The Little Gleaner Part 7

A BIBLICAL DISCOVERY.

Bible students will gladly read the account of a remarkable and interesting discovery sent to the Council of the Egypt Exploration Fund by their explorer, Mr. Flinders Petrie. He has apparently found the remains of a royal palace, mentioned in the Bible as "Tahpanhes," and referred to by the Father of History in his record of the adventures of the first Greek colonists who, six hundred years before the Christian era, settled in a corner of the northeastern Delta of Egypt.

These early Greeks conveyed to their countrymen the wisdom of the Egyptians; and the science, art, and literature of the older civilization was filtered through the artistic Greek intellect to the western world.

Students of Egyptian and Greek history will take deep interest in this discovery. But the finding of the remains of this royal palace appeals to a more numerous and humbler cla.s.s of students.

In the book of Jeremiah the Prophet, from chapter thirty-seven to chapter forty-seven, the reader will find a graphic record of the events that preceded, accompanied, and followed the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. A great portion of the action of this story took place in the country in which Mr. Petrie and his Arab labourers have been at work for some time past.

After the tumults that followed the departure from Jerusalem of Nebuchadnezzar with the captive Jews to Babylon, it was decided by Johanan, against the advice and the prophecy of Jeremiah, to fly into Egypt, the land of King Zedekiah's old ally. The princesses, and the captains, and Jeremiah, were taken across the frontier by Johanan, and hospitably received by Pharaoh Hophra, who installed his guests in the royal residence in Tahpanhes. Jeremiah could not rest even in the stronghold thus provided for himself and his countrymen by the kindness of Hophra, and in the court-yard or square of the royal palace of Tahpanhes he made a remarkable prophecy. Taking great stones in his hands, and burying them in the pavement, the Prophet declared that in that very spot King Nebuchadnezzar would spread his pavilion when he came, with his destroying army, to punish the Jews, and to execute vengeance on their Egyptian allies.

The prophecy, there is every reason to believe, was fulfilled. The Babylonish conqueror invaded Egypt, and burnt Pharaoh's house at Tahpanhes. Centuries have pa.s.sed. The sand of the desert, and the mud of old Nile, have swept over the site of the remarkable prophecy, and about 2,500 years after the death of the Prophet, an Englishman rolls away the encrustations of time. He discovers the bas.e.m.e.nt floor of the old citadel--half prison and half palace. From the ruins he extracts slabs of fine limestone covered with hieroglyphic inscriptions, figures of captives delicately sculptured and painted, iron and bronze tools. In the kitchen he finds pokers, and spits, and broken bottles. The room of the little scullery maid is found almost intact. It contains a recess with a sink and a bench for the ancient pots and pans.

Mr. Petrie's communication, which can be had from the Secretary of the Egypt Exploration Fund, throws a strong light on the wondrous story in the grand old Book which has been for centuries a household treasure in English homes, and will be read with delight by all lovers of the Bible.

EVERY season of life has its appropriate duties.

THROUGH all our troubles, the tangled skein is in the hands of One who sees the end from the beginning. He shall yet unravel all.

THE CHARCOAL BURNER'S STAR.

(_Concluded from page 9._)

Alfred was struck mute with surprise. Even the guide seemed astonished at this unexpected welcome to the hut.

It was not until a minute or two after the voices had ceased that they ventured to approach the entrance. When they did, they saw the charcoal burner standing at the end of a rude table, formed of one broad deal plank, supported by four legs, along one side of which were ranged three boys between twelve and fourteen years old. Books and paper, with an inkstand and pens, were lying on the table. It was a forest school.

The intruders again paused at a sight as unexpected as had been the melody they had just heard. But their footsteps had caught the ears of those within the hut.

"Who goes there?" asked the man, in a calm voice.

"Friends," replied both Alfred and the guide, and the latter added--

"Good evening, Gervais. It is only your friend Michel. I have brought you a gentleman who is very anxious to see you."

"What is your pleasure with me, sir?" asked the charcoal burner, taking off his woollen cap.

"First, to wish you a good evening, Monsieur Gervais; and next, to apologize for my visit."

"Is there anything you wish to say in private?"

"Nothing very important; but----"

"These boys are in your way?"

"Oh, pray do not let me interrupt you! My business here is not of sufficient consequence."

"We have done, sir. Indeed, our evening studies, and more particularly our Scripture readings, have been prolonged rather beyond our usual hour. We have only one more duty to fulfil, which we never omit. You will excuse it, sir."

Without waiting for a reply, Gervais a.s.sumed a serious air. The boys knelt down before the wooden bench on which they had been sitting.

Alfred, and even the guide, followed their example, and the woodman offered up a brief, but solemn evening prayer; after which he pressed affectionately the hands of the young herdsmen, and dismissed them with a kind remembrance to their employers.

"Good-night, Monsieur Gervais!" said the boys cheerfully, and in an instant they were all leaping up the heights beyond the fir trees, which soon hid them from the sight of those who remained behind.

"I expected to find you alone, Monsieur Gervais," said Alfred, "and I wished to put a question to you which is now very plainly answered by the scene I have just witnessed. Two hours ago, I was with a party of friends in the plain below, at some distance from this mountain. At nightfall, when we saw the light of your furnace beginning to s.h.i.+ne, we said among ourselves, as we looked, with no small degree of interest, upon this earthly star, as it seemed to us, 'What can the man be doing who is watching by the side of this fire?' You see, sir, that I am young, and you know that, at my age, good-humoured frolics are not uncommon. 'I will soon know,' I said. Well, I mounted my horse immediately, and rode at full speed to the foot of the mountain. And now that I am here, I find that I have reason to rejoice in my freak, Monsieur Gervais, since it has made me the witness of a most interesting scene. These pens and paper, and these books--this one in particular--afford sufficient evidence of the manner in which you have pa.s.sed the evening. Here, to my surprise, I have found, at this late hour, in the deep recesses of the woods, on a wild and lofty mountain, a school for useful learning in general, but more especially, as the closing of the scene has informed me, for the most important of all knowledge--that of the Creator who made, of the Son who redeemed, and of the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us. You pa.s.s your evenings in pointing out to these boys, who might otherwise be running wild along the mountains and through the forests, like the beasts that perish, the only way that leads to everlasting life. May I ask if you have any particular interest in them? Are they your children, or are they employed by you in your business?"

"No, sir," said the charcoal burner; "I am neither their father nor their master. Alas! they have but one Father, which is in heaven. They are orphans, sir, and are employed by the herdsmen. They remain here for several months in the year, to a.s.sist in tending their cattle and their goats, which are kept during the summer in the mountain pastures. They are therefore serving an apprentices.h.i.+p to the line of life for which they are destined. But there are other things which are needful for them, as well as learning to look after cows, and sheep, and goats; and one thing more needful than all the rest, which they might learn to neglect, were they left to themselves, without some one to lead them in the right path, and to speak to them of the faith and love of the Lord Jesus. It is true they are here far removed from the temptations which they would meet with in towns, and even in villages; but Satan has his snares in all parts--in the wilderness, where he dared to tempt the Son of G.o.d Himself, as well as in the city, where, they say, his traps are set so thickly that it is impossible to avoid them, unless the light of G.o.d's Holy Spirit is s.h.i.+ning on our path. But even here, had he no other means of leading them astray, they might fall, by his devices, into the worst of sins--the forgetfulness of G.o.d, and all they owe to Him. The condition, then, of these poor boys has interested me very greatly. I have prevailed upon their masters to let them come to me for two hours every evening, as soon as the cows and goats are milked, and the sheep are in the folds, when I endeavour, with G.o.d's help, to teach them to read and write, and cast up an account; but, above all, to seek to find out the Lord in His holy Word, and to pray to Him. For myself, too, it is a profitable as well as a cheerful occupation in this solitude. I wish, indeed, that I were able to have them longer with me each day, but that our labours will not allow of. On Sundays, indeed, they have rather less to do, and we take advantage of this to devote more time to the service of G.o.d."

"_Rather_ less to do on Sundays!" said Alfred. "Is the Lord's Day, then, made only partially a day of rest?"

"Sir," replied Gervais, "there are works of _absolute necessity_ which require our attention, here in the mountains, nearly as much on the Lord's Day as on the other days of the week. We do not cut wood on the Sabbath Day, but my fire must not be allowed to go out. It must be kept constantly burning till the operation is complete. So far, indeed, it affords a lesson of holy instruction to my young pupils as well as myself, and shows us the necessity of the flame of Christian love, and faith, and hope being kept alive in our hearts, even when pursuing our daily occupations. Then those who have the charge of cattle and sheep must attend to their wants, or the poor creatures would suffer sadly by their neglect. It takes up a large portion of the day to milk the cows and the goats, and I dare say you can understand that, to say nothing of the loss their owners would incur were this omitted, the poor beasts themselves would suffer bitterly from bodily pain and disease."

"I ought to have thought of this, as I am myself learning to be a farmer," observed Alfred. "But do you not draw any spiritual improvement for your scholars from this?"

"Oh, yes, sir! I show them how Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is constantly feeding and caring for _His_ flock, watching over them, and keeping the young lambs from going astray; carrying them in His bosom, and giving them the bread of life to eat, and the waters of everlasting comfort to drink."

"And are your kind instructions confined to these three boys?"

"Not altogether, sir. Most of their masters, when their necessary work is done, come with such of their servants as can be spared, on the evening of the Lord's Day; and, as we have no pastor up here to teach us in the way of holiness, we join together in prayer. We sing 'psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs,' and we 'search the Scriptures,' and nourish our souls with the holy Word of G.o.d. Most of them, I a.s.sure you, sir, are very seriously disposed, and love to hear me talk to them of the Lord Jesus, and tell them of all He has done to save sinners, to take away their sin, to give them repentance, and everlasting life after death."

"And it is thus you have been pa.s.sing your time," exclaimed Alfred, "when some of my thoughtless young friends below fancied you might be drinking or smoking while you were watching your fire. Happy man! These solitudes are no solitudes to you. How far more profitably, how far more pleasantly, are you employed than the greater number of those who live in the world! I must entreat you to pardon my having intruded upon you, I am ashamed to say, from a motive of mere curiosity. But see how G.o.d often causes even our follies and weaknesses to turn out to our profit.

I have learned a lesson that I trust, by His grace, I shall never forget. It has taught me that every G.o.dly man has a part a.s.signed to him for others as well as for himself, to show forth the great salvation that Christ brought upon earth. You are diligently fulfilling your part.

You have prayed for work, and our great Master has mercifully provided it for you. You are laying up treasure for yourself in heaven, while many of those who would be inclined to pity your worldly position are wasting their lives in idleness and sin, neglecting the work they might do, and burying in the earth the talent committed to their charge.

Numbers there are in the world who are attempting to secure to themselves a memorial among posterity, by erecting hospitals and schools, while you are consecrating this little hovel to G.o.d in a way that might never have been known in this world, but which will not be forgotten by the Lord 'in the day when He maketh up His jewels.'"

As he said this, Alfred cast his eyes round the hut, and fixed them upon an open chest which stood in one corner, supported upon one or two short beams of wood, to preserve the contents from the damp.

"You are not unprovided with books, I see, besides those that lie on the table."

"We have indeed a little library there, sir," replied Gervais. "It is very small, but quite equal to our wants. You would find there 'The Histories of the Old and New Testaments,' 'The Imitation of Jesus Christ,' 'The History of France,' 'Robinson Crusoe,' and a few others.

Would you like to look at the writing of these boys, sir?"

Alfred examined some copy-books lying on the table, and could not help expressing his surprise at the progress the lads appeared to have made in three short months. Then, looking at his watch, he said--

"I fear I have overstayed my time, but before I go I have yet a duty to perform. While I congratulate you most sincerely on the success with which G.o.d seems to have blessed your endeavours in behalf of these dest.i.tute youths, I must add that the interest which the idea of your isolated situation excited among the party I left in the plain below was such that they said I ought not, without some good reason, to intrude upon you, and desired me to bring this little offering to you, begging of you to accept it, in token of their good-will."

Vainly, however, did the young man press the offering upon the charcoal burner. He absolutely refused it.

"Money!" said he; "for what? From whom does it come? Excuse me, sir, but you must recollect that you are quite a stranger to me. I do not even know your name."