Have you ever heard of the "Black Country"? It is a part of England
where there are many furnaces and iron-works, and a great deal of smoke;
that is why it is called by this name.
Two boys, named Francis and Algie, lived in this district, for their
father was an iron-worker, and one evening they went out for a long
walk. They were away two or three hours, and when they returned their
mother said: "Well, boys, what did you see in your walk?"
"Nothing, mother," replied Algie, "there is nothing pretty to be seen;
it is all black and ugly."
"Ah!" said Francis, "but there was the =sky=, and that was beautiful,
for we were walking towards the sunset, and the colours were changing
all the time. First the sky seemed to be all over gold, and then as the
sun went down it changed to red; next when I looked there were shades of
a lovely green or blue, which soon changed to dark red; it was the
loveliest sunset I have ever seen."
How strange it was that, although both boys had eyes, only one of them
saw anything worth seeing! Francis was the boy with "eyes," while Algie
was as though he had "no eyes". Keep your eyes open, children, and try
to see all that is beautiful. It is such a pity when people grow up and
walk about without seeing anything. There is always something to see in
the sky. Sometimes it is all a lovely blue, with white, fleecy clouds
floating across it, or piled up in curly masses; and at night it is of
a deeper blue, and the stars come peeping out, reminding us in their
beauty of goodness and God:--
Thou Who hast sown the sky with stars--
Setting Thy thoughts in gold.
And the silver moon, which is always changing its shape, how lovely that
is! Do not forget to look for the beauty of the sky.