The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1915-09-17


day is not usually pretty to look al
however, beautiful may be Its posi-
ticn and surroundings and howeve
lovely the views it may afford. Her
and there lying on the grass, or fiut
tering in the breeze are scraps o
paper, some clean, some staine,
I with grease, here and there al
empty sardinei box or an earthen
ware pot smeared with jam, egg
shells and bits Of hard-boiled eggs
chunks of bread, broken biscuits
ribs OF mutton with pieces of fest
still attached, bones of fowl, ant
sometimes even wings or legs will
enough meat on them to render tht
place speedily offensive to the nose
as we'll as the eye. The scene af
fords complete picture of thought
lessness, carelessness and thriftless
ness. OF thoughtlessness because
they did not think how destructive
their conduct was to the beauty Of
the place where they had enjoyed
themselves; of carelessness because
they did not consider that they
might thus prevent others having
the same enjoyment by causing the
owner of the place rigidly to exclude
all corners henceforward; of thrift
lessness because the chunks of bread
the broken biscuits, the pieces OF
hardboiled egg, the mutton bones
and pieces of fowl, If collected and
properly treated, might have fed a
small family for a week or more.
In strong contrast to this everyday
scene stands out the record of the
greatest picnic of which we have any
description.
i.
The scene is a grassy upland, with
hills rising to the northwest, and
far below the Jordan valley and the
blue lake of Galilee. Five thousand
men, besides women and children,
have left their ordinary work and
have come from all the towns and
villages round about to learn from
the great Teacher and listen to the
gracious words that proceeded out
of his mouth. But the sun is sink
ing in the west, throwing long
shadows across the sward, and banks
of cloud are gathering in the sky,
precursors of the storm that was to
break some hours later when His
disciples in their little boat were
trying to cross the lake. The sink
ing sun and the gathering clouds
showed that it was full time for the
multitude to depart to their homes.
The thoughtfulness and carefulness
of the Master foresaW the evil that
might ensue if they went away fast
ing, for they might faint by the
way, and so he said to his disciples,
"Give we them to eat" In orderly
ranks the multitude sat down on the
grass, but all the food the disciples
could find at first was five loaves and
two small fishes. This small pro-
vision was given by the Master to
His disciples, and by them distrib-
uted, and as they went on the sup
ply grew and grew until everyone
had eaten and was filled. Often one
hears as an excuse for waste, "There
is plenty more where that came |
from" Where could there have
been more reason for such an ex-
cuse than here. The night was ap-
preaching, the clouds were gather
ing, and the disciples were doubt
less anxious to get away as quickly
as they could and cross the lake, as
liable to squalls as loch in the
Scotch Highlands, before the storm
burst. Why should they waste pre-
cious time in clearing up the rem
nants. Should occasion arise at
some future time, would not the
want be miraculously supplied as it
had been just now?
But not so thought the Master.
Gather up the fragments that re-
main that nothing be lost" was His
command, and His twelve disciples
Zach gathered a basketful. But if
he fragments of bread and fish were
brown into the same baskets, the
mixture would be anything but ap-
and more fit for a pigs
rough than for human food. st.
dark's account appears to show that
he bread and fishes were gathered ,
nto separate baskets, for he says, :
They took up twelve baskets full !
# the fragments and of the fishes" h
The whole gospel of thrift is COM +
'rised in the pregnant sentence, h
Gather up the fragments that re- :
nain that nothing be lost" :
II. Ii
Nothing is to be Iost-neither t
ood, nor fuel, nor raiment, nor B
ealth. nor energy, nor time, nor e
aIenfs nor onnorfunitv IF all a