" His features then
assumed a pathetic solemnity, the tears stood in his eyes, and his voice
faltered with emotion as he said, "Dear child, at whose coming into the
world I foresaw this fatal trial, may God give thee grace to support it
with firmness!" The young man was left alone; and hardly did he find
himself so, when, like a swarm of demons, the recollection of all his
sins of omission and commission, rendered even more terrible by the
scrupulousness with which he had been educated, rushed on his mind, and,
like furies armed with fiery scourges, seemed determined to drive him to
despair. As he combated these horrible recollections with distracted
feelings, but with a resolved mind, he became aware that his arguments
were answered by the sophistry of another, and that the dispute was no
longer confined to his own thoughts. The Author of Evil was present in
the room with him in bodily shape, and, potent with spirits of a
melancholy cast, was impressing upon him the desperation of his state,
and urging suicide as the readiest mode to put an end to his sinful
career.
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