mainder of the meal. On Sunday he is off to confes. sional. He kneels, "O father, I have committed a great sin." "What is it, my son?" says the priest, who thinks of nothing less than murder. "I ate some beef on Friday." The priest prescribes a light penance, and away goes Patrick rejoicing, while he rolls over a large quid of tobacco, and chews with double force for joy. It is all right to chew tobacco; but to eat meat on Friday - what a deadly sin ! A company of Methodists have met in the basement of the church at class-meeting. The leader asks them one by one how it is with their souls, till he arrives at a poor widow, left with four young children and a heritage of woe. She tells with trembling voice of her many shortcomings: she does the things she ought not to do, and leaves undone the things she ought to do; she begs an interest in their prayers, that she may grieve her God no more by wandering from him, but move steadily on to Zion with her face thitherward. What has this poor soul done? What are the sins that she has committed, the remembrance of which overwhelms her like a flood? Fatigued with hard labor for herself and darlings, she slept without first praying, and thought of her children in the morning before she thought of her God. She heard a dull, prosy sermon last Sunday, and went to sleep (the best possible thing she could do under the circumstances); and, bearing the burden of such artificial sins as these, she goes mourning all her days. Thousands are made miserable by their violation of commands that they were never under any obligation to obey, and, on the other hand, are ruined by disobeying what Nature commands, of which they are generally ignorant. Let us study the effect of our actions upon ourselves and our neighbors; and what conduces to true permanent happiness let us perform. Here are the ignorant; let us enlighten them by all the means in our power. Here are our neighbors, suffering, dying; let us assist and relieve them. Man needs our assistance, and all that we can give. Blessed is he that applies his life to this work! In this world he has peace and joy, and in the world to come the happiness that legitimately springs from well-doing, and that cannot be separated from it. |