We would learn, if you would teach,
We have hearts that yearn1 to duty;
We have minds alive to beauty,
Souls that any height can reach.”
Mary Howitt.
Most grateful was the quiet repose2 of Mrs. Rivers’s pretty home after the long wearisome ride in the cars, most pleasant was it to be kindly3 welcomed by old friends in their new homes. The village seemed full of purpose and aspiration4, springing up in an oak opening on the shore of Lake Michigan, and clustering round the two literary institutions that have called it into existence. The familiar faces gathered around Mrs. Rivers’s tea-table recalled many dear and cherished associations, and brought back pleasant pictures of the past.
28Norman’s pleasures were in the present. He was soon off to the lake with George Rivers, wandering a while on its pebbly5 shore, and then sitting on the pier6 fishing. They dropped their lines in the water, and sat waiting for a bite. Long and patiently they sat, the sun burning their faces, but their patience was not rewarded with success, for they got no fish. Norman found more companions in the little Randolphs and Henrys, who were fishing at the same time. They lived a few doors from George Rivers, and they came to see Norman, and invited him to dinner and to tea. He had many pleasant talks, and many games with his new friends, who were very kind to him.
Sunday morning came; the weather doubtful, uncertain, showery. Mrs. Lester heard with great pleasure a lecture from her former pastor7, and a sermon from an old friend. The Sunday school was invited to visit the Biblical Institute 29that afternoon, to see some idols9 that had just arrived from China, and to hear Profesor L. lecture upon them. The children were on tip-toe with expectation; but the superintendent10, after consultation11 with the teachers, decided12 that it would not be prudent13 to go; the clouds were threatening, and the grass was wet with the recent rain. With his pleasant face and his kindly voice, he told the children of this decision, and then asked all who were in favor of going to the Biblical Institute the next afternoon, at four o’clock, to raise their hands. Every hand was raised, but there was a new difficulty. A professor in the Institute said that it would be better to defer14 the visit till the next Sabbath, as it would interfere15 with the students’ recitations on Monday afternoon.
“Not the next Sabbath,” said another gentleman; “there will be a general class-meeting here then, which we all wish to attend.”
30“All, then,” said the superintendent, “who are in favor of visiting the Institute this day fortnight, will signify it by holding up their hands.”
Not an uplifted hand was seen; the expression of opinion was very decided. The children did not believe in a pleasure so long delayed. The professor, with great good-humor, then said that they were disposed to gratify the children, and that they would so arrange their recitations as to give them a cordial welcome.
“My text is at the Institute,” said Professor L., as he rose to speak to the children, “and my audience here;” but he contrived16 to talk to them without a text so agreeably, that the children voted that he should be invited to address them the next afternoon, which he partly consented to do.
It was a very pleasant looking Sunday school, teachers and children all in their 31places, notwithstanding the wet walks and the dark clouds. The children looked bright and happy, interested in their lessons, attentive17 to their teachers, and they sang sweet hymns19 with great spirit and earnestness.
Monday was bright and beautiful, and many little hearts beat high with the thoughts of the afternoon’s pleasure. How glad they were that it had not been put off for a fortnight. It was a pretty sight to see the procession of children winding20 through the grove21 of grand old trees on the high bank of the lake, whose blue waters sparkled in the sunlight. The white sails of schooners22 were seen in the distant horizon, and the lake looked so peaceful that it was difficult to imagine it roughened by the tempest, uttering its loud roar as its great waves dashed against the bank, tearing it away, and prostrating23 the lofty trees that adorned24 it.
The children walked into the Institute, 32and entering the room on the right, saw the walls covered with pictures of hideous25 Chinese idols. One of the great idols they had come to see was a gigantic figure, dressed in flowing robes of white muslin, with a ghastly face, rolling eyes, grinning mouth, and a crown on his head. He was attended by his servant, who had a horrible black face, and long flowing black garments. Such figures as these are carried through the streets in China to receive the worship of the people; and thus religion, which should elevate, only debases them; and fear is the ruling motive26 instead of love.
Norman thought of that scene in the idol8 temple in Rangoon: the room lined with images of Boodh, in a sitting posture27, with folded hands, bearing lamps to give light to a Christian28 prayer-meeting; Havelock, with his Bible in his hand, surrounded by a hundred Christian soldiers, praying to the God of heaven, and 33singing praises to the Lord Christ in this famous idol temple. Well, the day will come when all the idols will be cast to the moles29 and the bats, and when from every hill-top and valley, from the broad prairie and the green savannah, the incense30 of praise shall ascend31 to the one living and true God.
After the children had passed around the rooms, and looked at the idols, they went up stairs and seated themselves in the chapel32 to hear Professor L. The fresh breeze blew in the window, and the lake spread its broad bosom33 beneath the eye; stripes of green and blue gave variety to its surface; little sail-boats sailed rapidly by; and a large steamer went proudly on its way. It was pleasant to look out upon this noble view, and listen at the same time to Professor L.’s narration34 of what he had seen during his three years in China.
He gave an interesting account of Miss 34Aldersey, a noble English woman, who, while in her pretty English home, in the midst of kind friends, and social joys, and religious privileges, felt her heart so moved by the spiritual destitution35 of the Chinese, that she left home and friends, and all pleasant, familiar things, and went over the seas to China. Freely she had received; freely she gave fortune, time, and toil36 to the great work to which she had consecrated37 her life. She opened a school, and gathered in the poor neglected children. Female children are despised in China, and many of these poor little things, who had no one to love them, found a home beneath Miss Aldersey’s roof. Day after day she sat teaching these ignorant little girls, and telling them of Jesus and the home he has gone to prepare for his people. They listened to the new and wonderful story, and their hearts were opened to receive these heavenly truths.
One of them, after the custom of the 35country, had been bethrothed when she was four years old, to a boy several years older, and the time approached when she was called upon to be married. Part of the marriage ceremony consists of bowing down before ancestral tablets, containing images of their ancestors, and burning incense to them. This the young Christian Chinese girl refused to do. She loved Jesus, she worshiped God, and she would not bow down before any idol.
In vain her parents expostulated and entreated38. In vain they offered her reward, and threatened punishment. She was firm in her refusal to break the law of God. They beat her and tortured her, but her steadfast39 heart, stayed upon God, knew no fear. Faithful to her Christian profession, this brave girl continued in the path of Christian duty, unmoved by tribulation40 and wrath41 and all the devices of wicked men.
36The children then sang the noble missionary42 hymn18,
“From Greenland’s icy mountains,
From India’s coral strand,”
and were dismissed for a little recreation in the grove, where there was a swing, and cool shade, and grassy43 turf. Just before sunset the children were called together, and again in regular order walked homeward, with faces glowing with enjoyment44, and minds and hearts filled with happy thoughts and memories.
Wednesday morning Norman went with his mother to the lake, just after breakfast. The waves were gently kissing the shore, and hours passed swiftly away as they listened to the soothing45 sound and gathered curious pebbles46. They found some small fossils, with the remains47 of shells and animals in them, and Norman was greatly delighted with one that his mother picked up, that looked as if it had on it a single pearl 37set in gold. They felt sorry to leave the pleasant beach; but the morning had already gone, and it was time to go to Mr. Henry’s to dinner. On their return they found a kind invitation from Mrs. Harris to take tea at the Institute. There were about forty students at the tea-table, and after tea they had prayers. Instead of the reading of the Scripture48, verses were repeated, thus enabling all who wished to participate in the devotional exercises; and noble and comforting promises, and precious truths, were uttered in varying tones. That company of young men were girding on their armor, that they might fight as good soldiers under the Captain of their salvation49. They were preparing themselves for their life-work; some of them to sow the “precious seed” over the broad prairies of Illinois, by the rocky bluffs50 and wood-crowned hills of Wisconsin, and the blue waters of Minnesota; while others were 38looking to the lands of the East—to Bulgaria, and India, and China. It was pleasant to exchange a few brief words with these young men who, by the eye of faith, could see more abundant harvests than those which reward the Western husbandmen. They had asked the Lord of the harvest to send them as reapers51 into these fields of promise, looking forward to that blessed time when they shall “return with joy bringing their sheaves with them.”
Mrs. Lester afterward52 looked upon the portrait of the Christian woman to whose liberality this institution owes its existence. That portrait ought to hang on its walls. There is a queenly look about the fine figure, and the way the head is set on the shoulders, and blended goodness and intelligence in the countenance53. In the evening of the same day Mrs. Lester was in the room where Mrs. Garrett died, and she thought of the blissful 39visions that may have floated about that dying pillow glimpses of refreshing54 and perennial55 streams to make the wilderness56 rejoice and blossom as the rose. Her life was not spent in vain on the earth. Regular and consistent in her daily walks of duty and piety57, she has, by the judicious58 bestowment of ample means, prolonged her usefulness on the earth, linked herself to holy activities through coming time, and set in motion trains of influence, the mighty59 results of which may only be known in the morning of the resurrection. She made to herself friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when she failed they might receive her into everlasting60 habitations.
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1
yearn
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| v.想念；怀念；渴望 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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aspiration
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| n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出 | |
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pebbly
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| 多卵石的，有卵石花纹的 | |
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pier
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| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
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pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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idol
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| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
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idols
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| 偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像 | |
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superintendent
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| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
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consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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14
defer
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| vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从 | |
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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schooners
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| n.（有两个以上桅杆的）纵帆船( schooner的名词复数 ) | |
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prostrating
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的现在分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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posture
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| n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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29
moles
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| 防波堤( mole的名词复数 )； 鼹鼠； 痣； 间谍 | |
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30
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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31
ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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33
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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narration
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| n.讲述，叙述；故事；记叙体 | |
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destitution
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| n.穷困，缺乏，贫穷 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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consecrated
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| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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38
entreated
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
steadfast
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| adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的 | |
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40
tribulation
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| n.苦难，灾难 | |
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41
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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42
missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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43
grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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44
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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45
soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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46
pebbles
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| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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47
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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48
scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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49
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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50
bluffs
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| 恐吓( bluff的名词复数 )； 悬崖； 峭壁 | |
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51
reapers
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| n.收割者，收获者( reaper的名词复数 )；收割机 | |
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52
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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53
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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54
refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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perennial
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| adj.终年的；长久的 | |
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56
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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57
piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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58
judicious
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| adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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