He
said 'twasn't the clothes, 'twas the flesh and blood he wanted, and
'twasn't no use to argufy about it; a man that hadn't got any
children wasn't mor'n half a man. 'Well,' says I, supposing you had a
pack of, 'em, what have you got to give 'em?' 'Jest exactly what my
father and mother gave me,' says he; 'two hands to earn their bread
with, and a welcome you could have heard from Dan to Beersheba.'"
"I like to hear that!" I said. "And I hope many such welcomes will
resound in this house. Suppose money does come in while little
goes-out; suppose you get possession of the whole farm; what then?
Who will enjoy it with you? Who will you leave it to when you die?
And in your old age who will care for you?"
"You seem awful earnest," she said.
"Yes, I am in earnest. I want to see little children adorning every
home, as flowers adorn every meadow and every wayside. I want to see
them welcomed to the homes they enter, to see their parents grow less
and less selfish, and more and more loving, because they have come. I
want to see God's precious gifts accepted, not frowned upon and
refused."
Mr. Brown came in, so I could say no more. But my heart warmed
towards him, as I looked at his frank good-humored face, and I should
have been glad to give him the right hand of fellowship, As it was I
could only say a word or two about the beauty of his farm, and the
scenery of this whole region.
Pages:
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353