"Thus was coal discovered.

"Ever since then, we have been digging from the depths of the earth the coal which was deposited there in those ages of the past. And it is blessing the world everywhere. [With the broad side of your black crayon, quickly cover the vegetation of Fig. 72. Then, with broad strokes of the orange chalk, or with a combination of the yellow and the red, draw the flames, completely covering the sun, and finishing Fig. 73.] Coal is now the chief of the elements which bring warmth to our homes, our places of business and everywhere that we are spending our time indoors; it is the great factor in our great manufacturing and transportation enterprises. God laid it all up for us millions of years ago!



"Thus do we find a splendid example of what real service is. Jesus came to the earth to be of service to the world. When he departed, He left behind Him the command that the gospel should be preached to every creature—that the light and warmth from His life should not remain buried in us but that we should take that warmth to every portion of the earth, that it might, like the hidden sunshine in the coal, bring life to those in the cold and darkness of heathenism.

"Not many of us are able to carry this word to foreign lands or to the distant parts of our own land; but we have an important part in it in contributing our money, our encouragement and our prayers.

"And not only may we do this but we may begin right here in our midst to make our school and church a missionary blessing to those nearby ones who need its warmth. Remember that 'we are ambassadors, therefore, on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us.'"



"JOHNNIE APPLESEED" —Boys' Day —Devotion

Story of the Man Who Braved the Dangers of the Wilderness to Bless the Early Settlers.

THE LESSON—That the influence of a well-spent life is its best and most enduring monument. It always adds fame to a good name.

The story of "Johnnie Appleseed" is dear to the hearts of thousands of boys and girls throughout America. The writer has listened interestedly to narratives of the late George W. Brackenridge, of Fort Wayne, Ind., who remembered clearly the visits of "Johnnie" to his early home. The story is abundant in good lessons, and ought to be of special interest on Boys' Day.

~~The Talk.~~

"I am going to talk to you today about a man who paddled his canoe along the rivers in the middle west and roamed the wild forests when there were very few settlers in that country and while the hostile Indians brought terror to the hearts of many who had braved the dangers of the frontier. This sounds like a dime novel tale, doesn't it? Yes, but it is a true story. It is the story of 'Johnnie Appleseed.' How many of you ever heard of him? [Govern yourself in the following remarks, by the acquaintance of your audience with the subject.]

"It was in the year 1801, that John Chapman then a young man of twenty-six years, aroused some interest by appearing with several sacks of appleseeds which he had procured from the cider mills in western Pennsylvania. The first orchard he planted was on the farm of Isaac Stadden in Licking county, Ohio, and, from this beginning, his enthusiasm developed until he decided to go all through the wilderness as far as he could reach and plant apple orchards wherever they could be made to grow.

"One day a lone settler near Marietta, Ohio, saw a strange craft floating down the Ohio river. The boatman was John Chapman, but from that time forward he was known as 'Johnnie Appleseed' by the settlers between the Ohio river and the Great Lakes and as far west as the territory which is now the State of Indiana. I will draw a map to show you where he was and where he went.

[In the drawing of the "map," which is, in reality, at the last, the branch of an apple tree, use brown crayon for the "rivers" and green for the "orchards," carrying the drawings forward as the various points are mentioned. Strict accuracy has not been observed in the map drawing.]



"Here is the Ohio river, where he first appeared. [Draw the Ohio river. Do not label the rivers. The names are given for your guidance only.] He had two canoes tied side by side, and they were filled with apple seeds. He paddled against the stream as he turned his canoe into the Muskingum river, and then up into the Walhonding river, and then into the Mohican and finally into the creek called the Black Pork. It took a long time to go this short distance, for he stopped off every little while to find suitable places in the wilderness to plant apple seeds. And these, of course, grew up, in later years, to fruitful orchards. [Draw the orchards in green. Your drawing will now resemble Fig. 74.] This was but the beginning. From that time until 'Johnnie Appleseed' was 72 years of age he devoted his life to converting the waste wild land into orchards. During the war of 1812 he warned settlers against the Indians and helped to save many lives. He dressed in skins and was respected by the Indians, who considered him a very wise medicine man. Many trips he made back to Pennsylvania, whenever his seed supply was exhausted. In every rude cabin home which he visited, 'Johnnie Appleseed' read the Scriptures, and hundreds were helped to better lives through his teachings. He was noted for his gentleness and kindness. He died, in 1847, near Fort Wayne, Ind.

"Here was a man, boys, who devoted his life to helping others. 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.



"'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 Illustration 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 assumed 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.]



"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: Substitute words describing local conditions.] [Draw the letters composing the words, "Public Sentiment," completing 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 institutions, 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 noble 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 illustration 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 God 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 God 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 illustrate 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.



"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.



"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 snowball 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 Fishing Bait As an Illustration of Seductiveness.

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

This illustration 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.



"Now, I want to see, by having you hold up your hands, just how many of you boys like to go fishing? One, two, three—why, nearly all of you. Some, I suppose are fond of still-fishing—that is to fish from the bank or from an anchored 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.



"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.

"It seems strange—doesn't it—that fish can be fooled in this way? And yet, I am not sure but that people are just as foolish themselves, very often. Ask the drunkard how he happened to reach the low depths to which he has fallen, and he will tell you that when he, as a young man, took his first glass, it was in a brilliantly-lighted place where, it seemed, the air was filled with good fellowship, and he thought he was happy. At that very moment, he was pursuing the glittering, attractive bait which later proved to be his utter ruination. He had not seen the hidden hooks. Ask the thief, confined in his lonely cell, how he happened to become an outcast, and he may tell you that it started in school when he thought it a very happy thing to cheat in his examinations and thus acquire the habit of being dishonest. He did not see the hidden hooks which the evil one had placed there to deceive and catch him.

"Jesus wants all the boys and girls to be watchful of the snares of life and to live so truly that they will easily escape the temptations which abound everywhere. 'Take heed,' he said, 'Watch ye, therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things.'"



THE MASK —Sincerity —Truth

Let Us Ask Ourselves Earnestly if We Are Guilty of Wearing It.

THE LESSON—That the world honors and respects an honest man, one who does not fear the opinion of those about him.

We recall the words of Jesus, who, in His Sermon on the Mount, warned his hearers to "beware of false prophets which come to you in sheeps' clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves," and we reflect how applicable are the words in modern times. Everywhere, one must beware the snares and deceit of the servants of Satan, who, with pleasing outward appearance, entrap their victims. It is a delight and a satisfaction, then, to find real truth and sincerity in the earth, and it is to be found if we but look for it.

~~The Talk.~~

"It is said that when a thief wants to rob a house, he tries to find the home of an honest man. Why? Because he thinks that the honest man, who never takes advantage of his fellowmen, will be least apt to suspect that anyone will take advantage of him.

"But the same truth holds good when one honest man seeks to deal with another honest man. A true man, when he comes to us with any plan of work or investment may be relied upon to say just what he thinks and believes. He is dependable. It is a pleasure and a satisfaction, when we are listening to the words of another person, to know that that other person is speaking the truth. But not everyone is to be depended upon in this way. There is another kind of man who tells you something in apparent sincerity, but when he calls upon the next person he may tell the story in an entirely different way. Why? Because he believes that the second person will be better pleased with the revised version.



"How often do we find an attractive face which gains our entire confidence, a face, pleasant to see and agreeable in every way. [Draw face, completing Fig. 82.] And then, how often are we pained and shocked and disappointed when something happens which allows us to look into the real character of the person and we find that his real self is anything but agreeable and worthy of confidence. [Draw lines to complete Fig. 83.] Such a discovery, however, should not cause us to lose faith in our brothers. Truth, character, and a splendid degree of manhood abound everywhere.



"Boys and girls, begin now the formation of habits which will make you strong, honest, worthy men and women. Sometimes you see a man who is fiery, cross, ill-tempered and surly. Again you will find one who is fawning, over-polite, subservient and altogether wearisome because, in trying to make himself agreeable he becomes a bore and a nuisance. Both of these kinds of men have failed to reach the right goal of manhood. We must have backbone, firmness and stamina, but we must be willing to bend sometimes or we are apt to get some pretty hard bumps when we hold our heads too high. Remember that you can't please everybody. Sometimes it is best to say 'Yes' when people ask you to do certain things, and sometimes a flat-footed 'No' is the thing. Remember that if you agree with everybody who expresses an opinion, you have the respect of nobody. Think for yourself, but think carefully. If you choose to grovel at the feet of those about you, you must expect to get stepped on and run over. Above all, cultivate a habit of being so straightforward and above-board that no one will ever doubt your sincerity. Don't wear a mask of sincerity when the real character is less honorable. To do this is to cheat yourself more than anyone else, for the deception is ofttimes but thinly veiled.

"In his early life, in the year 1844, Lord Beaconsfield, said, in an address before the Literary and Scientific Institution of London: 'A man can be what he pleases. Every one of you can be what he desires to be. I have resolved to hold a certain position, and if I live I will.' It is not known to what position Benjamin Disraeli referred, but he attained to the highest position possible to any man in England, notwithstanding that his status as a Jew was a strong barrier against his progress. On his deathbed he said, 'Nothing can resist a will which will stake even existence for its fulfillment.'

"That is determination. Such determination will make any man what he wants to be. It will enable every one of us to reach his highest ideal. And may that ideal be to shun the dishonest and seek the honest life in its every element."



WASHINGTON'S STRENGTH —Washington's Birthday —Trust

Through His Great Trials He Remained Steadfast in His Hold on God.

THE LESSON—That trouble either adds to our spiritual strength or else casts us down, depending on the stability of our character and our hold on God.

This illustration, especially useful on the occasion of the birthday of George Washington, on the 22d of February, is adaptable to the needs of the younger boys and girls, but its significance may give hope and strength to the older ones as well.

~~The Talk.~~

"Boys, how many of you ever flew a kite? Well, that's fine! You will be able, then, to answer the question I am going to ask you. Now, listen. If the wind is blowing from the west, which way do you run to make the kite go up? Yes, you run toward the west, right against the wind. If you run with the wind, the kite won't go up at all, will it? [Draw the kite as in Fig. 84; black outline, red tail.]



"One might think that when a strong wind blew against the kite, it would be blown away like a piece of loose newspaper; but that isn't so. And when a gentle breeze increases to a strong, steady wind, the kite goes higher and higher, PROVIDED it is made of good material, and PROVIDED, also, that someone holds tightly to the other end of the string. But if the string breaks, down comes the kite! Why? Because the very thing which holds it down is the same thing which holds it up!

"You may never have thought of it, but each of us boys and girls and each one of us men and women is a good deal like a kite. When the winds of trouble and worry blow against us they may cause us to rise higher or they may blow us down. Today, I want to tell you how George Washington acted when troubles came to him, and if any man in the world's history was loaded down with soul-trying troubles it was 'the Father of His Country.' Listen while I read for you a few sentences from private letters which he wrote during the Revolutionary war. [It will be well to have these and other extracts written so you may read them verbatim.] 'I am wearied almost to death with the retrograde motion of things, and I solemnly protest that a pecuniary reward of twenty thousand pounds a year would not induce me to undergo what I do, and, after all, perhaps, lose my character.' Again: 'Our affairs are in a more distressed, ruinous, and deplorable condition than they have been since the commencement of the war,' and he adds that unless congress comes valiantly to his assistance at once the country will sink into irretrievable ruin. Again he writes: 'Every idea you can form of our distresses will fall short of the reality. I have almost ceased to hope.' These were dark days, and the winds of adversity were beating mercilessly against the man into whose hands had been placed the cares of the great struggle for national existence. He was like the kite bravely battling against the wind. But he was made of good stuff, and there was a strong hand holding the string, for we read again from his letters:

"'How it will all end, God in his great goodness, will direct. I am thankful for His protection to this time. I have a consolation within that no earthly effort can deprive me of, and that is that neither ambitions nor interested motives have influenced my conduct. The arrows of malevolence, therefore, however barbed and well pointed, can never reach the most vulnerable part of me; though, while I am set up as a mark they will be continually aimed.'

"His trust was in God, and so shocked was he when he learned that the habit of swearing was growing in the army that he issued a general order calling upon officers to set the men a good example, and added, 'The practice is foolish and wicked—a vice so mean and low, without temptation, that every man of sense and character detests and despises it. We can have little hope of the blessing of heaven on our arms if we insult it by our folly and our impiety.'

"No, George Washington was not the man to give way under severe trials. He was not like the kite whose framework breaks or whose paper covering is torn by the force of the wind. Under these conditions a kite must dash to the earth. [Draw the rent in the kite with black. Remove the drawing from the board, invert it, and then re-attach it to the board, Fig. 85.] But when the trials came to Washington he arose in his might to meet them, knowing that God would be with him.



"Let us ever remember that God is our strength, just as he was the strength of George Washington."



"A MERRY HEART" —Cheerfulness —Smiles

To Cultivate the Spirit of Cheerfulness is to Bless and Brighten Other Lives.

THE LESSON—That in no way can we serve those about us better than by the kind of service which reveals the true gladness of the Christian life.

The Christian religion is based upon principles which lift us from sin and its attendant evils of discouragement, unrest, despondency and suffering, to the higher plane of confidence, hope, praise and love. It is a religion of good cheer, which God's children must reflect to a darkened world if they are to fulfill their earthly mission.

~~The Talk.~~

"I wonder how many of us are getting too busy or too lazy to smile. I see some, who were looking pretty solemn before I made the remark whose faces look a little brighter now—and some have already broken into a most gladsome smile. I'm glad of it. Smiles, they say are the least expensive things we can give to other people, and sometimes they value them more than silver or gold. But how can we smile unless we feel like it? That's the question. Well, we will feel like it if we think right things and do right things, living close to the Master, even if things do go very, very much awry sometimes. The Bible has a good many things to say about smiles, and it isn't at all guarded in declaring that smiles are worth a good deal more than words, unless those words are very carefully spoken. Here is what we find in the book of Proverbs: 'A merry heart maketh a cheery countenance.' So, we find, it is necessary to feel happy within before we can show it on the outside. And then it says: 'He that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast,' which shows that if we are truly happy, everything about us will appear brighter and more delightful. Again, it says: 'A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.' How true this is; you never saw a sour, gloomy pessimistic person who was in real good health, while the one who shows the most gladsome face is either in splendid physical condition or else has risen above his pains and distress in his appreciation of God's blessings. They are always believing that 'it might be worse."

"But is this cheerfulness for the sole benefit of the one who smiles? Not a bit of it. We cannot do evil without harming someone; neither can we cultivate cheerfulness without proving a blessing to others. Here, I want to draw for you the picture of a boy who doesn't seem to have this happy disposition of which we have been speaking. [Draw the lines to complete Fig. 86.] Perhaps he looks this way most of the time—it is a bad beginning. We see him here, coming down the street; perhaps he will meet one of the other boys. Ah, yes, here comes another boy; and this boy has a merry heart, if we are to judge from his facial expression. [Draw the second boy.]



"We have no way of knowing what this second boy said to the first boy, but we can tell from his face that he has a merry heart. And what about the first boy? Ah, he, too, has caught it, for his face reflects the smile of the second boy. [Add line to change the facial expression of the first boy, completing Fig. 87.]



"We refer again to the book of Proverbs, and there we find that 'a word spoken in due season, how good it is!' It must have been such a word that the first boy spoke to the second. 'A word fitly spoken,' we read again, 'is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.' But we must choose the right words to go along with the smile, and the greatest danger seems to be that we will say too much, for the same book of Proverbs says that 'he that hath knowledge spareth his words.' He knows how to choose and when to stop. Let us remember that the smile counts for more than mere words. The smile is a universal language understood everywhere on earth. It is the badge of friendship, and that is the thing which the world craves.

"A friend of Haydn, the great composer, once asked him how it happened that his church music was so full of gladness, and Haydn replied, 'I cannot make it otherwise. I write according to the thoughts I feel; when I think upon my God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance from my pen.'

"To the one who needs your smile there is nothing else in all the world, perhaps, that will prove so life-giving. Many a despondent one has been thrilled with vital power, lifted, and ennobled by the knowledge that another heart beats with it in tenderness and sympathy."



WHAT IS BEST? —Success —Work

Success Means the Constant Employment of Our Best Faculties in the Noblest of Service.

THE LESSON—That true success does not depend so much upon what you get out of this world, as upon what you accomplish for others.

The magic word, "Success," is before each one of us to inspire us to larger deeds; but let us not forget that many a rich man has made a great failure of life, while many a poor man has made a great success of it. The talk deals with the subject in a commercial way, as an illustration of success in the truest sense.

~~The Talk.~~

"Every one of us desires to be successful. But some of us have one definition of success while others have an entirely different view. Many are sure that the attainment of wealth is the measure of success; some are equally sure that the achievement of political or social honors marks the arrival at the goal of success; and so on. But, no matter how we may have defined success, many of us who have fallen short of our ideals declare in the bitterness of disappointment that we could have reached the top if we had only had the advantages that others enjoyed; if we had been helped at the proper time, or if we could have had enough money or strength.

"Let us take the example of the young man who occupies a high position in the commercial world. We will draw a picture of him seated at his desk. [Draw Fig. 88, complete.] This young man is at the head of an important department of a great manufacturing concern, and there are rumors that he is about to be advanced to a place of greater responsibility. He receives a large salary. It is a part of his duties to direct the work of many men in his department. These men come to him for instructions. We will draw one of these men. [Draw man to complete Fig. 89.] What is passing in the mind of the man who stands here receiving his instructions? This is what he is saying to himself: 'I cannot understand why this other man, who is no older than I am, should have such a good position, while I must stay in a place of less importance. He must have a pull.' And he goes away with bitterness in his heart.



"The fact is that the man with the lesser position spends his time, his energy and his talent in pursuing the trivial, temporary things, the so-called pleasures of life. He is a time-waster. The successful one has won his way by concentrating his efforts on learning how best to do his work.

"Do you ever harbor such thoughts about people who have made good in the commercial life? Have you ever, for example, thought that the high place in the world of commerce held by Andrew Carnegie was attained through some strange chance or luck? If you have, perhaps it might be well to take a glance at the main points of his early life. In Scotland, his father was a weaver, whose business was destroyed by the introduction of power looms. One day, when the father came home, he said to his boy, 'Andy, I have no more work!' The lad knew what it meant, and immediately he decided to meet his father's problem to keep the wolf of hunger from the door. He was then but ten years old. It was decided to come to America, and here Andrew Carnegie, at the age of eleven, obtained a place in a mill as a bobbin boy, at $1.20 a week. He writes as follows concerning the great lesson he learned at that time: 'I was no longer dependent upon my parents but at last was admitted to the family partnership as a contributing member and able to help them. I think that makes a man out of a boy sooner than anything else.' At the age of fourteen, he was a stoker in the boiler room of a small factory, and then took employment as a telegraph boy at $300 a year. When he advanced to a place of greater responsibility as a telegrapher, he made his first investment in the purchase of an interest in an express company. While still engaged in this capacity he met Woodruff, the inventor of the sleeping car, and seeing the value of the invention he later engaged in its manufacture. From then forward, as superintendent of the Pittsburgh division of the Pennsylvania railroad, in the oil fields and in the steel industry of which he has long been regarded as the king, his rise has been the result, not of good fortune, but of hard work looking toward a desired object.

"The story of the success of the lives of Lincoln, of Moody, of Mozart, of thousands of the world's great men is the story of work and hope, of poverty and inspiration.

"So, in the Christian life, Jesus asks us to cast out of our lives the pursuit of the vain, transient things and to center our minds and hearts upon the truest, the loftiest and the best. Success may mean a most humble place in the world. But the 'pearl of great price' is the blessing of peace, of faith, of hope and of love which come to him to whom the Master says, 'Well done.'"



MESSAGES to the CHILDREN —Cradle Roll Day —Children

The Scriptures Are Full of Beautiful Thoughts for Cradle Roll Day.

THE LESSON—That God loves a baby; that both the Father and the Son, through their recorded words, constantly express their love of the little ones.

This somewhat "unusual" chalk talk will not fail to accomplish its object in getting the attention of the children and causing them to consider some of the especially beautiful thoughts appropriate to Cradle Roll Day.

~~The Talk.~~

"I want to see the hand of every boy or girl who likes to get a letter. Yes, and you like to get pretty post cards, too; don't you? And the reason you like to get them is that you know, then, that someone thinks of you and cares for you.

"Well, then, on this Cradle Roll day, I am sure we would all like to get a letter from someone who cares for us, and so, I will first draw the envelope and then see if there is a message in it for us. [Draw the envelope on the paper in black outline and then, with the broad side of your crayon give it an even tinting of pink, light blue or other dainty color. Then, with your black crayon, address the envelope to your own school, by revising the wording as here shown. Add the stamp in brown, and the postmark in black, completing Fig. 90.]



"Well, here is the envelope. Now, I wonder if there is anything in it for us.

[With a sharp pen knife or scissors cut a slit in the paper at the end of the envelope as if you were opening it. Thrust in your hand and bring forth a sheet of paper like a letter only much larger—folded to fit the envelope (Fig. 91). This, of course, is placed there in advance, beneath the outer sheet, attached with thumb tacks so it will tear loose readily. The action will arouse much interest.]



"Well, surely we have something here that looks like a letter or a message. Ah, yes, it is a message of love to the little ones from the Savior Himself, for it was Jesus who spoke these beautiful words:

"'Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven."

"And let us see if there is a message for the little boys and girls of the Sunshine and the primary classes. Ah, yes, here it is; and it is from the Bible, too (Eccl. 12: 1), and this is what it says:

"'Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, when, the evil days come not nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.' And this means that if you are faithful to your Sunday school and will remember the beautiful things you learn here and carry them through life with you, you will be more than grateful in the years that are to come.

"I wonder if there is anything here to let these boys and girls know whether God thinks they are worth anything or not. Yes, here is a message from the Psalms which says: 'Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth. Happy is he whose quiver is full of them!' And so a man is rich if he has those about him who call him father, and a mother is blessed in the love of her children.

"Does the message say anything about how the boys and girls should treat their fathers and their mothers? Let us see. Yes, it says: 'Honor thy father and mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.' And again it says: 'My son, heed the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.' And then, too, it adds this word: 'Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.'

"And is there a message for us older ones on this Cradle Roll Day? I believe there is, for I find here this message: 'Except ye become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven.'

"And is there a message to the parent which sheds any light on the way they should treat their children? Yes, here it is: 'The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.' When we are boys and girls we must obey father and mother or suffer punishment to keep us in the right pathway.

"And is there a message to the grandfathers and grandmothers on this glad day? I think so, for I find here this message, 'Children's children are the crown of old men.'

"Let us remember all of these messages which have come again to us on this glad Cradle Roll Day."



THE PERFECT LIFE —Thanksgiving Day —Perfection

The Love of God in Our Hearts May Be Perfect, Even Though Our Lives Fall Short of Perfection.

THE LESSON—That if we "hunger and thirst after righteousness," as did the Pilgrim Fathers, our lives, though imperfect, will be well pleasing to the Father.

Many of us are discouraged because we cannot, or do not, attain to the high ideal of life which we find before us. God's Word seems to bring comfort to the disappointed one by showing him that if he earnestly desires to attain to the highest ideal, his acts are well pleasing to God, even though he falls short of his hopes. In using the Pilgrim Fathers as an illustration, the talk is well fitted to the observance of Thanksgiving Day, but it is also appropriate for many other occasions.

~~The Talk.~~

"Any one of us who wants to find something beautiful about us, needs only to take a good look. Here, for instance, we may see a tall, straight tree. [Draw the tree, of Fig. 92.] And over here, nearer by, we may find a rosebush in bloom. [Draw the bush and rose.] And here is the sun shining in all its glory. [Draw the sun, using orange. Any suitable color may be used for the rose. The trunk of the tree should be in brown and the foliage in green. Draw the distant foliage, completing Fig. 92.] And as we look upon these things we may think of them as perfect in every way, because they are all God's handiwork.



"And yet—

"Let us take a closer look. We find that when the tree is cut down for lumber it is marred by many imperfections, and that a great deal of it has to be thrown away as useless. Somehow, we are a little bit disappointed in the tree, for we thought it was perfect. As we turn to the rose, we are reminded by a sharp pain in our fingers as we examine it, that the stems are covered with ugly thorns. [Add the thorns.] And then we notice, too, that many of the leaves on the bush are deformed and unshapely. As we turn to look upon the sun, we are dazzled by its brilliance, at first, and then we discover that even this brightness is clouded by spots which seem to make it imperfect. Then too, as we look away from it, we find that the sun, in its passage through the sky not only brightens many a dark corner, but it casts many a deep, gloomy shadow as well. [Draw the shadow of the tree, completing Fig. 93.]



"Well, now, wouldn't it be foolish for us to go about finding flaws in God's creatures, like this? Ah, yes. But it is just this way that some of us study our own lives. Just because we don't find perfection there, we are disheartened and discouraged, forgetting that God's Word is the authority for the assertion, that 'there is not a righteous man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.' But we must not forget that other assertion which is equally true, namely, that they are blessed 'who hunger and thirst after righteousness,' and nothing short of this desire for godliness is pleasing to the Father.

"We have before us the inspiring, the ennobling example of the Pilgrim Fathers, who, denied the right to worship God after their own manner in their home across the seas, made the perilous journey to the new world to establish here the beginning of a mighty church and a mighty pattern for all who were to come after them. They were men and women who hungered and thirsted after righteousness. But were they perfect? No. It would be impossible to find, in the world's history a life in which some imperfection did not lurk? Should the discovery of faults and imperfections in ourselves or in others discourage us from trying to follow in the footsteps of the Perfect One? Surely not. We should see in the shortcomings of others an inspiration to live our own lives more closely to the measure which we know to be right and true. The knowledge of our own faults and imperfections should make us more sympathetic, more helpful to others and induce a spirit of comradeship with those who need a strengthening band on the pathway of life.

"We know, too, where to take these faults and imperfections of ours. How often has He answered the prayer, 'Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.' To become wearied, to lie idle and despair because we have not attained to the ideal is to commit a grievous error. Get busy! In true work for Him is the surest cure for the trouble. Faulty? Yes. But let us not forget the truth in Dr. Van Dyke's words, 'the best rosebush, after all, is not that which has the fewest thorns but that which has the finest roses."

"Let us not lose heart because of our shortcomings, but give thanks that we may attain to the highest if we but do His will."



BRING FORTH FRUIT —Children's Day —Fruitfulness

A Children's Day Thought for the Entire School—The Live Branch.

THE LESSON—That as the fruit tree fulfills its mission only when surrounded by proper conditions, so, also, must the child be provided with the conditions which will help him to bring forth fruit in the Christian life.

The illustration here given possesses the unusual qualities of entertainment for the very littlest children of the school, of enlightment for the juniors and intermediates and of personal appeal to the seniors and adults—especially those visitors who may be attracted on the occasion of Children's Day. The use of the colored chalk makes the picture especially attractive.

~~The Talk.~~

[Before beginning the talk, draw the bare limb in brown.] "What is this? A dead branch, did you say? Perhaps. Perhaps not. We are supposed to be looking at it in the winter time, and, of course, it isn't real easy at first to tell whether it is dead or merely sleeping; but if we examine it closely we can tell, because the leaf-buds are formed in the autumn, and if the limb is alive we shall find the little leaf-buds there. [Examine the branch.] Yes, the branch is alive, for the little leaf-buds are clustered everywhere, waiting to burst forth into full-grown leaves. [As you speak, touch the limb here and there with green and then draw the clusters of full-grown leaves.] And here, too, I find some little pink buds, and a little later they open into pretty flowers, for this is the limb of an apple tree. [Add the flowers, completing Fig. 94.]



"And then, as time goes on, we witness another interesting change, because God intends that the tree shall do more than bear leaves and flowers. We find that the pretty pink flowers which have filled the air with their fragrance and gladdened our eyes with their beauty have gone away, and in their places have come little green apples. [With green chalk draw the green apples just large enough to cover the blossoms.] Green apples are good things—to leave alone, so we will not pick them. We will watch and see them change into something else. [With red chalk draw the large ripe apples, covering up the green surface. This completes Fig. 95. If the green doesn't disappear entirely, it doesn't matter. It is well, however, in drawing the green apples, to use as little of the color as possible.] And now we have the ripened fruit of the apple tree.



"This part of the story is for the little boys and girls. But we must say a word also to the boys and girls of the junior and intermediate classes. It is this: That the branch of the apple tree, in bringing forth in its time the leaf-buds, the leaves, the blossoms, the green apples and the ripened fruit, has done nothing excepting that which God planned that it should do. He asks of it no more and no less. That is its duty. The lesson for us is this: He expects us to do our full duty, just as the branch of the apple tree has done. He asks that we bring forth the fruits of service, of sacrifice, of cheerfulness, of kindness, of love and of humility. He has surrounded us with the things which make it easy to do this. Let us find out the best way for us to do it and enjoy real living as we bring forth fruit for Him.

"And I would also add a word to the seniors and the adults of our school, as well as to the visitors of the day. We all know that the branch cannot bring forth its fruit unless it be a part of the tree. Christ has said, 'I am the vine,' and unless we get the children, attached to this true vine, their lives cannot bear Christian fruit. He is our support and our life. Just as the branch must have the sunlight and the warmth for its development, so must each one of these children have His love and our love and our help to live Christian lives.

"It was the Master who said, 'Herein is my father glorified, that ye bring forth much fruit' In helping these little ones we are ourselves bringing forth fruit. I believe that in this service, side by side with these children in the Sunday school, we shall find our Christian experiences enlarged and blessed. Let us pray, then, that each of these precious lives may be 'like a tree planted by the streams of water, that bringeth forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf doth not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.'"



"YOUNG MEN, AHOY" —Temperance Day —Dissipation

John B. Gough's Thrilling Word Picture a Remarkable Temperance Lesson.

THE LESSON—That we dare not trifle with the devil's poison.

The world has known no greater foe to intemperance than John B. Gough. No words of this great leader have left a more lasting impression than those which he used in his striking picture of the young men drifting in a boat on the Niagara river. Happily, it adapts itself to the requirements of a chalk talk.

~~The Talk.~~

"The great temperance leader, John B. Gough, devoted the best years of his life to an earnest endeavor to save hoys from the evil of strong drink, of which he knew so much through long, bitter experience. Familiar to all of us, perhaps, is the thrilling word picture of the young men who launched their rowboat upon the quiet, smooth waters of the broad Niagara river a few miles above the mighty cataract. [Draw the boat and the young men, completing Fig. 96. It might be well to prepare this first scene in advance.]



"'Now,' says Mr. Gough, as he enters into the narrative, 'launch your bark upon the Niagara river. It is bright and smooth and still; there is a ripple at the bow; the silvery wake you leave behind you adds to your enjoyment. Down the stream you glide; you have your oars, and you think you are prepared for every emergency—and thus you go on your pleasure excursion, thinking naught of dangers ahead. Some one cries from the bank! Hark!

"'Young men, ahoy!'

"'What is it?' you ask.

"'The rapids are below you!'

"'Ha, ha! We have heard of the rapids below us,' you laugh, 'but we are not such fools as to get into them. When we find we are going too fast, we will pull for the shore.'

"'Young men, ahoy!'

"'What is it?

"'The rapids are below you!'

"'Ha, ha! We will laugh and quaff; all things delight us; what care we for the future? No man ever saw it. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." We will enjoy life while we may, and catch pleasure as it flies. This is the time for enjoyment. It is time enough to steer out of danger when we find we are going too swiftly with the stream.'

"'YOUNG MEN, AHOY!'

"'What is it?'

"'The rapids are below you! Now see the water foaming all around you! See how fast you go! Quick! QUICK! Pull for your very lives! Pull till the blood starts from your nostrils and the veins stand like whipcords on your brow!'

[At this point, quickly detach the drawing from the board, turn it one-fourth around and re-attach with thumb tacks; then, add the lines to complete Fig. 97.]



"'Ah, it is too late! Shrieking, cursing, blaspheming, over the falls you go!—and thousands thus go over every year by the power of evil habits, declaring, "When I find it is hurting me, I will quit." But these latter do not go by the water way, but by the whiskey way, which is a thousand times worse! No man today fills a drunkard's grave who did not once think he could quit—but he found, too late, that he couldn't.'

"'Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise,' says Solomon, and he might have made it ten times as strong and still kept within the truth. Everywhere, and at all times, when a young man starts to do evil, he hears plainly and clearly the cry, 'Young man, ahoy! The rapids are below you!' It is the voice of conscience, his true and faithful servant. But, unfortunately, as the voice is unheeded and bad habits grow stronger, conscience grows weaker, and, after a while, it cannot serve us at all, for Satan has taken possession of it. The evil one can do as much mischief with a man's conscience as he can with his heart. He can 'sear it with a hot iron.' (I Tim. 4: 2.) He can 'defile' it. (Titus 1: 15.) He can kill it. (Eph. 4: 17-19.) And how can a seared, defiled, dead conscience help him to shun temptation and sin? Many a man, honest in his dealings with those about him, is dishonest with himself when he begins to allow bad habits to rule his life and to allow Satan to defile and kill the conscience which has been provided to guide him in caring for his own body—the earthly temple given to him by God as the earthly abiding place of his immortal soul."



VALUELESS THINGS —Boys' Day —Ability

They May Not Remain So if We Give Them Proper Attention—A Thought for Boys' Day.

THE LESSON—That our seemingly useless, or even harmful, traits may prove to be our most valuable talents.

This little fragment of industrial history should impress a lesson upon all young people, though it is especially adapted to Boys' Day.

~~The Talk.~~

"During the period extending from the time that people first settled in America up to the time of the civil war those who chose to live in some portions of the area which are now the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia selected their land with great care. In some parts of the land they found a disagreeable kind of oil in the ground which oozed from the rocks below. When a man bought a piece of ground he was very careful to find out for sure that there was none of this oil about the place, and if he did find any of it, it is probable that he made this fact known: [Draw the signboard and the letters, Fig. 98, complete.] To him the ground was worthless.



"It may be that some of the people knew that this oil was the same kind that the ancient Jews used in the preparation of their cement for building purposes, and that it was the same that the more ancient Egyptians used in the preservation of the mummified bodies of their dead; but, as the Americans did not need oil for such purposes, they considered the oil a nuisance. At one time, while a man was drilling for water, he struck such a strong artesian well of oil that it gushed out all over the ground; then it ran down to a river and caught fire as it spread out over the swiftly flowing water. The flames spread down the river and it looked for all the world as if the river was burning up!

"They called this oil petroleum—rock-oil.

"One day, in 1859, after there had been a good deal of talk as to whether or not this oil was good for anything, Col. E.L. Drake hired some men to drill a well at Titusville, Pennsylvania. The drillers at first refused to work for a man who was so foolish as to spend his money in this way, but, finally, they set at work on the job under the belief that they were really drilling for salt! But the oil began to flow, and some men soon learned how to make kerosene out of it. This took the place of tallow candles, and from that moment the world has been much brighter. The men kept right on with their experiments, until now we have not only kerosene, but gasoline, benzine, rhigoline, naphtha, mineral sperm oil, lubricating oils, paraffins wax, carbon oil and a variety of medicinal products—all made from this once-useless petroleum. These discoveries have brought also the gasoline and oil stoves, gasoline and gas engines and the automobile. Prom the industry has grown the Standard Oil company, one of the richest and most powerful commercial enterprises in the world. So now, in these eastern states, it is vastly different from what it used to be when a man discovered oil on his land. If he finds oil now, and if be puts up a sign at all, it is apt to read like this: [Revise Fig. 98 to Complete Fig. 99.]



"From this little fact of industrial history I want to draw a lesson, especially for the boys, today. Perhaps we cannot own any stock in the Standard Oil company, but we have something just as good, and better. Perhaps we have found in ourselves what we think is a useless talent—useless unless we refine it and cultivate it. One day some people living on a certain street in New York raised a big row because a small, ragged street boy drew pictures all over their sidewalks with chalk. To them, he was nothing but a nuisance. However, a prominent man came walking by one day. He looked at the chalk drawings and knew at once that the boy had real artistic talent. He became interested, gave the boy an education and now he is one of America's celebrated painters.

"Study yourselves, boys. Do you love music? If you do, and if you have the talent to become a musician, don't throw away your talent by using your ability for any low purpose. Make music, like Haydn, who praised God through every note!

"Do you like to draw? If you are to be an artist, do not use your talent for low purposes. Let your work be of a kind to reflect credit upon you—work which will make other people better for having seen it and for having been influenced by it.

"Do you like to speak? Do you plan to study medicine, or law, or to be a teacher? Whatever your plans may be, based on what you believe your best talent to be, do not let your talent go to waste like this oil did for so many years. Treasure it up, refine it, and in whatever direction God may lead you, you may be sure that you will have ample opportunity to let your talent bring greater brightness into the world. And then you, too, would not part with your possession for any price!"



THE STORY OF A HAT —Politeness —The Common People

A thought for the Thoughtless Who Have But Little Politeness and Respect for the Common People.

THE LESSON—That every one who truly fills his high or lowly place In the world is deserving of respect and honor.

This story contains a splendid lesson for all of us. There is much in it to start the boys and girls to thinking of the worthiness of doing the humble things in life, and of the respect due those whose place may be more lowly than theirs. True worth is the measure of our value in the world, whether our work be great or little.

~~The Talk.~~

"This morning I am going to tell you 'The Story of a Hat,'—and this is the hat. [Draw only the hat, A, completing Fig. 100. This is the same drawing as that of the lower right-hand corner of Fig. 101, before the face is added.] I don't wonder that you smile. It's a seedy-looking old hat, isn't it? It looks as if it ought to be burned up or else dumped in the ash barrel; but, before we do that, let us hear the story.



"Once upon a time Mr. Brown, a college president, was passing a clothing store when he saw, displayed in the window, a hat like this. [Draw only the hat as in B.] Mr. Brown went into the store and tried on the hat. It fitted him, and when he came out he looked like this in his new four-dollar hat. [Add the head of Mr. Brown, completing B.] Everybody respected the college president and was polite to him. After a while Mr. Brown's wife told him that his hat was getting just a little bit shabby—perhaps just a little bit out of style, too. And so the college president gave the hat away to a poor but respectable preacher, Mr. Green, and this is the way Mr. Green looked in the hat. [Draw C complete.] Mr. Green was not a 'D.D.,' by any means, but he was a good man who was made to suit and fit a certain class of people who could not have understood the big words of a 'D. D.' Well, Mr. Green wore the hat for a while, and then he gave it to the janitor of his church, a man named Mr. Blue. The janitor wore it for a while, until it looked about like this: [Draw D, complete.] You will notice that it was somewhat indented by this time, but it was all right for Mr. Blue and he was glad to get it. There was a man in the town by the name of Mr. White, who had a job cleaning the streets. He was a friend of Mr. Blue, and the janitor gave him the hat. This is the way Mr. White looked in it: [Draw the face under the hat, A; this completes Fig. 101.] Mr. White had a little cart and a big shovel and an old broom, and he worked all day sweeping up and carting off the old paper, the stubs of cigars and everything else which, if allowed to accumulate, would soon make the streets look disgraceful and the town unhealthful.



"And so, we see, this poor old hat had done good service for four different kinds of men. Remember this—that every man who wore the hat was a useful man in his place. Each one was a necessary man. We must have him. Especially is this true of the man who kept the streets clean, for he, just like the man who collects and takes away the garbage, helps to keep away the scourge of typhoid fever, and cholera and other dread diseases, by being willing to do the dirty work and to wear the old hat. Why, just suppose everybody was a college president. Who would wash our clothes? Who would scrub our floors? Who would clean our streets? Who would cart away our garbage?

"Now, don't you see that the street cleaner and the 'garbage gentleman' are far more useful than any wealthy man's son who doesn't do a lick of work, who rides around in an automobile at his father's expense and who spends his time at night in wasteful or sinful ways so that he gets to bed at one or two o'clock in the morning and sleeps until nine or ten o'clock the next day? Why, bless your soul, the street cleaner and the 'garbage gentleman' are worth a dozen good-for-nothings like that!

"Then why look down upon the poor man—the laboring man? Why not be just as polite and respectful to him as to the college president? God made them both, and each is filling his place in life. Each man whose picture we have drawn belonged to a different class of people, just as God designed they should, and each, if he did his duty in life, had just as important a place in the community as the other.

"Abraham Lincoln said that 'God must think more of the common people than He did of any other kind, because He made so many more of them.'

"Surely, all this is reason enough for the best of us to be kind and considerate, respectful and polite toward people whose hats would not suit us at all!"



OUR COUNTRY'S FLAG —Flag Day —Patriotism

A Little of its History and of its Meaning—Some Interesting Facts.

THE LESSON—That loyalty to the flag means the fulfillment of duty to God and to our fellowmen.~~

"Flag Day" suggests a patriotic demonstration, and this talk will harmonize well with your decorations and the other features of your program. The talk calls for the drawing of four flags. It is suggested that you prepare in advance of the talk all four flags of Fig. 102, as the drawing may require more time than you can spare during the talk.

~~The Talk.~~

"We have about us today some of the flags of the United States of the present time. I believe you will be interested, though, in seeing some of the flags of our country of earlier days. I will present them to you.

"Before the Revolutionary war was begun, and at the time of the beginning of the trouble, some of the colonies had flags of their own, and some of them were very curious indeed. However, when General George Washington took command of the troops at the beginning of the war it was decided to adopt one flag for all the united colonies, and so a committee was chosen and a flag like this was designed: [Indicate flag "a."] These two crosses represented the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew, and the thirteen stripes represented the thirteen colonies. You see, they patterned the crosses after the British flag, because there was no certainty at that time that the colonists would break away from England. This is the flag that was raised over the camp of Washington at Cambridge, January 2, 1776.



"But in 1777, after the colonies had proclaimed the Declaration of Independence, congress ordered that the flag of the thirteen United States be composed of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, and that thirteen white stars in a field of blue be substituted for the crosses. It was also decided to add one star and one stripe as each new state was admitted. Congress, then in session in Philadelphia, named George Washington, Robert Morris and Colonel Ross to call upon a widow who had been making flags for the government and ask her to make this first real American flag. And this is the flag that Betsy Ross made: [Indicate flag "b."] It is said that Betsy Ross suggested that the stars be five-pointed, as she could fold her cloth so as to make a five-pointed star with one clip of her scissors. Can you make a five-pointed star with one clip? Betsy could! [Note: The writer has seen the simple process described in a sketch of Betsy Ross; it is too long for repetition here, but a demonstration of the method would be an interesting innovation.]

"Well, this flag was carried throughout the remainder of the Revolution, and it was present at the surrender of Burgoyne and the fall of Yorktown. But when Vermont and Kentucky were admitted as states, the flag was changed, so there were fifteen stars and fifteen stripes, like this: [Indicate flag "c."]

"This flag waved throughout the war of 1812. It was this flag that Francis Scott Key saw 'through the dawn's early light,' and which inspired him to write 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'

"It was not until 1818 that congress saw that a mistake had been made and that it would be necessary to confine the number of stripes to the original number, thirteen, though we have continued to add a star for each new state. This is the flag of today: [Indicate flag "d."]

"As we look upon this flag, our hearts grow warm with love for our country. We honor it and the memory of those who brought it into being and who died to preserve it for us. I know of no better closing picture than this, which indicates the true spirit of the patriots who died beneath its folds upon the fields of battle—a picture which speaks to us of Him who said, 'Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.' [With heavy black put in the outline of the cross; fill in with orange, completing Fig. 103.]



"Boys and girls, what does the flag stand for? Loyalty to country. What does the cross stand for? Loyalty to Christ. Which is the more important? You are not asked to answer—only to think. Being loyal to Christ makes people truly loyal to country; but, alas, there are many who profane His name while they pretend to be loyal to their country. It cannot be done."



THE LITTLE ONES —Cradle Roll Day —Teaching

A Word of Appreciation to the Parents on the Occasion of Cradle Roll Day.

THE LESSON—That the proper early home training of children for Christ will save future heartaches and anguish.

It is well to make of Cradle Roll Day an occasion of profit and inspiration to the parents of the little ones. Perhaps you don't get a chance to speak to them very often. Your words to them on this occasion, when a day has been set aside for the special consideration of the children in whom their hearts and hopes are centered, will best serve their purpose if they are directed to make the parents feel sure that you, also, are deeply interested in their little ones.

~~The Talk.~~

"We are delighted today to see so many of our little Cradle Roll boys and girls—and we are just as pleased to look into the faces of their fathers and mothers. Why? Well, just because we want these parents to know that we love their children and that we are grateful to them for coming with them today to observe this happy time together.

"We want these fathers and mothers to know that while we are trying to teach the way of unselfishness and love to these older boys and girls, and while we are waiting for the time to come when these little visitors of today will be old enough to be with us regularly, we are convinced that the home training for seven days in the week is higher and more lasting than an hour of teaching in the Sunday school under the best of teachers. So it is with joy that we know that these parents are beginning with the babyhood of their children to tell them of Him who blessed the little ones and said, 'of such is the kingdom of heaven.' We are glad we may look forward to the time when we, in the Sunday school, may also have a part in this training.

"Let us hear a little story this morning: Once upon a time a young lad, while idly spending his time in a grove surrounding his eastern home, carved with his knife in the bark of a young birch tree three words which his mother had taught him to say. [As you continue the narrative, draw the small tree and merely indicate the words and the heart next referred to, completing Fig. 104.] The first word had three letters, the second had two letters and the third four letters. And around them he drew a little heart, as his mother had taught him to do. And when he had finished it, he ran away to his play and forgot all about it.



"Years afterward, when he had grown to young manhood, he returned to the home which he had not seen for a long time. As he went once more to the grove, he came upon a birch tree and stopped to look at some words carved upon its bark, with a heart drawn about them. Memory carried him back to the days of his childhood—it was the same tree, grown big and strong, and with it the heart had grown large and the words were there strong and plain. They could not be removed without greatly marring the tree. Here are the heart and the words: [Add lines to revise Fig. 104 to Fig. 105.] As he looked upon the words, they thrilled him with tender emotions as he remembered that it was his mother who had taught him this beautiful sentiment. 'If I had written there an unkind word,' he reflected, 'that, too, would have been as permanent and lasting.'



"And now for the application: We are told that some fathers and mothers, through a false idea of what is of lasting good to their children, permit them, in their inexperience, to learn to do things in a way which will mean sorrow and anguish in the end. Of course, I understand that this could not ever happen to any of these fathers and mothers and these children! The application is for those who aren't here! If the boy rebels against school, he will bless, in later years, the hand which made his attendance compulsory. If he can see no harm in the use of unkind or offensive words, but is compelled by a loving parent to turn his mind and his speech to lofty things, he will later bless that one who saved him from his error. If, in the years when he has grown through babyhood and childhood to youth, a strong, but gentle, hand bars for him the way which leads to evil companions and bad habits, he will praise and bless that restraining hand when the years of discretion show him how close was his step to the brink of a fatal precipice.

"With the same hand which bars the way to wrong must the parent write the words, 'God is Love,' on the heart of each little one. The clear, pure truth cannot be told too often. In after years, as memory brings these children back to your loving arms, back to their little downy beds, they will be comforted with the realization that the words have become so deep-seated that nothing can eradicate them, even after death has closed their eyelids.

"Some one has described the eyes of a child as 'clear wells of undefiled thought,' and God forbid that as their eyes are lifted to ours, full of innocence and confidence, we should give them anything but the purest, most helpful truth as Christ reveals it to us. We pledge ourselves earnestly to do this."



THE BURNED BOOK —Patience —Adversity

How Thomas Carlyle's Work of Many Years Was Destroyed in a Few Seconds.

THE LESSON—That there is such a thing as success through patience, and that the Christian should so live that he may rejoice in his tribulations.

One of the crying needs of every-day life is the cultivation of patience. Modern life, with its hustle and bustle, and the ever-present contest for supremacy in its commercial and social phases, displays a growing unrest and nervousness. Patience is a rare quality which should be treasured and nurtured.

~~The Talk.~~

"Paul once wrote a letter to the church at Rome in which he said, 'We glory in tribulations, also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts."

"But we're not all like Paul. If we had been saying it, we might have put it this way: 'We despair that we have tribulation, knowing that tribulations work impatience, and impatience discouragement, and discouragement makes us feel sure that God doesn't care for us.' Nevertheless, just the opposite is true, for we know that 'whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth.'

"Everybody has trouble. It comes to all of us in many forms. Ofttimes it is a blessing in disguise. If it were not so, we would not find so many of God's people afflicted in the ways which the Scriptures describe. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph and all of the great leaders of the New Testament, as well as of the Old, had their deep troubles and sorrows. And it is so today with God's people.

"Patience is a virtue of which the poets sing. 'How poor are they,' says Shakespeare, 'that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?' And Milton said:

"'Patience is more oft the exercise Of saints, the trial of their fortitude.'

"So, let us try always to understand, in the midst of seeming great trouble, that sorrow and trial have their place in our lives. Whether they are for good or for bad depends largely upon ourselves.

"I want to tell you the tragedy of a book—a great book. We all know of Thomas Carlyle's great work, 'The French Revolution.' Of this wonderful production it has been said that 'It is a history of the French Revolution and the poetry of it, both in one; and, on the whole, no work of greater genius, either historical or poetical, has been produced in England.' I wonder if we have all heard of the tragedy of this great book and the sorrow which came to its author?

"One day, after Mr. Carlyle had finished the manuscript of the first volume of the work, completing the labors of months and years, and when he felt at last the relief which had tied his hands and his mind through this long period, he loaned the work to his close friend, John Stuart Mill. Before Mr. Mill had finished reading the manuscript, and as it lay scattered about his study, his servant girl, thinking the pages were nothing but waste paper, gathered them up and stuffed them into her kitchen fire! Thus was the labor of weary, toilsome years destroyed in a few moments. On his discovering the awful state of affairs, it was Mr. Mill's duty to go to Mr. Carlyle's home and break the news to him. Mr. Carlyle tells of the interview in these words: 'How well do I remember that night when he came to tell Mrs. Carlyle and me, pale as Hector's ghost, that my unfortunate first volume was burned. It was like a half sentence of death to both of us. We had to pretend to take it lightly, so dismal and ghastly was its horror!'

"If the description of the scene were to end here, I am sure that some of us would see only the darkest, gloomiest side. Let us make a sketch to illustrate this condition. [Draw Fig. 106 complete.] But the description does not stop here. Carlyle goes on to tell how, with the sympathy of his wife, he began anew the great task, and, although it was, as he says, a 'job' that nearly broke his heart, the result was a work superior in every way to his original effort, and he lived to rejoice in what he once considered to be a disastrous misfortune. He received ample reward for his overmastering patience!



"'If thou faint in the day of adversity,' says the Psalmist, 'thy strength is small.' Remember this: Every shadow has a light behind it! It is toward that light that the discouraged one must turn his face. Look up, not down! [Add lines to complete Fig. 107; the hair covers the face of Fig. 106.] No man ever saw the highest success who 'looked down his nose' when trial came. Look up—like the man in the picture!"



THE MAN WHO FINALLY HEARD —Kind Words —The Tongue

The Restoration of His Hearing Brought to Him Pain as Well as Pleasure.

THE LESSON—That we should guard well our tongues against speaking careless, useless or vulgar words.

This illustration is based on the actual experience of an Indiana man. It contains a lesson of such great importance that a chapter of one of the strongest moral epistles of the New Testament is devoted to it. The speaker would do well to study carefully the third chapter of the Epistle of James as a foundation for the preparation of the talk.

~~The Talk.~~

[Before beginning the talk, draw the picture of the man, completing Fig. 108.]



"The face I have here drawn represents the portrait of a certain business man living in an Indiana town. Ever since the time of an illness in childhood this man had been almost totally deaf. For years he tried in vain to secure the aid which would restore to him his hearing, and during all the period of his boyhood and young manhood he could hear only those words which were spoken very distinctly, close to his ear. Sometimes he could hear the thunder and other loud, sharp sounds.



"Then, one day, came a great change! All at once he could hear almost perfectly. What a great time it was! Once more he heard the songs of the birds as he remembered them when he was a child; the voices of the members of his family and the voices of his friends, new and strange, came to him! What had brought the change? It was merely a new invention, by which a disc containing a diaphragm was placed over his ear. This diaphragm gathered the sound waves, just as the natural ear-drum was intended to do. The disc fitted over his ear, like this: [Add the disc and attachment, as in Fig. 109.] Was he happy? Of course he was—but soon it was noticed by those about him that his gladness seemed to fade away from his face and a kind of sadness took its place. [Add the lines about eye and mouth, completing Fig. 109.] What was the matter? Some one asked him the question. And this was his answer—listen to it: 'I never knew, during those years when I could not hear the sound of people's voices, that those about me were so unkind to each other!'

"'Unkind?'

"'Yes,' said he; 'ever since my hearing was restored I have been surprised and pained and shocked to hear the careless words—the harmful words—which people speak concerning even those they love. I have thought about it a good deal and have made up my mind that the people do not speak these words because they always mean what they say, but because they have grown into the habit of saying unkind things. And the profanity! And the vulgarity! It is dreadful to listen to the language used by many men, and even boys, in their ordinary conversation!'

"The man had spoken a sad, sad truth. How careless we are! Even the best of us speak too many thoughtless, unkind words—words which may affect the entire after life of the one who is the subject of their utterance. And how many there are all about us who blaspheme the name of their Maker!

"All of us are familiar with the words of Shakespeare, who, in 'Othello,' causes Iago to say that 'he that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him and makes me poor, indeed.' Our slighting word may rob some one of his good name and leave him poor, indeed; while the kind word which rises to our lips, but remains unspoken, may retard the progress of the person of whom we might have spoken it.

"'Be not rash with thy mouth,' says the writer of Ecclesiastes; 'let thy words be few.'

"'Behold also the ships,' says the Epistle of James, 'which, though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature, and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts and of birds and of serpents and of things in the sea is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind; but the tongue can no man tame.'

"Let us, friends, watch this unruly member. Profanity and vulgarity bespeak a vile mind. We trust that our trouble is not so serious as this; but we still have the unkind word, the hotly-spoken word, to watch and to avoid.

"Boys, watch your thoughts and words. Do you know, I would rather see a boy with jam smeared all over his cheeks than to hear a 'smutty' remark from his lips? Yes—the jam wouldn't hurt him a bit, but the smut can't be washed off. You all want clean hands and a clean face. It is still more important to have a clean mind and clean speech."



FLYING —Perseverance —Courage

The Aeroplane Illustrates the Necessity of Going Forward Constantly.

THE LESSON—That a life, if it is to progress, must not falter at difficulties, but push steadily forward.

This illustration is especially appropriate for occasions which interest the juniors and their elders, for the reason that anything which teaches perseverance and steadfastness in the right can be heard with profit at any time.

~~The Talk.~~

[Because of the details in the drawing of the aeroplane, it may be well to finish Fig. 110, complete, before beginning the talk. In opening, refer to the aeroplane in such a manner as will fit your locality. For instance, if the aeroplane is a common sight, say, "We have all been interested in seeing the aeroplane glide through the air," etc., while, if it has not yet made its appearance in your locality, you may refer to the fact that all have seen pictures of the modern invention. The talk assumes that the aeroplane has not yet visited your neighborhood.]

"Every one of us is interested in flying. Ever since God created man, man has been trying to learn how to fly, but always, until of recent years, he has suffered the sad fate of 'Darius Green and His Flying Machine.' For many centuries man has been impatient because he has had to stay down on earth or else go up in a clumsy balloon, which is not a flying machine at all! But, at last, he has made for himself a machine which he calls the aeroplane and the tedious problem has been solved quite satisfactorily, so that we now hear a great deal about monoplanes and biplanes, all of which are classed under the general heading of aeroplanes. I will draw the outlines of one of these flying machines.



[If you have drawn the picture, Fig. 110, in advance, merely indicate the parts as you proceed; otherwise, point them out as you finish each part of the machine.]

"This style of machine is known as the biplane, or two-plane. This upper part is one of the planes, and this lower part is the other. This part out in front is that portion of the steering apparatus which enables the aviator to guide the machine up or down, and this part at the back is to govern the side-to-side movements. When the machine stands on the ground it rests on these three little wheels, which are like bicycle wheels. Here sits the aviator, and directly back of him is the powerful little engine which sets the propeller whirling at the rear. The machine makes a noise like a swift-running motor boat or a motorcycle. It starts off on its wheels and rapidly increases its speed until it rises from the ground and sails away gracefully into the upper air. [Your drawing of Fig. 110 should now be complete.]

"As you look at this machine, remember that it is not at all like a balloon. The bag of a balloon, filled with gas, is lighter than the air; hence, it stays up without any trouble, unless the bag breaks and lets the gas out. But the aeroplane has no gas bag; it is heavier than the air and it must 'keep a-goin'' in order to stay up at all. Remember this: Just as soon as the aeroplane stops, it comes crashing to the earth, like so many have done, bringing death and destruction.

[Quickly detach your drawing paper from your board, turn it one-fourth around and re-attach it with thumb tacks. With broad strokes of black crayon indicate the foreground. Add lines of mountains, completing Fig. 111.]



"You boys know how it is when you are riding a bicycle. Your wheel will stay upright as long as you are pushing ahead, but as soon as you stop the wheel topples over.

"Sometimes the aeroplane engine fails to work, sometimes a wire or rod breaks, sometimes the aviator attempts to do some fancy flying which throws the machine out of balance, sometimes the wind prevents the machine from going on in its course. Any of these things may cause the machine to stop going forward and come dashing downward.

"You, boys—and you, girls—and we older men and women, are just like the aeroplane in one great particular. In the Christian life, in our work, in our study, in our efforts to do good, we can never hope to succeed and progress if we let anything stop us in the way. How truly does all this apply to the Sunday School. The stand-still boy and the stand-still girl never get anywhere. The stand-still Sunday School is 'a dead one.' Life in Sunday School means movement, forward and upward. If the flying machine stops, it comes crashing to the earth. If the Sunday School stops, you will also 'hear something drop.' And the same thing is true of us as Christians. Praying and psalm singing are not enough. Backsliding begins when Christians stop working—stop going forward. If we would grow, we must go! And 'keep a-goin'!"



THE PLUM TREE —Mothers' Day —Training

The Responsibility of Motherhood—A Lesson From the Tree Nursery.

THE LESSON—That constant training and cultivation are necessary to the attainment of excellence in plant life; so, also, the quality of the child depends upon the home training.

Mothers' Day, usually observed on the second Sunday in May, is becoming valued more and more in the Sunday School as the years go by. Miss Anna Jarvis, of Philadelphia, is said to have originated the idea in her effort to commemorate the anniversary of the death of her mother. She saw, in the wearing of a carnation on a selected day, a silent and beautiful tribute to motherhood throughout the world. The custom is usually followed by the wearing of a white carnation in memory of the mother departed, while a colored flower is worn for the mother living. The school decorations should be worked out in a manner appropriate to the day and its significance. The present talk deals specifically with the responsibility of motherhood.

~~The Talk.~~

"We have come today with our hearts filled with tender memories of the mothers who have gone—memories as sweet as these beautiful flowers, whose whiteness tells of their purity; whose form brings back the thought of their beauty; whose fragrance tells again of their love, and whose enduring qualities remind us of their faithfulness and constancy.

"But today I want to speak especially of the mothers who are still with us, those whose hair is tinged with silver, and especially of those other younger mothers who are today the close companions of their children.