Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-06-08
wards which he was walking B;s mimi

roadslooked exceeding inviting. Bright
flowers sprung thickly beside it, and
trees, among the branches of which spor-
ted birds of gayest plumage, grew all
along its borders The other road lre-
sented nothing attractive. The margin
was nearly barren, and began at once to
ascend steep and somewhat rugged hill.
As Jamesdrew near the point where these
two ways diverged, he met an old man,
with mild countenance, and eyes Lit up
| by wisdom
" You see before you," said the old
man, " the Way Of Life and the Road TO
| Destruction. Choose, now, which YOU
will walk in. The Road to Destruction
looks far more inviting than the Way of
Lie, but the flowers you see have no
sweet perfume, the fruits that hangs so
temptingly from the trees are bitter to
the taste, and the road which looks so
smooth and pleasant, is in reality stony.
The farther you 60 in this road, the
less attractive 1t becomes; but with every
step Of progress in the Way Of Life, the
more beautiful will all appear. The one
| leads to death, the other to life. Choose,
now, the way in which you will walk"
| The boy paused only few moments.
lie looked, first at the attractive way,
and then at the path so full of beauty.
| The old man has erred, I" said he in
his heart. "This is the road to happi.
ness and to life, and the other is the way
| to Destruction"
| And then he entered, with hurrying
feet, the Road to Destruction. Earnestly
| TIE old man called after him, and ten
derly did he warn him; but the boy
needed him not.
| In his eagerness to reach q spot ut n
short distance from the point where the
two roads separated, and at which there
was beautiful arbor, with a fountain
throwing bright waters into the SUNNY
] air, his foot struck against q stone that
was not perceived, and he fell to the
earth with stunning Jar. He was in
so much pain from the fall, when he
reached the green arbor, that he could
not enjoy its pleasant shade, nor take
delight in the beautiful fountain. With
a groan. he threw himself at full length
| upon the green sward, where be had lain
| only few minutes, when he sprung to
his feet in sudden terror, for close to him
had crept poisonous serpent, that was
just about striking him with its deadly
| fang.
With less ardor the boy moved on the
| way be had chosen. Soon a number Of
| flowers, glowing in all the cslorS of the
rainbow, arrested his eyes, and he step.
ped aside to gather them. But their
odor was so offensive that he threw them
to the earth quickly. Another flower
tempted him by its beauty; but, in
| plucking it, he tore his hands with
| thornS
Pausing now, he looked back, and the
| wish arose in his mind that he had taken
| the other road. He would have retraced
his steps, but he remembered the SER
pent at the fountain, and feared to 60 by
that dangerous place again. So he moved
on once more. Far in advance there
| opened before him beautiful prospect
| and he passed on to eniov the same.
But, all was an illusion-liks mirage
IN the desert. When he gained the spot
the attraction had disappeared. And
now the road began to ascend, and to
| wind along the skirt of forest. His
heart grew faint as he entered deeper
and deeper into this gloomy district,
| and yet sew no open space ahead.
AS ne walked fearfully along, a roar
| shook the earth; then a beast of prev
rushed past him, and struck his fangs
deep into the vitalS of some weaker an
| lmal. Terror gave wings to his feet, and
he ran deeper into the forest. Night at
length began to come. Itwas with diff
Guilty that he could see his way, or keep
in the path which had become so rough
that he stumbled at almost every step.
His feet were bruised and cut, and be
walked onward in pain
"Oh, that had taken the other road"
he said, pushing in the midst of the dark
forest and looking back. But the cry of
the wild beasts arose in the direction
from which he had come. He moved
again, when, suddenly q meteor shot
across the sky. By the light which it
gave he saw himself on the very brink of
a fearful gull, and he would have been
lost in another moment. The shock
startled him from his dream.
All was dark in the chamber where
James Lewis sat, and it was some mo-
ments before he could realize the the fact
that he was in his fathers house, with
two ways in life yet before him, and he
in freedom to choose the one in which he
would walk.
Dear children, if you wish to enter the
right way-the Way of Life, leading to
everlasting felicity-you must do so
through obedience. You cannot your
selves know this way. 1t must be point
ed out to you. If left to yourselves you
would be almost certain to take the Road
to Destruction. The way of obediencs
is the way of safety. This way does not
look inviting at first, but when you have
once entered it, you see that it grows
more pleasant, attractive, and beautiful,
at every step. Unlike other ways, no
serpents lurk amid the waving grass; no
thorns are among its flowers; ii leads
through no dark forest abOunding in ra-
vonouc heasts And upIika tha xsv