THE KIND WORD.
Not many years since, a poor blind man was feeling his way through some of the public roads to a small town in England, in search of employment, having only about him a small sum of money, contributed by some friends of the same trade as himself. Though he could see nothing, he yet felt the blessed, warm sunshine, and the soft southwest breeze that lifted his locks so gently, and bore to him the perfume of the early flowers. This was a joy. On his way a young woman, a foot traveler like himself, inquired of him if he could tell her whether she was on the right way to a certain town she wished to reach. Her voice was tremulous. The kind-hearted blind man said at once to himself, the poor young thing is desolate and troubled. I will help her. His kindness gave her confidence, and she told him, as well asshe could for her tears, that she was turned out of her own father’s house by the unkindness of a mother-in-law, and was then looking out for a situation as house maid in some respectable family. The blind man was older than she; he knew well the danger to which her youth exposed her. He immediately found the young girl a safe place to lodge, and the next day gave himself no rest, till he had groped his way through the streets of the town, and found a kind family, who agreed to take her under the shelter of their roof. Afterward he learned from her, that this act of kindness had saved her from throwing herself into the river, when the poor creature was nearly crazy with misery. I tell you this little bit of a story, to show you that there is nobody in this world so poor or so miserable, that he cannot help somebody else. Becausekind words, you know, cost nothing; and one can certainly always givethemto the unfortunate.Of what use is a kind word?Oh, surely you never were in trouble, or you could not askthat! I believe heaven is full of those whom a kind word has helped there; and our jails and prison houses here are full of poor creatures who have gone there forwantof a kindword when they were tempted to do wrong—for want of somebody to say,Don’tdo it! for if nobody else cares for you, God cares for you; and you must care for yourself, because you are to live forever.