Chapter VI: Part 6

"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.

"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.'

"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!

"'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!"

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.]

"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.

"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.

[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.]

"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?

"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.

"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.]

"'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.]

"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."

"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.

"'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.]

"'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.]

"'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.'

"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].

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.

"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."]

"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!