The animal was being hurried down the
stream, and apparently making but little progress toward the shore.
James became very much alarmed. Raising his eyes toward the
landing-place, he discovered his father. Almost frantic with fear, he
exclaimed, "O father, father! I shall drown! I shall drown!"
"No," replied his father, in a stern and resolute tone of voice,
dismissing for a moment his feelings of tenderness; "if you do, I will
whip you severely. Cling to your horse! Cling to your horse!"
The son, who feared his father more than he did the raging river, obeyed
the command; and the noble animal on which he was mounted, struggling
for some time, carried him safe to shore.
"My son!" exclaimed the glad father, bursting into tears, "remember,
hereafter, that in danger you must possess courage, and being determined
to save your life, cling to the last hope!
"If I had replied to you with the tenderness and fear which I felt, you
might have lost your life; you would have lost your presence of mind,
been carried away by the current, and I should have seen you no more."
What a noble example is this! The heroism of this father and his
presence of mind saved the life of his boy.
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