1. To act with integrity and good faith was such a habit with Susan that
she had never before thought of examining the Golden Rule: "All things
whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." But
the longer she reflected upon it, the stronger was her conviction that she
did not always obey the precept; at length, she appealed to her mother for
its meaning.
2. "It implies," said her mother, "in the first place, a total destruction
of all selfishness: for a man who loves himself better than his neighbors,
can never do to others as he would have others do to him. We are bound not
only to do, but to feel, toward others as we would have others feel toward
us. Remember, it is much easier to reprove the sin of others than to
overcome temptation when it assails ourselves.
3. "A man may be perfectly honest and yet very selfish; but the command
implies something more than mere honesty; it requires charity as well as
integrity. The meaning of the command is fully explained in the parable of
the Good Samaritan. The Levite, who passed by the wounded man without
offering him assistance, may have been a man of great honesty; but he did
not do unto the poor stranger as he would have wished others to do unto
him."
4. Susan pondered carefully and seriously on what her mother had said.
When she thought over her past conduct, a blush of shame crept to her
cheeks, and a look of sorrow into her eyes, as many little acts of
selfishness and unkindness came back to her memory. She resolved that for
the future, both in great things and small, she would remember and follow
the Golden Rule.
5. It was not long after this that an opportunity occurred of trying
Susan's principles. One Saturday evening when she went, as usual, to
farmer Thompson's inn, to receive the price of her mother's washing for
the boarders, which amounted to five dollars, she found the farmer in the
stable yard.
6. He was apparently in a terrible rage with some horse dealers with whom
he had been bargaining. He held in his hand an open pocketbook, full of
bills; and scarcely noticing the child as she made her request, except to
swear at her, as usual, for troubling him when he was busy, he handed her
a bank note.
7. Glad to escape so easily, Susan hurried out of the gate, and then,
pausing to pin the money safely in the folds of her shawl, she discovered
that he had given her two bills instead of one. She looked around; nobody
was near to share her discovery; and her first impulse was joy at the
unexpected prize.
8. "It is mine, all mine," said she to herself; "I will buy
mother a new cloak with it, and she can give her old one to
sister Mary, and then Mary can go to the Sunday school with
me next winter. I wonder if it will not buy a pair of shoes for
brother Tom, too."
9. At that moment she remembered that he must have given it to her by
mistake; and therefore she had no right to it. But again the voice of the
tempter whispered, "He gave it, and how do you know that he did not intend
to make you a present of it? Keep it; he will never know it, even if it
should be a mistake; for he had too many such bills in that great
pocketbook to miss one."
10. While this conflict was going on in her mind between good and evil,
she was hurrying homeward as fast as possible. Yet, before she came in
sight of her home, she had repeatedly balanced the comforts which the
money would buy against the sin of wronging her neighbor.
11. As she crossed the little bridge over the narrow creek before her
mother's door, her eye fell upon a rustic seat which they had occupied
during the conversation I have before narrated. Instantly the words of
Scripture, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so
to them," sounded in her ears like a trumpet.
12. Turning suddenly round, as if flying from some unseen peril, the child
hastened along the road with breathless speed until she found herself once
more at farmer Thompson's gate. "What do you want now?" asked the gruff
old fellow, as he saw her again at his side.
13. "Sir, you paid me two bills, instead of one," said she, trembling in
every limb. "Two bills? did I? let me see; well, so I did; but did you
just find it out? Why did you not bring it back sooner?" Susan blushed and
hung her head.
14. "You wanted to keep it, I suppose," said he. "Well, I am glad your
mother was more honest than you, or I should have been five dollars poorer
and none the wiser." "My mother knows nothing about it, sir," said Susan;
"I brought it back before I went home."
15. The old man looked at the child, and, as he saw the tears rolling down
her checks, he seemed touched by her distress. Putting his band in his
pocket, he drew out a shilling and offered it to her.
16. "No, sir, I thank you," sobbed she; "I do not want to be paid for
doing right; I only wish you would not think me dishonest, for, indeed, it
was a sore temptation. Oh! sir, if you had ever seen those you love best
wanting the common comforts of life, you would know how hard it is for us
always to do unto others as we would have others do unto us,"
17. The heart of the selfish man was touched. "There be things which are
little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise," murmured he, as he
bade the little girl good night, and entered his house a sadder, and, it
is to be hoped, a better man. Susan returned to her humble home with a
lightened heart, and through the course of a long and useful life she
never forgot her first temptation.
DEFINITIONS.--1. In-teg'ri-ty, honesty, uprightness. Con-vic'tion, strong
belief. Ap-pealed', referred to. 2. Temp-ta'tion, that which has a
tendency to induce one to do wrong. As-sails', attacks. 10. Con'flict,
struggle. Bal'anced, weighed, compared. 12. Gruff, rough. 17. Mur'mured,
spoke in a low voice. Light'ened, made cheerful or lighter.
EXERCISES.--What is the Golden Rule? What does it imply? Can a man be
perfectly honest and still not follow the Golden Rule? What parable is a
perfect illustration of its meaning? How was Susan tempted? What did she
first think of doing? What changed her intention? Relate what happened
when she returned the money. What effect did her action have?
LII. THE SNOW MAN. (143)
By Marian Douglas.
1. Look! how the clouds are flying south!
The winds pipe loud and shrill!
And high above the white drifts stands
The snow man on the hill.
2. Blow, wild wind from the icy north!
Here's one who will not fear
To feel thy coldest touch, or shrink
Thy loudest blast to hear.
3. Proud triumph of the schoolboy's skill!
Far rather would I be
A winter giant, ruling o'er
A frosty realm, like thee,
4. And stand amid the drifted snow,
Like thee, a thing apart,
Than be a man who walks with men,
But has a frozen heart!
DEFINITIONS.--l. Pipe, whistle. 2. Shrink, to draw back on account of
fear. 3. Triumph, success causing exultation. Realm, the territory over
which authority is used, dominion.
EXERCISES.--With what is the snow man compared in this poem? What is meant
by a man with "a frozen heart"? Do you think such a man would follow the
Golden Rule?