church, the 'fquire and his worthy family are fure to be there it does my heart good to fee them all come in; especially, when I confider, how many poor people are relieved by them and it is wonderful, how he takes to our minifter, and fays all manner of good of him wherever he goes.

F. But, Thomas, I hear, from my wife and daughters, how defperately 'Squire Blufter, of Revel- Hall, has quarrelled with your 'fquire, because he has turned out fo religious; and how Madam Blufter will not even fpeak to Madam Worthy, because when they went to fee them, instead of having cards after tea, they had Mr. Lovegood there to preach, and fay prayers to them; and after that they fung pfalms.

T. Why, mafter, was there any harm in that? Why when the wind fits that way, I hear the bell ring for family prayers every night, and when Mr. Lovegood is not there, it is to admiration, how the 'fquire himfelf can exhort and go to prayer with his family.

F. But you know, Thomas, there are none of the minifters round the country come to see your parfon on account of his religion.

T. Why it is an odd ftory, if religion keeps other parfons away from Mr. Lovegood; but this is a mistake, mafter, for there are Mr. Meek and Mr. Godliman, and other good minifters befide, that come to fee our minifter, and then we are sure to hear the bells calling us all to a fermon in the church after we have done our labour. I love to hear the found of our church bells to my heart, for whenever they ring we are fure fome good is going forward.

F. But, Thomas, you must remember your promise and tell us how you live on the Sunday.

T. Well then, mafter, you must know, my wife always contrives on the Saturday to get our clean linen ready for us, and fomewhat a little more decent than our common working drefs, to go to church in on a Sunday; the house is always done up quite neat and clean, and all our clothes got ready against the Sunday morning: then on the Sunday morning we all get ourfelves ready, and begin the Sabbath with a chapter out of the Bible, a hymn, or pfalm, and a prayer; then we all eat our breakfast, and afterwards, fend the four eldest of our children to the Sunday-fchool, which our minifter and 'Squire Worthy have lately fet up; then we all go to church, if we can, unless my wife is obliged to ftay at home to nurfe the little ones, and then we VOL. IX.

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take it by turns; and I muft confefs, mafter, I fometimes feel a little proud to fee fuch a nice young, growing family, and how neat and decent my wife makes us all look, and how orderly my children behave!

F. Why, to be fure Thomas, your wife is a wonderful notable woman.

T. Ah, master, and fhe is fo loving and good, and kind, I would not part with her for the best dutchefs in the land. Well, and after church we all come home; then, I aik the children, one by one, where the text was, and what they can remember of the minifter's fermon, and talk with them of the good things we have been hearing. After we have had fuch a dinner as the mercy of God provides for us, we have another prayer; then the children go again to the Sunday fchool, and we all meet again at church in the afternoon; and I think it would do your heart good to hear what pains our dear minifter takes with us; how nicely he expounds the chapters, and how he tries from the pulpit, to make known to us the way of falvation; whenever he tells us of our evil ways and evil natures, he feems to pity us to the very heart; and tears, again and again, have I feen drop down his dear cheeks, while he has warned us of thofe things; but when he tells us of the love of our Lord Jefus Chrift to us poor finners, and what grace and mercy he can fhew in changing our hearts, he is all alive-he feems to feel every word he says.

F. Why, the people fay, he has it all off by rote, and that he has no book, but the Bible with him in the pulpit. -He must have a wonderful memory!

I am fure

T. By rote, mafter-he has it all in his heart, and by the grace of God, he has enough in his heart for a thoufand fermons ; and as it comes from the heart, fo it goes to the heart. Bleffed be God, it comes to my heart! of that. Well, after fermon we all go home, and then we treat ourselves, for once in the week, with a dish of tea, and again talk over the good things we heard at church. At feven o'clock, we go down to the vicarage; and to fee how lovingly Madam Lovegood fhews it to us all when we come into the houfe, would do any one good; how the helps to bring out the forms and chairs, and feats us all fo comfortably in the kitchen and hall; and when we are ready, our dear minifter comes in and repeats to us what he had been preaching before, and exhorts us, and prays, and fings with us, fo charmingly, and there comes fuch a

bleffing

bleffing with it, as makes it feel like a little heaven upon

earth.

F. Ah! but mafter Thomas, our Rector speaks and preaches defperately against thefe private meetings, and fays your parfon keeps a Venticle; but what he means by it, I can't fay; I fuppofe it was fome hard word he brought with him from Oxford.

T. Mr. Lovegood is not the firft man that has had all manner of evil Spoken against him, but we are fure it is falfely, for Chrift's name fake; fo that we can all rejoice and be exceeding glad.

F. Well, Thomas, it is to be hoped you have had enough of religion after all this.

T. Enough, mafter! why we are obliged to very fharp labour through the fix days, it would be a thoufand pities to lofe any part of the only one day given us to feek after our heavenly reft: for what is the body to the foul! Bleffed be God, we have a little more after all this: we have fome more good talk at fupper, a chapter, a pfalm, or hymn, and a prayer; and then we throw ourfelves into the arms of our dear God and Saviour, and fleep on earth as though we were to wake in heaven.

F. But, Thomas, does God Almighty require all this religion from you; would not lefs ferve?

T. Why, mafter, thefe things are our delight; we do not ferve as flaves, but as fons; we ferve, because we love the fervice; look into the Bible, mafter, and you will find what my wife and I find, that religion is regeneration, and that holiness is heaven: all the Lord's " ways are ways of pleasantnefs, and all his paths are paths of peace."

F. I will look into our great Bible when I get home; but I am ashamed to fay, I know more about the chriftenings and burials that are written in the first leaf, than I do of the book itself. But how is it that you are fo fond of talking about your wife?

T. Why she is the joy of my heart, and the comfort of my life.

F. Where did you meet with her?

T. At church.

F. Why, furely you did not go to church to seek for a wife.

T. After I began to know the value of my foul, I only went there to feek for falvation; but a year and half after I was converted from my finful courses, I used to see a mighty decent dreffing young woman, who came from Mr. Blind

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man's parish, to our church; and I thought of it (I hope not too much, when I thould have thought of fomething better) if I married, that the Lord might intend her for my wife; and as I used to meet her at Mr. Lovegood's houfe, I once plucked up courage and plainly told her, what I thought about it; but I could get nothing out of her, but that The could not think of it till she had made it a matter of prayer; then, thought I directly, this is the damfel that will do for me; for, the Lord knows, I made it a matter of prayer alfo, and this made me afk her the fame queftion again and again. F. Lord, Thomas, do your fort of people go to prayer before you are married?

T. O mafter, if I may be fo bold, you should not take the Lord's name in vain, it is a breach of the third command; but we wish to pray upon all fuch occafions.

F. I confefs I am apt to fay words I should not; but how did the match go on?

T. Why a little after this, the young woman went and confulted Mr. Lovegood about my offer; and one evening Mr. Lovegood fent for me to his houfe, while fhe was there; and fo down I went, and when I faw her there, my heart went pit-a-pat, in a manner I never felt it before; we then talked over the matter before him; and he read to us that wonderful good exhortation in the marriage-fervice, fhewing the duties that there would be between us; then he went to prayer with us, after this we promised each other marriage and as foon as we were out-asked we were married accordingly; they do fay, matches are made in heaven, and, I verily think ours was made in heaven, for I have been as happy as a prince ever fince; nothing makes us miferable, for we can praife and blefs God for every thing.

F. Well, Thomas, I am fure you are a happier man fince you have taken to this new religion.

T. New religion, mafter, why it is as old as the Bible, and, I am fure, it is as old as the Common Prayer Book, and the Articles, and Homilies of our Church.

F. Why, Thomas, you are quite a fcholard, what do you mean by the Articles and Homilies? I never heard any thing about them in our Church.

T. Ah, but Mr. Lovegood tells us about them in a very precious manner; and I am fure, I fhall ever bless the Lord for the good I have received from what he has fhewn us from them, and the word of God.

F. Well, Thomas, I must have another talk with you, for I want to know why you changed your religion. T. Mafter,

T. Mafter, I will tell you at any time you please, how the Chriftian religion changed me.

F. Then I will come again as foon as I can, but it begins to rain, and I cannot hobble very faft with my gouty legs: Farewell, Thomas.

T. Your fervant, mafter.

R. H.

We are indebted to the Committee of the Religious Tract Society for thefe Dialogues The two firft may be had at their Depository, and in a fhort time the remaining Dialogues.

TH

HOUGH the certainty of Death is univerfally acknowledged, the generality of men think no more about it, than if they expected to live for ever! Were our confciences penetrated, as they fhould be, with a sense of its eventful confequences, it would furely become the fubject of our more frequent and ferious confideration. Every thing connected with death is calculated to impress our minds with an awful folemnity. It is the fhipwreck of all our earthly poffeffions. Like bufy merchants, men toil hard upon the fea of life, to enrich themselves with worldly stores: but juft as they enter into the port of eternity, their veffel dafhes upon a rock, and all their goods perish; their fortunes, their titles, their dignities are irrecoverably loft. The inward thought of men is, that their houfes fhall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; but foon they die, and leave their wealth to others. "Be not thou afraid," fays the pfalmift, "when one is made rich, when the glory of his houfe is increased: for when he dieth, he fhall carry nothing away; his glory fhall not defcend after him."

Saladine the renowned Turkish Emperor, when he lay upon his dying bed, commanded that a fheet should be borne before him to his grave, on the point of a fpear, with this proclamation: Thefe are the glorious fpoils which Saladine carrieth away with him; of all his victories and his triumphs, of all the riches and the realms that he poffeffed, nothing now remains but his winding sheet."

Death is the commencement of a new existence, or rather, of a new state of existence. We have an immortal part that furvives the fhock of diffolution. When death has done his office, our fouls will then exist in a difembodied state, with all their powers in full expanfion.

Here