph, " where is the great king, 
 whose host we heard, and whose coming has frightened 
 the robbers away, and delivered as ? " 
 
 " The Divine Child is the King," said Joseph : " I know 
 of no other. 
 
 All things work together for good to them that love 
 God.
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 239 
 
 THE DIVINE CHILD AT PLAY. 
 
 THE old story-tellers who relate these wonderful things 
 about Jesus did not mean to tell simply wonderful 
 things, but meant to tell sweet things, that showed a 
 lovely disposition in the little child. They liked to think 
 of him at his play with other children of the village. 
 They saw no reason why, because he was so good, he 
 should be sober and grave ; why he should not laugh and 
 sing, and be merry : quite the other way. It seemed to 
 them natural that he should be even merrier than other 
 children, because he was so good. Why not V Should 
 not a pure heart be happy ? Should not a loving heart 
 be joyous ? Should not a simple, trusting heart be full 
 of song ? Jesus, when a child, they said, sported like a 
 child. Sometimes they imagined him as amusing him- 
 self in his father's workshop, busy with hammer and saw, 
 making tables or chairs, or nailing pieces of wood together 
 in the form of a cross ; but more often they thought of 
 him as the centre of a merry group of little people busy 
 by the bank of a stream, or in the garden, making fig- 
 ures of clay. On one occasion, they tell that he fash- 
 ioned, along with the rest, a great number of sparrows 
 from the soft mud of a brook. When they were finished, 
 the boys placed them on a fence, all in a row, and said 
 among themselves, ' What shall we do with them now 
 that they are made ? " One cried, " Let us stand off at 
 a distance, and throw stones at them ; and he that hits 
 the greatest number shall be our eliief " Another ex- 
 claimed, No, no ! let us not do that; let us leave them 
 where are, and see how long they will sit on the fence." 
 A third thought it would be a good idea lor each to carry
 
 240 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 his bird home, and keep it in a safe place. WLeu all had 
 spoken, and no plan could be agreed on, Jesus said, 
 " Why should we make things, and then destroy them V 
 Suppose we make them fly away, and enjoy themselves 
 in the air." The boys broke out intOjlaughter at the 
 idea of mud-sparrows with wings. But Jesus breathed 
 on them, and away they flew out of sight. The old 
 story goes on to say, that the children were afraid of their 
 wonderful companion because he had such power. They 
 should have loved him because he had such goodness. 
 He would give all the happiness he could. He was un- 
 willing that even a mud-sparrow should be nothing more 
 than a mud-sparrow. The loving heart that would give 
 life and happiness to the smallest creatures often gives 
 the power to do it. A tender sympathy will sometimes 
 make the dying live. 
 
 THE DIVINE CHILD WITH HIS COMPANIONS. 
 
 THE story of the mud-sparrows shoVs how kind the 
 heavenly Child was to inanimate things. He was a 
 giver of life and joy. He would bless every thing his 
 Father had made ; and he would make nothing himself, 
 except to bless it. If he was so noble towards his play- 
 things, how noble must he not have been towards his 
 playmates ! 
 
 One of the neighbors had a little boy about the age of 
 Jesus, whose name was Judas. It was the same Judas, 
 who, as a man, joined the company of Jesus' friends, and 
 afterward betrayed him. He was a bad boy always.
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 241 
 
 His temper was so violent, that none liked to play with 
 him ; and it was a common saying all through the village, 
 *hat Judas had a devil inside of him. His favorite trick 
 was to bite all who came near him. No punishment 
 would correct him of this bad habit. His parents de- 
 spaired of his mending. The neighbors were afraid of 
 him, and kept their children out of his way. One day it 
 chanced, that, as Jesus and his little friends were at pi ly 
 together, this Judas appeared. His mother had sent 
 him out, thinking that the influence of Jesus, whose 
 sweetness was favorable over the neighborhood, might be 
 wholesome for him, and perhaps cure his terrible temper. 
 As he came into the circle, a dead silence fell upon the 
 merry-makers. The laughter ceased. The lads one by 
 one crept away, and Jesus was left alone. The sight of 
 him, as he stood still, made Judas more violent than ever: 
 he was beside himself with rage. He uttered a fearful 
 cry, and, rushing on Jesus, tried to bite him ; but a strange 
 power kept him away. Again and again lie tried, gnash- 
 ing his teeth, and foaming at his mouth ; but still he did 
 not succeed. Jesus stood, pale and quiet, looking at him, 
 with his great blue eyes shining through their tears of 
 pity, and seeming to look into his very heart. Failing at 
 last to strike him with his teeth, Judas put on a cunning 
 smile ; and creeping close to the calm, beautiful boy, ho 
 dealt him a severe blow in the side. The tears of pity 
 in the great blue eyes changed to tears of pain ; a little 
 cry escaped from the sweet lips ; but, in an instant, the 
 noble boy's arms were thrown round the neck of the fu- 
 rious lad, and a tender voice was murmuring in his ear 
 words of forgiveness. On the instant, Satan went out of 
 Judas for that time, and for many days. He became a 
 good liny, and followed Jesus as a disciple, till avarice 
 and ambition seized upon him, and Satan once more en- 
 16
 
 242 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 tered into him. This Judas was Judas the betrayer; 
 and the spear that pierced the side of Jesus on the cross 
 entered at the same spot where the boy Judas struck. 
 
 Jesus was always kind to his playmates. It is related 
 in these quaint old books, that once, on a beautiful sum- 
 mer's day,- he was making merry with his companions in 
 a lovely grove just outside of the village. They were 
 playing king, and Jesus was king. They had made a 
 throne of soft green turf, heaped up with wild-flowers, 
 and placed Jesus upon it. On his head he wore a crown 
 of palm-leaves. In his hand he held a palm-branch. A 
 chain of white lilies was round his neck. His bright hair 
 flowed over his shoulders in thick golden curls. The 
 little boys and girls pretended to be subjects of the beau- 
 tiful boy. They marched before him, blowing their little 
 trumpets of reeds. They exercised before him as sol- 
 diers. They brought requests to him, bending their sun- 
 ny heads and their knees. 
 
 Whoever passed that way, whether man, woman, or 
 child, must stop, and pay homage to the child-monarch. 
 If they did not wish to come, if they were tired, or in haste, 
 a dozen little hands laid hold on them, and dragged them 
 gayly up to the foot of the mimic throne ; and, when once 
 there, no one was unwilling to salute the lovely boy with 
 the noble face and the great eyes of heavenly blue. 
 They had played in this way a long time, when there 
 came along some men, bearing a sick boy on a bier. He 
 was very pale and faint, and looked as if he would die in 
 a moment. The children greeted the funeral-procession 
 gravt-ly, and said to the men, " You must stop : you can- 
 not go farther till you have saluted our king." The 
 men were annoyed at being brought to a halt in this way, 
 when they were in great haste to carry the sick boy home 
 to his mother ; but the children insisted that they should
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 243 
 
 not go on till they had saluted their king. The bearers 
 protested that they must go on ; that the lad might die 
 before he could be seen by a physician : they had not a 
 moment to lose : and, even if the case were less urgent 
 
 C> 
 
 than it was, they could not stay for sport. Still the chil- 
 dren would not give way ; come they must, and do hom- 
 age to their king. So they came, and set down the bier 
 before Jesus, complaining to him of the rudeness of the 
 children. 
 
 Jesus, seeing the little pale face, asked who the lad 
 was, and what had happened to him. lie had been bit- 
 ten by a serpent, they said, and poisoned. " Was it far 
 from here ? " asked the boy-king. " No ; but a lew rods 
 away," they replied. " Let us go to the place ; and bring 
 the sick boy too." There was nothing to be said: so the 
 bearers led the way back to the spot they came from, 
 followed by the young king and his courtiers. Soon they 
 came to a cave. Jesus walked boldly in, and shortly re- 
 appeared with what do you think, in his hand ? A long 
 snake, which he grasped firmly by the neck. Approaching 
 the sick boy, who lay quite still, with closed eyes, and 
 frame already stiffening, he put the snake's head to the 
 wound, and bade him suck out the poison he had instilled. 
 Thi- reptile did so: the child slowly opened his eyes; the 
 color came to his cheeks ; he moved ; he rose up ; he 
 looked gratefully into the face of his deliverer. The ser- 
 pent lay dead at the foot of the bier.
 
 244 A GUILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 EVILS QUICKLY KILLED IN TUB SEED. 
 
 IN the hoary times of old, a host of men quitted their 
 dwelling-places, and wandered down to the land 
 through which the River Nile ilows. They rejoiced at the 
 hight of the magnificent river, and built huts on its 
 banks. Soon after, the terrible monster called the croc- 
 odile came from the floods, destroying both man and 
 beast in its horrid jaws. Then the people cried with a 
 loud voice to their god Osiris to free tlitm from the 
 monster. And Osiris answered by the mouth of the 
 wise priests, saying, " Is it not enough that the deity 
 gave you strength and reason ? He who implores for 
 help, without using his own power, will call in vain." 
 
 Then they seized swords and staves, and besieged the 
 monster in his marshy abode. They erected walls and 
 dikes ; and, in a few days, they completed works, which, 
 before, they dreamed not of their power to do. So they 
 became conscious of that hidden power, by which, in 
 later times, the mighty pyramids and obelisks were 
 erected ; and they invented many tools, and became 
 acquainted with arts which they did not know before. 
 
 For, by the combat against hostile powers, the dormant 
 abilities of man are roused. 
 
 However, the people were in want of proper weapons 
 fully to vanquish the scaly monster of the flood. They 
 were only able to repel its attacks for a short time, and 
 were content therewith. 
 
 By degrees, the zeal to defend themselves grew faint 
 The monsters increased and multiplied, and their fury 
 became more and more terrible. Then the foolish and
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 245 
 
 degenerating people resolved to worship the crocodile aa 
 a god. Voluntarily, they offered sacrifices : the monster 
 became more powerful than ever; but the people were 
 sunk in cowardice and stupor. 
 
 The bow which is forever on the stretch will break at 
 last, and the revenge will reach the tyrant. Osiris had 
 compassion on the miserable people, and encouraged 
 them to new exertions by the mouth of the wise priest 
 Then the banks of the river echoed with the shouts of 
 the warriors, and the waters became red with the blood 
 of the slain. The strength of the combatants began to 
 fail : then the priest and the distressed people called 
 to Osiris for help, and the deity listened in mercy to 
 their cry. 
 
 A little animal, the ichneumon, appeared on the banks 
 of the Nile. 
 
 " Behold," exclaimed the priest, " Osiris sends help ! " 
 
 " How ! dost thou mock us ? " cried the people. Then 
 the priest answered, and said, " Wait for the issue, and 
 confide in the supreme power. By the hand of the 
 deity, great things may be brought to pass by trifling 
 means." 
 
 The number of the terrible monsters decreased visibly. 
 The people beheld with admiration how the little animal 
 was searching diligently for the eggs and the young of the 
 crocodile. Thus it destroyed, in a short time, the lives 
 of hundreds of those formidable tyrants of the Nile, and 
 released the land of its plague, a thing that so many- 
 heads an 1 hands had not been able to accomplish. 
 
 " See ! " said the wise priest : " if you wi>h to extin- 
 guish an evil, attack its germs and roots. Then a 
 trille may do what, afterwards, the united efforts of 
 juuny will be unable to bring to pass."
 
 246 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 THE BEST USE FOB A GIFT. 
 
 A COUNTRYMAN brought from town five of the 
 finest peaches that were to be had. His children 
 had never seen such before : therefore they were highly 
 delighted to see the beautiful fruit, with its red cheeks 
 and delicate bloom. The father divided them among 
 his four 0073, and gave one to their mother. In the 
 evening, when the children were going into the little 
 bedroom, he asked them, " Well, how did you like the 
 nice peaches ? " 
 
 " Very much indeed, dear father," said the eldest 
 boy. " It is a delicious fruit, of so luscious and delicate 
 a flavor ! I have taken care of the stone, and mean to 
 grow a tree." 
 
 " Well done ! " answered the father. " It is the duty 
 of a countryman to be economical, and to think of the 
 future." 
 
 " I ate mine up directly," exclaimed the youngest, 
 " and threw the stone away ; and mother gave me half 
 of hers. Oh, how sweet it was ! how it melts in one's 
 mouth ! " 
 
 * Well," said the father, " you have not done very 
 wisely, but, at all events, like a child. You have still 
 time enough in life to become prudent" 
 
 Then the second son began, " I picked up the stone 
 which my little brother threw away, and opened it. 
 There was a kernel inside as sweet as an almond ; but 1 
 sold my own peach, and received so much money for it, 
 that I may buy a dozen when I go to town." 
 
 The father shook hU head, and said, " That is cleverlj
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 247 
 
 done, bat not like a child. Heaven preserve thee from 
 becoming a trader ! " 
 
 " And you, Edmund ? " asked the father. 
 
 Edmund answered frankly, " I took my peach to the 
 son of our neighbor, sick George, who has the fever. - He 
 would not take it : so I pat it down on his bed, and went 
 away." 
 
 Well," said the father, " who has made the best use 
 of his peach ? " Then all the boys exclaimed, ' Brother 
 Edmund ! " Edmund was silent, and his mother em- 
 braced him with tears in her eyes. 
 
 THE INVISIBLE KING. 
 
 IN a distant country in the East, there lived a little 
 tribe in idolatry and superstition. It came to pass 
 that they quarrelled about the succession, and agreed, at 
 last, to choose a stranger to govern them. 
 
 They met a man of the bouse of Israel, of tlie name 
 of Abiah, and chose him for their king. It was about 
 the time that Shalmaneser had destroyed the house 
 of Israel, and scattered the Israelites throughout the 
 world. - 
 
 Abiah, who was a pious man, was greatly grieved that 
 he should reign over an idolatrous nation ; and, when 
 they refused to leave their idols, be was very wroth. 
 But the Spirit of the Lord spake to him, Thinkcst thou 
 I cannot destroy their idols ? And y.-t I suffer the san 
 to shine upon them. Go, and do thou- likewise."
 
 248 A GUILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Then Abiah suffered them, and reigned wisely ; for he 
 thought, " Perhaps my son may be successful." When 
 the hour came that he should die, he said to the people, 
 " Behold, I shall die, and my son will be your king. 
 You have not yet seen his face ; but ye shall know his 
 government by the fruits thereof. Follow him : he will 
 lead you wisely." 
 
 The people promised to do so : and, when Abiah was 
 dead, they obeyed the unknown sovereign, and pros- 
 pered greatly ; for his doings were like those of a father, 
 and the commands that issued from his gates were full 
 of wisdom, justice, and kindness. Like the beams of 
 the sun, the favor of the unknown monarch was spread 
 abroad over all the inhabitants of the land ; and, wher- 
 ever there was want, the king's help was sure to come. 
 Then they all marvelled, and said, " We see him not : 
 how can he see us ? " For he lived concealed in his 
 house, and no man had beheld his face. 
 
 The people longed, therefore, the more to see and to 
 bless him ; and they said, " We have our gods before our 
 eyes, and can see and handle them : why may we not 
 see the face of the king, who- is more to us than a 
 father ? " 
 
 Others made images of him, according to their own 
 imaginings ; and each man said of his own, " Behold, 
 this is he : he must be like unto this ! " 
 
 At last, their desire became very great ; and the people 
 assembled before the gates of the palace, and implored 
 with one voice, " Oh, let our lord, the king, suffer us to 
 behold his face ! " 
 
 Thereupon the high gates were opened, and the king 
 came forth, clothed in simple raiment, and said, " Be- 
 hold, I am your king ! " 
 
 Then the people blessed him, and shouted for joy ;
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 249 
 
 but, when they looked fixedly at him, they were as- 
 tonished, and cried, " We know thy face!" For he had, 
 often walked among them, but they had not known him, 
 thinking him to be a servant or a stranger. 
 
 Then the king beckoned with his hand ; and, when si- 
 lence prevailed, he lifted up his voice, and said, " Now 
 you see that I am a man like you. Think ye that these 
 hands and feet, these eyes and lips, which are mortal and 
 perishable, have reigned over you ? Not so. That 
 which has guided, blessed, and gladdened you through 
 me. ye cannot see ; neither can I see it. 
 
 " Can you see wisdom and kindness and justice ? They 
 were near to you when I walked, unrecognized, among 
 you. Now you see me ; but you do not see them. Then 
 judge ye what is in my earthly form. Can the visible 
 create the invisible? And that which is in me also is 
 not mine, but His who made me your king." 
 
 Thus spoke this excellent prince ; and the people re- 
 turned to their homes, blessing and thanking him. And 
 they broke in pieces the pictures and images which they 
 had made of him. Soon after, they also broke their 
 idols, and believed in Him who is invisible.
 
 250 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 A PARABLE OF CONSCIENCE. 
 
 IN a village on the Rhine, a schoolmaster was one day 
 teaching in his school: and the sons and daughters of 
 the villagers sat around, listening with pleasure ; for his 
 teaching was healthful and kmdly. He was speaking of 
 the good and bad conscience, and of the still voice of the 
 heart. After he had finished speaking, he asked his pu- 
 pils, " Who among you is able to tell me a parable on 
 this matter ? " 
 
 One of the boys stood forth, and said, " I think I can 
 tell a parable ; but I do not know whether it be right." 
 
 " Speak in your own words," answered the master. 
 And the boy began : " I compare the calmness of a good 
 conscience, and the disquiet of an evil one, to two paths 
 on which I walked once. When the enemy passed 
 through our village, the soldiers carried off by force my 
 dear father and our horse. When my father did not 
 come back, my mother and all of us wept and mourned 
 bitterly, and she sent me to the town to inquire for him. 
 I went : but, late at night, I came back sorrowfully ; 
 for I had not found my father. It was a dark night in 
 autumn. The wind roared and howled in the oaks and 
 firs, and between the rocks ; the night-ravens and owls 
 were shrieking and hooting ; and I thought in my soul 
 how we had lost my father, and of the misery of my 
 mother when she should see me return alone. 
 
 " A strange terror seized me in the dreary night, 
 and each trembling leaf terrified me. Then I thought 
 to myself, ' Such must be the feelings of a man's heart 
 who has a bad conscience.' "
 
 LEGENDS OF VIRTUE. 251 
 
 " My children," said the master, " would you like to 
 walk in the darkness of night, seeking in vain for your 
 dear father, and hearing nought but the roar of the 
 storm and the screams of the beasts of prey ? " 
 
 " Oh, no ! " exclaimed all the children, shuddering. 
 
 Then the boy resumed his tale, and said, " Another 
 time, I went the same way with my sister. We had been 
 fetching many nice things from town for a feast, which 
 father was secretly preparing for mother, to surprise 
 her the next day. It was late when we returned ; 
 but it was in spring : the sky was bright and clear ; and 
 all was so calm, that we could hear the gentle murmur 
 of the rivulet by the way, and on all sides nightin- 
 gales were singing. I was walking hand in hand with 
 my sister; but we were so delighted, that we hardly 
 liked to speak. Then our good father came to meet us. 
 Now I thought again to myself, ' Such must be the state 
 of a man who has done much good.' " 
 
 When the boy had finished his tale, the master looked 
 kindly at the children, and they said earnestly, "Yea: 
 we will become good men."
 
 A CHRISTMAS SERVICE. 
 
 i. 
 
 CAROL. 
 
 2. 
 
 SCRIPTURE LESSON.- 
 
 JOHX i. 1-17. LUKE i. 68, &c. ; xi. 4-15. 
 
 IT was the calm and silent night : 
 Seven hundred years and fifty-three 
 Had Rome been growing up to might, 
 And now was queen of land and sea. 
 
 No sound was heard of clashing wars; 
 Peace brooded o'er the hushed domain ; 
 
 Apollo, Pallas, Jove, and Mars 
 Held undisturbed their ancient reign 
 In .the solemn midnight, 
 
 O * 
 
 Centuries ago. 
 
 252
 
 A CHRIST-MAS SERVICE. 253 
 
 'Twas in the calm and silent night : 
 
 The senator of haughty Rome, 
 Impatient, urged his chariot's flight, 
 From lordly revel rolling home ; 
 Triumphant arches, gleaming, swell 
 
 His breast with thoughts of boundless sway. 
 What recked the Roman, what befell 
 
 A paltry province far away, 
 In the solemn midnight, 
 Centuries ago ? 
 
 Within 1 that province far away 
 
 Went plodding home a weary boor : 
 A streak of light before him lay, 
 
 Fallen, through a half-shut stable-door, 
 Across his path. He passed ; for nought 
 
 Told what was going on within : 
 How keen the stars, his only thought ! 
 
 The air how calm and cold and thin ! 
 In the solemn midnight, 
 Centuries ago. 
 
 Oh strange indifference ! low and high 
 
 Drowsed over common joys and cares : 
 The earth was still, but knew not why ; 
 
 The world was listening, unawares. 
 How calm a moment may precede 
 
 One that shall thrill the world forever ! 
 To that still moment none would heed ; 
 
 Man's doom was linked, no more to sever, 
 In the solemn midnight, 
 Centuries ago.
 
 254 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 It is the calm and solemn night : 
 
 A thousand bells ring out, and throw 
 Their joyous peals abroad, and smite 
 
 The darkness, charmed and holy now. 
 The night that erst no name had worn, 
 
 To it a happy name was given ; 
 For in that stable lay, new-born, 
 
 The peaceful Prince of earth and heaven, 
 In the solemn midnight, 
 Centuries ago ! 
 
 Alfred Dommett. 
 4- 
 
 HYMN OR SONG. 
 
 
 
 5- 
 
 LESSONS OR ADDRESS. 
 
 6. 
 
 FESTIVITIES. 
 
 **?* 7 ' 
 CHRISTMAS CAROL. 
 
 8. 
 
 BENEDICTION.
 
 THE OLD YEAR. 
 
 i. 
 
 H ' YMN. 
 
 2. 
 
 SCRIPTURE WESSON. 
 
 SERVICE-BOOK, p. 96. 1 THESS. chap. T. 
 
 RING out, wild bells, to the wild sky, 
 The flying cloud, the frosty light : 
 The year is dying in the night; 
 King out, wild bells, and let him die. 
 
 Ring out the old, ring in the new ; 
 King, happy bells, across the snow : 
 The year is going, let him go ; 
 
 Ring out the false, ring in the tnie. 
 
 US
 
 256 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Ring out the grief that saps the mind 
 For those that here we see no more ; 
 Ring out the feud of rich and poor; 
 
 Ring in redress to all mankind. 
 
 Ring out a slowly-dying cause, 
 And ancient forms of party stnfe ; 
 Ring in the nobler modes of life, 
 
 "With sweeter manners, purer laws. 
 
 Ring out the want, the care, the sin, 
 The faithless coldness of the .times ; 
 Ring out, ring out, my mournful rhymes ; 
 
 But ring the fuller minstrel in. 
 
 Ring out false pride in place and blood, 
 The civic slander and the spite ; 
 Ring in the love of truth and right, 
 
 Ring in the common love of good. 
 
 Ring out old shapes of foul disease, 
 Ring out the narrowing lust of gold, 
 Ring out the thousand wars of old ; 
 
 Ring in the thousand years of peace. 
 
 Ring in the valiant man, and free, 
 The larger heart, the kindlier hand ; 
 Ring out the darkness of the land ; 
 
 Ring in the Christ that is to be. 
 
 Alfred Tennyson.
 
 TIIE OLD YEAR. 257 
 
 4- 
 
 HYMN OR SONG. 
 
 5- 
 
 LESSONS OR ADDRESS. 
 
 6. 
 THE BLESSED HOME. 
 
 OHOME of Love ! we sing of thee, 
 Heavenly land, our heavenly land ! 
 In joyous tones of melody, 
 
 Heavenly land, our heavenly land ! 
 Thy skies are clear, thy fields are fair, 
 And flowers perfume the balmy air, 
 And all is bright and radiant there, 
 Heavenly land, our heavenly land ! 
 
 We know thy homes are bright and fair, 
 
 Heavenly land, our heavenly land ! 
 We know our loved ones gather there, 
 
 Heavenly land, our heavenly land! 
 And troops of children dance and play, 
 And weave sweet flowers in garlands gay, 
 And gain new .beauties day by day, 
 Heavenly land, our heavenly land ! 
 
 17
 
 258 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Oli ! let the voices that we love, 
 
 Heavenly land, our heavenly land ! 
 Speak from the radiant home above, 
 Heavenly land, our heavenly land 1 
 Oh ! let us feel the glory there 
 Encompass us like summer air, 
 And keep us from all sin and care, 
 Heavenly land, our heavenly land ! 
 
 Thy flowers shall strew our earthly way, 
 Heavenly land, our heavenly land ! 
 
 Bright eyes shall make our night as day, 
 Heavenly land, our heavenly land ! 
 
 We'll tread with courage then, and faith ; 
 
 For every rugged way earth hath 
 
 May be to thy dear shore a path, 
 Heavenly land, our heavenly land 1 
 
 7- 
 
 RENE DICTION.
 
 THE NEW YEAR. 
 
 i. 
 HYMN. 
 
 2. 
 
 SCRIPTURE LESSON: 
 
 REVELATION xxi., xxiL 
 
 3- 
 THE NEW TEAR. 
 
 YOU bells in the steeple, ring, ring oat 
 your changes, 
 How many soever they be ; 
 And let the brown meadow-lark's note, as he 
 
 ranges, 
 Come over, come over, to me. 
 
 Yet bird's clearest carol, by fall or by swelling, 
 
 No magical sense conveys ; 
 And bells have forgotten their old art of telling 
 
 The fortune of future days. 
 
 VA
 
 2GO A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 " Turn again, turn again," once they rang cheer- 
 
 iiy, 
 
 While a boy listened alone ; 
 Made his heart yearn again, musing so wearily 
 All by himself on a stone. 
 
 Poor bells, I forgive you. Your good days are 
 
 over; 
 
 And mine they are yet to be. 
 No listening, no longing, shall aught, aught dis- 
 cover : 
 You leave the story to me. 
 
 The foxglove shoots out of the green matted 
 heather, 
 
 And hangeth her hoods of snow ; 
 She was idle, and slept till the sunshiny weather : 
 
 Oh ! children take long to grow. 
 
 I wish, and I wish, that the spring would go 
 faster, 
 
 Nor long summer bide so late,' 
 And I could grow on like the foxglove and aster; 
 
 For some things are ill to wait. 
 
 I wait for the day when dear hearts shall dis- 
 cover, 
 
 While dear hands are laid on my head, 
 "The child is a woman ; the book may close over; 
 
 For all the lessons are said."
 
 THE NEW TEAR. 261 
 
 I wait for my story : the birds cannot sing it, 
 
 Not one, as he sits on the tree ; 
 The bells cannot ring it ; but long years, oh, bring 
 it, 
 
 Such as I wish it to be! 
 
 Jean Ingtfow. 
 
 I 
 
 4- 
 
 HYMN OR SONG. 
 
 > 
 
 . 5- 
 
 LESSONS OR ADDRESS. 
 
 HYMN. 
 
 HAND in hand with angels 
 Through the world we go : 
 Brighter eyes are on us 
 Than we blind ones know. 
 
 Tenderer voices cheer us 
 Than we deaf will own : 
 
 Never, walking heavenward, 
 Can we walk alone. 
 
 Hand in hand with angels : 
 
 Some are put of sight, 
 Leading us, unknowing, 
 
 Into paths of light.
 
 262 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Some soft hands are covered 
 From our mortal grasp, 
 
 Soul in soul to hold us 
 With a firmer clasp. 
 
 , Hand in hand with angels 
 
 Walking every day : 
 How the chain may brighten, 
 None of us can say. 
 
 Yet it doubtless reaches 
 From earth's lowest one 
 
 To the loftl^t seraph 
 
 Standing near the throne. 
 
 PLUCK the rose while blooming ; 
 Now 'tis fresh and bright ; 
 Wait not till to-morrow : 
 Time is swift in flight. 
 
 Do thy deeds of kindness 
 
 Ere to-morrow's light ; 
 What may come we know not : 
 
 Time is swift in flight. 
 
 Wouldst thou make life useful, 
 
 Work before 'tis night ; 
 Else thou'lt be regretting : 
 
 Time is swift in flight. 
 
 7- 
 
 BENEDICTION.
 
 EASTER. 
 
 i. 
 HYMN. 
 
 2. 
 
 SCRIPTURE LESSON. 
 
 JOHN xx. 1 COR. XT. 
 
 AWAKE, thou wintry earth ! 
 Fling off thy sadness! 
 Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth 
 Your ancient gladness! 
 Christ is risen ! 
 
 Wave, woods, your blossoms all ; 
 
 Grim Death is dead ! 
 Ye weeping funeral-trees, 
 
 Lift up your head ! 
 Christ is risen ! 
 
 203
 
 264 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Come, see ! the graves are green ; 
 
 It is light : let's go 
 Where our loved ones rest 
 
 In hope below. 
 
 Christ is risen ! 
 
 All is fresh and new, 
 
 Full of spring and light : 
 Wintry heart, why wear'st the hue 
 
 Of sleep and night ? 
 Christ is risen ! 
 
 Leave thy cares beneath; 
 
 Leave thy worldly love ; 
 Begin the better life 
 
 With God above ! 
 Christ is risen ! 
 
 Ttiomaa Blackburn. 
 
 4- 
 EASTER CAROL. 
 
 LET the merry church -bells ring; 
 Hence with tears and sighing : 
 Frost and cold have fled from spring ; 
 
 Life hath conquered dying ; 
 Flowers are smiling, fields are gay, 
 
 Sunny is the weather: 
 With our risen Lord, to-day, 
 All things rise together.
 
 EASTER. 265 
 
 Let the birds sing out again 
 
 From their leafy chapel, 
 Praising Him with whom in vain 
 
 Sin hath sought to grapple. 
 Sounds of joy come loud and clear 
 
 As the breezes flutter : 
 " He arose, and is not here," 
 
 Is the strain they utter. 
 
 Let the past of grief be past ; 
 
 This our comfort giveth, 
 He was slain on Friday last, 
 
 But to-day he liveth : 
 Mourning heart must needs be gay 
 
 Out of sorrow's prison, 
 Since the very grave can say, 
 
 " Christ he hath arisen ! " # 
 
 5- 
 
 LESSONS OR ADDRESS. 
 
 6. 
 
 FESTIVITIES. 
 
 7- 
 
 HYMN OR SONG. 
 
 8. 
 B ENE DICTION.
 
 WHITSUNDAY. 
 
 i. 
 
 HYMN. 
 
 2. 
 
 SCRIPTURE LESSON, 
 
 ISA. IT. JOHN iii. 
 
 COME, deck our feast to-day 
 With flowers and wreaths of May; 
 And bring an offering holy, pure, and sweet. 
 The Spirit of all grace 
 Makes earth his dwelling-place : 
 Prepare your hearts your Lord with joy to meet! 
 
 O golden rain from heaven ! 
 
 Thy precious drops be given 
 
 Upon the Church's waiting, thirsty field; 
 
 266 .
 
 WHITSUNDAY. 267 
 
 And let thy waters flow, 
 Where'er the sowers sow 
 The seed of Truth, that living fruit it yield. 
 
 Come, O thou trackless wind ! 
 
 Breathe quickening o'er our mind ; 
 Let not Ihe flesh to rule the soul aspire ! 
 
 O sunshine of pure love ! 
 
 Thy sweet glow let us prove, 
 And fill our hearts with thy soft, quenchless fire. 
 
 O Spirit ! stir our will 
 
 Its high aims to fulfil ; 
 Be with us always when we go and come ; 
 
 Deep in our spirits dwell, 
 
 And make their inmost cell 
 Thy temple pure, thine ever-holy home. 
 
 Schmokk. 
 
 4- 
 
 HYMN OR SONG. 
 
 COME, HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 COME, thou Almighty Will ! 
 Our fainting bosoms fill 
 "With thy great power : 
 Strength of our good intents, 
 Our tempted hours' defence, 
 Culm of faith's confidence, 
 Come in this hour !
 
 268 A CHILD'S BOOK OF RELIGION. 
 
 Come, thou most tender Love ! 
 Within our spirits move, 
 
 Their sweetest guest; 
 Extinguish passion's fire, 
 Exalt each low desire, 
 To deeds of love inspire, 
 
 Quickeuer and Rest. 
 
 Come, Light serene and still 1 
 Our darkened spirits fill 
 
 With thy clear day ; 
 Guide of the feeble sight, 
 Star of grief's darkest night, 
 Reveal the path of right, 
 
 Show us thy way ! 
 
 5- 
 
 LESSON OR ADDRESS. 
 
 6. 
 
 HYMN OR SONG. 
 
 LOVE divine, whose constant Ijeam 
 
 Shines on the eyes that will not see, 
 And waits to bless us while we dream, 
 Thou leav'st us when we turn from thee ! 
 
 All souls that struggle and aspire, 
 All hearts of prayer, by thee are lit; 
 
 And, dim or clear, thy tongues of fire 
 On dusky tribes and centuries sit.
 
 WHITSUNDAY. 269 
 
 Nor botmds nor clime nor creed thou know'st ; 
 
 Wide as our need thy favors fall : ^ 
 The white wings of the Holy Ghost 
 
 Stoop, unseen, o'er the heads of all. 
 
 7- 
 
 BENEDICTION.
 
 270 THE CHRISTMAS TREE. 
 
 Words by MRS. M. N. MEIGS. Music by FEED, SCHILLING. 
 
 
 .itztrczi 
 
 -J - -i S S S fcl-Jj 
 
 * - 
 
 ____- ___. - 
 
 t r:rfc:c=t==ii'::f=ir*: :t=fi-ti-C tr 
 
 in? 
 
 _ _ ^ . _ j . 
 
 rfczr5=p5==3^^l-J^--:T
 
 THE CHRISTMAS TREE. 271 
 
 There's a wonderful tree, a wouderful tree, 
 
 The happy children rejoice to see, 
 
 Spreading its branches year by year, 
 
 It eomes from the forest to flourish here ; 
 
 Oh ! this wonderful tree, with its branches wide, 
 
 Is always blooming at Christmas-tide. 
 
 'Tis not alone in the summer's sheen 
 
 Its boughs are broad, and its leaves are green ; 
 
 It blooms for us wh*n the wild winds blow, 
 
 And earth is white with feathery snow ; 
 
 And this wonderful tree, with its branches wide, 
 
 Bears many a gift for the Christmas-tide. 
 
 Tis all alight with its tapers' glow, 
 
 That Sash on the shining eyes below, 
 
 And the strange Sweet fruit on each laden bough 
 
 Is all to be plucked by the gatherers now. . 
 
 Oh ! this wonderful tree, with its branches wide, 
 
 We hail it with joy at the Christinas-tide. 
 
 And a voice is telling, its boughs among, 
 
 Of the shepherds' watch and angels' song ; 
 
 Of a holy Babe in a manger low, 
 
 The beautiful story of long ago, 
 
 When a radiant star threw its beams so wide, 
 
 To herald the earliest Christmas-tide.
 
 272 HARK! A BURST OF HEAVENLY MUSIC. 
 Words by MBS. M. N. MEIOS. Music by FEED. SCUILUKO. 
 
 _.._ F _ F _ F __- ^_ F . F . m^_p_f_m.. fi-tt- 
 
 -<---* ft-ftt- r -tp-hff-b,0-f0fikf-fi: 
 
 EES3^c3ES3S9BffiSSt
 
 HARK! A B URST OF BE A VENL T MUSIC. 273 
 
 
 Hark ! a burst of heavenly music, 
 
 From a bapd of seraphs bright, 
 Suddenly to earth descending, 
 
 In the calm and silent night: 
 To the shepherds of Judea, 
 
 Watching in the earliest dawn, 
 Lo, they bear the joyful tidings, 
 
 Jesus, Prince of Peace is born ! 
 . Sweet and clear those angel voices, 
 
 Echoing through the starry sky, 
 As they chant the heavenly chonu, 
 
 " Glory be to God on high." 
 
 Slumbering in a lowly manger 
 
 Lies the Master of us all, 
 And before the holy Stranger 
 
 Sec the trembling shepherds fall. 
 He has come, the long-expected, 
 
 Full of wisdom, love and grace, 
 Come to help us weary mortals, 
 
 Come to bless our human race. 
 Chonu. So let angels wake the chorus, 
 
 So let happy men reply; 
 Chanting the celestial anthem, 
 
 "Glory be to God on high." 
 
 And this joyful Christmas morning 
 
 Breaking o'er the world below, 
 Tells again the wondrous story 
 
 Shepherds heard so long ago ; 
 Who (thall still our tuneful voices, 
 
 Who the tide of praise shall stem. 
 Which the blessed angels taught tu 
 
 In the fields of Bethlehem? 
 dom*. Hark I we hoar again the < horns, 
 
 Ring-ng through the starry *ky; 
 And we join the heavenly anthem, 
 
 " Glory bo to God en high ! " 
 18
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES 
 THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below 
 
 Form L-9-15m-3,'34
 
 A 001 145 324 8 
 
 UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA 
 
 UBKAKY
 
 BBH