All my life I can but mourn.

And they told me, too, dear mamma,
That if I were called to die,
I could not be glad in heaven,
For no heaven in me would lie.
Now, what shall I do, dear mamma,
That I may be good and true?
How shall I my temper govern,
And my wicked will subdue?"

"Lizzie, darling, if you listen,
You will hear a voice within, {319}
That will tell you every moment,
What is Right, and what is Sin.
But you must not disobey it,
Or it will grow faint and weak;
You must watch to catch its whispers,
Hurry when you hear it speak.

{320}

"For if you should linger waiting,
There's another voice will say:
Never mind, nobody'll know it,
Even though you disobey.'
And this other voice, this Tempter,
Sure will lead you to the wrong,
While the voice of the good angel
Fills your life with cheer and song.

"In your play and in your working,
You the Golden Rule must heed;
Do by others as you'd have them
Do by you, if in their stead.
Better far to_ bear_ and _suffer_
Than to _do_ a wrong, my child;
Better give up every pleasure,
Than to be by sin beguiled.

"In your eating, in your drinking,
In your clothing, in your talk,
You can glorify the Father,
Or in wickedness can walk.
For your little body, Lizzie,
God has said, 'Keep holy, pure,' {321}
Tis His 'temple' He has lent you,
Keep its every gate secure,

"What you eat and drink makes muscles,
Bones and nerves, and brain, and thought;
And by food and drink improper,
Fearful evils may be wrought.
Much of meat and spice and candies,
Makes your blood impure, and then
All your body's in a jangle,
And your temper's wild again.

"And your clothes if tight or heavy,
Help to make your blood impure;
Help to make you weak and wicked,
Into evil ways to lure.
Foul air, too, your blood will poison
Sitting up too late at night;
All these things will make it harder
For you, child, to do the right.

"Bad companions also lead you
To the wrong, and tempt you sore
To defy the voice within you
Till it, grieved, will speak no more,-- {322}
Do not hesitate to tell them
You cannot their ways approve.
Do not yield to their enticements;
Tell them 'No!' with firmness, love.

"Do not ever let a single
Word unkind, nor coarse, impure,
Pass your lips; for th