A young woman about to profess faith succumbs to temptation and attends a worldly ball.
The subject of the following narrative was the idolized daughter of a gay and worldly father, who, in spite of the tears and expostulations of a pious mother, to whom such an act seemed little short of sacrilege, led her to the altar of worldly folly—the village dancing-school. She soon excelled all competitors, and was considered the unrivalled belle. At this crisis her father died, and she lent a willing ear to the explanations of divine truth from her mother, which satisfied her understanding and filled her heart with pure and holy emotions. She was on the point of making a public profession of her faith in Christ, when the village in which she lived was agitated with preparations for a splendid ball. The poor widow shuddered as she witnessed the progress of this much dreaded evil: to complete her uneasiness, a brother of her husband, a man of the world, visiting in the family, declared that he would be at the expense of equipping her daughter as his own child, and that she should eclipse all the women of rank and fashion in the ballroom.
The poor girl was at first unwilling to lend an ear to these follies; but she had always delighted in dancing, and on this occasion suffered her better judgment to be overruled. "'Tis but for once, mother,' said she, 'and to please my uncle—nay, to avoid giving him incurable offence. Believe me, I shall not suffer my head to be turned by one night of gayety. Pray for me, mother, that this compliance with the will of my father's brother may not produce evil consequences.' "My child,' said the distressed mother, 'I dare not so word my supplication. It is in compliance with your own will that you thus venture on the tempter's ground, and in this open act of disobedience to your heavenly Father, I cannot lend my aid to excuse or extenuate your guilt. I have prayed, I will still pray, that you may not venture farther in this matter; but if you do, the responsibility must rest with yourself.' "But, mother, the Scriptures say themselves, 'there is a time to dance.' "So they say, in the same place, 'there is a time to make war, and a time to hate.' The wise man means, that all sins and follies will have their seasons; but he does not therefore advocate sin and folly. Oh, beware, my child, and let the same Scriptures teach you, that 'he who hardeneth his neck under reproof shall be destroyed, and that suddenly.' These are fearful words for us to part with, my child. Oh, heed my reproof, and do not harden your neck!' "Mother,' said the perplexed girl. 'I have promised my uncle to go to this unlucky ball, and I cannot break my promise without incurring his resentment. He has been so kind, that it would be ungrateful to thwart him in this trifle.' "Oh, my daughter,' said the widow, holding her hands to her ears, "let me not hear you use such awful language! Can it be you who calls this sin a trifle? Go, if you will; but make no more vain attempts to pervert right reason, lest you add to your own condemnation."
It was indeed with reluctance that the affectionate daughter left her mother, under such circumstances; but she had surrendered her better judgment for the time, and created an imaginary necessity, by which she suffered herself to be controlled. Much admired, she was so often solicited to dance that her blood became painfully overheated; and finding the heat of the ball-room too oppressive, her partner was conducting her into a little back porch. As she swept rapidly along, panting with heat, she encountered a servant entering with a pitcher of water, more than half intoxicated, and as he staggered out of her way, the contents of the pitcher were discharged full in her panting and overheated bosom. The sudden revulsion of physical feeling occasioned by this accident, was almost instantly fatal. A violent ague terminated in convulsions, and before the dawn of day this lovely and interesting girl expired in the arms of her almost distracted mother, breathing with her last gasp the word "SUDDENLY!"
