please God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, to shine into his heart, to give him the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ; he would, I have no doubt, carry the attainments of the christian character to the highest point of excellence." "Is Mrs. Roscoe of the same way of thinking with her husband?" "Why, Sir, I do not think, that she ever thinks on the subject of religion. She goes to Church, reads the Week's Preparation, takes the sacrament, feeds, clothes, and instructs the poor; and says, that, in her opinion, nothing more is required of her. She listens, it is true, sometimes to our discussions, but it is more, I apprehend, from the respect which she feels for the laws of politeness, than from any interest which she feels in the subject. Miss Roscoe, who is a most amiable creature, ventures sometimes to make a few observations, and sometimes to ask a few questions, but she is very guarded. Mrs. Stevens presented her with a copy of Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul,' the last time she did us the honour of a call; and from the spirit in which she received the present, and the assurance she gave us that she would read it, we entertain some hope that the light of truth will lead her to the source of true felicity." "I hope, from a remark which Mrs. Stevens made to M Koscos, when we parted with him, that I shall have the pleasure of spending an hour or two in his company before I leave the villa." "Yes, Sir, he and his family dine with us next week; but you must contrive to hide the colour of your cloth, if you wish to draw him out into conversation, especially religious conversation, for you Dissenting Ministers do not stand very high in his estimation. He thinks that you have obtruded yourselves on an office, which, for want of learning and episcopal ordination, you are not qualified to fill."

Mrs. Stevens accompanied by a little niece, who was a weekly boarder at a ladies' school, on the other side of the hill, came to invite us to take tea in the alcove. We took a circuitous route through the shrub

bery, till we entered on the lawn, at the bottom of which, nature and art had combined their skill, in the construction of this rural retreat. While sitting there, receiving the refreshment which the hand of an indulgent Providence had provided, and listening to the sweet harmony of the feathered tribe; the servant, who had just returned from the neighbouring town, delivered to his master a newspaper, and a packet of letters. Mr. Stevens, having apologized for his rudeness, (as he called it,) proceeded to open the letters, and to neutralize my displeasure, he placed the paper in my hands. "My dear," addressing himself to Mrs. Stevens, "I have some good news to tell you. Mr. Lewellin has accepted our invitation, and will be here, if Providence permit, next Thursday." "One mercy, like one affliction," replied Mrs. Stevens, "seldom comes alone." Addressing herself to me, “I hope, Sir, to have the pleasure of introducing to you a nephew, who has recently felt the power of the truth which he once affected to despise." "The society of christian friends," I answered, "is always animating, but particularly the society of those who have recently felt the power of truth." "My nephew, Sir, is the only son of a pious mother, and she is a widow. He was permitted to run to great lengths in the paths of evil, but the Lord has had mercy on him, and his existence is, in my opinion, as great a proof of the renty of religion, as the conversion of St. Paul." Pray, Madam, is it the son of Mrs. Lewellin, who lives in the village of Sthat you refer to ?" "Yes, Sir; do you know him?" "I have the pleasure of knowing Mrs. Lewellin, but not her son, only by character. will be no small addition to the gratification I feel from my visit to your lovely villa, to have the pleasure of an interview with him."

(TO BE CONTINUED.)

66

It

The subject announced in No. 4. will make its appearance in a fature Number.

J. Hill, Printer, 32, Water Lane, Blackfriars.

"On entering the yard, I met the farmer, a respectable looking man, who invited me, in the true spirit of rural hospitality, to walk in and take a mug of ale,"

London;

MORNING'S RAMBLE.

"That the country, and only the country, displays the inexhaustible varieties of nature, and supplies the philosophical mind with matter for admiration and inquiry, never was denied; but my curiosity is very little attracted by the colour of a flower, the nature of an insect, or the structure of a nest; I am generally employed upon human manners, and therefore, fill up the months of rural leisure with remarks on those who live within the circle of my notice." JOHNSON,

AFTER the devotions of the morning were discharged, I strolled out alone, intending to amuse myself for a few hours in collecting a few fossils, which were to be found in a quarry near the rectory. As I was passing through a very thick coppice, I met a little boy, very neatly dressed, who very politely made me a country bow. "Well, my little fellow, and what is your name?" " Jemmy Allen." "And where do you live?" " In a cottage, Sir, just at the end of this wood." "And how many brothers and sisters have you ?" "Nore." " And what is your father?" "A ploughman." " And where are you going?" "Up to the village to get a little gruel for mother, who is very poorly." "Can you read ?” "Yes, Sir, I can read the Testament which Squire Stevens gave me." "Can you tell me who made you?" "God." "Who came into the world to save sinners?""Jesus Christ." " What must you do to

PRINTED BY J. S. HUGHES, 66, PATERNOSTER row,

be saved?" "I must be sorry for my sins, I must pray to God to forgive me what is past, and serve him better for the time to come.'

I proceeded in interrogating the little boy, and was pleased to find that he could repeat the whole of Watts's Catechism, and also that composed by the Assembly of Divines. His knowledge of the Scriptures was extensive; and he repeated to me the whole of the Commandments, with our Lord's summary of them, as recorded in the twenty-second chapter of the Gospel by Matthew. Having given him a trifle, as a reward for his diligence, and a stimulus to still greater mental attainments, I passed on till I came within sight of his mother's cottage, which presented to my imagination more powerful attractions than the quarry I had intended to visit. On entering, which I did without any formal invitation, I beheld an interesting looking female, apparently very ill, seated in an arm chair. I apologized for my intrusion, which occasioned her a small degree of embarrassment; and, after thanking me for the honour I had done her, she asked me if I would condescend to take a seat. The cottage stood alone, almost entirely surrounded by tall elm trees, and seemed, by its sacred furniture, consisting of a Bible, hymn books, tracts, &c. (the symbols of the divine presence,) set apart as a local habitation for an heir of glory. A few lines, which were once addressed to a secluded saint, involuntarily recurred to my recollection. "Our Lord has many jewels. Among the number, there are some of such peculiar properties, that he does not choose to expose them to public observation. He separates them from the general assemblage, secluding them for his own complacent contemplation, and sets them as a seal upon his heart."

"You have," I observed, a lovely retreat from the world, but I suppose, like others, you are sometimes disturbed by its cares." "I have been," she replied, "but now I have cast all my cares on him who has promised to sustain me."" Then you have