130 
THE BEAUTIFUL LADDER. 
bleness of character—one of those rare events 
which show that all hearts are not wholly 
given over to selfish and sordid* impulses; one 
that must have made the actors in so noble a 
transaction realize the truth of the Saviour’s 
declaration, ‘ It is more blessed to give than it 
is to receive.’ 
“ I went over to visit Widow Farley and her 
family yesterday, to look after their wants and 
to make provision to supply the loss of their 
cow; and to my great surprise I found that 
some very generous hand had already antici¬ 
pated their needs by sending them one of the 
best animals from the stock of a neighboring 
farmer. Some other equally benevolent per¬ 
son had also made them happy by sending a 
barrel of flour and many other much-needed 
articles. The family were overflowing with 
happiness and gratitude; and I am sure if the 
kind-hearted persons who were so liberal and 
timely in their charities could have seen the 
happy faces of the mother and afflicted daugh¬ 
ter, and heard the repeated and earnest bless¬ 
ings invoked upon their heads, they would 
have been more than doubly paid for their 
deeds of kindness. The thing was nobly done. 
