He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much.— I.ukk 16:10. 



MYSELF AND MY NEIGHBORS. 



When they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, 

 ISimon, ?on of Jona.';, lovest thou me more than 

 these? He saith unto him. Yea, Lord; thou know- 

 est that I love thee. He .«aitli unto him, Feed my 

 lambs.— John 21:1."i. 



0XK day. when 1 was tired of reading 

 lelleis, J pushed olf as usual down 

 among the celery-plants, to see how 

 the men were getting along. On my 

 way I met my rtock of IJrahmas that I 

 liave told you aliout so many times. They 

 looked so pretty and so slick that I felt a 

 sudden desire to get one in my hands, that 

 1 might stroke the soft plumage, and make 

 friends, in a general way, of these beautiful 

 birds. I found an ear of sweet corn, left 

 after we had gathered the crop for seed, and 

 by a judicious use of it I scon had a tine 

 IJrahma prisoner. In a little time 1 suc- 

 ceeded in getting him to eat corn while 1 

 held him. and hnally to eat out of my hand, 

 and in just about 20 mintites by my watch 1 

 liad him so thorouglily tamed that I could 

 set liim down and pickhim up again. I had 

 convinced him I was a friend" and not an 

 enemy, and I felt something of the satisfac- 

 tion, when I started to go along to my work, 

 that I often feel when I handle a colony of 

 cross bees, without smoke or bee-veil. It 

 seems like fuliilling the promise of Scrip- 

 ture, where God said. "'Lot man liavc do- 

 minion over them."" 



Wlien I got back to tlic factory, a lot of 

 schoolboys were running our luml)er-car for 

 play. It was Saturday afternoon, and they 

 were boiling over with spirits, and wanted 

 to do something. They had been rejieated- 



ly forbidden to use this car. In fact, the 

 lower end of the track was torn up, and they 

 not only endangered the car, but endangered 

 their bones in using it to ride on. I felt 

 cross to think tliey disobeyed; l)ut they 

 were so busy with their fun that 1 walked 

 right up to them before they saw me. In 

 fact. 1 had ample time to theorize a little 

 before 1 said any thing. My thoughts ran 

 something like this : 



''Old fellow, you have just been boasting 

 to yourself that it took you only twenty 

 minutes to cai)ture and tame a IJrahma 

 chicken ; now suppose you try your hand at 

 this tlock right before you. ('an you win 

 their coniidence, and tame them so they 

 won"t run when yon s])eak, in twenty min- 

 utes, or even half "a day":* The chickens are 

 only dumb brutes; but these are human be- 

 ings, and lia\e immortal souls. Yes, even 

 that boy wliose face is so dirty has a soul to 

 be saved, and Christ died for such as he. 

 Furtliermore. the parting injunction of the 

 Master, when he left his disciples here upon 

 earth, was. Feed my lambs;" and now, 

 then, old fellow, let us see you ]>iact ice what 

 you preach."" 



It almost made me tremble to think of the 

 responsibility that rested on my poor self at 

 this moment, especially when I "realized how 

 faraway I liad just been from the straight 

 and narrow path. 1 began to be thankful 

 that they r7H/ nat see me till I had had time 

 to reflect, ("an you tame a boy as easily as 

 you can a cliicken':' I waited until one of 

 tliem looked uj* to me, and then they made 

 a start to run ; but by mild words I induced 

 tliem to wait a little. I spoke to them 



