he grew up to be a man, and he did every thing in his power to make her happy. He took care of her goats, and her fowls, and worked in her garden; and she taught him to read his Bible, and to write. They took great care of Cæsar as long as he lived, and when he died William buried him in the garden. William lived very happily with his grandmother, because she brought him up in the fear of God; and while he was little she punished him when he was naughty. She often used to say, "I loved your father so foolishly that I never corrected him, so God corrected me. But I will love you, my little grandson, with a wiser love, and will not fail to punish you when you are naughty." When William grew up he thanked his grandmother for having preserved him from doing wrong. And thus their days were spent happily in diligent labour; while their evenings were closed with reading God's book and praying together; till, at length, the pious old woman died. At At her death, she left William her house, and all that she had; and he mourned for her many months. length, finding it melancholy to live alone, he chose himself a wife, who feared God; and God blessed him with several children, whom he brought up in the way of holiness. When William was forty years old, or more, he was sitting at his door one fine evening in summer, with his wife and children about him, and his youngest daughter was reading a chapter from the old Bible which had belonged to his grandmother, when six very miserable looking nien came from the way of the forest. They were pale, and seemed to be worn with disease and famine. On their shoulders they carried old leathern bags, which seened to have nothing in them. They had neither shoes nor stockings; and their ragged and tattered garments hardly hung upon their backs. They came up and stood before the paling of William's garden, and humbly asked for a morsel of bread. "We are poor miserable men," they said, "and have been many days without any other food than such wild nuts and fruit as we could pick up in the forest; and for several nights past we have had no rest, through our fear of the wolves." "I ought to pity you," said William, " for when I was a little boy I passed a whole day and part of a night alone in that forest, and should have been eaten up by one of those dreadful creatures, had not my faithful dog, whose grave is in this garden, fought for me, and saved me." While William spoke, the men looked at each other. "But you seem weary and hungry," said William ; "sit down on the grass, and we will quickly bring you something to eat." So William's wife ran into the house, and prepared a large mess of broth, into which she broke some brown bread, and gave it to one of her sons to set before the men. 66 The poor half-starved and ragged strangers received the broth with thankfulness, and ate it greedily; after which they arose, and, bowing low before William, they asked him if he would allow them to lodge for that night with his goats. "For," said they, we have had no place of safety to repose in for many nights, and are so spent and worn out with watching against the wolves, that we are like men at the point of death." "I have," said William, "a little barn, in which I keep hay for my goats; you are welcome to sleep in it, and we will supply you with blankets to cover you. sit down, and be at ease. So The men were exceedingly thankful; and William opening his gate to them, they came into his garden, and sitting down round him upon the green turf, he entered into discourse with them, while his wife and children went about their work. "And whence," said William, "do you come? and where do you propose to go to-morrow? You seem to have made a long journey, and to be in a very forlorn condition; some of you also appear to be in bad health, and look like men who have suffered much." "Sir," answered one of the men, who seemed to be the eldest, 66 we were woodmen, living in the forest, about three days' journey from this place; but some years ago, falling under the displeasure of the king, our hut was burned, all our things were taken from us, and we ourselves were cast into prison, where we lay many years in a lonesome dungeon, so that our health was utterly destroyed; and when we were set at liberty we were unable to work, and, having no friends, we have wandered ever since from place to place, suffering all imaginable hardships, and being often many days without food." "I fear," answered William, "that you committed some crime, by which you offended the king." "Yes, sir," answered the oldest of the men, "we were guilty of deer-stealing. We will not deceive you. We would now live honestly, and lead better lives: but in our own neighbourhood no one will look upon us, and we cannot raise money to buy even a single hatchet to cut wood, otherwise we would follow our old trade, and endeavour to maintain ourselves; though indeed we are now so feeble that we could do but little." "But," said William, whose heart began to feel pity for these poor men, and to be drawn strongly towards them, "have you no relations in your own country? Are you all of one family?" "We have no other relations," answered the old man; "but we are all brothers-children of the same parents. Our father was a woodcutter: his name was Roger Hardfoot." “And had you not a little brother ?" asked William, getting up and coming close to them. The men looked at each other like persons in a great terror, and knew not what to answer. "I am that little brother,” said William. "God preserved me from death, and brought me to this house, where I found my grandmother still living, and a parent she was indeed to me; and here I have lived in peace and abundance ever since. Be not afraid, my brothers; I freely forgive you, as God, I hope, will forgive me. You have done me no harm; and now Providence has brought you hither, I will assist and comfort you. You shall suffer want no more." William's brethren could not answer him,-but they fell at his feet shedding tears of repentance; for God had touched their hearts in their prison, and had made them sensible of the great and horrible sinfulness of their lives. William tried to raise them, but they would not be lifted up till they had received his pardon. "We never have prospered since we left you, our little brother, in the wood," they said. "Our lives have, from that day, been filled with trouble, though they were for years afterward spent in riot, confusion, and sin." William at length persuaded them to rise, and to feel assured that he forgave them, earnestly begging them to apply to God for forgiveness through his beloved Son. The poor men were comforted by William's kindness; but whenever they looked at him and remembered how they had treated him, they were filled again and again with shame and sorrow. The next day William and his sons began to build a hut close by his own cottage for his brothers; and his brothers gave all the assistance in their power to the work. When the hut was finished, William provided them with mattresses to sleep on, and sheep-skins to cover them. He gave each of them a knife, a spoon, a wooden stool, a pewter plate, and a horn drinking-cup. He gave them also a deal table, and several other little articles of household goods; while his wife and daughters supplied them with coarse clothing of their own spinning. William was so kind also as to bestow upon each of them a hatchet, which enabled them to maintain themselves by wood-cutting without being a heavy burden on their brother, although he constantly supplied them with many little comforts from his own house. But what was better than supplying their bodily wants, he took unwearied pains to lead their souls to God. He read to them every evening out of their grandmother's Bible; and it is believed that they did not hear the word of God read in vain: for they became very humble, daily lamenting their sins, and died at last in hopes of being forgiven for their Saviour's sake. William and his wife lived many years after the death of his six elder brothers, and had the pleasure of seeing their children's children growing up in the fear of God. And now, my dear children, I would have you learn frem this story to make God your friend; “for such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth;" while "they that be cursed of him shall be cut off." Psalm xxxvii. 22 END OF THE LITTLE WOODMAN. |