OUR
BOYS AND GIRLS.
Even
a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether
it be right. Prov. 20:11.
ONLY A MITE
BOX.
It
is only a mite box, handle with care;
Weave round it a setting of faith and of prayer;
Then cast in thy offering, though small it may be;
If pure is thy motive, thy Saviour will see.
'Tis
only a mite box, not much will it hold—
Some pennies and nickels, and sometimes 'tis gold;
Yet Jesus will add his own blessing, I know,
As forth on its mission of love it shall go.
Though
only a mite box. a power it shall be,
In scattering the words of the Bible so free;
And O, what a song at the harvest we'll sing
With those who are singing today with our King!
Then
guard well the mite box, and gather with prayer
The dimes that lie scattered about here and there;
Like stars they will shine in thy crown by and by,
When thou shalt have entered thy home in the sky.
—Selected.
KNOWN BY
THEIR WORKS.
A
little child lay dying. The grief-striken father was beside her couch.
He tried to pray "Thy will be done," but it was in vain. His
great grief touched the child. In great pity she looked at him and was
distressed because of his grief. She knew that soon she would go to be
with God and the angels, and a happy thought was in her mind. She said
to her papa, "Papa, dear papa, how much do I cost you a
year?" The father, stricken with grief and fearing that the
precious one was becoming delirious, tried to soothe her. But she
continued to question, "Papa, please how much do I cost?"
Endeavoring to control his emotions and thinking to soothe her, he
replied, "Well, dearest, perhaps two or three hundred dollars a
year. Why do you ask?" "Because I thought maybe you would
lay it out this year in Bibles for poor children to remember me
by." With feelings of emotion inexpressible, the father kissed
the cold brow of his child and said, "I will, my child," and
then after a pause he said, "I will do it every year that you may
draw others after you to heaven." Truly, "even a child is
known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be
right." The example of this father is worthy of commendation. How
much more of joy would come to stricken hearts and to those who are in
need of gospel truths if special gifts were regularly made to some
mission in remembrance of those who have been borne from their
presence to the spirit world. My brother, my sister, who have been
thus bereft, make the experiment and see if it does not bring
blessings to yourself as well as gladden the hearts of those who are
laboring to give the gospel to every creature.
WHAT A PENNY
DID.
A
lady, who was a Sunday-school teacher, was engaged in filling up a box
of things to be sent to a missionary in the interior of India. One
Sunday morning she mentioned it to her class, and told them if they
had anything they would like to put in the box they might bring it to
her house during the week, and she would put it in. One little girl in
her class wanted very much to send something in the box, but all she
had to give was a single penny. She knew that this would be of no use
in India, as |
our money
is not used there. She was at a loss for a while to know what to buy
with her penny. At last she made up her mind to buy a tract. She did
so, and prayed over it before it was sent. Then she took it to her
teacher; it was put in the box, and the box was carried across the
great ocean. It reached the missionary to whom it was sent. The wife
of that missionary had a young chief from the mountains of Burma
attending her school. She taught him to read, and when the time came
for him to leave and go to his distant home, she gave him some books
and tracts to take with him. Among these was the very tract which that
little girl had bought with her penny and put in her teacher's box.
The young chief read that tract. It caused him to see the folly and
the wickedness of his heathenism, and led him to Jesus. He went back
to his mountain home a changed man—a
Christian. That little girl's tract had saved his soul. But that was
not all. When he reached home he told the story of Jesus, which he had
learned from that tract, to his friends. They listened to what he
said. God blessed his words. More came and heard him speak. They gave
up worshiping idols. A missionary was sent there. A church was built,
a congregation was gathered into it, and fifteen hundred persons
became Christians in that neighborhood.—Gospel
in all Lands.
A LITTLE
BOY'S TRAINING IN INDIA.
One
of our missionaries writes:—"We
visited a house belonging to a Brahman widow with one little boy. She
appears to be very wealthy, and is very anxious to learn to read. When
we went in this morning, it was so early she was not expecting us, and
told us she had to do her puja before sitting down to read. She took a
small image of the god and placed it against the wall; then she
brought out a brass vessel, called a lota, in which was water, two
brass trays containing a lot of food and the Indian marigold which is
also used in puja. She then called to her small son, a boy between
three and four years old, who was dressed in a clean white embroidered
coat, and made him squat down in front of the image; all the food was
then put into the child's hands, and by degrees given to the idol,
until it was quite covered up, then water was sprinkled over it all,
and flowers and some black powder, called surina, thrown over it, and
then the boy was made to prostrate himself in front of it, touching
the ground with his forehead. It seemed such a useless, sad ceremony
that my heart ached as I looked on."—Zenana.
PRAISES.
FOR
THE WEE ONES.
1st
child—Praises
we'll sing for all his care,
For blessings scattered everywhere:
2nd
" For air and sunshine pure and sweet,
3rd
" For grass that grows beneath our feet,
4th
" For flowers "that all around us bloom,
5th
" For birds who sing in joyful tune,
6th
" For leafy trees with fruit and shade,
7th
" For things of beauty He has made,
8th
" For daily blessings full and free,
And all thy goodness unto me,—
9th
" But most of all for thy dear Son,
That for my sins He did atone;
All—We
praise thee heavenly Father."
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