In the Crystal Palace at Munich there is a little picture called
“The Red Fisherman.” Satan is elegantly accoutered in red
costumes, and he is fishing in a pond for men. For his hook he
has a great variety of bait--gold, money, pearls, crowns, swords
and wines. Apparently he has been fishing with some success, for
the bait is much after the sort that men are wont to follow.
To compete with the prince of evil, Christians who would be
successful “fishers of men” must use bait that will really
allure them. (Text.)
(1106)
* * * * *
In her “Fishin’ Jimmy,” Mrs. Slosson tells of a little
French-Canadian girl. Her mother was a tramp, and the girl had
developed into a wild little heathen. The mother fell suddenly
dead near the village one day, and the child was found clinging
to her mother’s body. The girl’s soul was shaken by bitter sobs,
and when they tried to take her away she fought like a young
tigress. There was in the crowd a small boy who knew “Fishin’
Jimmy.” With a child’s faith in his big friend, he hurried away
and brought “Fishin’ Jimmy” to the spot. Very tenderly he lifted
the child in his arms and took her away. Nobody seems to have
known anything about the taming of the little savage, but a
short time afterward she and “Fishin’ Jimmy” were seen on the
margin of Black Brook, each with a fish-pole. He kept the child
for weeks, and when she went at last to a good home, she had
exchanged her wildness for a tender, affectionate nature. Then
people wondered how the change was wrought. They asked Jimmy,
but his explanation seemed to breathe an air of mystery. “’Twas
fishin’ done it,” he said, “on’y fishin’; it allers works. The
Christian r’liging itself had to begin with fishin’, ye know.”
Yes, the religion of our Master had to begin with fishing;
it will continue with fishing, and it will end with fishing,
for this is indeed life’s divinest task. (Text.)--F. F.
SHANNON.
(1107)