of the fatherless and the husband of the widow. Such events remind us that one thing is needful, and that the acquisition of the most valuable accomplishments, arts, or sciences, is nought but vanity except sanctified by religion."

What follows, relates to offers of a similar nature for two of his little girls, made at a subsequent period.

"In reference to the important circumstance that you mentioned, respecting dear little A-, it is a subject that requires some consideration. If the distance were not so great as to prevent our occasionally seeing her, and the lady and governess are pious, I would endeavour to bring my mind to consent to part with her. I beg you will, therefore, present my respects to the Hon. Miss ***, and inform her, that if she will have the goodness to state particulars, I will give the subject its merited consideration. I must, however, say that if the child is to be entirely separated from home, as was proposed in the case of dear E., I could not, on any account, consent to it. It would be, as it were, making the child part of another family in a very different way than would occur by absence at school, and at too early an age, making a breach in the connexion with her parents, and brothers and sisters."

The anniversaries of birthdays were marked by appropriate prayers, counsels, and presents. When his children were absent, they generally received a letter on the occasion. The following is to the same daughter, on her attaining her twenty-first year :

"MY DEAREST

"As this is your birthday, and a birthday that brings you some peculiar privileges by the laws of that highly favoured country in which you have, through the kind providence of God, had the happiness of being born and educated, I write you a few lines to congratulate you on its return, and on the accession of the privileges which it has brought you. I am truly thankful to God that he has

been pleased to preserve you through the period of your minority, and has brought you to see the day on which you have completed twenty-one years of your life. This is a considerable period of human life-the short period given us as the season of preparation for eternity-to the close of which every day, tacito pede, is leading us. May God, my dear child, guide you by his counsel, direct you by his spirit, and make you a blessing to all with whom, in his providence, you are, or may be connected. Now you have attained by the grace of God, to But though you are no

your majority, I hope you will be enabled, act like a wise, prudent, and pious woman. longer to be treated as a child in a state of nonage, and are arrived at a period when you are invested with a power of doing many things in your own person, of which you have been previously incapable; yet your good sense and religious principle will lead you to be thankful to God for preserving your parents to be still the guides, as instruments in his hands, of your youth. If you look to God, and say, in sincerity of heart, My Father, thou art the guide of my youth,' you will be enabled to fulfil your duty to your parents and to all others, in whatever relation or connexion of life it may please him to place you. May he guide, direct, and support you at all times, and under all circumstances!

"Your affectionate Father."

The extract which follows, from a letter to his sister, relates to the illness and death of one of his brothers.

"MY DEAR SISTER,

"Jan. 21, 1823.

"I received your letters of the 17th and 18th; the first informing me of the dangerous illness, and the other of the departure of our beloved brother George to the 'rest which remaineth for the people of God.' I am sorry that you did not write to me at an earlier period; for though I do not suppose I could possibly have left home, once more to have seen him, yet I should have been gratified to have had an opportunity of writing to him, to express my strong and unabated affection for him, and my earnest desire that he might, at

the close of life, experience those consolations of God, which are neither few nor small. rejoice, however, that those consolations were enjoyed by him, and that his end was peace. He died, as, I trust, he has long lived, an humble penitent believer, at the foot of the cross, committing himself to the care of Jesus, and expecting, through his rich mercy and grace, to receive a share in the inheritance which is incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away. Blessed be God, therefore, we need not sorrow for our dear brother as those who have no hope. He is, doubtless, gone to a mansion of rest, felicity, and glory, prepared for him by Jesus. He has exchanged his afflictions and trials, for an eternal weight of glory. May we who survive, and all our brothers, sisters, and relatives, be anxious to make our calling and election sure. Interested in Jesus, we shall not part, my dear sister, for ever. We shall meet again, where there will be neither parting nor death. O! may Jesus prepare us, by his grace, to meet in heaven!"

The loss of this brother, although deeply mourned, had many alleviations; and so imperfect is our nature, and limited our capacities, unable to comprehend one object without partially excluding another, time and distance unite to weaken the collateral affections, while the love which descends from parents to children, 66 grows with their growth and strengthens with their strength.". Nor is this perhaps a subject for regret. May it not rather be viewed as a constitution of mind in mercy, adapted to the changeful state of being in which we are for the present placed? For were we not to outgrow (in a certain degree at least) some of our affections, as others attain increasing power, this earth would become still more emphatically a "valley of weeping."

My father was now called to mourn the early

departure of a beloved daughter, whose character had unfolded traits of christian loveliness, and presented beautiful evidence of the work of divine grace. But the separation, lamented with bitter anguish, was "but for a moment:" the lost is found again in the presence of that Saviour, whom not having seen, they loved; and in whom, notwithstanding the afflictions of the present state, they could oftentimes "rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory."

As my father intended, had his engagements permitted, to give a short memoir of this beloved child to the public, I trust I shall be excused for introducing a brief sketch of her character and history.

Lydia, the third daughter of the subject of this memoir, was born at Botley, on the 20th of January, 1804. From early childhood she discovered a lively temper and a meek disposition. An artless simplicity of demeanour, added to a slight figure, and a delicate clearness of complexion, procured for her the familiar appellation of "Lily;" and it might, with truth, be said of her, as it was of her maternal grandmother, that "her disposition was gentle, modest, and retiring, like that sweet emblem of humility the lily of the valley." She was seen nowhere to such advantage as in the shade of domestic endearment, and none but those who observed her there, could estimate her talents or virtues. The pious instructions of her affectionate mother, while yet in tender childhood, not unfrequently excited emotion in her mind; and she would retire to seek the favour of Him, who despises not the i

VOL. I.

day of small things, and who attends the lispings of a babe in years or in grace. Again the secret, divine influence would appear to be checked by the gaiety and vivacity of her temper. But the good seed early began to germinate; and incorruptible in its nature, the tender plant, watered by the dews of heaven, was destined in its season to "take root downward and bear fruit upward." May this review serve, to parents who diligently use every appointed means of promoting the highest welfare of their children, as a further encouragement to trust in the promises of scripture, and patiently hope for their fulfilment, while they plead the faithfulness of their covenant God:-"I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring; and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water-courses."

The affectionate admonitions and tender concern of her father, at the period of her confirmation (1818), were not unheeded by her; and about a twelvemonth afterwards, her mind became still more deeply affected with the contemplation of unseen and eternal things. In a letter to a friend, towards the close of 1819, she wrote

"I wish for nothing more earnestly than to be the Lord's; yet still I feel something that keeps me from him, and every day leaves me as far from him as ever. Sometimes, after days of levity and carelessness, no one knows what bitter remorse I feel. I can enter into the sentiment-The spirit of a man may sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear?' Yet, though I feel myself so vain and far from the Lord, I can truly say that I rejoice at the increase of the church of Christ, and sincerely wish for the time