"But if I say you may—" she said.
Prince Eddie stood his ground, a hero between two fires—the wishes of his adored mother and those of his equally adored grandmother. His sisters and his brothers followed his lead. When the Queen went away she put the bonbons on the nursery table and there they stayed for months untouched, a handsome monument to the thoroughness of the princess's training and the respectful love and devotion of her children. (Text.)
(2215)
OBEDIENCE, A TYPE OF
Admiral Dewey served through the Civil
War, and had the fortune to get always into
the thickest of the fight. When in command
of the Dolphin, he exhibited his ideas of
obedience. One of his "Jacks" refused to
obey an order of his lieutenant and was reported
to Dewey. "What!" said Dewey, "you
refuse? Do you know this is mutiny?" The
man still remained stubborn. Thereupon
Dewey told the captain to call the guard. He
stood the obdurate seaman on the far side
of the deck, and ordered the marines to load.
Then he took out his watch and said, "Now
my man, you have just five seconds to obey
that order," and began to count the seconds.
At the fourth count the man moved off with
alacrity to obey the order. The admiral was
a man to be trusted implicitly to carry out
orders, which fact had become a byword at
the Navy Department, and he won fame from
the custom he had formed of doing the
thing expected of him.—James T. White,
"Character Lessons."
(2216)
OBEDIENCE AND GREATNESS
The moon calls to the Atlantic and the
mighty seas lift themselves in great tidal
waves as they follow their mistress round the
globe. It calls with equal insistence to the
wayside pool and this passing reminder of
yesterday's shower yields not an inch. The
dust speck dances in the sunlight impudently
or ignorantly defiant of the law which holds
the earth with a grip of steel as it goes
bounding along through a wilderness of
stars held steady by the same hand. Be it
big enough and noble enough, it knows how
to obey.—John H. Willey.
(2217)
OBEDIENCE IN SPIRIT
It is told of an Eastern king how, planning
to visit a remote part of his kingdom, he
sent ahead a trusted minister to build for
his royal master a suitable palace to live in.
When the royal courier reached the end of
his journey he found a plague raging and
the people dying by thousands. So instead
of building the contemplated palace, he took
the money and spent it in medicine and bread
for the poor sufferers, dug graves and buried
the dead, and bought clothing to protect the
living. When the king came on and found
what was done, instead of punishing his
minister he commended him, saying, "Oh,
faithful servant, you have builded for me
a palace in the hearts of my people—built
it out of the tombstones which you have
erected over the graves of the dead; jeweled
it with the tears you have wiped away, made
it echo with songs out of the sobs which
you have stilled."
These servants followed the spirit of
the king's command, not the letter. Will
not God be well pleased with a similar
obedience from His children? (Text.)
(2218)
Object-preaching—See Sermon, Saving a.
OBJECT-TEACHING
Many men could be brought to abandon their evil habits if they could have them as plainly pictured as the man did in the following incident:
A rich profligate kept two monkeys for his
amusement. Once he peeped into his dining
hall where he and his friends had been enjoying
themselves in wine, and found his
pets mimicking the recent party. They
mounted the table, helped themselves to the
wine, and gestured and jabbered as they
had seen their master and his guests doing.
Soon they got merry and jumped all about
the room. Then they got to fighting on the
floor and tearing each other's hair. The
master stood in amazement. "What," he said,
"is this a picture of me? Do even the
brutes rebuke me?" Ever afterward he was
a sober man.
(2219)
Object-teaching, Successful—See Warmth, Lost.
Objection Overcome—See Tact.
OBLIGATION
George William Curtis exhibited an unusual
honesty. Not only had he a fine
sense of obligation where there was no legal
or moral responsibility, but he considered
himself bound by obligations made by others,
in which he had no part. Upon his father's
