I suppose most of the readers of this little volume have been in the
country the past summer. As you beheld the green grass, the fine
spreading trees, and the beautiful flowers that sprang up in your
pathway, perhaps the feeling came over you that you could be far happier
in the country than in the city. We are very apt to suppose that change
of place will produce a more delightful state of feeling; forgetting
that in a little time we should become familiar with all these objects,
and then we return again to our former selves.
Precisely so it is with children in the country. They come to this busy
city, and eagerly gaze at the varied shows which attract the eye, and
would prefer to exchange situations with _you_; but by and by they
become wearied with sightseeing, and the home they have left rises
before them as a pleasanter abode than any other dwelling, however rich
or elegant. Thus they learn to be _happy at home_; and this is a most
valuable attainment.
But, in order to be permanently happy, we must have something to do.
There are other lessons to be learned besides those we commit in the
schoolroom. The whole world, indeed, is a school, and we are daily
committing our tasks. These teachings are preparations for our future
happiness.
You have all noticed the growth of a tree. At first, only a little twig
springs out of the ground. And so with the flower. You deposit only a
tiny seed; but in a little time a shoot springs up, and by natural but
slow processes the twig becomes a large shady tree, and the shoot a
beautiful blooming flower. Though they grow very slowly, yet they never
_rest_. Day and night the hidden processes are going on which help to
promote their growth. Just so it is with the minds of children. They are
daily acquiring those habits which will eventually make the whole sum of
their characters. But then, great care is requisite how they form these
characters; that they may spring up in fair proportions, making their
possessors worthy members of society.
I will illustrate this by a fable, which occurred to me as I walked over
the beautiful garden of a friend, with whom I spent a few weeks the past
summer. We will suppose, for our present purpose, that the flowers have
an articulate voice.
A stately dahlia grew in a cultivated garden. There were many of the
same species of flowers, but no other had the peculiar variegated tints
of this particular one. Every one, in passing by it, was attracted by
its beauty. It seemed as if vain of flattery, although we know it had no
ears to hear, for every day it seemed to increase in size and beauty.
With its lofty head, it gained a supremacy above all its neighbors, and
the heavy shower and furious wind failed to soil its petals or bend its
graceful form.
Away off in the farther corner of the garden, under a hedge, bloomed a
simple white clover. It was entirely unheeded by the multitude, although
it gave a sweetness and fragrancy to the air, which made the invalid
stop to inhale it. In its modesty it bloomed, in its lowly bed it sought
no observation, and was passed by as a simple white clover. By and by
the mower's scythe passed that way and levelled it among common grasses.
It was gathered in the general mass of hay, and became a part of the
sustenance of the master's cattle.
The dahlia was plucked by the horticulturist, and placed in a glass
receptacle, among kindred flowers, where it was gazed at for a time;
then it faded and was thrown among common rubbish. During their lifetime
we will suppose them to have conversed together.
"I," said the dahlia, "am queen of this garden. I attract every eye that
passes; while you, little clover, are hidden by the tall grass, and
liable to be crushed at any moment."
"Well," replied the clover, "let it be so _now_; but look at our _final
end_. You will be placed in a glass, plucked from your native stem,
where you will wither and die as a worthless thing; while I shall be
felled by the scythe, after I have reached my maturity, and then a
thousand tiny seeds will I strow around me; so that, another reason, I
shall bloom all about the hedges, and my usefulness will be appreciated.
And pray where will you then be?" The dahlia blushed, and hung its head
for shame.
Here, children, is a fable designed to illustrate pride and humility.
Which appears the most beautiful, because the most useful? I know you
will prefer humility to pride. If so, you must remember that the
peculiar traits you now cultivate are forming within you the one or the
other. By a thousand little kind acts, you can diffuse happiness in your
homes; and all the while you are disseminating these virtues, you are
acquiring these lasting graces, in _yourselves_, which will spring up,
like the violet and sweet clover, leaving a fragrancy and beauty
wherever you have trodden.