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of your good friends, to whom we beg you most respectfully to remember us, is the sincere wish of,

Your truly affectionate,

M. C.

LETTER VI.

Margate, March 21, 1801.

Wishing to know how you are in health, my dear boy, I take this opportunity, to ask of you a letter, when you are quite at liberty. If I recollect right, you are in my debt; but that is of no consequence; I am so often on the debtor's side, that I dare not complain. I have the great pleasure to say, that your dear are quite well, and so are all other friends, I believe, which we ought to esteem a mercy, when sickness and death pervade every place, if not every family. And, when we further reflect, on the importance of life, the certainty of death,

and

and how deeply we are individually interested in these things, Oh! how ought it to awaken serious concern and investigation! What, if I die in my sins, unacquainted with salvation by JESUS CHRIST? How awful the condition of a soul under such circumstances! It is said, that where he, (the Saviour) is, it can never come.

Never conceive, my dear boy, that I am an enemy to your happiness, because I plainly tell you the truth. Far from it— Believe me, if you find not real happiness in the ways of GOD, you may search creation through, but you will never find it elsewhere. Nor vainly think that you are as yet, too young to engage on the side of religion. Are you too young to sin? Are Are you too young to die?-No; then surely you are not too young to take thought for that important event, which may come now, but will come

assuredly when a few, more years are elapsed.

perhaps a very few, Before I was as old

as you are, my dear, thoughts like these occupied my mind; and, I bless GOD, from that time I have deemed myself happy and safe, only through the blood and righteousness of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. I have never repented of my choosing Wisdom's ways; but have invariably found happiness proportioned to the degree in which my heart has been devoted to GOD. The language of Scripture is the same to all, and says, My son give me thy heart." More

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we cannot give, and less than this is not sufficient. Let us always believe that we have no more religion than we have in the heart. It therefore behoves us to be decided in this matter, because, "no man can serve two masters." The love of this world and the love of God cannot dwell in one heart at the same time.

Let me then conclude all that I have said to you, with the Scriptural exhortation, "Remember thy Creator in the days of thy

"youth :" and may God give you grace so to do! Next Monday we are going to St. Peter's for a little time, and wish we could have your company for a day or two.

Remember us most respectfully to

and always believe me,

Most affectionately yours,

M. C.

LETTER VII.

Margate, Nov. 7, 1801.

I have the happiness to inform you, my dear boy, (if you have not already been informed of it) that, through the mercy of our God, I have been favoured with an addition to our family; and I hope it may prove as agreeable an event to you as it did to all at home. On the 20th of last month, I had the great satisfaction of being called mother to a dear girl; which, amidst a company of beloved boys, was no unwelcome change;

and, at present, she promises as fair for health and strength as any of her brothers. We look forward with pleasure to the approaching holidays, when we promise ourselves a happiness never our's before, to see our five children together. Dear little John grows a very nice boy: he can run alone any where, and chatters very prettily indeed.

Your dear father is very much engaged in business, and particularly just now, in consequence of the tempestuous weather we have lately experienced, which has caused considerable distress among the shipping. Some truly melancholy events have been occasioned by it. The loss, not merely of property, but persons; and some of those our neighbours too, for whom we cannot but sensibly feel. Wednesday last was an awful day to many; we shall long recollect it. Capt. P, of the, and two more persons found a watery grave. There were seven in the boat, three of whom were saved.

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