all in your power to strengthen the hands of You rebrother." your member he then embraced each of you, and wept over you; and I pray you to remember, that you then solemnly promised, to perform all which your dying father directed you to perform. Perhaps the saint may be at this moment beholding us, in this very spot, in which, a few days previous to his departure out of time, he so affectingly, so tenderly admonished us" My mother paused, as if influenced by sacred awe of the presence she had supposed. We audibly wept; we rushed into each other's arms, we embraced each other, and so long as we continued together, our affection, our piety, and our devotion were uninterrupted.

CHAPTER II.

Record continued, until the Author's Departure from Ireland.

Launch'd from the shore, on life's rough ocean tost,

To my swol'n eye my star of guidance lost;
Torn, from my grasp, my path-directing helm,

While waves, succeeding waves, my prospects whelm.

BY the malpractices of the second husband of my maternal grand

mother, a large share of my mother's patrimony passed into other hands. I accidentally obtained intelligence of some fraudulent proceedings of the great personage, by whom it was then holden. We did not possess ability to support a prosecution for the recovery of our rights. Some time after the demise of my father, the person, who resided upon the estate, was sued for rent ; to this person I communicated in confidence, what I knew to be fact. I assured him, the great man, who retained the estate, had no legal claim to it; and I advised him not to pay the rent. He followed my advice, and the business came before a court of judicature. The gentleman, who sued the tenant, summoned me, as a witness, to prove, that the tenant had occupied the house the specified number of years; thus I was unexpectedly present at the trial, and the interference of providence produced a result, far beyond our most sanguine expectations. The tenant denied the right of the landlord to demand the rent, alleging, that if he paid it to him, he might hereafter be compelled to pay it to another. "To whom?" interrogated the court. "To Mrs. Murray and her children, to whom

the estate in question properly belongs." I was then called upon for an explanation, and I boldly pledged myself to prove the truth of the testimony delivered by the tenant; adding that I could make such a statement, as would render the affair abundantly clear to their Honours. I was immediately silenced, by the lawyers upon the opposite side, who produced a deed of the contested property, signed, sealed, and delivered; I then requested the indulgence of the honourable court, while I observed, that, as I was not sufficiently opulent to procure council, I presumed to solicit permission to plead my own cause. Full consent was unhesitatingly granted; when I proved, to the satisfaction of the court, and jury, that this deed was signed, after the death of the husband of my grandmother; and further, that, had the man been living, the right of disposal was not vested in him. I consumed a full hour and a half, in unfolding a scene of wickedness, not to be defended; and I closed, by grateful acknowledgments to their honours, for the patience they had exercised. The jury retired, and speedily returned with a verdict in favour of the tenant. I immediately entered my claim, and a trial commenced, which terminated in my favour; and I not only obtained the house in question, but two others, in like circumstances, to the no small satisfaction of the public, and the mortification of the great man, and his lawyers. We immediately took possession of the house; and our utmost gratitude to that God, who had interposed for us, was most powerfully excited. Here I had a very large, and, in no long time, a very well improved garden; abounding with every thing useful, and beautiful; herbs, fruits, and flowers, in great abundance; and my situation was fully adequate to my wishes. Harmony presided in our family; but, alas! gradually, as by common consent, we grew more careless of our domestic duties, and more attentive to public affairs: deriving a kind of amusement from what was passing abroad, which we could not obtain at home. We had many visitors, and consequently we frequently visited; yet no individuals were so dear to us, as were Mr. Littie, and his amiable family. I have repeatedly observed, that both Mr. Little, and his lady, had, from the death of their sons, regarded me even with parental affection ; I was only not an inmate in their dwelling; and but for the charge, which the demise of my father had devolved upon me, they would not so long have delayed proposals, which, in a most serious manner, they ultimately made to my mother. Mr. Little was rather advanced in years; he commenced his career without property, but he was prudent, and

industrious; his lady was equally so she brought her husband no more than one hundred pounds sterling, but she was a portion in herself. Although uncommonly economical, and careful, her charities were yet very extensive; she could assist, she observed, the children of penury, without loss; for her resource was her own augmented industry. When this amiable couple became known to us, they possessed immense wealth; and they had now but two surviving children— daughters. We were passing a pleasant evening in their hospitable dwelling, throwing the eye of retrospection over past scenes, until our hearts were greatly softened. The departed sons, the deceased husband, and father, passed in review; and were alternately the subjects of conversation, and regret. At length, Mr. Little thus addressed us : "I have lost my sons, and I have long viewed you, my young friend, in the stead of my buried children: It is true, I have many nephews, and I am urgently solicited, to receive one of them under my roof; but I do not feel a freedom so to do, although I must absolutely have some one to assist me in the arrangement of my affairs: and I now tender to you, my dear young man, to you, who have so long been beloved by every individual of my family; I offer to you, the place of a son in my house, in my heart. And if you, madam, will consent; and your son, thus sanctioned, will accept my proposal, he shall immediately take possession of the apartment of his deceased friend (my lamented son,) and I shall bless God for thus making up my loss." Mrs. Little, who sat by bathed in tears, most cordially united her solicitations; the offer was too great to be rejected, we accepted it with becoming gratitude, and, what rendered a proposal so liberal abundantly more pleasing, was an appearance, on the part of our benefactors, of having received, instead of conferred an obligation. I attended my mother home, with mingled sensations of pain, and pleasure; pain from the consideration, that I was leaving a family, which I had been accustomed to view as, in a very tender sense, my own; and with which I should never perhaps in like manner again associate; pleasure, from the reflection, that I was entering upon a new scene of life, from which I had a prospect, not only of independence, but affluence. It is true, upon my departure, which took place upon the succeeding morning, I wept bitterly, so did my widowed mother, and her children; and my tears again flowed, upon entering the apartments of my dear young friend, with whom I had passed so many pleasing hours. But, received by my new parents, and sisters, as the dearest of sons, and as

the brother of their affection. Joy soon exhilirated my spirits, and brightened upon my countenance; I had the warm congratulations of all my friends, for it was noised abroad, that this very opulent gentleman had adopted me as his son, and they went so far as to add, his son, and heir. All this was very pleasing to me, but the kindred of Mr. Little, were of course, highly irritated, and I became so much the object of their envy, and their hatred, that, whenever they visited their uncle, without deigning to speak to me, they studiously sought opportunities of insulting me. This gave me pain, but it did me no real ininstance of invidious conduct toward me, my parental friends, and their family, especially their daughters, studiously augmented their testimonies of esteem and affection.

jury; for, upon every

After I had passed some months with Mr. Little, he was visited by a young preacher, just entering the sacerdotal character, to whom I was much attached, and our friendship was mutual; I was prevailed upon by this preacher, to accompany him upon a little journey; I departed with the sanction of my patron. I had, in the societies with which I had been connected, occasionally exhorted; and I had been frequently urged by several of their preachers to aid them in their labours. Upon this journey I was, if I may so express myself, absolutely ensnared; accompanying my friend to the assembled congregation, with an expectation of hearing him, he put his arm under mine, and helping me to ascend the temporary pulpit, erected for the occasion, he suddenly quitted me, and I was in a manner constrained to speak to the multitude. Thus, for the first time, I preached to a large concourse of serious and attentive hearers, in publick; and, although at the appointed time I returned to my much-loved home, I continued, as opportunity offered, from that time forward, preaching whenever I journeyed, and even at home, when necessitated by the absence of the preacher. This made some noise in our little world; but, as it was not displeasing to my honoured friends, I was not dissatisfied. My inveterate enemies, however, being the nearest relations of the family in which I resided, were constantly endeavouring to undermine my interest in the heart of their kinsman. I was to pass some time in a neighbouring city, and to render my visit more pleasing, my patron, at my departure, furnished me with a sum of money; this sum I carelessly put into my pocket, without examination, until calling in my way, upon my mother, I discovered, that my patron had, as I supposed, made a capital mistake; that he had given me gold, instead of silver.

G

I mentioned this circumstance to my mother, in presence of one of her neighbours; and without announcing my design, I immediately returned home, for the purpose of rectifying the error. Upon my unexpected appearance before Mr. Little, with information of his mistake, he smiled, and said, that he never kept his gold and silver together.

66

It was my design," said he, "to give you gold, but I advise you not to throw it away." I pursued my journey, and passed my time agreeably; but whether I threw away the bounty of my benefactor, I do not, at this period, recollect, I only know that I brought not a shilling home with me: In fact, I was never sufficiently sensible of the value of money, to retain it in my possession. I was received, on my return from this visit, with uncommon pleasure; and some time after, my kind patron, taking me into his private apartment, thus addressed me: "I need not, my dear, inform you, that you have many enemies, and I regret to say, that those enemies are among my nearest relatives; but, continuing in the paths of rectitude, you will be beyond the reach of their most malignant calumnies. Soon after you left home the other day, the clergyman, who has recently become the husband of my niece, called upon me, requesting a private audience; and when retired into this room, he observed, that he conceived himself in duty bound to apprize me, that I was not sufficiently acquainted with the character of the person I had adopted; that he was not honest; that he had obtained money from me, to which he had no right. “You gave him, sir, as you believed, some pieces of silver, but upon examination they proved to be guineas; this fact I can prove; and if he could thus act, what may he not do?" I told this officious gentleman, that I had really intended to give you gold; but that you, conceiving I had made a mistake, forbore to appropriate the money, and speedily returned home, for the purpose of making the communication. Our clergyman departed, and you will easily conceive, not a little humbled. I mention this circumstance to you, my son, to put you upon your guard. It is my wish, that, in future, you should not be so communicative." This little anecdote was exultingly repeated to me by the good lady, and her daughters, who never failed triumphantly to report every little occurrence, which they believed would contribute, either to my pleasure, or my reputation.

My establishment in this family rendered me an object of envy, even among some of my religious connexions. Objections were raised against my supposed erroneous sentiments; I was more than suspected