IX.

SAMUEL AND His MOTHER.

“Speak: for thy servant heareth.”—Samuel t27., Zo.

“Speak to us, Lord,
From out the hallelujahs sweet and low,
From out the hallelujahs low and sweet.”
—Elizabeth B. Browning.

“ Here am I, for thou didst call me;”
Quickly little Samuel came;
Three times had he answered Eli;
Hearing some one call his name.
“Go, lie down,” said aged Eli,
And his eyes were dim with years—
“Tf He call thee, thou shalt answer:
‘Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears.’”

Samuel listened well to Eli,
And obeyed him as he could:—
I must hearken to my teachers,
And try always to be good.
More than all did Samuel listen
To the teaching of the Lord:—
Jesus calls me in the Bible;
Let me hear and love His Word.
—Countess of Fersey.

There is something more than mere sentiment in those
well-known lines:

“The hand that rocks the cradle
Rules the world.”

That couplet is as true as it is poetic. It has been true
in every age; it is true to-day the wide world over. It will

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