The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1870-06-23
SOWING SEEDS OF KINDNESS !,
BY HENRY WARD BEECuER.

IHE SUI WAS gong uOWn upon + Tor
ence as she sat with her mother upon the
verandah, and her flce was sad though
the sunlight fell lu upon It.
Mother, / am sorry that | ever had
anything to do with Mary Arlington"
why so, my chilG?"
because she only uses my kindness fer
her own selfshness. | have helped her
in her lessons, and [ got her OFF when she
was IN trouble with her teacher, Miss At
kinS, and you know that | let Miss Atkins
| think that / had broken the rules, rather
than that she should be exposed And
she has never thanked me- And know
that she says hateful things about me be-
hind my back. am tired of being kind
to her and getting nothing for it but her
sclishness"
"Well, my dear, did you act kindly for
the sake of getting something back for il ?
Ought we not 10 act generously for our
own sake, even more than Tor others
sake?"
Il don't see any use in being generou US,
when it only makes people worse?'
But our Master says If we love them
that love you, what reward Tor merit have
ye? Do not even the publicans the same.
1t is very pleasant To receive kindness for
Kindness. But no one is acting as a Chris
tian 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 bed
time came, that she might sleep off all her
troubles.
She soon fell asleep and began to dream
Now Dreamland is Fairyland. All manner
of queer people are moving about in
Dreamland, and very remarkable things
happen there. Florence had gone To
| sleep without shutting her chamber win
dow, aud the wind must have been a lit
/ tie cool, Tor she dreamed that the snow
| lay upon the ground. And she saw a
man with large bag slung GiagOnaly
across his breast sowing some kinds OF
seed. 1t seemed very strange to her to
see him casting seed on snow, and so she
dreamed that she asked him, Viii the
seed come up in the snow"
When be heard her, he turned his face,
and she thought she never saw farmer
with so noble a cOuntenance. His eyes
were large and sad, and yet there was
look in them Of calm hopetulness.
1--WE sow our upseed grass on the snow,
in hopes that by and by the snow viii
melt, and the seed, sprouted by its most
ure, 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 good
ness, 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 short time she bt gan dreaming
more strangely than before.
She thought that she saw a poor wO-
man, who was living upon piece of very
hard and rocky ground, trying 10 plant
thereon some flower seeds But every
time she opened her hand The wind seem
ed to puff them away. AT last, when her
seed was almost gone. Florence thought
that what had seemed 10 be the wind
began To look like birds, and little by lit
tie they changed 10 beautiful spirits; 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 looked
through and saw these beautiful spirits
| planting the very SScU lDdL Dau Dccn cdSt
forth out of the palsied hand of the poor
old woman. No sooner did they touch
the ground than they sprsng up again
| into all manner of beautiful flowers more
beautiful "a hundred times than any lilies
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 the snow. But now he was
clothed radiantlv, as if the brightest
| clouds had been made into garments and
his face, that was beautiful before, seemed
To her more beautiful than all the flowers
Then he looked very kindly upon her
andoaid, "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 through and were planted in heaven'
So il is with kindness among men. The
earth catches few only OF the seeds o
kindness sown, but all the rest go through
and are planted in heaven. And 50 moth
ing good is ever lost"
AT this he laid his hand upon her head
and such thrill ran through her bodl
that she sprung and awoke. Her mothe
il was who had touched her, saying
"Comc, Florence; il is morning. Th
birds are calling you. Come.