The Schoolmaster and His Son, Chapters I-VII [pp. 188-196]

THE SCHOOLMASTER AND HIS SON.9
arithmetic with preceptor Holbeg, then Latin
with our pastor, and, having passed a very fair
examination before the learned Counselor of
Sommerhausen, I entered upon the duties of
my office.
Many in this world have been dear to me,
but Margaretha Spathin alone have I loved
with an all-absorbing love. To Margaret I
now gave my hand at God's altar. My heart
had been hers for ten long years. She, dear
one, long since, went home to heaven. Hers is
the glorified robe of Christ's ransomed ones;
hers the golden crown, the victor's palm; while
I still wear the garments of mortality, and with
tearful eyes gaze longingly upward to that bright
land where she, with our dear children, sees the
Lord face to face.
In the-year I6IO I led her to our little home
at Sommerhausen, which my pupils had beautifully decorated for our reception. The little
town of Sommerhausen lies in the blessed
Frankenland. Its escutcheon is a sun shining
upon a grape-vine. Few cornfields lie within
its boundaries, but many fruitful vineyards; and
it is a beautiful sight to see the houses and
turreted walls, reposing in the shadow of the
green leaves and purple clusters of the ripening
fruit. A stately river, the Main, flows past its
walls, and, making a bend, separates the two
little places, Sommerhausen and Winterhausen.
God bless thee, dear little town, thy green
fields and thy pleasant vineyards to thy children, and thy children's chileren, down to the
latest generation! Here, full of hope, in life's
joyful morning, I entered upon my work; here
I have borne the burden and heat of the day;
here, also, will I, if it is God's will, hear the
summons of the Lord of the vineyard, and
exchange the toils of earth for the rest and
peace of heaven.
CHAPTER II.
THE SON.
On the I2thl of October, I613, at 3 o'clock
in the morning, our little son was born. It was
a cold, stormy, Autumn day, yet, as I watched
the black, rayless clouds, there was sunlight
enough in my heart. As I stood at my Mar garetha's bedside, and for the first time held
the dear child in my arms, it seemed as if the
gracious God had given us every token of his
love; and I said with Jacob, "Lord, I am not
worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all
the truth which thou hast showed unto thy
servant."
Our boy was presented at the holy christening
font by Valentine Orplich, the baker, and re ceived the name of Valentine. On the way
home firom Church, from my full heart, I prayed
God to make my Valentine a true Christian, a
hero strong and steadfast for the truth.
In the nurture and admonition of the Lord
we sought to rear our child; in our blindness and weakness, ever praying for strength
and guidance from on high. We thought that,
not in vain, the Lord had said, "They that seek
me early shall find me." We knew that the
impressible heart of the little child easily receives the image of the blessed Jesus, and that
later this early susceptibility is lost; for the
heart, unless softened by bitter sorrow, grows
hard and cold with years.
In his'sixth year I took the boy with me to
school, and before a twelvemonth he could repeat the morning and evening prayer in a clear,
reverential voice, and we had a hearty joy in
listening to him. He recited in just the tone
in which our pastor, Herr Theodoric, was wont
to preach. As our Valentine grew older he
was much thought of among the youth of the
place, for he was very clever and winning in his
manners; and all loved him as a good comrade,
because he had a soft heart, and was kind and
obliging to every one. We best love the wine,
dear reader, that is both strong and sweet, and
so we hold that one dearest among our fellows,
who is both manly and gentle, brave and strong,
yet still of a tender, loving nature. When only
ten years old he had, at the peril of his life,
rescued the tavern-keeper's boy from the feet
of furious horses, just as the wheel of the heavy
wagon was about to pass over his head; then
offering the child his little brass watch if he
would not cry, Valentine walked away as if
nothing had happened.
In that year of want and horror, 1622, when
the terrible war had devoured our substance,
and we were all in great distress, very often did
he divide his piece of bread, which was little
enough, among the poor neighbors' children,
who would grope under the school benches for
the crumbs of bread let fall by their richer
companions.
Truly, a gentle nature, a brave, generous
heart, a joyous disposition, are nature's gifts,
and highly adorn the human character; yet they
can not win heaven for us. To what did Absa lom come with his gentle manner and enticing
speech? To what Saul, with his lofty, generous
soul? A man with such gifts is like a ship
which, equipped with many sails, begins its
course. Under propitious gales it makes *a
stately entrance into the harbor; but let the
winds be adverse, and it is quickly driven to
ruin. The right wind for the voyage is the
Spirit of the Lord. I should have known this;
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