The woman, as she tells her story, bethought herself what she could do for bedding for a covering against cold. Sc.r.a.ps she had, bits of old clothes and stockings, and tacked them together, fold upon fold, to attain a certain thickness; then, buying a pennyworth of log-wood, and with it dyeing what had once been a tartan shawl, but which had long lost all its colour, she spread it over her sc.r.a.ps for a cover. But, alas! the holes were but too apparent.
Necessity again quickened invention. She selected some of the better pieces of the old garments, cut them into the shape of leaves and birds, and laid them on the holes, adding one or two more for uniformity, and then, with a darning needle and "fingering" wool, she veined the leaves and made effective marking on the birds.
Such was her first attempt at fancy work. An admiring neighbour asked her to do a similar quilt for her, offering some sc.r.a.ps of new material.
Another commission followed, this time with the offer of green wool for leaves. But one cold, hard green did not please the worker, now growing daily more experienced and critical, so a visit was made to the little country town a few miles distant, in search of greater variety in greens and browns, the appreciation of Nature"s varied tints becoming daily stronger and clearer.
About this time, a lady to whom the woman had taken some work, on sight gave her a quant.i.ty of old floss silks. The possession of these was a new power to her, and from that time she rapidly acquired a skill in shading leaves and flowers with a beauty which it is impossible to describe.
A farmer from a little distance, having heard of her work, went to see her. After looking at what, to him, seemed so marvellous, he turned to her, and said, "Well, well, it"s wonderful! But you will have to do no more rough work to keep your hands fit for this; and how will that do with the croft?"
"Indeed, sir," was her reply, "it would never do. But I a.s.sure you this is not my only work, for I have just finished building a hundred and thirty-four yards of a stone d.y.k.e with my own hands. My husband had work elsewhere, which he could not afford to miss. The cattle were straying where they should not, so I have just built it myself, the children helping me by handing up the smaller stones."
After gaining some experience, Mrs. Sandieson gave up the earlier style of work with which she had begun, and devoted herself almost entirely to embroidery in silks. She has trained a daughter, who lives with her, to work as well as herself, and no description can do justice to the beauty of their finer work. Their designs are, with very few exceptions, their own, and many of their pieces are singularly beautiful. They have even copied the plate representing a peac.o.c.k on a branch of a tree, from Gould"s "Asiatic Birds," and no one but those who have seen it, could believe in the wondrous working of the bird, and in the feathers of the neck, with the faint change of tint where it catches the light as the bird turns its head. It is marvellous!
But copying flowers from nature is what they chiefly do, and their careful observation and fidelity in representation are very characteristic in their work. Trails of thunbergia, scarlet tropaeolum, apple blossom, cherry, and bramble; willow, with its catkins, a little t.i.tmouse on the branch; s...o...b..rry, with a robin perched on it; the red and white lapageria, eucalyptus, pepper tree, and others are some of their subjects. And this is what the crofter"s wife, who commenced with the old dyed shawl for a foundation, has, totally unaided, taught herself and her daughter to accomplish; and this is the crofter"s wife who, one hundred and forty years afterwards, was employed by Lady Aberdeen to finish the quilt which the Countess of 1745 had commenced.
Is there not a little pathos in the history of a piece of work begun and completed in such different circ.u.mstances?
The work of these peasant-artists, mother and daughter, is now very well known among ladies in Aberdeenshire, and has lately been brought under the notice of Her Majesty, who condescended to purchase largely of it; but the writer believes the quilt shown by Lady Aberdeen, in Edinburgh, to be the only specimen that has been exhibited publicly.--_Ladies"
Treasury._
WONDERFUL GRACE.
John d.i.c.kson, a farmer in the parish of Ratho, near Edinburgh, was long a stranger to the riches of divine grace. He paid no regard to the sacred ordinances, or, if ever on the Lord"s Day he entered the house of G.o.d, it was more for a desire of ridiculing than profiting by what he heard. The Word preached did not profit him, not being mixed with faith.
In this dreadful situation was he when his wife died, after bringing into the world an infant daughter. The good providence of that gracious G.o.d who calleth the weak things of this world to confound the strong had ordained that the nurse of this child should be a woman of exemplary faith, who walked in the Spirit, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. The carnal mind of the father still continued at enmity with G.o.d; but he was, ere long, to be brought to a full conviction of his own unworthiness, and a delightful experience of the riches of redeeming love.
The child, being now about twenty months old, and beginning to prattle a few words, was one day sent for by her father, who was sitting after dinner with some of his profane acquaintances. To his great astonishment the child repeated, two or three times, in its infant tones, "Oh, the grace of G.o.d!" These words made a deep impression upon the father. He began to reflect upon his sins, and the power of that grace which cleanseth from sin, so long the subject of his impious ridicule. The Holy Ghost had opened his heart, and now brought him, like a sheep that had been astray, into the fold of divine love. Since that time he has walked as becometh one called in the Lord, bringing forth fruit meet for repentance. The words which, through the grace of G.o.d, became the happy instrument of his conversion were the customary e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n of the G.o.dly nurse, and had thus been learned by the infant. So truly was the Scripture verified that "out of the mouths of babes and sucklings the Lord hath ordained praise."
R.
ENDEAVOR to be always patient of the faults and imperfections of others, for thou hast many faults and imperfections of thy own that require a reciprocation of forbearance. If thou art not able to make thyself that which thou wishest to be, how canst thou expect to mould another in conformity to thy will?--_Thomas a Kempis._
MY STAGE-COACH COMPANION.
It was on a dull, chilly morning, I remember, that I left my country home by the coach which was to convey me to London. I was then about twenty years of age. I had never before been very far, or very long absent from my father"s house; and my young mind was filled with thoughts of the pleasures in store for me in a long visit I was about to pay to my London relations.
Among the enjoyments I most reckoned on, apart from the society of my aunt and cousins, were those of the theatre, b.a.l.l.s, and evening parties.
Very different engagements these, from the domestic duties and rural recreations to which I had been accustomed in a retired country residence.
Thoughts like these had softened the pain of separation from my kind and indulgent parents; but there were tears in my eyes on bidding them farewell, and I was glad to let fall my veil, to hide them from the only pa.s.senger in the coach.
This pa.s.senger was a gentleman of middle age, well wrapped up in a greatcoat of rather formal cut, and with a clerical-looking hat on his head. He had a pleasant, though a rather serious expression of countenance, as he lifted his eyes from the book he was reading. It was not long before he shut up the book, and made some remarks about the weather and the scenery. A short silence followed, which was broken by my fellow-traveller saying that he had just been pa.s.sing a few weeks in a watering-place which I knew to be a fashionable one.
"I have never been there," I said. "I suppose it is a very gay place, sir?"
"It is a fine town, and the country around it is very beautiful," said the gentleman.
This was not the answer I expected, and I varied my question by referring to the visitors and places of amus.e.m.e.nt, particularly mentioning the theatre and the public a.s.semblies.
The stranger smiled pleasantly, and said, "I saw only the outside of the theatre; but during my stay there I was present at several public a.s.semblies."
"How very enchanting they must be!" I remarked, with youthful ardour.
"I am not sure that "enchanting" is quite the right word," he said, looking thoughtful; "but they were very delightful, certainly."
"They were crowded, I suppose, sir?"
"Yes, generally," he said, and added that, at the last of these public a.s.semblies, there were present more than a thousand people.
This seemed to me to be a great number, and to need a large a.s.sembly room to hold them. I made some remark which led him to say that no doubt there were many varieties of character present, and of different degrees in life. "But," he added, "I have reason to know that many honourable personages were to be met with there, and even the King Himself was there."
"The King, sir? I did not know that the King ever visited ----"; and I began to feel incredulous. I was not so ignorant as not to know that King George the Fourth, in whose reign we were then living, had for some time almost secluded himself from his subjects, and resided generally at Windsor.
"I see," continued the stranger, speaking more earnestly and seriously than before, "that you do not quite understand me; and I apprehend that we have each been using the same words to express a different set of ideas on which our minds have been fixed."
"I do not understand you, sir," I said, rather coldly.
"Permit me, madam, to explain. I am a minister of the Gospel. The public a.s.semblies of which I have been speaking are the a.s.sembling together of those who meet for G.o.d"s worship and service; the honourable persons to whom I referred are those whom the Bible calls the children of G.o.d; and the King whom I believe to have been present at these a.s.semblies is He who is "King of kings and Lord of lords," who Himself has told us that, where two or three are gathered together in His name, there He is in the midst of them."
There was such kindness and courtesy and respect in the gentleman"s manner, that I could not feel vexed at his having spoken in a sort of parable, so I smiled, and said, "I had no idea that you were a minister, sir."
"I am glad that you are not angry with me, young lady," said he, "for having wilfully misinterpreted your questions. You know it is "out of the abundance of the heart" that "the mouth speaketh"; and when you got into the coach I was engaged in thought, studying a subject which I hope to speak about next Sunday; and, singularly, this subject is so far like that which has engaged a few minutes of our conversation, as that it refers to an a.s.sembly, though one of a very superior character to any the world has ever seen or known."
"May I ask, sir, what a.s.sembly it is you mean?"
"Certainly," replied he; and taking from his pocket a New Testament, he opened it and read, "Ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living G.o.d, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general a.s.sembly and Church of the First-born which are written in heaven, and to G.o.d, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."
Having read this, my fellow-traveller again put up his Book, and there was a short silence between us, until he said, "That is the text, madam.
Do you think it possible for any preacher to do justice to it?"
"I do not know indeed, sir," I said; and I added (what I truly thought) that the words struck me as being very beautiful.
"They are indeed beautiful, and magnificent, and solemn," he said; and he continued to remark that they were highly calculated to arouse in the mind emotions of no ordinary nature. Did I not think so?
I hesitated what to reply, for I shrank from expressing sentiments which I did not really feel. Doubtless he saw my embarra.s.sment, and, instead of pressing for an answer, he asked me if he might mention a few of the thoughts which had pa.s.sed through his mind, as he had pondered over the pa.s.sage. I said, if he pleased to do so, I should be glad to hear him, and accordingly he went on--
"I suppose that the words I have read referred not so much to the future, as to the present position or condition of those to whom they were addressed, and that they may be applied also to certain characters at the present time. I have no doubt, madam, that you understand of what characters I speak?"
"I could not misunderstand you," I said. "Of course you mean Christians?"