THE KNOWLEDGE "TODDLEKINS." OF THE LOVE OF CHRIST. BY THE REV. J. S. SIDEBOTHAM, M.A., RECTOR OF ST. MILDRED'S, CANTERBURY. EPHESIANS iii. 19. 829 although having some knowledge of the Most High, speaking indeed as though he had even heard words of God-scarcely to have had much of the love of God in his heart. How truthfully from such words may we learn the deep lesson, that we may have a form of godliness, and yet deny the power thereof! But of what use is the form without the power? of just as much as a human body without life, a human mind without intelligence, a human heart without love. But to what purpose can life, intelligence, affection, all or any of them tend, without the knowledge and the love of Christ to inspire and enlighten all else? T is, indeed, true that the love of Christ passeth all knowledge. We know something of it even in this world, for we cannot but be constantly feeling its effects in our hearts, in our lives, in our thoughts, in our actions, in the thousand different ways in which we may recognise it, if we will look for it, and think of it, but in which, even then, we must altogether fail to understand that which angels can only desire to look into. That we may have what experience is possible of that which passeth knowledge, is a part of the prayer of Christ's apostle which is brought before us in An enlightened philosophy once triumphed this chapter. In reading this passage, we cannot over the savagery of heathendom, and gradually but be reminded of the words of St. John: "For civilised a rough and barbarous people in Italy; he that loveth not his brother whom he hath but it left them still a prey to the most degrading seen, how can he love God whom he hath not superstitions, till the knowledge and the love of seen? And this commandment have we from him, Christ made its own quiet and peaceful way, That he who loveth God love his brother also." | through persecution after persecution, to the very God does not bid us do impossibilities. He does seat of empire. And then from that once heathen not bid us love himself whom mortal eye has capital as a centre, mission after mission was sent never looked upon, and cannot behold, before we forth to carry on the work-begun in it centuries have learned the lesson of love; but he appeals before by St. Paul-of evangelisation in lands to us to love him through our own race: first, where Gospel light and freedom were before unto learn to love our brethren, our kinsmen, known. But as time went on, its own light became our friends, and then having learned the lesson obscured; the simplicity of the Gospel was gradually of love by means of earthly ties, to love himself overlaid with superstition, and the truth of God who is love itself, and from whom, in the first itself changed into a lie by the devices and the instance, all love proceeds. And so the apostle vanity and the pride of man. Let us then learn speaks of "the whole family in heaven and earth." that if we would know the love of Christ, we shall Let us look at facts. Is not the first love known best seek it in the spirit of the simplicity that is in upon earth that which subsists in the very earliest himself. If we would understand it, let us look to infancy between parent and child; then between the manger at Bethlehem, and see therein the children of the same parents, and which then mighty God and everlasting Father presenting gradually spreads abroad and embraces others himself to us as the Prince of Peace in the lowly than those of the same kin, till we begin to form of a little child; and if, even then, it altorecognise in it something holier and purer than gether passes our comprehension, let us follow anything of earth, and to "look through nature him to his agony at Gethsemane, and view him on up to nature's God?" But when we do so, how the cross at Calvary, and we may begin to learn little can we yet know him. "Canst thou by the lesson which St. Peter declared surpassed searching find out God? canst thou find out the the comprehension of angels. "Greater love hath Almighty to perfection? It is as high as heaven; no man than this," are Christ's own words, "that what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what a man lay down his life for his friend." What canst thou know ?" Such, as recorded in the must have been the love of Him who died to confer Book of Job, are the words of Zophar, who seems- the greatest blessings on his enemies! "TODDLEKINS." OEY, Arabella Maria, and Toddlekins, of the smallest one, and let go of the elastic with a And Rachael, who had the pleasure of being nurse to these three children, adjusted the hat resounding slap, not suggestive of pleasure to the wearer; but Toddlekins, thus gorgeously arrayed. merely put on the intensely serious expression which having her best hat on required, and then slowly raised to her mouth one of her fingers cased in silk gloves, which rejoiced in a long empty piece at the much mattered whether Toddlekins was asleep or end of each finger. awake. Arabella Maria was with difficulty persuaded to relinquish her hold of two frightful little black kittens, and Joey had to be earnestly entreated not to take with him a small rowing boat, with oars complete, which he seemed to think could, by dint of much coaxing, be rammed into his pocket. These matters having with some little difficulty been arranged to Rachael's satisfaction, Joey and Arabella Maria were set off, hand in hand together, and Rachael caught hold of the little silk-gloved hand, with the empty finger-tips, and twisted Toddlekins round with such a jerk that her little skirts were swung round her, and she was taken off at a fast trot after her big brother and sister. All along a quiet shady road they went; for it was in the outskirts of a little country town where these children lived. In the midst of the town was a grey old minster, where this summer's afternoon was going to be held a service for children. On entering at the great doors Toddlekins stumbled over the mat, and this so occupied Joey's attention that he would have forgotten to take off his hat had not Arabella Maria given it a hasty shove at the back, which sent it over his eyes; this proceeding she accompanied by such a scornful look that Joey was awed into meek behaviour. Into their own pew they went, Arabella Maria first, then Joey, then Rachael, last of all Toddlekins; but this was quite a proper arrangement, because Toddlekins was nobody; Toddlekins always had been considered a nobody and a stupid little thing by the other two. Even in her own opinion she was a miserably small, insignificant young person. It was a very good little person though, on the whole, and behaved as well as the biggest person in church that afternoon. Not that she understood, or pretended to understand, what she heard, but she was very much impressed by everything; and now and then she looked in an admiring way at Arabella Maria and Joey because they could understand. At last something was said that Toddlekins really could understand; it was the text: "Little children, love one another." Toddlekins wondered whether it really meant that, because if so she could understand a sermon like other people; but while she was thinking this the sermon had gone on so far that she found it quite impossible to follow it; so there she sat, bolt upright on the seat, her legs dangling some long way from the ground, her little serious face and round eyes turned to the high arching roof; and clasped in her lap were her silk-gloved hands, the empty bits at the finger-ends turning different ways. By-and-by Toddlekins fell asleep, sitting bolt, upright until the last possible moment, and then falling back suddenly into the corner of the high old pew; and so she remained, nobody thinking that it By-and-by Rachael recalled Toddlekins from Dreamland by a tug at her arm, and it was time to go home, after her apparel had been set straight by a pull and a pat, and once more through the great doors and along the quiet, shady road they went, Arabella Maria and Joey disputing hotly the while as to the colour of one of the kitten's eyes. One of the black kittens at home had two different coloured eyes; Arabella Maria said one was green and the other grey, and Joey said one was green and the other blue. They talked of nothing else all the way, so that by the time they reached home Arabella Maria's cheeks were very red and hot, and Joey had tears in his eyes. Toddlekins, trotting along with Rachael, remembered still the last words she had heard before she went to sleep-"little children, love one another." So that was a sermon, and Toddlekins was thinking she might really conclude that she understood like other people. However, she would just make sure, and ask Rachael, she thought; so in her lucid way she began, "Rachael, does it means it ?" Now, Rachael had no idea what Toddlekins meant, or what she was talking about; moreover, no one troubled themselves much about her conversation; so without thinking twice, Rachael said, "I don't know." This was an easy way of answering, but it made things most harassing to Toddlekins, so she resolved to think no more about it for the present. By-andby, when they were at home again, and were going down-stairs into the garden, Toddlekins, with a wellprinted pattern of a glove with an elastic band on her hands, they met their papa and mamma just coming in from the garden. “Well, children, have you been to church ?" said their papa. "What was the text ?' Two pairs of eyes were immediately directed at Arabella Maria. In point of years, Joey came first, but in all else he was second; and on every occasion, and in all emergencies, the other two entirely depended upon her. Now, however, it appeared that their support was about to fail them; for, hesitating, she turned to Joey, and said authoritatively, “Joey, don't you hear? what was the text?" "I thought you would say it," said Joey, humbly. Perhaps Toddlekins remembers something about it," said mamma. "Toddlekins!" said Arabella Maria, most contemptuously; "I don't think she heard much of the sermon, for she tumbled inte the corner all in a heap, and was asleep all the time." "TODDLEKINS." and low that it was difficult to hear it, came the words-"Little children, love one another;" and the owner of the queer little voice looked deprecatingly at Arabella Maria. "Why, that was the text," said Rachael. 831 worse, with a spoon in which there was some milky tea when he commenced operations with it. Tea over, they slipped in turn as they had finished from the dusty bench of the earwigy arbour and began amusing themselves with their especial in "Oh, dear! I thought it was the sermon," said terests, Toddlekins, as usual, was the last; and when Toddlekins, in a somewhat disappointed tone. "So it was, Toddlekins,” said papa; “and if you don't take care you will turn out the clever woman of the family after all." "And did it mean it?" said Toddlekins again. "Yes; just what you understand." This was exceedingly pleasant. Toddlekins had risen a big piece in her own estimation, and accordingly was ready to be pleased at cverything. Tea was waiting for them in the "children's arbour," a delightful summer resort for tea on Sundays, a great treat, and looked forward to all the week; a wet Sunday, therefore, was looked upon as a most unfortunate occurrence. Now, a bit of slanting sunlight crept between the apple-trees and lighted up one side of the children's arbour, thus named because it had been given up to them to do as they pleased there, nobody else caring for it. And in truth it had a ruinous, earwigy, spidery sort of appearance; but perhaps country children are not quite so alarmed at the sight of spiders and earwigs as London children are. However that may be, it was with the greatest contentment that they took their places on the dusty little bench that circled the arbour about the table, Toddlekins somehow sitting in the ray of sunlight, which could not have been pleasant; and throughout the tea-time she blinked like a big owl, looking at things and people with her eyes half shut. "I wonder who will get the penny this week," said Joey, at length, letting a piece of bread and butter fall, butter downwards, on his knees at the same time. "I hope I shall," said Arabella Maria; "I do so want to make up sixpence!" "I hope I shall get it," said Toddlekins; "I only got it once all my life!" Such a long life as it was! These children had every week marks for good lessons, good behaviour, tidiness, &c. ; but then there were always a certain number of bad marks set up against the good ones, and on Monday mornings regularly in the schoolroom, some anxious sums of addition and subtraction were gone through, the result of which was that the happy possessor of the most good marks of the past week received a penny. To-morrow was the important day, and Arabella Maria was anxious upon the subject, and even Toddlekins had thoughts about it. Joey would, doubtless, have expressed his sentiments also, had he not been entirely occupied with removing the butter from off his knees, or rather making it considerably at length she clambered down, and slowly passed out of the ray of light in which she had been sitting, it must have been quite a change to her to be able to use her eyes, as she found herself in the shady garden. The first use she made of them was to look for the others. Joey had disappeared, but Toddlekins knew perfectly well where she should find him if she wanted him, and that was in the tool-house, where he had a cage of white rats. Now, Toddlekins had an unconquerable aversion to these white rats; she was dreadfully afraid of them, and willingly she never approached the tool-house; so she made up her mind she didn't want Joey. Arabella Maria was watering her garden, so Toddlekins slowly approached her, and, standing with her hands clasped behind her, she watched her sister's proceedings. Now, Arabella Maria was proud of her garden, and had a habit of impressing her brother and sister that she knew a very great deal about gardening and attending to flowers. "Now, Toddlekins," said she, "just watch the way I am watering these scarlet runners; there, that is the way to do it. If you like, I will show you how to water your garden properly." "No, thank you," said Toddlekins; "I like to do it as I think; you do your own garden." And Toddlekins walked off to visit her own pets, three white rabbits with pink eyes. They lived in the very cosiest of cosy hutches, with several little compartments like rooms for them to run about in. Toddlekins was not a bit afraid of them, and having shut the door of the shed where they lived, they were each taken out in turn to be hugged and kissed. they were such dear little soft, fluffy, white things-just the pets for their little mistress. Round each one's neck was tied a different coloured picce of ribbon, and only by this did other people know them apart; Toddlekins, however, would have known each by its name, ribbon or no ribbon. After some time rabbits and mistress got tired of one another, and Toddlekins went back to the garden, when she heard Rachael calling her from the nursery window; the other two had gone into the house for the night, and Toddlekins was wanted. Slowly she marched towards the house, past Joey's neglected garden, past her own eccentric-looking one, and past Arabella Maria's flaring pretentious affair. "Dear me!" thought Toddlekins, coming to a full stop, "where does this come from?" A ceaseless stream of water was running down the path turning off at the gardens into the lawn. All at once it flashed across her. It was the rain-water tank, and this had happened twice before, when Arabella Maria, to save herself the trouble of fetching water from a distance for her garden, had taken it from the rain-water tank and forgotten to turn it off all night, and all the water had run away. All this crossed Toddlekins' mind in a moment, and after the first impulse to turn back the tap, there came another impulse to let it be. It was quite fair that Arabella Maria should not always get the penny; perhaps she, Toddlekins, would get it for the second time in her life, and she felt quite delighted, and stood watching the running water. Then something else crossed her mind, which required a very long thinking over-something which Toddlekins had heard that day and been very proud of understanding; and then she wondered what was the use of understanding; and the end of it was that she turned it off. Toddlekins ran into the house and sturdily upstairs, one step at a time, making some little noise as she went. On entering the nursery the other two were playing with the black kittens, and Toddlekins instantly joined them and forgot all about what she had done; and it did not cross her mind again until just as she was dropping off to sleep, and then, opening her eyes, she said 331., 1 Sam. viii, 2., 332. Isaiah (chap. iii. 18-24).. 334. Isaiah xix. 10. "All that make sluices and "Arabella Maria, you left the rain-water thing ponds for fish." running." "Did you turn it off again?" said Arabella Maria, sitting wildly up in her bed. "Yes," said Toddlekins, simply, and fell asleep immediately. Stupid little thing to frighten one," said Arabella Maria, and then she too fell asleep. baptism of ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON PAGE 816. SUBSCRIPTIONS TO "THE QUIVER COT FUND."-SEVENTH LIST. |