Part 7

For he is our childhood’s pattern, Day by day like us he grew; He was little, weak and helpless, Tears and smiles like us he knew. And he feeleth for our sadness, And he shareth in our gladness.

And our eyes at last shall see him, Through his own redeeming love, For that Child so dear and gentle Is our Lord in heaven above. And he leads his children on To the place where he has gone.

Not in that poor lowly stable, With the oxen standing by, We shall see him, but in heaven, Set at God’s right hand on high, When like stars his children, crowned All in white shall wait around.

STAR OF THE EAST

Brightest and best of the sons of the morning Dawn on our darkness and lend us thine aid; Star of the East, the horizon adorning, Guide where our infant Redeemer is laid

Cold on his cradle the dewdrops are shining Low lies his head with the beasts of the stall; Angels adore him, in slumber reclining, Maker, and Monarch, and Saviour of all!

RING OUT THE BELLS FOR CHRISTMAS

Ring out the bells for Christmas, The happy, happy day, In winter wild the holy Child Within the cradle lay. Oh, wonderful! the Saviour Is in a manger lone; His palace is a stable, And Mary’s arm his throne.

On Bethlehem’s quiet hillside, In ages long gone by, In angel notes the glory floats, “Glory to God on high.” Yet wakes the sun as joyous As when the Lord was born, And still he comes to greet you On every Christmas morn.

Where’er his sweet lambs gather Within his gentle fold, The Saviour dear is waiting near, As in the days of old. In each young heart you meet him, In every guileless face You see the holy Jesus Who grew in truth and grace.

Then sing your gladsome carols, And hail the new-born Son; For Christmas light is passing bright, It smiles on every one. And feast Christ’s little children, His poor, his orphan call; For he who chose the manger He loveth one and all.

WHILE SHEPHERDS WATCHED THEIR FLOCKS BY NIGHT

While shepherds watched their flocks by night, All seated on the ground, The angel of the Lord came down, And glory shone around. “Fear not,” said he--for mighty dread Had seized their troubled mind-- “Glad tidings of great joy I bring To you and all mankind.”

“To you, in David’s town this day, Is born of David’s line A Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, And this shall be the sign: The heavenly Babe you there shall find To human view displayed, All meanly wrapt in swathing bands, And in a manger laid.”

Thus spake the seraph, and forthwith Appeared a shining throng Of angels praising God, and thus Addressed their joyful song: “All glory be to God on high, And to the earth be peace: Good-will henceforth, from heaven to men, Begin and never cease.”

Christmas Carol

Joyously the angels sang Long ago at Christmas.

Every note of praise which rang Told the birth of Jesus.

Shepherds wondering looked around, Tidings heard of Jesus.

Upon a manger soon they found Christ, the baby Jesus.

So may we to-day behold In our hearts this Jesus.

—_Marie Belle Coles._

[Music: CHRISTMAS CAROL

Marie Belle Coles K. E. C.

Joyously the angels sang Long ago.. at Christ-mas; Ev’ry note of praise which rang Told the birth of Jesus.

Repeat for last stanza ]

CRADLE HYMN

Hush, my dear, lie still and slumber; Holy angels guard thy bed; Heavenly blessings without number Gently falling on thy head.

Soft and easy is thy cradle; Coarse and hard thy Saviour lay When his birthplace was a stable, And his softest bed was hay.

See the kindly shepherds round him, Telling wonders from the sky; Where they sought him, there they found him, With his virgin mother by.

Lo, he slumbers in the manger Where the hornèd oxen fed! Peace, my darling, here’s no danger, Oxen stand not near thy bed.

Mayst thou live to know and fear him, Trust and love him all thy days; Then go dwell forever near him, See his face and sing his praise!

—_Watts._

HEROES AND PATRIOTS

God wants the boys with all their joys, That he as gold may make them pure, And teach them hardness to endure; His HEROES brave he’ll have them be, Fighting for truth and purity.

HEROES AND PATRIOTS

YOUNG SOLDIERS

Oh, were you ne’er a schoolboy? And did you never train, And feel the swelling of the heart You ne’er will feel again? Did you never meet, far down the street, With plumes and banners gay, While the kettle, for the kettledrum, Played your march, march away?

It seems to me but yesterday, Nor scarce so long ago, Since all our school their muskets took To charge the fearful foe. Our muskets were of cedar-wood, With ramrod bright and new; With bayonet forever set, And painted barrel, too.

We charged upon a flock of geese And put them all to flight,

Except one sturdy gander That thought to show us fight. But ah! we knew a thing or two-- Our captain wheeled the van; We routed him, we scouted him, Nor lost a single man!

Our captain was as brave a lad As e’er commission bore; And brightly shone his new tin sword; A paper cap he wore. He led us up the steep hillside, Against the western wind, While the cockerel plume which decked his head Streamed bravely out behind.

We shouldered arms, we carried arms, We charged the bayonet, And woe unto the mullein-stalk That in our course we met. At two o’clock the roll we called, And till the close of day, With fearless hearts though tired limbs, We fought the mimic fray Till the supper-bell, from out the dell, Bade us march, march away.

HOW BIG WAS ALEXANDER, PA?

“How big was Alexander, pa, That people call him great? Was he like old Goliath tall, His spear a hundred weight?

“Was he so large that he could stand Like some tall steeple high, And while his feet were on the ground His hands could touch the sky?”

“Oh! no, my child; about as large As I or Uncle James. ’Twas not his stature made him great, But greatness of his name.”

“His name so great? I know ’tis long, But easy quite to spell; And more than half a year ago I knew it very well.”

“I mean, my child, his actions were So great he got a name That everybody speaks with praise Who tells about his fame.”

“Well, what great actions did he do? I want to know it all.” “Why, he it was that conquered Tyre And leveled down her wall,

“And thousands of her people slew, And then to Persia went, And fire and sword on every side Through many a region sent.

“A hundred conquered cities shone With midnight burnings red; And, strewed o’er many a battle-ground, A thousand soldiers bled.”

“Did _killing people_ make him great? Then why was Abdel Young, Who killed his neighbor training-day, Put into jail and hung?

“I never heard them call _him_ great.” “Why, no--’twas not in war, And him that kills a single man His neighbors all abhor.”

“Well, then, if I should kill a man, I’d kill a hundred more; I should be great, and not get hung Like Abdel Young before.”

“Not so, my child, ’twill never do; The Gospel bids be kind.” “Then they that kill, and they that praise, The Gospel do not mind.”

“You know, my child, the Bible says That you must always do To other people as you wish To have them do to you.”

“But, pa, did Alexander wish That some strong man would come And burn his house and kill him, too, And do as he had done?

“And everybody called him great For killing people so-- Well, now, what right he had to kill I should be glad to know.

“If one should burn the buildings here, And kill the folks within, Would anybody call him great For such a wicked thing?”

THE HEROIC BOY

The boy stood on the burning deck, Whence all but him had fled; The flames that lit the battled wreck Shone round him o’er the dead.

Yet beautiful and bright he stood, As born to rule the storm; A creature of heroic blood, A brave though childlike form.

The flames rolled on--he would not go Without his father’s word; That father, faint in death below, His voice no longer heard.

He called aloud--“Say, father, say If yet my task is done!” He knew not that the chieftain lay Unconscious of his son.

“Speak, father!” once again he cried, “If I may yet be gone;” And but the booming shots replied, And fast the flames rolled on.

Upon his brow he felt their breath, And in his waving hair, And looked from that lone post of death In still yet brave despair;

And shouted but once more aloud, “My father, must I stay?” While o’er him fast, through sail and shroud, The wreathing fires made way.

They wrapped the ship in splendor wild, They caught the flag on high, And streamed above the gallant child Like banners in the sky.

There came a burst of thunder-sound-- The boy--oh, where was he? Ask of the winds that far around With fragments strewed the sea,

With mast and helm and pennon fair That well had borne their part-- But the noblest thing that perished there Was that young faithful heart.

—_Mrs. Hemans._

THE LEAK IN THE DIKE

A STORY OF HOLLAND

The good dame looked from her cottage At the close of the pleasant day, And cheerily called to her little son Outside the door at play:

“Come, Peter, come! I want you to go, While there is light to see, To the hut of the blind old man who lives Across the dike, for me. And take these cakes I made for him-- They are hot and smoking yet; You have time enough to go and come Before the sun is set.”

Then the good wife turned to her labor, Humming a simple song, And thought of her husband, working hard At the sluices all day long, And set the turf ablazing And brought the coarse black bread, That he might find a fire at night, And find the table spread.

And Peter left the brother With whom all day he had played, And the sister who had watched their sports In the willow’s tender shade; And told them they’d see him back before They saw a star in sight, Though he wouldn’t be afraid to go In the very darkest night! For he was a brave, bright fellow, With eye and conscience clear, He could do whatever a boy might do, And he had not learned to fear. Why, he wouldn’t have robbed a bird’s nest, Nor brought a stork to harm, Though never a law in Holland Had stood to stay his arm.

And now with his face all glowing, And eyes as bright as the day With the thoughts of his pleasant errand, He trudged along the way; And soon his joyous prattle Made glad a lonesome place; Alas! if only the old blind man Could have seen that happy face! Yet he somehow caught the brightness Which his voice and presence lent, And he felt the sunshine come and go As Peter came and went.

And now, as the day was sinking And the winds began to rise, The mother looked from her door again, Shading her anxious eyes. She saw the shadows deepen And birds to their homes come back, But never a sign of Peter Along the level track. But she said: “He will come at morning, So I need not fret or grieve; Though it isn’t like my boy at all To stay without my leave.”

But where was the child delaying? On the homeward way was he And across the dike while the sun was up An hour above the sea. He was stopping now to gather flowers, Now listening to the sound As the angry waters dashed themselves Against their narrow bound.

“Oh, well for us,” said Peter, “That the gates are good and strong And my father tends them carefully, Or they would not hold you long. You’re a wicked sea,” said Peter; “I know why you fret and chafe; You would like to spoil our lands and homes, But our sluices keep you safe.”

But hark! through the noise of waters Comes a low, clear, trickling sound; And the child’s face pales with terror And his blossoms drop to the ground. He is up the bank in a moment And, stealing through the sand, He sees a stream not yet so large As his slender childish hand.

‘_Tis a leak in the dike!_ He is but a boy, Unused to fearful scenes; But young as he is he has learned to know The dreadful thing that means. A leak in the dike! The stoutest heart Grows faint that cry to hear, And the bravest man in all the land Turns white with mortal fear; For he knows that the smallest leak may grow To a flood in a single night; And he knows the strength of the cruel sea When loosed in its angry might.

And the boy! He has seen the danger, And shouting a wild alarm, He forces back the weight of the sea With the strength of his single arm He listens for the joyful sound Of a footstep passing nigh; He lays his ear to the ground, to catch The answer to his cry. And he hears the rough winds blowing And the waters rise and fall, But never an answer comes to him Save the echo of his call.

He sees no hope, no succor, His feeble voice is lost; Yet what shall he do but watch and wait Though he perish at his post? So, faintly calling and crying Till the sun is under the sea, Crying and moaning till the stars Come out for company,

He thinks of his brother and sister Asleep in their safe warm bed; He thinks of his father and mother; Of himself as dying--and dead; And of how, when the night is over, They must come and find him at last; But he never thinks he can leave the place Where duty holds him fast.

The good dame in the cottage Is up and astir with the light, For the thought of her little Peter Has been with her all the night. And now she watches the pathway As yester eve she had done; But what does she see so strange and black Against the rising sun? Her neighbors are bearing between them Something straight to her door; Her child is coming home, but not As he ever came before.

“He is dead,” she cries, “my darling!” And the startled father hears, And comes and looks the way she looks And fears the thing she fears: Till a glad shout from the hearers Thrills the stricken man and wife-- “Give thanks, for your son has saved our land And God has saved his life!” So there in the morning sunshine They knelt about the boy; And every head was bared and bent In tearful, reverent joy.

’Tis many a year since then; but still, When the sea roars like a flood, Their boys are taught what a boy can do Who is brave and true and good. And every man in that country Takes his small son by the hand And tells him of little Peter Whose courage saved the land. They have many a valiant hero Remembered through the years, But never one whose name so oft Is named with loving tears. And his deed shall be sung at the cradle, And told to the child on the knee, So long as the dikes of Holland Divide the land from the sea.

“IN GOD WE TRUST”

No need of blazoned shield To mark our country’s story; No need of battle’s gory field To tell of fame and glory; These are but baubles in the dust; Here rests our fame--“In God we trust!”

He whose unerring hand Guides nations in their blindness Doth wield at once, in every land, The scepter of his kindness. He is the Good, the Great, the Just: This is our strength--“In God we trust!”

But speed the day when we, A great and glorious nation, In right and might, on land and sea, Are Christ’s in imitation, Striving for this--and strive we must-- Our motto is, “In God we trust!”

MY COUNTRY, ‘TIS OF THEE

My country, ’tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing; Land where my fathers died, Land of the Pilgrims’ pride, From ev’ry mountain-side Let freedom ring.

Let music swell the breeze, And ring from all the trees, Sweet freedom’s song; Let mortal tongues awake, Let all who breathe partake, Let rocks their silence break, The sound prolong.

Our fathers’ God, to thee, Author of liberty, To thee we sing: Long may our land be bright With freedom’s holy light; Protect us by thy might, Great God, our King.

THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS

The breaking waves clashed high On a stern and rock-bound coast, And the woods against a stormy sky Their giant branches tossed, And the heavy night hung dark The hills and waters o’er, When a band of exiles moored their bark On the wild New England shore.

Not as the conqueror comes, They the true-hearted came; Not with the roll of the stirring drums, And the trumpet that sings of fame: Not as the flying come, In silence and in fear: They shook the depths of the desert gloom With their hymns of lofty cheer.

Amidst the storm they sang, And the stars heard, and the sea; And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang To the anthem of the free. The ocean eagle soared From his nest by the white wave’s foam, And the rocking pines of the forest roared-- This was their welcome home.

What sought they thus afar? Bright jewels from the mine? The wealth of seas, the spoils of war? They sought a faith’s pure shrine. Ay, call it holy ground, The soil where first they trod-- They have left unstained what there they found, FREEDOM TO WORSHIP GOD.

—_Mrs. Hemans._

THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS

MRS. HEMANS MARY ANNE BROWNE

The breaking waves dashed high On a stern and rock-bound coast, And the woods against a stormy sky Their giant branches tossed; And the heavy night hung dark The hills and waters o’er, When a band of exiles moor’d their bark On the wild New England shore.

MY OWN, MY NATIVE LAND

Breathes there a man with soul so dead Who never to himself hath said, “This is my own, my native land!” Whose heart hath ne’er within him burned, As home his footsteps he hath turned From wandering on a foreign strand!

If such there breathe, go, mark him well: For him no minstrel raptures swell: High though his titles, proud his name, Boundless his wealth as wish can claim, Despite those titles, power, and pelf, The wretch, concentered all in self, Living, shall forfeit fair renown, And, doubly dying, shall go down To the vile dust from whence he sprung, Unwept, unhonored and unsung.

—_Sir Walter Scott._

INDEX

Answer to a Child’s Question, 102

Ark and the Dove, The, 148

Asleep, 80

At Close of Day, 77

Baby-jumper, The, 22

Baby, Sleep, 19

Bees, The, 113

Before the Sabbath, 199

Best Day, The, 202

Bird’s Nest, The, 99

Bit of a Sermon, A, 211

Blackberry-girl, The, 40

Blind Boy, The, 35

Boy and the Lark, The, 100

Boy’s Faith, A, 37

Brook, The, 25

Bud, The, 151

Busy Bee, 112

Busy Little Farmer, 67

Butterfly, The, 119

Captive Bluebird, The, 97

Chickens, The, 91

Children Praising the Saviour, 195

Children’s Praises, 218

Children’s Prayer, 190

Child’s Self-examination, 72

Christmas Carol, 228

Cold Water Boy, The, 52

Commandments, The, 197

Country Music, 124

Cradle Hymn, 230

Cruel Sport, 98

Daisy’s Prayer, 69

Dapple Gray, 167

Dawn of Day, 49

Dear Little Heads in the Pew, 205

Dear Mamma, 12

Death and the Resurrection, 213

Dolly Going to Sleep, 170

Don’t Kill the Birds, 101

Evening Prayer, 192

Eye-peep Hour, 50

Father of the Fatherless, The, 192

Father’s Will, The, 9

First Prayer, The, 191

Fly, The, 113

Folded Wings, 55

For Mother, 14

Generous Heart, The, 67

Gentle Bossy, 88

Givers, The, 206

Go and Tell Jesus, 185

God is in Heaven, 177

God, the Creator, 178

God’s Name, 198

Going to Rest, 77

Golden Rule, The, 62

Good Name, A, 65

Good-night, 21, 73

Good Shepherd, The, 185

Grandpa and Me, 31

Happy Childhood, 156

Happy Helen, 59

Happy Land, The, 215

“He Giveth Us All Things,” 164

Hen and Chickens, 91

Heroic Boy, The, 238

Ho for Slumberland, 78

Honest Boy, The, 60

How Big was Alexander, Pa? 235

How I Love, 58

How Selfish It Is! 44

Hushaby, 18

“In God We Trust,” 247

Is It You? 68

I will be Good To-day, 60

I Would Follow Thee, 189

Jack Frost, 139

Jesus, Tender Shepherd, 191

John White and His Kite, 166

Kindness to Animals, 87

Kitty and Mousie, 86

Lamb’s Lullaby, The, 122

Landing of the Pilgrims, The, 249

Leak in the Dike, The, 240

Learning to Walk, 22

Lie, The, 61

Like Jesus, 184

Little, but Wise, 83

Little Dog, 84

Little Fish, The, 127

Little Neighbors, 36

Little Star, 73, 162

Love at Home, 28

Love One Another, 26

Love Your Little Brother, 24

Mary and Her Little Lamb, 125

Master Has Come Over Jordan, The, 182

Meddlesome Mattie, 63

Merry Fly, The, 118

Merry Raindrops, 149

Missionary Ship, The, 209

Moon, The, 162

Morning, 21, 50

Morning Hymn, 187

Morning Prayer, 189

My Brother, 23

My Country, ’Tis of Thee, 248

My Doll, 170

My Father Blessed Me, 15

My Kite, 166

My Little Pony, 168

My Mother, 13

My Pussy, 84

My Shadow, 172

My Tame Squirrel, 120

Naughty Chick, The, 90

Never Forget to Pray, 186

Newcomer in Heaven, The, 216

North Wind, The, 141

Of What are Your Clothes Made? 126

Oh, What Can Little Hands Do? 195

O Little Town of Bethlehem, 221

Once in Royal David’s City, 223

Orphan Flower-girl, The, 40

Papa is Coming, 14

Peacock, The, 111

Persevere, 66

Pet Lamb, The, 129

Poor Robin, 93

Praise, 188

Precious Treasure, A, 197

Preparing for the Sabbath, 200

Pretty Bee, 117

Prince Comes! The, 16

Reindeer and the Rabbit, The, 128

Ring Out the Bells for Christmas, 225

Robin Redbreast’s Secret, 94

Robin Redbreasts, The, 93

Run and Play, 173

Sabbath Morning, 201

Sabbath School, The, 204

Samuel, 209

Saturday Night, 171

Setting Sun, The, 159

Seven Times One, 158

Shadows, The, 70

Sled-ride, The, 165

Sleep, Baby! Sleep! 20

Sleigh-ride, The, 164

Snow, The, 138

Snow-bird’s Song, The, 103

Snowdrop, The, 150

Snowflakes, 139

Snow-shower, The, 142

Song to Bring Sleep, A, 74

So Safe! 179

Sparrow in the Snow, The, 104

Spider and the Fly, The, 114

Squirrel’s Arithmetic, The, 121

Star of the East, 224

Stars are Coming, The, 161

Sum of the Commandments, 199

Summer-time, 155

Sun, Moon and Stars, 160

Swarm of Bees, A, 210

Sweetly Sleep, 20

Swing, The, 169

Sympathy, 27

Temperance Song, A, 95

Ten Commandments, The, 199

That Sweet Story of Old, 179

Thinking of Mercies, 46

Through the Year, 137

Thunderstorm, The, 154

Time, 56

Trust and Try, 65

Turtle-doves, The, 108

Two Little Tempers, 62

Up Early, 55

Violet, The, 152

Voice of Spring, The, 146

Walk in Spring, A, 147