St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-08-24
A Needed Lesson.
BY FRANCES !. DYER.

The wife and mother of the house
hold lay dead. awaiting burial. The
husband and father. sorrOwing, indeed,
but not "as others which have no
hope. for he believed that, for his
beloved. absence from the body meant
presence with the Lord, found him
self suddenly called upon to explain
the solemn mysteries of death and res
direction to his five-year- old child.
How could hc make them plain to her
infantilc mind What figures of speech
should he use What knowledge of his
could meet the innocent questionings,
Where il my mamma Can she see us
in heavenP viii she come back when
she knows how much we want her?
Mothers have Gods license to he
missed" sighed the mourner. as he
CROPPED about for answers that should
not destroy the germs of faith-her
lanting-already springing up in the
little mind. Taking the child upon
his knee, he resolved that whatever
else his teaching lacked it should be
full of Christian cheerfulness. His
child's first acquaintance with death
should he robbed of gloom and terror
The outgoing of life should be made
Just as natural to her thought as its in
coming.
The simple trust of childhood rem
dcrcd the task an easy one, the more
50 as. in the days intervening before
the funeral. the household ways went
on much as usual. No black raiment,
no shutting ont of Gods sunshine, no
unnecessary change in any way, was
t.1l-.l To
gcther, in the twilight hour, of the city
that had mo need of the sun, neither
of the moon to shine in it," and of her
who was now one of its happy inhabi-
tants, realizing the blessed promise,
"And they shall see his face" The
father was unconsciously imparting the
spirit of the words of the catechism,
"The souls OF believers are at their
death made perfect in holiness, and do
Immediately pass into glory; and their
bodies. being still united To Christ, do
rest in their graves till the resurrec-
ton" with never il thought as to their
''soundncss" doctrinally.
Then came the day of the funeral,
with its accomplishments OF the open
grave and the falling earth, from which
children naturally shrink with terror.
Could this. too, he made Il time of hal
lowed JOY Why not The burial
was private. and realizing the power
of first impressions, the father went III
advance and strcwed the bottom of the
grave with flowers, not from the flo
riSt's shop, but freshly gathered from
the garden. once Watcred and tended
10y the precious hands now folded in
their last sleep. Returning with his
child, her eyes bchcld for the first time
the rcsting-placc for the dead, and
with neither fear nor shrinking she
exclaimed. go papa, how pretty y
They stood by, hand in hand, as the
casket was gently lowered, mingling
handfuls of flowers with the soft mold,
rs it filled the opening; and albeit
their tears fell like rain, no element of
fright or dread was awakened in the
childish heart \ butterfly with gold
en wings tluttcrcd past, furnishing Il
theme for Il talk ON resurrection, and
for the roofing of Il belief III its reality
which no after years of doubt or de
Spair can destroy. Lovingly they lin
gcrcd, as by her couch when living,
making it Il place of sweetest memo
RES.
lit was an oddly -manaGeu luheral,
remarked Mrs. Grundy. mot ut all i'll
good FORM
"Mamma's going home makes me feel
better acquainted with jesus whiS-
pcrcd little girl rs she nestled that
night in her fathers arms.
The voice of fashion, and the voice
of faith, which shall we heed when
we bury our dead ont of our sight