A young preacher recently called upon an eminent Divine, and in the
course of conversation asked him how many children he had. "Four, sir,"
was the reply. At the supper-table, the visitor perceived two beautiful
children seated by the side of the mother. Turning to his host, he said,
"I thought you had four children, sir: Where are the other two?" Lifting
his eyes, the holy man of God pointed upwards, while a sweet smile broke
over his countenance. "They are in Heaven," he repeated slowly and
calmly; "yet my children still: not dead, but gone before."
298
Dr. Samuel Johnson once said, "Above all, accustom your children
constantly to tell the truth; without varying in any circumstance." A
lady who heard him said, "Nay, this is too much, for a little variation
in narrative must happen a thousand times a day, if one is not
perpetually watching." "Well, madam," said the Doctor, "you ought to be
perpetually watching."
299
He knows not what love is, that has no children.
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Children are travelers newly arrived in a strange country; we should
therefore make conscience not to mislead them.
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