CHAPTER V. 

 A TUFT OF MOSS. 



" Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones." 

 ST. MATTHEW xviii. 10. 



EVERY one has heard of the touching incident in 

 r the life of Mungo Park, the celebrated African 

 traveller, how the sight of a little tuft of green moss 

 growing in the barren sand of the desert cheered him 

 when he was almost reduced to despair. Like a lighted 

 candle placed within a dim transparency, bringing out 

 its rich hues and pattern, the sorrowful circumstances in 

 which he was placed invested the familiar common- 

 place object with new beauty and significance. It 

 seemed aflame with thoughts of God's providential care, 

 like the bush on Horeb. It became a wicket-gate 

 through nature into heaven. Its marvellous grace, its 

 lovely structure, its preservation in such an inhospit- 

 able waste by the constant gentle ministry of the sun- 

 shine and the dew, inspired him with such comforting 

 thoughts of that great Being whose tender mercies are 

 over all His works, and who is a very present help in 



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