derable time attended my visits to widow S. She enjoyed my reading, conversation, and prayers, and seemed refreshed and cheered for a while: but soon the enemy was again at hand, and soon all her infirmities of mind and of body were in arms against her peace, and all her fears and misgivings resumed their hold of her mind. Thus things went on until she was taken suddenly and very seriously ill. On visiting her, I found her soul was exceedingly distressed. Death and eternity not only appeared at hand, but arrayed in all their solemn majesty and most awful colours. She had long ceased to look to herself for any good thing, but now she appeared in her own eyes more than exceedingly sinful, so that she lay and watered her couch with her tears, and cried, and groaned, and implored mercy as the chiefest of sinners. Before I left her, she seemed more composed, and passed a more comfortable and happy night than she or her attendants had expected. The next day I was unable to visit her, but made an early call the following morning. Early, however as it was, it was too late to converse with her again, for the spirit had fled about an hour before my arrival. Her bodily suffering, I then learnt, had greatly increased after my last visit, and her soul was once more for a season under a dark and distressing cloud; but the Lord, who does all things well, appeared for her, and now completely delivered her out of the mire and the clay, and set her feet upon a rock, and put a song of praise into her mouth. The morning of her last day on earth was clad in all the beauties of spring, and the sun, as it rose over the distant woods, threw its bright beams across her dying pillow. The chamber window was low, and admitted a full view of this lamp of heaven to the dying pilgrim. Waking from a short and refreshing slumber, she lay silent for a while gazing upon it, and then in a tone of rapture exclaimed, "O thou blessed sun! This day shall I be with my Lord in paradise." Her bodily pains again returned for a little while, but the happiness of her soul appeared to surmount all the agonies of the flesh, and led her to sing verses of hymns, and to repeat various portions of Scripture, until all in the room were surprised, delighted, and refreshed at what they saw and heard of the Lord's gracious dealings with this his once fearful and almost despairing handmaid. For a 66 short time before she expired, every pain left her-her senses were in full and perfect exercise -her faith was unshaken-her hope was as an anchor to the soul, sure and steadfast, so that almost the last words she uttered were, My pains are now all over. I have now nothing to do but to pass through the shadow of death." Now and then she gave vent to the joyous sensations of her heart, by exclaiming, "O my blessed God! O my blessed Lord! and thus quitted earth for heaven, and left us another cheering instance, that while the great Disposer of all events sees good to lead many of his children by a dark and trying path through much of their day of life, yet Infinite Mercy carries them through their afflictions, and often in the eventide of their pilgrimage makes it light. On a distant part of the same common was the residence of John D. and his young partner Margaret. I had been about a quarter of a year in the parish before I became acquainted with the inmates of this cottage. Magaret had lately been confined with her first and only child; and finding the babe unwell, and herself still too weak to leave home, she sent for me to baptize it. From that day to the one in which she exchanged time for eternity, I can truly say, that I never called without being much, very much interested. If modesty of spirit, piety of soul, humility of mind, and beauty of person, could ornament a cottage, then was that of John D. ornamented in no small degree by the presence of his Margaret. What served much to heighten the interest which I felt was, a persuasion that Margaret would not long continue an inhabitant of this world. Neither herself nor any of her relations were then at all aware of those symptoms which my little medical knowledge enabled me to discover, and on which I grounded my convictions that her earthly course would be soon terminated: for, on my first visit, "Ere the door I cross'd, One boding look inform'd me all was lost. Margaret had been brought up under a father who knew and loved the Lord Jesus Christ, and, his instructions and admonitions had not been in vain. A serious turn of mind, and a concern for her soul, very clearly manifested themselves, and made her to differ from some of the other members of the family. As she grew up to womanhood, her retired habits and Christian temper increased; so that while most of her young neighbours and acquaintance were seeking their pleasure in idleness, vanity, or open vice, she was a keeper at home, or an attendant on the worship of God. She married at the age of one-and-twenty, and quitted this world. for heaven in about a year and a half after. From the time of my becoming acquainted with her, she was not able to reach our church more than three times. Every thing was done that medicine could do to arrest the threatening consumption, and for several weeks its symptoms were abated; but, like a subterraneous stream, whose rising waters have been earthed over for a little while only to break forth with more strength, and to flow in greater abundance, so the latent springs of her malady were only checked for a season to break forth with increased and irresistible force. From this time forward, her thoughts and attention were daily withdrawn from the world. If she had one wish to continue a few years on earth, it was only that she might attend to the wants of her infant son, and devote herself more earnestly to Christ. Few people had less to accuse themselves of than Margaret, and yet few were to be found who had such deep, self abasing views of their crimes and demerits. Like good old widow S, her soul was cast down with many fears, while her constant desire to give up herself entirely to the Lord, were such as none but herself could fail to rejoice at. She desired no visitors, nor any conversation, but such as came in the name of the Lord, and were calculated to lead her thoughts from earth to heaven, and endear the Saviour to her soul. It was good, it was edifying, though to myself it was often distressing, to be with her. Her selfabasing views of herself, together with the suggestions of Satan, prevented her enjoyment of those precious promises and bright prospects which lay before her; and yet, all this while, there was really a heavenly-mindedness about her that betrayed itself even in her countenance, and was strikingly manifested by the tears she so often and so copiously shed over the thoughts of a Redeemer's sufferings and love, and the abiding conviction of her own unworthiness. No prospect of bodily sufferings in the least tempted her; nor did any event for a moment distress her mind. She had but one fear, and that absorbed all other anxieties; she feared, that as she approached the valley of the shadow of death all would be dark. All she longed and prayed for was, a more established faith--a more bright and cheering evidence of her acceptance in the Beloved. She was much interested with several hymns in our church selection; and, on my calling one day, she presented the book, pointing to a beautiful hymn, and said, with much feeling, |