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 '^&W^. 
 
 -^'iS 
 
 
MAR 10 195b 
 
 SUNDAY-SCHOOL "^" 
 
 ANNIVERSARY. 
 
 WRITTEN FOR THS AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION^ 
 AN1> REVISED BY THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION. 
 
 ^CA^meus Wctddeis /r\iexar.acr 
 
 AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION: 
 
 H22 CKESTNUT STRKET, PHILADELPHIA. 
 375 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. 
 
THE 
 
 SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 ANNIVERSARY. 
 
 In the middle of October, I re* 
 ceived a visit from a minister m 
 the country. He came to invite 
 me to attend the anniversary of 
 the Sunday-schools belonging to 
 his congregation. As I do not 
 wish to let you know exactly 
 where it was, I will call the place 
 of his abode Coventry^ I am 
 
 a2 5 
 
6 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 always glad of an opportunity to 
 do any thing to help on Sunday- 
 schools, and therefore I agreed 
 to go to the anniversary, although 
 I had made up my mind to spend 
 that day in New York. 
 
 I have many reasons for loving 
 Sunday-schools. About twenty 
 years ago, when I v^as a little 
 boy, we began to hear about the 
 Sunday-schools in England, but 
 there were none in our part of 
 America. At last it was deter- 
 mined to set one up in the village 
 where I Uved. Accordingly, no- 
 tice was given, and preparations 
 were made. A room was en- 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 
 
 gaged ; and what sort of a room 
 do you think it was ? You could 
 scarcely guess. It was the loft 
 above a carriage-house. This, 
 however, made very little differ- 
 ence. Into the carriage-house 
 loft we went, boys and girls to- 
 gether, full of expectation ; for 
 children are attracted by every 
 thing new or strange. And we 
 had heard of the red and blue 
 tickets, with verses on them, 
 which used to be given as re- 
 wards in those days ; and also of 
 beautiful little books which were 
 to be presented to such as knew 
 »heir lessons. 
 
8 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 1 well remember that first Sun- 
 day-school. I can almost see, at 
 this moment, the crowded room, 
 the long dipped-candles, flarmg 
 in the draft of wind which came 
 through the chinks. I can almost 
 hear the hum of boys and girls, 
 like the noise of a swarming hive. 
 It was an eveninoj of excitement. 
 We were all little enthusiasts. 
 Our blue tickets were worth as 
 much to us as so many silver 
 dollars would be now-a-days ; and 
 as to the red ones! I am sure we 
 looked forward to the prize as 
 earnestly as we should at this 
 time for a fifty dollar note. 
 
ANNIVERSARY. if 
 
 Better things than these also 
 came up m my memory. I re- 
 collect tender thoughts of my 
 creator and Redeemer ; resolu 
 tions to read, and pray, and seek 
 God's fovour. And though I am 
 sorry to say, that we were more 
 bent on getting many verses by 
 rote, than on understanding what 
 we got ; and more anxious to 
 have a box full of tickets, than to 
 learn the lesson out of the Bible 
 yet some good thoughts were 
 dropped, like seeds, in our minds, 
 which have never been destroyed 
 This is one of the reasons why 
 I love Sunday-schools, and why 
 
10 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 I am always glad to lend my aid 
 in carrying them forward. 
 
 Before I tell about the Coventry 
 anniversary, let me give another 
 reason of my attachment to Sun- 
 day-schools. There are a great 
 many passages of the holy Scrip- 
 tures w^hich I have by memory, 
 so that I can repeat them to my- 
 self as I walk or ride, or as I 
 lie awake, during nights of pain 
 or sickness. This is a great trea- 
 sure. I beg my young readers to 
 take notice that every one of 
 these texts is worth more to me 
 than a piece of gold. Now, 1 
 can well remember that most of 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 11 
 
 these verses were committed to 
 my memory, when I was a child 
 at the Sunday-school in the vil- 
 lage. And if 1 had not got them 
 then, I could not, at a later period, 
 have learned half so many ; be- 
 cause it is observed, that the me- 
 mory of youthful minds is like 
 soft clay, in which you can leave 
 any marks and impressions you 
 choose ; but the older one is, 
 the harder it is to learn by me- 
 mory, just as clay becomes solid 
 and unyielding by age. 
 
 When I grew up to be a young 
 man, and began to take more in- 
 terest in religious things, it came 
 
12 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 into my mind, that I ought to dc 
 something for the benefit of my 
 fellow creatures ; and after I had 
 thought about it for some time, I 
 concluded that there was no way 
 in which a youth, such as I was, 
 could be the instrument of doins^ 
 so much good, as by teaching in 
 a Sunday-school. 
 
 There was a neio'hbourhood 
 of a few houses, about two miles 
 from our village, where the people 
 were very careless and ignorant. 
 A pious young man from Geneva, 
 was beginning a Sunday-school 
 at this place, and I was askeu to 
 assist him. It was delightful to 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 13 
 
 me to hear the request, for I had 
 long wished for just such an of- 
 fer. Here we had a pleasant 
 little school for about two years. 
 Every Lord's-day morning we 
 used to walk or ride to the ham- 
 let, and return in time for church 
 at home ; and the remembrance 
 of the happiness which I enjoyed 
 in being a teacher, makes me 
 love Sunday-schools. But I must 
 return to my narrative. 
 
 As I said before, I agreed to 
 go to Coventry, and assist Mr 
 Hunt at the October anniversary 
 When the day arrived my healtn 
 
 vvas not good. T had been at- 
 B 
 
14 THE SUNDAY -SCHOOL 
 
 tacked two days before with a 
 painful disease, and my strength 
 was by no means recovered. Yet 
 V the morning was so lovely that 1 
 resolved to persevere, in reliance 
 on our Heavenly Father, who 
 gives grace as it is needed. 
 
 Mr. Jackson, a neio^hbour of 
 mine, is a native of Coventr}^, and 
 was kind enouoh to take me in 
 his carriage. The clearness and 
 freshness of an October morninof 
 is good for the heakh, and I feU 
 stronger every mile we drove. 
 The woods had that dappled ap- 
 pearance which the frosts of au- 
 tumn 'produce on the foliage. 
 
ANNIVER.SARY. 15 
 
 Every shade and tint seemed 
 to be sprinkled over the forest. 
 The biood-red of some trees, the 
 orange of others, the varied yel- 
 low of still more, and the general 
 softness of the v^hole, was indeed 
 very beautiful. Some persons 
 are saddened by the fall of the 
 leaf It has never had this effect 
 on my feelings, for I remember 
 that the change is useful to the 
 %regetable world ; and that after 
 the repose of winter, these same 
 branches will be still more fresh- 
 ly and beautifully clad. It also 
 reminds one of the death and re- 
 
 B 2 
 
16 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 surrection of the believer, which 
 is a pleasing, joyful subject. 
 
 As we passed on, through a 
 fertile region, it was gratifying to 
 behold the fruits of the earth re- 
 warding the farmer's labour. We 
 saw, on every hand, orchards 
 laden with golden or blushing 
 fruit ; barn-yards crowded with 
 stacks of grain, neatly thatched 
 over to protect them from the 
 storms ; and meadows over which 
 sheep and cattle were grazing 
 with delight. Any man who has 
 a heart for Christian cheerfulness 
 must rejoice at such sights, an d will 
 think of the boundless goodness^ 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 17 
 
 of our heavenly Father. My mhid 
 turned naturally to such passages 
 as these : " He causeth the grass 
 to grow for the cattle, and herb 
 for the service of man : that he 
 may bring forth food out of the 
 earth." " O Lord, how manifold 
 are thy works ; in wisdom hast 
 thou made them all !" " O that 
 men would praise the Lord for 
 his goodness, and for his won- 
 derful works to the children of 
 men !" 
 
 Mr. Duval, a good friend of 
 youth, accompanied us in this 
 little expedition ; but for the sake 
 of his health, and in order to en- 
 
 b2 
 
18 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 joy the prospect, he rode on 
 norseback. Occasionally, as he 
 galloped along by us, he would 
 stop and pomt out remarkable 
 scenes on the way, and join in 
 conversation. Thus we proceed- 
 ed with much cheerfulness and 
 comfort. The farmers on our 
 road were busily employed in 
 gathering the Indian corn into 
 little stacks which covered the 
 whole face of the country at cer- 
 tain spots. This useful produc- 
 tion gives food to many thousands 
 of men and beasts, and is one of 
 the richest gifts of Providence to 
 America. The young reader 
 
r\ 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 21 
 
 may be pleased to know that it 
 is in Europe called maize. In 
 the United States it commonly 
 goes by the name of corn. In 
 Great Britain, the word corn 
 means all kinds of grain which 
 grow in ears, and not in pods. 
 When we read in English books 
 of corn, we must not think of 
 maize or Indian corn, but of 
 wheat, rye, barley, and the like. 
 Thus, m the gospel of John, our 
 Saviour says, " Except a corn of 
 wheat fall into the ground and 
 die, it abideth alone." And in 
 Deuteronomy, of the ox that 
 " tr»*adeth out the corn ;" and m 
 
22 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 the Psalms, of the valleys "cover- 
 ed over with corn ;" and in Amos, 
 of " corn sifted in a sieve," and 
 in Joel, of " the withered corn." 
 There are some regions of the 
 earth, however, where maize and 
 rice are more used than wheat. 
 Tn China and Japan rice is more 
 common than any other grain. 
 Tn the warmer parts of our own 
 continent Indian corn abounds 
 more than either. Asia is the 
 native country of rice, and Ame- 
 rica of maize. Indian corn, 
 though so tall and stout, never- 
 theless, belongs to the tribe of 
 grasses. 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 25 
 
 But I must not forget my an- 
 niversary. As we proceeded in 
 our ride, we came to a vale 
 through which a gently flowing 
 brook passes, in which I had often 
 bathed when I v/as a boy, and 
 over whose frozen surface I had 
 often skated. A large grist-mill 
 and a saw-mill are situated just 
 where our road crosses the bridge. 
 On the rise of the hill beyond, 
 many feet above the water, stands 
 the village church of Bellevue, in 
 which for two successive years 1 
 have attended the yearly ex- 
 amination of several flourishing 
 
 Sunday-schools. But between 
 c 
 
2fi THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 the mill and the church, I was 
 surprised to behold the wonder- 
 ful change produced by a large 
 canal, lately completedo Here. 
 where, in former days, we could 
 see no craft bic^o^er than a canoe, 
 or a ferry-boat, we now see 
 passing every day large sloops 
 and schooners. As I looked 
 at the effects wrought by per- 
 severance, enterprise, resolution, 
 industry, and skill, I asked my- 
 self, Why should not Christians 
 accomplish like wonders in be- 
 nalf of Sunday-schools, by like 
 zeal and diligence ? And I took 
 occasion to express this thought 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 2*? 
 
 to rny good friends in the Co- 
 entry church. 
 The country became more and 
 more pleasing to the eye as we 
 advanced. On either side of the 
 highway, there were wide-spread- 
 ing farms, with comfortable dwell- 
 ings. Sometimes we descended 
 into hollows, through which small 
 streams pursued their silent way ; 
 sometimes we were shaded by tall 
 groves, in which the squirrel 
 might be seen leaping down from 
 lofty branches, or the wood-lark 
 hopping in the thick underwood. 
 Then we came out again into the 
 high open country, and could see 
 
28 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 at the north-west, on our left 
 nand, the distant blue hills of 
 Sidmouth. My heart rejoiced at 
 the beauty of the scene, rejoiced 
 m the goodness of the Lord. I 
 was ready to say aloud — 
 
 " Not content 
 With every food of life lo nourish man, 
 By kind illusions of the wondering sense, 
 rhou mak'st all nature beauty to his eye 
 And music to his ear." 
 
 I felt disposed to say with the 
 psalmist : " Sing unto the Lord 
 \^ith thanksgiving; sing praise 
 upon the harp unto our God 
 Who covereth the heaven with 
 clouds, who prepareth rain for 
 
ANNIVERSARY 29 
 
 the earth, who maketh grass to 
 grow upon the mountains, lie 
 giveth to the beast his food, and 
 to the young ravens which cry 
 He maketh peace in thy borders, 
 and filleth thee with the finest of 
 the wheat:" but, what is better 
 than all, " he sheweth his word' 
 unto Jacob, his statutes and his 
 judgments unto Israel. He hath 
 not dealt so with any nation !" 
 
 Of all the people on the face 
 of the earth, we, Americans, ought 
 to be thankful. Blessed, blessed 
 shall we and our children be, if 
 we are rightly affected by the 
 goodness of God unto us. 
 
30 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 Towards the middle of the daj 
 we began to come into a more 
 thickly settled district ; the farms 
 were smaller and nearer together 
 and the houses more numerous. 
 We approached a settlement re- 
 sembling a village, and the steeple 
 of Coventry church was seen 
 rising above the yellow poplars. 
 We alighted at the door of the 
 pastor's dwelling-house, and he 
 led us in. We could observe 
 from the windows, that the people 
 were already beginning to come 
 m from the neighbouring country- 
 places. And w^hen, after a gooc 
 ulain dinner, and an hour of resi 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 33 
 
 we went to the church, we were 
 surprised to see the number's 
 which poured in from the hills 
 and valleys of Sidmouth, and the 
 plain of Coventry. The people 
 were arriving every moment; 
 some in country wagons, some 
 in chaises, but most on horseback 
 or on foot. Clusters werp ga- 
 thering about the church-yard, 
 and K\\ seemed full of the anni- 
 versary. The pastor and his as- 
 sistants were seen distributing the 
 hymns that were to be sung; 
 these having been printed for the 
 occasion. But scarcely any thing 
 gave me so much satisfaction as 
 
34 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 to see a number of farm-wagons 
 vviih light covers, closely seated 
 and filled to overflowing with lit 
 tie. ruddy, smiling boys and girls 
 from the various schools. As thi& 
 was the first annual examination 
 in Coventry, there was a very 
 great interest felt by all the young 
 people, especially as they were 
 anxious to make proper answers 
 when called upon to ftcite^ 
 Alighting from the wagons, the 
 children walked in a sort of 
 procession after their respective 
 teachers, and then the other per 
 sons having entered the chuich, 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 35 
 
 we had quite a respectable con- 
 gregation. 
 
 There is something in a rural 
 assemblage of persons which al- 
 ways gives me pleasure. In th§ 
 rich farming districts, like this of 
 which I now speak, remote from 
 great^ towns, there is often a re- 
 markable appearance of equality. 
 You do not see so many either 
 of the flaunting rich or of the ab- 
 ject poor, as in cities; but the 
 people are much alike in their 
 manners, dress, and appearance. 
 A.S I took my place near the pul 
 pit, and cast my eyes around on 
 the congregation, I was gratified 
 
36 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 to see the health, the intelligence, 
 ihe sobriety, and the cheerfulness, 
 which shone in most of the faces 
 before me. 
 
 The long rows of red-faced 
 boys and girls were more lovely 
 objects to my eye than so many 
 bags of gold. I look upon them 
 as the jewels of America. All 
 looked full of health, robust, and 
 vio^orous. All seemed cheerful 
 and respectful. All were full of 
 the occasion. If one of our city 
 lads had been present, I think it 
 likely he might have laughed at 
 these little country folks. He 
 would be apt to see among then) 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 37 
 
 many a coat or bonnet not in the 
 fashion; he would see many a 
 face burned with the harvest sun, 
 and find almost every hand hard- 
 ened with labour. He mi<^ht ima- 
 gine them to be poor or ignorant. 
 But the city lad would mistake, 
 and if he laughed at the farmers' 
 sons, might be laughed at in his 
 turn. These simple-hearted boys 
 are in many instances the sons 
 of wealthy farmers ; but they 
 have been bred to labour with 
 their hands. Some of them may 
 not know the rare sights of a city, 
 or the tricks of a dancing school ; 
 
 but they can manage a fiery 
 D 
 
38 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 horse, at which the scornful vi- 
 siter would tremble ; or cut down 
 a hickorv in the woods, or swim 
 with rugged strength over the 
 torrent of a river, or drag the rac- 
 coon, from his high resting place 
 in the old oak. 
 
 My childhood was passed in a 
 great city, but I respect the vir- 
 tues of the country, and look upon 
 the youth of our rural districts as 
 the very hope of America. These 
 boys and girls have many hours 
 for reading in the long winter 
 evenings. And I was delighted 
 to listen to the quickness and ac- 
 curacy with w^hich they answered 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 39 
 
 the questions that were proposed 
 to them. They had been well 
 taught. Their teachers seemed 
 to show a degree of pride in 
 the good appearance which they 
 made ; and the children were in a 
 state of very high excitement. 
 Scarcely a single reply out of 
 some hundreds was wron^. I 
 reijoiced for my country when I 
 looked at the schools here as- 
 sembled, and saw the little folks 
 so clean, so neat, so well instruct- 
 ed, and so happy. I rejoiced 
 in the Sunday-school enterprise, 
 which brings such youth together, 
 fills them with divine truth, puts 
 
40 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 books into their hands, and fits 
 them for life. And 1 rejoice this 
 moment in knowing that many 
 thousands of such beloved chil- 
 dren are training up in our Sun 
 day-schools over all the face of 
 the land. 
 
 After singing, prayer, and ex- 
 amination, it became my duty to 
 make an address to the people ; 
 in order to awaken a more lively 
 interest in the good work of 
 Christian education. 
 
 When I had ended, Mr. Duval, 
 our companion, made a short 
 discourse to the children. They 
 listened with the greatest atten- 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 41 
 
 lion, and even earnestness. He 
 related several anecdotes of hea 
 then children, to show how much 
 cause the Sunday-scholars of 
 America have to be thankful to 
 God. And it seemed to me that 
 the tears were swelling in the 
 eyes of several little hearers. 
 
 After another hymn, and ano- 
 ther prayer, the anniversary meet- 
 ing was concluded, and I believe 
 all present were much gratified. 
 A new interest appeared to be 
 excited in behalf of the Sunday- 
 school. I thought I could see the 
 eyes of parents sparkling with 
 new hope for their offspring ; and 
 
 D 3 
 
42 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 observe in teachers a fresh zeal 
 for their good work. And, there- 
 fore, I flatter myself that our visit 
 was not altogether unprofitable. 
 I am sure it was most pleasant. 
 O with what spirit the wagon 
 loads of children drove away 
 homeward ! The examination, 
 for which they had both longed 
 and trembled, was past ! As the 
 stouter boys on the front seats 
 mounted, and took the reins, and 
 smacked their long whips over 
 the horses, their manner seemed 
 to say, " Now we feel happy !" 
 And how tenderly the thankful 
 mothers led out the rosy girls, 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 43 
 
 who had scarcely done blushing 
 from the unaccustomed trial of 
 , their modesty. And how plea- 
 santly, the fathers, in groups 
 among the speckled trees, talked 
 about this new way of bringing 
 up their sons and daughters in the 
 knowledge of God. 
 
 I am sure these sensible, ho- 
 nest people went home with more 
 love to their families, and greater 
 determination to enlighten their 
 minds. What a different state 
 of things is this, from that which 
 existed in Coventry forty years 
 ago. Then there were no Sun- 
 day-schools ; no questions on the 
 
44 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 Bible ; no cheap explanations of 
 hard texts; no beautiful maps of 
 Scripture places. Such books 
 were only in the libraries of the 
 learned. Then there was no 
 such easy way for young Chris- 
 tians to be helping on the cause 
 of God. The pastor had not 
 then a little army of teachers to 
 aid him in his work ; nor a place 
 at which he mio^ht meet all the 
 lambs of his flock together. 
 
 While I gazed on the lines oi 
 carriages, and trains of horsemen, 
 and companies of country people, 
 departing on foot, and as I looked 
 along the three great roads tliat 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 45 
 
 meet at Coventry church, I could 
 not but exult and be thankful 
 " What hath God wrought !" 
 
 Most of these youth will be 
 parents a few years hence. And 
 surely they will be better able to 
 bring up their children "in the 
 nurture and admonition of the 
 Lord," for having been at Sun- 
 day-school themselves. Some of 
 them will be teachers of schools 
 in different neighbourhoods ; and 
 surely they will be better teachers 
 for having here learned the best 
 method of instruction. Some of 
 them will be emigrants to the 
 far West ; and surely they will 
 
46 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 be more disposed, for this instruc- 
 tion, to carry far beyond the Mis- 
 sissippi the truth of Christ, and 
 plant churclies in tlie great States 
 that are not yet named. Some of 
 these teachers will be nimisters 
 of the gospel, and surely they 
 will have that qualification which 
 holy Timothy had; who, from a 
 child, had known the holy Scrip- 
 tures, which are able to make 
 wise unto salvation throughfaith 
 which is in Cknst Jesus, Some 
 of them may be missionaries 
 to the heathen; and while they 
 found schools in Africa, or in the 
 islands of the sea, sure/y they 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 47 
 
 Will remember how they were 
 tauo'ht in the schools of verdant 
 Coventry. May all of them, 
 through the grace of Christ, be- 
 come true disciples of the Lord I 
 When we had spent a little 
 time in the parsonage, with Mr 
 Hunt's family, we found that the 
 day was declining, and, there- 
 fore, prepared to return. As we 
 drove off, the sun, near its setting, 
 was immediately before us, and 
 the crimson curtains of cloud 
 seemed to hang in the west, just 
 over our beloved home. There 
 tvas not a mile of our way which 
 
48 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 fid not present something agree- 
 able to the eye, or some matter 
 for useful thought. As we passed 
 (he farm-houses, we saw the la- 
 bourers coming in from their day's 
 work, ready to enjoy their even- 
 ing meal with zest, and still more 
 ready to lie down in gentle, re- 
 freshing slumber, for the sleep of 
 a labouring tnan is sweety iche- 
 ther he eat little or much, EccL 
 V. 12. The cows from their pas- 
 ture were slowly returning, and 
 the tinkling of the bell was heard 
 far off amono^ the woods. The 
 fowls of the air were silently ga^ 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 49 
 
 ihering to their resting places ; 
 and man and beast preparing for 
 repose. 
 
 These are common sights , 
 and to many it may seem trifling 
 to mention them. But is not the 
 glory of God seen in these ordi- 
 nary occurrences ? Do we not 
 discern in them his wisdom and 
 goodness ? The psalmist thought 
 so. Many of his beautiful hymns 
 are framed in the view of just 
 such common scenes. Read the 
 104th psalm, and you w411 be 
 taught that the every-day sights 
 and events are proper to be min- 
 gled with our devout tribute of 
 E 
 
50 THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL 
 
 praise. The trees of the Lord 
 are full of sap, the cedars of 
 Lebanon ivhich he hath planted, 
 where the birds make their nests * 
 as for the stork, the fir trees are 
 her house. The high hills are 
 a refuge for the wild goats, and 
 the rocks for the conies. He 
 appointed the moon for seasons, 
 the sun knoweth his going down. 
 Thou makest darkness, and it 
 is night : wherein all the beasts 
 of the forest do creep forth. 
 Man goeth forth unto his work 
 and to his labour until the even- 
 ing. 
 
 O Lord, how manifest are thy 
 
ANNIVERSARY. 51 
 
 works! in wisdom hast thou 
 made them all ! 
 
 It was dark wnen we arrived 
 at home. God had prospered uh 
 fhrough the day, and now we 
 were bound to render him thanks, 
 I trust it was not insincerely, that, 
 in our several families, we knelt 
 before the Lord our maker, to 
 praise him for his goodness. A 
 day spent in the service of Christ 
 is always a day of enjoyment 
 O that the idle and the worldly 
 knew this ! Then, instead of run- 
 ning from one amusement to 
 anotlier, and tastmg every plea- 
 sure without satisfaction, they 
 
52 ANNIVERSAKV. 
 
 might find every day happier than 
 that which preceded it, and all 
 their enjoyments preparatory foi 
 heaven. 
 
 Reader ! The Lord Jesus 
 Cnrist has work for you to do 
 Believe in him, receive him as 
 your Saviour, bow to him as your 
 master, confide in him as your 
 elder brother; and he will be youi 
 support, delight, and portion for 
 ever and ever. 
 
 THE EINL). 
 
THE 
 
 LITTLE STORY BOOK 
 
 WEITTEN FOR THE AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNIOK, AND 
 REVISED BV THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION. 
 
 O Olyyv c_^ AW Ou vd c* 
 
 ieKav\cic\ 
 
 AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION: 
 
 1122 CHESTNUT STREET, PHILADELPHIA. 
 375 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. 
 
THE 
 
 LITTLE STOEY BOOK. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE PLAY-GROUND. 
 
 I AM sure the little boy who is 
 reading this book is fond of play. 
 All children are fond of play ; 
 and there is nothing wrong in 
 this, if they play at the right 
 time, and when their parents or 
 teachers give them leave. 
 
 Mrs. Truman had one little 
 son, named Thomas. One day, 
 after he had been working seve- 
 ral hours, helping his poor mother 
 
 3 
 
THE LITTLE 
 
 to get some yarn ready for the 
 weaver, she called him and said, 
 "Now, Tommy, you may run out 
 
 and play at blind man's buff or 
 cricket. Here is the nice new 
 ball I have made for you. But 
 you must be sure to come back 
 before dinner." 
 
STORY BOOK. 5 
 
 *'Yes, ma'am," said Tommy, 
 " I shall not stay long." And the 
 little fellow jumped out of the 
 door, and ran oft' to the green, 
 where John and Joseph Thomp- 
 son were playing cricket. His 
 good mother looked after him, 
 and was pleased to see her little 
 son so rosy and happy. 
 
 Mrs. Truman was very poor, 
 and had to work hard for her liv- 
 ing, but she feared the Lord, and 
 this was enough to make her 
 contented. She loved her little 
 boy, and tried to teach him every 
 thing that was good. And Tho- 
 mas was always glad to read in 
 
 a2 
 
6 THE LITTLE 
 
 the Bible, and to near about the^ 
 Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 But I must tell what happened 
 at the play-ground. After the 
 boys had played ball for more 
 than an hour, they began to be 
 tired. John Thompson was the 
 •son of a gardener, and his father 
 had a great many fine plants. 
 So, when they had done playing, 
 John said, 
 
 " Come, Tommy, let us go to 
 our garden, and see the beautiful 
 flowers. We can play there all 
 the afternoon." 
 
 "Oh, no," said Thomas, "I 
 cannot go, for mother said I must 
 
STORY BOOK. 7 
 
 come home before dinner, and 
 she canfiot do without me." 
 
 John, She does not care 
 about your coming home so very 
 soon. I am sure she can do very 
 well without you. 
 
 Thomas. No, she cannot, in- 
 deed ; for she has to work hard 
 for her living, and she has no one 
 but me to help her. And she 
 wants me to take some yarn to 
 Mr. Reed, the weaver, so that 
 we may get a little money. 
 
 Joseph, 1 know why Tommy 
 will not go with us. He is afraid 
 of getting a whipping from his 
 mother. 
 
8 THE LITTLE 
 
 When Thomas heard this, he 
 oegan to be ashamed. He was 
 so foolish, that he chose to do 
 wronoj rather than to be lauo^hed 
 at by these bad boys. So he dis- 
 obeyed his mother, and went with 
 them to the garden. 
 
 When they got there, they saw 
 a great many fine plants and 
 shrubs, and little Sally and Jane 
 Thompson filled a basket with 
 beautifiil flowers. There were 
 roses, and pinks, and lilies, and 
 tulips, and peonies, and many 
 others ; and they were all tied up 
 in little nosegays. Tommy want- 
 ed some of these very much, but 
 
STORY BOOK. 
 
 he did not know how to get them. 
 At last he thought he would give 
 his ball for some of them. Now 
 his niother had given him this 
 ball upon his birth-day : it was 
 covered with green and red lea- 
 ther, and was very pretty. Mrs. 
 Truman was poor, and she had 
 no other present to make her son 
 on his birth-day, and Thomas 
 had promised her that he would 
 not barter it away. 
 
 At last he was so desirous to 
 have the flowers, that he gave 
 the ball to Sally Thompson for a 
 basket full of them, and promised 
 her that he would bring the bas- 
 ket back the next morning. 
 
10 
 
 THE LITTLE 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HEN it began 
 to be dark, 
 our Tommy 
 took his 
 basket of 
 flowers, and 
 j;^\^|f set off to go home. He 
 was weary and hungry, 
 ii¥~'' 'land,. what was worse, 
 tie felt very badly, because he 
 had been doing wrong. 
 
 As he w^alked home, some- 
 thing within him seemed to tell 
 
STORY BOOK. H 
 
 him that he was a bad boy, and 
 that he had committed sin. This 
 was his conscience. He was al- 
 most ashamed to see his mother's 
 face. He knew that he had made 
 her very sorry, and he thought 
 that perhaps she had gone, her- 
 self, to the weaver's with the yarn. 
 Then he wished he could get the 
 ball back again, and that he had 
 not gone to the garden, and that 
 he had not played with these idle 
 boys. Tommy was almost ready 
 to cry at the thought of all this. 
 When he got almost home, the 
 thought came into his head, that 
 he would just tell his mother how 
 
12 THE LITTLE 
 
 bad he nad been, and ask her to 
 forgive him. Mrs. Truman was 
 sitting by the door, sewing some 
 clothes for him. As soon as she 
 saw him, she said, "O, Tommy 
 Tommy, you do not know how 
 unhappy you have made me. I 
 did not know what had become 
 of you, and I was afraid you had 
 met with some accident." 
 
 When Thomas heard this he 
 began to weep, and hid his face 
 in his mother's lap. " Oh, mother," 
 said he, " I ask your pardon : I 
 am a wicked boy, for I have dis- 
 obeyed you, and broken my pro- 
 mise ; and I have given away 
 
STORy BOOK. 13 
 
 the ball which you made for me." 
 Then he told his mother all that 
 had happened. 
 
 Mrs. Truman kissed her little 
 son, and said, " Tommy, I am 
 glad that you have confessed the 
 whole truth of your own accord. 
 I would rather lose a nundred 
 balls than that my son should be 
 a liar. If you are really sorry 
 for being so undutiful,go and con- 
 fess it to the Lord, and ask him 
 to forgive you, for Christ's sake. 
 And be sure, my dear boy, never 
 to do so any more." 
 
 Now, my little readers, I wish 
 
 you to learn from this simple sto- 
 B 
 
14 THE LITTLE 
 
 ry, never to let bad companions 
 lead you into disobedience. 
 Never break your promises ; ne- 
 ver disobey your parents ; and 
 if, at any time, you have done 
 wrong, never deny it, but confess 
 the whole truth. Confess it to 
 those whom you have offended, 
 and confess it to God. This will 
 make you feel easy in your mind, 
 and if you are sincere, you will 
 be forgiven 
 
STORY BOOK. 
 
 15 
 
 >^l/. 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 .THE HOLIDAYS. 
 
 ooK at the 
 coach stand- 
 ing at the 
 gate. It is 
 in good time. 
 And what is it 
 there 
 for? 
 It has 
 come to 
 take the boys 
 home from school 
 to sjDcnd the holi- 
 
16 THE LITTLE 
 
 days. Little boys are always 
 glad when the vacation comes, 
 for then they can go home, and 
 see their dear parents, and bro- 
 thers and sisters. But who is 
 that going out of the acade- 
 my doorj^ with his cap in his 
 hand ? That is young Frank 
 Bell, who is going home in the 
 coach. He is taking leave of the 
 little boys who are not to go 
 away from school. 
 
 Now the driver has cracked his 
 whip ; the horses are trotting 
 along, and the wheels are going 
 round. The coach drives on so 
 fast, that the trees and fences 
 
STORY BOOK. 17 
 
 seem to be sliding back. O, how 
 delighted the little fellows are 
 Every thing fills them with plea- 
 sure. They look out at the fine 
 houses, and woods, and green 
 meadows, and grain-fields ; the 
 streams and bridges ; the flocks 
 and the birds. They pass through 
 pretty villages, and every few 
 houses some one of the scho- 
 lars gets out at his father's door. 
 The boys laugh and talk about 
 the pleasant times they shall have 
 when they get home, and how 
 glad they shall be to meet with 
 their dear friends once more. 
 The little fellows laughed and 
 
 b2 
 
18 THE LITTLE 
 
 sang so much, that Mr. Carson, 
 who went along to take care of 
 them, had to tell them they must 
 be quiet. He said to them, "Boys, 
 you must not keep such an up- 
 roar, or the people along the way 
 will think you are a parcel of 
 drunken sailors. And, besides, 
 when we stop at the door of any 
 house, you must let the good 
 people see what quiet, well-be- 
 haved young gentlemen you 
 
 are" 
 
STORY BOOK. 
 
 19 
 
 So the boys were more peace- 
 able, but they could not help 
 shouting out now and then, 
 when any of them saw a place 
 with which he was acquainted, 
 or came in sight of his own 
 home. 
 
THE LITTLE 
 
 But see! Whose 
 house have they 
 come to? This is 
 the house of Mr. Bell, 
 '^ Frank's father. See! 
 Frank has jumped 
 out of the coach. 
 There is his dear mother 
 \Nyat the door, ready to meet 
 him. There is his little sister 
 Jane. And there is his dog Tray. 
 
STORY BOOK. 21 
 
 When Frank had got into the 
 parlour and sat down, h6 began 
 to tell them every thing that came 
 into his head about the school. 
 He asked a hundred questions 
 about the servants, and the 
 neighbours, and his playmates , 
 and while they were preparing 
 his dinner, he walked out to meet 
 his father, who was coming home 
 from the farm. Mr. Bell was re- 
 joiced to see his son so much 
 grown, and looking so well. 
 
 " Father," said Frank, " I have 
 a letter in my pocket from the 
 teacher, which will tell you how 
 I have behaved myself" 
 
22 THE LITTLE 
 
 ''Very well," said his father, 
 " let me have it ; I hope you have 
 been a good boy." 
 
 Mr. Bell read the letter, and 
 found that Frank had been very 
 dihgent, and that the master con- 
 sidered him one of the best boys 
 in the academy. And Frank 
 blushed, and was full of pleasure, 
 when he saw how much his dear 
 father was delighted. 
 
 There is hardly any thing 
 which gives parents so much 
 pleasure as for their children to 
 behave well, and to learn dili- 
 gently. And if little boys and 
 girls would only think of this, it 
 
STORY BOOK. 23 
 
 would make them careful to 
 avoid every thing which is wrong. 
 
 Mr. Bell went in with Frank 
 to dinner, and after dinner he 
 took his son into the garden, and 
 talked with him a long time; for 
 he wished to see whether Frank 
 had been learning what was use- 
 ful, and especially whether he 
 had remembered the religious 
 truths which he had been taught 
 by his parents. He was pleased 
 when Frank told him that he 
 had not forgotten these things. 
 
 "Have you been careful to 
 read your Bible, Frank'?" said 
 Mr. Bell. 
 
24 THE LITTLE 
 
 F7'ank, Yes, sir. Here it is 
 I always carry it with me in this 
 little silk case, which mother 
 made, to keep it from being soil- 
 ed. 
 
 Mr. BelL How much of it 
 have you read ? 
 
 Frank. I have read through 
 the whole since this time a yec^- 
 ago. 
 
 Mr. BelL I hope you have 
 committed some of it to me- 
 mory. 
 
 Frank. Yes, sir. I have 
 learned the Sermon on the Mount, 
 and eleven chapters of the gos- 
 pel of John, and several of the 
 
STORY BOOK. 25 
 
 psalms of David. ^ And we have 
 studied a great deal with the Sun- 
 day-school Questions. 
 
 Mr. Bell My dear Frank, 
 have you been careful to pray to 
 God? 
 
 Frank,, I have always tried to 
 pray every morning and evening. 
 
 Mr. Bell then talked about 
 
 good things till the tears came 
 
 into his little son's eyes. And 
 
 when they went into the house 
 
 again, he told Frank that he must 
 
 get up very early in the morning, 
 
 and come into the summer-house, 
 
 where he would find something 
 
 to please him. 
 
 c 
 
26 
 
 THE LITTLE 
 
 In the morning, Frank was up 
 betimes. He hastened down to 
 the garden, and went into the 
 summer-house. There he saw a 
 
 number of beautiful presents, 
 which his father had prepared as 
 the reward for his good beha- 
 viour. 
 
STORY BOOK. 27 
 
 There was a little ship, and a 
 rockiiio'-horse ; a beautiful booK, 
 and a large kite, covered with 
 pictures. 
 
 While he was looking at these, 
 his father came in, and said, 
 "My dear Frank, your mother 
 and I do not wish to bribe you. 
 We are sure you would be dili- 
 gent without these gifts. But we 
 have given you these things to 
 encourage you, and to show you 
 how much pleasure it gives us 
 when you are diligent, industri- 
 ous, and obedient. Continue to 
 be so. And above all things, 
 love and serve God, believe in 
 
28 THE LITTLE 
 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, and strive 
 to do whatever you find com- 
 manded in the Bible." 
 
STOEY BOOK. 29 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 THE LITTLE LIARS. 
 
 Mrs. Goodlove and her daugh- 
 ,er Helen were one day sitting al 
 their work, when the little girl 
 stopped sewing, and said, 
 
 " Mother, is it not wicked to 
 call any one a liar?^^ 
 
 Mrs. G, Yes, my dear, we 
 should never call anybody by 
 any bad name. But it is worse 
 a great deal to be a liar. 
 
 Helen. Mother, what is a liar ? 
 
 3Irs. G. A liar is one who 
 tells lies. A liar is a person who 
 tells what he knows is not true. 
 
 c 2 
 
30 THE LITTLE 
 
 A lie is a wilful falsehood. And 
 the Bible says some dreadful 
 things about liars. 
 
 Helen. Tell me, if you please, 
 some of the things that the Bible . 
 says about liars. 
 
 Mrs. G. It says the Lord 
 hates a lying tongue. God says, 
 "Lie not one to another;" and, 
 " Lying lips are an abomination 
 to the Lord." The devil is a liar, 
 and the father of lies. And the 
 Scriptures declare that "Liars 
 shall have their portion in the 
 lake that burnetii with fire and 
 brimstone." 
 
 Helen. Oh, I hope I shall 
 
STORY BOOK. ' 31 
 
 Qever be so wicked as to telJ lies, 
 Are there not some little children 
 who are liars ? 
 
 Mrs. G. Yes, my dear, I am 
 sorry that there are. Would you 
 like to hear a story about two 
 such children? 
 
 Helen. Yes, ma'am ; please to 
 tell me. 
 
 Mrs. G. There w^ere two 
 little children, named George and 
 Mary Gray. Their father and 
 mother were rich, and gave them 
 fine clothes, and a great many 
 presents ; but they never taught 
 them to fear the Lord, and the 
 little boj^ and girl learned more 
 
32 ' THE LITTLE 
 
 wickedness than I should like to 
 mention. 
 
 One morning Mary came to 
 her mother, and said, "Mother 
 will you please to let me go up- 
 stairs and play with my doll '?" 
 "Yes," said Mrs. Gray, " but take 
 care and do not let the old cat 
 follow you into the room, for my 
 tame robin is hopping about the 
 floor, and puss would be sure to 
 kill him." Mary promised that 
 she would take good care, and 
 not let the cat in. She went up- 
 stairs, and took her doll out of the 
 drawer. She undressed it and 
 dressed it again, and played with 
 
STORY BOOK. , 33 
 
 il till she was weary. At last she 
 thought it would be very divert- 
 ing to put the doll's cap on the 
 cat. 
 
 Helen. Did she not remem- 
 ber what her mother had told 
 her'? 
 
 Mrs, G. No; she was a care- 
 less child, and she forgot all that 
 her mother had said. She was 
 foolish enough to let puss come 
 into the room, where she behaved 
 \^ery well all the time that Mary 
 was undressing the doll. But as 
 soon as Mary tried to put the 
 cap upon puss, she ran off to the 
 corner of the room, where little 
 
34 
 
 THE LITTLE 
 
 Robin was picking up crumbs. 
 She sat very still for a few mi- 
 nutes, and then jumped suddenly 
 
 upon the poor bird, and killed 
 him in an instant. 
 
 Helen. Poor Robin ! what a 
 pity! But what did Mary do 
 then ? 
 
 Mrs, G. Mary was verV much 
 
STOR^ BOOK. 35 
 
 frightened, because she knew that 
 her mother would be displeased. 
 She ran out of the room, and 
 the cat ran too, carrying the bird 
 in her mouth. Mary saw this, 
 and tried to make puss drop the 
 bird. 
 
 Helen. Did Mary tell her mo- 
 ther ? 
 
 Mrs. G. No, she was wick 
 ed enough to begin to make up 
 a falsehood. So she took the 
 bird and laid it in the entry. 
 Then she went into the back 
 parlour, and sat down to her 
 sewing. When her mother came 
 rnto the house, she was surprised 
 
36 'THE LITTLE 
 
 to find her little pet bird lying 
 dead. She asked Mary whether 
 she had not let the cat come in, 
 but Mary denied it. But just as 
 Mary was telling this great false- 
 hood, her brother George came 
 running in with the cat, which 
 still had the doll's cap on As 
 soon as Mrs. Gray saw the spot 
 of blood on the little white cap, 
 she knew how it had happened ; 
 and Mary had to confess the 
 whole truth. 
 
 Helen, What a wicked child ! 
 
 Mrs, G, Yes, my daughter, 
 it was a grievous sin against 
 God For God sees us, and 
 
STORY BJOK. 37 
 
 hears us whenever we say a 
 word that is untrue, and he is 
 greatly offended with all liars. 
 
 Helen, Please to tell me somf> 
 thing more about this little girl 
 
 Mrs, G, 1 will do so ; for I 
 wish to teach you about another 
 kind of falsehood. I mean the 
 breaking of our promises. If 
 you were to promise to stay in 
 the house all the morning, and 
 then were to go out of doors, it 
 would be breaking your promise 
 to me. 
 
 Helen, Yes, I know that 
 
 I> 
 
38 THE LITTLE 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ,One morning 
 George and 
 Mary came 
 down into 
 W^M^t^Q parlour 
 where their father 
 and mother were sit- 
 ^1 ting at the table, and 
 asked leave to go and 
 play in the garden. Now, there 
 was a fish-pond in the garden, 
 which was quite deep enough to 
 drown these little children, and 
 Mrs. Gray was very careful to 
 
STORY BOOK 39 
 
 keep them from going too near it. 
 She therefore made them promise 
 that they would keep away from 
 this part of the garden. The 
 children declared that they would 
 not go near the pond, and then 
 ran out to play. After a little 
 time they began to be tired of 
 running up and down the walks, 
 and picking flowers from the bor- 
 ders. Then George said, " I do 
 not think there would be any 
 harm in our just looking at the 
 fish in the pond." 
 
 '' O," said Mary, " but you 
 tinow we said we would not go 
 near it." 
 
40 THE LITTLE 
 
 " Yes," said George, " but no- 
 body will know it, and we will 
 come right back." 
 
 So the little girl consented to 
 do this evil thing, to break her 
 word, and to disobey her parents 
 There was a very small boat in 
 the pond, which was not much 
 larger than a large w^ashing-tub, 
 and was made more to look at 
 than for any thing else. The 
 foolish children got into this boat, 
 and sat in it for some time. At 
 last George said he would just 
 put his foot out and push against 
 the bank, to make the boat move 
 a little. But as soon as he did 
 
STORY BOOK. 
 
 41 
 
 this, the boat went away off on 
 the pond, and George fell sprawl- 
 ing into the water. 
 
 Helen, Oh, I hope he did not 
 o:et drowned! 
 
 Mj^s, G. No. But he was 
 wet from head to foot ; and there 
 was poor little Mary in the boat, 
 
 d2 
 
42 THE LITTLE 
 
 SO far from the shore that she- 
 could not get out , and George 
 could not reach her. They both 
 began to cry. George was afraid 
 to wade out into the water, for 
 he did not know how deep it 
 might be ; and Mary did not know 
 how she was to get out of the 
 boat. But they cried so loudly, 
 that their father heard them, and 
 ran to their relief When they 
 came into the house, they weie 
 very much ashamed of having 
 been so wilful and disobedient. 
 
 Helen, I think they deserved 
 to get into trouble, for being so 
 bad. 
 
STORY BOOK. 43 
 
 Mrs G, Yes, we always de- 
 serve to suffer when we commit 
 sin; and it is a great mercy that 
 the Lord does not send judgments 
 on us whenever we disobey his 
 commandments. I hope my dear 
 little girl will always speak the 
 truth, and remember that God 
 hears every word you say; and 
 that you must give an account 
 of every wrong word in the day 
 of judgment. 
 
44 
 
 THE LITTLE 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE IDLE BOY. 
 
 LFRED Sims 
 was an idle 
 bov. His 
 father was 
 a poor man, 
 and had hard work 
 to get money enough 
 to send his little son 
 to school. But Alfred thought it 
 was a great hardship to get his 
 
STOKY BOOK. 45 
 
 lessons, and was <xlad to aet a 
 chaiiceto stay away from scliooL 
 Sometimes he would pretend to 
 be sick, to keep from going ; and 
 when he was at school, he was 
 hardly ever looking at his book. 
 
 Almost every day his teacher 
 had to correct him, but he did not 
 seem to become any better. At 
 last he learned to play truant, 
 and used to stay away from 
 school whole days. Then, when 
 he came home in the evening, he 
 would pretend that he had been 
 studying hard with the other boys^. 
 
 Once he ran off, and ran a 
 
46 THE LITTLE 
 
 who^e morning through the mud, 
 after a company of soldiers who 
 were parading through the streets. 
 When he came home, he was 
 hungry and tired, and in the night 
 he was taken sick with a fever, 
 and was confined to bed for two 
 weeks. 
 
 Another time, he told his father 
 that he was going to school. But 
 instead of this, he went to a pub- 
 lic stable, where they used to 
 hire out horses. Here he saw a 
 little pony which the hostler was 
 rubbing down. It was not much 
 larger than a small cok and Al- 
 
STORY BOOK. 47 
 
 fred wished very much to get on 
 his back and ride. The hostler 
 told him that he was afraid the 
 pony would throw him, but Al- 
 fred insisted upon trying to ride. 
 So he mounted the little horse 
 and rode offi But he had not 
 gone a hundred yards, before the 
 pony kicked up its heels, and 
 threw him off against a fence 
 He was very much hurt, and was 
 carried home, bruised and bleed- 
 ing. 
 
 This cured him of playing tru- 
 ant, but still he did not love his 
 books, and was almost as idle as 
 before. His poor father usea to 
 
18 mE LITTl.E 
 
 talk to him, and try to make him 
 learn but Alfred was careless 
 and disobedient. At length his 
 father told him plainly, that if he 
 did not learn, he must be bound 
 out to a shoemaker. Alfred did 
 not like the thought of hard work, 
 and he promised his father that 
 he would be a better boy. Bui 
 his idleness was not yet cured. 
 
 Some of the little boys and 
 girls in the same school used to 
 get beautiful books as premiums 
 for diligence ; but while they 
 would be sitting and reading their 
 new books, Alfred would be out 
 dn the green playing at ball Yet 
 
STORY BOOK. 49 
 
 these good children were much 
 happier than he was. For when 
 people do wrong, they never can 
 
 bUNDAT SCHOOL 
 
 feel altogether comfortable or 
 
 easy in their minds. 
 
 There was a little fellow, 
 
 named John Boatman, who lived 
 E 
 
50 THE LITTLE 
 
 next door to Alfred's house. This 
 bey often tried to persuade Al- 
 fred to learn, but his words seem- 
 ed to be of no use. At last John 
 thought he would try and get him 
 to go to the Sunday-school ; for 
 Alfred had never been to Sunday- 
 school in his life. One Sabbath 
 morning John met Alfred just by 
 the door of the Sunday-school, 
 and asked him to go in. At first, 
 he pretended that he had a head- 
 ache, but finally he consented to 
 go in. He was more pleased 
 than he expected to be. He 
 heard a great many things which 
 ^le never know before ; and the 
 
STORY BOOK. 
 
 51 
 
 singing was very delightful to 
 him. 
 
 The next Sabbath he came 
 again, of his own accord. The 
 ieacher gave him a little book 
 with pictures in it, and showed 
 him how to get his lesson. 41- 
 
52 THE LITTLE 
 
 fred wondered to see how busy 
 all the children were ; and this 
 too without any scolding or 
 whipping. He began to think it 
 was worth while for him to study 
 also. And it was not long before 
 he became q» very diligent scho- 
 lar. 
 
 Alfred found so much pleasure 
 in getting his Sunday lessons, 
 that he made up his mind to 
 learn his week-day lessons too. 
 All the boys saw that there was 
 a great change in him, and the 
 teacher was so much pleased, 
 that he called at his father's, and 
 told him that Alfred had got to 
 
STORY BOOK. 53 
 
 be one of the best boys in the 
 whole school. Mr. Sims was 
 very much rejoiced to hear this, 
 and when he spoke to Alfred 
 about it, he found that it had all 
 come from his going to the Sun- 
 day-school. 
 
 Alfred learned a great deal 
 out of the Bible, and especially 
 about the history of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, lie was no long- 
 er the Idle Boy, for he had be- 
 come quite industrious. And his 
 lessons were so far from keeping 
 him from work, that he did more 
 to help his father than he had 
 ever done before. And besides 
 
 E 2 
 
54 THE LITTLE 8T0RY BOOK. 
 
 this, the things which he learned 
 out of the Scriptures did good to 
 his soul. He grew up to be a 
 sober, kind, honest, pious man, 
 and was for many yeai-s a Sun- 
 day-school teacher himself. 
 
HARVEST. 
 
 WRITTEN FOR THE AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNIOM, A^f 
 REVISED BY THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION: 
 
 dwve / a..:4 4 «t U M le xa n d 5^ 
 
 AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION: 
 
 1122 CHESTNUT STREET, PHILADELPHIA. 
 875 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. 
 
Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 183i, 
 by Paul Beck, Jr., Treasurer, in trust for the A merican Sunday- 
 school Union, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of th« 
 Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 
 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 This dialogue is an attempt to answer the 
 following ends- 
 First, to suggest a method of connecting 
 natural scenes of every-day life with scriptural 
 truths, and thus to encourage religious medi- 
 tation. 
 
 Secondly, to show how full the Bible is of 
 imagery drawn from common affairs. 
 
 Thirdly, to communicate some facts in 
 Biblical Antiquities. 
 
 It is intended for the elder scholars in 
 Sunday-schools. 
 
4 
 
 i 
 
HARVEST. 
 
 It was a happy day at the farm, when 
 faptain Wells came home. He had been 
 absent more than two years. While he was 
 in France or England, his brother, Mr. Wells, 
 had removed to the country. The little chil- 
 dren had grown a great deal, and every thing 
 was changed. But they were all glad to see 
 the captain. He was fond of his nephews and 
 nieces, and always brought them something 
 pretty and useful from Europe. 
 
 The children of Mr. and Mrs. Wells were 
 five in number. Arthur, the eldest son, was 
 a young man. He had just come home from 
 college. Caroline was sixteen years of age 
 a2 5 
 
6 HARVEST, 
 
 Delia was eleven years old, and Edward and 
 Frank, who were twins, were not more than 
 nine years of age. 
 
 It was a very warm day in July when he ar- 
 rived. The family were scattered in different 
 parts of the house. Mr. Wells had been in the 
 field, looking at his reapers, and Mrs. Wells 
 was sewing in the porch. Edward and Frank 
 were sitting upon the steps, making a wagon 
 out of pine boards. Caroline and Delia were 
 fanning themselves in the hall, and Arthur was 
 reading in the court-yard, under a large elm. 
 
 f 
 Just as the clock struck four, they heard a 
 
 stage-coach drive up to the opening of the lane, 
 
 and saw a gentleman get off the box. They 
 
 knew it was their uncle Charles, for he turned 
 
 himself round and waved his hand to them. 
 
 As soon as he came in, the children were all 
 
 around him, asking him questions. Me was 
 
 a kitd man, and answered them vvith great 
 
A DIALOGUE. 
 
 patience Then he opened his large trunk, 
 and took out his gifts. There was a large 
 Bible, with pictures, for Arthur, two beautiful 
 
 globes for the girls, and a box of tools .or 
 Edward and Frank. They all seemed to be 
 very happy, and conversed with much good 
 humour, until the hour came for their evening 
 meal. While they were at tea, a shower came 
 
9 HARVIJSJ-, 
 
 on, which greatly cooled the air, anc gave a 
 freshness to the whole landscape. As they' 
 looked westward, they could see that the 
 yellow fields appeared more lovely ; the long 
 Ane of trees along the brook was clean and 
 bright, and the patches of Indian corn had a 
 clear and shining green. 
 
 Mr. Wells said to his family, as they viewed 
 the pleasing prospect, this puts one in mind 
 of David's beautiful and pious words, *' Thou 
 visitest the earth and waterest it ; thou pre- 
 parest them corn when thou hast so provided 
 for it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abun- 
 dantly, thou causest the rain to descend into 
 the furrows thereof; thou makest it soft with 
 showers ; thou blessest the springing thereof. 
 Thou crownest the year with thy goodness, 
 and thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon 
 the pastures of the wilderness, and the little 
 hills are girded with joy on every side. The 
 pastures are clothed with flocks, the valleys 
 
A DIALOGUE. 9 
 
 a' SO are co^'ered over with corn : they shout 
 tor joy, they also sing." 
 
 Captain, I perceive, brother, that you still 
 have your old way of repeating the Bible. 
 EviBiy thing seems to remind you of the Scrip- 
 ture. It is certainly a good habit, but I never 
 could bring myself to think of the words of 
 Scripture so naturally as you do. 
 
 Mr. W. The art is easily learned, if one 
 begins early enough. The great thing is to 
 read the Bible very frequently, and to commit 
 some part of it to memory every day. Then 
 if a man loves it, he will be reminded of it by 
 all that he sees and hears. 
 
 Frank Perhaps uncle Charles would like 
 to take a walk before the sun goes down 
 Shall we get our hats and bonnets ? 
 
 Mr. TV. I am quite willing. What say you 
 rother Charles * 
 
10 HARVEST, 
 
 Capt. With all my heart. I am fond of 
 the country. I have been so much at sea 
 lately, that it has been along time since I saw 
 any thing rural. When I sailed from Liver- 
 pool, it was far too early for harvest in Eng- 
 land. I shall be glad to see how your grain 
 is coming on. 
 
 Arthur. Let us walk then. I think, sir, 
 you will be pleased, for Providence has smiled 
 upon my father's farm this summer. We have 
 seldom had the prospect of such crops. By 
 keeping in the lane and along the road we may 
 walk, without getting wet. Come, girls, we 
 are waiting for you. 
 
 Capt. Harvest-time seems to be a joyful 
 time, all over the world. When I was in 
 Germany. I used to see a great merry-making 
 among the people at this season. And in Eng- 
 land, they frolic rather too much, sometimes, 
 at Harvest-home. 
 
A DIALOGUE. 11 
 
 Edward I suppose that it makes people 
 glad to see such good crops, and to think that 
 they will have something to eat in the winter, 
 
 Arthur. The Israelites used to rejoice, with 
 psalms and shouting, when they took in their 
 harvest. I remember that it is said in the 
 prophecy of Isaiah : " They joy before thee 
 according to the joy in harvest;" and in an- 
 other place, where the prophet is mourning 
 over the evils that were to come upon Moab, 
 he says, " the shouting for the summer fruits 
 and for thy harvest is fallen ; and gladness is 
 taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field ; 
 and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, 
 neither shall there be shouting." 
 
 Capt. The Avords are very beautiful. It is 
 much more expressive than to say that the 
 country is laid waste. By the by, I should 
 like to know at what time of year the harvest 
 came in Judea. 
 
12 HARVEST, 
 
 Arthur. Travellers are not agreed, sir. 1 
 can only answer your question by saying, that 
 the beginning of barley harvest in Judea is 
 about the first of April. It was some time, how- 
 ever, before this was over. The wheat harvest 
 came later. The two harvests extend from 
 the beginning of April to the middle of June, 
 But at Aleppo the wheat harvest is commonly 
 over by the twentieth of May. The season, 
 called by the Jews Harvest, lasted from the 
 beginning of April till the end of May. The 
 country is said to'be as much parched in May, 
 as it is with us in August. And Isaiah seems 
 to allude to this, when he compares God's 
 favour to a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest, 
 
 Mr, W. We have had a shower this after- 
 noon, and for several days past there has been 
 thunder. But this is never the case in Pales- 
 tme during the season of harvest. Although 
 thunder and lightning are very common there, 
 •^hey come almost always in winter ; so, when 
 
A DIALOGUE. 13 
 
 Samuel wished to show the Israelites that he 
 was sent by the Lord to them, he prayed that 
 there might be a thunder shower. This con- 
 vinced them that he was God's prophet. It 
 is in the 12th chapter of 1 Samuel ; " Is it not 
 wheat harvest to-day? I will call unto the 
 Lo;"d, and he shall send thunder and rain, that 
 ye may perceive and see that your wickedness 
 is great which ye have done in the sight of the 
 Lord in asking you a king. So Samuel call- 
 ed unto the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder 
 and rain that day ; and all the people greatly 
 feared the Lord and Samuel." 
 
 Arthur. This fact explains the first verse 
 of the 26th chapter of Proverbs. " As snow in 
 summer, and as rain in harvest ; so honour 
 is not seemly for a fool." Hcnour is as much 
 ©ut of place when conferred on a fool, as rain 
 would be if sent in harvest. 
 
 Delia. Now 1 see how much good it does 
 B 
 
14 HARVEST, 
 
 to know something about the climate of Judea 
 I never understood that so well before. 
 
 Mr. TV. I hope, my daughter, this will 
 make you more diligent in learning every thing 
 which you can find about the manners and 
 customs of the Israelites. You will find 
 enough for your use in Nevin's Biblical An- 
 tiquities.* But I wish to ask you a ques- 
 tion. Is it certain that we shall always have 
 the summer and the harvest ? How do you 
 know that a year may not come with such 
 seasons that nothing will ripen ? 
 
 Frank. Because the Lord promised Noah ! 
 *' While the earth remaineth, seed-time and 
 harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and 
 winter, and day and night shall not cease." 
 
 * This is a very useful and entertaining book, published 
 by the American Sunday-school Union. The first volume 
 gives us a history ol the manners and customs of the Israel- 
 ites, and the second volume of their religion and govern- 
 ment. 
 
A DIALOGUE. 15 
 
 Mr. W. People often forget that it is God 
 who does all this. In Palestine the grain 
 would never ripen if it were not for the regulai 
 rains. The Lord reproves the ancient Israel- 
 ites for not remembering that he gave them 
 their rains and harvests. They ought to hav 
 feared God, because if he had not given them 
 these things, they must have perished. He 
 says that they are ungrateful, "neither say 
 in their heart, let us now fear the Lord our 
 God that giveth rain, both the former and the 
 latter, in its season : he reserveth unto us the 
 appointed weeks of harvest." 
 
 Capt, Well, I begin to think I have done 
 wrong in the same way. I love the sight of 
 a fine yellow field of wheat, waving in the 
 sun. I w^ould rather see it than a flower gar- 
 den ; yet I believe I never thought much ia 
 all my travels of its being given by God. 
 
 Caroline. I have read in the Bible about 
 
16 HARVEST, 
 
 offering a slieaf of the harvest to the Loid. 
 Will you please to tell me more about it, sir ? 
 
 Mr» W. The passovei was the time when 
 they did this. On the second day of the pass- 
 over week, the Israelites used to take the first 
 sheaf of barley which they reaped, and wave 
 it before the Lord. (Levit. xxiii. 10 — 14.) 
 From this day they counted seven weeks, and 
 at the end of this time Pentecost began. Pente- 
 cost signifies fiftieth. It was fifty days after 
 the day of the wave-sheaf. At Pentecost they 
 offered to God the first-fruits of the wheat- 
 Harvest. (Lev. xiii. 17.) 
 
 Arthur. I suppose this was meant to keep 
 them thankful. Our pastor always remembers 
 to give public thanks to God when the harvest 
 is taken in. We are all too apt to forget the 
 bounty of God. 
 
 Mr. W. True, my son. " Nevertheless, ne 
 Qath not left himself with:>ut a witness, in that 
 
A DIALOGUE. 17 
 
 he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, 
 and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with 
 food and gladness." (Acts xiv. 17.) 
 
 Caroline. You have mentioned the Passovef 
 and the day of Pentecost. Which of these h 
 c^eAihe feast of harvest? 
 
 Mr. W. The feast of weeks, or Pentecost, 
 is often called i\ie feast of harvest, because it 
 was a season of thanksgiving for the blessings 
 of the year. The first-fruits of the wheat were 
 then offered. They were not brought, how- 
 ever, in a sheaf, but were made into loaves. 
 These were presented in the name of the 
 whole congregation ; and I suppose that every 
 pious Israelite rejoiced and praised God in 
 his heart, when he saw them carried up to the 
 house of God. Just so we ought to feel when 
 we look at yonder harvest field. 
 
 Capt. A beautiful sight, indeed ! Here are 
 a great many fields ready for the sic kle, besides 
 b2 
 
18 HARVEST, 
 
 those where your men are at work. The 
 breeze that comes over them makes the tops 
 wave like the sea. I dare say, brother, you 
 have some text to apply to them. 
 
 Frank. I have one, uncle. I got a verse 
 about it this morning. 
 
 Capt. Well, my little man, let us have it ? 
 
 Frank. In the gospel according to Luke, 
 tenth chapter, and second verse : " Therefore 
 said he unto them. The harvest truly is great, 
 but the labourers are few ; pray ye therefore 
 the Lord of the harvest, that he would send 
 forth labourers into his harvest." 
 
 Mr. Wells. Now, my son, we must see 
 whether you understand what you learn. Who 
 «aid these words ? 
 
 Frank. Our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Mr W, When did he say them ? 
 
A DIALOGUE. 19 
 
 Frank. When he sent the seventy discipleg 
 into the places where he intended to go him* 
 self afterwards. 
 
 Mr W. Very welL But what did our 
 i^aviour mean ? 
 
 Frank. He meant that there were a great 
 many to be taught, and very few to teach them* 
 
 Mr. W. Right. But what do you think ? 
 Is it so now ? 
 
 Frank. Yes, sir, I think it is. There are 
 not half enough preachers of the gospel ; and 
 we cannot get teachers enough for one Sunday- 
 school at Chestnut Valley 
 
 Mr. TV, What ought we all to do then ? 
 
 Frank. We ought to go ourselves, and do 
 ?is much as we can, just as the seventy disciples 
 did ; and while we are working hard, we ought 
 to pray for more to help us. 
 
80 HARVEST, 
 
 Copt. Why, you are a little preachet. ' 
 am astonished at Frank's knowledge. 
 
 Mr. W. You need not be. I should a- 
 sorry if he should think himself an extraordi 
 nary child. He is indebted for all that h» 
 knows on these subjects, to the fact, that h< 
 has, ever since he was old enough, committed 
 to memory a verse of the Bible a day. 
 
 Caipt. Only a verse ! 
 
 Mr. TV. One verse. A single text welJ 
 learned, is worth a hundred rattled over. Bu* 
 mark, in getting one verse, he has often tc 
 learn half a dozen more to explain it. But 
 now we have come to the field where our 
 men are at work See, how earnestly they 
 arfc engaged ! 
 
 Edward. And they do all the work with^ 
 f>at a single drop of liquor. 
 
 Capt. Now that is just what I like to see 
 
A DIALOGUE. 21 
 
 J ^^i. ^ stout men at healthful work. If they 
 Pi^ hoi "jst and temperate, they are the very 
 bone BJii*' sinew of the country. 
 
 Mr. h Yes, it is an honourable employ- 
 ment, li'ese men, by their labour, procure 
 what supp -rts all the rest of us. We can 
 do without your teas and broadcloths, brother 
 Charles, bu we cannot do without our bread. 
 
 Frank, i dam was a farmer, was he nrot, 
 father ? 
 
 Mr. W. I suppose we may call him so. He 
 tnied the ground. It was part of man's punish- 
 ment ; but God has made it also a part of his 
 happiness. Idle people are always unhappy. 
 
 Caroline. Yes, sir ; for there is lazy Lewis 
 See him lying under the tree in the corner of 
 the fence. 
 
 Edward. His dog seems more awake than 
 is; he watches while Lewis sleeps. 
 
22 
 
 HARVEST, 
 
 Frank. He puts us in mind of a text which 
 Delia got the other morning. What is it, 
 sister ? 
 
 Delia. "He that gathereth in summer is a 
 wise son ; but he that sleepeth in harvest, is a 
 eon that causeth shame." Prov. x. 5. 
 
 Mr. W, Yet, the lazy fellow thinks that he 
 
 s of more account than these honest men who 
 
 are at their work. Their fathers were noi 
 
A DIALOGUE. 23 
 
 rich, but they were industrious, and taught 
 their children to be industrious. These strono 
 
 a 
 
 and ruddy young men will perhaps be rich in 
 the course of a few years. The two men who 
 are reaping in the front row are more than 
 sixty years old. Yet, how hale and robust 
 they are. Each of them does more work in 
 a day than two slaves commonly do. 
 
 Frank. They cut it very close and even. 
 
 Mr. W. Yes, they do indeed. In these 
 days it is not the custom for the poor people 
 to glean, as they used to do in old times. In 
 Judea they always left something for the poor 
 to pick up. It is possible that some of you 
 remember a passage to this effect. 
 
 Arthur. In the 19th chapter of Leviticus, it 
 's commanded : " And when ye reap the har- 
 vest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap 
 the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou 
 gather the gleanings of thy harvest. Ymk aL' 
 
24 / HARVEST, 
 
 remember how Ruth gleaned in the field of 
 Boaz. Let us go under this stately tree, anxJ 
 look in our Bibles at this history of Ruth. 
 
 Caroline. Here, I have found it ; it is m 
 the second chapter. When Boaz came intc 
 the field, he spoke very kindly to the reapers 
 He said unto the reapers, " The Lord be with 
 you; and they answered him, The Lord bless 
 thee.'' 
 
 Mr. W. It was the beautiful custom of those 
 times. Harvest, you know, was a season of 
 |oy. Among good people, this was pious joy , 
 and they blessed one another in the name of 
 the Lord. 
 
 Arthur. The Psalmist alludes to this in the 
 I29th Psalm. He is there comparing the ene- 
 mies of Zion to grass on the house-tops , ' ' which 
 withereth before it groweth up : wherewith 
 the mower fiUeth not his hand ; nor he that 
 bindeth sheaves his bos bm ; neither do the^ 
 
A DIALOGtJE. 25 
 
 which go by say, T7ie blessing of the Lord be 
 upon yoiif we bless you in the name of the 
 Lord:' 
 
 Caroline. Let us go on about Ruth. In the 
 next verses I see that she asked leave to glean. 
 And then she gleaned all day. And then Boaz 
 invited her to stay near his young women, and 
 to drink what the young men had drawn. 
 
 Frank, Drink ! Why, did they use strong 
 drink in those days ? 
 
 Caroline. I cannot tell you what they drank ; 
 perhaps Arthur can. 
 
 jirthur. They had vinegar and water to 
 
 quench their thirst. I suppose this is what is 
 
 meant in the 14th verse ; " And Boaz said unto 
 
 her, At meal-time come hither, and eat of the 
 
 bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar." It 
 
 was not uncommon to use this drink, for if 
 
 you turn to Numbers vi. 3, you will see thai 
 C 
 
*36 HARVEST, 
 
 it is said of the Nazarite, " he shall drink 
 no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong 
 drink." 
 
 Mr. W. This is not so strange as you 
 might think. The common drink of the Roman 
 soldiers was vinegar and water. 
 
 Caroline. The reapers left a good deal on 
 purpose for Ruth, and she gleaned an ephah 
 of barley. 
 
 Arthur. An ephah is between three and four 
 Decks. 
 
 Frank. Did the Hebrews cut their grain 
 vith a cradle, or with a sickle ? 
 
 Capt. Not with a cradle, I dare say ; for in 
 the greater part of Europe, nobody ever saw 
 what we call a cradle. The reaping-hook or 
 sickle is what they use. I have been in Wales 
 during harvest, and have seen them reaping 
 -with a very large sickle. They gather grain 
 
A DIALOGUE. 27 
 
 in the arm, and cut it more neatly and quickly 
 than in the common way. 
 
 Arthur. What you say about the gathering 
 of the stalks in the arm, explains a verse in the 
 17th of Isaiah: "And it shall be as when the 
 harvest man gathereth the corn, and reapeth 
 the ears with his arm.'' 
 
 Mr. W. Perhaps the prophet means some- 
 tliing else. He says the harvest man reapeth 
 the ears with his arm : perhaps he means to 
 say, that they pulled up the grain by the 
 roots. 
 
 Delia. I have seen them pulling up flax in 
 that way, but I never saw them pull wheat. 
 Why should they do so ? 
 
 Mr. W. It is the most common way in the 
 east. All the eastern travellers tell us so. 
 They have so little fodder for their cattle, and 
 80 little fuel, that they save every inch of 
 
28 HARVEST, 
 
 Straw, and leave no stubble in the field, yet 
 they sometimes use the sickle. 
 
 Frank. Now, uncle, look at the field on the 
 other side of the brook. It looks something 
 hke a camp. The shocks look like tents. I 
 suppose it is the practice in most countries to 
 pui up sheaves into little stacks or shocks. 
 
 Mr. TV. After the grain was cut down or 
 pulled up by the Israelites, it was formed into 
 sheaves ; but the sheaves were never set up 
 into shocks as with us, although they are 
 mentioned in our translation of Judges xv. 5. 
 Job V 26 : for the original word signifies 
 neither j. shock, composed of a few sheaves 
 standing in the field, nor a stack of many 
 sheaves in the barn-yard, but a heap of sheaves 
 laid loosely together, in order to be trodden 
 aul as quickly as possible.* 
 
 * Brown's Ant vol. u. p. 591 Lond. ed 
 
A DIALOGUE. 29 
 
 Frank. Now they have done working 
 Roger is putting on his coat. 
 
 Delia. Yes, see brother Arthur, how pleas' 
 ed they all seem to be with your barrel of mo 
 lasses and water. They like it as well as 
 spirits ; and what is better, they will not 
 quarrel with their wives when they go home, 
 
 Caroline. I almost envy these hard-working 
 men. They are so hungry, that they will 
 enjoy their supper. They are so weary that 
 they will be ready to sleep sweetly. 
 
 Capt. A little hard work would soon cure 
 you of your envy, Caroline. Yet there is 
 some truth in what you say : Solomon says 
 the same : " The sleep of a labouring man is 
 sweet, whether he eat little or much ; but the 
 abundance of the rich will not suffer him to 
 sleep." Eccl. v. 12. 
 
 Mr. W. The clouds begin to gather in the 
 east, and it grows dark. We will return 
 c2 
 
BO HARVEST, 
 
 While we are on our way, let me remind you 
 of some lessons which we may all learn. Can 
 you tell me what kind of grain this is ? 
 
 Delia. It is wheat. 
 
 Mr. TV. What kind of grain was sown here 
 last autumn ? 
 
 Delia. Wheat, sir ; of course. 
 
 Mr. W. How is that ? Do people always 
 reap the same kind of grain that they sow ? 
 
 Delia. Certainly, sir. 
 
 Mr. TV. What should this teach us ? 
 
 Delia. It should teach us to be careful to pu*; 
 (jood things into our minds, that we may reap 
 Uie benefit of them in time to come. 
 
 Mr. W. Does it teach you any thing else ? 
 
 Edward. It teaches us that we must be 
 Caithful and cbedient, and then we shall be hap- 
 
A DIALOGUE. 31 
 
 py. I know a text about it. " Be not deceiv- 
 ed ; God is not mocked ; for whatsoever a man 
 soweth, that shall he also reap ; for he that 
 soweth to his flesh, shall of his flesh reap cor- 
 ruption : but he that soweth to the spirit, shall 
 of the spirit reap life everlasting." Gal. vi. 7. 
 
 Frank, I wish to reap life everlasting. 
 
 Delia. Then you must take care what you 
 BOW. I am afraid I have been sowing nothing 
 at all in my heart. 
 
 Frank. Perhaps you have sowed tares. I 
 remember that 1 heard a minister say that when 
 we are idle, we are letting the devil sow tares 
 in our minds. 
 
 Mr. TV. The prophet Hosea spoke to the 
 wicked Israelites, who lived more than twenty- 
 five hundred years ago, saying, " Ye have 
 ploughed wickedness, ye have reaped iniqui- 
 ty :" and again, " Sow to yourselves in right 
 
32 HARVEST, 
 
 eousness, reap in mercy." Hosea x. 12, 13 
 A.nd he also spake thus : *' For they have sown 
 the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind." 
 IIos. viii. 7. All this teaches us that we must 
 not expect ta be happy in this world, or in the 
 world to come, without trying. No one ex» 
 pects a harvest without sowing the grain. Sup- 
 pose I sow the seeds of cockle, all over a 
 field? 
 
 Delia. Then, sir, you will have a fine crop 
 of cockles for your pains. 
 
 Mr, TV, Just so. Solomon says, " He that 
 soweth iniquity, shall reap vanity." Prov. xxii. 
 8. Do you see that house with the barrels 
 by it ? 
 
 Fi ank. Yes, sir, it is Mr. Smith's distillery 
 
 Mi W, Mr. Smith is selling the whiskey 
 he makes to thousands of people ; little think- 
 ing, perhaps, how much anxiety and suffering 
 
A DIALOGUE. 33 
 
 it -w ill bring upon mothers and children, when 
 it has passed through the hands of the keep- 
 ers of stores, grogshops, and taverns. It is to 
 be feared, that he " plows iniquity, and sows 
 wickedness, and shall reap the same." Job 
 iv. 8. 
 
 Delia, May I tell another thing which we 
 learned from this harvest ? 
 
 Mr, W, Certainly, my child. 
 
 Bella, I think we may learn here to be 
 charitable. 
 
 Mr, TV, How so ? 
 
 Delia, Because, if we give to the poor, we 
 sow seed that is not lost, but which we shall 
 reap again. 
 
 Capt. Where do you find that, my dear ? 
 
 Delia, In the ninth chapter of the second 
 epistle to the Corinthians : " He which sow- 
 eth sparingly, shall reap also sparingly ; and 
 
34 HARVEST, 
 
 he which soweth bountifully, shall reap also 
 bountifully." 
 
 Capt. What has that verse to do with giving 
 to the poor ? 
 
 Delia. The apostle Paul was exhorting the 
 good people at Corinth to be liberal to the 
 poor saints at Jerusalem ; and he said these 
 words to them, to persuade them to give. 
 
 Mr. W. And you may observe in the same 
 chapter that the apostle says that God is able 
 to give us enough to be charitable with, and 
 teaches us that charity will never make any 
 man poor. 2 Cor. ix. 8, 9, 10. 
 
 Caroline. The comparison is very striking. 
 The sower throws his grain on every side 
 A.n ignorant person would think he was throw- 
 ing it away. And then it all seems to rot in 
 the ground. Yet it springs up, and grows, and 
 brings forth a great deal more. 
 
 Jirthur. This ought to make us charitable. 
 
A DIALOGUE. 35 
 
 The money which we give to support the 
 Sunday-schools, or to help the widow and the 
 orphan, or to send the Bible to those who 
 have not got it, seems almost to be thrown 
 away. And then for a long time it may seem 
 lo be lost, like the seed which rots in the 
 ground ; yet it does good to others, and then 
 does good to ourselves. 
 
 Mr. W. They that sow in tears sometimes 
 reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weep- 
 eth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless 
 come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves 
 with him. Often we undertake duties in great 
 sorrow, and yet have great joy in the end ; and 
 persons who are afflicted, if they believe in 
 God, often have their afflictions changed into 
 gladness. This we find in the 126th Psalm. 
 
 Caipt, One of the little boys said just now, 
 that the fields, which were full of shocks, look- 
 ed like an encampment. I think that these on 
 
36 HARVEST, 
 
 our riffht-hand look like a field of battle. Aftei 
 the reapers have cut down a great deal, they 
 bind it into sheaves, and let it lie for a while. 
 These sheaves are like the piles of dead men 
 after a battle. 
 
 Arthur. Yes, sir ; and wniie we were look 
 ing at the rakers, I could not help thinking 
 how the generations of men are cut down, one 
 after another, just as one harvest is cut down 
 after another. War, and famine, and pestilence 
 cut down mankind very rapidly. 
 
 Mr. TV. " One generation passeth away, 
 and another generation cometh." Eccl. i. 4. 
 The prophet Jeremiah must have had the 
 same thought, when he foretold how the peo- 
 ple of Judea should be cut down by their ene- 
 mies. " Speak, thus saith the Lord, Even 
 the carcases of men shall fall upon the open 
 field, and as the handful after the harvest-man, 
 and none shall gather them." Jer. ix. 22. 
 
A DIALOGFE. 37 
 
 t^rthur. Does not the Lord somewhere 
 liken his judgment to reaping? 
 
 Mr. W. Yes. As the farmer puts in his 
 sickle when the harvest is ripe, so t!.e Lord 
 threatens to destroy the wicked, when the cup 
 of their iniquity has become full. He says 
 by his prophet Joel : " Put ye in the sickle, 
 for the harvest is ripe"—" for the wickedness 
 is great." chap. iii. 13. It is an awful thought. 
 Men are sometimes left till" their wickedness is 
 great, and they are ripe to be cut down. If 
 they do not repent, God cuts them down, and 
 easts them into unquenchable fire. 
 
 Capt.. But do not the good die, as well as 
 the bad ? All kin is of people seem to be cut 
 down together somv>times. 
 
 Mr W. Look at t\at field near our house. 
 
 The reapers have not jet touched it. You see 
 
 a great many flowers and stems among the 
 
 wheat. These are useless and injurious. They 
 D 
 
38 HARVEST, 
 
 are like what are called in the Bible tares 
 Now, I do not go through Ihe field and pull 
 out all these weeds or tai'es, but when it has 
 all been cut down, we can easily separate the 
 wheat, and throw the other away. Just so it 
 is with the wicked. They are tares : they 
 are suffered to live. Both the righteous and 
 the wicked are reaped down together. But 
 the righteous are taken to heaven, and the 
 wicked are cast into hell. Read the parable 
 of the tares and the wheat, Mat. xiii. 24 — 30. 
 " Another parable put he forth unto them, say- 
 ing. The kihgdom of heaven is likened unto 
 a man which sowed good seed in his field ; but 
 while men slept, his enemy came and sowed 
 tares among the wheat, and went his way. But 
 when the blade was sprung up, and brought 
 forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So 
 the servants of the householder came and said 
 •unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed 
 m thv field ? from whence then hath it tares ' 
 
A DIALOGUE. 39 
 
 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this% 
 The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then 
 that we go and gather them up ? But he said 
 nay ; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye 
 root up also the wheat with them. Let both 
 grow until the harvest ; and in the time of 
 harvest I will say to the reapers. Gather ye 
 first the tares, and bind them in bundles to 
 burn them : but gather the wheat into my 
 barn." 
 
 Frank. Will you explain this to me, if you 
 please ? 
 
 Mr. W. Our blessed Saviour has made it 
 plain, Mat. xiii. 37 — 43. " He answered and 
 ' said unto them. He that soweth the good seed 
 s the Son of man ; the field is the world ; the 
 good seed are the children of the kingdom ; bu* 
 the tares are the children of the wicked one ; 
 the enemy that sowed them is the devil ; the 
 harvest i5 the end of the world ; and the reapers 
 
40 HARVEST, 
 
 are the angels. As therefore the tares are 
 gathered and burned in the fire ; so shall it be 
 in the end of this world. The Son of man 
 shall send forth his angels, and they shall 
 gather out of his kingdom all things that 
 offend, and them which do iniquity ; and shall 
 cast them into a furnace of fire, there shall 
 be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall 
 the righteous shine forth as the sun in the 
 kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to 
 hear, let him hear." 
 
 Caroline. There is another parable of the 
 same kind in the gospel of Mark. The king- 
 dom of God is like the sowing of seed. First 
 comes tiie blade, then the ear, then the full 
 corn in ear. It grows without our knowing 
 how, while we are asleep. When the grain is 
 ripe and yellow, the farmer prepares and " im- 
 mediately he putteth in the sickle, because the 
 tz-arvest is come." Mark iv. 29. Our superin 
 
A DIALOGUE. 41 
 
 lendant explained it to us at Sunday-school 
 last Sabbath. 
 
 Mr. W. Did you ever think of the harvest 
 of the world, brother ? 
 
 Captain, Not so much, perhaps, as I might 
 have done. I begin, however, to feel more 
 interest in these things. 
 
 Mr, W. The apostle John had a glorious 
 vision of it ; he says : " And I looked, and 
 behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud 
 one sat like unto the Son of man, having on 
 his head a golden crown, and in his hand 
 a sharp sickle. And another angel came out 
 of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him 
 that sat on the cloud. Thrust in the sickle and 
 reap : for the time is come for thee to reap ; 
 for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And hf 
 that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on 
 the earth, and the earth was reaped '* ReV 
 
 xiv. 15, 16. 
 
 d2 
 
42 HARVEST, 
 
 Caroline. Father, the book of the Revela- 
 tion is so dark, that I cannot understand half 
 of it. 
 
 Mr, TV. It has great difficulties. Yet you 
 know what is said at the beginning of it ; 
 '"'• Blessed is he that readeth, and they that 
 hear the words of this prophecy, and keep 
 those things which are written therein." Rev. 
 i. 3. Though much of it is hard to be under- 
 stood, yet the verses I have just now repeated, 
 plainly refer to the end of the world. 
 
 Capt. It is a thought that ought to make me 
 ir-^mble, that there is a day coming, when I 
 must be judged ! The tares are to be burned 
 up, and I have reason to fear that I am not of 
 those who deserve to be called the wheat. I 
 have been a careless man. I know that I am 
 a sinner. On a dark night at sea, I have often 
 iKought of my sins. People think me a brave 
 
A DIALOGUE. 43 
 
 man, but 1 am afraid to die. What is such 
 a one as I am to do ? 
 
 Mr, W, My dear brother, I rejoice to hear 
 you ask the question. It is the most import>' 
 ant of all questions. If you were to gain the 
 whole world, you might still lose your soul. 
 A.nd I am afraid you are in more danger than 
 you think. 
 
 Capt. God forbid ! I know I am in danger. 
 I know I deserve to perish. I was taught to 
 read the Bible and to pray by our dear mother, 
 but I have been full of the world. I have had 
 my share of blessings too. Few have been 
 more prospered. Providence has guarded me 
 in more than thirty voyages, and I am well 
 off, as to earthly goods. 
 
 Mr. IF. Alas, my brother, this adds to 
 your danger. It adds immense blackness to 
 your guilt. 
 
44 HARVEST, 
 
 Capt. Guilt ! I feel ready to say 1 am the 
 chief of sinners. What can I do ? 
 
 The little company had now returned to 
 the farm-house. The children were much af* 
 fected at what their uncle said. Arthur and 
 Caroline retired into the parlour. The little 
 ones were surprised to see the big tears roll 
 down the cheeks of Captain Wells. Delia 
 took hold of his hand, and while she looked 
 up into his face, she wept. The two young- 
 er boys sat upon the step and looked very 
 solemn* At last little Delia could no longer 
 contain herself. She clasped her uncle's hand 
 and said to him, 
 
 O dear, uncle Charles, I think the Lord will 
 forgive you. Jesus Christ came into the 
 world to save sinners, even the chief. I know 
 he will forgive you. 
 
 Capt. Ever since you began to talk aoout 
 texts relating to harvest, I have been thinking 
 
/ 
 A DIALOGUE. 45 
 
 of one : It alarms me very much. I heard a 
 sermon preached from it many years ago. 
 
 Mr W. Pray what text do you mean ? 
 
 Ca'pt. I mean those awful words : " The 
 harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we 
 are not saved." Jer. viii. 20. 
 
 Mr. TV. Those words are often applied to 
 the case of impenitent sinners. Perhaps it is 
 right so to apply them; I have heard our 
 minister say, however, that he was convinced 
 that the whole chapter relates to the invasion 
 of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. Yet I cannot 
 deny that the words may be used with regard 
 to those who have outlived all opportunity of 
 pjirdon. At the end of the world many will 
 wish they had never been born. 
 
 C(q)t Ah ! the harvest is past ! 
 
 Mr, TV, Nay my dear brother. Christ 
 
46 HARVEST, 
 
 still lives. He is still a gracious Saviour 
 He is able to save to the uttermost all that 
 come unto God by him. If you will turn, yoo 
 may live. As good Mr. Baxter says, Deiivei 
 up yourselves to the Lord Jesus as the physi- 
 cian of your soul, that he may pardon you 
 by his blood, and sanctify you by his Spirit. 
 He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 
 There is no coming to the Father but by him, 
 nor is there any other name under heaven 
 whereby you can be saved. 
 
 There was a great deal more said, but as 
 this dialogue was meant to be about harvest, 
 we may as well stop here. I think I can 
 see the little company now, as they looked 
 that evening in the porch. The Captain sat 
 on the bench, with his face covered by his 
 nand. Mr. Wells stood before him, earnestly 
 talking Edward and Frank were seated on 
 the steps, with their hats off. Delia was close 
 
A DIALOGUE. 
 
 47 
 
 to her uncle, looking up in his face with much 
 affection. And now, let us take leave of this 
 interesting and pious family. 
 
 THE END. 
 
M 
 
II 
 

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