,but ,love1 that moves the earth1 and   
skies1 and sea1 ,beheld his old love in 
her misery1 ,and wrapped her heart in   
sudden gentle sleep2 ,and meanwhile     
caused unnumbered ants to creep ,about  
her1 and they wrought so busily ,that   
all1 ere sundown1 was as it should be1  
,and homeward went again the kingless   
folk4   --,the ,earthly ,paradise4      
99,,kingless ,,folk99                   
99,,and99                    99,other   
,addresses on ,bible ,animals499        
,,by ,,the                   99,rev4    
,,john ,,adams1 ,b4,d41 ,inverkeilor499 
,edinburgh and ,london3                 
,,oliphant1 ,,anderson  ,,ferrier4      
#ahig4                                  
99,,contents499   ,,kingless ,,folk1    
,the ,ant  ,,hooks ,,of ,,steel1 ,the   
,bear  ,,the ,,sacred ,,bird1 ,the ,dove
  ,,little1 ,,but ,,wise1 ,the ,coney   
,,crowned ,,with ,,honour1 ,the ,ass's  
,colt  ,,the ,,redbreast  ,a ,,born     
,,mathematician1 ,the ,bee  ,,the ,,bird
 ,,of ,,freedom1 ,the ,swallow  ,a      

,,house ,,of ,,gossamer1 ,the ,spider   
,,little ,,follies1 ,the ,fly  ,,pearls1
 ,,not ,,peas1 ,the ,pearl-,oyster      
,,some ,,other ,,shells  ,,calves ,,of  
,,the ,,stall1 ,the ,calf  ,,fur ,,or   
,,feather81 ,the ,bat  ,,onward ,,and   
,,upward1 ,the ,eagle  ,,the ,,victor   
,,vanquished1 ,the ,lion  ,,the ,,bird  
,,of ,,the ,,dawn1 ,the ,cock-crowing   
,,peace                                 
99,the ,ant499   ,go to the ant1 thou   
sluggard2 consider her ways1 and be     
wise3 which having no guide1 overseer1  
or ruler1 provideth her meat in the     
summer1 and gathereth her food in the   
harvest4--,prov4 vi4 #f-h4   ,of what   
use is a sluggard8 ,everything in the   
world is of some use1 says ,john        
,ploughman1 but it would puzzle a doctor
 of divinity1 or a philosopher1 or the  
wisest owl in our steeple1 to tell the  
good of idleness2 that seems to me to be
 an ill wind which blows nobody any     
good1 a sort of mud which breeds no     
eels1 a dirty ditch which would not feed

 a frog4  ,sift a sluggard grain by     
grain1 and you'll find him all chaff4   
,a sluggard is really a                 
good-for-nothing1 and no better advice  
could be given to boys than this3 ,get  
out of the sluggard's way1 or you may   
catch his disease and never get rid of  
it4 ,grow up like bees1 and you will    
never be drones4  ,in this passage from 
the ,book of ,proverbs1 ,solomon advises
 the sluggard to go back to school that 
he may learn wisdom1 for his folly is   
quite equal to his idleness4 ,he is too 
lazy to drive in a nail1 and as the old 
jingling rhyme has it1 ,for want of a   
nail a shoe came off1 for want of a shoe
 a horse was lost1 for want of a horse a
 man was lost1 for want of a man a      
battle was lost1 and for loss of a      
battle a kingdom was lost4 ,because of  
the sluggard's first idleness in        
refusing to drive in the nail the whole 
kingdom comes down about his ears4  ,it 
is not much ease he gets for all his    
scheming1 and therefore he is sent back 

to school to learn wisdom4  ,the        
schoolmaster this time is the ,ant1 for1
 as the ,bible tells us1 there be four  
things which are little upon the earth1 
but they are exceeding wise3 the ants   
are a people not strong1 yet they       
prepare their meat in the summer 7,prov4
 xxx4 #bd74  ,the wisdom taught by the  
ant is threefold4                       
,i4--,,the ,,wisdom ,,of ,,work4  ,if it
 be the hand of the diligent that maketh
 rich1 the ants deserve to flourish2 for
 there are few sluggards in their nest4 
,the great mass of the teeming          
population is called the workers4       
,there may be a few males and females in
 each community dressed in four         
beautiful gauze wings1 and no doubt     
regarding themselves as very superior   
members of the society--the veritable   
aristocracy of ant life--but they never 
touch the work with one of their little 
fingers4  ,the keeping of the nest1 the 
gathering of the food1 the care of the  
eggs1 and the rearing of the young ants1

 all devolves on the shoulders of the   
willing workers2 and they1 though they  
have no wings at all1 and are called    
neutrals and some other ugly names1     
cheerfully undertake the whole labour1  
and make the entire community flourish  
through sheer hard work4  ,and that is a
 splendid lesson for all young people4  
,all great men1 as well as all true     
ants1 have been hard workers4 ,this is  
the only royal road to success4  ,what  
,sir ,joshua ,reynolds said to his      
students is equally true when applied to
 other professions3 ,you must be told   
again and again that labour is the only 
price of solid fame1 and that whatever  
your force of genius may be1 there is no
 easy method of becoming a good painter4
 ,nothing is denied to well-directed    
labour2 nothing is to be obtained       
without it4  ,jesus ,himself was a hard 
worker4  ,go1 learn of the ant1 and be  
wise4                      ,,ii4--,,the 
,,wisdom ,,of ,,self-,,reliance4        
,solomon adds that the ants carry on    

their labours without guide1 overseer1  
or ruler1 and that is strictly the case4
  ,the ants are a feeble people1 but    
they are perfectly self-reliant4  ,the  
bees1 for instance1 have a royal        
personage in their hive4  ,we call her  
the queen4 ,and thus we may speak of    
bees as we speak of ourselves1 as living
 under a monarchical government4  ,but  
the ants have no king or queen4  ,there 
is no royal personage in their nest4    
,they are rather to be regarded as      
staunch republicans1 who carry on their 
labours without any ruler1 guided simply
 by that unerring instinct which        
imitates the actings of reason4  ,the   
silly sheep may require a shepherd to   
take care of them1 but the sagacious    
ants can take care of themselves4  ,and 
all boys who are worth their salt must  
try to learn the same lesson4 ,they must
 learn to strike out a path for         
themselves1 and not be content to eat   
the bread of idleness4  ,they must work 
for the good of the whole community by  

learning to stand on their own feet4    
,they must despise the ignoble position 
of those who1 having no mind of their   
own1 are led like a flock of sheep by   
the will of another4  ,they must think  
and act for themselves if ever they are 
to rise to a position of influence4  ,in
 one word1 they must be self-reliant4   
,no doubt there is a sense in which we  
must be dependent on the labours of     
others4  ,every honest man is bound to  
acknowledge the assistance which he has 
received from his parents1 his fellows1 
and his ,god4  ,but the two things are  
not opposed4  ,these two things1        
contradictory though they may seem1 must
 go together--manly dependence and manly
 independence1 manly reliance and manly 
self-reliance 7,wordsworth74  ,the two  
things stand or fall together4          
,self-reliance is not selfishness1 manly
 independence is not ignorant           
braggadocio4  ,the ants toil for the    
common weal4  ,they rely on one another4
             ,,iii4--,,the ,,wisdom ,,of

 ,,making ,,provision ,,for ,,the       
,,future4  ,they prepare their meat in  
the summer4  ,this fact has been denied 
by modern entomologists4  ,they have    
told us that ants are dormant in winter 
7at least in ,europe71 and1 therefore1  
stand in no need of food4  ,but1 as one 
reminds us1 we had need to be very sure 
of our facts when we attempt to correct 
the ,spirit of ,god 7,gosse74  ,it has  
been amply ascertained that in the ,east
 and other warm countries where         
hibernation is impossible1 ants do store
 up for winter use4  ,it is even stated 
that these harvesting ants bite off the 
radicle at the end of the seed to       
prevent its germinating1 and            
occasionally bring up their stores to   
the surface to dry1 when the tiny       
granary has been entered and soaked by  
the rain4  ,it is at this point that the
 example of the ant is specially severe 
on the sluggard4 ,in crass idleness he  
would sleep even in the time of harvest2
 but this little creature1 the least of 

insects1 avails herself of every        
suitable opportunity1 and gathers a     
supply of food sufficient for her       
purposes4  ,he that gathereth in summer 
is a wise son1 but he that sleepeth in  
harvest is a son that causeth shame4    
,let all boys then lay up for the       
future4  ,is it knowledge8 ,let them sow
 well at school1 that they may reap well
 in business4  ,is it character8 ,let   
them sow well in youth1 that they may   
reap well in manhood4  ,is it religion8 
,let them sow well in time1 that they   
may reap well in eternity4  ,in all     
these connections let them be warned by 
these solemn words1 ,the sluggard will  
not plow by reason of the cold1         
therefore shall he beg in harvest1 and  
have nothing 7,prov4 xx4 #d74           
99,the ,bear499   ,i will meet them as a
 bear that is bereaved of her           
whelps4--,hos4 xiii4 #h4   ,however     
ferocious a bear may be1 she is also    
capable of a large and generous         
affection4  ,she is at once a fond      

mother1 a constant friend and1 if one   
may so express it1 a magnanimous foe4   
,her devotion to her young is           
proverbial4  ,she possesses the         
strongest maternal instincts1 and when  
to her easily roused ferocity the fury  
of these instincts is added1 it may be  
imagined what the violence of her attack
 will be4  ,any one who threatens the   
safety of her cubs does so at his peril4
  ,the constancy of her friendship is   
shown by the following curious case1    
related by ,brehm4  ,he tells us of a   
little boy who crept one night for      
warmth and shelter into the cage of an  
extremely savage bear4  ,the latter1    
instead of devouring the child1 took him
 under its protection1 kept him warm    
with the heat of its body1 and allowed  
him to return every night to its cage4  
,by-and-by the poor boy died from       
smallpox1 and the bear1 utterly         
disconsolate1 henceforth refused all    
food1 and soon followed its little      
protege to the grave4  ,but the bear is 

kind--effusively kind1 even to its      
enemies4  ,in the manner of its attack  
it does not fell them to the ground with
 one blow of its paw like the lion1 nor 
seize them with its teeth like the dog4 
,it hugs them4  ,it embraces them with  
its powerful fore-limbs with a great3   
show of affection1 and continues the    
squeeze so long that the poor wretched  
victims are suffocated4 ,bruin does     
nothing by halves4  ,the advice of old  
,polonius is followed to the very       
letter3--      ,the friends thou hast   
and their adoption tried1     ,grapple  
them to thy soul with hooks of steel4   
,he does grapple them4  ,he may give    
great attention to the friendships of   
life1 but he does not forget to embrace 
his enemies4  ,with respect to the bear 
mentioned in the ,bible1 we may note    
three points4                           
,i4--,,its ,,kind4  ,this is not the    
common brown bear of ,europe1 nor the   
white polar bear of the ,arctic regions2
 but the yellowish-brown ,syrian bear1  

which may still be found in its native  
haunts around the wooded fastnesses of  
,hermon and ,lebanon4  ,it is shorter in
 limb and has smaller claws than its    
,european cousin2 but its most striking 
peculiarity is its change of colour4    
,like many other animals1 the ,syrian   
bear changes its colour as it grows     
older4 ,when a cub it is of a darkish   
brown1 which becomes a light brown as it
 approaches maturity4  ,but when it has 
attained its full growth it becomes     
cream-coloured1 and each succeeding year
 seems to lighten its coat1 so that a   
very old bear is nearly as white as its 
relative of the ,arctic regions 7,j4 ,g4
 ,wood74  ,alas6 the change which is    
produced by age is not confined to      
,ursus ,syriacus4  ,the boy1 no less    
than the bear1 will yet experience that 
solemn transformation4  ,the blackest   
locks will yet whiten with the frosts of
 age1 for lustre1 youth1 and virility   
will all alike perish4  ,but this change
 is only the outward symbol of what     

ought to be an inward1 spiritual fact4  
,if the locks whiten1 so ought the      
conscience1 the soul1 the heart4 ,as    
youth passes into manhood and manhood   
into age1 the man within should aye be  
gettin' whiter2 until when the locks    
have grown grey in the service of       
righteousness1 the children may rise up 
before the hoary head1 and honour the   
face of the old man 7,lev4 xix4 #cb74   
,yes1 childhood1 mark the hoary head and
 rise--     ,stand on thy feet and give 
the honour due2     ,that crown of glory
 points you to the skies1     ,like     
snow-capped mountains in the azure blue4
                                        
,,ii4--,,its ,,food4  ,the bear1 to     
begin with1 is a strict vegetarian4     
,while he can find abundance of         
vegetables and fruit he is little       
disposed to go far in varying his means 
of subsistence4 ,his teeth are formed   
for the purpose4 ,unlike those of the   
lion or tiger1 which have a             
scissor-blade appearance1 and are       

incapable of any but an up-and-down     
motion1 the teeth of the bear are true  
grinders or molars1 and the hinge of the
 lower jaw is so constructed that it can
 be worked from side to side1 so that   
the bear can actually chew its food4    
,it is said to be very fond of          
strawberries--like some little boys we  
know--and like the blackbird it can walk
 daintily along the rows and pick out   
the ripest4  ,but if there be one thing 
more than any other that throws the bear
 into an ecstasy of excitement it is the
 prospect of a feast of honey4  ,a nest 
of ants is nothing in comparison4  ,the 
long nose is thrust into the delicious  
comb1 though it be stung and stung again
 by the infuriated inhabitants4  ,it is 
not till other food fails that the bear 
becomes carnivorous4  ,but then1 driven 
by hunger1 it will even descend into the
 lower pastures and seize upon the goats
 and the sheep4  ,this habit is referred
 to by the youthful ,david in #a ,samuel
 xvii4 #cc4  ,king ,saul was trying to  

dissuade him from matching himself      
against the gigantic ,philistine2 but   
,david answered3 ,thy servant kept his  
father's sheep1 and there came a lion1  
and a bear1 and took a lamb out of the  
flock3 and ,i went out after him1 and   
smote him1 and delivered it out of his  
hand4444  ,thy servant slew both the    
lion and the bear1 and this             
uncircumcised ,philistine shall be as   
one of them1 seeing he hath defied the  
armies of the living ,god4 ,and all the 
young people know the result4 ,one      
smooth stone from the brook was placed  
in ,david's sling1 and yon huge mass of 
human arrogance was hurled to the       
ground4  ,they who fight for ,jehovah   
need never fear4 ,a stone cast in ,his  
name becomes a thunderbolt4             
,,iii4--,,its ,,ferocity4  ,let a bear  
robbed of her whelps meet a man rather  
than a fool in his folly 7,prov4 xvii4  
#ab74  ,the whelps themselves are not   
ferocious4 ,indeed1 they are remarkably 
stupid4  ,they are as confident as they 

are weak1 and do not even try to escape 
when the hunters come upon them4  ,the  
young water-fowl by the river-side      
disappear in an instant if you happen to
 come upon them2 but the cubs of the    
bear1 with a stupid simplicity1 just    
allow themselves to be caught and       
massacred4  ,they remind one of the lamb
 mentioned by the poet3--      ,pleased 
to the last they crop the flowery food1 
,and lick the hand just raised to shed  
their blood4   ,but there is something  
far worse than this simplicity4  ,there 
is brazen-faced irreverence and         
impudence4  ,when ,elisha1 the man of   
,god1 was going up to ,bethel1 a crowd  
of young vagabonds came out of the      
village and mocked the old man1 and     
said3 ,go up1 thou bald head2 go up1    
thou bald head4  ,and two she-bears came
 rushing out of the wood1 and tare forty
 and two of them 7#b ,kings ii4 #bd74   
,these were not little children1 but    
young lads 7,r4,v4 margin71 who had     
begun to herd at street corners1 and to 

scoff and gibe at those who passed by4  
,and1 in our own day1 society would be  
none the worse of a few she-bears to act
 as a kind of police at all such        
corners4  ,they might help to rid the   
streets of a good deal of juvenile      
profanity4  ,but alas6 because this ,old
 ,testament punishment does not fall on 
these young miscreants1 the evil1       
instead of becoming less1 is in great   
danger of being largely increased4  ,and
 yet1 if boys only knew it1 a far worse 
calamity has already fallen4  ,they may 
not have been attacked by bears1 but    
they themselves have become bears--not  
growing fairer1 nobler1 whiter1 as they 
grow in years2 but fouler1 darker1      
meaner1 with the awful increase of      
sin--selling themselves to do evil in   
the sight of the ,lord4  ,ah6 let every 
true lad beware as to the company he    
keeps4  ,evil company doth corrupt good 
manners4  ,whatsoever a man soweth1 that
 shall he also reap2 and the way of the 
ungodly shall perish4                   

99,the ,dove499   ,and ,he said unto    
them that sold doves1 ,take these things
 hence4--,john ii4 #af4   ,it is        
reported of ,st ,francis of ,assisi1 in 
the ,middle ,ages1 that he would        
sometimes go out and preach to the      
beasts and birds4  ,he treated them so  
kindly1 both in the house and field1    
that they would draw near without any   
sign of fear1 and allow him to stroke   
and feed them with his hand4  ,in like  
manner1 we may think of ,jesus pitying  
the poor1 dumb beasts of burden1 when   
,he saw them1 as we sometimes see them1 
unmercifully treated by heartless       
drivers2 or grieving at other times at  
the frantic efforts of little birds     
beating against the bars of their       
cage--those tiny songsters of the field 
and wood1 which had been taken by the   
snare of the fowler1 and bereft of their
 liberty4  ,the incident before us is a 
case in point4  ,here1 at the beginning 
of ,his ministry1 ,he made a whip of    
small cords and drove the traffickers   

out of ,his ,father's temple4  ,men1    
money-tables1 oxen1 were all swept      
before ,his holy indignation4  ,but     
there1 in mid-air1 the upraised whip was
 arrested4  ,jesus could not strike the 
meek and gentle doves4 ,there they sat  
in their wicker baskets1 with large eyes
 that were full of tender pleading1 and 
the raised whip was not allowed to fall4
  ,he could only say to their keepers1  
,carry these things hence1 for to the   
dumb1 lower animals1 ,he was moved with 
compassion4  ,it is a great and fitting 
lesson for the young4  ,they who are    
kind to their pets are not far from ,his
 ,kingdom4  ,a righteous man regardeth  
the life of his beast4  ,we ought to be 
like the dove in three ways4            
,i4--,,in ,,character4  ,be ye therefore
 wise as serpents and harmless as doves 
7,matt4 x4 #af74  ,what the lamb is     
among animals1 the dove is among birds4 
,it is the divine emblem of purity and  
innocence--the bearer of the olive      
branch of peace4  ,the whole character  

of the dove is in keeping with this     
estimate4  ,its voice1 no less than its 
disposition1 is the embodiment of       
sweetness4  ,it has a tender mournful   
cadence which1 heard in solitude and    
sadness1 cannot fail to be heard with   
sympathy1 as if it were the expression  
of real sorrow 7,gosse74  ,it recalls   
the language of ,isaiah1 ,we mourn sore 
like doves2 or those beautiful words of 
,tennyson--        ,every sound is      
sweet2     ,the moan of doves in        
immemorial elms1     ,and murmuring of  
innumerable bees4   ,as symbolical of   
purity and peace1 it became a fit emblem
 for the ,holy ,spirit4 ,lo1 the heavens
 were opened1 and ,he saw the ,spirit of
 ,god descending like a dove and        
lighting upon ,him4  ,on the day of     
,pentecost1 however1 the form chosen was
 quite different4  ,there came a sound  
as of a rushing mighty wind1 444 and    
cloven tongues like as of fire1 and it  
sat upon each of them4  ,why the        
difference8 ,why a gentle dove in the   

one case and cloven tongues of fire in  
the other4  ,the difference lay in the  
character of the men4  ,when it came to 
men--even to holy men--it encountered   
prejudice and opposition1 which must be 
burned up1 and thus it must needs take  
the semblance of fire4  ,but when it    
came to ,jesus on the banks of the      
,jordan1 it came to its own1 and its own
 received it with open arms2 and to show
 the fulness and peacefulness of the    
reception1 it must needs be symbolised  
by a dove4  ,in the holy chrism of that 
baptismal hour1 the dove and the lamb   
had met together4 ,the sacred bird had  
found a home1 and it folded its wings   
upon its nest4  ,but this gentleness of 
disposition renders the dove a          
defenceless creature1 ill able to take  
care of itself1 and it easily becomes   
the victim of persecution4  ,hence      
,hosea speaks of ,israel as a silly dove
 without heart1 which shall tremble as a
 dove out of the land of ,assyria4  ,and
 thus the words wise as serpents have to

 be added4 ,the harmlessness of the dove
 must be supplemented by the wisdom of  
the serpent4  ,and both elements are    
found in the peerless example of ,jesus4
 ,see how ,he answered the quibbling    
questions of the ,scribes and           
,pharisees4 ,they tried to entangle ,him
 in ,his talk2 but ,his wisdom was more 
than a match for their cunning4  ,the   
wolf was utterly discomfited by the     
lamb4  ,and this is the only worthy     
ideal for ,his followers3 ,be ready     
always to give an answer concerning the 
hope that is in you1 but1 with meekness 
and fear1 be ye wise as serpents and    
harmless as doves4                      
,,ii4--,,in ,,swiftness4  ,the dove is  
one of the swiftest of birds4 ,the      
carrier pigeon has been known to        
accomplish a flight of three hundred    
miles in little more than two hours4    
,its wings are its strength4  ,upheld by
 them she can fly for many hours1 and   
the birds of prey cannot overtake her4  
,homer himself mentions the dove as the 

emblem of swiftness and timidity4  ,it  
is to this that the ,psalmist refers in 
,psalm lv4 #f1 when he beheld the rock  
pigeon scudding across the sky in the   
direction of her mountain home3 ,oh that
 ,i had wings like a dove6 for then     
would ,i fly away and be at rest4444  ,i
 would hasten my escape from the windy  
storm and tempest4 ,truly a wise resolve
 when in the presence of strong         
temptation6 ,o man of ,god1 flee these  
things4  ,flee also youthful lusts4  ,if
 you cannot fight like the eagle1 fly   
like the dove1 and1 like the carrier    
pigeon1 let your flight be homeward4    
,may the homing instinct be as strong in
 you as in her4  ,for it is only there1 
in the mountain home of ,god's grace1   
that your soul can find shelter4 ,speed1
 then1 your flight as the doves to their
 windows4  ,man's spiritual existence is
 like the flight of a bird in the air3  
he is sustained only by effort1 and when
 he ceases to exert himself he falls    
7,froude's ,bunyan74  ,let your         

spiritual advancement1 then1 be like the
 flight of a bird4  ,imitate the dove in
 its swiftness4                         
,,iii4--,,in ,,sacrifice4  ,the dove is 
pre-eminently the sacred bird4  ,the    
dove among the ,semites had a quite     
peculiar sanctity4  ,sacred doves that  
may not be harmed are found even at     
,mecca4  ,we never read of it in the    
,old ,testament as an article of diet1  
though it is now one of the commonest   
table-birds all over the ,east 7,smith's
 ,religion of the ,semites1 new edition1
 pp4 #bai-bid74 ,as already noted1 it   
was to the birds what the lamb was to   
the animals--it derived its chief       
interest from its use in sacrifice4  ,we
 find it in the purifying of the        
,nazarite 7,num4 vi4 #aj71 in the       
cleansing of the leper 7,lev4 xiv4 #bb72
 and1 as the children will remember1    
when ,jesus was presented in the temple1
 ,his mother offered as a sacrifice a   
pair of turtle doves or two young       
pigeons 7,luke ii4 #bd74 ,in the ,virgin

 ,mother's case the offering was the    
sacrifice of the poor4  ,for it is      
distinctly said in ,leviticus xii4 #h1  
,if her means suffice not for a lamb1   
then she shall take two turtle doves or 
two young pigeons3 the one for a burnt  
offering and the other for a sin        
offering3 and she shall be clean4       
,jesus1 the ,great ,sacrifice1 was born 
in the homes of the poor4  ,not the     
vicious poor1 whose poverty is the      
measure of their thriftlessness2 but the
 industrious poor1 whose piety is the   
measure of their honesty4  ,though ,he  
was rich1 yet for our sakes ,he became  
poor1 that we through ,his poverty might
 be made rich4  ,in stooping thus far   
,he was manifesting the gentleness of   
the dove1 and we are summoned to copy   
,his example4  ,let this mind be in you 
which was also in ,christ ,jesus4  ,he  
stooped to death1 even the death of the 
cross1 and we are called upon to stoop  
to something similar--to the great deep 
of self-surrender and                   

self-sacrifice--the crucifixion and the 
death of sin4  ,this is the essence of  
all ,christian sacrifice4  ,we must be  
crucified with ,christ1 and rise and    
live through ,him4 ,we must be washed in
 ,his blood4  ,we must be made great by 
,his gentleness4 ,we must be like the   
dove and the lamb in sacrifice4  ,in    
character1 in swiftness1 and in         
sacrifice1 imitate the dove4            
99,the ,coney499   ,there be four things
 which are little upon the earth1 but   
they are exceeding wise3 444 the conies 
are but a feeble folk1 yet make they    
their houses in the rocks4--,prov4 xxx4 
#bd-bf4   ,little1 but exceeding wise1  
that surely is a splendid diploma for   
feeble folk4  ,if all the children in   
our homes would but try to gain that    
good degree1 it would be a merit        
certificate of the highest order1 and   
well worthy of the best gilt frame to be
 had in the market4 ,mr ,moody1 the     
evangelist1 used to say1 when speaking  
of college honours1 that he had no wish 

to be styled a ,b4,d41 a ,d4,d41 or an  
,,ll4,d4  ,he would be content if he got
 ,w4,d4--,well done1 good and faithful  
servant4 ,and the diploma granted to    
little folks in the school of the coney 
is somewhat similar4  ,they are capped  
on the day of graduation as an          
,l4,b4,e4,w4--,little1 but exceeding    
wise4  ,why1 in their school1 the       
distinction between big and little is   
simply ignored4 ,the little creature is 
no bigger than a rabbit1 and yet1       
strange to say1 its nearest affinity is 
with the huge rhinoceros4 ,according to 
modern classification1 it is placed     
between the elephant and the horse4 ,the
 shape of its teeth1 and the form of its
 feet and skull1 make it a first cousin 
to the hippopotamus4  ,there is little  
difference between them1 except in      
dimensions1 and1 as every schoolboy     
knows1 there is not much in a difference
 like that4 ,if the huge leviathan has  
nothing more to boast of than mere bulk1
 the little coney can afford to sit on  

its rocky ledge and look down on its    
unwieldy proportions with the utmost    
indifference4  ,wisdom is better than   
strength4  ,it was the wisdom of the    
poor wise man that delivered the city1  
and not the strength of the city walls4 
,and it is not the bones of the         
rhinoceros1 but the wisdom of the coney1
 that will bring us true success in     
life4  ,wisdom is the principal thing1  
therefore get wisdom1 and with all thy  
getting1 get understanding4             
,i4--,,the ,,wisdom ,,of ,,keeping      
,,sharp ,,tools4  ,among the ,jews the  
coney was regarded as one of the unclean
 animals1 because he cheweth the cud1   
but divideth not the hoof1 he is unclean
 7,lev4 ii4 #e74  ,but1 in actual fact1 
he does neither4  ,all ruminating       
animals are furnished with a complex    
stomach for chewing the cud2 but this is
 not the case with the elephant1 the    
coney1 and the hippopotamus4 ,they      
neither chew the cud nor part the hoof4 
,but the coney has a habit of sitting on

 a ledge of rock and working its jaws   
from side to side as if it really did   
chew the cud1 so that a careless        
observer would readily mistake it for a 
ruminating animal4  ,this movement of   
the jaws is a very important one4       
,according to ,j4 ,g4 ,wood1 the coney  
performs it instinctively1 in order that
 the chiselled edges of the upper and   
lower teeth may be preserved sharp by   
continually rubbing against each other1 
and that they may not be suffered to    
grow too long1 and so to deprive the    
animal of the means whereby it gains its
 food4  ,the coney knows what every good
 tradesman knows1 that sharp tools are  
the secret of all high-class work4  ,no 
boy ever cut his finger with a sharp    
knife1 but always with a blunt one4     
,and what a sharp knife is to the       
finger1 a sensitive conscience is to the
 life4  ,if the heart be kept true and  
tender1 and the mind alert and keen1 the
 conscience will never sting and        
lacerate the soul4  ,it is only the     

wicked who flee when no man pursueth1   
and whose conscience is like the worm   
that never dies4  ,leave her to ,heaven1
 said ,hamlet of his guilty mother1 and 
to those thorns that in her bosom lodge 
to prick and sting her4  ,but the       
righteous are as bold as a lion4  ,like 
,paul1 they have the approval of a good 
conscience1 and      ,a heart unspotted 
is not easily daunted1     ,thrice is he
 armed that hath his quarrel just4  ,and
 the young people will not forget that  
tools are kept sharp by exercise1 not by
 allowing them to rust like a sluggard's
 spade1 which no true gardener would    
touch2 but by keeping them sharp and    
bright like his own steel blade1 which  
is warranted to cut through any sod4    
,yes1 keep the powers of your mind      
strong and active through diligent      
application at school1 and the faculties
 of your soul responsive by kindness1   
obedience1 and prayer1 and you will find
 that this is no mean part of the wisdom
 that will enable you to succeed in     

life4  ,for at school1 in business1 and 
in religion1 we have need of sharp      
tools4                                  
,,ii4--,,the ,,wisdom ,,of ,,early      
,,rising4  ,if any one wishes to see or 
catch a coney1 he must be up with the   
dawn4 ,for1 like the rabbit1 it is      
generally to be found feeding in the    
early morning or at sunset2 while a     
sentry1 which is commonly an old male1  
is said to be posted to give warning by 
a short squeaking bark1 at which signal 
they all scuttle away before one can    
obtain a glimpse of them4 ,after all1 it
 is the early bird that catches the     
early worm1 and the coney has long since
 decided that it is the early coney that
 enjoys the sweetest aromatic shrubs4   
,and therefore1 if any aspiring         
sportsman wishes to bag ,hyrax ,syriacus
 7for that is its ,latin name71 he must 
be up and abroad with the dawn4         
,indeed1 the sharpest tools will avail  
us but little if the best hours of the  
morning are idled away in bed4  ,the old

 adage cannot be repeated too often1    
that he who would thrive must the white 
sparrow see4  ,the lazy farmer who got  
up at daybreak to try and get a sight of
 this rara avis was not long in         
discovering the cause of his diminished 
fortunes4 ,everything was wrong at the  
beginning of the day4  ,dishonest       
servants came to their work an hour     
late1 and others were helping themselves
 to everything they saw4 ,on his farm1  
alas6 there was neither an early bird   
nor an early worm4  ,they were all late 
together1 and he1 the latest of them    
all1 was simply being gobbled up by such
 birds as he had4  ,poor lie-a-bed had  
certainly got a glimpse of the white    
sparrow1 and from the day he saw it his 
fortunes began to mend4  ,i never had   
any faith in luck1 says ,john           
,ploughman1 except that ,i believe good 
luck will carry a man over a ditch if he
 jumps well1 and will put a bit of bacon
 into his pot if he looks after his     
garden and keeps a pig4  ,exactly4      

,solomon ,slow will never be up in time 
to catch the coach1 and then he will    
waste the rest of the day in blaming the
 hardness of his luck4  ,but there is no
 luck about it4  ,it is only downright  
laziness4 ,and boys cannot learn the    
golden text too soon1 that drowsiness   
shall clothe a man with rags4           
,,iii4--,,the ,,wisdom ,,of ,,knowing   
,,one',s ,,own ,,weakness4  ,the conies 
are but a feeble folk1 yet make they    
their houses in the rocks4  ,they cannot
 fight with the lion1 and they don't    
try4  ,they run from the least          
appearance of evil1 and so ought we4    
,it is often one-half1 and sometimes the
 whole1 of the victory to know our own  
weakness4 ,discretion is always the     
better part of valour4  ,how many there 
are who have not this wisdom of the     
coney6  ,they are feeble as he is1 and  
yet they do not pray1 ,lead us not into 
temptation1 but deliver us from evil4   
,they cannot turn aside the fiery darts 
of the evil one1 and yet they carelessly

 play into his hands by dallying with   
that which is not good4 ,but      ,this 
is hypocrisy against the devil1         
,they that mean virtuously1 and yet do  
so1     ,the devil their virtue tempts1 
and they tempt heaven4  ,far better to  
act as young ,gareth acted when he lived
 among the kitchen-knaves of ,king      
,arthur's palace--        ,if their talk
 were foul1     ,then would he whistle  
rapid as any lark4  ,the pure-minded lad
 refused to listen to it1 and he had his
 reward4 ,they mocked him at first1 but 
afterwards they turned and reverenced   
him4 ,a like testimony was borne to     
,john ,milton when he entered ,christ's 
,college1 ,cambridge1 at sixteen years  
of age4  ,because of his virtuous       
conduct he was ridiculed by his         
fellow-students1 and nicknamed the lady 
of ,christ's4  ,but the future author of
 ,paradise ,lost could afford to let    
them sneer4  ,he had the testimony of a 
good conscience1 and they who honour    
,me1 ,i will honour4  ,and all those who

 are tempted to-day must draw their     
succour from a similar divine source4   
,with the wisdom of the coney they must 
betake themselves to the safety of the  
hills1 and say1 ,lead me to the ,rock   
that is higher than ,i4  ,and in that   
strong ,rock of ,ages all feeble ones   
will be eternally safe1 for neither foe 
nor tempest can reach them there4       
,flee1 then1 as a bird to your mountain1
 or in the language of your hymn--      
,yield not to temptation1 for yielding  
is sin1     ,each victory will help you 
some other to win1     ,fight manfully  
onward1 dark passions subdue1     ,look 
ever to ,jesus1 ,he will carry you      
through4                                
99,the ,ass's ,colt499   ,and ,jesus1   
when ,he had found a young ass1 sat     
thereon4--,john xii4 #ad4   ,two        
varieties of the ass exist in ,bible    
lands1 namely1 the domesticated and the 
wild ass4  ,but whether these are two   
different kinds1 or simply variations of
 the same species1 is not yet a settled 

question4  ,on the assumption that they 
are one1 it would still be disputed     
whether the wild ass is to be regarded  
as an emancipated domestic ass1 or the  
latter a reclaimed wild one4 ,but into  
the merits of this question we have no  
call to enter4  ,we may say at the      
outset1 however1 that when speaking of  
the ass of the ,bible1 we are dealing   
with a very different animal from the   
poor weather-beaten1 stunted1 and       
half-starved beast of our commons4  ,the
 coldness of our climate1 and the life  
of hardship endured by the ass in this  
country1 have1 no doubt1 operated       
largely in the decay of the breed4  ,but
 the ,arabian ass is quite different4   
,a well-bred ,syrian ass will fetch     
forty pounds4 ,it is well formed and    
muscular1 well cared for and fed1 and is
 altogether a finer and nobler animal   
than the spiritless and degraded        
creature so familiar to us4             
,consequently1 when we read of ,jesus   
riding upon an ass's colt1 there would  

seem to be some ground for the statement
 that there was no humility in the case4
 ,he rode upon an ass as any prince or  
ruler would have done who was engaged on
 a peaceful journey 7,wood74  ,in fine1 
,jesus came riding on the universal     
saddle animal of the ,east4  ,but       
turning to the ass's colt1 ,i want you  
to note three things about it4          
,i4--,,its ,,wildness4  ,the colt of the
 wild ass is really the most untamable  
and intractable of animals4  ,even when 
captured very young it can scarcely ever
 be brought to bear a burden or draw a  
vehicle4  ,its wild nature is constantly
 breaking out1 and like the asses which 
,saul the son of ,kish went to seek1 it 
is always in danger of going astray4    
,love of freedom and hatred of restraint
 are its main characteristics1 and      
,zophar the ,naamathite reminded ,job   
that something very similar is true of  
man4  ,vain man is void of              
understanding1 yea1 man is born as a    
wild ass's colt 7,job xi4 #ab74  ,of    

course1 there is wildness and wildness4 
,if boys are merely running over with   
fresh animal spirits1 like the young    
lambs trying to jump over their mother's
 head1 we cannot think there is any     
great harm in their mirth4  ,it is thus 
that lungs are exercised and limbs made 
strong1 and the whole body and mind kept
 healthy and happy4  ,black care1 alas6 
will leap into the saddle behind them   
soon enough4 ,and therefore1 while the  
days of youth last1 let all the young   
people run and jump like the wild ass's 
colt4  ,buoyancy of fresh young life is 
not to be regarded as exuberance in sin4
  ,if the wildness1 however1 is inclined
 to pass over into what is called a     
sowing of wild oats1 the circumstances  
are altered4 ,innocent pleasures are    
good1 but pleasures which are forbidden 
are quite another thing4  ,and if the   
young life is in danger of drifting into
 the latter1 the sooner the curb or drag
 is applied1 the better for all         
concerned4 ,if one could sow his wild   

oats and then run away and leave them1  
it wouldn't so much matter2 but alas6 a 
reaping-time is sure to be treading on  
the heels of the sowing4  ,and as no one
 ever yet gathered grapes of thorns or  
figs of thistles1 it will not do for any
 of you young people to expect to gather
 fruit where you have only sown weeds4  
,no1 no1 this is a kind of wildness     
which ought not to be tolerated4  ,this 
is a piece of folly which must either be
 tamed or punished4  ,and if we would   
only introduce the custom they have in  
,palestine of clipping a bit out of the 
ear of those asses that go astray1 a    
fresh clip for every new offence1 it    
might then be seen that the wildness    
which means mischief is not so pleasant 
an experience after all1 and perhaps not
 a few sowers of wild oats would be     
found who had scarcely an ear on their  
head4  ,some punishment like this is    
sorely needed1 for while mere exuberance
 of spirits is not sinful1 the          
exuberance that leads to forbidden      

pleasures ought firmly to be condemned4 
,,ii4--,,its ,,usefulness4  ,merchants  
in the ,east carried their riches on the
 shoulders of young asses 7,isa4 xxx4   
#f71 and it is added in verse #bd that  
young asses and oxen were yoked together
 in tilling the ground4  ,but the chief 
service rendered by the young ass was   
its frequent use in riding4  ,in the    
,book of ,judges we read of one judge   
who had forty sons and thirty sons' sons
 that rode on threescore and ten ass    
colts1 and he judged ,israel eight      
years4  ,both in merchandise1 in        
agriculture1 and in riding1 the ass's   
colt was a most useful animal4  ,and    
this is the test which must be applied  
to a boy's pleasures4  ,he must not     
allow them to interfere with his        
usefulness4  ,the games that make him   
neglect his lessons1 the pursuits that  
render it difficult for him to learn his
 trade1 the companions that tempt him to
 desecrate the ,christian ,sabbath1 or  
the habits that lead him to lose respect

 for his parents or reverence for his   
,god--all these must be freely but      
firmly laid aside2 for when judged in   
the light of the influence they exert1  
they stand self-condemned4  ,pleasure is
 never to be taken as the touchstone of 
duty1 but duty as the touchstone of     
pleasure4  ,it is this that gives the   
evangel of ,jesus its inestimable value4
  ,he can tame our wildness into        
usefulness1 and make duty itself our    
pleasure4  ,he can teach us the secret  
of ,his own example1 and then all work  
is a joy1 every duty is an inspiration4 
,i delight to do ,thy will1 ,o my ,god4 
,the secret is love4  ,that is the new  
commandment ,he writes upon the heart1  
and then the yoke ,he lays upon the neck
 is fur-lined--it is easy2 and the      
burdens given us to bear are not        
grievous1 they are light4  ,no service  
can compare with ,his service4  ,any    
pleasure that would make us think       
lightly of ,his love is not pleasure1   
but wanton folly2 and any liberty that  

would tempt us away from ,his yoke is   
not liberty but license4  ,therefore let
 every young heart learn this second    
lesson from the example of the ass's    
colt1 that wildness must be tamed into  
usefulness4  ,,iii4--,,its ,,high       
,,place ,,of ,,honour4  ,if wildness is 
tamed into usefulness1 this in turn is  
followed by honour4  ,the ass's colt had
 the high dignity conferred on it of    
being used by ,jesus in ,his triumphal  
entry into ,jerusalem4  ,the incident   
itself is full of meaning4 ,jesus was   
entering ,jerusalem for the last time4  
,on reaching the ,mount of ,olives ,he  
sent two of ,his disciples into the     
nearest village4  ,he told them that    
there1 in a place where two ways met1   
they would find a colt tied whereon     
never man sat4  ,if the owner objected  
to his removal1 they were to say the    
,lord hath need of him1 and straightway 
the man would be willing to let him go4 
,and when the two disciples departed to 
do as they were bidden1 they found it   

even as ,jesus had said4  ,but how did  
,jesus know that the owner of the colt  
would consent to this arrangement8  ,and
 why must the colt itself be one on     
which never man had sat8  ,these two    
questions are deeply significant1 and we
 may do well to try and answer them4 ,as
 regards the first1 ,jesus knew that the
 man would agree to what ,he had said1  
because1 in all probability1 this was   
not the first time that he and ,jesus   
had met4 ,on some former occasion the   
man had come under the spell of         
,christ's teaching and example1 and     
although he had not been added1 like    
,peter or ,john1 to the number of the   
twelve1 he had nevertheless become in   
heart and life a true and devoted       
friend4 ,and1 no doubt1 it was the man  
himself who informed ,jesus that there1 
on the little bit of common where two   
ways met1 his ass would generally be    
found grazing2 and if ever the ,master  
required it to carry ,him a day's       
journey1 ,he could come and get it for  

the taking4 ,it was not a great thing he
 had to offer1 but such as it was the   
,lord was welcome to it4  ,and ,i think 
,i see the eye of ,jesus filling with a 
strange moisture as ,he heard the quaint
 proposal of this humble villager4 ,it  
was like holding a cup of cold water to 
,christ's thirsty lips4  ,and the young 
people cannot possibly misread the      
lesson4 ,little things1 when done for   
the sake of ,jesus1 become great things4
  ,this man had done what he could1 and 
love made it immortal4  ,wheresoever    
this gospel shall be preached1 this also
 that this man hath done shall be told  
for a memorial of him4  ,on the other   
hand1 the colt itself must be one on    
which never man had sat4  ,does this not
 remind us of what is said regarding    
,joseph's new tomb8  ,it was a new      
sepulchre wherein was never man yet     
laid4  ,why a young colt and why a new  
tomb8  ,surely to teach us that even in 
,his humiliation1 ,jesus the ,son of    
,god was worthy of special honour2 and  

perhaps to teach this further truth1    
that in everything ,he was separate from
 sinners4  ,he who came riding on an    
ass's colt was still the ,king of       
,glory1 and although ,he was numbered   
with the transgressors1 ,he was still   
holy1 harmless1 and undefiled4  ,behold1
 thy ,king cometh unto thee1 meek1 and  
riding upon an ass's colt4  ,let every  
child run1 as the children of ,jerusalem
 ran1 and hail ,him with the happy      
acclaim1 ,hosanna1 blessed is ,he that  
cometh in the name of the ,lord4  ,and  
this will be your highest dignity4      
,wildness will be tamed into usefulness1
 and usefulness will be crowned with    
honour4 ,them that honour ,me ,i will   
honour4                                 
99,the ,redbreast499   ,the household   
bird with the red stomacher--a bird that
 should be in the ,bible1 but isn't4    
,we must give it a page here4           
,look6 there on a sprig of holly1       
,like a bunch of berries red1     ,he   
sits1 wee bumptious ,robin1             

,cocking his little head4      ,let us  
ask the little fellow1       ,why he    
comes so late to sing1     ,for the     
autumn leaves are falling       ,in a   
whirling fairy ring4      ,where did you
 go in summer       ,with that little   
purple vest8     ,not away to the woods 
and hedges       ,to conceal a tiny     
nest8      ,oh1 you did6 you sought the 
bracken1       ,where the flowers are   
wet with dew1     ,and we never heard   
you singing1       ,you had something   
else to do4      ,you were feeding five 
wee ,robins1       ,and they kept you on
 the wing2     ,but now that they've    
grown to ,redbreasts1       ,you can    
well afford to sing4      ,so you can1  
you little wise-head1       ,there is   
truth in what you say2     ,and may     
every lad apply it1       ,that after   
work comes play4                        
99,the ,bee499   ,and the ,amorites1    
which dwelt in that mountain1 came out  
against you1 and chased you1 as bees    
do4--,deut4 i4 #dd4   ,israel had       

determined at all hazards to storm the  
strongholds of the ,amorites4  ,but as  
those who disobey ,god can never stand  
before their enemies1 the ,israelites   
were no match for those hardy           
mountaineers of ,seir4  ,like infuriated
 bees rushing out from their nest1 the  
,amorite hordes swept out from their    
mountain fastnesses1 and utterly        
overwhelmed the hosts of ,israel4  ,they
 chased you1 as bees do1 and destroyed  
you in ,seir1 even unto ,hormah4  ,this 
is the only sense in which the bee is   
referred to in ,holy ,scripture4  ,the  
ant may be introduced as an emblem of   
industry and instinct2 but the bee is   
always regarded as one of the scourges  
of mankind4  ,it recalls an incident in 
the ,african travels of ,mungo ,park4   
,some of his people having met with a   
populous hive1 imprudently attempted to 
plunder it of its honey4  ,the swarm    
rushed out in fury and attacked the     
company so vigorously that man and beast
 fled in all directions4 ,the horses    

were never recovered1 and several of the
 asses were so severely stung that they 
died the next day4  ,the bee was clearly
 a savage and dangerous annoyance4      
,they chased you1 as bees do4  ,but     
turning to the bee itself1 let us note  
the three principal materials it uses in
 its hive4                              
,i4--,,wax4  ,nothing can be done in the
 furnishing of the hive until a         
sufficient quantity of wax has been     
provided4  ,and this1 like the gossamer 
threads of the spider1 is drawn from the
 insect's own body4  ,the process of    
secretion1 as it is called1 may last for
 some twenty-four hours2 and when it is 
completed the wax projects from between 
the segments of its body in the form of 
thin plates4  ,the material is then     
taken up into the mouth and undergoes a 
process of mastication1 until at last it
 issues from the mandibles in the form  
of a small white ribbon4  ,this is the  
material with which they build up their 
hexagonal or six-sided cells2 and       

marvellous is the skill they show in the
 ingenious arrangement4  ,like ,plato1  
they might fitly inscribe over their    
portal1 ,let no one ignorant of geometry
 enter here1 for the bee is entitled to 
a first place in the ranks of the       
geometricians4 ,it is even asserted on  
the authority of the ,rev4 ,j4 ,g4 ,wood
 that the angles of the bee-cell are so 
mathematically correct that by their    
measurement an error in a book of       
logarithms was detected2 and ,mr ,darwin
 himself admits that the comb of the    
hive-bee is absolutely perfect in       
economising labour and wax4  ,the form  
of the cell has three distinct          
advantages4  ,it combines the greatest  
strength1 the largest storage1 and the  
least expenditure of material and       
labour2 and the little busy bee1 as if  
acquainted with these strict            
mathematical principles1 has followed   
them so accurately that it easily steps 
into the first rank as a born           
mathematician4  ,but how is this fact to

 be accounted for8  ,what is the        
explanation of these inimitable         
architectural powers8  ,without thought 
or even the organ of thought1 the bee   
can produce work which embodies thought4
  ,but to whom does this thought belong8
  ,can there be thought without a       
thinker8  ,can there be the marks of    
intelligence without an original and    
creative mind8  ,no6 at the building up 
of a bee-cell1 just as at the framing of
 a world1 the thoughtful soul is face to
 face with ,him whose mind is stamped on
 every part of creation--with ,him who  
is the great and faithful ,creator1     
whose tender mercies are over all ,his  
works4                                  
,,ii4--,,honey4  ,after the construction
 of the cells comes the gathering of the
 honey4 ,honey1 as every boy knows1 is  
the thick1 sweet fluid which bees gather
 from the cups of flowers4 ,or in the   
language of myth and fable1 it is the   
veritable nectar of the gods4  ,the     
mouth of the bee is framed for the      

purpose4  ,it is so constructed that it 
forms a sort of proboscis or tongue by  
means of which the insects suck up the  
nectarine juice4  ,it serves both as a  
mouth and a pump through which the      
liquid passes into the first stomach1   
and thus is carried to the hive4  ,the  
abundance of honey is frequently        
mentioned in ,holy ,scripture4          
,palestine itself is described as a land
 that floweth with milk and honey4  ,and
 we remember that on one occasion       
,jonathan1 the ,son of ,saul1 was faint 
and weary1 and when he saw honey        
dripping on the ground from the         
abundance and weight of the comb1 he    
took it up on the end of his staff1 and 
ate sufficient to restore his strength  
7#a ,sam4 xiv4 #bg74 ,john the ,baptist 
also was evidently in no danger of      
starving from lack of food1 when the    
wild bees afforded him a plentiful      
supply of the very material which was   
needed to correct the deficiencies of   
the dried locusts which he used instead 

of bread4  ,his food was locusts and    
wild honey4  ,there is only one         
connection in which we find honey       
prohibited4  ,it was to have no place in
 the ,jewish meat offering 7,lev4 ii4   
#aa74  ,everything liable to            
fermentation was excluded from the      
altar2 and the same principle covers the
 prohibition of honey 7,smith's         
,religion of the ,semites74  ,the effect
 of honey is similar to that of leaven1 
since it easily changes to acid         
7,oehler74  ,honey then was forbidden on
 the same principle as an animal with   
any kind of blemish was forbidden4      
,there must be no defect in the         
sacrificial lamb1 and there must be no  
fermentation in the meat offering4  ,the
 offering brought by man must be        
clean--a spotless sacrifice 7and ,god's 
,lamb is such71 an honest heart1 and an 
earnest1 unfeigned prayer4  ,only the   
pure in heart shall see ,god4           
,,iii4--,,pollen4  ,honey is not the    
only substance that bees carry home to  

the hive4  ,they also collect in        
considerable quantities the fecundating 
dust or pollen of flowers4  ,if the long
 tongue is specially adapted for sucking
 up the one1 the hind legs1 supplied    
with a brush of hair1 are equally fitted
 for collecting and conveying the other4
 ,when the bee visits the flower in     
question it dives deep down among the   
dust-like powder1 and comes out again1  
all covered from head to foot1 like a   
miller well dusted with his meal4  ,but 
applying the brush of hair which it     
carries for the purpose1 it speedily    
brushes the pollen all down in the form 
of a tiny ball1 and carries it home on  
its hind legs to be used in the economy 
of the hive4  ,but what is it for8  ,to 
make bee-bread for the young bees4  ,the
 hexagonal cells are not all used for   
the storage of honey4 ,a very large     
proportion of the comb is set apart for 
the hatching of the young ones4 ,and    
these infant bees are voracious eaters4 
,like other little children1 they have  

to be carefully nursed and attended to1 
and the sagacious nurses have quite     
enough to do in providing them with the 
right kind of food4  ,ordinary honey is 
too strong for their infantile          
digestion1 and therefore the honey is   
mixed with the pollen to render it a fit
 nourishment for these fastidious       
babies4  ,this is the only object the   
bees have in collecting the pollen2 but 
it is not the only end they serve in the
 plan of the great ,creator4 ,unknown to
 themselves they are doing a great work 
in the propagating of flowers4  ,the    
fertilising dust of one flower must be  
conveyed to the corresponding organs of 
another2 and the bee like a village     
postman1 is brought in to convey the    
necessary love-tokens4  ,apart from this
 service rendered by the bee1 the wild  
flowers that deck the fields and        
highways would soon be conspicuous by   
their absence4  ,we cannot1 then1 go    
back to the point from which we started1
 and say that the bee can only be       

regarded as a savage and dangerous      
annoyance4 ,it fills a very important   
place in the economy of nature4 ,as the 
maker of wax it is the prince of        
mathematicians2 as the gatherer of honey
 it is the bringer of many choice       
blessings2 and as the collector and     
distributer of pollen it is at once a   
sagacious nurse1 and one who dispenses a
 harvest1 sowing the ,to-be4  ,well may 
we sit at its hive and learn wisdom4    
99,the ,swallow499   ,as the bird by    
wandering1 as the swallow by flying1 so 
the curse causeless shall not           
come4--,prov4 xxvi4 #b4   ,the swallow  
is the bird of the summer4  ,like the   
coming of the cuckoo itself1 the arrival
 of the swallow is anxiously waited for 
as the harbinger of warmer days4  ,and  
thus we have the beautiful fancy        
connected with the little flower        
,celandine4  ,the name means a swallow1 
and was applied to the tiny plant       
because it was supposed to open its     
petals when the swallows appeared in    

spring1 and to close them and die when  
they disappeared in autumn4  ,whether   
the flowers hasten to welcome the little
 bird or not1 there are many human      
hearts that leap up with joy at the     
sight of the airy wanderer1 and hail it 
as the bird of freedom--the herald and  
pledge of the summer4                   
,i4--,,it ,,is ,,the ,,bird ,,of        
,,freedom4  ,this is the meaning of its 
,hebrew name1 and surely no more fitting
 title could be applied to so unfettered
 and freedom-loving a bird4  ,tennyson1 
in his great poem1 ,in ,memoriam1 speaks
 of      ,short swallow-flights of song 
that dip     ,their wings 444 and skim  
away4  ,who does not love to see it     
darting through the sunshine1 skimming  
along the surface of a stream1 or       
wheeling away in airy circles on its    
swift1 untired wings6  ,it is a thing of
 beauty and a joy for ever--happy as the
 summer light1 free and untamable as the
 breeze4  ,and we set this down as the  
first law of bird-life--that every      

songster of the field and wood should be
 free4  ,this is its birthright and     
blessing1 and no one has the right to   
rob it of its liberty4  ,the green      
fields and the blue sky have been given 
to it as its heritage1 and the barbarous
 custom of binding its wandering wing   
and shutting it up in a cage should be  
censured and condemned by all healthy   
minds4  ,the swallow1 indeed1 cannot be 
thus tamed and domesticated4 ,she who   
claims the whole earth as her fatherland
 refuses to be imprisoned in a cage4    
,she will die rather than yield4 ,and   
all young hearts cannot learn the lesson
 too soon that the feathered tribes of  
the woodland ought to be left to their  
,god-given liberty4                     
,,ii4--,,it ,,is ,,the ,,bird ,,of      
,,obedience4  ,another lesson taught by 
the swallow is that liberty is not      
license4 ,freedom to wander from land to
 land does not mean freedom from all    
control4  ,our text speaks of the law of
 its migration4  ,like the stork1 the   

crane1 or the turtle dove1 the swallow  
knows the time of its coming4  ,in      
,france it is spoken of as the ,jew1    
because of its wandering habits2 and in 
the science of heraldry it was used as a
 crest by the crusader pilgrims to      
symbolise the fact that they too were   
strangers in a strange land4  ,but to   
the swallow no land is strange4 ,the    
whole earth is its fatherland4  ,and    
while it does wander to and fro over    
land and sea1 it always observes its    
appointed seasons4  ,all its wandering  
is guided by a purpose4  ,its freedom is
 regulated by unfailing instinct4  ,it  
may speed its flight to far distant     
climes1 but it comes back to the same   
nest4 ,this is the law of its migration2
 and in obedience to it1 the swallows   
appear in ,april and disappear in       
,october with all the regularity of the 
seasons or the ebb and flow of the tide4
  ,the cause is there1 and the effect   
follows4  ,the bird of freedom is a     
slave to its own higher destiny4  ,and  

so ought we4  ,freedom to wander is not 
so great a boon as obedience to a       
higher1 diviner law4  ,like the needle  
trembling to the pole1 or the swallow   
returning to the same old nest1 our     
hearts ought to hark back to the        
sacredness of home and to the ,god and  
faith of our fathers4  ,there is an     
instinct in the new-born babes of       
,christ1 like the instinct that leads   
birds to build their nests              
7,rutherford74  ,and this instinct1 like
 the law of migration1 makes us the     
children of obedience4  ,there is no    
license in the liberty of ,christ4  ,we 
are only free to serve4                 
,,iii4--,,it ,,is ,,the ,,bird ,,that   
,,builds                        ,,its   
,,nest ,,in ,,god',s ,,temple4  ,yea1   
the sparrow hath found an house1 and the
 swallow a nest for herself1 where she  
may lay her young1 even ,thine altars   
7,ps4 lxxxiv4 #c74  ,swallows sometimes 
build their nests in the most           
extraordinary places--on a picture      

frame1 on a lamp-bracket1 on a          
door-knocker1 in a table-drawer1 and    
between the handles of a pair of shears 
hung on the wall4  ,james ,gilmour1 in  
his missionary travels through          
,mongolia1 found that they actually     
entered his tent and built their nests  
within reach of his hand4  ,and so fully
 do the little birds confide in man's   
protection1 that they will even take up 
their abode in his places of worship4   
,the heathen temples1 the ,mohammedan   
mosques1 and the ,christian churches are
 all inhabited by the swallow1 and here1
 in the eighty-fourth ,psalm1 it is     
spoken of as having sought and found a  
home in the courts of the ,jewish       
temple4  ,the ,psalmist1 detained at    
home1 envied the little birds that built
 their nests under the eaves of the     
priests' houses1 and thought of the very
 sparrows that were allowed to pick up  
the crumbs in the temple courts4 ,it    
reminds us of ,samuel ,rutherford when a
 prisoner in ,aberdeen4  ,he often      

looked back to his country church and   
manse near the shore of the ,solway     
,firth1 and sighed1 ,i am for the       
present thinking the sparrows and       
swallows that build their nests at      
,anwoth blessed birds4  ,these men1 as  
,spurgeon would say1 needed no clatter  
of bells to bring them to church2 they  
carried a bell in their own bosoms2 holy
 appetite is a better call to worship   
than a full chime4  ,and the lesson is  
for the young people no less than for   
their parents4 ,for the ,psalmist adds  
that the nest of the swallow was for her
 young4 ,the swallow reared her young   
brood in the temple courts4  ,and this  
is the duty and privilege of all        
,christian parents4  ,the house of ,god 
may be a nest for their little ones4    
,how beautiful to see parents and       
children coming ,sabbath by ,sabbath to 
the same family pew6  ,in after-years   
will not these little ones find their   
way back to the same old nest8  ,yes1   
train up a child in the way he should   

go1 and even when he is old he will not 
depart from it4  ,or if1 perchance1 they
 are called upon to suffer1 and are not 
able1 like the ,psalmist1 to come to    
,god's house1 the spirit will still be  
willing though the flesh be weak1 and   
they will sit and sing like another     
great sufferer--      ,a little bird ,i 
am1       ,shut from the fields of air1 
,and in my cage ,i sit and sing         
,to ,him who placed me there1     ,well 
pleased a prisoner to be1     ,because1 
,o ,god1 it pleaseth thee4      ,nought 
else have ,i to do1       ,i sing the   
whole day long1     ,and ,he whom most  
,i love to please1       ,doth listen to
 my song4     ,he caught and bound my   
wandering wing1     ,but still ,he bends
 to hear me sing4                       
99,the ,spider499   ,the hypocrite's    
hope shall perish1 444 whose trust shall
 be a spider's web4--,job viii4 #ac1    
#ad4   ,what is hypocrisy8  ,it is a    
bird of evil omen that builds its nest  
on the tree of religion4 ,it is a kind  

of homage that vice pays to virtue4     
,were there no virtue there would be no 
need to simulate it4  ,every act of     
hypocrisy is a tacit acknowledgment of  
its greatness4  ,o ,virtue6 how great   
thou art1 when even the bad and the vile
 are constrained to do thee homage6  ,no
 one becomes a hypocrite when he        
pretends to be different from what he   
is1 but when he pretends to be better   
than he is4  ,in spite of himself he is 
paying a high tribute to thy greatness  
and goodness6  ,the attempt to conceal  
the evil heart1 however1 shall not      
always be successful4 ,the day is coming
 when hypocrites will be stripped of    
their fig-leaves 7,matthew ,henry74     
,their trust shall be as frail as a     
spider's web4  ,could any language be   
more expressive8  ,in ,eastern lands the
 flimsiness of the spider's web is      
proverbial4 ,he shall lean upon his     
house 7on that light gossamer71 but it  
shall not stand3 he shall hold fast     
thereby1 but it shall not endure4  ,the 

material is so frail1 that the least    
violence destroys it2 and the           
hypocrite's hope is so flimsy1 that it  
shall not stand in the judgment4  ,they 
weave the spider's web1 but their webs  
shall not become garments1 neither shall
 they cover themselves with their works 
7,isa4 lix4 #f74  ,but turning to the   
spider itself1 we may learn various     
lessons4                                
,i4--,,its ,,skill ,,as ,a ,,weaver4    
,like ,hogarth's good apprentice1 it has
 made admirable use of its trade4 ,its  
web1 however frail1 is really a         
marvellous production4  ,it is          
distinguished by beauty of design1      
fineness of texture1 nicety and         
sensitiveness of touch1 reminding us of 
,pope's couplet--      ,the spider's    
touch1 how exquisitely fine1     ,feels 
at each thread and lives along the line4
   ,and when we add to this that the    
whole fabric is spun out of its own     
body--a part of its very life--it is not
 difficult to see that the spider's work

 must be of the finest order1 and well  
worthy of the study and imitation of    
every young apprentice4  ,every lad in  
going forward to the work of his life   
should set up a high ideal4  ,in all    
that he does he ought to aim at         
perfection4  ,like the spider's web1 his
 work1 whatever it is1 should be a bit  
of himself--steeped in his own thought  
and shaped by his own effort4  ,he may  
only be a weaver1 but he must aspire to 
be a good one--one who plans as well as 
labours1 and reads as well as plans4    
,for in the race of life1 muscle is no  
match for mind1 and skill will always   
outstrip slovenliness--just as the great
 ,goliath must go down before the alert 
son of ,jesse1 and the pigmies of the   
,african forest can easily outmatch and 
out-manoeuvre the lion4  ,let every     
young life go and examine the perfection
 of the spider's web1 and seek to do    
likewise4                               
,,ii4--,,its ,,prowess ,,as ,a ,,hunter4
  ,popular prejudice has always been    

against the spider2 and it must be      
admitted that there is a good deal to   
sanction the poet's unfavourable verdict
 when he says regarding it--            
,cunning and fierce1 mixture abhorr'd4  
,its cunning and craft have passed into 
a proverb2 and all the children know    
that its apparent treachery1 in decoying
 the little fly into its parlour1 has   
been suitably expressed in verse4  ,its 
fierceness also is quite equal to its   
cunning1 and when the thought of its    
hairy-looking appearance is added to the
 fact of the poison-fangs which it      
buries in the bodies of its victims1    
there would seem to be enough to warrant
 the general dislike with which the     
spider has at all times been regarded4  
,on the other hand1 we must not forget  
these two things--7#a7 ,that the spider 
is only fulfilling the instinct which an
 all-wise ,god has implanted in it2 and 
7#b7 that it is of great service to man 
in diminishing the swarms of insects by 
which he is molested4  ,thomas ,edward1 

the ,banffshire naturalist1 calculated  
that a single pair of swallows would    
destroy #bhb1jjj insects in one year    
while rearing their two broods1 and     
sometimes they rear three4  ,and if this
 be the service rendered by a single    
pair of birds1 what may not be          
accomplished by those innumerable       
spiders that weave their gummy webs on  
every bush and hedge-row1 and spend the 
entire day1 and sometimes the whole     
night1 in trapping and ridding the      
atmosphere of those annoying pests4     
,bereft of these wily hunters1 we should
 be like the ,egyptians in the time of  
,moses--plagued and eaten up of flies3  
so that in spite of prejudice and       
general dislike the spider is occupying 
a real sphere of usefulness in the      
world4  ,and so may we4  ,we can afford 
at times to pause and study the hunter's
 skill1 and do something to imitate its 
prowess4                                
,,iii4--,,its ,,fame ,,as ,a ,,teacher4 
,it teaches us how to spin and how to   

weave1 how to hunt and how to snare4    
,and as one has expressed it1 it has    
solved many a problem in mathematics    
before ,euclid was born4  ,look at the  
spider's web1 and see whether any hand  
of man1 with all the fine appliances of 
art1 and twenty years' apprenticeship to
 boot1 could weave us such another4     
,nay1 if we think of the water-spider1  
which bottles up air1 and takes it under
 water to breathe with1 it is not too   
much to say1 that if people had but     
watched water-spiders as ,robert ,bruce 
watched the cottage spider1 diving-bells
 would have been discovered hundreds of 
years ago1 and people might have learnt 
how to go to the bottom of the sea and  
save the treasures of wrecks4  ,the name
 of ,king ,robert the ,bruce suggests   
one special lesson4  ,if all history be 
true1 the spider will always be known in
 ,scotland as the teacher of            
perseverance--      ,if at first you    
don't succeed1     ,try1 try1 try again4
   ,once1 twice1 thrice1 nay1 six times 

over the tiny creature1 like a swinging 
pendulum1 had swung towards the opposite
 rafter in that little cottage1 but     
always without success2 and the eyes of 
the defeated and almost hopeless hero of
 ,scotland watched its repeated         
struggles4 ,but however often it had    
failed1 it was in no wise beaten nor    
discouraged2 but gathered up all its    
energies for another and more strenuous 
effort4 ,england1 ,scotland1 ,spiderland
 expects every one to do his duty1 and  
with one supreme push it swung out and  
won at last4  ,bravo6 exclaimed the     
,bruce1 as he recalled how he himself   
had been defeated six times1 and might  
read in the triumph of the spider the   
promise and pledge of his own4 ,little  
did the cottage spider think how a      
mighty courage had been rekindled by its
 tiny struggles1 and how a brilliant    
page in history would be opened by the  
memory of its splendid success4  ,yet so
 it was4 ,great results have sometimes  
sprung from small causes1 and the       

champion of ,scottish liberties arose   
from his pallet bed to deliver and      
consolidate his kingdom4  ,and little do
 children in any age think how great an 
influence they might wield1 if only in  
devotion to what is right they would    
follow and obey ,christ's gospel4 ,many 
a tiny seed has grown into a great tree4
  ,and ,jesus ,himself has said1 ,out of
 the mouth of babes and sucklings thou  
hast perfected praise 7,matt4 xxi4 #af74
                                        
99,the ,fly499   ,dead flies cause the  
ointment of the apothecary to send forth
 a stinking savour4--,eccles4 x4 #a4    
,both of these terms1 apothecary and    
ointment1 need to be explained4 ,in     
,hebrew they have no reference to       
anything medical1 whether it be to the  
person of a chemist or the contents of a
 chemist's shop4  ,the ointment means   
the various perfumes in use among the   
,jews--both in the anointing of the     
living and in the embalming of the dead2
 and the apothecary meant the perfumer  

who prepared and sold these perfumes1   
whether as cosmetics for the toilet or  
as spices for the tomb4  ,if1 therefore1
 the perfumes were carelessly stored or 
insecurely protected1 the flies managed 
to gain admittance1 and the priceless   
treasure became corrupted by the odour  
of their dead bodies4  ,for the fly that
 sips treacle is lost in the sweets4    
,and the lesson drawn by the preacher is
 sufficiently telling1 ,so doth a little
 folly him that is in reputation for    
wisdom4  ,the man himself is the        
ointment1 his reputation is the perfume1
 the little folly is the dead fly1 and  
his disgrace is the stinking savour4    
,ah6 little foxes spoil the vines1 and  
sometimes little follies lead to great  
sins4  ,it is very cold1 said the camel 
in an ,eastern fable1 and ,i would be so
 thankful to you1 ,mister ,tailor1 if   
you would only let me put my nose inside
 your door4 ,and the good man consented4
  ,but soon the camel had thrust in his 
head as well as his nose1 then his neck 

and his forefeet1 and last of all his   
whole body1 which completely filled up  
the tailor's little shop4 ,it was no use
 now pleading that there was no room for
 both4  ,the camel coolly replied that  
in that case the tailor could go        
outside4  ,it was the beginning of the  
evil that wrought the mischief4  ,it was
 allowing the nose that did it4  ,a     
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump1 
just as a tiny spark will kindle a great
 fire1 or little snowflakes become a    
dreaded avalanche4  ,let every young    
heart shun the least appearance of evil4
  ,dead flies corrupt the costly        
spikenard4  ,but the fly itself will    
repay attention from two points of view4
                              ,i4--,,its
 ,,structure4  ,were we in search of    
design in nature1 or an illustration of 
the wonders of the microscope1 no better
 example could be suggested to us than  
the form and structure of a fly4  ,its  
tiny body is even more wonderful than   
the body of a man4  ,take1 for instance1

 its marvellous power of walking4 ,it   
can walk anywhere or anyhow1 setting    
every principle of gravitation at       
defiance by promenading head downwards  
along the ceiling1 or skipping up and   
down the glittering window-pane1        
pursuing objects that to us are quite   
invisible4 ,how is the feat             
accomplished8  ,what peculiarity has its
 little foot that the daring acrobat can
 keep itself suspended in that dizzy and
 foolhardy position8 ,the microscope    
gives us the answer4 ,the foot consists 
of two pads covered with innumerable    
short hairs1 and these hairs are hollow1
 having trumpet-shaped mouths filled    
with gum4 ,this gum becomes so hard when
 exposed to the air1 that it will not   
dissolve in water1 so that at every step
 the fly glues itself to the ceiling1   
and there it would remain unless it knew
 how to lift its feet4 ,it lifts them in
 a slanting direction while the gum is  
still moist1 just as you would remove a 
moist postage stamp by taking hold of   

one corner and gently drawing it back4  
,and think of the creature's eye4 ,it   
can observe everything in four-fifths of
 the circle round it1 so that to compete
 with a fly we would require two more   
pair of eyes1 one at the side and       
another at the back of our head4  ,but  
in no sense can we compete with these   
aerial nomads4  ,they have three sets of
 brain instead of one4  ,they have      
wings1 which we have not4  ,they have   
six legs instead of two2 and their      
proboscis or trunk is as far beyond that
 of an elephant as a railway engine is  
beyond a wheelbarrow4  ,as seen under a 
powerful microscope1 the structure of a 
common fly is a perfect marvel of       
design1 and it may well excite our      
curiosity and call forth our admiration4
 ,it points us to the greatness and     
wisdom of ,him whose works are as       
perfect in the tiniest insect as in the 
brightest star1 whose power is as       
manifest in the humblest sea-shell as in
 the huge leviathan that makes the ocean

 its playground--      ,all are but     
parts of one stupendous whole1          
,whose body ,nature is1 and ,god the    
soul4                                   
,,ii4--,,its ,,usefulness4  ,instead of 
usefulness1 one might almost be tempted 
to say that the first law of their      
nature is to torment people2 but the    
service they render to the world at     
large must not be lightly esteemed4  #a4
 ,the very torment of which they are so 
capable may be turned into a visitation 
of judgment4  ,when ,isaiah refers to   
the scattering of the ,ten ,tribes1 he  
exclaims1 ,the ,lord shall hiss for the 
fly that is in the uttermost part of the
 rivers of ,egypt1 and for the bee that 
is in the land of ,assyria 7,isa4 vii4  
#ah74  ,and the children will remember  
that the ten plagues which fell upon    
,egypt included swarms of flies in all  
the houses of the ,egyptians4  ,these   
little insects were used as the scourges
 of mankind to wreak the vengeance of a 
broken law on the heads of the          

transgressors4  ,and especially is this 
the case with the law of cleanliness4   
,the one sin that the fly will not      
tolerate is the sin of laziness and     
dirt4 ,wheresoever the filth is1 there  
will the flies be gathered together4    
,those who despise this first law of    
their being will not offend with        
impunity2 and if no other scourge be    
available1 that little torment--the     
common fly--will be commissioned to     
undertake the duty4  #b4 ,but the sword 
they wield is double-edged4 ,it not only
 flays the law-breakers1 it also slays  
the infection and the fever which have  
followed in their train4  ,they are the 
scavengers of the atmosphere4 ,they do  
for the air what the pariah dogs of the 
,east do for the earth--they gather up  
and remove everything that offends1     
everything that occasions or breeds     
disease4  ,let no one say that the      
swarms of flies bring the cholera and   
the fever4  ,they are the camp-followers
 who tread on the heels of those dreaded

 foes1 and they feed upon and do their  
best to remove the foulsome odours4  ,we
 need not grudge the spider his savoury 
morsel1 but it will be a dark hour for  
the earth if he should gain the mastery4
  ,if he should prove too much for the  
fly1 we shall be left to the miasmas and
 pestilences from which the presence of 
the fly relieves us4  #c4 ,even in its  
death the fly renders a most substantial
 service4  ,it forms the food of        
innumerable song-birds1 which1 apart    
from the fly1 would never be found in   
our land at all4  ,how dull and lifeless
 would the months of the summer be      
without the swallow1 the willow-warbler1
 and the fly-catcher4  ,and yet these   
feed almost entirely on flies4  ,and if 
the trout had not discovered what a     
savoury morsel the fly is that dances on
 the stream1 what a very dull1 stupid   
amusement would fishing be6  ,many a    
schoolboy would lose the greatest treat 
of a summer holiday if there were no    
flies1 and no trout that appreciated    

them4  ,the niche filled by the fly is  
therefore a very important one4  ,it    
neither lives a useless life nor dies a 
useless death4  ,its sphere of          
usefulness is as striking and suggestive
 as the wondrous delicacy of its form   
and structure1 and they both point us to
 the ,great ,creator whose greatness and
 goodness are manifested through all    
,his works--      ,who sees with equal  
eye1 as ,god of all1     ,a hero perish1
 or a sparrow fall4  ,and if the boy be 
the father of the man1 we may justly    
emphasise another lesson--that the law  
of kindness ought to rule in the least  
as well as in the greatest--that he who 
begins by torturing a fly may end with  
something far more solemn--a human      
heart4                                  
99,the ,pearl-,oyster499   ,neither cast
 ye your pearls before swine1 lest they 
trample them under their feet4--,matt4  
vii4 #f4   ,the disciples of ,jesus are 
here told not to talk too freely of     
their spiritual enjoyments before men of

 debased tastes4  ,religion is brought  
into contempt1 and its professors       
insulted1 when it is forced upon those  
who cannot value it and will not have   
it4  ,throw a pearl to a swine1 says    
,matthew ,henry1 and he will resent it1 
as if you threw a stone at him2 reproofs
 will be called reproaches4  ,such men  
cannot appreciate the jewels of         
,christianity1 and like swine1 which    
prefer peas to pearls1 they will trample
 them under their feet and turn again   
and rend you4  ,on the other hand1 this 
caution is not to be carried too far4   
,we are not to set down all our         
neighbours as dogs and swine1 and then  
excuse ourselves from trying to do them 
good on this poor plea4  ,the ,saviour's
 golden rule shows us a more excellent  
way3 ,whatsoever ye would that men      
should do to you1 do ye even so to them2
 for this is the law and the prophets4  
,we are to deal with each other as ,god 
deals with us4  ,he does not judge us   
uncharitably2 but still less does ,he   

give that which is holy to the dogs4    
,he gives to each what is suitable to   
each4  ,he sends ,his rain on the just  
and on the unjust2 but ,he keeps ,his   
love for those who worship and love ,his
 ,son 7,john xiv4 #ba74  ,and that is   
,his example to you and me4  ,we must   
seek ,his ,spirit to guide us in all    
things1 that being made wise with ,his  
wisdom1 we may ourselves possess the    
pearl of great price and not cast our   
pearls before swine4                    
,i4--,,but ,,what ,,is ,a ,,pearl8  ,it 
is a well-known gem found in several    
shell-fish1 such as the common mussel   
and the oyster4  ,how it came to be     
there was long a puzzle to man4  ,in    
ancient times they imagined it was      
formed from the dew of heaven4  ,the    
sparkling dewdrops and the shining      
pearls were so like each other that they
 adopted the beautiful fancy that the   
pearl was begotten from the dew4  ,to   
explain the shining lustre of the gem   
this other detail was added1 that just  

at the moment when the conception was   
taking place there was a vivid flash of 
lightning1 and the pearl caught         
something of the fiery gleam4  ,all     
these fancies are read together by one  
ancient writer1 when he says regarding  
the pearl of great price1 ,this ,pearl  
is ,jesus1 whom the virgin conceived    
from the divine lightning4  ,but all    
this1 of course1 is pure fancy4  ,a     
pearl is not formed from the dew1 and   
still less is its lustre derived from   
the lightning4 ,science would describe  
it as the result of an accident4  ,it is
 an accidental concretion of shelly     
matter deposited within the shell of    
certain mollusca4  ,if you open an      
oyster-shell you find the inside of it  
all covered over with a bright smooth   
covering of shelly matter4  ,this is    
laid on in innumerable layers1 the one  
above the other1 and the thinner and    
more transparent the layers1 the more   
perfect is the lustre4  ,now1 if any    
hard substance like a grain of sand gets

 inside the shell1 this shelly matter   
begins to gather round it1 coat after   
coat1 which harden as they gather1 until
 the pearl is fully formed4  ,it is said
 the ,chinese take advantage of this    
fact to get the little creatures to make
 imitation pearls4  ,they insert round  
pellets between the valves of the       
mussel1 and in a short time the creature
 deposits a coating of this pearly      
substance upon them1 and they can       
scarcely be detected from true pearls4  
,a pearl1 then1 is a grain of sand      
transformed into a precious gem4  ,it   
began as a kind of thorn in the flesh1  
and ended in a jewel so valuable that   
thousands of pounds cannot buy it4  ,the
 unwelcome intruder was really an angel 
in disguise4  ,the pain became a pearl4 
,and do not all human pearls come in the
 same way8  ,is there any gain without  
pain8 or is there any perfection without
 the fire of suffering8 ,no4  ,the      
fruit-tree does not flourish apart from 
the pruning-knife1 and the fruit is not 

ripened apart from the scorching heat of
 the sun4  ,iron is not hammered into   
shape until it has been thrust into the 
furnace1 and character does not glisten 
like a gem until it has been polished by
 the lapidary4  ,and thus we find the   
poets saying that they learn in         
suffering what they teach in song2 and  
the young people will not forget that   
even ,jesus--the ,pearl of great        
price--was made perfect through         
sufferings 7,heb4 ii4 #aj74 ,so that    
,carlyle was well within the mark when  
he wrote3 ,thought1 true labour of any  
kind1 highest virtue itself1 is it not  
the daughter of pain8  ,yes1 every thorn
 may be a blessing in disguise4  ,every 
pain may become a pearl4  ,there is one 
gem in the character of ,jesus that all 
you young people would do well to       
imitate4  ,i mean the pearl of          
obedience4  ,though ,he knew that ,god  
was ,his ,father1 and the temple was    
,his ,father's house1 ,he went down to  
,nazareth with ,joseph and ,mary1 and   

was subject unto them4  ,that was the   
keynote of ,his life4  ,to obey was     
better than sacrifice2 and even at the  
tragic close ,he was obedient unto      
death4 ,is that the ornament1 children1 
with which you are trying to adorn your 
character8  ,are you in loving          
subjection to your parents on earth1 and
 are you learning to be in subjection to
 your ,father in heaven8  ,that can only
 be obtained in one way--the way ,jesus 
won it--the way of self-sacrifice and   
self-denial4  ,every pearl is the       
product of a pain4 ,jesus learned       
obedience by the things which ,he       
suffered 7,heb4 v4 #h74                 
,,ii4--,,the ,,value ,,of ,,pearls4     
,the most valuable pearl-fisheries are  
to be found in the ,persian ,gulf and on
 the western coast of ,ceylon4  ,the    
annual produce of the former is said to 
be over ,l#bjj1jjj2 while that of the   
latter is set down at even a higher sum4
  ,the value of single pearls has       
sometimes been enormous4 ,those who have

 read ,rider ,haggard's books will      
remember the graphic way in which he    
describes an incident in the life of    
,cleopatra4  ,that unscrupulous woman1  
at a supper with ,mark ,antony1 took    
from her ear one of a pair of pearls of 
the value of ,l#hj1jjj1 and having      
dissolved it in vinegar1 swallowed the  
absurdly precious draught2 and she would
 have done the same with its fellow had 
it not been rescued from her wanton     
pride4  ,but however valuable pearls may
 be1 there are other things more        
valuable still4 ,holy ,scripture        
mentions three4  7#a47 99,wisdom994--,no
 mention shall be made of coral or of   
pearls2 for the price of wisdom is above
 rubies 7,job xxviii4 #ah74 ,the wisdom 
here referred to is the divine          
wisdom--the plan or purpose of ,god     
exhibited in the universe4  ,but the    
same truth applies to human wisdom--the 
gaining of knowledge and discretion in  
human affairs4  ,the price of this is   
far above rubies4  ,it is not to be had 

for pearls4  ,how then shall a boy get  
it8 ,only by hard work and diligent     
application4 ,he must shun the company  
of the idle and the frivolous1 and give 
his time and thought to the             
companionship of books4  ,he must show  
diligence at school1 obedience in the   
home1 and reverence in the church4  ,all
 his lessons must be faithfully learned1
 every task must be faithfully          
performed4  ,and if he learn thus early 
to sow well in youth1 a harvest of      
intelligence and wisdom will be the     
reward4  ,and this will be a possession 
more valuable than pearls1 for          
,just experience shows in every soil    
,that those who think must govern those 
who toil4   7#b47 99,good ,works994--,in
 like manner1 that they adorn themselves
 444 not with gold or pearls1 but with  
good works 7#a ,tim4 ii4 #i74  ,the     
wisdom must show itself in outward      
action4  ,if the fountain be pure1 so   
also must the flowing stream4  ,the hand
 must follow the heart4  ,and all this  

in the way of adornment--the adornment  
of a good woman2 and girls especially   
will not miss the lesson that broidered 
hair and golden trinkets are not the    
only kind of ornaments4  ,peter speaks  
of the ornament of a meek and quiet     
spirit1 which is in the sight of ,god of
 great price2 and ,paul points us here1 
in #ast ,timothy1 to the beauty and     
excellency of good works4 ,she who is   
arrayed in meekness and kind-hearted    
generosity has no need of flounces and  
finery4  ,she may even say of all other 
ornaments1 ,unadorned1 adorned the most4
  7#c47 99,salvation99 7,matt4 xiii4    
#df74--;,both wisdom and good works must
 show themselves in religion4  ,the     
beginning of wisdom is the fear of ,god1
 and the best of good works is to       
believe on ,him whom ,he hath sent      
7,john vi4 #bi74  ,till this is done1 we
 are like the merchant man seeking      
goodly pearls4  ,he found a great many2 
for this beautiful world in which we    
live has many precious secrets to reveal

 to the earnest seeker4  ,but not until 
we find salvation through ,jesus does   
the great ,eureka1 ,i have found it1    
burst from our lips4  ,this is the      
treasure which all the wealth of the    
world cannot buy4  ,not all the         
thousands of ,cleopatra could lay it at 
her feet4  ,and yet1 wonder of wonders1 
it is given to the penitent soul without
 money and without price4  ,jesus says1 
,buy of me gold tried in the fire1 that 
thou mayst be rich2 and white raiment1  
that thou mayst be clothed4  ,he that   
hath no money1 come ye1 buy and eat1 yea
 come1 buy wine and milk without money  
and without price4  ,this is true       
wisdom1 and this is the soundest        
morality1 to come and find in the       
salvation of ,jesus the ,pearl of ,great
 ,price4                                
99,some ,other ,shells499               
,i4      ,happy sunlight on the sea1    
,sparkling diamonds1 all for me2        
,wavelets chasing for the land1         
,there to kiss the golden sand4         

,see6 a floating1 straying shell1       
,run6 it has a tale to tell2            
,children1 with their eager eyes1       
,splash the water1 seize the prize4     
,hold it to the little ear1     ,list   
and tell me what you hear44     ,music8 
,yes1 for you and me1     ,that's the   
music of the sea4      ,down below the  
water blue1     ,there it lived and     
there it grew1     ,gazing through its  
watery dome1     ,happy in its ocean    
home4      ,list'ning there both night  
and day1     ,hearing what the wild     
waves say1     ,watching sea-weed float 
along1     ,there it learned the ocean's
 song4                                  
,,ii4      ,but the children never      
still1     ,see them leap like mountain 
rill1     ,ringing out their laughter   
sweet1     ,sending forth their little  
fleet4      ,full of mirth1 but leaving 
me     ,musing by another sea1          
,casting with its angry swell     ,at my
 feet another shell4      ,there upon   
the sand to rest1     ,with a babe upon 

her breast1     ,came a mother1 not a   
wife1     ,tossed upon the sea of life4 
,as she sat and sat alone1     ,did she 
hear another moan8     ,waves that      
smiled1 then swept the deck1     ,till  
they left this shattered wreck8         
,yes1 while tear-drops rose and fell1   
,there ,i heard the murmuring shell2    
,strange the tale it brought to me1     
,moaning echoes of the sea4      ,round 
and round the eddying world     ,had    
this straying shell been whirled2       
,round and round lay blackest night--   
,moths see nothing but the light4       
,tossed by sin and idle care1     ,pain 
and anguish found her there1     ,young 
and mirthful1 fair but frail1     ,there
 she learned the ocean's wail4          
,,iii4      ,hold it to the little ear1 
,children1 tell me what you hear4       
,nothing8  ,no1 you cannot know     ,all
 this human tide of woe4      ,would ,i 
be a child again1     ,not to know      
another's pain8     ,mourn like some for
 childhood's hours1     ,gathering      

nought but summer's flowers8      ,no4  
,i want the power to tell1     ,power to
 hear the murmuring shell1     ,power to
 catch the rising moan1     ,power to   
make its wail my own4      ,learning    
thus to feel with pain1     ,i shall be 
a child again1     ,but a child         
experience taught1     ,child in        
heart--a man in thought4      ,then     
,i'll hear the echoing swell     ,in the
 murmur of each shell1     ,and with    
touch of friendship warm1     ,try to   
lull the raging storm4      ,lulled to  
rest1 its song shall be1     ,murmurs of
 another sea--     ,heavenly love shall 
thrill and dwell     ,in the murmur of  
the shell4                       99     
99      99      99      99      ,of that
 higher sea to tell1     ,make me1      
,lord1 an echoing shell1     ,that the  
world may hear in mine     ,echoes of   
the love divine4                        
99,the ,calf499   ,ye shall go forth and
 gambol as calves of the stall4--,mal4  
iv4 #b 7,r4,v474   ,malachi is known as 

the last of the prophets4  ,with him the
 sun of a thousand years was sinking in 
the west4  ,it had its rise in the      
prophetical school of ,samuel1 its      
zenith in the glowing visions of        
,isaiah1 and its setting in the earnest 
appeals of ,malachi4  ,but before it    
loses all its glory in the gathering    
twilight1 it gives the fair promise of  
another and better sun4 ,malachi is led 
to write--,unto you that fear ,my name  
shall the ,sun of righteousness arise   
with healing in ,his wings2 and ye shall
 go forth and gambol as calves of the   
stall4  ,he had frequently seen the     
young calves let loose in the morning   
sunshine1 and as he stood and watched   
their happy gambols1 they became a kind 
of illustration to him of far higher    
joys4 ,they led him to think of the     
coming day of the ,lord1 when1 in the   
brightness of that better ,sun1 those   
that feared ,his name would rejoice with
 joy unspeakable and full of glory4     
,they too would go forth like the beasts

 of the field and skip and play in the  
sunshine4      ,to hail ,thy rise1 ,thou
 better ,sun1       ,the gathering      
nations come1     ,joyous1 as when the  
reapers bear       ,the harvest         
treasures home4   ,the ,bible imagery of
 the calf1 however1 has much more to    
tell us than this1 and ,i propose to-day
 to direct your attention to three      
points4                                 
,i4--,,the ,,calf ,,as ,,an ,,idol4  ,in
 ,exodus xxxii4 we have the story of the
 golden calf4  ,it was a solemn hour in 
the history of the ,hebrews4  ,moses was
 up on ,mount ,sinai communing with     
,god1 and all the people were waiting in
 the plain4  ,they had watched their    
leader ascend the hill and disappear    
within the cloud2 and for well-nigh     
forty days they had been waiting for his
 return4  ,but evidently they were      
waiting in vain4  ,day by day they had  
expected the cloud to lift and pass     
away1 but there it was still lying on   
the rocky summit1 brooding and dark as  

ever4  ,they began to lose heart4  ,they
 gradually grew impatient1 and finally  
they broke out in actual rebellion4     
,they turned to ,aaron and said1 ,up1   
make us gods which shall go before us2  
for as for this ,moses1 the man who     
brought us up out of the land of ,egypt1
 we wot not what is become of him4  ,and
 then follows the sad story of ,israel's
 idolatry4  ,moses on the hill was      
receiving a new revelation4  ,he was    
receiving from ,jehovah the two tables  
of stone4  ,and these were the first two
 lines inscribed upon them3 ,thou shalt 
have no other gods before ,me4  ,thou   
shalt not make unto thee any graven     
image4  ,and lo6 at the very moment that
 these words were being written1 the    
chosen people at the foot of the hill   
were breaking off their golden earrings 
and making a molten calf4 ,they were    
renouncing the worship of ,jehovah and  
setting the worship of ,egypt--the      
worship of the bull1 ,apis1 in its      
place4  ,when ,moses came down and      

beheld this idol1 he was completely     
overcome4 ,in a great outburst of grief 
and anger he dashed the tables out of   
his hand and break them beneath the     
mount4 ,israel had sinned a great sin4  
,they were a stiff-necked and rebellious
 people4  ,and the anger of the ,lord   
was kindled against ,israel1 and there  
fell of the people that day about three 
thousand men4  ,it is the same taproot  
of sin which is the cause of all our    
sorrows4 ,we1 too1 have sinned against  
the ,lord4  ,we have made some kind of  
golden calf1 and set it in the place of 
,jehovah4  ,and unless we are saved from
 the awful consequences of our sin1 we  
also will suffer1 as those rebellious   
,hebrews suffered1 because of the idol  
which we have made4 ,this is the first  
lesson that we may learn from the ,bible
 imagery of the calf4  ,it sets before  
us the true nature and the terrible     
consequences of sin4                    
,,ii4--,,the ,,calf ,,as ,a ,,sacrifice4
  ,the stain of sin may be deep1 but the

 power of redemption is deeper4 ,moses  
said unto ,aaron1 ,take thee a bull calf
 for a sin offering1 and offer it before
 the ,lord 7,lev4 ix4 #b74  ,not indeed 
that the blood of calves could take away
 sin4      ,not all the blood of beasts 
,on ,jewish altars slain1     ,could    
give the guilty conscience peace1       
,or wash away the stain4  ,but that was 
the ,old ,testament way of setting forth
 the great fact of redemption4 ,the     
offering of the bull calf was a picture 
of the sacrifice of ,jesus4  ,for as we 
read in ,hebrews ix4 #aa1 ,christ having
 come a high priest of good things to   
come1 not through the blood of goats and
 calves1 but through ,his own blood1    
entered in once into the holy place1    
having obtained eternal redemption for  
us4  ,this is the hope and plea of every
 poor sinner4  ,the blood of ,jesus1    
,his ,son1 cleanseth us from all sin4   
,and as a sacrifice1 the bull calf could
 not be redeemed4  ,the first-born of   
man might be redeemed1 as also the      

firstling of any unclean animal2 but not
 so the firstling of an ox4  ,it was a  
clean animal1 and its blood must be     
sprinkled upon the altar 7,num4 xviii4  
#ag74 ,in this way it shadowed forth the
 sacrifice of ,christ1 of whom it was   
said1 ,he saved others2 ,himself ,he    
cannot save4  ,as our ,divine ,isaac ,he
 came to ,mount ,moriah1 but there was  
no ram found there to take ,his place as
 the sacrifice4  ,he alone was a perfect
 offering4  ,he alone was clean2 and    
therefore ,he alone as the ,great ,high 
,priest offered ,himself as the victim4 
,he poured out ,his soul unto death4    
,and it is to this ,saviour that all you
 young people must look4  ,neither is   
there salvation in any other3 there is  
none other name under heaven given among
 men whereby we must be saved4  ,looking
 unto ,jesus1 loving ,him1 and resting  
on ,him--that is the way we enter into  
life4  ,behold the ,lamb of ,god1 which 
taketh away the sin of the world4  ,this
 is the second lesson we learn from the 

,bible imagery of the calf4 ,sin is     
followed by sacrifice4  ,the molten calf
 gives place to the calf that was slain4
                          ,,iii4--,,the 
,,calf ,,as ,a ,,feast4  ,you remember  
the story of the ,prodigal ,son         
contained in the ,gospel of ,luke4  ,in 
that pearl of parables we have the      
mention of the fatted calf4  ,this was  
considered a great delicacy among the   
,jews4 ,large numbers were carefully    
selected and fattened for the purpose4  
,and this is what we are to understand  
by calves of the stall4  ,even the witch
 of ,endor had a fat calf in her house1 
which she killed and dressed for ,king  
,saul 7#a ,sam4 xxviii4 #bd74  ,and     
,abraham ran unto the herd1 and fetched 
a calf tender and good1 and prepared it 
for the three angels who had visited him
 in the plains of ,mamre 7,gen4 xviii4  
#g74  ,this was hospitality worthy of   
both kings and angels2 and this is the  
kind of entertainment which is set      
before every returning prodigal4 ,they  

feed on angels' food4  ,they eat of the 
finest of the wheat4  ,they are brought 
into ,christ's banqueting house1 and    
,his banner over them is love4  ,did    
ever any one sin a more grievous sin    
than the prodigal8  ,was ever any one   
visited with a sadder and sorer         
punishment8  ,like the silly sheep1 he  
had strayed away into the far-off       
country2 and there1 in that distant     
land1 he found himself in penury and    
rags4  ,he would fain have filled his   
belly with the husks that the swine did 
eat4  ,but the ,shepherd found the      
sheep4  ,the poor wanderer came to      
himself in that distant land1 and found 
his way back again to his father's      
house4  ,and what was the result8  ,his 
home-coming was celebrated by a feast4  
,the father said unto the servant1      
,bring hither the fatted calf and kill  
it4      ,a day of feasting ,i ordain1  
,let mirth and song abound1     ,my son 
was dead1 and lives again1       ,was   
lost1 and now is found4      ,thus joy  

abounds in paradise1       ,among the   
hosts of heav'n1     ,soon as the sinner
 quits his sins1       ,repents and is  
forgiven4   ,the sin1 the sacrifice1 the
 feast4  ,the golden calf1 the slain    
calf1 the fatted calf4 ,the first is    
ours1 the second is ,christ's1 and the  
third is designed for both4 ,behold1 ,i 
stand at the door and knock3 if any man 
hear ,my voice and open the door1 ,i    
will come in to him1 and will sup with  
him1 and he with ,me4  ,nay1 ,jesus     
,himself is both sacrifice and feast4   
,he could turn to the ,jews and say1    
,whoso eateth ,my flesh1 and drinketh   
,my blood1 hath eternal life4  ,i am the
 living bread which came down from      
heaven3 if any man eat of this bread1 he
 shall live for ever4  ,we must repent  
of the sin1 we must trust in the        
sacrifice1 and we must feed upon the    
feast4  ,not till then shall we be fired
 with the hope and filled with the joy  
of the last of the prophets--,unto you  
that fear ,my name1 shall the ,sun of   

righteousness arise with healing in ,his
 wings3 and ye shall go forth and gambol
 as calves of the stall4                
99,the ,bat499   ,in that day a man     
shall cast his idols to the moles and   
the bats4--,isa4 ii4 #bj4   ,the bat is 
only mentioned three times in the       
,bible1 and it cannot be said at a first
 reading that the references are very   
flattering4  ,they seem to justify the  
kind of horror which most people feel   
when they encounter a bat2 for it is    
generally regarded as a creature of such
 ill-omen that its very presence causes 
a shudder1 and its approach would put to
 flight many a human being4  ,moses     
speaks of it as one of the unclean      
animals--a creature neither to be eaten 
as food nor offered in sacrifice2 while 
,isaiah describes it as a fit companion 
for the mole1 or rather the mole-rat1   
which crawls away from the sunshine1 and
 seems to love the darkness rather than 
the light1 because its deeds are evil4  
,clearly the little night-flier has a   

good deal to contend with in winning for
 itself a place among the world's       
favourites4  ,it has enough against it  
to crush an ,atlas1 not to speak of a   
bat2 and if it rise to a position of    
honour after all1 it does so in spite of
 the incubus of general dislike and     
loathing which the ignorance of         
superstition has heaped upon it4  ,but  
all true bats1 like all true boys1 but  
seek to rise above any such reputation4 
,i4--,,the ,,jewish ,,prohibition4  ,the
 bat was regarded as unclean4  ,two     
reasons may be given for                
this--corresponding to the two classes  
of bats which are known to have existed 
in ,bible lands4 ,we have first the     
insectivorous bats1 which1 both in      
habits and appearance1 are so repugnant 
that no one would ever dream of         
regarding them as food1 or as fit       
objects for sacrifice4  ,they were      
rejected on the principle that nothing  
repulsive or hideous is to be eaten or  
offered2 for this would offend the      

horror naturalis which is so great a    
safeguard in human life4  ,and indeed1  
if these were the only bats known to the
 ,jews1 the prohibition as thus applied 
would seem to be needless4  ,but these  
were not the only bats4  ,we have also  
the large frugivorous bats which have   
been used as food in various parts of   
the world2 and they may have been so    
used by the ,jews themselves when       
sojourning in the land of ,egypt4  ,the 
,egyptian monuments show that these     
large fox-headed bats were not at all   
uncommon in the valley of the ,nile2 and
 ,canon ,tristram secured two fine      
specimens even in ,central ,palestine1  
which measured twenty and a half inches 
from wing to wing4 ,now if surrounding  
nations ate these bats as a common      
article of diet1 would not this be a    
sufficient reason why the ,jews should  
not be allowed to touch them8  ,i think 
it would4  ,israel as a nation was set  
apart to ,jehovah4  ,they were ,his     
peculiar people4  ,they were ,his chosen

 and purchased possession2 and therefore
 even in their food there must be a     
separation in which this reference to   
,jehovah was expressed4  ,they must be  
made to feel that even in the           
prohibition of the bat and other        
animals1 the divine command had been    
addressed to them1 ,come out from among 
them1 and be ye separate1 saith the     
,lord4  ,and yet one cannot but think   
that all this was rather hard on the    
bat4 ,it is said that the ,african      
negroes depict and describe their evil  
spirits as white2 and that in           
consequence1 the negro children fly in  
consternation if perchance a white man  
comes into their territory4  ,yet a     
white man is not so very horrid an      
object after all1 if one only dare look 
at him1 and the same remark holds good  
with the bats4 7,j4 ,g4 ,wood47  ,a very
 pretty and useful creature is the bat1 
and it is quite qualified to teach us   
many valuable lessons4                  
,,ii4--,,what ,a ,,bat ,,is4  ,how are  

we to describe this little puzzle8  ,are
 we to call it a bird or a beast1 or is 
it both of these rolled into one8 ,the  
possession of wings would seem to argue 
that it must be a bird2 but then its    
sharp teeth and mouse-like body would as
 clearly prove that it must be a beast2 
so that the simple question whether the 
bat is a bird or beast is not so simple 
as it looks4  ,the common name1         
,flitter-mouse1 exhibits the same       
difficulty2 and so also does ,a,esop in 
his amusing description of the battle of
 the beasts and birds4  ,the bat1       
availing himself of his combination of  
fur and wings1 did not join himself to  
either party4  ,he hovered over the     
field of battle1 and waited to see which
 side was going to be victorious4  ,he  
was determined in the final issue to be 
on the side of the victors4  ,but in    
this little game he was entirely        
unsuccessful2 for when they saw the     
tactics of the little traitor1 he was   
scouted by both parties1 and has been   

compelled ever since to appear in public
 only at night4  ,it is quite evident   
that when ,a,esop wrote this fable1 he  
was not sure what to call the           
bat--whether to describe it as a bird   
because it had wings1 or to place it    
among the beasts because it had fur4    
,but what then is the tiny creature8  ,a
 mammal1 of course4  ,a whale is not a  
fish because it swims in the sea1 and   
the bat is not a bird because it flies  
in the air4 ,they both suckle their     
young1 and therefore are true mammals4  
,nay1 ,linnaeus has actually placed the 
bat in the highest order of the         
mammals--in that of the primates beside 
the monkey and the man4 ,indeed1 in one 
essential particular it has easily      
excelled both4  ,it has grown for itself
 a pair of wings--not a mere parachute  
like that of the flying squirrels or the
 flying fish1 but a real pair of wings  
which enable it to laugh to scorn all   
the flying machines and balloons ever   
invented by man4  ,how clumsy all these 

inventions are in comparison with a     
bat's wing4  ,four of its fingers are   
drawn out like the ribs of an umbrella1 
and then covered over with its own skin 
like the web of a duck's foot2 and thus 
furnished with the necessary means of   
competing with the birds1 it sails out  
like the swallow in pursuit of its prey4
  ,the remaining finger or thumb is used
 as a hook to suspend it from the roof  
or rafters where it takes up its abode4 
,here then is the high position to which
 the bat has attained4  ,it is the only 
mammal that flies4                      
,,iii4--,,what ,,the ,,bat ,,does4  ,let
 no one say that it lives a useless     
life4  ,it is one of the most useful    
animals we have4  ,it vies with the     
swallow in destroying the swarms of     
insects that infest the atmosphere4     
,they divide the day of twenty-four     
hours between them4 ,the bat begins the 
work where the swallow lays it down2 and
 ruthlessly pursues the insect prey all 
through the night4  ,from dark to dawn1 

and sometimes far into the day1 it does 
yeoman service in this important        
connection4  ,the present writer        
remembers a pair of bats in ,perthshire1
 which were found in company with the   
swallows even at the hour of noon4  ,it 
was the month of ,september1 and perhaps
 they felt they must now make haste in  
preparing for the winter's hibernation4 
,for the bat is not able1 like the      
swallow1 to migrate to a warmer clime   
when the supply of insect food begins to
 fail4 ,it must find another way of     
spending the long months of the winter4 
,it must pass into a deep death-like    
slumber1 from which it is awakened1 as  
the flowers in spring are awakened1 by  
the returning life of the summer4 ,but  
the traces of a wise design are seen    
everywhere4 ,the marks of a good and    
faithful ,creator are found through all 
,his works4 ,if one creature has the    
power of migrating1 another has the     
power of hibernating2 and thus even in  
the mode of existence pursued by a bat1 

there is abundant evidence of the wisdom
 and goodness of ,god4  ,and how is the 
bat able to thread its way through the  
darkest caverns where the sharpest eyes 
are rendered useless8 ,it is not blind1 
like ,tibbie ,dyster in ,alec ,forbes2  
and yet it might say1 as she did when   
congratulated on her fine spinning1 ,i  
wadna spin sae weel gin it warna that   
the ,almichty pat some sicht into the   
pints o' my fingers 'cause there was    
nane left i' my een4  ,the bat has      
indeed a marvellous power of sight in   
the pints o' its fingers4  ,prof4       
,mivart can only compare the            
sensitiveness of its touch to a state of
 inflammation2 and it is this extreme   
sensibility that enables them to direct 
their flight in these dark caverns4     
,this is another coign of vantage       
reached by the bat4 ,it is the only     
mammal that possesses wings1 and these  
wings1 in turn1 are the very perfection 
of the delicate sense of touch4  ,but we
 go back to the point from which we     

started1 and say that1 however useful   
and wonderful the bat may be1 it is not 
to be eaten as food or offered in       
sacrifice4 ,it is unclean4  ,this1      
indeed1 is a principle which is full of 
gospel teaching4  ,a thing may be good  
and useful in its own place1 and yet be 
quite unfit as an offering when we      
appear before ,god4  ,good thoughts1    
kind words1 and brave deeds are all     
needed4  ,they are all necessary for the
 adornment of our ,christian character2 
but for the forgiveness of our sins1 and
 the reception of so great salvation1   
there is no sacrifice which can be      
mentioned save one3 ,behold the ,lamb of
 ,god1 which taketh away the sin of the 
world4  ,to ,jesus then must every boy  
and girl look1 saying in the language of
 the hymn--      ,just as ,i am1 without
 one plea1     ,but that ,thy blood was 
shed for me1     ,and that ,thou bid'st 
me come to ,thee1       ,o ,lamb of     
,god1 ,i come4                          
99,the ,eagle499   ,doth the eagle mount

 up at thy command1 and make her nest on
 high8--,job xxxix4 #bg4   ,jehovah is  
answering ,job out of the whirlwind4    
,he brings before him a grand panorama  
of external nature--the earth and sea1  
snow and hail1 the ,pleiades and the    
lightning--the wild goat1 the wild ass1 
the ostrich1 the hawk1 and the eagle2   
and as the glorious pageant defiles     
before his eyes1 he forces him to face  
and answer the question3 ,shall mortal  
man be more just than ,god8  ,shall he  
that contendeth with the ,almighty      
instruct ,him8  ,he that reproveth ,god1
 let him answer4  ,and ,job's answer is 
all that could be desired3 ,behold1 ,i  
am vile3 what shall ,i answer ,thee8  ,i
 will lay mine hand upon my mouth4  ,the
 greatness of ,god in nature has taught 
man his own utter insignificance4  ,doth
 the eagle mount up at thy command8     
,no4  ,all these pictures point man to  
,god4  ,they combine to illustrate the  
mind and thought of ,him who formed them
 and cares for them4  ,so that the      

conclusion of ,ruskin is more than      
justified that the universe is not a    
mirror that reflects to proud self-love 
her own intelligence4  ,it is a mirror  
that reflects to the devout soul the    
attributes of ,god4                     
,i4--,,the ,,rock-,,dwelling ,,habits   
,,of ,,the ,,eagle4  ,she dwelleth and  
abideth on the rock1 upon the crag of   
the rock and the strong place 7ver4     
#bh74  ,it is to this that ,obadiah     
refers when he takes up his parable     
against the ,edomites4  ,they too were  
rock-dwellers1 who had made for         
themselves houses and founded cities in 
the rocky fastnesses of ,mount ,seir4   
,but they are reminded that the         
impregnable and inaccessible heights to 
which they have resorted will be no     
defence against ,jehovah3 ,though thou  
exalt thyself as the eagle1 and though  
thou set thy nest among the stars1      
thence will ,i bring thee down1 saith   
the ,lord4  ,it is even added that ,edom
 would become utterly desolate3 ,as thou

 hast done1 it shall be done unto thee1 
444 and there shall not be any remaining
 of the house of ,esau4  ,and if the    
testimony of modern travellers may be   
accepted1 the desolation is mournful    
enough4  ,in #ahdh ,miss ,harriet       
,martineau visited ,petra1 the chief of 
these rock-cities1 and describes it as  
follows3 ,nowhere else is there         
desolation like that of ,petra1 where   
these rock doorways stand wide--still   
fit for the habitation of a multitude1  
but all empty and silent except for the 
multiplied echo of the cry of the eagle1
 or the bleat of the kid4  ,no2 these   
excavations never were all tombs4 ,in   
the morning the sons of ,esau came out  
in the first sunshine to worship at     
their doors1 before going forth1 proud  
as their neighbour eagles1 to the chase2
 and at night the yellow fires lighted  
up from within1 tier above tier1 the    
face of the precipice 7,eastern ,life1  
vol4 iii4 #e74  ,the ,edomite1 alas1 is 
gone1 though the eagle is still left1   

and she fixes her habitation on the     
dizzy crag4                             
,,ii4--,,the ,,acuteness ,,of ,,the     
,,eagle',s ,,sight4  ,from thence she   
seeketh the prey1 and her eyes behold   
afar off 7ver4 #bi74 ,the eye of a bird 
is a marvellous structure4  ,it is a    
telescope and microscope combined4  ,it 
has the power of compressing the lens to
 adapt it to varying distances2 and is  
larger in proportion than the eye of    
quadrupeds4  ,the kestrel hawk1 for     
instance1 feeds on the common field     
mouse2 but this tiny creature is so like
 the colour of the soil1 that a human   
eye could scarcely detect it at the     
distance of a few yards4  ,the kestrel1 
however1 has no such difficulty4  ,her  
telescopic eye sees it from the sky     
overhead1 and like a bolt from the blue1
 she swoops down upon the helpless prey4
  ,no mistake is made as she nears the  
ground4 ,swiftly and almost             
instantaneously the telescope is        
compressed into the microscope1 and the 

daring freebooter could pick up a pin4  
,the same power is possessed by the     
,griffon vulture or eagle of ,holy      
,scripture4  ,her eyes behold afar off4 
,a dozen eagles may be soaring upwards  
in the sunlight1 until they become mere 
specks against the blue of heaven1 but  
they are carefully watching each other  
in their wheeling circles1 and          
diligently scanning the desert below in 
the hope of discovering some prey4  ,the
 moment the object is sighted1 and even 
one bird has made a swoop downwards1 the
 movement is detected by the one        
nearest1 which immediately follows2     
while the second is followed by a third1
 and the third by a fourth1 until in a  
few minutes1 wheresoever the carcase is1
 there will the eagles be gathered      
together4  ,their vast power of wing and
 acuteness of sight have led them to the
 prey4  ,and the lesson is not far to   
seek4  ,in the ,carlyle use of the word 
it emphasises the need of being able to 
see4  ,to the poet1 as to every other1  

we say first of all1 see4  ,if you      
cannot do that1 it is of no use         
stringing rhymes together and calling   
yourself a poet1 there is no hope for   
you4  ,and in religion it is the pure in
 heart that see ,god4 ,if the inner eye 
be single1 the whole body shall be full 
of light4  ,the aged seer on ,patmos saw
 into the heaven of heavens4  ,like     
,paul1 he heard words not lawful to be  
uttered2 and thus in the symbolism of   
the ,christian ,church1 he is known as  
the ,new ,testament eagle4  ,he was the 
one who saw more and heard more1 but    
spake less than all the other disciples4
  ,but all the saints of ,god may soar  
and see in some measure as he did--     
,on eagles' wings1 they mount1 they     
soar1       ,their wings are faith and  
love1     ,till past the cloudy regions 
here       ,they rise to heaven above4  
,,iii4--,,the ,,eagle ,,and ,,her       
,,young4  ,her young ones also suck up  
blood1 and where the slain are1 there is
 she 7ver4 #cj74  ,the eagle is one of  

the most rapacious of birds1 and her    
terrible instincts are transmitted to   
her young1 which suck up blood4  ,this  
is heredity in its most awful form1 and 
is well fitted to shadow forth the grim 
heritage of woe which is handed down to 
their children by the drunkard1 the     
libertine1 and the thief4  ,but in any  
form the thought is a solemn one1       
forcing even the ,psalmist to wail1     
,behold1 ,i was shapen in iniquity1 and 
in sin did my mother conceive me4  ,the 
fountain of the life is polluted1 as    
well as the streams--,her young ones    
also suck up blood4  ,but this is not   
the only way in which the eagle         
influences her young4 ,allusion is      
frequently made to the way in which she 
supports them in their first essays at  
flight4  ,when the tired fledgeling     
begins to flutter downwards1 she is said
 to fly beneath it1 and present her back
 and wings for its support4  ,and this  
becomes a beautiful illustration to the 
sacred writers of the paternal care of  

,jehovah over ,israel3 ,as an eagle     
stirreth up her nest1 fluttereth over   
her young1 spreadeth abroad her wings1  
taketh them1 beareth them on her wings3 
so the ,lord alone did lead them1 and   
there was no strange god with them      
7,deut4 xxxii4 #ab74 ,i bare you on     
eagles' wings1 and brought you unto     
,myself 7,exod4 xix4 #d74  ,let ours be 
the holy ambition to be worthy of that  
care4  ,let us try1 like the young      
eagles1 to soar and see for ourselves4  
,let us gaze upon the ,sun of           
righteousness and rejoice in the fulness
 of ,his light1 remembering the promise1
 that they who wait upon the ,lord shall
 renew their strength3 they shall mount 
up with wings as eagles3 they shall run 
and not be weary1 and they shall walk   
and not faint4      ,what is that1      
mother8  ,the eagle1 boy6     ,proudly  
careering his course with joy4     ,firm
 on his own mountain-vigour relying1    
,breasting the dark storm1 the red bolt 
defying3     ,his wing on the wind1 and 

his eye on the sun3     ,he swerves not 
a hair1 but bears onward1 right on4     
,boy1 may the eagle's flight ever be    
thine1       ,onward and upward1 true to
 the line4         --,g4 ,w4 ,,doane4   
99,the ,lion499   ,he went down also and
 slew a lion in the midst of a pit in   
time of snow4--#b ,sam4 xxiii4 #bj4     
,this text treats of the way in which   
lions were hunted in ,bible lands before
 the introduction of firearms4 ,a deep  
pit was dug in the woods1 and carefully 
covered over with withered leaves1 and  
when the monarch of the forest came out 
in search of his prey and stumbled into 
the trap1 he was easily secured by the  
wily hunters1 or forthwith despatched   
with their long-pointed spears4         
,benaiah1 however1 did a more valiant   
deed than this4  ,he went down          
single-handed to the bottom of the pit  
and slew the lion in the depth of       
winter4 ,evidently he was one of those  
muscular giants whom all young ,britons 
will delight to honour--a very ,samson  

in sheer herculean valour1 a brave and  
dauntless warrior1 who was well worthy  
of a place among ,king ,david's mighty  
men4  ,david himself1 as a young        
shepherd1 had gone after a lion and a   
bear1 and rescued a lamb out of their   
teeth4  ,and ,samson1 when going down to
 the vineyards of ,timnath1 had also    
slain a young lion which came out and   
roared against him4  ,but both of these 
encounters had taken place in the open1 
where there was a fair field and no     
favour2 whereas ,benaiah met his        
antagonist in the most dangerous        
circumstances--in the middle of winter1 
when the lion was ravenous with hunger1 
and at the bottom of a lion-trap1 where 
there was no possibility of escape4     
,clearly this man was a hero who would  
neither flinch nor fear3 ,he slew a lion
 in the midst of a pit in time of snow4 
99,brave and fearless99--that is the    
lesson which is written large for all   
healthy and noble-minded boys1 and it is
 taught by the character of the lion1 no

 less than by the courage of the        
lion-slayer4  ,there are few books in   
the ,bible that do not contain some     
reference to this majestic animal1 and  
it is always introduced as an emblem of 
strength and force1 whether used for a  
good purpose or abused for a bad one4   
,jesus ,himself is spoken of as the     
,lion of the tribe of ,judah1 and our   
adversary the devil is described by     
,peter as a roaring lion walking about  
and seeking whom he may devour4         
,i4--,,the ,,main ,,characteristics ,,of
 ,,the ,,lion4  7#a47 ,it is the        
incarnation of 99strength994 ,size for  
size1 it is one of the strongest of     
beasts4  ,it can kill a man or an       
antelope with one blow of its terrible  
paw2 and so powerful are the muscles of 
the neck1 that it has been known to     
carry away in its mouth an ordinary ox4 
,well may its name signify in the       
,arabic language the strong one4  7#b47 
,it is also celebrated for 99courage994 
,a lioness is simply the most terrible  

animal in existence when called upon to 
defend her cubs4  ,we all know how a    
hen1 when concerned about her chicks1   
will beat off both the fox and the hawk 
by the reckless fury of her attack4     
,and it may be imagined what the fury of
 a lioness will be when she has to fight
 for her young ones4  ,she cares little 
for the number of her foes or the nature
 of their weapons4  7#c47 ,another      
marked feature is that in the dark there
 is no animal so 99invisible99 as the   
lion4  ,almost every hunter has told a  
similar story of the lion's approach at 
night1 of the terror displayed by the   
dogs and cattle as he drew near1 and of 
the utter inability to see him1 though  
he was so close that they could hear his
 breathing4  7#d47 ,the main            
characteristic1 however1 is the lion's  
99roar994  ,this is said to be truly    
awful4  ,gordon ,gumming speaks of it as
 being extremely grand and peculiarly   
striking4  ,he startles the forest with 
loud1 deep-toned1 solemn roars1 repeated

 five or six times in quick succession1 
each increasing in loudness to the third
 or fourth1 when his voice dies away in 
five or six low1 muffled sounds1 very   
much resembling distant thunder4  ,it is
 to this ,amos refers when he speaks of 
his own prophetic call3 ,the lion hath  
roared3 who will not fear8 ,the ,lord   
,god hath spoken3 who can but prophesy8 
,,ii4--,,two ,,lessons ,,from ,,the     
,,lion4  7#a47 ,it is glorious to have a
 lion's strength1 but it is inglorious  
to use it like a lion4 ,when this is not
 attended to1 heroism degenerates into  
big-boned animalism1 and courage into   
selfishness and ferocity4 ,what might   
have been the glory of our expanding    
manhood and a tower of defence to the   
weak and defenceless becomes the        
,titanian arrogance of the bully and the
 senseless boast of the braggart4  ,this
 is to imitate the lion in a bad sense1 
and ,i'd rather be a dog and bay the    
moon than such a ,roman4  ,this is to   
walk in the footsteps of those ,assyrian

 monarchs who took the lion as their    
favourite emblem1 and counted it their  
greatest glory to lash the nations in   
their fury4  ,but all this is selling   
oneself to do wickedness in the sight of
 the ,lord1 and becoming willing        
captives to him who walketh about as a  
roaring lion seeking whom he may devour4
  7#b47 ,it is glorious to have a lion's
 strength1 if the strength be the       
measure of our gentleness4 ,it is in    
this sense that ,jesus is the ,lion of  
the tribe of ,judah4  ,he conquers by   
stooping4  ,his other name is the ,lamb4
  ,you remember how beautifully this is 
illustrated in ,a,esop's ,fables4  ,a   
lion asleep in the wood one day was     
awakened by a little field-mouse1 and   
quick as lightning he laid his terrible 
paw on the tiny intruder1 and forthwith 
would have sentenced it to death4  ,but 
the trembling captive implored him to   
show mercy1 and the great beast was     
softened1 and allowed it to escape4 ,and
 that gentleness was twice blessed--it  

blessed him that received and him that  
gave4  ,a few days after this the same  
lion was caught in a strong net which   
the hunters had set for him1 and        
struggle as he might1 he could not set  
himself free4  ,but the little          
field-mouse heard his terrible voice1   
and came to the rescue4 ,patiently1     
thread by thread1 it gnawed through the 
stout rope1 and the monarch of the      
forest was free4  ,and no doubt1 as he  
stood and shook his bushy mane before   
plunging into the depths of the forest1 
he thought within himself1 saying1 ,my  
former gentleness hath made me great4   
,yes1 he that is slow to anger is better
 than the mighty1 and he that ruleth his
 spirit than he that taketh a city4     
,even a lion may be tamed4  ,even a lion
 may become a lamb2 and it is glorious  
to have a lion's strength when it is    
tempered and tamed into gentleness4     
99,the ,cock-crowing499   ,and one shall
 rise up at the voice of the            
bird4--,eccles4 xii4 #d4   ,youth and   

age are strangely blended in this       
chapter4  ,with a pathetic reference to 
old age1 the young heart is called upon 
to remember its ,creator in the days of 
its youth4 ,the days of youth are the   
choice--the choosing days4  ,they are   
full of temptation1 but they are also   
blessed with many great advantages2 and 
no better season could be mentioned for 
resisting the one and improving the     
other than the moulding season of what  
the paraphrase calls life's gay morn4   
,old age1 like a sick-bed1 has enough to
 do with itself4  ,there are many       
discomforts that beset the path of the  
aged4  ,for one thing1 they cannot sleep
 so soundly as young people do4 ,they   
rise up at the voice of the bird4  ,the 
first twitter of the swallow under the  
eaves1 or the first crowing of the cock1
 is quite sufficient to break their     
night's repose1 for their light and     
fitful slumbers are very easily         
disturbed4  ,and old age is soon        
followed by death4  ,the silver cord is 

loosed1 and the golden bowl is broken2  
the pitcher is broken at the fountain1  
and the wheel broken at the cistern4    
,and the dust returns to the earth as it
 was1 and the spirit returns unto ,god  
who gave it4  ,how foolish then to      
neglect religion until a time of decay  
like that6  ,it is worse than foolish3  
it is suicidal4  ,the whole life ought  
to be given to ,god1 and not the mere   
dregs of the cup4 ,remember thy ,creator
 in the days of thy youth1 while the    
evil days come not1 nor the years draw  
nigh1 when thou shalt say1 ,i have no   
pleasure in them4      ,deep on thy     
soul1 before its powers       ,are yet  
by vice enslaved1     ,be thy ,creator's
 glorious name       ,and character     
engraved4               ,i4--,,the      
,,cock-,,crowing ,,as ,a ,,division ,,of
 ,,the ,,night4  ,we are so accustomed  
nowadays to clocks and watches1 that the
 ancient difficulty of marking the time 
may never have occurred to us4  ,we     
listen to our time-pieces striking the  

hours and think no more about it4  ,but 
the ,jew had no such time-piece4  ,he   
had no other way of knowing the hour    
than by listening to the voices of      
nature4  ,the starry heavens stretched  
above him like a great clock1 and he    
could read its face every night4 ,the   
clear ringing voice of chanticleer was  
also heard1 reminding him of the advent 
of the dawn4  ,and listening to these   
and such like voices1 and dividing the  
night by means of them1 he was able in a
 rough and general way to tell the      
advance of the hours4  ,he made the     
night to consist of four watches--the   
even from sunset to about nine o'clock1 
midnight from nine to twelve1           
cock-crowing from twelve to three1 and  
morning from three to sunrise 7see ,mark
 xiii4 #ce74  ,the ,rabbis used to say  
that ,david1 the sweet singer of        
,israel1 had a harp hung over his bed1  
which sounded at midnight of its own    
accord1 and woke the king to prayer4    
,and the children may remember that our 

own ,king ,alfred is reported to have   
used graduated candles to measure the   
hours of the night4  ,but until the     
advent of the pendulum1 the accurate    
measurement of time was impossible4     
,the face of the sky or the crowing of  
the cock could not give an exact        
chronometry4  ,nevertheless it had one  
clear advantage4 ,it kept man in touch  
with nature4  ,it made him listen       
reverently to the voices of the night4  
,and that was an education which we can 
ill afford to disregard4  ,we are not   
made richer by its loss4  ,we may only  
have lost our reverence for the sake of 
our mathematics4  ,influenced by it1 the
 pious ,jew responded to every voice of 
nature by uttering a blessing on the    
divine name4  ,even when the crow of the
 cock fell on his ear he was instructed 
to say1 ,blessed is ,he who hath given  
wisdom to the bird4  ,if our modern     
chronometry has abolished that1 perhaps 
we have paid too dear for our clocks and
 watches4  ,to have time-pieces that go 

to the minute is a great deal2 but to   
hear voices that keep us in touch with  
,god is a great deal more4  ,remember   
thy ,creator in the days of thy youth4  
,rise up and pray at the voice of the   
bird4  ,we are even told that ,god      
giveth songs in the night 7,job xxxv4   
#aj74      ,they err who say that music 
dwells       ,alone within the halls of 
light2     ,in anthems loud it also     
swells       ,within the temple of the  
night4      ,the happy birds that soar  
and sing       ,may all be mute when day
 is done1     ,the hum of insects on the
 wing       ,may sink to silence with   
the sun4      ,but when the sounds of   
toil are o'er1       ,and silence reigns
 beneath the stars1     ,a murmur runs  
along the shore1       ,where ocean     
smites his sandy bars4      ,its echo   
floats upon the wind1       ,beneath the
 moonbeam's mystic light1     ,and      
stealing o'er the listening mind1       
,produces music in the night4           
,while far among the stars1 as runs     

,the legend through a thousand years1   
,amid the rolling of the suns       ,is 
heard the music of the spheres4         
,the roll of ocean and of star          
,dispensing music through the night2    
,the one behind its sandy bar1          
,the other in the realms of light4      
,but both to teach the human breast     
,that ,he who guides the star and wave  
,can also breathe a psalm of rest       
,around the portal of the grave4        
,the night of grief1 of sin1 of death1  
,is not impervious to ,his power2       
,it feels the influence of ,his breath1 
,like springtime come to woo the flower4
      ,it melts in music o'er the soul1 
,for grief has caught the glorious      
light1     ,and rolling as the billows  
roll1       ,his songs are heard within 
the night4                 ,,ii4--,,the 
,,cock-,,crowing ,,and ,,the ,,fall ,,of
 ,,peter4  ,verily ,i say unto thee1    
,before the ,,cock crow twice1 thou     
shalt deny ,me thrice 7,mark xiv4 #cj74 
,but why twice8  ,there is no mention of

 this detail in the other three gospels4
  ,no2 but ,mark got his information    
from ,peter himself4  ,the pain of the  
degradation had sunk so deeply into     
,peter's soul that he had no difficulty 
in recalling each separate particular4  
,his self-confidence had been so great  
that he would not deny his ,lord1 and   
his subsequent profanity had been so    
awful after he had once entered on the  
downward course1 that not one warning   
was sufficient to show him his danger1  
but a warning repeated and repeated     
again1 before he was rudely awakened    
from the terrible stupor of his sin4    
,the first crowing of the cock at       
midnight1 and the second crowing-time   
about three o'clock1 were both alike    
needed to arouse and humble him in the  
dust2 and thus with painful accuracy he 
was able to recall the very words of the
 ,master1 ,before the cock crow twice1  
thou shalt deny ,me thrice4  ,on the    
other hand1 his self-confidence was a   
measure of his sincerity4 ,matthew      

,henry has well said1 that ,judas said  
nothing when ,christ told him he would  
betray ,him4  ,there was no protesting  
on his part4  ,he sinned by contrivance1
 ,peter by surprise3 he devised the     
wickedness1 ,peter was overtaken in this
 fault4  ,in the language of ,baxter's  
,second ,innings1 ,it was a swift that  
bowled out ,peter1 the night the cock   
crowed4  ,and the same author adds1 ,the
 best of boys are sometimes taken by    
swifts4  ,but1 swift or slow1 it was    
clearly ,peter's duty not to wait even  
for the first crowing of the cock1      
before he laid to heart the solemn      
warning of the ,master4  ,it would have 
been his wisdom to say1 ,lord1 ,thou    
knowest my nature better than ,i do2 and
 if ,satan desires to have me1 that he  
may sift me as wheat1 take ,thou charge 
of my life1 lead me not into temptation1
 but deliver me from evil4  ,that would 
have been ,peter's wisdom and safety4   
,but this he didn't do4  ,he planted his
 feet on the shifting sand of his own   

self-confidence1 and fell into the awful
 quagmire of denying his ,lord4  ,he    
would not believe the pointed warning of
 his ,master1 and therefore he was left 
to start up at the voice of the bird1   
and to go out and weep bitterly4  ,the  
cock-crowing may come to one man as the 
summons to praise and prayer2 but it    
comes to another as the very trump of   
,god1 calling him to penitence          
or--judgment4              ,,iii4--,,the
 ,,cock-,,crowing ,,and ,,christ',s     
,,second ,,coming4  ,watch ye therefore3
 for ye know not when the master of the 
house cometh1 at even1 or at midnight1  
or at the cock-crowing1 or in the       
morning 7,mark xiii4 #ce74 ,there is    
here a large element of uncertainty4    
,not the uncertainty of the event1 for  
the second coming of ,jesus is one of   
the things that cannot be shaken1 but   
the uncertainty of the time4 ,of that   
day or that hour knoweth no man1 not    
even the angels in heaven1 neither the  
,son1 but the ,father4  ,the time of    

,his coming has not been revealed1 to   
the end that we should be always ready4 
,and yet1 in that early age1 the second 
advent was believed to be nigh at hand4 
,jesus spake of it as a little while4   
,behold1 ,i come quickly1 and ,my reward
 is with ,me1 to give every man         
according as his work shall be4  ,and   
,james1 the ,lord's brother1 wrote1 ,be 
patient1 therefore1 brethren1 unto the  
coming of the ,lord1 for the coming of  
the ,lord draweth nigh4  ,if the little 
while has now stretched out into        
centuries1 and the crowing of the cock  
has not yet been heard1 it is not       
because the ,saviour has forgotten ,his 
promise1 but because the godlessness of 
men and the worldliness of the ,church  
have raised up innumerable obstacles in 
,his way4  ,oh1 if men would but repent 
and turn again to ,him1 those times of  
refreshing would not be long delayed4   
,god would send ,jesus1 whom the heavens
 must receive until the times of        
restoration of all things 7,acts iii4   

#ai-ba1 ,r4,v474  ,what a coming that   
will be to all those who love ,his      
appearing6  ,at midnight1 or at the     
cock-crowing1 the cry will be heard1    
,behold1 the ,bridegroom cometh1 go ye  
out to meet ,him4  ,and they who are    
ready will rise up at the voice of the  
bird1 and go in with ,him to the        
marriage supper of the ,lamb4  ,but the 
foolish virgins will be shut outside4   
,they too will rise up at the voice of  
the bird2 but for them1 alas6 it will be
 no bird of the dawn4  ,like ,judas1    
they will go out into the darkness--a   
darkness that has no morning2 and there 
will be the weeping and the woe4  ,but  
that day1 or rather that night1 has not 
yet arrived4  ,it has not yet come for  
you young people4  ,with you it is still
 the time of choosing2 and if you choose
 ,jesus1 if you remember your ,creator  
in the days of your youth1 that evil day
 will never come at all4  ,the          
cock-crowing will still be to you the   
trump of ,god2 but it will call you to  

happiness and not to misery4  ,it will  
proclaim to you the advent of the       
eternal dawn2 and you will rise up at   
the voice of the bird to exclaim1 ,even 
so1 come1 ,lord ,jesus4                 
99,peace499   ,then had thy peace been  
as a river4--,isa4 xlviii4 #ah4       ,i
 sat alone in the pinewood1       ,and  
mused with the falling leaves2     ,and 
the ,autumn breath like a requiem       
,hymned low for the garnered sheaves4   
,and the pensiveness of the ,autumn1    
,like the ocean rocked to rest1         
,found a fitting shell-like murmur      
,in the heavings of my breast4      ,for
 a something came from the stillness1   
,it had touched me oft before1          
,sometimes in the hush of pinewood1     
,sometimes on the lonely shore4      ,it
 came and it touched my being1          
,laid its finger on my brain1     ,and  
there alone in the pinewood       ,i    
could pray as a child again4      ,it   
was not the spell of memory       ,cast 
around me its soothing power1     ,nor  

the magic of thought that held me       
,entranced in that silent hour4         
,the rarest and deepest impressions     
,come from fingers1 but not our own1    
,from music unbarred and unmeasured1    
,from language unuttered1 unknown4      
,they come1 the unnamed and the         
dateless1       ,they come as the waves 
of light1     ,like the murmuring breath
 of the pine-woods1       ,like the     
voices of the night4      ,and they     
leave their deep impressions       ,in  
the tidemarks of the soul1     ,those   
pulses that come as in secret1          
,and roll as the billows roll4      ,it 
may be in yon far region1       ,far    
above the remotest star1     ,my glowing
 and growing vision       ,may find what
 those pulses are4      ,may find in the
 land of the morning1       ,in the     
brightness beyond the flood1     ,that  
the pensive hush of the woodland        
,was a breath of the peace of ,god4     
,till then ,i will seek the pinewoods1  
,i will muse with the falling leaves1   

,and watch the design in symbols        
,that the silent finger weaves4         
,and catch from the fleeting river1     
,and the ocean so vast and broad1       
,from the ,autumn quiet and the         
pinewoods1       ,how to know and       
worship ,god4                99      99 
99      99      99      99      99      
99                           99,,the    
,,golden ,,nails ,,series99             
of                          ,,addresses 
,,to ,,the ,,young4         ,post #hvo  
size4  ,neat ,cloth ,binding4  ,price   
#as4 #f;d4 each4  ,messrs ,oliphant1    
,anderson1  ,ferrier's ',golden ,nails' 
,series is one of the happiest of recent
 enterprises in book-publishing4 ,every 
volume has had a good reception1 and    
every new volume increases one's        
admiration for the                      
enterprise4--,expository ,times4        
,,golden ,,nails1 and ,other ,addresses 
to ,children4  ,by the ,rev4 ,,george   
,,milligan1 ,b4,d4  ,,pleasant ,,places4
  ,words to the ,young4  ,by the ,rev4  

,r4 ,s4 ,,duff1 ,d4,d4  ,,parables ,,and
 ,,sketches4  ,by ,,alfred ,e4 ,,knight4
 ,with ,illustrations by the ,author4   
,,silver ,,wings4  ,addresses to        
,children4  ,by the ,rev4 ,,andrew ,g4  
,,fleming4  ,,three ,,fishing ,,boats1  
and ,other ,talks to ,children4 ,by the 
,rev4 ,,john ,c4 ,,lambert1 ,b4,d4      
,,lamps ,,and ,,pitchers1 and ,other    
,addresses to ,children4  ,by the ,rev4 
,,george ,,milligan1 ,d4,d4  ,a ,,bag   
,,with ,,holes1 and ,other ,talks to    
,children4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,jas4         
,,aitchison4  ,,kingless ,,folk1 and    
,other ,addresses on ,bible ,animals4   
,by the ,rev4 ,,john ,,adams1 ,b4,d4