# The warning clock

By Mrs. Cameron.

The warning clock by Mrs. Cameron is a short Christian moral allegory for children written in the early 19th century. It uses the image of a New Year’s clock and a homeward journey to warn against delay in repentance and duty, contrasting prompt obedience with fatal procrastination. Two banished sisters, Diligence and Indolence, live under a faithful nurse when a message arrives: their father longs to receive them, and an interceding elder brother has secured their welcome. Diligence rises at dawn, accepts a staff and provisions, and sets out cheerfully toward the Everlasting Hills. Indolence repeatedly postpones, lulled by sleep despite the clock’s solemn strokes and the nurse’s urgent pleas. As evening falls, a messenger announces Diligence has reached home and is joyfully received, while Indolence’s “day of grace” is past and she is consigned to outer darkness. The tale closes with a Scriptural warning that clinging to worldly ease leads to loss, but timely self-denial gains life eternal. (Summary by Project Gutenberg, written by machine.)

- Language: English
- Subjects: Christian life -- Juvenile fiction; Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction; Allegories; Procrastination -- Juvenile fiction

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From Project Gutenberg. Public domain in the United States.