"No, sir."
"But has lost all his time and labor, and is further from fortune than ever, by the force of shiftless, unsteady habits. Now this is a case similar to yours. You are further from being generous and true and persevering, in short from possessing Christian character, than you were this time a year ago. By your carelessness and idleness, you came out of your field without a grain of gold. Besides, by making resolves and breaking them continually, you are losing all moral power and all confidence in yourself. It were better to make no promises than to be guilty of breaking so many."
Joel's convictions were fast overcoming his feelings, and the tears were starting when he asked, "What shall I do, then, if I mustn't make any more resolutions, father?"
"I do not say you must not make any more resolutions; but before you make them, count the cost of keeping them. You must not break any more resolutions. One great secret of failure is, that you get discouraged because you are not perfect. Now, if you fail one day, you should not give up, but make haste to reach your old ground to-morrow. In regard to these resolutions, probably you were not sufficiently in earnest in the first place; but in the next place, you were not wise, when you first failed a little, to give up all because you could not do all. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir; do you think it is worth while for me to try this year? I do want to do right!"
"Certainly I do. By your failure you have learned a lesson which will keep you both careful and humble in future. I will help you by warning, and God will help you; but you must rely chiefly on your own strong determination. 'The kingdom of heaven' (that is, the attainment of righteousness, such as you set before you in your New Year's resolutions) 'suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.'"
Joel has commenced anew to follow one or two all-important resolutions; how he will succeed, the year, as its daily pages are written, will keep record. Let all children who have shared his failure, and they are not a few, start afresh with him to share his victory, making his first resolution, to "hold fast that which is good."
I. G. O.
"Ah! what a good story this is," said I, as I finished reading, "I wish you would all try to keep some of these resolutions."