tter seed of disobedience, and their descendants had to
reap the harvest in exile and captivity.

A leading surgeon performed a critical operation before his class
one day. The operation was successful, as far as his part was
concerned. But he turned to the class and said: "Six years ago a
wise way of living might have prevented this disease. Two years ago
a safe and simple operation might have cured it. We have done our
best to-day as the case now stands, but Nature will have her word to
say. She does not always repeal her capital sentences." Next day the
patient died, reaping the fruit of his excesses.

Paul says: "Let us not be weary in well-doing; in due season we
shall reap if we faint not."

In a recent chat with an interviewer, Mr. Edison quite unconsciously
preached a most powerful sermon on perseverance and patience.

He described his repeated efforts to make the phonograph reproduce
the aspirated sound, and added: "From eighteen to twenty hours a day
for the last seven months I have worked on this single word
'specia.' I said into the phonograph, 'specia, specia, specia,' but
the instrument responded, 'pecia, pecia, pecia.' It was enough to
drive one mad! But I held firm, and I have succeeded."

An insurance case was brought to Daniel Webster when he was a young
lawyer in Portsmouth. Only a small amount was involved, and a
twenty-dollar fee was all that was promised. He saw that to do his
client full justice, a journey to Boston would be desirable, in
order to consult the law library. He would be out of pocket by the
expedition, and for the time he would receive no adequate
compensation. But he determined to do his best, cost what it might.
He accordingly went to Boston and looked up the authorities, and
gained the case.

Years after, Webster, who had meanwhile become famous, was passing
through New York. An important insurance case was to be tried that
day, and one of the counsel had suddenly been taken ill. Money was
no object, and Webster was begged to name his terms and conduct the
case.

"I told them," said Mr. Webster, "that it was preposterous to expect
me to prepare a legal argument at a few hours notice. They insisted,
however, that I should look at the papers; and this I finally
consented to do. It was my old twenty-dollar case over again; and as
I never forget anything, I had all the authorities at my fingers'
ends. The court knew that I had no time to prepare, and were
astonished at the r