That poor boy is still living, and is now
a wealthy man.
The preacher said he knew a man, in his own native State of Tennessee,
who on his arrival in America had nothing but a pocket Bible; but he
made two resolutions,--1st. That he would honour the Sabbath; 2nd. That
he would remember his mother. The first dollar he got he sent to her,
and declared that he would never forget the Sabbath and his mother. He
also was now a wealthy man.
The punishment of Sabbath-breaking was sure, though not immediate. Like
the punishment of intemperance or impurity, it would come. Here the
celebrated testimony of Sir Matthew Hale was adduced. Dr. Johnson's
rules respecting the Sabbath were read, with the observation that no
doubt he owed much of his celebrity to their observance. Wilberforce
had declared that, at one period of his life, parliamentary duties were
so heavy that he would certainly have sunk under them, had it not been
for the rest the Sabbath afforded. But the Sabbath was not merely a day
of rest,--it was a day for improvement. Where there was no Sabbath, all
was bad. The inhabitants of Scotland and New England were distinguished
for industry and mental vigour; and they were equally distinguished for
observance of the Sabbath.
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