Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1865-10-19

Talk or the Mchene On the Rock.
Far mp the side Of the. n1onntaiu fhsl
naked rock shot up still higher. Ii
seemed very high as you looked upward.
The rock was even on It's face, and was
full perpendicular. o. its surface were
four kind Of lichens growing--fESm that
whose leaf was very small, TO the last,
which was quite coarse and large. We
sometimes see such lichens on an old
fence, an old tree, or 50 old house. The
with them. AZ / sat dowq, under the
shadow Of the mountains, visiting for my
friend, gazed at the lichen, nd began
to wondersin ny. own mind what ~ was
created for, and what use il could BEL
when seemed 10 hear q small, crispyl
voice far up the rock, calling ont:
" Mother, how old am ~ -
"Wiy, my child, you have just begun
to live, You are onlys eight Years ead
vet" 81 &a - - - - ~~es~
az call myself young, for | am only
Eve hundred and twenty years old"
[ nov listened with all my ears, for j
knew ths lichens were atalkaig anoDgl
themselves j felt sure they would say
more, and ] took out my pencil to put
down what they would say. Pretty soon
/ heared the same little voice say:
=" Mother, amt you discouraged72 /
Discouraged AZ What, pray7 s.an Z
aAt your sizei Five hundred aud
twenty years old, and how very small
jon sreP m x aaa ~ 00
Not so very small, eitherI / cover
six iLshes square already, while there's
my poor grandmother, almost eleven
hundred years old, and she covers only
five 10 shes even now Very few, ( am
happy to say, Of the Iichen family, who
have worked harder or accomplished
more than nave, though do say III
myself" r. |
TsWell, mother, Of what use Ia Il To-
cling to this great rock, and hang bere
summer and winter, amid storms, and
cold, and winds beating upon us2 Here
l have hung and been trying y gnAw in
tothiJ rock for eighty years and have not
yet got my roots in half an inch. What
10 the une2 We might as we'll die and
drop off, Nobody would miss us or care.
What do we live forf'
"To raise wheat" eeff ffa4 4
80" Raise phdtT'
"Raise wheat, tobe sure"
pray, mother, what do you mean 2
We lichens away mp here, on this cold
rock, raise wheatl II thai isnit fanDyf'
Listen. my child This huge noun
tain 10 all solid rock. If u was Gil
pounded mp fine, It would make soil on
which men would raise whraf But IL
10 now very hard, and there 10 nothing TO
pound and turn it into powder And so
God has created us, the lichsns, to haze
our homes here to cling 10 II, 20 gBAw 1t,
and with a kind Of acid VIC have, 10
crumbIe and dissolve II. Don't you re-
member that the very last year you rolled
down two little grains OF the rocE7 Well,
every grain We make 1falla down, then
the rains wash il into the little brook,
and the brook carries it into the river,
and the river raiseg II mp, and as Il over
flows tie bank, drops Il just where the
old soil fe worn out and the wheat nseds
new. The Nile TINS carries down little
particles from the mountains, and makes
Egypt 40 fruitful" bE& tHs4
"Oh, mother, how often can | gnaw
of rock enough to raise kernalg Of
wheatT' ~ aHs4 ark
Perhaps once in thirty years 81
WI Wuht wv WI NJ tNtlA VII
what you dig out this year raj sagvhestf'
1i" Perhaps Eve bundled yeafs hence.
God sees there viii be olds.nen and III / o
children upon earth then, aud they wiil
want bread; and 80 lie has created us,
and 80 be has placed Us here 10 prepare
soil, and get this rock READY TO raise
wheat Thus He goes before and pro
vides, and makes even the poor little
lichens useful And il VIZ do or duty
Is emile viii cheer rs; aud though we
can do but littIe---a very little-~yet tina,
viii do good to somebody
The lichens stopped lalk NJ, but ! did
not stop thinking What would my
young reader have ttsashi had he been
there2-Sunday Sci.oo1 FINES.
Enoch Richmond, an old geptleVnaf
whom nearly everybody knoTe MS :
peaceAble and quiet citizen of Glal
township, having seen ft to hire mula'
20 ~oman 10 do the housework for hi
family, recently had a bundle nfiruda iAis
at bis gate, together with the. followini
highly refined and interesting letter: =
tMr. Rich man We ar going to CIV
you a advise bout your niReTlweucl
You hafto take her way In side OF IL
20 ..,t vour huse rwsu ha hopnk daws