158 



JUVENILE GLEANINGS. 



Feb. 



write about crickets, and then I got off and 

 wrote about hens, and finally ended off with 

 something about singing. Come to think of 

 it, it wasn't crickets that I meant, either. It 

 was critics. Critics: crickets; critics; 

 crickets. Did you ever hear of anybody 

 who got the two words mixed up before V I 

 did. It was a boy who was speaking a 

 piece. He meant to say,— 



You'd scarce expect one of my age 

 To speak in public on the stage; 

 And if 1 chance to fall below 

 Demosthenes or Cicero, 

 Don't view me with a critic's eye, 

 But pass my imperfections by. 



And he did say, in winding up, — 



Don't view me with a cricket's eye, 

 But pass my imperfections by. 



Well, now, children, a critic is not an in- 

 sect at all. It is a person who makes it a 

 business to look over and read, or '' review," 

 as it is called, the books and papers and ar- 

 ticles that come out. You see, there are 

 so many nowadays that nobody can read 

 them all, and so we are very glad to have 

 somebody tell us what ones we shall read, or 

 what ones it will be most profitable for us to 

 read. I presume you know that even our 

 Sunday-school books have to be reviewed, 

 and good wise Christian men and women 

 are employed for the purpose of deciding 

 what books are best, among the great num- 

 bers we have now to choose from. Literary 

 critics are employed by our leading literary 

 papers or magazines, to look over, or re- 

 view, the new books as they come out, and 

 they serve as a guide to the great masses of 

 the reading public, to tell them what books 

 they had best buy, and what ones they can 

 not afford to waste time over. Do you not 

 see, children, how very important it is that a 

 critic should be not only wise, but kind, and 

 free from any little spites or jealousies V 

 Suppose the teacher should some day at 

 school appoint you as judge as to whose es- 

 say or declamation was best, and you were 

 satisfied that John Smith's was really ahead 

 of any, but that you decided right away you 

 wouldn't give it to him, because he pushed 

 you off the sidewalk the day before. Would 

 you be a just or an honest critic in that caseV 



ifou may say that the teacher has not ap- 

 pointed you as critic ; but, my little friends, 

 most of us have a way of appointing our- 

 selves critics, and giving our opinions pretty 

 freely, not only about declamations and es- 

 says, books and papers, but we set ourselves 

 up as critics as to how people should dress, 

 what they should say, and, in short, we oft- 

 en pick them all to pieces, you might al- 

 most say ; and I am afraid, too, that we pick 

 them to pieces, not to find all the good we 

 can, but to pick out and hold up their faults. 

 Children, do you ever talk about your neigh- 

 bors at your house V If you do, is the talk 

 something you would be glad to have them 

 hear, if they should happen to be passing by 

 the window at the time ? What is the rea- 

 son we take more pleasure in talking over 

 people's bad qualities, than we do in speak- 

 ing of their good ones V Or if we don't 

 take more pleasure in it, why do we do it V 

 Here Is a little editorial I have recently 

 clipped from the Sunday- School Times:— 

 In order to show yourself to advantage as a critic. 



you need to watch for the good things that others 

 would overlook, and hold them up to view, in your 

 comments on what you have seen or read, or on one 

 whom you have observed. You really disclose your- 

 self, in all your criticisms on persons and things. 

 Any nobleness there may be in you will show Itself 

 in your quick recognition of nobleness anywhere. 

 Any littleness in your nature will show itselfin your 

 ready fault-finding. 



You see, children, if you see noble things 

 in those about you, it is because you have 

 noble qualities yourself ; and if you are all 

 the while seeing little and mean things in 

 the neighbors and friends around you, it is 

 because you are little and mean yourself ; 

 or perhaps I should say, because toe are little 

 and mean ourselves. It is true, I know it is 

 true, aiid it not only makes me feel sad and 

 sorrowful when I think about it, but it some- 

 times almost makes me feel sick, because I 

 am so much more apt to see people's faults 

 than to see the good and noble traits there is 

 in them. Children, it hurts anybody to 

 talk about people, and make fun of their 

 weaknesses or infirmities. It hurts us very 

 much as it hiu'ts us to say bad words ; and 

 if we persist in it, we shall surely have 

 much trouble and sorrow. The next time 

 you feel bad and gloomy and unhappy, just 

 think back, and see if you have not been 

 saying hard things about somebody. I am 

 going to pray to God most earnestly that he 

 will help me over this very, very bad habit, 

 and also that he will make me to love the 

 neighbors- all around me, instead of letting 

 any sort of hard or unkind feeling come in- 

 to my heart toward them, even if they do 

 sometimes do wrong and sinful things. 



" With what measure ye mete, it shall be 

 measured to you again." That is what a man 

 said who is going to draw me some wood. He 

 said he always gave a good full cord, because 

 he wanted God to measure out mercies to 

 him in that way. And I have been thinking 

 that, if we talk hard about people, our con- 

 science will be pretty sure to talk hard 

 about us. I was going to tell you more 

 about my neighbors here in the factory, and 

 the way we do things ; but I talked so long 

 about crickets and hens and singing, and 

 other things, that I shall not have any room 

 left. Besides, we have a larger stack of chil- 

 dren's letters than ever before, and I wish 

 to give them all a place. That talk about 

 critics has made me feel rather sad ; but at 

 the same time I begin to feel happier, and I 

 know I shall be a great deal happier, if I 

 only profit by my own little sermons. Now 

 let us all keep a careful watch on these 

 tongues of ours. "Forgive us our debts as 

 we forgive our debtors.'' 



VIRGIIi'S TREATISE ON BEES. 



CONTINUED. 



fliHE good editor has my thanks for the kind re- 

 ception of last article, and the invitation to 

 put in plenty of notes. If I give way to all the 

 chat that I feel Inclined to over Virgil's interesting 

 points, I reckon the editor will soon have to put on 

 the brakes a little. 



WATER FOR BEES. 



And where their drinking-place the bees shall will, 

 Whether the water flows or standeth still, 



