The One Moss-Rose | Page 2

in bed."
"Poor folk," answered Jacob's father, "are not always so badly off as they suppose; little things make them happy, and little things often make great folk unhappy; and let us remember, Jacob, that whatever may be our lot in life, we all have an opportunity of pleasing God, and so obtaining the great reward, which of his mercy, and for Christ's sake, he will give to all those who please him by patient continuance in well-doing. The squire cannot please God any more than you."
"Oh," said Jacob, "the squire can spend more money than I can; he can give to the poor, and do no end of things that I cannot: all I can do is to lie still on my bed, and at times keep myself from almost cursing and swearing when the pain is very bad."
"Exactly so, my son," answered Leonard Dobbin; "but remember that patience is of great price in the sight of God; and he is very often glorified in the sufferings of his people."
"The way I should like to glorify God," said Jacob, "would be by going about doing good, and letting people see me do it, so that I could glorify him before them, and not in my dull little corner here."
"Ah, Jacob, my son," replied old Leonard Dobbin, "you may glorify God more than you suppose up in your little dull corner--what should you think of glorifying him before angels and evil spirits?"
"Ah, that would be glorious!" cried Jacob.
"Spirits, good and bad, are ever around us," said old Leonard, "and they are watching us; and how much must God be glorified before them, when they see his grace able to make a sufferer patient and gentle, and when they know that he is bearing everything for Christ's sake. When a Christian is injured, and avenges not himself; when he is evil spoken of, and answers not again; when he is provoked, yet continues long-suffering: then the spirits, good and bad, witness these things, and they must glorify the grace of God."
That night Jacob Dobbin seemed to have quite a new light thrown upon his life. "Perhaps," said he to himself, as he lay upon the little settle, "I'm afflicted in order that I may glorify God. I suppose he is glorified by his people bearing different kinds of pain; perhaps some other boy is glorifying him with a crippled hand, while I am with my poor crippled leg: but I should like to be able even to bear persecution from man for Christ's sake, like the martyrs in father's old book; as I have strength to bear such dreadful pain in my poor leg, I daresay I might bear a great deal of suffering of other kinds."
* * * * *
The spring with its showers passed away, and the beautiful summer came, and Jacob Dobbin was able to sit at his cottage door, breathing in the pure country air, and admiring what was to him the loveliest object in nature--namely, one rich, swelling bud upon his moss-rose tree. There was but one bud this year upon the tree,--the frosts and keen spring winds had nipped all the rest; and this one was now bursting into beauty; and it was doubly dear to Jacob, because it was left alone. Jacob passed much of his time at the cottage door, dividing his admiration between the one moss-rose and the beautiful white fleecy clouds, which used to sail in majestic grandeur over his head; and often he used to be day-dreaming for hours, about the white robes of all who suffered for their Lord.
While thus engaged one day, the young squire came running along, and his eye fell upon Jacob's rose. "Hallo," cried he with delight--"a moss-rose! Ha, ha!--the gardener said we had not even one blown in our garden; but here's a rare beauty!" and in a moment James Courtenay had bounded over the little garden gate, and stood beside the rose bush. In another instant his knife was out of his pocket, and his hand was approaching the tree.
"Stop, stop!" cried Jacob Dobbin; "pray don't cut it,--'tis our only rose; I've watched it I don't know how long; and 'tisn't quite come out yet,"--and Jacob made an effort to get from his seat to the tree; but before the poor little cripple could well rise from his seat, the young squire's knife was through the stem, and with a loud laugh he jumped over the little garden fence, and was soon lost to sight.
The excitement of this scene had a lamentable effect upon poor Jacob Dobbin. When he found his one moss-rose gone, he burst into a violent fit of sobbing, and soon a quantity of blood began to pour from his mouth--he had broken a blood-vessel; and a neighbour, passing that way