t me think.
The use of punishment, I believe, is to make people better."

"Right. Now, Ned, you have allowed that Tom's being turned away is not
likely to make him better, but worse; so that I am afraid the true
reason why you rejoice at his disgrace is because you bear resentment
against him, for having been ill-natured to yourself. Think a minute,
and tell me if this is not the case."

Ned owned that his grandmother was right; and then observed, "It is very
difficult not to bear ill-will against any one who has done us wrong."

"Yet," rejoined his grandmother, "it is our duty to pardon those who
have injured us. St. Paul says, in his Epistle to the Ephesians, 'Be ye
kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God
for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.' And our blessed Saviour has
commanded us to 'love our enemies,' to 'do good to them that hate us,
and to pray for those that despitefully use us, and persecute us.' If
you will look at the fourteenth and fifteenth verses of the sixth
chapter of St. Matthew, you will see what else our Lord says on the
subject."

Ned took the Bible, and having found the place, read, "For if ye forgive
men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if
ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father
forgive your trespasses."

"Before you go to bed," said his grandmother, when he had finished
reading, "I wish you to get by heart these three texts, and repeat them
to me."

Ned did as he was desired, and then his grandmother kissed him, and bid
him good-night.

Ned loved his grandmother very much, for she had always been kind to
him. His parents had both died when he was very young; and she then
brought him home to live with her, and had taken care of him ever since.
She taught him to read and write, and cast up sums; to be steady and
industrious; and, above all, it was her great care to instil into his
mind religious principles. She had often told him that the way to profit
by what we read, as well as by the good advice that may be given us, is
to think upon it afterwards; and she frequently desired him to make a
practice of saying over to himself every night whatever verses from the
Bible he had learnt by heart during the day.

This evening, when Ned repeated his texts, he felt that he had been
wrong to rejoice at Tom Andrews's disgrace, because he had behaved ill
to himself; and he prayed God to make Tom see his f