The Little Gleaner Part 57

SYMPATHY.

"_Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep._"

When childhood's joyous voice resounds With innocent delight, Check not the infant mirth, nor put Those happy smiles to flight.

Add to the joy while it remains, For on in riper years Those eyes, now beaming with delight, May be suffused with tears.

When on the ocean's stormy deep The voyagers are tossed, And seem, in that one stormy hour, To think all hope is lost--

If they secure the haven reach, And lose their fears and cares, While they rejoice their homes to gain, Mingle thy joy with theirs.

And is thy neighbour mourning now The loss of kindred dear?

Then give thy sympathy, and drop Upon the grave a tear.

Or knowest thou an orphan, left To tread this world alone?

Speak words of comfort, lend thine aid, Or take the wanderer home.

Tell of the loveliness and bloom Of Nature to the blind; Tell of the joys of heaven, and thus Shed light upon the mind.

Then sympathize with every one, And the commandment keep-- "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, And weep with them that weep."

M. E. C.

FORWARD INTO LIGHT AND LIBERTY.

"JESUS ONLY."

When Father Chiniquy reached his much-loved people, after he had left the Church of Rome, it was on a Sabbath morning, and they were a.s.sembled for wors.h.i.+p. The bishop had telegraphed to them to turn away their priest, but when they saw him, they received him joyfully, and crowded round him to know what the bishop had really said. Entering the chapel, he told his large congregation how and why he was a priest no longer, a.s.suring them that he would leave them, but not until they bade him depart. All were deeply affected, but no one spoke, and when he again appealed to them to bravely rise and tell him to go away, he saw their countenances beam with love and joy more eloquent than words; and when he offered to remain with them--the free Christian minister of a Christian people, united by the love of G.o.d and His Word--they all arose in token of their approval, and a thousand people left the Church of Rome on that eventful day. And still the movement spread, till nearly all who had loved and followed him as he had gradually taught them the truths of the Gospel, followed him seeking the full light and liberty of G.o.d's Word, leading him, and all who heard of it, to exclaim, "This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes."

As might have been expected, they did not see everything at once. There was a splendid group of statues, representing the Virgin Mary learning to read at the feet of her mother, and before these statues both priest and people had often prayed. Chiniquy longed to remove them, with the pictures and crosses which hung on the walls of the chapel, but was afraid to do it too quickly. One Sunday, however, after preaching from the text, "Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image," he remained behind to pray, and, looking up at the images, he said, "My good ladies, you must come down from that high position. G.o.d Almighty alone is wors.h.i.+pped here now. Your reign has come to an end." A thin, strong, silken cord secured them on their pedestals. He cut the cord, and, as he expected, the very next Sunday, when the people knelt to pray, the images gave a couple of jerks, and then fell down, and were smashed to fragments on the floor, the people laughing, and saying to one another, "How foolish to pray to these idols to protect us, when they cannot take care of themselves!" The other images, crosses, and pictures were soon cleared away.

The most of the people soon learned to reject purgatory, but some still clung to their old belief, and Chiniquy would not too suddenly disturb it. When "All Souls' Day" came round, and collections were usually made for those in purgatory, two boxes were provided--a white one to receive contributions for the widows and the fatherless children, and a black one for offerings for the dead. But those who put money into the black one were asked kindly to say how their gifts could be conveyed to their dead friends, as in every case he had yet heard of, the priests had kept them for their own bread and b.u.t.ter. A general smile followed that announcement, and thirty-five dollars were put into the white box for the living, and nothing at all into the black one for the dead.

So, one by one, all the false doctrines of Rome were renounced, and a few months after, six thousand were banded together under the name of "Christian Catholics."

Rome, however, would not thus easily lose so many of its children, and another bishop thought he would try to win them back again. He appointed a day to visit them, with a number of priests, and found a strong, large platform prepared for his reception, and a great number of people a.s.sembled together to see and hear. As he approached, the American flag was hoisted over the chapel, and the people shouted, "Hurrah for the flag of the free and the brave!" This alarmed the priestly visitors, but Chiniquy hastened to a.s.sure them that they would not be injured, but they, on the contrary, would be received in the most courteous way.

The bishop then alighted from his carriage, the priests gathered round him, and his grand vicar told the people to kneel down and receive their bishop's benediction. No one moved. He repeated his request still more loudly, when some one answered, "Do you not know, sir, that we no longer bend the knee to any man? It is only before G.o.d we kneel"; and all the people said, "Amen."

Forbidding their own beloved Pastor Chiniquy to speak, the bishop then tremblingly addressed the crowd. He was evidently staggered by the people's courage. Having abused the "wicked, rebellious priest" who had led them away from Rome, he concluded by begging them to return to their holy Mother Church, and asked who would guide them in the ways of G.o.d if they forsook the Church of their fathers? After a solemn silence, an old farmer, raising his Bible over his head, exclaimed, "This Bible is all we want to guide us in the ways of G.o.d. We do not want anything but the pure Word of G.o.d to teach us what we must do to be saved. As for you, sir, you had better go away, and never come here any more."

The bishop having failed to gain the people, tried to forcibly prevent Chiniquy from speaking. This was too much for the congregation, and it was only for his sake, and at his urgent request, that they allowed the unwelcome visitors to depart unmolested. They retired, defeated and annoyed, and the bishop soon afterwards became a lunatic.

Thus G.o.d preserved His servant and His people in the hour of trial, and though many other difficulties arose, His Word continued to accomplish His purposes of love and grace; and like another Luther, Pastor Chiniquy, though often in peril and doomed to death, has lived on to a ripe old age, covered and s.h.i.+elded by the shadow of the Almighty. There may we also live and rest.--_Jottings on_ "_The Life and Work of Father Chiniquy_," _by Cousin Susan_.

RARE AND COSTLY BIBLES.

The special feature at the recent sale of the Earl of Crawford's library was the disposal of old and rare editions of the Bible in various languages. The most important lots were as follows:--

The "Bishops'" Bible, a revision of the "Great Bible" undertaken by Archbishop Parker and eight other bishops, black letter, folio, 1568. It is sometimes called the "Treacle" Bible, from the words, "Is there no _tryacle_ [instead of 'balm'] in Gilead?" 70 [sold to] (Quaritch).

Second edition of the German Bible, _circa_ 1466, 86 (Quaritch); first edition of Luther's Bible, 51 (Quaritch); the Mazarin Bible, or the Gutenberg Bible--the first edition of the Bible, and the earliest book printed with movable metal types; a rare and much-sought book, two volumes, printed by Gutenberg and Fust about 1450, 2,650. This book was put up at 695, for which price this particular copy was sold thirty years ago. The book will remain in this country. Sir John Thorold's copy, a few years ago, fetched 3,900. Another Latin Bible, two volumes, first edition, with a date beautifully printed upon vellum, folio, 1462, 1,025 (Quaritch); Biblia Slavonica, the Ostrog edition, 1581, 73 (Quaritch); the Virginian Bible, by John Eliot, with Psalms in metre, two volumes in one, quarto, 1685 and 1680, 40 (Quaritch); first edition of the Welsh Bible, from the Wepre Hall Library, 1588, 60 (Quaritch); Block Book, Apocalypsis Sancti Johannis, forty-eight leaves printed from wooden blocks, in colours, and the xylographic text in brown ink, bound up with other matter in the old oak boards, folio, _circa_ 1430. This rare and curious volume is generally considered as being the second attempt in xylographic printing, the priority being given to the Ars Memorandi. Block books are supposed to have preceded by nearly twenty-five years the discovery of printing with metal types, and the workmans.h.i.+p is attributed to the press of Laurence Coster at Harlem.

This specimen was put up at 100, and after a keen compet.i.tion between Mr. Ellis and Mr. Quaritch, it was secured by the latter for 500. The day's sale realized upwards of 7,000.

A NEW TELEPHONE.

The _Times_ Paris correspondent describes some telephone experiments between Paris and Brussels with a new apparatus known as the "microtelephone push-b.u.t.ton," which he believes to be the most perfect yet produced. As its name indicates, it has the form of an ordinary electric push-b.u.t.ton. When the b.u.t.ton has been pushed in, and has made a sound at the other extremity, it is taken out, and is found to be attached to a long electric wire. There is thus exposed the telephonic plate, which is extremely sensitive, so that when it is necessary to speak at short distances, it is not necessary to come close to the instrument. For communications in the same street, or the same house, the operator places the upper part near himself, and without changing his position he can speak with the correspondent at the opposite extremity. He is not obliged to put his ear to the part which contains the b.u.t.ton and brings back the reply. Thus, for short distances, those who make use of this apparatus speak in their ordinary tone, without changing their customary att.i.tudes. They may sit or walk about, and speak just as if those they are addressing were present. When great distances intervene, in which the speakers and hearers are separated by two hundred miles, it is necessary to come nearer to the apparatus, but without being obliged to speak quite close to it. What makes this apparatus the most successful of telephonic instruments is, that it can be made for half-a-crown, that is to say, for not more than the price of the ordinary push-b.u.t.ton. As it can be fitted to the electric wire of the ordinary ringing apparatus, it follows that it introduces a complete change in our ordinary modes of intercourse. The railway companies are making experiments with this apparatus as a means of communication between compartments of carriages, and it is being fitted up on trial in hotels. The inventor is Dr. Cornelius Herz.

"ASK ON."

(1 KINGS ii. 20; JOHN xiv. 13.)

I hear "a voice from heaven"-- I hear my Sovereign say-- "Ask on" (He speaks to me); "I will not say thee nay."

I would not doubt His word, For truth in Him abides; I would not doubt His power; In Him the G.o.dhead hides.

And since I know He gave Himself, Himself, to move Jehovah's curse from me, I would not doubt His love.

And so I'll breathe my wish To Christ, my King, to-day; And rest me on His word-- "I will not say thee nay."

ISA.

"IS NOT A MAN BETTER THAN AN EGG?"

"Bacon! bacon! bacon! always bacon! Why don't we have eggs sometimes, like we used to?" was the discontented question of a little boy, one morning, as he surveyed a rasher of bacon on his plate.

"May you never get anything worse to eat, my boy, than this nice streaky bacon," remarked his father, looking up from his newspaper.

"Little boys should eat what is put before them, and be thankful that they have food to eat," observed a severe-looking maiden aunt.