I
deserve it all, for my wicked disobedience both to my earthly and my
heavenly Father; and I wish,' said he, further, 'that you would make
such use of my case as you shall think best calculated to instruct and
benefit the young.'
"And now, beloved reader, I have drawn up this sketch--and I can
assure you it is no fictitious one--for your perusal. You here see
what has been the result of a single act of disobedience to a parent;
what it has already cost this unhappy man to gratify, in an unlawful
way, his youthful curiosity even in a single instance.
"May He, who giveth wisdom to all who ask it, lead and guide you
safely through the journey of life, and cause that even this humble
sketch shall serve to strengthen you in virtue, and to deter you from
the paths of the Destroyer."
Can any child read this narrative without trembling at the thought
of disobedience, even in the most trifling affair? If you once
disobey your parents, it is impossible to tell to what it will lead.
Crime follows in the steps of crime, till the career is closed by
irretrievable disgrace and eternal ruin. The consequences reach far,
far beyond the grave. They affect our interests and our happiness in
that eternal world to which we are all rapidly going. Yes; the child
who utters one falsehood, or is guilty of one act of disobedience,
may, in consequence of that one yielding to temptation, be hurried on
from crime to crime, till his soul is ruined, and he is shut up, by
the command of God, in those awful dungeons of endless despair
prepared for the devil and his angels.
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