180 THE MURDERED GOLD-DIGGER.

prowled about the diggings, too lazy to work, but ever on the alert to rob; and, if need be, murder those who were not. The hours crept on; I sat inside my tent smoking, and reading a newspaper a year old. I began to think it was time that Fred-my mate's name—should return; I got up and walked to the creek, but could hear no sound of oars, while it was too dark to distinguish anything a few yards off.

"I waited and waited, beginning to grow anxious; it was long past the hour for returning. What could have become of him? Surely he had met with no accident? Yet, why so late? I lingered by the banks of the creek, half determined to set out in search of him, and yet not liking to leave the tent, not knowing who might take a fancy to seeing its contents.

"While in this state of irresolution the silence of the night was broken by loud cries for help. Though the tones of the voice sounded like those of a man in great fear, and were raised to an unusual pitch, I instantly recognised them as Fred's, and immediately set off with a run to his assistance. The cries proceeded from a spot not very far from where I was standing when they reached my ears; I heard some desperate struggle going on as I neared the place, half-stifled cries and exclamations, but before I could reach the scene of conflict, all was quiet. I looked about me, as you may well suppose, with a very apprehensive heart, scarcely expecting to see my comrade alive, and there, sure enough, lay his body, the head

THE FOLLY OF IGNORANCE,

181

immersed in water; I dragged it out, and, as well as I was able, carried it to the tent. But it was of no use; do all I could, poor Fred was past recovery—he had been most foully murdered. Terrible things does darkness hide.

"But there are several other kinds of darkness besides that which arises from the absence of the sun, and which is not so terrible here as in the cold, icebound Arctic lands. There is a darkness which troubles man called, Ignorance. This is a sort of darkness which abides with all more or less In past ages, if a man, by dint of hard thought and study, banished some from his mind, and struggled to a little mental light, he was called bad names and put in prison, nay, sometimes even tortured. Things are a little different now; he who is ignorant is regarded with suspicion, and not he who is enlightened.

"This ignorance is a bad darkness. Under its influence men do strange things. You heard only the other day of a number of men who destroyed Farmer Baines' thrashing machines. Ignorance did that, whereby it did more evil than good. When labour is scarce and corn is dear, ignorance sets fire to cornstacks to remedy the grievance, but makes it worse. Sometimes a person awakes in the night, and, by a peculiar smell, knows that the gas is escaping. Ignorance takes a candle to find out where, and the consequence is an explosion. Ignorance is a baleful

darkness to be under.

182 THE SAILOR AND THE LETTER.

"Ignorance, says the proverb, is the parent of much evil,' and, let me add, also of many ludicrous Occurrences. I once heard of a sailor who stepped into a post-office, and, addressing one of the clerks, asked whether he knew Sam Worship of the Bulldog, 'for if you do,' he added, 'I want you to give him this letter.' 'No,' answered the clerk, but if you leave the letter it shall be sent to him.' This surprised the sailor, who could not understand how it was the clerk could send a letter if he did not know the man to whom it was addressed. It was almost as bad as the country girl who wrote a letter to a friend, and because the post-mistress, who was very inquisitive, should not know to whom she had written, put no address on the envelope.

"I once knew a man who thought Africa joined Devonshire; while, years ago, a fellow over there at Ardleigh, whom I knew, enlisted for a soldier, and when he reached Cambridge, thought he was in a foreign country, and with tears in his eyes exclaimed, 'Farewell for ever, Old England!'

66

Despise and dispel ignorance, boys. Now you are young is the time; you have within your reach the great darkness dispeller. As at the face of the sun the darkness of night flies away, so at the sight of knowledge ignorance hideth itself. Strive to gain knowledge.

"But there is another and a worse darkness, a darkness which fills the heart. We call it moral dark

THE HIDDEN SHAFT.

183

ness, a much more fearful darkness than ignorance, bad as that is. The Bible says, that 'out of the heart are the issues of life.' How necessary, then, to keep it full of light! You have no guiding light if the heart be dark; you are likely to fall into pitfalls and

snares.

"I knew a man who, while journeying in one of the Midland counties, lost his way among the heaths. Night came down, and he could not see which path to take, but he kept walking steadily forward. Presently he began to fear that if he walked much further, he should meet with some accident. He stood still, and shouted aloud 'Help, help, help!' It was some time before his voice was heard, but at length there floated to his ears an answering cry, and in the distance he saw a light approaching. He shouted again to guide the steps which were hastening to his relief. When at length the light was quite near, he saw how great had been his danger. At his very feet was the disused shaft of a mine. Had he but taken one step more, he would have been dashed to pieces. Yet his danger was not greater than is that of those who go on in life with a dark heart.

"In darkness poisonous weeds grow. In dark hearts poisonous thoughts and desires grow. Then, too, there is another consideration-the darkness of the heart leads to that fearful 'outer darkness,' concerning which our Saviour speaks. I do not know what it means, but I have frequently pictured to my

184

OUTER DARKNESS.

self a poor, wandering, homeless beggar, who some dark cold night has approached the window of a house, from which stream floods of light. He looks in at the window, and sees there a happy, cheerful family gathered round the blazing fire. He hears the merry laughter, he sees the bright faces, the sparkling eyes, and the expressive gestures of tenderness and love, and he says to himself, as the contrast strikes upon his heart,How miserable I am! Would I had a home like this to enter!' and he turns away in despair. May not the outer darkness mean something similar to that? If so, how dreadful it will be.

"Boys, boys, beware of all darkness which may lead to the outer. Strive, by God's help, to make the whole heart full of light."