The warning clock: or, The voice of the new year

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.