Newspapers / The Orphans’ Friend (Oxford, … / July 26, 1876, edition 1 / Page 4
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!rMt mamm SSBm .i;->t :S| fl I thp: ORPHANS’ i’rip:nd. Wc'cliicKds&y, July 20, 1876. BOYS’ AND GIRLS’ DEPARTMENT. Tlili €liILD’S FIRST PRAYER. Safe whitliin a kindly refuge. One amid an orplian band, the rescued litttle wanderer— Heathen child in Christian land— Gazing on himself in wonder, Hands, and face, and garments clcjin, Hardly had his mother known him. Could she then her boy have seen. His 1 ad been the bitter portion Meted to the drunkard’s child :— Rags, and dirt, and blows, and hunger, Angi-y words and curses wild. Never taught to shun the evil'. Or they ways of virtue shown ; E’en Religion’s simplest teachings Were to him a thing unknown. All unknown bis Great Creator, All unknown the Savior’s love. Till his teacher gently told him Of the God who regns above. “It was he who made you, Johnny, Great, and good, and M’ise is he; He has mads the world wo live in. Every bird, and beast, and tree. “Though our eyes can never see him, We are always in his sight; Darkness can not hide us from him, For to him ’tis always light. He is near us, and around us. Knows of all we say or do,— Hears our very lowest whisper, Knows what wo are thinking too. “He who made the stars above us. And the great and glorious sun, Feeds and cares for all his creatures— Thinks of you, alittleone. Won’t you try to love him, Johnny, And to please him every day f For he loves good little children, He will listen when they pray.” Then upon that young heart’s darkness Heaven’s first ray of morning broke; Half in fear, and half in gladness. From its sleep the soul awoke, As he said, “I never knew it— Never heard it till to-day; It is very strange—but, teacher, IVll me what it is to pray.” “It is asking God for something,— Anything you feel you need ; Friends to help, and home to shelter, Clothes to wear, and bread to feed. You must ask him to forgive you Every naughty thing you do, And to keep you sate frmn evil— You may pr.ay for others too.” Simple faith, to childhood granted,— Strengthening infant hands to clasp Truths divine, which human wisdom Seeks in vain the power to grasp— With a .sudden gleam of brightness Shone iijiou his thoughtful brow : “There is something that I wish for I— Teacher, may I ask God now ?” “Yes, indeed you may, dear Johnny, You may ask him, kneeling there!” Silently the group stood round him. Listening to the child’s first prayer. As, with hands and eyes uplifted, Thus his earnest cry arose : “God, 0 ! save my drunken mother, And the public-houses close !” Ah, poor boy! a life of suffering Lies behind that simple prayer,— Childhood, robbed ff all its gladness. Crushed beneath a weight of care. What a host of wretched memories In thy little heart must be! What is the sweet uame of mother— What the thought of homo to thee? Few thy years, but thou hast spent them In the school of sin and woe, Learning there a dceperlesson Than onr gray-haired statesmen know. Thou hast tracked the poisoned fountain Whence thy own deep griefs have fiowu. Thou hast trod the path of sorrow And thou fain would hare the rod. Though as yet it seems unanswered, Raise that pleading cry again ; Thousands sufl'oring, thousands pitying, Join thee with a deep “Amen !” As before the throne of mercy Rise their prayers as thine arose— “Save, 0 God, our rnother-coimtry, And the public-houses close !” liio’ratitude is too base to return a kindness, and too proud to regard it; much like tlie tops of mountains, barren, indeed, but yet lofty ; tliey produce notliing, they feed nobody, tiiey clotlie nobody, yet are liigh and stately, and look down upon all the world a -out them. tSllASSUOPPEK BPRDEIVS. ‘Well, children, have you had a pleasant day V 0 grandfather, it was delight ful !’ cried Susie. Her bright, b.app}’' face showed that she, at least, had enjoyed the day. GrandfatherHeaned against the stile as he said, ‘ Delightful, was it ? What did you do ?’ ‘ 0 there were crowds of peo ple. And the boys played a game of ball. Ned’s side won, after a hard fight. I looked on, and Jack Hardy gave me this bunch of flowers.’ ‘ He was very kind. Well, lit tle one, what else ‘ Races,’ continued Susie excit edly, ‘ and a prize for the winner. Fred Martin won it. Ned was by me, and the people pushed so, at first I thought we could not see anything.’ ‘ Neither did we,’ growled Ned. His sullen, discontented face was quite a contrast to Susie’s, shin ning with pleasure. ‘ Rut didn’t yon enjoy the game of football I Sue says your side won.’ ‘ I know it, grandfather; but there was no prize given. I call it very mean and stingy. All the hard kicks I got were just for nothing.’ Not if you won the game, my lad.’ ‘ Didn’t got any prize,’ muttered Ned ; ‘ and those races were aw fully unfair. Fred Martin has been practicing for the last two weeks, and no one else had.’ ‘All the better for Fred,’ said grandfather, rapping his stick on the stile, as if that were Fred’s back and he was patting it in ap proval. ‘ Shows lie is a right smart fellow. Why didn’t you practice too, Nedf ‘ I don’t know,’ replied thebov, ‘ I’m afraid poor Ned is tired,’ said gentle Susie. ‘ I don’t wonder he is tired. He has had such a burden to vice, ‘ Cast thv burden upon the Lord.’ ’ ‘ Now, see here, grandfather,’ burst out Ned, ‘My Sunday School teacher always talks that way too, hut I don’t think the Lord wants to be bothered with f trifling troubles. He don’t care if I do get kicked in hall, or lose a race.' Grandfather laid Ins hand gent ly on the lad’s shoulder. ‘ Ah, Ned ! there is your mistake. He does care. If lie counts the spar row’s fall, are you not more value thaimiany sparrows ? Now prom ise me you will never let grass hoppers crush you again.’ Ned gave his word. Just then they reached the house, and Susie rushed out to call them in to sup per. Ned struggled hard with the'grasshopper burdens after that, and by God’s help kept his prom ise.—Missionary Echo. Jesus has a place for you, and is looking down to see the buds. Won’t YOU try to please him 1” ^ ‘Indeed we will, mother. Will he help us V ‘0 yes, indeed ; he will close by you all the day, lead you along safely.’ stay and IIEEPFEI.. HEARTS AND HANDS', THE Orphans’ Friend. ALIVE AND LIVELY WEEKLY! A PEACE FOR EVERY ONE. ORGAN OF THE ORPHAN WORK carry. Something in grandfather’s tone made Ned look up with a puzzled face. I see 5^11 don’t understand. Susie, you run home through the fields, and tell mother all about Ned and your happy day, and I will come by the road.’ The little girl ran hastily off, eager to tell about her pleasiires, while Ned walked sulkily along by Ins grandfather’s side, kicking up the dust in clouds. ‘ I’m in for a sermon, I sup pose,’ thought he ; but to liis sur prise his grandfather stopped to watch a tiny grasshopper. ‘ Can you catch him f asked the old gentleman. Ned soon had the lively little fellow impris oned in his hand. ‘ Is he heavy f ‘ No sir,’ answered Ned, con- tem})tuously. ‘ 1 suppose his weight on j^our shoulder would not make you groan f ‘ I guess not,’ returned the boy, thinking to himself, ‘ how foolish grandfather is to-siight.’ A’et he changed bis mind as the old gen tleman continued; ‘ Things as light as grasshop pers made you groan to-day, my lad. Every trifle hindered your pleasure, and you came home quite cross. They were grass hopper burdens, Ned.’ Ned hung his head. ‘Young folks’ troubles seem nonsense to you, perhaps, but we feel them just as much.’ ‘Well, Ned, I hope I haven’t forgotten when I was a boy,’ re plied his grandfather; ‘ but when ever a grasshopper weighs heavy, just recall your grniidfatlier’s ad- ‘0, sister, see this rose tree ! how many roses there are on it, and how sweet! Isn’t it pretty V ‘Yes, Georgie, and see the little buds too. The red is just peep ing out from the green. 1 like them the best.’ ‘Why, Clara, the big roses are certainly the finest.’ ‘Yes ; hut then, Georgie, the buds make me think of children, and I like to see them.’ ‘They don’t look much like children, Clara.’ ‘No ; but don’t you see, Geor gie, that there is room on the hush for the roses and buds I So, sometimes when I think bow lit tle I can do for Jesus, I feel dis couraged ; bur then I remember there is room for the buds, and so I think there is room for us in his garden.’ Mother heard the children talking, and called them into her room. Clara dear, the Lord Jesus has a place and a work for each one of Ills children, even for the little ones—and he is watching his garden to see how all his plants grow. There is a verse in the Bible that says so.’ ‘Where is it, mother V ‘I will read it. ‘I have come down to the garden of nuts, to see the fruits of the valley, to see how the vines flourish, and 11 the pomegranate has budded.’ The nuts are like grandmother, ripe, and almost ready for gathering. The vines are like papa and my self, in middle age ; and the buds on the pomegranate are like George and Clara, just beginning life. The Lord looks down on all of us, and if he sees our hearts full of love to him, and we ready to work for him, it pleases him very much.’ But wo can do so little mother.’ Never mind that, dear. If we all do the little that wo can, it is all the Lord asks of us. The mighty ocean, you know, is made up of little drops, a id so with the mighty ocean ol this world, the little children are wanted to fill up all the small places. ‘Little Mary S. was about Clara’s age, and she wanted to do something for Jesns. What could she do! Aunty said, ‘Help mother to-day.’ ‘Will that be working for Jesus 1’ said Mary, looking as if she did not under stand. ‘It certainly will, dear, and will please him.’ So Mary ran upstairs and down, played with the baby, and saved mother many steps. At night, when bed time came, mother said, ‘I don’t know what I should have done without Mary to-day,’ and the lit tle girl went to bed with a happy heart. Now, Clara and George, One day a teacher said to his class, ‘Boys, you can all be use ful, if you will. If you cannot do good by great deeds, you can by little ones.’ The boys said nothing, hut the teacher saw by their looks thattht y thought he was mistaken. They did not believe that they could be of any use. So he said : ‘You think it is not so; hut suppose von try it for one week.’ ‘How shall we try it ?’ asked one of them. ‘Just keep jmur eyes open, and your hands ready to do anything good that comes in j-our way, all this week, and tell me next Sun day if you have not managed to be useful in some way or other,’ said the teacher. ‘Agreed,’ said the boys, and so they parted. The next Sunday those hoys gathered round their teacher wit'i smiling lips, and eyes so full of light that they fairly twinkled like the stars. He smiled as he looked at them, and said: ‘Ah, boys, I see by j^our looks that you have something to tell me.’ ‘We have, sir, we have,’ they said all together. Then each one told his story. I,’ said one, ‘thought of going to the well for a pail of water ev ery morning to save m}. mother trouble and time. She thanked me so much and was so pleased, that I mean to keep on doing it for her.’ ‘And I,’ said another ho}^, thought of a poor old woman, whoso eyes were too dim to read, went to her house every day, ENTERTAINING AND IN STRUCTIVE TO THE YOUNG. A ZEALOUS FRIEND AND ADVOCATE OF EOUCATIOIV. PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY. SUBSCRIPTION AND POSTAGE ONEY ONE DOEEAK A YEAR OFFICE IN THE ORPHAN BUILDING, AT OXFORD. -0- ADVEKTISE.^IENTS. Tell cents a line for one insertion. Five cents a line each week for more than one and loss than twelve insertions. One column, three months, sixty dollars. Half column* three months, forty dollars, quarter column, three months, twenty dollars. Present circulation, fourteen hundred and forty papers each week. Address ORPHANS’ FRIEND, OXFORD, N. C. and read a chapter to her from the Bible. It seemed to give her a great deal of comfort. I cannot tell how she thanked me.’ A third boy said, ‘I was walk ing along the street, wondering what I could do. A gentleman called me, and asked me to hold his horse. I did so. He gave me five cents. I liave brought it to put into the missionary-box.’ ‘I was walking with iny ej'es open and my hands ready, as you told us,’ said the fourth hoy, ‘when I saw a little fellow crying because he had lost some pennies in the gutter. I told him not to cry, and I would try to find his pennies. I found them, and he dried up his tears, and ran ofi' very happy.’ A fifth boy said, ‘I saw my mother was very tired, one day, the baby was cross, and mother looked sick and sad. I asked mother to put the baby in my lit tle wagon. She did so, and I gave him a grand ride round the garden. If you had only heard him crow, and seen him clap his liand, teacher, it would have done you good; and oh, how much brighter mother looked when I took the baby in-doors again !’— Rev. Dr. Neioton. B. LYON, .111. 1'. PALLY. E. II. L {Late of ‘■‘Dalhij Puff'’’) LYON, DALBY & CO., MANUF.lCTUllERS OF THE DURHAM ‘‘AROMA PUFF," KING smo- TOISAFCO. Durlijim, N. C. Oi-ilers solicited—Agents vvauted—Tobacco gnavaotecd. March 17 th—II-2m. k. When we pray for everlasting life with the mouth, and do not desire it in the heart, our cry is a silence ; when we long for it out of the aLuiidance of the heart, our silence is a cry, which does not reach human ear, yet fills the ears of God. Thereai-e 6,000 Sunday schools in the United States, with 600,- 000 teachers and 5,000,000 pupils. A. REAMS & CO., MANUFACTURERS OF REAMS’ DURHAM BOOT AND SHOE POLISH. Warranted to excel all others, or money Refunded. The only Blacking that will polish on oiled surface. It is guaranteed to pi’cseiwe leather and make it pliant, requiring less quantity and time to* produce a pei-fect gloss than any other, the brush to be applied immediately after put ting on the Blacking. A perfect gloss from this vi'ill not soil even white clothes. We guarantee it as represented, and as for pat ronage, strictly on its merits. H. A. liEAMS & CO., Manufacturers, Durham, N. G. This Blacking is recommended in the high est terms, after trial, bv Geo. F. Brown, J* Howard Warner, ISew York; the Presidenj and Professors of Wake Forest College; and a large number of gentlemen in and around Durham, whoso certificates have been fur nished the Manufacturers. Orders solicited and promptly filled. March 3rd, 1^75.
The Orphans’ Friend (Oxford, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
July 26, 1876, edition 1
4
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