That trained horse that I saw in the World's Fair, in seven years had learned twenty tricks. But that horse loved only one person, the master,/ and rushed with open her cheeks, and she said, "You must / love in the animal world is a little tiny stream that trickles. Love in man is an ocean that rolls like the sea. Let us bow the forehead and smite upon the breast, and confess that man's infinite capacity for love tells us he was made in the image of God. (Text.)—N. D. Hillis.
(1910)
LOVE INDESTRUCTIBLE
Asbestos is the most extraordinary of all
minerals. It is of the nature of alabaster,
but it may be drawn out into fine silken
threads. It is indissoluble in water and unconsumed
in fire. An asbestos handkerchief
was presented to the Royal Society of England.
It was thrown into an intensely hot
fire and lost but two drams of its weight,
and when thus heated was laid on white
paper and did not burn it. Love is like asbestos.
The waves of sorrow will not wash
it away. The flames of tribulation will not
burn it up. It is eternal and immortal.
(Text.)
(1911)
LOVE INESCAPABLE
James Freeman Clarke, on his seventy-eighth birthday, wrote this significant bit of verse:
Be happy now and ever
That from the love divine no power the soul shall sever:
For not our feeble nor our stormy past,
Nor shadows from the future backward cast;
Not all the gulfs of evil far below,
Nor mountain-peaks of good which soar on high
Into the unstained sky,
Nor any power the universe can know;
Not the vast laws to whose control are given
The blades of grass just springing from the sod,
And stars within the unsounded depths of heaven—
Can touch the spirit hid with Christ in God.
For nought that He has made, below, above,
Can part us from His love.
(1912)
LOVE, INTERPRETATION BY
A story is told of an artist who painted the
picture of the Crucifixion. When it was
completed, he called in a lady friend to see
it, and pulling the curtain aside, withdrew
into the shade that he might see the effect
on her face. He saw the tears running down
her cheeks, and she said, "You must love
Him to paint Him like that." Her words
touched his heart and he replied, "I hope I
do, but as I love Him more I will paint Him
better."
(1913)
LOVE IS GOD'S NATURE
Why does this beautiful girl, that once
was the center of attraction, in every reception,
now hang over the cradle, refuse
honors and give herself by day and by night
to this little babe that puts helpless arms
around the neck, that once flashed with
jewels? We can only say that the mother
is built that way. Why do robins sing?
Why does the sunbeam warm? Why does
summer ripen purple clusters? Why is a
rose red? And a rainbow beautiful? When
we can answer, we may be able to say why
God loves His weak and sinful children. He
loves them because it is His nature to love
them.—N. D. Hillis.
(1914)
LOVE-LETTER, ANCIENT
We possess many love-songs of the old
Egyptians, but a genuine love-letter had
not heretofore been found. Some years ago
in Chaldea there was a love-letter found, written
on clay. Tho the letter has much formality
for such a missive, the reader can feel the
tenderness that lies between its lines. The
document was produced, we should say, in
the year 2200 B.C., and was found in Sippara,
the Biblical Sepharvani. Apparently the
lady lived there, while her beloved was a
resident of Babylon. The letter reads:
"To the lady, Kasbuya (little ewe) says Gimil Marduk (the favorite of Merodach) this: May the sun god of Marduk afford you eternal life. I write wishing that I may know how your health is. Oh, send me a message about it. I live in Babylon and have not seen you, and for this reason I am very anxious. Send me a message that will tell me when you will come to me, so that I may be happy. Come in Marchesvan. May you live long for my sake."
(1915)
LOVE MAKES PATIENT
Ellen sat at the piano practising. The big
clock in the corner was slowly ticking away
the seconds, and the hands pointed to half-past
ten.
"Oh, dear!" sighed Ellen. "A whole half hour more; and the clock seems to move
