"No, sir," said the charcoal burner; "I am neither their father nor their master. Alas! they have but one Father, which is in heaven. They are orphans, sir, and are employed by the herdsmen. They remain here for several months in the year, to assist in tending their cattle and their goats, which are kept during the summer in the mountain pastures. They are therefore serving an apprenticeship to the line of life for which they are destined. But there are other things which are needful for them, as well as learning to look after cows, and sheep, and goats; and one thing more needful than all the rest, which they might learn to neglect, were they left to themselves, without some one to lead them in the right path, and to speak to them of the faith and love of the Lord Jesus. It is true they are here far removed from the temptations which they would meet with in towns, and even in villages; but Satan has his snares in all parts—in the wilderness, where he dared to tempt the Son of God Himself, as well as in the city, where, they say, his traps are set so thickly that it is impossible to avoid them, unless the light of God's Holy Spirit is shining on our path. But even here, had he no other means of leading them astray, they might fall, by his devices, into the worst of sins—the forgetfulness of God, and all they owe to Him. The condition, then, of these poor boys has interested me very greatly. I have prevailed upon their masters to let them come to me for two hours every evening, as soon as the cows and goats are milked, and the sheep are in the folds, when I endeavour, with God's help, to teach them to read and write, and cast up an account; but, above all, to seek to find out the Lord in His holy Word, and to pray to Him. For myself, too, it is a profitable as well as a cheerful occupation in this solitude. I wish, indeed, that I were able to have them longer with me each day, but that our labours will not allow of. On Sundays, indeed, they have rather less to do, and we take advantage of this to devote more time to the service of God."
"Rather less to do on Sundays!" said Alfred. "Is the Lord's Day, then, made only partially a day of rest?"
"Sir," replied Gervais, "there are works of absolute necessity which require our attention, here in the mountains, nearly as much on the Lord's Day as on the other days of the week. We do not cut wood on the Sabbath Day, but my fire must not be allowed to go out. It must be kept constantly burning till the operation is complete. So far, indeed, it affords a lesson of holy instruction to my young pupils as well as myself, and shows us the necessity of the flame of Christian love, and faith, and hope being kept alive in our hearts, even when pursuing our daily occupations. Then those who have the charge of cattle and sheep must attend to their wants, or the poor creatures would suffer sadly by their neglect. It takes up a large portion of the day to milk the cows and the goats, and I dare say you can understand that, to say nothing of the loss their owners would incur were this omitted, the poor beasts themselves would suffer bitterly from bodily pain and disease."
"I ought to have thought of this, as I am myself learning to be a farmer," observed Alfred. "But do you not draw any spiritual improvement for your scholars from this?"
"Oh, yes, sir! I show them how Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is constantly feeding and caring for His flock, watching over them, and keeping the young lambs from going astray; carrying them in His bosom, and giving them the bread of life to eat, and the waters of everlasting comfort to drink."
"And are your kind instructions confined to these three boys?"
"Not altogether, sir. Most of their masters, when their necessary work is done, come with such of their servants as can be spared, on the evening of the Lord's Day; and, as we have no pastor up here to teach us in the way of holiness, we join together in prayer. We sing 'psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs,' and we 'search the Scriptures,' and nourish our souls with the holy Word of God. Most of them, I assure you, sir, are very seriously disposed, and love to hear me talk to them of the Lord Jesus, and tell them of all He has done to save sinners, to take away their sin, to give them repentance, and everlasting life after death."
"And it is thus you have been passing your time," exclaimed Alfred, "when some of my thoughtless young friends below fancied you might be drinking or smoking while you were watching your fire. Happy man! These solitudes are no solitudes to you. How far more profitably, how far more pleasantly, are you employed than the greater number of those who live in the world! I must entreat you to pardon my having intruded upon you, I am ashamed to say, from a motive of mere curiosity. But see how God often causes even our follies and weaknesses to turn out to our profit. I have learned a lesson that I trust, by His grace, I shall never forget. It has taught me that every godly man has a part assigned to him for others as well as for himself, to show forth the great salvation that Christ brought upon earth. You are diligently fulfilling your part. You have prayed for work, and our great Master has mercifully provided it for you. You are laying up treasure for yourself in heaven, while many of those who would be inclined to pity your worldly position are wasting their lives in idleness and sin, neglecting the work they might do, and burying in the earth the talent committed to their charge. Numbers there are in the world who are attempting to secure to themselves a memorial among posterity, by erecting hospitals and schools, while you are consecrating this little hovel to God in a way that might never have been known in this world, but which will not be forgotten by the Lord 'in the day when He maketh up His jewels.'"
As he said this, Alfred cast his eyes round the hut, and fixed them upon an open chest which stood in one corner, supported upon one or two short beams of wood, to preserve the contents from the damp.
"You are not unprovided with books, I see, besides those that lie on the table."