Black House, already spoken of, that, being on my return one summer's evening from my friend's house in the neighbouring parish, I passed through the same wood in which I had been overtaken by a storm and driven into Hobbs's house, as before related. The sun, though low, was not set; and though the wood had still no very good name, there was no cause to fear the meeting of dangerous persons, whilst it was light. But I had not passed more than the skirts of it, on the side most distant from my own dwelling, when I was made aware of a step behind me, and looking back, I perceived my blacksmith carrying some instruments of his craft, as if returning from a job. I rather lingered when I recognized him, and he was soon up with me; for he had more to fear if overtaken by night in this covert, than I probably had. He would have passed with a low reverence, if I had not said, 'What John, will you not give me your company through the wood?'

"He looked at his dress; then suiting his movements to mine, he replied to the effect, ‘that he did not count himself worthy to bear me company; but that if I would be pleased to overlook all disqualifications, he should only be too happy.'

"It is a lovely token when a human being, regenerated, or supposing himself to be so, does not presume upon it, to make free with those, who are by the divine appointment, his superiors in condition; and the modesty of John Hobbs on this occasion told with me, much to his advantage; though I soon forgot all these considerations and lost all sense of our relative positions in life when we were once entered upon those subjects, which occupied the pre-eminent place in his mind, and in mine I hope, also. We had not stepped many paces together, before he remarked, 'that there was not on earth, a place like the present shadowy wood-walks which disposed his mind to deep and serious thought, and to a sense of gratitude to his heavenly Father, for the wonderful things which he had wrought in his favor. But why,' continued he, 'was I to be chosen from amid so many others, not worse, and may be better, than myself, to be made a receiver of saving grace? Why did the Lord manifest himself in his bounty to me, whilst still hiding his face from the companions of my past wicked life?'

"Hath not God power over the clay, of the same lump, to

make one vessel to honor, and another to dishonor?" I replied.

"Ah! sir,' he replied, that is a fearful passage.'

“*But,' said I, 'whether we take the idea from scripture or from experience, we cannot deny that some vessels, made from the clay of the same lump;—that is, some individuals of the family of Adam, are made recipients, in the flesh, of the Divine Spirit, whilst as far as we believe, this blessing is not enjoyed by others.' We spoke more upon this matter; and when I had told him that the believer might well be depressed with a sense of the fearful condition of the unbelieving world, he replied, that he had nevertheless no reason to despair, but to look to the Saviour, and to the declarations which He has given in many passages of scripture, of his infinite love and power.' We then turned to other matters, and from one thing to another, till he was led to open certain passages of his experience since he had been brought to see his wickedness, to which I will now call your attention.

“Sir,' said he, ‘my wife and I, in our ignorance, had supposed that as soon as we should make it known to our decent neighbours, that we were desiring to leave off our evil ways and lead a life of godliness, the right hand of fellowship would be held out to us, applying this passage to our own cases, 'Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons that need no repentance.' We did not see that the passage did not suit in many particulars, which was afterwards opened out to us by one deeply instructed in scripture; so we accordingly built ourselves up with the notion that we should be welcomed by the eyes, if not the tongues, of many, when we appeared with our daughters for the first time at church, where we had never been since our marriage, but for such occasional matters as the rules of society require even the ungodly to observe.

"We had fixed Easter Sunday, which was just then nigh at hand, for this our first appearance as it were; and I can safely say that I scarcely touched the anvil once during the week before, without thinking again and again, how I should feel on the Sunday, when joining in prayer with the congregation-myself the worst offender, it might be, in the whole building. In short sir, I thought of it with much anxiety; but not so my wife, for

although, if years of trial can prove any thing, I believe her impressions of the truth were ever deep, if not deeper than mine, yet she, according to the ways of women, never dwelt so long and heavily on any matter as it is my nature to do, and was more taken up, as I thought, during the week I speak of, in sorting and smoothing the children's clothes against the Sunday, than in meditating seriously about what was going to be done.

"My son, too, had the same thoughts as me, for coming into our kitchen one morning, I heard him talking to his mother on the subject, telling her that, he feared she was mistaken if she expected to be favorably noticed by her neighbours, who he said, thought such sudden and complete changes of mind and conduct very suspicious. Our chaplain at the goal,' he added, 'told me this; and I have found what he said come true; for now-at this time, there is not any one sort of men who do not look shy on me, whenever I show my face.'

"Ah! poor lad,' replied my wife, 'you have been unfortunate!'

"You mean,' he answered, because I may have been, and still am called, a jail bird? Well, mother, I got no more than I deserved; but God meant it for good.'

"The Easter Sunday proved a very fine one, and when I observed the respectable figure made by my wife, and the modest demeanour of my daughters, whilst we were making our way through the woods, the air being scented with the smell of the early flowers, and the bells chiming merrily as we went along, I cannot but say, that I felt a something of self-satisfaction rising in my mind, as if by my late repentance I had deserved the pleasure which I then enjoyed, though it was not till afterwards that I detected this feeling, and was made to receive the conviction that it would have been ruin to me then to have been permitted to walk with religion, in her silver slippers. I should, no doubt, have soon fallen into close intimacy with Mr. Byends, and lost my way, as he did, according to the words of good John Bunyan. I think, nay, I am sure, that my wife was altogether in as complacent a mood as myself, mistaking the pleasant outward and easy circumstances of our condition that fair morning as we traced the shady wood-walk, for the motions of that Spirit which has power to gladden the heart, under circumstances the

most unfavorable. So on we went, till coming from under the shade of the trees, we entered the lane which leads up to the church-yard. There are two cottages under one roof, as you know, sir, on one side this lane; and there were two boys at the door of one of these-little unkempt, unwashed urchins, much in the state in which I had seen mine in those miserable days in which my ungodly ways had often put my wife beyond and past all careful motherly duties.

666 'Eh! Tom,' cried one to the other of these lads, 'Eh! what have we here?'

666 T'eant John Hobbs of the Black House?' cried the other. """Tis though,' returned the first, and the misses too, and Miss Betsy and Miss Mary, I declare; all so prim!' As we drew near, these little scoffers ran into the houses, appearing again behind our daughters when we were passed, and asking the girls, if ever they had been at church afore, since they were christened;' and throwing out several bitter scoffs against fresh plumed saints, of such a nature as I was certain were repeated from the mouths of older persons.

"We were not gone far from these cottages before we came to a gate leading from the farm-house of most importance in our parish, tenanted then by one Mr. Low, an elderly man, with a wife and a family of fine grown-up sons and daughters. The family was just stepping out into the church lane, as we came up, and seeing me take off my hat, my wife and daughters dropped their courtesies; but not one of all the party from the farm made the smallest return, not because they did not know who we were, but because they remembered me too well in days that were gone.

"I just cast a glance at my wife, and saw that the blood was mounted up in her cheeks like fire in dry thatch: however, I drew her on, and the girls followed.

"We came to the church-yard gate near about the time Mr. Low and his family did. There was a posse of men and boys gathered about the gate, who stood aside to let the farmer and his family pass in before us, but half-swung back the gate when we would have followed, whilst loud whispers ran round, none of which, even in my most hectoring days, could I have quite taken up, as the remarks were more general than particular.

"Come to the shop for a new neam, hav'n lost his old one,"

was one whisper.

"No one as finds it, will like to soil his hands by picking on it up,' said another.

"I a'int sure as a new one is to be had,' said another whisperer.

"He should go to the methodishes: they'll give him one in no time.'

"-Sell him one, Bob,' added another, 'if he'll pay the price.' "I felt my wife's hand tremble as it la yon my arm, and I re. membered the time, when even one of these whispers would have thrown her quite off her guard. To draw her on again was all that I could do, but the wicket was held in such a way that it was not easy to pass; and he who was foremost in holding it, was staring me in the face in the most insolent manner. I knew the lad, and said, 'Come, Dick Thatcher, let the women passdo, there's a good fellow.'

"This a'ant their way, nor yours nayther, John Hobbs; you forget's where you was going when you started; you was going, wor'nt you, to Springfield? The fair's to-morrow, and the town will be all alive this arternoon.' While speaking, however, he made room for us to pass, and on we went.

"There is a pew in the church—a fine square pew-belonging to the Black House. I knew it: it was not far from the door, and being in the church, I led on to it; but the farmer who had sat in it for years back, with his wife, held the door closed against me, and all I had to do, was, to lead on up the aisle, hoping that some of the people would give us sittings in their pews, for there was plenty of room. But though we went up and went down more than once, no such civility was shewn to us, though people got up and looked at us, and looked at one another, and some even smiled and whispered; for the clergyman was not come in, and the clerk was with him. Seeing a spare form at the bottom of the church I walked towards it, and my family followed, and there we sat, and I was led to feel that I was in my fitting place, amid the lowest of the people.

"We left the church, being near the door, as soon as the service was over, nor did we speak a word till we were under the shade of our wood. The first burst of words then uttered by my