Children -- Conduct of life -- Juvenile literature; Children's poetry; Children's stories; Conduct of life -- Juvenile literature
Why, many of those fierce savages put off their war paint and wild
ways, and settled down in good homes like nice Christian people,
with churches and Sunday-schools and ministers of their own. Some
of them now look almost as sweet as the two sweet faces of the Two
Missionaries. That’s the way it often works when God puts his grace
into a rough heart. It really changes the face too into beauty. God can
make everything beautiful.
“But what about the picture on the next page?”
You mean that queer-looking man going ahead with a child in his arms
and a big boy by his side?
“It is a family on a journey somewhere.”
The “somewhere” is America. They are peasants (the poor working folks)
of—Denmark, maybe.
They have heard of America—what a goodly land it is for the poor and
homeless, and where they can be free to worship God—so they have sold
the cow and poultry and a few other things, and putting into bundles
what they have over, and saying a sad good-by to the dear old hut where
they have always lived, they are on their march to the sea. They will
soon be aboard the ship, Safety; then, after two months—
“Two months! why, the Teutonic of the White Star Line has just crossed
the Atlantic in five days, sixteen hours and a few seconds.”
Yes, but this was long ago.
But the two months are gone; they have landed at Castle Garden, New
York, and now those nine have become ninety thousand. You see, no
sooner had they got nicely settled upon a little spot of land, and in a
neat cottage, and two or three cows about them, and a patch of potatoes
growing near by, when away went a letter back to Denmark to their
cousins to pack up and come too.
Well, ever since the ships have grown larger and faster, bringing loads
and loads of peasants, five hundred thousand some years, from almost
every nation on the other side of the ocean.
[Illustration: ANOTHER TYPE OF SAVAGES.]
“And those two sweet-faced missionaries, did they teach all these low
people the good ways of God?”
[Illustration: DO YOU THINK THEY LIVE IN A PALACE? (_See “Work
Enough.”_)]
Yes; they and their children. Don’t you see, they stand for all good
missionaries whom Jesus sends? They are all beautiful in his eyes.
Where in the Bible does it say something like “How beautiful upon
the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; that
publisheth peace, etc?” If beautiful feet, beautiful everything—so
beautiful that all among whom they go with these tidings become
beautiful too!
[Illustration: GOING ON A JOURNEY.]
See those children in the opening picture, coming down the road with
bundles under their arms? Look them over, and say if you think they
live in a palace, and if they wear silks or furs.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account