self-sacrificing motive for the greatest self-indulgence. He 'felt it
to be his duty' to stay at home from church to warn truant boys not to
steal the peaches on the Sabbath-day, and how many do you suppose he
himself ate that morning?"

"It seems to me, Hugh, that you and Bessie _are_ unreasonably severe
upon Gideon's love of eating," said Aunt Faith smiling. "Perhaps some
time there will come a revelation to Gideon Fish; perhaps some great
affliction or disappointment will open his eyes and cause him to see
his selfish propensities as they are. In the meantime, let us not
forget the beam in our own eyes while we are talking of the mote in
our brother's eye. To go back to our subject; you have acknowledged
your belief in God and also, I hope, in His Son our Saviour Jesus
Christ?"

"Yes, Aunt Faith; but I cannot acknowledge that the world is a
miserable place and life a failure."

"I do not ask you to acknowledge that, Hugh; you are young and it may
be that you have not yet been assailed by the terrible temptations
which come, sooner or later, to most of us. Perhaps you have not yet
learned from sad experience how hard is the struggle against evil
inclinations, and how many are the relapses into which the best of men
are apt to fall. It was only when worn with the contest and depressed
by repeated failures that the good men of all ages have sent up those
cries of abasement and gloom which you so much dislike. This time has
not yet come to you; you know nothing of its power. I do not ask you
to be wise beyond your years; I only wish you to become as a little
child and reverently say, 'Lord I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.'
The rest will come in due time. There is a blessing given to prompt