At this moment a tall boy stepped out of his seat, and going to the desk, said:—
"Are you going to whip Eunice, sir?"
"Yes; I never break my rules!" the teacher answered.
"We will not see her whipped!" said the boy in an excited voice; "there is not a boy here but that one, who would see her whipped! Whip me, sir, and keep your rule, if you must, but don't touch this little girl!"
The master paused; the school looked on tearfully.
"Do you mean to say you will take her punishment?" asked the teacher.
"I do sir," was the bold reply.
The sobbing little girl was sent to her seat, and without flinching, her friend stood and received the punishment that was to have fallen upon her. The school was dismissed, and the boys paid him in admiration and praise for all he had suffered.
This was vicarious punishment,—one suffering from his own free will the punishment that was to have been borne by another.
You see, do you not, that this is just what He did who bore our sins in His own body upon the tree—the Saviour of men? What He suffered we cannot know in this life; but God laid on Him the iniquity of us all; and this He willingly bore to save us from death. With His stripes we are healed. How great the gratitude each of us owes such a Friend.