A  man  came  across  London  to  be  present
at  one  of  our  Thursday  Meetings.  When
spoken  to  by  an  Officer,  he  admitted  the  force
of  all  that  had  been  said,  but  he  found  an  insur-
mountable difficulty  in  his  business  as  a  shop-
keeper. He  saw  that  the  goods  on  his  shelves
and  sold  over  the  counter  were  mixed,  including


CIRCUMSTANCES  AND   CONSEQUENCES        65

what  he  realized  to  be  bad  and  damaging  to
many  others.  His  heart  was  full  of  conviction
and  desire,  but  anxiety  about  his  wife  and
family  prevented  him  closing  down,  while  his
conscience  prevented  him  selling  a  business
which  he  knew  had  wrong  and  doubtful  things
connected  with  it.  *  What  is  wrong  for  me  ',
he  said,  *  would  be  wrong  for  another  ' ;  and
so  he  could  not  pay  the  price,  and,  like  the
young  ruler  referred  to,  he  has  gone  away
sorrowful.
In  the  Meeting  of  the  following  week  a  man
came  to  the  table  seeking  the  blessing,  and  he
cried  out  aloud,  *  O  Lord,  give  me  a  clean
heart!  Take  the  malice  out  which  I  have  had
towards  these  two  persons  !  O  Lord,  I  will  go
straight  to  them,  and  confess,  and  ask  them  to
forgive  me!*  Needless  to  add,  the  blessing
came,  and,  rejoicing,  he  went  off  to  his  home,
fifty  miles  out  of  London,  to  fulfil  his  word.
The  contrast  between  this  and  the  man  pre-
viously mentioned  teaches  its  own  lesson.
