Crayon and Character: Truth Made Clear Through Eye and Ear Part 15

Dr. Hillis, of New York, has woven his life into a most beautiful story, 'The Quest of John Chapman,' and others have sung his praises in verse and narrative. Let us learn from him the lesson of devoting one's life to making other people happy. I will add a few lines to indicate all that John Chapman tried to do. [Add apples in red, converting the map into a branch bearing apples, Fig. 75.] But he did vastly more than this. He brought brightness into many a heart during his long years of usefulness, and while he helped to make the Middle West a fruit-growing country, the real fruit of his work was that of helpfulness, sympathy and brightness through Christ, who guided him in his strange work.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 75]

"'A sower went forth to sow.' If the kind of ground in which he sowed did not bring forth fruit, it was not the fault of the tireless sower."

PUBLIC SENTIMENT --Home Department Day --Unity

It is a Powerful Element--An Ill.u.s.tration for Home Department Day.

THE LESSON--That the earnest prayers and work of the stay-at-home members are a great inspiration to the active workers in the school.

Home Department Day in the Sunday School may be made a most helpful event in the life of the school and in the lives of those who do not enjoy the privilege of attending the services regularly. Many who are usually employed on Sunday, in hotels, boarding houses, railroad positions, and the like, can ofttimes arrange to attend this session prepared especially for them. It is a.s.sumed that you have been supplying the members of the Home Department with lesson helps, and that you have kept in touch with them. Souvenirs may be sent to invalids and aged people as well as to other members who cannot be present. The colors are purple and white; the flower, the violet.

~~The Talk.~~

"I am going to draw for you today the portrait of one who exerts the most powerful influence in this community. [Draw the outline of the head, omitting the facial lines. Fig. 76.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 76]

"But before I finish the portrait I want you to know that if it were not for this one we would never have had our beautiful parks or our magnificent court house. It was he who attended to the paving of our streets. We would have had no public library but for him. There would have been no public schools here, and no church spires would be pointing heavenward, if he had not sanctioned them. We would never have had our water works system, our sewerage system or our electric lights. In short, we never would have had any of the great public benefactions but for him. And I am sorry to add, too, that we would never have had any saloons but for him.[Footnote: Subst.i.tute words describing local conditions.] [Draw the letters composing the words, "Public Sentiment," completing Fig. 77.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 77]

"Yes, this is Public Sentiment. And what is public sentiment? I think it may be described best as the expression of the will of the greatest number of people in a community. It is the voice of the majority. It is only when people want things that they get them. As the years go by, the people themselves are becoming more and more mighty in directing the work of those whom they have chosen to represent them.

"A contractor is not the builder of a public library or a public school. These are built by the people who are united in sentiment for a library or a school; the contractor is only the hired man who does the bidding of the people. The residents of a city themselves bring into existence beautiful streets, magnificent public buildings and ideal health conditions; or else they bring to themselves the saloon and other degrading inst.i.tutions, all depending upon public sentiment.

"And so it is with the church and the Sunday School. The human factor which keeps this school prosperous comes not from the superintendent or the officers or the teachers alone. Its success is due largely to the public sentiment outside of the school. It is the sentiment of the fathers and mothers of these boys and girls, many of whom, while their hearts are with us, cannot attend the sessions regularly. It is the sentiment of you who are so loyal to us and whose prayers for the school have been so effective. It is the sentiment of you members of the Home Department who have shown in every way the appreciation of this school. The knowledge that you are with us is a powerful help.

"During the dark days of the civil war there were two armies fighting the battles of the North and of the South--the army that was in the field and the army that stayed at home, the great silent partners in the awful conflict. The latter was composed largely of the n.o.ble mothers and sisters, whose daily prayers ascended to heaven while their sad hearts and nimble fingers provided the comforts for the brave boys at the front.

"So, with the members of the Home Department, we have come to think of you as 'silent partners' in the work of our school. And as occasion develops, we want you to feel that here is your place of activity--your school.

"But we shall remember the words of Paul, 'We have many members in one body, and all the members have not the same office,' and we shall not forget the important places in our school of those who are enrolled in our Home Department."

THE BROOK --Gossip --Our Words

The Life Which is Tainted by the Habit of Speaking Unkind Words Falls Short of Its Highest Mission.

THE LESSON--That the subtle practice of speaking carelessly concerning other people poisons many an otherwise worthy life.

The teacher who leads the child to cultivate the strictest care in his thoughts and in his words, as they relate especially to those about him, has helped to lay the foundation of a life of true worth to his fellows. The tendency is toward a habit of fault-finding criticism which not only harms the object of the disparaging words, but which injures and undermines the usefulness of the life of the habitually unfair critic.

~~The Talk.~~

"Marion Lawrance, whose influence permeates much of the work for the advancement of the Sunday School of today, uses a most striking ill.u.s.tration to show the baneful result of the use of words which harm those about whom they are spoken. Standing before his audience, he displays a rose in full bloom. Mr. Lawrance then deliberately destroys the beautiful flower by removing one daintily tinted leaf after another until only the bare stem remains and the delicate petals litter the floor and the speaker's table. During the process, the speaker explains that none but G.o.d could have made such a rose; it speaks of His love and His power, of His tenderness and of His care for His children. But any human hand can destroy it. So it is with that treasure which we call our good name--our reputation among men. Through the grace of G.o.d we may live so true that we deserve the respect and honor of our fellowmen; and yet, that good name, that reputation, may suffer irreparable injury at the hands of one who, through deliberate design or careless habit, speaks words concerning us which cause us to be misjudged or misunderstood. Says Samuel Butler:

"'The feeblest vermin can destroy As sure as stoutest beasts of prey; And only with their eyes and breath, Infect and poison men to death.'

"Let us ill.u.s.trate the point by placing on the paper a little landscape. [Draw Fig. 78 complete leaving the right half of the paper blank.] We have before us a great, wide river, a stream which forms an important channel of commerce. Each year, traffic is carried over its waters which amount to many hundreds of thousands of dollars. Cities have grown up along its banks; in many ways it has been a wonderful blessing. Its silent waters flow on and on through the years, blessing generation after generation of men.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 78]

"But, as we turn from the big silent stream and wander through the woods our ears catch the sound of falling waters, and then we come suddenly upon a scene like this. [Draw the second landscape, completing Fig. 79.] It is a pretty little brook, you say. Yes, it is, but we smile as we compare the noisy little stream with the mighty silent river, and our minds dwell upon the fact that they are but reflections of life itself. Just as the little brook makes more noise than the big river, so do many people with small minds cause more agitation and trouble in a community than people whose lives are governed by the principles of charity, kindness and common sense.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 79]

"Let us watch, therefore, to see that our thoughts as well as our words are such as to add to the happiness of those about us. Calmness and carefulness will accomplish this. Let us guard well against the ill-spoken word, however harmless it may seem.

"Said one girl to another, 'Don't you think Julia is a splendid girl?'

"Oh, yes,' responded the other, 'but I have sometimes wondered whether or not she is always sincere in what she says.'

"How easy it is to attach a sting to an innocent remark! Our lightly-spoken words may blight the life of an innocent one, for words repeated are like the rolling s...o...b..ll which grows larger as it is pushed over the fallen snow. As one dog, howling in the night, causes all the other dogs in town to howl, so we may start a needless alarm by a single unfair word.

"Let us praise the good, always, for none--not even ourselves--is perfect."

THE DECEITFULNESS OF SIN --Sin --Allurement

The Modern Artificial Fis.h.i.+ng Bait As an Ill.u.s.tration of Seductiveness.

THE LESSON--That sin gains its victims through the most alluring deception.

This ill.u.s.tration should prove valuable in presenting to the minds of boys of all ages the truth of the seductiveness of sin, as the treatment of the subject brings in a discussion of a sport with which all are more or less familiar.

~~The Talk.~~

"At the beginning of our talk today, I am going to place on the drawing paper the picture of a fish. [Draw Fig. 80, complete.] It looks like a very large fish, but, as a matter of fact, it is a very greatly enlarged picture of a very little fish. In reality, it is a minnow only about three inches long, the kind which the bigger fish like for dessert, and which, therefore, are usually pretty careful where they go.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 80]

"Now, I want to see, by having you hold up your hands, just how many of you boys like to go fis.h.i.+ng? One, two, three--why, nearly all of you. Some, I suppose are fond of still-fis.h.i.+ng--that is to fish from the bank or from an anch.o.r.ed boat, and not move around very much. And some like to troll, I suppose--that is to use an artificial bait and let the line drag in the water quite a distance back of the row boat as you propel it through the water. And others, perhaps, like to cast--that is, to throw the bait away out into the water and then bring it in again by winding up the line on the reel. And some, I suppose, like to use other methods of catching fish. But I am going to speak only of the artificial bait which is used by those who troll and cast.

"Nearly always, the fisherman buys his artificial bait from a store which sells all sorts of artificial minnows and other false bait which have been made by experts. And who are these experts? They are men who have spent years trying to find out the best way to fool the fish into believing they see their prospective dinner, when in reality they are going to their death. One kind of bait is the artificial minnow. The manufacturer makes a wooden minnow, shaped like the real minnow, whose picture I have drawn; then he paints it in the colors of the live minnow, and sometimes he puts on some bright metal which whirls in the water and attracts the attention of the fish. If the deception were to stop there, very little harm would be done, but to all this the manufacturer adds a lot of ugly hooks, sometimes as many as fifteen. [It is well to draw the lines suggested as the talk proceeds, and finish by drawing the hooks at this point, completing Fig. 81.]

When this attractive artificial minnow is made to glide through the water, the fish, seeing nothing of the hooks or else knowing nothing of their harmfulness, opens his mouth wide and tries to swallow the bait. Immediately, the ugly hooks catch him, and unless he can tear loose he is doomed. He is deceived. He finds out his mistake when it is too late.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 81]

"Sometimes, the fisherman uses a spoon hook or other bait in which the hooks are hidden beneath some bright-colored feathers or other material which looks tempting to the fish. The intended victim dashes after the alluring bait, seeing nothing but the glitter of the bright metal or the brilliancy of the colors. He loses his life as a result.