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tenth day I saw him expire. With him perished all my proud prospects of earthly consequence, and all my long cherished views of family aggrandizement: and praised be God, at the same moment, by the divine blessing on my affliction, I was cast down to the ground, selfabased, self-convicted, and self-abhorred-cast down, in order hereafter to be lifted up. I hardly recollect what followed the death of this lovely baby, though I remember his sweet pale face as he lay in his coffin, which was lined, as his cradle had been, with the finest white satin. His little image is still before me now just as I last beheld him; and I still recollect the agony which I experienced as I pressed his cold lips within mine. But I leave the description of these scenes, in order to describe the effect they produced upon me.

"The kind Mr. Berrington was at hand to convey me home, where I was again seized with a severe illness, from which I did not recover for a very great length of time. But during this illness, such a view of the non-importance of earthly concerns, together with the infinite value of the soul in comparison with all besides, was vouchsafed me, that I rose from my bed as it were a new creature; at least, every thing around me seemed to have acquired a new aspect, and to bear as it were a new relation to me.

"I at this time appeared to acquire such a variety of new faculties, and such a number of new ideas seemed to burst upon me, that, though hardly aware of the real state of the case, I was made sensible of this at least-that whereas I had been blind, I now began to see: in consequence of which, many things which I had once loved and coveted, appeared not only worthless but despicable in my eyes. My thoughts of sin, of myself, of my Saviour, and of the world, were so totally different from what they had been, that whereas I once had desired nothing so much as the earthly exaltation of my offspring, I was now enabled to rejoice in those providences by which a better inheritance was secured to them for ever. A deep depression of spirits, however, took place soon after I had experienced these first views of better things; during which I had so deep a conviction of my own depravity, as led me almost to despair of ever being rendered

fit for the divine presence. During this interval of darkness, however, I still rejoiced in my Lydia's and her baby's happiness; in addition to which it was observable, that I became extremely solicitous for the spiritual good of those about me. At length, though not until after the lapse of some years, these clouds passed away, and spiritual peace was bestowed upon me,-such a peace as passeth all understanding.

"Since that period, many summers and winters are gone by: but while my mortal frame is gradually falling to decay, my spiritual hopes are becoming daily more and more bright and lively. Mr. Berrington still lives near me, and visits me daily. He is to me as a very dear son, but never mentions the name of Lydia; neither have I hitherto been able to discover whether he ever felt more for her than for a very dear child known and loved from infancy.

"The duke, my former son-in-law, mourned not for my daughter as she deserved, but, within two years of her death, married Madame de Bleville; and his children by that lady are at this time the most brilliant stars in the hemisphere of fashion. But although the report of his daughter's beauty, and the rumour of the dashing eclat of his sons, may sometimes reach me in my solitary retreat, these things, by the divine blessing, awaken not the slightest feeling of jealousy in my heart, nor even occasion the smallest degree of regret on account of the early death of my daughter and her lovely, lovely infant."

Here the lady of the manor closed her manuscript and as the perusal of it had taken up some time, she requested her young people to join her immediately in prayer.

A prayer for the Blessings of Justification and Sanctification.

"O, BLESSED LORD GOD, we earnestly entreat thee to impress our minds with the solemn truth, that we of ourselves are incapable of performing any thing towards our own salvation, and that if we are to be saved, the work of redemption must be from first to last of

thee. Convince us, O heavenly Father, of the depravity of our nature, our gross darkness with respect to spiritual things, our enmity against thee, and our own utter helplessness; and then, in thine infinite mercy, open to our understandings the only means prepared for man's recovery.

"O, Holy Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, draw us, and we will run after thee. Pardon us through thy blessed Son; justify us through Christ's righteousness; make us thy children by adoption; sanctify and uphold us unto the end. We will trust in thee to do that for us which we cannot do for ourselves: we will repose in thee as an infant reposes on the breast of a tender mother. We renounce all our own merits, and cast them from us as filthy rags: we come unto thee wounded, sick, and loathsome: we fall at thy feet, and look humbly forward to a participation of thy mercy, because from thee we received the will to come; and because we are assured that thou wilt finish the work which thou hast begun.

"And now to God the Father, by whom those who shall finally be saved were chosen before the foundation of the world; to God the Son, through whom the elect are justified; and to God the Holy Ghost, by whom the sinner is regenerated, sanctified, and upheld to the end; be all glory and honour, for ever and ever. Amen."

CHAPTER XI.

Q. Rehearse the Articles of thy belief.

A. I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth.

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into Hell; the third day he rose again from the Dead: he ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right Hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the Quick and the Dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Catholic Church; the Communion of Saints; the Forgiveness of Sins; the Resurrection of the Body; and the Life everlasting. Amen.

Q. What dost thou chiefly learn in these Articles of thy Belief?

A. First, I learn to believe in God the Father, who hath made me and all the world.

Secondly, in God the Son, who hath redeemed me, and all Mankind.

Thirdly, in God the Holy Ghost, who sanctifieth me, and all the elect People of God.

On the young ladies assembling again at the manorhouse, they amused_themselves for awhile in making their comments on the story of Lydia Howard; when they all agreed in expressing their admiration of her character, and in reprobating the conduct of her husband.

"My dear young people," said the lady of the manor,

I rejoice that you are able to see the excellence of such Christian examples as I am enabled to set before you. What is particularly worthy of admiration in Lydia Howard, is her humility; and this excellent quality was the more estimable, as there appeared to be no weakness nor want of firmness in her mind. Where she saw her duty, she always pursued it, though perhaps on one occasion she might have done better, had she persisted in refusing the alliance proposed to her. But when a parent pleads in a case of this kind, it is hard for a daughter, and one so young especially, to resist."

In this manner the time passed, till the lady of the manor introduced the business of the day by requesting one of the youngest of the company to repeat the Apostles' Creed: which being done, she addressed the party to the following purpose.-"I have observed, my dear young friends, that you are always pleased when I propose to read a story to you. I do not blame the attachment you discover to agreeable and interesting narrative: but I should not wish you so far to indulge it as to lose your relish for drier discussions. The imagination is a noble quality of the mind, but it must not be indulged to the neglect of the reasoning powers. The Apostles' Creed must to-day form the subject of our consideration, as well as some other parts of the Church Catechism, which I fear it will be quite out of my power to elucidate by any narrative: nevertheless, I trust that what I have to say will obtain as much of your interest as the histories of Theodosia and Lydia Howard."

The young ladies smiled, and promised their attention. On which the lady of the manor proceeded to the explanation of the Creed, taking each article separately as she went on.

"A valuable old writer," said she "thus speaks of the Apostles' Creed: 'This Creed, without controversy, is a brief comprehension of the objects of our Christian faith, and is generally taken to contain all things necessary to be believed.' And we may further add, that the articles of this Creed may be classed under three heads; viz. those which have respect to God the Father, those which relate to God the Son, and those which refer to God the Holy Ghost.

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