284 FABLES. 



important point, the consideration of a death-bed 

 repentance, the sincerity of which \ve may justly 

 suspect in one whose whole life has been spent in 

 acts of wickedness and impiety. To expose the 

 absurdity of relying upon such a weak foundation, 

 we need only ask the same question with the Kite 

 in the Fable: how can he, who has offended the 

 gods all his life-time by acts of dishonour and in- 

 justice, expect that they will be pleased with him 

 at last, for no other reason but because he fears he 

 shall not be able to offend them any longer? Since 

 the summons to "pass that bourne whence no 

 traveller returns," must one day come, we ought 

 always to be prepared to meet it. But w T hen the 

 whole life has been wasted, without communion 

 with, or totally estranged from that Almighty 

 Being, by whose fiat it was called into existence, 

 then indeed the polluted soul must be distracted 

 with the agonizing thoughts of appearing before 

 Him, who created it for a very different purpose. 

 Nothing but the consciousness of having led a 

 virtuous life, can, in the awful moment, disarm 

 death of his terrors, and fortify the mind with 

 cheering hopes and resignation. But this is a 

 subject of the utmost importance, and the due 

 enforcing of it is one of the most solemn duties 

 of the pulpit. 



