1878. 



GLEAXLN'GS IX BEE CULTUKE. 



51 



lur %cimh 



Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a 

 right spirit -within me. Psalms, 51-; 10. 



eXCE more, my friends, I shall have to 

 ask your pardon for talking about my- 

 ~-' self. You see, the trouble lies just 

 here : if I should use other peoples' lives for 



illustrations, they would well, I do not 



want to use other peoples' lives, even if they 

 should prove more charitable than I im- 

 agine ; but if a few chapters from my owjt 

 can be of any service, I cheerfully give them. 



"When I was about 10 years old, as nearly 

 as I can remember. I asked my father if any 

 piece of copper of the size and weight of a 

 penny, was worth as much. The reason for 

 this query was that I liad foimd an old piece 

 of thick copper, that I thought might be util- 

 ized in such a way as to increase the amount 

 of specie in circulation ; and although I can- 

 not remember what was my father's reply, 

 at the time. I do remember very distinctly, 

 that I soon had a penny rudely fashioned 

 from one comer of the sheet. To make it 

 look natural. I rubbed over the bright places, 

 and soon started for the village store, to 

 see if it would pass. I can very well remem- 

 ber that as I trudged along w'ith it in my 

 pocket, my conscience was not quite at ease, 

 as I thought over the gentle remonstrances 

 my kind mother had made to this latest pro- 

 ject. 



The merchant was a kind old man, whom 

 I had known long, and as I quietly gave my 

 order for a "cent's worth of licorice root," 1 

 felt that I Avould give a good deal of hard 

 work, for just one real genuine penny in 

 place of the one I was at the moment finger- 

 ing in my pocket. 'Sl\ conscience smote me 

 still more, when he returned with one of the 

 very largest "cent's worth," but there was 



no help for it thee stop ! there was a help. 



and there always is for evrry such contingen- 

 cy : telling the plain truth'. Had I said. 



''Mr. ]Mead I here is a penny I made my- 

 self, out of an old piece of copper, if you do 

 not wish to take it. I will leave my licorice 

 until I go home and get a good one'" oh. how 

 dilTerently I should have felt. I should have 

 had to own up to my mother in a humilia- 

 ting way, it is true, but she would have given 

 me a good penny to keep my name good and 

 untarnished, in an instant, and all would 

 have been well. I was far too cowardly to 

 do this, and as I took the nice bundle he "had 

 fixed up lor me. I extended the fraudulent 

 coin. He took it. looked it over, scanned 

 the fi'esh marks of the grindstone I had used 

 to make it round, and then loc»ked at me in- 

 quiringly. Now I wish to stop long euougli. 

 to say tliat everybody called me exceedingly 

 honest. My mother, grandmother and the 

 neiglibors iii general, had so often said that 

 I was honest, that I fear I had begim to 

 think my reputation was so good. I did not 

 need to take any particular pains in regard 

 to it. Well, something had to be said, as 

 the kind merchant's eyes were turned full 

 upon me. Did you ever notice now Satan 

 blinds our l)etter judgment, when we are 

 once enlisted in his service V I have some- 



I times imagined him shaking his sides with 

 laughter, at the miserable subterfuges and 



j pretexts, that his victim tries to take refuge 



I imder. 



! "Is not the penny a good one V" said I. 



; trying to feign surprise. Xow this was an 



1 indirect falsehood, and paved the way for a 

 greater one, so it was nothing very strange 



: that I immediately added. 

 "I took it for good, anj"way." 

 "Have you not another cent my boy V" 

 •'Xo.'' 



Dear reader, did you ever feel what an in- 

 expressible relief it is to tell the truth after 

 you have been driven into falsehood by Sa- 

 tan or some of his allies V 



""V7eU. you can take the penny and the 

 licorice both, and bring me a penny when 

 you get one. Will you not ?" 



I drew a long breath of relief, as I prom- 

 ised, and walked out of the country store 

 joining my companions. Why do we sin 

 when sin brings so much trouble, and virtue 

 makes everything so peaceful V I believe I 

 fully intended to pay the money when I 

 promised to. and was "glad to be let off so 

 easily. As I look back through the j-ears 

 that have passed since then, how I do "wish 

 that some kind friend could have taken me 

 in hand kindly and firmly, and told me what 

 wicked strings of falseho'ods I had been tell- 

 ing; what a dishonest, selfish and greedy 

 spirit I had shown. I had taken the pooV 

 man's goods, had told him falsehoods, and 

 yet he had been so kind and lenient. Even 

 iaow. when I hrd but just escaped, as the 

 boys gathered round me and asked if "it 

 passeel,'- 1 listened to the suggestion of one 

 more hardened than the rest, when he said, 

 "The old curmudgeon. I would never pay 

 him. just for his being so mean.' 



My friends, you have a pretty good opin- 

 ion of me, but "to confess the truth, that debt 

 has never been paid. I did feel troubled 

 about it, and afterward spoke of it to some 

 boys who were older and better dressed than 

 myself ; but when one of them laughed and 

 said he woidd never think of paying it. and 

 the other said he never paid little accounts 

 like that. I dropped the matter and thought 

 I woukl be like the rest of the world and 

 save these little dribs. Since my conversion 

 three years ago, these little things have been 

 coming up. If God is to create in me a 

 clean heart. I must make reparation for all 

 these items, and I tell you there is no dan- 



' ger that we shall ever do our part of the work 

 too well. That was 28 years ago. and the 

 interest on the amount "for that length of 

 time, would be about 16 cents. If my old 

 friend should still be alive and see this, he 

 would do me a favor by dropping me a post- 

 al card. 



X'cw. I cannot begin to tell how many 

 falsehoods I have told and acted, in all these 

 i^s years, but as soon as memory recalls one 

 of them, I am making it a point to straight- 

 en it up. so far as lies in niy power. At the 

 time of my conversion. I saw a great task 

 before me, but as I commenced weeding. I 

 could look back and note the progress I had 

 been making fioin time to time, and once in 

 a while. I would look forward, and say. 



i "When I get that, and that, and that bad 



