The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-06-11
BY HENRY WARD BEECHEE.

The sun was going down upon Florence as
she sat with her mother upon the verandah,
and her face was sad, though the sunlight fell
full upon it.
Smother, am sorry that l ever had any
thing to do with Mary Arli1gton.'
"Why SO, my child?"
because she only uses my kindness for her
own selfishness. l have helped her in her les
sons, and got her off when she was in trou-
BILE with her teacher, Miss Atkins, and you
know that l let Miss Atkins think that / had
broke the rules, rather than that she should
be exposed. And she has never thanked me.
And know that she says hateful things about
me behind my back. lam tired of being kind
to her, and getting nothing for it but her self
ishness"
swell, 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?"
81 d T. see any use in being generous,
when it only makes people worse"
But our Master says if ye love them that
love you, what reward (orsmerit) have ye ? Do
not even the pubicans the same? 1t is yery
pleasant to receive kindness for kindness. But
no one is acting as a Christian that is not
willing to show kindness and self.denial ia
those who are ungrateful and selfish"
Nothing more was said at this time. Flor
ence had the matter upon her heart all the
evening, and was glad when bedtime came,
that she might sleep off all her troubles.
She soon fell asleep and began to dream.
Now Dreamland is Fairyland. All maDer of
queer people are moving about in Dreamand.
and very remarkable things happen there,
Florence had gone to sleep without shutting
her chamber window, and the wind must have
been little cool; for she dreamed that the
snow lay all upon the ground. And she saw
a man with large bag slung dagonally across
his breast sowing some kinds of seeds. Ii
seemed very strange to her to see him casting
seed on snow, and SO she dreamed that she
asked him, "Will the seed come I'D in the
snow?"
When he herd her her he 7TnrneJ bis f.co .nd
she thought she never saw a farmer with So
noble countenance. His eyes were LARGE
and sad, and yet there was also a look in then,
of calm hopefulness.
We sow our upseed grass on the snow, in
hopes that byand-by the snow will melt. and
then the seed, spreuted 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,
and again fell asleep.
In a short time she began dreaming more
strangely than before.
She thought that she saw poor woman,
no was living upon piece of very hard and
'cky ground, trying to plant thereon some
no "er seeds. But every time she opened her
hand the wind seemed to puff them away. At
last, when her seed was almost gone, Flor
ence thought that what had seeued to be the
WIND began to look like birds, and little by
little they changed to beautiful spirits and she
saw that they caught in their hands the seed
That would have fallen on the rock, and threw
II upward; and the seed seemed to fly up and
up tn it was all gone out of sight.
While she stood looking up, she thouoht
that the skies opened; and she looked through,
and saw those beautiful spirits planting the
very seed that had been cast forth out of the
palsled hand OF the poor old woman. No soon
er did they touch the ground than they sprang
up again into all manner of beautiful flowers
more beautiful hundred times than any ILL.,
lies Or roses, or jessamines that she had ever
seen on earth.
As she stood admiring the wonderful sight,
she turned and saw the very same person by
her side that had been sowing grass seed on
snow. But now he was clothed raidiantly, as
II the brightest clouds had been made into
garments; and his face, that was beautiful be-
lore, seemed to her more beautiful than all the
MOVERS. Then he looked very kindly upon
her, and said, My dear child, do you not see
That only here and there seed fell to the
ground and came up, but that all the rest went
tnfough and were planted in heaven? Soft is
Win kindness among men. The earth catch
es Few only of the seeds of kindness shown,
put all the rest go through and are planted in
heaven. And so nothing good is ever lost"
a. tnis ne laid his hand upon her head, and
s1ch thrill ran through her body that she
sprung and awoke. Her mother # was Who
mad touched her, saying. Come, Florence:
Gomez Jo''