116 เ EDWARD VI. of milksop, and if I try to be like him, I'll get laughed at as a good boy. No; I wont read this paper.' If any reader of the Dayspring' is thinking in this way, I would just say to him, wait till you read about the boyhood of Edward VI.: read first and judge afterwards: then you will see whether there was not much in his character worthy of your imitation. In a former month, you will remember, there was an account of another king, Louis XVII. Edward VI. lived more than two hundred years before Louis XVII. Though living in very different ages, there was much resemblance between them. Both showed that they had decided to stand up for honesty and right; both sought to help the sick and the suffering; both were called to an early grave. There were also points of difference. Edward's life was a much happier one than Louis'; but Louis had an affectionate mother to take care of him, while Edward was left motherless when only twelve days old. Indifferent stepmothers and nurses were Edward's guardians for six years. To show that piety and courage may go together, the following story will suffice. One day Edward was going out to ride. His pony had been brought, and was waiting for his master. The princess Elizabeth, Edward's sister, was in the garden at the time; and, full of daring, she leaped on the pony's back. Off started the animal, sportive and fresh. The girl was unable to command him, and at last, leaping a wall, the beast entered the Thames. The prince appeared at this point. Seeing his sister's danger, he mounted the groom's horse, and with all possible speed made towards his sister. With difficulty he reached her, and grasping the pony, sought to bring it to land. The animal was unmanageable, and during the struggle, Elizabeth, quite exhausted, fell into the river. Soon she rose, but some distance from the spot where her brother was. To reach her the prince urged on his horse, but again she sank before he could reach her, Dismounting, he dived after her, and having caught hold of her, he rose to the surface, swam to his horse, seized the reins, and was thus dragged to shore. When in the library one day with some companions, he was unable to reach a book he wanted. One of the boys placed a large Bible on a chair for him to stand on, but Edward would not put God's word to such a use. Checking his companion, he removed the Bible and expressed his sense of the importance of that Book to England. From Archbishop Cranmer, of whom you have doubtless read, Edward got a costly gift of silver plate. One of his servants, thinking to please him, reminded him that the plate was all his own, and no one else had a right to use it. 'If no one else but I be permitted to touch these valuables without spoiling them,' replied Edward, how do you suppose they would ever have been given to me? Next day he had a feast to which he asked his companions; the plate was used, and at the close of the feast he gave each of his guests a portion of the plate as a present. In 1552, Edward had several severe illnesses from which he never properly recovered. During his sickness, he founded several hospitals for the helpless and neglected. Among others there was one for poor boys, who wear a particular dress which leads to them being called the 'blue coat boys.' This school is still in existence, and the members may be seen in London streets clothed in long blue coats, and wearing no hats on their heads. Many schools also were founded or helped by him, showing how much he had the good of his people at heart. The 6th of July, 1553, was the date of his death. Those attending him in the room heard him speaking in a low tone. I was praying to God,' he replied, when they asked him if he wished anything. His last words were, Oh! I am faint. Lord, have mercy on me, and receive my spirit, for Thy Son Jesus Christ's sake.' With this prayer his eyes closed for ever on this earth, but his soul joined the thousands of children around the throne of God in heaven. THE OLD MAN AND HIS BIRDS. What Edward tried to do was to fit himself for his work. He wished to be a good king, and so he sought to master the laws and sound principles of government. Above all, he knew that to be a good king, he must be a loyal subject of the King of kings. My readers have all a work in the world to do. Try to fit yourselves for it, whatever it may be. Spare no pains to be good scholars or masons or whatever business you mean to choose. But never forget that to all real success, God's help is necessary. Whoever your earthly master may be, see that in serving him you are not forgetting to serve your Master in heaven. When tempted to do wrong, remember, Thou God seest me.' If this short sketch of Edward VI. should teach my readers this great lesson, Edward VI. will have proved one of the most useful of the 'Dayspring's' Famous Boys. I J. M'M. THE OLD MAN AND HIS BIRDS. WITNESSED something the other day which I think would have interested many young readers of the 'Dayspring.' In going with a friend to see Dryburgh Abbey, we had to cross a chain bridge which spans the Tweed; at one end of the bridge is a little wooden house erected for the man who takes the toll. I said to him I understood that he and the birds were very friendly, and that I should like to see how he and they got on together. 'O yes, sir,' he said as he came limping to the door of his house. He then cried, 'come away,' when immediately the birds of the air came flying to him. Then taking from his vest-pocket a bit of biscuit, they at once flew to his hand and took the crumbs. He told me that some of the birds were attending to their young at present, and that one of them would sit on his breast and take the food from his pocket, while another would take it from his mouth. What a beautiful illustration is this, I thought, of the gospel! Jesus compares the blessings He brings to us to 'a feast,' 'a great supper,' 'a marriage feast,' and 117 that of a king's son,' and his servants are commanded to say, 'Come, for all things are now ready; Come to the marriage;' and He Himself cries, 'Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat.' And holding out to us the bread of life, He says, 'Whosoever will, let him take.' So that we are all invited to come away' to Him, and get the bread of life, which if a man eat he shall never die, for you see His blessing maketh rich and lasts eternally. Some of us have come to Jesus and got his blessing, and we wonder now how we could have misunderstood our Lord so long. 6 I noticed that other birds came fluttering around at the old man's call, but did not venture to come near and take the food from his hand. And I thought of the many who hear the Lord's call, and come fluttering around Him and His ordinances; looking for signs and feelings and a good life, before they will put confidence in Him and in what He says. They take not the bread of life, and perish with the many others who seek to satisfy themselves with the world's passing pleasures. Thrice happy boys and girls who come at our Lord's call, 'And take with rejoicing from Jesus at once, The life everlasting He gives.' For it is the lambs-the boys and girlsthat He carries in His bosom; the sheepthe men and women-He carries on His shoulder. Those who lie in His bosom feel the throbbings of His loving heart, and see His face radiant with smiles. Fly to His hand at once, my young friends. It was pierced on the cross that you might drink from it the living water. It throbs with divine love as it holds out to you the bread of life. If you will but come and rest on it, and feed from it, and feel its love throbbings, you will begin to be merry and sing, "Take my life, and let it be R. H. LITTLE MAUD, I walked through the woods to-day. Have you been watching the leaves dimming and brightening on the trees? The ash leaves grow pale yellow; the elm leaves grow deeper orange; the beeches brown; the chestnuts are ablaze with crimson and gold. This early afternoon the forest keeps state. The sun has so flushed all its vistas -one is but aware of a glory, a brooding of utter peace. The late love of Autumn is on it, the finger too of its decay. Mixed with the brilliant leaves are clusters of crumpled brown. And the fungi-do you note the fungi? Dim green, rose colour, pyramids of pure snow. The flowers are dead among the hedge-roots;-dead among the roots of the Oct. oaks. But flecks of glorious colour are left still among the withered things,-lights with their lingering benison and their touches of late joy. While I walked, little Maud, I listened, and the forest seemed to chant a psalm. I do not know where it found voice, for there was neither breeze nor bird. But the psalm was so very lovely, I sat on a low mound, and said: 'If my fairy Maud were here, would she hear the same words as I?' I do not think she would. Little Maud has all the years to fill. She would only hear the happy music of her own young hope. That is well, little Maud. Hope on joyfully. More than hope or dream has imagined, life, perhaps, has hid for you. PRIZE BIBLE QUESTIONS. One of God's sacred gifts is this, the unutterable hope of youth; in itself a glory and a beauty, and an earnest of all the possible. But when life lies half behind, we hear other voices in the trees. This old and lovely village lies in the forest, as you know. A mass of ancient cedar stands out black against the paler foliage; a tremulous acacia lifts its long feathered branches, in tender lace-work, on the blue, faint, autumn sky. And between and among the green, rise the clustered, twisted chimnies of the quiet, old dreamy houses, of their dormer windows perched high up in nests of ivy green. 'Tis so sweet a village, little Maud, I wish you could be always here. We should walk, in scarce half-an-hour, to this forest glade where I sit. We should listen together then, for the forest-psalms in the trees. I think in these same shadows Herbert made some of his hymns. Woodford was his home for a year, when delicate health forced him to withdraw to some such quiet spot. One could wish no lovelier quiet for thoughts of God and heaven. And the hymn of another voice, hushed many years ago, comes back with the same sweet music as rings through these autumn trees. 'Our God, we thank Thee who hast made So full of splendour and of joy, So many glorious things are here, 119 Through the parted branches of the trees let us look up and see the sky, and remember diviner words, with a promise of the yearned-for good. 'My peace I give unto you.' Dear and sweet promise. Yet we take the gift so seldom. And the beautiful floods our hearts with sorrow as often as with calm. Good-bye. PASS H. W. H. W. THE TEETOTAL MAN. I looked, and saw a chubby boy, The neighbours knew his word was sure, Poverty clogs the drunkard's wife, And her face is sickly and wan; Stick to the pledge. Be earnest, boys! D. C. PRIZE BIBLE QUESTIONS. THREE Prizes are offered for the largest number of correct answers to the Questions during 1880. The Competition is limited to those under 14 years of age. The answers to be sent to the REV. JOHN KAY, 2 Cumin Place, Grange, Edinburgh, by the 25th of each month. 28 In which verse of one of the Old Testament prophets does the writer quote from an earlier prophet? 29 Where does a prophet tell us that he understood, by having studied the writings of another prophet, that God was about to deliver His people? 30 Where does one apostle refer to epistles written by another apostle? |