[Illustration: “I THINK IT WOULD HELP ON THIS SUBJECT.”] The meek little wife at her husband’s word stepped out, and together they sang this wonderful hymn: The spacious firmament on high, With all the blue ethereal sky, The spangled heavens, a shining frame, Their great original proclaim; The unwearied sun, from day to day, Does his Creator’s power display, And publishes to every land The work of an Almighty hand. Soon as the evening shades prevail, The moon takes up the wondrous tale, And nightly to the listening earth Repeats the story of her birth: While all the stars that round her burn, And all the planets in their turn, Confirm the tidings as they roll, And spread the truth from pole to pole. What though, in solemn silence, all Move round the dark, terrestrial ball? What though no _real_ voice or sound Amid their radiant orbs be found? In _reason’s_ ear they all rejoice, And utter forth a glorious voice, Forever singing as they shine, The hand that made us is divine. When they had finished, the whole congregation bowed their heads. “Yes,” they said, “every day we will show forth the greatness of God who made us, and that bad man will see and hear and believe, and the people will not be led away from God any more.” “We will make that our great aim, to show forth the glory of God,” they all cried together. * * * * * So the little workers planned, and sent their messengers far and wide, over land and sea, and made out their programme; and the lecturers spent days and days preparing their manuscript,—for aught I know they are at it yet. The flowers all have received their invitations to come, and some were so eager to be off that they packed their brown seed trunks and coaxed the wind to carry them immediately, that they might be early on the spot. Next spring when the snow is gone and the trees are putting forth their leaves, and all looks tender and beautiful, you will see the birds flying back and forth, very busy, carrying travellers and messages; the squirrels will go chattering to their store-houses to see that all is right, and to air the rooms a little; the birds will build many nests, more than they need, and you will wonder why, and will never know that they are summer nests for rent, else you might like to rent one yourself. [Illustration: “YOU WILL SEE THE BIRDS FLYING BACK AND FORTH.”] The wind, too, will be busy, so busy that he will hardly have time to dry your clothes that hang out among the apple blossoms. You don’t know what it all means? [Illustration: THE BIRDS WILL BUILD MANY NESTS.] [Illustration: Wake up quite early every morning and listen. Be patient, and one morning, just as the first pink glow of the rising sun tinges the east, you will hear a watching tree call out,—] [Illustration: