The Illustrated London Reading Book Part 3

NATURE AND ITS LORD.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Letter T.]

There's not a leaf within the bower, There's not a bird upon the tree, There's not a dew-drop on the flower, But bears the impress, Lord, of Thee!

Thy hand the varied leaf design'd, And gave the bird its thrilling tone; Thy power the dew-drops' tints combined, Till like a diamond's blaze they shone!

Yes, dew-drops, leaves, and buds, and all-- The smallest, like the greatest things-- The sea's vast s.p.a.ce, the earth's wide ball, Alike proclaim thee King of Kings.

But man alone to bounteous heaven Thanksgiving's conscious strains can raise; To favour'd man alone 'tis given, To join the angelic choir in praise!

THE STEPPING-STONES.

The struggling rill insensibly is grown Into a brook of loud and stately march, Cross'd ever and anon by plank or arch; And for like use, lo! what might seem a zone Chosen for ornament--stone match'd with stone In studied symmetry, with inters.p.a.ce

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For the clear waters to pursue their race Without restraint. How swiftly have they flown-- Succeeding, still succeeding! Here the child Puts, when the high-swoll'n flood runs fierce and wild, His budding courage to the proof; and here Declining manhood learns to note the sly And sure encroachments of infirmity-- Thinking how fast time runs--life's end how near.

WORDSWORTH.

HUMANITY.

During the retreat of the famous King Alfred at Athelney, in Somersetshire, after the defeat of his forces by the Danes, the following circ.u.mstance happened, which shows the extremities to which that great man was reduced, and gives a striking proof of his pious and benevolent disposition:--A beggar came to his little castle, and requested alms. His Queen informed him that they had only one small loaf remaining, which was insufficient for themselves and their friends, who were gone abroad in quest of food, though with little hopes of success.

But the King replied, "Give the poor Christian the one half of the loaf.

He that could feed live thousand with five loaves and two fishes, can certainly make that half of the loaf suffice for more than our necessities." Accordingly the poor man was relieved; and this n.o.ble act of charity was soon recompensed by a providential store of fresh provisions, with which his people returned.

Sir Philip Sydney, at the battle near Zutphen, displayed the most undaunted courage. He had two horses killed under him; and, whilst mounting a third, was wounded by a musket-shot out of the trenches, which broke the bone of his thigh. He returned about mile and a half on horseback to the camp; and being faint with the loss of blood, and parched with thirst from the heat of the weather, he called for drink.

It was presently brought him; but, as he was putting the vessel to his mouth, a poor wounded soldier, who happened to be carried along at that instant, looked up to it with wistful eyes. The gallant and generous Sydney took the flagon from his lips, just when he was going to drink, and delivered it to the soldier, saying, "Thy necessity is greater than mine."

Frederick, King of Prussia, one day rang his bell and n.o.body answered; on which he opened the door and found his page fast asleep in an elbow-chair. He advanced toward him, and was going to awaken, him, when he perceived a letter hanging out of his pocket. His curiosity prompting him to know what it was, he took it out and read it. It was a letter from the young man's mother, in which she thanked him for having sent her part of his wages to relieve her in her misery, and finished with telling; him that G.o.d would reward him for his dutiful affection. The King, after having read it, went back softly into his chamber, took a bag full of ducats, and slipped it with the letter into the page's pocket. Returning to his chamber, he rang the bell so violently that he awakened the page, who instantly made his appearance. "You have had a sound sleep," said the King. The page was at a loss how to excuse himself and, putting his hand into his pocket by chance, to his utter astonishment he there found a purse of ducats. He took it out, turned pale, and looking at the bag, burst into tears without being able to utter a single word. "What is that?" said the King; "what is the matter?" "Ah, sire!" said the young man, throwing himself on his knees, "somebody seeks my ruin! I know nothing of this money which I have just found in my pocket!" "My young friend," replied Frederick, "G.o.d often does great things for us even in our sleep. Send that to your mother, salute her on my part, and a.s.sure her that I will take care of both her and you."

_Beauties of History_.

THE SPANIELS OF THE MONKS OF ST. BERNARD.

The convent of the Great St. Bernard is situated near the top of the mountain known by that name, near one of the most dangerous pa.s.ses of the Alps, between Switzerland and Savoy. In these regions the traveller is often overtaken by the most severe weather, even after days of cloudless beauty, when the glaciers glitter in the sunshine, and the pink flowers of the rhododendron appear as if they were never to be sullied by the tempest. But a storm suddenly comes on; the roads are rendered impa.s.sable by drifts of snow; the avalanches, which are huge loosened ma.s.ses of snow or ice, are swept into the valleys, carrying trees and crags of rock before them.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CONVENT OF MONT ST. BERNARD.]

The hospitable monks, though their revenue is scanty, open their doors to every stranger that presents himself. To be cold, to be weary, to be benighted, const.i.tutes the t.i.tle to their comfortable shelter, their cheering meal, and their agreeable converse. But their attention to the distressed does not end here. They devote themselves to the dangerous task of searching for those unhappy persons who may have been overtaken by the sudden storm, and would perish but for their charitable succour.

Most remarkably are they a.s.sisted in these truly Christian offices. They have a breed of n.o.ble dogs in their establishment, whose extraordinary sagacity often enables them to rescue the traveller from destruction.

Benumbed with cold, weary in the search of a lost track, his senses yielding to the stupefying influence of frost, the unhappy man sinks upon the ground, and the snow-drift covers him from human sight. It is then that the keen scent and the exquisite docility of these admirable dogs are called into action. Though the perishing man lie ten or even twenty feet beneath the snow, the delicacy of smell with which they can trace him offers a chance of escape. They scratch away the snow with their feet; they set up a continued hoa.r.s.e and solemn bark, which brings the monks and labourers of the convent to their a.s.sistance.

To provide for the chance that the dogs, without human help, may succeed in discovering the unfortunate traveller, one of them has a flask of spirits round his neck, to which the fainting man may apply for support; and another has a cloak to cover him. Their wonderful exertions are often successful; and even where they fail of restoring him who has perished, the dogs discover the body, so that it may be secured for the recognition of friends; and such is the effect of the cold, that the dead features generally preserve their firmness for the s.p.a.ce of two years. One of these n.o.ble creatures was decorated with a medal, in commemoration of his having saved the lives of twenty-two persons, who, but for his sagacity, must have perished. Many travellers, who have crossed the pa.s.s of St. Bernard, have seen this dog, and have heard, around the blazing fire of the monks, the story of his extraordinary career. He perished about the year 1816, in an attempt to convey a poor traveller to his anxious family.

_The Menageries._

[Ill.u.s.tration: HEAD OF ST. BERNARD DOG.]

JOPPA.

Joppa is the princ.i.p.al sea-port town of Palestine and it is very often mentioned in Scripture.

Hiram, King of Tyre, is said to have sent cedars of Lebanon by sea to Joppa, for the building of Solomon's Temple; and from Joppa the disobedient Jonah embarked, when ordered by G.o.d to go and preach to the people of Nineveh.

It was at Joppa that the apostle Peter lived, for some time, with one Simon, a tanner, whose house was by the sea-sh.o.r.e; and it was on the flat roof of this dwelling that he saw the wonderful vision, which taught him not to call any man common or unclean.

[Ill.u.s.tration: JOPPA.]

Tabitha or Dorcas, the pious woman who spent all her life in working for the poor, and in giving alms to those who needed relief, lived in Joppa; and here it pleased G.o.d that she should be taken ill and die, and her body was laid out in the usual manner before burial, in an upper chamber of the house where she lived. The apostle Peter, to whom this pious woman had been well known, was then at Lydda, not far from Joppa, and the disciples sent to tell him of the heavy loss the Church had met with in the death of Dorcas, and begged that he would come and comfort them.

The apostle directly left Lydda and went over to Joppa. He was, by his own desire, taken to the room where the corpse lay, and was much moved when he saw the tears of the poor women who had been fed and clothed by the charity of Dorcas, and who were telling each other how much good she had been the means of doing them.

Peter desired to be left alone with the body, and then he knelt down and prayed, and, receiving strength from G.o.d, he turned to the body and cried, "Tabitha, arise!" She then, like one awaking from sleep, opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. He then took her by the hand, and she arose and was presented alive to those who, thinking she was dead, had so lately been mourning for her loss. This was the first miracle performed by the apostles, and it greatly surprised the people of Joppa, who began one and all to believe that Peter was really a preacher sent by G.o.d.

The name of Joppa signified beautiful. It was built upon the side of a rocky mountain, which rises from the sea-sh.o.r.e, and all around it were lovely gardens, full of vines, figs, and other fruits.