Never give up! or the burthen may sink you-
Providence kindly has mingled the cup,
And in all trials or troubles, bethink you,
The watchword of life must be, Never give up!

Never give up! there are chances and changes,
Helping the hopeful a hundred to one;
And, through the chaos High wisdom arranges
Ever success-if you'll only hope on.
Never give up! for the wisest is boldest,
Knowing that Providence mingles the cup;
And of all maxims the best as the oldest,
Is the true watchword of Never give up!

Never give up! though the grape-shot may rattle,
Or the full thunder cloud over you burst;

Stand like a rock, and the storm or the battle
Little shall harm you, though doing their worst.
Never give up! if adversity presses,
Providence wisely has mingled the cup;
And the best counsel in all your distresses
Is the stout watchword of Never give up!"

18*

CHAPTER XV.

SINCERITY;

OR, THE IRRESISTIBLE PERSUADER.

SAYS Solomon, in Proverbs 15: 26, "The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord: but the words of the pure are pleasant words." The translation of the latter phrase is perhaps more literal, and more clearly expressive of the wise man's thought," the words of the pure are words of pleasantness." We take the meaning to be this: the sincerity of a true man so pervades his whole spirit and beautifies his language, that his society is the most attractive; his speech the most forcible; and his influence the most benign. Let us develop and enforce these three points.

In the first place, the companionship of the sincere is most attractive to all the meritorious. Polybius has said that “Of all the divinities that nature has discovered to the mind of man, the most beautiful is Truth." We may add, that devotion at her shrine tends to adorn the intellect as well as ennoble the heart; such worship renders the devotee attractive, and inspires him with the sublimest zeal. We wonder at the artist, who patiently sits in his darkened studio year after year, and with delicate hair-lines adds tint after tint to the slowly elaborated masterpiece. But this assiduity is easily explained by the fact, that his prolonged labor is his intensest delight. His love of the beautiful and true in art is the spring of his devotion, the inspiration of his excellence, and the guarantee of success. A sincere desire to improve one's self for wide and exalted ends will illuminate even a dull intellect,

and make the aspirant attractive to all around. Glowing with a passionate fondness for truth the soul expands to receive that which it adores, and loving to stand in the sun, it assimilates itself to the transparent purity that surrounds it. The fairest of the graces is sincerity. They who truly love the highest duty and the holiest law, go from the sweet charities of friendship and recondite pursuits, still more ardently to consecrate themselves to the happiness of mankind; and returning from the weariness of public toil, enjoy private intimacy with greater delight.

"It is not in the power

Of Painting or of Sculpture to express
Aught so divine as the fair form of Truth!

The creatures of their art may catch the eye
But her sweet nature captivates the soul."

The sincere lover of peace and righteousness verifies to himself and all the world that "He is a freeman whom the truth makes free, and all are slaves beside." His latent virtues render him fascinating, and his purity of purpose is a constant source of solace and defence. Says Barrow, "A man that is conscious to himself of a solid worth and virtue, of having honest intentions, of having performed good deeds, is satisfied with the fruits of inward comfort and outward approbation, which they do yield; he therefore will scorn to seek the bettering himself by the discredit of others; he will not by so mean a practice adulterate that worth, in which he feeleth sufficient complacence; he rather doth like that others should enjoy their due commendation, as justifying his own claim thereto; he willingly payeth it, because he may justly demand it; and because withholding it from another may prejudice his own right thereto : but he that is sensible of no good qualities in himself, that is conscious of no worthy actions that he hath done, to breed a satisfaction of mind, or build a reputation upon, would please himself in making others as little better than

himself as he can, would ground a kind of credit upon the ruins and rubbish of another's fame. When he knoweth he cannot shine by his own light, he would seem less obscure by eclipsing the brightness of others, and shutting out the day from about him; conceiving that all things look alike in the dark, and that bad appeareth not bad where no good is near.

"As also a good man liketh worth and virtue, because they resemble what he discerneth in himself; so evil men hate them, because they do not find themselves masters of them; they are like the fox, who said the grapes were sour, because he could not reach them; and that the hare was dry meat, because he could not catch her. A detractor therefore is always a bad man, and wanteth those good qualities which he would disparage."

It is a principle never to be overlooked, that those who have the scantiest merits of their own are the least disposed to recognize and reward the merits of others. Because they are insincere, they assume false appearances, and can never be relied on, since their real intentions can never be understood. On the contrary, the sincere man always is as he appears, and may honorably assert,

"I cannot hide what I am: I must be

Sad when I have a cause, and smile at no man's
Jests; eat when I have stomach, and wait for
No man's leisure; sleep when I am drowsy,
And tend on no man's business; laugh when I
Am merry, and claw no man in his humor."

Says Isaiah, "Behold thou desirest truth in the inward part." Morally we are not to be like oarsmen in a boat, looking one way and pulling another. We are not to gaze heaven-ward in our sacred professions, and work hell-ward in our daily business and conversation. Let our hearts be sincere before God, remembering that counterfeited piety is double impiety. The plainer the diamond is, the greater is its worth;

heart is, the more doth God A little sterling gold, though

and the more purely lucid the value this best jewel on earth. obscured, is far better than a great deal of burnished and ostentatious brass. A sincere heart is God's most precious currency, coined from the bullion of divine grace, and bears a premium throughout the universe.

He who sang the Course of Time, finely described the millennial day when this grace universally prevailed.

"Love took the place of law; where'er you met

A man, you met a friend, sincere and true.
Kind looks foretold as kind a heart within;
Words as they sounded, meant; and promises
Were made to be performed. Thrice happy days!
Philosophy was sanctified, and saw
Perfection which she thought a fable long.
Revenge his dagger dropped, and kissed the hand
Of Mercy: Anger cleared his cloudy brow,
And sat with Peace; Envy grew red, and smiled
On Worth: Pride stooped, and kissed Humility:
Lust washed his miry hands, and, wedded, leaned
On chaste Desire: and falsehood laid aside
His many-folded cloak, and bowed to Truth:
And Treachery up from his mining came,

And walked above the ground with righteous Faith:
And Covetousness unclenched his sinewy hand,
And opened his door to Charity, the fair:
Hatred was lost in love: and Vanity,

With a good conscience pleased, her feathers cropped:

Sloth in the morning rose with industry:

To Wisdom, Folly turned: and fashion turned

Deception off, in act as good as word.

The hand that held a whip was lifted up

To bliss; slave was a word in ancient books

Met only; every man was free; and all

Feared God, and served him day and night in love.

How fair the daughter of Jerusalem then!
How gloriously from Zion Hill she looked!
Clothed with the sun; and in her train the moon;