HOW A PICTURE MADE EIGHT SAILORS.
A MOTHER in New Hampshire reared a family of eight boys. They all left the homestead and went to sea. She was heart-broken. The preacher visited her home, and she poured into his ears this life sorrow. She could not understand why they had all gone to sea and left her. She could not understand the mysterious work of Providence. Her heart was desolate, the home forsaken. And she said her boys had never seen the ocean until they were grown. She asked the preacher to explain it. He looked around the room, and over the mantel he saw a splendid picture of a great ship under full sail, every white wing instinct with the message of foreign nations. The waves that dashed against the bow spoke of a thousand shores that had been washed as around the world they swept. The preacher said to her: “Why, madam, this is the explanation. Your boys became sailors because this picture told them of the ocean and led them around the world.” The very pictures on your walls, every inch of tapestry—these are sacred. They make and unmake character. Guard them well. The foundation of every great man’s character is laid in these primal hours of life.—Brotherhood Star.