Now, by what process was this youth enabled to make such acquirements in godliness as that prayer betokens? It was by a device of his mother, who allured him into paths where he learned that truth which he has so beautifully embodied. Her wise and loving heart struck upon a plan which proved the turning-point in Alfred's history. It gave or it confirmed that bent of his mind which made him what he was--which led to the enacting of some of the laws which still signalize England among the nations, as well as prompted this memorable address to his son and successor Edward, on Alfred's dying bed: "We must now part," the sinking monarch said; "I go to another world, and thou shalt be left alone in all my wealth. I pray thee (for thou art my dear child) strive to be a father and a lord to thy people. Be thou the children's father and the widow's friend. Comfort thou the poor, and shelter the weak; and with all thy might, right what is wrong. And, son, govern thyself by law. Then shall the Lord love thee, and God, above all things, shall be thy reward. Call thou upon him to advise thee in all thy need, and so shall he help thee the better to compass what thou wouldest." Now that, we repeat, and similar examples may well stimulate parental diligence and animate parental hope. In a barbarous age, amid rude and martial men, with superstition seeking to efface all that was divine, and ignorance combining its power to help superstition to accomplish that object, Alfred rose above every obstacle, and stamped impressions upon his country which all time cannot efface.--What can Christian principle in the hands of a godly mother not achieve? What forms may not be impressed upon the molten lead? A DIFFICULTY: On this subject, however, there is a difficulty which sometimes meets us, at which it may be instructive to glance. On the one hand, we read, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it," but on the other, it is too well known that even children who have been trained by godly parents often go astray. They make haste to abandon the narrow path as soon as they dare, and plunge into sin as if they were determined to show how boldly they can trample upon all that is sacred or constraining. How many a parent's heart is at this moment aching, or how many have gone down in sorrow to the grave, lamenting the iniquity of those whom they had tried to train, or for whom they had watched and prayed! Ten thousand mothers have had Monica's trials, without living to share her joy, and the homes which should have been like temples of religion, have become the abodes of woe. Now, how is this apparent contradiction to be explained? The Scriptures say, "Train up a child in the way that he should go," and add the assurance, "When he is old, he will not depart from it;" but, in opposition to that, we see some of the children of godly parents plunging into sin; and how do we explain the seeming contradiction?