{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_12493/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_12493","id":"gutenberg_12493","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12493","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Novels","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christian life -- Juvenile fiction","Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction","Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.) -- Juvenile fiction","Motherless families -- Juvenile fiction"],"text":"Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this\n      file which includes the original illustrations.\n      See 12493-h.htm or 12493-h.zip:\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/4/9/12493/12493-h/12493-h.htm)\n      or\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/4/9/12493/12493-h.zip)\n\n\n\n\nHOW JOHN BECAME A MAN\n\nLife Story of a Motherless Boy\n\nBy\n\nISABEL C. BYRUM\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: Learning to Pray]\n\n\n\n\nAuthor's Preface\n\n\nIn presenting this little volume, the author hopes that it may be useful\nin suggesting to the minds of young boys the great wrong there is in\nindulging in evil habits.\n\nWe read, \"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge,\" and this is\ntrue concerning most boys who form habits that are harmful both to body\nand soul.\n\nThe story of John's life is a true one; and his earnest prayer that it\nmay be the means of helping some boys from Satan's snares and prove a\nblessing to them, I trust, will be answered.\n\nIsabel C. Byrum\n\nYear 1917\n\n\n\n\n\nContents\n\n\nChapter\n\nI      The Prairie Pasture\nII     In the Sod Cellar\nIII    What the Big Chest Contained\nIV     Early School Days\nV      The Card Parties\nVI     Visitors and Pastimes\nVII    Leaving Home\nVIII   With the Circus\nIX     Caught Unawares\nX      A Child Again\nXI     How John Became a Man\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\nLearning to Pray\nOpening the Chest\nA Card Party\nLeaving the Old Homestead\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nThe Prairie Pasture\n\n\nOut on the prairie in one of the western states where buffaloes and\nwild horses once had roamed at their pleasure and where cacti and\nyuccas still thrived and bloomed could be seen a small two-story frame\nbuilding. There was nothing strange in this except that the house was\ndifferent from the average house of the plains; for at this particular\ntime the greater part of the dwellings were made of sod, mud, and brush.\n\nThe people, generally speaking, were of that type who think principally\nof getting all the enjoyment from their every-day lives that it is\npossible to obtain. There was, therefore, little thought among them of\nthe hereafter, when men must give an account of themselves before a just\nand living God. In fact, the younger generation scarcely knew that there\nwas a God who took note of all their ways.\n\nThe building, so different from the ordinary dwellings upon the prairie,\nwas the home of a tiny lad named John. It was a happy home; for both\nhis parents were living, and the love that bound their hearts together\nbrought peace and happiness to each member of the little household. But\ncould this happy group have known of the presence of a grim monster just\noutside the door, who at that very moment was seeking an entrance, their\njoy would have given place to sorrow. Death was soon to destroy the\nlight and comfort of that home. The devoted wife and mother was not\nstrong; and after a severe illness lasting but a few short days, her\nspirit left the ones she loved and her lifeless body was carried to\nits last resting place in the cemetery a few miles away.\n\nLittle John was, of course, too young to realize the true meaning of the\nchange; but that something dreadful had happened he very well knew, and\nhis large pathetic eyes spoke the grief that he did understand and could\nnot express. During the three years of his short life he had known the\ncare of a tender, loving mother, whose ambitions were high and noble.\nAlthough not a Christian, she had often expressed her wish that her\nlittle brown-eyed boy might grow up to be an honor to his father and\nmother, and a blessing to his country. After her death his papa's eyes\nwere often filled with tears, for he loved and pitied his little boy.\n\nOne evening when the lights were dim and the hands of the clock were\npointing to the bedtime hour, John felt his father's arms tenderly\nencircled about him and heard him softly saying: \"My little John, we are\nleft all alone now, and you must hurry up and become a man as soon as\nyou can; for I need you to help me. Mama has gone away and left us, and\nshe cannot teach you the things that she had planned that you should\nknow; so we will have to do the best that we can, but you must help me.\nFirst of all, I want you to learn how to pray; for there is a God in\nheaven, who made you, and of whom your mother expected to tell you.\nBefore Him we should bow down and pray every night before we go to\nsleep.\"\n\n\"Does He hear all the words we say?\" asked little John in an awed tone,\nquite unable to comprehend his father's meaning, \"and does He look at us\nwhen we are asleep?\"\n\n\"Yes,\" his father answered; \"God sees and knows everything. Now, I will\ntell you the short prayer that I used to say when I was a little boy\nlike you--the prayer that my mother taught me.\"\n\nThus it was that John, kneeling beside his little bed repeated the\nprayer that has been lisped by thousands of other baby voices:\n\n  \"Now I lay me down to sleep;\n  I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep.\n  If I should die before I wake,\n  I pray thee, Lord, my soul to take.\"\n\n\nAs the days and weeks sped by, John thought often of his dear mama and\nwished that he might see her; but he as often would recall his father's\nwords to be a little man, and with all his strength he endeavored to be\nwhat he considered a man ought to be. But although he tried, in his\nchildish way, to be one, he was often very lonely; and had it not been\nfor frequent visits to his uncle's home, several miles distant, he would\nhave missed his precious mother even more than he did. While at his\nuncle's, he could play with his two cousins, Will and Charley. At last\nit was decided that it would be best for John and his father to go and\nmake their home with the uncle until John was older.\n\nNow Charley was just about John's age; but as Charley was a cripple,\nJohn had chosen Will, who was several years the oldest, to be his\nclosest friend and companion. Regardless of these facts, however, the\nthree boys generally played together. Their playground was the vast\ndooryard extending far out over the prairie.\n\nIn time they were given the responsibility of herding the cows. To herd\nthe cows meant to see that the cattle did not wander about in the\nneighborhood corn, wheat, and barley fields that were scattered about\nhere and there over the prairies and that were in but few instances\nfenced, and to see that they were driven to some water-place at certain\nintervals and were brought home at the milking hour.\n\nThe watering places were known as \"buffalo-wallows,\" for they had been\nmade by the buffalos in wallowing. These basins were usually kept filled\nwith water by the rains. Some of the \"wallows,\" or \"ponds,\" were rather\ndeep, and were treacherous because of sudden \"drop-offs\"; but they were\nusually shallow, and it was generally safe for the children to play\nalong the edge.\n\nAfter the first sharp edge of his grief was dulled, John's father did\nnot feel it so keenly his duty to instruct his child and to teach him\nto reverence his Creator; and when John was about six years of age, the\nfather was kept so busy with his work that he had but little time to\nspend with the child. John's aunt, too, although a good woman, was too\nmuch occupied with housekeeping to do her duty by her own two boys, much\nless by a third. So John and his cousins had spent nearly all of the\nthree years that they had been together in doing as they pleased, and in\nfinding as much enjoyment in living as it was possible for them to find.\nIt was, therefore, not strange that they had learned and invented many\nnew ways to get amusement, and that some of these were evil; for Satan,\nas he always does in such cases, had lent them a helping hand.\n\nThe work of attending to the cows did not, of course, occupy nearly all\ntheir time, and the boys found it great sport to play around the wallows\nand in them.\n\nOn one occasion Will said:\n\n\"Say, boys, did you ever hear the story about the man who walked upon\nthe water? I don't remember just how the story went; but I heard\nsomebody say that the man's name was Jesus, and that another man got out\nof a boat to go and meet Him. The first fellow did all right, but the\nsecond one came very near drowning because he looked down at the water.\nMaybe he wanted to see how deep the water was, and I guess he would have\ngot drowned if they hadn't been close to the shore. Now, I am going to\ndo like Jesus did. Want to see me?\"\n\nNaturally both the boys wanted to see him perform a feat like that, and\nWill quickly scampered into the water. Now, the wallow was very shallow\nall the way across, and Will was soon on the opposite side. The smaller\nboys, not knowing the depth of the water, supposed that it was deep and\nthat Will had actually done some marvelous thing. Will did not know that\nhe was doing wrong by speaking lightly of one of the Savior's miracles;\nfor he had never been in Sunday-school, and his parents had not taught\nhim the sacredness of the words and acts of the Savior. He simply wanted\nto play a joke on his companions.\n\nThe smaller boys talked the matter over when they were alone, and John\nsaid:\n\n\"Say, Charley, what do you suppose held Will up the other day on that\nwater? That wallow must have been deep out in the middle. Let's try it\nsome time for ourselves when Will isn't around. I believe we could do it\nas well as he did.\"\n\nCharley was agreed, and the two smaller lads watched their chance. One\nday when Will was not with them, they chose a wallow that they thought\nwould answer their purpose. \"I'll go first,\" Charley said, and he\nhurried forward as rapidly as his little crippled limb could carry him,\nto the water's edge and out into the pond.\n\nSuddenly poor little Charley disappeared. John saw his cousin as he\nwent down into the deep water, and realized his danger. He knew that\nsomething must be done and done at once, and with a bound he sprang in\nafter his companion. He did not, however, go beyond the shallow water,\nand when his cousin came to the surface, he reached out his hand and\ncaught him by the hair; and as Charley had not lost the power to help\nhimself, he was soon able, by John's assistance, to scramble to a place\nof safety.\n\nThe boys decided that they would say nothing about the accident; and as\nthey remained away from the house long enough for Charley's clothing to\ndry, no questions were asked. But was the scene unnoticed? No. He who\nnotes the sparrow's fall was watching over these little boys; He had not\nforgotten John's little prayer that had been taught him by his father.\nGod was caring for these little untaught children in that vast prairie\npasture.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nIn the Sod Cellar\n\n\nAlmost without exception the homes on the prairies were provided with\nsod cellars. Even the few modern dwellings in the community in which\nJohn's uncle lived were not without these old-fashioned cellars, which\nserved as a protection in times of storms and tornadoes. The cellars\nserved also as places in which to store the fruits and vegetables for\nwinter use. And very often, too, a large quantity of tobacco leaves that\nhad been dried and kept back when the summer's crop was sold could be\ndiscovered in one of these places.\n\nThe home of John's uncle was provided with just such a cellar--a deep\nhole dug in the ground and covered over with a dense roofing of brush,\nmud, and sod. Within this cellar a large supply of tobacco leaves had\nbeen stored. John had been in the cellar many times. He knew the tobacco\nwas there, and he knew to what use his uncle put the tobacco. He knew\nalso that his cousin Will both chewed and smoked the leaves, but it had\nnot occurred to him that he himself could do so.\n\nThe reason why he had not thought of using it was perhaps that his\nfather had once told him that the using of tobacco was a bad habit and\nurged him to let it alone. But the fact that he had not been tempted did\nnot guarantee that he would not be; the fact that he had no appetite for\ntobacco did not conclusively prove that he would never acquire one; nor\ndid the fact that he had been told to let tobacco alone warrant that he\nwould need no further watching--for an unforeseen temptation was lurking\nnear.\n\nOne day when John went into the cellar with his cousin Will, his cousin\nfilled a pipe with the leaves and offered it to him, bidding him smoke.\nJohn shook his head, and said that he did not want to smoke, for his\nfather had said that using tobacco was a bad habit and that it would\nruin his health.\n\n\"Then, why does he use it himself?\" Will reasoned. \"Do you suppose that\nhe would use it if he thought that it was going to hurt him? Now, John,\nlook here; you said that you wanted to become a man. Here's your chance.\nIf you get to where you can smoke a pipe, chew tobacco, and spit, in the\nway that your father and my dad do, you will be a man. Just some folks'\nsaying that it is a bad habit doesn't need to make any difference with\nyou.\"\n\nAs John thought over his cousin's words, they did seem reasonable, and\nhe remembered that all the men he had ever seen used tobacco. So he\ndecided that, if he expected to be a man himself, he must soon begin to\nuse it, too. He therefore accepted the pipe and began to puff vigorously\nat the stem. But try as he would, he couldn't make the pretty little\ncurls of smoke mount up into the air as he had watched his father and\nother men do. Very soon, however, a deathly sickness began to steal over\nhim. His head and stomach hurt, and he could scarcely help falling down\non the floor of the cellar.\n\n\"O Will,\" he said, as he gave the pipe to his cousin, \"I am so sick!\nLet's get out of here. I feel as though I was going to die!\" And John\nstarted in an attempt to find the opening through which he had entered\nthe cellar, but to his surprise and terror he could not find it.\n\n\"O Will,\" he said, \"this is all your fault! You know I didn't want to\nsmoke. I wish now that I hadn't listened to you. Father said tobacco\nwould make me sick, but I didn't know it would be so bad as this. Tell\nme, does it always make people sick? and do they ever die?\"\n\n\"Yes, it usually makes them pretty sick,\" Will answered. \"But they\nalways get over it; and each time they smoke, they get more used to it,\nor something, and after a while they don't get sick at all. Look at me.\nIt never makes me sick, but it did at first. Surely you can stand a\nlittle sickness when you know that it is going to make a man of you!\"\n\nJohn concluded that under those circumstances he could endure his\nsuffering. But he did not try to smoke any more that morning. With\nWill's assistance he found the doorway of the cellar and went out where\nthe air was more pure. Gradually, he began to feel better. When dinner\ntime came, however, he did not care to eat; but he kept repeating to\nhimself, \"It won't be this way long, and I can afford to suffer if it\nwill make a man of me.\" How sad to think that one so young should be\nso deceived!\n\nCould someone have taught him then that the sick feeling that had so\ndistressed him was caused by the strong poison contained in the tobacco,\nit might have encouraged him never to touch it again. Had his father\nexplained that every pound of tobacco contains three hundred and twenty\ngrains of this poison, one grain of which will kill a large dog in about\nthree minutes; or told him the story of how a man once ran a needle and\nthread that had been dipped in the poison through the skin of a frog and\nof how the frog in a few moments began to act like a drunken person,\nvomited, and hopped about as fast as possible, and then laid down,\ntwitched for a moment in agony, and died; or informed him that many\npeople become insane just through the use of tobacco, John might have\nyet been influenced to leave the poisonous stuff alone--but perhaps his\nfather did not know. Anyway, John was left without this much-needed\ninformation.\n\nBoys who are not properly warned of the danger of tobacco-using are to\nbe pitied more than blamed if they indulge; but their ignorance does not\nlessen the harm and the evils wrought. When the poison gets into the\nsystem, it affects the most vital organs; it undermines that strength\nand destroys that beauty which ornament true manhood and which assure an\nindividual of success. Besides, the continued using causes the indulger\nto form a habit that cannot be easily overcome.\n\nJohn, being not fully warned of the dreadful consequences of using\ntobacco, and yet determined to become a man, kept on smoking until he\nso accustomed his system to the shock that he felt satisfied he was\nbecoming a conqueror and would soon be able to show his father that\nhe was now a man.\n\nDuring the time that John was undergoing such severe temptation, his\nfather was very busy. He realized that his child needed more instruction\nthan he was receiving and that Will's influence over John was not good;\nbut just what advice to give, he hardly knew. Once he thought that he\ncould smell tobacco smoke on his boy's clothing so calling John to his\nside, he said:\n\n\"John, I feel that I must tell you something more about certain bad\nhabits that so many boys form while they are young. You remember I told\nyou that smoking and chewing tobacco ruin many a life. Now, I am not\ngoing to say that you cannot use tobacco; but I wish that for my sake,\nas well as for your own, you would let it alone, for it is indeed a very\nbad habit.\"\n\nTo this advice John made no reply; for an appetite was being formed,\nand in his heart he decided to keep right on. It would have been better\ncould his father have remembered the temptations of his own boyhood\ndays. He might then have more fully realized how next to impossible it\nis for a parent to availingly teach his child to do something without\nfirst setting before the child an example that is worthy of imitation.\nCould he have helped his little son to understand the true meaning of\nmanhood and the necessity of building up within himself in youth a\nnoble, honest, and always-to-be-depended-upon character, as well as the\nneed of developing a strong body, he might have laid a foundation upon\nwhich John could have later safely builded.\n\nJohn dearly loved his father and wanted to please him. And to his mind\nhe could best please his father by as quickly as possible becoming a\nman. So, with the thought of early manhood ever before him, he felt\nthat, in using tobacco, he was doing right. And then, too, Charley had\nlearned to smoke and chew, and it would be very hard indeed to be near\nthe boys and not to join in with them.\n\nBy the time that John had passed his seventh birthday, the small amount\nof tobacco that was kept in the cellar was not sufficient to fill the\ndemand of the three boys without too rapidly diminishing the uncle's\nsupply, and the boys decided to look elsewhere.\n\nNow, John's aunt had at one time explained to the boys that lying and\nstealing are wrong; but she had not made it clear that deceiving is\nlying and that taking little things that did not belong to them, even\nthough they took the things from some member of the family, is stealing,\nand that just such thefts lead to the greater crimes that send men and\nwomen to prison. Instead, she gave the advice in such a way that, though\nthey were impressed with a horror of stealing, the boys could only in\npart comprehend her meaning. But because she had warned them, she felt\nthat she had done her duty and that they ought to know right from wrong\nin regard to that matter without further explanation.\n\nShe did not realize that it was her duty to watch, encourage, and\nadvise, and also to find out when mischief was being planned. In fact,\nthis aunt and mother, busy with her own cares, knew nothing of the\npossibilities for a child whose confidence and love had been won, and\nwho, through loving counsel, had gained a knowledge of evils and their\neffects before he had formed ruinous habits or his mind had been\npolluted with false ideas. Being thus left to themselves to discern as\nbest they could the difference between right and wrong, the boys nearly\nalways chose the wrong; and as a result, constantly went deeper and\ndeeper into sinful things.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nWhat the Big Chest Contained\n\n\nGreat sins always have a beginning; the first attempts to do evil are\nnot hard to check if taken in time, but if allowed to be carried out, it\nis impossible to tell what the results may be. How sad it was that John\nand his cousins did not have someone to check them!\n\nThe boys now decided to keep close watch, and to avail themselves of\nevery opportunity to procure tobacco, even if they were forced to steal\nit. The word \"steal\" had, of course, a certain horror to John because\nof the picture his aunt had described of a prison and a thief; but he\nsoothed his conscience by saying, \"There isn't anything else in the\nworld except tobacco that I would think of stealing.\" But the stealing\nhabit, like the tobacco habit, continues to grow stronger, unless it\nis in some way broken. As tobacco contains a poison that affects the\nphysical being, so in a similar manner lying and stealing have a ruinous\neffect upon the moral nature. The three--lying, stealing, and tobacco\nusing--too often go hand in hand.\n\nThe first effort of the boys to secure the much-coveted tobacco was made\none day when they, while roaming about over the prairie, discovered a\nman hard at work in a field. The man seemed to be lifting something that\nwas very heavy, and Will suggested to the boys that they go and lend\ntheir services provided the man would give them each a chew of his\ntobacco in return; and Will did not forget to add that they must each\ntake as generous a bite as their mouths could accommodate. The man was\nglad to accept their help; and together with his own efforts, the work\nwas soon finished. Then, in fulfillment of his agreement, he handed them\nhis plug of tobacco that they might each take the \"chew\" he had promised\nthem.\n\nAccording to Will's suggestion the boys did not stop with an ordinary\nchew; but each took all that his mouth would contain. When they returned\nthe plug, it was so small that the boys were all afraid the man would\nfind fault with them; so they hurried away from the spot as rapidly as\npossible. As soon as they were far enough away, they removed the tobacco\nfrom their mouths; and they found that, by taking very small chews at\na time, the amount was sufficient to last them for some time. Several\ntimes they succeeded in securing tobacco in this way, and by economizing\nwere able to get along pretty well for a while. But the plan did not\nalways work; for the neighbors' becoming aware of the scheme, prepared\nthemselves with a small piece of tobacco to offer the greedy boys.\n\nAfter that, in order to secure their tobacco, they were often forced\nto pick up partly-chewed quids, found where they had been thrown away\nby the owners. These the boys usually washed; sometimes, however, in\ntheir eagerness they could not wait to attend to even this amount of\ncleanliness, but crammed the tobacco into their mouths just as they had\nfound it. Even cigar stubs; in fact, everything in the form of tobacco,\nthat had been thrown away, they eagerly gathered and used to satisfy\ntheir ravenous appetites.\n\nWith a foundation now laid for both lying and stealing and with their\nconsciences dulled, the boys were constantly laying plans to gratify\ntheir evil desires. Many a pocket they robbed of its contents if it\nhappened to contain tobacco in any form. But this was a slow process at\nbest; even under the most favorable circumstances it yielded them but\nvery little returns for their efforts. But one day Will informed the\nboys that he had made a discovery--that he had found out that there was\na lot of plug tobacco in the big chest in his father's room. \"Now, if we\ncould think up some way to get into that chest when the old folks are\ngone away to town,\" he suggested, \"we could get all the chewing tobacco\nwe would want for a long while. I thought I would watch and see where\nDad put the key, but he took it with him. Guess he carries it with him\neverywhere he goes. I wonder if we couldn't manage in some way to break\nthe lock. My, but I tell you we could get a big haul! I wonder if we\nhadn't better try it some day when the old folks go to town?\"\n\n\"Hooray, that's just it!\" shouted the smaller boys in the same breath.\n\nAnd John asked quickly: \"When will they go to town again? This is only\nWednesday.\"\n\n\"It won't be long, I'm sure,\" Will answered reassuringly. \"They'll go\neither Friday or Saturday sure. But we'll have to get busy and think out\na way to break that lock. My, but won't the old man be mad when he finds\nout about it! We'll have to act just as if we couldn't see how on earth\nsuch a thing could have happened.\"\n\n\"Yes; and we'll have to hide the tobacco good, or Pa might find it,\"\nchimed in Charley.\n\n\"Hey, Will,\" John exclaimed in a hurried undertone--for all the boys had\nlearned to speak low when mentioning their plans--\"if we could take the\nhinges off from the back of the chest, we wouldn't have to break the\nlock at all.\"\n\n\"Why, John, that's just it! How in the world did you think of that\nscheme?\" Will exclaimed, as he slapped his little cousin on the back. \"I\nsay, my boy, you had better look out or you'll be a man before your big\ncousin! It doesn't matter, you know, about the height, if you have the\nsense.\"\n\nNow, John (although so young) was quite ingenious; and he often\nsuggested ideas that, for their shrewdness, were far beyond his years.\nFor such he was always praised by Will, and was encouraged to make other\nplans.\n\nBeing encouraged by his cousin's praise, the child's brain became even\nmore active, and he said, \"If we just cut a little piece from each plug,\nUncle won't be so apt to miss the tobacco.\"\n\n\"That's just it again!\" emphatically assented Will. \"I declare, John,\nyou surprise me! And now, we must have everything all ready so that\nthe minute they leave we can get busy. Let's see, what'll we need?\nA screw-driver--and will we need a hammer?\"\n\n\"We'll need a real sharp knife to cut the tobacco,\" John suggested.\n\n\"I'll get the things ready,\" Charley volunteered; and so they planned\nand waited for the time to come when they could carry out their scheme.\n\nThe time came on the following Saturday. Early in the morning the uncle\nand aunt drove away in the \"buckboard,\" and were on their way to the\ncity where they were to do their trading. All three of the boys had been\nunusually anxious to help their elders get started, forgetting in their\neagerness that they might be thus revealing some of their plans.\nScarcely did they give the uncle and aunt time to disappear in the\ndistance before they had commenced their evil work.\n\n\"Here's the tools,\" Charley said, as he brought forth the screw-driver,\nhammer, and sharp knife. \"Where shall I put them?\"\n\n\"Oh, anywhere so they'll be handy!\" Will told him; and then the three\nboys hastened to the room containing the chest and were soon kneeling on\nthe floor, examining carefully the object of their interest.\n\nThe chest, a long, narrow, flat box somewhat darkened with age, was\nclosed and securely fastened; and the tiny padlock that hung from its\nside seemed to say, \"If you please, I am here to protect my master's\nproperty from the hand of any thieves; and to the extent that it is\nwithin my power, I shall perform my duty.\" Its bold front and defiant\nappearance did not, however, daunt the purpose of the boys. After giving\nit a brief examination, they slipped around to the opposite side of the\nchest, and by the aid of the screw-driver, removed the lower half of the\nrusty hinges.\n\n\"Thank goodness, this chest is old!\" Will exclaimed as he brushed from\nhis forehead the large beads of perspiration. \"If these screws turned\nany harder, I never could get them out. Guess we'll earn our tobacco\nthis time all right!\"\n\n[Illustration: Opening the Chest]\n\nScarcely had the last screw been removed when up came the lid; and\nalmost instantly three pairs of eager eyes were greedily gazing down\nupon the contents of the wooden chest. There were in it a package of\nold letters, various articles of clothing, a few trinkets, etc.; but\nonly that part of the contents that was carefully packed in one corner\nclaimed the attention of the boys. This, a pile of long brown strips,\nor plugs, of tobacco, was what they wanted; and soon Will was busily\nengaged in cutting a narrow slice from each plug and John and Charley\nwere dividing the slices into three equal parts. But in their haste and\nexcitement, none of the boys forgot to fill their mouths with the filthy\nstuff, and to chew while they worked.\n\nAs Will cut a piece from the last plug, he glanced about over the piles\nand said with a look of satisfaction: \"Now that ain't so bad, is it,\nboys? That ought to last quite a spell; and when it's gone, we can come\nback here, or maybe something else will turn up.\" And then, when he saw\nthe boys rearranging the tobacco in the chest, he said, \"Look out there!\nYou'll have to get everything just like it was, or we'll be caught and\nhave had our fun for nothing!\" When the chest was repacked, the last\nscrew in its place, and the tiny scraps of tobacco that had fallen upon\nthe floor had been carefully preserved, the boys looked at one another\nwith satisfaction, and Will said, \"That's a pretty slick job all right,\nif I do say so; and its a lot better than breaking the lock would have\nbeen. I'll tell you it takes some brains to do up a thing like that,\nand it makes me feel as if I'd like more of them.\"\n\nTo this John smiled and said: \"Hey, Will, do you know what's in that\ntrunk?\" John referred to a large trunk that was sitting near the bed\non the opposite side of the room.\n\n\"Couldn't tell you all that's in it, but it's locked; and it's in that\ntrunk that Dad keeps his revolvers. There's two of them, because I saw\ninside the trunk the other day.\" And then as the new thought presented\nitself to his mind, he exclaimed, \"I wonder why we couldn't get into\nthat trunk the same as we did the chest?\"\n\nIn a twinkling, all the boys were examining the trunk, but to their\ndismay, they found that the hinges, instead of being on the outside of\nthe trunk, were arranged differently, and they could not get at them.\nAgain it was John who suggested a plan whereby they could accomplish\ntheir desires. \"Just take a nail,\" he said, \"and turn the head of it\naround in the lock. I've watched my father do that, and he gets his\nopen every time.\"\n\nThe trunk, which was an old one, yielded quickly to the efforts made\nby the boys; and upon raising the lid, they saw before them two shining\nweapons that were supposed to have been carefully hidden away from their\ninexperienced fingers. John and Will each quickly caught one up in his\nhand; and Will began handling his as though it were a toy, but not so\ndid John.\n\nJohn's father had taught him something of the dangers connected with the\nhandling of a gun or revolver. Besides, John was at one time present\nwhen a duel was fought; and on that occasion one of the duelists was\nkilled. The memory of that incident and of his father's warnings, made\nJohn very careful about pointing the revolver at either of his cousins.\nIt was, therefore, with intense fear that John looked into the barrel\nof his cousin's revolver as Will snapped it, aimlessly pointing in his\ndirection; and John exclaimed, \"Turn that thing away, or you'll shoot\nme.\"\n\nWill's answer was: \"You needn't be afraid, John. This revolver isn't\nloaded.\"\n\nBut John, seeing his cousin's careless attitude, was afraid; and he\ndodged down behind a barrel of carpet-rags near which he had been\nstanding. It was well that John did not longer remain where he had been;\nfor the revolver contained a solitary load, and the frequent pulling of\nthe trigger discharged this. The bullet passed the very spot where John\nhad a moment before been standing, and lodged itself deep in the side of\nthe trunk.\n\nThis experience marked an awakening-time in all of the boys' lives; at\nthat moment their consciences, which had almost fallen asleep, were\naroused, and in startling phrases gave them accounts of their evil\ndeeds. With great haste the boys returned the weapons to their former\nhiding place, relocked the trunk, and in so far as it was possible,\ncovered all the traces of the accident. Then, with hearts full of guilty\nthoughts, the three boys hastened from the place where a scene of horror\nhad very nearly been enacted.\n\nOut in the open, where the air was fresh and pure, their spirits to a\ncertain degree revived. But their usual laughter, fun, and merry-making\nhad been dampened; and as they wended their way to the prairie\npasture-land, few words were passed between them. Poor little misguided\nboys! warned, and yet left so ignorant of what was the right and the\nwrong way.\n\nThrough the voice of conscience God endeavored to speak to John and to\ntell him that his ways were evil and that he and his cousins would some\nday get into serious trouble if they continued in the way they were\ngoing; but, although he was sad, he could not understand. He wanted to\nbe a good boy for his father's sake (for his father was the best friend\nhe knew); and most of all he desired to become the man that that parent\nhad wished him to be. John's disregard for his father's warnings from\ntime to time had been due to the fear that, if he obeyed, his early\nmanhood would be hindered.\n\nCould that father have given his little son an object-lesson such as an\naged monk once, while walking through a forest, gave his scholar, John\nmight have been spared much suffering. The monk, stepping before four\nplants that were close by, pointed to the first, a plant just beginning\nto peep above the ground; to the second, one well-rooted in the earth;\nto the third, a small shrub; and to the fourth, a full-sized tree.\n\nThen turning to his young companion, he said, \"Pull up the first.\" This\nthe boy easily did.\n\n\"Now, pull up the second.\" The youth obeyed, but not with so much ease.\n\n\"And now the third.\" This time before the boy succeeded in uprooting the\nplant, he had to put forth all his strength and to use both his arms.\n\n\"And now,\" said his master, \"try your hand on the fourth.\" But although\nthe lad grasped the trunk of the tree in his arms, he scarcely shook its\nleaves; and he found it impossible to tear its roots from the earth.\nThen the wise old man explained the meaning of the four trials.\n\n\"This, my son,\" he said, \"is just what happens to our bad habits and\npassions. When they are young and weak, we can by a little watchfulness\nand by a little discipline, easily tear them up; but if we let them cast\ntheir roots deep down into our souls, no human power can uproot them.\nOnly the almighty hand of the Creator can pluck them out. For this\nreason, my boy, watch your first impulses.\"\n\nOr, could John have heard the story of the giant who fell in with a\ncompany of pigmies, he might have taken a different course. The giant\nroared with laughter at the insignificant stature and wonderful\nboastings of the pigmies. He ridiculed their threats when they told what\nthey expected to do to him; but when he fell asleep that night, he was\nat their mercy. And he did not know until he awoke in the morning that\nwhile he was asleep these tiny people of whom he had made sport had\nbound him with innumerable threads and that he was their helpless\ncaptive. But John knew nothing of these stories or of other things that\nteach the lessons he so much needed; and perhaps his father did not\nknow, so that he could tell his son what he should have been told.\n\nThe use of tobacco is an evil. When God made tobacco and pronounced it\ngood, He did not mean for it to go into the mouth of any man or woman,\nmuch less into the mouths of children. Tobacco is a deadly poison; and\nthe constant use of any poison must injure the body of the one who uses\nit. When it has sapped the strength from both the mind and the body, it\nleaves the individual weakened in every way and makes it harder for him\nto live a good, pure life.\n\nNo person who uses tobacco may be said to be perfectly well. Such a\nperson may not realize how his health is impaired, because the stupor\nthat the poison produces numbs his sensibilities; but the very appetite\nhe has for tobacco is in itself a disease. In order for an habitual user\nto realize the harm that tobacco is doing to his health, he has simply\nto stop its use for a short time and watch the effect on his system.\n\nTobacco is not a food that God intended man to eat. In man's case it\nfeeds only a craving that it has itself created. But the leaves of the\ntobacco plant do serve as food for the large, green worms that live and\nthrive in tobacco fields. Yes; tobacco is \"very good\" for the \"creeping\nthings\" for which it was created; but it was not intended as food for\nman.\n\nCould John and his cousins have understood all this when the next\ntobacco famine came to them, it seems that each would surely have\nresisted the temptation to stoop down, pick up a partly chewed quid of\ntobacco, cram it greedily into his watering mouth, and chew it as though\nit was the sweetest morsel he had ever tasted. But the boys did not\nknow. They thought such things were manly.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nEarly School Days\n\n\nBy the time John was eight years old, the evil influences with which he\nhad been surrounded in his uncle's home were rapidly telling on him. To\nbe sure, there was still the same pathetic expression in his deep, brown\neyes, and now and then there could be observed in them a mischievous\nglance or a merry twinkle; but his general appearance was that of a\nsadly neglected child. Still the busy aunt took little notice either\nof him or of her own boys.\n\nIn his heart John was longing for someone to take an interest in him and\nto love him--someone to whom he could go with his boyish heartaches and\nfrom whom he could gain the sympathy for which his heart was craving.\nTo be sure, his father was still kind, and sometimes John would imagine\nthat he could even feel his father's love. At such times the boy would\npress closer to his parent, hoping that he would at least with his arm\ncaress him; but his father did not understand. He could see only the\noutward roughness; and he said in his heart:\n\n\"It is all because he has never had a chance. He has grown up here on\nthe prairie like a wild thing. He has never been to school, and I must\nsend him at once.\"\n\nWith this purpose in his heart John's father decided to return with his\nchild to the place that had once been his happy home. In making the\nchange there were, of course, many things to take into consideration.\nBut under the circumstances, to go seemed the best and proper thing to\ndo. The sad events, he reasoned, were all in a lifetime; and he must\nmake the best of them. The home would for a time seem desolate, he knew,\nbut he thought that perhaps they could become used to it; anyway, his\nboy must be in school. The school terms would not be long (for only\nthree or four months of each year were set apart for school purposes);\nbut even these short terms would be better than none.\n\nTo John the change meant more. The five years that he had spent in the\nhome of his uncle had made his cousins seem to him like brothers; but\nstill, as he considered his father's plans, he thought, \"Perhaps it may\nbe all right.\" His aunt was very kind while John and his father were\npreparing to move; and the day they bade her good-by she said such sweet\nthings that he wanted to throw his arms about her neck. To his mind it\nwas the very way in which his own dear mother would have spoken had she\nbeen alive.\n\nWhen all was ready for the departure, the aunt said: \"John, here are the\ntwo little turkeys that you have liked so well all summer. You may take\nthem with you. They will help you to forget that you are alone when your\nfather is away at his work\"; and she handed him a small covered basket.\nThen the wagon containing their few belongings moved away from the place\nthat for nearly five years they had called their home.\n\nAs they wended their way along the thoroughfare, they saw men at work in\nthe fields. Some were shucking corn and tossing the bright golden ears\ninto wagons that were placed between the rows for that purpose, while\nothers were hauling the grain to their barns to store it away for the\nwinter's use. The broad corn leaves rustling in the wind seemed to\nwhisper, \"Winter is coming with his cold, bleak storms to rob the earth\nof her summer splendor; but he will bring his beautiful coverlet of snow\nto protect her fields and to prepare them for the coming year.\"\n\nThe foliage on the small bushes that were scattered here and there\nwas fading; but the air was still soft and mild. Near the willows\nmight still be seen the bending goldenrods, asters, and sunflowers.\nAnd occasionally blue smoke could be seen curling up from some\nsod-house chimney.\n\nIt was evening when the father and his son drove up to the door of their\nlong-desolate home; the sun was sinking lower and lower in the west. A\nfew soft glimmers of its mellow light lingered timidly about the doorway\nas if to bid the home-comers welcome, and then they were gone. A rabbit,\nhopping boldly about in the neglected doorway, stopped suddenly as if\nto ask why these people had come to a place that she had chosen for her\nhome; and some prairie dogs that had formed a colony close by anxiously\nwatched from the entrance of their underground homes to see what was\ngoing on.\n\nJohn and his father, each absorbed with his own thoughts, sprang from\nthe wagon, and soon began to air out the musty house and to rearrange\nthe furniture that had long been idly awaiting their return. After a\nwhile John found that his aunt had not forgotten that he would be very\nhungry, and soon he was sampling some large bread-and-meat sandwiches;\nhis father, too, came for his share. Thus quickly passed the first\nevening in their old home. But before John retired to his own bed, he\nsaw that his little turkeys received some attention; and in the morning\nhe let them have their freedom.\n\nAs the days sped by and lengthened into weeks and months, John would\nhave indeed been lonely had it not been for his little pets, the\nturkeys. They received his earliest attention in the morning, and it\nwas their little beaks that touched his cheek the last thing before he\nretired at night; and to himself alone was their roosting-place known.\n\nHow different everything seemed to John in his new home! The change from\nknowing nothing but perfect freedom in God's great open out-of-doors to\nbeing left alone to hustle off to school in the early morning hours,\nwhere he must sit like a statue and prepare humdrum lessons, was to John\na wonderful change. John, however, was determined to make the very best\nof his lot and to do all that he could to please his teacher.\n\nAllowing this purpose to govern his life, John's conduct was such that\nhe became in a very short time the favorite pupil in the school; and his\nkindly, generous, and ambitious nature won him many friends. He was soon\nnoted for his witty remarks, made in a manner so droll and unpretentious\nthat often merry bursts of laughter were heard from his teacher as well\nas his playmates.\n\nBut regardless of these pleasant conditions, John was far from happy.\nHe still wanted someone to show deep love for him and to take an interest\nin his welfare; and though he constantly tried to smother the deep\nsuffering he felt it still smoldered in his heart. This, perhaps, caused\nhim to crave all the more tobacco that in a way had dulled his senses\nand caused him to realize his troubles less.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nThe Card Parties\n\n\nWhile John was forming new acquaintances at school, Satan was not\nasleep. John's active mind was soon being schooled in many evils that he\nhad not known before. And to make the matter still worse, John's father\nhad a number of bachelor friends with whom he was in the habit of\nmeeting for pleasant evenings, and their amusements were mostly drinking\nstrong drinks and playing card games.\n\nAmong these men, as among his schoolmates, John became a favorite; and\nhe was often praised and admired for his shrewd and manly ways. And when\nthe report concerning his intense desire to become a man was circulated\namong them, they urged him to drink beer, saying that it would make him\nmore manly and that all men must learn how to drink and smoke if they\nwould be thought of as being manly. As a result John was soon able to\ndrink his share of the beer, although he did not like the taste at\nfirst. Besides this, John discovered that at these evening gatherings he\ncould often replenish his supply of tobacco by slipping a little from\nsomeone's pocket when the owner was not on his guard.\n\nPoor little John!--such a favorite! so gifted, and yet so neglected! in\nregard to high ideals and purposes in life, so ignorant! and so desirous\nof that motherly love and interest that were ever denied him! He\nendeavored to fill his life with other things; but in his day-dreams he\noften pictured his mother, and wondered: \"Was she like my aunt? Would\nshe take me and hold me in her arms while she smoothed my hair with her\nhand? Would she bind my bruises? And would she sit by my bedside at\nnight and hold my hand in hers while telling me stories that she had\nread?\" \"Oh, how would it all seem?\" he would ask himself; and then,\nremembering that such could never be, he would try to forget and be\nhappy. His mother was gone, he reasoned, and he must be content. It was\nto his two little feathered friends alone that he confided his sorrows.\n\nHad John's father remembered the determination that filled his soul on\nthe dark day of his wife's funeral, and had he continued to teach his\nlittle son to pray and to serve God, how much better it might have been!\nHow much better might John have understood the difference between right\nand wrong! In such a case, John's life's record might have been filled\nwith good and noble deeds, and his habits might have been clean and\nwholesome.\n\nAs it was, because of his ignorance of right, he was laying a crumbling\nfoundation formed of evil motives and desires. And should he continue to\nbuild, using similar material, his life's structure would be unsafe; it\nwould be momentarily in danger of falling. As Satan is ever waiting with\nthe needed supplies for a work of this kind, so he was ready to aid\nlittle John. The card parties at which John and his father were often\npresent furnished John with much of his material.\n\nThe younger men among those who attended these gatherings, recognizing\nin John material of the entertaining sort, began at once to educate him.\nThey taught him, not only to drink beer, but also to play cards and to\nswear. To John beer did not at first have a pleasant taste; but as it\nwas when he was trying to learn to use tobacco, so it was now--the\npromise that it would help him in becoming manly encouraged him to take\nmore; and as he drank, the appetite grew. Finally, he would sometimes\ndrink so much that he could not keep awake.\n\nUsually on these occasions beer was served only as a prize to the\nwinners of the games. The lucky fellow alone was given a drink while\nthose who had lost were given only a smell of the bottle. One time when\nJohn had won in a number of games and had been treated to as many drinks\nfrom the bottle of beer, he became very sleepy. Going over to one corner\nof the room, he crept up on a table and soon was apparently asleep.\nIt happened, however, that, although he was sleepy, he was not wholly\nunconscious to what was going on; and suddenly he heard a plot that\nseemed to him so cruel that he could scarcely believe his ears.\n\n[Illustration: A Card-Party]\n\nAt the close of such gatherings, a chicken-roast was generally in order,\nand the fowl used was usually taken from some hen-roost not far distant.\nOn this particular occasion when the party was about to break up, John\nheard the roughest of the company ask:\n\n\"I say, boys, who's goin' fer the roast tonight? Some one ought to be\noff fer it's nigh onter the midnight hour, and I, fer one's got a big\njob ahead a me tomorrer.\"\n\n\"I'll go, Bill,\" someone answered; \"but wha do ye say ter go?\"\n\n\"Oh, it don't make no difference, so's it's not too fer away!\" the other\nanswered, and added: \"Whist, Tom, why can't we git John's turkeys?\nThey'd make fust-rate eatin' all right. He's too far gone to know\nanything about it.\"\n\nJohn was just about to call out that they must let his turkeys alone\nwhen he remembered how hard it would be in the darkness to discover\ntheir roosting-place, so he remained quiet. It was, however, with some\nuneasiness that he awaited the thieves' return. When they came, he was\nrelieved; for they were carrying chickens instead of turkeys. Although,\nbecause of the safety of his pets, a thrill of satisfaction swept over\nJohn, yet he had received in his heart a wound that was deep and wide.\nThese cruel, heartless men were willing to take from him, in so\nunprincipled a manner, his only companions and playfellows. John\nsomewhat realized that life had a hard and bitter side for him; but\nagain he endeavored with all his strength to make the best of it.\n\nIt was morning before John and his father returned to their home;\nand it was with unusual joy that John found his pets waiting for their\nbreakfast. As he held them close to his breast, with their beaks close\nto his cheek, he again thought of his mother; also he wondered about a\ncertain change that had come over his father.\n\nFor a time after their removal to their own home, the father had been\nvery devoted to John and had seemed to understand something of the boy's\nloneliness. Perhaps it was a realization of this loneliness and a desire\nto bring into the life of the child the motherly interest of which he\nhad been deprived that had turned the father's heart toward a certain\nyoung lady of his acquaintance. Anyway, whatever was the cause, the\nfather became more and more interested in this young woman; while, on\nthe other hand, he paid less attention to John, whose loneliness daily\nincreased. Night after night John's pillow was dampened by the tears he\nshed while waiting and listening for the sound of his father's returning\nfootsteps.\n\nIn course of time the father married and brought home his new bride.\nAt first John was very shy; but he was glad. Oh, how he wished that she\nwould be what he had day-dreamed that his own mother might have been!\nHe could then have given her all his love and confidence. He could have\ntold her all his boyish plans for the future, asking her for the advice\nhe would need. But the new mother failed to fulfill his hopes. Even she\ndid not understand the longings of his boyish heart; nor did she realize\nthat the poor little neglected boy was measuring her by what he had\nimagined a true mother to be. She was kind to John; but that was all.\nHer time and attention were given to her husband; and John daily saw the\ngulf between his father and himself widening and deepening. A feeling of\ndiscord crept into John's heart; all attraction for home was severed;\nand he felt that his happiness would have to be sought from other\nsources.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nVisitors and Pastimes\n\n\nDuring the winter that followed his father's marriage, John's\nstepmother's brother came to live with the family; and the influence of\nthis stepuncle, whose name was Ed, was as bad or worse than Will's or\nCharley's could ever have been; for Ed was older and wiser, and knew\nmuch more of sin.\n\nIn Ed's home both the father and the mother used tobacco a long time\nbefore their child was born. When he was just a little infant, he\nworried and cried a great deal. He continued to do this, seemingly never\nto be satisfied, until finally the parents imagined that he wanted\ntobacco; and sure enough he did. The mother tied a small amount in a rag\nand gave it to her baby to suck, and immediately he became quiet and\ncontented. So, from that time she gave him tobacco to stop his crying.\nAs he grew, the quantity he used gradually increased until, when he was\nin his teens, he spent much of his money for tobacco. He went without\nmany of the necessary things of life in order that he might have the\nmoney those things would cost to spend for tobacco.\n\nThe Bible tells us that God is abundant in goodness and truth, keeping\nmercy for thousands and forgiving iniquity and transgression and\nsin ... Parents may be sorry for their sins, and be forgiven for\ntheir transgressions; but their children must suffer from inherited\nill-dispositions, unnatural appetites, or diseases.... Oh, what a\nresponsibility is resting upon the parents of the future generations!\n\nNow, tobacco acts directly on the mind. It clouds the understanding and\ndulls the memory; and sometimes it has much worse effects. The story is\ntold of the experience of a brilliant young man--a graduate from Andover\nCollege--who, for a time, seemed to have a wonderful future before him.\nAfter a few short successful years, however, all hopes were blighted;\nhe was thrown into an insane asylum a physical wreck. The doctors said\nthat tobacco had done it; but regardless of this, he was each day given,\naccording to the rules of the asylum, a small quantity of tobacco.\nFor twenty years he was in this seemingly hopeless condition; and then\nsuddenly, one day as he was walking the floor, his reason returned, and\nhe realized what was the matter. Throwing the plug of tobacco through\nthe iron grate of his cell, he said: \"What brought me here? What keeps\nme here? Why am I here? Tobacco! tobacco! tobacco! God help, help!\nI will never use it again!\"\n\nHe was restored; and for ten years he preached the gospel.\n\nBut not only does tobacco injure the mind; it also affects the blood and\nsensitive tissues and the different organs of the body, which in order\nto act normally and to do their work properly must be in healthful\ncondition. When the blood becomes saturated with the deadly poison that\ncomes from the pipe or cigar, and the soft membranes of the mouth become\nfilled with the poisonous secretion from the quid, as a consequence,\nevery member of the body becomes affected, and disease and suffering\nare the final results. Lord Bacon said, \"To smoke is a secret delight,\nserving to steal away men's brains.\" Many others have expressed\nthemselves in even louder terms against the evil effects of tobacco;\nbut we must now return to John and to Ed, his stepuncle.\n\nSoon after Ed came to live in the family, he paid a visit to a\nneighboring town; and while there, he stole from a store a case of plug\ntobacco. This he stealthily brought to his sister's new home, confiding\nhis secret to no one except John; and by generous promises he persuaded\nJohn to say nothing about the matter. At this time John was in his\nthirteenth year. He still keenly felt that something was dreadfully\nmissing in his life; so he turned to Ed, hoping to find that something\nin his companionship. But again he was disappointed. The standard of\nEd's ideals were so far below the standard that John had fixed for\nhimself that John was conscious of a constant repulsion in his heart\ntoward Ed. As a consequence, John's loneliness increased.\n\nAbout the time Ed arrived in the neighborhood, another dangerous pastime\nwas introduced. Dancing found a place in the social gatherings; and\nagain John was an apt scholar. Before very long he was considered to be\none of the best among the young people in this art; and for the time\nbeing he seemed to find real enjoyment in the amusement. There was a\nfascination about it that helped him partly to forget his troubles and\nheartaches, also the discouragements with which he had been haunted so\nmuch of late.\n\nDuring the winter that followed, the social spirit increased and the\nmonths were full of changes and excitement. The uncle with whom John and\nhis father had spent several years came with his family for a prolonged\nvisit. A hearty welcome was given the visitors, especially by John; for\nregardless of the fact that in order to make room for the company he had\nto exchange his nice warm bed in the house for a less comfortable one in\nthe sod cellar, he rejoiced in the thought that he could once more be\nwith his old companion, Will. In fact, any change was appreciated by\nJohn in his restless, discontented frame of mind.\n\nThe first evening the boys retired early, partly because they had no\nlight and partly because they wanted to visit about bygone days. They\nhad so many things to say to each other; and besides, they wanted to lay\ntheir plans for a jolly time while they could be together. Will laughed\nheartily about John's intense desire to become a man, and asked him how\nhe felt about it now. It was in a discouraged tone of voice that John\nreplied:\n\n\"There ain't so much fun in it as I supposed. The older I get, the\nmore unhappy I feel. Why, Will, there are times when I almost wish that\nI were dead. No one seems to care for me or to have any time to give me.\nIt's just 'John here' and 'John there'; and if I dare to say anything,\nI'm laughed at or told to keep still. It was different before Pa got\nmarried. Then he used to talk to me and try to help me when I got\nlonesome; but now I just have to get along the best way I can.\nIf I like anything it's all right, and if I don't it's the same.\n\n\"I'll just tell you, if it wasn't for Pa, I'd run away from home! As for\nbeing a man, I don't think that it is so wonderful after all. The men\nthat I know are all so bad. Just look at Ed! I'm getting so that I can\nhardly endure Ed!\"\n\nIn reply to John's great outburst of sorrow, Will had no words of\nsympathy to offer. All that he could propose was that they could spend\ntheir evenings in playing cards (for Will, too, had learned many things\nsince John had left; and card-playing was one of them). John was pleased\nwith the suggestion; but he said, \"I haven't any cards.\" As usual,\nhowever, he was quick to invent a way out of that difficulty and added:\n\"Hey, Will! why couldn't we make some? I know where there's a lot of\ncardboard boxes that we could cut up. One could cut while the other\nmarked them. You would know how to make them, would you not?\"\n\n\"Yes, I think so,\" Will answered. \"We could do that all right in the\ndaytime; but how could we work in the dark? And does it get very cold\nin here?\"\n\n\"Oh, it doesn't get so awfully cold; and as for a light, I can get a\ndish of lard and put a rag in it which we can light! That won't be a\nvery good light; but I think we can get along.\"\n\nThe boys found that it was no small task to make the cards. First they\nhad to cut the cardboard. This John did with a very sharp knife. Next,\nthey drew hearts and diamonds and other necessary markings. To be sure,\nthe set of cards was a very crude one when it was finished; and when the\nboys began to shuffle them in the pack, they were disappointed because\nof the bulky appearance and wished for a more perfect set. But John\nhad done a good job in cutting them out, and the marking answered the\npurpose very well. So night after night, by the aid of the flickering\nand sputtering light, furnished by the rag burning in the saucer of\nlard, the two boys, with heads bent low, sat scheming and planning,\neach striving to get ahead of the other in the game.\n\nLong before Will's visit was ended, both boys had become so skillful in\nplaying that the one could scarcely get the better of the other unless\none in some way cheated. This caused them to try many underhanded tricks\nand encouraged them to bet and gamble; and in course of time they had\nexchanged as wagers the greater part of their simple belongings. Taking\nadvantage of one another became a part of the game and seemingly was the\nprincipal aim. And the evenings that they did not spend in dancing were\nspent in indulging in these dangerous amusements. (Card-playing--as does\nalso dancing--wields an influence that is very harmful, especially to\nthe young. As the interest in the game increases, the players' desire\nfor things that are good and wholesome is lessened. One player sees only\nthe pleasure that he derives from getting the better of the one he is\nplaying against. He fails to see that each time he stoops to unfair\nmethods in order to gain his purpose he helps to pave the way for other\nthings that are wrong and deceitful.)\n\nWhen the first warm days of spring arrived and the grass of the prairie\nbegan to unfold its tiny blades, John's uncle said it was time for him\nand his family to return home. \"It's a long way, Will,\" he said; \"and\nwe must get there in good time to plant a big crop of 'tobaker.' You\nremember we didn't have near enough to do us last year!\" Will agreed;\nbut the boys were all sorry to be separated again, and when the day of\ndeparture came, it was very hard indeed for them to bid one another\nfarewell.\n\nDuring the winter months John had not thought much about his aunt, for\nWill and he had been too deeply interested in other things. But now at\nthe last moment that old longing again clutched at his heart. When he\nsaw them disappearing in the distance and finally lost them to view,\nlike a flash the desire that had so long been smoldering within his\nheart was fanned, as it were, into a mighty flame, and in his mind he\nresolved what he would do. \"I will stay in this home no longer!\" he\ncried in his distress. \"My father may miss me; but if I stay here,\nI shall die!\" and going to his father, he stated his intentions.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nLeaving Home\n\n\nAs John's father looked into the deep pathetic eyes of his son, he\nin part understood the meaning of what he read. He could see that the\nsoul of his child was crying out for something; but again he failed to\nunderstand the true longings of the young heart. He failed to see that\nthe boy was being crushed by sinful habits, and that for parental care\nand interest he was starving. In ignorance the father supposed that\nthe boy's unrest was due to a longing to know more of the world, to\na feeling akin to that which an explorer experiences.\n\nPoor man! Could he have known just then what really was troubling his\nboy, he could have stayed the spirit of unrest by holding out to John\nthe \"olive branch of peace.\" He could have said: \"John, we have drifted\napart. We are not to one another what we used to be. Stop, my boy; sit\ndown here. Let us carefully talk these things over before you take such\na step. Out in the world you will meet many temptations and evils, more\nthan you have ever known.\" And many other tender words of advice he\nmight have spoken to the child; but these things were left unspoken.\n\nInstead, his father only said, \"John, I would like to have you remain\nat home a while longer; but if you are determined to go, you may, only\nremember to try to do as nearly right as you can! I have wanted to bring\nyou up well for your mother's sake; for she had made so many plans for\nyour future. My wish, John, is that you become a good man.\"\n\nJohn was deeply touched by his father's farewell speech; and had there\nbeen any other drawing to keep him at home, he certainly would have\nremained. As it was, he soon gathered together his belongings, and while\nstill in his thirteenth year, said good-by to his people, and went away\nto work for a thrifty farmer.\n\nDuring the two years preceding his departure from home, John had now\nand then worked for the farmers in different parts of the country. This\nand his attendance at the social gatherings had enabled him to become\nacquainted with numbers of boys, some of whom were very wild and rough.\nBut because of the companionship of Will during the winter months, the\nevil influences of his wide circle of friends had not been so strong.\nBut when the cousins were parted, John's companions were again some of\nthe roughest and toughest in the community. Because of this his tobacco\nand beer bills increased, and to this alarming expenditure he added many\naccounts for whiskey.\n\nJohn had made a discovery. He had found that Ed, in order to satisfy the\nawful craving and gnawing in his stomach (a sensation produced by the\ntobacco poison), was using a generous supply of whiskey; and for the\nsame reason John began to use it. Whiskey did perhaps satisfy for the\ntime being; but John also discovered that the seemingly good effect\nwas very soon gone and that the old trouble was again there, only with\nrenewed force and strength. Another thing he found, too, was that he had\nadded to his list of evil habits one even more fierce and strong than\nthe others.\n\nWhen John left home, his desire was principally to find relief for his\nloneliness; but he had another object. His expenses had been heavy and\nhard to defray. And now with the amount he had to pay for his whiskey\nadded to what he was already spending for beer and tobacco, his bills\nwere so high he felt that he must have more money in order to meet them.\nThis seeming necessity was, therefore, one thing that urged him to take\nthe step he took.\n\n[Illustration: Leaving the Old Homestead]\n\nThe farmer for whom John began to work was known among his men as \"the\ncaptain.\" All the hired help worked under one manager, or boss; so\nJohn's experience while in this service was new and varied.\n\n\"We have orders today to work for Farmer Z,\" explained the boss one\nmorning a few weeks after John's arrival. \"And the captain says we must\nbe sure and get around there early in the morning, for we are to get our\nbreakfast over there.\"\n\nThe home of Farmer Z was some distance from that of John's employer; but\nthe prancing horses on which the men were to ride were soon carrying\nthem across the prairie, and it was not long until they were in sight\nof Farmer Z's modest farmhouse. As they entered the gateway, Farmer Z\nstepped into the doorway; and when he greeted the men with a kindly\n\"Good morning,\" John particularly noticed his countenance and expression\nand wondered why he was so different from the comrades with whom he had\nalways associated. He noticed, too, that, as the men gathered in the\ndining room and took their places around the table, they were quiet and\nreserved; and he was puzzled by still another thing--Farmer Z bowed his\nhead and thanked God for all of His blessings and benefits and goodness\nto them all.\n\nSuch things were new and strange to John; and when at the close of the\nmeal, the farmer invited them into another room, saying, \"We always have\nreading and prayer immediately after breakfast and would be glad to have\nyou all join with us,\" John suddenly felt extremely awkward and out of\nplace, and he longed to make his escape to the barn.\n\nJohn could have given no reason for his feelings, unless it was that the\nfarmer's suggestion of prayer made him think about his mother and of the\ntime when his father had taught him the little prayer, \"Now I lay me\ndown to sleep,\" and had told him that he very much desired him to be\na little man. But it was not strange that John should feel as he did;\nfor he had so often associated other scenes with that of learning the\nprayer, but had since that time heard very little about the Bible. In\nfact, the only part of the Bible that he had ever read was a few verses\nin the small New Testament that had belonged to his mother; and he had\nread these because he had heard that the reading of certain passages\nwould stop the toothache and relieve the nosebleed. He experimented one\ntime when he had the nosebleed, and his nosebleed did stop; but he was\nnot sure that it would not have stopped as soon had he not read the\nverses.\n\nNow, for some reason unknown to himself, John did not want to remain for\nworship; so when he noticed one of the other men slipping out of the\nback door, he quickly followed. The two were just about to enter the\nbarn when the farmer, calling to them in words that were gentle but\nfirm, said, \"We always have our help come in with us for worship.\"\nSeeing then that there was no way around going in except to stoutly\nrefuse, the two returned to the house; and with the others they seated\nthemselves in the room where it was evident that the family worship was\nto be held. This experience was so entirely new to John that he actually\nsuffered. He did not know what to do nor how to act.\n\nHe observed that the children, the workmen, and the farmer's wife, were\nall seated, so he sat down, too. He also observed that the men had left\ntheir hats outside where they had washed; and this caused him to feel\nvery strangely, because he had his own in his hand. He dropped it,\nhowever, beside his chair; then he began to watch the children and to\ntry to do just as they were doing. But as no two of the youngsters were\ndoing the same thing, he again felt troubled. The older members of the\nfamily, he noticed, sat very still; and suddenly John realized that they\nmust be listening to the farmer, who had been reading. John knew that he\nhad not heard one single word that had been read, and here, the farmer\nwas now saying, \"Let us pray.\"\n\nWhen they knelt beside their chairs, John was again bewildered; but\nhaving decided to do just as nearly as he possibly could the way the\nrest did, he, too, slipped down upon his knees. For some reason that he\ncould not understand, a burning shame that seemed to benumb his whole\nbeing swept over him, and he could hardly hear the farmer's words; but\nhe realized suddenly that the farmer was saying, \"Dear Lord, bless the\nhelp today, and keep them from accidents and danger.\"\n\nHurriedly glancing around, John saw the children peeking from between\ntheir fingers; and hastily covering his own face with his hands, he gave\na quick glance toward Mr. A, his boss. Mr. A was kneeling beside his\nchair, but was picking his teeth and looking out of the window. Just\nthen the farmer said, \"Amen,\" and they all arose.\n\nThen, as John compared his own attitude with that of Mr. A.'s, another\nfeeling of shame came over him; and for some time he kept asking\nhimself, \"Why didn't I act unconcerned like the boss?\" But John was not\na bad boy naturally. He was ignorant of what was right. He had never\nunderstood that there is a Savior and that that Savior loved him and\nleft an example for him to follow. To be sure, he had often heard both\nhis Savior's and his Creator's names reviled and abused by his evil\ncompanions. But he did not know that these were Beings to whom he could\ngo when in trouble; nor did he understand that in God's sight he was\na sinner.\n\nMore than once that day while working, John thought of the farmer's\nwords and wondered if the prayer would have any effect upon the day.\nSome way he thought it would, and he decided to watch and see. The day\nwas ideal, and the help orderly; and God kept them free from accident\nand trouble. It was all a mystery to John, and he pondered over it along\nthe way home and even during the night. Farmer Z had opened up a new\nchannel for his thoughts.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nWith the Circus\n\n\nDuring the following year a circus that was passing through the country\nstopped at a town near by; and John, together with a number of his\nassociates, attended some of the exhibitions. John's interest was at\nonce captivated, and he felt that it would be great to join the company\nand to act the part of the clown; and he soon began to plan to secretly\njoin them the following season. His visions of great wealth enlarged day\nby day, and in fancy he pictured a future of wonderful fame.\n\nIn due time the show company returned. They gladly accepted John's\nproposal to join them; and so John, with his few earthly possessions,\nto the surprise of all who knew him, disappeared from his home locality.\nBut John seemed doomed to disappointment; the showman's life was not\nat all as he had pictured it. Instead of becoming fabulously rich in a\nfairy-like way, he was taken very ill and had soon lost all the money he\ndid have. As soon, therefore, as he was able, he returned to his friends\nat home, thoroughly disgusted with his undertakings; he was a wiser lad\nthan he was when he went away.\n\nBut, although John was disgusted, he was not disheartened. When he\nwas laughed at by his friends, he bravely bore their ridicule, and\nendeavored to look on the bright side of things. Also, he explained to\nthem that show life, on the outside and to the sightseer, was not at\nall what it was among the members of the company; but that behind the\ncurtains oaths were uttered, and abuse and nearly every kind of evils\ncould be witnessed.\n\nWhen he was back once more among his old associates, he endeavored\nto pass away the time in as pleasant a way as possible. Card playing,\ngambling, and dancing were his amusements, but tobacco and whiskey were\nhis enjoyments; and as before, he was considered among his friends as a\njolly good fellow. But John was not truly happy; beneath his superficial\njoyousness was a longing for something that he was unable to name or\ndescribe.\n\nLet us stop a moment and look at John. A glance tells us that a great\nchange has taken place. The ruddy complexion and childish features\nwere replaced by a sallow hue upon the sunken cheek; and the roguish\nexpression of the large brown eyes was lost in the haggard look that\nwell accorded with the telltale cough and the stooping shoulders. The\npoisons of the tobacco and whiskey were doing their fatal work. His\nentire system was heavily charged with nicotine and alcohol; and the\neffect of these poisons constantly operating upon his nervous system and\ndigestive organs had made him but a wreck of his former self. It is true\nthat in stature he was as large as the man his father had desired him to\nbe; but he was far from being of the strong manly type that that parent\nwould have had him to become. Instead, he was weakly; and his body was\nnever free from pain and suffering.\n\nThe old adage that ignorance is bliss can never be aptly applied to\nnicotine and alcohol. For only those who let them both entirely alone\ncan be truly happy or safe. When we examine what doctors have written\nabout the use of these poisons, we find that alcohol as well as nicotine\nis a stimulant and a narcotic. As a stimulant, it excites the brain and\nnerves, quickens the circulation of the blood, and intoxicates (makes\ndrunk); while as a narcotic it blunts the powers of the brain and nerves\nand produces stupor and death.\n\nTests in the army, navy, and arctic explorations have definitely proved\nthat alcohol is not a food.\n\nAlcohol will not allay thirst: \"Alcohol has a great attraction for\nwater; and when swallowed, it draws the water to itself, thus depriving\nthe tissues of the body of that merit necessary inorganic food. Again,\nalcohol causes a rush of blood to the skin, which causes a sensation of\nwarmth to be felt upon the surface of the body. However, the sensation\nof heat is, like beauty, 'only skin deep,' as the heat of the system has\nreally been diminished rather than increased; because when the blood is\nupon the surface, it parts with its heat more readily.\"\n\nI \"The effects of alcohol upon the heart may be summed up in the\nfollowing statements:\n\n  \"(a) It causes a softening of the muscles of the heart, and a fatty\n       degeneration, thus clogging the workings of this vital organ.\n\n  \"(b) It overworks the heart.\n\n  \"(c) Oftentimes it renders the heart weak and flabby.\n\n  \"(d) It causes an enlargement or dilation of its parts.\n\n  \"(e) There is a consequent effect of drowsiness and lassitude.\n\n  \"(f) Its general effect upon the heart is to destroy its strength and\n       usefulness.\"\n\n\nII \"Alcohol has the following effects upon the lungs:\n\n  \"(a) It makes the blood impure, thus increasing the work of the lungs.\n\n  \"(b) It paralyzes the blood vessels.\n\n  \"(c) It weakens the various lung tissues.\n\n  \"(d) It impairs breathing.\"\n\n\nIII \"Alcohol's effects upon the stomach:\n\n  \"(a) Produces chronic inflammation of the stomach.\n\n  \"(b) Injures the mucous lining by hardening the tissues.\n\n  \"(c) It destroys some of the small glands and impairs others.\n\n  \"(d) It precipitates the pepsin of the gastric juice, thus retarding\n       digestion.\n\n  \"(e) It thickens the mucus of the stomach.\n\n  \"(f) The action of the stomach is at first quickened by the presence\n       of alcohol, and then retarded.\"\n\n\nIV \"The effects of alcohol upon the liver may be:\n\n  \"(a) It produces a hardened condition of its tissues.\n\n  \"(b) Enlarges the organ.\n\n  \"(c) Compresses and lessens the cells for producing bile.\n\n  \"(d) Stimulates the liver to overaction, thus reducing the bile supply.\n\n  \"(e) It weakens and destroys the usefulness of this organ of digestion.\"\n\n\nV \"Effect of alcohol upon the blood and blood-vessels:\n\n  \"(a) It thins and coagulates the blood according to the amount of\n       alcohol.\n\n  \"(b) It hastens the circulation, thus weakening it.\n\n  \"(c) It prevents combustion.\n\n  \"(d) It impairs and destroys the corpuscles, thus affecting their\n       powers of transporting oxygen and carbonic acid gas.\n\n  \"(e) It weakens the arterial muscles by affecting the nerves governing\n       them.\"\n\n\nVI \"Effects of alcohol upon the brain and nerves are:\n\n  \"(a) It causes apoplexy and epilepsy by confusing the brain.\n\n  \"(b) It weakens the will and deadens the feelings.\n\n  \"(c) It hardens the brain tissues, producing dullness, insensibility,\n       and insanity.\n\n  \"(d) It destroys the nerve fiber of the brain.\n\n  \"(e) It temporarily stimulates and finally depresses this organ.\n\n  \"(f) It will at last destroy man, body and soul.\"\n\n\"Alcohol leads every other drug in its far-reaching influence for\nmischief and evil. Were the thousands of ruined homes, the untold\nnumbers of blasted lives, the sorrows, the sins, numberless crimes,\nmurders, and deaths brought in panoramic review before us, what a\nhell-born picture it would be!\"\n\n\"The effect of alcohol upon the morals is awful. All delicacy, courtesy,\nand self-respect are gone; the sense of justice and right is faint or\nquite extinct. There is no vice into which the victim of drunkenness\ndoes not easily slide; and no crime from which he can be expected to\nrefrain. Between this condition and insanity there is but a single\nstep.\"\n\nThese are only a part of the many evils that come to the one who takes\nalcohol into his system. We have already heard something about the\neffects of nicotine, the poison that is in tobacco. The constant use of\neither poison will impair the health of the strongest person. It saps\nthe mind of its reasoning qualities; and in nine cases out of ten,\nleaves the victim without sufficient strength to seek and obtain his own\ndeliverance or to live a righteous life. But let us return now to John.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nCaught Unawares\n\n\nAt the age of eighteen John had come almost to the point of\ndiscouragement. His health was so poor that he did not know a well\nmoment; and besides, his longing soul was still unsatisfied. He had\nalways desired to be good and kind to all; but he did not know how to\nrise to a nobler plane of conduct than that on which he was living. He\njudged men by their moral conduct, and not by their spiritual life. In\nfact, he had very little, if any, comprehension of Christianity. He knew\nof a few, like Farmer Z., who professed religion; but he was afraid of\nthese and he avoided their company.\n\nHe had now and then, with a number of other boys about his own age,\nvisited some places where religious services were being held. But their\nobject in going was to have a good time; and they seldom remained long\nenough to derive any good. On one of these occasions they went to a\nsmall school house that was located a few miles from the town of C.\nThe meeting had been widely advertised, and a goodly number were in\nattendance; and when John and his companions had taken their seats well\nto the rear, there was only standing-room left. Curiosity was pictured\non every face; for the ministers (one elderly, the other young) were two\nmodestly dressed women, and lady preachers had never been heard of in\nthat part of the country.\n\nThe singing was beautiful! John thought that the songs were sweeter\nthan any he had ever heard. When prayer was being offered, he listened\ncarefully to every word; and when he heard the ministers address God as\ntheir Father, asking Him to direct them in all that they did and said,\nand to prepare the hearts of the people to receive the truths that they\nwere about to speak, he was instantly filled with wonder and awe.\n\nAfter they rose from prayer, another song was sung; and then the elderly\nlady began to address the people. As she read in a clear, sweet voice a\nchapter from the Scriptures, John listened carefully. The account of the\nwoes pronounced upon the people who would not do right and the promises\nmade to those who would live right and were prepared to die, were truly\nwonderful. Especially was he impressed with one verse she read, though\nhe realized very little of what it meant: \"Therefore be ye also ready:\nfor in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.\"\n\nWhen this speaker took her seat, the other lady, a young, sweet-faced\ngirl, arose, and said a few words. After telling of how she had been\nconverted, and of how the Savior had ever since supplied all the\nlongings of her heart and had enabled her by his grace to live a life\nthat was pure and spotless, she spoke of her home in heaven; and then\nshe told the people that God would do the same for others as He had for\nher--for everyone who would give up evil habits and forsake sin, and who\nwould love His Son, whom He had sent to the earth to suffer and die that\nall people might be saved. John listened to every word; and as the girl\nsat down, he thought, \"Why, I would give everything that I have in the\nworld to be able to say such things about myself!\"\n\nWhen making the announcements, the elderly lady said: \"This meeting\nwill be continued for three weeks or more, and we want as many of you as\ncan to attend regularly; for there will be many portions of the Bible\nexplained, and we want everyone to learn what is the road to success and\nto find out how to be truly happy.\" John at once decided that he would\nattend every service; but since at the same time he felt an interest\nsimilar to that which had inspired him to become a showman, he\nremembered that bitter experience and ground his teeth. He was about to\nchange his decision to attend the meetings regularly, when he remembered\nthe words, \"Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think\nnot, the Son of man cometh!\"\n\nInstantly he beheld a great panoramic view of his past life, and many of\nthe evils that had never before appeared to him as sin were painted with\nthe blackest dyes. He had not meant to be wicked, but he suddenly\nrealized that his life had been wasted; and he concluded that he was not\nready to meet Christ. But John believed that Christ would come to the\nearth, and he felt that he would give anything to be ready to meet Him.\n\nAs John, whenever he was perplexed or troubled, had been in the habit\nof doing, he reached down into his pocket and drew out a large plug of\ntobacco and began biting off a piece to chew. But what was the matter?\nThe tobacco did not taste as it had in the past and it appealed to him\nso differently. It was now actually disgusting and repulsive to him; and\nhe thought: \"What a filthy habit! And to think of the time and money\nthat it has cost me! Why have I been so foolish?\"\n\nThe next instant he resolved that he would never again taste the horrid\nstuff. And very soon a few scenes of things that happened when he was\nunder the influence of whisky came to his mind, and he shuddered. Never\nagain would he touch that stuff, he determined. In fact, the greater\npart of the night John spent in reviewing his life; and he found that\nthe larger portion of the things he had been doing were things he would\nnot want to be found doing at the Savior's coming.\n\nThe following day John could hardly wait until the time came when he\ncould again return to the little brown school house to hear more of the\nbeautiful story that had so charmed him. And night after night found\nJohn in one of the seats in the rear of the building. It was not long\nuntil he discovered the pathway to heaven; he saw it bathed with\nheaven's sunshine and could see that it was for him to walk upon.\nBut the next thing was for him to make the start.\n\nIt is one thing to decide that a certain thing is right and quite\nanother thing to take a stand (regardless of what anyone may think or\nsay) for the right. He had heard the preachers telling about the life of\na Christian, the Savior's love and death, and God's great mercy, night\nafter night for two weeks; but no invitation to come forward had been\ngiven to those desiring to make a change in their manner of living. The\nministers desired that each one be given a full understanding of God's\nplan of salvation so that none would take a step in the dark.\n\nJohn was fully decided to change his manner of living; but he did not\nwant to make any more mistakes. For this reason he restrained himself\nfrom going to the motherly lady to inquire of her what he had better do.\nHis old desire to become a man had revived, but this time he desired to\nbe a man after God's own heart--pure and holy--like the one that God\ncreated in the beginning.\n\nThe time for an invitation to be given to the penitent finally came.\nUpon entering the meeting house that evening John noticed a slight\nchange in the arrangement of the seats. The long row of chairs supplied\nby kind-hearted neighbors to help in seating the people had been\nremoved, and a long, narrow bench had been put in their place. John\nwondered at the change, but did not have to wonder long. An announcement\nwas soon made, stating that the bench was to serve as an altar, where\nthose who desired to be converted and who wanted to consecrate their\nlives and services to God could gather for prayer.\n\nAn explanation was also made to the effect that, though God is pleased\nto see people humble themselves before Him, there was no virtue in the\nwooden altar; it was simply a more convenient place to bow for prayer\nthan their seats would be. The services were shorter than usual; and\nwhen the invitation to come forward was given to those who desired to\nyield their hearts to God, John was ready. He longed to go; but although\nhe had learned a great many things, he was still uncertain just what was\nmeant by bowing at the altar; and as he wanted to do the right thing, he\ndecided to wait until he saw how the others would do. He did not have\nlong to wait; for a girl in front of him arose, went forward, and knelt\ndown beside the altar. This was enough for John, because it taught him\njust what he desired to know; and he was soon kneeling beside her. That\nnight was indeed a wonderful time. One by one the people flocked to the\nfront part of the room; and John afterwards learned that many of his\nfriends and even those whom he thought would ridicule and make fun of\nhim, were among the number that, as himself, had sought and found pardon\nfor their sins.\n\nThe invitation lasted a long time; and when it was ended, the ministers\nknelt down among the penitent seekers, thanked God for the tender\nmercies he had extended to the lost world, and prayed that those who\nwere at the altar might understand what true salvation is. After\npraying, they explained carefully what it meant to be redeemed from all\nsin, and told the seekers how God looked upon the sin-cursed world and\nits awful wickedness, but also how He was so moved with tender love and\ncompassion that He sacrificed the brightest Gem of glory--even His only\nbegotten Son--to be a Redeemer for all who would believe on Him and turn\nfrom their evil ways.\n\nThe redemption price, they said, was great; but nothing less could have\nproved so well God's great love for mankind. And they quoted from the\nBible, \"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,\nthat whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting\nlife. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;\nbut that the world through him might be saved\" (John 3:16, 17); also,\n\"The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost\" (Luke\n19:10). These words were as a soothing balm to John's aching heart.\nHaving been fully awakened to his awful condition and made to long for\nthe way of deliverance, he rejoiced as these rays of hope came streaming\ndown into his soul.\n\nOne by one he recalled his sins--smoking and chewing tobacco, drinking\nwhisky and beer, stealing, lying, card-playing, betting, gambling, and\nmany other things; but these he had already given up. One thing only\ncame to his mind that caused him a struggle, and for a few moments it\nseemed that he could not give that up. John loved to dance, and it had\nseemed to him that there was nothing wrong with that pastime. Since he\nknew none of the pleasures that the Christian enjoys, this was not\nstrange. Always he had danced just for the pleasure he derived from\ndancing, and he considered dancing an innocent amusement. When, however,\nhe was made aware of the evils of dancing and the temptations it causes\nboys and girls whose characters are weak, he could see how that to some\nit might mean the loss of virtue; and, too, he found that much of his\nsuffering had been caused by the late hours that dancing and other\nthings had caused him to keep. Then he gladly bade adieu to the\ndance-hall and all its trivial gaiety.\n\nAfter he had asked the Lord to pardon him for his transgressions, his\nsimple faith took hold of the promises and he received a clear witness\nof his acceptance as a child of God. At last, after so many weeks and\nmonths--yes, years--of dissatisfaction, he was indeed truly happy; and\nthe deep aching in his hungry heart was replaced by the Savior's love.\nHis companions, too, went away from that service rejoicing. Their\nlanguage, once so rough and vile, was now becoming to any Christian;\nand the things that they had loved, no longer attracted their attention.\nIn fact, the entire neighborhood was changed; for many haunts of sin\nand vice were entirely vacated.\n\nJohn soon found that it was his duty to make all of his wrongs right\nas far as it lay in his power to do so; and this he gladly did. In many\ninstances he was surprised to see the effect that this act of obedience\nhad upon the ones concerned. Many, with tears in their eyes, exclaimed,\n\"John, I only wish that I possessed the joy in my own heart that I can\nsee written in your face!\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nA Child Again\n\n\nNo one could doubt the change in John's life; and many wondered how such\na thing could have been accomplished. But they did not realize that with\nGod all things are possible. How well it was for John that he discovered\nbefore it was too late that he was a sinner, lost in God's sight, and\nthat it was necessary for him to forsake all of his evil ways and habits\nif he would be freed from the binding chain of Satan! Each sinful habit\nformed a link in the chain, and its strength could be measured only by\nwhat it took to release him from its binding power.\n\nJohn was sorry to see the meetings close; and as he bade the sweet-faced\nwomen farewell, he was loath to see them go, because of their Christian\ninfluence. But life to him was no longer what it had been in the past.\nWith the poet, he had found that\n\n  \"Life is real! life is earnest.\n  And the grave is not its goal;\n  Dust thou art, to dust returnest\n  Was not spoken of the soul.\"\n\n\nHe procured a Bible and studied it diligently. He soon found that it was\na wonderful book, for what troubled him in one part was explained in\nanother. One day while reading in the tenth chapter of Mark, he found\nto his surprise that, instead of his being a man, he was only a child,\na mere babe, in God's sight. John had expected to be changed and to be\ndifferent in every way, but he did not know that, in order to realize\nhis desire to be a \"man after God's own heart,\" he must commence at the\nbeginning and be as a little child again. But he was willing; for he saw\nhow his past life had been completely wasted, and he was glad to begin\nanew.\n\nIn the second chapter of I Peter, John found much encouragement, also in\nI Cor. 13:11, where he read: \"When I was a child, I thought as a child:\nbut when I became a man, I put away childish things.\" Again he was\ndetermined to become a man, and to develop as quickly as possible. From\nthat time on he availed himself of every opportunity to do good to all\nmankind, and this was no hardship. His great whole-hearted nature made\nhim love to do good and to be a help to all who were in need.\n\nAt other times John read the conversation between Christ and Nicodemus,\nand the account of how Jesus thanked his heavenly Father for hiding His\ntruths from the wise and prudent and for revealing them to babes. John\nwas not long in perceiving the mystery concerning the new birth, for he\nhad gained the experience; and he thanked God that it had been revealed\nto him.\n\nOnce while studying the Word of God, John discovered that the twelfth\nchapter of I Corinthians teaches that Christian people on the earth\nrepresent Christ's spiritual body. As the natural body possesses many\nmembers--hands, feet, eyes, ears, nose, etc.--each having its own\nspecial work, just so the spiritual body of which He (Christ) is the\nhead has many members to carry on the Lord's work on the earth. And, as\nin the human body, each member has its own work to do; similarly, in the\nspiritual body, each member has his own work to perform. Some preach,\nsome teach, some perform miracles, some (perhaps all) pray for the sick,\nand some do various other things, each as he is directed; but all work\nin harmony. The members are all assigned their work and places in the\nbody by the directions of the heavenly Father.\n\nFrom reading the second chapter of Acts, John found that soon after\nChrist ascended to heaven God sent His Holy Spirit to the earth to\nsuperintend the work of the members of His Son's spiritual body, or\nsaved people, and that this same Holy Spirit is still guiding and\nhelping them. He also read in I John 2:15--\"Love not the world, neither\nthe things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love\nof the Father is not in him.\"\n\nBy reading further in the apostle John's epistle, John discovered that\nthere are many false spirits in the world that are trying to deceive\nGod's people and that it is often necessary to try the spirits to know\nwhich is right. He saw that the test is love. If anyone loves God and\nHis Son, Jesus, more than anything else in the world, and feels as much\ninterest in his neighbor's welfare as in his own, that one can be sure\nthat he is God's own child. And Paul's letter to the Ephesians tells of\nan armor that God has prepared for His people to wear that will enable\nthem to overcome all false spirits.\n\nA Sunday-school was soon started in the neighborhood and John was\nchosen to be the teacher of the infant class. At first he tried to plead\nhis inability, but no one would listen to his excuses. He was glad\nafterward; for he learned to love the little ones very dearly. While he\nwas meeting with the children Sunday after Sunday, he often thought of\nmany of the hard places through which he had passed when he was a child\nand remembered that it was because he had not been warned that he had,\none step at a time, gone down until he was in misery and on the verge of\ndespair. So John sought to throw light on each one of these dangerous\nplaces and to point out the dangers so clearly that the children could\nplainly see and understand the wrong for themselves before they were\nbeguiled and then bound by Satan's chain of evil habits. In this way he\nhelped the children to escape many a snare by which they might otherwise\nhave been caught unawares.\n\nAs the weeks sped by into months and John continued to unfold to the\ntender questioning minds the hidden mysteries of the Bible, the adult\nclass became interested; and it was not long until they decided that\nthey needed him for their class more than the children did for theirs.\nWhile he was teaching the advanced Bible class, his own understanding of\nspiritual things was greatly broadened and strengthened, and he became\none on whom the entire congregation could lean and in whom they could\nconfide.\n\nOn one occasion when the lesson was in the epistle of James, John found\nby reading the fifth chapter of that book that Jesus is just as able and\nready to heal those who are sick as He was to relieve sufferers in days\ngone by and that any who are afflicted may pray expecting to be healed.\nHe quickly applied the Scripture to himself, and began to pray thus:\n\n\"Lord, thou seest how I am afflicted because of the sinful habits that\nI formed in my childhood. Thou hast now taken from me the desire for\nthese things, but the suffering in my back and lungs is so intense.\nLord Jesus, heal me! Make me well, and I will work for Thee all the days\nof my life!\"\n\nGod answered that prayer and made him strong and well; then he could say\nwith the Psalmist, \"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his\nbenefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy\ndiseases.\" Oh, the goodness of the Lord to John! He felt that he never\ncould cease praising Him.\n\nThe sad and lonely past, the days of his vain struggles to become\nthe man that his earthly father had desired him to be, could never be\ncompared to these days of happiness, the days when his desires to attain\nto true manhood were being realized. His heart was lonely no longer.\nHe had a Friend who was dearer than a mother could have been. And he\nfelt that it is a wonderful privilege to be a member in Christ's body,\nthe church.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nHow John Became a Man\n\n\nAs the news of John's wonderful conversion and of his work among the\npeople spread throughout the country, it reached the ears of Farmer Z,\nin whose home John for the first time had attended family worship. The\nkind-hearted man had never forgotten the boy who had endeavored to make\nhis escape to the barn rather than to come into the sitting-room at the\nworship hour, and he felt a desire to have a good heart-to-heart visit\nwith John and to know just how he came to find the Lord. John was,\ntherefore, very much surprised one day to hear that this good gentleman,\nof whom he had in the past been so fearful, was desiring to see him. But\nhe was glad; for he, too, had felt a great desire to talk with Farmer Z,\nthe one who was first to open his heart to a ray of heavenly sunshine.\n\n\"I have been hearing wonderful stories about you of late, my boy,\" the\nfarmer said as John approached him; and as he took the young man's hand,\nhis hearty handshake sent the blood tingling through John's veins.\n\"Come,\" the farmer continued, \"sit down and tell me what it was that\nbrought about the change. My boy, I understand that you are already\ngetting to be quite a preacher. Is it true?\"\n\n\"Well, Mr. Z,\" John modestly replied, \"I hardly know what answer to\nmake, except that it was the work of my Savior. I am like the poor\nbeggar who was blind--'one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now\nI see.' The same Jesus that healed the blind man has opened my spiritual\neyes, making me to see and understand what never before seemed\npossible.\"\n\nThen as John related some of his Christian experiences, the farmer was\nmade to wonder at the loving-kindness and the great mercy of his God.\n\n\"John,\" he said, as he looked into the beaming eyes of the young man and\nnoted the boyish face but manly form (for there was scarcely a trace\nof the early dissipation left), \"I see that you have found the genuine\narticle. God has worked a miracle in your life, and I guess he wants you\nto go and tell the world about it. How is it, my boy? Do you feel like\npreaching the gospel?\"\n\nAnd then it was that John, in his simple, earnest manner, for which he\nwas so loved and admired, said:\n\n\"Mr. Z, I feel as though some power within me is leading me about; and\nI long to tell everyone I meet of the Jesus, who so loved the lost world\nthat He laid down His life upon the cross. It seems I can think of\nlittle else.\"\n\n\"That's it! That's it!\" Farmer Z exclaimed; \"God has put His Holy Spirit\nin your heart and has called you into His harvest-field to go forth and\nhelp spread the gospel. Go, my boy; and may God speed your footsteps in\nways crowned with blessings of success. I rejoice with you in your\ncalling and shall pray for you. When trials come your way--and they\nwill--remember that there is always a light in God's window for the\nfaithful, a light that will guide them safely home at last. Remember\nalso that He has said, 'Be thou faithful unto death.'\"\n\nWhen the farmer bade John adieu, the sun had disappeared beyond the\nhorizon and the crimson shades were gathering in the western sky. The\nlandscape that stretched before him was beautiful. And while John was\nnot unconscious of these beautiful surroundings, by his inner vision,\nwhich could not be limited by the vast prairie country with its varied\npossibilities, he looked upon another scene far beyond--he saw the\nheavenly city, the New Jerusalem, once beheld by the sainted John;\nand he wondered what could be more grand and majestic.\n\nJohn had at last developed into a noble-hearted Christian, whose\ngreatest desire in life was to please his God, and to spend his time\nwholly in God's service; and one day a few years later he stood on the\ndeck of a large Atlantic steamer and waved farewell to his friends on\nthe shore. He was bound for a far-distant land; God was sending him\nas a missionary to carry the gospel to the people of another country.\n\nHis large brown eyes, sorrowful no longer, were dimmed by tears of\nfarewell; but the tears only made them shine the brighter. They\nwitnessed to the gladness of his heart; and to the eagerness within\nhis bosom pushing him forward.\n\nJohn had at last become a man after God's own heart.","title":"How John Became a Man: Life Story of a Motherless Boy","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":18708}