Earlier text: ITEMS FROM THE GENERAL CONFERENCEThe Missionary.
By A. G. DANIELLS
It lacks but a few days of being one year since we arrived in this colony. We can but praise God for the help he has given us in the work we have tried to do. We were entire strangers to every person in the colony, as well as to the customs and ways of the people. Here many people naturally look with distrust upon those who hail from America. The crosses connected with our message, added to these things, are calculated to make us rather unwelcome visitors. Yet with all this, greater prosperity has seemed to attend us than we dared to hope for. The greater share of the time has been spent in Auckland. As before reported, we began tent-meetings here the 1st of January, and continued them without any interruption until the 1st of May. During the time fifty-five persons began the observance of the Sabbath. As soon as the tent was taken down, we began to build a church edifice, which has been completed and in use some months. Since the tent was taken down a few have turned back to the world, but others have come in and joined us. Sabbath, October 15, we met for the purpose of organizing a church. Sixty-seven presented themselves for membership. Five who were members of our church in other places were taken for a nucleus, and the remainder were admitted one by one by vote. The Lord came very near by his Spirit, and blessed us. Many had been very desirous of baptism and organization for a long time. Forty-nine were buried with their Lord in baptism. Since the organization five have been admitted, so that we now have seventy-two on the roll. We do not put trust in numbers, but it is cheering to see so many walking in the light of God’s truth. We believe there are many more in this city who will yet unite with us. For this purpose we have decided to hold a short series of meetings in another part of the city. After that we shall probably go south, where there is much to do, and where the way seems open for us. There is no railroad connection between this part of the island and the south, so that when we get south we shall not be able to bring the tent back very soon. We feel greatly encouraged about the work here. The brethren and sisters love the truth, and seem willing to do all they can to advance the same. Nearly all are paying tithe, which will, we trust, make the cause self-supporting from this on. We are anxious to learn of the steps taken by the General Conference now in session. We also hope for another laborer. The Kaeo church are of good courage. We go there to-night to spend a short time, after which, the Lord willing, we shall return and pitch the tent. It has been very cheering to know that our people in America have been interested in the work in this colony, and that many prayers have been offered for us. I hope those who read this will still remember us. We cannot cease our efforts. There is much to be done and but a short time in which to do it. A. G. DANIELLS. The Commentary.
By Ellen G. White
NOTES ON THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON.
FOLLOWING the thread of his discourse, the divine Teacher used another parable, saying: “So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” The seed here spoken of is the word of God sown in the heart and made fruitful by divine grace. If the truth takes root in the heart, it will sooner or later spring into life and bear fruit. The life and character will show the nature and quantity of the seed sown. But the work of cultivating is the work of a life-time. The principles of truth once planted in the soul are to be carried out in the daily duties of life. The growth of Christian character is gradual—like the advancement of the natural plant through its various stages of development. But, nevertheless, the progress is continual. As in nature, so it is in grace, the plant must either grow or die. DAY by day the sanctifying influence of the Spirit of God almost imperceptibly leads those who love the ways of truth toward the perfection of righteousness, till finally the soul is ripe for the harvest, the life-work is ended, God gathers in his grain. There is no period in the Christian life when there is no more to learn, no higher attainments to reach. Sanctification is the work of a life-time. First the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear, then the ripening and the harvest; for when the fruit is perfect, it is ready for the sickle. THIS figure presented a most marked contrast to the condition of the Jews. Their religion was cold and formal, the Holy Spirit had no place in their hearts; therefore, instead of growing in grace, and advancing in the knowledge of God, they were continually becoming more callous and bigoted, retreating farther and farther from the presence of the Lord. The proud, caviling Pharisees looked around upon the vast numbers gathered to hear Jesus, and noted contemptuously how few there were who acknowledged him as the Messiah. There were many educated and influential men who had come to hear the Prophet, whose fame had spread far and near. Some of these looked with curious interest upon the throng, which was composed of all classes of society and every nationality. There were the poor, the illiterate, the ragged beggar, the robber with the seal of guilt upon his face, the sick, the maimed, the dissipated, high and low, rich and humble, jostling each other for a place to stand and hear the words of Jesus. As they gazed, they asked themselves incredulously, Is the kingdom of God composed of such material as this? Jesus read their thoughts, and replied to them by another parable:— “Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth. But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.” Far and near the mustard lifted itself above the grass and grain, waving its branches lightly in the air. Birds flitted from twig to twig, and sang amid its leafy foliage. Yet the seed from which sprang this giant plant was the least of all seeds. At first it had sent up a tender shoot; but it was of strong vitality, and grew and flourished till it was of large proportions, and the birds lodged under its shadow. THE people look upon the mustard, growing so vigorously about them, and their minds are vividly impressed by the illustration Jesus has used to point the truths of his doctrine. He thus declares that not by force of arms, and the pomp and heraldry of war, is the kingdom of Christ to be set up. But the work is of gradual development. Though the beginning may be small, it will grow and strengthen till, like the grain of mustard seed, it will reach, through imperceptible stages of development, the majesty of greatness. JESUS takes this poor little seed to illustrate his mighty truths. The merest trifle is not beneath the notice of the great Teacher. Many were there whose Christian experience began that day, and would be like the symbol he had used, growing into strength and beauty, trampled upon, yet still maintaining its vigorous life. This figure was indelibly written upon the minds of hundreds who listened to the words of Jesus. Never would they behold the rank-growing mustard, so plentiful in that region, but they would be reminded of this parable of the Saviour, and their hearts would remember the lesson that he taught concerning the mysterious influence of divine grace upon the human soul, and the quickening power of the word that declares itself in the daily life. “ANOTHER parable spake he unto them: The kingdom of Heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” The leaven in the meal represents the progressive work of divine grace in the human heart. The leaven was not naturally in the meal, but being placed in it gave rise to fermentation which resulted in a radical change of the whole mass. So the principles of God’s truth, hidden in the heart of an individual, change his entire nature, and influence his life. The natural feelings are transformed, the affections are consecrated, and the mind elevated. Physically, the man appears the same; but inwardly, he has become renewed by the heavenly principles that animate his life.731 THE Saviour continued his parables to the listening people, saying, “Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls; who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” In those days there were many who searched for treasure which was supposed to be buried in certain localities where great cities had once stood. In the great thoroughfare of travel, where Jesus was then teaching, it was not unusual to meet persons who had come long distances on their way to where it was supposed hidden treasure could be found. The desire for great riches led them upon a journey fraught with many perils. They had left their avocations upon a venture that seldom proved successful. But if they secured a small treasure they redoubled their exertions, hoping to realize still greater riches. Jesus had this class of his hearers in view when he thus illustrated the mysterious riches of his grace, which, once having attracted the heart of man, led him to seek higher attainments, and greater blessings. The more he realizes of the peace of God, the more he desires to drink deeper at the fountain of his love. The thirst for righteousness, the longing and seeking for its treasures, continually increase. IN order to obtain a vast treasure that is supposed to be hidden in a field, or a gem that is of great and unknown value, the man who is seeking for riches invests all his substance in that field, or uses it to purchase the precious jewel, calculating that it will increase in value on his hands and bring him the fortune that he covets. So should the Christian, who desires the riches of Heaven, set aside all considerations that interfere with his eternal welfare, and put his soul into the work of securing the riches of Christ’s love. His talents, his means, his energies, should all be applied in such a way as to win the approbation of God. Jesus directs the minds of his hearers to infinite riches, hidden where all may engage in searching for them, sure of being successful, never doomed to the disappointment of fruitless toil. He came from Heaven, to direct the search. High and low, rich and poor, stand upon an equal footing, and none need seek in vain. Obedience to his will is the one condition of success, and well may the earnest seeker afford to sell all that he has to possess this blessing of divine love—the pearl of great price. THERE were many fishermen in the assembly that listened to the teachings of Jesus; and, therefore, he spoke a parable that would bring his truth directly home to their minds by an illustration drawn from their daily lives. Said he: “Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind; which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Here again the separation of the wicked from the righteous at the end of the world is impressed upon the minds of his hearers, in words that cannot be mistaken. JESUS had a wise purpose in making use of so many parables by which to teach the same important truths. All classes were before him, for it was a place where many different people met in the pursuit of their business, or in their journeys. By using a variety of illustrations he succeeded in reaching many minds. The parable of the sower and that of the wheat and tares applied to all. The fields were before them, and the laborers scattering the seed, or harvesting the earlier grain. Also the mustard that grew so luxuriantly about them furnished a lesson for all. BUT in order to press home his truths more closely, he also spoke other parables to suit particular cases. The searcher for riches represented a large class, who could not but be struck by the parable of the hidden treasure. And the leaven, buried in the meal, while it was an illustration that could be understood by all, brought home the truth with added power to the minds of the women, who knew so well the action of the leaven upon the meal, and were thus enabled to draw a forcible comparison between that and the workings of God’s grace upon the human heart. Jesus overlooked none in his teachings, and the humblest were remembered with tender pity. THE Saviour inquired of his disciples if they understood these things. They answered: “Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of Heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.” In this parable Jesus presented before his disciples the responsibility of those whose work it is to give to the world the light which they have received from him. The Old Testament was all the Scripture then in existence; but it was not written merely for the ancients; it was for all ages and for all people. Jesus would have the teachers of his doctrine diligently search the Old Testament for that light which establishes his identity as the Messiah foretold in prophecy, and reveals the nature of his mission to the world. The Old and the New Testament are inseparable, for both are the teachings of Christ. The doctrine of the Jews, who accept only the Old Testament, is not unto salvation, since they reject the Saviour whose life and ministry was a fulfillment of the law and the prophecies. And the doctrine of those who discard the Old Testament is not unto salvation, because it rejects that which is direct testimony of Christ. Skeptics begin with discounting upon the Old Testament, and it takes but another step to deny the validity of the New, and thus both are rejected. THE JEWS have little influence over the Christian world in showing them the importance of the commandments, including the binding law of the Sabbath, because in bringing forth the old treasures of truth they throw aside the new ones in the personal teachings of Jesus. On the other hand, the strongest reason why Christians fail to influence the Jews to accept the teachings of Christ as the language of divine wisdom, is because, in bringing forth the treasures of his word, they treat with contempt the riches of the Old Testament, which are the earlier teachings of the Son of God, through Moses. They reject the law proclaimed from Sinai, and the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, instituted in the garden of Eden. But the minister of the gospel, who follows the teachings of Christ, will gain a thorough knowledge of both the Old and the New Testament, that he may present them in their true light to the people, an inseparable whole—the one depending upon and illuminating the other. Thus, as Jesus instructed his disciples, they will bring forth from their treasure “things new and old.”—Mrs. E. G. White, in Great Controversy, Vol. 2. THE burden of the fight comes to-day as it came in the long ago, upon the faithful three hundred. They are the ones who work and give; who, with all their earnest hearts, fight the battles of their Lord. Look over Israel to-day, and see how much larger a proportion are doing their duty than when Gideon and his band crossed over Jordan, "faint yet pursuing." When souls are brought to Christ, is it not the three hundred who give? When an emergency arises, and some unexpected call is made, is it not the three hundred who have given liberally, who give again? Do you sometimes feel discouraged, O faithful three hundred? Do you think, "I have done so much more than others, they must do this while I rest"? Does it seem hard that you must carry all the burdens, do all the fighting, and deny yourselves, while thousands do nothing? Think of the three hundred who followed Gideon across the Jordan, "faint yet pursuing." If, after doing all they had done, they had refused to do more and left the destruction of Zebah and Zalmunna to others, the kings of Midian would have made their escape.—Selected. THE SPIRIT OF THE WORLD.
By Editor
FROM the Oakland Evening Tribune we clip the following description of the actions of a crowd while viewing a horse-race. Read it, and then consider whether the race-track is a place where a Christian can go. How much of the Spirit of Christ could a person retain who had voluntarily placed himself in such a mad crowd? A race-track, while a race is actually in progress, is one of the most animated spectacles in the world. There is movement everywhere, and the excitement is intense. The fact that some wild maniac is trying to stand on his head in the grand stand, or that a handsome woman is shrieking at the top of her voice and swearing between shrieks, is neither noticed nor commented upon, for everybody is doing the same thing. Even a base-ball game cannot excite a crowd as a closely contested race does. Everybody seems to lose his head whether he has money bet on the result or not. A man's boisterous nature leaps up like a startled giant, and carries all before it with a whoop and a yell, leaving him presently wondering what it was all about, and why he has been making such a howling idiot of himself. There is a powerful magnetism in an excited crowd, and nowhere is this influence felt so perceptibly as on the race-track. Men and women lose their identity in the ebullition of the moment, and act more like raging animals than human beings. When the horses start they are comparatively quiet, and content themselves with simply yelling the name of the leading horse. At the quarter pole the relative positions of the horses are shouted. When the half pole is reached there is generally a dispute all over the track as to which of the horses has the best of it, with an occasional inquiry regarding the identity of the horse in the rear. At the three-quarters the experts begin to decide the race, becoming more vociferous as the horses come down the back stretch. Then the mob wakes up with a yell that can be heard for a mile. . . . Bedlam is not a circumstance to a running race for blood horses, when the race is in any way a close contest; and the maniacs of Napa are not crazier than the people who assemble on a race-track during an exciting meeting. HUGO GROTIUS AND HIS BOOK CHEST.
WHEN Prince Maurice of Nassau, son of the great Prince of Orange, was stadtholder—that is to say, governor—of Holland two men stood in the way of his rise to arbitrary power. One of them was the advocate, Olden Barneveld, the other his young friend and adviser, Hugo Grotius. Hugo De Groot, generally known as Grotius, was born in Delft, April 10, 1583. He entered the University of Leyden, after a very rigorous examination, at the age of twelve; at fourteen he defended, publicly and with much applause, theses in mathematics, philosophy, and jurisprudence, took his degree as Bachelor of Arts, and published a translation of a learned Latin work, with copious original notes. At the age of seventeen he began the practice of law at the Hague, where he soon mounted high in political power, besides being famous for his legal and literary attainments. This was the man whom Prince Maurice sought to sweep from his path along with Olden Barneveld. He succeeded in procuring their arrest and trial. Barneveld was beheaded in the Hague, and Grotius was condemned to imprisonment for life in the gloomy castle of Loevenstein. Through thirteen doors, each secured with heavy bolts and locks, the prisoner was conducted to the narrow rooms designed for his living tomb. The commandant of the fortress was Lieutenant Prouninx, generally known as Deventer, a bitter enemy of Grotius, so that the only consolations the prisoner had were granted by the states-general. Chief of these was the daily visit of his wife and their little daughter Cornelia. Madam De Groot was allowed to purchase food for her husband's table in the little town of Gorcum, just across the Waal, and to cook it in the kitchen of the prison, assisted by her maid Elsie, a comely lass of twenty. It was through her efforts also that books, the chief joy of his captivity, were conveyed to Grotius in his prison. These were loaned to him by his friends, his own library having been confiscated along with the rest of his property. The sister of one of these good friends was the wife of a tradesman named Daatsalaer, living in the town of Gorcum, and was frequently visited by Madam De Groot. To her house the books were sent, and were carried from it to the prison in a large chest, for the great black-letter folios of that day were excessively bulky and heavy. After the books were read, they were returned from the prison again to be exchanged for others, so the weight of the prisoner's book chest became a frequent subject of grumbling among the soldiers intrusted with its carriage to and from the ferry. In his gloomy prison Grotius wrote many works, which carried his fame throughout the whole civilized world. Poems, translations, learned treatises, and moral essays flowed from his pen, and the book chest went back and forth more frequently than ever. But all this work began to tell upon the health of the imprisoned man. "Our bird does not beat his wings against the cage nor mope upon his perch," Madam de Groot said, sadly, to her friend, Dame Daatsalaer, "but I see him pining. Oh, that I could give him wings, and open the bars!" One day a committee of the states-general visited the prisoner in his two little rooms, where they found him writing at the table while his wife sat beside him patching the sleeve of an old velvet doublet. Information had been lodged that Grotius had been planning escape. It was said that Madam De Groot had been seen buying some strong rope at Gorcum, and the committee had come to inquire into the matter. Accordingly, they ransacked everywhere, turning over manuscripts, books, and clothing, but finding nothing. "Take especial heed to this chest, Master Lieutenant," said Mius Van Holy, peering suspiciously into the chest. "Methinks that here is space for much contraband goods beside all this learned lumber." But nothing was there save the great folios, and the committee were obliged to withdraw. Grotius stooped to replace one of the books, but his wife stayed his hand, and stood looking at the empty box as though a new thought had struck her. "Space for much contraband goods," said that knave, Van Holy," said she at last. "Hugo, it might be that he spake more wisely than he knew; it might be space for a man." The eyes of Grotius brightened for a moment; but he presently shook his head. "Enough for his coffin, mayhap," he said, "but not for his living carriage. The chest is but four feet in length—small space for a long-limbed man." "It may be done," cried Madam De Groot, vehemently. "Under these ornaments are air-holes. Lay by your doublet, Hugo, and make the attempt at least." So the attempt was made, and Grotius found that by coiling up his limbs he could really manage to lie in the chest with the lid closed. "Let us try it for an hour," said Madam De Groot. "There, I have turned the hour-glass; knock on the lid if you cannot endure to the next turning." Strengthened by the hope of escape, Grotius patiently endured the cramped position for the hour. The next day there was another trial; and this time the hour-glass was turned for the second time. The vision of escape began to grow brighter. Still, the hazard was so great and the risks so terrible that the attempt was put off from day to day, until there was no knowing how long they might have hesitated had not little Cornelia innocently given the signal for action. It was Sunday, the 21st of March, 1631. A wild equinoctial storm was raging, with sheets of rain dashing against the windows and wind howling around the fortress. In a temporary lull in the storm the bells of Gorcum could be heard ringing. "What mean those merry peals?" asked Grotius, looking up from the pictured pages of the Testament he was showing to his little daughter. "They must be ringing for the opening of the great fair," said Madam De Groot. "And to-morrow would be the right time for my papa to go to Gorcum," said little Cornelia; "for Madam Daatsalaer says that all exiles and outlaws may come to Gorcum on the fair days, and none dare harm them till they are past." Grotius softly set the child from off his knee and passed into the bedroom, making signs to his wife to follow him. "Wife," said he, taking her by the hand and speaking in a low tone, "it may be that the Lord himself speaks by the mouth of the innocent child; what think you?" "Hugo, I well believe the time has come," answered Madam De Groot, breathing quickly. "Let us put it by no longer!" In the midst of their agitation over the hasty resolve a grating of the locks was heard, and Deventer appeared. He informed them that he was to leave the fortress for a few days, as he had been promoted to a captaincy, and must go to Heusden to receive his company. After he had gone, Madam De Groot summoned her faithful maid Elsie and told her all, asking her if she would be willing to take charge of the book chest and its precious contents in case it should be sent to Gorcum the next day. The maid quailed for a moment, but soon plucked up courage to say that she would take it, and would do her best. "You are a good girl, Elsie," said Madam De Groot, the tears shining in her keen eyes, "and I am well persuaded that you will never have to repent of what you do." The next day was still wet and stormy, and the waters of the Waal were swollen and turbid. Dressed only in his linen underclothing, Grotius curled himself up in his chest with his head resting on a large pictured Testament for a pillow. His anxious wife propped his cheek with a bunch of soft thread, and padded the curves of his body with rolls of linen and paper; then with a solemn and tearful farewell she closed and fastened the chest, kissed the lock with streaming eyes, and gave the key to Elsie. The clothes Grotius had taken off were thrown over the back of a chair beside the bed, the bed curtains were carefully drawn, and the soldiers summoned to carry the chest to the boat that waited for it. "Heavier than ever," grumbled the men as they lumbered after Elsie down the stair. "The prisoner himself must be in here to-day, besides his ponderous books." At this Elsie laughed in the most free-hearted way possible. The court of the prison was reached, and now came the first great danger. Should the commandant's wife, who was now in charge of the prison, inspect the books that were leaving the fortress all would be lost. She might have done so had the weather been fair, but at the sight of the wet court-yard where the chest stood in the driving rain, she had no good-will to venture into it, so the box with its precious load was safely passed through the gates of Loevenstein. Two sailors lifted the chest on board of the ferry-boat, talking as the soldiers had done about the heaviness of the load, and a second time jestingly accusing Elsie of carrying off the prisoner as well as his books. Seated beside the chest on the wind-swept deck of the little boat, Elsie covered her head with a white handkerchief, the ends of which she allowed to flutter in the wind.738 "Your 'kerchief will hardly keep your pretty head dry, mistress," said one of the sailors. "I wear it as a signal to a fellow-servant with wits not so thick as your own," said saucy Elsie. It was, in truth, a signal to let Madam De Groot know that all was well, and Elsie knew that at that moment the eyes of her mistress were straining at the window to see whether she wore the white handkerchief or sat with her face buried in her hands as a token of failure. The swollen waters of the Waal were passed, the town of Gorcum was reached, and the precious chest was safely carried to the house of Daatsalaer. The shop of the mercer was thronged with customers, and Elsie ordered the men to carry the chest to the room beyond, and there deliberately paid and dismissed them. Then beckoning Madam Daatsalaer aside, she said, "Madam, I have brought my master; he is in the room within there." The suddenness of this speech was dangerous, for Madam Daatsalaer uttered a cry which drew the attention of all in the shop. But recovering herself, and making the excuse that she had caught her hand in the drawer, she wrapped it hastily in her apron, and followed Elsie into the next room. "Master! master!" cried Elsie, rapping on the lid of the chest. "Oh, my master!" cried the girl, wringing her hands. "He is dead! surely he is dead!" But at that moment there was a rap within the box. The lock was turned, the lid thrown back, and Grotius arose in his linen garments, looking, through exhaustion, almost as white as they. "Why are you so pale, madam?" said he, looking at good Dame Daatsalaer, who was white and trembling. "Alas! I am sorely frightened," said she, breaking into tears. "My lord, the whole world is talking of you, and there will be no keeping this hid." "Madam," said Grotius, with steadfast gentleness, "I am at this moment thanking God for the deliverance he has granted me, but sooner than harm shall befall you, I will enter the chest again and be carried back as I came." His sincerity and nobleness touched the good woman's heart. "No! no!" said she; "whatever comes, my husband and I will do all that we can to aid your escape." And so they did, for Daatsalaer spoke to a friend of his, a master mason named Petersen, who consented to take Grotius to Antwerp disguised as a journeyman bricklayer. Clad in a coarse doublet and trunk hose, carrying a trowel and a measuring-rod, Grotius traveled safely to Antwerp, in the Spanish Netherlands, and so came into the world again, and to the honor and fame which belonged to him. Meanwhile at Loevenstein all was confusion and tumult; a messenger was dispatched to Heusden to carry the news of the escape to Captain Deventer, who returned in hot haste, and rushed in rage to the rooms of Grotius. "Here is your cage," said Madam De Groot, with a taunting smile, "but your bird is flown." The commandant hurried to the house of Daatsalaer. There was the book chest and the Testament and the bundle of thread, but no further sign of Hugo Grotius, who had passed forever from the prison of Captain Deventer. The stadtholder was not so angry as had been expected; he even used his influence to have Madam De Groot released from the prison where she was for a short time held. She and Cornelia joined Grotius in France, where they found him honored as he deserved. Such is the story, and the true story, of Hugo Grotius and his famous book chest. —Harper's Young People. The Home Circle.
By S. S. Times
THE reapers sang in the shaded lane,
And the laden wagons came creaking slow,
While the kind farm-mother her table spread;
For the field was bare and the sun was low—
The sun was low and the day was gone—
The toil was over, and harvest done. I looked and sighed, as the yellow store
Was borne away to the yawning mow,
And I thought of the brimming garner floor,
And the harvester's tanned and sweating brow,
Till I sighed again, in the fading light,
While the tired world slept in the lap of night. I sighed for the tender plant that died
When the cold north wind untimely blew;
I sighed for the grain that never swelled,
For the blighted sheaf that never grew;
I sighed for the harvest-days that seem
Like the waking mockery of a dream. I knelt in the dim, sweet, summer night
And whispered a prayer of trembling faith,
That He (who nurseth the sleeping grain
Till life comes smiling from darkest death)
Would not scorn the scant sheaves I had won
When life was over and harvest done.
—S. S. Times.