The Little Gleaner Part 44

ROME PROPOSES, G.o.d DISPOSES.

"_For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord._"--ISAIAH lv. 8.

Father Chiniquy had been for some years lecturing on teetotalism, in addition to his usual priestly labours, and his success had been so great that he had received the t.i.tle of "Apostle of Temperance" in Canada, and the gift of a splendid medal and crucifix from the Pope of Rome; and his reputation as a popular influential priest was therefore well established, when he was requested to become the leader of a great movement.

Emigrants were constantly leaving Europe and Canada for the United States, and many of them became connected, on their arrival there, with Protestant a.s.sociations. Some far-seeing bishops consequently felt that, if they could divert that tide to places of their own choosing, under the direction of their own loyal priests, a splendid triumph would be gained for Popery, and in the course of time they would secretly, yet surely, rule the United States of America.

Some small colonies had been already formed, and the whole of the Mississippi valley and the adjoining country was so fertile and rich, even in its wild state, that Chiniquy's warmest hopes were kindled, as he saw that beautiful land; and, sitting down, he wrote a glowing description of it, and invited intending emigrants to come and see for themselves. The result exceeded all antic.i.p.ations. In a very short time fifty families arrived at the chosen spot, and pitched their tents around his own. They soon set to work to build small, strong wooden houses under their priest's directions, then a larger one for a parsonage and school; and, as fresh emigrants were continually arriving, they soon became a flourishing, happy community, and objects of the bitter jealousy of surrounding priests. Many difficulties arose. When his wooden church was just finished, it was maliciously set on fire the very night after the first services were conducted in it. A new bishop came into power, whose tyranny and greediness were unbearable, and Father Chiniquy appealed against him to Napoleon, the French Emperor, and the Pope, getting him at length removed from the position he had so greatly abused.

But the crowning difficulty, which was designed by G.o.d to be the crowning blessing of His servant's life, was yet to come, and thus it came to pa.s.s that the Bible-loving priest forsook his false position, and "came out of Babylon."

When Rome's new doctrine, the perfect holiness of the Virgin Mary, was first published in 1854, a farmer called on Chiniquy to ask him whether the Scriptures taught such a thing, and he honestly confessed that they did not, but rather said the opposite, and that the holy fathers had not believed or taught it either, but it was with the greatest pain that he, as a priest, said this.

On another occasion, the immoral conduct of a priest caused many to ask our friend whether the Word of G.o.d really forbade the ministers of Christ to marry, and he replied, "I will put the Gospel in your hands, that you may see for yourselves what the Holy Book says about these matters." He accordingly ordered a large number of New Testaments, which had been printed by the sanction of one of their own archbishops, and soon they were being eagerly read and studied by his large congregation.

And now the decisive hour drew near. Another bishop, who had taken the oppressor's place, kindly asked and accepted Chiniquy's submission to his authority. But, as that doc.u.ment contained the words, "According to the Word and commandments of G.o.d, as we find them expressed in the Gospel of Christ," the Jesuits found fault. The bishop demanded the withdrawal of the words, and upon his refusal to alter them, angrily said, "If it be so, sir, you are no longer a Roman Catholic priest."

"May G.o.d Almighty be for ever blessed," was the brave reply, given in a loud, determined voice.

But the wrench was a terrible one, and when alone in his hotel, the full consequences of his words came forcibly before him, and he felt alone and desolate. But G.o.d, who had thus mysteriously led him into liberty, did not forsake him now. He spoke to his heart, and confirmed him in the determination he had made; and when all his sins seemed like a mountain to rise before him, Jesus appeared as his perfect, all-sufficient Saviour, and the troubled heart was filled with joy unspeakable, so that he could and did exclaim, "O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!" as he hastened home to tell his dear people all that he had experienced of the wrath of man and the love of G.o.d.

May we, with him, be favoured to "taste and see that the Lord is good,"

and we also shall say, "O Lord G.o.d of Hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee!"--_Jottings on "The Life and Work of Father Chiniquy,"

by Cousin Susan._

HOW TO SELECT A BOY.

A gentleman advertised for a boy, and nearly fifty applicants presented themselves to him. Out of the whole number he selected one, and dismissed the rest.

"I should like to know," said a friend, "on what ground you selected that boy, who had not a single recommendation."

"You are mistaken," said the gentleman; "he has a great many. He wiped his feet when he came in, and closed the door after him, showing that he was careful. He gave his seat instantly to that lame old man, showing that he was thoughtful. He took off his cap when he came in, and answered my questions promptly, showing that he was gentlemanly. He picked up the book which I had purposely laid on the floor, and replaced it upon the table; and he waited quietly for his turn, instead of pushing and crowding, showing that he was honourable and orderly. When I talked to him, I noticed that his clothes were brushed, his hair in order. When he wrote his name, I noticed that his finger-nails were clean. Don't you call those things letters of recommendation? I do; and I would give more for what I can tell about a boy by using my eyes ten minutes than all the letters he can bring me."

Little things show character, and frequently determine a boy's whole career. It is the boy who does the kind, polite, and thoughtful acts unconsciously that wins his way to employment and success. And success does not mean wealth and fame. A man is valued according to his faithfulness and reliability, and these chiefly determine the measure of his true usefulness.

It is not always those who are most conspicuous in the eyes of the world who are really the most useful. A man who takes money at a ferry gate is seen by thousands, but he only does what any one of a thousand could do equally well; while a thoughtful and conscientious writer, who may be personally known to very few, may have great influence for good. True success means the development of a character that is worthy of example--a character that is honest to every duty, faithful to every trust, and that is unselfish enough to find time for kindly acts that are not forced, but the simple expression of a warm and generous principle. True success is fidelity to every relation in life.

"NOTHING TO THANK G.o.d FOR."

"Have you nothing to thank G.o.d for?" asked the mother of a little girl named Helen.

"No," said Helen; "you and papa give me everything."

"Not for your pleasant home?" asked mother.

"It is my papa's house; he lets me live in it."

"Where did the wood come from to build it?" asked mother.

"From trees," answered Helen, "and they growed in big forests."

"Who planted the big forests? Who gave rain to water them? Who gave the sun to warm them? Who did not allow the winter to blast them? Who kept them growing from little trees to trees big enough to build houses with?

Not papa, not man; it was G.o.d."

Helen looked her mother in the eye, and then said, "Papa bought nails to make it with."

"What are nails made of?" asked mamma.

"Iron," answered Helen; "and men dig iron out of the ground."

"Who put iron in the ground, and kept it there safe till the men wanted it?" asked mother. "It was G.o.d."

"We got this carpet from men," said Helen, drawing her small foot across it.

"Where did the carpet-men get the wool to make it from?" asked mother.

"From farmers," answered Helen.

"And where did the farmers get it?"

"From sheep and lambs' backs," said the little girl.

"And who clothed the lambs in dresses good enough for us? for your dress, I see, is made of nothing but lambs' wool. Where did the lambs get such good stuff?"

"G.o.d gave it to them, I suppose," said the little girl. "It is you that gives me bread, mother," said she quickly.

"But," said her mother, "the flour we got from the shop, and the shopkeeper bought it from the miller, and the miller took the wheat from the farmer, and the farmer had it from the ground, and the ground grew it all itself."

"No," cried Helen suddenly, "G.o.d grew it. The sun and the rain, the wind and the air, are His, and He sent them to the corn-field. The earth is His too. And so G.o.d is at the bottom of everything, isn't He, mother?"

"Yes," said mother; "G.o.d is the Origin of every good and perfect gift which we enjoy."

The little girl looked serious. She looked thinking. "Then, mamma," she said at last, "I can't make a prayer long enough to thank G.o.d for everything."

"Oh, that men," even as the creatures of G.o.d, "would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"

A CINGALESE ROCK FORTRESS.