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 bird? It died in the
middle of the summer, and we planted bright flowers in the ground
where we buried it. My bird did not live as long as the tree."
before the bird, and I loved him better than any bird, or tree, or
flower. Oh! I wish we could have something to love that wouldn't die."
The day passed. During the school hours, George and Mary had almost
forgot that their tree was dying; but at evening, as they drew their
chairs to the table where their mother was sitting, and began to
arrange the seeds they had been gathering, the remembrance of the tree
came upon them.
"Mother," said Mary, "you may give these seeds to cousin John; I never
want another garden."
"Yes," added George, pushing the papers in which he had carefully
folded them towards his mother, "you may give them all away. If I
could find some seeds of a tree that would never fade, I should like
then to have a garden. I wonder, mother, if there ever was such a
garden?"
"Yes, George, I have read of a garden where the trees never die."
"A _real_ garden, mother?"
"Yes, my son. In the middle of the garden, I have been told, there
runs a pure river of water, clear as chrystal, and on each side of the
river is the _tree of life_,--a tree that never fades. That garden is
_heaven_. There you may love and love for ever. There will be no
death--no fading there. Let your treasure be in the tree of life, and
you will have something to which your young hearts can cling, without
fear, and without disappointment. Love the Saviour here, and he will
prepare you to dwell in those green pastures, and beside those still
waters."
Every neglected opportunity draws after it an irreparable loss, which
will go into eternity with you.---_Doddridge_.
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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 ...