An old man named Pete was very much troubled about his sins. Perceiving him one day with a very downcast look, a friend asked him the cause. “O friend, I’m such a great sinner!”
“But, Pete,” said his friend, “you are foolish to take it so much to heart. You never see me troubled about my sins.”
“I know the reason” said Pete. “When you go out duck-shooting, and kill one duck and wound another, don’t you run after the wounded duck?”
“Yes, Pete;” and the friend wondered what was coming next. “Well, that is the way with you and me. The devil has got you for sure; but, as he is not sure of me, he chases this child all the time.”—Unknown, Signs of the Times, January 18, 1877.