Page:Cyclopedia of illustrations for public speakers, containing facts, incidents, stories, experiences, anecdotes, selections, etc., for illustrative purposes, with cross-references; (IA cyclopediaofillu00scotrich).pdf/602

 And the strong man there was a kindly man and aided the one who was weak, And for those who were simple and trusting men their wiser brother's would speak; And creed, or color, or land, or birth, caused no man to hate another, For the same red blood filled each man's veins, and every man was a brother.

And the old man there was a blessed man, for toilless he wanted nought, And vice and toil on the little ones no longer their ruin wrought; And the feeble in body and mind had there no longer a care for bread; For out of the plenty that was for all, 'twas theirs the first to be fed.

And peace was forever in that fair land, for no man envied his mate, And no man's treasures, where all were rich, woke his brother's sleeping hate, And the kingdom that Christ had promised was now for all men to see, And the name of that happy kingdom was, "The land of the soon be be." (Text.)

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PROMISES

"Oh, grandpa," said Charlie, "see how white the apple-trees are with blossoms."

"Yes," replied grandpa; "if the tree keeps its promises, there will be plenty of apples; but if it is like some boys I know there may not be any."

"What do you mean by keeping its promises?" Charley inquired.

"Why," returned grandpa, "blossoms are only the tree's promises, just as the promises little boys make sometimes are blossoms. Sometimes the frost nips these blossoms, both on the tree and in the boy."

"I see," Charlie remarked; "then you think when I promise to be a better boy, I am only in blossom. But I'll show you that the frost can't nip my blossoms."—The Young Evangelist.

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Dr. Alexander MacLaren writes as follows about following the promises:

In the crooked alleys of Venice there is a thin thread of red stone inlaid in the pavement or wall which guides through all the devious turnings to the plaza, in the center where the great church stands. As long as we have the red line of promise on the path faith may follow it, and it will lead to God. (Text.)

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PROMISES, BROKEN

I remember when I lived in Brooklyn there used to be a fence around the City Hall. A man used to stand there, grasping the iron railing in his hand, and looking up at the clock, every day at noon; and when it struck 12, he would count each stroke and look about him, his face full of joy and hope. But after two or three minutes the light would fade out of his eyes, and he would be turned into an old man, and would drag his feet slowly away. For nine years he did this, until death took him. I was told that at some great business crisis of his life a man had promised to bring him some hundreds of dollars at a particular time, to rescue him from failure. The man did not come, and he found out he never intended to come; and the great disappointment shattered his brain, and day after day he was at the City Hall, looking for the man who never came. The guilt of human hearts has made men give promises to get rid of importunate persons. Some of us have become cynics because we have found men so ready to promise falsely.—

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PROMISES, IMPLIED

A promise may sometimes be binding on the conscience even when not made in specific terms:

M. Fallieres was presiding at a banquet at Agen, when a piece of money dropt from his waistcoat pocket to the floor. His neighbor said: "I think you have let fall a 2f. piece." But he replied, "Let it be; that will be a lucky find for the waiter," and he called the latter, whispering to him to look out for a 2f. piece, which he would find somewhere under his seat on the floor. Toward the end of dinner M. Fallieres was seen by his neighbor to be feeling with a preoccupied air in his waistcoat pockets. As he rose he looked round, fancied he was not observed, and gently let a 2f. piece slide down to the floor. His neighbor, who had noticed the strange proceeding, asked M. Fallieres afterward if he would tell him what it meant. "The fact is," Mr. Fallieres answered, "that I remembered that I keep only coppers in my left-hand pocket, from which the piece dropt that you supposed was 2f.,