A NURSERY RHYME SERMON.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 284, 15 June 1917, Page 2 (Supplement)

A NURSERY RHYME SERMON.

"LITTLE JACK HORNER. - ' Who was Little .Jack Horner? "Who tan say? I cannot. No mention of his parentage, lineage, or after-career: none of h'b rank, age, or condition! No must rest satisfied with the text, as we find it, accept gratefully the meagre but weighty mformat'on therein contained, and draw from it the lessons. precepts, and warning* it is . 0 well constituted to convey. Of his personality we gather that lie uas short oi stature-puny, small, little mat li b baptismal name was John and that in the intimacy of the homein le, where he was known and—riditV )aok^ ron Sb' —beloved, he wag styled

Was J ad; a good boy ? According to Ins own account he was blameless. Ho exclaims, "\\ hat a good boy am I!" Ah grave delusion, fond fallacv' Jack «» » t-ronlv, pigt

New He to. He had a Ciiristiuas-p'e a plum-pi?, probably a large-sized pie' "no which he might casilv, had he so willed, hare shared with another not so well circumstanced as himself. But what docs ho do?

Ho goes into a corner, all alone, to eat- Ins pie. He nugs this precious conHvtiou to his niid devours it unseen.

What, further, did he foil to do? " "at Wi| s ins sin of omission? brethren he omitted to lie kind—in sihort, he oiu'tted to be a pal, and not only to do in-, lut but to give his bit as well". Jack Horner was greedy. He ate his pic alone. 1

Furthermore, brethren, Jack Horner was what a great pcet styles" a little vulgar boy.'' "He put in his thumb." Had he inserted his forefinger—especially if it had lately been washed—wo should not nave cx]>er:enced that sense of disgust the inserfon of the thumb engenders. There are precedents for tins distinction. An ancient proverb tells us lingers were made betoro forks—a statement none can deny; and so, had Jack delicately used the digit generally employed in'lieu of the implements of civilisation, we might have forgiven hm. lint the thumb! It is the sign-nmnual of vulgarity. _ I' urtiicr, brethren, note the word "pulled" in our text. It is not lightly used. Had my text sought to convey tho idea that Jack lifted the plum delicn.tely from the p'e s interior, would it have used the word "pulled"? Nay. verily. It would have "took" or "picked" or '•extracted" or "drew forth."

Hut nmv we conic to the worst characteristic of Jack Horner: liis smugselfrighteousness, his cool assumption that hr> is a good follow, that there is nothing ivroup; with him. tlu>t tlio rest of mankind may have heen horn in sin, hut ho is an cx-option to the rule. You may take it for granted that the man w/io pays himself compliments, who plumes himself on his moralperfections, is generally, like Little .lack Horner, engaged at the h o!fsrmo moment 111 arrogating to himself not onlv a maximum and exclusive dole of virtue, hut also a maximum amount of this world's goods. So. finally, brethren, let me exhort yon to avoid the man who loves "corners. The " corner"' man, the man whoso aim is to corner everything from corn to kingdom s, is the arch-enemy of thft race. H's gain is others' loss, his happiness other's sorrow, his riches others' poverty, his power others' slavery. When ho has devoured crust., plums, and juice vou can have the dish to lick and the stones to crack.

Further, do not put a secretive, selfisii thumb, or finger either. in any p : e. It's n 1 tad habit and seldom pays in the end. It U not only vulgar, it is also unpleasant. Bo content to sit down at the Round Table of common soc'ability. to fall in with the ordinary usages and conventions of society, rather than try to Im> original or singulrr and succeed on! v in lie'ng a l>oor. But whatever you do or do not, brethren, avoid self-laudat'on and the difficult acrobatic feat of patting your own back. If your trumpeter happens to lie deceased don't do your own blowing, but rather use your wind to praise your friend, when you have performed the earlier and paramount duty of sharing your pie and its plums with him.