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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:48:36 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:48:36 -0700 |
| commit | 0c06446012d941642655ff2119520f408ac2cf90 (patch) | |
| tree | 01a0a33456a8bd9f3ddc67a3f76ffeb6b0c62862 | |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/16305-h.zip b/16305-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..48e691d --- /dev/null +++ b/16305-h.zip diff --git a/16305-h/16305-h.htm b/16305-h/16305-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..83fef36 --- /dev/null +++ b/16305-h/16305-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,7829 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" +"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"/> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Crayon and Character, by B. J. Griswold.</title> + +<style type="text/css"> + +body { margin-left:8%; margin-right:7%; } +p { margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 0; + line-height: 1.3em; } + body > p { text-align: justify; + text-indent: 1.5em;} +.center { text-align: center; } + +img { border: none; padding: 0; margin: 5px; } +p.caption { margin-top: 0; + font-size: smaller; } +h1 { text-align:center; + } +h2 { margin-top:3em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + text-align:center; + position:relative; } +h3 { margin-top: 2em; + text-align:center; + font-family: sans-serif; } +p.subtitle { text-align:center; + font-family: sans-serif; + font-weight: bold; } +p.lesson { text-align: justify; + font-family: sans-serif; + font-weight: bold; + text-indent: -2em; + padding-left: 2em; } +small.day { position:absolute; + right:0; + text-align:left; + font-family:sans-serif; + font-size:0.55em; } +br.nocss { display:none; } +h1+p { text-indent: 0; } +h2+p { text-indent: 0; } +h3+p { text-indent: 0; } +h4+p { text-indent: 0; } +hr { width:30%; margin-top:0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;} + +.center { text-align: center; } +ol.AL { list-style-type: lower-alpha; } +ul.OFF { list-style-type: none; } +dt,dd,li { margin-top: 0.15em; line-height: 1.2em; } + +blockquote.verse { margin-left:20%; margin-right:20%; } + +.hangindent {text-indent: -0.6em; margin-left: 0.6em;} +ins.correction { text-decoration:none; + border-bottom: thin dotted gray; } +ul.TOC { list-style-type: none; + position: relative; + margin-right:20%; + margin-left: 20%; } +span.ralign { position: absolute; right: 0; top: auto; } +</style> + +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Crayon and Character: Truth Made Clear +Through Eye and Ear, by B.J. Griswold + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Crayon and Character: Truth Made Clear Through Eye and Ear + Or, Ten-Minute Talks with Colored Chalks + +Author: B.J. Griswold + +Release Date: July 15, 2005 [EBook #16305] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CRAYON AND CHARACTER *** + + + + +Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Laura Wisewell, and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<center> +<h1>CRAYON AND CHARACTER</h1> + +<h2>Truth Made Clear Through Eye and Ear<br /> +<i>or</i><br /> +Ten-Minute Talks With Colored Chalks</h2> +<p><b><big>B. J. GRISWOLD</big><br /> +<br /><br /> + +MEIGS PUBLISHING COMPANY<br /> +INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA +<br /><br /> +1913<br /> +First Reprint 1918</b></p></center> + + + + +<h2>FOREWORD.</h2> + + +<p>Any earnest Christian who is capable of addressing an audience or a +Sunday school class, can, by the aid of this book, give a helpful +chalk talk. The book has been designed to meet a growing need of this +important phase of teaching.</p> + +<p>Any parent, with this book in the home, can use it not only to teach +the boy or the girl a simple method of drawing, but may implant in the +life of the child the good seed of the Tree of Life.</p> + +<p>In the preparation of these talks, "Life" has been the keyword. The +thought permeates both the text and the style of illustration used. +It is also a feature of the arrangement of each talk whereby a +"developing" or "living" picture holds the attention of the listeners +through two "scenes" or "steps" of unfolding.</p> + +<p>Many of the time-honored symbols will not be found in these pages. The +Anchor as the emblem of Hope, and the Crown as the type of Victory or +Kingship have given place to symbols and types from nature and from +the every-day life of common folks.</p> + +<p>Many a smile has been introduced. And why not? We proclaim the Gospel +as the Good News, the message of joy and gladness. The New Testament, +with its glad tidings of great joy, is one continuous song. Always, +however, it has been the aim to lead the thoughts of the listener to +Him whose Light we are to reflect among men.</p> + +<p>The title of each chalk talk appears twice in the index, in order to +provide a wide range of subjects from which to select an appropriate +lesson for each occasion.</p> + +<p>In his years of experience as a newspaper writer and illustrator, the +author has endeavored to cultivate the art of saying as much as +possible in a few words and drawn lines. In this book (and in your +chalk talk work) the same thought applies. As a Sunday school +superintendent and a teacher, the author hopes that many may not be +afraid to undertake the use of chalk after studying the easy method +here described. As a means of enlarging your usefulness as a teacher +of the Eternal Truth, the book, we believe, contains much that will +help and encourage.</p> +<p style="text-align:right;">B. J. GRISWOLD.<br />Fort Wayne, Indiana. +</p> + + + + +<h2>"BEFORE TAKING."</h2> + + +<p>There are too many books published which are GOOD for <i>two things +only</i>:</p> +<ul class="OFF"> +<li>FIRST—They are good sellers, possibly "Best Sellers."</li> + +<li>SECOND—They are good at keeping people out of bed till +midnight—because they make such "mighty interestin' reading."</li> +</ul> +<p>Such books may make their authors famous and their publishers rich, +but if that is all they are good for, we would not care to sell, much +less to publish, them.</p> + +<p>The book which the reader holds is put out, not because it is bound to +be a <i>good seller</i> nor because it is <i>interesting</i>, but because +of its power to HELP Christian work and workers, and of its own +ability to give instruction in righteousness to its readers, old and +young; to sow seed thoughts of truth in human minds and hearts.</p> + +<p>And who will it help?</p> +<ul class="OFF"> +<li>All Christian platform workers in general and the Sunday School +Superintendent in particular.</li> + +<li>The Superintendent, especially on all "Special Days."</li> + +<li>The Pastor, especially in the prayer meeting where any kind of help, +<i>so it is help</i>, will be welcomed by most pastors.</li> +</ul> +<p>It will be useful to all because of its wealth of material and +illustration for expressive and impressive <i>little, big, ten-minute +talks</i>, whenever opportunity offers.</p> + +<p>We commend the book with all earnestness, to these various classes of +people, and will insist that no father or mother will ever be the +poorer, but the richer, who will part with the price and get in +exchange for it a copy of this book, as a birthday or Christmas gift +to a son or daughter between ten and twenty years of age. It will help +parents in the uncertain and difficult problem of rearing their +children in a way that will make them and keep them a joy in the home, +rather than a heartache, a heart break, and the saddest kind of a +bereavement, which is too often the case. Surely a dollar spent which +may help avert this, is worth far more than a hundred cents lying +unused in a bank.</p> + +<p>There are sixty-two picture outlines in the book, and with every +picture a ten-minute talk, with chalk illustration, which recites and +impresses, now, a great and noble deed of a truly noble man; now a +kindly act with a double blessing in it; again, a warning to those who +unknowingly set foot upon the devil's ground and find it a miry or +slimy pit; or, it may be a lesson from one of the world's great poets +or historians, for the author has evidently been a reader of great +books with a mind to recall many lessons learned therefrom.</p> + +<p style="text-align:right;">THE PUBLISHERS.</p> + + + +<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> + +<ul class="TOC"> +<li><span class="ralign">Page.</span></li> +<li>INTRODUCTION:<ul class="OFF"> +<li>The plan of the Book. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p7a">7</a></span></li> +<li>The Value of Chalk Talks. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p7b">7</a></span></li> +<li>The Two-Scene Method. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p8a">8</a></span></li> +<li>Chalk Work on Paper. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p8b">8</a></span></li> +<li>Materials Are Cheap. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p8c">8</a></span></li> +<li>Important to Beginners. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p8d">8</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li>EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS:<ul class="OFF"> +<li>The Drawing Board. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p10a">10</a></span></li> +<li>The Drawing Paper. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p10b">10</a></span></li> +<li>The Chalk. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p12a">12</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li>PREPARING TO GIVE THE CHALK TALK:<ul class="OFF"> +<li>The Method Explained. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p12b">12</a></span></li> +<li>Outlining the <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'Rigth'">Right</ins> Picture. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p13">13</a></span></li> +<li>Not an Artist, But a Teacher. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p14a">14</a></span></li> +<li>Finishing Part of the Drawing in Advance. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p14b">14</a></span></li> +<li>The Value of <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'Individualtiy'">Individuality.</ins> <span class="ralign"><a href="#p14c">14</a></span></li> +<li>International or Graded Lessons. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p14d">14</a></span></li> +<li>Talks for Special Days. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p14e">14</a></span></li> +<li>Talk vs. Chalk. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p16a">16</a></span></li> +<li>Strive Only for Good. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p16b">16</a></span></li> +<li>Recording Your Talks. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p16c">16</a></span></li> +<li>A Word to Parents. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p16d">16</a></span></li> +<li>A Final Word to Pastors. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p18">18</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li>INDEX:<ul class="OFF"> +<li>Talks for Special Days. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p205">205</a></span></li> +<li>Subject Index. <span class="ralign"><a href="#p207">207</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +</ul> + + +<blockquote class="verse" style="margin-top:6em; margin-bottom:6em;"> +<p>His pictured morals mend the mind<br /> +And through the eye correct the heart.</p> +<p style="text-align:right;">—GARRICK, <i>on Hogarth</i>.</p> +</blockquote> + + + +<h2>INTRODUCTION.</h2> + + +<h3><a name="p7a" id="p7a"></a>The Plan of the Book.</h3> + +<p>In the preparation of this book the author has had two great plans in +mind:</p> + +<p>To prepare a work which will enable <i>any person, who can speak to a +class or an audience, to give a helpful, inspiring illustrated +talk</i>; to place in the hands of parents everywhere a book to enable +them to teach the children a simple, fascinating method of drawing +and, at the same time make the great truths of life a part of their +every-day learning.</p> + +<p>Clear instructions are given as to the method of doing these two +things. Then come sixty-two complete talks of special appropriateness +for Christian teaching. If you are included in the following classes +of workers, the book should be of special value to you:</p> +<ol class="AL"> +<li>Speakers who earnestly want to give illustrated talks, but +who feel that they "can't draw a straight line."</li> + +<li>Those who are experienced in chalk talk work and are seeking +new material.</li> + +<li>Teachers of the Uniform Lessons.</li> + +<li>Teachers of Graded Lessons.</li> + +<li>Sunday school superintendents, for platform work.</li> + +<li>Pastors, for use in prayer meetings and many other services +of the church.</li> + +<li>Temperance workers. In this department of work this book +is especially worthy of consideration.</li> + +<li>Those who need suggestions to help them work out their +own addresses.</li> + +<li>Parents for giving instruction in the home. It is a great +truth that such teaching is far more effective than any which the +church or the schools may provide.</li> +</ol> + +<h3><a name="p7b" id="p7b"></a>The Value of Chalk Talks.</h3> + +<p>Scientists tell us that <i>nothing which completely occupies the mind +for any length of time is ever forgotten</i>.</p> + +<p>This, then, is the reason that the chalk talk method of teaching is so +lastingly impressive. People forget everything else while watching a +speaker draw a picture. And if they do that, they can never completely +forget the words of the speaker or the picture he draws. A baby that +doesn't know one letter from another can understand some pictures as +well as <i>you</i> can. Try him once and see. And if he lives to be a +hundred years of age, he will receive more lasting impressions from +pictures than from what he reads. Your audience, therefore, may be +depended upon to be "right with you" from the beginning.</p> + + +<h3><a name="p8a" id="p8a"></a>The Two-Scene Method.</h3> + +<p>Added to this feature of securing strict attention, we find in this +book another help in the same direction: Every talk is given in two +"scenes" or steps. The speaker draws part of the picture, while he +speaks, and then, at a little later period, adds the lines to complete +the drawing and bring the scene to a climax. In each talk, the upper +picture is the first scene, and the lower picture is the second scene, +or completed drawing.</p> + + +<h3><a name="p8b" id="p8b"></a>Chalk Work on Paper.</h3> + +<p>The book is planned to encourage the use of sheets of book- or +news-paper instead of the blackboard. Paper is used by all leading +workers with chalk. To discard the blackboard is to take a forward +step. However, if you are "wedded" to the use of the blackboard and +can handle it effectively, you will find all but a small number of +these illustrations adapted to your method.</p> + + +<h3><a name="p8c" id="p8c"></a>Materials Are Cheap.</h3> + +<p>Probably your school or church is already supplied with the necessary +apparatus to do all the work as planned in this book. However, for any +who may need to provide for himself a drawing board and easel, +instructions for making them are here given. It is only necessary, +then, to procure drawing paper and chalk. These are cheap in price and +easy to get. You are urged, therefore, to proceed with the use of +drawing paper as here instructed, and to lay aside the blackboard for +the more advanced method.</p> + + +<h3><a name="p8d" id="p8d"></a>Important to Beginners.</h3> + +<p>Each drawing in the book, as already stated, is given in two "scenes," +in order to show you how your drawing will look <i>when it is partly +finished</i> (first scene), and how it will look <i>when it is +completed</i> (second scene).</p> + +<p>If you are at all "bashful" about taking up the work, let us make this +suggestion: In the seclusion of your home or elsewhere, draw the +<i>first scene</i> of your talk completely. Thus you will have plenty +of time to make it to suit you, with no one to look on and fluster or +confuse you. Then cover up the completed work, by placing another +sheet of paper over it. When you appear before the audience to give +your talk, give your spoken introduction and lead up to the <i>first +scene</i>. At this point, remove the cover paper and expose your +drawing. Proceed with your talk until you reach the climax in the +<i>second scene</i>, at which time you give the picture the final +lines with your crayon. Many will find this an easy, satisfactory way +to give these talks—indeed many of the illustrations in the book are +most effective if given in this way. Experience, however, brings +greater confidence, and many will prefer to do most of their drawing +in sight of the audience.</p> + +<p>Devote yourself to a thorough understanding of essentials, and you +will be pleased at the ease with which the field opens. The +encouraging words of your associates and the echoes of the good you +are doing will strengthen your confidence.</p> + + +<h2><ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: despite table of contents, original did not have this heading in capitals.">EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS.</ins></h2> + +<p>The necessary equipment and materials for the work include the drawing +board, the drawing paper and the chalk (or lecture crayons).</p> + + +<h3><a name="p10a" id="p10a"></a>The Drawing Board.</h3> + +<p>Probably your school has a reversible blackboard mounted on an easel, +like that shown in <a href="#fig1">Fig. 1</a>. If so, you will find it amply sufficient +for your use. The two or three little holes made by the thumb tacks, +to attach your drawing paper to the board, at the top, will not injure +it in the least. If you haven't such a board, it would be well to +procure one, as it can be used for many purposes. The writer has often +used a board of this kind in giving chalk talks. The publishers of +this book will be glad to give full information as to size and price +of such a board.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig1" name="fig1"></a> + <img src="images/001fig.png" width="400" height="308" + alt="Figure 1: Drawing Board." + /> +</div> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig2" name="fig2"></a> + <img src="images/002fig.png" width="400" height="314" + alt="Figure 2: Square Board." + /> +</div> + +<p>Another convenient and cheap equipment is an ordinary square board, +<a href="#fig2">Fig. 2</a>. If you take six boards, each 45 inches long, 7 inches wide and +1/2 inch thick, and attach them to two cleats at the back, you will +have a good, serviceable drawing board which can be hung against the +wall with screw hooks and screw eyes; or, it can be set on an easel or +other convenient holder. It is only necessary that the board be smooth +and the wood be well-seasoned soft pine or bass wood to keep it from +warping. If screws are used to fasten the boards to the cleats, screw +them through from the back, leaving the front perfectly smooth. Be +sure that the screws aren't too long. It would be well to stain the +board brown or some other dark color.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig3" name="fig3"></a> + <img src="images/003fig.png" width="400" height="308" + alt="Figure 3: Easel." + /> +</div> + +<p>A combination drawing board and easel is shown in <a href="#fig3">Fig. 3</a>, a back view +of which is given. Take six boards of well-seasoned soft pine, 45 +inches long, 8 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. For the rear legs, use +two pieces 5 feet and 8 inches long, 2 inches wide and 1/2 inch +thick. A wire should be attached to each rear leg to avoid spreading. +<a href="#fig4">Fig. 4</a> shows this board and easel in use.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig4" name="fig4"></a> + <img src="images/004fig.png" width="400" height="309" + alt="Figure 4:Using the board and easel." + /> +</div> + + +<h3><a name="p10b" id="p10b"></a>The Drawing Paper.</h3> + +<p>The most inexpensive paper for chalk talk work is the kind on which +newspapers are printed. It may be purchased from printing houses, +paper dealers or newspaper offices. A cheap quality of book-paper is +also good, and may be bought from printing houses and paper +dealers. Ordinary light-colored, light-weight manila paper, such as is +used for wrapping, is very satisfactory; it may be procured from paper +dealers, or, if you want but a small quantity, probably any merchant +would be glad to supply you. The lines which you intend to place on it +may be worth infinitely more than the goods he plans to wrap in it.</p> + + +<h3><a name="p12a" id="p12a"></a>The Chalk.</h3> + +<p>The writer is accustomed to using chalk made by the American Crayon +Company, which can be had at any time from the publishers of this +book, and, doubtless, from other publishers. Ask for "lecture +crayons." A complete price list, together with samples of colors, will +be furnished on request. For general work it is well to have on hand a +half dozen sticks of black and a stick each of green, brown, red, +yellow, orange and blue. The lecture crayons come in two sizes, one +measuring one inch square and three inches long; the other is one-half +inch square and three inches in length. If you choose the larger size, +the sticks can, when advisable, be cut to the smaller size.</p> + + + +<h2>PREPARING TO GIVE THE TALK</h2> + + +<p>The instructions here given are for the beginner. Others will follow +their accustomed methods. In our introduction we make the claim that +any earnest Christian worker, who is capable of addressing an audience +or a Sunday school class can, by the aid of this book, give a helpful +chalk talk.</p> + +<p>Your response may be, "But, I can't draw." Listen! The following +instructions will teach you how to do the work without a technical or +practical knowledge of drawing. Let us take up the matter step by +step. When you understand the process, it will be "as easy as falling +off a log," and it won't jolt you half as much.</p> + + +<h3><a name="p12b" id="p12b"></a>The Method Explained.</h3> + +<p>THE FIRST STEP—Before the time comes to give your talk, attach half a +dozen sheets of your drawing paper to your drawing board, making a +smooth drawing surface. It is well to use thumb tacks for this +purpose. Open the book to <a href="#p19">page</a> <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads '26'"><a href="#p19">19</a></ins>, for we will prepare to give the +chalk talk entitled "The Two Faces." The upper picture. <a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>, shows +the picture partly finished; the lower picture, <a href="#fig8">Fig. 8</a>, shows how the +picture will look when completed. You will note that the lower picture +is cut up into squares measuring one-fourth of an inch each way.</p> + +<p>THE SECOND STEP—By the use of a yardstick and lead pencil, draw +pencil lines on the large sheets of drawing paper, so as to separate +the drawing paper into the same number of squares as there are on the +picture in the book. Your paper is much larger than the page of the +book; therefore the squares on your drawing paper must be made much +larger than the squares in the book. It is easy to calculate the size +of the squares you should draw on the paper. Measure the width of the +paper in inches and divide by sixteen (the number of squares across +the picture in the book), and this will give you the figure +representing the size of the squares you are to draw on the paper. If +your drawing paper is thirty-two inches wide, your squares will +measure two inches each way.</p> + +<p>THE THIRD STEP—Select one of the squares in <a href="#fig8">Fig. 8</a> as a starting +point, and then find the corresponding square on your drawing +paper. Having done this, draw a pencil line on your drawing paper, +which will cross your enlarged squares in just the same places that +the line crosses the small squares in the book. Continue the process +until both faces have been outlined on your paper in the enlarged +form. Then, with a piece of soft rubber, erase all of the straight +pencil lines which form the squares, and the remaining outlines of the +two faces will stand out clear and distinct. Already you will have +found that you are more of an artist than you thought you were! This +sheet of paper, with its dim pencil outlines of the picture, is now +ready to be brought before your audience. You must, however, be sure +of one thing: the pencil outlines must be just plain enough for +<i>you</i> to see them without difficulty, but they must be dimmed +with the eraser to such an extent that your audience <i>cannot</i> see +them. Thus you have before you a complete outline of the picture you +are to draw, and, as you speak, you merely trace over these dim pencil +outlines with your chalk. Isn't it simple?</p> + +<p>THE FOURTH STEP—All of the preparations up to this time have been +done in the quietude of your own room. You are now ready to place your +drawing board before your audience. After a smile of greeting you +begin your talk. "Let us," you say, "talk for a little while about our +thoughts," and then you proceed until you reach the reference to the +sour-faced man. "Here, for instance," you continue, "is a man with a +face something like this:" and you begin your drawing, starting +anywhere you choose. Take your time, and when you have finished the +sour face, the audience will show its appreciation with a heartily +responsive smile. This completes <a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>. Proceed then with the talk +until you reach the reference to the man with the sunny face. "Here +comes a man who looks something like this:" Draw the second face, and +you will have completed <a href="#fig8">Fig. 8</a> and reached the climax of the +drawing. As you make the application of the lesson, you will feel that +your effort has already repaid you for the work you have undertaken, +and each succeeding attempt will make the work easier until it becomes +a pleasing habit.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig5" name="fig5"></a> + <img src="images/005fig.png" width="400" height="557" + alt="Figure 5: Tracing the pencil lines with chalk." + /> +</div> + +<p>In <a href="#fig5">Fig. 5</a> and <a href="#fig6">Fig. 6</a> are shown a section of each of the faces of the +talk just referred to. Here they are enlarged four times. A-A shows +the preliminary pencil lines forming the one-inch squares, B-B +indicates the pencil outlines of the faces, and C-C illustrates the +tracing of the pencil lines with the chalk. In this instance black +chalk only is required.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig6" name="fig6"></a> + <img src="images/006fig.png" width="400" height="567" + alt="Figure 6: Tracing the pencil lines with chalk." + /> +</div> + + +<h3><a name="p13" id="p13"></a>Outlining the Right Picture.</h3> + +<p>In some of the talks in the book, the dotted squares cover the upper +picture; in others, they are drawn over the lower picture. In either +case, the one containing the squares is the one to be outlined on your +drawing paper.</p> + + +<h3><a name="p14a" id="p14a"></a>Not an Artist, But a Teacher.</h3> + +<p>There should be no hesitation on your part to trace with chalk the +pencil lines which you have placed on your drawing paper. Remember, +always, that you are posing as a humble teacher of God's Word and not +as an artist. Your pencil outline holds the same relation to your +chalk talk that the minister's notes hold to his sermon. Both are +prepared in advance to enable the speaker to best present his +message. Do not try to conceal your method. There is nothing about it +of which you need be ashamed.</p> + + +<h3><a name="p14b" id="p14b"></a>Finishing Part of the Drawing in Advance.</h3> + +<p>Now that the process has been explained in detail, a thorough +understanding of the suggestion under the heading, "Important to +Beginners," seems most essential as a still easier way to do the work. +Finishing part of the work in advance still leaves the speaker +something to do, and the audience will always be interested in finding +out what that "something" is to be.</p> + + +<h3><a name="p14c" id="p14c"></a>The Value of Individuality.</h3> + +<p>It is well for the beginner to cultivate an individual style of +speaking. Substitute your own methods of expression in place of the +language of the book. The more you do it, the larger will be the +feeling that the message is a personal one from you to your hearers. +Whenever you can do so, substitute a "home" illustration for the one +in the book. As you become more accustomed to the work you will +doubtless use pictures and subjects entirely outside of the +book. Remember that any outline picture may be enlarged after the +method here shown. Cut your picture into squares with drawn lines, and +enlarge it in the same manner. Many Bible scenes may be shown in this +way.</p> + + +<h3><a name="p14d" id="p14d"></a>International or Graded Lessons.</h3> + +<p>The book has been provided with two indexes. One directs you to +fitting talks for special days. The other serves as a guide to talks +and illustrations suitable to the application of any lesson. Determine +the central thought of the lesson and consult the Subject Index. It +will help you choose a talk appropriate for the day. The talk may need +a little revision to enable you to give it the proper application, but +the main thought will be readily apparent.</p> + + +<h3><a name="p14e" id="p14e"></a>Talks for Special Days.</h3> + +<p>The index for suitable talks for special days includes some which are +not yet generally observed but which are of growing importance. +Introducing some of these into your school or church as novelties, +they may become as permanent as Easter, Children's Day, Rally Day and +others.</p> + + +<h3><a name="p16a" id="p16a"></a>Talk vs. Chalk.</h3> + +<p>No matter how little preparation you may need for your talk, remember +that the words you speak are of greatest importance. It is to your +words that you must give careful study, or your audience may lose the +force of your thought while centering their attention upon the +developing picture.</p> + +<p>Never apologize for the appearance of your drawing or of your ability +as an artist. Strive to present truth only. Truth needs no apology.</p> + +<p>Do not draw in a sketchy manner. Determine on the place to begin your +drawing and then use a continuous, easy line, without lifting the +chalk from the paper, except when necessary to start in a new place.</p> + + +<h3><a name="p16b" id="p16b"></a>Strive Only for Good.</h3> + +<p>The design of this book has been to present brief, impressive talks +which hold attention for from ten to twelve minutes. It is advisable +never to speak longer than this, especially when children form a part +of your audience and are the special object of your words. If you +cease speaking just when the audience wants to hear more, you will +always be assured of a hearing the next time. If you leave one single +wholesome thought with your audience you will have accomplished the +greatest good.</p> + +<p>Avoid mannerisms. Cultivate an easy style of speaking and working. +Don't become discouraged if everything doesn't go to suit you. Your +audience is not a critical but a sympathetic one. All are striving to +do the Master's work, and the field you have undertaken will bring you +the interest and the kindliest co-operation of all who are working +with but one great object in view.</p> + + +<h3><a name="p16c" id="p16c"></a>Recording Your Talks.</h3> + +<p>It is suggested that each talk, as you give it, be so marked in the +book as to indicate the time and place of its use, so you will avoid +possible repetition before the same audience months or years later.</p> + + +<h3><a name="p16d" id="p16d"></a>A Word to Parents.</h3> + +<p>The same general principles of procedure as those here given are +suggested as the best method of using this book in the home. For the +very little children, the parent will find it well to enlarge the +outlines upon paper and tell the stories in such a way as can be +understood best, but for the boys or girls who are in the younger +grades at school the book describes a method of drawing which will +delight and instruct them. Of course, the parent will have to teach +the method to the children, as they will be incapable of understanding +it from the printed description. With this instruction will come the +unfolding of the stories of the book and their application. A child, +when he sees a picture of a face or a house or any other object, wants +to know all about it—whose it is, what it is or what it is for. This +is true especially if it be a picture which he is asked to draw for +himself or which he sees drawn. This enables the parent to give into +expectant and waiting ears the great truths of Christ as expressed in +pictures which the child understands.</p> + +<p>It is best, we believe; in instructing those who are old enough to do +the drawing themselves or watch the parent do it, to select paper of +such a size as can be used on a desk or table. Ordinary letter-size +unruled tablet paper is convenient to get and easily handled. Let the +child square off the page, under the parent's directions, and then let +him do his part in tracing the picture from the book. Doubtless, some +of the enlarged pictures will be "fearfully and wonderfully made," but +it is a start in a splendid direction—a start which may have its +ending in the happiness for which every parent longs and which cannot +come unless the children begin in childhood to become the companions +of their parents—companions who cannot be separated in later years by +distance or the disturbances of the earthly life.</p> + + +<h3><a name="p18" id="p18"></a>A Final Word to Ministers.</h3> + +<p>Do not forget that there is no earthly or heavenly reason why a +minister should not have a blackboard or an easel on the pulpit +platform or in the prayer meeting room to help him keep his audiences +awake while he tries to drive truth home to heart and mind. It is +every preacher's duty to be <i>interesting</i>, and if this book and +the blackboard, or the equipment for chalk talk work, will help him to +be so, then it is his plain duty to buy the book and secure the chalk +and easel and <i>"get busy" being interesting!</i></p> + +<p>And there is one more thing: Don't forget you can do it—<i>if you +try!</i></p> + +<p>And now, with these general instructions and observations, the book is +commended to the use of all who have the love of Christ in their +hearts and who, as faithful workers, may wish to add one more working +tool to those they have used so well.</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="p19" id="p19"></a>THE TWO FACES <small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Our Thoughts<br />—Optimism</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">"As a Man Thinketh in His Heart, So Is He"—A Lesson in Character +Building.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That our thoughts determine the kind of life we live, +and often proclaim character in the face.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>If the teacher succeeds in impressing upon the pupil the great need to +"guard well thy thoughts," for "our thoughts are heard in heaven," he +will have accomplished a work of immeasurable good in the life of the +child or youth who is the fortunate object of such interest.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Let us think a while about our thoughts. Do you know it is a fact +that a man, seated quietly in an easy chair on his front porch on a +summer evening, may be sinning against God and man? Yes, it's true, +for, as he sits there in the silence, he can hate another man with a +bitter hatred; he can plan to rob him or burn his house or slander him +or even take his life. And the worst of it all is that if he allows +such thoughts to rent a room in his head it may not be long before his +evil designs have become awful deeds.</p> + +<p>"Not many boys or girls think such terrible things, but thoughts of +this kind are only the little bad thoughts allowed to grow year after +year in the head and in the heart. And do you know, also, that if you +allow these little bad thoughts to live in your head and heart for a +while, they get so bold and 'sassy' that they insist on taking +possession of the best room of your head and the parlor of your heart +and defy you to put them out? The only thing to do is to throw them +out the very first time they come in.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig7" name="fig7"></a> + <img src="images/007fig.png" width="400" height="309" + alt="Figure 7: Sour-faced man." + /> +<p class="caption">(In each instance, the upper picture shows how the drawing will look +when partly finished.)</p> +</div> + +<p>"Let us take a walk down-street and mix with the crowd. Every person +whom we see is thinking about something, even though he doesn't say a +word, and we believe, as we look into the faces we meet, that we can +tell just what kind of thoughts some of them have. Here, for instance, +is a man with a face something like this: [Draw the sour face, +completing the first step, <a href="#fig7">Fig. 7</a>.] He looks grouchy; perhaps he is +vicious, and we avoid brushing against him. Perhaps he has lost money +in a business deal; perhaps he wanted a political position and didn't +get it; perhaps a supposed friend has proven untrue; perhaps his +disappointment, whatever it is, has made him sour and crabbed. But he +passes on, and we meet other faces. Here comes a man who looks +something like this: [Draw the happy face, completing <a href="#fig8">Fig. 8</a>.] He +doesn't look as if he had a care in all the world, does he? And yet we +may find that he, too, has lost money in a business transaction that +was full of promise—that he, also, has failed to win a political +race; that he has been mistreated by a supposed friend. And yet, +through it all, he has never lost sight of the sunshine. He has +learned many a valuable lesson from each of his disappointments, and +perhaps he has had a good many more of them than the other fellow ever +knew.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig8" name="fig8"></a> + <img src="images/008fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 8: Happy man's face." + /> +<p class="caption">(The lower view shows the appearance of the drawing completed.)</p> +</div> + +<p>"Now, what has made the difference in these two men? Their thoughts +have made the difference. The grouch has, for years, entertained +grouchy thoughts. The sunshiny man has cultivated the habit of seeing +the bright side of things. That's all there is to it.</p> + +<p>"How about you, boys? And you, girls? What kind of thoughts do you +think? I said, you remember, that if bad thoughts get into your head +and heart, they stick there defiantly. But, listen! If you let good +thoughts into your head and heart, they, too, will settle down and +make their home with you and your happiness is assured.</p> + +<p>"Don't get into the habit of growling because the street car is two +minutes late. Thank your lucky stars that there is a street car to +come at all!</p> + +<p>"Learn to be happy. A smiling face is welcome everywhere. People +scamper away from a scowling countenance, especially if the owner of +it insists upon telling his woes and troubles.</p> + +<p>"Remember that happiness depends not upon how many burdens we worry +about, but upon how many blessings we are glad about—it depends not +upon what we have, but upon what we enjoy. God says, 'Let the wicked +forsake his ways and the <i>unrighteous</i> man <i>his thoughts</i>'—that +is, his unrighteous thoughts. Why? Because God knows that vulgar +thoughts make vulgar men, and evil thoughts make evil men. So boys, +make a practice of chasing them out of your heads as you would drive a +snake out of your bedroom."</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="p22" id="p22"></a>THE CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: The original has these uses listed in the index, but omitted them in the title of this talk."><br class="nocss"/><small class="day">—Christmas<br />—The Needy</small></ins></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">It Is Well to Remember the Poor at Christmas, but it is Infinitely +Better to Be a True Friend Every Day.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the true Christmas spirit is that which causes us +to remember the <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'eedy'">needy</ins> always, whether their need be for the +necessities of life or for the love of a real friend.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>Too many of us are <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note:original reads 'inclinded'">inclined</ins> to shower our gifts and our good wishes +upon the needy at the glad Christmas season, and then neglect this +great field of service throughout another twelve-month period.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"As we go out upon the street today everybody seems to be happy and +full of laughter and good cheer. People who usually pass us by without +speaking at all or who merely nod without as much as a smile, act +today as if they knew us very well; they smile real widely and say +'Merry Christmas!' just as heartily as they know how, and we respond +to the greeting with a 'Same to you!' with an inner feeling of +friendliness that somehow surprises us. It is a time when nearly every +heart is warmed, and we find our greatest joy in seeing how happy we +can make other folks. In every home where children are to be +found—and there the Christmas spirit is the merriest—we see the +stocking all hung in a row, and we are just as anxious to fill them as +the owners are to have them filled. [Draw the three stockings, +completing <a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig9" name="fig9"></a> + <img src="images/009fig.png" width="400" height="307" + alt="Figure 9: Stockings hanging up." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Here they are. And when Susie and Johnnie and little Bob come +scrambling downstairs on Christmas morning their eyes sparkle with +delight and our hearts warm with Christmas gladness as we join in +their merriment.</p> + +<p>"But there are other homes. And other stockings—stockings not so +warm, not so good—stockings that are darned and patched and worn like +this. [With broad side of black crayon change the stockings of <a href="#fig9">Fig. 9</a> +to resemble those of <a href="#fig10">Fig. 10</a>.] In the atmosphere of Christmas joy in +our own comfortable homes, do we sometimes over-look the boys and +girls in the poorer homes who won't have much of a Christmas unless we +fill these poor, patched little stockings with gifts to show that +someone cares? I don't believe there is a boy or a girl here who is +selfish enough to refuse to do such a little thing to bring a glad +Christmas into a poor home. All we need is to be told where to go and +what to do. [Doubtless you will have planned a way for the children to +give remembrances to the poor; this may be presented in a word at this +time, reserving the details for the close.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig10" name="fig10"></a> + <img src="images/010fig.png" width="400" height="309" + alt="Figure 10: Stockings with patches and holes." + /> +</div> + +<blockquote class="verse"> +<p class="hangindent">"'At Christmastide the open hand<br /> +Scatters its bounties o'er sea and land;<br /> +And none are left to grieve alone,<br /> +For Love is Heaven and claims its own.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>"Truly, the Christmas spirit is upon us today. But stop—! Will it +vanish tomorrow? Will we forget to be kind to those about us next +week, next month, next summer? Will we forget that these same little +worn, patched stockings are there in the same needy homes, and that +the boys and girls may need our friendship and help more when it is +summer than they do now when so many willing hands are extended to +help them?</p> + +<p>"I hope we shall not forget. Let us remember that the best gifts, +ofttimes, are not those which we can see and touch. The truest gifts +are those of love and companionship and service—the same fellowship +which Jesus gave to the poor when he was among men. It seems as if His +heart always went out to those in need, and He helped them, not with +gifts which fade and wear out and are soon cast aside, but with words +and deeds which told them that He would be a true friend even to the +end of the world. 'Christianity,' says Henry Drummond, 'wants nothing +so much as sunny people, and the old are hungering more for love than +for bread. The Oil of Joy is very cheap, and if you can help the poor +with the Garment of Praise, it will be better than blankets." +Dr. Henry D. Chapin expresses the same thought when he says, 'The cry +of the ages is more for fraternity than for charity. If one exists, +the other will follow, or, better still, will not be needed.'</p> + +<p>"Says J. R. Miller, 'Wanting to have a friend is altogether different +from wanting to be a friend. The former is mere natural human +craving. The latter is the life of Christ in the soul.'</p> + +<p>"At no better time than today can we choose to plant again the seed of +true friendship in our hearts. Let us cultivate it and nurture it +until it blooms forth into friendship for everyone who may be helped +by the love of Christ through us."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p25" id="p25"></a>THE KEY TO FAILURE<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Temperance Day<br />—Appetite</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">Strong Drink Opens the Gate to Destruction and Bars the Way to +Success.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That strong drink robs its victims of the ability to +solve the problems of life.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>This temperance lesson deals with the curse of strong drink in +especial reference to its connection with the material success of the +individual. Specific opinions of several well-known representative men +are quoted.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Nearly every man carries in his pocket a bunch of keys. [Write the +word 'Key,' completing <a href="#fig11">Fig. 11</a>.] When a professional man, for +instance, reaches his office in the morning, he may unlock his office +door with one key; with another key he may unlock his desk; with +another he may unlock a drawer in the desk; and then, having opened +his safe, he may use still another key to unlock his strong box. At +night he may look carefully to see that each of these things is again +carefully locked before he goes home. And so, we see, keys are for two +purposes—to unlock and to lock.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig11" name="fig11"></a> + <img src="images/011fig.png" width="400" height="303" + alt="Figure 11: A wavy line like the word 'Key'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Most keys are made of metal and are in our own keeping and subject to +our own will, but there is another key of which I shall speak, which +goes before many a man, working entirely independent of him. And as it +goes, it locks the doors which he wishes to enter, and it unlocks many +another door which he does not want to enter and forces him to go +through it. I will draw the picture of this key. [Starting at the +final stroke of the letter Y, continue the line, and ending with the +letters W-H-I-S. Then add the lines to complete <a href="#fig12">Fig. 12</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig12" name="fig12"></a> + <img src="images/012fig.png" width="400" height="310" + alt="Figure 12: Outline of a key, with the word now 'Whiskey'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Let us see for a moment what this key does. It locks the door to +health and opens the door to disease. Sir Andrew Clark, one of +England's greatest physicians, says: 'I am speaking solemnly and +carefully in the presence of truth, and I will tell you that I am +considerably within the mark when I say to you that, going the round +of my hospital wards today, <i>seven out of every ten</i> owed their +ill-health to strong drink.'</p> + +<p>"And again: This key bars and locks the way to good positions, where +men may earn the money needed to keep themselves and their families +provided with the necessities of life. Many of the great corporations +are refusing to hire men who drink. Whiskey has locked the door to +opportunity for them. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, operating one +of the greatest systems in the world, has issued a statement to the +men who run the trains on its lines which includes these words: +'Taking one drink of intoxicating liquor is like running passed the +red light. It is unsafe. The possible line between safety and danger +in the use of alcoholic drink is dangerously unstable. <i>Safety</i> +lies back of <i>total abstinence</i>. The normal man has no legitimate +use for alcohol as a beverage, and he has no right to render himself +abnormal by its use when lives are dependent upon his efficiency. +None but normal men should run railway trains. The traveling public +has unqualified right to demand and expect none less safe.' This +statement deals, not with the moral side, but with the fact that a man +who drinks unfits himself for any position of responsibility, +especially if entrusted with human life.</p> + +<p>"This key also locks and bars the way to a life of purity and +honor. Says the chaplain of the Ohio penitentiary, Dr. Starr: "The +records show that 1,250 persons have been received into this +institution during eighteen months; of these, 930 acknowledged +themselves to have been intemperate.' And the Massachusetts Bureau of +Labor adds the statement that of 27,000 crimes committed in that +state, eight out of every ten were due to intemperate habits, or +occurred while the criminal was under the influence of liquor.</p> + +<p>"We need not go further to show that this key is truly the key to +failure—failure in the attempt to attain to anything pure, right and +honorable.</p> + +<p>"No one knows this better than the manufacturer of strong drink. 'The +handwriting is on the wall,' says T. M. Gilmore, president of the Model +License League. 'Our trade today is on trial before the bar of public +sentiment, and unless it can be successfully defended before that bar, +I want to see it go down forever.'</p> + +<p>"In no better way can we help to bring this victorious end than by +lending our every influence to cause the world to turn to the true +Christian life, for then follows 'love out of a pure heart and a good +conscience and faith unfeigned.' Paul does not say, 'Shun that which +is evil;' he says <i>abhor</i> it. May this ever be our attitude +toward this giant evil."</p> + + + + +<h2><a name="p28" id="p28"></a>A BUSY LIFE<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Pluck and Luck<br />—Industry</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">A Plucky American Boy Whom the Whole World Delights to Honor.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That pluck and perseverance and a "Try—Try—Again" +Spirit can laugh at obstacles and change them into stepping +stones.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The following talk may suggest to many of the younger hearers the +secret of the true greatness of Benjamin Franklin, who is considered +by many our foremost American.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Some people trust to luck to carry them through the world. Like +Dickens' Micawber, they're 'always waiting for something to turn up.' +I have heard of a man who was so pleased at finding a big horseshoe +that he placed it over his bedroom door. The next morning, as he +closed the door, he jarred the horseshoe from its place and it fell +and struck him such a blow on the head that he was in the hospital for +a week. Such results as this are likely to come when we depend upon +luck. Let us remember that luck never figures in God's calculations.</p> + +<p>"I have seen people looking for something like this in their front +yards. [Quickly draw the outlines of the four-leaf clover in black, +and fill in the outlines with broad sweeps of green. With black, trace +the veins lightly, and then put in the letters to spell 'Luck.' This +completes <a href="#fig13">Fig. 13</a>.] What is it? Yes, a four-leaf clover. And when I +saw them looking for it, I thought that they could have been doing a +great deal more good by pulling the weeds in their back yards.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig13" name="fig13"></a> + <img src="images/013fig.png" width="400" height="308" + alt="Figure 13: A four-leaf clover, with the letters of 'LUCK' written one on each leaf." + /> +</div> + +<p>"But today we shall talk about a boy who never depended upon luck at +all. This boy had a pair of sharp eyes, and whenever he saw anything +to do, he did it. His name was Benjamin Franklin. Did you ever hear of +him? Yes, I thought so. This boy worked for his older brother in a +printing office in Boston, but the brother used to flog him and treat +him roughly. Benjamin knew that they could never get along well +together, so he went away to Philadelphia.</p> + +<p>"In this great city he saw many things which other boys before him had +not seen. He saw that the printing art had wonderful possibilities in +it; he studied and worked hard to improve the business, and today all +of the printers call him the father of the art of printing. He saw +that he ought to know other languages besides English, and so he +became a master of French, Italian and Latin—and luck' hadn't a thing +to do with it! He saw on every hand many chances to help other +people. This prompted him to organize the first police force and the +first fire company in the United Colonies; he organized a military +company; he paved the streets of Philadelphia and taught the people +how to keep them clean; he founded a hospital; he invented the first +practical stove; he accepted many public positions in his earlier +years, including that of member of the general assembly of the +colonies, deputy postmaster of Philadelphia and commissioner to treat +with the Indians.</p> + +<p>"He saw that the common people should have a better chance to get an +education, and so he published for many years Poor Richard's Almanac, +which provided them with much that they should have known; he founded +the first circulating library, helped to establish the University of +Pennsylvania, and brought into existence the American Philosophical +Society.</p> + +<p>"He saw the lightning, just as millions before him had done; but, +unlike the others, he believed the brilliant display was the evidence +of a great and unseen power—electricity. By the use of his now famous +kite and key he proved it to be so, and for a time he was the only man +in the world who knew what lightning really is.</p> + +<p>"He saw at the time of the impending Revolutionary war the need of +someone to go to England to intercede in the interests of the +colonies; and so, when the choice fell upon him, he did not shirk the +responsibility.</p> + +<p>"He saw many later duties which caused him to become a member of the +Continental Congress which made George Washington the commander-in-chief +of the Colonial army; he helped to write the Declaration of Independence; +he was a commissioner of peace to confer with the British General +Howe; he was a member of the commission to seek the aid of France; he +was America's first postmaster general.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig14" name="fig14"></a> + <img src="images/014fig.png" width="400" height="309" + alt="Figure 14: A five-leaf clover, with the word now 'PLUCK'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"<i>Did Benjamin Franklin depend upon luck?</i> Never! His was, +rather, a five-leaf clover, like this: [Quickly add the fifth leaf to +the drawing, and insert the letter P, completing <a href="#fig14">Fig. 14</a>.] 'Whatsoever +thy hand findeth to do,' says the Bible, 'do it with thy might.' I +believe Benjamin Franklin fulfilled this command; and we can do it +ourselves, if we will. He never stopped to 'knock on wood' to prevent +bad luck! He had better sense. And I hope we have, too."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p31" id="p31"></a>THE KEG <i>and the</i> BUCKET<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Temperance Day<br />—Purity</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">A Temperance Talk Devoted to the Teaching of the Principles of +Purity of Life.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That water as a beverage stands for purity and +blessing, while spirituous liquors are always an emblem of impurity +and blight.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The chalk talk here outlined contains in its illustration an +interesting transformation which always commands close attention. The +truth it presents cannot fail to leave an impression. It may be well +to vary the application of the temperance thought to suit your local +conditions.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"I am going to outline for you a picture of an object which is +everywhere recognized by good people as a symbol of defiance of the +law, a suggestion of immorality, of poverty, depravity and death. +[Draw beer keg, completing <a href="#fig15">Fig. 15</a>.] In plain words, it is a beer keg, +and its close companions are the whiskey barrel, the wine cask and the +demijohn! It well represents the liquor traffic as a whole—that +terrible curse which holds in its grip so many men and boys, whose +lives might be bright, happy and successful but for its blighting, +fatal grasp.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig15" name="fig15"></a> + <img src="images/015fig.png" width="400" height="313" + alt="Figure 15: A beer keg." + /> +</div> + +<p>"No right-thinking man has a good word for the business which makes +good men into brutes, transforms honorable citizens into murderers, +and brings many a prosperous family to rags and misery. The +saloon-keeper himself has no good word for the business; he merely +defends it because it makes for him a good living with little work on +his part. Ofttimes he will not drink a drop himself or allow any of +his employes to touch liquor. He is in the business for the money he +can get out of it, not caring how much poverty and penury others get. +With a low idea of his duty toward his fellow-beings, he argues that +as long as men and boys will drink the deadly stuff which he sells, he +as well as anyone else, has a right to profit by their weakness and +degradation.</p> + +<p>"'Oh,' says Shakespeare, 'that men should put an enemy in their mouths +to steal away their brains!'</p> + +<p>"Whenever we hear of a state of lawlessness and anarchy in a city or a +nation, we can rightly conclude that the government of that city or +that nation has lost control of its people. When a man becomes a +drunkard and does things which he never thought of doing before, we +can rightly conclude that his brain has failed to govern him and that +it has been deposed by the forces of base appetite. He has lost +control of himself. That is why a drinking man cannot in these days +secure a good position with the large corporations, railroads, +manufactories and the immense commercial institutions. The great +employers of men have learned that they cannot trust men who, as +Shakespeare says, have 'put an enemy into their mouths to steal away +their brains.' Brains are in demand everywhere—brains and steady +nerves.</p> + +<p>"So, wherever we look, we see young men learning that the way of the +saloon is the way of failure. If they can only be halted in their way +and be made to look for a moment upon another symbol—a symbol of +purity and true service—they might be saved from the bitter path into +which they are stepping. [Revise drawing by adding the bail and the +lettering, completing <a href="#fig16">Fig. 16</a>. If time will allow of the singing of a +verse of 'The Old Oaken Bucket,' the innovation will prove a pleasing +touch.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig16" name="fig16"></a> + <img src="images/016fig.png" width="400" height="307" + alt="Figure 16: The keg turned into a bucket." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Perhaps the warnings against liquor have become commonplace to +you. Perhaps you feel that you do not need to be told the story of the +great curse. But if the warning comes echoing back to you in the time +of temptation you will bless the hearing of it, for it may mean +everything to you and your loved ones and the generations to come.</p> + +<p>"It is the Master who said, 'And whosoever shall give to drink unto +one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a +disciple, verily, I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his +reward.' But what may one lose when he puts the drunkard's glass to +the lips of a young man?</p> + +<p>"Hear the voice of Solomon: 'The drunkard and the glutton shall come +to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.' 'Wine is a +mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is +not wise.'</p> + +<p>"If Jesus held up to us a cup of cold water as the emblem of purity, +let us never bring dishonor upon one of earth's greatest blessings.</p> + +<blockquote class="verse"> +<p class="hangindent">"'Traverse the desert, and then ye can tell<br /> +What treasures exist in the cold, deep well;<br /> +Sink in despair on the red, parched earth,<br /> +And then ye may reckon what water is worth.'"</p> +<p style="text-align:right;">—ELIZA COOK.</p></blockquote> + + + + +<h2><a name="p34" id="p34"></a>TURN OVER A NEW LEAF<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—New Year's Day<br />—Gladness</small></h2> + +<p class="subtitle">The Psalmist Truly Says that "A Merry Heart Maketh a Cheerful +Countenance."</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the wearing of a gloomy <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'countenace'">countenance</ins> is +unpardonable and that "the smile that won't come off" is the kind that +ought to come on.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>Laughter is catching. The following chalk talk will capture an +audience and bring genuine smiles as nothing else, perhaps, in this +book. It has been prepared for that purpose. While it is arranged here +as especially appropriate for the beginning of the new year, it may be +used with varying applications on many other occasions.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"There is a good deal of consolation in the words of Cowper, who truly +declares that</p> + +<blockquote class="verse"> +<p class="hangindent">"'The path of sorrow, and that path alone,<br /> +Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>"Nevertheless, most of us ask for as little real sorrow as possible +while we are treading the pathway that leads to eternal peace.</p> + +<p>[It is advisable to begin the drawing of <a href="#fig17">Fig. 17</a> at this point, and +continue the talk as the picture develops. It is suggested that the +eyes be drawn first, then the mouth and nose, and, finally, the outer +portions. It adds to the effect, too, to stop drawing at this point, +allowing the people to study carefully the dull, gloomy expression of +the face. Then, as if to put on the finishing touches, draw the lines +of the forehead. These, of course, are the lines of the nose and mouth +of the reversed face, but the audience will not suspect the 'trick' +until it is revealed.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig17" name="fig17"></a> + <img src="images/017fig.png" width="400" height="313" + alt="Figure 17: A gloomy man's face." + /> +</div> + +<p>"And yet, to judge from the way some of us act and look, it would seem +that we rather enjoy a protracted case of the miseries! Some folks +begin to fret as soon as they are out of bed in the morning; the early +day brings its worries and cares, the noontide and the afternoon are +filled with problems, and night finds them all fagged out and longing +to take rest in sleep so as to get into condition to repeat the round +of sorrows and cares which they are preparing for themselves for the +next day. Little jealousies, petty rivalries, senseless envyings and +useless fears bring wrinkles of care, which are very unbecoming; and, +before we are aware of it, the years have overtaken us, and we +advertise our inner selves by this outward kind of sign. [Display +<a href="#fig17">Fig. 17</a> complete. This finishes the drawing of both scenes or figures, +since the second part is merely an inverting of <a href="#fig17">Fig. 17</a>.]</p> + +<p>"But, friends, you know, and I know, that all this—or most of it—is +all foolishness. We know that 'as a man thinketh in his heart so is +he.' If he thinks gloomy things, he will be a gloomy man. If he thinks +glad things, he will be a happy man. So, let us consider this matter +now at the beginning of the new year. Strange to say, smiling is a +serious thing! It affects our influence, it means much to the +happiness of those about us, it has a direct connection with the state +of our health, and, therefore, with our material prosperity. It is +true, of course, that we are bound to have our little annoyances and +our depressing sorrows as we go through life; but, surely, we can +avoid most of the troubles which keep us unhappy if we will but lift +our thoughts above ourselves and employ our time in seeking to comfort +and brighten the lives of those about us. Happiness is largely a +habit, and we can do no better than to 'get the habit" and let others +catch it from us.</p> + +<p>"Let us learn the truth that peace of mind is health to the body, and +that it is worth more than we ever imagine. Joy is essential to the +truly Christlike life. When the angel proclaimed to the shepherds, +'Behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all +people,' you and I were included, and we have not accepted that +message of great joy, and Christ abides not in us if we do not reflect +the sunlight which has come from above.</p> + +<p>"And so I am going to ask that we join together today in 'turning over +a new leaf.' What do I mean? Simply this: To meet our troubles fairly +and squarely, grasp them firmly and then completely overturn them; +when lo! we shall find their threatenings, their warnings and their +fearful aspects shall have faded away, and brightness and peace shall +have taken their place. [At the beginning of this paragraph grasp the +drawing at the bottom, tear it loose from the top, and hold it up +before the audience, inverted, as in <a href="#fig18">Fig. 18</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig18" name="fig18"></a> + <img src="images/018fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 18: A smiling man's, which is the gloomy face upside-down." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Truly, 'a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.' May yours +remain so throughout the new year and ever after."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p37" id="p37"></a>TRUE SUCCESS<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Lincoln's Birthday<br />—Discouragement</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">It is Exemplified by the Life of Abraham Lincoln—Stumbling Blocks +and Stepping Stones.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the very things which are obstacles in the way of +many should be their stepping stones to the higher life.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The life of Abraham Lincoln is so fraught with good lessons that it is +difficult to select that which is of the greatest inspiration to the +young. The illustration here given, however, points the way to true +success as illustrated by the story of Lincoln's life.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Every one of us is anxious to be a success. [Draw the word 'Success' +in red, and the rays of light in orange.]</p> + +<p>"But many of us are discouraged and disheartened by seeing before us +so many big 'ifs' in the way that we give up trying to gain the height +toward which our eyes were once lifted. [Draw the wall, with the rocks +obstructing the way; put in the letters 'I' and 'F,' and indicate the +pathway. Your drawing will now resemble <a href="#fig19">Fig. 19</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig19" name="fig19"></a> + <img src="images/019fig.png" width="400" height="304" + alt="Figure 19: Large rocks labelled 'IF' blocking a gateway to 'Success'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Some of us may say, 'IF I had not been born in such an obscure place +or in such an obscure family, I might have been a great success.'</p> + +<p>"Another might say, 'IF my father had only had the means to give me a +lift at the right time, I might have been a great success.'</p> + +<p>"Another might say, 'IF I had only had the chance to go to school when +I was a boy, I might have obtained the education necessary to make me +a great success.'</p> + +<p>"One other might say, 'IF I could only work out my plans without +meeting with the discouraging opposition of those who ought to help me +and co-operate with me, I might be a great success.'</p> + +<p>"Still another might say, 'IF I had only had the opportunities that +other men have had, I might have been a great success.'</p> + +<p>"And so we might stand and look with discouraged hearts at the 'ifs' +before us and stop dead still.</p> + +<p>"Well, now, let us look into this a little. Let us search the +Scriptures and find a word of comfort. But search as we may, we find +the word 'Success' there only once. Why only once? Probably because +the Bible has a much bigger and better word, and that word is 'Life.' +'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life,' says the Master; and again, 'I +am the Resurrection and the Life.' This wonderful word was often on +His lips. To Him, success was life. To live was all that earth could +desire. To live was to see in these stones—[Indicate the stones in +the drawing]—not stumbling-blocks but stepping-stones to success. +[Add the letters 'L' and 'E,' completing the word 'Life.'] When you +and I see the true life, then will all our 'ifs' depart.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig20" name="fig20"></a> + <img src="images/020fig.png" width="400" height="306" + alt="Figure 20: Rocks now labelled 'LIFE' forming stepping-stones to 'Success'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Abraham Lincoln was one who saw these stones before him. How did he +look upon them?</p> + +<p>"The obscurity of his birth was no 'if' to him—it was the foundation +of his noble character.</p> + +<p>"The poverty of his early years was no 'if' to him—it was the thing +which caused him to appreciate every blessing of after life.</p> + +<p>"The denial of his means to an education when a boy was no 'if' to +him—it caused his maturer mind to hunger after learning, even in his +later years.</p> + +<p>"The bitter opposition which he met throughout his tempestuous +political career was no 'if' to him—it softened his nature and drew +him nearer to the God of love in whom he placed his trust.</p> + +<p>"No one should envy him his opportunities, for he made every one of +them himself, just as you or I may do.</p> + +<p>"It would seem to me, as I look at the life of this great man, that +the secret of his success lay in his determination to make every +stumbling block a stepping stone. In order to do it, he held +steadfastly to the hand of God, when, it seemed, all other friends had +failed. It was then that he said, 'I do the best I know—the very best +I can—and I mean to keep right on doing so until the end.'</p> + +<p>"God <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'his nat'">has not</ins> yet given us wings to fly with, but He has given us +feet to climb with, and if we use them for all they are worth, we can +climb near enough to heaven's gate to step right in when the summons +come.</p> + +<p>"Boys and girls, men and women, the opportunity for success—for +Life—is given to each one of us, just as truly as it was given to +Abraham Lincoln. We could not have taken his place. Perhaps he could +not have taken yours or mine. It is for each of us to work out his own +success, just as he did."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p40" id="p40"></a>THE FRUITS OF RICHES<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Humility<br />—Wealth</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">If the Love of Gold Controls the Life Naught but Poverty of Soul +Can Result.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That while wealth, honestly earned, may be a blessing, +the life devoted to the getting of riches cannot hope for true +happiness.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The Scriptures do not condemn the possession of riches, but they do +have some strong things to say against the wrongful attainment of +wealth and the harmful use of money. The talk here presented is +designed to impress this thought. In outlining the drawing be sure to +place the lettering exactly as shown in the design.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"The Bible has a good deal to say about rich people and poor people. +Solomon, it seems, thought it best to be neither poor nor rich, for he +wrote, 'Give me neither poverty nor riches," and I believe that this +sentiment would be that of most of us. At any rate, the richer he got, +the farther he went from God. But we must have money—enough to meet +the needs of our lives. We need it for the buying of our food, our +clothing, our homes, our books and in a thousand other ways. But I +hope that none of us will ever reach the point where the governing +principle in our lives will be to get money for money's sake.</p> + +<p>"Money-madness seems to be the dominant characteristic of many +people. They appear to think that wealth will gain for them all that +may be desired to make life happy. We might illustrate the thought by +saying that they sow or plant their money and hope that it will bring +forth a fruitage of the blessings for which they long. [Draw the bag +of money, the earth line, the stalk of the plant and the outline of +the foliage, all with black.] And what do the possessors of riches +expect as a harvest in return for the sowing of their wealth? First, +let us put down Pleasure. [Put in the word Pleasure, using red for the +lettering.] And they expect to be leaders in smart society, so we will +add to the list Social Prestige. [Add Social Prestige.] They expect +their associates to be impressed with the evidence of luxury in their +palatial homes and in all they have and do. So we will add Luxury to +the list. [Add Luxury.] And through it all they think they will +possess that degree of satisfaction and contentment which we call +comfort, so we will add this to the list. [Add Comfort.] And, finally, +let us add a word to indicate that element which the wealthy sometimes +possess in a worldly sense, representing their ability to direct the +happiness or unhappiness of those who are less fortunate in their +possession of worldly goods. That word is Power. [Add Power, +completing <a href="#fig21">Fig. 21</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig21" name="fig21"></a> + <img src="images/021fig.png" width="400" height="313" + alt="Figure 21: A tree growing from a bag of money, labelled with the words 'Pleasure, Social Prestige, Luxury, Comfort, Power." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Here, then, is the picture of the result as longed for by the +possessors of riches, whose lives are devoted to the attainment of +things of this world alone.</p> + +<p>"But, alas, how often are bright hopes shattered! 'He that maketh +haste to be rich,' says Solomon, 'shall not be innocent.' A glance at +the daily paper tells us how true it is that when the love of money +takes possession of the heart, pleasure is driven out. How often, too, +does the aspiring social leader find himself outrivalled in the +foolish race, and social prestige vanishes. And with such experiences +as these, the home of wealth loses the longed-for luxury, comfort and +worldly power. And what has come to take the place of these which were +only dreams? [With the broad side of the black crayon fill in solidly +the portions of the foliage area, leaving only the word Sorrow. Add +the words, "The love of money is the root of all evil," completing +<a href="#fig22">Fig. 22</a>, which shows the root and the trunk of a tree that looks more +like the tree of death than "The Tree of Life."]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig22" name="fig22"></a> + <img src="images/022fig.png" width="400" height="315" + alt="Figure 22: The tree picture shaded in, revealing the word 'Sorrow', and written underneath 'The love of money is the root of all evil'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Such is too often the result of the love of money, which, as Paul +tells us, 'is the root of all evil.' But, happily, there is another +side to the matter. Many of the wealthy of the earth have blessed and +are blessing mankind and in return are themselves blessed. In harmony +with the thought, Dr. VanDyke says: I do not mean to say that the +possession of much money is always a real barrier to real wealth of +mind and heart. Nor would I maintain that all the poor of this world +are rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. And if some of the rich of +this world (through the grace of Him with whom all things are +possible) are also modest in their minds and ready to be pleased with +unbought pleasures, they simply share in the best things which are +provided for all.'</p> + +<p>"None of us may ever be rich in earthly possessions, but even the +strife after the money necessary for our actual needs may shut out our +vision of the things of greater value. Let us always hold fast to that +which is good, remembering always that a good name is rather to be +chosen than great riches.</p> + +<p>"Let us put out of our lives all envy, all jealousy, all desire for +the artificial, and learn the lessons of humility, patience, +confidence and good cheer which are all about us if we but turn our +faces and our hearts toward them."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p43" id="p43"></a>THE CHRIST-CHILD<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Christmas<br />—Giving</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">A Lesson From the Story of the Shepherds and the Wise Men.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the Light that was shed when the Christ-Child came +to earth now brightens the farthest corners of the world.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>Nothing is more beautiful and impressive than the story of the +Christ-Child. It cannot be repeated too often, and it is essential at +Christmas time.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Let us hear once more the wonderful story of the shepherds who played +such a large part in the first Christmas. [Read Luke 2:8-18. When you +reach the words, 'Let us now go even unto Bethlehem,' draw the lines +representing the city, using brown crayon. On completing the reading +of verse 18, continue the narrative by reading Matthew 2:1-2 and +2:9-11. When you reach the words, 'the star which they saw in the east +went before them and stood over where the young child was,' draw the +star, with its rays, in orange, completing <a href="#fig23">Fig. 23</a>. This ends the +reading.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig23" name="fig23"></a> + <img src="images/023fig.png" width="400" height="309" + alt="Figure 23: The star over Bethlehem." + /> +</div> + +<p>"I wish we could picture to ourselves the scene in Bethlehem when +Jesus was born. We are told that there was such an immense crowd there +that Joseph and Mary could find no shelter in the inn, but we should +know that this does not mean a hotel, for they had nothing of this +kind in Bethlehem. Indeed, it would not have been required, because +all that the thousands of visitors needed was the permission to sleep +on the floor on their own mats which they brought with them. This is +the custom even today. It was a sacred duty of every Jew to give +shelter to his countrymen who were on a journey, so, instead of an +inn, the real meaning is that there was no room for them in any house +in Bethlehem. It is probable that the stable in which they sought +refuge was a rough cave, such as are to be found in that neighborhood +now. So, let us note at the beginning that Jesus, the Savior, was born +amidst the most humble surroundings, and also that when the angels +came to announce His birth, they did not choose to tell the good news +first to the rich and the powerful, but brought the wonderful story to +the humble shepherds who watched their flocks by night on the +hillside. But it was not to stop there. No, God wanted the world to +know that the kingdom of love which came with the birth of Jesus was +for the high and the lowly alike. So, by the brilliant star He guided +the wise men from the east to worship Him and place at His feet the +precious jewels and costly gifts, which show that they were men of +great wealth and wisdom.</p> + +<p>"So, we see, the coming of Jesus was to bring a blessing to all +men. It was to be a kingdom of love which would include the whole wide +world, 'for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, +that <i>whosoever</i> believeth in Him should not perish, but have +everlasting life.'</p> + +<p>"Let us remember that God 'gave' His Son to the world—it was the +first and greatest Christmas Gift. We can never repay Him for this +marvelous expression of His love. All we can do is to endeavor every +day of our lives to do good and thus give as best we can of the +blessings which have come from Him.</p> + +<p>"At Christmas time we seem to have no difficulty in showing kindness +to those about us. The earth is filled with His spirit, so that in +millions of churches and homes throughout the world today we find a +reflection of the star of Bethlehem in the countless shining candles +and glittering electric lights which adorn the Christmas trees. [Draw +candle flames and rays in orange. Draw tree in green, and use brown to +fill in the trunk and the foundation. This completes <a href="#fig24">Fig. 24</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig24" name="fig24"></a> + <img src="images/024fig.png" width="400" height="309" + alt="Figure 24: A star on a Christmas tree." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Yes, everywhere that we see the sparkling candles or little electric +lights, let us think of them as reflecting the light of the star of +Bethlehem, to guide us to Him, just as the wise men were guided to +that humble manger-cradle in Bethlehem. Many there are, we know, who +make merry at Christmas, while shutting Jesus out of their lives. +They know not the blessing of the warmth of Christian love which He +brought into the world, which is for them, if they will only accept +it.</p> + +<p>"But let us look at our own lives and see if we are reflecting the +true spirit of Christmas. Some one has said that true Christmas +<i>giving</i> is true Christmas <i>living</i>—living not merely at Christmas +time in fellowship with all, but throughout the year, with no +difference in days excepting that with their succession we may grow +more and more humble and faithful—more like Him."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p46" id="p46"></a>SEEDTIME AND HARVEST<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Sowing<br />—Reaping</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">"Whatsoever a Man Soweth, That Shall He Also Reap."</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the happiness or the unhappiness of middle life +and old age are the result of the thoughts and deeds of early +life.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The teacher who can help the little children to avoid the +entertainment of wrong thoughts and the teacher who can eliminate from +the minds of the youth the belief that the "sowing of wild oats" is a +harmless—perhaps necessary—touch of life, may feel that he has +accomplished much. The teaching carries with it the necessity of +supplanting wrong thoughts with right ones.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Some of the great declarations of the Scriptures have become so +familiar to us that we speak the words and lose much of their +significance. One great truth which seems to have lost its power with +many is that verse in the letter of Paul to the Galatians, in which he +says, 'Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man +soweth, that shall he also reap.'</p> + +<p>"What does Paul mean? He means simply this, that your life and mine, +like the life of the world of nature about us, has its seedtime and +its time of harvest—that if the seedtime of our early life finds us +planting good thoughts, kindly deeds and loving words, the harvest of +the later life will be peace and blessedness; if the seedtime of life +finds us sowing evil thoughts, bad deeds and ungodly words, the +harvest will be remorse, bitterness and the suffering which must come +from such a sowing.</p> + +<p>"Everybody who lives fifty years or more has two looks at life; first, +a forward look, and, last, a backward look. It is wise to plan in +advance for the backward look by living so that the retrospect will be +gratifying and satisfying and comforting, and not of a kind to bring +mourning over wasted years and lost opportunities for doing good.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig25" name="fig25"></a> + <img src="images/025fig.png" width="400" height="305" + alt="Figure 25: A single ear of corn." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Let us consider the lesson of nature for a moment. In the springtime +the farmer plants the kernels of corn shelled from ears like this. +[Draw the ear of corn, making first a solid yellow background for the +ear and then putting in the fine lines with brown or black.] He has +every reason to believe that when the harvest time comes he will reap +a crop of many hundredfold, because each kernel is expected to send up +a little green shoot, like this, and each stalk is capable of bearing +at least one ear of corn. [Quickly draw the ground line in brown and +the corn shoot in green, completing <a href="#fig25">Fig. 25</a>.] And this shoot will grow +larger and larger until the stalk is completed, and as time goes on +and the harvest time comes, the corn will hang in generous ears +thereon. [With broad sweeps of green, and, if you wish, a touch of +brown, complete <a href="#fig26">Fig. 26</a>. This includes covering part of the ear with +green to form the husk.] Note especially this fact, that the farmer, +when he plants the seed, believes that God will send the summertime, +when the corn will grow to its fullness, and also the autumn, when the +harvest is ready. Just think what would happen if we had no summer or +autumn—just the springtime. Do you not see that we would soon starve? +We would plant the seed and there would be no harvest.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig26" name="fig26"></a> + <img src="images/026fig.png" width="400" height="310" + alt="Figure 26: Fully-grown corn." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Let us see how very much like this are our very own lives. We do not +have a springtime and a summer and an autumn and a winter of life +every year. No, we have but one of each during our lives, if we reach +old age. Springtime is our childhood, summer is our young manhood and +young womanhood, autumn is our middle age and winter comes when the +hair is white and the footsteps faltering. The first part of a full +life is the seedtime, and the latter half is the harvest-time. Some +of us may think that we may, while we are young, form habits that are +bad and expect to get rid of them before the harvest-time. Still +others of us do not seem to find out very early in life that there is +a seedtime and a harvest-time, and we realize it only after we have +reached the harvest period, and then we cannot change the character of +the seed we have to reap.</p> + +<p>"But that which is true of the one who has sown the seeds of wrong in +his younger years is just as true of him who has sown good seeds in +his childhood and youth. There is no more comforting thought than that +which comes with the assurance that God will send the rich harvest if +we sow early in life the seeds of purity of living and the seeds of +loving kindness.</p> + +<p>"The wrong thoughts which try to crowd into our childhood and youth +are like the weeds which threaten to destroy the good grain, and +sometimes succeed. Let us watch them carefully and uproot them.</p> + +<p>"The Christian welcomes the thought that there is to be a +harvest-time. The sinner hates the thought; he would that his entire +life be a seedtime; but it cannot be. The law of seedtime in life is +just as firmly fixed as are the seedtime and harvest of nature. Let us +learn the lesson. It means life or death to you and to me."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p49" id="p49"></a>THE TWO FLAGS<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Rally Day<br />—War</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">Both of Them Inspire Us to the Best Living—An Illustration with +Music.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the same spirit which brings success in war must +animate the fighters against evil.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>Rally Day, which is observed at the opening of the autumn activities +of most schools, has become one of the greatest days of the Sunday +School year. It should be made a glad occasion of reunion and +resolution. This talk is unique, in that it combines music with the +speaking and the drawing.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"It was fifty years ago, boys and girls, that the terrible war between +the North and the South was in progress. On both sides the soldiers +were bravely loyal to their cause, for the reason that each great army +believed it was right; each side rallied round its flag—and loyalty +was the thing most necessary. In most conflicts, as in the case of one +nation fighting with another, it is only necessary to bring a war to a +point where the weaker is convinced of the superior strength of its +enemy. Then the war ends and the weaker is still a nation and has lost +only that which was destroyed during the course of the struggle, +together with that which may he demanded as concessions by the +victorious army. Both nations retain their existence as before. It was +not so with the struggle between the North and the South. Before this +terrible war could end, it was necessary that one or the other of the +fighting governments be wiped out entirely <i>as a nation</i>. +Otherwise there could never have been any peace. This is what made the +war one of the most terrible in the history of the world.</p> + +<p>"It was a time when loyalty was demanded by both sides to the +conflict, when men were summoned to rally round their flags. On the +side of the North the soldiers bravely gathered in hosts of hundreds +of thousands around this flag, which is now beloved throughout our +reunited states (while the South was just as true and brave and +sincere in the belief that they were right, in their convictions, and +for which they fought).</p> + +<p>[As you draw the United States flag, in red, white and blue, <a href="#fig27">Fig. 27</a>, +have the school sing "The Red, White and Blue," or have the song sung +as a solo or played by orchestra, pianist or organist. This makes a +very effective feature, as some time is required to draw the flag. Be +careful to construct the flag properly. To save time, use only +thirteen stars.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig27" name="fig27"></a> + <img src="images/027fig.png" width="400" height="299" + alt="Figure 27: The American flag." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Why did the boys in blue rally round this flag? It was not because of +its beauty, even though we think it the handsomest flag in all the +world; it was not because it was made of valuable materials. No—it +was because it stood for something—for liberty, for unity. And they +knew that in order to uphold the principles for which it stood they +must cling together and fight manfully. Each might fight bravely by +himself, but disaster would come unless they worked together and in +harmony.</p> + +<p>"We, today, are like the boys in blue in the dark days of the war. +We, too, have a flag which we love dearly—the banner of the cross.</p> + +<p>[While you draw the conquest flag, use the song "The Banner of the +Cross" in the same manner as before. When completed your drawing will +resemble <a href="#fig28">Fig. 28</a>. Use blue for the body of the flag and red for the +cross.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig28" name="fig28"></a> + <img src="images/028fig.png" width="400" height="301" + alt="Figure 28: The American flag and conquest flag." + /> +</div> + +<p>"This is the banner round which our school rallies today. We have come +together once more to strengthen our army of boys and girls to fight +against wrong. And our littlest fighters are the best fighters we +have. Why? Because it is a warfare that never ends and the little ones +have many more years in which to fight than the older ones have. And, +strangest of all, the weapons most effective are kindness, love, +prayer and steadfastness—these will drive away the great enemy of us +all—sin. The boys in blue rallied around their flag because it +represents our country, the land we love so well. We rally around this +flag because it represents everything that is best here on earth and +in heaven. Let us be loyal to these two beautiful banners. We cannot +be true to one without being true to the other.</p> + +<p>"Let us make this school year the best we ever knew. We can do it if +we will be true to everything for which these two flags stand—the red +for love, the white for purity and the blue for loyalty."</p> + +<p>[It is suggested that the pupils be presented with small American and +conquest flags as souvenirs. These are inexpensive and may be procured +from Sunday school supply houses. Celluloid buttons, displaying the +two flags, would be acceptable souvenirs of the day.]</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p52" id="p52"></a>THE CROSS<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Salvation<br />—Repentance</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">An Illustration Which Has Inspired Many to Hopefulness and Victory.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That a complete surrender to Christ is the only +successful way to purify a sinful life.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>This illustration, in varied form, has been used by speakers for many +years. It is here given, however, in a new presentation, with a hope +that the revision may be helpful to others in spreading its +usefulness. If paper is used, attach several thicknesses to your +drawing board and provide yourself with a sharp penknife. If used as a +blackboard illustration, an eraser will be needed.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"It is a good deal safer, boys, for you to walk the streets with your +thumb in your mouth than with a cigarette there. The thumb can't hurt +you, but the cigarette is bound to. I heard, once upon a time, of a +young man who lived in a good home—maybe just as good as yours—who +fell into the cigarette habit. I can't understand why a boy, when he +knows what a terrible thing the cigarette habit is, will not leave the +thing alone. But, like some whom you may know, this boy failed to heed +the many warnings and, before he was aware of it, the deadly habit had +him firmly in its grasp. I will ask one of the boys to please spell +the word 'Habit' for me. [As each letter is repeated put it down on +the drawing sheet. If you have previously outlined the entire picture, +the location of the cross will determine the location of the letter T, +in the center, as the T is later changed into a cross. Place the other +four letters in proper relation to the letter T, completing <a href="#fig29">Fig. 29</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig29" name="fig29"></a> + <img src="images/029fig.png" width="400" height="309" + alt="Figure 29: The word 'HABIT'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Now, then—one day this young man awoke to the fact that he must rid +himself of his terrible habit if he would amount to anything in the +world. He was working in a distant city, and there, alone, how do you +suppose he started in to get rid of his habit? He did it this way: He +made up his mind to wipe it out gradually by cutting down the number +of cigarettes which he smoked each day. So he started in. The first +day he smoked two less than he did the day before—cut out some, you +see. [With your penknife cut out the letter H and throw it away.] You +will observe that although he cut out some of his habit, he had A BIT +left. The next day he did the same thing, by cutting out two +more. [Cut away the letter A.] Although he had a BIT of the habit +left, he felt somewhat encouraged and declared to himself that he +could cut it all out if he kept at it. But he didn't know how hard it +would be to 'keep at it.' The next day he cut out a little more [Cut +away the letter B], but the desire to smoke the deadly cigarette was +still strong. He was inclined to give up in discouragement, for he had +now found that cutting <i>out</i> wasn't cutting <i>off</i> and that he +still had IT. Not until now did he feel his helplessness, for the +habit was still strong upon him. He needed a friend—a friend who +could help him in his earnest wish to become once more true and +pure. And a friend came. It was one who knew Christ and His power to +save everyone who turns to Him for help. Clearly this friend revealed +to him the truth, that if he would master his habit he must master +himself. Boldly he took the glad step, and, like all humble followers +of Jesus, he gave himself into His loving care, to guide and to direct +his life. With this step came active work for Christ, and it was then +that the letter I was removed [Cut out the I] and a new vision burst +on his sight, for the last remnant of his enemy faded away in the +transformation of his life to Christian service. [Give the T a touch +with black, converting it into a cross; then continue the drawing to +complete <a href="#fig30">Fig. 30</a>. Use black for the hill and circle; outline the cross +in red; use orange in broad strokes for the rays emanating from the +cross.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig30" name="fig30"></a> + <img src="images/030fig.png" width="400" height="308" + alt="Figure 30: A cross on a hill with rays emanating from it." + /> +</div> + +<p>"This was the vision. It can come to every boy and girl. It has come +to countless thousands. To this boy of whom we speak it came to save +him from failure and death. No longer did the dread habit control +him. The battle was won, not by his own strength, but through Christ, +who strengthened him. Such strength will be yours every time you need +it to help and to keep you.</p> + +<p>"And let us think for a moment of the great service of the friend who +led this young man to see the vision. Are we a friend to those who +need us? 'Brethren,' says Paul, 'if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye +which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, +considering thyself lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's +burdens.'</p> + +<p>"May we ever be ready to lend a helping hand."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p55" id="p55"></a>EASTER <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'LILLIES' unlike the rest of the book.">LILIES</ins><small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Easter<br />—Resurrection</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">Their Introduction into America has Spread Perfume and Beauty +Everywhere.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That, like the lily, Christ gave up His life that His +followers should multiply in the earth.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>It is difficult, as teachers of children are aware, to impart the +significance of Easter to those who are too young to be acquainted +with death and the hope of a resurrection. Many teachers find it best +to confine the thought to the phenomena of nature as revealed in plant +life and to make such applications to the spiritual as conditions seem +to permit. Easter is the most precious day of the year, for without it +there would be no Christmas, because Christmas is celebrated only as +the birthday of Him who arose from the dead. Without it, the world +would be in the darkness of despair and disappointment which possessed +the disciples as they turned from the cross to resume their former +occupations or to hide themselves from the taunts of their +tormentors. Hence, we must make the best possible use of it. This +illustration possesses no new thought; in fact, there is nothing new +except as we put into it the newness of our own enthusiasm and +earnestness.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"On this beautiful Easter morning I want to tell you of a lady who has +done a good deal to help us enjoy this day. But for her, I believe, we +would not have had any of these lovely lilies which represent the +purity of the life of the risen Savior. I do not know the name of this +lady. But I do know that one day she stepped from a steamer at a wharf +in her home city of Philadelphia, and that she had been on a visit to +the Bermuda Islands, which are six hundred miles out in the Atlantic +Ocean. Perhaps you know that the Bermuda Islands are noted as the +place where they raise very large onions, which are imported to the +United States. An onion, you know, is a bulb. Well, this lady carried +with her two bulbs. They weren't Bermuda onions, either, as they were +too small for that. She took these two bulbs to a friend who was a +florist and asked him to plant them. [Draw the bulb in black. <a href="#fig31">Fig. 31</a>.] +This was in the year 1875. The bulbs soon sent up strong green shoots +and after a while blossomed as beautifully in their strange +surroundings as they would have done in their former home. [Complete +the drawing of the lily stalk in green; also the lilies, using fine +black lines as outlines.] To us these beautiful flowers seem like old +friends, because we have known them so long, but these Easter lilies, +blossoming in Philadelphia, were the first to spread their sweet +perfume in this country.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig31" name="fig31"></a> + <img src="images/031fig.png" width="400" height="308" + alt="Figure 31: A bulb planted." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Before that time, there was a lily known as the Easter lily, but +whose right name is the lilium candidum or Madonna lily. This latter +name comes from the fact that in one of the paintings of the Madonna +she holds one of these lilies in her hand. It, also, is pure white, +and similar in form to the Easter lily of today except that it is more +bell-shaped.</p> + +<p>"During the first four years, these two bulbs in Philadelphia produced +one hundred new bulbs. But what had become of the original bulbs? Ah, +don't you know that when the bulb produces new bulbs the original bulb +dies? Yes, when the new bulbs form at the sides of the old bulb, the +one which gave them life perishes—in fact, the first bulb gives up +its life that the others may live. [Draw the outer bulbs as in +<a href="#fig32">Fig. 32</a>.] And while it does so, it spreads the perfume and the beauty +of its flowers to delight everyone who sees them.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig32" name="fig32"></a> + <img src="images/032fig.png" width="400" height="307" + alt="Figure 32: Fully-grown lily." + /> +</div> + +<p>"From these first bulbs brought to America has come much of the beauty +which is now so widespread at Easter time. The earth is full of the +perfume of the Easter lily today.</p> + +<p>"How typical is this little illustration of the Savior whose +resurrection we celebrate today. While He was on the earth, the beauty +of his life brightened everyone, and all that time He knew that He +must give up his life that we might live.</p> + +<p>"How typical also of our lives may this Easter lily be. What seems +more lifeless than the bulb of a lily? Plant it, bury it, and lo! it +is resurrected into a thing of wondrous beauty. That which seemed like +its tomb has proven to be the gateway into true life. Thus our faith +gives us the blessed assurance, with Paul, that 'if we believe that +Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will +God bring with Him.'"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p58" id="p58"></a>THE WOUNDED TREE<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Steadfastness<br />—Constancy</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">It Tells the Story of Courage and Patience that Approaches the +Sublime.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That steadfastness in the right not only keeps the life +upright but it restores the repentant one to righteousness.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>Each one of us needs the quality called steadfastness—not the +obstinacy which denies us the right to judge fairly every condition +about us, not the bigotry which prevents us from a charitable +consideration of the views of other people—but the steady adherence +to positive Christian principles which keep us constant in our faith +and unwavering in our hold on heavenly virtues.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Today, we are going to talk about steadfastness. And what does it +mean to be steadfast? It means that with God's love to protect us +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'agaist'">against</ins> every temptation, we shall never willingly do anything to +grieve Him. A life ruled by this power may grow to be so truly in +harmony with the spirit of the Master that even though the waves of +trouble dash wildly against it, it will continue to stand firmly, +because it knows that 'Jehovah will give grace and glory and no good +thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.'</p> + +<p>"We shall turn to Nature for our object lesson today. We might select +the mighty oak, 'the king of the trees,' to represent the stalwart +Christian life which not only withstands the storms, but which, as it +strives against the winds, sends its mighty roots ever deeper into the +earth; and we might choose as the type of the weak and sinful life the +bay tree which does not send its roots deep into the earth and which +is in danger of being torn away by every passing storm. But we shall +look not at these but at two other trees which are described by Julia +Ellen Rogers in her beautiful book, 'Among the Trees.' Says this +author, 'There is something almost sublime in the patience and courage +of plants!' Doesn't that sound strange? The idea of claiming that +plants are courageous and patient! But the writer goes on to prove her +words. One tree of which she writes was thrown prostrate upon the +ground, crushed down by another tree which fell upon it. There it lay, +with some of its roots torn loose from the earth and drying in the +heat of the sun. It was left there in the forest to die. [As you +speak, draw Step A of <a href="#fig33">Fig. 33</a>.] The writer tells also of a small +poplar tree which grew on the sloping side of a mountain. One day, +when there was a heavy landslide, the rush of boulders and earth tore +the tree from its place and carried it a considerable distance down +the side of the mountain. When it stopped sliding, it was left with +its top downward, while its roots were lifted toward the sky. [Draw +Step B of <a href="#fig33">Fig. 33</a>.] In the rush of the earth, a quantity of soil was +spread over a part of the roots. If anyone had seen the tree then, he +would have declared that it must surely die.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig33" name="fig33"></a> + <img src="images/033fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 33: Two fallen trees." + /> +</div> + +<p>"But let us turn again to the book. The writer says, 'A tree thrown +down may die of its wounds, but if it does not die it seeks to assume +an erect position. As long as there is life, there is inspiration,' +and, we might add, a reaching upward! Do you get the idea? Even if a +tree is thrown down, wounded near to its death, <i>it tries its best +to rise, to rise again—to stand upright!</i> This truth is shown by +what these two trees did. This first one sent an entirely new tree +straight up from the roots, while the old part lay on the ground +dead. [Add lines to complete Step C of <a href="#fig34">Fig. 34</a>.] This second one was +so determined to grow that it sent out a little sprout and started it +to climb straight upward toward the sky; it developed into a strong +tree. [Draw lines to complete Step D of <a href="#fig34">Fig. 34</a>; this finishes the +drawing.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig34" name="fig34"></a> + <img src="images/034fig.png" width="400" height="310" + alt="Figure 34: The two risen trees." + /> +</div> + +<p>"What a splendid lesson there is for us in these true stories from the +forest and the mountain. Perhaps, in our weakness, we have not lived +as closely to the Master as we should have done, and have become +prostrated by our temptations. But there is one mighty to save. It is +for us to reach upward in thought, in word and deed. Then will come +the sunshine of his loving kindness to give us strength to rise toward +Him. The tree, wounded and cast down, can never return to its first +condition, but it does its best to rise. We, if we be prostrated by +sin, can never rise to be as perfect as we would have been if we had +shunned the evil thing; but in humility and service we may rise to +receive the Master's 'Well done,' and we may be assured of His tender +care if we do our best.</p> + +<p>"Let us ever keep our thoughts on Him who 'is able to succor them that +are tempted.'"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p61" id="p61"></a>A FIRM FOUNDATION<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Lincoln's Birthday<br />—Fortitude</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">The Secret of Lincoln's Steadfastness in the Midst of Tremendous +Trials.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the Bible teaching of childhood fortifies manhood.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>If it is not your custom to observe Lincoln's birthday, you will find +this illustration valuable for Mother's day and other occasions.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Probably no public man in America has ever been so severely assailed, +so mercilessly scourged through the public press, as was Abraham +Lincoln. Yet, through it all, while thousands were dying on the field +of battle, while pestilence and want stalked through the states, and +while the finger of hatred and scorn was pointed at him as the man who +had brought devastation and death upon the nation, he stood steadfast, +with a firm, unimpassioned face, never swerving an inch from the path +of right and duty. Warring factions all about him, who tried in many +ways to sidetrack him, failed in every attempt. To them he said, 'Let +us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith let us do our +duty as we understand it.'</p> + +<p>"In his memorable second inaugural address, he said, 'With malice +toward none, with charity to all, with firmness in the right, as God +gives us to see the right, let us finish the work.'</p> + +<p>"In those tumultuous times, he often seemed to stand almost alone, +like a lighthouse away out from the rock-bound coast, lashed by the +fierce waves, driven by furious winds. [Draw the lighthouse in brown +and the waves in blue, completing <a href="#fig35">Fig. 35</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig35" name="fig35"></a> + <img src="images/035fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 35: A lighthouse." + /> +</div> + +<p>"But the fiercest storms never moved our human lighthouse! Nor did +the light which was to finally guide the Ship of State into a safe and +peaceful harbor fail to send out its clear, pure rays.</p> + +<p>"The lighthouse which we have drawn must stand upon a firm and solid +foundation to endure the force of the storm. Abraham Lincoln must have +stood upon a firm and solid foundation in order to endure the fierce +storms of the darkest years of the nation's history. Let us see what +this foundation was made of.</p> + +<p>"We must go away back to the early days of his life until we come, in +1816, to a little cabin in Gentryville, Indiana—a one-room log cabin +with a dirt floor and with no glass in the windows. Here lived Thomas +Lincoln and his wife and two children, Sarah, aged ten years, and +Abraham, eight years old. They had recently come from Kentucky.</p> + +<p>"Although Thomas Lincoln could neither read nor write, the mother +taught her children to read the one book which they had, a Bible. The +sweetness of the character of this gentle mother was reflected in the +lives of her children. For three or four months, Abraham managed to +attend the rude school of the neighborhood. He soon learned to know +much of the Bible by heart. When he was ten years of age, the greatest +calamity of his life occurred; his mother, always frail and delicate, +passed from earth. Abraham Lincoln never recovered from the shock. The +rude casket was placed in a grave near the cabin. Nine months after +that sad day, Parson Elkins, whom the family had known in Kentucky, +answered the repeated appeal of Abraham to come one hundred miles on +horseback to preach a funeral sermon at the grave of Mrs. Lincoln.</p> + +<p>"Many years afterward, when the cares of state weighed heavily upon +him, President Lincoln spoke the words which tell us the secret of his +wonderful calmness and steadfastness. Listen to them: 'All that I am +and all that I hope to be, I owe to my mother. Blessings on her +memory!'</p> + +<p>"Do you understand, boys and girls, that it was the thing which this +mother put into the life of her boy that made him a great and a good +man? Do you now understand what Paul meant when he said that there is +no other foundation on which to build your life 'than that is laid, +which is Jesus Christ?'</p> + +<p>"Let us, then place the word, Christ, upon this rock, the unseen +foundation upon which this great life stood so steadfastly. I leave +with you the picture as a memory of the secret of a wonderful life. +[Draw lines of rock and lower portion of the lighthouse; add the word +"Christ," completing <a href="#fig36">Fig. 36</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig36" name="fig36"></a> + <img src="images/036fig.png" width="400" height="313" + alt="Figure 36: The lighthouse upon Christ the rock." + /> +</div> + + + +<h2><a name="p64" id="p64"></a>THE BLESSEDNESS OF WORK<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Labor<br />—Diligence</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">The Truly Happy Life is the One Filled With Honest Employment.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That in childhood and youth we should train ourselves +to work.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>Work is the keynote of the successful life. "An idle brain is the +devil's workshop." The talk is designed to catch the attention with a +smile and then give an opportunity to present some valuable thoughts +in the matter of diligence and the fulfillment of life's mission +through honorable employment of the mind and the hands.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Very often we read some very curious things. The manufacturer of one +of the well-known breakfast foods, has placed this strange statement +on the outside of each of the packages: 'Tell me what you eat and I +will tell you what you are.' It seems impossible to do this, and the +writer of the words probably had an entirely different way of +explaining how he would do it from the way we will demonstrate it here +on the drawing paper today. Let us suppose that we make the statement +that we can tell what a man is if we know what he eats. All right, +then, here is a case: There is a certain man who eats three meals a +day out of a dish shaped something like this: [Draw lines representing +Step 1 of <a href="#fig37">Fig. 37</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig37" name="fig37"></a> + <img src="images/037and038fig.png" width="400" height="616" + alt="Figures 37 and 38: Drawing of a dish of rice, that upside-down becomes a Chinese man." + /> + <a id="fig38" name="fig38"></a> +</div> + +<p>"And then, let us suppose that the food he eats is heaped up like +this: [Add lines to change the drawing to Step 2.]</p> + +<p>"Now, what do you think this food is? Ice cream? Ah, no, because when +I tell you that this is steam rising from the food you will know it +isn't ice cream: [Add lines to change the drawing to Step 3.]</p> + +<p>"But you will begin to see what it is when I tell you that these two +lines represent chopsticks: [Add lines to change the drawing to Step +5.] What is it? Rice? Yes, it is rice, and we will label it in this +way. [Add the letters, to change the drawing to Step 5.]</p> + +<p>"And now, having found out what the man eats, let us see if we can +find out who he is. [Remove the sheet from the drawing board, hold it +up and turn it over, exposing <a href="#fig38">Fig. 38</a> to the audience. With the +attention thus centered upon your work, the boys and girls will listen +with eagerness to whatever else you may have for them.]</p> + +<p>"And so, I tell you of another thing that we can do.</p> + +<p>"Listen! Tell me what a boy thinks about, and I will tell you what +kind of a man he will grow up to be.</p> + +<p>"The man who swears, thought of bad things and used bad words when he +was a boy. The man who is a thief thought about dishonest things when +he was a boy. The man who is happy and who finds it his delight to do +good, formed the habit of thinking and doing good things when he was a +boy. The man who loves his work learned to like to work when he was a +boy.</p> + +<p>"And it is work that I want to speak about today.</p> + +<p>"There is no place in the world for a lazy boy or girl. Nobody wants +them. Boys who hate to work are the kind that loaf around poolrooms +and pollute the air with vile cigarette smoke and language which +bespeaks an empty mind and a corrupt heart.</p> + +<p>"As Jesus is our great example in every way, He stands out strongly as +our example of how a workman should delight in his employment. We +should first find the thing which God intends that we shall do, for we +are all fitted to do some things better than others, and we should +then put forth our best efforts to learn to do that one thing as well +as we can. We must center our thoughts upon the things we want to +do. Life will then become a delight, because the world is always +crying for workers who know how to do their work. The other kind is +always to be found but never wanted. The demand is for the ones who +know how. It is a significant fact that the first recorded words of +Jesus Christ are, 'Wist ye not that I must be about my father's +business?' This makes of Jesus a <i>Business boy</i>, and it was God's +work he began so soon.</p> + +<p>"Gladstone, an inspiring example of the true workman, says, 'The +thrift of time will repay in after life with usury of profit beyond +your most sanguine dreams, and the waste of it will make you dwindle +alike in intellectual and moral stature beyond your darkest +reckoning.'</p> + +<p>"The happiest people in the world are those who are busy at something +worth while, and the most miserable are those who are in idleness for +lack of ambition or else are engaged in work which they themselves +loathe because of its baseness."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p67" id="p67"></a>THE DOORWAY<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Easter<br />—Death</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">The Resurrection of Christ the Hope of the World—An Easter +Thought.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That death is but the doorway between the earthly life +and the heavenly life of the believer.</p> + +<p>There is no new thought or theory concerning the dead in Christ. The +most profound thinkers of the ages consider death as the entrance to a +future life. The illustration here presented has been employed in +various forms, but is given with the hope that it may, at Easter, help +someone to a clearer conception of the reward which awaits the +faithful.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"James Russell Lowell, dwelling upon the darkness of the cloud of +sorrow which death brings into the home, wrote:</p> + +<blockquote class="verse"><p class="hangindent"> +"'Console, if you will, I can bear it,<br /> + 'Tis a well-meant alms of breath;<br /> +But not all the preaching since Adam<br /> + Has made Death other than Death!' +</p></blockquote> + +<p>"How true! And God intended it should be so. Surely, it is His desire +that we should love to live in the earth which He has given +us. Surely, it is His desire that we should love those who are about +us, and that we should mourn when the earthly parting comes. And yet, +'it is impossible,' as Jonathan Swift has said, 'that anything so +natural, so necessary and so universal as death should ever have been +designed by Providence as an evil to mankind.' With this thought, we +may lift our faces once more, and as we dry our tears, forget the +problems, the sorrows and the triumphs of earth as we ask ourselves +the question, 'What shall <i>we</i> be in the coming ages?' Compared +with this question, all others sink into insignificance. Science, +discovery, commercial achievement, social problems, the rise and fall +of nations—all come to us and claim attention, but we brush them +aside as we repeat, with passionate earnestness: What shall <i>we</i> +be—<i>we, ourselves</i>—in the coming time?</p> + +<p>"No matter how long we ask the question, no matter how earnestly we +seek the solution, we shall not be satisfied with an answer, for God +has not intended that we should know. The Apostle John, 'whom Jesus +loved,' admits that 'it doth not yet appear what we shall be.'</p> + +<p>"Does it mean, then, that we should look ahead, and see nothing before +us but the grave—the end of all? [Draw the grave, the headstone, and +the word, "Death," with black, completing <a href="#fig39">Fig. 39</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig39" name="fig39"></a> + <img src="images/039fig.png" width="400" height="308" + alt="Figure 39: A grave, labelled 'Death'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Perhaps the disciples, their hearts bowed down with grief and +disappointment, held this thought as they saw the tomb of Joseph of +Arimathea sealed upon the body of their beloved Master. But three days +pass, and lo!—all is changed! The stone is rolled away and Christ has +risen! How the message spreads! He is with them once again, and +blessed days they are! But it is not for long, for heaven receives Him +from their sight. Clearly, then, came to them again His words, 'I go +to prepare a place for you, that where I am ye may be also.' What! +They, too? Yes, for did he not say, also, 'Marvel not at this, for the +hour is coming, in which all that are in their graves shall hear His +voice and come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection +of life.'</p> + +<p>"Today, there comes to us anew the revelation of the truth which came +to the disciples on that wonderful resurrection morn. True, it may be +that our pathway may lead more quickly than we think to this place +which we call the grave. [Draw pathway to the grave.] True, there is +a wall between human vision and the mysterious beyond. [Draw the +wall.] But true, also, and gloriously true, is it that the grave opens +to us the mysteries beyond the wall. [Draw line to change headstone to +door]—while the pathway leads to—what? We can only suggest it here, +with a few feeble lines. [Draw distant city, in red, using orange for +rays of light. Add the word "Life," completing <a href="#fig40">Fig. 40</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig40" name="fig40"></a> + <img src="images/040fig.png" width="400" height="306" + alt="Figure 40: Death as a doorway leading to a city labelled 'Life'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Someone has said that the night of life is the dawn of peace. +Browning says that 'you never know what life means till you die.' +Another has said, 'The dead are glad in heaven; the living 'tis that +weep.' And all, though they point to the pathway beyond the wall as +that toward which we should push forward, are firm in the knowledge +that the earthly pathway of peace and love is more essential than +this, for without it we cannot reach the other. 'There is but one way +to get ready for immortality,' says Van Dyke, 'and that is to love +this life, and live it as bravely and cheerfully and faithfully as we +can.' And I know it is our prayer that we may do this in the fullness +of the meaning of the words."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p70" id="p70"></a>THE PUZZLE PICTURE<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—God's Love<br />—Nature</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">When We Have Solved It, Let Us Learn to Find God in All His Works +of Nature.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That we shall find the loving presence of God +everywhere in nature, if we but seek Him.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>This illustration, dealing with a popular pastime, points to a great +lesson, the fact that God is to be found in all our natural +surroundings, if we but seek for Him in the same manner that we +endeavor to find the unseen in other ways.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"How many of the boys and girls are fond of puzzle pictures? Hold up +your hands. Ah, I thought so. I believe nearly everyone likes puzzles; +we are attracted to many things which possess an element of +mystery. So I am going to draw a little puzzle landscape today and see +if we can get a lesson from it. [Draw the landscape, naming the +objects as you complete them—the tree, the land, the water, the +distant foliage, and so on, finishing <a href="#fig41">Fig. 41</a>. This completes the +drawing for the entire talk.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig41" name="fig41"></a> + <img src="images/041fig.png" width="400" height="310" + alt="Figure 41: Landscape with a tree and a lake." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Here is the story: A farmer, living near this spot, came down to the +shore of the lake, untied his boat from its fastening, and rowed out +onto the lake to fish. With the approach of dinner-time, the farmer's +son came down to the shore to call his father to dinner. It seems that +the father had rowed so far away that he could not hear the lad's +voice, so the boy is still waiting here for him. Can you see the boy? +Ah, yes, here he is. [Remove the sheet from the drawing board, reverse +it, and hold it up for the inspection of the school. <a href="#fig42">Fig. 42</a>. After +all have discovered the face of the boy, do not return the sheet to +the drawing board, but lay it on the floor or elsewhere out of sight, +as it has served its purpose and should not be allowed to detract from +the attention needed for the remainder of the talk.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig42" name="fig42"></a> + <img src="images/042fig.png" width="400" height="310" + alt="Figure 42: The landscape upside-down, showing the profile of a boy's face." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Yes, it is interesting to study puzzle pictures to discover in them +the persons and objects which we may not see at the beginning. But I +wonder how many of us do a similar thing when we see the real woods, +the real lake and the real flowers? As in the picture, the boy's face +was made by the outline of the tree and the shrubbery, and the hair +was shown by the shading of the grass, so also may we find great +hidden truths in nature all about us. The poet Bryant, in Thanatopsis +says that</p> + +<blockquote class="verse"><p class="hangindent"> +"'To him, who in the love of nature holds<br /> +Communion with her visible forms she speaks<br /> +A various language.'</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>"And Shakespeare tells of finding 'tongues in trees, books in running +brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.'</p> + +<p>"Greatest of all is the fact that God is there. Every tree, every +bush, every blade of grass, every flower, speaks of His presence—of +His love and care for us. Dr. Van Dyke, in many beautiful passages +pleads with us to turn our thoughts from the things which make us +unhappy—the wild rush for fame and fortune, for the attainment of +that which disappoints and discourages—to the quietness expressed by +nature. In his book, 'The Ruling Passion,' we find this beautiful +sentiment: 'It is the part of wisdom to spend little of your time upon +the things that vex and anger you, and much of your time upon the +things that bring you quietness and confidence and good cheer. A +friend made is better than an enemy punished. There is more God in the +peaceful beauty of this little wood-violet than in all the angry +disputation of the sects. We are nearer heaven when we listen to the +birds than when we quarrel with our fellow-men. I am sure that none +can enter into the spirit of Christ, His evangel, save those who +willingly follow His invitation when He says, 'Come ye yourselves +apart in a lonely place and rest awhile.'</p> + +<p>"It is a most beautiful thought. Let us ponder it in our hearts. Let +us seek to find God and His goodness to us in everything that He has +placed about us. Many a man who says he has not found God in nature +has failed to see the blessings which have come to him—which are his +every moment of his life. The fruit, the flowers, the grains—everything +that supplies him with the necessities of life and earthly happiness +come from the hand of God. Let us feel that <i>all nature is a sort of +puzzle picture</i>, and that by looking, looking, looking, we can find +God in everything. And in finding Him, let us learn from nature the +lessons of humility, of sacrifice, of joy and good cheer; for it is +for this that God has given us these blessings. It is only when we +thus seek Him that we may look 'through nature up to nature's God.'"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p73" id="p73"></a>THE HEART <i>of the</i> TROUBLE<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Temperance Day<br />—Sobriety</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">A Temperance Talk in Acrostic—One Great Evil Power—Beware!</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the deadly drink evil appears to its victims in +the most alluring and deceptive form.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The following talk necessitates the use of lettering only, but it +affords an opportunity for the audience to take a part, especially if +the company of hearers is made up largely of children. The climax is +not to be anticipated, and the effect cannot be other than +lasting. The talk may be varied to suit local conditions; specific +incidents make the best impressions. It is suggested that you watch +your newspapers for a period preceding the talk and make clippings of +incidents to fit the points of the first seven paragraphs. It is well +to ask the children to repeat each word as it is placed on the drawing +paper.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"The thing I am going to speak about today is not a pleasant one. The +fact is that nothing good can be said about it, for it deals with +sorrow and death. You may wonder, then, why we do not speak of +something bright and happy; and I answer that if you learn the lesson +about this thing of sorrow and death, your lives will escape its +influence and you will be many more times likely to be happy; and if +you do not learn the lesson, you may suffer distress and anguish all +the years of your later life. This thing is known as a great evil +power. Sometimes we hear of it coming into the home and making a +brute out of a loving husband. Where there was happiness and joy there +is now sorrow and despair. [Place the word Sorrow on the drawing +paper. When adding the succeeding words, be sure to place them exactly +as indicated in <a href="#fig43">Fig. 43</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig43" name="fig43"></a> + <img src="images/043fig.png" width="400" height="306" + alt="Figure 43: A list of words—Sorrow, Death, Failure, Insanity, Sickness, Murder, Poverty." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Again, this evil power creeps into a home and fastens itself upon a +young man who had before him every promise of a bright, successful +life. So relentless is it that the young man, in despair, takes his +own life. [Add the word Death.]</p> + +<p>"Again, we see a man, successful in business, with no seeming obstacle +in the way of greater achievement, when, one day, we find his doors +are closed. This evil power has come upon him and he is a bankrupt and +a failure. [Add the word Failure.]</p> + +<p>"Again, we hear of a man who has been a leader among men—a brilliant +lawyer, a keen thinker—taken from his place and confined in a +hospital for the insane. The same evil power has done this. [Add the +word Insanity.]</p> + +<p>"Again, we know of a young man who was strong and robust, a splendid +specimen of physical manhood; now he has lost his health and +strength. The same evil power has come upon him and has placed him on +a bed of sickness from which he cannot rise. [Add the word Sickness.]</p> + +<p>"Again, how often do we hear that a man, respected and honored, has in +a moment of passion, taken the life of another man, just because this +evil power came in and caused him to do it. [Add the word Murder.]</p> + +<p>"But more common than all the other terrible things which this great +evil power does is the bringing of wretchedness and want to the wives +and the children of the men who are its victims. These innocent ones +suffer for the common comforts of life, food and clothing. This we +call poverty. [Add the word Poverty. This completes <a href="#fig43">Fig. 43</a>.]</p> + +<p>"Many more words could be added to this list, representing the +misfortunes which come to the victims of this great evil power. In +every instance it deceived its victims into believing it was +harmless—that in accepting it there was no danger or risk.</p> + +<p>"What is this great evil power? [With red chalk draw the heavy line, +completing <a href="#fig44">Fig. 44</a>, to bring out the word Whiskey.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig44" name="fig44"></a> + <img src="images/044fig.png" width="400" height="307" + alt="Figure 44: A column of letters in the list highlighted, revealing the word 'Whiskey'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Now, boys and girls, consider this not as a puzzle drawing. It +represents a truth almost as old as the world. Concerning strong +drink, the Bible cries out, 'Beware!' Remember that every drunkard +believed he could taste liquor and then leave it alone if he wished. +You, in your happy homes, may think you are safe from it. Beware! +Some day, the temptation will come to you; someone will test you. +Beware! 'Whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.' 'Who hath woe? +Who hath sorrow? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who +hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine.' Beware! Be +not one of these.</p> + +<p>"No, let us keep our minds on the pure, the upright, looking ever to +Jesus, who is our strength and who will keep us from the power of this +evil thing. 'Then shalt thou walk in thy way securely, and thy foot +shall not stumble.'"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p76" id="p76"></a>IF WASHINGTON LIVED TODAY<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Washington's Birthday<br />—Character</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">The Principles Which Underlie Success Are the Same at All Times.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That true success will attend those who found their +lives on the principles which governed the life of Washington.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>Properly handled, the illustration designed for the following talk +will prove a revelation to young and old. The application fits the +illustration so well that the talk should prove of absorbing interest +and lasting impressiveness.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>[Before beginning the talk, make the following preparations very +carefully: Attach several thicknesses of your drawing paper to your +board, leaving the outer sheet free at the bottom by tacking at the +top only. Next, with a sharp pen-knife, cut a hole in the outer sheet, +indicated by the dotted lines in <a href="#fig45">Fig. 45</a>, and throw away the piece +which has been cut out. The object of this preparation is this: When +you draw the portrait of Washington, represented in <a href="#fig45">Fig. 45</a>, a portion +of your drawing will appear on the outer sheet and part of it—the +face—on the next sheet beneath. If your preparations have been well +made, the outer sheet will lie flat against the one beneath, and the +audience will not see the hole until the proper time comes.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig45" name="fig45"></a> + <img src="images/045fig.png" width="400" height="307" + alt="Figure 45: A portrait of Washington." + /> +</div> + +<p>"I am going to draw first an outline <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'portarit'">portrait</ins> of George Washington, +copied from the profile crayon sketch of St. Memin. [Draw <a href="#fig45">Fig. 45</a>, +complete, being careful, in moving the crayon from one sheet to the +other, not to tear the outer sheet.] This view shows plainly the style +of wig and military clothing of a gentleman of the revolutionary days, +and, as we look at it we note what a difference there is between this +and the dress of the men of today. Do we also feel that there is a +great difference between the men of colonial days and the present +time—the same difference in character that there is in dress? If +this thought has come to us, we have also asked ourselves, perhaps, +this strange question, 'What kind of a man would George Washington be +if he were living at the present time?'</p> + +<p>"Of course, if he had not performed his great work in helping to shape +the destiny of our nation, it is probable that America would have had +a vastly different history. We will assume, however, that Washington +were a product of the present day and that the present conditions +prevailed. What, then, would Washington be like? How would he act? +What would he do?</p> + +<p>"Perhaps we can best transplant him to our day by dressing him in the +clothing of the man of the present. [Slowly fold back the outer sheet, +so the audience may see that you have already drawn on the under sheet +a portion of the second "scene"—the most important part, in fact. As +you continue the talk, add lines to complete <a href="#fig46">Fig. 46</a>.] In the first +place, Washington, with his abundance of natural hair, would not wear +a wig just for style, so we will draw his head as we think it would +appear naturally. Nor would he wear the colonial style of clothing, so +we will substitute the coat, collar and tie of an American gentleman +of today. And here we have Washington as he would look if he lived in +our own time.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig46" name="fig46"></a> + <img src="images/046fig.png" width="400" height="310" + alt="Figure 46: Washington, now wearing modern clothes." + /> +</div> + +<p>"I do not believe Washington would be a military leader in this latter +day. He was essentially a man of peace, and everywhere in his writings +we find expressed a longing to return after the strife of battle and +the weary days in the presidential chair, to his quiet, beloved Mount +Vernon, to carry on his extensive private business and enjoy his +friends and the sweets of home life.</p> + +<p>"But we cannot doubt that he would be a great leader in the struggle +for right against wrong in every form. From his childhood, he loved +truth and honesty. He was a deep and careful student. He worked hard +at his duties as a surveyor of the wilderness and then came the call +from Governor Dinwiddie to carry a message to the French over hundreds +of miles of unknown land, in the dead of winter. It was the most +perilous undertaking ever entrusted to any man in the new land of +America up to that time, but he met the task manfully. It was such +victories as these in his youth that made him the Father of His +Country. It is the meeting of our own problems in the same spirit that +means our own success in life.</p> + +<p>"If Washington lived today, his career would be vastly different from +what it was, yet he would have made his place, and the world would +have been eminently better for his work. Let us study to apply to our +own lives the principles which made Washington truly great."</p> + +<p>[In closing, restore the outer sheet to its first position, thus +presenting the original portrait. It may be necessary to fasten it +down with a thumb-tack.]</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p79" id="p79"></a>EVOLUTION OF THE JUG<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Temperance Day<br />—Slavery</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">While Strong Drink Makes "Poverty and Rags," the Pure Life Brings +Earthly Prosperity.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That intemperance is the chief cause of the world's +poverty and misery.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>This talk deals especially with the point that the use of strong drink +consumes the income of the wage earner, unfits him for his work, and +brings suffering and want to himself and those dependent upon him.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig47" name="fig47"></a> + <img src="images/047fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 47: A jug." + /> +</div> + +<p>"It is a common belief that slavery was wiped out of America by the +Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln, sustained by the +victory of the union armies in the war of the rebellion. And so it was +as far as the negro is concerned; but there is in America today +another form of slavery which no clash of arms can eradicate, and this +is the picture of the slaveholder: [Draw <a href="#fig47">Fig. 47</a> complete.] The +'little brown jug,' which we use as a type of the saloon power, holds +millions of men and boys in its grasp, consuming their brains, their +bodies, and their money, and bringing misery and hopelessness to them +and to those who love them. From Europe comes many a cry of anguish, +showing that the same powerful slaveholder holds sway across the +ocean. Listen to the words of the great English statesman, Joseph +Chamberlain:</p> + +<blockquote><p class="hangindent">"'If there is in this whole liquor business any single encouraging +feature,' he says, 'it is to be found in the gathering impatience of +the people at the burden which they are bound to bear, and their +growing indignation and sense of shame and disgrace which this imposes +upon them. The fiery serpent of drink is destroying our people, and +now they are waiting with longing eyes the uplifting of the remedy.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>"Again, from the island of Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa, +we hear the queen of that island declaring herself in bitterness of +spirit, in these words:</p> + +<blockquote><p class="hangindent">"'I cannot consent, as your queen, to take revenue from the sale of +liquor, which destroys the souls and bodies of my people.'</p></blockquote> + +<p>"The Hon. Carroll D. Wright, while United States commissioner of +labor, tells, from observation, of the slavery of strong drink in his +own country and in Europe. He says: 'I have looked into a thousand +homes of the working people of Europe; I do not know how many in this +country. In every case, so far as my observation goes, drunkenness was +at the bottom of the misery, and not the industrial system or the +industrial surroundings of the men and their families.'</p> + +<p>"And so the testimony goes on. It is the same everywhere. There is no +need of more proof that strong drink is the world's greatest curse. To +every one of you boys, I am going to say that success in life cannot +come to you in its fulness if you ever allow yourselves to get this +deadly habit. Let it not break into the abode of your soul—and by +this I mean your own bodies—and make you depraved captives for +life. The first taste of strong drink, even though it may seem to be a +very little thing, may mean that you will become banished from God +forever. Remember, boys, that Satan is deceitful. He never tells you +the truth. He is always trying to juggle you with his jug and to make +you believe that black is white and wrong is right, and even that +sorrow is joy and 'a good time.' It is against those who would tempt +you that Jesus said, 'And fear not them that kill the body, but are +not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him that is able to destroy +both soul and body.' Such a destroyer is strong drink.</p> + +<p>"As the years go by, you will find that you need all your energy, your +brains, and your physical strength to enable you to meet the problems +of life. You will find that your later years will be filled with +battles; the defeats will be bitter; the victories sweet. One of the +necessary victories is the successful earning of a living. Money is a +splendid thing. It is the love of it and the wrong use of it that is +'the root of all evil.' In the later years, if you are a slave to +strong drink, you may recall with bitterness the warning of the +Psalmist who declares that 'the drunkard and the glutton shall come to +poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.' But true +prosperity comes most surely when the life is pure. I know you are +resolved that yours shall be such lives, so we shall change the +drawing to indicate something more acceptable to the life that well +deserves a reward for right living. [Add lines to complete <a href="#fig48">Fig. 48</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig48" name="fig48"></a> + <img src="images/048fig.png" width="400" height="313" + alt="Figure 48: The jug shape turned into a bag of money." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Paul pictures to us the successful man when he uses these words, 'Not +slothful in business, fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.'"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p82" id="p82"></a>THE CIGARETTE FACE<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Temptation<br />—Evil Habits</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">A Unique Presentation of a Truth Important to Every Child and +Youth.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That Indulgence in injurious habits undermines the +moral and physical structure and is a barrier to true success.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The chalk talk here presented is certain to prove of enduring value in +impressing upon young minds the truth of the deadly effects of the use +of cigarettes. The talk may form a part of a program given on +Temperance day, as the cigarette habit and liquor-drinking are very +closely allied.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"We are going to talk for a few minutes about our food. Of course, we +all know that when we are very young children our food consists very +largely of milk, and the physicians say that boys and girls should not +be allowed to drink tea and coffee or to eat meat and other solid +foods until they have reached a certain age when their bodies demand +such food. But ofttimes we find that parents do not know about this or +else they try to please their children, for they frequently allow them +to eat and drink the forbidden things. The result is that as they grow +older, their bodies, having become accustomed to the foods which were +too strong for them, demand still stronger food. So it is, often, that +a young man possesses a craving for a stimulant which is unnatural at +his youthful age, and we find him turning to drinking and cigarette +smoking. But this does not satisfy the hungering and thirsting for +stronger and more exciting things. Many times the life of the young +man is ruined in his mad search for something to meet the demands of +his physical nature and he goes down to the grave a physical, mental +and moral wreck!</p> + +<p>"And now, with this <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'though'">thought</ins> before us, I want to speak for a few +minutes particularly about cigarettes. And in this, also, I want to +speak only to the girls. Will every girl please listen and do as I +ask? Now, then: I am going to ask you to take your paper and pencils, +if you have them, and copy the picture that I shall draw, and, if you +haven't them, carry the picture with you in your mind so that you may +use it when the occasion comes.</p> + +<p>"Here we go! Whenever you see one of your boy friends with a cigarette +in his mouth, ask him if he ever saw the picture of the 'Cigarette +Face.' Of course, he will say, 'No.' Then you will ask him to spell +'cigarettes' for you, very slowly, and as he pronounces the letters, +you put them down, just like I shall do. Now, watch:</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig49" name="fig49"></a> + <img src="images/049fig.png" width="400" height="619" + alt="Figure 49: The letters of 'Cigarettes' and curl of smoke forming a skull." + /> +</div> + +<p>"'C' [Step 1, <a href="#fig49">Fig. 49</a>].</p> + +<p>"'I' [Step 2].</p> + +<p>"'G' [Step 3].</p> + +<p>"'A-R-E-T-T-E-S' [Step 4].</p> + +<p>"And now, we will draw the cigarette itself [Step 5].</p> + +<p>"And finish the picture by drawing the encircling smoke. [Step 6, +completing the final scene].</p> + +<p>"Is it a true portrait? Go and ask any physician. Go and ask the +warden of any insane asylum. Go and ask many a heartbroken mother.</p> + +<p>"Does cigarette smoking make criminals out of boys? Magistrate LeRoy +B. Crane, of New York City, says that three hundred boys were brought +before him, charged with crimes. All but five of them were cigarette +smokers, and that report ought to <i>cure forever</i> every boy in +this town of the expensive <i>curse</i>.</p> + +<p>"Does cigarette smoking make failures out of boys? Once, when he was +asked about it, the late E. H. Harriman, one of the greatest railroad +managers in the history of America, said that railroads might as well +go to lunatic asylums for their employes as to hire cigarette +smokers. Yet some boys I know haven't a bit more sense than to smoke +them. Girls, isn't it a pity?</p> + +<p>"Let us remember that habit is the very foundation of our lives. +Everything that we do repeatedly becomes easier for us to do each +succeeding day. This would be a most discouraging condition if it +applied only to bad habits. But, thanks be to God, the rule applies +equally well to good habits. Diligence, economy, perseverance, +gentleness, pure thoughts—may all become the governing habits of our +lives if we will but center our attention upon them repeatedly and +crowd out the evil tendencies. We are so constituted that we must form +habits. We cannot think or say or feel anything without leaving an +effect which will influence every succeeding thought or action or +feeling. Let us, therefore, look carefully to the forming of our own +habits and to helping others form theirs."</p> + + + + + +<h2><a name="p85" id="p85"></a>CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Prayer<br />—Faith</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">Although He Died Believing His Mission Had Failed, His Prayer Was +More Than Answered.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That "the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man +availeth much."</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The life of Christopher Columbus contains much to inspire the +present-day youth. In studying it, however, one should always take +into account the prevailing superstitions, darkened by the bigotry of +the times. But above and beyond all this shone the steadfast belief of +Columbus that his every act was directed by God. The talk is suited to +all ages, for the mere mention of the name of Columbus will excite the +interest of young and old.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Every one of us knows that Columbus discovered America, but unless we +have studied the life of this wonderful man we do not know of the +great difficulties and hardships he endured before he was able to do +it. We know that Ferdinand and Isabella, rulers of Spain, furnished +him with the ships with which he came to the new land; but we should +also know that for years and years he worked and struggled through +sickening discouragement until he finally succeeded in procuring the +support of the Spanish monarchs. We know that he found a great +continent, and that his name is honored above all others of his time; +but we should also know that he himself never knew that he was the +discoverer of a new land, and that he died a broken-hearted, ridiculed +man whose mission had failed miserably.</p> + +<p>"And what was that mission? What was Columbus trying to do when he +discovered America? He was simply trying to find a short way to reach +India. Ferdinand and Isabella provided him with the ships only with +the hope that he would find rich deposits of gold for them in some +strange land. Both missions failed! But God was <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'didecting'">directing</ins> the life of +Columbus. He put into his heart the firm belief that the world is +round, and made him anxious to prove his theory to be true. Finally, +down through years of hardship and discouragement, God brought +Columbus to the age of maturity and wisdom, fully equipped for the +great task which was before him. Then the Spanish monarchs provided +the required vessels for the voyage. Here we have one of these quaint +caravels, the Santa Maria. [Draw <a href="#fig50">Fig. 50</a> complete, or, on account of +the detail, prepare it in advance.] There were two other ships, the +Pinta and the Nina. What curious looking boats they were! They left +the coast of Spain on Friday, August 3, 1492. Where were they going? +Nobody knew. But there was one man in that company who, deep in his +heart, believed that God was directing the course of those three +little caravels across the vast ocean. Washington Irving, in his Life +of Columbus, says, 'He was a devoutly pious man. Religion mingled with +the whole course of his thoughts, and shone forth in his most private +and unstudied writings. Whenever he made a great discovery, he +celebrated it by solemn thanks to God. The voice of prayer and melody +of praise rose from his ships when they first beheld the new world, +and his first action on landing was to prostrate himself on the earth +and offer thanksgiving.'</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig50" name="fig50"></a> + <img src="images/050fig.png" width="400" height="308" + alt="Figure 50: A sailing ship." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Such a man was Christopher Columbus—<i>a man of faith and +prayer</i>; He had prayed that God would direct him in the discovery +of a new route to India. God answered that prayer in a richer, greater +measure than Columbus ever knew, for to him whose life had been one of +devotion and communion with God, was given a name above all other +names written in the world's list of navigators and discoverers! He +prayed for a great blessing. God gave him a greater one. As the Santa +Maria entered the harbor of the little island of San Salvador and the +crews of the three vessels, numbering 120 in all, knelt and thanked +God for His great mercies, Columbus believed he had reached a distant +coast of India. [Draw the ground and trees, <a href="#fig51">Fig. 51</a>.] But, in truth, +it was infinitely more than that—he had found A NEW WORLD! [Add "A +New World," completing <a href="#fig51">Fig. 51</a>.] Such was the blessing which God gave +to Christopher Columbus. Such is the blessing he will give to all who +trust Him and love Him. Always does the true Christian receive more +than that for which he asks, for the human mind cannot know the +thoughts of God or of His love for those who give their lives wholly +into His keeping."</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig51" name="fig51"></a> + <img src="images/051fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 51: The ship arriving at the shore of 'A New World'." + /> +</div> + + + +<h2><a name="p88" id="p88"></a>THE THIEF OF CHARACTER<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Meditation<br />—Conscience</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">The Unholy Thought Robs Life of Its Choicest Treasures—The Voice +of Conscience.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That as we use care in the selection of our +confidential friends, so, also, should we guard the choice of our +thoughts.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>It was Lowell who said:</p> + +<blockquote class="verse"><p class="hangindent"> +"Ah! let us hope that to our praise<br /> + Good God not only reckons<br /> +The moments when we tread His ways,<br /> + But when the spirit beckons—<br /> +That some slight good is also wrought<br /> + Beyond self-satisfaction,<br /> +When we are simply good in thought,<br /> + Howe'er we fail in action." +</p></blockquote> + +<p>The truth that good thoughts must be encouraged every moment of our +lives, if we would really live, is expressed by every great mind that +the earth has known. It is here reviewed once more.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"I am going to place on the drawing paper today the picture of a young +man of the type which we admire—a young fellow of upright life, good +habits and Christian principles. We want him for our friend. [Draw +<a href="#fig52">Fig. 52</a>, complete.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig52" name="fig52"></a> + <img src="images/052fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 52: A young man." + /> +</div> + +<p>"But there is another type of man whose character we can well +illustrate by changing the lines in this first portrait. [With the broad +side of your black crayon make the changes needed to produce Fig. +53. Shade the face with a light touch of the broad side of the crayon.] +He is a dishonest man—he is willing to risk his life in taking from +us that which does not belong to him. Do we welcome such a man to our +homes? No. The hand of every man is against a thief and a robber. He +is an outcast. The law seeks to protect us from him by putting him in +prison if he can be caught.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig53" name="fig53"></a> + <img src="images/053fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 53: The young man now unshaven and wearing a balaclava." + /> +</div> + +<p>"I know that we agree that we should be very careful about the kind of +people whom we welcome to our homes. But, nevertheless the hand of +forgiveness and uplift should be extended to every repentant sinner, +for Christ has so taught us. But if we should be so careful about the +people whom we admit into our homes, why should we not be still more +careful about those other visitors—our thoughts—when we admit them +to our minds? Did you ever think of your thoughts as your visitors? +No, I suppose not; but we are going to consider them as visitors +today.</p> + +<p>"Ah, here comes a nice-looking thought that wants to enter into your +head. Fortunately, you have a faithful servant who answers the +doorbell every time a visitor comes. It is your Conscience, and if it +is well trained, it will admit to your mind only the pure thoughts, +and it will slam the door in the face of all harmful intruders. But, +alas! we are the master of the house and sometimes when Conscience +would close the door to an unholy thought, we tell the servant to step +aside, and we admit the visitor. It is a shame! And the worst of it is +that Conscience, like an obedient servant, finally lets us have our +own way and then we have thrust out our best friend!</p> + +<p>"Here is a boy who has lagged behind in his school work. A +nice-looking little thought comes along and says, 'Why not cheat just +a little? No one would know anything about it.' In a jiffy, Conscience +is on hand trying to shut the door. But the boy welcomes the thought +into his head. Conscience, made bold by the threatened disaster, tries +to show the lad that he can succeed more surely by remaining true and +honest, but the thought prevails, and before the boy knows it, the +door is opened to a multitude of other thoughts, and the ones which +came last are worse than the little one which entered first. When such +a boy is grown to young manhood he finds himself robbed of character, +robbed of honors, robbed of noble ambitions. He is a failure. No one +trusts him for he cannot trust himself. He is completely at the mercy +of his evil thoughts, and Conscience can no longer serve him.</p> + +<p>"How gladly, then, should each one of you boys and girls welcome good +thoughts. Make Conscience your door-keeper. The same good thought will +come again and again, bringing other splendid, helpful, delightful +thoughts, and they will become the greater part of your life. Every +one of you has a thinker in his head. Be careful to keep it clean and +pure."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p91" id="p91"></a>JENNIE CASSEDAY<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Children's Day<br />—Service</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">A Children's Day Story of What One Girl Did to Make Others +Happy.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That one little act may multiply to bless countless +thousands.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The story of Jennie Casseday is one of the sweetest narratives of +humble service that can be told to children and their elders. It is a +chapter from real life which may be copied in varied form by each one +of us. Its use is suggested for <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'Childern's'">Children's</ins> day, but it is good for +many other occasions.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"This morning, while we are surrounded by these beautiful flowers, and +while our hearts are light as we think of all the beauty and +brightness that God has given us, I want to tell you the story of +Jennie Casseday and what she did to bring beauty and gladness into the +world. You may think that Jennie couldn't do very much, because she +was a poor little cripple girl. She lived at Louisville, Kentucky. +When she was small, she was just as lively and happy as any other +little girl; but one day she suffered from a terrible accident and +from that time she was helpless. I am going to draw a picture of +Jennie's crutch to represent her suffering and her helplessness. [Draw +crutch with brown, <a href="#fig54">Fig. 54</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig54" name="fig54"></a> + <img src="images/054fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 54: A crutch." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Have I said she was helpless? Well, this is what I mean: She could +not help herself, but she could help others, and this is how she did +it: For several dark, painful years Jennie Casseday suffered and +waited—waited for something which she could do to enable her to send +some ray of light out into the world which would brighten other +hearts. One day she read in the New York Observer how a young girl +school teacher, who lived in the outskirts of the city of Boston and +was employed in one of the down-town schools, was bringing brightness +into the homes of many poor people by taking with her large baskets of +beautiful roses and lilacs and snowballs and many other kinds of +flowers from her suburban home and giving them to the children whom +she met. It was a simple little act, but the reading of it by Jennie +Casseday brought a transformation in her life. I wish I knew the name +of this young school teacher in Boston, but I can't give it to +you. But it was she who gave to Jennie Casseday the thought for which +she had longed. Jennie's suffering was almost forgotten in her +planning and determination to raise flowers and give them to the sick +and the needy in Louisville. Her friends soon learned of her plans and +there were many willing hearts and hands to help her. Under her +guidance the Louisville Flower Mission was established, and it soon +proved to be a great and growing blessing. It had been doing its +beautiful work for four years when Miss Frances E. Willard, head of +the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, visited Louisville. There she +heard of the mission and the noble young woman who founded it. Miss +Willard visited Jennie Casseday in her sick room, and when the +conference had closed, Jennie had been placed at the head of the +Flower Mission department of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, +which was at that time brought into existence. This was in 1882, and +Jennie continued in this great work until the time of her death in +1893. June 9 is observed as the Red Letter day of the Flower Mission +department of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, for this is the +birthday of Jennie Casseday. Every year, thousands of bouquets of +beautiful flowers find their way into homes of the sick and the poor +throughout the land. And so, with the forgetting of the sufferings of +Jennie Casseday and the remembrance of her beautiful life, I think we +may well change this crutch to something more commemorative of her +life. [With green chalk, change the crutch to a stem of a carnation, +and with pink draw the blossom, <a href="#fig55">Fig. 55</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig55" name="fig55"></a> + <img src="images/055fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 55: The drawing of a crutch turned into a carnation." + /> +</div> + +<p>"In Louisville, the people have sought to honor the memory of this +young woman by the establishment of the Jennie Casseday Infirmary and +the Rest Cottage Home for Working Girls. The school children of +Louisville erected a beautiful monument to her memory bearing an +appropriate inscription.</p> + +<p>"Some of us who have our health and strength may well wonder if we are +fulfilling all of God's demands. Boys and girls, let me impress upon +you the thought that it is not the great, showy thing that makes +people love us, but the careful doing of the seemingly little things, +which, when summed up, make a magnificent whole. Jennie Casseday did +what she could. No more is required of us. But that much is certainly +expected, and we will fall short if we fail to meet the expectation."</p> + +<p>[A beautiful close to this talk would be the recitation or reading of +Dr. Van Dyke's poem "Transformation," which may be found in "The Blue +Flower" or in "The Builders and Other Poems."]</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p94" id="p94"></a>MOTHER<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Mother's Day<br />—Home Training</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">The Great Men of the World Pay Her the Highest of Tribute—A +Carnation Day Thought.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the welfare of the church and of the home rests +more with the mothers than with the Sunday School teacher.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>It is interesting to read the recorded words of some of the world's +greatest minds in tribute to motherhood. The following talk, quoting +some of these, should be an impressive lesson to the young and to the +mothers as well.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Who are these mothers for whom we have decorated our school room and +ourselves with these beautiful flowers? [Draw, in black outline the +carnation blossom; add the stem in solid green, and place the +lettering in purple, red or blue, <a href="#fig56">Fig. 56</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig56" name="fig56"></a> + <img src="images/056fig.png" width="400" height="307" + alt="Figure 56: A carnation." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Surely these mothers must be of great importance or we would not be +having a special service for them today. I have been reading a little +about mothers, to see if they are really of much value to the world, +and I want to repeat some of the things I have read. [It is well to +have all of these quotations in note form to be read with accuracy.]</p> + +<p>"I find that John Randolph, one of America's greatest statesmen, said, +'I should have been an atheist if it had not been for one +recollection—and that was the memory of the time when my departed +mother used to take my little hand in hers and cause me on my knees to +say, "Our Father who art in heaven."'</p> + +<p>"I find that Abraham Lincoln said of his mother, 'All that I am and +all that I hope to be I owe to my mother. Blessings on her memory!'</p> + +<p>"I find that George Herbert said, 'One good mother is worth a hundred +schoolmasters.'</p> + +<p>"I find that Oliver Wendell Holmes said,</p> + +<blockquote class="verse"><p class="hangindent"> +"'Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall;<br /> +A mother's secret hope outlives them all.' +</p></blockquote> + +<p>"I find that Coleridge said,</p> + +<blockquote class="verse"><p class="verse"> +"'A mother is a mother still,<br /> +The holiest thing alive.' +</p></blockquote> + +<p>"I find that Beecher said, 'A mother's heart is the child's school +room.'</p> + +<p>"I find that Benjamin West, the great artist, said, 'A kiss from +my mother made me a painter.'</p> + +<p>"I find that General Wallace, in Ben Hur, said, 'God could not be +everywhere, so he made mothers.'</p> + +<p>"I find everywhere the great men of the world paying loving tribute to +these mothers, and after all there is only one real perfect, true and +faultless mother in all the world and that is our own mother, whether +she be gone before or whether she be still with us. I am sure that +every one of us older ones will find ourselves in tune with the +expressive words of George Griffith Fetter, who wrote:</p> + +<blockquote class="verse"><p class="hangindent"> +"'The noblest thoughts my soul can claim,<br /> +The holiest words my tongue can frame,<br /> +Unworthy are to praise the name<br /> + More sacred than all other.<br /> +An infant, when her love first came—<br /> +A man, I find it just the same;<br /> +Reverently, I breathe her name,<br /> + The blessed name of mother.' +</p></blockquote> + +<p>"And so, I answer the question that I asked at the beginning, who are +these mothers? Really, it seems to me that the mothers of the world +are the power which keeps it moving toward all that is good and high +and holy. Mother love has been a power in the world since history +commenced, and the scriptures are filled with beautiful demonstrations +of it. How we love to read the story of the mother of Moses who hid +her child in the bullrushes and then succeeded in being engaged as his +nurse. How often has the heart thrilled at the hearing of the story of +Samuel and his mother! How strongly the mother love manifested itself +at the time of the judgment of Solomon who was called to determine the +possession of the child claimed by two women. And what could be more +beautiful than the pictures of the devotion of the mother of Jesus to +Him who was to be the Savior of the world?</p> + +<p>"Verily, 'the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the +world,' through the love of good which the mother hopes for her +child. The mother of today in America has a greater problem than ever +before. The boys of today are the men of tomorrow. The boys will be +what the mothers make them; and with this thought, I want to change +our drawing slightly to indicate the ever-present problem which is +never safe except in the hands of the right kind of mothers of the +boys of today and of the future generations. [Add the words to +complete <a href="#fig57">Fig. 57</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig57" name="fig57"></a> + <img src="images/057fig.png" width="400" height="306" + alt="Figure 57: The carnation now reads 'Care of the nation'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"May God bless you, mothers, and help you to help these boys and these +girls to meet the great problems which are before them. You must help +them. Without you, they are on unsafe ground, treading perilous +paths."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p97" id="p97"></a>NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—New Year's Day<br />—Watchfulness</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">Most of Them May be Rolled into One—"Hold Fast to That Which Is +Good."</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the positive life, rather than the negative life, +knows true happiness.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>While this talk is planned for the special application to the opening +of the fiscal or the school or church year, it may be revised very +easily to fit many other occasions.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Right now, at the beginning of the new year, we hear a great deal +about making resolutions, 'turning over a new leaf,' and so on. In +many cases, these things are spoken of lightly and laughingly, and +yet, I know that many of us, away down deep in our hearts, are +thinking of things which we are resolving to do during the new year +and also of things which we have made up our minds not to do during +the coming twelve months.</p> + +<p>"What does it signify when we do this? It means that we have made +mistakes and that we do not intend to make the same mistakes again. It +is a strange thing to say, but it is true, nevertheless, that a man is +a good deal like a fish in some respects. Whenever you go fishing, you +use just the kind of bait which you think will fool the fish the most +easily. You should know where a certain kind of fish is likely to +abound and then use the style of bait which that kind of fish is most +apt to mistake for something which it is not. Here, for instance, is a +cork bobber on the surface of the water of a lake, with the line +attached to it, and here, below, is the hook, nicely concealed from +view by the bait in the form of an angle worm. [Draw the lines to +follow the talk, completing <a href="#fig58">Fig. 58</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig58" name="fig58"></a> + <img src="images/058fig.png" width="400" height="313" + alt="Figure 58: A fishing rod." + /> +</div> + +<p>"It is evident that the fisherman who holds the line is not after the +kind of fish which are to be captured by trolling or casting, for he +is using the method known as still-fishing. And, sure enough, he has +attracted a victim, a blue gill, which is making straight for what he +thinks will mean more life to him but which probably means sure death +unless he succeeds in getting away again. [Draw fish, completing +<a href="#fig59">Fig. 59</a>.] So, the ingenuity of man is kept active in devising means of +capturing game of all kinds.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig59" name="fig59"></a> + <img src="images/059fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 59: A fish attracted to the bait." + /> +</div> + +<p>"And are we not like the fish? Haven't you bitten into any baited +hooks during the past year? Haven't you been fooled into thinking +something was good for you when it turned out to be bad? Hasn't some +alluring amusement or pastime brought disappointment or shame when you +thought it would bring delight and satisfaction? Ah, yes. All of us +have been fooled in one way or another, and when we come to this time +of the year and decide to start anew we find that it isn't so easy as +we thought, to get rid of many errors or vices which we would +eliminate from our lives. Perhaps some have fallen victims to habits +which grip us relentlessly, and if so we can doubtless agree with Pope +that</p> + +<blockquote class="verse"><p class="hangindent"> +"'Vice is a monster of so frightful mien<br /> +As to be hated needs but to be seen:<br /> +Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face.<br /> +We first endure, then pity, then embrace.' +</p></blockquote> + +<p>"As Shakespeare says, 'There is no vice so simple, but assumes some +mark of virtue on his outward parts.' There's where the trouble +starts. We're completely fooled. And when we come to purify our lives +by eliminating this thing and that, we are discouraged with the +result, and in many instances we give up in despair.</p> + +<p>"How, then, are we to make our resolutions good? How are we to be sure +that the new leaf which we turn over will not be blown back again by +the first wind of passion or discouragement which comes?</p> + +<p>"I believe we can do it by making our resolutions positive and not +negative. Let me explain what I mean. We are normal human beings. We +demand activity. There must be something doing. If we are giving our +time wastefully to society, to the theater, to the many other forms of +amusement we shall find ourselves most miserable if we simply resolve +to eliminate these things from our lives. To do this is to make a +negative resolution. No, the thing to do is to resolve that hereafter +our time will be spent in busying ourselves at those things which are +wholesome, helpful to others, and of such a character to bring delight +to us because of the service we can render to the world. What can you +do? Why, the field to do good is never overcrowded. The church and +the Sunday school offer many avenues of activity. Find out the thing +you can do best—uncover your talent. Get busy at good works, and then +there will be no room for the objectionable things and they will die +out because good habits are growing in their stead.</p> + +<p>"To do this is the surest way to 'set your mind on the things that are +above, not on things that are upon the earth,' and when this is done +we need have little concern about our happiness."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p100" id="p100"></a>THE MOUNTAIN CLIMBER<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Light<br />—Danger</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">All Light, Shining in the Darkness, Is Either a Guide or a +Warning.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the Bible sends out two kinds of light, guiding +and warning, and that all who neglect it are groping in the dark, +"loving darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil."</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The word Light, appears very frequently in the scriptures as a type of +the highest human good. All of the most joyous emotions of the mental +and physical natures of man are described in the imagery of light. +Throughout the Book it is used to typify the true religion and +happiness.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"When we go riding in an automobile after dark, we light the lamps at +the front and at the rear. Why do we light the lamps? So the light +will shine on the roadway and we will be able to see where we are +going and thus avoid mishap and injury? Yes, but how about the lamp at +the rear? Oh, we light that one so other people will not run into +us. Yes, and that, too, is one of the great reasons why we light the +front lamps. If we were to start out on a night journey with no lamps +burning, there would be great danger of accident, and especially if we +were to meet another automobile which had no lights burning. We would +be apt to bump into each other. The law recognizes all this and +compels us to keep our automobile lights brilliantly shining.</p> + +<p>"Dwight L. Moody, the great evangelist, tells the story that as he was +walking along a dark city street one night, he met a man, who carried +an object in each of his hands. Something about the man's actions +excited the curiosity of Mr. Moody, and he stopped to speak to +him. The thing that caused Mr. Moody to wonder was this: The man held +in one hand a lighted lantern, and in the other a cane with which he +was feeling his way along the street. As he stopped, Mr. Moody saw +that the man was blind. He was so much interested that he spoke to the +man, saying:</p> + +<p>"'Since you are blind, why do you carry a lantern? It doesn't help you +to see your way.'</p> + +<p>"'No,' replied the man, 'I carry it to keep people from running into +me.'</p> + +<p>"So, here, you see, was an instance of carrying a light, not to enable +one to see his way but to guard himself against harm from those who +would be warned thereby.</p> + +<p>"Ofttimes, you have seen red lanterns placed along streets where +dangerous obstructions are left in the pathway of travel. These lights +are to warn people of possible harm.</p> + +<p>"As Christians, we, too, must have a light on our pathway to guide us +through life, and this same light will also guard us against harm. +That light comes from Jesus Christ through his word. With the light of +his love within us we can never mistake the way. If we have that +light, temptations may come to us, but they cannot harm us because +that light warns them away. This light is our guide and our guard. +God's word, the Psalmist declares, 'is a lamp unto my feet and a light +unto my path.'</p> + +<p>"The story is told of a traveler in the west who, separated from the +other members of his party, was climbing slowly up the rocky side of a +rugged mountain. [Draw the man and the lines of the mountain.] His +progress was slow, not only because of the difficulty in climbing up +the slippery and treacherous rocks, but because the mountain top was +shrouded in a heavy mist or cloud, which made it impossible for him to +see more than a few feet ahead of him. [Draw the cloud line to +complete <a href="#fig60">Fig. 60</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig60" name="fig60"></a> + <img src="images/060fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 60: Rock-climbing." + /> +</div> + +<p>"All at once, the bright sunlight broke through the mist, and the man +was horrified to find that he was on the very brink of a high +precipice and that a climb of a few more feet would have meant death +and destruction to him. [Draw lines to complete <a href="#fig61">Fig. 61</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig61" name="fig61"></a> + <img src="images/061fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 61: Climber reaching a precipice." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Everywhere in life does our pathway lead toward danger. The saloon +would claim the young man. The Light says, 'Whosoever is deceived +thereby is not wise.' Perhaps the temptation comes to be dishonest in +dealing with other people. The Light says, 'All things therefore +whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also +unto them.' Whatever the temptation, whatever the perplexity, however +deep the darkness, this Light is ours, not only to brighten the way +but to warn the evil thing to depart from us. And, having received +this light, let us remember continually that Christ said, 'Ye are the +light of the world. Let your light so shine before men that they may +see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.'"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p103" id="p103"></a>THE OPEN SALOON DOOR<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Temperance Day<br />—Destruction</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">The Young Man Who Enters Therein Endangers His Whole After +Life.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That both the soul and the body are threatened with +destruction by indulgence in strong drink.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>This temperance lesson possesses one of the "surprise" features which +are permissible only when they lose themselves in the greatness of the +truth they present. In preparing for the talk, be sure that your guide +lines are properly placed. You must be provided with a sharp penknife +to use in cutting the "doors" in the picture. The dotted lines for +enlarging the picture are omitted for fear of confusion, but these may +be drawn over <a href="#fig62">Fig. 62</a>, with a hard pencil, and the desired purpose be +accomplished.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"To us who realize the terrible results of the use of strong drink, +and who are trying to do our part in protecting the boys and young men +from the blighting influence of the saloon, there is something most +discordant in the way in which these places parade their false +attractiveness; for many there are who do not realize that they are a +trap which, to enter, may prove fatal to life and hope.</p> + +<p>"The great question is, why can they not see the danger? That is the +mystery, for down through the ages has come the thunder of warning +against this great enemy of mankind. 'Look not thou upon the wine when +it is red,' cries out King Solomon. 'At the last it biteth like a +serpent and stingeth like an adder.' 'Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? +Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that +tarry long at the wine.'</p> + +<p>"One look at the saloon door should cause the young man to recoil in +horror, for he may see there, if he but heed, the very warning of +death. Let him look upon it. Let us see what he may behold. [Draw the +outline of the windows, the sign and the lower horizontal line of +<a href="#fig62">Fig. 62</a>, omitting, for the present, the lettering.] This, let us +suppose, is the front of the saloon which invites him to enter its +doors. [Draw very lightly the lines indicated by the dotted lines A.] +Prominently displayed are the evidences that intoxicating liquors are +sold there. [Draw with red chalk the words, "Dealers in Wine, Porter, +Whiskeys, Bourbon, Etc.," completing <a href="#fig62">Fig. 62</a>. There is no more drawing +to do; the remaining step is taken by the aid of the penknife.] Here +we have the front of the saloon.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig62" name="fig62"></a> + <img src="images/062fig.png" width="400" height="306" + alt="Figure 62: The front of a saloon." + /> + <p class="caption"><i>(Dotted lines, for enlarging, are omitted as they would confuse the speaker.)</i></p> +</div> + +<p>"There is one thing about the drink habit that we can easily +understand, and there is one thing about it that I suppose we shall +never understand. We can realize why the man who is bound by this +awful curse does not break his bonds; how willingly would he do it +<i>if he</i> <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'belived'"><i>believed</i></ins> <i>he could</i>. But, as we have observed, it is a +mystery why a boy or a young man, with numberless powerful and +convincing proofs before him, will deliberately enter the doorway of a +saloon. But once within, all may seem bright and happy and +joyous—perhaps the victim is led to believe that father and mother +are misinformed, since there seems to be nothing but <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'gaity'">gaiety</ins> there. But +he finds, all too soon, that the liquor which seemed at first to make +little difference in his life, is becoming his master, and never does +he realize it so well as when he tries to free himself. Why and how +has the saloon changed his life? The story is a simple one, and he +should have seen the reason before he entered, because there it is, +written plainly upon the outside of the place which has meant his +ruin.</p> + +<p>[With your penknife cut the paper along the lines A. Do <i>not</i> cut +on the lines B. Fold back the two "doors," at B, as if they were +hinged. It may be necessary to hold them back with thumb tacks or +pins. To heighten the effect it is well to have placed a blackened +sheet of paper beneath the top sheet, so as to produce the effect +illustrated. Add "And Poison Kills!" This completes <a href="#fig63">Fig. 63</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig63" name="fig63"></a> + <img src="images/063fig.png" width="400" height="303" + alt="Figure 63: The saloon with the doors open, so the lettering now reads 'Poison'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"The saloon may try to hide its real self, but every time it opens its +doors to allow one of its victims to come out, it proclaims to the +world that it traffics in <i>poison</i>—poison fatal to happiness, +fatal to hope, fatal to health, fatal to all the higher and nobler +aspirations of life. Everywhere is this truth proclaimed. From the +insane asylums come the testimony. The jails cry out that it is +true. The poor houses tell of its blight. Poverty-burdened homes and +broken hearts everywhere proclaim the awful truth.</p> + +<p>"And yet, the land is cursed with these dram shops whose owners care +only for the money which comes to them and which should go to the +advancement of the happiness and the uplift of him who is their +victim. Boys, may we plead with you today never to allow this thing to +enter your life to keep you from being all that God wants you to be?"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p106" id="p106"></a>THE SIMPLE LIFE<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Haste<br />—Quietness</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">The True Christian Life is the Safe, Sensible, Simple Life.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That speed and greed must of necessity end in dire +disaster.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>It is a splendid thing to teach the boys and girls the lesson that +true happiness attends the quiet, yet active life, while the race +after vain things brings only bitterness and disappointment.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>[Because of the details in the drawing of the boat, it is advisable, +we think, to complete <a href="#fig64">Fig. 64</a> before beginning the talk.]</p> + +<p>"In these days the very air seems filled with the 'speed germ.' +Automobiles whiz here and there, and many a hen which now tries to +cross the country road never gets more than half way. We who live in +town have to keep a sharp lookout or we are apt to share the fate of +many a valuable Buff Cochin or Plymouth Rock. Trains speed along their +glistening rails faster than ever before. Great ships skim across the +ocean in days instead of weeks. The aeroplane, which needs neither +steel rails nor water to glide upon, darts through space still more +rapidly. Everybody seems to be in a hurry, whether he is or not. We +are impatient if the street car is half a minute late, when we are +fully aware that we have plenty of time to reach our destination.</p> + +<p>"Again, we fret and work because we aren't getting rich fast +enough. We get mad at our neighbor because he buys an automobile and +despise him because we can't figure where he got the money with which +to do it. We aren't satisfied with having $50,000. We want +$500,000. And if we should get it, we would be just as dissatisfied +and go chasing after a million. What's the matter with us? Are we +crazy? Some women spend $50,000 a year on their clothes, whose mothers +dressed better, looked better, felt better and were better on $500 or +even a single hundred! In our mad chase after vain things how blind we +are to the things of true worth and usefulness!</p> + +<p>"Every little while we get a shock that ought to bring us to our +senses. When we learn of a terrible railroad wreck, we may expect to +find the blame placed on someone for disobeying orders, or for other +carelessness, but the true cause in nearly every instance is the cry +of the public—of you and me and the other fellow—for speed—more +speed—and still more speed!</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig64" name="fig64"></a> + <img src="images/064fig.png" width="400" height="313" + alt="Figure 64: The Titanic." + /> + <p class="caption"><i>(Complete Fig 64 before beginning talk.)</i></p> +</div> + +<p>"The greatest marine disaster in the world's history was the staking +of the magnificent White Star line steamship, the Titanic, in April, +1912. [Remove your cover sheet and display <a href="#fig64">Fig. 64</a>.] Larger, faster +and more costly than any vessel ever before built, it left its docks +with its hundreds of passengers and members of the crew—a floating +city in itself. Among the passengers were many whose names are +recorded on the rolls of the world's greatest scientists, financiers, +artists and authors. With eager, happy hearts, they looked forward to +the celebration in New York which awaited the arrival of this foremost +of the world's floating palaces. Alas, it was never to be! The story +is too horrible for repetition. The fatal collision with the great +iceberg—the heroism, the sacrifice, the loss of hundreds of precious +lives as the vessel plunged into the depths of the ocean, are known in +all their horror. [Add lines to produce <a href="#fig65">Fig. 65</a>.] The few in the +lifeboats, looking toward the sinking vessel, heard the ship's band +playing 'Nearer, My God, to Thee,' as the great ship, with its living +load sank from sight. Hundreds of broken hearts still mourn the loss +of dear ones, and all because the big, loaded ship was forced to run a +race with time! Those in charge knew of the presence of the +icebergs. They could have saved the loss by changing their route or +slackening their speed, but the cry was, 'Hurry! Hurry! Break the +record!'</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig65" name="fig65"></a> + <img src="images/065fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 65: The Titanic hitting an iceberg." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Aren't we all doing the same thing! The speed mania possesses us. The +senseless race for worldly wealth and honor blinds us to the presence +of threatened disaster. Let us quickly change our course. Christ our +Master, points the way of safety. He has gone that way himself, and he +asks each humble follower to take the course which He has so plainly +marked out. It is the way of truth and peace. If we take it, we shall +avoid every danger of a spiritual crash, which may mean disaster for +soul as well as body."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p109" id="p109"></a>WARMTH AND COLDNESS<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Sunday<br />—Rest</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">A Talk on Sunday Observance and Its Relation to the Christian +Life.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the things we think and do on the Lord's day are a +true index of our character.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The importance of the matter of Sunday observance must not be +underestimated by the teacher whose endeavor it is to mould into true +manhood and womanhood the lives of the boys and girls in her care.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"How many of you boys and girls ever played the game called 'Hide the +Thimble?' Ah, I thought so—nearly everybody. One person bides the +thimble and all the others try to find it; the one who discovers it +first gets the chance to hide it the next time. Sometimes, the one who +has hidden it assists the others to find it by saying, 'You are warm' +or 'You are cold,' depending upon the nearness to or the distance from +the hidden thimble.</p> + +<p>"When we stop to think about it, we find that many things in the world +are just like this game. Your life and mine are a great deal like +it. Sometimes there is something within us that tells us we are +wandering away from God—that tells us we are <i>growing cold</i>. And +then, if we heed the warning, we hear the same voice saying we are +<i>growing warmer</i>, and we know it to be true for we feel the +assurance that we are nearer to the Master than before.</p> + +<p>"I am going to draw on the paper this morning a thermometer, and with +this thermometer we shall make some tests to see just what it means to +be warm Christians or cold ones. [Draw the thermometer, <a href="#fig66">Fig. 66</a>, +complete, excepting the liquid in the bulb.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig66" name="fig66"></a> + <img src="images/066fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 66: A thermometer, at 'Cold'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Now we are ready to make the test, and we are going to do it by +finding out how we spend our Sundays. Why? Because if you can know +just how a boy or girl or a man or woman spends the Lord's day, you +can tell pretty nearly just what kind of a person that one is in the +sight of Jesus Christ.</p> + +<p>"God gave us this one day for our greatest good. He wants us to use it +as a day which shall make us strong and well, bright and happy. If we +use it any other way, we are sure to make one of the greatest mistakes +of our lives. So certain is God that we must have a day of rest and +upbuilding once in each seven days that he made a law concerning +it. It is one of the Ten Commandments, which says that we must +'remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.' God knows best. When He +establishes a law, <i>it must not be broken or the one who breaks it +will suffer</i>. If the child touches fire with his hand, after being +warned by his mother not to do it, his suffering is the result of +doing what the mother forbade. When God tells us to keep His day holy, +every one of us who disobeys that command must suffer. Let us see how +it works. Bishop Vincent says: 'Sunday is ill-spent if it sends us +back to our weekly work irritated, weary and reluctant'—and Sunday +will never do that for us unless we misuse the day which God has given +us. If we spend the day in worrying about our everyday affairs, if we +spend it in chasing around after senseless amusements which weary the +body without enlightening the heart and the mind, if we allow +ourselves to follow paths which lead away from truth and right, then +we will show up Monday morning irritated, weary and reluctant and our +Sunday observance temperature is low indeed. [With red chalk, fill +the bulb and a portion of the thermometer tube, completing <a href="#fig66">Fig. 66</a>.]</p> + +<p>"But Bishop Vincent also says, 'Sunday is well spent if it sends us +back refreshed in body, mind and spirit to take up our duties with new +inspiration of hope, patience and courage.' And we can all do this; +and, as we do it, we shall find a growing delight in it. If we have +been wasting our Sundays—spending them in such a way that when Monday +morning comes we look back upon the Sabbath with regret—let us begin +right now to form habits which shall make Sunday a delight—the +brightest, the most restful, the most interesting, the most refreshing +of all times. And let us be thankful that a day of this kind can come +to us so often. It is then that our Sunday observance temperature will +rise to its highest point. [With red chalk add lines to complete +<a href="#fig67">Fig. 67</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig67" name="fig67"></a> + <img src="images/067fig.png" width="400" height="309" + alt="Figure 67: A thermometer, at 'Warm'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Dr. Lyman Abbott, like many others points out the folly of attending +church services in the morning and then passing the remainder of the +day in noisy or wearisome celebration. He calls it a 'weekly composite +of Thanksgiving and Fourth of July,'—Thanksgiving in the quiet of the +morning, and Fourth of July in the noisy afternoon.</p> + +<p>"Such an observance of the day is displeasing to God who gave us the +day for our greatest good and not to be wasted in idleness and folly.</p> + +<p>"Keeping the Lord's day holy doesn't deprive us of activity, but it +changes the course of our action from paths of wastefulness to fields +of the greatest good. There are many things to do on Sunday, and in +the doing of some of them right at your hands, you will have +discovered the best way for you to get the most out of one of God's +greatest gifts to his children."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p112" id="p112"></a>THE DESERT <i>and the</i> MOUNTAIN<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Decision Day<br />—Conversion</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">A Decision Day Illustration From the Far West—"Living Water."</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That as the desert cannot become productive until it +receives the waters of irrigation, so the arid soul, if it is to +become fruitful, must receive the water of life.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>While this illustration is especially applicable to the service of +Decision Day, it is recommended for any occasion where there is +opportunity to speak of conversion or a returning to Christ.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"A gentleman, a little past middle life, was traveling from the east +in a luxurious passenger train crossing one of the far western +states. As he gazed from the car window, his face wore an expression +of interest, which developed into one of wonder and excitement.</p> + +<p>"'Can it be,' he exclaimed, addressing the man who sat with him, 'that +I am passing through the very same country which I saw but a few short +years ago? It seems impossible!'</p> + +<p>"Now, why did it seem impossible? Let us find out. It appears that +when the man traveled the state before, he looked out of the car +windows upon a scene of barrenness and desolation. [As you speak, draw +<a href="#fig68">Fig. 68</a> with brown crayon. Be sure to leave the mountain peaks white, +but, in order to secure an impressive pastel effect use the broad side +of your brown and your yellow crayons lightly over the entire area of +desert and mountain side.] The earth was dry and parched, and in all +directions, as far as the eye could see, grew only the sage brush—the +mark of the desert. There was no life, excepting an occasional coyote, +and the reflected heat and light made travel almost unbearable. The +monotonous earth was composed of the leveled deposits of the mountains +which the sun had baked for centuries.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig68" name="fig68"></a> + <img src="images/068fig.png" width="400" height="308" + alt="Figure 68: Mountains." + /> +</div> + +<p>[As you continue, change the scene by covering the brown with +green. Draw the foliage of the trees with green and the trunks with +brown. Life may be added by touching the trees with the red and the +yellow and the orange to indicate the fruit. The thought is to +transform the desert into a place of fruitfulness. This completes +<a href="#fig69">Fig. 69</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig69" name="fig69"></a> + <img src="images/069fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 69: Mountains with orchard in the foreground." + /> +</div> + +<p>"But now, all was changed as if by a magic touch. In place of the sage +brush and the broad wastes of baking earth, the man beheld here great +orchards, with hundreds of fruit trees, laden with glistening apples, +oranges and pears, and wide fields were covered with bounteous crops +of grain. The once arid wilderness was now the fertile dwelling place +of many happy families.</p> + +<p>"What had wrought this great change? Nothing but the hand and mind of +man, guided by the maker of the universe, who seems to have stored +rich treasures everywhere for those who will reach out for them. It +happened in this way:</p> + +<p>"One day, a certain man beheld the snow-capped mountains—cold and +forbidding—and then he turned his gaze to the earth—parched and +dead. He knew that if he could only unite the waters of the +snow-capped mountains with the dead earth below them, 'the desert +would blossom as the rose.' Before this thing happened, two-thirds of +the entire area of the United States was a desert waste. But the +waters were brought down, and the great transformation followed. +Gradually, the arid waste is disappearing and the forces of irrigation +are expanding; and the vast western country is unfolding to the +millions who are spreading over its newly-discovered areas of wealth.</p> + +<p>"Let us turn quickly to the application. There are, in every +community, many human deserts—men and women, boys and girls, whose +unproductive lives need the waters of life to make them blossom and +bring forth fruit in His kingdom. Perhaps they have beheld Him only as +a cold, forbidding mountain peak, and if this is true, they should +catch the spirit of the Psalmist who cried, 'My soul thirsteth for +thee; my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no +water is.'</p> + +<p>"In the case of the desert, it is conversion, pure and simple. May the +heavenly waters of His grace come to each one of us today, whether it +be a first decision to be united with Him, or whether it be a decision +to return to Him whom we have deserted.</p> + +<p>"Our duty toward our fellow men conies before us happily in these +words from the prophet Isaiah, 'If thou draw out thy soul to the +hungry and afflicted soul, thou shalt be like a spring of water whose +waters fail not.'"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p115" id="p115"></a>REFLECTING AND BLESSING<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Helpfulness<br />—Testimony</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">Those Who Are "The Light of the World" Should be a Guide to Those +Who Are in Darkness.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That those who have received the light from God's Word +should gladly reflect that light to those about them.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The central thought of this illustration is the responsibility which +rests upon God's children in the spreading of the brightness of +Christianity to those who must receive it through them. It is +appropriate for many occasions and will fit audiences of all ages in +which the children form a part.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"It is said that once upon a time a teacher asked a boy to tell her +whether the sun or the moon is of the greater importance to the world.</p> + +<p>"'The moon,' replied the boy.</p> + +<p>"'Why,' inquired the teacher, 'do you think the moon is of more +benefit to the world than the sun is?'</p> + +<p>"'Because,' said the boy, 'the moon shines at night when we need it, +but the sun shines only in the daytime when we do not need it.'</p> + +<p>"That was certainly a strange kind of an answer; wasn't it? I will +draw the earth and the moon to show more plainly just how mistaken the +boy was. [Draw the earth circle and the moon circle, and show the +shaded parts as you proceed.]</p> + +<p>"Here we have the earth with one-half in darkness, and here is the +moon with one-half in darkness. This side of the earth is light, while +this other side would be very dark indeed if it were not for the rays +of light coming from the moon, like this: [Draw dotted line showing +rays of light going from the moon to the earth, completing <a href="#fig70">Fig. 70</a>].</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig70" name="fig70"></a> + <img src="images/070fig.png" width="400" height="314" + alt="Figure 70: Diagram showing the moon and the earth." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Now, then we ask, can the moon shine upon the earth all of itself +without any help? Ah, no—and that is the thing the boy didn't know, +or he never would have answered as he did. Where does the moon get its +light from? Yes, from the sun. I will draw part of a circle to +represent the sun. [Draw the sun.] And this dotted line [draw dotted +line from sun to moon, completing <a href="#fig71">Fig. 71</a>] shows how the sun sends its +brilliant light to the moon, so that the moon may reflect part of it +back to the earth which would be enshrouded in darkness if it were not +for the sun. The moon acts just like a mirror which you hold in your +hand and use to reflect the sun's rays wherever you please.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig71" name="fig71"></a> + <img src="images/071fig.png" width="400" height="309" + alt="Figure 71: Diagram showing the moon, earth and sun." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Sometimes the moon gets between the earth and the sun, and it is then +that it does not reflect the sun's light and it is then that we have +nights of inky blackness.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if we have ever stopped to think how very much we Christian +people are, or ought to be, like the moon. Just as the sun warms and +lights everything about it, so the love of God lights and warms those +who turn their faces toward him. We can truly say with the Psalmist, +that 'the Lord is my light and salvation,' but we have not fulfilled +our mission on earth if we are willing merely to receive this light of +happiness, of contentment, of trust and of faith, without reflecting +it in every possible practical way. When Jesus said to those about +him, 'Ye are the light of the world,' he also said, 'Let your light +shine,' and He pictured to His followers their duty of spreading the +light of their blessings to the world of darkness about them. Paul +touched upon the same great truth when he wrote to the church at Rome +that its members should be 'a light to them which are in darkness.'</p> + +<p>"How may we best reflect this light of heaven? It is for each of us to +determine this for himself, being governed entirely by his +circumstances, his abilities and his opportunities. But, first of all, +we must be sure we have received that light as God would have us +receive it. None of us can be perfect, but we can live close to our +great ideal and by learning constantly from Him, we shall find the +light coming to us more clearly and more beautifully as the days go +by. We shall find a <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'deper'">deeper</ins> sympathy for those who suffer, warmer love +for those whom we may have condemned, and an increasing desire to be +of greater help to those who really need help. When we have reached +this condition—when we have truly received the light—we need give +little thought to the manner in which we shall reflect it.</p> + +<p>"Abraham Lincoln once said, 'I do the best I know, the very best I +can, and I mean to keep right on doing so till the end.' Such a life +sends its rays down through the generations that are to follow, and +its reflected light never fades away."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p118" id="p118"></a>HIDDEN SUNSHINE<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Missionary Day<br />—Love</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">How the Warmth and Brightness Stored Away Ages Ago Are Now of +Service to Man.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the true missionary spirit is the spreading abroad +of the warmth of God's blessings which we have received.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The principles governing missions are permeated with the elements of +love, unselfishness and self-sacrifice. This talk may be used, +therefore, as a missionary day topic or on any occasion in which it is +appropriate to dwell upon any of its attributes.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Once upon a time, long before there were any people on the earth and +perhaps before there were any animals or birds or reptiles here, the +world was covered with an immense, luxuriant growth of vegetation. +How do we know it? The geologists tell us so. They have dug deep into +the earth and they have examined what they found, and they have long +ago determined that this condition is true. It would seem that in +those ages of long ago the world must have been very different from +what it is now, for the seas flowed over vast areas which are now +solid ground. Immense trees grew in those times, and the great ferns +and palms and tropical plants grew in portions where now they cannot +grow because it is too cold. I want to draw some trees and bushes to +represent this great growth. [Draw trees and bushes of <a href="#fig72">Fig. 72</a> in +green.] And also the bright warm sun which, together with the +abundance of water, caused them to grow so profusely. [Draw the sun in +orange, completing <a href="#fig72">Fig. 72</a>.] Then, the geologists tell us, there came +a great change. There were awful volcanic disturbances which caused +the sea to overflow great areas of these trees and bushes and ferns, +and they were buried from sight by a vast expanse of water. Gradually, +though, another change came. The waters receded into lesser areas and +the ground arose from beneath the waves. But the trees and the bushes +and the ferns were gone. Where? They had been buried deep beneath the +mud and sand and stones which the waters had washed over them. Then, +after that, God created the monster mastodon and the mammoth and many +other beasts which have since disappeared from the earth, and finally +man was created to have dominion over the earth. For many centuries +afterward, no one knew that the earth was once the place of immense +trees and ferns and rank vegetable growth which had since been buried +beneath the surface. But one day, some of this old, buried vegetable +matter was found and brought to the surface of the earth. By that time +it was not green any longer. It was hard and compact and looked very +much like black stone. Someone seemed to think it would burn if fire +were applied to it. And, strange to say, it did burn.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig72" name="fig72"></a> + <img src="images/072fig.png" width="400" height="314" + alt="Figure 72: Trees and bushes and the sun." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Thus was coal discovered.</p> + +<p>"Ever since then, we have been digging from the depths of the earth +the coal which was deposited there in those ages of the past. And it +is blessing the world everywhere. [With the broad side of your black +crayon, quickly cover the vegetation of <a href="#fig72">Fig. 72</a>. Then, with broad +strokes of the orange chalk, or with a combination of the yellow and +the red, draw the flames, completely covering the sun, and finishing +<a href="#fig73">Fig. 73</a>.] Coal is now the chief of the elements which bring warmth to +our homes, our places of business and everywhere that we are spending +our time indoors; it is the great factor in our great manufacturing +and transportation enterprises. God laid it all up for us millions of +years ago!</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig73" name="fig73"></a> + <img src="images/073fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 73: Coal burning." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Thus do we find a splendid example of what real service is. Jesus +came to the earth to be of service to the world. When he departed, He +left behind Him the command that the gospel should be preached to +every creature—that the light and warmth from His life should not +remain buried in us but that we should take that warmth to every +portion of the earth, that it might, like the hidden sunshine in the +coal, bring life to those in the cold and darkness of heathenism.</p> + +<p>"Not many of us are able to carry this word to foreign lands or to the +distant parts of our own land; but we have an important part in it in +contributing our money, our encouragement and our prayers.</p> + +<p>"And not only may we do this but we may begin right here in our midst +to make our school and church a missionary blessing to those nearby +ones who need its warmth. Remember that 'we are ambassadors, +therefore, on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us.'"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p121" id="p121"></a>"JOHNNIE APPLESEED"<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Boys' Day<br />—Devotion</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">Story of the Man Who Braved the Dangers of the Wilderness to Bless +the Early Settlers.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the influence of a well-spent life is its best and +most enduring monument. It always adds fame to a good name.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The story of "Johnnie Appleseed" is dear to the hearts of thousands of +boys and girls throughout America. The writer has listened +interestedly to narratives of the late George W. Brackenridge, of Fort +Wayne, Ind., who remembered clearly the visits of "Johnnie" to his +early home. The story is abundant in good lessons, and ought to be of +special interest on Boys' Day.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"I am going to talk to you today about a man who paddled his canoe +along the rivers in the middle west and roamed the wild forests when +there were very few settlers in that country and while the hostile +Indians brought terror to the hearts of many who had braved the +dangers of the frontier. This sounds like a dime novel tale, doesn't +it? Yes, but it is a true story. It is the story of 'Johnnie +Appleseed.' How many of you ever heard of him? [Govern yourself in the +following remarks, by the acquaintance of your audience with the +subject.]</p> + +<p>"It was in the year 1801, that John Chapman then a young man of +twenty-six years, aroused some interest by appearing with several +sacks of appleseeds which he had procured from the cider mills in +western Pennsylvania. The first orchard he planted was on the farm of +Isaac Stadden in Licking county, Ohio, and, from this beginning, his +enthusiasm developed until he decided to go all through the wilderness +as far as he could reach and plant apple orchards wherever they could +be made to grow.</p> + +<p>"One day a lone settler near Marietta, Ohio, saw a strange craft +floating down the Ohio river. The boatman was John Chapman, but from +that time forward he was known as 'Johnnie Appleseed' by the settlers +between the Ohio river and the Great Lakes and as far west as the +territory which is now the State of Indiana. I will draw a map to show +you where he was and where he went.</p> + +<p>[In the drawing of the "map," which is, in reality, at the last, the +branch of an apple tree, use brown crayon for the "rivers" and green +for the "orchards," carrying the drawings forward as the various +points are mentioned. Strict accuracy has not been observed in the map +drawing.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig74" name="fig74"></a> + <img src="images/074fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 74: Map showing the Ohio river." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Here is the Ohio river, where he first appeared. [Draw the Ohio +river. Do not label the rivers. The names are given for your guidance +only.] He had two canoes tied side by side, and they were filled with +apple seeds. He paddled against the stream as he turned his canoe into +the Muskingum river, and then up into the Walhonding river, and then +into the Mohican and finally into the creek called the Black Pork. It +took a long time to go this short distance, for he stopped off every +little while to find suitable places in the wilderness to plant apple +seeds. And these, of course, grew up, in later years, to fruitful +orchards. [Draw the orchards in green. Your drawing will now resemble +<a href="#fig74">Fig. 74</a>.] This was but the beginning. From that time until 'Johnnie +Appleseed' was 72 years of age he devoted his life to converting the +waste wild land into orchards. During the war of 1812 he warned +settlers against the Indians and helped to save many lives. He +dressed in skins and was respected by the Indians, who considered him +a very wise medicine man. Many trips he made back to Pennsylvania, +whenever his seed supply was exhausted. In every rude cabin home which +he visited, 'Johnnie Appleseed' read the Scriptures, and hundreds were +helped to better lives through his teachings. He was noted for his +gentleness and kindness. He died, in 1847, near Fort Wayne, Ind.</p> + +<p>"Here was a man, boys, who devoted his life to helping others. +Dr. Hillis, of New York, has woven his life into a most beautiful +story, 'The Quest of John Chapman,' and others have sung his praises +in verse and narrative. Let us learn from him the lesson of devoting +one's life to making other people happy. I will add a few lines to +indicate all that John Chapman tried to do. [Add apples in red, +converting the map into a branch bearing apples, <a href="#fig75">Fig. 75</a>.] But he did +vastly more than this. He brought brightness into many a heart during +his long years of usefulness, and while he helped to make the Middle +West a fruit-growing country, the real fruit of his work was that of +helpfulness, sympathy and brightness through Christ, who guided him in +his strange work.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig75" name="fig75"></a> + <img src="images/075fig.png" width="400" height="307" + alt="Figure 75: Map of river turned into a branch of an apple tree." + /> +</div> + +<p>"'A sower went forth to sow.' If the kind of ground in which he sowed +did not bring forth fruit, it was not the fault of the tireless +sower."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p124" id="p124"></a>PUBLIC SENTIMENT<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Home Department Day<br />—Unity</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">It is a Powerful Element—An Illustration for Home Department +Day.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the earnest prayers and work of the stay-at-home +members are a great inspiration to the active workers in the +school.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>Home Department Day in the Sunday School may be made a most helpful +event in the life of the school and in the lives of those who do not +enjoy the privilege of attending the services regularly. Many who are +usually employed on Sunday, in hotels, boarding houses, railroad +positions, and the like, can ofttimes arrange to attend this session +prepared especially for them. It is assumed that you have been +supplying the members of the Home Department with lesson helps, and +that you have kept in touch with them. Souvenirs may be sent to +invalids and aged people as well as to other members who cannot be +present. The colors are purple and white; the flower, the violet.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"I am going to draw for you today the portrait of one who exerts the +most powerful influence in this community. [Draw the outline of the +head, omitting the facial lines. <a href="#fig76">Fig. 76</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig76" name="fig76"></a> + <img src="images/076fig.png" width="400" height="315" + alt="Figure 76: A man, with the face drawn blank." + /> +</div> + +<p>"But before I finish the portrait I want you to know that if it were +not for this one we would never have had our beautiful parks or our +magnificent court house. It was he who attended to the paving of our +streets. We would have had no public library but for him. There would +have been no public schools here, and no church spires would be +pointing heavenward, if he had not sanctioned them. We would never +have had our water works system, our sewerage system or our electric +lights. In short, we never would have had any of the great public +benefactions but for him. And I am sorry to add, too, that we would +never have had any saloons but for him.[Footnote: Substitute words +describing local conditions.] [Draw the letters composing the words, +"Public Sentiment," completing <a href="#fig77">Fig. 77</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig77" name="fig77"></a> + <img src="images/077fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 77: A face formed from the words 'Public sentiment'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Yes, this is Public Sentiment. And what is public sentiment? I think +it may be described best as the expression of the will of the greatest +number of people in a community. It is the voice of the majority. It +is only when people want things that they get them. As the years go +by, the people themselves are becoming more and more mighty in +directing the work of those whom they have chosen to represent them.</p> + +<p>"A contractor is not the builder of a public library or a public +school. These are built by the people who are united in sentiment for +a library or a school; the contractor is only the hired man who does +the bidding of the people. The residents of a city themselves bring +into existence beautiful streets, magnificent public buildings and +ideal health conditions; or else they bring to themselves the saloon +and other degrading institutions, all depending upon public sentiment.</p> + +<p>"And so it is with the church and the Sunday School. The human factor +which keeps this school prosperous comes not from the superintendent +or the officers or the teachers alone. Its success is due largely to +the public sentiment outside of the school. It is the sentiment of the +fathers and mothers of these boys and girls, many of whom, while their +hearts are with us, cannot attend the sessions regularly. It is the +sentiment of you who are so loyal to us and whose prayers for the +school have been so effective. It is the sentiment of you members of +the Home Department who have shown in every way the appreciation of +this school. The knowledge that you are with us is a powerful help.</p> + +<p>"During the dark days of the civil war there were two armies fighting +the battles of the North and of the South—the army that was in the +field and the army that stayed at home, the great silent partners in +the awful conflict. The latter was composed largely of the noble +mothers and sisters, whose daily prayers ascended to heaven while +their sad hearts and nimble fingers provided the comforts for the +brave boys at the front.</p> + +<p>"So, with the members of the Home Department, we have come to think of +you as 'silent partners' in the work of our school. And as occasion +develops, we want you to feel that here is your place of +activity—your school.</p> + +<p>"But we shall remember the words of Paul, 'We have many members in one +body, and all the members have not the same office,' and we shall not +forget the important places in our school of those who are enrolled in +our Home Department."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p127" id="p127"></a>THE BROOK<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Gossip<br />—Our Words</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">The Life Which is Tainted by the Habit of Speaking Unkind Words +Falls Short of Its Highest Mission.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the subtle practice of speaking carelessly +concerning other people poisons many an otherwise worthy life.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The teacher who leads the child to cultivate the strictest care in his +thoughts and in his words, as they relate especially to those about +him, has helped to lay the foundation of a life of true worth to his +fellows. The tendency is toward a habit of fault-finding criticism +which not only harms the object of the disparaging words, but which +injures and undermines the usefulness of the life of the habitually +unfair critic.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Marion Lawrance, whose influence permeates much of the work for the +advancement of the Sunday School of today, uses a most striking +illustration to show the baneful result of the use of words which harm +those about whom they are spoken. Standing before his audience, he +displays a rose in full bloom. Mr. Lawrance then deliberately destroys +the beautiful flower by removing one daintily tinted leaf after +another until only the bare stem remains and the delicate petals +litter the floor and the speaker's table. During the process, the +speaker explains that none but God could have made such a rose; it +speaks of His love and His power, of His tenderness and of His care +for His children. But any human hand can destroy it. So it is with +that treasure which we call our good name—our reputation among +men. Through the grace of God we may live so true that we deserve the +respect and honor of our fellowmen; and yet, that good name, that +reputation, may suffer irreparable injury at the hands of one who, +through deliberate design or careless habit, speaks words concerning +us which cause us to be misjudged or misunderstood. Says Samuel +Butler:</p> + +<blockquote class="verse"><p class="hangindent"> + "'The feeblest vermin can destroy<br /> + As sure as stoutest beasts of prey;<br /> + And only with their eyes and breath,<br /> + Infect and poison men to death.' +</p></blockquote> + +<p>"Let us illustrate the point by placing on the paper a little +landscape. [Draw <a href="#fig78">Fig. 78</a> complete leaving the right half of the paper +blank.] We have before us a great, wide river, a stream which forms an +important channel of commerce. Each year, traffic is carried over its +waters which amount to many hundreds of thousands of dollars. Cities +have grown up along its banks; in many ways it has been a wonderful +blessing. Its silent waters flow on and on through the years, blessing +generation after generation of men.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig78" name="fig78"></a> + <img src="images/078fig.png" width="400" height="308" + alt="Figure 78: A landscape drawn on one half of the paper." + /> +</div> + +<p>"But, as we turn from the big silent stream and wander through the +woods our ears catch the sound of falling waters, and then we come +suddenly upon a scene like this. [Draw the second landscape, +completing <a href="#fig79">Fig. 79</a>.] It is a pretty little brook, you say. Yes, it is, +but we smile as we compare the noisy little stream with the mighty +silent river, and our minds dwell upon the fact that they are but +reflections of life itself. Just as the little brook makes more noise +than the big river, so do many people with small minds cause more +agitation and trouble in a community than people whose lives are +governed by the principles of charity, kindness and common sense.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig79" name="fig79"></a> + <img src="images/079fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 79: Two landscapes, the second of a large river and waterfall." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Let us watch, therefore, to see that our thoughts as well as our +words are such as to add to the happiness of those about us. Calmness +and carefulness will accomplish this. Let us guard well against the +ill-spoken word, however harmless it may seem.</p> + +<p>"Said one girl to another, 'Don't you think Julia is a splendid girl?'</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes,' responded the other, 'but I have sometimes wondered whether +or not she is always sincere in what she says.'</p> + +<p>"How easy it is to attach a sting to an innocent remark! Our +lightly-spoken words may blight the life of an innocent one, for words +repeated are like the rolling snowball which grows larger as it is +pushed over the fallen snow. As one dog, howling in the night, causes +all the other dogs in town to howl, so we may start a needless alarm +by a single unfair word.</p> + +<p>"Let us praise the good, always, for none—not even ourselves—is +perfect."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p130" id="p130"></a>THE DECEITFULNESS OF SIN<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Sin<br />—Allurement</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">The Modern Artificial Fishing Bait As an Illustration of +Seductiveness.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That sin gains its victims through the most alluring +deception.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>This illustration should prove valuable in presenting to the minds of +boys of all ages the truth of the seductiveness of sin, as the +treatment of the subject brings in a discussion of a sport with which +all are more or less familiar.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"At the beginning of our talk today, I am going to place on the +drawing paper the picture of a fish. [Draw <a href="#fig80">Fig. 80</a>, complete.] It +looks like a very large fish, but, as a matter of fact, it is a very +greatly enlarged picture of a very little fish. In reality, it is a +minnow only about three inches long, the kind which the bigger fish +like for dessert, and which, therefore, are usually pretty careful +where they go.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig80" name="fig80"></a> + <img src="images/080fig.png" width="400" height="313" + alt="Figure 80: A minnow." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Now, I want to see, by having you hold up your hands, just how many +of you boys like to go fishing? One, two, three—why, nearly all of +you. Some, I suppose are fond of still-fishing—that is to fish from +the bank or from an anchored boat, and not move around very much. And +some like to troll, I suppose—that is to use an artificial bait and +let the line drag in the water quite a distance back of the row boat +as you propel it through the water. And others, perhaps, like to +cast—that is, to throw the bait away out into the water and then +bring it in again by winding up the line on the reel. And some, I +suppose, like to use other methods of catching fish. But I am going to +speak only of the artificial bait which is used by those who troll and +cast.</p> + +<p>"Nearly always, the fisherman buys his artificial bait from a store +which sells all sorts of artificial minnows and other false bait which +have been made by experts. And who are these experts? They are men who +have spent years trying to find out the best way to fool the fish into +believing they see their prospective dinner, when in reality they are +going to their death. One kind of bait is the artificial minnow. The +manufacturer makes a wooden minnow, shaped like the real minnow, whose +picture I have drawn; then he paints it in the colors of the live +minnow, and sometimes he puts on some bright metal which whirls in the +water and attracts the attention of the fish. If the deception were to +stop there, very little harm would be done, but to all this the +manufacturer adds a lot of ugly hooks, sometimes as many as +fifteen. [It is well to draw the lines suggested as the talk proceeds, +and finish by drawing the hooks at this point, completing <a href="#fig81">Fig. 81</a>.] +When this attractive artificial minnow is made to glide through the +water, the fish, seeing nothing of the hooks or else knowing nothing +of their harmfulness, opens his mouth wide and tries to swallow the +bait. Immediately, the ugly hooks catch him, and unless he can tear +loose he is doomed. He is deceived. He finds out his mistake when it +is too late.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig81" name="fig81"></a> + <img src="images/081fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 81: A minnow with several fish-hooks attached." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Sometimes, the fisherman uses a spoon hook or other bait in which the +hooks are hidden beneath some bright-colored feathers or other +material which looks tempting to the fish. The intended victim dashes +after the alluring bait, seeing nothing but the glitter of the bright +metal or the brilliancy of the colors. He loses his life as a result.</p> + +<p>"It seems strange—doesn't it—that fish can be fooled in this way? +And yet, I am not sure but that people are just as foolish themselves, +very often. Ask the drunkard how he happened to reach the low depths +to which he has fallen, and he will tell you that when he, as a young +man, took his first glass, it was in a brilliantly-lighted place +where, it seemed, the air was filled with good fellowship, and he +thought he was happy. At that very moment, he was pursuing the +glittering, attractive bait which later proved to be his utter +ruination. <i>He had not seen the hidden hooks.</i> Ask the thief, +confined in his lonely cell, how he happened to become an outcast, and +he may tell you that it started in school when he thought it a very +happy thing to cheat in his examinations and thus acquire the habit of +being dishonest. He did not see the hidden hooks which the evil one +had placed there to deceive and catch him.</p> + +<p>"Jesus wants all the boys and girls to be watchful of the snares of +life and to live so truly that they will easily escape the temptations +which abound everywhere. 'Take heed,' he said, 'Watch ye, therefore, +and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these +things.'"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p133" id="p133"></a>THE MASK<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Sincerity<br />—Truth</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">Let Us Ask Ourselves Earnestly if We Are Guilty of Wearing It.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the world honors and respects an honest man, one +who does not fear the opinion of those about him.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>We recall the words of Jesus, who, in His Sermon on the Mount, warned +his hearers to "beware of false prophets which come to you in sheeps' +clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves," and we reflect how +applicable are the words in modern times. Everywhere, one must beware +the snares and deceit of the servants of Satan, who, with pleasing +outward appearance, entrap their victims. It is a delight and a +satisfaction, then, to find real truth and sincerity in the earth, and +it is to be found if we but look for it.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"It is said that when a thief wants to rob a house, he tries to find +the home of an honest man. Why? Because he thinks that the honest man, +who never takes advantage of his fellowmen, will be least apt to +suspect that anyone will take advantage of <i>him</i>.</p> + +<p>"But the same truth holds good when one honest man seeks to deal with +another honest man. A true man, when he comes to us with any plan of +work or investment may be relied upon to say just what he thinks and +believes. He is dependable. It is a pleasure and a satisfaction, when +we are listening to the words of another person, to know that that +other person is speaking the truth. But not everyone is to be depended +upon in this way. There is another kind of man who tells you something +in apparent sincerity, but when he calls upon the next person he may +tell the story in an entirely different way. Why? Because he believes +that the second person will be better pleased with the revised +version.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig82" name="fig82"></a> + <img src="images/082fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 82: A woman's face." + /> +</div> + +<p>"How often do we find an attractive face which gains our entire +confidence, a face, pleasant to see and agreeable in every way. [Draw +face, completing <a href="#fig82">Fig. 82</a>.] And then, how often are we pained and +shocked and disappointed when something happens which allows us to +look into the real character of the person and we find that his real +self is anything but agreeable and worthy of confidence. [Draw lines +to complete <a href="#fig83">Fig. 83</a>.] Such a discovery, however, should not cause us +to lose faith in our brothers. Truth, character, and a splendid degree +of manhood abound everywhere.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig83" name="fig83"></a> + <img src="images/083fig.png" width="400" height="313" + alt="Figure 83: The woman's face now revealed to be a mask worn by an older man." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Boys and girls, begin now the formation of habits which will make you +strong, honest, worthy men and women. Sometimes you see a man who is +fiery, cross, ill-tempered and surly. Again you will find one who is +fawning, over-polite, subservient and altogether wearisome because, in +trying to make himself agreeable he becomes a bore and a +nuisance. Both of these kinds of men have failed to reach the right +goal of manhood. We must have backbone, firmness and stamina, but we +must be willing to bend sometimes or we are apt to get some pretty +hard bumps when we hold our heads too high. Remember that you can't +please everybody. Sometimes it is best to say 'Yes' when people ask +you to do certain things, and sometimes a flat-footed 'No' is the +thing. Remember that if you agree with everybody who expresses an +opinion, you have the respect of nobody. Think for yourself, but think +carefully. If you choose to grovel at the feet of those about you, you +must expect to get stepped on and run over. Above all, cultivate a +habit of being so straightforward and above-board that no one will +ever doubt your sincerity. Don't wear a mask of sincerity when the +real character is less honorable. To do this is to cheat yourself more +than anyone else, for the deception is ofttimes but thinly veiled.</p> + +<p>"In his early life, in the year 1844, Lord Beaconsfield, said, in an +address before the Literary and Scientific Institution of London: 'A +man can be what he pleases. Every one of you can be what he desires to +be. I have resolved to hold a certain position, and if I live I will.' +It is not known to what position Benjamin Disraeli referred, but he +attained to the highest position possible to any man in England, +notwithstanding that his status as a Jew was a strong barrier against +his progress. On his deathbed he said, 'Nothing can resist a will +which will stake even existence for its fulfillment.'</p> + +<p>"That is determination. Such determination will make any man what he +wants to be. It will enable every one of us to reach his highest +ideal. And may that ideal be to shun the dishonest and seek the honest +life in its every element."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p136" id="p136"></a>WASHINGTON'S STRENGTH<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Washington's Birthday<br />—Trust</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">Through His Great Trials He Remained Steadfast in His Hold on +God.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That trouble either adds to our spiritual strength or +else casts us down, depending on the stability of our character and +our hold on God.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>This illustration, especially useful on the occasion of the birthday +of George Washington, on the 22d of February, is adaptable to the +needs of the younger boys and girls, but its significance may give +hope and strength to the older ones as well.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Boys, how many of you ever flew a kite? Well, that's fine! You will +be able, then, to answer the question I am going to ask you. Now, +listen. If the wind is blowing from the west, which way do you run to +make the kite go up? Yes, you run toward the west, right against the +wind. If you run with the wind, the kite won't go up at all, will it? +[Draw the kite as in <a href="#fig84">Fig. 84</a>; black outline, red tail.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig84" name="fig84"></a> + <img src="images/084fig.png" width="400" height="313" + alt="Figure 84: A kite." + /> +</div> + +<p>"One might think that when a strong wind blew against the kite, it +would be blown away like a piece of loose newspaper; but that isn't +so. And when a gentle breeze increases to a strong, steady wind, the +kite goes higher and higher, PROVIDED it is made of good material, and +PROVIDED, also, that someone holds tightly to the other end of the +string. But if the string breaks, down comes the kite! Why? Because +the very thing which holds it down is the same thing which holds it +up!</p> + +<p>"You may never have thought of it, but each of us boys and girls and +each one of us men and women is a good deal like a kite. When the +winds of trouble and worry blow against us they may cause us to rise +higher or they may blow us down. Today, I want to tell you how George +Washington acted when troubles came to him, and if any man in the +world's history was loaded down with soul-trying troubles it was 'the +Father of His Country.' Listen while I read for you a few sentences +from private letters which he wrote during the Revolutionary war. [It +will be well to have these and other extracts written so you may read +them verbatim.] 'I am wearied almost to death with the retrograde +motion of things, and I solemnly protest that a pecuniary reward of +twenty thousand pounds a year would not induce me to undergo what I +do, and, after all, perhaps, lose my character.' Again: 'Our affairs +are in a more distressed, ruinous, and deplorable condition than they +have been since the commencement of the war,' and he adds that unless +congress comes valiantly to his assistance at once the country will +sink into irretrievable ruin. Again he writes: 'Every idea you can +form of our distresses will fall short of the reality. I have almost +ceased to hope.' These were dark days, and the winds of adversity were +beating mercilessly against the man into whose hands had been placed +the cares of the great struggle for national existence. He was like +the kite bravely battling against the wind. But he was made of good +stuff, and there was a strong hand holding the string, for we read +again from his letters:</p> + +<p>"'How it will all end, God in his great goodness, will direct. I am +thankful for His protection to this time. I have a consolation within +that no earthly effort can deprive me of, and that is that neither +ambitions nor interested motives have influenced my conduct. The +arrows of malevolence, therefore, however barbed and well pointed, can +never reach the most vulnerable part of me; though, while I am set up +as a mark they will be continually aimed.'</p> + +<p>"His trust was in God, and so shocked was he when he learned that the +habit of swearing was growing in the army that he issued a general +order calling upon officers to set the men a good example, and added, +'The practice is foolish and wicked—a vice so mean and low, without +temptation, that every man of sense and character detests and despises +it. We can have little hope of the blessing of heaven on our arms if +we insult it by our folly and our impiety.'</p> + +<p>"No, George Washington was not the man to give way under severe +trials. He was not like the kite whose framework breaks or whose paper +covering is torn by the force of the wind. Under these conditions a +kite must dash to the earth. [Draw the rent in the kite with +black. Remove the drawing from the board, invert it, and then +re-attach it to the board, <a href="#fig85">Fig. 85</a>.] But when the trials came to +Washington he arose in his might to meet them, knowing that God would +be with him.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig85" name="fig85"></a> + <img src="images/085fig.png" width="400" height="308" + alt="Figure 85: The torn kite falling to earth." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Let us ever remember that God is our strength, just as he was the +strength of George Washington."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p139" id="p139"></a>"A MERRY HEART"<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Cheerfulness<br />—Smiles</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">To Cultivate the Spirit of Cheerfulness is to Bless and Brighten +Other Lives.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That in no way can we serve those about us better than +by the kind of service which reveals the true gladness of the +Christian life.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The Christian religion is based upon principles which lift us from sin +and its attendant evils of discouragement, unrest, despondency and +suffering, to the higher plane of confidence, hope, praise and love. +It is a religion of good cheer, which God's children must reflect to a +darkened world if they are to fulfill their earthly mission.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"I wonder how many of us are getting too busy or too lazy to smile. I +see some, who were looking pretty solemn before I made the remark +whose faces look a little brighter now—and some have already broken +into a most gladsome smile. I'm glad of it. Smiles, they say are the +least expensive things we can give to other people, and sometimes they +value them more than silver or gold. But how can we smile unless we +feel like it? That's the question. Well, we will feel like it if we +think right things and do right things, living close to the Master, +even if things do go very, very much awry sometimes. The Bible has a +good many things to say about smiles, and it isn't at all guarded in +declaring that smiles are worth a good deal more than words, unless +those words are very carefully spoken. Here is what we find in the +book of Proverbs: 'A merry heart maketh a cheery countenance.' So, we +find, it is necessary to feel happy within before we can show it on +the outside. And then it says: 'He that is of a merry heart hath a +continual feast,' which shows that if we are truly happy, everything +about us will appear brighter and more delightful. Again, it says: 'A +merry heart doeth good like a medicine.' How true this is; you never +saw a sour, gloomy pessimistic person who was in real good health, +while the one who shows the most gladsome face is either in splendid +physical condition or else has risen above his pains and distress in +his appreciation of God's blessings. They are always believing that +'it might be worse."</p> + +<p>"But is this cheerfulness for the sole benefit of the one who smiles? +Not a bit of it. We cannot do evil without harming someone; neither +can we cultivate cheerfulness without proving a blessing to +others. Here, I want to draw for you the picture of a boy who doesn't +seem to have this happy disposition of which we have been speaking. +[Draw the lines to complete <a href="#fig86">Fig. 86</a>.] Perhaps he looks this way most +of the time—it is a bad beginning. We see him here, coming down the +street; perhaps he will meet one of the other boys. Ah, yes, here +comes another boy; and this boy has a merry heart, if we are to judge +from his facial expression. [Draw the second boy.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig86" name="fig86"></a> + <img src="images/086fig.png" width="400" height="308" + alt="Figure 86: An unhappy-looking boy." + /> +</div> + +<p>"We have no way of knowing what this second boy said to the first boy, +but we can tell from his face that he has a merry heart. And what +about the first boy? Ah, he, too, has caught it, for his face reflects +the smile of the second boy. [Add line to change the facial expression +of the first boy, completing <a href="#fig87">Fig. 87</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig87" name="fig87"></a> + <img src="images/087fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 87: Two happy-looking boys." + /> +</div> + +<p>"We refer again to the book of Proverbs, and there we find that 'a +word spoken in due season, how good it is!' It must have been such a +word that the first boy spoke to the second. 'A word fitly spoken,' we +read again, 'is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.' But we +must choose the right words to go along with the smile, and the +greatest danger seems to be that we will say too much, for the same +book of Proverbs says that 'he that hath knowledge spareth his words.' +He knows how to choose and when to stop. Let us remember that the +smile counts for more than mere words. The smile is a universal +language understood everywhere on earth. It is the badge of +friendship, and that is the thing which the world craves.</p> + +<p>"A friend of Haydn, the great composer, once asked him how it happened +that his church music was so full of gladness, and Haydn replied, 'I +cannot make it otherwise. I write according to the thoughts I feel; +when I think upon my God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes +dance from my pen.'</p> + +<p>"To the one who needs your smile there is nothing else in all the +world, perhaps, that will prove so life-giving. Many a despondent one +has been thrilled with vital power, lifted, and <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'enobled'">ennobled</ins> by the +knowledge that another heart beats with it in tenderness and +sympathy."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p142" id="p142"></a>WHAT IS BEST?<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Success<br />—Work</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">Success Means the Constant Employment of Our Best Faculties in the +Noblest of Service.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That true success does not depend so much upon what you +get out of this world, as upon what you accomplish for others.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The magic word, "Success," is before each one of us to inspire us to +larger deeds; but let us not forget that many a rich man has made a +great failure of life, while many a poor man has made a great success +of it. The talk deals with the subject in a commercial way, as an +illustration of success in the truest sense.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Every one of us desires to be successful. But some of us have one +definition of success while others have an entirely different view. +Many are sure that the attainment of wealth is the measure of success; +some are equally sure that the achievement of political or social +honors marks the arrival at the goal of success; and so on. But, no +matter how we may have defined success, many of us who have fallen +short of our ideals declare in the bitterness of disappointment that +we could have reached the top if we had only had the advantages that +others enjoyed; if we had been helped at the proper time, or if we +could have had enough money or strength.</p> + +<p>"Let us take the example of the young man who occupies a high position +in the commercial world. We will draw a picture of him seated at his +desk. [Draw <a href="#fig88">Fig. 88</a>, complete.] This young man is at the head of an +important department of a great manufacturing concern, and there are +rumors that he is about to be advanced to a place of greater +responsibility. He receives a large salary. It is a part of his duties +to direct the work of many men in his department. These men come to +him for instructions. We will draw one of these men. [Draw man to +complete <a href="#fig89">Fig. 89</a>.] What is passing in the mind of the man who stands +here receiving his instructions? This is what he is saying to himself: +'I cannot understand why this other man, who is no older than I am, +should have such a good position, while I must stay in a place of less +importance. He must have a pull.' And he goes away with bitterness in +his heart.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig88" name="fig88"></a> + <img src="images/088fig.png" width="400" height="310" + alt="Figure 88: A man sitting at a desk." + /> +</div> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig89" name="fig89"></a> + <img src="images/089fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 89: A man seated at a desk, with another unhappy man standing before him." + /> +</div> + +<p>"The fact is that the man with the lesser position spends his time, +his energy and his talent in pursuing the trivial, temporary things, +the so-called pleasures of life. He is a time-waster. The successful +one has won his way by concentrating his efforts on learning how best +to do his work.</p> + +<p>"Do you ever harbor such thoughts about people who have made good in +the commercial life? Have you ever, for example, thought that the high +place in the world of commerce held by Andrew Carnegie was attained +through some strange chance or luck? If you have, perhaps it might be +well to take a glance at the main points of his early life. In +Scotland, his father was a weaver, whose business was destroyed by the +introduction of power looms. One day, when the father came home, he +said to his boy, 'Andy, I have no more work!' The lad knew what it +meant, and immediately he decided to meet his father's problem to keep +the wolf of hunger from the door. He was then but ten years old. It +was decided to come to America, and here Andrew Carnegie, at the age +of eleven, obtained a place in a mill as a bobbin boy, at $1.20 a +week. He writes as follows concerning the great lesson he learned at +that time: 'I was no longer dependent upon my parents but at last was +admitted to the family partnership as a contributing member and able +to help them. I think that makes a man out of a boy sooner than +anything else.' At the age of fourteen, he was a stoker in the boiler +room of a small factory, and then took employment as a telegraph boy +at $300 a year. When he advanced to a place of greater responsibility +as a telegrapher, he made his first investment in the purchase of an +interest in an express company. While still engaged in this capacity +he met Woodruff, the inventor of the sleeping car, and seeing the +value of the invention he later engaged in its manufacture. From then +forward, as superintendent of the Pittsburgh division of the +Pennsylvania railroad, in the oil fields and in the steel industry of +which he has long been regarded as the king, his rise has been the +result, not of good fortune, but of hard work looking toward a desired +object.</p> + +<p>"The story of the success of the lives of Lincoln, of Moody, of +Mozart, of thousands of the world's great men is the story of work and +hope, of poverty and inspiration.</p> + +<p>"So, in the Christian life, Jesus asks us to cast out of our lives the +pursuit of the vain, transient things and to center our minds and +hearts upon the truest, the loftiest and the best. Success may mean a +most humble place in the world. But the 'pearl of great price' is the +blessing of peace, of faith, of hope and of love which come to him to +whom the Master says, 'Well done.'"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p145" id="p145"></a>MESSAGES to the CHILDREN<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Cradle Roll Day<br />—Children</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">The Scriptures Are Full of Beautiful Thoughts for Cradle Roll +Day.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That God loves a baby; that both the Father and the +Son, through their recorded words, constantly express their love of +the little ones.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>This somewhat "unusual" chalk talk will not fail to accomplish its +object in getting the attention of the children and causing them to +consider some of the especially beautiful thoughts appropriate to +Cradle Roll Day.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"I want to see the hand of every boy or girl who likes to get a +letter. Yes, and you like to get pretty post cards, too; don't you? +And the reason you like to get them is that you know, then, that +someone thinks of you and cares for you.</p> + +<p>"Well, then, on this Cradle Roll day, I am sure we would all like to +get a letter from someone who cares for us, and so, I will first draw +the envelope and then see if there is a message in it for us. [Draw +the envelope on the paper in black outline and then, with the broad +side of your crayon give it an even tinting of pink, light blue or +other dainty color. Then, with your black crayon, address the envelope +to your own school, by revising the wording as here shown. Add the +stamp in brown, and the postmark in black, completing <a href="#fig90">Fig. 90</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig90" name="fig90"></a> + <img src="images/090fig.png" width="400" height="309" + alt="Figure 90: A letter addressed to the Sunday School." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Well, here is the envelope. Now, I wonder if there is anything in it +for us.</p> + +<p>[With a sharp pen knife or scissors cut a slit in the paper at the end +of the envelope as if you were opening it. Thrust in your hand and +bring forth a sheet of paper like a letter only much larger—folded to +fit the envelope (<a href="#fig91">Fig. 91</a>). This, of course, is placed there in +advance, beneath the outer sheet, attached with thumb tacks so it will +tear loose readily. The action will arouse much interest.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig91" name="fig91"></a> + <img src="images/091fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 91: The speaker removing a letter from the envelope." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Well, surely we have something here that looks like a letter or a +message. Ah, yes, it is a message of love to the little ones from the +Savior Himself, for it was Jesus who spoke these beautiful words:</p> + +<p>"'Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the +Kingdom of Heaven."</p> + +<p>"And let us see if there is a message for the <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'lttle'">little</ins> boys and girls of +the Sunshine and the primary classes. Ah, yes, here it is; and it is +from the Bible, too (Eccl. 12: 1), and this is what it says:</p> + +<p>"'Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, when, the evil +days come not nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no +pleasure in them.' And this means that if you are faithful to your +Sunday school and will remember the beautiful things you learn here +and carry them through life with you, you will be more than grateful +in the years that are to come.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if there is anything here to let these boys and girls know +whether God thinks they are worth anything or not. Yes, here is a +message from the Psalms which says: 'Lo, children are an heritage of +the Lord. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children +of the youth. Happy is he whose quiver is full of them!' And so a man +is rich if he has those about him who call him father, and a mother is +blessed in the love of her children.</p> + +<p>"Does the message say anything about how the boys and girls should +treat their fathers and their mothers? Let us see. Yes, it says: +'Honor thy father and mother, that thy days may be long in the land +which the Lord thy God giveth thee.' And again it says: 'My son, heed +the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.' +And then, too, it adds this word: 'Children, obey your parents in all +things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.'</p> + +<p>"And is there a message for us older ones on this Cradle Roll Day? I +believe there is, for I find here this message: 'Except ye become as +little children, ye shall in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven.'</p> + +<p>"And is there a message to the parent which sheds any light on the way +they should treat their children? Yes, here it is: 'The rod and +reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself bringeth his mother +to shame.' When we are boys and girls we must obey father and mother +or suffer punishment to keep us in the right pathway.</p> + +<p>"And is there a message to the grandfathers and grandmothers on this +glad day? I think so, for I find here this message, 'Children's +children are the crown of old men.'</p> + +<p>"Let us remember all of these messages which have come again to us on +this glad Cradle Roll Day."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p148" id="p148"></a>THE PERFECT LIFE<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Thanksgiving Day<br />—Perfection</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">The Love of God in Our Hearts May Be Perfect, Even Though Our Lives +Fall Short of Perfection.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That if we "hunger and thirst after righteousness," as +did the Pilgrim Fathers, our lives, though imperfect, will be well +pleasing to the Father.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>Many of us are discouraged because we cannot, or do not, attain to the +high ideal of life which we find before us. God's Word seems to bring +comfort to the disappointed one by showing him that if he earnestly +desires to attain to the highest ideal, his acts are well pleasing to +God, even though he falls short of his hopes. In using the Pilgrim +Fathers as an illustration, the talk is well fitted to the observance +of Thanksgiving Day, but it is also appropriate for many other +occasions.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Any one of us who wants to find something beautiful about us, needs +only to take a good look. Here, for instance, we may see a tall, +straight tree. [Draw the tree, of <a href="#fig92">Fig. 92</a>.] And over here, nearer by, +we may find a rosebush in bloom. [Draw the bush and rose.] And here is +the sun shining in all its glory. [Draw the sun, using orange. Any +suitable color may be used for the rose. The trunk of the tree should +be in brown and the foliage in green. Draw the distant foliage, +completing <a href="#fig92">Fig. 92</a>.] And as we look upon these things we may think of +them as perfect in every way, because they are all God's handiwork.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig92" name="fig92"></a> + <img src="images/092fig.png" width="400" height="305" + alt="Figure 92: A sunny landscape showing a tree and a bush." + /> +</div> + +<p>"And yet—</p> + +<p>"Let us take a closer look. We find that when the tree is cut down for +lumber it is marred by many imperfections, and that a great deal of it +has to be thrown away as useless. Somehow, we are a little bit +disappointed in the tree, for we thought it was perfect. As we turn to +the rose, we are reminded by a sharp pain in our fingers as we examine +it, that the stems are covered with ugly thorns. [Add the thorns.] And +then we notice, too, that many of the leaves on the bush are deformed +and unshapely. As we turn to look upon the sun, we are dazzled by its +brilliance, at first, and then we discover that even this brightness +is clouded by spots which seem to make it imperfect. Then too, as we +look away from it, we find that the sun, in its passage through the +sky not only brightens many a dark corner, but it casts many a deep, +gloomy shadow as well. [Draw the shadow of the tree, completing +<a href="#fig93">Fig. 93</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig93" name="fig93"></a> + <img src="images/093fig.png" width="400" height="306" + alt="Figure 93: The landscape now with shadows, and thorns on the bush." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Well, now, wouldn't it be foolish for us to go about finding flaws in +God's creatures, like this? Ah, yes. But it is just this way that some +of us study our own lives. Just because we don't find perfection +there, we are disheartened and discouraged, forgetting that God's Word +is the authority for the assertion, that 'there is not a righteous man +upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.' But we must not forget +that other assertion which is equally true, namely, that they are +blessed 'who hunger and thirst after righteousness,' and nothing short +of this desire for godliness is pleasing to the Father.</p> + +<p>"We have before us the inspiring, the <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'enobling'">ennobling</ins> example of the Pilgrim +Fathers, who, denied the right to worship God after their own manner +in their home across the seas, made the perilous journey to the new +world to establish here the beginning of a mighty church and a mighty +pattern for all who were to come after them. They were men and women +who hungered and thirsted after righteousness. But were they perfect? +No. It would be impossible to find, in the world's history a life in +which some imperfection did not lurk? Should the discovery of faults +and imperfections in ourselves or in others discourage us from trying +to follow in the footsteps of the Perfect One? Surely not. We should +see in the shortcomings of others an inspiration to live our own lives +more closely to the measure which we know to be right and true. The +knowledge of our own faults and imperfections should make us more +sympathetic, more helpful to others and induce a spirit of comradeship +with those who need a strengthening band on the pathway of life.</p> + +<p>"We know, too, where to take these faults and imperfections of +ours. How often has He answered the prayer, 'Create in me a clean +heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.' To become wearied, +to lie idle and despair because we have not attained to the ideal is +to commit a grievous error. Get busy! In true work for Him is the +surest cure for the trouble. Faulty? Yes. But let us not forget the +truth in Dr. VanDyke's words, 'the best rosebush, after all, is not +that which has the fewest thorns but that which has the finest roses."</p> + +<p>"Let us not lose heart because of our shortcomings, but give thanks +that we may attain to the highest if we but do His will."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p151" id="p151"></a>BRING FORTH FRUIT<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Children's Day<br />—Fruitfulness</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">A Children's Day Thought for the Entire School—The Live +Branch.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That as the fruit tree fulfills its mission only when +surrounded by proper conditions, so, also, must the child be provided +with the conditions which will help him to bring forth fruit in the +Christian life.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The illustration here given possesses the unusual qualities of +entertainment for the very littlest children of the school, of +enlightment for the juniors and intermediates and of personal appeal +to the seniors and adults—especially those visitors who may be +attracted on the occasion of Children's Day. The use of the colored +chalk makes the picture especially attractive.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>[Before beginning the talk, draw the bare limb in brown.] "What is +this? A dead branch, did you say? Perhaps. Perhaps not. We are +supposed to be looking at it in the winter time, and, of course, it +isn't real easy at first to tell whether it is dead or merely +sleeping; but if we examine it closely we can tell, because the +leaf-buds are formed in the autumn, and if the limb is alive we shall +find the little leaf-buds there. [Examine the branch.] Yes, the branch +is alive, for the little leaf-buds are clustered everywhere, waiting +to burst forth into full-grown leaves. [As you speak, touch the limb +here and there with green and then draw the clusters of full-grown +leaves.] And here, too, I find some little pink buds, and a little +later they open into pretty flowers, for this is the limb of an apple +tree. [Add the flowers, completing <a href="#fig94">Fig. 94</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig94" name="fig94"></a> + <img src="images/094fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 94: A tree branch in blossom." + /> +</div> + +<p>"And then, as time goes on, we witness another interesting change, +because God intends that the tree shall do more than bear leaves and +flowers. We find that the pretty pink flowers which have filled the +air with their fragrance and gladdened our eyes with their beauty have +gone away, and in their places have come little green apples. [With +green chalk draw the green apples just large enough to cover the +blossoms.] Green apples are good things—to leave alone, so we will +not pick them. We will watch and see them change into something else. +[With red chalk draw the large ripe apples, covering up the green +surface. This completes <a href="#fig95">Fig. 95</a>. If the green doesn't disappear +entirely, it doesn't matter. It is well, however, in drawing the green +apples, to use as little of the color as possible.] And now we have +the ripened fruit of the apple tree.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig95" name="fig95"></a> + <img src="images/095fig.png" width="400" height="309" + alt="Figure 95: A tree branch with apples." + /> +</div> + +<p>"This part of the story is for the little boys and girls. But we must +say a word also to the boys and girls of the junior and intermediate +classes. It is this: That the branch of the apple tree, in bringing +forth in its time the leaf-buds, the leaves, the blossoms, the green +apples and the ripened fruit, has done nothing excepting that which +God planned that it should do. He asks of it no more and no less. +That is its duty. The lesson for us is this: He expects us to do our +full duty, just as the branch of the apple tree has done. He asks that +we bring forth the fruits of service, of sacrifice, of cheerfulness, +of kindness, of love and of humility. He has surrounded us with the +things which make it easy to do this. Let us find out the best way for +us to do it and enjoy real living as we bring forth fruit for Him.</p> + +<p>"And I would also add a word to the seniors and the adults of our +school, as well as to the visitors of the day. We all know that the +branch cannot bring forth its fruit unless it be a part of the tree. +Christ has said, 'I am the vine,' and unless we get the children, +attached to this true vine, their lives cannot bear Christian +fruit. He is our support and our life. Just as the branch must have +the sunlight and the warmth for its development, so must each one of +these children have His love and our love and our help to live +Christian lives.</p> + +<p>"It was the Master who said, 'Herein is my father glorified, that ye +bring forth much fruit' In helping these little ones we are ourselves +bringing forth fruit. I believe that in this service, side by side +with these children in the Sunday school, we shall find our Christian +experiences enlarged and blessed. Let us pray, then, that each of +these precious lives may be 'like a tree planted by the streams of +water, that bringeth forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf doth +not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.'"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p154" id="p154"></a>"YOUNG MEN, AHOY"<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Temperance Day<br />—Dissipation</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">John B. Gough's Thrilling Word Picture a Remarkable Temperance +Lesson.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That we dare not trifle with the devil's poison.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The world has known no greater foe to intemperance than John +B. Gough. No words of this great leader have left a more lasting +impression than those which he used in his striking picture of the +young men drifting in a boat on the Niagara river. Happily, it adapts +itself to the requirements of a chalk talk.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"The great temperance leader, John B. Gough, devoted the best years of +his life to an earnest endeavor to save hoys from the evil of strong +drink, of which he knew so much through long, bitter experience. +Familiar to all of us, perhaps, is the thrilling word picture of the +young men who launched their rowboat upon the quiet, smooth waters of +the broad Niagara river a few miles above the mighty cataract. [Draw +the boat and the young men, completing <a href="#fig96">Fig. 96</a>. It might be well to +prepare this first scene in advance.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig96" name="fig96"></a> + <img src="images/096fig.png" width="400" height="407" + alt="Figure 96: Two boys in a rowing boat." + /> +</div> + +<p>"'Now,' says Mr. Gough, as he enters into the narrative, 'launch your +bark upon the Niagara river. It is bright and smooth and still; there +is a ripple at the bow; the silvery wake you leave behind you adds to +your enjoyment. Down the stream you glide; you have your oars, and you +think you are prepared for every emergency—and thus you go on your +pleasure excursion, thinking naught of dangers ahead. Some one cries +from the bank! Hark!</p> + +<p>"'Young men, ahoy!'</p> + +<p>"'What is it?' you ask.</p> + +<p>"'The rapids are below you!'</p> + +<p>"'Ha, ha! We have heard of the rapids below us,' you laugh, 'but we +are not such fools as to get into them. When we find we are going too +fast, we will pull for the shore.'</p> + +<p>"'<i>Young men, ahoy!</i>'</p> + +<p>"'What is it?</p> + +<p>"'The rapids are below you!'</p> + +<p>"'Ha, ha! We will laugh and quaff; all things delight us; what care we +for the future? No man ever saw it. "Sufficient unto the day is the +evil thereof." We will enjoy life while we may, and catch pleasure as +it flies. This is the time for enjoyment. It is time enough to steer +out of danger when we find we are going too swiftly with the stream.'</p> + +<p>"'YOUNG MEN, AHOY!'</p> + +<p>"'What is it?'</p> + +<p>"'The rapids are below you! Now see the water foaming all around you! +See how fast you go! <i>Quick!</i> QUICK! Pull for your very lives! +Pull till the blood starts from your nostrils and the veins stand like +whipcords on your brow!'</p> + +<p>[At this point, quickly detach the drawing from the board, turn it +one-fourth around and re-attach with thumb tacks; then, add the lines +to complete <a href="#fig97">Fig. 97</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig97" name="fig97"></a> + <img src="images/097fig.png" width="400" height="397" + alt="Figure 97: The rowing boat falling over a waterfall." + /> +</div> + +<p>"'Ah, it is too late! Shrieking, cursing, blaspheming, over the falls +you go!—and thousands thus go over every year by the power of evil +habits, declaring, "When I find it is hurting me, I will quit." But +these latter do not go by the water way, but by the whiskey way, which +is a thousand times worse! No man today fills a drunkard's grave who +did not once think he could quit—but he found, too late, that he +couldn't.'</p> + +<p>"'Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived +thereby is not wise,' says Solomon, and he might have made it ten +times as strong and still kept within the truth. Everywhere, and at +all times, when a young man starts to do evil, he hears plainly and +clearly the cry, 'Young man, ahoy! The rapids are below you!' It is +the voice of conscience, his true and faithful servant. But, +unfortunately, as the voice is unheeded and bad habits grow stronger, +conscience grows weaker, and, after a while, it cannot serve us at +all, for Satan has taken possession of it. The evil one can do as much +mischief with a man's conscience as he can with his heart. He can +'sear it with a hot iron.' (I Tim. 4: 2.) He can 'defile' it. (Titus +1: 15.) He can kill it. (Eph. 4: 17-19.) And how can a seared, +defiled, dead conscience help him to shun temptation and sin? Many a +man, honest in his dealings with those about him, is dishonest with +himself when he begins to allow bad habits to rule his life and to +allow Satan to defile and kill the conscience which has been provided +to guide him in caring for his own body—the earthly temple given to +him by God as the earthly abiding place of his immortal soul."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p157" id="p157"></a>VALUELESS THINGS<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Boys' Day<br />—Ability</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">They May Not Remain So if We Give Them Proper Attention—A Thought +for Boys' Day.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That our seemingly useless, or even harmful, traits may +prove to be our most valuable talents.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>This little fragment of industrial history should impress a lesson +upon all young people, though it is especially adapted to Boys' Day.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"During the period extending from the time that people first settled +in America up to the time of the civil war those who chose to live in +some portions of the area which are now the states of Pennsylvania, +Ohio and West Virginia selected their land with great care. In some +parts of the land they found a disagreeable kind of oil in the ground +which oozed from the rocks below. When a man bought a piece of ground +he was very careful to find out for sure that there was none of this +oil about the place, and if he did find any of it, it is probable that +he made this fact known: [Draw the signboard and the letters, <a href="#fig98">Fig. 98</a>, +complete.] To him the ground was worthless.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig98" name="fig98"></a> + <img src="images/098fig.png" width="400" height="306" + alt="Figure 98: A sign reading 'For sale at any price'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"It may be that some of the people knew that this oil was the same +kind that the ancient Jews used in the preparation of their cement for +building purposes, and that it was the same that the more ancient +Egyptians used in the preservation of the mummified bodies of their +dead; but, as the Americans did not need oil for such purposes, they +considered the oil a nuisance. At one time, while a man was drilling +for water, he struck such a strong artesian well of oil that it gushed +out all over the ground; then it ran down to a river and caught fire +as it spread out over the swiftly flowing water. The flames spread +down the river and it looked for all the world as if the river was +burning up!</p> + +<p>"They called this oil petroleum—rock-oil.</p> + +<p>"One day, in 1859, after there had been a good deal of talk as to +whether or not this oil was good for anything, Col. E. L. Drake hired +some men to drill a well at Titusville, Pennsylvania. The drillers at +first refused to work for a man who was so foolish as to spend his +money in this way, but, finally, they set at work on the job under the +belief that they were really drilling for salt! But the oil began to +flow, and some men soon learned how to make kerosene out of it. This +took the place of tallow candles, and from that moment the world has +been much brighter. The men kept right on with their experiments, +until now we have not only kerosene, but gasoline, benzine, rhigoline, +naphtha, mineral sperm oil, lubricating oils, paraffins wax, carbon +oil and a variety of medicinal products—all made from this +once-useless petroleum. These discoveries have brought also the +gasoline and oil stoves, gasoline and gas engines and the automobile. +Prom the industry has grown the Standard Oil company, one of the +richest and most powerful commercial enterprises in the world. So now, +in these eastern states, it is vastly different from what it used to +be when a man discovered oil on his land. If he finds oil now, and if +be puts up a sign at all, it is apt to read like this: [Revise <a href="#fig98">Fig. 98</a> +to Complete <a href="#fig99">Fig. 99</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig99" name="fig99"></a> + <img src="images/099fig.png" width="400" height="305" + alt="Figure 99: The sign now reading 'Not for sale at any price', with an oilfield in the background." + /> +</div> + +<p>"From this little fact of industrial history I want to draw a lesson, +especially for the boys, today. Perhaps we cannot own any stock in the +Standard Oil company, but we have something just as good, and +better. Perhaps we have found in ourselves what we think is a useless +talent—useless unless we refine it and cultivate it. One day some +people living on a certain street in New York raised a big row because +a small, ragged street boy drew pictures all over their sidewalks with +chalk. To them, he was nothing but a nuisance. However, a prominent +man came walking by one day. He looked at the chalk drawings and knew +at once that the boy had real artistic talent. He became interested, +gave the boy an education and now he is one of America's celebrated +painters.</p> + +<p>"Study yourselves, boys. Do you love music? If you do, and if you have +the talent to become a musician, don't throw away your talent by using +your ability for any low purpose. Make music, like Haydn, who praised +God through every note!</p> + +<p>"Do you like to draw? If you are to be an artist, do not use your +talent for low purposes. Let your work be of a kind to reflect credit +upon you—work which will make other people better for having seen it +and for having been influenced by it.</p> + +<p>"Do you like to speak? Do you plan to study medicine, or law, or to be +a teacher? Whatever your plans may be, based on what you believe your +best talent to be, do not let your talent go to waste like this oil +did for so many years. Treasure it up, refine it, and in whatever +direction God may lead you, you may be sure that you will have ample +opportunity to let your talent bring greater brightness into the +world. And then you, too, would not part with your possession for any +price!"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p160" id="p160"></a>THE STORY OF A HAT<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Politeness<br />—The Common People</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">A thought for the Thoughtless Who Have But Little Politeness and +Respect for the Common People.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That every one who truly fills his high or lowly place +In the world is deserving of respect and honor.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>This story contains a splendid lesson for all of us. There is much in +it to start the boys and girls to thinking of the worthiness of doing +the humble things in life, and of the respect due those whose place +may be more lowly than theirs. True worth is the measure of our value +in the world, whether our work be great or little.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"This morning I am going to tell you 'The Story of a Hat,'—and this +is the hat. [Draw only the hat, A, completing <a href="#fig100">Fig. 100</a>. This is the +same drawing as that of the lower right-hand corner of <a href="#fig101">Fig. 101</a>, +before the face is added.] I don't wonder that you smile. It's a +seedy-looking old hat, isn't it? It looks as if it ought to be burned +up or else dumped in the ash barrel; but, before we do that, let us +hear the story.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig100" name="fig100"></a> + <img src="images/100fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 100: A hat." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Once upon a time Mr. Brown, a college president, was passing a +clothing store when he saw, displayed in the window, a hat like this. +[Draw only the hat as in B.] Mr. Brown went into the store and tried +on the hat. It fitted him, and when he came out he looked like this in +his new four-dollar hat. [Add the head of Mr. Brown, completing B.] +Everybody respected the college president and was polite to him. +After a while Mr. Brown's wife told him that his hat was getting just +a little bit shabby—perhaps just a little bit out of style, too. And +so the college president gave the hat away to a poor but respectable +preacher, Mr. Green, and this is the way Mr. Green looked in the hat. +[Draw C complete.] Mr. Green was not a 'D.D.,' by any means, but he +was a good man who was made to suit and fit a certain class of people +who could not have understood the big words of a 'D. D.' Well, +Mr. Green wore the hat for a while, and then he gave it to the janitor +of his church, a man named Mr. Blue. The janitor wore it for a while, +until it looked about like this: [Draw D, complete.] You will notice +that it was somewhat indented by this time, but it was all right for +Mr. Blue and he was glad to get it. There was a man in the town by the +name of Mr. White, who had a job cleaning the streets. He was a friend +of Mr. Blue, and the janitor gave him the hat. This is the way +Mr. White looked in it: [Draw the face under the hat, A; this +completes <a href="#fig101">Fig. 101</a>.] Mr. White had a little cart and a big shovel and +an old broom, and he worked all day sweeping up and carting off the +old paper, the stubs of cigars and everything else which, if allowed +to accumulate, would soon make the streets look disgraceful and the +town unhealthful.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig101" name="fig101"></a> + <img src="images/101fig.png" width="400" height="310" + alt="Figure 101: Four different men wearing the hat." + /> +</div> + +<p>"And so, we see, this poor old hat had done good service for four +different kinds of men. Remember this—that every man who wore the hat +was a useful man in his place. Each one was a necessary man. We must +have him. Especially is this true of the man who kept the streets +clean, for he, just like the man who collects and takes away the +garbage, helps to keep away the scourge of typhoid fever, and cholera +and other dread diseases, by being willing to do the dirty work and to +wear the old hat. Why, just suppose everybody was a college +president. Who would wash our clothes? Who would scrub our floors? Who +would clean our streets? Who would cart away our garbage?</p> + +<p>"Now, don't you see that the street cleaner and the 'garbage +gentleman' are far more useful than any wealthy man's son who doesn't +do a lick of work, who rides around in an automobile at his father's +expense and who spends his time at night in wasteful or sinful ways so +that he gets to bed at one or two o'clock in the morning and sleeps +until nine or ten o'clock the next day? Why, bless your soul, the +street cleaner and the 'garbage gentleman' are worth a dozen +good-for-nothings like that!</p> + +<p>"Then why look down upon the poor man—the laboring man? Why not be +just as polite and respectful to him as to the college president? God +made them both, and each is filling his place in life. Each man whose +picture we have drawn belonged to a different class of people, just as +God designed they should, and each, if he did his duty in life, had +just as important a place in the community as the other.</p> + +<p>"Abraham Lincoln said that 'God must think more of the common people +than He did of any other kind, because He made so many more of them.'</p> + +<p>"Surely, all this is reason enough for the best of us to be kind and +considerate, respectful and polite toward people whose hats would not +suit us at all!"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p163" id="p163"></a>OUR COUNTRY'S FLAG<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Flag Day<br />—Patriotism</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">A Little of its History and of its Meaning—Some Interesting +Facts.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That loyalty to the flag means the fulfillment of duty +to God and to our fellowmen.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>"Flag Day" suggests a patriotic demonstration, and this talk will +harmonize well with your decorations and the other features of your +program. The talk calls for the drawing of four flags. It is suggested +that you prepare in advance of the talk all four flags of <a href="#fig102">Fig. 102</a>, as +the drawing may require more time than you can spare during the talk.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"We have about us today some of the flags of the United States of the +present time. I believe you will be interested, though, in seeing some +of the flags of our country of earlier days. I will present them to +you.</p> + +<p>"Before the Revolutionary war was begun, and at the time of the +beginning of the trouble, some of the colonies had flags of their own, +and some of them were very curious indeed. However, when General +George Washington took command of the troops at the beginning of the +war it was decided to adopt one flag for all the united colonies, and +so a committee was chosen and a flag like this was designed: [Indicate +flag "a."] These two crosses represented the crosses of St. George +and St. Andrew, and the thirteen stripes represented the thirteen +colonies. You see, they patterned the crosses after the British flag, +because there was no certainty at that time that the colonists would +break away from England. This is the flag that was raised over the +camp of Washington at Cambridge, January 2, 1776.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig102" name="fig102"></a> + <img src="images/102fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 102: Four versions of the American flag." + /> + <p class="caption">(Complete Fig. 102 in chalk, in advance of beginning the talk.)</p> +</div> + +<p>"But in 1777, after the colonies had proclaimed the Declaration of +Independence, congress ordered that the flag of the thirteen United +States be composed of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, and +that thirteen white stars in a field of blue be substituted for the +crosses. It was also decided to add one star and one stripe as each +new state was admitted. Congress, then in session in Philadelphia, +named George Washington, Robert Morris and Colonel Ross to call upon a +widow who had been making flags for the government and ask her to make +this first real American flag. And this is the flag that Betsy Ross +made: [Indicate flag "b."] It is said that Betsy Ross suggested that +the stars be five-pointed, as she could fold her cloth so as to make a +five-pointed star with one clip of her scissors. Can you make a +five-pointed star with one clip? Betsy could! [Note: The writer has +seen the simple process described in a sketch of Betsy Ross; it is too +long for repetition here, but a demonstration of the method would be +an interesting innovation.]</p> + +<p>"Well, this flag was carried throughout the remainder of the +Revolution, and it was present at the surrender of Burgoyne and the +fall of Yorktown. But when Vermont and Kentucky were admitted as +states, the flag was changed, so there were fifteen stars and fifteen +stripes, like this: [Indicate flag "c."]</p> + +<p>"This flag waved throughout the war of 1812. It was this flag that +Francis Scott Key saw 'through the dawn's early light,' and which +inspired him to write 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'</p> + +<p>"It was not until 1818 that congress saw that a mistake had been made +and that it would be necessary to confine the number of stripes to the +original number, thirteen, though we have continued to add a star for +each new state. This is the flag of today: [Indicate flag "d."]</p> + +<p>"As we look upon this flag, our hearts grow warm with love for our +country. We honor it and the memory of those who brought it into being +and who died to preserve it for us. I know of no better closing +picture than this, which indicates the true spirit of the patriots who +died beneath its folds upon the fields of battle—a picture which +speaks to us of Him who said, 'Greater love hath no man than this, +that he lay down his life for his friends.' [With heavy black put in +the outline of the cross; fill in with orange, completing <a href="#fig103">Fig. 103</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig103" name="fig103"></a> + <img src="images/103fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 103: The four flags with the cross at the center." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Boys and girls, what does the flag stand for? <i>Loyalty to +country</i>. What does the cross stand for? <i>Loyalty to Christ</i>. +Which is the more important? You are not asked to answer—only to +<i>think</i>. Being loyal to Christ makes people truly loyal to +country; but, alas, there are many who profane His name while they +pretend to be loyal to their country. It cannot be done."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p166" id="p166"></a>THE LITTLE ONES<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Cradle Roll Day<br />—Teaching</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">A Word of Appreciation to the Parents on the Occasion of Cradle +Roll Day.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the proper early home training of children for +Christ will save future heartaches and anguish.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>It is well to make of Cradle Roll Day an occasion of profit and +inspiration to the parents of the little ones. Perhaps you don't get a +chance to speak to them very often. Your words to them on this +occasion, when a day has been set aside for the special consideration +of the children in whom their hearts and hopes are centered, will best +serve their purpose if they are directed to make the parents feel sure +that you, also, are deeply interested in their little ones.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"We are delighted today to see so many of our little Cradle Roll boys +and girls—and we are just as pleased to look into the faces of their +fathers and mothers. Why? Well, just because we want these parents to +know that we love their children and that we are grateful to them for +coming with them today to observe this happy time together.</p> + +<p>"We want these fathers and mothers to know that while we are trying to +teach the way of unselfishness and love to these older boys and girls, +and while we are waiting for the time to come when these little +visitors of today will be old enough to be with us regularly, we are +convinced that the home training for seven days in the week is higher +and more lasting than an hour of teaching in the Sunday school under +the best of teachers. So it is with joy that we know that these +parents are beginning with the babyhood of their children to tell them +of Him who blessed the little ones and said, 'of such is the kingdom +of heaven.' We are glad we may look forward to the time when we, in +the Sunday school, may also have a part in this training.</p> + +<p>"Let us hear a little story this morning: Once upon a time a young +lad, while idly spending his time in a grove surrounding his eastern +home, carved with his knife in the bark of a young birch tree three +words which his mother had taught him to say. [As you continue the +narrative, draw the small tree and merely indicate the words and the +heart next referred to, completing <a href="#fig104">Fig. 104</a>.] The first word had three +letters, the second had two letters and the third four letters. And +around them he drew a little heart, as his mother had taught him to +do. And when he had finished it, he ran away to his play and forgot +all about it.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig104" name="fig104"></a> + <img src="images/104fig.png" width="400" height="313" + alt="Figure 104: A small tree with a heart carved on its trunk." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Years afterward, when he had grown to young manhood, he returned to +the home which he had not seen for a long time. As he went once more +to the grove, he came upon a birch tree and stopped to look at some +words carved upon its bark, with a heart drawn about them. Memory +carried him back to the days of his childhood—it was the same tree, +grown big and strong, and with it the heart had grown large and the +words were there strong and plain. They could not be removed without +greatly marring the tree. Here are the heart and the words: [Add lines +to revise <a href="#fig104">Fig. 104</a> to <a href="#fig105">Fig. 105</a>.] As he looked upon the words, they +thrilled him with tender emotions as he remembered that it was his +mother who had taught him this beautiful sentiment. 'If I had written +there an unkind word,' he reflected, 'that, too, would have been as +permanent and lasting.'</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig105" name="fig105"></a> + <img src="images/105fig.png" width="400" height="314" + alt="Figure 105: The tree grown large, with the heart revealing the words 'God is Love'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"And now for the application: We are told that some fathers and +mothers, through a false idea of what is of lasting good to their +children, permit them, in their inexperience, to learn to do things in +a way which will mean sorrow and anguish in the end. Of course, I +understand that this could not ever happen to any of these fathers and +mothers and these children! The application is for those who aren't +here! If the boy rebels against school, he will bless, in later years, +the hand which made his attendance compulsory. If he can see no harm +in the use of unkind or offensive words, but is compelled by a loving +parent to turn his mind and his speech to lofty things, he will later +bless that one who saved him from his error. If, in the years when he +has grown through babyhood and childhood to youth, a strong, but +gentle, hand bars for him the way which leads to evil companions and +bad habits, he will praise and bless that restraining hand when the +years of discretion show him how close was his step to the brink of a +fatal precipice.</p> + +<p>"With the same hand which bars the way to wrong must the parent write +the words, 'God is Love,' on the heart of each little one. The clear, +pure truth cannot be told too often. In after years, as memory brings +these children back to your loving arms, back to their little downy +beds, they will be comforted with the realization that the words have +become so deep-seated that nothing can eradicate them, even after +death has closed their eyelids.</p> + +<p>"Some one has described the eyes of a child as 'clear wells of +undefiled thought,' and God forbid that as their eyes are lifted to +ours, full of innocence and confidence, we should give them anything +but the purest, most helpful truth as Christ reveals it to us. We +pledge ourselves earnestly to do this."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p169" id="p169"></a>THE BURNED BOOK<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Patience<br />—Adversity</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">How Thomas Carlyle's Work of Many Years Was Destroyed in a Few +Seconds.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That there is such a thing as success through patience, +and that the Christian should so live that he may rejoice in his +tribulations.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>One of the crying needs of every-day life is the cultivation of +patience. Modern life, with its hustle and bustle, and the +ever-present contest for supremacy in its commercial and social +phases, displays a growing unrest and nervousness. Patience is a rare +quality which should be treasured and nurtured.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Paul once wrote a letter to the church at Rome in which he said, 'We +glory in tribulations, also, knowing that tribulation worketh +patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope +maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our +hearts."</p> + +<p>"But we're not all like Paul. If we had been saying it, we might have +put it this way: 'We despair that we have tribulation, knowing that +tribulations work impatience, and impatience discouragement, and +discouragement makes us feel sure that God doesn't care for us.' +Nevertheless, just the opposite is true, for we know that 'whom the +Lord loveth He chasteneth.'</p> + +<p>"Everybody has trouble. It comes to all of us in many forms. Ofttimes +it is a blessing in disguise. If it were not so, we would not find so +many of God's people afflicted in the ways which the Scriptures +describe. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph and all of the great +leaders of the New Testament, as well as of the Old, had their deep +troubles and sorrows. And it is so today with God's people.</p> + +<p>"Patience is a virtue of which the poets sing. 'How poor are they,' +says Shakespeare, 'that have not patience! What wound did ever heal +but by degrees?' And Milton said:</p> + +<blockquote class="verse"><p class="hangindent"> +"'Patience is more oft the exercise<br /> +Of saints, the trial of their fortitude.' +</p></blockquote> + +<p>"So, let us try always to understand, in the midst of seeming great +trouble, that sorrow and trial have their place in our lives. Whether +they are for good or for bad depends largely upon ourselves.</p> + +<p>"I want to tell you the tragedy of a book—a great book. We all know +of Thomas Carlyle's great work, 'The French Revolution.' Of this +wonderful production it has been said that 'It is a history of the +French Revolution and the poetry of it, both in one; and, on the +whole, no work of greater genius, either historical or poetical, has +been produced in England.' I wonder if we have all heard of the +tragedy of this great book and the sorrow which came to its author?</p> + +<p>"One day, after Mr. Carlyle had finished the manuscript of the first +volume of the work, completing the labors of months and years, and +when he felt at last the relief which had tied his hands and his mind +through this long period, he loaned the work to his close friend, John +Stuart Mill. Before Mr. Mill had finished reading the manuscript, and +as it lay scattered about his study, his servant girl, thinking the +pages were nothing but waste paper, gathered them up and stuffed them +into her kitchen fire! Thus was the labor of weary, toilsome years +destroyed in a few moments. On his discovering the awful state of +affairs, it was Mr. Mill's duty to go to Mr. Carlyle's home and break +the news to him. Mr. Carlyle tells of the interview in these words: +'How well do I remember that night when he came to tell Mrs. Carlyle +and me, pale as Hector's ghost, that my unfortunate first volume was +burned. It was like a half sentence of death to both of us. We had to +pretend to take it lightly, so dismal and ghastly was its horror!'</p> + +<p>"If the description of the scene were to end here, I am sure that some +of us would see only the darkest, gloomiest side. Let us make a sketch +to illustrate this condition. [Draw <a href="#fig106">Fig. 106</a> complete.] But the +description does not stop here. Carlyle goes on to tell how, with the +sympathy of his wife, he began anew the great task, and, although it +was, as he says, a 'job' that nearly broke his heart, the result was a +work superior in every way to his original effort, and he lived to +rejoice in what he once considered to be a disastrous misfortune. He +received ample reward for his overmastering patience!</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig106" name="fig106"></a> + <img src="images/106fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 106: A man sadly looking at the word 'Failure'." + /> + <p class="caption">(In the preliminary pencil outline, the face above must be combined with the face below—later to be obliterated as described.)</p> +</div> + +<p>"'If thou faint in the day of adversity,' says the Psalmist, 'thy +strength is small.' Remember this: <i>Every shadow has a light behind +it!</i> It is toward that light that the discouraged one must turn his +face. Look up, not down! [Add lines to complete <a href="#fig107">Fig. 107</a>; the hair +covers the face of <a href="#fig106">Fig. 106</a>.] No man ever saw the highest success who +'looked down his nose' when trial came. Look up—like the man in the +picture!"</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig107" name="fig107"></a> + <img src="images/107fig.png" width="400" height="310" + alt="Figure 107: The man now looking up at the sun, which bears the word 'Success'." + /> +</div> + + + +<h2><a name="p172" id="p172"></a>THE MAN WHO FINALLY HEARD<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Kind Words<br />—The Tongue</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">The Restoration of His Hearing Brought to Him Pain as Well as +Pleasure.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That we should guard well our tongues against speaking +careless, useless or vulgar words.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>This illustration is based on the actual experience of an Indiana +man. It contains a lesson of such great importance that a chapter of +one of the strongest moral epistles of the New Testament is devoted to +it. The speaker would do well to study carefully the third chapter of +the Epistle of James as a foundation for the preparation of the talk.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>[Before beginning the talk, draw the picture of the man, completing +<a href="#fig108">Fig. 108</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig108" name="fig108"></a> + <img src="images/108fig.png" width="400" height="308" + alt="Figure 108: A man." + /> +</div> + +<p>"The face I have here drawn represents the portrait of a certain +business man living in an Indiana town. Ever since the time of an +illness in childhood this man had been almost totally deaf. For years +he tried in vain to secure the aid which would restore to him his +hearing, and during all the period of his boyhood and young manhood he +could hear only those words which were spoken very distinctly, close +to his ear. Sometimes he could hear the thunder and other loud, sharp +sounds.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig109" name="fig109"></a> + <img src="images/109fig.png" width="400" height="313" + alt="Figure 109: The man now wearing a hearing aid, and looking cross." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Then, one day, came a great change! All at once he could hear almost +perfectly. What a great time it was! Once more he heard the songs of +the birds as he remembered them when he was a child; the voices of the +members of his family and the voices of his friends, new and strange, +came to him! What had brought the change? It was merely a new +invention, by which a disc containing a diaphragm was placed over his +ear. This diaphragm gathered the sound waves, just as the natural +ear-drum was intended to do. The disc fitted over his ear, like this: +[Add the disc and attachment, as in <a href="#fig109">Fig. 109</a>.] Was he happy? Of +course he was—but soon it was noticed by those about him that his +gladness seemed to fade away from his face and a kind of sadness took +its place. [Add the lines about eye and mouth, completing <a href="#fig109">Fig. 109</a>.] +What was the matter? Some one asked him the question. And this was his +answer—listen to it: 'I never knew, during those years when I could +not hear the sound of people's voices, that those about me were so +unkind to each other!'</p> + +<p>"'Unkind?'</p> + +<p>"'Yes,' said he; 'ever since my hearing was restored I have been +surprised and pained and shocked to hear the careless words—the +harmful words—which people speak concerning even those they love. I +have thought about it a good deal and have made up my mind that the +people do not speak these words because they always mean what they +say, but because they have grown into the habit of saying unkind +things. And the profanity! And the vulgarity! It is dreadful to listen +to the language used by many men, and even boys, in their ordinary +conversation!'</p> + +<p>"The man had spoken a sad, sad truth. How careless we are! Even the +best of us speak too many thoughtless, unkind words—words which may +affect the entire after life of the one who is the subject of their +utterance. And how many there are all about us who blaspheme the name +of their Maker!</p> + +<p>"All of us are familiar with the words of Shakespeare, who, in +'Othello,' causes Iago to say that 'he that filches from me my good +name robs me of that which not enriches him and makes me poor, +indeed.' Our slighting word may rob some one of his good name and +leave him poor, indeed; while the kind word which rises to our lips, +but remains unspoken, may retard the progress of the person of whom we +might have spoken it.</p> + +<p>"'Be not rash with thy mouth,' says the writer of Ecclesiastes; 'let +thy words be few.'</p> + +<p>"'Behold also the ships,' says the Epistle of James, 'which, though +they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned +about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even +so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold +how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a +world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that it +defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature, and +it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts and of birds and +of serpents and of things in the sea is tamed, and hath been tamed of +mankind; but the tongue can no man tame.'</p> + +<p>"Let us, friends, watch this unruly member. Profanity and vulgarity +bespeak a vile mind. We trust that our trouble is not so serious as +this; but we still have the unkind word, the hotly-spoken word, to +watch and to avoid.</p> + +<p>"Boys, watch your thoughts and words. Do you know, I would rather see +a boy with jam smeared all over his cheeks than to hear a 'smutty' +remark from his lips? Yes—the jam wouldn't hurt him a bit, but the +smut can't be washed off. You all want clean hands and a clean +face. It is still more important to have a clean mind and clean +speech."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p175" id="p175"></a>FLYING<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Perseverance<br />—Courage</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">The Aeroplane Illustrates the Necessity of Going Forward +Constantly.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That a life, if it is to progress, must not falter at +difficulties, but push steadily forward.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>This illustration is especially appropriate for occasions which +interest the juniors and their elders, for the reason that anything +which teaches perseverance and steadfastness in the right can be heard +with profit at any time.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>[Because of the details in the drawing of the aeroplane, it may be +well to finish <a href="#fig110">Fig. 110</a>, complete, before beginning the talk. In +opening, refer to the aeroplane in such a manner as will fit your +locality. For instance, if the aeroplane is a common sight, say, "We +have all been interested in seeing the aeroplane glide through the +air," etc., while, if it has not yet made its appearance in your +locality, you may refer to the fact that all have seen pictures of the +modern invention. The talk assumes that the aeroplane has not yet +visited your neighborhood.]</p> + +<p>"Every one of us is interested in flying. Ever since God created man, +man has been trying to learn how to fly, but always, until of recent +years, he has suffered the sad fate of 'Darius Green and His Flying +Machine.' For many centuries man has been impatient because he has had +to stay down on earth or else go up in a clumsy balloon, which is not +a flying machine at all! But, at last, he has made for himself a +machine which he calls the aeroplane and the tedious problem has been +solved quite satisfactorily, so that we now hear a great deal about +monoplanes and biplanes, all of which are classed under the general +heading of aeroplanes. I will draw the outlines of one of these flying +machines.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig110" name="fig110"></a> + <img src="images/110fig.png" width="400" height="395" + alt="Figure 110: An aeroplane." + /> + <p class="caption">(Complete Fig. 110 with chalk before beginning talk.)</p> +</div> + +<p>[If you have drawn the picture, <a href="#fig110">Fig. 110</a>, in advance, merely indicate +the parts as you proceed; otherwise, point them out as you finish each +part of the machine.]</p> + +<p>"This style of machine is known as the biplane, or two-plane. This +upper part is one of the planes, and this lower part is the other. +This part out in front is that portion of the steering apparatus which +enables the aviator to guide the machine up or down, and this part at +the back is to govern the side-to-side movements. When the machine +stands on the ground it rests on these three little wheels, which are +like bicycle wheels. Here sits the aviator, and directly back of him +is the powerful little engine which sets the propeller whirling at the +rear. The machine makes a noise like a swift-running motor boat or a +motorcycle. It starts off on its wheels and rapidly increases its +speed until it rises from the ground and sails away gracefully into +the upper air. [Your drawing of <a href="#fig110">Fig. 110</a> should now be complete.]</p> + +<p>"As you look at this machine, remember that it is not at all like a +balloon. The bag of a balloon, filled with gas, is lighter than the +air; hence, it stays up without any trouble, unless the bag breaks and +lets the gas out. But the aeroplane has no gas bag; it is heavier than +the air and it must '<i>keep a-goin'</i>' in order to stay up at +all. Remember this: <i>Just as soon as the aeroplane stops, it comes +crashing to the earth</i>, like so many have done, bringing death and +destruction.</p> + +<p>[Quickly detach your drawing paper from your board, turn it one-fourth +around and re-attach it with thumb tacks. With broad strokes of black +crayon indicate the foreground. Add lines of mountains, completing +<a href="#fig111">Fig. 111</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig111" name="fig111"></a> + <img src="images/111fig.png" width="400" height="387" + alt="Figure 111: The plane crashing." + /> +</div> + +<p>"You boys know how it is when you are riding a bicycle. Your wheel +will stay upright as long as you are pushing ahead, but as soon as you +stop the wheel topples over.</p> + +<p>"Sometimes the aeroplane engine fails to work, sometimes a wire or rod +breaks, sometimes the aviator attempts to do some fancy flying which +throws the machine out of balance, sometimes the wind prevents the +machine from going on in its course. Any of these things may cause the +machine to stop going forward and come dashing downward.</p> + +<p>"You, boys—and you, girls—and we older men and women, are just like +the aeroplane in one great particular. In the Christian life, in our +work, in our study, in our efforts to do good, we can never hope to +succeed and progress if we let anything stop us in the way. How truly +does all this apply to the Sunday School. The stand-still boy and the +stand-still girl never get anywhere. The stand-still Sunday School is +'a dead one.' Life in Sunday School means movement, forward and +upward. If the flying machine stops, it comes crashing to the +earth. If the Sunday School stops, you will also 'hear something +drop.' And the same thing is true of us as Christians. Praying and +psalm singing are not enough. Backsliding begins when Christians stop +working—stop going forward. If we would <i>grow</i>, we must <i>go!</i> +And '<i>keep a-goin'</i>!"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p178" id="p178"></a>THE PLUM TREE<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Mothers' Day<br />—Training</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">The Responsibility of Motherhood—A Lesson From the Tree +Nursery.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That constant training and cultivation are necessary to +the attainment of excellence in plant life; so, also, the quality of +the child depends upon the home training.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>Mothers' Day, usually observed on the second Sunday in May, is +becoming valued more and more in the Sunday School as the years go +by. Miss Anna Jarvis, of Philadelphia, is said to have originated the +idea in her effort to commemorate the anniversary of the death of her +mother. She saw, in the wearing of a carnation on a selected day, a +silent and beautiful tribute to motherhood throughout the world. The +custom is usually followed by the wearing of a white carnation in +memory of the mother departed, while a colored flower is worn for the +mother living. The school decorations should be worked out in a manner +appropriate to the day and its significance. The present talk deals +specifically with the responsibility of motherhood.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"We have come today with our hearts filled with tender memories of the +mothers who have gone—memories as sweet as these beautiful flowers, +whose whiteness tells of their purity; whose form brings back the +thought of their beauty; whose fragrance tells again of their love, +and whose enduring qualities remind us of their faithfulness and +constancy.</p> + +<p>"But today I want to speak especially of the mothers who are still +with us, those whose hair is tinged with silver, and especially of +those other younger mothers who are today the close companions of +their children.</p> + +<p>"The carnation, as we see it today, was not always such a perfect +blossom—no, it is a development of the modest little old-fashioned +pink. Men everywhere are devoting their attention to the betterment of +things in the vegetable and animal world. We are constantly bringing +forth more splendid cattle and horses and sheep, through cultivation; +Luther Burbank and his followers are giving us each year more perfect +vegetables and fruits and flowers, through scientific cultivation. +Here, for example, we find in a northern state a plum tree bearing +fruit such as no other northern tree ever produced before. We ask the +nurseryman how it is possible to transplant this fruit from a warmer +zone to the region of rigorous Winters. He replies that this tree was +not brought from a warmer locality, but that it grew here from the +beginning. How, then, can it be made to produce such big, splendid +plums when no other tree in the neighborhood grows such luscious +fruit?</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig112" name="fig112"></a> + <img src="images/112fig.png" width="400" height="308" + alt="Figure 112: A branch of a plum tree with small fruit." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Here is the explanation: The tree was found growing wild in the +woods. [Draw the branch of <a href="#fig112">Fig. 112</a> in brown and the leaves in green.] +And there in the woods it produced only very small, sour +plums. [Complete <a href="#fig112">Fig. 112</a> by drawing the plums in purple or a +combination of red and blue.] But with this hardy tree to work on, the +fruit experts, through grafting and cultivation, have caused it to +bring forth this large, luscious fruit. [With purple, or a combination +of red and blue, enlarge the plums, completing <a href="#fig113">Fig. 113</a>.] These men +knew what to do and they did it. If they hadn't done it, the tree, +worthless and neglected, would still bear little, sour plums instead +of big, sweet ones.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig113" name="fig113"></a> + <img src="images/113fig.png" width="400" height="308" + alt="Figure 113: The branch now with larger fruit." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Mothers, the nursery of your home is like the nursery where the fruit +experts do their wonderful work. God has placed in your keeping these +little ones. You are the expert whose business it is to see that as +they grow older they will not bear the small, sour fruit of wrong +living, but the large, sweet fruit of Christian service. What they are +to be depends upon <i>you</i>. The plum tree in the woods could not +grow better of itself. <i>It had to have help.</i> And yet, we find +mothers everywhere who seem to think that the child can develop into a +high type of manhood and womanhood if he is provided with a plenty to +eat and wear and with the public school and the Sunday school at his +disposal.</p> + +<p>"Within the heart of each mother God has implanted a natural knowledge +of how to care for the child. To fail to apply this knowledge is to +fail to reach up to a parent's highest privilege.</p> + +<p>"The Sunday school can do much, but we must remember that home was +God's first and holiest school. It is in the home that the child +receives his first and most lasting lessons. Let us not misjudge the +ability of the child to perceive the inconsistency, the insincerity, +of father and mother. Even though the parent be a teacher in the +Sunday school, her influence cannot be for the best if her everyday +life is wasted in society and unworthy amusements. The father's praise +of the Bible loses its gilt edge when the boy sees him bound up in the +Sunday paper for two hours, without ever finding time to read the +Scriptures.</p> + +<p>"Let us all, therefore, look at this whole matter seriously. We may +each have a part in this training, this cultivating, this producing of +better minds, better hands and cleaner lives, but after all, mothers, +the great responsibility is yours, for it is into your hands that God +has placed the children, these innocent little ones who are a type of +heaven itself."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p181" id="p181"></a>THE HOLLOW TREE<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Decision Day<br />—Honesty</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">A Figure of the Deceitful Life—The True Test of Character.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That stability or weakness of character are revealed +when the supreme test comes.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>This lesson from nature is planned to impress the truth that we must +be worthy "through and through" if we are to endure the test of +character which comes to every life.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"I want every one of you to stop looking at me and to take a good look +at the wood out of which the pew ahead of you is made. [If necessary, +revise the following sentences to meet your immediate conditions.] +You will notice that the pew is made up of a good many pieces of oak +fastened together so nicely that you can hardly tell where they are +joined. And so it is with all this other furniture, and with the +tables and the chairs and the bookcases in your homes and everywhere +else. A great many fine trees must be cut down every day to furnish +the wood from which all the things are made. The furniture +manufacturers buy the wood in the form of heavy lumber. The companies +which sell this lumber to the furniture factories send their expert +tree buyers into the forests to pick out the trees which will make the +best lumber. These tree experts go into the forests and select the +trees that they want, and leave all the others standing.</p> + +<p>"One day a tree buyer, after examining an oak grove, told the owner +that he would pay him a certain amount of money for a specified number +of trees, and at the same time he pointed out the trees which he +wanted.</p> + +<p>"'But,' said the owner of the forest, 'you have overlooked one of the +nicest-looking trees of them all. Don't you want this one?' [Draw +outlines of tree, <a href="#fig114">Fig. 114</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig114" name="fig114"></a> + <img src="images/114fig.png" width="400" height="399" + alt="Figure 114: A tree." + /> +</div> + +<p>"'No,' replied the buyer, 'I can't use that tree. It is no good for +our purpose.'</p> + +<p>"'No good!' exclaimed the owner, 'why that tree looks to me to be a +good deal better than some that you selected.'</p> + +<p>"But the buyer was an expert and knew what he was talking about. To +show the owner what was the trouble with it, he cut the tree down, and +this is what they found: [Remove the paper from the drawing board; +turn it one-fourth around, and reattach to the board; add lines to +complete <a href="#fig115">Fig. 115</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig115" name="fig115"></a> + <img src="images/115fig.png" width="400" height="397" + alt="Figure 115: The tree revealed to be hollow." + /> + <p class="caption">(The left edge is the top of the sheet during the drawing of <a href="#fig114">Fig. 114.</a>)</p> +</div> + +<p>"What was the matter with the tree? Yes, it was hollow. The owner was +a much-surprised man. The expert, by tapping the tree with the blunt +side of his ax, could tell that the tree was not solid. We might call +it a deceitful tree because it seemed to be better than it really was.</p> + +<p>"Sometimes we hear of deceitful men and women—deceitful boys and +girls. None of us wants to be called <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'decietful'">deceitful</ins>, for the world has no +more use for a deceitful person than this man had for a hollow +tree. Some may think that they may deceive their friends and everyone +else around them, but they get found out sooner or later, and, worst +of all, their lives are an open book to the Lord, who sees and knows +their every thought. The hollow tree in the forest is certain to come +crashing to the earth when a severe storm breaks. The deceitful man or +woman suffers a like fate when something happens to reveal their +hollow lives to the world.</p> + +<p>"On this Decision day, let us resolve anew to make our lives of solid +worth through and through. We can do it only by coming close to the +Master and learning from Him how to live.</p> + +<p>"The trouble with the tree in the forest was that it was not sound. +It lacked <i>inside strength</i>. Even a slight tap of the ax proved +that it was a sort of 'hollow mockery.' It was a good-looking tree on +the outside, but its heart was not right. And isn't that exactly the +case with a lot of good-looking, well-dressed people? Why, even a boy +or a girl can be all wrong at the heart, though their faces and hands +and clothes are clean and beautiful.</p> + +<p>"Have you ever stopped to think what good eyes God has? He never needs +a telescope or a microscope, for 'the eyes of the Lord are in every +place, beholding the evil and the good.' God never beholds evil where +there is none, but no boy or girl, man or woman, can hide it so well +in their hearts but that God sees it and knows it.</p> + +<p>"Let us, therefore, on this Decision day, resolve never to let deceit +come into our hearts, to make our lives hollow, but to be sound in +character through and through."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p184" id="p184"></a>TWO MEN<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Ideals<br />—Error</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">Know Your Man Before You Trust and Follow Him—Our Ideals.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That we cannot safely choose an example of true living +from among those about us, without knowing their real character.</p> + +<p>The accompanying illustration is offered for occasions in which +children—especially boys—above the primary age are interested.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"There are a good many boys and girls who make a great mistake in +trying to imitate older people; and there are a good many older people +who make a great mistake when they try blindly to make a success of +things just because other people have been successful in doing +them. It is a splendid thing to want to have in our lives the same +great governing principles which rule the lives of people who stand +before us as splendid models of character; but it is not always a good +thing to try to do the very same things that these people do. Why? +Because it is likely that we are not cut out to do their kind of work. +The Lord may have intended that we should follow an entirely different +line of effort. Let us, therefore, cultivate in our own lives the +great and true principles which we find in other people, but let us +also try to find out what the Lord wants us to do, and then let us +learn to do it just the very best we can."</p> + +<p>"'Blessed is he,' says Thomas Carlyle, 'who has found his work; let +him ask no other blessing.' The surest way to find what our life work +is to be is to '<i>do the common things uncommonly well</i>.' If we do +this, our life-work will be pointed out to us clearly and plainly. +Therefore, in selecting our ideals in life, let us be careful how we +choose."</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig116" name="fig116"></a> + <img src="images/116fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 116: A smiling, bearded man wearing a cap." + /> +</div> + +<p>"A boy, whom we will call John, worked in a certain downtown +office. Two men used to pass the window of his place of employment +very frequently. These two men were never together—in fact, they were +not even acquainted with each other. Here is one of the men who passed +John's window. [Draw <a href="#fig116">Fig. 116</a>, complete.] He was evidently a laboring +man, as John judged from his clothing, which showed the effects of +hard work of a rather rough character. He carried a dinner +bucket. John merely noticed that this man passed and repassed his +window every day, but gave him very little thought. But there was +another man who did attract John's attention. Here he is: [Draw the +second man, completing <a href="#fig117">Fig. 117</a>.] This second man was always well +dressed, and he appeared to be a prominent business or professional +man. Everything in his appearance and manner attracted the admiration +of the boy. Without knowing it, John was selecting an ideal—he was +studying the people whom he saw and hoping to be unlike this one and +to be like that one.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig117" name="fig117"></a> + <img src="images/117fig.png" width="400" height="307" + alt="Figure 117: A better-dressed man, who looks less happy than the first." + /> +</div> + +<p>"'Some day,' he said to himself, as the prosperous, well-dressed man +walked by, 'when I grow up, I hope I shall be just like him.' He had +chosen his ideal. The man was one of the leading merchants of the +city, and when John found this to be so, he was still more firmly +determined to pattern his life after the man whom he admired.</p> + +<p>"A short time after this John's folks—his father, mother, brothers +and sisters—removed to another part of the city—and to the boy's +great surprise, he found that the merchant lived just a square away. +Incidentally, too, he found that the laboring man lived right next +door to his new home.</p> + +<p>"And, right then and there, John learned one of the great lessons of +his life. What did he learn about the merchant? He learned that the +man, while he looked pleasant and kindly, was selfish and unkind. He +learned that the making and hoarding of money was his great object in +life. He learned that he cared but little for the comfort and welfare +of other people. He learned that the man's family was unhappy because +no home can be happy when selfishness and unkindness reign.</p> + +<p>"What else did he learn? He learned that the laboring man who lived +next door was one of the finest men he ever knew. He learned that the +whole family was so kind and helpful that he soon forgot the merchant +and his fine clothes. He learned that the laboring man with his wife +had been willing to live humbly and work hard in order that their +children might be kept in school and then go to college. He learned +that all the children of the neighborhood liked to go to this man's +home where everybody seemed to have such a jolly good time. He found +that the Bible was opened every day while the Scriptures were read, +and that the dust never had a chance to gather on its covers.</p> + +<p>"So one day, when John was looking out of the window of his place of +employment, and received a happy smile from his friend, the working +man, he said to himself, 'I've changed my mind. Clothes don't count +for everything. To be a good man depends upon what's <i>inside</i>, +and not what's on the outside. When I grow up, I want to be just as +good and kind as this man is.'</p> + +<p>"Let us all be careful in choosing our examples of how to live. The +life of Christ is full of help to us, and the lives of many of His +true disciples all about us today give us a practical illustration of +the best way to live."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p187" id="p187"></a>TREE SURGERY<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Rally Day<br />—Obstacles</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">Trees Need Skillful Surgery More Often Than People Do—Superfluous +Branches.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the life which wastes its strength in unnecessary +efforts cannot bring forth the best fruits.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>That the boys and girls may realize the sad results of forming habits +which hinder growth, development and fruit-bearing, is one of the +great objects of the teaching of the Sunday school. Rally Day is an +especially appropriate time for a lesson along this line of thought.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"A stranger from the East was visiting a large fruit farm in the +celebrated Hood River Valley in Oregon. He was astonished at the size +and appearance of the growing apples, and he asked the owner of the +fruit farm to tell him the secret of such wonderful results.</p> + +<p>"'There is no secret at all,' responded the fruit raiser. 'You see, if +a tree is allowed to do as it pleases, it usually covers itself with a +vast number of useless branches and a multitude of leaves, which are +of no benefit whatever except to make shade; and when a tree has too +many branches and too many leaves it requires so much strength to keep +them alive that there isn't enough left to put into the fruit. In +other words, the tree can't bear large, fine fruit if it must also +support a lot of useless branches and leaves.' This is the way an +apple tree will grow if it is allowed to have its own way. [With the +broad side of your green chalk, draw the general form of the tree, +<a href="#fig118">Fig. 118</a>; add the trunk and dead branches in brown, and draw the grass +with green, and the apples in red, completing <a href="#fig118">Fig. 118</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig118" name="fig118"></a> + <img src="images/118fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 118: An apple tree, with a lot of greenery and few fruit." + /> +</div> + +<p>"'Such a tree can never bear good apples,' continued the fruit +man. 'Many of its branches die, because the tree simply can't support +so many limbs and leaves. Notice that all our trees are carefully +trimmed.' And he pointed the visitor to trees that looked like this: +[Draw the second tree, using the same colors as in <a href="#fig118">Fig. 118</a>, +completing <a href="#fig119">Fig. 119</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig119" name="fig119"></a> + <img src="images/119fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 119: Another apple tree beside the first, well-trimmed and with many fruit." + /> +</div> + +<p>"'It is an absolute fact,' added the fruit man, 'that if we allow +these unnecessary leaves and branches to stay on the tree they absorb +the life and strength which must go into the fruit if we are to raise +fruit for which there is a market. So we cut off everything that can +be spared, and we get the best fruit that grows.'</p> + +<p>"'Then it doesn't all depend upon the place where the fruit is grown?' +observed the visitor.</p> + +<p>"'No,' laughed the fruit man. 'Many people think it does. Of course, +the soil and climate have a good deal to do with it, and we must +prepare the ground and keep it in the proper condition; we must also +keep the trees free from disease and insects. But all of this same +work has to be done, no matter where the apples are raised, and the +soil and climate in many other parts of the United States are just as +good as they are here. <i>It depends upon the know-how!</i></p> + +<p>"Ah, that's the secret! It depends upon the know-how!</p> + +<p>"Boys and girls, on this Rally Day, let me ask you: Are you going to +let your life grow to be like this tree? [Indicate the first.] Or is +it to be like this one? [Indicate the second.] What do I mean? Here is +what I mean:</p> + +<p>"If a girl lets her thoughts run too much to clothes and parties—if +she worries about her failure to do the things which other girls can +do, and which God never intended she also should do—if she is +spending her time reading books which can never be of any possible +good to her—if she is becoming fault-finding, cynical, cross, +selfish—if she is doing any of these things which keep her from being +what she ought to be—her everyday life <i>needs trimming!</i> Think +it over. If you find any useless, strength-absorbing thing in your +life, <i>cut it out!</i></p> + +<p>"Boys, are you letting any bad habits grow into your life? Are you +wasting your time running after pleasures and amusements that don't +help you to be better boys? Are you getting chummy with other boys +whose companionship is not good and whose words and deeds you would +not dare to talk about at home? Are you reading useless books and +letting the treasures of literature on mother's bookshelf at home go +untouched? Are you trying to find short-cuts to success, when there +isn't any such thing, and neglecting the hard work which has brought +honor and success to all who have reached a high place? If you are +doing any of these things, get out the pruning hook of good resolution +and the sharp ax of determination. Trim off all these useless +things. Gather them in a heap and burn them. Then, in the years to +come, will you find that you have been able to be of use to the world +and to yourself. But you can't do it with these useless, +strength-robbing things growing on your lives. Among the last words of +Jesus on earth were these: 'Herein is my Father glorified, that ye +bear much fruit.' If we are to bear much fruit, we must trim off the +useless things and allow the bright sunshine of His approval and +guidance to come into our lives."</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p190" id="p190"></a>THE PILGRIMS<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Thanksgiving Day<br />—Bravery</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">The Story of Their Steadfastness of Faith is an Inspiring Study for +Thanksgiving Day.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That the blessings for which we are thankful today have +come through those whose faith was firmly grounded.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>Thanksgiving Day should be one of mixed seriousness and smiles. This +chalk talk endeavors to meet this combination in its treatment of the +character of the Pilgrims and of the present-time observation of the +day which had its beginning in Plymouth colony.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"The thoughts of Christian people all over America should turn today +back to the twenty-second day of December, 1620, when that company of +noble men and women, after battling with the ocean waves for two +months, succeeded in getting ashore from their sturdy little boat, the +Mayflower, and set their feet upon the new land of America. The spot +where these Pilgrims landed is now a sacred one. We call it Plymouth +Rock, and there we may still see the rock on which they are said to +have stepped as they came ashore in their row-boats.</p> + +<p>"Who were these people? And why did they come to America and start a +colony when there were no white people anywhere around; when savage +Indians would surely try to kill them; when they would have to labor +hard to get any food or clothing, and where they would have to live in +the wild country in huts which must be made from the logs which they +would cut out of the forest?</p> + +<p>"The Pilgrims were people from England who loved God and wanted to do +His will. But there were other and more powerful people in England who +punished them and treated them shamefully because they did not choose +to do things which they knew would not please God. Finally, to get +away from their persecutors, they left England and went over to +Holland where they tried to live as they believed the Lord would have +them live. But there they found a rough, immoral lot of people—mostly +sailors and soldiers who had left the service of their country and +were leading reckless lives. For the good of their children, they +decided not to remain there. They then bade farewell to all that was +near and dear to them in the old country and started across the ocean +to America—the new land. After a voyage of two months, they reached +the bleak, rocky coast of Massachusetts, and they knew that if they +could come ashore safely, they could here worship God just as they +wished to do.</p> + +<p>"We are glad that they kept a diary of what they did. When they asked +the London company to let them start a colony in America, they said, +'We verily believe that God is with us and will prosper us in our +endeavors. We are men who will not be easily discouraged.' That's the +kind of people they said they were—the women as well as the men—and +they proved it to be so. After they had signed the constitution which +was the foundation of the first democratic government in <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original reads 'Americt'">America</ins>, +while the Mayflower was standing in the harbor, the brave company of +one hundred and one disembarked from their little vessel and commenced +at once to chop down the trees needed to build homes and to provide +fuel, for it was in the dead of winter. Before the first winter had +ended, forty of their number had died from exposure, famine and +disease, but when the Mayflower started back on its return trip to +England, not one of the survivors would go with the ship's crew. +Here, then, on this bleak, forbidding New England coast these Pilgrims +set up the first model government. [Draw a little of the outline of +the New England states at the upper right-hand corner of <a href="#fig120">Fig. 120</a>.] +They had trouble with the Indians, but the Red Men soon came to +respect them, and peace continued for many years. Three years after +they had landed, Governor Bradford proclaimed a great feast—the feast +of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving! How dear the word has grown. 'Out of +small beginnings,' says Governor Bradford in his history of the +colony, 'great things have been produced by His hand that made all +things out of nothing; and, as one small candle will light a thousand, +so the light here kindled hath shone to many, yea, to our whole +nation.'</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig120" name="fig120"></a> + <img src="images/120fig.png" width="400" height="312" + alt="Figure 120: An outline map of the USA." + /> +</div> + +<p>"And, today, this nation, the greatest nation on the earth, still +looks back to that first Thanksgiving Day. [Draw the remaining lines +to complete <a href="#fig120">Fig. 120</a>.]</p> + +<p>"To us, it is a day of worship and feasting, and in both of these +features we are following the example of Governor Bradford, Elder +William Brewster, John Carver, Edward Winslow, Miles Standish and the +other brave men and women who formed that early company. We do not go +out into the woods for the wild turkey as they did. But we get the +turkey just the same. I have no doubt that your thoughts of +thanksgiving to God for his many blessings to us this year are already +mingling with thoughts of scenes like this: [Detach the map drawing +from the board, turn it over and re-attach it with thumb tacks. Change +the map into a steaming roast turkey by adding the lines to form the +wing, the "drumstick," the garnishment and the plate. Use black for +all but the garnishment. This completes <a href="#fig121">Fig. 121</a>].</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig121" name="fig121"></a> + <img src="images/121fig.png" width="400" height="308" + alt="Figure 121: The map upside down, turned into a drawing of a roast turkey." + /> +</div> + + + +<h2><a name="p193" id="p193"></a>OUR HANDS<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Visitors' Day<br />—Conduct</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">Actions Sometimes Speak Plainer Than Words—The Important Part +Which Our Hands Play.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That we should watch carefully "the work of our +hands."</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>This chatty little talk about the hand may be given added force if the +speaker will, by the use of his own hands, illustrate the +characteristics and emotions as they are mentioned.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"Today, we shall talk a little about our hands—these most useful +'tools' that are fastened to the outer ends of our arms.</p> + +<p>"Helen Keller, who has been deaf and blind ever since she was a little +child, tells us that her hands are a splendid substitute for eyes and +ears, and that their sensitive touch has revealed to her the beauties +and wonders of the world. In other words, she <i>has seen the world +with her hands!</i></p> + +<p>"Did you ever see a palmist read a hand? It is a very interesting +thing, although most of us haven't a great deal of confidence in the +revelations which the palmist finds there in the lines and the high +places and the low places. [Draw the hand and put in the lettering of +<a href="#fig122">Fig. 122</a>.] We laugh at the mistakes which the palmist makes, even +though we think seriously of the true things she speaks.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig122" name="fig122"></a> + <img src="images/122fig.png" width="400" height="310" + alt="Figure 122: A hand, with the words 'The Palmist and the hand'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"But we don't need to go to the palmist to find out what is really in +our hands—to find out the real story they have to tell. Look at your +own hands a moment Let us see what we find there.</p> + +<p>"Are your hands the kind that clasp other hands in warm friendship? +Are they hands which are busy every day doing good, honest work? Are +they hands that take food and clothing to the poor? Are they hands +that stroke the fevered brow? Are they hands that help to lighten the +burdens of other people? Are they hands that lift up the fallen one +and point him to Him who said, 'Come unto me all ye that labor and are +heavy laden?' Are they hands that help wherever and whenever they can? +<i>Think about it! Are they?</i></p> + +<p>"Or, are they hands that clench in anger? Are they hands that crush +heartlessly? Are they hands that drag downward? Are they hands that +pull backward? Are they hands that strike in cruelty? Are they hands +that slap insultingly? Are they hands that tear pitilessly? Are they +hands that grope into the dark places and do more harm than good? +<i>Think about it! Are they?</i></p> + +<p>"Or, are they hands that drop lazily? Are they hands that lie idly and +fold indolently? <i>Think about it! Are they?</i></p> + +<p>"In God's word, we find the hand mentioned more than a hundred +times. It appears constantly as an index of character. So, you see, +there is more than one way to determine character than by the +'reading' of the hand. Of the industrious, busy hand, Solomon says, +'The hand of the diligent shall bear rule, but the slothful shall be +under tribute.' And again of the lazy hand, he says, 'How long wilt +thou sleep? When wilt thou rise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, +a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep.' What a +picture of laziness!</p> + +<p>"But in no other place in the Bible do we find such striking +references to the hand as in the words of the Psalmist. [Insert the +letter "S" in Palmist, changing it to Psalmist.] Here is what the +Psalmist says: 'He that hath clean hands and a pure heart shall +receive the blessing of the Lord. Let the beauty of the Lord our God +be upon us and establish the work of our hands; yea, the work of our +hands, establish thou it." [Add the words, "The Work of Our Hands, +Establish Thou It."]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig123" name="fig123"></a> + <img src="images/123fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 123: The same drawing altered to read 'Psalmist'." + /> +</div> + +<p>"This is a splendid prayer for all of us. To our visitors today, we +extend a warm hand, because you are as welcome as the flowers in +May. Ours is the 'right hand of fellowship,' as Paul calls it. Here we +have a plenty of work for many more hands to do—willing hands, busy +hands, loving hands. If yours are not busy doing a work of uplift and +helpfulness somewhere else, remember that we shall be glad to enlist +them in service here. The lines of E. A. Houseman, in his poem, 'A +Shropshire Lad' show most beautifully the thought which we should give +the work of our hands as the days bring new problems and +opportunities:</p> + +<blockquote class="verse"><p class="hangindent"> +"'Hand,' said I, 'since now we part<br /> +From fields and men we know by heart,<br /> +For strangers' faces, strangers' lands,<br /> +Hand, you have held true fellows' hands;<br /> +Be clean, then!—rot, before you do<br /> +A thing they'd not believe of you!'" +</p></blockquote> + + + +<h2><a name="p196" id="p196"></a>HELEN KELLER<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Girl's Day<br />—Seeing</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">Her Wonderful Experience Furnishes an Inspiring Thought for Girls' +Day.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That our physical eyes cannot reveal to us the precious +gifts of God; only our spiritual eyes can tell us of His loving +kindness.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>Helen Keller's wondrous life is full of inspiration, and a study of it +will provide the conscientious teacher with many helpful thoughts. +The illustration is especially appropriate for Girls' Day.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.</h3> + +<p>"It happens very often that two people look at the same thing at the +same time, and each of the two sees something entirely different from +the other. Somebody has described the optimist as the man who sees the +doughnut, while the pessimist sees nothing but the hole. So, also, you +and I might see before us nothing but an unshapely block of marble, +while the sculptor would see the angel in the stone!</p> + +<p>"All of this proves to us that what we see doesn't depend upon our +eyesight, but upon the mind which is back of the eyesight and which +receives the impressions not only through the eyes but through the +senses of hearing, tasting, smelling and feeling. In fact, our eyes +and our ears may be tightly closed—we may be totally deaf and +blind—and still we may be able to 'see' things more clearly than we +might with our eyesight and our hearing.</p> + +<p>"We have all heard about Helen Keller, the deaf and blind girl. I will +draw an outline of her portrait. [Draw <a href="#fig124">Fig. 124</a>, with eye closed, +complete.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig124" name="fig124"></a> + <img src="images/124fig.png" width="400" height="308" + alt="Figure 124: Helen Keller." + /> +</div> + +<p>"This young woman has been deprived of her eyesight and hearing ever +since she was a young child, and yet her ability to learn, to +comprehend, to understand, to really 'see,' is developed to such a +high degree that she is advanced far beyond most well-educated people +who possess all of their natural faculties.</p> + +<p>"Helen Keller, now grown to womanhood, has written many wonderful +things. Here is one of them: 'It does not matter where we are, so long +as we have light in our hearts and make our dark ways ring with the +music of burdens cheerfully borne and tasks bravely filled. They say +life is a closed book to me. One critic doubted that I could feel the +sun, and I believe he thought others felt it for me. But if, indeed, I +had so little share as that in the life of others, it would still be +true that</p> + +<blockquote class="verse"><p class="hangindent"> +"'The least flower with brimming cup may stand<br /> +And share its dewdrops with another near.' +</p></blockquote> + +<p>"Truly, the eyes of Helen Keller are widely opened to the great truths +and wonderful beauties around her—[change lines of the eye slightly, +completing <a href="#fig125">Fig. 125</a>]—whereas, the eyes of many of us which are +supposed to be wide open, are indeed closed to many of God's +blessings. Many of us have eyes to <i>see</i> with, but we use them +only to <i>look</i> with. Helen Keller has seen more and done more +without eyes than thousands who have perfect eyes, but have never +learned to use them.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig125" name="fig125"></a> + <img src="images/125fig.png" width="400" height="309" + alt="Figure 125: Helen Keller with her eyes opened." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Helen Keller should be an inspiration to every girl here today. +Learn from her life the great principles of true living.</p> + +<p>"Let us first ask the question, 'How did she reach the high place to +which she has been able to attain?' She must have had help. Yes, she +did have help. It came chiefly through a dear friend, Miss Sullivan, +who, through patient years, sent the light into the darkness which +enveloped the poor deaf and blind girl. And listen:</p> + +<p>"Never, during those years of patient endeavor, did Miss Sullivan +allow Helen Keller to receive a wrong impression of things about her.</p> + +<p>"Stop a moment and think what all that means! Nothing came into the +life of the girl but clear, certain truth. The false, the unlovely, +the hideous, the deceitful, the unreal, never came in to distort her +view while she was a child, and so, when she later learned of the +sadder side of life, through her extensive reading, she was well +prepared to sympathize with those whose youth was not so well favored +as her own. Let us be careful in helping to shape the lives of the +children, never to leave with them a wrong impression which may +require a lifetime to remove from their minds.</p> + +<p>"'It must be,' says Helen Keller, 'that when the Lord took from me one +faculty, He gave me another, which is in no way impossible. I think of +the beautiful Italian proverb, 'When God shuts a door, he opens a +window.'</p> + +<p>"Truly, God has opened a window to let in the sunshine of His love and +care, and this blind girl is one of His brightest children.</p> + +<p>"What an example to the world is Helen Keller! What an example to +every girl who has heard of her great success. Up with a monument to +her memory! Build it high and strong! She has shown the world how +difficulties can be overcome by determination and perseverance, and to +what rugged, lofty heights one may attain, even though he carry the +heaviest of burdens!"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p199" id="p199"></a>THE STORY OF A KITE<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Conceit<br />—Vanity</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">A Fable Talk to Children About the Ambitious Flier Which Broke the +String.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That sometimes the things which seem to be hindering us +and holding us down are the very things which we need to hold us up +and build us up.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>In the days of our grandfathers and grandmothers, the children were +taught from the beginning to perform many household duties which the +children of today know nothing of. Whether it be a cause or an effect, +the truth of the matter is that the modern tendency is to get away +from the home influence and home responsibilities at a very early +age—to break loose from "mother's apron strings." The talk deals with +this phase of modern life.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.<br />(By Chas. D. Meigs.)</h3> + +<p>"I am going to draw you a picture this morning, and I am wondering +which one of you will be able to tell me first what it is a picture +of. I will go a little slow, so you can all follow every line and +think real hard what it is going to be! [Begin drawing <a href="#fig126">Fig. 126</a>, at +the lines indicating the distant foliage; then draw the tail, and +finally the kite frame and string.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig126" name="fig126"></a> + <img src="images/126fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 126: A kite." + /> +</div> + +<p>"No, no, no! It's not a wood pile! It's not a gridiron! No, it is not +a trap! Where's the boy who said 'kite?' He's the smartie, for he got +it right. Yes—it's a kite, and it was John's kite.</p> + +<p>"One day the wind came up just right for the kite, so John got it out, +called to his chum, Harry, across the street, and said, 'Say, Harry, +come on—let's go out and fly the kite; the wind is just dandy today.'</p> + +<p>"So, away the boys went, and before they reached the open lot three or +four other kids had fallen in line, and they went along to help have +the fun. 'Now, Harry, you take the kite and run out there towards that +old stump,' said John, 'and when I pull the string, you stop and hold +the kite up over your head as high as you can and when I say 'ready' +you let her go.' Away went Harry, and he held up the kite. [Let +speaker hold up a song book, high.] 'Are you ready?' 'Yes.' 'Well, +then, let her go.' And with that, along came a gust of wind which laid +hold of that kite and began to climb right up towards the sky with +it. Higher and higher it went till the kite which was really as tall +as the boy who owned it, didn't look much bigger than his hat But +Harry kept on letting out the string, till the hat looked like a bird +with a great long tail.' [Let speaker here shade his eyes with his +hand and peer and point steadily up towards the sky and occasionally +take a peep at the audience and see the boys and girls also looking up +through the roof at the kite. The writer has so caught them at it many +a time.] Then John looked down to see how much string he had left, +and he let out more and more, and when he looked up at the kite again +he didn't look at it at all—because he could not see it. It was out +of sight! But he knew it was up there all right for he <i>felt it +pull!</i></p> + +<p>"Now, I guess this kite story is a fable, because in fables kites can +talk as well as the boys who fly them. So when the kite got up so +high, the story says that it began to want to talk, and as there was +nobody up there to talk to, it began to talk to itself, and here is +what it said:</p> + +<p>"'My! but ain't I high today? Never got so high in all my life +before. How beautiful the world looks below me! How beautiful the sky +looks above me! Dear me, I can't be so very far from the man in the +moon! I have often heard of him, but have never met him. Gee! I wish +that boy would let go of that string; if he would, I'd go up and shake +hands with the man in the moon and ask him how he is. I just hate to +be <i>held down</i> all the time. I heard Harry say, the other day, +that he didn't went to be tied to his mother's apron string, and that +he'd like to be his own man.' Yes, and I'd like to be my own kite, +too, and then I'd show these boys where I'd go.' And the more the kite +thought of being 'held down,' the madder it got and finally it said, +'If that boy don't let go of that string, I'll <i>break it</i>—that's +what I'll do, and I'll go on up to the moon, now see if I don't!' And +with that, the kite gave a sudden jerk—and—<i>snap went the +string!</i></p> + +<p>"And what do you think, children—did the kite reach the man in the +moon? Not much it didn't!' It began to act crazy and silly and drunk +all at the same time! And it wobbled, and wobbled and stumbled and +tumbled and finally it fell in the dirt, battered and broken like +that! [Detach your drawing, reverse it and reattach it to the drawing +board; add the lines to complete <a href="#fig127">Fig. 127</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig127" name="fig127"></a> + <img src="images/127fig.png" width="400" height="311" + alt="Figure 127: The kite falling to earth." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Now boys, why did the kite fall, when the string broke? Because the +very same <i>string</i> which had <i>held it down</i> was the very same +<i>thing</i> which <i>held it up!</i> And now listen—don't you boys +and girls get as silly as the kite was. Don't you jerk, and pull and +tug at your mother's apron string and try to break it, so you can be +'your own man' while you are nothing but a boy or a girl? If you break +that string too soon, you are liable to tumble in the dirt as the kite +did, and go all to pieces as it did; for—don't forget this—the +things which <i>hold you down</i> to Sunday School, to Church, to +Young People's Meeting, to <i>School</i> and to <i>work</i>, are the +things which hold you up and lift you up, and keep you up and build +you up into <i>strong</i>, hopeful, helpful, useful, happy men and +women. Don't forget what a fool the kite was, and what happened to it! +Go as high as you can in the world but <i>don't break the string!</i>"</p> + + + +<h2><a name="p202" id="p202"></a>A STRANGE OLD EPITAPH<small class="day"><br class="nocss" />—Narrowness<br />—Broadness</small></h2> + +<hr class="minor"/><p class="subtitle">A Talk to Boys Concerning the Narrow Life and the Broad Life—A +Contrast.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p class="lesson">THE LESSON—That it is all wrong to be satisfied to be a +Mr. Nobody. Do your best and be a Mr. Somebody.</p><hr class="minor"/> + +<p>The boy whose days in school and whose hours of serious thought in the +home have opened his eyes to future years of responsibility, will +drink in the sentiment of this talk and remember the lesson when he +reaches the twists and corners of life's pathway which lies before +him.</p> + + +<h3>The Talk.<br />(By Chas. D. Meigs.)</h3> + +<p>"I am going to tell you today of a very <i>narrow man</i>. Suppose we +call him Mr. Slim Jim. Later on, I will tell you about Mr. Broadman, +and ask you which one you would rather be when you grow up.</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig128" name="fig128"></a> + <img src="images/128fig.png" width="400" height="310" + alt="Figure 128: A gravestone." + /> +</div> + +<p>"But first, we will turn our minds to a strange old graveyard over in +England, a burying ground where there are a good many old tomb-stones +like this: [Draw <a href="#fig128">Fig. 128</a>, complete]. If you were to walk among these +old gravestones, you would find one there which would make you laugh, +even though you were in a cemetery, because the epitaph, on it is the +funniest you ever saw or heard of. It says:</p> + +<blockquote class="verse"><center> + "'Here Lies the Body of<br /> + John Blank.<br /> + He Was Born a Man<br /> + But<br /> + <i>Died a Grocer!</i>'</center> +</blockquote> + +<p>[As you speak the words slowly, draw them on the tombstone, completing +<a href="#fig129">Fig. 129</a>.]</p> + +<div align="center"> + <a id="fig129" name="fig129"></a> + <img src="images/129fig.png" width="400" height="310" + alt="Figure 129: The gravestone with the epitaph." + /> +</div> + +<p>"Did you ever hear anything to beat that? Now, that isn't anything +against grocery men. A grocery man may be just as good a man as the +preacher himself—and just as respectable. We can't get along in this +world without groceries, and we just have to have men who will sell +them to us. Then what was the matter with John? Well, just this: His +business had swallowed him up! He had given it his whole time for +years, and he did nothing else. It was groceries, groceries, +groceries, and nothing but groceries. It was groceries on Monday, +groceries on Tuesday, groceries on Wednesday, groceries on Thursday, +groceries on Friday and groceries till eleven o'clock Saturday night, +and if John went to church Sunday morning, sat on the front seat, and +looked straight at the preacher all the time (so the preacher would +say to himself, 'John seems to be very much interested in the sermon +this morning, bless the Lord'). Ten to one John wasn't thinking of the +preacher or his sermon at all—just only of groceries—or some big +bill he had to buy or pay on the morrow.</p> + +<p>"Now, if the epitaph had said, 'Here lies the body of John Blank; he +was born a man and died a banker,' it would have been just as bad. +Or, if he had died an undertaker, and buried himself, it would not +have been any better.</p> + +<p>"Now, John, Harry, Willie, if you want to be a grocer when you grow +up, <i>be a grocer</i> and a big one—a wholesale grocer if you wish, +and be a <i>good one</i>—the very best in town, if you can, but +say—don't let your grocery business <i>swallow you up</i> till you +are <i>not good for anything else</i> but to buy and sell groceries! +Be a <i>good grocer</i>, but be a <i>better, bigger MAN!!</i></p> + +<p>"Perhaps you would like to be a lawyer; very well, be a <i>lawyer</i>, +but see to it that you don't <i>die a lawyer</i>, and nothing but a +lawyer. Don't let your profession swallow you up, and be bigger than +you are yourself! Yes, be a lawyer, be a judge, if you will; the world +doesn't seem to be able to get along without them—some of them to get +people into trouble and others to get them out of it!</p> + +<p>"Yes, but no matter how big and how good and just a judge you are, be +a bigger, better, juster MAN.</p> + +<p>"Here is another example. We have had Mr. Slim Jim; now let us have +Mr. Broadman—broad-shouldered—broad-backed—broad-minded—big-hearted, +open-pursed MAN—born a man and died a MAN. [Write last seven words on +the blackboard.] Remember this: It is every man's duty to provide for +his family, but it is no man's duty to provide a <i>million</i> for +them and provide nothing for those who are aged and sick and lame and +blind and poverty stricken, and helpless.</p> + +<p>"That kind of charity which 'begins at home' and <i>stays there</i> is +a shame and disgrace to its possessor. It is the kind Mr. Narrow +Minded Slim Jim dispenses!</p> + +<p>"Every man owes some of his time, his talent and his money to the +town, the state, the nation to which he belongs! He gets their help +and protection when needed. Protection and aid perchance in time of +fire, flood or cyclone, and police protection as well. And now let me +close where I begin with the gravestone and the epitaph." [Here draw +picture of grave and gravestone with the epitaph, "Here Lies John +Blank, He Was Born a Man But Died a Grocer."] <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's note: original repeats the fragment 'fire, flood or cyclone, and police protection as well.'">"Let</ins> us read together +once more this strange and curious epitaph, and make up our minds that +no one will ever have a chance to write such a sentiment on <i>our</i> +gravestones."</p> + +<p>Read it in concert.</p> + + + + +<h2>INDEX</h2> + +<hr class="minor"/> +<h3><a name="p205" id="p205"></a>TALKS FOR SPECIAL DAYS.</h3> + +<ul class="TOC"> +<li><span class="ralign">Page.</span></li> +<li><b>Boys' Day:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"Johnnie Appleseed" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p121">121</a></span></li> +<li>"Valueless Things" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p157">157</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>Children's Day:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"Bring Forth Fruit" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p151">151</a></span></li> +<li>"Jennie Casseday" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p91">91</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>Christmas:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"The Christ-Child" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p43">43</a></span></li> +<li>"The Christmas Stockings" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p22">22</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>Cradle Roll Day:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"Messages to the Children" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p145">145</a></span></li> +<li>"The Little Ones" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p166">166</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>Decision Day:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"The Hollow Tree" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p181">181</a></span></li> +<li>"The Desert and the Mountain" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p112">112</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>Easter:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"The Doorway" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p67">67</a></span></li> +<li>"Easter Lilies" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p55">55</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>Flag Day:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"Our Country's Flag" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p163">163</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>Girls' Day:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"Helen Keller" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p196">196</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>Home Department Day:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"Public Sentiment" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p124">124</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>Lincoln's Birthday:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"A Firm Foundation" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p61">61</a></span></li> +<li>"True Success" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p37">37</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>Missionary Day:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"Hidden Sunshine" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p118">118</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>Mother's Day:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"Mother" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p94">94</a></span></li> +<li>"The Plum Tree" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p178">178</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>New Year's Day:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"Turn Over a New Leaf" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p34">34</a></span></li> +<li>"New Year's Resolutions" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p97">97</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>Rally Day:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"The Two Flags" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p49">49</a></span></li> +<li>"Tree Surgery" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p187">187</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>Thanksgiving Day:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"The Pilgrims" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p190">190</a></span></li> +<li>"The Perfect Life" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p148">148</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>Temperance Day:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"The Key to Failure" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p25">25</a></span></li> +<li>"The Evolution of the Jug" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p79">79</a></span></li> +<li>"The Keg and the Bucket" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p31">31</a></span></li> +<li>"Young Men, Ahoy!" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p154">154</a></span></li> +<li>"The Open Saloon Door" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p103">103</a></span></li> +<li>"The Heart of the Trouble" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p73">73</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>Visitors' Day:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"Our Hands" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p193">193</a></span></li> +</ul></li> +<li><b>Washington's Birthday:</b><ul class="OFF"> +<li>"If Washington Lived Today" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p76">76</a></span></li> +<li>"Washington's Strength" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p136">136</a></span></li> +</ul></li></ul> + +<h3><a name="p207" id="p207"></a>SUBJECT INDEX.</h3> +<ul class="TOC"> +<li>Ability—"Valueless Things" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p157">157</a></span></li> +<li>Adversity—"The Burned Book" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p169">169</a></span></li> +<li>Allurement—"The Deceitfulness of Sin" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p130">130</a></span></li> +<li>Appetite—"The Key to Failure" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p25">25</a></span></li> +<li>Bravery—"The Pilgrims" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p190">190</a></span></li> +<li>Broadness—"A Strange Old Epitaph" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p202">202</a></span></li> +<li>Character—"If Washington Lived Today" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p76">76</a></span></li> +<li>Cheerfulness—"A Merry Heart" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p139">139</a></span></li> +<li>Children—"Messages to the Children" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p145">145</a></span></li> +<li>Common People, The—"The Story of a Hat" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p160">160</a></span></li> +<li>Conceit—"The Story of a Kite" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p199">199</a></span></li> +<li>Conduct—"Our Hands" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p193">193</a></span></li> +<li>Conscience—"The Thief of Character" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p88">88</a></span></li> +<li>Constancy—"The Wounded Tree" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p58">58</a></span></li> +<li>Conversion—"The Desert and the Mountain" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p112">112</a></span></li> +<li>Courage—"Flying" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p175">175</a></span></li> +<li>Danger—"The Mountain Climber" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p100">100</a></span></li> +<li>Death—"The Doorway" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p67">67</a></span></li> +<li>Destruction—"The Open Saloon Door" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p103">103</a></span></li> +<li>Devotion—"Johnnie Appleseed" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p121">121</a></span></li> +<li>Diligence—"The Blessedness of Work" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p64">64</a></span></li> +<li>Discouragement—"True Success" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p37">37</a></span></li> +<li>Dissipation—"Young Men, Ahoy!" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p154">154</a></span></li> +<li>Error—"Two Men" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p184">184</a></span></li> +<li>Evil Habits—"The Cigarette Face" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p82">82</a></span></li> +<li>Faith—"Christopher Columbus" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p85">85</a></span></li> +<li>Fortitude—"A Firm Foundation" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p61">61</a></span></li> +<li>Fruitlessness—"Bring Forth Fruit" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p151">151</a></span></li> +<li>Giving—"The Christ-Child" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p43">43</a></span></li> +<li>Gladness—"Turn Over a New Leaf" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p34">34</a></span></li> +<li>God's Love—"The Puzzle Picture" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p70">70</a></span></li> +<li>Gossip—"The Brook" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p127">127</a></span></li> +<li>Haste—"The Simple Life" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p106">106</a></span></li> +<li>Helpfulness—"Reflecting Our Blessings" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p115">115</a></span></li> +<li>Home Training—"Mother" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p94">94</a></span></li> +<li>Honesty—"The Hollow Tree" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p181">181</a></span></li> +<li>Humility—"The Fruits of Riches" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p40">40</a></span></li> +<li>Ideals—"Two Men" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p184">184</a></span></li> +<li>Industry—"A Busy Life" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p28">28</a></span></li> +<li>Kind Words—"The Man Who Finally Heard" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p172">172</a></span></li> +<li>Labor—"The Blessedness of Work" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p64">64</a></span></li> +<li>Light—"The Mountain Climber" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p100">100</a></span></li> +<li>Love—"Hidden Sunshine" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p118">118</a></span></li> +<li>Meditation—"The Thief of Character" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p88">88</a></span></li> +<li>Narrowness—"A Strange Old Epitaph" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p202">202</a></span></li> +<li>Nature—"The Puzzle Picture" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p70">70</a></span></li> +<li>Needy, The—"The Christmas Stockings" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p22">22</a></span></li> +<li>Obstacles—"Tree Surgery" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p187">187</a></span></li> +<li>Optimism—"The Two Faces" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p19">19</a></span></li> +<li>Patience—"The Burned Book" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p169">169</a></span></li> +<li>Patriotism—"Our Country's Flag" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p163">163</a></span></li> +<li>Perfection—"The Perfect Life" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p148">148</a></span></li> +<li>Perseverance—"Flying" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p175">175</a></span></li> +<li>Pluck and Luck—"A Busy Life" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p28">28</a></span></li> +<li>Politeness—"The Story of a Hat" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p160">160</a></span></li> +<li>Prayer—"Christopher Columbus" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p85">85</a></span></li> +<li>Purity—"The Keg and the Bucket" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p31">31</a></span></li> +<li>Quietness—"The Simple Life" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p106">106</a></span></li> +<li>Reaping—"Seedtime and Harvest" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p46">46</a></span></li> +<li>Repentance—"The Cross" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p52">52</a></span></li> +<li>Rest—"Warmth and Coldness" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p109">109</a></span></li> +<li>Resurrection—"Easter Lilies" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p55">55</a></span></li> +<li>Salvation—"The Cross" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p52">52</a></span></li> +<li>Seeing—"Helen Keller" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p196">196</a></span></li> +<li>Service—"Jennie Casseday" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p91">91</a></span></li> +<li>Sin—"The Deceitfulness of Sin" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p130">130</a></span></li> +<li>Sincerity—"The Mask" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p133">133</a></span></li> +<li>Slavery—"The Evolution of the Jug" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p79">79</a></span></li> +<li>Smiles—"A Merry Heart" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p139">139</a></span></li> +<li>Sobriety—"The Heart of the Trouble" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p73">73</a></span></li> +<li>Sowing—"Seedtime and Harvest" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p46">46</a></span></li> +<li>Steadfastness—"The Wounded Tree" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p58">58</a></span></li> +<li>Success—"What is Best?" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p142">142</a></span></li> +<li>Sunday—"Warmth and Coldness" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p109">109</a></span></li> +<li>Teaching—"The Little Ones" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p166">166</a></span></li> +<li>Temptation—"The Cigarette Face" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p82">82</a></span></li> +<li>Testimony—"Reflecting Our Blessings" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p115">115</a></span></li> +<li>Thoughts, Our—"The Two Faces" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p19">19</a></span></li> +<li>Tongue, The—"The Man Who Finally Heard" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p172">172</a></span></li> +<li>Training—"The Plum Tree" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p178">178</a></span></li> +<li>Trust—"Washington's Strength" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p136">136</a></span></li> +<li>Truth—"The Mask" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p133">133</a></span></li> +<li>Unity—"Public Sentiment" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p124">124</a></span></li> +<li>Vanity—"The Story of a Kite" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p199">199</a></span></li> +<li>War—"The Two Flags" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p49">49</a></span></li> +<li>Watchfulness—"New Year's Resolutions" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p97">97</a></span></li> +<li>Wealth—"The Fruits of Riches" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p40">40</a></span></li> +<li>Words, Our—"The Brook" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p127">127</a></span></li> +<li>Work—"What is Best?" <span class="ralign"><a href="#p142">142</a></span></li> +</ul> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Crayon and Character: Truth Made Clear +Through Eye and Ear, by B.J. 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Griswold + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Crayon and Character: Truth Made Clear Through Eye and Ear + Or, Ten-Minute Talks with Colored Chalks + +Author: B.J. Griswold + +Release Date: July 15, 2005 [EBook #16305] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CRAYON AND CHARACTER *** + + + + +Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Laura Wisewell, and +the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + CRAYON AND CHARACTER + + + Truth Made Clear Through Eye and Ear + or + Ten-Minute Talks With Colored Chalks + + + B.J. GRISWOLD + + + MEIGS PUBLISHING COMPANY + INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA + + 1913 + First Reprint 1918 + + + + +FOREWORD. + + +Any earnest Christian who is capable of addressing an audience or a +Sunday school class, can, by the aid of this book, give a helpful +chalk talk. The book has been designed to meet a growing need of this +important phase of teaching. + +Any parent, with this book in the home, can use it not only to teach +the boy or the girl a simple method of drawing, but may implant in the +life of the child the good seed of the Tree of Life. + +In the preparation of these talks, "Life" has been the keyword. The +thought permeates both the text and the style of illustration used. +It is also a feature of the arrangement of each talk whereby a +"developing" or "living" picture holds the attention of the listeners +through two "scenes" or "steps" of unfolding. + +Many of the time-honored symbols will not be found in these pages. The +Anchor as the emblem of Hope, and the Crown as the type of Victory or +Kingship have given place to symbols and types from nature and from +the every-day life of common folks. + +Many a smile has been introduced. And why not? We proclaim the Gospel +as the Good News, the message of joy and gladness. The New Testament, +with its glad tidings of great joy, is one continuous song. Always, +however, it has been the aim to lead the thoughts of the listener to +Him whose Light we are to reflect among men. + +The title of each chalk talk appears twice in the index, in order to +provide a wide range of subjects from which to select an appropriate +lesson for each occasion. + +In his years of experience as a newspaper writer and illustrator, the +author has endeavored to cultivate the art of saying as much as +possible in a few words and drawn lines. In this book (and in your +chalk talk work) the same thought applies. As a Sunday school +superintendent and a teacher, the author hopes that many may not be +afraid to undertake the use of chalk after studying the easy method +here described. As a means of enlarging your usefulness as a teacher +of the Eternal Truth, the book, we believe, contains much that will +help and encourage. + +Fort Wayne, Indiana. + +B.J. GRISWOLD. + + + + +"BEFORE TAKING." + + +There are too many books published which are GOOD for _two things +only_: + +FIRST--They are good sellers, possibly "Best Sellers." + +SECOND--They are good at keeping people out of bed till +midnight--because they make such "mighty interestin' reading." + +Such books may make their authors famous and their publishers rich, +but if that is all they are good for, we would not care to sell, much +less to publish, them. + +The book which the reader holds is put out, not because it is bound to +be a _good seller_ nor because it is _interesting_, but because +of its power to HELP Christian work and workers, and of its own +ability to give instruction in righteousness to its readers, old and +young; to sow seed thoughts of truth in human minds and hearts. + +And who will it help? + +All Christian platform workers in general and the Sunday School +Superintendent in particular. + +The Superintendent, especially on all "Special Days." + +The Pastor, especially in the prayer meeting where any kind of help, +_so it is help_, will be welcomed by most pastors. + +It will be useful to all because of its wealth of material and +illustration for expressive and impressive _little, big, ten-minute +talks_, whenever opportunity offers. + +We commend the book with all earnestness, to these various classes of +people, and will insist that no father or mother will ever be the +poorer, but the richer, who will part with the price and get in +exchange for it a copy of this book, as a birthday or Christmas gift +to a son or daughter between ten and twenty years of age. It will help +parents in the uncertain and difficult problem of rearing their +children in a way that will make them and keep them a joy in the home, +rather than a heartache, a heart break, and the saddest kind of a +bereavement, which is too often the case. Surely a dollar spent which +may help avert this, is worth far more than a hundred cents lying +unused in a bank. + +There are sixty-two picture outlines in the book, and with every +picture a ten-minute talk, with chalk illustration, which recites and +impresses, now, a great and noble deed of a truly noble man; now a +kindly act with a double blessing in it; again, a warning to those who +unknowingly set foot upon the devil's ground and find it a miry or +slimy pit; or, it may be a lesson from one of the world's great poets +or historians, for the author has evidently been a reader of great +books with a mind to recall many lessons learned therefrom. + +THE PUBLISHERS. + + + +CONTENTS. + + Page. +INTRODUCTION: + The Plan of the Book .......................... 7 + The Value of Chalk Talks ...................... 7 + The Two-Scene Method .......................... 8 + Chalk Work on Paper ........................... 8 + Materials Are Cheap ........................... 8 + Important to Beginners ........................ 8 + +EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS: + The Drawing Board ............................. 10 + The Drawing Paper ............................. 10 + The Chalk ..................................... 12 + +PREPARING TO GIVE THE CHALK TALK: + The Method Explained .......................... 12 + Outlining the Right Picture ................... 13 + Not an Artist, But a Teacher .................. 14 + Finishing Part of the Drawing in Advance ...... 14 + The Value of Individuality .................... 14 + International or Graded Lessons ............... 14 + Talks for Special Days ........................ 14 + Talk vs. Chalk ................................ 16 + Strive Only for Good .......................... 16 + Recording Your Talks .......................... 16 + A Word to Parents ............................. 16 + A Final Word to Pastors ....................... 18 + +INDEX: + Talks for Special Days ........................ 205 + Subject Index ................................. 207 + + + + + His pictured morals mend the mind + And through the eye correct the heart. + + --GARRICK, _on Hogarth_. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +~~The Plan of the Book.~~ + +In the preparation of this book the author has had two great plans in +mind: + +To prepare a work which will enable _any person, who can speak to a +class or an audience, to give a helpful, inspiring illustrated +talk_; to place in the hands of parents everywhere a book to enable +them to teach the children a simple, fascinating method of drawing +and, at the same time make the great truths of life a part of their +every-day learning. + +Clear instructions are given as to the method of doing these two +things. Then come sixty-two complete talks of special appropriateness +for Christian teaching. If you are included in the following classes +of workers, the book should be of special value to you: + +(a) Speakers who earnestly want to give illustrated talks, but +who feel that they "can't draw a straight line." + +(b) Those who are experienced in chalk talk work and are seeking +new material. + +(c) Teachers of the Uniform Lessons. + +(d) Teachers of Graded Lessons. + +(e) Sunday school superintendents, for platform work. + +(f) Pastors, for use in prayer meetings and many other services +of the church. + +(g) Temperance workers. In this department of work this book +is especially worthy of consideration. + +(h) Those who need suggestions to help them work out their +own addresses. + +(i) Parents for giving instruction in the home. It is a great +truth that such teaching is far more effective than any which the +church or the schools may provide. + + +~~The Value of Chalk Talks.~~ + +Scientists tell us that _nothing which completely occupies the mind +for any length of time is ever forgotten_. + +This, then, is the reason that the chalk talk method of teaching is so +lastingly impressive. People forget everything else while watching a +speaker draw a picture. And if they do that, they can never completely +forget the words of the speaker or the picture he draws. A baby that +doesn't know one letter from another can understand some pictures as +well as _you_ can. Try him once and see. And if he lives to be a +hundred years of age, he will receive more lasting impressions from +pictures than from what he reads. Your audience, therefore, may be +depended upon to be "right with you" from the beginning. + + +~~The Two-Scene Method.~~ + +Added to this feature of securing strict attention, we find in this +book another help in the same direction: Every talk is given in two +"scenes" or steps. The speaker draws part of the picture, while he +speaks, and then, at a little later period, adds the lines to complete +the drawing and bring the scene to a climax. In each talk, the upper +picture is the first scene, and the lower picture is the second scene, +or completed drawing. + + +~~Chalk Work on Paper.~~ + +The book is planned to encourage the use of sheets of book- or +news-paper instead of the blackboard. Paper is used by all leading +workers with chalk. To discard the blackboard is to take a forward +step. However, if you are "wedded" to the use of the blackboard and +can handle it effectively, you will find all but a small number of +these illustrations adapted to your method. + + +~~Materials Are Cheap.~~ + +Probably your school or church is already supplied with the necessary +apparatus to do all the work as planned in this book. However, for any +who may need to provide for himself a drawing board and easel, +instructions for making them are here given. It is only necessary, +then, to procure drawing paper and chalk. These are cheap in price and +easy to get. You are urged, therefore, to proceed with the use of +drawing paper as here instructed, and to lay aside the blackboard for +the more advanced method. + + +~~Important to Beginners.~~ + +Each drawing in the book, as already stated, is given in two "scenes," +in order to show you how your drawing will look _when it is partly +finished_ (first scene), and how it will look _when it is +completed_ (second scene). + +If you are at all "bashful" about taking up the work, let us make this +suggestion: In the seclusion of your home or elsewhere, draw the +_first scene_ of your talk completely. Thus you will have plenty +of time to make it to suit you, with no one to look on and fluster or +confuse you. Then cover up the completed work, by placing another +sheet of paper over it. When you appear before the audience to give +your talk, give your spoken introduction and lead up to the _first +scene_. At this point, remove the cover paper and expose your +drawing. Proceed with your talk until you reach the climax in the +_second scene_, at which time you give the picture the final +lines with your crayon. Many will find this an easy, satisfactory way +to give these talks--indeed many of the illustrations in the book are +most effective if given in this way. Experience, however, brings +greater confidence, and many will prefer to do most of their drawing +in sight of the audience. + +Devote yourself to a thorough understanding of essentials, and you +will be pleased at the ease with which the field opens. The +encouraging words of your associates and the echoes of the good you +are doing will strengthen your confidence. + + +~~Equipment and Materials.~~ + +The necessary equipment and materials for the work include the drawing +board, the drawing paper and the chalk (or lecture crayons). + + +~~The Drawing Board.~~ + +Probably your school has a reversible blackboard mounted on an easel, +like that shown in Fig. 1. If so, you will find it amply sufficient +for your use. The two or three little holes made by the thumb tacks, +to attach your drawing paper to the board, at the top, will not injure +it in the least. If you haven't such a board, it would be well to +procure one, as it can be used for many purposes. The writer has often +used a board of this kind in giving chalk talks. The publishers of +this book will be glad to give full information as to size and price +of such a board. + +[Illustration: Fig. 1] + +[Illustration: Fig. 2] + +Another convenient and cheap equipment is an ordinary square board, +Fig. 2. If you take six boards, each 45 inches long, 7 inches wide and +1/2 inch thick, and attach them to two cleats at the back, you will +have a good, serviceable drawing board which can be hung against the +wall with screw hooks and screw eyes; or, it can be set on an easel or +other convenient holder. It is only necessary that the board be smooth +and the wood be well-seasoned soft pine or bass wood to keep it from +warping. If screws are used to fasten the boards to the cleats, screw +them through from the back, leaving the front perfectly smooth. Be +sure that the screws aren't too long. It would be well to stain the +board brown or some other dark color. + +[Illustration: Fig. 3] + +A combination drawing board and easel is shown in Fig. 3, a back view +of which is given. Take six boards of well-seasoned soft pine, 45 +inches long, 8 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. For the rear legs, use +two pieces 5 feet and 8 inches long, 2 inches wide and 1/2 inch +thick. A wire should be attached to each rear leg to avoid spreading. +Fig. 4 shows this board and easel in use. + +[Illustration: Fig. 4] + + +~~The Drawing Paper.~~ + +The most inexpensive paper for chalk talk work is the kind on which +newspapers are printed. It may be purchased from printing houses, +paper dealers or newspaper offices. A cheap quality of book-paper is +also good, and may be bought from printing houses and paper +dealers. Ordinary light-colored, light-weight manila paper, such as is +used for wrapping, is very satisfactory; it may be procured from paper +dealers, or, if you want but a small quantity, probably any merchant +would be glad to supply you. The lines which you intend to place on it +may be worth infinitely more than the goods he plans to wrap in it. + + +~~The Chalk.~~ + +The writer is accustomed to using chalk made by the American Crayon +Company, which can be had at any time from the publishers of this +book, and, doubtless, from other publishers. Ask for "lecture +crayons." A complete price list, together with samples of colors, will +be furnished on request. For general work it is well to have on hand a +half dozen sticks of black and a stick each of green, brown, red, +yellow, orange and blue. The lecture crayons come in two sizes, one +measuring one inch square and three inches long; the other is one-half +inch square and three inches in length. If you choose the larger size, +the sticks can, when advisable, be cut to the smaller size. + + + +PREPARING TO GIVE THE TALK + + +The instructions here given are for the beginner. Others will follow +their accustomed methods. In our introduction we make the claim that +any earnest Christian worker, who is capable of addressing an audience +or a Sunday school class can, by the aid of this book, give a helpful +chalk talk. + +Your response may be, "But, I can't draw." Listen! The following +instructions will teach you how to do the work without a technical or +practical knowledge of drawing. Let us take up the matter step by +step. When you understand the process, it will be "as easy as falling +off a log," and it won't jolt you half as much. + + +~~The Method Explained.~~ + +THE FIRST STEP--Before the time comes to give your talk, attach half a +dozen sheets of your drawing paper to your drawing board, making a +smooth drawing surface. It is well to use thumb tacks for this +purpose. Open the book to page 26, for we will prepare to give the +chalk talk entitled "The Two Faces." The upper picture. Fig. 7, shows +the picture partly finished; the lower picture, Fig. 8, shows how the +picture will look when completed. You will note that the lower picture +is cut up into squares measuring one-fourth of an inch each way. + +THE SECOND STEP--By the use of a yardstick and lead pencil, draw +pencil lines on the large sheets of drawing paper, so as to separate +the drawing paper into the same number of squares as there are on the +picture in the book. Your paper is much larger than the page of the +book; therefore the squares on your drawing paper must be made much +larger than the squares in the book. It is easy to calculate the size +of the squares you should draw on the paper. Measure the width of the +paper in inches and divide by sixteen (the number of squares across +the picture in the book), and this will give you the figure +representing the size of the squares you are to draw on the paper. If +your drawing paper is thirty-two inches wide, your squares will +measure two inches each way. + +THE THIRD STEP--Select one of the squares in Fig. 8 as a starting +point, and then find the corresponding square on your drawing +paper. Having done this, draw a pencil line on your drawing paper, +which will cross your enlarged squares in just the same places that +the line crosses the small squares in the book. Continue the process +until both faces have been outlined on your paper in the enlarged +form. Then, with a piece of soft rubber, erase all of the straight +pencil lines which form the squares, and the remaining outlines of the +two faces will stand out clear and distinct. Already you will have +found that you are more of an artist than you thought you were! This +sheet of paper, with its dim pencil outlines of the picture, is now +ready to be brought before your audience. You must, however, be sure +of one thing: the pencil outlines must be just plain enough for +_you_ to see them without difficulty, but they must be dimmed +with the eraser to such an extent that your audience _cannot_ see +them. Thus you have before you a complete outline of the picture you +are to draw, and, as you speak, you merely trace over these dim pencil +outlines with your chalk. Isn't it simple? + +THE FOURTH STEP--All of the preparations up to this time have been +done in the quietude of your own room. You are now ready to place your +drawing board before your audience. After a smile of greeting you +begin your talk. "Let us," you say, "talk for a little while about our +thoughts," and then you proceed until you reach the reference to the +sour-faced man. "Here, for instance," you continue, "is a man with a +face something like this:" and you begin your drawing, starting +anywhere you choose. Take your time, and when you have finished the +sour face, the audience will show its appreciation with a heartily +responsive smile. This completes Fig. 7. Proceed then with the talk +until you reach the reference to the man with the sunny face. "Here +comes a man who looks something like this:" Draw the second face, and +you will have completed Fig. 8 and reached the climax of the +drawing. As you make the application of the lesson, you will feel that +your effort has already repaid you for the work you have undertaken, +and each succeeding attempt will make the work easier until it becomes +a pleasing habit. + +[Illustration: Fig. 5] + +In Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 are shown a section of each of the faces of the +talk just referred to. Here they are enlarged four times. A-A shows +the preliminary pencil lines forming the one-inch squares, B-B +indicates the pencil outlines of the faces, and C-C illustrates the +tracing of the pencil lines with the chalk. In this instance black +chalk only is required. + +[Illustration: Fig. 6] + + +~~Outlining the Right Picture.~~ + +In some of the talks in the book, the dotted squares cover the upper +picture; in others, they are drawn over the lower picture. In either +case, the one containing the squares is the one to be outlined on your +drawing paper. + + +~~Not an Artist, But a Teacher.~~ + +There should be no hesitation on your part to trace with chalk the +pencil lines which you have placed on your drawing paper. Remember, +always, that you are posing as a humble teacher of God's Word and not +as an artist. Your pencil outline holds the same relation to your +chalk talk that the minister's notes hold to his sermon. Both are +prepared in advance to enable the speaker to best present his +message. Do not try to conceal your method. There is nothing about it +of which you need be ashamed. + + +~~Finishing Part of the Drawing in Advance.~~ + +Now that the process has been explained in detail, a thorough +understanding of the suggestion under the heading, "Important to +Beginners," seems most essential as a still easier way to do the work. +Finishing part of the work in advance still leaves the speaker +something to do, and the audience will always be interested in finding +out what that "something" is to be. + + +~~The Value of Individuality.~~ + +It is well for the beginner to cultivate an individual style of +speaking. Substitute your own methods of expression in place of the +language of the book. The more you do it, the larger will be the +feeling that the message is a personal one from you to your hearers. +Whenever you can do so, substitute a "home" illustration for the one +in the book. As you become more accustomed to the work you will +doubtless use pictures and subjects entirely outside of the +book. Remember that any outline picture may be enlarged after the +method here shown. Cut your picture into squares with drawn lines, and +enlarge it in the same manner. Many Bible scenes may be shown in this +way. + + +~~International or Graded Lessons.~~ + +The book has been provided with two indexes. One directs you to +fitting talks for special days. The other serves as a guide to talks +and illustrations suitable to the application of any lesson. Determine +the central thought of the lesson and consult the Subject Index. It +will help you choose a talk appropriate for the day. The talk may need +a little revision to enable you to give it the proper application, but +the main thought will be readily apparent. + + +~~Talks for Special Days.~~ + +The index for suitable talks for special days includes some which are +not yet generally observed but which are of growing importance. +Introducing some of these into your school or church as novelties, +they may become as permanent as Easter, Children's Day, Rally Day and +others. + + +~~Talk vs. Chalk.~~ + +No matter how little preparation you may need for your talk, remember +that the words you speak are of greatest importance. It is to your +words that you must give careful study, or your audience may lose the +force of your thought while centering their attention upon the +developing picture. + +Never apologize for the appearance of your drawing or of your ability +as an artist. Strive to present truth only. Truth needs no apology. + +Do not draw in a sketchy manner. Determine on the place to begin your +drawing and then use a continuous, easy line, without lifting the +chalk from the paper, except when necessary to start in a new place. + + +~~Strive Only for Good.~~ + +The design of this book has been to present brief, impressive talks +which hold attention for from ten to twelve minutes. It is advisable +never to speak longer than this, especially when children form a part +of your audience and are the special object of your words. If you +cease speaking just when the audience wants to hear more, you will +always be assured of a hearing the next time. If you leave one single +wholesome thought with your audience you will have accomplished the +greatest good. + +Avoid mannerisms. Cultivate an easy style of speaking and working. +Don't become discouraged if everything doesn't go to suit you. Your +audience is not a critical but a sympathetic one. All are striving to +do the Master's work, and the field you have undertaken will bring you +the interest and the kindliest co-operation of all who are working +with but one great object in view. + + +~~Recording Your Talks.~~ + +It is suggested that each talk, as you give it, be so marked in the +book as to indicate the time and place of its use, so you will avoid +possible repetition before the same audience months or years later. + + +~~A Word to Parents.~~ + +The same general principles of procedure as those here given are +suggested as the best method of using this book in the home. For the +very little children, the parent will find it well to enlarge the +outlines upon paper and tell the stories in such a way as can be +understood best, but for the boys or girls who are in the younger +grades at school the book describes a method of drawing which will +delight and instruct them. Of course, the parent will have to teach +the method to the children, as they will be incapable of understanding +it from the printed description. With this instruction will come the +unfolding of the stories of the book and their application. A child, +when he sees a picture of a face or a house or any other object, wants +to know all about it--whose it is, what it is or what it is for. This +is true especially if it be a picture which he is asked to draw for +himself or which he sees drawn. This enables the parent to give into +expectant and waiting ears the great truths of Christ as expressed in +pictures which the child understands. + +It is best, we believe; in instructing those who are old enough to do +the drawing themselves or watch the parent do it, to select paper of +such a size as can be used on a desk or table. Ordinary letter-size +unruled tablet paper is convenient to get and easily handled. Let the +child square off the page, under the parent's directions, and then let +him do his part in tracing the picture from the book. Doubtless, some +of the enlarged pictures will be "fearfully and wonderfully made," but +it is a start in a splendid direction--a start which may have its +ending in the happiness for which every parent longs and which cannot +come unless the children begin in childhood to become the companions +of their parents--companions who cannot be separated in later years by +distance or the disturbances of the earthly life. + + +~~A Final Word to Ministers.~~ + +Do not forget that there is no earthly or heavenly reason why a +minister should not have a blackboard or an easel on the pulpit +platform or in the prayer meeting room to help him keep his audiences +awake while he tries to drive truth home to heart and mind. It is +every preacher's duty to be _interesting_, and if this book and +the blackboard, or the equipment for chalk talk work, will help him to +be so, then it is his plain duty to buy the book and secure the chalk +and easel and _"get busy" being interesting_! + +And there is one more thing: Don't forget you can do it--_if you +try_! + +And now, with these general instructions and observations, the book is +commended to the use of all who have the love of Christ in their +hearts and who, as faithful workers, may wish to add one more working +tool to those they have used so well. + + + + +THE TWO FACES + --Our Thoughts. + --Optimism. + +"As a Man Thinketh in His Heart, So Is He"--A Lesson in Character +Building. + +THE LESSON--That our thoughts determine the kind of life we live, +and often proclaim character in the face. + +If the teacher succeeds in impressing upon the pupil the great need to +"guard well thy thoughts," for "our thoughts are heard in heaven," he +will have accomplished a work of immeasurable good in the life of the +child or youth who is the fortunate object of such interest. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Let us think a while about our thoughts. Do you know it is a fact +that a man, seated quietly in an easy chair on his front porch on a +summer evening, may be sinning against God and man? Yes, it's true, +for, as he sits there in the silence, he can hate another man with a +bitter hatred; he can plan to rob him or burn his house or slander him +or even take his life. And the worst of it all is that if he allows +such thoughts to rent a room in his head it may not be long before his +evil designs have become awful deeds. + +"Not many boys or girls think such terrible things, but thoughts of +this kind are only the little bad thoughts allowed to grow year after +year in the head and in the heart. And do you know, also, that if you +allow these little bad thoughts to live in your head and heart for a +while, they get so bold and 'sassy' that they insist on taking +possession of the best room of your head and the parlor of your heart +and defy you to put them out? The only thing to do is to throw them +out the very first time they come in. + +[Illustration: Fig. 7 +(In each instance, the upper picture shows how the drawing will look +when partly finished.)] + +"Let us take a walk down-street and mix with the crowd. Every person +whom we see is thinking about something, even though he doesn't say a +word, and we believe, as we look into the faces we meet, that we can +tell just what kind of thoughts some of them have. Here, for instance, +is a man with a face something like this: [Draw the sour face, +completing the first step, Fig. 7.] He looks grouchy; perhaps he is +vicious, and we avoid brushing against him. Perhaps he has lost money +in a business deal; perhaps he wanted a political position and didn't +get it; perhaps a supposed friend has proven untrue; perhaps his +disappointment, whatever it is, has made him sour and crabbed. But he +passes on, and we meet other faces. Here comes a man who looks +something like this: [Draw the happy face, completing Fig. 8.] He +doesn't look as if he had a care in all the world, does he? And yet we +may find that he, too, has lost money in a business transaction that +was full of promise--that he, also, has failed to win a political +race; that he has been mistreated by a supposed friend. And yet, +through it all, he has never lost sight of the sunshine. He has +learned many a valuable lesson from each of his disappointments, and +perhaps he has had a good many more of them than the other fellow ever +knew. + +[Illustration: Fig. 8 +(The lower view shows the appearance of the drawing completed.)] + +"Now, what has made the difference in these two men? Their thoughts +have made the difference. The grouch has, for years, entertained +grouchy thoughts. The sunshiny man has cultivated the habit of seeing +the bright side of things. That's all there is to it. + +"How about you, boys? And you, girls? What kind of thoughts do you +think? I said, you remember, that if bad thoughts get into your head +and heart, they stick there defiantly. But, listen! If you let good +thoughts into your head and heart, they, too, will settle down and +make their home with you and your happiness is assured. + +"Don't get into the habit of growling because the street car is two +minutes late. Thank your lucky stars that there is a street car to +come at all! + +"Learn to be happy. A smiling face is welcome everywhere. People +scamper away from a scowling countenance, especially if the owner of +it insists upon telling his woes and troubles. + +"Remember that happiness depends not upon how many burdens we worry +about, but upon how many blessings we are glad about--it depends not +upon what we have, but upon what we enjoy. God says, 'Let the wicked +forsake his ways and the _unrighteous_ man _his thoughts_'--that +is, his unrighteous thoughts. Why? Because God knows that vulgar +thoughts make vulgar men, and evil thoughts make evil men. So boys, +make a practice of chasing them out of your heads as you would drive a +snake out of your bedroom." + + + + +THE CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS + --Christmas + --The Needy + +It Is Well to Remember the Poor at Christmas, but it is Infinitely +Better to Be a True Friend Every Day. + +THE LESSON--That the true Christmas spirit is that which causes us +to remember the needy always, whether their need be for the +necessities of life or for the love of a real friend. + +Too many of us are inclined to shower our gifts and our good wishes +upon the needy at the glad Christmas season, and then neglect this +great field of service throughout another twelve-month period. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"As we go out upon the street today everybody seems to be happy and +full of laughter and good cheer. People who usually pass us by without +speaking at all or who merely nod without as much as a smile, act +today as if they knew us very well; they smile real widely and say +'Merry Christmas!' just as heartily as they know how, and we respond +to the greeting with a 'Same to you!' with an inner feeling of +friendliness that somehow surprises us. It is a time when nearly every +heart is warmed, and we find our greatest joy in seeing how happy we +can make other folks. In every home where children are to be +found--and there the Christmas spirit is the merriest--we see the +stocking all hung in a row, and we are just as anxious to fill them as +the owners are to have them filled. [Draw the three stockings, +completing Fig. 9.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 9] + +"Here they are. And when Susie and Johnnie and little Bob come +scrambling downstairs on Christmas morning their eyes sparkle with +delight and our hearts warm with Christmas gladness as we join in +their merriment. + +"But there are other homes. And other stockings--stockings not so +warm, not so good--stockings that are darned and patched and worn like +this. [With broad side of black crayon change the stockings of Fig. 9 +to resemble those of Fig. 10.] In the atmosphere of Christmas joy in +our own comfortable homes, do we sometimes over-look the boys and +girls in the poorer homes who won't have much of a Christmas unless we +fill these poor, patched little stockings with gifts to show that +someone cares? I don't believe there is a boy or a girl here who is +selfish enough to refuse to do such a little thing to bring a glad +Christmas into a poor home. All we need is to be told where to go and +what to do. [Doubtless you will have planned a way for the children to +give remembrances to the poor; this may be presented in a word at this +time, reserving the details for the close.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 10] + + "'At Christmastide the open hand + Scatters its bounties o'er sea and land; + And none are left to grieve alone, + For Love is Heaven and claims its own.' + +"Truly, the Christmas spirit is upon us today. But stop--! Will it +vanish tomorrow? Will we forget to be kind to those about us next +week, next month, next summer? Will we forget that these same little +worn, patched stockings are there in the same needy homes, and that +the boys and girls may need our friendship and help more when it is +summer than they do now when so many willing hands are extended to +help them? + +"I hope we shall not forget. Let us remember that the best gifts, +ofttimes, are not those which we can see and touch. The truest gifts +are those of love and companionship and service--the same fellowship +which Jesus gave to the poor when he was among men. It seems as if His +heart always went out to those in need, and He helped them, not with +gifts which fade and wear out and are soon cast aside, but with words +and deeds which told them that He would be a true friend even to the +end of the world. 'Christianity,' says Henry Drummond, 'wants nothing +so much as sunny people, and the old are hungering more for love than +for bread. The Oil of Joy is very cheap, and if you can help the poor +with the Garment of Praise, it will be better than blankets." +Dr. Henry D. Chapin expresses the same thought when he says, 'The cry +of the ages is more for fraternity than for charity. If one exists, +the other will follow, or, better still, will not be needed.' + +"Says J. R. Miller, 'Wanting to have a friend is altogether different +from wanting to be a friend. The former is mere natural human +craving. The latter is the life of Christ in the soul.' + +"At no better time than today can we choose to plant again the seed of +true friendship in our hearts. Let us cultivate it and nurture it +until it blooms forth into friendship for everyone who may be helped +by the love of Christ through us." + + + +THE KEY TO FAILURE + --Temperance Day + --Appetite + +Strong Drink Opens the Gate to Destruction and Bars the Way to +Success. + +THE LESSON--That strong drink robs its victims of the ability to +solve the problems of life. + +This temperance lesson deals with the curse of strong drink in +especial reference to its connection with the material success of the +individual. Specific opinions of several well-known representative men +are quoted. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Nearly every man carries in his pocket a bunch of keys. [Write the +word 'Key,' completing Fig. 11.] When a professional man, for +instance, reaches his office in the morning, he may unlock his office +door with one key; with another key he may unlock his desk; with +another he may unlock a drawer in the desk; and then, having opened +his safe, he may use still another key to unlock his strong box. At +night he may look carefully to see that each of these things is again +carefully locked before he goes home. And so, we see, keys are for two +purposes--to unlock and to lock. + +[Illustration: Fig. 11] + +"Most keys are made of metal and are in our own keeping and subject to +our own will, but there is another key of which I shall speak, which +goes before many a man, working entirely independent of him. And as it +goes, it locks the doors which he wishes to enter, and it unlocks many +another door which he does not want to enter and forces him to go +through it. I will draw the picture of this key. [Starting at the +final stroke of the letter Y, continue the line, and ending with the +letters W-H-I-S. Then add the lines to complete Fig. 12.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 12] + +"Let us see for a moment what this key does. It locks the door to +health and opens the door to disease. Sir Andrew Clark, one of +England's greatest physicians, says: 'I am speaking solemnly and +carefully in the presence of truth, and I will tell you that I am +considerably within the mark when I say to you that, going the round +of my hospital wards today, _seven out of every ten_ owed their +ill-health to strong drink.' + +"And again: This key bars and locks the way to good positions, where +men may earn the money needed to keep themselves and their families +provided with the necessities of life. Many of the great corporations +are refusing to hire men who drink. Whiskey has locked the door to +opportunity for them. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, operating one +of the greatest systems in the world, has issued a statement to the +men who run the trains on its lines which includes these words: +'Taking one drink of intoxicating liquor is like running passed the +red light. It is unsafe. The possible line between safety and danger +in the use of alcoholic drink is dangerously unstable. _Safety_ +lies back of _total abstinence_. The normal man has no legitimate +use for alcohol as a beverage, and he has no right to render himself +abnormal by its use when lives are dependent upon his efficiency. +None but normal men should run railway trains. The traveling public +has unqualified right to demand and expect none less safe.' This +statement deals, not with the moral side, but with the fact that a man +who drinks unfits himself for any position of responsibility, +especially if entrusted with human life. + +"This key also locks and bars the way to a life of purity and +honor. Says the chaplain of the Ohio penitentiary, Dr. Starr: "The +records show that 1,250 persons have been received into this +institution during eighteen months; of these, 930 acknowledged +themselves to have been intemperate.' And the Massachusetts Bureau of +Labor adds the statement that of 27,000 crimes committed in that +state, eight out of every ten were due to intemperate habits, or +occurred while the criminal was under the influence of liquor. + +"We need not go further to show that this key is truly the key to +failure--failure in the attempt to attain to anything pure, right and +honorable. + +"No one knows this better than the manufacturer of strong drink. 'The +handwriting is on the wall,' says T.M. Gilmore, president of the Model +License League. 'Our trade today is on trial before the bar of public +sentiment, and unless it can be successfully defended before that bar, +I want to see it go down forever.' + +"In no better way can we help to bring this victorious end than by +lending our every influence to cause the world to turn to the true +Christian life, for then follows 'love out of a pure heart and a good +conscience and faith unfeigned.' Paul does not say, 'Shun that which +is evil;' he says _abhor_ it. May this ever be our attitude +toward this giant evil." + + + + +A BUSY LIFE + --Pluck and Luck + --Industry + +A Plucky American Boy Whom the Whole World Delights to Honor. + +THE LESSON--That pluck and perseverance and a "Try--Try--Again" +Spirit can laugh at obstacles and change them into stepping +stones. + +The following talk may suggest to many of the younger hearers the +secret of the true greatness of Benjamin Franklin, who is considered +by many our foremost American. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Some people trust to luck to carry them through the world. Like +Dickens' Micawber, they're 'always waiting for something to turn up.' +I have heard of a man who was so pleased at finding a big horseshoe +that he placed it over his bedroom door. The next morning, as he +closed the door, he jarred the horseshoe from its place and it fell +and struck him such a blow on the head that he was in the hospital for +a week. Such results as this are likely to come when we depend upon +luck. Let us remember that luck never figures in God's calculations. + +"I have seen people looking for something like this in their front +yards. [Quickly draw the outlines of the four-leaf clover in black, +and fill in the outlines with broad sweeps of green. With black, trace +the veins lightly, and then put in the letters to spell 'Luck.' This +completes Fig. 13.] What is it? Yes, a four-leaf clover. And when I +saw them looking for it, I thought that they could have been doing a +great deal more good by pulling the weeds in their back yards. + +[Illustration: Fig. 13] + +"But today we shall talk about a boy who never depended upon luck at +all. This boy had a pair of sharp eyes, and whenever he saw anything +to do, he did it. His name was Benjamin Franklin. Did you ever hear of +him? Yes, I thought so. This boy worked for his older brother in a +printing office in Boston, but the brother used to flog him and treat +him roughly. Benjamin knew that they could never get along well +together, so he went away to Philadelphia. + +"In this great city he saw many things which other boys before him had +not seen. He saw that the printing art had wonderful possibilities in +it; he studied and worked hard to improve the business, and today all +of the printers call him the father of the art of printing. He saw +that he ought to know other languages besides English, and so he +became a master of French, Italian and Latin--and luck' hadn't a thing +to do with it! He saw on every hand many chances to help other +people. This prompted him to organize the first police force and the +first fire company in the United Colonies; he organized a military +company; he paved the streets of Philadelphia and taught the people +how to keep them clean; he founded a hospital; he invented the first +practical stove; he accepted many public positions in his earlier +years, including that of member of the general assembly of the +colonies, deputy postmaster of Philadelphia and commissioner to treat +with the Indians. + +"He saw that the common people should have a better chance to get an +education, and so he published for many years Poor Richard's Almanac, +which provided them with much that they should have known; he founded +the first circulating library, helped to establish the University of +Pennsylvania, and brought into existence the American Philosophical +Society. + +"He saw the lightning, just as millions before him had done; but, +unlike the others, he believed the brilliant display was the evidence +of a great and unseen power--electricity. By the use of his now famous +kite and key he proved it to be so, and for a time he was the only man +in the world who knew what lightning really is. + +"He saw at the time of the impending Revolutionary war the need of +someone to go to England to intercede in the interests of the +colonies; and so, when the choice fell upon him, he did not shirk the +responsibility. + +"He saw many later duties which caused him to become a member of the +Continental Congress which made George Washington the commander-in-chief +of the Colonial army; he helped to write the Declaration of Independence; +he was a commissioner of peace to confer with the British General +Howe; he was a member of the commission to seek the aid of France; he +was America's first postmaster general. + +[Illustration: Fig. 14] + +"_Did Benjamin Franklin depend upon luck?_ Never! His was, +rather, a five-leaf clover, like this: [Quickly add the fifth leaf to +the drawing, and insert the letter P, completing Fig. 14.] 'Whatsoever +thy hand findeth to do,' says the Bible, 'do it with thy might.' I +believe Benjamin Franklin fulfilled this command; and we can do it +ourselves, if we will. He never stopped to 'knock on wood' to prevent +bad luck! He had better sense. And I hope we have, too." + + + +THE KEG and the BUCKET + --Temperance Day + --Purity + +A Temperance Talk Devoted to the Teaching of the Principles of +Purity of Life. + +THE LESSON--That water as a beverage stands for purity and +blessing, while spirituous liquors are always an emblem of impurity +and blight. + +The chalk talk here outlined contains in its illustration an +interesting transformation which always commands close attention. The +truth it presents cannot fail to leave an impression. It may be well +to vary the application of the temperance thought to suit your local +conditions. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"I am going to outline for you a picture of an object which is +everywhere recognized by good people as a symbol of defiance of the +law, a suggestion of immorality, of poverty, depravity and death. +[Draw beer keg, completing Fig. 15.] In plain words, it is a beer keg, +and its close companions are the whiskey barrel, the wine cask and the +demijohn! It well represents the liquor traffic as a whole--that +terrible curse which holds in its grip so many men and boys, whose +lives might be bright, happy and successful but for its blighting, +fatal grasp. + +[Illustration: Fig. 15] + +"No right-thinking man has a good word for the business which makes +good men into brutes, transforms honorable citizens into murderers, +and brings many a prosperous family to rags and misery. The +saloon-keeper himself has no good word for the business; he merely +defends it because it makes for him a good living with little work on +his part. Ofttimes he will not drink a drop himself or allow any of +his employes to touch liquor. He is in the business for the money he +can get out of it, not caring how much poverty and penury others get. +With a low idea of his duty toward his fellow-beings, he argues that +as long as men and boys will drink the deadly stuff which he sells, he +as well as anyone else, has a right to profit by their weakness and +degradation. + +"'Oh,' says Shakespeare, 'that men should put an enemy in their mouths +to steal away their brains!' + +"Whenever we hear of a state of lawlessness and anarchy in a city or a +nation, we can rightly conclude that the government of that city or +that nation has lost control of its people. When a man becomes a +drunkard and does things which he never thought of doing before, we +can rightly conclude that his brain has failed to govern him and that +it has been deposed by the forces of base appetite. He has lost +control of himself. That is why a drinking man cannot in these days +secure a good position with the large corporations, railroads, +manufactories and the immense commercial institutions. The great +employers of men have learned that they cannot trust men who, as +Shakespeare says, have 'put an enemy into their mouths to steal away +their brains.' Brains are in demand everywhere--brains and steady +nerves. + +"So, wherever we look, we see young men learning that the way of the +saloon is the way of failure. If they can only be halted in their way +and be made to look for a moment upon another symbol--a symbol of +purity and true service--they might be saved from the bitter path into +which they are stepping. [Revise drawing by adding the bail and the +lettering, completing Fig. 16. If time will allow of the singing of a +verse of 'The Old Oaken Bucket,' the innovation will prove a pleasing +touch.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 16] + +"Perhaps the warnings against liquor have become commonplace to +you. Perhaps you feel that you do not need to be told the story of the +great curse. But if the warning comes echoing back to you in the time +of temptation you will bless the hearing of it, for it may mean +everything to you and your loved ones and the generations to come. + +"It is the Master who said, 'And whosoever shall give to drink unto +one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a +disciple, verily, I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his +reward.' But what may one lose when he puts the drunkard's glass to +the lips of a young man? + +"Hear the voice of Solomon: 'The drunkard and the glutton shall come +to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.' 'Wine is a +mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is +not wise.' + +"If Jesus held up to us a cup of cold water as the emblem of purity, +let us never bring dishonor upon one of earth's greatest blessings. + + "'Traverse the desert, and then ye can tell + What treasures exist in the cold, deep well; + Sink in despair on the red, parched earth, + And then ye may reckon what water is worth.'" + + --ELIZA COOK. + + + +TURN OVER A NEW LEAF + --New Year's Day + --Gladness + +The Psalmist Truly Says that "A Merry Heart Maketh a Cheerful +Countenance." + +THE LESSON--That the wearing of a gloomy countenance is +unpardonable and that "the smile that won't come off" is the kind that +ought to come on. + +Laughter is catching. The following chalk talk will capture an +audience and bring genuine smiles as nothing else, perhaps, in this +book. It has been prepared for that purpose. While it is arranged here +as especially appropriate for the beginning of the new year, it may be +used with varying applications on many other occasions. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"There is a good deal of consolation in the words of Cowper, who truly +declares that + + "'The path of sorrow, and that path alone, + Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown.' + +"Nevertheless, most of us ask for as little real sorrow as possible +while we are treading the pathway that leads to eternal peace. + +[It is advisable to begin the drawing of Fig. 17 at this point, and +continue the talk as the picture develops. It is suggested that the +eyes be drawn first, then the mouth and nose, and, finally, the outer +portions. It adds to the effect, too, to stop drawing at this point, +allowing the people to study carefully the dull, gloomy expression of +the face. Then, as if to put on the finishing touches, draw the lines +of the forehead. These, of course, are the lines of the nose and mouth +of the reversed face, but the audience will not suspect the 'trick' +until it is revealed.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 17] + +"And yet, to judge from the way some of us act and look, it would seem +that we rather enjoy a protracted case of the miseries! Some folks +begin to fret as soon as they are out of bed in the morning; the early +day brings its worries and cares, the noontide and the afternoon are +filled with problems, and night finds them all fagged out and longing +to take rest in sleep so as to get into condition to repeat the round +of sorrows and cares which they are preparing for themselves for the +next day. Little jealousies, petty rivalries, senseless envyings and +useless fears bring wrinkles of care, which are very unbecoming; and, +before we are aware of it, the years have overtaken us, and we +advertise our inner selves by this outward kind of sign. [Display +Fig. 17 complete. This finishes the drawing of both scenes or figures, +since the second part is merely an inverting of Fig. 17.] + +"But, friends, you know, and I know, that all this--or most of it--is +all foolishness. We know that 'as a man thinketh in his heart so is +he.' If he thinks gloomy things, he will be a gloomy man. If he thinks +glad things, he will be a happy man. So, let us consider this matter +now at the beginning of the new year. Strange to say, smiling is a +serious thing! It affects our influence, it means much to the +happiness of those about us, it has a direct connection with the state +of our health, and, therefore, with our material prosperity. It is +true, of course, that we are bound to have our little annoyances and +our depressing sorrows as we go through life; but, surely, we can +avoid most of the troubles which keep us unhappy if we will but lift +our thoughts above ourselves and employ our time in seeking to comfort +and brighten the lives of those about us. Happiness is largely a +habit, and we can do no better than to 'get the habit" and let others +catch it from us. + +"Let us learn the truth that peace of mind is health to the body, and +that it is worth more than we ever imagine. Joy is essential to the +truly Christlike life. When the angel proclaimed to the shepherds, +'Behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all +people,' you and I were included, and we have not accepted that +message of great joy, and Christ abides not in us if we do not reflect +the sunlight which has come from above. + +"And so I am going to ask that we join together today in 'turning over +a new leaf.' What do I mean? Simply this: To meet our troubles fairly +and squarely, grasp them firmly and then completely overturn them; +when lo! we shall find their threatenings, their warnings and their +fearful aspects shall have faded away, and brightness and peace shall +have taken their place. [At the beginning of this paragraph grasp the +drawing at the bottom, tear it loose from the top, and hold it up +before the audience, inverted, as in Fig. 18.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 18] + +"Truly, 'a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.' May yours +remain so throughout the new year and ever after." + + + +TRUE SUCCESS + --Lincoln's Birthday + --Discouragement + +It is Exemplified by the Life of Abraham Lincoln--Stumbling Blocks +and Stepping Stones. + +THE LESSON--That the very things which are obstacles in the way of +many should be their stepping stones to the higher life. + +The life of Abraham Lincoln is so fraught with good lessons that it is +difficult to select that which is of the greatest inspiration to the +young. The illustration here given, however, points the way to true +success as illustrated by the story of Lincoln's life. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Every one of us is anxious to be a success. [Draw the word 'Success' +in red, and the rays of light in orange.] + +"But many of us are discouraged and disheartened by seeing before us +so many big 'ifs' in the way that we give up trying to gain the height +toward which our eyes were once lifted. [Draw the wall, with the rocks +obstructing the way; put in the letters 'I' and 'F,' and indicate the +pathway. Your drawing will now resemble Fig. 19.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 19] + +"Some of us may say, 'IF I had not been born in such an obscure place +or in such an obscure family, I might have been a great success.' + +"Another might say, 'IF my father had only had the means to give me a +lift at the right time, I might have been a great success.' + +"Another might say, 'IF I had only had the chance to go to school when +I was a boy, I might have obtained the education necessary to make me +a great success.' + +"One other might say, 'IF I could only work out my plans without +meeting with the discouraging opposition of those who ought to help me +and co-operate with me, I might be a great success.' + +"Still another might say, 'IF I had only had the opportunities that +other men have had, I might have been a great success.' + +"And so we might stand and look with discouraged hearts at the 'ifs' +before us and stop dead still. + +"Well, now, let us look into this a little. Let us search the +Scriptures and find a word of comfort. But search as we may, we find +the word 'Success' there only once. Why only once? Probably because +the Bible has a much bigger and better word, and that word is 'Life.' +'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life,' says the Master; and again, 'I +am the Resurrection and the Life.' This wonderful word was often on +His lips. To Him, success was life. To live was all that earth could +desire. To live was to see in these stones--[Indicate the stones in +the drawing]--not stumbling-blocks but stepping-stones to success. +[Add the letters 'L' and 'E,' completing the word 'Life.'] When you +and I see the true life, then will all our 'ifs' depart. + +[Illustration: Fig. 20] + +"Abraham Lincoln was one who saw these stones before him. How did he +look upon them? + +"The obscurity of his birth was no 'if' to him--it was the foundation +of his noble character. + +"The poverty of his early years was no 'if' to him--it was the thing +which caused him to appreciate every blessing of after life. + +"The denial of his means to an education when a boy was no 'if' to +him--it caused his maturer mind to hunger after learning, even in his +later years. + +"The bitter opposition which he met throughout his tempestuous +political career was no 'if' to him--it softened his nature and drew +him nearer to the God of love in whom he placed his trust. + +"No one should envy him his opportunities, for he made every one of +them himself, just as you or I may do. + +"It would seem to me, as I look at the life of this great man, that +the secret of his success lay in his determination to make every +stumbling block a stepping stone. In order to do it, he held +steadfastly to the hand of God, when, it seemed, all other friends had +failed. It was then that he said, 'I do the best I know--the very best +I can--and I mean to keep right on doing so until the end.' + +"God has not yet given us wings to fly with, but He has given us +feet to climb with, and if we use them for all they are worth, we can +climb near enough to heaven's gate to step right in when the summons +come. + +"Boys and girls, men and women, the opportunity for success--for +Life--is given to each one of us, just as truly as it was given to +Abraham Lincoln. We could not have taken his place. Perhaps he could +not have taken yours or mine. It is for each of us to work out his own +success, just as he did." + + + +THE FRUITS OF RICHES + --Humility + --Wealth + +If the Love of Gold Controls the Life Naught but Poverty of Soul +Can Result. + +THE LESSON--That while wealth, honestly earned, may be a blessing, +the life devoted to the getting of riches cannot hope for true +happiness. + +The Scriptures do not condemn the possession of riches, but they do +have some strong things to say against the wrongful attainment of +wealth and the harmful use of money. The talk here presented is +designed to impress this thought. In outlining the drawing be sure to +place the lettering exactly as shown in the design. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"The Bible has a good deal to say about rich people and poor people. +Solomon, it seems, thought it best to be neither poor nor rich, for he +wrote, 'Give me neither poverty nor riches," and I believe that this +sentiment would be that of most of us. At any rate, the richer he got, +the farther he went from God. But we must have money--enough to meet +the needs of our lives. We need it for the buying of our food, our +clothing, our homes, our books and in a thousand other ways. But I +hope that none of us will ever reach the point where the governing +principle in our lives will be to get money for money's sake. + +"Money-madness seems to be the dominant characteristic of many +people. They appear to think that wealth will gain for them all that +may be desired to make life happy. We might illustrate the thought by +saying that they sow or plant their money and hope that it will bring +forth a fruitage of the blessings for which they long. [Draw the bag +of money, the earth line, the stalk of the plant and the outline of +the foliage, all with black.] And what do the possessors of riches +expect as a harvest in return for the sowing of their wealth? First, +let us put down Pleasure. [Put in the word Pleasure, using red for the +lettering.] And they expect to be leaders in smart society, so we will +add to the list Social Prestige. [Add Social Prestige.] They expect +their associates to be impressed with the evidence of luxury in their +palatial homes and in all they have and do. So we will add Luxury to +the list. [Add Luxury.] And through it all they think they will +possess that degree of satisfaction and contentment which we call +comfort, so we will add this to the list. [Add Comfort.] And, finally, +let us add a word to indicate that element which the wealthy sometimes +possess in a worldly sense, representing their ability to direct the +happiness or unhappiness of those who are less fortunate in their +possession of worldly goods. That word is Power. [Add Power, +completing Fig. 21.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 21] + +"Here, then, is the picture of the result as longed for by the +possessors of riches, whose lives are devoted to the attainment of +things of this world alone. + +"But, alas, how often are bright hopes shattered! 'He that maketh +haste to be rich,' says Solomon, 'shall not be innocent.' A glance at +the daily paper tells us how true it is that when the love of money +takes possession of the heart, pleasure is driven out. How often, too, +does the aspiring social leader find himself outrivalled in the +foolish race, and social prestige vanishes. And with such experiences +as these, the home of wealth loses the longed-for luxury, comfort and +worldly power. And what has come to take the place of these which were +only dreams? [With the broad side of the black crayon fill in solidly +the portions of the foliage area, leaving only the word Sorrow. Add +the words, "The love of money is the root of all evil," completing +Fig. 22, which shows the root and the trunk of a tree that looks more +like the tree of death than "The Tree of Life."] + +[Illustration: Fig. 22] + +"Such is too often the result of the love of money, which, as Paul +tells us, 'is the root of all evil.' But, happily, there is another +side to the matter. Many of the wealthy of the earth have blessed and +are blessing mankind and in return are themselves blessed. In harmony +with the thought, Dr. Van Dyke says: I do not mean to say that the +possession of much money is always a real barrier to real wealth of +mind and heart. Nor would I maintain that all the poor of this world +are rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom. And if some of the rich of +this world (through the grace of Him with whom all things are +possible) are also modest in their minds and ready to be pleased with +unbought pleasures, they simply share in the best things which are +provided for all.' + +"None of us may ever be rich in earthly possessions, but even the +strife after the money necessary for our actual needs may shut out our +vision of the things of greater value. Let us always hold fast to that +which is good, remembering always that a good name is rather to be +chosen than great riches. + +"Let us put out of our lives all envy, all jealousy, all desire for +the artificial, and learn the lessons of humility, patience, +confidence and good cheer which are all about us if we but turn our +faces and our hearts toward them." + + + +THE CHRIST-CHILD + --Christmas + --Giving + +A Lesson From the Story of the Shepherds and the Wise Men. + +THE LESSON--That the Light that was shed when the Christ-Child came +to earth now brightens the farthest corners of the world. + +Nothing is more beautiful and impressive than the story of the +Christ-Child. It cannot be repeated too often, and it is essential at +Christmas time. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Let us hear once more the wonderful story of the shepherds who played +such a large part in the first Christmas. [Read Luke 2:8-18. When you +reach the words, 'Let us now go even unto Bethlehem,' draw the lines +representing the city, using brown crayon. On completing the reading +of verse 18, continue the narrative by reading Matthew 2:1-2 and +2:9-11. When you reach the words, 'the star which they saw in the east +went before them and stood over where the young child was,' draw the +star, with its rays, in orange, completing Fig. 23. This ends the +reading.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 23] + +"I wish we could picture to ourselves the scene in Bethlehem when +Jesus was born. We are told that there was such an immense crowd there +that Joseph and Mary could find no shelter in the inn, but we should +know that this does not mean a hotel, for they had nothing of this +kind in Bethlehem. Indeed, it would not have been required, because +all that the thousands of visitors needed was the permission to sleep +on the floor on their own mats which they brought with them. This is +the custom even today. It was a sacred duty of every Jew to give +shelter to his countrymen who were on a journey, so, instead of an +inn, the real meaning is that there was no room for them in any house +in Bethlehem. It is probable that the stable in which they sought +refuge was a rough cave, such as are to be found in that neighborhood +now. So, let us note at the beginning that Jesus, the Savior, was born +amidst the most humble surroundings, and also that when the angels +came to announce His birth, they did not choose to tell the good news +first to the rich and the powerful, but brought the wonderful story to +the humble shepherds who watched their flocks by night on the +hillside. But it was not to stop there. No, God wanted the world to +know that the kingdom of love which came with the birth of Jesus was +for the high and the lowly alike. So, by the brilliant star He guided +the wise men from the east to worship Him and place at His feet the +precious jewels and costly gifts, which show that they were men of +great wealth and wisdom. + +"So, we see, the coming of Jesus was to bring a blessing to all +men. It was to be a kingdom of love which would include the whole wide +world, 'for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, +that _whosoever_ believeth in Him should not perish, but have +everlasting life.' + +"Let us remember that God 'gave' His Son to the world--it was the +first and greatest Christmas Gift. We can never repay Him for this +marvelous expression of His love. All we can do is to endeavor every +day of our lives to do good and thus give as best we can of the +blessings which have come from Him. + +"At Christmas time we seem to have no difficulty in showing kindness +to those about us. The earth is filled with His spirit, so that in +millions of churches and homes throughout the world today we find a +reflection of the star of Bethlehem in the countless shining candles +and glittering electric lights which adorn the Christmas trees. [Draw +candle flames and rays in orange. Draw tree in green, and use brown to +fill in the trunk and the foundation. This completes Fig. 24.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 24] + +"Yes, everywhere that we see the sparkling candles or little electric +lights, let us think of them as reflecting the light of the star of +Bethlehem, to guide us to Him, just as the wise men were guided to +that humble manger-cradle in Bethlehem. Many there are, we know, who +make merry at Christmas, while shutting Jesus out of their lives. +They know not the blessing of the warmth of Christian love which He +brought into the world, which is for them, if they will only accept +it. + +"But let us look at our own lives and see if we are reflecting the +true spirit of Christmas. Some one has said that true Christmas +_giving_ is true Christmas _living_--living not merely at Christmas +time in fellowship with all, but throughout the year, with no +difference in days excepting that with their succession we may grow +more and more humble and faithful--more like Him." + + + +SEEDTIME AND HARVEST + --Sowing + --Reaping + +"Whatsoever a Man Soweth, That Shall He Also Reap." + +THE LESSON--That the happiness or the unhappiness of middle life +and old age are the result of the thoughts and deeds of early +life. + +The teacher who can help the little children to avoid the +entertainment of wrong thoughts and the teacher who can eliminate from +the minds of the youth the belief that the "sowing of wild oats" is a +harmless--perhaps necessary--touch of life, may feel that he has +accomplished much. The teaching carries with it the necessity of +supplanting wrong thoughts with right ones. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Some of the great declarations of the Scriptures have become so +familiar to us that we speak the words and lose much of their +significance. One great truth which seems to have lost its power with +many is that verse in the letter of Paul to the Galatians, in which he +says, 'Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man +soweth, that shall he also reap.' + +"What does Paul mean? He means simply this, that your life and mine, +like the life of the world of nature about us, has its seedtime and +its time of harvest--that if the seedtime of our early life finds us +planting good thoughts, kindly deeds and loving words, the harvest of +the later life will be peace and blessedness; if the seedtime of life +finds us sowing evil thoughts, bad deeds and ungodly words, the +harvest will be remorse, bitterness and the suffering which must come +from such a sowing. + +"Everybody who lives fifty years or more has two looks at life; first, +a forward look, and, last, a backward look. It is wise to plan in +advance for the backward look by living so that the retrospect will be +gratifying and satisfying and comforting, and not of a kind to bring +mourning over wasted years and lost opportunities for doing good. + +[Illustration: Fig. 25] + +"Let us consider the lesson of nature for a moment. In the springtime +the farmer plants the kernels of corn shelled from ears like this. +[Draw the ear of corn, making first a solid yellow background for the +ear and then putting in the fine lines with brown or black.] He has +every reason to believe that when the harvest time comes he will reap +a crop of many hundredfold, because each kernel is expected to send up +a little green shoot, like this, and each stalk is capable of bearing +at least one ear of corn. [Quickly draw the ground line in brown and +the corn shoot in green, completing Fig. 25.] And this shoot will grow +larger and larger until the stalk is completed, and as time goes on +and the harvest time comes, the corn will hang in generous ears +thereon. [With broad sweeps of green, and, if you wish, a touch of +brown, complete Fig. 26. This includes covering part of the ear with +green to form the husk.] Note especially this fact, that the farmer, +when he plants the seed, believes that God will send the summertime, +when the corn will grow to its fullness, and also the autumn, when the +harvest is ready. Just think what would happen if we had no summer or +autumn--just the springtime. Do you not see that we would soon starve? +We would plant the seed and there would be no harvest. + +[Illustration: Fig. 26] + +"Let us see how very much like this are our very own lives. We do not +have a springtime and a summer and an autumn and a winter of life +every year. No, we have but one of each during our lives, if we reach +old age. Springtime is our childhood, summer is our young manhood and +young womanhood, autumn is our middle age and winter comes when the +hair is white and the footsteps faltering. The first part of a full +life is the seedtime, and the latter half is the harvest-time. Some +of us may think that we may, while we are young, form habits that are +bad and expect to get rid of them before the harvest-time. Still +others of us do not seem to find out very early in life that there is +a seedtime and a harvest-time, and we realize it only after we have +reached the harvest period, and then we cannot change the character of +the seed we have to reap. + +"But that which is true of the one who has sown the seeds of wrong in +his younger years is just as true of him who has sown good seeds in +his childhood and youth. There is no more comforting thought than that +which comes with the assurance that God will send the rich harvest if +we sow early in life the seeds of purity of living and the seeds of +loving kindness. + +"The wrong thoughts which try to crowd into our childhood and youth +are like the weeds which threaten to destroy the good grain, and +sometimes succeed. Let us watch them carefully and uproot them. + +"The Christian welcomes the thought that there is to be a +harvest-time. The sinner hates the thought; he would that his entire +life be a seedtime; but it cannot be. The law of seedtime in life is +just as firmly fixed as are the seedtime and harvest of nature. Let us +learn the lesson. It means life or death to you and to me." + + + +THE TWO FLAGS + --Rally Day + --War + +Both of Them Inspire Us to the Best Living--An Illustration with +Music. + +THE LESSON--That the same spirit which brings success in war must +animate the fighters against evil. + +Rally Day, which is observed at the opening of the autumn activities +of most schools, has become one of the greatest days of the Sunday +School year. It should be made a glad occasion of reunion and +resolution. This talk is unique, in that it combines music with the +speaking and the drawing. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"It was fifty years ago, boys and girls, that the terrible war between +the North and the South was in progress. On both sides the soldiers +were bravely loyal to their cause, for the reason that each great army +believed it was right; each side rallied round its flag--and loyalty +was the thing most necessary. In most conflicts, as in the case of one +nation fighting with another, it is only necessary to bring a war to a +point where the weaker is convinced of the superior strength of its +enemy. Then the war ends and the weaker is still a nation and has lost +only that which was destroyed during the course of the struggle, +together with that which may he demanded as concessions by the +victorious army. Both nations retain their existence as before. It was +not so with the struggle between the North and the South. Before this +terrible war could end, it was necessary that one or the other of the +fighting governments be wiped out entirely _as a nation_. +Otherwise there could never have been any peace. This is what made the +war one of the most terrible in the history of the world. + +"It was a time when loyalty was demanded by both sides to the +conflict, when men were summoned to rally round their flags. On the +side of the North the soldiers bravely gathered in hosts of hundreds +of thousands around this flag, which is now beloved throughout our +reunited states (while the South was just as true and brave and +sincere in the belief that they were right, in their convictions, and +for which they fought). + +[As you draw the United States flag, in red, white and blue, Fig. 27, +have the school sing "The Red, White and Blue," or have the song sung +as a solo or played by orchestra, pianist or organist. This makes a +very effective feature, as some time is required to draw the flag. Be +careful to construct the flag properly. To save time, use only +thirteen stars.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 27] + +"Why did the boys in blue rally round this flag? It was not because of +its beauty, even though we think it the handsomest flag in all the +world; it was not because it was made of valuable materials. No--it +was because it stood for something--for liberty, for unity. And they +knew that in order to uphold the principles for which it stood they +must cling together and fight manfully. Each might fight bravely by +himself, but disaster would come unless they worked together and in +harmony. + +"We, today, are like the boys in blue in the dark days of the war. +We, too, have a flag which we love dearly--the banner of the cross. + +[While you draw the conquest flag, use the song "The Banner of the +Cross" in the same manner as before. When completed your drawing will +resemble Fig. 28. Use blue for the body of the flag and red for the +cross.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 28] + +"This is the banner round which our school rallies today. We have come +together once more to strengthen our army of boys and girls to fight +against wrong. And our littlest fighters are the best fighters we +have. Why? Because it is a warfare that never ends and the little ones +have many more years in which to fight than the older ones have. And, +strangest of all, the weapons most effective are kindness, love, +prayer and steadfastness--these will drive away the great enemy of us +all--sin. The boys in blue rallied around their flag because it +represents our country, the land we love so well. We rally around this +flag because it represents everything that is best here on earth and +in heaven. Let us be loyal to these two beautiful banners. We cannot +be true to one without being true to the other. + +"Let us make this school year the best we ever knew. We can do it if +we will be true to everything for which these two flags stand--the red +for love, the white for purity and the blue for loyalty." + +[It is suggested that the pupils be presented with small American and +conquest flags as souvenirs. These are inexpensive and may be procured +from Sunday school supply houses. Celluloid buttons, displaying the +two flags, would be acceptable souvenirs of the day.] + + + +THE CROSS + --Salvation + --Repentance + +An Illustration Which Has Inspired Many to Hopefulness and Victory. + +THE LESSON--That a complete surrender to Christ is the only +successful way to purify a sinful life. + +This illustration, in varied form, has been used by speakers for many +years. It is here given, however, in a new presentation, with a hope +that the revision may be helpful to others in spreading its +usefulness. If paper is used, attach several thicknesses to your +drawing board and provide yourself with a sharp penknife. If used as a +blackboard illustration, an eraser will be needed. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"It is a good deal safer, boys, for you to walk the streets with your +thumb in your mouth than with a cigarette there. The thumb can't hurt +you, but the cigarette is bound to. I heard, once upon a time, of a +young man who lived in a good home--maybe just as good as yours--who +fell into the cigarette habit. I can't understand why a boy, when he +knows what a terrible thing the cigarette habit is, will not leave the +thing alone. But, like some whom you may know, this boy failed to heed +the many warnings and, before he was aware of it, the deadly habit had +him firmly in its grasp. I will ask one of the boys to please spell +the word 'Habit' for me. [As each letter is repeated put it down on +the drawing sheet. If you have previously outlined the entire picture, +the location of the cross will determine the location of the letter T, +in the center, as the T is later changed into a cross. Place the other +four letters in proper relation to the letter T, completing Fig. 29.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 29] + +"Now, then--one day this young man awoke to the fact that he must rid +himself of his terrible habit if he would amount to anything in the +world. He was working in a distant city, and there, alone, how do you +suppose he started in to get rid of his habit? He did it this way: He +made up his mind to wipe it out gradually by cutting down the number +of cigarettes which he smoked each day. So he started in. The first +day he smoked two less than he did the day before--cut out some, you +see. [With your penknife cut out the letter H and throw it away.] You +will observe that although he cut out some of his habit, he had A BIT +left. The next day he did the same thing, by cutting out two +more. [Cut away the letter A.] Although he had a BIT of the habit +left, he felt somewhat encouraged and declared to himself that he +could cut it all out if he kept at it. But he didn't know how hard it +would be to 'keep at it.' The next day he cut out a little more [Cut +away the letter B], but the desire to smoke the deadly cigarette was +still strong. He was inclined to give up in discouragement, for he had +now found that cutting _out_ wasn't cutting _off_ and that he +still had IT. Not until now did he feel his helplessness, for the +habit was still strong upon him. He needed a friend--a friend who +could help him in his earnest wish to become once more true and +pure. And a friend came. It was one who knew Christ and His power to +save everyone who turns to Him for help. Clearly this friend revealed +to him the truth, that if he would master his habit he must master +himself. Boldly he took the glad step, and, like all humble followers +of Jesus, he gave himself into His loving care, to guide and to direct +his life. With this step came active work for Christ, and it was then +that the letter I was removed [Cut out the I] and a new vision burst +on his sight, for the last remnant of his enemy faded away in the +transformation of his life to Christian service. [Give the T a touch +with black, converting it into a cross; then continue the drawing to +complete Fig. 30. Use black for the hill and circle; outline the cross +in red; use orange in broad strokes for the rays emanating from the +cross.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 30] + +"This was the vision. It can come to every boy and girl. It has come +to countless thousands. To this boy of whom we speak it came to save +him from failure and death. No longer did the dread habit control +him. The battle was won, not by his own strength, but through Christ, +who strengthened him. Such strength will be yours every time you need +it to help and to keep you. + +"And let us think for a moment of the great service of the friend who +led this young man to see the vision. Are we a friend to those who +need us? 'Brethren,' says Paul, 'if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye +which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, +considering thyself lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's +burdens.' + +"May we ever be ready to lend a helping hand." + + + +EASTER LILIES + --Easter + --Resurrection + +Their Introduction into America has Spread Perfume and Beauty +Everywhere. + +THE LESSON--That, like the lily, Christ gave up His life that His +followers should multiply in the earth. + +It is difficult, as teachers of children are aware, to impart the +significance of Easter to those who are too young to be acquainted +with death and the hope of a resurrection. Many teachers find it best +to confine the thought to the phenomena of nature as revealed in plant +life and to make such applications to the spiritual as conditions seem +to permit. Easter is the most precious day of the year, for without it +there would be no Christmas, because Christmas is celebrated only as +the birthday of Him who arose from the dead. Without it, the world +would be in the darkness of despair and disappointment which possessed +the disciples as they turned from the cross to resume their former +occupations or to hide themselves from the taunts of their +tormentors. Hence, we must make the best possible use of it. This +illustration possesses no new thought; in fact, there is nothing new +except as we put into it the newness of our own enthusiasm and +earnestness. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"On this beautiful Easter morning I want to tell you of a lady who has +done a good deal to help us enjoy this day. But for her, I believe, we +would not have had any of these lovely lilies which represent the +purity of the life of the risen Savior. I do not know the name of this +lady. But I do know that one day she stepped from a steamer at a wharf +in her home city of Philadelphia, and that she had been on a visit to +the Bermuda Islands, which are six hundred miles out in the Atlantic +Ocean. Perhaps you know that the Bermuda Islands are noted as the +place where they raise very large onions, which are imported to the +United States. An onion, you know, is a bulb. Well, this lady carried +with her two bulbs. They weren't Bermuda onions, either, as they were +too small for that. She took these two bulbs to a friend who was a +florist and asked him to plant them. [Draw the bulb in black. Fig. 31.] +This was in the year 1875. The bulbs soon sent up strong green shoots +and after a while blossomed as beautifully in their strange +surroundings as they would have done in their former home. [Complete +the drawing of the lily stalk in green; also the lilies, using fine +black lines as outlines.] To us these beautiful flowers seem like old +friends, because we have known them so long, but these Easter lilies, +blossoming in Philadelphia, were the first to spread their sweet +perfume in this country. + +[Illustration: Fig. 31] + +"Before that time, there was a lily known as the Easter lily, but +whose right name is the lilium candidum or Madonna lily. This latter +name comes from the fact that in one of the paintings of the Madonna +she holds one of these lilies in her hand. It, also, is pure white, +and similar in form to the Easter lily of today except that it is more +bell-shaped. + +"During the first four years, these two bulbs in Philadelphia produced +one hundred new bulbs. But what had become of the original bulbs? Ah, +don't you know that when the bulb produces new bulbs the original bulb +dies? Yes, when the new bulbs form at the sides of the old bulb, the +one which gave them life perishes--in fact, the first bulb gives up +its life that the others may live. [Draw the outer bulbs as in +Fig. 32.] And while it does so, it spreads the perfume and the beauty +of its flowers to delight everyone who sees them. + +[Illustration: Fig. 32] + +"From these first bulbs brought to America has come much of the beauty +which is now so widespread at Easter time. The earth is full of the +perfume of the Easter lily today. + +"How typical is this little illustration of the Savior whose +resurrection we celebrate today. While He was on the earth, the beauty +of his life brightened everyone, and all that time He knew that He +must give up his life that we might live. + +"How typical also of our lives may this Easter lily be. What seems +more lifeless than the bulb of a lily? Plant it, bury it, and lo! it +is resurrected into a thing of wondrous beauty. That which seemed like +its tomb has proven to be the gateway into true life. Thus our faith +gives us the blessed assurance, with Paul, that 'if we believe that +Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will +God bring with Him.'" + + + +THE WOUNDED TREE + --Steadfastness + --Constancy + +It Tells the Story of Courage and Patience that Approaches the +Sublime. + +THE LESSON--That steadfastness in the right not only keeps the life +upright but it restores the repentant one to righteousness. + +Each one of us needs the quality called steadfastness--not the +obstinacy which denies us the right to judge fairly every condition +about us, not the bigotry which prevents us from a charitable +consideration of the views of other people--but the steady adherence +to positive Christian principles which keep us constant in our faith +and unwavering in our hold on heavenly virtues. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Today, we are going to talk about steadfastness. And what does it +mean to be steadfast? It means that with God's love to protect us +against every temptation, we shall never willingly do anything to +grieve Him. A life ruled by this power may grow to be so truly in +harmony with the spirit of the Master that even though the waves of +trouble dash wildly against it, it will continue to stand firmly, +because it knows that 'Jehovah will give grace and glory and no good +thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.' + +"We shall turn to Nature for our object lesson today. We might select +the mighty oak, 'the king of the trees,' to represent the stalwart +Christian life which not only withstands the storms, but which, as it +strives against the winds, sends its mighty roots ever deeper into the +earth; and we might choose as the type of the weak and sinful life the +bay tree which does not send its roots deep into the earth and which +is in danger of being torn away by every passing storm. But we shall +look not at these but at two other trees which are described by Julia +Ellen Rogers in her beautiful book, 'Among the Trees.' Says this +author, 'There is something almost sublime in the patience and courage +of plants!' Doesn't that sound strange? The idea of claiming that +plants are courageous and patient! But the writer goes on to prove her +words. One tree of which she writes was thrown prostrate upon the +ground, crushed down by another tree which fell upon it. There it lay, +with some of its roots torn loose from the earth and drying in the +heat of the sun. It was left there in the forest to die. [As you +speak, draw Step A of Fig. 33.] The writer tells also of a small +poplar tree which grew on the sloping side of a mountain. One day, +when there was a heavy landslide, the rush of boulders and earth tore +the tree from its place and carried it a considerable distance down +the side of the mountain. When it stopped sliding, it was left with +its top downward, while its roots were lifted toward the sky. [Draw +Step B of Fig. 33.] In the rush of the earth, a quantity of soil was +spread over a part of the roots. If anyone had seen the tree then, he +would have declared that it must surely die. + +[Illustration: Fig. 33] + +"But let us turn again to the book. The writer says, 'A tree thrown +down may die of its wounds, but if it does not die it seeks to assume +an erect position. As long as there is life, there is inspiration,' +and, we might add, a reaching upward! Do you get the idea? Even if a +tree is thrown down, wounded near to its death, _it tries its best +to rise, to rise again--to stand upright_! This truth is shown by +what these two trees did. This first one sent an entirely new tree +straight up from the roots, while the old part lay on the ground +dead. [Add lines to complete Step C of Fig. 34.] This second one was +so determined to grow that it sent out a little sprout and started it +to climb straight upward toward the sky; it developed into a strong +tree. [Draw lines to complete Step D of Fig. 34; this finishes the +drawing.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 34] + +"What a splendid lesson there is for us in these true stories from the +forest and the mountain. Perhaps, in our weakness, we have not lived +as closely to the Master as we should have done, and have become +prostrated by our temptations. But there is one mighty to save. It is +for us to reach upward in thought, in word and deed. Then will come +the sunshine of his loving kindness to give us strength to rise toward +Him. The tree, wounded and cast down, can never return to its first +condition, but it does its best to rise. We, if we be prostrated by +sin, can never rise to be as perfect as we would have been if we had +shunned the evil thing; but in humility and service we may rise to +receive the Master's 'Well done,' and we may be assured of His tender +care if we do our best. + +"Let us ever keep our thoughts on Him who 'is able to succor them that +are tempted.'" + + + +A FIRM FOUNDATION + --Lincoln's Birthday + --Fortitude + +The Secret of Lincoln's Steadfastness in the Midst of Tremendous +Trials. + +THE LESSON--That the Bible teaching of childhood fortifies manhood. + +If it is not your custom to observe Lincoln's birthday, you will find +this illustration valuable for Mother's day and other occasions. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Probably no public man in America has ever been so severely assailed, +so mercilessly scourged through the public press, as was Abraham +Lincoln. Yet, through it all, while thousands were dying on the field +of battle, while pestilence and want stalked through the states, and +while the finger of hatred and scorn was pointed at him as the man who +had brought devastation and death upon the nation, he stood steadfast, +with a firm, unimpassioned face, never swerving an inch from the path +of right and duty. Warring factions all about him, who tried in many +ways to sidetrack him, failed in every attempt. To them he said, 'Let +us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith let us do our +duty as we understand it.' + +"In his memorable second inaugural address, he said, 'With malice +toward none, with charity to all, with firmness in the right, as God +gives us to see the right, let us finish the work.' + +"In those tumultuous times, he often seemed to stand almost alone, +like a lighthouse away out from the rock-bound coast, lashed by the +fierce waves, driven by furious winds. [Draw the lighthouse in brown +and the waves in blue, completing Fig. 35.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 35] + +"But the fiercest storms never moved our human lighthouse! Nor did +the light which was to finally guide the Ship of State into a safe and +peaceful harbor fail to send out its clear, pure rays. + +"The lighthouse which we have drawn must stand upon a firm and solid +foundation to endure the force of the storm. Abraham Lincoln must have +stood upon a firm and solid foundation in order to endure the fierce +storms of the darkest years of the nation's history. Let us see what +this foundation was made of. + +"We must go away back to the early days of his life until we come, in +1816, to a little cabin in Gentryville, Indiana--a one-room log cabin +with a dirt floor and with no glass in the windows. Here lived Thomas +Lincoln and his wife and two children, Sarah, aged ten years, and +Abraham, eight years old. They had recently come from Kentucky. + +"Although Thomas Lincoln could neither read nor write, the mother +taught her children to read the one book which they had, a Bible. The +sweetness of the character of this gentle mother was reflected in the +lives of her children. For three or four months, Abraham managed to +attend the rude school of the neighborhood. He soon learned to know +much of the Bible by heart. When he was ten years of age, the greatest +calamity of his life occurred; his mother, always frail and delicate, +passed from earth. Abraham Lincoln never recovered from the shock. The +rude casket was placed in a grave near the cabin. Nine months after +that sad day, Parson Elkins, whom the family had known in Kentucky, +answered the repeated appeal of Abraham to come one hundred miles on +horseback to preach a funeral sermon at the grave of Mrs. Lincoln. + +"Many years afterward, when the cares of state weighed heavily upon +him, President Lincoln spoke the words which tell us the secret of his +wonderful calmness and steadfastness. Listen to them: 'All that I am +and all that I hope to be, I owe to my mother. Blessings on her +memory!' + +"Do you understand, boys and girls, that it was the thing which this +mother put into the life of her boy that made him a great and a good +man? Do you now understand what Paul meant when he said that there is +no other foundation on which to build your life 'than that is laid, +which is Jesus Christ?' + +"Let us, then place the word, Christ, upon this rock, the unseen +foundation upon which this great life stood so steadfastly. I leave +with you the picture as a memory of the secret of a wonderful life. +[Draw lines of rock and lower portion of the lighthouse; add the word +"Christ," completing Fig. 36.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 36] + + + +THE BLESSEDNESS OF WORK + --Labor + --Diligence + +The Truly Happy Life is the One Filled With Honest Employment. + +THE LESSON--That in childhood and youth we should train ourselves +to work. + +Work is the keynote of the successful life. "An idle brain is the +devil's workshop." The talk is designed to catch the attention with a +smile and then give an opportunity to present some valuable thoughts +in the matter of diligence and the fulfillment of life's mission +through honorable employment of the mind and the hands. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Very often we read some very curious things. The manufacturer of one +of the well-known breakfast foods, has placed this strange statement +on the outside of each of the packages: 'Tell me what you eat and I +will tell you what you are.' It seems impossible to do this, and the +writer of the words probably had an entirely different way of +explaining how he would do it from the way we will demonstrate it here +on the drawing paper today. Let us suppose that we make the statement +that we can tell what a man is if we know what he eats. All right, +then, here is a case: There is a certain man who eats three meals a +day out of a dish shaped something like this: [Draw lines representing +Step 1 of Fig. 37.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 37] [Illustration: Fig. 38] + +"And then, let us suppose that the food he eats is heaped up like +this: [Add lines to change the drawing to Step 2.] + +"Now, what do you think this food is? Ice cream? Ah, no, because when +I tell you that this is steam rising from the food you will know it +isn't ice cream: [Add lines to change the drawing to Step 3.] + +"But you will begin to see what it is when I tell you that these two +lines represent chopsticks: [Add lines to change the drawing to Step +5.] What is it? Rice? Yes, it is rice, and we will label it in this +way. [Add the letters, to change the drawing to Step 5.] + +"And now, having found out what the man eats, let us see if we can +find out who he is. [Remove the sheet from the drawing board, hold it +up and turn it over, exposing Fig. 38 to the audience. With the +attention thus centered upon your work, the boys and girls will listen +with eagerness to whatever else you may have for them.] + +"And so, I tell you of another thing that we can do. + +"Listen! Tell me what a boy thinks about, and I will tell you what +kind of a man he will grow up to be. + +"The man who swears, thought of bad things and used bad words when he +was a boy. The man who is a thief thought about dishonest things when +he was a boy. The man who is happy and who finds it his delight to do +good, formed the habit of thinking and doing good things when he was a +boy. The man who loves his work learned to like to work when he was a +boy. + +"And it is work that I want to speak about today. + +"There is no place in the world for a lazy boy or girl. Nobody wants +them. Boys who hate to work are the kind that loaf around poolrooms +and pollute the air with vile cigarette smoke and language which +bespeaks an empty mind and a corrupt heart. + +"As Jesus is our great example in every way, He stands out strongly as +our example of how a workman should delight in his employment. We +should first find the thing which God intends that we shall do, for we +are all fitted to do some things better than others, and we should +then put forth our best efforts to learn to do that one thing as well +as we can. We must center our thoughts upon the things we want to +do. Life will then become a delight, because the world is always +crying for workers who know how to do their work. The other kind is +always to be found but never wanted. The demand is for the ones who +know how. It is a significant fact that the first recorded words of +Jesus Christ are, 'Wist ye not that I must be about my father's +business?' This makes of Jesus a _Business boy_, and it was God's +work he began so soon. + +"Gladstone, an inspiring example of the true workman, says, 'The +thrift of time will repay in after life with usury of profit beyond +your most sanguine dreams, and the waste of it will make you dwindle +alike in intellectual and moral stature beyond your darkest +reckoning.' + +"The happiest people in the world are those who are busy at something +worth while, and the most miserable are those who are in idleness for +lack of ambition or else are engaged in work which they themselves +loathe because of its baseness." + + + +THE DOORWAY + --Easter + --Death + +The Resurrection of Christ the Hope of the World--An Easter +Thought. + +THE LESSON--That death is but the doorway between the earthly life +and the heavenly life of the believer. + +There is no new thought or theory concerning the dead in Christ. The +most profound thinkers of the ages consider death as the entrance to a +future life. The illustration here presented has been employed in +various forms, but is given with the hope that it may, at Easter, help +someone to a clearer conception of the reward which awaits the +faithful. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"James Russell Lowell, dwelling upon the darkness of the cloud of +sorrow which death brings into the home, wrote: + + "'Console, if you will, I can bear it, + 'Tis a well-meant alms of breath; + But not all the preaching since Adam + Has made Death other than Death!' + +"How true! And God intended it should be so. Surely, it is His desire +that we should love to live in the earth which He has given +us. Surely, it is His desire that we should love those who are about +us, and that we should mourn when the earthly parting comes. And yet, +'it is impossible,' as Jonathan Swift has said, 'that anything so +natural, so necessary and so universal as death should ever have been +designed by Providence as an evil to mankind.' With this thought, we +may lift our faces once more, and as we dry our tears, forget the +problems, the sorrows and the triumphs of earth as we ask ourselves +the question, 'What shall _we_ be in the coming ages?' Compared +with this question, all others sink into insignificance. Science, +discovery, commercial achievement, social problems, the rise and fall +of nations--all come to us and claim attention, but we brush them +aside as we repeat, with passionate earnestness: What shall _we_ +be--_we, ourselves_--in the coming time? + +"No matter how long we ask the question, no matter how earnestly we +seek the solution, we shall not be satisfied with an answer, for God +has not intended that we should know. The Apostle John, 'whom Jesus +loved,' admits that 'it doth not yet appear what we shall be.' + +"Does it mean, then, that we should look ahead, and see nothing before +us but the grave--the end of all? [Draw the grave, the headstone, and +the word, "Death," with black, completing Fig. 39.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 39] + +"Perhaps the disciples, their hearts bowed down with grief and +disappointment, held this thought as they saw the tomb of Joseph of +Arimathea sealed upon the body of their beloved Master. But three days +pass, and lo!--all is changed! The stone is rolled away and Christ has +risen! How the message spreads! He is with them once again, and +blessed days they are! But it is not for long, for heaven receives Him +from their sight. Clearly, then, came to them again His words, 'I go +to prepare a place for you, that where I am ye may be also.' What! +They, too? Yes, for did he not say, also, 'Marvel not at this, for the +hour is coming, in which all that are in their graves shall hear His +voice and come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection +of life.' + +"Today, there comes to us anew the revelation of the truth which came +to the disciples on that wonderful resurrection morn. True, it may be +that our pathway may lead more quickly than we think to this place +which we call the grave. [Draw pathway to the grave.] True, there is +a wall between human vision and the mysterious beyond. [Draw the +wall.] But true, also, and gloriously true, is it that the grave opens +to us the mysteries beyond the wall. [Draw line to change headstone to +door]--while the pathway leads to--what? We can only suggest it here, +with a few feeble lines. [Draw distant city, in red, using orange for +rays of light. Add the word "Life," completing Fig. 40.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 40] + +"Someone has said that the night of life is the dawn of peace. +Browning says that 'you never know what life means till you die.' +Another has said, 'The dead are glad in heaven; the living 'tis that +weep.' And all, though they point to the pathway beyond the wall as +that toward which we should push forward, are firm in the knowledge +that the earthly pathway of peace and love is more essential than +this, for without it we cannot reach the other. 'There is but one way +to get ready for immortality,' says Van Dyke, 'and that is to love +this life, and live it as bravely and cheerfully and faithfully as we +can.' And I know it is our prayer that we may do this in the fullness +of the meaning of the words." + + + +THE PUZZLE PICTURE + --God's Love + --Nature + +When We Have Solved It, Let Us Learn to Find God in All His Works +of Nature. + +THE LESSON--That we shall find the loving presence of God +everywhere in nature, if we but seek Him. + +This illustration, dealing with a popular pastime, points to a great +lesson, the fact that God is to be found in all our natural +surroundings, if we but seek for Him in the same manner that we +endeavor to find the unseen in other ways. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"How many of the boys and girls are fond of puzzle pictures? Hold up +your hands. Ah, I thought so. I believe nearly everyone likes puzzles; +we are attracted to many things which possess an element of +mystery. So I am going to draw a little puzzle landscape today and see +if we can get a lesson from it. [Draw the landscape, naming the +objects as you complete them--the tree, the land, the water, the +distant foliage, and so on, finishing Fig. 41. This completes the +drawing for the entire talk.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 41] + +"Here is the story: A farmer, living near this spot, came down to the +shore of the lake, untied his boat from its fastening, and rowed out +onto the lake to fish. With the approach of dinner-time, the farmer's +son came down to the shore to call his father to dinner. It seems that +the father had rowed so far away that he could not hear the lad's +voice, so the boy is still waiting here for him. Can you see the boy? +Ah, yes, here he is. [Remove the sheet from the drawing board, reverse +it, and hold it up for the inspection of the school. Fig. 42. After +all have discovered the face of the boy, do not return the sheet to +the drawing board, but lay it on the floor or elsewhere out of sight, +as it has served its purpose and should not be allowed to detract from +the attention needed for the remainder of the talk.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 42] + +"Yes, it is interesting to study puzzle pictures to discover in them +the persons and objects which we may not see at the beginning. But I +wonder how many of us do a similar thing when we see the real woods, +the real lake and the real flowers? As in the picture, the boy's face +was made by the outline of the tree and the shrubbery, and the hair +was shown by the shading of the grass, so also may we find great +hidden truths in nature all about us. The poet Bryant, in Thanatopsis +says that + + "'To him, who in the love of nature holds + Communion with her visible forms she speaks + A various language.' + +"And Shakespeare tells of finding 'tongues in trees, books in running +brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.' + +"Greatest of all is the fact that God is there. Every tree, every +bush, every blade of grass, every flower, speaks of His presence--of +His love and care for us. Dr. Van Dyke, in many beautiful passages +pleads with us to turn our thoughts from the things which make us +unhappy--the wild rush for fame and fortune, for the attainment of +that which disappoints and discourages--to the quietness expressed by +nature. In his book, 'The Ruling Passion,' we find this beautiful +sentiment: 'It is the part of wisdom to spend little of your time upon +the things that vex and anger you, and much of your time upon the +things that bring you quietness and confidence and good cheer. A +friend made is better than an enemy punished. There is more God in the +peaceful beauty of this little wood-violet than in all the angry +disputation of the sects. We are nearer heaven when we listen to the +birds than when we quarrel with our fellow-men. I am sure that none +can enter into the spirit of Christ, His evangel, save those who +willingly follow His invitation when He says, 'Come ye yourselves +apart in a lonely place and rest awhile.' + +"It is a most beautiful thought. Let us ponder it in our hearts. Let +us seek to find God and His goodness to us in everything that He has +placed about us. Many a man who says he has not found God in nature +has failed to see the blessings which have come to him--which are his +every moment of his life. The fruit, the flowers, the grains--everything +that supplies him with the necessities of life and earthly happiness +come from the hand of God. Let us feel that _all nature is a sort of +puzzle picture_, and that by looking, looking, looking, we can find +God in everything. And in finding Him, let us learn from nature the +lessons of humility, of sacrifice, of joy and good cheer; for it is +for this that God has given us these blessings. It is only when we +thus seek Him that we may look 'through nature up to nature's God.'" + + + +THE HEART of the TROUBLE + --Temperance Day + --Sobriety + +A Temperance Talk in Acrostic--One Great Evil Power--Beware! + +THE LESSON--That the deadly drink evil appears to its victims in +the most alluring and deceptive form. + +The following talk necessitates the use of lettering only, but it +affords an opportunity for the audience to take a part, especially if +the company of hearers is made up largely of children. The climax is +not to be anticipated, and the effect cannot be other than +lasting. The talk may be varied to suit local conditions; specific +incidents make the best impressions. It is suggested that you watch +your newspapers for a period preceding the talk and make clippings of +incidents to fit the points of the first seven paragraphs. It is well +to ask the children to repeat each word as it is placed on the drawing +paper. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"The thing I am going to speak about today is not a pleasant one. The +fact is that nothing good can be said about it, for it deals with +sorrow and death. You may wonder, then, why we do not speak of +something bright and happy; and I answer that if you learn the lesson +about this thing of sorrow and death, your lives will escape its +influence and you will be many more times likely to be happy; and if +you do not learn the lesson, you may suffer distress and anguish all +the years of your later life. This thing is known as a great evil +power. Sometimes we hear of it coming into the home and making a +brute out of a loving husband. Where there was happiness and joy there +is now sorrow and despair. [Place the word Sorrow on the drawing +paper. When adding the succeeding words, be sure to place them exactly +as indicated in Fig. 43.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 43] + +"Again, this evil power creeps into a home and fastens itself upon a +young man who had before him every promise of a bright, successful +life. So relentless is it that the young man, in despair, takes his +own life. [Add the word Death.] + +"Again, we see a man, successful in business, with no seeming obstacle +in the way of greater achievement, when, one day, we find his doors +are closed. This evil power has come upon him and he is a bankrupt and +a failure. [Add the word Failure.] + +"Again, we hear of a man who has been a leader among men--a brilliant +lawyer, a keen thinker--taken from his place and confined in a +hospital for the insane. The same evil power has done this. [Add the +word Insanity.] + +"Again, we know of a young man who was strong and robust, a splendid +specimen of physical manhood; now he has lost his health and +strength. The same evil power has come upon him and has placed him on +a bed of sickness from which he cannot rise. [Add the word Sickness.] + +"Again, how often do we hear that a man, respected and honored, has in +a moment of passion, taken the life of another man, just because this +evil power came in and caused him to do it. [Add the word Murder.] + +"But more common than all the other terrible things which this great +evil power does is the bringing of wretchedness and want to the wives +and the children of the men who are its victims. These innocent ones +suffer for the common comforts of life, food and clothing. This we +call poverty. [Add the word Poverty. This completes Fig. 43.] + +"Many more words could be added to this list, representing the +misfortunes which come to the victims of this great evil power. In +every instance it deceived its victims into believing it was +harmless--that in accepting it there was no danger or risk. + +"What is this great evil power? [With red chalk draw the heavy line, +completing Fig. 44, to bring out the word Whiskey.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 44] + +"Now, boys and girls, consider this not as a puzzle drawing. It +represents a truth almost as old as the world. Concerning strong +drink, the Bible cries out, 'Beware!' Remember that every drunkard +believed he could taste liquor and then leave it alone if he wished. +You, in your happy homes, may think you are safe from it. Beware! +Some day, the temptation will come to you; someone will test you. +Beware! 'Whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.' 'Who hath woe? +Who hath sorrow? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who +hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine.' Beware! Be +not one of these. + +"No, let us keep our minds on the pure, the upright, looking ever to +Jesus, who is our strength and who will keep us from the power of this +evil thing. 'Then shalt thou walk in thy way securely, and thy foot +shall not stumble.'" + + + +IF WASHINGTON LIVED TODAY + --Washington's Birthday + --Character + +The Principles Which Underlie Success Are the Same at All Times. + +THE LESSON--That true success will attend those who found their +lives on the principles which governed the life of Washington. + +Properly handled, the illustration designed for the following talk +will prove a revelation to young and old. The application fits the +illustration so well that the talk should prove of absorbing interest +and lasting impressiveness. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +[Before beginning the talk, make the following preparations very +carefully: Attach several thicknesses of your drawing paper to your +board, leaving the outer sheet free at the bottom by tacking at the +top only. Next, with a sharp pen-knife, cut a hole in the outer sheet, +indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 45, and throw away the piece +which has been cut out. The object of this preparation is this: When +you draw the portrait of Washington, represented in Fig. 45, a portion +of your drawing will appear on the outer sheet and part of it--the +face--on the next sheet beneath. If your preparations have been well +made, the outer sheet will lie flat against the one beneath, and the +audience will not see the hole until the proper time comes.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 45] + +"I am going to draw first an outline portrait of George Washington, +copied from the profile crayon sketch of St. Memin. [Draw Fig. 45, +complete, being careful, in moving the crayon from one sheet to the +other, not to tear the outer sheet.] This view shows plainly the style +of wig and military clothing of a gentleman of the revolutionary days, +and, as we look at it we note what a difference there is between this +and the dress of the men of today. Do we also feel that there is a +great difference between the men of colonial days and the present +time--the same difference in character that there is in dress? If +this thought has come to us, we have also asked ourselves, perhaps, +this strange question, 'What kind of a man would George Washington be +if he were living at the present time?' + +"Of course, if he had not performed his great work in helping to shape +the destiny of our nation, it is probable that America would have had +a vastly different history. We will assume, however, that Washington +were a product of the present day and that the present conditions +prevailed. What, then, would Washington be like? How would he act? +What would he do? + +"Perhaps we can best transplant him to our day by dressing him in the +clothing of the man of the present. [Slowly fold back the outer sheet, +so the audience may see that you have already drawn on the under sheet +a portion of the second "scene"--the most important part, in fact. As +you continue the talk, add lines to complete Fig. 46.] In the first +place, Washington, with his abundance of natural hair, would not wear +a wig just for style, so we will draw his head as we think it would +appear naturally. Nor would he wear the colonial style of clothing, so +we will substitute the coat, collar and tie of an American gentleman +of today. And here we have Washington as he would look if he lived in +our own time. + +[Illustration: Fig. 46] + +"I do not believe Washington would be a military leader in this latter +day. He was essentially a man of peace, and everywhere in his writings +we find expressed a longing to return after the strife of battle and +the weary days in the presidential chair, to his quiet, beloved Mount +Vernon, to carry on his extensive private business and enjoy his +friends and the sweets of home life. + +"But we cannot doubt that he would be a great leader in the struggle +for right against wrong in every form. From his childhood, he loved +truth and honesty. He was a deep and careful student. He worked hard +at his duties as a surveyor of the wilderness and then came the call +from Governor Dinwiddie to carry a message to the French over hundreds +of miles of unknown land, in the dead of winter. It was the most +perilous undertaking ever entrusted to any man in the new land of +America up to that time, but he met the task manfully. It was such +victories as these in his youth that made him the Father of His +Country. It is the meeting of our own problems in the same spirit that +means our own success in life. + +"If Washington lived today, his career would be vastly different from +what it was, yet he would have made his place, and the world would +have been eminently better for his work. Let us study to apply to our +own lives the principles which made Washington truly great." + +[In closing, restore the outer sheet to its first position, thus +presenting the original portrait. It may be necessary to fasten it +down with a thumb-tack.] + + + +EVOLUTION OF THE JUG + --Temperance Day + --Slavery + +While Strong Drink Makes "Poverty and Rags," the Pure Life Brings +Earthly Prosperity. + +THE LESSON--That intemperance is the chief cause of the world's +poverty and misery. + +This talk deals especially with the point that the use of strong drink +consumes the income of the wage earner, unfits him for his work, and +brings suffering and want to himself and those dependent upon him. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +[Illustration: Fig. 47] + +"It is a common belief that slavery was wiped out of America by the +Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln, sustained by the +victory of the union armies in the war of the rebellion. And so it was +as far as the negro is concerned; but there is in America today +another form of slavery which no clash of arms can eradicate, and this +is the picture of the slaveholder: [Draw Fig. 47 complete.] The +'little brown jug,' which we use as a type of the saloon power, holds +millions of men and boys in its grasp, consuming their brains, their +bodies, and their money, and bringing misery and hopelessness to them +and to those who love them. From Europe comes many a cry of anguish, +showing that the same powerful slaveholder holds sway across the +ocean. Listen to the words of the great English statesman, Joseph +Chamberlain: + + "'If there is in this whole liquor business any single encouraging + feature,' he says, 'it is to be found in the gathering impatience + of the people at the burden which they are bound to bear, and + their growing indignation and sense of shame and disgrace which + this imposes upon them. The fiery serpent of drink is destroying + our people, and now they are waiting with longing eyes the + uplifting of the remedy.' + +"Again, from the island of Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa, +we hear the queen of that island declaring herself in bitterness of +spirit, in these words: + + "'I cannot consent, as your queen, to take revenue from the sale + of liquor, which destroys the souls and bodies of my people.' + +"The Hon. Carroll D. Wright, while United States commissioner of +labor, tells, from observation, of the slavery of strong drink in his +own country and in Europe. He says: 'I have looked into a thousand +homes of the working people of Europe; I do not know how many in this +country. In every case, so far as my observation goes, drunkenness was +at the bottom of the misery, and not the industrial system or the +industrial surroundings of the men and their families.' + +"And so the testimony goes on. It is the same everywhere. There is no +need of more proof that strong drink is the world's greatest curse. To +every one of you boys, I am going to say that success in life cannot +come to you in its fulness if you ever allow yourselves to get this +deadly habit. Let it not break into the abode of your soul--and by +this I mean your own bodies--and make you depraved captives for +life. The first taste of strong drink, even though it may seem to be a +very little thing, may mean that you will become banished from God +forever. Remember, boys, that Satan is deceitful. He never tells you +the truth. He is always trying to juggle you with his jug and to make +you believe that black is white and wrong is right, and even that +sorrow is joy and 'a good time.' It is against those who would tempt +you that Jesus said, 'And fear not them that kill the body, but are +not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him that is able to destroy +both soul and body.' Such a destroyer is strong drink. + +"As the years go by, you will find that you need all your energy, your +brains, and your physical strength to enable you to meet the problems +of life. You will find that your later years will be filled with +battles; the defeats will be bitter; the victories sweet. One of the +necessary victories is the successful earning of a living. Money is a +splendid thing. It is the love of it and the wrong use of it that is +'the root of all evil.' In the later years, if you are a slave to +strong drink, you may recall with bitterness the warning of the +Psalmist who declares that 'the drunkard and the glutton shall come to +poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.' But true +prosperity comes most surely when the life is pure. I know you are +resolved that yours shall be such lives, so we shall change the +drawing to indicate something more acceptable to the life that well +deserves a reward for right living. [Add lines to complete Fig. 48.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 48] + +"Paul pictures to us the successful man when he uses these words, 'Not +slothful in business, fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.'" + + + +THE CIGARETTE FACE + --Temptation + --Evil Habits + +A Unique Presentation of a Truth Important to Every Child and +Youth. + +THE LESSON--That Indulgence in injurious habits undermines the +moral and physical structure and is a barrier to true success. + +The chalk talk here presented is certain to prove of enduring value in +impressing upon young minds the truth of the deadly effects of the use +of cigarettes. The talk may form a part of a program given on +Temperance day, as the cigarette habit and liquor-drinking are very +closely allied. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"We are going to talk for a few minutes about our food. Of course, we +all know that when we are very young children our food consists very +largely of milk, and the physicians say that boys and girls should not +be allowed to drink tea and coffee or to eat meat and other solid +foods until they have reached a certain age when their bodies demand +such food. But ofttimes we find that parents do not know about this or +else they try to please their children, for they frequently allow them +to eat and drink the forbidden things. The result is that as they grow +older, their bodies, having become accustomed to the foods which were +too strong for them, demand still stronger food. So it is, often, that +a young man possesses a craving for a stimulant which is unnatural at +his youthful age, and we find him turning to drinking and cigarette +smoking. But this does not satisfy the hungering and thirsting for +stronger and more exciting things. Many times the life of the young +man is ruined in his mad search for something to meet the demands of +his physical nature and he goes down to the grave a physical, mental +and moral wreck! + +"And now, with this thought before us, I want to speak for a few +minutes particularly about cigarettes. And in this, also, I want to +speak only to the girls. Will every girl please listen and do as I +ask? Now, then: I am going to ask you to take your paper and pencils, +if you have them, and copy the picture that I shall draw, and, if you +haven't them, carry the picture with you in your mind so that you may +use it when the occasion comes. + +"Here we go! Whenever you see one of your boy friends with a cigarette +in his mouth, ask him if he ever saw the picture of the 'Cigarette +Face.' Of course, he will say, 'No.' Then you will ask him to spell +'cigarettes' for you, very slowly, and as he pronounces the letters, +you put them down, just like I shall do. Now, watch: + +[Illustration: Fig. 49] + +"'C' [Step 1, Fig. 49]. + +"'I' [Step 2]. + +"'G' [Step 3]. + +"'A-R-E-T-T-E-S' [Step 4]. + +"And now, we will draw the cigarette itself [Step 5]. + +"And finish the picture by drawing the encircling smoke. [Step 6, +completing the final scene]. + +"Is it a true portrait? Go and ask any physician. Go and ask the +warden of any insane asylum. Go and ask many a heartbroken mother. + +"Does cigarette smoking make criminals out of boys? Magistrate LeRoy +B. Crane, of New York City, says that three hundred boys were brought +before him, charged with crimes. All but five of them were cigarette +smokers, and that report ought to _cure forever_ every boy in +this town of the expensive _curse_. + +"Does cigarette smoking make failures out of boys? Once, when he was +asked about it, the late E.H. Harriman, one of the greatest railroad +managers in the history of America, said that railroads might as well +go to lunatic asylums for their employes as to hire cigarette +smokers. Yet some boys I know haven't a bit more sense than to smoke +them. Girls, isn't it a pity? + +"Let us remember that habit is the very foundation of our lives. +Everything that we do repeatedly becomes easier for us to do each +succeeding day. This would be a most discouraging condition if it +applied only to bad habits. But, thanks be to God, the rule applies +equally well to good habits. Diligence, economy, perseverance, +gentleness, pure thoughts--may all become the governing habits of our +lives if we will but center our attention upon them repeatedly and +crowd out the evil tendencies. We are so constituted that we must form +habits. We cannot think or say or feel anything without leaving an +effect which will influence every succeeding thought or action or +feeling. Let us, therefore, look carefully to the forming of our own +habits and to helping others form theirs." + + + + + +CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS + --Prayer + --Faith + +Although He Died Believing His Mission Had Failed, His Prayer Was +More Than Answered. + +THE LESSON--That "the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man +availeth much." + +The life of Christopher Columbus contains much to inspire the +present-day youth. In studying it, however, one should always take +into account the prevailing superstitions, darkened by the bigotry of +the times. But above and beyond all this shone the steadfast belief of +Columbus that his every act was directed by God. The talk is suited to +all ages, for the mere mention of the name of Columbus will excite the +interest of young and old. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Every one of us knows that Columbus discovered America, but unless we +have studied the life of this wonderful man we do not know of the +great difficulties and hardships he endured before he was able to do +it. We know that Ferdinand and Isabella, rulers of Spain, furnished +him with the ships with which he came to the new land; but we should +also know that for years and years he worked and struggled through +sickening discouragement until he finally succeeded in procuring the +support of the Spanish monarchs. We know that he found a great +continent, and that his name is honored above all others of his time; +but we should also know that he himself never knew that he was the +discoverer of a new land, and that he died a broken-hearted, ridiculed +man whose mission had failed miserably. + +"And what was that mission? What was Columbus trying to do when he +discovered America? He was simply trying to find a short way to reach +India. Ferdinand and Isabella provided him with the ships only with +the hope that he would find rich deposits of gold for them in some +strange land. Both missions failed! But God was directing the life of +Columbus. He put into his heart the firm belief that the world is +round, and made him anxious to prove his theory to be true. Finally, +down through years of hardship and discouragement, God brought +Columbus to the age of maturity and wisdom, fully equipped for the +great task which was before him. Then the Spanish monarchs provided +the required vessels for the voyage. Here we have one of these quaint +caravels, the Santa Maria. [Draw Fig. 50 complete, or, on account of +the detail, prepare it in advance.] There were two other ships, the +Pinta and the Nina. What curious looking boats they were! They left +the coast of Spain on Friday, August 3, 1492. Where were they going? +Nobody knew. But there was one man in that company who, deep in his +heart, believed that God was directing the course of those three +little caravels across the vast ocean. Washington Irving, in his Life +of Columbus, says, 'He was a devoutly pious man. Religion mingled with +the whole course of his thoughts, and shone forth in his most private +and unstudied writings. Whenever he made a great discovery, he +celebrated it by solemn thanks to God. The voice of prayer and melody +of praise rose from his ships when they first beheld the new world, +and his first action on landing was to prostrate himself on the earth +and offer thanksgiving.' + +[Illustration: Fig. 50] + +"Such a man was Christopher Columbus--_a man of faith and +prayer_; He had prayed that God would direct him in the discovery +of a new route to India. God answered that prayer in a richer, greater +measure than Columbus ever knew, for to him whose life had been one of +devotion and communion with God, was given a name above all other +names written in the world's list of navigators and discoverers! He +prayed for a great blessing. God gave him a greater one. As the Santa +Maria entered the harbor of the little island of San Salvador and the +crews of the three vessels, numbering 120 in all, knelt and thanked +God for His great mercies, Columbus believed he had reached a distant +coast of India. [Draw the ground and trees, Fig. 51.] But, in truth, +it was infinitely more than that--he had found A NEW WORLD! [Add "A +New World," completing Fig. 51.] Such was the blessing which God gave +to Christopher Columbus. Such is the blessing he will give to all who +trust Him and love Him. Always does the true Christian receive more +than that for which he asks, for the human mind cannot know the +thoughts of God or of His love for those who give their lives wholly +into His keeping." + +[Illustration: Fig. 51] + + + +THE THIEF OF CHARACTER + --Meditation + --Conscience + +The Unholy Thought Robs Life of Its Choicest Treasures--The Voice +of Conscience. + +THE LESSON--That as we use care in the selection of our +confidential friends, so, also, should we guard the choice of our +thoughts. + +It was Lowell who said: + + "Ah! let us hope that to our praise + Good God not only reckons + The moments when we tread His ways, + But when the spirit beckons-- + That some slight good is also wrought + Beyond self-satisfaction, + When we are simply good in thought, + Howe'er we fail in action." + +The truth that good thoughts must be encouraged every moment of our +lives, if we would really live, is expressed by every great mind that +the earth has known. It is here reviewed once more. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"I am going to place on the drawing paper today the picture of a young +man of the type which we admire--a young fellow of upright life, good +habits and Christian principles. We want him for our friend. [Draw +Fig. 52, complete.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 52] + +"But there is another type of man whose character we can well +illustrate by changing the lines in this first portrait. [With the broad +side of your black crayon make the changes needed to produce Fig. +53. Shade the face with a light touch of the broad side of the crayon.] +He is a dishonest man--he is willing to risk his life in taking from +us that which does not belong to him. Do we welcome such a man to our +homes? No. The hand of every man is against a thief and a robber. He +is an outcast. The law seeks to protect us from him by putting him in +prison if he can be caught. + +[Illustration: Fig. 53] + +"I know that we agree that we should be very careful about the kind of +people whom we welcome to our homes. But, nevertheless the hand of +forgiveness and uplift should be extended to every repentant sinner, +for Christ has so taught us. But if we should be so careful about the +people whom we admit into our homes, why should we not be still more +careful about those other visitors--our thoughts--when we admit them +to our minds? Did you ever think of your thoughts as your visitors? +No, I suppose not; but we are going to consider them as visitors +today. + +"Ah, here comes a nice-looking thought that wants to enter into your +head. Fortunately, you have a faithful servant who answers the +doorbell every time a visitor comes. It is your Conscience, and if it +is well trained, it will admit to your mind only the pure thoughts, +and it will slam the door in the face of all harmful intruders. But, +alas! we are the master of the house and sometimes when Conscience +would close the door to an unholy thought, we tell the servant to step +aside, and we admit the visitor. It is a shame! And the worst of it is +that Conscience, like an obedient servant, finally lets us have our +own way and then we have thrust out our best friend! + +"Here is a boy who has lagged behind in his school work. A +nice-looking little thought comes along and says, 'Why not cheat just +a little? No one would know anything about it.' In a jiffy, Conscience +is on hand trying to shut the door. But the boy welcomes the thought +into his head. Conscience, made bold by the threatened disaster, tries +to show the lad that he can succeed more surely by remaining true and +honest, but the thought prevails, and before the boy knows it, the +door is opened to a multitude of other thoughts, and the ones which +came last are worse than the little one which entered first. When such +a boy is grown to young manhood he finds himself robbed of character, +robbed of honors, robbed of noble ambitions. He is a failure. No one +trusts him for he cannot trust himself. He is completely at the mercy +of his evil thoughts, and Conscience can no longer serve him. + +"How gladly, then, should each one of you boys and girls welcome good +thoughts. Make Conscience your door-keeper. The same good thought will +come again and again, bringing other splendid, helpful, delightful +thoughts, and they will become the greater part of your life. Every +one of you has a thinker in his head. Be careful to keep it clean and +pure." + + + +JENNIE CASSEDAY + --Children's Day + --Service + +A Children's Day Story of What One Girl Did to Make Others +Happy. + +THE LESSON--That one little act may multiply to bless countless +thousands. + +The story of Jennie Casseday is one of the sweetest narratives of +humble service that can be told to children and their elders. It is a +chapter from real life which may be copied in varied form by each one +of us. Its use is suggested for Children's day, but it is good for +many other occasions. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"This morning, while we are surrounded by these beautiful flowers, and +while our hearts are light as we think of all the beauty and +brightness that God has given us, I want to tell you the story of +Jennie Casseday and what she did to bring beauty and gladness into the +world. You may think that Jennie couldn't do very much, because she +was a poor little cripple girl. She lived at Louisville, Kentucky. +When she was small, she was just as lively and happy as any other +little girl; but one day she suffered from a terrible accident and +from that time she was helpless. I am going to draw a picture of +Jennie's crutch to represent her suffering and her helplessness. [Draw +crutch with brown, Fig. 54.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 54] + +"Have I said she was helpless? Well, this is what I mean: She could +not help herself, but she could help others, and this is how she did +it: For several dark, painful years Jennie Casseday suffered and +waited--waited for something which she could do to enable her to send +some ray of light out into the world which would brighten other +hearts. One day she read in the New York Observer how a young girl +school teacher, who lived in the outskirts of the city of Boston and +was employed in one of the down-town schools, was bringing brightness +into the homes of many poor people by taking with her large baskets of +beautiful roses and lilacs and snowballs and many other kinds of +flowers from her suburban home and giving them to the children whom +she met. It was a simple little act, but the reading of it by Jennie +Casseday brought a transformation in her life. I wish I knew the name +of this young school teacher in Boston, but I can't give it to +you. But it was she who gave to Jennie Casseday the thought for which +she had longed. Jennie's suffering was almost forgotten in her +planning and determination to raise flowers and give them to the sick +and the needy in Louisville. Her friends soon learned of her plans and +there were many willing hearts and hands to help her. Under her +guidance the Louisville Flower Mission was established, and it soon +proved to be a great and growing blessing. It had been doing its +beautiful work for four years when Miss Frances E. Willard, head of +the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, visited Louisville. There she +heard of the mission and the noble young woman who founded it. Miss +Willard visited Jennie Casseday in her sick room, and when the +conference had closed, Jennie had been placed at the head of the +Flower Mission department of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, +which was at that time brought into existence. This was in 1882, and +Jennie continued in this great work until the time of her death in +1893. June 9 is observed as the Red Letter day of the Flower Mission +department of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, for this is the +birthday of Jennie Casseday. Every year, thousands of bouquets of +beautiful flowers find their way into homes of the sick and the poor +throughout the land. And so, with the forgetting of the sufferings of +Jennie Casseday and the remembrance of her beautiful life, I think we +may well change this crutch to something more commemorative of her +life. [With green chalk, change the crutch to a stem of a carnation, +and with pink draw the blossom, Fig. 55.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 55] + +"In Louisville, the people have sought to honor the memory of this +young woman by the establishment of the Jennie Casseday Infirmary and +the Rest Cottage Home for Working Girls. The school children of +Louisville erected a beautiful monument to her memory bearing an +appropriate inscription. + +"Some of us who have our health and strength may well wonder if we are +fulfilling all of God's demands. Boys and girls, let me impress upon +you the thought that it is not the great, showy thing that makes +people love us, but the careful doing of the seemingly little things, +which, when summed up, make a magnificent whole. Jennie Casseday did +what she could. No more is required of us. But that much is certainly +expected, and we will fall short if we fail to meet the expectation." + +[A beautiful close to this talk would be the recitation or reading of +Dr. Van Dyke's poem "Transformation," which may be found in "The Blue +Flower" or in "The Builders and Other Poems."] + + + +MOTHER + --Mother's Day + --Home Training + +The Great Men of the World Pay Her the Highest of Tribute--A +Carnation Day Thought. + +THE LESSON--That the welfare of the church and of the home rests +more with the mothers than with the Sunday School teacher. + +It is interesting to read the recorded words of some of the world's +greatest minds in tribute to motherhood. The following talk, quoting +some of these, should be an impressive lesson to the young and to the +mothers as well. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Who are these mothers for whom we have decorated our school room and +ourselves with these beautiful flowers? [Draw, in black outline the +carnation blossom; add the stem in solid green, and place the +lettering in purple, red or blue, Fig. 56.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 56] + +"Surely these mothers must be of great importance or we would not be +having a special service for them today. I have been reading a little +about mothers, to see if they are really of much value to the world, +and I want to repeat some of the things I have read. [It is well to +have all of these quotations in note form to be read with accuracy.] + +"I find that John Randolph, one of America's greatest statesmen, said, +'I should have been an atheist if it had not been for one +recollection--and that was the memory of the time when my departed +mother used to take my little hand in hers and cause me on my knees to +say, "Our Father who art in heaven."' + +"I find that Abraham Lincoln said of his mother, 'All that I am and +all that I hope to be I owe to my mother. Blessings on her memory!' + +"I find that George Herbert said, 'One good mother is worth a hundred +schoolmasters.' + +"I find that Oliver Wendell Holmes said, + + "'Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; + A mother's secret hope outlives them all.' + +"I find that Coleridge said, + + "'A mother is a mother still, + The holiest thing alive.' + +"I find that Beecher said, 'A mother's heart is the child's school +room.' + +"I find that Benjamin West, the great artist, said, 'A kiss from +my mother made me a painter.' + +"I find that General Wallace, in Ben Hur, said, 'God could not be +everywhere, so he made mothers.' + +"I find everywhere the great men of the world paying loving tribute to +these mothers, and after all there is only one real perfect, true and +faultless mother in all the world and that is our own mother, whether +she be gone before or whether she be still with us. I am sure that +every one of us older ones will find ourselves in tune with the +expressive words of George Griffith Fetter, who wrote: + + "'The noblest thoughts my soul can claim, + The holiest words my tongue can frame, + Unworthy are to praise the name + More sacred than all other. + An infant, when her love first came-- + A man, I find it just the same; + Reverently, I breathe her name, + The blessed name of mother.' + +"And so, I answer the question that I asked at the beginning, who are +these mothers? Really, it seems to me that the mothers of the world +are the power which keeps it moving toward all that is good and high +and holy. Mother love has been a power in the world since history +commenced, and the scriptures are filled with beautiful demonstrations +of it. How we love to read the story of the mother of Moses who hid +her child in the bullrushes and then succeeded in being engaged as his +nurse. How often has the heart thrilled at the hearing of the story of +Samuel and his mother! How strongly the mother love manifested itself +at the time of the judgment of Solomon who was called to determine the +possession of the child claimed by two women. And what could be more +beautiful than the pictures of the devotion of the mother of Jesus to +Him who was to be the Savior of the world? + +"Verily, 'the hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the +world,' through the love of good which the mother hopes for her +child. The mother of today in America has a greater problem than ever +before. The boys of today are the men of tomorrow. The boys will be +what the mothers make them; and with this thought, I want to change +our drawing slightly to indicate the ever-present problem which is +never safe except in the hands of the right kind of mothers of the +boys of today and of the future generations. [Add the words to +complete Fig. 57.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 57] + +"May God bless you, mothers, and help you to help these boys and these +girls to meet the great problems which are before them. You must help +them. Without you, they are on unsafe ground, treading perilous +paths." + + + +NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS + --New Year's Day + --Watchfulness + +Most of Them May be Rolled into One--"Hold Fast to That Which Is +Good." + +THE LESSON--That the positive life, rather than the negative life, +knows true happiness. + +While this talk is planned for the special application to the opening +of the fiscal or the school or church year, it may be revised very +easily to fit many other occasions. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Right now, at the beginning of the new year, we hear a great deal +about making resolutions, 'turning over a new leaf,' and so on. In +many cases, these things are spoken of lightly and laughingly, and +yet, I know that many of us, away down deep in our hearts, are +thinking of things which we are resolving to do during the new year +and also of things which we have made up our minds not to do during +the coming twelve months. + +"What does it signify when we do this? It means that we have made +mistakes and that we do not intend to make the same mistakes again. It +is a strange thing to say, but it is true, nevertheless, that a man is +a good deal like a fish in some respects. Whenever you go fishing, you +use just the kind of bait which you think will fool the fish the most +easily. You should know where a certain kind of fish is likely to +abound and then use the style of bait which that kind of fish is most +apt to mistake for something which it is not. Here, for instance, is a +cork bobber on the surface of the water of a lake, with the line +attached to it, and here, below, is the hook, nicely concealed from +view by the bait in the form of an angle worm. [Draw the lines to +follow the talk, completing Fig. 58.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 58] + +"It is evident that the fisherman who holds the line is not after the +kind of fish which are to be captured by trolling or casting, for he +is using the method known as still-fishing. And, sure enough, he has +attracted a victim, a blue gill, which is making straight for what he +thinks will mean more life to him but which probably means sure death +unless he succeeds in getting away again. [Draw fish, completing +Fig. 59.] So, the ingenuity of man is kept active in devising means of +capturing game of all kinds. + +[Illustration: Fig. 59] + +"And are we not like the fish? Haven't you bitten into any baited +hooks during the past year? Haven't you been fooled into thinking +something was good for you when it turned out to be bad? Hasn't some +alluring amusement or pastime brought disappointment or shame when you +thought it would bring delight and satisfaction? Ah, yes. All of us +have been fooled in one way or another, and when we come to this time +of the year and decide to start anew we find that it isn't so easy as +we thought, to get rid of many errors or vices which we would +eliminate from our lives. Perhaps some have fallen victims to habits +which grip us relentlessly, and if so we can doubtless agree with Pope +that + + "'Vice is a monster of so frightful mien + As to be hated needs but to be seen: + Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face. + We first endure, then pity, then embrace.' + +"As Shakespeare says, 'There is no vice so simple, but assumes some +mark of virtue on his outward parts.' There's where the trouble +starts. We're completely fooled. And when we come to purify our lives +by eliminating this thing and that, we are discouraged with the +result, and in many instances we give up in despair. + +"How, then, are we to make our resolutions good? How are we to be sure +that the new leaf which we turn over will not be blown back again by +the first wind of passion or discouragement which comes? + +"I believe we can do it by making our resolutions positive and not +negative. Let me explain what I mean. We are normal human beings. We +demand activity. There must be something doing. If we are giving our +time wastefully to society, to the theater, to the many other forms of +amusement we shall find ourselves most miserable if we simply resolve +to eliminate these things from our lives. To do this is to make a +negative resolution. No, the thing to do is to resolve that hereafter +our time will be spent in busying ourselves at those things which are +wholesome, helpful to others, and of such a character to bring delight +to us because of the service we can render to the world. What can you +do? Why, the field to do good is never overcrowded. The church and +the Sunday school offer many avenues of activity. Find out the thing +you can do best--uncover your talent. Get busy at good works, and then +there will be no room for the objectionable things and they will die +out because good habits are growing in their stead. + +"To do this is the surest way to 'set your mind on the things that are +above, not on things that are upon the earth,' and when this is done +we need have little concern about our happiness." + + + +THE MOUNTAIN CLIMBER + --Light + --Danger + +All Light, Shining in the Darkness, Is Either a Guide or a +Warning. + +THE LESSON--That the Bible sends out two kinds of light, guiding +and warning, and that all who neglect it are groping in the dark, +"loving darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil." + +The word Light, appears very frequently in the scriptures as a type of +the highest human good. All of the most joyous emotions of the mental +and physical natures of man are described in the imagery of light. +Throughout the Book it is used to typify the true religion and +happiness. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"When we go riding in an automobile after dark, we light the lamps at +the front and at the rear. Why do we light the lamps? So the light +will shine on the roadway and we will be able to see where we are +going and thus avoid mishap and injury? Yes, but how about the lamp at +the rear? Oh, we light that one so other people will not run into +us. Yes, and that, too, is one of the great reasons why we light the +front lamps. If we were to start out on a night journey with no lamps +burning, there would be great danger of accident, and especially if we +were to meet another automobile which had no lights burning. We would +be apt to bump into each other. The law recognizes all this and +compels us to keep our automobile lights brilliantly shining. + +"Dwight L. Moody, the great evangelist, tells the story that as he was +walking along a dark city street one night, he met a man, who carried +an object in each of his hands. Something about the man's actions +excited the curiosity of Mr. Moody, and he stopped to speak to +him. The thing that caused Mr. Moody to wonder was this: The man held +in one hand a lighted lantern, and in the other a cane with which he +was feeling his way along the street. As he stopped, Mr. Moody saw +that the man was blind. He was so much interested that he spoke to the +man, saying: + +"'Since you are blind, why do you carry a lantern? It doesn't help you +to see your way.' + +"'No,' replied the man, 'I carry it to keep people from running into +me.' + +"So, here, you see, was an instance of carrying a light, not to enable +one to see his way but to guard himself against harm from those who +would be warned thereby. + +"Ofttimes, you have seen red lanterns placed along streets where +dangerous obstructions are left in the pathway of travel. These lights +are to warn people of possible harm. + +"As Christians, we, too, must have a light on our pathway to guide us +through life, and this same light will also guard us against harm. +That light comes from Jesus Christ through his word. With the light of +his love within us we can never mistake the way. If we have that +light, temptations may come to us, but they cannot harm us because +that light warns them away. This light is our guide and our guard. +God's word, the Psalmist declares, 'is a lamp unto my feet and a light +unto my path.' + +"The story is told of a traveler in the west who, separated from the +other members of his party, was climbing slowly up the rocky side of a +rugged mountain. [Draw the man and the lines of the mountain.] His +progress was slow, not only because of the difficulty in climbing up +the slippery and treacherous rocks, but because the mountain top was +shrouded in a heavy mist or cloud, which made it impossible for him to +see more than a few feet ahead of him. [Draw the cloud line to +complete Fig. 60.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 60] + +"All at once, the bright sunlight broke through the mist, and the man +was horrified to find that he was on the very brink of a high +precipice and that a climb of a few more feet would have meant death +and destruction to him. [Draw lines to complete Fig. 61.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 60] + +"Everywhere in life does our pathway lead toward danger. The saloon +would claim the young man. The Light says, 'Whosoever is deceived +thereby is not wise.' Perhaps the temptation comes to be dishonest in +dealing with other people. The Light says, 'All things therefore +whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also +unto them.' Whatever the temptation, whatever the perplexity, however +deep the darkness, this Light is ours, not only to brighten the way +but to warn the evil thing to depart from us. And, having received +this light, let us remember continually that Christ said, 'Ye are the +light of the world. Let your light so shine before men that they may +see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.'" + + + +THE OPEN SALOON DOOR + --Temperance Day + --Destruction + +The Young Man Who Enters Therein Endangers His Whole After +Life. + +THE LESSON--That both the soul and the body are threatened with +destruction by indulgence in strong drink. + +This temperance lesson possesses one of the "surprise" features which +are permissible only when they lose themselves in the greatness of the +truth they present. In preparing for the talk, be sure that your guide +lines are properly placed. You must be provided with a sharp penknife +to use in cutting the "doors" in the picture. The dotted lines for +enlarging the picture are omitted for fear of confusion, but these may +be drawn over Fig. 62, with a hard pencil, and the desired purpose be +accomplished. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"To us who realize the terrible results of the use of strong drink, +and who are trying to do our part in protecting the boys and young men +from the blighting influence of the saloon, there is something most +discordant in the way in which these places parade their false +attractiveness; for many there are who do not realize that they are a +trap which, to enter, may prove fatal to life and hope. + +"The great question is, why can they not see the danger? That is the +mystery, for down through the ages has come the thunder of warning +against this great enemy of mankind. 'Look not thou upon the wine when +it is red,' cries out King Solomon. 'At the last it biteth like a +serpent and stingeth like an adder.' 'Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? +Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that +tarry long at the wine.' + +"One look at the saloon door should cause the young man to recoil in +horror, for he may see there, if he but heed, the very warning of +death. Let him look upon it. Let us see what he may behold. [Draw the +outline of the windows, the sign and the lower horizontal line of +Fig. 62, omitting, for the present, the lettering.] This, let us +suppose, is the front of the saloon which invites him to enter its +doors. [Draw very lightly the lines indicated by the dotted lines A.] +Prominently displayed are the evidences that intoxicating liquors are +sold there. [Draw with red chalk the words, "Dealers in Wine, Porter, +Whiskeys, Bourbon, Etc.," completing Fig. 62. There is no more drawing +to do; the remaining step is taken by the aid of the penknife.] Here +we have the front of the saloon. + +[Illustration: Fig. 62] + +"There is one thing about the drink habit that we can easily +understand, and there is one thing about it that I suppose we shall +never understand. We can realize why the man who is bound by this +awful curse does not break his bonds; how willingly would he do it +_if he believed he could_. But, as we have observed, it is a +mystery why a boy or a young man, with numberless powerful and +convincing proofs before him, will deliberately enter the doorway of a +saloon. But once within, all may seem bright and happy and +joyous--perhaps the victim is led to believe that father and mother +are misinformed, since there seems to be nothing but gaiety there. But +he finds, all too soon, that the liquor which seemed at first to make +little difference in his life, is becoming his master, and never does +he realize it so well as when he tries to free himself. Why and how +has the saloon changed his life? The story is a simple one, and he +should have seen the reason before he entered, because there it is, +written plainly upon the outside of the place which has meant his +ruin. + +[With your penknife cut the paper along the lines A. Do _not_ cut +on the lines B. Fold back the two "doors," at B, as if they were +hinged. It may be necessary to hold them back with thumb tacks or +pins. To heighten the effect it is well to have placed a blackened +sheet of paper beneath the top sheet, so as to produce the effect +illustrated. Add "And Poison Kills!" This completes Fig. 63.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 63] + +"The saloon may try to hide its real self, but every time it opens its +doors to allow one of its victims to come out, it proclaims to the +world that it traffics in _poison_--poison fatal to happiness, +fatal to hope, fatal to health, fatal to all the higher and nobler +aspirations of life. Everywhere is this truth proclaimed. From the +insane asylums come the testimony. The jails cry out that it is +true. The poor houses tell of its blight. Poverty-burdened homes and +broken hearts everywhere proclaim the awful truth. + +"And yet, the land is cursed with these dram shops whose owners care +only for the money which comes to them and which should go to the +advancement of the happiness and the uplift of him who is their +victim. Boys, may we plead with you today never to allow this thing to +enter your life to keep you from being all that God wants you to be?" + + + +THE SIMPLE LIFE + --Haste + --Quietness + +The True Christian Life is the Safe, Sensible, Simple Life. + +THE LESSON--That speed and greed must of necessity end in dire +disaster. + +It is a splendid thing to teach the boys and girls the lesson that +true happiness attends the quiet, yet active life, while the race +after vain things brings only bitterness and disappointment. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +[Because of the details in the drawing of the boat, it is advisable, +we think, to complete Fig. 64 before beginning the talk.] + +"In these days the very air seems filled with the 'speed germ.' +Automobiles whiz here and there, and many a hen which now tries to +cross the country road never gets more than half way. We who live in +town have to keep a sharp lookout or we are apt to share the fate of +many a valuable Buff Cochin or Plymouth Rock. Trains speed along their +glistening rails faster than ever before. Great ships skim across the +ocean in days instead of weeks. The aeroplane, which needs neither +steel rails nor water to glide upon, darts through space still more +rapidly. Everybody seems to be in a hurry, whether he is or not. We +are impatient if the street car is half a minute late, when we are +fully aware that we have plenty of time to reach our destination. + +"Again, we fret and work because we aren't getting rich fast +enough. We get mad at our neighbor because he buys an automobile and +despise him because we can't figure where he got the money with which +to do it. We aren't satisfied with having $50,000. We want +$500,000. And if we should get it, we would be just as dissatisfied +and go chasing after a million. What's the matter with us? Are we +crazy? Some women spend $50,000 a year on their clothes, whose mothers +dressed better, looked better, felt better and were better on $500 or +even a single hundred! In our mad chase after vain things how blind we +are to the things of true worth and usefulness! + +"Every little while we get a shock that ought to bring us to our +senses. When we learn of a terrible railroad wreck, we may expect to +find the blame placed on someone for disobeying orders, or for other +carelessness, but the true cause in nearly every instance is the cry +of the public--of you and me and the other fellow--for speed--more +speed--and still more speed! + +[Illustration: Fig. 64] + +"The greatest marine disaster in the world's history was the staking +of the magnificent White Star line steamship, the Titanic, in April, +1912. [Remove your cover sheet and display Fig. 64.] Larger, faster +and more costly than any vessel ever before built, it left its docks +with its hundreds of passengers and members of the crew--a floating +city in itself. Among the passengers were many whose names are +recorded on the rolls of the world's greatest scientists, financiers, +artists and authors. With eager, happy hearts, they looked forward to +the celebration in New York which awaited the arrival of this foremost +of the world's floating palaces. Alas, it was never to be! The story +is too horrible for repetition. The fatal collision with the great +iceberg--the heroism, the sacrifice, the loss of hundreds of precious +lives as the vessel plunged into the depths of the ocean, are known in +all their horror. [Add lines to produce Fig. 65.] The few in the +lifeboats, looking toward the sinking vessel, heard the ship's band +playing 'Nearer, My God, to Thee,' as the great ship, with its living +load sank from sight. Hundreds of broken hearts still mourn the loss +of dear ones, and all because the big, loaded ship was forced to run a +race with time! Those in charge knew of the presence of the +icebergs. They could have saved the loss by changing their route or +slackening their speed, but the cry was, 'Hurry! Hurry! Break the +record!' + +[Illustration: Fig. 65] + +"Aren't we all doing the same thing! The speed mania possesses us. The +senseless race for worldly wealth and honor blinds us to the presence +of threatened disaster. Let us quickly change our course. Christ our +Master, points the way of safety. He has gone that way himself, and he +asks each humble follower to take the course which He has so plainly +marked out. It is the way of truth and peace. If we take it, we shall +avoid every danger of a spiritual crash, which may mean disaster for +soul as well as body." + + + +WARMTH AND COLDNESS + --Sunday + --Rest + +A Talk on Sunday Observance and Its Relation to the Christian +Life. + +THE LESSON--That the things we think and do on the Lord's day are a +true index of our character. + +The importance of the matter of Sunday observance must not be +underestimated by the teacher whose endeavor it is to mould into true +manhood and womanhood the lives of the boys and girls in her care. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"How many of you boys and girls ever played the game called 'Hide the +Thimble?' Ah, I thought so--nearly everybody. One person bides the +thimble and all the others try to find it; the one who discovers it +first gets the chance to hide it the next time. Sometimes, the one who +has hidden it assists the others to find it by saying, 'You are warm' +or 'You are cold,' depending upon the nearness to or the distance from +the hidden thimble. + +"When we stop to think about it, we find that many things in the world +are just like this game. Your life and mine are a great deal like +it. Sometimes there is something within us that tells us we are +wandering away from God--that tells us we are _growing cold_. And +then, if we heed the warning, we hear the same voice saying we are +_growing warmer_, and we know it to be true for we feel the +assurance that we are nearer to the Master than before. + +"I am going to draw on the paper this morning a thermometer, and with +this thermometer we shall make some tests to see just what it means to +be warm Christians or cold ones. [Draw the thermometer, Fig. 66, +complete, excepting the liquid in the bulb.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 66] + +"Now we are ready to make the test, and we are going to do it by +finding out how we spend our Sundays. Why? Because if you can know +just how a boy or girl or a man or woman spends the Lord's day, you +can tell pretty nearly just what kind of a person that one is in the +sight of Jesus Christ. + +"God gave us this one day for our greatest good. He wants us to use it +as a day which shall make us strong and well, bright and happy. If we +use it any other way, we are sure to make one of the greatest mistakes +of our lives. So certain is God that we must have a day of rest and +upbuilding once in each seven days that he made a law concerning +it. It is one of the Ten Commandments, which says that we must +'remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.' God knows best. When He +establishes a law, _it must not be broken or the one who breaks it +will suffer_. If the child touches fire with his hand, after being +warned by his mother not to do it, his suffering is the result of +doing what the mother forbade. When God tells us to keep His day holy, +every one of us who disobeys that command must suffer. Let us see how +it works. Bishop Vincent says: 'Sunday is ill-spent if it sends us +back to our weekly work irritated, weary and reluctant'--and Sunday +will never do that for us unless we misuse the day which God has given +us. If we spend the day in worrying about our everyday affairs, if we +spend it in chasing around after senseless amusements which weary the +body without enlightening the heart and the mind, if we allow +ourselves to follow paths which lead away from truth and right, then +we will show up Monday morning irritated, weary and reluctant and our +Sunday observance temperature is low indeed. [With red chalk, fill +the bulb and a portion of the thermometer tube, completing Fig. 66.] + +"But Bishop Vincent also says, 'Sunday is well spent if it sends us +back refreshed in body, mind and spirit to take up our duties with new +inspiration of hope, patience and courage.' And we can all do this; +and, as we do it, we shall find a growing delight in it. If we have +been wasting our Sundays--spending them in such a way that when Monday +morning comes we look back upon the Sabbath with regret--let us begin +right now to form habits which shall make Sunday a delight--the +brightest, the most restful, the most interesting, the most refreshing +of all times. And let us be thankful that a day of this kind can come +to us so often. It is then that our Sunday observance temperature will +rise to its highest point. [With red chalk add lines to complete +Fig. 67.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 67] + +"Dr. Lyman Abbott, like many others points out the folly of attending +church services in the morning and then passing the remainder of the +day in noisy or wearisome celebration. He calls it a 'weekly composite +of Thanksgiving and Fourth of July,'--Thanksgiving in the quiet of the +morning, and Fourth of July in the noisy afternoon. + +"Such an observance of the day is displeasing to God who gave us the +day for our greatest good and not to be wasted in idleness and folly. + +"Keeping the Lord's day holy doesn't deprive us of activity, but it +changes the course of our action from paths of wastefulness to fields +of the greatest good. There are many things to do on Sunday, and in +the doing of some of them right at your hands, you will have +discovered the best way for you to get the most out of one of God's +greatest gifts to his children." + + + +THE DESERT and the MOUNTAIN + --Decision Day + --Conversion + +A Decision Day Illustration From the Far West--"Living Water." + +THE LESSON--That as the desert cannot become productive until it +receives the waters of irrigation, so the arid soul, if it is to +become fruitful, must receive the water of life. + +While this illustration is especially applicable to the service of +Decision Day, it is recommended for any occasion where there is +opportunity to speak of conversion or a returning to Christ. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"A gentleman, a little past middle life, was traveling from the east +in a luxurious passenger train crossing one of the far western +states. As he gazed from the car window, his face wore an expression +of interest, which developed into one of wonder and excitement. + +"'Can it be,' he exclaimed, addressing the man who sat with him, 'that +I am passing through the very same country which I saw but a few short +years ago? It seems impossible!' + +"Now, why did it seem impossible? Let us find out. It appears that +when the man traveled the state before, he looked out of the car +windows upon a scene of barrenness and desolation. [As you speak, draw +Fig. 68 with brown crayon. Be sure to leave the mountain peaks white, +but, in order to secure an impressive pastel effect use the broad side +of your brown and your yellow crayons lightly over the entire area of +desert and mountain side.] The earth was dry and parched, and in all +directions, as far as the eye could see, grew only the sage brush--the +mark of the desert. There was no life, excepting an occasional coyote, +and the reflected heat and light made travel almost unbearable. The +monotonous earth was composed of the leveled deposits of the mountains +which the sun had baked for centuries. + +[Illustration: Fig. 68] + +[As you continue, change the scene by covering the brown with +green. Draw the foliage of the trees with green and the trunks with +brown. Life may be added by touching the trees with the red and the +yellow and the orange to indicate the fruit. The thought is to +transform the desert into a place of fruitfulness. This completes +Fig. 69.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 69] + +"But now, all was changed as if by a magic touch. In place of the sage +brush and the broad wastes of baking earth, the man beheld here great +orchards, with hundreds of fruit trees, laden with glistening apples, +oranges and pears, and wide fields were covered with bounteous crops +of grain. The once arid wilderness was now the fertile dwelling place +of many happy families. + +"What had wrought this great change? Nothing but the hand and mind of +man, guided by the maker of the universe, who seems to have stored +rich treasures everywhere for those who will reach out for them. It +happened in this way: + +"One day, a certain man beheld the snow-capped mountains--cold and +forbidding--and then he turned his gaze to the earth--parched and +dead. He knew that if he could only unite the waters of the +snow-capped mountains with the dead earth below them, 'the desert +would blossom as the rose.' Before this thing happened, two-thirds of +the entire area of the United States was a desert waste. But the +waters were brought down, and the great transformation followed. +Gradually, the arid waste is disappearing and the forces of irrigation +are expanding; and the vast western country is unfolding to the +millions who are spreading over its newly-discovered areas of wealth. + +"Let us turn quickly to the application. There are, in every +community, many human deserts--men and women, boys and girls, whose +unproductive lives need the waters of life to make them blossom and +bring forth fruit in His kingdom. Perhaps they have beheld Him only as +a cold, forbidding mountain peak, and if this is true, they should +catch the spirit of the Psalmist who cried, 'My soul thirsteth for +thee; my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no +water is.' + +"In the case of the desert, it is conversion, pure and simple. May the +heavenly waters of His grace come to each one of us today, whether it +be a first decision to be united with Him, or whether it be a decision +to return to Him whom we have deserted. + +"Our duty toward our fellow men conies before us happily in these +words from the prophet Isaiah, 'If thou draw out thy soul to the +hungry and afflicted soul, thou shalt be like a spring of water whose +waters fail not.'" + + + +REFLECTING AND BLESSING + --Helpfulness + --Testimony + +Those Who Are "The Light of the World" Should be a Guide to Those +Who Are in Darkness. + +THE LESSON--That those who have received the light from God's Word +should gladly reflect that light to those about them. + +The central thought of this illustration is the responsibility which +rests upon God's children in the spreading of the brightness of +Christianity to those who must receive it through them. It is +appropriate for many occasions and will fit audiences of all ages in +which the children form a part. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"It is said that once upon a time a teacher asked a boy to tell her +whether the sun or the moon is of the greater importance to the world. + +"'The moon,' replied the boy. + +"'Why,' inquired the teacher, 'do you think the moon is of more +benefit to the world than the sun is?' + +"'Because,' said the boy, 'the moon shines at night when we need it, +but the sun shines only in the daytime when we do not need it.' + +"That was certainly a strange kind of an answer; wasn't it? I will +draw the earth and the moon to show more plainly just how mistaken the +boy was. [Draw the earth circle and the moon circle, and show the +shaded parts as you proceed.] + +"Here we have the earth with one-half in darkness, and here is the +moon with one-half in darkness. This side of the earth is light, while +this other side would be very dark indeed if it were not for the rays +of light coming from the moon, like this: [Draw dotted line showing +rays of light going from the moon to the earth, completing Fig. 70]. + +[Illustration: Fig. 70] + +"Now, then we ask, can the moon shine upon the earth all of itself +without any help? Ah, no--and that is the thing the boy didn't know, +or he never would have answered as he did. Where does the moon get its +light from? Yes, from the sun. I will draw part of a circle to +represent the sun. [Draw the sun.] And this dotted line [draw dotted +line from sun to moon, completing Fig. 71] shows how the sun sends its +brilliant light to the moon, so that the moon may reflect part of it +back to the earth which would be enshrouded in darkness if it were not +for the sun. The moon acts just like a mirror which you hold in your +hand and use to reflect the sun's rays wherever you please. + +[Illustration: Fig. 71] + +"Sometimes the moon gets between the earth and the sun, and it is then +that it does not reflect the sun's light and it is then that we have +nights of inky blackness. + +"I wonder if we have ever stopped to think how very much we Christian +people are, or ought to be, like the moon. Just as the sun warms and +lights everything about it, so the love of God lights and warms those +who turn their faces toward him. We can truly say with the Psalmist, +that 'the Lord is my light and salvation,' but we have not fulfilled +our mission on earth if we are willing merely to receive this light of +happiness, of contentment, of trust and of faith, without reflecting +it in every possible practical way. When Jesus said to those about +him, 'Ye are the light of the world,' he also said, 'Let your light +shine,' and He pictured to His followers their duty of spreading the +light of their blessings to the world of darkness about them. Paul +touched upon the same great truth when he wrote to the church at Rome +that its members should be 'a light to them which are in darkness.' + +"How may we best reflect this light of heaven? It is for each of us to +determine this for himself, being governed entirely by his +circumstances, his abilities and his opportunities. But, first of all, +we must be sure we have received that light as God would have us +receive it. None of us can be perfect, but we can live close to our +great ideal and by learning constantly from Him, we shall find the +light coming to us more clearly and more beautifully as the days go +by. We shall find a deeper sympathy for those who suffer, warmer love +for those whom we may have condemned, and an increasing desire to be +of greater help to those who really need help. When we have reached +this condition--when we have truly received the light--we need give +little thought to the manner in which we shall reflect it. + +"Abraham Lincoln once said, 'I do the best I know, the very best I +can, and I mean to keep right on doing so till the end.' Such a life +sends its rays down through the generations that are to follow, and +its reflected light never fades away." + + + +HIDDEN SUNSHINE + --Missionary Day + --Love + +How the Warmth and Brightness Stored Away Ages Ago Are Now of +Service to Man. + +THE LESSON--That the true missionary spirit is the spreading abroad +of the warmth of God's blessings which we have received. + +The principles governing missions are permeated with the elements of +love, unselfishness and self-sacrifice. This talk may be used, +therefore, as a missionary day topic or on any occasion in which it is +appropriate to dwell upon any of its attributes. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Once upon a time, long before there were any people on the earth and +perhaps before there were any animals or birds or reptiles here, the +world was covered with an immense, luxuriant growth of vegetation. +How do we know it? The geologists tell us so. They have dug deep into +the earth and they have examined what they found, and they have long +ago determined that this condition is true. It would seem that in +those ages of long ago the world must have been very different from +what it is now, for the seas flowed over vast areas which are now +solid ground. Immense trees grew in those times, and the great ferns +and palms and tropical plants grew in portions where now they cannot +grow because it is too cold. I want to draw some trees and bushes to +represent this great growth. [Draw trees and bushes of Fig. 72 in +green.] And also the bright warm sun which, together with the +abundance of water, caused them to grow so profusely. [Draw the sun in +orange, completing Fig. 72.] Then, the geologists tell us, there came +a great change. There were awful volcanic disturbances which caused +the sea to overflow great areas of these trees and bushes and ferns, +and they were buried from sight by a vast expanse of water. Gradually, +though, another change came. The waters receded into lesser areas and +the ground arose from beneath the waves. But the trees and the bushes +and the ferns were gone. Where? They had been buried deep beneath the +mud and sand and stones which the waters had washed over them. Then, +after that, God created the monster mastodon and the mammoth and many +other beasts which have since disappeared from the earth, and finally +man was created to have dominion over the earth. For many centuries +afterward, no one knew that the earth was once the place of immense +trees and ferns and rank vegetable growth which had since been buried +beneath the surface. But one day, some of this old, buried vegetable +matter was found and brought to the surface of the earth. By that time +it was not green any longer. It was hard and compact and looked very +much like black stone. Someone seemed to think it would burn if fire +were applied to it. And, strange to say, it did burn. + +[Illustration: Fig. 72] + +"Thus was coal discovered. + +"Ever since then, we have been digging from the depths of the earth +the coal which was deposited there in those ages of the past. And it +is blessing the world everywhere. [With the broad side of your black +crayon, quickly cover the vegetation of Fig. 72. Then, with broad +strokes of the orange chalk, or with a combination of the yellow and +the red, draw the flames, completely covering the sun, and finishing +Fig. 73.] Coal is now the chief of the elements which bring warmth to +our homes, our places of business and everywhere that we are spending +our time indoors; it is the great factor in our great manufacturing +and transportation enterprises. God laid it all up for us millions of +years ago! + +[Illustration: Fig. 73] + +"Thus do we find a splendid example of what real service is. Jesus +came to the earth to be of service to the world. When he departed, He +left behind Him the command that the gospel should be preached to +every creature--that the light and warmth from His life should not +remain buried in us but that we should take that warmth to every +portion of the earth, that it might, like the hidden sunshine in the +coal, bring life to those in the cold and darkness of heathenism. + +"Not many of us are able to carry this word to foreign lands or to the +distant parts of our own land; but we have an important part in it in +contributing our money, our encouragement and our prayers. + +"And not only may we do this but we may begin right here in our midst +to make our school and church a missionary blessing to those nearby +ones who need its warmth. Remember that 'we are ambassadors, +therefore, on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us.'" + + + +"JOHNNIE APPLESEED" + --Boys' Day + --Devotion + +Story of the Man Who Braved the Dangers of the Wilderness to Bless +the Early Settlers. + +THE LESSON--That the influence of a well-spent life is its best and +most enduring monument. It always adds fame to a good name. + +The story of "Johnnie Appleseed" is dear to the hearts of thousands of +boys and girls throughout America. The writer has listened +interestedly to narratives of the late George W. Brackenridge, of Fort +Wayne, Ind., who remembered clearly the visits of "Johnnie" to his +early home. The story is abundant in good lessons, and ought to be of +special interest on Boys' Day. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"I am going to talk to you today about a man who paddled his canoe +along the rivers in the middle west and roamed the wild forests when +there were very few settlers in that country and while the hostile +Indians brought terror to the hearts of many who had braved the +dangers of the frontier. This sounds like a dime novel tale, doesn't +it? Yes, but it is a true story. It is the story of 'Johnnie +Appleseed.' How many of you ever heard of him? [Govern yourself in the +following remarks, by the acquaintance of your audience with the +subject.] + +"It was in the year 1801, that John Chapman then a young man of +twenty-six years, aroused some interest by appearing with several +sacks of appleseeds which he had procured from the cider mills in +western Pennsylvania. The first orchard he planted was on the farm of +Isaac Stadden in Licking county, Ohio, and, from this beginning, his +enthusiasm developed until he decided to go all through the wilderness +as far as he could reach and plant apple orchards wherever they could +be made to grow. + +"One day a lone settler near Marietta, Ohio, saw a strange craft +floating down the Ohio river. The boatman was John Chapman, but from +that time forward he was known as 'Johnnie Appleseed' by the settlers +between the Ohio river and the Great Lakes and as far west as the +territory which is now the State of Indiana. I will draw a map to show +you where he was and where he went. + +[In the drawing of the "map," which is, in reality, at the last, the +branch of an apple tree, use brown crayon for the "rivers" and green +for the "orchards," carrying the drawings forward as the various +points are mentioned. Strict accuracy has not been observed in the map +drawing.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 74] + +"Here is the Ohio river, where he first appeared. [Draw the Ohio +river. Do not label the rivers. The names are given for your guidance +only.] He had two canoes tied side by side, and they were filled with +apple seeds. He paddled against the stream as he turned his canoe into +the Muskingum river, and then up into the Walhonding river, and then +into the Mohican and finally into the creek called the Black Pork. It +took a long time to go this short distance, for he stopped off every +little while to find suitable places in the wilderness to plant apple +seeds. And these, of course, grew up, in later years, to fruitful +orchards. [Draw the orchards in green. Your drawing will now resemble +Fig. 74.] This was but the beginning. From that time until 'Johnnie +Appleseed' was 72 years of age he devoted his life to converting the +waste wild land into orchards. During the war of 1812 he warned +settlers against the Indians and helped to save many lives. He +dressed in skins and was respected by the Indians, who considered him +a very wise medicine man. Many trips he made back to Pennsylvania, +whenever his seed supply was exhausted. In every rude cabin home which +he visited, 'Johnnie Appleseed' read the Scriptures, and hundreds were +helped to better lives through his teachings. He was noted for his +gentleness and kindness. He died, in 1847, near Fort Wayne, Ind. + +"Here was a man, boys, who devoted his life to helping others. +Dr. Hillis, of New York, has woven his life into a most beautiful +story, 'The Quest of John Chapman,' and others have sung his praises +in verse and narrative. Let us learn from him the lesson of devoting +one's life to making other people happy. I will add a few lines to +indicate all that John Chapman tried to do. [Add apples in red, +converting the map into a branch bearing apples, Fig. 75.] But he did +vastly more than this. He brought brightness into many a heart during +his long years of usefulness, and while he helped to make the Middle +West a fruit-growing country, the real fruit of his work was that of +helpfulness, sympathy and brightness through Christ, who guided him in +his strange work. + +[Illustration: Fig. 75] + +"'A sower went forth to sow.' If the kind of ground in which he sowed +did not bring forth fruit, it was not the fault of the tireless +sower." + + + +PUBLIC SENTIMENT + --Home Department Day + --Unity + +It is a Powerful Element--An Illustration for Home Department +Day. + +THE LESSON--That the earnest prayers and work of the stay-at-home +members are a great inspiration to the active workers in the +school. + +Home Department Day in the Sunday School may be made a most helpful +event in the life of the school and in the lives of those who do not +enjoy the privilege of attending the services regularly. Many who are +usually employed on Sunday, in hotels, boarding houses, railroad +positions, and the like, can ofttimes arrange to attend this session +prepared especially for them. It is assumed that you have been +supplying the members of the Home Department with lesson helps, and +that you have kept in touch with them. Souvenirs may be sent to +invalids and aged people as well as to other members who cannot be +present. The colors are purple and white; the flower, the violet. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"I am going to draw for you today the portrait of one who exerts the +most powerful influence in this community. [Draw the outline of the +head, omitting the facial lines. Fig. 76.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 76] + +"But before I finish the portrait I want you to know that if it were +not for this one we would never have had our beautiful parks or our +magnificent court house. It was he who attended to the paving of our +streets. We would have had no public library but for him. There would +have been no public schools here, and no church spires would be +pointing heavenward, if he had not sanctioned them. We would never +have had our water works system, our sewerage system or our electric +lights. In short, we never would have had any of the great public +benefactions but for him. And I am sorry to add, too, that we would +never have had any saloons but for him.[Footnote: Substitute words +describing local conditions.] [Draw the letters composing the words, +"Public Sentiment," completing Fig. 77.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 77] + +"Yes, this is Public Sentiment. And what is public sentiment? I think +it may be described best as the expression of the will of the greatest +number of people in a community. It is the voice of the majority. It +is only when people want things that they get them. As the years go +by, the people themselves are becoming more and more mighty in +directing the work of those whom they have chosen to represent them. + +"A contractor is not the builder of a public library or a public +school. These are built by the people who are united in sentiment for +a library or a school; the contractor is only the hired man who does +the bidding of the people. The residents of a city themselves bring +into existence beautiful streets, magnificent public buildings and +ideal health conditions; or else they bring to themselves the saloon +and other degrading institutions, all depending upon public sentiment. + +"And so it is with the church and the Sunday School. The human factor +which keeps this school prosperous comes not from the superintendent +or the officers or the teachers alone. Its success is due largely to +the public sentiment outside of the school. It is the sentiment of the +fathers and mothers of these boys and girls, many of whom, while their +hearts are with us, cannot attend the sessions regularly. It is the +sentiment of you who are so loyal to us and whose prayers for the +school have been so effective. It is the sentiment of you members of +the Home Department who have shown in every way the appreciation of +this school. The knowledge that you are with us is a powerful help. + +"During the dark days of the civil war there were two armies fighting +the battles of the North and of the South--the army that was in the +field and the army that stayed at home, the great silent partners in +the awful conflict. The latter was composed largely of the noble +mothers and sisters, whose daily prayers ascended to heaven while +their sad hearts and nimble fingers provided the comforts for the +brave boys at the front. + +"So, with the members of the Home Department, we have come to think of +you as 'silent partners' in the work of our school. And as occasion +develops, we want you to feel that here is your place of +activity--your school. + +"But we shall remember the words of Paul, 'We have many members in one +body, and all the members have not the same office,' and we shall not +forget the important places in our school of those who are enrolled in +our Home Department." + + + +THE BROOK + --Gossip + --Our Words + +The Life Which is Tainted by the Habit of Speaking Unkind Words +Falls Short of Its Highest Mission. + +THE LESSON--That the subtle practice of speaking carelessly +concerning other people poisons many an otherwise worthy life. + +The teacher who leads the child to cultivate the strictest care in his +thoughts and in his words, as they relate especially to those about +him, has helped to lay the foundation of a life of true worth to his +fellows. The tendency is toward a habit of fault-finding criticism +which not only harms the object of the disparaging words, but which +injures and undermines the usefulness of the life of the habitually +unfair critic. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Marion Lawrance, whose influence permeates much of the work for the +advancement of the Sunday School of today, uses a most striking +illustration to show the baneful result of the use of words which harm +those about whom they are spoken. Standing before his audience, he +displays a rose in full bloom. Mr. Lawrance then deliberately destroys +the beautiful flower by removing one daintily tinted leaf after +another until only the bare stem remains and the delicate petals +litter the floor and the speaker's table. During the process, the +speaker explains that none but God could have made such a rose; it +speaks of His love and His power, of His tenderness and of His care +for His children. But any human hand can destroy it. So it is with +that treasure which we call our good name--our reputation among +men. Through the grace of God we may live so true that we deserve the +respect and honor of our fellowmen; and yet, that good name, that +reputation, may suffer irreparable injury at the hands of one who, +through deliberate design or careless habit, speaks words concerning +us which cause us to be misjudged or misunderstood. Says Samuel +Butler: + + "'The feeblest vermin can destroy + As sure as stoutest beasts of prey; + And only with their eyes and breath, + Infect and poison men to death.' + +"Let us illustrate the point by placing on the paper a little +landscape. [Draw Fig. 78 complete leaving the right half of the paper +blank.] We have before us a great, wide river, a stream which forms an +important channel of commerce. Each year, traffic is carried over its +waters which amount to many hundreds of thousands of dollars. Cities +have grown up along its banks; in many ways it has been a wonderful +blessing. Its silent waters flow on and on through the years, blessing +generation after generation of men. + +[Illustration: Fig. 78] + +"But, as we turn from the big silent stream and wander through the +woods our ears catch the sound of falling waters, and then we come +suddenly upon a scene like this. [Draw the second landscape, +completing Fig. 79.] It is a pretty little brook, you say. Yes, it is, +but we smile as we compare the noisy little stream with the mighty +silent river, and our minds dwell upon the fact that they are but +reflections of life itself. Just as the little brook makes more noise +than the big river, so do many people with small minds cause more +agitation and trouble in a community than people whose lives are +governed by the principles of charity, kindness and common sense. + +[Illustration: Fig. 79] + +"Let us watch, therefore, to see that our thoughts as well as our +words are such as to add to the happiness of those about us. Calmness +and carefulness will accomplish this. Let us guard well against the +ill-spoken word, however harmless it may seem. + +"Said one girl to another, 'Don't you think Julia is a splendid girl?' + +"Oh, yes,' responded the other, 'but I have sometimes wondered whether +or not she is always sincere in what she says.' + +"How easy it is to attach a sting to an innocent remark! Our +lightly-spoken words may blight the life of an innocent one, for words +repeated are like the rolling snowball which grows larger as it is +pushed over the fallen snow. As one dog, howling in the night, causes +all the other dogs in town to howl, so we may start a needless alarm +by a single unfair word. + +"Let us praise the good, always, for none--not even ourselves--is +perfect." + + + +THE DECEITFULNESS OF SIN + --Sin + --Allurement + +The Modern Artificial Fishing Bait As an Illustration of +Seductiveness. + +THE LESSON--That sin gains its victims through the most alluring +deception. + +This illustration should prove valuable in presenting to the minds of +boys of all ages the truth of the seductiveness of sin, as the +treatment of the subject brings in a discussion of a sport with which +all are more or less familiar. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"At the beginning of our talk today, I am going to place on the +drawing paper the picture of a fish. [Draw Fig. 80, complete.] It +looks like a very large fish, but, as a matter of fact, it is a very +greatly enlarged picture of a very little fish. In reality, it is a +minnow only about three inches long, the kind which the bigger fish +like for dessert, and which, therefore, are usually pretty careful +where they go. + +[Illustration: Fig. 80] + +"Now, I want to see, by having you hold up your hands, just how many +of you boys like to go fishing? One, two, three--why, nearly all of +you. Some, I suppose are fond of still-fishing--that is to fish from +the bank or from an anchored boat, and not move around very much. And +some like to troll, I suppose--that is to use an artificial bait and +let the line drag in the water quite a distance back of the row boat +as you propel it through the water. And others, perhaps, like to +cast--that is, to throw the bait away out into the water and then +bring it in again by winding up the line on the reel. And some, I +suppose, like to use other methods of catching fish. But I am going to +speak only of the artificial bait which is used by those who troll and +cast. + +"Nearly always, the fisherman buys his artificial bait from a store +which sells all sorts of artificial minnows and other false bait which +have been made by experts. And who are these experts? They are men who +have spent years trying to find out the best way to fool the fish into +believing they see their prospective dinner, when in reality they are +going to their death. One kind of bait is the artificial minnow. The +manufacturer makes a wooden minnow, shaped like the real minnow, whose +picture I have drawn; then he paints it in the colors of the live +minnow, and sometimes he puts on some bright metal which whirls in the +water and attracts the attention of the fish. If the deception were to +stop there, very little harm would be done, but to all this the +manufacturer adds a lot of ugly hooks, sometimes as many as +fifteen. [It is well to draw the lines suggested as the talk proceeds, +and finish by drawing the hooks at this point, completing Fig. 81.] +When this attractive artificial minnow is made to glide through the +water, the fish, seeing nothing of the hooks or else knowing nothing +of their harmfulness, opens his mouth wide and tries to swallow the +bait. Immediately, the ugly hooks catch him, and unless he can tear +loose he is doomed. He is deceived. He finds out his mistake when it +is too late. + +[Illustration: Fig. 81] + +"Sometimes, the fisherman uses a spoon hook or other bait in which the +hooks are hidden beneath some bright-colored feathers or other +material which looks tempting to the fish. The intended victim dashes +after the alluring bait, seeing nothing but the glitter of the bright +metal or the brilliancy of the colors. He loses his life as a result. + +"It seems strange--doesn't it--that fish can be fooled in this way? +And yet, I am not sure but that people are just as foolish themselves, +very often. Ask the drunkard how he happened to reach the low depths +to which he has fallen, and he will tell you that when he, as a young +man, took his first glass, it was in a brilliantly-lighted place +where, it seemed, the air was filled with good fellowship, and he +thought he was happy. At that very moment, he was pursuing the +glittering, attractive bait which later proved to be his utter +ruination. _He had not seen the hidden hooks._ Ask the thief, +confined in his lonely cell, how he happened to become an outcast, and +he may tell you that it started in school when he thought it a very +happy thing to cheat in his examinations and thus acquire the habit of +being dishonest. He did not see the hidden hooks which the evil one +had placed there to deceive and catch him. + +"Jesus wants all the boys and girls to be watchful of the snares of +life and to live so truly that they will easily escape the temptations +which abound everywhere. 'Take heed,' he said, 'Watch ye, therefore, +and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these +things.'" + + + +THE MASK + --Sincerity + --Truth + +Let Us Ask Ourselves Earnestly if We Are Guilty of Wearing It. + +THE LESSON--That the world honors and respects an honest man, one +who does not fear the opinion of those about him. + +We recall the words of Jesus, who, in His Sermon on the Mount, warned +his hearers to "beware of false prophets which come to you in sheeps' +clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves," and we reflect how +applicable are the words in modern times. Everywhere, one must beware +the snares and deceit of the servants of Satan, who, with pleasing +outward appearance, entrap their victims. It is a delight and a +satisfaction, then, to find real truth and sincerity in the earth, and +it is to be found if we but look for it. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"It is said that when a thief wants to rob a house, he tries to find +the home of an honest man. Why? Because he thinks that the honest man, +who never takes advantage of his fellowmen, will be least apt to +suspect that anyone will take advantage of _him_. + +"But the same truth holds good when one honest man seeks to deal with +another honest man. A true man, when he comes to us with any plan of +work or investment may be relied upon to say just what he thinks and +believes. He is dependable. It is a pleasure and a satisfaction, when +we are listening to the words of another person, to know that that +other person is speaking the truth. But not everyone is to be depended +upon in this way. There is another kind of man who tells you something +in apparent sincerity, but when he calls upon the next person he may +tell the story in an entirely different way. Why? Because he believes +that the second person will be better pleased with the revised +version. + +[Illustration: Fig. 82] + +"How often do we find an attractive face which gains our entire +confidence, a face, pleasant to see and agreeable in every way. [Draw +face, completing Fig. 82.] And then, how often are we pained and +shocked and disappointed when something happens which allows us to +look into the real character of the person and we find that his real +self is anything but agreeable and worthy of confidence. [Draw lines +to complete Fig. 83.] Such a discovery, however, should not cause us +to lose faith in our brothers. Truth, character, and a splendid degree +of manhood abound everywhere. + +[Illustration: Fig. 83] + +"Boys and girls, begin now the formation of habits which will make you +strong, honest, worthy men and women. Sometimes you see a man who is +fiery, cross, ill-tempered and surly. Again you will find one who is +fawning, over-polite, subservient and altogether wearisome because, in +trying to make himself agreeable he becomes a bore and a +nuisance. Both of these kinds of men have failed to reach the right +goal of manhood. We must have backbone, firmness and stamina, but we +must be willing to bend sometimes or we are apt to get some pretty +hard bumps when we hold our heads too high. Remember that you can't +please everybody. Sometimes it is best to say 'Yes' when people ask +you to do certain things, and sometimes a flat-footed 'No' is the +thing. Remember that if you agree with everybody who expresses an +opinion, you have the respect of nobody. Think for yourself, but think +carefully. If you choose to grovel at the feet of those about you, you +must expect to get stepped on and run over. Above all, cultivate a +habit of being so straightforward and above-board that no one will +ever doubt your sincerity. Don't wear a mask of sincerity when the +real character is less honorable. To do this is to cheat yourself more +than anyone else, for the deception is ofttimes but thinly veiled. + +"In his early life, in the year 1844, Lord Beaconsfield, said, in an +address before the Literary and Scientific Institution of London: 'A +man can be what he pleases. Every one of you can be what he desires to +be. I have resolved to hold a certain position, and if I live I will.' +It is not known to what position Benjamin Disraeli referred, but he +attained to the highest position possible to any man in England, +notwithstanding that his status as a Jew was a strong barrier against +his progress. On his deathbed he said, 'Nothing can resist a will +which will stake even existence for its fulfillment.' + +"That is determination. Such determination will make any man what he +wants to be. It will enable every one of us to reach his highest +ideal. And may that ideal be to shun the dishonest and seek the honest +life in its every element." + + + +WASHINGTON'S STRENGTH + --Washington's Birthday + --Trust + +Through His Great Trials He Remained Steadfast in His Hold on +God. + +THE LESSON--That trouble either adds to our spiritual strength or +else casts us down, depending on the stability of our character and +our hold on God. + +This illustration, especially useful on the occasion of the birthday +of George Washington, on the 22d of February, is adaptable to the +needs of the younger boys and girls, but its significance may give +hope and strength to the older ones as well. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Boys, how many of you ever flew a kite? Well, that's fine! You will +be able, then, to answer the question I am going to ask you. Now, +listen. If the wind is blowing from the west, which way do you run to +make the kite go up? Yes, you run toward the west, right against the +wind. If you run with the wind, the kite won't go up at all, will it? +[Draw the kite as in Fig. 84; black outline, red tail.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 84] + +"One might think that when a strong wind blew against the kite, it +would be blown away like a piece of loose newspaper; but that isn't +so. And when a gentle breeze increases to a strong, steady wind, the +kite goes higher and higher, PROVIDED it is made of good material, and +PROVIDED, also, that someone holds tightly to the other end of the +string. But if the string breaks, down comes the kite! Why? Because +the very thing which holds it down is the same thing which holds it +up! + +"You may never have thought of it, but each of us boys and girls and +each one of us men and women is a good deal like a kite. When the +winds of trouble and worry blow against us they may cause us to rise +higher or they may blow us down. Today, I want to tell you how George +Washington acted when troubles came to him, and if any man in the +world's history was loaded down with soul-trying troubles it was 'the +Father of His Country.' Listen while I read for you a few sentences +from private letters which he wrote during the Revolutionary war. [It +will be well to have these and other extracts written so you may read +them verbatim.] 'I am wearied almost to death with the retrograde +motion of things, and I solemnly protest that a pecuniary reward of +twenty thousand pounds a year would not induce me to undergo what I +do, and, after all, perhaps, lose my character.' Again: 'Our affairs +are in a more distressed, ruinous, and deplorable condition than they +have been since the commencement of the war,' and he adds that unless +congress comes valiantly to his assistance at once the country will +sink into irretrievable ruin. Again he writes: 'Every idea you can +form of our distresses will fall short of the reality. I have almost +ceased to hope.' These were dark days, and the winds of adversity were +beating mercilessly against the man into whose hands had been placed +the cares of the great struggle for national existence. He was like +the kite bravely battling against the wind. But he was made of good +stuff, and there was a strong hand holding the string, for we read +again from his letters: + +"'How it will all end, God in his great goodness, will direct. I am +thankful for His protection to this time. I have a consolation within +that no earthly effort can deprive me of, and that is that neither +ambitions nor interested motives have influenced my conduct. The +arrows of malevolence, therefore, however barbed and well pointed, can +never reach the most vulnerable part of me; though, while I am set up +as a mark they will be continually aimed.' + +"His trust was in God, and so shocked was he when he learned that the +habit of swearing was growing in the army that he issued a general +order calling upon officers to set the men a good example, and added, +'The practice is foolish and wicked--a vice so mean and low, without +temptation, that every man of sense and character detests and despises +it. We can have little hope of the blessing of heaven on our arms if +we insult it by our folly and our impiety.' + +"No, George Washington was not the man to give way under severe +trials. He was not like the kite whose framework breaks or whose paper +covering is torn by the force of the wind. Under these conditions a +kite must dash to the earth. [Draw the rent in the kite with +black. Remove the drawing from the board, invert it, and then +re-attach it to the board, Fig. 85.] But when the trials came to +Washington he arose in his might to meet them, knowing that God would +be with him. + +[Illustration: Fig. 85] + +"Let us ever remember that God is our strength, just as he was the +strength of George Washington." + + + +"A MERRY HEART" + --Cheerfulness + --Smiles + +To Cultivate the Spirit of Cheerfulness is to Bless and Brighten +Other Lives. + +THE LESSON--That in no way can we serve those about us better than +by the kind of service which reveals the true gladness of the +Christian life. + +The Christian religion is based upon principles which lift us from sin +and its attendant evils of discouragement, unrest, despondency and +suffering, to the higher plane of confidence, hope, praise and love. +It is a religion of good cheer, which God's children must reflect to a +darkened world if they are to fulfill their earthly mission. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"I wonder how many of us are getting too busy or too lazy to smile. I +see some, who were looking pretty solemn before I made the remark +whose faces look a little brighter now--and some have already broken +into a most gladsome smile. I'm glad of it. Smiles, they say are the +least expensive things we can give to other people, and sometimes they +value them more than silver or gold. But how can we smile unless we +feel like it? That's the question. Well, we will feel like it if we +think right things and do right things, living close to the Master, +even if things do go very, very much awry sometimes. The Bible has a +good many things to say about smiles, and it isn't at all guarded in +declaring that smiles are worth a good deal more than words, unless +those words are very carefully spoken. Here is what we find in the +book of Proverbs: 'A merry heart maketh a cheery countenance.' So, we +find, it is necessary to feel happy within before we can show it on +the outside. And then it says: 'He that is of a merry heart hath a +continual feast,' which shows that if we are truly happy, everything +about us will appear brighter and more delightful. Again, it says: 'A +merry heart doeth good like a medicine.' How true this is; you never +saw a sour, gloomy pessimistic person who was in real good health, +while the one who shows the most gladsome face is either in splendid +physical condition or else has risen above his pains and distress in +his appreciation of God's blessings. They are always believing that +'it might be worse." + +"But is this cheerfulness for the sole benefit of the one who smiles? +Not a bit of it. We cannot do evil without harming someone; neither +can we cultivate cheerfulness without proving a blessing to +others. Here, I want to draw for you the picture of a boy who doesn't +seem to have this happy disposition of which we have been speaking. +[Draw the lines to complete Fig. 86.] Perhaps he looks this way most +of the time--it is a bad beginning. We see him here, coming down the +street; perhaps he will meet one of the other boys. Ah, yes, here +comes another boy; and this boy has a merry heart, if we are to judge +from his facial expression. [Draw the second boy.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 86] + +"We have no way of knowing what this second boy said to the first boy, +but we can tell from his face that he has a merry heart. And what +about the first boy? Ah, he, too, has caught it, for his face reflects +the smile of the second boy. [Add line to change the facial expression +of the first boy, completing Fig. 87.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 87] + +"We refer again to the book of Proverbs, and there we find that 'a +word spoken in due season, how good it is!' It must have been such a +word that the first boy spoke to the second. 'A word fitly spoken,' we +read again, 'is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.' But we +must choose the right words to go along with the smile, and the +greatest danger seems to be that we will say too much, for the same +book of Proverbs says that 'he that hath knowledge spareth his words.' +He knows how to choose and when to stop. Let us remember that the +smile counts for more than mere words. The smile is a universal +language understood everywhere on earth. It is the badge of +friendship, and that is the thing which the world craves. + +"A friend of Haydn, the great composer, once asked him how it happened +that his church music was so full of gladness, and Haydn replied, 'I +cannot make it otherwise. I write according to the thoughts I feel; +when I think upon my God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes +dance from my pen.' + +"To the one who needs your smile there is nothing else in all the +world, perhaps, that will prove so life-giving. Many a despondent one +has been thrilled with vital power, lifted, and ennobled by the +knowledge that another heart beats with it in tenderness and +sympathy." + + + +WHAT IS BEST? + --Success + --Work + +Success Means the Constant Employment of Our Best Faculties in the +Noblest of Service. + +THE LESSON--That true success does not depend so much upon what you +get out of this world, as upon what you accomplish for others. + +The magic word, "Success," is before each one of us to inspire us to +larger deeds; but let us not forget that many a rich man has made a +great failure of life, while many a poor man has made a great success +of it. The talk deals with the subject in a commercial way, as an +illustration of success in the truest sense. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Every one of us desires to be successful. But some of us have one +definition of success while others have an entirely different view. +Many are sure that the attainment of wealth is the measure of success; +some are equally sure that the achievement of political or social +honors marks the arrival at the goal of success; and so on. But, no +matter how we may have defined success, many of us who have fallen +short of our ideals declare in the bitterness of disappointment that +we could have reached the top if we had only had the advantages that +others enjoyed; if we had been helped at the proper time, or if we +could have had enough money or strength. + +"Let us take the example of the young man who occupies a high position +in the commercial world. We will draw a picture of him seated at his +desk. [Draw Fig. 88, complete.] This young man is at the head of an +important department of a great manufacturing concern, and there are +rumors that he is about to be advanced to a place of greater +responsibility. He receives a large salary. It is a part of his duties +to direct the work of many men in his department. These men come to +him for instructions. We will draw one of these men. [Draw man to +complete Fig. 89.] What is passing in the mind of the man who stands +here receiving his instructions? This is what he is saying to himself: +'I cannot understand why this other man, who is no older than I am, +should have such a good position, while I must stay in a place of less +importance. He must have a pull.' And he goes away with bitterness in +his heart. + +[Illustration: Fig. 88] + +[Illustration: Fig. 89] + +"The fact is that the man with the lesser position spends his time, +his energy and his talent in pursuing the trivial, temporary things, +the so-called pleasures of life. He is a time-waster. The successful +one has won his way by concentrating his efforts on learning how best +to do his work. + +"Do you ever harbor such thoughts about people who have made good in +the commercial life? Have you ever, for example, thought that the high +place in the world of commerce held by Andrew Carnegie was attained +through some strange chance or luck? If you have, perhaps it might be +well to take a glance at the main points of his early life. In +Scotland, his father was a weaver, whose business was destroyed by the +introduction of power looms. One day, when the father came home, he +said to his boy, 'Andy, I have no more work!' The lad knew what it +meant, and immediately he decided to meet his father's problem to keep +the wolf of hunger from the door. He was then but ten years old. It +was decided to come to America, and here Andrew Carnegie, at the age +of eleven, obtained a place in a mill as a bobbin boy, at $1.20 a +week. He writes as follows concerning the great lesson he learned at +that time: 'I was no longer dependent upon my parents but at last was +admitted to the family partnership as a contributing member and able +to help them. I think that makes a man out of a boy sooner than +anything else.' At the age of fourteen, he was a stoker in the boiler +room of a small factory, and then took employment as a telegraph boy +at $300 a year. When he advanced to a place of greater responsibility +as a telegrapher, he made his first investment in the purchase of an +interest in an express company. While still engaged in this capacity +he met Woodruff, the inventor of the sleeping car, and seeing the +value of the invention he later engaged in its manufacture. From then +forward, as superintendent of the Pittsburgh division of the +Pennsylvania railroad, in the oil fields and in the steel industry of +which he has long been regarded as the king, his rise has been the +result, not of good fortune, but of hard work looking toward a desired +object. + +"The story of the success of the lives of Lincoln, of Moody, of +Mozart, of thousands of the world's great men is the story of work and +hope, of poverty and inspiration. + +"So, in the Christian life, Jesus asks us to cast out of our lives the +pursuit of the vain, transient things and to center our minds and +hearts upon the truest, the loftiest and the best. Success may mean a +most humble place in the world. But the 'pearl of great price' is the +blessing of peace, of faith, of hope and of love which come to him to +whom the Master says, 'Well done.'" + + + +MESSAGES to the CHILDREN + --Cradle Roll Day + --Children + +The Scriptures Are Full of Beautiful Thoughts for Cradle Roll +Day. + +THE LESSON--That God loves a baby; that both the Father and the +Son, through their recorded words, constantly express their love of +the little ones. + +This somewhat "unusual" chalk talk will not fail to accomplish its +object in getting the attention of the children and causing them to +consider some of the especially beautiful thoughts appropriate to +Cradle Roll Day. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"I want to see the hand of every boy or girl who likes to get a +letter. Yes, and you like to get pretty post cards, too; don't you? +And the reason you like to get them is that you know, then, that +someone thinks of you and cares for you. + +"Well, then, on this Cradle Roll day, I am sure we would all like to +get a letter from someone who cares for us, and so, I will first draw +the envelope and then see if there is a message in it for us. [Draw +the envelope on the paper in black outline and then, with the broad +side of your crayon give it an even tinting of pink, light blue or +other dainty color. Then, with your black crayon, address the envelope +to your own school, by revising the wording as here shown. Add the +stamp in brown, and the postmark in black, completing Fig. 90.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 90] + +"Well, here is the envelope. Now, I wonder if there is anything in it +for us. + +[With a sharp pen knife or scissors cut a slit in the paper at the end +of the envelope as if you were opening it. Thrust in your hand and +bring forth a sheet of paper like a letter only much larger--folded to +fit the envelope (Fig. 91). This, of course, is placed there in +advance, beneath the outer sheet, attached with thumb tacks so it will +tear loose readily. The action will arouse much interest.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 91] + +"Well, surely we have something here that looks like a letter or a +message. Ah, yes, it is a message of love to the little ones from the +Savior Himself, for it was Jesus who spoke these beautiful words: + +"'Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the +Kingdom of Heaven." + +"And let us see if there is a message for the little boys and girls of +the Sunshine and the primary classes. Ah, yes, here it is; and it is +from the Bible, too (Eccl. 12: 1), and this is what it says: + +"'Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, when, the evil +days come not nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no +pleasure in them.' And this means that if you are faithful to your +Sunday school and will remember the beautiful things you learn here +and carry them through life with you, you will be more than grateful +in the years that are to come. + +"I wonder if there is anything here to let these boys and girls know +whether God thinks they are worth anything or not. Yes, here is a +message from the Psalms which says: 'Lo, children are an heritage of +the Lord. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children +of the youth. Happy is he whose quiver is full of them!' And so a man +is rich if he has those about him who call him father, and a mother is +blessed in the love of her children. + +"Does the message say anything about how the boys and girls should +treat their fathers and their mothers? Let us see. Yes, it says: +'Honor thy father and mother, that thy days may be long in the land +which the Lord thy God giveth thee.' And again it says: 'My son, heed +the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.' +And then, too, it adds this word: 'Children, obey your parents in all +things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.' + +"And is there a message for us older ones on this Cradle Roll Day? I +believe there is, for I find here this message: 'Except ye become as +little children, ye shall in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven.' + +"And is there a message to the parent which sheds any light on the way +they should treat their children? Yes, here it is: 'The rod and +reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself bringeth his mother +to shame.' When we are boys and girls we must obey father and mother +or suffer punishment to keep us in the right pathway. + +"And is there a message to the grandfathers and grandmothers on this +glad day? I think so, for I find here this message, 'Children's +children are the crown of old men.' + +"Let us remember all of these messages which have come again to us on +this glad Cradle Roll Day." + + + +THE PERFECT LIFE + --Thanksgiving Day + --Perfection + +The Love of God in Our Hearts May Be Perfect, Even Though Our Lives +Fall Short of Perfection. + +THE LESSON--That if we "hunger and thirst after righteousness," as +did the Pilgrim Fathers, our lives, though imperfect, will be well +pleasing to the Father. + +Many of us are discouraged because we cannot, or do not, attain to the +high ideal of life which we find before us. God's Word seems to bring +comfort to the disappointed one by showing him that if he earnestly +desires to attain to the highest ideal, his acts are well pleasing to +God, even though he falls short of his hopes. In using the Pilgrim +Fathers as an illustration, the talk is well fitted to the observance +of Thanksgiving Day, but it is also appropriate for many other +occasions. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Any one of us who wants to find something beautiful about us, needs +only to take a good look. Here, for instance, we may see a tall, +straight tree. [Draw the tree, of Fig. 92.] And over here, nearer by, +we may find a rosebush in bloom. [Draw the bush and rose.] And here is +the sun shining in all its glory. [Draw the sun, using orange. Any +suitable color may be used for the rose. The trunk of the tree should +be in brown and the foliage in green. Draw the distant foliage, +completing Fig. 92.] And as we look upon these things we may think of +them as perfect in every way, because they are all God's handiwork. + +[Illustration: Fig. 92] + +"And yet-- + +"Let us take a closer look. We find that when the tree is cut down for +lumber it is marred by many imperfections, and that a great deal of it +has to be thrown away as useless. Somehow, we are a little bit +disappointed in the tree, for we thought it was perfect. As we turn to +the rose, we are reminded by a sharp pain in our fingers as we examine +it, that the stems are covered with ugly thorns. [Add the thorns.] And +then we notice, too, that many of the leaves on the bush are deformed +and unshapely. As we turn to look upon the sun, we are dazzled by its +brilliance, at first, and then we discover that even this brightness +is clouded by spots which seem to make it imperfect. Then too, as we +look away from it, we find that the sun, in its passage through the +sky not only brightens many a dark corner, but it casts many a deep, +gloomy shadow as well. [Draw the shadow of the tree, completing +Fig. 93.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 93] + +"Well, now, wouldn't it be foolish for us to go about finding flaws in +God's creatures, like this? Ah, yes. But it is just this way that some +of us study our own lives. Just because we don't find perfection +there, we are disheartened and discouraged, forgetting that God's Word +is the authority for the assertion, that 'there is not a righteous man +upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.' But we must not forget +that other assertion which is equally true, namely, that they are +blessed 'who hunger and thirst after righteousness,' and nothing short +of this desire for godliness is pleasing to the Father. + +"We have before us the inspiring, the ennobling example of the Pilgrim +Fathers, who, denied the right to worship God after their own manner +in their home across the seas, made the perilous journey to the new +world to establish here the beginning of a mighty church and a mighty +pattern for all who were to come after them. They were men and women +who hungered and thirsted after righteousness. But were they perfect? +No. It would be impossible to find, in the world's history a life in +which some imperfection did not lurk? Should the discovery of faults +and imperfections in ourselves or in others discourage us from trying +to follow in the footsteps of the Perfect One? Surely not. We should +see in the shortcomings of others an inspiration to live our own lives +more closely to the measure which we know to be right and true. The +knowledge of our own faults and imperfections should make us more +sympathetic, more helpful to others and induce a spirit of comradeship +with those who need a strengthening band on the pathway of life. + +"We know, too, where to take these faults and imperfections of +ours. How often has He answered the prayer, 'Create in me a clean +heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.' To become wearied, +to lie idle and despair because we have not attained to the ideal is +to commit a grievous error. Get busy! In true work for Him is the +surest cure for the trouble. Faulty? Yes. But let us not forget the +truth in Dr. Van Dyke's words, 'the best rosebush, after all, is not +that which has the fewest thorns but that which has the finest roses." + +"Let us not lose heart because of our shortcomings, but give thanks +that we may attain to the highest if we but do His will." + + + +BRING FORTH FRUIT + --Children's Day + --Fruitfulness + +A Children's Day Thought for the Entire School--The Live +Branch. + +THE LESSON--That as the fruit tree fulfills its mission only when +surrounded by proper conditions, so, also, must the child be provided +with the conditions which will help him to bring forth fruit in the +Christian life. + +The illustration here given possesses the unusual qualities of +entertainment for the very littlest children of the school, of +enlightment for the juniors and intermediates and of personal appeal +to the seniors and adults--especially those visitors who may be +attracted on the occasion of Children's Day. The use of the colored +chalk makes the picture especially attractive. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +[Before beginning the talk, draw the bare limb in brown.] "What is +this? A dead branch, did you say? Perhaps. Perhaps not. We are +supposed to be looking at it in the winter time, and, of course, it +isn't real easy at first to tell whether it is dead or merely +sleeping; but if we examine it closely we can tell, because the +leaf-buds are formed in the autumn, and if the limb is alive we shall +find the little leaf-buds there. [Examine the branch.] Yes, the branch +is alive, for the little leaf-buds are clustered everywhere, waiting +to burst forth into full-grown leaves. [As you speak, touch the limb +here and there with green and then draw the clusters of full-grown +leaves.] And here, too, I find some little pink buds, and a little +later they open into pretty flowers, for this is the limb of an apple +tree. [Add the flowers, completing Fig. 94.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 94] + +"And then, as time goes on, we witness another interesting change, +because God intends that the tree shall do more than bear leaves and +flowers. We find that the pretty pink flowers which have filled the +air with their fragrance and gladdened our eyes with their beauty have +gone away, and in their places have come little green apples. [With +green chalk draw the green apples just large enough to cover the +blossoms.] Green apples are good things--to leave alone, so we will +not pick them. We will watch and see them change into something else. +[With red chalk draw the large ripe apples, covering up the green +surface. This completes Fig. 95. If the green doesn't disappear +entirely, it doesn't matter. It is well, however, in drawing the green +apples, to use as little of the color as possible.] And now we have +the ripened fruit of the apple tree. + +[Illustration: Fig. 95] + +"This part of the story is for the little boys and girls. But we must +say a word also to the boys and girls of the junior and intermediate +classes. It is this: That the branch of the apple tree, in bringing +forth in its time the leaf-buds, the leaves, the blossoms, the green +apples and the ripened fruit, has done nothing excepting that which +God planned that it should do. He asks of it no more and no less. +That is its duty. The lesson for us is this: He expects us to do our +full duty, just as the branch of the apple tree has done. He asks that +we bring forth the fruits of service, of sacrifice, of cheerfulness, +of kindness, of love and of humility. He has surrounded us with the +things which make it easy to do this. Let us find out the best way for +us to do it and enjoy real living as we bring forth fruit for Him. + +"And I would also add a word to the seniors and the adults of our +school, as well as to the visitors of the day. We all know that the +branch cannot bring forth its fruit unless it be a part of the tree. +Christ has said, 'I am the vine,' and unless we get the children, +attached to this true vine, their lives cannot bear Christian +fruit. He is our support and our life. Just as the branch must have +the sunlight and the warmth for its development, so must each one of +these children have His love and our love and our help to live +Christian lives. + +"It was the Master who said, 'Herein is my father glorified, that ye +bring forth much fruit' In helping these little ones we are ourselves +bringing forth fruit. I believe that in this service, side by side +with these children in the Sunday school, we shall find our Christian +experiences enlarged and blessed. Let us pray, then, that each of +these precious lives may be 'like a tree planted by the streams of +water, that bringeth forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf doth +not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.'" + + + +"YOUNG MEN, AHOY" + --Temperance Day + --Dissipation + +John B. Gough's Thrilling Word Picture a Remarkable Temperance +Lesson. + +THE LESSON--That we dare not trifle with the devil's poison. + +The world has known no greater foe to intemperance than John +B. Gough. No words of this great leader have left a more lasting +impression than those which he used in his striking picture of the +young men drifting in a boat on the Niagara river. Happily, it adapts +itself to the requirements of a chalk talk. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"The great temperance leader, John B. Gough, devoted the best years of +his life to an earnest endeavor to save hoys from the evil of strong +drink, of which he knew so much through long, bitter experience. +Familiar to all of us, perhaps, is the thrilling word picture of the +young men who launched their rowboat upon the quiet, smooth waters of +the broad Niagara river a few miles above the mighty cataract. [Draw +the boat and the young men, completing Fig. 96. It might be well to +prepare this first scene in advance.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 96] + +"'Now,' says Mr. Gough, as he enters into the narrative, 'launch your +bark upon the Niagara river. It is bright and smooth and still; there +is a ripple at the bow; the silvery wake you leave behind you adds to +your enjoyment. Down the stream you glide; you have your oars, and you +think you are prepared for every emergency--and thus you go on your +pleasure excursion, thinking naught of dangers ahead. Some one cries +from the bank! Hark! + +"'Young men, ahoy!' + +"'What is it?' you ask. + +"'The rapids are below you!' + +"'Ha, ha! We have heard of the rapids below us,' you laugh, 'but we +are not such fools as to get into them. When we find we are going too +fast, we will pull for the shore.' + +"'_Young men, ahoy_!' + +"'What is it? + +"'The rapids are below you!' + +"'Ha, ha! We will laugh and quaff; all things delight us; what care we +for the future? No man ever saw it. "Sufficient unto the day is the +evil thereof." We will enjoy life while we may, and catch pleasure as +it flies. This is the time for enjoyment. It is time enough to steer +out of danger when we find we are going too swiftly with the stream.' + +"'YOUNG MEN, AHOY!' + +"'What is it?' + +"'The rapids are below you! Now see the water foaming all around you! +See how fast you go! _Quick_! QUICK! Pull for your very lives! +Pull till the blood starts from your nostrils and the veins stand like +whipcords on your brow!' + +[At this point, quickly detach the drawing from the board, turn it +one-fourth around and re-attach with thumb tacks; then, add the lines +to complete Fig. 97.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 97] + +"'Ah, it is too late! Shrieking, cursing, blaspheming, over the falls +you go!--and thousands thus go over every year by the power of evil +habits, declaring, "When I find it is hurting me, I will quit." But +these latter do not go by the water way, but by the whiskey way, which +is a thousand times worse! No man today fills a drunkard's grave who +did not once think he could quit--but he found, too late, that he +couldn't.' + +"'Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived +thereby is not wise,' says Solomon, and he might have made it ten +times as strong and still kept within the truth. Everywhere, and at +all times, when a young man starts to do evil, he hears plainly and +clearly the cry, 'Young man, ahoy! The rapids are below you!' It is +the voice of conscience, his true and faithful servant. But, +unfortunately, as the voice is unheeded and bad habits grow stronger, +conscience grows weaker, and, after a while, it cannot serve us at +all, for Satan has taken possession of it. The evil one can do as much +mischief with a man's conscience as he can with his heart. He can +'sear it with a hot iron.' (I Tim. 4: 2.) He can 'defile' it. (Titus +1: 15.) He can kill it. (Eph. 4: 17-19.) And how can a seared, +defiled, dead conscience help him to shun temptation and sin? Many a +man, honest in his dealings with those about him, is dishonest with +himself when he begins to allow bad habits to rule his life and to +allow Satan to defile and kill the conscience which has been provided +to guide him in caring for his own body--the earthly temple given to +him by God as the earthly abiding place of his immortal soul." + + + +VALUELESS THINGS + --Boys' Day + --Ability + +They May Not Remain So if We Give Them Proper Attention--A Thought +for Boys' Day. + +THE LESSON--That our seemingly useless, or even harmful, traits may +prove to be our most valuable talents. + +This little fragment of industrial history should impress a lesson +upon all young people, though it is especially adapted to Boys' Day. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"During the period extending from the time that people first settled +in America up to the time of the civil war those who chose to live in +some portions of the area which are now the states of Pennsylvania, +Ohio and West Virginia selected their land with great care. In some +parts of the land they found a disagreeable kind of oil in the ground +which oozed from the rocks below. When a man bought a piece of ground +he was very careful to find out for sure that there was none of this +oil about the place, and if he did find any of it, it is probable that +he made this fact known: [Draw the signboard and the letters, Fig. 98, +complete.] To him the ground was worthless. + +[Illustration: Fig. 98] + +"It may be that some of the people knew that this oil was the same +kind that the ancient Jews used in the preparation of their cement for +building purposes, and that it was the same that the more ancient +Egyptians used in the preservation of the mummified bodies of their +dead; but, as the Americans did not need oil for such purposes, they +considered the oil a nuisance. At one time, while a man was drilling +for water, he struck such a strong artesian well of oil that it gushed +out all over the ground; then it ran down to a river and caught fire +as it spread out over the swiftly flowing water. The flames spread +down the river and it looked for all the world as if the river was +burning up! + +"They called this oil petroleum--rock-oil. + +"One day, in 1859, after there had been a good deal of talk as to +whether or not this oil was good for anything, Col. E.L. Drake hired +some men to drill a well at Titusville, Pennsylvania. The drillers at +first refused to work for a man who was so foolish as to spend his +money in this way, but, finally, they set at work on the job under the +belief that they were really drilling for salt! But the oil began to +flow, and some men soon learned how to make kerosene out of it. This +took the place of tallow candles, and from that moment the world has +been much brighter. The men kept right on with their experiments, +until now we have not only kerosene, but gasoline, benzine, rhigoline, +naphtha, mineral sperm oil, lubricating oils, paraffins wax, carbon +oil and a variety of medicinal products--all made from this +once-useless petroleum. These discoveries have brought also the +gasoline and oil stoves, gasoline and gas engines and the automobile. +Prom the industry has grown the Standard Oil company, one of the +richest and most powerful commercial enterprises in the world. So now, +in these eastern states, it is vastly different from what it used to +be when a man discovered oil on his land. If he finds oil now, and if +be puts up a sign at all, it is apt to read like this: [Revise Fig. 98 +to Complete Fig. 99.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 99] + +"From this little fact of industrial history I want to draw a lesson, +especially for the boys, today. Perhaps we cannot own any stock in the +Standard Oil company, but we have something just as good, and +better. Perhaps we have found in ourselves what we think is a useless +talent--useless unless we refine it and cultivate it. One day some +people living on a certain street in New York raised a big row because +a small, ragged street boy drew pictures all over their sidewalks with +chalk. To them, he was nothing but a nuisance. However, a prominent +man came walking by one day. He looked at the chalk drawings and knew +at once that the boy had real artistic talent. He became interested, +gave the boy an education and now he is one of America's celebrated +painters. + +"Study yourselves, boys. Do you love music? If you do, and if you have +the talent to become a musician, don't throw away your talent by using +your ability for any low purpose. Make music, like Haydn, who praised +God through every note! + +"Do you like to draw? If you are to be an artist, do not use your +talent for low purposes. Let your work be of a kind to reflect credit +upon you--work which will make other people better for having seen it +and for having been influenced by it. + +"Do you like to speak? Do you plan to study medicine, or law, or to be +a teacher? Whatever your plans may be, based on what you believe your +best talent to be, do not let your talent go to waste like this oil +did for so many years. Treasure it up, refine it, and in whatever +direction God may lead you, you may be sure that you will have ample +opportunity to let your talent bring greater brightness into the +world. And then you, too, would not part with your possession for any +price!" + + + +THE STORY OF A HAT + --Politeness + --The Common People + +A thought for the Thoughtless Who Have But Little Politeness and +Respect for the Common People. + +THE LESSON--That every one who truly fills his high or lowly place +In the world is deserving of respect and honor. + +This story contains a splendid lesson for all of us. There is much in +it to start the boys and girls to thinking of the worthiness of doing +the humble things in life, and of the respect due those whose place +may be more lowly than theirs. True worth is the measure of our value +in the world, whether our work be great or little. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"This morning I am going to tell you 'The Story of a Hat,'--and this +is the hat. [Draw only the hat, A, completing Fig. 100. This is the +same drawing as that of the lower right-hand corner of Fig. 101, +before the face is added.] I don't wonder that you smile. It's a +seedy-looking old hat, isn't it? It looks as if it ought to be burned +up or else dumped in the ash barrel; but, before we do that, let us +hear the story. + +[Illustration: Fig. 100] + +"Once upon a time Mr. Brown, a college president, was passing a +clothing store when he saw, displayed in the window, a hat like this. +[Draw only the hat as in B.] Mr. Brown went into the store and tried +on the hat. It fitted him, and when he came out he looked like this in +his new four-dollar hat. [Add the head of Mr. Brown, completing B.] +Everybody respected the college president and was polite to him. +After a while Mr. Brown's wife told him that his hat was getting just +a little bit shabby--perhaps just a little bit out of style, too. And +so the college president gave the hat away to a poor but respectable +preacher, Mr. Green, and this is the way Mr. Green looked in the hat. +[Draw C complete.] Mr. Green was not a 'D.D.,' by any means, but he +was a good man who was made to suit and fit a certain class of people +who could not have understood the big words of a 'D. D.' Well, +Mr. Green wore the hat for a while, and then he gave it to the janitor +of his church, a man named Mr. Blue. The janitor wore it for a while, +until it looked about like this: [Draw D, complete.] You will notice +that it was somewhat indented by this time, but it was all right for +Mr. Blue and he was glad to get it. There was a man in the town by the +name of Mr. White, who had a job cleaning the streets. He was a friend +of Mr. Blue, and the janitor gave him the hat. This is the way +Mr. White looked in it: [Draw the face under the hat, A; this +completes Fig. 101.] Mr. White had a little cart and a big shovel and +an old broom, and he worked all day sweeping up and carting off the +old paper, the stubs of cigars and everything else which, if allowed +to accumulate, would soon make the streets look disgraceful and the +town unhealthful. + +[Illustration: Fig. 101] + +"And so, we see, this poor old hat had done good service for four +different kinds of men. Remember this--that every man who wore the hat +was a useful man in his place. Each one was a necessary man. We must +have him. Especially is this true of the man who kept the streets +clean, for he, just like the man who collects and takes away the +garbage, helps to keep away the scourge of typhoid fever, and cholera +and other dread diseases, by being willing to do the dirty work and to +wear the old hat. Why, just suppose everybody was a college +president. Who would wash our clothes? Who would scrub our floors? Who +would clean our streets? Who would cart away our garbage? + +"Now, don't you see that the street cleaner and the 'garbage +gentleman' are far more useful than any wealthy man's son who doesn't +do a lick of work, who rides around in an automobile at his father's +expense and who spends his time at night in wasteful or sinful ways so +that he gets to bed at one or two o'clock in the morning and sleeps +until nine or ten o'clock the next day? Why, bless your soul, the +street cleaner and the 'garbage gentleman' are worth a dozen +good-for-nothings like that! + +"Then why look down upon the poor man--the laboring man? Why not be +just as polite and respectful to him as to the college president? God +made them both, and each is filling his place in life. Each man whose +picture we have drawn belonged to a different class of people, just as +God designed they should, and each, if he did his duty in life, had +just as important a place in the community as the other. + +"Abraham Lincoln said that 'God must think more of the common people +than He did of any other kind, because He made so many more of them.' + +"Surely, all this is reason enough for the best of us to be kind and +considerate, respectful and polite toward people whose hats would not +suit us at all!" + + + +OUR COUNTRY'S FLAG + --Flag Day + --Patriotism + +A Little of its History and of its Meaning--Some Interesting +Facts. + +THE LESSON--That loyalty to the flag means the fulfillment of duty +to God and to our fellowmen.~~ + +"Flag Day" suggests a patriotic demonstration, and this talk will +harmonize well with your decorations and the other features of your +program. The talk calls for the drawing of four flags. It is suggested +that you prepare in advance of the talk all four flags of Fig. 102, as +the drawing may require more time than you can spare during the talk. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"We have about us today some of the flags of the United States of the +present time. I believe you will be interested, though, in seeing some +of the flags of our country of earlier days. I will present them to +you. + +"Before the Revolutionary war was begun, and at the time of the +beginning of the trouble, some of the colonies had flags of their own, +and some of them were very curious indeed. However, when General +George Washington took command of the troops at the beginning of the +war it was decided to adopt one flag for all the united colonies, and +so a committee was chosen and a flag like this was designed: [Indicate +flag "a."] These two crosses represented the crosses of St. George +and St. Andrew, and the thirteen stripes represented the thirteen +colonies. You see, they patterned the crosses after the British flag, +because there was no certainty at that time that the colonists would +break away from England. This is the flag that was raised over the +camp of Washington at Cambridge, January 2, 1776. + +[Illustration: Fig. 102] + +"But in 1777, after the colonies had proclaimed the Declaration of +Independence, congress ordered that the flag of the thirteen United +States be composed of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, and +that thirteen white stars in a field of blue be substituted for the +crosses. It was also decided to add one star and one stripe as each +new state was admitted. Congress, then in session in Philadelphia, +named George Washington, Robert Morris and Colonel Ross to call upon a +widow who had been making flags for the government and ask her to make +this first real American flag. And this is the flag that Betsy Ross +made: [Indicate flag "b."] It is said that Betsy Ross suggested that +the stars be five-pointed, as she could fold her cloth so as to make a +five-pointed star with one clip of her scissors. Can you make a +five-pointed star with one clip? Betsy could! [Note: The writer has +seen the simple process described in a sketch of Betsy Ross; it is too +long for repetition here, but a demonstration of the method would be +an interesting innovation.] + +"Well, this flag was carried throughout the remainder of the +Revolution, and it was present at the surrender of Burgoyne and the +fall of Yorktown. But when Vermont and Kentucky were admitted as +states, the flag was changed, so there were fifteen stars and fifteen +stripes, like this: [Indicate flag "c."] + +"This flag waved throughout the war of 1812. It was this flag that +Francis Scott Key saw 'through the dawn's early light,' and which +inspired him to write 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' + +"It was not until 1818 that congress saw that a mistake had been made +and that it would be necessary to confine the number of stripes to the +original number, thirteen, though we have continued to add a star for +each new state. This is the flag of today: [Indicate flag "d."] + +"As we look upon this flag, our hearts grow warm with love for our +country. We honor it and the memory of those who brought it into being +and who died to preserve it for us. I know of no better closing +picture than this, which indicates the true spirit of the patriots who +died beneath its folds upon the fields of battle--a picture which +speaks to us of Him who said, 'Greater love hath no man than this, +that he lay down his life for his friends.' [With heavy black put in +the outline of the cross; fill in with orange, completing Fig. 103.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 103] + +"Boys and girls, what does the flag stand for? _Loyalty to +country_. What does the cross stand for? _Loyalty to Christ_. +Which is the more important? You are not asked to answer--only to +_think_. Being loyal to Christ makes people truly loyal to +country; but, alas, there are many who profane His name while they +pretend to be loyal to their country. It cannot be done." + + + +THE LITTLE ONES + --Cradle Roll Day + --Teaching + +A Word of Appreciation to the Parents on the Occasion of Cradle +Roll Day. + +THE LESSON--That the proper early home training of children for +Christ will save future heartaches and anguish. + +It is well to make of Cradle Roll Day an occasion of profit and +inspiration to the parents of the little ones. Perhaps you don't get a +chance to speak to them very often. Your words to them on this +occasion, when a day has been set aside for the special consideration +of the children in whom their hearts and hopes are centered, will best +serve their purpose if they are directed to make the parents feel sure +that you, also, are deeply interested in their little ones. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"We are delighted today to see so many of our little Cradle Roll boys +and girls--and we are just as pleased to look into the faces of their +fathers and mothers. Why? Well, just because we want these parents to +know that we love their children and that we are grateful to them for +coming with them today to observe this happy time together. + +"We want these fathers and mothers to know that while we are trying to +teach the way of unselfishness and love to these older boys and girls, +and while we are waiting for the time to come when these little +visitors of today will be old enough to be with us regularly, we are +convinced that the home training for seven days in the week is higher +and more lasting than an hour of teaching in the Sunday school under +the best of teachers. So it is with joy that we know that these +parents are beginning with the babyhood of their children to tell them +of Him who blessed the little ones and said, 'of such is the kingdom +of heaven.' We are glad we may look forward to the time when we, in +the Sunday school, may also have a part in this training. + +"Let us hear a little story this morning: Once upon a time a young +lad, while idly spending his time in a grove surrounding his eastern +home, carved with his knife in the bark of a young birch tree three +words which his mother had taught him to say. [As you continue the +narrative, draw the small tree and merely indicate the words and the +heart next referred to, completing Fig. 104.] The first word had three +letters, the second had two letters and the third four letters. And +around them he drew a little heart, as his mother had taught him to +do. And when he had finished it, he ran away to his play and forgot +all about it. + +[Illustration: Fig. 104] + +"Years afterward, when he had grown to young manhood, he returned to +the home which he had not seen for a long time. As he went once more +to the grove, he came upon a birch tree and stopped to look at some +words carved upon its bark, with a heart drawn about them. Memory +carried him back to the days of his childhood--it was the same tree, +grown big and strong, and with it the heart had grown large and the +words were there strong and plain. They could not be removed without +greatly marring the tree. Here are the heart and the words: [Add lines +to revise Fig. 104 to Fig. 105.] As he looked upon the words, they +thrilled him with tender emotions as he remembered that it was his +mother who had taught him this beautiful sentiment. 'If I had written +there an unkind word,' he reflected, 'that, too, would have been as +permanent and lasting.' + +[Illustration: Fig. 105] + +"And now for the application: We are told that some fathers and +mothers, through a false idea of what is of lasting good to their +children, permit them, in their inexperience, to learn to do things in +a way which will mean sorrow and anguish in the end. Of course, I +understand that this could not ever happen to any of these fathers and +mothers and these children! The application is for those who aren't +here! If the boy rebels against school, he will bless, in later years, +the hand which made his attendance compulsory. If he can see no harm +in the use of unkind or offensive words, but is compelled by a loving +parent to turn his mind and his speech to lofty things, he will later +bless that one who saved him from his error. If, in the years when he +has grown through babyhood and childhood to youth, a strong, but +gentle, hand bars for him the way which leads to evil companions and +bad habits, he will praise and bless that restraining hand when the +years of discretion show him how close was his step to the brink of a +fatal precipice. + +"With the same hand which bars the way to wrong must the parent write +the words, 'God is Love,' on the heart of each little one. The clear, +pure truth cannot be told too often. In after years, as memory brings +these children back to your loving arms, back to their little downy +beds, they will be comforted with the realization that the words have +become so deep-seated that nothing can eradicate them, even after +death has closed their eyelids. + +"Some one has described the eyes of a child as 'clear wells of +undefiled thought,' and God forbid that as their eyes are lifted to +ours, full of innocence and confidence, we should give them anything +but the purest, most helpful truth as Christ reveals it to us. We +pledge ourselves earnestly to do this." + + + +THE BURNED BOOK + --Patience + --Adversity + +How Thomas Carlyle's Work of Many Years Was Destroyed in a Few +Seconds. + +THE LESSON--That there is such a thing as success through patience, +and that the Christian should so live that he may rejoice in his +tribulations. + +One of the crying needs of every-day life is the cultivation of +patience. Modern life, with its hustle and bustle, and the +ever-present contest for supremacy in its commercial and social +phases, displays a growing unrest and nervousness. Patience is a rare +quality which should be treasured and nurtured. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Paul once wrote a letter to the church at Rome in which he said, 'We +glory in tribulations, also, knowing that tribulation worketh +patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope +maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our +hearts." + +"But we're not all like Paul. If we had been saying it, we might have +put it this way: 'We despair that we have tribulation, knowing that +tribulations work impatience, and impatience discouragement, and +discouragement makes us feel sure that God doesn't care for us.' +Nevertheless, just the opposite is true, for we know that 'whom the +Lord loveth He chasteneth.' + +"Everybody has trouble. It comes to all of us in many forms. Ofttimes +it is a blessing in disguise. If it were not so, we would not find so +many of God's people afflicted in the ways which the Scriptures +describe. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph and all of the great +leaders of the New Testament, as well as of the Old, had their deep +troubles and sorrows. And it is so today with God's people. + +"Patience is a virtue of which the poets sing. 'How poor are they,' +says Shakespeare, 'that have not patience! What wound did ever heal +but by degrees?' And Milton said: + + "'Patience is more oft the exercise + Of saints, the trial of their fortitude.' + +"So, let us try always to understand, in the midst of seeming great +trouble, that sorrow and trial have their place in our lives. Whether +they are for good or for bad depends largely upon ourselves. + +"I want to tell you the tragedy of a book--a great book. We all know +of Thomas Carlyle's great work, 'The French Revolution.' Of this +wonderful production it has been said that 'It is a history of the +French Revolution and the poetry of it, both in one; and, on the +whole, no work of greater genius, either historical or poetical, has +been produced in England.' I wonder if we have all heard of the +tragedy of this great book and the sorrow which came to its author? + +"One day, after Mr. Carlyle had finished the manuscript of the first +volume of the work, completing the labors of months and years, and +when he felt at last the relief which had tied his hands and his mind +through this long period, he loaned the work to his close friend, John +Stuart Mill. Before Mr. Mill had finished reading the manuscript, and +as it lay scattered about his study, his servant girl, thinking the +pages were nothing but waste paper, gathered them up and stuffed them +into her kitchen fire! Thus was the labor of weary, toilsome years +destroyed in a few moments. On his discovering the awful state of +affairs, it was Mr. Mill's duty to go to Mr. Carlyle's home and break +the news to him. Mr. Carlyle tells of the interview in these words: +'How well do I remember that night when he came to tell Mrs. Carlyle +and me, pale as Hector's ghost, that my unfortunate first volume was +burned. It was like a half sentence of death to both of us. We had to +pretend to take it lightly, so dismal and ghastly was its horror!' + +"If the description of the scene were to end here, I am sure that some +of us would see only the darkest, gloomiest side. Let us make a sketch +to illustrate this condition. [Draw Fig. 106 complete.] But the +description does not stop here. Carlyle goes on to tell how, with the +sympathy of his wife, he began anew the great task, and, although it +was, as he says, a 'job' that nearly broke his heart, the result was a +work superior in every way to his original effort, and he lived to +rejoice in what he once considered to be a disastrous misfortune. He +received ample reward for his overmastering patience! + +[Illustration: Fig. 106] + +"'If thou faint in the day of adversity,' says the Psalmist, 'thy +strength is small.' Remember this: _Every shadow has a light behind +it!_ It is toward that light that the discouraged one must turn his +face. Look up, not down! [Add lines to complete Fig. 107; the hair +covers the face of Fig. 106.] No man ever saw the highest success who +'looked down his nose' when trial came. Look up--like the man in the +picture!" + +[Illustration: Fig. 107] + + + +THE MAN WHO FINALLY HEARD + --Kind Words + --The Tongue + +The Restoration of His Hearing Brought to Him Pain as Well as +Pleasure. + +THE LESSON--That we should guard well our tongues against speaking +careless, useless or vulgar words. + +This illustration is based on the actual experience of an Indiana +man. It contains a lesson of such great importance that a chapter of +one of the strongest moral epistles of the New Testament is devoted to +it. The speaker would do well to study carefully the third chapter of +the Epistle of James as a foundation for the preparation of the talk. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +[Before beginning the talk, draw the picture of the man, completing +Fig. 108.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 108] + +"The face I have here drawn represents the portrait of a certain +business man living in an Indiana town. Ever since the time of an +illness in childhood this man had been almost totally deaf. For years +he tried in vain to secure the aid which would restore to him his +hearing, and during all the period of his boyhood and young manhood he +could hear only those words which were spoken very distinctly, close +to his ear. Sometimes he could hear the thunder and other loud, sharp +sounds. + +[Illustration: Fig. 109] + +"Then, one day, came a great change! All at once he could hear almost +perfectly. What a great time it was! Once more he heard the songs of +the birds as he remembered them when he was a child; the voices of the +members of his family and the voices of his friends, new and strange, +came to him! What had brought the change? It was merely a new +invention, by which a disc containing a diaphragm was placed over his +ear. This diaphragm gathered the sound waves, just as the natural +ear-drum was intended to do. The disc fitted over his ear, like this: +[Add the disc and attachment, as in Fig. 109.] Was he happy? Of +course he was--but soon it was noticed by those about him that his +gladness seemed to fade away from his face and a kind of sadness took +its place. [Add the lines about eye and mouth, completing Fig. 109.] +What was the matter? Some one asked him the question. And this was his +answer--listen to it: 'I never knew, during those years when I could +not hear the sound of people's voices, that those about me were so +unkind to each other!' + +"'Unkind?' + +"'Yes,' said he; 'ever since my hearing was restored I have been +surprised and pained and shocked to hear the careless words--the +harmful words--which people speak concerning even those they love. I +have thought about it a good deal and have made up my mind that the +people do not speak these words because they always mean what they +say, but because they have grown into the habit of saying unkind +things. And the profanity! And the vulgarity! It is dreadful to listen +to the language used by many men, and even boys, in their ordinary +conversation!' + +"The man had spoken a sad, sad truth. How careless we are! Even the +best of us speak too many thoughtless, unkind words--words which may +affect the entire after life of the one who is the subject of their +utterance. And how many there are all about us who blaspheme the name +of their Maker! + +"All of us are familiar with the words of Shakespeare, who, in +'Othello,' causes Iago to say that 'he that filches from me my good +name robs me of that which not enriches him and makes me poor, +indeed.' Our slighting word may rob some one of his good name and +leave him poor, indeed; while the kind word which rises to our lips, +but remains unspoken, may retard the progress of the person of whom we +might have spoken it. + +"'Be not rash with thy mouth,' says the writer of Ecclesiastes; 'let +thy words be few.' + +"'Behold also the ships,' says the Epistle of James, 'which, though +they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned +about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even +so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold +how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a +world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that it +defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature, and +it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts and of birds and +of serpents and of things in the sea is tamed, and hath been tamed of +mankind; but the tongue can no man tame.' + +"Let us, friends, watch this unruly member. Profanity and vulgarity +bespeak a vile mind. We trust that our trouble is not so serious as +this; but we still have the unkind word, the hotly-spoken word, to +watch and to avoid. + +"Boys, watch your thoughts and words. Do you know, I would rather see +a boy with jam smeared all over his cheeks than to hear a 'smutty' +remark from his lips? Yes--the jam wouldn't hurt him a bit, but the +smut can't be washed off. You all want clean hands and a clean +face. It is still more important to have a clean mind and clean +speech." + + + +FLYING + --Perseverance + --Courage + +The Aeroplane Illustrates the Necessity of Going Forward +Constantly. + +THE LESSON--That a life, if it is to progress, must not falter at +difficulties, but push steadily forward. + +This illustration is especially appropriate for occasions which +interest the juniors and their elders, for the reason that anything +which teaches perseverance and steadfastness in the right can be heard +with profit at any time. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +[Because of the details in the drawing of the aeroplane, it may be +well to finish Fig. 110, complete, before beginning the talk. In +opening, refer to the aeroplane in such a manner as will fit your +locality. For instance, if the aeroplane is a common sight, say, "We +have all been interested in seeing the aeroplane glide through the +air," etc., while, if it has not yet made its appearance in your +locality, you may refer to the fact that all have seen pictures of the +modern invention. The talk assumes that the aeroplane has not yet +visited your neighborhood.] + +"Every one of us is interested in flying. Ever since God created man, +man has been trying to learn how to fly, but always, until of recent +years, he has suffered the sad fate of 'Darius Green and His Flying +Machine.' For many centuries man has been impatient because he has had +to stay down on earth or else go up in a clumsy balloon, which is not +a flying machine at all! But, at last, he has made for himself a +machine which he calls the aeroplane and the tedious problem has been +solved quite satisfactorily, so that we now hear a great deal about +monoplanes and biplanes, all of which are classed under the general +heading of aeroplanes. I will draw the outlines of one of these flying +machines. + +[Illustration: Fig. 110] + +[If you have drawn the picture, Fig. 110, in advance, merely indicate +the parts as you proceed; otherwise, point them out as you finish each +part of the machine.] + +"This style of machine is known as the biplane, or two-plane. This +upper part is one of the planes, and this lower part is the other. +This part out in front is that portion of the steering apparatus which +enables the aviator to guide the machine up or down, and this part at +the back is to govern the side-to-side movements. When the machine +stands on the ground it rests on these three little wheels, which are +like bicycle wheels. Here sits the aviator, and directly back of him +is the powerful little engine which sets the propeller whirling at the +rear. The machine makes a noise like a swift-running motor boat or a +motorcycle. It starts off on its wheels and rapidly increases its +speed until it rises from the ground and sails away gracefully into +the upper air. [Your drawing of Fig. 110 should now be complete.] + +"As you look at this machine, remember that it is not at all like a +balloon. The bag of a balloon, filled with gas, is lighter than the +air; hence, it stays up without any trouble, unless the bag breaks and +lets the gas out. But the aeroplane has no gas bag; it is heavier than +the air and it must '_keep a-goin'_' in order to stay up at +all. Remember this: _Just as soon as the aeroplane stops, it comes +crashing to the earth_, like so many have done, bringing death and +destruction. + +[Quickly detach your drawing paper from your board, turn it one-fourth +around and re-attach it with thumb tacks. With broad strokes of black +crayon indicate the foreground. Add lines of mountains, completing +Fig. 111.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 111] + +"You boys know how it is when you are riding a bicycle. Your wheel +will stay upright as long as you are pushing ahead, but as soon as you +stop the wheel topples over. + +"Sometimes the aeroplane engine fails to work, sometimes a wire or rod +breaks, sometimes the aviator attempts to do some fancy flying which +throws the machine out of balance, sometimes the wind prevents the +machine from going on in its course. Any of these things may cause the +machine to stop going forward and come dashing downward. + +"You, boys--and you, girls--and we older men and women, are just like +the aeroplane in one great particular. In the Christian life, in our +work, in our study, in our efforts to do good, we can never hope to +succeed and progress if we let anything stop us in the way. How truly +does all this apply to the Sunday School. The stand-still boy and the +stand-still girl never get anywhere. The stand-still Sunday School is +'a dead one.' Life in Sunday School means movement, forward and +upward. If the flying machine stops, it comes crashing to the +earth. If the Sunday School stops, you will also 'hear something +drop.' And the same thing is true of us as Christians. Praying and +psalm singing are not enough. Backsliding begins when Christians stop +working--stop going forward. If we would _grow_, we must _go_! +And '_keep a-goin'_!" + + + +THE PLUM TREE + --Mothers' Day + --Training + +The Responsibility of Motherhood--A Lesson From the Tree +Nursery. + +THE LESSON--That constant training and cultivation are necessary to +the attainment of excellence in plant life; so, also, the quality of +the child depends upon the home training. + +Mothers' Day, usually observed on the second Sunday in May, is +becoming valued more and more in the Sunday School as the years go +by. Miss Anna Jarvis, of Philadelphia, is said to have originated the +idea in her effort to commemorate the anniversary of the death of her +mother. She saw, in the wearing of a carnation on a selected day, a +silent and beautiful tribute to motherhood throughout the world. The +custom is usually followed by the wearing of a white carnation in +memory of the mother departed, while a colored flower is worn for the +mother living. The school decorations should be worked out in a manner +appropriate to the day and its significance. The present talk deals +specifically with the responsibility of motherhood. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"We have come today with our hearts filled with tender memories of the +mothers who have gone--memories as sweet as these beautiful flowers, +whose whiteness tells of their purity; whose form brings back the +thought of their beauty; whose fragrance tells again of their love, +and whose enduring qualities remind us of their faithfulness and +constancy. + +"But today I want to speak especially of the mothers who are still +with us, those whose hair is tinged with silver, and especially of +those other younger mothers who are today the close companions of +their children. + +"The carnation, as we see it today, was not always such a perfect +blossom--no, it is a development of the modest little old-fashioned +pink. Men everywhere are devoting their attention to the betterment of +things in the vegetable and animal world. We are constantly bringing +forth more splendid cattle and horses and sheep, through cultivation; +Luther Burbank and his followers are giving us each year more perfect +vegetables and fruits and flowers, through scientific cultivation. +Here, for example, we find in a northern state a plum tree bearing +fruit such as no other northern tree ever produced before. We ask the +nurseryman how it is possible to transplant this fruit from a warmer +zone to the region of rigorous Winters. He replies that this tree was +not brought from a warmer locality, but that it grew here from the +beginning. How, then, can it be made to produce such big, splendid +plums when no other tree in the neighborhood grows such luscious +fruit? + +[Illustration: Fig. 112] + +"Here is the explanation: The tree was found growing wild in the +woods. [Draw the branch of Fig. 112 in brown and the leaves in green.] +And there in the woods it produced only very small, sour +plums. [Complete Fig. 112 by drawing the plums in purple or a +combination of red and blue.] But with this hardy tree to work on, the +fruit experts, through grafting and cultivation, have caused it to +bring forth this large, luscious fruit. [With purple, or a combination +of red and blue, enlarge the plums, completing Fig. 113.] These men +knew what to do and they did it. If they hadn't done it, the tree, +worthless and neglected, would still bear little, sour plums instead +of big, sweet ones. + +[Illustration: Fig. 113] + +"Mothers, the nursery of your home is like the nursery where the fruit +experts do their wonderful work. God has placed in your keeping these +little ones. You are the expert whose business it is to see that as +they grow older they will not bear the small, sour fruit of wrong +living, but the large, sweet fruit of Christian service. What they are +to be depends upon _you_. The plum tree in the woods could not +grow better of itself. _It had to have help._ And yet, we find +mothers everywhere who seem to think that the child can develop into a +high type of manhood and womanhood if he is provided with a plenty to +eat and wear and with the public school and the Sunday school at his +disposal. + +"Within the heart of each mother God has implanted a natural knowledge +of how to care for the child. To fail to apply this knowledge is to +fail to reach up to a parent's highest privilege. + +"The Sunday school can do much, but we must remember that home was +God's first and holiest school. It is in the home that the child +receives his first and most lasting lessons. Let us not misjudge the +ability of the child to perceive the inconsistency, the insincerity, +of father and mother. Even though the parent be a teacher in the +Sunday school, her influence cannot be for the best if her everyday +life is wasted in society and unworthy amusements. The father's praise +of the Bible loses its gilt edge when the boy sees him bound up in the +Sunday paper for two hours, without ever finding time to read the +Scriptures. + +"Let us all, therefore, look at this whole matter seriously. We may +each have a part in this training, this cultivating, this producing of +better minds, better hands and cleaner lives, but after all, mothers, +the great responsibility is yours, for it is into your hands that God +has placed the children, these innocent little ones who are a type of +heaven itself." + + + +THE HOLLOW TREE + --Decision Day + --Honesty + +A Figure of the Deceitful Life--The True Test of Character. + +THE LESSON--That stability or weakness of character are revealed +when the supreme test comes. + +This lesson from nature is planned to impress the truth that we must +be worthy "through and through" if we are to endure the test of +character which comes to every life. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"I want every one of you to stop looking at me and to take a good look +at the wood out of which the pew ahead of you is made. [If necessary, +revise the following sentences to meet your immediate conditions.] +You will notice that the pew is made up of a good many pieces of oak +fastened together so nicely that you can hardly tell where they are +joined. And so it is with all this other furniture, and with the +tables and the chairs and the bookcases in your homes and everywhere +else. A great many fine trees must be cut down every day to furnish +the wood from which all the things are made. The furniture +manufacturers buy the wood in the form of heavy lumber. The companies +which sell this lumber to the furniture factories send their expert +tree buyers into the forests to pick out the trees which will make the +best lumber. These tree experts go into the forests and select the +trees that they want, and leave all the others standing. + +"One day a tree buyer, after examining an oak grove, told the owner +that he would pay him a certain amount of money for a specified number +of trees, and at the same time he pointed out the trees which he +wanted. + +"'But,' said the owner of the forest, 'you have overlooked one of the +nicest-looking trees of them all. Don't you want this one?' [Draw +outlines of tree, Fig. 114.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 114] + +"'No,' replied the buyer, 'I can't use that tree. It is no good for +our purpose.' + +"'No good!' exclaimed the owner, 'why that tree looks to me to be a +good deal better than some that you selected.' + +"But the buyer was an expert and knew what he was talking about. To +show the owner what was the trouble with it, he cut the tree down, and +this is what they found: [Remove the paper from the drawing board; +turn it one-fourth around, and reattach to the board; add lines to +complete Fig. 115.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 115] + +"What was the matter with the tree? Yes, it was hollow. The owner was +a much-surprised man. The expert, by tapping the tree with the blunt +side of his ax, could tell that the tree was not solid. We might call +it a deceitful tree because it seemed to be better than it really was. + +"Sometimes we hear of deceitful men and women--deceitful boys and +girls. None of us wants to be called deceitful, for the world has no +more use for a deceitful person than this man had for a hollow +tree. Some may think that they may deceive their friends and everyone +else around them, but they get found out sooner or later, and, worst +of all, their lives are an open book to the Lord, who sees and knows +their every thought. The hollow tree in the forest is certain to come +crashing to the earth when a severe storm breaks. The deceitful man or +woman suffers a like fate when something happens to reveal their +hollow lives to the world. + +"On this Decision day, let us resolve anew to make our lives of solid +worth through and through. We can do it only by coming close to the +Master and learning from Him how to live. + +"The trouble with the tree in the forest was that it was not sound. +It lacked _inside strength_. Even a slight tap of the ax proved +that it was a sort of 'hollow mockery.' It was a good-looking tree on +the outside, but its heart was not right. And isn't that exactly the +case with a lot of good-looking, well-dressed people? Why, even a boy +or a girl can be all wrong at the heart, though their faces and hands +and clothes are clean and beautiful. + +"Have you ever stopped to think what good eyes God has? He never needs +a telescope or a microscope, for 'the eyes of the Lord are in every +place, beholding the evil and the good.' God never beholds evil where +there is none, but no boy or girl, man or woman, can hide it so well +in their hearts but that God sees it and knows it. + +"Let us, therefore, on this Decision day, resolve never to let deceit +come into our hearts, to make our lives hollow, but to be sound in +character through and through." + + + +TWO MEN + --Ideals + --Error + +Know Your Man Before You Trust and Follow Him--Our Ideals. + +THE LESSON--That we cannot safely choose an example of true living +from among those about us, without knowing their real character. + +The accompanying illustration is offered for occasions in which +children--especially boys--above the primary age are interested. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"There are a good many boys and girls who make a great mistake in +trying to imitate older people; and there are a good many older people +who make a great mistake when they try blindly to make a success of +things just because other people have been successful in doing +them. It is a splendid thing to want to have in our lives the same +great governing principles which rule the lives of people who stand +before us as splendid models of character; but it is not always a good +thing to try to do the very same things that these people do. Why? +Because it is likely that we are not cut out to do their kind of work. +The Lord may have intended that we should follow an entirely different +line of effort. Let us, therefore, cultivate in our own lives the +great and true principles which we find in other people, but let us +also try to find out what the Lord wants us to do, and then let us +learn to do it just the very best we can." + +"'Blessed is he,' says Thomas Carlyle, 'who has found his work; let +him ask no other blessing.' The surest way to find what our life work +is to be is to '_do the common things uncommonly well_.' If we do +this, our life-work will be pointed out to us clearly and plainly. +Therefore, in selecting our ideals in life, let us be careful how we +choose." + +[Illustration: Fig. 116] + +"A boy, whom we will call John, worked in a certain downtown +office. Two men used to pass the window of his place of employment +very frequently. These two men were never together--in fact, they were +not even acquainted with each other. Here is one of the men who passed +John's window. [Draw Fig. 116, complete.] He was evidently a laboring +man, as John judged from his clothing, which showed the effects of +hard work of a rather rough character. He carried a dinner +bucket. John merely noticed that this man passed and repassed his +window every day, but gave him very little thought. But there was +another man who did attract John's attention. Here he is: [Draw the +second man, completing Fig. 117.] This second man was always well +dressed, and he appeared to be a prominent business or professional +man. Everything in his appearance and manner attracted the admiration +of the boy. Without knowing it, John was selecting an ideal--he was +studying the people whom he saw and hoping to be unlike this one and +to be like that one. + +[Illustration: Fig. 117] + +"'Some day,' he said to himself, as the prosperous, well-dressed man +walked by, 'when I grow up, I hope I shall be just like him.' He had +chosen his ideal. The man was one of the leading merchants of the +city, and when John found this to be so, he was still more firmly +determined to pattern his life after the man whom he admired. + +"A short time after this John's folks--his father, mother, brothers +and sisters--removed to another part of the city--and to the boy's +great surprise, he found that the merchant lived just a square away. +Incidentally, too, he found that the laboring man lived right next +door to his new home. + +"And, right then and there, John learned one of the great lessons of +his life. What did he learn about the merchant? He learned that the +man, while he looked pleasant and kindly, was selfish and unkind. He +learned that the making and hoarding of money was his great object in +life. He learned that he cared but little for the comfort and welfare +of other people. He learned that the man's family was unhappy because +no home can be happy when selfishness and unkindness reign. + +"What else did he learn? He learned that the laboring man who lived +next door was one of the finest men he ever knew. He learned that the +whole family was so kind and helpful that he soon forgot the merchant +and his fine clothes. He learned that the laboring man with his wife +had been willing to live humbly and work hard in order that their +children might be kept in school and then go to college. He learned +that all the children of the neighborhood liked to go to this man's +home where everybody seemed to have such a jolly good time. He found +that the Bible was opened every day while the Scriptures were read, +and that the dust never had a chance to gather on its covers. + +"So one day, when John was looking out of the window of his place of +employment, and received a happy smile from his friend, the working +man, he said to himself, 'I've changed my mind. Clothes don't count +for everything. To be a good man depends upon what's _inside_, +and not what's on the outside. When I grow up, I want to be just as +good and kind as this man is.' + +"Let us all be careful in choosing our examples of how to live. The +life of Christ is full of help to us, and the lives of many of His +true disciples all about us today give us a practical illustration of +the best way to live." + + + +TREE SURGERY + --Rally Day + --Obstacles + +Trees Need Skillful Surgery More Often Than People Do--Superfluous +Branches. + +THE LESSON--That the life which wastes its strength in unnecessary +efforts cannot bring forth the best fruits. + +That the boys and girls may realize the sad results of forming habits +which hinder growth, development and fruit-bearing, is one of the +great objects of the teaching of the Sunday school. Rally Day is an +especially appropriate time for a lesson along this line of thought. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"A stranger from the East was visiting a large fruit farm in the +celebrated Hood River Valley in Oregon. He was astonished at the size +and appearance of the growing apples, and he asked the owner of the +fruit farm to tell him the secret of such wonderful results. + +"'There is no secret at all,' responded the fruit raiser. 'You see, if +a tree is allowed to do as it pleases, it usually covers itself with a +vast number of useless branches and a multitude of leaves, which are +of no benefit whatever except to make shade; and when a tree has too +many branches and too many leaves it requires so much strength to keep +them alive that there isn't enough left to put into the fruit. In +other words, the tree can't bear large, fine fruit if it must also +support a lot of useless branches and leaves.' This is the way an +apple tree will grow if it is allowed to have its own way. [With the +broad side of your green chalk, draw the general form of the tree, +Fig. 118; add the trunk and dead branches in brown, and draw the grass +with green, and the apples in red, completing Fig. 118.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 118] + +"'Such a tree can never bear good apples,' continued the fruit +man. 'Many of its branches die, because the tree simply can't support +so many limbs and leaves. Notice that all our trees are carefully +trimmed.' And he pointed the visitor to trees that looked like this: +[Draw the second tree, using the same colors as in Fig. 118, +completing Fig. 119.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 119] + +"'It is an absolute fact,' added the fruit man, 'that if we allow +these unnecessary leaves and branches to stay on the tree they absorb +the life and strength which must go into the fruit if we are to raise +fruit for which there is a market. So we cut off everything that can +be spared, and we get the best fruit that grows.' + +"'Then it doesn't all depend upon the place where the fruit is grown?' +observed the visitor. + +"'No,' laughed the fruit man. 'Many people think it does. Of course, +the soil and climate have a good deal to do with it, and we must +prepare the ground and keep it in the proper condition; we must also +keep the trees free from disease and insects. But all of this same +work has to be done, no matter where the apples are raised, and the +soil and climate in many other parts of the United States are just as +good as they are here. _It depends upon the know-how!_ + +"Ah, that's the secret! It depends upon the know-how! + +"Boys and girls, on this Rally Day, let me ask you: Are you going to +let your life grow to be like this tree? [Indicate the first.] Or is +it to be like this one? [Indicate the second.] What do I mean? Here is +what I mean: + +"If a girl lets her thoughts run too much to clothes and parties--if +she worries about her failure to do the things which other girls can +do, and which God never intended she also should do--if she is +spending her time reading books which can never be of any possible +good to her--if she is becoming fault-finding, cynical, cross, +selfish--if she is doing any of these things which keep her from being +what she ought to be--her everyday life _needs trimming_! Think +it over. If you find any useless, strength-absorbing thing in your +life, _cut it out_! + +"Boys, are you letting any bad habits grow into your life? Are you +wasting your time running after pleasures and amusements that don't +help you to be better boys? Are you getting chummy with other boys +whose companionship is not good and whose words and deeds you would +not dare to talk about at home? Are you reading useless books and +letting the treasures of literature on mother's bookshelf at home go +untouched? Are you trying to find short-cuts to success, when there +isn't any such thing, and neglecting the hard work which has brought +honor and success to all who have reached a high place? If you are +doing any of these things, get out the pruning hook of good resolution +and the sharp ax of determination. Trim off all these useless +things. Gather them in a heap and burn them. Then, in the years to +come, will you find that you have been able to be of use to the world +and to yourself. But you can't do it with these useless, +strength-robbing things growing on your lives. Among the last words of +Jesus on earth were these: 'Herein is my Father glorified, that ye +bear much fruit.' If we are to bear much fruit, we must trim off the +useless things and allow the bright sunshine of His approval and +guidance to come into our lives." + + + +THE PILGRIMS + --Thanksgiving Day + --Bravery + +The Story of Their Steadfastness of Faith is an Inspiring Study for +Thanksgiving Day. + +THE LESSON--That the blessings for which we are thankful today have +come through those whose faith was firmly grounded. + +Thanksgiving Day should be one of mixed seriousness and smiles. This +chalk talk endeavors to meet this combination in its treatment of the +character of the Pilgrims and of the present-time observation of the +day which had its beginning in Plymouth colony. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"The thoughts of Christian people all over America should turn today +back to the twenty-second day of December, 1620, when that company of +noble men and women, after battling with the ocean waves for two +months, succeeded in getting ashore from their sturdy little boat, the +Mayflower, and set their feet upon the new land of America. The spot +where these Pilgrims landed is now a sacred one. We call it Plymouth +Rock, and there we may still see the rock on which they are said to +have stepped as they came ashore in their row-boats. + +"Who were these people? And why did they come to America and start a +colony when there were no white people anywhere around; when savage +Indians would surely try to kill them; when they would have to labor +hard to get any food or clothing, and where they would have to live in +the wild country in huts which must be made from the logs which they +would cut out of the forest? + +"The Pilgrims were people from England who loved God and wanted to do +His will. But there were other and more powerful people in England who +punished them and treated them shamefully because they did not choose +to do things which they knew would not please God. Finally, to get +away from their persecutors, they left England and went over to +Holland where they tried to live as they believed the Lord would have +them live. But there they found a rough, immoral lot of people--mostly +sailors and soldiers who had left the service of their country and +were leading reckless lives. For the good of their children, they +decided not to remain there. They then bade farewell to all that was +near and dear to them in the old country and started across the ocean +to America--the new land. After a voyage of two months, they reached +the bleak, rocky coast of Massachusetts, and they knew that if they +could come ashore safely, they could here worship God just as they +wished to do. + +"We are glad that they kept a diary of what they did. When they asked +the London company to let them start a colony in America, they said, +'We verily believe that God is with us and will prosper us in our +endeavors. We are men who will not be easily discouraged.' That's the +kind of people they said they were--the women as well as the men--and +they proved it to be so. After they had signed the constitution which +was the foundation of the first democratic government in America, +while the Mayflower was standing in the harbor, the brave company of +one hundred and one disembarked from their little vessel and commenced +at once to chop down the trees needed to build homes and to provide +fuel, for it was in the dead of winter. Before the first winter had +ended, forty of their number had died from exposure, famine and +disease, but when the Mayflower started back on its return trip to +England, not one of the survivors would go with the ship's crew. +Here, then, on this bleak, forbidding New England coast these Pilgrims +set up the first model government. [Draw a little of the outline of +the New England states at the upper right-hand corner of Fig. 120.] +They had trouble with the Indians, but the Red Men soon came to +respect them, and peace continued for many years. Three years after +they had landed, Governor Bradford proclaimed a great feast--the feast +of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving! How dear the word has grown. 'Out of +small beginnings,' says Governor Bradford in his history of the +colony, 'great things have been produced by His hand that made all +things out of nothing; and, as one small candle will light a thousand, +so the light here kindled hath shone to many, yea, to our whole +nation.' + +[Illustration: Fig. 120] + +"And, today, this nation, the greatest nation on the earth, still +looks back to that first Thanksgiving Day. [Draw the remaining lines +to complete Fig. 120.] + +"To us, it is a day of worship and feasting, and in both of these +features we are following the example of Governor Bradford, Elder +William Brewster, John Carver, Edward Winslow, Miles Standish and the +other brave men and women who formed that early company. We do not go +out into the woods for the wild turkey as they did. But we get the +turkey just the same. I have no doubt that your thoughts of +thanksgiving to God for his many blessings to us this year are already +mingling with thoughts of scenes like this: [Detach the map drawing +from the board, turn it over and re-attach it with thumb tacks. Change +the map into a steaming roast turkey by adding the lines to form the +wing, the "drumstick," the garnishment and the plate. Use black for +all but the garnishment. This completes Fig. 121]. + +[Illustration: Fig. 121] + + + +OUR HANDS + --Visitors' Day + --Conduct + +Actions Sometimes Speak Plainer Than Words--The Important Part +Which Our Hands Play. + +THE LESSON--That we should watch carefully "the work of our +hands." + +This chatty little talk about the hand may be given added force if the +speaker will, by the use of his own hands, illustrate the +characteristics and emotions as they are mentioned. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"Today, we shall talk a little about our hands--these most useful +'tools' that are fastened to the outer ends of our arms. + +"Helen Keller, who has been deaf and blind ever since she was a little +child, tells us that her hands are a splendid substitute for eyes and +ears, and that their sensitive touch has revealed to her the beauties +and wonders of the world. In other words, she _has seen the world +with her hands_! + +"Did you ever see a palmist read a hand? It is a very interesting +thing, although most of us haven't a great deal of confidence in the +revelations which the palmist finds there in the lines and the high +places and the low places. [Draw the hand and put in the lettering of +Fig. 122.] We laugh at the mistakes which the palmist makes, even +though we think seriously of the true things she speaks. + +[Illustration: Fig. 122] + +"But we don't need to go to the palmist to find out what is really in +our hands--to find out the real story they have to tell. Look at your +own hands a moment Let us see what we find there. + +"Are your hands the kind that clasp other hands in warm friendship? +Are they hands which are busy every day doing good, honest work? Are +they hands that take food and clothing to the poor? Are they hands +that stroke the fevered brow? Are they hands that help to lighten the +burdens of other people? Are they hands that lift up the fallen one +and point him to Him who said, 'Come unto me all ye that labor and are +heavy laden?' Are they hands that help wherever and whenever they can? +_Think about it! Are they?_ + +"Or, are they hands that clench in anger? Are they hands that crush +heartlessly? Are they hands that drag downward? Are they hands that +pull backward? Are they hands that strike in cruelty? Are they hands +that slap insultingly? Are they hands that tear pitilessly? Are they +hands that grope into the dark places and do more harm than good? +_Think about it! Are they?_ + +"Or, are they hands that drop lazily? Are they hands that lie idly and +fold indolently? _Think about it! Are they?_ + +"In God's word, we find the hand mentioned more than a hundred +times. It appears constantly as an index of character. So, you see, +there is more than one way to determine character than by the +'reading' of the hand. Of the industrious, busy hand, Solomon says, +'The hand of the diligent shall bear rule, but the slothful shall be +under tribute.' And again of the lazy hand, he says, 'How long wilt +thou sleep? When wilt thou rise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, +a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep.' What a +picture of laziness! + +"But in no other place in the Bible do we find such striking +references to the hand as in the words of the Psalmist. [Insert the +letter "S" in Palmist, changing it to Psalmist.] Here is what the +Psalmist says: 'He that hath clean hands and a pure heart shall +receive the blessing of the Lord. Let the beauty of the Lord our God +be upon us and establish the work of our hands; yea, the work of our +hands, establish thou it." [Add the words, "The Work of Our Hands, +Establish Thou It."] + +[Illustration: Fig. 123] + +"This is a splendid prayer for all of us. To our visitors today, we +extend a warm hand, because you are as welcome as the flowers in +May. Ours is the 'right hand of fellowship,' as Paul calls it. Here we +have a plenty of work for many more hands to do--willing hands, busy +hands, loving hands. If yours are not busy doing a work of uplift and +helpfulness somewhere else, remember that we shall be glad to enlist +them in service here. The lines of E. A. Houseman, in his poem, 'A +Shropshire Lad' show most beautifully the thought which we should give +the work of our hands as the days bring new problems and +opportunities: + + "'Hand,' said I, 'since now we part + From fields and men we know by heart, + For strangers' faces, strangers' lands, + Hand, you have held true fellows' hands; + Be clean, then!--rot, before you do + A thing they'd not believe of you!'" + + + +HELEN KELLER + --Girl's Day + --Seeing + +Her Wonderful Experience Furnishes an Inspiring Thought for Girls' +Day. + +THE LESSON--That our physical eyes cannot reveal to us the precious +gifts of God; only our spiritual eyes can tell us of His loving +kindness. + +Helen Keller's wondrous life is full of inspiration, and a study of it +will provide the conscientious teacher with many helpful thoughts. +The illustration is especially appropriate for Girls' Day. + + +~~The Talk.~~ + +"It happens very often that two people look at the same thing at the +same time, and each of the two sees something entirely different from +the other. Somebody has described the optimist as the man who sees the +doughnut, while the pessimist sees nothing but the hole. So, also, you +and I might see before us nothing but an unshapely block of marble, +while the sculptor would see the angel in the stone! + +"All of this proves to us that what we see doesn't depend upon our +eyesight, but upon the mind which is back of the eyesight and which +receives the impressions not only through the eyes but through the +senses of hearing, tasting, smelling and feeling. In fact, our eyes +and our ears may be tightly closed--we may be totally deaf and +blind--and still we may be able to 'see' things more clearly than we +might with our eyesight and our hearing. + +"We have all heard about Helen Keller, the deaf and blind girl. I will +draw an outline of her portrait. [Draw Fig. 124, with eye closed, +complete.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 124] + +"This young woman has been deprived of her eyesight and hearing ever +since she was a young child, and yet her ability to learn, to +comprehend, to understand, to really 'see,' is developed to such a +high degree that she is advanced far beyond most well-educated people +who possess all of their natural faculties. + +"Helen Keller, now grown to womanhood, has written many wonderful +things. Here is one of them: 'It does not matter where we are, so long +as we have light in our hearts and make our dark ways ring with the +music of burdens cheerfully borne and tasks bravely filled. They say +life is a closed book to me. One critic doubted that I could feel the +sun, and I believe he thought others felt it for me. But if, indeed, I +had so little share as that in the life of others, it would still be +true that + + "'The least flower with brimming cup may stand + And share its dewdrops with another near.' + +"Truly, the eyes of Helen Keller are widely opened to the great truths +and wonderful beauties around her--[change lines of the eye slightly, +completing Fig. 125]--whereas, the eyes of many of us which are +supposed to be wide open, are indeed closed to many of God's +blessings. Many of us have eyes to _see_ with, but we use them +only to _look_ with. Helen Keller has seen more and done more +without eyes than thousands who have perfect eyes, but have never +learned to use them. + +[Illustration: Fig. 125] + +"Helen Keller should be an inspiration to every girl here today. +Learn from her life the great principles of true living. + +"Let us first ask the question, 'How did she reach the high place to +which she has been able to attain?' She must have had help. Yes, she +did have help. It came chiefly through a dear friend, Miss Sullivan, +who, through patient years, sent the light into the darkness which +enveloped the poor deaf and blind girl. And listen: + +"Never, during those years of patient endeavor, did Miss Sullivan +allow Helen Keller to receive a wrong impression of things about her. + +"Stop a moment and think what all that means! Nothing came into the +life of the girl but clear, certain truth. The false, the unlovely, +the hideous, the deceitful, the unreal, never came in to distort her +view while she was a child, and so, when she later learned of the +sadder side of life, through her extensive reading, she was well +prepared to sympathize with those whose youth was not so well favored +as her own. Let us be careful in helping to shape the lives of the +children, never to leave with them a wrong impression which may +require a lifetime to remove from their minds. + +"'It must be,' says Helen Keller, 'that when the Lord took from me one +faculty, He gave me another, which is in no way impossible. I think of +the beautiful Italian proverb, 'When God shuts a door, he opens a +window.' + +"Truly, God has opened a window to let in the sunshine of His love and +care, and this blind girl is one of His brightest children. + +"What an example to the world is Helen Keller! What an example to +every girl who has heard of her great success. Up with a monument to +her memory! Build it high and strong! She has shown the world how +difficulties can be overcome by determination and perseverance, and to +what rugged, lofty heights one may attain, even though he carry the +heaviest of burdens!" + + + +THE STORY OF A KITE + --Conceit + --Vanity + +A Fable Talk to Children About the Ambitious Flier Which Broke the +String. + +THE LESSON--That sometimes the things which seem to be hindering us +and holding us down are the very things which we need to hold us up +and build us up. + +In the days of our grandfathers and grandmothers, the children were +taught from the beginning to perform many household duties which the +children of today know nothing of. Whether it be a cause or an effect, +the truth of the matter is that the modern tendency is to get away +from the home influence and home responsibilities at a very early +age--to break loose from "mother's apron strings." The talk deals with +this phase of modern life. + + +~~The Talk.~~ +~~(By Chas. D. Meigs.)~~ + +"I am going to draw you a picture this morning, and I am wondering +which one of you will be able to tell me first what it is a picture +of. I will go a little slow, so you can all follow every line and +think real hard what it is going to be! [Begin drawing Fig. 126, at +the lines indicating the distant foliage; then draw the tail, and +finally the kite frame and string.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 126] + +"No, no, no! It's not a wood pile! It's not a gridiron! No, it is not +a trap! Where's the boy who said 'kite?' He's the smartie, for he got +it right. Yes--it's a kite, and it was John's kite. + +"One day the wind came up just right for the kite, so John got it out, +called to his chum, Harry, across the street, and said, 'Say, Harry, +come on--let's go out and fly the kite; the wind is just dandy today.' + +"So, away the boys went, and before they reached the open lot three or +four other kids had fallen in line, and they went along to help have +the fun. 'Now, Harry, you take the kite and run out there towards that +old stump,' said John, 'and when I pull the string, you stop and hold +the kite up over your head as high as you can and when I say 'ready' +you let her go.' Away went Harry, and he held up the kite. [Let +speaker hold up a song book, high.] 'Are you ready?' 'Yes.' 'Well, +then, let her go.' And with that, along came a gust of wind which laid +hold of that kite and began to climb right up towards the sky with +it. Higher and higher it went till the kite which was really as tall +as the boy who owned it, didn't look much bigger than his hat But +Harry kept on letting out the string, till the hat looked like a bird +with a great long tail.' [Let speaker here shade his eyes with his +hand and peer and point steadily up towards the sky and occasionally +take a peep at the audience and see the boys and girls also looking up +through the roof at the kite. The writer has so caught them at it many +a time.] Then John looked down to see how much string he had left, +and he let out more and more, and when he looked up at the kite again +he didn't look at it at all--because he could not see it. It was out +of sight! But he knew it was up there all right for he _felt it +pull_! + +"Now, I guess this kite story is a fable, because in fables kites can +talk as well as the boys who fly them. So when the kite got up so +high, the story says that it began to want to talk, and as there was +nobody up there to talk to, it began to talk to itself, and here is +what it said: + +"'My! but ain't I high today? Never got so high in all my life +before. How beautiful the world looks below me! How beautiful the sky +looks above me! Dear me, I can't be so very far from the man in the +moon! I have often heard of him, but have never met him. Gee! I wish +that boy would let go of that string; if he would, I'd go up and shake +hands with the man in the moon and ask him how he is. I just hate to +be _held down_ all the time. I heard Harry say, the other day, +that he didn't went to be tied to his mother's apron string, and that +he'd like to be his own man.' Yes, and I'd like to be my own kite, +too, and then I'd show these boys where I'd go.' And the more the kite +thought of being 'held down,' the madder it got and finally it said, +'If that boy don't let go of that string, I'll _break it_--that's +what I'll do, and I'll go on up to the moon, now see if I don't!' And +with that, the kite gave a sudden jerk--and--_snap went the +string_! + +"And what do you think, children--did the kite reach the man in the +moon? Not much it didn't!' It began to act crazy and silly and drunk +all at the same time! And it wobbled, and wobbled and stumbled and +tumbled and finally it fell in the dirt, battered and broken like +that! [Detach your drawing, reverse it and reattach it to the drawing +board; add the lines to complete Fig. 127.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 127] + +"Now boys, why did the kite fall, when the string broke? Because the +very same _string_ which had _held it down_ was the very same +_thing_ which _held it up_! And now listen--don't you boys +and girls get as silly as the kite was. Don't you jerk, and pull and +tug at your mother's apron string and try to break it, so you can be +'your own man' while you are nothing but a boy or a girl? If you break +that string too soon, you are liable to tumble in the dirt as the kite +did, and go all to pieces as it did; for--don't forget this--the +things which _hold you down_ to Sunday School, to Church, to +Young People's Meeting, to _School_ and to _work_, are the +things which hold you up and lift you up, and keep you up and build +you up into _strong_, hopeful, helpful, useful, happy men and +women. Don't forget what a fool the kite was, and what happened to it! +Go as high as you can in the world but _don't break the string_!" + + + +A STRANGE OLD EPITAPH + --Narrowness + --Broadness + +A Talk to Boys Concerning the Narrow Life and the Broad Life--A +Contrast. + +THE LESSON--That it is all wrong to be satisfied to be a +Mr. Nobody. Do your best and be a Mr. Somebody. + +The boy whose days in school and whose hours of serious thought in the +home have opened his eyes to future years of responsibility, will +drink in the sentiment of this talk and remember the lesson when he +reaches the twists and corners of life's pathway which lies before +him. + + +~~The Talk.~~ +~~(By Chas. D. Meigs.)~~ + +"I am going to tell you today of a very _narrow man_. Suppose we +call him Mr. Slim Jim. Later on, I will tell you about Mr. Broadman, +and ask you which one you would rather be when you grow up. + +[Illustration: Fig. 128] + +"But first, we will turn our minds to a strange old graveyard over in +England, a burying ground where there are a good many old tomb-stones +like this: [Draw Fig. 128, complete]. If you were to walk among these +old gravestones, you would find one there which would make you laugh, +even though you were in a cemetery, because the epitaph, on it is the +funniest you ever saw or heard of. It says: + + "'Here Lies the Body of + John Blank. + He Was Born a Man + But + _Died a Grocer_!' + +[As you speak the words slowly, draw them on the tombstone, completing +Fig. 129.] + +[Illustration: Fig. 129] + +"Did you ever hear anything to beat that? Now, that isn't anything +against grocery men. A grocery man may be just as good a man as the +preacher himself--and just as respectable. We can't get along in this +world without groceries, and we just have to have men who will sell +them to us. Then what was the matter with John? Well, just this: His +business had swallowed him up! He had given it his whole time for +years, and he did nothing else. It was groceries, groceries, +groceries, and nothing but groceries. It was groceries on Monday, +groceries on Tuesday, groceries on Wednesday, groceries on Thursday, +groceries on Friday and groceries till eleven o'clock Saturday night, +and if John went to church Sunday morning, sat on the front seat, and +looked straight at the preacher all the time (so the preacher would +say to himself, 'John seems to be very much interested in the sermon +this morning, bless the Lord'). Ten to one John wasn't thinking of the +preacher or his sermon at all--just only of groceries--or some big +bill he had to buy or pay on the morrow. + +"Now, if the epitaph had said, 'Here lies the body of John Blank; he +was born a man and died a banker,' it would have been just as bad. +Or, if he had died an undertaker, and buried himself, it would not +have been any better. + +"Now, John, Harry, Willie, if you want to be a grocer when you grow +up, _be a grocer_ and a big one--a wholesale grocer if you wish, +and be a _good one_--the very best in town, if you can, but +say--don't let your grocery business _swallow you up_ till you +are _not good for anything else_ but to buy and sell groceries! +Be a _good grocer_, but be a _better, bigger MAN!!_ + +"Perhaps you would like to be a lawyer; very well, be a _lawyer_, +but see to it that you don't _die a lawyer_, and nothing but a +lawyer. Don't let your profession swallow you up, and be bigger than +you are yourself! Yes, be a lawyer, be a judge, if you will; the world +doesn't seem to be able to get along without them--some of them to get +people into trouble and others to get them out of it! + +"Yes, but no matter how big and how good and just a judge you are, be +a bigger, better, juster MAN. + +"Here is another example. We have had Mr. Slim Jim; now let us have +Mr. Broadman--broad-shouldered--broad-backed--broad-minded--big-hearted, +open-pursed MAN--born a man and died a MAN. [Write last seven words on +the blackboard.] Remember this: It is every man's duty to provide for +his family, but it is no man's duty to provide a _million_ for +them and provide nothing for those who are aged and sick and lame and +blind and poverty stricken, and helpless. + +"That kind of charity which 'begins at home' and _stays there_ is +a shame and disgrace to its possessor. It is the kind Mr. Narrow +Minded Slim Jim dispenses! + +"Every man owes some of his time, his talent and his money to the +town, the state, the nation to which he belongs! He gets their help +and protection when needed. Protection and aid perchance in time of +fire, flood or cyclone, and police protection as well. And now let me +close where I begin with the gravestone and the epitaph." [Here draw +picture of grave and gravestone with the epitaph, "Here Lies John +Blank, He Was Born a Man But Died a Grocer."] "Let us read together +once more this strange and curious epitaph, and make up our minds that +no one will ever have a chance to write such a sentiment on _our_ +gravestones." + +Read it in concert. + + + + +INDEX + + +TALKS FOR SPECIAL DAYS. + + Page. +~~Boys' Day:~~ + "Johnnie Appleseed" ........................... 121 + "Valueless Things" ............................ 157 + +~~Children's Day:~~ + "Bring Forth Fruit" ........................... 151 + "Jennie Casseday" ............................. 91 + +~~Christmas:~~ + "The Christ-Child" ............................ 43 + "The Christmas Stockings" ..................... 22 + +~~Cradle Roll Day:~~ + "Messages to the Children" .................... 145 + "The Little Ones" ............................. 166 + +~~Decision Day:~~ + "The Hollow Tree" ............................. 181 + "The Desert and the Mountain" ................. 112 + +~~Easter:~~ + "The Doorway" ................................. 67 + "Easter Lilies" ............................... 55 + +~~Flag Day:~~ + "Our Country's Flag" .......................... 163 + +~~Girls' Day:~~ + "Helen Keller" ................................ 196 + +~~Home Department Day:~~ + "Public Sentiment" ............................ 124 + +~~Lincoln's Birthday:~~ + "A Firm Foundation" ........................... 61 + "True Success" ................................ 37 + +~~Missionary Day:~~ + "Hidden Sunshine" ............................. 118 + +~~Mother's Day:~~ + "Mother" ...................................... 94 + "The Plum Tree" ............................... 178 + +~~New Year's Day:~~ + "Turn Over a New Leaf" ........................ 34 + "New Year's Resolutions" ...................... 97 + +~~Rally Day:~~ + "The Two Flags" ............................... 49 + "Tree Surgery" ................................ 187 + +~~Thanksgiving Day:~~ + "The Pilgrims" ................................ 190 + "The Perfect Life" ............................ 148 + +~~Temperance Day:~~ + "The Key to Failure" .......................... 25 + "The Evolution of the Jug" .................... 79 + "The Keg and the Bucket" ...................... 31 + "Young Men, Ahoy!" ............................ 154 + "The Open Saloon Door" ........................ 103 + "The Heart of the Trouble" .................... 73 + +~~Visitors' Day:~~ + "Our Hands" ................................... 193 + +~~Washington's Birthday:~~ + "If Washington Lived Today" ................... 76 + "Washington's Strength" ....................... 136 + + +SUBJECT INDEX. + +Ability--"Valueless Things" ..................... 157 +Adversity--"The Burned Book" .................... 169 +Allurement--"The Deceitfulness of Sin" .......... 130 +Appetite--"The Key to Failure" .................. 25 +Bravery--"The Pilgrims" ......................... 190 +Broadness--"A Strange Old Epitaph" .............. 202 +Character--"If Washington Lived Today" .......... 76 +Cheerfulness--"A Merry Heart" ................... 139 +Children--"Messages to the Children" ............ 145 +Common People, The--"The Story of a Hat" ........ 160 +Conceit--"The Story of a Kite" .................. 199 +Conduct--"Our Hands" ............................ 193 +Conscience--"The Thief of Character" ............ 88 +Constancy--"The Wounded Tree" ................... 58 +Conversion--"The Desert and the Mountain" ....... 112 +Courage--"Flying" ............................... 175 +Danger--"The Mountain Climber" .................. 100 +Death--"The Doorway" ............................ 67 +Destruction--"The Open Saloon Door" ............. 103 +Devotion--"Johnnie Appleseed" ................... 121 +Diligence--"The Blessedness of Work" ............ 64 +Discouragement--"True Success" .................. 37 +Dissipation--"Young Men, Ahoy!" ................. 154 +Error--"Two Men" ................................ 184 +Evil Habits--"The Cigarette Face" ............... 82 +Faith--"Christopher Columbus" ................... 85 +Fortitude--"A Firm Foundation" .................. 61 +Fruitlessness--"Bring Forth Fruit" .............. 151 +Giving--"The Christ-Child" ...................... 43 +Gladness--"Turn Over a New Leaf" ................ 34 +God's Love--"The Puzzle Picture" ................ 70 +Gossip--"The Brook" ............................. 127 +Haste--"The Simple Life" ........................ 106 +Helpfulness--"Reflecting Our Blessings" ......... 115 +Home Training--"Mother" ......................... 94 +Honesty--"The Hollow Tree" ...................... 181 +Humility--"The Fruits of Riches" ................ 40 +Ideals--"Two Men" ............................... 184 +Industry--"A Busy Life" ......................... 28 +Kind Words--"The Man Who Finally Heard" ......... 172 +Labor--"The Blessedness of Work" ................ 64 +Light--"The Mountain Climber" ................... 100 +Love--"Hidden Sunshine" ......................... 118 +Meditation--"The Thief of Character" ............ 88 +Narrowness--"A Strange Old Epitaph" ............. 202 +Nature--"The Puzzle Picture" .................... 70 +Needy, The--"The Christmas Stockings" ........... 22 +Obstacles--"Tree Surgery" ....................... 187 +Optimism--"The Two Faces" ....................... 19 +Patience--"The Burned Book" ..................... 169 +Patriotism--"Our Country's Flag" ................ 163 +Perfection--"The Perfect Life" .................. 148 +Perseverance--"Flying" .......................... 175 +Pluck and Luck--"A Busy Life" ................... 28 +Politeness--"The Story of a Hat" ................ 160 +Prayer--"Christopher Columbus" .................. 85 +Purity--"The Keg and the Bucket" ................ 31 +Quietness--"The Simple Life" .................... 106 +Reaping--"Seedtime and Harvest" ................. 46 +Repentance--"The Cross" ......................... 52 +Rest--"Warmth and Coldness" ..................... 109 +Resurrection--"Easter Lilies" ................... 55 +Salvation--"The Cross" .......................... 52 +Seeing--"Helen Keller" .......................... 196 +Service--"Jennie Casseday" ...................... 91 +Sin--"The Deceitfulness of Sin" ................. 130 +Sincerity--"The Mask" ........................... 133 +Slavery--"The Evolution of the Jug" ............. 79 +Smiles--"A Merry Heart" ......................... 139 +Sobriety--"The Heart of the Trouble" ............ 73 +Sowing--"Seedtime and Harvest" .................. 46 +Steadfastness--"The Wounded Tree" ............... 58 +Success--"What is Best?" ........................ 142 +Sunday--"Warmth and Coldness" ................... 109 +Teaching--"The Little Ones" ..................... 166 +Temptation--"The Cigarette Face" ................ 82 +Testimony--"Reflecting Our Blessings" ........... 115 +Thoughts, Our--"The Two Faces" .................. 19 +Tongue, The--"The Man Who Finally Heard" ........ 172 +Training--"The Plum Tree" ....................... 178 +Trust--"Washington's Strength" .................. 136 +Truth--"The Mask" ............................... 133 +Unity--"Public Sentiment" ....................... 124 +Vanity--"The Story of a Kite" ................... 199 +War--"The Two Flags" ............................ 49 +Watchfulness--"New Year's Resolutions" .......... 97 +Wealth--"The Fruits of Riches" .................. 40 +Words, Our--"The Brook" ......................... 127 +Work--"What is Best?" ........................... 142 + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Crayon and Character: Truth Made Clear +Through Eye and Ear, by B.J. 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