Bible Truths Illustrated by J. C. Ferdinand Pittman

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BIBLE TRUTHS ILLUSTRATED
house, almost naked, and with shoeless feet. After wading
through the snow till she was benumbed and exhausted, she sank
down and died, and her stiff and marble-like form was found
so near her home that if there had been a light burning in the
window she could have seen it. There, right before the dooryard,
where often she had plucked flowers in her girlhood, she gave
over and perished. I think with many persons it is just so.
They wander through the black and terrible wilderness of
sin till they almost see their Father's house, and then their
strength is spent, and they die within a few steps of home. If
it is worth your while to be good, it is worth your while to be
so good that your goodness shall take hold on everlasting life.
H. W. Beecher.
642. "Once Paganini, standing before a vast audience, broke
string after string of his violin. Men had come to hear his
greatest sonata, 'Napoleon.' They hissed as he seemed to
destroy all hope of continuing the performance. Then the
artist held up his violin ; 'One string—and Paganini,' and on
that one string he made the first complete manifestation of his
greatness. Are you disheartened because so little of your life
is left to you? Are you discouraged because there is no strength,
no ability, you can call your own? Are you dejected because you
have no resources? Persevere, remembering what this may
mean : One hour, one talent—and God !"
643. Plutarch said of the Roman consul Coriolanus : "He
was always trying to excel himself." The same secret of
excellence is possessed by the sculptor St. Gaudens. A Chicago
reporter said to him, when a piece of his work was unveiled in
that city, "I suppose, Mr. St. Gaudens, you consider this statue
your masterpiece?" "Indeed, I do not," was the quick reply:
"my next statue is always my masterpiece."
PRAYER
644. Christ and His apostles, by example and precept, not
only taught the necessity of prayer, but that it should be given
its rightful place as the greatest and most effective thing which
human power can do. Our divine Master let nothing interfere
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