A BAD SIGN. (See page 27.)
A
TEACHER’S GIFT.
BOSTON:
BROWN, TAGGARD & CHASE,
(Successors to W. J. Reynolds & Co.)
25 & 29 CORNHILL.
1857.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by
Brown, Taggard & Chase,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of
Massachusetts.
PRINTED BY
GEORGE C. RAND & AVERY.
ELECTROTYPED AT THE
BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY.
[Pg 5]
A TEACHER’S GIFT.
JOHN IN SEARCH OF A PLACE.
“Well, John, have you succeeded, to-day,my son?”
“No, mother; I have been nearly allover the town, and no one would take me.But I think if you had been with me, Ishould have stood a better chance. You[Pg 6]look so thin and pale, mother, somebodywould have felt sorry, and so have takenme; but nobody knew me, and no onesaw you.”
It was a cold, bleak night, and John hadbeen out all day, “looking for a place.”He had tried hard, until it was quite dark,and then gave up, thinking his mother mustbe tired of waiting for him.
John’s mother was a widow, and a verypoor one. She had kept herself by needle-work,till a severe trial of sickness had confinedher to her bed, and she was unable todo more. She told her little son to sitdown by the fire, while she got him somefood. The fire and the supper were veryscanty; but John knew they were the bestshe could provide, and he felt that he wouldrather share such a fire and such a supperwith so kind a mother, than sit at the best-filledtable with any body else who did notlove him as she did, and whom he did notlove as he did her.
[Pg 7]
After a few moments of silence, the boylooked up into his mother’s face, and said,“Mother, do you think it would be wrongto ask my new Sabbath school teacher abouta place?” “No, my child, not if you haveno other time, and I think that he would bea very proper person; at least, I shouldthink that he would be interested in gettingyou a good place.” “Well, to-morrow isSabbath day, and when the cl