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diff --git a/31697.txt b/31697.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..58bd6b4 --- /dev/null +++ b/31697.txt @@ -0,0 +1,15591 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain and Other +Tales, by Hannah More + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain and Other Tales + +Author: Hannah More + +Release Date: March 18, 2010 [EBook #31697] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHEPHERD OF SALISBURY PLAIN *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + + + + + + +THE +SHEPHERD OF SALISBURY PLAIN, +AND OTHER TALES. + + +BY +HANNAH MORE. + + +NEW YORK: +DERBY & JACKSON, 119 NASSAU STREET. +1859. + + +STEREOTYPED BY +THOMAS B. SMITH, +82 & 84 Beckman Street. + + +PRINTED BY +GEO. RUSSELL & CO. +Beckman St. + + + + +CONTENTS + + PAGE +Tales for the Common People. + + The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain 7 + + The Two Shoemakers 41 + + The History of Tom White, the Post Boy 119 + + The Sunday School 152 + + The History of Hester Wilmot, being the sequel to the + Sunday School 166 + + The History of Betty Brown, the St. Giles's Orange Girl; + with some account of Mrs. Sponge, the Money-Lender 191 + + Black Giles the Poacher; containing some account of a + family who had rather live by their wits than their work 204 + + Tawney Rachel, or the Fortune-Teller; with some account of + Dreams, Omens, and Conjurers 230 + + +Stories for Persons of Middle Rank. + + The History of Mr. Fantom (the new-fashioned Philosopher), + and his man William 245 + + The Two Wealthy Farmers; or the History of Mr. Bragwell 276 + + 'Tis all for the best 387 + + A Cure for Melancholy 405 + + +Allegories. + + The Pilgrims 423 + + The Valley of Tears 437 + + The Strait Gate and the Broad Way 444 + + Parley the Porter 456 + + The Grand Assizes; or General Jail Delivery 470 + + The Servant Man turned Soldier, or the Fair-weather + Christian 479 + + + + +TALES + +FOR THE COMMON PEOPLE. + + +"Religion is for the man in humble life, and to raise his nature, +and to put him in mind of a state in which the privileges of +opulence will cease, when he will be equal by nature, and may be +more than equal by virtue."--_Burke on the French Revolution._ + + + + +ADVERTISEMENT. + + +To improve the habits, and raise the principles of the common +people, at a time when their dangers and temptations, moral and +political, were multiplied beyond the example of any former period, +was the motive which impelled the author of these volumes to devise +and prosecute the institution of the "Cheap Repository." This plan +was established with an humble wish not only to counteract vice and +profligacy on the one hand, but error, discontent, and false +religion on the other. And as an appetite for reading had, from a +variety of causes, been increased among the inferior ranks in this +country, it was judged expedient, at this critical period, to supply +such wholesome aliment as might give a new direction to their taste, +and abate their relish for those corrupt and inflammatory +publications which the consequences of the French Revolution have +been so fatally pouring in upon us. + +The success of the plan exceeded the most sanguine expectations of +its projector. Above two millions of the tracts were sold within the +first year, besides very large numbers in Ireland; and they continue +to be very extensively circulated, in their original form of single +tracts, as well as in three bound volumes. + +As these stories, though _principally_, are not calculated +_exclusively_ for the middle and lower classes of society, the +author has, at the desire of her friends, selected those which were +written by herself, and presented them to the public in this +collection of her works, in an enlarged and improved form. + + + + +THE + +SHEPHERD OF SALISBURY PLAIN. + + +Mr. Johnson, a very worthy charitable gentleman, was traveling some +time ago across one of those vast plains which are well known in +Wiltshire. It was a fine summer's evening, and he rode slowly that +he might have leisure to admire God in the works of his creation. +For this gentleman was of opinion, that a walk or a ride was as +proper a time as any to think about good things: for which reason, +on such occasions he seldom thought so much about his money or his +trade, or public news, as at other times, that he might with more +ease and satisfaction enjoy the pious thoughts which the wonderful +works of the great Maker of heaven and earth are intended to raise +in the mind. + +As this serene contemplation of the visible heavens insensibly +lifted up his mind from the works of God in nature to the same God +as he is seen in revelation, it occurred to him that this very +connexion was clearly intimated by the royal prophet in the +nineteenth Psalm--that most beautiful description of the greatness +and power of God exhibited in the former part, plainly seeming +intended to introduce, illustrate, and unfold the operations of the +word and Spirit of God on the heart in the latter. And he began to +run a parallel in his own mind between the effects of that highly +poetical and glowing picture of the material sun in searching and +warming the earth, in the first six verses, and the spiritual +operation attributed to the "law of God," which fills up the +remaining part of the Psalm. And he persuaded himself that the +divine Spirit which dictated this fine hymn, had left it as a kind +of general intimation to what use we were to convert our admiration +of created things; namely, that we might be led by a sight of them +to raise our views from the kingdom of nature to that of grace, and +that the contemplation of God in his works might draw us to +contemplate him in his word. + +In the midst of these reflections, Mr. Johnson's attention was all +of a sudden called off by the barking of a shepherd's dog, and +looking up, he spied one of those little huts which are here and +there to be seen on those great downs; and near it was the shepherd +himself busily employed with his dog in collecting together his vast +flock of sheep. As he drew nearer, he perceived him to be a clean, +well-looking, poor man, near fifty years of age. His coat, though at +first it had probably been of one dark color, had been in a long +course of years so often patched with different sorts of cloth, that +it was now become hard to say which had been the original color. But +this, while it gave a plain proof of the shepherd's poverty, equally +proved the exceeding neatness, industry, and good management of his +wife. His stockings no less proved her good housewifery, for they +were entirely covered with darns of different colored worsteds, but +had not a hole in them; and his shirt, though nearly as coarse as +the sails of a ship, was as white as the drifted snow, and was +neatly mended where time had either made a rent, or worn it thin. +This furnishes a rule of judging, by which one shall seldom be +deceived. If I meet with a laborer, hedging, ditching, or mending +the highways, with his stockings and shirt tight and whole, however +mean and bad his other garments are, I have seldom failed, on +visiting his cottage, to find that also clean and well ordered, and +his wife notable, and worthy of encouragement. Whereas, a poor +woman, who will be lying a-bed, or gossiping with her neighbors when +she ought to be fitting out her husband in a cleanly manner, will +seldom be found to be very good in other respects. + +This was not the case with our shepherd: and Mr. Johnson was not +more struck with the decency of his mean and frugal dress, than with +his open honest countenance, which bore strong marks of health, +cheerfulness, and spirit. + +Mr. Johnson, who was on a journey, and somewhat fearful from the +appearance of the sky, that rain was at no great distance, accosted +the shepherd with asking what sort of weather he thought it would be +on the morrow. "It will be such weather as pleases me," answered the +shepherd. Though the answer was delivered in the mildest and most +civil tone that could be imagined, the gentleman thought the words +themselves rather rude and surly, and asked him how that could be. +"Because," replied the shepherd, "it will be such weather as shall +please God, and whatever pleases him always pleases me." + +Mr. Johnson, who delighted in good men and good things, was very +well satisfied with his reply. For he justly thought that though a +hypocrite may easily contrive to appear better than he really is to +a stranger; and that no one should be too soon trusted, merely for +having a few good words in his mouth; yet as he knew that out of the +abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, he always accustomed +himself to judge favorably of those who had a serious deportment and +solid manner of speaking. It looks as if it proceeded from a good +habit, said he, and though I may now and then be deceived by it, yet +it has not often happened to me to be so. Whereas if a man accosts +me with an idle, dissolute, vulgar, indecent, or profane expression, +I have never been deceived in him, but have generally on inquiry, +found his character to be as bad as his language gave me room to +expect. + +He entered into conversation with the shepherd in the following +manner: "Yours is a troublesome life, honest friend," said he. "To +be sure, sir," replied the shepherd, "'tis not a very lazy life; but +'tis not near so toilsome as that which my GREAT MASTER led for my +sake; and he had every state and condition of life at his choice, +and _chose_ a hard one; while I only submit to the lot that is +appointed to me." "You are exposed to great cold and heat," said the +gentleman. "True, sir," said the shepherd; "but then I am not +exposed to great temptations; and so, throwing one thing against +another, God is pleased to contrive to make things more equal than +we poor, ignorant, short-sighted creatures are apt to think. David +was happier when he kept his father's sheep on such a plain as this, +and employed in singing some of his own Psalms perhaps, than ever he +was when he became king of Israel and Judah. And I dare say we +should never have had some of the most beautiful texts in all those +fine Psalms, if he had not been a shepherd, which enabled him to +make so many fine comparisons and similitudes, as one may say, from +country life, flocks of sheep, hills, and valleys, fields of corn, +and fountains of water." + +"You think, then," said the gentleman, "that a laborious life is a +happy one." "I do, sir; and more so especially, as it exposes a man +to fewer sins. If king Saul had continued a poor laborious man to +the end of his days, he might have lived happy and honest, and died +a natural death in his bed at last, which you know, sir, was more +than he did. But I speak with reverence, for it was divine +Providence overruled all that, you know, sir, and I do not presume +to make comparisons. Besides, sir, my employment has been +particularly honored: Moses was a shepherd on the plains of Midian. +It was to 'shepherds keeping their flocks by night,' that the angels +appeared in Bethlehem, to tell the best news, the gladdest tidings, +that ever were revealed to poor sinful men; often and often has the +thought warmed my poor heart in the coldest night, and filled me +with more joy and thankfulness than the best supper could have +done." + +Here the shepherd stopped, for he began to feel that he had made too +free, and talked too long. But Mr. Johnson was so well pleased with +what he said, and with the cheerful contented manner in which he +said it, that he desired him to go on freely, for it was a pleasure +to him to meet with a plain man, who, without any kind of learning +but what he had got from the Bible, was able to talk so well on a +subject in which all men, high and low, rich and poor, are equally +concerned. + +"Indeed I am afraid I make too bold, sir, for it better becomes me +to listen to such a gentleman as you seem to be, than to talk in my +poor way: but as I was saying, sir, I wonder all working men do not +derive as great joy and delight as I do from thinking how God has +honored poverty! Oh! sir, what great, or rich, or mighty men have +had such honor put on them, or their condition, as shepherds, +tentmakers, fishermen, and carpenters have had! Besides, it seems as +if God honored industry also. The way of duty is not only the way of +safety, but it is remarkable how many, in the exercise of the common +duties of their calling, humbly and rightly performed, as we may +suppose, have found honors, preferment, and blessing: while it does +not occur to me that the whole sacred volume presents a single +instance of a like blessing conferred on idleness. Rebekah, Rachel, +and Jethro's daughters, were diligently employed in the lowest +occupations of a country life, when Providence, by means of those +very occupations, raised them up husbands so famous in history, as +Isaac, Jacob, and the prophet Moses. The shepherds were neither +playing, nor sleeping, but 'watching their flocks,' when they +received the news of a Saviour's birth; and the woman of Samaria, by +the laborious office of drawing water, was brought to the knowledge +of him who gave her to drink of 'living water.'" + +"My honest friend," said the gentleman, "I perceive you are well +acquainted with Scripture." "Yes, sir, pretty well, blessed be God! +Through his mercy I learned to read when I was a little boy; though +reading was not so common when I was a child, as, I am told, through +the goodness of Providence and the generosity of the rich, it is +likely to become now-a-days. I believe there is no day, for the last +thirty years, that I have not peeped at my Bible. If we can't find +time to read a chapter, I defy any man to say he can't find time to +read a verse; and a single text, sir, well followed, and put in +practice every day, would make no bad figure at the year's end: +three hundred and sixty-five texts, without the loss of a moment's +time, would make a pretty stock, a little golden treasury, as one +may say, from new-year's day to new-year's day; and if children were +brought up to it, they would come to look for their text as +naturally as they do for their breakfast. No laboring man, 'tis +true, has so much leisure as a shepherd, for while the flock is +feeding I am obliged to be still, and at such times I can now and +then tap a shoe for my children or myself, which is a great saving +to us, and while I am doing that I repeat a chapter or a Psalm, +which makes the time pass pleasantly in this wild solitary place. I +can say the best part of the New Testament by heart: I believe I +should not say the best part, for every part is good, but I mean the +greatest part. I have led but a lonely life, and have often had but +little to eat, but my Bible has been meat, drink, and company to me, +as I may say, and when want and trouble have come upon me, I don't +know what I should have done indeed, sir, if I had not had the +promises of this book for my stay and support." + +"You have had great difficulties then?" said Mr. Johnson. "Why, as +to that, sir, not more than neighbors' fare; I have but little cause +to complain, and much to be thankful; but I have had some little +struggles, as I will leave you to judge. I have a wife and eight +children, whom I bred up in that little cottage which you see under +the hill, about half a mile off." "What, that with the smoke coming +out of the chimney?" said the gentleman. "Oh no, sir," replied the +shepherd, smiling, "we have seldom smoke in the evening, for we have +little to cook, and firing is very dear in these parts. 'Tis that +cottage which you see on the left hand of the church, near that +little tuft of hawthorns." "What, that hovel with only one room +above and below, with scarcely any chimney? how is it possible that +you can live there with such a family?" "Oh, it is very possible, +and very certain too," cried the shepherd. "How many better men have +been worse lodged! how many good Christians have perished in prisons +and dungeons, in comparison of which my cottage is a palace! The +house is very well, sir; and if the rain did not sometimes beat down +upon us through the thatch when we are a-bed, I should not desire a +better; for I have health, peace, and liberty, and no man maketh me +afraid." + +"Well, I will certainly call on you before it be long; but how can +you contrive to lodge so many children?" "We do the best we can, +sir. My poor wife is a very sickly woman, or we should always have +done tolerably well. There are no gentry in the parish, so that she +has not met with any great assistance in her sickness. The good +curate of the parish, who lives in that pretty parsonage in the +valley, is very willing, but not very able to assist us on these +trying occasions, for he has little enough for himself, and a large +family into the bargain. Yet he does what he can, and more than many +other men do, and more than he can well afford. Besides that, his +prayers and good advice we are always sure of, and we are truly +thankful for that, for a man must give, you know, sir, according to +what he hath, and not according to what he hath not." + +"I am afraid," said Mr. Johnson, "that your difficulties may +sometimes lead you to repine." + +"No, sir," replied the shepherd, "it pleases God to give me two ways +of bearing up under them. I pray that they may be either removed or +sanctified to me. Besides, if my road be right, I am contented, +though it be rough and uneven. I do not so much stagger at hardships +in the right way, as I dread a false security, and a hollow peace, +while I may be walking in a more smooth, but less safe way. Besides, +sir, I strengthen my faith by recollecting what the best men have +suffered, and my hope, with the view of the shortness of all +suffering. It is a good hint, sir, of the vanity of all earthly +possessions, that though the whole Land of Promise was his, yet the +first bit of ground which Abraham, the father of the faithful, got +possession of, in the land of Canaan, was a _grave_." + +"Are you in any distress at present?" said Mr. Johnson. "No, sir, +thank God," replied the shepherd, "I get my shilling a-day, and most +of my children will soon be able to earn something; for we have only +three under five years old." "Only!" said the gentleman, "that is a +heavy burden." "Not at all; God fits the back to it. Though my wife +is not able to do any out-of-door work, yet she breeds up our +children to such habits of industry, that our little maids, before +they are six years old, can first get a half-penny, and then a penny +a day by knitting. The boys, who are too little to do hard work, get +a trifle by keeping the birds off the corn; for this the farmers +will give them a penny or two pence, and now and then a bit of +bread and cheese into the bargain. When the season of crow-keeping +is over, then they glean or pick stones; any thing is better than +idleness, sir, and if they did not get a farthing by it, I would +make them do it just the same, for the sake of giving them early +habits of labor. + +"So you see sir, I am not so badly off as many are; nay, if it were +not that it costs me so much in 'pothecary's stuff for my poor wife, +I should reckon myself well off; nay I do reckon myself well off, +for blessed be God, he has granted her life to my prayers, and I +would work myself to a 'natomy, and live on one meal a day, to add +any comfort to her valuable life; indeed I have often done the last, +and thought it no great matter neither." + +While they were in this part of the discourse, a fine plump +cherry-cheek little girl ran up out of breath, with a smile on her +young happy face, and without taking any notice of the gentleman, +cried out with great joy--"Look here, father, only see how much I +have got!" Mr. Johnson was much struck with her simplicity, but +puzzled to know what was the occasion of this great joy. On looking +at her he perceived a small quantity of coarse wool, some of which +had found its way through the holes of her clean, but scanty and +ragged woolen apron. The father said, "This has been a successful +day indeed, Molly, but don't you see the gentleman?" Molly now made +a courtesy down to the very ground; while Mr. Johnson inquired into +the cause of mutual satisfaction which both father and daughter had +expressed, at the unusual good fortune of the day. + +"Sir," said the shepherd, "poverty is a great sharpener of the wits. +My wife and I can not endure to see our children (poor as they are) +without shoes and stockings, not only on account of the pinching +cold which cramps their poor little limbs, but because it degrades +and debases them; and poor people who have but little regard to +appearances, will seldom be found to have any great regard for +honesty and goodness; I don't say this is always the case; but I am +sure it is too often. Now shoes and stockings being very dear, we +could never afford to get them without a little contrivance. I must +show you how I manage about the shoes when you condescend to call at +our cottage, sir; as to stockings, this is one way we take to help +to get them. My young ones, who are too little to do much work, +sometimes wander at odd hours over the hills for the chance of +finding what little wool the sheep may drop when they rub +themselves, as they are apt to do, against the bushes.[1] These +scattered bits of wool the children pick out of the brambles, which +I see have torn sad holes in Molly's apron to-day; they carry this +wool home, and when they have got a pretty parcel together, their +mother cards it; for she can sit and card in the chimney corner, +when she is not able to wash or work about the house. The biggest +girl then spins it; it does very well for us without dyeing, for +poor people must not stand for the color of their stockings. After +this our little boys knit it for themselves, while they are employed +in keeping cows in the fields, and after they get home at night. As +for the knitting which the girls and their mother do, that is +chiefly for sale, which helps to pay our rent." + + [1] This piece of frugal industry is not imaginary, but a real + fact, as is the character of the shepherd, and his uncommon + knowledge of the Scriptures. + +Mr. Johnson lifted up his eyes in silent astonishment at the shifts +which honest poverty can make rather than beg or steal; and was +surprised to think how many ways of subsisting there are, which +those who live at their ease little suspect. He secretly resolved to +be more attentive to his own petty expenses than he had hitherto +been; and to be more watchful that nothing was wasted in his +family. + +But to return to the shepherd. Mr. Johnson told him that as he must +needs be at his friend's house, who lived many miles off, that +night, he could not, as he wished to do, make a visit to his cottage +at present. "But I will certainly do it," said he, "on my return, +for I long to see your wife and her nice little family, and to be an +eye-witness of her neatness and good management." The poor man's +tears started into his eyes on hearing the commendation bestowed on +his wife; and wiping them off with the sleeve of his coat, for he +was not worth a handkerchief in the world, he said, "Oh, sir, you +just now, I am afraid, called me an humble man, but indeed I am a +very proud one." "Proud!" exclaimed Mr. Johnson, "I hope not. Pride +is a great sin, and as the poor are liable to it as well as the +rich, so good a man as you seem to be ought to guard against it." +"Sir," said he, "you're right, but I am not proud of myself, God +knows I have nothing to be proud of. I am a poor sinner; but indeed, +sir, I am proud of my wife: she is not only the most tidy, notable +woman on the plain, but she is the kindest wife and mother, and the +most contented, thankful Christian that I know. Last year I thought +I should have lost her in a violent fit of the rheumatism, caught by +going to work too soon after her lying-in, I fear; for 'tis but a +bleak, coldish place, as you may see, sir, in winter, and sometimes +the snow lies so long under the hill, that I can hardly make myself +a path to get out and buy a few necessaries in the village; and we +are afraid to send out the children, for fear they should be lost +when the snow is deep. So, as I was saying, the poor soul was very +bad indeed, and for several weeks lost the use of all her limbs +except her hands; a merciful Providence spared her the use of these, +so that when she could not turn in her bed, she could contrive to +patch a rag or two for her family. She was always saying, had it not +been for the great goodness of God, she might have her hands lame +as well as her feet, or the palsy instead of the rheumatism, and +then she could have done nothing--but, nobody had so many mercies as +she had. + +"I will not tell you what we suffered during the bitter weather, +sir, but my wife's faith and patience during that trying time, were +as good a lesson to me as any sermon I could hear, and yet Mr. +Jenkins gave us very comfortable ones too, that helped to keep up my +spirits." + +"I fear, shepherd," said Mr. Johnson, "you have found this to be but +a bad world." + +"Yes, sir," replied the shepherd, "but it is governed by a good God. +And though my trials have now and then been sharp, why then, sir, as +the saying is, if the pain be violent, it is seldom lasting, and if +he but moderate, why then we can bear it the longer, and when it is +quite taken away, ease is the more precious, and gratitude is +quickened by the remembrance; thus every way, and in every case, I +can always find out a reason for vindicating Providence." + +"But," said Mr. Johnson, "how do you do to support yourself under +the pressure of actual want. Is not hunger a great weakener of your +faith?" + +"Sir," replied the shepherd, "I endeavor to live upon the promises. +You, who abound in the good things of this world, are apt to set too +high a value on them. Suppose, sir, the king, seeing me at hard +work, were to say to me, that if I would patiently work on till +Christmas, a fine palace and a great estate should be the reward of +my labors. Do you think, sir, that a little hunger, or a little wet, +would make me flinch, when I was sure that a few months would put me +in possession! Should I not say to myself frequently--cheer up, +shepherd, 'tis but till Christmas! Now is there not much less +difference between this supposed day and Christmas, when I should +take possession of the estate and palace, than there is between time +and eternity, when I am sure of entering on a kingdom not made with +hands? There is some comparison between a moment and a thousand +years, because a thousand years are made up of moments, all time +being made up of the same sort of stuff, as I may say; while there +is no sort of comparison between the longest portion of time and +eternity. You know, sir, there is no way of measuring two things, +one of which has length and breadth, which shows it must have an end +somewhere, and another thing, which being eternal, is without end +and without measure." + +"But," said Mr. Johnson, "is not the fear of death sometimes too +strong for your faith?" + +"Blessed be God, sir," replied the shepherd, "the dark passage +through the valley of the shadow of death is made safe by the power +of him who conquered death. I know, indeed, we shall go as naked out +of this world as we came into it, but an humble penitent will not be +found naked in the other world, sir. My Bible tells me of garments +of praise and robes of righteousness. And is it not a support, sir, +under any of the petty difficulties and distresses here, to be +assured by the word of him who can not lie, that those who were in +white robes came out of tribulation? But, sir, I beg your pardon for +being so talkative. Indeed you great folks can hardly imagine how it +raises and cheers a poor man's heart when such as you condescend to +talk familiarly to him on religious subjects. It seems to be a +practical comment on that text which says, _the rich and the poor +meet together, the Lord is the maker of them all_. And so far from +creating disrespect, sir, and that nonsensical wicked notion about +equality, it rather prevents it. But to turn to my wife. One Sunday +afternoon when she was at the worst, as I was coming out of church, +for I went one part of the day, and my eldest daughter the other, so +my poor wife was never left alone; as I was coming out of church, I +say, Mr. Jenkins, the minister, called out to me and asked me how my +wife did, saying he had been kept from coming to see her by the deep +fall of snow, and indeed from the parsonage-house to my hovel it was +quite impassable. I gave him all the particulars he asked, and I am +afraid a good many more, for my heart was quite full. He kindly gave +me a shilling, and said he would certainly try to pick out his way +and come and see her in a day or two. + +"While he was talking to me a plain farmer-looking gentleman in +boots, who stood by listened to all I said, but seemed to take no +notice. It was Mr. Jenkins's wife's father, who was come to pass the +Christmas-holidays at the parsonage-house. I had always heard him +spoken of as a plain frugal man, who lived close himself, but was +remarked to give away more than any of his show-away neighbors. + +"Well! I went home with great spirits at this seasonable and +unexpected supply; for we had tapped our last sixpence, and there +was little work to be had on account of the weather; I told my wife +I had not come back empty-handed. 'No, I dare say not,' says she, +'you have been serving a master _who filleth the hungry with good +things, though he sendeth the rich empty away_.' True, Mary, says I, +we seldom fail to get good spiritual food from Mr. Jenkins, but +to-day he has kindly supplied our bodily wants. She was more +thankful when I showed her the shilling, than, I dare say, some of +your great people are when they get a hundred pounds." + +Mr. Johnson's heart smote him when he heard such a value set upon a +shilling; surely, said he to himself, I will never waste another; +but he said nothing to the shepherd, who thus pursued his story: + +"Next morning before I went out, I sent part of the money to buy a +little ale and brown sugar to put into her water-gruel; which you +know, sir, made it nice and nourishing. I went out to cleave wood +in a farm-yard, for there was no standing out on the plain, after +such snow as had fallen in the night. I went with a lighter heart +than usual, because I had left my poor wife a little better, and +comfortably supplied for this day, and I now resolved more than ever +to trust God for the supplies of the next. When I came back at +night, my wife fell a crying as soon as she saw me. This, I own, I +thought but a bad return for the blessings she had so lately +received, and so I told her,--'Oh,' said she, 'it is too much, we +are too rich; I am now frightened, not lest we should have no +portion in this world, but for fear we should have our whole portion +in it. Look here, John!' So saying, she uncovered the bed whereon +she lay, and showed me two warm, thick, new blankets. I could not +believe my own eyes, sir, because when I went out in the morning, I +had left her with no other covering than our little old thin blue +rug. I was still more amazed when she put half a crown into my hand, +telling me, she had had a visit from Mr. Jenkins, and Mr. Jones, the +latter of whom had bestowed all these good things upon us. Thus, +sir, have our lives been crowned with mercies. My wife got about +again, and I do believe, under Providence, it was owing to these +comforts; for the rheumatism, sir, without blankets by night, and +flannel by day, is but a baddish job, especially to people who have +little or no fire. She will always be a weakly body; but thank God +her soul prospers and is in health. But I beg your pardon, sir, for +talking on at this rate." "Not at all, not at all," said Mr. +Johnson; "I am much pleased with your story; you shall certainly see +me in a few days. Good night." So saying, he slipped a crown into +his hand and rode off. Surely, said the shepherd, _goodness and +mercy have followed me all the days of my life_, as he gave the +money to his wife when he got home at night. + +As to Mr. Johnson, he found abundant matter for his thoughts during +the rest of his journey. On the whole, he was more disposed to envy +than to pity the shepherd. I have seldom seen, said he, so happy a +man. It is a sort of happiness which the world could not give, and +which, I plainly see, it has not been able to take away. This must +be the true spirit of religion. I see more and more, that true +goodness is not merely a thing of words and opinions, but a living +principle brought into every common action of a man's life. What +else could have supported this poor couple under every bitter trial +of want and sickness? No, my honest shepherd, I do not pity, but I +respect and even honor thee; and I will visit thy poor hovel on my +return to Salisbury, with as much pleasure as I am now going to the +house of my friend. + +If Mr. Johnson keeps his word in sending me an account of his visit +to the shepherd's cottage, I will be very glad to entertain my +readers with it. + + +PART II. + +I am willing to hope that my readers will not be sorry to hear some +further particulars of their old acquaintance, _the Shepherd of +Salisbury Plain_. They will call to mind that at the end of the +first part, he was returning home full of gratitude for the favors +he had received from Mr. Johnson, whom we left pursuing his journey, +after having promised to make a visit to the shepherd's cottage. + +Mr. Johnson, after having passed some time with his friend, set out +on his return to Salisbury, and on the Saturday evening reached a +very small inn, a mile or two distant from the shepherd's village; +for he never traveled on a Sunday without such a reason as he might +be able to produce at the day of judgment. He went the next morning +to the church nearest the house where he had passed the night, and +after taking such refreshment as he could get at that house, he +walked on to find out the shepherd's cottage. His reason for +visiting him on a Sunday was chiefly because he supposed it to be +the only day which the shepherd's employment allowed him to pass at +home with his family; and as Mr. Johnson had been struck with his +talk, he thought it would be neither unpleasant nor unprofitable to +observe how a man who carried such an appearance of piety spent his +Sunday: for though he was so low in the world, this gentleman was +not above entering very closely into his character, of which he +thought he should be able to form a better judgment, by seeing +whether his practice at home kept pace with his professions abroad: +for it is not so much by observing how people talk, as how they +live, that we ought to judge of their characters. + +After a pleasant walk, Mr. Johnson got within sight of the cottage, +to which he was directed by the clump of hawthorns and the broken +chimney. He wished to take the family by surprise; and walking +gently up to the house he stood awhile to listen. The door being +half open, he saw the shepherd (who looked so respectable in his +Sunday coat that he should hardly have known him), his wife, and +their numerous young family, drawing round their little table, which +was covered with a clean, though very coarse cloth. + +There stood on it a large dish of potatoes, a brown pitcher, and a +piece of a coarse loaf. The wife and children stood in silent +attention, while the shepherd, with uplifted hands and eyes, +devoutly begged the blessing of heaven on their homely fare. Mr. +Johnson could not help sighing to reflect, that he had sometimes +seen better dinners eaten with less appearance of thankfulness. + +The shepherd and his wife sat down with great seeming cheerfulness, +but the children stood; and while the mother was helping them, +little fresh-colored Molly, who had picked the wool from the bushes +with so much delight, cried out, "Father, I wish I was big enough to +say grace, I am sure I should say it very heartily to-day, for I was +thinking what must _poor_ people do who have no salt to their +potatoes; and do but look, our dish is quite full." "That is the +true way of thinking, Molly," said the father; "in whatever concerns +bodily wants and bodily comforts, it is our duty to compare our own +lot with the lot of those who are worse off, and will keep us +thankful: on the other hand, whenever we are tempted to set up our +own wisdom or goodness, we must compare ourselves with those who are +wiser and better, and that will keep us humble." Molly was now so +hungry, and found the potatoes so good, that she had no time to make +any more remarks; but was devouring her dinner very heartily, when +the barking of the great dog drew her attention from her trencher to +the door, and spying the stranger, she cried out, "Look, father, see +here, if yonder is not the good gentleman!" Mr. Johnson finding +himself discovered, immediately walked in, and was heartily welcomed +by the honest shepherd, who told his wife that this was the +gentleman to whom they were so much obliged. + +The good woman began, as some very neat people are rather apt to do, +with making many apologies that her house was not cleaner, and that +things were not in a fitter order to receive such a gentleman. Mr. +Johnson, however, on looking round, could discover nothing but the +most perfect neatness. The trenchers on which they were eating were +almost as white as their linen; and notwithstanding the number and +smallness of the children, there was not the least appearance of +dirt or litter. The furniture was very simple and poor, hardly +indeed amounting to bare necessaries. It consisted of four brown +wooden chairs, which by constant rubbing, were become as bright as a +looking-glass; an iron pot and kettle; a poor old grate, which +scarcely held a handful of coal, and out of which the little fire +that had been in it appeared to have been taken, as soon as it had +answered the end for which it had been lighted--that of boiling +their potatoes. Over the chimney stood an old-fashioned broad bright +candlestick, and a still brighter spit; it was pretty clear that +this last was kept rather for ornament than use. An old carved elbow +chair, and a chest of the same date, which stood in the corner, were +considered the most valuable part of the shepherd's goods, having +been in his family for three generations. But all these were lightly +esteemed by him in comparison of another possession, which, added to +the above, made up the whole of what he had inherited from his +father: and which last he would not have parted with, if no other +could have been had, for the king's ransom: this was a large old +Bible, which lay on the window-seat, neatly covered with brown +cloth, variously patched. This sacred book was most reverently +preserved from dog's ears, dirt, and every other injury but such as +time and much use had made it suffer in spite of care. On the clean +white walls were pasted a hymn on the Crucifixion of our Saviour, a +print of the Prodigal Son, the Shepherd's hymn, a _New History of a +True Book_, an Patient Joe, or the Newcastle Collier.[2] + + [2] Printed for the Cheap Repository. + +After the first salutations were over, Mr. Johnson said that if they +would go on with their dinner he would sit down. Though a good deal +ashamed, they thought it more respectful to obey the gentleman, who +having cast his eye on their slender provisions, gently rebuked the +shepherd for not having indulged himself, as it was Sunday, with a +morsel of bacon to relish his potatoes. The shepherd said nothing, +but poor Mary colored and hung down her head, saying, "Indeed, sir, +it is not my fault; I did beg my husband to allow himself a bit of +meat to-day out of your honor's bounty; but he was too good to do +it, and it is all for my sake." The shepherd seemed unwilling to +come to an explanation, but Mr. Johnson desired Mary to go on. So +she continued: "You must know, sir, that both of us, next to a sin, +dread a debt, and indeed in some cases a debt is a sin; but with all +our care and pains, we have never been able quite to pay off the +doctor's bill for that bad fit of rheumatism which I had last +winter. Now when you were pleased to give my husband that kind +present the other day, I heartily desired him to buy a bit of meat +for Sunday, as I said before, that he might have a little +refreshment for himself out of your kindness. 'But,' answered he, +'Mary, it is never out of my mind long together that we still owe a +few shillings to the doctor (and thank God it is all we did owe in +the world). Now if I carry him his money directly it will not only +show him our honesty and our good-will, but it will be an +encouragement to him to come to you another time in case you should +be taken once more in such a bad fit; for I must own,' added my poor +husband, 'that the thought of your being so terribly ill without any +help, is the only misfortune that I want courage to face.'" + +Here the grateful woman's tears ran down so fast that she could not +go on. She wiped them with the corner of her apron, and humbly +begged pardon for making so free. "Indeed, sir," said the shepherd, +"though my wife is full as unwilling to be in debt as myself, yet I +could hardly prevail on her to consent to my paying this money just +then, because she said it was hard I should not have a taste of the +gentleman's bounty myself. But for once, sir, I would have my own +way. For you must know, as I pass the best part of my time alone, +tending my sheep, 'tis a great point with me, sir, to get +comfortable matter for my own thoughts; so that 'tis rather +self-interest in me to allow myself in no pleasures and no practices +that won't bear thinking on over and over. For when one is a good +deal alone, you know, sir, all one's bad deeds do so rush in upon +one, as I may say, and so torment one, that there is no true comfort +to be had but in keeping clear of wrong doings and false pleasures; +and that I suppose may be one reason why so many folks hate to stay +a bit by themselves. But as I was saying--when I came to think the +matter over on the hill yonder, said I to myself, a good dinner is a +good thing, I grant, and yet it will be but cold comfort to me a +week after, to be able to say--to be sure I had a nice shoulder of +mutton last Sunday for dinner, thanks to the good gentleman! but +then I am in debt. I _had_ a rare dinner, that's certain, but the +pleasure of that has long been over, and the debt still remains. I +have spent the crown; and now if my poor wife should be taken in one +of those fits again, die she must, unless God work a miracle to +prevent it, for I can get no help for her. This thought settled all; +and I set off directly and paid the crown to the doctor with as much +cheerfulness as I should have felt on sitting down to the fattest +shoulder of mutton that ever was roasted. And if I was contented at +the time, think how much more happy I have been at the remembrance! +O, sir, there are no pleasures worth the name but such as bring no +plague or penitence after them." + +Mr. Johnson was satisfied with the shepherd's reasons, and agreed +that though a good dinner was not to be despised, yet it was not +worthy to be compared with a _contented mind, which_ (as the Bible +truly says) _is a continual feast_. "But come," said the good +gentleman, "what have we got in this brown mug?" "As good water," +said the shepherd, "as any in the king's dominions. I have heard of +countries beyond sea, in which there is no wholesome water; nay, I +have been myself in a great town not far off, where they are obliged +to buy all the water which they get, while a good Providence sends +to my very door a spring as clear and fine as Jacob's well. When I +am tempted to repine that I have often no other drink, I call to +mind that it was nothing better than a cup of cold water which the +woman at the well of Sychar drew for the greatest guest that ever +visited this world." + +"Very well," replied Mr. Johnson; "but as your honesty has made you +prefer a poor meal to being in debt, I will at least send and get +something for you to drink. I saw a little public house just by the +church, as I came along. Let that little rosy-faced fellow fetch a +mug of beer." So saying, he looked full at the boy, who did not +offer to stir; but cast an eye at his father to know what he was to +do. "Sir," said the shepherd, "I hope we shall not appear ungrateful +if we seem to refuse your favor; my little boy would, I am sure, fly +to serve you on any other occasion. But, good sir, it is Sunday; and +should any of my family be seen at a public house on a Sabbath-day, +it would be a much greater grief to me than to drink water all my +life. I am often talking against these doing to others; and if I +should say one thing and do another, you can't think what an +advantage it would give many of my neighbors over me, who would be +glad enough to report that they had caught the shepherd's son at the +alehouse without explaining how it happened. Christians, you know, +sir, must be doubly watchful; or they will not only bring disgrace +on themselves, but what is much worse, on that holy name by which +they are called." + +"Are you not a little too cautious, my honest friend?" said Mr. +Johnson. "I humbly ask your pardon, sir," replied the shepherd, "if +I think that is impossible. In my poor notion, I no more understand +how a man can be too cautious, than how he can be too strong, or too +healthy." + +"You are right indeed," said Mr. Johnson, "as a general principle, +but this struck me as a very small thing." "Sir," said the shepherd, +"I am afraid you will think me very bold, but you encourage me to +speak out." "'Tis what I wish," said the gentleman. "Then, sir," +resumed the shepherd, "I doubt if, where there is a frequent +temptation to do wrong, any fault can be called small; that is, in +short, if there is any such thing as a small willful sin. A poor man +like me is seldom called out to do great things, so that it is not +by a few striking deeds his character can be judged by his +neighbors, but by the little round of daily customs he allows +himself in." + +"I should like," said Mr. Johnson, "to know how you manage in this +respect." + +"I am but a poor scholar, sir," replied the shepherd, "but I have +made myself a little sort of rule. I always avoid, as I am an +ignorant man, picking out any one single difficult text to distress +my mind about, or to go and build opinions upon, because I know that +puzzles and injures poor unlearned Christians. But I endeavor to +collect what is the _general_ spirit or meaning of Scripture on any +particular subject, by putting a few texts together, which though I +find them dispersed up and down, yet all seem to look the same way, +to prove the same truth, or hold out the same comfort. So when I am +tried or tempted, or any thing happens in which I am at a loss what +to do, I apply to my rule--to the _law and the testimony_. To be +sure I can't always find a particular direction as to the very case, +because then the Bible must have been bigger than all those great +books I once saw in the library at Salisbury palace, which the +butler told me were acts of Parliament; and had that been the case, +a poor man would never have had money to buy, nor a working man time +to read the Bible; and so Christianity could only have been a +religion for the rich, for those who had money and leisure; which, +blessed be God! is so far from being the truth, that in all that +fine discourse of our Saviour to John's disciples, it is enough to +reconcile any poor man in the world to his low condition, to +observe, when Christ reckons up the things for which he came on +earth, to observe, I say, what he keeps for last. _Go tell John_, +says he, _those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive +their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the +deaf hear, and the dead are raised up._ Now, sir, all these are +wonders to be sure, but they are nothing to what follows. They are +but like the lower rounds of a ladder, as I may say, by which you +mount to the top--_and the poor have the Gospel preached to them_. I +dare say, if John had any doubts before, this part of the message +must have cleared them up at once. For it must have made him certain +sure at once, that a religion which placed preaching salvation to +the poor above healing the sick, which ranked the soul above the +body, and set heaven above health, must have come from God." + +"But," said Mr. Johnson, "you say you can generally pick out your +particular duty from the Bible, though that immediate duty be not +fully explained." + +"Indeed, sir," replied the shepherd, "I think I can find out the +principle at least, if I bring but a willing mind. The want of that +is the great hinderance. _Whosoever doeth my will, he shall know of +the doctrine._ You know that text, sir. I believe a stubborn will +makes the Bible harder to be understood than any want of learning. +'Tis corrupt affections which blind the understanding, sir. The more +a man hates sin, the clearer he will see his way, and the more he +loves holiness, the better he will understand his Bible--the more +practical conviction will he get of that pleasant truth, that _the +secret of the Lord is with them that fear him_. Now, sir, suppose I +had time and learning, and possessed of all the books I saw at the +bishop's, where could I find out a surer way to lay the axe to the +root of all covetousness, selfishness, and injustice, than the plain +and ready rule, _to do unto all men as I would they should do unto +me_. If my neighbor does me an injury, can I be at any loss how to +proceed with him, when I recollect the parable of the unforgiving +steward, who refused to pardon a debt of a hundred pence, when his +own ten thousand talents had been remitted to him? I defy any man to +retain habitual selfishness, hardness of heart, or any other allowed +sin, who daily and conscientiously tries his own heart by this +touchstone. The straight rule will show the crooked practice to +every one who honestly tries the one by the other." + +"Why you seem to make Scripture a thing of general application," +said Mr. Johnson, "in cases in which many, I fear, do not apply." + +"It applies to every thing, sir," replied the shepherd. "When those +men who are now disturbing the peace of the world, and trying to +destroy the confidence of God's children in their Maker and their +Saviour; when those men, I say, came to my poor hovel with their new +doctrines and their new books, I would never look into one of them; +for I remember it was the first sin of the first pair to lose their +innocence for the sake of a little wicked knowledge; besides, _my +own book_ told me--_To fear God and honor the king--To meddle not +with them who are given to change--Not to speak evil of +dignities--To render honor to whom honor is due_. So that I was +furnished with a little coat of mail, as I may say, which preserved +me, while those who had no such armor fell into the snare." + +While they were thus talking, the children who had stood very +quietly behind, and had not stirred a foot, now began to scamper +about all at once, and in a moment ran to the window-seat to pick up +their little old hats. Mr. Johnson looked surprised at this +disturbance; the shepherd asked his pardon, telling him it was the +sound of the church-bell which had been the cause of their rudeness; +for their mother had brought them up with such a fear of being too +late for church, that it was but who could catch the first stroke of +the bell, and be first ready. He had always taught them to think +that nothing was more indecent than to get into church after it was +begun; for as the service opened with an exhortation to repentance, +and a confession of sin, it looked very presumptuous not to feel +ready to join it; it looked as if people did not feel themselves to +be sinners. And though such as lived at a great distance might plead +difference of clocks as an excuse, yet those who lived within the +sound of the bell, could pretend neither ignorance nor mistake. + +Mary and her children set forward. Mr. Johnson and the shepherd +followed, taking care to talk the whole way on such subjects as +might fit them for the solemn duties of the place to which they were +going. "I have often been sorry to observe," said Mr. Johnson, "that +many who are reckoned decent, good kind of people, and who would on +no account neglect going to church, yet seem to care but little in +what frame or temper of mind they go thither. They will talk of +their worldly concerns till they get within the door, and then take +them up again the very minute the sermon is over, which makes me +ready to fear they lay too much stress on the mere form of going to +a place of worship. Now, for my part, I always find that it requires +a little time to bring my mind into a state fit to do any _common_ +business well, much more this great and most necessary business of +all." "Yes, sir," replied the shepherd; "and then I think too how +busy I should be in preparing my mind, if I were going into the +presence of a great gentleman, or a lord, or the king; and shall the +King of kings be treated with less respect? Besides, one likes to +see people feel as if going to church was a thing of choice and +pleasure, as well as a duty, and that they were as desirous not to +be the last there, as they would be if they were going to a feast or +a fair." + +After service, Mr. Jenkins, the clergyman, who was well acquainted +with the character of Mr. Johnson, and had a great respect for him, +accosted him with much civility; expressing his concern that he +could not enjoy just now so much of his conversation as he wished, +as he was obliged to visit a sick person at a distance, but hoped to +have a little talk with him before he left the village. As they +walked along together, Mr. Johnson made such inquiries about the +shepherd, as served to confirm him in the high opinion he +entertained of his piety, good sense, industry, and self-denial. +They parted; the clergyman promising to call in at the cottage in +his way home. + +The shepherd, who took it for granted that Mr. Johnson was gone to +the parsonage, walked home with his wife and children, and was +beginning in his usual way to catechise and instruct his family, +when Mr. Johnson came in, and insisted that the shepherd should go +on with his instruction just as if he were not there. This +gentleman, who was very desirous of being useful to his own servants +and workmen in the way of instruction, was sometimes sorry to find +that though he took a good deal of pains, they now and then did not +quite understand him; for though his meaning was very good, his +language was not always very plain; and though the _things_ he said +were not hard to be understood, yet the _words_ were, especially to +such as were very ignorant. And he now began to find out that if +people were ever so wise and good, yet if they had not a simple, +agreeable, and familiar way of expressing themselves, some of their +plain hearers would not be much the better for them. For this reason +he was not above listening to the plain, humble way in which this +honest man taught his family; for though he knew that he himself had +many advantages over the shepherd, had more learning, and could +teach him many things, yet he was not too proud to learn even of so +poor a man, in any point where he thought the shepherd might have +the advantage of him. + +This gentleman was much pleased with the knowledge and piety which +he discovered in the answers of the children: and desired the +shepherd to tell him how he contrived to keep up a sense of divine +things in his own mind, and in that of his family, with so little +leisure, and so little reading. "Oh! as to that, sir," said the +shepherd, "we do not read much except in one book, to be sure; but +with my hearty prayer for God's blessing on the use of that book, +what little knowledge is needful seems to come of course, as it +were. And my chief study has been to bring the fruits of the Sunday +reading into the week's business, and to keep up the same sense of +God in the heart, when the Bible is in the cupboard as when it is in +the hand. In short, to apply what I read in the book to what I meet +with in the field." + +"I don't quite understand you," said Mr. Johnson. "Sir," replied the +shepherd, "I have but a poor gift at conveying these things to +others, though I have much comfort from them in my own mind; but I +am sure that the most ignorant and hard-working people, who are in +earnest about their salvation, may help to keep up devout thoughts +and good affections during the week, though they have had hardly any +time to look at a book; and it will help them to keep out bad +thoughts too; which is no small matter. But then they must know the +Bible; they must have read the word of God diligently, that is a +kind of stock in trade for a Christian to set up with; and it is +this which makes me so careful in teaching it to my children; and +even in storing their memories with Psalms and chapters. This is a +great help to a poor hard-working man, who will scarcely meet with +any thing in them but what he may turn to some good account. If one +lives in the fear and love of God, almost every thing one sees +abroad will teach one to adore his power and goodness, and bring to +mind some text of Scripture, which shall fill his heart with +thankfulness, and his mouth with praise. When I look upward _the +Heavens declare the glory of God_, and shall I be silent and +ungrateful? If I look round and see the valleys standing thick with +corn, how can I help blessing that Power who _giveth me all things +richly to enjoy_? I may learn gratitude from the beasts of the +field, for the _ox knoweth his master, and the ass his master's +crib_, and shall a Christian not know, shall a Christian not +consider what great things God has done for him? I, who am a +shepherd, endeavor to fill my soul with a constant remembrance of +that good shepherd, who _feedeth me in green pastures and maketh me +to lie down beside the still waters, and whose rod and staff comfort +me_. A religion, sir, which has its seat in the heart, and its +fruits in the life, takes up little time in the study, and yet in +another sense, true religion, which from sound principles brings +forth right practice, fills up the whole time and life too as one +may say." + +"You are happy," said Mr. Johnson, "in this retired life, by which +you escape the corruptions of the world." "Sir," replied the +shepherd, "I do not escape the corruptions of my own evil nature. +Even there, on that wild solitary hill, I can find out that my heart +is prone to evil thoughts. I suppose, sir, that different states +have different temptations. You great folks that live in the world, +perhaps, are exposed to some of which such a poor man as I am, +knows nothing. But to one who leads a lonely life like me, evil +thoughts are a chief besetting sin; and I can no more withstand +these without the grace of God, than a rich gentleman can withstand +the snares of evil company, without the same grace. And I find that +I stand in need of God's help continually, and if he should give me +up to my own evil heart I should be lost." + +Mr. Johnson approved of the shepherd's sincerity, for he had always +observed, that where there was no humility, and no watchfulness +against sin, there was no religion, and he said that the man who did +not feel himself to be a sinner, in his opinion could not be a +Christian. + +Just as they were in this part of their discourse, Mr. Jenkins, the +clergyman, came in. After the usual salutations, he said, "Well, +shepherd, I wish you joy; I know you will be sorry to gain any +advantage by the death of a neighbor; but old Wilson, my clerk, was +so infirm, and I trust so well prepared, that there is no reason to +be sorry for his death. I have been to pray by him, but he died +while I staid. I have always intended you should succeed to his +place: it is no great matter of profit, but every little is +something." + +"No great matter, sir," cried the shepherd; "indeed it is a great +thing to me, it will more than pay my rent. Blessed be God for all +his goodness." Mary said nothing, but lifted up her eyes full of +tears in silent gratitude. + +"I am glad of this little circumstance," said Mr. Jenkins, "not only +for your sake but for the sake of the office itself. I so heartily +reverence every religious institution, that I would never have the +_amen_ added to the excellent prayers of our church, by vain or +profane lips, and if it depended on me, there should be no such +thing in the land as an idle, drunken, or irreligious parish clerk. +Sorry I am to say that this matter is not always sufficiently +attended to, and that I know some of a very indifferent character." + +Mr. Johnson now inquired of the clergyman whether there were many +children in the parish. "More than you would expect," replied he, +"from the seeming smallness of it; but there are some little hamlets +which you do not see." "I think," returned Mr. Johnson, "I recollect +that in the conversation I had with the shepherd on the hill yonder, +he told me you had no Sunday School." "I am sorry to say we have +none," said the minister. "I do what I can to remedy this misfortune +by public catechising; but having two or three churches to serve, I +can not give so much time as I wish to private instruction; and +having a large family of my own, and no assistance from others, I +have never been able to establish a school." + +"There is an excellent institution in London," said Mr. Johnson, +"called the Sunday School Society, which kindly gives books and +other helps, on the application of such pious clergymen as stand in +need of their aid, and which I am sure would have assisted you, but +I think we shall be able to do something ourselves. Shepherd," +continued he, "if I were a king, and had it in my power to make you +a rich and a great man, with a word speaking, I would not do it. +Those who are raised by some sudden stroke, much above the station +in which divine Providence had placed them, seldom turn out very +good, or very happy. I have never had any great things in my power, +but as far as I have been able, I have been always glad to assist +the worthy. I have however, never attempted or desired to set any +poor man much above his natural condition, but it is a pleasure to +me to lend him such assistance as may make that condition more easy +to himself, and put him in a way which shall call him to the +performance of more duties than perhaps he could have performed +without my help, and of performing them in a better manner to +others, and with more comfort to himself. What rent do you pay for +this cottage?" + +"Fifty shillings a year, sir." + +"It is in a sad tattered condition; is there not a better to be had +in the village?" + +"That in which the poor clerk lived," said the clergyman, "is not +only more tight and whole, but has two decent chambers, and a very +large light kitchen." "That will be very convenient," replied Mr. +Johnson; "pray what is the rent?" "I think," said the shepherd, +"poor neighbor Wilson gave somewhat about four pounds a year, or it +might be guineas." "Very well," said Mr. Johnson, "and what will the +clerk's place be worth, think you?" "About three pounds," was the +answer. + +"Now," continued Mr. Johnson, "my plan is, that the shepherd should +take that house immediately; for as the poor man is dead, there will +be no need of waiting till quarter-day, if I make up the +difference." "True, sir," said Mr. Jenkins, "and I am sure my wife's +father, whom I expect to-morrow, will willingly assist a little +toward buying some of the clerk's old goods. And the sooner they +remove the better, for poor Mary caught that bad rheumatism by +sleeping under a leaky thatch." The shepherd was too much moved to +speak, and Mary could hardly sob out, "Oh, sir! you are too good; +indeed this house will do very well." "It may do very well for you +and your children, Mary," said Mr. Johnson, gravely, "but it will +not do for a school; the kitchen is neither large nor light enough. +Shepherd," continued he, "with your good minister's leave, and kind +assistance, I propose to set up in this parish a Sunday School, and +to make you the master. It will not at all interfere with your +weekly calling, and it is the only lawful way in which you could +turn the Sabbath into a day of some little profit to your family, by +doing, as I hope, a great deal of good to the souls of others. The +rest of the week you will work as usual. The difference of rent +between this house and the clerk's I shall pay myself, for to put +you in a better house at your own expense would be no great act of +kindness. As for honest Mary, who is not fit for hard labor, or any +other out-of-door work, I propose to endow a small weekly school, of +which she shall be the mistress, and employ her notable turn to good +account, by teaching ten or a dozen girls to knit, sew, spin, card, +or any other useful way of getting their bread; for all this I shall +only pay her the usual price, for I am not going to make you rich, +but useful." + +"Not rich, sir?" cried the shepherd; "How can I ever be thankful +enough for such blessings? And will my poor Mary have a dry thatch +over her head? and shall I be able to send for the doctor when I am +like to lose her? Indeed my cup runs over with blessings; I hope God +will give me humility." Here he and Mary looked at each other and +burst into tears. The gentlemen saw their distress, and kindly +walked out upon the little green before the door, that these honest +people might give vent to their feelings. As soon as they were alone +they crept into one corner of the room, where they thought they +could not be seen, and fell on their knees, devoutly blessing and +praising God for his mercies. Never were more hearty prayers +presented, than this grateful couple offered up for their +benefactors. The warmth of their gratitude could only be equaled by +the earnestness with which they besought the blessing of God on the +work in which they were going to engage. + +The two gentlemen now left this happy family, and walked to the +parsonage, where the evening was spent in a manner very edifying to +Mr. Johnson, who the next day took all proper measures for putting +the shepherd in immediate possession of his now comfortable +habitation. Mr. Jenkins's father-in-law, the worthy gentleman who +gave the shepherd's wife the blankets, in the first part of this +history, arrived at the parsonage before Mr. Johnson left it, and +assisted in fitting up the clerk's cottage. + +Mr. Johnson took his leave, promising to call on the worthy minister +and his new clerk once a year, in his summer's journey over the +plain, as long as it should please God to spare his life. He had +every reason to be satisfied with the objects of his bounty. The +shepherd's zeal and piety made him a blessing to the rising +generation. The old resorted to his school for the benefit of +hearing the young instructed; and the clergyman had the pleasure of +seeing that he was rewarded for the protection he gave the school by +the great increase in his congregation. The shepherd not only +exhorted both parents and children to the indispensable duty of a +regular attendance at church, but by his pious counsels he drew them +thither, and by his plain and prudent instructions enabled them to +understand, and of course to delight in the public worship of God. + + + + +THE TWO SHOEMAKERS + + +JACK BROWN and JAMES STOCK, were two lads apprenticed at nearly the +same time, to Mr. Williams, a shoemaker, in a small town in +Oxfordshire: they were pretty near the same age, but of very +different characters and dispositions. + +Brown was eldest son to a farmer in good circumstances, who gave the +usual apprentice fee with him. Being a wild, giddy boy, whom his +father could not well manage or instruct in farming, he thought it +better to send him out to learn a trade at a distance, than to let +him idle about at home; for Jack always preferred bird's-nesting and +marbles to any other employment; he would trifle away the day, when +his father thought he was at school, with any boys he could meet +with, who were as idle as himself; and he could never be prevailed +upon to do, or to learn any thing, while a game at taw could be had +for love or money. All this time his little brothers, much younger +than himself, were beginning to follow the plow, or to carry the +corn to the mill as soon as they were able to mount a cart-horse. + +Jack, however, who was a lively boy, and did not naturally want +either sense or good-nature, might have turned out well enough, if +he had not had the misfortune to be his mother's favorite. She +concealed and forgave all his faults. To be sure he was a little +wild, she would say, but he would not make the worse man for that, +for Jack had a good spirit of his own, and she would not have it +broke, and so make a mope of the boy. The farmer, for a quiet life, +as it is called, gave up all these points to his wife, and, with +them, gave up the future virtue and happiness of his child. He was a +laborious and industrious man, but had no religion; he thought only +of the gains and advantages of the present day, and never took the +future into the account. His wife managed him entirely, and as she +was really notable, he did not trouble his head about any thing +further. If she had been careless in her dairy, he would have +stormed and sworn; but as she only ruined one child by indulgence, +and almost broke the heart of the rest by unkindness, he gave +himself little concern about the matter. The cheese, certainly was +good, and that indeed is a great point; but she was neglectful of +her children, and a tyrant to her servants. Her husband's substance, +indeed, was not wasted, but his happiness was not consulted. His +house, it is true, was not dirty, but it was the abode of fury, +ill-temper, and covetousness. And the farmer, though he did not care +for liquor, was too often driven to the public-house in the evening, +because his own was neither quiet nor comfortable. The mother was +always scolding, and the children were always crying. + +Jack, however, notwithstanding his idleness, picked up a little +reading and writing, but never would learn to cast an account: that +was too much labor. His mother was desirous he should continue at +school, not so much for the sake of his learning, which she had not +sense enough to value, but to save her darling from the fatigue of +labor: for if he had not gone to school, she knew he must have gone +to work, and she thought the former was the least tiresome of the +two. Indeed, this foolish woman had such an opinion of his genius, +that she used, from a child, to think he was too wise for any thing +but a parson, and hoped she would live to see him one. She did not +wish to see her son a minister because she loved either learning or +piety, but because she thought it would make Jack a gentleman, and +set him above his brothers. + +Farmer Brown still hoped that though Jack was likely to make but an +idle and ignorant farmer, yet he might make no bad tradesman, when +he should be removed from the indulgences of a father's house, and +from a silly mother, whose fondness kept him back in every thing. +This woman was enraged when she found that so fine a scholar, as she +took Jack to be, was to be put apprentice to a shoemaker. The +farmer, however, for the first time in his life, would have his own +way, and too apt to mind only what is falsely called _the main +chance_, instead of being careful to look out for a sober, prudent, +and religious master for his son, he left all that to accident, as +if it had been a thing of little or no consequence. This is a very +common fault; and fathers who are guilty of it, are in a great +measure answerable for the future sins and errors of their children, +when they come out into the world, and set up for themselves. If a +man gives his son a good education, a good example, and a good +master, it is indeed _possible_ that the son may not turn out well, +but it does not often happen; and when it does, the father has no +blame resting on him, and it is a great point toward a man's comfort +to have his conscience quiet in that respect, however God may think +fit to overrule events. + +The farmer, however, took care to desire his friends to inquire for +a shoemaker who had good business, and was a good workman; and the +mother did not forget to put in her word, and desired that it might +be one who was not _too strict_, for Jack had been brought up +tenderly, was a meek boy, and could not bear to be contradicted in +any thing. And this is the common notion of meekness among people +who do not take up their notions on rational and Christian grounds. + +Mr. Williams was recommended to the farmer as being the best +shoemaker in the town in which he lived, and far from a strict +master, and, without further inquiries, to Mr. Williams he went. + +James Stock, who was the son of an honest laborer in the next +village, was bound out by the parish in consideration of his father +having so numerous a family, that he was not able to put him out +himself. James was in every thing the very reverse of his new +companion. He was a modest, industrious, pious youth, and though so +poor, and the child of a laborer, was a much better scholar than +Jack, who was a wealthy farmer's son. His father had, it is true, +been able to give him but very little schooling, for he was obliged +to be put to work when quite a child. When very young, he used to +run of errands for Mr. Thomas, the curate of the parish; a very +kind-hearted young gentleman, who boarded next door to his father's +cottage. He used also to rub down and saddle his horse, and do any +other little job for him, in the most civil, obliging manner. All +this so recommended him to the clergyman, that he would often send +for him of an evening, after he had done his day's work in the +field, and condescend to teach him himself to write and cast +accounts, as well as to instruct him in the principles of his +religion. It was not merely out of kindness for the little +good-natured services James did him, that he showed him this favor, +but also for his readiness in the catechism, and his devout behavior +at church. + +The first thing that drew the minister's attention to this boy, was +the following: he had frequently given him half-pence and pence for +holding his horse and carrying him to water before he was big enough +to be further useful to him. On Christmas day he was surprised to +see James at church, reading out of a handsome new prayer-book; he +wondered how he came by it, for he knew there was nobody in the +parish likely to have given it to him, for at that time there were +no Sunday Schools; and the father could not afford it, he was sure. + +"Well, James," said he, as he saw him when they came out, "you made +a good figure at church to-day: it made you look like a man and a +Christian, not only to have so handsome a book, but to be so ready +in all parts of the service. How can you buy that book?" James owned +modestly that he had been a whole year saving up the money by single +half-pence, all of which had been of the minister's own giving, and +that in all that time he had not spent a single farthing on his own +diversions. "My dear boy," said the good Mr. Thomas, "I am much +mistaken if thou dost not turn out well in the world, for two +reasons:--first, from thy saving turn and self-denying temper; and +next, because thou didst devote the first eighteen-pence thou wast +ever worth in the world to so good a purpose." + +James bowed and blushed, and from that time Mr. Thomas began to take +more notice of him, and to instruct him as I said above. As James +soon grew able to do him more considerable service, he would now and +then give him a sixpence. This he constantly saved till it became a +little sum, with which he bought shoes and stockings; well knowing +that his poor father, with a large family and low wages, could not +buy them for him. As to what little money he earned himself by his +daily labor in the field, he constantly carried it to his mother +every Saturday night, to buy bread for the family, which was a +pretty help to them. + +As James was not overstout in his make, his father thankfully +accepted the offer of the parish officers to bind out his son to a +trade. This good man, however, had not, like farmer Brown, the +liberty of choosing a master for his son; or he would carefully have +inquired if he was a proper man to have the care of youth; but +Williams the shoemaker was already fixed on, by those who were to +put the boy out, who told him if he wanted a master it must be him +or none; for the overseers had a better opinion of Williams than he +deserved, and thought it would be the making of the boy to go to +him. The father knew that beggars must not be choosers, so he fitted +out James for his new place, having indeed little to give him +besides his blessing. + +The worthy Mr. Thomas, however, kindly gave him an old coat and +waistcoat, which his mother, who was a neat and notable woman, +contrived to make up for him herself without a farthing expense, and +when it was turned and made fit for his size, it made a very +handsome suit for Sundays, and lasted him a couple of years. + +And here let me stop to remark what a pity it is, that poor women so +seldom are able or willing to do these sort of little handy jobs +themselves; and that they do not oftener bring up their daughters to +be more useful in family work. They are great losers by it every +way, not only as they are disqualifying their girls from making good +wives hereafter but they are losers in point of present advantage; +for gentry could much oftener afford to give a poor boy a jacket or +a waistcoat, if it was not for the expense of making it, which adds +very much to the cost. To my certain knowledge, many poor women +would often get an old coat, or a bit of coarse new cloth given to +them to fit out a boy, if the mother or sisters were known to be +able to cut out to advantage, and to make it up decently themselves. +But half a crown for the making a bit of kersey, which costs but a +few shillings, is more than many very charitable gentry can afford +to give--so they often give nothing at all, when they see the +mothers so little able to turn it to advantage. It is hoped they +will take this hint kindly, as it is meant for their good. + +But to return to our two young shoemakers. They were both now +settled, at Mr. Williams's who, as he was known to be a good workman +had plenty of business--he had sometimes two or three journeymen, +but no apprentices but Jack and James. + +Jack, who, with all his faults, was a keen, smart boy, took to learn +the trade quick enough, but the difficulty was to make him stick two +hours together to his work. At every noise he heard in the street +down went the work--the last one way, the upper leather another; the +sole dropped on the ground, and the thread dragged after him, all +the way up the street. If a blind fiddler, a ballad singer, a +mountebank, a dancing bear, or a drum were heard at a distance out +ran Jack, nothing could stop him, and not a stitch more could he be +prevailed on to do that day. Every duty, every promise was forgotten +for the present pleasure--he could not resist the smallest +temptation--he never stopped for a moment to consider whether a +thing was right or wrong, but whether he liked or disliked it. And +as his ill-judging mother took care to send him privately a good +supply of pocket-money, that deadly bane to all youthful virtue, he +had generally a few pence ready to spend, and to indulge in the +present diversion, whatever it was. And what was still worse even +than spending his money, he spent his time too, or rather his +master's time. Of this he was continually reminded by James, to whom +he always answered, "What have you to complain about? It is nothing +to you or any one else; I spend nobody's money but my own." "That +may be," replied the other, "but you can not say it is your own time +that you spend." He insisted upon it, that it was; but James fetched +down their indentures, and there showed him that he had solemnly +bound himself by that instrument, not to waste his master's +property. "Now," quoth James, "thy own time is a very valuable part +of thy master's property." To this he replied, "every one's time +was his own, and he should not sit moping all day over his last--for +his part, he thanked God he was no parish 'prentice." + +James did not resent this piece of foolish impertinence, as some +silly lads would have done; nor fly out into a violent passion: for +even at this early age he had begun to learn of Him _who was meek +and lowly of heart_; and therefore _when he was reviled, he reviled +not again_. On the contrary he was so very kind and gentle, that +even Jack, vain and idle as he was, could not help loving him, +though he took care never to follow his advice. + +Jack's fondness for his boyish and silly diversions in the street, +soon produced the effects which might naturally be expected; and the +same idleness which led him to fly out into the town at the sound of +a fiddle or the sight of a puppet-show soon led him to those places +to which all these fiddles and shows naturally led; I mean the +_ale-house_. The acquaintance picked up in the street was carried on +at the Grayhound; and the idle pastimes of the boy soon led to the +destructive vices of the man. + +As he was not an ill-tempered youth, nor naturally much given to +drink, a sober and prudent master, who had been steady in his +management and regular in his own conduct, who would have +recommended good advice by a good example, might have made something +of Jack. But I am sorry to say, that Mr. Williams, though a good +workman, and not a very hard or severe master, was neither a sober +nor a steady man--so far from it that he spent much more time at the +Grayhound than at home. There was no order either in his shop or +family, he left the chief care of his business to his two young +apprentices; and being but a worldly man, he was at first disposed +to show favor to Jack, much more than to James, because he had more +money, and his father was better in the world than the father of +poor James. + +At first, therefore, he was disposed to consider James as a sort of +drudge; who was to do all the menial work of the family, and he did +not care how little he taught him of his trade. With Mrs. Williams +the matter was still worse; she constantly called him away from the +business of his trade to wash the house, nurse the child, turn the +spit, or run of errands. And here I must remark, that though parish +apprentices are bound in duty to be submissive to both master and +mistress, and always to make themselves as useful as they can in the +family, and to be civil and humble; yet on the other hand, it is the +duty of masters always to remember, that if they are paid for +instructing them in their trade, they ought conscientiously to +instruct them in it, and not to employ them the greater part of +their time in such household or other drudgery, as to deprive them +of the opportunity of acquiring their trade. This practice is not +the less unjust because it is common. + +Mr. Williams soon found out that his favorite Jack would be of +little use to him in the shop; for though he worked well enough, he +did not care how little he did. Nor could he be of the least use to +his master in keeping an account, or writing out a bill upon +occasion, for, as he never could be made to learn to cipher, he did +not know addition from multiplication. + +One day one of the customers called at the shop in a great hurry, +and desired his bill might be made out that minute. Mr. Williams, +having taken a cup too much, made several attempts to put down a +clear account, but the more he tried, the less he found himself able +to do it. James, who was sitting at his last, rose up, and with +great modesty asked his master if he would please give him leave to +make out the bill, saying, that though but a poor scholar, he would +do his best, rather than keep the gentleman waiting. Williams gladly +accepted his offer, and confused as his head was with liquor, he +yet was able to observe with what neatness, dispatch, and exactness, +the account was drawn out. From that time he no longer considered +James as a drudge, but as one fitted for the high departments of the +trade, and he was now regularly employed to manage the accounts, +with which all the customers were so well pleased, that it +contributed greatly to raise him in his master's esteem; for there +were now never any of those blunders of false charges for which the +shop had before been so famous. + +James went on in a regular course of industry, and soon became the +best workman Mr. Williams had; but there were many things in the +family which he greatly disapproved. Some of the journeymen used to +swear, drink, and sing very licentious songs. All these things were +a great grief to his sober mind; he complained to his master, who +only laughed at him; and, indeed, as Williams did the same himself, +he put it out of his power to correct his servants, if he had been +so disposed. James, however, used always to reprove them, with great +mildness indeed, but with great seriousness also. This, but still +more his own excellent example, produced at length very good effects +on such of the men as were not quite hardened in sin. + +What grieved him most, was the manner in which the Sunday was spent. +The master lay in bed all the morning; nor did the mother or her +children ever go to church, except there was some new finery to be +shown, or a christening to be attended. The town's-people were +coming to the shop all the morning, for work which should have been +sent home the night before, had not the master been at the +ale-house. And what wounded James to the very soul was, that the +master expected the two apprentices to carry home shoes to the +country customers on the Sunday morning; which he wickedly thought +was a saving of time, as it prevented their hindering their work on +the Saturday. These shameful practices greatly afflicted poor +James; he begged his master with tears in his eyes, to excuse him, +but he only laughed at his squeamish conscience, as he called it. + +Jack did not dislike this part of the business, and generally after +he had delivered his parcel, wasted good part of the day in nutting, +playing at fives, or dropping in at the public house: any thing was +better to Jack than going to church. + +James, on the other hand, when he was compelled, sorely against his +conscience, to carry home any goods on a Sunday morning, always got +up as soon as it was light, knelt down and prayed heartily to God to +forgive him a sin which it was not in his power to avoid; he took +care not to lose a moment by the way, but as he was taking his walk +with the utmost speed, to leave his shoes with the customers, he +spent his time in endeavoring to keep up good thoughts in his mind, +and praying that the day might come when his conscience might be +delivered from this grievous burden. He was now particularly +thankful that Mr. Thomas had formerly taught him so many psalms and +chapters, which he used to repeat in these walks with great +devotion. + +He always got home before the rest of the family were up, dressed +himself very clean, and went twice to church; as he greatly disliked +the company and practices of his master's house, particularly on the +Sabbath-day; he preferred spending his evening alone, reading the +Bible, which I had forgot to say the worthy clergyman had given him +when he left his native village. Sunday evening, which is to some +people such a burden, was to James the highest holiday. He had +formerly learned a little how to sing a psalm of the clerk of his +own parish, and this was now become a very delightful part of his +evening exercise. And as Will Simpson, one of the journeymen, by +James's advice and example, was now beginning to be of a more +serious way of thinking, he often asked him to sit an hour with +him, when they read the Bible, and talked it over together in a +manner very pleasant and improving; and as Will was a famous singer, +a psalm or two sung together was a very innocent pleasure. + +James's good manners and civility to the customers drew much +business to the shop; and his skill as a workman was so great, that +every one desired that his shoes might be made by James. Williams +grew so very idle and negligent, that he now totally neglected his +affairs, and to hard drinking added deep gaming. All James's care, +both of the shop and the accounts, could not keep things in any +tolerable order: he represented to his master that they were growing +worse and worse, and exhorted him, if he valued his credit as a +tradesman, his comfort as a husband and father, his character as a +master, and his soul as a Christian, to turn over a new leaf. +Williams swore a great oath, that he would not be restrained in his +pleasures to please a canting parish 'prentice, nor to humor a +parcel of squalling brats--that let people say what they would of +him, they should never say he was a _hypocrite_, and as long as they +could not call him that, he did not care what else they called him. + +In a violent passion he immediately went to the Grayhound, where he +now spent not only every evening, which he had long done, but good +part of the day and night also. His wife was very dressy, +extravagant, and fond of company, and wasted at home as fast as her +husband spent abroad, so that all the neighbors said, if it had not +been for James, his master must have been a bankrupt long ago, but +they were sure he could not hold it much longer. + +As Jack Brown sung a good song, and played many diverting tricks, +Williams liked his company; and often allowed him to make one at the +Grayhound, where he would laugh heartily at his stories; so that +every one thought Jack was much the greater favorite--so he was as a +companion in frolic, and foolery, and _pleasure_, as it is called; +but he would not trust him with an inch of leather or sixpence in +money: No, no--when business was to be done, or trust was to be +reposed, James was the man: the idle and the drunken never trust one +another, if they have common sense. They like to laugh, and sing, +and riot, and drink together, but when they want a friend, a +counselor, a helper in business or in trouble, they go further +afield; and Williams, while he would drink with Jack, would trust +James with untold gold; and even was foolishly tempted to neglect +his business the more from knowing that he had one at home who was +taking care of it. + +In spite of all James's care and diligence, however, things were +growing worse and worse; the more James saved, the more his master +and mistress spent. One morning, just as the shop was opened, and +James had set every body to their respective work, and he himself +was settling the business for the day, he found that his master was +not yet come from the Grayhound. As this was now become a common +case, he only grieved but did not wonder at it. While he was +indulging sad thoughts on what would be the end of all this, in ran +the tapster from the Grayhound out of breath, and with a look of +terror and dismay, desired James would step over to the public house +with him that moment, for that his master wanted him. + +James went immediately, surprised at this unusual message. When +he got into the kitchen of the public house, which he now entered +for the first time in his life, though it was just opposite to the +house in which he lived, he was shocked at the beastly disgusting +appearance of every thing he beheld. There was a table covered +with tankards, punch-bowls, broken glasses, pipes, and dirty +greasy packs of cards, and all over wet with liquor; the floor was +strewed with broken earthen cups, old cards, and an EO table which +had been shivered to pieces in a quarrel; behind the table stood a +crowd of dirty fellows, with matted locks, hollow eyes, and faces +smeared with tobacco; James made his way after the tapster, +through this wretched looking crew, to a settle which stood in the +chimney-corner. Not a word was uttered, but the silent horror +seemed to denote something more than a mere common drunken bout. + +What was the dismay of James, when he saw his miserable master +stretched out on the settle, in all the agonies of death! He had +fallen into a fit; after having drunk hard best part of the night, +and seemed to have but a few minutes to live. In his frightful +countenance, was displayed the dreadful picture of sin and death, +for he struggled at once under the guilt of intoxication, and the +pangs of a dying man. He recovered his senses for a few moments, and +called out to ask if his faithful servant was come. James went up to +him, took him by his cold hand, but was too much moved to speak. +"Oh! James, James," cried he in a broken voice, "pray for me, +comfort me." James spoke kindly to him, but was too honest to give +him false comfort, as it is too often done by mistaken friends in +these dreadful moments. + +"James," said he, "I have been a bad master to you--you would have +saved me, soul and body, but I would not let you--I have ruined my +wife, my children, and my own soul. Take warning, oh, take warning +by my miserable end," said he to his stupefied companions: but none +were able to attend to him but James, who bid him lift up his heart +to God, and prayed heartily for him himself. "Oh!" said the dying +man, "it is too late, too late for me--but you have still time," +said he to the half-drunken, terrified crew around him. "Where is +Jack?" Jack Brown came forward, but was too much frightened to +speak. "Oh, wretched boy!" said he, "I fear I shall have the ruin of +thy soul, as well as my own to answer for. Stop short! Take +warning--now in the days of thy youth. O James, James, thou dost not +pray for me. Death is dreadful to the wicked--Oh, the sting of death +to a guilty conscience!" Here he lifted up his ghastly eyes in +speechless horror, grasped hard at the hand of James, gave a deep +hollow groan, and closed his eyes, never to open them but in an +awful eternity. + +This was death in all its horrors! The gay companions of his sinful +pleasures could not stand the sight; all slunk away like guilty +thieves from their late favorite friend--no one was left to assist +him, but his two apprentices. Brown was not so hardened but that he +shed many tears for his unhappy master; and even made some hasty +resolutions of amendment, which were too soon forgotten. + +While Brown stepped home to call the workmen to come and assist in +removing their poor master, James staid alone with the corpse, and +employed these awful moments in indulging the most serious thoughts, +and praying heartily to God, that so terrible a lesson might not be +thrown away upon him; but that he might be enabled to live in a +constant state of preparation for death. The resolutions he made at +this moment, as they were not made in his own strength, but in an +humble reliance on God's gracious help, were of use to him as long +as he lived; and if ever he was for a moment tempted to say, or do a +wrong thing, the remembrance of his poor dying master's long +agonies, and the dreadful words he uttered, always operated as an +instant check upon him. + +When Williams was buried, and his affairs came to be inquired into, +they were found to be in a sad condition. His wife, indeed, was the +less to be pitied, as she had contributed her full share to the +common ruin. James, however, did pity her, and by his skill in +accounts, his known honesty, and the trust the creditors put in his +word, things came to be settled rather better than Mrs. Williams had +expected. + +Both Brown and James were now within a month or two of being out of +their time. The creditors, as we said before, employed James to +settle his late master's accounts, which he did in a manner so +creditable to his abilities, and his honesty, that they proposed to +him to take the shop himself. He assured them it was utterly out of +his power for want of money. As the creditors had not the least fear +of being repaid, if it should please God to spare his life, they +generously agreed among themselves to advance him a small sum of +money without any security but his bond; for this he was to pay a +very reasonable interest, and to return the whole in a given number +of years. James shed tears of gratitude at this testimony to his +character, and could hardly be prevailed on to accept their +kindness, so great was his dread of being in debt. + +He took the remainder of the lease from his mistress; and in +settling affairs with her, took care to make every thing as +advantageous to her as possible. He never once allowed himself to +think how unkind she had been to him; he only saw in her the needy +widow of his deceased master, and the distressed mother of an infant +family; and was heartily sorry it was not in his power to contribute +to their support; it was not only James's duty, but his delight, to +return good for evil--for he was a Christian. + +James Stock was now, by the blessing of God, on his own earnest +endeavors, master of a considerable shop, and was respected by the +whole town for his prudence, honesty, and piety. How he behaved in +his new station, and also what befell his comrade Brown, must be +the subject of another book; and I hope my readers will look forward +with some impatience for some further account of this worthy young +man. In the mean time, other apprentices will do well to follow so +praiseworthy an example, and to remember that the respectable master +of a large shop, and of a profitable business, was raised to that +creditable situation, without money, friends, or connections, from +the low beginning of a parish apprentice, by sobriety, industry, the +fear of God, and an obedience to the divine principles of the +Christian religion. + + +PART II. + +THE APPRENTICE TURNED MASTER. + +The first part of this history left off with the dreadful sudden +death of Williams, the idle shoemaker, who died in a drunken fit at +the Grayhound. It also showed how James Stock, his faithful +apprentice, by his honest and upright behavior, so gained the love +and respect of his late master's creditors, that they set him up in +business, though he was not worth a shilling of his own--such is the +power of a good character! And when we last parted from him he had +just got possession of his master's shop. + +This sudden prosperity was a time of trial for James, who, as he was +now become a creditable tradesman, I shall hereafter think proper to +call Mr. James Stock. I say, this sudden rise in life was a time of +trial; for we hardly know what we are ourselves till we become our +own masters. There is indeed always a reasonable hope that a good +servant will not make a bad master, and that a faithful apprentice +will prove an honest tradesman. But the heart of man is deceitful, +and some folks who seem to behave very well while they are under +subjection, no sooner get a little power than their heads are +turned, and they grow prouder than those who are gentlemen born. +They forget at once that they were lately poor and dependent +themselves, so that one would think that with their poverty they had +lost their memory too. I have known some who had suffered most +hardships in their early days, become the most hard and oppressive +in their turn: so that they seem to forget that fine considerate +reason, which God gives to the children of Israel why they should be +merciful to their servants, _remembering_, said he, _that thou +thyself wast a bond-man_. + +Young Mr. Stock did not so forget himself. He had indeed the only +sure guard from falling into this error. It was not from any +easiness in his natural disposition, for that only just serves to +make folks good-natured when they are pleased, and patient when they +have nothing to vex them. James went upon higher ground. He brought +his religion into all his actions; he did not give way to abusive +language, because he knew it was a sin. He did not use his +apprentices ill, because he knew he had himself a Master in heaven. + +He knew he owed his present happy situation to the kindness of the +creditors. But did he grow easy and careless because he knew he had +such friends? No indeed. He worked with double diligence in order to +get out of debt, and to let these friends see he did not abuse their +kindness. Such behavior as this is the greatest encouragement in the +world to rich people to lend a little money. It creates friends, and +it keeps them. + +His shoes and boots were made in the best manner; this _got_ him +business; he set out with a rule to tell no lies, and deceive no +customers; this _secured_ his business. He had two reasons for not +promising to send home goods when he knew he should not be able to +keep his word. The first, because he knew a lie was a sin, the next, +because it was a folly. There is no credit sooner worn out than that +which is gained by false pretenses. After a little while no one is +deceived by them. Falsehood is so soon detected, that I believe most +tradesmen are the poorer for it in the long run. Deceit is the worst +part of a shopkeeper's stock in trade. + +James was now at the head of a family. This is a serious situation +(said he to himself, one fine summer's evening, as he stood leaning +over the half-door of his shop to enjoy a little fresh air); I am +now master of a family. My cares are doubled, and so are my duties. +I see the higher one gets in life the more one has to answer for. +Let me now call to mind the sorrow I used to feel when I was made to +carry work home on a Sunday by an ungodly master: and let me now +_keep_ the resolution I then formed. + +So what his heart found right to do, he resolved to do quickly; and +he set out at first as he meant to go on. The Sunday was truly a day +of rest at Mr. Stock's. He would not allow a pair of shoes to be +given out on that day, to oblige the best customer he had. And what +did he lose by it? Why, nothing. For when the people were once used +to it, they liked Saturday night just as well. But had it been +otherwise, he would have given up his gains to his conscience. + + +SHOWING HOW MR. STOCK BEHAVED TO HIS APPRENTICES. + +When he got up in the world so far as to have apprentices, he +thought himself as accountable for their behavior as if they had +been his children. He was very kind to them, and had a cheerful +merry way of talking to them, so that the lads who had seen too much +of swearing, reprobate masters, were fond of him. They were never +afraid of speaking to him; they told him all their little troubles, +and considered their master as their best friend, for they said they +would do any thing for a good word and a kind look. As he did not +swear at them when they had been guilty of a fault, they did not lie +to him to conceal it, and thereby make one fault two. But though he +was very kind, he was very watchful also, for he did not think +neglect any part of kindness. He brought them to adopt one very +pretty method, which was, on a Sunday evening to divert themselves +with writing out half a dozen texts of Scripture in a neat copy-book +with gilt covers. You have the same at any of the stationers; they +do not cost above fourpence and will last nearly a year. + +When the boys carried him their books, he justly commended him whose +texts were written in the fairest hand. "And now, my boys," said he, +"let us see which of you will learn your texts best in the course of +the week; he who does this shall choose for next Sunday." Thus the +boys soon got many psalms and chapters by heart, almost without +knowing how they came by them. He taught them how to make a +practical use of what they learned: "for," said he, "it will answer +little purpose to learn texts if we do not try to live up to them." +One of the boys being apt to play in his absence, and to run back +again to his work when he heard his master's step, he brought him to +a sense of his fault by the last Sunday's text, which happened to be +the sixth of Ephesians. He showed him what was meant by _being +obedient to his master in singleness of heart as unto Christ_, and +explained to him with so much kindness what it was, _not to work +with eye-service as men-pleasers, but doing the will of God from the +heart_, that the lad said he should never forget it, and it did +more toward curing him of idleness than the soundest horse-whipping +would have done. + + +HOW MR. STOCK GOT OUT OF DEBT. + +Stock's behavior was very regular, and he was much beloved for his +kind and peaceable temper. He had also a good reputation for skill +in his trade, and his industry was talked of through the whole town, +so that he had soon more work than he could possibly do. He paid all +his dealers to the very day, and took care to carry his interest +money to the creditors the moment it became due. In two or three +years he was able to begin to pay off a small part of the principal. +His reason for being so eager to pay money as soon as it became due, +was this: he had observed tradesmen, and especially his old master, +put off the day of payment as long as they could, even though they +had the means of paying in their power. This deceived them: for +having money in their pockets they forgot it belonged to the +creditor, and not to themselves, and so got to fancy they were rich +when they were really poor. This false notion led them to indulge in +idle expenses, whereas, if they had paid regularly, they would have +had this one temptation the less: a young tradesman, when he is +going to spend money, should at least ask himself, "Whether this +money is his own or his creditors'?" This little question might help +to prevent many a bankruptcy. + +A true Christian always goes heartily to work to find out what is +his besetting sin; and when he has found it (which he easily may if +he looks sharp), against this sin he watches narrowly. Now I know it +is the fashion among some folks (and a bad fashion it is), to fancy +that good people have no sin; but this only shows their ignorance. +It is not true. That good man, St. Paul, knew better.[3] And when +men do not own their sins, it is not because there is no sin in +their hearts, but because they are not anxious to search for it, nor +humble to confess it, nor penitent to mourn over it. But this was +not the case with James Stock. "Examine yourselves truly," said he, +"is no bad part of the catechism." He began to be afraid that his +desire of living creditably, and without being a burden to any one, +might, under the mask of honesty and independence, lead him into +pride and covetousness. He feared that the bias of his heart lay +that way. So instead of being proud of his sobriety; instead of +bragging that he never spent his money idly, nor went to the +ale-house; instead of boasting how hard he worked and how he denied +himself, he strove in secret that even these good qualities might +not grow out of a wrong root. The following event was of use to him +in the way of indulging any disposition to covetousness. + + [3] See Romans, vii. + +One evening as he was standing at the door of his shop, a poor dirty +boy, without stockings and shoes, came up and asked him for a bit of +broken victuals, for he had eaten nothing all day. In spite of his +dirt and rags he was a very pretty, lively, civil spoken boy, and +Mr. Stock could not help thinking he knew something of his face. He +fetched him out a good piece of bread and cheese, and while the boy +was devouring it, asked him if he had no parents, and why he went +about in that vagabond manner? "Daddy has been dead some years," +said the boy; "he died in a fit over at the Grayhound. Mammy says he +used to live at this shop, and then we did not want for clothes nor +victuals neither." Stock was melted almost to tears on finding that +this dirty beggar boy was Tommy Williams, the son of his old master. +He blessed God on comparing his own happy condition with that of +this poor destitute child, but he was not prouder at the comparison; +and while he was thankful for his own prosperity, he pitied the +helpless boy. "Where have you been living of late?" said he to him, +"for I understand you all went home to your mother's friends." "So +we did, sir," said the boy, "but they are grown tired of maintaining +us, because they said that mammy spent all the money which should +have gone to buy victuals for us, on snuff and drams. And so they +have sent us back to this place, which is daddy's parish." + +"And where do you live here?" said Mr. Stock. "O, sir, we were all +put into the parish poor-house." "And does your mother do any thing +to help to maintain you?" "No, sir, for mammy says she was not +brought up to work like poor folks, and she would rather starve than +spin or knit; so she lies a-bed all the morning, and sends us about +to pick up what we can, a bit of victuals or a few half-pence." "And +have you any money in your pocket now?" "Yes, sir, I have got three +half-pence which I have begged to-day." "Then, as you were so very +hungry, how came you not to buy a roll at that baker's over the +way?" "Because, sir, I was going to lay it out in tea for mammy, for +I never lay out a farthing for myself. Indeed mammy says she _will_ +have her tea twice a-day if we beg or starve for it." "Can you read, +my boy?" said Mr. Stock: "A little, sir, and say my prayers too." +"And can you say your catechism?" "I have almost forgotten it all, +sir, though I remember something about _honoring my father and +mother_, and that makes me still carry the half-pence home to mammy +instead of buying cakes." "Who taught you these good things?" "One +Jemmy Stock, sir, who was a parish 'prentice to my daddy. He taught +me one question out of the catechism every night, and always made me +say my prayers to him before I went to bed. He told me I should go +to the wicked place if I did not fear God, so I am still afraid to +tell lies like the other boys. Poor Jemmy gave me a piece of ginger +bread every time I learnt well; but I have no friend now; Jemmy was +very good to me, though mammy did nothing but beat him." + +Mr. Stock was too much moved to carry on the discourse; he did not +make himself known to the boy, but took him over to the baker's +shop; as they walked along he could not help repeating aloud a verse +or two of that beautiful hymn so deservedly the favorite of all +children: + + "Not more than others I deserve, + Yet God hath given me more; + For I have food while others starve, + Or beg from door to door." + +The little boy looked up in his face, saying, "Why, sir, that's the +very hymn which Jemmy Stock gave me a penny for learning." Stock +made no answer, but put a couple of threepenny loaves into his hand +to carry home, and told him to call on him again at such a time in +the following week. + + +HOW MR. STOCK CONTRIVED TO BE CHARITABLE WITHOUT ANY EXPENSE. + +Stock had abundant subject for meditation that night. He was puzzled +what to do with the boy. While he was carrying on his trade upon +borrowed money, he did not think it right to give any part of that +money, to assist the idle, or even help the distressed. "I must be +just," said he, "before I am generous." Still he could not bear to +see this fine boy given up to a certain ruin. He did not think it +safe to take him into his shop in his present ignorant, unprincipled +state. At last he hit upon this thought: I work for myself twelve +hours in the day. Why shall I not work one hour or two for this boy +in the evening? It will be but for a year, and I shall then have +more right to do what I please. My money will then be my own: I +shall have paid my debts. + +So he began to put his resolution in practice that very night, +sticking to his old notion of not putting off till to-morrow what +should be done to-day: and it was thought he owed much of his +success in life, as well as his growth in goodness, to this little +saying: "I am young and healthy," said he, "one hour's work more +will do me no harm; I will set aside all I get by these over-hours, +and put the boy to school. I have not only no right to punish this +child for the sins of his father, but I consider that though God +hated those sins, he has made them to be instrumental to my +advancement." + +Tommy Williams called at the time appointed. In the mean time Mr. +Stock's maid had made him a neat little suit of clothes of an old +coat of her master's. She had also knit him a pair of stockings, and +Mr. Stock made him sit down in the shop, while he fitted him with a +pair of new shoes. The maid having washed and dressed him, Stock +took him by the hand, and walked along with him to the parish +poor-house to find his mother. They found her dressed in ragged, +filthy finery, standing at the door, where she passed most of her +time, quarreling with half a dozen women as idle and dirty as +herself. When she saw Tommy so neat and well-dressed, she fell a +crying for joy. She said "it put her in mind of old times, for Tommy +always used to be dressed like a gentleman." "So much the worse," +said Mr. Stock; "if you had not begun by making him look like a +gentleman, you needed not have ended by making him look like a +beggar." "Oh Jem!" said she (for though it was four years since she +had seen him she soon recollected him), "fine times for you! Set a +beggar on horseback--you know the proverb. I shall beat Tommy well +for finding you out and exposing me to you." + +Instead of entering into a dispute with this bad woman, or praising +himself at her expense; instead of putting her in mind of her past +ill behavior to him, or reproaching her with the bad use she had +made of her prosperity, he mildly said to her, "Mrs. Williams I am +sorry for your misfortunes; I am come to relieve you of part of your +burden. I will take Tommy off your hands. I will give him a year's +board and schooling, and by that time I shall see what he is fit +for. I will promise nothing, but if the boy turns out well, I will +never forsake him. I shall make but one bargain with you, which is, +that he must not come to this place to hear all this railing and +swearing, nor shall he keep company with these pilfering, idle +children. You are welcome to go and see him when you please, but +here he must not come." + +The foolish woman burst out a crying, saying, "she should lose her +poor dear Tommy forever. Mr. Stock might give _her_ the money he +intended to pay at the school, for nobody could do so well by him, +as his own mother." The truth was, she wanted to get these new +clothes into her clutches, which would have been pawned at the +dramshop before the week was out. This Mr. Stock well knew. From +crying she fell to scolding and swearing. She told him he was an +unnatural wretch, that wanted to make a child despise his own mother +because she was poor. She even went so far as to say she would not +part from him; she said she hated your godly people, they had no +bowels of compassion, but tried to set men, women, and children +against their own flesh and blood. + +Mr. Stock now almost lost his patience, and for one moment a thought +came across him, to strip the boy, carry back the clothes, and leave +him to his unnatural mother. "Why," said he, "should I work +over-hours, and wear out my strength for this wicked woman?" But +soon he checked this thought, by reflecting on the patience and +long-suffering of God with rebellious sinners. This cured his anger +in a moment, and he mildly reasoned with her on her folly and +blindness in opposing the good of her child. + +One of the neighbors who stood by said, "What a fine thing it was +for the boy! but some people were born to be lucky. She wished Mr. +Stock would take a fancy to _her_ child, he should have him soon +enough." Mrs. Williams now began to be frightened lest Mr. Stock +should take the woman at her word, and sullenly consented to let the +boy go, from envy and malice, not from prudence and gratitude; and +Tommy was sent to school that very night, his mother crying and +roaring instead of thanking God for such a blessing. + +And here I can not forbear telling a very good-natured thing of Will +Simpson, one of the workmen. By the by, it was that very young +fellow who was reformed by Stock's good example, when he was an +apprentice, and who used to sing psalms with him on a Sunday +evening, when they got out of the way of Williams's junketing. Will +coming home early one evening was surprised to find his master at +work by himself, long after the usual time. He begged so heartily to +know the reason, that Stock owned the truth. Will was so struck with +this piece of kindness, that he snatched up a last, crying out, +"Well, master, you shall not work by yourself, however; we will go +snacks in maintaining Tommy: it shall never be said that Will +Simpson was idling about when his master was working for charity." +This made the hour pass cheerfully, and doubled the profits. + +In a year or two Mr. Stock, by God's blessing on his labors, became +quite clear of the world. He now paid off his creditors, but he +never forgot his obligation to them, and found many opportunities of +showing kindness to them, and to their children after them. He now +cast about for a proper wife, and as he was thought a prosperous +man, and was very well looking besides, most of the smart girls of +the place, with their tawdry finery, used to be often parading +before the shop, and would even go to church in order to put +themselves in his way. But Mr. Stock when he went to church, had +other things in his head; and if ever he thought about these gay +damsels at all, it was with concern in seeing them so improperly +tricked out, so that the very means they took to please him made him +dislike them. + +There was one Betsy West, a young woman of excellent character, and +very modest appearance. He had seldom seen her out, as she was +employed night and day in waiting on an aged, widowed mother, who +was both lame and blind. This good girl was almost literally eyes +and feet to her helpless parent, and Mr. Stock used to see her, +through the little casement window, lifting her up, and feeding her +with a tenderness which greatly raised his esteem for her. He used +to tell Will Simpson, as they sat at work, that such a dutiful +daughter could hardly help to make a faithful wife. He had not, +however, the heart to try to draw her off from the care of her sick +mother. The poor woman declined very fast. Betsy was much employed +in reading or praying by her, while she was awake, and passed a good +part of the night while she slept, in doing some fine works to sell, +in order to supply her sick mother with little delicacies which +their poor pittance could not afford, while she herself lived on a +crust. + +Mr. Stock knew that Betsy would have little or nothing after her +mother's death, as she had only a life income. On the other hand, +Mr. Thompson, the tanner, had offered him two hundred pounds with +his daughter Nancy; but he was almost sorry that he had not in this +case an opportunity of resisting his natural bias, which rather lay +on the side of loving money. "For," said he, "putting principle and +putting affection out of the question, I shall do a more prudent +thing by marrying Betsy West, who will conform to her station, and +is a religious, humble, industrious girl, without a shilling, than +by having an idle dressy lass, who will neglect my family and fill +my house with company, though she should have twice the fortune +which Nancy Thompson would bring." + +At length poor old Mrs. West was released from all her sufferings. +At a proper time Mr. Stock proposed marriage to Betsy, and was +accepted. All the disappointed girls in the town wondered what any +body could like in such a dowdy as that. Had the man no eyes? They +thought Mr. Stock had more taste. Oh! how it did provoke all the +vain, idle things to find, that staying at home, dressing plainly, +serving God, and nursing a blind mother, should do that for Betsy +West, which all their contrivances, flaunting, and dancing, could +not do for them. + +He was not disappointed in his hope of meeting with a good wife in +Betsy, as indeed those who marry on right grounds seldom are. But if +religious persons will, for the sake of money, choose partners for +life who have no religion, do not let them complain that they are +unhappy: they might have known that beforehand. + +Tommy Williams was now taken home to Mr. Stock's house and bound +apprentice. He was always kind and attentive to his mother; and +every penny which Will Simpson or his master gave him for learning a +chapter, he would save to buy a bit of tea and sugar for her. When +the other boys laughed at him for being so foolish as to deny +himself cakes and apples to give his money to her who was so bad a +woman, he would answer, "It may be so, but she is my mother for all +that." + +Mr. Stock was much moved at the change in this boy, who turned out a +very good youth. He resolved, as God should prosper him, that he +would try to snatch other helpless creatures from sin and ruin. +"For," said he, "it is owing to God's blessing on the instructions +of my good minister when I was a child, that I have been saved from +the broad way of destruction." He still gave God the glory of every +thing he did aright: and when Will Simpson one day said to him, +"Master, I wish I were half as good as you are." "Hold, William," +answered he gravely, "I once read in a book, that the devil is +willing enough we should appear to do good actions, if he can but +make us proud of them." + +But we must not forget our other old acquaintance, Mr. Stock's +fellow 'prentice. So next month you may expect a full account of the +many tricks and frolics of idle Jade Brown. + + +PART III. + +SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FROLICS OF IDLE JACK BROWN. + +You shall now hear what befell idle Jack Brown, who, being a +farmer's son, had many advantages to begin life with. But he who +wants prudence may be said to want every thing, because he turns all +his advantages to no account. + +Jack Brown was just out of his time when his master Williams died in +that terrible drunken fit at the Grayhound. You know already how +Stock succeeded to his master's business, and prospered in it. Jack +wished very much to enter into partnership with him. His father and +mother too were desirous of it, and offered to advance a hundred +pounds with him. Here is a fresh proof of the power of character! +The old farmer, with all his covetousness, was eager to get his son +into partnership with Stock, though the latter was not worth a +shilling; and even Jack's mother, with all her pride, was eager for +it, for they had both sense enough to see it would be the making of +Jack. The father knew that Stock would look to the main chance; and +the mother that he would take the laboring oar, and so her darling +would have little to do. The ruling passion operated in both. One +parent wished to secure the son a life of pleasure, the other a +profitable trade. Both were equally indifferent to whatever related +to his eternal good. + +Stock, however, young as he was, was too old a bird to be caught +with chaff. His wisdom was an overmatch for their cunning. He had a +kindness for Brown, but would on no account enter into business with +him. "One of these three things," said he, "I am sure will happen if +I do; he will either hurt my principles, my character, or my trade; +perhaps all." And here by-the-by, let me drop a hint to other young +men who are about to enter into partnership. Let them not do that in +haste which they may repent at leisure. Next to marriage it is a tie +the hardest to break; and next to that it is an engagement which +ought to be entered into with the most caution. Many things go to +the making such a connection suitable, safe, and pleasant. There is +many a rich merchant need not be above taking a hint in this +respect, from James Stock the shoemaker. + +Brown was still unwilling to part from him; indeed he was too idle +to look out for business, so he offered Stock to work with him as a +journeyman, but this he also mildly refused. It hurt his good nature +to do so; but he reflected that a young man who has his way to make +in the world, must not only be good-natured, he must be prudent +also. "I am resolved," said he, "to employ none but the most sober, +regular young men I can get. Evil communications corrupt good +manners, and I should be answerable for all the disorders of my +house, if I knowingly took a wild, drinking young fellow into it. +That which might be kindness to one, would be injustice to many, and +therefore a sin in myself." + +Brown's mother was in a great rage when she heard that her son had +stooped so low as to make this offer. She valued herself on being +proud, for she thought pride was a grand thing. Poor woman! She did +not know that it is the meanest thing in the world. It was her +ignorance which made her proud, as is apt to be the case. "You +mean-spirited rascal," she said to Jack, "I had rather follow you to +your grave, as well as I love you, than see you disgrace your family +by working under Jem Stock, the parish apprentice." She forgot +already what pains she had taken about the partnership, but pride +and passion have bad memories. + +It is hard to say which was now uppermost in her mind, her desire to +be revenged on Stock, or to see her son make a figure. She raised +every shilling she could get from her husband, and all she could +crib from the dairy to set up Jack in a showy way. So the very next +market day she came herself, and took for him the new white house, +with the two little sash windows painted blue, and blue posts before +the door. It is that house which has the old cross just before it, +as you turn down between the church and the Grayhound. Its being so +near the church to be sure was no recommendation to Jack, but its +being so near the Grayhound was, and so taking one thing with the +other it was to be sure no bad situation; but what weighed most with +the mother was, that it was a much more showy shop than Stock's; and +the house, though not half so convenient, was far more smart. + +In order to draw custom, his foolish mother advised him to undersell +his neighbors just at first; to buy ordinary but showy goods, and +to employ cheap workmen. In short she charged him to leave no stone +unturned to ruin his old comrade Stock. Indeed she always thought +with double satisfaction of Jack's prosperity, because she always +joined to it the hope that his success would be the ruin of Stock, +for she owned it would be the joy of her heart to bring that proud +upstart to a morsel of bread. She did not understand, for her part, +why such beggars must become tradesmen; it was making a velvet purse +of a sow's ear. + +Stock, however, set out on quite another set of principles. He did +not allow himself to square his own behavior to others by theirs to +him. He seldom asked himself what he should _like_ to do: but he had +a mighty way of saying, "I wonder now what is my _duty_ to do?" And +when he was once clear in that matter he generally did it, always +begging God's blessing and direction. So instead of setting Brown at +defiance; instead of all that vulgar selfishness, of catch he that +catch can--and two of a trade can never agree--he resolved to be +friendly toward him. Instead of joining in the laugh against Brown +for making his house so fine, he was sorry for him, because he +feared he would never be able to pay such a rent. He very kindly +called upon him, told him there was business enough for them both, +and gave him many useful hints for his going on. He warned him to go +oftener to church and seldomer to the Grayhound: put him in mind how +following the one and forsaking the other had been the ruin of their +poor master, and added the following + + ADVICE TO YOUNG TRADESMEN. + + Buy the best goods; cut the work out yourself; let the eye of + the master be everywhere; employ the soberest men; avoid all the + low deceits of trade; never lower the credit of another to raise + your own; make short payments; keep exact accounts; avoid idle + company, and be very strict to your word. + +For a short time things went on swimmingly. Brown was merry and +civil. The shop was well situated for gossip; and every one who had +something to say, and nothing to do was welcome. Every idle story +was first spread, and every idle song first sung, in Brown's shop. +Every customer who came to be measured was promised that his shoes +should be done first. But the misfortune was, if twenty came in a +day the same promise was made to all, so that nineteen were +disappointed, and of course affronted. He never said _no_ to any +one. It is indeed a word which it requires some honesty to +pronounce. By all these false promises he was thought the most +obliging fellow that ever made a shoe. And as he set out on the +principle of underselling, people took a mighty fancy to the cheap +shop. And it was agreed among all the young and giddy, that he would +beat Stock all hollow, and that the old shop would be knocked up. + + +ALL IS NOT GOLD THAT GLISTENS. + +After a few months, however, folks began to be not quite so fond of +the cheap shop; one found out that the leather was bad, another that +the work was slight. Those who liked substantial goods went all of +them to Stock's, for they said Brown's heel-taps did not last a +week; his new boots let in water; and they believed he made his +soles of brown paper. Besides, it was thought by most, that this +promising all, and keeping his word with none, hurt his business as +much as any thing. Indeed, I question, putting religion out of the +question, if lying ever answers, even in a political view. + +Brown had what is commonly called a _good heart_; that is, he had a +thoughtless good nature, and a sort of feeling for the moment which +made him very sorry when others were in trouble. But he was not apt +to put himself to any inconvenience, nor go a step out of his way, +nor give up any pleasure to serve the best friend he had. He loved +_fun_; and those who do should always see that it be harmless, and +that they do not give up more for it than it is worth. I am not +going to say a word against innocent merriment. I like it myself. +But what the proverb says of gold, may be said of mirth; it may be +bought too dear. If a young man finds that what he fancies is a good +joke may possibly offend God, hurt his neighbor, afflict his parent, +or make a modest girl blush, let him then be assured it is not fun, +but wickedness, and he had better let it alone. + +Jack Brown then, as _good a heart_ as he had, did not know what it +was to deny himself any thing. He was so _good-natured_ indeed, that +he never in his life refused to make one of a jolly set; but he was +not good-natured enough to consider that those men whom he kept up +all night roaring and laughing, had wives and children at home, who +had little to eat, and less to wear, because _they_ were keeping up +the character of merry fellows, and good hearts at the public house. + + +THE MOUNTEBANK. + +One day he saw his father's plow-boy come galloping up to the door +in great haste. This boy brought Brown word that his mother was +dangerously ill, and that his father had sent his own best bay mare +Smiler, that his son might lose no time, but set out directly to see +his mother before she died. Jack burst into tears, lamented the +danger of so fond a mother, and all the people in the shop extolled +his _good heart_. + +He sent back the boy directly, with a message that he would follow +him in half an hour, as soon as the mare had baited: for he well +knew that his father would not thank him for any haste he might make +if Smiler was hurt. + +Jack accordingly set off, and rode with such speed to the next town, +that both himself and Smiler had a mind to another bait. They +stopped at the Star; unluckily it was fair-day, and as he was +walking about while Smiler was eating her oats, a bill was put in +his hand setting forth, that on the stage opposite the Globe a +mountebank was showing away, and his Andrew performing the finest +tricks that ever were seen. He read--he stood still--he went on--"It +will not hinder me," said he; "Smiler must rest; and I shall see my +poor dear mother quite as soon if I just take a peep, as if I sit +moping at the Star." + +The tricks were so merry that the time seemed short, and when they +were over he could not forbear going into the Globe and treating +these choice spirits with a bowl of punch. Just as they were taking +the last glass, Jack happened to say he was the best fives player in +the country. "That is lucky," said the Andrew, "for there is a +famous match now playing at the court, and you may never again have +such an opportunity to show your skill." Brown declared "he could +not stay, for that he had left his horse at the Star, and must set +off on urgent business." They now all pretended to call his skill in +question. This roused his pride, and he thought another half hour +could break no squares. Smiler had now had a good feed of corn, and +he would only have to push her on a little more; so to it he went. + +He won the first game. This spurred him on; and he played till it +was so dark they could not see a ball. Another bowl was called for +from the winner. Wagers and bets now drained Brown not only of all +the money he had won, but of all he had in his pocket, so that he +was obliged to ask leave to go to the house where his horse was, to +borrow enough to discharge his reckoning at the Globe. + +All these losses brought his poor dear mother to his mind, and he +marched off with rather a heavy heart to borrow the money, and to +order Smiler out of the stable. The landlord expressed much surprise +at seeing him, and the ostler declared there was no Smiler there; +that he had been rode off above two hours ago by the merry Andrew, +who said he come by order of the owner, Mr. Brown, to fetch him to +the Globe, and to pay for his feed. It was indeed one of the neatest +tricks the Andrew ever performed, for he made such a clean +conveyance of Smiler, that neither Jack nor his father ever heard of +her again. + +It was night: no one could tell what road the Andrew took, and it +was another hour or two before an advertisement could be drawn up +for apprehending the horse-stealer. Jack had some doubts whether he +should go on or return back. He knew that though his father might +fear his wife most, yet he loved Smiler best. At length he took that +courage from a glass of brandy which he ought to have taken from a +hearty repentance, and he resolved to pursue his journey. He was +obliged to leave his watch and silver buckles in pawn for a little +old hack, which was nothing but skin and bone, and would hardly trot +three miles an hour. + +He knocked at his father's door about five in the morning. The +family were all up. He asked the boy who opened the door how his +mother was? "She is dead," said the boy; "she died yesterday +afternoon." Here Jack's heart smote him, and he cried aloud, partly +from grief, but more from the reproaches of his own conscience, for +he found by computing the hours, that had he come straight on, he +should have been in time to receive his mother's blessing. + +The farmer now came from within, "I hear Smiler's step. Is Jack +come?" "Yes, father," said Jack, in a low voice. "Then," cried the +farmer, "run every man and boy of you and take care of the mare. +Tom, do thou go and rub her down; Jem, run and get her a good feed +of corn. Be sure walk her about that she may not catch cold." Young +Brown came in. "Are you not an undutiful dog?" said the father; "you +might have been here twelve hours ago. Your mother could not die in +peace without seeing you. She said it was cruel return for all her +fondness, that you could not make a little haste to see her; but it +was always so, for she had wronged her other children to help you, +and this was her reward." Brown sobbed out a few words, but his +father replied, "Never cry, Jack, for the boy told me that it was +out of regard for Smiler, that you were not here as soon as he was, +and if 'twas your over care of her, why there's no great harm done. +You could not have saved your poor mother, and you might have hurt +the mare." Here Jack's double guilt flew into his face. He knew that +his father was very covetous, and had lived on bad terms with his +wife; and also that his own unkindness to her had been forgiven him +out of love to the horse; but to break to him how he had lost that +horse through his own folly and want of feeling, was more than Jack +had courage to do. The old man, however, soon got at the truth, and +no words can describe his fury. Forgetting that his wife lay dead +above stairs, he abused his son in a way not fit to be repeated; and +though his covetousness had just before found an excuse for a +favorite son neglecting to visit a dying parent, yet he now vented +his rage against Jack as an unnatural brute, whom he would cut off +with a shilling, and bade him never see his face again. + +Jack was not allowed to attend his mother's funeral, which was a +real grief to him; nor would his father advance even the little +money, which was needful to redeem his things at the Star. He had +now no fond mother to assist him, and he set out on his return home +on his borrowed hack, full of grief. He had the added mortification +of knowing that he had also lost by his folly a little hoard of +money which his mother had saved up for him. + +When Brown got back to his own town he found that the story of +Smiler and the Andrew had got thither before him, and it was thought +a very good joke at the Grayhound. He soon recovered his spirits as +far as related to the horse, but as to his behavior to his dying +mother it troubled him at times to the last day of his life, though +he did all he could to forget it. He did not, however, go on at all +better, nor did he engage in one frolic the less for what had passed +at the Globe; his _good heart_ continually betrayed him into acts of +levity and vanity. + +Jack began at length to feel the reverse of that proverb, _Keep your +shop and your shop will keep you_. He had neglected his customers, +and they forsook him. Quarter-day came round; there was much to pay +and little to receive. He owed two years' rent. He was in arrears to +his men for wages. He had a long account with his currier. It was in +vain to apply to his father. He had now no mother. Stock was the +only true friend he had in the world, and had helped him out of many +petty scrapes, but he knew Stock would advance no money in so +hopeless a case. Duns came fast about him. He named a speedy day for +payment; but as soon as they were out of the house, and the danger +put off to a little distance, he forgot every promise, was as merry +as ever, and run the same round of thoughtless gayety. Whenever lie +was in trouble, Stock did not shun him, because that was the moment +to throw in a little good advice. He one day asked him if he always +intended to go on in this course? "No," said he, "I am resolved by +and by to reform, grow sober, and go to church. Why I am but five +and twenty, man; I am stout and healthy, and likely to live long; I +can repent, and grow melancholy and good at any time." + +"Oh Jack!" said Stock, "don't cheat thyself with that false hope. +What thou dost intend to do, do quickly. Didst thou never read about +the heart growing hardened by long indulgence in sin? Some folks, +who pretend to mean well, show that they mean nothing at all, by +never beginning to put their good resolutions into practice; which +made a wise man once say, that hell is paved with good intentions. +We can not repent when we please. _It is the goodness of God which +leadeth us to repentance._" + +"I am sure," replied Jack, "I am no one's enemy but my own." + +"It is as foolish," said Stock, "to say a bad man is no one's enemy +but his own, as that a good man is no one's friend but his own. +There is no such neutral character. A bad man corrupts or offends +all within reach of his example, just as a good man benefits or +instructs all within the sphere of his influence. And there is no +time when we can say that this transmitted good and evil will end. A +wicked man may be punished for sins he never committed himself, if +he has been the cause of sin in others, as surely as a saint will be +rewarded for more good deeds than he himself has done, even for the +virtues and good actions of all those who are made better by his +instruction, his example, or his writings." + +Michaelmas-day was at hand. The landlord declared he would be put +off no longer, but would seize for rent if it was not paid him on +that day, as well as for a considerable sum due to him for leather. +Brown at last began to be frightened. He applied to Stock to be +bound for him. This, Stock flatly refused. Brown now began to dread +the horrors of a jail, and really seemed so very contrite, and made +so many vows and promises of amendment, that at length Stock was +prevailed on, together with two or three of Brown's other friends, +to advance each a small sum of money to quiet the landlord. Brown +promising to make over to them every part of his stock, and to be +guided in future by their advice, declaring that he would turn over +a new leaf, and follow Mr. Stock's example, as well as his direction +in every thing. + +Stock's good nature was at length wrought upon, and he raised the +money. The truth is, he did not know the worst, nor how deeply Brown +was involved. Brown joyfully set out on the very quarter-day to a +town at some distance, to carry his landlord this money, raised by +the imprudent kindness of his friend. At his departure Stock put him +in mind of the old story of Smiler and the Merry Andrew, and he +promised to his own head that he would not even call at a public +house till he had paid the money. + +He was as good as his word. He very triumphantly passed by several. +He stopped a little under the window of one where the sounds of +merriment and loud laughter caught his ear. At another he heard the +enticing notes of a fiddle and the light heels of the merry dancers. +Here his heart had well-nigh failed him, but the dread of a jail on +the one hand, and what he feared almost as much, Mr. Stock's anger +on the other, spurred him on; and he valued himself not a little at +having got the better of this temptation. He felt quite happy when +he found he had reached the door of his landlord without having +yielded to one idle inclination. + +He knocked at the door. The maid who opened it said her master was +not at home. "I am sorry for it," said he, strutting about; and with +a boasting air he took out his money. "I want to pay him my rent: he +needed not to have been afraid of _me_." The servant, who knew her +master was very much afraid of him, desired him to walk in, for her +master would be at home in half an hour. "I will call again," said +he; "but no, let him call on me, and the sooner the better: I shall +be at the Blue Posts." While he had been talking, he took care to +open his black leather case, and to display the bank bills to the +servant, and then, in a swaggering way, he put up his money and +marched off to the Blue Posts. + +He was by this time quite proud of his own resolution, and having +tendered the money, and being clear in his own mind that it was the +landlord's own fault and not his that it was not paid, he went to +refresh himself at the Blue Posts. In a barn belonging to this +public house a set of strollers were just going to perform some of +that sing-song ribaldry, by which our villages are corrupted, the +laws broken, and that money drawn from the poor for pleasure, which +is wanted by their families for bread. The name of the last new song +which made part of the entertainment, made him think himself in high +luck, that he should have just that half hour to spare. He went into +the barn, but was too much delighted with the actor, who sung his +favorite song, to remain a quiet hearer. He leaped out of the pit, +and got behind the two ragged blankets which served for a curtain. +He sung so much better than the actors themselves, that they praised +and admired him to a degree which awakened all his vanity. He was so +intoxicated with their flattery, that he could do no less than +invite them all to supper, an invitation which they were too hungry +not to accept. + +He did not, however, quite forget his appointment with his landlord; +but the half hour was long since past by. "And so," says he, "as I +know he is a mean curmudgeon, who goes to bed by daylight to save +candles, it will be too late to speak with him to-night; besides, +let him call upon me; it is his business and not mine. I left word +where I was to be found; the money is ready, and if I don't pay him +to-night, I can do it before breakfast." + +By the time these firm resolutions were made, supper was ready. +There never was a more jolly evening. Ale and punch were as plenty +as water. The actors saw what a vain fellow was feasting them, and +as they wanted victuals and he wanted flattery, the business was +soon settled. They ate, and Brown sung. They pretended to be in +raptures. Singing promoted drinking, and every fresh glass produced +a new song or a story still more merry than the former. Before +morning, the players, who were engaged to act in another barn a +dozen miles off, stole away quietly. Brown having dropt asleep, they +left him to finish his nap by himself. As to him his dreams were gay +and pleasant, and the house being quite still, he slept comfortably +till morning. + +As soon as he had breakfasted, the business of the night before +popped into his head. He set off once more to his landlord's in high +spirits, gayly singing by the way, scraps of all the tunes he had +picked up the night before from his new friends. The landlord opened +the door himself, and reproached him with no small surliness for not +having kept his word with him the evening before, adding, that he +supposed he was come now with some more of his shallow excuses. +Brown put on all that haughtiness which is common to people who, +being generally apt to be in the wrong, happen to catch themselves +doing a right action; he looked big, as some sort of people do when +they have money to pay. "You need not have been so anxious about +your money," said he, "I was not going to break or run away." The +landlord well knew this was the common language of those who are +ready to do both. Brown haughtily added, "You shall see I am a man +of my word; give me a receipt." The landlord had it ready and gave +it him. + +Brown put his hand in his pocket for his black leathern case in +which the bills were; he felt, he searched, he examined, first one +pocket, then the other; then both waistcoat pockets, but no leather +case could he find. He looked terrified. It was indeed the face of +real terror, but the landlord conceived it to be that of guilt, and +abused him heartily for putting his old tricks upon him; he swore he +would not be imposed upon any longer; the money or a jail--there lay +his choice. + +Brown protested for once with great truth that he had no intention +to deceive; declared that he had actually brought the money, and +knew not what was become of it; but the thing was far too unlikely +to gain credit. Brown now called to mind that he had fallen asleep +on the settle in the room where they had supped. This raised his +spirits; for he had no doubt but the case had fallen out of his +pocket; he said he would step to the public house and search for it, +and would be back directly. Not one word of this did the landlord +believe, so inconvenient is it to have a bad character. He swore +Brown should not stir out of his house without a constable, and made +him wait while he sent for one. Brown, guarded by the constable, +went back to the Blue Posts, the landlord charging the officer not +to lose sight of the culprit. The caution was needless; Brown had +not the least design of running away, so firmly persuaded was he +that he should find his leather case. + +But who can paint his dismay, when no tale or tidings of the leather +case could be had! The master, the mistress, the boy, the maid of +the public house, all protested they were innocent. His suspicions +soon fell on the strollers with whom he had passed the night; and he +now found out for the first time, that a merry evening did not +always produce a happy morning. He obtained a warrant, and proper +officers were sent in pursuit of the strollers. No one, however, +believed he had really lost any thing; and as he had not a shilling +left to defray the expensive treat he had given, the master of the +inn agreed with the other landlord in thinking this story was a +trick to defraud them both, and Brown remained in close custody. At +length the officers returned, who said they had been obliged to let +the strollers go, as they could not fix the charge on any one, and +they had offered to swear before a justice that they had seen +nothing of the leather case. It was at length agreed that as he had +passed the evening in a crowded barn, he had probably been robbed +there, if at all; and among so many, who could pretend to guess at +the thief? + +Brown raved like a madman; he cried, tore his hair, and said he was +ruined for ever. The abusive language of his old landlord, and his +new creditor at the Blue Posts, did not lighten his sorrow. His +landlord would be put off no longer. Brown declared he could neither +find bail nor raise another shilling; and as soon as the forms of +law were made out, he was sent to the county jail. + +Here it might have been expected that hard living and much leisure +would have brought him to reflect a little on his past follies. But +his heart was not truly touched. The chief thing which grieved him +at first was his having abused the kindness of Stock, for to him he +should appear guilty of a real fraud, where indeed he had been only +vain, idle, and imprudent. And it is worth while here to remark, +that vanity, idleness, and imprudence, often bring a man to utter +ruin both of soul and body, though silly people do not put them in +the catalogue of heavy sins, and those who indulge in them are often +reckoned honest, merry fellows, with _the best hearts in the world_. + +I wish I had room to tell my readers what befell Jack in his +present doleful habitation, and what became of him afterward. I +promise them, however, that they shall certainly know the first of +next month, when I hope they will not forget to inquire for the +fourth part of the Shoemakers, or Jack Brown in prison. + + +PART IV. + +JACK BROWN IN PRISON. + +Brown was no sooner lodged in his doleful habitation, and a little +recovered from his first surprise, than he sat down and wrote his +friend Stock the whole history of the transaction. Mr. Stock, who +had long known the exceeding lightness and dissipation of his mind, +did not so utterly disbelieve the story as all the other creditors +did. To speak the truth, Stock was the only one among them who had +good sense enough to know, that a man may be completely ruined, both +in what relates to his property and his soul, without committing Old +Bailey crimes. He well knew that idleness, vanity, and the love of +_pleasure_, as it is falsely called, will bring a man to a morsel of +bread, as surely as those things which are reckoned much greater +sins, and that they undermine his principles as certainly, though +not quite so fast. + +Stock was too angry with what had happened to answer Brown's letter, +or to seem to take the least notice of him. However, he kindly and +secretly undertook a journey to the hard-hearted old farmer, Brown's +father, to intercede with him, and to see if he would do any thing +for his son. Stock did not pretend to excuse Jack, or even to lessen +his offenses; for it was a rule of his never to disguise truth or +to palliate wickedness. Sin was still sin in his eyes, though it +were committed by his best friend; but though he would not soften +the sin, he felt tenderly for the sinner. He pleaded with the old +farmer on the ground that his son's idleness and other vices would +gather fresh strength in a jail. He told him that the loose and +worthless company which he would there keep, would harden him in +vice, and if he was now wicked, he might there become irreclaimable. + +But all his pleas were urged in vain. The farmer was not to be +moved; indeed he argued, with some justice, that he ought not to +make his industrious children beggars to save one rogue from the +gallows. Mr. Stock allowed the force of his reasoning, though he saw +the father was less influenced by this principle of justice than by +resentment on account of the old story of Smiler. People, indeed, +should take care that what appears in their conduct to proceed from +justice, does not really proceed from revenge. Wiser men than Farmer +Brown often deceive themselves, and fancy they act on better +principles than they really do, for want of looking a little more +closely into their own hearts, and putting down every action to its +true motive. When we are praying against deceit, we should not +forget to take self-deceit into the account. + +Mr. Stock at length wrote to poor Jack; not to offer him any help, +that was quite out of the question, but to exhort him to repent of +his evil ways; to lay before him the sins of his past life, and to +advise him to convert the present punishment into a benefit, by +humbling himself before God. He offered his interest to get his +place of confinement exchanged for one of those improved prisons, +where solitude and labor have been made the happy instruments of +bringing many to a better way of thinking, and ended by saying, +that if he ever gave any solid signs of real amendment he would +still be his friend, in spite of all that was past. + +If Mr. Stock had sent him a good sum of money to procure his +liberty, or even to make merry with his wretched companions, Jack +would have thought him a friend indeed. But to send him nothing but +dry advice, and a few words of empty comfort, was, he thought, but a +cheap, shabby way of showing his kindness. Unluckily the letter came +just as he was going to sit down to one of those direful +merry-makings which are often carried on with brutal riot within the +doleful walls of a jail on the entrance of a new prisoner, who is +often expected to give a feast to the rest. + +When his companions were heated with gin; "Now," said Jack, "I'll +treat you with a sermon, and a very pretty preachment it is." So +saying, he took out Mr. Stock's kind and pious letter, and was +delighted at the bursts of laughter it produced. "What a canting +dog!" said one. "Repentance, indeed!" cried Tom Crew; "No, no, Jack, +tell this hypocritical rogue that if we have lost our liberty, it is +only for having been jolly, hearty fellows, and we have more spirit +than to repent of that I hope: all the harm we have done is living a +little too fast, like honest bucks as we are." "Ay, ay," said Jolly +George, "had we been such sneaking miserly fellows as Stock, we need +not have come hither. But if the ill nature of the laws has been so +cruel as to clap up such fine hearty blades, we are no _felons_, +however. We are afraid of no Jack Ketch; and I see no cause to +repent of any sin that's not hanging matter. As to those who are +thrust into the condemned hole indeed, and have but a few hours to +live, they _must_ see the parson, and hear a sermon, and such stuff. +But I do not know what such stout young fellows as we are have to do +with repentance. And so, Jack, let us have that rare new catch which +you learnt of the strollers that merry night when you lost your +pocket-book." + +This thoughtless youth soon gave a fresh proof of the power of evil +company, and of the quick progress of the heart of a sinner from bad +to worse. Brown, who always wanted principle, soon grew to want +feeling also. He joined in the laugh which was raised against Stock, +and told many _good stories_, as they were called, in derision of +the piety, sobriety, and self-denial of his old friend. He lost +every day somewhat of those small remains of shame and decency which +he had brought with him to the prison. He even grew reconciled to +this wretched way of life, and the want of money seemed to him the +heaviest evil in the life of a jail. + +Mr. Stock finding from the jailor that his letter had been treated +with ridicule, would not write to him any more. He did not come to +see him nor send him any assistance, thinking it right to let him +suffer that want which his vices had brought upon him. But as he +still hoped that the time would come when he might be brought to a +sense of his evil courses, he continued to have an eye upon him by +means of the jailor, who was an honest, kind-hearted man. + +Brown spent one part of his time in thoughtless riot, and the other +in gloomy sadness. Company kept up his spirits; with his new friends +he contrived to drown thought; but when he was alone he began to +find that a _merry fellow_, when deprived of his companions and his +liquor, is often a most forlorn wretch. Then it is that even a merry +fellow says, _Of laughter, what is it? and of mirth, it is madness._ + +As he contrived, however, to be as little alone as possible his +gayety was commonly uppermost till that loathsome distemper, called +the jail fever, broke out in the prison. Tom Crew, the ring-leader +in all their evil practices, was first seized with it. Jack staid a +little while with his comrade to assist and divert him, but of +assistance he could give little, and the very thought of diversion +was now turned into horror. He soon caught the distemper, and that +in so dreadful a degree, that his life was in great danger. Of those +who remained in health not a soul came near him, though he shared +his last farthing with them. He had just sense enough left to feel +this cruelty. Poor fellow! he did not know before, that the +friendship of the worldly is at an end when there is no more drink +or diversion to be had. He lay in the most deplorable condition; his +body tormented with a dreadful disease, and his soul terrified and +amazed at the approach of death: that death which he thought at so +great a distance, and of which his comrades had so often assured +him, that a young fellow of five and twenty was in no danger. Poor +Jack! I can not help feeling for him. Without a shilling! without a +friend! without one comfort respecting this world, and, what is far +more terrible, without one hope respecting the next. + +Let not the young reader fancy that Brown's misery arose entirely +from his altered circumstances. It was not merely his being in want, +and sick, and in prison, which made his condition so desperate. Many +an honest man unjustly accused, many a persecuted saint, many a holy +martyr has enjoyed sometimes more peace and content in a prison than +wicked men have ever tasted in the height of their prosperity. But +to any such comforts, to any comfort at all, poor Jack was an utter +stranger. + +A Christian friend generally comes forward at the very time when +worldly friends forsake the wretched. The other prisoners would not +come near Brown, though he had often entertained, and had never +offended them; even his own father was not moved with his sad +condition. When Mr. Stock informed him of it, he answered, "'Tis no +more than he deserves. As he brews so he must bake. He has made his +own bed, and let him lie in it." The hard old man had ever at his +tongue's end some proverb of hardness, or frugality, which he +contrived to turn in such a way as to excuse himself. + +We shall now see how Mr. Stock behaved. He had his favorite sayings +too; but they were chiefly on the side of kindness, mercy, or some +other virtue. "I must not," said he, "pretend to call myself a +Christian, if I do not requite evil with good." When he received the +jailor's letter with the account of Brown's sad condition, Will +Simpson and Tommy Williams began to compliment him on his own wisdom +and prudence, by which he had escaped Brown's misfortunes. He only +gravely said, "Blessed be God that I am not in the same misery. It +is _He_ who has made us to differ. But for _his_ grace I might have +been in no better condition. Now Brown is brought low by the hand of +God, it is my time to go to him." "What, you!" said Will, "whom he +cheated of your money?" "This is not a time to remember injuries," +said Mr. Stock. "How can I ask forgiveness of my own sins, if I +withhold forgiveness from him?" So saying, he ordered his horse, and +set off to see poor Brown; thus proving that his was a religion not +of words, but of deeds. + +Stock's heart nearly failed him as he passed through the prison. The +groans of the sick and dying, and, what to such a heart as his was +still more moving, the brutal merriment of the healthy in such a +place, pierced his very soul. Many a silent prayer did he put up as +he passed along, that God would yet be pleased to touch their +hearts, and that now (during this infectious sickness) might be the +accepted time. The jailor observed him drop a tear, and asked the +cause. "I can not forget," said he, "that the most dissolute of +these men is still my fellow creature. The same God made them; the +same Saviour died for them; how then can I hate the worst of them? +With my advantages they might have been much better than I am; +without the blessing of God on my good minister's instructions, I +might have been worse than the worst of these. I have no cause for +pride, much for thankfulness; '_Let us not be high-minded, but +fear._'" + +It would have moved a heart of stone to have seen poor miserable +Jack Brown lying on his wretched bed, his face so changed by pain, +poverty, dirt, and sorrow, that he could hardly be known for that +merry soul of a jack-boot, as he used to be proud to hear himself +called. His groans were so piteous that it made Mr. Stock's heart +ache. He kindly took him by the hand, though he knew the distemper +was catching. "How dost do, Jack?" said he, "dost know me?" Brown +shook his head and said, "Know you? ay, that I do. I am sure I have +but one friend in the world who would come to see me in this woeful +condition. O, James! what have I brought myself to? What will become +of my poor soul? I dare not look back, for that is all sin; nor +forward, for that is all misery and woe." + +Mr. Stock spoke kindly to him, but did not attempt to cheer him with +false comfort, as is too often done. "I am ashamed to see you in +this dirty place," says Brown. "As to the place, Jack," replied the +other, "if it has helped to bring you to a sense of your past +offenses, it will be no bad place for you. I am heartily sorry for +your distress and your sickness; but if it should please God by them +to open your eyes, and to show you that sin is a greater evil than +the prison to which it has brought you, all may yet be well. I had +rather see you in this humble penitent state, lying on this dirty +bed, in this dismal prison, than roaring and rioting at the +Grayhound, the king of the company, with handsome clothes on your +back, and plenty of money in your pocket." + +Brown wept bitterly, and squeezed his hand, but was too weak to say +much. Mr. Stock then desired the jailor to let him have such things +as were needful, and he would pay for them. He would not leave the +poor fellow till he had given him, with his own hands, some broth +which the jailor got ready for him, and some medicines which the +doctor had sent. All this kindness cut Brown to the heart. He was +just able to sob out, "My unnatural father leaves me to perish, and +my injured friend is more than a father to me." Stock told him that +one proof he must give of his repentance, was, that he must forgive +his father, whose provocation had been very great. He then said he +would leave him for the present to take some rest, and desired him +to lift up his heart to God for mercy. "Dear James," replied Brown, +"do you pray for me; God perhaps may hear you, but he will never +hear the prayer of such a sinner as I have been." "Take care how you +think so," said Stock. "To believe that God can not forgive you +would be still a greater sin than any you have yet committed against +him." He then explained to him in a few words, as well as he was +able, the nature of repentance and forgiveness through a Saviour, +and warned him earnestly against unbelief and hardness of heart. + +Poor Jack grew much refreshed in body with the comfortable things he +had taken; and a little cheered with Stock's kindness in coming so +far to see and to forgive such a forlorn outcast, sick of an +infectious distemper, and locked within the walls of a prison. + +Surely, said he to himself, there must be some mighty power in a +religion which can lead men to do such things! things so much +against the grain as to forgive such an injury, and to risk catching +such a distemper; but he was so weak he could not express this in +words. He tried to pray, but he could not; at length overpowered +with weariness, he fell asleep. + +When Mr. Stock came back, he was surprised to find him so much +better in body; but his agonies of mind were dreadful, and he had +now got strength to express part of the horrors which he felt. +"James," said he (looking wildly) "it is all over with me. I am a +lost creature. Even your prayers can not save me." "Dear Jack," +replied Mr. Stock, "I am no minister; it does not become me to talk +much to thee: but I know I may adventure to say whatever is in the +Bible. As ignorant as I am I shall be safe while I stick to that." +"Ay," said the sick man, "you used to be ready enough to read to me, +and I would not listen, or if I did it was only to make fun of what +I heard, and now you will not so much as read a bit of a chapter to +me." + +This was the very point to which Stock longed to bring him. So he +took a little Bible out of his pocket, which he always carried with +him on a journey, and read slowly, verse by verse, the fifty-fifth +chapter of Isaiah. When he came to the sixth and seventh verses, +poor Jack cried so much that Stock was forced to stop. The words +were, _Let the wicked man forsake his way, and the unrighteous man +his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord._ Here Brown stopped +him, saying, "Oh, it is too late, too late for me." "Let me finish +the verse," said Stock, "and you will see your error; you will see +that it is never too late." So he read on--_Let him return unto the +Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, and he will +abundantly pardon._ Here Brown started up, snatched the book out of +his hand, and cried out, "Is that really there? No, no; that's of +your own putting in, in order to comfort me; let me look at the +words myself." "No, indeed," said Stock, "I would not for the world +give you unfounded comfort, or put off any notion of my own for a +Scripture doctrine." "But is it possible," cried the sick man, "that +God may really pardon me? Dost think he can? Dost think he will?" +"I dare not give thee false hopes, or indeed any hopes of my own. +But these are God's own words, and the only difficulty is to know +when we are really brought into such a state as that the words may +be applied to us. For a text may be full of comfort, and yet may not +belong to us." + +Mr. Stock was afraid of saying more. He would not venture out of his +depth; nor indeed was poor Brown able to bear more discourse just +now. So he made him a present of the Bible, folding down such places +as he thought might be best suited to his state, and took his leave, +being obliged to return home that night. He left a little money with +the jailor, to add a few comforts to the allowance of the prison, +and promised to return in a short time. + +When he got home, he described the sufferings and misery of Brown in +a very moving manner; but Tommy Williams, instead of being properly +affected by it, only said, "Indeed, master, I am not very sorry; he +is rightly served." "How, Tommy," said Mr. Stock (rather sternly), +"not sorry to see a fellow creature brought to the lowest state of +misery; one too whom you have known so prosperous?" "No, master, I +can't say I am; for Mr. Brown used to make fun of you, and laugh at +you for being so godly, and reading your Bible." + +"Let me say a few words to you, Tommy," said Mr. Stock. "In the +first place you should never watch for the time of a man's being +brought low by trouble to tell of his faults. Next, you should never +rejoice at his trouble, but pity him, and pray for him. Lastly, as +to his ridiculing me for my religion, if I can not stand an idle +jest, I am not worthy the name of a Christian. _He that is ashamed +of me and my word_--dost remember what follows, Tommy?" "Yes, +master, it was last Sunday's text--_of him shall the Son of Man be +ashamed when he shall judge the world._" + +Mr. Stock soon went back to the prison. But he did not go alone. He +took with him Mr. Thomas, the worthy minister who had been the guide +and instructor of his youth, who was so kind as to go at his request +and visit this forlorn prisoner. When they got to Brown's door, they +found him sitting up in his bed with the Bible in his hand. This was +a joyful sight to Mr. Stock, who secretly thanked God for it. Brown +was reading aloud; they listened; it was the fifteenth of St. Luke. +The circumstances of this beautiful parable of the prodigal son were +so much like his own, that the story pierced him to the soul: and he +stopped every minute to compare his own case with that of the +prodigal. He was just got to the eighteenth verse, _I will arise and +go to my father_--at that moment he spied his two friends; joy +darted into his eyes. "Oh, dear Jem," said he, "it is _not_ too +late, I will arise and go to my Father, my heavenly Father, and you, +sir, will show me the way, won't you?" said he to Mr. Thomas, whom +he recollected. "I am very glad to see you in so hopeful a +disposition," said the good minister. "Oh, sir," said Brown, "what a +place is this to receive you in? Oh, see to what I have brought +myself!" + +"Your condition, as to this world, is indeed very low," replied the +good divine. "But what are mines, dungeons, or galleys, to that +eternal hopeless prison to which your unrepented sins must soon have +consigned you? Even in the gloomy prison, on this bed of straw, worn +down by pain, poverty, and want, forsaken by your worldly friends, +an object of scorn to those with whom you used to carouse and riot; +yet here, I say, brought thus low, if you have at last found out +your own vileness, and your utterly undone state by sin, you may +still be more an object of favor in the sight of God, than when you +thought yourself prosperous and happy; when the world smiled upon +you, and you passed your days and nights in envied gayety and +unchristian riot. If you will but improve the present awful +visitation; if you do but heartily renounce and abhor your present +evil courses; if you even now turn to the Lord your Saviour with +lively faith, deep repentance, and unfeigned obedience, I shall +still have more hope of you than of many who are going on quite +happy, because quite insensible. The heavy laden sinner, who has +discovered the iniquity of his own heart, and his utter inability to +help himself, may be restored to God's favor, and become happy, +though in a dungeon. And be assured, that he who from deep and +humble contrition dares not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, +when with a hearty faith he sighs out, _Lord, be merciful to me a +sinner_, shall in no wise be cast out. These are the words of him +who can not lie." + +It is impossible to describe the self-abasement, the grief, the joy, +the shame, the hope, and the fear which filled the mind of this poor +man. A dawn of comfort at length shone on his benighted mind. His +humility and fear of falling back into his former sins, if he should +ever recover, Mr. Thomas thought were strong symptoms of a sound +repentance. He improved and cherished every good disposition he saw +arising in his heart, and particularly warned him against +self-deceit, self-confidence, and hypocrisy. + +After Brown had deeply expressed his sorrow for his offenses, Mr. +Thomas thus addressed him. "There are two ways of being sorry for +sin. Are you, Mr. Brown, afraid of the guilt of sin because of the +punishment annexed to it, or are you afraid of sin itself? Do you +wish to be delivered from the power of sin? Do you hate sin because +you know it is offensive to a pure and holy God? Or are you only +ashamed of it because it has brought you to a prison and exposed you +to the contempt of the world? It is not said that the wages of this +or that particular sin is death, but of sin in general; there is no +exception made because it is a more creditable or a favorite sin, or +because it is a little one. There are, I repeat, two ways of being +sorry for sin. Cain was sorry--_My punishment is greater than I can +bear_, said he; but here you see the punishment seemed to be the +cause of concern, not the sin. David seems to have had a good notion +of godly sorrow, when he says, _Wash me from mine iniquity, cleanse +me from my sin_. And when Job _repented in dust and ashes_, it is +not said he excused himself, but he _abhorred himself_. And the +prophet Isaiah called himself undone, because he was a _man of +unclean lips_; for, said he 'I have seen the King, the Lord of +hosts;' that is, he could not take the proper measure of his own +iniquity till he had considered the perfect holiness of God." + +One day, when Mr. Thomas and Mr. Stock came to see him, they found +him more than commonly affected. His face was more ghastly pale than +usual, and his eyes were red with crying. "Oh, sir," said he, "what +a sight have I just seen! Jolly George, as we used to call him, the +ring-leader of all our mirth, who was at the bottom of all the fun, +and tricks, and wickedness that are carried on within these walls, +Jolly George is just dead of the jail distemper! He taken, and I +left! I _would_ be carried into his room to speak to him, to beg him +to take warning by me, and that I might take warning by him. But +what did I see! what did I hear! not one sign of repentance; not one +dawn of hope. Agony of body, blasphemies on his tongue, despair in +his soul; while I am spared and comforted with hopes of mercy and +acceptance. Oh, if all my old friends at the Grayhound could but +then have seen Jolly George! A hundred sermons about death, sir, +don't speak so home, and cut so deep, as the sight of one dying +sinner." + +Brown grew gradually better in his health, that is, the fever +mended, but the distemper settled on his limbs, so that he seemed +likely to be a poor, weakly cripple the rest of his life. But as he +spent much of his time in prayer, and in reading such parts of the +Bible as Mr. Thomas directed, he improved every day in knowledge and +piety, and of course grew more resigned to pain and infirmity. + +Some months after this, the hard-hearted father, who had never been +prevailed upon to see him, or offer him the least relief, was taken +off suddenly by a fit of apoplexy; and, after all his threatenings, +he died without a will. He was one of those silly, superstitious +men, who fancy they shall die the sooner for having made one; and +who love the world and the things that are in the world so dearly, +that they dread to set about any business which may put them in mind +that they are not always to live in it. As, by this neglect, his +father had not fulfilled his threat of cutting him off with a +shilling, Jack, of course, went shares with his brothers in what +their father left. What fell to him proved to be just enough to +discharge him from prison, and to pay all his debts, but he had +nothing left. His joy at being thus enabled to make restitution was +so great that he thought little of his own wants. He did not desire +to conceal the most trifling debt, nor to keep a shilling for +himself. + +Mr. Stock undertook to settle all his affairs. There did not remain +money enough after every creditor was satisfied, even to pay for his +removal home. Mr. Stock kindly sent his own cart for him with a bed +in it, made as comfortable as possible, for he was too weak and lame +to be removed any other way, and Mrs. Stock gave the driver +particular charge to be tender and careful of him, and not to drive +hard, nor to leave the cart a moment. + +Mr. Stock would fain have taken him into his own house, at least for +a time, so convinced was he of the sincere reformation both of +heart and life; but Brown would not be prevailed on to be further +burdensome to this generous friend. He insisted on being carried to +the parish work-house, which he said was a far better place than he +deserved. In this house Mr. Stock furnished a small room for him, +and sent him every day a morsel of meat from his own dinner. Tommy +Williams begged that he might always be allowed to carry it, as some +atonement for his having for a moment so far forgotten his duty, as +rather to rejoice than sympathize in Brown's misfortunes. He never +thought of the fault without sorrow, and often thanked his master +for the wholesome lesson he then gave him, and he was the better for +it all his life. + +Mrs. Stock often carried poor Brown a dish of tea, or a basin of +good broth herself. He was quite a cripple, and never able to walk +out as long as he lived. Mr. Stock, Will Simpson, and Tommy Williams +laid their heads together, and contrived a sort of barrow on which +he was often carried to church by some of his poor neighbors, of +which Tommy was always one; and he requited their kindness, by +reading a good book to them whenever they would call in; and he +spent his time in teaching their children to sing psalms or say the +catechism. + +It was no small joy to him thus to be enabled to go to church. +Whenever he was carried by the Grayhound, he was much moved, and +used to put up a prayer full of repentance for the past, and praise +for the present. + + +PART V. + +A DIALOGUE BETWEEN JAMES STOCK AND WILL SIMPSON, THE SHOEMAKERS, AS +THEY SAT AT WORK, ON THE DUTY OF CARRYING RELIGION INTO OUR COMMON +BUSINESS. + +James Stock, and his journeyman Will Simpson, as I informed my +readers in the second part, had resolved to work together one hour +every evening, in order to pay for Tommy Williams's schooling. This +circumstance brought them to be a good deal together when the rest +of the men were gone home. Now it happened that Mr. Stock had a +pleasant way of endeavoring to turn all common events to some use; +and he thought it right on the present occasion to make the only +return in his power to Will Simpson for his great kindness. For, +said he, if Will gives up so much of his time to help to provide for +this poor boy, it is the least I can do to try to turn part of that +time to the purpose of promoting Will's spiritual good. Now as the +bent of Stock's own mind was religion, it was easy to him to lead +their talk to something profitable. He always took especial care, +however, that the subject should be introduced properly, cheerfully, +and without constraint. As he well knew that great good may be +sometimes done by a prudent attention in seizing proper +opportunities, so he knew that the cause of piety had been sometimes +hurt by forcing serious subjects where there was clearly no +disposition to receive them. I say he had found out that two things +were necessary to the promoting of religion among his friends; a +warm zeal to be always on the watch for occasions, and a cool +judgment to distinguish which was the right time and place to make +use of them. To know _how_ to do good is a great matter, but to know +_when_ to do it is no small one. + +Simpson was an honest, good-natured, young man; he was now become +sober, and rather religiously disposed. But he was ignorant; he did +not know much of the grounds of religion, or of the corruption of +his own nature. He was regular at church, but was first drawn +thither rather by his skill in psalm-singing than by any great +devotion. He had left off going to the Grayhound, and often read the +Bible, or some other good book on the Sunday evening. This he +thought was quite enough; he thought the Bible was the prettiest +history book in the world, and that religion was a very good thing +for Sundays. But he did not much understand what business people had +with it on working days. He had left off drinking because it had +brought Williams to the grave, and his wife to dirt and rags; but +not because he himself had seen the evil of sin. He now considered +swearing and Sabbath-breaking as scandalous and indecent, but he had +not found out that both were to be left off because they are highly +offensive to God, and grieve his Holy Spirit. As Simpson was less +self-conceited than most ignorant people are, Stock had always a +good hope that when he should come to be better acquainted with the +word of God, and with the evil of his own heart, he would become one +day a good Christian. The great hinderance to this was, that he +fancied himself so already. + +One evening Simpson had been calling to Stock's mind how disorderly +the house and shop, where they were now sitting quietly at work, had +formerly been, and he went on thus: + +_Will._ How comfortably we live now, master, to what we used to do +in Williams's time! I used then never to be happy but when we were +keeping it up all night, but now I am as Merry as the day is long. I +find I am twice as happy since I am grown good and sober. + +_Stock._ I am glad you are happy, Will, and I rejoice that you are +sober; but I would not have you take too much pride in your own +_goodness_, for fear it should become a sin, almost as great as some +of those you have left off. Besides, I would not have you make quite +so sure that you _are_ good. + +_Will._ Not good, master! Why, don't you find me regular and orderly +at work? + +_Stock._ Very much so; and accordingly I have a great respect for +you. + +_Will._ I pay every one his own, seldom miss church, have not been +drunk since Williams died, have handsome clothes for Sundays, and +save a trifle every week. + +_Stock._ Very true, and very laudable it is; and to all this you may +add that you very generously work an hour for poor Tommy's +education, every evening without fee or reward. + +_Will._ Well, master, what can a man do more? If all this is not +being good, I don't know what is. + +_Stock._ All these things are very right, as far as they go, and you +could not well be a Christian without doing them. But I shall make +you stare, perhaps, when I tell you, you may do all these things, +and many more, and yet be no Christian. + +_Will._ No Christian! Surely, master, I do hope that after all I +have done, you will not be so unkind as to say I am no Christian? + +_Stock._ God forbid that I should say so, Will. I hope better things +of you. But come now, what do you think it is to be a Christian? + +_Will._ What! why to be christened when one is a child; to learn the +catechism when one can read; to be confirmed when one is a youth; +and to go to church when one is a man. + +_Stock._ These are all very proper things, and quite necessary. +They make part of a Christian's life. But for all that, a man may be +exact in them all, and yet not be a Christian. + +_Will._ Not be a Christian! ha! ha! ha! you are very comical, +master. + +_Stock._ No, indeed, I am very serious, Will. At this rate it would +be a very easy thing to be a Christian, and every man who went +through certain forms would be a good man; and one man who observed +those forms would be as good as another. Whereas, if we come to +examine ourselves by the word of God, I am afraid there are but few +comparatively whom our Saviour would allow to be real Christians. +What is your notion of a Christian's practice? + +_Will._ Why, he must not rob, nor murder, nor get drunk. He must +avoid scandalous things, and do as other decent orderly people do. + +_Stock._ It is easy enough to be what the world calls a Christian, +but not to be what the Bible calls so. + +_Will._ Why, master, we working men are not expected to be saints, +and martyrs, and apostles, and ministers. + +Stock. We are not. And yet, Will, there are not two sorts of +Christianity; we are called to practice the same religion which they +practiced, and something of the same spirit is expected in us which +we reverence in them. It was not saints and martyrs only to whom our +Saviour said that they must _crucify the world, with its affections +and lusts_. We are called to _be holy_ in our measure and degree, as +_he who hath called us is holy_. It was not only saints and martyrs +who were told that they must be _like-minded with Christ_. That +_they must do all to the glory of God_. That _they must renounce the +spirit of the world, and deny themselves_. It was not to apostles +only that Christ said, _They must have their conversation in +heaven_. It was not to a few holy men, set apart for the altar, that +he said, _They must set their affections on things above_. That +_they must not be conformed to the world_. No, it was to fishermen, +to publicans, to farmers, to day-laborers, to poor tradesmen, that +he spoke when he told them, they must _love not the world nor the +things of the world. That they must renounce the hidden things of +dishonesty, grow in grace, lay up for themselves treasures in +Heaven._ + +_Will._ All this might be very proper for _them_ to be taught, +because they had not been bred up Christians, but heathens or Jews: +and Christ wanted to make them his followers, that is, Christians. +But thank God we do not want to be taught all this, for we _are_ +Christians, born in a Christian country, of Christian parents. + +_Stock._ I suppose, then, you fancy that Christianity comes to +people in a Christian country by nature? + +_Will._ I think it comes by a good education, or a good example. +When a fellow who has got any sense, sees a man cut off in his prime +by drinking, like Williams, I think he will begin to leave it off. +When he sees another man respected, like you, master, for honesty +and sobriety, and going to church, why he will grow honest, and +sober, and go to church: that is, he will see it his advantage to be +a Christian. + +_Stock._ Will, what you say is the truth, but 'tis not the whole +truth. You are right as far as you go, but you do not go far enough. +The worldly advantages of piety, are, as you suppose, in general +great. Credit, prosperity, and health, almost naturally attend on a +religious life, both because a religious life supposes a sober and +industrious life, and because a man who lives in a course of duty +puts himself in the way of God's blessing. But a true Christian has +a still higher aim in view, and will follow religion even under +circumstances when it may hurt his credit and ruin his prosperity, +if it should ever happen to be the will of God that he should be +brought into such a trying state. + +_Will._ Well, master, to speak the truth, if I go to church on +Sundays, and follow my work in the week, I must say I think that is +being good. + +_Stock._ I agree with you, that he who does both, gives the best +outward signs that he is good, as you call it. But our going to +church, and even reading the Bible, are no proofs that we are as +good as we need be, but rather that we do both these in order to +make us better than we are. We do both on Sundays, as means, by +God's blessing, to make us better all the week. We are to bring the +fruits of that chapter or of that sermon into our daily life, and +try to get our inmost heart and secret thoughts, as well as our +daily conduct, amended by them. + +_Will._ Why, sure, master, you won't be so unreasonable as to want a +body to be religious always? I can't do that, neither. I'm not such +a hypocrite as to pretend to it. + +_Stock._ Yes, you can be so in every action of your life. + +_Will._ What, master! always to be thinking about religion? + +_Stock._ No, far from it, Will; much less to be always talking about +it. But you must be always under its power and spirit. + +_Will._ But surely 'tis pretty well if I do this when I go to +church; or while I am saying my prayers. Even you, master, as strict +as you are, would not have me always on my knees, nor always at +church, I suppose: for then how would your work be carried on? and +how would our town be supplied with shoes? + +_Stock._ Very true, Will. 'Twould be no proof of our religion to let +our customers go barefoot; but 'twould be a proof of our laziness, +and we should starve, as we ought to do. The business of the world +must not only be carried on, but carried on with spirit and +activity. We have the same authority for not being _slothful in +business_, as we have for being _fervent in spirit_. Religion has +put godliness and laziness as wide asunder as any two things in the +world; and what God has separated let no man pretend to join. +Indeed, the spirit of religion can have no fellowship with sloth, +indolence, and self-indulgence. But still, a Christian does not +carry on his common trade quite like another man, neither; for +something of the spirit which he labors to attain at church, he +carries with him into his worldly concerns. While there are some +that set up for Sunday Christians, who have no notion that they are +bound to be week-day Christians too. + +_Will._ Why, master, I do think, if God Almighty is contented with +one day in seven, he won't thank you for throwing him the other six +into the bargain. I thought he gave us them for our own use; and I +am sure nobody works harder all the week than you do. + +_Stock._ God, it is true, sets apart one day in seven for actual +rest from labor, and for more immediate devotion to his service. But +show me that text wherein he says, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God +on _Sundays_--Thou shalt keep my commandments on the _Sabbath +day_--To be carnally minded on _Sundays, is death_--Cease to do +evil, and learn to do well _one day in seven_--Grow in grace on the +_Lord's day_--Is there any such text? + +_Will._ No, to be sure there is not; for that would be encouraging +sin on all the other days. + +_Stock._ Yes, just as you do when you make religion a thing for the +church, and not for the world. There is no one lawful calling, in +pursuing which we may not serve God acceptably. You and I may serve +him while we are stitching this pair of boots. Farmer Furrow, while +he is plowing yonder field. Betsy West, over the way, while she is +nursing her sick mother. Neighbor Incle, in measuring out his tapes +and ribands. I say all these may serve God just as acceptably in +those employments as at church; I had almost said more so. + +_Will._ Ay, indeed; how can that be? Now you're too much on t'other +side. + +_Stock._ Because a man's trials in trade being often greater, they +give him fresh means of glorifying God, and proving the sincerity of +religion. A man who mixes in business, is naturally brought into +continual temptations and difficulties. These will lead him, if he +be a good man, to look more to God, than he perhaps would otherwise +do; he sees temptations on the right hand and on the left; he knows +that there are snares all around him: this makes him watchful; he +feels that the enemy within is too ready to betray him: this makes +him humble himself; while a sense of his own difficulties makes him +tender to the failings of others. + +_Will._ Then you would make one believe, after all, that trade or +business must be sinful in itself, since it brings a man into all +these snares and scrapes. + +_Stock._ No, no, Will; trade and business don't create evil +passions--they were in the heart before--only now and then they seem +to lie snug a little--our concerns with the world bring them out +into action a little more, and thus show both others and ourselves +what we really are. But then as the world offers more trials on the +one hand, so on the other it holds out more duties. If we are called +to battle oftener, we have more opportunities of victory. Every +temptation resisted, is an enemy subdued; and _he that ruleth his +own spirit, is better than he that taketh a city_. + +_Will._ I don't quite understand you, master. + +_Stock._ I will try to explain myself. There is no passion more +called out by the transactions of trade than covetousness. Now, 'tis +impossible to withstand such a master sin as that, without carrying +a good deal of the spirit of religion into one's trade. + +_Will._ Well, I own I don't yet see how I am to be religious when +I'm hard at work, or busy settling an account. I can't do two things +at once; 'tis as if I were to pretend to make a shoe and cut out a +boot at the same moment. + +_Stock._ I tell you both must subsist together. Nay, the one must be +the motive to the other. God commands us to be industrious, and if +we love him, the desire of pleasing him should be the main spring of +our industry. + +_Will._ I don't see how I can always be thinking about pleasing God. + +_Stock._ Suppose, now, a man had a wife and children whom he loved, +and wished to serve; would he not be often thinking about them while +he was at work? and though he would not be _always_ thinking nor +always talking about them, yet would not the very love he bore them +be a constant spur to his industry? He would always be pursuing the +same course from the same motive, though his words and even his +thoughts must often be taken up in the common transactions of life. + +_Will._ I say first one, then the other; now for labor, now for +religion. + +_Stock._ I will show that both must go together. I will suppose +you were going to buy so many skins of our currier--that is quite a +worldly transaction--you can't see what a spirit of religion has to +do with buying a few calves' skins. Now, I tell you it has a great +deal to do with it. Covetousness, a desire to make a good bargain, +may rise up in your heart. Selfishness, a spirit of monopoly, a +wish to get all, in order to distress others; these are evil +desires, and must be subdued. Some opportunity of unfair gain +offers, in which there may be much sin, and yet little scandal. +Here a Christian will stop short; he will recollect, _That he who +maketh haste to be rich shall hardly be innocent_. Perhaps the sin +may be on the side of your dealer--_he_ may want to overreach +_you_--this is provoking--you are tempted to violent anger, perhaps +to swear; here is a fresh demand on you for a spirit of patience +and moderation, as there was before for a spirit of justice and +self-denial. If, by God's grace, you get the victory over these +temptations, you are the better man for having been called out to +them; always provided, that the temptations be not of your own +seeking. If you give way, and sink under these temptations, don't +go and say trade and business have made you covetous, passionate +and profane. No, no; depend upon it, you were so before; you would +have had all these evil seeds lurking in your heart, if you had +been loitering about at home and doing nothing, with the additional +sin of idleness into the bargain. When you are busy, the devil +often tempts you; when you are idle, you tempt the devil. If +business and the world call these evil tempers into action, +business and the world call that religion into action too which +teaches us to resist them. And in this you see the week-day fruit +of the Sunday's piety. 'Tis trade and business in the week which +call us to put our Sunday readings, praying, and church-going into +practice. + +_Will._ Well, master, you have a comical way, somehow, of coming +over one. I never should have thought there would have been any +religion wanted in buying and selling a few calves' skins. But I +begin to see there is a good deal in what you say. And, whenever I +am doing a common action, I will try to remember that it must be +done _after a godly sort_. + +_Stock._ I hear the clock strike nine--let us leave off our work. I +will only observe further, that one good end of our bringing +religion into our business is, to put us in mind not to undertake +more business than we can carry on consistently with our religion. I +shall never commend that man's diligence, though it is often +commended by the world, who is not diligent about the salvation of +his soul. We are as much forbidden to be overcharged with the +_cares_ of life, as with its _pleasures_. I only wish to prove to +you, that a discreet Christian may be wise for both worlds; that he +may employ his hands without entangling his soul, and labor for the +meat that perisheth, without neglecting that which endureth unto +eternal life; that he may be prudent for time while he is wise for +eternity. + + +PART VI. + +DIALOGUE THE SECOND. ON THE DUTY OF CARRYING RELIGION INTO OUR +AMUSEMENTS. + +The next evening Will Simpson being got first to his work, Mr. Stock +found him singing very cheerfully over his last. His master's +entrance did not prevent his finishing his song, which concluded +with these words: + + "Since life is no more than a passage at best, + Let us strew the way over with flowers." + +When Will had concluded his song, he turned to Mr. Stock, and said, +"I thank you, master, for first putting it into my head how wicked +it is to sing profane and indecent songs. I never sing any now which +have any wicked words in them." + +_Stock._ I am glad to hear it. So far you do well. But there are +other things as bad as wicked words, nay worse perhaps, though they +do not so much shock the ear of decency. + +_Will._ What is that, master? What can be so bad as wicked words? + +_Stock._ Wicked _thoughts_, Will. Which thoughts, when they are +covered with smooth words, and dressed out in pleasing rhymes, so as +not to shock modest young people by the sound, do more harm to their +principles, than those songs of which the words are so gross and +disgusting, that no person of common decency can for a moment listen +to them. + +_Will._ Well, master, I am sure that was a very pretty song I was +singing when you came in, and a song which very sober, good people +sing. + +_Stock._ Do they? Then I will be bold to say that singing such songs +is no part of their goodness. I heard indeed but two lines of it, +but they were so heathenish that I desire to hear no more. + +_Will._ Now you are really too hard. What harm could there be in it? +There was not one indecent word. + +_Stock._ I own, indeed, that indecent words are particularly +offensive. But, as I said before, though immodest expressions offend +the ear more, they do not corrupt the heart, perhaps, much more than +songs of which the words are decent, and the principle vicious. In +the latter case, because there is nothing that shocks his ear, a man +listens till the sentiment has so corrupted his heart, that his ears +grow hardened too; by long custom he loses all sense of the danger +of profane diversions; and I must say I have often heard young women +of character sing songs in company, which I should be ashamed to +read by myself. But come, as we work, let us talk over this business +a little; and first let us stick to this sober song of yours, that +you boast so much about. (_repeats_) + + "Since life is no more than a passage at best, + Let us strew the way over with flowers." + +Now what do you learn by this? + +_Will._ Why, master, I don't pretend to learn much by it. But 'tis a +pretty tune and pretty words. + +_Stock._ But what do these pretty words mean? + +_Will._ That we must make ourselves merry because life is short. + +_Stock._ Will! Of what religion are you? + +_Will._ You are always asking one such odd questions, master; why a +Christian, to be sure. + +_Stock._ If I often ask you or others this question, it is only +because I like to know what grounds I am to go upon when I am +talking with you or them. I conceive that there are in this country +two sorts of people, Christians and no Christians. Now, if people +profess to be of this first description, I expect one kind of +notions, opinions, and behavior from them; if they say they are of +the latter, then I look for another set of notions and actions from +them. I compel no man to think with me. I take every man at his +word. I only expect him to think and believe according to the +character he takes upon himself, and to act on the principles of +that character which he professes to maintain. + +_Will._ That's fair enough--I can't say but it is--to take a man at +his own word, and on his own grounds. + +_Stock._ Well then. Of whom does the Scripture speak when it says, +_Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die_? + +_Will._ Why of heathens, to be sure, not of Christians. + +_Stock._ And of whom when it says, _Let us crown ourselves with +rosebuds before they are withered_? + +_Will._ O, that is Solomon's worldly fool. + +_Stock._ You disapprove of both, then. + +_Will._ To be sure I do. I should not be a Christian if I did not. + +_Stock._ And yet, though a Christian, you are admiring the very same +thought in the song you were singing. How do you reconcile this? + +_Will._ O, there is no comparison between them. These several texts +are designed to describe loose, wicked heathens. Now I learn texts +as part of my religion. But religion, you know, has nothing to do +with a song. I sing a song for my pleasure. + +_Stock._ In our last night's talk, Will, I endeavored to prove to +you that religion was to be brought into our _business_. I wish now +to let you see that it is to be brought into our _pleasure_ also. +And that he who is really a Christian, must be a Christian in his +very diversions. + +_Will._ Now you are too strict again, master; as you last night +declared, that in our business you would not have us always praying, +so I hope that in our pleasure you would not have us always +psalm-singing. I hope you would not have all one's singing to be +about good things. + +_Stock._ Not so, Will; but I would not have any part either of our +business or our pleasure to be about evil things. It is one thing to +be singing _about_ religion, it is another thing to be singing +_against_ it. Saint Peter, I fancy, would not much have approved +your favorite song. He, at least seemed to have another view of the +matter, when he said, _The end of all things is at hand_. Now this +text teaches much the same awful truth with the first line of your +song. But let us see to what different purposes the apostle and the +poet turn the very same thought. Your song says, because life is so +short, let us make it merry. Let us divert ourselves so much on the +road, that we may forget the end. Now what says the apostle, +_Because the end of all things is at hand be ye therefore sober and +watch unto prayer_. + +_Will._ Why, master, I like to be sober too, and have left off +drinking. But still I never thought that we were obliged to carry +texts out of the Bible to try the soundness of a song; and to enable +us to judge if we might be both merry and wise in singing it. + +_Stock._ Providence has not so stinted our enjoyments, Will, but he +has left us many subjects of harmless merriment; but, for my own +part, I am never certain that any one is quite harmless till I have +tried it by this rule that you seem to think so strict. There is +another favorite catch which I heard you and some of the workmen +humming yesterday. + +_Will._ I will prove to you that there is not a word of harm in +_that_; pray listen now. (_sings._) + + "Which is the best day to drink--Sunday, Monday, + Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday?" + +_Stock._ Now, Will, do you really find you unwillingness to drink is +so great that you stand in need of all these incentives to provoke +you to it? Do you not find temptation strong enough without exciting +your inclinations, and whetting your appetites in this manner? Can +any thing be more unchristian than to persuade youth by pleasant +words, set to the most alluring music, that the pleasures of +drinking are so great, that every day in the week, naming them all +successively, by way of fixing and enlarging the idea, is equally +fit, equally proper, and equally delightful, for what?--for the low +and sensual purpose of getting drunk. Tell me, Will, are you so +_very_ averse to pleasure? Are you naturally so cold and dead to all +passion and temptation, that you really find it necessary to inflame +your imagination, and disorder your senses, in order to excite a +quicker relish for the pleasure of sin? + +_Will._ All this is true enough, indeed; but I never saw it in this +light before. + +_Stock._ As I passed by the Grayhound last night, in my way to my +evening's walk in the fields, I caught this one verse of a song +which the club were singing: + + "Bring the flask, the music bring, + Joy shall quickly find us; + Drink, and dance, and laugh, and sing, + And cast dull care behind us." + +When I got into the fields, I could not forbear comparing this song +with the second lesson last Sunday evening at church; these were the +words: _Take heed lest at any time your heart be overcharged with +drunkenness, and so that day come upon you unawares, for as a snare +shall it come upon all them that are on the face of the earth._ + +_Will._ Why, to be sure, if the second lesson was right, the song +must be wrong. + +_Stock._ I ran over in my mind also a comparison between such songs +as that which begins with + + "Drink, and drive care away," + +with those injunctions of holy writ, _Watch and pray, therefore, +that you enter not into temptation_; and again, _Watch and pray that +you may escape all these things_. I say I compared this with the +song I allude to, + + "Drink and drive care away, + Drink and be merry; + You'll ne'er go the faster + To the Stygian ferry." + +I compared this with that awful admonition of Scripture how to pass +the time. _Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and +wantonness, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not +provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof._ + +_Will._ I am afraid then, master, you would not much approve of what +I used to think a very pretty song, which begins with, + + "A plague on those musty old lubbers + Who teach us to fast and to think." + +_Stock._ Will, what would you think of any one who should sit down +and write a book or a song to abuse the clergy? + +_Will._ Why I should think he was a very wicked fellow, and I hope +no one would look into such a book, or sing such a song. + +_Stock._ And yet it must certainly be the clergy who are scoffed at +in that verse, it being their professed business to teach us to +think and be serious. + +_Will._ Ay, master, and now you have opened my eyes, I think I can +make some of those comparisons myself between the spirit of the +Bible, and the spirit of these songs. + + "Bring the flask, the goblet bring," + +won't stand very well in company with the threat of the prophet: +_Woe unto them that rise early, that they may mingle strong drink._ + +_Stock._ Ay, Will; and these thoughtless people who live up to their +singing, seem to be the very people described in another place as +glorying in their intemperance, and acting what their songs +describe: _They look at the wine and say it is red, it moveth itself +aright in the cup._ + +_Will._ I do hope I shall for the future not only become more +careful what songs I sing myself, but also not to keep company with +those who sing nothing else but what in my sober judgment I now see +to be wrong. + +_Stock._ As we shall have no _body_ in the world to come, it is a +pity not only to make our pleasures here consist entirely in the +delights of animal life, but to make our very songs consist in +extolling and exalting those delights which are unworthy of the man +as well as of the Christian. If, through temptation or weakness, we +fall into errors, let us not establish and confirm them by picking +up all the songs and scraps of verses which excuse, justify, and +commend sin. That time is short, is a reason given by these +song-mongers why we should give into greater indulgences. That time +is short, is a reason given by the apostle why we should enjoy our +dearest comforts as if we enjoyed them not. + +Now, Will, I hope you will see the importance of so managing, that +our diversions (for diversions of some kind we all require), may be +as carefully chosen as our other employments. For to make them such +as effectually drive out of our minds all that the Bible and the +minister have been putting into them, seems to me as imprudent as it +is unchristian. But this is not all. Such sentiments as these songs +contain, set off by the prettiest music, heightened by liquor and +all the noise and spirit of what is called jovial company, all this, +I say, not only puts every thing that is right out of the mind, but +puts every thing that is wrong into it. Such songs, therefore, as +tend to promote levity, thoughtlessness, loose imaginations, false +views of life, forgetfulness of death, contempt of whatever is +serious, and neglect of whatever is sober, whether they be, +love-songs, or drinking-songs, will not, can not be sung by any man +or any woman who makes a serious profession of Christianity.[4] + + [4] It is with regret I have lately observed that the fashionable + author and singer of songs more loose, profane, and corrupt, than + any of those here noticed, not only received a prize as the reward + of his important services, but also received the public + acknowledgments of an illustrious society for having contributed + to the happiness of their country. + + + + +THE HISTORY OF TOM WHITE, + +THE POST BOY. + +PART I. + + +Tom White was one of the best drivers of a post-chaise on the Bath +road. Tom was the son of an honest laborer at a little village in +Wiltshire; he was an active, industrious boy, and as soon as he was +old enough he left his father, who was burdened with a numerous +family, and went to live with Farmer Hodges, a sober, worthy man in +the same village. He drove the wagon all the week; and on Sundays, +though he was now grown up, the farmer required him to attend the +Sunday School, carried on under the inspection of Dr. Shepherd, the +worthy vicar, and always made him read his Bible in the evening +after he had served his cattle; and would have turned him out of his +service if he had ever gone to the ale-house for his own pleasure. + +Tom, by carrying some wagon loads of faggots to the Bear inn, at +Devizes, made many acquaintances in the stable-yard. He soon learned +to compare his own carter's frock, and shoes thick set with nails, +with the smart red jackets, and tight boots of the post-boys, and +grew ashamed of his own homely dress; he was resolved to drive a +chaise, to get money, and to see the world. Foolish fellow! he never +considered that, though it is true, a wagoner works hard all day, +yet he gets a quiet evening at home, and undisturbed rest at night. +However, as there must be chaise-boys as well as plow-boys, there +was no great harm in the change. The evil company to which it +exposed him was the chief mischief. He left Farmer Hodges, though +not without sorrow, at quitting so kind a master, and got himself +hired at the Black Bear. + +Notwithstanding the temptations to which he was now exposed, Tom's +good education stood by him for some time. At first he was +frightened to hear the oaths and wicked words which are too often +uttered in a stable-yard. However, though he thought it very wrong, +he had not the courage to reprove it, and the next step to being +easy at seeing others sin is to sin ourselves. By degrees he began +to think it manly, and a mark of spirit in others to swear; though +the force of good habits was so strong that at first, when he +ventured to swear himself, it was with fear, and in a low voice. But +he was soon laughed out of his sheepishness, as they called it; and +though he never became so profane and blasphemous as some of his +companions (for he never swore in cool blood, or in mirth, as so +many do), yet he would too often use a dreadful bad word when he was +in a passion with his horses. And here I can not but drop a hint on +the deep folly as well as wickedness, of being in a great rage with +poor beasts, who, not having the gift of reason, can not be moved +like human creatures, with all the wicked words that are said to +them; though these dumb creatures, unhappily, having the gift of +feeling, suffer as much as human creatures can do, at the cruel and +unnecessary beatings given them. Tom had been bred up to think that +drunkenness was a great sin, for he never saw Farmer Hodges drunk in +his life, and where a farmer is sober himself, his men are less +likely to drink, or if they do the master can reprove them with the +better grace. + +Tom was not naturally fond of drink, yet for the sake of being +thought merry company, and a hearty fellow, he often drank more than +he ought. As he had been used to go to church twice on Sunday, while +he lived with the farmer (who seldom used his horses on that day, +except to carry his wife to church behind him), Tom felt a little +uneasy when he was sent the very first Sunday a long journey with a +great family; for I can not conceal the truth, that too many +gentlefolks will travel, when there is no necessity for it, on a +Sunday, and when Monday would answer the end just as well. This is a +great grief to all good and sober people, both rich and poor; and it +is still more inexcusable in the great, who have every day at their +command. However, he kept his thoughts to himself, though he could +not now and then help thinking how quietly things were going on at +the farmer's, whose wagoner on a Sunday led as easy a life as if he +had been a gentleman. But he soon lost all thoughts of this kind, +and in time did not know a Sunday from a Monday. Tom went on +prosperously, as it is called, for three or four years, got plenty +of money, but saved not a shilling. As soon as his horses were once +in the stable, whoever would might see them fed for Tom. He had +other fish to fry. Fives, cards, cudgel-playing, laying wagers, and +keeping loose company, each of which he at first disliked, and each +of which he soon learned to practice, ran away with all his money, +and all his spare time; and though he was generally in the way as +soon as the horses were ready (because if there was no driving there +was no pay), yet he did not care whether the carriage was clean or +dirty, if the horses looked well or ill, if the harness was whole, +or the horses were shod. The certainty that the gains of to-morrow +would make up for the extravagance of to-day, made him quite +thoughtless and happy; for he was young, active, and healthy, and +never foresaw that a rainy day might come, when he would want what +he now squandered. + +One day, being a little flustered with liquor as he was driving his +return chaise through Brentford, he saw just before him another +empty carriage, driven by one of his acquaintance; he whipped up his +horses, resolving to outstrip the other, and swearing dreadfully +that he would be at the Red Lion first--for a pint--"Done!" cried +the other, "a wager." Both cut and spurred the poor beasts with the +usual fury, as if their credit had been really at stake, or their +lives had depended on that foolish contest. Tom's chaise had now got +up to that of his rival, and they drove along side of each other +with great fury and many imprecations. But in a narrow part Tom's +chaise being in the middle, with his antagonist on one side, and a +cart driving against him on the other, the horses reared, the +carriages got entangled; Tom roared out a great oath to the other to +stop, which he either could not, or would not do, but returned an +horrid imprecation that he would win the wager if he was alive. +Tom's horses took fright, and he himself was thrown to the ground +with great violence. As soon as he could be got from under the +wheels, he was taken up senseless, his leg was broken in two places, +and his body was much bruised. Some people whom the noise had +brought together, put him in the post-chaise in which the wagoner +kindly assisted, but the other driver seemed careless and +indifferent, and drove off, observing with a brutal coolness, "I am +sorry I have lost my pint; I should have beat him hollow, had it not +been for this _little accident_." Some gentlemen who came out of the +inn, after reprimanding this savage, inquired who he was, wrote to +inform his master, and got him discharged: resolving that neither +they nor any of their friends would ever employ him, and he was +long out of place, and nobody ever cared to be driven by him. + +Tom was taken to one of those excellent hospitals with which London +abounds. His agonies were dreadful, his leg was set, and a high +fever came on. As soon as he was left alone to reflect on his +condition; his first thought was that he should die, and his horror +was inconceivable. Alas! said he, what will become of my poor soul? +I am cut off in the very commission of three great sins: I was +drunk, I was in a horrible passion, and I had oaths and blasphemies +in my mouth. He tried to pray, but he could not; his mind was all +distraction, and he thought he was so very wicked that God would not +forgive him; because, said he, I have sinned against light and +knowledge; I have had a sober education, and good examples; I was +bred in the fear of God, and the knowledge of Christ, and I deserve +nothing but punishment. At length he grew light-headed, and there +was little hope of his life. Whenever he came to his senses for a +few minutes, he cried out, O! that my old companions could now see +me, surely they would take warning by my sad fate, and repent before +it is too late. + +By the blessing of God on the skill of the surgeon, and the care of +the nurses, he however grew better in a few days. And here let me +stop to remark, what a mercy it is that we live in a Christian +country, where the poor, when sick, or lame, or wounded, are taken +as much care of as any gentry: nay, in some respects more, because +in hospitals and infirmaries there are more doctors and surgeons to +attend, than most private gentlefolks can afford to have at their +own houses, whereas _there never was a hospital in the whole heathen +world_. Blessed be God for this, among the thousand other excellent +fruits of the Christian religion! A religion which, like its Divine +founder, while its grand object is the salvation of men's souls, +teaches us also to relieve their bodily wants. It directs us never +to forget that He who forgave sins, healed diseases, and while He +preached the Gospel, fed the multitude. + +It was eight weeks before Tom could be taken out of bed. This was a +happy affliction; for by the grace of God, this long sickness and +solitude gave him time to reflect on his past life. He began +seriously to hate those darling sins which had brought him to the +brink of ruin. He could now pray heartily; he confessed and lamented +his iniquities, with many tears, and began to hope that the mercies +of God, through the merits of a Redeemer, might yet be extended to +him on his sincere repentance. He resolved never more to return to +the same evil courses, but he did not trust in his own strength, but +prayed that God would give him grace for the future, as well as +pardon for the past. He remembered, and he was humbled at the +thought, that he used to have short fits of repentance, and to form +resolutions of amendment, in his wild and thoughtless days; and +often when he had a bad head-ache after a drinking bout, or had lost +his money at all-fours, he vowed never to drink or play again. But +as soon as his head was well and his pockets recruited, he forgot +all his resolutions. And how should it be otherwise? for he trusted +in his own strength, he never prayed to God to strengthen him, nor +ever avoided the next temptation. He thought that amendment was a +thing to be set about at any time; he did not know that _it is the +grace of God which bringeth us to repentance_. + +The case was now different. Tom began to find that _his strength was +perfect weakness_, and that he could do nothing without the Divine +assistance, for which he prayed heartily and constantly. He sent +home for his Bible and Prayer-book, which he had not opened for two +years, and which had been given him when he left the Sunday School. +He spent the chief part of his time in reading them, and derived +great comfort, as well as great knowledge, from this employment of +his time. The study of the Bible filled his heart with gratitude to +God, who had not cut him off in the midst of his sins; but had given +him space for repentance; and the agonies he had lately suffered +with his broken leg increased the thankfulness that he had escaped +the more dreadful pain of eternal misery. And here let me remark +what encouragement this is for rich people to give away Bibles and +good books, and not to lose all hope, though, for a time, they see +little or no good effect from it. According to all appearance, Tom's +books were never likely to do him any good, and yet his generous +benefactor, who had cast his bread upon the waters, found it after +many days; for this Bible, which had lain untouched for years, was +at last made the instrument of his reformation. God will work in his +own good time, and in his own way, but _our_ zeal and _our_ +exertions are the means by which he commonly chooses to work. + +As soon as he got well, and was discharged from the hospital, Tom +began to think he must return to get his bread. At first he had some +scruples about going back to his old employ: but, says he, sensibly +enough, gentlefolks must travel, travelers must have chaises, and +chaises must have drivers; 'tis a very honest calling, and I don't +know that goodness belongs to one sort of business more than to +another; and he who can be good in a state of great temptation, +provided the calling be lawful, and the temptations are not of his +own seeking, and he be diligent in prayer, maybe better than another +man for aught I know: and _all that belongs to us is, to do our duty +in that state of life in which it shall please God to call us_; and +to leave events in God's hand. Tom had rubbed up his catechism at +the hospital, and 'tis a pity that people don't look at their +catechism sometimes when they are grown up; for it is full as good +for men and women as it is for children; nay, better; for though the +answers contained in it are intended for children to _repeat_, yet +the duties enjoined in it are intended for men and woman to put in +_practice_. It is, if I may so speak, the very grammar of +Christianity and of our church, and they who understand every part +of their catechism thoroughly, will not be ignorant of any thing +which a plain Christian need know. + +Tom now felt grieved that he was obliged to drive on Sundays. But +people who are in earnest and have their hearts in a thing, can find +helps in all cases. As soon as he had set down his company at their +stage, and had seen his horses fed, says Tom, a man who takes care +of his horses, will generally think it right to let them rest an +hour or two at least. In every town it is a chance but there may be +a church open during part of that time. If the prayers should be +over, I'll try hard for the sermon; and if I dare not stay to the +sermon it is a chance but I may catch the prayers; it is worth +trying for, however; and as I used to think nothing of making a +push, for the sake of getting an hour to gamble, I need not grudge +to take a little pains extraordinary to serve God. By this +watchfulness he soon got to know the hours of service at all the +towns on the road he traveled; and while the horses fed, Tom went to +church; and it became a favorite proverb with him, that _prayers and +provender hinder no man's journey_; and I beg leave to recommend +Tom's maxim to all travelers; whether master or servant, carrier or +coachman. + +At first his companions wanted to laugh and make sport of this--but +when they saw that no lad on the road was up so early or worked so +hard as Tom, when they saw no chaise so neat, no glasses so bright, +no harness so tight, no driver so diligent, so clean, or so civil, +they found he was no subject to make sport at. Tom indeed was very +careful in looking after the linch-pins; in never giving his horses +too much water when they were hot; nor, whatever was his haste, +would he ever gallop them up hill, strike them across the head, or +when tired, cut and slash them, or gallop them over the stones, as +soon as he got into town, as some foolish fellows do. What helped to +cure Tom of these bad practices, was the remark he met with in the +Bible, that _a good man is merciful to his beast_. He was much moved +one day on reading the Prophet Jonah, to observe what compassion the +great God of heaven and earth had for poor beasts; for one of the +reasons there given why the Almighty was unwilling to destroy the +great city of Nineveh was, _because there was much cattle in it_. +After this, Tom never could bear to see a wanton stroke inflicted. +Doth God care for horses, said he, and shall man be cruel to them? + +Tom soon grew rich for one in his station; for every gentleman on +the road would be driven by no other lad if _careful Tom_ was to be +had. Being diligent, he _got_ a great deal of money; being frugal, +he _spent_ but little; and having no vices, he _wasted_ none, he +soon found out that there was some meaning in that text which says, +that _godliness hath the promise of the life that now is, as well as +that which is to come_: for the same principles which make a man +sober and honest, have also a natural tendency to make him healthy +and rich; while a drunkard and spendthrift can hardly escape being +sick and a beggar. Vice is the parent of misery in both worlds. + +After a few years, Tom begged a holiday, and made a visit to his +native village; his good character had got thither before him. He +found his father was dead, but during his long illness Tom had +supplied him with money, and by allowing him a trifle every week, +had had the honest satisfaction of keeping him from the parish. +Farmer Hodges was still living, but being grown old and infirm, he +was desirous to retire from business. He retained a great regard for +his old servant, Tom; and finding he was worth money, and knowing he +knew something of country business, he offered to let him a small +farm at an easy rate, and promised his assistance in the management +for the first year, with the loan of a small sum of money, that he +might set out with a pretty stock. Tom thanked him with tears in his +eyes, went back and took a handsome leave of his master, who made +him a present of a horse and cart, in acknowledgment of his long and +faithful services; for, says he, I have saved many horses by Tom's +care and attention, and I could well afford to do the same by every +servant who did the same by me; and should be a richer man at the +end of every year by the same generosity, provided I could meet with +just and faithful servants who deserve the same rewards. Tom was +soon settled in his new farm, and in less than a year had got every +thing neat and decent about him. Farmer Hodges's long experience and +friendly advice, joined to his own industry and hard labor, soon +brought the farm to great perfection. The regularity, sobriety, +peaceableness, and piety of his daily life, his constant attendance +at church twice every Sunday, and his decent and devout behavior +when there, soon recommended him to the notice of Dr. Shepherd, who +was still living, a pattern of zeal, activity, and benevolence to +all parish priests. The Doctor soon began to hold up Tom, or, as we +must now more properly term him, Mr. Thomas White, to the imitation +of the whole parish, and the frequent and condescending conversation +of this worthy clergyman contributed no less than his preaching to +the improvement of his new parishioner in piety. + +Farmer White soon found out that a dairy could not well be carried +on without a mistress, and began to think seriously of marrying; he +prayed to God to direct him in so important a business. He knew that +a tawdry, vain, dressy girl was not likely to make good cheese and +butter, and that a worldly, ungodly woman would make a sad wife and +mistress of a family. He soon heard of a young woman of excellent +character, who had been bred up by the vicar's lady, and still lived +in the family as upper maid. She was prudent, sober, industrious, +and religious. Her neat, modest, and plain appearance at church (for +she was seldom seen any where else out of her master's family), was +an example to all persons in her station, and never failed to +recommend her to strangers, even before they had an opportunity of +knowing the goodness of her character. It was her character, +however, which recommended her to Farmer White. He knew that _favor +is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman that feareth the Lord, +she shall be praised_: ay, and not only praised, but chosen too, +says Farmer White, as he took down his hat from the nail on which it +hung, in order to go and wait on Dr. Shepherd, to break his mind, +and ask his consent; for he thought it would be a very unhandsome +return for all the favors he was receiving from his minister, to +decoy away his faithful servant from her place, without his consent. + +This worthy gentleman, though sorry to lose so valuable a member of +his little family, did not scruple a moment about parting with her, +when he found it would be so greatly to her advantage. Tom was +agreeably surprised to hear she had saved fifty pounds by her +frugality. The Doctor married them himself, farmer Hodges being +present. + +In the afternoon of the wedding-day, Dr. Shepherd condescended to +call on Farmer and Mrs. White, to give a few words of advice on the +new duties they had entered into; a common custom with him on these +occasions. He often took an opportunity to drop, in the most kind +and tender way, a hint upon the great indecency of making marriages, +christenings, and above all, funerals, days of riot and excess, as +is too often the case in country villages. The expectation that the +vicar might possibly drop in, in his walks, on these festivals, +often restrained excessive drinking, and improper conversation, even +among those who were not restrained by higher motives, as Farmer and +Mrs. White were. + +What the Pastor said was always in such a cheerful, good-humored way +that it was sure to increase the pleasure of the day, instead of +damping it. "Well, farmer," said he, "and you, my faithful Sarah, +any other friend might recommend peace and agreement to you on your +marriage; but I, on the contrary, recommend cares and strifes."[5] +The company stared--but Sarah, who knew that her old master was a +facetious gentleman, and always had some meaning behind, looked +serious. "Cares and strife, sir," said the farmer, "what do you +mean?" "I mean," said he, "for the first, that your cares shall be +who shall please God most, and your strifes, who shall serve him +best, and do your duty most faithfully. Thus, all your cares and +strifes being employed to the highest purposes, all petty cares and +worldly strifes shall be at an end. + + [5] See Dodd's Sayings. + +"Always remember that you have both of you a better friend than each +other." The company stared again, and thought no woman could have so +good a friend as her husband. "As you have chosen each other from +the best motives," continued the Doctor, "you have every reasonable +ground to hope for happiness; but as this world is a soil in which +troubles and misfortunes will spring up; troubles from which you +can not save one another; misfortunes which no human prudence can +avoid: then remember, 'tis the best wisdom to go to that friend who +is always near, always willing, and always able to help you: and +that friend is God." + +"Sir," said Farmer White, "I humbly thank you for all your kind +instructions, of which I shall now stand more in need than ever, as +I shall have more duties to fulfill. I hope the remembrance of my +past offenses will keep me humble, and that a sense of my remaining +sin will keep me watchful. I set out in the world, sir, with what is +called a good-natured disposition, but I soon found, to my cost, +that without God's grace, that will carry a man but a little way. A +good temper is a good thing, but nothing but the fear of God can +enable one to bear up against temptation, evil company, and evil +passions. The misfortune of breaking my leg, as I then thought it, +has proved the greatest blessing of my life. It showed me my own +weakness, the value of the Bible, and the goodness of God. How many +of my brother drivers have I seen, since that time, cut off in the +prime of life by drinking, or sudden accident, while I have not only +been spared, but blessed and prospered. O, sir, it would be the joy +of my heart, if some of my old comrades, good-natured, civil fellows +(whom I can't help loving) could see as I have done, the danger of +evil courses before it is too late. Though they may not hearken to +you, sir, or any other minister, they may believe _me_ because I +have been one of them: and I can speak from experience, of the great +difference there is, even as to worldly comfort, between a life of +sobriety and a life of sin. I could tell them, sir, not as a thing I +have read in a book, but as a truth I feel in my own heart, that to +fear God and keep his commandments, will not only bring a man peace +at last, but will make him happy _now_. And I will venture to say, +sir, that all the stocks, pillories, prisons, and gibbets in the +land, though so very needful to keep bad men in order, yet will +never restrain a good man from committing evil half so much as that +single text, _How shall I do this great wickedness, and sin against +God?_" Dr. Shepherd condescended to approve of what the farmer had +said, kindly shook him by the hand, and took leave. + + +PART II. + +THE WAY TO PLENTY; OR, THE SECOND PART OF TOM WHITE. WRITTEN IN +1795, THE YEAR OF SCARCITY. + +Tom White, as we have shown in the first part of this history, from +an idle post boy was become a respectable farmer. God had blessed +his industry, and he had prospered in the world. He was sober and +temperate, and, as was the natural consequence, he was active and +healthy. He was industrious and frugal, and he became prosperous in +his circumstances. This is the ordinary course of Providence. But it +is not a certain and necessary rule. _God maketh his sun to shine on +the just and on the unjust._ A man who uses every honest means of +thrift and industry, will, in most cases, find success attend his +labors. But still, the _race is not always to the swift nor the +battle to the strong_. God is sometimes pleased, for wise ends, to +disappoint all the worldly hopes of the most upright man. His corn +may be smitten by a blight; his barns may be consumed by fire; his +cattle may be carried off by distemper. And to these, and other +misfortunes, the good man is as liable as the spendthrift or the +knave. Success is the _common_ reward of industry, but if it were +its _constant_ reward, the industrious would be tempted to look no +further than the present state. They would lose one strong ground of +their faith. It would set aside the Scripture scheme. This world +would then be looked on as a state of reward, instead of trial, and +we should forget to look to a day of final retribution. + +Farmer White never took it into his head, that, because he paid his +debts, worked early and late, and ate the bread of carefulness, he +was therefore to come into no misfortune like other folk, but was to +be free from the common trials and troubles of life. He knew that +prosperity was far from being a sure mark of God's favor, and had +read in good books, and especially in the Bible, of the great +poverty and afflictions of the best of men. Though he was no great +scholar, he had sense enough to observe, that a time of public +prosperity was not always a time of public virtue; and he thought +that what was true of a whole nation might be true of one man. So +the more he prospered the more he prayed that prosperity might not +corrupt his heart. And when he saw lately signs of public distress +coming on, he was not half so much frightened as some others were, +because he thought it might do us good in the long run; and he was +in hope that a little poverty might bring on a little penitence. The +great grace he labored after was that of a cheerful submission. He +used to say, that if the Lord's prayer had only contained those four +little words. _Thy will be done_, it would be worth more than the +biggest book in the world without them. + +Dr. Shepherd, the worthy vicar (with whom the farmer's wife had +formerly lived as housekeeper), was very fond of taking a walk with +him about his grounds, and he used to say that he learned as much +from the farmer as the farmer did from him. If the Doctor happened +to observe, "I am afraid these long rains will spoil this fine piece +of oats," the farmer would answer, "But then, sir, think how good +it is for the grass." If the Doctor feared the wheat would be but +indifferent, the farmer was sure the rye would turn out well. When +grass failed, he did not doubt but turnips would be plenty. Even for +floods and inundations he would find out some way to justify +Providence. "'Tis better," said he, "to have our lands a little +overflowed, than that the springs should be dried up, and our cattle +faint for lack of water." When the drought came, he thanked God that +the season would be healthy; and the high winds, which frightened +others, he said, served to clear the air. Whoever, or whatever was +wrong, he was always sure that Providence was in the right. And he +used to say, that a man with ever so small an income, if he had but +frugality and temperance, and would cut off all vain desires, and +cast his care upon God, was richer than a lord who was tormented by +vanity and covetousness. When he saw others in the wrong, he did +not, however, abuse them for it, but took care to avoid the same +fault. He had sense and spirit enough to break through many old, but +very bad customs of his neighbors. "If a thing is wrong in itself," +said he one day to Farmer Hodges, "a whole parish doing it can't +make it right. And as to its being an old custom, why, if it be a +good one, I like it the better for being old, because it has had the +stamp of ages, and the sanction of experience on its worth. But if +it be old as well as bad, that is another reason for my trying to +put an end to it, that we may not mislead our children as our +fathers have misled us." + + +THE ROOF-RAISING. + +Some years after he was settled, he built a large new barn. All the +workmen were looking forward to the usual holiday of roof-raising. +On this occasion it was a custom to give a dinner to the workmen, +with so much liquor after it, that they got so drunk that they not +only lost the remaining half-day's work, but they were not always +able to work the following day. + +Mrs. White provided a plentiful dinner for roof-raising, and gave +each man his mug of beer. After a hearty meal they began to grow +clamorous for more drink. The farmer, said, "My lads, I don't grudge +you a few gallons of ale merely for the sake of saving my liquor, +though that is some consideration, especially in these dear times; +but I never will, knowingly, help any man to make a beast of +himself. I am resolved to break through a bad custom. You are now +well refreshed. If you will go cheerfully to your work, you will +have half a day's pay to take on Saturday night more than you would +have if this afternoon were wasted in drunkenness. For this your +families will be better; whereas, were I to give you more liquor, +when you have already had enough, I should help to rob them of their +bread. But I wish to show you, that I have your good at heart full +as much as your profit. If you will now go to work, I will give you +all another mug at night when you leave off. Thus your time will be +saved, your families helped, and my ale will not go to make +reasonable creatures worse than brute beasts." + +Here he stopped. "You are in right on't, master," said Tom, the +thatcher; "you are a hearty man, farmer," said John Plane, the +carpenter. "Come along, boys," said Tim Brick, the mason: so they +all went merrily to work, fortified with a good dinner. There was +only one drunken surly fellow that refused; this was Dick Guzzle, +the smith. Dick never works above two or three days in the week, and +spends the others at the Red Lion. He swore, that if the farmer did +not give him as much liquor as he liked at roof-raising, he would +not strike another stroke, but would leave the job unfinished, and +he might get hands where he could. Farmer White took him at his +word, and paid him off directly; glad enough to get rid of such a +sot, whom he had only employed from pity to a large and almost +starving family. When the men came for their mug in the evening, the +farmer brought out the remains of the cold gammon; they made a +hearty supper, and thanked him for having broken through a foolish +custom, which was afterward much left off in that parish, though +Dick would not come into it, and lost most of his work in +consequence. + +Farmer White's laborers were often complaining that things were so +dear that they could not buy a bit of meat. He knew it was partly +true, but not entirely; for it was before these very hard times that +their complaints began. One morning he stepped out to see how an +outhouse which he was thatching went on. He was surprised to find +the work at a stand. He walked over to the thatcher's house. "Tom," +said he, "I desire that piece of work may be finished directly. If a +shower comes my grain will be spoiled." "Indeed, master, I sha'n't +work to-day, nor to-morrow neither," said Tom. "You forget that 'tis +Easter Monday, and to-morrow is Easter Tuesday. And so on Wednesday +I shall thatch away, master. But it is hard if a poor man, who works +all the seasons round, may not enjoy these few holidays, which come +but once a year." + +"Tom," said the farmer, "when these days were first put into our +prayer-book, the good men who ordained them to be kept, little +thought that the time would come when _holiday_ should mean +_drunken-day_, and that the seasons which they meant to distinguish +by superior piety, should be converted into seasons of more than +ordinary excess. How much dost think now I shall pay thee for this +piece of thatch?" "Why, you know, master, you have let it to me by +the great. I think between this and to-morrow night, as the weather +is so fine, I could clear about four shillings, after I have paid +my boy; but thatching does not come often, and other work is not so +profitable." "Very well, Tom; and how much now do you think you may +spend in these two holidays?" "Why, master, if the ale is pleasant, +and the company merry, I do not expect to get off for less than +three shillings." "Tom, can you do pounds, shillings, and pence?" "I +can make a little score, master, behind the kitchen-door, with a bit +of chalk, which is as much as I want." "Well, Tom, add the four +shillings you would have earned to the three you intend to spend, +what does that make?" "Let me see! three and four make seven. Seven +shillings, master." "Tom, you often tell me the times are so bad +that you can never buy a bit of meat. Now here is the cost of two +joints at once: to say nothing of the sin of wasting time and +getting drunk." "I never once thought of that," said Tom. "Now, +Tom," said the farmer, "if I were you, I would step over to butcher +Jobbins's, buy a shoulder of mutton, which being left from +Saturday's market you will get a little cheaper. This I would make +my wife bake in a deep dishful of potatoes. I would then go to work, +and when the dinner was ready I would go and enjoy it with my wife +and children; you need not give the mutton to the brats, the +potatoes will have all the gravy, and be very savory for them." "Ay, +but I have got no beer, master, the times are so hard that a poor +man can't afford to brew a drop of drink now as we used to do." + +"Times are bad, and malt is very dear, Tom, and yet both don't +prevent you from spending seven shillings in keeping holiday. Now +send for a quart of ale as it is to be a feast: and you will even +then be four shillings richer than if you had gone to the public +house. I would have you put by these four shillings, till you can +add a couple to them; with this I would get a bushel of malt, and my +wife should brew it, and you may take a pint of your own beer at +home of a night, which will do you more good than a gallon at the +Red Lion." "I have a great mind to take your advice, master, but I +shall be made such fun of at the Lion! they will so laugh at me if I +don't go!" "Let those laugh that win, Tom." "But master, I have got +a friend to meet me there." "Then ask your friend to come and eat a +bit of your cold mutton at night, and here is sixpence for another +pot, if you will promise to brew a small cask of your own." "Thank +you, master, and so I will; and I won't go to the Lion. Come boy, +bring the helm, and fetch the ladder." And so Tom was upon the roof +in a twinkling. The barn was thatched, the mutton bought, the beer +brewed, the friend invited, and the holiday enjoyed. + + +THE SHEEP-SHEARING. + +Dr. Shepherd happened to say to Farmer White one day, that there +was nothing that he disliked more than the manner in which +sheep-shearing and harvest-home were kept by some in his parish. +"What," said the good Doctor, "just when we are blessed with a +prosperous gathering in of these natural riches of our land, the +fleece of our flocks; when our barns are crowned with plenty, and +we have, through the divine blessing on our honest labor, reaped +the fruits of the earth in due season; is that very time to be set +apart for ribaldry, and riot, and drunkenness? Do we thank God for +his mercies, by making ourselves unworthy and unfit to enjoy them? +When he crowns the year with his goodness, shall we affront him by +our impiety? It is more than a common insult to his providence; it +is a worse than brutal return to _Him_ who openeth his hand and +filleth all things living with plenteousness." + +"I thank you for the hint, sir," said the farmer. "I am resolved to +rejoice though, and others shall rejoice with me: and we will have a +merry night on't." + +So Mrs. White dressed a very plentiful supper of meat and pudding; +and spread out two tables. The farmer sat at the head of one, +consisting of some of his neighbors, and all his work-people. At the +other sat his wife, with two long-benches on each side of her. On +these benches sat all the old and infirm poor, especially those who +lived in the work-house, and had no day of festivity to look forward +to in the whole year but this. On the grass, in the little court, +sat the children of his laborers, and of the other poor, whose +employment it had been to gather flowers, and dress and adorn the +horns of the ram; for the farmer did not wish to put an end to an +old custom, if it was innocent. His own children stood by the table, +and he gave them plenty of pudding, which they carried to the +children of the poor, with a little draught of cider to every one. +The farmer, who never sat down without begging a blessing on his +meal, did it with suitable solemnity on the present joyful occasion. + +Dr. Shepherd practiced one very useful method, which I dare say was +not peculiar to himself; a method of which I doubt not other country +clergymen have found the advantage. He was often on the watch to +observe those seasons when a number of his parishioners were +assembled together, not only at any season of festivity, but at +their work. He has been known to turn a walk through a hay-field to +good account; and has been found to do as much good by a few +minutes' discourse with a little knot of reapers, as by a Sunday's +sermon. He commonly introduced his religious observations by some +questions relating to their employment; he first gained their +affections by his kindness, and then converted his influence over +them to their soul's good. The interest he took in their worldly +affairs opened their hearts to the reception of those divine truths +which he was always earnest to impress upon them. By these methods +too he got acquainted with their several characters, their +spiritual wants, their individual sins, dangers, and temptations, +which enabled him to preach with more knowledge and successful +application, than those ministers can do who are unacquainted with +the state of their congregations. It was a remark of Dr. Shepherd, +that a thorough acquaintance with human nature was one of the most +important species of knowledge a clergyman could possess. + +The sheep-shearing feast, though orderly and decent, was yet hearty +and cheerful. Dr. Shepherd dropped in, with a good deal of company +he had at his house, and they were much pleased. When the Doctor saw +how the aged and infirm poor were enjoying themselves, he was much +moved; he shook the farmer by the hand and said, "But thou, when +thou makest a feast, call the blind, and the lame, and the halt; +they can not recompense thee, but thou shalt be recompensed at the +resurrection of the just." + +"Sir," said the farmer, "'tis no great matter of expense; I kill a +sheep of my own; potatoes are as plenty as blackberries, with people +who have a little forethought. I save much more cider in the course +of a year by never allowing any carousing in my kitchen, or +drunkenness in my fields, than would supply many such feasts as +these, so that I shall be never the poorer at Christmas. It is +cheaper to make people happy, sir, than to make them drunk." The +Doctor and the ladies condescended to walk from one table to the +other, and heard many merry stories, but not one profane word, or +one indecent song: so that he was not forced to the painful +necessity either of reproving them, or leaving them in anger. When +all was over, they sung the sixty-fifth Psalm, and the ladies all +joined in it; and when they got home to the vicarage to tea, they +declared they liked it better than any concert. + + +THE HARD WINTER. + +In the famous cold winter of the year 1795, it was edifying to see +how patiently Farmer White bore that long and severe frost. Many of +his sheep were frozen to death, but he thanked God that he had still +many left. He continued to find in-door work that his men might not +be out of employ. The season being so bad, which some others pleaded +as an excuse for turning off their workmen, he thought a fresh +reason for keeping them. Mrs. White was so considerate, that just at +that time she lessened the number of her hogs, that she might have +more whey and skim-milk to assist poor families. Nay, I have known +her to live on boiled meat for a long while together, in a sickly +season, because the pot liquor made such a supply of broth for the +sick poor. As the spring came on, and things grew worse, she never +had a cake, a pie, or a pudding in her house; notwithstanding she +used to have plenty of these good things, and will again, I hope, +when the present scarcity is over; though she says she will never +use such white flour again, even if it should come down to five +shillings a bushel. + +All the parish now began to murmur. Farmer Jones was sure the frost +had killed the wheat. Farmer Wilson said the rye would never come +up. Brown, the malster, insisted the barley was dead at the root. +Butcher Jobbins said beef would be a shilling a pound. All declared +there would not be a hop to brew with. The orchards were all +blighted; there would not be apples enough to make a pie; and as to +hay there would be none to be had for love or money. "I'll tell you +what," said Farmer White, "the season is dreadful; the crops +unpromising just now; but 'tis too early to judge. Don't let us make +things worse than they are. We ought to comfort the poor, and you +are driving them to despair. Don't you know how much God was +displeased with the murmurs of his chosen people? And yet, when they +were tired of manna he sent them quails; but all did not do. Nothing +satisfies grumblers. We have a promise on our side, that _there +shall be seed-time and harvest-time to the end_. Let us then hope +for a good day, but provide against an evil one. Let us rather +prevent the evil before it is come upon us, than sink under it when +it comes. Grumbling can not help us; activity can. Let us set about +planting potatoes in every nook and corner, in case the corn +_should_ fail, which, however, I don't believe will be the case. Let +us mend our management before we are driven to it by actual want. +And if we allow our honest laborers to plant a few potatoes for +their families in the headlands of our plowed fields, or other waste +bits of ground, it will do us no harm, and be a great help to them. +The way to lighten the load of any public calamity is not to murmur +at it but put a hand to lessen it." + +The farmer had many temptations to send his corn at an extravagant +price to _a certain seaport town_, but as he knew that it was +intended to export it against law, he would not be tempted to +encourage unlawful gain; so he thrashed out a small mow at a time, +and sold it to the neighboring poor far below the market-price. He +served his own workmen first. This was the same to them as if he had +raised their wages, and even better, as it was a benefit of which +their families were sure to partake. If the poor in the next parish +were more distressed than his own, he sold them at the same rate. +For, said he, there is no distinction of parishes in heaven; and +though charity begins at home, yet it ought not to end there. + +He had been used in good times now and then to catch a hare or a +partridge, as he was qualified; but he now resolved to give up that +pleasure. So he parted from a couple of spaniels he had: for he +said he could not bear that his dogs should be eating the meat, or +the milk, which so many men, women, and children wanted. + + +THE WHITE LOAF. + +One day, it was about the middle of last July, when things seemed to +be at the dearest, and the rulers of the land had agreed to set the +example of eating nothing but coarse bread, Dr. Shepherd read, +before sermon in the church, their public declaration, which, the +magistrates of the county sent him, and which they had also signed +themselves. Mrs. White, of course, was at church, and commended it +mightily. Next morning the Doctor took a walk over to the farmer's, +in order to settle further plans for the relief of the parish. He +was much surprised to meet Mrs. White's little maid, Sally, with a +very small white loaf, which she had been buying at a shop. He said +nothing to the girl, as he never thought it right to expose the +faults of a mistress to her servants; but walked on, resolving to +give Mrs. White a severe lecture for the first time in his life. He +soon changed his mind, for on going into the kitchen, the first +person he saw was Tom the thatcher, who had had a sad fall from a +ladder; his arm, which was slipped out of his sleeve, was swelled in +a frightful manner. Mrs. White was standing at the dresser making +the little white loaf into a poultice, which she laid upon the +swelling in a large clean old linen cloth. + +"I ask your pardon, my good Sarah," said the Doctor; "I ought not, +however appearances were against you, to have suspected that so +humble and prudent a woman as you are, would be led either to +indulge any daintiness of your own, or to fly in the face of your +betters, by eating white bread while they are eating brown. Whenever +I come here, I see it is not needful to be rich in order to be +charitable. A bountiful rich man would have sent Tom to a surgeon, +who would have done no more for him than you have done; for in those +inflammations the most skillful surgeon could only apply a poultice. +Your kindness in dressing the wound yourself, will, I doubt not, +perform the cure at the expense of that threepenny loaf and a little +hog's lard. And I will take care that Tom shall have a good supply +of rice from the subscription." "And he sha'n't want for skim-milk," +said Mrs. White; "and was he the best lord in the land, in the state +he is in, a dish of good rice milk would be better for him than the +richest meat." + + +THE PARISH MEETING. + +On the tenth of August, the vestry held another meeting, to consult +on the best method of further assisting the poor. The prospect of +abundant crops now cheered every heart. Farmer White, who had a mind +to be a little jocular with his desponding neighbors, said, "Well, +neighbor Jones, all the wheat was killed, I suppose! the barley is +all dead at the root!" Farmer Jones looked sheepish, and said, "To +be sure the crops had turned out better than he thought." "Then," +said Dr. Shepherd, "let us learn to trust Providence another time; +let our experience of his past goodness strengthen our faith." + +Among other things, they agreed to subscribe for a large quantity of +rice, which was to be sold out to the poor at a very low price, and +Mrs. White was so kind as to undertake the trouble of selling it. +After their day's work was over, all who wished to buy at these +reduced rates, were ordered to come to the farm on the Tuesday +evening: Dr. Shepherd dropped in at the same time, and when Mrs. +White had done weighing her rice, the Doctor spoke as follows: + +"My honest friends, it has pleased God, for some wise end, to visit +this land with a scarcity, to which we have been but little +accustomed. There are some idle, evil-minded people, who are on the +watch for the public distresses; not that they may humble themselves +under the mighty hand of God (which is the true use to be made of +all troubles) but that they may benefit themselves by disturbing the +public peace. These people, by riot and drunkenness, double the evil +which they pretend to cure. Riot will complete our misfortunes; +while peace, industry, and good management, will go near to cure +them. Bread, to be sure, is uncommonly dear. Among the various ways +of making it cheaper, one is to reduce the quality of it, another to +lessen the quantity we consume. If we can not get enough of coarse +wheaten bread, let us make it of other grain. Or let us mix one half +of potatoes, and one half of wheat. This last is what I eat in my +own family; it is pleasant and wholesome. Our blessed Saviour ate +barley-bread, you know, as we are told in the last month's Sunday +reading of the Cheap Repository,[6] which I hope you have all heard, +as I desired the master of the Sunday School to read it just after +evening service, when I know many of the parents are apt to call in +at the school. This is a good custom, and one of those little books +shall be often read at that time. + + [6] See Cheap Repository, Tract on the Scarcity, printed for T. + Evans, Long-lane, West Smithfield, London. + +"My good women, I truly feel for you at this time of scarcity; and I +am going to show my good will, as much by my advice as my +subscription. It is my duty, as your friend and minister, to tell +you that one half of your present hardships is owing to _bad +management_. I often meet your children without shoes and stockings, +with great luncheons of the very whitest bread, and that three times +a day. Half that quantity, and still less if it were coarse, put +into a dish of good onion or leek porridge, would make them an +excellent breakfast. Many too, of the very poorest of you, eat your +bread hot from the oven; this makes the difference of one loaf in +five; I assure you 'tis what I can not afford to do. Come, Mrs. +White, you must assist me a little. I am not very knowing in these +matters myself; but I know that the rich would be twice as +charitable as they are, if the poor made a better use of their +bounty. Mrs. White, do give these poor women a little advice how to +make their pittance go further than it now does. When you lived with +me you were famous for making us nice cheap dishes, and I dare say +you are not less notable, now you manage for yourself." + +"Indeed, neighbors," said Mrs. White, "what the good Doctor says is +very true. A halfpenny worth of oatmeal, or groats, with a leek or +onion, out of your own garden, which costs nothing, a bit of salt, +and a little coarse bread, will breakfast your whole family. It is a +great mistake at any time to think a bit of meat is so ruinous, and +a great load of bread so cheap. A poor man gets seven or eight +shillings a week; if he is careful he brings it home. I dare not say +how much of this goes for tea in the afternoon, now sugar and butter +are so dear, because I should have you all upon me; but I will say, +that too much of this little goes even for bread, from a mistaken +notion that it is the hardest fare. This, at all times, but +particularly just now, is bad management. Dry peas, to be sure, have +been very dear lately, but now they are plenty enough. I am certain +then, that if a shilling or two of the seven or eight was laid out +for a bit of coarse beef, a sheep's head, or any such thing, it +would be well bestowed. I would throw a couple of pounds of this +into the pot, with two or three handsful of gray peas, an onion, and +a little pepper. Then I would throw in cabbage, or turnip, and +carrot; or any garden stuff that was most plenty; let it stew two or +three hours, and it will make a dish fit for his majesty. The +working men should have the meat; the children don't want it: the +soup will be thick and substantial, and requires no bread." + + +RICE MILK. + +"You who can get skim-milk, as all our workmen can, have a great +advantage. A quart of this, and a quarter of a pound of rice you +have just bought, a little bit of alspice, and brown sugar, will +make a dainty and cheap dish." + +"Bless your heart!" muttered Amy Grumble, who looked as dirty as a +cinder-wench, with her face and fingers all daubed with snuff: "rice +milk, indeed! it is very nice to be sure for those that can dress +it, but we have not a bit of coal; rice is no use to us without +firing;" "and yet," said the Doctor, "I see your tea-kettle boiling +twice every day, as I pass by the poor-house, and fresh butter at +thirteen-pence a pound on your shelf." "Oh, dear sir," cried Amy, "a +few sticks serve to boil the tea-kettle." "And a few more," said the +Doctor, "will boil the rice milk, and give twice the nourishment at +a quarter of the expense." + + +RICE PUDDING. + +"Pray, Sarah," said the Doctor, "how did you use to make that +pudding my children were so fond of? And I remember, when it was +cold, we used to have it in the parlor for supper." "Nothing more +easy," said Mrs. White: "I put half a pound of rice, two quarts of +skim-milk, and two ounces of brown sugar." "Well," said the Doctor, +"and how many will this dine?" "Seven or eight, sir." "Very well, +and what will it cost?" "Why, sir, it did not cost you so much, +because we baked at home, and I used our own milk; but it will not +cost above seven-pence to those who pay for both. Here, too, bread +is saved." + +"Pray, Sarah, let me put in a word," said Farmer White: "I advise my +men to raise each a large bed of parsnips. They are very nourishing, +and very profitable. Sixpenny worth of seed, well sowed and trod in, +will produce more meals than four sacks of potatoes; and, what is +material to you who have so little ground, it will not require more +than an eighth part of the ground which the four sacks will take. +Providence having contrived by the very formation of this root that +it shall occupy but a very small space. Parsnips are very good the +second day warmed in the frying pan, and a little rasher of pork, or +bacon, will give them a nice flavor." + +Dr. Shepherd now said, "As a proof of the nourishing quality of +parsnips, I was reading in a history book this very day, that the +American Indians make a great part of their bread of parsnips, +though Indian corn is so famous; it will make a little variety too." + + +A CHEAP STEW. + +"I remember," said Mrs. White, "a cheap dish, so nice that it makes +my mouth water. I peel some raw potatoes, slice them thin, put the +slices into a deep frying-pan, or pot with a little water, an onion, +and a bit of pepper. Then I get a bone or two of a breast of mutton, +or a little strip of salt pork and put into it. Cover it down close, +keep in the steam, and let it stew for an hour." + +"You really give me an appetite, Mrs. White, by your dainty +receipts," said the Doctor. "I am resolved to have this dish at my +own table." "I could tell you another very good dish, and still +cheaper," answered she. "Come, let us have it," cried the Doctor. "I +shall write all down as soon as I get home, and I will favor any +body with a copy of these receipts who will call at my house." "And +I will do more, sir," said Mrs. White, "for I will put any of these +women in the way how to dress it the first time, if they are at a +loss. But this is my dish: + +"Take two or three pickled herrings, put them into a stone jar, fill +it up with potatoes, and a little water, and let it bake in the oven +till it is done. I would give one hint more," added she; "I have +taken to use nothing but potatoe starch; and though I say it, that +should not say it, nobody's linen in a common way looks better than +ours." + +The Doctor now said, "I am sorry for one hardship which many poor +people labor under: I mean the difficulty of getting a little milk. +I wish all the farmers' wives were as considerate as you are, Mrs. +White. A little milk is a great comfort to the poor, especially when +their children are sick; and I have known it answer to the seller as +well as to the buyer, to keep a cow or two on purpose to sell it by +the quart, instead of making butter and cheese." + +"Sir," said Farmer White, "I beg leave to say a word to the men, if +you please, for all your advice goes to the women. If you will drink +less gin, you may get more meat. If you abstain from the ale-house, +you may, many of you, get a little one-way beer at home." "Ay, that +we can, farmer," said poor Tom, the thatcher, who was now got well. +"Easter Monday for that--I say no more. A word to the wise." The +farmer smiled and went on: "The number of public houses in many a +parish, brings on more hunger and rags than all the taxes in it, +heavy as they are. All the other evils put together hardly make up +the sum of that one. We are now making a fresh subscription for you. +This will be our rule of giving: We will not give to sots, gamblers, +and Sabbath-breakers. Those who do not set their young children to +work on week-days, and send them to school and church on Sundays, +deserve little favor. No man should keep a dog till he has more food +than his family wants. If he feeds them at home, they rob his +children; if he starves them, they rob his neighbors. We have heard +in a neighboring city, that some people carried back the +subscription loaves, because they were too coarse; but we hope +better things of you." Here Betty Plane begged, with all humility, +to put in a word. "Certainly," said the Doctor, "we will listen to +all modest complaints, and try to redress them." "You are pleased to +say, sir," said she, "that we might find much comfort from buying +coarse bits of beef. And so we might; but you do not know, sir, that +we could seldom get them, even when we had the money, and times were +so bad." "How so, Betty?" "Sir, when we go to Butcher Jobbins for a +bit of shin, or any other lean piece, his answer is, 'You can't have +it to-day. The cook at the great house has bespoke it for gravy, or +the Doctor's maid (begging your pardon, sir,) has just ordered it +for soup.' Now, if such kind gentlefolk were aware that this gravy +and soup not only consume a great deal of meat--which, to be sure, +those have a right to do who can pay for it--but that it takes away +those coarse pieces which the poor would buy, if they bought at all. +For, indeed, the rich have been very kind, and I don't know what we +should have done without them." + +"I thank you for the hint, Betty," said the Doctor, "and I assure +you I will have no more gravy soup. My garden will supply me with +soups that are both wholesomer and better; and I will answer for my +lady at the great house, that she will do the same. I hope this will +become a general rule, and then we shall expect that butchers will +favor you in the prices of the coarse pieces, if _we_ who are rich, +buy nothing but the prime. In our gifts we shall prefer, as the +farmer has told you, those who keep steadily to their work. Such as +come to the vestry for a loaf, and do not come to church for the +sermon, we shall mark; and prefer those who come constantly, +whether there are any gifts or not. But there is one rule from which +we never will depart. Those who have been seen aiding or abetting +any riot, any attack on butchers, bakers, wheat-mows, mills, or +millers, we will not relieve; but with the quiet, contented, +hard-working man, I will share my last morsel of bread. I shall only +add, though it has pleased God to send us this visitation as a +punishment, yet we may convert this short trial into a lasting +blessing, if we all turn over a new leaf. Prosperity has made most +of us careless. The thoughtless profusion of some of the rich could +only be exceeded by the idleness and bad management of some of the +poor. Let us now at last adopt that good old maxim, _every one mend +one_. And may God add his blessing." + +The people now cheerfully departed with their rice, resolving, as +many of them as could get milk, to put one of Mrs. White's receipts +in practice, and an excellent supper they had. + + + + +THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. + + +I promised, in the _Cure for Melancholy_, to give some account of +the manner in which Mrs. Jones set up her school. She did not much +fear being able to raise the money; but money is of little use, +unless some persons of sense and piety can be found to direct these +institutions. Not that I would discourage those who set them up, +even in the most ordinary manner, and from mere views of worldly +policy. It is something gained to rescue children from idling away +their Sabbaths in the fields or the streets. It is no small thing to +keep them from those to which a day of leisure tempts the idle and +the ignorant. It is something for them to be taught to read; it is +much to be taught to read the Bible, and much, indeed, to be carried +regularly to church. But, all this is not enough. To bring these +institutions to answer their highest end, can only be effected by +God's blessing on the best directed means, the choice of able +teachers, and a diligent attention in some pious gentry to visit and +inspect the schools. + + +ON RECOMMENDATIONS. + +Mrs. Jones had one talent that eminently qualified her to do good, +namely, judgment; this, even in the gay part of her life, had kept +her from many mistakes; but though she had sometimes been deceived +herself, she was very careful not to deceive others, by recommending +people to fill any office for which they were unfit, either through +selfishness or false kindness. She used to say, there is always +some one appropriate quality which every person must possess in +order to fit them for any particular employment. "Even in this +quality," said she to Mr. Simpson, the clergyman, "I do not expect +perfection; but if they are destitute of this, whatever good +qualities they may possess besides, though they may do for some +other employment, they will not do for this. If I want a pair of +shoes, I go to a shoemaker; I do not go to a man of another trade, +however ingenious he may be, to ask him if he can not _contrive_ to +make me a pair of shoes. When I lived in London, I learned to be +much on my guard as to recommendations. I found people often wanted +to impose on me some one who was a burden to themselves. Once, I +remember, when I undertook to get a matron for a hospital, half my +acquaintance had some one to offer me. Mrs. Gibson sent me an old +cook, whom she herself had discharged for wasting her own +provisions; yet she had the conscience to recommend this woman to +take care of the provisions of a large community. Mrs. Gray sent me +a discarded housekeeper, whose constitution had been ruined by +sitting up with Mrs. Gray's gouty husband, but who she yet thought +might do well enough to undergo the fatigue of taking care of a +hundred poor sick people. A third friend sent me a woman who had no +merit but that of being very poor, and it would be charity to +provide for her. The truth is, the lady was obliged to allow her a +small pension till she could get her off her own hands, by turning +her on those of others." + +"It is very true, madam," said Mr. Simpson; "the right way is always +to prefer the good of the many to the good of one; if, indeed, it +can be called doing good to any one to place them in a station in +which they must feel unhappy, by not knowing how to discharge the +duties of it. I will tell you how I manage. If the persons +recommended are objects of charity, I privately subscribe to their +wants; I pity and help them, but, I never promote them to a station +for which they are unfit, as I should by so doing hurt a whole +community to help a distressed individual." + +Thus Mrs. Jones resolved that the first step toward setting up her +school should be to provide a suitable mistress. The vestry were so +earnest in recommending one woman, that she thought it worth looking +into. On inquiry, she found it was a scheme to take a large family +off the parish; they never considered that a very ignorant woman, +with a family of young children, was, of all others, the most unfit +for a school, all they considered was, that the profits of the +school might enable her to live without parish pay. Mrs. Jones +refused another, though she could read well, and was decent in her +conduct, because she used to send her children to the shop on +Sundays. And she objected to a third, a very sensible woman, because +she was suspected of making an outward profession of religion a +cloak for immoral conduct. Mrs. Jones knew she must not be too nice, +neither; she knew she must put up with many faults at last. "I +know," said she to Mr. Simpson, "the imperfection of every thing +that is human. As the mistress will have much to bear with from the +children, so I expect to have something to bear with in the +mistress; and she and I must submit to our respective trials, by +thinking how much God has to bear with in us all. But there are +certain qualities which are indispensable in certain situations. +There are, in particular, three things which a good school-mistress +must not be without: _good sense_, _activity_, and _piety_. Without +the first, she will mislead others; without the second, she will +neglect them; and without the third, though she may civilize, yet +she will never christianize them." + +Mr. Simpson said, "He really knew but of one person in the parish +who was fully likely to answer her purpose: this," continued he, +"is no other than my housekeeper, Mrs. Betty Crew. It will indeed be +a great loss to me to part from her; and to her it will be a far +more fatiguing life than that which she at present leads. But ought +I to put my own personal comfort, or ought Betty to put her own ease +and quiet, in competition with the good of above a hundred children? +This will appear still more important, if we consider the good done +by these institutions, not as _fruit_, but _seed_; if we take into +the account how many yet unborn may become Christians, in +consequence of our making these children Christians; for, how can we +calculate the number which may be hereafter trained for heaven by +those very children we are going to teach, when they themselves +shall become parents, and you and I are dead and forgotten? To be +sure, by parting from Betty, my peas-soup will not be quite so +well-flavored, nor my linen so neatly got up; but the day is fast +approaching, when all this will signify but little; but it will not +signify little whether one hundred immortal souls were the better +for my making this petty sacrifice. Mrs. Crew is a real Christian, +has excellent sense, and had a good education from my mother. She +has also had a little sort of preparatory training for the business; +for, when the poor children come to the parsonage for broth on a +Saturday evening, she is used to appoint them all to come at the +same time; and, after she has filled their pitchers, she ranges them +round her in the garden, and examines them in their catechism. She +is just and fair in dealing out the broth and beef, not making my +favor to the parents depend on the skill of their children; but her +own old caps and ribands, and cast-off clothes, are bestowed as +little rewards on the best scholars. So that, taking the time she +spends in working for them, and the things she gives them, there is +many a lady who does not exceed Mrs. Crew in acts of charity. This +I mention to confirm your notion, that it is not necessary to be +rich in order to do good; a religious upper servant has great +opportunities of this sort, if the master is disposed to encourage +her." + +My readers, I trust, need not be informed, that this is that very +Mrs. Betty Crew who assisted Mrs. Jones in teaching poor women to +cut out linen and dress cheap dishes, as related in the _Cure for +Melancholy_. Mrs. Jones, in the following week, got together as many +of the mothers as she could, and spoke to them as follows: + + +MRS. JONES'S EXHORTATION. + +"My good women, on Sunday next I propose to open a school for the +instruction of your children. Those among you who know what it is to +be able to read your Bible, will, I doubt not, rejoice that the same +blessing is held out to your children. You who are _not_ able +yourselves to read what your Saviour has done and suffered for you, +ought to be doubly anxious that your children should reap a blessing +which you have lost. Would not that mother be thought an unnatural +monster who would stand by and snatch out of her child's mouth the +bread which a kind friend had just put into it? But such a mother +would be merciful, compared with her who should rob her children of +the opportunity of learning to read the word of God when it is held +out to them. Remember, that if you slight the present offer, or if, +after having sent your children a few times you should afterward +keep them at home under vain pretenses, you will have to answer for +it at the day of judgment. Let not your poor children, _then_, have +cause to say, 'My fond mother was my worst enemy. I might have been +bred up in the fear of the Lord, and she opposed it for the sake of +giving me a little paltry pleasure. For an idle holiday, I am now +brought to the gates of hell!' My dear women, which of you could +bear to see your darling child condemned to everlasting destruction? +Which of you could bear to hear him accuse you as the cause of it? +Is there any mother here present, who will venture to say, 'I will +doom the children I bore to sin and hell, rather than put them or +myself to a little present pain, by curtailing their evil +inclinations! I will let them spend the Sabbath in ignorance and +idleness, instead of rescuing them from vanity and sin, by sending +them to school?' If there are any such here present, let that mother +who values her child's pleasure more than his soul, now walk away, +while I set down in my list the names of all those who wish to bring +their young ones up in the way that leads to eternal life, instead +of indulging them in the pleasures of sin, which are but for a +moment." + +When Mrs. Jones had done speaking, most of the women thanked her for +her good advice, and hoped that God would give them grace to follow +it; promising to send their children constantly. Others, who were +not so well-disposed, were yet afraid to refuse, after the sin of so +doing had been so plainly set before them. The worst of the women +had kept away from this meeting, resolving to set their faces +against the school. Most of those also who were present, as soon as +they got home, set about providing their children with what little +decent apparel they could raise. Many a willing mother lent her tall +daughter her hat, best cap, and white handkerchief; and many a +grateful father spared his linen waistcoat and bettermost hat, to +induce his grown up son to attend; for it is a rule with which Mrs. +Jones began, that she would not receive the younger children out of +any family who did not send their elder ones. Too many made excuses +that their shoes were old, or their hat worn out. But Mrs. Jones +told them not to bring any excuse to her which they could not bring +to the day of judgment; and among those excuses she would hardly +admit any except accidents, sickness or attendance on sick parents +or young children. + + +SUBSCRIPTIONS. + +Mrs. Jones, who had secured large subscriptions from the gentry, was +desirous of getting the help and countenance of the farmers and +trades-people, whose duty and interest she thought it was to support +a plan calculated to improve the virtue and happiness of the parish. +Most of them subscribed, and promised to see that their workmen sent +their children. She met with little opposition till she called on +farmer Hoskins. She told him, as he was the richest farmer in the +parish, she came to him for a handsome subscription. "Subscription!" +said he, "it is nothing but subscriptions, I think; a man, had need +be made of money." "Farmer," said Mrs. Jones, "God has blessed you +with abundant prosperity, and he expects you should be liberal in +proportion to your great ability." "I do not know what you mean by +blessing," said he: "I have been up early and late, lived hard while +I had little, and now when I thought I had got forward in the world, +what with tithes taxes, and subscriptions, it all goes, I think." +"Mr. Hoskins," said Mrs. Jones, "as to tithes and taxes, you well +know that the richer you are the more you pay; so that your murmurs +are a proof of your wealth. This is but an ungrateful return for all +your blessings." "You are again at your blessings," said the farmer; +"but let every one work as hard as I have done, and I dare say he +will do as well. It is to my own industry I owe what I have. My +crops have been good, because I minded my plowing and sowing." "O +farmer!" cried Mrs. Jones, "you forget whose suns and showers make +your crops to grow, and who it is that giveth strength to get +riches. But I do not come to preach, but to beg." + +"Well, madam, what is the subscription now? Flannel or French? or +weavers, or Swiss, or a new church, or large bread, or cheap rice? +or what other new whim-wham for getting the money out of one's +pocket?" "I am going to establish a Sunday School, farmer; and I +come to you as one of the principal inhabitants of the parish, +hoping your example will spur on the rest to give." "Why, then," +said the farmer, "as one of the principal inhabitants of the parish, +I will give nothing; hoping it will spur on the rest to refuse. Of +all the foolish inventions, and new fangled devices to ruin the +country, that of teaching the poor to read is the very worst." "And +I, farmer, think that to teach good principles to the lower classes, +is the most likely way to save the country. Now, in order to this, +we must teach them to read." "Not with my consent, nor my money," +said the farmer; "for I know it always does more harm than good." +"So it may," said Mrs. Jones, "if you only teach them to read, and +then turn them adrift to find out books for themselves.[7] There is +a proneness in the heart to evil, which it is our duty to oppose, +and which I see you are promoting. Only look round your own kitchen; +I am ashamed to see it hung round with loose songs and ballads. I +grant, indeed, it would be better for young men and maids, and even +your daughters, not to be able to read at all, than to read such +stuff as this. But if, when they ask for bread, you will give them a +stone, nay worse, a serpent, yours is the blame." Then taking up a +penny-book which had a very loose title, she went on: "I do not +wonder, if you, who read such books as these, think it safer that +people should not read at all." The farmer grinned, and said, "It is +hard if a man of my substance may not divert himself; when a bit of +fun costs only a penny, and a man can spare that penny, there is no +harm done. When it is very hot, or very wet, and I come in to rest, +and have drunk my mug of cider, I like to take up a bit of a +jest-book, or a comical story, to make me laugh." + + [7] It was this consideration chiefly, which stimulated the + conductors of the Cheap Repository to send forth that variety of + little books so peculiarly suited to the young. They considered + that by means of Sunday Schools, multitudes were now taught to + read, who would be exposed to be corrupted by all the ribaldry and + profaneness of loose songs, vicious stories, and especially by the + new influx of corruption arising from jacobinial and atheistical + pamphlets, and that it was a bounden duty to counteract such + temptations. + +"O, Mr. Hoskins!" replied Mrs. Jones, "when you come in to rest from +a burning sun or shower, do you never think of Him whose sun it is +that is ripening your corn? or whose shower is filling the ear, or +causing the grass to grow? I could tell you of some books which +would strengthen such thoughts, whereas such as you read only serve +to put them out of your head." + +Mrs. Jones having taken pains to let Mr. Hoskins know that all the +genteel and wealthy people had subscribed, he at last said, "Why, as +to the matter of that, I do not value a crown; only I think it may +be better bestowed; and I am afraid my own workmen will fly in my +face if once they are made scholars; and that they will think +themselves too good to work." "Now you talk soberly, and give your +reasons," said Mrs. Jones; "weak as they are, they deserve an +answer. Do you think that either man, woman, or child, ever did his +duty the worse, only because he knew it the better?" "No, perhaps +not." "Now, the whole extent of learning which we intend to give the +poor, is only to enable them to read the Bible; a book which brings +to us the glad tidings of salvation, in which every duty is +explained, every doctrine brought into practice, and the highest +truths made level to the meanest understanding. The knowledge of +that book, and its practical influence on the heart, is the best +security you can have, both for the industry and obedience of your +servants. Now, can you think any man will be the worse servant for +being a good Christian?" "Perhaps not." "Are not the duties of +children, of servants, and the poor, individually and expressly set +forth in the Bible?" "Yes." "Do you think any duties are likely to +be as well performed from any human motives, such as fear or +prudence, as from those religious motives which are backed with the +sanction of rewards and punishments, of heaven or hell? Even upon +your own principles of worldly policy, do you think a poor man is +not less likely to steal a sheep or a horse, who was taught when a +boy that it was a sin, that it was breaking a commandment, to rob a +hen-roost, or an orchard, than one who has been bred in ignorance of +God's law? Will your property be secured so effectually by the +stocks on the green, as by teaching the boys in the school, that +_for all these things God will bring them in to judgment_? Is a poor +fellow who can read his Bible, so likely to sleep or to drink away +his few hours of leisure, as one who _can not_ read? He may, and he +often does, make a bad use of his reading; but I doubt he would have +been as bad without it; and the hours spent in learning to read will +always have been among the most harmless ones of his life." + +"Well, madam," said the farmer, "if you do not think that religion +will spoil my young servants, I do not care if you do put me down +for half a guinea. What has farmer Dobson given?" "Half a guinea," +said Mrs. Jones. "Well," cried the farmer, "it shall never be said I +do not give more than he, who is only a renter. Dobson half a +guinea! Why, he wears his coat as threadbare as a laborer." +"Perhaps," replied Mrs. Jones, "that is one reason why he gives so +much." "Well, put me down a guinea," cried the farmer; "as scarce as +guineas are just now, I'll never be put upon the same footing with +Dobson, neither." "Yes, and you must exert yourself beside, in +insisting that your workmen send their children, and often look into +the school yourself, to see if they are there, and reward or +discourage them accordingly," added Mrs. Jones. "The most zealous +teachers will flag in their exertions, if they are not animated and +supported by the wealthy; and your poor youth will soon despise +religious instruction as a thing forced upon them, as a hardship +added to their other hardships, if it be not made pleasant by the +encouraging presence, kind words, and little gratuities, from their +betters." + +Here Mrs. Jones took her leave; the farmer insisted on waiting on +her to the door. When they got into the yard, they spied Mr. +Simpson, who was standing near a group of females, consisting of the +farmer's two young daughters, and a couple of rosy dairy-maids, an +old blind fiddler, and a woman who led him. The woman had laid a +basket on the ground, out of which she was dealing some songs to the +girls, who were kneeling round it, and eagerly picking out such +whose title suited their tastes. On seeing the clergyman come up, +the fiddler's companion (for I am sorry to say she was not his wife) +pushed some of the songs to the bottom of the basket, turned round +to the company, and, in a whining tone, asked if they would please +to buy a godly book. Mr. Simpson saw through the hypocrisy at once, +and instead of making any answer, took out of one of the girls' +hands a song which the woman had not been able to snatch away. He +was shocked and grieved to see that these young girls were about to +read, to sing, and to learn by heart such ribaldry as he was ashamed +even to cast his eyes on. He turned about to the girl, and gravely, +but mildly said, "Young woman, what do you think should be done to a +person who should be found carrying a box of poison round the +country, and leaving a little at every house?" The girls agreed that +such a person ought to be hanged. "That he should," said the +farmer, "if I was upon the jury, and quartered too." The fiddler and +his woman were of the same opinion, declaring, _they_ would do no +such a wicked thing for the world, for if they were poor they were +honest. Mr. Simpson, turning to the other girl, said, "Which is of +most value, the soul or the body?" "The soul, sir," said the girl. +"Why so?" said he. "Because, sir, I have heard you say in the +pulpit, the soul is to last forever." "Then," cried Mr. Simpson, in +a stern voice, turning to the fiddler's woman, "are you not ashamed +to sell poison for that part which is to last forever? poison for +the soul?" "Poison?" said the terrified girl, throwing down the +book, and shuddering as people do who are afraid they have touched +something infectious. "Poison!" echoed the farmer's daughters, +recollecting with horror the ratsbane which Lion, the old house-dog, +had got at the day before, and after eating which she had seen him +drop down dead in convulsions. "Yes," said Mr. Simpson to the woman, +"I do again repeat, the souls of these innocent girls will be +poisoned, and may be eternally ruined by this vile trash which you +carry about." + +"I now see," said Mrs. Jones to the farmer, "the reason why you +think learning to read does more harm than good. It is indeed far +better that they should never know how to tell a letter, unless you +keep such trash as this out of their way, and provide them with what +is good, or at least what is harmless. Still, this is not the fault +of reading, but the abuse of it. Wine is still a good cordial, +though it is too often abused to the purpose of drunkenness." + +The farmer said that neither of his maids could read their +horn-book, though he owned he often heard them singing that song +which the parson thought so bad, but for his part it made them as +merry as a nightingale. + +"Yes," said Mrs. Jones, "as a proof that it is not merely being +able to read which does the mischief, I have often heard, as I have +been crossing a hay-field, young girls singing such indecent +ribaldry as has driven me out of the field, though I well knew they +could not read a line of what they were singing, but had caught it +from others. So you see you may as well say the memory is a wicked +talent because some people misapply it, as to say that reading is +dangerous because some folks abuse it." + +While they were talking, the fiddler and his woman were trying to +steal away unobserved, but Mr. Simpson stopped them, and sternly +said, "Woman, I shall have some further talk with you. I am a +magistrate as well as a minister, and if I know it, I will no more +allow a wicked book to be sold in my parish than a dose of poison." +The girls threw away all their songs, thanked Mr. Simpson, begged +Mrs. Jones would take them into her school after they had done +milking in the evenings, that they might learn to read only what was +proper. They promised they would never more deal with any but sober, +honest hawkers, such as sell good little books, Christmas carols, +and harmless songs, and desired the fiddler's woman never to call +there again. + +This little incident afterward confirmed Mrs. Jones in a plan she +had before some thoughts of putting in practice. This was, after her +school had been established a few months, to invite all the +well-disposed grown-up youth of the parish to meet her at the school +an hour or two on a Sunday evening, after the necessary business of +the dairy, and of serving the cattle was over. Both Mrs. Jones and +her agent had the talent of making this time pass so agreeably, by +their manner of explaining Scripture, and of impressing the heart by +serious and affectionate discourse, that in a short time the +evening-school was nearly filled with a second company, after the +younger ones were dismissed. In time, not only the servants, but the +sons and daughters of the most substantial people in the parish +attended. At length many of the parents, pleased with the +improvement so visible in the young people, got a habit of dropping +in, that they might learn how to instruct their own families; and it +was observed that as the school filled, not only the fives-court and +public houses were thinned, but even Sunday gossipping and +tea-visiting declined. Even farmer Hoskins, who was at first very +angry with his maids for leaving off those _merry_ songs (as he +called them) was so pleased by the manner in which the psalms were +sung at the school, that he promised Mrs. Jones to make her a +present of half a sheep toward her first May-day feast. Of this +feast some account shall be given hereafter; and the reader may +expect some further account of the Sunday School in the history of +Hester Wilmot. + + + + +THE HISTORY OF HESTER WILMOT. + +BEING THE SECOND PART OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL + + +Hester Wilmot was born in the parish of Weston, of parents who +maintained themselves by their labor; they were both of them +ungodly: it is no wonder therefore they were unhappy. They lived +badly together, and how could they do otherwise? for their tempers +were very different, and they had no religion to smooth down this +difference, or to teach them that they ought to bear with each +other's faults. Rebecca Wilmot was a proof that people may have some +right qualities, and yet be but bad characters, and utterly +destitute of religion. She was clean, notable, and industrious. Now +I know some folks fancy that the poor who have these qualities need +have no other, but this is a sad mistake, as I am sure every page in +the Bible would show; and it is a pity people do not consult it +oftener. They direct their plowing and sowing by the information of +the Almanac: why will they not consult the Bible for the direction +of their hearts and lives? Rebecca was of a violent, ungovernable +temper; and that very neatness which is in itself so pleasing, in +her became a sin, for her affection to her husband and children was +quite lost in an over anxious desire to have her house reckoned the +nicest in the parish. Rebecca was also a proof that a poor woman may +be as vain as a rich one, for it was not so much the comfort of +neatness, as the praise of neatness, which she coveted. A spot on +her hearth, or a bit of rust on a brass candlestick, would throw her +into a violent passion. Now it is very right to keep the hearth +clean and the candlestick bright, but it is very wrong so to set +one's affections on a hearth or a candlestick, as to make one's self +unhappy if any trifling accident happens to them; and if Rebecca had +been as careful to keep her heart without spot, or her life without +blemish, as she was to keep her fire-irons free from either, she +would have been held up in this history, not as a warning, but as a +pattern, and in that case her nicety would have come in for a part +of the praise. It was no fault in Rebecca, but a merit, that her oak +table was so bright you could almost see to put your cap on in it; +but it was no merit but a fault, that when John, her husband, laid +down his cup of beer upon it so as to leave a mark, she would fly +out into so terrible a passion that all the children were forced to +run to corners; now poor John having no corner to run to, ran to the +ale-house, till that which was at first a refuge too soon became a +pleasure. + +Rebecca never wished her children to learn to read, because she said +it would make them lazy, and she herself had done very well without +it. She would keep poor Hester from church to stone the space under +the stairs in fine patterns and flowers. I don't pretend to say +there was any harm in this little decoration, it looks pretty +enough, and it is better to let the children do that than nothing. +But still these are not things to set one's heart upon; and besides +Rebecca only did it as a trap for praise; for she was sulky and +disappointed if any ladies happened to call in and did not seem +delighted with the flowers which she used to draw with a burnt stick +on the whitewash of the chimney corners. Besides, all this finery +was often done on a Sunday, and there is a great deal of harm in +doing right things at a wrong time, or in wasting much time on +things which are of no real use, or in doing any thing at all out +of vanity. Now I beg that no lazy slattern of a wife will go and +take any comfort in her dirt from what is here said against +Rebecca's nicety; for I believe, that for one who makes her husband +unhappy through neatness, twenty do so by dirt and laziness. All +excuses are wrong, but the excess of a good quality is not so +uncommon as the excess of a bad one; and not being so obvious, +perhaps, for that very reason requires more animadversion. + +John Wilmot was not an ill-natured man, but he had no fixed +principle. Instead of setting himself to cure his wife's faults by +mild reproof and good example, he was driven by them into still +greater faults himself. It is a common case with people who have no +religion, when any cross accident befalls them, instead of trying to +make the best of a bad matter, instead of considering their trouble +as a trial sent from God to purify them, or instead of considering +the faults of others as a punishment for their own sins, instead of +this I say, what do they do, but either sink down at once into +despair, or else run for comfort into evil courses. Drinking is the +common remedy for sorrow, if that can be called a remedy, the end of +which is to destroy soul and body. John now began to spend all his +leisure hours at the Bell. He used to be fond of his children: but +when he could not come home in quiet, and play with the little ones, +while his wife dressed him a bit of hot supper, he grew in time not +to come home at all. He who has once taken to drink can seldom be +said to be guilty of one sin only; John's heart became hardened. His +affection for his family was lost in self-indulgence. Patience and +submission on the part of the wife, might have won much upon a man +of John's temper; but instead of trying to reclaim him, his wife +seemed rather to delight in putting him as much in the wrong as she +could, that she might be justified in her constant abuse of him. I +doubt whether she would have been as much pleased with his +reformation as she was with always talking of his faults, though I +know it was the opinion of the neighbors, that if she had taken as +much pains to reform her husband by reforming her own temper, as she +did to abuse him and expose him, her endeavors might have been +blessed with success. Good Christians, who are trying to subdue +their own faults, can hardly believe that the ungodly have a sort of +savage satisfaction in trying, by indulgence of their own evil +tempers, to lessen the happiness of those with whom they have to do. +Need we look any further for a proof of our own corrupt nature, when +we see mankind delight in sins which have neither the temptations of +profit or the allurement of pleasure, such as plaguing, vexing, or +abusing each other. + +Hester was the eldest of their five children; she was a sharp +sensible girl, but at fourteen years old she could not tell a +letter, nor had she ever been taught to bow her knee to Him who made +her, for John's or rather Rebecca's house, had seldom the name of +God pronounced in it, except to be blasphemed. + +It was just about this time, if I mistake not, that Mrs. Jones set +up her Sunday School, of which Mrs. Betty Crew was appointed +mistress, as has been before related. Mrs. Jones finding that none +of the Wilmots were sent to school, took a walk to Rebecca's house, +and civilly told her, she called to let her know that a school was +opened to which she desired her to send her children on Sunday +following, especially her oldest daughter Hester. "Well," said +Rebecca, "and what will you give her if I do?" "Give her!" replied +Mrs. Jones, "that is rather a rude question, and asked in a rude +manner: however, as a soft answer turneth away wrath, I assure you +that I will give her the best of learning; I will teach her to _fear +God and keep his commandments_." "I would rather you would teach +her to fear me, and keep my house clean," said this wicked woman. +"She sha'n't come, however, unless you will pay her for it." "Pay +her for it!" said the lady; "will it not be reward enough that she +will be taught to read the word of God without any expense to you? +For though many gifts both of books and clothing will be given the +children, yet you are not to consider these gifts so much in the +light of payment as an expression of good will in your benefactors." +"I say," interrupted Rebecca, "that Hester sha'n't go to school. +Religion is of no use that I know of, but to make people hate their +own flesh and blood; and I see no good in learning but to make folks +proud, and lazy, and dirty. I can not tell a letter myself, and, +though I say it, that should not say it, there is not a notabler +woman in the parish." "Pray," said Mrs. Jones mildly, "do you think +that young people will disobey their parents the more for being +taught to fear God?" "I don't think any thing about it," said +Rebecca; "I sha'n't let her come, and there's the long and short of +the matter. Hester has other fish to fry; but you may have some of +these little ones if you will." "No," said Mrs. Jones, "I will not; +I have not set up a nursery, but a school. I am not at all this +expense to take crying babes out of the mother's way, but to +instruct reasonable beings in the road to eternal life: and it ought +to be a rule in all schools not to take the troublesome _young_ +children unless the mother will try to spare the _elder_ ones, who +are capable of learning." "But," said Rebecca, "I have a young child +which Hester must nurse while I dress dinner. And she must iron the +rags, and scour the irons, and dig the potatoes, and fetch the water +to boil them." "As to nursing the child, that is indeed a necessary +duty, and Hester ought to stay at home part of the day to enable you +to go to church; and families should relieve each other in this way, +but as to all the rest, they are no reasons at all, for the irons +need not be scoured so often, and the rags should be ironed, and the +potatoes dug, and the water fetched on the Saturday; and I can tell +you that neither your minister here, nor your Judge hereafter, will +accept of any such excuse." + +All this while Hester staid behind pale and trembling lest her +unkind mother should carry her point. She looked up at Mrs. Jones +with so much love and gratitude as to win her affection, and this +good lady went on trying to soften this harsh mother. At last +Rebecca condescended to say, "Well I don't know but I may let her +come now and then when I can spare her, provided I find you make it +worth her while." All this time she had never asked Mrs. Jones to +sit down, nor had once bid her young children be quiet, though they +were crying and squalling the whole time. Rebecca fancied this +rudeness was the only way she had of showing she thought herself to +be as good as her guest, but Mrs. Jones never lost her temper. The +moment she went out of the house, Rebecca called out loud enough for +her to hear, and ordered Hester to get the stone and a bit of sand +to scrub out the prints of that dirty woman's shoes. Hester in high +spirits cheerfully obeyed, and rubbed out the stains so neatly, that +her mother could not help lamenting that so handy a girl was going +to be spoiled, by being taught godliness, and learning any such +nonsense. + +Mrs. Jones, who knew the world, told her agent, Mrs. Crew, that her +grand difficulty would arise not so much from the children as the +parents. These, said she, are apt to fall into that sad mistake, +that because their children are poor, and have little of this +world's goods, the mothers must make it up to them in false +indulgence. The children of the gentry are much more reproved and +corrected for their faults, and bred up in far stricter discipline. +He was a king who said, _Chasten thy son, and let not thy rod spare +for his crying_. But do not lose your patience; the more vicious the +children are, you must remember the more they stand in need of your +instruction. When they are bad, comfort yourself with thinking how +much worse they would have been but for you; and what a burden they +would become to society if these evil tempers were to receive no +check. The great thing which enabled Mrs. Crew to teach well, was +the deep insight she had got into the corruption of human nature. +And I doubt if any one can make a thoroughly good teacher of +religion and morals, who wants the master-key to the heart. Others, +indeed, may teach knowledge, decency, and good manners; but those, +however valuable, are not Christianity. Mrs. Crew, who knew that out +of the heart proceed lying, theft, and all that train of evils which +begin to break out even in young children, applied her labors to +correct this root of evil. But though a diligent, she was a humble +teacher, well knowing that unless the grace of God blessed her +labors, she should but labor in vain. + +Hester Wilmot never failed to attend the school, whenever her +perverse mother would give her leave, and her delight in learning +was so great, that she would work early and late to gain a little +time for her book. As she had a quick capacity, she learned soon to +spell and read, and Mrs. Crew observing her diligence, used to lend +her a book to carry home, that she might pick up a little at odd +times. It would be well if teachers would make this distinction. To +give, or lend books to those who take no delight in them is a +useless expense; while it is kind and right to assist well-disposed +young people with every help of this sort. Those who love books +seldom hurt them, while the slothful who hate learning, will wear +out a book more in a week, than the diligent will do in a year. +Hester's way was to read over a question in her catechism, or one +verse in her hymn book, by fire-light before she went to bed; this +she thought over in the night: and when she was dressing herself in +the morning, she was glad to find she always knew a little more than +she had done the morning before. It is not to be believed how much +those people will be found to have gained at the end of the year, +who are accustomed to work up all the little odd ends and remnants +of leisure; who value time even more than money; and who are +convinced that minutes are no more to be wasted than pence. Nay, he +who finds he has wasted a shilling may by diligence hope to fetch it +up again: but no repentance or industry can ever bring back one +wasted hour. My good young reader, if ever _you_ are tempted to +waste an hour, go and ask a dying man what he would give for that +hour which you are throwing away, and according as he answers so do +you act. + +As her mother hated the sight of a book, Hester was forced to learn +out of sight: it was no disobedience to do this, as long as she +wasted no part of that time which it was her duty to spend in useful +labor. She would have thought it a sin to have left her work for her +book; but she did not think it wrong to steal time from her sleep, +and to be learning an hour before the rest of the family were awake. +Hester would not neglect the washing-tub, or the spinning-wheel, +even to get on with her catechism; but she thought it fair to think +over her questions while she was washing and spinning. In a few +months she was able to read fluently in St. John's Gospel, which is +the easiest. But Mrs. Crew did not think it enough that her children +could read a chapter, she would make them understand it also. It is +in a good degree owing to the want of religious knowledge in +teachers, that there is so little religion in the world. Unless the +Bible is laid open to the understanding, children may read from +Genesis to the Revelation, without any other improvement than +barely learning how to pronounce the words. Mrs. Crew found there +was but one way to compel their attention; this was by obliging them +to return back again to her the sense of what she had read to them, +and this they might do in their own words, if they could not +remember the words of Scripture. Those who had weak capacities, +would, to be sure, do this but very imperfectly; but even the +weakest, if they were willing would retain something. She so +managed, that _saying the catechism_ was not merely an act of the +memory, but of the understanding; for she had observed formerly that +those who had learned the catechism in the common formal way, when +they were children, had never understood it when they became men and +women, and it remained in the memory without having made any +impression on the mind. Thus this fine summary of the Christian +religion is considered as little more than a form of words, the +being able to repeat which, is a qualification for being confirmed +by the bishop, instead of being considered as really containing +those grounds of Christian faith and practice, by which they are to +be confirmed Christians. + +Mrs. Crew used to say to Mrs. Jones, those who teach the poor must +indeed give line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and +there a little, as they can receive it. So that teaching must be a +great grievance to those who do not really make it a _labor of +love_. I see so much levity, obstinacy, and ignorance, that it keeps +my own forbearance in continual exercise, insomuch that I trust I am +getting good myself, while I am doing good to others. No one, madam, +can know till they try, that after they have asked a poor untaught +child the same question nineteen times, they must not lose their +temper, but go on and ask it the twentieth. Now and then, when I am +tempted to be impatient, I correct myself by thinking over that +active proof which our blessed Saviour requires of our love to him +when he says, _Feed my lambs_. + +Hester Wilmot had never been bred to go to church, for her father +and mother had never thought of going themselves, unless at a +christening in their own family, or at a funeral of their neighbors, +both of which they considered merely as opportunities for good +eating and drinking, and not as offices of religion. + +As poor Hester had no comfort at home, it was the less wonder she +delighted in her school, her Bible, and her church; for so great is +God's goodness, that he is pleased to make religion a peculiar +comfort to those who have no other comfort. The God whose name she +had seldom heard but when it was _taken in vain_, was now revealed +to her as a God of infinite power, justice, and holiness. What she +read in her Bible, and what she felt in her own heart, convinced her +she was a sinner, and her catechism said the same. She was much +distressed one day on thinking over this promise which she had just +made (in answer to the question which fell to her lot), _To renounce +the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanities of this wicked +world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh_. I say she was +distressed on finding that these were not merely certain words which +she was bound to repeat, but certain conditions which she was bound +to perform. She was sadly puzzled to know how this was to be done, +till she met with these words in her Bible: _My grace is sufficient +for thee_. But still she was at a loss to know how this grace was to +be obtained. Happily Mr. Simpson preached on the next Sunday from +this text, _Ask and ye shall receive_, etc. In this sermon was +explained to her the nature, the duty, and the efficacy of prayer. +After this she opened her heart to Mrs. Crew, who taught her the +great doctrines of Scripture, in a serious but plain way. Hester's +own heart led her to assent to that humbling doctrine of the +catechism, that _We are by nature born in sin_; and truly glad was +she to be relieved by hearing of _That spiritual grace by which we +have a new birth unto righteousness_. Thus her mind was no sooner +humbled by one part than it gained comfort from another. On the +other hand, while she was rejoicing in _a lively hope in God's mercy +through Christ_, her mistress put her in mind that that was only the +_true_ repentance _by which we forsake sin_. Thus the catechism, +explained by a pious teacher, was found to contain _all the articles +of the Christian faith_. + +Mrs. Jones greatly disapproved the practice of turning away the +scholars, because they were grown up. Young people, said she, want +to be warned at sixteen more than they did at six, and they are +commonly turned adrift at the very age when they want most +instruction; when dangers and temptations most beset them. They are +exposed to more evil by the leisure of a Sunday evening, than by the +business of a whole week; but then religion must be made pleasant, +and instruction must be carried on in a kind, and agreeable, and +familiar way. If they once dislike the teacher, they will soon get +to dislike what is taught, so that a master or mistress is in some +measure answerable for the future piety of young persons, inasmuch +as that piety depends on their manner of making religion pleasant as +well as profitable. + +To attend Mrs. Jones's evening instructions was soon thought not a +task but a holiday. In a few months it was reckoned a disadvantage +to the character of any young person in the parish to know that they +did not attend the evening school. At first, indeed, many of them +came only with a view to learn amusement; but, by the blessing of +God, they grew fond of instruction, and some of them became truly +pious. Mrs. Jones spoke to them on Sunday evening as follows: "My +dear young women, I rejoice at your improvement; but I rejoice with +trembling. I have known young people set out well, who afterward +fell off. The heart is deceitful. Many like religious knowledge, who +do not like the strictness of a religious life. I must therefore +watch whether those who are diligent at church and school, are +diligent in their daily walk. Whether those who say they _believe_ +in God, really _obey_ him. Whether they who profess to _love_ Christ +keep His _commandments_. Those who hear themselves commended for +early piety, may learn to rest satisfied with the praise of man. +People may get a knack at religious phrases without being religious; +they may even get to frequent places of worship as an amusement, in +order to meet their friends, and may learn to delight in a sort of +_spiritual gossip_, while religion has no power in their hearts. But +I hope better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, +though I thus speak." + +What became of Hester Wilmot, with some account of Mrs. Jones's +May-day feast for her school, my readers shall be told next month. + + +PART II. + +THE NEW GOWN. + +Hester Wilmot, I am sorry to observe, had been by nature peevish and +lazy; she would, when a child, now and then slight her work, and +when her mother was unreasonable she was too apt to return a saucy +answer; but when she became acquainted with her own heart, and with +the Scriptures, these evil tempers were, in a good measure, +subdued, for she now learned to imitate, not her violent mother, +but _Him who was meek and lowly_. When she was scolded for doing +ill, she prayed for grace to do better; and the only answer she made +to her mother's charge, "that religion only served to make people +lazy," was to strive to do twice as much work, in order to prove +that it really made them diligent. The only thing in which she +ventured to disobey her mother was, that when she ordered her to do +week-day's work on a Sunday, Hester cried, and said, she did not +dare to disobey God; but to show that she did not wish to save her +own labor, she would do a double portion of work on the Saturday +night, and rise two hours earlier on Monday morning. + +Once, when she had worked very hard, her mother told her that she +would treat her with a holiday the following Sabbath, and take her a +fine walk to eat cakes and drink ale at Weston fair, which, though +it was professed to be kept on the Monday, yet, to the disgrace of +the village, always began on the Sunday evening.[8] Rebecca, who +would on no account have wasted the Monday, which was a working day, +in idleness and pleasure, thought she had a very good right to enjoy +herself at the fair on the Sunday evening, as well as to take her +children. Hester earnestly begged to be left at home, and her +mother, in a rage, went without her. A wet walk, and more ale than +she was used to drink, gave Rebecca a dangerous fever. During this +illness Hester, who would not follow her to a scene of dissolute +mirth, attended her night and day, and denied herself necessaries +that her sick mother might have comforts; and though she secretly +prayed to God that this sickness might change her mother's heart, +yet she never once reproached her, or put her in mind that it was +caught by indulging in a sinful pleasure. + + [8] This practice is too common. Those fairs which profess to be + kept on Monday, commonly begin on the Sunday. It is much to be + wished that magistrates would put a stop to it, as Mr. Simpson did + at Weston, at the request of Mrs. Jones. There is another great + evil worth the notice of justices. In many villages, during the + fair, ale is sold at private houses, which have no license, to the + great injury of sobriety and good morals. + +Another Sunday night her father told Hester he thought she had now +been at school long enough for him to have a little good of her +learning, so he desired she would stay at home and read to him. +Hester cheerfully ran and fetched her Testament. But John fell a +laughing, calling her a fool, and said, it would be time enough to +read the Testament to him when he was going to die, but at present +he must have something merry. So saying, he gave her a songbook +which he had picked up at the Bell. Hester, having cast her eyes +over it, refused to read it, saying, she did not dare offend God by +reading what would hurt her own soul. John called her a canting +hypocrite, and said he would put the Testament into the fire, for +that there was not a more merry girl than she was before she became +religious. Her mother, for once, took her part; not because she +thought her daughter in the right, but because she was glad of any +pretense to show her husband was in the wrong; though she herself +would have abused Hester for the same thing if John had taken her +part. John, with a shocking oath, abused them both, and went off in +a violent passion. Hester, instead of saying one undutiful word +against her father, took up a Psalter in order to teach her little +sisters; but Rebecca was so provoked at her for not joining her in +her abuse of her husband, that she changed her humor, said John was +in the right, and Hester a perverse hypocrite, who only made +religion a pretense for being undutiful to her parents. Hester bore +all in silence, and committed her cause to Him _who judgeth +righteously_. It would have been a great comfort to her if she had +dared to go to Mrs. Crew, and to have joined in the religious +exercises of the evening at school. But her mother refused to let +her, saying it would only harden her heart in mischief. Hester said +not a word, but after having put the little ones to bed, and heard +them say their prayers out of sight, she went and sat down in her +own little loft, and said to herself, "It would be pleasant to me to +have taught my little sisters to read; I thought it was my duty, for +David has said, _Come ye children, hearken unto me, and I will teach +you the fear of the Lord_. It would have been still more pleasant to +have passed the evening at school, because I am still ignorant, and +fitter to learn than to teach; but I can not do either without +flying in the face of my mother; God sees fit to-night to change my +pleasant duties into a painful trial. I give up my will, and I +submit to the will of my father; but when he orders me to commit a +known sin, then I dare not do it, because, in so doing, I must +disobey my Father which is in heaven." + +Now, it so fell out, that this dispute happened on the very Sunday +next before Mrs. Jones's yearly feast. On May-day all the school +attended her to church, each in a stuff gown of their own earning, +and a cap and white apron of her giving. After church there was an +examination made into the learning and behavior of the scholars; +those who were most perfect in their chapters, and who brought the +best character for industry, humility, and sobriety, received a +Bible or some other good book. + +Now Hester had been a whole year hoarding up her little savings, in +order to be ready with a new gown on the May-day feast. She had +never got less than two shillings a week by her spinning, beside +working for the family, and earning a trifle by odd jobs. This money +she faithfully carried to her mother every Saturday night, keeping +back by consent only twopence a week toward the gown. The sum was +complete, the pattern had long been settled, and Hester had only on +the Monday morning to go to the shop, pay her money, and bring home +her gown to be made. Her mother happened to go out early that +morning to iron in a gentleman's family, where she usually staid a +day or two, and Hester was busy putting the house in order before +she went to the shop. + +On that very Monday there was to be a meeting at the Bell of all the +idle fellows in the parish. John Wilmot, of course, was to be there. +Indeed he had accepted a challenge of the blacksmith to match at +all-fours. The blacksmith was flush of money, John thought himself +the best player; and, that he might make sure of winning, he +resolved to keep himself sober, which he knew was more than the +other would do. John was so used to go upon tick for ale, that he +got to the door of the Bell before he recollected that he could not +keep his word with the gambler without money, and he had not a penny +in his pocket, so he sullenly turned homeward. He dared not apply to +his wife, as he knew he should be more likely to get a scratched +face than a sixpence from her; but he knew that Hester had received +two shillings for her last week's spinning on Saturday, and, +perhaps, she might not yet have given it to her mother. Of the +hoarded sum he knew nothing. He asked her if she could lend him half +a crown, and he would pay her next day. Hester, pleased to see him +in a good humor after what had passed the night before, ran up and +fetched down her little box, and, in the joy of her heart that he +now desired something she _could_ comply with without wounding her +conscience, cheerfully poured out her whole little stock on the +table. John was in raptures at the sight of three half crowns and a +sixpence, and eagerly seized it, box and all, together with a few +hoarded halfpence at the bottom, though he had only asked to borrow +half a crown. None but one whose heart was hardened by a long course +of drunkenness could have taken away the whole, and for such a +purpose. He told her she should certainly have it again next +morning, and, indeed, intended to pay it, not doubting but he should +double the sum. But John overrated his own skill, or luck, for he +lost every farthing to the blacksmith, and sneaked home before +midnight, and quietly walked up to bed. He was quite sober, which +Hester thought a good sign. Next morning she asked him, in a very +humble way, for the money, which she said she would not have done, +but that if the gown was not bought directly it would not be ready +in time for the feast. John's conscience had troubled him a little +for what he had done--for when he was not drunk he was not +ill-natured--and he stammered out a broken excuse, but owned he had +lost the money, and had not a farthing left. The moment Hester saw +him mild and kind her heart was softened, and she begged him not to +vex, adding, that she would be contented never to have a new gown as +long as she lived, if she could have the comfort of always seeing +him come home sober as he was last night. For Hester did not know +that he had refrained from getting drunk, only that he might gamble +with a better chance of success, and that when a gamester keeps +himself sober, it is not that he may practice a virtue, but that he +may commit a worse crime. + +"I am indeed sorry for what I have done," said he; "you can not go +to the feast, and what will Madam Jones say?" "Yes, but I can," said +Hester; "for God looks not at the gown, but at the heart, and I am +sure he sees mine full of gratitude at hearing you talk so kindly; +and if I thought my dear father would change his present evil +courses, I should be the happiest girl at the feast to-morrow." John +walked away mournfully, and said to himself, "Surely there must be +something in religion, since it can thus change the heart. Hester +was once a pert girl, and now she is as mild as a lamb. She was once +an indolent girl, and now she is up with the lark. She was a vain +girl, and would do any thing for a new ribbon; and now she is +contented to go in rags to a feast at which every one else is to +have a new gown. She deprived herself of the gown to give me the +money; and yet this very girl, so dutiful in some respects, would +submit to be turned out of doors rather than read a loose book at my +command, or break the Sabbath. I do not understand this; there must +be some mystery in it." All this he said as he was going to work. In +the evening he did not go to the Bell; whether it was owing to his +new thoughts, or to his not having a penny in his pocket, I will not +take upon me positively to say; but I believe it was a little of one +and a little of the other. + +As the pattern of the intended gown had long been settled in the +family, and as Hester had the money by her, it was looked on as good +as bought, so that she was trusted to get it brought home and made +in her mother's absence. Indeed, so little did Rebecca care about +the school, that she would not have cared any thing about the gown, +if her vanity had not made her wish that her daughter should be the +best dressed of any girl at the feast. Being from home, as was said +before, she knew nothing of the disappointment. On May-day morning, +Hester, instead of keeping from the feast because she had not a new +gown, or meanly inventing any excuse for wearing an old one, dressed +herself out as neatly as she could in her poor old things, and went +to join the school in order to go to church. Whether Hester had +formerly indulged a little pride of heart, and talked of this gown +rather too much, I am not quite sure; certain it is, there was a +great hue and cry made at seeing Hester Wilmot, the neatest girl, +the most industrious girl in the school, come to the May-day feast +in an old stuff gown, when every other girl was so creditably +dressed. Indeed, I am sorry to say, there were two or three much too +smart for their station, and who had dizened themselves out in very +improper finery, which Mrs. Jones made them take off before her. "I +mean this feast," said she, "as a reward of industry and piety, and +not as a trial of skill who can be finest and outvie the rest in +show. If I do not take care, my feast will become an encouragement, +not to virtue, but to vanity. I am so great a friend to decency of +apparel, that I even like to see you deny your appetites that you +may be able to come decently dressed to the house of God. To +encourage you to do this, I like to set apart this one day of +innocent pleasure, against which you may be preparing all the year, +by laying aside something every week toward buying a gown out of all +your savings. But, let me tell you, that meekness and an humble +spirit is of more value in the sight of God and good men, than the +gayest cotton gown, or the brightest pink ribbon in the parish." + +Mrs. Jones for all this, was as much surprised as the rest at +Hester's mean garb; but such is the power of a good character, that +she gave her credit for a right intention, especially as she knew +the unhappy state of her family. For it was Mrs. Jones's way, (and +it is not a bad way,) always to wait, and inquire into the truth +before she condemned any person of good character, though +appearances were against them. As we can not judge of people's +motives, said she, we may, from ignorance, often condemn their best +actions, and approve of their worst. It will be always time enough +to judge unfavorably, and let us give others credit as long as we +can, and then we in our turn, may expect a favorable judgment from +others, and remember who has said, _Judge not, that ye be not +judged_. + +Hester was no more proud of what she had done for her father, than +she was humbled by the meanness of her garb: and notwithstanding +Betty Stiles, one of the girls whose finery had been taken away, +sneered at her, Hester never offered to clear herself, by exposing +her father, though she thought it right, secretly to inform Mrs. +Jones of what had passed. When the examination of the girls began, +Betty Stiles was asked some questions on the fourth and fifth +commandments, which she answered very well. Hester was asked nearly +the same questions, and though she answered them no better than +Betty had done, they were all surprised to see Mrs. Jones rise up, +and give a handsome Bible to Hester, while she gave nothing to +Betty. This girl cried out rather pertly, "Madam, it is very hard +that I have no book: I was as perfect as Hester." "I have often told +you," said Mrs. Jones, "that religion is not a thing of the tongue +but of the heart. That girl gives me the best proof that she has +learned the fourth commandment to good purpose, who persists in +keeping holy the Sabbath day, though commanded to break it, by a +parent whom she loves. And that girl best proves that she keeps the +fifth, who gives up her own comfort, and clothing, and credit, to +_honor and obey her father and mother_, even though they are not +such as she could wish. Betty Stiles, though she could answer the +questions so readily, went abroad last Sunday when she should have +been at school, and refused to nurse her sick mother, when she could +not help herself. Is this having learned those two commandments to +any good purpose?" + +Farmer Hoskins, who stood by, whispered Mrs. Jones, "Well, madam, +now you have convinced even me of the benefit of a religious +instruction; now I see there is a meaning to it. I thought it was in +at one ear and out at the other, and that a song was as well as a +psalm, but now I have found the proof of the pudding is in the +eating. I see your scholars must _do_ what they _hear_, and _obey_ +what they _learn_. Why at this rate, they will all be better +servants for being really godly, and so I will add a pudding to next +year's feast." + +The pleasure Hester felt in receiving a new Bible, made her forget +that she had on an old gown. She walked to church in a thankful +frame: but how great was her joy, when she saw, among a number of +working men, her own father going into church. As she passed by him +she cast on him a look of so much joy and affection that it brought +tears into his eyes, especially when he compared her mean dress with +that of the other girls, and thought who had been the cause of it. +John, who had not been at church for some years, was deeply struck +with the service. The confession with which it opens went to his +heart. He felt, for the first time, that he was a _miserable sinner, +and that there was no health in him_. He now felt compunction for +sin in general, though it was only his ill-behavior to his daughter +which had brought him to church. The sermon was such as to +strengthen the impression which the prayers had made; and when it +was over, instead of joining the ringers (for the belfry was the +only part of the church John liked, because it usually led to the +ale-house), he quietly walked back to his work. It was, indeed, the +best day's work he ever made. He could not get out of his head the +whole day, the first words he heard at church: _When the wicked man +turneth away from his wickedness, and doeth that which is lawful and +right, he shall save his soul alive._ At night, instead of going to +the Bell, he went home, intending to ask Hester to forgive him; but +as soon as he got to the door, he heard Rebecca scolding his +daughter for having brought such a disgrace on the family as to be +seen in that old rag of a gown, and insisted on knowing what she had +done with her money. Hester tried to keep the secret, but her +mother declared she would turn her out of doors if she did not tell +the truth. Hester was at last forced to confess she had given it to +her father. Unfortunately for poor John, it was at this very moment +that he opened the door. The mother now divided her fury between her +guilty husband and her innocent child, till from words she fell to +blows. John defended his daughter and received some of the strokes +intended for the poor girl. This turbulent scene partly put John's +good resolution to flight, though the patience of Hester did him +almost as much good as the sermon he had heard. At length the poor +girl escaped up stairs, not a little bruised, and a scene of much +violence passed between John and Rebecca. She declared she would not +sit down to supper with such a brute, and set off to a neighbor's +house, that she might have the pleasure of abusing him the longer. +John, whose mind was much disturbed, went up stairs without his +supper. As he was passing by Hester's little room he heard her +voice, and as he concluded she was venting bitter complaints against +her unnatural parents, he stopped to listen, resolved to go in and +comfort her. He stopped at the door, for, by the light of the moon, +he saw her kneeling by her bedside, and praying so earnestly that +she did not hear him. As he made sure she could be praying for +nothing but his death, what was his surprise to hear these words: "O +Lord have mercy upon my dear father and mother, teach me to love +them, to pray for them, and do them good; make me more dutiful and +more patient, that, adorning the doctrine of God, my Saviour, I may +recommend his holy religion, and my dear parents may be brought to +love and fear thee, through Jesus Christ." + +Poor John, who would never have been hard-hearted if he had not been +a drunkard, could not stand this; he fell down on his knees, +embraced his child, and begged her to teach him how to pray. He +prayed himself as well as he could, and though he did not know what +words to use, yet his heart was melted; he owned he was a sinner, +and begged Hester to fetch the prayer-book, and read over the +confession with which he had been so struck at church. This was the +pleasantest order she had ever obeyed. Seeing him deeply affected +with a sense of sin, she pointed out to him the Saviour of sinners; +and in this manner she passed some hours with her father, which were +the happiest of her life; such a night was worth a hundred cotton or +even silk gowns. In the course of the week Hester read over the +confession, and some other prayers to her father so often that he +got them by heart, and repeated them while he was at work. She next +taught him the fifty-first psalm. At length he took courage to kneel +down and pray before he went to bed. From that time he bore his +wife's ill-humor much better than he had ever done, and, as he knew +her to be neat, and notable, and saving, he began to think, that if +her temper was not quite so bad, his home might still become as +pleasant a place to him as ever the Bell had been; but unless she +became more tractable he did not know what to do with his long +evenings after the little ones were in bed, for he began, once more, +to delight in playing with them. Hester proposed that she herself +should teach him to read an hour every night, and he consented. +Rebecca began to storm, from the mere trick she had got of storming; +but finding that he now brought home all his earnings, and that she +got both his money and his company (for she had once loved him), she +began to reconcile herself to this new way of life. In a few months +John could read a psalm. In learning to read it he also got it by +heart, and this proved a little store for private devotion, and +while he was mowing or reaping, he could call to mind a text to +cheer his labor. He now went constantly to church, and often dropped +in at the school on a Sunday evening to hear their prayers. He +expressed so much pleasure at this, that one day Hester ventured to +ask him if they should set up family prayer at home? John said he +should like it mightily, but as he could not yet read quite well +enough, he desired Hester to try to get a proper book and begin next +Sunday night. Hester had bought of a pious hawker, for three half +pence,[9] the Book of Prayers, printed for the Cheap Repository, and +knew she should there find something suitable. + + [9] These prayers may be had also divided into two parts, one fit + for private persons, the other for families, price one half-penny. + +When Hester read the exhortation at the beginning of this little +book, her mother who sat in the corner, and pretended to be asleep, +was so much struck that she could not find a word to say against it. +For a few nights, indeed, she continued to sit still, or pretended +to rock the young child while her husband and daughter were kneeling +at their prayers. She expected John would have scolded her for this, +and so perverse was her temper, that she was disappointed at his +finding no fault with her. Seeing at last that he was very patient, +and that though he prayed fervently himself he suffered her to do as +she liked, she lost the spirit of opposition for want of something +to provoke it. As her pride began to be subdued, some little +disposition to piety was awakened in her heart. By degrees she slid +down on her knees, though at first it was behind the cradle, or the +clock, or in some corner where she thought they would not see her. +Hester rejoiced even in this outward change in her mother, and +prayed that God would at last be pleased to touch her heart as he +had done that of her father. + +As John now spent no idle money, he had saved up a trifle by working +over-hours; this he kindly offered to Hester to make up for the loss +of her gown. Instead of accepting it, Hester told him, that as she +herself was young and healthy, she could soon be able to clothe +herself out of her own savings, and begged him to make her mother a +present of this gown, which he did. It had been a maxim of Rebecca, +that it was better not to go to church at all, than go in an old +gown. She had, however, so far conquered this evil notion, that she +had lately gone pretty often. This kindness of the gown touched her +not a little, and the first Sunday she put it on, Mr. Simpson +happened to preach from this text, _God resisteth the proud but +giveth grace to the humble_. This sermon so affected Rebecca that +she never once thought she had her new gown on, till she came to +take it off when she went to bed, and that very night instead of +skulking behind, she knelt down by her husband, and joined in prayer +with much fervor. + +There, was one thing sunk deep in Rebecca's mind; she had observed +that since her husband had grown religious he had been so careful +not to give her any offense, that he was become scrupulously clean; +took off his dirty shoes before he sat down, and was very cautious +not to spill a drop of beer on her shining table. Now it was rather +remarkable, that as John grew more neat, Rebecca grew more +indifferent to neatness. But both these changes arose from the same +cause, the growth of religion in their hearts. John grew cleanly +from the fear of giving pain to his wife, while Rebecca grew +indifferent from having discovered the sin and folly of an +over-anxious care about trifles. When the heart is once given up to +God, such vanities in a good degree die of themselves. + +Hester continues to grow in grace, and in knowledge. Last +Christmas-day she was appointed under teacher in the school, and +many people think that some years hence, if any thing should happen +to Mrs. Crew, Hester may be promoted to be head mistress. + + + + +BETTY BROWN, + +THE ST. GILES'S ORANGE GIRL; + +WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF MRS. SPONGE, THE MONEY-LENDER. + + +Betty Brown, the orange girl, was born nobody knows where, and bred +nobody knows how. No girl in all the streets of London could drive a +barrow more nimbly, avoid pushing against passengers more +dexterously, or cry her "fine China oranges" in a shriller voice. +But then she could neither sew, nor spin, nor knit, nor wash, nor +iron, nor read, nor spell. Betty had not been always in so good a +situation as that in which we now describe her. She came into the +world before so many good gentlemen and ladies began to concern +themselves so kindly, that the poor girl might have a little +learning. There was no charitable society then as there is now, to +pick up poor friendless children in the streets,[10] and put them +into a good house, and give them meat, and drink, and lodging, and +learning, and teach them to get their bread in an honest way, into +the bargain. Whereas, this now is often the case in London; blessed +be God, _who has ordered the bounds of our habitation_, and cast our +lot in such a country! + + [10] The Philanthropic. + +The longest thing that Betty can remember is, that she used to crawl +up out of a night cellar, stroll about the streets, and pick cinders +from the scavengers' carts. Among the ashes she sometimes found +some ragged gauze and dirty ribands; with these she used to dizen +herself out, and join the merry bands on the first of May. This was +not, however, quite fair, as she did not lawfully belong either to +the female dancers, who foot it gayly round the garland, or to the +sooty tribe, who, on this happy holiday, forget their year's toil in +Portman square, cheered by the tender bounty of her whose wit has +long enlivened the most learned, and whose tastes and talents long +adorned the most polished societies. Betty, however, often got a few +scraps, by appearing to belong to both parties. But as she grew +bigger and was not an idle girl, she always put herself in the way +of doing something. She would run of errands for the footmen, or +sweep the door for the maid of any house where she was known; she +would run and fetch some porter, and never was once known either to +sip a drop by the way, or steal the pot. Her quickness and fidelity +in doing little jobs, got her into favor with a lazy cook-maid, who +was too apt to give away her master's cold meat and beer, not to +those who were most in want, but to those who waited upon her, and +did the little things for her which she ought to have done herself. + +The cook, who found Betty a dexterous girl, soon employed her to +sell ends of candles, pieces of meat and cheese, the lumps of +butter, or any thing else she could crib from the house. These were +all carried to her friend, Mrs. Sponge, who kept a little shop, and +a kind of eating-house for poor working people, not far from the +Seven Dials. She also bought as well as sold, many kinds of +second-hand things, and was not scrupulous to know whether what she +bought was honestly come by, provided she could get it for a sixth +part of what it was worth. But if the owner presumed to ask for its +real value, then she had sudden qualms of conscience, instantly +suspected the things were stolen, and gave herself airs of honesty, +which often took in poor silly people, and gave her a sort of half +reputation among the needy and ignorant, whose friend she +hypocritically pretended to be. + +To this artful woman Betty carried the cook's pilferings; and as +Mrs. Sponge would give no great price for these in money, the cook +was willing to receive payment for her eatables in Mrs. Sponge's +drinkables; for she dealt in all kinds of spirits. I shall only just +remark here, that one receiver, like Mrs. Sponge, makes many +pilferers, who are tempted to commit these petty thieveries, by +knowing how easy it is to dispose of them at such iniquitous houses. + +Betty was faithful to both her employers, which is extraordinary, +considering the greatness of the temptation and her utter ignorance +of good and evil. One day she ventured to ask Mrs. Sponge, if she +could not assist her to get into a more settled way of life. She +told her that when she rose in the morning she never knew where she +should lie at night, nor was she ever sure of a meal beforehand. +Mrs. Sponge asked her what she thought herself fit for. Betty, with +fear and trembling, said there was one trade for which she thought +herself qualified, but she had not the ambition to look so high--it +was far above her humble views--that was, to have a barrow, and sell +fruit, as several other of Mrs. Sponge's customers did, whom she had +often looked up to with envy, little expecting herself ever to +attain so independent a station. + +Mrs. Sponge was an artful woman. Bad as she was, she was always +aiming at something of a character; this was a great help to her +trade. While she watched keenly to make every thing turn to her own +profit, she had a false fawning way of seeming to do all she did out +of pity and kindness to the distressed; and she seldom committed an +extortion, but she tried to make the persons she cheated believe +themselves highly obliged to her kindness. By thus pretending to be +their friend, she gained their confidence; and she grew rich +herself, while they thought she was only showing favor to them. +Various were the arts she had of getting rich; and the money she got +by grinding the poor, she spent in the most luxurious living; while +she would haggle with her hungry customers for a farthing, she would +spend pounds on the most costly delicacies for herself. + +Mrs. Sponge, laying aside that haughty look and voice, well known to +such as had the misfortune to be in her debt, put on the +hypocritical smile and soft canting tone, which she always assumed, +when she meant to flatter her superiors, or take in her dependents. +"Betty," said she, "I am resolved to stand your friend. These are +sad times to be sure. Money is money now. Yet I am resolved to put +you in a handsome way of living. You shall have a barrow, and well +furnished too." Betty could not have felt more joy or gratitude, if +she had been told that she should have a coach. "O, madam," said +Betty, "it is impossible. I have not a penny in the world toward +helping me to set up." "I will take care of that," said Mrs. Sponge; +"only you must do as I bid you. You must pay me interest for my +money; and you will, of course, be glad also to pay so much every +night for a nice hot supper which I get ready _quite out of +kindness_, for a number of poor working people. This will be a great +comfort for such a friendless girl as you, for my victuals and drink +are the best, and my company the merriest of any in all St. +Giles's." Betty thought all this only so many more favors, and +curtseying to the ground, said, "To be sure, ma'am, and thank you a +thousand times into the bargain. I never could hope for such a rise +in life." + +Mrs. Sponge knew what she was about. Betty was a lively girl, who +had a knack at learning any thing; and so well looking through all +her dirt and rags, that there was little doubt she would get +custom. A barrow was soon provided, and five shillings put into +Betty's hands. Mrs. Sponge kindly condescended to go to show her how +to buy the fruit; for it was a rule with this prudent gentlewoman, +and one from which she never departed, that no one should cheat but +herself; and suspecting from her own heart the fraud of all other +dealers, she was seldom guilty of the weakness of being imposed +upon. + +Betty had never possessed such a sum before. She grudged to lay it +out all at once, and was ready to fancy she could live upon the +capital. The crown, however, was laid out to the best advantage. +Betty was carefully taught in what manner to cry her oranges; and +received many useful lessons how to get off the bad with the good, +and the stale with the fresh. Mrs. Sponge also lent her a few bad +sixpences, for which she ordered her to bring home good ones at +night. Betty stared. Mrs. Sponge said, "Betty, those who would get +money, must not be too nice about trifles. Keep one of these +sixpences in your hand, and if an ignorant young customer gives you +a good sixpence, do you immediately slip it into your other hand, +and give him the bad one, declaring that it is the very one you have +just received, and be ready to swear that you have not another +sixpence in the world. You must also learn how to treat different +sorts of customers. To some you may put off, with safety, goods +which would be quite unsaleable to others. Never offer bad fruit, +Betty, to those who know better; never waste the good on those who +may be put off with worse; put good oranges at top to attract the +eye, and the mouldy ones under for sale." + +Poor Betty had not a nice conscience, for she had never learned that +grand, but simple rule of all moral obligation, _Never do that to +another which you would not have another do to you._ She set off +with her barrow, as proud and as happy as if she had been set up in +the first shop in Covent Garden. Betty had a sort of natural good +temper, which made her unwilling to impose, but she had no principle +which told her it was sin to do so. She had such good success, that +when night came, she had not an orange left. With a light heart she +drove her empty barrow to Mrs. Sponge's door. She went in with a +merry face, and threw down on the counter every farthing she had +taken. "Betty," said Mrs. Sponge, "I have a right to it all, as it +was got by my money. But I am too generous to take it. I will +therefore only take a sixpence for this day's use of my five +shillings. This is a most reasonable interest, and I will lend you +the same sum to trade with to-morrow, and so on; you only paying me +sixpence for the use of it every night, which will be a great +bargain to you. You must also pay me my price every night for your +supper, and you shall have an excellent lodging above stairs; so you +see every thing will now be provided for you in a genteel manner, +through my generosity."[11] + + [11] For an authentic account of numberless frauds of this kind, + see that very useful work of Mr. Colquhoun on the "Police of the + Metropolis of London." + +Poor Betty's gratitude blinded her so completely, that she had +forgot to calculate the vast proportion which this generous +benefactress was to receive out of her little gains. She thought +herself a happy creature, and went in to supper with a number of +others of her own class. For this supper, and for more porter and +gin than she ought to have drunk, Betty was forced to pay so high +that it ate up all the profits of the day, which, added to the daily +interest, made Mrs. Sponge a rich return for her five shillings. + +Betty was reminded again of the gentility of her new situation, as +she crept up to bed in one of Mrs. Sponge's garrets, five stories +high. This loft, to be sure, was small and had no window, but what +it wanted in light was made up in company, as it had three beds and +thrice as many lodgers. Those gentry had one night, in a drunken +frolic, broken down the door, which happily had never been replaced; +for since that time, the lodgers had died much seldomer of +infectious distempers, than when they were close shut in. For this +lodging Betty paid twice as much to her _good friend_ as she would +have done to a stranger. Thus she continued with great industry and +a thriving trade, as poor as on the first day, and not a bit nearer +to saving money enough to buy her even a pair of shoes, though her +feet were nearly on the ground. + +One day, as Betty was driving her barrow through a street near +Holborn, a lady from a window called out to her that she wanted +some oranges. While the servant went to fetch a plate, the lady +entered into some talk with Betty, having been struck with her +honest countenance and civil manner. She questioned her as to her +way of life, and the profits of her trade; and Betty, who had never +been so kindly treated before by so genteel a person, was very +communicative. She told her little history as far as she knew it, +and dwelt much on the generosity of Mrs. Sponge, in keeping her in +her house, and trusting her with so large a capital as five +shillings. At first it sounded like a very good-natured thing; but +the lady, whose husband was one of the justices of the new police, +happened to know more of Mrs. Sponge than was good, which led her +to inquire still further. Betty owned, that to be sure it was not +all clear profit, for that besides that the high price of the +supper and bed ran away with all she got, she paid sixpence a-day +for the use of the five shillings. "And how long have you done +this?" said the lady. "About a year, madam." + +The lady's eyes were at once opened. "My poor girl," said she, "do +you know that you have already paid for that single five shillings +the enormous sum of L7 10s.? I believe it is the most profitable +five shillings Mrs. Sponge ever laid out." "O no, madam," said the +girl, "that good gentlewoman does the same kindness to ten or twelve +other poor friendless creatures like me." "Does she so?" said the +lady; "then I never heard of a more lucrative trade than this woman +carries on, under the mask of charity, at the expense of her poor +deluded fellow-creatures." + +"But, madam," said Betty, who did not comprehend this lady's +arithmetic, "what can I do? I now contrive to pick up a morsel of +bread without begging or stealing. Mrs. Sponge has been very good to +me; and I don't see how I can help myself." + +"I will tell you," said the lady; "if you will follow my advice, you +may not only maintain yourself honestly but independently. Only +oblige yourself to live hard for a little time, till you have saved +five shillings out of your own earnings. Give up that expensive +supper at night, drink only one pint of porter, and no gin at all. +As soon as you have scraped together the five shillings, carry it +back to your false friend; and if you are industrious, you will, at +the end of the year, have saved L7 10s. If you can make a shift to +live now, when you have this heavy interest to pay, judge how things +will mend when your capital becomes your own. You will put some +clothes on your back; and, by leaving the use of spirits, and the +company in which you drink them, your health, your morals, and your +condition will mend." + +The lady did not talk thus to save her money. She would willingly +have given the girl the five shillings; but she thought it was +beginning at the wrong end. She wanted to try her. Beside, she knew +there was more pleasure, as well as honor, in possessing five +shillings of one's own saving, than of another's giving. Betty +promised to obey. She owned she had got no good by the company or +the liquor at Mrs. Sponge's. She promised that very night to begin +saving the expense of the supper; and that she would not taste a +drop of gin till she had the five shillings beforehand. The lady, +who knew the power of good habits, was contented with this, +thinking, that if the girl could abstain for a certain time, it +would become easy to her. She therefore, at present, said little +about the _sin_ of drinking, and only insisted on the _expense_ of +it. + +In a very few weeks Betty had saved up the five shillings. She went +to carry back this money with great gratitude to Mrs. Sponge. This +kind friend began to abuse her most unmercifully. She called her +many hard names, not fit to repeat, for having forsaken the supper, +by which she swore she herself got nothing at all; but as she had +the charity to dress it for such beggarly wretches, she insisted +they should pay for it, whether they eat it or not. She also brought +in a heavy score for lodging, though Betty had paid for it every +night, and had given notice of her intending to quit her. By all +these false pretenses, she got from her, not only her own five +shillings, but all the little capital with which Betty was going to +set up for herself. All was not sufficient to answer her +demands--she declared she would send her to prison; but while she +went to call a constable, Betty contrived to make off. + +With a light pocket and a heavy heart she went back to the lady; and +with many tears told her sad story. The lady's husband, the justice, +condescended to listen to Betty's tale. He said Mrs. Sponge had long +been upon his books as a receiver of stolen goods. Betty's evidence +strengthened his bad opinion of her. "This petty system of usury," +said the magistrate, "may be thought trifling; but it will no longer +appear so, when you reflect that if one of these female sharpers +possesses a capital of seventy shillings, or L3 10s., with fourteen +steady regular customers, she can realize a fixed income of one +hundred guineas a year. Add to this the influence such a loan gives +her over these friendless creatures, by compelling them to eat at +her house, or lodge, or buy liquors, or by taking their pawns, and +you will see the extent of the evil. I pity these poor victims: you, +Betty, shall point out some of them to me. I will endeavor to open +their eyes on their own bad management. It is not by giving to the +importunate shillings and half-crowns, and turning them adrift to +wait for the next accidental relief, that much good is done. It +saves trouble, indeed, but that trouble being the most valuable part +of charity, ought not to be spared; at least by those who have +leisure as well as affluence. It is one of the greatest acts of +kindness to the poor to mend their economy, and to give them right +views of laying out their little money to advantage. These poor +blinded creatures look no further than to be able to pay this heavy +interest every night, and to obtain the same loan on the same hard +terms the next day. Thus they are kept in poverty and bondage all +their lives; but I hope as many as hear of this will go on a better +plan, and I shall be ready to help any who are willing to help +themselves." This worthy magistrate went directly to Mrs. Sponge's +with proper officers; and he soon got to the bottom of many +iniquities. He not only made her refund poor Betty's money, but +committed her to prison for receiving stolen goods, and various +other offenses, which may, perhaps, make the subject of another +history. + +Betty was now set up in trade to her heart's content. She had found +the benefit of leaving off spirits, and she resolved to drink them +no more. The first fruits of this resolution was, that in a +fortnight she bought her a pair of new shoes; and as there was now +no deduction for interest, or for gin, her earnings became +considerable. The lady made her a present of a gown and a hat, on +the easy condition that she should go to church. She accepted the +terms, at first rather as an act of obedience to the lady than from +a sense of higher duty. But she soon began to go from a better +motive. This constant attendance at church, joined to the +instructions of the lady, opened a new world to Betty. She now +heard, for the first time, that she was a sinner; that God had given +a law which was holy, just, and good; that she had broken this law, +had been a swearer, a Sabbath-breaker, and had lived _without God in +the world_. All this was sad news to Betty; she knew, indeed, +before, that there were sinners, but she thought they were only to +be found in the prisons, or at Botany Bay, or in those mournful +carts which she had sometimes followed with her barrow, with the +unthinking crowd, to Tyburn. She was deeply struck with the great +truths revealed in the Scripture, which were quite new to her; her +heart smote her, and she became anxious to _flee from the wrath to +come_. She was desirous of improvement, and said, "she would give up +all the profits of her barrow, and go into the hardest service, +rather than live in sin and ignorance." + +"Betty," said the lady, "I am glad to see you so well disposed, and +will do what I can for you. Your present way of life, to be sure, +exposes you to much danger; but the trade is not unlawful in itself, +and we may please God in any calling, provided it be not a dishonest +one. In this great town there must be barrow-women to sell fruit. Do +you, then, instead of forsaking your business, set a good example to +those in it, and show them, that though a dangerous trade, it need +not be a wicked one. Till Providence points out some safer way of +getting your bread, let your companions see that it is possible to +be good even in this. Your trade being carried on in the open +street, and your fruit bought in an open shop, you are not so much +obliged to keep sinful company as may be thought. Take a garret in +an honest house, to which you may go home in safety at night. I will +give you a bed, and a few necessaries to furnish your room; and I +will also give you a constant Sunday's dinner. A barrow-woman, +blessed be God and our good laws, is as much her own mistress on +Sundays as a duchess; and the church and the Bible are as much open +to her. You may soon learn as much of religion as you are expected +to know. A barrow-woman may pray as heartily morning and night, and +serve God as acceptably all day, while she is carrying on her little +trade, as if she had her whole time to spare. + +"To do this well, you must mind the following + + RULES FOR RETAIL DEALERS. + + "Resist every temptation to cheat. + "Never impose bad goods on false pretenses. + "Never put off bad money for good. + "Never use profane or uncivil language. + +"Never swear your goods cost so much, when you know it is false. By +so doing you are guilty of two sins in one breath, a lie and an +oath. + +"To break these rules will be your chief temptation. God will mark +how you behave under them, and will reward or punish you +accordingly. These temptations will be as great to you, as higher +trials are to higher people; but you have the same God to look to +for strength to resist them as they have. You must pray to him to +give you this strength. You shall attend a Sunday School, where you +will be taught these good things; and I will promote you as you +shall be found to deserve." + +Poor Betty here burst into tears of joy and gratitude, crying out, +"What! shall such a poor friendless creature as I be treated so +kindly, and learn to read the word of God too? Oh, madam, what a +lucky chance brought me to your door." "Betty," said the lady, "what +you have just said shows the need you have of being better taught; +there is no such thing as chance; and we offend God when we call +that luck or chance which is brought about by his will or pleasure. +None of the events of your life have happened by chance; but all +have been under the direction of a good and kind Providence. He has +permitted you to experience want and distress, that you might +acknowledge his hand in your present comfort and prosperity. Above +all, you must bless his goodness in sending you to me, not only +because I have been of use to you in your worldly affairs, but +because he has enabled me to show you the danger of your state from +sin and ignorance, and to put you in a way to know his will and to +keep his commandments, which is eternal life." + +How Betty, by industry and piety, rose in the world, till at length +she came to keep that handsome sausage shop near the Seven Dials, +and was married to that very hackney-coachman, whose history and +honest character may be learned from that ballad of the Cheap +Repository which bears his name, may be shown hereafter. + + + + +BLACK GILES THE POACHER. + +CONTAINING SOME ACCOUNT OF A FAMILY WHO HAD RATHER LIVE BY THEIR +WITS THAN THEIR WORK. + +PART I. + + +Poaching Giles lives on the borders of those great moors in +Somersetshire. Giles, to be sure, has been a sad fellow in his time; +and it is none of his fault if his whole family do not end their +career, either at the gallows or Botany Bay. He lives at that mud +cottage with the broken windows, stuffed with dirty rags, just +beyond the gate which divides the upper from the lower moor. You may +know the house at a good distance by the ragged tiles on the roof, +and the loose stones which are ready to drop out from the chimney; +though a short ladder, a hod of mortar, and half an hour's leisure +time, would have prevented all this, and made the little dwelling +tight enough. But as Giles had never learned any thing that was +good, so he did not know the value of such useful sayings, as, that +"a tile in time saves nine." + +Besides this, Giles fell into that common mistake, that a beggarly +looking cottage, and filthy ragged children, raised most compassion, +and of course drew most charity. But as cunning as he was in other +things, he was out in his reckoning here; for it is neatness, +housewifery, and a decent appearance, which draw the kindness of the +rich and charitable while they turn away disgusted from filth and +laziness; not out of pride, but because they see that it is next to +impossible to mend the condition of those who degrade themselves by +dirt and sloth; and few people care to help those who will not help +themselves. + +The common on which Giles's hovel stands, is quite a deep marsh in a +wet winter: but in summer it looks green and pretty enough. To be +sure it would be rather convenient when one passes that way in a +carriage, if one of the children would run out and open the gate; +but instead of any one of them running out as soon as they heard the +wheels, which would be quite time enough, what does Giles do, but +set all his ragged brats, with dirty faces, matted locks, and naked +feet and legs, to lie all day upon a sand bank hard by the gate, +waiting for the slender chance of what may be picked up from +travelers. At the sound of a carriage, a whole covey of these little +scare-crows start up, rush to the gate, and all at once thrust out +their hats and aprons; and for fear this, together with the noise of +their clamorous begging, should not sufficiently frighten the +horses, they are very apt to let the gate slap full against you, +before you are half way through, in their eager scuffle to snatch +from each other the halfpence which you have thrown out to them. I +know two ladies who were one day very near being killed by these +abominable tricks. + +Thus five or six little idle creatures, who might be earning a +trifle by knitting at home, who might be useful to the public by +working in the field, and who might assist their families by +learning to get their bread twenty honest ways, are suffered to lie +about all day, in the hope of a few chance halfpence, which, after +all, they are by no means sure of getting. Indeed, when the +neighboring gentlemen found out that opening the gate was a family +trade, they soon left off giving any thing. And I myself, though I +used to take out a penny ready to give, had there been only one to +receive it, when I see a whole family established in so beggarly a +trade, quietly put it back again in my pocket, and give nothing at +all. And so few travelers pass that way, that sometimes after the +whole family have lost a day, their gains do not amount to +two-pence. + +As Giles had a far greater taste for living by his wits than his +work, he was at one time in hopes that his children might have got a +pretty penny by _tumbling_ for the diversion of travelers, and he +set about training them in that indecent practice; but unluckily the +moors being level, the carriage traveled faster than the children +tumbled. He envied those parents who lived on the London road, over +the Wiltshire downs, which downs being very hilly, it enables the +tumbler to keep pace with the traveler, till he sometimes extorts +from the light and unthinking, a reward instead of a reproof. I beg +leave, however, to put all gentlemen and ladies in mind, that such +tricks are a kind of apprenticeship to the trades of begging and +thieving; and that nothing is more injurious to good morals than to +encourage the poor in any habits which may lead them to live upon +chance. + +Giles, to be sure, as his children grew older, began to train them +to such other employments as the idle habits they had learned at the +gate very properly qualified them for. The right of common, which +some of the poor cottagers have in that part of the country, and +which is doubtless a considerable advantage to many, was converted +by Giles into the means of corrupting his whole family; for his +children, as soon as they grew too big for the trade of begging at +the gate, were promoted to the dignity of thieves on the moor. Here +he kept two or three asses, miserable beings, which if they had the +good fortune to escape an untimely death by starving, did not fail +to meet with it by beating. Some of the biggest boys were sent out +with these lean and galled animals to carry sand or coals about the +neighboring towns. Both sand and coals were often stolen before they +got them to sell; or if not, they always took care to cheat in +selling them. By long practice in this art, they grew so dexterous, +that they could give a pretty good guess how large a coal they could +crib out of every bag before the buyer would be likely to miss it. + +All their odd time was taken up under the pretense of watching their +asses on the moor, or running after five or six half-starved geese: +but the truth is these boys were only watching for an opportunity to +steal an old goose of their neighbor's, while they pretended to look +after their own. They used also to pluck the quills or the down from +these live creatures, or half milk a cow before the farmer's maid +came with her pail. They all knew how to calculate to a minute what +time to be down in a morning to let out their lank hungry beasts, +which they had turned over night into the farmer's field to steal a +little good pasture. They contrived to get there just time enough to +escape being caught replacing the stakes they had pulled out for the +cattle to get over. For Giles was a prudent long-headed fellow; and +whenever he stole food for his colts, took care never to steal +stakes from the hedges at the same place. He had sense enough to +know that the gain did not make up for the danger; he knew that a +loose fagot, pulled from a neighbor's pile of wood after the family +were gone to bed, answered the end better, and was not half the +trouble. + +Among the many trades which Giles professed, he sometimes practiced +that of a rat-catcher; but he was addicted to so many tricks, that +he never followed the same trade long; for detection will, sooner or +later, follow the best concerted villany. Whenever he was sent for +to a farm house, his custom was to kill a few of the old rats, +always taking care to leave a little stock of young ones alive, +sufficient to keep up the breed; "for," said he, "if I were to be +such a fool as to clear a house or a barn at once, how would my +trade be carried on?" And where any barn was overstocked, he used to +borrow a few rats from thence, just to people a neighboring granary +which had none; and he might have gone on till now, had he not +unluckily been caught one evening emptying his cage of rats under +parson Wilson's barn door. + +This worthy minister, Mr. Wilson, used to pity the neglected +children of Giles, as much as he blamed the wicked parents. He one +day picked up Dick, who was far the best of Giles's bad boys. Dick +was loitering about in a field behind the parson's garden in search +of a hen's nest, his mother having ordered him to bring home a few +eggs that night, by hook or by crook, as Giles was resolved to have +some pan-cakes for supper, though he knew that eggs were a penny +a-piece. Mr. Wilson had long been desirous of snatching some of this +vagrant family from ruin; and his chief hopes were bent on Dick, as +the least hackneyed in knavery. He had once given him a new pair of +shoes, on his promising to go to school next Sunday; but no sooner +had Rachel, the boy's mother, got the shoes into her clutches, than +she pawned them for a bottle of gin; and ordered the boy to keep out +of the parson's sight, and to be sure to play his marbles on Sunday +for the future, at the other end of the parish, and not near the +churchyard. Mr. Wilson, however, picked up the boy once more, for it +was not his way to despair of any body. Dick was just going to take +to his heels, as usual, for fear the old story of the shoes should +be brought forward; but finding he could not get off, what does he +do but run into a little puddle of muddy water which lay between him +and the parson, that the sight of his naked feet might not bring on +the dreaded subject. Now it happened that Mr. Wilson was planting a +little field of beans, so he thought this a good opportunity to +employ Dick, and he told him he had got some pretty easy work for +him. Dick did as he was bid; he willingly went to work, and readily +began to plant his beans with dispatch and regularity according to +the directions given him. + +While the boy was busily at work by himself, Giles happened to come +by, having been skulking round the back way to look over the +parson's garden wall, to see if there was any thing worth climbing +over for on the ensuing night. He spied Dick, and began to scold him +for working for the stingy old parson, for Giles had a natural +antipathy to whatever belonged to the church. "What has he promised +thee a day?" said he; "little enough, I dare say." "He is not to pay +me by the day," said Dick, "but says he will give me so much when I +have planted this peck, and so much for the next." "Oh, oh! that +alters the case," said Giles. "One may, indeed, get a trifle by this +sort of work. I hate your regular day-jobs, where one can't well +avoid doing one's work for one's money. Come, give me a handful of +beans, I will teach thee how to plant when thou art paid for +planting by the peck. All we have to do in that case is to dispatch +the work as fast as we can, and get rid of the beans with all speed; +and as to the seed coming up or not, that is no business of ours; we +are paid for planting, not for growing. At the rate thou goest on +thou wouldst not get six-pence to night. Come along, bury away." So +saying he took his hatful of the seed, and where Dick had been +ordered to set one bean, Giles buried a dozen; of course the beans +were soon out. But though the peck was emptied, the ground was +unplanted. But cunning Giles knew this could not be found out till +the time when the beans might be expected to come up, "and then, +Dick," says he "the snails and the mice may go shares in the blame, +or we can lay the fault on the rooks or the black-birds." So saying, +he sent the boy into the parsonage to receive his pay, taking care +to secure about a quarter of the peck of beans for his own colt. He +put both bag and beans into his own pocket to carry home, bidding +Dick tell Mr. Wilson that he had planted the beans and lost the bag. + +In the meantime Giles's other boys were busy in emptying the ponds +and trout-streams in the neighboring manor. They would steal away +the carp and tench when they were no bigger than gudgeons. By this +untimely depredation they plundered the owner of his property, +without enriching themselves. But the pleasure of mischief was +reward enough. These, and a hundred other little thieveries, they +committed with such dexterity, that old Tim Crib, whose son was +transported last assizes for sheep stealing, used to be often +reproaching his boys that Giles's sons were worth a hundred of such +blockheads as he had; for scarce a night passed but Giles had some +little comfortable thing for supper which his boys had pilfered in +the day, while his undutiful dogs never stole any thing worth +having. Giles, in the meantime, was busy in his way, but as busy as +he was in laying his nets, starting coveys, and training dogs, he +always took care that his depredations should not be confined merely +to game. + +Giles's boys had never seen the inside of a church since they were +christened, and the father thought he knew his own interest better +than to force them to it; for church-time was the season of their +harvest. Then the hen's nests were searched, a stray duck was +clapped under the smock-frock, the tools which might have been left +by chance in a farm-yard were picked up, and all the neighboring +pigeon-houses were thinned, so that Giles used to boast to tawny +Rachel, his wife, that Sunday was to them the most profitable day +in the week. With her it was certainly the most laborious day, as +she always did her washing and ironing on the Sunday morning, it +being, as she said, the only leisure day she had, for on the other +days she went about the country telling fortunes, and selling +dream-books and wicked songs. Neither her husband's nor her +children's clothes were ever mended, and if Sunday, her idle day, +had not come about once in every week, it is likely they would never +have been washed neither. You might however see her as you were +going to church smoothing her own rags on her best red cloak, which +she always used for her ironing-cloth on Sundays, for her cloak when +she traveled, and for her blanket at night; such a wretched manager +was Rachel! Among her other articles of trade, one was to make and +sell peppermint, and other distilled waters. These she had the cheap +art of making without trouble and without expense, for she made them +without herbs and without a still. Her way was, to fill so many +quart bottles with plain water, putting a spoonful of mint water in +the mouth of each; these she corked down with rosin, carrying to +each customer a phial of real distilled water to taste by way of +sample. This was so good that her bottles were commonly bought up +without being opened; but if any suspicion arose, and she was forced +to uncork a bottle, by the few drops of distilled water lying at top +she even then escaped detection, and took care to get out of reach +before the bottle was opened a second time. She was too prudent ever +to go twice to the same house. + + +THE UPRIGHT MAGISTRATE. + +There is hardly any petty mischief that is not connected with the +life of a poacher. Mr. Wilson was aware of this; he was not only a +pious clergyman, but an upright justice. He used to say, that people +who were really conscientious, must be so in small things as well +as in great ones, or they would destroy the effect of their own +precept, and their example would not be of general use. For this +reason he never would accept of a hare or a partridge from any +unqualified person in the parish: he did not content himself with +shuffling the thing off by asking questions, and pretending to take +it for granted in a general way that the game was fairly come at; +but he used to say, that by receiving the booty he connived at a +crime, made himself a sharer in it; and if he gave a present to the +man who brought it, he even tempted him to repeat the fault. + +One day poor Jack Weston, an honest fellow in the neighborhood, whom +Mr. Wilson had kindly visited and relieved in a long sickness, from +which he was but just recovered, was brought before him as he was +sitting on the justice's bench; Jack was accused of having knocked +down a hare; and of all the birds in the air, who should the +informer be but black Giles the poacher? Mr. Wilson was grieved at +the charge; he had a great regard for Jack, but he had still a +greater regard for the law. The poor fellow pleaded guilty. He did +not deny the fact, but said he did not consider it as a crime, for +he did not think game was private property, and he owned he had a +strong temptation for doing what he had done, which he hoped would +plead his excuse. The justice desired to know what this temptation +was. "Sir," said the poor fellow, "you know I was given over this +spring in a bad fever. I had no friend in the world but you, sir. +Under God you saved my life by your charitable relief; and I trust +also you may have helped to save my soul by your prayers and your +good advice; for, by the grace of God, I have turned over a new leaf +since that sickness. + +"I know I can never make you amends for all your goodness, but I +thought it would be some comfort to my full heart if I could but +once give you some little token of my gratitude. So I had trained a +pair of nice turtle doves for Madam Wilson, but they were stolen +from me, sir, and I do suspect black Giles stole them. Yesterday +morning, sir, as I was crawling out to my work, for I am still but +very weak, a fine hare ran across my path. I did not stay to +consider whether it was wrong to kill a hare, but I felt it was +right to show my gratitude; so, sir, without a moment's thought I +did knock down the hare, which I was going to carry to your worship, +because I knew madam was fond of hare. I am truly sorry for my +fault, and will submit to whatever punishment your worship may +please to inflict." + +Mr. Wilson was much moved with this honest confession, and touched +with the poor fellow's gratitude. What added to the effect of the +story, was the weak condition, and pale sickly looks of the +offender. But this worthy magistrate never suffered his feelings to +bias his integrity; he knew that he did not sit on that bench to +indulge pity, but to administer justice; and while he was sorry for +the offender, he would never justify the offense. "John," said he, +"I am surprised that you could for a moment forget that I never +accept any gift which causes the giver to break a law. On Sunday I +teach you from the pulpit the laws of God, whose minister I am. At +present I fill the chair of a magistrate, to enforce and execute the +laws of the land. Between those and the other there is more +connection than you are aware. I thank you, John, for your affection +to me, and I admire your gratitude; but I must not allow either +affection or gratitude to be brought as a plea for a wrong action. +It is not your business nor mine, John, to settle whether the game +laws are good or bad. Till they are repealed we must obey them. +Many, I doubt not, break these laws through ignorance, and many, I +am certain, who would not dare to steal a goose or a turkey, make +no scruple of knocking down a hare or a partridge. You will +hereafter think yourself happy that this your first attempt has +proved unsuccessful, as I trust you are too honest a fellow ever to +intend to turn poacher. With poaching much moral evil is connected; +a habit of nightly depredation; a custom of prowling in the dark for +prey produces in time a disrelish for honest labor. He whose first +offense was committed without much thought or evil intention, if he +happens to succeed a few times in carrying off his booty +undiscovered, grows bolder and bolder: and when he fancies there is +no shame attending it, he very soon gets to persuade himself that +there is also no sin. While some people pretend a scruple about +stealing a sheep, they partly live by plundering of warrens. But +remember that the warrener pays a high rent, and that therefore his +rabbits are as much his property as his sheep. Do not then deceive +yourselves with these false distinctions. All property is sacred, +and as the laws of the land are intended to fence in that property, +he who brings up his children to break down any of these fences, +brings them up to certain sin and ruin. He who begins with robbing +orchards, rabbit-warrens, and fish-ponds, will probably end with +horse-stealing or highway robbery. Poaching is a regular +apprenticeship to bolder crimes. He whom I may commit as a boy to +sit in the stocks for killing a partridge, may be likely to end at +the galleys for killing a man. + +"Observe, you who now hear me, the strictness and impartiality of +justice. I know Giles to be a worthless fellow, yet it is my duty to +take his information; I know Jack Weston to be an honest youth, yet +I must be obliged to make him pay the penalty. Giles is a bad man, +but he can prove this fact; Jack is a worthy lad, but he has +committed this fault. I am sorry for you, Jack; but do not let it +grieve you that Giles has played worse tricks a hundred times, and +yet got off, while you were detected in the very first offense, for +that would be grieving because you are not as great a rogue as +Giles. At this moment you think your good luck is very unequal; but +all this will one day turn out in your favor. Giles it not the more +a favorite of heaven because he has hitherto escaped Botany Bay, or +the hulks; nor is it any mark of God's displeasure against you, +John, that you were found out in your very first attempt." + +Here the good justice left off speaking, and no one could contradict +the truth of what he had said. Weston humbly submitted to his +sentence, but he was very poor, and knew not where to raise the +money to pay his fine. His character had always been so fair, that +several farmers present kindly agreed to advance a trifle each to +prevent his being sent to prison, and he thankfully promised to work +out the debt. The justice himself, though he could not soften the +law, yet showed Weston so much kindness that he was enabled before +the year was out, to get out of this difficulty. He began to think +more seriously than he had ever yet done, and grew to abhor +poaching, not merely from fear, but from principle. + +We shall soon see whether poaching Giles always got off so +successfully. Here we have seen that worldly prosperity is no sure +sign of goodness. Next month we may, perhaps, see that the "triumph +of the wicked is short;" for I then promise to give the second part +of the Poacher, together with the entertaining story of the Widow +Brown's Apple-tree. + + +PART II. + +HISTORY OF WIDOW BROWN'S APPLE-TREE. + +I think my readers got so well acquainted last month with black +Giles the poacher, that they will not expect this month to hear any +great good, either of Giles himself, his wife Rachel, or any of +their family. I am sorry to expose their tricks, but it is their +fault, not mine. If I pretend to speak about people at all, I must +tell the truth. I am sure, if folks would but turn about and mend, +it would be a thousand times pleasanter to me to write their +histories; for it is no comfort to tell of any body's faults. If the +world would but grow good, I should be glad enough to publish it: +but till it really becomes so, I must go on describing it as it is; +otherwise, I should only mislead my readers, instead of instructing +them. It is the duty of a faithful historian to relate the evil with +the good. + +As to Giles and his boys, I am sure old Widow Brown has good reason +to remember their dexterity. Poor woman! she had a fine little bed +of onions in her neat and well-kept garden; she was very fond of her +onions, and many a rheumatism has she caught by kneeling down to +weed them in a damp day, notwithstanding the little flannel cloak +and the bit of an old mat which Madam Wilson gave her, because the +old woman would needs weed in wet weather. Her onions she always +carefully treasured up for her winter's store; for an onion makes a +little broth very relishing, and is indeed the only savory thing +poor people are used to get. She had also a small orchard, +containing about a dozen apple-trees, with which in a good year she +had been known to make a couple of barrels of cider, which she sold +to her landlord toward paying her rent, besides having a little keg +which she was able to keep back for her own drinking. Well! would +you believe it, Giles and his boys marked both onions and apples for +their own; indeed, a man who stole so many rabbits from the +warrener, was likely enough to steal onions for sauce. One day, when +the widow was abroad on a little business, Giles and his boys made a +clear riddance of the onion bed; and when they had pulled up every +single onion, they then turned a couple of pigs into the garden, +who, allured by the smell, tore up the bed in such a manner, that +the widow, when she came home, had not the least doubt but the pigs +had been the thieves. To confirm this opinion, they took care to +leave the latch half open at one end of the garden, and to break +down a slight fence at the other end. + +I wonder how any body can find in his heart not to pity and respect +poor old widows. There is something so forlorn and helpless in their +condition, that methinks it is a call on every body, men, women, and +children, to do them all the kind services that fall in their way. +Surely their having no one to take their part, is an additional +reason for kind-hearted people not to hurt and oppress them. But it +was this very reason which led Giles to do this woman an injury. +With what a touching simplicity is it recorded in Scripture, of the +youth whom our blessed Saviour raised from the dead, that he was the +only son of his mother, _and she was a widow_! + +It happened unluckily for poor Widow Brown that her cottage stood +quite alone. On several mornings together (for roguery gets up much +earlier than industry) Giles and his boys stole regularly into her +orchard, followed by their jack-asses. She was so deaf that she +could not hear the asses if they had brayed ever so loud, and to +this Giles trusted; for he was very cautious in his rogueries, +since he could not otherwise have contrived so long to keep out of +prison; for, though he was almost always suspected, he had seldom +been taken up, and never convicted. The boys used to fill their +bags, load their asses, and then march off; and if, in their way to +the town where the apples were to be sold, they chanced to pass by +one of their neighbors who might be likely to suspect them, they +then all at once began to scream out, "Buy my coal! Buy my sand!" + +Besides the trees in her orchard, poor Widow Brown had in her small +garden one apple-tree particularly fine; it was a red streak, so +tempting and so lovely, that Giles's family had watched it with +longing eyes, till at last they resolved on a plan for carrying off +all this fine fruit in their bags. But it was a nice point to +manage. The tree stood directly under her chamber window, so that +there was some danger that she might spy them at the work. They, +therefore, determined to wait till the next Sunday morning when they +knew she would not fail to be at church. Sunday came, and during +service Giles attended. It was a lone house, as I said before, and +the rest of the parish were safe at church. In a trice the tree was +cleared, the bags were filled, the asses were whipped, the thieves +were off, the coast was clear, and all was safe and quiet by the +time the sermon was over. + +Unluckily, however, it happened that this tree was so beautiful, and +the fruit so fine, that the people, as they used to pass to and from +the church, were very apt to stop and admire Widow Brown's +red-streaks; and some of the farmers rather envied her that in that +scarce season, when they hardly expected to make a pie out of a +large orchard, she was likely to make a cask of cider from a single +tree. I am afraid, indeed, if I must speak out, she herself rather +set her heart too much upon this fruit, and had felt as much pride +in her tree as gratitude to a good Providence for it; but this +failing of hers was no excuse for Giles. The covetousness of this +thief had for once got the better of his caution; the tree was too +completely stripped, though the youngest boy, Dick, did beg hard +that his father would leave the poor old woman enough for a few +dumplings; and when Giles ordered Dick, in his turn, to shake the +tree, the boy did it so gently that hardly any apples fell, for +which he got a good stroke of the stick with which the old man was +beating down the apples. + +The neighbors, on their return from church, stopped as usual, but it +was not, alas! to admire the apples, for apples there were none +left, but to lament the robbery, and console the widow. Mean time +the red-streaks were safely lodged in Giles's hovel under a few +bundles of new hay which he had contrived to pull from a farmer's +mow the night before for the use of his jack-asses. Such a stir, +however, began to be made about the widow's apple-tree, that Giles, +who knew how much his character had laid him open to suspicion, as +soon as he saw the people safe in church again in the afternoon, +ordered his boys to carry each a hatful of the apples and thrust +them in a little casement window which happened to be open in the +house of Samuel Price, a very honest carpenter in that parish, who +was at church with his whole family. Giles's plan, by this +contrivance, was to lay the theft on Price's sons in case the thing +should come to be further inquired into. Here Dick put in a word, +and begged and prayed his father not to force them to carry the +apples to Price's. But all he got by his begging was such a knock as +had nearly laid him on the earth. "What, you cowardly rascal," said +Giles, "you will go and _'peach_, I suppose, and get your father +sent to jail." + +Poor Widow Brown, though her trouble had made her still weaker than +she was, went to church again in the afternoon; indeed she rightly +thought that her being in trouble was a new reason why she ought to +go. During the service she tried with all her might not to think of +her red-streaks, and whenever they would come into her head, she +took up her prayer-book directly, and so she forgot them a little; +and, indeed, she found herself much easier when she came out of the +church than when she went in; an effect so commonly produced by +prayer, that methinks it is a pity people do not try it oftener. Now +it happened, oddly enough, that on that Sunday, of all the Sundays +in the year, the widow should call in to rest a little at Samuel +Price's, to tell over again the lamentable story of the apples, and +to consult with him how the thief might be brought to justice. But +oh, reader! guess, if you can, for I am sure I can not tell you, +what was her surprise, when, on going into Samuel Price's kitchen, +she saw her own red-streaks lying on the window! The apples were of +a sort too remarkable, for color, shape, and size, to be mistaken. +There was not such another tree in the parish. Widow Brown +immediately screamed out, "Alas-a-day! as sure as can be, here are +my red-streaks; I could swear to them in any court." Samuel Price, +who believed his sons to be as honest as himself, was shocked and +troubled at the sight. He knew he had no red-streaks of his own, he +knew there were no apples in the window when he went to church; he +did verily believe these apples to be the widow's. But how came they +there he could not possibly guess. He called for Tom, the only one +of his sons who now lived at home. Tom was at the Sunday School, +which he had never once missed since Mr. Wilson, the minister, had +set up one in the parish. Was such a boy likely to do such a deed? + +A crowd was by this time got about Price's door, among which were +Giles and his boys, who had already taken care to spread the news +that Tom Price was the thief. Most people were unwilling to believe +it. His character was very good, but appearances were strongly +against him. Mr. Wilson, who had staid to christen a child, now came +in. He was much concerned that Tom Price, the best boy in his +school, should stand accused of such a crime. He sent for the boy, +examined, and cross-examined him. No marks of guilt appeared. But +still, though he pleaded _not guilty_, there lay the red-streaks in +his father's window. All the idle fellows in the place, who were +most likely to have committed such a theft themselves, were the very +people who fell with vengeance on poor Tom. The wicked seldom give +any quarter. "This is one of your sanctified ones!" cried they. +"This was all the good that Sunday School did!" For their parts they +never saw any good come by religion. Sunday was the only day for a +little pastime, and if poor boys must be shut up with their godly +books, when they ought to be out taking a little pleasure, it was no +wonder they made themselves amends by such tricks. Another said he +would like to see Parson Wilson's righteous one well whipped. A +third hoped he would be clapped in the stocks for a young hypocrite +as he was; while old Giles, who thought the only way to avoid +suspicion was by being more violent than the rest, declared, "that +he hoped the young dog would be transported for life." + +Mr. Wilson was too wise and too just to proceed against Tom without +full proof. He declared the crime was a very heavy one, and he +feared that heavy must be the punishment. Tom, who knew his own +innocence, earnestly prayed to God that it might be made to appear +as clear as the noon-day; and very fervent were his secret devotions +on that night. + +Black Giles passed his night in a very different manner. He set off, +as soon as it was dark, with his sons and their jack-asses, laden +with their stolen goods. As such a cry was raised about the apples, +he did not think it safe to keep them longer at home, but resolved +to go and sell them at the next town, borrowing, without leave, a +lame colt out of the moor to assist in carrying off his booty. + +Giles and his eldest sons had rare sport all the way in, thinking +that, while they were enjoying the profit of their plunder, Tom +Price would be whipped round the marketplace at least, if not sent +beyond sea. But the younger boy, Dick, who had naturally a tender +heart, though hardened by his long familiarity with sin, could not +help crying when he thought that Tom Price might, perhaps, be +transported for a crime which he himself had helped to commit. He +had had no compunction about the robbery, for he had not been +instructed in the great principles of truth and justice; nor would +he therefore, perhaps, have had much remorse about accusing an +innocent boy. But though utterly devoid of principle, he had some +remains of natural feeling and of gratitude. Tom Price had often +given him a bit of his own bread and cheese; and once, when Dick was +like to be drowned, Tom had jumped into the pond with his clothes +on, and saved his life when he was just sinking; the remembrance of +all this made his heart heavy. He said nothing; but as he trotted +barefoot after the asses, he heard his father and brothers laugh at +having outwitted the godly ones; and he grieved to think how poor +Tom would suffer for his wickedness, yet fear kept him silent; they +called him a sulky dog, and lashed the asses till they bled. + +In the mean time Tom Price kept up his spirits as well as he could. +He worked hard all day, and prayed heartily night and morning. "It +is true," said he to himself, "I am not guilty of this sin; but let +this accusation set me on examining myself, and truly repenting of +all my other sins; for I find enough to repent of, though, I thank +God, I did not steal the widow's apples." + +At length Sunday came, and Tom went to school as usual. As soon as +he walked in there was a great deal of whispering and laughing among +the worst of the boys; and he overheard them say, "Who would have +thought it! This is master's favorite! This is Parson Wilson's sober +Tommy! We sha'n't have Tommy thrown in our teeth again if we go to +get a bird's nest, or gather a few nuts on a Sunday." "Your demure +ones are always hypocrites," says another. "The still sow sucks all +the milk," says a third. + +Giles's family had always kept clear of the school. Dick, indeed, +had sometimes wished to go; not that he had much sense of sin, or +desire after goodness, but he thought if he could once read, he +might rise in the world, and not be forced to drive asses all his +life. Through this whole Saturday night he could not sleep. He +longed to know what would be done to Tom. He began to wish to go to +school, but he had not courage--sin is very cowardly. So on the +Sunday morning he went and sat himself down under the church wall. +Mr. Wilson passed by. It was not his way to reject the most wicked, +till he had tried every means to bring them over, and even then he +pitied and prayed for them. He had, indeed, long left off talking to +Giles's sons; but seeing Dick sitting by himself, he once more spoke +to him, desired him to leave off his vagabond life, and go with him +into the school. The boy hung down his head, but made no answer. He +did not, however, either rise up and run away, or look sulky, as he +used to do. The minister desired him once more to go. "Sir," said +the boy, "I can't go; I am so big I am ashamed." "The bigger you are +the less time you have to lose." "But, sir, I can't read." "Then it +is high time you should learn." "I should be ashamed to begin to +learn my letters." "The shame is not in beginning to learn them, but +in being content never to know them." "But, sir, I am so ragged!" +"God looks at the heart, and not at the coat." "But, sir, I have no +shoes and stockings." "So much the worse. I remember who gave you +both. (Here Dick colored.) It is bad to want shoes and stockings, +but still if you can drive your asses a dozen miles without them, +you may certainly walk a hundred yards to school without them." +"But, sir, the good boys will hate me, and won't speak to me." "Good +boys hate nobody, and as to not speaking to you, to be sure they +will not keep your company while you go on in your present evil +courses; but as soon as they see you wish to reform, they will help +you, and pity you, and teach you; and so come along." Here Mr. +Wilson took this dirty boy by the hand, and gently pulled him +forward, kindly talking to him all the way, in the most +condescending manner. + +How the whole school stared to see Dick Giles come in! No one, +however, dared to say what he thought. The business went on, and +Dick slunk into a corner, partly to hide his rags, and partly to +hide his sin; for last Sunday's transaction sat heavy on his heart, +not because he had stolen the apples, but because Tom Price had been +accused. This, I say, made him slink behind. Poor boy! he little +thought there was One saw him who sees all things, and from whose +eye no hole nor corner can hide the sinner: "For he is about our +bed, and about our path, and spieth out all our ways." + +It was the custom in that school, and an excellent custom it is, for +the master, who was a good and wise man, to mark down in his +pocket-book all the events of the week, that he might turn them to +some account in his Sunday evening instructions; such as any useful +story in the newspaper, any account of boys being drowned as they +were out in a pleasure boat on Sundays, any sudden death in the +parish, or any other remarkable visitation of Providence; insomuch, +that many young people in the place, who did not belong to the +school, and many parents also, used to drop in for an hour on a +Sunday evening, when they were sure to hear something profitable. +The minister greatly approved this practice, and often called in +himself, which was a great support to the master, and encouragement +to the people who attended. + +The master had taken a deep concern in the story of Widow Brown's +apple-tree. He could not believe Tom Price was guilty, nor dared he +pronounce him innocent; but he resolved to turn the instructions of +the present evening to this subject. He began thus: "My dear boys, +however light some of you may make of robbing an orchard, yet I have +often told you there is no such thing as a _little_ sin, if it be +wilful or habitual. I wish now to explain to you, also, that there +is hardly such a thing as a _single_ solitary sin. You know I teach +you not merely to repeat the commandments as an exercise for your +memory, but as a rule for your conduct. If you were to come here +only to learn to read and spell on a Sunday, I should think that was +not employing God's day for God's work; but I teach you to read that +you may, by this means, come so to understand the Bible and the +Catechism, as to make every text in the one, and every question and +answer in the other, to be so fixed in your hearts, that they may +bring forth in you the fruits of good living." + +_Master._ How many commandments are there? + +_Boy._ Ten. + +_Master._ How many commandments did that boy break who stole Widow +Brown's apples? + +_Boy._ Only one, master; the eighth. + +_Master._ What is the eighth? + +_Boy. Thou shalt not steal._ + +_Master._ And you are very sure that this was the only one he broke? +Now suppose I could prove to you that he probably broke not less +than six out of those ten commandments, which the great Lord of +heaven himself stooped down from his eternal glory to deliver to +men, would you not, then, think it a terrible thing to steal, +whether apples or guineas? + +_Boy._ Yes, master. + +_Master._ I will put the case. Some wicked boy has robbed Widow +Brown's orchard. (Here the eyes of every one were turned on poor Tom +Price, except those of Dick Giles, who fixed his on the ground.) I +accuse no one, continued the master; Tom Price is a good boy, and +was not missing at the time of the robbery; these are two reasons +why I presume that he is innocent; but whoever it was, you allow +that by stealing these apples he broke the eighth commandment? + +_Boy._ Yes, master. + +_Master._ On what day were these apples stolen? + +_Boy._ On Sunday. + +_Master._ What is the fourth commandment? + +_Boy._ Thou shalt keep holy the Sabbath-day. + +_Master._ Does that person keep holy the Sabbath-day who loiters in +an orchard on Sunday, when he should be at church, and steals apples +when he ought to be saying his prayers? + +_Boy._ No, master. + +_Master._ What command does he break? + +_Boy._ The fourth. + +_Master._ Suppose this boy had parents who had sent him to church, +and that he had disobeyed them by not going, would that be keeping +the fifth commandment? + +_Boy._ No, master; for the fifth commandment says, _Thou shalt honor +thy father and thy mother._ + +This was the only part of the case in which poor Dick Giles's heart +did not smite him; he knew he had disobeyed no father; for his +father, alas! was still wickeder than himself, and had brought him +up to commit the sin. But what a wretched comfort was this! The +master went on. + +_Master._ Suppose this boy earnestly coveted this fruit, though it +belonged to another person, would that be right? + +_Boy._ No, master; for the tenth commandment says, _thou shalt not +covet_. + +_Master._ Very well. Here are four of God's positive commands +already broken. Now do you think thieves ever scruple to use wicked +words? + +_Boy._ I am afraid, not, master. + +Here Dick Giles was not so hardened but that he remembered how many +curses had passed between him and his father while they were filling +the bags, and he was afraid to look up. The master went on. + +I will now go one step further. If the thief, to all his other sins, +has added that of accusing the innocent to save himself, if he +should break the ninth commandment, by _bearing false witness +against a harmless neighbor_, then six commandments are broken for +an _apple_. But if it be otherwise, if Tom Price should be found +guilty, it is not his good character shall save him. I shall shed +tears over him, but punish him I must, and that severely. "No, that +you sha'n't," roared out Dick Giles, who sprung from his hiding +place, fell on his knees, and burst out a crying; "Tom Price is as +good a boy as ever lived; it was father and I who stole the apples!" + +It would have done your heart good to have seen the joy of the +master, the modest blushes of Tom Price, and the satisfaction of +every honest boy in the school. All shook hands with Tom, and even +Dick got some portion of pity. I wish I had room to give my readers +the moving exhortation which the master gave. But while Mr. Wilson +left the guilty boy to the management of the master, he thought it +became him, as a minister and a magistrate, to go to the extent of +the law in punishing the father. Early on the Monday morning he sent +to apprehend Giles. In the meantime Mr. Wilson was sent for to a +gardener's house two miles distant, to attend a man who was dying. +This was a duty to which all others gave way in his mind. He set out +directly; but what was his surprise, on his arrival, to see, on a +little bed on the floor, poaching Giles lying in all the agonies of +death! Jack Weston, the same poor young man against whom Giles had +informed for killing a hare, was kneeling by him, offering him some +broth, and talking to him in the kindest manner. Mr. Wilson begged +to know the meaning of all this; and Jack Weston spoke as follows: + +"At four in the morning, as I was going out to mow, passing under +the high wall of this garden, I heard a most dismal moaning. The +nearer I came, the more dismal it grew. At last, who should I see +but poor Giles groaning, and struggling under a quantity of bricks +and stones, but not able to stir. The day before he had marked a +fine large net on this old wall, and resolved to steal it, for he +thought it might do as well to catch partridges as to preserve +cherries; so, sir, standing on the very top of this wall, and +tugging with all his might to loosen the net from the hooks which +fastened it, down came Giles, net, wall, and all; for the wall was +gone to decay. It was very high, indeed, and poor Giles not only +broke his thigh, but has got a terrible blow on his head, and is +bruised all over like a mummy. On seeing me, sir, poor Giles cried +out, 'Oh, Jack! I did try to ruin thee by lodging that information, +and now thou wilt be revenged by letting me lie here and perish.' +'God forbid, Giles!' cried I; 'thou shalt see what sort of revenge a +Christian takes.' So, sir, I sent off the gardener's boy to fetch a +surgeon, while I scampered home and brought on my back this bit of a +hammock, which is, indeed, my own bed, and put Giles upon it: we +then lifted him up, bed and all, as tenderly as if he had been a +gentleman, and brought him in here. My wife has just brought him a +drop of nice broth; and now, sir, as I have done what I could for +this poor perishing body, it was I who took the liberty to send to +you to come to try to help his poor soul, for the doctor says he +can't live." + +Mr. Wilson could not help saying to himself, "Such an action as this +is worth a whole volume of comments on that precept of our blessed +Master, _Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you._" Giles's +dying groans confirmed the sad account Weston had just given. The +poor wretch could neither pray himself nor attend to the minister. +He could only cry out, "Oh! sir, what will become of me? I don't +know how to repent. O, my poor wicked children! Sir, I have bred +them all up in sin and ignorance. Have mercy on them, sir; let me +not meet them in the place of torment to which I am going. Lord +grant them that time for repentance which I have thrown away!" He +languished a few days, and died in great misery:--a fresh and sad +instance that people who abuse the grace of God, and resist his +Spirit, find it difficult to repent when they will. + +Except the minister and Jack Weston, no one came to see poor Giles, +besides Tommy Price, who had been so sadly wronged by him. Tom often +brought him his own rice-milk or apple-dumpling; and Giles, ignorant +and depraved as he was, often cried out, "That he thought now there +must be some truth in religion, since it taught even a boy to _deny +himself_, and to _forgive an injury_." Mr. Wilson, the next Sunday, +made a moving discourse on the danger of what are called _petty +offenses_. This, together with the awful death of Giles, produced +such an effect that no poacher has been able to show his head in +that parish ever since. + + + + +TAWNEY RACHEL; + +OR, THE FORTUNE TELLER; + +WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF DREAMS, OMENS, AND CONJURORS. + + +Tawney Rachel was the wife of poaching Giles. There seemed to be a +conspiracy in Giles's whole family to maintain themselves by tricks +and pilfering. Regular labor and honest industry did not suit their +idle habits. They had a sort of genius at finding out every unlawful +means to support a vagabond life. Rachel traveled the country with a +basket on her arm. She pretended to get her bread by selling laces, +cabbage-nets, ballads, and history books, and used to buy old rags +and rabbit-skins. Many honest people trade in these things, and I am +sure I do not mean to say a word against honest people, let them +trade in what they will. But Rachel only made this traffic a +pretense for getting admittance into farmers' kitchens in order to +tell fortunes. + +She was continually practicing on the credulity of silly girls; and +took advantage of their ignorance to cheat and deceive them. Many an +innocent servant has she caused to be suspected of a robbery, while +she herself, perhaps, was in league with the thief. Many a harmless +maid has she brought to ruin by first contriving plots and events +herself, and then pretending to foretell them. She had not, to be +sure, the power of really foretelling things, because she had no +power of seeing into futurity; but she had the art sometimes to +bring them about according as she foretold them. So she got that +credit for her wisdom which really belonged to her wickedness. + +Rachel was also a famous interpreter of dreams, and could +distinguish exactly between the fate of any two persons who happened +to have a mole on the right or the left cheek. She had a cunning way +of getting herself off when any of her prophecies failed. When she +explained a dream according to the natural appearance of things, and +it did not come to pass; then she would get out of the scrape by +saying, that this sort of dreams went by contraries. Now of two very +opposite things, the chance always is that one of them may turn out +to be true; so in either case she kept up the cheat. + +Rachel, in one of her rambles, stopped at the house of Farmer +Jenkins. She contrived to call when she knew the master of the house +was from home, which indeed was her usual way. She knocked at the +door; the maids being in the field haymaking, Mrs. Jenkins went to +open it herself. Rachel asked her if she would please to let her +light her pipe? This was a common pretense, when she could find no +other way of getting into a house. While she was filling her pipe, +she looked at Mrs. Jenkins, and said, she could tell her some good +fortune. The farmer's wife, who was a very inoffensive, but a weak +and superstitious woman, was curious to know what she meant. Rachel +then looked about carefully, and shutting the door with a mysterious +air, asked her if she was sure nobody would hear them. This +appearance of mystery was at once delightful and terrifying to Mrs. +Jenkins, who, with trembling agitation, bid the cunning woman speak +out. "Then," said Rachel in a solemn whisper, "there is to my +certain knowledge a pot of money hid under one of the stones in your +cellar." "Indeed!" said Mrs. Jenkins, "it is impossible, for now I +think of it, I dreamed last night I was in prison for debt." "Did +you really?" said Rachel; "that is quite surprising. Did you dream +this before twelve o'clock or after?" "O it was this morning, just +before I awoke." "Then I am sure it is true, for morning dreams +always go by contraries," cried Rachel. "How lucky it was you +dreamed it so late." Mrs. Jenkins could hardly contain her joy, and +asked how the money was to be come at. "There is but one way," said +Rachel: "I must go into the cellar. I know by my art under which +stone it lies, but I must not tell." Then they both went down into +the cellar, but Rachel refused to point out the stone unless Mrs. +Jenkins would put five pieces of gold into a basin and do as she +directed. The simple woman, instead of turning her out of doors for +a cheat, did as she was bid. She put the guineas into a basin which +she gave into Rachel's hand. Rachel strewed some white powder over +the gold, muttered some barbarous words, and pretended to perform +the black art. She then told Mrs. Jenkins to put the basin quietly +down within the cellar; telling her that if she offered to look into +it, or even to speak a word, the charm would be broken. She also +directed her to lock the cellar door, and on no pretense to open it +in less than forty-eight hours. "If," added she, "you closely follow +these directions, then, by the power of my art, you will find the +basin conveyed to the very stone under which the money lies hid, and +a fine treasure it be!" Mrs. Jenkins, who firmly believed every word +the woman said, did exactly as she was told, and Rachel took her +leave with a handsome reward. + +When Farmer Jenkins came home he desired his wife to draw him a cup +of cider; this she put off so long that he began to be displeased. +At last she begged he would be so good as to drink a little beer +instead. He insisted on knowing the reason, and when at last he +grew angry, she told him all that had passed; and owned that as the +pot of gold had happened to be in the cider cellar, she did not dare +open the door, as she was sure it would break the charm. "And it +would be a pity you know," said she, "to lose a good fortune for the +sake of a draught of cider." The farmer, who was not so easily +imposed upon, suspected a trick. He demanded the key, and went and +opened the cellar door; there he found the basin, and in it five +round pieces of tin covered with powder. Mrs. Jenkins burst out +a-crying; but the farmer thought of nothing but of getting a warrant +to apprehend the cunning woman. Indeed she well proved her claim to +that name, when she insisted that the cellar door might be kept +locked till she had time to get out of the reach of all pursuit. + +Poor Sally Evans! I am sure she rued the day that ever she listened +to a fortune teller. Sally was as harmless a girl as ever churned a +pound of butter; but Sally was credulous, ignorant, and +superstitious. She delighted in dream books, and had consulted all +the cunning women in the country to tell her whether the two moles +on her cheek denoted that she was to have two husbands, or two +children. If she picked up an old horse-shoe going to church, she +was sure that would be a lucky week. She never made a black pudding +without borrowing one of the parson's old wigs to hang in the +chimney, firmly believing there was no other means to preserve them +from burning. She would never go to bed on Midsummer eve without +sticking up in her room the well-known plant called Midsummer-men, +as the bending of the leaves to the right or to the left would not +fail to tell her whether Jacob, of whom we shall speak presently, +was true or false. She would rather go five miles about than pass +near a church-yard at night. Every seventh year she would not eat +beans because they grew downward in the pod, instead of upward; +and, though a very neat girl, she would rather have gone with her +gown open than to have taken a pin from an old woman, for fear of +being bewitched. Poor Sally had so many unlucky days in her +calendar, that a large portion of her time became of little use, +because on these days she did not dare set about any new work. And +she would have refused the best offer in the country if made to her +on a Friday, which she thought so unlucky a day that she often said +what a pity it was that there were any Friday in the week. Sally had +twenty pounds left her by her grandmother. She had long been courted +by Jacob, a sober lad, with whom she lived fellow servant at a +creditable farmer's. Honest Jacob, like his namesake of old, thought +it little to wait seven years to get this damsel to wife, because of +the love he bore her, for Sally had promised to marry him when he +could match her twenty pounds with another of his own. + +Now there was one Robert, a rambling idle young gardener, who +instead of sitting down steadily in one place, used to roam about +the country, and do odd jobs where he could get them. No one +understood any thing about him, except that he was a down-looking +fellow, who came nobody knew whence, and got his bread nobody knew +how, and never had a penny in his pocket. Robert, who was now in the +neighborhood, happened to hear of Sally Evans and her twenty pounds. +He immediately conceived a longing desire for the latter. So he went +to his old friend Rachel the fortune teller, told her all he had +heard of Sally, and promised if she could bring about a marriage +between them, she should go shares in the money. + +Rachel undertook the business. She set off to the farmhouse, and +fell to singing one of her most enticing songs just under the dairy +window. Sally was so struck with the pretty tune, which was +unhappily used, as is too often the case, to set off some very +loose words, that she jumped up, dropped the skimming dish into the +cream and ran out to buy the song. While she stooped down to rummage +the basket for those songs which had the most tragical pictures (for +Sally had a tender heart, and delighted in whatever was mournful) +Rachel looked stedfastly in her face, and told her she knew by art +that she was born to good fortune, but advised her not to throw +herself away. "These two moles on your cheek," added she, "show you +are in some danger." "Do they denote husbands or children?" cried +Sally, starting up, and letting fall the song of the Children in the +Wood. "Husbands," muttered Rachel. "Alas! poor Jacob!" said Sally, +mournfully, "then he will die first, won't he?" "Mum for that," +quoth the fortune teller, "I will say no more." Sally was impatient, +but the more curiosity she discovered, the more mystery Rachel +affected. At last, she said, "If you will cross my hand with a piece +of silver, I will tell your fortune. By the power of my art I can do +this three ways; first by cards, next by the lines on your hand, or +by turning a cup of tea grounds; which will you have?" "O, all! +all!" cried Sally, looking up with reverence to this sun-burnt +oracle of wisdom, who was possessed of no less than three different +ways of diving into the secrets of futurity. Alas! persons of better +sense than Sally have been so taken in; the more is the pity. The +poor girl said she would run up stairs to her little box where she +kept her money tied up in a bit of an old glove, and would bring +down a bright queen Anne's sixpence very crooked. "I am sure," added +she, "it is a lucky one, for it cured me of a very bad ague last +spring, by only laying it nine nights under my pillow without +speaking a word. But then you must know what gave the virtue to this +sixpence was, that it had belonged to three young men of the name of +John; I am sure I had work enough to get it. But true it is, it +certainly cured me. It must be the sixpence you know, for I am sure +I did nothing else for my ague, except by taking some bitter stuff +every three hours which the doctor called bark. To be sure I had no +ague soon after I took it, but I am certain it was owing to the +crooked sixpence, and not to the bark. And so, good woman, you may +come in if you will, for there is not a soul in the house but me." +This was the very thing Rachel wanted to know, and very glad she was +to learn it. + +While Sally was above stairs untying her glove, Rachel slipped into +the parlor, took a small silver cup from the beaufet, and clapped it +into her pocket. Sally ran down lamenting that she had lost her +sixpence, which she verily believed was owing to her having put it +into a left glove, instead of a right one. Rachel comforted her by +saying, that if she gave her two plain ones instead, the charm would +work just as well. Simple Sally thought herself happy to be let off +so easily, never calculating that a smooth shilling was worth two +crooked sixpences. But this skill was a part of the black art in +which Rachel excelled. She took the money and began to examine the +lines of Sally's left hand. She bit her withered lip, shook her +head, and bade her poor dupe beware of a young man who had black +hair. "No, indeed," cried Sally, all in a fright, "you mean black +eyes, for our Jacob has got brown hair; 'tis his eyes that are +black." "That is the very thing I was going to say," muttered +Rachel; "I meant eyes, though I said hair, for I know his hair is as +brown as a chestnut, and his eyes as black as a sloe." "So they are, +sure enough," cried Sally; "how in the world could you have known +that?" forgetting that she herself had just told her so. And it is +thus that these hags pick out of the credulous all which they +afterwards pretend to reveal to them. "O, I know a pretty deal more +than that," said Rachel, "but you must beware of this man." "Why, +so," cried Sally, with great quickness. "Because," answered Rachel, +"you are fated to marry a man worth a hundred of him, who has blue +eyes, light hair, and a stoop in the shoulders." "No, indeed, but I +can't," said Sally; "I have promised Jacob, and Jacob I will marry." +"You can not, child," returned Rachel in a solemn tone; "it is out +of your power, you are _fated_ to marry the blue eyes and light +hair." "Nay, indeed," said Sally, sighing deeply, "if I am fated, I +must; I know there's no resisting one's fate." This is a common cant +with poor deluded girls, who are not aware that they themselves make +their fate by their folly, and then complain there is no resisting +it. "What can I do?" said Sally. "I will tell you that, too," said +Rachel. "You must take a walk next Sunday afternoon to the +church-yard, and the first man you meet in a blue coat, with a large +posey of pinks and southern-wood in his bosom, sitting on the +church-yard wall, about seven o'clock, he will be the man." +"Provided," said Sally, much disturbed, "that he has blue eyes and +stoops." "It to be sure," said Rachel, "otherwise it is not the +right man." "But if I should mistake," said Sally, "for two men may +happen to have a coat and eyes of the same color?" "To prevent +that," replied Rachel, "if it is the right man, the two first +letters of his name will be R. P. This man has got money beyond +sea." "O, I do not value money," said Sally, with tears in her eyes, +"for I love Jacob better than house or land; but if I am fated to +marry another, I can't help it; you know there is no struggling +against my fate." + +Poor Sally thought of nothing, and dreamed of nothing, all the week +but the blue coat and the blue eyes. She made a hundred blunders at +her work. She put her rennet into the butterpan, and her +skimming-dish into the cheese-tub. She gave the curds to the hogs, +and put the whey into the vats. She put her little knife out of her +pocket for fear it should cut love, and would not stay in the +kitchen if there was not an even number of people, lest it should +break the charm. She grew cold and mysterious in her behavior to +faithful Jacob, whom she truly loved. But the more she thought of +the fortune teller, the more she was convinced that brown hair and +black eyes were not what she was fated to marry, and therefore +though she trembled to think it, Jacob could not be the man. + +On Sunday she was too uneasy to go to church; for poor Sally had +never been taught that her being uneasy was only a fresh reason why +she ought to go thither. She spent the whole afternoon in her little +garret, dressing in all her best. First she put on her red riband, +which she had bought at last Lammas fair; then she recollected that +red was an unlucky color, and changed it for a blue riband, tied in +a true lover's knot; but suddenly calling to mind that poor Jacob +had bought this knot for her of a pedlar at the door, and that she +had promised to wear it for his sake, her heart smote her, and she +laid it by, sighing to think she was not fated to marry the man who +had given it to her. When she had looked at herself twenty times in +the glass (for one vain action always brings on another) she set off +trembling and shaking every step she went. She walked eagerly toward +the church-yard, not daring to look to the right or left, for fear +she would spy Jacob, who would have offered to walk with her, and so +have spoilt it all. As soon as she came within sight of the wall, +she spied a man sitting upon it: her heart beat violently. She +looked again; but alas! the stranger not only had on a black coat, +but neither hair nor eyes answered the description. She now happened +to cast her eyes on the church-clock, and found she was two hours +before her time. This was some comfort. She walked away and got rid +of the two hours as well as she could, paying great attention not +to walk over any straws which lay across, and carefully looking to +see if there were never an old horse-shoe in the way, that +infallible symptom of good-fortune. While the clock was striking +seven, she returned to the church-yard, and O! the wonderful power +of fortune tellers! there she saw him! there sat the very man! his +hair as light as flax, his eyes as blue as butter-milk, and his +shoulders as round as a tub. Every tittle agreed, to the very +nosegay in his waistcoat button-hole. At first, indeed, she thought +it had been sweet-briar, and glad to catch at a straw, whispered to +herself, It is not he, and I shall marry Jacob still; but on looking +again, she saw it was southern-wood plain enough, and that of course +all was over. The man accosted her with some very nonsensical, but +too acceptable, compliments. She was naturally a modest girl, and +but for Rachel's wicked arts, would not have had courage to talk +with a strange man; but how could she resist her fate you know? +After a little discourse, she asked him with a trembling heart, what +might be his name? Robert Price, at your service, was the answer. +"Robert Price, that is R. P. as sure as I am alive, and the fortune +teller was a witch! It is all out! O the wonderful art of fortune +tellers!" + +The little sleep she had that night was disturbed with dreams of +graves, and ghosts, and funerals, but as they were morning dreams, +she knew those always went by contraries, and that a funeral denoted +a wedding. Still a sigh would now and then heave, to think that in +that wedding Jacob would have no part. Such of my readers as know +the power which superstition has over the weak and credulous mind, +scarcely need be told, that poor Sally's happiness was soon +completed. She forgot all her vows to Jacob; she at once forsook an +honest man whom she loved, and consented to marry a stranger, of +whom she knew nothing, from a ridiculous notion that she was +compelled to do so by a decree which she had it not in her power to +resist. She married this Robert Price, the strange gardener, whom +she soon found to be very worthless, and very much in debt. He had +no such thing as "money beyond sea," as the fortune teller had told +her; but alas! he had another wife there. He got immediate +possession of Sally's twenty pounds. Rachel put in for her share, +but he refused to give her a farthing and bid her get away or he +would have her taken up on the vagrant act. He soon ran away from +Sally, leaving her to bewail her own weakness; for it was that +indeed, and not any irresistible fate, which had been the cause of +her ruin. To complete her misery, she herself was suspected of +having stole the silver cup which Rachel had pocketed. Her master, +however, would not prosecute her, as she was falling into a deep +decline, and she died in a few months of a broken heart, a sad +warning to all credulous girls. + +Rachel, whenever she got near home, used to drop her trade of +fortune telling, and only dealt in the wares of her basket. Mr. +Wilson, the clergyman, found her one day dealing out some very +wicked ballads to some children. He went up with a view to give her +a reprimand; but had no sooner begun his exhortation than up came a +constable, followed by several people. "There she is, that is the +old witch who tricked my wife out of the five guineas," said one of +them; "do your office, constable, seize that old hag. She may tell +fortunes and find pots of gold in Taunton jail, for there she will +have nothing else to do!" This was that very Farmer Jenkins, whose +wife had been cheated by Rachel of the five guineas. He had taken +pains to trace her to her own parish: he did not so much value the +loss of the money, as he thought it was a duty he owed the public to +clear the country of such vermin. Mr. Wilson immediately committed +her. She took her trial at the next assizes, when she was sentenced +to a year's imprisonment. In the mean time, the pawnbroker to whom +she had sold the silver cup, which she had stolen from poor Sally's +master, impeached her; and as the robbery was fully proved upon +Rachel, she was sentenced for this crime to Botany Bay; and a happy +day it was for the county of Somerset, when such a nuisance was sent +out of it. She was transported much about the same time that her +husband Giles lost his life in stealing the net from the garden +wall, as related in the second part of poaching Giles. + +I have thought it my duty to print this little history, as a kind of +warning to all young men and maidens not to have any thing to say to +_cheats, impostors, cunning women, fortune tellers, conjurors_, and +_interpreters of dreams_. Listen to me, your true friend, when I +assure you that God never reveals to weak and wicked women those +secret designs of his providence, which no human wisdom is able to +foresee. To consult these false oracles is not only foolish, but +sinful. It is foolish, because they are themselves as ignorant as +those whom they pretend to teach; and is sinful, because it is +prying into that futurity which God, in mercy as well as wisdom, +hides from men. God indeed _orders_ all things; but when you have a +mind to do a foolish thing, do not fancy you are _fated_ to do it. +This is tempting Providence, and not trusting him. It is indeed +_charging God with folly_. Providence is his gift, and you obey him +better when you make use of prudence, under the direction of prayer, +than when you madly run into ruin, and think you are only submitting +to your fate. Never fancy that you are compelled to undo yourself, +or to rush upon your own destruction, in compliance with any +supposed fatality. Never believe that God conceals his will from a +sober Christian who obeys his laws, and reveals it to a vagabond +gypsy who runs up and down breaking the laws both of God and man. +King Saul never consulted the witch till he left off serving God. +The Bible will direct us what to do better than any conjuror, and +there are no days unlucky but those which we make so by our own +vanity, sin, and folly. + + + + +STORIES + +FOR PERSONS OF THE MIDDLE RANKS. + + + + +THE HISTORY OF MR. FANTOM, + +(THE NEW FASHIONED PHILOSOPHER,) + +AND HIS MAN WILLIAM. + + +Mr. Fantom was a retail trader in the city of London. As he had no +turn to any expensive vices, he was reckoned a sober decent man, but +he was covetous and proud, selfish and conceited. As soon as he got +forward in the world, his vanity began to display itself, though not +in the ordinary method, that of making a figure and living away; but +still he was tormented with a longing desire to draw public notice, +and to distinguish himself. He felt a general discontent at what he +was with a general ambition to be something which he was not; but +this desire had not yet turned itself to any particular object. It +was not by his money he could hope to be distinguished, for half his +acquaintance had more, and a man must be rich indeed to be noted for +his riches in London. Mr. Fantom's mind was a prey to his vain +imaginations. He despised all those little acts of kindness and +charity which every man is called to perform every day; and while he +was contriving grand schemes, which lay quite out of his reach, he +neglected the ordinary duties of life, which lay directly before +him. Selfishness was his governing principle. He fancied he was lost +in the mass of general society; and the usual means of attaching +importance to insignificance occurred to him; that of getting into +clubs and societies. To be connected with a party would at least +make him known to that party, be it ever so low and contemptible; +and this local importance it is which draws off vain minds from +those scenes of general usefulness, in which, though they are of +more value, they are of less distinction. + +About this time he got hold of a famous little book, written by the +NEW PHILOSOPHER, whose pestilent doctrines have gone about seeking +whom they may destroy; these doctrines found a ready entrance into +Mr. Fantom's mind; a mind at once shallow and inquisitive, +speculative and vain, ambitious and dissatisfied. As almost every +book was new to him, he fell into the common error of those who +begin to read late in life--that of thinking that what he did not +know himself, was equally new to others; and he was apt to fancy +that he and the author he was reading were the only two people in +the world who knew any thing. This book led to the grand discovery; +he had now found what his heart panted after--a way to _distinguish +himself_. To start out a full grown philosopher at once, to be wise +without education, to dispute without learning, and to make +proselytes without argument, was a short cut to fame, which well +suited his vanity and his ignorance. He rejoiced that he had been so +clever as to examine for himself, pitied his friends who took things +upon trust, and was resolved to assert the freedom of his own mind. +To a man fond of bold novelties and daring paradoxes, solid argument +would be flat, and truth would be dull, merely because it is not +new. Mr. Fantom believed, not in proportion to the strength of the +evidence, but to the impudence of the assertion. The trampling on +holy ground with dirty shoes, the smearing the sanctuary with filth +and mire, the calling prophets and apostles by the most scurrilous +names was new, and dashing, and dazzling. Mr. Fantom, now being set +free from the chains of slavery and superstition, was resolved to +show his zeal in the usual way, by trying to free others; but it +would have hurt his vanity had he known that he was the convert of a +man who had written only for the vulgar, who had _invented_ nothing, +no, not even one idea of original wickedness; but who had stooped to +rake up out of the kennel of infidelity, all the loathsome dregs and +offal dirt, which politer unbelievers had thrown away as too gross +and offensive for the better bred readers. + +Mr. Fantom, who considered that a philosopher must set up with a +little sort of stock in trade, now picked up all the common-place +notions against Christianity, which have been answered a hundred +times over: these he kept by him ready cut and dried, and brought +out in all companies with a zeal which would have done honor to a +better cause, but which the friends to a better cause are not so apt +to discover. He soon got all the cant of the new school. He prated +about _narrowness_, and _ignorance_, and _bigotry_, and _prejudice_, +and _priestcraft_ on the one hand; and on the other, of _public +good_, the _love of mankind_, and _liberality_, and _candor_, and +_toleration_, and above all, _benevolence_. Benevolence, he said, +made up the whole of religion, and all the other parts of it were +nothing but cant, and jargon, and hypocrisy. By benevolence he +understood a gloomy and indefinite anxiety about the happiness of +people with whom he was utterly disconnected, and whom Providence +had put it out of his reach either to serve or injure. And by the +happiness this benevolence was so anxious to promote, he meant an +exemption from the power of the laws, and an emancipation from the +restraints of religion, conscience, and moral obligation. + +Finding, however, that he made but little impression on his old club +at the Cat and Bagpipes, he grew tired of their company. This club +consisted of a few sober citizens, who met of an evening for a +little harmless recreation after business; their object was, not to +reform parliament, but their own shops; not to correct the abuses of +government, but of parish officers; not to cure the excesses of +administration, but of their own porters and apprentices; to talk +over the news of the day without aspiring to direct the events of +it. They read the papers with that anxiety which every honest man +feels in the daily history of his country. But as trade, which they +_did_ understand, flourished, they were careful not to reprobate +those public measures by which it was protected, and which they did +_not_ understand. In such turbulent times it was a comfort to each +to feel he was a tradesman, and not a statesman; that he was not +called to responsibility for a trust for which he found he had no +talents, while he was at full liberty to employ the talents he +really possessed, in fairly amassing a fortune, of which the laws +would be the best guardian, and government the best security. Thus a +legitimate self-love, regulated by prudence, and restrained by +principle, produced peaceable subjects and good citizens; while in +Fantom, a boundless selfishness and inordinate vanity converted a +discontented trader into a turbulent politician. + +There was, however, one member of the Cat and Bagpipes whose +society he could not resolve to give up, though they seldom agreed, +as indeed no two men in the same class and habits of life could +less resemble each other. Mr. Trueman was an honest, plain, +simple-hearted tradesman of the good old cut, who feared God and +followed his business; he went to church twice on Sundays, and +minded his shop all the week, spent frugally, gave liberally, and +saved moderately. He lost, however, some ground in Mr. Fantom's +esteem, because he paid his taxes without disputing, and read his +Bible without doubting. + +Mr. Fantom now began to be tired of every thing in trade except the +profits of it; for the more the word benevolence was in his mouth, +the more did selfishness gain dominion in his heart. He, however, +resolved to retire for a while into the country, and devote his time +to his new plans, schemes, theories, and projects for the public +good. A life of talking, and reading, and writing, and disputing, +and teaching, and proselyting, now struck him as the only life; so +he soon set out for the country with his family; for unhappily Mr. +Fantom had been the husband of a very worthy woman many years before +the new philosophy had discovered that marriage was a shameful +infringement on human liberty, and an abridgement of the rights of +man. To this family was now added his new footman, William Wilson, +whom he had taken with a good character out of a sober family. Mr. +Fantom was no sooner settled than he wrote to invite Mr. Trueman to +come and pay him a visit, for he would have burst if he could not +have got some one to whom he might display his new knowledge; he +knew that if on the one hand Trueman was no scholar, yet on the +other he was no fool; and though he despised his _prejudices_, yet +he thought he might be made a good decoy duck; for if he could once +bring Trueman over, the whole club at the Cat and Bagpipes might be +brought to follow his example; and thus he might see himself at the +head of a society of his own proselytes; the supreme object of a +philosopher's ambition. Trueman came accordingly. He soon found that +however he might be shocked at the impious doctrines his friend +maintained, yet that an important lesson might be learned even from +the worst enemies of truth; namely, an ever wakeful attention to +their grand object. If they set out with talking of trade or +politics, of private news or public affairs, still Mr. Fantom was +ever on the watch to hitch in his darling doctrines; whatever he +began with, he was sure to end with a pert squib at the Bible, a +vapid jest on the clergy, the miseries of superstition, and the +blessings of philosophy. "Oh!" said Trueman to himself, "when shall +I see Christians half so much in earnest? Why is it that almost all +zeal is on the wrong side?" + +"Well, Mr. Fantom," said Trueman one day at breakfast, "I am afraid +you are leading but an idle sort of life here." "Idle, sir!" said +Fantom, "I now first begin to live to some purpose; I have indeed +lost too much time, and wasted my talents on a little retail trade, +in which one is of no note; one can't distinguish one's self." "So +much the better," said Trueman; "I had rather not distinguish +myself, unless it was by leading a better life than my neighbors. +There is nothing I should dread more than being talked about. I dare +say now heaven is in a good measure filled with people whose names +were never heard out of their own street and village. So I beg leave +not to distinguish myself!" "Yes, but one may, if it is only by +signing one's name to an essay or paragraph in a newspaper," said +Fantom. "Heaven keep John Trueman's name out of a newspaper," +interrupted he in a fright, "for if it be there, it must either be +found in the Old Bailey or the bankrupt list, unless, indeed, I were +to remove shop, or sell off my old stock. Well, but Mr. Fantom, you, +I suppose, are now as happy as the day is long?" "Oh yes," replied +Fantom, with a gloomy sigh, which gave the lie to his words, +"perfectly happy! I wonder you do not give up all your sordid +employments, and turn philosopher!" "Sordid indeed!" said Trueman, +"do not call names, Mr. Fantom; I shall never be ashamed of my +trade. What is it has made this country so great? a country whose +merchants are princes? It is trade, Mr. Fantom, trade. I can not say +indeed, as well as I love business, but now and then, when I am +overworked, I wish I had a little more time to look after my soul; +but the fear that I should not devote the time, if I had it, to the +best purpose, makes me work on, though often, when I am balancing my +accounts, I tremble, lest I should neglect to balance the great +account. But still, since, like you, I am a man of no education, I +am more afraid of the temptations of leisure, than of those of +business; I never was bred to read more than a chapter in the Bible, +or some other good book, or the magazine and newspaper; and all that +I can do now, after shop is shut, is to take a walk with my children +in the field besides. But if I had nothing to do from morning to +night, I might be in danger of turning politician or philosopher. +No, neighbor Fantom, depend upon it, that where there is no +learning, next to God's grace, the best preservative of human virtue +is business. As to our political societies, like the armies in the +cave of Adullam, 'every man that is in distress, and every man that +is in debt, and every man that is discontented, will always join +themselves unto them.'" + +_Fantom._ You have narrow views, Trueman. What _can_ be more +delightful than to see a paper of one's own in print against tyranny +and superstition, contrived with so much ingenuity, that, though the +law is on the look-out for treason and blasphemy, a little change of +name defeats its scrutiny. For instance; you may stigmatize +_England_ under the name of _Rome_, and _Christianity_ under the +name of _Popery_. The true way is to attack whatever you have a mind +to injure, under another name, and the best means to destroy the use +of a thing, is to produce a few incontrovertible facts against the +abuses it. Our late travelers have inconceivably helped on the cause +of the new philosophy, in their ludicrous narratives of credulity, +miracles, indulgences, and processions, in popish countries, all +which they ridicule under the broad and general name of Religion, +Christianity, and _the Church_. "And are not you ashamed to defend +such knavery?" said Mr. Trueman. "Those who have a great object to +accomplish," replied Mr. Fantom, "must not be nice about the means. +But to return to yourself, Trueman; in your little confined +situation you can be of no use." "That I deny," interrupted Trueman; +"I have filled all the parish offices with some credit. I never took +a bribe at an election, no not so much as a treat; I take care of my +apprentices, and do not set them a bad example by running to plays +and Saddler's Wells, in the week or jaunting about in a gig all day +on Sundays; for I look upon it that the country jaunt of the master +on Sundays exposes his servants to more danger than their whole +week's temptation in trade put together." + +_Fantom._ I once had the same vulgar prejudices about the church and +the Sabbath, and all that antiquated stuff. But even on your own +narrow principles, how can a thinking being spend his Sunday better +(if he must lose one day in seven by having any Sunday at all) than +by going into the country to admire the works of nature. + +_Trueman._ I suppose you mean the works of God: for I never read in +the Bible that Nature made any thing. I should rather think that she +herself was made by Him, who, when He said, "thou shalt not murder," +said also, "thou shalt keep holy the Sabbath day." But now do you +really think that all the multitude of coaches, chariots, chaises, +vis-a-vis, booby-hutches, sulkies, sociables, phaetons, gigs, +curricles, cabrioles, chairs, stages, pleasure-carts, and horses, +which crowd our roads; all those country-houses within reach, to +which the London friends pour in to the gorgeous Sunday feast, which +the servants are kept from church to dress; all those public houses +under the signs of which you read these alluring words, _an ordinary +on Sundays_; I say, do you really believe that all those houses and +carriages are crammed with philosophers, who go on Sunday into the +country to admire the works of nature, as you call it! Indeed, from +the reeling gait of some of them, when they go back at night, one +might take them for a certain sect called the tippling philosophers. +Then in answer to your charge, that a little tradesman can do no +good, it is not true; I must tell you that I belong to the Sick +Man's Friend, and to the Society for relieving prisoners for small +debts. + +_Fantom._ I have no attention to spare for that business, though I +would pledge myself to produce a plan by which the _national_ debt +might be paid off in six months; but all yours are petty +occupations. + +_Trueman._ Then they are better suited to petty men of petty +fortune. I had rather have an ounce of real good done with my own +hands, and seen with my own eyes, than speculate about doing a ton +in a wild way, which I know can never be brought about. + +_Fantom._ I despise a narrow field. Oh, for the reign of universal +benevolence! I want to make all mankind good and happy. + +_Trueman._ Dear me! sure that must be a wholesale sort of a job; had +you not better try your hand at a town or a parish first! + +_Fantom._ Sir, I have a plan in my head for relieving the miseries +of the whole world. Every thing is bad as it now stands. I would +alter all the laws; and do away all the religions, and put an end to +all the wars in the world. I would every where redress the injustice +of fortune, or what the vulgar call Providence. I would put an end +to all punishments; I would not leave a single prisoner on the face +of the globe. This is what I call doing things on a grand scale. "A +scale with a vengeance," said Trueman. "As to releasing the +prisoners, however, I do not so much like that, as it would be +liberating a few rogues at the expense of all honest men; but as to +the rest of your plans, if all Christian countries would be so good +as to turn Christians, it might be helped on a good deal. There +would be still misery enough left indeed; because God intended this +world should be earth and not heaven. But, sir, among all your +oblations, you must abolish human corruption before you can make the +world quite as perfect as you pretend. You philosophers seem to me +to be ignorant of the very first seed and principle of misery--sin, +sir, sin: your system of reform is radically defective; for it does +not comprehend that sinful nature from which all misery proceeds. +You accuse government of defects which belong to man, to individual +man, and of course to man collectively. Among all your reforms you +must reform the human heart; you are only hacking at the branches, +without striking at the root. Banishing impiety out of the world, +would be like striking off all the pounds from an overcharged bill; +and all the troubles which would be left, would be reduced to mere +shillings, pence, and farthings, as one may say." + +_Fantom._ Your project would rivet the chains which mine is designed +to break. + +_Trueman._ Sir, I have no projects. Projects are in general the +offspring of restlessness, vanity, and idleness. I am too busy for +projects, too contented for theories, and, I hope, have too much +honesty and humility for a philosopher. The utmost extent of my +ambition at present is, to redress the wrongs of a parish apprentice +who has been cruelly used by his master; indeed I have another +little scheme, which is to prosecute a fellow in our street who has +suffered a poor wretch in a workhouse, of which he had the care, to +perish through neglect, and you must assist me. + +_Fantom._ The parish must do that. You must not apply to me for the +redress of such petty grievances. I own that the wrongs of the Poles +and South Americans so fill my mind as to leave me no time to attend +to the petty sorrows of workhouses and parish apprentices. It is +provinces, empires, continents, that the benevolence of the +philosopher embraces; every one can do a little paltry good to his +next neighbor. + +_Trueman._ Every one can, but I do not see that every one does. If +they would, indeed, your business would be ready done at your hands, +and your grand ocean of benevolence would be filled with the drops +which private charity would throw into it. I am glad, however, you +are such a friend to the prisoners, because I am just now getting a +little subscription from our club, to set free our poor old friend, +Tom Saunders, a very honest brother tradesman, who got first into +debt, and then into jail, through no fault of his own, but merely +through the pressure of the times. We have each of us allowed a +trifle every week toward maintaining Tom's young family since he has +been in prison; but we think we shall do much more service to +Saunders, and, indeed, in the end, lighten our expense, by paying +down at once a little sum to restore him to the comforts of life, +and put him in the way of maintaining his family again. We have made +up the money all except five guineas; I am already promised four, +and you have nothing to do but give me the fifth. And so for a +single guinea, without any of the trouble, the meetings, and the +looking into his affairs, which we have had; which, let me tell you, +is the best, and to a man of business, the dearest part of charity, +you will at once have the pleasure (and it is no small one) of +helping to save a worthy family from starving, of redeeming an old +friend from jail, and of putting a little of your boasted +benevolence into action. Realize! Master Fantom--there is nothing +like realizing. "Why, hark ye, Mr. Trueman," said Fantom, +stammering, and looking very black; "do not think I value a guinea; +no, sir, I despise money; it is trash; it is dirt, and beneath the +regard of a wise man. It is one of the unfeeling inventions of +artificial society. Sir, I could talk to you for half a day on the +abuse of riches, and on my own contempt for money." + +_Trueman._ O, pray do not give yourself the trouble; it will be an +easier way by half of vindicating yourself from one, and of proving +the other, just to put your hand in your pocket and give me a +guinea, without saying a word about it; and then to you, who value +time so much, and money so little, it will cut the matter short. But +come now (for I see you will give nothing), I should be mighty glad +to know what is the sort of good you do yourself, since you always +object to what is done by others? "Sir," said Mr. Fantom; "the +object of a true philosopher is to diffuse light and knowledge. I +wish to see the whole world enlightened." + +_Trueman._ Amen! if you mean with the light of the gospel. But if +you mean that one religion is as good as another, and that no +religion is best of all; and that we shall become wiser and better +by setting aside the very means which Providence bestowed to make us +wise and good; in short, if you want to make the whole world +philosophers, why they had better stay as they are. But as to the +true light, I wish to reach the very lowest, and I therefore bless +God for charity-schools, as instruments of diffusing it among the +poor. + +Fantom, who had no reason to suspect that his friend was going to +call upon him for a subscription on this account, ventured to praise +them, saying, "I am no enemy to these institutions. I would, indeed, +change the object of instruction, but I would have the whole world +instructed." + +Here Mrs. Fantom, who, with her daughter, had quietly sat by at +their work, ventured to put in a word, a liberty she seldom took +with her husband, who, in his zeal to make the whole world free and +happy, was too prudent to include his wife among the objects on +whom he wished to confer freedom and happiness. "Then, my dear," +said she, "I wonder you do not let your own servants be taught a +little. The maids can scarcely tell a letter, or say the Lord's +Prayer, and you know you will not allow them time to learn. William, +too, has never been at church since we came out of town. He was at +first very orderly and obedient, but now he is seldom sober of an +evening; and in the morning, when he should be rubbing the tables in +the parlor, he is generally lolling upon them, and reading your +little manual of the new philosophy." "Mrs. Fantom," said her +husband, angrily, "you know that my labors for the public good leave +me little time to think of my own family. I must have a great field; +I like to do good to hundreds at once." + +"I am very glad of that, papa," said Miss Polly; "for then I hope +you will not refuse to subscribe to all those pretty children at the +Sunday School, as you did yesterday, when the gentlemen came a +begging, because that is the very thing you were wishing for; there +are two or three hundred to be done good at once." + +_Trueman._ Well, Mr. Fantom, you are a wonderful man to keep up such +a stock of benevolence at so small an expense. To love mankind so +dearly, and yet avoid all opportunities of doing them good; to have +such a noble zeal for the millions, and to feel so little compassion +for the units; to long to free empires and enlighten kingdoms; and +yet deny instruction to your own village, and comfort to your own +family. Surely none but a philosopher could indulge so much +philanthropy and so much frugality at the same time. But come, do +assist me in a partition I am making in our poor-house; between the +old, whom I want to have better fed, and the young, whom I want to +have more worked. + +_Fantom._ Sir, my mind is so engrossed with the partition of +Poland, that I can not bring it down to an object of such +insignificance. I despise the man whose benevolence is swallowed up +in the narrow concerns of his own family, or parish, or country. + +_Trueman._ Well, now I have a notion that it is as well to do one's +own duty as the duty of another man; and that to do good at home is +as well as to do good abroad. For my part, I had as lieve help Tom +Saunders to freedom as a Pole or a South American, though I should +be very glad to help them too. But one must begin to love somewhere; +and to do good somewhere; and I think it is as natural to love one's +own family, and to do good in one's own neighborhood, as to any body +else. And if every man in every family, parish, and country, did the +same, why then all the schemes would meet, and the end of one +parish, where I was doing good, would be the beginning of another +parish where somebody else was doing good; so my schemes would jut +into my neighbor's; his projects would unite with those of some +other local reformer; and all would fit with a sort of dove-tail +exactness. And what is better, all would join in forming a living +comment on that practical precept; "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God +with all thy heart, and thy neighbor as thyself." + +_Fantom._ Sir, a man of large views will be on the watch for great +occasions to prove his benevolence. + +_Trueman._ Yes, sir; but if they are so distant that he can not +reach them, or so vast that he can not grasp them, he may let a +thousand little, snug, kind, good actions slip through his fingers +in the meanwhile; and so between the great things that he can not +do, and the little ones that he will not do, life passes and nothing +will be done. + +Just at this moment Miss Polly Fantom (whose mother had gone out +some time before) started up, let fall her work, and cried out, "O, +papa, do but look what a monstrous great fire there is yonder on +the common! If it were the fifth of November I should think it were +a bonfire. Look how it blazes." "I see plain enough what it is," +said Mr. Fantom, sitting down again without the least emotion. "It +is Jenkins's cottage on fire." "What, poor John Jenkins, who works +in our garden, papa?" said the poor girl, in great terror. "Do not +be frightened, child," answered Fantom; "we are safe enough; the +wind blows the other way. Why did you disturb us for such a trifle, +as it was so distant? Come, Mr. Trueman, sit down." "Sit down!" said +Mr. Trueman; "I am not a stock, nor a stone, but a man, made of the +same common nature with Jenkins, whose house is burning. Come +along--let us fly and help him," continued he, running to the door +in such haste that he forgot to take his hat, though it hung just +before him. "Come, Mr. Fantom--come, my little dear; I wish your +mamma was here; I am sorry she went out just now; we may all do some +good; every body may be of some use at a fire. Even you, Miss Polly, +may save some of these poor people's things in your apron, while +your papa and I hand the buckets." All this he said as he ran along +with the young lady in his hand, not doubting but Fantom and his +whole family were following close behind him. But the present +distress was neither grand enough nor far enough from home to +satisfy the wide-stretched benevolence of the philosopher, who sat +down within sight of the flames to work at a new pamphlet, which now +swallowed up his whole soul, on Universal Benevolence. + +His daughter, indeed, who happily was not yet a philosopher, with +Mr. Trueman, followed by the maids, reached the scene of distress. +William Wilson, the footman, refused to assist, glad of such an +opportunity of being revenged on Jenkins, whom he called a surly +fellow, for presuming to complain because William always purloined +the best fruit for himself before he set it on his master's table. +Jenkins, also, whose duty it was to be out of doors, had refused to +leave his own work in the garden to do Will's work in the house +while he got drunk, or read the Rights of Man. + +The little dwelling of Jenkins burned very furiously. Mr. Trueman's +exertions were of the greatest service. He directed the willing, and +gave an example to the slothful. By living in London, he had been +more used to the calamity of fire than the country people, and knew +better what was to be done. In the midst of the bustle he saw one +woman only who never attempted to be of the least use. She ran +backward and forward, wringing her hands, and crying out in a tone +of piercing agony, "Oh, my child! my little Tommy! will no one save +my Tommy?" Any woman might have uttered the same words, but the look +which explained them could only come from a mother. Trueman did not +stay to ask if she were owner of the house, and mother of the child. +It was his way to do all the good that could be done first, and then +to ask questions. All he said was, "Tell me which is the room?" The +poor woman, now speechless through terror, could only point up to a +little window in the thatch, and then sunk on the ground. + +Mr. Trueman made his way through a thick smoke, and ran up the +narrow staircase which the fire had not reached. He got safely to +the loft, snatched up the little creature, who was sweetly sleeping +in its poor hammock, and brought him down naked in his arms: and as +he gave him to the half-distracted mother, he felt that her joy and +gratitude would have been no bad pay for the danger he had run, even +if no higher motive had set him to work. Poor Jenkins, half +stupefied by his misfortune, had never thought of his child; and his +wife, who expected every hour to make him father to a second, had +not been able to do any thing toward saving little Tommy. + +Mr. Trueman now put the child into Miss Fantom's apron, saying, "Did +not I tell you, my dear, that every body could be of use at a fire?" +He then desired her to carry the child home, and ordered the poor +woman to follow her; saying, he would return himself as soon as he +had seen all safe in the cottage. + +When the fire was quite out, and Mr. Trueman could be of no further +use, he went back to Mr. Fantom's. The instant he opened the parlor +door he eagerly cried out, "Where is the poor woman, Mr. Fantom?" +"Not in my house, I assure you," answered the philosopher. "Give me +leave to tell you, it was a very romantic thing to send her and her +child to me; you should have provided for them at once, like a +prudent man." "I thought I had done so," replied Trueman, "by +sending them to the nearest and best house in the parish, as the +poor woman seemed to stand in need of immediate assistance." "So +immediate," said Fantom, "that I would not let her come into my +house, for fear of what might happen. So I packed her off, with her +child in her arms, to the workhouse; with orders to the overseers +not to let her want for any thing." + +"And what right have you, Mr. Fantom," cried Trueman in a high tone, +"to expect that the overseers will be more humane than yourself! But +is it possible you can have sent that helpless creature, not only to +walk, but to carry a naked child at such a time of night, to a place +so distant, so ill provided, and in such a condition? I hope at +least you have furnished them with clothes; for all their own little +stores were burnt." "Not I, indeed;" said Fantom. "What is the use +of parish officers, but to look after these petty things?" + +It was Mr. Trueman's way, when he began to feel very angry, not to +allow himself to speak, "because," he used to say, "if I give vent +to my feelings, I am sure, by some hasty word, to cut myself out +work for repentance." So without making any answer, or even changing +his clothes, which were very wet and dirty from having worked so +hard at the fire, he walked out again, having first inquired the +road the woman had taken. At the door he met Mrs. Fantom returning +from her visit. He told her his tale; which she had no sooner heard, +than she kindly resolved to accompany him in search of Jenkins's +wife. She had a wide common to walk over before she could reach +either the workhouse or the nearest cottage. She had crawled along +with her baby as far as she was able; but having met with no +refreshment at Mr. Fantom's, and her strength quite failing her, she +had sunk down on the middle of the common. Happily, Mr. Trueman and +Mrs. Fantom came up at this very time. The former had had the +precaution to bring a cordial, and the latter had gone back and +stuffed her pockets with old baby linen. Mr. Trueman soon procured +the assistance of a laborer, who happened to pass by, to help him to +carry the mother, and Mrs. Fantom carried the little shivering baby. + +As soon as they were safely lodged, Mr. Trueman set off in search of +poor Jenkins, who was distressed to know what was become of his wife +and child; for having heard that they were seen going toward Mr. +Fantom's, he despaired of any assistance from that quarter. Mr. +Trueman felt no small satisfaction in uniting this poor man to his +little family. There was something very moving in this meeting, and +in the pious gratitude they expressed for their deliverance. They +seemed to forget they had lost their all, in the joy they felt that +they had not lost each other. And some disdainful great ones might +have smiled to see so much rapture expressed at the safety of a +child born to no inheritance but poverty. These are among the +feelings with which Providence sometimes overpays the want of +wealth. The good people also poured out prayers and blessings on +their deliverer, who, not being a philosopher, was no more ashamed +of praying with them than he had been of working for them. Mr. +Trueman, while assisting at the fire, had heard that Jenkins and his +wife were both very honest, and very pious people; so he told them +he would not only pay for their new lodgings, but undertook to raise +a little subscription among his friends at the Cat and Bagpipes +toward rebuilding their cottage; and further engaged that if they +would promise to bring up the child in the fear of God, he would +stand godfather. + +This exercise of Christian charity had given such a cheerful flow to +Mr. Trueman's spirits, that long before he got home he had lost +every trace of ill-humor. "Well, Mr. Fantom," said he gayly, as he +opened the door, "now do tell me how you could possibly refuse going +to help me to put out the fire at poor Jenkins's?" "Because," said +Fantom, "I was engaged, sir, in a far nobler project than putting +out a fire in a little thatched cottage. Sir, I was contriving to +put out a fire too; a conflagration of a far more dreadful kind--a +fire, sir, in the extinction of which universal man is concerned--I +was contriving a scheme to extinguish the fires of the Inquisition." +"Why, man, they don't blaze that I know of," retorted Trueman. "I +own, that of all the abominable engines which the devil ever +invented to disgrace religion and plague mankind, that Inquisition +was the very worst. But I do not believe popery has ventured at +these diabolical tricks since the earthquake at Lisbon, so that a +bucket of real water, carried to the real fire at Jenkins's cottage, +would have done more good than a wild plan to put out an imaginary +flame which no longer burns. And let me tell you, sir, dreadful as +that evil was, God can send his judgments on other sins besides +superstition; so it behoves us to take heed of the other extreme or +we may have our earthquakes too." "The hand of God is not shortened, +sir, that it can not destroy, any more than it can not save. In the +meantime, I must repeat it; you and I are rather called upon to +serve a neighbor from perishing in the flames of his house, just +under our own window, than to write about the fires of the +Inquisition; which, if fear, or shame, or the restoration of common +sense had not already put out, would have hardly received a check +from such poor hands as you and I." + +"Sir," said Fantom, "Jenkins is an impertinent fellow; and I owe him +a grudge, because he says he had rather forfeit the favor of the +best master in England than work in my garden on a Sunday. And when +I ordered him to read the Age of Reason, instead of going to church, +he refused to work for me at all, with some impertinent hint about +God and Mammon." + +"Oh, did he so?" said Mr. Trueman. "Now I _will_ stand godfather to +his child, and made him a handsome present into the bargain. Indeed, +Mr. Fantom, a man must be a philosopher with a vengeance, if when he +sees a house on fire, he stays to consider whether the owner has +offended him. Oh, Mr. Fantom, I will forgive you still, if you will +produce me, out of all your philosophy, such a sentence as 'Love +your enemy--do good to them that hate you--if thine enemy hunger, +feed him; if he thirst, give him drink;' I will give up the blessed +gospel for the Age of Reason, if you will only bring me one +sentiment equivalent to this." + +Next day Mr. Trueman was obliged to go to London on business, but +returned soon, as the time he had allotted to spend with Mr. Fantom +was not yet elapsed. He came down the sooner indeed, that he might +bring a small sum of money which the gentlemen at the Cat and +Bagpipes had cheerfully subscribed for Jenkins. Trueman did not +forget to desire his wife to make up also a quantity of clothing +for this poor family, to which he did not neglect to add a parcel of +good books, which, indeed, always made a part of his charities; as +he used to say, there was something cruel in the kindness which was +anxious to relieve the bodies of men, but was negligent of their +souls. He stood in person to the new-born child, and observed with +much pleasure, that Jenkins and his wife thought a christening, not +a season for merry-making, but a solemn act of religion. And they +dedicated their infant to his Maker with becoming seriousness. + +Trueman left the cottage and got back to Mr. Fantom's, just as the +family were going to sit down to dinner, as he had promised. + +When they sat down, Mr. Fantom was not a little out of humor to see +his table in some disorder. William was also rather more negligent +than usual. If the company called for bread, he gave them beer, and +he took away the clean plates, and gave them dirty ones. Mr. Fantom +soon discovered that his servant was very drunk; he flew into a +violent passion, and ordered him out of the room, charging that he +should not appear in his presence in that condition. William obeyed; +but having slept an hour or two, and got about half sober, he again +made his appearance. His master gave him a most severe reprimand, +and called him an idle, drunken, vicious fellow. "Sir," said +William, very pertly, "if I do get drunk now and then, I only do it +for the good of my country, and in obedience to your wishes." Mr. +Fantom, thoroughly provoked, now began to scold him in words not fit +to be repeated; and asked him what he meant. "Why, sir," said +William, "you are a philosopher you know; and I have often overheard +you say to your company, that private vices are public benefits; and +so I thought that getting drunk was as pleasant a way of doing good +to the public as any, especially when I could oblige my master at +the same time." + +"Get out of my house," said Mr. Fantom, in a great rage. "I do not +desire to stay a moment longer," said William, "so pay me my wages." +"Not I, indeed," replied the master; "nor will I give you a +character; so never let me see your face again." William took his +master at his word, and not only got out of the house, but went out +of the country too as fast as possible. When they found he was +really gone, they made a hue-and-cry, in order to detain him till +they examined if he had left every thing in the house as he had +found it. But William had got out of reach, knowing he could not +stand such a scrutiny. On examination, Mr. Fantom found that all his +old port was gone, and Mrs. Fantom missed three of her best new +spoons. William was pursued, but without success; and Mr. Fantom was +so much discomposed that he could not for the rest of the day talk +on any subject but his wine and his spoons, nor harangue on any +project but that of recovering both by bringing William to justice. + +Some days passed away, in which Mr. Fantom, having had time to cool, +began to be ashamed that he had been betrayed into such ungoverned +passion. He made the best excuse he could; said no man was perfect, +and though he owned he had been too violent, yet still he hoped +William would be brought to the punishment he deserved. "In the +meantime," said Trueman, "seeing how ill philosophy has agreed with +your man, suppose you were to set about teaching your maids a little +religion?" Mr. Fantom coolly replied, "that the impertinent retort +of a drunken footman could not spoil a system." "Your system, +however, and your own behavior," said Trueman, "have made that +footman a scoundrel, and you are answerable for his offenses." "Not +I, truly," said Fantom; "he has seen me do no harm; he has neither +seen me cheat, gamble, nor get drunk; and I defy you to say I +corrupt my servants. I am a moral man, sir." + +"Mr. Fantom," said Trueman, "if you were to get drunk every day, and +game every night, you would, indeed, endanger your own soul, and +give a dreadful example to your family; but great as those sins are, +and God forbid that I should attempt to lessen them! still they are +not worse, nay, they are not so bad, as the pestilent doctrines with +which you infect your house and your neighborhood. A bad action is +like a single murder. The consequence may end with the crime, to all +but the perpetrator; but a wicked principle is throwing lighted +gunpowder into a town; it is poisoning a river; there are no bounds, +no certainty, no ends to its mischief. The ill effects of the worst +action may cease in time, and the consequences of your bad example +may end with your life; but souls may be brought to perdition by a +wicked principle after the author of it has been dead for ages." + +_Fantom._ You talk like an ignoramus who has never read the new +philosophy. All this nonsense of future punishment is now done away. +It is _our_ benevolence which makes us reject your creed; we can no +more believe in a Deity who permits so much evil in the present +world, than one who threatens eternal punishment in the next. + +_Trueman._ What! shall mortal man be more merciful than God? Do you +pretend to be more compassionate than that gracious Father who sent +his own Son into the world to die for sinners? + +_Fantom._ You take all your notions of the Deity from the vulgar +views your Bible gives you of him. "To be sure I do," said Trueman. +"Can you tell me any way of getting a better notion of him? I do not +want any of your farthing-candle philosophy in the broad sunshine of +the gospel, Mr. Fantom. My Bible tells me that 'God is love;' not +merely loving, but LOVE. Now, do you think a Being, whose very +essence is love, would permit any misery among his children here, if +it was not to be, some way or other, or some where or other, for +their good? You forget, too, that in a world where there is sin, +there must be misery. Then, too, I suppose, God permits this very +misery, partly to exercise the sufferers, and partly to try the +prosperous; for by trouble God corrects some and tries others. +Suppose, now, Tom Saunders had not been put in prison, you and +I--no, I beg pardon, _you_ saved your guinea; well, then, our club +and I could not have shown our kindness in getting him out; nor +would poor Saunders himself have had an opportunity of exercising +his own patience and submission under want and imprisonment. So you +see one reason why God permits misery is, that good men may have an +opportunity of lessening it." Mr. Fantom replied, "There is no +object which I have more at heart; I have, as I told you, a plan in +my head of such universal benevolence as to include the happiness of +all mankind." "Mr. Fantom," said Trueman, "I feel that I have a +general good will to all my brethren of mankind; and if I had as +much money in my purse as love in my heart, I trust I should prove +it. All I say is, that, in a station of life where I can not do +much, I am more called upon to procure the happiness of a poor +neighbor, who has no one else to look to, than to form wild plans +for the good of mankind, too extensive to be accomplished, and too +chimerical to be put in practice. It is the height of folly for a +little ignorant tradesman to distract himself with projecting +schemes which require the wisdom of scholars, the experience of +statesmen, and the power of kings to accomplish. I can not free +whole countries, nor reform the evils of society at large, but I +_can_ free an aggrieved wretch in a workhouse; I _can_ relieve the +distresses of one of my journeymen; and I _can_ labor to reform +myself and my own family." + +Some weeks after this a letter was brought to Mr. Fantom from his +late servant, William, who had been turned away for drunkenness, as +related above, and who had also robbed his master of some wine and +some spoons. Mr. Fantom, glancing his eye over the letter, said, "It +is dated from Chelmsford jail; that rascal has got into prison. I am +glad of it with all my heart; it is the fittest place for such +scoundrels. I hope he will be sent to Botany Bay, if not hanged." +"O, ho! my good friend," said Trueman; "then I find that in +abolishing all prisons you would just let one stand for the +accommodation of those who would happen to rob _you_. General +benevolence, I see, is compatible with particular resentments, +though individual kindness is not consistent with universal +philanthropy." Mr. Fantom drily observed that he was not fond of +jokes, and proceeded to read the letter. It expressed an earnest +wish that his late master would condescend to pay him one visit in +his dark and doleful abode, as he wished to say a few words to him +before the dreadful sentence of the law, which had already been +pronounced, should be executed. + +"Let us go and see the poor fellow," said Trueman; "it is but a +morning's ride. If he is really so near his end it would be cruel to +refuse him." "Not I, truly," said Fantom; "he deserves nothing at my +hands but the halter he is likely to meet with. Such port is not to +be had for money! and the spoons--part of my new dozen!" "As to the +wine," said Trueman, "I am afraid you must give that up, but the +only way to get any tidings of the spoons is to go and hear what he +has to say; I have no doubt but he will make such a confession as +may be very useful to others, which, you know, is one grand +advantage of punishments; and, besides, we may afford him some +little comfort." "As to comfort, he deserves none from me," said +Fantom; "and as to his confessions, they can be of no use to me, but +as they give me a chance of getting my spoons; so I do not much care +if I do take a ride with you." + +When they came to the prison, Mr. Trueman's tender heart sunk within +him. He deplored the corrupt nature of man, which makes such +rigorous confinement indispensably needful, not merely for the +punishment of the offender, but for the safety of society. Fantom, +from mere trick and habit, was just preparing a speech on +benevolence, and the cruelty of imprisonment; for he had a set of +sentiments collected from the new philosophy which he always kept by +him. The naming a man in power brought out the ready cut and dried +phrase against oppression. The idea of rank included every vice, +that of poverty every virtue; and he was furnished with all the +invectives against the cruelty of laws, punishments, and prisons, +which the new lexicon has produced. But his mechanical benevolence +was suddenly checked; the recollection of his old port and his new +spoons cooled his ardor, and he went on without saying a word. + +When they reached the cell where the unhappy William was confined, +they stopped at the door. The poor wretch had thrown himself on the +ground, as well as his chains would permit. He groaned piteously, +and was so swallowed up with a sense of his own miseries, that he +neither heard the door open nor saw the gentlemen. He was attempting +to pray, but in an agony which made his words hardly intelligible. +Thus much they could make out--"God be merciful to me a sinner, the +chief of sinners!" then, suddenly attempting to start up, but +prevented by his irons, he roared out, "O, God! thou canst _not_ be +merciful to me, for I have denied thee; I have ridiculed my Saviour +who died for me; I have broken his laws; I have derided his word; I +have resisted his Spirit; I have laughed at that heaven which is +shut against me; I have denied the truth of those torments which +await me. To-morrow! to-morrow! O for a longer space for repentance! +O for a short reprieve from hell!" + +Mr. Trueman wept so loud that it drew the attention of the criminal, +who now lifted up his eyes, and cast on his late master a look so +dreadful that Fantom wished for a moment that he had given up all +hope of the spoons, rather than have exposed himself to such a +scene. At length the poor wretch said, in a low voice that would +have melted a heart of stone, "O, sir, are you there? I did indeed +wish to see you before my dreadful sentence is put in execution. O, +sir, to-morrow! to-morrow! But I have a confession to make to you." +This revived Mr. Fantom, who again ventured to glance a hope at the +spoons. "Sir," said William, "I could not die without making my +confession." "Ay, and restitution, too, I hope," replied Fantom. +"Where are my spoons?" "Sir, they are gone with the rest of my +wretched booty. But oh, sir! those spoons make so petty an article +in my black account, that I hardly think of them. Murder! +sir--murder is the crime for which I am justly doomed to die. O, +sir, who can abide the anger of an offended God? Who can dwell with +everlasting burnings?" As this was a question which even a +philosopher could not answer, Mr. Fantom was going to steal off, +especially as he now gave up all hope of the spoons; but William +called him back: "Stay, sir, I conjure you, as you will answer it at +the bar of God. You must hear the sins of which you have been the +occasion. You are the cause of my being about to suffer a shameful +death. Yes, sir, you made me a drunkard, a thief, and a murderer." +"How dare you, William," cried Mr. Fantom, with great emotion, +"accuse me of being the cause of such horrid crimes?" "Sir," +answered the criminal, "from you I learned the principles which lead +to those crimes. By the grace of God I should never have fallen into +sins deserving of the gallows, if I had not overheard you say there +was no hereafter, no judgment, no future reckoning. O, sir, there +_is_ a hell, dreadful, inconceivable, eternal!" Here, through the +excess of anguish, the poor fellow fainted away. Mr. Fantom, who did +not at all relish this scene, said to his friend, "Well, sir, we +will go, if you please, for you see there is nothing to be done." + +"Sir," replied Mr. Trueman, mournfully, "you may go if you please, +but I shall stay, for I see there is a great deal to be done." +"What!" rejoined the other, "do you think it possible his life can +be saved?" "No, indeed," said Trueman, "but I hope it possible his +soul may be saved!" "I do not understand these things," said Fantom, +making toward the door. "Nor I, neither," said Trueman, "but as a +fellow-sinner, I am bound to do what I can for this poor man. Do you +go home, Mr. Fantom, and finish your treatise on universal +benevolence, and the blessed effects of philosophy; and, hark ye, be +sure you let the frontispiece of your book represent _William on the +gibbet_; that will be what our minister calls a PRACTICAL +ILLUSTRATION. You know I hate theories; this is _realizing_; this is +PHILOSOPHY made easy to the meanest capacity. This is the precious +fruit which grows on that darling tree, so many slips of which have +been transplanted from that land of liberty of which it is the +native, but which, with all your digging, planting, watering, +dunging, and dressing, will, I trust, never thrive in this blessed +land of ours." + +Mr. Fantom sneaked off to finish his work at home, and Mr. Trueman +staid to finish his in the prison. He passed the night with the +wretched convict; he prayed with him and for him, and read to him +the penitential psalms, and some portions of the gospel. But he was +too humble and too prudent a man to venture out of his depth by +arguments and consolations which he was not warranted to use; this +he left for the clergyman--but he pressed on William the great duty +of making the only amends now in his power to those whom he had led +astray. They then drew up the following paper, which Mr. Trueman got +printed, and gave away at the place of execution: + + THE LAST WORDS, CONFESSION, AND DYING SPEECH OF WILLIAM WILSON, + WHO WAS EXECUTED AT CHELMSFORD, FOR MURDER. + +"I was bred up in the fear of God, and lived with credit in many +sober families, in which I was a faithful servant; but being tempted +by a little higher wages, I left a good place to go and live with +Mr. Fantom, who, however, made good none of his fine promises, but +proved a hard master. Full of fine words and charitable speeches in +favor of the poor; but apt to oppress, overwork, and underpay them. +In his service I was not allowed time to go to church. This troubled +me at first, till I overheard my master say, that going to church +was a superstitious prejudice, and only meant for the vulgar. Upon +this I resolved to go no more, for I thought there could not be two +religions, one for the master and one for the servant. Finding my +master never prayed, I, too, left off praying; this gave Satan great +power over me, so that I from that time fell into almost every sin. +I was very uneasy at first, and my conscience gave me no rest; but I +was soon reconciled by overhearing my master and another gentleman +say, that death was only an eternal sleep, and hell and judgment +were but an invention of priests to keep the poor in order. I +mention this as a warning to all masters and mistresses to take care +what they converse about while servants are waiting at table. They +can not tell how many souls they have sent to perdition with such +loose talk. The crime for which I die is the natural consequence of +the principles I learned of my master. A rich man, indeed, who +throws off religion, may escape the gallows, because want does not +drive him to commit those crimes which lead to it; but what shall +restrain a needy man, who has been taught that there is no dreadful +reckoning? Honesty is but a dream without the awful sanctions of +heaven and hell. Virtue is but a shadow, if it be stripped of the +terrors and promises of the gospel. Morality is but an empty name, +if it be destitute of the principle and power of Christianity. O, my +dear fellow servants! take warning by my sad fate; never be tempted +away from a sober service for the sake of a little more wages; never +venture your immortal souls to houses where God is not feared. And +now hear me, O my God! though I have blasphemed thee! Forgive me, O +my Saviour! though I have denied thee! O Lord, most holy! O God, +most mighty! deliver me from the bitter pains of eternal death, and +receive my soul, for His sake who died for sinners. + + "WILLIAM WILSON." + +Mr. Trueman would never leave this poor penitent till he was +launched into eternity, but he attended him with the minister in the +cart. This pious clergyman never cared to say what he thought of +William's state. When Mr. Trueman ventured to mention his hope, that +though his penitence was late, yet it was sincere, and spoke of the +dying thief on the cross as a ground of encouragement, the minister +with a very serious look, made this answer: "Sir, that instance is +too often brought forward on occasions to which it does not apply: I +do not choose to say any thing to your application of it in the +present case, but I will answer you in the words of a good man +speaking of the penitent thief: 'There is _one_ such instance given +that nobody might despair, and there is _but_ one, that nobody might +presume.'" + +Poor William was turned off just a quarter before eleven; and may +the Lord have mercy on his soul! + + + + +THE TWO WEALTHY FARMERS, + +OR, THE HISTORY OF MR. BRAGWELL. + +PART I.--THE VISIT. + + +Mr. Bragwell and Mr. Worthy happened to meet last year at Weyhill +fair. They were glad to see each other, as they had but seldom met +of late; Mr. Bragwell having removed some years before from Mr. +Worthy's neighborhood, to a distant village where he had bought an +estate. + +Mr. Bragwell was a substantial farmer and grazier. He had risen in +the world by what worldly men call a run of good fortune. He had +also been a man of great industry; that is, he had paid a diligent +and constant attention to his own interest. He understood business, +and had a knack of turning almost every thing to his own advantage. +He had that sort of sense which good men call cunning, and knaves +call wisdom. He was too prudent ever to do any thing so wrong that +the law could take hold of him; yet he was not over scrupulous about +the morality of an action, when the prospect of enriching himself by +it was very great, and the chance of hurting his character was +small. The corn he sent home to his customers was not always quite +so good as the samples he had produced at market; and he now and +then forgot to name some capital blemish in the horses he sold at +fair. He scorned to be guilty of the petty fraud of cheating in +weights and measures, for he thought that was a beggarly sin; but he +valued himself on his skill in making a bargain, and fancied it +showed his superior knowledge of the world to take advantage of the +ignorance of a dealer. + +It was his constant rule to undervalue every thing he was about to +buy, and to overvalue every thing he was about to sell; but as he +seldom lost sight of his discretion, he avoided every thing that was +very shameful; so that he was considered merely as a hard dealer, +and a keen hand at a bargain. Now and then when he had been caught +in pushing his own advantage too far, he contrived to get out of the +scrape by turning the whole into a jest, saying it was a good take +in, a rare joke, and he had only a mind to divert himself with the +folly of his neighbor, who could be so easily imposed on. + +Mr. Bragwell, however, in his way, set a high value on his +character: not indeed that he had a right sense of its worth; he did +not consider reputation as desirable because it increases influence, +and for that reason strengthens the hands of a good man, and +enlarges his sphere of usefulness: but he made the advantage of +reputation, as well as of every other good, center in himself. Had +he observed a strict attention to principle, he feared he should not +have got on so fast in the world as those do who consult expediency +rather than probity, while, without a certain degree of character, +he knew also, that he should forfeit that confidence which put other +men in his power, and would set them as much on their guard against +him, as he, who thought all mankind pretty much alike, was on his +guard against them. + +Mr. Bragwell had one favorite maxim; namely, that a man's success in +life was a sure proof of his wisdom: and that all failure and +misfortune was the consequence of a man's own folly. As this opinion +was first taken up by him from vanity and ignorance, so it was more +and more confirmed by his own prosperity. He saw that he himself had +succeeded greatly without either money or education to begin with, +and he therefore now despised every man, however excellent his +character or talents might be, who had not the same success in life. +His natural disposition was not particularly bad, but prosperity had +hardened his heart. He made his own progress in life the rule by +which the conduct of all other men was to be judged, without any +allowance for their peculiar disadvantages, or the visitations of +Providence. He thought, for his part, that every man of sense could +command success on his undertakings, and control and dispose the +events of his own life. + +But though he considered those who had had less success than himself +as no better than fools, yet he did not extend this opinion to Mr. +Worthy, whom he looked upon not only as a good but a wise man. They +had been bred up when children in the same house; but with this +difference, that Worthy was the nephew of the master, and Bragwell +the son of the servant. + +Bragwell's father had been plowman in the family of Mr. Worthy's +uncle, a sensible man who farmed a small estate of his own, and who, +having no children, bred up young Worthy as his son, instructed him +in the business of husbandry, and at his death left him his estate. +The father of Worthy was a pious clergyman, who lived with his +brother the farmer, in order to help out a narrow income. He had +bestowed much pains on the instruction of his son, and used +frequently to repeat to him a saying, which he had picked up in a +book written by one of the greatest men this country ever +produced--That there were two things with which every man ought to +be acquainted, RELIGION, AND HIS OWN BUSINESS. While he therefore +took care that his son should be made an excellent farmer, he filled +up his leisure hours in improving his mind: so that young Worthy had +read more good books, and understood them better, than most men in +his station. His reading, however, had been chiefly confined to +husbandry and divinity, the two subjects which were of the most +immediate importance to him. + +The reader will see by this time that Mr. Bragwell and Mr. Worthy +were as likely to be as opposite to each other as two men could well +be, who were nearly of the same age and condition, and who were +neither of them without credit in the world. Bragwell indeed made +far the greater figure; for he liked to _cut a dash_, as he called +it. It was his delight to make the ancient gentry of the +neighborhood stare, at seeing a grazier vie with them in show, and +exceed them in expense. And while it was the study of Worthy to +conform to his station, and to set a good example to those about +him, it was the delight of Bragwell to eclipse, in his way of life, +men of larger fortune. He did not see how much his vanity raised the +envy of his inferiors, the ill-will of his equals, and the contempt +of his betters. + +His wife was a notable stirring woman, but vain, violent, and +ambitious; very ignorant, and very high-minded. She had married +Bragwell before he was worth a shilling, and as she had brought him +a good deal of money, she thought herself the grand cause of his +rising in the world; and thence took occasion to govern him most +completely. Whenever he ventured to oppose her, she took care to put +him in mind that he owed every thing to her; that had it not been +for her, he might still have been stumping after a plow-tail, or +serving hogs in old Worthy's farm-yard; but that it was she who made +a gentleman of him. In order to set about making him a gentleman, +she had begun by teasing him till he had turned away all his poor +relations who worked on the farm; she next drew him off from keeping +company with his old acquaintances, and at last persuaded him to +remove from the place where he had got his money. Poor woman! she +had not sense and virtue enough to see how honorable it is for a man +to raise himself in the world by fair means, and then to help +forward his poor relations and friends; engaging their services by +his kindness, and endeavoring to turn his own advancement in life to +the best account, and of making it the instrument of assisting those +who had a natural claim to his protection. + +Mrs. Bragwell was an excellent mistress, according to her own +notions of excellence; for no one could say she ever lost an +opportunity of scolding a servant, or was ever guilty of the +weakness of overlooking a fault. Toward her two daughters her +behavior was far otherwise. In them she could see nothing but +perfections, but her extravagant fondness for these girls was full +as much owing to pride as to affection. She was bent on making a +family, and having found out that she was too ignorant, and too much +trained to the habits of getting money, ever to hope to make a +figure herself, she looked to her daughters as the persons who were +to raise the family of the Bragwells; and to this hope she foolishly +submitted to any drudgery for their sakes and bore every kind of +impertinence from them. + +The first wish of her heart was to set them above their neighbors; +for she used to say, what was the use of having substance, if her +daughters might not carry themselves above girls who had nothing? To +do her justice, she herself would be about early and late to see +that the business of the house was not neglected. She had been bred +to great industry, and continued to work when it was no longer +necessary, both from early habit, and the desire of heaping up +money for her daughters. Yet her whole notion of gentility was, that +it consisted in being rich and idle; and, though she was willing to +be a drudge herself, she resolved to make her daughters gentlewomen +on this principle. To be well dressed, to eat elegantly, and to do +nothing, or nothing which is of any use, was what she fancied +distinguished people in genteel life. And this is too common a +notion of a fine education among a certain class; they do not esteem +things by their use, but by their show. They estimate the value of +their children's education by the money it costs, and not by the +knowledge and goodness it bestows. People of this stamp often take a +pride in the expense of learning, instead of taking pleasure in the +advantage of it. And the silly vanity of letting others see that +they can afford any thing, often sets parents on letting their +daughters learn not only things of no use, but things which may be +really hurtful in their situation; either by setting them above +their proper duties, or by taking up their time in a way +inconsistent with them. + +Mrs. Bragwell sent her daughters to a boarding-school, where she +instructed them to hold up their heads as high as any body; to have +more spirit than _to be put upon_ by any one; never to be pitiful +about money, but rather to show that they could afford to spend with +the best; to keep company with the richest and most fashionable +girls in the school, and to make no acquaintance with the farmers' +daughters. + +They came home at the usual age of leaving school, with a large +portion of vanity grafted on their native ignorance. The vanity was +added, but the ignorance was not taken away. Of religion they could +not possibly learn any thing, since none was taught, for at that +place Christianity was considered as a part of education which +belonged only to charity schools. They went to church indeed once a +Sunday, yet effectually to counteract any benefit such an attendance +might produce, it was the rule of the school that they should use +only French prayer-books; of course, such superficial scholars as +the Miss Bragwells would always be literally praying in an unknown +tongue; while girls of better capacity and more industry would +infallibly be picking out the nominative case, the verb, and a +participle of a foreign language, in the solemn act of kneeling +before the Father of Spirits, "who searcheth the heart and trieth +the reins." During the remainder of the Sunday they learned their +worldly tasks, all except actual needle-work, which omission alone +marked the distinction of Sunday from other days; and the governess +being a French Roman Catholic, it became a doubtful point with some +people, whether her zeal or her negligence in the article of +religion would be most to the advantage of her pupils. Of knowledge +the Miss Bragwells had got just enough to laugh at their fond +parents' rustic manners and vulgar language, and just enough taste +to despise and ridicule every girl who was not as vainly dressed as +themselves. + +The mother had been comforting herself for the heavy expense of +their bringing up, by looking forward to the pleasure of seeing them +become fine ladies, and the pride of marrying them above their +station; and to this hope she constantly referred in all her +conversations with them; assuring them that all her happiness +depended on their future elevation. + +Their father hoped, with far more judgment, that they would be a +comfort to him both in sickness and in health. He had no learning +himself, and could write but poorly, and owed what skill he had in +figures to his natural turn of business. He reasonably hoped that +his daughters, after all the money he had spent on them, would now +write his letters and keep his accounts. And as he was now and then +laid up with a fit of the gout, he was enjoying the prospect of +having two affectionate children to nurse him, as well as two +skillful assistants to relieve him. + +When they came home, however, he had the mortification to find, that +though he had two smart showy ladies to visit him, he had neither +dutiful daughters to nurse him, nor faithful stewards to keep his +books, nor prudent children to manage his house. They neither +soothed him by their kindness when he was sick, nor helped him by +their industry when he was busy. They thought the maid might take +care of him in the gout as she did before; for they fancied that +nursing was a coarse and servile employment; and as to their skill +in ciphering he soon found, to his cost, that though they knew how +to _spend_ both pounds, shillings, and pence, yet they did not know +how so well to cast them up. Indeed it is to be regretted that women +in general, especially in the middle class, are so little grounded +in so indispensable, solid, and valuable an acquirement as +arithmetic. + +Mrs. Bragwell being one day very busy in preparing a great dinner +for the neighbors, ventured to request her daughters to assist in +making the pastry. They asked her with a scornful smile, whether she +had sent them to a boarding school to learn to cook; and added, that +they supposed she would expect them next to make hasty-puddings for +the hay-makers. So saying, they coolly marched off to their music. +When the mother found her girls too polite to be of any use, she +would take comfort in observing how her parlor was set out with +their filagree and flowers, their embroidery and cut paper. They +spent the morning in bed, the noon in dressing, the evening at the +harpsichord, and the night in reading novels. + +With all these fine qualifications it is easy to suppose, that as +they despised their sober duties, they no less despised their plain +neighbors. When they could not get to a horse-race, a petty-ball, or +a strolling play, with some company as idle and as smart as +themselves, they were driven for amusement to the circulating +library. Jack, the plow-boy, on whom they had now put a livery +jacket, was employed half his time in trotting backward and forward +with the most wretched trash the little neighboring bookshop could +furnish. The choice was often left to Jack, who could not read, but +who had general orders to bring all the new things, and a great many +of them. + +It was a misfortune, that at the school at which they had been bred, +and at some others, there was no system of education which had any +immediate reference to the station of life to which the girls +chiefly belonged. As persons in the middle line, for want of that +acquaintance with books, and with life and manners, which the great +possess, do not always see the connection between remote +consequences and their causes, the evils of a corrupt and +inappropriate system of education do not strike _them_ so forcibly; +and provided _they can pay for it_, which is made the grand +criterion between the fit and the unfit, they are too little +disposed to consider the value, or rather the worthlessness, of the +thing which is paid for: but literally go on to _give their money +for that which is not bread._ + +Their subsequent course of reading serves to establish all the +errors of their education. Instead of such books as might help to +confirm and strengthen them in all the virtues of their station, in +humility, economy, meekness, contentment, self-denial, and industry; +the studies now adopted are, by a graft on the old stock, made to +grow on the habits acquired at school. Of those novels and plays +which are so eagerly devoured by persons of this description, there +is perhaps scarce one which is not founded upon principles which +would lead young women of the middle ranks to be discontented with +their station. It is _rank_--it is _elegance_--it is _beauty_--it is +_sentimental feelings_--it is _sensibility_--it is some needless, or +some superficial, or some hurtful quality, even in that fashionable +person to whom the author ascribes it, which is the ruling +principle. This quality transferred into the heart and the conduct +of an illiterate woman in an inferior station, becomes absurdity, +becomes sinfulness. + +Things were in this state in the family we are describing, or rather +growing worse; for idleness and vanity are never at a stand; when +these two wealthy farmers, Bragwell and Worthy, met at Weyhill fair, +as was said before. After many hearty salutations had passed between +them, it was agreed that Mr. Bragwell should spend the next day with +his old friend whose house was not many miles distant. Bragwell +invited himself in the following manner: "We have not had a +comfortable day's chat for years," said he; "and as I am to look at +a drove of lean beasts in your neighborhood, I will take a bed at +your house, and we will pass the evening debating as we used to do. +You know I always loved a bit of an argument, and am not reckoned to +make the worst figure at our club. I had not, to be sure, such good +learning as you had, because your father was a parson, and you got +it for nothing; but I can bear my part pretty well for all that. +When any man talks to me about his learning, I ask if it has helped +him to get a good estate; if he says no, then I would not give him a +rush for it; for of what use is all the learning in the world, if it +does not make a man rich? But as I was saying, I will come and see +you to-morrow; but now don't let your wife put herself in a fuss for +me: don't alter your own plain way; for I am not proud, I assure +you, nor above my old friends; though I thank God, I am pretty well +in the world." + +To all this flourishing speech Mr. Worthy coolly answered, that +certainly worldly prosperity ought never make any man proud, since +it is God who giveth strength to get riches, and without his +blessing, _'tis in vain to rise up early, and to eat the bread of +carefulness_. + +About the middle of the next day Mr. Bragwell reached Mr. Worthy's +neat and pleasant dwelling. He found every thing in the reverse of +his own. It had not so many ornaments, but it had more comforts. And +when he saw his friend's good old-fashioned arm-chair in a warm +corner, he gave a sigh to think how his own had been banished to +make room for his daughter's piano-forte. Instead of made flowers in +glass cases, and tea-chests and screens too fine to be used, which +he saw at home, and about which he was cautioned, and scolded as +often as he came near them; his daughters watching his motions with +the same anxiety as they would have watched the motions of a cat in +a china shop. Instead of this, I say, he saw some neat shelves of +good books for the service of the family, and a small medicine chest +for the benefit of the poor. + +Mrs. Worthy and her daughters had prepared a plain but neat and good +dinner. The tarts were so excellent that Bragwell felt a secret kind +of regret that his own daughters were too genteel to do any thing so +very useful. Indeed he had been always unwilling to believe that any +thing which was very proper and very necessary, could be so +extremely vulgar and unbecoming as his daughters were always +declaring it to be. And his late experience of the little comfort he +found at home, inclined him now still more strongly to suspect that +things were not so right there as he had been made to suppose. But +it was in vain to speak; for his daughters constantly stopped his +mouth by a favorite saying of theirs, which equally indicated +affectation and vulgarity, that it was better to be out of the world +than out of the fashion. + +Soon after dinner the women went out to their several employments; +and Mr. Worthy being left alone with his guest, the following +discourse took place: + +_Bragwell._ You have a couple of sober, pretty looking girls, +Worthy; but I wonder they don't tiff off a little more. Why, my +girls have as much, fat and flour on their heads as would half +maintain my reapers in suet pudding. + +_Worthy._ Mr. Bragwell, in the management of my family, I don't +consider what I might afford only, though that is one great point; +but I consider also what is needful and becoming in a man of my +station; for there are so many useful ways of laying out money, that +I feel as if it were a sin to spend one unnecessary shilling. Having +had the blessing of a good education myself I have been able to give +the like advantage to my daughters. One of the best lessons I have +taught them is, to know themselves; and one proof that they have +learned this lesson is, that they are not above any of the duties of +their station. They read and write well, and when my eyes are bad, +they keep my accounts in a very pretty manner. If I had put them to +learn what you call _genteel things_, these might have been of no +use to them, and so both time and money thrown away; or they might +have proved worse than nothing to them by leading them into wrong +notions, and wrong company. Though we do not wish them to do the +laborious parts of the dairy work, yet they always assist their +mother in the management of it. As to their appearance, they are +every day nearly as you see them now, and on Sunday they are very +neatly dressed, but it is always in a decent and modest way. There +are no lappets, fringes, furbelows, and tawdry ornaments; no trains, +turbans, and flounces, fluttering about my cheese and butter. And I +should feel no vanity, but much mortification, if a stranger, seeing +Farmer Worthy's daughters at church, should ask who those fine +ladies were. + +_Bragwell._ Now I own I should like to have such a question asked +concerning my daughters; I like to make people stare and envy. It +makes one feel one-self somebody. I never feel the pleasure of +having handsome things so much as when I see they raise curiosity; +and enjoy the envy of others as a fresh evidence of my own +prosperity. But as to yourself, to be sure, you best know what you +can afford; and indeed that there is some difference between your +daughters and the Miss Bragwells. + +_Worthy._ For my part, before I engage in any expense, I always ask +myself these two short questions; First, can I afford it? Secondly, +is it proper for me? + +_Bragwell._ Do you so? Now I own I ask myself but one; for if I find +I can afford it, I take care to make it proper for me. If I can pay +for a thing, no one has a right to hinder me from having it. + +_Worthy._ Certainly. But a man's own prudence, his love of propriety +and sense of duty, ought to prevent him from doing an improper +thing, as effectually as if there were somebody to hinder him. + +_Bragwell._ Now, I think a man is a fool who is hindered from having +any thing he has a mind to; unless indeed, he is in want of money to +pay for it. I am no friend to debt. A poor man must want on. + +_Worthy._ But I hope my children have not learned to want any +thing which is not proper for them. They are very industrious; they +attend to business all day, and in the evening they sit down to +their work and a good book. I take care that neither their reading +nor conversation shall excite any desires or tastes unsuitable to +their condition. They have little vanity, because the kind of +knowledge they have is of too sober a sort to raise admiration; and +from that vanity which attends a little smattering of frivolous +accomplishments, I have secured them, by keeping them in total +ignorance of all such. I think they live in the fear of God. I +trust they are humble and pious, and I am sure they seem cheerful +and happy. If I am sick, it is pleasant to see them dispute which +shall wait upon me; for they say the maid can not do it so tenderly +as themselves. + +This part of the discourse staggered Bragwell. An involuntary tear +rushed into his eye. Vain as he was, he could not help feeling what +a difference a religious and a worldly education made on the heart, +and how much the former regulated even the natural temper. Another +thing which surprised him was, that these girls living a life of +domestic piety, without any public diversions, should be so very +cheerful and happy; while his own daughters, who were never +contradicted, and were indulged with continual amusements, were +always sullen and ill tempered. That they who were more humored, +should be less grateful, and they who were more amused less happy, +disturbed him much. He envied Worthy the tenderness of his children, +though he would not own it, but turned it off thus: + +_Bragwell._ But my girls are too smart to make mops of, that is the +truth. Though ours is a lonely village, it is wonderful to see how +soon they get the fashions. What with the descriptions in the +magazines, and the pictures in the pocket-books, they have them in a +twinkling and out-do their patterns all to nothing. I used to take +in the _Country Journal_, because it was useful enough to see how +oats went, the time of high water, and the price of stocks. But when +my ladies came home, forsooth, I was soon wheedled out of that, and +forced to take a London paper, that tells a deal about the caps and +feathers, and all the trumpery of the quality, and the French dress, +and the French undress. When I want to know what hops are a bag, +they are snatching the paper to see what violet soap is a pound. And +as to the dairy, they never care how cow's milk goes, as long as +they can get some stuff which they call milk of roses. Seeing them +disputing violently the other day about cream and butter, I thought +it a sign they were beginning to care for the farm, till I found it +was cold cream for the hands, and jessamine butter for the hair. + +_Worthy._ But do your daughters never read? + +_Bragwell._ Read! I believe they do too. Why our Jack, the plow-boy, +spends half his time in going to a shop in our market town, where +they let out books to read, with marble covers. And they sell paper +with all manner of colors on the edges, and gim-cracks, and +powder-puffs, and wash-balls, and cards without any pips, and every +thing in the world that's genteel and of no use. 'Twas but the other +day I met Jack with a basket full of these books; so having some +time to spare, I sat down to see a little what they were about. + +_Worthy._ Well, I hope you there found what was likely to improve +your daughters, and teach them the true use of time. + +_Bragwell._ O, as to that, you are pretty much out. I could make +neither head nor tail of it; it was neither fish, flesh, nor good +red-herring; it was all about my lord, and Sir Harry, and the +captain. But I never met with such nonsensical fellows in my life. +Their talk was no more like that of my old landlord, who was a lord +you know, nor the captain of our fencibles, than chalk is like +cheese. I was fairly taken in at first, and began to think I had got +hold of a _godly_ book; for there was a deal about hope and despair, +and death, and heaven, and angels, and torments, and everlasting +happiness. But when I got a little on, I found there was no meaning +in all these words, or if any, it was a bad meaning. Eternal misery, +perhaps, only meant a moment's disappointment about a bit of a +letter; and everlasting happiness meant two people talking nonsense +together for five minutes. In short, I never met with such a pack +of lies. The people talk such wild gibberish as no folks in their +sober senses ever did talk; and the things that happen to them are +not like the things that ever happen to me or any of my +acquaintance. They are at home one minute, and beyond sea the next; +beggars to-day, and lords to-morrow; waiting-maids in the morning, +and duchesses at night. Nothing happens in a natural gradual way, as +it does at home; they grow rich by the stroke of a wand, and poor by +the magic of a word; the disinherited orphan of this hour is the +overgrown heir of the next; now a bride and bridegroom turn out to +be brother and sister, and the brother and sister prove to be no +relations at all. You and I, master Worthy, have worked hard many +years, and think it very well to have scraped a trifle of money +together; you, a few hundreds, I suppose, and I a few thousands. But +one would think every man in these books had the bank of England in +his 'scrutoire. Then there is another thing which I never met with +in true life. We think it pretty well, you know, if one has got one +thing, and another has got another. I will tell you how I mean. You +are reckoned sensible, our parson is learned, the squire is rich, I +am rather generous, one of your daughters is pretty, and both mine +are genteel. But in these books (except here and there one, whom +they make worse than Satan himself), every man and woman's child of +them, are all wise, and witty, and generous, and rich, and handsome, +and genteel; and all to the last degree. Nobody is middling, or good +in one thing, and bad in another, like my live acquaintance; but it +is all up to the skies, or down to the dirt. I had rather read Tom +Hickathrift, or Jack the Giant Killer, a thousand times. + +_Worthy._ You have found out, Mr. Bragwell, that many of these books +are ridiculous; I will go further, and say, that to me they appear +wicked also; and I should account the reading of them a great +mischief, especially to people in middling and low life, if I only +took into the account the great loss of time such reading causes, +and the aversion it leaves behind for what is more serious and +solid. But this, though a bad part, is not the worst. These books +give false views of human life. They teach a contempt for humble and +domestic duties; for industry, frugality, and retirement. Want of +youth and beauty is considered in them as ridiculous. Plain people, +like you and me, are objects of contempt. Parental authority is set +at naught. Nay, plots and contrivances against parents and guardians +fill half the volumes. They consider love as the great business of +human life, and even teach that it is impossible for this love to be +regulated or restrained; and to the indulgence of this passion every +duty is therefore sacrificed. A country life, with a kind mother or +a sober aunt, is described as a state of intolerable misery; and one +would be apt to fancy from their painting, that a good country-house +is a prison, and a worthy father the jailor. Vice is set off with +every ornament which can make it pleasing and amiable; while virtue +and piety are made ridiculous, by tacking to them something that is +silly or absurd. Crimes which would be considered as hanging matter +at our county assizes--at least if I were a juryman, I should bring +in the whole train of heroes, _Guilty--Death_--are here made to the +appearance of virtue, by being mixed with some wild flight of +unnatural generosity. Those crying sins, ADULTERY, GAMING, DUELS, +and SELF-MURDER, are made so familiar, and the wickedness of them is +so disguised by fine words and soft descriptions, that even innocent +girls get loose to their abhorrence, and talk with complacency of +_things which should not be so much as named by them_. + +I should not have said so much on this mischief, continued Mr. +Worthy, from which I dare say, great folks fancy people in our +station are safe enough, if I did not know and lament that this +corrupt reading is now got down even among some of the lowest class. +And it is an evil which is spreading every day. Poor industrious +girls, who get their bread by the needle or the loom, spend half the +night in listening to these books. Thus the labor of one girl is +lost, and the minds of the rest are corrupted; for though their +hands are employed in honest industry, which might help to preserve +them from a life of sin, yet their hearts are at the very time +polluted by scenes and descriptions which are too likely to plunge +them into it; and when their vain weak heads compare the soft and +delicious lives of the heroines in the book, with their own mean +garb and hard labor, the effect is obvious; and I think I do not go +too far when I say, that the vain and showy manner in which young +women, who have to work for their bread, have taken to dress +themselves, added to the poison they draw from these books, +contribute together to bring them to destruction, more than almost +any other cause. Now tell me, do not you think these wild books will +hurt your daughters? + +_Bragwell._ Why I do think they are grown full of schemes, and +contrivances and whispers, that's the truth on't. Every think is a +secret. They always seem to be on the look-out for something, and +when nothing comes on't, then they are sulky and disappointed. They +will keep company with their equals; they despise trade and farming; +and I own _I'm for the stuff_. I should not like them to marry any +but a man of substance, if he was ever so smart. Now they will +hardly sit down with a substantial country dealer. But if they hear +of a recruiting party in our market-town, on goes the finery--off +they are. Some flimsy excuse is patched up. They want something at +the book-shop or the milliner's; because, I suppose, there is a +chance that some Jack-a-napes of an ensign may be there buying +sticking plaster. In short, I do grow a little uneasy; for I should +not like to see all I have saved thrown away on a knapsack. + +So saying, they both rose and walked out to view the farm. Mr. +Bragwell affected greatly to admire the good order of every thing he +saw; but never forgot to compare it with something larger, and +handsomer, or better of his own. It was easy to see that _self_ was +his standard of perfection in every thing. All he himself possessed +gained some increased value in his eyes from being his; and in +surveying the property of his friend, he derived food for his +vanity, from things which seemed least likely to raise it. Every +appearance of comfort, of success, of merit, in any thing which +belonged to Mr. Worthy led him to speak of some superior advantage +of his own of the same kind; and it was clear that the chief part of +the satisfaction he felt in walking over the farm of his friend, was +caused by thinking how much larger his own was. + +Mr. Worthy, who felt a kindness for him, which all his vanity could +not cure, was always on the watch how to turn their talk on some +useful point. And whenever people resolve to go into company with +this view, it is commonly their own fault, if some opportunity of +turning it to account does not offer. + +He saw Bragwell was intoxicated with pride, and undone by success; +and that his family was in the high road to ruin through mere +prosperity. He thought that if some means could be found to open his +eyes on his own character, to which he was now totally blind, it +might be of the utmost service to him. The more Mr. Worthy +reflected, the more he wished to undertake the kind office. He was +not sure that Mr. Bragwell would bear it, but he was very sure it +was his duty to attempt it. As Mr. Worthy was very humble himself, +he had great patience and forbearance with the fault's of others. He +felt no pride at having escaped the errors into which they had +fallen, for he knew who it was had _made him to differ_. He +remembered that God had given him many advantages; a pious father +and a religious education: this made him humble under a sense of his +own sins, and charitable toward the sins of others, who had not the +same privileges. + +Just as he was going to try to enter into a very serious +conversation with his guest, he was stopped by the appearance of his +daughter, who told them supper was ready. This interruption obliges +me to break off also, and I shall reserve what follows to the next +month, when I promise to give my readers the second part of this +history. + + +PART II. + +A CONVERSATION. + +Soon after supper Mrs. Worthy left the room with her daughters, at +her husband's desire; for it was his intention to speak more plainly +to Bragwell than was likely to be agreeable to him to hear before +others. The two farmers being seated at their little table, each in +a handsome old-fashioned great chair, Bragwell began: + +"It is a great comfort, neighbor Worthy, at a certain time of life +to be got above the world: my notion is, that a man should labor +hard the first part of his days, that he may then sit down and enjoy +himself the remainder. Now, though I hate boasting, yet as you are +my oldest friend, I am about to open my heart to you. Let me tell +you then I reckon I have worked as hard as any man in my time, and +that I now begin to think I have a right to indulge a little. I have +got my money with character, and I mean to spend it with credit. I +pay every one his own, I set a good example, I keep to my church, I +serve God, I honor the king, and I obey the laws of the land." + +"This is doing a great deal indeed," replied Mr. Worthy; "but," +added he, "I doubt that more goes to the making up all these duties +than men are commonly aware of. Suppose then that you and I talk the +matter over coolly; we have the evening before us. What if we sit +down together as two friends and examine one another." + +Bragwell, who loved argument, and who was not a little vain both of +his sense and his morality, accepted the challenge, and gave his +word that he would take in good part any thing that should be said +to him. Worthy was about to proceed, when Bragwell interrupted him +for a moment, by saying, "But stop, friend, before we begin I wish +you would remember that we have had a long walk, and I want a little +refreshment; have you no liquor that is stronger than this cider? I +am afraid it will give me a fit of the gout." + +Mr. Worthy immediately produced a bottle of wine, and another of +spirits; saying, that though he drank neither spirits nor even wine +himself, yet his wife always kept a little of each as a provision in +case of sickness or accidents. + +Farmer Bragwell preferred the brandy, and began to taste it. "Why," +said he, "this is no better than English; I always use foreign +myself." "I bought this for foreign," said Mr. Worthy. "No, no, it +is English spirits, I assure you; but I can put you into a way to +get foreign nearly as cheap as English." Mr. Worthy replied that he +thought that was impossible. + +_Bragwell._ Oh no; there are ways and means--a word to the +wise--there is an acquaintance of mine that lives upon the south +coast--you are a particular friend and I will get you half-a-dozen +gallons for a trifle. + +_Worthy._ Not if it be smuggled, Mr. Bragwell, though I should get +it for sixpence a bottle. "Ask no questions," said the other, "I +never say any thing to any one, and who is the wiser?" "And so this +is your way of obeying the laws of the land," said Mr. Worthy, "here +is a fine specimen of your morality." + +_Bragwell._ Come, come, don't make a fuss about trifles. If _every +one_ did it indeed it would be another thing; but as to _my_ getting +a little good brandy cheap, why that can't hurt the revenue much. + +_Worthy._ Pray Mr. Bragwell, what should you think of a man who +would dip his hand into a bag and take out a few guineas? + +_Bragwell._ Think? why I think that he should be hanged, to be sure. + +_Worthy._ But suppose that bag stood in the king's treasury? + +_Bragwell._ In the king's treasury! worse and worse! What! rob the +king's treasury! Well, I hope if any one has done it, the robber +will be taken up and executed; for I suppose we shall be taxed to +pay the damage. + +_Worthy._ Very true. If one man takes money out of the treasury, +others must be obliged to pay the more into it. But what think you +if the fellow should be found to have stopped some money _in its +way_ to the treasury, instead of taking it out of the bag after it +got there? + +_Bragwell._ Guilty, Mr. Worthy; it is all the same in my opinion. If +I were judge I would hang him without benefit of clergy. + +_Worthy._ Hark ye, Mr. Bragwell, he that deals in smuggled brandy +is the man who takes to himself the king's money in its way to the +treasury, and he as much robs the government as if he dipped his +hand into a bag of guineas in the treasury chamber. It comes to the +same thing exactly. Here Bragwell seemed a little offended, and +exclaimed, "What, Mr. Worthy! do you pretend to say I am not an +honest man because I like to get my brandy as cheap as I can? and +because I like to save a shilling to my family? Sir, I repeat it; I +do my duty to God and my neighbor. I say the Lord's prayer most +days, I go to church on Sundays, I repeat my creed, and keep the ten +commandments; and though I now and then get a little brandy cheap, +yet upon the whole, I will venture to say, I do as much as can be +expected of any man, and more than the generality." + +_Worthy._ Come then, since you say you keep the commandments, you +can not be offended if I ask you whether you understand them. + +_Bragwell._ To be sure I do. I dare say I do: look ye, Mr. Worthy, I +don't pretend to much reading, I was not bred to it as you were. If +my father had been a parson, I fancy I should have made as good a +figure as some other folks, but I hope good sense and _a good heart_ +may teach a man his duty without much scholarship. + +_Worthy._ To come to the point; let us now go through the ten +commandments, and let us take along with us those explanations of +them which our Saviour gave us in his sermon on the mount. + +_Bragwell._ Sermon on the mount! why the ten commandments are in the +20th chapter of Exodus. Come, come, Mr. Worthy, I know where to find +the commandments as well as you do; for it happens that I am +churchwarden, and I can see from the altar-piece where the ten +commandments are, without your telling me, for my pew directly faces +it. + +_Worthy._ But I advise you to read the sermon on the mount, that you +may see the full meaning of them. + +_Bragwell._ What! do you want to make me believe there are two ways +of keeping the commandments? + +_Worthy._ No; but there may be two ways of understanding them. + +_Bragwell._ Well, I am not afraid to be put to the proof; I defy any +man to say I do not keep at least all the four first that are on the +left side of the altar-piece. + +_Worthy._ If you can prove that, I shall be more ready to believe +you observe those of the other table; for he who does his duty to +God, will be likely to do his duty to his neighbor also. + +_Bragwell._ What! do you think that I serve two Gods? Do you think +then that I make graven images, and worship stocks or stones? Do you +take me for a papist or an idolater? + +_Worthy._ Don't triumph quite so soon, Master Bragwell. Pray is +there nothing in the world you prefer to God, and thus make an idol +of? Do you not love your money, or your lands, or your crops, or +your cattle, or your own will, or your own way, rather better than +you love God? Do you never think of these with more pleasure than +you think of him, and follow them more eagerly than your religious +duty? + +_Bragwell._ Oh! there's nothing about that in the 20th chapter of +Exodus. + +_Worthy._ But Jesus Christ has said, "He that loveth father or +mother more than me is not worthy of me." Now it is certainly a +man's duty to love his father and his mother; nay, it would be +wicked not to love them, and yet we must not love even these more +than our Creator and our Saviour. Well, I think on this principle, +your heart pleads guilty to the breach of the first and second +commandments; let us proceed to the third. + +_Bragwell._ That is about swearing, is it not? + +Mr. Worthy, who had observed Bragwell guilty of much profaneness in +using the name of his Maker (though all such offensive words have +been avoided in writing this history), now told him that he had been +waiting the whole day for an opportunity to reprove him for his +frequent breach of the third commandment. + +"Good L--d! I break the third commandment!" said Bragwell; "no +indeed, hardly ever; I once used to swear a little, to be sure, but +I vow I never do it now, except now and then when I happen to be in +a passion: and in such a case, why, good G--d, you know the sin is +with those who provoke me, and not with me; but upon my soul, I +don't think I have sworn an oath these three months; no, not I, +faith, as I hope to be saved." + +_Worthy._ And yet you have broken this holy law not less than five +or six times in the last speech you have made. + +_Bragwell._ Lord bless me! Sure you mistake. Good heavens, Mr. +Worthy, I call G--d to witness, I have neither cursed nor swore +since I have been in the house. + +_Worthy._ Mr. Bragwell, this is the way in which many who call +themselves very good sort of people deceive themselves. What! is it +no profanation of the name of your Maker to use it lightly, +irreverently and familiarly as you have done? Our Saviour has not +only told us not to swear by the immediate name of God, but he has +said, "swear not at all, neither by heaven nor by the earth," and in +order to hinder our inventing any other irreligious exclamations or +expressions, he has even added, "but let your communications be yea, +yea, and nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than this simple +affirmation and denial cometh of evil." Nay, more, so greatly do I +reverence that high and holy name, that I think even some good +people have it too frequently in their mouths; and that they might +convey the idea without the word. + +_Bragwell._ Well, well, I must take a little more care, I believe. I +vow to heaven I did not know there had been so much harm in it; but +my daughters seldom speak without using some of these words, and yet +they wanted to make me believe the other day that it was monstrous +vulgar to swear. + +_Worthy._ Women, even gentlewomen, who ought to correct this evil +habit in their fathers, and husbands, and children, are too apt to +encourage it by their own practice. And indeed they betray the +profaneness of their own minds also by it; for none who venerate the +holy name of God, can either profane in this manner themselves, or +hear others do so without being exceedingly pained at it. + +_Bragwell._ Well, since you are so hard upon me, I believe I must +e'en give up this point--so let us pass on to the next, and here I +tread upon sure ground; for as sharp as you are upon me, you can't +accuse me of being a Sabbath breaker, since I go to church every +Sunday of my life, unless on some very extraordinary occasion. + +_Worthy._ For those occasions the gospel allows, by saying, "the +Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." Our own +sickness, or attending on the sickness of others, are lawful +impediments. + +_Bragwell._ Yes, and I am now and then obliged to look at a drove of +beasts, or to go a journey, or take some medicine, or perhaps some +friend may call upon me, or it may be very cold, or very hot, or +very rainy. + +_Worthy._ Poor excuse! Mr. Bragwell. Do you call these lawful +impediments? I am afraid they will not pass for such on the day of +judgment. But how is the rest of your Sunday spent? + +_Bragwell._ O, why, I assure you I often go to church in the +afternoon also, and even if I am ever so sleepy. + +_Worthy._ And so you finish your nap at church, I suppose. + +_Bragwell._ Why, as to that, to be sure we do contrive to have +something a little nicer than common for dinner on a Sunday: in +consequence of which one eats, you know, a little more than +ordinary; and having nothing to do on that day, has more leisure to +take a cheerful glass; and all these things will make one a little +heavy, you know. + +_Worthy._ And don't you take a little ride in the morning, and look +at your sheep when the weather is good; and so fill your mind just +before you go to church with thoughts of them; and when the weather +is bad, don't you settle an account? or write a few letters of +business after church. + +_Bragwell._ I can't say but I do; but that is nothing to any body, +as long as I set a good example by keeping to my church. + +_Worthy._ And how do you pass your Sunday evenings? + +_Bragwell._ My wife and daughters go a visiting Sunday afternoons. +My daughters are glad to get out, at any rate; and as to my wife, +she says that being ready dressed, it is a pity to lose the +opportunity; besides, it saves her time on a week day; so then you +see I have it all my own way, and when I have got rid of the ladies, +who are ready to faint at the smell of tobacco, I can venture to +smoke a pipe, and drink a sober glass of punch with half a dozen +friends. + +_Worthy._ Which punch, being made of smuggled brandy, and drank on +the Lord's day, and very vain, as well as profane and worldly +company, you are enabled to break both the law of God, and that of +your country at a stroke: and I suppose when you are got together, +you speak of your cattle, or of your crops, after which perhaps you +talk over a few of your neighbors' faults, and then you brag a +little of your own wealth or your own achievements. + +_Bragwell._ Why, you seem to know us so well, that any one would +think you had been sitting behind the curtain; and yet you are a +little mistaken too; for I think we have hardly said a word for +several of our last Sundays on any thing but politics. + +_Worthy._ And do you find that you much improve your Christian +charity by that subject? + +_Bragwell._ Why to be sure we do quarrel till we are very near +fighting, that is the worst on't. + +_Worthy._ And then you call names, and swear a little, I suppose. + +_Bragwell._ Why when one is contradicted and put in a passion, you +know, and when people especially if they are one's inferiors, won't +adopt one's opinions, flesh and blood won't bear it. + +_Worthy._ And when all your friends are gone home, what becomes of +the rest of the evening? + +_Bragwell._ That is just as it happens; sometimes I read the +newspaper; and as one is generally most tired on the days one does +nothing, I go to bed earlier on Sundays than on other days, that I +may be more fit to get up to my business the next morning. + +_Worthy._ So you shorten Sunday as much as you can, by cutting off a +bit at both ends, I suppose; for I take it for granted you lie a +little later in the morning. + +_Bragwell._ Come, come, we sha'n't get through the whole ten +to-night, if you stand snubbing one at this rate. You may pass over +the fifth; for my father and mother have been dead ever since I was +a boy, so I am clear of that scrape. + +_Worthy._ There are, however, many relative duties included in that +commandment; unkindness to all kindred is forbidden. + +_Bragwell._ O, if you mean my turning off my nephew Tom, the +plowboy, you must not blame me for that, it was all my wife's fault. +He was as good a lad as ever lived to be sure, and my own brother's +son; but my wife could not bear that a boy in a carter's frock +should be about the house, calling her aunt. We quarreled like dog +and cat about it; and when he was turned away she and I did not +speak for a week. + +_Worthy._ Which was a fresh breach of the commandment; a worthy +nephew turned out of doors, and a wife not spoken to for a week, are +no very convincing proofs of your observance of the fifth +commandment. + +_Bragwell._ Well, I long to come to the sixth, for you don't think I +commit murder, I hope. + +_Worthy._ I am not sure of that. + +_Bragwell._ Murder! what, I kill any body? + +_Worthy._ Why, the laws of the land, indeed, and the disgrace +attending it, are almost enough to keep any man from actual murder; +let me ask, however, do you never give way to unjust anger, and +passion, and revenge? as for instance, do you never feel your +resentment kindle against some of the politicians who contradict you +on a Sunday night? and do you never push your animosity against +somebody that has affronted you, further than the occasion can +justify? + +_Bragwell._ Hark'ee, Mr. Worthy, I am a man of substance, and no man +shall offend me without my being even with him. So as to injuring a +man, if he affronts me first, there's nothing but good reason in +that. + +_Worthy._ Very well! only bear in mind, that you willfully break +this commandment, whether you abuse your servant, are angry at your +wife, watch for a moment to revenge an injury on your neighbor, or +even wreak your passion on a harmless beast; for you have then the +seeds of murder working in your breast; and if there were no law, no +gibbet, to check you, and no fear of disgrace neither, I am not sure +where you would stop. + +_Bragwell._ Why, Mr. Worthy, you have a strange way of explaining +the commandments; so you set me down for a murderer, merely because +I bear hatred to a man who has done me a hurt, and am glad to do him +a like injury in my turn. I am sure I should want spirit if I did +not. + +_Worthy._ I go by the Scripture rule, which says, "he that hateth +his brother is a murderer," and again, "pray for them that +despitefully use you and persecute you." Besides, Mr. Bragwell, you +made it a part of your boast that you said the Lord's prayer every +day, wherein you pray to God to forgive you your trespasses as you +forgive them that trespass against you. If therefore you do not +forgive them that trespass against you, in that case you daily pray +that your own trespasses may never be forgiven. Now own the truth; +did you last night lie down in a spirit of forgiveness and charity +with the whole world? + +_Bragwell._ Yes, I am in charity with the whole world in general; +because the greater part of it has never done me any harm. But I +won't forgive old Giles, who broke down my new hedge yesterday for +firing--Giles, who used to be so honest. + +_Worthy._ And yet you expect that God will forgive you who have +broken down his sacred laws, and have so often robbed him of his +right--you have robbed him of the honor due unto his name--you have +robbed him of his holy day by doing your own work, and finding your +own pleasure in it--you have robbed his poor, particularly in the +instance of Giles, by withholding from them, as overseer, such +assistance as should prevent their being driven to the sin of +stealing. + +_Bragwell._ Why, you are now charging me with other men's sins as +well as my own. + +_Worthy._ Perhaps the sins which we cause other men to commit, +through injustice, inconsideration, and evil example, may dreadfully +swell the sum of our responsibility in the great day of account. + +_Bragwell._ Well, come, let us make haste and get through these +commandments. The next is, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Thank +God, neither I nor my family can be said to break the seventh +commandment. + +_Worthy._ Here again, remember how Christ himself hath said, "whoso +looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed +adultery with her in his heart." These are no far-fetched +expressions of mine, Mr. Bragwell, they are the words of Jesus +Christ. I hope you will not charge him with having carried this too +far; for if you do, you charge him with being mistaken in the +religion he taught; and this can only be accounted for, by supposing +him an impostor. + +_Bragwell._ Why, upon my word, Mr. Worthy, I don't like these +sayings of his which you quote upon me so often, and that is the +truth of it, and I can't say I feel much disposed to believe them. + +_Worthy._ I hope you believe in Jesus Christ. I hope you believe +that creed of yours, which you also boasted of repeating so +regularly. + +_Bragwell._ Well, well, I'll believe any thing you say, rather than +stand quarreling with you. + +_Worthy._ I hope then, you will allow, that since it is adultery to +look at a woman with even an irregular thought, it follows from the +same rule, that all immodest dress in your daughters, or indecent +jests and double meanings in yourself; all loose songs or novels; +and all diversions also which have a like dangerous tendency, are +forbidden by the seventh commandment; for it is most plain from +what Christ has said, that it takes in not only the act, but the +inclination, the desire, the indulged imagination; the act is only +the last and highest degree of any sin; the topmost round, as it +were, of a ladder, to which all the lower rounds are only as so many +steps and stages. + +_Bragwell._ Strict indeed! Mr. Worthy; but let us go on to the next; +you won't pretend to say _I steal_; Mr. Bragwell, I trust, was never +known to rob on the highway, to break open his neighbor's house, or +to use false weights or measures. + +_Worthy._ No, nor have you ever been under any temptation to do it, +and yet there are a thousand ways of breaking the eighth commandment +besides actual stealing. For instance do you never hide the faults +of the goods you sell, and heighten the faults of those you buy? Do +you never take advantage of an ignorant dealer, and ask more for a +thing than it is worth? Do you never turn the distressed +circumstances of a man who has something to sell, to your unfair +benefit; and thus act as unjustly by him as if you had stolen? Do +you never cut off a shilling from a workman's wages, under the +pretense which your conscience can't justify? Do you never pass off +an unsound horse for a sound one? Do you never conceal the real rent +of your estate from the overseers, and thereby rob the poor-rates of +their legal due? + +_Bragwell._ Pooh! these things are done every day. I sha'n't go to +set up for being better than my neighbors in these sort of things; +these little matters will pass muster--I don't set up for a +reformer--if I am as good as the rest of my neighbors, no man can +call me to account: I am not worse, I trust, and don't pretend to be +better. + +_Worthy._ You must be tried hereafter at the bar of God, and not by +a jury of your fellow-creatures; and the Scriptures are given us, in +order to show by what rule we shall be judged. How many or how few +do as you do, is quite aside from the question; Jesus Christ has +even told us to strive to enter in at the _strait_ gate; so we ought +rather to take fright, from our being like the common run of people, +than to take comfort from our being so. + +_Bragwell._ Come, I don't like all this close work--it makes a man +feel I don't know how--I don't find myself so happy as I did--I +don't like this fishing in troubled waters; I'm as merry as the day +is long when I let these things alone. I'm glad we are got to the +ninth. But I suppose I shall be lugged in there too, head and +shoulders. Any one now who did not know me, would really think I was +a great sinner, by your way of putting things; I don't bear false +witness, however. + +_Worthy._ You mean, I suppose, you would not swear away any man's +life falsely before a magistrate, but do you take equal care not to +slander or backbite him? Do you never represent a good action of a +man you have quarreled with, as if it were a bad one? or do you +never make a bad one worse than it is, by your manner of telling it? +Even when you invent no false circumstances, do you never give such +a color to those you relate, as to leave a false impression on the +mind of the hearers? Do you never twist a story so as to make it +tell a little better for yourself, and a little worse for your +neighbor, than truth and justice warrant? + +_Bragwell._ Why, as to that matter, all this is only natural. + +_Worthy._ Ay, much too natural to be right, I doubt. Well, now we +have got to the last of the commandments. + +_Bragwell._ Yes, I have run the gauntlet finely through them all; +you will bring me in guilty here, I suppose, for the pleasure of +going through with it; for you condemn without judge or jury, Master +Worthy. + +_Worthy._ The culprit, I think, has hitherto pleaded guilty to the +evidence brought against him. The tenth commandment, however, goes +to the root and principle of evil, it dives to the bottom of things; +this command checks the first rising of sin in the heart; teaches us +to strangle it in the birth, as it were, before it breaks out in +those acts which are forbidden: as, for instance, every man covets +before he proceeds to steal; nay, many covet, knowing they can do it +with impunity, who dare not steal, lest they should suffer for it. + +_Bragwell._ Why, look'ee, Mr. Worthy, I don't understand these new +fashioned explanations; one should not have a grain of sheer +goodness left, if every thing one does is to be fritted away at this +rate. I am not, I own, quite so good as I thought, but if what you +say were true, I should be so miserable, I should not know what to +do with myself. Why, I tell you all the world may be said to break +the commandments at this rate. + +_Worthy._ Very true. All the world, and I myself also, are but too +apt to break them, if not in the letter, at least in the spirit of +them. Why, then, all the world are (as the Scripture expresses it) +"guilty before God." And if guilty, they should own they are guilty, +and not stand up and justify themselves, as you do, Mr. Bragwell. + +_Bragwell._ Well, according to my notion, I am a very honest man, +and honesty is the sum and substance of all religion, say I. + +_Worthy._ All truth, honesty, justice, order, and obedience grow out +of the Christian religion. The true Christian acts at all times, and +on all occasions, from the pure and spiritual principle of love to +God and Christ. On this principle he is upright in his dealings, +true to his word, kind to the poor, helpful to the oppressed. In +short, if he truly loves God, he _must_ do justice, and _can't_ help +loving mercy. Christianity is a uniform consistent thing. It does +not allow us to make up for the breach of one part of God's law, by +our strictness in observing another. There is no sponge in one duty, +that can wipe out the spot of another sin. + +_Bragwell._ Well, but at this rate, I should be always puzzling and +blundering, and should never know for certain whether I was right or +not; whereas I am now quite satisfied with myself, and have no +doubts to torment me. + +_Worthy._ One way of knowing whether we really desire to obey the +whole law of God is this; when we find we have as great a regard to +that part of it, the breach of which does not touch our own +interest, as to that part which does. For instance, a man robs me; I +am in a violent passion with him, and when it is said to me, doest +thou well to be angry? I answer, I do well. _Thou shalt not steal_ +is a law of God, and this fellow has broken that law. Ay, but says +conscience, 'tis _thy own property_ which is in question. He has +broken _thy_ hedge, he has stolen _thy_ sheep, he has taken _thy_ +purse. Art thou therefore sure whether it is his violation of thy +property, or of God's law which provokes thee? I will put a second +case: I hear another swear most grievously; or I meet him coming +drunk out of an ale-house; or I find him singing a loose, profane +song. If I am not as much grieved for this blasphemer, or this +drunkard, as I was for this robber; if I do not take the same pains +to bring him to a sense of his sin, which I did to bring the robber +to justice, "how dwelleth the love of God in me?" Is it not clear +that I value my own sheep more than God's commandments? That I prize +my purse more than I love my Maker? In short, whenever I find out +that I am more jealous for my own property than for God's law; more +careful about my own reputation than _his_ honor, I always suspect I +have got upon wrong ground, and that even my right actions are not +proceeding from a right principle. + +_Bragwell._ Why, what in the world would you have me do? It would +distract me, if I must run up every little action to its spring, in +this manner. + +_Worthy._ You must confess that your sins _are_ sins. You must not +merely call them sins, while you see no guilt in them; but you must +confess them so as to hate and detest them; so as to be habitually +humbled under the sense of them; so as to trust for salvation not in +your freedom from them, but in the mercy of a Saviour; and so as to +make it the chief business of your life to contend against them, and +in the main to forsake them. And remember, that if you seek for a +deceitful gayety, rather than a well-grounded cheerfulness; if you +prefer a false security to final safety, and now go away to your +cattle and your farm, and dismiss the subject from your thoughts, +lest it should make you uneasy, I am not sure that this simple +discourse may not appear against you at the day of account, as a +fresh proof that you "loved darkness rather than light," and so +increase your condemnation. + +Mr. Bragwell was more affected than he cared to own. He went to bed +with less spirits and more humility than usual. He did not, however, +care to let Mr. Worthy see the impression which it had made upon +him; but at parting next morning, he shook him by the hand more +cordially than usual, and made him promise to return his visit in a +short time. + +What befell Mr. Bragwell and his family on his going home may, +perhaps, make the subject of a future part of this history. + + +PART III. + +THE VISIT RETURNED. + +Mr. Bragwell, when he returned home from his visit to Mr. Worthy, as +recorded in the second part of this history, found that he was not +quite so happy as he had formerly been. The discourses of Mr. Worthy +had broken in not a little on his comfort. And he began to suspect +that he was not so completely in the right as his vanity had led him +to believe. He seemed also to feel less satisfaction in the idle +gentility of his own daughters, since he had been witness to the +simplicity, modesty, and usefulness of those of Mr. Worthy. And he +could not help seeing that the vulgar violence of his wife did not +produce so much family happiness at home, as the humble piety and +quiet diligence of Mrs. Worthy produced in the house of his friend. + +Happy would it have been for Mr. Bragwell, if he had followed up +those new convictions of his own mind, which would have led him to +struggle against the power of evil principles in himself, and to +have controlled the force of evil habits in his family. But his +convictions were just strong enough to make him uneasy under his +errors, without driving him to reform them. The slight impression +soon wore off, and he fell back into his old practices. Still his +esteem for Mr. Worthy was not at all abated by the plain-dealing of +that honest friend. It is true, he dreaded his piercing eye: he felt +that his example held out a constant reproof to himself. Yet such is +the force of early affection and rooted reverence, that he longed to +see him at his house. This desire, indeed, as is commonly the case, +was made up of mixed motives. He wished for the pleasure of his +friend's company; he longed for that favorite triumph of a vulgar +mind, an opportunity of showing him his riches; and he thought it +would raise his credit in the world to have a man of Mr. Worthy's +character at his house. + +Mr. Bragwell, it is true, still went on with the same eagerness in +gaining money, and the same ostentation in spending it. But though +he was as covetous as ever, he was not quite so sure that it was +right to be so. While he was actually engaged abroad indeed, in +transactions with his dealers, he was not very scrupulous about the +means by which he _got_ his money; and while he was indulging in +festivity with his friends at home, he was easy enough as to the +manner in which he _spent_ it. But a man can neither be making +bargains, nor making feasts always; there must be some intervals +between these two great objects for which worldly men may be said to +live; and in some of these intervals the most worldly form, perhaps, +some random plans of amendment. And though many a one may say in the +fullness of enjoyment, "Soul take thine ease, eat, drink, and be +merry;" yet hardly any man, perhaps, allows himself to say, even in +the most secret moments, I will _never_ retire from business--I will +_never_ repent--I will _never_ think of death--eternity shall +_never_ come into my thoughts. The most that such a one probably +ventures to say is, I need not repent _yet_; I will continue such a +sin a little longer; it will be time enough to think on the next +world when I am no longer fit for the business or the pleasures of +this. + +Such was the case with Bragwell. He set up in his mind a general +distant sort of resolution, that _some years hence_, when he should +be a _few years older_, a _few_ thousands richer; when a few more of +his _present schemes should be completed_, he would then think of +altering his course of life. He would then certainly set about +spending a religious old age; he would reform some practices in his +dealings, or perhaps, quit business entirely; he would think about +reading good books, and when he had completed such a purchase, he +would even begin to give something to the poor; but at present he +really had little to spare for charity. The very reason why he +should have given more was just the cause he assigned for not giving +at all, namely the _hardness of the times_. The true grand source of +charity, self-denial, never came into his head. _Spend less_ that +you may _save_ more, he would have thought a shrewd maxim enough. +But _spend less_ that you may _spare more_, never entered into his +book of proverbs. + +At length the time came when Mr. Worthy had promised to return his +visit. It was indeed a little hastened by notice that Mr. Bragwell +would have in the course of the week a piece of land to sell by +auction; and though Mr. Worthy believed the price was likely to be +above his pocket, yet he knew it was an occasion which would be +likely to bring the principal farmers of that neighborhood together, +some of whom he wanted to meet. And it was on this occasion that Mr. +Bragwell prided himself, that he should show his neighbors so +sensible a man as his dear friend Mr. Worthy. + +Worthy arrived at his friend's house on the Saturday, time enough to +see the house, and garden, and grounds of Mr. Bragwell by daylight. +He saw with pleasure (for he had a warm and generous heart) those +evident signs of his friend's prosperity; but as he was a man of +sober mind, and was a most exact dealer in truth, he never allowed +his tongue the license of immodest commendation, which he used to +say either savored of flattery or envy. Indeed he never rated mere +worldly things so highly as to bestow upon them undue praise. His +calm approbation somewhat disappointed the vanity of Mr. Bragwell, +who could not help secretly suspecting that his friend, as good a +man as he was, was not quite free from envy. He felt, however, very +much inclined to forgive this jealousy, which he feared the sight of +his ample property, and handsome habitation must naturally awaken in +the mind of a man whose own possessions were so inferior. He +practiced the usual trick of ordinary and vulgar minds, that of +pretending himself to find some fault with those things which were +particularly deserving praise, when he found Worthy disposed to pass +them over in silence. + +When they came in to supper, he affected to talk of the comforts of +Mr. Worthy's _little_ parlor, by way of calling his attention to his +own large one. He repeated the word _snug_, as applied to every +thing at Mr. Worthy's, with the plain design to make comparisons +favorable to his own more ample domains. He contrived, as he passed +by his chair, by a seeming accident, to push open the door of a +large beaufet in the parlor, in which all the finery was most +ostentatiously set out to view. He protested with a look of +satisfaction which belied his words, that for his part he did not +care a farthing for all this trumpery; and then smiling and rubbing +his hands, added, with an air of no small importance, what a good +thing it is though, for people of substance, that the tax on plate +is taken off. "You are a happy man, Mr. Worthy; you do not feel +these things; tax or no tax, it is all the same to you." He took +care during this speech, by a cast of his eye, to direct Mr. +Worthy's attention to a great profusion of the brightest cups, +salvers, and tankards, and other shining ornaments, which crowded +the beaufet. Mr. Worthy gravely answered Mr. Bragwell, "It was +indeed a tax which could not affect so plain a man as myself; but as +it fell on a mere luxury, and therefore could not hurt the poor, I +was always sorry that it could not be made productive enough to be +continued. A man in my middling situation, who is contented with a +good glass of beer, poured from a handsome earthen mug, the glass, +the mug, and the beer, all of English manufacture, will be but +little disturbed at taxes on plate or on wine; but he will regret, +as I do, that many of these taxes are so much evaded, that new taxes +are continually brought on to make up the deficiencies of the old." + +During supper the young ladies sat in disdainful silence, not +deigning to bestow the smallest civility on so plain a man as Mr. +Worthy. They left the room with their mamma as soon as possible, +being impatient to get away to ridicule their father's old-fashioned +friend at full liberty. + + +THE DANCE; OR, THE CHRISTMAS MERRY-MAKING; EXEMPLIFYING THE EFFECTS +OF MODERN EDUCATION IN A FARMHOUSE. + +As soon as they were gone, Mr. Worthy asked Bragwell how his family +comforts stood, and how his daughters, who, he said, were really +fine young women, went on. "O, as to that," replied Bragwell, +"pretty much like other men's handsome daughters, I suppose, that +is, worse and worse. I really begin to apprehend that their +fantastical notions have gained such a head, that after all the +money I have scraped together, I shall never get them well married. + +"Betsy has just lost as good an offer as any girl could desire: +young Wilson, an honest substantial grazier as any in the country. +He not only knows every thing proper for his station, but is +pleasing in his behavior, and a pretty scholar into the bargain; he +reads history-books and voyages of a winter's evening, to his infirm +father, instead of going to the card-assembly in our town; he +neither likes drinking nor sporting, and is a sort of a favorite +with our parson, because he takes in the weekly numbers of a fine +Bible with cuts, and subscribes to the Sunday School, and makes a +fuss about helping the poor; and sets up soup-shops, and sells +bacon at an under price, and gives odd bits of ground to his +laborers to help them in these dear times, as they call them; but I +think they are good times for _us_, Mr. Worthy. + +"Well, for all this, Betsy only despised him, and laughed at him; +but as he is both handsome and rich, I thought she might come round +at last; and so I invited him to come and stay a day or two at +Christmas, when we have always a little sort of merry-making here. +But it would not do. He scorned to talk that palavering stuff which +she has been used to in the marble-covered books I told you of. He +told her, indeed, that it would be the happiness of his heart to +live with her; which I own I thought was as much as could be +expected of any man. But miss had no notion of marrying any one who +was only desirous of living with her. No, and forsooth, her lover +must declare himself ready to die for her, which honest Wilson was +not such a fool as to offer to do. In the afternoon, however, he got +a little into her favor by making out a rebus or two in the Lady's +Diary, and she condescended to say, she did not think Mr. Wilson had +been so good a scholar; but he soon spoiled all again. We had a +little dance in the evening. The young man, though he had not much +taste for those sort of gambols, yet thought he could foot it a +little in the old fashioned way. So he asked Betsy to be his +partner. But when he asked what dance they should call, miss drew up +her head, and in a strange gibberish, said she should dance nothing +but a _Menuet de la Cour_, and ordered him to call it. Wilson +stared, and honestly told her she must call it herself; for he could +neither spell nor pronounce such outlandish words, nor assist in +such an outlandish performance. I burst out a laughing, and told +him, I supposed it something like questions and commands; and if so, +that was much merrier than dancing. Seeing her partner standing +stock still, and not knowing how to get out of the scrape, the girl +began by herself, and fell to swimming, and sinking, and capering, +and flourishing, and posturing, for all the world just like the man +on the slack rope at our fair. But seeing Wilson standing like a +stuck pig, and we all laughing at her, she resolved to wreak her +malice upon him; so, with a look of rage and disdain, she advised +him to go down country bumpkin, with the dairy maid, who would make +a much fitter partner, as well as wife, for him, than she could do. + +"'I am quite of your mind, miss,' said he, with more spirit than I +thought was in him; 'you may make a good partner for a dance, but +you would make a sad one to go through life with. I will take my +leave of you, miss, with this short story. I had lately a pretty +large concern in hay-jobbing, which took me to London. I waited a +good while in the Hay-market for my dealer, and, to pass away the +time, I stepped into a sort of foreign singing play-house there, +where I was grieved to the heart to see young women painted and +dizened out, and capering away just as you have been doing. I +thought it bad enough in them, and wondered the quality could be +entertained with such indecent mummery. But little did I think to +meet with the same paint, finery, and posturing tricks in a +farm-house. I will never marry a woman who despises me, nor the +station in which I should place her, and so I take my leave.' Poor +girl, how she _was_ provoked! to be publicly refused, and turned +off, as it were, by a grazier! But it was of use to some of the +other girls, who have not held up their heads quite so high since, +nor painted quite so red, but have condescended to speak to their +equals. + +"But how I run on! I forget it is Saturday night, and that I ought +to be paying my workmen, who are all waiting for me without." + + +SATURDAY NIGHT, OR THE WORKMEN'S WAGES. + +As soon as Mr. Bragwell had done paying his men, Mr. Worthy, who was +always ready to extract something useful from accidental +circumstances, said to him, "I have made it a habit, and I hope not +an unprofitable one, of trying to turn to some moral use, not only +all the events of daily life, but all the employments of it, too. +And though it occurs so often, I hardly know one that sets me +thinking more seriously than the ordinary business you have been +discharging." "Ay," said Bragwell, "it sets me thinking too, and +seriously, as you say, when I observe how much the price of wages is +increased." "Yes, yes, you are ready enough to think of that," said +Worthy, "but you say not a word of how much the value of your land +is increased, and that the more you pay, the more you can afford to +pay. But the thoughts I spoke of are quite of another cast. + +"When I call in my laborers, on a Saturday night, to pay them, it +often brings to my mind the great and general day of account, when +I, and you, and all of us, shall be called to our grand and awful +reckoning, when we shall go to receive _our_ wages, master and +servants, farmer and laborer. When I see that one of my men has +failed of the wages he should have received, because he has been +idling at a fair; another has lost a day by a drinking-bout, a third +confesses that, though he had task-work, and might have earned still +more, yet he has been careless, and has not his full pay to receive; +this, I say, sometimes sets me on thinking whether I also have made +the most of my time. And when I come to pay even the more diligent, +who have worked all the week, when I reflect that even these have +done no more than it was their duty to do, I can not help saying to +myself, Night is come, Saturday night is come. No repentance, or +diligence on the part of these poor men can now make a bad week's +work good. This week has gone into eternity. To-morrow is the season +of rest; working-time is over. 'There is no knowledge nor device in +the grave.' My life also will soon be swallowed up in eternity; soon +the space allotted me for diligence, for labor, will be over. Soon +will the grand question be asked, 'What hast thou done? Give an +account of thy stewardship. Didst thou use thy working days to the +end for which they were given? With some such thoughts I commonly go +to bed, and they help to quicken me to a keener diligence for the +next week." + + +SOME ACCOUNT OF A SUNDAY IN MR. BRAGWELL'S FAMILY. + +Mr. Worthy had been for so many years used to the sober ways of his +own well-ordered family, that he greatly disliked to pass a Sunday +in any house of which religion was not the governing principle. +Indeed, he commonly ordered his affairs, and regulated his journeys +with an eye to this object. "To pass a Sunday in an irreligious +family," said he, "is always unpleasant, often unsafe. I seldom find +I can do them any good, and they may perhaps do me some harm. At +least, I am giving a sanction to their manner of passing it, if I +pass it in the same manner. If I reprove them, I subject myself to +the charge of singularity, and of being righteous over-much; if I do +_not_ reprove them, I confirm and strengthen them in evil. And +whether I reprove them or not, I certainly partake of their guilt, +if I spend it as they do." + +He had, however, so strong a desire to be useful to Mr. Bragwell, +that he at length determined to break through his common practice, +and pass the Sunday at his house. Mr. Worthy was surprised to find +that though the church bell was going, the breakfast was not ready, +and expressed his wonder how this could be the case in so +industrious a family. Bragwell made some awkward excuses. He said +his wife worked her servants so hard all the week, that even she, as +notable as she was, a little relaxed from the strictness of her +demands on Sunday mornings; and he owned that in a general way no +one was up early enough for church. He confessed that his wife +commonly spent the morning in making puddings, pies, syllabubs, and +cakes, to last through the week; as Sunday was the only leisure time +she and her maids had. Mr. Worthy soon saw an uncommon bustle in the +house. All hands were busy. It was nothing but baking, and boiling, +and stewing, and frying, and roasting, and running, and scolding, +and eating. The boy was kept from church to clean the plate, the man +to gather the fruit, the mistress to make the cheese-cakes, the +maids to dress the dinner, and the young ladies to dress themselves. + +The truth was, Mrs. Bragwell, who had heard much of the order and +good management of Mr. Worthy's family, but who looked down with +disdain upon them as far less rich than herself, was resolved to +indulge her vanity on the present occasion. She was determined to be +even with Mrs. Worthy, in whose praises Bragwell had been so loud, +and felt no small pleasure in the hope of making her guest uneasy, +in comparing her with his own wife, when he should be struck dumb +with the display both of her skill and her wealth. Mr. Worthy was +indeed struck to behold as large a dinner as he had been used to see +at a justice's meeting. He, whose frugal and pious wife had +accustomed him only to such a plain Sunday's dinner as could be +dressed without keeping any one from church, when he surveyed the +loaded table of his friend, instead of feeling that envy which the +grand preparations were meant to raise, felt nothing but disgust at +the vanity of his friend's wife, mixed with much thankfulness for +the piety and simplicity of his own. + +After having made the dinner wait a long time, the Misses Bragwell +marched in, dressed as if they were going to the assize-ball; they +looked very scornfully at having been so hurried, though they had +been dressing ever since they got up, and their fond father, when he +saw them so fine, forgave all their impertinence, and cast an eye of +triumph on Mr. Worthy, who felt he had never loved his own humble +daughters so well as at that moment. + +In the afternoon the whole party went to church. To do them justice, +it was indeed their common practice once a day, when the weather was +good, and the road was neither dusty nor dirty, when the minister +did not begin too early, when the young ladies had not been +disappointed of their bonnets on the Saturday night, and when they +had no smart company in the house, who rather wished to stay at +home. When this last was the case, which, to say the truth, happened +pretty often, it was thought a piece of good manners to conform to +the humor of the guests. Mr. Bragwell had this day forborne to ask +any of his usual company, well knowing that their vain and worldly +conversation would only serve to draw on him some new reprimand from +his friend. + +Mrs. Bragwell and her daughters picked up, as usual, a good deal of +acquaintance at church. Many compliments passed, and much of the +news of the week was retailed before the service began. They waited +with impatience for the reading of the lessons as a licensed season +for whispering, and the subject begun during the lessons, was +finished while they were singing the psalms. The young ladies made +an appointment for the afternoon with a friend in the next pew, +while their mamma took the opportunity of inquiring aloud, the +character of a dairy maid, which she observed, with a compliment to +her own good management, would save time on a week-day. + +Mr. Worthy, who found himself quite in a new world, returned home +with his friend alone. In the evening he ventured to ask Bragwell, +if he did not, on a Sunday night at least, make it a custom to read +and pray with his family. Bragwell told him he was sorry to say he +had no family at home, else he should like to do it for the sake of +example. But as his servants worked hard all the week, his wife was +of opinion that they should then have a little holiday. Mr. Worthy +pressed it home upon him, whether the utter neglect of his servants' +principles was not likely to make a heavy article in his final +account; and asked him if he did not believe that the too general +liberty of meeting together, jaunting, and diverting themselves on +Sunday evenings, was not often found to produce the worst effects on +the morals of servants and the good order of families? "I put it to +your conscience," said he, "Mr. Bragwell, whether Sunday, which was +meant as a blessing and a benefit, is not, as it is commonly kept, +turned into the most mischievous part of the week, by the selfish +kindness of masters, who, not daring to set their servants about any +public work, allot them that day to follow their own devices, that +they themselves may, with more rigor, refuse them a little +indulgence, and a reasonable holiday, in the working part of the +week, which a good servant has now and then a fair right to expect. +Those masters who will give them half, or all of the Lord's day, +will not spare them a single hour of a working day. _Their_ work +_must_ be done; God's work may be let alone." + +Mr. Bragwell owned that Sunday had produced many mischiefs in his +own family. That the young men and maids, having no eye upon them, +frequently went to improper places with other servants turned adrift +like themselves. That in these parties the poor girls were too +frequently led astray, and the men got to public houses and +fives-playing. But it was none of his business to watch them. His +family only did as others do; indeed it was his wife's concern; and +as she was so good a manager on other days, that she would not spare +them an hour to visit a sick father or mother, it would be hard, she +said, if they might not have Sunday afternoon to themselves, and she +could not blame them for making the most of it. Indeed, she was so +indulgent in this particular, that she often excused the men from +going to church, that they might serve the beasts, and the maids, +that they might get the milking done before the holiday part of the +evening came on. She would not, indeed, hear of any competition +between doing _her_ work and taking their pleasure; but when the +difference lay between their going to church and taking their +pleasure, he _must_ say that for his wife, she always inclined to +the good-natured side of the question. She is strict enough in +keeping them sober, because drunkenness is a costly sin; and to do +her justice, she does not care how little they sin at her expense. + +"Well," said Mr. Worthy, "I always like to examine both sides +fairly, and to see the different effects of opposite practices; now, +which plan produces the greater share of comfort to the master, and +of profit to the servants in the long run? Your servants, 'tis +likely, are very much attached to you, and very fond of living where +they get their own way in so great a point." + +"O, as to that," replied Bragwell, "you are quite out. My house is a +scene of discord, mutiny, and discontent. And though there is not a +better manager in England than my wife, yet she is always changing +her servants, so that every quarter-day is a sort of jail delivery +at my house; and when they go off, as they often do, at a moment's +warning, to own the truth, I often give them money privately, that +they may not carry my wife before the justice to get their wages." + +"I see," said Mr. Worthy, "that all your worldly compliances do not +procure you even worldly happiness. As to my own family, I take care +to let them see that their pleasure is bound up with their duty, and +that what they may call my strictness, has nothing in view but their +safety and happiness. By this means I commonly gain their love, as +well as secure their obedience. I know that, with all my care, I am +liable to be disappointed, 'from the corruption that is in the world +through sin.' But whenever this happens, so far from encouraging me +in remissness, it only serves to quicken my zeal. If, by God's +blessing, my servant turns out a good Christian, I have been an +humble instrument in his hand of saving a soul committed to my +charge." + +Mrs. Bragwell came home, but brought only one of her daughters with +her; the other, she said, had given them the slip, and was gone with +a young friend, and would not return for a day or two. Mr. Bragwell +was greatly displeased, as he knew that young friend had but a +slight character, and kept bad acquaintances. Mrs. Bragwell came in, +all hurry and bustle, saying, if her family did not go to bed with +the lamb on Sundays, when they had nothing to do, how could they +rise with the lark on Mondays, when so much was to be done. + +Mr. Worthy had this night much matter for reflection. "We need not," +said he, "go into the great world to look for dissipation and +vanity. We can find both in a farmhouse. 'As for me and my house,' +continued he, 'we will serve the Lord' every day, but especially on +Sunday. 'It is the day which the Lord hath made; hath made for +himself; we will rejoice in it,' and consider the religious use of +it, not only as a duty, but as a privilege." + +The next morning Mr. Bragwell and his friend set out early for the +Golden Lion. What passed on this little journey, my readers shall +hear soon. + + +PART IV. + +THE SUBJECT OF PRAYER DISCUSSED IN A MORNING'S RIDE. + +It was mentioned in the last part of this history, that the chief +reason which had drawn Mr. Worthy to visit his friend just at the +present time was, that Mr. Bragwell had a small estate to sell by +auction. Mr. Worthy, though he did not think he should be a bidder, +wished to be present, as he had business to settle with one or two +persons who were expected at the Golden Lion on that day, and he had +put off his visit till he had seen the sale advertised in the county +paper. + +Mr. Bragwell and Mr. Worthy set out early on the Monday morning, on +their way to the Golden Lion, a small inn in a neighboring +market-town. As they had time before them, they had agreed to ride +slowly that they might converse on some useful subject, but here, as +usual, they had two opinions about the same thing. Mr. Bragwell's +notion of a useful subject was, something by which money was to be +got, and a good bargain struck. Mr. Worthy was no less a man of +business than his friend. His schemes were wise, and his +calculations just; his reputation for integrity and good sense made +him the common judge and umpire in his neighbors' affairs, while no +one paid a more exact attention to every transaction of his own. But +the business of getting money was not with him the first, much less +was it the whole concern of the day. He sought, in the _first +place_, 'the kingdom of God and his righteousness.' Every morning +when he rose, he remembered that he had a Maker to worship as well +as a family to maintain. Religion, however, never made him neglect +business, though it sometimes made him postpone it. He used to say, +no man had any reason to expect God's blessing through the day who +did not ask it in the morning; nor was he likely to spend the day in +the fear of God who did not begin it with his worship. But he had +not the less sense, spirit, and activity, when he was among men +abroad, because he had first served God at home. + +As these two farmers rode along, Mr. Worthy took occasion, from the +fineness of the day, and the beauty of the country through which +they passed, to turn the discourse to the goodness of God, and our +infinite obligations to him. He knew that the transition from +thanksgiving to prayer would be natural and easy; and he, therefore, +sliding by degrees into that important subject, observed that secret +prayer was a duty of universal obligation, which every man has it in +his power to fulfill, and which he seriously believed was the +ground-work of all religious practice, and of all devout affections. + +Mr. Bragwell felt conscious that he was very negligent and irregular +in the performance of this duty; indeed, he considered it as a mere +ceremony, or at least, as a duty which might give way to the +slightest temptation of drowsiness at night, or business in the +morning. As he knew he did not live in the conscientious performance +of this practice, he tried to ward off the subject, knowing what a +home way his friend had of putting things. After some evasion, he at +last said, he certainly thought private prayer a good custom, +especially for people who had time; and that those who were sick, or +old, or out of business, could not do better; but that for his +part, he believed much of these sort of things was not expected from +men in active life. + +_Worthy._ I should think, Mr. Bragwell, that those who are most +exposed to temptations stand most in need of prayer; now there are +few, methinks, who are more exposed to temptation than men in +business; for those must be in most danger, at least from the world, +who have most to do with it. And if this be true, ought we not to +prepare ourselves in the closet for the trials of the market, the +field, and the shop? It is but putting on our armor before we go out +to battle. + +_Bragwell._ For my part, I think example is the whole of religion, +and if the master of a family is orderly, and regular, and goes to +church, he does every thing which can be required of him, and no one +has a right to call him to an account for any thing more. + +_Worthy._ Give me leave to say, Mr. Bragwell, that highly as I rate +a good example, still I must set a good principle above it. I know I +must keep good order, indeed, for the sake of others; but I must +keep a good conscience for my own sake. To God I owe secret piety, I +must, therefore, pray to him in private; to my family I owe a +Christian example, and for that, among other reasons, I must not +fail to go to church. + +_Bragwell._ You are talking, Mr. Worthy, as if I were an enemy to +religion. Sir, I am no heathen--Sir, I am a Christian; I belong to +the church; I go to church; I always drink prosperity to the church. +You yourself, as strict as you are, in never missing it twice a day, +are not a warmer friend to the church than I am. + +_Worthy._ That is to say, you know its inestimable value as a +political institution; but you do not seem to know that a man may be +very irreligious under the best religious institutions; and that +even the most excellent only furnishes the _means_ of being +religious, and is no more religion itself than brick and mortar are +prayers and thanksgivings. I shall never think, however high their +profession, and even however regular their attendance, that those +men truly respect the church, who bring home little of that religion +which is taught in it into their own families or their own hearts; +or, who make the whole of Christianity to consist in a mere formal +attendance there. Excuse me, Mr. Bragwell. + +_Bragwell._ Mr. Worthy, I am persuaded that religion is quite a +proper thing for the poor; and I don't think that the multitude can +ever be kept in order without it; and I am a sort of a politician, +you know. We _must_ have bits, and bridles, and restraints for the +vulgar. + +_Worthy._ Your opinion is very just, as far as it goes; but it does +not go far enough, since it does not go to the root of the evil; for +while you value yourself on the soundness of this principle as a +politician, I wish you also to see the reason of it as a Christian; +depend upon it, if religion be good for the community at large, it +is equally good for every family; and what is right for a family is +equally right for each individual in it. You have therefore yourself +brought the most unanswerable argument why you ought to be religious +yourself, by asking how we shall keep others in order without +religion. For, believe me, Mr. Bragwell, there is no particular +clause to except _you_ in the gospel. There are no exceptions there +in favor of any one class of men. The same restraints which are +necessary for the people at large, are equally necessary for men of +every order, high and low, rich and poor, bond and free, learned and +ignorant. If Jesus Christ died for no one particular rank, class, or +community, then there is no one rank, class, or community, exempt +from the obedience to his laws enjoined by the gospel. May I ask +you, Mr. Bragwell, what is your reason for going to church? + +_Bragwell._ Sir, I am shocked at your question. How can I avoid +doing a thing so customary and so creditable? Not go to church, +indeed! What do you take me for, Mr. Worthy? I am afraid you suspect +me to be a papist, or a heathen, or of some religion or other that +is not Christian. + +_Worthy._ If a foreigner were to hear how violently one set of +Christians in this country often speak against another, how earnest +would he suppose us all to be in religious matters: and how +astonished to discover that many a man has perhaps little other +proof to give of the sincerity of his own religion, except the +violence with which he hates the religion of another party. It is +not _irreligion_ which such men hate; but the religion of the man, +or the party, whom we are set against; now hatred is certainly no +part of the religion of the gospel. Well, you have told me why you +go to church; now pray tell me, why do you confess there on your +bended knees, every Sunday, that "you have erred and strayed from +God's ways?" "that there is no health in you? that you have done +what you ought not to do? and that you are a miserable sinner?" + +_Bragwell._ Because it is in the Common Prayer Book, to be sure; a +book which I have heard you yourself say was written by wise and +good men; the glory of Christianity, the pillars of the Protestant +church. + +_Worthy._ But have you no other reason? + +_Bragwell._ No, I can't say I have. + +_Worthy._ When you repeat that excellent form of confession, do you +really feel that you _are_ a miserable sinner? + +_Bragwell._ No, I can't say I do. But that is no objection to my +repeating it: because it may suit the case of many who are so. I +suppose the good doctors who drew it up, intended that part for +wicked people only, such as drunkards, and thieves, and murderers; +for I imagine they could not well contrive to make the same prayer +quite suit an honest man and a rogue; and so I suppose they thought +it better to make a good man repeat a prayer which suited a rogue, +than to make a rogue repeat a prayer which suited a good man; and +you know it is so customary for every body to repeat the general +confession, that it can't hurt the credit of the most respectable +persons, though every respectable person must know they have no +particular concern in it; as they are not sinners. + +_Worthy._ Depend upon it, Mr. Bragwell, those good doctors you speak +of, were not quite of your opinion; they really thought that what +you call honest men were grievous sinners in a certain sense, and +that the best of us stand in need of making that humble confession. +Mr. Bragwell, do you believe in the fall of Adam? + +_Bragwell._ To be sure I do, and a sad thing for Adam it was; why, +it is in the Bible, is it not? It is one of the prettiest chapters +in Genesis. Don't _you_ believe it, Mr. Worthy? + +_Worthy._ Yes, truly I do. But I don't believe it _merely_ because I +read it in Genesis; though I know, indeed, that I am bound to +believe every part of the word of God. But I have still an +additional reason for believing in the fall of the first man. + +_Bragwell._ Have you, indeed? Now, I can't guess what that can be. + +_Worthy._ Why, my own observation of what is within myself teaches +me to believe it. It is not only the third chapter of Genesis which +convinces me of the truth of the fall, but also the sinful +inclinations which I find in my own heart corresponding with it. +This is one of those leading truths of Christianity of which I can +never doubt a moment: first because it is abundantly expressed or +implied in Scripture; and next, because the consciousness of the +evil nature, I carry about me confirms the doctrine beyond all +doubt. Besides, is it not said in Scripture, that by one man sin +entered into the world, and that "all we, like lost sheep, have gone +astray?" "that by one man's disobedience many were made sinners?" +and so again in twenty more places that I could tell you of? + +_Bragwell._ Well; I never thought of this. But is not this a very +melancholy sort of doctrine, Mr. Worthy? + +_Worthy._ It is melancholy, indeed, if we stop here. But while we +are deploring this sad truth, let us take comfort from another, that +"as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." + +_Bragwell._ Yes; I remember I thought those very fine words, when I +heard them said over my poor father's grave. But as it was in the +burial of the dead, I did not think of taking it to myself; for I +was then young and hearty, and in little danger of dying, and I have +been so busy ever since, that I have hardly had time to think of it. + +_Worthy._ And yet the service pronounced at the burial of all who +die, is a solemn admonition to all who live. It is there said, as +indeed the Scripture says also, "I am the resurrection and the life; +whosoever _believeth in me_ shall never die, but I will raise him up +at the last day." Now do you think you _believe in Christ_, Mr. +Bragwell? + +_Bragwell._ To be sure I do; why you are always fancying me an +atheist. + +_Worthy._ In order to believe in Christ, we must believe first in +our own guilt and our own unworthiness; and when we do this we shall +see the use of a Saviour, and not till then. + +_Bragwell._ Why, all this is a new way of talking. I can't say I +ever meddled with such subjects before in my life. But now, what do +you advise a man to do upon your plan of religion? + +_Worthy._ Why, all this leads me back to the ground from which we +set out, I mean the duty of prayer; for if we believe that we have +an evil nature within us, and that we stand in need of God's grace +to help us, and a Saviour to redeem us, we shall be led of course to +pray for what we so much need; and without this conviction we shall +not be led to pray. + +_Bragwell._ Well, but don't you think, Mr. Worthy, that you good +folks who make so much of prayer, have lower notions than we have of +the wisdom of the Almighty? You think he wants to be informed of the +thing you tell him; whereas, I take it for granted that he knows +them already, and that, being so good as he is, he will give me +every thing he sees fit to give me, without my asking it. + +_Worthy._ God, indeed, who knows all things, knows what we want +before we ask him; but still has he not said that, "with prayer and +supplication we must make known our requests unto him?" Prayer is +the way in which God has said that his favor must be sought. It is +the channel through which he has declared it his sovereign will and +pleasure that his blessings should be conveyed to us. What ascends +up in prayer, descends to us again in blessings. It is like the rain +which just now fell, and which had been drawn up from the ground in +vapors to the clouds before it descended from them to the earth in +that refreshing shower. Besides prayer has a good effect on our +minds; it tends to excite a right disposition toward God in us, and +to keep up a constant sense of our dependence. But above all, it is +the way to get the good things we want. "Ask," says the Scripture, +"and ye shall receive." + +_Bragwell._ Now, that is the very thing which I was going to deny: +for the truth is, men do not always get what they ask; I believe if +I could get a good crop for asking it, I would pray oftener than I +do. + +_Worthy._ Sometimes, Mr. Bragwell, men "ask and receive not, because +they ask amiss;" "they ask that they may consume it on their lusts." +They ask worldly blessings, perhaps, when they should ask spiritual +ones. Now, the latter, which are the good things I spoke of, are +always granted to those who pray to God for them, though the former +are not. I have observed in the case of some worldly things I have +sought for, that the grant of my prayer would have caused the misery +of my life; so that God equally consults our good in what he +withholds, and in what he bestows. + +_Bragwell._ And yet you continue to pray on, I suppose? + +_Worthy._ Certainly; but then I try to mend as to the object of my +prayers. I pray for God's blessing and favor, which is better than +riches. + +_Bragwell._ You seem very earnest on this subject. + +_Worthy._ To cut the matter short; I ask then, whether prayer is not +positively commanded in the gospel? When this is the case, we can +never dispute about the necessity or the duty of a thing, as we may +when there is no such command. Here, however, let me just add also, +that a man's prayers may be turned into no small use in the way of +discovering to him whatever is amiss in his life. + +_Bragwell._ How so, Mr. Worthy? + +_Worthy._ Why, suppose now, you were to try yourself by turning into +the shape of a prayer every practice in which you allow yourself. +For instance, let the prayer in the morning be a sort of preparation +for the deeds of the day, and the prayer at night a sort of +retrospection of those deeds. You, Mr. Bragwell, I suspect, are a +little inclined to covetousness; excuse me, sir. Now, suppose after +you have been during a whole day a little too eager to get rich; +suppose, I say, you were to try how it would sound to beg of God at +night on your knees, to give you still more money, though you have +already so much that you know not what to do with it. Suppose you +were to pray in the morning, "O Lord, give me more riches, though +those I have are a snare and a temptation to me;" and ask him in the +same solemn manner to bless all the grasping means you intend to +make use of in the day, to add to your substance? + +_Bragwell._ Mr. Worthy, I have no patience with you for thinking I +could be so wicked. + +_Worthy._ Yet to make such a covetous prayer as this is hardly more +wicked, or more absurd, than to lead the life of the covetous, by +sinning up to the spirit of that very prayer which you would not +have the courage to put into words. Still further observe how it +would sound to confess your sins, and pray against them all, except +one favorite sin. "Lord, do thou enable me to forsake all my sins, +except the love of money;" "in this one thing pardon thy servant." +Or, "Do thou enable me to forgive all who have injured me, except +old Giles." This you will object against as a wicked prayer, it must +be wicked in practice. It is even the more shocking to make it the +language of the heart, or of the life, than of the lips. And yet, +because you have been used to see people act thus, and have not been +used to hear them pray thus, you are shocked at the one, and not +shocked at the other. + +_Bragwell._ Shocked, indeed! Why, at this rate, you would teach one +to hate one's self. + +_Worthy._ Hear me out, Mr. Bragwell; you turned your good nephew, +Tom Broad, out of doors, you know; you owned to me it was an act of +injustice. Now, suppose on the morning of your doing so you had +begged of God, in a solemn act of prayer, to prosper the deed of +cruelty and oppression, which you intended to commit that day. I see +you are shocked at the thought of such a prayer. Well, then, would +not hearty prayer have kept you from committing that wicked action? +In short, what a life must that be, no act of which you dare beg God +to prosper and bless? If once you can bring yourself to believe that +it is your bounden duty to pray for God's blessing on your day's +work, you will certainly grow careful about passing such a day as +you may safely ask his blessing upon. The remark may be carried to +sports, diversions, company. A man, who once takes up the serious +use of prayer, will soon find himself obliged to abstain from such +diversions, occupations, and societies, as he can not reasonably +desire that God will bless to him; and thus he will see himself +compelled to leave off either the practice or the prayer. Now, Mr. +Bragwell, I need not ask you which of the two he that is a real +Christian will give up, sinning or praying. + +Mr. Bragwell began to feel that he had not the best of the argument, +and was afraid he was making no great figure in the eyes of his +friend. Luckily, however, he was relieved from the difficulty into +which the necessity of making some answer must have brought him, by +finding they were come to the end of their little journey: and he +never beheld the bunch of grapes, which decorated the sign of the +Golden Lion, with more real satisfaction. + +I refer my readers for the transactions at the Golden Lion, and for +the sad adventures which afterward befell Mr. Bragwell's family, to +the fifth part of the History of the Two Wealthy Farmers. + + +PART V. + +THE GOLDEN LION. + +Mr. Bragwell and Mr. Worthy alighted at the Golden Lion. It was +market-day: the inn, the yard, the town was all alive. Bragwell was +quite in his element. Money, company, and good cheer always set his +spirits afloat. He felt himself the principal man in the scene. He +had three great objects in view; the sale of his land; the letting +Mr. Worthy see how much he was looked up to by so many substantial +people, and the showing these people what a wise man his most +intimate friend, Mr. Worthy was. It was his way to try to borrow a +little credit from every person, and every thing he was connected +with, and by the credit to advance his interest and increase his +wealth. + +The farmers met in a large room; and while they were transacting +their various concerns, those whose pursuits were the same naturally +herded together. The tanners were drawn to one corner, by the common +interest which they took in bark and hides. A useful debate was +carrying on at another little table, whether the practice of +_sowing_ wheat or of _planting_ it were most profitable. Another set +were disputing whether horses or oxen were best for plowing. Those +who were concerned in canals, sought the company of other canalers; +while some, who were interested in the new bill for inclosures, +wisely looked out for such as knew most about waste lands. + +Mr. Worthy was pleased with all these subjects, and picked up +something useful on each. It was a saying of his, that most men +understood some one thing, and that he who was wise would try to +learn from every man something on the subject he best knew; but Mr. +Worthy made a further use of the whole. What a pity is it, said he, +that Christians are not so desirous to turn their time to good +account as men of business are! When shall we see religious persons +as anxious to derive profit from the experience of others as these +farmers? When shall we see them as eager to turn their time to good +account? While I approve these men for not being _slothful in +business_, let me improve the hint, by being also _fervent in +spirit_. + + +SHOWING HOW MUCH WISER THE CHILDREN OF THIS GENERATION ARE THAN THE +CHILDREN OF LIGHT. + +When the hurry was a little over, Mr. Bragwell took a turn on the +bowling-green. Mr. Worthy followed him, to ask why the sale of the +estate was not brought forward. "Let the auctioneer proceed to +business," said he; "the company will be glad to get home by +daylight. I speak mostly with a view to others; for I do not think +of being a purchaser myself." "I know it," said Bragwell, "or I +would not be such a fool as to let the cat out of the bag. But is it +really possible," proceeded he, with a smile of contempt, "that you +should think I will sell my estate before dinner? Mr. Worthy, you +are a clever man at books, and such things; and perhaps can make out +an account on paper in a handsomer manner than I can. But I never +found much was to be got by fine writing. As to figures, I can carry +enough of them in my head to add, divide, and multiply more money +than your learning will ever give you the fingering of. You may beat +me at a book, but you are a very child at a bargain. Sell my land +before dinner, indeed!" + +Mr. Worthy was puzzled to guess how a man was to show more wisdom by +selling a piece of ground at one hour than another, and desired an +explanation. Bragwell felt rather more contempt for his +understanding than he had ever done before. "Look'ee, Mr. Worthy," +said he, "I do not think that knowledge is of any use to a man, +unless he has sense enough to turn it to account. Men are my books, +Mr. Worthy; and it is by reading, spelling, and putting them +together to good purpose, that I have got up in the world. I shall +give you a proof of this to-day. These farmers are most of them come +to the Lion with a view of purchasing this bit of land of mine, if +they should like the bargain. Now, as you know a thing can't be any +great bargain both to the buyer and the seller too, to them and to +me, it becomes me as a man of sense, who has the good of his family +at heart, to secure the bargain to myself. I would not cheat any +man, sir, but I think it fair enough to turn his weakness to my own +advantage; there is no law against that, you know; and this is the +use of one man's having more sense than another. So, whenever I have +a piece of land to sell, I always give a handsome dinner, with +plenty of punch and strong beer. We fill up the morning with other +business; and I carefully keep back my talk about the purchase till +we have dined. At dinner we have, of course a slice of politics. +This puts most of us into a passion, and you know anger is thirsty. +Besides 'Church and King' naturally brings on a good many other +toasts. Now, as I am master of the feast, you know it would be +shabby in me to save my liquor; so I push about the glass one way, +and the tankard the other, till all my company are as merry as +kings. Every man is delighted to see what a fine hearty fellow he +has to deal with, and Mr. Bragwell receives a thousand compliments. +By this time they have gained as much in good humor as they have +lost in sober judgment, and this is the proper moment for setting +the auctioneer to work, and this I commonly do to such good purpose, +that I go home with my purse a score or two pounds heavier than if +they had not been warmed by their dinner. In the morning men are +cool and suspicious, and have all their wits about them; but a +cheerful glass cures all distrust. And what is lucky, I add to my +credit as well as my pocket, and get more praise for my dinner than +blame for my bargain." + +Mr. Worthy was struck with the absurd vanity which could tempt a man +to own himself guilty of an unfair action for the sake of showing +his wisdom. He was beginning to express his disapprobation, when +they were told dinner was on the table. They went in, and were soon +seated. All was mirth and good cheer. Every body agreed that no one +gave such hearty dinners as Mr. Bragwell. Nothing was pitiful where +he was master of the feast. Bragwell, who looked with pleasure on +the excellent dinner before him, and enjoyed the good account to +which he should turn it, heard their praises with delight, and cast +an eye on Worthy, as much as to say Who is the wise man now? Having +a mind, for his own credit, to make his friend talk, he turned to +him saying, "Mr. Worthy, I believe no people in the world enjoy life +more than men of our class. We have money and power, we live on the +fat of the land, and have as good right to gentility as the best." + +"As to gentility, Mr. Bragwell," replied Worthy, "I am not sure that +this is among the wisest of our pretensions. But I will say, that +ours is a creditable and respectable business. In ancient times, +farming was the employment of princes and patriarchs; and, +now-a-days, an honest, humane, sensible, English yeoman, I will be +bold to say, is not only a very useful, but an honorable character. +But then, he must not merely think of _enjoying life_ as you call +it, but he must think of living up to the great ends for which he +was sent into the world. A wealthy farmer not only has it in his +power to live well, but to do much good. He is not only the father +of his own family, but his workmen, his dependants, and the poor at +large, especially in these hard times. He has in his power to raise +into credit all the parish offices which have fallen into disrepute +by getting into bad hands; and he can convert, what have been +falsely thought mean offices, into very important ones, by his just +and Christian-like manner of filling them. An upright juryman, a +conscientious constable, a humane overseer, an independent elector, +an active superintendent of a work-house, a just arbitrator in +public disputes, a kind counselor in private troubles; such a one, I +say, fills up a station in society no less necessary, and, as far as +it reaches, scarcely less important than that of a magistrate, a +sheriff of a county, or even a member of parliament. That can never +be a slight or degrading office, on which the happiness of a whole +parish may depend." + +Bragwell, who thought the good sense of his friend reflected credit +on himself, encouraged Worthy to go on, but he did it in his own +vain way. "Ay, very true, Mr. Worthy," said he, "you are right; a +leading man in our class ought to be looked up to as an example, as +you say; in order to which, he should do things handsomely and +liberally, and not grudge himself, or his friends, any thing;" +casting an eye of complacency on the good dinner he had provided. +"True," replied Mr. Worthy, "he should be an example of simplicity, +sobriety, and plainness of manners. But he will do well," added he, +"not to affect a frothy gentility, which will sit but clumsily upon +him. If he has money, let him spend prudently, lay up moderately for +his children, and give liberally to the poor. But let him rather +seek to dignify his own station by his virtues, than to get above it +by his vanity. If he acts thus, then, as long as his country lasts, +a farmer of England will be looked upon as one of its most valuable +members; nay more, by this conduct, he may contribute to make +England last the longer. The riches of the farmer, corn and cattle, +are the true riches of a nation; but let him remember, that though +corn and cattle _enrich_ a country, nothing but justice, integrity, +and religion, can _preserve_ it." + +Here one of the company, who was known to be a man of loose +principles, and who seldom went to public worship, said he had no +objection to religion, and was always ready to testify his regard to +it by drinking church and king. On this Mr. Worthy remarked, that he +was afraid that too many contented themselves with making this toast +include the whole of their religion, if not of their loyalty. "It is +with real sorrow," continued he, "that I am compelled to observe, +that though there are numberless honorable instances to the +contrary, yet I have seen more contempt and neglect of Christianity +in men of our calling, than in almost any other. They too frequently +hate the rector on account of his tithes, to which he has as good a +right as they have to their farms, and the curate on account of his +poverty; but the truth is, religion itself is often the concealed +object of their dislike. I know too many, who, while they affect a +violent outward zeal for the church, merely because they conceive +its security to be somehow connected with their own political +advantages, yet prove the hollowness of their attachment, by showing +little regard to its ministers, and less to its ordinance." + +Young Wilson, the worthy grazier, whom Miss Bragwell turned off +because he did not understand French dances, thanked Mr. Worthy for +what he had said, and hoped he should be the better for it as long +as he lived, and desired his leave to be better acquainted. Most of +the others declared they had never heard a finer speech, and then, +as is usual, proceeded to show the good effect it had on them, by +loose conversation, hard drinking, and whatever could counteract all +that Worthy had been saying. + +Mr. Worthy was much concerned to hear Mr. Bragwell, after dinner, +whisper to the waiter, to put less and less water into every fresh +bowl of punch. This was his old way; if the time they had to sit was +long, then the punch was to be weaker, as he saw no good in wasting +money to make it stronger than the time required. But if time +pressed, then the strength was to be increased in due proportion, as +a small quantity must then intoxicate them as much in a short time +as would be required of a greater quantity had the time been longer. +This was one of Mr. Bragwell's nice calculations; and this was the +sort of skill on which he so much valued himself. + +At length the guests were properly primed for business; just in that +convenient stage of intoxication which makes men warm and rash, yet +keeps short of that absolute drunkenness which disqualifies for +business, the auctioneer set to work. All were bidders, and, if +possibly, all would have been purchasers; so happily had the feast +and the punch operated. They bid on with a still increasing spirit, +till they got so much above the value of the land, that Bragwell +with a wink and a whisper, said: "Who would sell his land fasting? +Eh! Worthy?" At length the estate was knocked down, at a price very +far above its worth. + +As soon as it was sold, Bragwell again said softly to Worthy, "Five +from fifty and there remain forty-five. The dinner and drink won't +cost me five pounds, and I have got fifty more than the land was +worth. Spend a shilling to gain a pound! This is what I call +practical arithmetic, Mr. Worthy." + +Mr. Worthy was glad to get out of this scene; and seeing that his +friend was quite sober, he resolved as they rode home, to deal +plainly with him. Bragwell had found out, among his calculations, +that there were some sins which could only be committed, by a +prudent man, one at a time. For instance, he knew that a man could +not well get rich and get drunk at the same moment; so that he used +to practice one first, and the other after; but he had found out +that some vices made very good company together; thus, while he had +watched himself in drinking, lest he should become as unfit to sell +as his guests were to buy, he had indulged, without measure, in the +good dinner he had provided. Mr. Worthy, I say, seeing him able to +bear reason, rebuked him for this day's proceedings with some +severity. Bragwell bore his reproofs with that sort of patience +which arises from an opinion of one's own wisdom, accompanied by a +recent flush of prosperity. He behaved with that gay good humor, +which grows out of united vanity and good fortune. "You are too +squeamish, Mr. Worthy," said he, "I have done nothing discreditable. +These men came with their open eyes. There is no compulsion used. +They are free to bid or to let it alone. I make them welcome, and I +shall not be thought a bit the worse of by them to-morrow, when they +are sober. Others do it besides me, and I shall never be ashamed of +any thing as long as I have custom on my side." + +_Worthy._ I am sorry, Mr. Bragwell, to hear you support such +practices by such arguments. There is not, perhaps, a more dangerous +snare to the souls of men than is to be found in that word CUSTOM. +It is a word invented to reconcile corruption with credit, and sin +with safety. But no custom, no fashion, no combination of men, to +set up a false standard can ever make a wrong action right. That a +thing is often done, is so far from a proof of its being right, that +it is the very reason which will set a thinking man to inquire if it +be not really wrong, lest he should be following "a multitude to do +evil." Right is right, though only one man in a thousand pursues it; +and wrong will be forever wrong, though it be the allowed practice +of the other nine hundred and ninety-nine. If this shameful custom +be really common, which I can hardly believe, that is a fresh +reason why a conscientious man should set his face against it. And I +must go so far as to say (you will excuse me, Mr. Bragwell) that I +see no great difference, in the eye of conscience, whatever there +may be in the eye of the law, between your making a man first lose +his reason, and then getting fifty guineas out of his pocket, +_because_ he has lost it, and your picking the fifty guineas out of +his pocket, if you had met him dead drunk in his way home to-night. +Nay, he who meets a man already drunk and robs him, commits but one +sin; while he who makes him drunk first that he may rob him +afterward, commits two. + +Bragwell gravely replied: "Mr. Worthy, while I have the practice of +people of credit to support me, and the law of the land to protect +me, I see no reason to be ashamed of any thing I do." "Mr. +Bragwell," answered Worthy, "a truly honest man is not always +looking sharp about him, to see how far custom and the law will bear +him out; if he be honest on principle, he will consult the law of +his conscience, and if he be a Christian, he will consult the +written law of God. We never deceive ourselves more than when we +overreach others. You would not allow that you had robbed your +neighbor for the world, yet you are not ashamed to own you have +outwitted him. I have read this great truth in the works of a +heathen, Mr. Bragwell, that the chief misery of man arises from his +not knowing how to make right calculations." + +_Bragwell._ Sir, the remark does not belong to me. I have not made +an error of a farthing. Look at the account, sir--right to the +smallest fraction. + +_Worthy._ Sir, I am talking of final accounts; spiritual +calculations; arithmetic in the long run. Now, in this, your real +Christian is the only true calculator; he has found out that we +shall be richer in the end, by denying, than by indulging +ourselves. He knows that when the balance comes to be struck, when +profit and loss shall be summed up, and the final account adjusted, +that whatever ease, prosperity, and delight we had in this world, +yet if we have lost our souls in the end, we can not reckon that we +have made a good bargain. We can not pretend that a few items of +present pleasure make any great figure, set over against the sum +total of eternal misery. So you see it is only for want of a good +head at calculation that men prefer time to eternity, pleasure to +holiness, earth to heaven. You see if we get our neighbor's money at +the price of our own integrity; hurt his good name, but destroy our +own souls; raise our outward character, but wound our inward +conscience; when we come to the last reckoning, we shall find that +we were only knaves in the second instance, but fools in the first. +In short, we shall find that whatever other wisdom we possessed, we +were utterly ignorant of the skill of true calculation. + +Notwithstanding this rebuff, Mr. Bragwell got home in high spirits, +for no arguments could hinder him from feeling that he had the fifty +guineas in his purse. + +There is to a worldly man something so irresistible in the actual +possession of present, and visible, and palpable pleasure, that he +considers it as a proof of his wisdom to set them in decided +opposition to the invisible realities of eternity. + +As soon as Bragwell came in, he gayly threw the money he had +received on the table, and desired his wife to lock it up. Instead +of receiving it with her usual satisfaction, she burst into a +violent fit of passion, and threw it back to him. "You may keep your +cash yourself," said she. "It is all over--we want no more money. +You are a ruined man! A wicked creature, scraping and working as we +have done for her!" Bragwell trembled, but durst not ask what he +dreaded to hear. His wife spared him the trouble, by crying out as +soon as her rage permitted: "The girl is ruined; Polly is gone off!" +Poor Bragwell's heart sunk within him; he grew sick and giddy, and +as his wife's rage swallowed up her grief, so, in his grief, he +almost forgot his anger. The purse fell from his hand, and he cast a +look of anguish upon it, finding, for the first time, that money +could not relieve his misery. + +Mr. Worthy, who, though much concerned, was less discomposed, now +called to mind, that the young lady had not returned with her mother +and sister the night before; he begged Mrs. Bragwell to explain this +sad story. She, instead of soothing her husband, fell to reproaching +him. "It is all your fault," said she; "you were a fool for your +pains. If I had had my way the girls would never have kept company +with any but men of substance, and then they could not have been +ruined." "Mrs. Bragwell," said Worthy, "if she has chosen a bad man, +it would be still a misfortune, even though he had been rich." "O, +that would alter the case," said she, "a _fat sorrow is better than +a lean one_. But to marry a beggar, there is no sin like that." Here +Miss Betsy, who stood sullenly by, put in a word, and said, her +sister, however, had not disgraced herself by having married a +farmer or a tradesman; she had, at least, made choice of a +gentleman. "What marriage! what gentleman!" cried the afflicted +father. "Tell me the worst;" He was now informed that his darling +daughter was gone off with a strolling player, who had been acting +in the neighboring villages lately. Miss Betsy again put in, saying, +he was no stroller, but a gentleman in disguise, who only acted for +his own diversion. "Does he so," said the now furious Bragwell, +"then he shall be transported for mine." + +At this moment a letter was brought him from his new son-in-law, who +desired his leave to wait upon him, and implore his forgiveness. He +owned he had been shopman to a haberdasher; but thinking his person +and talents ought not to be thrown away upon trade, and being also a +little behindhand, he had taken to the stage with a view of making +his fortune; that he had married Miss Bragwell entirely for love, +and was sorry to mention so paltry a thing as money, which he +despised, but that his wants were pressing: his landlord, to whom he +was in debt, having been so vulgar as to threaten to send him to +prison. He ended with saying: "I have been obliged to shock your +daughter's delicacy, by confessing my unlucky real name. I believe I +owe part of my success with her, to my having assumed that of +Augustus Frederic Theodosius. She is inconsolable at this +confession, which, as you are now my father, I must also make to +you, and subscribe myself, with many blushes, by the vulgar name of +your dutiful son, + + "TIMOTHY INCLE." + +"O!" cried the afflicted father, as he tore the letter in a rage, +"Miss Bragwell married to a strolling actor! How shall I bear it?" +"Why, I would not bear it at all," cried the enraged mother; "I +would never see her; I would never forgive her; I would let her +starve at the corner of the barn, while that rascal, with all those +pagan, popish names, was ranting away at the other." "Nay," said +Miss Betsy, "if he is only a shopman, and if his name be really +Timothy Incle, I would never forgive her neither. But who would have +thought it by his looks, and by his _monstrous genteel_ behavior? +no, he never can have so vulgar a name." + +"Come, come," said Mr. Worthy, "were he really an honest +haberdasher, I should think there was no other harm done, except the +disobedience of the thing. Mr. Bragwell, this is no time to blame +you, or hardly to reason with you. I feel for you sincerely. I +ought not, perhaps, just at present, to reproach you for the +mistaken manner in which you have bred up your daughters, as your +error has brought its punishment along with it. You now see, because +you now feel, the evil of a false education. It has ruined your +daughter; your whole plan unavoidably led to some such end. The +large sums you spent to qualify them, as you thought, for a high +station, only served to make them despise their own, and could do +them nothing but harm, while your habits of life properly confined +them to company of a lower class. While they were better dressed +than the daughters of the first gentry, they were worse taught as to +real knowledge, than the daughters of your plowmen. Their vanity has +been raised by excessive finery, and kept alive by excessive +flattery. Every evil temper has been fostered by indulgence. Their +pride has never been controlled; their self-will has never been +subdued; their idleness has laid them open to every temptation, and +their abundance has enabled them to gratify every desire; their +time, that precious talent, has been entirely wasted. Every thing +they have been taught to do is of no use, while they are utterly +unacquainted with all which they ought to have known. I deplore Miss +Polly's false step. That she should have married a runaway shopman, +turned stroller, I truly lament. But for what better husband was she +qualified? For the wife of a farmer she was too idle; for the wife +of a tradesman she was too expensive; for the wife of a gentleman +she was too ignorant. You yourself was most to blame. You expected +her to act wisely, though you never taught her that _fear of God +which is the beginning of wisdom_. I owe it to you, as a friend, and +to myself as a Christian, to declare, that your practices in the +common transactions of life, as well as your present misfortune, are +almost the natural consequences of those false principles which I +protested against when you were at my house."[12] + + [12] See Part II. + +Mrs. Bragwell attempted several times to interrupt Mr. Worthy, but +her husband would not permit it. He felt the force of all his friend +said, and encouraged him to proceed. Mr. Worthy thus went on: "It +grieves me to say how much your own indiscretion has contributed +even to bring on your present misfortune. You gave your countenance +to this very company of strollers, though you knew they were acting +in defiance of the laws of the land, to say no worse. They go from +town to town, and from barn to barn, stripping the poor of their +money, the young of their innocence, and all of their time. Do you +remember with how much pride you told me that you had bespoke _The +Bold Stroke for a Wife_, for the benefit of this very Mr. Frederic +Theodosius? To this pernicious ribaldry you not only carried your +own family, but wasted I know not how much money in treating your +workmen's wives and children, in these hard times, too, when they +have scarcely bread to eat, or a shoe on their feet; and all this +only that you might have the absurd pleasure of seeing those +flattering words, _By desire of Mr. Bragwell_, stuck up in print at +the public house, on the blacksmith's shed, at the turnpike-gate, +and on the barn-door." + +Mr. Bragwell acknowledged that his friend's rebuke was too just, and +he looked so very contrite as to raise the pity of Mr. Worthy, who, +in a mild voice, thus went on: "What I have said is not so much to +reproach you with the ruin of one daughter, as from a desire to save +the other. Let Miss Betsy go home with me. I do not undertake to be +her jailor, but I will be her friend. She will find in my daughters +kind companions, and in my wife a prudent guide. I know she will +dislike us at first, but I do not despair in time of convincing her +that a sober, humble, useful, pious life, is as necessary to make us +happy on earth, as it is to fit us for heaven." + +Poor Miss Betsy, though she declared it would be _frightful dull_, +and _monstrous vulgar_, and _dismal melancholy_, yet was she so +terrified at the discontent and grumbling which she would have to +endure at home, that she sullenly consented. She had none of that +filial tenderness which led her to wish to stay and sooth and +comfort her afflicted father. All she thought about was to get out +of the way of her mother's ill humor, and to carry so much of her +finery with her as to fill the Misses Worthy with envy and respect. +Poor girl! she did not know that envy was a feeling they never +indulged; and that fine clothes were the last thing to draw their +respect. + +Mr. Worthy took her home next day. When they reached his house they +found there young Wilson, Miss Betsy's old admirer. She was much +pleased at this, and resolved to treat him well. But her good or ill +treatment now signified but little. This young grazier reverenced +Mr. Worthy's character, and ever since he had met him at the Lion, +had been thinking what a happiness it would be to marry a young +woman bred up by such a father. He had heard much of the modesty and +discretion of both the daughters, but his inclination now determined +him in favor of the elder. + +Mr. Worthy, who knew him to be a young man of good sense and sound +principles, allowed him to become a visitor at his house, but +deferred his consent to the marriage till he knew him more +thoroughly. Mr. Wilson, from what he saw of the domestic piety of +this family, improved daily, both in the knowledge and practice of +religion; and Mr. Worthy soon formed him into a most valuable +character. During this time Miss Bragwell's hopes had revived: but +though she appeared in a new dress almost every day, she had the +mortification of being beheld with great indifference by one whom +she had always secretly liked. Mr. Wilson married before her face a +girl who was greatly her inferior in fortune, person, and +appearance; but who was humble, frugal, meek, and pious. Miss +Bragwell now strongly felt the truth of what Mr. Wilson had once +told her, that a woman may make an excellent partner for a dance who +would make a very bad companion for life. + +Hitherto Mr. Bragwell and his daughters had only learned to regret +their folly and vanity, as it had produced them mortification in +this life; whether they were ever brought to a more serious sense of +their errors may be seen in a future part of this history. + + +PART VI. + +GOOD RESOLUTIONS. + +Mr. Bragwell was so much afflicted at the disgraceful marriage of +his daughter, who ran off with Timothy Incle, the strolling player, +that he never fully recovered his spirits. His cheerfulness, which +had arisen from a high opinion of himself, had been confirmed by a +constant flow of uninterrupted success; and that is a sort of +cheerfulness which is very liable to be impaired, because it lies at +the mercy of every accident and cross event in life. But though his +pride was now disappointed, his misfortunes had not taught him any +humility, because he had not discovered that they were caused by his +own fault; nor had he acquired any patience or submission, because +he had not learned that all afflictions come from the hand of God, +to awaken us to a deep sense of our sins, and to draw off our +hearts from the perishing vanities of this life. Besides, Mr. +Bragwell was one of those people who, if they would be thought to +bear with tolerable submission such trials as appear to be sent more +immediately from Providence, yet think they have a sort of right to +rebel at every misfortune which befalls them through the fault of a +fellow-creature; as if our fellow-creatures were not the agents and +instruments by which Providence often sees fit to try or to punish +us. + +In answer to his heavy complaints, Mr. Worthy wrote him a letter in +which he expatiated on the injustice of our impatience, and on the +folly of our vindicating ourselves from guilt in the distinctions we +make between those trials which seem to come more immediately from +God, and those which proceed directly from the faults of our +fellow-creatures. "Sickness, losses, and death, we think," continued +he, "we dare not openly rebel against; while we fancy we are quite +justified in giving loose to our violence when we suffer by the hand +of the oppressor, the unkindness of the friend, or the disobedience +of the child. But this is one of the delusions of our blinded +hearts. Ingratitude, unkindness, calumny, are permitted to assail us +by the same power who cuts off 'the desire of our eyes at a stroke.' +The friend who betrays us, and the daughter who deceives us, are +instruments for our chastisement, sent by the same purifying hand +who orders a fit of sickness to weaken our bodies, or a storm to +destroy our crop, or a fire to burn down our house. And we must look +for the same remedy in the one case as in the other; I mean prayer +and a deep submission to the will of God. We must leave off looking +at second causes, and look more at Him who sets them in action. We +must try to find out the meaning of the Providence, and hardly dare +pray to be delivered from it till it has accomplished in us the end +for which it was sent." + +His imprudent daughter Bragwell would not be brought to see or +forgive, nor was the degrading name of Mrs. Incle ever allowed to be +pronounced in his hearing. He had loved her with an excessive and +undue affection, and while she gratified his vanity by her beauty +and finery, he deemed her faults of little consequence; but when she +disappointed his ambition by a disgraceful marriage, all his natural +affection only served to increase his resentment. Yet, though he +regretted her crime less than his own mortification, he never ceased +in secret to lament her loss. She soon found out she was undone, and +wrote in a strain of bitter repentance to ask him for forgiveness. +She owned that her husband, whom she had supposed to be a man of +fashion in disguise, was a low person in distressed circumstances. +She implored that her father, though he refused to give her husband +that fortune for which alone it was now too plain he married her, +would at least allow her some subsistence; for that Mr. Incle was +much in debt, and, she feared, in danger of a jail. + +The father's heart was half melted at this account, and his +affection was for a time awakened; but Mrs. Bragwell opposed his +sending her any assistance. She always made it a point of duty never +to forgive; for, she said, it only encouraged those who had done +wrong once to do worse next time. For her part she had never yet +been guilty of so mean and pitiful a weakness as to forgive any one; +for to pardon an injury always showed either want of spirit to feel +it, or want of power to resent it. She was resolved she would never +squander the money for which she worked early and late, on a baggage +who had thrown herself away on a beggar, while she had a daughter +single, who might yet raise her family by a great match. I am sorry +to say that Mrs. Bragwell's anger was not owing to the undutifulness +of the daughter, or the worthlessness of the husband; poverty was +in her eyes the grand crime. The doctrine of forgiveness, as a +religious principle, made no more a part of Mr. Bragwell's system +than of his wife's; but in natural feeling, particularly for this +offending daughter, he much exceeded her. + +In a few months the youngest Miss Bragwell desired leave to return +home from Mr. Worthy's. She had, indeed, only consented to go +thither as a less evil of the two, than staying in her father's +house after her sister's elopement. But the sobriety and simplicity +of Mr. Worthy's family were irksome to her. Habits of vanity and +idleness were become so rooted in her mind, that any degree of +restraint was a burden; and though she was outwardly civil, it was +easy to see that she longed to get away. She resolved, however, to +profit by her sister's faults; and made her parents easy by assuring +them she would never throw herself away on a _man who was worth +nothing_. Encouraged by these promises, which her parents thought +included the whole sum and substance of human wisdom, and which was +all, they said, they could in reason expect, her father allowed her +to come home. + +Mr. Worthy, who accompanied her, found Mr. Bragwell gloomy and +dejected. As his house was no longer a scene of vanity and +festivity, Mr. Bragwell tried to make himself and his friend believe +that he was grown religious; whereas he was only become +discontented. As he had always fancied that piety was a melancholy, +gloomy thing, and as he felt his own mind really gloomy, he was +willing to think that he was growing pious. He had, indeed, gone +more constantly to church, and had taken less pleasure in feasting +and cards, and now and then read a chapter in the Bible; but all +this was because his spirits were low, and not because his heart was +changed. The outward actions were more regular, but the inward man +was the same. The forms of religion were resorted to as a painful +duty; but this only added to his misery, while he was utterly +ignorant of its spirit and power. He still, however, reserved +religion as a loathsome medicine, to which he feared he must have +recourse at last, and of which he even now considered every +abstinence from pleasure, or every exercise of piety as a bitter +dose. His health also was impaired, so that his friend found him in +a pitiable state, neither able to receive pleasure from the world, +which he so dearly loved, nor from religion, which he so greatly +feared. He expected to have been much commended by Mr. Worthy for +the change in his way of life; but Worthy, who saw that the +alteration was only owing to the loss of animal spirits, and to the +casual absence of temptation, was cautious of flattering him too +much. "I thought, Mr. Worthy," said he, "to have received some +comfort from you. I was told, too, that religion was full of +comfort, but I do not much find it." "You were told the truth," +replied Worthy; "religion is full of comfort, but you must first be +brought into a state fit to receive it before it can become so; you +must be brought to a deep and humbling sense of sin. To give you +comfort while you are puffed up with high thoughts of yourself, +would be to give you a strong cordial in a high fever. Religion +keeps back her cordials till the patient is lowered and +emptied--emptied of self, Mr. Bragwell. If you had a wound, it must +be examined and cleansed, ay, and probed too, before it would be +safe to put on a healing plaster. Curing it to the outward eye, +while it was corrupt at bottom, would only bring on a mortification, +and you would be a dead man, while you trusted that the plaster was +curing you. You must be, indeed, a Christian before you can be +entitled to the comforts of Christianity." + +"I am a Christian," said Mr. Bragwell; "many of my friends are +Christians, but I do not see as it has done us much good." +"Christianity itself," answered Worthy, "can not make us good, +unless it be applied to our hearts. Christian privileges will not +make us Christians, unless we make use of them. On that shelf I see +stands your medicine. The doctor orders you to take it. _Have_ you +taken it?" "Yes," replied Bragwell. "Are you the better for it?" +said Worthy. "I think I am," he replied. "But," added Mr. Worthy, +"are you the better because the doctor has ordered it merely, or +because you have also taken it?" "What a foolish question," cried +Bragwell; "why to be sure the doctor might be the best doctor, and +his physic the best physic in the world; but if it stood forever on +the shelf, I could not expect to be cured by it. My doctor is not a +mountebank. He does not pretend to cure by a charm. The physic is +good, and as it suits my case, though it is bitter, I take it." + +"You have now," said Mr. Worthy, "explained undesignedly the reason +why religion does so little good in the world. It is not a +mountebank; it does not work by a charm; but it offers to cure your +worst corruptions by wholesome, though sometimes bitter +prescriptions. But you will not take them; you will not apply to God +with the same earnest desire to be healed with which you apply to +your doctor; you will not confess your sins to one as honestly as +you tell your symptoms to the other, nor read your Bible with the +same faith and submission with which you take your medicine. In +reading it, however, you must take care not to apply to yourself the +comforts which are not suited to your case. You must, by the grace +of God, be brought into a condition to be entitled to the promises, +before you can expect the comfort of them. Conviction is not +conversion; that worldly discontent, which is the effect of worldly +disappointment, is not that _godly sorrow which worketh repentance_. +Besides, while you have been pursuing all the gratifications of the +world, do not complain that you have not all the comforts of +religion too. Could you live in the full enjoyment of both, the +_Bible would not be true_." + +_Bragwell._ Well, sir, but I do a good action sometimes; and God, +who knows he did not make us perfect, will accept it, and for the +sake of my good actions will forgive my faults. + +_Worthy._ Depend upon it, God will never forgive your sins for the +sake of your virtues. There is no commutation tax there. But he will +forgive them on your sincere repentance for the sake of Jesus +Christ. Goodness is not a single act to be done; so that a man can +say, I have achieved it, and the thing is over; but it is a habit +that is to be constantly maintained; it is a continual struggle with +the opposite vice. No man must reckon himself good for any thing he +has already done; though he may consider it as an evidence that he +is in the right way, if he feels a constant disposition to resist +every evil temper. But every Christian grace will always find work +enough; and he must not fancy that because he has conquered once, +his virtue may now sit down and take a holiday. + +_Bragwell._ But I thought we Christians need not be watchful against +sin; because Christ, as you so often tell me, died for sinners. + +_Worthy._ Do not deceive yourself: the evangelical doctrines, while +they so highly exalt a Saviour, do not diminish the heinousness of +sin, they rather magnify it. Do not comfort yourself by extenuation +or mitigation of sin; but by repentance toward God, and faith in our +Lord Jesus Christ. It is not by diminishing or denying your debt; +but by confessing it, by owning that you have nothing to pay, that +forgiveness is to be hoped. + +_Bragwell._ I don't understand you. You want to have me as good as a +saint, and as penitent as a sinner at the same time. + +_Worthy._ I expect of every real Christian, that is, every real +penitent, that he should labor to get his heart and life impressed +with the stamp of the gospel. I expect to see him aiming at a +conformity in spirit and in practice to the will of God in Jesus +Christ. I expect to see him gradually attaining toward the entire +change from his natural self. When I see a man at constant war with +those several pursuits and tempers which are with peculiar propriety +termed _worldly_, it is a plain proof to me that the change must +have passed on him which the gospel emphatically terms becoming "a +new man." + +_Bragwell._ I hope then I am altered enough to please you. I am sure +affliction has made such a change in me, that my best friends hardly +know me to be the same man. + +_Worthy._ That is not the change I mean. 'Tis true, from a merry man +you have become a gloomy man; but that is because you have been +disappointed in your schemes: the principle remains unaltered. A +great match for your single daughter would at once restore all the +spirits you have lost by the imprudence of your married one. The +change the gospel requires is of quite another cast: it is having "a +new heart and a right spirit;" it is being "God's workmanship;" it +is being "created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works;" it is +becoming "new creatures;" it is "old things being done away, and all +things made new;" it is by so "learning the truth as it is in +Jesus--to the putting off the old man, and putting on the new, which +after God is created in righteousness and true holiness;" it is by +"partaking of the divine nature." Pray observe, Mr. Bragwell, these +are not my words, nor words picked out of any fanatical book; they +are the words of that gospel you profess to believe; it is not a new +doctrine, it is as old as our religion itself. Though I can not but +observe, that men are more reluctant in believing, more averse to +adopting this doctrine than almost any other: and indeed I do not +wonder at it; for there is perhaps no one which so attacks +corruption in its strongholds; no one which so thoroughly prohibits +a lazy Christian from uniting a life of sinful indulgence with an +outward profession of piety. + +Bragwell now seemed resolved to set about the matter in earnest; but +he resolved in his own strength: he never thought of applying for +assistance to the Fountain of Wisdom; to Him who giveth might to +them who have no strength. Unluckily the very day Mr. Worthy took +leave, there happened to be a grand ball at the next town, on +account of the assizes. An assize-ball, courteous reader! is a scene +to which gentlemen and ladies periodically resort to celebrate the +crimes and calamities of their fellow-creatures, by dancing and +music, and to divert themselves with feasting and drinking, while +unhappy wretches are receiving sentence of death. + +To this ball Miss Bragwell went, dressed out with a double portion +of finery, pouring out on her head, in addition to her own +ornaments, the whole band-box of feathers, beads, and flowers, her +sister had left behind her. While she was at the ball her father +formed many plans of religious reformation; he talked of lessening +his business, that he might have more leisure for devotion; though +not _just now_, while the markets were so high; and then he began to +think of sending a handsome subscription to the Infirmary; though, +on second thoughts he concluded that he needed not be in a _hurry_, +but might as well leave it in his will; though to _give_, and +_repent_, and _reform_, were three things he was bent upon. But when +his daughter came home at night so happy and so fine! and telling +how she had danced with Squire Squeeze, the great corn contractor, +and how many fine things he had said to her, Mr. Bragwell felt the +old spirit of the world return in its full force. A marriage with +Mr. Dashall Squeeze, the contractor, was beyond his hopes; for Mr. +Squeeze was supposed from a very low beginning to have got rich +during the war. + +As for Mr. Squeeze, he had picked up as much of the history of his +partner between the dances as he desired; he was convinced there +would be no money wanting; for Miss Bragwell, who was now looked on +as an only child, must needs be a great fortune, and Mr. Squeeze was +too much used to advantageous contracts to let this slip. As he was +gaudily dressed, and possessed all the arts of vulgar flattery, Miss +Bragwell eagerly caught at his proposal to wait on her father next +day. Squeeze was quite a man after Bragwell's own heart, a genius at +getting money, a fine dashing fellow at spending it. He told his +wife that this was the very sort of man for his daughter; for he got +money like a Jew and spent it like a prince; but whether it was +fairly got or wisely spent, he was too much a man of the world to +inquire. Mrs. Bragwell was not so run away with by appearances but +that she desired her husband to be careful, and make himself quite +sure it was the right Mr. Squeeze, and no impostor. But being +assured by her husband that Betsy would certainly keep her carriage, +she never gave herself one thought with what sort of a man she was +to ride in it. To have one of her daughters drive in her own coach, +filled up all her ideas of human happiness, and drove the other +daughter quite out of her head. The marriage was celebrated with +great splendor, and Mr. and Mrs. Squeeze set off for London, where +they had taken a house. + +Mr. Bragwell now tried to forget that he had any other daughter; and +if some thoughts of the resolutions he had made of entering on a +more religious course would sometimes force themselves upon him, +they were put off, like the repentance of Felix, _to a more +convenient season_; and finding he was likely to have a grandchild, +he became more worldly and more ambitious than ever; thinking this +a just pretense for adding house to house, and field to field. And +there is no stratagem by which men more fatally deceive themselves, +than when they make even unborn children a pretense for that rapine, +or that hoarding, of which their own covetousness is the true +motive. Whenever he ventured to write to Mr. Worthy about the +wealth, the gayety, and the grandeur of Mr. and Mrs. Squeeze, that +faithful friend honestly reminded him of the vanity and uncertainty +of worldly greatness, and the error he had been guilty of in +marrying his daughter before he had taken time to inquire into the +real character of the man, saying, that he could not help foreboding +that the happiness of a match made at a ball might have an untimely +end. + +Notwithstanding Mr. Bragwell had paid down a larger fortune than was +prudent, for fear Mr. Squeeze should fly off, yet he was surprised +to receive very soon a pressing letter from him, desiring him to +advance a considerable sum, as he had the offer of an advantageous +purchase, which he must lose for want of money. Bragwell was +staggered, and refused to comply; but his wife told him he must not +be shabby to such a gentleman as Squire Squeeze; for that she heard +on all sides such accounts of their grandeur, their feasts, their +carriages, and their liveries, that she and her husband ought even +to deny themselves comforts to oblige such a generous son, who did +all this in honor of their daughter; besides, if he did not send the +money soon, they might be obliged to lay down their coach, and then +she would never be able to show her face again. At length Mr. +Bragwell lent him the money on his bond; he knew Squeeze's income +was large; for he had carefully inquired into this particular, and +for the rest he took his word. Mrs. Squeeze also got great presents +from her mother, by representing to her how expensively they were +forced to live to keep up their credit, and what honor she was +conferring on the family of the Bragwell's, by spending their money +in such grand company. Among many other letters she wrote her the +following: + + "TO MRS. BRAGWELL. + + "You can't imagine, dear, mother, how charmingly we live. I lie + a-bed almost all day, and am up all night; but it is never dark, + for all that, for we burn such numbers of candles all at once, + that the sun would be of no use at all in London. Then I am so + happy; for we are never quiet a moment, Sundays or working-days; + nay, I should not know which was which, only that we have most + pleasure on a Sunday; because it is the only day on which people + have nothing to do but to divert themselves. Then the great + folks are all so kind, and so good; they have not a bit of + pride, for they will come and eat and drink, and win my money, + just as if I was their equal; and if I have got but a cold, they + are so very unhappy that they send to know how I do; and though + I suppose they can't rest till the footman has told them, yet + they are so polite, that if I have been dying they seem to have + forgotten it the next time we meet, and not to know but they + have seen me the day before. Oh! they are true friends; and for + ever smiling, and so fond of one another, that they like to meet + and enjoy one another's company by hundreds, and always think + the more the merrier. I shall never be tired of such a + delightful life. + + "Your dutiful daughter, + "BETSY SQUEEZE." + +The style of her letters, however, altered in a few months. She +owned that though things went on gayer and grander than ever, yet +she hardly ever saw her husband, except her house was full of +company, and cards or dancing was going on; that he was often so +busy abroad he could not come home all night; that he always +borrowed the money her mother sent her when he was going out on this +nightly business; and that the last time she had asked _him_ for +money he cursed and swore, and bid her apply to the old farmer and +his rib, who were made of money. This letter Mrs. Bragwell concealed +from her husband. + +At length, on some change in public affairs, Mr. Squeeze, who had +made an overcharge of some thousand pounds in one article, lost his +contract; he was found to owe a large debt to government, and his +accounts must be made up immediately. This was impossible; he had +not only spent his large income, without making any provision for +his family, but had contracted heavy debts by gaming and other +vices. His creditors poured in upon him. He wrote to Bragwell to +borrow another sum; but without hinting at the loss of his contract. +These repeated demands made Bragwell so uneasy, that instead of +sending him the money, he resolved to go himself secretly to London, +and judge by his own eyes how things were going on, as his mind +strangely misgave him. He got to Mr. Squeeze's house about eleven at +night, and knocked gently, concluding that they must be gone to bed. +But what was his astonishment to find the hall was full of men; he +pushed through in spite of them, though to his great surprise they +insisted on knowing his name, saying they must carry it to their +lady. This affronted him; he refused, saying, "It is not because I +am ashamed of my name, it will pass for thousands in any market in +the west of England. Is this your London manners, not to let a man +of my credit in without knowing his name indeed!" What was his +amazement to see every room as full of card-tables and of fine +gentlemen and ladies as it would hold. All was so light, and so gay, +and so festive, and so grand, that he reproached himself for his +suspicions, thought nothing too good for them, and resolved secretly +to give Squeeze another five hundred pounds to help to keep up so +much grandeur and happiness. At length seeing a footman he knew, he +asked him where were his master and mistress, for he could not pick +them out among the company; or rather his ideas became so confused +with the splendor of the scene, that he did not know whether they +were there or not. The man said, that his master had just sent for +his lady up stairs, and he believed that he was not well. Mr. +Bragwell said he would go up himself and look for his daughter, as +he could not speak so freely to her before all that company. + +He went up, knocked at the chamber door, and its not being opened, +made him push it with some violence. He heard a bustling noise +within, and again made a fruitless attempt to open the door. At this +the noise increased, and Mr. Bragwell was struck to the heart at the +sound of a pistol from within. He now kicked so violently against +the door that it burst open, when the first sight he saw was his +daughter falling to the ground in a fit, and Mr. Squeeze dying by a +shot from a pistol which was dropping out of his hand. Mr. Bragwell +was not the only person whom the sound of the pistol had alarmed. +The servants, the company, all heard it, and all ran up to the scene +of horror. Those who had the best of the game took care to bring up +their tricks in their hands, having had the prudence to leave the +very few who could be trusted, to watch the stakes, while those who +had the prospect of losing profiled by the confusion, and threw up +their cards. All was dismay and terror. Some ran for a surgeon, +others examined the dying man; some removed Mrs. Squeeze to her bed, +while poor Bragwell could neither see, nor hear, nor do any thing. +One of the company took up a letter which lay open upon the table, +and was addressed to him; they read it, hoping it might explain the +horrid mystery. It was as follows: + + "TO MR. BRAGWELL. + + "Sir--Fetch home your daughter; I have ruined her, myself, and + the child to which she every hour expects to be a mother. I have + lost my contracts. My debts are immense. You refuse me money; I + must die then; but I will die like a man of spirit. They wait to + take me to prison; I have two executions in my house; but I have + ten card-tables in it. I would die as I have lived. I invited + all this company, and have drank hard since dinner to get primed + for this dreadful deed. My wife refuses to write to you for + another thousand, and she must take the consequences. _Vanity_ + has been my ruin; it has caused all my crimes. Whoever is + resolved to live beyond his income is liable to every sin. He + can never say to himself, Thus far shalt thou go and no further. + Vanity led me to commit acts of rapine, that I might live in + splendor; vanity makes me commit self-murder, because I will not + live in poverty. The new philosophy says that death is an + eternal sleep; but the new philosophy lies. Do you take heed; it + is too late for me: the dreadful gulf yawns to swallow me; I + plunge into perdition: there is no repentance in the grave, no + hope in hell. + + "Yours, etc. + "DASHALL SQUEEZE." + +The dead body was removed, and Mr. Bragwell remaining almost without +speech or motion, the company began to think of retiring, much out +of humor at having their party so disagreeably broken up: they +comforted themselves however, that it was so _early_ (for it was now +scarcely twelve) they could finish their evening at another party or +two; so completely do habits of _pleasure_, as it is called, harden +the heart, and steel it not only against virtuous impressions, but +against natural feelings! Now it was, that those who had nightly +rioted at the expense of these wretched people, were the first to +abuse them. Not an offer of assistance was made to this poor forlorn +woman; not a word of kindness or of pity; nothing but censure was +now heard, "Why must these upstarts ape people of quality?" though +as long as these upstarts could feast them, their vulgarity and +their bad character had never been produced against them. "As long +as thou dost well unto thyself, men shall speak good of thee." One +guest who, unluckily, had no other house to go to, coolly said, as +he walked off, "Squeeze might as well have put off shooting himself +till morning. It was monstrously provoking that he could not wait an +hour or two." + +As every thing in the house was seized Mr. Bragwell prevailed on his +miserable daughter, weak as she was, next morning to set out with +him to the country. His acquaintance with polite life was short, but +he had seen a great deal in a little time. They had a slow and sad +journey. In about a week, Mrs. Squeeze lay-in of a dead child; she +herself languished a few days, and then died; and the afflicted +parents saw the two darling objects of their ambition, for whose +sakes they had made _too much haste to be rich_, carried to the land +where all things are forgotten. Mrs. Bragwell's grief, like her +other passions, was extravagant; and poor Bragwell's sorrow was +rendered so bitter by self-reproach, that he would have quite sunk +under it, had he not thought of his old expedient in distress, that +of sending for Mr. Worthy to comfort him. + +It was Mr. Worthy's way, to warn people of those misfortunes which +he saw their faults must needs bring on them; but not to reproach or +desert them when the misfortunes came. He had never been near +Bragwell during the short but flourishing reign of the Squeezes: for +he knew that prosperity made the ears deaf and the heart hard to +counsel; but as soon as he heard his friend was in trouble, he set +out to go to him. Bragwell burst into a violent fit of tears when he +saw him, and when he could speak, said, "This trial is more than I +can bear." Mr. Worthy kindly took him by the hand, and when he was a +little composed, said, "I will tell you a short story. There was in +ancient times a famous man who was a slave. His master, who was very +good to him, one day gave him a bitter melon, and made him eat it: +he ate it up without one word of complaint. 'How was it possible,' +said the master, 'for you to eat so very nauseous and disagreeable a +fruit?' The slave replied, 'My good master, I have received so many +favors from your bounty, that it is no wonder if I should once in my +life eat one bitter melon from your hands.' This generous answer so +struck the master, that the history says he gave him his liberty. +With such submissive sentiments, my friend, should man receive his +portion of sufferings from God, from whom he receives so many +blessings. You in particular have received 'much good at the hand of +God, shall you not receive evil also?'" + +"O! Mr. Worthy!" said Bragwell, "this blow is too heavy for me, I +can not survive this shock: I do not desire it, I only wish to die." +"We are very apt to talk most of dying when we are least fit for +it," said Worthy. "This is not the language of that submission which +makes us prepare for death; but of that despair which makes us out +of humor with life. O! Mr. Bragwell! you are indeed disappointed of +the grand ends which made life so delightful to you; but till your +heart is humbled, till you are brought to a serious conviction of +sin, till you are brought to see what is the true end of life, you +can have no hope in death. You think you have no business on earth, +because those for whose sake you too eagerly heaped up riches are no +more. But is there not under the canopy of heaven some afflicted +being whom you may yet relieve, some modest merit which you may +bring forward, some helpless creature you may save by your advice, +some perishing Christian you may sustain by your wealth? When you +have no sins of your own to repent of, no mercies of God to be +thankful for, no miseries of others to relieve, then, and not till +then, I consent you should sink down in despair, and call on death +to relieve you." + +Mr. Worthy attended his afflicted friend to the funeral of his +unhappy daughter and her babe. The solemn service, the committing +his late gay and beautiful daughter to darkness, to worms, and to +corruption; the sight of the dead infant, for whose sake he had +resumed all his schemes of vanity and covetousness, when he thought +he had got the better of them; the melancholy conviction that all +human prosperity ends in _ashes to ashes, and dust to dust_, had +brought down Mr. Bragwell's self-sufficient and haughty soul into +something of that humble frame in which Mr. Worthy had wished to see +it. As soon as they returned home, he was beginning to seize the +favorable moment for fixing these serious impressions, when they +were unseasonably interrupted by the parish officer, who came to ask +Mr. Bragwell what he was to do with a poor dying woman who was +traveling the country with her child, and was taken in a fit under +the church-yard wall? "At first they thought she was dead," said the +man, "but finding she still breathed, they have carried her into the +work-house till she could give some account of herself." + +Mr. Bragwell was impatient at the interruption, which was, indeed, +unseasonable, and told the man that he was at that time too much +overcome by sorrow to attend to business, but he would give him an +answer to-morrow. "But, my friend," said Mr. Worthy, "the poor woman +may die to-night; your mind is indeed not in a frame for worldly +business; but there is no sorrow too great to forbid our attending +the calls of duty. An act of Christian charity will not disturb, but +improve the seriousness of your spirit; and though you can not dry +your own tears, God may in great mercy permit you to dry those of +another. This may be one of those occasions for which I told you +life was worth keeping. Do let us see this woman." Bragwell was not +in a state either to consent or refuse, and his friend drew him to +the work-house, about the door of which stood a crowd of people. +"She is not dead," said one, "she moves her head." "But she wants +air," said all of them, while they all, according to custom, pushed +so close upon her that it was impossible she could get any. A fine +boy of two or three years old stood by her, crying, "Mammy is dead, +mammy is starved." Mr. Worthy made up to the poor woman, holding his +friend by the arm; in order to give her air he untied a large black +bonnet which hid her face, when Mr. Bragwell, at that moment casting +his eyes on her saw in this poor stranger the face of his own +runaway daughter, Mrs. Incle. He groaned, but could not speak; and +as he was turning away to conceal his anguish, the little boy fondly +caught hold of his hand, lisping out, "O stay and give mammy some +bread." His heart yearned toward the child; he grasped his little +hand in his, while he sorrowfully said to Mr. Worthy, "It is too +much, send away the people. It is my dear naughty child; '_my +punishment is greater than I can bear_.'" Mr. Worthy desired the +people to go and leave the stranger to them; but by this time she +was no stranger to any of them. Pale and meager as was her face, and +poor and shabby as was her dress, the proud and flaunting Miss Polly +Bragwell was easily known by every one present. They went away, but +with the mean revenge of little minds, they paid themselves by +abuse, for all the airs and insolence they had once endured from +her. "Pride must have a fall," said one, "I remember when she was +too good to speak to a poor body," said another. "Where are her +flounces and furbelows now? It is come home to her at last; her +child looks as if he would be glad of the worst bit she formerly +denied us." + +In the mean time Mr. Bragwell had sunk into an old wicker chair +which stood behind, and groaned out, "Lord, forgive my hard heart! +Lord, subdue my proud heart; _create a clean heart, O God! and renew +a right spirit within me_." These were perhaps the first words of +genuine prayer he had ever offered up in his whole life. Worthy +overheard it, and in his heart rejoiced; but this was not a time for +talking, but doing. He asked Bragwell what was to be done with the +unfortunate woman, who now seemed to recover fast, but she did not +see them, for they were behind. She embraced her boy, and faintly +said, "My child, what shall we do? _I will arise and go to my +father, and say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and +before thee._" This was a joyful sound to Mr. Worthy, who was +inclined to hope that her heart might be as much changed for the +better as her circumstances were altered for the worse; and he +valued the goods of fortune so little, and contrition of soul so +much, that he began to think the change on the whole might be a +happy one. The boy then sprung from his mother, and ran to Bragwell, +saying, "Do be good to mammy." Mrs. Incle looking round, now +perceived her father; she fell at his feet, saying, "O forgive your +guilty child, and save your innocent one from starving." Bragwell +sunk down by her, and prayed God to forgive both her and himself, in +terms of genuine sorrow. To hear words of real penitence and +heart-felt prayer from this once high-minded father and vain +daughter, was music to Worthy's ears, who thought this moment of +outward misery was the only joyful one he had ever spent in the +Bragwell family. + +He was resolved not to interfere, but to let the father's own +feelings work out the way into which he was to act. + +Bragwell said nothing, but slowly led to his own house, holding the +little boy by the hand, and pointing to Worthy to assist the feeble +steps of his daughter, who once more entered her father's doors; but +the dread of seeing her mother quite overpowered her. Mrs. Bragwells +heart was not changed, but sorrow had weakened her powers of +resistance; and she rather suffered her daughter to come in, than +gave her a kind reception. She was more astonished than pleased; and +even in this trying moment, was more disgusted with the little boy's +mean clothes, than delighted with his rosy face. As soon as she was +a little recovered, Mr. Bragwell desired his daughter to tell him +how she happened to be at that place at that time. + +In a weak voice she began: "My tale, sir, is short, but mournful." +Now, I am very sorry that my readers must wait for this short, but +mournful tale, a little longer. + + +PART VII. + +MRS. INCLE'S STORY. + +"I left your house, dear father," said Mrs. Incle, "with a heart +full of vain triumph. I had no doubt but my husband was a great man, +who put on that disguise to obtain my hand. Judge, then, what I felt +to find that he was a needy impostor, who wanted my money, but did +not care for me. This discovery, though it mortified, did not +humble me. I had neither affection to bear with the man who had +deceived me, nor religion to improve by the disappointment. I have +found that change of circumstances does not change the heart, till +God is pleased to do it. My misfortune only taught me to rebel more +against him. I thought God unjust; I accused my father, I was +envious of my sister, I hated my husband; but never once did I blame +myself. + +"My husband picked up a wretched subsistence by joining himself to +any low scheme of idle pleasure that was going on. He would follow a +mountebank, carry a dice-box, or fiddle at the fair. He was always +taunting me for that gentility on which I so much valued myself. 'If +I had married a poor working girl,' said he, 'she could now have got +her bread; but a fine lady without money is a disgrace to herself, a +burden to her husband, and a plague to society.' Every trial which +affection might have made lighter, we doubled by animosity; at +length my husband was detected in using false dice; he fought with +his accuser, both were seized by a press-gang, and sent to sea. I +was now left to the wide world; and miserable as I had thought +myself before, I soon found there were higher degrees of misery. I +was near my time, without bread for myself, or hope for my child. I +set out on foot in search of the village where I had heard my +husband say his friends lived. It was a severe trial to my proud +heart to stoop to those low people; but hunger is not delicate, and +I was near perishing. My husband's parents received me kindly, +saying, that though they had nothing but what they earned by their +labor, yet I was welcome to share their hard fare; for they trusted +that God who sent mouths would send meat also. They gave me a small +room in their cottage, and furnished me with many necessaries, which +they denied themselves." + +"O! my child!" interrupted Bragwell, "every word cuts me to the +heart. These poor people gladly gave thee of their little, while thy +rich parents left thee to starve." + +"How shall I own," continued Mrs. Incle, "that all this goodness +could not soften my heart; for God had not yet touched it. I +received all their kindness as a favor done to them; and thought +them sufficiently rewarded for their attentions by the rank and +merit of their daughter-in-law. When my father brought me home any +little dainty which he could pick up, and my mother kindly dressed +it for me, I would not condescend to eat it with them, but devoured +it sullenly in my little garret alone, suffering them to fetch and +carry every thing I wanted. As my haughty behavior was not likely to +gain their affection, it was plain they did not love me; and as I +had no notion that there were any motives to good actions but +fondness, or self-interest, I was puzzled to know what could make +them so kind to me; for of the powerful and constraining law of +Christian charity I was quite ignorant. To cheat the weary hours, I +looked about for some books, and found, among a few others of the +same cast, 'Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul.' +But all those sort of books were addressed to _sinners_; now as I +knew I was not a sinner, I threw them away in disgust. Indeed, they +were ill suited to a taste formed by plays and novels, to which +reading I chiefly trace my ruin; for, vain as I was, I should never +have been guilty of so wild a step as to run away, had not my heart +been tainted and my imagination inflamed by those pernicious books. + +"At length my little George was born. This added to the burden I had +brought on this poor family, but it did not diminish their kindness, +and we continued to share their scanty fare without any upbraiding +on their part, or any gratitude on mine. Even this poor baby did not +soften my heart; I wept over him, indeed, day and night, but they +were tears of despair; I was always idle, and wasted those hours in +sinful murmurs at his fate, which I should have employed in trying +to maintain him. Hardship, grief, and impatience, at length brought +on a fever. Death seemed now at hand, and I felt a gloomy +satisfaction in the thought of being rid of my miseries, to which I +fear was added a sullen joy, to think that you, sir, and my mother, +would be plagued to hear of my death when it would be too late; and +in this your grief I anticipated a gloomy sort of revenge. But it +pleased my merciful God not to let me thus perish in my sins. My +poor mother-in-law sent for a good clergyman, who pointed out the +danger of dying in that hard and unconverted state, so forcibly, +that I shuddered to find on what a dreadful precipice I stood. He +prayed with me and for me so earnestly, that at length God, who is +sometimes pleased to magnify his own glory in awakening those who +are dead in trespasses and sins, was pleased of his free grace, to +open my blind eyes, and soften my stony heart. I saw myself a +sinner, and prayed to be delivered from the wrath of God, in +comparison of which the poverty and disgrace I now suffered appeared +as nothing. To a soul convinced of sin, the news of a Redeemer was a +joyful sound. Instead of reproaching Providence, or blaming my +parents, or abusing my husband, I now learned to condemn myself, to +adore that God who had not cut me off in my ignorance, to pray for +pardon for the past, and grace for the time to come. I now desired +to submit to penury and hunger, so that I might but live in the fear +of God in this world, and enjoy his favor in the next. I now learned +to compare my present light sufferings, the consequence of my own +sin, with those bitter sufferings of my Saviour, which he endured +for my sake, and I was ashamed of murmuring. But self-ignorance, +conceit, and vanity were so rooted in me, that my progress was very +gradual, and I had the sorrow to feel how much the power of long bad +habits keeps down the growth of religion in the heart, even after +the principle itself has begun to take root. I was so ignorant of +divine things, that I hardly knew words to frame a prayer; but when +I got acquainted with the Psalms, I there learned how to pour out +the fullness of my heart, while in the gospel I rejoiced to see what +great things God had done for my soul. + +"I now took down once more from the shelf 'Doddridge's Rise and +Progress;' and oh! with what new eyes did I read it! I now saw +clearly, that not only the thief and the drunkard, the murderer and +the adulterer are sinners, for that I knew before! but I found out +that the unbeliever, the selfish, the proud, the worldly-minded, +all, in short, who live without God in the world, are sinners. I +did not now apply the reproofs I met with to my husband, or my +father, or other people, as I used to do; but brought them home to +myself. In this book I traced, with strong emotions and close +self-application, the sinner through all his course; his first +awakening, his convictions, repentance, joys, sorrows, backsliding, +and recovering, despondency, and delight, to a triumphant +death-bed; and God was pleased to make it a chief instrument in +bringing me to himself. Here it is," continued Mrs. Incle, untying +her little bundle, and taking out a book; "accept it, my dear +father, and I will pray that God may bless it to you, as He has +done to me. + +"When I was able to come down, I passed my time with these good old +people, and soon won their affection. I was surprised to find they +had very good sense, which I never had thought poor people could +have; but, indeed, worldly persons do not know how much religion, +while it mends the heart, enlightens the understanding also. I now +regretted the evenings I had wasted in my solitary garret, when I +might have passed them in reading the Bible with these good folks. +This was their refreshing cordial after a weary day, which sweetened +the pains of want and age. I one day expressed my surprise that my +unfortunate husband, the son of such pious parents, should have +turned out so ill: the poor old man said with tears, 'I fear we have +been guilty of the sin of Eli; our love was of the wrong sort. Alas! +like him, _we honored our son more than God_, and God has smitten us +for it. We showed him by our example, what was right; but through a +false indulgence, we did not correct him for what was wrong. We were +blind to his faults. He was a handsome boy, with sprightly parts: we +took too much delight in these outward things. He soon got above our +management, and became vain, idle, and extravagant; and when we +sought to restrain him, it was then too late. We humbled ourselves +before God; but he was pleased to make our sin become its own +punishment. Timothy grew worse and worse, till he was forced to +abscond for a misdemeanor, after which we never saw him, but have +often heard of him changing from one idle way of life to another; +_unstable as water_, he has been a footman, a soldier, a shopman, a +gambler, and a strolling actor. With deep sorrow we trace back his +vices to our ungoverned fondness; that lively and sharp wit, by +which he has been able to carry on such a variety of wild schemes, +might, if we had used him to bear reproof in his youth, have enabled +him to have done great service for God and his country. But our +flattery made him wise in his own conceit; and there is more hope of +a fool than of him. We indulged our own vanity, and have destroyed +his soul.'" + +Here Mr. Worthy stopped Mrs. Incle, saying, that whenever he heard +it lamented that the children of pious parents often turned out so +ill, he could not help thinking that there must be frequently +something of this sort of error in the bringing them up; he knew, +indeed, some instances to the contrary, in which the best means had +failed; but he believed, that from Eli, the priest, to Incle, the +laborer, much more than half the failures of this sort might be +traced to some mistake, or vanity, or bad judgment, or sinful +indulgence in the parents. + +"I now looked about," continued Mrs. Incle, "in order to see in what +I could assist my poor mother; regretting more heartily than she +did, that I knew no one thing that was of any use. I was so desirous +of humbling myself before God and her, that I offered even to try to +wash." "You wash!" exclaimed Bragwell, starting up with great +emotion, "Heaven forbid, that with such a fortune and education, +Miss Bragwell should be seen at a washing-tub." This vain father, +who could bear to hear of her distresses and her sins, could not +bear to hear of her washing. Mr. Worthy stopped him, saying, "As to +her fortune, you know you refused to give her any; and as to her +education, you see it had not taught her how to do any thing better; +I am sorry you do not see in this instance, the beauty of Christian +humility. For my own part I set a greater value on such an active +proof of it, than on a whole volume of professions." Mr. Bragwell +did not quite understand this, and Mrs. Incle went on. "What to do +to get a penny I knew not. Making of filagree, or fringe, or +card-purses, or cutting out paper, or dancing and singing was of no +use in our village. The shopkeeper, indeed, would have taken me, if +I had known any thing of accounts; and the clergyman could have got +me a nursery-maid's place, if I could have done good plain work. I +made some awkward attempts to learn to spin and knit, when my +mother's wheel or knitting lay by, but I spoiled both through my +ignorance. At last I luckily thought upon the fine netting I used +to make for my trimmings, and it struck me that I might turn this to +some little account. I procured some twine, and worked early and +late to make nets for fishermen, and cabbage-nets. I was so pleased +that I had at last found an opportunity to show my good will by this +mean work, that I regretted my little George was not big enough to +contribute his share to our support, by traveling about to sell my +nets." + +"Cabbage-nets!" exclaimed Bragwell; "there's no bearing this. +Cabbage-nets! My grandson hawk cabbage-nets! How could you think of +such a scandalous thing?" "Sir," said Mrs. Incle, mildly, "I am now +convinced that nothing is scandalous which is not wicked. Besides, +we were in want; and necessity, as well as piety, would have +reconciled me to this mean trade." Mr. Bragwell groaned, and bade +her go on. + +"In the mean time my little George grew a fine boy; and I adored the +goodness of God who in the sweetness of maternal love, had given me +a reward for many sufferings. Instead of indulging a gloomy distrust +about the fate of this child, I now resigned him to the will of God. +Instead of lamenting because he was not likely to be rich, I was +resolved to bring him up with such notions as might make him +contented to be poor. I thought if I could subdue all vanity and +selfishness in him, I should make him a happier man than if I had +thousands to bestow on him; and I trusted that I should be rewarded +for every painful act of self-denial, by the future virtue and +happiness of my child. Can you believe it, my dear father, my days +now passed not unhappily? I worked hard all day, and that alone is a +source of happiness beyond what the idle can guess. After my child +was asleep at night, I read a chapter in the Bible to my parents, +whose eyes now began to fail them. We then thanked God over our +frugal supper of potatoes, and talked over the holy men of old, the +saints, and the martyrs who would have thought our homely fare a +luxury. We compared our peace, and liberty, and safety, with their +bonds, and imprisonment, and tortures; and should have been ashamed +of a murmur. We then joined in prayer, in which my absent parents +and my husband were never forgotten, and went to rest in charity +with the whole world, and at peace with our own souls." + +"Oh! my forgiving child!" interrupted Mr. Bragwell, sobbing; "and +didst thou really pray for thy unnatural father? and didst thou lay +thee down in rest and peace? Then, let me tell thee, thou wast +better off than thy mother and I were. But no more of this; go on." + +"Whether my father-in-law had worked beyond his strength, in order +to support me and my child, I know not, but he was taken dangerously +ill. While he lay in this state, he received an account that my +husband was dead in the West Indies of the yellow fever, which has +carried off such numbers of our countrymen; we all wept together, +and prayed that his awful death might quicken us in preparing for +our own. This shock joined to the fatigue of nursing her sick +husband, soon brought my poor mother to death's door. I nursed them +both, and felt a satisfaction in giving them all I had to bestow, my +attendance, my tears, and my prayers. I, who was once so nice and so +proud, so disdainful in the midst of plenty, and so impatient under +the smallest inconvenience, was now enabled to glorify God by my +activity and by my submission. Though the sorrows of my heart were +enlarged, I cast my burden on Him who cares for the weary and +heavy-laden. After having watched by these poor people the whole +night, I sat down to breakfast on my dry crust and coarse dish of +tea, without a murmur: my greatest grief was, lest I should bring +away the infection to my dear boy; for the fever was now become +putrid. I prayed to know what it was my duty to do between my dying +parents and my helpless child. To take care of the sick and aged, +seemed to be my first duty; so I offered up my child to Him who is +the father of the fatherless, and He in mercy spared him to me. + +"The cheerful piety with which these good people breathed their +last, proved to me that the temper of mind with which the pious poor +commonly meet death, is the grand compensation made them by +Providence for all the hardships of their inferior condition. If +they have had few joys and comforts in life already, and have still +fewer hopes in store, is not all fully made up to them by their +being enabled to leave this world with stronger desires of heaven, +and without those bitter regrets after the good things of this life, +which add to the dying tortures of the worldly rich? To the forlorn +and destitute, death is not so terrible as it is to him who _sits at +ease in his possessions_, and who fears that this night his soul +shall be required of him." + +Mr. Bragwell felt this remark more deeply than his daughter meant he +should. He wept, and bade her proceed. + +"I followed my departed parents to the same grave, and wept over +them, but not as one who had no hope. They had neither houses nor +lands to leave me, but they had left me their Bible, their blessing, +and their example, of which I humbly trust I shall feel the benefits +when all the riches of this world shall have an end. Their few +effects, consisting of some poor household goods, and some +working-tools, hardly sufficed to pay their funeral expenses. I was +soon attacked with the same fever, and saw myself, as I thought, +dying the second time; my danger was the same, but my views were +changed. I now saw eternity in a more awful light than I had done +before, when I wickedly thought death might be gloomily called upon +as a refuge from every common trouble. Though I had still reason to +be humble on account of my sin, yet, by the grace of God, I saw +death stripped of his sting and robbed of his terrors, _through him +who loved me, and gave himself for me_; and in the extremity of +pain, _my soul rejoiced in God my Saviour_. + +"I recovered, however, and was chiefly supported by the kind +clergyman's charity. When I felt myself nourished and cheered by a +little tea or broth, which he daily sent me from his own slender +provision, my heart smote me, to think how I had daily sat down at +home to a plentiful dinner, without any sense of thankfulness for my +own abundance, or without inquiring whether my poor sick neighbors +were starving: and I sorrowfully remembered, that what my poor +sister and I used to waste through daintiness, would now have +comfortably fed myself and child. Believe me, my dear mother, a +laboring man who has been brought low by a fever, might often be +restored to his work some weeks sooner, if on his recovery he was +nourished and strengthened by a good bit from a farmer's table. Less +than is often thrown to a favorite spaniel would suffice; so that +the expense would be almost nothing to the giver, while to the +receiver it would bring health, and strength, and comfort, and +recruited life. And it is with regret I must observe, that young +women in our station are less attentive to the comforts of the poor, +less active in visiting the cottages of the sick, less desirous of +instructing the young, and working for the aged, than many ladies of +higher rank. The multitude of opportunities of this sort which we +neglect, among the families of our father's distressed tenants and +workmen, will, I fear, one day appear against us. + +"By the time I was tolerably recovered, I was forced to leave the +house. I had no human prospect of assistance. I humbly asked of God +to direct my steps, and to give me entire obedience to his will. I +then cast my eye mournfully on my child; and, though prayer had +relieved my heart of a load which without it would have been +intolerable, my tears flowed fast, while I cried out in the +bitterness of my soul, _How many hired servants of my father have +bread enough, and to spare, and I perish with hunger._ This text +appeared a kind of answer to my prayer, and gave me courage to make +one more attempt to soften you in my favor. I resolved to set out +directly to find you, to confess my disobedience, and to beg a +scanty pittance with which I and my child might be meanly supported +in some distant county, where we should not, by our presence, +disgrace our more happy relations. We set out and traveled as fast +as my weak health and poor George's little feet and ragged shoes +would permit. I brought a little bundle of such work and necessaries +as I had left, by selling which we subsisted on the road." "I hope," +interrupted Bragwell, "there were no cabbage-nets in it?" "At +least," said her mother, "I hope you did not sell them near home?" +"No; I had none left," said Mrs. Incle, "or I should have done it. I +got many a lift in a wagon for my child and my bundle, which was a +great relief to me, as I should have had both to carry. And here I +can not help saying, I wish drivers would not be too hard in their +demands; if they help a poor sick traveler on a mile or two, it +proves a great relief to weary bodies and naked feet; and such +little cheap charities may be considered as _the cup of cold water_, +which, if given on right grounds, _shall not lose its reward_." Here +Bragwell sighed to think that when mounted on his fine bay mare, or +driving his neat chaise, it had never once crossed his mind that the +poor way-worn foot traveler was not equally at his ease, nor had it +ever occurred to him that shoes were a necessary accommodation. +Those who want nothing are apt to forget how many there are who want +every thing. Mrs. Incle went on; "I got to this village about seven +this morning; and while I sat on the church-yard wall to rest and +meditate how I should make myself known at home, I saw a funeral; I +inquired whose it was, and learned it was my sister's. This was too +much for me, and I sank down in a fit, and knew nothing that +happened to me from that moment, till I found myself in the +work-house with my father and Mr. Worthy." + +Here Mrs. Incle stopped. Grief, shame, pride, and remorse, had quite +overcome Mr. Bragwell. He wept like a child, and said he hoped his +daughter would pray for him; for that he was not in a condition to +pray for himself, though he found nothing else could give him any +comfort. His deep dejection brought on a fit of sickness. "O! said +he, I now begin to feel an expression in the sacrament which I used +to repeat without thinking it had any meaning, the _remembrance of +my sins is grievous, the burden of them is intolerable_. O! it is +awful to think what a sinner a man may be, and yet retain a decent +character! How many thousands are in my condition, taking to +themselves all the credit of their prosperity, instead of giving God +the glory! heaping up riches to their hurt, instead of dealing their +bread to the hungry! O! let those who hear of the Bragwell family, +never say that _vanity is a little sin_. In _me_ it has been the +fruitful parent of a thousand sins--selfishness, hardness of heart, +forgetfulness of God. In one of my sons vanity was the cause of +rapine, injustice, extravagance, ruin, self-murder. Both my +daughters were undone by vanity, thought it only wore the more +harmless shape of dress, idleness, and dissipation. The husband of +my daughter Incle it destroyed, by leading him to live above his +station, and to despise labor. Vanity insnared the souls even of +his pious parents, for while it led them to wish their son in a +better condition, it led them to allow such indulgences as were +unfit for his own. O! you who hear of us, humble yourselves under +the mighty hand of God; resist high thoughts; let every imagination +be brought into obedience to the Son of God. If you set a value on +finery look into that grave; behold the moldering body of my Betsy, +who now says to _Corruption, thou art my father, and to the worm, +thou art my mother, and my sister_. Look to the bloody and brainless +head of her husband. O, Mr. Worthy, how does Providence mock at +human foresight! I have been greedy of gain, that the son of Mr. +Squeeze might be a great man; he is dead; while the child of Timothy +Incle, whom I had doomed to beggary, will be my heir. Mr. Worthy, to +you I commit this boy's education; teach him to value his immortal +soul more, and the good things of this life less than I have done. +Bring him up in the fear of God, and in the government of his +passions. Teach him that unbelief and pride are at the root of all +sin. I have found this to my cost. I trusted in my riches; I said, +'To-morrow shall be as this day and more abundant.' I did not +remember that _for all these things God would bring me to judgment_. +I am not sure that I believe in a judgment: I am not sure that I +believe in a God." + +Bragwell at length grew better, but he never recovered his spirits. +The conduct of Mrs. Incle through life was that of an humble +Christian. She sold all her sister's finery which her father had +given her, and gave the money to the poor; saying, "It did not +become one who professed penitence to return to the gayeties of +life." Mr. Bragwell did not oppose this; not that he had fully +acquired a just notion of the self-denying spirit of religion, but +having a head not very clear at making distinctions, he was never +able after the sight of Squeeze's mangled body, to think of gayety +and grandeur, without thinking at the same time of a pistol and +bloody brains; for, as his first introduction into gay life had +presented him with all these objects at one view, he never afterward +could separate them in his mind. He even kept his fine beaufet of +plate always shut; because it brought to his mind the grand +unpaid-for sideboard that he had seen laid out for Mr. Squeeze's +supper, to the remembrance of which he could not help tacking the +idea of debts, prisons, executions, and self-murder. + +Mr. Bragwell's heart had been so buried in the love of the world, +and evil habits had become so rooted in him, that the progress he +made in religion was very slow; yet he earnestly prayed and +struggled against sin and vanity; and when his unfeeling wife +declared she could not love the boy unless he was called by their +name instead of Incle, Bragwell would never consent, saying he stood +in need of every help against pride. He also got the letter which +Squeeze wrote just before he shot himself, framed and glazed; this +he hung up in his chamber, and made it a rule to go and read it as +often as he found his heart disposed to VANITY. + + + + +'TIS ALL FOR THE BEST.[13] + + [13] A profligate wit of a neighboring country having attempted to + turn this doctrine into ridicule, under the same title here + assumed, it occurred to the author that it might not be altogether + useless to illustrate the same doctrine on Christian principles. + + +"It is all for the best," said Mrs. Simpson, whenever any misfortune +befell her. She had got such a habit of vindicating Providence, that +instead of weeping and wailing under the most trying dispensations, +her chief care was to convince herself and others, that however +great might be her sufferings, and however little they could be +accounted for at present, yet that the Judge of all the earth could +not but do right. Instead of trying to clear herself from any +possible blame that might attach to her under those misfortunes +which, to speak after the manner of men, she might seem not to have +_deserved_, she was always the first to justify Him who had +inflicted it. It was not that she superstitiously converted every +visitation into a _punishment_; she entertained more correct ideas +of that God who overrules all events. She knew that some calamities +were sent to exercise her faith, others to purify her heart; some to +chastise her rebellious will, and all to remind her that this "was +not her rest;" that this world was not the scene for the full and +final display of retributive justice. The honor of God was dearer to +her than her own credit, and her chief desire was to turn all events +to his glory. + +Though Mrs. Simpson was the daughter of a clergyman, and the widow +of a genteel tradesman, she had been reduced by a succession of +misfortunes, to accept of a room in an almshouse. Instead of +repining at the change; instead of dwelling on her former gentility, +and saying, "how handsomely she had lived once; and how hard it was +to be reduced; and she little thought ever to end her days in an +alms-house"--which is the common language of those who were never so +well off before--she was thankful that such an asylum was provided +for want and age; and blessed God that it was to the Christian +dispensation alone that such pious institutions owed their birth. + +One fine evening, as she was sitting reading her Bible on the little +bench shaded with honey-suckles, just before her door, who should +come and sit down by her but Mrs. Betty, who had formerly been +lady's maid at the nobleman's house in the village of which Mrs. +Simpson's father had been minister. Betty, after a life of vanity, +was, by a train of misfortunes, brought to this very alms-house; and +though she had taken no care by frugality and prudence to avoid it, +she thought it a hardship and disgrace, instead of being thankful, +as she ought to have been, for such a retreat. At first she did not +know Mrs. Simpson; her large bonnet, cloak, and brown stuff gown +(for she always made her appearance conform to her circumstances) +being very different from the dress she had been used to wear when +Mrs. Betty had seen her dining at the great house; and time and +sorrow had much altered her countenance. But when Mrs. Simpson +kindly addressed her as an old acquaintance, she screamed with +surprise. "What! you, madam?" cried she; "you in an alms-house, +living on charity; you, who used to be so charitable yourself, that +you never suffered any distress in the parish which you could +prevent?" "That may be one reason, Betty," replied Mrs. Simpson, +"why Providence has provided this refuge for my old age. And my +heart overflows with gratitude when I look back on his goodness." +"No such great goodness, methinks," said Betty; "why, you were born +and bred a lady, and are now reduced to live in an alms-house." +"Betty, I was born and bred a sinner, undeserving of the mercies I +have received." "No such great mercies," said Betty. "Why, I heard +you had been turned out of doors; that your husband had broke; and +that you had been in danger of starving, though I did not know what +was become of you." "It is all true, Betty, glory be to God! it is +all true." + +"Well," said Betty, "you are an odd sort of a gentlewoman. If from a +prosperous condition I had been made a bankrupt, a widow, and a +beggar, I should have thought it no such mighty matter to be +thankful for: but there is no accounting for taste. The neighbors +used to say that all your troubles must needs be a judgment upon +you; but I who knew how good you were, thought it very hard you +should suffer so much; but now I see you reduced to an alms-house, I +beg your pardon, madam, but I am afraid the neighbors were in the +right, and that so many misfortunes could never have happened to you +without you had committed a great many sins to deserve them; for I +always thought that God is so just that he punishes us for all our +bad actions, and rewards us for all our good ones." "So he does, +Betty; but he does it in his own way, and at his own time, and not +according to our notions of good and evil; for his ways are not as +our ways. God, indeed, punishes the bad, and rewards the good; but +he does not do it fully and finally in this world. Indeed he does +not set such a value on outward things as to make riches, and rank, +and beauty, and health, the reward of piety; that would be acting +like weak and erring men, and not like a just and holy God. Our +belief in a future state of rewards and punishments is not always +so strong as it ought to be, even now; but how totally would our +faith fail, if we regularly saw every thing made even in this world. +We shall lose nothing by having pay-day put off. The longest voyages +make the best returns. So far am I from thinking that God is less +just, and future happiness less certain, because I see the wicked +sometimes prosper, and the righteous suffer in this world, that I am +rather led to believe that God is more just and heaven more certain: +for, in the first place, God will not put off his favorite children +with so poor a lot as the good things of this world; and next, +seeing that the best men here below do not often attain to the best +things; why it only serves to strengthen my belief that they are not +the best things in His eye; and He has most assuredly reserved for +those that love Him such 'good things as eye has not seen nor ear +heard.' God, by keeping man in Paradise while he was innocent, and +turning him into this world as soon as he had sinned, gave a plain +proof that he never intended the world, even in its happiest state, +as a place of reward. My father gave me good principles and useful +knowledge; and while he taught me by a habit of constant employment +to be, if I may so say, independent of the world; yet he led me to a +constant sense of dependence on God--" "I do not see, however," +interrupted Mrs. Betty, "that your religion has been of any use to +you. It has been so far from preserving you from trouble, that I +think you have had more than the usual share." + +"No," said Mrs. Simpson; "nor did Christianity ever pretend to +exempt its followers from trouble; this is no part of the promise. +Nay, the contrary is rather stipulated: 'In the world ye shall have +tribulation.' But if it has not taught me to escape sorrow, I humbly +hope it has taught me how to bear it. If it has taught me not to +feel, it has taught me not to murmur. I will tell you a little of +my story: as my father could save little or nothing for me, he was +desirous of seeing me married to a young gentleman in the +neighborhood, who expressed a regard for me. But while he was +anxiously engaged in bringing this about, my good father died." + +"How very unlucky," interrupted Betty. + +"No, Betty," replied Mrs. Simpson, "it was very providential; this +man, though he maintained a decent character, had a good fortune, +and lived soberly, yet he would not have made me happy." "Why, what +could you want more of a man?" said Betty. "Religion," returned Mrs. +Simpson. "As my father made a creditable appearance, and was very +charitable; and as I was an only child, this gentleman concluded +that he could give me a considerable fortune; for he did not know +that all the poor in his parish are the children of every pious +clergyman. Finding I had little or nothing left me, he withdrew his +attentions." "What a sad thing!" cried Betty. "No, it was all for +the best; Providence overruled his covetousness for my good. I could +not have been happy with a man whose soul was set on the perishable +things of this world; nor did I esteem him, though I labored to +submit my own inclinations to those of my kind father. The very +circumstance of being left penniless produced the direct contrary +effect on Mr. Simpson: he was a sensible young man, engaged in a +prosperous business. We had long highly valued each other; but while +my father lived, he thought me above his hopes. We were married; I +found him an amiable, industrious, good-tempered man; he respected +religion and religious people; but with excellent dispositions, I +had the grief to find him less pious than I had hoped. He was +ambitious, and a little too much immersed in worldly schemes; and +though I knew it was all done for my sake, yet that did not blind me +so far as to make me think it right. He attached himself so eagerly +to business, that he thought every hour lost in which he was not +doing something that would tend to raise me to what he called my +proper rank. The more prosperous he grew the less religious he +became: and I began to find that one might be unhappy with a husband +one tenderly loved. One day as he was standing on some steps to +reach down a parcel of goods, he fell from the top and broke his leg +in two places." + +"What a dreadful misfortune!" said Mrs. Betty. "What a signal +blessing!" said Mrs. Simpson. "Here I am sure I had reason to say +all was for the best; from the very hour in which my outward +troubles began, I date the beginning of my happiness. Severe +suffering, a near prospect of death, absence from the world, +silence, reflection, and above all, the divine blessing on the +prayers and Scriptures I read to him, were the means used by our +merciful Father to turn my husband's heart. During his confinement +he was awakened to a deep sense of his own sinfulness, of the vanity +of all this world has to bestow, and of his great need of a Saviour. +It was many months before he could leave his bed; during this time +his business was neglected. His principal clerk took advantage of +his absence to receive large sums of money in his name, and +absconded. On hearing of this great loss, our creditors came faster +upon us than we could answer their demands; they grew more impatient +as we were less able to satisfy them; one misfortune followed +another, till at length Mr. Simpson became a bankrupt." + +"What an evil!" exclaimed Betty. "Yet it led in the end to much +good," resumed Mrs. Simpson. "We were forced to leave the town in +which we had lived with so much credit and comfort, and to betake +ourselves to a mean lodging in a neighboring village, till my +husband's strength should be recruited, and till we could have time +to look about us and see what was to be done. The first night we +got to this poor dwelling, my husband felt very sorrowful, not for +his own sake, but that he had brought so much poverty on me, whom he +had so dearly loved; I, on the contrary, was unusually cheerful, for +the blessed change in his mind had more than reconciled me to the +sad change in his circumstances. I was contented to live with him in +a poor cottage for a few years on earth, if it might contribute to +our spending a blessed eternity together in heaven. I said to him, +'Instead of lamenting that we are now reduced to want all the +comforts of life, I have sometimes been almost ashamed to live in +the full enjoyments of them, when I have reflected that my Saviour +not only chose to deny himself all these enjoyments, but even to +live a life of hardship for my sake; not one of his numerous +miracles tended to his own comfort; and though we read at different +times that he both hungered and thirsted, yet it was not for his own +gratification that he once changed water into wine; and I have often +been struck with the near position of that chapter in which this +miracle is recorded, to that in which he thirsted for a draught of +water at the well in Samaria.[14] It was for others, not himself, +that even the humble sustenance of barley-bread was multiplied. See +here, we have a bed left us (I had, indeed, nothing but straw to +stuff it with), but the Saviour of the world "had not where to lay +his head."' My husband smiled through his tears, and we sat down to +supper. It consisted of a roll and a bit of cheese which I had +brought with me, and we ate it thankfully. Seeing Mr. Simpson +beginning to relapse into distrust, the following conversation, as +nearly as I can remember, took place between us. He began by +remarking, that it was a mysterious Providence that he had been less +prosperous since he had been less attached to the world, and that +his endeavors had not been followed by that success which usually +attends industry. I took the liberty to reply: 'Your heavenly Father +sees on which side your danger lies, and is mercifully bringing you, +by these disappointments, to trust less in the world and more in +himself. My dear Mr. Simpson,' added I, 'we trust every body but +God. As children, we obey our parents implicitly, because we are +taught to believe all is for our good which they command or forbid. +If we undertake a voyage, we trust entirely to the skill and conduct +of the pilot; we never torment ourselves in thinking he will carry +us east, when he has promised to carry us west. If a dear and tried +friend makes us a promise, we depend on him for the performance, and +do not wound his feelings by our suspicions. When you used to go +your annual journey to London, in the mail-coach, you confided +yourself to the care of the coachman that he would carry you where +he had engaged to do so; you were not anxiously watching him, and +distrusting and inquiring at every turning. When the doctor sends +home your medicine, don't you so fully trust in his ability and good +will that you swallow it down in full confidence? You never think of +inquiring what are the ingredients, why they are mixed in that +particular way, why there is more of one and less of another, and +why they are bitter instead of sweet! If one dose does not cure you, +he orders another, and changes the medicine when he sees the first +does you no good, or that by long use the same medicine has lost its +effect; if the weaker fails, he prescribes you a stronger; you +swallow all, you submit to all, never questioning the skill or +kindness of the physician. God is the only being whom we do not +trust, though He is the only one who is fully competent, both in +will and power, to fulfill all his promises; and who has solemnly +and repeatedly pledged himself to fulfill them in those Scriptures +which we receive as his revealed will.' + + [14] See John, chap. ii.; and John, chap. iv. + +"Mr. Simpson thanked me for my little sermon, as he called it; but +said, at the same time, that what made my exhortations produce a +powerful effect on his mind was, the patient cheerfulness with which +he was pleased to say I bore my share in our misfortunes. A +submissive behavior, he said, was the best practical illustration of +a real faith. When we had thanked God for our supper, we prayed +together; after which we read the eleventh chapter of the epistle to +the Hebrews. When my husband had finished it, he said, 'Surely, if +God's chief favorites have been martyrs, is not that a sufficient +proof that this world is not a place of happiness, no earthly +prosperity the reward of virtue? Shall we, after reading this +chapter, complain of our petty trials? Shall we not rather be +thankful that our affliction is so light?' + +"Next day Mr. Simpson walked out in search of some employment, by +which we might be supported. He got a recommendation to Mr. Thomas, +an opulent farmer and factor, who had large concerns, and wanted a +skillful person to assist him in keeping his accounts. This we +thought a fortunate circumstance, for we found that the salary would +serve to procure us at least all the necessaries of life. The farmer +was so pleased with Mr. Simpson's quickness, regularity, and good +sense, that he offered us, of his own accord, a neat little cottage +of his own, which then happened to be vacant, and told us we should +live rent free, and promised to be a friend to us." "All _does_ seem +for the best now, indeed," interrupted Mrs. Betty. "We shall see," +said Mrs. Simpson, and thus went on: + +"I now became very easy and very happy; and was cheerfully employed +in putting our few things in order, and making every thing look to +the best advantage. My husband, who wrote all day for his employer, +in the evening assisted me in doing up our little garden. This was +a source of much pleasure to us; we both loved a garden, and we +were not only contented but cheerful. Our employer had been absent +some weeks on his annual journey. He came home on a Saturday night, +and the next morning sent for Mr. Simpson to come and settle his +accounts, which were got behind-hand by his long absence. We were +just going to church, and Mr. Simpson sent back word that he would +call and speak to him on his way home. A second message followed, +ordering him to come to the farmer's directly; he agreed that he +would walk round that way, and that my husband should call and +excuse his attendance. + +"The farmer, more ignorant and worse educated than his plowman, with +all that pride and haughtiness which the possession of wealth, +without knowledge or religion is apt to give, rudely asked my +husband what he meant by sending him word that he would not come to +him till the next day; and insisted that he should stay and settle +the accounts then. 'Sir,' said my husband, in a very respectful +manner, 'I am on my road to church, and I am afraid shall be too +late.' 'Are you so?' said the farmer. 'Do you know who sent for you? +You may, however, go to church, if you will, so you make haste back; +and, d'ye hear, you may leave your accounts with me, as I conclude +you have brought them with you; I will look them over by the time +you return, and then you and I can do all I want to have done to-day +in about a couple of hours, and I will give you home some letters to +copy for me in the evening.' 'Sir,' answered my husband, 'I dare not +obey you; it is Sunday.' 'And so you refuse to settle my accounts +only because it is Sunday.' 'Sir,' replied Mr. Simpson, 'if you +would give me a handful of silver and gold I dare not break the +commandment of my God.' 'Well,' said the farmer, 'but this is not +breaking the commandment; I don't order you to drive my cattle, or +to work in my garden, or to do any thing which you might fancy +would be a bad example.' 'Sir,' replied my husband, 'the example +indeed goes a great way, but it is not the first object. The deed is +wrong in itself.' 'Well, but I shall not keep you from church; and +when you have been there, there is no harm in doing a little +business, or taking a little pleasure the rest of the day.' 'Sir,' +answered my husband, 'the commandment does not say, thou shalt keep +holy the Sabbath _morning_, but the Sabbath _day_.' 'Get out of my +house, you puritanical rascal, and out of my cottage too,' said the +farmer; 'for if you refuse to do my work, I am not bound to keep my +engagement with you; as you will not obey me as a master, I shall +not pay you as a servant.' 'Sir,' said Mr. Simpson, 'I would gladly +obey you, but I have a Master in heaven whom I dare not disobey.' +'Then let him find employment for you,' said the enraged farmer; +'for I fancy you will get but poor employment on earth with these +scrupulous notions, and so send home my papers, directly, and pack +off out of the parish.' 'Out of your cottage,' said my husband, 'I +certainly will; but as to the parish, I hope I may remain in that, +if I can find employment.' 'I will make it too hot to hold you,' +replied the farmer, 'so you had better troop off bag and baggage: +for I am overseer, and as you are sickly, it is my duty not to let +any vagabonds stay in the parish who are likely to become +chargeable.' + +"By the time my husband returned home, for he found it too late to +go to church, I had got our little dinner ready; it was a better one +than we had for a long while been accustomed to see, and I was +unusually cheerful at this improvement in our circumstances. I saw +his eyes full of tears, and oh! with what pain did he bring himself +to tell me that it was the last dinner we must ever eat in this +house. I took his hand with a smile, and only said, 'the Lord gave +and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord.' +'Notwithstanding this sudden stroke of injustice,' said my husband, +'this is still a happy country. Our employer, it is true, may turn +us out at a moment's notice, because it is his own, but he has no +further power over us; he can not confine or punish us. His riches, +it is true, give him power to insult, but not to oppress us. The +same laws to which the affluent resort, protect _us_ also. And as to +our being driven out from a cottage, how many persons of the highest +rank have lately been driven out from their palaces and castles; +persons too, born in a station which he never enjoyed, and used to +all the indulgences of that rank and wealth we never knew, are at +this moment wandering over the face of the earth, without a house or +without bread; exiles and beggars; while we, blessed be God, are in +our own native land; we have still our liberty, our limbs, the +protection of just and equal laws, our churches, our Bibles, and our +Sabbaths.' + +"This happy state of my husband's mind hushed my sorrows, and I +never once murmured; nay, I sat down to dinner with a degree of +cheerfulness, endeavoring to cast all our care on 'Him that careth +for us.' We had begged to stay till the next morning, as Sunday was +not the day on which we liked to remove; but we were ordered not to +sleep another night in that house; so as we had little to carry, we +marched off in the evening to the poor lodging we had before +occupied. The thought that my husband had cheerfully renounced his +little all for conscience sake, gave an unspeakable serenity to my +mind; and I felt thankful that though cast down we were not +forsaken: nay I felt a lively gratitude to God, that while I doubted +not he would accept this little sacrifice, as it was heartily made +for his sake, he had graciously forborne to call us to greater +trials." + +"And so you were turned adrift once more? Well, ma'am, saving your +presence, I hope you won't be such a fool as to say all was for the +best now." "Yes, Betty: He who does all things well, now made his +kind Providence more manifest than ever. That very night, while we +were sweetly sleeping in our poor lodging, the pretty cottage, out +of which we were so unkindly driven, was burned to the ground by a +flash of lightning which caught the thatch, and so completely +consumed the whole little building that had it not been for the +merciful Providence who thus overruled the cruelty of the farmer for +the preservation of our lives, we must have been burned to ashes +with the house. 'It was the Lord's doing, and it was marvelous in +our eyes.' 'O that men would therefore praise the Lord for his +goodness, and for all the wonders that he doeth for the children of +men!' + +"I will not tell you all the trials and afflictions which befell us +afterward. I would also spare my heart the sad story of my husband's +death." "Well, that was another blessing too, I suppose," said +Betty. "Oh, it was the severest trial ever sent me!" replied Mrs. +Simpson, a few tears quietly stealing down her face. "I almost sunk +under it. Nothing but the abundant grace of God could have carried +me through such a visitation; and yet I now feel it to be the +greatest mercy I ever experienced; he was my idol; no trouble ever +came near my heart while he was with me. I got more credit than I +deserved for my patience under trials, which were easily borne while +he who shared and lightened them was spared to me. I had indeed +prayed and struggled to be weaned from this world, but still my +affection for him tied me down to the earth with a strong cord: and +though I did earnestly try to keep my eyes fixed on the eternal +world, yet I viewed it with too feeble a faith; I viewed it at too +great a distance. I found it difficult to realize it--I had deceived +myself. I had fancied that I bore my troubles so well from the pure +love of God, but I have since found that my love for my husband had +too great a share in reconciling me to every difficulty which I +underwent for him. I lost him; the charm was broken, the cord which +tied me down to earth was cut, this world had nothing left to engage +me. Heaven had now no rival in my heart. Though my love of God had +always been sincere, yet I found there wanted this blow to make it +perfect. But though all that had made life pleasant to me was gone, +I did not sink as those who have no hope. I prayed that I might +still, in this trying conflict, be enabled to adorn the doctrine of +God my Saviour. + +"After many more hardships, I was at length so happy as to get an +asylum in this alms-house. Here my cares are at an end, but not my +duties." "Now you are wrong again," interrupted Mrs. Betty; "your +duty is now to take care of yourself: for I am sure you have nothing +to spare." "There _you_ are mistaken again," said Mrs. Simpson. +"People are so apt to fancy that money is all in all, that all the +other gifts of Providence are overlooked as things of no value. I +have here a great deal of leisure; a good part of this I devote to +the wants of those who are more distressed than myself. I work a +little for the old, and I instruct the young. My eyes are good: this +enables me to read the Bible either to those whose sight is decayed, +or who were never taught to read. I have tolerable health; so that I +am able occasionally to sit up with the sick; in the intervals of +nursing I can pray with them. In my younger days I thought it not +much to sit up late for my pleasure; shall I now think much of +sitting up now and then to watch by a dying bed? My Saviour waked +and watched for me in the garden and on the mount; and shall I do +nothing for his suffering members? It is only by keeping his +sufferings in view that we can truly practice charity to others, or +exercise self-denial to ourselves." + +"Well," said Mrs. Betty, "I think if I had lived in such genteel +life as you have done, I could never be reconciled to an alms-house; +and I am afraid I should never forgive any of those who were the +cause of sending me there, particularly that farmer Thomas who +turned you out of doors." + +"Betty," said Mrs. Simpson, "I not only forgive him heartily, but I +remember him in my prayers, as one of those instruments with which +it has pleased God to work for my good. Oh! never put off +forgiveness to a dying bed! When people come to die, we often see +how the conscience is troubled with sins, of which before they +hardly felt the existence. How ready are they to make restitution of +ill-gotten gain; and this perhaps for two reasons; from a feeling +conviction that it can be of no use to them where they are going, as +well as from a near view of their own responsibility. We also hear +from the most hardened, of death-bed forgiveness of enemies. Even +malefactors at Tyburn forgive. But why must we wait for a dying bed +to do what ought to be done now? Believe me, that scene will be so +full of terror and amazement to the soul, that we had not need load +it with unnecessary business." + +Just as Mrs. Simpson was saying these words, a letter was brought +her from the minister of the parish where the farmer lived, by whom +Mrs. Simpson had been turned out of the cottage. The letter was as +follows: + + "MADAM--I write to tell you that your old oppressor, Mr. Thomas, + is dead. I attended him in his last moments. O, may my latter + end never be like his! I shall not soon forget his despair at + the approach of death. His riches, which had been his sole joy, + now doubled his sorrows; for he was going where they could be of + no use to him; and he found too late that he had laid up no + treasure in heaven. He felt great concern at his past life, but + for nothing more than his unkindness to Mr. Simpson. He charged + me to find you out, and let you know that by his will he + bequeathed you five hundred pounds as some compensation. He died + in great agonies, declaring with his last breath, that if he + could live his life over again, he would serve God, and strictly + observe the Sabbath. + + "Yours, etc. + "J. JOHNSON." + +Mrs. Betty, who had listened attentively to the letter, jumped up, +clapped her hands, and cried out, "Now all is for the best, and I +shall see you a lady once more." "I am, indeed, thankful for this +money," said Mrs. Simpson, "and am glad that riches were not sent me +till I had learned, as I humbly hope, to make a right use of them. +But come, let us go in, for I am very cold, and find I have sat too +long in the night air." + +Betty was now ready enough to acknowledge the hand of Providence in +this prosperous event, though she was blind to it when the +dispensation was more dark. Next morning she went early to visit +Mrs. Simpson, but not seeing her below, she went up stairs, where, +to her great sorrow, she found her confined to her bed by a fever, +caught the night before, by sitting so late on the bench, reading +the letter and talking it over. Betty was now more ready to cry out +against Providence than ever. "What! to catch a fever while you were +reading that very letter which told you about your good fortune; +which would have enabled you to live like a lady as you are. I never +will believe this is for the best; to be deprived of life just as +you were beginning to enjoy it!" + +"Betty," said Mrs. Simpson, "we must learn not to rate health nor +life itself too highly. There is little in life, for its own sake, +to be so fond of. As a good archbishop used to say, ''tis but the +same thing over again, or probably worse: so many more nights and +days, summers and winters, a repetition of the same pleasures, but +with less relish for them; a return of the same or greater pains, +but with less strength, and perhaps less patience to bear them.'" +"Well," replied Betty, "I did think that Providence was at last +giving you your reward." "Reward!" cried Mrs. Simpson. "O, no! my +merciful Father will not put me off with so poor a portion as +wealth; I feel I shall die." "It is very hard, indeed," said Betty, +"so good as you are, to be taken off just as your prosperity was +beginning." "You think I am good just now," said Mrs. Simpson, +"because I am prosperous. Success is no sure mark of God's favor; at +this rate, you, who judge by outward things, would have thought +Herod a better man than John the Baptist; and if I may be allowed to +say so, you, on your principles, that the sufferer is the sinner, +would have believed Pontius Pilate higher in God's favor than the +Saviour whom he condemned to die, for your sins and mine." + +In a few days Mrs. Betty found that her new friend was dying, and +though she was struck at her resignation, she could not forbear +murmuring that so good a woman should be taken away at the very +instant which she came into possession of so much money. "Betty," +said Mrs. Simpson in a feeble voice, "I believe you love me dearly, +you would do any thing to cure me; yet you do not love me so well as +God loves me, though _you_ would raise me up, and He is putting a +period to my life. He has never sent me a single stroke which was +not absolutely necessary for me. You, if you could restore me, might +be laying me open to some temptation from which God, by removing, +will deliver me. Your kindness in making this world so smooth for +me, I might forever have deplored in a world of misery. God's grace +in afflicting me, will hereafter be the subject of my praises in a +world of blessedness. Betty," added the dying woman, "do you really +think that I am going to a place of rest and joy eternal?" "To be +sure I do," said Betty. "Do you firmly believe that I am going to +the assembly of the first-born; to the spirits of just men made +perfect, to God the judge of all; and to Jesus the Mediator of the +new Covenant?" "I am sure you are," said Betty. "And yet," resumed +she, "you would detain me from all this happiness; and you think my +merciful Father is using me unkindly by removing me from a world of +sin, and sorrow, and temptation, to such joys as have not entered +into the heart of man to conceive; while it would have better suited +your notions of reward to defer my entrance into the blessedness of +heaven, that I might have enjoyed a legacy of a few hundred pounds! +Believe my dying words--ALL IS FOR THE BEST." + +Mrs. Simpson expired soon after, in a frame of mind which convinced +her new friend, that "God's ways are not as our ways." + + + + +A CURE FOR MELANCHOLY.[15] + + [15] This was first printed under the title of THE COTTAGE COOK. + +SHOWING THE WAY TO DO MUCH GOOD WITH LITTLE MONEY. + + +Mrs. Jones was the widow of a great merchant. She was liberal to the +poor, as far as giving them money went; but as she was too much +taken up with the world, she did not spare so much of her time and +thoughts about doing good as she ought; so that her money was often +ill bestowed. In the late troubles, Mr. Jones, who had lived in an +expensive manner, failed; and he took his misfortunes so much to +heart, that he fell sick and died. Mrs. Jones retired, on a very +narrow income, to the small village of Weston, where she seldom went +out, except to church. Though a pious woman, she was too apt to +indulge her sorrow; and though she did not neglect to read and pray, +yet she gave up a great part of her time to melancholy thoughts, and +grew quite inactive. She well knew how sinful it would be for her to +seek a remedy for her grief in worldly pleasures, which is a way +many people take to cure afflictions; but she was not aware how +wrong it was to weep away that time which might have been better +spent in drying the tears of others. + +It was happy for her, that Mr. Simpson, the vicar of Weston, was a +pious man. One Sunday he happened to preach on the good Samaritan. +It was a charity sermon, and there was a collection at the door. He +called on Mrs. Jones after church, and found her in tears. She told +him she had been much moved by his discourse, and she wept because +she had so little to give to the plate, for though she felt very +keenly for the poor in these dear times, yet she could not assist +them. "Indeed, sir," added she, "I never so much regretted the loss +of my fortune as this afternoon, when you bade us _go and do +likewise_." "You do not," replied Mr. Simpson, "enter into the +spirit of our Saviour's parable, if you think you can not _go and do +likewise_ without being rich. In the case of the Samaritan, you may +observe, that charity was bestowed more by kindness, and care, and +medicine, than by money. You, madam, were as much concerned in the +duties inculcated in my sermon as Sir John with his great estate; +and, to speak plainly, I have been sometimes surprised that you +should not put yourself in the way of being more useful." + +"Sir," said Mrs. Jones, "I am grown shy of the poor since I have +nothing to give them." "Nothing! madam?" replied the clergyman; "Do +you call your time, your talents, your kind offices, nothing? Doing +good does not so much depend on the riches as on the heart and the +will. The servant who improved his two talents was equally commended +by his Lord with him who had ten; and it was not poverty, but +selfish indolence, which drew down so severe a condemnation on him +who had only one. It is by our conformity to Christ, that we must +prove ourselves Christians. You, madam, are not called upon to work +miracles, nor to preach the gospel, yet you may in your measure and +degree, resemble your Saviour _by going about and doing good_. A +plain Christian, who has sense and leisure, by his pious exertions +and prudent zeal, may, in a subordinate way, be helping on the cause +of religion, as well as of charity, and greatly promote, by his +exertions and example, the labors of the parish minister. The +generality, it is true, have but an under part to act; but to all +God assigns some part, and he will require of all whose lot is not +very laborious, that they not only _work out their own salvation_, +but that they promote the cause of religion, and the comfort and +salvation of others. + +"To those who would undervalue works of mercy as evidences of piety, +I would suggest a serious attention to the solemn appeal which the +Saviour of the world makes, in that awful representation of the day +of judgment, contained in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew, both +to those who have neglected, and to those who have performed such +works; performed them, I mean, on right principles. With what a +gracious condescension does he promise to accept the smallest +kindness done to his suffering members for his sake. You, madam, I +will venture to say, might do more good than the richest man in the +parish could do by merely giving his money. Instead of sitting here, +brooding over your misfortunes, which are past remedy, bestir +yourself to find out ways of doing much good with little money; or +even without any money at all. You have lately studied economy for +yourself; instruct your poor neighbors in that important art. They +want it almost as much as they want money. You have influence with +the few rich persons in the parish; exert that influence. Betty, my +house-keeper, shall assist you in any thing in which she can be +useful. Try this for one year, and if you then tell me that you +should have better shown your love to God and man, and been a +happier woman, had you continued gloomy and inactive, I shall be +much surprised, and shall consent to your resuming your present way +of life." + +The sermon and this discourse together made so deep an impression on +Mrs. Jones, that she formed a new plan of life, and set about it at +once, as every body does who is in earnest. Her chief aim was the +happiness of her poor neighbors in the next world; but she was also +very desirous to promote their present comfort; and indeed the +kindness she showed to their bodily wants gave her such an access to +their houses and hearts, as made them better disposed to receive +religious counsel and instruction. Mrs. Jones was much respected by +all the rich persons in Weston, who had known her in her prosperity. +Sir John was thoughtless, lavish, and indolent. The squire was over +frugal, but active, sober, and not ill-natured. Sir John loved +pleasure, the squire loved money. Sir John was one of those popular +sort of people who get much praise, and yet do little good; who +subscribe with equal readiness to a cricket match or a charity +school; who take it for granted that the poor are to be indulged +with bell-ringing and bonfires, and to be made drunk at Christmas; +this Sir John called being kind to them; but he thought it was folly +to teach them, and madness to think of reforming them. He was, +however, always ready to give his guinea; but I question whether he +would have given up his hunting and his gaming to have cured every +grievance in the land. He had that sort of constitutional good +nature which, if he had lived much within sight of misery, would +have led him to be liberal; but he had that selfish love of ease, +which prompted him to give to undeserving objects, rather than be at +the pains to search out the deserving. He neither discriminated +between the degrees of distress, nor the characters of the +distressed. His idea of charity was, that a rich man should +occasionally give a little of his superfluous wealth to the first +object that occurred; but he had no conception that it was his duty +so to husband his wealth and limit his expenses, as to supply a +regular fund for established charity. And the utmost stretch of his +benevolence never led him to suspect that he was called to abridge +himself in the most idle article of indulgence, for a purpose +foreign to his own personal enjoyment. On the other hand, the squire +would assist Mrs. Jones in any of her plans if it cost him nothing; +so she showed her good sense by never asking Sir John for advice, or +the squire for subscriptions, and by this prudence gained the full +support of both. + +Mrs. Jones resolved to spend two or three days in a week in getting +acquainted with the state of the parish, and she took care never to +walk out without a few little good books in her pocket to give away. +This, though a cheap, is a most important act of charity; it has its +various uses; it furnishes the poor with religious knowledge, which +they have so few ways of obtaining; it counteracts the wicked +designs of those who have taught us at least one lesson, by their +zeal in the dispersion of _wicked_ books--I mean the lesson of +vigilance and activity; and it is the best introduction for any +useful conversation which the giver of the book may wish to +introduce. + +She found that among the numerous wants she met with, no small share +was owing to bad management, or to imposition; she was struck with +the small size of the loaves. Wheat was now not very dear, and she +was sure a good deal of blame rested with the baker. She sent for a +shilling loaf to the next great town, where the mayor often sent to +the bakers' shops to see that the bread was proper weight. She +weighed her town loaf against her country loaf, and found the latter +two pounds lighter than it ought to be. This was not the sort of +grievance to carry to Sir John; but luckily the squire was also a +magistrate, and it was quite in his way; for though he would not +give, yet he would counsel, calculate, contrive, reprimand, and +punish. He told her he could remedy the evil if some one would lodge +an information against her baker; but that there was no act of +justice which he found it so difficult to accomplish. + + +THE INFORMER. + +She dropped in on the blacksmith. He was at dinner. She inquired if +his bread was good. "Ay, good enough, mistress; for you see it is as +white as your cap, if we had but more of it. Here's a sixpenny loaf; +you might take it for a penny roll!" He then heartily cursed Crib +the baker, and said he ought to be hanged. Mrs. Jones now told him +what she had done; how she had detected the fraud, and assured him +the evil should be redressed on the morrow, provided he would appear +and inform. "I inform," said he, with a shocking oath, "hang an +informer! I scorn the office." "You are nice in the wrong place," +replied Mrs. Jones; "for you don't scorn to abuse the baker, nor to +be in a passion, nor to swear, though you scorn to redress a public +injury, and to increase your children's bread. Let me tell you +there's nothing in which you ignorant people mistake more than in +your notions about _informers_. Informing is a lawful way of +obtaining redress; and though it is a mischievous and a hateful +thing to go to a justice about every trifling matter, yet laying an +information on important occasions, without malice, or bitterness of +any kind, is what no honest man ought to be ashamed of. The shame is +to commit the offense, not to inform against it. I, for my part, +should perhaps do right, if I not only informed against Crib, for +making light bread, but against you, for swearing at him." + +"Well, but madam," said the smith, a little softened, "don't you +think it a sin and a shame to turn informer?" "So far from it, that +when a man's motives are good," said Mrs. Jones, "and in clear cases +as the present, I think it a duty and a virtue. If it is right that +there should be laws, it must be right that they should be put in +execution; but how can this be, if people will not inform the +magistrates when they see the laws broken? I hope I shall always be +afraid to be an offender against the laws, but not to be an informer +in support of them. _An informer by trade_ is commonly a knave. A +rash, malicious, or passionate informer is a firebrand; but honest +and prudent informers are almost as useful members of society as the +judges of the land. If you continue in your present mind on this +subject, do not you think that you will be answerable for the crimes +you might have prevented by informing, and thus become a sort of +accomplice of the villains who commit them." + +"Well, madam," said the smith, "I now see plainly enough that there +is no shame in turning informer when my cause is good." "And your +_motive right_; always mind that," said Mrs. Jones. Next day the +smith attended, Crib was fined in the usual penalty, his light bread +was taken from him and given to the poor. The justices resolved +henceforward to inspect the bakers in their district; and all of +them, except Crib, and such as Crib, were glad of it; for honesty +never dreads a trial. Thus had Mrs. Jones the comfort of seeing how +useful people may be without expense; for if she could have given +the poor fifty pounds, she would not have done them so great, or so +lasting a benefit, as she did them in seeing their loaves restored +to their lawful weight: and the true light in which she had put the +business of _informing_ was of no small use, in giving the +neighborhood right views on that subject. + +There were two shops in the parish; but Mrs. Sparks, at the Cross, +had not half so much custom as Wills, at the Sugarloaf, though she +sold her goods a penny in a shilling cheaper, and all agreed that +they were much better. Mrs. Jones asked Mrs. Sparks the reason, +"Madam," said the shopkeeper, "Mr. Wills will give longer trust. +Besides his wife keeps shop on a Sunday morning while I am at +church." Mrs. Jones now reminded Mr. Simpson to read the king's +proclamation against vice and immorality next Sunday at church; and +prevailed on the squire to fine any one who should keep open shop on +a Sunday. This he readily undertook: for while Sir John thought it +_good-natured_ to connive at breaking the laws, the squire fell into +the other extreme, of thinking that the zealous enforcing of penal +statutes would stand in the stead of all religious restraints. Mrs. +Jones proceeded to put the people in mind that a shopkeeper who +would sell on a Sunday, would be more likely to cheat them all the +week, than one who went to church. + +She also labored hard to convince them how much they would lessen +their distress, if they would contrive to deal with Mrs. Sparks for +ready money, rather than with Wills on long credit; those who +listened to her found their circumstances far more comfortable at +the year's end, while the rest, tempted, like some of their betters, +by the pleasure of putting off the evil day of payment, like them, +at last found themselves plunged in debt and distress. She took care +to make a good use of such instances in her conversation with the +poor, and by perseverance, she at length brought them so much to her +way of thinking, that Wills found it to be his interest to alter his +plan, and sell his goods on as good terms, and as short credit as +Mrs. Sparks sold hers. This completed Mrs. Jones's success; and she +had the satisfaction of having put a stop to three or four great +evils in the parish of Weston, without spending a shilling in doing +it. + +Patty Smart and Jenny Rose were thought to be the two best managers +in the parish. They both told Mrs. Jones, that the poor would get +the coarse pieces of meat cheaper, if the gentlefolks did not buy +them for soups and gravy. Mrs. Jones thought there was reason in +this: so away she went to Sir John, the squire, the surgeon, the +attorney, and the steward, the only persons in the parish who could +afford to buy these costly things. She told them, that if they would +all be so good as to buy only prime pieces, which they could very +well afford, the coarse and cheap joints would come more within the +reach of the poor. Most of the gentry readily consented. Sir John +cared not what his meat cost him, but told Mrs. Jones, in his gay +way, that he would eat any thing, or give any thing, so that she +would not tease him with long stories about the poor. The squire +said he should prefer vegetable soups, because they were cheaper, +and the doctor preferred them because they were wholesomer. The +steward chose to imitate the squire; and the attorney found it would +be quite ungenteel to stand out. So gravy soups became very +unfashionable in the parish of Weston; and I am sure if rich people +did but think a little on this subject, they would become as +unfashionable in many other places. When wheat grew cheaper, Mrs. +Jones was earnest with the poor women to bake large brown loaves at +home, instead of buying small white ones at the shop. Mrs. Betty had +told her, that baking at home would be one step toward restoring the +good old management. Only Betty Smart and Jenny Rose baked at home +in the whole parish; and who lived so well as they did? Yet the +general objection seemed reasonable. They could not bake without +yeast, which often could not be had, as no one brewed, except the +great folks and the public houses. Mrs. Jones found, however, that +Patty and Jenny contrived to brew as well as to bake. She sent for +these women, knowing that from them she could get truth and reason. +"How comes it," she said to them, "that you two are the only two +poor women in the parish who can afford to brew a small cask of +beer? Your husbands have no better wages than other men." "True, +madam," said Patty, "but they never set foot in a public house. I +will tell you the truth. When I first married, our John went to the +Checkers every night, and I had my tea and fresh butter twice a-day +at home. This slop, which consumed a deal of sugar, began to _rake_ +my stomach sadly, as I had neither meat nor rice; at last (I am +ashamed to own it) I began to take a drop of gin to quiet the pain, +till in time, I looked for my gin as regularly as for my tea. At +last the gin, the ale-house, and the tea began to make us both sick +and poor, and I had like to have died with my first child. Parson +Simpson then talked so finely to us on the subject of improper +indulgences, that we resolved, by the grace of God, to turn over a +new leaf, and I promised John, if he would give up the Checkers, I +would break the gin bottle, and never drink tea in the afternoon, +except on Sundays, when he was at home to drink it with me. We have +kept our word, and both our eating and drinking, our health and our +consciences are better for it. Though meat is sadly dear, we can buy +two pounds of fresh meat for less than one pound of fresh butter, +and it gives five times the nourishment. And dear as malt is, I +contrive to keep a drop of drink in the house for John, and John +will make me drink half a pint with him every evening, and a pint +a-day when I am a nurse." + + +PUBLIC HOUSES. + +As one good deed, as well as one bad one, brings on another, this +conversation set Mrs. Jones on inquiring why so many ale-houses were +allowed. She did not choose to talk to Sir John on this subject, who +would only have said, "let them enjoy themselves, poor fellows: if +they get drunk now and then, they work hard." But those who have +this false good-nature forget that while the man is _enjoying +himself_, as it is called, his wife and children are ragged and +starving. True Christian good-nature never indulges one at the cost +of many, but is kind to all. The squire who was a friend to order, +took up the matter. He consulted Mr. Simpson. "The Lion," said he, +"is necessary. It stands by the roadside; travelers must have a +resting-place. As to the Checkers and the Bell, they do no good, but +much harm." Mr. Simpson had before made many attempts to get the +Checkers put down, but, unluckily, it was Sir John's own house, and +kept by his late butler. Not that Sir John valued the rent, but he +had a false kindness, which made him support the cause of an old +servant, though he knew he was a bad man, and kept a disorderly +house. The squire, however, now took away the license from the Bell. +And a fray happening soon after at the Checkers (which was near the +church) in time of divine service, Sir John was obliged to suffer +the house to be put down as a nuisance. You would not believe how +many poor families were able to brew a little cask, when the +temptation of those ale-houses was taken out of their way. Mrs. +Jones, in her evening walks, had the pleasure to see many an honest +man drinking his wholesome cup of beer by his own fire-side, his +rosy children playing about his knees, his clean cheerful wife +singing her youngest baby to sleep, rocking the cradle with her +foot, while with her hands she was making a dumpling for her kind +husband's supper. Some few, I am sorry to say, though I don't chose +to name names, still preferred getting drunk once a week at the +Lion, and drinking water at other times. Thus Mrs. Jones, by a +little exertion and perseverance, added to the temporal comforts of +a whole parish, and diminished its immorality and extravagance in +the same proportion. + +The good women being now supplied with yeast from each other's +brewings, would have baked, but two difficulties still remained. +Many of them had no ovens; for since the new bad management had +crept in, many cottages have been built without this convenience. +Fuel also was scarce at Weston. Mrs. Jones advised the building a +large parish oven. Sir John subscribed to be rid of her importunity, +and the squire, because he thought every improvement would reduce +the poor's rate. It was soon accomplished; and to this oven, at a +certain hour, three times a week, the elder children carried their +loaves which their mothers had made at home, and paid a half-penny, +or a penny, according to their size, for the baking. + +Mrs. Jones found that no poor women in Weston could buy a little +milk, as the farmers' wives did not care to rob their dairies. This +was a great distress, especially when the children were sick. So +Mrs. Jones advised Mrs. Sparks, at the Cross, to keep a couple of +cows, and sell out the milk by halfpennyworths. She did so, and +found, that though this plan gave her some additional trouble, she +got full as much by it as if she had made cheese and butter. She +always sold rice at a cheap rate; so that, with the help of the milk +and the public oven, a fine rice-pudding was to be had for a trifle. + + +CHARITY SCHOOLS FOR SERVANTS. + +The girls' school, in the parish, was fallen into neglect; for +though many would be subscribers, yet no one would look after it. I +wish this was the case at Weston only: many schools have come to +nothing, and many parishes are quite destitute of schools, because +too many gentry neglect to make it a part of the duty of their +grown-up daughters to inspect the instruction of the poor. It was +not in Mr. Simpson's way to see if girls were taught to work. The +best clergyman can not do every thing. This is ladies' business. +Mrs. Jones consulted her counselor, Mrs. Betty, and they went every +Friday to the school, where they invited mothers, as well as +daughters, to come, and learn to cut out to the best advantage. Mrs. +Jones had not been bred to these things; but by means of Mrs. +Cowper's excellent cutting-out book, she soon became mistress of the +whole art. She not only had the girls taught to make and mend, but +to wash and iron too. She also allowed the mother or eldest daughter +of every family to come once a week, and learn how to dress _one +cheap dish_. One Friday, which was cooking day, who should pass but +the squire, with his gun and dogs. He looked into the school for the +first time. "Well, madam," said he, "what good are you doing here? +What are your girls learning and earning? Where are your +manufactures? Where is your spinning and your carding?" "Sir," said +she, "this is a small parish, and you know ours is not a +manufacturing county; so that when these girls are women, they will +be not much employed in spinning. We must, in the kind of good we +attempt to do, consult the local genius of the place: I do not think +it will answer to introduce spinning, for instance, in a country +where it is quite new. However, we teach them a little of it, and +still more of knitting, that they may be able to get up a small +piece of household linen once a year, and provide the family with +the stockings, by employing the odds and ends of their time in these +ways. But there is another manufacture which I am carrying on, and I +know of none within my own reach which is so valuable." "What can +that be?" said the squire. "_To make good wives for working men_," +said she. "Is not mine an excellent staple commodity? I am teaching +these girls the arts of industry and good management. It is little +encouragement to an honest man to work hard all the week, if his +wages are wasted by a slattern at home. Most of these girls will +probably become wives to the poor, or servants to the rich; to such +the common arts of life are of great value: now, as there is little +opportunity for learning these at the school-house, I intend to +propose that such gentry as have sober servants, shall allow one of +these girls to come and work in their families one day in a week, +when the house-keeper, the cook, the house-maid or the laundry-maid, +shall be required to instruct them in their several departments. +This I conceive to be the best way of training good servants. They +would serve this kind of regular apprenticeship to various sorts of +labor. Girls who come out of charity-schools, where they have been +employed in knitting, sewing, and reading, are not sufficiently +prepared for hard or laborious employments. I do not in general +approve of teaching charity children to write, for the same reason. +I confine within very strict limits my plan of educating the poor. A +thorough knowledge of religion, and of some of those coarser arts of +life by which the community may be best benefitted, includes the +whole stock of instruction, which, unless in very extraordinary +cases, I would wish to bestow." + +"What have you got on the fire, madam?" said the squire; "for your +pot really smells as savory as if Sir John's French cook had filled +it." "Sir," replied Mrs. Jones, "I have lately got acquainted with +Mrs. Whyte who has given us an account of her cheap dishes, and nice +cookery, in one of the Cheap Repository little books.[16] Mrs. Betty +and I have made all her dishes, and very good they are; and we have +got several others of our own. Every Friday we come here and dress +one. These good woman see how it is done, and learn to dress it at +their own house. I take home part for my own dinner, and what is +left I give to each in turn. I hope I have opened their eyes on a +sad mistake they have got into, _that we think any thing is good +enough for the poor_. Now, I do _not_ think any thing good enough +for the poor which is not clean, wholesome, and palatable, and what +I myself would not cheerfully eat, if my circumstances required it." + + [16] See the Way to Plenty for a number of cheap recipes. + +"Pray, Mrs. Betty," said the squire, "oblige me with a basin of your +soup." The squire found it so good after his walk, that he was +almost sorry that he had promised to buy no more legs of beef, and +declared, that not one sheep's head should ever go to his kennel +again. He begged his cook might have the recipe, and Mrs. Jones +wrote it out for her. She has also been so obliging as to favor me +with a copy of all her recipes. And as I hate all monopoly, and see +no reason why such cheap, nourishing, and savory dishes should be +confined to the parish of Weston, I print them, that all other +parishes may have the same advantage. Not only the poor, but all +persons with small income may be glad of them.' + +"Well, madam," said Mr. Simpson, who came in soon after, "which is +best, to sit down and cry over our misfortunes, or to bestir +ourselves to do our duty to the world?" "Sir," replied Mrs. Jones, +"I thank you for the useful lesson you have given me. You have +taught me that an excessive indulgence of sorrow is not piety, but +selfishness; that the best remedy for our own afflictions is to +lessen the afflictions of others, and thus evidence our submission +to the will of God, who perhaps sent these very trials to abate our +own self-love, and to stimulate our exertions for the good of +others. You have taught me that our time and talents are to be +employed with zeal in God's service, if we wish for his favor here +or hereafter; and that one great employment of those talents which +he requires, is the promotion of the present, and much more the +future happiness of all around us. You have taught me that much good +may be done with little money; and that the heart, the head, and the +hand are of some use as well as the purse. I have also learned +another lesson, which I hope not to forget, that Providence, in +sending these extraordinary seasons of scarcity and distress, which +we have lately twice experienced, has been pleased to overrule these +trying events to the general good; for it has not only excited the +rich to an increased liberality, as to actual contribution, but it +has led them to get more acquainted with the local wants of their +poor brethren, and to interest themselves in their comfort; it has +led to improved modes of economy, and to a more feeling kind of +beneficence. Above all, without abating any thing of a just +subordination, it has brought the affluent to a nearer knowledge of +the persons and characters of their indigent neighbors; it has +literally brought 'the rich and poor to meet together;' and this I +look upon to be one of the essential advantages attending +Sunday-schools also, where they are carried on upon true principles, +and are sanctioned by the visits as well as supported by the +contributions of the wealthy." + +May all who read this account of Mrs. Jones, and who are under the +same circumstances, go _and do likewise_. + + + + +ALLEGORIES. + + + + +THE PILGRIMS. + + +Methought I was once upon a time traveling through a certain land +which was very full of people; but, what was rather odd, not one of +all this multitude was at home; they were all bound to a far distant +country. Though it was permitted by the lord of the land that these +pilgrims might associate together for their present mutual comfort +and convenience; and each was not only allowed, but commanded, to do +the others all the services he could upon their journey, yet it was +decreed, that every individual traveler must enter the far country +singly. There was a great gulf at the end of the journey, which +every one must pass alone, and at his own risk, and the friendship +of the whole united world could be of no use in shooting that gulf. +The exact time when each was to pass was not known to any; this the +lord always kept a close secret out of kindness, yet still they were +as sure that the time must come, and that at no very great distance, +as if they had been informed of the very moment. Now, as they knew +they were always liable to be called away at an hour's notice, one +would have thought they would have been chiefly employed in packing +up, and preparing, and getting every thing in order. But this was so +far from being the case, that it was almost the only thing which +they did not think about. + +Now, I only appeal to you, my readers, if any of you are setting out +upon a little common journey, if it is only to London or York, is +not all your leisure time employed in settling your business at +home, and packing up every little necessary for your expedition? And +does not the fear of neglecting any thing you ought to remember, or +may have occasion for, haunt your mind, and sometimes even intrude +upon you unseasonably? And when you are actually on your journey, +especially if you have never been to that place before, or are +likely to remain there, don't you begin to think a little about the +pleasures and the employment of the place, and to wish to know a +little what sort of a city London or York is? Don't you wonder what +is doing there, and are you not anxious to know whether you are +properly qualified for the business or the company you expect to be +engaged in? Do you never look at the map or consult Brooke's +Gazetteer? And don't you try to pick up from your fellow-passengers +in the stage-coach any little information you can get? And though +you may be obliged, out of civility, to converse with them on common +subjects, yet do not your secret thoughts still run upon London or +York, its business, or its pleasures? And above all, if you are +likely to set out early, are you not afraid of oversleeping, and +does not that fear keep you upon the watch, so that you are commonly +up and ready before the porter comes to summon you? Reader! if this +be your case, how surprised will you be to hear that the travelers +to the _far country_ have not half your prudence, though embarked on +a journey of infinitely more importance, bound to a land where +nothing can be sent after them, in which, when they are once +settled, all errors are irretrievable. + +I observed that these pilgrims, instead of being upon the watch, +lest they should be ordered off unprepared; instead of laying up any +provision, or even making memoranda of what they would be likely to +want at the end of their journey, spent most of their time in +crowds, either in the way of traffic or diversion. At first, when I +saw them so much engaged in conversing with each other, I thought it +a good sign, and listened attentively to their talk, not doubting +but the chief turn of it would be about the climate, or treasures, +or society, they should probably meet with in the _far country_. I +supposed they might be also discussing about the best and safest +road to it, and that each was availing himself of the knowledge of +his neighbor, on a subject of equal importance to all. I listened to +every party, but in scarcely any did I hear one word about the land +to which they were bound, though it was their home, the place where +their whole interest, expectation, and inheritance lay; to which +also great part of their friends were gone before, and whither they +were sure all the rest would follow. Instead of this, their whole +talk was about the business, or the pleasure, or the fashion of the +strange but bewitching country which they were merely passing +through, in which they had not one foot of land which they were sure +of calling their own for the next quarter of an hour. What little +estate they had was _personal_, and not real, and that was a +mortgaged, life-hold tenement of clay, not properly their own, but +only lent to them on a short, uncertain lease, of which three-score +years and ten was considered as the longest period, and very few +indeed lived in it to the end of the term; for this was always at +the _will of the lord_, part of whose prerogative it was, that he +could take away the lease at pleasure, knock down the stoutest +tenement at a single blow, and turn out the poor shivering, helpless +inhabitant naked, to that _far country_ for which he had made no +provision. Sometimes, in order to quicken the pilgrim in his +preparation, the lord would break down the tenement by slow degrees; +sometimes he would let it tumble by its own natural decay; for as it +was only built to last a certain term, it would often grow so +uncomfortable by increasing dilapidations even before the ordinary +lease was out, that the lodging was hardly worth keeping, though the +tenant could seldom be persuaded to think so, but finally clung to +it to the last. First the thatch on the top of the tenement changed +color, then it fell off and left the roof bare; then the grinders +ceased because they were few; then the windows became so darkened +that the owner could scarcely see through them; then one prop fell +away, then another, then the uprights became bent, and the whole +fabric trembled and tottered, with every other symptom of a falling +house. But what was remarkable, the more uncomfortable the house +became, and the less prospect there was of staying in it, the more +preposterously fond did the tenant grew of his precarious +habitation. + +On some occasions the lord ordered his messengers, of which he had a +great variety, to batter, injure, deface, and almost demolish the +frail building, even while it seemed new and strong; this was what +the landlord called _giving warning_, but many a tenant would not +take warning, and so fond of staying where he was, even under all +these inconveniences, that at last he was cast out by ejectment, not +being prevailed on to leave the dwelling in a proper manner, though +one would have thought the fear of being turned out would have +whetted his diligence in preparing for _a better and more enduring +inheritance_. For though the people were only tenants at will in +these crazy tenements, yet, through the goodness of the same lord, +they were assured that he never turned them out of these habitations +before he had on his part provided for them a better, so that there +was not such a landlord in the world, and though their present +dwelling was but frail, being only slightly run up to serve the +occasion, yet they might hold their future possession by a most +certain tenure, the _word of the lord himself_. This word was +entered in a covenant, or title-deed, consisting of many sheets, +and because a great many good things were given away in this deed, a +book was made of which every soul might get a copy. + +This indeed had not always been the case, because, till a few ages +back, there had been a sort of monopoly in the case, and "the wise +and prudent," that is the cunning and fraudful, had hid these things +from "the babes and sucklings;" that is, from the low and ignorant, +and many frauds had been practiced, and the poor had been cheated of +their right; so that not being allowed to read and judge for +themselves, they had been sadly imposed upon; but all these tricks +had been put an end to more than two hundred years when I passed +through the country, and the meanest man who could read might then +have a copy; so that he might see himself what he had to trust to; +and even those who could not read, might hear it read once or twice +every week, at least, without pay, by learned and holy men, whose +business it was. But it surprised me to see how few comparatively +made use of these vast advantages. Of those who had a copy, many +laid it carelessly by, expressed a _general_ belief in the truth of +the title-deed, a _general_ satisfaction that they should come in +for a share of the inheritance, a _general_ good opinion of the lord +whose word it was, and a _general_ disposition to take his promise +upon trust, always, however, intending, at a _convenient season_ to +inquire further into the matter; but this convenient season seldom +came; and this neglect of theirs was construed by their lord into a +forfeiture of the inheritance. + +At the end of this country lay the vast gulf mentioned before; it +was shadowed over by a broad and thick cloud, which prevented the +pilgrims from seeing in a distinct manner what was doing behind it, +yet such beams of brightness now and then darted through the cloud, +as enabled those who used a telescope, provided for that purpose, +to see the _substance of things hoped for_; but it was not every +one who could make use of this telescope; no eye indeed was +_naturally_ disposed to it; but an earnest desire of getting a +glimpse of the invisible realities, gave such a strength and +steadiness to the eye which used the telescope, as enabled it to +discern many things which could not be seen by the natural sight. +Above the cloud was this inscription: "_The things which are seen +are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal._" Of +these last things many glorious descriptions had been given; but as +those splendors were at a distance, and as the pilgrims in general +did not care to use the telescope, these distant glories made little +impression. + +The glorious inheritance which lay beyond the cloud, was called +"_The things above_," while a multitude of trifling objects, which +appeared contemptibly small when looked at through the telescope, +were called "_the things below_." Now as we know it is nearness +which gives size and bulk to any object, it was not wonderful that +these ill-judging pilgrims were more struck with these baubles and +trifles, which by laying close at hand, were visible and tempting to +the naked eye, and which made up the sum of _the things below_, than +with the remote glories of _the things above_; but this was chiefly +owing to their not making use of the telescope, through which, if +you examined thoroughly _the things below_, they seemed to shrink +almost down to nothing, which was indeed their real size: while _the +things above_ appeared the more beautiful and vast, the more the +telescope was used. But the surprising part of the story was this; +not that the pilgrims were captivated at first sight with _the +things below_, for that was natural enough; but that when they had +tried them all over and over, and found themselves deceived and +disappointed in almost every one of them, it did not at all lessen +their fondness, and they grasped at them again with, the same +eagerness as before. There were some gay fruits which looked +alluring, but on being opened, instead of a kernel, they were found +to contain rottenness; and those which seemed the fullest, often +proved on trial to be quite hollow and empty. Those which were the +most tempting to the eye, were often found to be wormwood to the +taste, or poison to the stomach, and many flowers that seemed most +bright and gay had a worm gnawing at the root; and it was observable +that on the finest and brightest of them was seen, when looked at +through the telescope, the word _vanity_ inscribed in large +characters. + +Among the chief attractions of _the things below_ were certain +little lumps of yellow clay, on which almost every eye and every +heart was fixed. When I saw the variety of uses to which this clay +could be converted, and the respect which was shown to those who +could scrape together the greatest number of pieces, I did not much +wonder at the general desire to pick up some of them; but when I +beheld the anxiety, the wakefulness, the competitions, the +contrivances, the tricks, the frauds, the scuffling, the pushing, +the turmoiling, the kicking, the shoving, the cheating, the +circumvention, the envy, the malignity, which was excited by a +desire to possess this article; when I saw the general scramble +among those who had little to get much, and of those who had much to +get more, then I could not help applying to these people a proverb +in use among us, _that gold may be bought too dear_. + +Though I saw that there were various sorts of baubles which engaged +the hearts of different travelers, such as an ell of red or blue +ribbon, for which some were content to forfeit their future +inheritance, committing the sin of Esau, without his temptation of +hunger; yet the yellow clay I found was the grand object for which +most hands were scrambling, and most souls were risked. One thing +was extraordinary, that the nearer these people were to being +turned out of their tenements, the fonder they grew of these pieces +of clay; so that I naturally concluded they meant to take the clay +with them to the _far country_, to assist them in their +establishment in it; but I soon learned this clay was not current +there, the lord having further declared to these pilgrims that as +_they had brought nothing into this world, they could carry nothing +away_. + +I inquired of the different people who were raising the various +heaps of clay, some of a larger, some of a smaller size, why they +discovered such unremitting anxiety, and for whom? Some, whose piles +were immense, told me they were heaping up for their children; this +I thought very right, till, on casting my eyes around, I observed +many of the children of these very people had large heaps of their +own. Others told me it was for their grand-children; but on inquiry +I found these were not yet born, and in many cases there was little +chance that they ever would. The truth, on a close examination, +proved to be, that the true genuine heapers really heaped for +themselves; that it was in fact neither for friend nor child, but to +gratify an inordinate appetite of their own. Nor was I much +surprised after this to see these yellow hoards at length _canker, +and the rust of them become a witness against the hoarders, and eat +their flesh as it were fire_. + +Many, however, who had set out with a high heap of their father's +raising, before they had got one third of their journey, had +scarcely a single piece left. As I was wondering what had caused +these enormous piles to vanish in so short a time, I spied scattered +up and down the country all sorts of odd inventions, for some or +other of which the vain possessors of the great heaps of clay had +trucked and bartered them away in fewer hours than their ancestors +had spent years in getting them together. O what a strange +unaccountable medley it was! and what was ridiculous enough, I +observed that the greatest quantity of the clay was always exchanged +for things that were of no use that I could discover, owing I +suppose to my ignorance of the manners of the country. + +In one place I saw large heaps exhausted, in order to set two idle +pampered horses a running; but the worst of the joke was, the horses +did not run to fetch or carry any thing, and of course were of no +kind of use, but merely to let the gazers see which could run +fastest. Now, this gift of swiftness, exercised to no useful +purpose, was only one out of many instances, I observed, of talents +employed to no end. In another place I saw whole piles of the clay +spent to maintain long ranges of buildings full of dogs, on +provisions which would have nicely fattened some thousands of +pilgrims, who sadly wanted fattening, and whose ragged tenements +were out at elbows, for want of a little help to repair them. Some +of the piles were regularly pulled down once in seven years, in +order to corrupt certain needy pilgrims to belie their consciences, +by doing that for a bribe which they were bound to do from +principle. Others were spent in playing with white stiff bits of +paper, painted over with red and black spots, in which I thought +there must be some conjuring, because the very touch of these +painted pasteboards made the heaps fly from one to another, and back +again to the same, in a way that natural causes could not account +for. There was another proof that there must be some magic in this +business which was that if a pasteboard with red spots fell into a +hand which wanted a black one, the person changed color, his eyes +flashed fire, and he discovered other symptoms of madness, which +showed there was some witchcraft in the case. These clean little +pasteboards, as harmless as they looked, had the wonderful power of +pulling down the highest piles in less time than all the other +causes put together. I observed that many small piles were given in +exchange for an enchanted liquor which when the purchaser had drank +to a little excess, he lost the power of managing the rest of his +heap without losing the love of it; and thus the excess of +indulgence, by making him a beggar, deprived him of that very +gratification on which his heart was set. + +Now I find it was the opinion of sober pilgrims, that either +hoarding the clay, or trucking it for any such purposes as the +above, was thought exactly the same offense in the eyes of the lord; +and it was expected that when they should come under his more +immediate jurisdiction in the _far country_, the penalty annexed to +hoarding and squandering would be nearly the same. While I examined +the countenances of the owners of the heaps, I observed that those +who I well knew never intended to make any use at all of their heap, +were far more terrified at the thought of losing it, or of being +torn from it, than those were who were employing it in the most +useful manner. Those who best knew what to do with it, set their +hearts least upon it, and were always most willing to leave it. But +such riddles were common in this odd country. It was indeed a very +land of paradoxes. + +Now I wondered why these pilgrims, who were naturally made erect +with an eye formed to look up to _the things above_, yet had their +eyes almost constantly bent in the other direction, riveted to the +earth, and fastened _on things below_, just like those animals who +walk on all fours. I was told they had not always been subject to +this weakness of sight, and proneness to earth; that they had +originally been upright and beautiful, having been created after the +image of the lord, who was himself the perfection of beauty; that he +had, at first, placed them in a far superior situation, which he had +given them in perpetuity; but that their first ancestors fell from +it through pride and carelessness; that upon this the freehold was +taken away, they lost their original strength, brightness, and +beauty, and were driven out into this strange country, where, +however, they had every opportunity given them of recovering their +original health, and the lord's favor and likeness; for they were +become so disfigured, and were grown so unlike him, that you would +hardly believe they were his own children, though, in some, the +resemblance was become again visible. + +The lord, however, was so merciful, that, instead of giving them up +to the dreadful consequences of their own folly, as he might have +done without any impeachment of his justice, he gave them immediate +comfort, and promised them that, in due time, his own son should +come down and restore them to the future inheritance which he should +purchase for them. And now it was, that in order to keep up their +spirits, after they had lost their estate through the folly of their +ancestors, that he began to give them a part of their former +title-deed. He continued to send them portions of it from time to +time by different faithful servants, whom, however, these ungrateful +people generally used ill, and some of whom they murdered. But for +all this, the lord was so very forgiving, that he at length sent +these mutineers a proclamation of full and free pardon by his son. +This son, though they used him in a more cruel manner than they had +done any of his servants, yet after having _finished the work his +father gave him to do_, went back into the _far country_ to prepare +a place for all them who believe in him; and there he still lives; +begging and pleading for those unkind people, whom he still loves +and forgives, and will restore to the purchased inheritance on the +easy terms of their being heartily sorry for what they have done, +thoroughly desirous of pardon, and convinced that _he is able and +willing to save to the uttermost all them that come unto him_. + +I saw, indeed, that many old offenders appeared to be sorry for what +they had done; that is, they did not like to be punished for it. +They were willing enough to be delivered from the penalty of their +guilt, but they did not heartily wish to be delivered from the power +of it. Many declared, in the most public manner, once every week, +that they were sorry they had done amiss; _that they had erred and +strayed like lost sheep_, but it was not enough to _declare_ their +sorrow, ever so often, if they gave no other sign of their +penitence. For there was so little truth in them, that the lord +required other proofs of their sincerity beside their own word, for +they often lied with their lips and dissembled with their tongue. +But those who professed to be penitent must give some outward proof +of it. They were neither allowed to raise heaps of clay, by +circumventing their neighbors, or to keep great piles lying by them +useless; nor must they barter them for any of those idle vanities +which reduced the heaps on a sudden; for I found that among the +grand articles of future reckoning, the use they had made of the +heaps would be a principal one. + +I was sorry to observe many of the fairer part of these pilgrims +spend too much of their heaps in adorning and beautifying their +tenements of clay, in painting, whitewashing, and enameling them. +All those tricks, however, did not preserve them from decay; and +when they grew old, they even looked worse for all this cost and +varnish. Some, however, acted a more sensible part, and spent no +more upon their moldering tenements than just to keep them whole and +clean, and in good repair, which is what every tenant ought to do; +and I observed, that those who were most moderate in the care of +their own tenements, were most attentive to repair and warm the +ragged tenements of others. But none did this with much zeal or +acceptance, but those who had acquired a habit of overlooking _the +things below_, and who also, by the constant use of the telescope +had got their natural weak and dim sight so strengthened, as to be +able to discern pretty distinctly the nature of the _things above_. +The habit of fixing their eyes on these glories made all the shining +trifles, which compose the mass of _things below_, at last appear in +their own diminutive littleness. For it was in this case +particularly true, that things are only big or little by comparison; +and there was no other way of making the _things below_, appear as +small as they really were, but by comparing them, by means of the +telescope, with the _things above_. But I observed that the false +judgment of the pilgrims ever kept pace with their wrong practices; +for those who kept their eyes fastened on the _things below_, were +reckoned wise in their generation, while the few who looked forward +to the future glories, were accounted by the bustlers, or heapers, +to be either fools or mad. + +Most of these pilgrims went on in adorning their tenements, adding +to their heaps, grasping the _things below_ as if they would never +let them go, shutting their eyes, instead of using their telescope, +and neglecting their title-deed, as if it was the parchment of +another man's estate, and not of their own; till one after another +each felt his tenement tumbling about his ears. Oh! then what a +busy, bustling, anxious, terrifying, distracting moment was that! +What a deal of business was to be done, and what a strange time was +this to do it in! Now, to see the confusion and dismay occasioned by +having left every thing to the last minute. First, some one was sent +for to make over the yellow heaps, to another, which the heaper now +found would be of no use to himself in shooting the gulf; a transfer +which ought to have been made while the tenement was sound. Then +there was a consultation between two or three masons at once +perhaps, to try to patch up the walls, and strengthen the props, and +stop the decays of the tumbling tenement; but not till the masons +were forced to declare it was past repairing (a truth they were +rather too apt to keep back) did the tenant seriously think it was +time to pack up, prepare and begone. Then what sending for the wise +men who professed to explain the title-deed! And oh! what remorse +that they had neglected to examine it till their senses were too +confused for so weighty a business! What reproaches, or what +exhortations to others, to look better after their own affairs than +they had done. Even to the wisest of the inhabitants the falling of +their tenements was a solemn thing; solemn, but not surprising; they +had long been packing up and preparing; they praised their lord's +goodness that they had been suffered to stay so long; many +acknowledged the mercy of their frequent warnings, and confessed +that those very dilapidations which had made the house uncomfortable +had been a blessing, as it had set them on diligent preparation for +their future inheritance; had made them more earnest in examining +their title to it, and had set them on such a frequent application +to the telescope, that the _things above_ had seemed every day to +approach nearer and nearer, and the _things below_ to recede and +vanish in proportion. These desired not to be _unclothed but to be +clothed upon, for they knew that if their tabernacle was dissolved, +they had an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens_. + + + + +THE VALLEY OF TEARS. + +A VISION; + +OR, BEAR YE ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS. + + +Once upon a time methought I set out upon a long journey, and the +place through which I traveled appeared to be a dark valley, which +was called the Valley of Tears. It had obtained this name, not only +on account of the many sorrowful adventures which poor passengers +commonly meet with in their journey through it; but also because +most of these travelers entered it weeping and crying, and left it +in very great pain and anguish. This vast valley was full of people +of all colors, ages, sizes and descriptions. But whether white or +black, or tawny, all were traveling the same road; or rather they +were taking different little paths which all led to the same common +end. + +Now it was remarkable, that notwithstanding the different +complexions, ages, and tempers of this vast variety of people, yet +all resembled each other in this one respect, that each had a burden +on his back which he was destined to carry through the toil and heat +of the day, until he should arrive, by a longer or shorter course, +at his journey's end. These burdens would in general have made the +pilgrimage quite intolerable, had not the lord of the valley, out of +his great compassion for these poor pilgrims, provided, among other +things, the following means for their relief. + +In their full view over the entrance of the valley, there were +written, in great letters of gold, the following words: + + BEAR YE ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS. + +Now I saw in my vision that many of the travelers hurried on without +stopping to read this inscription, and others, though they had once +read it, yet paid little or no attention to it. A third sort thought +it very good advice for other people, but very seldom applied it to +themselves. They uniformly desired to avail themselves of the +assistance which by this injunction others were bound to offer them, +but seldom considered that the obligation was mutual, and that +reciprocal wants and reciprocal services formed the strong cord in +the bond of charity. In short, I saw that too many of these people +were of opinion that they had burdens enough of their own, and that +there was therefore no occasion to take upon them those of others; +so each tried to make his own load as light, and his own journey as +pleasant as he could, without so much as once casting a thought on a +poor overloaded neighbor. Here, however, I have to make a rather +singular remark, by which I shall plainly show the folly of these +selfish people. It was so ordered and contrived by the lord of this +valley, that if any one stretched out his hand to lighten a +neighbor's burden, in fact he never failed to find that he at that +moment also lightened his own. Besides the benefit of helping each +other, was as mutual as the obligation. If a man helped his +neighbor, it commonly happened that some other neighbor came +by-and-by and helped him in his turn; for there was no such thing as +what we called _independence_ in the whole valley. Not one of all +these travelers, however stout and strong, could move on comfortably +without assistance, for so the lord of the valley, whose laws were +all of them kind and good, had expressly ordained. + +I stood still to watch the progress of these poor wayfaring people, +who moved slowly on, like so many ticket-porters, with burdens of +various kinds on their backs; of which some were heavier and some +were lighter, but from a burden of one kind or other, not one +traveler was entirely free. There might be some difference in the +degree, and some distinction in the nature, but exemption there was +none. + + +THE WIDOW. + +A sorrowful widow, oppressed with the burden of grief for the loss +of an affectionate husband, moved heavily on, and would have been +bowed down by her heavy load, had not the surviving children, with +great alacrity, stepped forward and supported her. Their kindness, +after a while, so much lightened the load which threatened at first +to be intolerable, that she even went on her way with cheerfulness, +and more than repaid their help, by applying the strength she +derived from it to their future assistance. + + +THE HUSBAND. + +I next saw a poor old man tottering under a burden so heavy, that I +expected him every moment to sink under it. I peeped into his pack, +and saw it was made up of many sad articles: there were poverty, +oppression, sickness, debt, and, what made by far the heaviest part, +undutiful children. I was wondering how it was that he got on even +so well as he did, till I spied his wife, a kind, meek, Christian +woman, who was doing her utmost to assist him. She quietly got +behind, gently laid her shoulder to the burden, and carried a much +larger portion of it than appeared to me when I was at a distance. +It was not the smallest part of the benefit that she was anxious to +conceal it. She not only sustained him by her strength, but cheered +him by her counsels. She told him, that "through much tribulation +we must enter into rest;" that "he that overcometh shall inherit +all things." In short, she so supported his fainting spirit, that he +was enabled to "run with patience the race which was set before +him." + + +THE KIND NEIGHBOR. + +An infirm, blind woman was creeping forward, with a very heavy +burden, in which were packed sickness and want, with numberless +other of those raw materials out of which human misery is worked up. +She was so weak that she could not have got on at all, had it not +been for the kind assistance of another woman almost as poor as +herself, who, though she had no light burden of her own, cheerfully +lent a helping hand to a fellow-traveler who was still more heavily +laden. This friend had indeed little or nothing to give, but the +very voice of kindness is soothing to the weary. And I remarked in +many other cases, that it was not so much the degree of the help +afforded, as the manner of helping that lightened the burdens. Some +had a coarse, rough, clumsy way of assisting a neighbor, which, +though in fact it might be of real use, yet seemed, by galling the +traveler, to add to the load it was intended to lighten; while I +observed in others that so cheap a kindness as a mild word, or even +an affectionate look made a poor burdened wretch move on cheerily. +The bare feeling that some human being cared for him, seemed to +lighten the load. But to return to this kind neighbor. She had a +little old book in her hand, the covers of which were worn out by +much use. When she saw the blind woman ready to faint, she would +read her a few words out of this book, such as the following: +"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of +heaven." "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." +"I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." "For our light +affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh out for us a far +more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." These quickened the +pace, and sustained the spirits of the blind traveler; and the kind +neighbor, by thus directing the attention of the poor sufferer to +the blessings of a better world, helped to enable her to sustain the +affliction of this, more effectually than if she had had gold and +silver to bestow on her. + + +THE CLERGYMAN. + +A pious minister, sinking under the weight of a distressed parish, +whose worldly wants he was totally unable to bear, was suddenly +relieved by a charitable widow, who came up and took all the sick +and hungry on her own shoulders as her part of the load. The burden +of the parish, thus divided, became tolerable. The minister being no +longer bowed down by the temporal distresses of his people, applied +himself cheerfully to his own part of the weight. And it was +pleasant to see how those two persons, neither of them very strong, +or rich, or healthy, by thus kindly uniting together, were enabled +to bear the weight of a whole parish; though singly, either of them +must have sunk under the attempt. And I remember one great grief I +felt during my whole journey was, that I did not see more of this +union and concurring kindness--more of this acting in concert, by +which all the burdens might have been so easily divided. It troubled +me to observe, that of all the laws of the valley there was not one +more frequently broken than _the law of kindness_. + + +THE NEGROES. + +I now spied a swarm of poor black men, women, and children, a +multitude which no man could number; these groaned, and toiled, and +sweated, and bled under far heavier loads than I have yet seen. But +for a while no man helped them; at length a few white travelers +were touched with the sorrowful sighing of those millions, and very +heartily did they put their hands to the burdens; but their number +was not quite equal to the work they had undertaken. I perceived, +however, that they never lost sight of these poor heavily-laden +wretches; though often repulsed, they returned again to the charge; +though discomfited, they renewed the effort, and some even pledged +themselves to an annual attempt till the project was accomplished; +and as the number of these generous helpers increased every year, I +felt a comfortable hope, that before all the blacks got out of the +valley, the whites would fairly divide the burden, and the loads +would be effectually lightened. + +Among the travelers, I had occasion to remark, that those who most +kicked and struggled under their burdens, only made them so much the +heavier, for their shoulders became extremely galled by these vain +and ineffectual struggles. The load, if borne patiently, would in +the end have turned even to the advantage of the bearers, for so the +lord of the valley had kindly decreed; but as to these grumblers, +they had all the smart, and none of the benefit; they had the +present suffering without the future reward. But the thing which +made all these burdens seem so very heavy was, that in every one +without exception, there was a certain _inner packet_, which most of +the travelers took pains to conceal, and kept carefully wrapped up; +and while they were forward enough to complain of the other part of +their burdens, few said a word about this, though in truth it was +the pressing weight of this _secret packet_ which served to render +the general burden so intolerable. In spite of all their caution, I +contrived to get a peep at it. I found in each that this packet had +the same label--the word SIN was written on all as a general title, +and in ink so black that they could not wash it out. I observed that +most of them took no small pains to hide the writing; but I was +surprised to see that they did not try to get rid of the load but +the label. If any kind friend who assisted these people in bearing +their burdens, did but so much as hint at the _secret packet_, or +advise them to get rid of it, they took fire at once, and commonly +denied they had any such article in their portmanteau; and it was +those whose _secret packet_ swelled to the most enormous size, who +most stoutly denied they had any. + +I saw with pleasure, however, that some who had long labored +heartily to get rid of this inward packet, at length found it much +diminished, and the more this packet shrunk in size, the lighter was +the other part of their burden also. I observed, moreover, that +though the label always remained in some degree indelible, yet that +those who were in earnest to get rid of the load, found that the +original traces of the label grew fainter also; it was never quite +obliterated in any, though in some cases it seemed nearly effaced. + +Then methought, all at once, I heard a voice, as it had been the +voice of an angel, crying out and saying, "Ye unhappy pilgrims, why +are ye troubled about the burden which ye are doomed to bear through +this valley of tears? Know ye not, that as soon as ye shall have +escaped out of this valley the whole burden shall drop off, provided +ye neglect not to remove that inward weight, that secret load of SIN +which principally oppresses you? Study, then, the whole will of the +lord of this valley. Learn from him how this heavy part of your +burdens may now be lessened, and how at last it may be removed +forever. Be comforted. Faith and hope may cheer you even in this +valley. The passage, though it seems long to weary travelers, is +comparatively short, for beyond there is a land of everlasting rest, +where ye shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; where ye +shall be led by living fountains of waters, and all tears shall be +wiped away from your eyes." + + + + +THE STRAIT GATE AND THE BROAD WAY. + + +Now, I had a second vision of what was passing in the Valley of +Tears. Methought I saw again the same kind of travelers whom I had +seen in the former part, and they were wandering at large through +the same vast wilderness. At first setting out on his journey, each +traveler had a small lamp so fixed in his bosom that it seemed to +make a part of himself; but as this natural light did not prove to +be sufficient to direct them in the right way, the king of the +country, in pity to their wanderings and blindness, out of his +gracious condescension, promised to give these poor wayfaring people +an additional supply of light from his own royal treasury. But as he +did not choose to lavish his favors where there seemed no +disposition to receive them, he would not bestow any of his oil on +such as did not think it worth asking for. "Ask and ye shall have," +was the universal rule he laid down for them. But though they knew +the condition of the obligation, many were prevented from asking +through pride and vanity, for they thought they had light enough +already, preferring the feeble glimmering of their own lamp to all +the offered light from the king's treasury. Yet it was observed of +those who had rejected it, as thinking they had enough, that hardly +any acted up to what even their own natural light showed them. +Others were deterred from asking, because they were told that this +light not only pointed out the dangers and difficulties of the +road, but by a certain reflecting power, it turned inward on +themselves, and revealed to them ugly sights in their own hearts, to +which they rather chose to be blind; for those travelers were of +that preposterous number who "chose darkness rather than light," and +for the old obvious reason--"because their deeds were evil." Now, it +was remarkable that these two properties were inseparable, and that +the lamp would be of little outward use, except to those who used it +as an internal reflector. A threat and a promise also never failed +to accompany the offer of this light from the king: a promise that +to those who improved what they had, more should be given; and a +threat, that from those who did not use it wisely, should be taken +away even what they had. + +I observed that when the road was very dangerous; when terrors, and +difficulties, and death beset the fervent traveler; then, on their +faithful importunity, the king voluntarily gave large and bountiful +supplies of light, such as in common seasons never could have been +expected: always proportioning the quantity to the necessity of the +case; "as their day was, such was their light and strength." + +Though many chose to depend entirely on their own original lamp, yet +it was observed that this light was apt to go out if left to itself. +It was easily blown out by those violent gusts which were +perpetually howling through the wilderness; and indeed it was the +natural tendency of that unwholesome atmosphere to extinguish it, +just as you have seen a candle go out when exposed to the vapors and +foul air of a damp room. It was a melancholy sight to see multitudes +of travelers heedlessly pacing on boasting they had light enough of +their own, and despising the offer of more. + +But what astonished me most of all was, to see many, and some of +them too accounted men of first rate wit, actually busy in blowing +out their own light, because while any spark of it remained, it +only served to torment them, and point out things which they did not +wish to see. And having once blown out their own light, they were +not easy till they had blown out that of their neighbors also; so +that a good part of this wilderness seemed to exhibit a sort of +universal _blindman's buff_, each endeavoring to catch his neighbor, +while his own voluntary blindness exposed him to be caught himself; +so that each was actually falling into the snare he was laying for +another till at length, as selfishness is the natural consequence of +blindness, "catch he that catch can," became the general motto of +the wilderness. + +Now I saw in my vision, that there were some others who were busy in +strewing the most gaudy flowers over the numerous bogs, and +precipices, and pitfalls with which the wilderness abounded; and +thus making danger and death look so gay, that poor thoughtless +creatures seemed to delight in their own destruction. Those pitfalls +did not appear deep or dangerous to the eye, because over them were +raised gay edifices with alluring names. These were filled with +singing men and singing women, and with dancing, and feasting, and +gaming, and drinking, and jollity, and madness. But though the +scenery was gay, the footing was unsound. The floors were full of +holes, through which the unthinking merry-makers were continually +sinking. Some tumbled through in the middle of a song; more at the +end of a feast; and though there was many a cup of intoxication +wreathed round with flowers, yet there was always poison at the +bottom. But what most surprised me was that though no day passed +over their heads in which some of the most merry-makers did not drop +through, yet their loss made little impression on those who were +left. Nay, instead of being awakened to more circumspection and +self-denial by the continual dropping off of those about them, +several of them seemed to borrow from thence an argument of a direct +contrary tendency, and the very shortness of time was only urged as +a reason to use it more sedulously for the indulgence in sensual +delights. "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." "Let us +crown ourselves with rose-buds before they are withered." With these +and a thousand other such like inscriptions, the gay garlands of the +wilderness were decorated. Some admired poets were set to work to +set the most corrupt sentiments to the most harmonious tunes; these +were sung without scruple, chiefly indeed by the looser sons of +riot, but not seldom also by the more orderly daughters of sobriety, +who were not ashamed to sing to the sound of instruments, sentiments +so corrupt and immoral, that they would have blushed to speak or +read them; but the music seemed to sanctify the corruption, +especially such as was connected with love or drinking. + +Now I observed that all the travelers who had so much as a spark of +life left, seemed every now and then, as they moved onward, to cast +an eye, though with very different degrees of attention, toward the +_Happy Land_, which they were told lay at the end of their journey: +but as they could not see very far forward, and as they knew there +was a _dark and shadowy valley_ which must needs be crossed before +they could attain to the _Happy Land_, they tried to turn their +attention from it as much as they could. The truth is, they were not +sufficiently apt to consult a map and a road-book which the King had +given them, and which pointed out the path to the _Happy Land_ so +clearly that the "wayfaring men, though simple, could not err." This +map also defined very correctly the boundaries of the _Happy Land_ +from the _Land of Misery_, both of which lay on the other side of +the dark and shadowy valley; but so many beacons and lighthouses +were erected, so many clear and explicit directions furnished for +avoiding the one country and attaining the other, that it was not +the King's fault, if even one single traveler got wrong. But I am +inclined to think that, in spite of the map and road-book, and the +King's word, and his offers of assistance to get them thither, that +the travelers in general did not heartily and truly believe, after +all, that there was any such country as the _Happy Land_; or at +least the paltry and transient pleasures of the wilderness so +besotted them, the thoughts of the dark and shadowy valley so +frightened them, that they thought they should be more comfortable +by banishing all thought and forecast, and driving the subject quite +out of their heads. + +Now, I also saw in my dream, that there were two roads through the +wilderness, one of which every traveler must needs take. The first +was narrow, and difficult, and rough, but it was infallibly safe. It +did not admit the traveler to stray either to the right hand or the +left, yet it was far from being destitute of real comforts or sober +pleasures. The other was a _broad_ and _tempting way_, abounding +with luxurious fruits and gaudy flowers, to tempt the eye and please +the appetite. To forget this _dark valley_, through which every +traveler was well assured he must one day pass, seemed the object of +general desire. To this grand end, all that human ingenuity could +invent was industriously set to work. The travelers read, and they +wrote, and they painted, and they sung, and they danced, and they +drank as they went along, not so much because they all cared for +these things, or had any real joy in them, as because this restless +activity served to divert their attention from ever being fixed on +the _dark and shadowy valley_. + +The King, who knew the thoughtless tempers of the travelers, and +how apt they were to forget their journey's end, had thought of a +thousand kind little attentions to warn them of their dangers: and +as we sometimes see in our gardens written on a board in great +letters, BEWARE OF SPRING GUNS--MAN TRAPS ARE SET HERE; So had this +king caused to be written and stuck up before the eyes of the +travelers, several little notices and cautions; such as, "Broad is +the way that leadeth to destruction."--"Take heed, lest you also +perish." "Woe to them that rise up early to drink wine." "The +pleasures of sin are but for a season," etc. Such were the notices +directed to the _broad-way_ travelers; but they were so busily +engaged in plucking the flowers sometimes before they were blown, +and in devouring the fruits often before they were ripe, and in +loading themselves with _yellow clay_, under the weight of which +millions perished, that they had no time so much as to look at the +king's directions. Many went wrong because they preferred a merry +journey to a safe one, and because they were terrified by certain +notices chiefly intended for the _narrow-way_ travelers; such as, +"ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice;" but had +these foolish people allowed themselves time or patience to read to +the end, which they seldom would do, they would have seen these +comfortable words added, "But your sorrow shall be turned into joy;" +also "your joy no man taketh from you;" and, "they that sow in tears +shall reap in joy." + +Now, I also saw in my dream, that many travelers who had a strong +dread of ending at the _Land of Misery_ walked up to the _Strait +Gate_, hoping that though the entrance was narrow, yet if they could +once get in, the road would widen; but what was their grief, when on +looking more closely they saw written on the inside, "Narrow is the +way;" this made them take fright; they compared the inscriptions +with which the whole way was lined, such as, "Be ye not conformed to +this world; deny yourselves, take up your cross," with all the +tempting pleasures of the wilderness. Some indeed recollected the +fine descriptions they had read of the _Happy Land_, the _Golden +City_, and the _River of Pleasure_, and they sighed; but then those +joys were distant, and from the faintness of their light, they soon +got to think that what was remote might be uncertain, and while the +present good increased in bulk the distant good receded, diminished, +disappeared. Their faith failed; they would trust no further than +they could see; they drew back and got into the _Broad Way_, taking +a common but sad refuge in the number, the fashion, and the gayety +of their companions. When these faint-hearted people, who yet had +set out well, turned back, their light was quite put out, and then +they became worse than those who had made no attempt to get in. "For +it is impossible, that is, it is next to impossible, for those who +were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and the +good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they fall +away to renew them again to repentance." + +A few honest, humble travelers not naturally stronger than the rest, +but strengthened by their trust in the king's word, came up, by the +light of their lamps, and meekly entered in at the _Strait Gate_; as +they advanced further they felt less heavy, and though the way did +not in reality grow wider, yet they grew reconciled to the +narrowness of it, especially when they saw the walls here and there +studded with certain jewels called _promises_, such as: "He that +endureth to the end shall be saved;" and "my grace is sufficient for +you." Some, when they were almost ready to faint, were encouraged by +seeing that many niches in the _Narrow Way_ were filled with statues +and pictures of saints and martyrs, who had borne their testimony at +the stake, that the _Narrow Way_ was the safe way; and these +travelers, instead of sinking at the sight of the painted wheel and +gibbet, the sword and furnace, were animated with these words +written under them, "Those that wear white robes, came out of great +tribulation," and "be ye followers of those who through faith and +patience inherit the promises." + +In the mean time there came a great multitude of travelers all from +Laodicea; this was the largest party I had yet seen; these were +_neither hot nor cold_, they would not give up future hope, and they +could not endure present pain. So they contrived to deceive +themselves, by fancying that though they resolved to keep the _Happy +Land_ in view, yet there must needs be many different ways which +lead to it, no doubt all equally sure, without all being equally +rough; so they set on foot certain little contrivances to attain the +end without using the means, and softened down the spirit of the +king's directions to fit them to their own practice. Sometimes they +would split a direction in two, and only use that half which suited +them. For instance when they met with the following rule on the +way-post: "Trust in the Lord and be doing good," they would take the +first half, and make themselves easy with a general sort of trust, +that through the mercy of the king all would go well with them, +though they themselves did nothing. And on the other hand, many made +sure that a few good works of their own would do their business, and +carry them safely to the _Happy Land_, though they did _not_ trust +in the Lord, nor place any faith in his word. So they took the +second half of the spliced direction. Thus some perished by a lazy +faith, and others by a working pride. + +A large party of Pharisees now appeared, who had so neglected their +lamp that they did not see their way at all, though they fancied +themselves to be full of light; they kept up appearances so well as +to delude others, and most effectually to delude themselves with a +notion that they might be found in the right way at last. In this +dreadful delusion they went on to the end, and till they were +finally plunged in the dark valley, never discovered the horrors +which awaited them on the dismal shore. It was remarkable that while +these Pharisees were often boasting how bright their light burned, +in order to get the praise of men, the humble travelers, whose +steady light showed their good works to others, refused all +commendation, and the brighter their light shined before men, so +much the more they insisted that they ought to glorify not +themselves, but their Father which is in heaven. + +I now set myself to observe what was the particular lot, molestation +and hinderance which obstructed particular travelers in their +endeavors to enter in at the _Strait Gate_. I remarked a huge portly +man who seemed desirous of getting in, but he carried about him such +a vast provision of bags full of gold, and had on so many rich +garments, which stuffed him out so wide, that though he pushed and +squeezed, like one who had really a mind to get in, yet he could not +possibly do so. Then I heard a voice crying, "Woe to him who loadeth +himself with thick clay." The poor man felt something was wrong, and +even went so far as to change some of his more cumbersome vanities +into others which seemed less bulky, but still he and his pack were +much too wide for the gate. He would not, however, give up the +matter so easily, but began to throw away a little of the coarser +part of his baggage, but still I remarked that he threw away none of +the vanities which lay near his heart. He tried again, but it would +not do; still his dimensions were too large. He now looked up and +read these words, "How hardly shall those who have riches enter into +the kingdom of God." The poor man sighed to find that it was +impossible to enjoy his fill of both worlds, and "went away +sorrowing." If he ever afterward cast a thought toward the _Happy +Land_, it was only to regret that the road which led to it was too +narrow to admit any but the meager children of want, who were not so +incumbered by wealth as to be too big for the passage. Had he read +on, he would have seen that "with God all things are possible." + +Another advanced with much confidence of success, for having little +worldly riches or honor, the gate did not seem so strait to him. He +got to the threshold triumphantly, and seemed to look back with +disdain on all that he was quitting. He soon found, however, that he +was so bloated with pride, and stuffed out with self-sufficiency, +that he could not get in. Nay, he was in a worse way than the rich +man just named; for _he_ had been willing to throw away some of his +outward luggage, whereas this man refused to part with a grain of +that vanity and self-applause which made him too large for the way. +The sense of his own worth so swelled him out that he stuck fast in +the gateway, and could neither get in nor out. Finding now that he +must cut off all these big thoughts of himself, if he wished to be +reduced to such a size as to pass the gate, he gave up all thoughts +of it. He scorned that humility and self-denial which might have +shrunk him down to the proper dimensions; the more he insisted on +his own qualifications for entrance, the more impossible it became +to enter, for the bigger he grew. Finding that he must become quite +another manner of man before he could hope to get in, he gave up the +desire; and I now saw that though when he set his face toward the +_Happy Land_ he could not get an inch forward, yet the instant he +made a motion to turn back into the world, his speed became rapid +enough, and he got back into the _Broad Way_ much sooner than he got +out of it. + +Many, who for a time were brought down from their usual bulk by some +affliction, seemed to get in with ease. They now thought all their +difficulties over, for having been surfeited with the world during +their late disappointment, they turned their backs upon it +willingly enough, and fancied they were tired of it. A fit of +sickness, perhaps, which is very apt to _reduce_, had for a time +brought their bodies into subjection, so that they were enabled just +to get in at the gateway; but as soon as health and spirit returned, +the way grew narrower and narrower to them; and they could not get +on, but turned short, and got back into the world. I saw many +attempt to enter who were stopped short by a large burden of +_worldly cares_; others by a load of _idolatrous attachments_; but I +observed that nothing proved a more complete bar than that vast +_bundle of prejudices_ with which multitudes were loaded. Others +were fatally obstructed by loads of _bad habits_, which they would +not lay down, though they knew it prevented their entrance. + +Some few, however, of most descriptions, who had kept their _light_ +alive by craving constant supplies from the king's treasury, got +through at last by a strength which they felt not to be their own. +One poor man, who carried the largest bundle of bad habits I had +seen, could not get on a step; he never ceased, however, to implore +for light enough to see where his misery lay; he threw down one of +his bundles, then another, but all to little purpose; still he could +not stir. At last _striving as if in agony_ (which is the true way +of entering) he threw down the heaviest article in his pack; this +was _selfishness_; the poor fellow felt relieved at once, his light +burned brightly, and the rest of his pack was as nothing. + +Then I heard a great noise as of carpenters at work. I looked what +this might be, and saw many sturdy travelers, who, finding they were +too bulky to get through, took it into their heads not to reduce +themselves, but to widen the gate; they hacked on this side, and +hewed on that; but all their hacking, and hewing, and hammering was +to no purpose, they got their labor for their pains. It would have +been possible for them to have reduced themselves, had they +attempted it, but to widen the narrow way was impossible. + +What grieved me most was to observe that many who had got on +successfully a good way, now stopped to rest and to admire their own +progress. While they were thus valuing themselves on their +attainments, their light diminished. While these were boasting how +far they had left others behind who had set out much earlier, some +slower travelers, whose beginning had not been so promising, but who +had walked meekly and circumspectly, now outstripped them. These +last walked not as though they had already attained; but this one +thing they did, forgetting the things which were behind, they pushed +forward to the mark, for the prize of their high calling. These, +though naturally weak, yet _by laying aside every weight, finished +the race that was before them_. Those who had kept their "light +burning," who were not "wise in their own conceit," who "laid their +help on one that is mighty," who had "chosen to suffer affliction +rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season," came at +length to the _Happy Land_. They had indeed the _Dark and Shadowy +Valley_ to cross, but even there they found a _rod and a staff_ to +comfort them. Their light instead of being put out by the damps of +the Valley and of the Shadow of Death, often burned with added +brightness. Some indeed suffered the terrors of a short eclipse; but +even then their light, like that of a dark lantern, was not put out; +it was only turned for a while from him who carried it, and even +these often finished their course with joy. But be that as it might, +the instant they reached the _Happy Land_, all tears were wiped from +their eyes, and the king himself came forth and welcomed them into +his presence, and put a crown upon their heads, with these words, +"Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of +thy Lord." + + + + +PARLEY, THE PORTER: + +SHOWING HOW ROBBERS WITHOUT CAN NEVER GET INTO A HOUSE, UNLESS THERE +ARE TRAITORS WITHIN. + + +There was once a certain nobleman who had a house or castle situated +in the midst of a great wilderness, but inclosed in a garden. Now +there was a band of robbers in the wilderness who had a great mind +to plunder and destroy the castle, but they had not succeeded in +their endeavors, because the master had given strict orders to +"_watch without ceasing_." To quicken their vigilance he used to +tell them that their care would soon have an end: that though the +nights to watch were dark and stormy, yet they were but few; the +period of resistance was short, that of rest would be eternal. + +The robbers, however, attacked the castle in various ways. They +tried at every avenue, watched to take advantage of every careless +moment; looked for an open door or a neglected window. But though +they often made the bolts shake and the windows rattle, they could +never greatly hurt the house, much less get into it. Do you know the +reason? It was because the servants were never off their guard. They +heard the noises plain enough, and used to be not a little +frightened, for they were aware both of the strength and +perseverance of their enemies. But what seemed rather odd to some of +these servants, the lord used to tell them, that while they +continued to be afraid they would be safe; and it passed into a sort +of proverb in that family, "Happy is he that feareth always." Some +of the servants, however, thought this a contradiction. + +One day, when the master was going from home, he called his +servants all together, and spoke to them as follows: "I will not +repeat to you the directions I have so often given you; they are all +written down in THE BOOK OF LAWS, of which every one of you has a +copy. Remember, it is a very short time that you are to remain in +this castle; you will soon remove to my more settled habitation, to +a more durable house, not made with hands. As that house is never +exposed to any attack, so it never stands in need of any repair; for +that country is never infested by any sons of violence. Here you are +servants; there you will be princes. But mark my words, and you will +find the same in THE BOOK OF MY LAWS, whether you will ever attain +to _that_ house, will depend on the manner in which you defend +yourselves in _this_. A stout vigilance for a short time will secure +your certain happiness forever. But every thing depends on your +present exertions. Don't complain and take advantage of my absence, +and call me a hard master, and grumble that you are placed in the +midst of a howling wilderness without peace or security. Say not, +that you are exposed to temptations without any power to resist +them. You have some difficulties, it is true, but you have many +helps and many comforts to make this house tolerable, even before +you get to the other. Yours is not a hard service; and if it were, +'the time is short.' You have arms if you will use them, and doors +if you will bar them, and strength if you will use it. I would defy +all the attacks of the robbers without, if I could depend on the +fidelity of the people within. If the thieves ever get in and +destroy the house, it must be by the connivance of one of the +family. _For it is a standing law of this castle, that mere outward +attack can never destroy it, if there be no consenting traitor +within._ You will stand or fall as you will observe this rule. If +you are finally happy, it will be by my grace and favor; if you are +ruined, it will be your own fault." + +When the nobleman had done speaking, every servant repeated his +assurance of attachment and firm allegiance to his master. But among +them all, not one was so vehement and loud in his professions as old +Parley, the porter. Parley, indeed, it was well known, was always +talking, which exposed him to no small danger; for as he was the +foremost to promise, so he was the slackest to perform: and, to +speak the truth, though he was a civil-spoken fellow, his lord was +more afraid of him, with all his professions, than he was of the +rest who protested less. He knew that Parley was vain, credulous, +and self-sufficient; and he always apprehended more danger from +Parley's impertinence, curiosity, and love of novelty, than even +from the stronger vices of some of his other servants. The rest +indeed, seldom got into any scrape of which Parley was not the cause +in some shape or other. + +I am sorry to be obliged to confess, that though Parley was allowed +every refreshment, and all the needful rest which the nature of his +place permitted, yet he thought it very hard to be forced to be so +constantly on duty. "Nothing but watching," said Parley. "I have, to +be sure, many pleasures, and meat sufficient; and plenty of chat, in +virtue of my office, and I pick up a good deal of news of the comers +and goers by day, but it is hard that at night I must watch as +narrowly as a house-dog, and yet let in no company without orders; +only because there is said to be a few straggling _robbers_ here in +the wilderness, with whom my master does not care to let us be +acquainted. He pretends to make us vigilant through fear of the +robbers, but I suspect it is only to make us mope alone. A merry +companion and a mug of beer would make the night pass cheerily." +Parley, however, kept all these thoughts to himself, or uttered them +only when no one heard, for talk he must. He began to listen to the +nightly whistling of the robbers under the windows with rather less +alarm than formerly, and was sometimes so tired of watching, that he +thought it was even better to run the risk of being robbed once, +than to live always in the fear of robbers. + +There were certain bounds in which the lord allowed his servants to +walk and divert themselves at all proper seasons. A pleasant garden +surrounded the castle, and a thick hedge separated this garden from +the wilderness which was infested by the robbers; in this garden +they were permitted to amuse themselves. The master advised them +always to keep within these bounds. "While you observe this rule," +said he, "you will be safe and well; and you will consult your own +safety and happiness, as well as show your love to me, by not +venturing over to the extremity of your bounds; he who goes as far +as he dares, always shows a wish to go further than he ought, and +commonly does so." + +It was remarkable, that the nearer these servants kept to the +castle, and the further from the _hedge_, the more ugly the +wilderness appeared. And the nearer they approached the forbidden +bounds, their own home appeared more dull, and the wilderness more +delightful. And this the master knew when he gave his orders; for he +never either did or said any thing without a good reason. And when +his servants sometimes desired an explanation of the reason, he used +to tell them they would understand it when they came _to the other +house_; for it was one of the pleasures of that house, that it would +explain all the mysteries of this, and any little obscurities in the +master's conduct would be then made quite plain. + +Parley was the first who promised to keep clear of the _hedge_, and +yet was often seen looking as near as he durst. One day he ventured +close up to the hedge, put two or three stones one on another, and +tried to peep over. He saw one of the robbers strolling as near as +he could be on the forbidden side. This man's name was Mr. +Flatterwell, a smooth, civil man, "whose words were softer than +butter, having war in his heart." He made several low bows to +Parley. + +Now, Parley knew so little of the world, that he actually concluded +all robbers must have an ugly look which should frighten you at +once, and coarse brutal manners which would at first sight show they +were enemies. He thought, like a poor ignorant fellow as he was, +that this mild, specious person could never be one of the band. +Flatterwell accosted Parley with the utmost civility, which put him +quite off his guard; for Parley had no notion that he could be an +enemy who was so soft and civil. For an open foe he would have been +prepared. Parley, however, after a little discourse drew this +conclusion, that either Mr. Flatterwell could not be one of the +gang, or that if he was, the robbers themselves could not be such +monsters as his master had described, and therefore it was a folly +to be afraid of them. + +Flatterwell began, like a true adept in his art, by lulling all +Parley's suspicions asleep; and instead of openly abusing his +master, which would have opened Parley's eyes at once, he pretended +rather to commend him in a general way, as a person who meant well +himself, but was too apt to suspect others. To this Parley assented. +The other then ventured to hint by degrees, that though the nobleman +might be a good master in the main, yet he must say he was a little +strict, and a little stingy, and not a little censorious. That he +was blamed by the _gentlemen of the wilderness_ for shutting his +house against good company, and his servants were laughed at by +people of spirit for submitting to the gloomy life of the castle, +and the insipid pleasures of the garden, instead of ranging in the +wilderness at large. + +"It is true enough," said Parley, who was generally of the opinion +of the person he was talking with, "my master is rather harsh and +close. But to own the truth, all the barring, and locking, and +bolting, is to keep out a set of gentlemen, who he assures us are +_robbers_, and who are waiting for an opportunity to destroy us. I +hope no offense, sir, but by your livery I suspect you, sir, are one +of the gang he is so much afraid of." + +_Flatterwell._ Afraid of me? Impossible, dear Mr. Parley. You see, I +do not look like an enemy. I am unarmed; what harm can a plain man +like me do? + +_Parley._ Why, that is true enough. Yet my master says, if we were +to let you into the house, we should be ruined soul and body. + +_Flatterwell._ I am sorry, Mr. Parley, to hear so sensible a man as +you are, so deceived. This is mere prejudice. He knows we are +cheerful entertaining people, foes to gloom and superstition, and +therefore he is so morose he will not let you get acquainted with +us. + +_Parley._ Well; he says you are a band of thieves, gamblers, +murderers, drunkards, and atheists. + +_Flatterwell._ Don't believe him; the worst we should do, perhaps +is, we might drink a friendly glass with you to your master's +health, or play an innocent game of cards just to keep you awake, or +sing a cheerful song with the maids; now is there any harm in all +this? + +_Parley._ Not the least in the world. And I begin to think there is +not a word of truth in all my master says. + +_Flatterwell._ The more you know us, the more you will like us. But +I wish there was not this ugly hedge between us. I have a great deal +to say, and I am afraid of being overheard. + +Parley was now just going to give a spring over the hedge, but +checked himself, saying, "I dare not come on your side, there are +people about, and every thing is carried to the master." Flatterwell +saw by this that his new friend was kept on his own side of the +hedge by fear rather than by principle, and from that moment he made +sure of him. "Dear Mr. Parley," said he, "if you will allow me the +honor of a little conversation with you, I will call under the +window of your lodge this evening. I have something to tell you +greatly to your advantage. I admire you exceedingly. I long for your +friendship; our whole brotherhood is ambitious of being known to so +amiable a person." "O dear," said Parley, "I shall be afraid of +talking to you at night. It is so against my master's orders. But +did you say you had something to tell me to my advantage?" + +_Flatterwell._ Yes, I can point out to you how you may be a richer, +a merrier, and a happier man. If you will admit me to-night under +the window, I will convince you that it is prejudice and not wisdom, +which makes your master bar his door against us; I will convince you +that the mischief of a _robber_, as your master scurrilously calls +us, is only in the name; that we are your true friends, and only +mean to promote your happiness. + +"Don't say _we_," said Parley, "pray come alone; I would not see the +rest of the gang for the world; but I think there can be no great +harm in talking to _you_ through the bars, if you come alone; but I +am determined not to let you in. Yet I can't say but I wish to know +what you can tell me so much to my advantage; indeed, if it is for +my good I ought to know it." + +_Flatterwell. (going out, turns back.)_ Dear Mr. Parley, there is +one thing I had forgotten. I can not get over the hedge at night +without assistance. You know there is a secret in the nature of that +hedge; you in the house may get over it, into the wilderness of +your own accord, but we can not get to your side by our own +strength. You must look about to see where the hedge is thinnest, +and then set to work to clear away here and there a little bough for +me, it won't be missed; and if there is but the smallest hole made +on your side, those on ours can get through, otherwise we do but +labor in vain. To this Parley made some objection, through the fear +of being seen. Flatterwell replied, that the smallest hole from +within would be sufficient, for he could then work his own way. +"Well," said Parley, "I will consider of it. To be sure I shall even +then be equally safe in the castle, as I shall have all the bolts, +bars, and locks between us, so it will make but little difference." + +"Certainly not," said Flatterwell, who knew it would make all the +difference in the world. So they parted with mutual protestations of +regard. Parley went home charmed with his new friend. His eyes were +now clearly opened as to his master's prejudices against the +_robbers_, and he was convinced there was more in the name than in +the thing. "But," said he, "though Mr. Flatterwell is certainly an +agreeable companion, he may not be so safe an inmate. There can, +however, be no harm in talking at a distance, and I certainly won't +let him in." + +Parley, in the course of the day, did not forget his promise to thin +the hedge of separation a little. At first he only tore off a +handful of leaves, then a little sprig, then he broke away a bough +or two. It was observable, the larger the branch became, the worse +he began to think of his master, and the better of himself. Every +peep he took through the broken hedge increased his desire to get +out into the wilderness, and made the thoughts of the castle more +irksome to him. He was continually repeating to himself, "I wonder +what Mr. Flatterwell can have to say so much to my advantage? I see +he does not wish to hurt my master, he only wishes to serve me." As +the hour of meeting, however, drew near, the master's orders now and +then came across Parley's thoughts. So to divert them, he took up +THE BOOK. He happened to open it at these words: "My son, if sinners +entice thee, consent thou not." For a moment his heart failed him. +"If this admonition should be sent on purpose?" said he; but no, +'tis a bugbear. My master told me that if I went to the bounds I +should get over the hedge. Now I went to the utmost limits, and did +_not_ get over. Here conscience put in: "Yes, but it was because you +were watched." "I am sure," continued Parley, "one may always stop +where one will, and this is only a trick of my master's to spoil +sport. So I will even hear what Mr. Flatterwell has to say so much +to my advantage. I am not obliged to follow his counsels, but there +can be no harm in hearing them." + +Flatterwell prevailed on the rest of the robbers to make no public +attack on the castle that night. "My brethren," said he, "you now +and then fail in your schemes, because you are for violent +beginnings, while my smooth, insinuating measures hardly ever miss. +You come blustering and roaring, and frighten people, and set them +on their guard. You inspire them with terror of _you_, while my +whole scheme is to make them think well of _themselves_, and ill of +their master. If I once get them to entertain hard thoughts of him, +and high thoughts of themselves, my business is done, and they fall +plump into my snares. So let this delicate affair alone to me: +Parley is a softly fellow, he must not be frightened, but cajoled. +He is the very sort of a man to succeed with; and worth a hundred of +your sturdy, sensible fellows. With them we want strong arguments +and strong temptations; but with such fellows as Parley, in whom +vanity and sensuality are the leading qualities (as, let me tell +you, is the case with far the greater part) flattery and a promise +of ease and pleasure, will do more than your whole battle array. If +you will let me manage, I will get you all into the castle before +midnight." + +At night the castle was barricaded as usual, and no one had observed +the hole which Parley had made in the hedge. This oversight arose +that night from the servants' neglecting one of the master's +standing orders--to make a nightly examination of the state of +things. The neglect did not proceed so much from willful +disobedience, as from having passed the evening in sloth and +diversion, which often amounts to nearly the same in its +consequences. + +As all was very cheerful within, so all was very quiet without. And +before they went to bed, some of the servants observed to the rest, +that as they heard no robbers that night, they thought they might +now begin to remit something of their diligence in bolting and +barring: that all this fastening and locking was very troublesome, +and they hoped the danger was now pretty well over. It was rather +remarkable, that they never made these sort of observations, but +after an evening of some excess, and when they had neglected their +_private business with their master_. All, however, except Parley, +went quietly to bed, and seemed to feel uncommon security. + +Parley crept down to his lodge. He had half a mind to go to bed too. +Yet he was not willing to disappoint Mr. Flatterwell. So civil a +gentleman! To be sure he might have had bad designs. Yet what right +had he to suspect any body who made such professions, and who was so +very civil? "Besides, it is something for my advantage," added +Parley. "I will not open the door, that is certain; but as he is to +come alone, he can do me no harm through the bars of the windows: +and he will think I am a coward if I don't keep my word. No, I will +let him see that I am not afraid of my own strength; I will show him +I can go what length I please, and stop short _when_ I please." Had +Flatterwell heard this boastful speech, he would have been quite +sure of his man. + +About eleven, Parley heard the signal agreed upon. It was so gentle +as to cause little alarm. So much the worse. Flatterwell never +frightened any one, and therefore seldom failed of any one. Parley +stole softly down, planted himself at his little window, opened the +casement, and spied his new friend. It was pale starlight. Parley +was a little frightened; for he thought he perceived one or two +persons behind Flatterwell; but the other assured him it was only +his own shadow, which his fears had magnified into a company. +"Though I assure you," said he, "I have not a friend but what is as +harmless as myself." + +They now entered into serious discourse, in which Flatterwell showed +himself a deep politician. He skillfully mixed up in his +conversation a proper proportion of praise on the pleasures of the +wilderness, of compliments to Parley, of ridicule on his master, and +of abusive sneers on the BOOK in which the master's laws were +written. Against this last he had always a particular spite, for he +considered it as the grand instrument by which the lord maintained +his servants in their allegiance; and when they could once be +brought to sneer at the BOOK there was an end of submission to the +lord. Parley had not penetration enough to see his drift. "As to the +BOOK, Mr. Flatterwell," said he, "I do not know whether it be true +or false. I rather neglect than disbelieve it. I am forced, indeed, +to hear it read once a week, but I never look into it myself, if I +can help it." "Excellent," said Flatterwell to himself, "that is +just the same thing. This is safe ground for me. For whether a man +does not believe in the BOOK, or does not attend to it, it comes +pretty much to the same, and I generally get him at last." + +"Why can not we be a little nearer, Mr. Parley," said Flatterwell; +"I am afraid of being overheard by some of your master's spies. The +window from which you speak is so high; I wish you would come down +to the door." "Well," said Parley, "I see no great harm in that. +There is a little wicket in the door through which we may converse +with more ease and equal safety. The same fastenings will be still +between us." So down he went, but not without a degree of fear and +trembling. The little wicket being now opened, and Flatterwell +standing close on the outside of the door, they conversed with great +ease. "Mr. Parley," said Flatterwell, "I should not have pressed you +so much to admit me into the castle, but out of pure disinterested +regard to your own happiness. I shall get nothing by it, but I can +not bear to think that a person so wise and amiable should be shut +up in this gloomy dungeon, under a hard master, and a slave to the +unreasonable tyranny of his BOOK OF LAWS. If you admit me, you need +have no more waking, no more watching." Here Parley involuntarily +slipped back the bolt of the door. "To convince you of my true +love," continued Flatterwell, "I have brought a bottle of the most +delicious wine that grows in the wilderness. You shall taste it, but +you must put a glass through the wicket to receive it, for it is a +singular property of this wine, that we of the wilderness can not +succeed in conveying it to you of the castle, without you hold out a +vessel to receive it." "O here is a glass," said Parley, holding out +a large goblet, which he always kept ready to be filled by any +chance-comer. The other immediately poured into the capacious goblet +a large draught of that delicious intoxicating liquor, with which +the family of the Flatterwells have for near six thousand years +gained the hearts, and destroyed the souls of all the inhabitants of +the castle, whenever they have been able to prevail on them to hold +out a hand to receive it. This the wise, master of the castle well +knew would be the case, for he knew what was in men; he knew their +propensity to receive the delicious poison of the Flatterwells; and +it was for this reason that he gave them THE BOOK of his laws, and +planted the hedge and invented the bolts, and doubled the lock. + +As soon as poor Parley had swallowed the fatal draught, it acted +like enchantment. He at once lost all power of resistance. He had no +sense of fear left. He despised his own safety, forgot his master, +lost all sight of the home in the other country, and reached out for +another draught as eagerly as Flatterwell held out the bottle to +administer it. "What a fool have I been," said Parley, "to deny +myself so long!" "Will you now let me in?" said Flatterwell. "Ay, +that I will," said the deluded Parley. Though the train was now +increased to near a hundred robbers, yet so intoxicated was Parley, +that he did not see one of them except his new friend. Parley +eagerly pulled down the bars, drew back the bolts and forced open +the locks; thinking he could never let in his friend soon enough. He +had, however, just presence of mind to say, "My dear friend I hope +you are alone." Flatterwell swore he was--Parley opened the door--in +rushed, not Flatterwell only, but the whole banditti, who always +lurked behind in his train. The moment they had got sure possession, +Flatterwell changed his soft tone, and cried in a voice of thunder, +"Down with the castle; kill, burn, and destroy." + +Rapine, murder, and conflagration, by turns took place. Parley was +the very first whom they attacked. He was overpowered with wounds. +As he fell he cried out, "O my master, I die a victim to my unbelief +in thee, and to my own vanity and imprudence. O that the guardians +of all other castles would hear me with my dying breath repeat my +master's admonition, that _all attacks from without will not +destroy unless there is some confederate within_. O that the keepers +of all other castles would learn from my ruin, that he who parleys +with temptation is already undone. That he who allows himself to go +to the very bounds will soon jump over the hedge; that he who talks +out of the window with the enemy, will soon open the door to him: +that he who holds out his hand for the cup of sinful flattery, loses +all power of resisting; that when he opens the door to one sin, all +the rest fly in upon him, and the man perishes as I now do." + + + + +THE GRAND ASSIZES, ETC.; + +OR, GENERAL JAIL DELIVERY. + + +There was in a certain country a great king, who was also a judge. +He was very merciful, but he was also very just; for he used to say, +that justice was the foundation of all goodness, and that +indiscriminate and misapplied mercy was in fact injustice. His +subjects were apt enough, in a general way, to extol his merciful +temper, and especially those subjects who were always committing +crimes which made them particularly liable to be punished by his +justice. This last quality they constantly kept out of sight, till +they had cheated themselves into a notion that he was too good to +punish at all. + +Now it had happened a long time before, that this whole people had +broken their allegiance, and had forfeited the king's favor, and had +also fallen from a very prosperous state in which he had originally +placed them, having one and all become bankrupts. But when they were +over head and ears in debt, and had nothing to pay, the king's son +most generously took the whole burden of their debts on himself; +and, in short, it was proposed that all their affairs should be +settled, and their very crimes forgiven (for they were criminals as +well as debtors), provided only they would show themselves sincerely +sorry for what they had done themselves, and be thankful for what +had been done for them. I should, however, remark, that a book was +also given them, in which a true and faithful account of their own +rebellion was written; and of the manner of obtaining the king's +pardon, together with a variety of directions for their conduct in +time to come; and in this book it was particularly mentioned, that +after having lived a certain number of years in a remote part of the +same king's country, yet still under his eye and jurisdiction, there +should be a _grand assizes_, when every one was to be publicly tried +for his past behavior; and after this trial was over, certain heavy +punishments were to be inflicted on those who should have still +persisted in their rebellion, and certain high premiums were to be +bestowed as a gracious reward upon the penitent and obedient. + +It may be proper here to notice, that this king's court differed in +some respect from our courts of justice, being indeed a sort of +court of appeal, to which questions were carried after they had been +imperfectly decided in the common courts! And although with us all +criminals are tried (and a most excellent mode of trial it is) by a +jury of their peers, yet in this king's country the mode was very +different; for since every one of the people had been in a certain +sense criminals, the king did not think it fair to make them judges +also. It would, indeed, have been impossible to follow in all +respects the customs which prevail with us, for the crimes with +which men are charged in our courts are mere _overt acts_, as the +lawyers call them, that is, acts which regard the outward behavior; +such as the acts of striking, maiming, stealing, and so forth. But +in this king's court it was not merely outward sins, but sins of the +heart also which were to be punished. Many a crime, therefore, which +was never heard of in the court of King's Bench, or at the Old +Bailey, and which indeed could not be cognizable by these courts, +was here to be brought to light, and was reserved for this great +day. Among these were pride, and oppression, and envy, and malice, +and revenge, and covetousness, and secret vanity of mind, and evil +thoughts of all sorts, and all sinful wishes and desires. When +covetousness, indeed, put men on committing robbery, or when malice +drove them to acts of murder, then the common courts immediately +judged the criminal, without waiting for these great assizes; +nevertheless, since even a thief and murderer would now and then +escape in the common courts, for want of evidence, or through some +fault or other of the judge or jury, the escape was of little moment +to the poor criminal, for he was sure to be tried again by this +great king; and even though the man should have been punished in +some sense before, yet he had now a further and more lasting +punishment to fear, unless, indeed, he was one of those who had +obtained (by the means I before spoke of) this great king's pardon. +The _sins of the heart_, however, were by far the most numerous sort +of sins, which were to come before this great tribunal; and these +were to be judged by this great king in person, and by none but +himself; because he alone possessed a certain power of getting at +all secrets. + +I once heard of a certain king of Sicily, who built a whispering +gallery in the form of an ear, through which he could hear every +word his rebellious subjects uttered, though spoken ever so low. But +this secret of the king of Sicily was nothing to what this great +king possessed; for he had the power of knowing every thought which +was conceived in the mind, though it never broke out into words, or +proceeded to actions. + +Now you may be ready to think, perhaps, that these people were worse +off than any others, because they were to be examined so closely, +and judged so strictly. Far from it; the king was too just to expect +bricks without giving them straw; he gave them, therefore, every +help that they needed. He gave them a book of directions, as I +before observed; and because they were naturally short-sighted, he +supplied them with a glass for reading it, and thus the most +dim-sighted might see, if they did not willfully shut their eyes: +but though the king _invited_ them to open their eyes, he did not +_compel_ them; and many remain stone blind all their lives with the +book in their hand, because they would not use the glass, nor take +the proper means for reading and understanding all that was written +for them. The humble and sincere learned in time to see even that +part of the book which was least plainly written; and it was +observed that the ability to understand it depended more on the +heart than the head; an evil disposition blinded the sight, while +humility operated like an eye-salve. + +Now it happened that those who had been so lucky as to escape the +punishment of the lower courts, took it into their heads that they +were all very good sort of people, and of course very safe from any +danger at this _great assize_. This grand intended trial, indeed, +had been talked of so much, and put off so long (for it had seemed +long at least to these short-sighted people) that many persuaded +themselves it would never take place at all; and far the greater +part were living away therefore, without ever thinking about it; +they went on just as if nothing at all had been done for their +benefit; and as if they had no king to please, no king's son to be +thankful to, no book to guide themselves by, and as if the assizes +were never to come about. + +But with this king _a thousand years were as a day, for he was not +slack concerning his promises, as some men count slackness_. So at +length the solemn period approached. Still, however, the people did +not prepare for the solemnity, or rather, they prepared for it much +as some of the people of our provincial towns are apt to prepare +for the annual assize times; I mean by balls and feastings, and they +saw their own trial come on with as little concern as is felt by the +people in our streets when they see the judge's procession enter the +town; they indeed comfort themselves that it is only those in the +prisons who are guilty. + +But when at last the day came, and every man found that he was to be +judged for himself; and that somehow or other, all his secrets were +brought out, and that there was now no escape, not even a short +reprieve, things began to take a more serious turn. Some of the +worst of the criminals were got together debating in an outer court +of the grand hall; and there they passed their time, not in +compunction and tears, not in comparing their lives with what was +required in that book which had been given them, but they derived a +fallacious hope by comparing themselves with such as had been still +more notorious offenders. + +One who had grown wealthy by rapine and oppression, but had +contrived to keep within the letter of the law, insulted a poor +fellow as a thief, because he had stolen a loaf of bread. "You are +far wickeder than I was," said a citizen to his apprentice, "for you +drank and swore at the ale-house every Sunday night." "Yes," said +the poor fellow, "but it was your fault that I did so, for you took +no care of my soul, but spent all your Sabbaths in jaunting abroad +or in rioting at home; I might have learned, but there was no one to +teach me; I might have followed a good example, but I saw only bad +ones. I sinned against less light than you did." A drunken +journeyman who had spent all his wages on gin, rejoiced that he had +not spent a great estate in bribery at elections, as the lord of his +manor had done, while a perjured elector boasted that he was no +drunkard like the journeyman; and the member himself took comfort +that he had never _received_ the bribes which he had not been +ashamed to _offer_. + +I have not room to describe the awful pomp of the court, nor the +terrible sounding of the trumpet which attended the judge's +entrance, nor the sitting of the judge, nor the opening of the +books, nor the crowding of the millions, who stood before him. I +shall pass over the multitudes who were tried and condemned to +dungeons and chains, and eternal fire, and to perpetual banishment +from the presence of the king, which always seemed to be the saddest +part of the sentence. I shall only notice further, a few who brought +some plea of merit, and claimed a right to be rewarded by the king, +and even deceived themselves so far as to think that his own book of +laws would be their justification. + +A thoughtless spendthrift advanced without any contrition, and said, +"that he had lived handsomely, and had hated the covetous whom God +abhorreth; that he trusted in the passage of the book which said, +that _covetousness was idolatry_; and that he therefore hoped for a +favorable sentence." Now it proved that this man had not only +avoided covetousness, but that he had even left his wife and +children in want through his excessive prodigality. The judge +therefore immediately pointed to that place in the book where it is +written, _he that provideth not for his household is worse than an +infidel. He that liveth in pleasure is dead while he liveth_; +"thou," said he, "_in thy lifetime, receivedst thy good things, and +now thou must be tormented_." Then a miser, whom hunger and hoarding +had worn to skin and bone, crept forward, and praised the sentence +passed on the extravagant youth, "and surely," said he, "since he is +condemned, I am a man that may make some plea to favor--I was never +idle or drunk, I kept my body in subjection, I have been so +self-denying that I am certainly a saint: I have loved neither +father nor mother, nor wife nor children, to excess, in all this I +have obeyed the book of the law." Then the judge said, "But where +are thy works of mercy and thy labors of love? see that family which +perished in thy sight last hard winter while thy barns were +overflowing; that poor family were my representatives; yet they were +hungry, and thou gavest them no meat. _Go to, now, thou rich man, +weep and howl for the miseries that are come upon you. Your gold and +silver is cankered, and the rust of them shall be a witness against +you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire._" + +Then came up one with a most self-sufficient air. He walked up +boldly, having in one hand the plan of a hospital which he had +built, and in the other the drawing of the statue which was erecting +for him in the country that he had just left, and on his forehead +appeared, in gold letters, the list of all the public charities to +which he had subscribed. He seemed to take great pleasure in the +condemnation of the miser, and said, "Lord when saw I thee hungry +and fed thee not, or in prison and visited thee not? I have visited +the fatherless and widow in their affliction." Here the judge cut +him short, by saying, "True, thou didst visit the fatherless, but +didst thou fulfill equally that other part of my command, 'to keep +thyself unspotted from the world.' No, thou wast conformed to the +world in many of its sinful customs, thou didst follow a multitude +to do evil; thou didst love the world and the things of the world; +and the motive to all thy charities was not a regard to me but to +thy own credit with thy fellow-men. Thou hast done every thing for +the sake of reputation, and now thou art vainly trusting in thy +deceitful works, instead of putting all thy trust in my son, who has +offered himself to be a surety for thee. Where has been that +humility and gratitude to him which was required of thee? No, thou +wouldest be thine own surety: thou hast trusted in thyself: thou +hast made thy boast of thine own goodness; thou hast sought after +and thou hast enjoyed the praise of men, and verily I say unto thee, +'thou hast had thy reward.'" + +A poor, diseased, blind cripple, who came from the very hospital +which this great man had built, then fell prostrate on his face, +crying out, "Lord be merciful to me a sinner!" on which the judge, +to the surprise of all, said, "Well done, good and faithful +servant." The poor man replied, "Lord, I have done nothing!" "But +thou hast 'suffered well:'" said the judge; "thou hast been an +example of patience and meekness, and though thou hadst but few +talents, yet thou hast well improved those few; thou hadst time, +this thou didst spend in the humble duties of thy station, and also +in earnest prayer; thou didst pray even for that proud founder of +the hospital, who never prayed for himself; thou wast indeed blind +and lame, but it is no where said, My son give me thy feet, or thine +eyes, but Give me thy heart; and even the few faculties I did grant +thee, were employed to my glory; with thine ears thou didst listen +to my word, with thy tongue thou didst show forth my praise: 'enter +thou into the joy of thy Lord.'" + +There were several who came forward, and boasted of some single and +particular virtue, in which they had been supposed to excel. One +talked of his generosity, another of his courage, and a third of his +fortitude; but it proved on a close examination, that some of those +supposed virtues were merely the effect of a particular constitution +of body; the others proceeded from a false motive, and that not a +few of them were actual vices, since they were carried to excess; +and under the pretense of fulfilling one duty, some other duty was +lost sight of; in short, these partial virtues were none of them +practiced in obedience to the will of the King, but merely to please +the person's own humor, or to gain praise, and they would not, +therefore, stand this day's trial, for "he that had kept the whole +law, and yet had willfully and habitually offended in any one point, +was declared guilty of breaking the whole." + +At this moment a sort of thick scales fell from the eyes of the +multitude. They could now no longer take comfort, as they had done +for so many years, by measuring their neighbors' conduct against +their own. Each at once saw himself in his true light, and found, +alas! when it was too late, that he should have made the book which +had been given him his rule of practice before, since it now proved +to be the rule by which he was to be judged. Nay, every one now +thought himself even worse than his neighbor, because, while he only +_saw_ and _heard_ of the guilt of others, he _felt_ his own in all +its aggravated horror. + +To complete their confusion they were compelled to acknowledge the +justice of the judge who condemned them: and also to approve the +favorable sentence by which thousands of other criminals had not +only their lives saved, but were made happy and glorious beyond all +imagination; not for any great merits which they had to produce, but +in consequence of their sincere repentance, and their humble +acceptance of the pardon offered to them by the King's son. One +thing was remarkable, that whilst most of those who were condemned, +never expected condemnation, but even claimed a reward for their +supposed innocence or goodness, all who were really rewarded and +forgiven were sensible that they owed their pardon to a mere act of +grace, and they cried out with one voice, "Not unto us, not unto us, +but unto thy name be the praise!" + + + + +THE SERVANT MAN TURNED SOLDIER; + +OR, THE FAIR-WEATHER CHRISTIAN. + + +William was a lively young servant, who lived in a _great, but very +irregular family_. His place was on the whole agreeable to him, and +suited to his gay and thoughtless temper. He found a plentiful table +and a good cellar. There was, indeed, a great deal of work to be +done, though it was performed with much disorder and confusion. The +family in the main were not unkind to him, though they often +contradicted and crossed him, especially when things went ill with +themselves. This, William never much liked, for he was always fond +of having his own way. There was a merry, or rather a noisy and +riotous servants' hall; for disorder and quarrels are indeed the +usual effects of plenty and unrestrained indulgence. The men were +smart, but idle; the maids were showy but licentious, and all did +pretty much as they liked for a time, but the time was commonly +short. The wages were reckoned high, but they were seldom paid, and +it was even said by sober people, that the family was insolvent, and +never fulfilled any of their flattering engagements, or their most +positive promises; but still, notwithstanding their real poverty, +things went on with just the same thoughtlessness and splendor, and +neither master nor servants looked beyond the jollity of the present +hour. + +In this unruly family there was little church-going, and still less +praying at home. They pretended, indeed, in a general way, to +believe in the Bible, but it was only an outward profession; few of +them read it at all, and even of those who did read still fewer were +governed by it. There was indeed a Bible lying on the table in the +great hall, which was kept for the purpose of administering an oath, +but was seldom used on any other occasion, and some of the heads of +the family were of opinion that this was its only real use, as it +might serve to keep the lower parts of it in order. + +William, who was fond of novelty and pleasure, was apt to be +negligent of the duties of the house. He used to stay out on his +errands, and one of his favorite amusements was going to the parade +to see the soldiers exercise. He saw with envy how smartly they were +dressed, listened with rapture to the music, and fancied that a +soldier had nothing to do but to walk to and fro in a certain +regular order, to go through a little easy exercise, in short, to +live without fighting, fatigue, or danger. + +O, said he, whenever he was affronted at home, what a fine thing it +must be to be a soldier! to be so well dressed, to have nothing to +do but to move to the pleasant sound of fife and drum, and to have +so many people come to look at one, and admire one. O it must be a +fine thing to be a soldier! + +Yet when the vexation of the moment was over, he found so much ease +and diversion in the great family, it was so suited to his low taste +and sensual appetites, that he thought no more of the matter. He +forgot the glories of a soldier, and eagerly returned to all the +mean gratifications of the kitchen. His evil habits were but little +attended to by those with whom he lived; his faults, among which +were lying and swearing, were not often corrected by the family, who +had little objections to those sins, which only offended God and +did not much affect their own interest or property. And except that +William was obliged to work rather more than he liked, he found +little, while he was young and healthy, that was very disagreeable +in this service. So he went on, still thinking, however, when things +went a little cross, what a fine thing it was to be a soldier! At +last one day as he was waiting at dinner, he had the misfortune to +let fall a china dish, and broke it all to pieces. It was a curious +dish, much valued by the family, as they pretended; this family were +indeed apt to set a false fantastic value on things, and not to +estimate them by their real worth. The heads of the family, who had +generally been rather patient and good-humored with William, as I +said before, for those vices, which though offensive to God did not +touch their own pocket, now flew out into a violent passion with +him, called him a thousand hard names, and even threatened to +horsewhip him for his shameful negligence. + +William in a great fright, for he was a sad coward at bottom, ran +directly out of the house to avoid the threatened punishment; and +happening just at that very time to pass by the parade where the +soldiers chanced to be then exercising, his resolution was taken in +a moment. He instantly determined to be no more a slave, as he +called it; he would return no more to be subject to the humors of a +tyrannical family: no, he was resolved to be free; or at least, if +he must serve, he would serve no master but the king. + +William, who had now and then happened to hear from the accidental +talk of the soldiers that those who served the great family he had +lived with, were slaves to their tyranny and vices, had also heard +in the same casual manner, that the service of the king was _perfect +freedom_. Now he had taken it into his head to hope that this might +be a freedom to do evil, or at least to do nothing, so he thought it +was the only place in the world to suit him. + +A fine likely young man as William was, had no great difficulty to +get enlisted. The few forms were soon settled, he received the +bounty money as eagerly as it was offered, took the oaths of +allegiance, was joined to the regiment and heartily welcomed by his +new comrades. He was the happiest fellow alive. All was smooth and +calm. The day happened to be very fine, and therefore William always +reckoned upon a fine day. The scene was gay and lively, the music +cheerful, he found the exercise very easy, and he thought there was +little more expected from him. + +He soon began to flourish away in his talk; and when he met with any +of his old servants, he fell a prating about marches and +counter-marches, and blockades, and battles, and sieges, and blood, +and death, and triumphs, and victories, all at random, for these +were words and phrases he had picked up without at all understanding +what he said. He had no knowledge, and therefore he had no modesty; +he had no experience, and therefore he had no fears. + +All seemed to go on swimmingly, for he had as yet no trial. He began +to think with triumph what a mean life he had escaped from in the +old quarrelsome family, and what a happy, honorable life he should +have in the army. O there was no life like the life of a soldier! + +In a short time, however, war broke out; his regiment was one of the +first which was called out to actual and hard service. As William +was the most raw of all the recruits, he was the first to murmur at +the difficulties and hardships, the cold, the hunger, the fatigue +and danger of being a soldier. O what watchings, and perils, and +trials, and hardships, and difficulties, he now thought attended a +military life! Surely, said he, I could never have suspected all +this misery when I used to see the men on the parade in our town. + +He now found, when it was too late, that all the field-days he used +to attend, all the evolutions and exercises which he had observed +the soldiers to go through in the calm times of peace and safety, +were only meant to fit, train and qualify them for the actual +service which they were now sent out to perform by the command of +the king. + +The truth is, William often complained when there was no real +hardship to complain of; for the common troubles of life fell out +pretty much alike to the great family which William had left, and to +the soldiers in the king's army. But the spirit of obedience, +discipline, and self-denial of the latter seemed hardships to one of +William's loose turn of mind. When he began to murmur, some good old +soldier clapped him on the back, saying, Cheer up lad, it is a +kingdom you are to strive for, if we faint not, henceforth there is +laid up for us a great reward; we have the king's word for it, man. +William observed, that to those who truly believed this, their +labors were as nothing, but he himself did not at the bottom believe +it; and it was observed, of all the soldiers who failed, the true +cause was that they did not really believe the king's promise. He +was surprised to see that those soldiers, who used to bluster and +boast, and deride the assaults of the enemy, now began to fall away; +while such as had faithfully obeyed the king's orders, and believed +in his word, were sustained in the hour of trial. Those who had +trusted in their own strength all fainted on the slightest attack, +while those who had put on the armor of the king's providing, the +sword, and the shield, and the helmet, and the breast-plate, and +whose feet were shod according to order, now endured hardship as +good soldiers, and were enabled to fight the good fight. + +An engagement was expected immediately. The men were ordered to +prepare for battle. While the rest of the corps were so preparing, +William's whole thoughts were bent on contriving how he might +desert. But alas! he was watched on all sides, he could not possibly +devise any means to escape. The danger increased every moment, the +battle came on. William, who had been so sure and confident before +he entered, flinched in the moment of trial, while his more quiet +and less boastful comrades prepared boldly to do their duty. William +looked about on all sides, and saw that there was no eye upon him, +for he did not know that the king's eye was everywhere at once. He +at last thought he spied a chance of escaping, not from the enemy, +but from his own army. While he was endeavoring to escape, a ball +from the opposite camp took off his leg. As he fell, the first words +which broke from him were, While I was in my duty I was preserved; +in the very act of deserting I am wounded. He lay expecting every +moment to be trampled to death, but as the confusion was a little +over, he was taken off the field by some of his own party, laid in a +place of safety, and left to himself after his wound was dressed. + +The skirmish, for it proved nothing more, was soon over. The greater +part of the regiment escaped in safety. William in the mean time +suffered cruelly both in mind and body. To the pains of a wounded +soldier, he added the disgrace of a coward, and the infamy of a +deserter. O, cried he, why was I such a fool as to leave the _great +family_ I lived in, where there was meat and drink enough and to +spare, only on account of a little quarrel? I might have made up +that with them as we had done our former quarrels. Why did I leave a +life of ease and pleasure, where I had only a little rub now and +then, for a life of daily discipline and constant danger? Why did I +turn soldier? O what a miserable animal is a soldier! + +As he was sitting in this weak and disabled condition, uttering the +above complaints, he observed a venerable old officer, with thin +gray locks on his head, and on his face, deep wrinkles engraved by +time, and many an honest scar inflicted by war. William had heard +this old officer highly commended for his extraordinary courage and +conduct in battle, and in peace he used to see him cool and +collected, devoutly employed in reading and praying in the interval +of more active duties. He could not help comparing this officer with +himself. I, said he, flinched and drew back, and would even have +deserted in the moment of peril, and now in return, I have no +consolation in the hour of repose and safety. I would not fight +then, I can not pray now. O why would I ever think of being a +soldier? He then began afresh to weep and lament, and he groaned so +loud that he drew the notice of the officer, who came up to him, +kindly sat down by him, took him by the hand, and inquired with as +much affection as if he had been his brother, what was the matter +with him, and what particular distress, more than the common fortune +of war it was which drew from him such bitter groans? "I know +something of surgery," added he, "let me examine your wound, and +assist you with such little comfort as I can." + +William at once saw the difference between the soldiers in the +king's army, and the people in the great family; the latter commonly +withdrew their kindness in sickness and trouble, when most wanted, +which was just the very time when the others came forward to assist. +He told the officer his little history, the manner of his living in +the great family, the trifling cause of his quarreling with it, the +slight ground of his entering into the king's service. "Sir," said +he, "I quarreled with the family and I thought I was at once fit for +the army: I did not know the qualifications it required. I had not +reckoned on discipline, and hardships, and self-denial. I liked well +enough to sing a loyal song, or drink the king's health, but I find +I do not relish working and fighting for him, though I rashly +promised even to lay down my life for his service if called upon, +when I took the bounty money and the oath of allegiance. In short, +sir, I find that I long for the ease and sloth, the merriment and +the feasting of my old service; I find I can not be a soldier, and, +to speak truth, I was in the very act of deserting when I was +stopped short by the cannon-ball. So that I feel the guilt of +desertion, and the misery of having lost my leg into the bargain." + +The officer thus replied: "Your state is that of every worldly +irreligious man. The great family you served is a just picture of +the world. The wages the world promises to those who are willing to +do its work are high, but the payment is attended with much +disappointment; nay, the world, like your great family, is in itself +insolvent, and in its very nature incapable of making good the +promises and of paying the high rewards which it holds out to tempt +its credulous followers. The ungodly world, like your family, cares +little for church, and still less for prayer; and considers the +Bible rather as an instrument to make an oath binding, in order to +keep the vulgar in obedience, than as containing in itself a perfect +rule of faith and practice, and as a title-deed to heaven. The +generality of men love the world as you did your service, while it +smiles upon them, and gives them easy work and plenty of meat and +drink; but as soon as it begins to cross and contradict them, they +get out of humor with it, just as you did with your service. They +then think its drudgery hard, its rewards low. They find out that it +is high in its expectations from them, and slack in its payments to +them. And they begin to fancy (because they do not hear religious +people murmur as they do) that there must be some happiness in +religion. The world, which takes no account of their deeper sins, at +length brings them into discredit for some act of imprudence, just +as your family overlooked your lying and swearing, but threatened to +drub you for breaking a china dish. Such is the judgment of the +world! it patiently bears with those who only break the laws of +God, but severely punishes the smallest negligence by which they +themselves are injured. The world sooner pardons the breaking ten +commandments of God, than even a china dish of its own. + +"After some cross or opposition, worldly men, as I said before, +begin to think how much content and cheerfulness they remember to +have seen in religious people. They therefore begin to fancy that +religion must be an easy and delightful, as well as a good thing. +They have heard that, _her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all +her paths are peace_; and they persuade themselves, that by this is +meant worldly pleasantness and sensual peace. They resolve at length +to try it, to turn their back upon the world, to engage in the +service of God and turn Christians; just as you resolved to leave +your old service, to enter into the service of the king and turn +soldier. But as you quitted your place in a passion, so they leave +the world in a huff. They do not count the cost. They do not +calculate upon the darling sin, the habitual pleasures, the ease, +and vanities, which they undertake by their new engagements to +renounce, no more than you counted what indulgences you were going +to give up when you quitted the luxuries and idleness of your place +to enlist in the soldier's warfare. They have, as I said, seen +Christians cheerful, and they mistook the ground of their +cheerfulness; they fancied it arose, not because through grace they +had conquered difficulties, but because they had no difficulties in +their passage. They fancied that religion found the road smooth, +whereas it only helps to bear with a rough road without complaint. +They do not know that these Christians are of good cheer, not +because the world is free from tribulation, but because Christ, +their captain, has _overcome the world_. But the irreligious man, +who has only seen the outside of a Christian in his worldly +intercourse, knows little of his secret conflicts, his trials, his +self-denials, his warfare with the world without; and with his own +corrupt desires within. + +"The irreligious man quarrels with the world on some such occasion +as you did with your place. He now puts on the outward forms and +ceremonies of religion, and assumes the badge of Christianity, just +as you were struck with the show of a field-day; just as you were +pleased with the music and the marching, and put on the cockade and +red coat. All seems smooth for a little while. He goes through the +outward exercise of a Christian, a degree of credit attends his new +profession, but he never suspects there is either difficulty or +discipline attending it; he fancies religion is a thing for talking +about, and not a thing of the heart and the life. He never suspects +that all the psalm-singing he joins in, and the sermons he hears, +and the other means he is using, are only as the exercise and the +evolutions of the soldiers, to fit and prepare him for actual +service; and that these means are no more religion itself, than the +exercises and evolutions of your parade were real warfare. + +"At length some trial arises: this nominal Christian is called to +differ from the world in some great point; something happens which +may strike at his comfort, or his credit, or security. This cools +his zeal for religion, just as the view of an engagement cooled your +courage as a soldier. He finds he was only _angry_ with the world, +he was not _tired_ of it. He was out of humor with the world, not +because he had seen through its vanity and emptiness, but because +the world was out of humor with him. He finds that it is an easy +thing to be a fair-weather Christian, bold where there is nothing to +be done, and confident where there is nothing to be feared. +Difficulties unmask him to others; temptations unmask him to +himself; he discovers, that though he is a high professor, he is no +Christian; just as you found out that your red coat and your +cockade, your shoulder-knot and your musket, did not prevent you +from being a coward. + +"Your misery in the military life, like that of the nominal +Christian, arose from your love of ease, your cowardice, and your +self-ignorance. You rushed into a new way of life without trying +after one qualification for it. A total change of heart and temper +were necessary for your new calling. With new views and principles +the soldier's life would have been not only easy, but delightful to +you. But while with a new profession you retained your old nature it +is no wonder if all discipline seemed intolerable to you. + +"The true Christian, like the brave soldier, is supported under +dangers by a strong faith that the fruits of that victory for which +he fights will be safety and peace. But, alas! the pleasures of this +world are present and visible; the rewards for which he strives are +remote. He therefore fails, because nothing short of a lively faith +can ever outweigh a strong present temptation, and lead a man to +prefer the joys of conquest to the pleasures of indulgence." + +THE END. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain and +Other Tales, by Hannah More + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHEPHERD OF SALISBURY PLAIN *** + +***** This file should be named 31697.txt or 31697.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/6/9/31697/ + +Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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