Thought lost forever, The little ones went to bed With heavy, heavy hearts, For there was no one now, To make the "snow" for them. Their mother lay so still, A silent sleep had come; She had done all she could, Now let her work be done; That it would be all right, And all they had to do, Was to fold their hands And go to sleep in peace. But hark! what sound was that, Just on the edge of hearing? Was it really so-- Or were they dreaming so? Just what was in their mind, We cannot tell-- Their mothers who are dead, But surely none can tell! That sound so faint and far Made those children sad and low; But soon their fears were gone, They knew their mother had not died. She was singing "snow"! * * * * * The children heard the voice, Which fell from out the skies; And then they thought and saw, A lovely lovely sight; The little girls in white, The little boys in black, All singing like the snow; And round and round the home, The children there were seen. For the snow was falling fast, And every one did come, And the sound of happy voices, Was like a "sleigh-bell" in the air. The little children laughed, As they went out to play, And then they seemed to know Just how it should be done: For they were so happy and gay, With every one so good and true, That all the snows that ever fell, Could never make them sad; And when their hearts were light, And nothing sad would come, They seemed to know that God, He had the children in his mind; And on that day when first He made them, still the same, To fill this world with snow, And make the world a heaven. Oh may the little children, That you have loved so well, That you will always have Upon this earth, some time. And may your love and your care, Be with them through the years; No power on earth can take Their love away. For once a thing is begun, It will not end in pain; And may they never know That "snow" that you have sung for them; Or only in a dream, That they will never quite believe. And when the winter passes, Like summer in a burst; And when their summer days Are all too short to stay; And all too soon their joys Will all too soon be o'er; And when your song is sung, And it has reached its end; May the angels sing, Your praises all the while, And may you never know What your pure white snows have done. ALEXANDER You ask me of my pleasure and of my sorrow, And then you leave me quite alone; Oh, would that I were strong enough to tell you, and tell you! But who can tell the agony and the joy? I've given what my heart has ached to give, O dear my comrade, all for me; And now I've learned it was not quite for me, but for you-- That God took all my strength away from me. O Christ! when I shall wake from out this sleep, And find your smile across the sea, May I be dumb at length for love of you, For only now I know My life was given to you, and you were mine. THOMAS A. GORDON (1827-1885) GORDON was born near Boston. When he was five years old his father moved to New York, taking up his residence in New York city. There the boy soon discovered the public school of that city and the Sunday School. His father and uncle were the first Sunday School missionaries in New York, the former teaching at the Church of the Pilgrims and uncle Samuel, at Tammany Hall. Young Gordon was among the first to take up the work. By the age of twelve the boy was in the regular Sunday School at Trinity, preaching at the pulpit for the first time to some six hundred people. He then entered the College of the City of New York, and was taught by Dr. Samuel F. Schoellkopf. There he met his future wife, Miss Julia E. P. Smith. In 1853 Mr. and Mrs. Gordon went abroad and attended the London Conference, and also the celebrated Edinburgh Missionary conference, which set on foot the Missionary Training School at Fisk University, to which the Gordons returned to accept the presidency. In 1862 Mr. Gordon was appointed to work among the s in Tennessee. In 1867 he joined the Southern Missionary Society, and was then sent to Georgia, where he served at Rome, Augusta, Macon, and Savannah. For three years he also attended classes at Atlanta University. At this time he first felt called to the work in Africa, and went to West Africa, where he was engaged in mission work until 1881, when ill health compelled him to resign. In 1884 he and his wife returned to the United States and made their home in Brooklyn, where he was much engaged in the educational and philanthropic work. Mr. Gordon was president of the Executive Board of the American Baptist Publication Society, and also of the Foreign Mission Board of the American Baptist Home Mission Society. GOING TO EGYPT One year from this day, the 29th of August, 1882, I sailed from New York with my wife and baby, on the steamship _Kenesaw_, a small and not very comfortable vessel, bound for Cairo, Egypt, where I had previously arranged for a three years' mission for which an earnest wish had been burning in my soul for twenty-five years. At Cairo I was accompanied by my son-in-law, Mr. R. H. Fulton, and my daughter, Miss Alice C. Fulton, of Brooklyn. We landed in Alexandria on the 13th of September, and after some necessary delay, were started by train on our long trip from Alexandria to Assouan, where the _Kenesaw_ lay at anchor in the beautiful waters of the Upper Nile, four hundred miles from Cairo. Assouan was our last stop in Egypt and, as far as we were concerned, our first in Africa. For the three days we lay at Assouan we enjoyed perfect health, and were blessed with one of those delightful nights of pure air in the ocean of freshness and beauty that we experienced at times during our sojourn in Egypt. The next day Mr. Fulton went to Assiout and arranged for a little household belonging to his father, and Mrs. Fulton with my daughter moved into that dwelling and took charge of the establishment of the Mission, which they called "Marietta." Their place of residence at Assiout is called "Assiout station," or simply "Assiout." I went on with my companion, Mr. Wm. F. Young, and we soon reached Kawa, where the _Kenesaw_ was ready to start for Khartoum. From that time we did not meet a great many white people during our travels, because all of them were going to the same place. The natives were friendly. They came to see us, brought presents and wished us "good health" and blessings, for they are great lovers of Christian people, especially of the missionaries, whom they say "make the world better." But the only thing they need to do, to make the world better is to teach the whites a little better how to live. MY LADY OF THE LAND We reached Khartoum on the 11th of October, 1882, and began to make preparations for the long journey across the desert to Omdurman. The first night was one of rest and quiet sleep; the second we spent in carrying our things on camels and preparing for the great adventure of carrying them into Africa, on one camel, three hundred and seventy-five miles from Khartoum. We left Khartoum on Friday morning at 5.30 o'clock, having received word at Khartoum that the Khalifa, Mohammed Ahmed, was on his way to Omdurman with his army. It was then rumored that the war which had been threatened would probably be resumed. THE OIL OF BREAD From my boyhood I had been taught about the prophet Mohammed, and had also heard that there was something in his teachings not wholly good.