390 PLAIN FACTS FOR OLD AND YOUNG 



again. We faithfully pointed out to him the dreadful 

 wickedness of his course, and the fact that a cure could 

 only be effected by the most implicit obedience to all 

 of nature's laws during his whole future life. Indeed, 

 we were obliged to inform him of the sad fact that he 

 could never be as well as before, that he must always 

 suffer in consequence of his dreadful course of trans- 

 gression. We gave him a most earnest exhortation 

 to begin the work of reform where alone it could be 

 effectual, by reforming his heart; and the tears which 

 coursed down his sin-scarred cheeks seemed to indi- 

 cate true penitence and a real desire to return to the 

 paths of purity and peace. 



Earnestly we labored for this young man, for 

 months employing every means in our power to lift 

 him from the slough of sin and vice upon the solid 

 pathway of virtue and purity again. Gradually the 

 hard lines on his face seemed to lessen in intensity. 

 The traces of vice and crime seemed to be fading out 

 by degrees. We began to entertain hopes of his ulti- 

 mate recovery. But, alas ! in an evil moment, through 

 the influence of bad companions, he fell, and for some 

 time we lost sight of him. A long time afterward we 

 caught a glimpse of his bloated, sin-stained face, just 

 as he was turning aside to avoid recognition. Where 

 this poor human wreck is now leading his miserable 

 existence we cannot say, but have no doubt he is haunt- 

 ing the dens of iniquity and sin in the cities, seeking to 

 find a little momentary pleasure in the gratification 

 of his appetites and passions. A hopeless wreck, with 

 the lines of vice and crime drawn all over his tell-tale 

 countenance, he dares not go home, for he fears to 

 meet the reproachful glance of his mother and the 

 scornful looks of his brothers and sisters. 



