t was on a bright Sunday afternoon that the teacher, Willy Thorn, on returning from church, met three of his scholars sauntering towards one of the London parks. They perceived his approach at some little distance, and instantly began to conceal in their pockets something that they had been carrying in their hands. Their nearness to a very tempting stall, upon which fruit and sweetmeats were sold, made Willy guess too truly the cause of the hasty movement. He thought it better, however, at first to take no apparent notice of the fact that the boys had been breaking the Fourth Commandment[66] by buying upon God’s holy day. “Well, my lads,” said Thorn, when he came up to them, “you are going, I see towards the park. I will go with you; we will enjoy the fresh air and bright sunshine together, and perhaps have a little discourse, which may be profitable as well as pleasant.”
The boys were usually very fond of the society of Willy Thorn; but just now, with their pockets full of cakes and nuts, they would have preferred being without it. However, no objection was made; they reached the park, and seated themselves under the shade of a large tree, for the sun was hot, and the shelter of the foliage was pleasant on that sultry afternoon.
Willy Thorn looked upwards at the leafy boughs which hung above him, through whose screen a long bright ray, here and there, pierced like a diamond lance. “This tree has put an allegory into my mind,” said he. “Boys, are you in the mood for a story?”
A story was always welcome, and in the[67] expectation of being amused, the scholars half forgot that their teacher’s presence was delaying their intended feast.
“Methought,” began Thorn, “that I had a dream; and in my dream I beheld a large and venerable tree. It was several thousand years old—so you may imagine its size; but it showed no signs of age; its leaves were as fresh, its fruit as abundant, as when the Israelites of old encamped under its refreshing shade. This tree was called the Sabbath-tree. It was given by its Lord as one of the richest blessings which was ever bestowed upon man. Freely might all partake of its fruit; but all were forbidden by a voice Divine to break even the smallest bough from the sacred tree.
“I saw in my dream that many thronged to the spot where the Sabbath-tree rose, like a beautiful green temple, in the midst of the plain; and I stood aside to mark the effect of its fruit on those who came to gather it. It strewed the ground in some places so thickly, that it shone like a carpet of gold.”
“I suppose,” said Bat Nayland, one of the boys, “that the fruits of the Sabbath-tree[68] are,—going to church, praying, praising, and reading the Bible?”
Thorn smiled in assent, and continued: “I saw one haggard man come, faint with hunger, to the spot. He threw himself down on the soft grass, and fed eagerly on the nourishment freely provided. And I marked joy on his pale face as he ate of the fruit of the Sabbath-tree, and I remembered the holy words, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
“I saw an aged woman reach the tree. She was so feeble that she had hardly power to stoop to gather the fruit; but as she tasted it, her strength returned, her bent form became more erect, she walked with a firmer step, and I remembered that it is written, They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.
“Next, a miserable sufferer approached; on his countenance was an expression of pain. He was sick—grievously sick of the malady of sin, fatal to all who cannot find a cure. But he knew the healing powers of the tree. He fed, and even as he fed health[69] returned to his faded cheek, the anguish of his soul passed away, and the sufferer found himself whole.”
“I thought,” said the eldest of the boys, “that there was but one cure for sin!”
“True, most true,” replied Thorn, with an approving look; “but in due observance of Sabbath duties, we learn how to seek and where to find that cure.
“I had watched in my dream, with a rejoicing heart, thousands gathering the precious fruit, and receiving nourishment, strength, and healing; but now, alas! my attention was attracted by yet greater multitudes, who thronged to the spot only, as I became painfully aware, to break and injure the beautiful tree. Some enemy had hung up a hatchet on its trunk, with Disobedience marked on the handle, and of this numbers made very free use to cut down large boughs from the tree.
“‘I am going on a jovial merry-making in the country,’ cried one; ‘I and my family shall have a treat. I want some wood to mend up my broken car.’
“‘Hold!’ exclaimed the youth who had[70] been healed, attempting to stay the hand of the Sabbath-breaker; ‘are there not six groves nigh at hand?—had you not better cut what you want from them?’
“&ls............