{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_10853/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_10853","id":"gutenberg_10853","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10853","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Children's poetry","Children's stories","Christian life -- Juvenile literature","Gift books"],"text":"The Baldwin Library\n\nRMB\n\nUniversity of Florida\n\n\nFROM THE LIBRARY OF\n\nPAUL & VIRGINIA CROWLEY\n\n\n\nOUR GIFT.\n\nBOSTON:\n\nABEL TOMPKINS, NO. 38 CORNHILL.\n\n1851.\n\n\n\nEntered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850,\n\nBy ABEL TOMPKINS,\n\nIn the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of\nMassachusetts.\n\n\n\n\nDEDICATION.\n\n\"We offer no words of inspired thought,\nNo gems from the mines of wisdom brought,\nNo flowers of language to deck the page,\nNo borrowed glories of Muse or Sage;\nBut an offering simple and pure we bring,\nAnd a wreath of wild roses around it fling;\nNot culled from the shades of enamelled bowers,\nBut watered by love's own gentle showers.\nIn tones of affection we here would speak;\nTo waken an echo of love we seek;\nWe mingle our tears for the early dead,\nTo the land of spirits before us fled.\nWhile a moral we humbly would here entwine\nWith the flowers we lay on affection's shrine,\nWe pray that the light of religion may dawn,\nTo brighten our pathway each coming morn.\nThen with love for each other OUR GIFT we bring,\nAnd love for the memories that round it cling,\nAnd trust in the hopes that are lighted here,\nTo burn with new brightness each passing year.\nAnd as Time moves on with unceasing tread,\nAnd the flowers of youth are withered and dead,\nMay no sigh of regret to the past be given,\nAs it peacefully fades in the light of Heaven.\"\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\n\"OUR GIFT\" has been prepared as a token of affection for our Sunday\nschool Pupils, and it is hoped that it may serve a similar purpose in\nthe hands of other teachers. It has been said, that \"_He who gives his\nthought, gives a part of himself_.\" It was this idea that suggested the\noffering we now bring. We do not claim for it especial excellence. We\nare aware that its pages have not uniform merit. When we state that they\nare from the pens of twenty-five different teachers, few of whom are\naccustomed to write for the public eye, we offer the only apology for\nthe imperfections of the work, which, in our judgment, the circumstances\nof the case demand. If this explanation shall not cause the critic to\nthrow the work aside, we would welcome him to whatever pleasure he may\nfind in its perusal. Of the defects which it contains, we prefer to\nshare jointly the responsibility; and have, therefore, omitted to attach\nsignatures to the several articles. The shorter paragraphs, scattered\nthrough the work, embody ideas from several contributions which have\nbeen excluded by its narrow limits. Such as it is, we present it to the\npublic generally, and especially to our pupils, as a slight token of the\nardent love we bear them, humbly praying that the moral lessons it\ncontains may find a place in their hearts, and contribute to the\nformation of such a character as involves within itself the highest form\nof blessing.\n\n\nTEACHERS OF THE SCHOOL STREET UNIVERSALIST SUNDAY SCHOOL, BOSTON.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\nDedication\nPreface\nRemember me\nHonor thy Parents\nUncharitable Judgment\nBoys become Men\nTo the Portrait of Father Ballou\nSusan's Repentance and Appeal to her Elder Sister\nLittle Emma\nThe Old Sabbath Schoolroom\nThe Hunter, and his Dog Jowler--A Fable\nTake Care of your Books\nMy Niece\nTeachers' Library\nScholars' Library\nAgatha\nResponsibility\nDuty of Parents\nA Scholar's Remembrance of the Pic-Nic of 1850\nRain Drops\nObey the Rules\nThe Ways of Providence\nTo Alberta\nThe Discontented Squirrel--A Fable\nSchool Street Society\nThe Example of the Bee\nThe Morning Walk\nTrue Satisfaction\nFemale Education\nOne Family\nSummer Thoughts--A Fable\nA Talk with the Children\nUncle Jimmy\nThe Child's Dream of Heaven\nThe Influence of Sabbath Schools\nMemory\nSelfishness\nTrouble\nRevenge\nA Biographical Sketch\nThe Sabbath School Boys\nFear of Death\nIll Temper\nReading\nA Sabbath School Excursion\nChrist and Duty\n\n\n\n\nOUR GIFT.\n\n\n\"REMEMBER ME.\"\n\n\n\"Remember me!\" How swift the tide\n  Of memory glideth o'er the past;\nThose sunny hours so quickly sped,\n  Perchance a few with clouds o'ercast.\nBut memory hath more lasting flowers,\n  Which Time's rude hand can ne'er efface,\nThe sweets we cull from friendship's bowers,\n  The gems affection's altar grace.\n\n\"Remember me!\" In youth's bright morn\n  Those simple words so lightly spoken,\nFar into future years may reach,\n  And wake a spell which ne'er is broken.\nA star to gleam in Memory's sky,\n  A line on Memory's page to glow,\nA smile to offer at her shrine,\n  Or tears which from her springs shall flow.\n\n\"Remember me!\" As one by one\n  The cherished ties of earth are torn,\nThe magic spell which Memory weaves,\n  Shall long in kindred hearts be worn.\nAnd when the last farewell is said,\n  A solace to each heart shall be\nThe memory of that love which spoke\n  In parting tones, \"Remember me!\"\n\n\n\n\nHONOR THY PARENTS.\n\n\nCONVERSATION I.\n\n\"Honor thy father and thy mother.\"\n\n\"Well, Clara,\" said Mary, as they left the church, \"shall we go now and\ntake a walk before we go home? Look, there are William Johnson and\nGeorge Field waiting to see which way we shall turn, in order to\naccompany us.\"\n\n\"Not this afternoon,\" answered Clara, \"I think we had better go home.\"\n\nThey continued their way homeward until they reached the street where\nClara lived, and were about to part, when Mary asked her companion at\nwhat time she would meet her the next morning to take a long walk,\nadding that William and George would go with them.\n\n\"I will ask mother,\" replied Clara, \"and if she is willing, I will meet\nyou at six o'clock.\"\n\n\"How is this,\" said Mary, \"you never used to say you would ask your\nmother; besides, there can be no possible objection to our going to take\na walk.\"\n\n\"True,\" rejoined Clara, \"there can be no objection to our taking a walk;\nbut we have never told our mothers that William and George are in the\nhabit of going with us.\"\n\n\"Well, I don't see any _great_ harm in their going with us,\" continued\nMary, with a tone which indicated that she did not see _any_ harm\n_whatever_ in it.\n\n\"Perhaps there is not, and yet, Mary, I have thought that there might\nbe; therefore, I prefer to speak to my mother about it.\"\n\n\"And pray, Miss Clara, what has made you so conscientious all at once?\"\n\n\"I will tell you, Mary. You recollect that on the last Sabbath, our\npastor took for his text, the fifth commandment.\"\n\n\"Yes, I do.\"\n\n\"Well, something which he said, caused me to think more about these\nwords than I ever did before; and the more I think of them, the more\nconvinced I am, that we do not consider and reflect upon them so much as\nwe ought to.\"\n\n\"Let me see,\" said Mary, \"Honor thy father and thy mother;\"--\"Well, I\nam sure I do honor my father and my mother; I obey them when they give\nme a command, and I love them with all my heart. What more can I do?\"\n\n\"So I reasoned before, but when I sat down alone in my chamber, a good\nmany things came to my mind, to convince me that I was wrong.\"\n\n\"Well,\" added Mary, \"let me have the benefit of your reflections.\"\n\n\"Why, in this very instance of going to walk, I had always asked my\nmother's consent, and she had given it; but I never told her where we\nwent, or who went with us, which now appears to me wrong. Our mothers\nare much older than we are, and have had much more experience than we\nhave, and there _may_ be wrong in doing what appears to us quite\nharmless.\"\n\n\"For the life of me,\" interrupted Mary, \"I cannot think there can\npossibly be any harm in such a slight occurrence. However, say nothing\nto your mother to-night; but go with us to-morrow morning, and then you\ncan mention it to her, and see what she says.\"\n\n\"I beg your pardon, Mary; but you said just now, you could not see what\npossible harm there could be in so slight an occurrence, and yet your\nrequest to put off mentioning this to my mother, shows that you have\nsome misgivings on the subject.\"\n\nMary reflected for a moment. \"Clara,\" said she, \"if you have no\nobjection, I will go home with you, and hear what your mother will say.\"\n\n\"I shall be delighted to have you,\" was the answer.\n\nMary Winthrop and Clara Spaulding had arrived at the ages of fourteen\nand fifteen years, a time of life which is peculiarly critical for\ngirls. At no age do they more require the advice of a mother, and at no\nage are they less inclined to seek it. This would seem to be a natural\ndisinclination, so prevalent is it. These were both good girls, but, as\nmay be judged from the conversation we have just related, Clara was the\nmore thoughtful, while Mary was very apt to act without much reflection.\nShe possessed, however, this noble trait; she was always ready to\nacknowledge her error, when it was pointed out to her, and would\nendeavor to avoid repeating it.\n\nMrs. Spaulding had reached home when the girls entered. She was a woman\nof excellent sense, and a mother indeed to her children. Mary frankly\ntold her all the conversation which had passed between Clara and\nherself, and then waited for her opinion.\n\n\"It makes me truly happy,\" said Mrs. S., \"that you have come to me in\nthis free and open manner; and I am very glad that my dear Clara has\nreflected so much upon the text. In itself, there is not much harm in\ntaking a walk with William Johnson and George Field, and yet it is not\nproper for you to do so, without the knowledge and consent of your\nparents. William and George are not bad boys, and perhaps would be\ncalled by people generally, good ones; still, I have remarked a certain\nlevity in their manner, which if only occasional, might be called good\nhumor, but which, recurring as it does at all times and on all\noccasions, the Sabbath not excepted, makes me fear that their training\nat home is not what I should desire to have it. For this reason, Mary, I\nam not willing that Clara should be often in their company, nor do I\nthink your mother would differ from me, should you ask her.\"\n\n\"I wonder,\" said Mary, \"how Clara came to think of this slight\ncircumstance of a walk, in connection with the commandment, 'Honor thy\nfather and thy mother.'\"\n\n\"I thought she had sufficiently explained that, herself,\" replied Mrs.\nSpaulding. \"I wish both of you, and not only you, but all young persons,\nwould think a good deal more on this subject. I remember when I was of\nyour age, that many things occurred which I omitted to mention to my\nmother, but which it would have been much better for me, if I had told\nher. Sometimes these concerned my bodily health, and I am sure that if I\nhad informed her of them at the time, I should now have a much better\nconstitution than I possess. At other times, I neglected to ask her\nadvice about what I thought were small matters; but the result proved\nthat I should have been saved much trouble had I consulted her.\"\n\n\"In fact,\" continued Mrs. S., \"the command to honor thy father and thy\nmother, is far more comprehensive, and exacts many more duties, than the\nyoung, and, I am sorry to say, the old too, are willing to recognize.\nThe young are too apt to think, when they get into their teens, that\nthere are a great many things about which there is no need of asking\ntheir parents' advice and counsel; that they know, _then, about_ as well\nas their parents what they ought to do; and, by the time they get to be\neighteen or nineteen years of age, _a good deal better_. But, my dear\nchildren, it is not so. And the young who reason and act thus, will soon\ncease to honor their father and mother. No! The Almighty Father, in\ngiving this as one of the ten commandments to the children of Israel,\nknew the vanity of our nature. He knew how unwilling the young are to\nlearn from the experience of the old, and he therefore proclaimed this\ncommand, that they might have it constantly before their eyes.\n\n\"I have said, this is a comprehensive command. To honor thy father and\nthy mother is not merely to show them outward respect. It embraces\nnumberless duties, and among them this; the duty, while you are young,\nof doing nothing without their knowledge and consent, when you are in a\nsituation to ask it.\n\n\"Be assured of one thing. If you are about to go anywhere, or do\nanything, and a doubt arises in your mind whether it is necessary to ask\nyour mother's permission, be certain that you ought to ask it. The very\ndoubt in your own mind is sufficient evidence of the fact.\n\n\"Get into the habit of talking with your mother upon every subject; your\ndiversions, your studies, your health. Never conceal anything from her.\nIs she not your mother? Did she not give you being? Who then shall you\nlook up to, if not to her?\"\n\n\"O,\" interrupted Mary, \"I have sometimes begun to talk to my mother\nabout many things which I did not exactly understand, but somehow or\nother she was not willing to answer my questions.\"\n\n\"Perhaps,\" said Mrs. Spaulding, \"you did not take a proper occasion, or\nshe may have been very busy about something else. You ought always to\nendeavor to take a proper time for everything. At the same time,\" she\ncontinued, \"I am sorry to say that there are some mothers who think\nchildren cannot be talked to, and reasoned with, till they are of age.\nThis is a mistaken idea. Children have reasoning faculties, and the\nsooner we begin to converse with them accordingly, the sooner will those\nfaculties be developed. With this view, we ought always to encourage\nthem to give us their confidence on all occasions, gratify their\ncuriosity, and allow them to talk upon every subject to us. If we do not\nact thus, they will soon abstain from that frank manner with which\nchildren ought always to lay open their whole hearts to their parents.\"\n\n\"O yes,\" cried Mary; \"there is Emma Woodbury,--I do not believe she ever\nasks her mother's advice.\"\n\n\"No,\" said Clara, \"and there is Jane Clifton's mother,--\"\n\n\"Stop, my dears,\" interrupted Mrs. Spaulding, \"these remarks of yours\nremind me that there is another subject, about which I should like to\nhave a conversation with you; and if your mother, Mary, will give you\npermission to come home with Clara, after school to-morrow afternoon, I\nwill tell you what it is.\"\n\n\"O yes, I know she will,\" replied Mary. \"Indeed, yesterday, I should not\nhave thought of asking her; but now, after what I have heard from your\nlips, I shall not do anything, or go anywhere, without asking her\nconsent.\"\n\n\"I am glad,\" responded Mrs. Spaulding, \"that you remember this lesson so\nwell. Now, Mary, you had better go home; and may neither of you ever\nthink otherwise than seriously, of the divine command, to 'honor thy\nfather and thy mother;' and remember that few persons have ever come to\nharm when they grew up, who in their youth obeyed it.\"\n\n\n\n\nUNCHARITABLE JUDGMENT.\n\n\nCONVERSATION II.\n\n\"Cast out the beam from thine own eye, then shalt thou see clearly to\ncast the mote out of thy brother's eye.\"\n\nMary's mother cheerfully gave her leave to go home with Clara, the next\nday. She knew and highly esteemed Mrs. Spaulding, and was very glad that\nher daughter should be intimate with her family.\n\nMrs. Spaulding greeted the girls with a smile and a kind word; then\nsaid, \"Mary, you began last evening to make a remark about Emma\nWoodbury. Will you tell me what you were going to say?\"\n\n\"Certainly,\" replied Mary; \"I was going to say that Emma scarcely ever\nasked the advice of her mother, or her consent to do anything or go\nanywhere; and I know a great many girls who act in the same way.\"\n\n\"And I,\" added Clara, \"intended to say that Jane Clifton's mother was\none of those whom you spoke of, as never conversing with children in a\nrational and reasoning manner.\"\n\n\"I guessed as much,\" said Mrs. Spaulding. \"I told you,\" she continued,\n\"there was another point upon which I wished to say a few words to you.\nCan you think what it is?\"\n\n\"I cannot,\" said Mary. \"Nor I either,\" said Clara; \"certainly, I see no\nharm in the words we uttered.\"\n\n\"True,\" responded Mrs. Spaulding, \"there was no harm. It was not the\nwords you spoke, but the tone in which they were spoken, that attracted\nmy attention; as if you were _glad_ to be able to point out somebody to\nwhom the reproof could be applied. This failing is a common one, and our\nSavior may have had it in view, when he said to his followers, on the\nmount, 'Cast out the beam from thine own eye; and then shalt thou see\nclearly to cast the mote out of thy brother's eye.' My object now, my\ndear children, is to caution you against a failing, which is almost\nuniversal, namely, of seeing distinctly and reproving faults in others,\nwhile we appear to be quite unconscious that we ourselves are in the\npractice of the same or worse defects.\n\n\"This blemish develops itself in a variety of ways. The pastor preaches\nan excellent sermon, wherein is contained some allusion to faults which\nought to be corrected. If the people had treasured up in their hearts\nall his exhortations, they would not have forgotten one which he has\noften endeavored to impress upon their minds; I mean, the duty of\nself-communion, self-examination; and when he should have occasion to\nallude to faults, they would, one and all, ask themselves, 'Am I guilty\nof this wrong? Let me see; and if I am, let me correct it in future.'\nInstead of this, how frequently do we hear such expressions as these:\n'The remarks in the sermon this morning applied to Mr. A or Mrs. B, very\nwell, and it is to be hoped they will see it, and profit by it.' Now if\nsuch individuals, instead of trying to find others who are guilty of the\nwrong indicated, would only carefully look within themselves, ten\nchances to one they would find that they deserved the rebuke as much as\nany one else.\n\n\"Children insensibly contract the same bad habit of looking very sharply\nfor the faults of others, never once thinking that they may have some,\nwhich, if not precisely the same, may be even worse. Thus if the pastor,\nsuperintendent, or one of the teachers, addresses the Sabbath school,\ncalling the attention of the scholars generally to any fault, each\nscholar ought to ask himself at once, 'Is it I?' and not look round\ncomplacently and ask, 'Who _can_ it be?' or say, 'I guess the speaker\nmeans to refer to Lilly A or Edgar B.'\"\n\n\"Well,\" said Mary, \"I must confess that I have done this often, and\nwithout being conscious of any wrong feelings; some how or other, I did\nnot consider that the reproof belonged to me; or ever ask myself if I\nhad committed the fault which was exposed.\"\n\n\"For this reason, I remarked,\" continued Mrs. S., \"that children\ninsensibly contract this habit from their parents; and the defect\nextends to physical as well as moral errors. Not long since, I had an\ninteresting conversation with Mr. R., a well-known philanthropist and\nphysiologist, who is devoting his life to the alleviation of some of the\nills of human existence. He told me that, a short time before, he\ndelivered a lecture to parents on the physical training of their\nchildren, and pointed out the great mistakes which are often made. On\nretiring, said he, I overheard many remarks, but not one spoke as if I\nhad addressed him. Every one could point to some one else who might well\nprofit by the lecture; but not one would believe that I meant to say to\neach individual present, as Nathan said unto David, 'Thou art the man.'\"\n\n\"I am sure,\" observed Clara, \"I never felt the full force of this saying\nof our Savior before, although I have read it a hundred times. I shall\nread the whole chapter again, carefully, to-night.\"\n\n\"And so will I,\" added Mary.\n\n\"Do so, my children,\" said Mrs. S., \"and read in the same careful spirit\nthe whole Sermon on the Mount, and all our Savior's teachings. Many\npeople, old and young, read the New Testament because they are told to,\nwithout thinking that there is an active, living principle in it, a\nthought to be treasured up and carried out in our daily lives, in almost\nevery word the Master uttered. Those who _do_ read it in the true\nspirit, find new pleasure and new instruction every time they peruse it.\n\n\"And finally, to come back to our subject, when you hear your\nschoolmates making uncharitable remarks about others, use all your\ninfluence, especially by your own example, to make them correct the\nhabit. And when you hear a sermon in church, or an address in the\nschool, where any faults are exposed, ask yourselves if the rebuke\napplies to you; and if it does, set about correcting the fault\nimmediately. Do this always. 'Cast the _beam_ out of thine own eye,'\ncorrect your own errors, then will you see clearly to 'cast the _mote_\nout of thy brother's eye.'\"\n\nMary returned home that evening well pleased with the two conversations\nshe had taken part in; and better still, she and Clara profited by them.\nI am happy to add, that their schoolmates are gradually correcting many\nevil habits by the good example of these two girls; and thus Mary and\nClara have the double satisfaction of improving their own conduct, and\nof being instrumental in improving that of others.\n\n\n\n\nBOYS BECOME MEN.\n\n\nIf you were to be boys always, and didn't need to know anything more\nthan just enough to enable you to enjoy your sports from day to day, it\nwould not be so necessary, perhaps, as it now is, to attend strictly to\nyour every-day studies; though the influences of the Sunday school would\nbe necessary, even then. Boys cannot enjoy their sports together, unless\nthey are truthful, just, and kind; and it is in the Sunday school that\nthese graces are most successfully acquired. But boys will become men;\nand all the knowledge they can acquire in boyhood will become\nserviceable in manhood. Therefore, boys should be diligent.\n\n\n\n\nTO THE PORTRAIT OF FATHER BALLOU,\nHANGING IN MURRAY HALL.\n\n\nO, much-loved features! Faithful counterpart\n  Of one we love, and cherish, and revere;\nThy gentle influence shed o'er every heart,\n  And be thy spirit ever present here.\n\nLook from thy quiet resting-place on us,\n  With that familiar smile so dear to all,\nWhich ever seems to speak of happiness,\n  And every mourner would to hope recall.\n\nThro' childhood's sunny days and youth's bright morn,\n  Mid changes and mid sorrows, thou hast been\nA light to guide, a hope to cheer and warm,\n  And to the heart bring joy and peace again.\n\nAnd for thine honored form how fit the place,\n  Where childhood's ear instruction would receive;\nPreside o'er all, lend all our efforts grace,\n  To learn God's love, and on his word believe.\n\nThy Master's faithful servant! Who, in love,\n  Took little children in his arms to bless;\nWhile looking down from his bright home above,\n  Through thee diffusing peace and holiness;\n\nMay his pure spirit ever with us dwell,\n  Shedding o'er all our thoughts its heavenly ray;\nOur hearts attune the song of praise to swell,\n  And o'er our darkness pour eternal day.\n\nAnd when thou'rt left alone, to bear the name\n  Of him whose faithful emblem thou art made,\nMay thou through ages still endure the same,\n  Though all around thee shall decay and fade.\n\nMay his dear memory, which through thee shall live\n  Long in the places which his love has blest,\nShine as a beacon, life and light to give,\n  And hope at last in God's eternal rest.\n\n\n\n\nSUSAN'S REPENTANCE AND APPEAL TO HER ELDER SISTER.\n\n\nI once knew two sisters, the only companions of a widowed mother, who,\nthough they had no relatives and but very few friends, and should\ntherefore have been the more closely united in heart, were in the habit\noftener of harshly rebuking and blaming, than of encouraging, assisting,\nand comforting each other. I often wondered at this, as they both had\nmany estimable traits of character, and could only account for it, not\nexcuse it, by the fact, that they had been much separated in early life,\nand, since their reunion, had had to encounter many obstacles, and bear\nthe weight of many heavy disappointments. I confidently hoped and\nbelieved that the good sense of one or both of them, would in time lead\nthem to see their error, and the sin of thus fretting and irritating\neach other. Nor was I disappointed. The younger, whose conscience was\nthe most sensitive, first made the discovery, and immediately began\ntrying to remedy the evil, and to induce her sister to aid her in the\nendeavor. Imagining some of her thoughts and feelings, I have put them\nin rhyme.\n\nWe have done wrong, dear sister; and I'm very sad to-day:\nFor I have felt how far we've strayed from wisdom's blessed way;\nHave felt how much of angry strife hath dwelt within our hearts,\nAnd how, when _that_ has entered in, Life's happiness departs.\n\nWe have done wrong, dear sister; for we have not patient been,\nBut answered often hasty words by hasty words again;\nAnd when we should with gentle acts have soothed each other's care,\nWe've made by cold indifference our lot more hard to bear.\n\nWe have done wrong, dear sister; I remember how we've grieved\nOur widowed mother's anxious heart, so long of joy bereaved;\nO, were we loving, good, and kind, and all our murmurings o'er,\nMight not the smiles come back again and light her face once more?\n\nI know our lot in life, thus far, hath not been smooth and fair;\nThat often much of toil and ill has fallen to our share;\nBut why, dear sister, why should we _ourselves_ the load increase?\nWhy, by our jangling and our strife, shut out all joy and peace?\n\nAnd more: we have offended God; this day I feel and know\nWe have forgotten his commands, and gained us nought but woe.\nO join with me as, filled with grief, most earnestly I pray,\nThat he will yet be merciful, and take our sin away.\n\n\"Love thou each other;\" \"love all men;\" \"and love shall make you free;\"\nThus said the Savior, Jesus; and let this _our_ watchword be;\nLet us each other love; and pray that gentle thoughts may come,\nAnd gentle words and acts may make an Eden of our home.\n\nForgive me now, dear sister, all the anger I have shown,\nAnd all my past unkindness, through the years already flown;\nI'll love thee faithfully and true, and lay all harshness by;\nTo be my loving sister, then, wilt _thou_ not also try?\n\n\n\n\nLITTLE EMMA.\n\n\nOne Saturday afternoon, little Emma came into her mother's room, and\nsaid to her, \"Mother, may I go with Abba to her Sunday school? She says,\nthey are all so happy there.\"\n\n\"My child,\" said her mother, \"why do you wish to leave your own school\nand go to a strange one?\"\n\n\"Because, mother, Abba has often told me what a good school they have,\nand how much she loves it.\"\n\n\"Well, as you are very anxious to go, I will grant your request this\nonce, on condition that it must never be repeated.\"\n\nThe next morning, this pleasant little girl was up very early to make\nready to go with her friend to the new Sabbath school.\n\nShe was delighted with all she saw and heard; and when the pastor took\nher by the hand, she said to herself, \"I wish mother would permit me to\ncome here every Sunday. I will ask her, at any rate.\" After the school\nwas dismissed, she went home, revolving in her mind what she should say\nto obtain her mother's consent.\n\nHer mother observed how thoughtful she appeared, and said to her, \"Emma,\nhow did you like Abba's Sunday school?\"\n\n\"Oh, mother! I was so happy; do let me go there. They sing so sweetly,\nand the pastor was so kind. He had an affectionate word for all. Their\nsuperintendent, too, was so pleasant, I know I should love him.\"\n\nHer mother said to her, with a very sorrowful countenance, \"Do you know,\nmy child, that they teach very erroneous doctrines there, in regard to a\nfuture life? They teach that all will be eventually holy and happy, both\nthe good and the bad.\"\n\n\"But, mother, I should think it would make us all happy to believe so.\nThe minister told us that 'God is Love;' and that cannot be a bad\ndoctrine. I am sure I would much rather think so, than that he would\nhate any of us, for you have often told me that hatred was very wicked.\nI cannot think that a good and wise being would do that which you have\ntaught me is wrong. Then they all seem to love each other dearly. They\nare like a pleasant family of brothers and sisters. Do let me go, will\nyou not, dear mother? I should be so happy.\"\n\nHer mother said many things to convince her that it was not right to\nchange her school. But she was very unhappy, and said so often, \"Do let\nme go,\" that her mother consented to gratify her; thinking, perhaps,\nthat she would soon tire of it.\n\nSunday came, and Emma was nearly the first one there; so anxious was she\nto be in season.\n\nShe entered the schoolroom with a bright and happy face, and when the\nsuperintendent came to her, she said, \"I have come to join your Sabbath\nschool. Will you receive me?\"\n\nTo add to her joy, the superintendent gave her a seat in the same class\nwith her friend Abba, who was a very kind and good little girl; and she\nfound a number of others in the class who were very glad to see her\nthere. One little girl lent her a book to study, and when the teacher\ngave her a lesson for the next Sabbath, she said, \"I have a lesson now.\nFanny lent me her book, and I have already learned a lesson from it.\"\n\nThis pleased her teacher very much; for she thought that there were many\nlittle girls who would have been very glad of such an excuse to put off\ntheir lessons. Ever after, she was very constant in her attendance,\nalways had her lessons very perfect, and never stayed at home, even if\nit chanced to be a rainy clay; for she would say, \"My teacher will be\nthere; and I am sure if she is there, I can go. Besides, I know it will\nmake her very happy to see me always in my place.\"\n\nIn this way did this good little Emma continue to go on, acquiring\nknowledge, and gaining the love and good-will of all who knew her. She\nwas always happy and cheerful; kind to her parents, obliging to her\nbrothers and sisters, ever ready to assist the poor and destitute,\nhaving a kind word and a happy smile for all. And this she learned from\nthat one great and ennobling truth, that \"God is Love.\"\n\n\n\n\nTHE OLD SABBATH SCHOOLROOM.\n\n\nA PARODY.\n\n\nHow dear to our hearts is that old Sabbath schoolroom,\nWhich each Sunday morning presents to our view;\nThe seats, the piano, the portrait that's near it,\nAnd ev'ry loved thing which our memory knew.\nOur dearly-loved pastor, his wife who comes with him,\nOur Superintendent, and dear Mrs. G.,\nThe teachers, the pupils, and faithful Librarians,\nWe each Sabbath morning invariably see.\n  That old Sabbath schoolroom, that dearly-loved schoolroom,\n  That blessed old schoolroom where all love to be.\n\nThat old Sabbath schoolroom we hail as a treasure;\nFor often, when weary and anxious with care,\nWe've found it the place of a heavenly pleasure\nWe seek for with ardor, but find not elsewhere.\nHow eager we enter, with hearts that are glowing,\nAnd quick to our places,--we all know them well,--\nAnd then with our song-books, and souls overflowing,\nThe anthem of praise we unitedly swell,\n  That old Sabbath schoolroom, that dearly-loved schoolroom,\n  That blessed old schoolroom where all love to be.\n\nBlest truth,--from our teachers with joy we receive it,--\nThat God is our Father, our Savior and Friend!\nThere's nought so alluring could tempt us to leave it,\nThough fraught with all pleasures the fancy can lend.\nAnd when far removed to some distant location,\nThe tears of regret will intrusively swell,\nAs mem'ry reverts to our former vocation,\nAnd longs for the schoolroom we all loved so well.\n  That old Sabbath schoolroom, that dearly-loved schoolroom,\n  That blessed old schoolroom we all love so well.\n\n\n\n\nTHE HUNTER, AND HIS DOG JOWLER.\n\n\nA FABLE.\n\nA famous hunter in the woodland country had a dog which was particularly\nfond of certain kinds of game, but exceedingly averse to other kinds of\nmuch better flavor. Now it happened that, whenever the hunter wished to\ngive chase to moose or deer, Jowler was sure to scare up a woodchuck, or\nsome still filthier game, leaving the deer to make good his escape.\n\nDay after day thus passed away, leaving the hunter's labors no suitable\nreward. It was in vain that the hunter expostulated with his dog.\nNeither threats nor blows were of any avail. When the master would hunt\none thing, the dog was sure to be hunting something else.\n\nAt length, both master and dog seemed to tire of their constant\nconflict, and to desire some adjustment, whereby each might accommodate\nhis own taste to some extent, and yet live in harmony with the other.\nWith this view, a friendly conference was held, in which Jowler appeared\nso tenacious, that the hunter well-nigh despaired of any adjustment\nwhatever.\n\nIt was, however, finally agreed, that Jowler should hunt game to his own\ntaste five days in the week, and devote the remaining hunting day to\nsuch game as his master preferred. Jowler, however, was careful to\nstipulate that, if he chanced to find himself ill, or not in hunting\ntrim, on the sixth day, he should be considerately dealt by, and not\nforced to go beyond his strength.\n\nThe arrangements being fully made, a paper was drawn up containing the\narticles of agreement, and both Jowler and the hunter affixed their\nnames thereto. Jowler, no doubt, congratulated himself on having it all\nto his liking five days out of six; while the hunter, perhaps, flattered\nhimself that the taste of venison one day in the week, would so improve\nthe standard of Jowler's tastes, as to bend him, at length, altogether\nto his own wishes.\n\nFor a while, things seemed to promise well, under the new arrangement.\nBy and by, when the day for hunting venison came round, Jowler was sick,\nand told his master he couldn't hunt that day. So his master very\nconsiderately excused him, according to the terms of their agreement.\n\nIt was not long, however, before Jowler refused to hunt for another\nreason. He said, he had followed his own game with such constancy and\nalacrity for the five days, that he was too much exhausted to hunt\nvenison on the sixth day. He must rest from any farther fatigue; and\nclaimed the continued indulgence of his master, by virtue of their\ncontract.\n\nThe hunter urged in vain that Jowler had virtually violated the\ncontract; for although it was stipulated that he should not be compelled\nto the chase to his personal detriment, yet it was implied, of course,\nthat he should use the same precaution to be in hunting trim on the\nsixth day, as he did to be so on the other five. While the fact was, he\npurposely deprived himself of rest during the five days, that he might\nbe compelled to employ the sixth as a day of rest, thus virtually\nappropriating the whole time to his own service.\n\nJowler, however, pretended not to be convinced of his wrong. Nor did his\ndishonesty stop here. His master soon discovered that, while he was\npretending to be unable from his excessive fatigue to hunt venison, he\nwas really continuing to hunt his own game, as on the other five days.\n\nThus did he go on, his old loves gaining strength day by day, and\nimpelling him to a total disregard of his contract in order to indulge\nthem, until his master would bear with him no longer, but drove him from\nhis door.\n\nHaving deprived himself of the care of so good a master, he soon fell\ninto still greater irregularities; and a neighboring shepherd,\nsuspecting him of committing depredations upon his flock, killed him,\nthus terminating his vicious career.\n\nMoral.--Excessive engagedness in worldly labors six days in the week, is\nno sufficient excuse for the neglect of public worship on the seventh;\nand a vicious love, continually indulged, is quite sure to root out even\nour good resolutions.\n\n\n\n\nTAKE CARE OF YOUR BOOKS.\n\n\nSuppose you loan a book to a friend, would you not consider it his\nimperative duty to take the best of care of it, as though it were his\nown, and return it in as good condition as it was when taken? Certainly\nyou would. Then the same duty devolves upon you, as a member of the\nSunday school. The school lends you books, and expects you to take good\ncare of them, and return them early. This is no trifling duty. If you\nhave a right to be negligent, every other scholar must have the same\nright, and the Library would be speedily ruined. Thus your negligence\ngreatly wrongs others. Therefore, children, _take care of your books_.\n\n\n\n\nMY NIECE.\n\n\nI know a darling little girl,\n  With silky, chestnut hair,\nWhich falls in many a dancing curl,\n  Around her shoulders fair.\n\nHer eyes are very dark and soft,\n  And round their curtained bed,\nI've seen the fairy smiles full oft\n  Their radiant beauty shed.\n\nHer very tears are like the rain\n  Which falls in summer's hour;\nQuick turned to glittering gems again,\n  As sun succeeds to shower.\n\nThis witching child is very small;\n  Her feeble, tiny hands,\nCan scarcely tend the mammoth doll,\n  Which so much care demands.\n\nThen, though her voice is very sweet,\n  She does but little more\nThan simple childish songs repeat,\n  And prattle baby lore.\n\nShe cannot skip, for ah! she's lame;\n  One soft, white foot denies\nIts aid, her body to sustain,\n  And weak and powerless lies.\n\nYet, strange to say, a crown she wears,\n  Which claims our homage mute;\nAnd in her hand a sceptre bears,\n  Whose sway we ne'er dispute.\n\nFrom whence doth come the wondrous power\n  She never fails to wield--\nMaking strong hearts and wills, each hour,\n  To _her_ light wishes yield?\n\nIf but a touch of grief appear\n  To veil that bright, pure face;\nIf sickness cast its shadows there,\n  Or pain its dark lines trace;\n\nHow anxious every means we take,\n  The ill to drive away!\nAnd cheerfully, for her dear sake,\n  Would watch both night and day.\n\nAnd when the light of coming health\n  Brightens that clear, dark eye,\nWhat joy is ours! priceless wealth,\n  Earth's gold can never buy.\n\nShe makes us cast aside our book,\n  Though filled with learning rare;\nTo work is vain, when fun's arch look\n  Those beaming features wear.\n\nWhence is this spell? I can but think\n  That, in sweet childhood's hour,\nE'er yet the soul has learned to drink\n  From knowledge' fount of power;\n\nOr felt what virtue is, or known\n  Life's sins, not yet begun;\nOr seen how thick life's path is strown\n  With dangers it must shun;\n\nA spirit pure doth come, to dwell\n  In these fresh-bursting minds,\nWho weaves round them the powerful spell\n  Our hearts so firmly binds;\n\nOur holier thoughts through them to wake;\n  Our earth-dimmed vision clear;\nAnd through _their_ purity, to make\n  _All_ holy things more dear.\n\nIf so, where speeds that spirit, when\n  The soul has gathered strength--\nThe child, become with busy men,\n  A busy man at length?\n\nWhere has _our_ childhood's spirit gone?\n  How have _we_ lost the charm,\nThus thrown around life's early morn,\n  Keeping us safe from harm?\n\nAy! whither speeds it? Rather say\n  Is it not always by,\nThough, through the dust of life's noonday,\n  We may not see it nigh;\n\nNor when dark clouds of sin would veil\n  _All_ glory from our sight;\nAnd make both heart and hope to fail,\n  And brightness turn to night?\n\nBut when, midst virtue's clearer air,\n  The eye no hindrance knows,\nHow radiant stands the angel there!\n  What holy gifts bestows!\n\nMy darling niece, whose form of grace\n  Has made these thoughts arise,\nI'm sure this angel oft I trace\n  In those clear depths--thine eyes.\n\nAnd bursting forth from my full heart,\n  My prayers to heaven ascend,\nThat earth's dark changes ne'er may part\n  Thee and thy angel friend.\n\nThat purity may always be\n  The medium, clear and bright,\nThrough which may ever shine on thee\n  Heaven's own unclouded light.\n\n\n\n\nTEACHERS' LIBRARY.\n\n\nThe Teachers' Library connected with the School street Universalist\nSunday school, was commenced in 1841, when 67 volumes were collected for\nthat purpose.--Great care has been taken in selecting volumes for this\nlibrary. At this time, 1850, it numbers 194 valuable books.\n\n\n\n\nSCHOLARS' LIBRARY.\n\n\nThe foundation of the Scholars' Library, connected with the School\nstreet Universalist Sunday school, was laid in the year 1835. The number\nof volumes, in 1840, amounted to 400, of which 100 needed repairing.\nSome 50 volumes were added during 1841. Additions continued to be made\nfrom year to year, till the spring of 1850, when the number was\nincreased to 700 volumes.\n\n\n\n\nAGATHA.\n\n\nLittle Agatha was a Sabbath school scholar. She lived in a rural\ndistrict of Scotland. Her father's dwelling was surrounded by trees and\nflowers, and near by a little sparkling rivulet wandered onward, now\nmurmuring along by its rocky bed and dancing over bright pebbles, and\nnow wending its way silently through the valley, journeying onward to\nmingle with kindred waters.\n\nAgatha loved to roam through these shady glens, and often would she\nstand upon the margin of the little stream, and, gazing down, fancy that\nshe saw a beautiful little angel in the pure waters. She sometimes\nwaited a long time, hoping it might speak to her, little dreaming that\nher sweet angel was but the reflection of her own innocent face and\ngolden ringlets from the mirrored surface. She loved the little brook,\nand walked among the wild flowers upon its banks, herself as pure and\ninnocent as Spring's earliest blossoms. She was never lonely in her\nrural bowers; for the brook, the birds, and the flowers, ever spoke to\nher heart in tones of love.\n\nBut one day her teacher told her that wicked spirits were ever flying\nabout, trying to lead away little children into their company, and make\nthem as wicked as themselves. This much disquieted Agatha, for she had\nnever learned before that aught existed save innocence and joy. At\nfirst, she feared to wander out alone, into the \"great temple of\nnature,\" as she was wont, lest she should meet some of those malicious\nbeings. She dared not look into the pure waters, fearing that, instead\nof the beautiful angel which so often met her gaze, hideous forms might\nrise and drag her away into their bad company.\n\nBut her heart was soon quieted again; for her teacher also told her,\nthat good beings come down from the Spirit-land, to watch over little\nchildren, and drive the wicked ones away. So Agatha no longer feared to\nvisit her favorite haunts, for she besought the good spirits to be her\nguardians. And when at night she retired to her little couch, she prayed\nthe kind angels to watch over and protect her from evil spirits. And her\nprayer was answered, for none but good spirits ever visited the heart of\nAgatha. She was always punctual at Sabbath school; and one day after\nlooking around in vain for one of her mates, she was very much troubled\nto learn that she had been led a long way off, by a company of evil\nspirits. She longed to tear the unfortunate victim from their grasp; but\nher teacher told her, that the celestial beings alone could save her,\nand she must pray to them.\n\nSo Agatha went home, and walked out among the flowers, thinking the\ncelestial spirits would delight to linger in so pure a spot, and\nkneeling amid a cluster of roses, she prayed them to fly to the rescue\nof her misled companion. And everywhere that Agatha thought pure enough\nfor the abode of the good spirits, would she go and pray that her friend\nmight be restored. At night she would look up to the stars, and entreat\nthe same good beings to come down from their pure, bright dwellings, and\nlead back the straying one. Her prayers were soon answered, and when she\nnext went to Sabbath school, she was almost overjoyed to find her little\nfriend at her accustomed place. Little Mary (for she it was who had been\nled away) seemed very happy to get back again. She kissed her\nschoolmates, and said she would never leave them more. But she told them\na sad tale of Sin-land; how the evil ones would not suffer her to sleep,\nlest, in her slumbers, the good spirits might visit her and take her\naway;--that they would not let her walk among the flowers, for good\nspirits are there. And for a long time they watched her very closely,\nand directed her steps in their pathway.\n\nBut, at length, when she become faint and weary, the ministering angels\ncame to her assistance, took her in their arms, and folding her weary\nlimbs in their white robes, bore her back to her anxious companions. No\none rejoiced more than did Agatha, that the heavenly messengers had led\nMary back.\n\nTheir teacher said that her school was a little garden of flowers, which\nshe was rearing for heaven. But Agatha was the most innocent flower\nthere, and ready to bloom in the garden of paradise. The kind heavenly\nguides thought her too pure for earth, and they would fain have her\ncompanionship in their purer regions. So they bore her away on wings of\nlove to their heavenly home.\n\nMay every Sabbath school scholar be, like Agatha, led by celestial\nspirits.\n\n\n\n\nRESPONSIBILITY.\n\n\nThat teacher alone, whose eye is open to the immense value of religious\ninfluences, and who perceives the importance of trifles in morals, can\nproperly feel his great responsibility, or be qualified to guide the\nyoung in the way of life.\n\n\n\n\nDUTY OF PARENTS.\n\n\nParents should see that their children understand their lessons, and\nthat they commit them perfectly. They will thus both aid and encourage\nthe superintendent and teachers.\n\n\n\n\nA SCHOLAR'S REMEMBRANCE OF THE PIC-NIC OF 1850.\n\n\nHow bright, my dear mother, this sweet summer morning,\n  Does everything round me appear;\nThe sun the tall steeples with gold is adorning,\n  And lights up the skies blue and clear.\n\nAll freshly around me the west wind is blowing;\n  And, mother, I smell the sweet hay\nWhich was left on the Common from yesterday's mowing;\n  How I wish they'd not take it away.\n\nI'm sure 'tis too pleasant of school to be thinking,\n  Its tasks this bright day I should hate;\nMuch better I'd like the fresh air to be drinking,\n  Than puzzle o'er book and o'er slate.\n\nO if it were Pic-nic to-day, my dear mother,\n  How happy and gay I should be!\nHow joyful without any studies to pother,\n  Away in the woods to roam free.\n\nI'm sorry 'tis over; how great was my pleasure\n  The whole of that beautiful day;\nI jumped, and I danced, and I sung without measure,\n  But ah! it so soon passed away.\n\nHow well I remember the time of our starting!\n  How quick the large cars we did fill!\nHow screamed the shrill whistle, the signal for parting!\n  How we flew by town, river, and hill!\n\nWe reached the sweet grove which in stillness was waiting,\n  Its numerous guests to receive;\nWe rested one moment, while we were debating\n  What wonder we first should achieve.\n\n\"Let us make some green wreaths! let us gather wild flowers!\"\n  Said some; and they bounded away.\n\"Let us fill up with music and dancing the hours!\"\n  Said others, more lively and gay.\n\nAnd soon every part of the wild wood was ringing\n  With sounds full of mirth and of glee;\nSome dizzily high in the free air were swinging,\n  While others climbed up the tall tree.\n\nWhen called from our sports, to our dinner we hasted,\n  And sat on the green grassy ground;\nHow keenly we relished each morsel we tasted,\n  While fanned by the soft air around.\n\nThen came a loud summons, the signal for choosing\n  Our Queen by the mystical ring;\nWe crowned her with flowers; nor feared her abusing\n  The honors her station might bring.\n\nWe sang some sweet school-songs, and then our loved pastor,\n  With other dear friends who were there,\nTold us kindly of Jesus, the Savior and Master;\n  Of God, and his fatherly care;\n\nWho planted the trees that were waving around us,\n  And the wild flowers growing below;\nWho all our life long with rich blessings had crowned us,\n  And watched us where'er we might go.\n\nThen, mother, I heard all around me a whisp'ring,\n  And soon I found out what it meant;\nWhen to hallow our Pic-nic, the sweet rite of christ'ning\n  Its soft, holy influence lent.\n\nForth from the glad circle, their sweet infants bringing,\n  Came parents, with mild, thoughtful mien;\nWhat deep, tender thoughts in all bosoms were springing!\n  How solemn, how sacred the scene.\n\nAnd I could not keep back the hot tears, my dear mother,\n  Which came thick and fast to my eyes;\nFor those babes made me think of my own darling brother,\n  Now gone to his home in the skies.\n\nWhen this service was over, my playmates came round\n  And drew me away to the wood;\nNo longer light-hearted and merry they found me,\n  For thoughtful and sad was my mood.\n\nSo on the soft turf I sat silently thinking,\n  Of days when dear brother was by;\nWhile slowly and surely the bright sun was sinking,\n  Far down in the clear western sky.\n\nRing, ring, went the bell; and then, O, what a hustling!\n  All knew 'twas the signal to part;\nWhat searching for bonnets and boxes! what bustling!\n  All hurrying, eager to start.\n\nWe left ere the shadows of evening were dimming\n  The broad fields and woods all around;\nAnd with our swift steam-horse, again we went skimming\n  Through village, and meadow, and town.\n\nWe soon reached the city, and after the saying\n  Of cheerful \"Good night,\" to our friends,\nWe sought our own home without further delaying,\n  And the rest night to weariness sends.\n\n'Twas a blest, happy day; and oft in my dreaming\n  That cool, shady grove do I see,\nWith its bright little spots where the sunlight lay gleaming,\n  And all that was pleasant to me.\n\nAnd much do I hope, when again, my dear mother,\n  The summer shall come with its flowers,\nOur teachers will kindly allow us another\n  Such Pic-nic, mid Nature's green bowers.\n\n\n\n\nRAIN DROPS.\n\n\n\"O mamma, how fast it rains! Do see those bright and sparkling drops, as\nthey fall so rapidly on the green walks and beautiful flowers! Just see\nhow revived that little fainting flower looks on the farther border. It\nwas but yesterday I thought it would die. It drooped its head as if to\navoid the rays of the scorching sun; but now it is as fresh as any on my\nlittle bed. Who was so kind, mamma, as to send this gentle shower,\npurposely, as I should think, to save my favorite flower?\"\n\n\"'Favorite,' my child, did you say? I thought you loved them all.\"\n\n\"Oh, I do; but this one looked so sickly and faint, and I have watched\nit so anxiously, that it really seems dearer to me than all the rest;\njust as when we are sick, mamma, you watch us the more constantly, and\nlove us the more tenderly. But who did send the rain, mamma?\"\n\n\"It was God, my child, who caused the gentle showers, not only to cheer\nyour heart, by making the little flower revive, but to bless all his\nchildren. Have you forgotten your little verse, about God sending 'rain\non the just, and on the unjust?'\"\n\n\"O no; I remember it well. I think he is very kind to remember\neverybody. I am sure I shall always love him.\"\n\n\"I hope you always will. He is a lovable being. He delights in those\nthat are good, and is always ready to cheer and bless them.\"\n\n\n\n\nOBEY THE RULES.\n\n\nA careful regard to all the rules of a Sabbath school,--the rules\ntouching the library, those concerning the time of entrance, the general\nexercises, the demeanor of the pupils and the recitations,--will greatly\nfacilitate the business of the school, relieve the officers and teachers\nof much of their labor, and make the school itself beautiful for its\norder and harmony, and invaluable for its usefulness and success.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WAYS OF PROVIDENCE.\n\n\n\"God moves in a mysterious way,\n  His wonders to perform;\nHe plants his footsteps in the sea,\n  And rides upon the storm.\"\n\nWe may understand by Providence the all-providing care of God over his\ncreatures. He is our staff. Without his aid and support, we should sink;\nall our efforts would be of no avail. Without his sustaining power, we\ncould not endure the cares and troubles attending this life. He cares\nfor us in the broad day, urging us to resist temptation. He watches us\nby night, that no harm shall befall us. Mighty was the power of our\nSavior at the marriage feast, when he turned water into wine, and many\nwere the miracles he performed during his stay in this world, in healing\nthe sick, the lame, and the blind. The ways of God appear mysterious to\nus, because we cannot understand his motives. We know that all he does\nis right, and for our good; therefore we should not indulge a murmuring\nspirit at anything that may happen to us. It is our duty, as we cannot\nunderstand His manifold ways, and all-wise purposes, to study deeply the\nHoly Scriptures, and be willing to be taught by those wiser and better\ninformed than ourselves. We should confidently rely in God's wisdom and\nknowledge, which are so much greater than ours; yielding all things to\nhim; looking forward to that bright and happier world, where there is no\nsorrow, and striving to make ourselves worthy of his love, which is\nunbounded.\n\nPhilanthropy.--He is the wisest philanthropist who employs his energies\nand resources in the promotion of virtue.\n\nPreparation For Death.--He who is prepared to live, is prepared to die.\nAnd he who thinks and feels aright, is prepared for both.\n\n\n\n\nTO ALBERTA.\n\n\nAnd thou art gone, Alberta,\n  No sound shall wake thee now;\nThe dreamless sleep thou sleepest,\n  Death's shadow on thy brow.\n\nLike a bright summer flower.\n  Borne by rude winds away,\nWhose odors yet shall linger,\n  Though the fair form decay,--\n\nSo, long thy spirit, wafted\n  In fragrance back to earth,\nShall bloom in memory's bowers,\n  Mid plants of heavenly birth.\n\nWe tune our harps to sadness,\n  And songs of sorrow sing,\nAnd to the Father's altar,\n  A mournful tribute bring.\n\nNo more thou strowest flowers\n  Of sunshine o'er our path;\nThy song forever silent,\n  Thy voice is hushed in death.\n\nYet not for thee we sorrow,\n  Thy sorrows all are o'er;\nThine earthly journey ended,\n  Thou'st reached that happy shore,\n\nWhere spirits blest are waiting,\n  To welcome thee above;\nThere evermore to lead thee\n  In realms of peace and love.\n\nAnd hand in hand with angels,\n  Around God's throne to stand,\nWarbling sweet anthems ever,\n  Amid that heavenly band.\n\nFarewell! we would not wake thee,\n  'T were vain to wish thee here;\nA Father's arms receive thee,\n  Sleep on, nor danger fear.\n\nRise! and in Jesus' kingdom\n  Thy blissful station take;\nA Father's house is open,\n  To life immortal wake!\n\nOBT. Alberta Richardson, aged 8 years and 4 mos.; a beloved member of\nthe 2nd Universalist Sabbath school.\n\n\n\n\nTHE DISCONTENTED SQUIRREL.\n\n\nA FABLE.\n\nIn a wood, pleasantly situated in the southern part of ----, there lived\na squirrel. One day, as it was viewing the departure of some migratory\nbirds from its neighborhood, it could not prevent the escape of a deep\nsigh, accompanied with the exclamation, \"O dear! I wish some land fairy\nwould make me a bird. I could then soar to a great height, or dart\nswiftly through the air. Even if I were a little fish, to play about in\nthe water, I should be much better satisfied than in living here all my\nlife, and having nothing to do but gather nuts and acorns.\"\n\nAt that moment, a fairy, who was near, having heard the soliloquy of the\ndiscontented squirrel, immediately complied with its wish, and changed\nit into a beautiful bird. This amazed the poor squirrel very much, and\nwhen it attempted to call the attention of its companions by its\ncustomary chatter, its scream ended in a song.\n\nThe squirrel now thought its happiness was complete, and it concluded to\nmake use of its wings by a visit to some distant land. It had not gone\nfar before a storm arose, and it was obliged to take shelter in a tree.\nIt now began to wish it was in its snug little nest with its former\ncompanions.\n\nThe storm was soon over, and our bird again started on its journey. But\njust then a hungry hawk, who had watched it for a long time, pounced\nupon it. Fortunately, the fairy, who was near, seeing the bird was\nsufficiently punished for its folly, took compassion on it, changed it\ninto a squirrel again, and placed it safely in its own tree. The\nsquirrel was ever afterward contented.\n\nMoral.--Every one should be contented with his lot; for every station in\nlife has its own ills.\n\n\n\n\nSCHOOL STREET SOCIETY.\n\n\nThis Society, which has exerted an influence in the Universalist\ndenomination second to that of no other, was incorporated December 13,\n1816. The meeting for organization was held at the Green Dragon tavern,\non the evening of January 25, 1817. Major John Brazer was chosen the\nfirst Moderator. The Standing Committee consisted of John Brazer, Dr.\nDavid Townsend, Edmund Wright, Daniel E, Powars, Lemuel Packard, Jr.,\nLevi Melcher, and John W. Trull, who were directed to ascertain where a\nsuitable lot of land could be procured on which to erect a house of\nworship. After examining several lots, the one was selected on which the\nchurch now stands, in School street, and it was accordingly bought about\nthe first of May following.\n\nThe original means for building the church, was a subscription for\nshares of one hundred dollars each; one hundred and thirty-nine shares\nbeing taken by forty-three persons. Of this number, after a lapse of\nnearly a third of a century, the following are still spared to us, as\nwilling supporters of the Society and cause to which they devoted the\nmeridian of their days, to wit: William Barry, Daniel E. Powars, Winslow\nWright, Joseph Badger, Caleb Wright, John W. Trull, Samuel Hichborn, and\nJob Turner.\n\nOn Monday, May 19, 1817, the corner-stone was laid, and within it was\ndeposited a silver plate, the gift of Dr. David Townsend, with this\ninscription: \"The Second Universal Church, devoted to the Worship of the\ntrue God: Jesus Christ being the chief Corner Stone. May 19, 1817.\" The\nbuilding of the house was carried forward with energy, and on the 25th\nof August the Chairman of the Committee was directed to address a letter\nto Rev. Hosea Ballou, asking him if it would meet his approbation to be\nconsidered a candidate for the office of pastor. The house having been\ncompleted, it was voted to dedicate the same on Wednesday, October 15,\n1817. The Rev. Thomas Jones was invited to preach the sermon, and Revs.\nEdward Turner, Hosea Ballou, and Paul Dean, to conduct the other\nservices as might be mutually agreeable to them. In consequence,\nhowever, of the Cattle Show at Brighton taking place on that day, it was\nafterwards thought expedient to postpone the Dedication until the\nsucceeding day.\n\nOn the day following the Dedication, the Society met for the purpose of\nselecting a pastor; and the Standing Committee were instructed, by a\nunanimous vote, to invite the Rev. Hosea Ballou to that office, at a\nweekly salary of twenty-five dollars. This vote was communicated to him\nin an appropriate letter from the Chairman of the Committee, to which\nthe following reply was received:--\n\n    Boston, Oct. 24, 1817.\n\n    Sir,--The call of the Second Universalist Society in Boston,\n    inviting me to the labors of the Christian Ministry with them,\n    together with the liberal terms which accompany said invitation, has\n    been duly considered. And after weighing all the circumstances\n    relative to the subject, so far as my limited mind could comprehend\n    them, I have come to the conclusion that it is my duty to accept\n    their call on the conditions therein stated. I largely participate\n    the \"peculiar pleasure\" afforded by the consideration of the\n    unanimity of the Society, and entertain an humble hope that, with\n    the continuance of this harmony, we may long continue to enjoy all\n    spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.\n\n\n    The Society's most humble servant in Christ,\n\n    Hosea Ballou.\n\n    To John Brazer, Esq.\n\nHe was publicly installed on Christmas day, December 25, 1817. Sermon,\nfrom John xx. 24, and the Fellowship of the Churches, were given by Rev.\nPaul Dean; Installing Prayer and Charge by Rev. Edward Turner, and the\nConcluding Prayer by Rev. Joshua Flagg.\n\nAt the annual meeting in May, 1818, the thanks of the Society were\npresented to Lemuel Packard, Jr., Esq., for his generous donation of a\nchandelier for the use of the church. The clock now in the church was\nthe gift of John Brazer, Esq., probably during the time of the building\nof the church.\n\nIn the summer of 1822, Mr. Ballou received an invitation to become the\npastor of the Second Universalist Society in Philadelphia, at a larger\nsalary than he was then receiving. In a letter to his Society, Mr. B.\nstates, that they are under no engagement to him beyond the term of six\nmonths; and that, his salary being barely sufficient to support his\nfamily, he felt bound to lay the invitation of the Philadelphia Society\nbefore them for their assistance, in any decision he might make in\nregard to it. The Society was accordingly called together, and by a\nunanimous vote his salary was raised to thirty dollars a week. This vote\nbeing communicated to him, he informed them in reply that the salary\nvoted him was fully and abundantly satisfactory to him, and that he\naccepted it with pleasure.\n\nDuring the year 1836, the Society built the vestry in the attic story of\nthe church, and the following year, 1837, the interior of the church was\naltered by a new pulpit, ceiling, introduction of gas, painting, &c. at\nan expense of nearly five thousand dollars. And in the year 1840, the\nSociety purchased the organ now in the church.\n\nDuring the first years of the existence of the Society, the singing was\nconsidered of a superior order; and it may be interesting to some of the\nyounger members of the Society to know that, in 1833, the Standing\nCommittee approved of the selection, by the choir, of Miss Charlotte\nCushman, as the leading female singer. Mr. Win. Barry, one of the\noriginal proprietors, and at present one of the oldest men of the\ncongregation, conducted this part of public worship for several years.\n\nIn 1840, the subject of an associate pastor was first brought forward;\nand, in 1841, commenced those unfortunate difficulties in regard to it,\nwhich continued with little interruption until the fall of 1845, when\nthe proprietors were called together to act upon a proposition to sell\nthe meeting-house and wind up the affairs of the Society. This\nproposition was, however, rejected, by a decisive vote of more than two\nto one, out of one hundred votes cast. During this period, the pulpit\nwas supplied one half the time by Father Ballou, and the other half by\nRev. T.C. Adam, from May, 1842, to May, 1843; by Rev. H.B. Soule, from\nMay, 1844, to May, 1845; and the other two years by the Standing\nCommittee.\n\nThat portion of the Society who voted against the proposition to sell,\nhad, early in that year, taken counsel together in regard to the future\nprosperity of the Society. Father Ballou expressed a willingness to be\nrelieved from all active duties as pastor of the Society, other than\nthose he might choose to perform as senior pastor, and also to\nrelinquish his salary if the Society felt that with their whole means\nthey would be able to secure the services of one who would again unite\nthem together. Accordingly, September 28, 1845, the proprietors were\ncalled together, and his proposition was accepted. They also unanimously\ninvited the Rev. E.H. Chapin to become junior pastor, at a yearly salary\nof two thousand dollars; and on the 8th of November the following\nacceptance of their call was received by the committee through whom the\ninvitation was tendered.\n\n    Charlestown, Nov. 8, 1845.\n\n    _Brethren:_--\n\n    The invitation to become associate pastor of your Society, which you\n    have extended to me, is hereby accepted. Preliminaries relative to\n    the time when I can assume my connection with you must be the\n    subject of future communications. And that God may bless this\n    decision to your good, to mine, and to his glory,--is the prayer of\n\n    Yours, Fraternally,\n    E.H. Chapin.\n\n    To the Committee.\n\nBr. Chapin was installed January 28, 1846. The sermon was preached by\nFather Ballou, from I Peter iv, 10 and 11. Rev. Messrs. Cook, Hichborn,\nStreeter, II. Ballou 2d, Skinner, Fay, and Cleverly, took part in the\nservices. At the annual meeting in May, 1846, a committee was appointed\nto express to Rev. Hosea Ballou the feelings of high regard unanimously\ncherished towards him by the Society, in consideration of his long and\nvaluable services as their pastor; and to assure him that their prayers\nfor his welfare were still with him in his relations as senior pastor of\nthe Society. To this, the following reply was received by the committee.\n\n    Boston, May 25, 1846.\n\n    Messrs. Benajah Brigham,\n    Joseph Lincoln, and Bela Beal,\n\n    _Brethren_:--\n\n    After having enjoyed so many years of pastoral connection with the\n    Second Universalist Society in this city, and having served the same\n    so long a time with constant solicitude for their spiritual\n    prosperity and with a consciousness of my many imperfections, I find\n    that words are insufficient to express the satisfaction I feel on\n    the reception of the unanimous vote of the Society expressive of\n    their approbation of my services, as pastor, and their prayers for\n    my happiness in my present position as senior. You will, brethren,\n    accept my thanks for the acceptable manner in which you have\n    communicated the vote of the Society to me, and assure the Society\n    of my fervent prayer for their spiritual prosperity under their\n    junior pastor.\n\n    In the bonds of the Gospel,\n\n    HOSEA BALLOU.\n\nAt the annual meeting in 1847, the Standing Committee were directed to\ninvite Father Ballou to sit for his portrait, and that the same, when\nfinished, be placed in Murray Hall. This work was successfully executed,\nand Father Ballou expressed himself highly complimented by the action of\nthe Society in regard to it.\n\nEarly in 1848, the Society were called together to act upon the\nfollowing letter from Brother Chapin.\n\n    Boston, Feb. 5, 1848.\n\n    _Brethren_:--\n\n    After, as I trust, deliberate and proper consideration, I have\n    concluded to take up my connection with your Society, and accept of\n    the invitation from New York. I might extend this letter to great\n    length and yet not express the feelings with which I do this act. I\n    can only say that I do so with the utmost kindness and with deep\n    gratitude, and shall always cherish, with unalloyed satisfaction,\n    the harmonious season we have passed together. I invoke God's\n    blessing upon the Society you represent, and to you personally\n    tender the warmest sentiments of personal regard.\n\n    Fraternally yours,\n\n    E.H. Chapin.\n    To the Standing Committee.\n\nAt the same meeting, February 20, 1848, Rev. A.A. Miner was invited to\nbecome the junior pastor of the Society, at the same salary which had\nbeen paid Brother Chapin, and on the 15th of March, the committee\nreceived the following letter, accepting the invitation.\n\n    Lowell, March 15, 1848.\n\n    _Brethren_:--\n\n    The invitation which I received at your hands, to become associate\n    pastor of the Second Society of Universalists in Boston, has been\n    duly considered, and is hereby accepted. Although this decision\n    seemed compatible with my duty, it has not been arrived at without a\n    severe trial, both on account of the existing ties it will sever,\n    and of my conscious unfitness for so responsible a station.\n    Trusting, however, in Him who is always able to help us,\n\n    I remain,\n\n    Yours in the Gospel,\n\n    A.A. Miner.\n\n    To the Committee.\n\nOn the last Sunday in April, Brother Chapin preached his farewell sermon\nfrom the text, \"And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word\nof his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an\ninheritance among them which are sanctified.\" Acts xx. 32. Brother Miner\nwas installed May 31. Sermon, by Mr. Chapin, from John x. 10. The other\nexercises were performed by Rev. Messrs. Dennis, Mott, Ballou, H. Ballou\n2d, Fay, Streeter, and Cook.\n\nUnder the ministry of Brother Chapin, the Society was united and\nprosperous; and under the present ministry of Brother Miner, that union\nand prosperity are unabated. May the favor of God grant them a long\ncontinuance.\n\n\n\n\nTHE EXAMPLE OF THE BEE.\n\n\nThe little bee, by instinct alone, is taught the necessity of faithful\nlabor. In the summer, it collects honey from every flower, that it may\nhave a supply of food for the approaching winter, when the flowers have\nall faded. But children have reason, instead of instinct, to guide them;\nand should be industrious in childhood and youth, in gathering the\nsweets of knowledge and virtue for spiritual sustenance in the winter of\nlife.\n\n\n\n\nTHE MORNING WALK.\n\n\nChildren, in the early morning,\nWhen the sun's first rosy ray,\nBright'ning on the distant hill-top,\nGilds the tall spire o'er the way,\nRaise the heavy, sleepy eyelid,\nWelcome cheerfully the light;\nNature's time for rest and slumber\nPasses with the hours of night.\n\nWhile the air is freshest, purest,\nAnd the city seems at rest,\nRise, and while the eye beams clearest,\nRoam with me, an out-door guest.\nAnd abroad we'll gayly wander,\nTill the hour for breakfast calls;\nPassing through those streets that lead us\nTo our lofty State House halls.\n\nEnter now our glorious Common!\nOn its beauty gaze awhile!\nAs the glowing sunshine greets it,\nSee the \"face of Nature smile!\"\nOn the broad, smooth walks tread freely,\nSentinelled by stately trees,\nWhose green leafy boughs o'erarching,\nHerald every passing breeze;\n\nCasting, too, at brightest mid-day,\nO'er these paths a pleasant shade;\nBlessings on our City Fathers,\nWho this wise provision made.\nHere, just opposite the fountain,\nOn this block of granite rest;\nWhile with eye and ear attentive,\nAdmiration is expressed.\n\nSee the living spray-drops leaping,\nCrowned with dancing diamond light;\nMidway hangs the bright-hued rainbow!\nIs it not a dazzling sight?\nAnd in what a gay confusion\nDo the waters meet below!\nNow compare this stone-paved basin\nWith the \"frog-pond,\" years ago!\n\nRustling leaves, and murmuring fountain,\nFill with melody the air,\nBlending with the wild birds' singing,--\nSuch sweet sounds can banish care.\nNotice, how the grass is laden,\nThickly gemmed with sparkling dew,\nWhich at eve so gently falleth,\nThus its verdure to renew.\n\nViewing these fair works of Nature,\nWith the art of man combined,\nAre our thoughts not tending upward\nTo the Author of mankind?\nYes, with grateful hearts we thank Him,\nFor our lives so truly blest;\nAsking strength to meet time's changes,\nFaith to think them for the best.\n\nWe must learn life's varied lessons,\nTheir deep meaning must unfold;\nSad or merry, they will yield us\nMore true wealth than mines of gold!\nHark! the breakfast bell is calling!\nHasten to your homes away!\nLet us hope to meet here often,\nWelcoming the early day.\n\n\n\n\nTRUE SATISFACTION.\n\n\nTo the faithful teacher, there is no greater pleasure than is afforded\non each returning Sunday, by his labors with his class. Wielding\nChristian truth in the full exercise of human affections, he moulds the\nyoung heart as with a hand divine.\n\nPunctuality.--One of the beauties of the Sabbath school is the\npunctuality of its scholars and teachers.\n\n\n\n\nFEMALE EDUCATION.\n\n\nIn ancient days female education was almost entirely neglected, and\nwoman's intellectual powers were left to slumber. Her mind was a barren\nwaste, exhibiting no rich, luxuriant verdure, diversified only by a few\noutward accomplishments, which served to please the fancy of the\nstronger sex. The Spartan woman, distinguished for her sternness of\ncharacter and warlike disposition, looked with shame upon a son who\ncould return from battle unless victorious, ever teaching him, from his\nearliest infancy, \"to conquer, or to die on the battle-field.\" All the\ngentle and amiable qualities of the heart were repressed in their\ngrowth; and, while Sparta offered to her _sons_ the rich boon of\nintellectual culture, her _daughters_ were thought unworthy of the gift.\n\nAnd Athens, that great and mighty city, exercising a most powerful\ninfluence over the civilized world, distinguished for her legislators,\nher philosophers, and her historians,--what was the condition of woman\nthere? The slave, rather than the companion of man, she knew not that,\nwere the storehouse of knowledge opened for her, she could come forward\nand stand on an equality with the \"proud lord of creation!\" Rome, too,\nthe metropolis of the world, denied to woman her proper station in\nsociety, not dreaming of the hidden gems of thought which lay\nundiscovered beneath the thick incrustations of ignorance and\nsuperstition.\n\nBut _now_, all the precious gifts which learning can bestow are justly\nextended to _her_ also; and man, with his increase of knowledge, has\nwisely learned to respect the mental abilities with which God has\nendowed her; has found that she may, like himself, ascend the steep hill\nof science, enjoy its pleasures, cull its sweetest flowers, and drink of\nthe pure and living waters from the inexhaustible fountains of\nknowledge.\n\nAnd what has caused this change? The bright star which appeared to the\n\"wise men of the East,\" eighteen hundred years ago, heralding a Savior's\nbirth, foretold also woman's release from the thraldom which had bound\nher. It was to her a star of promise, telling her that the strong chains\nof ignorance and superstition which bound her, should be broken asunder\nby the gentle influences of the religion of the lowly Jesus. It is\nChristianity which has raised her from the degradation which was once\nhers, and induced man to acknowledge her equality with him.\n\nEducation exalts and refines the mind of woman, and enables her to\ncontribute to the happiness of those around her. It is that which\nrenders her the dutiful and obedient daughter, the kind and affectionate\nsister, the trusting and loving companion, and the fond and tender\nparent. The old adage, \"woman must be _ignorant_ in order to be useful,\"\nhas been long thrown aside among the rubbish of the past, and remembered\nonly as a relic of the superstitions of other days. _Home_, with its\nduties, is woman's sphere of action; and, to fulfil properly those\nduties, _she must be educated_; she must not be kept in intellectual\nbondage, but must be fully awakened to the responsibilities of her\nstation. It is she who watches over our infancy, guides our childhood,\npresents to our infant minds the rudiments of knowledge, and cheers us\nin our progress by showing us the honors which attend those who acquire\n_true wisdom_, and therefore must her mind be early taught to comprehend\nthe duties which devolve upon her.\n\nA broad field is that of Education; and while she strives to make\nacquisitions in the various branches of knowledge, let her not forget\nthat _better_ education of the mind and heart. Talent, without virtue to\nguide, is like a ship without sails or rudder, exposed to the wild winds\nof the storm on the broad expanse of the ocean. What sadder spectacle\ncan there be, than to behold a mind employing its talents and its\nlearning in endeavoring to lead its fellow-beings away from the paths of\nrectitude, disregarding the laws of God and man, and refusing to\nacknowledge the Source that gave it birth? From such an example we turn\nwith sorrow and disgust, and gladly look to those good and noble ones\nwho have adorned their sex. The names of Hannah More, Maria Edgeworth,\nFelicia Hemans, Letitia Landon, Harriet Martineau, and a host of others,\nshow what woman can do when properly educated; for they are equally\ndistinguished in private, for their amiable and domestic qualities, as\nin public for their high intellectual attainments. Let woman follow\ntheir example, never failing to embrace all opportunities presented to\nher for moral and intellectual improvement.\n\n\n\n\nONE FAMILY.\n\n\nWe are all brothers and sisters of one great family, and should always\ntreat each other as such. If you suffer provocation, let the remembrance\nthat it is a brother who has injured you, prevent retaliation, and\nsecure for him entire forgiveness. He who can forgive injuries, puts\nhimself beyond the reach of harm, and secures a peace of soul more\nvaluable than the gold of Ophir.\n\n\n\n\nSUMMER THOUGHTS.\n\n\nA FABLE.\n\nI suppose most of the readers of this little volume have been in the\ncountry the past summer. As you beheld the green grass, the fine\nspreading trees, and the beautiful flowers that sprang up in your\npathway, perhaps the feeling came over you that you could be far happier\nin the country than in the city. We are very apt to suppose that change\nof place will produce a more delightful state of feeling; forgetting\nthat in a little time we should become familiar with all these objects,\nand then we return again to our former selves.\n\nPrecisely so it is with children in the country. They come to this busy\ncity, and eagerly gaze at the varied shows which attract the eye, and\nwould prefer to exchange situations with _you_; but by and by they\nbecome wearied with sightseeing, and the home they have left rises\nbefore them as a pleasanter abode than any other dwelling, however rich\nor elegant. Thus they learn to be _happy at home_; and this is a most\nvaluable attainment.\n\nBut, in order to be permanently happy, we must have something to do.\nThere are other lessons to be learned besides those we commit in the\nschoolroom. The whole world, indeed, is a school, and we are daily\ncommitting our tasks. These teachings are preparations for our future\nhappiness.\n\nYou have all noticed the growth of a tree. At first, only a little twig\nsprings out of the ground. And so with the flower. You deposit only a\ntiny seed; but in a little time a shoot springs up, and by natural but\nslow processes the twig becomes a large shady tree, and the shoot a\nbeautiful blooming flower. Though they grow very slowly, yet they never\n_rest_. Day and night the hidden processes are going on which help to\npromote their growth. Just so it is with the minds of children. They are\ndaily acquiring those habits which will eventually make the whole sum of\ntheir characters. But then, great care is requisite how they form these\ncharacters; that they may spring up in fair proportions, making their\npossessors worthy members of society.\n\nI will illustrate this by a fable, which occurred to me as I walked over\nthe beautiful garden of a friend, with whom I spent a few weeks the past\nsummer. We will suppose, for our present purpose, that the flowers have\nan articulate voice.\n\nA stately dahlia grew in a cultivated garden. There were many of the\nsame species of flowers, but no other had the peculiar variegated tints\nof this particular one. Every one, in passing by it, was attracted by\nits beauty. It seemed as if vain of flattery, although we know it had no\nears to hear, for every day it seemed to increase in size and beauty.\nWith its lofty head, it gained a supremacy above all its neighbors, and\nthe heavy shower and furious wind failed to soil its petals or bend its\ngraceful form.\n\nAway off in the farther corner of the garden, under a hedge, bloomed a\nsimple white clover. It was entirely unheeded by the multitude, although\nit gave a sweetness and fragrancy to the air, which made the invalid\nstop to inhale it. In its modesty it bloomed, in its lowly bed it sought\nno observation, and was passed by as a simple white clover. By and by\nthe mower's scythe passed that way and levelled it among common grasses.\nIt was gathered in the general mass of hay, and became a part of the\nsustenance of the master's cattle.\n\nThe dahlia was plucked by the horticulturist, and placed in a glass\nreceptacle, among kindred flowers, where it was gazed at for a time;\nthen it faded and was thrown among common rubbish. During their lifetime\nwe will suppose them to have conversed together.\n\n\"I,\" said the dahlia, \"am queen of this garden. I attract every eye that\npasses; while you, little clover, are hidden by the tall grass, and\nliable to be crushed at any moment.\"\n\n\"Well,\" replied the clover, \"let it be so _now_; but look at our _final\nend_. You will be placed in a glass, plucked from your native stem,\nwhere you will wither and die as a worthless thing; while I shall be\nfelled by the scythe, after I have reached my maturity, and then a\nthousand tiny seeds will I strow around me; so that, another reason, I\nshall bloom all about the hedges, and my usefulness will be appreciated.\nAnd pray where will you then be?\" The dahlia blushed, and hung its head\nfor shame.\n\nHere, children, is a fable designed to illustrate pride and humility.\nWhich appears the most beautiful, because the most useful? I know you\nwill prefer humility to pride. If so, you must remember that the\npeculiar traits you now cultivate are forming within you the one or the\nother. By a thousand little kind acts, you can diffuse happiness in your\nhomes; and all the while you are disseminating these virtues, you are\nacquiring these lasting graces, in _yourselves_, which will spring up,\nlike the violet and sweet clover, leaving a fragrancy and beauty\nwherever you have trodden.\n\n\n\n\nA TALK WITH THE CHILDREN.\n\n\nDear children,--although I am _almost_ a stranger among you, yet I feel\na true interest in your welfare. It gives me great pleasure when I enter\nthe Sabbath school to meet your happy countenances and smiling faces.\nChildren, you do not assemble together for the purpose of passing an\nhour that perhaps might pass unpleasantly elsewhere. It is for a higher\nand nobler purpose. It is to gain useful and religious instruction from\nthe _Bible_, the best of all books. You should not be content with\nlearning and reciting your lessons, but you should try to remember what\nyou learn. And when you grow up to be men and women, you will never\nregret it. It is in the _Bible_ that we are taught to love God, and all\nmankind.\n\nWhen we enter the Sabbath school, may we learn to say, To-day is the\nSabbath day, ever blessed and beautiful; welcome to its holy and happy\ninfluence! Welcome, thrice welcome, the day of sweet repose, and sweeter\nmeditation. Spring is sometimes compared to childhood. In spring, when\nthe brooks fall gurgling down the mountain side, when the earth begins\nto be covered with its verdant robes, when the birds are joyfully\nsinging around, the trees gently waving in the breeze, and all is gay\nand gladsome, we sometimes wish that it could always be spring. So in\nyouth, we sometimes wish we could always be young; but it cannot be. But\nas each season in its turn, spring, summer, autumn, and even winter,\nclothed in its robes of snow, has its own pleasures, so each season of\nlife is wisely invested of God, with its own peculiar joys.\n\nThough it is now spring-time, it will soon be autumn with you, when you\nmust impart that useful knowledge you will have gained in spring and\nsummer. Now is the time for you to store up that knowledge. If our\nchildhood and youth are rightly employed, age will compare no more\nunfavorably, as regards its joys, with youth and middle age, than does\nwinter with spring. Endeavor, then, to acquire that useful knowledge\nthat will teach you so to live that you may set a good example to all\naround you. Children, this beautiful world we live in was made for you.\nIt is filled with beauty, and when we look around upon it, our hearts\nwithin us say, how great and good is our God! How wonderful are all of\nhis works! The beautiful in nature is all the production of his power.\nHe spoke this world into being, and decorated it with sun, moon, and\nstars. Beauty and loveliness are stamped upon everything that he has\nmade. But no scene in the outward world transcends in loveliness the\nSabbath school, where the young come to receive Christian instruction.\nAnd now, dear children, make this wise resolution; to love your Sabbath\nschool, your parents and teachers, all the world, and especially your\nheavenly Father, better than you ever have before; and you will be\nbetter and happier children.\n\n\n\n\nUNCLE JIMMY.\n\n\nIt was Saturday afternoon. The boys were enjoying their sports, when one\nof them espied Uncle Jimmy coming towards them. \"Look, boys,\" said he,\n\"Uncle Jimmy is coming. We will ask him to stop and tell us some\nstories.\"\n\nNow Uncle Jimmy was a very aged man, bowed down with years, and so\nfeeble that he could not walk without the aid of his cane. When the\nweather was mild, he used to take short walks, and the children were\nalways happy to see him. They all claimed the privilege of calling him\nUncle. One little boy ran forward to assist him, and led him to a seat\nbeneath a shady tree. Ball and hoop were soon forgotten, as they eagerly\npressed round the old man, to show him their respect; for he always had\na word for each of them.\n\n\"Do not let me interrupt your sports, boys; I am fond of seeing you at\nyour plays. I had once as many playmates as yourselves, and enjoyed them\nas well.\"\n\nThe little boy who assisted him to his seat, replied, \"We had rather\nhear you talk to us, if you please, sir; for we have not seen you for so\nlong a time.\"\n\n\"True, true, I have been housed up, and it is rare, nowadays, that I\nwalk so far as this. I'm glad to see you all so well and happy. If you\nwish to keep so, be always temperate, and do not neglect your duties.\nWhenever conscience whispers to you, 'I have done my duty,' you will\nenjoy the sports allowed you.\n\n\"I have now in my mind the memory of an old friend. It is indeed\npleasant to think of him. He was remarkable for his industry, even when\nvery young; yet at play he was as merry as the merriest of us. His mind\nand his heart were in it. He became a very superior scholar. Some of you\nmay think that it was because he had superior talents, that he thus\nexcelled in scholarship. It is true, he had rare talents; but by his\nindustry he made every talent ten talents; and he always exercised his\npowers for the good of others, for he was benevolent in his disposition.\nI am proud to think of him, when in his prime. Young and old were\nbenefited by his instruction, and he was universally beloved and\nrespected; for he had become a useful preacher of the word of God, and a\ndevoted minister. His example of industry and perseverance exerted an\nextensive influence upon others, and changed in some measure the whole\nface of society in the community in which he lived.\"\n\nMany more stories did Uncle Jimmy relate to the children, which I have\nnot time to repeat now. The afternoon was far spent ere any of them\nwearied of hearing him; and many a good lesson did they receive, which I\ntrust was as \"good seed, sown on good ground.\" I trust my little readers\nwill as readily listen to the counsels of the aged, and as respectfully\nheed their advice, as did these children. In this way, you will give\npromise of becoming wise and good.\n\nThe children waited on Uncle Jimmy to his home; and, when they left him,\nhe prayed God to bless them.\n\n\n\n\nTHE CHILD'S DREAM OF HEAVEN.\n\n\nMother, I dreamed of heaven;\nAnd all around were choirs of angels, singing\nHymns of praise; and children joining hands,\nAnd looking so bright and happy, that I wished\nI could be always with them. And in their midst\nThe Savior stood and blessed them, saying,\n\"Suffer little children unto me to come.\"\nThen all around were flowers so sweet, dear mother,\nThat the whole air seemed filled with fragrance, and\nThe birds were warbling sweetest songs of love.\nThe sky was fairer than our sky, dear mother;\nAnd the sunshine seemed more bright; and as it beamed\nUpon the angels' forms, they looked as though\nAll made of light. And then I looked for those\nThat left us, who, you said, had gone to heaven,\nTo join the angels round the throne of God.\nThere I saw sister, and my little brother\nWe long since buried in the dark, cold ground,\nWhom I had thought I never more should meet.\nThey looked, dear mother, as they used to look,\nWhen they were well and happy; ere disease\nHad robbed them of their beauty, or death's seal\nFastened upon their features. And their faces\nBeamed with a brightness never seen before.\nI asked if they were happy, and if I\nCould join them; or if they would return\nTo us again; and told them, mother dear,\nHow lonely we had felt since they departed,\nAnd left us in our grief; and how we missed\nTheir pleasant voices and their merry laugh;\nFor though you said 'twas wrong to wish them back,\nI could not think but you would welcome them.\nThey were too happy in their angel home,\nTo think of coming back to earth again;\nAnd neither, said they, could I stay with them,\nBecause my time was not yet come. But they\nWould look upon us from their high abode,\nAnd ask our Saviour's blessing on us both;\nAnd soon his arms would open, and his voice\nWould call on us to follow them; and they\nWould welcome us to those bright realms above,\nWhere they, with angels, now have found a home;\nWhere all shall find a home, a resting-place,\nAfter the toils of earth. Where skies are bright,\nAnd spring forever reigns. Where flowers shall bloom\nIn never-fading freshness, nor be touched\nBy winter's frost. And, more than all, where love\nUnites all hearts in one great brotherhood,\nNor separation comes to break the chain.\n\n\n\n\nTHE INFLUENCE OF SABBATH SCHOOLS.\n\n\n\"Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined,\"--is an adage as true as\nit is ancient. One's character, happiness, and usefulness, during his\nwhole life, depends, in no small measure, upon early education. The\nchild taught to disregard the Sabbath, and lightly to esteem the\ninstructions of the Sabbath school, grows to manhood devoid of aught\nthat can entitle him to the society and respect of the good and\nvirtuous. With a soul shrouded in midnight darkness, he gropes his way\nthrough life, and at the grave sinks into oblivion, \"by none esteemed,\nby all forgot.\" However we may hope for such a soul, through the mercy\nof God, as we surely do, it is not now qualified to enter upon and fully\nappreciate the purity and joys of Christ's kingdom.\n\nWe seldom hear of the execution or imprisonment of one who regarded in\nyouth the Sabbath school. Indeed, I think it impossible for one who has\nbeen successfully taught to reverence and to love the teachings of Jesus\nof Nazareth, to become an outcast from society. It is true, envy, with\nits envenomed tongue, and malice, with its still more poisonous breath,\nmay assail even such a one; but their shafts will fall harmless at his\nfeet. The shield of his soul they cannot pierce. They cannot eradicate\nfrom the heart the influence of the high and holy lessons which it\nreceived in youth. Its many sources of enjoyment they cannot destroy.\n\nPleasant and important, therefore, are the duties of teachers. The\ndirecting of tender affections, and the development of youthful powers,\nare intrusted to their hands. If they perform their duties faithfully,\nthey may have the satisfaction of seeing the pupils of their charge\nuseful among men, devoted to right, and obedient unto God. Such an\noffice is lovely. It is more than lovely, it is holy. It blesses him who\nfills it. It exalts his affections, ennobles his purposes, and enlarges\nhis heart.\n\nDo we not see the fruit of this labor in our own school? In the kindness\nand love of the children for each other, in their faithfulness in the\nduties of the school, and in their respectful and affectionate bearing\ntowards their teachers and all others, do we not recognize some of the\nfruits of Sabbath school culture? And may we not expect that such\nchildren will be beloved, honored, and useful among men?\n\nDo we not also see some of the fruits of these influences in the\nfraternal regard of teachers for each other, in their devotion to their\nduties as teachers, and in their distinguishing virtues as Christians?\nHave we not, especially, seen the fruit of these influences in the\nenduring patience, calm hopefulness, and cheerful trust, of one of our\nnumber whom we have just followed to her resting-place? The Lord\nmake us faithful, that our end may be like hers.\n\n\n\n\nMEMORY.\n\n\n\"O Memory! thou wak'ner of the dead!\nThou only treasurer of vanished past!\nHow welcome art thou, when bright hope is fled,\nAnd sorrow's mantle o'er the soul is cast!\nBack o'er those days too beautiful to last,\nThy gentle hand will lead the saddened thought;\nAnd though the tears may trickle warm and fast,\nYet thy sweet pictures with such peace are fraught,\nThe heart, beguiled, exclaims, 'This is the fount I sought.'\"\n\nMemory! Who has not felt its influence! Who of us would wish to part\nwith its delights and quiet teachings! Beautifully adapted is the\ntwilight hour to the cherishing of the recollections of the past. It is\nthen that the hum of busy life is hushed, and all nature seems resting\nfrom its toil. Then, in undisturbed peace, rise before us the loved ones\nwe have cherished, and whose memories, like guardian angels, always\nattend us. We recall every affectionate word and kindly deed, however\ntrivial or little heeded at the time. And how sweet then are our\nthoughts, and our recompense, if we have never caused them an unhappy\nmoment! Half the bitterness of affliction is removed by such blessed\nmemories. Then let us make them ours. Let us so live that it shall be\npossible for us to cherish them. Then will they bring to us many happy\nhours, and sweet solace to the suffering heart. Each moment, as it flits\nby, enters its record upon the tablet of memory, to be read with joy or\nsorrow at some future moment.\n\nThen let each moment find some worthy deed to perform, or kind word to\nbe spoken, that shall cause a glow of pleasure and satisfaction when\nmemory recalls it. All memories are not alike pleasing; yet each may\nhave its mission to perform. Past sin may bring pain with its\nrecollection. It comes as a warning, lest we should transgress again.\nIf, then, we would treasure up for ourselves pleasant memories for the\nfuture, we must guard well the present moment.\n\nIt is equally cheering to feel that we ourselves have a place in the\nmemory of our friends. What a motive it should be to us, then, to live\nin such a manner that their memory of us may be as \"the memory of the\njust,\" which the Scriptures declare to be \"blessed.\"\n\n\n\n\nSELFISHNESS.\n\n\nThe selfish man wrongs himself in attempting to wrong others. In filling\nhis pockets unjustly with gold, he drives away joy from his soul. He\nforgets his relationship to angels, and only remembers his affinity to\nbrutes.\n\n\n\n\nTROUBLE.\n\n\nWorldly trouble is the tonic of the soul. Affliction at once humbles us\nand gives us a relish for spiritual food. Those providences which teach\nus the insufficiency of earth, make us lean on heaven.\n\n\n\n\nREVENGE.\n\n\nRevenge is the putting out of one's own eyes for the sake of putting out\nthe eyes of another.\n\n\n\n\nA BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.\n\n\nIn admiring the virtues and moral excellence of one who holds a high\nrank in society, who fills a distinguished place in the State, or\noccupies a responsible seat in the halls of science or in the church, we\nare liable to be swayed in our judgment. His social position is a kind\nof magnifying lens, through which all his virtues are viewed. But when a\ncomparatively obscure individual from the humbler walks of life claims\nour attention, we are better able to estimate his virtues at their true\nvalue.\n\nSuch a one we meet with in the subject of this brief sketch. Miss Hannah\nS. Shedd was born in Boston, February 5, 1826. The death of her father,\npreceded as it was by the death of her mother, left her an orphan at the\nage of eight years. She was the second of three surviving children by\ntheir father's second marriage, all of whom were left in charge of a\nhalf sister, who was the eldest of five children by a former marriage,\nand who was all to them that a mother even could be.\n\nOne of the parents was an Episcopalian in sentiment, the other a\nUniversalist. The elder children were attendants upon Universalist\nworship in the School street Church, while the younger attended one of\nthe Baptist churches of the city. Hannah, the subject of our sketch,\ncontinued under the influence of Baptist doctrines and worship until\nabout fifteen years of age, when at her own earnest solicitation she was\npermitted to attend the Universalist church, and become a member of the\nSchool street Universalist Sunday school.\n\nThe influence upon her feelings of the change in regard to a place of\nworship, was very marked. She was naturally inclined to religious\nmeditation and reflection, but was never satisfied with what she had\nbeen accustomed to hear. Nor can she be regarded as singular, in this\nrespect. However true it may be that Christianity is adapted in its\nsimplicity to the susceptibilities of the young--and I believe this is\neminently true--it is equally true, that the ordinary partialist\ninterpretations of it are not thus adapted to their susceptibilities.\nThe young are not satisfied with these. The clearer their perceptions,\nand the more comprehensive their thought, the greater is their\ndissatisfaction. It was so with Hannah, even when but a child.\n\nBut when the hungerings of her soul found their appropriate aliment in\nthe ministrations of the venerable Hosea Ballou, then the sole pastor of\nthe church to which she turned for peace, the change was in the highest\ndegree salutary. Her satisfaction was very great. She also found great\npleasure in accompanying her eldest sister to the Rev. Mr. Streeter's\nFriday evening meetings; and so highly did she prize these religious\nprivileges, that she could scarcely submit to be deprived of them for a\nsingle evening or Sabbath without shedding tears.\n\nHer natural amiability and generosity of disposition--a generosity\nespecially marked in her demeanor towards her eldest sister, who had\nbecome a mother to her--made the Universalist interpretation of\nChristianity to be to her indeed the \"bread of life.\" Not only did she\nseek for this spiritual nutriment in the regular ministrations of the\nsanctuary and in the conference meeting, but she turned also to the\nSabbath school with the same fond devotion to Christian truth.\n\nDuring the connection of the Rev. Mr. Soule with the School street\nSociety, he established a Bible class, of which Miss Shedd became one of\nthe earliest members. She has often spoken to the writer of this of the\ngreat profit she was conscious of having derived therefrom. She was also\none of the earliest members of the class formed by the present junior\npastor of the Society, Rev. Mr. Miner, and in the discharge of her\nduties in that capacity she showed uncommon clearness of perception, and\nnot a little vigor of thought.\n\nAt the age of fourteen she left school and took up the needle that she\nmight aid her sisters in gaining for the family an honorable\nmaintenance. She has been known to ply the needle with all diligence\ntill ten o'clock at night, and then turn to her Sunday school book to\nmake preparation for the Sabbath. If this is an example of too severe\napplication to toil, it shows at the same time a devotion to spiritual\nculture in the highest degree commendable.\n\nStrict integrity and a strong sense of justice characterized her even in\nher childhood. A little circumstance bearing upon this point I will\nrelate. She had been to an apothecary's shop for some medicines, and on\nreaching home found that she had received back more change than was due.\nOf her own accord she proposed to return it, nor would she willingly\ndelay for a moment the performance of so manifest an act of justice. She\nreceived from the apothecary the highest encomium, and a reward for her\nintegrity. In all her transactions she showed the same scrupulousness in\nmatters of right, and thus became a bright example for all children to\nimitate.\n\nShe was not less remarkable for her obedience to the wishes of her\nsister, than for her regard for justice. She not only obeyed, but obeyed\nreadily and cheerfully. And so sensible is that sister of her great\nexcellence in this respect, now that she has passed away, that she\ncannot speak of her but with the deepest emotion.\n\nShe seemed to have very little power to bear disappointment. Her\nfeelings were very tender, and her sensibilities great. Disappointment,\ntherefore, brought the ready tear to her eye; and solicitous affection,\nif possible, removed the pressure which had caused it. But some of the\nlater revelations of her life indicated rare ability to endure\ndisappointment, and to cherish hope even in the audience-chamber of\ndeath. Thus will it appear in the end that her heart was full of\nChristian confidence and holy trust.\n\nIn the course of June, 1850, it was observed by her friends that her\nhealth was manifestly declining. She was advised to leave her employment\nat once, and seek in relaxation and change of scene the reestablishment\nof her health and the restoration of her accustomed vigor. Accordingly\naccompanied by her brother, she spent some three weeks of the month of\nJuly in various parts of Maine; but health did not come back to her.\nDisease was too deeply seated to be beguiled away.\n\nShe returned to her home but to languish and die. When the news of her\nmortal illness reached the Sabbath school, in which she had now been a\nfaithful and beloved teacher for about a year, it produced the most\nintense interest and solicitude. All felt that a dearly beloved sister\nhad become the victim of the destroyer. That, however, which was a\nsource of unmingled grief in the beginning, became a sanctifying power\nin the end.\n\nWhen first informed that it was feared her disease would terminate\nfatally, she betrayed the deepest emotion, with scarcely the utterance\nof a word. Her natural sensibility made the weight upon her spirits seem\ninsupportable. But when the first shock was past and her powers had had\ntime to rally, she was found equal to the trial that awaited her. That\ntruth which she had long loved, and which had produced very little of\nthat Christian display by which the world judges, had wrought silently\nbut powerfully upon her understanding and her heart. It had begotten\nhopes in a naturally hopeful spirit, stronger than death itself.\n\nWhen her pastor from time to time spoke to her of the labors and\nsacrifices of Christ, of the love of the Father and of the blessedness\nof immortality, leading her sometimes to meditate upon the highest forms\nof Christian truth, the smile of satisfaction that played upon her\ncountenance, showed not only that her powers were equal to the effort,\nbut that her heart was satisfied with its fruit.\n\nHer disease, which was consumption, was of a very painful character,\nespecially as regarded difficulty of breathing. She was compelled to sit\nup continually, almost to the hour of her death. Yet in the moment of\nexpected dissolution, so generous was her nature, her heart was yearning\nfor blessings on others rather than herself. At one time just before her\ndeath she requested her pastor to remember in his prayer an absent\nsister, that she might recover from a critical illness; and in one of\nhis last interviews with her, she desired him to \"attend her funeral and\ncomfort her brothers and sisters, and especially that sister who had\nbeen a mother to her.\" \"_Oh, Hannah has always been a good girl_\" burst\nfrom the lips of that sister,--an involuntary tribute to cheerful, ready\nobedience, and true excellence of heart. She had given some little\nmemento of affection to each of the family and friends, and enjoined\nupon her brother, who still remains with the sisters, to \"be sure and be\nkind to them,\" when she quietly fell asleep.\n\nThus died an excellent young woman, Oct. 2d, 1850, aged 24 years and 8\nmonths. The strength of her trust and the depth of her Christian\nexperience could be seen in her meek submission to suffering, in that\nremarkable patience which allowed not a word of murmuring to escape her\nlips through the whole progress of her disease, and which enabled her to\nbelieve that every providence of God is ordered in perfect wisdom.\n\nHumble in her outward position, her spiritual attainments were of the\nmost exalted character. The stores of excellence treasured in her heart\nwere made manifest in the hour of great trial, and the Christian\ninstruction to which she was accustomed to apply herself, begat the\nholiest resignation and the most confident trust.\n\nThe fact that this good was in no small degree wrought in the Sabbath\nschool, should lead the Sabbath school teacher to understand the dignity\nand importance of his office, the opportunities he enjoys for directing\nthe affections of the young heart, and the necessity of a large measure\nof Christian attainment to qualify him for the successful discharge of\nso great responsibilities. May the example of our departed sister be\nsanctified to the good of all thus employed.\n\n\n\n\nTHE SABBATH SCHOOL BOYS.\n\n\n\"What do we go to the Sabbath school for?\" asked a little boy of his\ncompanion who was some years older than himself, and who had, as I\ndiscovered by their conversation, attended the school for a long time,\nthat is, compared with the time which many children, boys especially,\nthink it of any use to go to the Sabbath school. Some boys when at the\nage of twelve or fourteen years, think they are too old to receive any\nbenefit from Sabbath school instruction. Hearing the question of this\nlittle boy, and observing the look of intelligence and sincerity in his\ncompanion, and being desirous of knowing what answer would be given, I\nremained within hearing of their conversation, and will try to present\nto the scholars in our school, through the medium of \"Our Gift,\" the\ngood reasons which he gave to his little companion, (who was his younger\nbrother,) why he went to the Sabbath school.\n\n_Eld. B._ I go because I like to go, and I like to go because I always\nenjoy myself there better than I do anywhere else. I find pleasure in\nthe singing, in the prayer, and in the lessons. The lessons are not hard\nto learn when I understand them, and the learning of them is even a\npleasant task; for my teacher has a way of making our lessons\ninteresting to us, in hearing us recite. He asks us questions about the\nsubject of the lesson before using the book, and he generally finds some\ninteresting matter relating to it, and we become so much engaged that\nthe time is gone before we are aware of it, and we have to stop and wait\nfor the next session of the school.\n\n_Young. B._ I like the school too, though I have been only twice. How\nold was you when you first went to the Sabbath school, brother?\n\n_Eld. B._ I was seven years old, and I am now fourteen; and I mean to\ncontinue till I am able to take a class myself. I want to have the\npleasure of being a teacher in our school, and I hope soon to do so, for\nthe school is increasing very fast in numbers. There are a good many\nsmall children coming into the school, and I think that I shall be\nwanted, for I observe that there are not male teachers enough. Sometimes\none teacher has to attend to two or more classes, and the time of a\nsession in the school is not sufficient to do this with much advantage.\nWhat did you learn in twice going to the school? tell me that, and then\nwe shall know, at least, what you went to the Sabbath school for.\n\n_Young. B._ I will tell you. After I had said a short lesson, my teacher\ngave me a little piece called \"The Child's First Hymn,\" which she said\nshe found in a paper published in England. It was published for the\nchildren of the Sabbath schools of Old England. She said it would do for\nus, the children of New England, and wished me to learn it.\n\n_Eld. B._ Well, brother, I am sure you have improved the few times that\nyou have attended the school. Have you learned the hymn? and how do you\nlike it? Let me hear you repeat it. I should like to know what the\nchildren are taught in the Sabbath schools of Old England. Will you\nplease to repeat it to me?\n\n_Young. B_ I will. I did as well as I could. I have learned the hymn,\nand am much pleased with it. I think of it the last thing when I fall\nasleep at night, and awake in the morning with it on my mind. But I will\nrepeat it to you, and you will see that I have not been to the Sabbath\nschool, though for so short a time, for nothing.\n\n_The Child's First Hymn._\n\nListen, Father, to my prayer,\nGuard me with thy tender care;\nTeach a humble child to know,\nThe path of duty here below.\n\nSet a watch upon my heart,\nLest an evil thought should start;\nMake me gentle, kind and good,\nThrough the Savior's cleansing blood.\n\nAll I have, and all I see,\nEver comes, great God, from thee;\nHelp me from my earliest days,\nIn thankful hymns to sing thy praise.\n\nBless my parents with thy grace,\nOn my kindred turn thy face;\nThrough the darkness of the night,\nGive me rest till morning bright.\n\nTeach me day by day thy will,\nWith pure love my spirit fill,\nTill I'm fitted for that rest,\nIn the mansions of the blest.\n\n_Eld. B._ It is indeed a very pretty hymn, and I am glad you have\nlearned it so well. I hope you will never forget it. Here comes my\nteacher; and as it will be ten minutes before the school commences, we\nshall have time for conversation.\n\nHere the teacher drew near and spoke to the boys:--\n\n_Teach._ Good morning, my boys; how do you do, this fine morning?\n\n_Eld. B._ Good morning, sir; we are well, I thank you.\n\n_Teach._ You are in good season this morning, and I am glad to see that\nyou are. It is so much better to be before our time, than to be a little\nlate. We get along so much better with the business of the school, and\nhave time to converse together. Besides, to be in school at the opening\nof the exercises, shows that you value and wish to improve its\nprivileges.\n\n_Eld. B._ We were talking about the school, and why we go there. I told\nmy brother that I went because I like to go. Will you please to tell us\nthe advantages of attendance on the Sabbath school?\n\n_Teach._ I will, my dear boys, so far as I can. It is well to know what\nwe are doing, how we are accomplishing our work, and what is to be the\nresult of our labors.\n\n_Eld. B._ I am very often asked what I learn at the Sabbath school, and\nI sometimes answer that I learn what there is in the Bible, and that my\nlessons are subjects derived principally from that book.\n\n_Teach._ You answer rightly so far. You might add, also, that you learn\nby the example of others. Do you see punctuality? You will learn to be\npunctual. Do you see system in the arrangement of the school, in the\nmethod of instruction, in the library department, and in the general\ndiscipline of the school? You will be orderly and correct in your\ndeportment.\n\n_Eld. B._ As I am almost old enough to be a teacher, and desire to take\na class as soon as I am wanted, I should like to know the best way to\nmake my scholars interested in their studies, so that they will attend\nand be correct with their lessons.\n\n_Teach._ It is often the case that children feel no interest or pleasure\nin the school, because they do not understand its object. They may\nrecite well, so far as to repeat the words of the lesson, yet if it be\nabove their capacity, they will not be benefited.\n\n_Eld. B._ This has been the case with me sometimes. After I had recited\nmy lesson correctly by the book, I have felt that I did not know much\nabout it, and did not understand what I had learned to repeat.\n\n_Teach_. It is of great importance in teaching that the subject should\nbe presented to the pupil in the simplest form possible, that he may be\nprofited by his instructions. I read an anecdote the other day which\nillustrates this matter, and I will repeat it to you. \"It is related of\nDr. Green, of Philadelphia, that in early life he was one day\nreturning from the services of the sanctuary, and was accosted by a\nwoman in the humble walks of life. She found difficulty in understanding\nhim, and took the liberty of giving her youthful pastor a hint. 'Mr.\nGreen,' says she 'what do you think is the great duty of the shepherd?'\n'No doubt, to feed the flock, madam,' was the reply. 'That is my notion\ntoo,' she added, 'and therefore I think he should not hold the hay so\nhigh that the sheep cannot reach it.' This admonition was kindly\nreceived, in the spirit in which it was given, and had an influence in\nmaking him afterwards 'hold the hay lower.'\" This fact should cause you\nto see to it, as the old lady did with her pastor, that your teachers\npresent their instructions in such a form that you will understand them.\nThe hay may be of very good quality, but it will give no nourishment to\nthe hungry sheep if it is beyond their reach; it will not benefit them\nany more than if it were not provided at all. So with your lessons. If\nyou do not feel an interest in them, if they are beyond your reach, they\nmay be of no benefit to you. No lasting principle is gained, but the\nwhole may be lost, as the words of the lesson are lost to memory and\nforgotten.\n\n_Eld. B._ What are the results of attendance on the Sabbath school?\n\n_Teach._ That question we answer, partly in faith, and partly by\nknowledge. Faith is good;--and we know that our school is a good school;\nwe know that we enjoy ourselves there; and we know what is learned there\nis good. It is there that divine influences and joyful communions fill\nwith gladness the hour. We enjoy them, and if we could say no more, we\nthink that this would be sufficient.\n\n_Eld. B._ That is true.\n\n_Teach._ But that is not all; the results go still further. They are not\nconfined to the hour passed in the schoolroom. The scholar is better and\nhappier for having been there. Is it not so with you?\n\n_Eld. B._ Yes sir; I always feel better when I have been to the school.\nWhen I have said my lesson, conversed upon the subject of it, and\nobtained my library book, I am always glad to have been there.\n\n_Teach._ Your answer is full of hope and promise; for if you now find\nyour enjoyment in learning the things of the Kingdom of God, those evil\ndays will never come to you, when you will say you have no pleasure in\nthem. The Sabbath school scholar who is prompt in his duty is in a safe\npath,--one which, while affording happiness by the way, results in the\nfulness of joy. To him the example of Christ is an example of love and\ngoodness, drawing him to the Father by these divine influences and\nattractions. \"He sees God, not only as the Creator, but as he is\nmanifested in the world, by his providence, which shows us that he not\nonly _made_ the world, but that he _makes_ the world; that he is the\nsame in the creation of the flowers and streams as in the creation of\nstorms and tempests; that he is not far off, but near, ever blessing us\nwith the favors of his parental providence; that his power is over\neverything; that motion is his power, for there can be no motion without\nmind; that God is present in the child. It cannot live by bread alone.\nCommunion must be held with God--spirit with spirit.\"\n\nIt is recorded of our Savior that he was led into the waters, and was\nburied in baptism; the Spirit descended upon him; he heard the\nencouragement of that voice which proclaimed his Sonship to the Most\nHigh, and in the enjoyment of that holy time he came up from the river.\nThen came the tempter; in the strength of the spirit of the baptism, he\nresisted the temptation, and was victorious over all its forms. So with\nthe object and mission of our Sabbath schools. You are led to the river\nof divine truth, that you may be baptized in its pure waters. You are\nthere shown the Father, and we trust that when you go out into the\nworld, you will, in the strength of your Sabbath school baptism, resist\nand overcome all temptation to wrong, and being always engaged for the\nright, and living in the light of the gospel, you will pass through life\nundefined; thus may a Christian character be the result of your\nattendance on the Sabbath school.\n\n\n\n\nFEAR OF DEATH.\n\n\nHe who rightly understands life, will not fear death, he who has learned\nto trust, will never cease to hope. He who always cherishes a love of\nright, will never be without God in the world.\n\nTreasures.--Knowledge and virtue are the greatest treasures in the\nuniverse.\n\nGratitude.--Every faithful Sabbath school teacher has the unfailing\ngratitude of his class.\n\n\nFaith is the eye with which the mind surveys the future.\n\n\n\n\nILL TEMPER.\n\n\nIt was the season of vacation, when children's minds are given to play,\ninstead of study. It was during this interval, that a little girl, whom\nwe will call Jane, came from a neighboring town to visit one of her\nschool-mates, another little girl, whose name we will call Emily.\n\nThe disposition of Emily was very different from that of Jane. She was\nalways pleasant and kind, willing to confer favors upon others, even\nthough she should not receive the same in return. Jane was ill-tempered,\ntold wrong stories, and did many things which rendered her a very\ndisagreeable companion. Her parents could see no fault in her, therefore\nshe was permitted to give way to her temper, which was the cause of her\nlosing friends and gaining enemies. When she was in these violent fits\nof passion she would accuse her companions of things which would wound\ntheir feelings very much. During vacation, Emily accepted an invitation\nwhich had been given her to spend a few days with Jane.\n\nShe enjoyed herself very much while there and invited Jane to come and\nsee her. Soon after Jane went to visit Emily. The first part of the\ntime, she enjoyed very much; but as her visit was drawing to a close,\nshe gave way to a violent fit of temper. She took this opportunity to\nrelate to Emily many things her parents said about her after she had\nleft them. She told her that if she knew what her father and mother said\nabout her, she would never visit them again. Whether they did talk about\nher, or whether it was Jane's ugly temper, that led her to taunt Emily,\nI do not know. But it caused Emily to feel very much grieved, because\nshe was not conscious of having done anything which would cause them to\ntalk about her. Emily has never visited Jane since, nor has she desired\nto. She thinks that those who treat her well when she is present and\ntalk about her when she is absent, cannot be her true friends. Thus we\nsee that those who govern their temper, and endeavor to make themselves\npleasant and agreeable, are much more loved and respected than those who\ngive way to this wicked passion.\n\n\n\n\nREADING.\n\n\nIn my experience, both as teacher and scholar, I have observed among the\nyoung those who read a great many books, but at the end appear but\nlittle wiser. They may have a confused and indistinct recollection of\nevents and characters, and may be able perhaps to follow out the plan of\na story. Out of the mass that they have read they may have retained a\ngreat many facts; but being without connection or object, they are\nnearly useless. Bad habits are formed, their reading is to no purpose,\nand their time, therefore, misspent.\n\nI fear there are too few among those whose years should enable them to\nunderstand and appreciate the objects for which we live, that do\nappreciate them. There are too many who suppose that reading is only a\nvery pleasant amusement. They think of printing as a very ingenious\ninvention, and have no thought higher. They may look about and see a\ngreat deal of misery and unhappiness; but its alleviation is nothing to\nthem. \"The great mission of life\" is something that is very well to be\ntalked of in the pulpit, and ministers and reformers will accomplish it,\nno doubt. But life has no responsibilities for them.\n\nOne of our first duties is to seek our own moral and intellectual\nculture. Let both these portions of our nature be cultivated together.\nDo not separate them, for by so doing both are threatened with danger.\nHeart without mind is generally weak, but mind without heart is always\ndangerous. Do not suppose because you have left the schoolroom and no\nlonger have lessons set, and are no longer reprimanded if they are not\ncommitted, that your education is finished. Rather regard the _school_\nas the place where you shall learn to study, life as your term-time, and\nconsider your education finished when there is nothing more for you to\nlearn. It is not necessary that study should be confined to books.\nAccustom yourself to study actions and their influences and effects.\nPublic lectures, conversations, in short, every event of your life, will\npresent questions, and your own mind, with a little reflection, will\npresent the answers. If it does not, do not let the fear of ridicule\nprevent your asking.\n\nBut it is through books, chiefly, that we are to look for improvement.\nEvery person should appropriate some part of each day to reading. Young\npersons should early be taught the advantages of a method for\nappropriating their time. Let each duty have its time. In this way much\ntime is saved. Let the time you appropriate to reading be one that will\nbe the least liable to interruption. Defer it not, if it can be avoided,\ntill late in the evening, when you are wearied with the fatigues of the\nday.\n\nAt the present day, when books are so easily obtained, there is no need\nof the excuse of inability to procure them. Circulating libraries are\neasy of access,--though caution should be used in selecting from\nthem,--and each Sabbath school has a library open for all. There has\nbeen much said, and much written about books of fiction, whether they\nmay be read with safety by the young. Fiction as such need not be\ncondemned, though works of fiction should be sparingly read. But if read\nat all, let them be selected by persons of experience. There is much in\nthe current fiction of the day that is pernicious and unfit for\npublication.\n\nBut if we set aside the light reading, there are standard works enough\nto furnish reading for one generation. The better newspapers of the day\nshould be carefully read. The newspapers of this week are the history of\nthe world for this week. In each particular branch of literature there\nare books without number, not only worthy of perusal, but deserving of\ncareful study. In history we have Rollin, Hume, Smollet, Prescott,\nMacaulay, and Robertson. Philosophy, theology, and science, each in its\nturn, brings names as illustrious.\n\nBut there is one book above all others. Never complain for want of\nreading while we have such historians as Moses, poets before whom\nShakspeare dwindles into insignificance, philosophers of a higher and\nholier school, and truths that exceed the most astonishing fictions.\nWhere has Scott a heroine that can compare with Ruth? Grand as are the\nbeauties of the Bible, life-giving as is its wisdom, and imperishable as\nare its truths, it is too frequently left unread.\n\nAs a general thing, too much is read; more than can be well retained.\nOne page well read is more beneficial than a whole volume merely glanced\nover. Never read the second line until the first is fully understood.\nMake the author's sentiments your own. In reading history it is highly\nimportant you should have a clear idea of the locality where the events\noccurred. I have found by experience that the best method deeply to\nimpress what I have read, is to have at hand writing materials, and\nafter each reading write out as fully as possible whatever new idea has\nbeen presented. But in all that you read, keep in view the great object\nof your reading,--_Self Improvement_.\n\n\n\n\nA SABBATH SCHOOL EXCURSION.\n\n\nThe morning breaks. A hundred voices rise,\nIn shouts of gladness echoing to the skies.\nThe happy time draws near, the day is fair,\nTo festive scenes and rural joys repair.\nBright expectation gleams from every face,\nAnd lighter footsteps bend with eager pace;\nChildren and parents, pastor, people, all\nWith one accord obey the welcome call;\nAnd hand in hand, along the path they wind,\nAs heart responds to heart a greeting kind,\nTo hold in verdant temples high and broad,\nCommune with Nature and with Nature's God.\nFar from the city's worn and narrow streets,\nTo sunny slopes embowered by Nature's sweets,\nHow blest the change; to breathe the scented air,\nSteals for the moment every sense of care,\nIts healing powers to all new life impart,\nExpand the mind and elevate the heart.\nBut now arrived at the appointed place,--\nA rural spot adorned with every grace,\nWhich Nature from her bounties could bestow,\nTo make the world a paradise below,--\nOur party pause a moment to reflect;\nThen towards a path their several steps direct,\nWhich leads the way to some sequestered seat,\nSecured by foliage from the noonday heat;\nOr to the various sports their tastes incline,\nWhere art and nature, toil and skill combine\nTo give to all a welcome warm and kind,\nThat every weary heart sweet rest may find.\nHere a few friends in social cheer are met,\nDiscoursing topics which such scenes beget;\nAnd there a crowd, intent on sports more gay,\nIn lively measure tread the hours away.\nSome roam in groups through fields and meadows green,\nAnd laden with the fragrant spoils are seen,\nBedecked with crowns from Flora's own fair hand,\nA radiant company from Fairy-land.\nApart from this another group behold,\nA burden sweet their little arms unfold--\nLilies, fit emblem, when by childhood twined,\nOf purity and innocence combined.\nBut hark! what sound is pealing through the air?\nA summons from their sports to join in prayer;\nCome one and all, your voices mingle here,\nTo bless His presence who is ever near.\nFrom east and west they come, from south and north,\nFrom every path and thicket issuing forth,\nTill all together seated once again,\nThe songs of worship and of praise begin.\nUp to the throne of Heaven their prayers ascend,\nTogether rich and poor their voices blend;\nWhile with their songs unite the feathered choir,\nWith gratitude each spirit to inspire,\nTill hill and valley echo all around,\nAnd \"God's first temples\" with His praise resound.\nAnd look! for now again the scene is changed;\nA group before that rustic altar ranged,\nWith bended knee the throne of grace implore,\nOn infant heads its showers of love to pour;\nThat infant tongues may lisp the praise of God,\nTo guide their feet in paths by Jesus trod.\nSure, angels hallow scenes like this below,\nAnd holy spirits at that altar bow,\nLike winged messengers from Heaven, to bear\nThese offerings, and ever guard them there,\nThat every bud of promise reared below,\nMay bloom in Heaven, and to perfection grow.\nBut fast in scenes like this the day is spent;\nAgain toward home their weary steps are bent.\nWeary with pleasure, they reluctant go,\nOnce more the toils and cares of earth to know:\nBut purified, and strengthened for the strife\nOf labor, and the busy scenes of life;\nWhile the remembrance of those happy hours\nShall deck the barren path of toil with flowers;\nAnd praying each that as the years roll on,\nLaden with pleasures soon forever gone,\nEach year shall bring but added virtues forth,\nAnd leave behind the impress of their worth;\nTill every heart to innocence be tuned,\nNor sinful pleasures ever dare intrude,\nTo mar the image God has made and blest,\nWith means of pleasure, happiness and rest;\nThat all may find, in holy joys and pure,\nRelief from care, for every sorrow cure;\nAnd live to be in holy pleasures blest,\nTill earthly toil is changed for heavenly rest.\n\n\n\n\nCHRIST AND DUTY.\n\n\nIt is profitable for us to meditate on such a character as Christ's, if\nby dwelling upon it we become even in one respect like him. The more we\nknow of him, the more we shall love him; for his character is love. We\nshould imitate the example of Mary, who was first at the door of the\nsepulchre where Jesus was laid. She had great love for him, and her\nfaith in him was as strong as her love. She was not a stranger to the\nmiracles which he performed while here on earth. She had seen him, and\nshe knew that in him perfection dwelt. So we should try to be first in\ndoing any act of kindness or benevolence, not in a spirit of unholy\nemulation, but from a love of doing good. By cultivating this spirit we\nshall be happy in life, and prepared for death. We shall be far happier\nthan those who seek worldly honors; and more than all, we shall leave a\nname behind us more precious than fame or wealth can bestow. When I was\nyoung as are many of you to whom I am now speaking, I had not the\nprivilege of worshipping God as we now do. I was taught that a greater\npart of the human family will be destroyed, and will have no part in the\nheavenly kingdom. But thanks be to God that he has now opened the eyes\nof many to see him a Father to the fatherless, and a sure help in time\nof need. When such thoughts take possession of the heart, we view him in\nhis true character.\n\nIn order to serve him as we ought, we should commence in youth. Christ\nsaid, \"they that seek me early shall find me.\" The whole life is short,\nif happily spent in his service. We have every encouragement to trust\nwholly in his kind care and keeping, for his watchful eye is ever over\nus. If you seek Christ in youth, nothing will be lost, but much will be\ngained. When I look back upon the early days of my life, I regard them\nas lost to the true service of Christ. It was impressed upon my young\nmind, that God was filled with anger and wrath; and still I was told\nthat I must love him with my whole heart. I am sorry to say it, but I\nfear I had no true love for him at that time. If the path in which I\nhave walked has been desolate and dreary, I do not desire that others\nshould walk in it. If God is seen in his true loveliness, the young, as\nwell as the old, will love his holy name.\n\nIn this regard, I think much good can be done in the Sabbath school, and\nmany profitable and lasting impressions may be made upon the young mind.\nI cannot think we meet together every Sabbath in vain. The blessing of\nGod will surely rest upon us, and we shall be profited by our\nassemblings. We must not be forgetful of God, for he is not forgetful of\nus. When we lie down on our pillow at night, we ought not to close our\neyes to sleep without thanking him for his kind care of us through the\nday; and in the morning we should thank him for his watchful care\nthrough the night.\n\nIn time of sorrow and trouble we at once fly to him. This is right; but\nstill it is our duty and privilege to call on him in time of prosperity\nas well as in time of adversity, never forgetting to seek his divine\nblessing. Without this we cannot enjoy life, or be prepared for death.\nAnd when the days on earth are all passed, and we are called to lay\nourselves on the bed of death, if we can but look back upon a life well\nspent, it will smooth the pillow of pain, and make even death itself\nsweet.\n\nSalvation is the right direction of all one's powers and activities.\n\nHope is the sunshine of the soul.","title":"Our Gift","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":23046}