THE PARTING SCENE.
In one of our western cities was a poor woman, in the garret of a
lonely house, who was very sick, and near dying. She had two children,
a brother and sister, who knelt beside her bed to catch her dying
words. "Annie, my daughter," said the mother, "soon, and your young
brother will have no earthly friend but you; will you, my daughter, be
to him a faithful sister?"
"Yes, mother, _I will_," said the daugh
tears.
And then she laid her hand upon the head of her son, and said, "Be a
good boy, Willy, and mind your sister; she is but three years older
than yourself, but as far as her knowledge goes, she will be a guide
for you; and she and you have a Father in Heaven who will never leave
you. Will you promise to do as she wishes?"
Willy raised his eyes to his mother, and bowed his head in token of
assent, and then burst into tears. The mother was a Christian, and
putting her arm around the neck of Willy, and with the other hand
clasping her daughter, she calmly said to them, "Weep not, dear
children, you will find friends; God is the father of the fatherless.
Keep in mind that his eye is upon you; be honest and virtuous,
faithful and believing, and all things will work together for your
good."
The dying mother could say no more; her breath grew short, and
stretching out her arms, she cried, "My dear children, I must leave
you: let me kiss you--God bless and keep----"
Her arms fell from around them, the words died away on her lips, and
her weary soul departed.
After the funeral of this mother, the moon shone brightly into the
desolate chamber, and revealed a beautiful scene, that of a sister's
love.
Anna sat near the window, and little Willy lay his weary head in her
lap. They were now without father or mother. Sleep had stolen upon the
weary eyes of Willy. Anna smoothed back the dark hair, which hung over
his brow, then carefully raised his slender frame in her arms and laid
him upon his bed. Then seating herself beside him she thought of her
mother's last request to take care of Willy.
"Yes," she exclaimed, "I must begin to-morrow. I will go out and try
to get some work, for poor Willy must remain at school. Dear boy," she
exclaimed, "I will never see him suffer." You will, in the next story,
find
More
-
MARGARET AND HERBERT.
In a large family there are often diversity of character and varieties of mood and temper, which bring some clouds of sorrow. In our little Eden of innocence there were storms now and then. Miles was a little wild and head-strong from his babyhood... MELLY, ANNA AND SUSY.
There is nothing more pleasant than to see brothers and sisters, lovely in their lives, and in all their plays kind and obliging to each other. Mrs. Jones' three little children were always noted for their good behaviour by all the people in the v... MOTHER'S LAST LESSON.
"Will you please teach me my verse, mamma, and then kiss me and bid me good night," said little Roger, as he opened the door and peeped into the chamber of his sick mother. "I am very sleepy, but no one has heard me say my prayers." Mrs. L. was ve... MY EARLY DAYS.
My father's house was indeed a pleasant home; and father was the supreme guide of his own household. He was gentle, but he could he firm and resolute when the case demanded. Mother was the sunshine of our little garden of love; her talents and ene... NO PAYNO WORK.
"Little boy, will you help a poor old man up the hill with this load?" said an old man, who was drawing a hand-cart with a bag of corn for the mill. "I can't," said the boy, "I am in a hurry to be at school." As the old man sat on the stone, ... OR THE UNEXPECTED MEETING.
I must tell you who were Lettice and Myra. They were the daughters of a clergyman, who held the little vicarage of Castle Rising. But misfortune, which sometimes meets the wise and good, reduced the family to poor circumstances. After the parents'... OR, HONESTY REWARDED.
At St. Petersburgh, the birth day of any of the royal family is observed as a time of great festivity, by all kinds of diversions. When the vessel in which John Read shipped arrived, he was allowed to go on shore to see the sport on that occasion.... PLEASANT PLAY.
There are many plays in which children may amuse themselves so as to benefit both the mind and body. Exercise is very essential to the health, and all children should accustom themselves to such exercise as will give elasticity too all the muscles... PLEDGE.
Our hands and our hearts we give To the temperance pledge, declaring That long as on earth we live, All its bountiful blessings sharing, We will taste not and touch not the bowl That burns with intoxication, And will lend ... REMEMBER THE CAKE.
I will tell you an anecdote about Mrs. Hannah More, when she was eighty years old. A widow and her little boy paid a visit to Mrs. More, at Barley Wood. When they were about to leave, Mrs. M. stooped to kiss the little boy, not as a mere complimen... REVELATION OF GOD'S HOLY WORD.
Ye favored lands, rejoice Where God reveals his word: We are not left to nature's voice To bid us know the Lord. His statutes and commands Are set before our eyes; He puts the gospel in our hands, Where our salvation ... STORY ABOUT A ROBBER.
I will tell you a true story about a robber. A gentleman was once travelling through a very unfrequented road, along in a chaise, in the latter part of the day. There was no house nor a sign of a human being there. It was a very lonely road. Prese... STORY ABOUT AN INDIAN.
A poor sick man might go to the door of some rich person's house and ask relief for himself and not be able to obtain admittance; but if he brought in his hand a paper written by the son of the master of the house, whom he had met with in a distan... TELLING SECRETS.
There is a company of girls met together, and what can they be talking about. Hark! "Now I will tell you something, if you'll promise never to tell," says Jane. "I will, certainly," replied Anne. "And will you promise _never_ to tell a single livi... THE BIT OF GARDEN.
Young children like to have a small piece of land for a garden which they can call their own. And it is very pleasant to dig the ground, sow the seed, and watch the little green plants which peep out of the earth, and to see the beautiful buds and... THE BOY AND THE DEW DROPS.
A little boy who had been out early in the morning playing on the lawn before his father's house, while the dew drops lay on the grass, was soon after seen returning to the spot, and finding them all gone, he sat down to weep. His father asked him... THE BOY AND THE GOLD ROBIN.
A bright eyed boy was sleeping upon a bank of blossoming clover. The cool breeze lifted the curls from his brow, and fanned with downy wings his quiet slumbers, while he lay under the refreshing shade of a large maple tree. The birds sang to him d... THE BOY FOUND IN THE SNOW.
One winter's night when the evening had shut in very early, owing to the black snow clouds that hung close around the horizon, Martha sat looking into the fire. Her old sheep dog, Fly, lay at her feet. The cows were foddered for the night, and the... THE BRACELET;
... THE BROTHER AND SISTER.
(In three Stories.) ... THE CHILD AND FLOWER.
The Atheist in his garden stood, At twilight's pensive hour, His little daughter by his side, was gazing on a flower. "Oh, pick that little blossom, Pa," The little prattler said, "It is the fairest one that blooms ... THE DYING BOY.
A little boy, by the name of Bertie, was taken very ill, and for sometime continued to grow weaker until he died. A few hours before his death he revived up, and his first request was to be bathed in the river; but his mother persuaded him to be s... THE ECHO.
Little Charles knew nothing about an echo. As he was playing by himself in the field, he cried out, "Ho, hop!" and immediately a voice from the woods near by answered, "ho, hop!" Being surprised at this, he called out, "who be you?" The voice answ... THE EXPLANATION.
Lettice's father was a man of education, a scholar, a gentleman, and had much power in preaching. He received one hundred and ten pounds per year for his services. Her father's illness was long and painful, and the family were dependant on others ... THE FIRST DOLLAR.
I will tell you an affecting story about a young lad by the name of Emerson Terry, who lived in Hartford, Ct. He was very kind to the poor, and could never see the sufferings of his fellow beings without making an effort for their relief. Here is ... THE FLOWER THAT LOOKS UP.
"What beautiful things flowers are," said one of the party of little girls who were arranging the flowers they had gathered in the pleasant fields. "Which flower would you rather be like, Helen?" "Just as if there would be any choice," said Laur... THE GLOW WORM.
On a summer's evening about half an hour after bed time, as three little brothers lay talking together they heard a gentle footstep on the stairs. It was their sister Lucy. "Are you asleep," she asked. "No, we are not asleep," cried the boys. ... THE GOLDEN CROWN.
A teacher once asked a child, "If you had a golden crown, what would you do with it?" The child replied, "I would give it to my father to keep till I was a man." He asked another. "I would buy a coach and horses with it," was the reply. He asked a... THE GREY OLD COTTAGE.
In the valley between "Longbrigg" and "Highclose," in the fertile little dale on the left; stands an old cottage, which is truly "a nest in a green place." The sun shines on the diamond paned windows all through the long afternoons of a summer's d... THE HAPPY FAMILY.
There are a great many novel sights in the streets of London, for the cheap entertainment of the people. The family circle of different animals and birds is an admirable illustration of the peace which should pervade among families. The proprietor... THE JEW AND HIS DAUGHTER.
A Jew came to this country from London, many years ago, and brought with him all his property. He had a lovely daughter of seventeen; with her he settled in a charming retreat on the fruitful banks of the Ohio, in the Western part of Virginia. He ... THE MARKET DAY.
Mrs. Ford had three little children--Lily, Hetty, and a dear little babe. As she was now going to market, she told Lily, her oldest daughter, to take good care of the baby. Lily promised to do so. It was a very cold day. For a time the children go... THE MOTHERLESS BIRDS.
There were two men who were neighbors to each other, living in a distant country were they had to labor hard for the support of their families. One of them was greatly troubled to know who would take care of his children if he should die. But the ... THE ORPHANS' VOYAGE.
Two little orphan boys, whose parents died in a foreign land, were put on board a vessel to be taken home to their relatives and friends. On a bitter cold night, when the north-east winds sang through the shrouds of the vessel, the little boys wer... THE PARTING SCENE.
In one of our western cities was a poor woman, in the garret of a lonely house, who was very sick, and near dying. She had two children, a brother and sister, who knelt beside her bed to catch her dying words. "Annie, my daughter," said the mother... THE PLEASANT SAIL.
Down by the sea-coast is the pleasant town of Saco, Where Mr. Aimes has resided for many years. Once a year he had all his little nephews and nieces visit him. It was their holiday, and they would think and talk about the visit for a long time pre... THE PLUM BOYS.
Two boys were one day on their way from school, and as they were passing a cornfield, in which there were some plum trees, full of nice, ripe fruit, Henry said to Thomas, "Let us jump over and get some plums. Nobody will see us, and we can scud al... THE PORTRAIT OF FLORA PURCHASED.
Anna started for her home, and when she had arrived, she slowly ascended to her room, flung herself upon her couch, and buried her face among its cushions. "Edgar," (for that was the artist's name, and Anna knew him,) "Edgar is cold hearted." S... THE REWARD.
A teacher in a Sabbath School promised to supply all the children in his class with a catechism, who had none. One of the little girls went home from the school after the books were given out, and said: "Mamma, if I had told a lie to-day, I w... THE SAILOR BOY.
Yarmouth is the principal trade sea-port town in the county of Norfolk. Fishermen reside in the towns and villages around, and among the number was a poor man and his wife; they had an only son, and when ten years old his father died. The poor wid... THE SAINT'S REST.
We've no abiding city here: This may distress the worldling's mind, But should not cost the saint a tear, Who hopes a better rest to find, We've no abiding city here; We seek a city out of sight. Zion its name; the Lord is... THE SHEPHERD AND HIS BIBLE.
A poor shepherd, living among the Alps, the father of a large family, for whose wants he provided with great difficulty, purchased an old Bible from a dealer in old cloths and furniture. On Sunday evening, as he was turning over the leaves, he not... THE TREE THAT NEVER FADES.
"Mary," said George, "next summer I will not have a garden. Our pretty tree is dying, and I won't love another tree as long as I live. I will have a bird next summer, and that will stay all winter." George, don't you remember my beautiful canary... THE TRUSTY DOG.
I am glad to introduce to you, the noble dog whose picture is before you. He was an old and tried friend of mine, and I could tell you a great many things about him. He was more trust-worthy than many a little child that I have known; for though c... THE TWO ROBINS.
A few summers ago I was sitting on a garden seat, beneath a fruit tree, where the works of nature looked very beautiful. Very soon I heard a strange noise among the highest branches of the tree over my head. The sound was very curious, and I began... THE UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE.
Josiah Martin was a young man of whom any mother might have been proud. He was an only child, and had been the support of his widowed mother for five years; though at the time when we first knew him he was not twenty. And this was not all. He w... THE WAY TO OVERCOME EVIL.
A little girl, by the name of Sarah Dean, was taught the precepts of the Bible by her mother. One day she came to her mother very much delighted, to show her some plums that a friend had given her. The mother said to her: "Your friend was very kin... YOUNG USHER.
You have read of that remarkable man, Mr. Usher, who was Archbishop of Armagh. I will tell you something about his early childhood. He was born in Dublin, in the year 1580, and when a little boy he was fond of reading. He lived with his two aunts ...