"
"Away with them to the mines!" cried Jack, "they richly deserved such a
doom."
"How much I should like," said Francis, "to see those soldiers in their
shining armour!"
"I hope you will see them some day, my dear boy, if you continue to be
good and obedient." I then explained my parable fully, and applied the
moral to each of my sons directly.
"You, Fritz, should take warning from the people who planted wild fruit,
and wished to make them pass for good fruit. Such are those who are
proud of natural virtues, easy to exercise,--such as bodily strength,
or physical courage; and place these above the qualities which are only
attained by labour and patience.
"You, Ernest, must remember the subjects who laid out their land in
flowery gardens; like those who seek the pleasures of life, rather than
the duties. And you, my thoughtless Jack, and little Francis, think of
the fate of those who left their land untilled, or heedlessly sowed
tares for wheat. These are God's people who neither study nor reflect;
who cast to the winds all instruction, and leave room in their minds for
evil. Then let us all be, like the good labourers of the parable,
constantly cultivating our ground, that, when Death comes for us, we may
willingly follow him to the feet of the Great King, to hear these
blessed words: 'Good and faithful servants! enter into the joy of
your Lord!'"
This made a great impression on my children.
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