Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1875-04-14


What can have happened to 81 Byttes," +"
thought Harry, " that he lets bad Sunday
school lesson trouble him"
When Mr.. Blake went home alter the
morning service, he told his wife tina, he had
had a very unsatisfactory time in the Sun
day-school. Both the boys seemed pos
sessed with the evil spirit Of indifference" J."
he said How far he was out Of the way we
shall see by-and-by.
Maria Darleys class, in which were
Stephen and Ellen, Fannie Reems, and Abel
Jones, the tavern-keeper's little boy, had for
their lesson the last few verses Of the seventh
chapter Of Matthew As the children could
not tell icLy man who heard Christ talk
and went away without doing anything he
said, was like person who built his house
upon the sand. Maria went on TO explain,
much after this fashion,
You remember the beautiful verses with
which this sermon on the hill began, do You
not What are they sometimes called ?"
The beatitudes, said stephen. because
they tell who are really happy"
Aud you have studied lately other parts
Of this outdoor talk Of Jesus You remem-
Der what he said about the lilies Of the field,
which are more beautiful than il was posi-
ble for King Solomon 10 be with all his
wealth and fine clothes. or for any of us 30
be, however much we are anxious and busy in
providing Sunday dresses. You remember
that Christ told his friends that they must
forgive one another. that they must not pray
90 be seen Of men, that they must lay up
treasures in heaven and so on. Now, how
do You think those persons felt who saw and
heard Jesus when he said these things
Did they say to themselves. oh, can't do
this and that its too much trouble or did
they resolve that they would do just as he
said 2"
81 think some Of them meant to do
right" said Fannie.
"Yes, certainly, and suppose that almost,
II not quite all, mcaui TO he blessed by be-
coming pure in heart, merciful, peacemakers,
and so on. ! suppose there was hardly one
person there who did not resolve 10 lay up
treasures where moth and rust do not corrupt,
aud that he would not be over-anxious about
his food and clothes. But do you suppose
that all Of them kept the promises which
they made 10 themselves DO you always
keep your good resolutions. Abel 2"
Abel answered" No maam - aud Stephen
looked ashamed, as il the question had been
put to him.
q" suppose you hardly know the reason
why, but | will tell YOU. When we make
such promises we are generally out of the
way OF temptation. Goodness is very beau
tiful 10 look at, and when we are told 10y the
minister, or when we read in the Bible how
happy a man may be doing right we say,
there, that is what | want, and I'll have it.
We admire the picture Of good action and do
not think how hard it is TO perform the good
action when we would rather do something
selfish"
The children began 10 look over into the
next pew for something more interesting
than this abstract talk, when 4" Miss barley "
put her idea into a more attractive form.
" | once knew q little girl who was in the
habit Of telling falsehoods. Very often she
did it, because she was afraid that her father
would punish her for some careless or
naughty thing she had done But she soon
learned TO lie Just for the sake of getting
some favor from her teacher, or to make the
other girls wonder at what she pretended to
know"
The little heads were again turned away
from the teacher who had not succeeded in
holding attention half through her clumsy
story. ooh, dear /" she thought to herself
" how can | ever interest such giddy little
children ?"
Just about this time Mr. Readwell came
along, and seeing how matters Stood asked
Stephen il he knew how to clinch a nail
"Yes. sir" said the boy, quickly, "you
have to bend it over with the hammer on
the under side of the board"
" But some nails won't bend, they breal
off," said the minister
"They're not worth so much, that kind,
said Stephen :" they won't hold half as long
you're right, my boy" answered Mr. X
and I'll tell you why. The nails that brcal
off are cut Of ordinary iron, of cast-iron, jus
as it Gomez from the smelling furnace the
are full Of cracks and are very brittle an
weak The nails which you can clinch ar
made of iron that has been put into the fir
and pounded and worked over and sowl
cooled and made tough aud flexible in a va
riety Of WAYS, so that you can bend it back
wards and forwards and strikt-it with heav,
blows without finding any crack or weakness
in it. II is just the same with VIM you cal
good resolutions. Those that are Wlched by
good action hold twice as long as thos'
which are only driven in by sermon or
Sunday-school lesson. II tell you that !
is wicked to lie you say to yourselves, We'll
rW always tell the truth, and then you G
away and forget all about it. Your resolu
tion is only cut NALL it draws right out o
/ If YOU try to clinch it, that is, act it out
will break You can't make a resolution
that will hold, that way. You must put /
in the fire aud heat it. DO you know wha
mean by that z"
No." said all the children at once.
"Well, mean that You must first put i
into a prayer. You must say 10 God NJ,
Father, want 10 do thus and so, TO breal
Oft lying, to govern my passions help me.
If YOU really mean to do the thing. you vii
find that that prayer 10 God will tempe
your resolution and help you to act it out
to clinch H. You will have TO hammer ava,
good deal, to think it pretty thorough,
over, before you can be sure that there ar
no cracks in it. But. with Gods help, yoI
can make of your good resolution a wruugh
nail that will hold"
Stephen thought Of his many fair resolves
in the hay-mow, and how little they ha,
come to.
Mr. Readwel went ON 10 another elias,
and the hour which to many was rather
tedious one, soon passed At ten o'clock Tia
great bell in the tower shook the building
and some of the younger children went hom,
The sermon that forenoon was very pra6
tical one. Although the elders usually pal
WHY kAHih uAt'iAl'ilf ~ Nti7 AaiF A0i ti1 VII
dren TO be interested. There was so muc
logic in them that nobody was convinced
Mr.. X. had made good proof Of his ministry b
gathering, into the church some five huI
dred persons since his settlement in f., bu
it was fair to say that his talk and his visit
and his earnest prayers had done il, not h
sermons. lie had hshed men out Of worl'
illness one by one, and now and then thel
!, had been revival, which came like the win'
nobody knew from where.
Today however, as lie concluded his di
course, lac felt almost discouraged. For IL
! last three years sort Of apathy had con
, over the parish lie had seen but little fru
of his labor for some time. With n sort
7 desperateness he forsook the usual forms
his closing prayer and talked to God unco
3 scious OF any one being present. lie sa
, Just what was in his heart without resery
/. confessed with particularly his own shol
! comings Of duty, and pressed hard for
y blessing. lie spoke of certain families wi
] were yet bound by no stronger ties tn,
t earthly love, which mIyt fade, unless root
in the divine love; whhh forgets truth al
lives only for selfish and present ends viii,
has no Christ in it and no purpose Of hea
emily completeness through him."
) The afternoon sermon was an unusual
L .a -.,.st aHyanl 10 (thristiaua T.. axart a mn