"
"Heaven forbid!" replied the young man, seriously.
"But we are in a world of error. Ah! if we could only pass through
life without a mistake. If the heavy weight of repentance did not
lie so often and so long upon our hearts--this would be a far
pleasanter world than it is."
"Do not look so serious," remarked Clara, as she bent forward and
gazed affectionately into the young man's face. "To err is human. No
one here is perfect. How often, for hours, have I mourned over
errors; yet grief was of no avail, except to make my future more
guarded."
"And that was much gained," said Florence, breathing deeply with a
sense of relief. "If we cannot recall and correct the past, we can
at least be more guarded in the future. This is the effect of my own
experience. Ah! if we properly considered the action of our present
upon the future, how guarded would we be. All actions are in the
present, and the moment they are done the present becomes the past,
over which Memory presides. What is past is fixed. Nothing can
change it. The record is in marble, to be seen in all future time."
The serious character of the interview soon changed, and the young
lovers forgot every thing in the joy of their reconciliation.
Pages:
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58