HYMN XVII, Love between Brothers and Sisters. I. WHATEVER brawls disturb the street, II. Birds in their little nests agree; III. Hard names at first, and threat'ning words, May grow to clubs and naked swords, IV. The devil tempts one mother's son, So wicked Cain was hurried on 'Till he had kill'd his brother. The wise will make their anger cool, But in the bosom of a fool It burns till morning-light. VI. Pardon, O Lord, our childish rage, Our little brawls remove; That, as we grow to riper age, I. QUESTION. What is the subject of this Hymn? "Love between brothers and sisters." Answer. Hymn from Dr. Watts. Q. What does David say of this love? 461 A. Psalm cxxxiii. 1. "Behold how good and pleasant it is to dwell together in unity." III. Q. If brothers and sisters call each other bad names, and use threatening words, to what may this lead? A. "To murder and to death." IV. Q. Who was "that wicked one who slew his brother?" A. Cain. Q. And what was the beginning of his sin? V. Q. If wise persons should ever feel angry, what_ will they do? A. "Let their anger cool, At least before 'tis night,' Q. What passage of Scripture enjoins this? A. Ephes. iv. 26. "Be ye angry, and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath." Q. How can we be " angry and sin not?" A. By being angry at nothing but sin. Q. If, however, our anger at sin should at any time rise into wrath against the sinner, then what is the duty here enjoined ? A. To suppress it speedily. Q. Who are those who suffer anger to rest in their bosoms? A. Fools. Q. Prove this from Scripture. A. Eccles. vii. 7. "Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools." Q: What is the injunction of St. Paul on this subject? A. Ephes. iv. 31, 32. "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Taken from Dr. Watts's Hymns for Children, with Questions and Answers, by a Lady. (Rivingtons.) A SERVANT'S COMPLAINT. I HAVE been brought up in a charity-school; for which I have very great reason to be thankful, for I never knew my parents; and the people who had the care of me when I was a child lived in the worst part of London, and I saw nothing but wickedness and vice either in them or any of their neighbours. How little, Sir, do people in general know the miserable way in which children in such places are brought up! Instead of wondering that they should become thieves, and live in the practice of every sort of wickedness, the wonder would be if they were otherwise. There is a regular training in wickedness from father to son; and a boy would be punished by his parents if he was not dexterous in thieving, and clever in deceit and fraud. How can he think that to be wrong which his own parents have taught him? he has no opportunity of seeing or hearing what is right. Stealing and cheating are the trades by which his parents live, and to these employments he is brought up. I wish the schools and the clergymen could get hold of such children as these! I am afraid but very few of these are sent to the schools where religion is taught; and so we hear of crimes going on, notwithstanding so much is done for the instruction of the poor. The parents who send their children to school are generally those who wish to have them taught what is good. The very bad parents, for the most part, do A Servant's Complaint. 463 not send them at all. I was, however, myself mercifully snatched away from the bad neighbourhood where I first drew my breath; and was brought up, as I have said, at a charity-school; and there I was taught to know what was right, and I hope and trust, Sir, that the good instruction which I received there has not been thrown away upon me. I was instructed according to the principles of the Church of England; and now I am able to read and reflect and consider for myself, I think I see plainly that the doctrines of our church are all in agreement with the teaching of the Holy Scriptures. I was taught to believe that Jesus Christ suffered that we might be saved, and that we owed such a debt of gratitude to him for this great mercy, that it was our duty to try to live according to the rules of his holy law, and that it was of little use to profess a belief in the truth of Scripture, if we did not also try to live according to it. I was taught to pray for the help of the Holy Spirit to enable me to lead such a life. And, before I left the school, I was charged to be ever on the watch, that I might show, by my conduct, that my education had not been thrown away upon me. This has been my constant desire; but I cannot tell you, Sir, how much trouble it has brought me into. I don't wish to speak against other servants, because I know that there are many who have been taught what is good, and who are really desirous of practising it, and I have reason to think that, since education has been so much attended to, there is much improvement in this respect. But I was unfortunate; and I got into a place where my fellow-servants had no notion of religion; and there was a great deal going on among them which I knew was contrary to their own duty and to their master's interest; and, as I could not approve of this, and would not join in their practices, there was a regular sort of opposition to me from them all : they called me a cant, and a poor creature, and a methodist, and all sorts of names, and tried all they could to make me unhappy; and unhappy I certainly was, and should have been much more so, had I not felt assured that I was, at least, endeavouring to do what I had been taught to be my duty. I, however, did indeed actually lose my place, in consequence of one of the servants, who was very much about my master, constantly instilling into his mind that I was a strange person, and had very extraordinary notions; and, after hearing these things frequently repeated, my master began to think that there was something quite wrong about me; and he accordingly dismissed me. I should be glad, Sir, if you would put this letter into your book, as my case may perhaps show the injustice of accusing a person for doing what he has been taught to be right. I know that the same thing has happened in other families besides that in which I lived. I am, Sir, your constant reader, We have received other letters with complaints similar to that in the above letter; but here is enough to call upon those who set themselves in opposition to religion, to consider seriously the great crime they are guilty of. LETTER FROM AN OLD VILLAGE SIR, YOUR book has been long taken in by many people in this village, but I can't say that I like it at all. Why should you trouble yourself about vaccination and other matters that belong to doctors? Why there are plenty of people to plague the villagers about vaccination without you, and if all the people were to listen to what you and they |
