Vol.2. 
Oakland, California, December 1 8, 1 891. 
No. 25. 
THE RAGGED 
BOY. 
MlACK was a little English boy 
whose father and mother were 
^ 
dead, and he had to live with 
his aunt. 
This aunt was very 
poor, and could not do much for 
Jack. 
But, worse than that, she 
was very selfish and cruel, and 
did not care to do anything for 
him. 
So Jack had to wear ragged 
clothes, and often did not have 
much to eat. 
But he had a very 
kind heart, and was always ready 
to do a kind turn for anyone. 
One time he saw a couple of 
little girls who had to climb over 
.a fence, and he wanted to help 
the smaller one. 
But he looked 
so ragged that she was afraid of 
him, and would not let him help 
her. 
When Jack's aunt died, he 
found friends, because he was 
honest and willing to work. 
A 
rich man helped him to get an 
education, and he became a good 
and useful man. 
The man paid 
for Jack's boarding and lodging 
at the house where this little girl 
lived, while he went to school, 
and she learned not to be afraid of him. 
when God's own Soil came to live on the earth, 
We should always remember that it is not 
he chose to be the most humble of all men. 
wicked to be poor. 
Many of God's most 
Poor children are often the best of children, 
faithful servants have been poor men. 
And 
and God ofteiuchooses them to do his work. 
194 
OUFv 
LITTLE? 
FRIEND. 
THE BROKEN 
SAW. 
MB BOY went to live with a man who was 
•a-P3 accounted a hard master. 
He never 
t
kept his boys; they ran away, or gave 
notice they meant to quit; so lie was 
half his time without, or in search of, a boy. 
The work was not very hard—opening and 
sweeping out the shop, chopping wood, going 
errands, and helping round. 
At last Sam 
Fisher went to live with him. 
" Sam's a good boy," said his mother. 
" I should like to see a boy nowadays that 
had a spark of goodness in him," growled the 
new master. 
It is always bad to begin with a man who 
has no confidence in you ; because, do your 
best, you are likely to have little credit for it. 
However, Sam thought he would try; the 
wages were good, and his mother wanted him 
to go. 
Sam had been there but three days, 
when, in sawing a hard stick of wood, he broke 
the saw. 
He was a little frightened. 
He 
knew he was careful, and he knew he was a 
pretty good sawyer, too, for a boy of his age; 
but the saw broke in his hands. 
"And Mr. Jones' will thrash you for it," 
said another boy, who was in the woodhouse 
with him. 
" Why, of course I didn't mean it, and acci-
dents will happen to the best of folks," said 
Sam, looking with .a very sorrowful air on 
the broken saw. 
" Mr. Jones never makes allowances," said 
the other boy. 
"I never saw anything like 
him. 
That Bill might have stayed, only he 
jumped into "a hen's nest and broke her eggs. 
He daren't tell it; but Mr. Jones kept sus-
pecting, and suspecting, and Bill was blamed 
with everything out of the way, whether he 
was to blame or not, until he couldn't stand 
it, and wouldn't." 
"Did he tell Mr. Jones about the eggs?" 
asked Sam. 
"No," said the boy, "he was 'fraid, Mr. 
Jones has got such a temper." 
" I think he'd better owned up just at once," 
said Sam. 
"I suspect you'll find it better to preach 
than to practice," said the boy. 
" I'd run 
away before I'd tell him ; " and he turned on 
his heel and left poor Sam alone with his 
broken saw. 
The poor boy did not feel very happy. 
He 
shut up the woodhouse, walked out in the 
garden, and went up to his little chamber. 
He wished he could tell Mrs. Jones; but she 
wasn't sociable, and he had rather not. 
When Mr. Jones came into the house, the 
boy heard him. 
He got up, crept downstairs, 
and met Mr. Jones in the kitchen. 
"Sir," said Sam, " I broke your saw, and I 
thought I'd come and tell you 'fore you saw 
it in the morning." 
" What did you get up to tell me for? " asked 
Mr. Jones; "I should think morning would 
be time enough to tell of your carelessness." 
" Because," said Sam, " I was afraid if I 
put it off I might be tempted to lie about it. 
I'm sorry I broke it, but I tried to be careful." 
Mr. Jones looked at the boy from head to 
foot, then, stretching out his hand, he said: 
" There, Sam, give me your hand; shake 
hands. 
I'll trust you, Sam. 
That's right; 
that's right. 
Go to bed, boy. 
Never fear. 
I'm glad the sawr broke; it shows the met-
tle's in you. 
Go to bed." 
Mr. Jones was fairly won. 
Never were bet-
ter friends after that than Sam and he. 
Sam 
thinks that justice has not been done Mr. Jones. 
If the boys had treated him honestly and 
" above board," he would have been a good 
man to live with. 
It was their conduct which 
soured and made him suspicious. 
I do not 
know how that is; I only know that Sam 
Fisher finds in Mr. Jones a kind master and 
a faithful friend.—Scotch Tract. 
WAIT FOR OTHERS. 
JJT| was once visiting a friend, when her little 
granddaughter entered the room to ask a 
question. 
Grandma was talking, and the 
little girl stood behind her chair waiting pa-
tiently five minutes or more till grandma 
should finish speaking. 
The little one looked 
so sweet and modest standing there that I fell 
quite in love with her, and thought of the 
OUR LITTLE. FRIEND. 
195 
many little folks I had seen rush into the 
room and shout out a question when some-
one else was talking. 
They seemed to think 
they were of more importance than anyone 
else. 
It is very rude for one person to interrupt 
another when speaking, especially a person 
older than himself. 
Pleasant, gentle manners 
are pleasing to God, for in the Bible there is a 
verse which says, "Be courteous one to an-
other," which means, Be polite.—Selected. 
GOD KNOWS 
BEST. 
don't I wish I was rich, and had a 
pony and everything like her!" 
This 
was what Nellie Mansfield said to her-
self, as she ran to the garden gate to 
look after little Miss Ida Ashton, the Squire's 
daughter, who had just galloped by 011 her 
white pony. 
Miss Ida and her pony turned round a bend 
in the lane just as Nellie poked her pretty 
head over the gate, and there was nothing for 
her to see but a cloud of dust. 
Nellie's big 
blue eyes stared hard at the gray dust, and 
seemed to speak to it. 
" I wonder why," she whispered. " when I and 
Miss Ida were both born on the same night, 
in the same village, God sent her to live at 
the Hall, to be the Squire's little girl, and 
ride on a pony, and do lessons, and have ev-
erything nice, while I am only the sexton's 
child, and have to fetch water, and wash 
dishes, and nurse babies." 
And she looked rather cross at the baby 
she held in her arms, and then at the two lit-
tle sisters who were keeping shop 011 the cot-
tage doorstep. 
But all at once, as she looked, 
all the ill-temper went away out of Nellie's 
face, and her eyes opened wider than ever. 
It was as though, in the warm summer sun-
shine, God had sent an angel to answer her 
question. 
Something seemed to say to her: "Nellie, 
God knew what was best for you. 
He wanted 
you to learn to be a helper in this world, so 
you could be great and rich in the next world. 
In the Bible a helper is called a minister, or 
servant; and Jesus says to his disciples, " Who-
soever will be great among you, let him be 
your minister." 
When Nellie had thought of this for a mo-
ment, she was more satisfied with her humble 
place. 
The happiness that riches can give in 
this life is very short and uncertain. 
t 
" GRAKKY'S LITTLE ANGEL." 
RANNY DYKES lived in a lonely cottage 
by the side of a lake in Scotland. 
It 
was a funny-looking house, just one room, 
with one window, and a thatched roof, 
green with moss and lichen. 
Yet here she was perfectly happy and con-
tented, with her goat, her canary, and a few 
tame rabbits. She had God and her Bible, she 
said, and what else did she need? 
There 
were beautiful woods around the lake, where 
Granny went to gather sticks for her fire. 
One winter day the path was slippery, and 
Granny lost her footing and fell, spraining 
her ankle very badly. 
She couldn't move a 
bit for the pain. 
Poor Granny! she knew 
it would be most unlikely that anyone would 
pass that lonely way; but she did not fear, as 
she asked God to help her in his own way. 
Time went on, it was getting cold and dark, 
when—hark! a sweet voice sounded in Gran-
ny's ears, and in a moment Molly, the farmer's 
little daughter, stepped briskly out from the 
trees. 
She started when she saw someone there, 
but she soon saw it was Granny, and ran up 
saying, "0 Granny! can I help }?ou?" 
"Molly, my lamb," said Granny, " I can't 
move a bit with my ankle, it is so painful, so 
I am just waiting for God to help me." 
"And he must have sent me, Granny," said 
Molly, " I am sure, so I'll go and fetch father." 
Molly took off her warm cloak and wrap-
ped it round dear old Granny, and very soon 
the wagon came and took her safely home. 
" Good-night, Molly," she said after Molly 
had seen her safely into bed, "you have been 
God's little angel to me."—Joanna McKean. 
JESUS wants vou to have a home with him. 
ARABS THROWING STONES AT A GRAVE. 
197 
THROWING 
STONES AT A 
GRAVE. 
^EAHE picture on the opposite page shows a 
Gis curious custom that is practiced by the 
people called Arabs. 
It is a very old 
custom, and used to be practiced by other 
Eastern nations. 
It is their way of showing 
their hatred of the person who was buried 
there. 
Sometimes they will keep on throw-
ing stones every time they pass the grave of 
some hated one for years after his death. 
We read in the seventh chapter of Joshua, 
of a wicked man named Achan, who was put 
to death for disobeying God, and the people 
"raised over him a great heap of stones." 
In 
the next chapter we are told that Joshua had 
the king of Ai put to death, and over him they 
raised "a great heap of stones." 
When Absalom rebelled against his father 
David, during the battle he was found hanging 
by the hair to an oak tree. 
Then the captain 
of David's army slew Absalom, and the sol-
diers threw him into a pit, and "laid a very 
great heap of stones upon him." 
HARRY AND THE WOOD 
BOX. 
BY MRS. ANNA L. COLCORD. 
|||ARRY," called Mrs. Gray from the kitchen 
door one chilly evening in November 
^gf just as the red rays of the setting sun 
were fading out of sight, "come now, it 
will soon be dark, and you must get in the 
wood for the night." 
Harry was having a fine time playing with 
some boys just across the way, and.it was with 
some reluctance that he left his play to do as 
his mother bade him. 
He quickly carried in 
a few sticks of wood and threw them into the 
box that had been placed behind the stove 
for that purpose. 
"There, mamma, I've got some in. 
Will 
that do?" he carelessly asked as he was leav-
ing the house. 
" It will do if the box is full," 
his mother replied. 
But Harry was already 
out of the house, eager to have as much play 
as he could before he had to come in for the 
night. 
Nothing more was said till after supper, 
when Mrs. Gray placed some more wood on 
the fire, remarking, as she did so, that there 
were but two sticks left in the box, which 
would last till about nine o'clock, when Harry 
could carry in some more. 
"Me, mamma?" 
he anxiously inquired. 
"Yes," replied his mother, "you know you 
could not leave your play long enough to do 
it before dark, so you will be obliged to do it 
just before going to bed, as there must be some 
wood in to start fire with in the morning." 
Harry could not bear to think of going out 
in the dark all alone at such a late hour to 
get in wood, so he said, "I will do it now." 
But, after waiting a short time, he again in-
quired: "Mamma, would I have to get it in 
then if I do not do it now?" 
His mother replied that he would, that it 
had been given him as his work to get in the 
wood, and that if he did not do it before dark 
he must do it later. 
Harry said no more, but at once carried in 
the wood. 
It was a lesson he will not soon 
forget. 
He now takes pride in doing his work 
well, and, after getting in the wood, often says: 
"0 mamma, just see how full I've got the 
box!" 
Little boys and girls should learn to love 
their work, and to do whatever they have to 
do at once, and to do it well. 
THE BREAKFAST THAT JESUS 
PRE-
PARED. 
IfffM^HEN Jesus had risen from the dead, he 
l&l^a stayed on the earth forty days. 
Dur-
ing this time, he showed himself to his 
I 
disciples several times, that they might 
know he was the same Jesus who had been 
crucified. 
After he had risen, several of the disciples 
went fishing one night on the Sea of Tiberias, 
or Galilee. 
They worked hard all night, but 
could catch nothing. 
Early in the morning 
they saw Jesus standing on the shore, but did 
not know who it was. 
Jesus said to them, 
"Children, have ye any meat?" They answered, 
"No." He then said to them, "Cast the net on 
the right side of the ship, and ye shall find." 
They did as they were told, and they could 
198 
OUFv LITTLE? FRIEND. 
not draw in the net, it was so full of fishes. 
When John, the beloved disciple, saw this, 
he said, "It is the Lord;" and when Peter heard 
that it was the Lord, he was in such haste to 
reach him that he sprang into the sea and 
swam ashore. The other disciples soon reached 
the land in their little ship, dragging the net 
full of fishes. 
When they reached the shore, they found 
Jesus had a fire, and fish and bread ready to 
eat. 
He invited them to come and eat, and 
they all knew that it was the risen Saviour. 
This was the third time Jesus showed him. 
self to his disciples after he had risen from 
the dead. 
" 
WHOSOEVER." 
THERE were children on the floor, 
Conning Bible verses o'er. 
" Which word, all the Bible through, 
Do you love best ? " queried Sue. 
" I like 'faith' the best," said one. 
"'Jesus,' is my word alone." 
" I like ' hope';" and " I like ' love';" 
" I like ' heaven,' our home above." 
One more, smaller than the rest— 
" I like ' whosoever' best; 
" ' Whosoever,' that means all— 
Even me! who am so small." 
"Whosoever," ah, I see! 
That's the word for you and me. 
" Whosoever will " may come— 
Find a pardon and a home. 
—Selected. 
DAVIE'S ROBINS. 
and invited some of their cousins to come 
and spend the winter with them. 
There are 
ten of them now, and you can't think how 
pretty they look as they fly up on the window-
sill every morning for their breakfast. 
Davie is a good little boy, but I think his 
love and care for his robins help him to be 
still better. 
It does us good to think of some-
thing else besides our own comfort. 
The 
longer Davie has his robins, and the kinder 
he is to them, the kinder he is to his parents 
and friends. 
And he is as happy as a little 
robin himself all day long.—Selected. 
^JII^jlD you ever have a tame robin? 
If you 
^ 
did not, you do not know what fun Da-
vie has with his. 
He has about ten of 
them. 
He does not shut them up in a 
cage. 
He first saw two or three of them in 
the tree near the gate; he fed them and petted 
them so much that they became very tame, 
and would come to him for their breakfast ev-
ery morning. 
When the weather became cold, Davie got 
his papa to build them a little house in front 
of the window. 
The robins liked their new 
house very much, and moved right into it, 
ASK MOTHER FIRST. 
JglTTLE Nancy Dale had seen her mother 
S^P making pretty, fluffy balls from tiny 
^ 
pieces of wool. 
Nancy had been told 
that the balls were for some poor sick children, 
who were in the hospital all day long, and 
could not get out into the pure, sweet sun-
shine. 
The little girl felt so sorry for them 
that she thought she would like to make them 
something too. 
So that afternoon, when her 
mother was out visiting, Nancy took some 
wool from a basket and cut it up into tiny 
pieces for balls. 
Her mother was very sorry when she came 
home and found what her little daughter had 
been doing. 
She had bought that wool for a 
rug to lay over the lounge, and Nancy had 
spoiled it. 
The little girl wanted to do good; 
she had not meant to do wrong, but little girls 
should always ask their mothers when they do 
not feel quite sure about things.—Dew Drops. 
JESUS SUFFERED FOR US. 
SlHEN Pilate gave Jesus up, the soldiers 
prepared to crucify him. 
Jesus, carry-
ing his own cross, started with the sol-
diers to Calvary, the place where he was 
to die. When they reached Calvary, they cru-
cified Jesus, and two robbers, one on each side 
of him. 
Pilate wrote a title, and put it over the 
cross. 
This was the writing: "Jesus of Naza-
reth, the King of the Jews." 
When they had crucified Jesus, the soldiers 
OUR LITTLE. FRIEND. 
199 
divided his garments among them, and cast 
lots for his coat. 
While Jesus hung on the cross, his mother 
and other women stood by, weeping. 
When 
Jesus saw his mother and the loving disciple 
John standing there, he said, " Woman, behold 
thy son!" He then said to the disciple John, 
" Behold thy mother!" From that time John 
took Jesus' mother to his own home, and 
cared for her. 
Our Saviour's thought and care were for 
others, even when suffering on the cross. 
He knew that he was suffering and dying 
to save the world. 
Just before he died, he said, "I thirst." 
Someone standing by filled a sponge with 
vinegar, and put it to his mouth. 
Soon after, Jesus said, " It is finished," and 
bowed his head, and gave up his life. 
LETTERS FROM THE LITTLE ONES. 
CHARLOTTE, MICH.—I am ten years old, and I have 
a brother aged seven. 
I go to Sabbath school and 
day school. 
I am in the' fourth grade. 
I love to 
read OUR LITTLE FRIEND. 
AS I have not seen any 
letter irom here, I thought X would write. 
This is 
ihe first letter I ever wrote. 
My father and mother 
live a mile and a half from Charlotte. 
My brother 
lives with them and goes to school, and I live with 
my grandpa and grandma, and go to school in Char-
lotte. 
Pray for me that I may meet you all in 
heaven. 
CORA A. PIERCE. 
NORTH TROY, VT.—I like OUR LITTLE FRIEND very 
much, and could not do without it. 
For pets I have 
a little Maltese kitten, with a white spot under her 
neck, and a black horse. 
I am nine years old. 
I 
have two brothers and one sister. 
One brother is 
going to school in South Lancaster, Mass. 
JOSIE DROWN. 
GREENFIELD, IND.—I am going on eleven years old. 
I walk five miles to Sabbath school every Sabbath. 
I like OUR LITTLE FRIEND very much. 
ERNEST DUNN. 
CATHAY 
VALLEY, CAL.—My 
sister and 
I get 
OUR 
LITTLE FRIEND. 
Some little girls send it to us. 
We 
like it very well. 
I have three brothers and 
one 
sister. 
Our mamma is sick in Merced, and my sister 
and I are staying with some friends. 
I am ten years 
old, and my sister is six. 
I want to be ready when 
our dear Saviour comes. 
We go to Sunday school 
nearly every Sunday. 
Our mamma has been gone 
three weeks, and thinks she will stay one week 
longer. 
EDITH REXFORD. 
DRAKOLA, SOUTH 
DAKOTA.—I am 
a little girl 
ten 
years old. 
I think OUR LITTLE FRIEND is very nice. 
I do not know what I should do without it. 
I have 
a brother one year old and a sister three years old. 
I get the lessons in OUR LITTLE FRIEND. 
We 
have 
Sabbath school at home. 
There are five children 
that come to our Sabbath school. 
NORA M. 
KEENE. 
FIRST 
PRIMARY Division. 
LESSON 25.—DECEMBER 19,1891. 
PAUL'S FAREWELL 
TO THE 
EPHESIAN 
ELDERS. 
(Acts 20:17-38; Eph. 3 :17-21.) 
Memory Verse.—"If any man will come after me, let 
him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." 
Luke 9 :23. 
ONE time Paul wa i traveling in a ship on his way 
from a far country to Jerusalem, and the vessel 
stopped at a place called Miletus. 
While the ship 
was waiting, Paul sent to Ephesus, and asked the 
elders of the church there to come to Miletus to see 
him. 
1. Was Paul acquainted with the brethren at Eph-
esus? 
Yesj he had preached there a long time, 
2. How had he labored in Ephesus? 
He preached in pub-lic plac-es, and vis-it-ed the 
peo-ple at their homes. 
3. Had he told the people the whole truth about 
Jesus and his word? 
He said he had kept back noth-ing. 
4. What did Paul urge the elders to do? 
He urged them to "feed the church of (rod." 
5. What did Paul mean by feeding the church? 
He meant teach-ing them the truth, and help-
ing them to be good. 
6. What warning did he give them? 
He told them wolves would come in among 
the 
flock. 
7. Who did he mean were "grievous wolves"? 
He meant wick-ed men. 
8. To whose flock do wicked men belong? 
To Sa-tan's 
flock. 
9. In one of our pa-t lessons, what are Christ's 
people called? 
They are called sheep. 
10. What do wolves do to sheep? 
They kill them. 
11. How only can Christ's flock be safe from harm ? 
By obev-'ng the voice of the Good Shep-herd. 
12. When the ship was ready to sail, what 
did 
Paul do? 
He kneeled down and prayed with the eld-ers. 
13. What did the elders-do? 
They all wept and kissed Paul as he start-ed 
away. 
14. What made them feel so sorry? 
Be cause Paul said they would nev-er see him 
again. 
144 
OUFv LITTLE? FRIEND. 
SECOND PRIMARY 
DIVISION. 
LESSON 25.—DECEMBER 19, 1891. 
PAUL'S FAREWELL 
TO THE 
EPHESIAN 
ELDERS. 
(Acts 20 :17-38 ; Eph. 3:37-21.) 
Memory Verse.—"If any man will come after me, let 
him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." 
Luke 9:23. 
PAUL bad labored very earnestly for the cause of 
Christ in many parts of the country. 
He had been 
cruelly treated, yet the Lord kept him from death. 
Many times the Jews had tried to kill him, but there 
was always a way of escape made for him. 
The Lord 
had a work for him to do, and he kept him from 
harm. 
He did not have a pleasant home, as we 
have, but had to make his home wherever he found 
friends. 
He had raised up churches in different 
parts of the country, which were willing to help 
him all they could. 
We are now to study about Paul just before he 
was to go to Jerusalem to be bound and sent to 
Rome. 
He was visiting the church at Ephesus for 
the last time. 
He called the elders together to tell 
them his past experience and give them some good 
advice. 
He told them how he had served the Lord 
with humility and tears while he had been severely 
tempted by the Jews. 
He reminds them that he 
had kept back nothing that was profitable, but had 
always preached repentance towards God and faith 
towards our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Acts 20 :19-21. 
He then tells them that he was going bound in 
spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what was waiting 
him, but he had been impressed that he should be 
afflicted. 
But he says, "None of these things move 
me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that 
I might finish my course with joy." 
Verse 24. 
He 
told them that he should see their faces no more. 
They must have felt very sad to think that he would 
not come back again. 
Paul now instructs the elders in regard to their 
duties towards the churches over which he had 
placed them. 
He told them that wicked men would 
come among them and be the means of leading 
some of them away from Christ. 
He admonished 
them to study the word of God, so they might know 
how to meet these evil workers when they came in 
their midst. 
Verses 28-32. 
He taught them that 
there was no other way to live a Christian life but 
to deny self daily. 
" And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, 
and prayed with them all. 
And they all wept sore, 
and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him, sorrowing 
most of all for the words which he spake, that they 
should see his face no more." 
Verses 36-38. 
QUESTIONS. 
1. Repeat the memory verse. 
2. How had the apostle Paul labored ? 
3. How had he been treated ? 
4. Who kept him from being killed by the Jews? 
5. Has the Lord promised to keep those that fear 
him? 
Ps. 34:7. 
6. Where was the apostle's home ? 
7. What part of the apostle's life are we now to 
study? 
8. Whom did he call together at Ephesus ? 
Acts 
20:17. 
9. Why did he wish to see them ? 
10. What did he tell them about his work ? Verses 
18-20. 
11. What two great principles had he taught them? 
Verse 21. 
12. How did he say he was going up to Jerusalem ? 
Verse 22. 
13. What had the Holy Spirit impressed him that 
he should meet? 
Verse 23. 
14. What effect did this have upon him ? 
Verse 
24. 
15. How did he reckon his life, and why? 
16. What did he tell them would come among 
them after he was gone ? 
Verse 29. 
17. To what did he commend them? 
Verse 32. 
18. If we would be Christ's disciples, what must 
we do? 
See memory verse. 
19. After lie had given them all this instruction, 
what did he do ? 
Verse 36. 
20. How did the elders feel? 
Verse 37. 
21. What caused them the most sorrow ? Verse 38. 
OUR LITTLE 
FRIEND 
Is published weekly, by the Pacific Press Publishing Company, 
Oakland, California. 
(Entered at the Post Office in 
Oakland.) 
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EDITORIAL COMMITTEE : 
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