A mind full of piety and knowledge is always rich; it is a
bank that never fails; it yields a perpetual dividend of happiness.
In a late visit to the alms-house at ----, we saw a remarkable
evidence of the truth of this doctrine. Mrs. ---- was early left
an orphan. She was educated by an uncle and aunt, both of whom
had attained the middle age of life. Theirs was an industrious,
well-ordered, and cheerful family. Her uncle was a man of sound
judgment, liberal feelings, and great knowledge of human nature. This
he showed by the education of the young people under his care. He
allowed them to waste no time; every moment must be spent in learning
something, or in doing something. He encouraged an entertaining,
lively style of conversation, but discountenanced all remarks about
persons, families, dress, and engagements; he used to say, parents
were not aware how such topics frittered away the minds of young
people, and what inordinate importance they learned to attach to them,
when they heard them constantly talked about.
In his family, Sunday was a happy day; for it was made a day of
religious instruction, without any unnatural constraint upon the
gayety of the young.
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