ADVANCED READER. PART I. 5 A SERMON WITHOUT A TEXT. Sitting in a station the other day I had a little sermon preached in the way I like, and I'll repeat it for your benefit, because it taught me one of the lessons which we all should learn, and taught it in such a natural, simple way, that no one could forget it. It was a bleak, snowy day. The train was late; the ladies' room dark and smoky, and the dozen women, old and young, who sat waiting impatiently, all looked cross, low-spirited, or stupid. I felt all three, and 10 thought, as I looked around, that my fellow-beings were a very unamiable, uninteresting set. Just then a forlorn old woman, shaking with palsy, came in with a basket of wares for sale, and went about mutely offering them to the sitters. Nobody 15 bought anything, and the poor old soul stood blinking at the door a minute, as if reluctant to go out into the bitter storm again. She turned presently and poked about the room as if trying to find something; and then a pale lady in black, who lay as if asleep on a 20 sofa, opened her eyes, saw the old woman and in 13 stantly asked in a kind tone, "Have you lost anything, ma'am?” 66 'No, dear. I'm looking for the heatin' place to have a warm 'fore I goes out again. My eyes is poor and I don't seem to find the furnace nowheres." 66 Here it is," and the lady led her to the steam radiator, placed a chair, and showed her how to warm her feet. เ 'Well, now, is not that nice?" said the old woman, spreading her ragged mittens to dry. "Thank you, dear. This is comfortable, isn't it? I'm most froze to-day, bein' lame and wimbly, and not selling much makes me kind of down-hearted.” The lady smiled, went to the counter, bought a cup of tea and some sort of food, carried it herself to 15 the old woman, and said as respectfully and kindly as if the poor woman had been dressed in silk and fur, "Won't you have a cup of tea? It's very comforting such a day as this." "Sakes alive! Do they give tea to this depot?" cried the old lady in a tone of innocent surprise that made a smile go 'round the room, touching the gloomiest face like a streak of sunshine. "Well, now, this is just lovely," added the old lady, sipping away with "This does warm my heart!" a relish. While she refreshed herself, telling her story meanwhile, the lady looked over the poor little wares in the basket, bought soap and pins, shoe-strings and tape and cheered the old soul by paying well for them. As I watched her doing this I thought what a sweet face 20 25 30 10 5 |