The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1892-12-16

away from the right, and how glad di.
vine mercy Is to take back the wandereri
How is it dones Bya picture. A good
father. Large farm with fat sheep and
oxen. Fine house with exquisite ward.
robe. Discontinued boy. Goes away.
Sharpers fleece him. Feeds hogs. Gets
homesick. Starts back. Sees an old
man running, 1t is fatherl The hand,
torn of the husks, gets ring. The foot,
infamed and bleeding, gets a sandal.
The bare shoulder, showing through the
tatters, gets robe. The stomach,
gnawing itself with hunger, gets full
platter smoking with meat. The father
cannot eat for looking at the returned
adventurer. Tears running down the
faco until they come to smile--tne
night dew melting into the morning.
No work on the farm that day, for
when bS boy repents and CO os
back promising to do better, God knows
that is enough for one day, 'And they
began TO be merry" Picture-"prodigal
Son Returned from the Wilderness" So
God, our Mother, teaches us everything
by pictures. The sinner is lost sheep.
Jesus is the bridegroom. The useless
man barren fig tree. The Gospel is
great supper. Satan, sower of tarcs.
Truth, u mustard seed. That which we
could not have understood in the alb
stract statement God, our Mother, pre-
scnts to us in this Bible album of pic
lures, God engraved. Is not the divine
maternity ever thus teaching us?
remark again that God has moth.
er's favoritisn. A father sometimes
shows sort of favoritism. Here is
boy-strons, we'll, of high forehead AMI
quick intellect. The father says, 81
will take that boy into my firm yet" or,
II will give him the very best possible
education" There are instances where,
for the culture of the one boy, all the
Others have been robbed. A sad favor
itism, but that is not the mothers favor
lite. will tell you her favorito.
There is child who at two years of
age had a fall. He has never got over
| it. The scarlet fever muffled his hear
ing. He is not what he once was. That
child has caused the mother more anx-
ious nights than all the other children
If he coughs In the night she springs
out Of sound sleep and goes to him.
The last thing she does when going out
of the house is to give charge in regard
to him. The first thing on coming in is
to ask in regard to him.
Why, the children of the family all
know that he is the favorite and say:
Mother, you let him do just rs he
| nj nd l.,
things which you do not give us. He is
your favorite." The mother smiles; she
knows it is so. So he ought to be, for if
there is any one in the world that needs
sympathy more than another it is an in
valid child, weary on the first mile of
life's journey-carrying an aching head,
a weak side, an irritated lung. So the
mother ought to make him favorite
God, our Mother, has favorites. Whom
the Lord loreth he chasteneth"-
is, one whom he especially loves he chas-
teneth.
God loves us all, but is there one
weak and sick and sore and wounded
and suffering and faint? That is the
one who lies nearest and more perpetual
ly on the great loving heart of God.
Why, 1t never coughs but our Mother
God-hears it. 1t never stirs a weary
limb in the bed but our Mother-God--
knows of it. There is nosuch a watcher
as God. The best nurse may be over
borne by fatigue and fall asleep in the
chair; but God, our Mother, after being
up year of nights with a suffering
child, never slumbers nor sleeps.
IN THE FURNACE OF AFFLIcTIoN.
"Oh," says one, Il cannot understand
all that about affliction!'' A refiner of
silver once explained it to Christian
lady. II put the silver in the fire, and
keep refining it and trying it till can
see my face in it, and then take it out"
Just SO it is that God keeps his dear
children in the furnace till the divine
image may be seen in them; then they
are taken out of the fire. "Well," says
some one, ''if that is the way that God
treats his favorites, do not want to be
favorite."
There is barren field on an autumn
day just wanting to be let alone. There
Is a bang at the bars and a rattle of
whifietrees and clevises. The field says,
"What is the farmer going to do with
me now? The farmer puts the pillow in
the ground, shouts to the horses, the
Golfer goes tearing through the sod,
and the furrow reaches from fence to
fence. Next day there is bang at the
bars and rattle Of whif1etrees again.
The field says, II wonder what the farm
er is going to do now!" The farmer
bitches the horses to the harrow, and it
goes bounding and tearing across the
field.
Next day there is rattle at the bars
again, and the field says, What is the
farmer going to do nowr He walks
heavily across the field, scattering seed
as he walks. After awhile cloud comes
The field says, What, more troubier'
1t begins to rain. After awhile the
wind changes to the northeast, and it be-
gins to snow. Says the field: as ii not
enough that have been torn and tram.
pied upon and drowned? Must nov be
showed under?" After awhile sprirs
comes out of the gates of the south, and
warmth and gladness come with it. A
green scarf bandages the cash Of the
wheat fell, and the July morning drops
a crown of gold on the head Of the grain.
"Oh,' says the field, "now know the
use of the plcw, of the harrow, of tie
heavy foot, of the shower and of the
snowstorm. 1t is well enough to be trod-
den and trampled and drowned and
showed under if in the END can yield
such glorious harvest" Ale that 60
eth forth and weepeth, bearing precious
seed, shall doubtless come again with re-
joicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
THROUGH GREAT CIRCULATION.
When see God especially busy in
troubling and trying a Christian, know
that ont of that Christians character
there is to come some especial good. A
quarryman goes down into the excaya-
ton, and with strong handed machinery
bores into the rock. The rock says,
"What do you do that for7" He puts
powder in; he lights fuse. There is
laundering crash. The rock says, "Why,
the whole mountain is going to pieces"