Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-03-19
4 Little Story for the Nursery.
BY HENRY WARD REEoHER.

he sun was going down upon Florence
as she sat with her mother upon the veran-
ds, and her face was sad, though the sun.
light fell upon it.
Mother, am sorry that ever had any
thing to do with Mary Arlington"
why So my child?'
| Because she only uses my kindness for
her own selfishness. I have helped her in
her lessons, and got her off when she was
In trouble with her teacher, Miss Atkins,
and you know / let Miss Atkins think
| that had broke the rules rather than she
| she should be exposed. And she has never
thanked me. And know that she says
hateful things about me behind my back.
am tired of being kind to her, and get
ing nothing for it but her selfishness."
We'll, my dear, do 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"
II don't see any use in being generous,
when it only makes people worse.n
| But our Master says-'If We love them
that love you, what reward Tor merit have
We? Do not even the publicans the same?
1t is very pleasant to receive kindness for
kindness. But no one is acting as a
Christian that is not willing to show kind
| ness and seif-denial to those who are un-
| grateful and selfish
Nothing more was said at this time.
Florence had the matter upon her heart
all the evening, and was glad When bed
| time came, that she might sleep off al her
| troubles.
She soon fell asleep and began to dream.
Now dreamland ia fairyland. All manner
Of queer people are moving about in dream
| land and very remarkable things happen
there. Florence had gone to sleep with
out shutting her chamber window, and
the wind must have been q little cold, for
she dreamed that the snow lay upon the
ground. And she saw q man with a large
bag slung diagonally across his breast, SOW
ing some kind Of seed. 1t seemed very
strange to her to see him casting seed on
the snow, and so she dreamed that she
asked him, "Will the seed come up in the
snow?"
When he heard her, he turned his face,
and she thought she never saw a farmer
with so noble countenance. His eyes
were large and sad. and yet there was also
look in them Of calm hopefulness.
1--WE SOW our seed grass upon the snow,
in hopes that by and by the snow will melt,
and then the seed, sprouted by its mois-
gently upon her, az 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.n
She awoke-so plainly did his voice
sound in her ears. Rising, she closed the
window, and again fell asleep.
In short time she began dreaming more
strangely than before.
She thought that she saw poor woman,
who was living upon 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 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 upon 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 those beautiful spirits
planting the very seeds 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 beauti-
full hundred times than any lilies, or
roses, or jasamines that she had ever seen
on earth.
AS she stood admiring the beautiful 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
radiantly, 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 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 heaven? So it is
with kindness among men. The earth
catches few only Of the seeds of kindness
sown, but all the rest 60 through and are
planted in heaven and so nothing good
is ever lost.u
At this he laid his hand upon her head,
and such a thrill ran through her body
it was who had touched her, saving,
Come, Florence; it is morning. The
birds are calling Won. CameN