'Alas! alas! how many sad things have I been guilty of since I first played truant! If I had but confessed my fault that day, how many more I should have avoided! I have never known a happy moment since, and if I could describe to my brothers and sisters the pain and grief I have felt, I am sure they would never be as naughty as I have been.
'O, sir, I cannot bear to deceive you any longer, and if you will grant me your pardon, indeed, indeed, I will try never to offend you more.'
It is not possible to express how great Mr. Clayton's surprise and sorrow was on perusing this paper;
yet, convinced by Laurence's candid confession of his faults that his penitence was sincere, he consented to forgive him the past and restore him to his favour. Laurence knelt at his father's feet, and while he kissed his parent's hand and bathed it in tears of gratitude, he felt the first moment of pleasure he had known for three long weeks.
Though all were glad to see Laurence forgiven, no one could be merry; and it was the first grave birthday that had ever been known in the family. The globes were covered up and sent into Mr. Clayton's library: for though he could forgive, it would not have been right to have rewarded Laurence, as if he had not done wrong. But that day twelvemonth came, and then Laurence deserved the globes and the love and praise of every
one for his diligence and goodness throughout the year. Whenever he was tempted to do wrong, he remembered that one error often becomes the source of many others, and carefully avoided committing the first fault. His journal was kept faithfully, and all the days in it were happy days; and on his eleventh birthday Laurence could play and dance with a light heart and a clear conscience.