upon a time methought I set out upon a long journey, and the
place through which I traveled appeared to be a dark valley, which
was called the Valley of Tears. It had obtained this name, not only
on account of the many sorrowful adventures which poor passengers
commonly meet with in their journey through it; but also because
most of these travelers entered it weeping and crying, and left it
in very great pain and anguish. This vast valley was full of people
of all colors, ages, sizes and descriptions. But whether white or
black, or tawny, all were traveling the same road; or rather they
were taking different little paths which all led to the same common
end.

Now it was remarkable, that notwithstanding the different
complexions, ages, and tempers of this vast variety of people, yet
all resembled each other in this one respect, that each had a burden
on his back which he was destined to carry through the toil and heat
of the day, until he should arrive, by a longer or shorter course,
at his journey's end. These burdens would in general have made the
pilgrimage quite intolerable, had not the lord of the valley, out of
his great compassion for these poor pilgrims, provided, among other
things, the following means for their relief.

In their full view over the entrance of the valley, there were
written, in great letters of gold, the following words:

BEAR YE ONE ANOTHER'S BURDENS.

Now I saw in my vision that many of the travelers hurried on without
stopping to read this inscription, and others, though they had once
read it, yet paid little or no attention to it. A third sort thought
it very good advice for other people, but very seldom applied it to
themselves. They uniformly desired to avail themselves of the
assistance which by this injunction others were bound to offer them,
but seldom considered that the obligation was mutual, and that
reciprocal wants and reciprocal services formed the strong cord in
the bond of charity. In short, I saw that too many of these people
were of opinion that they had burdens enough of their own, and that
there was therefore no occasion to take upon them those of others;
so each tried to make his own load as light, and his own journey as
pleasant as he could, without so much as once casting a thought on a
poor overloaded neighbor. Here, however, I have to make a rather
singular remark, by which I shall plainly show the folly of these
selfish people. It was so ordered and contrived by