Faye Huntington

“ Hannibal is spoken of in history as one of the most extraordinary men that ever lived. His crossing the Alps, his generalship when opposed to disciplined and powerful forces, his sustaining himself in the enemy's country for fifteen years, with a large army without calling upon his own country for aid, his power over his forces, which were made up of different nationalities, holding them subject to his authority, and keeping down discontent and mutiny, show him to have possessed remarkable powers and great genius. In his unflinching enmity to Rome he was true to the teachings of his childhood. ”

“ Bert, you can talk until night, if you want to!"
"What is the matter with Perry to-day?" asked Lewie Amesbury.
"I don't see as anything unusual is the matter," responded Duncan. "I believe he likes to be as hateful as possible."
"Thinketh no evil," said Herbert softly.
"Well—I know, but I can't help it, he does provoke me so."
"Is not easily provoked," continued the same soft voice.
"Dear me!" said Duncan. "If you saw as much of him as I do, you'd get provoked. He never seems to care for anybody but himself, and don't mind hurting other folk's feelings one bit. A body can't stand everything." ”

“ If you are not Christ's enemy, and if you will not acknowledge yourself as his friend, what are you?"
"I never said I wasn't his friend, only as I was put in a false position. I think I am a great deal better Christian than some who stood up there tonight, but as long as I can't talk about repentance and faith and that sort of thing, I suppose I mustn't call myself one."
"I don't understand you yet," said Herbert, perplexed and sorry. "What do you mean by being a better Christian when you don't pretend to repent of sin or to have faith in Christ?" ”

“ There have been other men gifted in speech, with power of swaying the minds of the multitudes who came to listen to their eloquence, of whom this could not be said. Men who when called by their countrymen to use their power for the country's good, have thought more of furthering their own selfish purposes than of a nation's honor and prosperity, have thought more of the applause of the admiring throng than of the uplifting of the human race. ”

“ Just once that winter, Mabel grew hopeful. It was the Sabbath of the Week of Prayer. She had gone from her closet to her class; gone with the lesson not more in her mind than in her heart, and had taught as one who teaches for eternity. Duncan forgot to be nonsensical. Lewie seemed to realize that there might be a depth of meaning in their watchword which he had not fathomed, and even Perry was less alive to the importance of his official duties. ”

“ It was not in commemoration of a victory upon the battlefield, it was not the celebration of a victory, but rather as we observe with fitting ceremonies the anniversaries of the firing of the first guns in any contest of right against wrong, so in this last centennial year we commemorated the first booming of cannon in the great war against the rum traffic, the beginning of a war that is not ended yet; all along down the century the booming has been heard, and to-day this moral fight is waging fiercely. ”

“ And that day was chosen.
"Oh, dear!" sighed Jenny McNair, coming in from school about a week before Thanksgiving. "What a horrid lonesome house this is! It is the worst place when I come in at night after being with the girls all day. Nobody to speak to, nobody to welcome me. I wish—"
"What do you wish, my daughter?" asked Judge McNair, who unexpectedly appeared at the parlour door, while Jenny talked to herself as she threw off her wraps in the hall.
She hesitated, then spoke out quickly, with something in the tone that begged pardon for her suggestion. ”

“ His courage, his patriotism, his unflinching devotion to the cause he had sworn to live and die for and his faithfulness to what he believed to be his duty, or as he would probably have expressed it his destiny. We must pity him that when he had grown old, disappointed and discouraged, he had no other resource in his troubles but to plunge himself into an unknown world by his own act. ”

“ The interest growing, the audience increasing in numbers, until at the last session, the great church was filled to its utmost capacity, and many hearts were throbbing with emotion. New thoughts had found their way into the minds of gray-headed old men, and to some of them it now seemed a grand thing this idea of a whole congregation coming together for the study of God's word. And old men and women almost through with church-going, the middle-aged, busy fathers and mothers, and the young, enthusiastic and eager, pledged themselves to the work and joined in the consecrating hymn. ”

“ So closed this great little life. The greatest soldier who ever lived, as men talk about soldiers, but an utter failure in the sight of him who said: "He that ruleth his own spirit, is greater than he that taketh a city." ”

“ He has always wanted me to be a lawyer, but I don't incline that way."
"You are not obliged to be a lawyer," said Lewie, laughing.
"I know," returned Herbert, "but my ambition has been to become a rich merchant—not that I should care to be just a rich man and nothing more, but I'd like to do good in the world, and if I had money, I could be so much more useful. I'd like to help poor people, build churches and send out missionaries, and that sort of thing." ”

“ William Penn lived to see his enterprise achieve a grand success. Philadelphia had grown to be a city of no small dimensions and no little importance. The colony had grown to be a strong, self-supporting State, capable of self-government.
"I will found a free colony for all mankind," [Pg 102] said William Penn. Were these the words of a great man?
Unswerving integrity, undaunted courage, adherence to duty, and devotion to the service of God—are these the characteristics of a great man?
Then William Penn may well be placed in our Alphabet of Great Men. ”

“ Then, while every head was bowed, Mabel uttered low and reverent words—
"Jesus, dear friend, we have come here to talk with Thee and with each other. Some of us have reached the hard places, and we need help and counsel. Some of us have been sorely tried, and we need help to go forward. Let our hearts be strengthened, our faltering steps steadied and upheld, and our weak faith increased. ”

“ We are all one flesh and blood. Being brethren, no advantage shall be taken on either side. Between us there shall be nothing but openness and love."
And they replied, "While the rivers run and the sun shines, we will live in peace with the children of William Penn." ”

“ McNair branched off upon a less painful topic.
Meanwhile Perry, sullen and defiant, listened to his father's reproaches, which were neither few nor mild.
"To think that a son of mine should be a drunkard! A man of my position in both business and religious circles! Young man, it is positively outrageous!"
"Father," said Perry, with a sneer, "I wouldn't find so much fault with my own work if I were you. If I am a drunkard, you made me one."
"I made you one! What an abominable story to invent! Pray tell me how I, a temperance man, succeeded so admirably in the work you credit me with." ”

“ Mrs. Wynn called her daughter odd. "One of Mabel's freaks," or "just one of her odd whims," she would explain to her friends.
If to live for a purpose, if to do one's work with earnestness, if to seek out opportunities for doing good, if to carry the spirit of Christ into every day's living—in short, if to be a sincere, consistent Christian, if this is to be odd, then Mabel was odd. As a child she had been a Sunday-school scholar, but as she grew up, she had yielded to her mother's persuasions and discontinued her attendance. ”

“ I have somewhere said that Nick Turner was an out-and-out loafer. He worked when obliged to, and the rest of the time, he smoked, drank, and gambled. His father was a well-to-do farmer, living half a mile from the village. Kindly old Mr. Turner and his sweet-faced wife were growing old and sad faster than their years warranted. Years do not bow one down to the earth like the carrying of a heavy heart; and what burden can weigh heavier upon a parent's heart than the living death of the first-born? ”

“ When they came to talk it over together, the teacher said, "I hope you will all adopt it as your own motto. It is my earnest prayer that we may all make our lives as near like Christ's as possible. We shall need to 'watch and pray' if we would keep the path he has laid down, for there are many turns in this life and many things to draw us out of the narrow way. But none of you have said how you like it."
"I like it," said Lewie Amesbury. "At school, day schools, I mean, teachers are always holding up some great man for a pattern, but I think it is a great deal better to have a perfect pattern. ”

“ McNair slipped her letter back into its envelope, smoothed her hair and went down to dinner.
And so they were all following at last. As they were far from perfection as boys, so they are far from being perfect men. It takes years of Christian living and learning before we reach that higher plane where grace so abounds that sin has no foothold. But for fine specimens of noble Christian manhood, you need not go outside the little circle of "Those Boys," who have found that their chosen motto, while it is narrow as regards being of the world, is yet broad in all Christian aims. ”

“ Earle told them of the news that had gladdened his heart, and of one or two things that had occurred in their midst, causing him to hope that God was not far from them.
"We will watch more closely, work more diligently and pray more earnestly," said the pastor.
"Yes, we will!" exclaimed Deacon Griffin, whose whole heart—and it was a large one—was warmed by this bit of sunshine; and such a prayer as he then and there offered! Such thanksgiving! Such entreaty! Surely God must have heard.
Meantime a great tumult arose in Herbert Bradford's heart as he read Tom's letter. Tom a Christian! ”

“ CHAPTER XII. A LESSON OF WAITING.
"Shall we grow weary in our watch,
And murmur at the long delay,
Impatient of our Father's time
And his appointed way?"
"How do you like your new clerk?" asked Mrs. Wynn, as she poured out the coffee one morning few months later.
"Pretty well," replied her husband. "He is teachable and improves; he has made some good sales already. To be sure he is not quite so prompt nor so industrious as Herbert, but then few boys are. I will say that for Master Herbert, if only he had not been quite so certain that his own way was the best. ”

“ He continued to attend church, and one evening, he arose and said—
"My friends and neighbours, you have known me for an irreligious and worldly man. I hope henceforth to be known as a humble disciple of Christ. I have much to learn. Bear with me if in weakness and ignorance I stumble, and pray that strength and wisdom may be given me."
What a thrill ran through the little company met in sadness for prayer. In sadness because Christ had seemed to withdraw from them, and lo! He was here in their midst. What wonder that a voice took up the glad song—
"Thine, O God, be all the glory." ”

“ Mr. Wynn asked, laughing. "No, I can't do it. Morse must find some other berth for his scapegrace; but I am really sorry for them. I declare," turning to his daughter, "I don't see how you happened to make a failure of him. I thought all those boys were going to turn out paragons. It seems that Perry was too much for you, eh?"
"I do not give Perry Morse up for lost yet," returned Mabel. "The freshness and purity of his boyhood may be sadly marred, but he may make a good and useful man. I have worked hard for him, but Satan has been busy too." ”