“I was walking along the Strand in London, one day,” said a gentleman to a friend, “when I saw a policeman go up to a young man, and lay his hand upon his shoulder, saying as he did so, ‘I want you.’ “The young man turned very white,” said the gentleman. “There was a startled, frightened look in his eyes, but he made no resistance, and as he walked off with the officer, I heard him say, ‘I thought it would come to this; it’s just what I expected.'”
On making further inquiries about him, this gentleman found out that the short, sad story of that young man was this :—He was the son of respectable parents. After serving his apprenticeship, with a carpenter in the village where he lived, he came to London, seeking for work. He found employment in a large shop, where he received good wages, and for a while he was getting on nicely. Unhappily he made the acquaintance of some bad companions. They taught him to drink, and to gamble, and to spend his money very foolishly. Before long he found himself heavily in debt. One day, the counting-house clerk being absent, this young man was sent to the bank, to get a check cashed, for a large amount of money. Then the thought came into his mind—” If I keep this money I can soon get out of debt.” And then, instead of going back to the shop, he kept the money, and went off with it. He was afraid to go home, or show himself among his friends.
He went to another part of London, and prowled about the little streets and alleys, feeling very wretched and miserable, and afraid of being seen by any one that knew him. Several policemen were put upon his track, and had his appearance described to them, and this was one of them who found him. He was tried for stealing, found guilty, and sent to prison. It was the power of God, which caused this young man to be found out in his sin, and that power is able to find out every sin. That young man’s sin was found out for its punishment. But sometimes God’s power leads to the finding out of sin for its pardon.
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