Part 11

"It may be that some of the people knew that this oil was the same kind that the ancient Jews used in the preparation of their cement for building purposes, and that it was the same that the more ancient Egyptians used in the preservation of the mummified bodies of their dead; but, as the Americans did not need oil for such purposes, they considered the oil a nuisance. At one time, while a man was drilling for water, he struck such a strong artesian well of oil that it gushed out all over the ground; then it ran down to a river and caught fire as it spread out over the swiftly flowing water. The flames spread down the river and it looked for all the world as if the river was burning up!

"They called this oil petroleum--rock-oil.

"One day, in 1859, after there had been a good deal of talk as to whether or not this oil was good for anything, Col. E.L. Drake hired some men to drill a well at Titusville, Pennsylvania. The drillers at first refused to work for a man who was so foolish as to spend his money in this way, but, finally, they set at work on the job under the belief that they were really drilling for salt! But the oil began to flow, and some men soon learned how to make kerosene out of it. This took the place of tallow candles, and from that moment the world has been much brighter. The men kept right on with their experiments, until now we have not only kerosene, but gasoline, benzine, rhigoline, naphtha, mineral sperm oil, lubricating oils, paraffins wax, carbon oil and a variety of medicinal products--all made from this once-useless petroleum. These discoveries have brought also the gasoline and oil stoves, gasoline and gas engines and the automobile. Prom the industry has grown the Standard Oil company, one of the richest and most powerful commercial enterprises in the world. So now, in these eastern states, it is vastly different from what it used to be when a man discovered oil on his land. If he finds oil now, and if be puts up a sign at all, it is apt to read like this: [Revise Fig. 98 to Complete Fig. 99.]

"From this little fact of industrial history I want to draw a lesson, especially for the boys, today. Perhaps we cannot own any stock in the Standard Oil company, but we have something just as good, and better. Perhaps we have found in ourselves what we think is a useless talent--useless unless we refine it and cultivate it. One day some people living on a certain street in New York raised a big row because a small, ragged street boy drew pictures all over their sidewalks with chalk. To them, he was nothing but a nuisance. However, a prominent man came walking by one day. He looked at the chalk drawings and knew at once that the boy had real artistic talent. He became interested, gave the boy an education and now he is one of America's celebrated painters.

"Study yourselves, boys. Do you love music? If you do, and if you have the talent to become a musician, don't throw away your talent by using your ability for any low purpose. Make music, like Haydn, who praised God through every note!

"Do you like to draw? If you are to be an artist, do not use your talent for low purposes. Let your work be of a kind to reflect credit upon you--work which will make other people better for having seen it and for having been influenced by it.

"Do you like to speak? Do you plan to study medicine, or law, or to be a teacher? Whatever your plans may be, based on what you believe your best talent to be, do not let your talent go to waste like this oil did for so many years. Treasure it up, refine it, and in whatever direction God may lead you, you may be sure that you will have ample opportunity to let your talent bring greater brightness into the world. And then you, too, would not part with your possession for any price!"

THE STORY OF A HAT --Politeness --The Common People

A thought for the Thoughtless Who Have But Little Politeness and Respect for the Common People.

THE LESSON--That every one who truly fills his high or lowly place In the world is deserving of respect and honor.

This story contains a splendid lesson for all of us. There is much in it to start the boys and girls to thinking of the worthiness of doing the humble things in life, and of the respect due those whose place may be more lowly than theirs. True worth is the measure of our value in the world, whether our work be great or little.

~~The Talk.~~

"This morning I am going to tell you 'The Story of a Hat,'--and this is the hat. [Draw only the hat, A, completing Fig. 100. This is the same drawing as that of the lower right-hand corner of Fig. 101, before the face is added.] I don't wonder that you smile. It's a seedy-looking old hat, isn't it? It looks as if it ought to be burned up or else dumped in the ash barrel; but, before we do that, let us hear the story.

"Once upon a time Mr. Brown, a college president, was passing a clothing store when he saw, displayed in the window, a hat like this. [Draw only the hat as in B.] Mr. Brown went into the store and tried on the hat. It fitted him, and when he came out he looked like this in his new four-dollar hat. [Add the head of Mr. Brown, completing B.] Everybody respected the college president and was polite to him. After a while Mr. Brown's wife told him that his hat was getting just a little bit shabby--perhaps just a little bit out of style, too. And so the college president gave the hat away to a poor but respectable preacher, Mr. Green, and this is the way Mr. Green looked in the hat. [Draw C complete.] Mr. Green was not a 'D.D.,' by any means, but he was a good man who was made to suit and fit a certain class of people who could not have understood the big words of a 'D. D.' Well, Mr. Green wore the hat for a while, and then he gave it to the janitor of his church, a man named Mr. Blue. The janitor wore it for a while, until it looked about like this: [Draw D, complete.] You will notice that it was somewhat indented by this time, but it was all right for Mr. Blue and he was glad to get it. There was a man in the town by the name of Mr. White, who had a job cleaning the streets. He was a friend of Mr. Blue, and the janitor gave him the hat. This is the way Mr. White looked in it: [Draw the face under the hat, A; this completes Fig. 101.] Mr. White had a little cart and a big shovel and an old broom, and he worked all day sweeping up and carting off the old paper, the stubs of cigars and everything else which, if allowed to accumulate, would soon make the streets look disgraceful and the town unhealthful.

"And so, we see, this poor old hat had done good service for four different kinds of men. Remember this--that every man who wore the hat was a useful man in his place. Each one was a necessary man. We must have him. Especially is this true of the man who kept the streets clean, for he, just like the man who collects and takes away the garbage, helps to keep away the scourge of typhoid fever, and cholera and other dread diseases, by being willing to do the dirty work and to wear the old hat. Why, just suppose everybody was a college president. Who would wash our clothes? Who would scrub our floors? Who would clean our streets? Who would cart away our garbage?

"Now, don't you see that the street cleaner and the 'garbage gentleman' are far more useful than any wealthy man's son who doesn't do a lick of work, who rides around in an automobile at his father's expense and who spends his time at night in wasteful or sinful ways so that he gets to bed at one or two o'clock in the morning and sleeps until nine or ten o'clock the next day? Why, bless your soul, the street cleaner and the 'garbage gentleman' are worth a dozen good-for-nothings like that!

"Then why look down upon the poor man--the laboring man? Why not be just as polite and respectful to him as to the college president? God made them both, and each is filling his place in life. Each man whose picture we have drawn belonged to a different class of people, just as God designed they should, and each, if he did his duty in life, had just as important a place in the community as the other.

"Abraham Lincoln said that 'God must think more of the common people than He did of any other kind, because He made so many more of them.'

"Surely, all this is reason enough for the best of us to be kind and considerate, respectful and polite toward people whose hats would not suit us at all!"

OUR COUNTRY'S FLAG --Flag Day --Patriotism

A Little of its History and of its Meaning--Some Interesting Facts.

THE LESSON--That loyalty to the flag means the fulfillment of duty to God and to our fellowmen.~~

"Flag Day" suggests a patriotic demonstration, and this talk will harmonize well with your decorations and the other features of your program. The talk calls for the drawing of four flags. It is suggested that you prepare in advance of the talk all four flags of Fig. 102, as the drawing may require more time than you can spare during the talk.

~~The Talk.~~

"We have about us today some of the flags of the United States of the present time. I believe you will be interested, though, in seeing some of the flags of our country of earlier days. I will present them to you.

"Before the Revolutionary war was begun, and at the time of the beginning of the trouble, some of the colonies had flags of their own, and some of them were very curious indeed. However, when General George Washington took command of the troops at the beginning of the war it was decided to adopt one flag for all the united colonies, and so a committee was chosen and a flag like this was designed: [Indicate flag "a."] These two crosses represented the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew, and the thirteen stripes represented the thirteen colonies. You see, they patterned the crosses after the British flag, because there was no certainty at that time that the colonists would break away from England. This is the flag that was raised over the camp of Washington at Cambridge, January 2, 1776.

"But in 1777, after the colonies had proclaimed the Declaration of Independence, congress ordered that the flag of the thirteen United States be composed of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, and that thirteen white stars in a field of blue be substituted for the crosses. It was also decided to add one star and one stripe as each new state was admitted. Congress, then in session in Philadelphia, named George Washington, Robert Morris and Colonel Ross to call upon a widow who had been making flags for the government and ask her to make this first real American flag. And this is the flag that Betsy Ross made: [Indicate flag "b."] It is said that Betsy Ross suggested that the stars be five-pointed, as she could fold her cloth so as to make a five-pointed star with one clip of her scissors. Can you make a five-pointed star with one clip? Betsy could! [Note: The writer has seen the simple process described in a sketch of Betsy Ross; it is too long for repetition here, but a demonstration of the method would be an interesting innovation.]

"Well, this flag was carried throughout the remainder of the Revolution, and it was present at the surrender of Burgoyne and the fall of Yorktown. But when Vermont and Kentucky were admitted as states, the flag was changed, so there were fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, like this: [Indicate flag "c."]

"This flag waved throughout the war of 1812. It was this flag that Francis Scott Key saw 'through the dawn's early light,' and which inspired him to write 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'

"It was not until 1818 that congress saw that a mistake had been made and that it would be necessary to confine the number of stripes to the original number, thirteen, though we have continued to add a star for each new state. This is the flag of today: [Indicate flag "d."]

"As we look upon this flag, our hearts grow warm with love for our country. We honor it and the memory of those who brought it into being and who died to preserve it for us. I know of no better closing picture than this, which indicates the true spirit of the patriots who died beneath its folds upon the fields of battle--a picture which speaks to us of Him who said, 'Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.' [With heavy black put in the outline of the cross; fill in with orange, completing Fig. 103.]

"Boys and girls, what does the flag stand for? _Loyalty to country_. What does the cross stand for? _Loyalty to Christ_. Which is the more important? You are not asked to answer--only to _think_. Being loyal to Christ makes people truly loyal to country; but, alas, there are many who profane His name while they pretend to be loyal to their country. It cannot be done."

THE LITTLE ONES --Cradle Roll Day --Teaching

A Word of Appreciation to the Parents on the Occasion of Cradle Roll Day.

THE LESSON--That the proper early home training of children for Christ will save future heartaches and anguish.

It is well to make of Cradle Roll Day an occasion of profit and inspiration to the parents of the little ones. Perhaps you don't get a chance to speak to them very often. Your words to them on this occasion, when a day has been set aside for the special consideration of the children in whom their hearts and hopes are centered, will best serve their purpose if they are directed to make the parents feel sure that you, also, are deeply interested in their little ones.

~~The Talk.~~

"We are delighted today to see so many of our little Cradle Roll boys and girls--and we are just as pleased to look into the faces of their fathers and mothers. Why? Well, just because we want these parents to know that we love their children and that we are grateful to them for coming with them today to observe this happy time together.

"We want these fathers and mothers to know that while we are trying to teach the way of unselfishness and love to these older boys and girls, and while we are waiting for the time to come when these little visitors of today will be old enough to be with us regularly, we are convinced that the home training for seven days in the week is higher and more lasting than an hour of teaching in the Sunday school under the best of teachers. So it is with joy that we know that these parents are beginning with the babyhood of their children to tell them of Him who blessed the little ones and said, 'of such is the kingdom of heaven.' We are glad we may look forward to the time when we, in the Sunday school, may also have a part in this training.

"Let us hear a little story this morning: Once upon a time a young lad, while idly spending his time in a grove surrounding his eastern home, carved with his knife in the bark of a young birch tree three words which his mother had taught him to say. [As you continue the narrative, draw the small tree and merely indicate the words and the heart next referred to, completing Fig. 104.] The first word had three letters, the second had two letters and the third four letters. And around them he drew a little heart, as his mother had taught him to do. And when he had finished it, he ran away to his play and forgot all about it.

"Years afterward, when he had grown to young manhood, he returned to the home which he had not seen for a long time. As he went once more to the grove, he came upon a birch tree and stopped to look at some words carved upon its bark, with a heart drawn about them. Memory carried him back to the days of his childhood--it was the same tree, grown big and strong, and with it the heart had grown large and the words were there strong and plain. They could not be removed without greatly marring the tree. Here are the heart and the words: [Add lines to revise Fig. 104 to Fig. 105.] As he looked upon the words, they thrilled him with tender emotions as he remembered that it was his mother who had taught him this beautiful sentiment. 'If I had written there an unkind word,' he reflected, 'that, too, would have been as permanent and lasting.'

"And now for the application: We are told that some fathers and mothers, through a false idea of what is of lasting good to their children, permit them, in their inexperience, to learn to do things in a way which will mean sorrow and anguish in the end. Of course, I understand that this could not ever happen to any of these fathers and mothers and these children! The application is for those who aren't here! If the boy rebels against school, he will bless, in later years, the hand which made his attendance compulsory. If he can see no harm in the use of unkind or offensive words, but is compelled by a loving parent to turn his mind and his speech to lofty things, he will later bless that one who saved him from his error. If, in the years when he has grown through babyhood and childhood to youth, a strong, but gentle, hand bars for him the way which leads to evil companions and bad habits, he will praise and bless that restraining hand when the years of discretion show him how close was his step to the brink of a fatal precipice.

"With the same hand which bars the way to wrong must the parent write the words, 'God is Love,' on the heart of each little one. The clear, pure truth cannot be told too often. In after years, as memory brings these children back to your loving arms, back to their little downy beds, they will be comforted with the realization that the words have become so deep-seated that nothing can eradicate them, even after death has closed their eyelids.

"Some one has described the eyes of a child as 'clear wells of undefiled thought,' and God forbid that as their eyes are lifted to ours, full of innocence and confidence, we should give them anything but the purest, most helpful truth as Christ reveals it to us. We pledge ourselves earnestly to do this."

THE BURNED BOOK --Patience --Adversity

How Thomas Carlyle's Work of Many Years Was Destroyed in a Few Seconds.

THE LESSON--That there is such a thing as success through patience, and that the Christian should so live that he may rejoice in his tribulations.

One of the crying needs of every-day life is the cultivation of patience. Modern life, with its hustle and bustle, and the ever-present contest for supremacy in its commercial and social phases, displays a growing unrest and nervousness. Patience is a rare quality which should be treasured and nurtured.

~~The Talk.~~

"Paul once wrote a letter to the church at Rome in which he said, 'We glory in tribulations, also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts."

"But we're not all like Paul. If we had been saying it, we might have put it this way: 'We despair that we have tribulation, knowing that tribulations work impatience, and impatience discouragement, and discouragement makes us feel sure that God doesn't care for us.' Nevertheless, just the opposite is true, for we know that 'whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth.'

"Everybody has trouble. It comes to all of us in many forms. Ofttimes it is a blessing in disguise. If it were not so, we would not find so many of God's people afflicted in the ways which the Scriptures describe. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph and all of the great leaders of the New Testament, as well as of the Old, had their deep troubles and sorrows. And it is so today with God's people.

"Patience is a virtue of which the poets sing. 'How poor are they,' says Shakespeare, 'that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?' And Milton said:

"'Patience is more oft the exercise Of saints, the trial of their fortitude.'

"So, let us try always to understand, in the midst of seeming great trouble, that sorrow and trial have their place in our lives. Whether they are for good or for bad depends largely upon ourselves.

"I want to tell you the tragedy of a book--a great book. We all know of Thomas Carlyle's great work, 'The French Revolution.' Of this wonderful production it has been said that 'It is a history of the French Revolution and the poetry of it, both in one; and, on the whole, no work of greater genius, either historical or poetical, has been produced in England.' I wonder if we have all heard of the tragedy of this great book and the sorrow which came to its author?

"One day, after Mr. Carlyle had finished the manuscript of the first volume of the work, completing the labors of months and years, and when he felt at last the relief which had tied his hands and his mind through this long period, he loaned the work to his close friend, John Stuart Mill. Before Mr. Mill had finished reading the manuscript, and as it lay scattered about his study, his servant girl, thinking the pages were nothing but waste paper, gathered them up and stuffed them into her kitchen fire! Thus was the labor of weary, toilsome years destroyed in a few moments. On his discovering the awful state of affairs, it was Mr. Mill's duty to go to Mr. Carlyle's home and break the news to him. Mr. Carlyle tells of the interview in these words: 'How well do I remember that night when he came to tell Mrs. Carlyle and me, pale as Hector's ghost, that my unfortunate first volume was burned. It was like a half sentence of death to both of us. We had to pretend to take it lightly, so dismal and ghastly was its horror!'

"If the description of the scene were to end here, I am sure that some of us would see only the darkest, gloomiest side. Let us make a sketch to illustrate this condition. [Draw Fig. 106 complete.] But the description does not stop here. Carlyle goes on to tell how, with the sympathy of his wife, he began anew the great task, and, although it was, as he says, a 'job' that nearly broke his heart, the result was a work superior in every way to his original effort, and he lived to rejoice in what he once considered to be a disastrous misfortune. He received ample reward for his overmastering patience!

"'If thou faint in the day of adversity,' says the Psalmist, 'thy strength is small.' Remember this: _Every shadow has a light behind it!_ It is toward that light that the discouraged one must turn his face. Look up, not down! [Add lines to complete Fig. 107; the hair covers the face of Fig. 106.] No man ever saw the highest success who 'looked down his nose' when trial came. Look up--like the man in the picture!"

THE MAN WHO FINALLY HEARD --Kind Words --The Tongue

The Restoration of His Hearing Brought to Him Pain as Well as Pleasure.

THE LESSON--That we should guard well our tongues against speaking careless, useless or vulgar words.

This illustration is based on the actual experience of an Indiana man. It contains a lesson of such great importance that a chapter of one of the strongest moral epistles of the New Testament is devoted to it. The speaker would do well to study carefully the third chapter of the Epistle of James as a foundation for the preparation of the talk.

~~The Talk.~~

[Before beginning the talk, draw the picture of the man, completing Fig. 108.]

"The face I have here drawn represents the portrait of a certain business man living in an Indiana town. Ever since the time of an illness in childhood this man had been almost totally deaf. For years he tried in vain to secure the aid which would restore to him his hearing, and during all the period of his boyhood and young manhood he could hear only those words which were spoken very distinctly, close to his ear. Sometimes he could hear the thunder and other loud, sharp sounds.