The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1870-07-16
Sowing Seeds Of Kindness.
BY HENRY WARD BERCHER.

The sun was going down upon
Florence as she sat with her moth
er upon the verandah, and her face
was sad, though the sunlight fell
full upon it,
Mother, I am sorry that I ever
| had anything to do with Mary Arl-
ington.'
why SO, my child p
Because she only uses my kind
/ ness for her own selfishness. I
have helped her in her lessons, and
got her off when she was in troub-
le with her teacher, Miss Atkins,
think that had broken the rules,
rather than that she should be ex-
posed. And she has never thank
ed me. And l know that she says
hateful things about me behind
my back. l am tired of being
kind to her and getting nothing
for it but her selfishness.'
well. my dear. did you act
kindly for the sake of getting
something back for it? Ought we
not to act generously for our own
sake, even more than for others
sake p
4 don't see any use in being
generous, when it only makes peo-
pie worse p
But our Master says-'If ye
love them that love you. what re-
ward or merit) have ye? Do not
even the publicans the same p 1t
is very pleasant to receive kind
ness for kindness. But no one is
acting as Christian that is not
willing to show kindness and self
denial to those who are ungrateful
and selfish
Nothing more was said this time
Florence had the matter upon her
heart all the evening, and was glad
when bedtime cane, that she
might sleep off all her troubles.
She soon fell asleep and began
to dream. Now Dreamland is
| Faryland. All manner of queer
people are moving about in Dream
land, and very remarkable things
happen there. Florence had gone
to sleep without shutting her
chamber window, and the wind
must have been a little cool for
she dreamed that the snow lay up
on the ground. And she saw
man with large bag slung dag
onally across his breast sowing
some kinds of seed. 1t seemed
very strange to her to see him cast
ing seed on snow, and so she
| dreamed that she asked him, will
the seed come up in the snow p
When he heard her. he turned
ais face, and she thought she new
er saw farmer with so noble
| countenance. His eyes were large
and sad, and yet there was q look
in them of calm hopefulnsss.
we sow our upseed grass on
the snow, in hopes that BY and by
the snow will melt, and the seed,
| sprouted by its moisture, will come
| up. And fixing his eyes gently
upon her, as if he would mark the
effect Of his words, he said, They
who in this world would sow the
seeds Of goodness, must do as we
farmers do, and often SOW upon
the bosom of the snow
She awoke-so plainly did his
voice sound in her ears. Rising,
she closed the window, aad again
fell asleep.
In short time she began dream
ing more strangely than before.
She thought that she saw q poor
woman, who was living upon a
piece OF very hard and rocky
ground. trying to plant thereon
some flower seeds. But every
time she opened her hand the wind
seemed to puff them away, At
last, when her seed was almost
gone, Florence thought that what
had seemed to be the win began
to look like birds, ond little by lit
tie they changed to beautiful spir-
its and she saw that they caught
in their hands the seed that would
have fallen on the rock, and threw
it upward; and the seed seemed to
fly up and up till it was all gone
out Of sight.
While she stood looking up, she
thought that the skies opened; and
she locked through and saw those
beautiful spirits planting the very
seed that had been cast forth out
Of the palsied hand of the poor old
woman. No sooner did they touch
the ground than they sprang up
again into all manner of beautiful
flowers more beautiful hundred
times than any lilies or roses, or
jessamines, that she had ever seen
on earth.
AS she stood admirino the won
derful sight, she turned and saw
the very same person by her side
that had been sowing grass seed on
the snow. Bul now he was cloth
ed radiantly. as if the brightest
clouds had been made into gar
ments and his face. that was
beautiful before, seemed to her
more beautiful than all the flowers.
Then he looked very kindly upon
her. and said, My dear child, do
you not see that only here and
there a seed fell to the ground and
came up, but that all the rest went
through and were planted in heav-
en- So it is with kindness among
men. The earth catches q few
only of the seeds of kindness sown,
but all the rest go through and arc
planted in heaven. And so moth
ing good is ever lost