792 



JUVENILE GLEAKINGS. 



I)EC. 



child, or a teacher toward a pupil. What 

 teacher is there in the world who would not 

 be sU^^ to see any disobedient pupil coming 

 to liiui to confess his sorrow for his bad be- 

 havior y I know sometimes pupils say they 

 are sorry, and are very ready to make 

 promises ; but this is not the kind of sorrow 

 I am talking about. The attitude and be- 

 havior of a pupil in a very little time deter- 

 mine whether or no the penitence be sincere. 



One more illustration right here in this 

 line, please. A few months ago I became ac- 

 quainted with a good old farnipr a piece out 

 in the country, and finally he became quite 

 anxious that [ should take his boy in my 

 employ. I consented, and the boy came. 

 For the tirst few weeks he had considerable 

 of what boys call "choring around" to do, as 

 new boys often do have. He did not seem 

 very apt nor handy, neither did he seem to 

 be greatly concerned as to whether he ac- 

 complished much of what he w^as doing or 

 not. We tried him in different places. Mr. 

 Gray mildly suggested one day, "That boy 

 had better go back on the farm," as he did 

 not think he would ever be of any use to us. 

 I tried him somewhere else, and the foreman 

 of that department pretty soon suggested 

 much the same thing, and it was not very 

 long before the boy got to be a sort of stand- 

 ing joke among the rest of the boys. lie 

 seemed slow and dull and unhandy. I 

 talked to him some, but it did not seem to 

 do very much good. Ilis pay was small, as 

 it always is to start with, but I could not 

 consistently advance it until he advanced a 

 little in his work. I felt sorry for him, and 

 yet 1 sometimes felt indignant to think he 

 showed so little enterprise and energy, while 

 others about him were full of vim and go- 

 ahead. Surely, said I to myself, he must see 

 how little he accomplished ; but it seems he 

 did not; and in my want of charity I let the 

 matter pass until 1 found him one bright day 

 in June standing out in front of tlie factory 

 in an idle sort of way, as if he had just about 

 decided to give up, instead of going to work. 

 Ilis sad, sorrowful look then began to re- 

 proach me, and I wondered whether he did 

 not think that all he had heard said about 

 my kind solicitude in regard to the welfare 

 of all my hands was not a mistake. I felt a 

 little rebuked ; and approaching, spoke to 

 him kindly, and asked him if he was not go- 

 ing to work this bright summer morning. 



''Why, Mr. Eoot," siad he, "there isn't any 

 use ; I get hardly enough wages to pay my 

 board, and I do not seem to be handy at any 

 thing." 



" Why, X., you would like to get more pay, 

 would youV" 



" Why, yes," said he ; " to be sure, I should 

 like to get more. There are little boys in the 

 saw-room who get more pay than I do." 



" Now, X., I am going to talk plainly, and 

 I may hurt your feelings ; but 1 surely do it 

 for your best good. Have you not observed 

 that those little boys get around and accom- 

 plish a great deal more work than you do?" 



He looked down, but did not reply. 



"Have you not noticed what I say, friend 

 X.V" 



" Yes, I have noticed it," said he, finally. 

 He had admitted that he knew he was not 



doing as well as others, or as well as he 

 might do, probably; and such an admission, 

 dear friends, seems next thing to real re- 

 pentance. When one can be made to admit 

 that he is not doing his duty as he ought to 

 do, and if he has any desire to improve, he 

 has already taken the most important step 

 in improvement. It was an easy matter for 

 me, while he was in this attitude, to have a 

 good friendly talk with him, and a talk, too, 

 that would strike home and be really helpful, 

 although it might give him pain, and hurt 

 severely. 



Instead of going home, as he intended to, 

 he went back to his work. I could see by 

 his look that he had formed a purpose and a 

 determination, and I was not very much sur- 

 prised when the foreman of the room re- 

 marked that something had come over X. 

 Pretty soon others spoke of it ; and ere long 

 I was rejoiced to see him slowly but surely 

 becoming master of his business, and taking 

 pleasure in giving free swing to his muscle, 

 while Ilis brightened demeanor indicated 

 that his mind was working healthfully at 

 the same time he was developing his muscle. 



After a few short months his wages was 

 nearly doubled ; and when he left to go to 

 school during the winter, it was with the 

 understanding he was to have a man's pay 

 when school was out in spring. Now for 

 the application. 



It is not by any means always a bad sign 

 to see a person looking sad and sorrowful. 

 Many times we need to look sad and sorrow- 

 ful; for, you know, "man's extremity is 

 sometimes God's opportunity." The most 

 hopeless class of people in this world are 

 those who are satisfied and unconcerned — 

 those Miio have no wants, as it were, and 

 those who never feel troubled or downcast 

 or discouraged. How much prayer would 

 there be, it' ihere were no trials for us? and 

 how could (xod answer prayer, or bless us, 

 or lift us up, as he often does, were we not 

 driven to him? And unless our hearts are 

 in an attitude, and we are ready to listen 

 and ready to reach out longingly for help, 

 how can "help come tons? Is it not a fact, 

 then, that the great reason why we stumble 

 along through life helplessly, and without 

 progress, mentally, morally, or spiritually, is 

 because our hearts are not in an attitude 

 where blessing or help can come? Should 1 

 go to one of my hands and tell him of his 

 faults uninvited, it might have the effect of 

 making him settle down into a bitter atti- 

 tude, and do no good at all, because he 

 would not listen, 01 would not care. You 

 know how often the Bible enjoins a meek 

 and humble and teachable spirit. You 

 know how lovingly God strove with the 

 children of Israel through the Old Testa- 

 ment, to get them turned to wisdom's way, 

 and to turn and give up their sins. lie said 

 in substance, — 



"Oh turn yc! oh turn vc! 

 For why will ye dic'r" 



And yet they would neither turn nor listen, 

 nor be taught nor guided. Now, is it not 

 true, dear friends, that we are right there 

 stilly Has humanity changed so very much 

 in the few thousand years that are past? la 

 it not true, that the greatest obstacle in the 



