and Willy, at Josiah's Forster's school; it has been a very important step to take, but I trust it is a right one, as we could not comfortably see any other opening for them. I was enabled to commend them in supplication to the Lord for His blessing and providential care. It is indeed a very serious thing to me, thus permitting them to enter the world and its temptations, for so I feel it, it caused me great lowness at first, but afterwards, having committed them to the best keeping, my soul was much comforted and refreshed, and much enlarged in love towards them, as well as the kind friends whose house I was at. Oh may it please Almighty Wisdom to bless the boys, and keep them by His own preserving power from any great sin, and may He pardon the follies of their youth.

She wrote and gave to each of her sons, the following Rules for a Boy at a Boarding School :

1st. Be regular, be strict in attending to religious duties; and do not allow other boys around thee to prevent thy having some portion of time for reading, at least a text of scripture, meditation and prayer; and if it appears to be a duty, flinch not from bowing the knee before them, as a mark of thy allegiance to the King of kings, and Lord of lords. Attend diligently when the Holy Scriptures are read, or to any other religious instruction, and endeavour in Meeting to seek after a serious waiting state of mind, and to watch unto prayer. Let First day (the Sabbath) be well employed in reading proper books, &c., but also enjoy the rest of innocent recreation, afforded in admiring the beauties of nature, taking exercise in the garden, &c., for I believe this is right in the ordering of a kind Providence, that there should be some rest and recreation in it. Show a proper, bold, and manly spirit in maintaining amongst thy playfellows a religious character, and a strict attention to all the religious duties; remember these texts to strengthen thee in it— "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels."Luke ix. 26. "But I say unto you, whosoever shall con

fess me before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels" of God: but he that denieth me before men, shall be denied before the angels of God. Now the sooner the dread laugh of the world loses its power, the better for you. This strengthens principle in ourselves and others. Remember these words;-"All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."-2 Tim. iii. 12.

Strongly as I advise thy thus faithfully maintaining thy principles, and doing thy duty, I would have thee very careful of either judging or reproving others; for it takes a long time to get the beam out of our own eye, before we can see clearly to take the mote out of our brother's eye. There is, for one young in years, much greater safety in preaching to others by example than in word; or doing what is done in an upright manly spirit unto the Lord, and not unto man. I conclude this part of my advice by this short exhortation: "Be sober and watch unto prayer, and do all to the glory of God."

2ndly. I shall not speak of moral conduct, which, if religious principles be kept to, we may believe will be good, but I shall give certain hints that may point out the temptations to which schools are peculiarly liable. I have observed a want of strict integrity in school-boys, as it respects their schoolmasters and teachers, a disposition to cheat them, to do that behind their backs which they would not do before their faces; and so having two faces. Now this is a subject of the utmost importance -to maintain truth and strict integrity upon all points. Be not double-minded in any degree, but faithfully maintain, not only the upright principle on religious grounds, but also the brightest honour according even to the maxims of the world. I mourn to say I have seen the want of this bright honour, not only in school-boys, but in some of our highly professing Society; and my belief is, that it cannot be too strictly maintained, or too early begun; I like to see it in small things, and in great, for it marks the upright man. I may say that I abhor any thing like being under-handed or double-dealing; but let us go on the right and noble principle of doing unto others as we would have others do to us; therefore, in all transactions, small or great, maintain strictly the correct, upright, and most honourable prac

tice. I have heard of boys robbing their neighbours' fruit, &c., &c. I may truly say, that I believe there are very few in the present day would do such things; but no circumstances can make this other than a shameful deviation from all honest and right principles: and my belief is, that such habits begun in youth, end mostly in great incorrectness in future life, if not in gross sin, and that no excuse can be pleaded for such actions; for sin is equally sin, whether committed by the school-boy or those of mature years, which is too apt to be forgotten, and that punishment will follow.

CHAPTER IX.

1817, 1818. Extract from Crabbe's Poems-Letter to her sisterGeneral state of Prisons-School in Newgate-Case of Elizabeth Fricker--Newgate Association-Description from Buxton-Sophia de C's Journal-Vote of thanks from the City-Letters from Robert Barclay, Esq., &c.-Letters to her daughters-Notice in newspapers— Marriage of her brother, Joseph John Gurney-Extracts from lettersWinter in London-Examinations before House of Commons.

One, I beheld! a wife, a mother, go

To gloomy scenes of wickedness and woe;

She sought her way through all things vile and base
And made a prison a religious place:

Fighting her way-the way that angels fight
With powers of darkness-to let in the light.
Tell me, my heart, hast thou such victory won,
As this, a sinner of thy sex, hast done,
And calls herself a sinner! what art thou?
And where thy praise and exaltation now?
Yet, she is tender, delicate and nice,
And shrinks, from all depravity and vice;
Shrinks from the ruffian gaze, the savage gloom,
That reign where guilt and misery find a home;
Guilt chained, and misery purchased, and with them
All we abhor, abominate, condemn-

The look of scorn, the scowl, th' insulting leer,

Of shame, all fixed on her who ventures here,

Yet all she braved; she kept her stedfast eye

On the dear cause, and brushed the baseness by.—
So would a mother press her darling child

Close to her breast, with tainted rags defiled.*

When death has set his seal on the past, and stamped his sacred impress on the motives and actions of the departed Christian, we find a solemn pleasure in contemplating his deeds; but when those deeds are recorded by one, who has himself put

* The Maid's Story.-Tales of the Hall, by The Rev. George Crabbe.

off mortality, our interest becomes deepened, and we can but dwell upon the marvellous consideration of their present state of being their thoughts-their feelings-their probable interchange of sentiment-now that, the veil of the flesh removed they see no longer as in a glass darkly, but face to face.

These lines were written by Mr. Crabbe in allusion to Mrs. Fry; his acquaintance with her was slight, but his deep reading of the human heart enabled him to appreciate her undertakings, and the personal sacrifices at which they were made.

Mildred's Court, Second Month, 24th.-I have lately been much occupied in forming a school in Newgate, for the children of the poor prisoners, as well as the young criminals, which has brought much peace and satisfaction with it; but my mind has also been deeply affected in attending a poor woman who was executed this morning. I visited her twice; this event has brought me into much feeling, attended by some distressingly nervous sensations in the night, so that this has been a time of deep humiliation to me, thus witnessing the effect and consequences of sin. This poor creature murdered her baby; and how inexpressibly awful now to have her life taken away! The whole affair has been truly afflicting to me; to see what poor mortals may be driven to, through sin and transgression, and how hard the heart becomes, even to the most tender affections. How should we watch and pray, that we fall not by little and little, become hardened, and commit greater sins. I had to pray for these poor sinners this morning, and also for the preservation of our household from the evil there is in the world.

Extract from a letter to her sister, Rachel Gurney :

Mildred's Court, Third Month, 10th and 11th.

My heart, and mind, and time, are very much engaged in various ways. Newgate is a principal object, and I think until I make some attempt at amendment in the plans for the women, I shall not feel easy; but if such efforts should prove unsuccessful, I think that I should then have tried to do my part and be