

He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much.— Luke Ifi: 10. 



MYSELF AND IWY NEIGHBORS. 



It is more blessed to give than to receive. — Acts 

 20: 35. 



'OULD it not be funny, little friends, 

 if we (lid not have any neighbors? 

 So far a'* I remember, the only per- 

 son of whom we have any record, who lived 

 very long without neighbors, was Kobinson 

 Crusoe— or really Alexander [Selkirk. I sup- 

 pose you know ihat the book called Robin- 

 son ("rusoe is, a great part of it. tiction, al- 

 though it is founded on fact. 'Jhis Mr. Sel- 

 kirk did live on tlie island of Juan Fernan- 

 dez some three or four years, and he had no 

 neighbors, unless we should call his cat and 

 dog and parrot, and such animals as he do- 

 mesticated, neighbors. As to whether he 

 really had a man Friday or not, I am unable 

 to say ; but very likely he made friends with 

 some of the natives as soon as they happen- 

 ed to touch the shores of his island. Poor 

 Robinson Crusoe ! for such I suppose we 

 shall have to call him, how he must have 

 suffered during those years for want of hu- 

 man companionship 1 Whenever I get into 

 an uncharitable mood, and get to thinking I 

 should like to live for awhile without neigh- 

 bors, it always does me good to think of 

 Robinson Crusoe. I wonder if any of you 

 have ever thought, children, that it would 

 be pleasant to have every thing all to your- 

 selves. You see, if you were on an island 

 you would not have to divide with anybody ; 

 you could have all there was to eat, and all 

 there was nice to wear. Y'ou could have all 



the room without anybody pushing you, or 

 crowding you, or stepping on your toes ; and 

 theie would not be any need of quarreling, 

 because there would not be anybody to quar- 

 rel with. You could not be seltish very well, 

 unless you showed your selfishness towartl 

 the domestic animals. In fact, a great part 

 of the wickedness that is now open to iis 

 would be cut off. .lust think how easy it 

 would be to love God, and do right, if there 

 were no one around to tempt you to do wrong. 

 In fact, what could people do that is wrong, 

 if they had not any neighbors V They could 

 not steal, they could not fight, could not tell 

 lies ; and therefore it would be an easy mat- 

 ter to be a pretty good Christian, would it 

 not V It is true, one might grumble and com- 



j plain. It wouldn't be much use, though, if 

 there were nobody there to hear it. Une 



I might be intemperate, if there were any 

 thing on the island to use intemperately, and 

 one might also take God's name in vain, al- 

 though it makes me sad to think that any 

 one who is alone with God, as it were, should 

 ever do such a thing. I wonder if profane 

 people ever swear when they are alone with 

 themselves. 



! I have given you this little picture, chil- 

 dren, that you may think for a moment what 

 it would be to be obliged to live entirely 

 without neighbors. You may sometimes 

 think it is hard to get along \oith such neigh- 

 bors as God has given you ; but I assure you 

 it would be a thousand times harder to try 

 to live without any neighbors at all. I pre- 

 sume Robinson Crusoe would have joyfully 



