"
"Just as certainly," added the friend, "as that the Sun shines and
the dew falls. It will be better for you, and better for the child.
To both will come a resurrection into higher and purer life."
V.
ANGELS IN THE HEART.
_THE_ heart is full of guest-chambers that are never empty; and as
the heart is the seat of life, these guests are continually acting
upon the life, either for good or evil, according to their quality.
As the guests are, so our states of life--tranquil and happy, if
good; disturbed and miserable, if evil.
We may choose our own guests, if we are wise. None can open the door
and come in, unless we give consent; always provided that we keep
watch and ward. If we leave wide open the doors of our houses, or
neglect to fasten them in the night season, thieves and robbers will
enter and despoil us at will. So if we leave the heart, unguarded,
enemies will come in. But if we open the door only to good
affections--which are guests--then we shall dwell in peace and
safety. We have all opened the door for enemies; or let them enter
through unguarded portals. They are in all the heart's
guest-chambers. They possess the very citadel of life; and the
measure of their possession is the measure of our unhappiness.
Markland was an unhappy man; and yet of this world's goods, after
which he had striven, he had an abundance. Wealth, honor among men,
luxury; these were presented to his mind as things most to be
desired, and he reached after them with an ardor that broke down all
impediments.
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