ll inherit
all things." In short, she so supported his fainting spirit, that he
was enabled to "run with patience the race which was set before
him."

THE KIND NEIGHBOR.

An infirm, blind woman was creeping forward, with a very heavy
burden, in which were packed sickness and want, with numberless
other of those raw materials out of which human misery is worked up.
She was so weak that she could not have got on at all, had it not
been for the kind assistance of another woman almost as poor as
herself, who, though she had no light burden of her own, cheerfully
lent a helping hand to a fellow-traveler who was still more heavily
laden. This friend had indeed little or nothing to give, but the
very voice of kindness is soothing to the weary. And I remarked in
many other cases, that it was not so much the degree of the help
afforded, as the manner of helping that lightened the burdens. Some
had a coarse, rough, clumsy way of assisting a neighbor, which,
though in fact it might be of real use, yet seemed, by galling the
traveler, to add to the load it was intended to lighten; while I
observed in others that so cheap a kindness as a mild word, or even
an affectionate look made a poor burdened wretch move on cheerily.
The bare feeling that some human being cared for him, seemed to
lighten the load. But to return to this kind neighbor. She had a
little old book in her hand, the covers of which were worn out by
much use. When she saw the blind woman ready to faint, she would
read her a few words out of this book, such as the following:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven." "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."
"I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." "For our light
affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh out for us a far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." These quickened the
pace, and sustained the spirits of the blind traveler; and the kind
neighbor, by thus directing the attention of the poor sufferer to
the blessings of a better world, helped to enable her to sustain the
affliction of this, more effectually than if she had had gold and
silver to bestow on her.

THE CLERGYMAN.

A pious minister, sinking under the weight of a distressed parish,
whose worldly wants he was totally unable to bear, was suddenly
relieved by a charitable widow, who came up and took all the sick
and hungry on her own shoulders as her part of the load. The burden
of th