The course of Rufus was quite otherwise. The noise attracted the attention of the whole party, and twenty or more young farmers gathered about the youth, who stood over his barrel of cider, ready to support its merits. 'Thank your father in my name,' said Rufus, approaching the place, 'for his kind offer. We will accept it gladly, and doubt not it is as good cider as any in Vermont; he no doubt will suffer us to use it in any way we please.' The opportunity was too favorable to be lost; so he went on to explain why he did not drink it, and the league which had been made with his companions, which in short hand amounted to this. All the gifts of Providence are good in their place. Men have the power of perverting the blessings of Heaven to curses. It sometimes becomes necessary to abstain from innocent acts, because others deduce wrong inferences from them. Cider and wine, which in their nature contain alcohol, when drank in moderation, are salutary to health, and are nourishing to the body; but we agree to abstain from them because it is dangerous for those whose constitutions have been debilitated by intemperance to indulge in these luxuries. They bring back the old disease in such cases. And as Paul said he would eat no meat (a thing good in itself) if his doing so caused his brother to offend, so we have agreed to deny ourselves cider and wine, for the sake of our fellow-men. It was evident from the looks of all, that they cared more for the reputation of their cider than for the liquor itself; and when Rufus had finished his remarks, the youth who had brought the barrel was the first to propose that it be emptied upon the ground. It was done with a shout; and so much influence had the words of Rufus, that, with one accord, they all joined in a compact, on the spot, to abstain from cider and all intoxicating drinks. Never did a sugar party terminate more agreeably or profitably for all concerned. SONG. I. OH! say, can honor lost, And a bright, unspotted name Come back to cheer the tempest-tossed, And cleanse him of his shame? II. Say! can an erring heart, That still has thoughts of good. Return once more to the shining part Of life, where once it stood? III. Can those who are _more_ just And innocent than he, Refuse unto their kindred dust Their love and sympathy? IV. Is _man_ more just than Heaven? Shall _he_, himself so weak, Who needs each hour to be forgiven, No words of pardon speak? V. Can they, who held him dear, Forget his errors past, And on his penitential tear Affection's glances cast? VI. Oh! yes! all _this_ may be-- But never, never more, Will he feel the sweet and childlike glee He felt in days of yore. VII.