{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_11148/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_11148","id":"gutenberg_11148","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11148","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christian literature for children","Sunday school literature"],"text":"AUNT HARDING'S KEEPSAKES:\nOR, THE TWO BIBLES\n\nREVISED BY DANIEL P. KIDDER.\n\n\n1851.\n\n\n\n[Illustration A: Frontispiece]\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\nI. GUESSING\n\nII. THE PRESENTS\n\nIII. USE OF THE KEEPSAKES\n\nIV. TWO CHARACTERS\n\nV. LETTERS FROM INDIA\n\nVI. TROUBLE BETWEEN SISTERS\n\nVII. AUNT HARDING'S LETTER\n\nVIII. USE OF MONEY\n\nIX. AUNT HARDING'S RETURN\n\n\n\n\nAUNT HARDING'S KEEPSAKES.\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n\nGUESSING.\n\n\"Can you guess,\" said Louisa to her sister, as they sat at their work\nin the summer-house, \"can you guess what aunt Harding will give us, as\na keepsake, before she goes away?\"\n\n\"No, I have not thought about it,\" said Emma; \"and aunt has lately\ngiven us so many pretty things, that we can scarcely expect any more\nfor a long time to come. There is my doll and its cradle, you know,\nand your baby-house and furniture, how much money they cost! No, I do\nnot think aunt intends to give us anything else.\"\n\n\"But I am quite sure she will,\" replied Louisa; \"for I was going past\nmamma's dressing-room this morning, when the door was a little way\nopen, and I heard aunt Harding say, 'I should like to give the dear\ngirls something really useful, which they may value as they grow\nolder.' I did not hear anymore, because mamma has always told us it is\nnot right to listen, and so I came away as fast as I could.\"\n\n\"Well, I wonder what the present will be?\" said Emma, now quite\nconvinced.\n\n\"What should you think of two handsome work-boxes--or, perhaps, as I\nam the eldest, of a work-box for yourself, and writing-desk for me?\"\n\n\"That would be charming!\" said Emma; \"and I would let you use my\nwork-box, and you could lend me your writing-desk sometimes.\"\n\n\"I will not make any promises,\" said Louisa; \"you know you are very\ncareless, and I should not like my nice new desk to be stained with\nink, or, perhaps, scratched with the point of a pin.\"\n\n\"But mamma says I am growing more careful,\" said her sister; \"and I do\nnot think I am so heedless about other people's things, though I often\nspoil my own.\"\n\n\"Remember my wax doll,\" said Louisa, \"which you left in the garden\nthrough that heavy shower of rain, so that I could never play with it\nagain.\"\n\n\"O, that was such a very long time ago!\" said Emma, looking a little\nvexed.\n\n\"Perhaps it will not be a writing-desk nor a work-box that aunt\nHarding will give us,\" said Louisa; \"there are many other things which\nwe should like. I wish she would ask us to choose.\"\n\n\"So do I,\" added Emma; \"but there is nothing that I should like better\nthan a work-box.\"\n\nLouisa thought of many other things which she should be glad to have;\nfor she was apt to indulge in a foolish habit of wishing for what she\nwas not likely to possess. It is a bad thing to give way to this\nfailing; for by doing so we may often make ourselves unhappy, without\nany good or real cause. People who do so should think of the words of\nSt. Paul: \"I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be\ncontent.\" Philip. iv, 11. And children, who have kind parents or\nfriends to provide for all their wants, should learn that it is very\nsinful to let the thoughts be often dwelling upon things that they\ncannot have, and do not really need. Pray for a grateful heart, that\nyou may rejoice in the blessings that surround you, and be thankful to\nyour heavenly Father, who gives you all things richly to enjoy.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\n\nTHE PRESENTS.\n\nMrs. Harding, the aunt of these little girls, had been paying a\nfarewell visit to their mamma, before going with Mr. Harding to India,\nwhere it was likely that they would remain for some years. She had\nkindly given many little presents to her nieces during her stay with\nthem; but they were such as Louisa and Emma would cease to value when\nthey became old enough to \"put away childish things;\" and being a\nperson of piety and judgment, she wished her last gift to be one which\nmight be worthy of their regard in youth and in age, and through all\nthe changes of life. It did not take any long time to determine what\nthis parting gift should be.\n\nThe evening before she went away, she called Louisa and Emma into the\nroom. They both looked round upon the table and chests of drawers, but\nno sign of a present was to be seen; no parcel neatly wrapped up in\nbrown paper, nor anything like a work-box or a desk. But, to do them\njustice, the thought of what they might receive was not then uppermost\nin their mind; for their heart was full of grief at the prospect of\nparting with their aunt, whom they dearly loved, and who was going so\nvery far away.\n\n\"Sit down beside me, dear children,\" said their aunt Harding, \"and let\nus have a little talk together, quietly by ourselves. I wish to give\nyou a few parting words of advice. I am sure that you will not forget\nme when I am gone; and when you think of me, I hope that the good\nthings which I have tried to teach you will also come into your mind.\"\n\nBoth Louisa and Emma said, again and again, that they could never\nforget her, and they promised to remember her advice.\n\n\"Your mamma will often write to me concerning you,\" said aunt Harding,\n\"and I cannot express the joy that it will afford me to hear that you\nare learning to hate sin more and more, and to live like children of\nour Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I shall be glad to find that you\nare improving in your studies, and I hope that every letter will bring\nme an account of your progress in useful knowledge; but I shall be far\nmore anxious to hear of your being good and dutiful to your parents;\nand, above all, I shall long to know if you seek in earnest for the\npardon of your sins, through the blood of Christ, and whether there is\nany proof in your conduct that your evil hearts have been changed by\nthe grace of the Holy Spirit.\"\n\n\"If mamma sends you a good account of us,\" said Louisa, \"please to\nremember, aunt, that you promised to write to us when that was the\ncase. And you will write to me first, because I am the eldest, you\nknow.\"\n\n\"Since you claim to be thought of first,\" replied her aunt, \"because\nyou are a year older then your sister, I hope you intend to take the\nlead by setting before her a good example, that it may be well for her\nto imitate you in every respect.\"\n\nLouisa blushed, and was silent. \"We will try our very best, dear\naunt,\" said Emma, \"that mamma may send you good news, and then you\nwill write to us both. And, perhaps, before you come back, we shall be\ngrown such good girls, that you will not be able to find fault with\neither of us.\"\n\n\"I am afraid that is not very likely,\" said Louisa; \"for it seems as\nif we could not help being naughty sometimes. I am sure I have often\nsaid to myself, 'Mamma shall not have to reprove me once to-day,' and\nyet, directly after, something has been amiss.\"\n\n\"O! that is quite true,\" said Emma, with a sigh.\n\n\"The reason is this,\" their aunt replied; \"you were born with an evil\nnature, which loves sin and leads you to do wrong, so that you cannot\nbe good and dutiful of yourselves. When you have made such resolves,\nit has been in your own strength, without your having asked for help\nfrom God; and this being the case, it was not possible that you should\nkeep from sin. The only way to lead a holy life is to put no trust in\nourselves, to have a constant sense of our need of divine grace, and\nto pray earnestly that it may be given to us for Christ's sake.\"\n\n\"But you talk of my return,\" added she, \"as if it were certain that we\nshould meet again; yet how many things may happen to prevent it!\nNothing can be more uncertain than the future, though young people are\napt to think that all will fall out just as they wish. I may not live\nto come back; or if I should be spared to do so, who can tell that you\nwill be here to meet me? Long before that time you may be laid low in\nthe narrow grave. 'For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that\nappeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.' James iv, 14.\"\n\nBefore their aunt Harding had done speaking, both the children were in\ntears; for the thought that they might never see her again was more\nthan they could bear. Seeing that their hearts were softened to\nreceive the word of instruction, she went on to talk to them in a kind\nand earnest manner on the great importance of preparing for another\nworld, showing them their awful state without the Saviour, and urging\nthem to seek him at once by faith and prayer; then, further to impress\nher advice upon their minds, she unlocked a little cabinet which stood\nnear her, and taking out two handsome Bibles,[A] gave one to each of\nher nieces, telling them that as it was the best present she could\ngive them, so she hoped they would value it, not only for her sake,\nbut because it was the word of God, and taught the way of eternal\nlife. After this, she desired them to kneel down with her, while she\noffered a fervent prayer that God would bless them, and that they\nmight be led by the Holy Spirit into the fold of Christ, who died to\ntake away their sins. And she also prayed, that if they should never\nmore see each other in this world, they and all whom they loved might\nmeet again and be happy for ever in heaven.\n\n[Footnote A: See frontispiece.]\n\nNow I will not say that when the sisters were alone together, and\nlooked at their handsome Bibles, a thought of the work-box and the\nwriting-desk never crossed their minds; but it is certain that there\nwas not a word said upon the subject, and each seemed to be greatly\npleased with her present, admiring the rich purple binding, and\nopening the book with care, to look at the name which had been nicely\nwritten by their aunt on one of the blank leaves at the beginning. In\nLouisa's Bible, just under her name, was the text, \"Open thou mine\neyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law,\" Psa. cxix,\n18; and in Emma's, in the same place, was written, \"I love them that\nlove me; and those that seek me early shall find me.\" Prov. viii, 17.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n\nUSE OF THE KEEPSAKES.\n\nThe next day was a sorrowful one, both to the friends who went away,\nand to those who were left behind. The children could talk of little\nelse than their uncle and aunt Harding. They asked their mother many\nquestions about the journey they had begun, and the country to which\nthey were going. When Louisa and Emma saw that their mamma was very\nsad, and not so ready as usual to join in their talk, they did not\ntease her, as some thoughtless children would have done, but each\nchose for herself a pleasant and quiet employment. Louisa began to\narrange the furniture in her baby-house, and Emma brought a piece of\nbrown silk from her drawer of treasures, and set about making a cover\nfor her new Bible.\n\n\"Why, Emma, what are you about?\" cried Louisa, after watching her\nsister for a moment; \"surely you are not going to use that beautiful\nbook?\"\n\n\"Yes, I am,\" said Emma, quietly; \"I mean to read a little in it every\nday. Ah! I see that you think it will soon be torn and soiled; but I\nassure you I intend to be very careful; and look, what a nice cover\nthis will make!\"\n\n\"I am afraid,\" said Louisa, laughing, \"you will never be careful as\nlong as you live. To think of so soon beginning to use that handsome\nbook! I have made up my mind to read a chapter every day, but not out\nof my new Bible. I think the old one, that lies in the school-room,\nwill do just as well.\"\n\n\"So it would,\" returned Emma; \"and I thought of that myself last\nnight, when aunt Harding told us how much she wished us to be good,\nand to love the Scriptures: but then the school-room Bible is not\nalways in its place, and that might sometimes hinder me from reading\nat all. Now I shall keep this book in my little drawer in our room,\nwhere I can find it in a minute.\"\n\n\"You must please yourself, I suppose,\" said Louisa; \"but I will ask\nmamma whether it is better to use aunt Harding's Bible or the old\none.\"\n\nMrs. Western heard what her little girl had to say, but did not give\njust the answer that Louisa expected. \"You are right,\" she said, \"in\nsupposing that it does not signify whether you read in an old Bible or\na new one. It is from the divine blessing upon what we read, and not\nfrom the book itself, that we must look for benefit to our souls. If\nyou pray for this blessing with all your heart, you will find the way\nof salvation as plainly declared in the worn-out school-room Bible as\nin your aunt Harding's keepsake, with its purple binding and shining\ngilt leaves. But yet I approve of Emma's wish to use her new Bible\nfrom this time, and advise you to follow her example. For though it\nought to be our great delight to read the Scriptures, yet we have such\nsinful hearts, so ready to put off doing what is right for any poor\nexcuse, that even such a little thing as having to look for the Bible,\nwhen it happens to be mislaid, will be likely to prevent you from\nreading it so constantly as you intend.\"\n\nTo this Louisa made no reply. She had wrapped up her beautiful book in\nsilver paper, and laid it carefully in a box, under lock and key, and\nshe did not mean to disturb it, except perhaps now and then for a few\nmoments, that it might be looked at and admired. As for Emma, she went\non fitting the brown silk cover as neatly as she could; and hoping\nthat, if she prayed for the divine blessing, as her mother and aunt\nhad told her, she might learn from her precious Bible the way to be\ngood and happy.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\n\nTWO CHARACTERS.\n\nIt is time that I should tell you the age of these two little girls.\nLouisa was just turned of ten, and Emma was one year younger. I have\nno doubt that although you know so little about them, you already like\nEmma better than her sister; and the reason of this is plain. No one\ncould be long with Louisa without finding out that she was a selfish\nchild; while Emma, though she had many faults, of which carelessness\nwas the chief, was of a kind, good-natured disposition, always ready\nto oblige. Louisa, too, was often willful, and would not give up her\nown way; while Emma was humble-minded, knowing that she had much to\nlearn, and thankful to be taught. Both of these children were sinners,\nlike all who are born into this sinful world: but Louisa cared little\nabout the concerns of her soul; while Emma had begun to pray in secret\nfor pardon through Christ her Saviour, and for the new heart which is\nthe gift of his Holy Spirit.\n\nReader, you too are a sinner, and by nature far from God. Do you ever\nconsider what is your present state? Have you been brought near to him\nby the blood of Christ, the new and living way? You may have heard of\nthese things before, but without giving heed to the salvation of your\nown soul, or seeking to prepare for the world to come. If this has\nbeen the case, pause now, and ask yourself whither you are going, and\nwhat must be the end, if you do not repent and turn from sin. There\nare many awful texts in the Bible concerning those who trifle with the\noffers of divine mercy, and harden their hearts against the Saviour's\ngracious call. O! pray that you may not be one of this unhappy number.\nSeek the Lord while he may be found, before the day of grace is past.\nGod has said that his \"Spirit shall not always strive with man,\" Gen.\nvi, 3; and if you will not repent to-day, to-morrow may be too late.\n\nEmma's Bible was nicely covered, and laid in her own little drawer;\nand every morning she read a chapter before she went down stairs. She\nprayed that God would teach her by his Holy Spirit to understand what\nshe read; and though her prayers were very simple, and she scarcely\nknew what words to use, yet she felt sure that he would hear her,\nbecause he has promised to do so, for the sake of his dear Son. And by\ndegrees, as she began to love her Bible more and more, she learned a\nhabit of going to their little room alone, once in each day, to read a\nfew verses in private, and to offer a short prayer to her \"Father who\nseeth in secret.\" Matt, vi, 6. She found a great blessing in this; and\nit often happened that the thought of a text of Scripture which she\nhad been reading in her room alone would come into her mind when she\nwas afterward tempted to say or do something wrong, and thus help to\nkeep her from sin.\n\nIt was not so with Louisa. The Bible was often wanted in the\nschoolroom--for the children had a governess who came to teach them\nevery day; and Louisa soon found it too much trouble to take the book\nup stairs at night, and to carry it down again the next morning.\nBesides this, she did not always rise from her bed in time to read a\nchapter, so that it was often put off till after breakfast, and then\nit commonly happened that she had other things to do, and did not read\nit at all. Emma would sometimes gently remind her that her Bible\nreading had been forgotten; but this made Louisa so cross that she\nleft off doing so at last. The truth was, that this poor child had no\nreal love for the Scriptures; and as she did not seek for grace to\nhelp her, the good resolves that she had made passed away quickly from\nher mind.\n\nThe difference between the sisters was seen in their outward conduct;\nfor Emma's reading of the Bible would have been in vain if the effects\nhad not been shown in her temper and daily life. I do not mean to say\nthat she never went wrong; for Emma had still an evil nature, and a\nsinful heart, often leading her to forget the commands of God. But she\nwas truly sorry when this had been the case, and would ask to be\nforgiven with many tears; and she also prayed for divine grace, that\nshe might try to be more watchful for the time to come. Louisa, on the\nother hand, thought too highly of herself to be easily convinced of a\nfault; and as she seldom received reproof in an humble and proper\nmanner, she made but little progress toward improvement.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\n\nLETTERS FROM INDIA.\n\nSome months passed before there came a letter from Mrs. Harding; for\nIndia, as you know, is many thousands of miles from here, and it takes\na long time for a ship to sail over the wide sea which lies between.\nBut great was the joy of the children and their mother when at last\nthe good tidings came that, through the mercy of God, their friends\nhad reached that distant country, safe and well. Louisa danced and\nclapped her hands; and Emma felt very happy, sitting beside her\nmother, and looking up in her face, while she read the letter through\ntears of pleasure.\n\nMrs. Harding had written a few lines to the children, which their\nmother read aloud to them, and then allowed them to look at for\nthemselves. The words were these: \"I often think of you, dear Louisa\nand Emma, and pray for divine blessings upon you both; and I hope to\nhear that you are giving yourselves to the Saviour, who died upon the\ncross for you. You know the love of Jesus for the young; his kindness\nto them when he was upon earth; and the tender way in which he still\ninvites them to come to him. Go, then, to Christ without delay: ask\nhim to be your friend, and you will be happy for evermore.\"\n\nA few weeks after this letter had been received, Mrs. Western's\nbirthday arrived, when it was usual for her children to have a holiday\nand a little treat. On the morning of this day, as Emma was running up\nstairs, her mamma called to her from her dressing-room, and desired\nher to come in, and to shut the door. Emma did as she was bid; and\nthen Mrs. Western, with a smile on her face, told her to look round,\nand try if she could discover anything in the room that she had not\nseen before.\n\nAlmost before her mother had done speaking, the little girl fixed her\neyes upon a handsome work-box, standing upon the table with the lid\nopen, and showing a lining of pale blue silk, edged with silver; while\nwithin were scissors and thimble, an abundance of needles and cotton,\neverything, in short, that Emma had long been wishing for in vain.\n\n\"It is yours, my dear,\" said her mamma; \"it is a present from your\naunt Harding, who, in her letter, requested me to choose for you on my\nbirthday something that you would like, if your conduct should have\nbeen such as to deserve a token of our approval. I am happy to see\nthat you strive to amend your faults, and I trust that you will still\ngo on trying to improve.\"\n\n\"O, mamma, how beautiful! and how kind in aunt Harding! Indeed I will\ntry to deserve it.\" And the little girl went close to the box, and\nlooked at its contents, but without venturing to touch them; then\ngently closing the lid, she stood gazing upon it with silent delight.\n\n\"But, mamma,\" said Emma, looking up with a sudden thought, and casting\nher eyes round the room as if in search of something which was not to\nbe seen, \"where is Louisa's present? She would like a writing-desk, I\nknow; for the old work-box which she has had so long is not yet worn\nout, because she is so very careful.\"\n\n\"I am sorry to say,\" returned Mrs. Western, \"that Louisa is not\ndeserving of any present, and therefore it would have been wrong to\nprovide one for her.\"\n\nAt hearing this, Emma changed color, and looked almost ready to cry.\n\"Dear mamma,\" said she, \"do pray have pity on poor Louisa. I cannot\nbear to show her my beautiful box, if she is not to have a present\ntoo. She would be so much grieved.\"\n\n\"My dear,\" said Mrs. Western, \"do you not perceive that it would be\nunjust and contrary to your aunt's wish, if, while Louisa gives way to\nher faults, I were to treat her as though she were seeking to overcome\nthem? It is quite as painful to me as to yourself to make this needful\ndifference between you; but in all our actions we must think of what\nis _right_, and not of what it would be _pleasant_ to do. When I see\nany sign of improvement in your sister, I shall gladly provide her\nwith a writing-desk; but not till then.\"\n\nEmma paused for a moment; her eyes filled with tears, and the color\nrose to her face. \"Then mamma,\" said she, \"I will wait, if you please,\nfor my work-box, until you think proper to give Louisa her desk.\nPlease to put it away in some safe place, and I will not say anything\nabout it. I can do very well without the box a little while longer,\nyou know.\"\n\nWhen Mrs. Western found that Emma was willing to deny herself a\npleasure rather than give pain to her sister, she consented to her\nwish, because she desired to encourage kind and tender feelings\nbetween them; and she knew it would be easy to find some other way of\nshowing Louisa that her friends were grieved and displeased by her\nconduct. So the work-box was safely put away for the present; though\nEmma had her hopes that the time would soon come when, with the\npromised writing-desk, it might be again brought forward.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\n\nTROUBLE BETWEEN SISTERS.\n\nI have told you that Emma was not without her faults; and whether she\nwas a little lifted up by her mother's approval, so that she became\nless watchful over herself, and felt less her need of the grace of\nGod, I cannot say: but so it was, that on the very same evening of\ntheir mother's birthday, the sisters had a quarrel, which would\ncertainly have been worse, if Mrs. Western had not been sitting by.\nLouisa was the first to blame; but, on the other hand, Emma did not\nbehave like a meek and Christian child.\n\nIt was about Louisa's old work-box that this quarrel took place. Emma\nwished to have the use of it for a short time, as Louisa did not want\nit herself: but Louisa, as you have seen, was not very willing to\nlend; and some sharp and unkind words passed between them, such as\nchildren too often use when they give way to angry and sinful\npassions. No doubt the thought of her own work-box was in Emma's mind\nwhen she said, \"You are selfish and ill-natured, Louisa, and do not\ndeserve that people should give up any pleasure for you.\"\n\nWhile she was speaking, she saw her mother's eyes turned toward her\nwith a look of surprise and sorrow; and at the same moment the words\nof Scripture, \"Be kindly affectioned one toward another,\" came into\nher mind. She blushed and looked down while Mrs. Western reproved them\nboth, and told them of the grief which, she felt on account of their\nsinful conduct, reminding them also of the example of the meek and\nlowly Jesus, who has commanded us to live in love. Emma was soon\nbrought to tears, and went out of the room to weep alone, and ask\nforgiveness, for her Saviour's sake, from the holy God whom she had\ndispleased by her sin: but Louisa, as usual, was inclined to be\nsullen, and did not think that she had been at all in the wrong. Upon\nthis, her mother pointed out to her the unkindness of refusing so\nsmall a favor to her sister; and in the hope of bringing her to a\nsense of her fault, she told her what had passed in the morning, and\nmade known to her the whole affair of the work-box. Louisa was so much\nstruck by this proof of Emma's love, that her heart was quite\nsoftened, and she not only owned that she had done amiss, but ran to\nseek her sister, and asked her to forget their quarrel and be friends.\n\nEmma was very glad to agree to this, and was also ready to take her\nshare of blame, saying that she had been very wrong in speaking so\nunkindly, and she hoped never to be so naughty again. It was pleasant\nafter this, to see Louisa's desire that her sister should use the old\nwork-box, and what care Emma showed in keeping all its contents nicely\nin their place.\n\nThe loss of the birthday present had a great effect upon Louisa, so\nthat she became more watchful over her temper and conduct. In a few\nmonths she had improved so much, that though she was still far from\nbeing all that could be wished, yet her mother thought she might\nsafely buy her the writing-desk, according to the desire of her aunt\nHarding. Emma had still waited for her work-box with hope and\npatience; and you may imagine the joy of both when they at last\nreceived these long wished-for gifts. And as Emma was now not so\ncareless as formerly, and Louisa had grown more kind, the work-box and\nthe writing-desk were often lent in exchange; while the sisters soon\nfound out the truth of what their mother told them, that such little\nfrequent acts of mutual kindness do more to increase love than those\ngreater deeds which children sometimes talk about, but seldom have the\npower to perform.\n\nThe second packet from aunt Harding was received with not less joy\nthan the first; for there was in it a letter for Louisa and Emma; and\nthat she might show no favor to one above the other, she had directed\nit to both. Louisa, however, claimed and was allowed the privilege of\nbreaking the seal. I wish you could have seen their happy faces, as\nEmma leaned upon her sister's shoulder to read the welcome letter\nwhich had been sent to them from a country so distant, and by a friend\nwhom they loved so well.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\n\nAUNT HARDING'S LETTER.\n\nWould you like to know what aunt Harding Wrote to her nieces? Here\nthen is the letter, word for word:--\n\n\n\"MY DEAR CHILDREN, LOUISA AND EMMA,--It is with great pleasure that I\nread in your mamma's letter the account of your improvement, and I am\nglad to fulfill the promise which I made of writing to you when that\nshould be the case. I hope that you will go on trying to grow better\nand better; and for this end you should pray daily for the grace of\nGod to help you every moment of your lives. Without his grace the evil\ndesires of your sinful hearts will lead you from the right way; and as\none sin always brings on others, you would, if left to yourselves,\nwander further and further from that which is good, until you lost all\nlove for your Saviour and his commands.\n\n\"I often think of you, and wish that you could see the poor little\nHindoo children, who have never heard of the true God, but are taught\nby their heathen parents to kneel down, and pray to idols of wood and\nstone. There is a river in this country, the river Ganges, which the\npeople believe to be a goddess, and they think that its waters can\nwash away their sins. Mothers often bring their little infants and\nbathe them in this river, because they believe it will make them holy.\nDo you not pity these poor people, whose souls are perishing for want\nof knowledge? Do you not wish that some one would go among them, and\ntell them about Jesus the Son of God, who gave himself to die for\nsinners, and whose blood alone can wash away sin? If so, you will be\nglad to know that there are some good men here who have left their own\ndear home and friends to live in this heathen country, and to teach\nthe poor Hindoos the true and only way to heaven. Christians in other\nplaces, who love the Saviour, and wish that the heathen should learn\nto love him too, give money to send these good men here, and to pay\nfor Bibles, and for other books which have been written on purpose to\nshow how sinners may be saved. All may help to do this who will spare\na little money from their own wishes and wants. _You_ may help, if you\nlove the Saviour enough to deny yourselves some little pleasure now\nand then. I think you would resolve to do so, if you could go with me\nsometimes to the missionary school, and see the little children\nsitting in rows, learning to read about Jesus, and hear them asking\nfor more books to take home, that they may tell the tidings of\nsalvation to their heathen parents. O yes! I am sure you would want to\nhelp them then; for you would remember that heathen children, like\nyourselves, have souls which must live for ever and ever; and you\nwould long that they should come to the knowledge of the Saviour, who\ndied for them as well as for you.\n\n\"It is now time that I should finish this long letter; so farewell,\ndear Louisa and Emma. Your uncle sends his love to you. We often talk\nof you, and pray that you may be the children of God, through faith in\nhis dear Son. Your ever affectionate,\n\n\"AUNT HARDING.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\n\nUSE OF MONEY.\n\nEmma found a great deal to think about in this letter, and it led to\nfrequent talk with her mother about the heathen, for whom she began to\nfeel much concern. When she heard how Christian people were trying to\nhelp them, and had read some accounts which her mother lent to her,\ntelling of the happy change that, through the blessing of God, had\nbeen brought about in many cases by the preaching of the gospel, she\nwished that Louisa and herself could join in doing something, though\never so little, for this good cause. The love of Christ was in her\nheart: when this is the case, it will be sure to show itself in love\nfor the souls of others.\n\nBut Louisa, when spoken to on the subject, said that she had not\nanything to give. \"I am very sorry, though, that the poor Hindoos\nshould worship idols,\" she said; \"and when I grow older, and have more\nmoney, I will do a great deal for them, depend upon it.\"\n\n\"But why not help them a little _now_?\" said Emma.\n\n\"Because I have no money,\" replied Louisa; \"no money I mean except\nwhat is in my little savings bank, and I should not like to part with\nthat. As for you, Emma, you never can save up a shilling; so that I am\nsure you have not anything to spare.\"\n\n\"Ah,\" said Emma, \"that is true, to be sure; I never can save my money,\nand so I will tell you what I mean to do. Mamma gives us threepence a\nweek, to spend as we please, you know; but I will only take twopence\nfor the time to come, and I shall ask her to give the other pennies to\nthe Tract Society at the end of the year. Four shillings and fourpence\nis not much, indeed, yet it will buy some nice little books for the\nHindoo children in the schools; and if you will also give a penny a\nweek, that will buy just as many more.\"\n\nIt was of no use. Louisa would not be persuaded to do anything for the\nheathen _yet_. Emma gave her penny a week, and felt happy in giving\nit; while Louisa only talked of doing so by and by. If Louisa had\nloved her Saviour and her Bible, she would have felt it a delight to\nassist in sending the glad tidings of the gospel to heathen lands; but\nwhen the heart has not been changed by the Holy Spirit, we feel but\nlittle concern for our own souls, and do not care for the salvation of\nothers.\n\nEmma was not led away by the example of her sister; but as she grew\nolder she seemed to grow in grace, and in the knowledge and love of\nChrist. This will always be the case with those who believe the\npromises of God, and seek for divine assistance to enable them to obey\nhis word. We can do nothing of ourselves, for we are poor, guilty,\nhelpless sinners: but God, who has given his only Son to die for our\nsins, has also promised to give his Holy Spirit to them that ask it.\nTherefore, though we feel ourselves ever so weak and sinful, we need\nnot despair of growing better, if we also feel our need of Christ, and\ngo to him for help and pardon.\n\nLouisa and Emma had often heard that life is short and uncertain; but\nit is not easy for young people to feel the truth of this while they\nare healthy and strong. When Emma was about twelve years old she was\ntaken very ill, so that there was from the first but little hope that\nshe would recover. Then she felt that it is an awful thing to die; and\nthe thought of the soul, which cannot die, and of heaven and hell,\nwere far more solemn than they had ever seemed to her before. At first\nshe was greatly afraid of death, for she knew she was a sinner, and\ndeserving of the anger of God; but by degrees, as she lay on her sick\nbed, there came into her mind many sweet verses of the Bible, which\nshe had learned in her days of health, and which gave her comfort, by\ntelling her of the love of Jesus the Lamb of God, who taketh away the\nsins of the world. Do you think she was sorry, now, that she had spent\nso many hours in reading that holy and blessed book? No; for the\npromises of mercy and salvation which it held out to her was her only\nsupport through many hours of pain and suffering, when death seemed\nnear, and eternity close at hand. Though too ill to read, or even to\nlisten to the words of life, she could remember many of them in her\nheart, and think of them to her comfort in this season of trial.\nSometimes she was able to talk to her mother for a few minutes, when\nit was plain that her mind was chiefly filled with thoughts of Christ\nand things divine. And she often said that, if it should be the will\nof God to restore her to health, she hoped for grace to devote herself\nto his service, and to live more to his glory than she had ever done\nbefore. She also spoke oftener to her sister, begging her to think of\nher soul, to read her Bible more, and to seek for the pardon of her\nsins; and Louisa, who was in great distress at the thought of losing\nher, was ready to promise anything that she asked. But it did not\nappear that she was under any concern for her own state; and this was\na great trouble to poor Emma, who now felt more than ever the need of\npreparing for the world to come.\n\nIt pleased God to spare her life, though she grew better very slowly,\nand it was many weeks before she could leave her room. When her long\nand painful illness was over, she was again able to share with Louisa\nin her lessons and her pleasures, so that in time those weeks of grief\nand suffering seemed to be forgotten; but they were not forgotten by\nEmma: she did not forget the mercies she had received, and the resolve\nwhich she had made of leading a holy life: she daily prayed for an\nhumble and watchful mind, and for grace to keep her from falling into\nsin; and, as you may suppose, she loved her Bible more and more for\nthe comfort which it had given her in the time of trouble. She still\ntook pleasure in reading it alone, and prayed that she might have\ngrace to obey its commands, so that it might be a lamp unto her feet\nand a light unto her path. Psa. cxix, 105.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\n\nAUNT HARDING'S RETURN.\n\nAnd now two more years had passed away, and the time when their aunt\nHarding's return was looked for had come. They had talked of it all\nthrough the winter; and when spring was over, and summer begun, the\nhappy tidings came that the ship had arrived in safety, and their\nuncle and aunt Harding were on their way to visit them once more. I\nwill leave you to guess the joy that was felt by all; and you must\npicture to yourself the pleasure of their meeting soon afterward: how\nthankful all were that they were spared to behold each other again;\nwith uncle Harding's surprise at seeing two great girls instead of\nlittle Louisa and Emma; and aunt Harding's smiles, and her hopes that\nthere would be found an equal improvement in matters of more\nimportance.\n\nThe morning after she came, when Mrs. Harding began to unpack her\nboxes, Louisa and Emma caught sight of many pretty and curious things\nwhich she told them were intended as presents for themselves. \"But\nbefore we proceed any further,\" said she, as the girls were beginning\nto express their thanks and pleasure, \"I wish to inquire about the\nparting keepsake which I gave to you; and I should be glad to see how\neach book has been treated, that I may know the real value which you\nset upon the gift.\"\n\nLouisa and Emma both ran to fulfill their aunt's desire. To speak the\ntruth, Louisa was now in hopes of having all the praise. She quickly\nbrought in her handsome Bible, still wrapped in the soft white paper,\nand in all the gloss of newness: not a mark upon the rich purple\nbinding, not a speck upon the bright gilt leaves. Emma, too, brought\nhers, but with a more timid look; the neat brown silk cover was faded\nand worn--she had thought of making a new one only the day before--and\nthe brightness was gone from the leaves, and the binding seemed rather\nloose, for the book opened easily, and there were some pages, less\nwhite than others, which looked as if they had been often read. To\nLouisa's surprise, Mrs. Harding laid down her book without saying a\nword, while, as soon as she took Emma's Bible into her hand, she\nsmiled with pleasure, although tears came into her eyes. \"_This_ book\nhas been valued as it ought to be,\" said she; \"it has been used with\ncare, but often used, so that I trust it has been found a guide and a\nhelp to heaven. But yours, Louisa\"--and she pointed to the beautiful\nBible which lay upon the table--\"yours has been laid aside, like the\ntalent which was buried in the earth. It has been of no benefit to\nyour soul, for you seem hardly ever to have looked to it for\ninstruction; as if its real worth consisted in outside ornament, you\nhave been careful to keep that from injury, but have never sought or\ncared for the treasure that is within. But dry your tears, my dear\nLouisa,\" added aunt Harding kindly. \"I am not angry, for I know that\nyour mistaken care was in some measure caused by your love for me.\nI am only sorry that my parting present has not been of the use which\nI intended. But it is not yet too late for you to learn that, while\nyour Bible should be kept with proper care--for it is the word of\nGod--yet it was given for our daily study, that we might read it, pray\nover it, and practice it; and thus, by the divine blessing, become\n'wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.'\" 2 Tim.\niii, 15.\n\n\"I trust,\" said the kind aunt, looking at her two nieces with much\naffection; \"I trust that my dear Emma knows and loves her Saviour, and\ntakes delight in the Scriptures, because they testify of him. May you\nboth have grace to love him above all things, to do his will, and to\nput your trust in him for evermore; and then the heartfelt desire of\nyour aunt Harding will be fulfilled.\"\n\nReader, beware how you neglect the word of God. But remember it is not\nby merely reading it that you are to look for a blessing to your soul.\nYou must pray for the teaching of the Holy Spirit, who alone can open\nyour understanding, and incline your heart to heavenly wisdom, that\nyou may not read in vain.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nPRAYER FOR DIVINE GUIDANCE.\n\nO that the Lord would guide my ways\n  To keep his statutes still!\nO that my God would grant me grace\n  To know and do his will!\n\nO send thy Spirit down to write\n  Thy law upon my heart!\nNor let my tongue indulge deceit,\n  Nor act the liar's part.\n\nFrom vanity turn off mine eyes;\n  Let no corrupt design,\nNor covetous desires, arise\n  Within this soul of mine.\n\nOrder my footsteps by thy word,\n  And make my heart sincere:\nLet sin have no dominion, Lord,\n  But keep my conscience clear.\n\nMy soul hath gone too far astray,\n  My feet too often slip;\nYet, since I've not forgot thy way,\n  Restore thy wand'ring sheep.\n\nMake me to walk in thy commands,\n  'Tis a delightful road;\nNor let my head, or heart, or hands,\n  Offend against my God.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nVALUE OF THE SCRIPTURES TO THE YOUNG\n\nHow shall the young secure their hearts,\n  And guard their lives from sin?\nThy word the choicest rules imparts\n  To keep the conscience clean.\n\nWhen once it enters to the mind,\n  It spreads such light abroad,\nThe meanest souls instruction find,\n  And raise their thoughts to God.\n\n'Tis like the sun, a heavenly light\n  That guides us all the day;\nAnd through the dangers of the night,\n  A lamp to lead our way.\n\nThy precepts make me truly wise;\n  I hate the sinner's road:\nI hate my own vain thoughts that rise,\n  But love thy law, my God.\n\nThy word is everlasting truth;\n  How pure is every page!\nThat holy book shall guide our youth,\n  And well support our age.\n\n\nTHE END.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nBOOKS PUBLISHED FOR THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION\nOF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nKINDNESS TO ANIMALS;\nSHOWING THE SIN OF CRUELTY.\nBY CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH.\nPrice eighteen cents.\n\nTHE M'GREGOR FAMILY.\nPrice eighteen cents.\n\nTHE COTTAGE ON THE MOOR;\nOR, THE EVILS OF PRIDE.\nPrice eighteen cents.\n\nOLD ANTHONY'S HINTS TO YOUNG PEOPLE,\nTO MAKE THEM CHEERFUL AND WISE.\nPrice twenty cents.\n\nTHE JEW AMONG ALL NATIONS,\nSHOWING THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THAT\nWONDERFUL PEOPLE.\nPrice twenty-one cents.\n\nTHE EGYPTIAN,\nBY THE AUTHOR OF THE JEW.\nPrice twenty-one cents.\n\nTHE STRANGE PLANET,\nAND OTHER ALLEGORIES,\nDESIGNED TO ILLUSTRATE IMPORTANT SUBJECTS","title":"Aunt Harding's Keepsakes: Or, The Two Bibles","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":7922}