186 UNDERTAKING; OR, JOHNNIE'S EXPERIENCE. the wise men to that city, and if they found Him they should let the king know Who He was, and then Herod could kill Him. First he put his question to the scribes. They had no difficulty in answering it. They turned to the roll of the prophets and showed Herod that the prophet Micah had long ago said that Christ would be born in Bethlehem. Now I want you to think a minute or two. How could Micah have known several hundred years before it occurred that a certain baby would be born in a particular city? A little girl knelt on a chair one afternoon with her face pressed against the window watching the rain pour down from the black clouds. At last she turned away and said, 'I wish there was a prophet in Bristol, because then I could go and ask him if it will be fine to-morrow.' We cannot tell what a day will bring forth. Only God could have taught Micah what would happen in the far-distant future. Then Herod sent for the wise men, directed them to Bethlehem, and told them to let him know where the Child was, pretending that he wanted to 'worship Him.' The king deceived the wise men; but he could not deceive God. He Who readeth the thoughts knew Herod's intention and thwarted it. Two dreams hindered Herod's purpose. One warned the wise men not to go back to Herod; the other warned Joseph to take the Child and His mother into Egypt. When the king found that the wise men did not return to him, in his fear and rage he sent and slew every infant in Bethlehem of two years of age and under. But the slaughter was quite useless, for He Whom Herod specially desired to kill was safe in Egypt. Notice how God took care of His Son. He might have struck Herod dead; He J might have stationed a cherub with a flaming sword to guard the house where Jesus lay; but He preferred to work quietly and secretly. No one but the wise men and Joseph knew how Herod's cruel purpose had been foiled; and perhaps neither knew more than just the dream which each had. It was as really God Who protected Jesus as it would have been if men could have seen God's hand over Him. Two boys sat side by side at school. One wanted to do right,and to make the most of his school-time. The other was an idle, mischievous boy who copied his translations out of a forbidden book, had a key to the arithmetic, and would copy the sums without knowing anything about them. Let us call the one boy John and the other Charles. Charles was always tempting John to cheat as he did. And not content with that, would pinch and strike him, and in other ways hinder him from working and try to make him miserable. One night at chapel the preacher said something about God answering prayer. So John prayed that God would save him from Charles' persecution. A day or two afterwards the master changed the boy's seats, and John found himself a long way from Charles. God answered John's prayer, though He did it so quietly that only John himself traced God's hand in it. Yes; the God Who took care of the child Jesus will take care of you and me. But I think I can hear some one asking, Did God take care of the babes at Bethlehem whom Herod slew? I am sure that He did. If there were only one world we might doubt about it. But God lifted them up into His own keeping, and they were quite safe and happy with Him. Sometimes the very best thing God can do for a little child is to take it to Himself. UNDERTAKING; OR, JOHNNIE'S EXPERIENCE. BY HELEN BRISTO N. OHNNIE did not get well at all quickly; and even after he began to work again, he still carried a pale face about with him wherever he went. Mr. Wilkes noticed it, and at last decided upon a very wise thing: He wrote to his sister (Johnnie's aunt), and UNDERTAKING; OR, JOHNNIE'S EXPERIENCE. asked her if she and her husband would have him back for a fortnight's visit. Not a word was said to Johnnie, until a very kind invitation came for him to go and stay as long as he could. Of course he was delighted to go. It seemed at first as if the news were too good to be true; but at last the day for the journey arrived. It was just supper time when the village carrier set him down at his uncle's gate. He could not resist the temptation of peeping through the window before going in (for although it was dark, the blind had not been drawn down). There was the large, old-fashioned clock standing in the corner, and the fire was so bright Johnnie could even tell the time by it. There was the straight-backed chair, with arms, that his uncle almost always occupied it stood now between the fire and the table, quite ready for him. There was pussy sitting in an upright position underneath it. There was the coloured china dog on either end of the mantlepiece, put there, perhaps, to make up for the absence of a live dog in the cottage. And there, on the table-and you must not suppose that Johnnie forgot to observe those things that could be eaten-were temptinglooking cakes and preserves, and real homemade bread and country butter, as well as some dishes that were covered up very closely, to keep the heat in and the cold 187 'Don't I?' he said; 'but you know, I've been ill lately.' 'Yes, but you never had a serious illness at all when you lived with us. When are you coming back again altogether?' I don't know if I'm coming at all, aunt. Sometimes I hope-but I don't know; it's no good troubling about it. Ah! here are uncle and Tom.' A little later they all sat down at the table, and Johnnie felt more hungry than he had done for a long while. 'Seems like old times, doesn't it?' said his uncle, smiling at him across the table. 'That it does,' answered the boy heartily. 'Ay, you think the old times were good times still, then?' said his uncle, with a smile that ended in a little merry laugh. Ah! yes.' 'When are you going to give over coffinmaking, old fellow?' asked Tom. 'I don't know. Perhaps I shall stick to it always.' 'Well, Johnnie,' said his uncle, 'I'm surprised at that kind of thing suiting you. I always thought you were meant to live among stock and corn; but I suppose it's because you're of an industrious turn, and couldn't be idle at anything.' 'I expect you've worked for your father as well as you worked on the farm,' said his aunt. 'Not at first,' answered Johnnie, feeling that he could not receive commendation which he did not deserve. 'But I know I've worked better lately.' As soon as their meal was finished, Tom got a lantern and took his cousin to look at some guinea-pigs he had in an outhouse close by. 'I say,' said Tom, setting the lantern. down, when those animals had been inspected and remarked upon, 'why didn't you do what we agreed you should, and tire your father out, so that he might be obliged to send you back again?' It wouldn't answer, Tom,' said Johnnie; 'you don't know him. He would never 188 UNDERTAKING; OR, JOHNNIE'S EXPERIENCE. himself thinking about some things that he had never thought about before. 'Well,' he said, when at last, the fortnight having grown into a month, Johnnie was about to return home, 'I hope your father 'll alter his mind about making an undertaker of you, for I can see you 're just ready to be made anything he likes. I fancy, after all, you're not a bit less plucky than you used to be, though. All our people like you a deal better than they did; and they never quite hated you, you know.' Johnnie made no answer to that, but it pleased him nevertheless. His visit had done him good in many ways, and perhaps it had done some others good as well. They certainly missed him very much on the farm when he had gone. Johnnie's father was no less glad to have him at home once more into the dull little house, although he neither laughed nor cried. And the boy went back to work with an eager anxiety to do his duty that he had never shown before, and Mr. Wilkes decided that it was a good stroke of business sending him into the country for that month. He decided something else too, after a time, and before the summer was over he told Johnnie what it was. One evening, as the boy was just going to bed, his father said, 'John, stop a minute, I have something to say to you.' That was how Mr. Wilkes began, and then he went on: 'Would you rather go back to the country and live a life like your uncle's?' 'O! father,' cried Johnnie, do you mean that I may?' 'I mean this: you shall go to your uncle before very long, and he will teach you how to farm successfully. Then I shall hand over to him a sufficient sum of money to buy you a little land, though that of course will not be for a few years to come; and if you get on with that, I may add more to it, and so give you a good chance of becoming a farmer, perhaps a rich one. Would you like to go to your uncle on purpose to learn farming?' It was an unnecessary question. Johnnie ANSWER TO PUZZLE-PICTURE. NO. XI.-DURHAM. Durham, on the North-east coast, is well known for its coal mines. A very large number of sailing vessels and steamships are engaged in carrying coal from its ports to foreign countries. There are great numbers of chemical and iron works; and ship-building is carried on at all the ports in the county. The draught-horses, and those for use in the saddle, are very famous, and the cattle and sheep are amongst the best in the country. The chief rivers are the Tyne, Wear, and Tees. The principal towns are Durham, Sunderland, South Shields, Darlington, Gateshead, Stockton, Jarrow, and Hartlepool. |
