READING TWELFTH. A dew-drop falling on the wild sea-wave And, happy now, Which thrust it forth, as it had feared, to die; Torn by rude diver from its ocean bed: "WHAT are you reading, Nonie ?" 66 Mamma, a beautiful fairy tale, called Aladdin. It is full of pictures. Do you know it? It is the book Mrs. Ross gave me." Yes, I read it when I was not bigger than you are. It is a very old story-one of the oldest stories known-I used to like it very much." "How beautiful the diamonds, and emeralds, and pearls must have been, mamma, that Aladdin's mother carried in her dish, a present to the Sultan! I do so very much like jewels!" They are very beautiful. How wonderful it is that God should have decked the dark places of the earth, and the depths of the sea, with such glorious things! as beautiful as flowers, and brighter." Yes, mamma: and do not diamonds look like little drops of frozen light? yet you told me they are found down in the earth, where daylight never comes. And pearls, do they come from the deep mines too?" "No, they are found in an oyster which lives at the bottom of the Persian Gulf, in the Arabian seas, and on some coasts of America. But the best are those pure white ones which come from the Persian Gulf. Oriental pearls have a pink hue on them; those found on the American shores are green. I have seen a pearl in a common oyster, but it had not the beauty and lustre of those of the pearl-oyster. In former ages people believed that the shellfish called the pearl-oyster followed, like bees, the oyster called mother-of-pearl; but this appears to have been only a fancy, as the motherof-pearl does not come from a different oyster." "How do they get the oysters, mamma? In dredges, as I saw the fishermen getting them when we were by the sea?" "No, dear, the fishers are obliged to dive for them. Like every precious thing, the pearl is difficult to be gained. A man has to go down into the deep to find them; that is why they are so expensive; of great price,' and the divers sell them to merchants-jewellers'—who trade in them." "How beautiful and how wonderful all that God made is, mamma!" "The pearl, Nonie, is the emblem of purity of heart; therefore, in the vision or dream which St. John had of God's city, he saw that the gates were every several gate of one pearl, allegorically meaning that only the pure and holy can enter there. 'Blessed are the pure God."" You know our Lord said, in heart, for they shall see "Is there much in the Bible, mamma, about pearls and precious stones ?" 6 "Yes, dearest; the sacred writers saw God in all His works, and therefore loved and spoke about all His beautiful and precious gifts. The flowers of the field-the dew on the green herb -the precious things of the earth-are all used by them as teachers. Wisdom is said to be more precious than rubies;' God is as the dew unto Israel:' and you well know our Lord's beautiful instruction drawn from the lilies of the field. Thus it was with its gems. The highpriest of the Jews wore on his breast, by God's order, a breastplate, or square ornament of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet; and on these gorgeous colours were set four rows of precious stones. The three which formed the first row were a ruby, a topaz, and a carbuncle; the second row contained an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; the third a stone called a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst; the fourth a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper, set in gold. These were signet jewels, and each bore the name of one of the tribes of Israel,-a name on each stone, that is, of Jacob's twelve sons. And it is believed that when God answered the questions His people were allowed to ask Him, that a brilliant and peculiar light issued from these stones." "How beautiful it must have been!" "Then again, Solomon's temple and palace were decked with gold and precious stones. It was but natural that a people brought up to admire beautiful and splendid objects should speak of them in their teaching, and illustrate what they taught by reference to them. But whenever they spoke of or described these treasures, it was to show how far more precious were God's word and His gifts of grace to the soul. As it is time for our reading, you may turn to the 13th chapter of St. Matthew, the 45th verse, and read the parable of the pearl of great price." Honora found her place, and began: Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: "Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." She paused.--The short parable was finished. "After our conversation, Honora, you will not find this parable difficult to understand." "No, mamma, I think it means that the kingdom of heaven (that is, God's love and service) is more precious even than the richest pearl, and that we should give up everything to buy it." "Can we buy it ?" No, I don't mean that; God gives it to us for our Lord's sake, I know; but we must give something for it ourselves, too, mamma; or I don't know what it means." "Yes, darling; we must give all that we have. Our heart, life, and time in return for this precious gift-this pearl of great price. We must be ready to deny ourselves, to give up everything if God's service requires it of us, and we shall gain, as the merchant did by the exchange." And, mamma,” said Honora, who, like most intelligent children, had a quick and vivid fancy, we must seek for it too, even if we have to 66 |