Part 2
ONE morning Mr. M. went alone to the city, for the school holidays had begun, and the two elder children remained at home. Richard, the only son, was a quiet boy, and although only twelve years old, his whole course showed clearly that the prayers and teaching of his dear parents had not been fruitless. The Lord in His grace had evidently drawn him thus early to Himself, and his obedience and attention to divine things were very marked. The Bible was the dearest of all books to him, and whenever his father spoke of divine things, his earnest look told that his heart was touched.
As a little reward for his good conduct, his father had given him a beautiful white rabbit, which soon became a favorite with all the children, for I dare say you know that most children are fond of rabbits. To gather green food for “Snowflake” in the fields and lanes, and to watch its gambols round and round the barn, gave them some amusement in their holidays, and when at times it escaped and scampered over the garden, they had rare fun and some trouble to catch it.
But one day when Richard was playing with it alone in the barn, it suddenly ran past hint, and before he could overtake it, got through the hedge into the orchard belonging to the Bear of the Amstel. In vain the boy tried to entice it back again; it soon disappeared among the trees, and he dared not follow, for his parents had cautioned him and his sisters on no account even to go near the hedge. What to do he knew not, and while he was thinking over it and peeping about, he suddenly caught sight of the strange man leaning with folded arms against a tree.
The fear of losing his favorite, nerved him to the task of speaking to his dreaded neighbor, and timidly approaching the hedge, he asked gently whether he had seen his rabbit. But even while he spoke, he trembled, for the appearance of the man was enough to terrify any one. His eyes seemed to flash fire; he was panting as if from recent exertion, and as soon as he saw the boy, he began to make a hideous growling, like a wild beast about to spring upon his prey. Richard’s first thought was to run away, but again the vision of his lost pet, rose before him and gave him courage, and again he asked, “Have you seen my little Snowflake, Mr. Vilers?”
“Look there!” cried he, with a mocking laugh, pointing to a tree; and as the poor boy turned to look, he saw, to his unspeakable distress, his little pet hanging dead to a branch with a rope round its neck. “Do you see, boy? That’s my work!” said the old man savagely, “and now be off,” he roared, stooping to find a stone.
Richard, terrified at the man’s violence, did not give him time to throw, but ran at once into the house, crying out,
“O! mamma, mamma! my rabbit, my poor little Snowflake!”
“What has happened?” asked his mother, alarmed at the boy’s pale face and wild excitement, but for some time he was unable to reply. Sobs choked his utterance, and the terrible appearance of the furious man had almost frightened him out of his senses. At last he was able to tell her the cause of his distress, and finished by asking,
“Is it not shameful, abominable, mamma?”
“It is certainly shocking,” replied his mother, “and yet Mr. Vilers is most to be pitied.”
“He! that wicked, ungodly man?” exclaimed Richard.
“Just for that very reason, because he is wicked and ungodly,” said his mother. “Only contrast him with your dear father.”
“O! he is the very opposite of what Mr. Vilers is. He always looks so gloomy, and runs along by the hedge like a ghost. He cannot, I’m sure, love the Lord Jesus Christ, and must be very unhappy.”
“That is true,” continued his mother. “He seems to love no one, and not to live in peace with any. Some great trouble has affected his mind, and he has treated all who have lived here, as he has treated you.”
“But why, then, have we come here?” asked Richard.
“Your papa had his reasons for choosing this dwelling,” his mother replied. “Perhaps he hopes to gain and soften the heart of our unhappy neighbor.”
“He will never succeed in that, mamma,” said Richard. “You should only have seen how dreadful he looked!”
“With men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible,” said the mother. “Let us often pray for the poor man, that the Lord may have mercy on him. Or, would you rather that the Lord should not forgive him all his sins and convert him?”
“O, mamma,” cried Richard, “I would give ten rabbits, if that could be the means of making Mr. Vilers like papa.”
Thus wisely reasoning with her boy, this Christian mother succeeded in calming his agitation, and leading him to exercise a forgiving spirit, and in the evening, when his father came home, it was resolved to get the dead rabbit from the tree, that the boy might at least have the only consolation left him of putting his favorite into a little grave.
To be continued.
ML 05/21/1933