The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1891-06-26
THREE PAIRS OF SHOES.

There they are, in a neat little row under
the mantel in the children's bedroom, a
pair of twelves, a pair of mines and a tiny
pair of fives, belonging to the baby. They
are all more or less ~wrinkled and worn,
and the pair of twelves have holes in the
toes, which caused me to say a little while
ago to the sturdy wearer of them that there
was s1no sense in his kicking out shoes like
that" and if he was not more careful he
would just have to go b~arefooted. He
heard me with the utmost Indifference, as
| know from the fact that the threat was
hardly out of my mouth when he asked me
II knew whose little boy he would nave
been If | had never been born.
"You might have been the little boy of
some papa who couldn't have bought you
any shoes at ALL" 1 said reproachfully.
"Oh we'll" be said calmly, in the full
ness and beauty of his childish faith,
God has millions and millions of shoes,
and [ could just ask him for a pair when
ever | wanted them. Don't you see, papa?''
Three pairs of shoes. Three pair of
tender little feet upon the untried border
OF life's mysterious land. Isit and look
at the little shoes, wondering where the
feet that wear them will be led in the time
to come-the little feet that
Through long years
Must wander on, mid hopes and fears.
How much would l give to know the
future, that | might stand between them
and the temptations so sure to assail them,
that | might guide them from pain and
sorrow, if / could. There is something
strangely appealing and half pathetic to
every loving father and mother in the
sight of a row of little shoes like those | see
before ne now. They arouse the tenderest
instincts of ones nature. | don't know
why.
The wearers Of the little shoes may have
been very fretful or mischievous or trying
all day. You may have beer .sall out of
patience with them. You may have
whipped the little hands or put the rebelli-
GUS little ones to bed, declaring that they
were worrying the life out of you;'' but
they are not worrying you now. and you go
about picking up a little stocking here and
a little shirt there with nothing but ten
derness in your heart toward them. You
think only of how precious the wearers of
the little clothes are, and there is no mel
ody on earth half so sweet to you as the
music Of the baby voices when they knelt
around you a little while ago, saying:
God bless mamma and papa and keep US
all safely through the night" You will
hear no voice sweeter than that on this side
of paradise.
You reproach yourself for your lack of
tenderness and patience as you look at that
little low of shoes, and sometimes you fall
to thinking of the unutterable sorrow that
would fill your heart to breaking if the
wearer of any one pair Of the little shoes
would wear them no more-if yoa should
awaken some morning, as heart broken
fathers and mothers have sometime awaken
ed, and find that the wearer of the little
shoes had gone from You in the night, to
wear the garments that wax not old.
Three pairs oflittle shoes. There are tears
in your eyes as you look at them now, aud
perhaps you steal softly to the bedside OF
the little sleepers to make sure that they
are sleeping sweetly and safely and to
touch their little hands or their cool, moist
brows with your lips, your heart filled with
tender memories, with hopes and fears,
with unspoken prayers. Three pairs OF
little shoes! Three little pilgrims Just set
ting out on a voyage of life, their frail
barks as yet untouched and unframed by
adverse winds and waves. God bring
them all To norli-Dstroi Ere PreSs.