The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1896, Page 35

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The Lutheran Pioneer. 35
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The Talking Chip.

While Missionary Williams was building a
new church on one of the islands of the South
Sea, he forgot one day, on setting out from
home, to take his rule along. Not wishing to
walk back the long way himself, he picked up
achip that lay at his feet, wrote on it a few
words with a piece of cinder, asking his wife
to send him the rule, and handed the chip to
a by-stander with the words, ‘*My friend, take
this chip, go to my house with it and give it
to my wife.’’ The man was a stout fellow
and a mighty warrior, who had lost an eye in
a battle. He looked at the missionary in sur-
prise and asked, ‘‘What’s the meaning of this
piece of wood? Mrs. Williams will think I am
a fool for bringing her a chip.’’ ‘‘No, she
will not,’”’ said the missionary ; ‘‘take it and
carry it to her without delay, for I am in a
hurry.’’ As the man, who had never seen or
heard of writing before, noticed that the mis-
sionary was in earnest, he finally took the chip
and inquired, ‘‘But what am I to do or get?”
“You don’t need to say a word,” replied
Mr. Williams; ‘‘the chip will tell all that I
wish to say.’’

With a look of mingled wonder and con-
tempt the man held the chip up and said,
“Can this little piece of wood talk? Why, it
has no mouth!’ The missionary now bade
him make haste and not lose so much time in
talking about it. The man went. Arriving
at the house, he gave-the chip to Mrs. Will-
iams, who read the note, threw the chip away
and went to the chest of tools. The man
watched her every movement with astonish-
ment. When she handed him the rule he
cried, ‘‘Stay, daughter! How do you know
that Mr. Williams wants just this tool?”
“Why,’’ said Mrs. Williams, ‘‘did you not
bring me this chip?’ ‘‘Yes,” replied the
astonished warrior, ‘‘but I didn’t hear it say
anything to you.’’ ‘‘If you didn’t hear it say
anything,’’ she observed, ‘‘I did; for it told
me what my husband wished, and you have
nothing more to do but to return to him as
quickly as possible.’’

Picking up the mysterious chip, the man
hurried away, ran through the village holding
up the piece of wood in one hand and the rule
in the other, and exclaimed, ‘‘Just see how
smart these white people are! They can make
chips speak!’? Having returned to the mis-
sionary and given him the rule, he wanted to
know how it was possible for the chip to speak.
The missionary explained the matter to him
as well as he could, but still it remained so
great a mystery to him that he put a cord
through the chip, tied it about his neck and
Tan around with it for some time. Everywhere
the people gathered about him in groups and
listened with the greatest attention, while he
told the story of the wonderful chip. Only
later, after he had himself learned to read

And write, the marvelous feat became clear
to him.

Nothing but Girls.

You would never hear your father say that.
But let us visit the lands where the little girls
are not wanted and not cared for.

A missionary once went to see an old Ma-
hommedan in the Syrian city of Tripoli. As
he entered the outer court, he saw a number
of little girls running out of his way as fast
as they could. He asked a boy who was with
him who they were, and he said they were
the children of the person he was going to
call on.

So he went on into his presence and was
most politely received. The old man rose
from his cushion on the floor, placed his right
hand on his forehead, and, bowing gracefully,
said, ‘‘May your morning be blessed, your
Excellency!. Peace be to your life.’”’ ‘Then
a boy brought in cups of very strong black
coffee, and they talked together in a friendly
way.

Presently the missionary asked the old man
how many children he had, and was surprised
at the prompt reply, in a sorrowful voice,
“T have no children at all.’’

The visitor thought this was very strange,
and that there must be some mistake. ‘‘Were
not those your daughters whom I saw in the
court?’’ he asked again.

‘Oh yes,’’ he replied, ‘‘those are mine, but
they are nothing but girls.”’

The same missionary, calling on another
Mahommedan gentleman, and asking him the
same question, received for answer, ‘‘I have
four sons, but praise to God, I have no
daughters.”’

Now let us see what a difference it makes
when people become Christians. A little
daughter was born in the same city of Tri-
poli, who had a very unusual welcome. When
the relatives heard of its birth, they came to
express their sympathy with the parents at
the sad calamity which had befallen them.
The baby’s grandmother declared she would
not kiss her for six months because she was
a girl! 4

But the father stood up and said, ‘‘Spare
your sorrow. I do not want your: sympathy.
I love my little daughter, and I hope te train
her up to love the Saviour, and to do good to
others. I am not a heathen any longer.’’
And then he went and put up a flag to let all
his neighbors know that he was not sorry that
his child was a girl.

Thus, you see, the little heathen girls have
great reason to rejoice when their parents be-
come Christians. The life of a woman is a
very sad one in all countries where they have
not got the Bible. She is despised and de-
graded, thought to have no soul; made to do
all the work; never allowed to take her meals
or sit down with her husband. But when the
religion of the Lord Jesus Christ comes in,
woman begins to be loved and honored, and
is promoted to her proper place.

The Queen and the Child.

Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, had
a palace at Schonhausen. One day Queen
Elizabeth, the wife of Frederick, was walk-
ing in the garden connected with this palace.
Her gardener had a little niece named Gret-
chen «vith him in the garden. She was on a
visit to her uncle. Gretchen lived in the city
of Berlin. Her father was a gardener too.
He was a poor man, but he was a Christian,
and he had taught his little daughter to know
and love Jesus.

The Queen talked with little Gretchen, and
was so much pleased with her simplicity, and
her bright, intelligent answers to the questions
she asked her, that she told her uncle to let
her come to the palace the next day and make
her a visit.

So Gretchen dressed herself very neatly,
and went to the palace at the time appointed.

One of the court ladies who knew about it,
saw her coming, and told the Queen, who was
then at dinner. The good Queen was much
pleased to hear that her little visitor had come.
She ordered her to be brought in at once.
Gretchen ran up to her kind friend, courtesied
to her very respectfully, and kissed her dress.
At the request of the Queen, she was placed
on a chair by her side, where she could see at
once all the splendid sight which that table
presented. There was a large company dining
with the Queen. Lords and princes, and offi-
cers of the army, and ladies were there, spark-
ling with gold and jewels. It was the first
time this innocent child had ever seen such a
sight, and the Queen felt curious to know what
effect it would have upon her.

Gretchen looked quietly at the costly dresses
of the company, and at the beautiful dishes of
china and gold that covered the table, and was
silent for a while. Then,. while all the per-
sons at the table were looking at her, she
clasped her little hands and closed her eyes,
and repeated in a simple, touching way, this
verse of a hymn her father had taught her:

“Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are—my glorious dress;
’Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.”

The company were greatly surprised and
deeply moved. One of the ladies said to the
Queen, with tears in her eyes, ‘‘Happy child!
We thought she would envy us, but we have
much more reason to envy her.’’

———2 + o~<am >

A Beautiful Custom.

It is said, that, when the sun is going out
of sight, the pious Swiss herdsman of the
Alps takes his Alpine horn, and shouts loudly
through if, ‘‘Praise ye the Lord!’’ Then

a brother herdsman on some distant slope

takes up the echo, ‘‘Praise ye the Lord!??
Soon another still higher up the mountains;
till hill shouts to hill, and peak echoes to

peak, the sublime anthem of praise to the

Lord of all. — Selected.

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