“Are you really desirous, my dear child, to be a true Christian?”
“Oh, yes, yes, sir; I am sure I desire that above all things.”
I was astonished and delighted at the earnestness and simplicity with which she spoke these words.
“Sir,” added she, “I have been thinking, as I lay on my bed for many weeks past, how good you are to instruct us poor children; what must become of us without it!”
“I am truly glad to perceive that my instructions have
not been lost upon you, and pray God that this your present sickness may be an instrument of blessing in his hands to prove, humble, and sanctify you. My dear child, you have a soul, an immortal soul to think of; you remember what I have often said to you about the value of a soul: ‘What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?’”
“Yes, sir, I remember well you told us, that when our bodies are put into the grave, our souls will then go either to the good or the bad place.”
“And to which of these places do you think that, as a sinner in the sight of God, you deserve to go?”
“To the bad one, sir.”
“What! to everlasting destruction!”