One day a little girl looking out of the window saw a number of poor men
from a nearby jail, working in the hot sun of a July day. They looked
tired and hot, and she knew they must be thirsty. She remembered
Christ's words, "I was thirsty and ye gave Me drink, was in prison, and
ye came unto Me," and the thought came to her, "I can do both." With her
mother's permission she took a little bucket of cold water, with a
dipper, and gave to each man in turn, refilling the bucket several
times. As she went from one to another in her white frock, her sweet
smile gave even better cheer than the water. The thanks of the prisoners
were very hearty. One asked her, "Little lady, what made you do this?"
After a moment's pause, she replied, "That is what Christ said to do,
and--I was sorry myself." He lowered his head and said, "God bless you,
little Christ-child."
250
A man soon learns how little he knows, when a child begins to ask
questions.
251
The child's restless observation, instead of being ignored or checked,
should be diligently ministered to, and made as accurate as possible.
--_Herbert Spencer._
252
Speak gently to the little child!
Its love be sure to gain;
Teach it in accents soft and mild:
It may not long remain.
--_Geo. W. Hangford._
253
_I Samuel ii, 18_--"Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child;
girded with a linen ephod."
The Rev. John Brown was born in 1722, in the county of Perth in
Scotland. In a narrative of his experience, he remarks, "I reflect on it
as a great mercy, that I was born in a family which took care of my
Christian instruction, and in which I had the privilege of God's
worship, morning and evening. About the eighth year of my age, I
happened, in a crowd, to push into the church at Abernethy, on a
Sacrament Sabbath. Before I was excluded, I heard a minister speak much
in commendation of Christ; this, in a sweet and delightful manner,
captivated my young affections, and has since made me think that
children should never be kept out of church on such occasions."
254
To impose on a child to get by heart a long scroll of phrases without
any ideas, is a practice fitter for a jackdaw than for anything that
wears the shape of man.
--_Dr. I. Watts._
255
The tear down childhood's cheek that flows,
Is like the dewdrop on the rose.
--_Scott._
256