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THE WAY OF SAFETY.

Dear grandma is one of those who “being dead yet speaketh.”

She was not a preacher, or a lecturer—­much less a censurer or reprover; but she was that most agreeable of teachers to childhood and youth, a story-teller.  Yet, let no one suppose that she told us tales of fairy lore or ingenious romance, as pernicious as they are false.  Not so; the stories to which we listened with so much delight, were all true, and all from the capacious store-house of her own memory.

We had returned from the church one Sabbath afternoon, and as usual, hastened to grandma to repeat as much as we could remember of the sermon.  The text was that solemn command of the wise man:  “My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not;” and our pastor had made it the ground-work of a powerful exhortation to the young especially, to beware of the many temptations, snares, and allurements which they should meet; and warned them of the consequences of yielding to the seductive influences by which they might be surrounded.

“That reminds me of a young man whom I knew before any of you were born,” grandma remarked, when we had reported as much as we could remember of the sermon.  “You have heard me speak of Jacob Wise?” she said, addressing my father.

“Yes, mother,” he replied, “please tell the children about him.  I am sure your account of his experience will be a very suitable addition to our afternoon sermon.”

“O yes, grandma, please do!” we exclaimed; and, drawing our seats around her, we prepared for what we knew would be a treat.  The good old lady did not need to be urged, but, after pausing a moment to collect her thoughts, began as follows:—­

“Jacob Wise was the son of a near neighbor when I was a happy wife in my Western home.  His father was a plain, practical man, respected for his uprightness, good sense, and piety; and he brought up his son in his own sound principles, at the same time giving him all the education that was within his reach.

“When Jacob was about fourteen years of age, he was sent to Louisville for the benefit of a year’s instruction in a large school there.

“There were, also, other sons and daughters around his father’s hearth.  It therefore appeared expedient that Jacob should be allowed to develop his taste for commercial pursuits.

“The first circumstances of any note, that I remember, which particularly marked his character, occurred at the time of his first practical acquaintance with business.

“While in Louisville, he received much attention from the family of a wealthy man who kept a large store in the city; and when, at the close of his school term, he was offered a place behind the counter of his friend, he found no difficulty in obtaining his father’s permission to accept of it.

“The merchant, Mr. Rankin, was a smooth, bland, good-tempered man, and in his intercourse with the world maintained outwardly a fair and honest character.