The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1878-04-11
Self.Denial,

81 SHOULD not like to live in a house
cut bias, like this" said little Miss
Flippant to her mamma. They were
standing in the door of a room in which
the sides were not parallel. One sees
such In houses where the streets do not
cross at right angles.
But little Miss Flippant knew very
little of life except as she saw it in
homes of wealth. The "bias cut" as
she called the acute-angled room, was
small matter of discomfort compared
to the evils of sickness, poverty and
sin, to which her mamma called her
attention.
She saw old Betty Baker, poor and
blind, who sat alone in the corner, day
after day, with only the care which a
wild, needless grandchild chose to give
her. She saw in another room, lame
Mrs. Jackson, with three little children
whom she supported by her needle;
and in another room, Tom Green, dying
of consumption, and left alone until his
wife should return home from her DAYS
work with thefood she had thus earned.
In the cellar she saw an Incorporate
father and mother sleeping off the
fumes of liquor, and in the attic the lit
tie children of Mrs. Hill watching for
their mother to come with the wood she
had earned money to buy, so that they
might get their cold fingers warmed.
When she now saw how much misery
and want all these endured, she realized
as she had never done before, what
blessings she had enjoyed, and that she
had not been thankful for them. She
now felt as if she wanted to help those
whom she saw so wretched.
What can l do, mamma? she
asked, twill you give me some money
for the poor little children of Mrs.
HillP'
"But that will be my gift, not yours"
said mamma. Then the child stood
silently thinking, and after while she
said:
"The dolly, mamma, the beautiful
dolly with the trunk full of clothes that
you promised me for my Christmas, how
much was it to costp'
Fifteen dollars" replied mamma.
81 will do without the DOLL" said
Miss Elippant. ..apd that will nrnvide
Mrs Hills children"
The little girl denied herself the
great pleasure she had anticipated in
owning the beautiful dolly, and she her
self completed the arrangements for the
transfer of the cold and hungry child to
the nursery of the Home for Destitute
Children
During that winter Miss Flippant
often called to see her little beneficiary,
and whenever she entered the warm and
cheerful nursery of the Home and saw
how much more comfortable the little
child was there than it had been, locked
up in the cold room when its mother
was looking for work, she almost felt
happier than she could have been
made by possession of the beautiful
doll.
You may perhaps think that l am
now going to tell you that her mother,
or grandmother, as a reward of merit
gave this generous little girl, when
Christmas came, a doll even more beau
tiful than that which she had resigned
in the cause of charity.
No, not so. The mother wanted her
little daughter to learn to deny herself
for the sake of doing good to others.
Neither would little Miss Flippant
herself have cared to be rewarded for
doing good. She wanted her fifteen
dollars to be free gift, and not some
thing she was paid for giving.
have called this little girl Miss Flip
pant That name applied to her when
she was thoughtless, but not as now. l
must change her name and call her
sweet Miss Thoughtful.
Do you know what is promised to
him that overcometh, in the book OF
RevelationP A new name.
We cannot understand exactly what
is meant, but we know this much,
that if we overcome our selfishness, and
are willing to deny ourselves for the
good of others, if we belong to the fam
lily of Christ, then as the children take
the family name of their father, so we
shall have this new name.-Appeat.