. This poor fellow mortal whose body you are committing to its
last resting place mistook the full measure of God's compassion. He
believed that he had committed that sin for which there is no
forgiveness. In his extreme anxiety to atone for his former crime, he
was led to commit another, for God requires no man to commit suicide,
and his Word expressly forbids it. My friends, I am here to-day to tell
you that there is _only one sin for which there is no forgiveness, and
that is the sin which we do not repent. That alone is the unpardonable
sin._ This man was sincerely sorry for his sin, and I am as certain that
God has forgiven him as I am that I am standing here by his grave.'"

As the old Squire spoke, Rufus raised his head, and a ray of hope broke
across his woebegone face.

"Now the question is," the old Squire continued, "are you sorry for what
you did?"

"Oh, yes, Squire, yes! I'm terribly sorry!" he cried eagerly. "I do
repent of it! I never in the world would do such a thing again!"

"Then what you have done was not the unpardonable sin at all!" the old
Squire exclaimed confidently.

"Do you think so?" Rufus cried imploringly.

"I know so!" the old Squire declared authoritatively. "Now let's feed
those cows and your horse. Then we will go out and take a look at the
fields where you are going to put in a crop this spring."

When the old Squire and grandmother Ruth came away the shadows at the
Sylvester farm had visibly lifted, and life was resuming its normal
course there. They had proceeded only a short distance on their homeward
way, however, when they heard footsteps behind, and saw Rufus hastening
after them bareheaded.

"Tell me, Squire, what d'ye think I ought to do about that--what I done
once?" he cried.

"Well, Rufus," the old Squire replied, "that is a matter you must settle
with your own conscience. Since you ask me, I should say that, if the
wrong you did can be righted in any way, you had better try to right
it."

"I will. I can. That's what I will do!" he exclaimed.

"I feel sure you will," the old Squire said; and Rufus went back,
looking much relieved.

"Did you ever find out just what it was that Sylvester had done?" I
asked.

"Well, never exactly," the old Squire replied, smiling. "But I made
certain surmises. Less than a fortnight after my talk with Rufus our
neighbors, the Wilburs, were astonished one morning to find that during
the night a full barrel of salt pork had been s