Why should we follow Fancy through the whole seriesof those awful pictures？ Painted by an artist of wondrouspower and terrible acquaintance with the secret soul， theyembodied the ghosts of all the never-perpetrated sins thathad glided through the lifetime of Mr. Smith. And couldsuch beings of cloudy fantasy， so near akin to nothingness，give valid evidence against him at the day of judgment？
Be that the case or not， there is reason to believe that onetruly penitential tear would have washed away each hatefulpicture and left the canvas white as snow. But Mr. Smith，at a prick of Conscience too keen to be endured， bellowedaloud with impatient agony， and suddenly discovered thathis three guests were gone. There he sat alone， a silverhairedand highly-venerated old man， in the rich gloom ofthe crimsoned-curtained room， with no box of pictures onthe table， but only a decanter of most excellent Madeira.
Yet his heart still seemed to fester with the venom of thedagger.
Nevertheless， the unfortunate old gentleman mighthave argued the matter with Conscience and alleged manyreasons wherefore she should not smite him so pitilessly.
Were we to take up his cause， it should be somewhat inthe following fashion. A scheme of guilt， till it be putin execution， greatly resembles a train of incidents in aprojected tale. The latter， in order to produce a sense ofreality in the readet’s mind， must be conceived with suchproportionate strength by the author as to seem in theglow of fancy more like truth， past， present or to come，than purely fiction. The prospective sinner， on the otherhand， weaves his plot of crime， but seldom or never feelsa perfect certainty that it will be executed. There is adreaminess diffused about his thoughts； in a dream， as itwere， he strikes the death-blow into his victim’s heart andstarts to find an indelible blood-stain on his hand. Thus anovel-writer or a dramatist， in creating a villain of romanceand fitting him with evil deeds， and the villain of actual lifein projecting crimes that will be perpetrated， may almostmeet each other halfway between reality and fancy. It isnot until the crime is accomplished that Guilt clenches itsgripe upon the guilty heart and claims it for his own. Then，and not before， sin is actually felt and acknowledged， and，if unaccompanied by repentance， grows a thousandfoldmore virulent by its self-consciousness. Be it considered，also， that men often overestimate their capacity for evil.
At a distance， while its attendant circumstances do notpress upon their notice and its results are dimly seen，they can bear to contemplate it. They may take the stepswhich lead to crime， impelled by the same sort of mentalaction as in working out a mathematical problem， yet bepowerless with compunction at the final moment. Theyknew not what deed it was that they deemed themselvesresolved to do. In truth， there is no such thing in man’snature as a settled and full resolve， either for good or evil，except at the very moment of execution. Let us hope，therefore， that all the dreadful consequences of sin willnot be incurred unless the act have set its seal upon thethought.
Yet， with the slight fancy-work which we have framed，some sad and awful truths are interwoven. Man mustnot disclaim his brotherhood even with the guiltiest，since， though his hand be clean， his heart has surely beenpolluted by the flitting phantoms of iniquity. He mustfeel that when he shall knock at the gate of heaven nosemblance of an unspotted life can entitle him to entrancethere. Penitence must kneel and Mercy come from thefootstool of the throne， or that golden gate will neveropen.