The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1911, Page 52

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

The Good Shepherd.

Jesus my Shepherd is;

*Iwas He that-loved my soul,

*Iwas He that washed me in His blood,
*Iwas He that made me whole.

*Iwas He that sought the lost,

That found the wandering sheep;
*Iwas He that brought me to the fold,
"Tis He that still doth keep.

—le eC

They Went to See Grandma.

Little Annie was begging her father to take her
to visit her grandmother, who lived at a distance.
To get rid of her he said, “It costs five dollars every
time we go to see grandma, Annie, and five dollars
don’t grow on every bush.”

“But, dear papa,” said the child, “we've not
seen grandma for so long, and grandmas don’t grow
- on every bush neither.”

They went to see grandma.

How God Punished a Great Sin.

I have seen little folks, and also big folks, who
tortured insects, birds, and brutes, and seemed to
enjoy watching them suffer. That is cruel and
wicked. I want to tell you of a boy who did such
things, and I hope his experience will be a warn-
ing and a Jesson to any of you who do not care to
give dumb creatures pain when not necessary.

Romming, the son of a farmer who lived in
Germany, is the person of whom I wish to tell you.
When but a child, it seemed to give him great
pleasure to torture and torment innocent creatures.
He would catch young sparrows and slowly torture
them to death. He would seize bugs and flies and
tear off their wings. If he would see a worm, he
would cut it in two and watch it writhe. He kept
his pockets full of stones, and when he came across
a cow, or a sheep, or a horse, or a dog, it was fun
to hit them and see them limp, or hear them howl.
If he caught a cat, he was just as likely to cut off
its tail or ears or a foot, as not. He would rob
birds’ nests. He would catch the sweet singers and
pull out their feathers. His parents and teachers
often talked to him, and told him what a sin it
was to abuse God’s creatures in.that way. But it.
did no good.

He grew up to be a man, and was still about as
heartless as ever. He was engaged by a beer-brewer.
One day while standing by a tub or vat full of
boiling beer his hat fell in. In trying to catch it,
he lost his balance and fell in. He caught by the
sides of the vat and kept all but his legs out of
‘the boiling beer. He cried loudly and pitifully for
help, and was soon taken out and carried to his
home. He was in great pain. For some distance
people could hear his cries and groans. All at once
he became quiet, and remained so, in deep thought,
for a half-hour. He then asked to see a minister.
As soon as the minister came, Romming began ‘to
cry, “Oh, my sins, my sins!” He spoke of what a

- cruel person he had always been. He lamented

that he had always taken pleasure in torturing
God’s creatures. He feared God would not forgive
him. He was very miserable. And all the more
so when the doctor told him that both his legs
must be taken off. But the minister spoke words
of comfort to him, assuring him that God, for
Christ’s sake, would forgive the chief of sinners. .

Romming got well, and lived as a cripple for
twenty-five years. But he lived to teach others to
be merciful to God’s creatures.