Never shall I forget the horror expressed on
that young face, instantly succeeded by a look
and tone of glad triumph as she appealed
to me.
that young face, instantly succeeded by a look
and tone of glad triumph as she appealed
to me.
Childrens - Children's Sayings
net/2027/uc1.
$b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www.
hathitrust.
org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
singing lustily and with particular emphasis the
opening lines of the hymn beginning
Ere another Sabbath's close,
Ere again we seek repose.
Their mother suggested that this was a hymn
more suitable for Sunday than for Saturday
night--to their great astonishment. "But,
mother," they protested, "on Saturday night
you air our clothes for Sunday, while we seek
repose,"--the words, as they rendered them,
being
Air another Sabbath's clothes!
Air again: we seek repose!
Father had a great many canaries, and spoke
of selling some of them. Charlie looked up
horrified. "Mother," he said, catching his
breath, "will daddy cut the poor little dickies
into halves? "
"No," replied mother, laughing; "why do
you ask? "
"Well, mother, he said they would be 45.
a-piece, and I thought he was going to chop
them up. "
Children mix up their knowledge in rather
a distracting way sometimes. One little girl,
on being asked how she knew a horse was an
76
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
animal, replied, "Because it has four equal
sides and four right angles. "
The same child declared people could live
without air. "For," she said, "I know a
gentleman that has none on the top of him. "
A little girl of our acquaintance was repeating
her prayer:
This night when I lie down to sleep,
I give my soul to Christ to keep.
On reaching this point she looked up in her
father's face and asked the startling question,
"Will I give Him my heels too? "
On one occasion Lillie, seeing a bow on the
back of her mother's mantle, remarked proudly,
"I have a bow on my mantelpiece. "
"Mr. Weston has just been with us a year
to-day," observed a widowed mother to her
children, in reference to a boarder who had
taken up his abode with them to augment the
family purse.
"Three cheers for Mr. Weston, mother! "
cried the eldest boy.
"And three sofas too, muvver," shouted
three-year-old Alec, waving his cap in the air.
77
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
An apple-charlotte and a plum pudding were
on the table, and the children were asked
which they would have. Charlotte chose
apple-charlotte. "Not apple-Charlotte," said
baby Charlie when it came to his turn, "but
p\um-me /"
"What did you have for dinner to-day? "
a mother asked her little son.
"Indigestion," was the prompt reply.
Little Cousin John's birthday was a source
of mysterious trouble to him. When the
other children spoke gleefully of their birth-
days the look on Johnny's face became very
sorrowful: "Oh, John's birfday fell down;
John's birfday tummle over! "
None of us could guess what terrible mis-
hap it was that was disturbing his little soul,
till one day he murmured sadly, "John's
birfday knocked over! " Then the light flashed
upon us, and we were able to comfort him.
Johnnie's birthday was in October.
My small boy asked me if the sycamore
tree was called that because it was more sick
than any other tree.
78
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
Isobel was told to leave something on her
plate for "Mrs. Manners. " "But who is
Mrs. Manners? " asked she, and before any
one could answer, "/ suppose it's the water
that washes the plates. "
Edwin for some years persisted in speaking
of himself in the third person, as " he," never
as "I. "
One very frosty day his mother was warning
him that if he fell down in such weather his little
legs would break like sticks of sealing-wax.
This warning failed to produce the desired
effect, as the child replied, "He likes his little
legs to break like sticks of sealing-wax. "
It is by no means uncommon for the small
person to express a special liking for
the disaster which is foretold as the
certain result of some act of self-indul-
gence or disobedience. The peculiar
form of speech referred to in this last
Saying is also of frequent occurrence,
though probably less common and much
less perplexing than the habit of saying
"What I'm going to do? " when the
speaker means "What are you going to
79
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
do," and "Come and kiss you," when he
means "Come and kiss me. " It seems to
me that there is a very natural explana-
tion of this transference of the pronouns.
A child is addressed as "you," and he
accepts the word as a sort of name, so
that when he speaks of himself he very
properly uses the name in which he is
spoken to: "'You' did this"; "'You'
loves mamma. " Similarly he hears his
elders speaking of themselves as "I";
obviously that must be their name, and he
is quite logical when he addresses them
as "I ": "Where I'm going to? [where
are you going to? ] You [I] go with I
[you]. "
It is often at a very early age that we find
the little people tackling the mysteries of
time and space, the enigmas of birth and
death, the marvels of heaven, and a crowd
of other questions to which we ourselves
shall find no answer on this side of the
grassy gate and the dusty way. In all
these matters the children's views take
the colour of the parents' teaching.
Harry, aged three, was of a very inquiring
80
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
mind. He was always wanting to know
"where yesterday had gone," and "why did
counting never end? "
"Do our souls never die? " asked Jack.
"No, dear. " "But wouldn't they if you put
them in water? "
One day my nephew, aged four, was playing
with toys on the hearthrug, I reading by his
side. Suddenly he raised his head and asked,
"Auntie, where was I before I was born? "
Much surprised at the question, I replied,
"Nowhere; there was no little Harold. "
He rose indignantly, and standing before
me, said, "I was--I was up in heaven all in
pieces, waiting for God to make me up. "
Little Molly, on hearing something that had
happened two years ago, remarked, "Aleck
was not in the world then; he was only dust
Tying about the street. "
Two little boys were one day recalling
incidents in their brief past, and asking each
other, "Do you mind [remember]? "
Presently their younger brother joined in
the conversation, and said he minded too, but
the eldest little lad quickly exclaimed, "How
81 p
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
can you mind? You were flying about dust
then. "
One day my little son saw a heap of dust in
the road, and asked if that was what God
had made him out of.
Two little children being awakened by their
nurse one morning and told that they had a
new little brother, were keen, as children are,
to know where and how he had arrived.
"It must have been the milkman," said the
girl.
"Why the milkman? "
"Because he says on his cart ' Families
Supplied. '"
Two small cousins (into each of whose
homes little strangers had arrived) were over-
heard comparing notes as to the respective
virtues of the little brother and sister.
"Arthur, did you say that your baby came
in a trumpet? "
"No, Eva; it makes a noise like a trumpet,
and wakens me in the night. "
To which Eva replied, "My baby came on
the wings of the wind. "
82
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
When I had a new baby my other little ones
were brought in to see it.
My youngest child said, "Where did she
come from? "
The elder one, four years old, said, "The
angels brought her down on their wings. "
A small boy asked whether, if he prayed for
things in church, he would surely get them. It
was explained that prayers were not always
answered, as sometimes the Father did not
think it best to grant the request, but that it
was all right for him to present his petitions
either at home or in church.
Two years later a new little sister came to
the house, and he told his mother that she did
not need to take care of this baby at all, as he
would, for he had prayed for her and got her,
though, he added, "I had to pray an awful lot
before she came. "
And surely the child of many prayers was
carefully tended and loved and petted by her
oldest brother, till called home on his sixteenth
birthday.
She, a tiny tot, one day surprised me by
asking, "Mamma, what did you do in
heaven? "
83
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
Without thinking, I answered, "Why, my
dear, I have never been there. "
"Oh yes, but you have. "
"When? "
"Why, before you came here a little baby. "
"Well," I replied, "tell me what you did
there, for you have only been here four years,
and I have been a great deal longer. "
"Oh," she answered, " I have been thinking,
and trying to 'member, but I can't one bit. "
"Lord Jesus, kiss me before I die," was the
nightly prayer of a sweet little maiden, her
idea being that a kiss was the sign of forgive-
ness. And when she was four years old the
angels came and laid her in the Good Shep-
herd's bosom, and I doubt not He gave His
little lamb the kiss she so earnestly desired.
"I don't want to go to heaven for a good
long time, mother! " said a little girl.
"Why not, dearie? "
"Well, I wouldn't know any one there, you
see. "
"But God would know you, darling; He is
your heavenly Father. "
"Would He take me on His knee, mother? "
"Yes, I am sure He would. "
84
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
These children are always striking ancient
chords of feeling with their simple ques-
tions. Many will recollect the passage
in Abbe Carme's Life of Madame de
Farcey, "When the soul arrives in heaven,
God takes it on His knees and calls it
His daughter. " And have we not a lovely
companion passage in the sixteenth canto
of the " Purgatorio ":
Forth from the hand of Him, who fondles it
Before it is, like to a little girl
Weeping and laughing in her childish sport.
Issues the simple Soul, that nothing knows
Save that, proceeding from a joyous Maker,
Gladly it turns to that which gives it pleasure.
"Do you know what God does when He
wants poorly people not to get well again? "
asked Gerald of his sister just after their
grandfather's death.
"He makes them die, of course," answered
the matter-of-fact Florence.
"AhI" said Gerald, with a far-away look in
his eyes, "but do you know how He does it? "
Florence shook her head.
"Why, God just stoops down over them,
and breathes into their mouths, and their souls
fly right away to heaven. "
85
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
A little seven-year-old boy, on hearing for
the first time about the Rontgen rays, ex-
claimed, "If I were a doctor, I know what I
should do. I should turn the Rontgen rays
on to a person who was dying, so that I could
see his soul going to God. "
My little girl was three or four years old.
When walking out one day she saw a funeral.
Telling us of it next morning, some one kindly
and solemnly said that one day she too must
die and be buried.
An emphatic denial was the immediate reply.
"Oh yes, dear, indeed you must. "
I glanced anxiously at my child, for I had
purposely kept the subject of death away from
such little ones.
Never shall I forget the horror expressed on
that young face, instantly succeeded by a look
and tone of glad triumph as she appealed
to me.
"No, I shan't; shall I, mamma? Jesus died
instead of me, and I shall live for ever. "
After a swift prayer for aid I replied,
"Well, dear, your body must die, but your
body is not really you. Your soul's you; that
which thinks and feels and loves. "
86
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
She seemed satisfied, but I wondered if she
understood. A week later she looked up at me
and said, "My body will die, but my body is
not me; my soul's me, isn't it, mamma? "
Perhaps most of us are slow to realise how
early the heart of a child vibrates with tender
sympathy, and how easily that sympathy is
aroused.
Little Charlie had been taken for a walk
through the cemetery, which lies on the slope
of the old seaport town and just within sound
of the sea. His bright keen eyes seemed to
take note of everything, and at tea-time he
gave his father an animated description of the
place.
Suddenly he asked, "What does 'R. I. P. '
stand for? Some of the gravestones had a lot
of reading on them, and then at the bottom of
the words there were the big letters 'R. I. P. '
What do they mean? "
"What does my little son think they
mean? " said his father.
Charlie paused for a moment. Then, lifting
his earnest little face, he voiced all uncon-
sciously the longing of many a broken heart
whose dead lay sleeping in that " God's Acre":
87
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
"I think, father, they must mean 'Return If
Possible:"
Maurice's father died when he was quite a
little chap, but Maurice used to love to talk
about him; and one day, when his mother had
been telling him that his father was really
alive, only out of sight in heaven, Maurice said
thoughtfully, "Mother, I wish God would put
some panes of glass in the floor of heaven, so
that we could see dear father's feet just now
and then when he's walking about. "
It was touching and beautiful to hear a
dying child say, "Mother, I have been pray-
ing to Jesus not to let you cry. I don't like to
see you crying. "
Wonderful strength was granted the mother
in answer to her darling's prayer, and the
child passed away, without being distressed
by her mother's grief, to the land where there
are no more tears.
Leslie was only just four years old when
grannie died.
"Do you ever think of grannie ? " some one
asked.
"Oh yes, I always think of dear grannie on
88
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
Sundays: I look at the altar, and I think God
is there, and grannie must be there too, for
grannie is with God. "
And, hearing of the death of one who had
known grannie, Isobel said, " What a surprise
dear grannie in heaven will get when Mr. S.
from S. walks in! "
"Yes," said Leslie; "he'll tell her all about
us. "
"Yes, I know it's Mr. McT. 's funeral, but
where is he? " said three-year-old Isobel,
with that curious searching into the unseen
that often characterises very young children.
Evelyn was sitting with her aunt, when
her uncle came in and said, "Mr. is
dead," referring to a friend who had passed
away.
"Auntie," said the child, "I wonder what
Mr. is doing now. I suppose the angels
are just showing him round. "
"I'm very sorry Mr. Egerton is dead,"
remarked six-year-old Maggie, on hearing of
the death of an old friend of the family, "but"
(cheerfully) "I suppose he has seen dada by
now, and told him how we all are. "
89
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
The other day our youngest heard of the
death of a friend, and instantly remarked:
"Then she sees Ag to-night," Ag being
a sister who had gone home at the age of ten
years.
We often hear interesting conversations in
the Kindergarten. The following is one:
"Oh, Eric, my boy, I have told you so often
not to scribble on your book; now you are
four you ought to know better, Eric. "
"But, auntie, it is my name, and Jesus says
if my name is not written in the Book I shall
be punished. "
Ethel. "What is punished? "
Ida. "Whipped. "
Ernest. "Put in a corner. "
Laura. "No, it means 'not go to heaven. '"
Ida. "Well, I don't believe you do go to
heaven. "
Eric. "Yes, you do; my father says so. "
Ida. "But they put you in the ground; I've
seen them. "
Ernest. "Oh, and does the nasty dirt get in
your eyes? "
Ethel. "No, they put you in a big box to
keep you clean. "
90
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
Ida. "Well, you see, you don't go to
heaven. "
Laura. "Yes, you do if you are good.
Don't you know when it is dark at night Jesus
comes down and gets you out of the box. He
fastens some wings on you, and away you go
with Him. "
Ernest. "Does He bring a scewdiver wiff
Him? "
Laura. "No, silly boy; don't you know
Jesus is strong enough to do anything? "
Percy's merriment while a friend of the
family lay dead shocked his brother, who said,
"I wonder you can do that when Mr. M
is dead. "
When the reproof had been administered
several times, Percy retorted, "Oh, stop saying
that. The world must go on. "
It is curious to note the easy and indeed
inevitable transition from the grave to
heaven and the angels.
James was a little boy of about four years
old. One day he was walking with his
mother in a cemetery. Impressed evidently
by the peace and beauty of the spot, he
91
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
looked up and said thoughtfully," "Mother,
isn't it nice that the dead have such a pretty
home-place? "
One lovely spring day little Annie was taken
by her mother to the cemetery. Seeing all
the tombstones and flowers, and the spring
sunshine over all, she said, "Oh, mother, how
lovely! Is this heaven? "
A little boy, eight years old, when lying ill
in bed, asked his governess to read to him the
"Burial of Moses. " "It am beautiful," he
said, "to be buried by the angels. "
When he lay dying, watching the setting
sun, his words were:
"How lovely it must be on the other side! "
Little Willie was listening attentively while
the story of Jacob's ladder was read at prayers.
When I was putting him to bed he said,
"Now I know how it is when people die.
They get to that place where Jacob's ladder
was, and climb up by that to heaven. "
I said, "Not quite, Willie: wherever we are
when we die, if we love Jesus we go straight
up to heaven. "
92
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
He said, " Yes, mamma; but that was one oi
the gates of heaven, wasn't it? "
"I do think it rather funny of mother to
have gone away and left little Nannie," sighed
a little three-year-old maiden who had just
been left motherless; "but, never mind," con-
tinued she, a tender smile trembling on her
lips, "she's gone to grannie, and it's always
summer weather there. "
"I've been to heaven ! " brightly exclaimed
another child, who, with his brothers and
sisters, had been taking flowers to "Grannie's"
grave. And then, shaking his little head, he
emphatically added, "but I shouldn't like to
live there! " He had been to the funeral of
this same dear friend, and had then been told
she was " gone to heaven. "
When that great and good man, the late
Archbishop Plunket, passed away, a bright
blue-eyed little fellow, who was walking
with his grandmother on the road running at
the foot of the beautiful Dublin mountains,
suddenly looked up and said, "Oh, grandma,
I wish you would take me to St. Patrick's to
the good Archbishop's funeral. "
93
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
"I will take you there some Sunday," I
said.
"Oh no, grannie," he said ; " it would be
too late. I would rather go to the funeral. I
have never seen the gate of heaven, and when
such a good man is being buried I am sure it
would open, and I should see in. "
The other world is such a real and glorious
place to children, that it is a subject of some
surprise when they see the tears of their
parents in times of bereavement. "Mamma
cried when grandpa was taken to heaven, but
we did not cry," said a little girl.
A little thing of three years, hearing that
nurse had been to her husband's funeral, ran
up to her and asked, "Have 'ou been to
heaven, nursie? Do tell baby all 'bout it. "
Death, to them, is like "stepping into another
room. '1
A sweet, winsome little maiden, three years
old, lost the father who had loved and prized
her as "the flower of the flock "--his youngest.
A year or so later she showed his photograph
to a visitor, saying, "That is my father! My
papa is in heaven, but he loves us just the
same. "
94
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
"Who told you so, darling? " the visitor
asked.
With a rather indignant air, she replied,
"No one told me. I know it myself. "
The same little queen of the house allowed
her auntie, who had just come to see them, to
put her to bed on condition that she told her
stories. After hosts of anecdotes, auntie
talked to her about "Jesus loves me, this I
know. "
The wee maiden then enlarged upon it by
saying, "Yes, Jesus loves mother, and Bertha,
and me, and auntie--and every one. I do love
Jesus so. I'm going to write Him a letter to
say how I love Him. "
Bertie sat up in bed, blowing good-night
kisses to every one. "There's a kiss for
father, and a kiss for mother, and a kiss for
baby," said he gleefully.
"Baby can't get a kiss now, dear," said
father; "he is with God in heaven. "
"Oh, then I'll blow a kiss to God, and He'll
give it to baby. " And raising his little face,
he blew a kiss to God for baby.
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
singing lustily and with particular emphasis the
opening lines of the hymn beginning
Ere another Sabbath's close,
Ere again we seek repose.
Their mother suggested that this was a hymn
more suitable for Sunday than for Saturday
night--to their great astonishment. "But,
mother," they protested, "on Saturday night
you air our clothes for Sunday, while we seek
repose,"--the words, as they rendered them,
being
Air another Sabbath's clothes!
Air again: we seek repose!
Father had a great many canaries, and spoke
of selling some of them. Charlie looked up
horrified. "Mother," he said, catching his
breath, "will daddy cut the poor little dickies
into halves? "
"No," replied mother, laughing; "why do
you ask? "
"Well, mother, he said they would be 45.
a-piece, and I thought he was going to chop
them up. "
Children mix up their knowledge in rather
a distracting way sometimes. One little girl,
on being asked how she knew a horse was an
76
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
animal, replied, "Because it has four equal
sides and four right angles. "
The same child declared people could live
without air. "For," she said, "I know a
gentleman that has none on the top of him. "
A little girl of our acquaintance was repeating
her prayer:
This night when I lie down to sleep,
I give my soul to Christ to keep.
On reaching this point she looked up in her
father's face and asked the startling question,
"Will I give Him my heels too? "
On one occasion Lillie, seeing a bow on the
back of her mother's mantle, remarked proudly,
"I have a bow on my mantelpiece. "
"Mr. Weston has just been with us a year
to-day," observed a widowed mother to her
children, in reference to a boarder who had
taken up his abode with them to augment the
family purse.
"Three cheers for Mr. Weston, mother! "
cried the eldest boy.
"And three sofas too, muvver," shouted
three-year-old Alec, waving his cap in the air.
77
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
An apple-charlotte and a plum pudding were
on the table, and the children were asked
which they would have. Charlotte chose
apple-charlotte. "Not apple-Charlotte," said
baby Charlie when it came to his turn, "but
p\um-me /"
"What did you have for dinner to-day? "
a mother asked her little son.
"Indigestion," was the prompt reply.
Little Cousin John's birthday was a source
of mysterious trouble to him. When the
other children spoke gleefully of their birth-
days the look on Johnny's face became very
sorrowful: "Oh, John's birfday fell down;
John's birfday tummle over! "
None of us could guess what terrible mis-
hap it was that was disturbing his little soul,
till one day he murmured sadly, "John's
birfday knocked over! " Then the light flashed
upon us, and we were able to comfort him.
Johnnie's birthday was in October.
My small boy asked me if the sycamore
tree was called that because it was more sick
than any other tree.
78
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
Isobel was told to leave something on her
plate for "Mrs. Manners. " "But who is
Mrs. Manners? " asked she, and before any
one could answer, "/ suppose it's the water
that washes the plates. "
Edwin for some years persisted in speaking
of himself in the third person, as " he," never
as "I. "
One very frosty day his mother was warning
him that if he fell down in such weather his little
legs would break like sticks of sealing-wax.
This warning failed to produce the desired
effect, as the child replied, "He likes his little
legs to break like sticks of sealing-wax. "
It is by no means uncommon for the small
person to express a special liking for
the disaster which is foretold as the
certain result of some act of self-indul-
gence or disobedience. The peculiar
form of speech referred to in this last
Saying is also of frequent occurrence,
though probably less common and much
less perplexing than the habit of saying
"What I'm going to do? " when the
speaker means "What are you going to
79
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
do," and "Come and kiss you," when he
means "Come and kiss me. " It seems to
me that there is a very natural explana-
tion of this transference of the pronouns.
A child is addressed as "you," and he
accepts the word as a sort of name, so
that when he speaks of himself he very
properly uses the name in which he is
spoken to: "'You' did this"; "'You'
loves mamma. " Similarly he hears his
elders speaking of themselves as "I";
obviously that must be their name, and he
is quite logical when he addresses them
as "I ": "Where I'm going to? [where
are you going to? ] You [I] go with I
[you]. "
It is often at a very early age that we find
the little people tackling the mysteries of
time and space, the enigmas of birth and
death, the marvels of heaven, and a crowd
of other questions to which we ourselves
shall find no answer on this side of the
grassy gate and the dusty way. In all
these matters the children's views take
the colour of the parents' teaching.
Harry, aged three, was of a very inquiring
80
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
mind. He was always wanting to know
"where yesterday had gone," and "why did
counting never end? "
"Do our souls never die? " asked Jack.
"No, dear. " "But wouldn't they if you put
them in water? "
One day my nephew, aged four, was playing
with toys on the hearthrug, I reading by his
side. Suddenly he raised his head and asked,
"Auntie, where was I before I was born? "
Much surprised at the question, I replied,
"Nowhere; there was no little Harold. "
He rose indignantly, and standing before
me, said, "I was--I was up in heaven all in
pieces, waiting for God to make me up. "
Little Molly, on hearing something that had
happened two years ago, remarked, "Aleck
was not in the world then; he was only dust
Tying about the street. "
Two little boys were one day recalling
incidents in their brief past, and asking each
other, "Do you mind [remember]? "
Presently their younger brother joined in
the conversation, and said he minded too, but
the eldest little lad quickly exclaimed, "How
81 p
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
can you mind? You were flying about dust
then. "
One day my little son saw a heap of dust in
the road, and asked if that was what God
had made him out of.
Two little children being awakened by their
nurse one morning and told that they had a
new little brother, were keen, as children are,
to know where and how he had arrived.
"It must have been the milkman," said the
girl.
"Why the milkman? "
"Because he says on his cart ' Families
Supplied. '"
Two small cousins (into each of whose
homes little strangers had arrived) were over-
heard comparing notes as to the respective
virtues of the little brother and sister.
"Arthur, did you say that your baby came
in a trumpet? "
"No, Eva; it makes a noise like a trumpet,
and wakens me in the night. "
To which Eva replied, "My baby came on
the wings of the wind. "
82
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
When I had a new baby my other little ones
were brought in to see it.
My youngest child said, "Where did she
come from? "
The elder one, four years old, said, "The
angels brought her down on their wings. "
A small boy asked whether, if he prayed for
things in church, he would surely get them. It
was explained that prayers were not always
answered, as sometimes the Father did not
think it best to grant the request, but that it
was all right for him to present his petitions
either at home or in church.
Two years later a new little sister came to
the house, and he told his mother that she did
not need to take care of this baby at all, as he
would, for he had prayed for her and got her,
though, he added, "I had to pray an awful lot
before she came. "
And surely the child of many prayers was
carefully tended and loved and petted by her
oldest brother, till called home on his sixteenth
birthday.
She, a tiny tot, one day surprised me by
asking, "Mamma, what did you do in
heaven? "
83
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
Without thinking, I answered, "Why, my
dear, I have never been there. "
"Oh yes, but you have. "
"When? "
"Why, before you came here a little baby. "
"Well," I replied, "tell me what you did
there, for you have only been here four years,
and I have been a great deal longer. "
"Oh," she answered, " I have been thinking,
and trying to 'member, but I can't one bit. "
"Lord Jesus, kiss me before I die," was the
nightly prayer of a sweet little maiden, her
idea being that a kiss was the sign of forgive-
ness. And when she was four years old the
angels came and laid her in the Good Shep-
herd's bosom, and I doubt not He gave His
little lamb the kiss she so earnestly desired.
"I don't want to go to heaven for a good
long time, mother! " said a little girl.
"Why not, dearie? "
"Well, I wouldn't know any one there, you
see. "
"But God would know you, darling; He is
your heavenly Father. "
"Would He take me on His knee, mother? "
"Yes, I am sure He would. "
84
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
These children are always striking ancient
chords of feeling with their simple ques-
tions. Many will recollect the passage
in Abbe Carme's Life of Madame de
Farcey, "When the soul arrives in heaven,
God takes it on His knees and calls it
His daughter. " And have we not a lovely
companion passage in the sixteenth canto
of the " Purgatorio ":
Forth from the hand of Him, who fondles it
Before it is, like to a little girl
Weeping and laughing in her childish sport.
Issues the simple Soul, that nothing knows
Save that, proceeding from a joyous Maker,
Gladly it turns to that which gives it pleasure.
"Do you know what God does when He
wants poorly people not to get well again? "
asked Gerald of his sister just after their
grandfather's death.
"He makes them die, of course," answered
the matter-of-fact Florence.
"AhI" said Gerald, with a far-away look in
his eyes, "but do you know how He does it? "
Florence shook her head.
"Why, God just stoops down over them,
and breathes into their mouths, and their souls
fly right away to heaven. "
85
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
A little seven-year-old boy, on hearing for
the first time about the Rontgen rays, ex-
claimed, "If I were a doctor, I know what I
should do. I should turn the Rontgen rays
on to a person who was dying, so that I could
see his soul going to God. "
My little girl was three or four years old.
When walking out one day she saw a funeral.
Telling us of it next morning, some one kindly
and solemnly said that one day she too must
die and be buried.
An emphatic denial was the immediate reply.
"Oh yes, dear, indeed you must. "
I glanced anxiously at my child, for I had
purposely kept the subject of death away from
such little ones.
Never shall I forget the horror expressed on
that young face, instantly succeeded by a look
and tone of glad triumph as she appealed
to me.
"No, I shan't; shall I, mamma? Jesus died
instead of me, and I shall live for ever. "
After a swift prayer for aid I replied,
"Well, dear, your body must die, but your
body is not really you. Your soul's you; that
which thinks and feels and loves. "
86
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
She seemed satisfied, but I wondered if she
understood. A week later she looked up at me
and said, "My body will die, but my body is
not me; my soul's me, isn't it, mamma? "
Perhaps most of us are slow to realise how
early the heart of a child vibrates with tender
sympathy, and how easily that sympathy is
aroused.
Little Charlie had been taken for a walk
through the cemetery, which lies on the slope
of the old seaport town and just within sound
of the sea. His bright keen eyes seemed to
take note of everything, and at tea-time he
gave his father an animated description of the
place.
Suddenly he asked, "What does 'R. I. P. '
stand for? Some of the gravestones had a lot
of reading on them, and then at the bottom of
the words there were the big letters 'R. I. P. '
What do they mean? "
"What does my little son think they
mean? " said his father.
Charlie paused for a moment. Then, lifting
his earnest little face, he voiced all uncon-
sciously the longing of many a broken heart
whose dead lay sleeping in that " God's Acre":
87
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
"I think, father, they must mean 'Return If
Possible:"
Maurice's father died when he was quite a
little chap, but Maurice used to love to talk
about him; and one day, when his mother had
been telling him that his father was really
alive, only out of sight in heaven, Maurice said
thoughtfully, "Mother, I wish God would put
some panes of glass in the floor of heaven, so
that we could see dear father's feet just now
and then when he's walking about. "
It was touching and beautiful to hear a
dying child say, "Mother, I have been pray-
ing to Jesus not to let you cry. I don't like to
see you crying. "
Wonderful strength was granted the mother
in answer to her darling's prayer, and the
child passed away, without being distressed
by her mother's grief, to the land where there
are no more tears.
Leslie was only just four years old when
grannie died.
"Do you ever think of grannie ? " some one
asked.
"Oh yes, I always think of dear grannie on
88
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
Sundays: I look at the altar, and I think God
is there, and grannie must be there too, for
grannie is with God. "
And, hearing of the death of one who had
known grannie, Isobel said, " What a surprise
dear grannie in heaven will get when Mr. S.
from S. walks in! "
"Yes," said Leslie; "he'll tell her all about
us. "
"Yes, I know it's Mr. McT. 's funeral, but
where is he? " said three-year-old Isobel,
with that curious searching into the unseen
that often characterises very young children.
Evelyn was sitting with her aunt, when
her uncle came in and said, "Mr. is
dead," referring to a friend who had passed
away.
"Auntie," said the child, "I wonder what
Mr. is doing now. I suppose the angels
are just showing him round. "
"I'm very sorry Mr. Egerton is dead,"
remarked six-year-old Maggie, on hearing of
the death of an old friend of the family, "but"
(cheerfully) "I suppose he has seen dada by
now, and told him how we all are. "
89
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
The other day our youngest heard of the
death of a friend, and instantly remarked:
"Then she sees Ag to-night," Ag being
a sister who had gone home at the age of ten
years.
We often hear interesting conversations in
the Kindergarten. The following is one:
"Oh, Eric, my boy, I have told you so often
not to scribble on your book; now you are
four you ought to know better, Eric. "
"But, auntie, it is my name, and Jesus says
if my name is not written in the Book I shall
be punished. "
Ethel. "What is punished? "
Ida. "Whipped. "
Ernest. "Put in a corner. "
Laura. "No, it means 'not go to heaven. '"
Ida. "Well, I don't believe you do go to
heaven. "
Eric. "Yes, you do; my father says so. "
Ida. "But they put you in the ground; I've
seen them. "
Ernest. "Oh, and does the nasty dirt get in
your eyes? "
Ethel. "No, they put you in a big box to
keep you clean. "
90
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
Ida. "Well, you see, you don't go to
heaven. "
Laura. "Yes, you do if you are good.
Don't you know when it is dark at night Jesus
comes down and gets you out of the box. He
fastens some wings on you, and away you go
with Him. "
Ernest. "Does He bring a scewdiver wiff
Him? "
Laura. "No, silly boy; don't you know
Jesus is strong enough to do anything? "
Percy's merriment while a friend of the
family lay dead shocked his brother, who said,
"I wonder you can do that when Mr. M
is dead. "
When the reproof had been administered
several times, Percy retorted, "Oh, stop saying
that. The world must go on. "
It is curious to note the easy and indeed
inevitable transition from the grave to
heaven and the angels.
James was a little boy of about four years
old. One day he was walking with his
mother in a cemetery. Impressed evidently
by the peace and beauty of the spot, he
91
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
looked up and said thoughtfully," "Mother,
isn't it nice that the dead have such a pretty
home-place? "
One lovely spring day little Annie was taken
by her mother to the cemetery. Seeing all
the tombstones and flowers, and the spring
sunshine over all, she said, "Oh, mother, how
lovely! Is this heaven? "
A little boy, eight years old, when lying ill
in bed, asked his governess to read to him the
"Burial of Moses. " "It am beautiful," he
said, "to be buried by the angels. "
When he lay dying, watching the setting
sun, his words were:
"How lovely it must be on the other side! "
Little Willie was listening attentively while
the story of Jacob's ladder was read at prayers.
When I was putting him to bed he said,
"Now I know how it is when people die.
They get to that place where Jacob's ladder
was, and climb up by that to heaven. "
I said, "Not quite, Willie: wherever we are
when we die, if we love Jesus we go straight
up to heaven. "
92
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
He said, " Yes, mamma; but that was one oi
the gates of heaven, wasn't it? "
"I do think it rather funny of mother to
have gone away and left little Nannie," sighed
a little three-year-old maiden who had just
been left motherless; "but, never mind," con-
tinued she, a tender smile trembling on her
lips, "she's gone to grannie, and it's always
summer weather there. "
"I've been to heaven ! " brightly exclaimed
another child, who, with his brothers and
sisters, had been taking flowers to "Grannie's"
grave. And then, shaking his little head, he
emphatically added, "but I shouldn't like to
live there! " He had been to the funeral of
this same dear friend, and had then been told
she was " gone to heaven. "
When that great and good man, the late
Archbishop Plunket, passed away, a bright
blue-eyed little fellow, who was walking
with his grandmother on the road running at
the foot of the beautiful Dublin mountains,
suddenly looked up and said, "Oh, grandma,
I wish you would take me to St. Patrick's to
the good Archbishop's funeral. "
93
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
"I will take you there some Sunday," I
said.
"Oh no, grannie," he said ; " it would be
too late. I would rather go to the funeral. I
have never seen the gate of heaven, and when
such a good man is being buried I am sure it
would open, and I should see in. "
The other world is such a real and glorious
place to children, that it is a subject of some
surprise when they see the tears of their
parents in times of bereavement. "Mamma
cried when grandpa was taken to heaven, but
we did not cry," said a little girl.
A little thing of three years, hearing that
nurse had been to her husband's funeral, ran
up to her and asked, "Have 'ou been to
heaven, nursie? Do tell baby all 'bout it. "
Death, to them, is like "stepping into another
room. '1
A sweet, winsome little maiden, three years
old, lost the father who had loved and prized
her as "the flower of the flock "--his youngest.
A year or so later she showed his photograph
to a visitor, saying, "That is my father! My
papa is in heaven, but he loves us just the
same. "
94
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-12-24 15:06 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/uc1. $b240617 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? CHILDREN'S SAYINGS
"Who told you so, darling? " the visitor
asked.
With a rather indignant air, she replied,
"No one told me. I know it myself. "
The same little queen of the house allowed
her auntie, who had just come to see them, to
put her to bed on condition that she told her
stories. After hosts of anecdotes, auntie
talked to her about "Jesus loves me, this I
know. "
The wee maiden then enlarged upon it by
saying, "Yes, Jesus loves mother, and Bertha,
and me, and auntie--and every one. I do love
Jesus so. I'm going to write Him a letter to
say how I love Him. "
Bertie sat up in bed, blowing good-night
kisses to every one. "There's a kiss for
father, and a kiss for mother, and a kiss for
baby," said he gleefully.
"Baby can't get a kiss now, dear," said
father; "he is with God in heaven. "
"Oh, then I'll blow a kiss to God, and He'll
give it to baby. " And raising his little face,
he blew a kiss to God for baby.
