I have to day heard more on this affecting subject than my nerves can bear. My spirits too are low with the prospect of your speedy departure, and between both, I feel that opium will hardly have the power of composing them to night.

Mrs. Mansfield had some difficulty in turning her thoughts from the pious contemplations in which they delighted to indulge, and fixing them on the common affairs of the world: but it now seemed necessary, and during the remainder of the evening she tried her utmost skill to cheer and amuse her uncle in his own way; and succeeded so well, that his spirits by degrees rose to their usual level, and he in his turn entertained her with some instances which had been related to him of the liberal dealings of her husband's father, who, though he never was rich, had found means materially to befriend many, and some times by lending small sums of money to industrious young men, and at the same time assisting them with his advice and recommendations, had laid the foundation of respectable and worthy families, and of fortunes much larger than his own. Mr. Mansfield had before hinted at some of these circumstances, as instances of folly and imprudence in his brother; but he this evening spoke in terms of commendation, which gave heartfelt pleasure to his niece, as it clearly manifested a favourable change in his own sentiments.

As the Widow wished to set out early the following morning, she took a tender leave of her uncle, when they parted for the night. He pressed her to make use of his carriage, but she would only be prevailed upon to accept of the attendance of his principal servant, who, by his master's orders, defrayed all her expenses on the road, and carefully attended upon her till she reached her beloved home, from whence she had been absent nearly two months.

She was joyfully welcomed by her faithful servant, and her first inquiries were respecting the welfare

of her poor neighbours, of whom she on the whole received a favourable account. She felt satisfied and thankful to find herself again in peace and safety, under her own roof, and many tender thoughts of those who were wont, in her happier days, to greet her return to it, after the shortest absences, with joy, filled her mind for the remainder of the evening. When she retired at night, after having paid a tribute of praise and adoration to the great Protector and Preserver, for this additional instance of his goodness to herself, she offered up a fervent prayer for him who had been of late the chief object of her care and solicitude. "O heavenly Father." said she, “convert his heart loosen it from the things of the world, and fix it on Thyself! While there is yet time, while the short day of life continues, may he turn to thee, with all the powers which thou hast bestowed upon him. Seeing the folly and vanity of his present pursuits, and feeling the dignity of his nature, and the high destination for which he was formed, may he by studying the holy precepts which thou has given us by thy beloved Son, and diligently striving to obey them, be enabled to work out his salvation;' being henceforward filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ our Lord, to the glory and praise of Thee, the Father of All.'"

Devout and heavenly contemplations continued to fill her mind, till she fell into a sweet and refreshing sleep, such as the oppressors of the earth, the conquerors, or the plunderers of mankind, or even those lesser culprits, the avaricious, the selfish, the arrogant, and the dissolute, must sigh in vain to experience. During its short intervals, every thought breathed gratitude to God, and love to her fellowcreatures; and when an airy vision was pictured to her imagination, her husband and her darling child seemed leading her through the courts of glory, into the more immediate presence of the Omnipotent Father of spirits!

Ah reader! wouldest thou see these beatific visions? wouldest thou thus visit in imagination the regions of the blest? Lead then a life like that of her whose character and conduct I am now describing, purifying thyself from all the corruptions that are in the world, and "perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord."

The virtue and goodness which Mrs. Mansfield possessed, are, in their different stations, within the reach of all. Every one may like her serve God in sincerity of heart; be a Christian indeed, "in whom there is no guile." All who can read may study the Scriptures as she did, which will not only enable them to order their own conduct according to their holy precepts, but to give much useful advice and information to others; and for worldly possessions, her share was far from large, but she s spared from herself, and gave up all the luxuries and vanites of life, that she might be able more liberally to relieve the wants of her brethren; and this practice would furnish to most of us, the means of bestowing more in charity than we are perhaps aware of. Vanity and the love of pleasure have brought many to want, but I have never known any one impoverished by the liberal exercise of benevolence. Money so expended leaves a blessing with what remains, and every one's own observation will convince him if he looks around, that "There is who scattereth and yet increaseth, and there is who withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty." But should our circumstances be such as barely to afford to ourselves the necessaries of life, true Christian love in our hearts will still enable us to give much assistance and consolation to the sick, the aged, the ignorant and the unhappy. To set an example of pious and cheerful submission under poverty, or afflictions of any kind, is to benefit all who are within its reach, and there can be no situation in which a truly good man will not make himself useful and respectable to those who are connected with him.

The worthy Widow had just breakfasted on the morning after her return home, when she was told that Thomas's wife desired to speak with her, and bidding the servant to send her in, was agreeably surprised at the complete change which had taken place in her appearance. Instead of a gloomy air of misery and discontent, she saw a cheerful and happy countenance: and instead of slatternly and dirty clothing, her dress was singularly neat, and perfectly clean. "I am glad to see you, my good Jane," said she, sit down and tell me how your husband has performed his promises during my ab

sence."

Jane.

O madam, I did so long to tell you how good he is, and how happy I and the children are, that the minute I heard the joyful news of your coming home, I put on my things and set out. But I fear I have been too bold in coming so soon.

Lady. Not at all; I am quite as desirous of hearing all that you have to say, as you can be to tell me. Jane. Thank you, thank you, madam, for all your goodness; I and mine are bound to bless and pray for you, as long as we live. The letter that you wrote to Thomas, was brought to him the very day that you went, and I never saw any thing like him when he read it; his countenance changed again and again, and the tears ran down his cheeks. I asked him what you could have put into it, to affect him in that manner, and he told me, when he had considered it a little, he would read it to me, which he accordingly did, and I could almost have cried myself, for I never heard any thing so moving. Well, madam, this letter, or his Testament, was hardly out of his hand all the week, and on Sunday he would have us all go with him twice to public prayers, and walked with us, and read for us, and was so good tempered, that I said to myself, " If there was no such place as a public house, I do think all would be well." On Monday morning he would go to work, though

he was still so weak as to be able only to earn half wages, which is little more than the allowance from his club came to, and I wanted him to rest another week but he said he would spare the club to the utmost of his power, and that though he could not do much, he knew a little work would do him good, and prepare him for the harvest, which was almost ready to cut. The week after he went to work in earnest, and I was amazed to see him come home every night quite sober, though it was otherwise with many of our neighbours; and on Saturday he brought me home such a sum of money as he had not done for many a day. I asked him how he had got so much, and he told me that he had agreed for an advance of wages during the harvest, in consequence of his requiring but half the usual quantity of liquor, by which means he should not only get more money, but preserve his health and his senses, and recover the good opinion of his master. I could hardly believe my own eyes and ears, and taking the money, I said, "O Thomas, I should be but too happy if this would last." 66 Pray then to God," said he, "that I may have strength to pursue what is right." And he has pursued it sure enough, from that day to this bringing home every penny that he gets, and being so kind to me and the children, that the world seems quite a different place from what it did two months ago.

Lady. I am delighted with this good account, and I hope, dear Jane, you endeavour in every thing to oblige, and make your husband happy; and that you do your utmost to instruct your children to do the same.

Jane. I hope both I and they are better than we used to be. Thomas reads a fine prayer to us every night, and says he will beg of you to put down a short one for the children to learn. We never quarrel now, and he is so good and gentle, that I must be a wicked wretch indeed if he did not mend me. What