44 THE SHAMROCK. 



proach, he reluctantly told me, while his eyes 

 swam in tears, that he could not wear it in his hat, 



for shamrocks now grew on 's grave. 



I will not attempt to express what I felt, at this 

 trait of exquisite tenderness and delicacy in a poor 

 peasant boy : but I told him that the little sham- 

 rocks were far dearer to me, because they made 

 that spot look green and lovely. He instantly 

 kissed the leaves, and put them in his hat ; and 

 when, after two years, I saw his own lowly grave 

 actually covered with shamrocks, I felt that, in 

 this world, I must not look for such another char 

 acter. That child of God was commissioned to 

 cross my path, that he might shed over it that pure 

 and tranquillizing light of his eminently holy and 

 happy spirit, during the darkest, and most troubled 

 season of my past pilgrimage. The Lord has 

 choice cordials to bestow, but he keeps them for 

 special occasions, to strengthen the weak hands, 

 and confirm the feeble knees, of his fainting people. 

 Such was my experience, while the boy was with 

 me, whose whole discourse, his every thought by 

 day, and dream by night, was of the love and the 

 power of Jesus Christ. He saw God in every thing : 

 the lightning, he called ' God's eye,' and the rain- 

 bow, ' God's smile.' , Two objects his soul abhorred 

 — Satan, and Popery. Of Satan's power and mal- 

 ice he seemed to have a singularly experimental 

 knowledge : yet always described him as a con- 



