human
I do not mean, my dear, she said,
gpt
Every one is selfish, said Margaret;
human
I never thought it was very wicked before.
gpt
Every one is selfish, naturally, replied Mrs Herbert;
human
No, said Margaret,
gpt
I don't think she is; but she has been so unhappy always, that I can never fancy she has had the same inclinations as other people--I mean that she does not care for things in the same way; and so it is not much trouble to her to give them up.
human
Yes, observed Mrs Herbert,
gpt
I was afraid she would be very miserable, said Margaret.
human
Dora has told me how ill she looks; and I am sorry for her.
gpt
I am sure you feel for her now, my dear, she said;
human
I did not know what would happen then; and, besides, she did not go.
gpt
But for what reason? inquired Mrs Herbert;
human
Was she really so miserable? said Margaret.
gpt
Indeed I did not intend to make her so; and I should never have concealed anything if it had not been for Lucy Cunningham.
human
Miss Cunningham will, I hope, one day see how great her fault was; but, my dear Margaret, her actions cannot alter yours. God will not admit it as an excuse, that others have led us into evil; for we must each be judged for ourselves.
gpt
Does Emily Morton think much about it now?
human
No, replied her aunt;
gpt
I don't know, replied Margaret;
human
But why? continued Mrs Herbert.
gpt
It does not alter our conduct in the eye of God. We may think of it now, and it may appear to us of consequence; but you know, my love, that there must come a time when it will be of no use to us to have borne a good character in the world, or even to have been loved and admired by our friends, unless we have been also really good in our own hearts.
human
We do not know how soon the moment may arrive, she said;
gpt
But, said Margaret,
human
I fancied it was only grown-up people who could be so very wicked. I am only thirteen, and I have never been confirmed.
gpt
But you have been baptized, replied Mrs Herbert.
human
Before you could even know the difference between good and evil, God gave you His Holy Spirit to guide you in the right way; and then He placed you in a happy home, with kind parents, and you were taught to read, and taken to church, and kept out of the reach of the temptations of the world. Why should it be less wicked to do wrong when we are young, and have so many blessings and so much instruction, than when we are old and exposed to every kind of evil?
gpt
My faults are only little ones,
human
Your faults are the greatest you can commit, my love; because you have been so educated that you would be ashamed to be guilty of greater ones; and we may be quite sure, that whoever wilfully indulges in a trifling fault when not tempted to do anything worse, would equally indulge a greater one if the inducement were to be put before him. If, situated as you are, you will not struggle against vanity, or selfishness, or deceit, or ill-temper, you would not struggle against theft or falsehood if you were the child of a poor man.
gpt
But I cannot really be so wicked,
human
Yes, indeed you can, replied her aunt.
gpt
When God requires of us the account of our lives, we shall have to confess our advantages as well as our offences; and if we commit what people in general call little sins, when our advantages have been great, we must be as wicked as persons who commit greater sins with fewer advantages.
human
I do not think, said Margaret,
gpt
That is not the question, my dear. The real thing to ask ourselves is, whether we have made the best use of the instruction we have had; not whether we have had less than others. And one blessing--the first and greatest of all--is given to each of us alike at our baptism; for we are told, in the service which is then used, that God is pleased at that time to regenerate us with His Holy Spirit; and if we chose to follow His guidance, we should constantly be kept in the right way.
human
I have heard Amy talk in that manner, said Margaret;
gpt
Will you tell me, my dear, whether you have ever wished to do right?
human
Oh yes, very often; only it is so much trouble always to think about it.
gpt
And have you not often admired people whom you saw conquering their evil dispositions, and now and then tried to imitate them, and really felt pleasure in doing it?
human
Yes, replied Margaret,
gpt
All these better feelings, continued Mrs Herbert,
human
And will it never be so now?
gpt
Yes, said Mrs Herbert,
human
I think, aunt Herbert, said Margaret, with earnestness,
gpt
Indeed, my love, you would. It is not any human power that can keep us from sin. But you are very young; and if you were to begin at once, praying to God to assist you, and really trying to please Him in everything, you might, in time, become as good as those saints and holy people of whom we read in the Bible.
human
No, never! exclaimed Margaret;
gpt
They were but human beings, replied Mrs Herbert;
human
I should like to be as good as they were, said Margaret,
gpt
If you could be so without any trouble. But, my dear Margaret, consider what your condition will be at the end of your life, if you continue in this state of mind. How will you feel when you look back upon, perhaps, a long life, and know that it has been entirely wasted, that you have never really tried to serve God, and that you will probably never go to heaven, because you would not take the trouble?
human
It cannot be necessary to be so very good,
gpt
It is quite necessary to _try_ to be, answered Mrs Herbert.
human
God will never accept anything but our whole hearts. You must remember our Saviour's words, 'Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.' Certainly this must mean that we are to be what you call _very good_.
gpt
But, said Margaret,
human
I thought no one could be good enough to deserve to go to heaven.
gpt
No, indeed, they cannot. But supposing, Margaret, that a great prince were to come to Emmerton and offer to adopt you as his child, and were to promise that, if you would do everything he wished, he would, in time, take you to his kingdom, and give you riches and honours beyond all that you could possibly imagine, do you not see that, although you never could have merited such kindness, though it would be a perfectly free gift on his part, yet that, if you refused to obey, you would justly deserve to lose it?
human
This is exactly the case with ourselves, my dear. God gives us all the promise of heaven, for the sake of our Saviour, when we are baptized; but He also requires that we should obey Him; and therefore, if we neglect to do so, the consequences must be our own eternal misery.
gpt
I don't mean, said Margaret,
human
Certainly God does not require that we should all live exactly the same lives as the persons you mention--He does not command us all to leave our homes and go to deserts; but it is possible to have the same tempers and dispositions as the saints, though we may live in our own families.
gpt
How can we set about being so good?
human
First of all, replied her aunt,
gpt
I think I could have felt like that man, said Margaret;
human
You would if you could once see how beautiful goodness is, replied her aunt;
gpt
Oh yes! said Margaret;
human
But you can read your Bible, answered Mrs Herbert;
gpt
Did you ever know any one who was so very good?
human
Yes, replied Mrs Herbert;
gpt
Should I? said Margaret, thoughtfully.
human
I never saw any one die yet; but poor Edward was always good; and they said he was quite happy.
gpt
Yes, replied her aunt;
human
And Rose, exclaimed Margaret, bursting into tears.
gpt
Oh, aunt Herbert, do you think I shall ever see her again?
human
I am sure you will, my dear child, if you will only pray to God to make you good and holy, and fit for the home to which He has taken her. Will you begin at once, and never neglect your prayers, and try with all your heart to attend to them, and not allow your thoughts to wander? and will you recollect how very many wrong things you have done, and ask Him to forgive you for your Saviour's sake? And then will you endeavour, in every little trifling thing, to give up your own will, and think only of what is right?
gpt
I will try,
human
If you try, said Mrs Herbert,
gpt
I think, now, it was very wicked, said Margaret, sighing deeply;
human
You cannot do anything to make amends to God, answered Mrs Herbert.
gpt
When we have once sinned, no future goodness can wipe out the stain; all that we can do is to trust that He will forgive us for our Saviour's sake; but we can, in a certain degree, make amends to our fellow-creatures; and the right thing for you now will be to acknowledge to Miss Morton, when she is able to see you, how very great your fault has been, and then to show, by every means in your power, that you are anxious to consult her happiness.
human
And will she forgive me, do you think?
gpt
Why should you doubt it? replied her aunt.
human
You have never known her anything but affectionate, and kind, and forgetful of herself. I am sure _she_ will forgive, because she will only hear your words, and see your outward actions; but, my dear Margaret, it will be infinitely more important that you should be forgiven by God, and He will look at the heart.
gpt
Indeed, indeed, I am sorry, exclaimed Margaret,
human
I do not think I shall ever do such things again.
gpt
I do most earnestly trust that you will not, said Mrs Herbert,
human
God only knows the effect which the faults of our childhood have upon our whole lives. You will not think, my love, because I have spoken seriously, that I have not been sorry for all you have suffered.
gpt
I like to hear what you say, aunt Herbert, replied Margaret;
human
You must try and listen to everyone who wishes to do you good, my dear. And now that we have talked together once, I hope we shall do so often; and whenever you are in any difficulty in which I can help you, you must remember that I am one of your nearest relations, and therefore, of course, I shall love and take an interest in you.
gpt
And will you ask mamma to forgive me? said Margaret.
human
I am more afraid of her anger than of any other person's.
gpt
She is not in a state to think of anything now, replied Mrs Herbert;