"How do you make so much out of your little garden?"
"I give my mornings to it," answered the owner, "and I don"t know which is the most benefited by my work, my garden or myself."
Ah, "the morning hour has gold in its month."
William Down was one of our young converts. He united with the church, and appeared well; but I pitied the poor fellow when I thought of his going back to the shipyard to work among a gang of G.o.dless a.s.sociates.
Will he maintain his stand? I thought. It is so easy to slip back in religion--easier to go back two steps than advance one. Ah, well, we said, we must trust William to his conscience and his Saviour. Two years pa.s.sed, and instead of William"s losing ground, his piety grew brighter and stronger. Others fell away, but not he, and no boy perhaps was placed in more unfavorable circ.u.mstances. Talking with William one evening, I discovered one secret of his steadfastness.
"I never, sir, on any account let a single morning pa.s.s without secret prayer and the reading of G.o.d"s word. If I have a good deal to do, I rise an hour earlier. I think over my weak points and try to get G.o.d"s grace to fortify me just there."
Mark this. Prayer is armor for the battle of life. If you give up your morning pet.i.tions, you will suffer for it; temptation is before you, and you are not fit to meet it; there is a guilty feeling in the soul, and you keep at a distance from Christ.
Be sure the hour of prayer broken in upon by sleepiness can never be made up. Make it a principle, young Christian, to begin the day by watching unto prayer. "The morning hour has gold in its mouth;" aye, and something better than gold--heavenly gain.
[Ill.u.s.tration: _The Early Morning Reading_]
[Ill.u.s.tration: "_Why don"t you take that fellow in hand_."]
TAKING HIM IN HAND
Two boys met in the street and the following conversation ensued:--
"Isaac," said George, "why don"t you take that fellow in hand? he has insulted you almost every day for a week."
"I mean to take him in hand," said Isaac.
"I would make him stop, if I had to take his ears off."
"I mean to make him stop."
"Go and flog him now. I should like to see you do it. You can do it easily enough with one hand."
"I rather think I could; but I"ll not try it to-day."
At this point in the conversation the school-boys parted, as they were on their way home, and their roads led them in different directions.
The boy alluded to was the son of an intemperate man, who was angry with Isaac"s father, in consequence of some effort to prevent his obtaining rum.
The drunkard"s son took up the cause of his father, and called Isaac hard names every time he saw him pa.s.s; and as he did not do anything by way of retaliation, he went farther and threw stones at him.
Isaac was at first provoked at the boy"s conduct. He thought he ought to be thankful that his father was prevented, in some degree, from procuring rum, the source of so much misery to himself and family.
But when he thought of the way in which he had been brought up, and of the poor lad"s ignorance and wretchedness, he pitied him and ceased to wonder, or to be offended at his conduct.
But Isaac resolved, indeed, to "take him in hand," and to "stop him,"
but not in the sense in which his schoolfellow understood those terms.
The boy"s name was James, but he was never called anything but Jim.
Indeed, if you were to call him by his true name, he would think you meant somebody else.
The first opportunity Isaac had of "taking him in hand" was on election day. On that day as Isaac was on his way home, he saw a group of boys a little off the road, and heard some shouting and laughing.
Curiosity led him to the spot. He found that the boys were gathered around Jim, and another boy, a good deal larger than he was. This boy was making fun of Jim"s clothes, which were indeed very ragged and dirty, and telling how he must act to become as distinguished a man as his father.
Jim was very angry, but when he attempted to strike his persecutor, he would take hold of Jim"s hands, and he was so much stronger that he could easily hold them.
Jim then tried kicking, but as he was barefoot, he could not do much execution in that line; besides, while he was using one foot in this way, his tormentor would tread upon the other with his heavy boot.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "_Isaac remonstrated with the boys_."]
When Isaac came up and saw what was going on, he remonstrated with the boys for countenancing such proceedings; and such was his influence, and the force of truth, that most of them agreed that it was "too bad;"
though he was such an "ugly boy," they said, "that he was hardly worth pitying."
The princ.i.p.al actor, however, did not like Isaac"s interference; but he soon saw that Isaac was not afraid of him, and that he was too popular with the boys to be made the object of abuse. As he turned to go away, Isaac said to Jim:--
"I"ll keep my eyes upon you, and when you go home, I"ll go with you. It is on my way; they shan"t hurt you; so don"t cry any more. Come Jim, go home with me; I"m going now," continued Isaac.
Jim did not look up or make any answer. He did not know what to make of Isaac"s behavior toward him. It could not be because he was afraid of him, and wished to gain his good will, for Isaac was not afraid of one much stronger than he. He had never heard of the command, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you," for he had never been to Sabbath school, and could not read the Bible.
He followed silently and sullenly, pretty near to Isaac, till he had reached home, if that sacred name can with propriety be applied to such a wretched abode of sin and misery.
He parted from Isaac without thanking him for his good offices in his behalf. This Isaac did not wonder at, considering the influences under which the poor lad had grown up. That he parted with him without abusing him, Isaac considered as something gained.
The next morning George and Isaac met on their way to school. As they pa.s.sed the drunkard"s dwelling, Jim was at the door, but he did not look up or say anything as they pa.s.sed. He looked very much as though he had been whipped. George did not know what had taken place the day before.
"What keeps Jim so still?" said he.
"Oh, I"ve had him in hand."
[Ill.u.s.tration: "_Jim was at the door, but he did not look up or say anything_."]
"Have you! I"m glad of it. When was it?"
"Yesterday."
"At election?"
"Yes."
"Anybody see you do it?"
"Yes; some of the boys."