Library or 
 
 REV. R. D. CARMICHAEL. 
 
Glittering Gems for 
 "Willing Workers* 
 
 BY 
 
 Rev. W. T. ROUSE, ll. m. 
 
 PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR. 
 
 1 900 : 
 
 Pentecostal Hebald Press, 
 Louisville, Kt, 
 

 Copyrighted by W. T. Rouse, 
 January, 1900. 
 
INTRODUCTION, 
 
 The desire to furnish Christian workers with helpful material 
 is the author’s motive for preparing this volume. It is intended 
 for all, but especially for pastors, Sunday-School teachers, and 
 those who engage in Y. M. and Y. W. C. A. work, for Ep- 
 worth Leaguers, and for Christian Endeavor and prayer-meeting 
 workers. 
 
 Its primary object is to furnish stories and incidents to illus- 
 trate the Scripture lesson ; but the author hopes it may prove a 
 source of real joy to those who read it; that Christians may be 
 awakened to their sense of duty to serve their Master, and that 
 sinners may be converted by the reading of this volume. 
 
 I am grateful for encouragement received from many friends, 
 and acknowledge my indebtedness in a special manner to Misses 
 Love Hawkins, Annie Fowler, Virginia Wall and Kate McNeil. 
 All Christians into whose hands this book may come, will do the 
 author a favor by aiding in its circulation. 
 
 May the blessings of God rest upon every one who reads 
 these pages, and may He give you His Spirit is the prayer of the 
 author. W. T. ROUSE. 
 
 Louisville, Ky., Dec. 20, 1899. 
 
 3 
 
MERCY, 
 
 Just For To-Day* 
 
 Lord, for to-morrow and its needs 
 I do not pray : 
 
 Help me from stain of sin 
 Just for to-day; 
 
 Let me both diligently work 
 And duly pray, 
 
 Let me be kind in deed and word, 
 
 Just for to-day; 
 
 Let me be slow to do my will, 
 
 Prompt to obey; 
 
 Help me to sacrifice myself, 
 
 Just for to-day. 
 
 Let me no wrong or idle word 
 Unthinking say. 
 
 Set thou thy seal upon my lips, 
 
 Just for to-day. 
 
 So for the morrow and its needs 
 I do not pray; 
 
 But keep me, guide me, hold me, Lord, 
 
 Just for to-day. 
 
 —Canon Wilberforce. 
 
 Counting The Stars* 
 
 I was walking along one winter night, hurrying 
 toward home, with my little maiden at my side. 
 
 5 
 
6 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 Said she: “Father, I am going to count the stars.” 
 “Very well,” I said, “go on.” 
 
 By and by I heard her counting: “Two hundred 
 and twenty-three, two hundred and twenty-four, two 
 hundred and twenty-five — O dear,” she said, “I had 
 no idea there were so many.” 
 
 “Ah, dear friends, I sometimes say in my soul: 
 ‘Now, Master, I am going to count thy benefits.’ 
 Soon my heart sighs, not with sorrow, but burdened 
 with such goodness; and I say to myself , ‘ I had no 
 idea there were so many .’” — Marie Guy Pearse. 
 
 The Ungrateful Soldier* 
 
 Here is a story of the battlefield. There was a 
 war between the Swedes and the Danes. One day a 
 great battle was fought, and the Swedes were beaten 
 and driven from the field. A soldier of the Danes 
 who had been slightly wounded was sitting on the 
 ground. He was about to take a drink from a flask. 
 All at once he heard some one say: 
 
 “Oh, sir! give me a drink, for I am dying.” 
 
 It was a wounded Swede who spoke. He was lying 
 on the ground only a little way off. The Dane went 
 to him at once. He knelt down by the side of his 
 fallen foe, and pressed the flask to his lips. “Drink,” 
 said he, “for thy need is greater than mine.” 
 
 Hardly had he spoken these words when the Swede 
 raised himself on his elbow. He pulled a pistol from 
 his pocket and shot at the man who would have be- 
 friended him. The bullet grazed the Dane’s shoul- 
 der, but did not do him much harm. 
 
 “Ah, you rascal!” he cried, “I was going to be- 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 7 
 
 friend you, and you repay me by trying- to kill me. 
 Now I will punish you. I would have given you all 
 the water, but now vou shall have only half.” And 
 with that he drank half of it, and then g"ave the 
 rest to the Swede. 
 
 When the King- of the Danes heard about this, he 
 sent for the soldier and had him tell the story just 
 as it was. 
 
 “Why did you spare the life of the Swede after 
 he tried to kill you?” asked the king-. 
 
 “Because, sir,” said the soldier, “I could never 
 kill a wounded enemy.” 
 
 “Then you deserve to be a nobleman,” said the 
 king-. And he rewarded him by making- him a knight 
 and giving- him a noble title . — Famous Stories Betold. 
 
 Because He is my Foe* 
 
 During* the Revolutionary war, a leader named 
 Miller was grievously insulted by a man named Wid- 
 man, who was afterwards sentenced to be hanged as 
 a British spy. Miller went to (?eneral Washington 
 and begged for Widman’s life. The commander-in- 
 chief replied: 
 
 “I should like to release Widman, because he is 
 your friend; but I can not, even for that considera- 
 tion.” 
 
 “Friend!” cried Miller, “He is not my friend; he 
 is only my enemy, and therefore I want to save him.” 
 
 The General was so touched that he pardoned the 
 man. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers* 
 
 WATCHFULNESS. 
 
 I Did Not Understand. 
 
 Because I did not understand 
 Her little ways, 
 
 I let life’s best slip from my hand. 
 
 In the old days 
 
 I did not understand. 
 
 Her subtleties of thought and speech, 
 Her finer sense, 
 
 Her maiden-like reserves, seemed each 
 Cause of offence; 
 
 But I did not understand. 
 
 Some answer to her wistful gaze 
 When she was sad, 
 
 A tender word, a little praise, 
 
 Had made her glad, 
 
 But I did not understand. 
 
 I failed to read the shy regard 
 That lay below 
 
 Her timid eyes, and so was hard; 
 
 I did not know; 
 
 I did not understand. 
 
 But when I saw the wonder rise 
 Of love that grew 
 And deepened in her dying eyes, 
 
 Oh! then I knew; 
 
 Too late to understand 
 
Glittering: Gems for Willing: "Workers. 
 
 9 
 
 The elusive, eager soul below 
 That look sedate, 
 
 The passionate tenderness, I know 
 Too late, too late; 
 
 Oh, now I understand! 
 
 — Boston Transcript . 
 
 A Very Busy Man* 
 
 It is said that a friend once asked an aged man 
 what caused him so often to complain of pain and 
 weariness in the evening. 
 
 “Alas !” said he, “I have every day so much to 
 do; for I have two falcons to tame, two hares to 
 keep from running away, two hawks to manage, a 
 serpent to confine, a lion to chain, and a sick man to 
 tend and wait upon.” 
 
 “Why, you must be joking,” said his friend; “sure- 
 ly no man can have all these things to do at once.” 
 
 “Indeed, I am not joking,” said the old man; “but 
 what I have told you is the sad and sober truth; for 
 the two falcons are my two eyes, which I must dili- 
 gently guard, lest something should please them 
 which may be hurtful to my salvation; the two hares 
 are my feet, which I must hold back lest they should 
 run after evil objects, and walk in the ways of sin, 
 the two hawks are my two hands, which I must train 
 and keep to work in order that I may be able to pro- 
 vide for myself and brethren who are in need; the 
 serpent is my tongue, which I must always keep in 
 with a bridle, lest it should speak anything unseemly; 
 the lion is my heart, with which I have to maintain 
 a continual fight in order that vanity and pride may 
 
10 
 
 Glittering; Gems for Willing; Workers. 
 
 not fill it, but that the grace of God may dwell and 
 work there; the sick man is my whole body, which is 
 always needing my watchfulness and care. All this 
 daily wears out my strength .” — British Christian En- 
 deavor. 
 
 Look for the Cause* 
 
 The dumb creatures over which we have control 
 have no means of letting us know when they are 
 troubled or annoyed by something that we do not 
 notice. For that reason, we should be very careful 
 how we punish them when they seem to us obstinate 
 or disobedient. 
 
 A milk wagon came down a city street one hot 
 summer afternoon, the black horse that was draw- 
 ing it acting in a most peculiar manner. He would 
 go a few steps at a jump, then stop and swing half 
 way around, tossing his head frantically. The driver 
 grew angry, leaned out of his wagon, and lashed 
 the horse with his long whip. The horse sprang 
 forward, then stopped again and tried to wheel 
 around. 
 
 The driver stopped before a house where a young 
 girl sat on the front steps. She watched the horse 
 attentively while the driver was delivering the milk 
 at the back door. When he came back the restless 
 horse was pawing the grass, and, thoroughly exas- 
 perated, he seized the bridle and jerked the animal 
 back roughly. The young girl spoke up then in a 
 gentle voice. 
 
 “I believe something is hurting the horse on his 
 right side,” she said. “ Have you looked to see ? ” 
 
 “N-no, I haven’t,” the driver answered. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 11 
 
 He looked along- the horse’s side, then whistled in 
 surprise as he pulled a small thorn from a part of 
 the harness. 
 
 “Well,” he said, “I don’t know where that came 
 from, but I don’t wonder it made you restless, old 
 fellow.” 
 
 He patted the horse, then climbed back into the 
 wag-on, and the creature trotted off quietly enough. 
 
 When a heathen artist was asked why he took so 
 much pains with the back of the figures he was 
 chiseling, since they would be against the walls and 
 no one would ever see them, his noble answer was, 
 “The gods will see them.” Always we are working 
 for God’s eye, and should ever do our best. Not only 
 are we working for God’s eye, but it is God’s own 
 work we are doing. Whether we are carpenters, 
 painters, stone-cutters, farmers, teachers, or minis- 
 ters, it is God’s work we have in hand, and we must 
 do our best. Old Stradivarius was right when he 
 said that if his hand slacked, he would rob God. We 
 rob God whenever we do anything carelessly. A 
 writer says: “The universe is not quite complete 
 without my work well done.” We misrepresent God 
 and disappoint him when we do anything in a slov- 
 enly way. — Wellspring. 
 
 Won With a Word* 
 
 I am sometimes startled at the ease with which a 
 soul can be won, says Bishop McCabe. And I am 
 often humiliated when I think of the many times 
 
12 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 and the many opportunities in my life which I have 
 wasted and not used for the winning - of souls to 
 Christ. I want to illustrate the ease with which a 
 soul can be won. Not very long- ago, in a strange 
 city, as the hackman got down off his box and opened 
 the door to let me out, I dropped a quarter in his 
 hand, and as I did so I grasped his hand and said to 
 him, ‘‘Good night; I hope to meet you again in 
 glory.” 
 
 I had often done that, and I thought nothing of it 
 in this case. I went into the house, met my host, 
 and retired to my room for the night. 
 
 About midnight, my host knocked at my chamber 
 door and said, “Chaplain, that hackman has come 
 back, and he says that he has got to see 3 ^ou tonight. 
 I told him he had better wait until morning, but he 
 said, ‘No, sir, I must see him tonight, and I know 
 that he will be willing to see me.’” 
 
 When the hackman came up, a broad-shouldered, 
 rough-looking man with a great whip in his hand, he 
 stood there in my presence with the tears rolling 
 down his cheeks like rain. 
 
 Said he: “If I meet you in glory, I have got to 
 turn around. I have come to ask you to pray with 
 me.” 
 
 What a privilege it was to pray with that man, 
 what a privilege to point him to Jesus; yet I never 
 saw him before in all my life. There are 10,000 men 
 n this country that have not had an invitation to 
 come to God in all their lives. 
 
Glittering Gems for "Willing Workers* 
 
 13 ; 
 
 SERVICE* 
 
 Remorse* 
 
 I killed a robin. The little thing, 
 
 With scarlet breast on a glossy wing, 
 
 That comes in the apple tree to sing. 
 
 I flung a stone as he twittered there, 
 
 I only meant to give him a scare, 
 
 But oft* it went — and hit him square. 
 
 A little flutter — a little cry — 
 
 Then on the ground I saw him lie, 
 
 I didn’t think he was going to die. 
 
 But as I watched him I soon could see 
 He never would sing for you or me 
 Any more in the apple tree. 
 
 Never more in the morning light, 
 
 Never more in the sunshine bright, 
 
 Trilling his song in gay delight. 
 
 And I’m thinking every summer day, 
 
 How neyer, never I can repay 
 The little life that I took away. 
 
 — Sydney Dayre , in Youth's Companion . 
 
 What Puts Music into the Life* 
 
 There must be the death of self always before a 
 life can be Christlike. In Japan they have a beauti- 
 
14 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 ful legend of the making of a wonderful bell. Long, 
 long ago the emperor wrote to the maker of bells, 
 commanding him to cast a bell larger and more 
 beautiful than any ever made before. He bade him 
 put in it gold and silver and brass, that the tones 
 might be so sweet and clear that, when hung in the 
 palace tower, its sounds might be heard for a hundred 
 miles. The maker of bells put gold and silver and 
 brass in his great melting pot, but the metals would 
 not mingle, and the bell was a failure. Again and 
 again he tried, but in vain. Then the emperor was 
 angry, and sent saying that if the bell was not made 
 at the next trial the bell-maker must die. The bell- 
 maker had a lovely daughter. She was greatly dis- 
 tressed for her father. Wrapping her mantle about 
 her, she went by night to the oracle, and asked how 
 she could save him. He told her that gold and brass 
 would not mingle until the blood of a virgin was 
 mixed with' them in their fusion. Again the old 
 maker of bells prepared to cast the bell. The 
 daughter stood by, and at the moment of casting 
 she threw herself into the midst of the molten metal. 
 The bell was made, and was found to be more wonder- 
 ful and perfect than any other ever made. It hangs 
 in the great palace tower, and its sweet tones are 
 heard for a hundred miles. The blood of sacrifice, 
 mingling with the gold and silver, gave to the bell a 
 matchless sweetness. 
 
 It is only a legend from a heathen land, but its 
 lesson is true. Our lives make no music until self 
 dies and our blood mingles with our offering in the 
 altar fires of love. It is only when we lose our life 
 for Christ that we get it back, saved and glorious. — 
 J. B. Miller , D. D. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 15 
 
 Three Legends* 
 
 There is an old legend that long, long years ago 
 there lived a saint so good that the astonished 
 angels came down from heaven to see how a mortal 
 could be so godly. He simply went about his daily 
 life, diffusing virtue as the star diffuses light and the 
 flower perfume, without even being aware of it. 
 
 Two words summed up his day: he gave, he for- 
 gave. Yet these words never fell from his lips; they 
 were expressed in his ready smile, in his kindness, 
 forbearance, and charity. 
 
 The angels said to God: “ O, Lord, grant him the 
 gift of miracles!” God replied: “I consent; ask 
 him what he wishes.” 
 
 So they said to the saint: “Should you line the 
 touch of your hands to heal the sick ? ” 
 
 “No,” answered the saint, “I would rather God 
 should do that.” 
 
 “Should you like to convert guilty souls, and 
 bring back wandering hearts to the right path? ” 
 “No; that is the mission of angels. I pray, Ido 
 not convert.” 
 
 “ Should you like to become a model of patience, 
 attracting men by the lustre of your virtues and 
 thus glorifying God ? ” 
 
 “No,” replied the saint; “If men should be 
 attached to me, they would become estranged from 
 God. The Lord has other means of glorifying 
 himself.” 
 
 “What do you desire, then?” cried the angels. 
 
 “ What can I wish for ? ” asked the saint, smiling. 
 That God give me his grace; with that should I not 
 have everything?” 
 
16 
 
 Glittering Gems for "Willing Workers. 
 
 But the angels insisted: “You must ask for a 
 miracle, or one will be forced upon you.” 
 
 “Very well,” said the saint; “that I may do a 
 great deal of good without ever knowing it!” 
 
 The angels were greatly perplexed. They took 
 counsel together, and resolved upon the following 
 plan: Every time that the saint's shadow should fall 
 behind him or at either side, so that he could not see 
 it, it should have the power to cure disease, soothe 
 pain, and comfort sorrow. 
 
 And so it came to pass. When the saint walked 
 along, his shadow, thrown on the ground on either 
 side or behind him, made arid paths green, caused 
 withered plants to bloom, gave clear water to dried- 
 up brooks, fresh color to pale children, and joy to 
 unhappy mothers. 
 
 But the saint simply went about his daily life, 
 diffusing virtue as the star diffuses light and the 
 flower perfume, without ever being aware of it. 
 
 Nothing else in all life is such a maker of joy and 
 cheer as the privilege of doing good. Kossuth once 
 said: “ If I had to choose my place among the forces 
 of nature, do you know what I would choose to be ? 
 I would be the dew that falls silently and invisibly 
 over the face of nature, trampled under foot and 
 unconsidered, but perpetually blessing and refreshing 
 all forms of life .” — Mary B. Myers, in Times-Herald . 
 
 There is a legend in the Greek Church about her 
 two favored saints — St. Cassianus, the type of 
 monastic asceticism, individual character, and St. 
 Nicholas, the type of genial, active, unselfish, labori- 
 ous Christianity. 
 
 St. Cassianus enters heaven, and Christ says to 
 him: 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers, 
 
 17 
 
 “What hast thou seen on earth, Cassianus?” 
 
 “I saw,” he answered, “a peasant, floundering 
 with his wagon in a marsh.” 
 
 “ Didst thou help him ? ” 
 
 “No.” 
 
 “Why not?” 
 
 “I was coming before thee,” said St. Cassianus, 
 “ and I was afraid of soiling my white robes.” 
 
 Then St. Nicholas enters heaven, all covered with 
 mud and mire. 
 
 “Why so stained and soiled, St. Nicholas?” said 
 the Lord. 
 
 “I saw a peasant floundering in the marsh,” said 
 St. Nicholas, “ and I put my shoulder to the wheel 
 and helped him out.” 
 
 “.Blessed art thou,” answered the Lord; “thou 
 didst better than Cassianus.” 
 
 And he blessed St. Nicholas with fourfold ap- 
 proval. 
 
 It is like the legend of one who saw an angel 
 writing in a book the names of those who loved the 
 Lord, and he said: “I pray thee have my name writ- 
 ten among the lovers of my fellowmen.” The angel 
 wrote, and vanished. The next night he came again 
 with a great awakening light, and showed the names 
 of those whom God had blessed; and lo, this man’s 
 name read above all the rest. One thing, my friend, 
 is certain — the more truly we love the Lord, the 
 more thoroughly shall we love and serve our fellow- 
 men . — Dean Farrar . 
 
 It is said that once when Sir Michael Costa was 
 having a rehearsal with a vast army of performers 
 and hundreds of voices, as the mighty chorus rang 
 
18 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 out with thunder of the organ, and the roll of drums, 
 and ringing horns and cymbals clashing, some one 
 man who played the piccolo far away up in some 
 corner, said within himself, ‘‘In all this din it mat- 
 ters not what I do;” and so he ceased to play. Sud- 
 denly the great conductor stopped, flung up his 
 hands, and all was still — and then he cried aloud, 
 “ Where is the piccolo ! ” The quick ear missed it, 
 and all was spoiled because it failed to take its 
 part. O my soul, do thy part with all thy might ! 
 Little thou mayest be, insignificant and hidden, and 
 yet God seeks thy praise. He listens for it, and all 
 the music of His great universe is made richer and 
 sweeter because thou givest Him thanks. Bless the 
 Lord, O my soul . — Mark Guy Pearse. 
 
 Service has eternal life. Deeds never die. Men 
 pass away, but their acts live forever. The only 
 part of a life that endures on earth after the flesh 
 has become dust, and after marble monuments have 
 crumbled into decay, is that part which has been 
 put into other lives through deeds of loving service. 
 And every bit of ministration done in lif£ will be 
 manifest in heaven. Each ‘‘cup of cold water” will 
 help swell the river the streams whereof shall make 
 glad the city of God. — Forward. 
 
 Have You Saved the Man? 
 
 A few years ago a homeward bound vessel was 
 wrecked on the coast of England. The life-boat 
 was launched, and away the men went, and were a 
 long while at sea. Darkness set in but the people 
 on the coast lighted great fires so that the life-boat 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing "Workers* 
 
 19 
 
 might be guided on its return to shore. After awhile 
 they saw it returning, and a great strong man of 
 the name of John Holden, who was on the coast, 
 cried aloud to the captain of the life-boat, “ Hi ! hi ! 
 have you saved the men ? ” the captain answered, 
 
 “ Ay, ay, I have saved the men;” and all hearts were 
 filled with gladness. 
 
 But when they reached the coast it was found 
 that one man was left clinging to the mast. “ Why 
 did you not save him ? ” said Holden. “ Because we 
 were exhausted,” said the captain, “and we should 
 all have perished if we had remained another five 
 minutes attempting to save one man.” “But you 
 will go back to the rescue ? ” They said they had 
 not the strength the storm was so fierce. 
 
 Holden threw himself on the shingle, and lifted 
 up a prayer to God. When he had ceased praying 
 six men volunteered to accompany him, and John 
 Holden, with six men, were preparing to start, when 
 the good old mother of John Holden threw her arms 
 around his neck and said: 
 
 “John, you must not go. What can I do if you 
 perish? Your father was lost at sea, and it is just 
 two years since your brother William left; we have ' 
 never heard a word of him since. No doubt he, too, 
 has perished. John, what shall I do if you perish ?” 
 John said, “ Mother, God has put it into my heart 
 to go, and if I perish He will take care of you.” 
 
 And away he went; and after a while the life- 
 boat returned. 
 
 “ Hi ! hi ! John, have you saved the man 
 John answered in a trumpet voice, “Yes, we have 
 saved the man; tell my mother it is my brother 
 William we have saved.” There is a man left 
 
20 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 unsaved in this dark stormy world. Will you try to 
 save him? It may prove to be your brother, or 
 mine. Let us haste to the rescue. — Sel. 
 
 * 
 
 “The Foot That Rests.” 
 
 When we were in Mexico we went to see a potter 
 at his work. It was very interesting' to watch him 
 take the handfuls of clay and, placing - them against 
 his wheel, form from them plates, cups, jars, bowls 
 and other bits of pottery. All the while he was 
 molding' the clay his foot kept moving' up and down, * 
 turning the wheel. How fast it went! -It seemed 
 never to stop, never to take a rest. Whirr ! went 
 the wheel, and back and forth the foot — so rapidly 
 that you could never have counted the movements 
 it made. 
 
 “How tired your foot must get ! said one of our 
 party, pointing to the foot moving so rapidly. 
 
 44 Oh , 55 replied the potter, 44 it is not the foot that 
 works that gets tired, but the foot that rests.” 
 
 How quickly the truth of what he had spoken 
 took hold upon us ! In a moment we remembered 
 the sensation of a sleepy foot, the foot that has 
 gone into a doze from standing still, through having 
 nothing to do. 
 
 So it is in our lives of church work, among old 
 and young alike. It is not the workers who get 
 tired, but the shirkers, those who stand still. How 
 quickly they go off into a doze ! And if you disturb 
 them, if you ask for a little assistance here, and 
 another small bit there, how ready they are with 
 the answer: 44 Oh, I’m so tired of all this bother 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 21 
 
 about thing's to be done for the church. It seems 
 there is no end to them. You must excuse me. I 
 really haven’t the time.” 
 
 If we are going- to get tired, let us do so from 
 working and not from shirking. That is the mean- 
 est kind of tired. The foot that rests is the worst 
 sort of a member. Stir it up and give it something 
 over which to really grow tired. — A. M. Barnes , in 
 Bp worth Bra. 
 
 A Russian Legend* 
 
 A poor shoemaker, Martin by name, had a great 
 longing to see the Lord Jesus. One night in a dream 
 he received the promise that the Savior would visit 
 him on the morrow. Martin’s dwelling was a cellar, 
 and his work bench stood beside the low window, 
 from which he saw nothing but the feet of those 
 who passed by. As was his custom, he rose early, 
 worked at his trade, ate his morning meal, and said 
 to himself, “ To-day the Lord Jesus will visit me.” 
 Looking up, he saw a pair of shabby feet wearily 
 dragging- themselves past his window. Full of pity, 
 he went out and found a poor woman., hungry and 
 homeless, who had wandered about the streets all 
 night long, carrying a sick baby in her arms. Mar- 
 tin took her into his dwelling, gave her the remnant 
 of his breakfast, and fed the child with milk. When 
 she had gone he again sat down to his work, hoping 
 that now the Lord Jesus would soon appear. About 
 noon he saw another pair of tired feet shuffling past. 
 Hurrying out, Martin found an old man, who had 
 not tasted food that day. He invited him in and 
 
99 
 
 Glittering Gems for "Willing Workers. 
 
 shared his midday meal with the hungry guest. 
 When he had gone Martin thought suddenly, “The 
 day is half spent and the Lord Jesus has not yet 
 come.” 
 
 Toward evening he saw more feet in violent 
 movement hurriedly flying hither and thither, and 
 when he wenl out he found an old fruit seller and a 
 street boy in a fierce fight. The woman clutching 
 the sleeve of the boy’s threadbare jacket, screamed, 
 “ He stole my apples and I will beat him for it ! ” 
 Martin made peace between them, and, finding that 
 both were hungry, he took them home and shared 
 his supper with them. 
 
 The day being ended, he went to bed with a sad 
 heart, for the Lord Jesus had not visited him, as it 
 had been promised him in his dream. 
 
 He slept and again he dreamed: and behold in 
 his dream appeared first the tired woman and her 
 sick child: she looked into his eyes and said, “Mar- 
 tin, dost thou know me? ” And the old man came, 
 and the fruit seller, each asking, “ Martin, dost thou 
 know me?” Then Martin understood, and he remem- 
 bered the words, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto 
 one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done 
 it unto me .” — Northwestern Christian Advocate. 
 
 You Never Will Be Sorry* 
 
 You never will be sorry for serving the Lord; you 
 may be sorry for almost everything else. Says 
 Joseph Berry: 
 
 “There are men and women who declare their 
 regret at almost every step in life they have taken. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 23 
 
 I could find married people who tell you they wished 
 they had never been married, and single people who 
 tell you they wished they had; I could find you car- 
 penters who would say, ‘ The worst trade you could 
 put your boy at is a carpenter’s,’ and doctors would 
 say, ‘Better be a chimney-sweep than a doctor;’ and 
 I could find a chimney-sweep who would say, ‘ Better 
 be anything else than a chimney-sweep; mine is the 
 dirtiest trade going.’ Now I am going to throw 
 out a challenge: Will some one find me a person who 
 will say, ‘ I wish I had never loved Christ ? ’ Blessed 
 be God, you can’t do it; the consecrated life bears 
 the test of experience. He saved me when I was a 
 lad, and I began to preach the gospel when I was 
 sixteen. He is the friend who has never failed me, 
 who has never left me, who has come close in trouble 
 and been nearest and dearest to me when I needed 
 him most .” — The Christian . 
 
 Two Confessions* 
 
 A sailor, who had become a Christian when in 
 port, when he went to sea again had a placard pre- 
 pared and nailed up on his bunk bearing these words: 
 “I am a Christian; are you?” with his name. He 
 said he must at once and boldly confess his new 
 loyalty. 
 
 Miss Havergal tells of entering a school in Dus- 
 seldorf, just after she had become a Christian. 
 There were a hundred girls in the school, and she 
 found she was the only professing Christian. Her 
 first thought was that she could not confess Christ 
 there; her second thought, however, was that she 
 
24 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 could not but confess him, since she was the only one 
 there to represent him. — Bev. J. B. Miller , D. D. 
 
 The Substsitute Violinist. 
 
 A soldier, worn out in his country’s service, took 
 to playing - the violin as a mode of earning - his living - . 
 He was found thus in the streets of Vienna. But 
 after a time his hand became feeble and tremulous, 
 and he could no more make music. 
 
 One day, while he sat there sadly, a man passed 
 along - and said, “My friend, you are too old and 
 feeble; give me your violin ” ; and he took the man’s 
 instrument and began to discourse most exquisite 
 music. The people gathered round in large num- 
 bers; and the old man held his hat, and the coin 
 poured in until it was nearly full. 
 
 “Now,” said the stranger, “ put that coin in your 
 pockets.” The old soldier did so; then he held his 
 hat again, and the violinist played more sweetly 
 than ever, and again the hat was filled with coin. 
 
 Then the violinist gave back the instrument, and 
 departed; and the whisper went around, “Who can 
 that be?” Some one just entering - the crowd said? 
 “Why, that is Bucher, the great violinist, who is 
 known over all the kingdom.” 
 
 The fact was, he had taken that man’s place, and 
 assumed his poverty, and endured his disgrace, and 
 played his music, and earned his livelihood, and made 
 sacrifice for him. So the Lord Jesus Christ comes 
 down, and he finds us in our spiritual penury, and 
 across the strings of his own broken heart he strikes 
 a strain of music which wins the attention of earth 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Worker?. 
 
 25 
 
 and heaven. He takes our poverty. He plays our 
 music. He dies our death. 
 
 Christ's Mission Our Mission* 
 
 Jesus has given up the clean heaven, and walked 
 here and lived among dirt and poverty, in solitude, 
 misunderstood, without one intelligent friend; he 
 has borne the scorn of men; he has been put to the 
 horrible and shameful death of the cross, all to save 
 us and others. 
 
 t v^b trust him, he saves us; and all he asks is that 
 we should tell men about what he has done; shall 
 Christ look to us in vain to declare simply what 
 he has done ? Perish the thought ! Whatever may 
 be between us and speaking to men, let us go through 
 it. If it be a foreign language, remember Christ 
 lived thirty years in preparation. If it be hardship, 
 cold, poor food, scorn, slight, deaf ears — never 
 mind, go ahead. Christ has gone through it all. 
 Trouble, hardship, trial, suffering, — all will soon 
 pass and be done . — From James Gilmour's Letters. 
 
 Making a Virtue of Necessity* 
 
 A child was told to bring her father’s slippers, 
 but she didn’t want to leave her play. At length 
 she went for them very unwillingly, and returned 
 without a smile, saying: “I’s bwinged ’em, papa, 
 but I guess you needn’t say, ‘Thank you,’ ’cause I 
 only did it with my hands; my heart kept saying 
 ‘won’t.’” That is about the only way some people 
 obey God. 
 
26 
 
 Glittering Gems for "Willing Workers, 
 
 An Unexpected Inheritance* 
 
 An announcement in the Brooklyn, N. Y., papers 
 reads almost like a romance. It states that a 
 wealthy farmer at Holdbrook, L. I., who died a few 
 weeks ago, has left the whole of his property to a 
 poor tailor at Patchogue. Last year, the. tailor 
 witnessed a runaway accident. Some man was 
 thrown out of a wagon, and was lying unconscious 
 in the road at Patchogue. The tailor joined the 
 crowd around the prostrate man, and as no one 
 seemed disposed to do anything for him, the tailor 
 had him carried to his home and cared for him until 
 he recovered. The tailor thought lightly of his 
 service, but the injured man was very grateful. He 
 said he was a farmer and should bring some farm 
 produce as a present to the man who had been 
 kind to him. Since that time the farmer’s wagon 
 has stopped every week at the tailor’s door o # n the 
 way to market, and has left some small delicacy for 
 him. The farmer, too, paid him an occasional visit, 
 and the two became warm friends. The tailor was 
 shocked early last month at receiving a notice of 
 his friend’s death. He was still more surprised 
 when he was notified that the farmer had made him 
 his heir and that he was the owner of a farm sup- 
 posed to be worth many thousands of dollars. The 
 people who were in the crowd that day of the acci- 
 dent doubtless thought regretfully, when they heard 
 of the tailor’s good fortune, that it might have been 
 theirs if they had been kind to the injured man. 
 But their regret is small compared with that which 
 will be felt at the last day when Christ gives an 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 27 
 
 eternal inheritance to those who in life succored the 
 poor and afflicted in his name. 
 
 Then shall the King say . . . Come ye blessed of my Father, 
 inherit the kingdom prepared for you, etc. (Matt. 25 : 34-40.) 
 
 Rest, But Do Not Loiter* 
 
 The junction of Fleet Street and Farringdon 
 Street at the foot of Ludgate Hill, is one of the 
 most crowded thoroughfares of London. Two tides 
 of travel meet there, the one pouring towards the 
 Bank of England and the commercial quarters, the 
 Surrey side of the Thames, and the other pouring 
 towards Blackfriars Bridge. 
 
 In the center of that junction, between two lamp- 
 posts, there used to be a solid oaken bench or ‘ ‘settle, ” 
 with a high back, and on that back was the inscrip- 
 tion, “Rest, but do not loiter.” On that bench 
 thousands of people in the course of every day used 
 to rest their weary limbs. 
 
 Like that poor man’s bench in seething London^ 
 stands the unrepealed ordinance of the Sabbath, 
 and over its blessed portal is written, “Rest, but do 
 not lounge or loiter.” — T. L. Cuyler. 
 
 Woe Unto You Also* 
 
 Each has his own way of proclaiming himslf a 
 child of grace and of God. When that massive 
 bell, the greatest in Britain, was working its tedious 
 way across the country on its journey to London, 
 “Great Paul,” going up into the belfry of the 
 cathedral above the dome, as if into a pulpit five 
 
28 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 hundred feet high, so as to be heard when it should 
 use its tongue in thrilling millions of people, every- 
 one was touched to the heart to find deeply engraven 
 on the side of the mammoth mouth this motto, 
 like a sort of ordination vow; “ Vae mihi si non 
 evangelizavero .” It was going to do its best. “Woe 
 is unto me if I preach not the gospel.” — Anon. 
 
 Have You Brave Legs? 
 
 We must confess Christ. Some of us mean well, 
 but a false discretion overtakes us. We are not 
 unlike that soldier who was always discovered, in 
 the shock of battle, betaking himself, without 
 orders, *to safe places. The captain at last accused 
 him of having a cowardly heart. 
 
 “Oh,” said the soldier, “my heart is as brave 
 as can be, but whenever danger comes I have a 
 cowardly pair of legs that run off with my brave 
 heart.” 
 
 Many of us are like that. Our convictions are 
 right when confession is not needed, but in the 
 shock of battle we fail . — John McNeil. 
 
 ^r 
 
 He Risked Nothing* 
 
 “Fire! Fire!” shouted a man, as he heard the 
 first clashing peal of the alarm bell; “Fire ! Fire ! ” 
 was echoed by a hundred voices, as men and boys 
 rushed to the scene. 
 
 “Let us offer our assistance,” said one of two 
 travelers passing through the town. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 29 
 
 “Why should we tarry here?” asked the other. 
 “Are there not hands enough to help?” But the 
 first was already running toward the burning house. 
 
 “ My children! my children! ” cried a woman wild 
 with terror and anguish. 
 
 The stranger rushed into the burning house, the 
 beams and rafters crashing, the flames hissing 
 around him. 
 
 “He is lost!” exclaimed the people; “what mad- 
 ness in him to venture into such a fiery furnace! ” 
 
 But in a little while he came forth, his hair and 
 clothes singed, bearing two children in his arms. 
 He gave them to the distracted mother, who clasped 
 them frantically and fell at his feet. In the mean- 
 time the house fell. 
 
 “Who bade thee undertake such a daring enter- 
 prise? ” asked his companion who had been waiting 
 for him. 
 
 “He who bids me put the grain of seed into the 
 earth,” replied the first, “that it may die and bring 
 forth new fruit.” 
 
 “But how would it have been,” inquired the 
 other, “if the burning house had buried thee?” 
 
 “In that event,” replied the first smiling, “I 
 should have been the buried seed .” — The Common- 
 wealth, 
 
 He f s Helping Somewhere* 
 
 “Is your father at home?” I asked a small child on 
 our village doctor’s doorstep. 
 
 “No,” he said, “he’s away.” 
 
 “Where do you think I could find him?” 
 
 “Well, he said, with a considerate air, “you’ve 
 
30 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 ^ot to look for some place where people are sick or 
 hurt, or something” like that. I don’t know where he 
 is, but he's helping” somewhere.” 
 
 And I turned away with this little sermon in my 
 heart. If you want to find the Lord Jesus you’ve 
 g”ot to set out on a path of helping” somewhere, of 
 lifting” somebody’s burden, and lo! straightway one 
 like unto the Son of man will be found at your side. 
 
 ^r 
 
 Trained for Service* 
 
 Effective, valuable service is not rendered by good 
 intentions and a kind disposition, but by thorough 
 preparation. 
 
 Two brave boys in South Chicago saw a small sail- 
 boat capsized in the lake by a sudden squall. The 
 occupants of the craft, two other boys of about the 
 same age, were seen to be clinging to the upturned 
 boat. Several men and boys also saw the accident, 
 but seemed either unwilling or powerless to help. 
 
 These young heroes pushed out a little boat, and 
 made for the disabled craft, and, after much hard 
 pulling and careful management of the boat in the 
 breakers, got to the exhausted and sinking lads. 
 Amid the cheers of the people on shore they at last 
 got them safely on board, and brought them to 3 and. 
 
 On inquiry it was found that the two brave res- 
 cuers were expert boatsmen and swimmers, and their 
 heroic deed was made possible only because they 
 were fitted for it. It was ability to manage the boat 
 as well as courage to face danger, that made them 
 helpers as well as heroes . — David Beaton • 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 31 
 
 Captain Philips' Prayer-meeting on the Texas as 
 Told by Him* 
 
 44 Well, it was this way. I — that is — it was — 
 there, if you drop your hat on the street and some 
 one picks it up for you, you say, ’Thank you,’ or if 
 you fall down on the street and some one helps you 
 up, you always say, Thanks.’ There was that boat, 
 with a storm of iron and shot going- on one side and 
 then on the other. Then they would fall in the 
 water all around us, and then there would be a per- 
 fect cloud of them pass over our heads, and yet we 
 were not struck. When the fight was over and I had 
 made a hasty inventory and found that we were not 
 hurt, it seemed to me no more than fair that we 
 should say ‘Thank you,’ so I had the crew called on 
 deck and told them so. Every man took off his cap, 
 and you could have heard a pin drop on that deck, 
 and after it was over and I walked past that crew, I 
 saw tears on the faces of many an old sailor that I 
 supposed did not know how to cry.” 
 
 Sympathy and Succor* 
 
 Abraham Lincoln, during the war, frequently 
 visited the hospitals and addressed cheering words 
 to the wounded warriors. On one occasion he found 
 a young fellow whose legs had been amputated, and 
 who was evidently sinking fast. “ Is there anything 
 I can do for you?” asked Lincoln. “You might 
 write a letter to my mother,” was the faint reply. 
 The President wrote at the youth’s dictation: “My 
 dearest mother, I have been shot bad; but am bear- 
 
32 
 
 Glittering Cems for Willing Workers. 
 
 ing up; I tried to do my duty. They tell me I can 
 not recover. God bless you and father! Kiss Mary 
 and John for me.” At the end came these words as 
 postscript: “This letter was written by Abraham 
 Lincoln.” When the boy perused the epistle, and 
 saw those added words, he looked with astonished 
 gaze at the visitor, and asked, “Are you our Presi- 
 dent?” “Yes,” was the quiet answer; “and now 
 you know that, is there anything else I can do for 
 you? ” Feebly the lad said, “ I guess you might hold 
 my hand and see me through.” So sitting down at 
 the bedside, the tall, gaunt man, with a heart as ten- 
 der as a woman’s, held the soldier’s hand — through 
 the night — till it grew cold and rigid in death. With 
 us, is it not a delightful truth that Christ, the great- 
 est of all kings, in *>ur afflictions is afflicted, and 
 that he can “be touched with the feeling of our in- 
 firmities?” When the sorrows of life overwhelm us, 
 when the cradle is empty, or the home desolate, when 
 the mind is distraught, or the heart bursting with 
 grief, we may “go and tell Jesus.” In every redhot 
 furnace of pain, and bending tenderly over every 
 dying couch, stands one whose “form is like the Son 
 of God.” — Eev. E. G. Gauge. 
 
 Fifteen Minutes in Heaven, 
 
 A certain minister preached one Sunday on 
 heaven. The next morning he was met by one of his 
 wealthy members, who said: “Pastor, you preached 
 a good sermon about heaven. You told me all about 
 heaven. But you did not tell me where heaven is.” 
 
 “Ah,” said the pastor, “I am glad of the opportq- 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 33 
 
 nity this morning-. I have just come from the hill- 
 top yonder. In that cottage there is a member of 
 our church who is extremely poor; she is sick in bed 
 with a fever. If you will go down town and buy fifty 
 dollars worth of provisions for her, and then go up 
 there and say, ‘My sister, I have brought these pro- 
 visions in the name of our Lord and Savior;’ if you 
 ask for a Bible and read Psalm 23, and then get down 
 on your knees and pray, if you don’t see heaven be- 
 fore you get through, I’ll pay the bill.” 
 
 The next morning the man said, “Pastor, I saw 
 heaven, and I spent fifteen minutes in heaven, as 
 certainly as you are listening.” 
 
 Hearing, Coming, Tasting* 
 
 A missionary in India wishing to gather a Sunday- 
 school of the wretched coolies thronging the streets, 
 took the only means to secure attendance the first 
 time, and ottered a small portion of rice to each who 
 would come early on Sabbath morning. Her servant 
 proclaimed the invitation and the inducement up 
 and down the streets on Saturday. Hundreds heard, 
 but only one man accepted. He had his simple les- 
 son alone, and his handful of rice. 
 
 The next Saturday this man was engaged to give 
 the invitation, and on the following morning the 
 compound was crowded. The reason is clear: this 
 man had an influence with the poor coolies that no 
 one else had. He was one of them, and he had done 
 what he invited them to do. He had proved that the 
 offer was sincere, and from his own experience he 
 bade others come. 
 
34 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 “Let him that heareth, say ‘Come,’ ” but let him 
 that has tasted of the feast of Jesus’ love himself 
 be sure that his invitation will have the greater 
 weight with those whom he calls, in Christ’s name, 
 to come to the Master. 
 
 First do it, Then Talk It. 
 
 A chaplain in the army during the war was pass- 
 ing over the field, when he saw a wounded soldier 
 lying upon the ground. He had his Bible under his 
 arm, and he stooped down and said to the man, 
 “Would you like me to read } t ou something from the 
 Bible?” 
 
 The wounded man said, “I am so thirsty, I would 
 rather have a drink of water.” 
 
 The chaplain hurried off, and as quickly as possi- 
 ble brought the water. After the man had drank 
 the water he said, “Could 3 r ou lift my head and put 
 something under it?” 
 
 The chaplain removed his light overcoat, rolled it 
 up, and, tenderly lifting the head, put it as a pillow 
 for the tired head to rest on. 
 
 “Now,” said the man, “if I only had something 
 over me. I am so cold!” 
 
 There was only one thing that the chaplain could 
 do, and that was to take his coat off and cover the 
 man. As he uid so the wounded man looked up in his 
 face and said, “For God's sake, if there is anything 
 in that Book that makes a man do for another what 
 you have done for me, let me hear it.” 
 
 There is a world of meaning in this incident. The 
 need of to-d ay is the acting of the object-lessons that 
 Book teaches . — The Christian Intelligencer. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 35 
 
 Do You Know? 
 
 A poor little street-girl was taken sick one Christ- 
 mas and carried to a hospital. While there she 
 heard the story of Jesus’ coming into the world to 
 save us. It was all new to her, but very precious. 
 She could apreciate such a wonderful Savior, and 
 the knowledge made her very happy as she lay upon 
 her little cot. One day the nurse came around at 
 the usual hour, and “Little Broomstick” (that was 
 her street name) held her by the hand, and whis- 
 pered: “I’m having real good times here — ever such 
 good times! S’pose I shall have to go away from 
 here just as soon as I get well; but I’ll take the good 
 time along — some of it, anyhow. Did you know 
 ’bout Jesus bein’ born?” 
 
 “Yes,” replied the nurse, “I know. Sh-sh-sh! 
 Don’t talk any more.” 
 
 “You did? I thought you looked as if you did’nt, 
 and I was goin’ to tell you.” 
 
 “Why, how did I look?” asked the nurse, forget- 
 ting her own orders in curiosity. 
 
 “O, just like most o’ folks — kind o’ glum. I 
 shouldn’t think you'd ever look gloomy if you knowed 
 ’bout Jesus bein’ born.” 
 
 Dear reader, do you know “’bout Jesus bein’ 
 born ?” — Faithful Witness . 
 
 sag 
 
 I Like to Help People, 
 
 A woman was walking along a street one winter 
 day, when the rain began to come down. She had 
 an umbrella, but her hands were full of parcels, and 
 
36 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 it was difficult for her to raise it in that wind. 
 
 •‘Let me, ma'am, let me, please!” said a bright 
 faced boy, taking the umbrella in his hands. 
 
 The astonished woman looked on with satisfac- 
 tion, while he managed to raise the rather obstinate 
 umbrella. Then taking out one of those ever handy 
 strings which boys carry, he tied all the parcels 
 snugly into one bundle, and politely handed it back 
 to her. 
 
 “Thank you very much,” she said, “You are very 
 polite to do so much for a stranger.” 
 
 “Oh, it is no trouble, ma’am!” he said, with a 
 smile. “I like to help people.” 
 
 Both went their ways with a happy feeling in the 
 heart: for such little deeds of kindness are like sweet 
 smelling roses blossoming along the path of life. 
 
 On The Witness-Stand* 
 
 That is a good driver who manages to get every 
 horse in the team to pull his part of the load. Mr. 
 Moody recently told his Northfield audience how a 
 minister succeeded in getting one of his “dummy” 
 church-members to pull in the gospel harness. 
 
 “I am going out to a schoolhouse to preach,” he 
 said to the judge, “and I want you to drive me out.” 
 The judge replied that he would be glad to do it. 
 On the way out, the minister remarked, “Judge, 
 I am going to ask you to speak.” 
 
 “O no,” quickly spoke up the judge, “I couldn’t 
 do that.” 
 
 Said the minister: “I was in court the other day, 
 and you gave a charge to the jury, and I never heard 
 
37 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 anjThing much more impressive. Now I would like 
 you to give a charge to this jury.” 
 
 “I’ve never done that. I couldn’t do that.” 
 
 The minister had tact, so he got into the pulpit 
 and read the Scripture and prayed. Then he said, 
 “Now I am going to put the judge on the witness- 
 stand and examine him.” 
 
 Then he began to ask the judge questions, and 
 from answering and explaining the judge soon got 
 to preaching, and never thought about his timidity 
 until he had finished a sermon. 
 
 A Sermon in Two Words* 
 
 “Oh, if I were lucky enough to call this estate 
 mine I would be a happy fellow,” said a young man. 
 
 “And then?” said a friend. 
 
 “Why, then, I’d pull down the old house and build 
 a palace, have lots of prime fellows about me, keep 
 the best wines and the finest horses and dogs in the 
 country.” 
 
 “And then?” 
 
 “Then I’d hunt, and ride, and smoke, and drink, 
 and dance, and keep open house, and enjoy life 
 gloriously.” 
 
 “And then?” 
 
 “Why then, I suppose, like other people, I should 
 grow old and not care so much for these things.” 
 
 “And then?” 
 
 “Why, then, I suppose, in the course of nature, I 
 should leave all these pleasant things and — well — 
 yes — die!” 
 
 “And then?” 
 
38 
 
 Glittering Cems for Willing Workers. 
 
 “Oh, bother your ‘thens!’ I must be off.” 
 
 Many years after the friend was accosted with: 
 
 “God bless you! I owe my happiness to you.” 
 
 “How?” 
 
 “By two words spoken in season long-ago: ‘And 
 then .’” — The Quiver. 
 
 * 
 
 The Wonderful Secret* 
 
 Once upon a time there was a king who had a lit- 
 tle boy whom he loved very much. So he took a 
 great deal of pains to make him happy. 
 
 He gave him beautiful rooms to live in, and pict- 
 ures and toys and books without number. He gave 
 him a graceful pony, that he might ride when he 
 pleased and a row-boat on a lovely lake, and servants 
 to wait upon him whenever he went. 
 
 But for this the young prince was not happy. 
 
 At length one day a magician came to the court. 
 
 He saw the scowl on the boy’s face and said to the 
 king. 
 
 “I can make your son happy and turn his frowns 
 into smiles. But you must pay me a great price for 
 telling him the secret.” 
 
 “All right,” said the king, “whatever you ask I 
 will give.” 
 
 So the price was agreed upon and paid and then 
 the magician took the boy into a private room. He 
 wrote something with a substance upon a piece of 
 paper. Next he gave the boy a candle and told him 
 to light it and hold it under the paper and then see 
 what he could read. Then he went away. 
 
 The boy did as he had been told, and the white 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 39 
 
 letters on the paper turned into a beautiful blue. 
 They formed these words. 
 
 “Do a kindness to some one every day.” 
 
 The prince made use of the secret and he became 
 the happiest boy in the realm. 
 
 The Bridge Was Done* 
 
 Spurgeon was fond of this story, taken from our 
 Civil War. 
 
 Once when the Union soldiers were retreating 
 from the valley of Virginia, they burnt a bridge 
 over the Shenandoah. Stonewall Jackson, who 
 wanted to pursue them, sent for his old bridge-buil- 
 der. “Sir,” he said, “you must keep men at work all 
 day and all nigiit, and finish that bridg-e by to-mor- 
 row morning*. My engineer shall give you a plan.” 
 Old Miles saluted and withdrew. 
 
 Early the next morning- the g-eneral sent for Miles 
 ag-ain. “Well, sir,” said Jackson, “did the engineer 
 give you the plan for the bridge?” 
 
 “General,” said the old man slowly, “the bridge 
 is done; I don’t know whether the picture is or not!” 
 “Now, that is the kind of bridge-builders,” Mr. Spur- 
 geon said, “we want in the church; men to go right 
 ahead with their own work, no matter what their 
 neighbors are doing.” 
 
40 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 KEEPING THE SABBATH. 
 
 BY THE BISHOP OF EXETER. 
 
 Give Us Men. 
 
 > 
 
 Give us men ! 
 
 Men from every rank, 
 
 Fresh and free and frank, 
 
 Men of thought and reading-, 
 
 Men of lig-ht and leading-, 
 
 Men of royal breeding-, 
 
 Nation’s welfare speeding; 
 
 Men of faith and not of faction, 
 
 Men of lofty aim to action; 
 
 Give us men — I say again, 
 
 Give us men ! 
 
 Give us men 1 
 Strong and stalwart ones ! 
 
 Men whom highest hope inspires, 
 
 Men whom purest honor fires, 
 
 Men who trample self beneath them, 
 
 Men who make the country wreathe them 
 As her noble sons, 
 
 Worthy of their sires ! 
 
 Men who never shame their mothers, 
 
 Men who never fail their brothers, 
 
 True, however faise are others, 
 
 Give us men — I say again, 
 
 Give us men ! 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 41 
 
 Give us men ! 
 
 Men who, when the tempest gathers, 
 Grasp the standard of their fathers 
 In the thickest fight; 
 
 Men who strike for homes and altar 
 (Let the coward cringe and falter); 
 
 God defend the right! 
 
 True as truth, though lorn and lonely, 
 Tender — as the brave are only; 
 
 Men who tread where saints have trod, 
 Men for Country — Right — and God, 
 Give us men — I say again, 
 
 Give us men ! 
 
 vs 
 
 The Millionaire and His Clerk* 
 
 Girard, the infidel millionaire of Philadelphia, 
 one Saturday ordered all his clerks to come on the 
 morrow to his wharf and unload a newly-arrived 
 ship. One young man replied, quietly: 
 
 “ Mr. Girard, I can’t work on Sunday.” 
 
 “You know our rules?” 
 
 “Yes, I know. I have a mother to support, but I 
 can’t work on Sundays.” 
 
 “Well, step up to the desk, and the cashier will 
 settle with you.” 
 
 For three weeks the young man could find no 
 work, but one day a banker came to Girard to ask if 
 he could recommend a man for cashier in a new 
 bank. This discharged young man was at once 
 named as a suitable person. 
 
 “But,” said the banker, “you dismissed him.” 
 
 “Yes, because he would not work on Sundays. A 
 
42 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 man who would lose his place for conscience’s sake 
 would make a trustworthy cashier.” And he was 
 appointed . — Pearl of Days . 
 
 A Precious Gift* 
 
 Admiral Hall, of the British navy, says that while 
 he was commanding- a naval vessel at Hong Kong, 
 after divine service had been performed one Sunday 
 on his ship, and the sailors were at rest, his intelli- 
 gent Chinese pilot called his attention to the fact 
 that work was going on on shore as usual, and said, 
 “Your Joss (God) is better than our Joss; for he gives 
 you holiday and rest one day in seven, and we have 
 only one day in the year, on New Year’s Day. 
 
 The admiral, in an address to workingmen 
 clinched the striking fact by adding: “And this is 
 the case. Just picture working hard from morning 
 till night for three hundred and sixty-four days, and 
 only one day of rest; and then prize the Sabbath /” 
 
 Those who use the day of rest as a day of pleas- 
 ure forget that when it ceases to be a day of rest it 
 will become a day of toil . — The Christian . 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers, 
 
 4a 
 
 CONTENTMENT. 
 
 The Lord Exalted. 
 
 BY C. H. SPURGEON. 
 
 I will exalt thee, Lord of hosts, 
 
 For Thou’st exalted me; 
 
 Since Thou hast silenced Satan’s boasts, 
 I’ll therefore boast in Thee. 
 
 My sins had brought me near the grave,. 
 
 The grave of black despair, 
 
 I looked, but there was none to save, 
 
 Till I looked up in prayer. 
 
 In answer to my piteous cries, 
 
 From hell’s dark brink I’m brought; 
 
 My Jesus sought me from the skies, 
 
 And swift salvation wrought. 
 
 And through the night I wept full sore, 
 But morning brought relief; 
 
 That Hand which broke my bones before,. 
 Then broke my bonds of grief. 
 
 My mourning He to dancing turns; 
 
 For sackcloth, joy He gives; 
 
 A moment, Lord, Thine anger burns, 
 
 But long Thy favor lives. 
 
 Sing with me, then, ye favored men, 
 Who long have known His grace; 
 
 With thanks recall the seasons when 
 Ye also sought His face. 
 
44 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing "Workers. 
 
 The Little Pine Tree* 
 
 A little pine tree was in the woods. It had no 
 leaves. It had needles. The little tree said, “I do 
 not like needles. All the other trees in the woods 
 have pretty leaves. I want leaves, too. But I will 
 have better leaves. I want gold leaves.” 
 
 Night came and the little tree went to sleep. A 
 fairy came by and gave it gold leaves. 
 
 When the little tree aw'oke it had leaves of gold 
 It said, “Oh, I am so pretty! No other tree has gold 
 leaves.” Night came. A man came by with a bag. 
 He saw the gold leaves. He took them all and put 
 them into his bag. The poor little tree cried, “I do 
 not want gold leaves again. I will have glass leaves.” 
 So the little tree went to sleep. The fairy came 
 by and put the glass leaves on it. The little tree 
 awoke and saw its glass leaves. How pretty they 
 looked in the sunshine! No other tree was so bright. 
 Then a wind came up. It blew, and blew. The glass 
 leaves all fell from the tree and were broken. 
 
 Again the little tree had no leaves. It was very 
 sad. and said, “I will not have gold leaves and I will 
 not have glass leaves. I want green leaves. I want 
 to be like the other trees.” And the little tree went 
 to sleep. When it woke, it was like other trees. It 
 had green leaves. A goat came by. He saw the 
 green leaves on the little tree. The goat was hun- 
 gry and he ate all the leaves. 
 
 Then the little tree said, “I do not want any 
 leaves. I will not have green leaves nor glass leaves, 
 nor gold leaves. I like my needles best.” And the 
 little tree went to sleep. The fairy gave it what it 
 wanted. When it woke, it had its needles again. 
 Then the little pine tree was happy, — Selected . 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 45 
 
 Fletcher's Only Want* 
 
 John Fletcher, the saint of Methodism, had ren- 
 dered some services to Lord North, the prime minis- 
 ter of England, during the American war. He re- 
 ceived a letter from the nobleman asking if he was 
 in need of anything that it was in his power to be- 
 stow. 
 
 Fletcher replied that “he was sensible of the 
 master’s kindness, but he only wanted one thing 
 which he could not grant him; and that was more 
 grace.” 
 
 The difference between Fletcher and most men, 
 is that he wanted what he needed. There are 
 many who need grace that do not want it, and others 
 who know they need it, but want something else 
 more. One mark of genuine piety is to know that 
 we need more grace. Another mark of piety is to 
 determine to have it. 
 
 In the Wrong Place* 
 
 We have located our troubles in the wrong place.. 
 We have thought that our unrest was due to poverty, 
 to lack of culture: to the obscurity of our sphere and 
 to our inability to tap pleasure’s fountain at our will. 
 But this analysis of life’s misery is fallacious. We 
 have drawn our indictment against an unoffending 
 combination. If a man had a good conscience and 
 perfect faith in God’s providence, the evils enumer- 
 ated above would be divested of every semblance of 
 harm. The truth is, a comparative poverty is posi- 
 tively conducive to the spiritual life. Christ taught 
 
46 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 that affluence is a positive bar to the kingdom of 
 God, and such an insuperable obstacle that nothing 
 but a special dispensation of divine grace could re- 
 move it. — Anon. 
 
 Doing Their Part* 
 
 I stood a while ago and looked at a drinking fount- 
 ain. A marble angel, beautifully sculptured, stood 
 pointing to heaven. Then came polished granite 
 inscribed with gilt letters and massive slabs of stone. 
 But I noticed that the water came through a small 
 brass pipe, and the people drank from an iron cup 
 attached to an iron chain. And the marble angel 
 pointing heavenward would have done nobody any 
 good but for the brass pipe and iron cup. 
 
 Think if the pipe had said, “If they do not make 
 me of gold, I will not belong to the thing.” Or if the 
 cup had said, “I must be of silver, or I shall be 
 ashamed to be there at all.” 
 
 Xo, I thought I heard the music of the three — 
 common water, common pipe, and common cup. 
 “Well,” they sang, “they can't do without us, and 
 we must do our part along with the marble angel 
 and the polished granite . — Mark Guy Pearee. 
 
 Serving Conquers Pain* 
 
 “Don ? t you get tired of being tied to that bed day 
 and night, week after week?” said a visitor to an 
 invalid. 
 
 “Yes, I think I do, sometimes; that is, I grow 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 47 
 
 bodily tired,” was the response. “But I try not to 
 think of that. I only want to remember that God 
 is good and merciful. In his love he spared me, even 
 though I am a cripple, to live that I might learn to 
 know him here. You see, before I was hurt, I never 
 thought about him as being a real Friend and Helper. 
 But since I have been compelled to lie here quiet and 
 helpless, I can even find joy and thankfulness in my 
 affliction; I live to serve him, and that crowds almost 
 every other thought out .” — Young People's Weekly . 
 
 No Christian should bewail his humble estate. 
 “A little that a righteous man hath is better than 
 the riches of many wicked.” David says, “I had 
 rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than 
 to dwell in the tents of wickedness,” and gives the 
 reason: “For the Lord is a sun and shield; the Lord 
 will give grace and glory; no good thing will he with- 
 hold from those that walk uprightly.” 
 
 Contentment* 
 
 Contentment has to do with our own lot rather 
 than that of others. John the Baptist bade the sol- 
 diers to be content with their wages, and not rob the 
 people. It has to do with what is clearly God’s will 
 and the allotment of his providence, not with what 
 we can properly change. Paul bade one who was 
 “called being a slave” to be content and “care not 
 for it;” and he added, “But if thou canst become 
 free, use it rather.” It has to do with God’s will in 
 ouY material work and its reward. Paul, who worked 
 
48 
 
 Glittering Gems for 'Willing Workers. 
 
 with his hands for a living-, said, ‘ ‘Having- food and 
 raiment let us be content.” It has to do with God’s 
 will in our severest trials. The same Paul who knew 
 what it was to abound and to be in want, even to 
 suffer imprisonment and stripes for Christ, could 
 say, “I have learned in whatsoever state I am, 
 therein to be content.” It does not mean indiffer- 
 ence to improvement in one’s own circumstances, 
 much less indifference to the material or spiritual 
 condition of others. The contented Paul was happy 
 and contented only while he could say, “Woe is me 
 if I preach not the gospel.” — Independent. 
 
 A Parable* 
 
 A certain prince went into his vineyard to exam- 
 ine it. He came to the peach tree, and he said: 
 What are you doing for me? 
 
 The tree said: In the Spring I give my blossoms 
 and fill the air with fragrance, and on my boughs 
 hang the fruit which presently men will gather and 
 carry into the palace for you. 
 
 And the prince said: Well done, good and faithful 
 servant. 
 
 And he came to the maple and said: What are 
 you doing? 
 
 The maple said: I am making neats for the birds 
 and shelter for the cattle with my leaves and spread- 
 ing branches. 
 
 And the prince said: Well done, good and faithful 
 servant. 
 
 He went to the meadows and said to the waving 
 grass: What are you doing? 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers* 
 
 49 
 
 And the grass said: We are giving - up our lives 
 for the lives of others, for the sheep and cattle, that 
 they may be nourished. 
 
 And the prince said: Well done, good and faithful 
 servants, that give up their lives for others. 
 
 Then he came to a daisy that was growing in the 
 hedge-row, and he said: What are you doing? 
 
 And the daisy said: Nothing! nothing! I can not 
 make nesting for the birds, and I can not give shelter 
 to the cattle, and I can not send fruit into the pal- 
 ace. I can not even furnish food for the sheep and 
 cows: they do not want me in the meadow. All I can 
 do is to be the best little daisy I can be. 
 
 And the prince bent down, and kissed the daisy, 
 and said: There is none better than you. — Pennsyl- 
 vania Methodist. 
 
50 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 TEMPERANCE* 
 
 Beyond* 
 
 BY ELLA WHEELER WILCOX. 
 
 It seemeth such a little way to me 
 Across to that strange country, the beyond, 
 
 And yet not strange, for it has grown to be 
 The home of those of whom I am so fond: 
 
 They make it seem familiar and most dear, 
 
 As journeying friends bring distant countries near. 
 
 Lemonade or Wine* 
 
 A young man, in company with several other gen- 
 tlemen, called upon a young lady. Her father was 
 present to assist in entertaining the guests, and of- 
 fered wine, but the young lady asked: 
 
 “Did you call upon me or upon papa?” 
 
 Gallantry, if nothing else, compelled them to an- 
 swer, “We called on you.” 
 
 “Then you will please not drink wine. I have 
 lemonade for my visitors.” 
 
 The father urged the guests to drink, and they 
 were undecided. The young lady added: 
 
 “Remember, if you called upon me, then you 
 drink lemonade, but if upon papa, why, in that case 
 I have nothing to say.” 
 
 The wine glasses were set down with their con- 
 
Glittering Gems for 'Willing Workers. 
 
 51 
 
 tents untasted. After leaving the house, one of the 
 party exclaimed: 
 
 “That was the most effectual temperance lecture 
 I ever heard!” 
 
 The young man from whom these facts were ob- 
 tained broke off at once from the use of stong drink, 
 and holds a grateful remembrance of the lady who 
 gracefully and resolutely gave him to understand 
 that her guests did not drink wine. 
 
 Why Kipling Changed* 
 
 Mr. Rudyard Kipling tells us how, in a concert 
 hall in America, he saw two young men get two 
 young girls drunk, and then lead them reeling down 
 a dark street. Mr. Kipling has not been a total ab- 
 stainer, nor have his writings commended temper- 
 ance, but of that scene he writes: 
 
 “Then recanting previous opinions, I became a pro- 
 hibitionist. Better it is that a man should go with- 
 out beer in public jjlaces, and content himself with 
 swearing at the narrow-mindedness of the majority: 
 better it is to buy lager furtively at back doors than 
 to bring temptation to the lips of young fools such 
 as the four I had seen. I understand now why the 
 preachers rage against strong drink. 
 
 “I have said, ‘ there is no harm in it, taken mod- 
 erately,’ and yet my own demand for beer helped di- 
 rectly to send these two girls reeling down the dark 
 street to — God alone knows what end. If liquor is 
 worth drinking, it is worth taking a little trouole to 
 come at — such trouble as a man will undergo to com- 
 pass his own desires. It is not good that we should 
 
 UNIVERSITY Ot 
 ILLINOIS LIBRARY 
 AT URBANA- CHAMPAIGN 
 
52 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 let it lie before the eyes of our children, and I have 
 been a fool in writing to the contrary.” 
 
 The Cabin Boy ? s Pledge* 
 
 Admiral Farragut, one of the greatest heroes in 
 American naval history, once told a friend how he 
 won his first great victory. He said: 
 
 “My father went down, in behalf of the United 
 States government, to put an end to Aaron Burr’s 
 rebellion. I was a cabin boy, and went along with 
 him. I could swear like an old salt. I could gamble 
 in every style of gambling. I knew all the wicked- 
 ness there was at that time aboard. One day my 
 father cleared everybody out of the cabin except 
 myself, and locked the door. He said: 
 
 “‘David, what are you going to do? What are 
 you going to be?’ 
 
 “ ‘Well, father,’ I said, ‘ I am going to follow the 
 sea.’ 
 
 “ ‘Follow the sea! And be a poor, miserable, 
 drunken sailor, kicked and cuffed about the world, 
 and die of a fever in a foreign hospital?’ 
 
 “ ‘Oh, no, father,’ I said, ‘I will not be that; I will 
 tread the quarter-deck and command, as you do.’ 
 
 “ ‘No, David,’ my father said, ‘a person who has 
 your principles and your bad habits will never tread 
 the quarter-deck and command. ’ 
 
 “My father went out and shut the door after him, 
 and I said then: ‘I will change. I will never swear 
 again; I will never drink again; I will never gamble 
 asrain;’ and, gentlemen, by the help of God, I have 
 kept those three vows to this tim e”— Selected. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 53 
 
 A Promise to a Mother* 
 
 While drinking whisky was the fashion all about 
 him, Abraham Lincoln never forgot his dead moth- 
 er’s request to close his lips ag-ainst intoxicants. 
 Once when he was a member of congress, a friend 
 criticised him for his seeming rudeness in declining 
 to test the rare wines provided by their host, urging 
 as a reason for the reproof: “There is certainly no 
 danger of a man of your years and habits becoming 
 addicted to its use.” 
 
 “I meant no disrespect, John,” answered Mr. Lin- 
 coln, “but I promised my precious mother only a few 
 days before she died that I would never use anything 
 intoxicating as a beverage, and I consider that 
 promise as binding to-day as it was the day I gave 
 it.” 
 
 “There is a great difference between a child sur- 
 rounded by a rough class of drinkers and a man in a 
 home of refinement,” insisted the friend. 
 
 “But a promise is a promise forever, John, and 
 when made to a mother is doubly binding,” replied 
 Mr. Lincoln. —JSpieorth Herald. 
 
 How He Was Cured* 
 
 “I don’t believe all I hear about the unwholesome- 
 ness of cigarettes,” said a young man wdio was ad- 
 dicted to the cigarette habit. “I acknowledge they 
 are nasty things to smoke, and very offensive to some 
 people, without doubt; but I won’t be abused into re- 
 forming, and I won’t swear off.” 
 
 “It always seems to me.” he went on, “that a fel- 
 
54 
 
 Glittering Geras for 'Willing Workers. 
 
 low can't trust himself if he has to quit anything- by 
 swearing off. If anybody will show me some good, 
 sound reason why I should be ashamed to smoke cig- 
 arettes, M quit for good and all without taking a 
 vow.” 
 
 “Do you mean that?” asked the friend to whom 
 he was speaking. 
 
 “I do.” 
 
 “Then come with me.” 
 
 The two young men went out on the street, sta- 
 tioned themselves at a prominent corner and waited. 
 Presently a little Italian boy came along. He had a 
 basket on his arm. It was half-full of the stumps of 
 cigars and cigarettes which he had picked up from 
 the gutters, and he was adding to his stock moment- 
 arily from the same source. 
 
 “What do you do with them, my boy?” inquired 
 one of the young men. 
 
 “Sell 'em. Cigaretta factory. Ten cents a quart. 
 replied the lad. 
 
 “Do you believe in doing anything to encourage 
 that sort of industry?” asked the friend. 
 
 “On my honor, no!” answered the cigarette 
 smoker. 
 
 He took a box of the “coffin-nails” from his pock- 
 et, deliberately tore them to fragments, threw them 
 away, and never smoked another — Youth's Compan- 
 ion . 
 
 The Surprised Teacher* 
 
 A zealous Sunday-school teacher who had endeav- 
 ored to teach her class of boys lessons of temperance, 
 in every way showing them the folly and danger of 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers, 
 
 55 
 
 using- intoxicating liquors, was very much surprised 
 one Sunday by one of her boys exclaiming: “I have 
 been reading a book lately, teacher, and it says that 
 every boy ought to drink, lie and steal!” 
 
 Of course the teacher was shocked that any book 
 should give such bad advice, and inquired more par- 
 ticularly into the matter, telling the boy that such 
 a book was not fit for him to read. 
 
 Looking up with an amused smile, he replied: 
 “Oh, I didn’t tell you all; it says that every boy 
 ought to drink nothing but cold water, lie on a good 
 bed, and steal away from bad company! I think so, 
 too, don’t you?” 
 
 Why He Quit. 
 
 A professional gentleman, who was accustomed 
 to take his morning glass, stepped into the saloon 
 and going up to the bar he called for whisky. A 
 seedy individual stepped into the saloon, and said: 
 
 “I say, squire, can’t you ask an unfortunate fellow 
 to join you?” 
 
 He was annoyed by the man’s familiarity, and 
 roughly said; 
 
 “I am not in the habit of drinking with tramps.” 
 The tramp replied: “You need not be so cranky 
 and high-minded, my friend. I venture to say that I 
 am of just as good a family as you are, have just as 
 good an education, and before I took to drink was 
 just as respectable as you are. What is more, I al- 
 ways knew how to act the gentleman. Take my word 
 for it, if you stick to John Barleycorn, he will bring 
 you to the same place I am.” 
 
 Struck by his words, the gentleman set down his 
 
56 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing 'Workers. 
 
 glass and turned to look at him. His eyes were blood- 
 shot, his face was bloated, his hoots mismated, his 
 clothing filthy. 
 
 “Then it was drinking that made you like this?” 
 
 “Yes, it was, and it will bring you to the same if 
 you stick to it.” 
 
 Picking up his untouched glass, he poured the 
 contents upon the floor, and said: “Then it’s time to 
 quit,” and left the saloon, never to enter it again. 
 
 Two Ways of Looking at It* 
 
 INGERSOLL’S EULOGY. 
 
 “I sent you some of the most wonderful whisky 
 that ever drove the skeleton from the feast or 
 painted landscape in the brain of man. It is the 
 mingling of souls of wheat and corn. In it you will 
 find the sunshine and the shadow that chased each 
 other over billowy fields, the breath of June, the 
 carol of the lark, the dew of the night, the wealth 
 of summer and autumn’s rich content, all golden 
 with imprisoned light. Drink it and you will hear 
 the voice of men and maidens singing the ‘Harvest 
 Home,’ mingled with the laughter of children. Drink 
 it, and you will feel within your blood the starred 
 dawns, the dreamy, tawny dusks of perfect days. 
 For forty years this liquid joy has been within 
 staves of oak, longing to touch the lips of man.” 
 
 DR. BUCKLEY’S REPLY. 
 
 “I send you some of the most wonderful whisky 
 that ever brought a skeleton into the closet, or 
 painted scenes of lust and bloodshed in the brain of 
 man. It is the ghost of wheat and corn, crazed by 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 57 
 
 the loss of their bodies. In it you will find a trans- 
 ient sunshine chased by a shadow as cold as arctic 
 midnight in which the breath of June grows icy and 
 the carol of the lark gives place to the foreboding cry 
 of the raven. Drink it, and you shall have ‘woe,’ 
 ‘sorrow,’ ‘babbling,’ and ‘wounds without cause,’ 
 ‘your eyes shall behold strange women,’ and ‘your 
 heart shall utter perverse things.’ Drink it deep, 
 and you shall hear the voice of demons shrieking, 
 women wailing, and worse than orphaned children 
 mourning the loss of a father who yet lives. Drink 
 it deep and long, and serpents will hiss in your ears, 
 coil themselves about your neck, and seize you with 
 their fangs; for ‘at last it biteth like a serpent and 
 stingeth like an adder.’ For forty years this liquid 
 death has been within staves of oak, harmless there 
 as purest water. I send it to you that you may ‘put 
 an enemy in your mouth to steal away your brains.’ 
 And yet I call myself your friend ” — Philadelphia 
 Methodist. 
 
58 
 
 Glittering Cems for Willing Workers, 
 
 TEMPER* 
 
 Teach Me to Live* 
 
 Teach me to live! ’Tis easier far to die — 
 Gently and silently to pass away — 
 
 On earth’s long- nig-ht to close the heavy eye, 
 And waken in the realms of glorious day. 
 
 Teach me to live for self and sin no more, 
 
 But use the time remaining to me yet; 
 
 Not mine own pleasure seeking, as before, 
 Wasting no precious hours in vain regret. 
 
 — Exchange. 
 
 a* 
 
 A Noble Revenge* 
 
 A farmer’s horse, happening to stray into the 
 road, an ill-natured neighbor, instead of returning 
 the animal to its master, put it into the pound. This 
 is an enclosed place, built especially for stray ani- 
 mals, and a fine has to be paid by their owner before 
 they are liberated. Meeting the farmer soon after, 
 he told him what he had done, and added: “If I ever 
 catch your horse in the road again, I will do just the 
 same.” “Neighbor,” replied the farmer, “not long 
 ago, I looked out of my window in the evening and 
 saw your cows in my field of young clover. I drove 
 them out, and carefully shut them up in your yard. 
 If I ever catch them again, I will do just the same.” 
 Struck with this noble reply, the neighbor went to 
 the pound, liberated the horse, and paid the fine 
 himself. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 59 * 
 
 Good Advice* 
 
 Abraham Lincoln said a great many wise thing's, 
 but perhaps he never gave better advice than at one 
 time to Secretary Stanton. 
 
 Mr. Stanton, it seems, was greatly vexed because 
 an army officer had refused to understand an order, 
 or, at all events, had not obeyed. “I believe I’ll sit 
 down,” said Stanton, “and give that man a piece of 
 my mind.” “Do so,” said Mr. Lincoln, “write it now 
 while you have it on your mind. Make it sharp; cut 
 him all up.” Stanton did not need another invita- 
 tion. It was a bone-crusher that he read to the 
 President. “That’s right,” said Abe, “that’s a good 
 one.” “Whom can I get to send it by?” mused the 
 Secretary. “Send it!” replied Lincoln, “send it!. 
 Why, don’t send it at all. Tear it up. You have 
 freed your mind on the subject, and that is all that 
 is necessary. Tear it up. You never want to send 
 such letters; I never do!” 
 
 Independent* 
 
 “Madam,” said the conductor, as he punched her 
 ticket, “I am very sorry, but you can’t have your dog 
 in this car. It’s against the rules.” 
 
 “I shall hold him on my lap all the way,” she re- 
 plied, “and he will not disturb anyone.” 
 
 “That makes no difference,” said the conductor. 
 “I couldn’t allow my own dog here. Dogs must ride 
 in the baggage car. I’ll fasten him all right for 
 you — ” 
 
 “Don’t you touch my dog, sir!” said the young 
 woman excitedly, “I will trust him to no one!” 
 
60 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 And with indignant tread, she marched to the 
 baggage car, tied her dog, and returned. About fifty 
 miles farther on, when the conductor came along 
 again, she asked him. 
 
 “Will you tell me if my dog is all right?” 
 
 “I am very sorry,” said the conductor, “but you 
 tied him to a trunk, and he was thrown off with it at 
 the last station.” 
 
 The Way we Look at Things. 
 
 The way we look at things, and the spirit with 
 which we enter into them, have more to do with our 
 success or failure than we think. We quote a story 
 which aptly illustrates the principle: 
 
 A farmer once remarked in the presence of a 
 neighbor that he did not believe anything could 
 ruffle Ms wife’s temper. 
 
 “I can tell you something that will, if you’ll con- 
 sent to try it,” urged the man. 
 
 “Agreed.” said the farmer. 
 
 “Just bring home, and cut up, a load of the crook- 
 edest wood you can find,” proposed this disturber of 
 peace, “and if that doesn’t fret her I don’t know 
 what will.” 
 
 The plan was complied with. To appreciate the 
 vexation consequent upon poor wood, one has only to 
 recall the old-fashioned fire-place with its andirons, 
 and the carefulness with which the wood mast be 
 laid upon them to make the kettle boil, for it is to 
 that period of time that our incident refers. There 
 was no change in things at the farmer’s; in fact, 
 everything seemed to be more agreeable, so the hus- 
 band thought. At last he said: 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers* 
 
 61 
 
 “Wife, how do you like the wood I brought you 
 last?” 
 
 4 ‘First-rate, ” said the wife. ‘ ‘These crooked sticks 
 fit right round my kettle, and make it boil in half 
 the time.” 
 
 The farmer’s wife realized that things which 
 “can’t be cured must be endured.” Her best and 
 noblest powers had been called forth in overcoming 
 the difficulty which to another, might have seemed 
 like an evil. — Exchange. 
 
 Spurgeon's Sudden Deafness* 
 
 While Spurgeon was still a boy preacher, he was 
 warned about a certain virago, and told that she in- 
 tended to give him a tongue-lashing. “All right,” 
 he replied, “but that’s a game at which two can 
 play.” 
 
 Not long after, as he passed her gate one morn- 
 ing, she assailed him with a flood of billingsgate. 
 He smiled and said, “Yes, thank you, I am quite 
 well; I hope you are the same.” Then came another 
 burst of vituperation, pitched in a still higher key, 
 to which he replied, still smiling, “Yes, it does rather 
 look as if it is going to rain; I think I had better be 
 getting on!” “Bless the man,” she exclaimed,” he’s 
 as deaf as a post; what’s the use of storming at 
 him?” And so her ravings ceased, and were never 
 again attempted. 
 
432 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 LOVE* 
 
 The Upward Path* 
 
 MRS. E. K. WILLIAMS. 
 
 Hitherto the Lord hath led me, 
 
 Though, at times, I know not how; 
 Hitherto he hath sustained me, 
 
 Shall I fail to trust him now? 
 
 No! Though earthly friends forsake me, 
 
 And I journey all alone, 
 
 Yet I know this path leads upward, 
 
 And will end before the Throne. 
 
 Dewey's Powder Boy* 
 
 “Honor thy father and thy mother.” 
 
 When the order to clear for action was given in 
 Dewey’s fleet on that memorable May morning in 
 Manila Bay, one of the powder boys hastily took off 
 his coat, which slipped from his hand int# the water. 
 In the inside pocket was a photograph of his mother. 
 The boy had just been looking at it, had kissed it, 
 and restored it to what seemed to be a safe place. 
 He asked permission to jump overboard and recover 
 the coat; and when he was forbidden to do this, he 
 went to the other side of the ship, leaped into the 
 water, swam to the coat and saved it. For disobedi- 
 ence he was put in irons and held for further pun- 
 ishment. Commodore Dewey wondered why he had 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 63 
 
 risked his life and disobeyed orders for the sake of a 
 coat, for the boy had said nothing- about the photo- 
 graph. * In answer to the commodore’s kind ques- 
 tions he disclosed his motive. The commodore’s eyes 
 filled with tears and he clasped the boy in his arms. 
 Orders were given that the little fellow should be 
 released. “A boy who loves his mother enough to 
 risk his life for her picture,” said Dewey, “can not 
 be kept in irons on this fleet.” — Independent . 
 
 Christ Looking for the Lost* 
 
 Christ not only loves the lost and sinful but his is 
 a seeking love. He goes out after the lost and seeks 
 them till he finds them. Even one lost one is enough 
 to touch his heart and call out his seeking love. 
 Head the parable of the lost sheep in the fifteenth 
 chapter of Luke. Reader, here is a little story that 
 tells you just how to find the seeking Savior. 
 
 “Hello, little stranger, what is the matter?” 
 
 The rough looking wagoner softened his voice in 
 speaking, for the child in the road was crying. 
 
 “I’m lost, I can’t find my father,” sobbed the 
 child. 
 
 “Is he a big man, with a long white beard?” 
 
 “Yes; that’s my father.” 
 
 “It’s all right, then, because he is looking for you. 
 Xeep right along, and if you don’t find him, he! find 
 you.” 
 
 And the child dried his tears and sprang into the 
 road; for if his father was looking for him, of course 
 he could not fail to be in his arms again after a 
 while. 
 
64 
 
 Glittering Gems for 'Willing Workers. 
 
 Dear reader, if you are trying to come to Christ, 
 and the way seems dark and the path steep and diffi- 
 cult, take courage. He is looking for you. 
 
 ^ 7 ? FT 
 
 Mother's Love* 
 
 There is a beautiful old legend that at creation’s 
 dawn an angel came down to earth seeking some- 
 thing to take back to heaven. It returned with a 
 bouquet of flowers, a baby’s smile and a mother’s 
 love. When it reached the pearly gates of paradise 
 again the flowers had withered, the baby’s smile had 
 vanished, but the mother’s love was found to be as 
 pure and eternal as the waters that flowed by the 
 heavenly throne, and all the angels exclaimed: 
 “There is nothing on earth pure enough for heaven 
 but a mother’s love.” What a sublime thought and 
 a holy moral this old legend teaches to mortal 
 creatures. 
 
 Mother's Love* 
 
 
 
 A poor woman lost her only daughter in the 
 wicked depths of London life. The mother, with a 
 breaking heart, went to Dr. Bernardo, and telling 
 him the sad story, asked if he could help to find the 
 lost one. The genial doctor said: “Yes, I can. Get 
 your photograph taken, frame a good many copies, 
 write under the picture ‘Come home,’ and send them 
 to me.” The doctor sent the photographs to the 
 gin-palaces, music-halls and other places which 
 wretched outcasts are in the habit of frequenting 
 and had them hung in conspicuous places. One night 
 
Glittering; Gems for Willing; Workers. 
 
 65 
 
 the girl saw her mother’s picture. Struck with as- 
 tonishment, she looked closely at it and saw the in- 
 yitation beneath. To whom was it addressed? To 
 her? Yes. She saw by that token that she was still 
 loved, and she returned to her mother’s arms. 
 
 vyv 
 
 “ There Shall Be No Night There/' 
 
 Love is the only thing - which I need never out- 
 grow. I am bound to outgrow overything else. How 
 many gifts to my jmuth would be gifts to my old age? 
 Wealth, fame, power, physical beauty, are for the 
 morning and the midday; they are little coveted at 
 evening. But love in old age can keep the dew of its 
 youth. I have seen a virtuous attachment which 
 was formed by the girl and boy retain amid the 
 shadows its morning glow. The heart never 
 grows old with time. It may grow old with grief or 
 bitterness or care; but not with time. Time has no 
 empire over the heart. It has an empire over the 
 eye, over the ear, over the cheek, over the hand, but 
 not over the heart. The heart may be swept by 
 storms, bnt not corroded by decay. It keeps no rec- 
 ord of the flying years; it is untouched by the winter 
 snow. The inscription upon its gates is ever this: 
 ‘‘There shall be no night there .” — George Matheson. 
 
66 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 FAITH. 
 
 Rest. 
 
 My feet are wearied and my hands are tired, 
 
 My soul oppressed — 
 
 And I desire, what I hare long - desired — 
 
 Rest— only rest. 
 
 ’Tis hard to toil — when toil is almost vain, 
 
 In barren ways; 
 
 ’Tis hard to sow — and never garner grain 
 In harvest days. 
 
 The burden of my days is hard to bear, 
 
 But God knows best; 
 
 And I have prayed — but vain has been my prayer, 
 For rest — sweet rest. 
 
 ’Tis hard to plant in spring* and never reap 
 The autumn yield; 
 
 ’Tis hard to till, and when ’tis tilled, to weep 
 O'er fruitless field. 
 
 And so I cry a weak and human cry, 
 
 So heart oppressed; 
 
 And so I sigh a weak and human sigh. 
 
 For rest — for rest. 
 
 My way has wound across the desert years, 
 
 And cares infest 
 
 My path, and through the flowing of hot tears 
 I pine for rest. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 67 
 
 ’Twas always so; when still a child I laid 
 On mother’s breast 
 
 My wearied little head; e’en then I prayed 
 As now — for rest. 
 
 And I am restless still; ’twill soon be o’er; 
 
 For down the West 
 
 Life’s sun is setting, and I see the shore 
 Where I shall rest. 
 
 — Father Ryan . 
 
 He Is Awake* 
 
 Little folks sometimes see things that are hid- 
 den from the eyes of those who are older. 
 
 One moonlight night, after the house lights had 
 all been put out, a little four year-old girl, afraid of 
 the dark, asked her widowed mother: 
 
 “Mamma, is the moon God’s light?” 
 
 “Yes, Ethel,” her mother answered, “the moon 
 and the stars are all God’s lights.” 
 
 Then came the next question from the little girl: 
 “Will God blow out his light and go to sleep too?” 
 “No, my child,” the mother replied, “his lights 
 are always burning.” 
 
 Then the timid little girl gave utterance to a 
 sentiment that thrilled the mother’s heart and led 
 her to a more complete trust in her God: “Well, 
 mamma, while God’s awake, I’m not afraid.” 
 
 The beautiful thought which came to this little 
 girl is one with which we are all familiar, but we 
 need to be reminded of it many times. — /Selected. 
 

 68 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 44 1 Have Promised*” 
 
 It is said of Blucher, that when he was marching 
 to help Wellington at Waterloo, his troops faltered. 
 “It can’t be done,” said they. “It must be done,” 
 was his answer. “I have promised to be there — 
 promised, do you hear? You would not have me 
 break my word.” He was at Waterloo to good pur- 
 pose; he would not be hindered, for his promise was 
 given. 
 
 We praise such faithfulness;, we should think lit- 
 tle of one who did not exhibit it. Shall the Lord 
 God Almighty fail in his promise? No, he would 
 move heaven and earth, and shake the nniverse, 
 rather than be behindhand with his word. He seems 
 to say: “It must be done. I have promised — prom- 
 ised, do you hear?” Sooner than his promise should 
 fail, he spared not his own Son. — C. JE. World. 
 
 Resting On the Promises* 
 
 When a pious old slave on a Virginia plantation 
 was asked why he was always so sunny-hearted and 
 cheerful under his hard lot, he replied: “Ah! massa, 
 I always lays flat down on the promises, and den I 
 pray straight up to my heavenly father.” Humble, 
 happy soul! He was not the first man who had 
 eased an aching head by laying it upon God’s pil- 
 lows; or the first man who has risen up the stronger 
 from a repose on the unchangeable word of God’s 
 love. Spiritually that man was a Croesus, for all 
 his soul’s wealth was in the currency of heaven. If 
 you take a Bank of England note to the counter of 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 69 
 
 the bank, in an instant that bit of paper turns to 
 gold. If we take a promise of God to the mercy- 
 seat, it turns to what is better than gold — to our own 
 good and the glory of the Father. The solvency of a 
 bank, or of government, gives the value to its notes. 
 So it is the everlasting faithfulness of God that 
 makes a Bible promise “exceeding great and pre- 
 cious.” Human promises are of ten worthless. Many 
 a broken promise has left a broken heart. But God 
 has never broken a single promise made to one of 
 his trusting children. When God promises pardon 
 to a believing penitent here and glory hereafter, 
 he does it in the full view of all the risks that we 
 can possibly encounter. When he promises to take 
 care of his children he knows perfectly well how 
 much it will cost him to maintain so vast and neces- 
 sitous a family. — C. H. Spurgeon. 
 
 'Z&gZ. 
 
 A Philosopher's Advice to an Emperor* 
 
 “There was a Christian in prison at Rome. A phi- 
 losopher near by had audience of the emperor con- 
 cerning him. ‘What are you going to do with him?’ 
 he asked. ‘Come back in two days and I will tell you,’ 
 was the reply. He went and the emperor said: ‘I 
 will put him into exile.’ ‘That is no use,’ the philoso- 
 pher said, ‘for the God whom he serves will be there.’ 
 ‘I will confiscate his goods.’ ‘That is no use, for he 
 has treasure laid up where neither moth nor rust can 
 corrupt, nor thieves break through nor steal. ’ ‘Well,’ 
 said the emperor, ‘I will put him to death.’ ‘Still 
 that is of no use, for his God says: ‘Absent from the 
 body, present with the Lord.’ ‘Then what shall I do 
 
70 
 
 Glittering: Gems for Willing: 'Workers. 
 
 with him?’ asked the emperor. ‘Cause him to sin, 
 was the philosopher’s answer. There it is. Sin, and 
 sin alone, can come between us and God, for He is of 
 purer eyes to behold iniquity.” 
 
 vw 
 
 A little girl, as she lay dying-, looked up into the 
 face of her mother, who was standing- at her bedside, 
 and said: “Mother, I can not see you very well; it is 
 growing- dark.” Then she closed her weary eyes, 
 and there was silence for a brief space. Presently 
 she opened them again. There was a glad ligiit in 
 their filmy blue, while a celestial smile illumined her 
 pallid countenance as she added, “But I can see 
 Jesus!” And I thoug-ht within myself, how blessed, 
 if, when earthly ligiits pale and fade into the grim 
 night of death, when earthly ambitions, hopes and 
 friends vanish and fail me, I can exclaim amidst the 
 the darkness and the loneliness, “But I can see 
 Jesus!” — War Cry . 
 
 wKn 
 
 When We Wander Away. 
 
 A little girl went one day with her father to watch 
 him as he cut down some tall pines growing on the 
 side of a steep hill. As they climbed the rocky path 
 his strong hand helped her, so that she did not feel 
 tired when they reached the spot where he was to 
 begin his work. 
 
 For some time the child played near her father, 
 turning her head every minute or two to look at him. 
 By and by she grew less timid and wandered off some 
 distance till she came to a steep cliff, from the edge 
 of which she could look down and see a little brook 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 71 
 
 winding- through green fields. “How pretty it is,” 
 said the child to herself, “I’m glad I didn’t stay back 
 in the woods.” 
 
 The thought had hardly passed through her mind 
 when she felt that the bank was giving way under 
 her feet. She had just time to throw her arms 
 around the trunk of a slender birch growing there, 
 before she found herself hanging over the edge of a 
 cliff. A terrible moment passed before her father, 
 who had heard her wild screams, could run to her 
 help. As it was, he came just in time to save her. 
 
 There is a lesson in this true story for many a boy 
 and girl. This girl had a strong, loving father who 
 was glad to help her when the way was hard, and to 
 guard her from every danger, but she was safe only 
 when she kept near to him. 
 
 Is this not just as true of us? Our heavenly 
 Father is loving and powerful. When we have to 
 walk by a rough way, he takes us by the hand and 
 helps us along. If any danger comes near, he is 
 ready to guard and protect us. We are quite safe if 
 we stay close to him, but if we wander away we 
 are sure to find ourselves in trouble. Is it not the 
 wisest way to keep near him? — Exchange . 
 
 “I Trust Thee." 
 
 Alexander the Great had a physician who was his 
 bosom friend. One day there came an anonymous 
 letter on a waxed tablet to the king: “O king, there 
 is treachery in thy home. Thy physician purposes 
 to kill thee by the draft which he gives thee to-mor- 
 row under the plea of healing thee.” 
 
72 
 
 Glittering Gems for "Willing Workers. 
 
 The king- put that waxed tablet into his breast, 
 and the next day, when the physician came to give 
 him the draft, he put out his left hand and took the 
 cup, and with his rigiit hand handed the tablet to 
 the physician, and said, “Friend, I trust thee,” and 
 drank the potion without stopping- a moment to see 
 the effect upon the physician. 
 
 It is not enoug-h to believe that Christ is the great 
 Phj^sician; you must trust him. — Prebendai'y H. W. 
 Webb-Peploe. 
 
 He Loves Me* 
 
 Once, in an hour of great peril, an officer showed 
 such courage that his wife afterward said to him: 
 “How could you help being afraid?” 
 
 He drew his sword, and rested the point at her 
 heart. “How can you smile?” he said. 
 
 “Because,” she answered, “he who holds the sword 
 loves me better than his life.” 
 
 “It is the same with me,” he said, as he returned 
 the sword to its sheath. “He who holds the winds in 
 the hollow of his hand loves me infinitely.” 
 
 Our Guide* 
 
 In “The Swiss Guide,” Dr. C. H. Parkhurst has 
 shown the many points in common between the ex- 
 perience of a Christian in his dependence upon the 
 guidance of God, and the experience of a climber 
 among the high Alps in his dependence upon the care 
 of his mountaineer guide. 
 
 He closes the allegory with these words: “You 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 73 
 
 learn to know your guide by obeying him, and you 
 learn to love him by committing yourself to him and 
 trusting him. Spell that word Guide with a goidem 
 letter, and our lesson is done. Something about our 
 divine Guide, Jesus Christ, you can learn from the 
 Scriptures; something, too, you can gather from the 
 testimony of other men. But, my friend, if you 
 waut to know him you have got to obey him, and if 
 you want to love him you must first trust him.” 
 
 Taking the Leap* 
 
 Said a sin-burdened medical student to a group of 
 Christian workers, “Can you tell me how to be 
 saved?” 
 
 One of the number answered, “Just believe.” 
 
 “I have heard those words, ‘believe’ and ‘faith,’ 
 so often,” replied he, impatiently, “yet I do not 
 know what they mean; can you not use any other 
 word to make plain what is meant?” 
 
 He then walked towards me, to whom he put his 
 question in a new form, “Can you tell me how to- 
 trust?” 
 
 I said: “You are now standing beside me here; 
 but suppose instead of being in safety the house 
 were on fire, and we were encircled with flames. 
 There is no safety for us in the house; but in the 
 street below the firemen are ready with a life-saving 
 apparatus, upon which is spread a large sheet. They 
 call upon us to leap, and they will catch us. We hes- 
 itate; the flames draw nearer. Again they cry, 
 ‘Leap, men, leap!’ We look at the distance between, 
 and cry, ‘The risk is great;’ but the reply comes^ 
 
74 
 
 Glittering Cems for Willing Workers. 
 
 ‘There is no risk; trust yourselves to us.’ We leap, 
 and are caught. That is an illustration of saving 
 trust.” 
 
 The young man remained quiet for a minute, then 
 grasping me by the hand, he said, “Thank God, I 
 have taken the leap.” 
 
 Then he shook nands with every one in the hall, 
 and rather astonished some by asking if they had 
 taken the leap. 
 
 At length he left for home full of the joy of trust- 
 ing in a newly-found Savior . — Cut Gems . 
 
 Now* 
 
 You think it is such an easy thing to turn and ac- 
 cept these offers of salvation, so rich, so free, so 
 pressing; but what if the time should come — and it 
 does come to some — when you can not make yourself 
 want to accept them? 
 
 They tell us if you take one of a migratory flock 
 of birds out of the line which the God-given instinct 
 has formed, and is guiding to its distant home, and 
 cage it behind iron bars, it will beat its wings against 
 the cage in its frantic efforts to rise and go on its 
 journey. But let the season pass in which birds mi- 
 grate, then open your cage; your bird will not go 
 now. You may take it in your hand and toss it high 
 into the air; it is of no use; the instinct for motion 
 has passed; the bird returns heavily to the same spot. 
 
 O young hearts! now God’s Spirit moves you to 
 accept Christ, but the time may come when the door 
 may in vain be held open for you; you can not arise 
 and go. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 75 
 
 Be Riveted to Jesus* 
 
 “The first lighthouse that stood on Minot’s Ledge,” 
 said a preacher to an audience who lived in sight of 
 the spot, “was built on huge iron pillars; the mighty 
 waves came between it and the rock, and lifted it 
 away, dashing it to pieces like an egg-shell. 
 
 “The builders now leveled the ledge, brought 
 hardest granite, dovetailed and riveted every course 
 to the rock below and the course above, till nothing 
 could shake the tower that did not shake the rock. 
 There it stands now, giving light forever! There is 
 no chance for any force to get between it and the 
 mighty rock on which it stands. 
 
 “Jesus is your rock; take no weak hold on him. 
 Be riveted to Jesus!” 
 
 Luther's Faith* 
 
 Here is a shield and buckler against the assaults 
 of Satan. Luther records: “Once upon a time, the 
 devil came to me, and said: ‘Martin Luther, you are 
 a great sinner, and you will be damned!’ ‘Stop! stop!’ 
 said I, ‘one thing at a time;’ I am a great sinner, it 
 is true, though you have no right to tell me of it. I 
 confess it; what next?’ ‘Therefore you will be 
 damned.’ That is not good reasoning. It is true I 
 am a great sinner; but it is written, ‘Jesus Christ 
 came to save sinners;’ therefore I shall be saved. 
 Now go your way.’ So I cut the ’devil off with his 
 own sword, and he went away mourning because he 
 could not cast me down by calling me a sinner.” 
 
76 
 
 Glittering Gems for "Willing Workers* 
 
 PRAYER* 
 
 Good Cheer* 
 
 BY FRANCIS W. BOURDILLON. 
 
 The night has a thousand eyes, 
 
 And the day hut one: 
 
 Yet the light of the bright world dies 
 With the dying sun. 
 
 The mind has a thousand eyes, 
 
 And the heart but one; 
 
 Yet the light of a whole life dies 
 When love is done. 
 
 A Place for Daily Prayer* 
 
 Every Christian should have a place for daily 
 prayer. The following incident in the life of Yates, 
 the missionary to China, although it has some humor 
 in -it, shows the deep piety of the young man while 
 at Wake Forest Hill Academy. He found some diffi- 
 culty in securing a secluded spot, but after looking 
 around, in the woods near by he found a large hollow 
 oak tree. Placing a plank on the ground to protect 
 himself from dampness, he resorted thither every 
 morning about daybreak to pray. 
 
 One morning while he was praying he heard some 
 one say, ‘‘Who dat?” He listened for a moment, 
 then began praying again. In an instant there was 
 a mighty yell, and looking out of the tree he saw an 
 
Glittering; Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 77 
 
 old colored man running away as fast as he could, 
 with a basket of corn on his arm, the corn flying in 
 every direction, as he cried, “Oh, Lordy, have mercy 
 on dis poor nigger, for de day of judgment am come, 
 and I’se not ready.” Uncle Remus was passing along 
 the path which led to the pig pen, but he never went 
 that way again. 
 
 Throttle The DeviL 
 
 Young Christian, don’t think your experience a 
 strange one if the devil tempts you as you enter upon 
 your career as a Christian. The following beautiful 
 incident told by Matthew Yates, the missionary, 
 shows how the devil tempts us. 
 
 Yates had just been baptized, and started to re- 
 turn to his home three miles away. He was walking 
 alone and the devil appeared to him and said, “Yates, 
 now you’ve done it. See what a fool you have made 
 of yourself. I am sure you are not as happy as you 
 thought you would be.” Seeking some secluded spot 
 in the woods that he might pray, he finally knelt 
 near a tree top. While praying he heard a great 
 noise near by, and upon looking he beheld a little 
 king snake about two feet and a half long, struggling 
 with a large black serpent about six feet long. The 
 large serpent did its best, but presently the little 
 king wrapping itself around its huge enemy, by al- 
 ternate contractions crushed the bones of the black 
 snake, and it died. Extricating itself, the little 
 king snake crawled away and left its adversary dead. 
 Yates continued his supplication. “For in this inci- 
 dent,” says he, “I saw that the Lion of the tribe of Ju- 
 dah, J esus, is able to conquer the old serpent himself. ” 
 
78 
 
 Glittering; Gems for Willing; Workers. 
 
 From the Right Side* 
 
 Christ taught us to ask to be delivered from temp- 
 tation, but every one understands that it is necessary 
 for each of us to avoid the path leading to tempta- 
 tion if he expects his prayer to be answered. A 
 prominent Christian worker tells of the way this 
 thought was early impressed upon his mind. 
 
 When a boy, I was much helped by Bishop Ham- 
 line, who visited a house where I was. Taking me 
 aside, the bishop said: 
 
 “When in trouble, my boy, kneel down and ask 
 God’s help; but never climb over the fence into the 
 devil’s ground, and then kneel down and ask help. 
 Pray from God’s side of the fence.” 
 
 Of that I have thought every day of my life since. 
 
 Fulfilled The Conditions* 
 
 The late George Muller said to a friend shortly 
 before he died, that he expected to meet at least 
 thirty thousand people in heaven for whom he had 
 definitely prayed. “I believe,” he said, “that my 
 pra 3 T ers will be answered, because I have fulfilled 
 these five conditions: 
 
 “1. I have had no shadow of doubt in prajfing for 
 their salvation, because I know that it is the Lord's 
 will that they should be saved; for he ‘will have all 
 men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of 
 the truth’ (1 Tim. 2:4); ‘and this is the confidence we 
 have in him, that, if we ask anything according to 
 his will, he heareth us’ (1 John 5:14). 
 
 “2. I have not allowed myself to ask for their 
 
Glittering: Gems for Willing; Workers. 
 
 79 
 
 salvation in my own name, but in the all-worthy 
 name of my precious Lord Jesus (John 11:14), that is, 
 on the ground of His merit and worthiness, and on 
 that alone. 
 
 “3. I have always believed in the ability and will- 
 ingness of God to answer my prayers (Mark 11;24). 
 
 “4. I have not allowed myself in known sin, for 
 ‘if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not 
 hear me.’ (Ps. 66:18). 
 
 “5. I have continued in believing' prayer for over 
 fifty-two years, and shall continue until the answer 
 is given. ‘Shall not God aveng-e his own elect, which 
 cry day and niglit unto him?’ ” 
 
 Should we not imitate this good man’s example, 
 and “continue in prayer, and watch in the same with 
 thanksgiving-?” 
 
 Stonewall Jackson as a Man of Prayer* 
 
 St. Paul’s term, “instant in prayer,” being - used 
 by General Jackson one day, his sense of its meaning 
 was required. 
 
 “I can give you,” he said, “my idea of it by illus- 
 tration, if you will allow it, and will not think that I 
 am setting - myself up as a model for others.” 
 
 On assurance being given that there would be no 
 misjudgment, he went on to say: “I have so fixed 
 the habit in my own mind that I never raise a glass 
 of water to my lips without asking God’s blessing. I 
 never seal a letter without putting a word of prayer 
 under the seal. I never take a letter from the post 
 without a brief sending of my thought heavenward. 
 I never change my classes in the section-room with- 
 
80 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 out a minute’s petition for the cadets who go out and 
 those who come in.” 
 
 “And don’t you sometimes forget to do this?” 
 
 “I think I can scarcely say that I do; the habit 
 has become as fixed almost as breathing.” 
 
 Yes, Let Them Know* 
 
 In the little Scotch village of Torthorwald, fifty 
 years ago, lived a wretched, sinful woman, an out- 
 cast from home and society, but prayed for by an 
 elder of the kirk every day of his life. She knew he 
 prayed for her, and long afterward, when, by the 
 grace of God, she had become a new creature, she 
 declared “that the only thing that kept me from de- 
 spair and suicide was when in the dark winter night 
 I crept close up under that good man’s window and 
 heard him pleading in family worship that ‘God 
 would convert the sinner from the error of wicked 
 ways, and polish her as a jewel for the Redeemer’s 
 crown.’ I felt that I was a burden on that righteous 
 heart, and I knew that God would not disappoint 
 him. That thought kept me out of hell, and led me 
 at last to the only Savior.” 
 
 Shall we not keep on praying for the vilest sin- 
 ners, and let them know that we pray for them? 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 81 
 
 THE BIBLE. 
 
 No Use In It. 
 
 No use in mopin’ 
 
 When skies ain’t bright; 
 
 Keep on a-hopin’ — 
 
 It’ll soon be light! 
 
 No use in grievin’ 
 
 ’Bout the milk you spill; 
 
 Keep on believin’ 
 
 That the cow ’ll stand still! 
 
 No use in rowin’ 
 
 ’Cos the crops is slow; 
 
 Keep on a-pioughin’ 
 
 An’ they ’re bound to grow! 
 
 No use! the heaven 
 Is above the skies; 
 
 Put in the leaven 
 
 An’ the bread will rise! 
 
 — Atlanta Constitution. 
 
 Daily Help. 
 
 It is said of Bossuet that wherever he went he 
 always had with him his Bible. Wherever he lodged 
 for a season he always put the holy volume in a 
 prominent place in his apartment. He was accus- 
 tomed to point to it, and say: U I cannot live without 
 that.” This is the attitude which every Christian 
 
 6 
 
82 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 should hold toward the Bible. It is a book never to 
 be slighted. To allow it to fail into disuse is as se- 
 rious as to stop eating and drinking, for it is the 
 source of human strength. 
 
 Napoleon Bonaparte's Estimate of the Bible* 
 
 The Bible is more than a book: it is a living be- 
 ing, with an action, a power which invades every- 
 thing that opposes its extension. Behold it upon 
 this table, this Book surpassing all others; I never 
 omit to read it, and every day with new pleasure. 
 
 Everything in Christ astonishes me. His Spirit 
 overawes me, and his will confounds me. Between 
 him and whoever else in the world there is no possi- 
 ble term of comparison: he is truly a being by him- 
 self. His ideas and his sentiments, the truth which 
 he announces, his manner of convincing, are not ex- 
 plained either by human organization or by the 
 nature of things. 
 
 Truth should embrace the universe. Such is 
 Christianity, the only religion which destroys sec- 
 tional prejudices, the only one which proclaims the 
 unity and the absolute brotherhood of the whole 
 human family, the only one which is purely spiritual; 
 in line, the only one which assigns to all, without 
 distinction, for a true county, the bosom of the 
 Creator, God. Christ proved that he w^as the son of 
 the eternal by his disregard of time. All his doc- 
 trines signif}' one only and the same thing— eternity. 
 What a proof of the divinity^ of Christ! With an 
 empire so absolute, he has but one single end — the 
 spiritual amelioration of individuals, the purity of 
 the conscience. — Exchange. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers, 
 
 83 
 
 Take Time For The Bible* 
 
 As we drift along- the swift, relentless current of 
 time toward the end of life; as our days and weeks 
 and months and years follow each other in breath- 
 less haste, and we reflect now and then for a moment 
 that, at any rate for us, much of this earthly career 
 has passed irrevocably, what are the interests, 
 thoug-hts, aye, the books which really command our 
 attention? 
 
 What do we read and leave unread? What time 
 do we give to the Bible? No other Book, let us be 
 sure of it, can equally avail to prepare us for that 
 which lies before us; for the unknown anxieties and 
 sorrows which are sooner or later the portion of 
 most men and women; for the gradual approach of 
 death; for the period, be it long or short, of waiting 
 and preparation for the throne and the face of the 
 Eternal Judge. 
 
 Looking back from that world, how shall we desire 
 to have made the most of our best guide to it! How 
 shall we grudge the hours we have wasted on any- 
 thing — be they thoughts or books or teacher — which 
 only belong to the things of time , — Canon Liddon. 
 
 vv'V 
 
 How He Answered Infidelity* 
 
 An instance of a blind man’s familiarity with the 
 Bible, which ought to bring the blush to some cheeks 
 that enclose eyes flashing with light, was related by 
 Robert E. Speer in one of his Northfield addresses. 
 
 Last year we had a meeting with some Corean 
 Christians who had known the gospel but a few 
 
84 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 years. I said to them: “Now, you know that not 
 everybody in America believes in this gospel. The 
 majority of the people in our country are not fol- 
 lowers of Jesus, and as to this Bible, there are a 
 great many who do not believe in it; and some day 
 they will come here and they will tell you these 
 things. Is your faith in Christ and this Bible de- 
 pendent on your belief that a great nation, mightier 
 and wiser than you, believes in Christ and the Bible? 
 Or does it rest on other grounds? What will you 
 say when men come and question your faith in Christ 
 and his word?” 
 
 There was a young man sitting down on the floor, 
 who had been blind from his early childhood, with the 
 marks of the disease that had made him blind all 
 over his face. He raised his head and said: — 
 
 “I will tell you what I would say. I would answer 
 him in the words of the nineteenth and twentieth 
 verses of the fourth chapter of Acts: — ‘Whether it 
 be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you 
 rather than unto God, judge ye. For w T e cannot but 
 speak the things which we saw and heard.” 
 
 I said, “Do you know all your Bible as well as 
 that?” He could not read, and they have no raised- 
 letter Bibles in Corea. 
 
 “Well,” said the blind man, “I know my Bible 
 pretty well.” 
 
 I asked, “Can you tell me what is in the fifteenth 
 chapter of the gospel of Luke?” 
 
 “Certainly,” he said, “that’s the chapter that has 
 the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the 
 prodigal son.” 
 
 “Do you know in what chapter of Matthew is the 
 feeding of the five thousand?” 
 
 “Certainly,” he answered; “it’s in the fourteenth.” 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 85 
 
 I thought it was the twelth, but I turned to the 
 fourteenth and found that the blind man had located 
 it correctly. 
 
 He had learned all he knew about Christ’s life 
 from his friends, who sat on the floor of the little 
 room in which he lived, and read to him, translating 
 out of an old Chinese Bible the whole life of Christ. 
 
 I asked him what he liked best of all. 
 
 “O,” he replied, “I like the ninth chapter of the 
 Gospel of John, that tells the story of the blind man 
 to whom Christ restored sight.” 
 
 I asked him what he looked forward to most. 
 
 “Well,” he said, “I look forward most to Christ’s 
 meeting me at the gates of that Beulah Land. I 
 wouldn’t dare go up to see the Father alone, a blind 
 man from Corea, but I shall wait at the gate until 
 Christ comes and takes my hand and leads me up to 
 his Father and mine.” 
 
 I don’t know when I was so rebuked as to my own 
 knowledge of the Bible as by that poor, blind Corean, 
 who had been less than three years a disciple of 
 Christ. 
 
 A Jew's Testimony* 
 
 A few months ago, in the soko, or market, in Mo- 
 gado, a number of Jews were standing around listen- 
 ing to one of the company who was reading to them 
 from a copy of “The Old Paths.” A Hungarian 
 rabbi, who was passing by, stopped, and, having list- 
 ened to the reading for a short time, said to the 
 reader: “The book which you are reading is quite as 
 dangerous to you as the New Testament, and if you 
 
86 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 continue reading- it you will cease to be a good Jew 
 — you will be perverted.’’ 
 
 One of those standing* b} 7 answered him: ‘‘But, 
 rabbi, we read the New Testament now and then, and 
 yet we are not perverted.” 
 
 The rabbi shook his head and said: “I am old now, 
 and have traveled far, but believe me, in all my 
 life, and during- all my journeys, I have never found 
 a Jew, who, having- read the New Testament, has 
 not become a Christian in heart, although he may 
 still attend the synag-og-ue.” — Jewish Missionai'y 
 Advocate. 
 
 The Word Abideth* 
 
 The Jew hated it — but it lived on, while the veil 
 was torn away from the shrine which the Shekinah 
 had forsaken, and while Jerusalem itself was de- 
 stroyed. The Greek derided — but it has seen his 
 philosophy effete and his Acropolis in ruins. The 
 Romans threw it into the flames — but it rose from its 
 ashes and swooped down upon the falling eagle. The 
 reasoner cast it into the furnace, which his own neg- 
 ligence had heated “seven times hotter than its 
 wont,” but it came out without the smell of fire. The 
 formalist fastened serpents around it to poison it, 
 but it shook them off and felt no harm. The infidel 
 cast it overboard in a tempest of sophistry and sar- 
 casm — but it rode gallantly upon the crest of the 
 proud waters. And it is living stil] — yet heard in 
 the loudest swelling of the storm — it has been speak- 
 ing all the while — it is speaking now. — Punshon. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 87 
 
 Read Prayerfully* 
 
 “I find it unsafe to study the Bible too much,” said 
 a young* woman; “it gets me all confused, and I don’t 
 know what to believe.” It is not an unusual confes- 
 sion. When we learn how some people study the 
 Bible we do not wonder they become confused. If 
 they studied geography after the same fashion they 
 would not know whether the earth was flat like a 
 pancake or round like a terrapin’s back. And they 
 would be uncertain whether it was intended that one 
 should walk on one’s head or on one’s feet. No man 
 who studies the Bible without common sense need be 
 surprised if he gets his uncommon sense addled. 
 
88 
 
 Glittering Cems for Willing Workers. 
 
 COVETOUSNESS. 
 
 ‘ ** . 
 
 How to Make Others Happy. 
 
 Have you had a kindness shown ? 
 
 Pass it on; 
 
 ’Twas not given for thee alone — 
 
 Pass it on; 
 
 Let it travel down the years, 
 
 Let it wipe another’s tears, 
 
 Till in heaven the deed appears — 
 
 Pass it on. 
 
 Have you found the heavenly ligiit? 
 
 Pass it on; 
 
 Souls are groping- in the nigiit, 
 
 Daylig-ht g-one. 
 
 Hold thy ligiited lamp on high, 
 
 Be a star in some one’s sky; 
 
 He may live who else would die — 
 
 Pass it on. — Union Signal. 
 
 A little child was one day playing with a very 
 valuable vase, when he put his hand into it and could 
 not withdraw it. His father, too, tried his best to 
 get it out, but all in vain. They were talking of 
 breaking the vase, when the father said: “Now, my 
 son, make one more trv; open your hand and hold 
 your fingers out straight, as you see me doing, and 
 then pull.” To their astonishment the little fellow 
 said: “I couldn’t put out my fingers like that, for if 
 I did I would lose my penny.” He had been holding 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 89 * 
 
 on to a penny all the time! No wonder he could not 
 withdraw his hand. How many of us are like him?’ 
 Drop the copper, surrender, let go, and God will give 
 you gold . — John Mac Neil . 
 
 Nearly Starved* 
 
 A pitiful case of destitution was discovered in 
 New York a few days ago. In one of the tenement 
 houses on Roosevelt street, there are a large number 
 of families, each with only one room for living and 
 sleeping accommodation. They are all miserably 
 poor and have nothing to spare for their neighbors. 
 One family, however, was worse off than the others, 
 and at last the people in the adjoining rooms called 
 the attention of the police to their condition. An 
 officer went to investigate and reported that he had 
 never in all his experience seen such abject poverty. 
 A woman was there with a babe only a few days old r 
 and there were three other children. The only bed 
 was a heap of foul-smelling rags, the onty seats were 
 some empty soap-boxes, and the rest of the furni- 
 ture consisted of a rusty stove and some broken 
 dishes. The woman was too exhausted by lack of 
 food to speak, but revived after a meal had been 
 given her. She said that for some time past, the 
 family had subsisted on scraps of food that her hus- 
 band picked from the garbage barrels, and they had 
 been unable to get anything else to eat. It was 
 noticed that she wore six cheap rings, with bright 
 stones in them, and she was asked why she did not 
 sell them in the emergency. It appeared that she 
 set great store on the paltry finery and had pre- 
 
90 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing "Workers, 
 
 ferred to starve rather than part with the rings. 
 They would not have sold for much, but her keeping 
 them showed how precious they were to her. We 
 think her foolish, but she is not alone in her folly 
 The woman who would not part with her rings to 
 save her life is not so foolish as the person who would 
 not part with an estate to save his soul. (Luke 12:23). 
 
 The Scarlet Thread* 
 
 When we understand our stewardship we shall see 
 that every dollar belongs to God. Dr. William Kin' 
 caid says: “A friend of mine was receiving some 
 money at the hands of a bank officer the other day, 
 when he noticed suspended from one of the bills, a 
 little scarlet thread. He tried to puli it out, but 
 found that it was woven into the very texture of the 
 note, and could not be withdrawn. “Ah!” said the 
 banker, “you will find that all the Government bills 
 are made so now. It is done to prevent counterfeit- 
 ing.” Just so Christ has woven the scarlet thread 
 of his blood into every dollar that the Christian 
 owns. It can not be withdrawn; it marks it as his. 
 My brother, my sister, when you take out a Govern- 
 ment note to expend it for some needless luxury, 
 notice the scarlet thread therein, and reflect that it 
 belongs to Christ. How can we trifle with the price 
 of blood? — A. T. Pierson . 
 
 Your Nearest Neighbor* 
 
 A young girl, on being asked to join a society 
 which had for its object the helping of struggling 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 91 
 
 missionaries in the far West, shook her head with 
 decision. “I find quite enough work at home,” she 
 said. ‘ ‘I believe in trying to help those nearest you. ” 
 Now in deciding as to whom we should give assist- 
 ance, the following holds a suggestion that may 
 prove helpful: “Every person is near to you whom 
 you can bless. He is nearest whom you can bless 
 most.” 
 
 Does not this thought blot out distance? Does it 
 not bring close the one who is hungry, to those of us 
 who have bread to spare? The starving thousands 
 of India are as near us as our neighbor across the 
 way. Just as human want brought the Son of God 
 to earth, so to-day need makes nearness, and the one 
 we touch most closely is he who needs us most. 
 
 No Room In The Inn* 
 
 The great world is very much like that inn at 
 Bethlehem, pre-occupied, crowded full in every part, 
 so that, as the mother of Jesus looked up wistfully to 
 the guest-chambers that cold night, in like manner 
 Jesus himself stands at the door of ' these multitudes, 
 knocking vainly, till his head is filled with dew, and 
 his locks are wet with the drops of the night.— -Hor- 
 ace Bushnell , D. JD. 
 
92 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 9 
 
 CHEERFULNESS. 
 
 Never Give Up. 
 
 Never give up, though all faint and heart-weary; 
 
 Be the hopes thou hast buried but steps to thy will 
 To mount the dim future, now silent and dreary; 
 Beyond hope’s horizon some light lingers still. 
 
 Never give up while the lamp of life burneth, 
 Though, wasted with watching be feeble its flame. 
 The light may suffice, ere to darkness it turneth, 
 
 On Time’s brightest record to blazon thy name. 
 
 Never give up till thine effort endue thee 
 With force to overcome in the conflict of sin: 
 Never give up, though the strife still subdue thee; 
 Thy spirit undaunted a blessing will win. 
 
 Never give up; though to thee be not given 
 
 To perfect the good that thy genius hath plann’d; 
 Another shall strive where in vain thou has striven; 
 Another have strength in the struggle to stand. 
 
 “Pleasant To Live With." 
 
 She had been a woman remarkable neither for 
 beauty, culture, nor education, but when her life 
 was ended and her friends had looked for the last 
 time at the silent face, there was one beautiful 
 thing said over and over, “She was so pleasant to 
 live with.” 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 93 
 
 Edmund Burke said of his wife, “Every care van- 
 ished the moment I entered under my own roof.” 
 
 The larger work of the world is greatly helped by 
 people who are “pleasant to live with.” 
 
 For every great ocean steamship there are thous- 
 ands of insignificant craft that carry more of the 
 world’s commerce than do the ocean greyhounds. 
 For every gilt-braided general, there are thousands of 
 common soldiers whose bayonets and bullets count 
 for more than his gold lace. For every famous 
 worker there are thousands of humble lives whose 
 faithfulness and loyalty are the background of his 
 work.—/. F. C. 
 
 am 
 
 Two Sides* 
 
 Two boys went to gather grapes. One was happy 
 because they found grapes. The other was unhappy 
 because the grapes had seeds in them. 
 
 Two men, being convalescent, were asked how 
 they were. One said, “I am better today,” The 
 other said, “I was worse yesterday.” 
 
 When it rains, one man says, “This will make 
 mud;” another, “This will lay the dust.” 
 
 Two boys examining a bush, one observed that it 
 had a thorn; the other, that it had a rose. 
 
 Two children looking through colored glasses, one 
 said, “The world is blue.” And the other said, “It 
 is bright.” 
 
 Two boys having a bee, one got honey, and the 
 other got stung. The first called it a honey bee; the 
 other, a stinging bee. 
 
 “I am glad that I live,” says one man. “I am 
 sorry I must die,” says another. 
 
94 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 “I am glad,” says one, “that it is no worse.” “I 
 am sorry,” says another, “that it is no better.” 
 
 One says, “Our good is mixed with evil.” An- 
 other says, “Our evil is mixed with good.” 
 
 A Streak of Sunshine* 
 
 “Well, grandma,” said a little boy, resting his 
 elbows on the old lady's stuffed arm-chair, “what 
 have you been doing here at the window all da3' by 
 yourself?” 
 
 “All I could,” answered grandma, cheerily: “I 
 have read a little and prayed a good deal, and then 
 looked out at the people. There's one little girl. 
 Arthur, that I have learned to watch for. She has 
 sunn3 T brown hair, her brown eyes have the same 
 sunny look in them, and I wonder every day what 
 makes her look so bright. Ah, here she comes now.” 
 
 “That girl with the brown apron on?” he cried. 
 “Wh3% I know that girl. That’s Susie Moore, and 
 she has a dreadful hard time, grandma.” 
 
 “Has she?” said grandma. “O, little boy, wouldn't 
 you give an3 T thing to know where she gets all that 
 brightness from, then?” 
 
 “I’ll ask her,” said Arthur promptly, and. to 
 grandma's surprise, he raised the window and called: 
 
 “Susie, O, Susie, come up here a minute; grandma 
 wants to see yonV' 
 
 The brown e3^es opened wide in surprise, but the 
 little maid turned at once and came in. 
 
 “Grandma wants to know, Susie Moore,” exclaimed 
 the boy, “what makes you look so bright all the 
 time.” 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 95 
 
 “Why, I have to,” said Susie. “You see, papa’s 
 been sick a long while, and mamma is tired out with 
 nursing, and baby’s cross with her teeth, and if I 
 didn’t be bright, who would be?” 
 
 “Yes, yes, I see,” said dear old grandma, putting 
 her arms around this little streak of sunshine. 
 “That’s God’s reason for things; they are because 
 somebody needs them. Shine on, little sun; there 
 couldn’t be a better reason for shining than because 
 it is dark at home .” — The Sunbeam. 
 
 How the Grumbler Was Cured* 
 
 Some years ago, a pastor of a little church in a 
 small town became exceedingly discouraged, and 
 brooded over his trials to such an extent that he be- 
 came an inveterate grumbler. He found fault with 
 his brethren because he imagined they did not treat 
 him well. A brother minister was invited to assist 
 him a few days in a special service. At the close of 
 the Sabbath morning service our unhappy brother 
 invited the minister to his house to dinner. While 
 they were waiting alone in the parlor he began his 
 doleful story by saying: 
 
 “You have no idea of my troubles; and one of the 
 greatest is that my brethren in the church treat me 
 very badly.” 
 
 The other propounded the following questions: 
 “Did they ever spit in your face?” 
 
 “No; they haven’t come to that.” 
 
 “Did they ever smite you?” 
 
 “No.” 
 
 “Did they ever crown you with thorns?” 
 
96 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 This last question lie could not answer but bowed 
 his head thoughtfully. The other replied: 
 
 “Your Master and mine was thus treated, and all 
 his disciples fled and left him in the hands of the 
 wicked. Yet he opened not his mouth. ” 
 
 The effect of this conversation was wonderful. 
 Both ministers bowed in prayer and earnestly sought 
 to possess the mind which was in Christ Jesus. Dur- 
 ing the ten days’ meeting the discontented pastor 
 became wonderfully changed. He labored and 
 prayed with his friend, and many souls were brought 
 to Christ. 
 
 Some weeks after, a deacon of the church wrote 
 and said: “Your late visit and conversation with 
 our pastor have had a wonderful influence for good. 
 We [never hear him complain now, and he labors 
 more prayerfully and zealously.” — Moody's Anecdotes. 
 
 Sing At Your Work* 
 
 When the sailors heave the anchor, they start a 
 song, to the music of which they keep time. When 
 a regiment marches to battle, the band plays martial 
 airs to stimulate and strengthen them. When the 
 machinery of daily occupation runs smoothly and 
 without friction, the wheels must be well oiled with 
 cheerfulness. 
 
 “Give us, oh, give us,” cried Carlyle, “the man 
 who sings at his work! Be his occupation what it 
 may, he is equal to any of those who follow the same 
 pursuit in silent sullenness. He will do more in the 
 same time — he will do it better — he will persevere 
 longer. Wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness; 
 
Glittering Gems for Wining Workers. 
 
 97 
 
 altogether past calculation is its ‘power of endur- 
 ance!” 
 
 The task may be heavy and full of drudgery, but, 
 if it is fulfilled in a brave and cheerful spirit, it will 
 lose the gayness of its monotony, and shine with a 
 new lustre. The dull day grows bright and the 
 dreary burden grows light with the coming of cheer- 
 fullness. — Dr. Sutherland. 
 
 A Word To Boys* 
 
 You are made to be kind, boys — generous, mag- 
 nanimous. If there is a boy in school who has a 
 club-foot, don’t let him know you ever saw it. If 
 there is a poor boy, with ragged clothes, don’t talk 
 about rags in his hearing'. If there is a lame boy, 
 assign him some part in the game that doesn’t 
 require running. If there is a hungry one, give him 
 part of your dinner. If there is a dull one, help 
 him to get his lesson, If there is a bright one, be 
 not envious of him: for if one boy is proud of his 
 talents and another is envious of them, there are 
 two great wrongs and no more talent than before. 
 If a larger or stronger boy has injured you, and is 
 sorry for it, forgive him. All the school will show 
 by their countenances how much better it is than to 
 have a great fuss . — Horace Mann. 
 
98 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 INFLUENCE. 
 
 Few Are Glad. 
 
 BY MRS. PRENTISS. 
 
 Hast Thou, my Master, aught for me to do 
 To honor Thee to-day? 
 
 Hast Thou a word of love to some poor soul 
 That I may say? 
 
 For see, this world that Thou hast made so fair 
 Within its heart is sad: 
 
 Thousands are lonely, thousands weep and sigh, 
 But few are glad. 
 
 A Remarkable Incident. 
 
 Two Americans who were crossing* the Atlantic 
 met in the cabin on Sunday night to sing hymns. 
 As they sang the last h3nnn, * ‘Jesus, Lover of My 
 Soul , 55 one of them heard an exceedingly rich and 
 beautiful voice behind him. He looked around, and 
 although he did not know the face, he thought that 
 he knew the voice. So when the music ceased, he 
 turned and asked the man if he had been in the 
 Civil War. The man replied that he had been a 
 Confederate soldier. “Were you at such a place on 
 such a night ? 55 asked the first. 
 
 “Yes , 55 he replied, “and a curious thing happened 
 that night which this hymn has recalled to my mind. 
 I was posted on sentry duty near the edge of a wood. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 99 
 
 It was a dark night and very cold, and I was a little 
 frightened, because the enemy was supposed to be 
 very near. About midnight, when everything was 
 still, and I was feeling homesick, and miserable, and 
 weary, I thought that I would comfort myself by 
 praying and singing this hymn: 
 
 4 All my trust on thee is stayed, 
 
 All my help from the I bring; 
 
 Cover my defenseless head 
 With the shadow of thy wing.’ 
 
 “After singing that a strange peace came down 
 upon me, and through the long night I felt no more 
 fear.” “Now,” said the other, “listen to my story, 
 I was a Union soldier, and was in the wood that night 
 with a couple of scouts. I saw you standing, al- 
 though I did not see your face. My men had their 
 rifles focused upon you, waiting the word to fire; but 
 when you sang out — 
 
 “ ‘Cover my defenseless head 
 With the shadow of thy wing,’ 
 
 I said, ‘Boys, lower your rifles; we will go home.’ ” — 
 Drummond. 
 
 A Boy's Work* 
 
 Dr. Phillip was sent for, on one occasion, to go to 
 a little village in an out-of-the-way corner of his 
 great diocese in -India, to baptize and receive into 
 church fellowship some sixty or seventy adult con- 
 verts from Hindooism. He went very giadly, exam- 
 ined them, and decided it wise to baptize them all. 
 
 At the commencement of the proceedings he had 
 noticed a boy about fifteen years of age sitting in a 
 
100 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing "Workers. 
 
 back corner, looking - very anxiously and listening 
 very wistfully. He now came forward. “What! my 
 boy, do you want to join the church?” “Yes, sir.” 
 “But you are very young, and if I were to receive 
 you into fellowship with this church to-day, and 
 then you were to slip aside, it would bring discredit 
 upon this church and do great injury to the cause of 
 Christ. I shall be coming this way again in about 
 six months. Now you be very loyal to the Lord 
 Jesus Christ during that time, and if, when I come 
 again at the end of the half-year, I find you stead- 
 fast and true, I will baptize and receive you very 
 gladly.” No sooner was this said than all the people 
 rose to their feet, and some speaking for the rest, 
 said, “Why, sir, it is he that has taught us all that 
 we know about Jesus Christ.” 
 
 And so it turned out to be. This was the little 
 minister of the little church, the honored instrument 
 in the hand of God of saving all the rest for Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 A Parable* 
 
 One night a man took a little taper out of a 
 drawer, and lighted it, and began to ascend a long, 
 winding stair. 
 
 “Where are you going?” said the taper. 
 
 “Away high up,” said the man; “higher than the 
 top of the house where we sleep.” 
 
 “And what are you going to do there?” said the 
 tr per. 
 
 “I am going to show the ships out at sea where 
 he harbor is,” said the man. “For we stand here at 
 the entrance to the harbor, and some ships far out 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 101 
 
 on the stormy sea may be looking for our light even 
 now.” 
 
 “Alas! no ship could ever see my light,” said the 
 little taper, “it is so very small.” 
 
 “If your light is small,” said the man, “keep it 
 burning bright and leave the rest to me.” 
 
 Well, when the man got up to the top of the 
 lighthouse — for this was a lighthouse they were in 
 — he took the little taper, and with it lighted the 
 great lamps that stood ready there with their 
 polished reflectors behind them. 
 
 O boys and girls, who think your little light of so 
 small account, can you not see what God may do 
 with it? Shine — and leave the rest to him . — The 
 Wellspring. 
 
 Only a Pin* 
 
 “Only two or three days ago an overseer in an 
 English mill found a pin which cost the company 
 nearly a hundred pounds.” 
 
 “Was it stolen?” asked Susie. “I suppose it must 
 have been very handsome. Was it a diamond pin?” 
 “Oh, no, my dear! not by any means. It was just 
 such a pin as people buy every day and use without 
 stint. Here is one in my dress.” 
 
 “Such a pin as that cost nearly a hundred 
 pounds!” exclaimed John. “I don’t believe it.” 
 
 “But mamma says it is a true story,” interposed 
 Susie. 
 
 “Yes, I know it is true. And this is the way the 
 pin happened to cost so much. You know that 
 calicos, after they are printed and washed and 
 dried, are smoothed by being passed over heated 
 
102 
 
 Glitterir.gr Gems for Witling: Workers. 
 
 rollers. Well, by some mischance, a pin dropped so 
 as to lie upon the principal roller, and indeed became 
 wedged into it, the head standing out a little from 
 the surface. 
 
 “Over and over went the roller, and round and 
 round went the cloth, winding at length upon still 
 another roller, until the piece was easured off. 
 Then another piece began to be dried and wound, 
 and so on until a hundred pieces had been counted 
 off. These were not examined immediately, but re- 
 moved from the machinery and laid aside. When 
 at length they came to be inspected, it was found 
 that there were holes in every piece throughout the 
 web, and only three-quarters of a yard apart. Now, 
 in every piece there were from thirty-five to forty- 
 five yards, and at ninepence a yard that would count 
 tip to about one hundred and eighty pounds. 
 
 “Of course the goods could not be classed as per- 
 fect goods, so they were sold as remnants, at about 
 half the price they would have brought had it not 
 been for that hidden pin. 
 
 “Now it seems to me that when a boy takes for 
 his companion a profane swearer, a Sabbath-breaker, 
 or a lad who is untruthful, and a little girl has for 
 her playmate one who is unkind and disobedient, or 
 in any way a wicked child, they are like the roller 
 which took to its bosom the pin. Without their be- 
 ing able to help it, often the evil influence clings to 
 them, and leaves its mark upon everybody with 
 whom they come in contact. 
 
 “That pin damaged irreparably 4,000 yards of new 
 print, but bad company has ruined thousands of 
 souls for whom Christ died. Remember, ‘one sinner 
 destroyed much good, ’ therefore avoid evil compan- 
 ions .” — Church Echo . 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 103 
 
 A Word in Due Season* 
 
 The story is told of Mr. Whitefield, the great 
 evangelist, that he was won’t to talk with the mem- 
 bers of each household about their souls. Once at 
 the house of a certain colonel, he was so hospitably 
 received, that he did not like to speak to them 
 about decision for God, so he wrote upon a diamond- 
 shaped pane of glass in the window with his ring, 
 these words: “One thing thou lackest.” 
 
 He could not bring himself to speak to them, but 
 went his way with many a prayer for their conver- 
 sion. 
 
 He had no sooner gone than the good woman of 
 the house, who was a great admirer of him, said: 
 
 “I will go up to his room; I like to look at the 
 very place where the man of God has been.” 
 
 She went up and noticed on the window pane 
 those words, “One thing thou lackest.” It struck 
 her with conviction in a moment. She called her 
 daughters up. 
 
 “Look there, girls!” said she, “see what Mr. 
 Whitefield has written on the window: ‘One thing 
 thou lackest.’ Call up your father.” 
 
 And the father came up and read that too: “One 
 thing thou lackest!” and around the bed whereon 
 the man of God had slept, they all knelt down and 
 sought that God would give them the one thing they 
 lacked, and ere they left that chamber they had 
 found that one thing, and the whole household re- 
 joiced in Jesus. 
 
 It is not long since the writer met with a friend, 
 one bf whose church members preserves that very 
 pane of glass in her family, as an heirloom. — Ex . 
 
104 
 
 Glittering; Gems for Willing; Workers. 
 
 Lead and Silver* 
 
 If you put a piece of lead into a pocket full of 
 shilling’s and sixpences, the lead has no intention of 
 blackening- its neighbors: but let them jingle to- 
 g-ether for a week and then take them out, and you 
 will find the silver pieces ail black. So a bad man 
 blackens the soul of his neighbor without intending 
 it. — The New Song. 
 
 No Grave For It* 
 
 It was a striking remark of a dying man whose 
 life had been, alas! but poorly spent: “O that my in- 
 fluence could he gathered up and buried with me!” It was 
 too late; he had put in motion an agency which he 
 was altogether powerless to arrest. There is noth- 
 ing we are more prone to forget and disregard than 
 our influence upon others; yet there is nothing we 
 should more dread — there is nothing for which we 
 must hereafter give a more solemn account. — Chris- 
 tian Work. 
 
 Face Sermons* 
 
 Some one tells of an infidel Swiss artist who was 
 serving the devil to the extent of his ability, who 
 went to Sheffield, England, in 1880. There he was 
 asked to make a caricature of a Salvation Arm3' 
 meeting. He ^went there on that errand, and scanned 
 the faces of the people; he — with his heart like the 
 troubled sea that could not find rest, tossed and driv 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 105 * 
 
 en by tempests of passion, and tormented by a con- 
 science burdened with sin — looked on the assembled 
 worshipers, and saw peace written on their faces, 
 and an inward joy beaming- from their countenances. 
 
 The sight convinced him of his sinfulness. He 
 saw that those people had something which he lacked 
 and which he needed. He turned his feet unto God’s 
 testimonies, believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, found 
 peace through the blood of the cross, and rejoiced 
 with the rejoicing ones . — Christian Union Ilemld. 
 
 “Our Walk and Conversation*” 
 
 Francis, of Assisi, once stepped down into the 
 cloisters of his monastery, and, laying his hand on 
 the shoulder of a young monk, said; 
 
 “Brother, let us go down into the town and 
 preach.” 
 
 So they went forth, the venerable father and the 
 young mai}, conversing as they went. 
 
 They wound their way down the principal streets, 
 the lonely alleys and lanes, and even to the outskirts 
 of the town, and to the village beyond, till they 
 found themselves back at the monastery again. 
 
 Then said the young monk, “Father, when shall 
 we begin to preach?” 
 
 And the father looked kindly down upon his son, 
 and said: 
 
 “My child, we have been preaching; we were 
 preaching while we were walking. We have been 
 seen, looked at; our behaviour has been remarked; 
 and so we have delivered a morning sermon. Ah, my 
 son, it is of no use that we walk anywhere to preach 
 unless we preach as we walk . — Paxton Hood. 
 
106 
 
 Glittering Cems for Willing Workers. 
 
 44 Those Little Sin s.” 
 
 A vessel will sink whether filled with heavy stones 
 or with sand. Fine grains of sand will bury travel- 
 = ers in the desert. Fine flakes of snow, so light that 
 they seem to hang in the air and scarce to fall, will, 
 if they gather over the sleepy wayfarer, extinguish 
 life: if they drift, they will bury whole houses and 
 their dwellers. Fine, delicate sins, as people think 
 them, will chill the soul and take away its life. — 
 E. B. Posey , D. JD. 
 
 Firing at One Spot* 
 
 You have heard of the old castle that was taken 
 by a single gun. The attacking party had only one 
 gun, and it seemed hopeless to try to take the castle; 
 but one soldier said: 4 T can show you how to take 
 the castle,” and he pointed the cannon to one spot 
 and fired, and went on all day, never moving the can- 
 non. About nightfall there were a few grains of 
 -sand knocked off the wail. 
 
 He did the same thing the next day, and the next. 
 By and by the stones began to come away, and by 
 -steadily working his gun for one week, he made a 
 hole in that castle big enough for the army to walk 
 through. 
 
 Now, with a single gun firing away at everybody’s 
 life, the devil is trying to get in at one opening. 
 Temptation is the practice of the soul; and if you 
 never have any temptations, you will never have any 
 practice. 
 
 Do not quarrel with your temptations; set your- 
 -seif resolutely to face them . — Professor Drummond. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 107 
 
 Washington and Napoelon* 
 
 Napoleon sought to rule men; Washington aimed 
 to serve them. You see the results of the two sys- 
 tems in what is left of them. At Waterloo to-day 
 you find a great waste desert, in the center of which 
 is simply a mound to commemorate a great battle. 
 But around the field of Bunker Hill sprang up the 
 .great city of colleges and schools, and those influ- 
 ences that went out through all the world; that is 
 the result of the service which Washington rendered 
 in contrast to the domination of Napoleon. 
 
 You find at Mount Vernon a very plain structure 
 for the tomb of Washington, scarcely to be noticed, 
 except one goes out of his way to see it. Napoleon’s 
 tomb is in the heart of Paris, and a marble casket 
 holds his remains. Washington’s remains are as 
 broad as the continent. That is the reward of ser- 
 vice as opposed to self-seeking. — A. McKenzie , D. H. 
 
 What To Read In The Sick Room* 
 
 Many people would be glad to spend a half-hour 
 now and then reading to a sick neighbor if they only 
 knew just what to read, and could be assured that 
 their reading could do no harm. 
 
 We have been asked to suggest some Bible read- 
 ings especially adapted to the sick room. There are 
 very few readings of this sort. That is to say, there 
 are very few chapters in the Bible that will fit the 
 •cases of all the people who get sick. The Bible is 
 adapted to the individual, not to the masses, and to 
 .find a chapter suitable for a sick room depends 
 entirely upon who is in it. 
 
108 
 
 Glittering Gems for "Willing Workers* 
 
 If the patient is a young- man, you will have use 
 for all the tact and grace you can command. If he 
 is a man of the world, and you have his consent to 
 read to him, do not begin with, “He that being- often 
 reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be de- 
 stroyed, and that without remedy.” Read a story — 
 a story of a blameless life— the life of a young- man 
 — say, Daniel. Perhaps you will have to read sev- 
 eral of these before advancing-. As a second step, 
 try the story of the interview between Christ and 
 the rich young- man. If he receives this (and you 
 should pray as you read that he may receive it), you 
 will find it an easy matter to select subsequent read- 
 ing’s. 
 
 In the event of sudden and serious illness, when 
 there is no time to spare, read to him the offers of 
 the Gospel, especially as presented by John, and fol- 
 low them up with the parable of the Prodig-al Son. 
 
 If the patient is a young- Christian, read chapters 
 that awaken a desire for a more consecrated life — 
 e. y . — the fifteenth of John, the twelfth of Romans, 
 the thirteenth of I. Corinthians, and the third of 
 I John. 
 
 If the patient (young- or old) is depressed, read 
 the sunniest Psalms. 
 
 It will be easy to find many precious chapters for 
 the invalid: Psalms ciii., cxix.; Isaiah liii. ; John xiv.; 
 Hebrews xii; I. Peter i.; Revelation vii. Your de- 
 lig-ht in reading these chapters will be surpassed only 
 by the joy of the saint who hears them! 
 
 If to sickness is added the distress of poverty or 
 other trouble, read Psalms xxxvii., xci., cvii.; Isaiah 
 xli., 10-14; Luke xii. 
 
 In offering to read to mature Christians, give then*- 
 an opportunity to make their own selections.— 22#. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 109 
 
 “The Marks Are Left." 
 
 A father had a wayward son whose misconduct 
 sorely tried his patience. All efforts to win the lad 
 to a life of filial obedience seemed to fail. One day 
 the father took him into the garden, and said: “My 
 son, whenever you disobey me, I shall drive a nail 
 into this post, that you may see how often you grieve 
 me.” The days passed by. Nail after nail was 
 driven into the post until it had become well stud- 
 ded. The father called his son into the garden, and, 
 pointing to the post, reproached him for his willful 
 behavior. He determined to try a new plan, and 
 told the lad that under certain conditions he would 
 draw out the nails one at a time. The boy deter- 
 mined to change his conduct. Nail after nail was 
 withdrawn until the post was clear. Taking him 
 again into the garden, his father, pointing to the 
 post, said gladly: “There’s not a nail left! Not a 
 nail left!” The boy’s face turned pale; his lip quiv- 
 ered: he burst into tears. “Why do you cry?” the 
 father asked. “The nails are all gone!” “Yes,” re- 
 plied the lad, “but the marks are left!” Whether 
 this incident be fact or fiction, it is sadty suggestive 
 of facts in human experience. The forgiveness of 
 sins does not bring with it the eradication of the 
 marks which sin made. The sins and follies of youth 
 may be pardoned, “but the marks are left.” As Dr. 
 McLaren puts it: “If you waste your youth, no re- 
 pentance will send the shadow back upon the dial, 
 or recover the ground lost by idleness, or restore the 
 constitution shattered by dissipation, or give again 
 the resources wasted upon vice, or bring back the 
 fleeting opportunities. . . . The wounds can all be 
 
110 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers, 
 
 healed, indeed, for the good Physician, blessed be his 
 name, has lancets and bandages and balm and ano- 
 dynes for the deadliest; but scars remain even when 
 the gash is closed.” 
 
 A Sweet-Minded Woman* 
 
 So great is the influence of a sweet-minded woman 
 on those around her that it is almost boundless. It- 
 is to her that friends come in seasons of sorrow and 
 sickness for help and comfort; one soothing touch 
 of her kindly hand works wonders in the* feverish 
 child; a few words let fall from her lips in the ear of 
 a sorrow-stricken sister do much to raise the load of 
 grief that is bowing its victim down to the dust in 
 anguish. The husband comes home worn out with 
 the pressure of business and feeling irritable with 
 the world in general, but when he enters the cozy 
 sitting-room and sees the blaze of fire and meets his 
 wife’s smiling face, he succumbs in a moment to the 
 soothing influences which act as the balm of Gilead 
 to his w'ounded spirits that are wearied with the 
 stern realities of life. The rough school-boy flies 
 into a rage from the taunts of his companions to find 
 solace in his mother’s smile; the little one, full of 
 grief with her large trouble, finds a haven of rest on 
 its mother’s breast; and so one might go on with in- 
 stance after instance of the influence that a sweet- 
 minded woman has in the social life with which she 
 is connected. Beauty is an insignificant powe* when 
 compared with hers. — Churchman . 
 
Glittering; Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 Ill 
 
 OPPORTUNITY* 
 
 Heaven Overarches* 
 
 Heaven overarches earth and sea, 
 Earth-sadness and sea-bitterness, 
 
 Heaven overarches you and me; 
 
 A little while and we shall be — 
 
 Please God — where there is no more sea; 
 
 Nor barren wilderness. 
 
 — From Christina Rossetti’s Last Poem . 
 
 >» 
 
 A Legend* 
 
 A legend was told me the other day which may 
 interest you. A young man, discontented with his. 
 lot, dreamed a wonderful dream. He was carried 
 into a beautiful country, and was driven in state 
 through leafy bowers and under arching trees, 
 through groves, redolent with orange blossoms. 
 Rare exotics bloomed on every side. The place 
 seemed a perfect fairyland of beauty. After driv- 
 ing for miles and miles, he stopped before a magnifi- 
 cent palace. It was built of marble, and the carv- 
 ing was of the finest workmanship. Its minarets 
 and domes were ornamented with rare jewels, which 
 flashed in the sunshine. The doors were of pearls, 
 the floors of gold, and the ceilings, instead of being 
 frescoed, were studded with rubies and diamonds. 
 The building was of enormous size, covering, with 
 its wings, fully a square mile, and everything was on 
 
112 
 
 GUttcring Gems for "Willing Workers. 
 
 a scale of rare splendor. Stepping' to one side of 
 the palace, his eye resting- on a dark brown niche, 
 small, but in such a striking contrast to the place, 
 that he asked the guide what it meant and why that 
 was not marble, also, and set around with precious 
 stones. Imagine the young man’s surprise when he 
 said, “The fault is yours. This is the Palace Beau- 
 tiful, and this is your niche. You have been un- 
 happy because of your lowly station in life, and 
 since you could not have a position of prominence, 
 you have spent your time discontented, while others 
 have been improving their time and talents. It 
 rests upon you alone to make this palace perfect.” 
 The young man awoke, saw the lesson taught by his 
 dream, and set to work to marbleize his brown niche. 
 — New York Evangelist. 
 
 v\»V 
 
 Not Yet, 
 
 The Parisian mob came around the Tuilleries. 
 The national guard stood in defence of the palace, 
 and the commander said to Louis Philippe, “Shall I 
 fire now? Shall I order the troops to fire? With 
 one volley e can clear the place.” “No,” said 
 Louis Philippe, “not yet.” A few minutes passed on, 
 and then Louis Philippe, seeing the case was hope- 
 less, said to the general, “Now is the time to fire.” 
 “No,” said the general, “it is too late now; don’t } 7 ou 
 see that the soldiers are exchanging arms with the 
 citizens? It is too late.” Down went the throne of 
 Louis Philippe. “Not yet” has ruined many a soul 
 and hindered many a notable enterprise. 
 
Glittering: Gems for Willing Workers. H3 
 
 FORGIVENESS* 
 
 Forgive and Forget* 
 
 Forgive and forget! Why, the world would be lonety, 
 The garden a wilderness left to deform, 
 
 If the flowers but remember’d the chilling winds only, 
 And the fields gave no verdure for fear of the storm. 
 Oh, still in thy loveliness emblem the flower; 
 
 Give the fragrance of feeling to sweeten life’s way; 
 And prolong not again the brief cloud of an hour, 
 With tears that but darken the rest of the day. 
 
 Forgive and forget! There’s no breast so unfeeling 
 But some gentle thoughts of affection there live; 
 And the best of us all require something concealing, 
 Some heart that with smiles can forget and forgive. 
 Then away with the cloud from those beautiful eyes; 
 
 That brow was no home for such frowns to have met; 
 Oh, how could our spirits e’er hope for the skies, 
 
 If heaven refused to forgive and forget? 
 
 — Charles Swain. 
 
 Set The Clock Right. 
 
 A story is told of a colored man who came to a 
 watchmaker and gave him the two hands of a clock, 
 saying: 
 
 “I want yer to fix up dese han’s. Dey jess doan 
 keep no mo’ kerec’ time for mo’ den six munfs.” 
 “Where is the clock?” answered the watchmaker. 
 “Out at de house on Injun Creek.” 
 
 “But I must have the clock.” 
 
 8 
 
114 Glittering; Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 “Didn’t I tell yer dar’s nuffin de matter wid de 
 clock ’ceptin de han’s? and I done brought ’em to 
 you. You ’ess wants de clock so you kin tinker wid 
 it and charge me a big price. Gimme back dem 
 han’s.” 
 
 And so saying, he went off to find some reasonable 
 watchmaker. 
 
 Foolish as he was, his action was very like that 
 of those who try to regulate their conduct without 
 being made right on the inside. They go wrong, but 
 refuse to believe that the trouble is with their 
 hearts. They are sure that it is not the clock, but 
 the hands that are out of order. They know no 
 more of the need of a change in their spiritual con- 
 dition than the poor negro did of the works of his 
 clock. They are unwilling to give themselves over 
 into the hands of the great Artificer, who will set 
 their works right, so that they may keep time with 
 the great clock of the universe, and no longer at- 
 tempt to set themselves according to the incorrect 
 time of the world. And their reason for not putting 
 themselves into the hand of the Lord is very similar 
 to the reason the colored man gave. They are afraid 
 the price will be too ‘great. They say, “We only 
 wish to avoid this or that bad habit.” But the 
 great Clockmaker says, “I cannot regulate the 
 hands unless I have the clock. I must have the 
 clock. ” — Selected . 
 
 -'Vi'i-. 
 
 The Power of Forgiveness* 
 
 The power of forgiveness even for an offense 
 against human law, is well illustrated in the follow- 
 ing incident: 
 
Glittering Gems for 'Willing Workers. 
 
 115 
 
 A soldier was about to be brought before his com- 
 manding officer for some offense. He was an old 
 offender, and had often been punished. “Here he is 
 again,” said the officer, on his name being mentioned: 
 “flogging, disgrace, solitary confinement, everything 
 has been tried on him.” Whereupon the sergeant 
 stepped forward and apologizing for the liberty, said; 
 “There is one thing that has never been done with 
 him yet, sir.” 
 
 “What is that?” asked the officer. 
 
 “Well, sir,” said the sergeant, “he has never been 
 forgiven.” 
 
 “Forgiven!” exclaimed the colonel, surprised at 
 the suggestion. He reflected a few minutes, ordered 
 the culprit to be brought in, and asked him what he 
 had to say to the charge. 
 
 “Nothing, sir,” was the reply, “only I am sorry 
 for what I have done.” 
 
 Turning a kind and pitiful look on the man, who 
 expected nothing else than that his punishment 
 would be increased with the repetition of the offense,, 
 the colonel addressed him, saying: “Well, we have 
 tried everything with you, and we have resolved to 
 — forgive you.” 
 
 The soldier was struck dumb with amazement; the 
 tears started in his eyes, and he wept like a child. 
 He was humbled to the dust, and, thanking his officer, 
 he retired — to be the old refractory, incorrigible 
 man? No! from that day forward he was a new man. 
 He who told the story had him for years under his 
 eye, and a better conducted man never wore the 
 queen’s colors . — The Standard . 
 
116 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 SALVATION. 
 
 Never Forgets His Own. 
 
 Do you think that the Lord forgets you 
 Because you must fight and pray, 
 And reap the sorrow harvest 
 You’ve sown from day to day? 
 
 Do you think that He lets you suffer 
 And never heeds your moan? 
 
 Ah, no! for the dear Lord Jesus 
 Will never forget His own. 
 
 Promise of Pardon. 
 
 A boy was seen near the Staten Island ferry beg- 
 ging from passers-by. His manner and general ap- 
 pearance indicated that he was not used to begging', 
 and the attention of a detective was called to him. 
 
 The boy, on being questioned, gave his name and 
 address. He said he was trying to get a few pennies 
 to pay his fare to Staten Island, wfcere his parents 
 . lived. Two weeks previously he had run away from 
 home on the suggestion of a strange man who had 
 made his acquaintance on the boat. The man had 
 taken an interest in him, and had promised that if 
 he would come and live with him he should have 
 plenty of pleasure and become a rich man. He 
 often met the man, who pressed his offer upon him 
 whenever he saw him. Finally the boy yielded, and 
 went to live with his new friend. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 117 
 
 The man had been kind to him, but the boy soon 
 learned what he was wanted for. He was to go into 
 hotels and apartment-houses and steal any valuables 
 he could find. The man also showed him how to steal 
 jewelry from stores. The boy soon realized that he 
 had been duped. He saw that he was on his way 
 rather to a prison than a mansion, and he took the 
 first opportunity of leaving- his employer. 
 
 He showed more wisdom in quitting- such a ser- 
 vice and returning- to his home than some do who 
 have been lured away from their heavenly Father 
 by the promise of pleasure and worldly success. Yet 
 the assurance of pardon and welcome which God 
 gives is unqualified. 
 
 “I will heal their backsliding and love them 
 freely.” (Hos. 14:4 .) — The Christian Herald. 
 
 A Boy's Story* 
 
 “I was out in the garden one day,” said a boy, 
 4 ‘when a bee came buzzing all around me; and being 
 afraid that I should be stung, I called out, ‘Mother! 
 oh, mother!’ She quickly came to my help, and led 
 me in-doors; but the bee came in, too, and there it 
 was buzzing about mother and me; so she lifted up 
 her apron and covered my head with it, that the bee 
 could not get near me. 
 
 “Well, while I was covered with mother’s apron, 
 the bee settled on her arm and stung her. But it 
 left its sting behind, and she took me from under her 
 apron, showed me the sting still in her arm, and said 
 the bee could never sting any one else, because it 
 had left its sting in mother’s arm. 
 
118 
 
 Glittering Gems for 'Willing Workers. 
 
 “Then she said that like the way she had borne 
 the sting- for me, so Jesus had borne death for me; 
 that he had destroyed the power of Satan, our enemy; 
 and that if I believed that he had really done this 
 for me, all my sins would be g-one. I did believe, 
 then, sir: and so I am a Christian boy.” 
 
 This was a little boy’s story, and the gentleman to 
 whom he told it could not say nay to it; he could only 
 add: “May God bless you, boy,” as he bade him good- 
 bye. 
 
 “ Peace! Peace l n 
 
 Toward the close of the war of 1812, the country 
 was shrouded in deep gloom; the harbors were block- 
 aded, commerce destroyed, products mouldering in 
 the warehouses, and the currency depreciated. 
 
 In February a ship drew near to New York, bring- 
 ing the commissioners from Ghent, aud the news 
 that the treaty of peace was signed. Men rushed 
 breathless to the city, shouting “Peace, peoxe!” From 
 house to house, from street to street, amid waving 
 torches, all went shouting, “Peace, peace ! ” 
 
 More joyful is the news of peace brought from 
 God by the angels. We, too, should not keep silent, 
 but repeat the news of peace till all the world shall 
 hear. — Peloubet's Notes . 
 
 The Christmas Message Yours* 
 
 The writer found himself, in the fortunes of war, 
 a prisoner in Libby prison at Richmond. One evening, 
 as the prisoners lay down to sleep, the story was 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers* 119 
 
 whispered among them that a flag-of-truce boat had 
 come up the river, and that some one of their num- 
 ber was to be released the next day. 
 
 That was glad tidings for all; but the question in 
 every prisoner’s mind was, “Am 1 to be released?” 
 There were many dreams of home that night on that 
 prison floor. 
 
 In the early morning, after roll-call, there was 
 breathless expectancy for the name of the favored 
 prisoner. It was the name of Chaplain Trumbull. 
 
 Those glad tidings had a meaning to him they 
 could not have to any of his companions. To him 
 there came that day the message of deliverance 
 from bondage, and he passed out of his prison house 
 thanking God that the message was for him. — H . Clay 
 Trumbull , D. D. 
 
 sue 
 
 Icy Death* 
 
 Death, decked in his icy armor, and vigorously 
 handling his keen edged scythe, is approaching each 
 ®f us with the rapidity of a lightning express. Only 
 a few more curves in our road, a few more steep 
 grades to climb, until we shall reach the hill top, 
 then, with the velocity of the hurricane we shall go 
 down the steep grade into death’s icy arms. Are we 
 ready for the collision? Have we peace with God 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ? Are we prepared 
 to meet our creator and preserver? Is our life hid 
 with Christ in God? Shall we receive the welcome: 
 “Well done, good and faithful servant,” from the 
 Master? Will the world have been any better for 
 our having lived in it? What shall we be engaged in 
 when the crash comes? “Prepare to meet thy God.” 
 
120 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing "Workers, 
 
 Death Will Come One Day, 
 
 Oh, friends, you may have comforts — personal, 
 domestic, social — now, and you seem to yourselves 
 to need nothing' more. Death will come one day, 
 and the comforts will all drop out of your hand. You 
 will go, if unbelievers, into the other world, not only 
 paupers, but criminals, unpardoned, under the curse 
 of a broken law, under wrath that endureth forever. 
 Do not put off the securing’ of salvation. Let the 
 dwellers in a house which has “taken fire” be aroused, 
 and with what haste they rush out of it to save their 
 lives! “Delay not, delay not, O sinner!” Go in faith 
 and penitence to God in Christ. Flee from the wrath- 
 to come, and you will be able to say at length, “Now 
 are we the sons of God!” May the blessing- of the 
 God of salvation attend and render effectual his holy 
 word! — Dr. John Hall. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 121 
 
 PERSEVERANCE, 
 Sowing and Reaping;, 
 
 BY REV. SIDNEY DYER, PH. D. 
 
 Ambition’s flights and high renown, 
 Oft bring- the haughty spirit down, 
 While God may fill a bitter cup, 
 
 To lift the meek and lowly up: 
 
 The flesh but leads to grief and pain, 
 The spirit yields immortal gain. 
 
 What The Spider Said* 
 
 “I was spinning a web in the rose vine,” said the 
 spider, “and the little girl was sewing patchwork on 
 the doorstep. Her thread knotted and her needle 
 broke, and her eyes were full of tears. ‘I can’t do 
 it,’ she said. ‘I can’t! I can’t!’ 
 
 “Then her mother came, and bade her look at me. 
 Now, every time I spun a nice, silky thread, and 
 tried to fasten it from one branch to another, the 
 wind blew and tore it away. 
 
 “This happened many times, but at last I made 
 one that did not break, and fastened it close, and 
 spun other threads to join it. Then the mother 
 smiled. 
 
 “ ‘What a patient spider,’ she said. 
 
 “The little girl smiled, 'too, and took up her work. 
 And when the sun went down there was a beautiful 
 web in the rose vine and a square of beautiful patch- 
 work on the step.” — Babyland. 
 
122 
 
 Glittering Cems for Willing Workers. 
 
 A Lesson of Perseverance and Patience* 
 
 It is related of Susanna Wesley, the “Mother of 
 Methodism, ” that once in teaching- a certain lesson 
 to one of her sons, her husband overheard her repeat 
 exactly the same words to the child eighteen times. 
 Then, the nineteenth time, she was successful, and 
 the hoy repeated the words of his mother. The 
 father wondered at such patience and perseverance 
 and inquired into the cause of it. The wise mother 
 answered: “If I had stopped before that last time, 
 all my work the previous number of times would 
 have proved worthless; as it is, he, the boy, has the 
 knowledge I desired him to gain. — E. Love Hawkins. 
 
 '‘And a Little Child Shall Lead Them." 
 
 One winter the sickness of my baby sister caused 
 me to have almost exclusive care and control of my 
 four-year-old sister, a dear little girl, with brown 
 eves, and chestnut curls. One day, growing tired of 
 her other amusements, she came to me begging for 
 a story. I was very busy with some school work 
 which was necessary for the next day’s class, and 
 said to Her, “Wait a few minutes, dearie; sister is 
 very busy and must do this work.” She patiently 
 w T aited a few moments, then came again, claiming 
 that the ‘few minutes’ had passed. I put aside my 
 work and began some story I loved as a child. The 
 little one stopped me, desiring to have some story 
 grandmother had read to her, and which I did not 
 know. The child suggested that she would tell me 
 the story and I might repeat it for her benefit. I 
 
Glittering: Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 123 
 
 agreed to the proposition, and so the dear little voice 
 began. My mind, however, wandered to the work I 
 had put aside, and I was very much surprised when I 
 heard little sister say; “Now, I’m done with the 
 story, tell it to me.” I had to acknowledge lack of 
 attention and beg her to repeat her narrative. 
 
 Again and again, twice and thrice the story was 
 repeated, the child still smiling and remaining in the 
 best of humor, I bowed my own head in humility, 
 willing to learn the lesson of patience from the little 
 one, remembering, “And a little child shall lead 
 them.” — E. Love Hawkins . 
 
 'Si'i'S. 
 
 Living: Sweetly Under Trials. 
 
 Many of us find life hard and full of pain. The 
 world uses us rudely and roughly. We suffer wrongs 
 and injuries. Other people’s clumsy feet tread upon 
 our tender spirits. We must endure misfortunes, 
 trials, disappointments. We can not avoid these 
 things, but we should not allow the harsh experience 
 to deaden our sensibilities or make us stoical or 
 sour. The true problem of living is to keep our 
 hearts sweet and gentle in the hardest conditions 
 and experiences. If you remove the snow from the 
 hillside in the late winter, you will find sweet flowers 
 growing there beneath the cold drifts, unhurt by the 
 storm and by the snowy blanket that have covered 
 them. So should we keep our hearts tender and 
 sensitive beneath life’s fiercest winter blasts, and 
 through the longest life of suffering, and even of 
 injustice and wrong treatment. That is true, victo- 
 rious living. — J. B. Miller, D. D. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 124 
 
 SYMPATHY* 
 
 What Will it Matter? 
 
 What will it matter in a little while 
 That for a day, 
 
 We met and gave a word, a touch, a smile 
 Upon the way? 
 
 These trifles! Can they make or mar 
 Human life? 
 
 Are souls as lightly swayed as rushes are 
 By love or strife? 
 
 Yea, yea, a look the fainting heart may break, 
 Or make it whole, 
 
 And just one word, if said for love's sweet sake, 
 May save a soul. — Anon. 
 
 Wesley Barefoot* 
 
 More than one hundred and fifty years ago John 
 Wesley organized a Sunday-school in the town of Sa- 
 vanna, Georgia. The rules of that Sunday-school 
 were different from those which prevail nowadays. 
 The children were compelled to attend excepting 
 when ill. A lack of fine clothing was no excuse, and 
 so it happened that many of the boys and girls pre- 
 sented themselves in their classes without shoes or 
 stockings. 
 
 The colonists were many of them too poor to buy 
 shoes, or even much clothing of any kind. But the 
 climate in Georgia is mild, and it is no hardship to 
 go scantily clad. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers, 
 
 125 
 
 Human nature, however, as it showed itself in 
 John Wesley’s Sunday-school, was the same as it is 
 now. The children who could afford shoes fell into 
 the habit of saying' disagreeable thing's to the bare- 
 footed boys and girls. When Mr. Wesley heard of 
 this from the parents of the children whose feet 
 were bare, and whose pride was sensitive, he pon- 
 dered for a while as to what course it would be wisest 
 to pursue. First, he thought he ought to insist on 
 all the children coming to the Sunday-school bare- 
 footed. Then he considered lecturing the offenders 
 soundly on the sin of vanity. He did neither; but 
 the next Sunday what was the surprise of the teach- 
 ers and pupils to see Preacher Wesley walk softly in 
 with bare, clean, white feet. 
 
 In the course of the session Mr. Wesley took oc- 
 casion to speak of the fearfully and wonderfully made 
 human body, and, placing his foot on a convenient 
 chair, he gave a list of the bones, tendons and joints, 
 with much other anatomical knowledge. He told 
 the school that no human being could possibly make 
 a piece of machinery as marvelous as the human foot. 
 
 He called attention to the clumsiness and ugli- 
 ness of shoes and stockings as compared with the 
 natural foot, with its white and pink coloring, the 
 blue veins showing through, and each toe protected 
 by a beautiful, transparent shell. 
 
 Even the tan on the feet of children or grown 
 people who ran barefooted all the time, spoke of the 
 goodness and kindness of the Creator. The tan was 
 made by the great sun and the soft, odorous winds. 
 
 The school thought this little lecture very inter- 
 esting, and it had much better effect than a scolding 
 for the folly of vanity. 
 
126 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 FRIENDSHIP. 
 
 Worth While. 
 
 It is easy enough to be pleasant 
 When life flows by like a song, 
 
 But the man worth while is the one who will smile 
 When everything goes dead wrong. 
 
 For the test of the heart is trouble, 
 
 And it always comes with the years, 
 
 And the smile that is worth the praise of the earth 
 Is the smile that shines through the tears. 
 
 — Ella Wheeler Wilcox . 
 im? 
 
 The Friendship of St* Paul* 
 
 The friendships of a g'reat man always throw light 
 upon the real type and measure of his greatness. 
 Among the friends of St. Paul were Barnabas, Luke, 
 Aquila and Priscilla, Timothy, Titus, Philemon and 
 Apphia, and their bond-servant, Onesimus. These 
 are but a few of many. They reveal a nature deep, 
 tender, and affectionate; a heart which leaned on 
 other hearts; a mind that sought relief from the 
 strain of toil in the delights of social life. They 
 show the apostle to have been a man broadly and 
 genuinely human. His “enthusiasm for humanity” 
 was not the idolatry of a general concept, but a per- 
 sonal interest in the men and women whom he knew, 
 which eagerly sought their welfare. In return, the 
 apostle received from his friends the love and sym- 
 pathy which were to him a perpetual source of 
 strength and comfort. — Prof. G. B. Stevens. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 12T 
 
 A T rue Friend. 
 
 The closing 1 days of the life of the intrepid re- 
 former, John Huss, were greatly brigiitened by the 
 friendship of the noble-hearted knight, John of 
 Chulm. He accompanied Huss on his journey from 
 Prague to Constance, where he was to appear before 
 the council, as one of the escort provided by the 
 emperor for his safe conduct. He stood by him faith- 
 fully at the council of Constance, and spoke with 
 great boldness and energy for his cause and libera- 
 tion. He hastened to him in prison after his trial, 
 and Huss himself tells us how much this testimony 
 of friendship, made at such a time, meant to him. 
 “O what joy did I feel,” he writes, “from the pres- 
 sure of my lord John’s hand, which he was not 
 ashamed to give me, the wretched, outcast heretic, 
 in my chains! ” 
 
 When Huss was led from his cell to make his final 
 declaration to the deputation from the emperor, 
 Chulm addressed him in these words: “I am an 
 unlettered man, anu know not how to advise you, 
 who are a learned man. Yeti beseech you, if you 
 are conscious of any error in that which has been 
 publicly brought against you by the council, do not 
 shrink from altering your opinion according to their 
 will; but if you are not, I shall not lead you to the 
 false step of doing contrary to your conscience; I 
 much rather advise you to suffer any punishment 
 sooner than deny the truth of which you are well 
 assured.” Truly, his was a finely tempered friend- 
 ship. 
 
128 
 
 Glittering Gems for billing Workers. 
 
 IMMORTALITY. 
 
 “My Home.” 
 
 BY W. T. ROUSE. 
 
 O blessed home prepared above, 
 
 For all those who the Savior love; 
 
 O joy supreme, O bliss complete, 
 
 That home above, how sweet, how sweet. 
 While at the throne of grace I kneel, 
 
 Within my trembling heart I feel 
 A longing to enter the golden gate; 
 
 But a soft and tender voice says, “Wait.” 
 Obscured in darkness, I almost see, 
 
 A home on high prepared for me; 
 
 Eemove the mist, dear Lord, the doubt 
 Which circles my poor heart about. 
 
 Piercing the skies of heaven through, 
 
 With my misty eyes I view, 
 
 Things which have a brighter glow, 
 
 Than here the eyes of man may know. 
 Methinks I see, by eye of faith, 
 
 My Lord and Savior as he saith, 
 
 “Fear not my child, I’ll come for thee, 
 
 Then thou shalt this fair mansion see.” 
 
 Immortality. 
 
 I feel in myself the future life. I am like a for- 
 est once cut down; the new shoots are stronger and 
 livelier than ever. I am rising, I know, toward the 
 sky. The sunshine is on my head. The earth gives 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing "Workers. 
 
 129 
 
 me its generous sap, but heaven lights me with the 
 reflection of unknown worlds. You say the soul is 
 nothing but the resultant of the bodily powers. Why, 
 then, is my soul more luminous when my bodily pow- 
 ers begin to fail? Winter is on my head, but eternal 
 spring is in my heart. There I breathe at this hour 
 the fragrance of the lilacs, the violets, and the roses 
 as at twenty years. The nearer I approach the end, 
 the plainer I hear around me the immortal sympho- 
 nies of the worlds which invite me. It is marvelous, 
 yet simple. It is a fairy tale, and it is history. For 
 half a century I have been writing my thoughts in 
 prose and verse; history, philosophy, drama, ro- 
 mance, tradition, satire, ode and song — I have tried 
 it ail. But I feel I have not said the thousandth part 
 of what is in me. When I go down to the grave I 
 can say, like many others: “I have finished my day’s 
 work.” But I can not say: “I have finished my life.” 
 My day’s work will begin again the next morning. 
 The tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. 
 It closes on the twilight; it opens with the dawn. 
 — Victor Hugo. 
 
 VSfV 
 
 Proof of Immortality* 
 
 One evening you find among the reeds of your 
 lake an unknown bird, whose broad breast and pow- 
 erful pinions are not meant for this inland scene. It 
 is resting midway between two oceans, and by to- 
 morrow will have gone. Does not that bird prove 
 the ocean it left, does it not prove the ocean w T hither 
 t has flown? “Jesus, knowing . . . that he was come 
 from God and went to God,” is the revelation and 
 confirmation of ageless life . — John Watson , D. V. 
 
 9 
 
130 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS* 
 
 Man's Privilege* 
 
 BY EMILY C. JUDSON. 
 
 To loose the prisoned flutterer’s wing-, 
 Touch the degraded spirit’s spring, 
 
 To give a songster to the sky, 
 
 A voice to swell the choir on high — 
 Oh, if there be for man a bliss, 
 
 Above what angels feel, ’tis this. 
 
 vW. 
 
 How One Man Helped a Boy* 
 
 The following story is told of a Philadelphia mil- 
 lionaire, who has been dead for some years: A young 
 man came to his home one day and asked for a loan 
 of money to aid him in starting in business. 
 
 “Do you drink?” asked the millionaire. 
 
 “Once in a while.” 
 
 “Stop it! Stop it for a year and then come and 
 see me.” 
 
 The young man broke off the habit at once, and 
 at the end of the year came to see the millionaire 
 again. 
 
 “Do you smoke?” asked the successful man. 
 
 “Now and then.” 
 
 “Stop it! Stop it for a year, and then come and 
 see me again.” 
 
 The young man went home and broke away from 
 the habit. It took him some time, but he finally wor- 
 
Glittering: Gems for Willing Workers. 131 
 
 ried through the year, and presented himself again. 
 
 “Do you chew?” asked the philanthropist. 
 
 “Yes, I do,” was the desperate reply. 
 
 “Stop it! Stop it for a year, and then come and 
 see me again.” 
 
 The young man stopped chewing, but he never 
 came back again. When asked by his anxious friends 
 why he never called on the millionaire again, he re- 
 plied that he knew exactly what the man was driving 
 at. “He’d have told me that now that I had stopped 
 drinking and smoking and chewing, I must have 
 enough to start myself in business. And I have.” 
 — Exchange . 
 
 A Vade Mecum* 
 
 If you are getting lazy, read James. 
 
 If your faith is below par, read Paul. 
 
 If you are impatient, sit down quietly and have a 
 talk with Job. 
 
 If you are a little strong-headed, go and see Moses. 
 
 If you are getting weak-kneed, take a look at 
 Elijah. 
 
 If there is no song in your heart, listen to David. 
 
 If you are getting sordid, spend a while with 
 Isaiah. 
 
 If you feel chilly, get the beloved disciple to put 
 his arm around you. 
 
 If you are losing sight of the future, climb up to 
 Revelation, and get a glimpse of the promised land. 
 
 If you are out of sorts, read Hebrews 12. 
 
 If you are down with the blues, read Psalm 28. 
 
 If people pelt you with hard words, read John 15. 
 
132 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 If you feel lonesome and unprotected, read the 
 91st Psalm. 
 
 If you find yourself losing* confidence in men, read 
 I Cor. 13. 
 
 If there is a chilly sensation about the heart, read 
 Rev. 3. 
 
 If you don’t know where to look for the month’s 
 rent, read Psalm 37. 
 
 If you are getting* discouraged about }^our work, 
 read Psalm 126 and Gal. 6:7-9. — Selected. 
 
 I Know a Thing or Two* 
 
 “My dear boy,” said a father to his only son, “you 
 are in bad company. The lads with whom you asso- 
 ciate indulge in bad habits. They drink, smoke, 
 swear, and I am afraid they gamble. They are not 
 safe company for you. I beg you to quit their so- 
 ciety.” 
 
 “You needn’t be afraid of me, father,” replied the 
 boy, laughingly. “I guess I know a thing or two. I 
 know how far to go and when to stop.” 
 
 The lad left his father’s house, twirling his cane 
 in his fingers and laughing at the “old man’s no- 
 tions.” 
 
 A few years later, and that lad, grown to man- 
 hood, stood at the bar of a court, before a jury which 
 had just brought in a verdict of guilty against him 
 for some crime in which he had been concerned. 
 
 Before he was sentenced he addressed the court 
 and said, among other things: “My downward course 
 began in disobedience to my parents. I thought I 
 knew as much as my father did, and I spurned his 
 
Glittering; Gems for Willing: Workers. 
 
 133 
 
 advice; but as soon as I turned my back upon my 
 home, temptations came upon me like a drove of hy- 
 enas, and hurried me into ruin.” 
 
 Mark that, boys, you who think you are wise 
 enough to do without your father’s advice. Don’t 
 disobey your parents, I beg of you, don’t. — Exchange. 
 
 To The Point* 
 
 A skeptic, who was trying to confuse a Christian 
 colored man by contradictory passages in the Bible, 
 asked how it could be that we are in the Spirit and 
 the Spirit in us. He received the following reply: 
 “Oh, dar’s no puzzle ’bout dat. It’s like dat poker. 
 I puts it in de fire till it gets red hot. Now, de poker’s 
 in de fire, and de fire’s in de poker .” — Chicago Living 
 Church. 
 
 A Good Way to Preach* 
 
 It is a good way to preach by standing up for our 
 principles in the face of opposition. A determined 
 stand for principle will often carry more conviction 
 than a labored argument or a great sermon. 
 
 Almost a century ago a young man was appointed 
 preceptor in the Academy of Bradford, Mass. He 
 was invited to a social party, and after a time cards 
 were brought out. This much tried him. He left 
 the room. Some of the young ladies soon inquired 
 where he was. They found him and asked his reasons 
 for refusing to play cards. This led to a conversa- 
 tion upon religion which was the means of the con- 
 
134 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 version of Harriet Atwood, afterwards Mrs. Newell, 
 the famous missionary, one of the first missionary 
 company that ever went from America. 
 
 “Be a Good Man, Papa*” 
 
 Mary’s father was going- on a journey that would 
 keep him away from his home for a week at least. 
 The children hated to have him go, for they would 
 miss him sadly. He was all ready to start, and the 
 horse and wagon were at the door. Mary, always 
 eager for the last word and the last kiss, followed 
 him and gave him a loving hug before he drove off. 
 “Mind, now, and be a good girl, Mary,” said he. 
 “Yes, papa, I will; and you must be a good man, 
 papa,” answered Mary as he drove off. When he 
 looked back as he came to a turn in the road, he saw 
 Mary still standing by the gate waving her good bye. 
 
 Her last words, “Be a good man, papa,” went with 
 him. Did he not need the counsel as well as she? 
 He felt that he was only a child of larger growth. 
 Men and women have their temptations to do wrong 
 as well as boys and girls. For the sake of his little 
 girl and his family he would “be a good man” in 
 every sense of the word; he would be honest in busi- 
 ness, strictly conscientious, and keep his heart pure 
 and his lips sweet and clean for their kisses. If 
 every man would do the same what a happy world 
 ours might be! — Youth's Temperance Banner . 
 
 Some people are proud of their supposed humility. 
 A young man had been converted in a Salvation 
 
Glittering Gems for "Willing Workers. 
 
 135 
 
 Army meeting’. In relating - his experience from the 
 platform shortly afterward, he declared that while 
 he had been full of pride and self-conceit before, 
 that everything - of that kind had been taken out of 
 his heart, and that to prove it he was willing - to go 
 down and kiss a poor colored woman before him. As 
 he approached her to prove his utter loss of all pride, 
 she arose with dignity and said, “Brudder, you may 
 hab no pride, but I has; you can’t kiss me.” 
 
 Rev. F. B. Meyer relates the following incident 
 bearing upon this same thought: “Some young men 
 came to old Andrew Bonar and said: ‘Dr. Bonar, we 
 have been all night with God, can’t you see our faces 
 shine?’ The old man replied: ‘Moses wist not that 
 his face did shine.’ ” — Our Young People. 
 
 An Arab's Answer* 
 
 A Frenchman who had won a high rank among 
 men of science, and who yet denied the existence of 
 God, the author of all science, was crossing the 
 desert of Sahara in company with an Arab guide. 
 This so-called philosopher noticed, with a sneer, that 
 at certain times his guide, whatever obstacles might 
 arise, put them ail aside, and, kneeling on the burn- 
 ing sands, called on his God. 
 
 Day after day passed, and the Arab never neg- 
 lected his devotions. At last one evening, as he 
 arose from his knees, the Frenchman asked him with 
 a sneer: “How do you know there is a God?” 
 
 The guide fixed his eyes upon the scoffer in won- 
 der, and then said with deep solemnity: “How do I 
 know there is a God? How did I know that a man 
 
136 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 and not a camel, passed my hut last night in the 
 darkness? Was it not by the print of his foot on the 
 sand? Even so,” and he pointed to the sun, whose 
 last rays were flashing over the lonely desert, “that 
 footprint was not that of a man.”- Ex. 
 
 Honesty in Consecration* 
 
 We are more apt to see the comfort in the words, 
 “She hath done what she could,” than the solemnity 
 of them. They are a tender recognition but a 
 tremendous challenge. “What she could” means all 
 she could. The Master compared us not with others 
 but with our best selves, with our possible selves. 
 There is the rub. What I did, substracted from what 
 I might have done gives the bad remainder, the im- 
 moral debit, the moral discredit. 
 
 “There’s a kindness in his justice that is more 
 than liberty.” Thank God for it. But let not us 
 misunderstand the truth and think we are at liberty 
 to do what we happen to feel like. Did the Lord say 
 of Sapphira, “She hath done what she could?” — 
 Christian TJnlook. 
 
 His Arm* 
 
 When Saladin looked at the sword of Richard 
 Coeur de Leon, he wondered that a blade so ordinary 
 should have wrought such mighty deeds. The English 
 king bared his arm and said, “It was not the sword 
 that did these things; it was the arm of Richard.” 
 We should be instruments that the Lord can use; 
 and when he has used us, the glory should all be his. 
 — Bev. George F . Pentecost , J). D. 
 
Glittering; Gems for Willing: Workers. 
 
 137 
 
 Make Room For Him* 
 
 We cannot create canary birds, but we can pro- 
 vide cages and food for them, and fill our dwellings 
 with their music. Even so we cannot create the 
 spiritual gifts and blessings which Jesus offers, but 
 they are ours if we provide heart room for them. 
 The birds of Peace and Praise and Joy will fly in fast 
 enough, if we only set the doors and windows of our 
 souls open for the Christmas Christ. — T. L. Cuyler,. 
 D. D. 
 
 “Seeketh Not Her Own/' 
 
 There is a fine story told in the Jewish legends. 
 Two brothers occupied a portion of land in common, 
 one of whom had a family, the other of whom had 
 none. When the wheat had been harvested in a 
 certain season, and divided as usual, the elder brother 
 said in the night-time to his wife: “My brother has 
 no one to look after or to care for him in the heat 
 and burden of the day; I am going quietly while he 
 sleeps, and shall add some of my shocks of grain to 
 his. ” 
 
 The same evening, the younger brother thought 
 within himself: “My brother has a family to support, 
 and I am freer from need than he; I will go without 
 his knowledge, while it is now dark, and give 
 some of my wheat to him.” Next morning came, 
 and, to their surprise, no change in the heaps could 
 be seen. They attempted the generous action again, 
 and still the portions were undiminished. Then they 
 watched, and began anew; and, of course, they met 
 in the road, their arms full of sheaves. 
 
138 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 There on that spot, hallowed by fraternal affec- 
 tion, the rabbins say Solomon’s Temple was reared, 
 “the fairest fabric under the sun .” — The Sunday- 
 School Times. 
 
 Strange Bible Facts* 
 
 The learned prince of Grenada, heir to the Span- 
 ish throne, imprisoned by order of the crown for fear 
 he should aspire to the throne, was kept in solitary 
 confinement in the old prison of the Place of Skulls, 
 Madrid. After thirty-three years in this living - 
 tomb, death came to his release and the following 
 remarkable researches taken from the Bible and 
 marked with an old nail on the rough walls of his 
 cell, told how the brain sought employment througii 
 the weary years: 
 
 In the Bible the word “Lord” is found 1853 times. 
 
 The word “Jehovah” 6885 times. 
 
 The word “reverend” but once, and that in the 
 ninth verse of the 11th Psalm. 
 
 The eight verse of the 97tli Psalm is the middle 
 verse of the Bible. 
 
 The ninth verse of the eiglith chapter of Esther 
 is the longest. 
 
 The thirty-fifth verse, eleventh chapter of St. 
 John, is the shortest. 
 
 In the 107th Psalm four verses are alike — the 
 eight, fifteenth, twenty-first and thirty-first. 
 
 Each verse of the 136th Psalm ends alike. 
 
 No names or words with more than six syllables 
 are found in the Bible. 
 
 The thirty-seventh chapter of Isaiah and nine- 
 teenth chapter of second Kings are alike. 
 
Glittering: Gems for Willing; Workers. 
 
 139 
 
 The word “girl” occurs but once in the Bible, and 
 that in the third verse, third chapter of Joel. 
 
 There is found in both books of the Bible 3,538,483 
 letters, 773,693 words, 31,373 verses, 1189 chapters 
 and 66 books. 
 
 The twenty-sixth chapter of the Acts of the 
 Apostles is the finest chapter to read. 
 
 The most beautiful chapter is the 23d Psalm. 
 
 The four most inspiring- promises are John 4:12, 
 7:37; Matthew 9:28; and Psalm 37:4. 
 
 The first verse of the fiftieth chapter of Isaiah is 
 the one for the new convert. 
 
 All who flatter themselves with vain boastings 
 should read the sixth chapter of Matthew. 
 
 All humanity should learn the sixth chapter of 
 St. Luke, from the twentieth verse to its ending. — 
 Our Sunday Afternoon . 
 
 The Biography of a Believer* 
 
 He who writes a “life” of another usually begins 
 with the birth, follows with the training process, 
 then the work done, and, finally the close of the 
 earthly career. 
 
 If the reader will turn to Romans 6:22 there will 
 be found a concise, but complete, “life” of a Chris- 
 tian, in four clauses. Here they are, in order: “But 
 now being made free from sin” — that is justification, 
 which is linked with the new birth — “ye become 
 servants of God” — that includes consecration and 
 training, — “ye have your fruit unto holiness” — that 
 is the work done, — “and the end, everlasting life”— 
 that is the close of the earthly, but, blessed be God! 
 the beginning of the heavenly, the eternal life. 
 
140 
 
 Glittering Cems for Willing Workers. 
 
 Dear reader, study this verse, and ask the ques- 
 tion: Does this verse describe my life? May the 
 Holy Spirit guide you! — Dr. John Hall, in Christian 
 Budget. 
 
 Slander* 
 
 He -who can choke the sweet flowers of social love, 
 and taint them with disease; or in the Paradise of 
 earthly bliss, where the plants of virtue flourish, 
 spread the blight and desolation, hatred and distrust 
 — who can crush his neighbor’s fame to dust, and 
 build on its ruins — who can write infamy upon the 
 brow of others, to prove his own purity, is neither 
 man nor beast, but a heartless fiend* Those who 
 have seen their dearest interest tampered with; who 
 know what it is to have the priceless gem of a good 
 name sullied by the poisonous breath of cold, unpity- 
 ing slander — these best can say he has no heart. If 
 the lightning’s flash ever darts from heaven to strike 
 the guilty down it will blast the hope of murderers 
 such as these. — Ex. 
 
 Be Tender in Rebuke* 
 
 He who rightly divides the word of God must of 
 necessity often utter plain warnings to the wicked — 
 terrible warnings. The Bible abounds with such. 
 But beneath them all there is a vein of tenderness 
 and pity. Jesus denounced Jerusalem in scathing 
 words for its sins, but wept at the thought of the 
 punishment which was to overtake it. If his heart 
 had not been pained by the truth he uttered, his lips 
 would not have been fit to speak it. 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 141 
 
 We who preach surely have no business to hurl 
 God’s awful warning's and denunciations against sin- 
 ners unless we can feel a tender pity for the impeni- 
 tent. A preacher who can preach a sermon on the 
 love of Christ without manifesting - tender emotion 
 is out of harmony with his theme, but not more so 
 than one who can so preach on the everlasting pun- 
 ishment. — /. B. Miller , D. D. 
 
 Good Advice of Henry Grady* 
 
 The following letter of the lamented Henry Grady 
 to his young friend, Clark Howell, on his birthday, 
 will not be out of place. The prohibition sentiments 
 of Mr. Grady, and his great prominence, give it 
 greater force: 
 
 “My son will be just about your age when you are 
 just about mine, and I have got to looking at you as 
 a sort of prefiguring of what my son may be, and of 
 looking over you and rejoicing in your success. Let 
 me write to you what I would be willing for you to 
 write to him. 
 
 “Never gamble. Of all the vices that enthrall 
 men, this is the worst, the strongest, and the most 
 insidious. Outside of the morality of it, it is the 
 poorest investment, the poorest business, and the 
 poorest fun. No man is safe who plays at all. It is 
 easier never to play. I never knew a man, a gentle- 
 man and a man of business, who did not regret the 
 time and money he had wasted in it. A man who 
 plays poker is unfit for every other business on 
 earth. 
 
 “Never drink. I love liquor, and I love the fel- 
 
142 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 lowship involved in drinking - . My safety has been 
 that I never drink at all. It is much easier not to 
 drink at all than to drink a little. If I had to attrib- 
 ute what I have done in life to any one thing - , I 
 should attribute it to the fact that I am a teetotaler. 
 As sure as you are born, it is the pleasantest, the 
 easiest, and the safest way. 
 
 “Marry early. There is nothing - that steadies a 
 young fellow like marrying - a good girl and raising a 
 family. By marrying young, your children will grow 
 up when they are a pleasure to you. You feel the 
 responsibility of life, the sweetness of life, and you 
 avoid bad habits. 
 
 “If you never drink, never gamble, and marry 
 early, there is no limit to the useful and distinguished 
 life you may live. You will be the pride of your 
 father’s heart and the joy of your mother’s. 
 
 “I don’t know that there is any happiness on 
 earth worth having outside of the happiness of 
 knowing that you have done your duty, and that you 
 have tried to do good. You try to build up. There 
 are always plenty others who will do all the tearing 
 down that is necessary. You try to live in the sun- 
 shine. Men who stay in the shade always get mil- 
 dewed.” 
 
 Fault Finding* 
 
 One of the easiest things in the world is to find 
 fault with other people. But how difficult it is to see 
 our own faults; to understand our weak points and to 
 remember that as we see faults in others, they see 
 faults as bad, and, perhaps, worse in us. Let us be 
 charitable and do as the great artist who painted a 
 
Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 145 
 
 picture of his monarch, upon whose brow there was 
 a scar. He placed his king with elbow resting’ on a 
 table and his head supported by his hand, but with 
 finger covering the scar. Let us endeavor to place 
 the finger of charity over the scars of our brethren. 
 — German Beformed Messenger. 
 
 The Safest Bank. 
 
 “When I am a man,” said Tom, “I intend to put 
 my money in the safest bank in the world.” 
 
 “Which bank is that?” inquired Tom’s father. 
 Tom hadn’t thought of the matter. 
 
 As he talked it over with his father, he found there 
 were more things than he had dreamed of to render 
 banks uncertain — fire, flood, burglars, panics, dishon- 
 est employes, so that even the strongest in the world 
 might be compelled to suspend payment. 
 
 “But, papa,” Tom asked in dismay, “isn’t there 
 one sure of keeping his promise?” 
 
 “There is One who has never forgotten or broken 
 a promise. His promises are dated thousands of 
 years back. They are scattered over the world. Not 
 one of them has ever been refused redemption.” 
 
 “O, that’s the bank for me!” 
 
 “Here is a check-book.” 
 
 He handed Tom a Bible . — Christian Endeavor 
 World. 
 
 vv^ 
 
 Five great enemies to peace inhabit us, namely, 
 avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride; and if 
 those enemies were to be banished, we should infalli- 
 bly enjoy perpetual peace. — Petrarch. 
 
144 
 
 Glittering Gems for Willing Workers. 
 
 Now. 
 
 A beautiful anecdote is told of the student his- 
 tory of Thomas a’ Kempis, which illustrates his ele- 
 vated piety. His preceptor asked a class of which 
 he was a member, “What passage of Scripture con- 
 veys the sweetest description of heaven?” One an- 
 swered, “There shall be no more sorrow there.” An- 
 other, “There shall be no more death.” Another, 
 “They shall see His face.” But Thomas a’ Kempis, 
 who was the youngest of all, said, “And His servants 
 shall serve Him.” 
 
 * * * 
 
 Of “Jesus Lover of My Soul, ’’Henry Ward Beecher 
 said: “I would rather have written this hymn, than 
 to have the fame of all the kings that ever sat upon 
 the earth. . . . That hymn will go on singing until 
 the last trump brings forth the angel band; and then, 
 I think, it will mount up on some lip to the very pres- 
 ence of God.” 
 
 ■x- * * 
 
 A child broke an ornament which he had been 
 forbidden to touch. Remembering the full tide he 
 threw it into the waves. When the tide went out 
 the child’s disobedience and deceit were found out. 
 Life is a tide. It will go out, and our guilty secrets 
 will be discovered. 
 
 * * -x- 
 
 He that can not forgive others breaks the bridge 
 over which he must pass himself: for every man has 
 need to be forgiven . — Lord Herbert. 
 
 ■x- * -x- 
 
 All I think, all I hope, all I write, all I live for, 
 is based upon the divinity of Jesus Christ, the cen- 
 tral joy of my poor, way ward heart. — W. E. Gladstone 
 
INDEX, 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Mercy 5 
 
 Watchfulness 8 
 
 Service 13 
 
 Keeping- the Sabbath 40 
 
 Contentment 43 
 
 Temperance 50 
 
 Temper 58 
 
 Love 62 
 
 Faith 66 
 
 Prayer 76 
 
 The Bib] e 81 
 
 Covetousness 88 
 
 Cheerfulness 92 
 
 Influence 98 
 
 Opportunity Ill 
 
 Forgiveness 113 
 
 Salvation 116 
 
 Perseverance 121 
 
 Sympathy 124 
 
 Friendship 126 
 
 Immortality] 128 
 
 Miscellaneous 130