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Show j . POWER OF A GOOD BOOK. t A young man of good parentage had Graduated from high school. He was I lo become a lawyer, and therefore en tered college. His pious mother trem-: trem-: Lld at thought of the many dangers which threatened his faith and morals, I and considered what she could do to preserve his virtue. She herself could j not accompany him to the great me- iropolis, but as a talisman she gave f him a small book, the "Imitation o? Christ." entreating him never to part with it. I The student, having promised to I fulfill his mother's wish, accordingly I took his precious book in hand every I evening. It reminded him of her love I for him, and of her anxiety for the i preservation of his innocence. Put I soon the young man was surrounded by evil friends. They captivated him by description of their feasts and pleasures. pleas-ures. He allowed himself to be in-lineneed. in-lineneed. so that they soon had complete com-plete control over him. Religious du-iks du-iks became irksome, and after awhile were entirely neglected. The talisman given him by his mother now became f burden. He even begrudged it the j small amount of space ;t occupied, for Its presence recalled to the mind of the prodigal son the years of virtue find innocence spent under the parental parent-al roof. Whenever he indulged in forbidden for-bidden pleasures the little book became his accuser. To remove it from his Fight he cast it into the farthest corner or the room. From there it wandered into an old chest, where all useless articles were kept. But the humble instrument of God's mercy had yet to fulfill its mission. One day our student stu-dent was looking for paper with which 10 cleanse his razor. By a singular coincidence he came across the "Imi-ir.tion "Imi-ir.tion of Christ." "It makes no difference, dif-ference, " he said, and tore a leaf from ho book. After a few days it was ;'Cain used for the same purpose, until, from week to week, the poor little book '"st many of its gilded pages. Put - arh time a sentence of the torn leaf ; I caught the young man's eye and dis- 'urbed the forced peace of his. const con-st ience. . talking by a church one morning. into which a funeral procession was just passing, he paused,, to hear someone some-one remark: "What a misfortune! He v as the only son of wealthy parents, said but IS years old. He fell from his horse and was killed instantly." Then the verse on the page of the "Imitation of Christ" he had torn from .the book the day before suddenly occurred oc-curred to the wayward son: "How foolish of you to promise yourself a long life, when you are not even sure of the morrow." Deeply agitated at j thought of what the words implied, he ; followed the funeral into the church. The ceremonies and hymns awakened the suppressed voice of his conscience j and compelled him to reflect on the . sinful state of his soul. In the course of a few days he cast himself at the feet of a priest to implore his aid in making his peace with God. Thus the piety of the mother was rewarded and in this instance the conversion of her son due to a page of the "Imitation of Christ." Translated for the Pilot from the Breslauer Sountagsblatt by Mary . Sehuerkami). |