“The Faithful Soldier and His Rewards.”  This man had served forty years in the cause of his country—­of these, ten years had been spent as a private soldier, and thirty as an officer.  He had been present in one hundred and twenty battles, and had been severely wounded forty-five times.  He had received fourteen civic crowns, for having saved the lives of so many Roman citizens; three mural crowns, for having been the first to mount the breach when attacking a fortress; and eight golden crowns, for having, on so many occasions, rescued the standard of a Roman legion from the hands of the enemy.  He had in his house eighty-three gold chains, sixty bracelets, eighteen golden spears, and twenty-three horse trappings,—­the rewards for his many faithful services as a soldier.  And when his friends looked at all those honors and treasures which he had received, from time to time, how well they might have said as they pointed to those numerous prizes—­that he had “received his own reward, according to his own labor,” and faithfulness!  And so it will be with the soldiers of the cross, who are faithful in using the talents given them by their heavenly Master.

“A Great Harvest from a Little Seed,” Some years ago there was a celebrated artist in Paris whose name was Ary Scheffer.  On one occasion he wished to introduce a beggar into a certain picture he was painting.  Baron Rothschild, the famous banker, and one of the richest men in the world, was a particular friend of this artist.  He happened to come into his studio at the very time he was trying to get a beggar to be the model of one which he desired to put into his painting.

“Wait till to-morrow,” said Mr. Rothschild, “and I will dress myself up as a beggar, and make you an excellent model.”

“Very well,” said the artist, who was pleased with the strangeness of the proposal.  The next day the rich banker appeared, dressed up as a beggar, and a very sorry looking beggar he was.  While the artist was engaged in painting him, another friend of his came into the studio.  He was a kind-hearted, generous man.  As he looked on the model beggar, he was touched by his wretched appearance, and as he passed him, he slipped a louis d’or—­a French gold coin, worth about five dollars of our money—­into his hand.  The pretended beggar took the coin, and put it in his pocket.

Ten years after this, the gentleman who gave this piece of money received an order on the bank of the Rothschilds for ten thousand francs.  This was enclosed in a letter which read as follows: 

“Sir:  You one day gave a louis d’or to Baron Rothschild, in the studio of Ary Scheffer.  He has invested it, and made good use of it, and to-day he sends you the capital you entrusted to him, together with the interest it has gained.  A good action is always followed by a good reward.

“JAMES DE ROTHSCHILD.”