during which revelations of
villany were made, the recital of which caused her heart to shudder.
Yes, narrow had been her escape! Had her father been delayed a few
moments longer, she would have become the wife of a man soon after
condemned to expiate his crimes against society in the felon's cell!
May a vivid realization of what Caroline Everett escaped, warn other
young girls, who bear a similar relation to society, of the danger
that lurks in their way. Not once in a hundred instances, is a
school girl approached with lover-like attentions, except by a man
who is void of principle; and not once in a hundred instances do
marriages entered upon clandestinely by such persons, prove other
than an introduction to years of wretchedness.
UNREDEEMED PLEDGES.
TWO men were walking along a public thoroughfare in New York. One of
them was a young merchant--the other a man past the prime of life,
and belonging to the community of Friends. They were in
conversation, and the manner of the former, earnest and emphatic,
was in marked contrast with the quiet and thoughtful air of the
other.
"There is so much idleness and imposture among the poor," said the
merchant, "that you never know when your alms are going to do harm
or good. The beggar we just passed is able to work; and that woman
sitting at the corner with a sick child in her arms, would be far
better off in the almshouse. No man is more willing to give than I
am, if I only knew where and when to give."
"If we look around us carefully, Mr. Edwards," returned the Quaker,
"we need be at no loss on this subject. Objects enough will present
themselves. Virtuous want is, in most cases, unobtrusive, and will
suffer rather than extend a hand for relief. We must seek for
objects of benevolence in by-places. We must turn aside into
untrodden walks."
"But even then," objected Mr. Edwards, "we cannot be certain that
idleness and vice are not at the basis of the destitution we find. I
have had my doubts whether any who exercise the abilities which God
has given them, need want for the ordinary comforts of life in this
country. In all cases of destitution, there is something wrong, you
may depend upon it."
"Perhaps there is," said the Quaker. "Evil of some kind is ever the
cause of destitution and wretchedness. Such bitter waters as these
cannot flow from a sweet fountain. Still, many are brought to
suffering through the evil ways of others; and many whose own wro
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