



Produced by Richard Tonsing, Richard Hulse and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive)






[Illustration: THE DISOBEDIENT BOY. _Page 95_]




                         PRECEPTS IN PRACTICE.


[Illustration: OLD JONAS. _Page 140._]


                       _THOMAS NELSON AND SONS_,
                    LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK.




                         PRECEPTS IN PRACTICE;

                                  OR,

                  _STORIES ILLUSTRATING THE PROVERBS_.


                                   BY
                              A. L. O. E.,
     AUTHOR OF “THE SILVER CASKET”, “THE ROBBERS’ CAVE,” ETC., ETC.


                      WITH THIRTY-NINE ENGRAVINGS


                                London:
                  T. NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW.
                        EDINBURGH; AND NEW YORK.

                                  1887

------------------------------------------------------------------------




                                Preface.


Dear young friends (perhaps I may rather welcome some amongst you as
_old_ friends), I would once more gather you around me to listen to my
simple stories. I have in each one endeavoured to exemplify some truth
taught by the wise King Solomon, in the Book of Proverbs. Perhaps the
holy words, which I trust that many of you have already learned to love,
may be more forcibly imprinted on your minds, and you may apply them
more to your own conduct, when you see them illustrated by tales
describing such events as may happen to yourselves.

May the Giver of all good gifts make the choice of Solomon also yours;
may you, each and all, be endowed with that wisdom from on high which is
_more precious than rubies_; and may you find, as you proceed onward to
that better home to which Heavenly Wisdom would guide you, that _her
ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace_.

                                                             A. L. O. E.




                               Contents.


    I. THE TWO SONS,                                                   9

   II. THE PRISONER RELEASED,                                         21

  III. THE MOTHER’S RETURN,                                           34

   IV. THE FRIEND IN NEED,                                            43

    V. FORBIDDEN GROUND,                                              62

   VI. CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE,                                           76

  VII. THE GREAT PLAGUE,                                              89

 VIII. THE GREEN VELVET DRESS,                                        99

   IX. FALSE FRIENDS,                                                115

    X. COURAGE AND CANDOUR,                                          129

   XI. THE SAILOR’S RESOLVE,                                         146

  XII. THE GIPSIES,                                                  158

 XIII. FRIENDS IN NEED,                                              173

  XIV. THE OLD PAUPER,                                               190

   XV. THE BEAUTIFUL VILLA,                                          203




                         List of Illustrations.


 THE DISOBEDIENT BOY,                                     _Frontispiece_

 OLD JONAS,                                                   _Vignette_

 THE FROZEN LAKE,                                                     10

 HARRY TENDING HIS MOTHER,                                            13

 DR.