Cover art
Moses and Zipporah at the well
CHILD'S
Story of the Bible
BY
MARY A. LATHBURY
WITH INTRODUCTION BY
BISHOP JOHN H. VINCENT
ILLUSTRATED
WITH NUMEROUS FULL-PAGE COLORED PLATES,
AND PHOTO-ENGRAVINGS
BOSTON
DEWOLFE, & FISKE Co.
COPYRIGHT, 1898
By DEWOLFE, FISKE & CO.
PREFACE.
To Mothers.
I have been asked to prepare this little aid for your use in theHome—that first and greatest of schools. The school was founded bythe Maker of men, and He called mothers to be its earliest and mostimportant teachers. He prepared a text-book for it which we call HisWord, illustrating it richly and fully from life and Nature, andfilling it with His Spirit. Wherever it is known, as the childrenbecome the members of the Church, the citizens of the State, the peopleof the World, the Book goes with them, forming the Church, the State,the World. It is not only equal to the need, but contains infiniteriches that wait to be unveiled.
That no busy mother may say, "I cannot take time to gather from theBible the simple lessons that my children need," this book of littlestories—together making one—has been written. I have tried topreserve the pure outlines of the sacred record from the vividdescription and the suggestive supposition that are sometimesintroduced to add charm to the story, and in all quoted speech I haveused the exact words of the authorized version of the Scriptures, sothat the earliest impression made upon the memory of the child might beone that should remain.
The stories are not a substitute for the Word—only little approachesto it through which young feet may be guided by her who holds a placenext to the great Teacher in His work with little children.
M.A.L.
INTRODUCTION.
When the children gather at mother's knee, and the tiniest finds aplace in mother's arms, and all clamor for a "story," "a story, mamma,"how lovely is the picture—the living picture—that circle makes!Love, longing, wisdom, expectancy, faith, shining eyes, lips that moveinvoluntarily,