active services, torn from all the tender ties of existence, and exiled for life as a felon to a distant land! exiled too, for a crime which, had they performed their soCIAL DUTY, she might never have committed. But the pain of mind which they endured on this lamentable occasion was not thrown away on them; as it awakened them to serious reflection; they learned to remember, and to teach their children to remember, the holy command, "that we are not to do evil, that good may come ;" and that no deviation from truth and ingenuousness can be justified, even if it claims for itself the plausible title of the active or passive

LIE OF BENEVOLENCE.

MRS. OPIE.

ARABELLA JOHNSON.

LADY ARABELLA JOHNSON was the daughter of the proud Earl of Lincoln. She was an exceedingly beautiful girl, and her father cherished the hope of seeing her united to a nobleman of the first rank. But there had been a different path appointed her; and it seemed not among the least extraordinary incidents marking her fortune, that her father consented, notwithstanding his ambitious projects, that she should marry Mr. Johnson. He was, to be sure, very rich, and connected with families of high rank; but he had no title in possession or expectancy.

Mr. Johnson was naturally of a contemplative character; serious in his deportment, with an expression of thought on his mild countenance, which people, who for the first time beheld him, termed sadness. Yet his heart was warm and

frank; and when, in intercourse with his friends, he threw off the reserve which proceeded more from excess of feeling than a want of sympathy with his fellow-creatures, few were so agreeable, or so beloved in society, as this amiable man. His wife, the Lady Arabella, on the contrary, was of a joyous spirit. It seemed as if no blight of sorrow had ever fallen on her, and that she was happy because she was innocent. Even the most rigid and gloomy Christians never objected to her gaiety; they appeared to feel that her gladness proceeded from a guileless heart.

The pensiveness on her husband's brow might sometimes seem too deeply shadowed, contrasted, as it was, with the sunshine of her bright face, te promise perfect congeniality of feeling between the pair; but, when they spoke to each other, the hearer was instantly aware of the affectionate communion their hearts enjoyed. There was a modulation in their voices which love only can teach; it was not terms of endearment, such are easily said; it was the manner, the tone, the soft, low-breathed, and, as it were, watchful sympathy of tone, always chiming in harmony, and making, to the soul of either, that pleasant music, which no skill in art, no sound in nature, can equal.

But the Christian can never live for himself. Mr. Johnson, blessed as his lot was, could not feel happy while those pious men, whose tenets he respected, were suffering persecution. It is true, he sometimes regretted that they should adhere, with such unbending pertinacity, to those points of their faith which only regarded ceremonials in religion; but their firmness, under every trial which their vindictive enemies could inflict, gave

a sacredness to the suffering cause, which enlisted all his benevolent feelings in their behalf.

He had a large estate unincumbered. He had been married to the Lady Arabella ten years, but they had no children; and it often occurred to him, that it was his duty to employ his wealth in succouring the oppressed Puritans. His own mildness and moderation, and the powerful family with which he was connected, had effectually screened him from the persecutions which had followed the obnoxious party he favoured. His moderation did not proceed from timidity, or love of worldly ease, or indifference to the cause he had espoused;—it was the character of the man. He was considerate.

Such people make less bustle in the world, and, consequently, draw less notice than the ardent and enthusiastic; but they are, notwithstanding, the stamina of every successful adventure. Such a one will hold on his way when a more fiery spirit is broken or subdued; and the impetus given to a particular train of events by the latter, would soon cease, were not the motion continued by the cool perseverance of the former.

The project of the Puritans, to transport themselves, their wives and children, to the new world, and there to remain and found a nation, considered only by the light of sober reason, was as romantic an undertaking as ever sane men adopted Some were too old to provide for themselves-some were too young to render assistance-and many were too poor to procure necessaries, even for the voyage. But all these must go. No one of the brethren, who wished to join the expedition, must be rejected because he was old or poor. And their little ones, -could they leave them behind?

Mr. Johnson's eyes overflowed with tears, and his heart throbbed with thick heavings, while he read a letter from one of his friends, describing the difficulties they were encountering, to prepare for the emigration of the colony. "Oh," thought he, "why do I sit here? Why, when God has placed the means in my hands, do I not arise, and offer of my substance to assist his servants? And why do I not go with them ?"

He paused, for the thought of his wife came over his mind. Could she endure the change? Ought he to expect it, to wish it? Should her love to him be the means of exposing her delicate form to the dangers of the sea-the perils of a howling wilderness? Just as he had concluded, that even to think of her making such a sacrifice, was a breach of the protection he had vowed to her at the altar, she entered the library where he was sitting. "In tears, my beloved?" said Arabella, advancing, and laying her white hand softly on her husband's shoulder, while the smile that could usually chase away all his cares played on her lips. But, as he raised his eyes to hers, their deep sorrow awed her, and she felt it was no earthly grief that oppressed him. She drew closer to him, sat down by his side, took one of his hands between hers, and for some minutes kept that silence which is the surest sign of deep sympathy.

But when he had told her the cause why he wept, and read to her the letter, it was wonderful to see how the spirit of that angelic woman awoke to the perception of all that was in his heart. He had spoken nothing of his own thoughts, or wishes, or struggles. But she comprehended them in a moment; and she felt, at the same time, happy that she had at last penetrated the cause why his

countenance had, for many weeks, worn more than its usual pensiveness, and that it was in her power to comfort him-to reconcile him to himself-to aid him in the performance of his duty.

Every thing was soon arranged, and Mr. Johnson and the Lady Arabella joined their names to the list of the emigrants. "It is no cross to me to forsake the world, if I may only keep by your side," whispered Arabella to her husband, while a fashionable friend was expatiating on the terrible dangers to be encountered in a pilgrimage to America. And all her conduct was framed to lessen his uneasiness for her; to take from him every fear that her compliance with his wishes was a sacrifice of her inclination; indeed, she seemed to enjoy the thought of assisting him to do the good he meditated, as a privilege.

Mr. Johnson disposed of the bulk of his property in England, that he might have the power of aiding those poor pious persons, who had hearts, but not means, to join the expedition. He provided comforts for many who had none to help them; and it was chiefly owing to the judicious plans he proposed, and the efficient pecuniary aid he was ever ready to furnish, that the embarkation of so large a company was effected.

In all this he was cheered by the approving smiles of her whom he loved more than all the world; and the more than heroic, the Christian fortitude and cheerfulness with which his wife resigned all the luxuries and blandishments of her high station, and bent her whole heart to aid him in performing what he felt to be his duty, infused into his soul a strength, an ardour, a joy, that made every labour and sacrifice seem a triumph. At length, they embarked; and, during the long